nixsight

Let things slip this week, so going to rush through with only three things about each of the shows I watched this week.

At this rate, before long I’ll be writing one, thing, and then none things, and we’ll be back where we were six months back. Hopefully before Christmas I will be back on top of this stuff, though! You have my sincerest apologies!

The IT Crowd Season 3 Episode 2

This second episode was a lot funnier than the first in this season. If I’m honest, though I enjoyed the first episode of the season, I kind of wanted to enjoy it more than I did. It’s normal for a season of “The IT Crowd” for there to be a 4:2 ratio of awesome to average shows, but so far the first part of each has been great, so I was a little worried when the series started with a lackluster opener.
This show had a lot more Roy/Moss interaction in it, and that’s where the show is at it’s best. Actually, no Matt Berry at all, which is a bit of a shame, but his character is better in moderation anyway.

The Roy/Moss storyline is perfect, here. Though the “awkward chaps masquerading as lads” is something I’ve seen before – most notably in Armando Iannucci’s show and in a sketch on “Man Stroke Woman” – it’s an area that’s ripe for comedy, and something that I can personally relate to, so it’s fun to watch Lineham’s take on it.

And Roy and Moss’ tender moment is played out with characteristic Lineham surreality. There’s normally at least one joke in every Lineham series which he drags out or repeats until it’s even funnier than it was already – in fact, even funnier than it should really be. Second episode in, and he’s done it already. It’s a great trick that he manages to make it work every time.

Criminal Minds 0117 – 0121

A persistently strong first season, which runs down to it’s climax with a jumble of very varied stories and approaches to those stories. The only one that didn’t really work for me was one in which one of the team becomes deeply entrenched in a Hollywood lifestyle/stalker story.
It isn’t that the episode isn’t well-written or produced, but shows tend to work better when they stay on-track with their core ideals, and this episode doesn’t do that – there’s little investigation for the team to do because all of the action comes to them.

However, they ditched the frantic “psycho eye view” of previous episodes, and I was very glad of that.

Though these episodes include a trip to Mexico and a 24-esque tale of CIA intrigue, my favourite was a particularly strong story in which the team are chasing a charismatic but desperate serial killer across the country.
When this show is good, it’s really very, very good, and one of the things it does best is create an authentic situation that the viewer can get fully involved in. When that situation involves a dangerous maniac whose victim rate is rising fast, it makes for great telly.

The Office 0313 – 0404

Oh, wow, far too many high points among these episodes. Favourite three things?
Dwight: Saving Jim from Roy’s attack, and then refusing to accept any thanks – Being sabotaged by Andy to the point where his loyalty to Angela loses him his job – euthanizing Sprinkles and subsequently losing Angela – trying to outdo Ryan’s website for sales – actually feeling sorry for Dwight in the aftermath of that break-up.
Jim: Getting attacked by Roy – the job interview – finally ending up with Pam! Oh, spoiler warning: Jim and Pam end up together!
Pam: Pretty much everything she does on “beach day”. And, you know, everything else.

The whole process around the end of season 3, where Michael thinks he’s leaving the Scranton branch, and looks for a successor, along with his attempts to ditch Jan and how that all turns out, are just perfect.

The only thing that’s a little odd about these episodes is the longer running time on the first four episodes of season 4. The writing and acting is solid, but each forty minute episode feels like it has two distinct parts to it, which makes them feel less like single episodes and more like two shorter ones mashed together.

Bones 0406 – 0407

The seemingly endless cycle of interns continues. It’s big fun, but there’s a slight problem with this roster Russian roulette – every time they have a fun guest shot as the final team member, you kind of want them to stay, and every time they have someone annoying, you really hope they don’t end up sticking with them.
I half wonder whether they’re going to avoid replacing Zach permanently all season. The rolling team member does keep things fresh.

The focus of this season so far continues to be Angela and Hodgins break-up. It’s tough for fans of the show, and that particular romance, to really deal with, and I’m not convinced that the show itself has really come to terms with it, either, as neither character seems at ease with the situation.
Still, there was girl-on-girl smoochin’ for Angela in the last episode we watched, so it’s all gravy.

These two had some genuine twisty-turny in their mysteries, but there’s been an uncomfortable simplicity to the murderer unmasking which does make one uncomfortably aware of how dense the investigators are being at more than one point.
Having said this, it might just be that we’re getting to know these shows too well – it’s an ongoing problem with a lot of the murder-mystery shows we watch.

Life 0201 – 0205

Though having said that about murder-mysteries being a little flat on intrigue or actual, you know, mystery – the second season of “Life” is just as refreshing and well-written as the first, with crime stories that – while maybe ultimately not that original, are told in such new ways that you feel like you’re watching them for the first time.
Though there is a slight scheduling anomaly which has these detectives investigating a corpse in a crushed car within a fortnight of the “Bones” crew doing the same. Which is unfortunate. You wouldn’t think it happened all that often!

The introduction of a new boss is interesting – as I didn’t really feel like we’d seen enough of the wonderful Robin Weigert. This feels like a shift in focus from the over-arching conspiracy and paranoia of the first season to a more open and episodic feel for this one.
Certainly, the new chap – played with winning charisma and sleazy New York pragmatism by Donal Logue – seems to bear that out, with a much more traditional boss/detectives dynamic than we saw last year.

That said, there’s a sustained effort to keep an over-arching plot for Charlie Crews, though so far, it’s the weakest link in an otherwise strong show. Which isn’t to say it’s not interesting – there’s just not the urgency or gravity to it of his quest to find the man who committed the murder that he did time for.

Torchwood 0207 – 0211

They dropped the fast cutting silliness of the previous episode, but stuck with the lovely Freema Agyeman! Yay!
There’s some Owen weirdness in 0207, with his recent death and rebirth apparently dropping him into the Negative Zone periodically, and an overly laboured run-up to his climactic battle with the grim reaper.
But if it was all necessary for the glory that was 0208 – A Day In The Death, than it’s forgiven. In fact, it’s fair to say that if every episode of “Torchwood” was as well written and produced as that episode, it would actually be a great show, instead of an occassionally fun but often torturous one.

Mind, the following episode with the disastrous events of Gwen’s wedding day, were a lot of fun, and the monster design and make-up in it is pretty excellent.

Then episode 0210 – From Out Of The Rain shows so many moments of greatness – mostly in the truly spooky moments with the episode’s two eerie villains – that it’s a shame that it hijacks it’s own atmosphere with some nice ideas that lead nowhere useful, and a couple of arbitrary plot devices that spin the story out like so much exposed film till it’s rendered almost meaningless.
This is one of those episodes that could have been like Buffy’s “Hush”, or Dr Who’s “Blink”, but it never quite pulls it together – it’s got the creepy baddies, but lacks the narrative cohesion.

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles 0207 – 0210

This continues to be a great show, but I have to wonder whether I’m setting myself up for heartbreak, with audiences continuing to not watch it, and persistent rumours of cancellation.
Still, there seems to be a plan – or in fact several different plans – and it’d be nice to see them to fruition… if they can just get Shirley Manson to act. After a strong attempt in 0206, she’s back to normal again in these episodes.

There’s a great episode in the middle of this run, as we finally see a bit of closure to the brilliant Cromartie storyline, though it looks as though they like Garret Dillahunt as much as I do, because they’ve found even more for him to do.
Though John Henry is a bit of a sudden and drastic leap from what we’d seen so far, I foresee some great scenes between Dillahunt and Richard T. Jones as Ellison.

Also, there’s a nifty and surprising bit of meditation on the subject of the consequences of time-travel and alternative universes, in an episode based around Derek Reese’s and his mysterious lover Jesse, that also features a note-perfect performance by Richard Schiff.
Though at the same time as they’re dropping some great philosophical nuggets in scenes like this, I can’t help but think they’re doing a bit of on-the-spot retconning with John Connor’s friend Riley that stretches credibility just a tiny bit. We’ll see. Still loving this show.

CSI NY 0502 – 0506

A sequence of nice, solid episodes at the beginning of this latest season of CSI NY – while none of them are truly excellent, they are still a lot of fun.
It’s less science-fictional than previous seasons, which is interesting, too.

Still, though, it’s tough to see what the direction of this season is going to be. Maybe this is a flaw of the franchise, now. In theory, all the show needs to be is a mystery – or mysteries – each week, but Girl One and I are so used to the way most of these shows are going now that we’re half looking to see what the over-arching story is going to be.
Six episodes in, there doesn’t seem to be one, though Stella has apparently noticed the beginnings of a criminal undercurrent at the Greek Embassy. However, it’s difficult to see what sort of longer story they can really spin out of that one without it getting a little too heavy or maybe silly for the show, so I’m not sure whether to wish for that thread to find quick resolution or not!

And Adam nearly got fired! But then he didn’t. So that’s okay. But still, it’d be a hell of a loss to the show, as he’s one of the more likeable characters here, now.