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delgaBones, 4x06, The Crank in the Shaft
This episode was really boring; I only really liked the opening scene with everyone in the elevator. It was also pretty disgusting. So. There's that. I also wasn't paying enough attention to work out what happened at the end. But then that woman was crying, and I felt bad for her.
Angela continues to annoy me, and they got rid of the intern that I actually liked in favour of this nihilist figure, which was... something I didn't understand. Although Cam made me laugh a lot.
That's really all I have to say. Not even Brennan stepping up for Booth's chair (ugh, wtf) was interesting.
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Pushing Daisies, 2x01, Bzzzzzzz!
Ugh, bees! I am not a big bee fan.
Things I didn't like: Olive being relegated to a nunnery, wtf? (Although I did lol at the Julie Andrews reference.) Plus: I wasn't too keen on the bees. Shudder.
Things I liked: EMERSON, lols; the Aunts; the ending, omigosh! Ned's father! In The Pie Hole! Plus, I still like the narration and the production. Bring on the next episode, aww.
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I actually liked this episode? Highlights include Sheldon kicking ass, and the closing scene where the guys watch a game with Sid in the hospital. The lowest point was probably Maroon 5 which was uninspired.
The suits, though. That was genius. I felt like I could now accurately construct CSI: NY as a space show. Whoop, whoop!
No, but really. Even though not a lot happened, I liked the case and the way it kept changing, and it was a pretty standard whodunnit week, which I always appreciate. Plus, I've just read character spoilers for a future episode and I'm not sure I want to know further. I'll take what I can get. (And anyway, the cast continues to get some of the best cheesy dialogue around. ♥)
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Supernatural, 4x03, In the Beginning
Having skipped the episodes in the middle, and being only part-through my catch up (it's taking time because I'm being reminded why I cut out in the first place), I only know the bare bones of the Mary Winchester storyline. Which is, she knew the Yellow-Eyed Demon, and he fed baby Sam his blood. Thankfully that seems to be all that I really needed to know.
(Firstly: um, Sam, wtf?)
This episode was very, very well put together. Kudos to Mitch Pileggi for the strongest performance of the episode, and one of the best of his career. He normally plays staid, straight-forward smash-em types, and this was an interesting turn for him. When he's possessed? Oh boy. That was amazing. The casting all-round was really well done. The actress who played young Mary was sharp and endearing, without being excessive; the actor who played young John was a great choice visually. They really nailed something in his jaw.
The bonus, for me, though, in terms of performance, was having Ackles run the episode sans Padalecki. Whilst The WB/CW network has never been great at giving its actors much to work with, I've always thought that Ackles brings off some impressive performances. Not consistently, but on the whole, I think his work is stronger than Padelecki's. You can argue with me, but I doubt you're going to change my mind. This episode in particular, I felt wholly invested in Dean Winchester's story. I mean, completely. What did Castiel want him to do - kill his parents?! Apparently not; I'm really too melodramatic at times. Would he tell Mary who he was? Would he tell his grandparents? Would he warn her? Would he succeed in killing The Yellow-Eyed Demon? (I guessed not, but that would put an interesting spin on events if by killing him the future actually got wackier. But this isn't The Terminator.) The scene where he asks Mary not to get up, not to leave the bed whatever happens - the moment where he starts crying? Oh boy. Another scene that was wonderfully underplayed. I think that's what's making this season easier to bear: everything is subtle. I may have said that before.
Regard the above as a sidebar, by the way. Because that's nowhere near the biggest thing that happened.
Mary Winchester came from a family of hunters. A family of hunters. And she was completely able. She could take care of herself, and she took responsibility for her life. She was drawn as the perfect balance between being hardcore and wanting what she wanted, if that makes any sense. What I mean is: she was human. And she made a human decision. That scene where she tells Dean that she'd hate her children to be raised as hunters was stinging with dramatic irony. I felt so hard for both the characters, because of course she sort of sets that all in motion. It's horrible, but really keys in to this sense of destiny that the show's been throwing around since at least S2, if not the very beginning of the show. The show is weirdly fatalist considering the whole idea of the Winchesters' fight is their attempt to overthrow this oncoming storm (and, I assume, succeed).
There's a great fanfic somewhere where Mary survives the fire and the family hunt together, eventually culminating in her saving Jess, too, and it's such a beautiful story - one of my favourites (and most of my favourites are about this character that I've never really known) - because these women were never passive. They were never just victims. Even before we find out about Mary's involvement in the mytharc, the first thing we learn about her is that she runs to her child's rescue. She doesn't call for John - she goes herself. She runs there. And that's a testament to her character, right there.
As for the lack of Sam: it's a brave choice in a show that is about brotherhood as much as it is anything else to then take that duet and separate it so that the brothers are beginning to follow their own tracks in the overall mytharc. Moreover, there's a touch of reality there: siblings will go their own way, whether it's in the same general direction or not. I liked his absence here because it seemed like this was very much Dean's story, and I'm looking forward to seeing what he brings to the show next week.
I am quietly gobsmacked by this season because it's not the show that I left in any way. I'm excited for teh next episode, which apparently is a double? (Random addendum: I love the previously clip they use for Castiel. I am the one who gripped you tight, and raised you from perdition. Misha Collins' delivery was amazing.) Onwards, onwards.
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Private Practice, 2x01, A Family Thing
You know, considering that the individual cases this week were really compelling, I didn't enjoy this episode at all. It feels like the same quality as the end of last year (which I was enjoying) but something about the pacing didn't click for me. I liked Addison taking the hard line, and I loved both that story (with the baby girl/boy with cancer) and Cooper's patient. I didn't care one jot about any of the other plots, mostly because they were all the same will-they/won't-they nonsense that I'm not really interested in any more. (I pegged that Del (sp?) was in on Naomi's financial trauma and I'd have liked it if instead of dumping more in her lap, he'd actually tried something else. But of course he quit: the woman has been slinging him around since the end of last season. Goddamn.)
Which is a shame, because I like the cast, and I really like Charlotte, and this show should be better than this. And yet both this and Grey's have started back so slow. I hope things improve.
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This episode felt so mid-season, and the writing wasn't exactly subtle with Nikki's characterisation, or the need to fix Charlie's mistake from the end of last season (But Charlie, we need you; we can't do our jobs without you! UGH). I was mostly on board with the idea that Charlie was waiting for Don to give him the go ahead, because that made a lot of sense, and I really enjoyed the scene between Amita and Robin (it felt very real which is a plus) even though it was more about the Eppes boys than it was about anything else. I can deal with that because it makes sense in the context.
I want to know more about Nikki, obviously, and was pretty bummed out by the way she swept her eyes up and down Edgerton. Edgerton is always great to have back, but it's not like he did much this week. And Colby and David continued to be efficient in the background.
Basically: nothing really happened. I wasn't even invested in the case, so.<
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Life, 2x02, Everything... All the Time
A weird place to start this, but I loved the scene where Jennifer goes to see Rachel, and she reaches up to hold Charlie's hand. For the first time I was able to see the affection from both sides, and that these are two superbly wounded people who are trying to heal. I really need to get a car. Oh, Charlie. I feel rough for Jennifer's husband, too, though. So. There's a storyline I didn't think I'd ever be fully interested in. Surprise!
Right. The storytelling techniques in this episode were so strange! I loved them, though. I really liked them cutting between the evidence board and the suspects pulling up in front of the restaurant or whatever that was. I also liked seeing how in-tune Crews and Reese are now. Reese reminds me a little of Alex Eames now: knowing when to step back and let her partner follow the route he needs to, and then knowing how to support him. That's a really tight dynamic they have between the two of them, and it came across especially clear in the interrogation scenes, and in the scene where Reese says, I want the middle one in lock-up and Crews says, okay, I'll get that for you. That made me laugh pretty hard, actually, because I knew exactly what was coming next, and it was played out really well.
Reese's Daddy Issues also took an interesting turn this week and highlighted something that a lot of shows don't when they play this line: regardless of how much trouble there is between Dani and Jack, she loves him, and she wants his approval and his affection. Plus: Dani has class issues which was not something I was expecting, but probably should have? In fact, I should have seen that from the episode with the rich dead gay man.
Oh, Ted. OH TED. Not being sure, being scared, being unexpectedly confronted. Beautifully played by Arkin who needs way more stories in this show. Another delicate (non-)performance came from the girl who played Rachel. I'm interested in seeing where that goes.
Overall I enjoyed the case, I was impressed with the format, and I liked the episode as a whole. The humour was a little forced in places - mostly uptight/not-uptight Dani - but I think that balanced out neatly with her vulnerability in the scene when the main suspect comes to see her in the gym.
To conclude: Crews' kindness to the girls in this episode was very touching, and his desperate affection for his ex-wife touched a nerve, and the way he goaded Dani would have been the most contrived moment if the episode wasn't capped by: the return of the car fetish. Oh, Crews.
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Today I get to watch Merlin, huzz! And last night I watched more CSI and continued to be bored, which is sadface-inducing.
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Date: 2008-10-05 12:35 pm (UTC)So many good points on both of the above.
I said this in my review of Supernatural but I couldn't be happier that they're finally telling the story - it's subtle and it puts such an fantastic spin on any previous spin that furthered this storyline. Whats more is the story is tight, it's efficiently told. And as the writing gets better, the acting is matching it all the way. More like this plz Supernatural.
And Life. Your point about the Crews/Jennifer is spot on. I was disinterested in their relationship last season to the point of it grating on me, and yet with that scene, with the handholding, I felt invested in it. Again, the whole Crews story is building gently and I like it.
And massive love for the soundtrack of this season, last year's was good, this season's is GREAT.
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Date: 2008-10-05 01:02 pm (UTC)the story is tight, it's efficiently told. And as the writing gets better, the acting is matching it all the way. More like this plz Supernatural.
Oh, completely. I feel like the acting is stepping up to this writing, which so far has been all plot which I'm enjoying so much. The character moments are so natural, and aren't second-place to story (or vice versa); everything is happening in tandem.
As for Life, I felt this second episode was a return to form (I'm still a bit iffy with the way 2x01 got wrapped up?) Also, it just makes me so damn giddy! It's a visual treat.
But yeah, something happened in that scene because I went all mushy, heh. Can you imagine the conversation that the two of them had before Jennifer came to see Rachel? What Crews had to have said? Gosh.
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Date: 2008-10-05 01:52 pm (UTC)It's so true. Supernatural is being pushed forward so forcefully by the plot, everything else feels like a natural progression, its fantastic to see just how good these guys can be when the material is more challenging.
Life-wise: This is my HAPPYSHOW. So much. I get so excitable about the cinematography, music and performances in this show, the excitement pre-episode is almost as fun as watching it!
There's something about this show where certain scenes will come out of nowhere and sideswipe you completely and I adore it. They're playing the Rachel card so carefully I'm desperate to know more, yet happy for them to draw it out. I may go rewatch and review shortly, hee.
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Date: 2008-10-05 02:14 pm (UTC)I thought the suits were stupid xD But cute, perhaps, in a way. I liked this episode too, it was dynamic and fun, the only regret I have is that it didn't focus on our characters a lot. Sure, Sid nearly died, but I don't know, it didn't feel as if it was that important.
I did love the last scene, it was very touching.
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Date: 2008-10-05 03:24 pm (UTC)They still haven't resolved any issues in that arena but man, poor Jen's husband, this is going to be one hell of a roller coaster ride.
regardless of how much trouble there is between Dani and Jack, she loves him, and she wants his approval and his affection.
You have a point here, I didn't even realize it until you pointed it out, and I think it holds true to Jack too. He might be the way he is but what I liked about last season is that Jack reiterates that he would want Dani as far from this as possible. He's not just a mustache twirling villain he did seem like he cared for Dani in his own way.
But, oh, I love the partnership here, I love how they've settled into it so well. Last episode was too uneven on Charlie's side but this episode returned the dynamic I love so well.
In closing: New car!
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Date: 2008-10-05 07:40 pm (UTC)I do believe that both these actors are highly underrated and underappreciated, and post-SPN they should become more recognized because of what they do onscreen and their presence offscreen as well.
In terms of the episode, I absolutely loved it. Lovely change of pace where it focuses on not only timewarping into the past but also on Dean and more importantly, the origins of Mary. Her being raised by a family of hunters, and Lord knows how far back that family tradition has been going on, really was something I didn't expect and was pleasantly surprised by; the casting and performances by these chosen actors were stellar and I loved it. Just everything in this episode and this season has been surprising me and I'm really hyped up for what's being planned out for the rest of the series. The mytharc and lore of their entire journey, it just has me itching for more and how things are going to unfold in the end.
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Date: 2008-10-05 09:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-10-06 01:45 am (UTC)I really liked the start of Private Practice, you know its suppose to be that little bit more grown up then Greys, and that what i really like (and you know, not having to listen to Meredith's whining all the time) so this whole storyline of the practice being like broke, i kinda like it, you know shows that everything isn't all roses for them all the time. also as much as i like Charlotte, not much of a fan of her and cooper for the fact that Cooper so very much wants to be with this chick, but she's completey stone walling him, and you know HE'S TOTALLY LYING TO VIOLET WHICH IS JUST GOING TO END BADLY. like i love violet and cooper cause they're cute and funny together and now we're not even getting the funny... *sigh*
hopefully it will pick up.
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Date: 2008-10-06 07:25 am (UTC)EVERYTHING ABOUT LIFE IS GLEE-INDUCING. And I mean, full-on rainbows and unicorns and whatever's your kink. I think it's the mixture of its levity and the high and visible production value.
The Rachel story - last year I was a bit 'eh, whatever' about it, and this year I keep thinking about it, lols. I can't help it, I'm dying to know more. But I trust the producers to play that one neatly. The first season was well-done so there's no reason the second shouldn't be.
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Date: 2008-10-06 07:26 am (UTC)I'm good with it being low/subtle characterisation. It's a procedural, too.
Damn, I used to have an Aragorn icon!
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Date: 2008-10-06 06:57 pm (UTC)I think that's what makes Dani's particular issues more interesting than most characters: because at the end of the day, it's not black and white. It's one of the reasons why Ziva David fascinates me endlessly.
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Date: 2008-10-06 06:59 pm (UTC)I can't even feign disinterest any more: the season has me invested. & so I'm back. Again. Heh.
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Date: 2008-10-06 07:01 pm (UTC)Will look for your post. And hopefully pictures of your banging hairdo? ;)
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Date: 2008-10-06 07:04 pm (UTC)Haha, man. PP is just so... there's so much potential there, and I feel like it's being squandered away in these useless romance plots that I care very little for. I'd be more interested in the finance crisis if they were actually going to tackle it as opposed to it being another way for people to trust and not trust the people they're sleeping with. Does that make sense?
Ah, I think Charlotte is as much of a fuck up as the rest of them, but her character actually looks like it's evolving as opposed to circling the same issues.
But. Fingers crossed for an improve! I mean, I'm not ditching it. So. lols.
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Date: 2008-10-07 01:48 am (UTC)I've always loved the show, but this season really extends that love for a whole different reason and onto a new level. They're really centering it towards the bigger mytharc of the series, and I like that.
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Date: 2008-10-07 06:10 pm (UTC)