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This blog is the work of an educated civilian, not of an expert in the fields discussed.

Monday, May 16, 2011

TV Time


Victorious and Good Luck Charlie weren't that good, the latter having more shades of charm.  I'm not sure where Beck, not really liking Jade's new look and the blood stuff was a bit stupid (even one pint would require parental permission, probably).  The musical was cute though.  Still, it fits into some lesser episodes of this season, only the stunt double one really very good. 

GLC was better, some good ideas and the final bit (often a "breaking the fourth wall" or unreal concept) was funny.  It still isn't quite as inspired as some early episodes. It also is appreciated that the show gives the parents something to do, even though it is a Disney comedy. BTW, I saw the Suite Life episode where Bailey was possessed by an ancient Mayan princess and remained very impressed at how good it is.  By the last season or two, the show really found its groove and the characters had some shades of the truly inspired.  The "rat" episode was great too.

Army Wives, however, was good again. After a slow start, it might have hit a groove, or at least, has for the last few episodes. The episode had various subplots that could be seen as various perspectives on marriage and relationships. Denise and her husband served as role models here for the LeBlancs. Their message: don't blame the other party, recognize what you did wrong and do your duty. Denise's comment about honoring your military husband underlines her perspective while Frank (who is turning out to be a very good character after early episodes where he didn't come off as that likeable) telling Trevor to not blame his bad behavior on Roxy and then defending him underlines his.

Meanwhile, CJ (with an assist from Pamela ... will her job complicate her re-marriage? she looks good a cop) helps a sexually abused vet (readers of Doonesbury, though as I recall she was "only" sexually harassed, not rape, were a step ahead of CJ and Roland here) while dealing with the continual effects of her boss' attraction of her. That part was handled in a nice low key way, including CJ thanking her husband for letting her do it her own way. As with last time, the show benefited from a strong dramatic guest appearance (Trevor's friend did good in a small role too). The "ma'am" bit reminds me of a similar use of that address by a military academy member who was a guest on the Rachel Maddow show. It's a charming bit of charm. I also found little things like that do a lot, such as at the store.

Roland and Joan's adoption plans continued, meeting a boy who turns out to be HIV positive. Their honest concerns (they were only told after they met and felt a link to the child) was also well played. It was a somewhat "mean" trick to have them meet the child, even though they said beforehand that they were willing to deal with a child with special needs. But, the fact they decided to push past their concerns and work toward taking him in underlines the child welfare worker here made the right decision. It is a sign that total honesty upfront is not always the best path and that honest recognition of concerns doesn't mean that on the whole you would not do something. Overall, a sign of the mature complexity of the episode.

On the "cable" front, Trial and Error is a good low thought cable movie (especially for its around midnight air time) though the director should have had Jeff Daniels tone it down in a few places. Michael Richards is surprisingly low key overall and it's a shame he couldn't find more character roles of this type after Seinfeld (it was filmed while it still ran). The plot of him filling in for his lawyer friend, who is marrying a stereotypical bitch (a young Charlize Theron is on board to save him) can't be taken too seriously. Not quite My Cousin Vinny (same director) but fun.