Doing nothing is not a plan. It's specifically a lack of a plan.
CBS kicked out '3 Lbs'. After three episodes. '3 Lbs' which was, let me remind you a replacement for 'Smith' that CBS also kicked out. After three episodes. I say, enough already! You have officially fallen into disfavor, CBS.
'Torchwood' 1x07 - 'Greeks Bearing Gifts'
A pretty good one. Nothing spectacular on the whole, a few irritating plot shortcuts, but it definitely had it's share of glee-moments. Well, now that I think about it, exactly the same could be said about every single episode so far. And I have absolutely no problem with that. Sure, there is this little ping of regret from time to time, that this show isn't as awesome as could be, but as long as get the glee-moments, I really am a happy fangirl.
I'm still very much in favor of Owen/Gwen. Especially that they are officially sex-crazed Owen/Gwen now. Ok, so Gwen might have been a bit less giggly here, but, really, they were quite great this week. The 'light/wiry/fat girls' exchange, the 'sex in from of the Weevil' dirty thoughts, the 'why the hell isn't he looking at me?' scene. All good.
About Ianto and his soul-pain. Shut up already, dude. I do appreciate you keeping it cool on the outside, but can your inner teenage girl. Be a man.
Jack. That's character is seriously tripping me up. Especially since John Barrowman sometimes overdoes it, sometimes underdoes it (I hope it actually is a word) and sometimes gets it fabulously right. I'm confused. He mostly hits 'fabulously right' this week - or the reasonable vicinity of 'fabulously right', at least - like when he discovers that Toshiko is trying to probe her mind or when he's facing down Mary the Hot Trashy Alien. Scenes like these show the most intriguing side of Jack. The unpredictable, dangerous, not entirely human side. I hope we'll get much more of that.
Toshiko. I like that she's the only one that actually cares about more that the operational/tactical aspect of what Torchwood does. That it's not just another job for her. That she's an idealist, a redemptionist, a romantic, and really a very good person. And that having seen so many ugly things hasn't killed that in her yet.
And 'So you secretly fight crime, is that it, Tosh?' Heee.
Owen. Him doing doctor stuff really is insanely hot. And I can't believe that it wasn't until the Cannibals Episode that I realized that he is a doctor, an actual medicine-practicing doctor, not just some smartass with a degree. And the scene when he figures out the Hot Trashy Alien's MO was very nicely done. I actually watched it twice. Oh, and that bit was gold: Gwen: 'Was there, in fact, any part of your diagnosis that was right?' Owen: 'I got that it was a...skeleton'.
'Dexter' 1x09 - 'Father Knows Best'
A very solid episode but seemed somewhat heavier, more solemn that the usual fare. Doakes' army past rearing its ugly head, Rita's husband kicking the shit up, Dexter finding out about his biological father and Deb's getting all upset that their dad wasn't apparently the shiny figure she pictured him to be.
The smaller things. I liked Dexter's curiosity about how his new-found dad died and that it was really just his professional drive here, not any emotional need (nice work showing that, Micheal C. Hall). I liked that Deb and the Ice Truck Killer really fit together, both look-wise and personality-wise. I liked how Dexter was unintentionally showing off to the town forensic, and how the town forensic immediately got affronted. I liked how the ITK was gently reaching for Dexter and how excited he seemed to finally meet him, but he had to check himself all the time so that he doesn't give himself away.
The rest was, well, ok.
'Standoff' 1x09 - 'Peer Group'
There really isn't that much to talk about with this show. It's a procedural with ok characters and ok cases, kinda cute but not particularly engrossing or intriguing or witty. It's just, well, ok.
I quick rundown on two previous episodes that I somehow didn't get around to review ('somehow'? 'because I'm a lazy shit' could work just as well):
'Man from Steele'. Hello, W. Earl Brown. Long time no see. I really didn't care that much about all his baby drama, but I think that the twist with bringing the radio show host into the plot was cool.
'Heroine'. A hostage turning into a hostage taker, which was nicely done, even though I didn't exactly buy the very transformation - and all the psychological crap the show regularly throws at us really didn't help this time.
Now, 'Peer Group'. I thought the hostage takers' reasons were quite senseless, but then again it's probably because I don't understand - and I have practically zero patience for - emotional melodrama, be it fictional or real. Or rather, I do understand emotional melodrama in a way that I see what lies behind it and motivates it. I just think it's mostly stupid. Stupid, but not unbelievable. Which is way I don't really have any problem with this show, even though emotional melodrama it delivers every single week.
Anyway, the episode was pretty cool, the way it all played out, how Matt and Emily brought it down, and how Emily had a personal experience with the kind of high school trauma the HT kids were going through.
A few additional random things - there really isn't anything else to talk about:
- the main kid had a very strong Harry Potter/Daniel Radcliffe thing going for him, only he actually looked better.
- Emily; 'I don't know. That might make him suicidal', Matt: 'He's homicidal now, I think suicidal is a step in the right direction'. A good one there.
- Matt tearing the HT kid apart, coldly, methodically and effectively, and Frank's 'I'm not an expert, but shouldn't he be nicer?'
'House M.D. 3x09 - 'Finding Judas'
The episode was bloody fantastic. I certainly didn't expect the Titter storyline to give me such a delightful installment. I'm officially in awe here. And, while my enthusiasm for this show might have been a bit sagging in the recent weeks, it's back to full force now.
The drama here was magnificent. House is living on limited, carefully measured doses of Vicodin and is in pain. He's very near the snapping point or perhaps even already past it. He loses control. He yells at people. He tells Cuddy, who is barely coping with the little girl's case even as it is, that it's good she can't have kids because she would make a terrible mother anyway. He acts out instead of giving his full attention to the case. He is hell-bent on cutting the patient's limbs and crippling her for life, and it really would have happened if Chase didn't solve the case for him in the last moment. And then he hits him. Meanwhile Tritter terrorizes the hospital and makes his underhanded moves on every person in House's environment and after everyone holds their ground, he moves in for a kill on Chase by making it look like Chase defected and turning the other Ducklings against him, to finally wear him down. And when it actually starts to work, when Chase isn't going to take anymore bashing from House, Wilson steps in to intervene and goes to Tritter himself. To sell House out. My goodness, it was freaking stunning.
And I don't care that Tritter's reasons stopped making sense a long time ago. I now classify him as a demented individual with a serious - and practically self-admitted - power fetish. Yeah, the same could be said about Vogler, but Tritter's behavior actually makes sense when you start categorizing him like that, while in Vogler's case it definitely didn't. Vogler was a big fish, the owner of a major pharmaceutical company, a multimillionaire, it felt ridiculous that he was so hung up on some doctor he didn't even know personally and went to such a trouble to just get to him. As if he really didn't have anything else to do. And Tritter, he's just some cop, who really might have enough time and determination to run a private vendetta against some random guy who was rude to him. Given that I also suspect that he's got quite a savior complex going for him there, and he actually believes he is doing the society a favor by harassing House and that's where at least part of the annoying smugness comes from. So, I fully accept Tritter as a legitimate character now, and even admit he is pretty cool. And I really hope he doesn't screw that up in the next episode, which I think might be the storyline's finale. Stay cool to the end, Tritter. Do that for David Morse.
The smaller highlights:
- House playing with his light-pen and weirding out the potential benefactors for the hospital, much to Cuddy's displeasure. 'I'm sitting there hoping it's a sniper, because then the sociopath isn't my employee'.
- Foreman: 'You stashed your pills in a lupus textbook', House: 'It's never lupus'. And then House practically licking out the bottle after it turns out to be already empty.
- Foreman's talk with Tritter, when he gives the man the standard 'I'm more interested in my nails that in what you are bleating about there' treatment. And 'If I run out for coffee will I get back before you make your point?' Really, Foreman was kinda awesome this week.
- The fact that Tritter got both Foreman and Cameron exactly right. Foreman is a cold ambitious bastard who doesn't care (unless it's a week when he's a Cameron, of course) and Cameron moral backbone really did erode quite a bit under House's care.
- The Asian judge, fed up with both the parents, House and probably, by association, with Cuddy too.
- Chase got the answer right. And House didn't. Oh Lord, I'm so proud.
Now, show, gimme a fall finale just as awesome as this one.
Tomorrow, Poland fights for gold at the Volleyball World Championship. Seriously, the boys have just crushed Bulgaria in the semifinals. The last time we won a medal at an international event was in 1983. More than two decades ago. We are long overdue. Of course, we are pitched against Brazil so I'm not giving us more that a 1:5 chance to actually win the gold, but it really is an outstanding achievement that we actually got so far. And losing against the best team in the world is not a shame. Just give your best tomorrow, boys, I'm already proud of you.
.
'Torchwood' 1x07 - 'Greeks Bearing Gifts'
A pretty good one. Nothing spectacular on the whole, a few irritating plot shortcuts, but it definitely had it's share of glee-moments. Well, now that I think about it, exactly the same could be said about every single episode so far. And I have absolutely no problem with that. Sure, there is this little ping of regret from time to time, that this show isn't as awesome as could be, but as long as get the glee-moments, I really am a happy fangirl.
I'm still very much in favor of Owen/Gwen. Especially that they are officially sex-crazed Owen/Gwen now. Ok, so Gwen might have been a bit less giggly here, but, really, they were quite great this week. The 'light/wiry/fat girls' exchange, the 'sex in from of the Weevil' dirty thoughts, the 'why the hell isn't he looking at me?' scene. All good.
About Ianto and his soul-pain. Shut up already, dude. I do appreciate you keeping it cool on the outside, but can your inner teenage girl. Be a man.
Jack. That's character is seriously tripping me up. Especially since John Barrowman sometimes overdoes it, sometimes underdoes it (I hope it actually is a word) and sometimes gets it fabulously right. I'm confused. He mostly hits 'fabulously right' this week - or the reasonable vicinity of 'fabulously right', at least - like when he discovers that Toshiko is trying to probe her mind or when he's facing down Mary the Hot Trashy Alien. Scenes like these show the most intriguing side of Jack. The unpredictable, dangerous, not entirely human side. I hope we'll get much more of that.
Toshiko. I like that she's the only one that actually cares about more that the operational/tactical aspect of what Torchwood does. That it's not just another job for her. That she's an idealist, a redemptionist, a romantic, and really a very good person. And that having seen so many ugly things hasn't killed that in her yet.
And 'So you secretly fight crime, is that it, Tosh?' Heee.
Owen. Him doing doctor stuff really is insanely hot. And I can't believe that it wasn't until the Cannibals Episode that I realized that he is a doctor, an actual medicine-practicing doctor, not just some smartass with a degree. And the scene when he figures out the Hot Trashy Alien's MO was very nicely done. I actually watched it twice. Oh, and that bit was gold: Gwen: 'Was there, in fact, any part of your diagnosis that was right?' Owen: 'I got that it was a...skeleton'.
'Dexter' 1x09 - 'Father Knows Best'
A very solid episode but seemed somewhat heavier, more solemn that the usual fare. Doakes' army past rearing its ugly head, Rita's husband kicking the shit up, Dexter finding out about his biological father and Deb's getting all upset that their dad wasn't apparently the shiny figure she pictured him to be.
The smaller things. I liked Dexter's curiosity about how his new-found dad died and that it was really just his professional drive here, not any emotional need (nice work showing that, Micheal C. Hall). I liked that Deb and the Ice Truck Killer really fit together, both look-wise and personality-wise. I liked how Dexter was unintentionally showing off to the town forensic, and how the town forensic immediately got affronted. I liked how the ITK was gently reaching for Dexter and how excited he seemed to finally meet him, but he had to check himself all the time so that he doesn't give himself away.
The rest was, well, ok.
'Standoff' 1x09 - 'Peer Group'
There really isn't that much to talk about with this show. It's a procedural with ok characters and ok cases, kinda cute but not particularly engrossing or intriguing or witty. It's just, well, ok.
I quick rundown on two previous episodes that I somehow didn't get around to review ('somehow'? 'because I'm a lazy shit' could work just as well):
'Man from Steele'. Hello, W. Earl Brown. Long time no see. I really didn't care that much about all his baby drama, but I think that the twist with bringing the radio show host into the plot was cool.
'Heroine'. A hostage turning into a hostage taker, which was nicely done, even though I didn't exactly buy the very transformation - and all the psychological crap the show regularly throws at us really didn't help this time.
Now, 'Peer Group'. I thought the hostage takers' reasons were quite senseless, but then again it's probably because I don't understand - and I have practically zero patience for - emotional melodrama, be it fictional or real. Or rather, I do understand emotional melodrama in a way that I see what lies behind it and motivates it. I just think it's mostly stupid. Stupid, but not unbelievable. Which is way I don't really have any problem with this show, even though emotional melodrama it delivers every single week.
Anyway, the episode was pretty cool, the way it all played out, how Matt and Emily brought it down, and how Emily had a personal experience with the kind of high school trauma the HT kids were going through.
A few additional random things - there really isn't anything else to talk about:
- the main kid had a very strong Harry Potter/Daniel Radcliffe thing going for him, only he actually looked better.
- Emily; 'I don't know. That might make him suicidal', Matt: 'He's homicidal now, I think suicidal is a step in the right direction'. A good one there.
- Matt tearing the HT kid apart, coldly, methodically and effectively, and Frank's 'I'm not an expert, but shouldn't he be nicer?'
'House M.D. 3x09 - 'Finding Judas'
The episode was bloody fantastic. I certainly didn't expect the Titter storyline to give me such a delightful installment. I'm officially in awe here. And, while my enthusiasm for this show might have been a bit sagging in the recent weeks, it's back to full force now.
The drama here was magnificent. House is living on limited, carefully measured doses of Vicodin and is in pain. He's very near the snapping point or perhaps even already past it. He loses control. He yells at people. He tells Cuddy, who is barely coping with the little girl's case even as it is, that it's good she can't have kids because she would make a terrible mother anyway. He acts out instead of giving his full attention to the case. He is hell-bent on cutting the patient's limbs and crippling her for life, and it really would have happened if Chase didn't solve the case for him in the last moment. And then he hits him. Meanwhile Tritter terrorizes the hospital and makes his underhanded moves on every person in House's environment and after everyone holds their ground, he moves in for a kill on Chase by making it look like Chase defected and turning the other Ducklings against him, to finally wear him down. And when it actually starts to work, when Chase isn't going to take anymore bashing from House, Wilson steps in to intervene and goes to Tritter himself. To sell House out. My goodness, it was freaking stunning.
And I don't care that Tritter's reasons stopped making sense a long time ago. I now classify him as a demented individual with a serious - and practically self-admitted - power fetish. Yeah, the same could be said about Vogler, but Tritter's behavior actually makes sense when you start categorizing him like that, while in Vogler's case it definitely didn't. Vogler was a big fish, the owner of a major pharmaceutical company, a multimillionaire, it felt ridiculous that he was so hung up on some doctor he didn't even know personally and went to such a trouble to just get to him. As if he really didn't have anything else to do. And Tritter, he's just some cop, who really might have enough time and determination to run a private vendetta against some random guy who was rude to him. Given that I also suspect that he's got quite a savior complex going for him there, and he actually believes he is doing the society a favor by harassing House and that's where at least part of the annoying smugness comes from. So, I fully accept Tritter as a legitimate character now, and even admit he is pretty cool. And I really hope he doesn't screw that up in the next episode, which I think might be the storyline's finale. Stay cool to the end, Tritter. Do that for David Morse.
The smaller highlights:
- House playing with his light-pen and weirding out the potential benefactors for the hospital, much to Cuddy's displeasure. 'I'm sitting there hoping it's a sniper, because then the sociopath isn't my employee'.
- Foreman: 'You stashed your pills in a lupus textbook', House: 'It's never lupus'. And then House practically licking out the bottle after it turns out to be already empty.
- Foreman's talk with Tritter, when he gives the man the standard 'I'm more interested in my nails that in what you are bleating about there' treatment. And 'If I run out for coffee will I get back before you make your point?' Really, Foreman was kinda awesome this week.
- The fact that Tritter got both Foreman and Cameron exactly right. Foreman is a cold ambitious bastard who doesn't care (unless it's a week when he's a Cameron, of course) and Cameron moral backbone really did erode quite a bit under House's care.
- The Asian judge, fed up with both the parents, House and probably, by association, with Cuddy too.
- Chase got the answer right. And House didn't. Oh Lord, I'm so proud.
Now, show, gimme a fall finale just as awesome as this one.
Tomorrow, Poland fights for gold at the Volleyball World Championship. Seriously, the boys have just crushed Bulgaria in the semifinals. The last time we won a medal at an international event was in 1983. More than two decades ago. We are long overdue. Of course, we are pitched against Brazil so I'm not giving us more that a 1:5 chance to actually win the gold, but it really is an outstanding achievement that we actually got so far. And losing against the best team in the world is not a shame. Just give your best tomorrow, boys, I'm already proud of you.
.