Spoon Full Of Sugar... Grow Up

Another week, another gigantic post. Enjoy!

Spoilers follow.

How I Met Your Mother – “Last Words” (A-)

What a great follow up to last episodes emotional ending. I was really wondering what they were going to do with this episode considering the tone of its subject matter, and I think they struck the perfect balance between comedy and addressing the obvious elephant in the room (Marshall’s dad died).

Robin’s role as “vice girl” was definitely the comedic highlight of the episode for me. Watching her slowly turn into a dealer was hilarious, especially how excited she was about it.

ROBIN: I’m gaining a reputation!

So perfect.

I also really liked Marshall’s somber lawyereds as each character went through the last words their fathers said to them. Robin’s excitement that her dad remembered her birthday was a great follow-up to her story (Cobie Smulders was really on her game this week).

And it all led to what was a very satisfying ending. While I think it was obvious that Marshall’s dad would eventually say something after the pocket dial, it didn’t make it any less enjoyable for me. I particularly liked that he saved his father’s last words for himself and made his eulogy funny instead. I’m a fan of a little levity at funerals. Marshall’s dad was right too – Crocodile Dundee 3 totally still holds up.

 Californication – “Suicide Solution” (A-)

What a great episode.  Hank's continued troubles with the law drive him further down a self destructive path than we‘ve seen in quite some time.  After finally getting his reunion with Becca, he comes to the realization that she loathes him for what he’s done and that redemption can’t come in the form of a brand new Les Paul.  Hank continues work on the film adaptation of Fucking & Punching and meets with actor Eddie Nero (Rob Lowe) to play the role of "Hank" in the film.  The addition of Rob Lowe to the cast this season is an impressive casting call and the role that Lowe plays truly speaks to his versatility as an actor.  The normally clean cut Lowe is decked out in the Brad Pitt style beard and "rock star" style clothing, a serious variation from his normal on-screen suit and tie.  I have been a Lowe fan since the West Wing days and thoroughly enjoyed his cameo in Thank You For Smoking, so I have high hopes for him this season.

As Hank's serious legal troubles continue, so does the sexual tension with his lawyer Abby Rhoads (Carla Gugino).  With Hank formally being charged with statutory rape, Rhoads' role in the series becomes a lot more interesting. Carla Gugino has done a fabulous job on Entourage for the last few seasons (a show I will be covering for Stuck on a Channel once it returns this summer... look forward to that sports fans.)  Her feud with Ari Gold as Amanda Daniels, Vince's one time lover and former agent, is one of the great on screen rivalries.  She plays the power suit better than any woman I can think of (our friend @Maxmillien, writer for SportsHaze and fantasybasketball.com, is all over that – man loves the ladies in power suits),  so who better to play the female 'suit' in Hank's life than the sexiest business woman in showbiz?

The legal troubles plaguing Hank this season also provide a nice opportunity for the writers to discuss an ongoing theme throughout modern day Hollywood.  Athletes seem to consistently find themselves in sexual scandals and while I cannot think of a Hollywood star who has committed statutory rape, I can think of countless stars in some kind of trouble with the law.  Whether the writers will take that route and create some kind of social commentary remains to be seen.  The show in itself is often a commentary on the plagues of success.

This episode ends on a seriously dark note as Hank steals pills from Sasha (playing Mia in the movie and his current tryst) and takes way too many while writing his apology note to Becca.  The note itself is a fabulous piece of writing, ending with the line "its getting dark, too dark to see" from 'Knocking on Heavens Door'. The narration done by Duchovny while his character is literally spiralling downwards towards the floor is fabulous.  Since there is still a whole season to go, I have no fear that Hank is dead.  However, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the show end with a dead Hank one day.  Duchovny said on the BS Report that they are never sure whether they’ll get another season, so the writers try to wrap each season up as if it were a series finale rather than just a season finale.  Since last season they were willing to let him go to jail as an ending, I worry that a happy ending is not in store for Hank.  Personally I want to see him back with Karen and Becca but that seems entirely unlikely.  Maybe Carla Gugino's character offers Hank his best shot at redemption.

Shameless – “Frank the Plank” (B)

I think I’m finally starting to get an understanding of what this show’s all about. I was a little confused about where last week’s episode was taking the series, but clearly it’s not meant to be as serialized as I thought it was. That’s okay though, as what they’ve brought to the table is still interesting and more importantly, quite funny.

In this week’s episode we got a better look at Frank (William H. Macy) as we watched him wake up on a park bench in Toronto (woo Canada). I thought it was a pretty funny bit, and I laughed pretty hard when they revealed the CN Tower in the background. For the record though, Canada doesn’t have Mounties roaming around the streets on horseback. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that.

The one sequence I particularly enjoyed was watching Frank rant about all the things he pays for only to have Lip calmly refute everything he says. On top of being pretty hilarious it’s a perfect character moment for Frank (of course he feels like he’s the victim), and also demonstrated just how self-sufficient these kids are.

Also funny was the fact that this family only seems to watch the Discovery Channel – I love how into Deadliest Catch they are – and when they cheered as they discovered the dead body wasn’t Franks.

The last thing I want to briefly mention is how good the music on this show has been. Apparently their music supervisor and I have really similar tastes because I’m pretty sure so far somewhere around 90% of the music that’s been played on this show is already on my iTunes.  Keep up the good work.

Episodes – “Episode 2” (B-)

Episodes is not doing that much for me.  There are more funny moments in the second episode than in the first, but none of them are laugh out loud funny.  Matt Leblanc seems good in his role.  They gave me the Joey joke I was looking for which made me chuckle and his character seems to have potential to save the show from the mostly dull humour of its British leads.  Their shock at Hollywood culture got old very fast.  The recurring joke about their gatekeeper not knowing who they are is the funniest dialogue they seem to engage in. All the rest seems to drive the plot of them getting screwed over and has very little comedic relief.  Again I will tune in once more next week to see where the show is going.  I was listening to an AV club podcast and one of the contributors had seen the whole season and claims that the show gets much better after the pilot.  So for that reason I am willing to hang on for at least one more week.

House – “Larger Than Life” (B)

I know a lot of you would write House off as your typical patient of the week show, and you wouldn’t be entirely wrong either (it has an obvious formula), but for my money House is still one of the most interesting characters on television. Now sure, he’s maintained his familiar gruff exterior, but don’t mistake that for a lack of character development. His characterization may have remained the same, but over the past couple of seasons (starting with a phenomenal episode in a mental institution) House has slowly started turning his life around. This was capped off in last season’s finale, in which House and Cuddy finally started a relationship.

Which leads me into this week’s episode, where House got the unfortunate experience of meeting Cuddy’s mother (Candice Bergen) for the first time. This show has gotten really funny in recent years (I watch it for the comedy almost as much as I do for the medical drama), and I can’t think of a better example of how hilarious this show can be than watching House drug both Cuddy’s mom and Wilson at Cuddy’s birthday dinner. I especially liked how Wilson started defending the drugging right before he realized he was drugged himself.

I also have to say I’m enjoying the new med student Masters (played by Amber Tamblyn). I like the dynamic she has with the other characters. She can compete with House on an intellectual level, but at the same time she’s also a med student, and needs one of the other doctors to be with her whenever she’s performing a procedure. It led to a great moment in this episode where Forman and Chase realized that even though they didn’t support her theory (and she was annoying the crap out of them) one of them had to go with her to test it.

Now I want to talk about one last thing that’s a little off topic (they let you do that on blogs) – I had read before that House was based in part on Sherlock Holmes, but it never really hit me how much they were alike until I watched the Sherlock Holmes movie the other day. There were times where it felt like Robert Downy Jr. and Jude Law were almost channelling House and Wilson in their performances (obviously Sherlock Holmes the character came first, but House came before that movie). I just thought it was cool – if you get a chance check it out and let me know if it’s just me who sees it.

The Cape – “Kozmo” (B+)

This week we saw the writers of The Cape plant some potentially massive plot points.  Orwell (Summer Glau) appears as if she could be Chess' daughter and Vince's wife is starting to find the trail of his framing (obviously with a little help from The Cape himself).  We received some more information on the origin of the cape and a second villain (distinct from the Ark crime contingent) has been introduced. 

This week in Palm City we found ourselves confronted with the former owner of the cape, Gregor the Great, an escape artist trained by Max.  But the cape brought out the evil in him and he went to prison.  Being an escape artist that obviously did not last very long, so Gregor returns to Palm City to find Max and retrieve his cape.  Obviously, he can't have it back as it has a new owner and who’s using it for more noble purposes.  The Cape wins out in the end, but it is understood that Gregor will be back for his cape.

With this type of storyline, The Cape is further defining its role on television.  On the same podcast I mentioned in my Episodes review, they also discussed The Cape.  They hated it much like every other critic I have read but one of the contributors did mention an article that discussed why television super heroes rarely succeed and if I understood it correctly it’s because the shows try to appeal to too wide an audience.  The Cape is succeeding in my opinion because it is not trying to take it too far.  It knows what it is – a fun, action packed superhero show.  It sticks to the superhero formula and introduces new characters and plot points at appropriate intervals.  This is not the Oscar winning Dark Knight, but it’s also not the old school Adam West Batman either.  The show has enough of a dark side to appeal to modern audiences but still has enough of the old school comic mentality to appeal to that niche audience.  The Cape is truly bringing the comic book format to the screen.

For those of you who do not understand how comics work I will give you a little rundown.  Comics are published monthly or sometimes twice a month (The Amazing Spiderman is one of the only titles I can think of that’s published twice a month).  The story arcs go for about 3-6 issues, but sometimes if it’s a major "event" they’ll go a bit longer.  An "event" is something that shakes up the comic book world, like Marvel's superhero civil war, or DCs Blackest Night.  The storylines are self contained but follow within the timeline of a given character.  For example, a recent Spiderman storyline had him fight against the Kraven family (Kraven the Hunter's wife and children) as they hunted all of the "Spiders" (Spiderman, Spidergirl, etc etc.) in an effort to prevent Kraven from coming back to life.  Some heroes die, Kraven comes back, and Spiderman fights him off in the end – all in all a typical story arc.  I know how cheesy that sounds, but it was a good fun read.   It’s not about the dialogue – it’s about interesting plots and great imagery.  

The Cape does the same thing for TV.  Each episode is a mini story-arc that follows within the overall timeline of The Cape.  There are the main arch villains (Chess) and the mini villains (Scales, Gregor and likely more to come).  In each episode there are on-screen titles which dictate the chapters of the story arc or the individual issues.  Each one provides us with a little insight on Cape and pushes the plot forward toward a culminating event, probably a fight scene with the villain of the day.  If the Cape fails to get rid of a villain for good, we know they will be back some day.  We know what his overall goal is and this is how each episode fits into the timeline of The Cape.  Like Spiderman wants to live a normal life and Batman wants to rid Gotham city of evil, the Cape wants his family back.  Each episode will bring us closer to that point, but the path is not a straight line.  We will get more cape lore, more understanding of the background and depth of the characters, and we will continue to be immersed in the Palm City world.

My hope is that Chess will be defeated by the end of the year, but that Tarot (some crime contingent they mentioned in episode 2) will emerge as the overall target for The Cape.  The nice part about a superhero story is that it can evolve in any number of directions. By season’s end Vince could be back with his family and acting as Palm City's guardian angel.  More likely is that his wife falls in love with her boss, but that is another story all together.  By season 4 we could jump ahead 20 years to where Vince is training Trip to be the new cape, just like how Robin is now Batman, and Bruce Wayne is now creating a global Batman army (yes this is the real, current, Batman storyline).  This is what’s wonderful about creating a superhero.  The lore of the cape is what can drive the show.  That is what makes people fall in love with certain heroes.  

Wolverine is my favourite because of where he comes from and what he stands for (and also because he is the best there is at what he does, bub).  Spiderman is still one of the most popular comics out there because of his back story, what he stands for, and because twice a month people know they can pick up a book and simply be entertained.  I know that barring any serious plot writing catastrophes or plummeting ratings, I can tune in every week and simply be entertained by The Cape, and that’s exactly why I will continue to watch.  The Cape is a good comic book show and I'm kind of tired of hearing otherwise.  So I'll see you next week, same cape time, stuck on the same channel. 

V – “Laid Bare” (B-)

This show gained points this week for doing all the things I hoped it would do in my last review. First off, the writers had our local chapter of the Fifth Column finally start making some more difficult decisions. I really liked that the show brought our characters into a more morally gray area, specifically in Erica and companies decision to torture an undercover V agent for information. You may remember this is exactly what Anna did last season to an undercover Fifth Column member. I like that this show is comparing the methods of its heroes with its villains – it keeps both sides accountable and makes for a far more thought provoking hour of television.

Lisa’s story this week was along these same lines. She had to essentially torture a human to death or risk exposing her secret Fifth Column leanings to her mother. This led to what I thought was a very well done ending, where each of Erica and Anna’s respective children went to the other for comfort. The juxtaposition of these two relationships was a great stylistic choice, while simultaneously setting up a chilling image of what’s to come. Major props to whoever came up with it.

The other development I liked in this episode was the addition of Chad to the Fifth Column. Not just because this finally gives his character something interesting to do, but because this group desperately needed to increase its membership. His eventual introduction to the rest of our main characters was a promising scene, and Chad’s increased proximity to the main storyline will hopefully help make his character a little more noteworthy.

The only reason this episode didn’t score even higher for me is because V continues to spend a huge amount of its time covering up for its various plot holes. V DNA starts to disintegrate, so you can either find out her mission or help your son. She’s been drugged, so she will conveniently never remember any of this. Please start using more natural plot progressions so you don’t have to spend half the episode covering up your holes in logic.

Bob's Burgers – “Human Flesh & Crawl Space” (B+)

This review will be short and sweet.

Watch Bob's Burgers.  Seth McFarlane doesn't need another TV show (Family Guy is great but the other 2 take the formula and beat it to death), the Simpsons are almost out of ideas and South Park cannot carry us forward forever.  We need another comedy, so watch this show.  It’s fresh and I really enjoyed the first 2 episodes.  It has some really great subtle moments like the sign in “Human Flesh” that says "Don't taste me bro" or the Child Molester Burger that comes with candy on the side.  The most you can say for any pilot is that it has great potential.  This show has great potential so give it a watch.  

Sweet, Croctapus Tickets Confirmed!

Pilots week continues here at Stuck on a Channel. Today I review “Off the Map”, the latest offering from medical drama specialist Shonda Rhimes as well as some old favourites in Modern Family and Grey’s Anatomy.

Unfortunately I’ve had to hold back on my review of this week’s Cougar Town. I had trouble finding what I needed to finish the review. But don’t fret – I will get that to you as soon as possible, hopefully early this week.

Spoilers aplenty.

Modern Family – “Our Children, Ourselves” (B)

I think the Dunphy family wins for best storyline this week. I must say, despite the downright incredible cast of Modern Family, Ty Burrell and Julie Bowen have got to be my favourites. I don’t think there’s been a storyline between these two that I haven’t liked (don’t check the back posts I can’t remember what I wrote). They have wonderful chemistry with each other, and their TV children only manage to accentuate that (my love for Luke is no secret). The other families certainly have their moments (hilarious moments), but none of them are as consistent as the Dunphys.

Which is why this episode didn’t score higher for me. While I really enjoyed watching Claire and Phil freak out over Alex – especially hearing them describe their love of terrible B-movies – the other stories in this episode really didn’t appeal to me. Mitchell and Cameron’s story had a few good one liners, most notably the twice repeated “I need to have my reaction” line, but ultimately felt a little flat and contrived to me. While I certainly didn’t call it, I’ve seen the whole little person mistaken for a child thing at least a couple times before, so the hilarity wasn’t really there for me. Gloria and Jay’s storyline was more of the same. I wasn’t really into the Jay is senile bit, and there wasn’t much else outside of that recurring joke to keep me entertained.

It may just be me, but I wouldn’t mind seeing the show do a few different character pairings next week. Mitchell and Cameron have felt a little isolated from the rest of the cast as of late. They’re terrific together, but too much of a good thing can grow tiresome.

Off The Map – “Saved by the Great White Hope” (B+)

I actually really enjoyed this episode. I’ll admit I was pretty sceptical going in. Shonda Rhimes (it's actually created by Jenna Bans, but Rhimes is an executive producer) has a fairly distinct style, and none of her shows have really strayed too far away from what made her successful in the first place. And to be honest this show doesn’t really break the mould either. You’ve got a bunch of good-looking untested residents (played by Caroline Dhavernas, Mamie Gummer, and Zach Gilford) and their good-looking know-it-all attendings (Martin Henderson, Jason Winston George, and Valerie Cruz), manoeuvring through what I can only describe as some downright absurd medical situations. Throw in some smooth talking dialogue, a few misguided student-teacher relationships and essentially you’ve got yourself Grey’s Anatomy in the jungle. For whatever reason though, I find Grey’s Anatomy in the jungle quite intriguing.

Now I have a well documented love for doctor shows, and that may be impairing my judgement here, but it’s exactly my experience with watching this type of show that has me intrigued. There are soooo many medical dramas out there set in state of the art hospitals. As stupid as it sounds, the simple change in setting unleashes countless new medical scenarios that a jaded viewer like myself hasn’t seen before.

And I don’t mean the whole coconut blood thing. I don’t want to see this show turn into the MacGyver of medicine or anything like that. What really struck me was that, the medical situations treated in the pilot weren’t really all that uncommon. On Grey’s you get ridiculous patients every week, and while I’m sure this show will make me regret saying this, for the moment at least they’ve kept the ailments pretty down to Earth (minus the zip line thing). It may just be for the pilot, but what I think that does is focus the story on characters rather than diseases.

One of my major critiques of Grey’s these days is its horribly unrealistic portrayal of men. Grey’s characters have a very particular way of speaking, and unfortunately I don’t think it serves the male characters (guys really don’t talk like this) as well as it does the female. At times it feels like certain lines are specifically designed to be exactly what women want to hear (I think anyways). I mean how are men supposed to live up to the unrealistic stereotypes being perpetuated by a show like that.  It’s downright sexist is what it is (ah irony). Now I’m not naive in my understanding of who these shows are targeted towards. I’m simply making the point that good drama requires complex, three dimensional characters (regardless of gender), not convenient caricatures designed to please a target audience.

Now that’s a fairly drawn out explanation for the very simple point I’m trying to make, in that I feel like Off The Map does a much better job in this regard. Zach Gilford is an extremely talented actor (one of my favourite parts of Friday Night Lights), and does a great job here of making his character Tommy feel authentic. He brings the sort of balance that Justin Chambers brings to Grey’s Anatomy. I also have to commend Martin Henderson – he shows a lot of restraint in the pilot considering his character is clearly designed to be this shows McDreamy (I hate that I just said that). The one low point for me was Jason Winston George, whose character Otis Cole is pretty much the epitome of what I mentioned above. Though I guess to be fair his role was pretty limited in the pilot, so there’s certainly room for improvement.

This was by no means a perfect episode. A good 50% of it felt like characters finding unnaturally awkward ways to reveal their backgrounds, much like patients do on Grey’s Anatomy (ironically always relating to a problem one of the doctors is having that week), but each one of the three new residents was at least somewhat interesting to me. It’s a little bizarre that this apparently extremely selective program managed to pick three relatively broken doctors (both in their careers and personal lives), but combined with the setting there’s a lot of room to work with these characters.  Plus, I’m sure the wise philanthropist Dr. Keeton picked this crew specifically because they were all damaged – part of his way of giving back as cheesily as possible.

Maybe I’m just at an age where finding yourself in the jungle seems appealing. I’ll probably regret sticking my neck out for this show, but for the moment I have to give credit where I feel it’s due. Hey, Grey’s Anatomy was good for a couple of seasons. Right?

Grey’s Anatomy – “Start Me Up” (B)

Speaking of Grey’s Anatomy, it’s odd how I rant about its shortcomings yet continue to give it decent reviews every week. In my defence, they’ve been a lot better as of late, and most of my complaints stem from my frustrations with earlier episodes of the series.

I’m a big fan of Teddy’s new storyline. First off, can I just say how awesome Scott Foley is – cause he is. There, that felt good. He and Kim Raver work well together, and watching these two bond over the course of the episode was great. I especially liked their fruit cup scene early in the episode, as well as the scene after his surgery, which hopefully set the groundwork for a much longer storyline between these two.

On the other hand I really don’t like Bailey’s new relationship with the nurse. It’s not that they had a ton of screen time or anything, it’s just that when they were together they were incredibly annoying with each other (and a little nauseating).

Hats off though for the solid bombshell ending. I didn’t see the Callie is pregnant thing coming at all – they did a great job of disguising it early in the episode. That’s a promising storyline and it’ll be interesting to see where they go with it.

Well there you have it. One more pilot down. Let me know what you think in the comments.

Song(s) of the week

For anyone who has known me for any length of time, this band is in no way unknown. I have been shoving them down the throats of everyone I know for a good two years now, and today I shove them down yours.

Hopefully your listening experience will be a little more pleasurable than I made that sound. You’ve gotta learn the art of the sale Brian! Oh well. This week’s songs are:

“Camp Out” and “Postcards” by An Horse

Where I found An Horse: This was another product of working long nights in the lab. Originally I checked out this Australian duo because they were opening for Tegan and Sara. It didn’t take long for them to become a permanent fixture in my listening routine.

Over the past couple of years I’ve managed to see this band twice live, and even got the pleasure of meeting them in person (extremely nice people) at a small show in my home town. Just to prove to you how much I love these guys (well guy and girl) – my band frequently covers “Camp Out” in our live shows, and I consider their debut “Rearrange Beds” my favourite album of 2008.

What I like: They have a sound that is uniquely their own. Their hooks are solid. Their lyrics are sublime. They make an unbelievable amount of sound for a two piece band. Just pick one – they’re all great reasons to listen to this band.

Camp Out - An Horse

Postcards - An Horse

One last thing – I want to give a quick shout out to Conan’s “Staffer’s Kids Say the Darndest Things” sketch he did on Wednesday night’s show. He’s done this segment twice now and both times have left me in hysterics. You can find it here if you live in Canada or here if you live in the United States. You’ve got to wait a second for the Canadian version.

Have a good one!

Pilot Season, Part II

We watched a lot of pilots this week, which along with all our beloved regulars have combined to make this post gigantic. I guess this was probably a bad time to try out our first joint review. I refuse to apologise. Enjoy!

Many, many spoilers below...

Californication – “Exile on Mainstreet” (A)

Hank Moody is back baby and so are the tits.  With Californication returning for a 4th season it brings about many changes in the world of Hank Moody and his ever impossible shot at redemption.

Californication has been one of my favourite shows for the past couple years.  I watched season 1 and 2 on DVD and struggled waiting week to week for last year's fantastic season.  Now Californication is back and if the first episode is any indication, it’s as good as ever.

For those of you familiar with the world of Californication, this season brings back many of the same elements, starting with a Mia look alike and Hank’s continued indulgence in ill-advised sex (Addison Timlin in this episode).  And as always we are presented with Hank's shot at redemption, this time in the form of his career.  

With credit for his previously stolen novel, Hank is commissioned to write the screenplay for the movie (a job we know he loathes based on his past cinematic experiences).  However, the public knowledge that Fucking and Punching was actually written by Hank and is a fictionalization of his actual affair with a 16 year old girl obviously causes other more pressing legal issues.  While we as viewers know Mia for the manipulative bitch she is, I can’t help wondering how Hank is going to get himself out of this one.

I must say that the ending of season 3 was a real tough one for me.  I was physically distraught during the finale when it became evident that Hank would never be able to escape the sins of his past.  I was always rooting for him, hoping he could turn it around, make good with his wife and daughter and get his life back on track.  With last season ending with Hank being taken away by the cops, it really seemed like there was little hope of this ever happening, and the start of this season all but confirms it.  We pick up where we left off, with Hank getting out of jail after 72 hours and not being able to go home to his wife and daughter.  And rightfully so.  From their point of view his actions are inexcusable.  However, what happened was most certainly not his fault, and that’s the plight of Hank – he is forever trying to do right by people while at the same time being crippled by alcohol, drugs and sex (mostly with incredibly beautiful and equally manipulative women).

This show is undeniably one of the best 30 min of TV you can engage in these days. It’s not the smartest show on TV but it’s easy to watch, and by the end it has you thinking "holy fuck what a fun ride." I encourage all to go out and watch it.

Also for those of you who have already been enthralled by the Californication Universe check out Bill Simmons recent podcast (The BS Report) with David Duchoveny on January 7th. They discuss Californication and a little bit of basketball, then Bill discusses HBO’s 24/7 Penguins-Capitals (a must see for any hockey fan) with Joe House.  It’s a great podcast.  It can be found on iTunes or by clicking through at ESPN.com.

Shameless – “Pilot” (B+)

On first viewing I’m not quite sure what to make of this show. It’s got all the makings of a good cable show. It’s gritty, morally ambiguous, and judging from the pilot isn’t afraid of a little nudity. But from the pilot it’s hard to tell where the show is going. At the moment the father character Frank (played by William H. Macy) has done little more than lie passed out on the floor. Emmy Rossum’s character Fiona seems to be the main protagonist of the story, but while the family already seems to be living on the edge, there hasn’t been much yet to push them over it.

It’s an adaptation of a British show of the same name (which I have not seen) so judging from the success of its predecessor there has to be something more to it. Now that’s not to say there haven’t been any interesting character moments – Fiona has a great scene where she breaks down after a discussion with her brother about what she wants in life – but their hasn’t been much external pressure on the family yet outside of their impoverished living situation, which is more of a backdrop for these characters than it is an actual plot.

It’s only the pilot, and all the right elements seem to be in place. Hopefully as the season moves along we’ll get a clearer picture of what Shameless is really all about.

Episodes – “Episode 1” (B) (Ryan’s Review)

This show will not make it.  TV.com called it something like the ultimate Meta narrative.  And it is.  But my distaste for postmodern analysis aside, this show's ability to break through the 4th wall will not help its ratings.

Episodes is about British TV creators who bring their show to the US.  It’s essentially a story of a network ruining good TV.  Like what happened to the Office (Sorry Steve Carell, I actually do like your version, but let’s be realistic, it’s a cheap fast-food version of the original).  It stars Matt Leblanc of Friends fame, but the first episode did not include him much at all.  Instead we see the creators getting wooed into coming to America, figuring out the network head who signed them has never even watched their show, and processing the fact that their lead actor has to audition for the role he has played for 4 years (later being told he is too British).

 Maybe my initial impression was too harsh.  This show has potential.  I like that Matt Leblanc is playing himself.  I’m hoping for some self referential Joey jokes.  He has greyed now and looks older, more distinguished, and so I feel like the potential is there for him to take on a new role.

I didn’t like episode 1 but I will wait for episode 2 before throwing this show the way of my dog's poop bags.

Episodes – “Episode 1” (B) (Brian’s Review)

I agree with Ryan for the most part. The first episode was just alright – not terrible, but you could tell it was just there to set the ground work (like most pilots I guess). I do think the show has a lot of potential though once Matt Leblanc actually gets a little screen time.

Episodes is kind of an interesting blend of dry British humour and more straightforward American humour, and it’s I think it’s pretty clear which side Leblanc will represent. Until then I don’t think you can properly assess this show. I’m certainly intrigued to see where they’ll take Leblanc’s fictionalized version of himself – hopefully a mixture of vanity and stupidity, but I’ll let them show me what they’ve come up with.

Castle – “Poof! You're Dead” (B+)

This week was a good one for Castle.  He finally dumped the annoying girlfriend (who we never see but prevents him from hooking up with Beckett) and as usual they solved a murder.

I enjoyed the acting again, enjoyed the extra depth given to Espisito and Lanie as we see them involved in a love affair, and I enjoyed the plot.  HOWEVER... I don't normally pick holes in storylines like this, especially inconsequential ones like the background of the person who was murdered, but this one stuck out to me for some reason.  The episode was about the murder of a Magic Shop owner.  As is often the case, someone tried to make it look like suicide.  At first this seemed plausible, since his shop is in trouble and he could lose it.  But then we find out a) he works for the biggest magician in town designing tricks and b) he has a giant hidden warehouse where he makes magic stuffs.

If I were going to lose the business that was in my family for generations etc etc. and I didn't want to, I would probably get rid of my massive warehouse first to try to make some more money.  But also, if I designed tricks for a famous magician, then I would hope to make enough to not have to file for bankruptcy to begin with.  I know it’s small and inconsequential but I had to say it.

At the end of the episode Castle and Beckett head off for some food, which is always a good sign in a budding romance.  Now all we need is Beckett's doctor boyfriend to actually be a Dr. Kevorkian type, and then she’d have to put him behind bars making her realize she loved Castle all along.  I should write a rom-com.

V – “Serpent's Tooth” (C)

Oh V. I don’t really know where to start here. Every time you give me a promising storyline it always ends up being mismanaged and a little boring.

This week’s introduction of Anna’s mother (Diana) is no exception. She had the potential to be a really cool character (and still does), but this week all we got was an information dump, and a horribly cheesy discussion about what a soul is. Now a casual mention of the soul would have been fine here, but instead we got almost an entire sequence of both Diana and Father Jack pointing to their hearts and talking about how the soul can never be destroyed. It’s not that the V’s confusion with human emotion isn’t a good story angle – it’s that it’s so poorly executed.

And that’s what’s at the heart of the problems plaguing this show. The dialogue in V just doesn’t feel natural, and many of the expository scenes are just terribly done. A great example from this episode was where Erica and her boss interviewed the second bomber. Erica flashing her Fifth Column mark was cool, but the way her boss was interrogating the bomber before that was as clichéd as you could possibly get.

The same goes for listening to Chad’s newscasts. It’s a really uninspired way for the show to dump whatever information they want us to know for this week’s episode. Last week people were mad at the Vs, this week they like them again – I’m getting annoyed at hearing how flighty we are as a species.

Yes, this episode had some better parts I didn’t mention. I liked that it looks like our characters are going to have to start making some more difficult choices, and I hope that finding this Israeli Fifth Column member continues that narrative. I also liked that they are finally expanding the Fifth Column past the four characters we know currently in its membership. The problem is this – if they don’t do a better job with the little things I mentioned above it doesn’t matter what they do with the storyline, this show will only continue to disappoint.

The Cape – “Pilot” and “Tarot” (B+)

I really thought I would hate this show.  I skimmed tv.com's review of the show and saw this comment – “The Cape manages to fundamentally misunderstand both television and comic books.” This for me was a problem.  Those are two things that I a) make it my business to know something about and b) thoroughly enjoy.  I am intensely critical when the two mediums meet each other.  

Wolverine is my favourite superhero (with Deadpool landing in the top 5) and I was ready to go jihad on Hollywood after the Wolverine movie. (I formally apologize for the insensitivity and inaccuracy of the word jihad in this context.  I recognize the true meaning of jihad and yet there are few terms more appropriate than 'jihad' to express my sentiments of wanting to wage a war against those responsible for that movie.)  Wolverine was terrible (the plot was awful and they got Deadpool so wrong it made my skin crawl), Toby Maguire was the world's worst Peter Parker, and let’s not even talk about how Marvel's first family was disgraced by the cinematic failure of The Fantastic 4.  Watchmen was a brilliant film but needed to be split into 2 movies to allow for the complexities of its plot to be properly explored.  Those are just the first few combinations that stick out in my mind. If I thought about it more I'm sure I’d have hundreds more criticisms of comic-to-screen attempts.  

But I also get very excited when projects succeed in this genre.  The newest Batman movies are incredibly entertaining. The Amazing Spiderman cartoons from the 90s are 5 seasons of heaven -- just a fantastic Spiderman narrative that stays true to Peter Parker's roots.  I like Robert Downey Jr's Iron Man and Joss Wheadon taking over the Avenger's franchise holds incredible promise.

Ok enough on my infatuation with comic book adaptations and on to The Cape.  It is actually a good show.  Tv.com is wrong.

The Cape isn’t the best made show on TV.  It will never compete with The Wire for the best plot ever, its acting will never match that of the Tudors, and its comedic value probably won't even beat out those corny one liners before the credits run on CSI. But the show is entertaining, and it has a shot at succeeding.  

It tells your regular superhero story.  Man done wrong seeks vengeance in the vigilante form, fights for his city and his family.  This is Batman meets the Punisher with a comedic edge.  Palm city is Gotham City (but in Florida), The Cape is Batman (but without the fortune), Max is Alfred (but black) and Orwell is that guy who sits in the van and waits for the Punisher (but hot).  The show uses comic themes such as titles and colouring that gives the show a truly comic feel and its action packed 45 minutes have you asking for more.  Plus it has Summer Glau, every nerd's dream.

The Cape has potential.  It has chosen a familiar superhero genesis story to run with in a new setting. Essentially we’re seeing a new spin on a comfortable story.  Much like Chuck this show could be an NBC staple for a few years – so long as the plot keeps moving and they don't keep reiterating the same Chess vs. Cape storyline. I suggest everyone tune in next week, same cape time, same cape channel to see how it goes from here.

This Is What Happens When Doves Cry

Here’s the rundown from Wednesday and Thursday night.

Modern Family – “Slow Down Your Neighbors” (A-)

Luke absolutely stole this episode. From his frequent shots at the police, to his unorthodox teaching methods with a squirt gun, everything this kid did was hilarious. I love how he lied to Gloria about having taught a lot of people how to ride bikes because “my play date cancelled, and my afternoon was wide open”, and I love how quickly Phil handed over his teaching duties when he saw how effective Luke was with a squirt gun.

Some of my other favourite Luke Quotes:

LUKE: Order a pizza and call the cops. We’ll see who gets here first.

PHIL: What are you guys doing?
LUKE: What the cops won’t.

Aside from Luke the rest of the episode was pretty good too. I really liked the “slow down your neighbours” sequence that serves as the episode’s namesake (I guess that’s still sort of Luke), and how Claire did the three checks that Jay had previously taught Gloria and Manny before taking off with Gloria’s bike.  Also good was Phil’s aside about how he’s been tested his whole life.

PHIL: Bring it Laura. You want to test me. I’ve been tested my whole life... they could never find anything.

Cougar Town – “No Reason To Cry” (A-)

Another really good episode from this show. Cougar Town is slowly becoming one of the shows I most look forward to each week. The show just has some sort of goofy energy to it that I can’t help falling for.

Like this week for example. Who thought ragging on Tom, the neighbour whose only real wish is to become a part of the Cul-de-sac Crew, would be so fun? He gets it from every angle too, even from normally level headed characters like Grayson.

The same goes for watching Tyler’s new girlfriend Kirsten try to interact with the crew. The scene where they barge into her apartment because she “broke” Bobby was hilariously entertaining, especially after Travis’s earlier warning – “he’s part of the Cul-de-sac Crew, you meddle with one of them the entire group responds.” It’s great to watch an outsider like this interact with the normal crew – it’s provides great context to how ridiculous these people really are. 

Case in point:

KIRSTEN: “Are we really at a dead lizard’s funeral in your mom’s yard?”

Yes you are Kirsten, and that’s why I love this show.

The Big Bang Theory – “The Bus Pants Utilization” (B-)

This episode left me feeling fairly indifferent. There were a couple of good moments, like the guys early exchange with Penny, or Sheldon’s frequent shots at Howard’s intelligence. His “three geniuses and their friend Howard” line was particularly funny.

But other than that, there wasn’t much there that really had me laughing. I don’t know whether it was because the episode’s concept was a little worn, or because I’m just horribly jaded, but either way my attention started wandering. I don’t know. Am I right? Wrong? Let me know in the comments.

Grey’s Anatomy – “Disarm” (B+)

I want to get something off my chest before I get into the review – I really didn’t like the school shooting concept used in this week’s episode. Something about using the mass shooting storyline twice in less than a season just seemed really manufactured to me. Obviously this is open to debate, and if you disagree with me, feel free to let me know in the comments, but it managed to turn me off on the episode before it had even started.

Now with that said, I did eventually come around, and this was one of the better episodes of Grey’s this season. I liked the way they handled Christina’s return to the hospital. Emergency situations require decisive action, so Christina simply reacting to a medical emergency was the perfect way to make her return feel both organic and in character.

Also good was the storyline featuring Avery and his decision to walk out on the shooter. The debate over a doctor’s Hippocratic Oath is used rather frequently in medical dramas, and for good reason, as it’s still quite compelling. My one complaint however would be that the story felt a little rushed, and somewhat cookie cutter, for such a complex ethical issue.

One last thing – was it just me or did that final scene in the operating room gallery seem really put on. I get that the writers were trying to surprise the audience with a quirky reaction from the doctors, but watching an entire room full of doctors all have the same reaction seemed a little stupid. The scene was a fairly important one too, as the staff was finally given a chance to confront what had happened to them, so I really don’t think it was a good decision to use a gimmick in such somber circumstances.

Enjoy the weekend!

Song(s) of the week

Seeing as the band from this week’s songs of the week was on Jimmy Fallon a few nights ago I figured I’d better get a move on.

This week’s picks are:

“When I’m With You” and “Boyfriend” by Best Coast

Where I found Best Coast: I was watching an interview with the great Mark Hoppus a few months back when he casually mentioned this band. Curious, I decided to go on an internet search, and my efforts were eventually rewarded with this charming three piece.

What I like: With all the hidden metaphors and veiled meaning in music today, every once in a while it’s nice to hear a band just cut it right down to the bone with their lyrics. That’s what I like about this band – they’re catchy and to the point. “Cause when I’m with you I have fun” rings the hook of “When I’m With You”. How do you go simpler than that?

Happy listening!

When I'm With You - Best Coast


Boyfriend - Best Coast

Wow, It's Like Looking Into A Poorly Dressed Mirror

It’s good to be back.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve enjoyed this little break away from television. It’s given me a chance to discover even more shows on DVD.

Yes, that’s right. I’ve managed to pick up four new series over the break, the by-product of writing perhaps the greatest Christmas list of all time. I can’t stress enough how phenomenal this list was – when I was writing it there was a brief moment where it felt like I’d left my body, and I was just floating there, watching myself just own it. That’s some pretty heavy stuff.

Between juggling all these new shows (I’m still not even close to done watching any of them) and pwning newbs on Call of Duty (there’s just so many to pwn) I’ve managed to discover a few interesting facts from my experiences.

-          A PS3 is an excellent substitute for a space heater if left on for 16 hours a day.

-          You can get shell shock from a video game, but no one will give you any sympathy for it – no matter how traumatizing it was getting killed right before you were about to get dogs.

-          You probably shouldn’t stare at a television for more than 8 hours at a time, but if you manage to keep going past 10 your eyes will mutate and you’ll become a special new type of human being capable of staring at LCD screens for exorbitant amounts of time. I can’t even begin to comprehend the full potential of this, but it probably involves a secret identity and a costume with really tight pants.

Ah, good times.

Anyways, there is some exciting news here at Stuck on a Channel – we’ve added a new member to the Brain Trust. Yes, the trust now has two brains, which is great news for everyone because I don’t think it’s technically a trust if there’s only one.

Our new contributor Ryan will be covering Fringe and Castle for us. Ryan is a fellow television fanatic and a lover of animals. You can read his first ever review of Castle below and if you like what Ryan has to say you can find even more of his crazy opinions (his words not mine) at televisionloveaffair.blogspot.com. Bon Appétit!

(I may have watched Julie and Julia over the break)

Spoilers below.

How I Met Your Mother – “Bad News” (B+)

Wow, what an ending.

It took what was a fairly underwhelming episode of How I Met Your Mother and made it one of the more notable episodes of the season.

The moment in question (and if you haven’t seen the episode yet STOP reading right now), where Marshall finds out his dad has died, had literally been counted down to the entire episode, and with good reason. The scene was wonderfully acted by both Jason Segel and Alyson Hannigan, and the way it was subtly foreshadowed throughout the episode was brilliant.

I’m happy to see the writers find something interesting to do with Marshall’s character. There have been some rumblings that Jason Segel is getting bored with the character, and I guess I can understand why. Marshall’s been a bit stagnant over the past couple of seasons – I think once a marriage sets in a lot of characters become harder to write for – so hopefully this gives him some more material to work with.

It’s not your typical sitcom ending, but we’ve been with these characters for a long time, so I don’t mind a dramatic moment like this every once in a while.

(Our new contributor Ryan tells me he cried a little at the ending. It was a manly cry though. I think he punched a wall.)

Castle – “Nikki Heat” (B+)

As if the show could not add any more tension between the characters, this episode featured a famous actress slowly adopting Beckett's mannerisms throughout the show, making a pass at Castle, and in a shocking turn of events, getting turned down.

This is my first post here at Stuck on a Channel so let me fill all of you brainies in on something.

I love Castle.  I love it because Stana Katic is beautiful and I love it because Nathan Fillion is a comic genius with great range as an actor.  I’ve said it before – if you like cop shows, dramedies, or shows revolving around a love affair that never seems to simmer, watch Castle.

This week's episode was a decent one.  Laura Prepon (That '70s Show) guest stars as Natalie Rhodes – the actress playing Nikki Heat in the upcoming 'Heat Wave' movie based on Castle's book.  She is a method actress who follows Beckett around learning her behaviours and mannerisms.

The episode had its humourous moments, like when all 4 of them are watching Prepon's character practice being Beckett through a window, but overall this was not the best episode of Castle.  It did however lay some important groundwork.  Castle turned down Natalie Rhodes when she wanted to sleep with him as part of her "character research" which Beckett seemed to find endearing.  The dialogue also dropped some more not so subtle "Castle and Beckett should be together" hints. 

Beckett: Next thing she'll steal my boyfriend and my job.

The next thing Beckett sees is Castle and Rhodes kissing.  Her jaw drops.  If that’s not suggesting Castle as the one who she really cares about her stealing than I don't know what it is.

But the Castle-Beckett chemistry will get old if they don’t eventually do something with it. Personally, I think they are one serious issue away from doing it.  I thought it was coming when Beckett's apartment exploded and I thought it was coming when Castle got kidnapped, but so far no luck.  I don't know how long they can keep this up.  I hope they get it on soon.

On a side note... detective Ryan has Natalie Rhodes on his list of celebrities he can sleep with and get a free pass.  That makes for some interesting moments as he bumbles his way through conversations and gets in trouble with the girlfriend.  It really begs the question, who would put on your list of 5 celebrities?  I know my fellow Brain Trust member could narrow his list down to one which rhymes with Patalie Nortman, but I don't know who would make my list.  It’s a real toughie.  Any ideas? Please share in the comments.

V – “Red Rain” (C+)

This show had a pretty average first season, but it did have its moments. However, it’s been so long since the last time I’ve seen a new episode of this show, I completely forget what those moments are.

I don’t know how much of that matters anyways – you can really tell they’ve tried to do some retooling. They’ve abandoned quite a few of the developments from last season’s finale.

If I recall correctly (and I may not, like I said it’s been a while) Ryan was starting to become influenced by Anna’s bliss. They’ve kept the guts of that storyline – she now controls him by holding his child hostage – but the key difference here is in motivation. Ryan’s character is more redeemable if he betrays the group to save his child than if he betrays the group to get high on Anna’s bliss. I’ll reserve judgement on whether this is a good change for the moment, but it does bug me when shows abandon story arcs like this.

And along those lines, they also managed to miraculously revive Joshua in a way only a sci fi show could pull off. It’s a little stupid I know, but Joshua was one of the standout characters from the first season so I’ll let it go... but I’m not shedding any more tears if he dies again.

The meat of this episode however was the introduction of two new characters – Anna’s mom (didn’t catch her name) and a generic scientist named Sidney. While Anna’s mom was there more for cliffhanger purposes, Sidney was front and center in this episode. Although his scenes seemed a little forced in this episode – things seemed to move along a little too gingerly for my tastes –overall I have to say the science angle was interesting.

I have a hunch the main reason this character was brought in was to add a little comic relief, which I think is a great idea. Even though the humour fell a little flat in this episode, the one thing this show could use is a little levity.

While this wasn’t the best episode I’ve ever seen I’ll give this show the benefit of the doubt for now. Serialized shows like this shouldn’t really be reviewed on an episode by episode basis. What could seem like a terrible episode early in a season can end up providing crucial plot development for some terrific episodes later on. 

Alright, that’s it. The song of the week should be coming shortly, so look forward to that.