This is one of the most unfunny sitcoms I have ever seen. It was a massive disappointment.
Simon Roberts (Robin Williams) and his daughter, Sydney (Sarah Michelle Gellar) run an ads company that it is deep trouble. It is about to lose a major client, the company of McDonalds. But Simon strikes a deal with them, an impossible deal, get a major star to sing the selected jingle.
Simon and his wing man, Zach (James Wolk) meet with Kelly Clarkson, playing herself, for drinks. The problem? Well, in addition to not singing jingles, Kelly wants an image change. She wants to be sexier and sing sexier stuff. So they decide to play that card. Zach and Kelly sing a sexy jingle and then try and talk to her out of it because it's just too sexy, but that doesn't work. Luckily, at the last minute, Sydney manages to save the day by somehow managing to convince Kelly that it isn't a jingle but a song instead. After selling the song and making a fool out of herself in a fancy restaurant, Kelly agrees to do the song and the day is saved.
Tada, that's the plot. It's not great and the acting doesn't manage to save it with assistant Lauren (Amanda Setton, much better in her small role on The Mindy Project) urging Simon to smell her hair to inspire him. The even sadder part? It does inspire him and he faces the board of directors. Andrew (Hamish Linklater) is also around though he isn't given much to do which is a shame.
Williams is a good actor and can truly be funny but this role just doesn't work for him. He loves when his daughter imitates his ex-wife and tells that him that she's leaving him. He smiles and says, "That's it." Odd. I haven't seen Gellar in anything else but she seems somehow miscast. Wolk is another disappointment, great in USA's Political Animals seems weird here, as a horny assistant, flirting with Clarkson as though his life depended upon it. On the plus side, he can actually sing.
The set is pretty and I guess the mechanics are good but it is supposed to be a comedy and I never laughed and only smiled once throughout the whole show. And it has a talented cast but you'd never know it from this show. I expected better. Grade: C+
Side Notes:
-Not much else I can say, except the jingle does sound pretty once Kelly Clarkson finally sings it.
Friday, September 27, 2013
Thursday, September 26, 2013
The Michael J. Fox Show: Pilot and Neighbor
Mike Henry (Michael J. Fox) has Parkinsons disease. He doesn't want that to defend him, too bad that Fox didn't want his show to be the same way. Sure, there's tons of other stuff but his disease is the thread that pulls the show forward.
Mike Henry used to be a celebrity anchorman on NBC Channel 4 News but after his disease became too much to handle, he retired and became a burden to his family, who mostly mean well. His wife, Annie (Breaking Bad's Betsy Brandt) tries to get him to let guys in to fix the dishwasher and promises that she will make worth his while. Oldest son, Ian (Conor Romero) is the anti-Axl, with good grades but not good enough for Cornell. He dropped out of college and is currently trying to start his own search engine but is failing epically. Eve (Juliette Goglia) is the underachieving daughter. She's the one to watch in the show, talent-wise. Graham (Jack Gore) is the youngest, cute kid who still hides in his parents' bed but fortunately appears before they begin having sex.
The most annoying character is Mike's freelancing sister Leigh (Katie Finneran). In the second episode, she feels like people aren't listening to her petty problems so while watching Graham, she lets the other mothers believe that she's a single mother so they pity her. She doesn't appreciate what others do for her. It's horribly annoying.
Then there are Mike's co-workers. Harris (Wendell Pierce) is the boss who does mean well, but he wants Mike to come back so the ratings will climb. His assistant (Ana Noguiera) is much more interesting with her budding optimism and appreciation of Mike.
The plot of the first show isn't much, just Mike deciding whether or not to go back to work and finally stumbling, almost literally onto the story of how 911 calls work in the city, which goes over big, but not big enough for the Today Show to play that instead of going to DC for breaking news. Eve also learns that she can't skate through her school projects.
The second show is better with the plot lines for the kids, Eve believes that her new friend is a lesbian but she's not and starts making out with Ian, which I predicted. She just likes making out with girls at parties because guys like that. Ian does tell his sister some good advice, just have friends that are cool not necessarily unique. Good advice, stop trying to make yourself seem more unique. The friend also says some interesting stuff, like the fact that she believed Eve to be a lesbian as well.
However, the plot line for the adults is horrifying. Mike meets a new neighbor, Kelly (Tracy Pollan, Fox's real life wife) and develops a crush on her leading to an uncomfortable and extremely awkward double date with the Henrys and Kelly and Harris. Annie is too nice and Mike comes clean and tells her that if he told her she was beautiful every time she was beautiful, he wouldn't be able to do anything else.
Though the acting is good, it needs better plot lines and Leigh needs to go so they can focus more on Mike's job, wife and kids who are much more interesting and less annoying. Still, the show has promise but it is probably the weakest and oddly least enjoyable of all the new shows I have begun watching so far this fall and reviewed. I want it to work, I truly do so hopefully it will improve. Grade: B-
Side Notes:
-The most awkward and yet oddly funny line in the show, Harris's, "I'm going to make love to her {Kelly} with my shirt on." Mike's response, "Thanks for putting that image in my head." My sentiments exactly. You read my mind.
-Because Ian dropped out of college, he is currently sleeping in his little brother's large closet bedroom and hates that his parents treat him like a second rate citizen but he's supposed to be in college. I hope they do more with his character because he might be my favorite one though I don't really know why.
-I hope Leigh never has children-giving them soda and Twizzlers is clearly not a good idea.
-Eating together as a family is a good thing, especially when you actually have chairs for everyone. (A reference from The Middle who don't have enough chairs.)
-Despite being a sit-com, the shows really weren't that funny. Again, I hope that changes.
-Another good part? A reference to one of Mike's stories from Africa, about a woman literally having her baby in a tree. They need to find more stuff like that for the show, but at least the second episode didn't focus on Mike's disease.
-Eve, don't for a second think that the problems of your family are similar to the ones that the Joads face.
Mike Henry used to be a celebrity anchorman on NBC Channel 4 News but after his disease became too much to handle, he retired and became a burden to his family, who mostly mean well. His wife, Annie (Breaking Bad's Betsy Brandt) tries to get him to let guys in to fix the dishwasher and promises that she will make worth his while. Oldest son, Ian (Conor Romero) is the anti-Axl, with good grades but not good enough for Cornell. He dropped out of college and is currently trying to start his own search engine but is failing epically. Eve (Juliette Goglia) is the underachieving daughter. She's the one to watch in the show, talent-wise. Graham (Jack Gore) is the youngest, cute kid who still hides in his parents' bed but fortunately appears before they begin having sex.
The most annoying character is Mike's freelancing sister Leigh (Katie Finneran). In the second episode, she feels like people aren't listening to her petty problems so while watching Graham, she lets the other mothers believe that she's a single mother so they pity her. She doesn't appreciate what others do for her. It's horribly annoying.
Then there are Mike's co-workers. Harris (Wendell Pierce) is the boss who does mean well, but he wants Mike to come back so the ratings will climb. His assistant (Ana Noguiera) is much more interesting with her budding optimism and appreciation of Mike.
The plot of the first show isn't much, just Mike deciding whether or not to go back to work and finally stumbling, almost literally onto the story of how 911 calls work in the city, which goes over big, but not big enough for the Today Show to play that instead of going to DC for breaking news. Eve also learns that she can't skate through her school projects.
The second show is better with the plot lines for the kids, Eve believes that her new friend is a lesbian but she's not and starts making out with Ian, which I predicted. She just likes making out with girls at parties because guys like that. Ian does tell his sister some good advice, just have friends that are cool not necessarily unique. Good advice, stop trying to make yourself seem more unique. The friend also says some interesting stuff, like the fact that she believed Eve to be a lesbian as well.
However, the plot line for the adults is horrifying. Mike meets a new neighbor, Kelly (Tracy Pollan, Fox's real life wife) and develops a crush on her leading to an uncomfortable and extremely awkward double date with the Henrys and Kelly and Harris. Annie is too nice and Mike comes clean and tells her that if he told her she was beautiful every time she was beautiful, he wouldn't be able to do anything else.
Though the acting is good, it needs better plot lines and Leigh needs to go so they can focus more on Mike's job, wife and kids who are much more interesting and less annoying. Still, the show has promise but it is probably the weakest and oddly least enjoyable of all the new shows I have begun watching so far this fall and reviewed. I want it to work, I truly do so hopefully it will improve. Grade: B-
Side Notes:
-The most awkward and yet oddly funny line in the show, Harris's, "I'm going to make love to her {Kelly} with my shirt on." Mike's response, "Thanks for putting that image in my head." My sentiments exactly. You read my mind.
-Because Ian dropped out of college, he is currently sleeping in his little brother's large closet bedroom and hates that his parents treat him like a second rate citizen but he's supposed to be in college. I hope they do more with his character because he might be my favorite one though I don't really know why.
-I hope Leigh never has children-giving them soda and Twizzlers is clearly not a good idea.
-Eating together as a family is a good thing, especially when you actually have chairs for everyone. (A reference from The Middle who don't have enough chairs.)
-Despite being a sit-com, the shows really weren't that funny. Again, I hope that changes.
-Another good part? A reference to one of Mike's stories from Africa, about a woman literally having her baby in a tree. They need to find more stuff like that for the show, but at least the second episode didn't focus on Mike's disease.
-Eve, don't for a second think that the problems of your family are similar to the ones that the Joads face.
Broadchurch: Season One Finale: Recap and Reaction
This is a great, chilling British murder mystery.
Broadchurch is a quiet town, small where everyone knows everyone else.
The morning begins like any other, with Mark Latimer (Andrew Buchan), a plumber, going about his day. The best shot in the whole series is a long shot following Mark around, greeting all the townsfolk, one of which is not what they seem. It doesn't take long for the body to be discovered. Danny Latimer (Oskar McNamara), only eleven, was found dead on the beach. Detective Inspector Alec Hardy (David Tennant) is on the job. He is brand new to the town and has a botched up murder case in his past. Detective Sergeant Ellie Miller (the magnificent Olivia Colman) is furious having just come back from vacation and the promotion she wanted and coveted has gone to someone else. But she has lived in the town for some time and knows everyone and trusts them. Hardy encourages her strongly not to do that. She should have listened to him.
Danny's mother, Beth (Jodie Whitaker) is devastated and it is understandable. He was her baby and she wasn't finished raising him.
Though the show is about finding out who killed Danny Latimer, there is so much more than that. Many people in the town have secrets, some of which are more disturbing than others.
The other characters:
Chloe Latimer (Charlotte Beaumont) is the fifteen-year-old sister of Danny. She is secretly dating a seventeen-year-old, Dean (Jacob Anderson) who is supportive of her during the devastating incident. She is mostly your typical teenage though she is one who first contacts the press.
Liz Roper (Susan Brown) is Beth's mother and thus Danny's grandmother. She is still rather religious and is almost the bond that keeps the family together throughout the series.
Jack Marshall (David Bradley, Filch from the Harry Potter series) is Danny's boss at the news shop where Danny delivers papers in the morning.
Nigel Carter (Joe Sims) is Mark's partner in the plumbing partner and is a friend of the family.
Susan Wright (Pauline Quirke) is the odd lady who walks her dog around town.
Olly Stevens (Jonathan Bailey) is Ellie's nephew and a fledgling journalist but he doesn't always follow protocol.
Maggie Radcliffe (Carolyn Pickles) is Olly's boss at the small town paper. She is not pleased with Olly's actions and like the family, just wants the truth about everything.
Karen White (Vicky McClure) is the big shot journalist who ditches her job to follow what's going on in Broadchurch as she knows the truth about Hardy's blotched case in Sandbrooke.
Father Paul Coates (Arthur Davill) is the town priest who also teaches computer classes at the local middle school.
Becca Fisher (Simone McAullay) owns the inn in town where Hardy is living.
Lastly, the psychic Steve (Will Mellon) who does provide some information that turns out to be true but is my least favorite character.
The twists and turns keep coming. And the evidence is heartbreaking. Danny was strangled and it occurred face to face with the killer. His mobile is also missing. But the most interesting thing is that Tom (Adam Wilson), Ellie's son deletes many emails from his lab top and later destroys his lab top altogether. Many people in the town have flimsy excuses. Mark doesn't even have an alibi. He was cheating on his wife with Becca. And it was the only time. When Beth finds out, she is furious snapping at him that she also had her offers but didn't act upon them because she is a human being not an animal. That was probably Whitaker's finest acting moment in the whole series. There are also red herrings, including Danny's argument with a mailman, which turns out to be nothing.
But there is another mystery that drives the series. What happened to Hardy in Sandbrooke? We find that out. We also learn that Hardy is divorced and has a daughter. I was very surprised to find that out. In Sandbrooke, a vital piece of evidence is stolen while the DS meets up with her lover at a hotel. Hardy covers it up because that DS happens to be his wife.
Jack Marshall burns pictures of Danny. Turns out his past isn't that great. He married a young girl that he had slept with while she was underage but his life turned tragic as she and their young son were killed in a car accident and he moved to Broadchurch to start over but he has been made a scapegoat by the press.
Evidence is also found in Susan's trailer house, namely Danny's skateboard and she just hands it to Tom who fortunately gives it to his mother who then interviews Susan. Susan's past is even worse, way worse than Jack's. Her husband sexually abused their oldest daughter and then she tries to protect the younger girl so he kills her. And he tells the cops that Susan knew the whole time though she didn't. Her younger daughter is taken away from her as is the baby she is pregnant with. That baby turns out to be Nigel and she fears that he inherited his father's nasty streak. Though Nigel almost kills Susan's beloved dog, he is not the man his father was. Ellie is shocked saying to Susan, "You lived in the same house with him, how did you not know?" Ironically, that line will be said to her soon.
The killer is living among the townsfolk. Hardy finally figures out who it is. Paul turns in the damaged lab top despite the threat Tom made to him saying that Paul had abused Danny, which is also not true. The damaged lab top reveals that Danny had a second mobile and Danny had communicated with only two people: Tom and Joe. Yes, you read that right.
Joe and Danny had a secret relationship. Joe informs Hardy that they were in love. The whole thing made me sick, I could barely eat my breakfast while watching the show. Though abuse had not happened, the two had met secretly and held each other but Danny wanted to tell someone and Joe got scared. The murder was an accident but the cover-up was not. Joe couldn't live with the guilt anymore so he admits everything to Hardy and he actually makes it clear that Ellie had no knowledge of any wrongdoing. She had no idea, the man the witnesses Susan and Lucy (Ellie's sister) had seen was really Joe, who does look similar to Nigel.
Ellie is furious and begs her husband to tell her the truth. She kicks him and then is taken off the case, leaving Hardy to tell the Latimers the horrific truth, which leads Beth to ask Ellie the same question Ellie had asked Susan, "How did you not know?"
Life in the town will move on, though Ellie wants to leave and take her two children, Tom and the baby Fred (who finally gets named in the finale) away though Hardy doesn't believe that she will do that.
The whole series is great, leaving everyone guessing for some time. The acting is truly magnificent, with everyone turning in top-notch performances. David Tennant is great though Olivia Colman and Jodie Whitaker are better, with every emotion etched into their faces. The music is haunting and the editing and cinematography are all fantastic. The only problem I had with the show is with the psychic character whom I feel is unnecessary. Still, I can't wait for more, and am not pleased that FOX wants to do a remake. Grade: A-
Side Notes:
-Beth is pregnant and struggles with what to do, though Mark tells her she needs to keep it. Beth says that she hates it and just wants Danny back. Paul informs her that God may not give them what they want but what they need. Yet, neither of them want to change Danny's room to make room for the new baby. Chloe is also fairly excited about everything.
-Beth and Mark were mere teenagers when Chloe was conceived but they have still stayed together. Despite Mark's infidelity, they look to be doing okay.
-The bickering between Hardy and Ellie is fantastic. Hardy also doesn't like first names and until the final episode, calls Ellie Miller and then when he finally changes and calls her Ellie, she doesn't like it.
-Throughout the whole series, Hardy is also battling a heart murmur and after finishing up this case, is fired from his job because he can't handle the stress.
Broadchurch is a quiet town, small where everyone knows everyone else.
The morning begins like any other, with Mark Latimer (Andrew Buchan), a plumber, going about his day. The best shot in the whole series is a long shot following Mark around, greeting all the townsfolk, one of which is not what they seem. It doesn't take long for the body to be discovered. Danny Latimer (Oskar McNamara), only eleven, was found dead on the beach. Detective Inspector Alec Hardy (David Tennant) is on the job. He is brand new to the town and has a botched up murder case in his past. Detective Sergeant Ellie Miller (the magnificent Olivia Colman) is furious having just come back from vacation and the promotion she wanted and coveted has gone to someone else. But she has lived in the town for some time and knows everyone and trusts them. Hardy encourages her strongly not to do that. She should have listened to him.
Danny's mother, Beth (Jodie Whitaker) is devastated and it is understandable. He was her baby and she wasn't finished raising him.
Though the show is about finding out who killed Danny Latimer, there is so much more than that. Many people in the town have secrets, some of which are more disturbing than others.
The other characters:
Chloe Latimer (Charlotte Beaumont) is the fifteen-year-old sister of Danny. She is secretly dating a seventeen-year-old, Dean (Jacob Anderson) who is supportive of her during the devastating incident. She is mostly your typical teenage though she is one who first contacts the press.
Liz Roper (Susan Brown) is Beth's mother and thus Danny's grandmother. She is still rather religious and is almost the bond that keeps the family together throughout the series.
Jack Marshall (David Bradley, Filch from the Harry Potter series) is Danny's boss at the news shop where Danny delivers papers in the morning.
Nigel Carter (Joe Sims) is Mark's partner in the plumbing partner and is a friend of the family.
Susan Wright (Pauline Quirke) is the odd lady who walks her dog around town.
Olly Stevens (Jonathan Bailey) is Ellie's nephew and a fledgling journalist but he doesn't always follow protocol.
Maggie Radcliffe (Carolyn Pickles) is Olly's boss at the small town paper. She is not pleased with Olly's actions and like the family, just wants the truth about everything.
Karen White (Vicky McClure) is the big shot journalist who ditches her job to follow what's going on in Broadchurch as she knows the truth about Hardy's blotched case in Sandbrooke.
Father Paul Coates (Arthur Davill) is the town priest who also teaches computer classes at the local middle school.
Becca Fisher (Simone McAullay) owns the inn in town where Hardy is living.
Lastly, the psychic Steve (Will Mellon) who does provide some information that turns out to be true but is my least favorite character.
The twists and turns keep coming. And the evidence is heartbreaking. Danny was strangled and it occurred face to face with the killer. His mobile is also missing. But the most interesting thing is that Tom (Adam Wilson), Ellie's son deletes many emails from his lab top and later destroys his lab top altogether. Many people in the town have flimsy excuses. Mark doesn't even have an alibi. He was cheating on his wife with Becca. And it was the only time. When Beth finds out, she is furious snapping at him that she also had her offers but didn't act upon them because she is a human being not an animal. That was probably Whitaker's finest acting moment in the whole series. There are also red herrings, including Danny's argument with a mailman, which turns out to be nothing.
But there is another mystery that drives the series. What happened to Hardy in Sandbrooke? We find that out. We also learn that Hardy is divorced and has a daughter. I was very surprised to find that out. In Sandbrooke, a vital piece of evidence is stolen while the DS meets up with her lover at a hotel. Hardy covers it up because that DS happens to be his wife.
Jack Marshall burns pictures of Danny. Turns out his past isn't that great. He married a young girl that he had slept with while she was underage but his life turned tragic as she and their young son were killed in a car accident and he moved to Broadchurch to start over but he has been made a scapegoat by the press.
Evidence is also found in Susan's trailer house, namely Danny's skateboard and she just hands it to Tom who fortunately gives it to his mother who then interviews Susan. Susan's past is even worse, way worse than Jack's. Her husband sexually abused their oldest daughter and then she tries to protect the younger girl so he kills her. And he tells the cops that Susan knew the whole time though she didn't. Her younger daughter is taken away from her as is the baby she is pregnant with. That baby turns out to be Nigel and she fears that he inherited his father's nasty streak. Though Nigel almost kills Susan's beloved dog, he is not the man his father was. Ellie is shocked saying to Susan, "You lived in the same house with him, how did you not know?" Ironically, that line will be said to her soon.
The killer is living among the townsfolk. Hardy finally figures out who it is. Paul turns in the damaged lab top despite the threat Tom made to him saying that Paul had abused Danny, which is also not true. The damaged lab top reveals that Danny had a second mobile and Danny had communicated with only two people: Tom and Joe. Yes, you read that right.
Joe and Danny had a secret relationship. Joe informs Hardy that they were in love. The whole thing made me sick, I could barely eat my breakfast while watching the show. Though abuse had not happened, the two had met secretly and held each other but Danny wanted to tell someone and Joe got scared. The murder was an accident but the cover-up was not. Joe couldn't live with the guilt anymore so he admits everything to Hardy and he actually makes it clear that Ellie had no knowledge of any wrongdoing. She had no idea, the man the witnesses Susan and Lucy (Ellie's sister) had seen was really Joe, who does look similar to Nigel.
Ellie is furious and begs her husband to tell her the truth. She kicks him and then is taken off the case, leaving Hardy to tell the Latimers the horrific truth, which leads Beth to ask Ellie the same question Ellie had asked Susan, "How did you not know?"
Life in the town will move on, though Ellie wants to leave and take her two children, Tom and the baby Fred (who finally gets named in the finale) away though Hardy doesn't believe that she will do that.
The whole series is great, leaving everyone guessing for some time. The acting is truly magnificent, with everyone turning in top-notch performances. David Tennant is great though Olivia Colman and Jodie Whitaker are better, with every emotion etched into their faces. The music is haunting and the editing and cinematography are all fantastic. The only problem I had with the show is with the psychic character whom I feel is unnecessary. Still, I can't wait for more, and am not pleased that FOX wants to do a remake. Grade: A-
Side Notes:
-Beth is pregnant and struggles with what to do, though Mark tells her she needs to keep it. Beth says that she hates it and just wants Danny back. Paul informs her that God may not give them what they want but what they need. Yet, neither of them want to change Danny's room to make room for the new baby. Chloe is also fairly excited about everything.
-Beth and Mark were mere teenagers when Chloe was conceived but they have still stayed together. Despite Mark's infidelity, they look to be doing okay.
-The bickering between Hardy and Ellie is fantastic. Hardy also doesn't like first names and until the final episode, calls Ellie Miller and then when he finally changes and calls her Ellie, she doesn't like it.
-Throughout the whole series, Hardy is also battling a heart murmur and after finishing up this case, is fired from his job because he can't handle the stress.
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
The Middle: The Drop Off
Only in the Heck family would a forty-two minute trip take five hours.
Sure, Axl (Charlie McDermott) may be going to East Indiana State, located only forty-two minutes from the Heck house, but the trip was an eventful one.
He didn't even buy anything needed so he and Frankie (Patricia Heaton) had to go shopping, where Axl believed that his scholarship money would come to him in an envelope and informed his mother that he already had athlete's foot. I truly hope he's lying. Frankie, in order to have more love from Brick (Atticus Shaffer) buys him a cell phone which he loses too many times for it to be funny. That was overdone. Sue (Eden Sher) is desperate to learn if she will become a Junior Peer Leadership Advisor, so she is not pleased that the whole family is dropping off Axl. Then again, neither is Axl. He just wants to get there, but Frankie wants to witness the iconic moment. She is so proud of her son and tells everyone that he's going to college. On a scholarship. He is clearly annoyed.
Things don't go as planned. Frankie forgot to fax Sue's essay, just as she forgot to mail the checks for Sue selling cheese and sausage from back in season one and Brick calls Grandpa Tag (Jerry Van Dyke) which is how Axl learns that all the money they put away for him to go to college has been spent by his parents because they constantly fell upon desperate times. Axl is furious and insists they pay him back with interest, whenever he figures out what that is.
Things are still turning up Sue. Despite barely faxing her essay in time, they (the advisory board) don't even read it. The two other girls in the running have fallen upon hard times. One is pregnant while the other is in deep depression as her parents are getting a divorce.
Brick loses his cell phone plenty of times and one time when they even get out of the car to look for it, a fed up Axl starts walking to college just to get away from them. However, Mike (Neil Flynn) and Frankie should have never let Brick put his phone out the window, that's just an accident waiting to happen, for anyone but especially Brick.
Finally, Axl gets to college, could care less that someone throws up right in front of him, and immediately ditches his parents for a party with an 'ice cream' keg down the hall. Frankie can't hold back her tears.
However, when they arrive home, Axl is already there because he needed something to eat and he forgot his guitar leading Frankie to moan, "He's only forty-five minutes away."
Though this episode was great and funny, it is similar to episodes from the past though the characters are gradually moving forward. Hopefully Axl will grow up sometime, but I won't hold my breath and maybe Brick will become responsible (Mike ends up taking the phone, which turns out to be a different one, from him, thank goodness, he's just not ready) but Sue actually gets something, despite Mike saying that she never would. True, it's by total default, but that's okay, she's still happy.
Once again, the acting in the most underrated comedy on TV is great, showing a family in typical fashion just trying to make it through life. Grade: A-
Side Notes:
-I still haven't forgiven Charlie McDermott for not submitting himself into Emmy consideration in the Best Supporting Actor category. Please at least submit yourself next year. Also, I'm not thrilled with Modern Family's fourth consecutive win in that category.
-I wonder what will happen with Axl now being in college and how they will work him into every episode without forcing the issue. And they can't pull a Modern Family, with having Haley (Sarah Hyland) arrested and kicked out of school.
-Axl does have a roommate, but he never even acknowledges when the Hecks come in the room despite Frankie's hug which was meant for Axl.
-All Axl wanted for his dorm room is a blow up palm tree and a bag of sand. I suppose he'll learn.
Sure, Axl (Charlie McDermott) may be going to East Indiana State, located only forty-two minutes from the Heck house, but the trip was an eventful one.
He didn't even buy anything needed so he and Frankie (Patricia Heaton) had to go shopping, where Axl believed that his scholarship money would come to him in an envelope and informed his mother that he already had athlete's foot. I truly hope he's lying. Frankie, in order to have more love from Brick (Atticus Shaffer) buys him a cell phone which he loses too many times for it to be funny. That was overdone. Sue (Eden Sher) is desperate to learn if she will become a Junior Peer Leadership Advisor, so she is not pleased that the whole family is dropping off Axl. Then again, neither is Axl. He just wants to get there, but Frankie wants to witness the iconic moment. She is so proud of her son and tells everyone that he's going to college. On a scholarship. He is clearly annoyed.
Things don't go as planned. Frankie forgot to fax Sue's essay, just as she forgot to mail the checks for Sue selling cheese and sausage from back in season one and Brick calls Grandpa Tag (Jerry Van Dyke) which is how Axl learns that all the money they put away for him to go to college has been spent by his parents because they constantly fell upon desperate times. Axl is furious and insists they pay him back with interest, whenever he figures out what that is.
Things are still turning up Sue. Despite barely faxing her essay in time, they (the advisory board) don't even read it. The two other girls in the running have fallen upon hard times. One is pregnant while the other is in deep depression as her parents are getting a divorce.
Brick loses his cell phone plenty of times and one time when they even get out of the car to look for it, a fed up Axl starts walking to college just to get away from them. However, Mike (Neil Flynn) and Frankie should have never let Brick put his phone out the window, that's just an accident waiting to happen, for anyone but especially Brick.
Finally, Axl gets to college, could care less that someone throws up right in front of him, and immediately ditches his parents for a party with an 'ice cream' keg down the hall. Frankie can't hold back her tears.
However, when they arrive home, Axl is already there because he needed something to eat and he forgot his guitar leading Frankie to moan, "He's only forty-five minutes away."
Though this episode was great and funny, it is similar to episodes from the past though the characters are gradually moving forward. Hopefully Axl will grow up sometime, but I won't hold my breath and maybe Brick will become responsible (Mike ends up taking the phone, which turns out to be a different one, from him, thank goodness, he's just not ready) but Sue actually gets something, despite Mike saying that she never would. True, it's by total default, but that's okay, she's still happy.
Once again, the acting in the most underrated comedy on TV is great, showing a family in typical fashion just trying to make it through life. Grade: A-
Side Notes:
-I still haven't forgiven Charlie McDermott for not submitting himself into Emmy consideration in the Best Supporting Actor category. Please at least submit yourself next year. Also, I'm not thrilled with Modern Family's fourth consecutive win in that category.
-I wonder what will happen with Axl now being in college and how they will work him into every episode without forcing the issue. And they can't pull a Modern Family, with having Haley (Sarah Hyland) arrested and kicked out of school.
-Axl does have a roommate, but he never even acknowledges when the Hecks come in the room despite Frankie's hug which was meant for Axl.
-All Axl wanted for his dorm room is a blow up palm tree and a bag of sand. I suppose he'll learn.
Trophy Wife: Pilot
Here is another interesting pilot.
Kate (Malin Ackerman) is a party girl, dancing and singing karaoke on stage with her best friend, Meg (Natalie Morales, from Parks and Recreation), but then she falls off stage and literally into the lap of Pete (Bradley Whitford). They both end up in the ER, where Kate gets to meet Pete's whole family: his second ex-wife, Jackie (Michaela Watkins), and his three kids, the twins Warren (Ryan Lee) and Hilliary (Gianna LaPera) and the adopted Bert (Albert Tsai). Then we also meet his first ex-wife, Diane (Marcia Gay Harden), a doctor.
Still, despite Kate's second hesitation, she goes out with him and they end up married, with Kate trying to play mom, and setting the smoke detector off. Hillary snaps at her, "No one expects you to be a mom," which is true, but Kate tries. And fails.
The teacher conference with Warren's teacher (The Office's Phyllis Smith) is a disaster, with Diane believing that Kate is the object of Warren's affection in a racy poem about Poseidon.
In the meantime, while Pete is attempting to put an easel together for his federal case, Jackie breaks into his house, though she uses hide a key, just swap out her dead hamster for the living one in the other cage just to make Pete look like the bad guy and then Pete's hamster escapes and Pete slams it died in the door. The funniest part is when they go to buy new hamsters and Jackie pulls the dead one out of her purse and the pet shop owner snatches the cage away, not wanting his hamsters to have the same fate.
Also, Kate ends up drunk thanks to trying to protect Hillary from the wrath of Diane, though Hillary, fortunately, stops being a brat and tells the truth, that Kate was just trying to protect her, as Kate had told the story of putting vodka in water bottles. Pete is displeased so Hillary is punished, leaving Warren to go to the concert with a junior and one of Hillary's friends, not to mention his crush and the subject of the poem.
The chaos is intense, and Kate seems overwhelmed. Bert is also not to be pitied, if he doesn't get his way (though Meg was out of line leaving him alone in the car for that long a time), he can be manipulative and sneaky. His parents are also afraid of the truth, getting him a puppy instead of just telling him about his dead hamsters.
The show is well-acted, with Watkins as the new age, health nut ex-wife and Harden as the planner, perfectionist ex-wife, though it seems that neither of them are truly thrilled with Pete's choice of Kate. She's young, she will needs to prove herself. However, the show is not really that funny, but at least it explains the characters well in a plausible way.
The problem I have is that for whatever reason, LaPera will be replaced with someone else for the rest of the series, though that has been done before, I still am not thrilled. I'll have to see how that goes. Grade: B
Side Notes:
-The title is not that great, though who knows what Kate does for a living. Her job is never mentioned. Who knows if she even works.
-Warren is the Sue Heck of this show, with the trident to prove it. Another great line: "Buddy, leave the trident at home." Pete to Warren just before going to the concert.
-The show ends with Pete having bought tons of hide a keys just to watch Jackie struggle to find the right one and all the time, the house was left unlocked.
-I can't help but wonder why Pete's first two marriages didn't work out. I suppose the viewers will figure that out as the series continues.
Kate (Malin Ackerman) is a party girl, dancing and singing karaoke on stage with her best friend, Meg (Natalie Morales, from Parks and Recreation), but then she falls off stage and literally into the lap of Pete (Bradley Whitford). They both end up in the ER, where Kate gets to meet Pete's whole family: his second ex-wife, Jackie (Michaela Watkins), and his three kids, the twins Warren (Ryan Lee) and Hilliary (Gianna LaPera) and the adopted Bert (Albert Tsai). Then we also meet his first ex-wife, Diane (Marcia Gay Harden), a doctor.
Still, despite Kate's second hesitation, she goes out with him and they end up married, with Kate trying to play mom, and setting the smoke detector off. Hillary snaps at her, "No one expects you to be a mom," which is true, but Kate tries. And fails.
The teacher conference with Warren's teacher (The Office's Phyllis Smith) is a disaster, with Diane believing that Kate is the object of Warren's affection in a racy poem about Poseidon.
In the meantime, while Pete is attempting to put an easel together for his federal case, Jackie breaks into his house, though she uses hide a key, just swap out her dead hamster for the living one in the other cage just to make Pete look like the bad guy and then Pete's hamster escapes and Pete slams it died in the door. The funniest part is when they go to buy new hamsters and Jackie pulls the dead one out of her purse and the pet shop owner snatches the cage away, not wanting his hamsters to have the same fate.
Also, Kate ends up drunk thanks to trying to protect Hillary from the wrath of Diane, though Hillary, fortunately, stops being a brat and tells the truth, that Kate was just trying to protect her, as Kate had told the story of putting vodka in water bottles. Pete is displeased so Hillary is punished, leaving Warren to go to the concert with a junior and one of Hillary's friends, not to mention his crush and the subject of the poem.
The chaos is intense, and Kate seems overwhelmed. Bert is also not to be pitied, if he doesn't get his way (though Meg was out of line leaving him alone in the car for that long a time), he can be manipulative and sneaky. His parents are also afraid of the truth, getting him a puppy instead of just telling him about his dead hamsters.
The show is well-acted, with Watkins as the new age, health nut ex-wife and Harden as the planner, perfectionist ex-wife, though it seems that neither of them are truly thrilled with Pete's choice of Kate. She's young, she will needs to prove herself. However, the show is not really that funny, but at least it explains the characters well in a plausible way.
The problem I have is that for whatever reason, LaPera will be replaced with someone else for the rest of the series, though that has been done before, I still am not thrilled. I'll have to see how that goes. Grade: B
Side Notes:
-The title is not that great, though who knows what Kate does for a living. Her job is never mentioned. Who knows if she even works.
-Warren is the Sue Heck of this show, with the trident to prove it. Another great line: "Buddy, leave the trident at home." Pete to Warren just before going to the concert.
-The show ends with Pete having bought tons of hide a keys just to watch Jackie struggle to find the right one and all the time, the house was left unlocked.
-I can't help but wonder why Pete's first two marriages didn't work out. I suppose the viewers will figure that out as the series continues.
Monday, September 23, 2013
Mom: Pilot
Christy (Anna Faris) has been told that she's a bad waitress. Thus, she spends the first three minutes of her TV show in soggy tears and talks with a stuffed nose as though she suffers from a severe cold.
Her home life is no better, with her arriving home just to see her daughter's (Sadie Calvano) boyfriend (Spencer Daniels) sneak out the bedroom window. Christy attempts to talk to her daughter about the incident but that goes horribly. Her life is in ruins. Her ex (NCIS's Matt Jones) hasn't paid her child support in six months and he's stupid enough to ask her for money so he can sell pot.
She tries to go to her son's talent show, but he lies to her about that which drives her to attend an AA meeting, where she blames her mother for all her problems and then, ironically she runs into her mother, Bonnie (Allison Janney) at the same meeting. Christy and Bonnie go out for lunch, and Bonnie forgives Christy for all the problems Christy caused her throughout the years. Bonnie informs her that Christy's daughter (Violet for the record) is sexually active, and already drinks and smokes. Sound familiar?
In the meantime, Christy discovers that her boss, Gabriel (Nate Corddry), whom she is sleeping with, is married (to Sheldon's sister from The Big Bang Theory), annoying, but her father owns the restaurant, so Gabriel can't divorce her or else he'll lose his job. Great. But Bonnie's no better. She picks up the much younger waiter from the restaurant (the guy that old Amanda Bynes show), but it won't go anywhere. He's also married. Bonnie promised that she will be the mother Christy deserves, and that she is turning over a new book. "Different book, same chapter," is Christy's response and it's true.
The bombshell? Violet just found out she's pregnant. Anna Faris barely looks like she's old enough to be the mother of a teenager (though she is thirty-six), much less a grandmother. Still, we'll have to see how that plays out.
The acting is good. Faris is great and Janney knows how to steal a scene. The surprise? Spencer Daniels who only has about three lines, but one of them is "I like bananas. They come with their own case." Best line of the show.
The premise is rocky, but pilots are difficult to do well, especially in comedies, so hopefully this show will get better. Also, Christy is only a waitress, albeit in a well-heeled restaurant, but seriously, how can she afford a house as nice as the one she lives in? And it's too clean for a working, single mother of two. Only in Hollywood would they think a viewer wouldn't notice. Grade: B
Side Notes:
-The cast also includes Blake Garrett Rosenthal as Christy's young son, Roscoe and French Stewart as the restaurant's cook, Rudy, who can also steal a scene, but as a cook, his practices are unethical so therefore, hilarious. However, this show is too white as all of Hollywood is too white in general.
-Overall, the premise is dramatic, but there are funny lines every so often. Once again, we'll have to see how the show moves forward.
-The preview included Bonnie saying how great it is to have a kid so young because then you can say that it's your sister. That's so not right and despite my own personal opinions, I feel that Violet will have an abortion.
Her home life is no better, with her arriving home just to see her daughter's (Sadie Calvano) boyfriend (Spencer Daniels) sneak out the bedroom window. Christy attempts to talk to her daughter about the incident but that goes horribly. Her life is in ruins. Her ex (NCIS's Matt Jones) hasn't paid her child support in six months and he's stupid enough to ask her for money so he can sell pot.
She tries to go to her son's talent show, but he lies to her about that which drives her to attend an AA meeting, where she blames her mother for all her problems and then, ironically she runs into her mother, Bonnie (Allison Janney) at the same meeting. Christy and Bonnie go out for lunch, and Bonnie forgives Christy for all the problems Christy caused her throughout the years. Bonnie informs her that Christy's daughter (Violet for the record) is sexually active, and already drinks and smokes. Sound familiar?
In the meantime, Christy discovers that her boss, Gabriel (Nate Corddry), whom she is sleeping with, is married (to Sheldon's sister from The Big Bang Theory), annoying, but her father owns the restaurant, so Gabriel can't divorce her or else he'll lose his job. Great. But Bonnie's no better. She picks up the much younger waiter from the restaurant (the guy that old Amanda Bynes show), but it won't go anywhere. He's also married. Bonnie promised that she will be the mother Christy deserves, and that she is turning over a new book. "Different book, same chapter," is Christy's response and it's true.
The bombshell? Violet just found out she's pregnant. Anna Faris barely looks like she's old enough to be the mother of a teenager (though she is thirty-six), much less a grandmother. Still, we'll have to see how that plays out.
The acting is good. Faris is great and Janney knows how to steal a scene. The surprise? Spencer Daniels who only has about three lines, but one of them is "I like bananas. They come with their own case." Best line of the show.
The premise is rocky, but pilots are difficult to do well, especially in comedies, so hopefully this show will get better. Also, Christy is only a waitress, albeit in a well-heeled restaurant, but seriously, how can she afford a house as nice as the one she lives in? And it's too clean for a working, single mother of two. Only in Hollywood would they think a viewer wouldn't notice. Grade: B
Side Notes:
-The cast also includes Blake Garrett Rosenthal as Christy's young son, Roscoe and French Stewart as the restaurant's cook, Rudy, who can also steal a scene, but as a cook, his practices are unethical so therefore, hilarious. However, this show is too white as all of Hollywood is too white in general.
-Overall, the premise is dramatic, but there are funny lines every so often. Once again, we'll have to see how the show moves forward.
-The preview included Bonnie saying how great it is to have a kid so young because then you can say that it's your sister. That's so not right and despite my own personal opinions, I feel that Violet will have an abortion.
Friday, September 13, 2013
Graceland: Season One Finale Recap and Reaction
This show had massive issues.
First of all, the tone varied widely between episodes and even between parts of each episodes. Often, the show was somber as it dealt with some serious issues and nasty crimes though there were lighthearted moments which tried and failed to take away the tension.
Mike (Aaron Tviet) is a new fresh FBI agent, the golden boy who is depressed about his assignment taking him away from the East Coast to faraway San Marino, California where is assigned to Graceland, a house where undercover agents live. Paul Briggs (Daniel Sunjata), Charlie (Vanessa Ferlito) and Johnny (Manny Montana) are also FBI while Paige (Serinda Swan) and Lauren (Scottie Thompson) are DEA and Dale "DJ" Jakes (Brandon Jay McLarden) is ICE.
The first four episodes deal with Lauren and her own personal agenda (remember when you were that pawn in season four of NCIS) who is determined to seek venegence for her partner's near murder. She puts the whole house at risk but it takes Briggs planting a bug under her car to get her kicked out the house.
The show then shifts gears to the FBI agents busting a drug ring wide open. This is Mike's pet project though he has issues with teaching criminals how to shoot illegal weapons and can't stand to see a man shoot himself in front of him, but he nevertheless forms a bond with Bello (Gbenga Akinnagbe) but once again, Briggs has his own agenda once again, even disguising himself as the elusive Odin (a man they desperately want but can't find) but this nearly blows up in his face.
However, the overall theme of the episodes and a twist which I didn't see coming, Mike's true job, aside from everything else, is to investigate Briggs. Briggs would always turn in less heroin that expected after a bust, plus, Mike learns from his handler (Pedro Pascal) that a house before Graceland was blown up, killing all five agents assigned there, except Briggs. Briggs has an explanation for everything-he was shot up with heroin by yet another drug dealer, Jangles (Vincent Laresca) and became addicted that way. Oh yes, and Mike discovered him at a NA meeting, which sent me for a loop.
After Mike breaks things off with his handler, Juan (the handler) turns up missing. Turns out, Briggs killed Juan while Juan went undercover as Jangles (for unknown reasons) and Briggs, depressed over Mike being stabbed, shoots and kills Juan and then covers up his crime. He later enlists the help of DJ (they go way back and Briggs even knows about DJ's illegitimate, secret love child) to uncover the tape that could link him to the crime.
Paige is first to know about Mike's big secret and naturally, she calls him out on being a rat and leaves him still near unconsciousness in the ER. But she later comes around. Charlie was the one he should have told as she was suspicious of Briggs for some time. He was the one who set up the incident in prison when Mike's cover was finally blown to Bello. Fortunately, Paige soon becomes one of Mike's biggest allies, helping him hunt Briggs while Briggs tries to uncover the tape which has gone missing.
Thanks to some handy work by Briggs, Jangles is found guilty of Juan's murder. Jangles is also revealed to be someone he is not. Charlie believed that he was part of the federale, but that is not the case. While hunting Briggs, Mike quickly shoots Jangles before he is shot himself.
The finale also reveals Mike gets his dream job back in DC but misses the family of Graceland. Some random boys find the tape in a pawn shop and take it. But what will they do with it? And Briggs calls up Mike to confess something important but then the show cuts off. What a great season finale.
Despite the plot holes and inconsistencies, the acting is usually pretty good. I mean, as good as it can be when your character changes often for no reason. Sunjata's best scene is when Jangles is torturing Charlie with Briggs watching. He is in totally agony and it shows on his face. The others also have their moments. Also of note, I liked Mike and his normal girlfriend, Abby (Jenn Proske) and was sad when they broke up but I don't blame her for being scared. Mike couldn't have a facebook and shouldn't have let in her in his bedroom where she wasn't supposed to be in the first place. I don't approve of Paige and Mike though they do share a kiss but Paige immediately breaks it off because he is lost. Which he is.
Overall, I watched this show because of Aaron Tviet though it did manage to keep my attention even when he wasn't on the screen but I wish his character was more likeable and that there was less ambiguity in the show as a whole but hopefully next season will be better. Grade: B-
Notes:
-Interesting that Paige is undercover as someone's girlfriend but is not on birth control. Also, she pretends to be pregnant to find a person of interest. She also used the bump in her personal life. Deleted scene please.
-While investigating, Briggs and Charlie nearly had sex and Johnny and Paige had a bet to see if they would actually do it or not.
-Mike's past is not perfect, while still in high school, he stole a window display solely because he had to have that giant candy cane. He also played football.
-Johnny can make great pancakes; he should do that for a living instead.
First of all, the tone varied widely between episodes and even between parts of each episodes. Often, the show was somber as it dealt with some serious issues and nasty crimes though there were lighthearted moments which tried and failed to take away the tension.
Mike (Aaron Tviet) is a new fresh FBI agent, the golden boy who is depressed about his assignment taking him away from the East Coast to faraway San Marino, California where is assigned to Graceland, a house where undercover agents live. Paul Briggs (Daniel Sunjata), Charlie (Vanessa Ferlito) and Johnny (Manny Montana) are also FBI while Paige (Serinda Swan) and Lauren (Scottie Thompson) are DEA and Dale "DJ" Jakes (Brandon Jay McLarden) is ICE.
The first four episodes deal with Lauren and her own personal agenda (remember when you were that pawn in season four of NCIS) who is determined to seek venegence for her partner's near murder. She puts the whole house at risk but it takes Briggs planting a bug under her car to get her kicked out the house.
The show then shifts gears to the FBI agents busting a drug ring wide open. This is Mike's pet project though he has issues with teaching criminals how to shoot illegal weapons and can't stand to see a man shoot himself in front of him, but he nevertheless forms a bond with Bello (Gbenga Akinnagbe) but once again, Briggs has his own agenda once again, even disguising himself as the elusive Odin (a man they desperately want but can't find) but this nearly blows up in his face.
However, the overall theme of the episodes and a twist which I didn't see coming, Mike's true job, aside from everything else, is to investigate Briggs. Briggs would always turn in less heroin that expected after a bust, plus, Mike learns from his handler (Pedro Pascal) that a house before Graceland was blown up, killing all five agents assigned there, except Briggs. Briggs has an explanation for everything-he was shot up with heroin by yet another drug dealer, Jangles (Vincent Laresca) and became addicted that way. Oh yes, and Mike discovered him at a NA meeting, which sent me for a loop.
After Mike breaks things off with his handler, Juan (the handler) turns up missing. Turns out, Briggs killed Juan while Juan went undercover as Jangles (for unknown reasons) and Briggs, depressed over Mike being stabbed, shoots and kills Juan and then covers up his crime. He later enlists the help of DJ (they go way back and Briggs even knows about DJ's illegitimate, secret love child) to uncover the tape that could link him to the crime.
Paige is first to know about Mike's big secret and naturally, she calls him out on being a rat and leaves him still near unconsciousness in the ER. But she later comes around. Charlie was the one he should have told as she was suspicious of Briggs for some time. He was the one who set up the incident in prison when Mike's cover was finally blown to Bello. Fortunately, Paige soon becomes one of Mike's biggest allies, helping him hunt Briggs while Briggs tries to uncover the tape which has gone missing.
Thanks to some handy work by Briggs, Jangles is found guilty of Juan's murder. Jangles is also revealed to be someone he is not. Charlie believed that he was part of the federale, but that is not the case. While hunting Briggs, Mike quickly shoots Jangles before he is shot himself.
The finale also reveals Mike gets his dream job back in DC but misses the family of Graceland. Some random boys find the tape in a pawn shop and take it. But what will they do with it? And Briggs calls up Mike to confess something important but then the show cuts off. What a great season finale.
Despite the plot holes and inconsistencies, the acting is usually pretty good. I mean, as good as it can be when your character changes often for no reason. Sunjata's best scene is when Jangles is torturing Charlie with Briggs watching. He is in totally agony and it shows on his face. The others also have their moments. Also of note, I liked Mike and his normal girlfriend, Abby (Jenn Proske) and was sad when they broke up but I don't blame her for being scared. Mike couldn't have a facebook and shouldn't have let in her in his bedroom where she wasn't supposed to be in the first place. I don't approve of Paige and Mike though they do share a kiss but Paige immediately breaks it off because he is lost. Which he is.
Overall, I watched this show because of Aaron Tviet though it did manage to keep my attention even when he wasn't on the screen but I wish his character was more likeable and that there was less ambiguity in the show as a whole but hopefully next season will be better. Grade: B-
Notes:
-Interesting that Paige is undercover as someone's girlfriend but is not on birth control. Also, she pretends to be pregnant to find a person of interest. She also used the bump in her personal life. Deleted scene please.
-While investigating, Briggs and Charlie nearly had sex and Johnny and Paige had a bet to see if they would actually do it or not.
-Mike's past is not perfect, while still in high school, he stole a window display solely because he had to have that giant candy cane. He also played football.
-Johnny can make great pancakes; he should do that for a living instead.
Thursday, September 12, 2013
Royal Pains: Season Five Recap and Reaction
This was an up and down season, with differing results.
What I liked:
Divya’s (Reshma Shetty’s) pregnancy. Despite believing
herself unable to conceive, she nevertheless becomes pregnant by her now
ex-husband, the unseen Rafa. Honestly, I didn’t like Rafa as he kept the huge
secret that he had a son from her but she forgave him and married him anyway.
But they had only one thing in common and that’s no way to start a marriage.
Jeremiah’s (Ben Shenkman) becoming a season regular though
he wasn’t used in three whole episodes and his presence was sorely missed. His
secret crush on Divya kept the show interesting when the other plot lines
sagged. He didn’t even lose the slightest interest after she revealed that she
didn’t lose the baby after all, thank goodness.
I also liked the idea of Divya having to move in with
Jeremiah after her apartment was discovered to have the nasty black mold though
Jeremiah is difficult to live with. However, that would be cut short after
Divya stumbles upon Evan (Paulo Costanza) reveals to Paige (Brooke D’Orsey)
that his crush was never that big, not like Jeremiah’s as he is in love with
Divya. This forces something I don’t like: Divya decides to move out and
continues to reinforce the words “just friends” into every conversation. My
sister put it best: Divya’s breaking my heart. Finally, in the finale, Jeremiah
admits to her how she made the transition for him better. Divya (her pregnancy
in jeopardy) finally shows him some compassion. She must stay on bed rest until
at least her twenty-seventh week. Jeremiah offers to take care of her but she
refuses, not wanting to take advantage of him. He tells her that his feelings
toward her have changed (though I don’t and won’t believe this) and he doesn’t
want to lose their friendship. Divya needs taken care of so it looks like she
will let him. But I also believe that she is finally falling in love with him,
too little too late.
Now to basically everything else:
Each of all the other plot lines had good parts but overall,
I didn’t like them much.
First, to Evan’s decision to run for Village Council just so
HankMed can get the necessary business license against the wishes of Blythe
Ballard (Frances Conroy) who rules the village with an iron fist. This quickly
becomes a burden as Paige just finished serving a term as the daughter of a
general and politician and it’s a life that she doesn’t want to go back to. For
the record, Evan wins, though it is a narrow victory but Blythe will be
watching his every move.
Now to everything involving Hank (Mark Feuerstein) who is
still battling his brain surgery. He is still having pain from that, so he
develops a dependency on a bad drug, but it turns out that he still has good
reason as the pain extended to his back. This turns everything in his life
inside out.
He has a new patient, Officer Don (Brad Beyer) and his
sullen, angry teenage daughter, Molly (Alexandra Socha). In order to get Molly
out of a situation, he gives her one of his pills but the effects are
disasterous with Molly having bad side effects which cause her father to have a
bad flare up of his own medical condition. To get back at Hank, she tells other
officers what happened. This means that Hank can’t keep his addiction a secret
anymore. His new boss, Shelby (Laura Benanti) is not pleased but hires a lawyer
to handle the situation. Shelby is in charge of Symphony, a good move for
HankMed but now it could all blow up in their faces. Shelby also puts the
thought in Jeremiah’s head that Hank came to him for drugs because Jeremiah
would just blindly give him some drugs without going through proper procedure,
though that was not the case. Jeremiah resigns from HankMed, but he better be
back (see below). He feels that Hank manipulated him and he’s angry. Honestly,
I can’t say I blame him, Hank figured he could use Jeremiah to obtain the
drugs. It was a hard blow for Jeremiah to take. Though Hank does apologize and
Jeremiah appreciates it, he can’t risk losing his medical license so he won’t
be returning. He will without a doubt be missed. As for Symphony, they will be
letting Hank go, though he can continue his practice locally.
Paige also has an unpaid internship working for Russell
Berger (Steven Spinella). I actually basically like this plot, though it does
take me some time to warm up to Russell. However, Paige’s and Evan’s
relationship which was once on so solid ground has grown shaky. They argue over
where to live (which is fine), how to spend their money (which is also a valid
argument) but the other petty fights and misunderstandings are not. And then,
it turns out that a wedding by an online minister is not legal in the county,
so they aren’t even legally married. And this is after a two-hour special
solely devoted to their wedding. But they no longer seem like they are
connected; the loving spark in their eyes is gone. They lost their chemistry
together. Paige is also thrilled when she is offered a temporary job in Paris
while Evan looks upset at the whole notion. They later bond over the lame
reason of helping figure out what bit Russell. They also decide to each give up
what they want to work on their marriage. Evan was finally starting to sound
grown-up and it couldn’t have come at a better time. Still, I’m mostly over
Paige and Evan. Jeremiah and Divya are my favorite couple on that show.
And still, there is Boris (Campbell Scott). His cousin,
Milosh (Callum Blue) is suffering from dementia so he is paranoid that Boris
discovered the allusive cure to the family ailment. This means that Boris is
finally looking toward his future which will include travelling around the
world with Russell and Hank decides to join him as his doctor exclusively. He
has talked Jeremiah into becoming the head of HankMed as he trusts him
completely and this will give him a break and space from the Hamptons. I wonder
what next season will hold.
Despite all my problems with the plots, the acting is
decent, with Shenkman being especially great, though everyone else does well.
Shetty has truly grown as an actress, showing devastation when she learns that
her pregnancy might be over. Too bad Evan is still so annoying. I hope next season will be better. Grade: B
(though it would vary widely from show to show)
Camp: Season (Series?) One Finale: Recap and Reaction
I fully enjoyed this show though it has massive issues.
Mackenzie Granger (Rachel Griffiths) is spending her first solo summer in charge of Camp Little Otter as she and her husband divorced. Steve (Jonathan LaPaglia) left Mack to live with a Russian waxer, Ekaterina.
Naturally, there are other characters: Buzz (Charles Grounds), Mack and Steve's typical horny teenage son; Kip (Thom Green), the reluctant and intelligent camper, forced to come by his father; Marina (Lily Sullivan) who is trying to better her image but keeps making bad choices; Grace (Charlotte Nicdao), usually kind and sweet, but feels the enormous pressure from her fathers; Sarah (Dena Kaplan), who is also trying to better her image and get her dreams back on track; Robbie (Tim Pocock) who thinks he has his future all figured out; Cole (Nikolai Nikolaeff), Mack's go to handy man who roams around the world for a living; and Roger (Rodger Corser) who owns the rival, high tech camp and is a rival with Cole for Mack's affection, though he gets further than Cole probably ever will. There are also the other parents: Todd (Adam Garcia, from Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen), Raffi (Chris Kirby)-Grace's dads and Shelia (Genevieve Hegney) who has more kids than she can count. The other parents are horribly underused, but the show boosts a huge cast.
The pilot is especially messy as the characters' pasts are poorly explained and they don't mesh together that well. Fortunately, the second episode which includes splitting the camp in two for a capture the flag game, the show somewhat finds its footing, mainly with the introduction of Chloe (Natasha Bassett), who finds out Kip's secret (he has leukemia) by researching his drugs found in Mack's medicine cabinet and blackmailing him into going out with her. Chloe is a nut, obsessed with death and the fact that Kip nearly died, but she does really like him; however, Kip is secretly in love with Marina who continues making her bad choices by sleeping with Greg (Jordan Rodrigues). Greg steals Kip's love poem and turns that into a song for Marina and then fails to use a condom when having sex with Marina, what a keeper. Kip also has his bad moment, by breaking up with Chloe on a boat and then saying he was sorry and giving her flowers which naturally, makes her think they are back together but they aren't so he receives a smack as a reward. In the end, Chloe is okay with Kip and Marina dating and even calls the position of godmother, though it is doubtful (though never mentioned) that Kip can have children considering he went through two dangerous rounds of chemotherapy.
The show has other characters including Sarah who was a former swimmer but got into some legal trouble by smoking pot. But she is offered a second chance and after talking with the writer whom she admires, Miguel Santos (Juan Pablo Di Pace), she goes back to swimming and peeing in a cup twice a week, but she also cheats on Robbie and has an affair with Miguel. Robbie does not take the news well and treats her horribly after the break-up. It takes him having a threesome and consuming some odd mushrooms to mostly forgive her, though who knows what the future holds for them as Robbie decides to defer law school so he can see the world.
Cole and Roger, surprisingly, team up as Roger is opening a new camp from scratch in Alaska. Mack eventually accepts the news, though by this time, she decided to pick Cole. Her heart quietly breaks as she hugs him good-bye, but that is probably for the best as Cole is twenty-eight and has yet to settle down.
Buzz has his own issues with getting into a nasty fight with the Ridgefield kids as they are cruel to Grace. He also nearly gets together with Zoe (Carmel Rose) who has big mommy issues but in the final episode, Grace admits that she likes him and he just stands there speechless. Buzz is delighted, though he ultimately fails to achieve his summer goal of losing his virginity.
Marina overcomes a pregnancy scare only to find out that her mother is in jail (for carrying drugs for another one of her loser boyfriends) and she must live with her cruel, strict aunt in Canada. Aunt Jeannette is not nice but after slapping Marina, Mack insists to Kip that she handle the situation. So it looks like Marina will be living with the Grangers which should be interesting. I was baffled at why Kip and his father didn't offer to take her in considering they are dating and everything.
The final episode also consists of the camp Olympics between the two camps. Sarah beats the mean rival, Kelsey and even Buzz manages to beat his enemy, though Roger helps out with that win and even Grace pulls a Black Widow and wins the hot dog eating contest. Chloe loses at ping pong to a much younger kid. Still, happy endings, probably a little too happy are had by all.
The problems with the show are numerous with the most obvious and odd one being that basically everyone in this cast is Australian and the show is filmed in Australia but it is supposed to be Michigan. That is just super odd, but the accents are mostly realistic so props for that. Some of the characters are poorly developed, especially Grace who is usually so nice and sweet but turns nasty when her dads decide to get married; she is absolutely vicious. Marina slowly learns to not make bad decisions, though it might be too little too late. Robbie is also under developed though they try and go into his past by introducing his mother who has a pretty bad gambling addiction. You know why he wants to be so grounded by deciding to give all that up is seemingly out of character for him. Even the villains are rather one dimensional. Fortunately, the acting, especially from Green and Grounds is good. They should have a bright future ahead of them if they pick better projects.
Yes, this show was nothing more than a guilty pleasure for me, but it contained genuinely funny moments and if it is cancelled, I will miss it. Grade: B
Side Notes:
-Rachel Griffiths looks younger now than she did in her amazing Oscar-nominated turn in Hilary and Jackie (1998). I don't know how that is possible.
-I also like how a major TV show finally has a character that battled cancer, something most shows would never have.
-I do wonder if Mack knows how much booze the counselors drink and if she does, why does she let them get away with it.
Mackenzie Granger (Rachel Griffiths) is spending her first solo summer in charge of Camp Little Otter as she and her husband divorced. Steve (Jonathan LaPaglia) left Mack to live with a Russian waxer, Ekaterina.
Naturally, there are other characters: Buzz (Charles Grounds), Mack and Steve's typical horny teenage son; Kip (Thom Green), the reluctant and intelligent camper, forced to come by his father; Marina (Lily Sullivan) who is trying to better her image but keeps making bad choices; Grace (Charlotte Nicdao), usually kind and sweet, but feels the enormous pressure from her fathers; Sarah (Dena Kaplan), who is also trying to better her image and get her dreams back on track; Robbie (Tim Pocock) who thinks he has his future all figured out; Cole (Nikolai Nikolaeff), Mack's go to handy man who roams around the world for a living; and Roger (Rodger Corser) who owns the rival, high tech camp and is a rival with Cole for Mack's affection, though he gets further than Cole probably ever will. There are also the other parents: Todd (Adam Garcia, from Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen), Raffi (Chris Kirby)-Grace's dads and Shelia (Genevieve Hegney) who has more kids than she can count. The other parents are horribly underused, but the show boosts a huge cast.
The pilot is especially messy as the characters' pasts are poorly explained and they don't mesh together that well. Fortunately, the second episode which includes splitting the camp in two for a capture the flag game, the show somewhat finds its footing, mainly with the introduction of Chloe (Natasha Bassett), who finds out Kip's secret (he has leukemia) by researching his drugs found in Mack's medicine cabinet and blackmailing him into going out with her. Chloe is a nut, obsessed with death and the fact that Kip nearly died, but she does really like him; however, Kip is secretly in love with Marina who continues making her bad choices by sleeping with Greg (Jordan Rodrigues). Greg steals Kip's love poem and turns that into a song for Marina and then fails to use a condom when having sex with Marina, what a keeper. Kip also has his bad moment, by breaking up with Chloe on a boat and then saying he was sorry and giving her flowers which naturally, makes her think they are back together but they aren't so he receives a smack as a reward. In the end, Chloe is okay with Kip and Marina dating and even calls the position of godmother, though it is doubtful (though never mentioned) that Kip can have children considering he went through two dangerous rounds of chemotherapy.
The show has other characters including Sarah who was a former swimmer but got into some legal trouble by smoking pot. But she is offered a second chance and after talking with the writer whom she admires, Miguel Santos (Juan Pablo Di Pace), she goes back to swimming and peeing in a cup twice a week, but she also cheats on Robbie and has an affair with Miguel. Robbie does not take the news well and treats her horribly after the break-up. It takes him having a threesome and consuming some odd mushrooms to mostly forgive her, though who knows what the future holds for them as Robbie decides to defer law school so he can see the world.
Cole and Roger, surprisingly, team up as Roger is opening a new camp from scratch in Alaska. Mack eventually accepts the news, though by this time, she decided to pick Cole. Her heart quietly breaks as she hugs him good-bye, but that is probably for the best as Cole is twenty-eight and has yet to settle down.
Buzz has his own issues with getting into a nasty fight with the Ridgefield kids as they are cruel to Grace. He also nearly gets together with Zoe (Carmel Rose) who has big mommy issues but in the final episode, Grace admits that she likes him and he just stands there speechless. Buzz is delighted, though he ultimately fails to achieve his summer goal of losing his virginity.
Marina overcomes a pregnancy scare only to find out that her mother is in jail (for carrying drugs for another one of her loser boyfriends) and she must live with her cruel, strict aunt in Canada. Aunt Jeannette is not nice but after slapping Marina, Mack insists to Kip that she handle the situation. So it looks like Marina will be living with the Grangers which should be interesting. I was baffled at why Kip and his father didn't offer to take her in considering they are dating and everything.
The final episode also consists of the camp Olympics between the two camps. Sarah beats the mean rival, Kelsey and even Buzz manages to beat his enemy, though Roger helps out with that win and even Grace pulls a Black Widow and wins the hot dog eating contest. Chloe loses at ping pong to a much younger kid. Still, happy endings, probably a little too happy are had by all.
The problems with the show are numerous with the most obvious and odd one being that basically everyone in this cast is Australian and the show is filmed in Australia but it is supposed to be Michigan. That is just super odd, but the accents are mostly realistic so props for that. Some of the characters are poorly developed, especially Grace who is usually so nice and sweet but turns nasty when her dads decide to get married; she is absolutely vicious. Marina slowly learns to not make bad decisions, though it might be too little too late. Robbie is also under developed though they try and go into his past by introducing his mother who has a pretty bad gambling addiction. You know why he wants to be so grounded by deciding to give all that up is seemingly out of character for him. Even the villains are rather one dimensional. Fortunately, the acting, especially from Green and Grounds is good. They should have a bright future ahead of them if they pick better projects.
Yes, this show was nothing more than a guilty pleasure for me, but it contained genuinely funny moments and if it is cancelled, I will miss it. Grade: B
Side Notes:
-Rachel Griffiths looks younger now than she did in her amazing Oscar-nominated turn in Hilary and Jackie (1998). I don't know how that is possible.
-I also like how a major TV show finally has a character that battled cancer, something most shows would never have.
-I do wonder if Mack knows how much booze the counselors drink and if she does, why does she let them get away with it.
Saturday, September 7, 2013
Sense and Sensibility (1995)
It's a good thing times have changed. Property no longer goes from fathers to sons. Daughters are not outcast and dependent on the kindness of strangers.
The Dashwood girls' father has died and must survive on a mere five hundred pounds per year. John Dashwood (James Fleet) and his shrew of a wife, Fanny (Harriet Walter) have control over the estate now, meaning that Elinor (Emma Thompson), Marianne (the great Kate Winslet) and Margaret (Emilie Francois) and their mother (Gemma Jones) must find somewhere else to live.(John is the half-brother of Elinor, Marianne and Margaret, though he shows little brotherly affection.) Even after Fanny's much kinder and worldly brother, Edward (Hugh Grant) comes to visit but does not propose to Elinor, despite some major flirting, life seems very bleak indeed. Edward does not want to please his mother, wishing for a parish of his own, rather than a life in politics.
Luckily, Mother's cousin, Sir John Middleton (Robert Hardy) offers them a cottage on his property. He lives with his kind but gossiping mother-in-law, Mrs. Jennings (Elizabeth Spriggs). Here Marianne has the affection of two very different men, one is the older Coronal Christopher Brandon (Alan Rickman, actually not evil) while the other is the equally passionate John Willoughby (Greg Wise). Both John and Marianne show their emotions liberally, something Elinor does not do. Edward likewise kept his emotions private. However, Marianne, like her sister, Elinor, romance does not come easily, with John also breaking her heart though she sobs liberally over the loss while Elinor's eyes simply grew guarded.
Certainly, life is somewhat dull for the Dashwood sisters, with their lives involving picnics and travels with others. More people are met, including the bubbly other daughter of Mrs. Jennings, Mrs. Palmer (Imelda Staunton) and her stiff husband (Hugh Laurie) and the poor, dowryless Lucy Steele (Imogen Stubbs), who has a secret which threatens to ruin everyone's happiness. Coronal Brandon has another shocking secret which also threatens the standing of someone near and dear to the Dashwood family.
Fortunately, Jane Austen wants her characters to have a happy ending, and basically everyone ends up happy which I always love, though there are no lip locks, but that keeps with the times. There is even an awkward encounter which as my mom put it, is something just like Shakespeare would have done. Sure, there are some expected turns along the way but for everything predictable, something unpredictable and nerve-racking happens also. Which is what makes for good entertainment.
The acting, even with the weak Hugh Grant putting in a good effort, is brilliant. Alan Rickman doesn't even say his lines too slowly for the most part. Winslet is especially great and deserved her Oscar for this film, not The Reader. The only problem is Thompson who is great, but noticeably too old for the role as the old maid sister, supposed to be nineteen in the book. Even Margaret is interesting, wanting to fake explorations of faraway seas and hiding under tables. Some good points are made in the film, including that men can make their own way in the world while women are helpless, needing to marry well, something that cannot happen if they are poor themselves. Thank goodness the world has vastly changed. Still, the film is fantastic and completely worth watching. Ang Lee shows why he deserved both directing Oscars with this great film and was certainly snubbed for this film. This film is far superior to the 2005 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. Grade: A
The Dashwood girls' father has died and must survive on a mere five hundred pounds per year. John Dashwood (James Fleet) and his shrew of a wife, Fanny (Harriet Walter) have control over the estate now, meaning that Elinor (Emma Thompson), Marianne (the great Kate Winslet) and Margaret (Emilie Francois) and their mother (Gemma Jones) must find somewhere else to live.(John is the half-brother of Elinor, Marianne and Margaret, though he shows little brotherly affection.) Even after Fanny's much kinder and worldly brother, Edward (Hugh Grant) comes to visit but does not propose to Elinor, despite some major flirting, life seems very bleak indeed. Edward does not want to please his mother, wishing for a parish of his own, rather than a life in politics.
Luckily, Mother's cousin, Sir John Middleton (Robert Hardy) offers them a cottage on his property. He lives with his kind but gossiping mother-in-law, Mrs. Jennings (Elizabeth Spriggs). Here Marianne has the affection of two very different men, one is the older Coronal Christopher Brandon (Alan Rickman, actually not evil) while the other is the equally passionate John Willoughby (Greg Wise). Both John and Marianne show their emotions liberally, something Elinor does not do. Edward likewise kept his emotions private. However, Marianne, like her sister, Elinor, romance does not come easily, with John also breaking her heart though she sobs liberally over the loss while Elinor's eyes simply grew guarded.
Certainly, life is somewhat dull for the Dashwood sisters, with their lives involving picnics and travels with others. More people are met, including the bubbly other daughter of Mrs. Jennings, Mrs. Palmer (Imelda Staunton) and her stiff husband (Hugh Laurie) and the poor, dowryless Lucy Steele (Imogen Stubbs), who has a secret which threatens to ruin everyone's happiness. Coronal Brandon has another shocking secret which also threatens the standing of someone near and dear to the Dashwood family.
Fortunately, Jane Austen wants her characters to have a happy ending, and basically everyone ends up happy which I always love, though there are no lip locks, but that keeps with the times. There is even an awkward encounter which as my mom put it, is something just like Shakespeare would have done. Sure, there are some expected turns along the way but for everything predictable, something unpredictable and nerve-racking happens also. Which is what makes for good entertainment.
The acting, even with the weak Hugh Grant putting in a good effort, is brilliant. Alan Rickman doesn't even say his lines too slowly for the most part. Winslet is especially great and deserved her Oscar for this film, not The Reader. The only problem is Thompson who is great, but noticeably too old for the role as the old maid sister, supposed to be nineteen in the book. Even Margaret is interesting, wanting to fake explorations of faraway seas and hiding under tables. Some good points are made in the film, including that men can make their own way in the world while women are helpless, needing to marry well, something that cannot happen if they are poor themselves. Thank goodness the world has vastly changed. Still, the film is fantastic and completely worth watching. Ang Lee shows why he deserved both directing Oscars with this great film and was certainly snubbed for this film. This film is far superior to the 2005 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. Grade: A
Parks and Recreation: Seasons One and Two Recap and Reaction
Season Two is considerably better than Season One. Also, it is much longer. Season One contains a mere six episodes, all of which focus on Leslie Knope (the great Amy Poehler) trying, largely in vain, to turn a dangerous pit into a beautiful park.
Leslie is not in charge of the parks department of Pawnee, Indiana, but she is more passionate and cares about it more than the director, Ron Swanson (Nick Offerman). Also along for the ride is Tom Harveford (Aziz Ansari) who is lazy and selfish and the intern turned Ron's assistance, April Ludgate (Aubrey Plaza). Ann Perkins (Rashida Jones) is the one who wants the pit filled, mostly because her childish and lazy boyfriend, Andy Dwyer (Chris Pratt) fell into it and broke both of his legs.
However, season one ends somewhat abruptly, but season two basically picks up where it left off, with some more interesting plot lines, including a zoo themed episode and one that deals with park safety. The only episode that suffers is the offensive one involving a visit from the sister city, in Venezuela.
The characters are fascinating and growth occurs throughout the second season with Ann dating Mark Brandanawitz who is a city planner who slept with Leslie six years before season one even began. However, though Ann is happy in the relationship, she doesn't love him, so despite him wanting to propose, the relationship ends. April decides to start working for Ron because she has the same attitude toward work as he does, simply hanging up the phone upon it ringing and refusing to let people see him. Even Tom mourns the divorce of his marriage which was a sham to begin with as it would allow his Canadian wife to live here permanently though he learns too late that he has true feelings for her. Andy gets a real job, shining shoes and finally acts on his growing feelings for April, only to have Ann try and get back with him, after all, why shouldn't she enjoy all the hard work she put into him. There is also the comic relief of Jerry (Jim O'Heir) who is picked on mercilessly by everyone else and Donna (Retta) who is vain but realistic.
Then the season ends, with Leslie's plans for the new park in jeopardy because the city is horribly broke but it introduces two fantastic new characters in the forms of fitness guru and health nut, Chris (Rob Lowe) and the colder Ben Wyatt (Adam Scott), who keeps his heart hidden. Leslie still tries to be included as one of the boys, even going along on a hunting trip, which ends, as many do, in disaster. Mark decides to take the buy-out to pursue something else, though he gives Leslie a parting gift of designing a park for her which meets her dreams.
More is revealed about the characters throughout the season, like Leslie has hoarding habits in her house while Ron's house breaks all sorts of zoning rules. April's nickname is Zuzu, plus upon turning twenty-one, she loses the interest in drinking. Tom can't hold his liquor, plus he wants to become famous and own a club.
Needless to say, season three threatens to be great. Season One: B; Season Two: A-
Leslie is not in charge of the parks department of Pawnee, Indiana, but she is more passionate and cares about it more than the director, Ron Swanson (Nick Offerman). Also along for the ride is Tom Harveford (Aziz Ansari) who is lazy and selfish and the intern turned Ron's assistance, April Ludgate (Aubrey Plaza). Ann Perkins (Rashida Jones) is the one who wants the pit filled, mostly because her childish and lazy boyfriend, Andy Dwyer (Chris Pratt) fell into it and broke both of his legs.
However, season one ends somewhat abruptly, but season two basically picks up where it left off, with some more interesting plot lines, including a zoo themed episode and one that deals with park safety. The only episode that suffers is the offensive one involving a visit from the sister city, in Venezuela.
The characters are fascinating and growth occurs throughout the second season with Ann dating Mark Brandanawitz who is a city planner who slept with Leslie six years before season one even began. However, though Ann is happy in the relationship, she doesn't love him, so despite him wanting to propose, the relationship ends. April decides to start working for Ron because she has the same attitude toward work as he does, simply hanging up the phone upon it ringing and refusing to let people see him. Even Tom mourns the divorce of his marriage which was a sham to begin with as it would allow his Canadian wife to live here permanently though he learns too late that he has true feelings for her. Andy gets a real job, shining shoes and finally acts on his growing feelings for April, only to have Ann try and get back with him, after all, why shouldn't she enjoy all the hard work she put into him. There is also the comic relief of Jerry (Jim O'Heir) who is picked on mercilessly by everyone else and Donna (Retta) who is vain but realistic.
Then the season ends, with Leslie's plans for the new park in jeopardy because the city is horribly broke but it introduces two fantastic new characters in the forms of fitness guru and health nut, Chris (Rob Lowe) and the colder Ben Wyatt (Adam Scott), who keeps his heart hidden. Leslie still tries to be included as one of the boys, even going along on a hunting trip, which ends, as many do, in disaster. Mark decides to take the buy-out to pursue something else, though he gives Leslie a parting gift of designing a park for her which meets her dreams.
More is revealed about the characters throughout the season, like Leslie has hoarding habits in her house while Ron's house breaks all sorts of zoning rules. April's nickname is Zuzu, plus upon turning twenty-one, she loses the interest in drinking. Tom can't hold his liquor, plus he wants to become famous and own a club.
Needless to say, season three threatens to be great. Season One: B; Season Two: A-
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)