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The Bon Voyage Reaction

Thu, 16 May 2013 22:27:24 +0100

Synopsis: Raj pushes Lucy to meet his friends. Dinner with Amy doesn't go well because Raj keeps pushing for more intimacy. He invites her to Leonard's bon voyage party but she doesn't come and breaks up with him. Leonard is off to the North Sea to work on a research team that Stephen Hawking has put together.

The Good: It's felt like a season of tiny steps forward for the gang. Leonard and Penny have slowly become a happy couple. Raj has gone from needing Stuart for company to finally being able to talk to girls without alcohol. Howard has loosened the apron strings a little. Sheldon is comfortable contemplating a life with Amy in it. This is the slow paced world of The Big Bang Theory. So far there's no sign of the breakups which I assume will have to come somewhere down the line. Nor any sign of career changes or apartment swaps or other characteristics of sit coms going into their seventh season. The show is what it is, it's hugely successful and largely its character development is logical and straightforward.

This was more of that. Sheldon is jealous of Leonard's new opportunity. Simple. Penny and Leonard are sad to say goodbye for a few months but ultimately handle it very maturely. Lucy breaks up with Raj but it leads to a major breakthrough. Good for him.

The Bad: It just wasn't very funny and hasn't been especially funny for most of the season. Statistically it doesn't seem to be any worse than the previous two seasons. I think familiarity has just set in at the point where Sheldon's flippant remarks just aren't enough anymore. In this episode we got the particularly lame suggestion that he thinks of his friends as Star Trek characters. It's an idea that doesn't make much sense and relies entirely on the "you will understand this reference" school of comedy.

Comic Highlight: I did smile at Howard's need to point out that he had been to space and that that trumped Leonard's exciting boat expedition. It's been a while since he brought it up but you knew it was in there.

In Conclusion: I've been warning that there's a chance I will stop reviewing most of the comedies I currently cover episodically. I don't know what to think about The Big Bang Theory. There really has been enough tiny developments over the years to give me a grudging admiration for the show runners ability to sneak change into a formula that is otherwise pretty flat. On the other hand what am I adding by endlessly dolling out 50s to the show ever week. I've never seen the show strive to be funny. I've never seen the writers put a story they wanted to tell over the needs to tick all the boxes they do every week (geek reference, Sheldon put down, status quo maintained). This isn't a show I should be covering in depth, it just happens to exist in an era when comedies that I value are at an all time low. I probably will be back next season but reserve the right not to be. I wish the show well but it doesn't need my help and could be here for another decade churning out essentially the same story week after week.

The Finale

Thu, 16 May 2013 22:25:16 +0100

This was a curious finale to watch. It reminded me a bit of the Lost finale. That too was a saccharine affair that eulogised about the times the characters had spent together. But while Lost still retained much of its emotional power over me The Office has none. The decline in Seasons 6 and 7 followed by the utter collapse of 8 and 9 have robbed me of any residual affection for these characters. It's a real lesson in what mismanagement and changing writing teams can do to a beloved show. For me almost every beat in this final two parter fell flat because I didn't believe in what I was seeing.

The writers made their case that the office had been this wonderful place which had enriched everyone's lives. And through the testimony of Jim, Michael and Dwight they made some good points. But the tone of the show for much of its run was not celebratory. It was about how mismanagement, petty personal indulgence and stupidity could make a workplace a miserable or frustrating place to be. Yes there were good times too but those came in spite of the professional ridiculousness of the office environment. Even recently these characters were rubbing each other the wrong way and yet that sense of awkwardness or irritation which was key to the show was suddenly forgotten. Pam tried to sum the story up as being about the beauty of ordinary things but once Michael left the show that whimsy was lost.

Even Pam's personal story of overcoming fear to find happiness was somewhat undermined by the convoluted nature of her decision to leave Scranton. Pam spends a year realising how much Jim sacrificed for her and gets emotionally ready to move her family to Austin or elsewhere. That's fine but why not talk to Jim about it. Their season long story was about poor communication and yet Pam chooses to "surprise" Jim by trying to sell his parents house without telling him. It was a needless contrivance which added nothing to a story we knew all along would end happily.

I really didn't see the point in firing Kevin. It's at least six years too late for there to be a punch line in someone recognising his incompetence. And what grounds did Dwight have for getting rid of Toby? I have zero interest in Creed at this point and Ryan and Kelly abandoning a child to be together was too stupid for further comment. I'm glad Andy got something of a pleasant final note but again I just didn't buy him reminiscing about how great his days in Scranton were. Nor Darryl either who could well say that Dunder Miflin helped push him onto greater heights but to pretend that he loved these people when he only spent the last couple of seasons in the office was silly.

There were some moments I enjoyed. Stanley saying he's been waiting for retirement since he was eighteen years old was dead on and I have no problem with him and Phyllis missing one another. Of course it was lovely to have Michael back and his opening line was perfection:

Dwight: "I can't believe you came."
Michael: "That's what she said!"

I'm glad Oscar was running for State Senate (putting his brain to the test at last) and that Erin finally met her mum (good casting choice in Joan Cusack) although that moment was rather stepped on by her Dad appearing right afterwards. Randomly I liked Dwight rehiring Devon who Michael had to fire way back in "Halloween" (205).

Overall though this was nothing more than a competent finale that felt more like a goodbye for the crew and cast than the characters who said farewell long ago when the writing turned to mush.

One Minute

Wed, 15 May 2013 15:21:59 +0100

Synopsis: Hank beats Jesse’s face in and soon faces the legal consequences. Jesse is determined to have his vengeance and even threatens to turn Walt in should things go against him. Walt realises that the only solution, short of killing him, is to bring him into the lab. So he berates Gale and asks Gus to make the switch. Hank comes clean with Marie over what he’s been through and prepares to leave the DEA. He stops to buy flowers for Marie just as the Cousins prepare to strike.

The Good: An utterly heartbreaking episode that was far more emotional on rewatch than I had anticipated. The rewatch has been so valuable at connecting the emotional journey of all the characters to these big dramatic moments.

On first watch Jesse’s desire to destroy Hank seemed a bit extreme. On rewatch I can now see more clearly the way he lost Combo and then Jane and then his ability to make money from meth before Hank adds the final insult by destroying his face. Jesse is so angry at life for what he’s been through. His bitter fantasy revenge on Hank is coupled with an f-you to Walt. He is the “bad guy” now and doesn’t plan on being nice to anyone after what he’s been through.

If that story weren’t compelling enough his outburst at Walt about all he’s lost was desperately sad. An outstanding performance once more from Aaron Paul as he wails at Walt, entirely accurately, about how his selfishness has led to one misery after another for Jesse. “I have never been more alone” was such an emotive statement and he throws back at Walt all the abuse that’s been heaped on him. Yet after all that the real tragedy is he still goes back for more. He didn’t have a good plan for going forward alone but you just wish he would leave Walt behind. Instead his fragile self confidence absorbs Walt’s compliment about his meth and he clings to the good part of their bond and the money and returns to the fold.

I thought the writing did such an excellent job of demonstrating the ways in which Jesse’s life has collapsed. Without Walt he would be a petty drug dealer but he would have his moral code intact and might have met a Jane and turned himself around a little. But after all the trauma he’s been through and the exhilaration of making millions from this life it seems like he may be lost for good.

Hank’s story mirrored Jesse’s. Another man whose life was far more solid and reassuring before Walt began cooking. Understandably he lets his rage feast on Jesse’s face in response to the scam phone call. And having finally hit rock bottom Hank lets it all pour out. First he cries in Marie’s arms and then he admits it all to her. The way his nerves were shredded by the shootout with Tuco and how his obsession with Heisenberg led him to cross moral lines. He knows that being a cop means being a good guy, one who despite the frustrations of the legal process, plays by the rules.

I had mixed feelings about his honest declaration of his wrongdoing. We know that he is on the right track and shouldn’t give up. But as with Jesse you just will him to get away from Walt and the DEA and be happy somewhere else. Instead Walt’s manoeuvres behind the scenes mean he should keep his job and he gets to go home happy with flowers for Marie to thank her for her support. All episode it felt like Hank was about to die. He was saying goodbye to his life and you knew when he told Marie “I think things are gonna work out” that he was doomed.

The attack by the Cousins was an amazing spectacle. It was like the Tuco kidnapping shrunk into five minutes. Despite his fears Hank is incredibly brave and is smart enough to run one of them over even as he gets shot in the arm (after realising he no longer had a gun). The parking lot scene was played with ruthless logic as Hank’s car struggles to push aside another (with its hand break on) and then another shopped gets blown away for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Then Hank outsmarts his enemy again and unloads his clip into the bullet proof vest. The use of the axe all season pays off as Hank, now bleeding from four bullet wounds manages to save himself with one final shot (with the lucky bullet, another fateful item like the eyeball). It was as intense and suspenseful as TV drama can be and left an utterly memorable final image of the blood soaked lot with car horn blaring relentlessly. I had tears in my eyes just from the intensity and brutality of it all.

The two scenes with the Cousins earlier in the episode were excellent too. The flashback to their childhood with Uncle Tio teaching them a lesson was very mafia-like and neatly summed up the atmosphere they were raised in. Then they bought their vests from an ultra chatty weapons dealer who naturally they shot to test his product. I also appreciated the way Skyler tried to interfere on Hank’s behalf. I think Walt would have done what he did anyway, in order to silence and avoid killing Jesse, but it’s interesting that she tacitly asks for his help. She is essentially asking him to pull criminal strings in order to benefit her family. Twisted logic I know as she was doing a nice thing but once she accepted his money this is the slippery slope. You’ve gotta love Saul. He points out that one day Jesse will give Walt up, “there’s no honour amongst thieves. Except for us of course!”

The Bad: Nothing.

The Unknown: Tio talked of his reluctance to work with the “Chicken Man” who I assume is Gus. It would be interesting to learn more about their connection. One has to believe that it was Gus who made the distorted call to warn Hank. Was Gus hoping this would happen and the Cousins would be wiped out?

Best Moment: The final five minutes were unstoppable action but sweet Marie making up excuses for noble Hank who knows he’s done wrong or miserable Jesse screaming at Walt for all he’s done for him? Spoilt for choice.

The Bottom Line: An utterly devastating episode for characters and viewer alike. I had forgotten the power of the stories which led up to one of the great action sequences. It was worth every moment of the cartoon-like Cousins for them to be implacable Terminators here and deliver another horrific blow to those around Walt while he continues to enjoy his crustless sandwiches.

Tabula Rasa

Tue, 14 May 2013 17:47:59 +0100

Review and pocast coming on Monday 27th May...comment now

Something New

Mon, 13 May 2013 18:43:50 +0100

Synopsis: Marshall's mother is furious to learn that he is off to Rome without telling her. So to appease her he heads home to Minnesota for the week. Lily goes with Ted to his house which she is shocked to learn he plans on selling. He is off to Chicago to escape Robin. The latter is enjoying dinner with Barney where they decide to take vengeance on an annoying couple at the bar.

The Good: So there she is. A perfectly normal looking brunette played by a relatively unknown actress. I assume Bays and Thomas will actually let her play the part next season instead of trying to drag the wedding out with flashbacks or other gimmicks. I'm passed the point of looking forward to HIMYM but maybe next season will be a happy ending for everyone in a way which will be satisfying for the hard core audience.

I didn't mind Robin and Barney bonding over being vengeful. Their meddling seemed petty enough not to be evil.

The Bad: The repetitive jokes about Marshall's mother working against the Rome trip were a drag. And of course Marshall gets offered a new job just in time to foil the trip to Italy. I said last episode that various members of the group threaten to leave and never do every season.

I do understand the instinct to set each of the characters on a dramatic path as they all head toward the wedding. But to me there's zero emotional resonance to any of it because of the way we keep being teased about the mother. Now it seems obvious that everyone will stay put in New York and I'm not anticipating great television from the fallout. Lily being mad at Marshall has almost no appeal given that they will always be together.

Comic Highlight: I did smile at Barney being repeatedly smacked by the swinging kitchen door during dinner.

How I rate your episode: It's nice to finally meet the mother but I'm still reviewing HIMYM out of inertia. I don't think I'm adding anything to anyone's experience by pointing out what a manipulated sham the whole process has become. I may end up reviewing next season out of a sake of completeness but my time is ever stretched so I may leave a note saying it was one season too many.

The Bear and the Maiden Fair

Mon, 13 May 2013 00:19:21 +0100

Synopsis: Jon and Ygritte continue to flirt while the Warg warns her about Jon's loyalty and he speaks of the previous failed invasions of Westeros by the Wildlings. Bran tells Osha that he plans on heading north of the Wall which she refuses to do. Talisa tells Robb she is pregnant. Jaime says goodbye to Brienne and heads south. He soon returns to Harrenhal to rescue her. Arya runs away from the Brotherhood when they head out to attack a Lannister raiding party. She is captured by the Hound. Tyrion frets about marrying Sansa as she confides in Margaery. Shae refuses to be Tyrion's mistress. Joffree raises concerns about Daenerys which Tywin dismisses. Daenerys camps her army outside Yunkai and demands that they free all of their slaves.

The Good: As usual there were a bunch of good individual scenes but I'm not sure what they add up to.

The Robb and Talisa scene felt like a case of good actors making more of what was on the page. You got a real sense of their personalities and affection for one another. The same felt true for Margaery once more schooling Sansa and Bronn doing the same for Tyrion. The latter remains our admirable main character as he struggles to keep Shae happy with an offer that he realises isn't a good one for her.

The first confrontation between Joffree and Tywin was excellent. Tywin wisely conceals his desire to smack his Grandson upside the head and instead politely answers his questions while looming menacingly over him. Naturally Joffree is more concerned by Dany than anything else as he insecurely shifts upon his throne. The real strength of this scene though is what it promises for the future. You can see that one day the Gold Cloaks may be surrounding both men being forced to choose who to obey.

I really laughed when we cut to a wide eyed Jon being given sex advice from Giantsbane.

The Bad: I have no problem with Jaime refusing to abandon Brienne but that whole sequence was just a replay of the incident which cost him his hand (303). I am glad neither of them was hurt and don't mind the logic of bear fighting or Lord Bolton's men letting them go. But as the climax of an episode it couldn't help but feel like a letdown.

The Unknown: Daenerys and her court looked fantastic as they laid down their threats at Yunkai. Beyond the Westerosi distaste for slavery and perhaps her own experience as a pawn in her brothers game is there another reason for her new role as Spartacus? Does she genuinely want to rid the world of slavery or is this just a recruitment drive for the invasion?

Theon's torture was definitely disturbing and almost turned into pornography at one point. I can't deny that the whole thing gets an emotional response from me. But if this was Theon's castration then it's hard to know what the future holds for him. To spread his torture across the season like this does feel exploitative. Part of that is my sense that the torturer is not a character we are getting to know. This remains Theon's story and to watch him suffer for ten episodes doesn't make me sympathise with him as much as it makes me dislike the producers for putting me through this.

The flirting and exchange of information between Jon and Ygritte remains as entertaining as ever. But I remain emotionally neutral about their strange understanding of the others' position. Jon is as blatant as he can be that his loyalty remains with his people. Ygritte's response to that is to once more cling to the sense that they as a couple have a more significant bond. Yet she is clearly not planning to abandon Mance's invasion. Is she not worried that Jon is going to betray them? Is she ready to abandon this life and become his prisoner\wife should he prove correct and the invasion fails?

After Melissandre broke all Olympic records by racing from Dragonstone to the Riverlands she now mocks the very laws of time and space by taking Gendry down the King's Road (a journey which seemed to take weeks in Season One) to King's Landing for the return trip.

Arya seems to just run from one group of would-be captors to another as the Hound becomes her latest babysitter. Qyburn as a proto-scientist could be an interesting character. Osha's story explains her reluctance to return north of the Wall but we knew exactly where the story was going as soon as it began. Presumably Bran would have to go through the gate at Castle Black because there's no way he will be climbing.

What does the Warg know about Jon? Who are Yunkai's powerful friends?

Best Moment: Tywin tolerating Joffree.

Conclusion: Each season of Game of Thrones has had a couple of episodes in a row where I temporarily lose the sense of where the narrative is going. Usually though they have been a little earlier than this. I do understand that this is one book being spread across two seasons but this episode still felt oddly static.

Man with a Plan

Mon, 13 May 2013 00:18:28 +0100

This was a really interesting episode and played very much to the series' strengths as we focus on Don's internal response to chaos at work. The way he wanted to turn Sylvia into his needy play thing only to end up begging her to stay was affecting. Nothing is ever enough for Don and each time he ordered her around you could see Sylvia questioning quite whether she wanted to still be here.

The merger brought out insecurity in Pete as well as Don. Both seemed childishly insecure at their reduced authority. Don trying to out-alpha Teddy and openly whining about being upstaged by Ted's pilots licence. While Pete's anxieties were an open book as he harshly deal with his mother. None of this was particularly subtle, continuing the trend of the whole show to veer between the unspoken and the spelt out. I did enjoy seeing Ted's different approach to work and amusing attempt to ask Don to be more professional. The chaos of the merger had a real "the more things change" feel to it. Not just Burt being fired again but Joan showing Peggy to an office or Don drinking heavily. We've seen everyone moving into new offices multiple times now and it was entertaining just to see how everyone adapted.

We've yet to see Bob Benson crack under pressure. His brown nosing became a positive asset as he handled Joan's sudden pain with immense charm and discretion. We don't know what lurks behind his kindly smiles but on this occasion his hard work paid off as he clung to his job.

Mrs Campbell's dementia was handled in cartoon fashion. Perhaps in some cases one's memory can leap around to random points in time but it didn't reflect the more common symptoms of very sad confusion and misunderstanding.

We close the episode with Don zoning out from life once more. He only seems to find temporary fulfilment from being worshipped either at home or in the office. Not even Robert Kennedy's assassination can pierce his funk. Another Kennedy being shot, not butter but margarine I guess.