"The future is like a Japanese game show. You have no idea what's going on."
Yeah, I cheated; the quote is from 30 Rock, but it's one of the wiser things to ever come out of Tracy Jordan's mouth.
The Office 6.07 - "Double Date"
Pam's reaction to the news that Michael was dating her mother was both understandable and immature; she wanted it to go away. It's in the nature of this show that her own journey to mature acceptance during the eponymous double date--seeing her mother so happy, seeing how thoughtful Michael was of her--was completely undermined by Michael's dawning horror at Helene's age, and happened just as Michael tried to use her as an excuse for backing off. It is so typically Michael that he rushed headlong into the relationship just because Heleneresponded, without even stopping to do some basic math in his head. And as painful and awful as the breakup was (OH MY GOD when he stopped mid-speech so that the server could refill their water), and as childish and unattainable his fantasy future is, it has been consistent for him--he wants children. So Pam has come full circle and then looped around again by the end of the episode--she expressed a childish desire to hit Michael, to have some kind of catharsis, not understanding how much he wanted to make it right, how hard he'd seize on any trade--and went through with it, even though it didn't end up making her feel better.
Most people in the office reacted to the scheduled punch about they way I expected them to, although Toby earnestly coaching Pam on boxing techniques was hilarious. He seems to have decided that he can't win, and seized the moment to exact a little revenge. I was surprised at Kelly and Ryan's evident concern that Michael didn't know what he was getting into, though; they were right, but they really seemed to care.
There was a lovely callback to when Pam wouldn't let Jim ditch her at Michael and Jan's dinner party of terror; there was no way Jim was going to let Pam get out of that lunch. And I feel like it says a lot about Jim's relationship with Pam that he didn't agree with the hit, but he understood it, and he wouldn't stop Pam; and he'd clearly counseled her that it wouldn't help. At least it cleared the air.
The Office 6.08 - "Murder"
The cold open of this episode reminds me very much of the Bugs Bunny cartoon where Bugs keeps talking Daffy Duck into talking Elmer Fudd into shooting him in the fact, and each time Daffy has to pull his bill back into place on his blasted face. Classic.
And it's good that it started out with some funny, because the writers really nailed what it's like to be stuck in a workplace while rumors of doom swirl around in the air like big invisible clouds. Jim is technically right that the right thing to do is to project calm leadership, to get everyone back into their routines. That's textbook management, straight from the head. Michael, of course, approaches it from the heart--he's scared, and he knows everyone else is too. Jim doesn't still get people quite like Michael does. They're scared enough to go along with the game, because it's a distraction; even Angela can only offer up a feeble protest at being the voodoo priestess. The absurdity of this episode is in the contrast between the Southern-fried Bayou stereotypes they're all so game to adopt and the very real possibility that they're all screwed and there's nothing they can do about it.
Ed Helms does some really good accents! And he and Erin are ADORABLE in their shyness and misunderstanding, neither of them able to jump in first.
They're playing a murder mystery game on the deck of the Titanic. Bless Oscar, the only true realist in the bunch, for not being able to play along.
* * * * *
Babylon 5 5.13 - "The Corps Is Mother, the Corps Is Father"
Outside POV episodes always run the risk of diminished relevance, but we already know Bester, so following him around was an excellent way of showing what's going on inside Psi Corps. The best propaganda is grounded in truth, and as unbelievably creepy as it was to watch Lauren come on to Bester, he's obviously a figure of great prominence in the Corps, widely admired, and he uses that status to gently guide young recruits to the conclusion that they are alone except for the Corps, that there is an unbridgeable gap between telepaths and mundanes, and that preemptive violence is the only way to protect themselves. And as Zack Allen shows, when telepaths feel like mundanes are out to get them, they're not entirely wrong. As for the murder plot, I guessed incorrectly that someone else had actually taken over the murderer's mind; plots based on a pop psychology understanding of "split personality" make me twitchy, so I like my version better. But it was worth the price of admission to get a ringside seat to the Corps's indoctrination of its members.
Babylon 5 5.14 - "Meditations on the Abyss"
I have a confession to make. I find Angry, Bitter Lennier really interesting and kind of hot(ter)! He does the noble thing, helping another warrior and trying to conceal his suicidal idiocy, but he's just so fatalistic about it. I do think that this particular storyline would have worked better if Inigo Enrique Montoya had come across as less of a didactic asshole, though; he made what should have been a series of important teachable moments look like a bunch of sadistic game-playing. (It probably did not help that when he was explaining how while they slept, he replaced some of the asteroids with homing devices,
laurashapiro immediately said: "While you slept, we replaced your asteroids with Folger's Crystals," and then I couldn't stop laughing.)
Vir's character arc tends to parallel Lennier's, and here he too is stepping into a new role. It was fun seeing him get his rage on and stand up for himself. And it was a nice counterpoint to the political tension that's ratcheting up aboard the station. I think it's always a sign of trouble on this show when the core group of ambassadors keep secrets from each other: first Londo and his arrangement with Morden, and then Garibaldi and his contacts with the anti-Sheridan cabal, and now Sheridan and Delenn trying to figure out why it looks like the Centauri are attacking Drazi shipping without telling Londo about their suspicions. And the sad thing is that because of that first set of secrets, Londo broke a trust, and their choice to exclude him is all too understandable.
Garibaldi is breaking my heart; not only has he lost it, but it appears that he's not even really trying to hide it anymore. Which might be good in the long run, but is terribly sad to watch.
* * * * *
Best No Parking sign ever! [ETA: Scroll down the post past the Flickr slideshow to see what I mean]
Also, I am SO GLAD that tomorrow's Friday. *does a faceplant on the keyboard*
This entry was originally posted at http://danceswithwords.dreamwidth.org/143361.html (
comments). Comment at either site.
The Office 6.07 - "Double Date"
Pam's reaction to the news that Michael was dating her mother was both understandable and immature; she wanted it to go away. It's in the nature of this show that her own journey to mature acceptance during the eponymous double date--seeing her mother so happy, seeing how thoughtful Michael was of her--was completely undermined by Michael's dawning horror at Helene's age, and happened just as Michael tried to use her as an excuse for backing off. It is so typically Michael that he rushed headlong into the relationship just because Heleneresponded, without even stopping to do some basic math in his head. And as painful and awful as the breakup was (OH MY GOD when he stopped mid-speech so that the server could refill their water), and as childish and unattainable his fantasy future is, it has been consistent for him--he wants children. So Pam has come full circle and then looped around again by the end of the episode--she expressed a childish desire to hit Michael, to have some kind of catharsis, not understanding how much he wanted to make it right, how hard he'd seize on any trade--and went through with it, even though it didn't end up making her feel better.
Most people in the office reacted to the scheduled punch about they way I expected them to, although Toby earnestly coaching Pam on boxing techniques was hilarious. He seems to have decided that he can't win, and seized the moment to exact a little revenge. I was surprised at Kelly and Ryan's evident concern that Michael didn't know what he was getting into, though; they were right, but they really seemed to care.
There was a lovely callback to when Pam wouldn't let Jim ditch her at Michael and Jan's dinner party of terror; there was no way Jim was going to let Pam get out of that lunch. And I feel like it says a lot about Jim's relationship with Pam that he didn't agree with the hit, but he understood it, and he wouldn't stop Pam; and he'd clearly counseled her that it wouldn't help. At least it cleared the air.
The Office 6.08 - "Murder"
The cold open of this episode reminds me very much of the Bugs Bunny cartoon where Bugs keeps talking Daffy Duck into talking Elmer Fudd into shooting him in the fact, and each time Daffy has to pull his bill back into place on his blasted face. Classic.
And it's good that it started out with some funny, because the writers really nailed what it's like to be stuck in a workplace while rumors of doom swirl around in the air like big invisible clouds. Jim is technically right that the right thing to do is to project calm leadership, to get everyone back into their routines. That's textbook management, straight from the head. Michael, of course, approaches it from the heart--he's scared, and he knows everyone else is too. Jim doesn't still get people quite like Michael does. They're scared enough to go along with the game, because it's a distraction; even Angela can only offer up a feeble protest at being the voodoo priestess. The absurdity of this episode is in the contrast between the Southern-fried Bayou stereotypes they're all so game to adopt and the very real possibility that they're all screwed and there's nothing they can do about it.
Ed Helms does some really good accents! And he and Erin are ADORABLE in their shyness and misunderstanding, neither of them able to jump in first.
They're playing a murder mystery game on the deck of the Titanic. Bless Oscar, the only true realist in the bunch, for not being able to play along.
* * * * *
Babylon 5 5.13 - "The Corps Is Mother, the Corps Is Father"
Outside POV episodes always run the risk of diminished relevance, but we already know Bester, so following him around was an excellent way of showing what's going on inside Psi Corps. The best propaganda is grounded in truth, and as unbelievably creepy as it was to watch Lauren come on to Bester, he's obviously a figure of great prominence in the Corps, widely admired, and he uses that status to gently guide young recruits to the conclusion that they are alone except for the Corps, that there is an unbridgeable gap between telepaths and mundanes, and that preemptive violence is the only way to protect themselves. And as Zack Allen shows, when telepaths feel like mundanes are out to get them, they're not entirely wrong. As for the murder plot, I guessed incorrectly that someone else had actually taken over the murderer's mind; plots based on a pop psychology understanding of "split personality" make me twitchy, so I like my version better. But it was worth the price of admission to get a ringside seat to the Corps's indoctrination of its members.
Babylon 5 5.14 - "Meditations on the Abyss"
I have a confession to make. I find Angry, Bitter Lennier really interesting and kind of hot(ter)! He does the noble thing, helping another warrior and trying to conceal his suicidal idiocy, but he's just so fatalistic about it. I do think that this particular storyline would have worked better if Inigo Enrique Montoya had come across as less of a didactic asshole, though; he made what should have been a series of important teachable moments look like a bunch of sadistic game-playing. (It probably did not help that when he was explaining how while they slept, he replaced some of the asteroids with homing devices,
laurashapiro immediately said: "While you slept, we replaced your asteroids with Folger's Crystals," and then I couldn't stop laughing.)
Vir's character arc tends to parallel Lennier's, and here he too is stepping into a new role. It was fun seeing him get his rage on and stand up for himself. And it was a nice counterpoint to the political tension that's ratcheting up aboard the station. I think it's always a sign of trouble on this show when the core group of ambassadors keep secrets from each other: first Londo and his arrangement with Morden, and then Garibaldi and his contacts with the anti-Sheridan cabal, and now Sheridan and Delenn trying to figure out why it looks like the Centauri are attacking Drazi shipping without telling Londo about their suspicions. And the sad thing is that because of that first set of secrets, Londo broke a trust, and their choice to exclude him is all too understandable.
Garibaldi is breaking my heart; not only has he lost it, but it appears that he's not even really trying to hide it anymore. Which might be good in the long run, but is terribly sad to watch.
* * * * *
Best No Parking sign ever! [ETA: Scroll down the post past the Flickr slideshow to see what I mean]
Also, I am SO GLAD that tomorrow's Friday. *does a faceplant on the keyboard*
This entry was originally posted at http://danceswithwords.dreamwidth.org/143361.html (
comments). Comment at either site.