Author: Jandy Page 83 of 145

Community 2×02: Accounting for Attorneys

On October 5, 2010

*spoilers*

Usually I scribble some notes while watching TV so I remember what I wanted to mention from each episode (largely because, as is probably becoming apparent, I do not write things up immediately after watching them). I did not do that in this case because I was laughing too hard throughout the entire episode. Seriously, the teaser of this episode was funnier than the entirety of The Office PLUS 30 Rock last season (and I’ve been a huge supporter of both those shows in the past). The Pop-and-Locktoberfest? The winner gets to annex Poland?! Brilliance. Irreverent brilliance, without engaging in the mean-spiritedness that often plagues Family Guy and its ilk.

Other things I liked – Annie stepping into her own this season. Throwing her in with the expected Abed-Troy team was awesome, and she pulled through. The whole chloroform joke and the way it was set up and called back later? This is how you do comedy writing. It seems so effortless and obvious when you see it done as well as this, but so very few shows manage to get it anywhere near as right as Community. I also like how they’re setting Chang up almost as a big bad this year, but a sniveling, pathetic big bad. :) And finally, I like how there’s actually character growth in this series. The Jeff of early last season wouldn’t have realized the value of his study group friends, and now he knows enough to separate what he needs for work from who he needs for friends – it got a little treacly at the end, but the rest of the show is so snarky/meta in tone that it probably needs those “aw” moments to balance it out a little bit. All I know is I had a big ol’ grin on my face for the whole episode, and the show continues to solidify its spot at the top of my must-watch list.

Also, THAT’S DREW CAREY? Holy crap, he’s looking trim.

Fringe 3×02: The Box

By Jandy

On October 5, 2010

In Television

*spoilers*

This week on Fringe, we’re back in our universe, with a setup that initially seems like a return to a simple monster-of-the-week episode. But things aren’t simple on Fringe anymore, and the box that, when opened, melts the brains of those in the vicinity all Indiana Jones-style is actually not just a random treasure, but something that Bolivia and her alt-universe contact are seeking. The show is doing a good job of balancing monster-of-the-week episode arcs with the way each thing ties in with the overall arc. Meanwhile, Bolivia continues to fool Peter and Walter, but she’s walking a very fine line – and Anna Torv is doing a great job of acting Bolivia as a slightly off-center Olivia. It’s obvious to us that she’s not our Olivia, but the differences are subtle – a hesitation here or there, a slightly different timbre in her voice, a bit more outgoing and flirty, but not much. I never would’ve guessed two years ago that Anna Torv was capable of this.

It was really great to be back with Walter for an episode. I love him so much, and his dialogue continues to be priceless. The little teasers in this episode are highly intriguing, too – from Walter inheriting Massive Dynamic with the directive not to be afraid to cross the line, to finding out that it was Bolivia’s plan all along for the box to end up with Peter and Walter. I just hope they don’t let Bolivia tip her hand too early. Honestly, she’s acting just un-Olivia-like enough that Walter and Peter should be starting to suspect something, and I’m a tad afraid that’ll start to get unbelievable if Bolivia doesn’t get a little better at it. I’m still fascinated by this dynamic, and so far season 3 is continuing the show’s overall improvement. Next episode, looks like we go back to the alternate universe to see how Olivia’s making out with her newly-instilled Bolivia memories. Should be interesting. Can’t wait.

Fringe 3×01: Olivia

By Jandy

On September 30, 2010

In Television

spoilers within

Last season Fringe skyrocketed from being a show I put up with hoping it would get better into one of the best shows last year and one of the better sci-fi shows I’ve ever seen. Not too shabby for a show that I initially labeled as a trying-too-hard X-Files knockoff with a boring lead character and a plot that couldn’t decide between epic arc and monster-of-the-week weirdness.

Once the parallel universe idea started becoming the focus, though, I was hooked – not only because parallel / alternate universes happen to be a particular favorite plot point of mine, though that is also true. No, Olivia suddenly started being a more relatable character, and Walter and Peter’s relationship started to go in a much deeper and more heartbreaking direction. Plus, the show proved that it wasn’t afraid to tackle hard science fiction concepts and be smart about them. If there’s ever a show I’m glad I stuck with while it smoothed out its rough spots, it’s Fringe.

And this year looks to keep up the momentum – last season’s finale left us with a killer finale, as Peter chooses this world rather than the other one despite learning the truth about where he’s really from, and even more jaw-dropping, alternate-universe Olivia (nicknamed Bolivia to distinguish them) managed to successfully impersonate our Olivia and infiltrate our universe. It was one of the best season finales I’ve ever seen, and gave me high expectations for this year.

In the season opener, our Olivia is being brainwashed in the alternate universe to convince her that she’s actually Bolivia and belongs there – she’s pretty resistant though and escapes, but that’s kind of all part of the plan. Meanwhile, Walter and Peter are completely unsuspecting about the true identity of the Olivia with them. And that’s one of the great things about this whole set-up – in a way they are the same person, yet also not. The exploration of how different and how similar an alternate universe could be, based on minute choices here and there that add up to very large changes, is totally fascinating to me, and indicated here really well by things like Bolivia being a dead shot and Olivia…not.

At the end of this episode, Olivia seems to be fully integrated into the alternate universe, Bolivia’s memories implanted in her. I kind of want the taxi driver to keep being part of it; Olivia’s touchstone with reality and who she is. Judging from the previews, it looks like there will continue to be some amount of monster-of-the-week episodes, which will be great if they use those to explore the Bolivia-Olivia switch. It’s shaping up to be a great season; let’s hope they can get over the third season hump without losing their way.

Community 2×01: Anthropology 101

By Jandy

On September 30, 2010

In Television

Something weird happened near the end of last year’s TV season. NBC’s old guard of great sitcoms, The Office and 30 Rock, got utterly outclassed by upstart newcomers Community and Parks & Recreation, both of which were consistently smarter, funnier, and more inventive by the end of their seasons than either of their older siblings. Unfortunately, the ratings disagree with me on that, at least when it comes to Parks & Rec, which got pushed back to spring 2011. However, Community came back last week with a season opener that only confirms its spot as the show most worthy of inheriting Arrested Development‘s crown as the critical darling of the sitcom world.

This episode saw the Spanish 101 study group reunite (though not to study Spanish, since Señor Chang got stripped of everything and is now a student just like the rest of the group) and work through the events of last year’s finale – namely, Britta telling Jeff she loved him and him throwing her over, compounded by Jeff kissing Annie (which no one knows about and Jeff is now calling a mistake).

The jokes fly so fast and furious here that I could barely catch them all in time to laugh, and they’re so smart that I wanted to rewind every few minutes just to experience them again. Donald Glover as Spider-Man for half a second. Old White Man Says. Betty White as a rather intense Anthropology teacher. The most awkward kiss ever. Abed’s unrelenting and awesome meta commentary. So many more moments that I’d have to watch it again to see. And I probably will. Because it’s that brilliant. This show knows exactly where the funny is, and it goes for it every time, and trusts you to hang on to your hat and keep up with it.

If they can keep up this level of writing, I can almost guarantee you that Community will be my #1 show by the end of this year. And if it gets shut out at the Emmys again, so help me, I will…be very angry about it.

Castle 3×01-3×02

By Jandy

On September 30, 2010

In Television

relationship spoilers

Despite their ostensible dependence on independent case-of-the-week episodes, procedurals really live or die based on the continuity provided by the main characters and the bits of each episode that exists outside of the week’s mystery. That’s what keeps you coming back, and when it works it’s great.

So far on Castle, it continues to work. Nathan Fillion’s charm, met perfectly by Stana Katic’s mildly sarcastic wit, plus some sparkling dialogue fill those spaces between the mystery plot points in a way that continues to be winning going into the ever-critical third season, the point where formula starts to wear thin and shows often teeter on the edge of losing themselves and becoming boring or ridiculous.

It’s a critical point for Castle this year because last season saw the sexual tension between Castle and Beckett get ever stronger until the finale, when Beckett came *this close* to telling Castle she had feelings for him – until he left for three months summer retreat rekindling his relationship with his ex-wife. Returning this year and reinstating the existing partner relationship between Castle and Beckett begs the question of where that will go.

And judging from the subplots of the first two episodes, which have seen Alexis dealing with her first boyfriend and Caste’s mother receiving a marriage proposal from her significant other, it’s going to come to a head sometime this season. That’s even laying aside the numerous offhand lines of dialogue suggesting that Beckett ought to go for it. I’m a little worried by this, because when procedurals link work partners romantically, it almost always dilutes the show and forces the writers to figure out how to break them up again logically because alternating sexual tension and fulfillment seem to be the only device TV writers know how to build arcs around.

But with Castle, I’m kind of on the Beckett-Castle ship. They’ve built the partnership quite well, and the romance aspect doesn’t feel forced. Plus, the mysteries themselves are usually good enough that I pay attention to them (which I often find myself not doing in procedurals). And the unique construct of allowing Castle to have sudden insights because he thinks like a storyteller is pretty interesting most of the time.

I guess all this to say that watching the first couple of episodes of Castle felt really good, like coming home and discovering that home is just as entertaining and breezy as it was last year. This is the only procedural on my schedule this year, and I’m perfectly happy with it. As far as these first two episodes individually go, both had decent cases of the week, though both quite dependent (as usual) on abundant red herrings. I don’t mind that, as I’m more along for the ride with Castle, and as long as it remains light and enjoyable (and the cases don’t get stupid, or Beckett and Castle don’t get stupid), I’m there. A few less “ha, gotcha” moments might be welcome – the opening of the premiere had Castle and Beckett pulling guns on each other and Beckett ordering Castle to get down on the ground, a scenario you won’t (and shouldn’t) believe is the whole story for a second.