06:30 The Middleman
07:30 The Burning Zone
08:30 Supernatural
01:30 Flying Blind
02:00 Good Morning Miami



The Middleman. Episode 5. "The Flying Fish Zombification" Since I don't like Wendy's roommate very much, I was a tad bored by her storyline in this one. Will her mom show up at her Art Crawl or not? Gee, who cares? Much better was the case-of-the-week: flying fish that turn people into trout-eating zombies. Lots of very funny scenes. My fave? The bit where The Middleman was on the phone (being told about the flying fish for the first time) and we could see Wendy way in the background having a fight to the death with one of the dastardly creatures. That was hilarious in itself but it got funnier as the phone conversation ended and The Middleman was saying how important it was to capture one of the creatures alive while we could see Wendy bashing it to death in the background. Great slapstick comedy in a show where most of the laughs come from the witty dialogue. And Mary Pat Gleason, of course.



The Burning Zone. Episode 1. "The Burning Zone" Some pretty nifty ideas here but, in general, this is a pretty poor pilot. The cast is a mixed bag: Jeffrey Dean Morgan is great as the lead scientist, and Paul Guilfoyle is a fantastic bad guy in this first story. But Tamlyn Tomita is as bland and forgettable here as she was on Babylon 5 and while James Black was great in the series that followed he fails to impress in this opener.

The characters are all pretty dreadful. The writers give the lead hero guy several key scenes to make us think that he is a cool and dangerous rule-breaker. But he comes across as a jerk. We meet him speeding along a highway being chased by local cops and "not having time" to stop and explain himself. Instead he leads them on a merry chase before his security team bails him out. Later he meet his female partner for the first time and sparks fly because he was previously responsible for the death of her fiance. A fact that he has totally forgotten!!

So, the lead scientist hero is an arrogant jerk and his team are also pretty crap. The pretty scientist girl is one of those annoying TV characters who doubts everything the hero says and keeps getting proved wrong every step of the way. They are clearly supposed to be Mulder and Scully, but they are clearly... not!

The tough guy assigned to protect the two scientists proves sadly inept in this first story when he is quickly overcome by a bad guy and possessed by the very intelligent virus the team are trying to stop. I mean he is instantly beaten in a fight and becomes one of the bad guys. In, like, his third scene. In the frakkin' pilot!! How is any of that supposed to make us think he is cool or interesting?

Finally, there is the boss guy that they all work for. He seems to think they are all highly expendable and activates a self-destruct device to blow the compound up when the lead bad guy escapes. I mean, seriously? There's one dangerous bad guy running around and the solution is: blow the place up and kill the two scientists who might save the entire world. Yeah, that makes sense...

So, with all this crap going on, is there anything worthwhile in the pilot? The answer is: Yes. It's a great story. A sentient virus has returned after 14,000 years in hibernation. The virus explains that man's natural place in the scheme of things is as a host for the virus. That's some pretty cool stuff. And there's a mysterious van driver, too. Who appears to be glowing with the light of God. Or something. And it's all very intriguing.

So, a good story and a dynamic leading man (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) made me want to tune in for episode two. Which is when Michael Harris joins the cast, thank goodness!



Supernatural. Season 2, Episode 7. "The Usual Suspects" A great episode and an instant addition to my list of Best Ever Supernatural Episodes. It deviates from formula, has a very strong story, a non-supernatural foe and two of my most favourite actors (Keegan Connor Tracy and Jason Gedrick). Add Linda Blair to the mix and you have a major win for the Supernatural team. I've not seen much of Blair but she's the one carrying this episode (it's from her point of view and she's pretty much in every scene) and she is fantastic.

Yes, it was easy to see who the bad guy would turn out to be (in the big twist ending) but, hey, you can't have everything. They made references to X-Files, CHiPs and Jim Rockford... I'm more than happy!



Flying Blind. Episode 3. "The Week of Living Dangerously" Neil and Alicia have moved on to having sex at her place and things are going great. Until she gets a "I never thought I'd hear from you again" phone call. Her ex-boyfriend - a Latin American guerrilla - threatens Neil's life. Neil, being the man he is, cowers in fear for most of the episode and the laughs flow freely. The dialogue on this show is amazing. "Does he wear a retainer, because I really know how to use that to my advantage?" More than just being funny, there is the fact that this is the first time that Neil has felt like fighting for a woman. Cool stuff.



Good Morning Miami. Episode 6. "Kiss of the Spiderman" A perfect episode. The dynamics between all of the characters are now in place and the romantic "event-in-this-episode" between Jake and Dylan is accidental (so he's not a jerk for trying to break her relationship up).

Jake is secretly in love with Dylan and only two characters know it. His grandmother (who we see in his home life) is in favour of him chasing Dylan and Penny (who he works with) thinks he has to back off and leave Dylan with Gavin. It's an interesting dynamic and it really makes the show come alive. It brings Jake's inner turmoil out into the open and allows it to be discussed out loud. Plus, Jake is now written as being uncertain about what to do next, and this allows the writers to make his grandmother and Penny more extreme. They are pushing him in different directions and this gives the show the conflict in needs to make it fun to watch. And it's got lots of good gags, too, so it's also funny to watch. A perfect mixture, in fact.

The main storyline shows us what happens when Jake and Gavin wear identical costumes at Halloween and Dylan kisses the wrong one. In the sub-plot we learn for the first time that Frank may be gay. Pretty much every scene is laugh out loud funny and the romantic tension at the end comes across as genuine and sweet. Penny, my absolute favourite character, gets some of the best lines and - what I love most - she drops her sarcastic guard on two occasions and is very nice to Jake and his situation.

This makes her more likable, yes, but it is also vital to the success of the show. These moments help validate Jake's position. And, as I found myself on this particular re-watching of the show, Jake's position in the early episodes is not very easy to defend. He could come across as a bit of jerk trying to end (what appears to be) a pretty okay relationship. But, by episode 6, we see that he's not trying to do anything to anyone and he is - in fact - completely trapped by his desperate love for this girl he barely knows. Penny's interaction with him in these scenes serves two functions: it helps makes the whole thing funny (as opposed to sad and lonely) and - when it really counts - it helps us to like Jake. We can see that, for all her teasing, Penny kinda likes him and feels for him. And, at this stage in the series, that is where the audience is, also.

Highlight? Good Morning Miami (Poor Jake)
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04.30 Back To You
05.00 Greg The Bunny
09.00 Flashpoint
10.00 Burn Notice
11.00 Keen Eddie
01.00 Wizards And Warriors

Back To You. Episode 16 (Episode 12, in production order.) "House of Tomorrow" An okay episode. Kelly's fascination/obsession with Chuck drives the story in this one. He is dating a younger woman (again) and Kelly is tauting him about it. Chuck sets out to prove that he is more mature than she is willing to admit and, in the process, buys a house that he has never seen (!!). It turns out to be a 'futuristic' house with loads of voice-activated devices, which go awry in the episode's frantic conclusion. It's not a very funny episode, since most of Kelly's rants are just unfunny rants, but the bit at the end (in the house) is funny even if it is too forced to be genuinely hilarious. Best bit? Chuck's date thinks she is watching him being spanked by Kelly (he has, in fact, set his pants on fire).

Greg The Bunny. Episode 10. "Surprise!" Middle-of-the-road episode. Not the funniest that the show has done, but it has several classic (and very funny) moments. Sasha Alexander guests as TV Guide reporter who is assigned to profile the entire cast and, since she has to interview all of them, she basically appears in every scene and carries the whole episode. Works for me! All of the regular cast (human and puppet) get a chance to shine in this one. Sarah Silverman has never been funnier on the show, but it is still Warren who gets all the best lines. He's my favourite character, with Tardy Turtle (also superb in this episode) now coming a close second.

What brings the episode down (IMHO) is the soft-and-fuzzy side of the story. When the story opens the gang are (inexplicably) bickering more than usual while Greg's voice-over makes observations about... family. Anyway, as the reporter goes from person to person we learn that most of them are unhappy with someone else in the cast. Then, in the birthday party at the end, when the reporter is about to unveil a scandal that might damage the show, they all pull together and stand up for one another. Cue a sickening voice-over from Greg about... family. Awful.

Never mind. This time out the comedy rises above schmaltz. Many, many scenes are laugh-out-loud funny. My favourite? Jimmy finds Sarah Silverman and Sasha Alexander (both looking supremely hot) in some girl-on-girl action and declares: "Considering that we only had three hours to plan, I would say this is a pretty damn good party!"

Flashpoint. Episode 4. "Asking For Flowers" Chandra West guests as the sister of a battered wife taking things into her own hands with the slimy husband: Kenneth Mitchell. Flashpoint beats Standoff by always finding a way to tell intimate stories and make them compelling. While this is the weakest of the first four, it is still a damn fine hour of TV with a couple of big twists to keep the audience guessing: for most of the episode the heroes have no idea who the real bad-guy is (which makes you wonder if they will shoot the wrong person) and - minutes from the end - the balance of power shifts dramatically. Good stuff.

Michael Cram gets a chance to shine in this one. His character is very cool and my favourite part of the whole story was the split-second shot at the end where he goes home to his wife and you can see how genuinely happy he is to be in her company. Not enough of that on TV.

Burn Notice. Season 2, Episode 4. "Comrades" Nothing special, but still very good. Michael's brother is back on the team in this one, and Sam (Bruce Campbell) pretty much takes the lead in both cases. Little touches like this keep the formula fresh. Good guest work, too, from Lost's Andrew Divoff.

Keen Eddie. Episode 6. "Sucker Punch" The case-of-the-week is crap. Eddie and the team are trying to find an underground fighting club and they keep chasing/meeting a fighter and trying to convince him into helping them. This happens over and over (and Eddie keeps getting knocked out, which is funny) until the guy eventually decides to help them and then pursue his dream of a life in the theatre. Usually the cases/stories on Keen Eddie are strong and have depth. This one isn't and doesn't.

But that's not important this time out...

Most of the episode is actually devoted to Eddie and Fiona. Fiona, you see, is moving to New York to be with her idiot boyfriend Nigel (Theo Fraser Steele) and Eddie and she will never have to see one another again. Each declares that this makes them happy, but we can see (thanks to great performances from Mark Valley and Sienna Miller) that it actually makes them sad. Honest-to-goodness... sad. And it's not just the typical TV romantic tension either. You can see that they are each bewildered by their feelings for one another. He doesn't just fancy her, he likes her. And vice versa. And it's really rather sweet. There's one long scene, in particular, which isn't trying to be funny. It's just about how they can't say what they are thinking, so they just keep looking at one another.

As wonderful as all the Eddie/Fiona stuff is, the highpoint of the episode is the Miss Moneypenny scene. Once again she gives a sexual answer to one of Eddie's innocent questions (he is the only one to hear it, of course) and I thought my TV was going to melt from the heat. Seriously. I watched this with two other men and we were all gob-smacked. Why would anyone ever need to watch porn? Just watch Rachael Buckley on Keen Eddie! Grrrrowl!



Wizards And Warriors. Episode 1. "The Unicorn of Death" This was not the first episode filmed, but it was the first episode shown. Although it is delightful from start to finish, it does a pretty bad job of introducing the world of the show and the various characters contained therein. Basically this was a show that needed a two-hour opener to do it justice. Watching this particular outing gives you a feeling of being dropped into the middle of the action. Flawed as this episode may be (when used to open the series) there are still many, many things to enjoy.

Julia Duffy steals the show as the spoiled princess. Virtually every line she utters makes you laugh out loud and she, basically, saves the day at the end. Only Duffy could take a shallow, self-involved character like this and make her heroic and adorable. And funny. "He's always so busy," she laments, with a pout, as the dashing hero rushes away from her to save everyone from certain death.

Duffy is supported by a strong cast. Duncan Regehr and Clive Revill, in particular, are a joy to watch. Both playing evil men and both having an absolute ball doing it. The entire cast, directed by Bill Bixby, give the impression that they are having fun. And there is a lot of fun in the script, too. Many moments of comedy, in fact, in lots of unexpected places. This is a rather hip show. Definitely the grandfather of shows like Hercules and Xena. There are no scenes without one-liners and most hit their mark.

The story is good, too. The bad guys have planted the equivalent of a nuclear device in the castle of the Good King and are calling for his surrender. From this starting point the story advances in logical fashion, with a few surprises along the way. The best twist is when the innocent courier realises what he has brought to the castle and decides to try and save the princess. Everything is funny, firmly rooted in character and very exciting.

Highlight? Wizards And Warriors (hip)
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07:30 McMillan And Wife
01:30 That '70s Show



McMillan And Wife. Episode 5. "Death Is A Seven Point Favorite" Another complex story with multiple murders and someone trying out some elaborate ways to fix a football game. As usual, it doesn't really make a lot of sense but it is amusing. Not laugh-out-loud funny or anything, but it's fast moving and the great regular cast are capable of raising a smile every few minutes. Sally is relegated to third-place character as Mac and Enright do most of the legwork (Enright gets the episodes biggest laugh, too, with his new hairstyle). Other elements of the formula are in place, too: The movie starts with an action sequence (showing Mac closing a case) and ends with an action sequence (which, in line with other endings, is a bit over-the-top).

That '70s Show. Season 6, Episode 5. "I'm Free" Two stories unfold in this very funny episode: The marriage of Fes and Laurie is under investigation by INS and Kelso tells Brooke he wants to be part of the baby's life. Both storylines deliver laughs but the Kelso storyline is the best. It's fun to watch him partnered with Donna, and great viewing as we watch her uncover his conscience and (slightly more) mature side. Cool episode.

Highlight? That '70s Show (Kelso & Donna)
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12.30 Garrison's Gorillas



Garrison's Gorillas. Episode 1. "The Big Con" Very good opening episode to a very good series. Garrison's Gorillas was about a motley crew of convicts, co-opted into the military and working on dangerous missions behind enemy lines during WWII. The opening minutes of this opener shows them parachuting down together for the first time and getting the particulars of their first mission: replacing counterfeit currency plates with ones that have been altered in a particular way. It's good story, with a really great cast. There's lots of silent action and tension (a lá Mission: Impossible) and with this being the first mission together there's a fair bit of macho posturing as Craig Garrison tries to control his men and gain their respect.

The focus for most of this is the character played by gyest-star Telly Savalas. Savalas is great (of course) but the character is boring and pointless. Even if I wasn't a long-time fan of the series I would find it easy to predict what will happen to the rebel within the team (Garrison will beat him down, win everyone's respect by doing so and - in the end - the rotten apple will die somehow). Consequently most of the scenes with this character are less entertaining than the scenes of heroic teamwork and male bonding. Garrison's Gorillas is a noteworthy series in that all of the leads are equally likable and it's a lot of fun to watch them working together. It's also a fine action/espionage series. The climax of this opener is a rousing battle between our heroes (making their escape having made the switch) and - what appears to be - hundreds of German soldiers. Good stuff.

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10.30 Barney Miller

Barney Miller. Episode 4. "Graft" I like Barbara Barrie. I've always liked her and I've seen her in a thousand guest shots. She's great. But even she can't make the role of Barney's wife work. This is the first episode since the pilot to show Barney's home life. And, as soon as the show shifts back there, it sucks. Plain and simple.

Dick O'Neill (another of my favourite guest stars from a thousand shows) appears as an Internal Affairs cop who drops hints that someone at the 12th is corrupt in some way. The episode that follows is pretty good, as each of the regulars wonders if his own small transgressions are responsible for the allegations. There are some good gags and lots of well-written character work. The episode only really stops being good when Barney goes home in the middle and the final scene (where all the plots are tied up) is laugh-out-loud hilarious.

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08:00 Veronica Mars
09:00 Veronica Mars



Veronica Mars. Episode 5. "You Think You Know Somebody" An average case, but an above-average episode. This is the one where Troy's car is stolen. Which is bad for Troy. But one of his buddies had drugs stashed in the car, and there are some bad people after him. Which is worse for his buddy. Watching Veronica track down the car is kinda boring. We know her at this stage and we know that she's capable of more than this. Luckily, this episode is more about the character drama of the piece and - on that level - it's very good. Veronica's father is dating and we get to see father and daughter have a fight for the first time. Sure, on one level, Veronica is trying to protect her family and keep the memory of her mother alive. But, on another level, she's being mean to Keith and denying something that would mean a lot to him: an end to his loneliness.

Truthfully, I never forgave Veronica for that. It was, I think, our first glimpse of her flaws. (On a side note: I love Veronica dearly, but if she was my daughter and she tried to get me to stop dating Paula Marshall I would kick her skinny blonde ass out the front door so fast her head would spin right off!) And, on the subject of flaws: This is also the episode where we get to Troy's true colours. Too good to be true? Yes, indeed.

This ending of this episode is one of the best they ever did on the show, and it's a perfect example of what this show is all about. In the closing minutes, Veronica outwits everybody and two bad guys bite the dust in spectacular/satisfying fashion. But it's an empty victory for our heroine. She's alone and sad when the credits roll. And that's how I think of Veronica (and I think of her often): alone and sad. She will always win out, beat the bad guys and uncover the truth. But, in the world of Veronica Mars, the truth is painful to behold and it is frequently Veronica herself who wears the scars.

Veronica Mars. Episode 6. "Return of the Kane" No case-of-the-week, per se, but Veronica gets involved in the world of school elections. And, of course, she finds corruption. The mid-point of the episode - where Veronica finds out how the fix was done - would have been a great place to end the storyline. Unfortunately, it goes on for a bit after that and we find out that Wanda (the girl Veronica is helping) is a bit of a bad apple. Not only is the twist utter rubbish, but the way Veronica catches her is complete rubbish, too. Sigh. A low-point in the series.

Meanwhile, over in the realms of character development, this is a pretty good episode. We meet Logan's father for the first time and get a flavour for their unusual/unhealthy relationship. We can start to understand why Logan is the way that he is, and we can see that his father is a violent man. Poor Logan. At this stage I had already started to like him. How much of that is down to the great writing, and how much is down to the casting of Jason Dohring?

This episode has an unforgettable/haunting ending as Logan takes a beating to the sound of America's "Ventura Highway" on the soundtrack. A high-point in the series.

Highlight? Veronica Mars (Ventura Highway)
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01:30 NewsRadio
02:00 Wings

NewsRadio. Season 2, Episode 18. "Led Zeppelin" Better than the previous episode. Lisa and Dave have broken up and everyone they work with is trying to adjust. The best scenes are the ones between Dave and Bill. Bill is such an odd character. He and Dave have a great dynamic in this episode. Dave is upset and Bill is trying to reach out to him. Or is he? (Who knows with Bill?) Anyway, Dave keeps trying to bond by sharing anecdotes but Bill's shared stories (of his ex) are downright weird. It's hilarious watching them and watching Dave react. Their scenes together give the episode a funny subplot.

Wings. Episode 4. "Return to Nantucket, Part Two" Carol is back on the island and trying to make things work with Brian. Unfortunately, she's running after Joe behind his back and pretty soon the Hackett brothers won't be speaking again. It's a good episode. The episode gives us a lot of information on the backstory for these characters and it does a lot to make us like them. Comedy-wise Crystal Bernard totally steals the show. She spends the first third of the show angry, the middle third over-eating in odd places and the final third drunk. It is in the final third that she is at her best. Helen has never been more feisty. Or most lovable.

Highlight? Wings (Helen)
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06:30 Veronica Mars
07:30 Veronica Mars
08:30 Supernatural
12:30 Soap
01:00 Taxi

Veronica Mars. Episode 3. "Meet John Smith" The case-of-the-week is great - one of my favourites - and it ties neatly into Veronica's personal life and the backstory of the series. A young boy hires our heroine to find his father. But it's not a real case. He just wants to spend some time with the hot pi and he's neglected to tell her that his father is, in fact, dead. Veronica is soon onto his little game, but the investigation she has set in motion soon turns up a hit: the boys father is alive and hiding a secret. It's a good story, hard to predict where it will all end and the ending is sweet and emotional without being false or over-the-top.

Aaron Ashmore makes a great impression in this episode as Troy the boy who has been chasing Veronica since he first laid eyes on her. Their first date is great to watch (great chemistry between the actors) and the final moment (where she pulls away from his kiss) is heartbreaking to watch. But it's worth it just to see how great Troy is with his reaction (he just seems too good to be true, really). Paula Marshall makes her first appearance in this episode and (speaking of great chemistry between the actors) her scenes with Enrico Colantoni are wonderful.

This is the first/only episode to devote so much time to Duncan Kane and we get to see Duncan at home with his (hateful) parents, trying to stay off his meds, watching Veronica with Troy, and having a conversation with his dead sister. This was the episode that originally made me like Duncan, but - since the character never amounted to much in later stories - I soon came to regard him as bland.

Unlike the first two episodes, there is no sense of rough justice in this story. The case is crime-free and there is no real opportunity for anyone taking the law into their own hands. Interestingly, at one point Veronica does tell her dad that she is "old school: an eye for an eye". Very true.



Veronica Mars. Episode 4. "The Wrath of Con" Another enjoyable case-of-the-week (guest starring Kyla Pratt as the victim of some con men). Vernonica tracks the bad guys with typical gusto and - in the end - totally outwits them and makes sure that justice is done. Her way.

A lot of this episode flashs back to a night with Veronica, Lilly, Duncan and Logan. Truly great work from the cast shows us the friendship between the four of them and how much they had together. In the present day, Logan is trying to edit together a short film in tribute to Lilly and this marks the first that he and Veronica are halfways civil to one another. He might be a jerk but - as we are beginning to learn - his heart is in the right place. Sometimes.

Great to watch everyone's reaction to the finished film clip. Lilly's dad and Weevil being the most interesting...

Supernatural. Season 2, Episode 6. "No Exit" A good case-of-the-week and a nice break-from-formula with Sam taking a back seat (maybe due to Jared Padalecki's injured hand?) while Jo and Dean get most of the scenes. I've not liked Jo very much so far in the series, but I did enjoy her presence in this episode. It was fun to see Dean partnered with someone else and some of the scenes did a nice job of bringing out some new details about him. I don't buy them as a couple, but I could see him liking her and wanting to take care of her (like a little sister, maybe?). The twist at the end - which now gives her a reason to want to stay away from him - was pretty good. I'm interested enough by the revelation that I want to know the story behind it. My guess is that the mother-and-daughter are having a knee-jerk reaction to something that will turn out to be understandable.

The mother-and-daughter aspects of this episode are the only parts I didn't enjoy. I don't like them so I don't care to watch a scene of them fighting. It's a waste of time anyway, that scene at the very start, since even the most naive of viewers can predict from the get-go that Jo is going to disobey her mother and join the boys. And it's sad to see the show get predictable like this, since it spent the first season being quite fresh and un-predictable.

One final point: I absolutely hate it when Ellen scolds the boys. She's not their frakkin' mother and - as I wrote before - giving the boys an authority figure is a huge mistake for the show.

Never mind. Good episode.

Soap. "Episode 32" There are three truly superb scenes in this episode. The first features Danny and the woman he has been forced (by the mob) to marry. It's really only the second episode to show Elaine in a flattering light: most of the time she is a bitch to everyone. But with this episode she opens up to Danny and explains why she is so mean. It's a great scene. Short, and wonderfully performed. No part of the scene is played for laughs and it ends up being very touching.

The next scene in the episode is largely played as drama, as well. Mary and Burt have a chat about his tendency to work long hours and ignore the marriage. Both characters explain their point of view and Burt's - in particular - is very human and honest. He talks of his father and the life he had growing up and how it shaped the man he became. It's a wonderful scene. Nothing about it is forced or false. And, once again, you can see how much these two characters love one another.

Right after this, Soap delivers one of it's funniest-ever scenes and - according to online sources - the first time the word "horny" was uttered on network TV. Jessica, her daughters and her sister sit at the kitchen table - eat pie - and talk about how much they love sex and how they wish they were getting more. Not only is this scene hysterical from start to finish, it's hard to believe it comes from a show with a 1978 copyright date in the closing credits. This scene, like so many in Soap, is never trashy or naughty-for-the-sake-of-being-naughty, instead it comes across as true and human. It's obvious how much these women are in love with their partners. Susan Harris does a great job of making all her characters real amid the insanity of the plots. And this scene is one of her best.

Taxi. Episode 34. "Alex's Romance" My favourite episode of Taxi. I caught this episode in a late night re-run, many years after Taxi has finished and I had pretty much forgotten how wonderful it was, and it blew me away on every level and brought me back into the fold.

There are two reasons to love this episode. First, it's a great love story. Alex meets a woman, has a two-week whirlwind romance and decides to propose before she leaves the city forever. The chemistry between Judd Hirsch and his co-star Dee Wallace is amazing. They make you believe the implausible storyline. They have two big scenes. The first of these is their first time back in Alex's apartment following their first date. He is crazy about her, and keeps trying to kiss her. She is trying to push him away, but she can't resist his charm (try as she might). It's a scene of witty one-liners and (unusual for Taxi) physical comedy. It's also a very honest scene. All of his advances are very-Alex. And since Alex is television's quintessential everyman it is very easy to relate to, and empathise with, his attraction for this woman.

Their second scene together is The Big Proposal. And The Big Rejection. I have no words capable of praising this scene. It is so funny, so well-performed and so honest. There is not a false note in any of the emotions shown onscreen. It's hard to imagine the show ever being any better than this.

And then it gets even better. And delivers my favourite moment in all of Taxi. And, possibly, in all of television comedy. It's a scene I often reference and never tire of quoting. It's pure magic from start to finish and it earns some of it's biggest laughs without the use of any dialogue. And it's my second reason for loving this episode.

His lover has left the city and Alex sits away from the group in a state of sadness. To his rescue comes... Reverend Jim and Latka. Reverend Jim and Latka!! Two less-suitable characters it would be hard to imagine. And the moment where Alex looks up to see who has sat beside him, and slowly looks from one to the other is one of the funniest things I have ever seen. And, even better, it's comedy derived from character. It's funny because we know these characters and we know what they are capable of.

The scene that follows is painfully funny. Jim gives a speech that (in a weird way) makes sense and is (in a weird way) very inspirational. He sures inspires Latka, who becomes inexplicably fired up by it all and runs from the room to live out a better life. Alex watches all of this with complete bemusement and - when alone again - cannot resist breaking into a smile. Freeze frame. And a truly lovely moment. Life does go on after heartbreak, and this is a lovely way to remind us.

Highlight? Taxi (my favourite episode)
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04:30 Curb Your Enthusiasm
08:00 Greg The Bunny
08:30 Good Morning Miami
10:30 Veronica Mars
11:30 Veronica Mars

Curb Your Enthusiasm. Episode 1. "The Pants Tent" It's amazing how quickly things go wrong from poor Larry. Only a few minutes into this first episode (three scenes or so) and he's annoyed his best friend's new girlfriend, been offensive to his manager's parents and made his wife's friend think she caused him to have an erection. And from there it all spirals out of control. Much as I love the show, and love watching the show, I also love thinking about how the show is made (improvised dialogue from detailed scene outlines). It's clever. And it means we get a plot-driven show every week. There is always something happening in every scene. Every scene advances a plot, or allows it to collide into another plot, or something. Whatever. There is always something new happening. Often very funny.



Greg The Bunny. Episode 9. "Greg Gets Puppish" Another so-so episode. When this show is funny, it's very funny. And when it's not funny, it delivers episodes like this one: in which Greg embraces his puppet heritage. There are few gags floating around, yes, but a lot of the dialogue is just to drive the (boring) story and it leaves you unsure what to make of it all. Is it meant to be comedy with a message? Or are they just bad are doing satire? The ending is another one of those soft and fuzzy they sometimes do on this show: where friendship wins out over differences. An odd episode. I don't watch Greg The Bunny for touchy-feely crap.

Good Morning Miami. Episode 5. "Swan Jake" Pretty good episode. Important one for the characters: Jake finds out that Gavin isn't so bad and starts to feel guilty about wanting to steal Dylan away, Lucia tells Dylan that Jake likes her and suggests a little test. All of this advances the storyline and helps make Jake more likable than he was in earlier episodes. The supplot, meanwhile, is hilarious. Frank thinks that Penny has a crush on him, and acts accordingly. This being a sit-com "acts accordingly" means he drapes himself across her desk and invites her to feel his over-developed thigh. Lots of laughs.

Veronica Mars. Episode 1. "Pilot" I don't think I've ever seen a pilot with so much backstory, so skillfully delivered. Veronica is quite an interesting lady and - prior to this first episode - she has led quite an interesting life. Rob Thomas weaves her history into this first episode, and still manages to deliver a clever case-of-the-week which shows Veronica at her best: clever, gutsy, framing people, switching police evidence and derailing trials as she sees fit. It's fun to watch her in action. We like her because she is clever and good (and the best TV Heroes are clever and good) but we like her, too, because she is sad and full of pain. In rapid succession we see what happened to Veronica to make her this way: her mother leaving, her friend being murdered, her own rape and her boyfriend dumping her. All of this, plus her status as an outcast in Neptune society, makes Veronica who she is on the day we first meet her.

She reminds me of Harry O. Battered by life, but not beaten.

Veronica Mars. Episode 2. "Credit Where Credit's Due" This time out the case-of-the-week takes up many more scenes, and the backstory barely appears at all. The case (credit card fraud) is interesting, clever and it involves one of the regular characters. It serves to strengthen the bond between them, which was forged in the final scene of the pilot. Lots of other character stuff is carried over from the pilot. The animosity between Logan and Weevil is a perfect example. And it's not just the character stuff. We get to understand the world of Neptune a bit better. It's a vicious place. And justice in Neptune is rough. We saw that in the pilot, where Veronica played fast and loose with the law to get Weevil's guys off the hook for a crime they committed, as a means towards getting a better quality of life for Wallace. This time out we see the story come to an end when Weevil and his club have punished the person who committed the crime. That's how the story ends: with frontier justice.

Highlight? Veronica Mars (pilot)
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02:00 Back To You
02:30 My Boys
03:00 The Closer
09:00 Curb Your Enthusiasm



Back To You. Episode 15 (Episode 9, in production order). "Date Night" Wow. Possibly the best episode. Hilarious from start to finish. Unlike many episodes, the chemistry between Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton is sparkling, and the supporting cast/plot is simply superb. In the main story, Kelly is dating a younger man and Chuck is teasing her about it being a younger version of him. "You're obsessed with me," he declares. It's fun to watch him being all arrogant and even more fun to watch her go to extremes to prove him wrong. She gets revenge by trapping him in a date with someone he does not fancy. And, being a sitcom, they all end up on dates in the same restaurant. What makes it work (and very funny) is the way Kelly reveals that she is obsessed with Chuck, while he (in a lovely twist) really connects with his bookish date.

Meanwhile, back at work, there are some wonderful scenes with the rest of the gang. Marsh, Ryan and Gary in the make-up room is one of the funniest scenes I have ever seen. It's the old guys-talking-like-women gag, this time played out in a make-up room at a TV station. And, boy, does it ever work. These three guys know exactly how to play it and I was in hysterical laughter from start to finish.

My Boys. Season 2, Episode 9. "John, Cougar, Newman Camp" Another solid outing (much funnier than last week) which builds to a predictable (and kinda sad) cliff-hanger. It's a been a great season (half-season?) and the various plot-threads have played out wonderfully over the episodes. The writers have skillfully brought all the regular characters on a journey this season and we leave all of them in a new place. That's good TV, that is.

I'm not unhappy with the cliff-hanger, god no, I'm just unhappy with what happened in that cliff-hanger and curious to see how things will advance from here.

The Closer. Season 4, Episode 5. "Dial M for Provenza" After two serious (and heartbreaking) episodes in a row, the show (wisely) delivers a funny one. Funny? It's frakkin' hilarious. Provenza (a great character played by the wonderful G.W. Bailey) takes center-stage and the wonderful Jennifer Coolidge guests as his nemesis. Coolidge only really does one thing but she does it really, really well and she is perfect for this role. There are many, many comedy highlights and the episode nicely distracts us from the turmoil in the private lives of several of the regulars. A turmoil which, I'm sure, we will return to in future episodes.

Curb Your Enthusiasm. "HBO Special" The good thing about CYE is that it's not really about a famous writer and the scrapes that he gets himself into, it (like Seinfeld before it) is about the minutiae of everyday life and - more importantly - someone obsessed with the minutiae of everyday life. This first episode (pilot?) is less about the big concert that Larry is about to give/perform is more about the way one behaves with regard to restaurant meetings, name pronunciations, wakes, friends who have affairs, etc. etc. It sucks you in, makes you believe that everything on screen could be true and the ending, which ties everything together, is very good.

Highlight? Back To You (so funny)
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07:00 Flashpoint

Flashpoint. Episode 3. "The Element of Surprise" One of the reasons that this show is so great is that it creates wonderful new characters every week and we really come to care about what happens to them. This story features a kid who is caught in the middle of siege situation. We learn a lot about that kid in that hour of TV and I certainly came to care a heck of a lot about what happened to him. I love this show. Passionately. I love the way it starts each episode with a flashfoward to the crisis and I love the way it ends each episode with a musical montage of everybody going on with their lives. And I love the way the ends are either heartwarmingly upbeat or heartbreakingly sad. It's a great show. A+

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11.30 Seinfeld

Seinfeld. "The Finale" Not very funny, but certainly very clever. It's a great episode, and a truly great send-off for a wonderful series. The idea of bringing back so many characters is inspired. There's aren't a lot of laughs but there are a million oh-that's-cool moments. None of the regular characters does anything particularly noteworthy. In fact they are somewhat lost in the middle of the story and the sea of guest-stars. It really does feel like a tribute to the series as a whole and what it achieved. And that's a pretty special thing to do. Several elements really stand out, however, and the scene stealers are: Wayne Knight (his scenes are fantastic), Phil Morris (his Jackie Childs is a joy to watch) and Teri Hatcher (her breasts are real and spectacular).

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06:00 Seinfeld
11:30 Seinfeld

Seinfeld. Season 9, Episode 19. "The Maid" Angela Featherstone (who I loved in Cracker) guests, but it's a pretty lacklustre episode this "final normal episode" of Seinfeld. The plots are good and they criss-cross just fine, but you have to take some big leaps of suspension of disbelief to make the episode work. George behaving like a monkey? Since when? And there's the whole Kramer storyline: his girlfriend moves downtown and he acts like it's another country! Even going so far as to get lost there. Hmm. The scenes are funny enough, but it doesn't work. Kramer isn't that stupid, George isn't anything like a monkey. There's a long sequence of confusion at the counter in the diner and it's not funny either. And, finally, Elaine's storyline ends with her having to deal with a little boy who hasn't been told that his grandmother has died.

All very unlikely.

Which would be fine, if it was funny. But, it's not.

Seinfeld. Season 9, Episode 20. "The Puerto Rican Day" And so we reach the "final special episode" of Seinfeld. Over the years there were many of these break-the-formula episodes: stories where the regulars were in some location or other on some grand adventure. This time? A traffic jam. Great idea, great episode. One of the best. As well as lots of hilarious bantering and bickering at the start of the story, we get to see of the characters leave the car and head off for some mini-adventures on their own. Some of these are truly inspired: an homage to The Poseidon Adventure for instance and the - truly superb - scene where Jerry, George and Kramer meet in a house-for-sale each one using an alias that has cropped up in the series before. Wow. I love that. It's a classic episode and a fine farewell from the crew that had written the show for two years.

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06:00 Seinfeld
10:00 Seinfeld

Seinfeld. Season 9, Episode 17. "The Bookstore" There are two great things about this episode: the Kramer storyline and the Kramer-centric opening sequence. In the main storyline Kramer and Newman decided to hire/exploit homeless people for a rickshaw business. During interviews one homeless man takes the rickshaw and runs away with it! Hilarious. Indeed the whole episode is very funny. But it never tops the opening minute: Kramer is left alone in Jerry's appartment and - as the credits roll and the theme plays - we see the chaos that goes on in the appartment while Kramer is alone. Even better, when Jerry returns there is hardly anything out of place (just one coaster). Genius!

Seinfeld. Season 9, Episode 18. "The Frogger" This episode has two very iconic images: first is the recreation of the Frogger game when George is trying to get the big electronic game through the traffic, and the second is the speeded-up security-camera footage of Elaine eating the very old/expensive cake. Wonderful stuff.

The outtakes for this episode reveal a missing plotline for Kramer which is very clever and very funny, but - I presume - had to be left out for time reasons. He meets a woman coming out of a bathroom and finds a very ingenius way to get her to join him on a date. Had it made it into the final episode it would have been a worth addition to this classic.

Highlight? Seinfeld (Kramer opening sequence)
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09:30 Seinfeld
10:00 Seinfeld

Seinfeld. Season 9, Episode 15. "The Wizard" A blink-and-you-miss-it appearance from Constance Zimmer! Nice. She is awesome. Even in this early role. Anyway, this is a wonderful episode giving us more stories from the crazy world that this show portrays. Jerry and Kramer are down in Florida caught up in the chaos of elections in Del Boca Vista and Elaine is dating a guy who may-or-may-not be black. She's not sure and is determined to find out without directly asking him. Julia Louis-Dreyfus looks even more classy and beautiful with every passing episode, by the way.

But the special insanity of this episode belongs to George. He has lied to Susan's parents about having a house in The Hamptons. They find out, but do not challenge the lie. Then he finds out about this deception and decides to up the ante: by offering to drive them out to see the house. They, of course, accept. What follows is comedy gold. Painfully funny, watching George drive the scowling couple on a never-ending journey to a place that does not exist, while everyone in the car continually spouts lies and waits for the other party to blink first. Pure genius. And another example of why George Costanza is the best sit-com character of all time.

Seinfeld. Season 9, Episode 16. "The Burning" Small guest shot from Daniel Dae Kim and a return visit from George's disinterested boss Kruger (Daniel von Bargen). George has some great material in this one, but his boss gets all the best laughs.

Highlight? Seinfeld (George and Susan's parents)
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02:30 Seinfeld
03:30 Seinfeld
04:30 Not That There's Anything Wrong With That

Seinfeld. Season 9, Episode 13. "The Cartoon" So much here that is classic: George dating a girl that looks like Jerry, Elaine being obsessed by a cartoon in the New Yorker, Kramer taking a vow of silence and Jerry falling victim to a one-woman show that portrays him as The Devil. Guest-star Kathy Griffin is like an annoying version of Vicki Lewis!

Seinfeld. Season 9, Episode 14. "The Strongbox" Not a classic, but there are some good bits. The best revolves around Jerry not recognising a next-door neighbour and refusing to let him into the building (because there had been some thefts). Later they meet and share and excruiating elevator ride. Magic. Unique to Seinfeld.

This episode ends with all four characters sitting together in Jerry's appartment, musing over the various disasters that have befallen them and those around them. It's a lovely moment.

Not That There's Anything Wrong With That. Seinfeld's Season 9 Bloopers. Julia Louis-Dreyfus gets the giggles a lot. And the others obviously love to tease her about it.

Highlight? Seinfeld (The Cartoon)
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06:00 My Boys
06:30 The Closer
07:30 Flashpoint
01:30 The Sentinel

My Boys. Season 2, Episode 8. "Jack and Bobby" I love My Boys because it is usually the funniest show on the air and unlike The Office (which I prefer) doesn't devote story time to heartache and sadness. Until now. And I love it. But I'm conflicted. This is awesome stuff, but this is not how I want My Boys to be. At least not every week.

The Closer. Season 4, Episode 4. "Live Wire" Less of the "breaking the rules to do what is right" and more of the "deeply flawed" this time out. The final fight between Brenda and her boyfriend was painful to watch. Painful because she was so so wrong. Oh Brenda, how can you put this right?

It was also painful to watch all the fighting between Gabriel and Daniels. It's been building all season, in little glances and comments here and there, but now that it is out in the open: I'm sad. And saddened also by Brenda's treatment of Gabriel. He used to be her favourite, once upon a time.

Soap Opera elements aside, this was another superb crime story and the whole team got a chance to shine.

Flashpoint. Episode 2. "First In Line" An honest-to-goodness genuinely wonderful hour-of-television. Wow, but I loved this. And if Hugh Dillon owned the first episode, then this one was completely supported by the considerable talents of Enrico Colantoni (how I love that man!). His work, and the work of the lead guest star (Henry Czerny) made this a beautiful hour of TV. Two fathers, two very different lives. And I loved the story, too. And I loved the fact that the show went all out and gave us a truly happy ending. I wanted it. And I needed it. I don't want all my TV to be dark. I want some good guys to win, really win. And I want to see shows where there are stories of nobility and self-sacrifice.

I am really blown away by how good Flashpoint is.

The Sentinel. Season 3, Episode 12. "Prisoner X" Another reliable old action-adventure-show chestnut: the hero goes undercover inside a prison where (it is later revealed) that the inmates are being forced to fight to the death. Good performances and a fast pace make this better than it has any right to be. It's also cool to see The Seninel using his powers inside a prison (trapped in his cell, he is able to listen to pretty much everything that is being said in the whole place). Some elements don't make sense (why have Jim and Blair got such an elaborate method of communication when they can - in fact - meet face to face) and some elements are corny (the guy in the final battle not being able to kill Jim). But I enjoyed seeing an episode that completely departs from the show's usual formula and the fight at the end was cool. Not the worst episode.

Highlight? Flashpoint (tearjerker)
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06:30 Perfect Strangers
07:00 My Boys

Perfect Strangers. Season 2, Episode 4. "Ladies and Germs" Watching Mark Linn-Baker is a real treat. His Larry-has-a-cold voice is delightful and this is a wonderful episode. Larry is sick hours before a big date and he is miserable. Balki offers to help, and Larry refuses and mocks the secret Myposian cure that is being offered. It's a simple idea and the guys run with it.

This was produced before Jennifer was introduced, so I should let him away with it. But is still seems wrong for Larry to be lusting after some other woman. Wrong! Wrong! Wrong!

My Boys. Season 2, Episode 8. "Jack and Bobby" is sometimes painful to watch because it captures family disharmony so perfectly. Kyle Howard totally sells the idea and it's painful to watch the two brothers at odds for the whole episode. Kudos to the writers. This was not where I was expecting them to take this storyline. It's been great.

In other news: Kenny and Stephanie. How awesome is that!!

Hightlight? Perfect Strangers (funny)
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11.30 NewsRadio
12.30 That '70s Show

NewsRadio. Season 2, Episode 17. "Physical Graffiti" A not-very-funny episode finds Dave and Lisa breaking up. My problem with this episode is not so much the lack of good gags but the fact that the writers make Lisa behave like a total bitch in order to engineer the break-up. She plays her ex-boyfriend and Dave off one another in a totally unforgivable way. And is quite mean to poor Dave when he stands up for himself. Strange character development.

That '70s Show. Season 6, Episode 4. "The Acid Queen" Is it just me, or is Red basically right about most things? This is the episode where Red tells Hyde that women are crazy (and have to be fed constant white lies to keep them happy). These pearls of wisdom drew nods of agreement from the male audience in my house. In other news, this is the one where Shannon Elizabeth joins the cast. She's beautiful and very funny (Cuts is one of my favourite sit-coms) and her turn on That '70s Show was terrific. It's gets off to a great start with Kelso chasing her for the whole episode only to do an about turn in the final second and give the whole episode a fantastic punchline. Hilarious.

Highlight? That '70s Show (Shannon Elizabeth)
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08:00 Flying Blind
11:00 The Sentinel
12:00 Honey West

Flying Blind. Episode 2. "Smiles of a Summer Night" Day Two of the Neil-Alicia relationship. The first few scenes (of Neil at work, and being tortured by his family) are mildly funny. The episode kicks into high gear when Téa Leoni comes on, admonishing an off-camera suitor to "Stop following me, and go back to Congress!" Lines like that sparkle. Leoni sparkles, and so does Corey Parker when he shares scenes with Leoni. The first half of the episode follows Neil and Alicia on their day together. Neil wants to rush into having sex, Alicia wants to wait. Diedrich Bader pretty much steals the whole show with a hilarious cameo as another of Alicia's suitors who carries a napkin from a previous encounter. His delivery of his few lines is so good it's worth re-watching a few times.

Later that night, while Neil is in bed (and the house is full of various visiting family members) Alicia shows up and explains that she has changed her mind: she wants to have sex. There and then. What follows is a comedy of errors as the amorous couple are interrupted on several occasions. The best part, however, is Alicia's reaction to Neil's messy bedroom and the various childhood artifacts located therein: "Most Improved Camper" trophy, etc. She is fascinated, she teases him about it, but she's not turned off.

So, in this episode we see that Alicia is just as crazy about Neil as he is about her. Which is vital to making the series work. We might not understand why she would fall for this guy, but - thanks to this episode - we can see that she has. And this too feeds into the male fantasy part of the series: a beautiful woman coming into your bedroom and not being put off by all the geeky stuff she finds in there.



The Sentinel. Season 3, Episode 11. "Breaking Ground" Yet another superb episode. The story is a bit more silly than we usually get on this show, but the interaction between Jim, Blair and - new character - Cassie makes the episode something special. Cassie is wonderful. I'm completely smitten with Lisa Akey!! She's gorgeous and her character is great fun. Not only great fun in her own right, but great fun because she makes Jim and Blair even more interesting than usual in the way they both respond to her. Virtually every scene between Cassie and the regulars is hilarious/insightful/sweet. Jim is being a jerk to her (typical Jim!) but he has really grown to like her. Blair openly fancies her (typical Blair!) and his attempts to woo her are equal parts funny and easy to identify with. The episode's best scene is probably the one where the captain warns Blair not to try anything in the station house, because of the video cameras!! I laughed hard at that one.

The addition of Cassie fascinates me. I'm currently watching second season Supernatural, where an attempt to mess with the formula has failed to impress me, yet here is another show about two men who form a close-knit team (and who obviously love one another a great deal) and the show tempts fate by changing the dynamic of the show, and introducing a brand new female character who takes the lead in the cases and impacts on the way the show works.



They revamp Supernatural and I hate it. They revamp The Sentinel and I love it. Go figure!

Maybe it's just that I like Cassie (Lisa Akey). She is absolutely gorgeous and I love Cassie's raw enthusiasm and intelligence. Plus, since I have asthma, it's cool to see a TV character with asthma. The scene in this episode where she needed to use her inhaler was perfectly done. Showing that asthma is part of her life, impacts to a degree but doesn't intrude very much.



So maybe I identify with her. And maybe it's just that she's crazy hot.

Honey West. Episode 1. "The Swingin' Mrs. Jones" Before the credits have rolled on this opening episode, Honey West, private eye, has been outwitted by the bad guys, beaten up in an alley way and lost all of her client's money in the process. Hmm. Not the best first impression I've ever seen on TV. Never mind, once the credits have rolled Honey (with bland partner in tow) is hot on the tail of the evil doers. What follows is by-the-numbers private eye fare. It is lifted somewhat by the presence of Anne Francis and the heroine's use of gadgets to trail/trap the baddies. Hidden microphones and exploding ear-rings (yes, exploding ear-rings) give the whole enterprise a great sense of fun and pizazz. But the selling point is Anne Francis. She is beautiful, very sexy and tough. Could have been on The Avengers, basically.

Highlight? The Sentinel (Lisa Akey)
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