TV Reviews

The Good Guys – Pilot

I’m a sucker for a good buddy-cop story. I love the camaraderie, the back and forth jokes, the way the relationship begins on shaky terms and quickly evolves into one where the two friends trust each other with their lives. In order for a buddy-cop story to be efficient, it needs two lead characters that have excellent chemistry and can appear to the audience as if they truly are as close as the script wants them to be. Fortunately, “The Good Guys” has two excellent actors who will likely grow into their roles as time goes on. While the characters that Colin Hanks and Bradley Whitford are playing right now aren’t entirely fleshed out, there’s just enough back story in the pilot episode of Matt Nix’s new action show to help us believe these characters will be likable and realistic in the foreseeable future.  In fact, the entire show feels this way: a bit cliché and bland at times, but filled with enough promise to keep an audience willing to wait for the show to grow into itself.

Flashforward – Countdown

The penultimate episode of Flashfoward tells the story of what really happens on April 29th before the events of the global premonitions. The individual stories of the central characters are addressed and while some people are nudged along predetermined paths, others are find themselves in situations contrary to their fate prophesied.

Countdown opens with Charlie (Mark and Olivia’s daughter) waking after a bad dream. This acts as a literal wake-up call as to what day it is. April 29th is the date of the moments witnessed be nearly every person on the planet.

“Today’s the day… Today’s the day Daddy’s gonna die”.

Chuck Vs the Living Dead

We are back on track after a couple of mediocre-to-good episodes, as Chuck delivers on all fronts: A plot connected to the overall story arch, action, family, emotional reveals and a solid dose of seriousness underlying it all. When Dad comes back from his self-imposed exile, it is time for some hard truths between Bartowski Sr. and his wayward son – while Ellie is tricked further and further into the dangerous world of espionage, expertly manipulated by the mysterious Ring organization.

Lost – What They Died For

Call me pessimistic, ignorant, or any other word you’d like, but the second half of this season has not brought the same level of intrigue that it used to.  “Lost” used to be a compelling show because we knew that even if we didn’t know what something meant, the writers would explain it a few episodes later.  Sometimes, we’d be forced to bite our tongues and wait an entire season for an answer.  It was the reassurance that an answer was somewhere on the horizon that made the countless twists and turns tolerable.  However, the show is coming to an end, and we’re no closer to understanding some of the major aspects of the show than we were six years ago.  Some people don’t mind an ending draped in ambiguity (I personally wouldn’t care at all), but my problem is with the final explanation we’re given that’s supposed to explain everything.  I had always wondered why the Island was so important, and since the writers waited so long to explain, we’re left with an answer that we know is final, the end-all explanation to one of television’s greatest mysteries.  According to Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, the Island is important because of… a cave of light at its center that represents good and evil and everything in between?!  When I first learned this, all I could think was, “Why the hell tell us this so late in the show?”  As a result, the show’s final dramatic moments are hinging on a plot point that we’ve only had a couple of episodes to absorb.  It doesn’t feel as important as finding out what’s in the hatch, or learning who’s in the coffin at the funeral parlor in Season 4.

Castle – A Deadly Game (Season Finale)

A master class in TV entertainment, A Deadly Game is a textbook example of great television. The season two finale is a perfectly balanced composite of laughs, drama and emotion, which is enjoyable from start to finish. The only blemish in an otherwise flawless episode is the mildly frustrating ending that, although arguably necessary, will leave you feeling like you’ve won the lottery but can’t find the ticket.

V – Red Sky (Season Finale)

The season is complete and V has well and truly invaded our TV sets, unmercifully culling Flashforward while solidifying its own position with consistently good ratings. Is it a shining example of Sci-Fi drama? Or does a look beneath the surface reveal something not so pretty?

24 – Day 8: 1:00 P.M to 2:00 P.M

As Jack Bauer, clad in black body armor and a black Darth Vader-esque mask, approaches Charles Logan’s car, the look of fear on Charles Logan’s face is one to remember, a classic moment in a show that’s already given us so much by which to remember it.  Jack Bauer has proven for eight years that he is the stuff terrorists’ nightmares are made of, so to see Charles Logan staring in the eyes (or rather, mask) of a man with nothing to lose is nothing short of incredible.  Episode 22, the last full episode before the two hour series finale next week, was a bit slow at points, but still proved to be invigorating when focusing on Jack’s violent vendetta against the Russians.  Slowly, but surely, the blueprint of Season Eight’s plot is being unfolded and, as the picture becomes clearer, it actually makes me feel a bit better about some of the missteps the show took earlier in the year.

Glee – Dream On

I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect from this weeks Glee. I was hoping for a bit more Jane Lynch/Shue rivalry going on but that storyline seems to have taken a back-seat lately. Which is both good and bad, mainly bad. Anything featuring Jane Lynch is amazing but it’s always nice to show-off some new story-lines.

Such as Artie and Tina’s story. They’ve been together for a while but the writers never dove too deep into what they were doing. Apparently, Artie has been wanting to be a dancer. Which is scientifically impossible due to his paralysis. Tina thinks otherwise.

Supernatural – Swan Song

Sometimes understated is the way to go.  I choose to wait a few days to write this review and re-watch the program a few times.  It is funny how ones prospective changes.  I was a little disappointed at first with the direction this supposed original Finale for the Supernatural series went.  On reflection what else was suppose to happen.  In a way things have come full circle.  Sam is in Hell or is he? Bobby is still hunting things that go bump in the night.  Castiel is back in Heaven and maybe everything is right with the world at least at this moment.  And Dean, well Dean has returned to his once and only love Lisa to fulfill a promise he made to his brother despite his feelings otherwise.

The Office – The Chump

It was nice to see more of Toby and Creed.  These two characters have the misfortune of being placed in the center of dozens of other characters who get more lines and screen-time dedicated to them.  It’s unfortunate, because Creed delivers the best lines of every single episode, while Toby’s sad-sack attitude gets more and more hilarious with time.  The writers made the mistake of pushing these characters to the back and giving them barely any lines.  Instead, most of us had to suffer from horrible Meredith plots, which usually either consist of her getting naked (gross) or her getting obnoxiously drunk (lame).  The supporting cast on “The Office” is still one of the best on TV (Stanley, Kevin, Oscar, Daryll and Gabe all provide some consistently funny lines), but it would be even better if they injected a little dose of Creed and Toby into the mix.  Hearing Creed yell, “He don’t give an F about nothing!” was the highlight of my night, and hopefully we see more of Creed in the future.