Television

Entourage – MotherF**ker

After an exemplary start to the eighth and final season of Entourage, it was inevitable that things were going to slow down and return to the Entourage of old. Last week it seemed as if we had hit that slump, when “Whiz Kid” chronicled Vince urinating in a cup for its extremely limited twenty minutes of screen time, but as much as one would have liked them to be, things weren’t quite done with yet. Whilst outshining its predecessor in terms of content, “Motherf**ker” did little in the way of plot progression to the extent that it is now becoming frustrating. With only three episodes left in its run, Entourage has managed to waste two consecutive episodes on very, very little, and of the few things that did actually happen, you’d require a season nine to truly give them the resolution that they deserve. Nevertheless, what’s done is and forever will be done and Entourage will have to live with that.

Of the few things that the show did get right this week, its title amazingly wasn’t just profanity for profanity’s sake, rather, for perhaps the first time ever when the word has been used, a mother was truly f**ked. Still broken up over his break-up with Sloan, Eric has been keeping a calm exterior in front of his friends despite absolutely no one believing his positive outlook. When Melinda Clarke (played by the actual Melinda Clarke but not really as herself), Sloan’s ex-stepmother, set up a meeting with Eric he was warned off on more than one occasion, but feeling mildly down as he is, he went ahead with it anyway. With Melinda looking for new representation Eric was thrown a little off his game, expecting the conversation to be of a more personal nature, but wising up afterwards, he went to meet her at a bar to accept her as a client. As the alcohol flowed and the two bitched about the McQuewicks, the inevitable side effect of loneliness took place and they ended up in bed together. Unbeknownst to E however, that was Melinda’s plan all along, just to make her ex jealous. 

Fringe Casting Hints at Story Line

William Sadler announced via Twitter more than a week ago that he was off to Vancouver to work on Fringe. The
actor previously appeared as Dr. Bruce Sumner — head of St. Claire’s
Hospital — in the first season episode “The Equation” where he actively
tried to get a visiting Walter reinstitutionalized. Walter first took
residence in the mental institution following the fire in his lab that
led to the death of Carla Warren, his assistant.

Why Syfy’s Alpha Abilities Are So Refreshing

I have been watching Alphas
for only a couple of weeks now, and I have to say it took me by
surprise. Like everyone who has been exposed to comic book superheroes
and the sleuth of recent years’ summer blockbusters, I thought I knew
what to expect. I turned out to be wrong on many things, but what really
struck me was the series’ take on superpowers. Indulge me for a while
and allow me to show you why to me it’s been — so far at least — so
refreshing.

Alphas – Bill and Gary’s Excellent Adventure

“Bill and Gary’s Excellent Adventure” was a break from what we’ve been accustomed to from Alphas.
There was no Alpha-of-the-week and not even a passing reference to Red
Flag. Over the five preceding weeks, the series managed to let us know a
lot about its many leads, but here character development really took
center stage. It worked reasonably well even though the choice of
characters made it hard for the writers to draw us all in, or lead us
smoothly to the predictable ending.

The
title is actually misleading as this was Bill’s adventure, with Gary
coming along for the ride. It was Bill’s because the (writers’) goal was
to get him to commit to the team. Gary was the perfect companion for
the ride because he embodied better than the others the difficulties
Bill had with the team — frictions between the two being more open and
more frequent.

Louie – Halloween/Ellie

Louie had been on course to have
a perfect season, but with “Halloween/Ellie” the series saw its
first bad episode of the year. Even then it was only half bad, and
in fact “Halloween” was one of the more memorable segments.
“Ellie” didn’t generate enough humor or have any poignant message
behind it, just taking us back to somewhere the series has already
been.

Whenever C.K. is railing on kids in the
opening standup segment, you know he is going to be spending some
time with the girls during the episode. And since Jane and Lilly are
always comedic gold, the anticipation for the episode was high while
listening to his diatribe on how coddled American children are.
Whether it was bubblegum flavor or not, we all vocalized our disgust
for cough syrup growing up – some of us probably still do. Just as
with the series itself, C.K.’s strength as a comedian has always come
from how easy his material is to relate to, and how effectively it
cuts to the bone. Anyone reading this, and me writing it, are all
spoiled when compared with most of the world, and have been all of
our lives. So has C.K., which some may say makes him a hypocrite,
but he is more of an impartial observer of all things negative.
Which is why he can speak so well to the truth of our over pampered
society, while directing it at his daughter, and it still be
hilarious; “You’re wearing clothes made by children your age
professionally.”

Wilfred – Isolation

Wilfred went two-for-two with
its double feature, putting up a second episode that was nearly as
entertaining as its predecessor. “Isolation” saw Wilfred at his
most sadistic, but also produced one of the titular character’s
funniest performances. Some convincing physical humor and uproarious
lines of dialogue helped turn Wilfred’s demented acts into hilarious
moments; they were still pretty demented though.

After three days spent holed up in his
house smoking copious amounts of ganja, Ryan seemed ready to go for
another three, but that probably wouldn’t make for a very interesting
episode. So it wasn’t long before Wilfy came calling to check in on
his protege. Well, technically it was Jenna who first arrived to
invite Ryan to a neighborhood meeting, but as always she was only
there to provide a storyline and something nice to look at. It was
the crazed canine who scored laughs early on with the best running
joke in the series. Wilfred’s peculiar relationship with Bear has
not only stayed fresh, but actually become more charming in its
absurdity. The idea of Ryan’s imaginary friend having his own
imaginary friend just makes sense, as long as you don’t think about
it too hard. Wilfred absolutely killed it when he reamed out Bear
for screwing up his attempt to break into Ryan’s house, particularly
for not buying Bear’s story about a twisted ankle. Even when a scene
between them is particularly graphic -like Wilfred faking an orgasm a
few episodes back- they still manage to be lighthearted, with Wilfred
often resembling the frustrated husband in an old married couple. Or
in this case; the less inept partner in a pair of bumbling criminals.

Wilfred – Compassion

This
week Wilfred fans were
treated to two installments of the offbeat comedy, as FX continued to
double down on episodes to make room for their fall lineup. Airing
first, “Compassion” proved that there is still a little gas left
in Wilfred’s tank.
Which couldn’t have come at a better time after last week’s episode
seemed to be running on fumes. One of their most well utilized guest
stars to date -make that two actually, plus a great cameo- also
built confidence that the series wasn’t done yet.

If
Ryan’s mother hadn’t spent the last twenty years in a mental
institution she would have probably warned him that it’s not a good
idea to let someone that was in a mental institution for twenty years
move in with you. But having never received that lesson growing up,
Ryan finds himself burdened with a less-than-stable roommate; to go
along with the deranged dog he already has. Ryan’s relationship with
his mother, Catherine, was strained long before she moved in with
him(Did I mention she spent two decades in a funny farm?). As is
revealed though, it’s less from anger at having to put up with
Catherine’s antics, and more from the fear for his own sanity that
her presence brings up that has Ryan on edge. A fear that turns out
be completely justified.