March 9, 2008

Finales and Returns

As we approach finales for two stellar shows (The Wire and Breaking Bad both finish up next week), the CW sneaks in and brings back two of their best shows (Aliens in America and Everybody Hates Chris), with a third (Reaper) returning next week. They’ll fill the quality-programming void until the CW abruptly cancels them to make room for a new cycle of Pussycat Dolls.

Aliens in America (The CW) — The CW’s only good sitcoms are back for awhile, and I’m happy. Rumors started floating this week that they’d cancel Aliens in America and Reaper because they were the only two CW shows that didn’t receive an early renewal. Am I the only one thinking there’s no logic in this “imminent cancellation” rumor? Neither show has been on since, like, November, and both are scheduled to come back this month. Why wouldn’t they wait to see how they perform over the next month or two?

At any rate, this episode’s quality was typically high, though more cartoonish than usual. Justin telling the sociopathic, homicidal bully that his mother slipped into a coma so he can avoid getting killed (quite literally, we’re led to believe) was a great setup for a fairly stereotypical high school story. Even funnier was the subplot in which Franny scratches a car and leaves a note that they’ll pay for any damages. Keep in mind Gary’s unemployed, which sort of justifies his logic in going to remove the note, but turning this into a story of escalating lies just illustrates what this show does so well: taking outlandish comic ideas and pinning them down with real emotional truth. That might sound a little too deep for a sitcom, but it’s what makes this the most satisfying new comedy on television.

Breaking Bad (AMC) — Holy shit! Breaking Bad has a week before its (strike-induced?) finale, and by mirroring the pilot’s structure they managed to build a taut, insane episode. Cutting mild-mannered Walt explaining his “silent” partnership with skinhead psycho Walt walking away from unidentified carnage or mayhem. I had no idea the transition would come so quickly, but then, when I watched the pilot, I wondered how the entire season would play out over the course of 12 hours. What I’m saying is, I’m not smart.

One of the great moments on this show is Walt explaining the chemical process leading to an explosion—the quicker the reaction, the bigger the bang. A great, subtle metaphor for his transition. Another great metaphor: Walt complaining that Jesse has no real drive to make money, juxtaposed with Walt’s desperation-fueled MacGyver antics. It’s almost like Walt was a drug kingpin waiting to happen—all his pent-up anger about so many things (illustrated by the ultra-depressing birthday party a few weeks ago) and desperation for money have led him to this.

Meanwhile, Jesse has become 100% more interesting. First, his sympathy (and extreme knowledge) of Walt’s cancer, because he had an aunt who died of cancer. Then, his thorough incompetence in dealing with distributors. Of all the ironies, he’s the one not cut out to be anything more than a small-time dealer. Walt’s not only the brains of the operation—he’s the rage.

I can’t imagine pissing off the biggest distributor in town will end well for either of them, but I’m really looking forward to the season finale.

Everybody Hates Chris (The CW) — I confess I was looking forward to some well-observed southern satire, but they win: it was a lot funnier that they never left the bus station. I think they could have found a less clichéd way of losing their money than three-card monte, but that’s a minor nitpick. The real joy was watching Chris and Julius try to get out of the jam. Also, I enjoyed Wayne Brady. He’s a very funny comedian and great in a supporting role like this, so I hope they keep bringing him back as they have Todd Bridges, Ernest Thompson, Antonio Fargas, et al.

Jericho (CBS) — Shit, they killed Bonnie! Does that mean every other actor listed as “Special Guest Star” will be offed before the end of the season? Doesn’t bode well for Dale or Heather…

The subplot in which Mimi discovered the book-cooking (by Goetz or somebody else?) was unusually intense—in a good way. I honestly didn’t see it ending with the death of Bonnie or the wounding of Mimi, but I’m willing to accept that yes, the show has balls, and yes, it’s going to keep up the level of surprise, intensity, and action in the hopes that maybe somebody other than me will start watching. One thing I admire about Bonnie’s death: she went out fighting, balls-to-the-wall, shotgun-in-hand. Also, I have a strong suspicion that Mimi hid her corrected ledger. In fact, if she was really smart she would have made a fake, uncooked “oops, I’ve made a huge mistake” version of the ledger hidden in plain sight. It’s a little late for something like that to save lives, but at the very least I hope it casts suspicion away from Mimi so she can figure out what’s going on in secret.

Esai Morales continues to surprise me. He plays the improbably named Beck as a brusque, tough-as-nails soldier—but he’s not cartoonishly evil. He’s just trying to make the best of a bad situation, and let’s hope Hawkins has finally convinced him that neither the Cheyenne government nor Jennings & Rall have the best intentions of the American people at heart. I’m not convinced he’ll join Jake, Hawkins, et al, but he might turn a blind eye for the time being.

King of the Hill (Fox) — Poor, easily bamboozled Hank. I have a love-hate relationship with episodes that showcase Hank’s biggest vulnerability—his misguided trust in others. I love them because it’s such a consistent part of his character, and his optimism and enthusiasm make him more lovable. I hate them because it’s really depressing to watch him get screwed all the time.

Any episode that prominently features Strickland is bad enough, but this took it to another level: since he bought his first car from local salesman Ted Hammond (voiced by Ted Danson), Hank has proudly paid sticker price. He foolishly believes that this is a real deal. I guess one flaw of the episode is the lack of explanation as to why he’d think the price written on the side of the car is a deal. If they’d tossed in a throwaway line or two about him avoiding the price increase of optional features, it would have worked pretty well.

Nonetheless, the setup served the episode well, first giving Peggy some conflict as she wonders how to handle this revelation, then leading Hank to one of the show’s oddest conclusions: while making some inflammatory flyers to put on the windshield of every car on Hammond’s lot, a teen agrees to join Hank’s fight…and blows up a few cars. Hank’s the only one seen on the security cameras, so he’s brought in for questioning and, in the end, let off the hook thanks to the generosity of Ted Hammond—reaffirming Hank’s faith in quality salesmen relationships. (Of course, Hank misses out on the ironic ending in which Hammond confesses he believes Hank is guilty but doesn’t want more bad publicity.) It’s not that this was a bad course for the story to take; it was just more bizarre and Simpsons-esque than usual.

Lost (ABC) — It would have been difficult to follow up last week’s triumph with something better, but having a Juliet-focused episode took things to a new extreme. Okay, that’s kind of mean, but I’ve never been hugely fond of Juliet as a character. Of course, this episode did very little to make me like her. One of the nice things about Lost—the flashbacks help us to understand the characters, whether we like them or not.

Since we only had minor revelations—Goodwin had a wife, she’s still alive (maybe) and in communication with Ben (so is that a confirmation of the astral projection theories?), and she doesn’t like Juliet. At all. Can you blame her? Meanwhile, Ben is obsessed with Juliet (something that has been subtly portrayed in Michael Emerson’s performance since her first appearance) and basically led Goodwin to death to keep him out of the way.

The new information on Charles Widmore and his obsession with the island was interesting, but I think the biggest piece of the puzzle was the introduction of the Tempest. It’s clearly what Ben used to cause The Purge, but I can’t help wondering what kind of power source would not only vent toxic gas—it’d vent it in such a way that it’d kill everyone on the island. Why wouldn’t Dharma have taken precautions against it? My only thought is that Ben—with Alpert’s help—rigged the power station for his nefarious use. I hope that turns out to be the case, because otherwise none of it makes much sense.

Medium (NBC) — Was I the only one who found himself really affected by the Bridgette-Joe-credit card operator subplot? I admit it was sort of hokey—right down to him being in Bangalore, which I know is becoming a cultural norm, but it still feels like a stereotype—but it really got to me, especially the resolution. I actually kind of think that’s why he had to be Indian. I would imagine if an American CSR were told to buy a lock, then he was robbed a few days later, he or she would take that as a retroactive threat and start pointing fingers at Joe. The gratitude of the rep on this show made me feel warmer and fuzzier than this show usually allows.

To balance that out, we were treated to some of the show’s most disturbing dream sequences: cannibal Gregory Itzin (the best part of 24’s stellar fifth season, here again playing a smarmy, murderous politician) dining on the flesh of a gentleman who looks like a hobo. As the dreams clarify, we discover, while imprisoned in Vietnam, Itzin’s state senator suggested the others kill a man dying of dysentery, so they could ward off starvation. (It also begs the question: if you eat a guy with dysentery, wouldn’t you get infected, too?)

As the mystery unfolded with the help of the dreams, it revealed itself to be one of Medium’s most well-crafted mysteries. The conclusion wasn’t totally obvious, and in the end they actually dove into the murky gray area of whether or not both the Vietnam murder and the contemporary murder were deserved. Well done!

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronciles — Damn, I hope this show gets renewed. My fear is that Fox expected much more from a show with a built-in audience (who among current 20-somethings didn’t grow up loving Terminator 2?), and probably expected much less from an action show. Sure, the show has plenty of action, but it also keeps the spirit of the show: weighty sci-fi involving issues of fate versus free will and good versus evil, surprising character depth and drama that comes more from the small moments than the big set-pieces.

The sequence of FBI agents repeatedly dropping into a motel swimming pool, cut to Johnny Cash singing about the Apocalypse, may be the most artistic, cinematic moment ever aired on the Fox network. They should be prouder of this series than they are The Moment of Truth, but this is the network that has unfairly canceled more high-quality shows than I can recall (off the top of my head, Undeclared, Firefly, Andy Richter Controls the Universe, and Arrested Development are just a few recent examples), so I guess we should say our goodbyes early.

The Wire (HBO) — Herc, you fucking moron! How many times have I said that in the past? After I thought he finally redeemed himself by handing Carver Marlo’s cell number, he fucks it all up by insisting to Levy that they used a wiretap, not a C.I. Ugh! The whole thing’s falling apart, and it’s not solely because Kima ratted McNulty and Freamon (and to a lesser extent, Sydnor) out to Daniels.

I don’t think anybody will argue too much with me when I say I haven’t been quite as emotionally affected by this series as I have in the past. The biggest emotional spikes involve McNulty’s treatment of Beadie, which is horrible, and my rage at Scott Templeton for being such a jackass. (McNulty’s not exactly off the hook, but at least I understand why he’s doing what he did—Templeton’s just an ass who wants to get ahead.) I even felt a little numb to Omar’s death. It wasn’t that I saw it coming (I didn’t) or that it wasn’t horrific and tragic to see Kenard as the trigger man. It just felt so inevitable—if it had to happen, it’s harder to get upset. The whole theme of last week’s episode was how wasted Omar’s life turned out to be. He had his code, but in the end, that was about all.

But now…that last scene hit me like a ton of bricks. I’ve read some “debate” on the Internet (among both professional critics and fans) stating a belief that Michael was “pretending” not to remember because he didn’t want to be overwhelmed by the emotion of the moment. Bullshit! The tragedy of that scene is the innocence lost. So much shit has gone down for Michael since that happy day of piss-filled balloons, ice cream, and ass kickings—he really can’t remember. Can’t remember the good times, can’t remember the fact that two short years ago he was just a kid, and now he’s hardened. Dukie remembers because he’s never been hard—that’s been the whole point of their relationship this season, and this scene was the culmination of that. And yes, it was absolutely as depressing as seeing Dukie on the corner in last season’s finale.

So I guess I was wrong in my belief that McNulty would get off scot-free while destroying the lives of everyone around him. I’m afraid to watch the finale next week. I really am.

D. B. Bates is a film critic and television viewer who has often shouted at fictional characters who probably wouldn’t listen to him even if they could hear him and existed in reality. Interested in explaining to D. B. the many ways he got it wrong? E-mail him.

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