Unwelcome Commentary

Dawson's Creek: Baby (1.6)

2012-02-23T03:39:00.001-08:00

What we've been seeing over the course of the season is the characters expressing the vulnerability hidden beneath their tough exteriors. It's been most evident in Joey and her interaction with Dawson and Jen -- not only does she feel more relaxed about being open with her feelings for him, but she's also been publicly dismissive of Jen numerous times in the last five episodes, throwing away any kind of filter. Here we begin to see more family-centered vulnerability, especially when she has to check out from Bessie's labor because of flashbacks to her own mother's fatal disease. Then there's her first, non-sniping discussion with Pacey, where she bonds with him over their mutual knowledge of being at the center of school gossip. It's welcome seeing Joey become more human, and it's a theme that resonates through most of the show's ensemble, too.

Pacey is the character who is most benefiting from emotional growth. He appears far more here than in any previous episode, showcasing a noble streak as he protects Tamara from city-wide embarrassment and potential dismissal from teaching. I've always disliked the porny sexualization of teenage-boy/female-teacher affairs and the gender double-standard that is frequently perpetuated, so naturally I had problems with a lot of this storyline, but Pacey remains pretty level-headed about the whole thing, and the depiction of high school scandal was lifted straight from reality, or at least my own experience with similar circumstances.

Jen, too, experiences a kind of break in her veneer. She still remains an atheist by the end of the episode, but her praying scene with Grams and Bessie conveys a sense of growing maturity with her -- in which she acknowledges the emotional relief that religion can bring to other people, while still believing that it isn't entirely right for her. Grams' interaction with Dawson feels awkwardly cold, considering their brief bonding session last episode, but she remains an intriguing presence on the show, even if the writers aren't respecting character continuity just yet.

Dawson takes a back-seat for most of the hour, allowing other characters to breathe a little. Baby runs with a familiar idea (an unexpected birth), but uses it as a mere back-drop to more character-driven drama. It's a positive decision. B+

Credits
Guest stars Obi Ndefo (Bodie Wells); Dylan Neal (Doug Witter); Leann Hunley (Tamara Jacobs)
Teleplay Jon Harmon Feldman Story Joanne Waters Director Steve Miner

Dawson's Creek: Hurricane (1.5)

2012-02-23T03:35:00.002-08:00

Taking a page from Buffy, this is very much the show using extreme phenomena as a metaphor for teenage hardships. Obviously, being Dawson's Creek, said phenomena is an out-of-control hurricane, but the message is clear. As the wind and rain arrives in Capeside, Gail's affair is finally exposed, tearing apart her family, destroying Mitch and alienating Dawson in the process. It's an interesting approach, especially when parental characters on these kinds of shows usually flail around on the sidelines with nothing to do. Call it 'the 90210 effect'. But here Mitch and Gail have real personalities and emotions, and that creates a welcome distinction.

Michelle Williams is given some strong material here, talking to Dawson about her sex life back in New York and how much it affected her. I give the show credit for making her past sexuality seem horrible but not at all preachy, Jen talking about being taken advantage of and being 'sexualized' at far too young an age. While it left her outcast from her family and stuck in Capeside, it's given her real perspective and maturity that you can really root for. Grams, too, becomes less of a one-note cipher, granted additional layers with her interaction with both Bessie and Bodie and later Dawson. She remains remarkably confrontational with her conservative beliefs, but they're not as thin as they once appeared. She claims to not have a problem with Bessie and Bodie being an interracial couple, and more with their maturity. Later, she advises Dawson to forgive his mother, using faith as something positive rather than something to provoke hatred or distrust.

Pacey has struggled to become much more than one-note so far, stuck in this annoying subplot with Tamara, but thankfully gets a little development here. His relationship with brother Doug is complicated, especially with Pacey's horrible insistence that he's secretly gay, but it helps open the character up a little. He needs to get further involved with Dawson, Joey and Jen, though. Right now he's too removed from anything to be particularly memorable.

The show also needs to avoid familiar soap trappings. There have only been a couple over the last four episodes (the hidden-camera, most noteworthy), but Gail's affair exposes a lot of contrivance. The PDA at the TV station last episode were bad enough, but the kissy-noises to Bob while on the phone in the middle of her home, where half of Capeside is currently waiting out the storm, was patently ridiculous. Of course this is a '90s soap on the WB, but some of the writing needed for characters to jump from point A to point B in the story needs a little work. Generally, however, this is another engaging episode. B-

Credits
Guest stars Dylan Neal (Doug Witter); Obi Ndefo (Bodie Wells); Leann Hunley (Tamara Jacobs)
Writers Kevin Williamson, Dana Baratta Director Lou Antonio

Ringer: Whores Don't Make That Much (1.14)

2012-02-22T16:05:00.001-08:00

Before Ringer turned into a convoluted mess dangling perilously close to the edge of Mount Cancellation, there was actually a relatively simple idea at its heart. Way back in the pilot, Bridget took over her sister's identity in a shocking moment of ill-conceived craziness, a rash decision that quickly devolved into assassination attempts, marital intrigue and contrived mystery-solving that would make even Jessica Fletcher wince in embarrassment. But at the crux of the show was that initial decision, a chance of potential escape from Bridget's eternally rock-bottom existence that she instantly leaps at. Whores Don't Make That Much, the strongest episode in a long while, finally threw that decision into perspective, granting Sarah Michelle Gellar the emotionally-draining material that she's been crying out for.

The greatest element here involved the writers rooting Bridget's scheme in guilt, the character so devastated by her part in the tragic death of Siobhan's young son Sean that she's completely lost faith in her own life and appears desperate to end it all. With something like suicide presumably not an option (or, alternatively, an option that she hadn't yet thought about), she did the next best thing and completely sacrificed her own identity in favor of someone else's, allowing brief respite from the inner turmoil she was experiencing as Bridget.

Of course, this all comes to a head here. Misha Collins' baby-daddy Dylan is a character who has been able to move on from his involvement in Sean's death, a revelation that sends Bridget back down the destructive route she was once on. There's an interesting moment here where Bridget, impersonating Siobhan, screams at Dylan for saddling 'her sister' with so much guilt; it's also a feeling that's paralleled in Bridget's dinner with Andrew, in which she suggests Juliet leaving New York wouldn't be such a terrible thing, as if being around her would only endanger her in the long run. Watching these scenes, it became so clear that these are the central themes Ringer should regularly explore: identity, guilt, denial, pain. It's all there in the basic premise of the series, yet has been slowly drowned out by cliffhanger-driven plot twists and ridiculous characterization.

Speaking of, Juliet's subplot lurched to another inevitable twist ending. When it was made clear mid-way through the hour that neither Juliet nor Mr. Carpenter were calling the shots in this elaborate rape mess, it became incredibly obvious that Andrea Roth's twisted hell-mom was the real ring-leader of all this hooey. She's the only dispensable character even tangentially connected to this story, so there were no real surprises there. Similarly lacking in suspense was Tessa's attack, another bungled development straight out of the Wild Things playbook. Ugh.

But, away from the ever-lasting junk of that storyline, this was actually one of the most engaging Ringer hours in months. Sarah conveyed varying emotions of regret, devastation and bitterness, and certain scenes here (notably the funeral confrontation) proved, dare I say it... sort of affecting. There's no way this will prove to be a long-term game-changer for Ringer, but it made for a brief sojourn nonetheless. B

Credits
Guest stars Zoey Deutch (Juliet Martin); Misha Collins (Dylan Morrison); Jason Dohring (Mr. Carpenter); Gage Golightly (Tessa Banner); Brynn Thayer (Mrs. Morrison); Dendrie Taylor (Tessa's Foster Mom); Andrea Roth (Catherine Martin)
Writer Robert Doherty Director Janice Cooke

Charmed: Sword and the City (6.8)

2012-02-21T02:59:00.000-08:00

As season six continues, it's become more apparent how tired Charmed has become. Most of the episodes this year have settled back on familiar ideas -- usually involving possession of some kind, the sisters being taken over by evil, or the purging of old stories that everybody is already accustomed with. Everything's become pretty predictable, and only Holly Marie Combs seems to be having fun anymore.

There's obviously some superficial enjoyment to be had from the Camelot story, notably Piper in her black leather ensemble and her own initial frustration at how ridiculous the whole thing is. But it quickly becomes pretty flat, with a demon wanting to unite the underworld and Piper being briefly seduced into evilness. Blah. And did they have to cast two guest actors who look exactly the same? At one point I assumed Morduant and the Dark Knight were going to be revealed as the same person, but it turned out they only looked like identical twins...

Phoebe and Paige's subplot is just as contrived as most of the other material they've been saddled with this year. Phoebe's all nervous because Richard is using magic, which itself goes against what Richard himself was saying only a couple of episodes ago, and she worries that he'll become consumed by it. Note the irony that this is coming from the same woman who defended Cole against Paige's similar rantings back in season four. Both girls are entirely awful. The story doesn't really go anywhere interesting, and Richard is another in a long line of charisma-free boyfriends for the Charmed Ones.

This is the kind of episode that I'm sure has its fans, but Sword and the City is just too goofy for me -- the lake lady, the Monty Python outfits, the same damn story over and over again. Boring. C-

Credits
Guest stars Balthazar Getty (Richard Montana); Mark Aiken (Dark Knight); Danny Woodburn (Head Dwarf); Brian Leckner (Executioner Demon); Edward Atterton (Morduant)
Writer David Simkins Director Derek Johansen

Charmed: Soul Survivor (6.7)

2012-02-21T02:55:00.002-08:00

Paige's obnoxious temp jobs have driven at least one fugly subplot in every episode this season, but the story that unfolds here more resembles the quality of Love's a Witch than, say, the dog-walker thing. It's a story that lacks any of the originality or depth of the Montana/Callaway feud, but it's an absorbing diversion nonetheless. Being Charmed season six, the writers cop out instead of exploring the idea of free-will and whether the souls should be interfered with at all, but at least the first twenty minutes of the story work.

It's just really unfortunate that the sisterly conflict and the heavier themes that are briefly hinted at aren't elaborated upon. All of the slaves in Zahn's auction are there because of their own actions, and now have to reap the side-effects of instant rewards as part of their Faustian deal. With that in mind, it's interesting to see Paige so determined to save them. It clashes with her conservative 'one-strike-and-you're-out' attitude about Cole in season four, but continuity clearly isn't Charmed's strong suit. I wish the show had explored that angle more, though. It could have made this particular storyline far more ambitious.

While the Paige story is interesting but heavily flawed, everything else in Soul Survivor is stinky monkey shit. Phoebe's subplot is universally shrill and makes zero sense. Why would Phoebe, who has supposedly become a major San Francisco celebrity, be forced to work with this creep? She brings up not wanting to use Jason as leverage, but surely she can use her leverage as a famous (gah) respected (gah!) columnist instead? It's just too dumb, leading to scenes that entirely duplicate Spencer Rick's last appearance on the show.

Similarly ridiculous is Piper's round of dates. Ignoring the fact that all these bland-looking model-types run away in terror whenever Wyatt's eyes sparkle (wouldn't you, in reality, just assume your mind was playing tricks on you?), this entire story arc feels contrived since Leo's always hanging around anyway. Oh My Goddess! led us to believe that he'd be up in Elderville for huge stretches of time, yet he's dropping by just as often as he always did. These writers are morons.

Finally, there's the asinine Chris/Leo subplot. I liked that they finally settled their differences (at least it spares us any more screentime for the two least-charismatic cyborgs to ever appear on this show), but their adventures in that old Roswell set and then some Civil War time period both felt hollow and redundant with a total lack of resolution, the two of them just showing up at the end with no explanation for how they stumbled out of their various eras. It's profoundly weak writing.

Soul Survivor has an interesting A-plot that falls to pieces under its own potential, as well as a whole bunch of flat subplots that are just as worthless as they are boring. So you could skip this thing all-together, generally. D+

Credits
Guest stars Balthazar Getty (Richard Montana); Johnny Sneed (Larry Henderson); Googy Gress (Spencer Ricks); Alla Korot (Margaret Henderson); Robert Farrior (Ryan); Brian Wedlake (Brett); Keith Szarabajka (Zahn); Steadman (Themselves)
Writer Curtis Kheel Director Mel Damski

Angel: Quickening (3.8)

2012-02-20T08:05:00.000-08:00

One of the most disquieting side effects of Angel's newest story arc is the fact that Holtz is very much entitled to his revenge. This has always been a series that highlights its interest in moral ambiguity, but this particular storyline really challenges your allegiances. Naturally, being Angel's show, we champion him and hope for his eventual victory, but Holtz is a compelling sort-of antagonist. He's already been given an intense back-story through dialogue, but actually seeing the horror of Angelus and Darla murdering his wife and child was pretty horrifying. We don't want Holtz to succeed in killing Angel, but we can't realistically condemn his repeated attempts to do so.

I had some problems with last episode, but Quickening sees the various strands to this storyline begin to merge, the script beautifully depicting how Darla's pregnancy is a huge story within this little Los Angeles universe. Wolfram & Hart, once they stumble across the truth, are buzzing with excitement. Vampire cultists see the child as some kind of holy figure, and the Angel Investigations team panic over what exactly is coming out of Darla's belly. There's that palpable sense that this story is headed somewhere strong...

Wolfram & Hart provides most of the fun here, and so far one of season three's greatest accomplishments has been allowing Lilah to drive a lot of the action. Her threats to menial co-workers never get old, and I love her casual undermining of Gavin's elaborate schemes. There's also Linwood Morrow, played to sleazy perfection by Broadway legend John Rubinstein, who makes just as much of an impression as Holland Manners did. Can we also spare a moment for creepy Dr. Fetvanovich and his horrible chicken feet? That gave me nightmares at the time. Gah.

Quickening feels a lot like another chapter of an epic trilogy, one that continues to ramp up the tension and sustained energy. It also improves a lot on last week, which I felt was flawed in areas. B+

Credits
Guest stars Julie Benz (Darla); John Rubinstein (Linwood Morrow); Stephanie Romanov (Lilah Morgan); Daniel Dae Kim (Gavin Parks); Jack Conley (Sahjhan); Jose Yenque (Vampire Leader); Keith Szarabajka (Daniel Holtz)
Writer Jeffrey Bell Director Skip Schoolnik

Buffy: Tabula Rasa (6.8)

2012-02-20T08:02:00.001-08:00

It makes sense that hot on the heels of so many revelations comes an episode that tries to stall total fallout of said revelations. It makes even more sense that Willow is the source of the stalling. Tabula Rasa is all over the place in terms of structure, with a weak opening, an even weaker start to the main crux of the episode, a fun third act, and a strong montage finale. It's pretty schizophrenic, which nicely sets up the messy quality of the rest of season six. But the dark places Tabula Rasa takes some of our characters is worthy of acclaim.

Tara has grown on me so much this season, especially considering I wanted to drive a high-speed train at her towards the back-end of season five. The storyline she's currently part of allows a real inner strength to shine through, a major improvement on her lovestruck eye-roll-worthy characterization when she was simply 'Willow's girlfriend'. Her argument with Willow is wonderfully played, with Amber Benson conveying so much nervous pain as she comes clean about her knowledge of the memory spell. Willow is still behaving outrageously, completely lying to Tara and refusing to even try and ease back on the magic. She's become insufferable, and I love that Tara finally called her on it and left the relationship. It's absolutely what she needed to do.

Elsewhere, I love the Buffy/Spike relationship. Buffy is still hostile towards him, but it's now rooted in her array of emotions after their kiss. She feels guilty, she's turned on by it, she hates that he saw her like that, she wants it to continue. It's a barrage of different feelings, and that closer with them in their own little world making out at the Bronze was such an effective shot. What they're doing is so challenging and in some ways wrong, but they can't help it.

The rest of Tabula Rasa is fine, if dented by some appalling writing. The loan shark demon was cringe-worthy (Charmed called and wants its villains back), and the dialogue as the Scoobies all woke up under their 'blank slate' felt contrived and ridiculous: a whole bunch of lines involving variations on "wha?", "huh?" and "who?" Gah.

But there's also a lot of fun in the gang piecing together their identities, from Anya's accidental conjuring of all the bunnies, to some of the silly dialogue ("Take it easy, Joan"; "Stay away from Randy!"). On a semi-related note, what is up with that painfully long shot of Willow and Tara getting all close in the underground sewer? It literally lasts for almost a whole minute as they're fumbling around looking both uncomfortable and mildly aroused. Yeesh. Tabula Rasa has some wonderful characterization, but falters a little at times. B-

Credits
Guest stars Anthony Stewart Head (Rupert Giles); Amber Benson (Tara Maclay)
Writer Rebecca Rand Kirshner Director David Grossman

Angel: Offspring (3.7)

2012-02-20T07:59:00.001-08:00

Last season I mentioned that I kind of support the idea of an Angel/Cordelia romance, due to their natural chemistry and their obvious affection for one another. Plus, it's pretty common for sexual attraction to grow out of long-lasting friendship and mutual respect. But one thing that's jarring with me this year is, in fact, the Angel/Cordelia romance. This may sound crazy, but I'm actually finding all their flirtatious banter sort of 'icky'. I don't know if it's the writing or that the relationship just doesn't work when its depicted so transparently, but there's something mildly contrived about them acting this way right now, and for the first time in the history of the Buffyverse, Cordelia actually annoyed me here.

Her anger over Angel and Darla's night together came across as way too soapy and melodramatic, adding a strange jealous angle to a relationship that isn't even a 'thing' yet. Actually, not even a 'pre-cursor to a thing' just yet. I like Angel and Cordy together, but I wish the show had pursued their romantic feelings in a less overt way than via double entendres and sitcom-ish 'I love you too, we all love you too' moments.

Gah. Away from that, Darla's pregnancy maintains its sense of urgency and general weirdness, especially once it kicks into gear at the arcade. It's such a unusual scene, with Angel pummeling this pregnant woman, but it's beautifully staged; and that wonderful coda where Angel hears the baby's heart beating is a sucker punch like never before. There's something intrinsically dark and haunting about this storyline, and a sense that we're descending into unknown territory just like the characters involved.

Offspring takes a while to go anywhere, and there's a lot of scenes where people are standing around looking concerned, but I'm at least eager to see where the season is headed. It's just unfortunate that the Angel/Cordy thing isn't working out as well as I had anticipated. C+

Credits
Guest stars Julie Benz (Darla); Andy Hallett (Lorne); Jack Conley (Sahjhan); Steve Tom (Stephen Mills); Keith Szarabajka (Daniel Holtz)
Writer David Greenwalt Director Turi Meyer

Buffy: Once More, with Feeling (6.7)

2012-02-20T07:38:00.003-08:00

One of the worst things I've ever seen was last year's Grey's Anatomy musical episode, in which weepy lesbian spirits sang Snow Patrol while watching themselves being operated on. It was just one of the most ludicrous, embarrassing and illogical things I've had the displeasure of watching; a perfect example of over-ambitious TV writers who think it'd be fun for characters to randomly burst into song. You see a similar mode of thinking on Glee, where kids randomly start performing some awful Katy Perry track that has nothing to do with the character's current predicaments. I'm obviously bringing all this up because Once More, with Feeling could have so easily been a collection of random scenes where characters began to sing Top 40 hits. Xander could have sung Mr. Cellophane, Anya maybe Material Girl. Buffy, with her recent death woes, could introduce a self-referential angle to an old Lesley Gore tune. It could have been so very silly.

But, bizarrely, Once More, with Feeling is one of the greatest television experiences I've ever had. It's the episode I've probably watched the most -- as much a glorious tribute to 1930's Technicolor wonder as it is a radical exploration into the collective psyches of the Scooby Gang. Each song is catchy and beautifully written, as well as breathtakingly insightful. It's so insanely creative and watchable, Joss Whedon cementing his stunning talents with a fifty-minute masterpiece of epic musical proportions.

Going Through the Motions

One of the major themes that runs through the musical is how sad each song is from a lyrical stand-point, no matter how chipper and catchy the melodies are. This opening number is all about Buffy's inner sadness, how she's no longer the Buffy of old but a walking zombie of sorts, trying to find some new form of meaning in her life but struggling to be 'alive'. It's a strong track, and I love the demons dancing along with Buffy and the great inter-cut dialogue of both 'she's not even half the girl she -- ow!' and later 'will I stay this way forever/sleepwalk through my life's endeavor/how can I repay? - / - whatever'.

I've Got a Theory/Bunnies

It's a typical research scene put to lyrics, but full of little moments of wonder, like Tara's little jazz hands and the 'midgets' line. Similarly, Anya's rock anthem about her sworn nemesis is one of the highlights of the episode, the matter-of-fact lyrics ('What's with all the carrots?') fitting so beautifully with her character.

Under Your Spell

Following on from the sadness versus musical angle, this is probably the saddest song of the episode. Amber Benson's voice is gorgeous, and the over-the-top happiness of Tara celebrating her love for Willow is so hauntingly undermined by the fact that Tara is literally under her spell. The thought that all of this joy is contrived via magic is so depressing. It's also important to note how ridiculously dirty this song is, which makes the memory of my thirteen year-old self playing the soundtrack CD around the house suddenly mortifying. "You make me commmme-plete". Gah. Sorry, Mom.

I'll Never Tell

A hilarious Fred and Ginger tribute with so many genius lyrics, from the penis line to Anya's casual interruptions to the knowing wink at how insane this entire story is: "Look at me, I'm dancing crazy!" Like Under Your Spell, it's a pop track with a sad undercurrent -- Xander and Anya covering up how they really feel about their engagement through elaborate lying and faking their way through things, hoping to miraculously break out of their respective funks sometime before the big day. Emma Caulfield's voice is so great here, too. I feel like she didn't get enough praise for her part.

Rest in Peace

This is a classic depiction of Spike's challenging emotions, that go against his vampire nature as well as what should be his vamp-slayer relationship with Buffy. It compliments Going Through the Motions in a lot of ways, too, with Spike noticing that Buffy wants to misbehave, almost referencing Buffy's own prior lyrics about formerly being 'righteous' but now 'wavering'. James Marsters has some incredible rock pipes, and I love the staging for this song, from the crypt to the graveyard to the destruction of the late-night funeral. I also love Sarah Michelle Gellar's silent work here, especially that great part where she stands up all alert in Spike's crypt as he begins to throw things around. Great pop video acting, SMG!

What You Feel

Not as arresting because it's a Broadway trained guest star's song, but this works. The choreography is impressive, and I love Dawn's dialogue where she's trying to convince him how icky their whole arrangement is.

Standing/Standing-Under Your Spell Reprise

I can't help but get weepy over this. It's about a father figure realizing he's not doing the best for his kid, and I guess that kind of resonated with me. Anthony Stewart Head's voice is so strong, and you can totally feel Giles' inner trauma as he tries to figure out his next move. It's also fitting that Buffy completely failed to notice that Giles just broke into song, once again reflecting how she's been taking him for granted lately. But what I find completely gorgeous is when Tara joins in the song, she and Giles singing over each other. It's one of the saddest scenes in the episode, as both characters gaze over at their lost loved ones, who have no idea how much pain they're both in.

Walk Through the Fire

It's the big group number, and I don't know how anybody doesn't get pumped up by this. Again, it's about Buffy being lost in the world, and how feelings that she once had don't seem to be there anymore. She may be resurrected, but she's certainly not 'alive'. She walks into battle unafraid of what's to come, as she's almost so unhappy that any badness can't possibly be worse than what she's going through in this dimension. The parts of the song where the Scoobies all sing over each other are glorious, and the badass proclamation of 'the point of no return' followed by the fire-trucks racing past is just so freakin' awesome!!!

Something to Sing About/Where Do We Go from Here

On a purely superficial level, I adore Giles' asking Anya and Tara to back-up Buffy's performance, and Sarah's dancing is incredible. Similarly, the big dance number at the end is so wonderfully corny, and I love that Spike recognizes it and quickly skedaddles. It's a song all about pain, and the harsh truths that Buffy has been hiding for a while. That's pretty much the theme of the episode, with everybody's secrets only coming out when they're experiencing the effects of a magic spell.

I hate to sound ridiculous, but this episode works on literally every level. The way each song is tailored to each character and their individual story arcs this year is genius, and you can totally see all the effort and rehearsal put into this hour. Even outside of the songs, there are some wonderful lines of dialogue: "I gave birth to a pterodactyl"/"Oh my god, did it sing?"; "One more verse of our little ditty and I would have been reaching for a gas can"; "I was able to examine the body while the police were taking witness arias"; "I love a good entrance"/"How are you with death scenes?"; "I'm a hair's breadth away from investigating bunnies at this point"; "I'm just worried this whole session's gonna turn into some training montage from an '80s movie"; "Clearly our number was a retro pastiche that's never going to be a breakaway pop hit". Couple all this with the romantic culmination of five years-worth of Buffy and Spike's sexual tension (before the horror settles in, naturally), and the old-Hollywood glory of it all is achingly beautiful.

Once More, with Feeling is a stunning masterpiece that ranks high in the finest Buffy episodes. Actually, it's one of the finest episodes in television history, a remarkably confident and breezy sing-a-long extravaganza with a ton of inner meaning and depth. Genius. A+

Credits
Guest stars Anthony Stewart Head (Rupert Giles); Hinton Battle (Sweet); Amber Benson (Tara Maclay)
Writer Joss Whedon Director Joss Whedon

The X-Files: Chimera (7.16)

2012-02-19T06:58:00.000-08:00

Another peek into suburbia for this show, playing around with soapy themes of marital infidelity, middle-aged disappointment, secret love children, town outcasts and gossipy housewives, while at the same time throwing in an elaborate raven monster that materializes out of mirrors and tears up some cheatin' soccer moms. Naturally. Chimera is one of those old fashioned X-Files hours -- nothing is particularly remarkable, but the central demon conceit is intriguing and the multiple red herrings that occur throughout the episode keep you alert. I haven't been a huge fan of David Amann's previous work on this show, and while this is suspiciously similar to his season six effort Terms of Endearment, it's something of an improvement on his past scripts.

Mulder and Scully are split up for most of the episode, presumably to give Gillian Anderson prep time for her directorial gig next week, but I wish there was more cohesion between both storylines. There have been episodes in the past that use Scully even less, so I don't understand why the show had her working her own case, even if it did have that vague conclusion that helped Mulder get to the bottom of his mystery. It all felt a little forced.

But, generally, Chimera is a fun little horror episode. Strong performances all-round (notably the late, great Gina Mastrogiacomo as the suburban bad girl), and a couple of effective scare moments, especially that great attack in the closet. Lightweight, but breezily entertaining. C+

Credits
Guest stars Mitch Pileggi (Walter Skinner); Michelle Joyner (Ellen Adderly); Gina Mastrogiacomo (Jenny Uphouse); F. William Parker (Dr. Blankenship); John Mese (Phil Adderly)
Writer David Amann Director Cliff Bole

The X-Files: En Ami (7.15)

2012-02-19T06:55:00.000-08:00

There's a remarkable simplicity to this story, even if it concerns mythological elements that became tired a long time ago. En Ami is a lengthy tête-à-tête between two characters, an elaborate ruse orchestrated by the Cigarette-Smoking Man in order to get hold of answers that are important to him. Scully is initially distrusting, but gradually comes around to seeing the human behind the smoker. In the end, Scully believes that she's been betrayed again, but the journey getting there and the ambiguity of the ending are both extremely perceptive.

William B. Davis takes the reigns here, scripting an hour that is essentially one long seduction. The sexual longing that the CSM exhibits over Scully is arguably a little forced, but that also could fold into the 'game' that he's playing. With that in mind, there's an enjoyable sexual undercurrent to a lot of the hour, from Scully's anger at being drugged and waking up in a bed somewhere, to the CSM purchasing her that slinky black dress and taking her to dinner. Plus the gratuitious cleavage shot. Heh.

It's understandable that Davis would want to give his character additional layers, and that riverside coda at the end feeds into the idea that the CSM, deep down, is a man trying to do the right thing. There's been corruption and murder along the way, but in the end he knows what is right and wrong for humanity. With all that comes the argument that En Ami works more as a vanity piece than anything else, but the structure is so strong and the performances so believable that you can kind of excuse some of the weaker elements of the story.

This has always been one of my favorites, a suspense thriller with a subtle glint of erotica every once in a while. It's very self-contained as an episode, finding new areas to explore within arguably stale story arcs, and that's something worth praising. A

Credits
Guest stars William B. Davis (The Cigarette-Smoking Man); Mitch Pileggi (Walter Skinner); Michael Shamus Wiles (The Black-Haired Man); Louise Latham (Marjorie Butters); Tom Braidwood (Melvin Frohike); Dean Haglund (Ringo Langly); Bruce Harwood (John Fitzgerald Byers)
Writer William B. Davis Director Rob Bowman

The Others: Life Is for the Living (1.13)

2012-02-17T10:44:00.000-08:00

As a group, the Others were drawn together because of their own outcast nature. While each member was easily dismissed as eccentric and unusual by the outside world, they all possessed one key similarity that pulled them towards one another -- they were psychics, tortured souls who repeatedly fall victim to communication from the other side, used as sounding-boards for messages from the great beyond. But like so many groups of outcasts, there is still that undeniable desire to pursue separate things away from the team. It's most evident in the uncomfortable Marian character, desperate to become an ordinary young woman. But this episode, which ended up being the series finale, proves that every member of the group is similarly eager to escape. And it's that desire that leads to their eventual destruction.

I just noticed that I used the term 'ended up being' when writing about this as a series finale, something I'm honestly a little ignorant about. It's hard to discuss this episode without immediately addressing that ending, with every character seemingly meeting their demise. Because The Others was a short-lived series that aired before internet fandom came into major existence, and because it never gained that much of a fanbase in general, it's incredibly hard to find anything online about this show, let alone intricate answers about this episode's final moments. Were the writers aware that this was the end? Or would they, if the series was inexplicably renewed, create an elaborate get-out for each character? It's confusing on that level, but as a real ending to the show manages to be daring, provocative and engagingly mean-spirited.

Life Is for the Living follows a similar trajectory to The Ones That Lie in Wait, but the eventual demise of each cast member only helps make both hours so powerful. In that earlier episode, the Others were similarly targeted by Kristen Cloke's demonic spirit-woman, but luckily were mostly stranded together and able to escape the spirit via communication and research. Here, the Woman is able to bring each member down by intentionally splitting them apart in varying directions. This time around, the demon materializes in various different forms, each form offering group members an unexpectedly promising new opportunity -- Marian gets a new roommate, someone who helps her become more pro-active and strong; Miles is offered a promotion at the university; Albert finds love; Warren's screenplay attracts industry attention; and the environment suddenly become less violent whenever Mark and Satori get intimate.

Most of the episode is profoundly moving, seeing each character suddenly get what they want in life (another throwback to the Woman's first appearance and her chilling catchphrase), only for it to be undermined by that subtle undercurrent running beneath the hour that this is all too good to be true. In the end, the walls begin to close in and most of the characters are horribly killed. Marian is strangled, Warren is hit by a car, Mark and Satori perish in an explosion, Miles meets his demise in a car accident, and Elmer (the one character still concerned by the gathering storm) is murdered by the Woman in his hospital bed. Only Albert survives, but is still emotionally crippled by his suddenly-cruel love interest.

This is all ridiculously depressing, but still manages to be engaging. I've never seen anything like this before, watching as characters we've grown to love all meet their end, evil taking control and proving victorious. It's ballsy-as-hell, either a bitter attack on NBC for canceling such a promising show, or an admirable attempt to shake up out pre-conceptions. It's a wonderful finale that book-ends so much of the season, while simultaneously showcasing how much potential the series had.

I don't know what will happen with The Others. It's unlikely it'll ever get a DVD release, so the most I can hope for is that some obscure sci-fi network will pick the season up at some point and introduce it to a new generation of audiences. Because The Others was an unexpected treat, a short-and-sweet mystery series with strong characters, interesting themes and scares that genuinely rattled you. Even after this re-watch it remains one of my favorite ever TV series, one that really deserves something of an audience if anybody ever stumbles across it. Rest in peace, show. You could have really been something. A

Credits
Guest stars Kristen Cloke (The Woman); Wendy Moniz (Eva); Mary Gillis (Mrs. Paulsen); Jonathan Levit (Producer); Michael Ensign (Professor Dan Teplin); John Aylward (Albert McGonagle)
Writer Daniel Arkin Director Thomas J. Wright

Dawson's Creek: Discovery (1.4)

2012-02-16T08:20:00.000-08:00

Watching Dawson's Creek again, I realize that I'm gonna have to put myself back in my pre-teen shoes to truly enjoy the show. It's a little unfair to criticize the characters and their strange personalities with the knowledge and conscience of somebody in their twenties, since I'm sure I was very similar to these people back in the day. I was initially going to open this review with another Dawson rant, this time about his frazzled opinion of Jen after she reveals her checkered sexual history, but you have to remember that this is a fifteen year-old with absolutely zero experience with women and even less experience with complex human emotions.

It does, however, make his relationship with Jen a little awkward. You can understand why Jen would be attracted to somebody who is so clean-cut, but Jen is miles ahead of Dawson on a truly mature level, and it's sad to see her desperate to actually converse with him about real feelings, all the while with Dawson stuck acting cutesy and romantic but with very little personality to it. Their 'thing' is so doomed. They should probably leave it a couple of years.

Discovery, appropriately, is about just that. Dawson discovers his mom's affair, and instantly piles the guilt onto Joey (naturally) for not telling him about it. It once again folds into his latent immaturity, and his belief that everything has to be sign-posted and confronted like things are in some Spielberg movie. In a lot of ways, this episode is all about Dawson being left behind. Everything he thought he knew about the people around him is radically changing, and he's almost being forced to grow up faster than he would like. The tragic irony is that this is all related to sex (Jen's virginity, Pacey's virginity, the sexually-adventurous Parents Leery), when it's his emotional immaturity that's the real problem.

Elsewhere, Jen is proving to the only true voice of reason on the show, still trying to befriend Joey and eager to get Dawson to open up to her. Pacey struggles with his affair with Tamara, and you just know the whole thing will end in tears. Discovery is another strong episode, and whether you like it or not Dawson is by far the most interesting character right now. Sure, most of it is for the wrong reasons, but the dude sure is fascinating. B

Credits
Guest stars Leann Hunley (Tamara Jacobs)
Writer Jon Harmon Feldman Director Steve Miner

Dawson's Creek: Kiss (1.3)

2012-02-16T08:12:00.000-08:00

Even without Kevin Williamson on scripting duties, this is still very much about cinema and its negative effects on real people. Dawson spends most of the episode trying to pre-plan the perfect kiss with Jen, treating real life like a movie script. Joey, against her rationality, runs head-first into a movie romance, full of cute deceptions and doomed flirtation; while Pacey loses his virginity in the most ridiculously implausible way possible. It's all about fantasy, characters trying to mirror their own lives with the ones they see in the movies, and failing miserably.

I feel like I should have a little bubble each review dedicated to Dawson bashing. He's once again annoying here: getting a major break when he's allowed to work on the film class project, but spending his entire time there whining about the narrative improbabilities of Helmets of Glory. Yes, the movie is Lifetime-style hooey, but can't he just pipe down and enjoy the experience without acting like a brat? Similarly, he pretty much sets out to destroy Joey's little scheme with Anderson, repeatedly trying to scupper the whole thing while only Jen plays along. It's like he wants to prevent any shred of momentary happiness in her life. Ugh.

Joey's subplot is sweet, if plagued by tiny moments of ridiculous. Anderson is a total caricature of prep school dream-hunks, with the sensitive violin playing, Manhattan dinner dates and chaste wrestling on the beach. And it's alternately cute and sort of sad that Joey feels she has to pretend to be somebody else in order to interest him. Not only does she lie and tell him that she's also a rich kid, she wears make-up and dresses more feminine -- instead of just being herself. But it's all so relatable as a story, Joey becoming more engaging by the week.

Part of me doesn't understand why Jen is interested in Dawson, but I'm assuming he's radically different from the party animals she used to date and therein lies the attraction. She's infinitely more stable than him, though, so you just know problems await. Jen is mature and confident and in touch with her emotions, while Dawson is flailing around wildly in every corner of his life.

Pacey, once again, has little interaction with anybody else, which is unfortunate. He's still stuck in this creepy subplot with Tamara, and while I liked the moment when he realized that he's not at all that type of porno stud who can bang her on her desk, it's gross that they eventually went through with sex in the end, anyway. The whole 'hidden camera' thing was way too stupid for this show, but hopefully it means the story will be wrapping up sometime soon. It's the only subplot so far that really bothers me. B

Credits
Guest stars Nicole Nieth (Nellie Oleson); Obi Ndefo (Bodie Wells); Scott Foley (Cliff Elliot); Ian Bohen (Anderson Crawford); Leann Hunley (Tamara Jacobs)
Writer Rob Thomas Director Michael Uno

Ringer: It's Easy to Cry, When This Much Cash Is Involved (1.13)

2012-02-15T12:38:00.001-08:00

Ringer is a series that works well in bits and pieces, but struggles to be much at all when put together as a whole episode. This was very much an hour of varying subplots being thrown at us all at once -- some that haven't been seen for weeks, some that are painful in their predictability, and others that essentially feel like a bombardment of uninteresting information. The latter is obviously occurring with Bridget who, for the second week in a row, gets driven around Manhattan picking up clues in ridiculous places. It's another waste of the character, somebody stuck in stumble-mode where she conveniently walks right into the path of another clue, all the while completely ignorant to the fact that her sister is so obviously alive. It's ludicrous that she hasn't even theorized that Siobhan's suicide was faked.

I guess the big shocker this week (and I use the word 'shocker' in it's most un-shocking sense) was the reveal that somebody on the writing staff watched Wild Things and presumably thought that it would make for great television if all the nudity, orgies, cat-fights and campy dialogue were cut right out. The whole allure of that movie was the overt Aaron Spelling soft-porn quality to it, and watching the exact same story unfold on Ringer only makes that movie seem so much more fun. It's also a subplot that already feels at odds with the characters as we know them. Juliet has been growing as a person for the far majority of the season, and yet we're supposed to believe that she's been cooking up this scheme for all that time? Mr. Carpenter and Tessa both remain ciphers at this point, too, so the obvious routes the story will undoubtedly run down (Tessa's removal from the plot, the burgeoning love triangle) will have considerably less affect than they otherwise could have had. We knew Neve Campbell's trailer trash wannabe, Denise Richards' rich seductress and Matt Dillon's pervy teacher. Here we don't even understand Juliet at this point, let alone these two other folks. Eh.

Elsewhere, I finally feel as if Sarah Michelle Gellar is playing two distinctively different characters, especially in Siobhan's scenes with Henry. She had a cold detachment through a lot of her screentime here, notably when she confronted him about picking up her video call, and later in their final scene together. She's finally putting across a ruthless vibe, even if her business-ruining scheme doesn't make for great television. It's all laptops and button-pushing, and soap operas need something a little more visceral.

This episode was, like so many Ringer hours, just 'okay'. It's a show that feels a lot like candy, something that completely works for you in the moment, but ultimately leaves you still hungry right after you've swallowed. Most of the events here (Olivia's blackmail, trust fund scandals, presumably dead kid) are fine on paper, but they feel so detached and vacant on-screen -- a show that just constantly misfires when moved from script to camera. C

Credits
Guest stars Zoey Deutch (Juliet Martin); Justin Bruening (Tyler Barrett); Jason Dohring (Mr. Carpenter); Gregory Harrison (Tim Arbogast); Sean Patrick Thomas (Solomon Vessida); Gage Golightly (Tessa Banner); Chelsea Tavares (Andrea); Alanna Ubach (Lawyer); Andrea Roth (Catherine Martin); Jaime Murray (Olivia Charles)
Teleplay Shintaro Shimosawa, Eric Charmelo, Nicole Snyder Story Shintaro Shimosawa Director Guy Bee

Charmed: My Three Witches (6.6)

2012-02-14T13:48:00.001-08:00

"Today we're going to be talking about the five-minute orgasm". What a wonderful opening line. I can't remember the last time I wanted to bash myself over the head with a fire truck within four seconds of a TV show starting up. My Three Witches resurrects that tried-and-tested Charmed formula that's become even more tiring than the whole 'sister possessed by evil' trope, with the Halliwell's trapped in alternate realities where their deepest desires are fulfilled. Cut to Piper in a world without magic (the words 'normal life' automatically put me into a coma), Paige in a world where magic is freely accepted, and Phoebe in a world where she's super-famous and everybody loves her. Naturally.

All three realities are thinly drawn, something that makes the fact they take up the far majority of the episode sort of mystifying. Everything seems a little random, too, from the way the sisters can blur into each other's fantasies, to the various incidences this week of the sisters ignoring any personal gain side-effects to their spells.

My Three Witches lurches from one misfiring set piece to another, from the crummy talk show set to the male stripper scene to that ugly CGI explosion at the end. I guess Desmond Askew is fine, if another melodramatic Brit villain, but My Three Witches fails to explore anything fresh or interesting, settling on pre-existing ideas and calling it a new episode. D

Credits
Guest stars Desmond Askew (Gith); Gina Ravera (Mary); Kathryn Fiore (Elizabeth); Annabelle Gurwitch (Nina Halter); Kathryn Joosten (Magician's Assistant); Eric Dane (Jason Dean)
Writers Scott Lipsey, Whip Lipsey Director Joel J. Feigenbaum

Charmed: Love's a Witch (6.5)

2012-02-14T13:38:00.003-08:00

Another episode that isn't actually as terrible as I had remembered it being. Love's a Witch opens as a shallow Romeo and Juliet pastiche, but slowly becomes something heavier and more exciting. The episode has a distinctly soapy sensibility with the dueling families, potty-mouth grandma and a vengeful dead wife, but it's played in a way that feels kind of genuine and real. And unlike the season one trainwreck The Wedding from Hell, which had a similar tone, the sisters play an active part in the saga, and the guest stars don't bug.

This is the writing debut of Angel vet Jeannine Renshaw, and while I was never hugely enamored with her over on that show, she adds a lot of depth to Olivia Callaway's story, giving her a purpose and drive that we can actually understand on a human level. I also loved her plan to entomb Richard in her own coffin. That was all pretty cool. The story veers into traditional Charmed territory when Paige is possessed by her spirit, but Rose McGowan is always pretty convincing when playing these seductive femme fatales, so it didn't frustrate me this time around.

What unfortunately drags the episode downhill is everything else. Phoebe's empathy continues to be one of the most annoying things in the show's history, granting her more opportunities to thrust herself center stage and whine about everybody around her. Chris and Leo's subplot is still boring me to tears, and I have no idea why Piper is dating already. Especially dating some tool with frosted highlights. Ugh. But generally Love's a Witch is pretty absorbing, if you skip through the garbage elsewhere. B-

Credits
Guest stars Balthazar Getty (Richard Montana); Rachelle Lefevre (Olivia Callaway); James Sutorius (James Callaway); Michael Muhney (Seth); Daniel Hagen (Carl); Marjorie Lovett (Rosaline Montana); Christine Healy (Grandma Callaway); Mako (Alchemist)
Writer Jeannine Renshaw Director Stuart Gillard

Angel: Billy (3.6)

2012-02-13T09:05:00.000-08:00

Billy Blim is an even more disturbing antagonist because he's on this specific show. Buffy and Angel are such strongly feminist series with richly-drawn, powerful and badass female characters at their heart -- so the arrival of a character who despises the idea of a woman having strength creates something so abrasive and chilling, going against everything the Whedonverse has promoted. With that in mind, the sight of a beaten and bruised Lilah is truly horrible, while Billy's pathological madness feels so real.

Billy is arguably a feminist story, all about women taking back the strength that is threatened by this monster who seeks to remove it. It also marks the greatest depiction of Cordelia's growth over the years, not only as a physical threat (watch her resourcefulness here versus the spatula comedy of the Buffy episode Homecoming), but as a fully-formed adult with a conscience. The first thing she thinks of after discovering Billy's existence is how she may be somewhat responsible for his release. Of course, that isn't the case at all, but it's Cordy putting the possible harm of others ahead of anything else. She strikes out by herself, risking her life and determined to take Billy down. It's a gorgeous script for Charisma Carpenter, who has some incredible banter with Lilah as well as moments of real heroism.

But the most affective element of this episode is those sequences with Wesley and Fred. The script manages to turn the gorgeous architecture of the Hyperion into a Shining-style house of horrors, where floors are susceptible to spontaneous collapse, doors are cut down like butter and beds are only seen as something to hide under. Wesley's dialogue here is intently cruel, especially the rape allusions and his anger that Fred dares to wear outfits that show skin. It's Wesley infected by the worst type of man, somebody who believes that women hold all the cards and deserve to be 'taken down a notch' by the suppressed he-men with latent rage and a hunger for violence.

But the real horror feels like it only arrives when the spell is broken, and Wesley has to deal with the consequences. What makes the story so powerful is that it isn't Fred who's particularly broken up about it, it's Wesley's feelings of abject guilt over what he did that creates the angst. The idea of having so much horror consume you (and the possibility that it was a spell that only exaggerated feelings that were already there) is terrifying, and Alexis Denisof sells it so well in that final scene in his apartment.

Billy is a remarkably ambitious episode which uses each member of the cast wonderfully. It's harsh and painful and deals with ideas which feel so much darker than anything previously depicted in the Buffyverse, and is all the better for it. Some series-best work from Charisma and Alexis, who add so much depth to their already multi-faceted characters. A+

Credits
Guest stars Stephanie Romanov (Lilah Morgan); Daniel Dae Kim (Gavin Parks); Justin Shilton (Billy Blim)
Writers Tim Minear, Jeffrey Bell Director David Grossman

Buffy: All the Way (6.6)

2012-02-13T09:02:00.000-08:00

If any episode managed to single-handedly destroy a TV character for me, it's All the Way. I've never been a huge Dawn fan, but it's crazily frustrating to see five episodes worth of strong characterization this season violently plummet down the toilet with just a couple of actions here. We all initiate a collective eye-roll over her hideous kleptomania arc, but I always note one random part here as the scene that killed her for me. It's that ugly moment where Dawn continues to flirt and make out with a guy who just robbed an old man in his home, later happily taking some of the money herself. I'm probably being annoying, but that's just one of the worst, lowest things somebody can do, and entirely destroyed Dawn Summers for me.

The rest of All the Way is similarly pretty terrible. What makes the badness more noticeable is the arresting teaser sequence, where it's implied that Old Man Kaltenbach is a new kind of villain -- presumably targeting innocent trick 'r treaters with his candy evilness. The fact that this is an elaborate fake-out, and that some ordinary teen vampires are the episode's antagonists, is crazily disappointing. "Ooh, you thought this episode was interesting? Ha! Gotcha, kids! It's actually not". Snore.

Moments of interest only arrive in the characterization. Willow is becoming increasingly horrible as this season goes on, happy to use magic for the most mundane of tasks, and later betraying Tara's mind by erasing her memory of a fight they have. It's entirely out-of-line, and I admire the show for daring to make one of the most lovable characters in the show's ensemble so reprehensible. I don't know what happened with this storyline behind-the-scenes, but the groundwork right here is solid and interesting. What went wrong, show?

Also of note is Buffy being naive again. She can't just dump all of her problems onto Giles, expecting him to be around forever. Sooner or later, she'll need to take responsibility for things; and laying down the law with Dawn is a lot easier than some of the other tasks she's been avoiding lately, like bills or debts. Ah, poor Buff.

All the Way is criminally unambitious, only saved by the continuation of the various character-driven subplots that so far are making season six so intriguing. Skip all the Dawn junk, though. D+

Credits
Guest stars Anthony Stewart Head (Rupert Giles); John O'Leary (Old Man Kaltenbach); Kavan Reece (Justin); Amber Tamblyn (Janice Penshaw); Dave Power (Zack); Amber Benson (Tara Maclay)
Writer Steven S. DeKnight Director David Solomon

Angel: Fredless (3.5)

2012-02-13T08:59:00.000-08:00

I had initially assumed Fredless was the first Angel script from a new writer. There's an artificiality to a lot of the dialogue, most of the ensemble feels out-of-character, and there's an over-reliance on making everything cutesy. At the same time, the script is filled with annoying recounting of Buffyverse mythology, like the newbie writer is determined to prove their Whedon cred. What surprised me is that Fredless in fact isn't the work of a first-time writer, but it's the work of Mere Smith, who wrote some wonderful episodes last season. So much of Fredless feels jarring and irritating, and I seriously fail to understand why it's so beloved by fans.

Sure, Fred is adorable. And away from several moments of unbearable 'wackiness' from the girl, the story allows her to become far more grounded and confident in her new Los Angeles home. But that didn't save the episode for me. To move away from over-slamming the show, I'll concentrate on the positive: that scene between Fred and Angel in her room is really wonderfully written, Fred getting some self-awareness and realizing how she's only duplicated her Pylea cave for another graffiti-scrawled cage at the Hyperion. I also adored that little moment where she describes each member of the Angel Investigations team, before realizing that she herself doesn't have a place there just yet.

Similarly, Fred's parents are great. The initial fake-out, in which its implied that the Burkles are crazy and evil, would have been horrible. Thankfully, they turn out to be caring and sympathetic, and aren't over-protective enough to stop Fred from staying in LA. Gary Grubbs and Jennifer Griffin were perfectly cast, and had a ton of chemistry with Amy Acker.

But outside of a couple of scenes, I disliked Fredless. It's annoyingly cutesy, with a story that feels thin long before Fred figures out about the crystals and saves the day. Therefore, we have mind-numbingly tedious scenes with Angel and his team talking about 'wonderful Fred' like she's the second coming. Gah. I know I'm at a party of one with this opinion, but it just didn't work for me. D+

Credits
Guest stars Andy Hallett (Lorne); Gary Grubbs (Roger Burkle); Jennifer Griffin (Trish Burkle)
Writer Mere Smith Director Marita Grabiak

Buffy: Life Serial (6.5)

2012-02-13T08:55:00.000-08:00

So the major themes of Buffy season six continue. Life Serial is all about Buffy trying to discover her role in the world she's found herself suddenly occupying again, the script neatly divided into four separate vignettes in which Buffy tests out some new kinds of vocation. She experiments with college, then hard labor, then retail, and finally boozing. By the end she's chosen to not pursue any of them and turns to Giles for help, assuming he'll be around whenever she runs into a bind. It's sad seeing her rely on other people, but it folds in neatly with what this season appears to be doing with the characters.

Life Serial also serves as a better introduction to the nerd trio, 'better' meaning the group given a clearer identity, not so much 'better' as in 'more enjoyable'. While the villainous schemes that they cook up this week are fun, the trio themselves continue to bug. I also can't wrap my head around Jonathan's eagerness to hurt Buffy. The last two times we saw him he appeared to have a real fondness for her, considering she's helped him out in both his attempted suicide and when one of his spells went awry. The idea that he'd want to mess with her sanity just meshes badly with our pre-existing knowledge of the character -- which is disappointing.

Of course, the character that walks away with the episode is that darn mummy-hand in the basement of the Magic Box. The entire third act is a master-class in comedic hilarity, with the funniest depiction of a time-loop I've ever seen on television. It's just too perfect, from Anya telling Buffy to picture herself naked to the quick cut-to of Buffy weeping in the midst of the loop. The pacing is spectacular, the dialogue on fire. It's one of the best scenes in the history of the series.

Finally, there's the continued Buffy/Spike friendship, which is unfolding in a pretty genuine way. While everybody else is constantly buzzing around her, Buffy goes to Spike whenever she wants to be care-free and relaxed. Maybe because she knows he'll do whatever she wants, or maybe because she genuinely likes the guy?

The complete success of Life Serial depends on your opinion of the trio, but as a collection of comedy stories it's a masterpiece, with a genius central performance from Sarah Michelle Gellar. "I was bored to tears even before the hour that wouldn't end." A

Credits
Guest stars Anthony Stewart Head (Rupert Giles); Danny Strong (Jonathan Levinson); Adam Busch (Warren Meers); Tom Lenk (Andrew Wells); Amber Benson (Tara Maclay)
Writers David Fury, Jane Espenson Director Nick Marck

The X-Files: Theef (7.14)

2012-02-12T09:40:00.000-08:00

Remember how season one featured constant repetition of bad guys seeking revenge through supernatural means? Theef is a late entry to that type, and an episode that ends up being far more interesting than it probably has any right to be. Most notable are a couple of ridiculously entertaining horror set pieces derived from the deus ex machina of the episode. Billy Drago's vengeful Appalachian carries around his own freaky little voodoo doll, and there are some wonderful fright moments as he sticks pins in its eyes to make Scully temporarily blind, as well as that awesome moment where throwing the thing in the microwave causes one character to be cooked to death during a CAT scan. Eek.

There's a nice visual allure to a lot of Theef, beginning with the lush interiors of Dr. Wieder's home, contrasted with Peattie's run-down apartment. Then there's the enjoyable cabin closer, with Scully attempting to keep Wieder and his daughter from hex attack up in the mountains. It just looks a little different to traditional X-Files episodes, and I appreciated that a lot.

Scully has her opinions tested as a result of Peattie's actions, notably when she begins to suspect that Peattie's mystical healing may have better helped his daughter during her long illness. There's that interesting moral dilemma at the heart of the script (the tension between traditional medicine and more spiritual approaches), which the writers juxtapose nicely with the horror and gore everywhere else. It's an episode that manages to be two things, both wildly different but not feeling tonally awkward when positioned together. Billy Drago, too, is surprisingly coherent through the hour, and that's a damn miracle. Neat little horror episode. B+

Credits
Guest stars Billy Drago (Orel Peattie); James Morrison (Dr. Robert Wieder); Kate McNeil (Nan Wieder); Cara Jedell (Lucy Wieder); Tom Dahlgren (Dr. Irving Tharlbro); Sage Allen (Landlady); Pamela Gordon (Proprietor)
Writers Vince Gilligan, John Shiban, Frank Spotnitz Director Kim Manners

The X-Files: First Person Shooter (7.13)

2012-02-12T09:32:00.000-08:00

Season five's Kill Switch was a gorgeous meditation on identity, cyber-crime and artificial intelligence, something that brilliantly fused cyberpunk action with X-Files intrigue. First Person Shooter, on the other hand, is loud, dumb, occasionally amusing, but mostly fug. It's disappointing to see William Gibson and Tom Maddox responsible for something that generally amounts to nothing but thongs, guns and strippers. There are a couple of attempts to make the episode somewhat deeper, but nobody can deny that this is an awkward misfire.

Stock William Gibson themes are present throughout the script, notably in the idea of consciousness being downloaded into a computer system, while there's something entertainingly ironic about a group of sweaty tech nerds getting sliced and diced by a porno sexbot in tight leather. However, soon after, this episode literally becomes nothing but a story about a porno sexbot. Krista Allen is fine in the role, but the script descends into repetitive explosions and gunfights, as if Gibson and Maddox had ran out of story. This is most evident in that last fight scene in the cowboy world, where Mulder and Scully randomly shoot at a whole bunch of violent creations -- from an army of Maitreya duplicates to an army tank. Snore.

Most troubling is the show's depiction of women. Scully is even more of a Debbie Downer than usual, her opinions on gamers coming off ridiculously harsh (I'm not into video games at all, but even I thought she had a total bug up her ass this week). Similarly, it's disappointing to see an ending where Scully digitally painted as some thong-wearing stripper thing is considered a heroic feminist victory, while Constance Zimmer's gamer girl is a hideous cliché of matronly, depressed femme losers with weird crushes on Emmanuelle-types. Ugh.

I remember liking this when I was a horny thirteen year-old, but watching it again I realize that it's vacuous and occasionally offensive dreck. Then again, maybe I'm just not the audience it's targeted at. See again: horny thirteen year-olds. D

Credits
Guest stars Krista Allen (Maitreya/Jade Blue Afterglow); Jamie Marsh (Ivan Martinez); Constance Zimmer (Phoebe); Billy Ray Gallion (Retro); Tom Braidwood (Melvin Frohike); Dean Haglund (Ringo Langly); Bruce Harwood (John Fitzgerald Byers)
Writers William Gibson, Tom Maddox Director Chris Carter

Dawson's Creek: Dance (1.2)

2012-02-09T16:02:00.000-08:00

Without trying to tailspin these reviews into one lengthy Dawson Leery hatefest, he continues his asshole behavior here. The driving storyline continues to be Dawson's infatuation with Jen, all the while being stupidly ignorant of Joey's own feelings for him. Here, he once again thrusts his Jen attraction in Joey's face, as well as stringing her along for the second night in a row as an accomplice to some ridiculous romance scheme. Maybe I need to remember that these are a bunch of fifteen year-olds and obviously prone to moronic behavior, but I can't help but see how emotionally manipulative the dude is.

Both female leads continue to be endearing. Everybody remembers that sweet moment where Joey watches Dawson practice kissing on her rubber decapitated head (-- strange sentence --), and I loved the first hints at a real friendship between her and Jen. While Joey is still all about the pent-up hostility, Jen is trying to initiate things between them, leading to that awkwardly honest scene where Jen discusses her own body issues and compliments Joey on the very things she hates about herself.

Joey also has her own subplot with Dawson's mom, and it's a story that's being handled really well so far. Instead of dragging out her awkwardness, Joey confronts Gail and tells her how screwed-up her behavior is, hopefully leading Gail to some kind of epiphany when it comes to cheating on her husband.

The rest of the episode falls into obvious teen show trappings with the high school dance and the jock rival, but there's an earnest quality about the show which is already so entertaining. Kevin Williamson continues his trademark Scream tone with the movie references and the self-aware, articulate characters that populate small-town America, and the script sparkles with fun little details about dating and high school politics.

This is a strong second episode, one that lacks the immediate attention-grabbing qualities of the pilot, but still promises strong things for the show itself. Plus Savage Garden! Man, do I miss the '90s in all their melodramatic, commercial glory. B+

Credits
Guest stars Nicole Nieth (Nellie Oleson); Scott Foley (Cliff Elliot); Leann Hunley (Tamara Jacobs)
Writer Kevin Williamson Director Steve Miner

Dawson's Creek: Pilot (1.1)

2012-02-09T15:54:00.000-08:00

Every generation seems to have their own ubiquitous teen show, and this was mine. In 1998, the WB launched the low-key antidote to the overblown Hollywood wackiness of Aaron Spelling's FOX serials, a show that quickly became one of the most inexplicably controversial series of its time, made stars of its four leads, and along with Buffy the Vampire Slayer spawned a creative resurgence in teen-oriented programming. It's also one of the few shows that can instantly transport me back to my childhood -- just hearing those shrill wails of Paula Cole gets me a little weepy. It's a show that's achingly sincere and full of characters that repeatedly strain your patience, but it's also crazily endearing and wonderfully acted. Welcome to Dawson's Creek.

Watching the pilot, it's instantly noticeable that while Kevin Williamson is desperate to distance his script from the Jennie Garth era of young adult drama, it's still patently ridiculous. This is a world where fifteen year-olds have the vocabulary of neurotic twenty-somethings, where every attractive blonde has their own personal wind machine and make slo-mo entrances into every room, where I Know What You Did Last Summer posters cover every bare surface and a screening of Waiting for Guffman is the hottest ticket in town. It's so fanciful and romantically realized, yet immediately engaging.

Growing up, I was in love with Katie Holmes. She had that chubby-cheeked wholesomeness that was instantly desirable: the girl next door that really would climb up a ladder into your bedroom to watch movies and maybe make-out with you. But watching this pilot again, I have no idea why I wasn't instantly infatuated with Michelle Williams. Jen Lindley breezes through this episode stealing every scene, Williams conveying an interesting, flirtatious quality that is so fascinating and sort of badass. She's able to articulate her feelings without descending into over-analytical word salad, smokes cigarettes, had a shady party girl lifestyle in the big, bad city of New York, and dares to be (gasp!) an atheist!! She's so obviously this dangerous bad girl with a heart of gold, and you can see why Dawson would immediately fall head over heels for her.

Don't get me wrong, Joey Potter is still an adorable tomboy with guy problems, but she's also kind of a drag. She's instantly dismissive and bitchy around Jen and later attempts to embarrass both her and Dawson on an awkward double date, leaving her kind of unlikable. Then again, she's fifteen and emotionally erratic, so I guess you can understand why she's acting out the way she is.

This, of course, brings me round to Dawson Leery. Anybody in D.C. fandom will tell you that Dawson is a creepy, manipulative jackass, and he unsurprisingly displays that kind of behavior from the very beginning. He's the kind of guy who has no problem flirting with Jen while casually ignoring Joey's deep-seated love for him, all the while keeping Joey's infatuation intact by dropping romantic hints every once in a while. Then there's his directorial ambition, worshiping the unremarkable Steven Spielberg and attempting to grab a spot on a prestigious film-maker's program by shooting some horrible rubber-monster movie. I'm sure a lot of my latter-day dislike of the character is influencing my opinion of him in the pilot, but he's already pretty insufferable, spouting annoying movie facts like he has a mental disorder.

Finally, there's Pacey, a complete horndog desperate to lose his virginity and bone the hot new teacher in town. Joshua Jackson is perfectly cast in the role, but I had never realized how gross this storyline was. A forty-something teacher with a fifteen year-old? I needed to scrub the creep right out of me after their kissing scene.

Kevin Williamson's script is noticeably sexual, with lengthy discussions about masturbation and virginity -- the real clincher being that hilariously lame moment where a jealous Joey asks Jen if she's a size queen. Some of it is a little extreme, but far more realistic than the annoying treatment of virginity back in the early '90s, where Donna Martin treated sex like it was some divine act of eternal holiness. It also feels a lot more genuine than the sex-crazed insanity that is spread through modern teen shows, where you see sixteen year-olds having drug-fueled orgies and indulging in drunken molestation. Okay, I know I'm sounding like an old man, but the articulate mystery of sex and the awkward fumbling of it as a concept is far more in keeping with my own teenage years than something you'd see on Gossip Girl. Dawson's weirdly uptight sexual morals (where he praises Spielberg for keeping sex off-screen where it, apparently, 'belongs') not withstanding, these are kids that are still trying to figure out what sexual attraction is, and discovering those first lingering feelings of chemistry and identity. It's sweet and relatable, and I think everybody can somehow identify with at least one of the four leads.

While it still tows numerous teen show tropes, this is a confident pilot that sets every chess piece in place. There's the central love triangle, the romantic longing that is completely unfulfilled, the teenage desperation to come into your own and be treated like a real adult, as well as the eagerness to break out of what you perceive as a small town with little personality. Capeside is a gorgeous fantasy land, but one that features characters that you instantly kind of fall for. Except for Dawson, of course. Naturally. A

Credits
Guest stars Nicole Nieth (Nellie Oleson); Mitchell Laurance (Benjamin Gold); Leann Hunley (Tamara Jacobs)
Writer Kevin Williamson Director Steve Miner

Ringer: What Are You Doing Here, Ho-Bag? (1.12)

2012-02-08T08:46:00.000-08:00

It's become routine in recent years for writers to present networks with a multi-season plan when it comes to serialized dramas. In light of high-profile failures like Heroes, it makes sense for networks to request some kind of long-term agenda, preventing a series from sputtering along with writers making things up as they go. Ringer is an example of a series that clearly has one of those long-term plans (it's something the EPs have mentioned a lot in interviews), but is struggling to execute it very well. This episode was of course better than last week's flat series return, but the overriding problems lie in the little things -- it's all good providing shock twists and interesting plot developments, but the journey getting there needs to be interesting, too.

Unfortunately, Ringer's obvious mode of getting information across is with 'the phone call'. It's become kind of ridiculous at this point. Bridget spends most of this episode wandering around her penthouse on the phone, calling up various people and various locations, chasing up leads in her quest to discover more about Siobhan. Most of the answers she gets are fine, and at least forward things a little, but surely the writers could think up more interesting ways of putting this detective mystery across to the audience? If it's not phone calls, it's horrible plot devices like Siobhan's fondness for word jumbles. I think what Ringer needs is a little more scope as Bridget literally pursues leads on foot, instead of calling folks up and backing out of going all the way when it comes to mysterious new avenues of investigation. It may stagger the plot (which is great for the writers), but isn't all that fun for those of us at home.

Before I'm jumped on, I did enjoy this episode. I'm even less clear of Siobhan's real agenda, but having her orchestrate Henry's discovery of her twin sister is a major step in the right direction for this show. Ringer lost a lot of momentum with the abduction and subsequent demise of Gemma, immediately halting any fun interaction between characters that are aware of the full story (or at least certain parts of it), so I'm hoping Henry's knowledge will play out in engaging new ways.

Elsewhere, soap opera histrionics arrived in the form of Andrew's ker-ay-zee ex wife Catherine, a monstrous hell-bitch caricature in a puffy fur coat. Andrea Roth gave the show some necessary spark, coldly trashing her daughter, burning baby photographs in the middle of the apartment and mouthing off against Bridget. The whole thing was so overblown, but at least created some momentary entertainment.

The less could be said for Juliet's rape subplot, becoming uglier by the week, first with that horrible scene with the surveillance camera footage being screened in front of the entire family, the subsequent implication that her cry of rape is void because she at one point came onto the guy, then in the supposedly shocking coda with Tessa. Either they're gonna fly down the Wild Things route with multiple duplicities and CW-level orgies, or this will continue to be a tacky mess where rape is depicted as some sort of sexy soap mystery rather than something horrifyingly abhorrent. Regardless, it's still all pretty cheap.

The mechanics of What Are You Doing Here, Ho-Bag? prove a huge problem, but the vacuous part of me was pretty satisfied with most of the twists and turns. If only the writers were confident enough to have Mr. Carpenter, Machado, Macawi and the rest of the Wyoming sleeping pill collective all die in a terrible fire, Ringer could actually prove to be an absorbing little distraction. B-

Credits
Guest stars Zoey Deutch (Juliet Martin); Justin Bruening (Tyler Barrett); Darren Pettie (Jimmy Kemper); Gage Golightly (Tessa Banner); Jason Dohring (Mr. Carpenter); Brian Hallisay (Agent Pettibone); Adina Porter (Principal Caruso); Sean Patrick Thomas (Solomon Visseda); Zahn McClarnon (Bodaway Macawi); Brad Greenquist (Pawn Broker); James Madio (Sketch); Andrea Roth (Catherine Martin)
Writer Hank Chilton Director Jerry Levine

Charmed: The Power of Three Blondes (6.4)

2012-02-07T09:06:00.000-08:00

Comedy is hard. I can't tell you the number of times in my community theater days that we worked on a comedic performance only to realize midway through that the entire thing was sucking ass. All that initial excitement and drive rapidly vanishes, giving way to a whole lot of emergency re-writing and regret over how painfully unfunny all the material is. I bring this up because The Power of Three Blondes is one of those 'comedy' episodes that fails on just about every level. It has an interesting concept, sure, but is written and performed in such a manic, embarrassing way that you can't help but cringe all the way through it.

The dumb blonde jokes come thick and fast throughout the hour, each guest actress hitting the most obvious tone for their performance. This isn't poised, sophisticated 'dumb' acting like Mira Sorvino in Mighty Aphrodite or whatever, it's insults about dye-jobs. It's repeated bitterness at being ignored despite being so hot and perky. It's Jenny McCarthy slipping under a table to go down on Phoebe's boyfriend. Gah.

The script, too, is a disaster zone. It's ridiculous to see Chris and Leo so ignorant of the fact that the Charmed Ones are suddenly huge whores (I'm sure there's a joke in there somewhere), it's never explained how the Stillman's could actually engineer all of this, and there are a dozen other, smaller plotholes that explode over the back-end of the hour (where did the anti-orbing spell come from? And how did the sisters get into the manor in the first place with that spell in play?)

Finally, the Phoebe empathy story is ridiculously grating. It's mostly an excuse for her to whine even more than usual, and I hate the repeated references to Jason being consumed with sexual desire whenever he sees her. We get it, show -- Alyssa Milano is supposed to be this 'irresistible goddess'. Chortle.

This is plain horrible, an hour that's just as tasteless and tacky as it is unfunny. And once again we have Paige stuck in some heinous subplot, this time with fruit-packing and gremlins. Ugh. Pretty terrible all-round. F

Crimes of Fashion Paige is looking hideous this year. I don't know if it's her fried-ass hair or the ill-fitting pants she's wearing, or those fugly crop tops that barely cover her chest, but Rose has never looked more trashy.

Credits
Guest stars Jenny McCarthy (Mitzy Stillman); Jennifer Sky (Mabel Stillman); Melody Perkins (Margo Stillman); Rebecca Balding (Elise Rothman); Eric Dane (Jason Dean)
Writer Daniel Cerone Director John Behring

Charmed: Forget Me... Not (6.3)

2012-02-07T09:03:00.000-08:00

This episode continues the season's running theme of having sparkles of gold surrounded by mountains of garbage. Forget Me... Not features one of the most arresting openers in a while, the sisters mid-action and experiencing Wyatt being removed from their memory, and generally continues to entertain for the rest of the hour. It's only when you see both logic and continuity get beaten and left for dead that the episode begins to collapse in on itself.

I liked the dragon, the sense of frenzied panic that the last half hour evokes, as well as Piper slowly piecing together her memory of Wyatt, but the entire story sort of falls apart when you think about it. They really should have slipped in some dialogue confirming that the Cleaners were only invented following Prue's death, since it seems silly that they would let fly the events of All Hell Breaks Loose back in 2001. Similarly, the episode hinges on Wyatt being left alone with the TV, yet the only reason that occurred was because the sisters went back in time to find answers about their missing memory. Sure, it could have been one of those things that would have happened somehow regardless, but it still feels a little clumsy.

However, Holly Marie Combs really sells the hell out of the script, especially when she's going off on Leo at the end. And while the office brawl at the Bay Mirror was outlandish and cartoon-y, it somehow worked in all its ridiculous charm. Loved the guy being sent flying through the glass. Heh.

I just wish Forget Me... Not had more consistency. There are some strong ideas here and the acting is great, but too much of the story relies on contrivance and the audience ignoring obvious plotholes. And I think everybody should ignore Paige's adventures in sexual harassment (smash a vase over his head to stop the skeeze? - Huh?) C+

Crimes of Fashion It's not particularly revealing or whatever, but Paige looked so trashy this week, especially when she's clomping around the law firm. I don't know if it was the tightness of that dress or her 'freshly-fucked' hair-don't, but she looked a mess. Ugh.

Credits
Guest stars Rebecca Balding (Elise Rothman); Kirk B. R. Woller (Cleaner One); Melissa Greenspan (Flo); Scott Klace (Mr. Stewick); Shaun Robinson (Kinesha Robinson); Sarah Aldrich (Natalie); Rick Hall (Weatherman); Michael Manuel (Father)
Writer Henry Alonso Myers Director John Kretchmer

Angel: Carpe Noctem (3.4)

2012-02-06T09:36:00.000-08:00

Body swaps naturally create comedy, as we see people stumbling into the lives of others and rapidly messing things up for everyone around them. Carpe Noctem avoids any type of final resolution or an ending in which Angel discovers something about himself (via a 'how the other half lives'-type scenario), but quickly becomes one of the most entertaining episodes in a long while. It's such easy comedy (and sometimes the hour reeks of fan-service), but there's just so much fun to be had watching some horny old man inhabiting Angel's body and coming on to literally the entire female cast.

One of the most welcome surprises during this re-watch is derived from Fred. I had always remembered her crazily bugging me in early season three, from her overt kookiness to that annoying accent that was quietly dropped after a while. I don't know what I was smoking, since she's ridiculously adorable so far. How can you not feel badly for her this week? She's doing the expected thing of falling for the knight in shining armor that saved her from years of cave-girl slavery and, of course, he's Angel. And he doesn't like her like that. It's unfortunate that there's yet another 'man torments Fred' episode right around the corner, but so far Amy Acker is such a joy to watch, and has already given the character so many different levels. Love the girl.

Elsewhere, it made perfect sense for Lilah to secretly have a thing for Angel. Their scenes together already bristle with sexual tension that I couldn't help but scream out "geddit, girl!" during their office make-out session. I can't remember if their 'moment' is ever mentioned again, but surely there's got to be some follow-through.

Carpe Noctem takes standard genre tropes and runs with them. David Boreanaz was probably so used to playing dour that he embraced any episode that gave him something different to work with, and he's completely hilarious and squicky here. One of those underrated Angel standalones. A

Credits
Guest stars Stephanie Romanov (Lilah Morgan); Daniel Dae Kim (Gavin Parks); Rance Howard (Marcus Roscoe); Paul Benjamin (Resident)
Writer Scott Murphy Director James A. Contner

Buffy: Flooded (6.4)

2012-02-06T09:33:00.000-08:00

Flooded marks the show once again stumbling into soap opera territory with a barrage of various plot strands flying at us all at once. Being season six, some of these stories are considerably affecting, and others are riddled with plotholes and annoyances. Four episodes in, and it's becoming clear that the character work right now is far more interesting than the routine Sunnydale action stories. Have the writers just grown tired of demons and antagonists? Or have ideas simply dried up? Where Flooded works is in the dramatic character moments, which are totally anchoring the show right now.

Flooded's emotional crux is derived from Buffy's financial woes and the return of Giles. The former sees Buffy struggling to handle becoming an adult and taking responsibility for the house and the bills, most of the Summers money having been swallowed up by Joyce's illness, her subsequent death, and the upheaval created via Buffy's demise. The latter should have provided Buffy some relief, but Giles feels more distant from the Scoobies than ever before. In the episode's most powerful scene, he attacks Willow for employing dark majicks to bring Buffy back, and is disappointed that she appears lost in her own arrogance and stupidity.

Similarly, Buffy no longer feels like she can open up to Giles. In a lot of ways, this feels jarring and out-of-character, since Giles was always the one person she could be completely honest with. It's something evidenced as recently as last season when Buffy first discovered Dawn's true identity. But Buffy could just be sensing Giles' own reluctance to engage with her. He knows this entire situation is wrong and that he was intentionally kept out of it by the Scoobies, and he's struggling to find his place in the world. It's that recurring theme of isolation and detachment that seems to be running through most of the characters this season.

The financial subplot is radically 'mundane' and folds neatly into the grown-up misery permeating from season six, but parts of it still manage to feel illogical and silly. Anya's suggestion to have Buffy charge for her services isn't dumb at all, but it's casually dismissed by everyone. Obviously Buffy shouldn't rescue somebody and immediately demand a paycheck, but it's not beyond the realms of possibility for her to market her skills as some kind of bodyguard, or follow Angel's lead and start up her own agency or whatever. It makes a lot more sense than sitting around being nervous. Similarly, are Willow and Tara doing anything to help out financially? I guess it would tie into their heinous characterization this year, but could they really be so ignorant to be living in the Summers home rent-free? Gah.

Elsewhere, the writers are at least trying to maintain some semblance of humor in the show, but it's not always paying off. While Dawn is still a lot of fun this year and Buffy's interaction with the lone officer was hysterical, the nerd trio are a whole bunch of poop. They're overwritten and every 'funny' line of theirs feels obvious and tired. Star Trek gags, dialogue about loser-dom and base-level world domination -- I'm bored, guys.

This episode has a ton of different storylines and subplots, all of which radically alter in quality. But I'm still entirely sucked in by this season's tone and Buffy's characterization. So far, it's an irresistible hook. B

Credits
Guest stars Anthony Stewart Head (Rupert Giles); Danny Strong (Jonathan Levinson); Adam Busch (Warren Meers); Tom Lenk (Andrew Wells); Todd Stashwick (M'Fashnik); Amber Benson (Tara Maclay)
Writers Douglas Petrie, Jane Espenson Director Douglas Petrie

Angel: That Old Gang of Mine (3.3)

2012-02-06T09:31:00.000-08:00

That Old Gang of Mine is heavily flawed, but on a purely superficial level is probably the most entertaining episode this season so far. It features the most interesting villains, seems to be experimenting with heavy story ideas, and exploits 'hostage crisis' conventions for all they're worth. The latter is interesting because I ordinarily dislike hostage episodes of any TV show, but the Caritas showdown here is mightily affecting, presumably because the place itself is so welcoming and pleasant.

Where the episode stumbles is in Gunn's characterization. I didn't entirely buy that he would still sympathize with the opinions of his old friends, especially after a year of discovering that demons come in all forms and have varying levels when it comes to morals. Equally strange is his coda to all of this: that he'll never be able to be true friends with Angel because he's a vampire. Doesn't that kind of undermine the message of this episode? It feels a little jarring, and (honestly) a major downer.

Tim Minear's script attempts to tackle various different subjects, and it would be foolish to say that he was entirely successful. But Gio makes for a compelling villain (though horribly one-note), and the couple of acts at Caritas are full of tension and angst. I just wish the resolution didn't feel so thrown together. It's like parts were cut out.

Fred continues to be adorable, and I loved her interaction with Cordelia ('I swear to god she picked out the song herself'). Equally fun was Angel's attempts to reconcile with Merl. I even got a little saddened when he got torn to pieces like that. Poor beat-down Merl. That Old Gang of Mine falls apart a little when you over-analyze it, but in general it's a fun little filler episode. B-

Credits
Guest stars Andy Hallett (Lorne); Jarrod Crawford (Rondell); Khalil Kain (Gio)
Writer Tim Minear Director Fred Keller

Buffy: After Life (6.3)

2012-02-06T09:24:00.000-08:00

For a lot of this episode, the Scoobies speculate on whether Buffy has come back 'wrong', that awful things occurred during her summer vacation in deathville and that she's somehow damaged as a result. But what After Life eventually proves is that it isn't Buffy that feels 'off' this season, but everybody else. It's no surprise that Buffy sparks up an immediate connection with Spike, since he's the only one who isn't bombarding her with questions and trying to figure out why she's acting differently. There's obviously a lot of overt symbolism (the knuckle wounds, both having dug themselves out of graves), but the deepest connection is found in the natural chemistry between the two of them. Their conversations are covered in long pauses and quiet trepidation -- an unusual friendship that feels weirdly right.

Willow has changed so much over the years, but we're seeing some horrible patterns emerging right now. She's constantly deflecting responsibility, feels annoyed that Buffy hasn't thanked her for bringing her back from the dead, and struggles to connect with the person that was at one point her best friend. She's suddenly a strange beast, somebody consumed with too much power and a diminishing conscience. Tara and Xander have become ciphers, and Anya is Anya. All four are annoying right now, and only Anya has any real excuse. When I suddenly begin to see Dawn as the voice of reason, you know something terrible has happened.

The demon plot is incidental and pretty routine (the dialogue at the Magic Box is also unusually awful), but that feels intentional. The real horror is occurring in Buffy's life, and the after-effects of her resurrection. The final scene between Buffy and Spike is beautifully performed, Sarah Michelle Gellar conveying so much loss and misunderstanding as she tries to piece together what she briefly had, and how she's going to deal with being dragged back to a place she doesn't want to be. Buffy mentions that she had ended as a person, that her time was done and that she was relieved. She had that freedom and that pure happiness... and then it was ripped away from her. It's a devastating situation, and I respect the show for going to such a dark place.

I still think season six flies off the rails mid-season, but right now the year has a clear focus that I'm enjoying. It's at the expense of a lot of the cast (who have become insufferable), but the character work for Buffy and Spike is so far really rewarding. A

Credits
Guest stars Amber Benson (Tara Maclay)
Writer Jane Espenson Director David Solomon

The Others: $4.95 a Minute (1.12)

2012-02-05T06:06:00.000-08:00

It's hard to watch this episode without thinking of the X-Files masterpiece Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose, since both feature everything from eccentric psychics and their unwanted premonitions of death, to the various discussions of fate and the uglier side of supernatural phenomena. Further cementing that is the guest spot from Darin Morgan, the writer of that very episode. So maybe the connections are intentional? Regardless, $4.95 a Minute is another unheralded classic from this series, an episode that constantly upturns expectations and develops into something that is by turns humorous as well as surprisingly moving.

James Morrison's phony psychic (sort of) is a wonderful creation, somebody fully aware of the horror he has to experience on a daily basis, while simultaneously pining for the day when he can fulfill his dream of becoming a clown. It's a story that is tonally convoluted and potentially ridiculous, but Richard Whitley's script never allows the comedy to run away with the character. Sure, we get genius moments where Manheim performs his greatest mime performance (titled, naturally, "Drunken Man Looking for His Penis"), but then there's an affecting sadness as he's able to help those in need around him.

That becomes important via Satori's involvement in his story, as she tries to communicate with her late father. It's a subplot that gives Satori added depth, both in terms of her background as well as her growing sense of doubt when it comes to her abilities. In the end, it takes this unexpected connection between two disparate psychics to set Satori back on track, Manheim able to carry a short message over from the other side.

Elsewhere, there's that aforementioned Darin Morgan cameo, as one half of a pair of (ahem) 'brothers' who seem particularly intimate and are desperate to psychically communicate with their dead dog. It's a reliably adorable guest spot, full of obvious comedy but inherently kind of tender and sweet.

$4.95 a Minute eventually treads familiar territory with a final seance and a vengeful spirit trying to harm Manheim for desecrating his name, but there's still a lot of ambition to the story that deserves special credit. James Morrison gives a multi-layered and engaging performance, and the schizophrenic tone of the hour never distracts. Man, this show rocked. A

Credits
Guest stars James Morrison (Simeon Nye/Troy Manheim); Darin Morgan (Leonard); Randy Stone (Lanny Owens); Thomas Wagner (Mr. Eckerly)
Writer Richard Whitley Director Sanford Bookstaver

The X-Files: X-Cops (7.12)

2012-02-05T06:01:00.000-08:00

It's easy to forget during an era of 'found footage' shit-shows that disappoint crowds of moviegoers every couple of months that there was a time when steady-cam horror film-making was actually pretty groundbreaking. X-Cops is an episode that obviously breaks formula, but also produces something actually thrilling and dynamic as a visual art form, taking the genre histrionics of traditional X-Files episodes and sending them hurdling into the trashy FOX reality series Cops. Vince Gilligan's script doesn't just satirize that show, instead making the spoofery form the entire hour of X-Cops, ending up an actual Cops episode that just so happened to feature two plucky FBI agents investigating the supernatural.

Gilligan does some wonderful work in sending up both Mulder and Scully, as well as the tropes of Cops as a series. Notice Mulder's gleefulness as he appears on TV, compared to Scully's complete embarrassment over the thought of being filmed while her partner talks about werewolves. Then there's the awesome Cops trope satire, from the blurred-out face of the hooker, to the eccentric gay dudes who feature prominently.

Due to the restraints of the episode, a lot of the actual story is merely assumed and theorized, but it doesn't at all dent the quality of the hour. In fact, the monster subplot is eerily inventive -- a creature that can literally turn into your own worst fear, from a psychotic pimp to a colorful moth-man. Don't get me wrong, 'fears becoming reality' is nothing new for genre television, but making it a literal presence that can morph into a physical attacker or (in the case of the gay couple) a kind of repressed, emotional terror is an interesting distinction.

X-Cops is a wonderful experimental episode that easily avoids any of the potential trappings of satire, while simultaneously creating something that feels just as overtly weird as it is distinctly X-Files. A+

Credits
Guest stars Judson Mills (Deputy Keith Wetzel); Dee Freeman (Sergeant Paula Duthie); Michael Maher (Redhead Deputy); Perla Walter (Mrs. Guerrero); J.W. Smith (Steve); Curtis C. (Edy)
Writer Vince Gilligan Director Michael Watkins

Ringer: It Just Got Normal (1.11)

2012-02-01T08:53:00.000-08:00

After middling reviews, dwindling ratings and an extended hiatus, I had expected Ringer's return to be a lot more auspicious than it actually was. Taking the show off the air for two months usually results in a little bit of behind-the-scenes tinkering, but annoyingly It Just Got Normal was more of the same. While I wasn't exactly any less enthused than I was back in November, there didn't seem to be many attempts here to forward the show's momentum, especially when most of the stories have barely lurched on from where we last left them. Considering the CW plugged the hell out of Ringer's comeback, it's a little disappointing.

The only true moments of interest, like always, came from Bridget and Siobhan. It's still frustrating to see Bridget appear so stagnant and passive as a character, but Siobhan's arrival in New York provoked some minor sparks. She's already folding into the double-cross narrative here, happy to portray her own twin sister portraying her, as well as stalking Bridget as she gets intimate with her hubbie. Meanwhile, she's risking it all by being so gratuitously romantic with Henry, only adding to his confusion since Bridget remains cold towards him. Sure, none of this exactly equaled the explosive sparkage better shows would have probably launched into, but it's not exactly boring.

Unfortunately, the same overriding problems permeate the rest of Ringer. Outside of the twin hoodoo, the ensemble cast are almost universally weak. Juliet's rape drama continues to play out in an amusingly mundane form as she gets drunk again, cuts herself off from her family and later tells Bridget what happened -- leading to brief a charity gala smackdown. Zoey Deutch is giving it her all, but the story is weak, and I hate whenever we're supposed to question whether a rape victim is telling the truth or not. It unintentionally provokes a 'victim-blaming' subtext, and it makes for awkward television when it's not even written convincingly at that.

Similarly, both Malcolm and Agent Machado remain ciphers. While Malcolm does get himself a job at Andrew's company, it feels a little strained in order to keep him around. Agent Machado's subplot remains so alienated in its own little bubble that you really feel for Nestor Carbonell and wonder why the writers haven't even attempted to draw him closer to Bridget and Siobhan. Either make him more integral to the Siobhan scheme in some way, or remove him from the show entirely. Right now he feels redundant.

It Just Got Normal is perfectly fine as a random Ringer episode, but it's concerning that no effort appears to have been made to improve the show and fix some of its major flaws. Siobhan's deeper involvement in the show is promising, but they can't keep relying on Sarah Michelle Gellar's natural charisma to salvage the series, especially when even she appears a little lost right now. C

Credits
Guest stars Zoey Deutch (Juliet Martin); Madchen Amick (Greer Sheridan); Justin Bruening (Tyler Barrett); Jason Dohring (Mr. Carpenter); Chelsea Tavares (Andrea); Kether Donohue (Waitress)
Writer Cathryn Humphris Director Jeff T. Thomas

Charmed: Valhalley of the Dolls Part 2 (6.2)

2012-01-31T09:35:00.000-08:00

Like most two-parters on this show, Valhalley of the Dolls runs out of material midway through this second half. The valkyrie story has a couple of cool moments (notably the Russ Meyer-ish motorcycle sequence), but it mostly devolves into messy fighting sequences and repeated moments where Piper dithers over her allegiances. In some ways it reminded me of the Fury episode in season four, only with a pretty flat ending where everybody says goodbye and the valkyries exit without a huge resolution.

I never really understood the logic of Piper telling Leo to stay away from her in order to make his departure less painful. Isn't that sort of the equivalent of abandoning a dying relative so to prepare yourself for their eventual passing? It would have been more effective if Piper ended their relationship purely out of her own unhappiness, and her dissatisfaction with how their marriage has turned out.

The subplots filling up the time here are far worse than their Part 1 counterparts. Paige's dog-walking thing is ridiculous, filled with terrible Look Who's Talking Too CGI and guest stars who were Z-listers years ago but now only make this show look even more dated than usual. Then there's Phoebe and Jason groping each other and making erection gags in front of a crowded office of gawkers, before fucking beneath his desk right after shutting the door. Ugh. This show could not get more trashy.

Valhalley of the Dolls Part 1 had some appeal, but this was pretty tedious most of the time. Couple that with a bunch of horrible subplots and it doesn't spark a whole lot of confidence for the rest of the season. D+

Crimes of Fashion Paige seriously looks like a hooker when she's about to embark on her dinner date with the dog. The dress is ridiculously tight, too short and too low up top. What's the matter with her?

Credits
Guest stars Melissa George (Freyja); Ivana Milicevic (Mist); Colleen Porch (Kara); Evan Marriott (Oscar); Eric Dane (Jason Dean)
Writer Brad Kern Director James L. Conway

Charmed: Valhalley of the Dolls Part 1 (6.1)

2012-01-31T09:32:00.000-08:00

Am I the only one who doesn't think Alyssa Milano's new haircut is that terrible? At least in its pre-valkyrie, less-butch state? With the curls and the shininess? It actually looks pretty great on her. The hair of the Pheebs is just one example of 'not as bad as I remembered', along with the rest of this episode. Valhalley of the Dolls Part 1 is still relentlessly goofy and sees the show once again morphing into some genre version of Charlie's Angels, but it's not entirely awful.

The Valhalla hoodoo is a little nutty at this point, full of contrived posturing, lesbian undertones and campy acting. I adore Melissa George, but even she's a little hammy in this role. I seriously believe the show's directors asked all their guest stars to be as over-the-top as possible. And what's with all the Xena fashion on this show lately? First the Titans, and now the sisters as warrior women? Gah.

Phoebe's new power is pretty annoying, not only because the tinkly music gets old real fast, but because it allows Alyssa Milano to step all over everybody else's big acting moments. Piper's breakdown at the end really should have been Holly's showcase, but in comes Milano shrieking and hollering. Gah. It's interesting to note that, once again, Phoebe's powers don't really go anywhere after they're first introduced. Her premonitions rarely drive episodes anymore, and the whole levitation thing sort of petered out, too. Hmm.

For a review which opened with me saying how decent this episode was, I sure have spent a lot of time complaining. Heh. But Valhalley of the Dolls works in spite of all its faults, at least in a vacuous "I'm not entirely bored" kind of way. If you ignore the horny dog embarrassment. And the extraneous Smash Mouth appearance. And the sisters leaving Darryl's unconscious body to be torn apart by rats in some abandoned San Fran alleyway. Okay, maybe this was a sack of shit. C

Credits
Guest stars Melissa George (Freyja); Ivana Milicevic (Mist); Colleen Porch (Kara); Stephen Snedden (Chad Carson); Sandra Prosper (Sheila Morris); Smash Mouth (Themselves)
Writer Brad Kern Director James L. Conway

Angel: That Vision Thing (3.2)

2012-01-30T08:42:00.000-08:00

This was just all right. I'm a sucker for a Cordelia drama, but That Vision Thing never rises beyond 'decent'. It kind of cribs a whole bunch of ideas from past episodes, and while a lot of that is pretty enjoyable, there's an obvious sense of deja-vu to it at the same time. The only truly new element is that undercurrent of romantic tension between Angel and Cordy. They definitely seem a lot closer this season, with Angel willing to dance with the devil to save her life. He loves the girl, clearly.

Loved the interaction between Angel and Lilah, like always. They have such great sexual chemistry, and I'm enjoying the running gag of Angel constantly popping up behind her when she least expects it. Angel himself is pretty ambiguous here, and seems a lot more dangerous than normal. Is it the aforementioned tension between him and Cordelia? Or are the writers setting up a meaner Angel for this season?

That Vision Thing spends a lot of time setting the scene rather than exploiting the various subplots at work right now. Cordelia's visions, Darla's pregnancy, Skip, the creepy guy Angel pulls out of hell: they're all mightily intriguing, but as an episode this is pretty 'blah'. It did give us the term 'Cantonese fook-beast', though. For which I'll always be grateful. C+

Credits
Guest stars Andy Hallett (Lorne); Stephanie Romanov (Lilah Morgan); Frank "Sotonoma" Salsedo (Shaman); Daniel Dae Kim (Gavin Parks); David Denman (Skip); Julie Benz (Darla)
Writer Jeffrey Bell Director Bill Norton

Buffy: Bargaining Part 2 (6.2)

2012-01-30T08:40:00.000-08:00

There's a lot of padding in this two-parter, which results in a second half that feels around twenty minutes longer than it needed to be. But the most successful aspect to Bargaining Part 2 is the ease the writers avoided when it came to Buffy's resurrection. On a new network with a lot riding on the show's immediate success, it would have probably been simpler for the writers to have an act or two of unbalanced Buffy trying to figure out how she came back, followed by a quick snap back into kick-ass slayer mode. What we have here is far more interesting, though, with the hour ending not on a triumphant reunion, but of a still-rattled Buffy wearing a blank facial expression as she hugs Dawn. It's scary how similar it is to Dawn hugging the Buffybot last episode. So Buffy's back, but she's far from normal...

Apart from Anya and her inappropriate marriage dialogue, there wasn't a whole lot of fun here. This is one of the biggest complaints leveled at season six, and I can't disagree. There's something inherently sad about seeing the Buffybot get pulled apart, and the ideas floated through the episode are ridiculously depressing: Buffy clawing her way out of her own grave, the Scoobies working out what they're responsible for, and Buffy wondering if she's landed in hell -- it's all relentlessly bleak and morbid, and opens the year on a major downer.

But, at the same time, I like that the show is clearly journeying down avenues which are uncomfortable and challenging. My opinion (from memory, at least) is that all this stuff quickly falls apart as the year goes on, but right now the set-up is intriguing.

The only aspect of the episode I really didn't like were the demon bikers. I was a little uncomfortable with how much violence they inflicted on both Buffy's (even if one was a machine), while the rape dialogue was plain ugly. I didn't really know what the writers were trying to do with these guys. Ugh.

But Bargaining Part 2 still holds up well. It sometimes drags, but the ideas are there, and that's enough right now to keep any reasonable fan intrigued. Poor Buffy, though. That's pretty much the one lingering thought we're left with as the credits roll... B-

Credits
Guest stars Franc Ross (Razor); Amber Benson (Tara Maclay)
Writer David Fury Director David Grossman

Angel: Heartthrob (3.1)

2012-01-30T08:37:00.000-08:00

Her name is barely mentioned, but Buffy's presence is all over this season premiere. Heartthrob is about losing somebody you love, and the explosive reactions that death brings out of you. Where the story kind of falters is James' insistence that Angel never loved, but merely 'existed'. Yeah, that's not true at all. Angel's reaction to Buffy's death involves him cutting ties with everybody and running away to find some kind of sanctuary and peace. James' reaction to losing Elizabeth is to literally rip out his heart and pursue revenge. Neither reflects how much they loved, but simply how they are as people. James had always been cray-cray, and Angel has always been somber and mournful. It's how they roll, people.

Heartthrob also sees Angel as a series stepping out of Buffy's shadow via Buffy's departure from the WB, so we get a lot of dialogue explaining the show's premise and its characters. With that in mind, it's not a totally absorbing episode for long-term fans, even if it does seem to restructure the show. Cordelia gets a lot more to do, and gets some interesting conversations with Angel as a result. But it's at the expense of Wes and Gunn, who drift around on the periphery for most of the episode. Fred, too, is stuck in her room all hour, but Amy Acker gets to be cute and adorable so it's not all bad on that front.

I really liked James' heart-removal operation, and the subsequent Terminator-ish chase through the sewers and the subway station. I love that the Buffyverse still gets creative with vampires, even after seven respective seasons. On that note, Darla's pregnant! Damn. That's a great cliffhanger to end the episode on.

Heartthrob isn't entirely successful, but it's a mostly fine opener to the year. Enough ideas are raised throughout to keep things interesting, and some of the stories they're setting up for the season appear mightily intriguing right now. B-

Credits
Guest stars Julie Benz (Darla); Andy Hallett (Lorne); Ron Melendez (James); Kate Norby (Elizabeth); Keith Szarabajka (Daniel Holtz)
Writer David Greenwalt Director David Greenwalt

Buffy: Bargaining Part 1 (6.1)

2012-01-30T08:27:00.000-08:00

Never has the phrase "putting the pieces back together" felt more appropriate. This was a season premiere that appropriately felt different, not only because of Buffy's absence, but because everybody feels a lot more somber and frustrated. It's a risky strategy. This was Buffy's first episode to air on UPN, and had the challenge of luring in new viewers as well as following up the show's most arresting cliffhanger in its history: Buffy's sacrificial demise. Bargaining Part 1 works well on a variety of levels, but it's the characterization that feels most affecting and sets the tone for what is undoubtedly the series' most polarizing season.

While Sarah Michelle Gellar is on-screen for a lot of the episode, the show does a wonderful job of putting across a world without Buffy. The use of the Buffybot, in particular, creates some powerful imagery. It makes sense to keep up the pretense that Buffy is alive, but it's still pretty horrible for the Scoobies themselves. Buffy's gone, yet this mechanical replica is walking around with her face. Is there any image more saddening than the moment when Dawn crawls into bed with the robot, holding her tight while the Buffybot recharges and stares blankly into nothingness?

Willow experiences the most radical change following Buffy's death. She's become group leader, and exhibits a huge increase in power. She has honed her ability to telepathically communicate with others, and has no problem with killing animals and connecting with terrifying magic in order to bring Buffy back. It's also interesting that she's almost convinced herself that Buffy is in a terrible hell dimension, presumably to justify why she's messing with forces far beyond her control.

Spike has some great moments, too, notably his protective guidance of Dawn. He made a promise to Buffy to keep her safe, and also experiences the added baggage of feeling responsible for her death in the first place. If he had somehow killed Doc then the bleeding wouldn't have started and the dimensions would have remained intact. Similar 'baggage' occurs within Giles, who's still hanging around with little direction or purpose anymore. His slayer is gone, yet he still trains the Buffybot. It's grief, expressed in a really absorbing way. I'm not sure writing Giles out was a particularly great idea (I also don't believe he'd leave Dawn so soon after the deaths of both her mom and her sister), but the writers hadn't exactly given Anthony Stewart Head a whole lot to work with of late.

Bargaining Part 1 successfully assembles all the pieces that will drive this season. It already feels 'off' and disorienting, as well as visually darker and more brooding, and I'm excited to see where things will go. I've had my opinions of certain things change during this re-watch, and it'll be interesting to see if that occurs with a season that's so maligned... B+

Credits
Guest stars Anthony Stewart Head (Rupert Giles); Franc Ross (Razor); Amber Benson (Tara Maclay)
Writer Marti Noxon Director David Grossman

The Others: Till Then (1.11)

2012-01-29T06:38:00.000-08:00

Glen Morgan and James Wong's X-Files background folds nicely into Till Then, an episode that smashes together real-life events with the regular supernatural phenomena depicted on this show every week. It's an interesting and ambitious episode which dispenses of most of the cast early on, giving way for a flashback-heavy hour all about Elmer's involvement in World War II, in which British intelligence used his psychic abilities to help soldiers cross over to the other side. That in itself is such a great idea, and the show conveys it pretty well. There are some awful accents along the way, but Thomas Silcott gives a strong central performance as the young Elmer, and some of the more profound elements of the script grant Bill Cobbs extra material to flesh out his character. He's a fascinating guy, but hasn't been given a whole lot to do lately.

There's always been a strong connection between Elmer and Marian, and it's again played on here. One of the most interesting scenes involves Elmer helping Marian communicate with a downed soldier in Iraq, Elmer's calming tone and natural spirituality helping her fix her psychic radar on the right guy and eventually helping him to safety. I love the bond between the two of them, Marian seeing a father figure in Elmer, and Elmer determined to strengthen a woman with powers that he's never glimpsed before.

Till Then becomes a little repetitive towards the end, but only in relation to recent episodes. As an idea, Colonel Vicar's desire to live is romantic and atmospheric, but it's the third time in just eleven episodes in which a character only clings onto life out of their own love for somebody in the real world. It's a great idea which is frequently executed well, but there comes a point when it starts to feel a little stale.

Nonetheless, Morgan and Wong's script deserves credit for being particularly daring as an episode, while Bryan Spicer's direction is inspired, effortlessly blurring between the gloomy modern-day of Elmer's home and the retro technicolor patriotism of 1939. B-

Credits
Guest stars Tucker Smallwood (Colonel Montgomery); Thomas Silcott (Young Elmer); David L. Crowley (Mr. Glick)
Writers Glen Morgan, James Wong Director Bryan Spicer

The X-Files: Closure (7.11)

2012-01-29T06:35:00.000-08:00

Outside of Paper Hearts, I don't think I was ever hugely invested in the Samantha arc. Then again, I've felt more and more over the years of watching this show that it's been pretty easy to not get invested in The X-Files. Because Samantha's story was just one of the more obvious examples of the series letting a story run away from any kind of logic -- the character getting wrapped up in increasingly obscure mythology hijinks and sometimes losing sight of the overall simplicity of her disappearance in the first place. Closure, while not an episode I particularly enjoyed, does at least bring the story back to its origins: as a means to give Mulder the hope and drive that he needed to engage in the X-Files in the first place.

So Samantha wasn't killed by Ed Truelove, and she wasn't the victim of a UFO abduction. The whole 'CSM-guided experimentation' thing remains intact (I have no idea, though, if any of it actually makes sense anymore), but the big revelation here is that the walk-in's glimpsed last episode saved Samantha from further experiments, turned her into 'starlight' and sent her to some eternal playground with a bunch of other kids who would have experienced enormous pain and suffering if kept alive.

For me, this was all a little overly sentimental, the first and last scenes awash in corn with the drippy choir score and Chris Carter's hideously over-written monologues. But, not being entirely made of stone, I did see the emotion in Mulder's eventual epiphany. Then again, there is a whole lot of skepticism to the whole episode which could implicate that all of the starlight hoodoo is actually incorrect. Anthony Heald's always been great at playing these frantic, slightly nuts characters, and it's correct for the show to grant his psychic that element of ambiguity. Maybe the walk-in's are real? Or maybe it was a necessary means to an end to get Mulder to find that peace that he had always wanted. Maybe this was just a story that had no ending that could plausibly work at this time, and the writers just wanted to give him some sort of emotional freedom in the end?

Regardless of what's on-screen, Closure does bring exactly what it promises. It's not hugely satisfying, but I guess that's not what Chris Carter wanted. It's not us as an audience that are promised that closure, this is Mulder's story, and since Mulder is satisfied by the explanation he's given, maybe we should all pipe down with our questions. Like I said, I've never been hugely invested in all of this. C+

Credits
Guest stars William B. Davis (The Cigarette-Smoking Man); Mitch Pileggi (Walter Skinner); Anthony Heald (Harold Pillar); Stanley Anderson (Agent Lewis Schoniger); Rebecca Toolan (Teena Mulder)
Writers Chris Carter, Frank Spotnitz Director Kim Manners

Charmed: Oh My Goddess! Part 2 (5.23)

2012-01-24T10:30:00.000-08:00

The showy central story continues to bug, this time an excuse to allow everyone to fawn over Phoebe's beauty and elegance (hah!) and Rose McGowan to mug like she's never mugged before. Both actresses are intensely annoying here, but it does allow Holly Marie Combs to provide some levity as the one sister who isn't lobotomized by the titan spell. "I find this ridiculous", "This is getting tired": are we sure Holly didn't improvise most of her dialogue this week?

When the Greek shit finally wraps, Oh My Goddess! Part 2 isn't a total crock. I still have problems with how the Piper/Leo story was constructed, but Holly always sells the hell out of these things, and her final scene up in Elderville with Leo showcases why she's by far Charmed's greatest asset at this point.

I just wish Leo's departure didn't involve so much contrivance. The sisters are nothing without him? Paige and Phoebe act like idea-free morons without his advice and guidance? Pffft. Leo's always been useless, so don't try and say otherwise, show.

Season five has been a rough year for Charmed, opening with drive and confidence as it settled into a more lightweight tone, before spinning out of control with episode after episode of suck soon after Cole's demise. The show still has the ability to amuse every once in a while, but a lot of the themes that made the series so endearing at the start (the sisterly chemistry, the bond between family) have slowly faded in favor of vapid silliness and unnecessary cleavage. D+

Credits
Guest stars Drew Fuller (Chris Perry); Brian Thompson (Cronus); Will Kempe (Demetrius); Rebecca Balding (Elise Rothman); Sandra Prosper (Sheila Morris); Eyal Podell (Roland); Michael Gilden (Finnegan); Nick Kiriazis (Evan)
Writer Daniel Cerone Director Joel J. Feigenbaum

Charmed: Oh My Goddess! Part 1 (5.22)

2012-01-24T09:58:00.000-08:00

This is the latest in a run of season premieres/finales that involved the sisters getting dressed up in some kind of magical ensemble, presumably to give the WB promo department something to work with. Unfortunately, the whole Titans thing looks resoundingly cheap, like an annoyingly low-rent Xena pastiche full of bad acting, melodramatic dialogue and tacky outfits. Throw in a reunion from hell that nobody asked for, rounding up all the hideous magical creatures inflicted upon us this year (including the trashy nymphs, the snarky dwarfs, that barf-worthy fairy girl and those damn leprechauns), and Oh My Goddess! ends up among the worst finales this show ever did.

Also thrown into this cacophony of crumminess is Chris Perry. Now, there are some models that end up pursuing acting and are surprisingly great. Cameron Diaz is a good example, Famke Janssen another. Then there are models like Drew Fuller, here delivering every line with the same lifeless tone of a moronic valley girl, so consumed with trying to look 'pretty-pretty' that he entirely fails to emote in any sense of the word. Bizarrely he's sustained a career since his tenure on Charmed, presumably handed to him by casting directors who fail to look past his bland, non-threatening facial features. Ugh.

Elsewhere, Piper is unhappy that Leo is constantly being called away by the Elders, and they now communicate through annoying therapy speak, presumably recommended by somebody entirely unqualified. Holly is fine in any story like this, but you can't really support Piper's whining. At least one person in every marriage has to work, especially when there are kids involved, and you can't expect to have them around 24/7. It's another story this year that can't help but alienate the audience. Same with the voluntarily unemployed Paige whining about having no money. Relationships, work, money: it's all rough, but people deal with it. So cram it, shrews. D-

Crimes of Fashion Paige looks like she's been attacked by Edward Scissorhands in that ill-fitting apron thingy she's wearing in the post-credits scene. It's like freeze-dried ass maternity wear.

Credits
Guest stars Drew Fuller (Chris Perry); Brian Thompson (Cronus); Will Kempe (Demetrius); Rebecca Balding (Elise Rothman); Sandra Prosper (Sheila Morris); Lisa Thornhill (Meta); Lee Arenberg (Demon); John Cothran, Jr. (Cecil); Danny Woodburn (Head Dwarf); Eyal Podell (Roland); Michael Gilden (Finnegan); Nick Kiriazis (Evan)
Writers Krista Vernoff, Curtis Kheel Director Jonathan West

Charmed: Necromancing the Stone (5.21)

2012-01-24T09:53:00.000-08:00

I've always thought Necromancing the Stone ranks up there among the most boring Charmed episodes. And I hate describing something as boring. Sure, it's nice to get some Grams development, and the commentary on gender politics and Grams' own issues with men are both interesting, but the episode drags like nothing else before it. The necromancer's plan is a little hazy, and the annoying 'men are worthless shits' theme that runs through several of the storylines is more than a little contrived and offensive.

It would have been more interesting for the Necromancer story to be used as a sounding board for some exploration into the love lives of the three sisters. Maybe if there were more of an appreciation for the fact that nearly all of them have fallen for men that are wrong for them, including demons and warlocks along the way. Instead, the storyline is bogged down in exposition and whining, and the concept isn't given more room to breathe.

Phoebe and Jason's relationship goes down a familiar TV route, with Jason moving to another country and wanting Pheebs to join him. It's really not interesting, especially since it just contains more of Phoebe's flip-flopping over her personal and professional responsibilities. Blah.

Necromancing the Stone is another late season five misfire, and one that I really struggle to get absorbed by, no matter how many times I watch it. D

Credits
Guest stars Norman Reedus (Nate Parks); Jennifer Rhodes (Penny 'Grams' Halliwell); Sam Pancake (Minion); Chris Sarandon (Armand); Eric Dane (Jason Dean)
Writers Henry Alonso Myers, Alison Schapker, Monica Breen Director Jon Pare

Angel: There's No Place Like Plrtz Glrb (2.22)

2012-01-23T11:02:00.000-08:00

I find this episode a little underwhelming compared to its two predecessors, if only because the writers seem to have ran out of story around fifteen minutes in. There's No Place Like Plrtz Glrb is all about getting the hell out of Pylea, with our protagonists quickly discovering the darker side of paradise. There are a bunch of great scenes, but some of the humor felt a little more forced than usual here, and certain moments dragged. It's a little flat, yet not at all terrible.

What feels most interesting about this finale is how most of the ensemble is altered in some way. Wesley is once again forced into the leader role by the Pylean radicals, and he finds that position a whole lot more comfortable than he did back in LA. Cordelia went into her role of queen with open arms, finally reaching that pinnacle of power that she always thought would be so wonderful. Only it turned out to be full of back-biting and slavery. Cue a Cordelia with a fully formed conscience. Lorne finally went home again, and came to the conclusion that he had to go back to Pylea to fully appreciate his love and need for the dimension where he now resides.

In the end, the Pylea arc was an interesting experiment that managed to be both hilarious as well as kind of profound in the end. Sure, we've had Numfar dancing and chain-mail comedy, but there's also the resigned heroism of the soldier Wesley essentially sends to his death, as well as the parental abuse behind the comedy maggot pile of Lorne's family. This was a series of episodes that jumped wildly from varying tones, but generally stayed consistently entertaining. Only the battle scenes at the end dip a little here, interest perked up again shortly after by a blind-siding cameo from Willow that suddenly reminds you of what just happened in the real world. Aww.

Season two has been on near-masterpiece levels for some time, a crazily ambitious year full of scope in terms of both character and storyline. Characters have become better fleshed out, the Angel Inc. team have wonderful chemistry together, and the recurring antagonists are spectacular all-round. Compare this to the mostly-weak first season, and Angel has come so far. C+

Credits
Guest stars Andy Hallett (Lorne); Amy Acker (Winifred 'Fred' Burkle); Brody Hutzler (Landok); Mark Lutz (The Groosalugg); Michael Phenicie (Silas); Tom McCleister (Elder); Lee Reherman (Captain)
Writer David Greenwalt Director David Greenwalt

Buffy: The Gift (5.22)

2012-01-23T10:57:00.000-08:00

When we're young, every decision is made pretty easy because you're not the boss of things. As much as we try and project growth and confidence, you're still a kid, and things like housing and food and clothes are treated as pretty inconsequential, because your parents will somehow take care of all of that. Your main priorities are high school politics, friendship, dating, trying to fit in. I bring all of this up as season five has been one long journey into adulthood for Buffy Summers. In September, she suddenly became the older sister who has to be responsible for Dawn. This was exaggerated when Joyce fell sick, and Buffy had to fill in the blanks that Joyce could no longer provide for. Then, out of nowhere, Joyce died. Buffy is suddenly thrust into the mother role, where she not only has to take care of Dawn but also take care of the house and the finances, all the traditionally adult roles that she had understandably never prepared for.

All of this comes to a head in The Gift, and it's most evident in the scene between Buffy and Giles, in which she explains that things used to be simpler. In season two, Buffy killed her lover to save the world, as she knew it was the right thing to do. Flash forward three years and suddenly everything feels different. She's related to the person directly involved in this latest apocalypse, she feels it is her sisterly duty to protect Dawn and raise her, her opponent is the toughest she has ever fought, and everyone she loves seems to go away. It's a turning point for Buffy, and it makes her ultimate sacrifice even more affecting.

In the end, it's Buffy becoming entirely selfless that protects those around her. She gives up everything to save her sister and her friends and the rest of the world. This whole year has been a series of challenges for her, where the line between 'slayer' and 'ordinary woman' has been cleverly explored. Like always, it is the fact that she's a young woman with feelings that saves the day, the thought of her sister's demise spurring her on to sacrifice her own life to stop the universes from bleeding into one another. Without those ties, she would have likely given into her fear and broke down.

The Gift is a major turnaround for the season, after what felt like a run of mediocre episodes. It's beautifully scripted, with half the episode dedicated to conversations between the Scoobies as they prepare for battle, and the other half showcasing the big final battle itself. The conversations are where the juice is. There's the brief discussion where they try to justify bending the rules, Xander describing Ben as an innocent person but not 'Dawn innocent'; Willow finding the confidence to tap into her powers in the largest way yet; Xander reaching total adulthood and proposing to Anya; the tension with Spike being put aside for the sake of saving the day. Later we see Giles forever protecting his slayer, denying her the traumatic responsibility of killing Ben and doing the deed himself. He knows that it would only bring her down in the long run. Joss Whedon knows these characters so well, filling this script with so many on-point bits of dialogue and wonderful interaction.

The fight sequences are also impressive. The tower is an interesting battleground, and the use of the wrecking ball, the Buffybot, and the troll hammer only accentuate Glory's strength and what the Scoobies need to defeat her.

But, at the end of everything, it's that final couple of minutes which prove the most brutal and heartwarming. Buffy's monologue, the gravestone, the final realization of what the first slayer was actually talking about. But it's Spike crying in devastation that always gets me. It's such a painful moment of abject grief.

The Gift is a gorgeous finale for what I feel was a confused and sometimes frustrating season. There were so many great arcs this year, but they were weighed down by too much plot staggering, underuse of wonderful characters, and stories that weren't played as well as they could have been. But you need to respect the concepts that Joss was looking to explore this year, and no matter how awkwardly some of them were told in the middle of the season, The Gift is a perfect resolution to those ideas. A+

Credits
Guest stars Clare Kramer (Glory); Charlie Weber (Ben); Amber Benson (Tara Maclay); Joel Grey (Doc)
Writer Joss Whedon Director Joss Whedon

Angel: Through the Looking Glass (2.21)

2012-01-23T10:53:00.000-08:00

Can I ask the TV gods why the hell Charisma Carpenter doesn't have her own sitcom? I seriously think her performance here ranks up there among her best, with her desperate attempts to flee the royal castle and avoid mating with the Groosalugg ("Say, don't you think it would add an air of feminine mystery if I were to, you know, not be here?") She's ridiculously funny throughout, and channels both a delightful air of self-importance as well as a frantic fear of having to com-shuk a giant beast monster. The Groosalugg, in the end, turns out to be a hunky slice of man-itude. A little pea-brained, sure -- but Cordy likes what she sees.

As the Pylea arc continues, it seems like the major concept at work is the idea of physical image and how others see you. Lorne, to us, appears fun and intelligent, but is treated like a disappointing outcast on his home turf. Cordelia is distrusted for looking the way she does, the high priests questioning why she of all people would be blessed with 'the sight'. At the same time, she remembers her commercial outfit with horror, yet is self-aware enough to notice that she's not exactly wearing a whole lot more as queen.

The most important angle that folds into this idea occurs with Angel. Because the metaphysical laws are so wonky on Pylea, his vampire state is visually a horrifying monster, the real beast within. It also seems to affect his entire persona, too, since he becomes wild and animalistic. Angel had appeared intrigued by the idea of a world in which good and evil are entirely separate entities with no cross-over, but his demonic appearance when in vamp-face suggests a total loss of self-control. Pylea is likely the way it is because willpower isn't possible. You can't blur the lines when physics won't let you.

Fred, or "that strange, wild girl" as Wesley melodramatically dubs her, makes a stronger impression here than in her previous appearances. She's still being written as crazy and irrational, but that one scene where she expresses latent jealousy that Cordelia got to be queen while she's been whipped and abused ever since she arrived was hilarious. It's a flicker of Buffyverse personality that immediately makes her likable.

The strongest Pylea episode so far, purely because it features so many genius one-liners and bits of physical comedy (Numfar!), as well as exploring character-driven ideas. This show remains on fire. A

Credits
Guest stars Andy Hallett (Lorne); Amy Acker (Winifred 'Fred' Burkle); Brody Hutzler (Landok); Tom McCleister (Elder); Mark Lutz (The Groosalugg); Michael Phenicie (Silas)
Writer Tim Minear Director Tim Minear

Buffy: The Weight of the World (5.21)

2012-01-23T10:49:00.000-08:00

This felt like another episode written to delay things for the finale, since it mostly involved all the characters stuck in neutral. Buffy is out of it, the Scoobies are struggling to do anything of any use, and Glory can't move forward with her plans because of Ben. It's not successful at all as a pre-finale episode because everything feels so inconsequential, but there are some interesting ideas floating around. I kind of wish the writers would have made these last couple of episodes a little more frantic and exciting, though. Buffy shouldn't be like this.

Continuing from last week, there's that palpable sense of Buffy's world imploding. The dream sequences are fascinating, particularly her belief that, when all is said and done, she kills everybody around her -- and that killing Dawn is the only way out of the situation she finds herself in right now. Coupled with that is the vague message from the first slayer, and here we see Buffy trying to interpret how exactly death is her 'gift'. I also enjoyed the repeated shot of Buffy in the Magic Box, that exact moment when her forward momentum hit a brick wall and she realized she couldn't win. It's a really sad little scene.

While the Glory/Ben stuff goes on way longer than it easily could have been, I enjoyed Glory's little monologue to Dawn about the world she's currently stuck in. It's hard to disagree with her opinions, seeing as this world is so horrible and filled with people slowly killing themselves. Of course it's easy to enforce the 'perception' of happiness onto a world ruled by a dictatorship, but I still liked the concept being explored with this.

The Weight of the World has a couple of neat moments, but struggles to find an identity as a whole episode. It feels a lot like something thrown together to pad out the story, which seems to have reached a plateau long before the writers had assumed it would. Blah. I'm kind of eager for the finale right now... C

Credits
Guest stars Clare Kramer (Glory); Charlie Weber (Ben); Dean Butler (Hank Summers); Lily Knight (Gronx); Bob Morrisey (Crazy #1); Amber Benson (Tara Maclay); Joel Grey (Doc); Kristine Sutherland (Joyce Summers)
Writer Douglas Petrie Director David Solomon

The Others: Theta (1.10)

2012-01-22T07:59:00.000-08:00

It's become clearer over the course of the season that Marian Kitt isn't the most interesting character around. Ten episodes in, and she's still very much depicted as a catalyst for spooky mysteries, and she hasn't yet had the opportunity to drive the action of her own accord. Of course, this is a problem that could have been fixed if the show had ran for longer than it did, but the fact that they were never given that opportunity is another lingering disappointment.

There's also the annoying inconsistency over Marian's allegiances with the Others. Some weeks she's fully wrapped up in the group, then other times she is written as distant and even a little dismissive of some of the kookier characters in the ensemble. I had initially pegged all of this as a problem caused by NBC's erratic scheduling of the episodes in 2000, but even watching them in the correct order provokes problems with her as a person. It's a little frustrating, since she's the only character on the show that still feels a little vacant at this point.

Nevertheless, Theta is an absorbing ghost story. Don't get me wrong, absolutely everything here is derivative, but it all sort of works in spite of that. I've always enjoyed the archetypal sorority house as a horror movie location, and Fred Golan's script amusingly plays around with the genre traditions. There are the sisterly feuds, the divisive allegiances formed when something scary occurs, the lonely outsider sister. There's also an enjoyable 1980's sensibility to the episode, fueled by the chilly scenery, subtlety in the 'boo!' moments and the sorority stereotypes on offer.

At the heart of the story is Jeanette Brox's wounded loner Jenny, who is tormented in her bedroom by a terrifying presence that creates tension and fighting between the girl and her fellow sorority sisters. The script cribs from all the best sorority horror movies (The House on Sorority Row, Black Christmas), as well as throwing in some neat throwbacks to Barbara Hershey's 'assaulted by a phantom' schlock classic The Entity. Of course, with all the clichés, it's not exactly surprising when Jenny turns out to be a victim of repressed sexual abuse, with a reliably menacing father haunting her psyche.

But, generally, Theta remains mostly successful. There are some gorgeous visual touches that are distinctly The Others (like the smoke appearing through the keyhole, and a shivering Jenny hovering over her bed), while Jeanette Brox gives her role a lot of actorly conviction, never caving to the temptation of Lifetime movie hysterics during some of Jenny's shriekier moments. I should also give the episode credit for resisting love triangle angst, especially with Marian, Mark and Satori working together for so much of the hour. B+

Credits
Guest stars Jeanette Brox (Jenny Purdy); Jill Bennett (Lisa); Gabrielle Union (Lindsay); Jude Ciccolela (Lewis Purdy)
Writer Fred Golan Director Tom McLoughlin

The X-Files: Sein und Zeit (7.10)

2012-01-22T07:55:00.000-08:00

I've always liked episodes of this show that aren't overtly science-fiction, in which Mulder and Scully investigate mysterious phenomena that feels just a little outlandish but still entirely believable -- instead of horror movie monsters and aliens, like the wackadoo that occurred last week. Sein und Zeit reaches back into X-Files continuity with the return of one lingering plotline from the past: the disappearance of Samantha Mulder. What the episode does well is have the girl actually lingering in the background for at least half the episode, allowing the audience to see the clear similarities between the disappearance of a young girl and Mulder's long-lost sister, as well as allowing us to watch in understanding as Mulder becomes far too wrapped up in the case than is presumably recommended.

The traditional genre elements to the episode were, tying in with the overriding naturalism, more eerie and ambiguous than anything totally outlandish. It only furthered the sense of believability to the whole thing, parts of the episode resembling a routine (if particularly effective) procedural series. But it's the elements of reality that only make the story more chilling, in particular moments like the FBI betting on whether Amber-Lynn is alive, as well as the newscast imagery of similar real-life abductions.

David Duchovny can't be criticized for being a particularly showy actor, and his performance here was convincingly insular as he depicted Mulder's rapid self-destruction of sorts. I bring this up because a story like this is ripe for potentially melodramatic acting, and Duchovny gave the hour real gravitas. It's an even quieter performance than usual, but projects something which instantly rattles the audience, notably in that moving scene where he almost crawls into a ball right next to Scully.

The writers have always created interesting serial killer characters, and Ed Truelove is no different. There are a ton of ghoulish characteristics to the part, from the scariest Santa Claus car ornament in the world, to the inherent creepiness of a Santa's Village operating at the height of summer.

Sein und Zeit brilliantly pulls from X-Files lore while simultaneously undermining a lot of what we thought we knew. It's a brave decision, and one that proves mightily effective and overwhelmingly intense. A

Credits
Guest stars Mitch Pileggi (Walter Skinner); Mark Rolston (Bud LaPierre); Rebecca Toolan (Teena Mulder); Shareen Mitchell (Billie LaPierre); Megan Corletto (Amber-Lynn LaPierre); Spencer Garrett (Harry Bring); Kim Darby (Kathy Lee Tencate); Martin Grey (Agent Flagler); Randall Bosley (Ed Truelove)
Writers Chris Carter, Frank Spotnitz Director Michael Watkins

Charmed: Sense and Sense Ability (5.20)

2012-01-17T13:32:00.000-08:00

It's all in the delivery, people. Sense and Sense Ability is pretty underwhelming in terms of story, while the concept is pretty thin, and the performances are so broad, but somehow... insanely, this episode actually works. The moments where the sisters try and communicate are all pretty funny, Alyssa Milano's shrieky performance surprisingly not setting my teeth on edge this week. Rose McGowan, too, seems to be having fun in the manic charades sequence.

Grace Zabriskie, who is the most gifted 'crazy lady' character actress working, is a little wasted here -- considering the Crone's master plan is just to kidnap Wyatt. Blah. But she chews the scenery in every one of her scenes, giving off a casually cunning vibe, totally relaxed in her own madness. It sticks out like a sore thumb on a show like this, where the demons are ordinarily played so wildly, but Zabriskie makes it her own. Those stacked black guy demons were pretty vacuous, but I did raise an eyebrow at the fact that they were all illiterate. Like... what the hell, show? Seriously?

Similarly annoying is the continued insistence that Phoebe's advice column is something worthy of nationwide acclaim. Please. She's not only getting awarded, she's now getting syndicated, but folks are worrying she's "too edgy". This needs to stop, now. I refuse to believe that Phoebe is anything but a moron.

Great performances, a lot of cheap laughs, and a general sense of fun. It's not a series classic, but it's one of the few comedy episodes in the later Charmed seasons that doesn't feel like a cheap excuse for some penis gags. B+

Credits
Guest stars Grace Zabriskie (The Crone); Rebecca Balding (Elise Rothman); Jerome Butler (Kazi King); Nynno Ahli (Kazi Demon); Daniel Escobar (Richard Jean); Norman Reedus (Nate Parks)
Teleplay Daniel Cerone, Krista Vernoff Story Brian Krause, Ed Bokinskie Directors Joel J. Feigenbaum, Stewart Schill

Charmed: Nymphs Just Wanna Have Fun (5.19)

2012-01-17T13:28:00.000-08:00

Aaaaagggggghhhhhhhllrlrrraaaarr! This is another masterpiece of suck. Similarly to Shannen Doherty's emotional investment rapidly shattering to pieces back in season three's Once Upon a Time, you can just about spot Rose McGowan's soul packing up its bags and fleeing the set for a vacation home in Cabo right around the moment where she dances around in a fountain with two morons in fugly green satin. Seriously, whose wheaties did Rose pee in to get saddled with this material? Like getting groiny with a bunch of leprechauns just two weeks ago wasn't bad enough? Nymphs Just Wanna Have Fun is the total nadir of the series. God, even that title is hideous.

The introduction of the nymphs marks Charmed's return to awful storytelling presumably directed at pre-teen girls. We've had fairies and unicorns and rainbows, but the ideas depicted here are painfully mundane. The villains are once again personality-free drones, the outcome is unsurprisingly contrived, and the annoying wind-chime score accompanying all the nymph sequences feels like a auditory hangover.

Also ridiculous is the idea that all of San Francisco's media is captivated by these dancing women, who would easily be treated as a bunch of annoying performance artists in the real world. Then again, this is the same bizarro world where Phoebe is awarded 'Columnist of the Year'. Chortle. Elsewhere there's a random Piper/Paige rivalry, another Charmed subplot pulled out of Brad Kern's butt for no other reason than to fill time.

Finally, there's Phoebe sleeping with her boss. We don't need to see her breasts hanging out of her party dress, or the walk of shame the next morning, or the grunting sounds while she remembers the previous night's tryst. This is just the worst; a forty-minute exercise in embarrassment and absurdity that's as illogical as it is ugly. Nymphs Just Wanna Have Fun deserves its own special seat in hell. F

Crimes of Fashion Phoebe opens the show in the process of choking her own cleavage in that insanely tight cocktail dress, presumably welcoming the visual comparison to an airport lounge hooker. But the real criminal clincher is when she proceeds to empty her purse and dump about thirty tampons onto a coffee table. What a fucking lady.

Credits
Guest stars Katherine Cunningham-Eves (Daisy); Susan May Pratt (Miranda); Jaimz Woolvett (Tull); Pat Healy (Xavier); Eric Dane (Jason Dean); Loudermilk (Themselves)
Writers Andrea Stevens, Doug E. Jones Director Mel Damski

Angel: Over the Rainbow (2.20)

2012-01-16T12:45:00.000-08:00

As you may or may not know, the Pylea arc only existed due to scheduling conflicts terminating a big blow-out for Lindsey, Darla, Dru and Kate. Admittedly, it does feel a little jarring to see characters who anchored so much of season two suddenly peter out. But one of the factors that strangely makes this storyline so much fun is that very feeling of the writers making it all up as they go along. It's like a bunch of really funny dudes throwing things at the wall and seeing what sticks. It's all very Xena, very Army of Darkness; but crazily entertaining. Ordinarily this would result in disaster, but I've always liked this series of episodes. Sure, it falls apart towards the end, but it feels so fresh and different that you can't help but get swept away by it.

Maintaining that formula of the writers just running with it, Over the Rainbow works better as a collection of great comedy moments. There's Angel gleeful over being able to walk in the sunlight, there's Lorne's ridiculous family and their anger that he abandoned his Pylean existence to fraternize with 'cows', the monster-dog-thing licking Cordy, and then there's that great fight sequence between Angel Investigations and the Pylean army, which seems to be going well until... it's not.

It's also neat seeing Cordelia pushed center stage again, and she conveys real strength of character when being held captive in Pylea. There's also that palpable feeling that the show is trying to push Angel and Cordelia together, especially after Angel's passionate determination to rescue her in those opening scenes. I know a lot of people dry heave at the thought of these two together, but I never thought it was too bad in principal. There's obviously none of the breathless romanticism that he had with Buffy, but this is a far more grown-up world we're in right now...

Over the Rainbow is a radical new venture for Angel, something so out-there but also remarkably entertaining. This episode takes a while to get interesting, but once the Angel team smash into Pylea, it's fun all-round. B+

Credits
Guest stars Andy Hallett (Lorne); Amy Acker (Winifred 'Fred' Burkle); Susan Blommaert (Vakma); Persia White (Aggie Belfleur); Daniel Dae Kim (Gavin Parks); Michael Phenicie (Silas)
Writer Mere Smith Director Fred Keller

Buffy: Spiral (5.20)

2012-01-16T12:42:00.000-08:00

This and the following episode are Buffy in a holding pattern. Season five has been problematic because it regularly felt like the writers had so many tasty ingredients this year that somehow failed to make a satisfactory pie. The concept of Dawn and Glory and the Key is so strong, and Joyce's death was so powerful, yet the fringes of those ideas were pretty weak. As a result, we had a ton of episodes where Glory raised a monster or did something 'bad' to one of the Scoobies. There were a whole bunch of episodes with people standing around in hospital corridors looking concerned. And with two more episodes to fill before the big finale, we once again have the show running on empty.

Fittingly, there's a lot of running in Spiral. And a lot of meandering around in circles. What I liked about the episode was the believable depiction of Buffy's world crumbling to pieces. Her mom is dead, her sister is the main target, the big bad is seemingly indestructible, the entire world will potentially collapse in on itself. It's a strong central theme, and I can buy that Buffy chose to run. She's young, and in these extraordinary situations I think most people would initially just want to run away from things instead of immediately finding solutions.

At the same time, I guess the winnebago fight sequence was impressive, and I loved hearing Glory's back-story. But the problem with Spiral is that it's kind of... boring. A lot of the discussions featured here (Giles' pride in Buffy, Willow's angst over Tara's madness, Dawn's belief that she's the cause of all this chaos) feel overly familiar, and no matter how interesting the concept of Ben is, Ben himself is such a flat character performed by such a vacant actor that I can't help but tune out. I'm also watching Angel at the same time as I'm watching this, and that show's second season has been firing on all cylinders all year. It only helps expose how much weaker Buffy's fifth season has been. C-

Credits
Guest stars Clare Kramer (Glory); Charlie Weber (Ben); Wade Andrew Williams (General Gregor); Karim Prince (Dante Chavalier); Amber Benson (Tara Maclay)
Writer Steven S. DeKnight Director James A. Contner

Angel: Belonging (2.19)

2012-01-16T12:40:00.000-08:00

In setting up the last run of episodes this season, the Angel writers do a decent job of dumping on all the regulars. Cordelia is left humiliated during a commercial shoot and reduced to some token hot girl in a bikini. Wesley is once again criticized and bullied by his father during a simple phone call wishing him a happy birthday. Gunn is outcast from his one-time LA crew, and loses one of them to vamps. Angel is generally frustrated with the world. While Belonging feels a lot like part one of a long arc, it's a fun hour which gives everybody great material to work with.

Lorne is becoming one of the strongest characters on the show, and the insight into his home-life on Pylea was genius. He's ostracized for daring to see the gray area in people, and wanting to pursue a life where it's okay to sing and enjoy music and have fun. There's something almost profound about the idea of Lorne escaping through a portal to our world because he loved the sound of it. At the same time, it was interesting to see Angel be intrigued by the black and white moralizing of Pylea, where everything is either good or bad. But where would he fit in there? Does he think it'd stop his broodiness and general torment?

One of my favorite scenes here was the opening restaurant moment, if only because I love the four-piece ensemble at the heart of Angel just hanging out and conversing. I mentioned it more at the start of the season, but the writers have truly done some wonderful things with the four of them this year, and they have a ton of chemistry together. Compared to Buffy, where a lot of my love for some of the Scoobies is faltering a little, and Angel is worthy of considerable acclaim right now. B+

Credits
Guest stars Andy Hallett (Lorne); Amy Acker (Winifred 'Fred' Burkle); Jarrod Crawford (Rondell); Darris Love (George); Brody Hutzler (Landok)
Writer Shawn Ryan Director Turi Meyer

Buffy: Tough Love (5.19)

2012-01-16T12:35:00.000-08:00

I don't know if it's considered sacrilege to say this, but I can't stand Tara. Or maybe I just can't stand Amber Benson's portrayal of Tara? Either way, I find her frustrating. I don't think she's funny, I don't think the writers gave her a whole lot to work with to make the character interesting, and I don't understand why Amber played her in such a way that I can only describe as... mentally challenged. Even before her brain-suck, Tara is so strange in that ridiculous way she walks and the pained expression she constantly wears on her face. Her body language on that bench is just bizarre. She's slumped there in such an obviously "sad" kind of way, like it's Acting 101. I just don't get her performances at all. I do get that Tara is supposed to be shy and awkward, but I never, ever thought Amber sold that. Tara became a much stronger character in season six, but she's just awful here. Gah. Sorry for the rant.

Amber's acting wasn't the only thing that bothered me here, since it was one of a whole bunch of things that felt more than a little artificial. I'm usually a huge fan of this show's dialogue, but a couple of lines here had me rolling my eyes. I guess it takes a while to ease into writing for such famous characters, but newbie writer Rebecca Rand Kirshner's has responsible for a pretty clumsy script. Buffy is written as obnoxiously sanctimonious when she tries to adopt a maternal role over Dawn, while Dawn is more annoying than usual. She also uses the exact same "Oh, that's not what we're talking about" fake-out twice in ten minutes: "Maybe there's a wicked demonic creature living inside you that takes control of your body?" and "We both know that she's more than just a kid". Ugh. Clunkety clunk-clunk.

Before I'm accused of shitting all over this, I did like Willow being made aware of how powerful she's getting, and how she's letting her magic override her common sense. She's been acting recklessly for a while now, and finally she's gotten confronted with that. I also liked Glory a lot here, too. She's been pretty stagnant all season, but Clare Kramer nails the whole 'evil valley girl' thing, and I loved her calm reaction to Willow's doomed attempt at a takedown.

Tough Love feels a lot like the show staggering events for the big finish, and most of the characters come off badly. Only Giles has a scene which feels fresh and interesting, but that only lasts thirty seconds or so. Blah. D+

Credits
Guest stars Clare Kramer (Glory); Charlie Weber (Ben); Troy T. Blendell (Jinx); Anne Betancourt (Principal Stevens); Leland Crooke (Professor Lillian); Amber Benson (Tara Maclay)
Writer Rebecca Rand Kirshner Director David Grossman

The Others: Mora (1.9)

2012-01-15T16:24:00.000-08:00

Broadway legend Marian Seldes' interesting performance as a seemingly immortal ballerina is the best thing about an episode which feels somewhat routine in nature, while at the same time convoluted in its attempts to handle too many different subplots at once. Like always, Mora has a wonderful central idea, with Seldes as a hospital patient at the center of a series of unusual deaths that have trickled out through her neighboring wards. The finale, in which it's revealed that her determination to live and reunite with her long-lost son is responsible for the supernatural events of the hour, is remarkably powerful, but the script itself feels a little too busy to truly work.

The Mora demons are reliably 'ick', crawling through oxygen tubes and engulfing Katerina's body beneath her bedsheets, and I loved the reasoning for the creature's presence. It's an idea that feels like this show's trademark. There are a couple of red herrings at first, notably the mysterious totems tossed around the hospital, as well as the creepy Russian janitor stalking the corridors but, in the end, it's merely a desire to survive, and the concept of literally draining the life away from others is pretty interesting.

It's unfortunate, then, that some of the episode's various subplots feel a little thin. Mark's daddy issues are pulled out of left-field, and while it results in a nice coda between father and son and Mark's belief in death as a positive force, the story sags at times, and I never felt fully engaged by the moral issues between the pair. Similarly, I'm not enjoying Satori's continued jealousy over Mark and Marian's relationship, as it still jars with her characterization at the start of the season.

The intense finale involving Katerina and Elmer features some character work that probably should have been the episode's driving force, with Elmer revealing his violent side as he essentially tortures Katerina into embracing death and stopping the demons. It's an interesting character twist that is outwardly aggressive but ultimately good-hearted, Elmer's rage only exacerbated by Mark's potential demise. I like seeing how strong the ties to his friends are, but I wish they had made more of his antagonistic capabilities when in life-threatening situations.

Mora has a lot of things working in its favor, but the choppy script and insistence on focusing on some of the show's less engaging characters (hello Marian) drags it down a little. B-

Credits
Guest stars Marian Seldes (Katerina Risavitch); Stephen Macht (Dr. William Gabriel); Nicki Micheaux (Doctor); Peggy Miley (Landlady)
Writers John Brancato, Michael Ferris Director Jake Paltrow

The X-Files: Signs and Wonders (7.9)

2012-01-15T12:40:00.000-08:00

If you had never watched The X-Files but thought you had a decent idea of what to expect, Signs and Wonders is probably the hypothetical X-Files episode you would come up with. It's gross, there's a ton of strange supernatural phenomena, features women in peril as well as a reliably ambiguous ending -- but it's also this show running entirely on autopilot, and besides a couple of decent scares, feels a little too gratuitous to truly work.

Don't get me wrong, I like getting squicked out. Season four's inbred cannibal happy hour Home, for instance, ranks up their among my favorites of this show. But this one stumbles into that awkward area of almost being too ugly to watch. Jeffrey Bell's script already grabs from a reality that is naturally kind of gross and sleazy, in this case religious snake charming ceremonies in the deep south, and quickly runs the scenario into the most horrific corners imaginable. There's a woman giving birth to a litter of snakes, cult rituals, Scully abuse, and snakes wriggling out of people's mouths to snap up dangling white mice. It's all a little nuts, and only succeeded in turning me off.

There's obviously a lot happening here, and Signs and Wonders lurches from one of these elaborate set pieces to another with a ton of conviction. Mulder and Scully don't have a whole lot to do, but the mystery unfolds nicely, and there are a couple of intriguing twists towards the back-end of the hour. Beth Grant is entirely wasted in a thin role as a (what else?) gossipy religious nut, but generally the episode succeeds in what it appears to be aiming for. That doesn't necessarily mean its enjoyable in the slightest, though, and all the grossness kind of dented my enjoyment. But that's just me. I'm not into this type of horror, but I'm sure one of you snake-baitin' freaks out there would love the damn thing. D+

Credits
Guest stars Randy Oglesby (Reverend Samuel Mackey); Tracy Middendorf (Gracie O'Connor); Michael Childers (Reverend Enoch O'Connor); Eric Nenninger (Jared Chirp); Beth Grant (Iris Finster)
Writer Jeffrey Bell Director Kim Manners

Charmed: Cat House (5.18)

2012-01-10T11:20:00.000-08:00

A clip show. But at least they went and made Cat House an imaginative clip show. It has an actual structure to it, and there's at least some attempts to give the story a real purpose, instead of just showcasing past moments from the show in order to save a couple of bucks. I also liked that the show actually pulled from continuity. Sure, Kit's had a sex change, but I appreciated the writers bringing him/her back at all, and once again exploring the importance Wiccans place on 'familiars'.

The show does a great job inserting Paige and Phoebe into the various flashback sequences, and their reactions are pretty funny, too. The clips themselves are mostly Piper and Leo-related, so boredom ensues if you're sane and couldn't give a rat's ass about the two of them. Speaking of the two of them, their marital problems could have used a little more build-up, instead of just being dumped randomly into this episode after a couple of vague hints last week.

Marita Geraghty (who I always remember as the Jerry Seinfeld girlfriend who got dumped by Newman of all people) and Zachary Quinto (bar the unfortunate haircut) are pretty memorable in their guest spots, Geraghty fiery and endearing, and Quinto hitting that difficult level of unsettling, interesting campiness. Think more W. Earl Brown in Prewitched and less Jason Carter in Power Outage.

Cat House has its drab moments, but generally it succeeds in spinning something fresh out of the 'clip show' formula. Or maybe I'm just thankful for anything half-decent after last week's abortion. B

Credits
Guest stars John Rubinstein (Dr. Berenson); Marita Geraghty (Katrina)
Writer Brad Kern Director James L. Conway

Charmed: Lucky Charmed (5.17)

2012-01-10T10:42:00.000-08:00

Yeah. It's the leprechaun episode. Where to begin? It's a ridiculously stupid storyline, with the same concept as the Sandman one a couple of weeks back: some magical creature with special powers is threatened by a demon, who wants the powers for himself. There are rainbows and pots of gold and Irish accents that make you want to put a drill through your ears. The leprechauns themselves are preachy and annoying, Seamus in particular gross and horny and determined to come on to every Halliwell he encounters.

There's just too much to hate here. You've got successful Broadway actors chewing the scenery as they try and break into television and wind up in a shittier-than-usual episode of Charmed. Two presumably lesbian demons who are given little to do. A redundant Piper kidnapping. Pat Benatar scraping the bottom of the barrel of her career. Paige whining over having so little money that she can't afford new clothes, alienating the entire audience in the process because she prefers to complain instead of getting a fucking job!!!! And on, and on, and on...

Phoebe bugs for the entire episode. Her expose on internet dating is annoying, and her flirtations with Jason Dean feel spectacularly contrived. The writers are also pretty insistent this season on making her reprehensibly selfish, with the frequent interruptions here of her latest internet fuck-buddy Cyrano73 beeping on her palm-pilot. Ugh.

Lucky Charmed is hideous; an offensive, worthless sack of misery that should have never seen the light of day. What makes it truly shocking is the fact that it's not the worst episode of the season, that particular shit-show right around the corner. Yikes. F

Credits
Guest stars Dominic Fumusa (Saleel); Mark Povinelli (Seamus); Monika Schnarre (Jenna); Phina Oruche (Jada); Cork Hubbert (Councilman); Michael Gilden (Finnegan); Drew Wood (Erik); Eric Dane (Jason Dean)
Writer Curtis Kheel Director Roxann Dawson

Angel: Dead End (2.18)

2012-01-09T11:28:00.000-08:00

It was clearly the influence of David Boreanaz and Christian Kane's real life friendship, but I loved the way their characters interacted with each other. They were always at each others throats, but this season has been particularly memorable in making their feud so childish and silly. There's no greater moment reflecting that than during Lindsey's performance at Caritas. Everybody is so captivated by his singing, and Angel's there trying so hard to undermine it. It's so schoolyard, and it's really unfortunate that moments like this were cut short due to scheduling conflicts. They had such great banter, and then he's written out.

Behind-the-scenes hoodoo weighs in pretty negatively on Dead End, if only because it feels like a weak scenario to finally force Lindsey to flee Wolfram & Hart. The whole 'body part transplant' thing is interesting, but a character like Lindsey deserved a grander exit. What made him so fascinating was his moral ambiguity, and the existence of a conscience within him. Blind Date was stronger in that regard, since you bought his disbelief at the potential slaughter of a bunch of children, yet you also bought his desire to remain working for W&H. Here, it feels a little casual. Blah.

His two final scenes, though, are wonderful. The "evil hand!" scene in particular feels like one of those hugely underrated comedy moments with the Lilah goosing and the constant ribbing at that random lawyer guy. And the frat-boy humor of Angel's prank at the end was ridiculously cute.

Elsewhere, we're beginning to see the crippling effects of Cordelia's visions. If I remember correctly, this marks the rapid destruction of her character, but I'm enjoying the story in its early stages. Charisma is playing the part so well right now, and Cordelia having powers yet being entirely human feels too important a plot-point to not explore at this time.

Dead End works well as a character-driven mystery of the week episode, but feels underwhelming as an exit for Lindsey. Great work by Christian Kane, though, who rapidly became one of my favorite Buffyverse actors during this re-watch. B

Credits
Guest stars Christian Kane (Lindsey McDonald); Stephanie Romanov (Lilah Morgan); Andy Hallett (Lorne); Gerry Becker (Nathan Reed); Michael Dempsey (Irv Kraigle); Mik Scriba (Parole Officer)
Writer David Greenwalt Director James A. Contner

Buffy: Intervention (5.18)

2012-01-09T11:25:00.000-08:00

I seriously think Sarah Michelle Gellar's performance as the Buffybot is one of the funniest things I've ever seen. She completely embodies this silicone android with the most basic of emotions, and I love her unrestrained glee over Spike and all of Buffy's friends. At the same time, she makes her really sweet. Sure, she's a porno sex robot, but she seems genuinely nice to be around, and looks adorable walking so forcefully in that floaty pink skirt. Aww.

Literally all the Buffybot scenes are hilarious, Jane Espenson creating some genius interaction between the 'bot and Buffy's friends. There's her offer to draw Willow sketches of her lovemaking with Spike; the Spike-written dialogue about Angel ("He's bloody stupid"); Buffybot's adorable smile when Anya compliments her; how she pronounces 'Guy-ills'. But I've always thought the funniest part was when she asks Anya how her money is. Anya's expression of joy, as if it's the nicest thing anybody has ever asked her, is ridiculously awesome.

Buffy finally recognized Spike's heroism, which was really moving. You knew what was happening in that final scene from the get-go, but it was undeniably sweet. Buffy isn't totally cold, and can see that he did a good thing and protected both her and Dawn. These kids just might have a future...

Buffy's vision quest was a little 'blah', but it did give us that immortal phrase. While it was entirely eclipsed by the Buffybot hijinks, I liked Buffy's determination to be a real person again, and not this killing machine 'slayer' like the first one of her kind. Now that I just put that down into words, it hits me that there's an interesting metaphor there with the Buffybot, the contrast between a machine with one unique focus, and the humanity that gives Buffy her true strength. Damn this show and its levels!

Intervention is hilarious, and it's interesting to see the show still getting mileage out of a 'double of a lead character' story the third time around. It's not as genius as Doppelgangland, but Sarah's performance is spectacular. A-

Credits
Guest stars Clare Kramer (Glory); Adam Busch (Warren Meers); Troy T. Blendell (Jinx); Amber Benson (Tara Maclay)
Writer Jane Espenson Director Michael Gershman

Angel: Disharmony (2.17)

2012-01-09T11:21:00.000-08:00

After a run of heavy drama, this was entirely welcome. Disharmony is a whole barrel of silliness featuring a series-best performance from Mercedes McNab. Like practically everybody else that comes to Los Angeles, Harmony is seeking some kind of redemption. Or if that doesn't work out, at least a new perspective on life. I loved how the writers depicted her flakiness here, gradually going from one extreme to another as she tries to figure out what she wants to do with her life. That also feeds into vampire mythology, too, since she's not the blood-hungry monster that most vampires in the Buffyverse seem to be. She hasn't got a soul, but it's almost like she hasn't got the smarts or the ambition to become a fully-fledged blood-sucking fiend.

There were some great moments of characterization here, for both Cordelia and Harmony. Cordelia only seems to realize her own evolution after Harmony arrives, creating that lightbulb moment where she sees that they have so little in common, and that she's grown so much while Harm has remained pretty much the same. Harmony, always having had so little personality herself, then decides to 'become' Cordelia (continuing to fulfill Cordelia's one-time declaration that Harm is a 'sheep') and fight the good fight. But being so vain, she switches teams without a second's thought. It's a great little contrast.

Elsewhere, Angel's gradual return to the fold was handled really well. Cordelia's resentment towards him still feels so raw and emotional, and I loved Angel's subtle attempts throughout the episode to give her the respect that she always sort of deserved. Of course, in the end he wins her back with presents, but his heart is in the right place.

Disharmony is mostly filler material, but there are so many wonderful moments of humor (Harmony's singing, that ridiculously awesome Willow phone call, Harm appearing out-of-nowhere in the slow-motion cast stride down the sidewalk, etc.) and subtle pathos that it becomes so much more than it easily could have been. And they kept Harmony alive, too. She's too strong and unique a character to write off so casually. A

Credits
Guest stars Andy Hallett (Lorne); Mercedes McNab (Harmony Kendall); Pat Healy (Doug Sanders); Alyson Hannigan (Willow Rosenberg)
Writer David Fury Director Fred Keller

Buffy: Forever (5.17)

2012-01-09T11:17:00.000-08:00

The real problem affecting Forever is The Body. While The Body depicted death in its most detached, banal and painful form, Forever is a far more conventional episode dealing with a character's death. We have a funeral, characters articulating how sad they are and, being a supernatural series, one character attempting to resurrect the dead. It feels like such an obvious route to tumble down, and in that regard it's pretty disappointing. There are obviously some aspects to the episode which work really well, but I didn't totally enjoy it.

Dawn is a real issue for me. She's fine and even kind of sweet when written particularly well, but when she becomes whiny and petulant she's absolutely insufferable. This unfortunately seems to happen whenever Dawn is thrust center stage, and the same issues that bugged me so much in Blood Ties happen again here. I get that the writers are developing her as a stereotypical angry teenager, but she's crazily annoying here. Yes, I get that her mother has just passed and that everybody reacts to death differently, but her manic complaining and insistence that Buffy doesn't give a damn about Joyce's death are both just ugly to watch. And I can't stand whenever Michelle Trachtenberg puts on that guttural, overly-breathy 'mad' voice. Ugh.

Elsewhere, the episode does a good job of making the characters grow a little. Buffy is pushed head-first into adulthood, still turning to Giles for some kind of paternal support but overwhelmed by what is suddenly expected of her. It's a sad turn of events. Angel's return was neat, too. Just one small blip of intimacy and unconditional support, which is totally what Buffy needed.

Each supporting character got their own sweet scene of mourning, too. I loved Giles listening to the same track he listened to with Joyce when they were teenagers, I loved Anya's honest discussion about having children with Xander, and I adored Spike's visit with the flowers. He's really a noble guy. Willow's taking an interesting turn, as well. Pushing the resurrection book in Dawn's direction was clearly a bad decision, yet she did it without thinking first.

The A-plot didn't work for me at all, even if it was arguably necessary. What made the episode were the character bits away from Dawn's shenanigans, which were all pretty sweet. Except that 'little boobs' moment, which I was always weirdly squicked out by. C+

Credits
Guest stars David Boreanaz (Angel); Clare Kramer (Glory); Charlie Weber (Ben); Troy T. Blendell (Jinx); Amber Benson (Tara Maclay); Joel Grey (Doc)
Writer Marti Noxon Director Marti Noxon

The Others: Don't Dream It's Over (1.8)

2012-01-08T09:22:00.000-08:00

Don't Dream It's Over is all about the accidental folding over of two time periods, dreams blurring into one another and people from two radically different worlds finding common ground and falling in love. It's the first episode that really puts Mark center stage, and it makes sense that his story is more romantic and tragic than any other so far. Mick Garris does a great job in setting up Mark and Mary Jane's romance, all the while providing that tonal undercurrent of menace, the audience keenly aware that something is a little 'off' and that rapid doom is right around the corner.

I also thought the show depicted the time period really well, not that I'm an expert or anything. But scenes set in old-timey England can sometimes lead to embarrassment, something even the greatest Buffy episodes sometimes stumbled into. But there was a believable sleaziness to the scenes in the 1800's, and while Tushka Bergen is obviously way too gorgeous and ethereal to convince as a Victorian era street ho, she doesn't exactly rank up there with Heather Graham in the miscasting stakes.

Parts of the episode also blur into the ongoing Mark/Marian/Satori triangle, but I thought that only certain elements actually worked this time around. I loved the kiss that Mark and Marian shared while Marian was taken over by Mary Jane's spirit, but Satori's initial jealousy felt a little overblown. It's natural that you'd feel a little bitter over Mark's obvious attraction to somebody else, but this is the same woman that didn't seem all that bothered by his chemistry with Marian just a couple of episodes back, and now she's angsty about a woman stalking his dreams. Then again, maybe it's a way to depict how seriously Satori takes the spirit world, in that she's more jealous of a angelic presence than of an actual living, breathing person... but I think I'm reaching here.

Even with all the misery, this is an interesting episode that tumbles down some unusual alley-ways. I loved Elmer's final explanation of what occurred, and how everything Mark and Mary Jane experienced was intentionally random and accidental. It creates something pretty profound and sweet, in spite of Mary Jane's eventual fate. I liked this one a lot. B+

Credits
Guest stars Tushka Bergen (Mary Jane Kelly); John Vickery (Jack the Ripper); Aubrey Morris (Jimmy); John Aylward (Albert McGonagle)
Writer Mick Garris Director Mick Garris

The X-Files: The Amazing Maleeni (7.8)

2012-01-08T09:19:00.000-08:00

The X-Files had been on the air for over seven years by this point, so it's not entirely surprising to see the writers lifting ideas from real-life concepts instead of creating fresh monsters or new forms of intrigue. Like the use of the Rube Goldberg inventions as a jumping-off point several episodes back, here we have an exploration into the world of magic, and more specifically the idea of distraction as a means to creating what we interpret as magic. It's a wildly fun mystery hour, full of plot twists and double-crosses and secret agendas straight out of an old caper movie.

The three-writer work of Vince Gilligan, John Shiban and Frank Spotnitz have always resulted in episodes that feel drafted in from a lighter universe, even if the ingredients still involve grizzly horror. In this case there are severed heads and missing limbs, but there's still something lovably kooky about the whole thing that makes it ridiculously entertaining. It's a tone that this show reaches for a lot in recent years, and while it sometimes it feels a little overzealous, I liked this episode generally.

I've never been a huge fan of Ricky Jay's acting, but he unsurprisingly works well here, the script allowing him to play a magical mastermind with a penchant for play-acting and impersonating his deceased brother. The episode is pretty much a five-hander, with Mulder and Scully hot on the heels of three very different individuals: the bitter magician, the disabled accountant and the career criminal. With all that in mind, the episode quickly becomes something flighty and absorbing, each character somehow screwing the other over until Mulder finally unravels the mystery. The final twists are straight out of an Agatha Christie novel, but I liked seeing Mulder working out his own part in the scheme and going out of his way to make sure he doesn't fall for their various traps.

The Amazing Maleeni is a little lightweight at turns, but there's an ambitious streak that runs through the hour and provides a ton of entertainment. It's also neat to see David and Gillian seemingly having fun for once, since they both seem a little tired at this point in the show's existence. B

Credits
Guest stars Ricky Jay (Herman Pinchbeck/Albert Pinchbeck); Jonathan Levit (Billy LaBonge); Robert LaSardo (Cissy Alvarez)
Writers Vince Gilligan, John Shiban, Frank Spotnitz Director Thomas J. Wright

Charmed: Baby's First Demon (5.16)

2012-01-03T16:39:00.000-08:00

So here begins Charmed's long, long journey to its eventual demise. I always pegged the arrival of Wyatt as the true death knell for Charmed, not so much because of him as a character (although he sure did drive his fair share of asinine episodes), but because the show rarely reached any decent heights after his arrival. While seasons one through four were always a little schizophrenic in terms of quality, here's where the show becomes almost uniformly awful, with only a half dozen great episodes here and there. And there's a lot more Charmed to go, kids, so be warned.

Phoebe is absolutely repulsive here, obsessively fawning over her nephew like a crazy woman, and later getting all defensive when her new boss calls her on it. Yes, it's great that you have a nephew. Yes, he's adorable. But why exactly do you need to drop everything to be with him? Gah. There could have been some interesting character work with this if the show bothered to mention Phoebe's demon spawn last season (losing a child could be a strong explanation for her clinginess), but that never happened.

Jason Dean eventually became another archetypal 'personality-free Charmed love interest', but he's surprisingly engaging here, at least compared to some of the boyfriends in later years, the Nick Lachey's and Joe Millionaire's. But the story is still annoying.

The A-plot is routine, but it does feature a reliably kooky performance from legendary genre vet Grace Zabriskie. Shame she's been saddled with a Seer knock-off stuck in a flat storyline, though. Baby's First Demon is a pretty shallow episode in general, full of sisterly annoyance and rent-a-villains. Blah. D+

Crimes of Fashion Paige's undercover outfit rivals Phoebe's Happily Ever After ballgown for the worst in the series: a blue latex dominatrix ensemble with hideous fright-wig on top. It's like staring Satan right in the face.

Credits
Guest stars Grace Zabriskie (The Crone); Rebecca Balding (Elise Rothman); Andy Mackenzie (Suck); Nicholas Sadler (Leech); Jack McGee (Hawker); Eric Dane (Jason Dean)
Writer Krista Vernoff Director John Kretchmer

Charmed: The Day the Magic Died (5.15)

2012-01-03T16:37:00.000-08:00

An important episode for obvious reasons, but one that struggles to find its identity. The tone is all over the place from the very beginning, opening as a weak 'comedy of errors' sitcom episode with the manic running and scenery-chewing double-takes, before descending into violence and carnage midway through the hour. Like a lot of the recent 'blah' Charmed episodes, there are some interesting ideas at work, here the concept of all magic disappearing from the world, but they're not realized as effectively as they could have been.

Cheryl Ladd has a strange guest spot as Victor's new wife, who turns out to be in league with the demons and eager to steal Piper's unborn baby. It's a needlessly convoluted plan, and made worse by the lack of follow-through. Victor fell in love and got re-married, only to end up stabbed and widowed. There's no real coda, and it feels more than a little tossed together at the expense of realistic characterization.

In the end, there's a cute scene with Piper giving birth, and it worked really well. There was something reasonably epic about the baby coming out all sparkly, and I don't think anybody can deny that the final shot of the whole family together was kind of sweet. But there's not a whole lot to say about this one, despite the important events that occur. I get the impression that it's popular in fan circles, but it personally didn't inspire a whole lot for me. C

Credits
Guest stars James Read (Victor Bennet); Richard Lynch (Cronyn); W. Morgan Sheppard (Merrill); J.P. Manoux (Stanley); Maggie Baird (Doctor); Cheryl Ladd (Doris)
Writer Daniel Cerone Director Stuart Gillard

Angel: Epiphany (2.16)

2012-01-02T08:49:00.000-08:00

This was all about putting things back together. After a run of episodes in which people fell apart and new allegiances were formed, Angel got the titular 'epiphany' we were all waiting for. But, being this show, things aren't as simple as they could have been. There's a lot of hurt still present throughout the ensemble, Angel's behavior having genuinely messed people up along the way. With that in mind, the most affecting moment of Epiphany is probably Cordelia's almost embarrassed declaration to her former boss: "You really hurt my feelings". It's one of the most endearing moments of human vulnerability I've seen in a long time.

I loved the tone the show struck through Angel's reunion with his former employees. His frosty car ride with Wesley was as funny as it was moving, while Gunn's casual animosity felt entirely real. It's the show once again refusing to take the easy way out, even if coming back together as a team is what all the characters secretly want.

Darla and Lindsey's strange relationship reaches its tipping point, and you could totally see the unbridled jealousy Lindsey experienced when he reunited with Darla. He totally lost it, and even slipped on his kicky fightin' boots to show he meant business. At the same time, you felt for Darla. She's just been consistently screwed over this year, hasn't she? Every time she thinks she's found some kind of solace, she ends up alone and unhappy once more. It's a tragic existence, and high-tailing it out of Los Angeles is probably the best thing she could do right now.

Finally there's Kate, who clocks in her final appearance here. It does sort of feel like her story isn't totally done just yet, but it feels like an appropriate half-ending nonetheless. She's not angry anymore, which is a plus. She recognizes that there are powers out there far greater than she or Angel or anything she could imagine. Her survival was a beautiful moment, the universe aligning things just right in order to get Angel back on track. I never liked Kate, but I do like seeing her happy at this point.

While there's still a bunch of episodes left to go, Epiphany feels like the end of what has been one of the most exhilarating and boundary-pushing story arcs ever depicted in the Whedonverse. It's been brutal and shocking and a huge testament to how strong the writing team were at this point, Tim Minear in particular having an incredible vision for this show. A+

Credits
Guest stars Elisabeth Rohm (Kate Lockley); Christian Kane (Lindsey McDonald); Andy Hallett (Lorne); Julie Benz (Darla)
Writer Tim Minear Director Thomas J. Wright

Buffy: The Body (5.16)

2012-01-02T08:45:00.000-08:00

Numb. That's probably the right word to use. The Body is about loss -- the searing, unexpected form of loss that smacks into you like a freight train and leaves you standing around searching for some form of release. Buffy's life is defined by the death around her. She kills on a regular basis, she's lost people close to her, she's killed people close to her. But nothing ever felt as cold and abrupt as the sudden passing of her mother. The Body artfully conveys every emotion and discomfort and disorientation that follows a death. It's one of the most difficult episodes to watch, but undeniably one of the series' strongest.

Dawn's teacher talks about drawing the 'space' around the body, coloring in the outside rather than the empty particles in the middle. Joyce is gone, no longer Joyce Summers or a mom, but a shell. She's a presence in a room, but not a being anymore. Unlike a vampire that crumbles to dust, Buffy doesn't know where Joyce went, or what exactly went wrong and killed her, but she knows that the shell of her mother is just that. A shell, a body.

When the paramedics first arrive, they treat Joyce as something they're operating on, they don't know her name or her history. They later describe her as a 'body', while Buffy feels abject horror when she too joins in and calls her 'the body'. The coroner performs an autopsy, not on Joyce but on the shell that's left behind. These official people with serious jobs desensitize themselves to death, while the close family and friends affected have to pick up their feelings and their sadness.

Joss Whedon creates a world that is so familiar yet suddenly so alien. Buffy has never appeared more small and vulnerable than when she's speaking to the paramedic. The light is suddenly overly bright and fuzzy. Buttons on a phone look enormous. You see through the jargon of what a doctor has to routinely say ("I have to lie to make you feel better"). All the characters are so static, and Whedon photographs the hour in such a way that everyone looks and feel so isolated, even if they're being held or spoken to. Our perspective is shaken up, too. We don't see the paramedic's face; we're suddenly a Sunnydale High student watching as one of our classmates receives what is obviously horrible news.

Each character has devastating moments of mourning. Willow's disorientation is so gorgeously played, especially that black-comedy moment where she hates herself for only owning stupid shirts with stupid fabric cut-outs stuck to them. Anya has one of the most painful scenes in the episode, as she explains how she has no idea how to react to all of this. Her asking questions is so painfully honest, and Emma Caulfield adds such a depth of longing and unawareness to her lines. Xander is just angry, trying to find something to blame since this can't just be natural or ordinary. This is Sunnydale, every death and every event is somehow supernatural or extraordinary. Nobody just stops breathing and passes on...

Tara is awkward and unsure of how to act. She also has a better understanding of what is happening since she herself lost her mother several years ago. Even though she doesn't have the strongest of relationships with Buffy, she opens up to her at the hospital while they're alone and offers a shoulder to cry on: a huge leap of confidence for somebody so insecure and nervous.

Some people often criticize the last scene in the morgue, but I always felt it worked somehow. The vampire is unnecessary, and feels entirely out of place. But isn't that kind of the point? In a day of complete devastation and distraction, this irrelevant creature appears and Buffy has to do what she always does. It's not like slaying this random vampire is hard for Buffy, but it's something normal, and easy to handle. Not like the death of her mother, which is something so unimaginably horrible and shocking. But it's a sign that this is just one day where something happened. Life continues, people sleep and then get up again, vampires still rise from the dead and seek blood. Buffy, Dawn and everybody else will move on.

The Body is by no means entertaining, but it's a truly vivid and painful expression of loss and mourning. Everything is so damn raw and honest. There's none of the angsty faux-emotion of death as its usually depicted on TV, where there's crying and a funeral and a wake or whatever. This is death, the truest depiction of that inevitable phenomena on a show that week in, week out is all about death and violence. It's a complete masterpiece. A+

Credits
Guest stars Randy Thompson (Dr. Kriegel); Amber Benson (Tara Maclay); Kristine Sutherland (Joyce Summers)
Writer Joss Whedon Director Joss Whedon

Angel: Reprise (2.15)

2012-01-02T08:41:00.000-08:00

Up to this point, Wolfram & Hart had been depicted as pretty darn evil. Their brand of evilness has always been written with a neat streak of black comedy, but nonetheless they've been this show's biggest of big bads, so calculating and nasty that you don't give a damn when Angel allowed them to get slaughtered a couple of weeks back. But in just one scene in Reprise, our collective opinion of Wolfram & Hart is radically altered. I'm talking, of course, about Angel's elevator ride down to hell in which Holland explains to him that W&H isn't a company with walls and offices that can be easily taken down, its existence has always been connected with man's natural desire to be cruel and evil, W&H a 'being' that has always been around and always will be around, thriving off the worse inclinations of humanity. It's beautifully profound, and successfully subverts our expectations once again. Everything we have here -- this is hell, not some imaginary place full of fire and brimstone. And it can't be taken down with an axe or an explosion or a mass murder of a bunch of lawyers. It's a chilling moment.

Reprise is all about the wheels flying off. Each character experiences something soul-destroying and potentially dangerous, and all we can do is hope that somehow things will turn around again in good time. Darla's involvement in the magic-glove hoodoo is pretty ancillary, but her appearance turns out to be far more challenging than at first presumed. Angel sleeping with her marks his rock bottom, the moment when he feels so low and beaten down that he has dangerous, angry sex with a wingnut. Then there's that cliffhanger, which looks like Angelus has once again returned. As if the world of Angel Investigations couldn't get any worse than it already is...

The supporting cast also experiences a truckload of misery. Wesley is dumped by Virginia, who decides that she can't be with somebody whose professional life is so threatening and dangerous. I liked Virginia a lot, and it's unfortunate she got written out so quickly. Then again, she did dump the guy literally one or two days after he was shot, which is... mean timing. And poor Wesley. That guy's just going to suffer and suffer.

Kate, too, is hitting rock bottom. I feel for her, ridiculed by her superiors, something made even more glaring when they bring up how noble and strong a police officer her father was. I hated Elisabeth Rohm's 'drunken phone call' acting, but Kate's story this season has been really impressive. She's had a lot more depth given to her by the writers compared to her shallow characterization last year.

Reprise is a remarkable hour, the show once again switching things up and hitting the ground running. This season has just been a barrage of plot twists and shockers, all of which have redefined everything we once thought we knew about Angel as a series. Damn. A+

Credits
Guest stars Elisabeth Rohm (Kate Lockley); Christian Kane (Lindsey McDonald); Andy Hallett (Lorne); Stephanie Romanov (Lilah Morgan); Sam Anderson (Holland Manners); Brigid Brannagh (Virginia Bryce); Thomas Kopache (Denver); Gerry Becker (Nathan Reed); Julie Benz (Darla)
Writer Tim Minear Director James Whitmore, Jr.

Buffy: I Was Made to Love You (5.15)

2012-01-02T08:36:00.000-08:00

Buffy is still unsurprisingly angsty over Riley's departure, obsessing over the fact that she doesn't have a boyfriend while everybody else does. It's a human reaction to relationship trauma, and it takes an encounter with a similarly boy-crazy robot girl to snap Buffy out of it. Ben seems nice, but Buffy doesn't need that in her life right now. Like she isn't distracted enough already?

April represents what is considered the 'perfect woman' for society's assholes. Warren is hideously gross, a nerd-boy caricature who takes his girlfriend for granted, throws Buffy into the line of fire in order to save his own ass, and creates a robot woman whose entire existence revolves around him and her desire to keep him satisfied. It's a pretty unusual character to create, since so much of the Whedonverse depicts creepy, abusive nerds as loveably goofy and charming. But credit should be given to Adam Busch for conveying such a disgusting individual. I don't think I've ever been more repulsed by a television character.

It's hard to not feel for April, and her final scene with Buffy is surprisingly tender. Buffy sees a kindred spirit in her, somebody trying so hard to be perfect and liked by her boyfriend, yet failing at every turn. It's probably the show's best exploitation of Riley's departure and, thinking about it, the only real follow-through since Into the Woods.

Being a Jane Espenson script, there's a ton of wonderful visual gags and great lines of comedy. Anya in particular is hilarious here ('some guys like that'), and Willow once again gets to be fun. And who can resist the sight of squishy Xander in the opening scene? I Was Made to Love You is filler material, but it utilizes the ensemble really well while getting mileage out of several story arcs by tying them together with a story that could easily have been disposable if written badly.

Finally, there's that last scene. It's shocking, gut-wrenching and horrifically sad. We just saw her giddy and excited over her date. And then she's gone. One of the truest and most affecting moments Buffy ever depicted. B

Credits
Guest stars Clare Kramer (Glory); Charlie Weber (Ben); Shonda Farr (April); Adam Busch (Warren Meers); Troy T. Blendell (Jinx); Amber Benson (Tara Maclay); Kristine Sutherland (Joyce Summers)
Writer Jane Espenson Director James A. Contner

The Others: The Ones That Lie in Wait (1.7)

2011-12-29T17:34:00.000-08:00

This was the episode that made me fall for this show. Before I even began re-watching the season, this was the episode that had stuck with me the longest, right down to specific scenes that gave me chills years ago. The Ones That Lie in Wait is an uncomfortable ghost story grounded in the simple conceit of a demonic presence stalking the Others one-by-one over the course of a stormy night. It features real character-driven horror as well as a remarkably sinister guest performance from Kristen Cloke, who creates one of the most effective antagonists I've ever seen in genre television.

The mysterious female that insidiously appears in the lives of each cast member is known as an entrance demon, and it's through her casual cruelty and enigmatic presence that she becomes so terrifying. Across several hours she manipulates Marian's emotions by impersonating her sister, informing her that her mother has died. Playing on her own deep-seated guilt regarding her mother and her own abilities, she gets Marian to break down and confess her deepest desires and regrets. Similarly, Mark also falls prey to her, answering her trademark question: 'what do you want?'

The woman herself is interested in personal attack, slowly breaking down the existing fragility that's already in her victims, which explains why Marian is most vulnerable to her actions. Elmer, having already encountered the entrance demon before, is strong enough to throw her off course, but warns that she'll make herself present again in the future. The episode also ends with lingering intensity, despite Marian's joy at her mother's survival. Satori is driven home by a friendly patrol officer, but he too asks the demon's question. While the tone is all-together less piercing, the show brilliantly conveys that sense of this presence always being around, even if it's appearing in a less showy demeanor.

The Ones That Lie in Wait is a beautifully constructed bottle show set in just three separate locations but bathed in a palpable sense of isolation. Morgan and Wong's script isn't at all challenging, but bristles with intensity, and you genuinely get the vibe of the demon closing in on the group and each member of the ensemble being rattled by its presence. After a couple of episodes that were fine if a little conventional, this is The Others firing on all cylinders once again. A

Credits
Guest stars Kristen Cloke (The Woman); John Aylward (Albert McGonagle)
Writers Glen Morgan, James Wong Director Thomas J. Wright

The X-Files: Orison (7.7)

2011-12-29T17:30:00.000-08:00

This is another episode about spiritual faith and the sometimes blurry distinction between good and evil. It marks the return of Donnie Pfaster, one of the squickier X-Files antagonists, and on that front the episode is fine if a little too familiar to entirely work. What makes Orison atypical to regular 'Scully gets terrorized' hours is the insight into spirituality and the acts men commit in response to what they believe is God's will. It's a theme present in Reverend Orison's mission to exterminate incarcerated felons, and it's also in the final coda with Scully. Both are presented powerfully, and raise the bar for what could have been a pretty mundane episode.

Reverend Orison is a fascinating character, somebody who believes he's doing God's work since the prison system can't possibly punish enough. It's an interesting approach, with allusions to capital punishment and our own deep-seated feelings about the jail system and the treatment of inmates. Scott Wilson never descends into parody, either, which is no easy task when you're playing a nutty preacher with hypnotic powers.

That final scene is also wonderfully presented, with Scully questioning whether it was her own good conscience that killed Pfaster, or if it was something far darker that she had no control over. It's an absorbing closer to the hour, and a natural response to committing an act so brutal and different to your normal behavior. Not that we can blame the girl for plugging the hell out of him...

I loved Irresistible in season two, and Chip Johannessen must have loved it too considering everything Pfaster does here is essentially a remake of his actions in his first appearance. There's the hooker murder victims, the fetishism of nails and hair, and that final Scully attack in her home. It's all kind of gnarly and cool (especially Scully's initial kick-ass fight with her attacker) but feels a little hollow, the script struggling to find some new ground with the character beyond that great reveal of Pfaster's 'demon face'. Regardless, Nick Chinlund is still terrifying in the role, and ranks up there among the X-Files' greatest ghouls.

Orison isn't perfect, but the themes at work are mightily intriguing, while the visuals for the hypnosis sequences are stunning. Thinking about it, there's a dream-like feel to a lot of the episode, cementing the disquieting tone the show seems to be reaching for. B

Credits
Guest stars Scott Wilson (Reverend Robert Gailen Orison); Nick Chinlund (Donnie Pfaster); Steve Rankin (Joe Daddo); Emilio Rivera (Brigham); Lisa Kushell (Call Girl)
Writer Chip Johannessen Director Rob Bowman

Charmed: Sand Francisco Dreamin' (5.14)

2011-12-28T08:40:00.000-08:00

This feels like another retread, made even more glaring since the show did 'secret fears' just seven episodes ago. Sand Francisco Dreamin' has a strong premise, the idea of demons hunting down sandmen and the resulting anger created due to the absence of dreams, but it soon falls into familiar trappings: Charmed coasting once again, relying on increasingly stale conceits like sitcom power swaps and one-note demons instead of pursuing interesting new material.

Each character has their own deep-seated fears and traumas that get expressed through their dreams, but too many of them are redundant. Piper's pregnancy has left her feeling unsexy, so she's been dreaming about an eligible bachelor that wants to get in her pants. Blah. Then there's Paige and her still-present childhood abandonment issues, but the show already explored that just a couple of weeks back, leaving the story feeling repetitive. Leo has some angst over missing out on Piper's pregnancy, landing him pregnant via some wacky magic hijinks. Snore.

The most interesting dream belongs to Phoebe, and it's not only because her dreams have the most interesting visuals, but because it's more successfully character-driven. Phoebe is being pursued by a masked killer, somebody she initially believes is Cole, until she realizes that she is her own pursuer, and that she's essentially become her own worst enemy. It's a subplot that feels a lot more organic than the other elements of this episode, with a central idea that hasn't been explored already.

Elsewhere, there are a couple of moments that are impressive -- I liked Mr. Sandman playing at the top of the show, and Beth Orton was great at the end. The visuals for the dream sequences were also surprisingly ambitious, with a blend of various camera techniques and visual trickery to reflect each dream or nightmare. But Sand Francisco Dreamin' as a whole episode felt like the show relying on familiar tricks too much to truly work. Meh. C

Credits
Guest stars Henry Gibson (Sandman); Rebecca Balding (Elise Rothman); Darin Heames (Tracer Demon); Austin Peck (Ryder); Tim Kelleher (Axel); Allison Munn (Wendy); Clarissa Romano (Becca); Beth Orton (Herself)
Writers Monica Breen, Alison Schapker Director John Kretchmer

Charmed: House Call (5.13)

2011-12-28T08:37:00.000-08:00

You can understand why the writers wanted to do a bunch of comedy episodes after a run of heavy storytelling (for Charmed, anyway) with Cole's machinations and his eventual demise, but this is the point of the series where 'comedic' gets unfortunately confused with 'dumb'. House Call is a pretty terrible episode, the sisters acting insufferably annoying, the special effects worse than ever, and the guest stars perfecting the art of scenery-chewing. Kill me now.

Let's start with Phoebe's cries of wanting modesty. Hah! This is a lady who probably uses a crotch shot for her driving license picture. And why does she believe Cole is responsible for the demon-residue hauntings when he got vanquished in another damn reality?? Then there's the gratuitous Phoebe nudity again, followed by her anvil-a-licious proclaiming that Spencer Ricks is a 'turkey'. Ricks himself is the most ridiculous caricature of a misogynist in the world. Meanwhile, Paige's jealousy of Glenn's new fiancée is stupid even before she gets possessed; while Piper's obsessive cleaning comes completely out of left-field. Gah.

Don't get me wrong, there are some amusing moments here: the plaster falling on Piper's head is straight out of an Acme cartoon, Rose McGowan gives her lines some neat delivery, and Erinn Bartlett completely nails Rose's distinctive body language and vocal pattern. But... that's pretty much it. House Call is a routinely annoying Charmed filler episode. D+

Credits
Guest stars Wolfgang Bodison (Witch Doctor); Rebecca Balding (Elise Rothman); Jesse Woodrow (Glen Belland); Erinn Bartlett (Jessica); Richard Gant (Head Witch Doctor); Googy Gress (Spencer Ricks); Todd Sherry (Photographer)
Writer Henry Alonso Myers Director Jon Pare

Angel: The Thin Dead Line (2.14)

2011-12-27T18:00:00.000-08:00

I always feel like zombies help raise the bar of the episode they're featured in, even episodes that people seem to violently dislike. The Thin Dead Line, for example, is considered one of the weaker season two stories, just like Dead Man's Party garnered almost universal criticism during Buffy's third year. Both episodes feature some awesomely well-choreographed zombie carnage towards the back end of the script, the main cast and a bunch of extras barricading themselves in-doors while the undead launch a full-blown attack. It's exciting and crazy fun. And unlike Dead Man's Party, I actually liked the principal 'bones' of this story. It has some interesting ideas and features strong use of the core cast, which is always great.

I don't think the separation of Angel Investigations has been as successfully used as it is here. We have Angel on his own but still monitoring his old friends, and we have him teaming up with some of the more ancillary characters. Kate in particularly was pretty effective this week, especially in that graveyard scene. Elsewhere, Wes, Cordy and Gunn tackle another freak mystery at the office, while getting themselves wrapped up in something far bigger. I even liked Anne's involvement here. The show feels so much better with a strong ensemble of characters to follow, rather than the problematic 'three-person detective show' the series began as.

The zombie cops weren't fully realized (and the coda with the smashing of the artifact thingy was pretty weak), but I liked the metaphor of a corrupt police force who use extreme restraint and combat to keep crime down. Some of the 'ghetto' talk was obviously embarrassing ('She speaks true, G.' - Gah!), but I've enjoyed a couple of these Shawn Ryan-scripted episodes this year, all of which usually involve predominantly black areas of Los Angeles. It opens up the world a little and creates some culture-clash shocks.

Finally, there's that great final sequence where Cordelia tells Angel to stay away. It needed to be said, and feels entirely justified considering what he's put them through and how beat-up Wesley is at the time. The show is refusing to bend to easy storytelling. B+

Credits
Guest stars Elisabeth Rohm (Kate Lockley); Julia Lee (Anne Steele); Mushond Lee (Jackson); Jarrod Crawford (Rondell)
Writers Jim Kouf, Shawn Ryan Director Scott McGinnis

Buffy: Crush (5.14)

2011-12-27T17:57:00.000-08:00

Spike has had some incredible character work this season. Here we see that he's not totally removed from the bumbling William of Fool for Love, still manipulated and frustrated by the women around him. You've got to feel for the guy. No matter how often he's proved his morality and nobleness, no matter his offer to kill Drusilla, he's still rejected. Spike is stuck in an obvious predicament. He's grown too much as a person to simply return to his blood-lust, while his relationship with Dru is too fractured by her leaving him and the fact that she's... evil. Then there's Buffy, somebody he obviously has a connection with, yet somebody who insists that nothing could ever come of it from her end. It's a really absorbing story, and you have to ask why Buffy is so angry and disgusted over Spike's feelings. She sure is protesting a lot...

Watching Crush's final act, it just brought to my attention how strong these four characters are. Spike and Buffy are obviously wonderful, but Drusilla and Harmony both fit into this bubble so well. While Dru has become more outlandish and cartoony this year (over on Angel, too), she's still ridiculously fun. I'm guessing it almost became a competition in the writers room over who comes up with her zaniest descriptions for everyday things ("Tin soldiers put funny little knick-knacks in your brain"). Harmony, too, is a wonderful recurring character. She's ridiculous and naive, but there's an innocence to her that's pretty endearing. She really does love Spike, even thought he treats her like garbage. In that way her story mirrors Spike's infatuation with Buffy. They're both people who use and abuse whenever they want something.

David Fury's script is brilliantly paced and features some really great dialogue. From the obvious Quasimodo metaphor at the top of the show to that insanely cute moment where Buffy sits inside the corpse outline on the train while saying 'it's creepy', Crush is an underrated classic. There's a level of intimacy to the episode which is sometimes unbearable, especially in the scenes where Buffy is aware of Spike's crush but he isn't yet aware that she knows. And that final scene is gut-wrenching. You can practically feel the pain through James Marsters' face. A+

Credits
Guest stars Mercedes McNab (Harmony Kendall); Charlie Weber (Ben); Amber Benson (Tara Maclay); Juliet Landau (Drusilla); Kristine Sutherland (Joyce Summers)
Writer David Fury Director Daniel Attias

Angel: Happy Anniversary (2.13)

2011-12-27T17:53:00.000-08:00

There's a great moment towards the end of Happy Anniversary in which Lorne criticizes Angel for losing track of his mission, telling him that his recent decision to cut ties and embark on a road of vengeance is the type of thing reserved for lesser beings, not somebody as noble and heroic as he normally is. It's the strongest representation of what's occurred over the last couple of episodes, Angel for the first time stating his reasoning for firing his employees and attacking back at Wolfram & Hart. He hates those guys, his friends were getting in his way, and he's lost interest in pursuing redemption, considering it an impossible outcome.

Both characters work crazily well together, their banter being just as ridiculous as it is insightful. They make a strong detective duo, too, chasing leads to find the source of the drama, and Lorne even joining in when they got attacked by those fairytale-looking monsters (Joss sure does love his ghoulish men in dinner suits). We need to see more of Lorne's high-pitched wail of kick-ass.

The 'end of the world' story is intriguing, if a little tragic. Of course, it does mark yet another unfortunate Whedonverse trope with the nerd who seems fine with casual assault of the women around them. The trio on Buffy did it, Topher did it on Dollhouse. Here we have a guy who is seemingly fine with trapping his girlfriend in an eternal rape-freeze. Ick. However, the story worked really well, despite the moral issues. The science was probably kabluey, but I was really affected by Gene's fear of losing the one loving person in his life. Obviously he took it way too far, but those pre-'cosmic sex assault' scenes were powerful.

Elsewhere, this was by far the best use of Cordy, Wes and Gunn since they were fired. I loved Virginia's re-appearance, and how can you not get a kick out of that completely wacko scene with Wesley doing his best Miss Marple impression, Cordelia picking at the hors d'ouevres and little old ladies being exposed as demon-raisers.

Like Blood Money, this episode collided together standalone elements with separate parts from the various story arcs at work right now, and I adored most of it. Lorne and Angel's buddy act was hilarious and absorbing, and I got completely absorbed in by the various subplots this week, too. The show continues to fire on all cylinders. A

Credits
Guest stars Andy Hallett (Lorne); Brigid Brannagh (Virginia Bryce); Matt Champagne (Gene Rainey); Darby Stanchfield (Denise); Mike Hagerty (Bartender)
Teleplay David Greenwalt Story Joss Whedon, David Greenwalt Director Bill Norton

Buffy: Blood Ties (5.13)

2011-12-27T17:48:00.000-08:00

The forward momentum building from last week continues here, with the truth about the Key finally reaching the ears of the Scoobies and eventually Dawn herself. There are some strong components here, but too many acts of annoyance derailed my enjoyment of the episode as a whole. Crucially, the actress at the heart of the Key storyline just blows. Blood Ties is the debut of Michelle Trachtenberg's shrieky banshee acting ('get out... Get Out... Get Out!!!' is the audio equivalent of nails through my eyeballs), and while the material she's given here would obviously be challenging for any fourteen year-old actor, Trachtenberg bugs.

At the same time, it felt like the writers cut corners in a huge way to get the big secret out. All the Scoobies act like morons here, making it painfully obvious to Dawn that something's wrong. Don't even get me started on Giles' big book of explicit Dawn-is-the-key notes. Gah.

The story is working as a kind of metaphor for a teenage identity crisis, with Dawn naturally being angsty and feeling like she doesn't belong. Which, you know, she doesn't. I have problems with some of the dialogue and the lack of character logic at work, but it's still a great concept. You feel for all three Summers women, all of whom have been thrown into this unpredictable and horrible situation by people who didn't consider the power of human emotion when they came up with this thing.

I continue to love the evolving Buffy/Spike relationship. What started off as another 'Buffy barges into Spike's crypt' scene ended up being far more grounded and emotional, Buffy even finding some further support from Spike when they tried to find Dawn. Love these two together.

Elsewhere, Ben is Glory. Yikes. Charlie Weber is terrible, but it's another doozy of a plot twist thrown in to an already busy storyline. Glory continues to be at her best during less showy moments, like her conversation with Dawn. She's actually scary there. Not so much with the brain-sucking in her boudoir.

Blood Ties is an important episode which features some decent individual scenes and ideas but sometimes feels contrived and silly, the script lurching from one blip of annoyance to the next. I'm enjoying season five, but it's not as strong as I remembered it being. B-

Credits
Guest stars Clare Kramer (Glory); Charlie Weber (Ben); Troy T. Blendell (Jinx); Amber Benson (Tara Maclay); Kristine Sutherland (Joyce Summers)
Writer Steven S. DeKnight Director Michael Gershman

The Others: Souls on Board (1.6)

2011-12-23T11:42:00.000-08:00

I've always thought planes are a great location for horror movies, since you're naturally confined into this tiny bubble, surrounded by people you don't know, and have no means of escape. It's just a cool environment for creating fear among a group of characters, and it's no real surprise that The Others sets an episode almost entirely on board one. Being this show, spookiness naturally occurs, and while most of the jump moments aren't particularly groundbreaking, there's an energy to the hour that proves effective.

Each episode so far has had a distinctive visual flavor to it, and that theme continues here with horror veteran Tobe Hooper, who creates something impressively claustrophobic. I loved the steadicam as he frantically zoomed between the seats of the plane, as well as the jittery hands smashing into the plane's windows. Like practically every other episode, I also enjoyed all the little innovations that help project a sense of possession, or of characters being taken over by spirits. Like that cool moment with Marian in the bathroom, scribbling onto toilet paper as the spirit inhabiting her tries to convey a message from the other side.

One of the major themes that the show explores so well is the sense of unfinished business from the great beyond. A lot of the elaborate horror sequences in Souls on Board are mere window dressing to an all-together more human message, spirits desperate for somebody to fix the hydraulic leak and prevent further disasters. Unlike the procedural messiness of Unnamed, this episode was all about the misinterpreted hauntings and the pretty mundane explanations for why they occur. I like that contrast between high-concept science fiction and the ordinary, and it's something that The Others as a show is depicting so successfully at this point. B+

Credits
Guest stars Dale Dye (Ken Radley); Diane Salinger (Karen); Rachel Wilson (Tandi); John Aylward (Albert McGonagle)
Writer Daniel Arkin Director Tobe Hooper