Category: Television

NBC, come on. I want to like you, I really do. You air smart comedies and shows that I really want to see succeed, like Community and The Cape (and yes, I’m serious about The Cape). But then you do things like Taxi Brooklyn.

Taxi Brooklyn, for those not in the know, is a new “action comedy” police procedural airing on NBC. It’s based on the French movie Taxi, which had three sequels and an ill-advised American remake starring Jimmy Fallon and Queen Latifah, and it shares the same basic plot, a police officer who is a bad driver is forced to be ferried around by a taxi driver who has skills that the police officer doesn’t expect. Wacky hijinks result.

Or, they should, which is why I put quotes around “action comedy”. The police procedural part is most definitely there, but aside from a car chase in the very beginning of the episode, there is little-to-no action. Every time that we would get a chance to see the taxi driver, Leo Romba, played by Jacky Ido, cut a drive somewhere down by half the time, we cut straight to the arrival. I would think that, in a show with Taxi in the name, the audience might want to actually see some of the Taxi part. Instead, what the writers think we’d rather see is the taxi driver use his tablet (in a very subtle and not at all obtrusive act of product placement) to access taxi maps or call his son on Skype.

The comedy, meanwhile, is…okay, there’s a scene in which the MD, leaving a crime scene, tells Leo and police detective Cat Sullivan, played by Chyler Leigh, that people around town are just dying to meet her, and is met by blank stares from both lead actors. “It was a joke, guys,” she says, and then walks away, leaving the stars to figure out that it was, indeed, a joke, and I could not even attempt to sum up the efforts of Taxi Brooklyn to be comedic better then that. Instead, the show is full up on drama. Cat’s father was killed under mysterious circumstances and her ex-husband is also the FBI agent called in to consult on her cases. Leo’s son is a country away and he is hunted by criminals, looking to kill him to eliminate the evidence he has tying them to a bank robbery. Even the preview of the rest of the season is filled with shots of predictably dramatic moments, interspersed with police work.

That said, I was afraid this was going to be another case of NBC remaking something that did not need to be remade and butchering it (like Ironside. Remember Ironside? No? Good). But all the elements of a good show are there. The lead actors have chemistry with each other, demonstrated early on in the episode, when there’s time for banter and it’s not all about catching the crook and getting the job done. The source material is interesting, and they do a good job of adapting it to something that someone might want to watch (bonus points for sticking to their roots and hiring a French actor to play Leo). They’ve even got a varied supporting cast, showing the wide variety of those living in Brooklyn, and including people I’m hoping to see more of, like Leo’s friend/roommate and Cat’s mother, both of whom seem like they could inject the comedy I’m looking to see in a show like this. I’m going to keep my eye on Taxi Brooklyn. It has the potential to be a really good action comedy, not just another police procedural.

Just, you know, not in the pilot episode.

Manhattan (WGA America)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veG28euSbMA
The show is set against the backdrop of the infamous Manhattan Project, however it looks that the show is going to focus more on the scientists and their families who must all live together while it is being completed. I think the result is going to be a very interesting Mad Men-esque series that is going to make for some wonderful character drama.

Extant (July 9; CBS)

Halley Berry returns from a solo space mission to find herself pregnant… enough said. This is a show that has been shrouded in so much mystery, which could be a good and bad thing. However, the fact that CBS gave the series a straight to series order is a good sign. I’m interested in seeing how the show maintains its main storyline if it gets past a first season. The secondary story lines involving their son and the conspiracy surrounding her immaculate conception may be enough, but it will take a lot of work. However, with Steven Spielberg as an executive producer I can see this series becoming a great summer series for CBS.

The Strain (FX)

Amazing science fiction director. Check. Phenomenal source material. Check. Charismatic and talented lead. Check. FX’s new series is looking to be one of the best entries in both the vampire and zombie craze. The series tells the story of mysterious zombie like virus that turns victims into zombies. I’m not even going to say more because if basically speaks for itself.

The Leftovers (HBO)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Shn1mPejr_4
I’m obsessed with this show and it hasn’t even premiered yet. It is based off of the novel of the same name in which a “rapture-like” event which causes 2% of the world population to mysteriously disappear. It’s not some catastrophic event, but it’s still a post-apocolyptic world in which the people who are left over (get the title now?) must suffer. It makes for so many storytelling options and character dramas. I CANNOT WAIT FOR THIS SHOW!

Legends (August 13; TNT)

Have we finally found a project that Sean Bean won’t die in? I honestly don’t know what to think of this series. However, it looks damn compelling. Sean Bean stars as an FBI agent who is a deep cover operative in several missions, or at least I think. This series is holding back so much, but my first impression looks like a mix of The Bourne Identity and something different entirely. Either way, the trailer was enough to get me interested.

What show are you excited for this summer? Sound off below!

SPOILER ALERT! THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS FROM LAST NIGHT’S EPISODE OF PENNY DREADFUL. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

I’ve given a lot of praise to this show thus far (you can check out our other reviews here), but last night’s episode “Possession” has brought the show to an entirely new level.

I’ve never seen an episode of television like this in my entire life, and that is not an exaggeration. If you took the episode “Seance” and merged it with this episode, with some slight editing you would have a phenomenal indie horror flick. It confounds me how far this show has come in just 7 episodes.

It all seemed so simple from the beginning. Vanessa was suffering from her strongest episode of possession yet and it was the job of our monster hunters to try to save her. Of course, halfway through the episode one of the biggest curveballs of the episode was thrown. Just as Vanessa is urging to Ethan to kill her if anything goes wrong, it is revealed that she was not talking to Ethan but the devil himself disguised as Ethan. It was a wonderful callback to “Closer than Sisters” when the devil appeared as Sir Malcolm. However, this time Vanessa was able to resist her erotic temptation, however he still asks her to become the “mother of Evil.”

However, the most brilliant part of the episode was this beautiful montage of the team simply waiting and taking care of Vanessa. For the first time in the series the feel as if they were in over their heads.

Throughout the entire episode was this underlying theme of the afterlife and the belief of God. Being faced by the imminent death of Vanessa seemed to have thrust this thinking into our character’s heads. The doctor wish he could believe in it and Ethan does (we’ll get to that later). However, these were not the only developments on out characters. Demon-Vanessa pretty much let the beans spill on every single character’s past and some reveals were brought out by the characters themselves. We learned of the doctor’s virginity and morphine addiction, that Malcolm forced Peter to have sex with natives on their trip to Africa and that he buried a frail Peter and left him, and Brona’s sexual encounter with Dorian.

Vanessa’s possession allowed all this information to be divulged without the same clunky expositional dialogue that a less show would have to utilize, but it was also necessary to set Sir Malcolm up as the “villain” of the show. We knew from the beginning that Sir Malcolm was a man on a shaky moral ground, but this episode confirmed that he is willing to let any one of them die if it means finding Mina. Even worse, Ethan was able to deduce that Malcolm simply wanted to keep Vanessa alive to help him in his quest.

The final ten minutes of the episode played out like any possession film, but the twist came in when Ethan pushed Vanessa up against the wall and started babbling off in Latin in a last ditch exorcism. He then simply walked out.

Other show would have been afraid to do an episode like “Possession” or even “Closer than Sisters,” especially in their first season. The series’ momentum was propelled by this mission to find Mina, so most shows would shy away from breaking that momentum. What makes Penny Dreadful so compelling is that it instead uses the characters as its momentum. Their mysteries, secrets, and fatal flaws are what keep us watching.

My biggest criticism of last week’s episode of Penny Dreadful was the lack of explanation despite it being the mid point of the season. Somehow the people over on Showtime read it, wrote, filmed, and aired an episode in retaliation. I just needed a few answers. Instead they gave an entire backstory to the show’s most enigmatic character: Vanessa Ives. Saying she’s the most mysterious character on a show that thrives on mystery is saying something, so for the writers to unravel her first was surprising and refreshing. The result was the best episode of the season so far and an Emmy-worthy performance by Eva Green.

The episodes is framed by a letter that Vanessa is writing to the already gone Nina. She addresses it to her as if she is actually going to receive it, which is heartbreaking in itself, however it is nothing compared to the episode that was to follow. We track all the way back to Vanessa’s childhood growing up next door to Mina. The two girls were inseparable, however it seemed that Vanessa saw the world in such a different way. However, there was a dark side to her. Well, I suppose, a darkness in her that was festering, waiting to make finally make itself known. She described it as something “behind my back, waiting for me to turn around.” What is more terrifying is that it has always been there, but never manifests itself until she sees her mother and Sir Malcolm having sex in the maze. Much of the episode refers back to her dialogue during the seance in episode 2 (see our review here). Everything from Peter’s death, to seeing Sir Malcolm with a woman was covered.

However, the most disturbing part of the episode is that we never find out when or how the demon took root. When she is speaking directly to it, it mentions that she could of stopped it at any moment, by she chose not to. This free will makes us question who Vanessa really is as a person. Following a saucy tryst with Mina’s soon to be husband (when I mean soon, I mean the night before), it seems that the Demon takes full hold. Her parents send her to a mental asylum where she alternates between a cationic state and a full manic possession. Then, the doctors begin their “treatment” with ice baths, and sprays with a fire hose, before finally drilling into her brain. It’s quite dreadful. After seeing Peter before he leaves for his fatal trip to Africa she has a discussion with the demon in the form of Sir Malcolm. “Something whispered. I Listened.”

Although we got a lot of answers from the episode, the question of what haunts Vanessa still remains. In one of the more shocking and terrifying images of the episode, Vanessa has sex with an unseen entity. All we know now is that her and Malcolm weren’t at the best of terms when they began their adventure to find Mina, but it was refreshing to get some light on this character. I always try to inject some humor (as bad as it can be) into these reviews.

So many critics are dry with their delivery, but I feel the need to be ernest here. This episode of Penny Dreadful was one of the most painfully beautiful episodes of television this year. They have proved that they are more than the horror drama that they are defined as. Despite the episodes clear supernatural undertone, there is still the heartbreak and commentary on the way that we treated and still treat those with mental disorders. Maybe because it’s a cause that I am personally invested in, but more than that the show pulling back the curtain on one of their finest characters to reveal even further complexity was thrilling, captivating, and fantastic. *I’m giving this episode a 9.8 out of 10. This is the highest score of any episode of any show I have reviewed on this site so far. However, it’s not without reason. I’ve always tried to be reasonable with grades, but this was truly a masterpiece. WATCH THIS SHOW!

It was announced yesterday that the Breaking Bad spin-off Better Call Saul was renewed for a second season! Before the first season was even done filming. This is pretty much unheard of. It’s not uncommon for a show to be renewed before the series premieres, but for it to not even be done filming or even fully casting the project is unheard of. The first season is going to consist of 10 episodes and is going to premiere in early 2015. The newly commissioned second season will consist of 13 episodes.

The reason I found it necessary to do a reaction shot to this is because there has to be a high amount of confidence in the project if (a) AMC doesn’t need to see the entire final product and (b) they don’t need to see the viewer’s response. Even Vince Gilligan has expressed a fear that the audience will not take to the show. However, I had the thought that maybe that’s because he’s nervous that he’s not going to have the opportunity to give this series a proper run-through if the audiences don’t catch on and AMC has the cancel the series. I’m seeing this early renewal as a confidence in Vince Gilligan rather than in Better Call Saul itself.

However, I still have a lot of trepidation about the project. Anyone who has watched Breaking Bad knows that Saul Goodman was the only character to give a spin-off. I’m not about to sit down to watch Jesse Pinkman takes Alaska… actually that sounds amazing. Anyway, I think the concept of making it a dramedy that skews more comedy and what looks to me like a more procedural type aspect to the show is smart, but it’s not going to have the magic of Breaking Bad. As beautifully show, smartly plotted, and wonderfully acted Breaking Bad was, so much of its success was perched on Bryan Cranston’s shoulders and Walter White’s metamorphosis. He is one of the greatest, if not the greatest, characters of the history of television.

My issue with Better Call Saul is that even if this is a show depicting Saul’s rise to become Albuquerque’s best CRIMINAL lawyer, the end product is not nearly as compelling as the Heisenberg character. I think that this show is going to make for some fantastic singular episodes, but the series as a whole isn’t going to live up to the careful story that Breaking Bad was. This second season renewal eased my mind a bit on the subject. If AMC is willing to invest the time to tell a complete story, as I have a feeling is their motive, then there must be something up Gilligan’s sleeve.

It’s just about halfway through the year, so it seems appropriate to star bringing out the best of lists. First, we’re going to start off with the Top 5 Drama Episodes of 2014. All the episodes on this list aired in the 2014 calendar year, not the 2013-14 television series. My one rule for this list was that a show cannot appear on this list more than once. I did it last year for my top 10 episodes of 2013 mostly because of Breaking Bad, but either way it makes for an even playing field. Also, these are in no particular order. So, enjoy!

NOTE: Considering these all aired relatively recently, all the comments are SPOILER FREE!

“Chapter 14” | House of Cards | Season 2, Episode 1
I think House of Cards is great entertaining television. It doesn’t make us think or feel deeply, it simply is meant to hold our attention and make us beg for more. Well, that’s exactly what “Chapter 14” did. The world that the show inhabits isn’t one that exists. I think politicians tread more closely to the characters on Veep rather than the ones here, but this episode so adroitly reintroduces the world we’re in and the lengths each character will go to assist their own mischievous ends. Frank sums up the episode in two words: “welcome back.”

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“Who Goes There” | True Detective | Season 1, Episode 4
True Detective caused quite a ruckus when it first premiered. It almost seemed like it was the second coming of Christ. I was a bit underwhelmed, but the craft involved in “Who Goes There” cannot go unmentioned. While so many people focus on the magnificent 10-minute single shot finale to the episode, some forget that preceding is a carefully written build that gives Matthew McConaughey and Woodey Harrelson great material to work with before letting the sh!t hit the fan.

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“The Last Call” | The Good Wife | Season 5, Episode 16
I don’t think the second half of this season reached the heights that the first half achieved, but it had its bright spots like “The Last Call.” It may not have been as good as previous “grief” episodes like Friday Night Lights’ “The Son” and Buffy the Vampire Slayer‘s “The Body”, but it was able to allow each character their room to grieve and progress the story as they try to recover from this huge loss. The entire cast is at the top of their game and the entire episode is a testament to The Good Wife‘s marvelous storytelling.

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“The Watchers on the Wall” | Game of Thrones | Season 4, Episode 9
We haven’t had a huge battle on the show since “Blackwater,” so as the wildlings marched on the wall there was so much anticipation for what was to come. Well, it came and it delivered. The episode offered beautiful visuals, heart pounding action and heartbreaking emotion that gave the episode both an epic and human look at the realizations of battle.

I dare you to find me a show that balances its larger than life premise with genuine human emotion and perspective better than Penny Dreadful. While this episode drew back on the spooks and shocks, it provided a well brought out development of some of our key characters. Although it didn’t reach the heights of last week’s masterpiece (check out our review here), it sets up what is to be an insane, creepy, and dreadful final two episodes.

“Do you know the word ‘Vampire’?”
It happened. The show finally utilized the term “vampire” thanks to Professor Van Helsing. Doctor Frankenstein and the Professor spend most of the day together. He speaks about stakes to the heart, beheadings, and even echolocation. Van Helsing teaches Victor about life outside of his work, which is a nice calming moment in the sea of troubles that is Penny Dreadful. Of course, it all comes crumbling down when Caliban kills the Professor in the shadows and demands again that Frankenstein make his bride. What makes this storyline more intriguing is that throughout the episode Caliban becomes enamored with a young actress who isn’t afraid of him and actually embraces his disfigurement. A possible candidate for his new bride? The storyline offered for some wonderful perspective on life and death and the nature of the character of Frankenstein. It also allowed Harry Treadaway a great opportunity to show off his acting skills.

Dracula and Banshees?
The post Penny Dreadful-esque storyline in this episode was Ethan and Sir Malcolm’s venture into the plague ship without Vanessa. It is clear that Sir Malcolm no longer trusts her and because of last week’s episode there is somewhat of an understanding. However, in the end Ethan urges he include Vanessa because she is one of the few they can trust. On the plague ship the trio (Ethan, Malcolm, and Sembene) encounter a group of banshee-esque vampire women. After their struggle, they see Mina with who we are brought to assume is Dracula. She screams for her father, but they are unable to get to her. How many more close encounters until we finally get somewhere on this storyline?

Fifty Shades of Vanessa
We’ve gotten to know a lot about Vanessa in the past few episodes. Last week, we delved further into this force that has been tormenting her for years. This week that entity comes out in full force. Vanessa continues to be enamored in with Mr. Gray and the two finally make it to the sheets. Both characters have been enigma’s from the start, but what we learn this episode is that they like it rough. Vanessa scratches, hits, and cuts Dorian much to his liking. It’s terrifying because we quickly learn that Vanessa loves sex and whatever is possessing he loves sex and whenever she has sex, that entity is released. The first thing it does? It seeks out Sir Malcolm and levitates in front of him in what was one of the most terrifying displays on the show thus far. Dorian is confused, but unfazed by her sudden departure. He simply goes to his famous portrait (which we have yet to see). However, there we get a glimpse of the healing of his wounds from his and Vanessa’s tryst. The void just gets deeper this him.

What this episode means for Penny Dreadful as a series
I wasn’t sure what to make of this show when it first premiered. Was it a gothic Victorian tale of horror or a campy Hollywood response to American Horror Story? To be honest, I’m not sure yet. They are holding too many cards to their chest. I have no clue what direction this season is going in or where they’re going in the future. I found the brilliance of the series in its mystery, but I’m becoming nervous that John Logan is relying too much on this mystery for forward momentum. If these last two episodes bring enough story lines to a close, then I’ll bow down and agree that this show has legs. However, I’m not seeing any indication that this series has legs past their main mysteries. I really hope I’m wrong.

Turns out Mad Men has a soul after all. At the end of the episode, entitled “The Strategy,” we find Peggy, Don, and Pete having a family dinner at a burger barn. Three people battered by life having a cordial meal together. However, as the rest of the episode preceding the scene revealed, these are three people who have just learned what it is to be human.

Peggy and Don are still somewhat at odds, more on Peggy’s side though. She is still seething, slopping around, feeling sorry for herself that she can’t reach the level of the great Don Draper. It’s a dark shadow to try to crawl out of, but I’m sure she does. The problem with Peggy is that she’s too hung up on being Don that she forgets that she is her own person. In the episode, she delivers a beautiful Draper-esque pitch for Burger Chef. Elizabeth Moss exuding every bit of confidence as her character has. However, all that confidence crumbles away with one suggestion from Don. She can’t seem to grasp the concept that no matter what there will always be a better idea.

It also begs to be said that the episode was a wonderful reminder of the changing times. This half-season has been great at that so far. The hippie culture, the computer, but this episode brought to the surface something that the show has been focusing on since day one: women. Peggy realizes her pitch is rooted in the past. The family she was trying to portray, a couple of happy kids with Dad waiting for dinner and Mom worrying what to make, was becoming the minority. Peggy herself began to rue what she has become. A woman who has turned thirty with nothing to show for it, but in one of the show’s softer moments, Don reminds her (with the help of Sinatra’s “My Way”) that she is doing just fine. Then, they danced. It was hands down one of my favorite moments of the season and maybe the series. It perfectly summed up the duo’s relationship as a mentor and his protege, a father and his daughter, as friends.

The episode was also a huge stepping stone for Joan, which also makes me wish this episode had given more screen time to Hendricks whose Emmy chances look skunked by this season. Bob Benson is made an offer to move to Detroit to join Buick after Chevy makes a move to bring its advertising in house. Knowing that the GE executives will be more assured if he comes in with a wife, he proposes to Joan who, after years of being objectified, asserts that she would rather marry for love. Hendricks is so subtle with her acting, but impactful at the same time. She emotes so naturally. It’s a travesty that she hasn’t won any awards (or the entire cast rather) for this role.

The one last piece to that dinner in burger chef is Pete. He has been a mystery this entire season. There was a point where I realized that the charm of it all may have seeped into him (like his tan) and he was living in some dream world where nothing mattered. However, after leaving Bonnie in New York to visit his daughter in Connecticut he is given a sort of wake up call. Trudy isn’t at the house to greet him and doesn’t come home until late. Pete feels rejected and unwanted. Trudy even points at that he saw his daughter enough for the year. His dream is falling apart. In New York, Pete is the man who needs to be needed and Bonnie realizes that. She goes back to Los Angeles without him on the same flight as Megan who was visiting Don.

Their relationship has been falling apart since the beginning, but it was clear now that she was trying to run away from Don now. When in the apartment she decided to take the rest of her stuff with her to Los Angeles, but when Don offered to bring it when he visited she closed up. It looks like the era of Megan Draper is no more.

This was a refreshing episode of Mad Men. So often the show is brutally honest and cold in its portrayal. It is part of its success. This episode reminded us that sometimes things do fall into place. That the lives of the characters aren’t lost causes. They have room to grow, learn, and move on. It excited me to see how the writers tear them apart again.

SPOILER ALERT! If you haven’t watched this episode of Orange is the New Black, I highly suggest you stop reading now!

Orange is the New Black finished off with one of the most frustrating cliffhangers in online television history. We left Piper Chapman beating the sh!t out of Pennsatucky after she tries to attack her, but we return to Piper in the SHU being transported to some mysterious location, which turns out to be Chicago. My problem with the episode lies in that none of it takes place in the prison or with the women that we have learned to love and care about. While the episode added some forward plot development for, it wasn’t the episode that we wanted.

Piper seems to have been in a sort of haze since her incident with Pennsatucky, probably because (a) she was in isolation and (b) she was still unaware of Pennsatucky’s condition. That’s fine with me. I liked that they added a little suspense with Pennsatucky’s fate, but it went on way too long for me. However, what we did get out of it was a wonderful performance by Taylor Schilling and a heartbreaking commentary on what it feels like to think you killed someone. It’s set up that Piper is suffering greatly from the incident and that she’s terrified of herself. It’s going to make for an interesting development as the season progresses.

After the long transportation process, during which Piper had to hold her pee for hours, we finally discover that she is in route to Chicago. For a transfer or resentencing, we don’t know. When she finally arrives she’s processed and thrown into a cell where she immediately kills a cockroach, named Yoda, that smuggles cigarettes between inmates. Let me just say her roommate weren’t too happy. It also didn’t help that won took 4 dumps a day in the open of the cell, one killed thirteen inmates, and one is obsessed with astrology and knowing Piper’s time of birth. While they made for some hilarious moments, especially when they forced Piper to find another cigarette smuggling cockroach, it just felt off to be introducing another crop of quirky inmates.

The entire episode took place in this prison. I understood why they did it. We were expecting to see familiar faces, so to deprive us of that makes us want to watch more to get there, but I’m already hooked Orange is the New Black, no need to hook me again.

It turns out that Piper is just in this prison to testify against Alex’s old drug boss and that Pennsatucky is alright. Things get tedious when Alex asks Piper to lie on the stand and say that she never met the boss. Of course, Alex refused. The flashbacks of the episode focused on Alex’s childhood and revealed that she always overthought things and played by the rules. It also revealed that every time she didn’t, things didn’t go her way.

Eventually, Piper does lie on the stand. Saying she did everything for Alex. What does Alex do? Tell the truth on the stand. Piper said it and I say it again. F**k you, Alex.

I was disappointed by the episode. Part of what I love about the show is it’s so well-balanced in its story lines. While I appreciated the beautiful character development and forward plot momentum, I can’t bring myself to see this as an episode of Orange is the New Black especially with its new classification as a comedy. The episode was much darker than anything last season and while it had its funny moments skewed a little to far to drama. However, it proves again what an amazing actress Taylor Schilling is. Why they submitted in drama at the Emmys, I don’t know.

Three episodes in and it seems that Penny Dreadful can do no wrong. It is rare that in the first three episodes a show knows itself so intimately that it can change direction and know the audience will follow.

We are returned more closely to the main storyline that was introduced in “Night Work” (see our review here). Ethan, eager to get medicine for his new companion Broma. Their search leads them to a tense stroll through the zoo where they encounter a pack of wolves. This is where the show shines. As the seconds ticked away the feeling of suspense continued to build. The darkness, the dread, casted a thick fog over the scene until it finally was over.

What we got out of the storyline was a clue to Mina’s disappearance. Apparently she has involved herself with a nobleman who is able to control her. However, the pieces never really fell into place until we are introduced to a rabid Fenton who referred to the dark being hiding in the shadows as “master.” A final interrogation scene revealed that he’s always there, reaching his hand out of the dark. Fenton is a creepy motherf**ker.

We’re also told that Vanessa has been acting as bait for this mysterious master. However, it was not totally explained to her about the Amunet possession situation. I’d probably hold that back too. Malcolm simply tells Ethan that if she gets possessed, you might have to bang her, however he was bait more eloquent than that.

After a few tense moments over the treatment of Fenton’s creepy ass, the team is assembled. So called monster hunters consisting of Malcolm, Vanessa, Ethan, Victor, and Sembene. The group agreed to “pledge to go as far as your soul will allow.” This is getting interesting.

However, the storyline that defined the episode and the series yet again involved Dr. Frankenstein. This time we are treated to our first definitive background story to one of the characters on the show, however it is the nature of the background story that is compelling. We learn that Victor’s obsession with life and death stemmed from his mother’s abrupt and traumatic death. The peacefulness of the flashback is suddenly destroyed by the reminder of the carnage of the previous episode.

Frankenstein’s first monster who is closer to the beast that we are familiar with is not much of a beast after all. Caliban, the name given to the monster by a stranger, was able to speak eloquently and display real emotion and hurt after his first encounter with his father. It seemed from the beginning that Dr. Frankenstein was simply unable to contain his first monster. However, the truth is that within second’s of Caliban’s creation the doctor ran out terrified of what he created. The screams of the monster weren’t screams of horror, they were screams of any new born living being. To be ignored was painful and confusing for Caliban. We actually begin feeling for him, however the show continued to shroud itself in darkness as Caliban and the Doctor were still covered in the blood of our dear departed Proteus, whose body laid in shambles as the two continued their conversation.

Caliban felt abandoned the way a child felt abandoned by his parents. However, he was shown kindness despite his appearance and learned quickly of the nature of the world. There is good and there is evil, however the lines may not be so clear. Caliban’s isolation and story felt so heartbreaking that it seemed that his act of brutality was simply done in rage following the clear rejection of his creator. Penny Dreadful has become so much more than a show meant to induce horror. This side story of Victor and his creatures have become the catalyst for conversation about human nature.

Caliban’s back story has become one of the most interesting story lines of the series. I’m interested to see how it plays out. So far it seems that the show is staying closer to the story of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, which the episode laid the groundwork for. I can see where they are potentially going with this Victor/Caliban storyline, but I will digress for now. Caliban is a passionate character who is clearly dangerous, that’s what Victor has to look out for. The entire episode provided wonderful material for Harry Treadaway and Rory Kinnear that both actors poured themselves into.

Halt and Catch Fire is to Mad Men as Low Winter Sun was to Breaking Bad. Since the announcement of the show it was evident that AMC was trying to fill the void that Mad Men is about to leave in the network’s schedule. The comparisons between the two run miles through the Pilot, but much to the writers’ credit the series never feels like a rip-off of Mad Men, instead its flaws are derived from the writers’ need show to feel self-important.

The story of Halt and Catch Fire was one that can sustain itself, unlike the underlying plot momentum of Mad Men, which had to rely on character drama to sustain its episodes. Two men, Joe MacMillan and Gordon Clark, attempt to reverse engineer the IBM BIOS chip to try and engineer their own computer. Much of the pilot is extremely compelling, particularly the well made reverse engineering montage. That is part of the appeal of the series. Its impeccable style was able to hide the fact that everything surrounding it was familiar. Everything from the opening screen defining what “Halt and Catch Fire” meant to a steamy sex scene following a very public debate, this time in a classroom setting. However, with the specific style of the show there was a slight calming of the comparisons.

Another point of familiarity were the characters. Lee Pace portrayed Joe MacMillan who is the Don Draper of the show all the way down to waft dark hair. The character floats through life like it was made for him. He monologues like a poet and persuades like a lawyer. Part of his storyline even involves him pursuing his own agenda behind his employers’ back. Sound familiar. His partner Gordon Clark is played by Scoot McNairy. He is a quiet man who has been weakened by life. It seems that all of his life’s motivation disappeared after various failures including a failed computer he worked on with his wife. She takes on the “bitch wife” role that Betty Draper and Skylar White (although I completely disagree with the public’s disdain for her) inhabited on AMC. They are later joined by Cameron whose role as the rebel genius recruited by the “heroes” seemed to take from every single person before her. It helps that that show’s ensemble was able to insert some uniqueness into each role, however I’m afraid that these caricatures might be set.

However, it’s weakness is hidden by the show’s confidence. When I say confidence, I mean it’s unwavering ability to believe that it could do no wrong, much like MacMillan. Something from a melodramatic monologue is justified with assurance that the move paid off or a seemingly useless scene involving a baseball bat has a deeper character meaning. The self-importance almost runs rampant, but the plot keeps us centered. Our protagonist’s passion keeps us invested. I don’t know how long I’m going to stick with the show. The first episode didn’t offer us much in terms of plot, however I think with this type of confidence they must have something up their sleeve.

It was announced yesterday during CBS’ upfronts that the How I Met Your Mother spin off How I Met Your Dad was not going to be picked up by the network. CBS Entertainment Chairman Nina Tassler commented:

There were elements on the pilot that didn’t work out. We tried to work out about redoing the pilot. That’s not happening right now. Sometimes you run into these kind of issues and you hope they can resolve themselves in that time frame. I’m heartsick; we loved this brand and we love the producers but it didn’t work out.

While it’s not a total surprise, I am both happy and somewhat saddened by this recent development. While I was one of the dissenters of the way How I Met Your Mother wrapped up, I was interested in seeing how the endearing Greta Gertwig would insert her… humor, into the show. I also think that it would be a great chance to right the wrongs of the original show. Most importantly the length of the story. If the producers and writers were able to agree on a set run length, say four years, and stick to the exit plan and plot points, then I could see a strong entry into CBS’ comedy lineup. I also think that avoiding becoming a sitcom, like Mother did, and being solely a comedy would suit the show as well.

The rights have reverted back to the studio, 20th Century Fox, and they can shop it around elsewhere. Maybe cable. I’d definitely be up for seeing a gritty version of the series. HBO anyone?

 

And finally the campaign is in full swing. We start off with each of our favorite Veeple speaking to Selina’s newly acquired campaign volunteers. Of course, each person has something different to say. Gary of course describes how the Veep likes her coffee (she likes Peppermint, but thinks its Chamomile, don’t ever tell her though). Amy reassures them that even though Selina will ignore them, she knows they’re there. Dan goes the inspiration bullish!t route and Sue basically sums it up: “don’t f**k up.”

Amy and Dan continue their competition for campaign manager. Campaigning for campaign manager if you will. Little do they know Selina was meeting, or “not meeting,” with a potential new campaign manager who tells Selina to fire everyone, which throws Selina in the best way possible.

This could put Mike on the chopping block considering he hasn’t been exactly present. During a run in in the bathroom, we learn the Mike and his wife are doing in vitro fertilization, which Mike was “supplying for” in the bathroom at work. When Selina asks where he was, she asks if his mind was thinking about her, to which he swiftly responds no, much to her dismay. About her campaign… get your minds out of the gutter people.

After thinking Selina might let Gary go because he would be unable to hold a bag anymore due to his injury, he lets slip, or frankly says with much intent, that mike is masturbating at work. Let me insert here that Julia Louis Dreyfus is the master of facial expression.

This episode finds Selina out in the country… fishing. Yeah, you can just picture it. She is meeting with Former Secretary of Defense Maddox to (a) dissuade him to run, and (b) offer him something lucrative like state. I should also mention that Maddox hired Jonah as his bag boy.

This is where we get the best scene, hands down, of the season. Maddox and Selina talk about the “prestige” of the position of Vice President. Then, Maddox and Selina offer each other the position to which Selina responds: “I’d rather be shot in the f**king face, than serve as Vice President again.” Genius.

Back home, Amy hosts a dinner for the staff to campaign for campaign manager. She of course sets a seating chart for everyone. One of Veep’s best running gags is and will forever be Amy dealing with people.

This episode sets Selina’s competition. We have Maddox, Danny Chung, and Joe Thornhill, a former baseball team owner. During the last few scenes, a few thoughts passed my mind about the future of the series:

1. Is there going to be a Dan and Selina affair? He talked about being with older women and how his relationship with the Veep had to be intimate.
2. Is Selina going to lose the election and become Veep under Maddox?
3. Joe Thornhill has to play some bigger role in the scheme of the series. Just like Chung did starting off in season one.

This episode reminds me so much why I love Veep. It handles forward momentum so well with hilarious one-liners and characters that constantly remind us how incompetent those in Washington are. Now that this campaign is in full swing, I can’t wait to see who, in the words of Sue, f**ks up.

And finally the bubble burst. It was bound to happen, I didn’t expect every post-Will Gardner episode of The Good Wife to be perfect and we finally found the one that wasn’t. The reason, at least for me, was in the storyline. The “case of the week” involved a college student with cerebral palsy, and the son of a Lockhart, Gardner, & Canning client, who is accused of working with Silk Road. Yes, THE Silk Road. Tackling current topics like the NSA or cyberbullying is something that The Good Wife always did well, but this episode didn’t do it for me.

It also didn’t help that the episode tried way to hard to be funny. Now The Good Wife is no stranger to some humor, sometimes hilarious humor, but they never tried hard at it. Usually it was always situational, take for example the call between Alicia and Will in “Hitting the Fan”, it was awkward and that’s the best type of humor, but the buffering on Alicia’s Netflix going backwards and the “wow, you really are bored” comment when Alicia decided to have lunch with her mom were a little cringe worthy.

It also didn’t help that the writing was incredibly shoddy with lines like “it feels like he’s still there” and “I don’t what to do with my life, mom.” It all felt so insincere when usually the show is actually really natural with their dialogue. The weird, and slightly forced, storyline of Alicia having the day off, something that we all know is not a good idea, didn’t work for me. Or at least, it didn’t reach its full potential.

The one good part of Alicia’s storyline was her subtle romantic subtext with a juror she met during void dire. Alicia wasn’t conducting the void dire, she was on jury duty. The reason this storyline worked? Alicia always had some underlying sexuality that she always exuded and this storyline went in line with that, but when she professes to her mom that she wasn’t sure if she wanted to be a lawyer I was confused. I thought the point of this day off was to show that being a lawyer is wired into Alicia’s brain, but then they went back on that.

The storyline with the juror did bring us some clarification on where Alicia is right now. If she got anything out of Will’s death, it is her finally cutting any ties to Peter emotionally, but she still needs some type of companionship whether she likes it or not.

We do get some payoff from the storyline when Alicia breaks down with her mother as she realizes without any companionship, she doesn’t know who she is, but it still feels like a step backwards.

I haven’t spoken much about the Silk Road case because there was nothing really to note, it was just a cut and dry Good Wife case. Although it did produce the line: “Kalinda, how do you always get into crime scenes”, she responds “you know, cops like me.”

Overall, the episode was underwhelming and a little sloppy. The serial story elements didn’t seem to fit into the trajectory of the series other than Finn’s campaign storyline, which was elevated by Alan Cumming, but even that felt incomplete. With two episodes left, I’m hoping the show can recover and stick the landing.

I would like to start off this review by saying that I was skeptical that The Good Wife would be able to sustain its quality post-Will Gardner. This episode proved me wrong.

Throughout the entire season we have had this odd isolated storyline concerning the NSA and a wire tap that surrounds Alicia, 3 hops to be exact (anyone she talks to and anyone they talk to). However, it seemed like the storyline wasn’t really going anywhere. Well, we just found out where it’s going.

The episode surrounded Jeff Dillenger, one of the NSA employees who was working on Alicia’s wiretap. He becomes concerned that he is being investigated for taking confidential files out of the workplace and goes to the one law firm he knows, it also happens to be the law firm that he has been helping spy on for the last few months. Dillenger was portrayed by Zach Woods, better known as Gabe Lewis from The Office, who absolutely killed it in the role. He was able to delve into drama so well, but still slyly maintain some goofiness that was key to the success of the episode.

The episode was genius in its handling of the case. Cary and Clark (Nathan Lane has been a wonderful addition to the cast by the way) walk Dillenger through the process of taking the focus off of himself by becoming a whistleblower.

The Good Wife has always been so good at storytelling, but this episode really took it to the next level. First off all, the episode began with exposition about Alicia’s grief and the potential firm mergers through the NSA wiretap, then we see Cary and Clark telling Dillenger exactly what to say when he reports his boss for spying on his ex-wife by merging the two scenes together.

After the firm realizes that they have been tapped, the firm goes into lockdown. Then, Alicia realizes that they are also spying on Peter, which leads to a wonderfully awkward encounter between the two. In the end, Peter uses his pull to stop the wire tap on himself and Alicia. There is something in the works for the two of them, I just don’t know what that is yet.

The episode also found the return of Louis Canning (Michael J. Fox), who merges with Lockhart/Gardner, adding his name to the end as a remembrance to Will. Diane is skeptical and Kalinda is furious when he refers to himself as the new Will and frankly so was I.

Finn Polamar continues to deal with becoming the scapegoat for the courthouse shooting. Alicia comes to his defense in a not so Alicia way, mostly because she has been moping around for the past two episodes (not that I’m blaming her). Of course, she gets a kick in the ass when she talks with Louis Canning and he fire is running like good ol’ Alicia.

The final scene? An incredible discussion between Peter and Alicia discussing which events Alicia needs to attend. Actually gave me chills.

The Good Wife has found two niches in its writing and directing. They have been able to side step the categorization as a procedural or serial drama by dealing in both arenas. On the one hand we have the NSA case, which take the “case of the week” spot. On the other hand, we have the firm mergers, Alicia’s depression, her defense for Finn Polamar, and the NSA case has been underlying the entire season. As for the directing, don’t even get me started. It is a beautifully directed show. Everything from the classical underscore, the storytelling devices, to even shots of a computer screen, the show has really matured into what I’m calling the best network drama since The West Wing.