April 21, 2008 · 1:53 am

Brothers & Sisters – “Separation Anxiety”

“Separation Anxiety”

April 20th, 2008

In my own anxiety of trying to figure out how to spend my time when I will have no consistent employment hours and no homework all summer, I apparently completely forgot that the ABC drama that I haven’t given up on is returning from its strike hiatus for a short few episodes. Brothers & Sisters has been fairly good this season, if a bit predictable at parts, but I’m glad to see it returning if only so we can get back more serial television.

This is one of the few shows that can’t act as if no time has passed, as it was embroiled in the Republican primary system when we last left it. Before we hit the title, McAllister is bowing out of the race and we’re flashing forward three months to a world where presidency is replaced with pregnancy in the grand scheme of things.

It’s a smart decision because it allows for a partial reset of some storylines, particularly the dramatic tension in Tommy’s life. Instead, we get to return to Walkers being Walkers as the family faces a crisis and a celebration: Rebecca’s birthday and Isaac (Danny Glover) inviting Nora to live with him in Washington. Needless to say, this creates plenty of drama for the episode to draw from.

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April 19, 2008 · 11:28 am

Battlestar Galactica – “The Ties That Bind”

“The Ties That Bind”

April 18th, 2008

Speaking to a friend ahead of this episode, I said the following:

“I’m curious to see where it goes from here – the human plot has kind of hit a roadblock, so it’s going to be up to the Cylons to carry the dramatic weight I fear.”

So, considering these expectations, I should have been really frustrated with “The Ties That Bind,” an episode where almost all of the dramatic weight was founded on Cally, one of the most maligned characters amongst certain populations of the show’s fans. While there were a series of intriguing and fairly fantastic revelations on the Cylon side of the coin, it was ultimately a footnote in the episode compared to our central drama.

Now, I’ve never been on the side of Cally haters per se, but rather of the mind that Cally’s character was never given a justifiable reason to exist outside of her relationship to Tyrol. The character was never asked to carry any dramatic weight outside of either being beaten to a pulp or being placed in mortal danger – as a result, we got a lot of screaming and crying, but little in the way of nuanced emotion or any such things.

I’m not saying that what we saw from Nikki Clyne last night was revolutionary performance, but Michael Taylor managed to draw from her past in order to craft, at the very least, an intriguing point of representation. Cally, through anti-depressant fueled journeys, becomes a loose cannon – she is suspicious and paranoid in her altered state, and begins to suspect Tyrol is hiding something. Upon investigation, she stumbles across his biggest secret, and all of a sudden Cally has gone from nuisance to all-out ticking time bomb.

And then it went off, much sooner than I think any of us expected.

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April 17, 2008 · 10:34 pm

30 Rock – “Subway Hero”

“Subway Hero”

April 17th, 2008

When I say “Hero,” you say “Dennis.”

Okay, so that’s a bit oversimplified, but tonight’s episode of 30 Rock was certainly a return to form after last week’s funny, but off-balance, return. In retrospect, “MILF Island” had some good humour, but its central reality show parallel felt unnecessary and forced at the end of the day. Part of the show’s charm is how breezy everything is, that things fall into place and storylines weave in and out with little respect for the laws of traditional act structures. Ultimately, although it was the point of the episode, the traditional reality show arcs just don’t have the same effect.

However, with the return of Dennis the Beeper King came hope, a whirlwind of an episode that benefited greatly from a little extra polish around the edges. While it still feels as if the episode didn’t quite finish off, with Guest Star Tim Conway never quite integrating into the central storyline, it was funny, quick and smart (On a general level, as the sum of its parts) from beginning to end, something that can’t be said of last week’s episode.

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April 17, 2008 · 9:59 pm

The Office – “The Chairmodel”

“The Chairmodel”

April 17th, 2008

On its surface, and in its synopsis, “The Chairmodel” was about Michael Scott overcoming an offscreen breakup with Jan by pining over a model he finds in a catalogue. On the surface, his immediate attempt to get the entire office to set him up seems like the typical office scenario: Michael makes a fool of himself multiple times, we all laugh, Dwight plays along, and then Michael comes to a false epiphany that is just so twisted it hurts. It’s a formula that works, and it was nice to return to this type of strong structure that is indicative of the latter fall episodes.

But, leaving the episode, is anyone really thinking about Michael? After Pam’s landlord was given reason to hate Pam forever, the real story kicked in: Pam pondered moving, Pam tested the waters for moving in with Jim and that she wouldn’t do it if she was engaged, and then Jim did it: he said it was coming. An engagement, he said, was going to happen – Pam played along, but her face right afterwards showed some trepidation. And then Jim, in a talking head, says he wasn’t kidding, pops out a ring, and then saying the most twisted thing of the entire episode:

“I bought it a week after we started dating”

Which may be the most compelling argument ever that Michael and Dwight might not be the dumbest people on this show after all.

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April 16, 2008 · 6:42 pm

Le Cheval Mort – Lamenting the Immortality of ‘Scrubs’

I had time to watch Scrubs’ return episode live on Thursday of last week, but I turned off the T.V. after The Office ended. There were a lot of reasons for this, most directly that I’ve been watching Scrubs on DVD for the past couple of weeks and was perhaps Scrubbed out. Or, maybe I was too afraid that the relative lack of quality in recent episodes would make me even more frustrated with ABC’s inevitable decision to keep the show for an eighth season (Thus making it a dead horse, which is what the title means in French – no, I don’t know why I wrote it in French, it just sounded better).

Watching the DVDs has been a quick process, almost too quick: I know the tragic turn of the 5th season is coming, and I’m stopping before it starts just to maintain what appreciation I have of Bill Lawrence’s sitcom. And it is an appreciation: the first and second seasons are great television, and it was really unfortunate the show got no Emmy attention until the “dark ages” beyond season four (Which is itself a bit of a mess).

But I decided I was going to give the show a shot, and say down on Sunday night to watch the show’s return following the Writers’ Strike. And, for a good nineteen minutes and fifty seconds, I have to admit it: Scrubs was in good form.

And then reality kicked back in.

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April 15, 2008 · 1:59 am

Greek – “War & Peace”

“War & Peace”

April 14th, 2008

If there’s anything we know about ABC Family’s Greek, it’s that it rarely becomes heavy-handed. In some cases, such as Cappie’s charming Southern-general act, this is an ideal development that heightens my enjoyment of the series. In other cases, however, there are moments where you wonder whether the light-hearted solution to, say, Casey’s affair with a 16-year old doesn’t cheapen the whole thing.

Her young beau didn’t get a mention this time around, and in many ways the episode cleared the air of a lot of broad conflicts in favour of emphasizing smaller ones. The rivalry between our two central fraternities and the struggle between the ZBZ leadership and their National-appointed nuisance Lizzie both disappear in this episode, at least temporarily, which means we’re left with the broader interpersonal questions.

I think that this is perhaps the show’s most difficult balance to strike, defining interpersonal relationships in a world where broad stereotypes define most social interaction. I don’t quite know if it has the balance, considering it had to dump a fair few of its supporting players to make it work, but I definitely don’t think it was a failed exercise.

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April 14, 2008 · 9:36 pm

How I Met Your Mother – “The Chain of Screaming”

“The Chain of Screaming”

April 14th, 2008

Like last week’s episode of 30 Rock, I felt as if “The Chain of Screaming” was trying too hard to follow the checklist of HIMYM’s most successful elements as opposed to actually creating a strong episode of television. Barney’s titular catchphrase never quite gelled, even if it was the episode’s best element, and everything just felt extremely slow – the central point was there, but I wasn’t feeling the flow I’ve come to expect.

My thoughts were the same on 30 Rock, but on second viewing I enjoyed it more – perhaps tomorrow I will feel the same about this one, but I really just wasn’t on board from day one. I’m not necessarily against Marshall and Lily stories, our first in quite some time, but their side of the series has been floundering ever since they bought the crooked apartment. After two episodes focusing on Barney and Ted, clearly at this point the show’s most interesting character studies, heading back into the working life of Marshall seems, ultimately, uninteresting.

This isn’t to say that it was all bad, but rather felt more inconsequential compared to how it feels like it wanted to feel.

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April 14, 2008 · 9:00 am

‘Survivor’ Moves to High-Definition – ‘TAR’ next?

If there has been a single complaint regarding the move to High Definition television in my house (Or Dorm room, whichever we want to go with here) is that some series remain in Standard Definition. Now, yes, in some cases they are still of higher quality on the HD channels due to signal clarity, but where’s the widescreen? Perhaps it’s because we get spoiled, but tuning into a reality series is a break from our traditional viewing experience.

Now, the barriers are clear: HD cameras are expensive, and reality shows require a lot of them for the various activities which take place. Let’s face it, the whole point of reality television is that it is cheaper than hiring actors, and there are few reality shows that would really benefit from the shift.

However, as Variety reports, one of the shows that will is finally making the move: Mark Burnett is taking ‘Survivor’ HD for its 17th (!) season starting in the Fall. The move will be much appreciated by this viewer, at least – as someone who has stopped watching Survivor out of emotional attachment and has started viewing for the challenges and the novelty of it all, more landscape to look at will prove beneficial.

As the article points out, there are specific challenges to this: Survivor requires a lot of underwater cameras, and in many cases a ridiculous number of angles on challenges or at tribal council. To go to HD will complicate their angles, also, as the wider viewing space might change framing and other such things.

But there are visual advantages: the beauty of the locations has long been a Survivor staple, and now they’ll be even prettier. And while I am somewhat worried about what HD will do to the unkempt competitors, it will just feel more real…and isn’t that the point? (Answer: No, but let’s pretend)

However, while I appreciate the shift for Survivor, the real question that even the Variety article asks is: is The Amazing Race next?

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April 13, 2008 · 12:39 am

Late to the (Frat) Party: ABC Family’s ‘Greek’

Let’s chalk it up to a tad bit of nostalgia and a healthy dose of reflection.

I wasn’t exactly desperate for a new show – I had gone most of the strike-forced hiatuses for my favourite shows without getting hooked on much new material, so surely I could last a weekend. However, perhaps it was the return of The Office and 30 Rock that sparked it; they were a high from which I would surely crash during the normal Friday Night doldrums, and I gave in to temptation.

However, the choice of temptation was all of the above – as I prepare to complete my undergraduate university education, it’s a time to reflect back on the university experience. And, coincidentally, I sat down and watched Greek, ABC Family’s college dramedy sat in the Greek system. And, well, I really enjoyed it.

And that might not just be the reflection talking.

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April 11, 2008 · 11:39 pm

Battlestar Galactica – “Six of One”

“Six of One”

April 12th, 2008

With a gun in her hands, and a suicidal Kara Thrace in front of her, Laura Roslin pulls the trigger – she misses, and while we ponder how she did so at such close range we notice something: what she shot was a photograph of Adama and Roslin, together. If that’s not an omen, I don’t know what is.

If last week’s premiere was perhaps a symbol that the show was starting off on a slightly different trajectory than the third season, then this week’s episode solidified our point of reference: this is season two all over again.

We have questions of faith, the schism between our two leaders, and even the same people in positions of personal crisis. I don’t say this as if it is derivative, but rather that it is a strong return to form – it may not be the 0 to 60 we saw last season, but it is a strong mythology turn that will serve the show well.

Read on to learn while Starbuck is in a cell, parts of her are all throughout the ship.

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