A lot on the plate today - the traditional 24 episode-in-review, a farewell to Gilmore Girls, and some NBA thoughts. Also be sure to check out yesterday's post for a classic Rant of Doom.
24! 24! 24!
Well, what can I say - last night's 24 was pretty darn good.
But first - a preamble. Obviously, 24 is struggling this season. It kicked things off with an exciting but somewhat mishandled opener (killing Curtis so soon was probably jumping the gun a bit), then built momentum as Jack's brother Graem was revealed as the shady mastermind behind last year's events. And yet, just as Graem seemed to be established as the next great 24 villain, he too was suddenly offed. From that point on, 24 became, well, boring. We saw Jack move away from his family problems and get tossed into an all too standard terrorist take-down. Meanwhile, the season was dominated by inter-office politics at the White House and CTU, and lame romances between characters we had no emotional attachment to. So yeah, 24 was kind of just chugging along, by no means recapturing its usual level of intensity and gravitas.
And yet ... I can't help but be disappointed with the way people all of a sudden dismiss the show because of some rough patches. This is TWENTY-by God-FOUR we're talking about - probably the greatest television drama of this decade. My point is - Heroes is pretty good, sure, but talk to me when it's had FIVE of the best seasons of TV ever. THEN and only then can we put it in the same category as 24. And that goes for any upstart show that people rush to proclaim as the greatest thing since sliced bread. Yes, it's a shame to see 24 not be as good as it was last year. But it's still PRETTY GOOD, if at times frustrating. I just hate to see people be so extreme about it. I've been critical, of course, but I'm not about to revert to saying "24 sucks!" just because it's slightly below par.
Anyways - 24, last night, had lots to like. Plenty of great action, for one thing, with Jack Bauer front and center. for the first time in a while, we saw Kiefer Sutherland stretch his acting muscles a bit. We got pissed off Jack going after Cheng, desperate Jack reaching to save Josh from certain doom, comforting Jack reassuring Rena Sofer that everything would be alright, and yes, CRAZY Jack, being carried away by the CTU white coats at episode's end, screaming "Josh! Joooooooooosh! JOSHHHHHH!"
My point is that last night, the CTU stuff was downplayed and Jack was in turn finally given some room to breathe and be a three dimensional character again. Not to mention, he was given ample time to kick ass - be it orchestrating a daring escape from Chinese captors, trading fire with Cheng over a hanging walkway, or running in a sewer leading a team of agents. Nice.
In the White House, we finally got some high stakes again instead of just petty bickering over who's in power. The little bit of drama out in the field was nicely done, and Powers Boothe was yet again walking the fine line between cheesy and awesome, but mostly did a nice job.
My big complaint is that we STILL know too little about Philip Bauer. Until we know more about his background and motivations, he just isn't coming off as a credible enough villain, just some loopy old guy. I think his eventual confrontation with Jack next week will be MUCH more satisfying if we get his full story as soon as possible.
But in the end, I enjoyed 24 this week, and can't wait for next week's hopefully kickass finale, which may or may not see the surprise return of Zombie Almeda. Seriously though, when 24 is still. even if only sporadically, this entertaining, it's not right to declare it dead in the water.
My Grade: A -
An Ode to Gilmore Girls:
Tonight marks the final episode of one of the great television shows, the final episode of Gilmore Girls.
In one of my college writing classes, in which we all wrote a sample script of a favorite TV show, one of my classmates wrote a Gilmore script which we then read aloud and analyzed. At the time, as I restlessly waited for my X-Files script to be read, I remember thinking that nothing could be more boring than that lame show about the mother and daughter on the WB. I had ZERO interest in the show - and why would I? A whimsical story of a mother and daughter who were best friends was far from being anywhere near up my alley. However, every week, when I met with my fellow wannabe comedy writers at our meetings for Overexposed (BU's premiere sketch comedy TV show!), fellow writer, and current REAL writer over at The Onion, Mike DiCenzo, persistently extolled the merits of all things Gilmore. I think we all had a laugh at his enjoyment of the show, but that was probably because the rest of us didn't actually watch it. At some point though, and I don't think it was until after I graduated college, I found myself sitting at home, suddenly addicted to the Gilmore reruns on ABC Family, and the next thing I knew, I was watching new episodes on the WB and then CW. Somehow, the show that I once thought I couldn't be more disinterested in had won me over, and the guy who gravitated towards things like 24 and Prison Break was a full-blown Gilmore fan.
The funny thing I discovered though, was that Gilmore wasn't really a chick show. Okay, in many ways it WAS, but it was also a geek show, littered with pop culture references and filled with quirky, non-traditional characters like Lane and Zach and Paris who were cool and smart and far from typical of Hollywood teen casting. I mean, for years eager internet geeks lined up to discuss this show on Ain't It Cool News' talkbacks, alongside Lost and 24 and Battlestar Galactica - that should clue you in on the show's broad appeal and unique sensibilities. It was a SMART show, always bursting with clever dialogue, never talking down to the viewer, and holding up icons of literature and journalism and culture on a pedestal - how often do you see THAT? It was a genuinely FUNNY show - characters like Kirk and Paris and Babette and Taylor would crack me up and have me rolling in laughter - not cheap laughter either, but the kind of laughter that only comes from truly great, hilarious characters. Keep in mind, my favorite comedy is in shows like The Simpsons and Curb Your Enthusiasm - the fact that Gilmore appealled to someone with that sensibility is a credit to its cleverness. And it was one of those shows where liking it kind of spoke to someone's character. If you were a Gilmore fan, then hey, to me that is something of a badge of honor.
Gilmore is one of the few shows that is all of these things - smart, funny, clever - and yet also manages to really get ya'. I mean you are made to invest so much in the characters, and they are brought to life so well by the outstanding cast, that their little ups and downs, their moments of humor and absurdity, their tragedies and triumphs, all feel tangibly real. Give some credit to the writers and producers for their ability to be emotional without being cheesy. Give lots of credit to Lauren Graham - who unbelievably was never even acknowledged in the Emmy race even though she made Lorelai one of the best and brightest female lead characters in TV history, and to Alexis Bleidel - who played Rory to perfection as the embodiment of her mom and grandparent's hopes and dreams and fears. How about Scott Patterson as Luke Danes? He made the show in many ways as much about Luke as it was about anyone else. The character of Luke grounded the show in a way that few others did - and Patterson did an amazing job of making you see Luke's pain and happiness and anxiety beneath the stoic exterior, which is pretty remarkable for an actor to do if you think about it. Of course I've talked at length about the greatness of Kelly Bishop and Edward Hermann as Richard and Emily Gilmore. Alternatively hilarious, infuriating, and lovable, Rory's grandparents provided some of the best moments of the show, and were the very definition of upper-crust Connecticut society. Keiko Agena as Lane was such a great character -- Gilmore dealt with her struggle with her Asian heritage with so much humor, depth, and wit that Lane and her mother could have carried their own show. Add Todd Lowe as Zach and the rest of Hep Alien, and suddenly the show has this whole other hipster, rock-band, pop-culture dimension. Liza Weil as Paris evolved into one of the best, drop-dead funniest characters on TV. Paris is like the embodiment of New England puritanism - she's that voice inside you that tells you to work, strive, succeed at all costs personified, with hilarious results. I don't know if any character has provided more quotable lines on this always quotable show than Paris Geller. And of course you have to mention all the random, quirky characters who populate Stars Hollow - Sean Gunn as Kirk was often hilarious, and one of the chief sources of humor on the show. Same can be said for great bit players like Sally Struthers as Babette, Michael Winters as Taylor, Danny Strong as Doyle (the character both lucky enough and unfortunate enough to be Paris' one true love), Yanic Truesdale as effiminate Michel, fast-talking bubble of energy Mellisa McCarthy as Lorelai's confidante Sookie, her happy go lucky husband Jackson, and Liz Torres as Ms. Patty. And that's only scratching the surface of the show's outstanding supporting cast, which is pretty incredible. Two characters who I never really liked were David Sutcliffe as Christopher, Rory's Dad, and Matt Czuchry as Logan Huntsberger. But in a way, they were supposed to be unlikable, and yet, it's a tribute to the depth of the writing and the actors that I could never bring myself to really hate the characters - even though I never wanted Lorelai to end up with Christopher or Rory with Logan, you could see how the Gilmores saw something in those two - things were never portrayed in black and white on the show, there were always many textured shades of grey, and that's something I really admired about it. And finally, I know that the character of April, Luke's estranged daughter, has gotten a ton of flack since being introduced last year. But I think this criticism is a bit unfair. While the storyline may have been slightly shoehorned into the series,
Vanessa Marano has done a wonderful job as April, and totally won me over to the point where the scenes between her and Luke, tinged with just the right balance of humor and sadness, are some of my favorites of the last few seasons. April to me was a character perfectly within the grand tradition of Gilmore - too smart for her own good and desperately seeking her place in this strange world.
So tonight, I salute a show that was both edgy and wholesome, falling-down hilarious and eye-wateringly sad. A show that was one of those great examples of a show that was in many ways too good for TV actually succeeding and finding an audience, even if it was never recognized with big awards and even if many dismissed it as merely a chick show. I was one of those people, but I'm glad I came around and saw Gilmore for what it was, at it's best: smart, funny, quality storytelling that is a rare instance of a TV show rising above the limitations of the medium, and being able to stand on its own as art.
- One quick NBA thought -- I hate Robert Horry! Here is one of those players who you love if he's on your team, hate if he's not. But like Kobe or Jason Kidd, Horry occasionally reminds you that he's so unlikable not just because he makes championship-killing clutch threes, but because he is seemingly such a jerk. Okay, some of my thoughts are clearly clouded by the fact that I hated the early mid-90's Rockets (I was a Barkley fan), I hated the 00's Lakers (I was a Rockets fan) and I hate the David Robinson / Tim Duncan era Spurs (now I'm back to being a Suns fan!). But, with one well-laced cheap shot at Steve Nash last night, Horry not only showed his lack of class, but he may have indirectly caused Amare Stoudamire to rack up a suspension for jumping off the bench when he saw Nash go down. Come on - I agree with Barkley that anyone with a pulse would jump up after seeing their teammate shoved to the floor. Sure, that doesn't mean that any physicality should be tolerated from a bench player, but the rule that penalizes a player for merely putting a foot on the court is way overkill. How ironic that a dirty play is what takes Amare out of Game 5 after all the Spurs' denials over being a dirty team. Finally, I will give my brother Matt his due, in that this Golden State - Utah series has been pretty sick, and I'm eagerly anticipating tonight's game. While I respect the Jazz, I'd love to see Baron Davis and the Warriors make one more run tonight.
- Alright, that's about all I've got. Let's hope KTLA doesn't cover any more "breaking stories" tonight ... WATCH VERONICA MARS!!!
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