Monday, September 29, 2008

TV Reviews for the Week of Sept. 21, 2008, Pt. 2

First off I should say that my computer crashed half-way into this, and I ended up losing a bunch of reviews. That pisses me off, and rather than waste time by rewatching the stuff and trying to remember what I wrote, those shows will probably just have really short entries. Sorry.

I got into this show a season late. I thought it would fall to the Seinfeld curse, but it didn’t, and I like Christine more than I liked Elaine. Julia Louis Dreyfus seems more comfortable with her, even though she makes the watcher feel so damn uncomfortable. The only problem I had with this episode was the marriage. Not the fact that two women were getting married. I have no problem with that and find it ridiculous that there is a law preventing gay marriage. My problem was the fact that they were taking advantage of something that so many people worked so hard to get. And it was even brought up in the show! I realize that they weren’t trying to make a joke out of the act, but I think it kind of devalues it more.
I never really liked Zack all that much, but now I see how integral he was to the team. While the premise of the show may seem to be about forensic anthropology, it’s more about the team and the relationships within. Law and Order is all about the case. CSI is all about the evidence. Numb3rs is all about the math. Criminal Minds is all about getting into the head of the suspect. In all of these, the personal lives of the main characters take little to no precedence in the show, deferring to that show’s schtick. Not with Bones. The case and the science take a backseat to the relationships, and Zack’s relationship with EVERYONE is something we’ve been missing this season, and it took his appearance to really make that known to me. I’ve really enjoyed seeing the various interns, but they’re no replacement for Zack.



I felt a little cheated by how they wrapped up last season’s finale. That’s really all I’ve got to say. Just a decent episode, but nothing that blew me away (HAH!).




“Jesus Christ.” Dutch Boy’s comment seems to sum it up, although I was hoping for a little more in the fight between the Mayans and SAMCRO. Still, it was a great episode, and I learned what a Patch-Over is. It’s nice that I can still learn things at my age.


I’ll be honest, I don’t like this show. It’s really not that good. But I don’t miss an episode. It’s my guilty-pleasure show. The only actor that’s anywhere close to decent is Emily Proctor. The rest are just hams, especially David Caruso. He and his character have become such a joke, what with the monotone delivery of every single emotion, plus the dramatic sunglasses. Wow. So last season he was shot. At the beginning of the episode he’s dead. I’m guessing it’s a ruse to make someone think he’s dead, but we’ll see how the episode ends. Oh look at that, I was right. So he was dead, what, 30 minutes before people started finding out? Great plan there.




Not near as bad as Miami, but not quite as good as the original. Gary Sinese is excellent, but the others suffer from Miami’s over-acting disease. As with most shows of this type (I’m looking at you original Law & Order), the episodes tend to all run together. I vaguely remember last season’s finale, but not that it was to be continued. Whatever. It was an okay way to pass a Sunday. I probably should have spent that time watching something I was actually looking forward to, though.




Changing in a phonebooth? Really? After what, eight, nine seasons, they’re still mining the Superman clichés? So, the paramedic guy. Is this guy going to be Doomsday? I haven’t been following all of the scuttlebutt, and the first time I heard about it I rolled my eyes. Doomsday? Really? Also, how did Clark get all of the burn marks off of his borrowed blue shirt? I know that in the comics, at least at the beginning of the Byrne reboot, he had an aura that gave his clothes a bit of protection, but I’m doubting that’s what’s going on here. And a meteor freak. STILL? Really? Sigh, after all these seasons, is thing going anywhere? I don’t know how I feel about Tess Mercer yet. I don’t remember Miss Tessmacher from the movies, but I was a big fan of Mercy from the Superman Animated Series (last seen in Infinity Inc. Volume II). I like the kick-ass chauffer/body guard rather than the replacement CEO. It’s difficult for me to watch this and not think of the cartoon or the comic books or even the movies. This Clark Kent isn’t my Superman, or even my Superboy. As a quick aside, I’ve always noticed that one of the executive producers is Joe Davola. Wasn’t he a Seinfeld character?

As much as I like this show, Jason Lee will always be Brodie and Banky. And Seth Green…I’ll watch anything he’s in. I’ve liked this show since the beginning, but this is probably the most I’ve laughed during it. Well, at least the first episode. Oh how I’ve missed new sitcom episodes. As good as they are, there are only so many times I can laugh at Friends or The Office reruns.



I got into this during the second season. I didn’t much care for the first couple of episodes, so I stopped watching. Oh what I missed. I’ve since watched the original British version, which is a little less funny, a little…a lot more uncomfortable, but still funny. Anyways, that’s besides the point. I love that Holly still thinks Kevin is mentally challenged. It’s so cute. Oh, and when she found out he wasn’t, there’s the uncomfortable that we all know and love. I also thought it was great how they did a little testimonial with Pam while she was on the webcam. And then we get evil Michael Scott from the mirror world. And holy crap, maybe it’s just the romantic in me, but the ending with Pam and Jim was perfect. And poor Toby. Poor, poor Toby.

I love the classic rock soundtrack to this show. I really hope it’s interesting to today’s kids, but I’m seriously doubting it, not unless it’s being sampled in something claiming to be brand new. So, seriously, I want Bobby’s panic room when the Zombie War starts. And after watching Buffy and Angel, where the Apocalypse happens about every other week, it kind of takes some of the bang out of it. But not with this show. This is something major that’s about to happen. This episode is like Old Home week, like a clip show but with a point. And call me jaded, a product of today’s suspense drama’s, but I’m wondering of Dean’s angel is all he says he is. An angel he may be, but might he be working for the other side? Lucifer wasn’t the only one cast down. Could one brother be the chosen to raise Lucifer, the other to keep him in Hell? Hmm, brother against brother. Nah, that never happens.

There’s really not much to comment on with this show. It’s fantastically ridiculous. And there was ever so subtly an MC Hammer reference thrown in.

2 comments:

Kate said...

Toby is the George Michael Bluth of The Office for me. Lovable and so pitiable

Rob Rosenblatt said...

I never got "lovable" from Toby. Definitely pitiable and not deserving of Michael's ire, but more creepy than George Michael. At least he had the innocence of youth on his side (we're watching the second season of Arrested Development during lunch at work).