Whew, long week. It's somewhat crippled my blogging time, but man, I'm back and I've got a lot to talk about. And by the way, for those of you reading on Facebook, I'd encourage you to check for updates on my actual blog, http://dannybaram.blogspot.com . I have all of my posts automatically imported to Facebook, but lately, there's been a huge delay between when something goes up on the site and when it gets imported to Facebook. So, if you want to read my posts when they're hot out of the oven, so to speak, be sure to check the blog, early and often.
Anyways, I continue to be psyched about the NBA PLAYOFFS. The first round is now winding down, and some of the second-round matchups promise to be pretty epic. I can't wait for tomorrow's Cavs-Celtics game. That is basically an NBA Finals caliber matchup, and in only the second round. The Celtics will be the underdog for the first time in a while, but we'll see if they can rise to the occasion. Meanwhile, after the Suns' win last night, we're now headed for a second round matchup that many may not have predicted earlier in the season - Suns vs. Spurs. And yet, that series has a huge, bigtime feel to it, as both teams are looking like championship contenders again after periods where people were writing them off. In the last decade, one thing you've always been able to count on in the NBA Playoffs is that you CANNOT underestimate the Spurs. Year after year, they've flown under the radar only to come up big. Meanwhile, the Suns are just fun to watch now and hard not to root for. With Nash, Amare, and a Grant Hill who's on a prolonged 90's flashback, I'd love to see the Suns pull off a stunner and somehow make it to the Finals.
Okay, lots of TV Stuff to get to, so let's get to it ...
24! 24! 24!
- Okay, so this past Monday's 24 ... umm ... yeah, I don't know. There were some really well-done, well acted individual scenes in this one, particularly between Presidents Taylor and Logan. But, the overarching absurdity of the plotlines at this point is really starting to cause problems. I mean, President Taylor went back and forth multiple times in the course of one episode on the cruscial Peace Treaty problem, to the point where I honestly had no idea what she was thinking. By the time she got up to make her climactic address on the subject, for all I knew she could have gone either way. It's weird, there was some good, dramatic tension with her and Logan, but the ease with which he's been manipulating her has been pretty absurd. Part of the problem is that we as viewers have been given no great reasons to really side with or against the President. The whole plot just feels so loose and abstract, and that's a problem when it comes to Jack, who's once again gone rogue and is actively working against his own government to do what he thinks is right. But, come on. Jack isn't a politician. He's now involved in this very morally grey area, which he himself has been on the exact oppossite side of multiple times. It's to the point now where it's sort of hard to root for Jack, and, unless they are going to turn him into a full-fledged villain, that is something that should NEVER be the case on 24. Jack has always been a good soldier, and obeyed the President 100% unless he has something personal on the line. This latest bout of rogue ops feels like its really pushing it. When I am watching 24 and rooting for someone to take out Jack because he's acting like an annoying douche, well, it's almost blasphemy to say it, but man, that's when you know that 24 is having problems. The characterization, the plotting, it all feels off. Case in point: Chloe helping, but then ultiamtely turning on Jack. The whole scenario was handled poorly. Honestly, I'd buy Chloe helping or going against him if she felt principled about it - that strong conviction is always what's driven the character. But the interaction between her and Jack felt wrong. Jack shouldn't have anticipated Chloe's trap, and on Chloe's end, come on, did she really think she was going to take out Jack freakin' Bauer with five CTU scrubs? Just ridiculous. The whole premise was pretty lame, actually. Yeah, let's move Dana Walsh to a secure location - some random warehouse five minutes away from CTU. That'll really throw off Jack. Again, there were some good individual scenes here, but the sum of the parts was, sadly, pretty weak. This doesn't feel like a proper ending for 24, it feels rushed and half-hearted, and unworthy of Jack Bauer.
My Grade: C+
- By the way, if you're feeling frustrated by the unevenness of some of TV's higher-profile dramas lately, let me give another recommendation to JUSTIFIED on F/X. Week after week, the show entertains, with a badass performance from star Timothy Olyphant as Raylen Givens - a cool customer who's like an Old West sherrif transplanted into the modern-day South. Check this one out if you haven't already.
- FRINGE, meanwhile, after a streak of completely awesome episodes, finally stumbled a bit with an ep that clearly stood out as filler. Plus, there was a possible element of corporate strong-arming at work as well. As part of FOX's "every TV show on our network must have a musical episode" week (yeah, great idea ...), Fringe was forced to conform to that brilliant marketing tactic and do a wacky, out-there, semi-musical episode of its own. I say semi because it felt like the creative team was never super into the while idea in the first place, to the point where there was SOME singing, and a lot of music prominently featured, but this definitely wasn't a full-blown musical. Instead, it was a weird fantasy episode in framed around Walter telling a story to Olivia's niece, Princess Bride-style. Fun in theory, but the story was an uneven hybrid of film noir, musical theater (with a song selection that was completely all over the place), and surreal sci-fi. The problem was that while the stylized world of Walter's story was interesting to look at, the actual story was just sort of there, and not particularly exciting. I suppose that some diehard Fringe fans got excited by the fact that the story offered something of a peek into Walter's deranged mind, offering a few subtle clues towards some of the show's ongoing mysteries. But, at the end of the day, there really wasn't much here to hook us fans who have been watching Fringe for its awesome mythology episodes and want more of the main story. That said, I have no problem with a show like this doing the occasional "wacky" episode. I mean, some of the all-time best X-Files episodes were the more light-hearted, comical eps (Humbug, Jose Chung, etc.). But Fringe has only recently found its footing in terms of doing a great job with its bread and butter episodes. It's not a mature or confident enough show yet to branch out with a random musical ep. And, despite great actors like John Noble and Lance Reddick giving it their best efforts, that shakiness came through in this one. I think that someday Fringe might be on the level where it can mix up the types of episodes it delivers and broaden into multiple subgenres and tones. But for now, Fringe should probably stick to what's been working, and to that end, I look forward to a return to that in the coming weeks.
My Grade: B-
QUICK COMEDY REVIEWS:
- MODERN FAMILY was a ton of fun this week, thanks in large part to the great Fred Willard once again appearing as Phil's dad. Willard was playing a version of the sort of character he often plays (the overexuberant jokester type), but who cares, because he is always awesome in that role. The scenes between Phil and his father were pure comic gold. The ep was hurt a bit by a week Jay and Manny plot, but overall, good stuff.
My Grade: A-
- COMMUNITY continues to deliver the awesome-sauce. This week's ep was on par with last week's excellent outing, with a funny main plot that dealt with a bunch of antagonistic high schoolers taking community college classes while butting heads with Jeff and Britta. However, the hilarious subplot involving Pierce finally being thrown out of the group for his rascist and offputting ways put this one over the top. Great episode.
My Grade: A-
- PARKS AND RECREATION was back this week after a hiatus, and while this week's ep wasn't a classic or anything, it was good to have the show back. It's amazing how good Parks has gotten this season after its shaky first run of episodes last year. And a huge part of that is due to the fact that the ensemble cast is so strong. This episode had hilarious moments from several characters, and had a funny premise to boot - Ron had inadvertantly scheduled 90-something meetings for the same day, and had to dole out the meeting responsibilities to the various members of the Parks department in order to handle the crunch. I was less entertained by the Leslie-freaking-out-about-some-ruining-of-a-historical-site subplot, but hey, overall, this show is good comedy, and it was good to have it back.
My Grade: B+
- THE OFFICE was really funny this week, mostly because it featured Michael Scott at his weird, sleazy, screwball best. Michael's plan to woo a woman who he met a few episode's back at a Dave & Buster's-like establishment, as she came into the office to buy a printer, made for some incredibly funny scenes. The kicker had to be Michael's slide presentation, which interspersed photos of him with a bunch of male models and such (and one slide that just said "sex"), in order to subliminally convince the object of his affections to fall for him. Just hilarious stuff. Meanwhile, Dwight's master plan to install whichever office minority would best suit him into the company's executive training program made for a lot of funny moments. Plus, the subplot gave Kelly a chance to shine, which is always nice given how underutilized she's been of late.
My Grade: A-
- 30 ROCK had a really funny episode - it was one of those episodes that didn't have a lot of plot, but that made up for it with an ultra-fast pace that rarely let up, just one joke after another, in the style of, say, classic episodes of The Simpsons. The drama between Liz Lemon, Dotcom, Grizz and Tracy was great, and a great vehicle for Tracy to deliver several killer quotes that I'm sure lit up Facebook walls everywhere (hey, I posted one). There were just a ton of great little scenes here - from Kenneth's peacock noises to Pete changing his name to Dallas (or trying to, at least). Look, I realize that 30 Rock hasn't consistently been at the level of its Season 2 peak - and this episode definitely suffered a bit for the lack of real edge or meat to the plot - but still, it's hard to complain when it's turning out hilarious episodes like this one on a weekly basis.
My Grade: B+
Okay, I'm out for the weekend, baby. Keep checking back for the latest updates. Have a good one.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment