“How I know is inconsequential. That I know is significant.”

Dear Zack Whedon,

Allow me to thank you for “Look to the Ant,” the most recent episode of Rubicon. While I’ve been enjoying the show from episode 1, I’ve felt a little like Will in conversations about it. I’m convinced that Rubicon is a very good show, but I’ve had trouble of really convincing people of that, in much in the same way that I’m sure Will feels he can’t convince anyone of the conspiracy he’s currently trying to solve.

While I’ve pointed to the past couple of episodes, particularly “Keep the Ends Out” and “Connect the Dots,” as signs of life in the series, as hints of why people who are in the fence should keep watching, I think I’ll start using “Look to the Ant” as the episode that tells people why Rubicon works.

Now, admittedly, “Look to the Ant” maintains some of the new aesthetic choices that have been emerging since “The Outsider” and solidifying with “Conenct the Dots,” but I can’t fault you for those. Indeed, you actually have scenes that take place at night (and I love the look of Rubicon at night, almost a gaslight noir), so you already won me over there. But you do engage in the show’s quicker pacing as well. Some of this is editing, to be sure, but your script moves at a decent clip, with scenes lasting just long enough and no longer (still no Will staring off into the distance, mulling on conspiracy and grief).

Unlike last week, where I felt iffy on the quicker pacing, I found myself relishing the deft juggling of the scenes and characters, with everyone finally starting to click. In particular, Maggie’s role in the show is still a bit amorphous, but I feel like your work with the character, in particular highlighting how lonely she is without Sophie, actually made me care about the woman in ways that I simply haven’t yet. Hers and Will’s relationship is finally starting to become wonderfully complicated, and I hope that she visits Kale again soon, for an update on the team.

Speaking of Kale, congrats on keeping the cryptic spymaster version of Steve Jobs nicely balanced. While I think Kale has been playing things a little too close to the vest (dare I say a little too cryptically) allegiance-wise (was is warning in the previous episode about mayhem threatening or fatherly?),  I like his willingness to step forward and help Will, even I don’t particularly trust his intentions. But that’s part of the fun, isn’t it? In a world where you can trust Will to be noble, Tanya to drink, Miles to be Miles, and Grant to be an arrogant jerk, that I can trust Kale to be a little ambiguous.

Oh, and Miles. Dear, wonderful Miles. His scenes in this episode are most clearly the scenes that feel set off from the rest of the show while still managing to feel like Rubicon. Grieved with being estranged from his family, Miles keeps throwing himself into his work, including watching a wedding. Already a hard enough thing to do, but to have the wedding be in Urdu (“Who doesn’t [speak Urdu] at this place?” “Uh. Lots of people. Lots of people.”) and the charmingly sweet Julia (“I like Zelda.”) translate it, only reminds Miles of perhaps better times in his marriage. Also, my friend, you know how to write a toast. You mind if I steal it and use it later?

Anyway, I’ve rambled on long enough. I thank you for making solid moves on the conspiracy front (Atlas MacDowell is a terrific name), and for giving me an episode that I can tell people to watch to let them know just how good Rubicon is.

Yours,

Noel

P.S. When’s Dr. Horrible II happening, I mean, like, for real? (Kidding! Kidding!)

“Soon there will be anarchy. And then there will be me.”

Recovering from last week’s Faerygate, True Blood reminded us of evils of non-supernatural origins. In a show featuring vampires and werewolves and (fuckin’) faeries, there are still many real and terrible demons of other kinds that people have to face.

And Sam’s are coming out of the woodwork.

After a look back at Sawyer Sam’s past last week it seems it is catching up to him in a hurry. His anger issues getting the best of him, he goes on a drunken tirade, kicking all patrons out of Merlotte’s and insulting Terry, Arlene, Tommy and Holly.

Sam has finally had enough of being a door mat. Piss drunk and pissed off he has pushed all those close to him away in an attempt to shed his “nice guy” persona. Alienating yourself from those who care about you should surely help with that. But not everyone leaves him alone. Tara, Queen of anger and alienation (and shitty story lines) is there to lend an ear. And some other body parts as well.

Getting in bed with Tara (and by proxy his own demons) is a continuation of the sad spiral Sam’s been taking recently. With all the drinking and anger he reminds me a bit of Don Draper. Or as Tommy points out a lot like Joe Lee. One would think that comparison alone would be enough to pull Sam out of his rut but apparently not.

In an eerily evil scene, Maxine (Hoyt’s mother) consoles a heartbroken Summer after Hoyt breaks up with her. Maxine gave off some evil Disney villain vibes as she thanked Summer for what she has done and assured her that they weren’t done with that red-headed harlot who has put on a spell on their precious Hoyt.

On a more PSA note: drugs are bad (Mmkay?). Lafayette is having some not so pleasant residual effects from the V induced TARDIS trip he and Jesús took. He sees Jesús with some sort of demon face and gets reacquainted with the talking statues in his living room. I am just as confused as he seemed as to what the hell is going on here. Jason finds out that Kitch (a randomly woven season long  storyline) is using V to enhance his skills on the football field. Ok, maybe these problems deal a little with the supernatural being V related, but the drug message still applies.

To make matter worse for Jason, there’s not a thing he can do about Kitch. V is apparently untraceable so there’s no drug test to prove he’s taking it. And Jason can’t go to the school because they’re supplying Kitch with the V or his parents because they’re paying for it. Defeated both as an athlete and as a “cop” Jason returns home to his panther-girlfriend. She wants to head back to her home of inbred jungle cats to save them from the coming raid. In need of a serious ego boosting win, Jason agrees. I have a feeling this is gonna be more blaze than glory.

I don’t know if I’m still jaded from the fuckin’ faeries (love that this phrase keeps coming up in the show by the way) reveal or what but I was once again not very impressed this week. The episode wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t the usual “Oh man True Blood so good I can’t believe what just happened I can’t wait for next week let’s watch it again run on sentences” inducing spectacle that it’s known to be.

Sure, Eric handcuffing himself to Russell and waiting outside for the sun to kill them is very noble and pretty cool, but it begs a very Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers question. Why not just transform into the Megazord and stomp the bad guy from the get go? Similarly, why not just stake Russell and get it over with. You’re three vamps and a (fuckin’) faery to one. Sure, Russell is one of the oldest and most powerful vampires ever but give it a shot.

I can’t help but draw comparisons to LOST season three when the show stared losing viewer interest due to (supposed) bad story and the show becoming increasingly more Syfy sci-fi. And Angel season three. And Heroes season 3. Forget jumping the sophomore season hurdle, the tertiary season is the tough one. But all of these shows eventually triumphed (except Heroes. Christ.) so I should give the same treatment and have the same amount of faith in True Blood as I do/did in my beloved LOST and Angel.

Besides, the finale is next (next episode but not next weekend because it’s labor Day weekend) so there’s sure to be nonstop awesomeness. If LOST can give us flash forwards and Angel can give us the sinking and ascension of Angel and Cordelia respectfully in their season three finales, I’m expecting big and badass things from True Blood.

Final Thoughts:

• Jessica and Hoyt are back together. Hooray! More blood drinking and sex please.
• Andy’s apology scene was great.
• Arlene’s Wicca miscarriage didn’t work. Big surprise. /sarcasm

“It’s all I have. That, and my ideas.”

Sorry everyone, but with Nick moving to Los Angeles tomorrow (perhaps to see his cancer-stricken ex-wife or have a Fellini-inspired romp with a girl), it means I get to review this week’s Mad Men. Happily, I’ve been enjoying this current season far more than I did the seasons leading up to it. The season thus far has given me exactly what I wanted: more ad agency goodness and Don Draper coming apart at the seams. But no pears yet.

However, that hot streak was doomed to die at some point, and it drank itself to death with “Waldorf Stories.” If anything, it gave me too much of what I wanted from the show, as Don’s descent in being a useless jackass is ever closer to rock bottom, and I find myself almost feeling sorry for Don.

But not as sorry as I do feel for Peggy.

“Waldorf Stories” is bound to win an award for showing the dangers of over-drinking from some alcohol awareness group (if How I Met Your Mother can earn one, so can Mad Men), but that’s probably it. The episode showcases how alcohol helps drives the ad business, especially in regards to hiring, as it managed to hire two people on two separate occasions (Don with Roger and now Danny Strong with Don). Sadly, it’s not a pretty picture, unless you turn out to be a genius, like Don (jury’s still out on whether or not Danny can cut it).

Under no other circumstances than his life having fallen apart would Don ever take a meeting toasted. But brimming with overconfidence after winning a Clio for his floor wax commercial and drunk as a skunk, Don does exactly that. For a kids’ cereal account, no less. It’s this scene that made me almost feel sorry for Don. Having seen all three seasons, we’re used to what a Draper ad pitch is: confidence, smooth, polished, and simmering. What Don delivers to the folks from Life cereal is overconfident, uneven, (ultimately) tainted, and microwaved. Any time a client said the idea didn’t make sense, or that their market wouldn’t get it, Don would wear them down with his precise insight into the mass audience’s nature. And he makes a stab at it, until he just starts pitching taglines like a rookie, hoping something sticks.

Of course what does stick is Danny Strong’s “X: the cure for the common Y” ads, and Life cereal loves it, and Don is thrilled. He’s hit another home run for SCDP! Except he hasn’t, but he doesn’t know that. Only Peggy knows it. The man pitching to Life isn’t the man who won that Clio, isn’t the man who sold Kodak on the Carousel, and isn’t the man Peggy wishes she could be. He’s a drunken slob who walked into an ad agency who happened to look like Don Draper. He spends the rest of the haze alcohol and women, not waking up until Sunday with Doris, a waitress, who thinks his name is Dick. To salvage the Life campaign, Don must hire poor Danny Strong, completing the circle of drunken hiring started with Roger (shown in flashbacks that could’ve been really interesting, but weren’t).

I should be thrilled with Don’s tumble this week, but I’m not. Because I know while Don can recognize this as a momentary stumble from his life, it’ll be covered up with some plaster and he’ll pretend it never happened. And later in the season, when all of the plastered cracks start to show again, Don will have another realization about himself that will then be ignored in season 5. So while I like seeing Don fall, I can’t see it as actual character development because I know it isn’t. It’s just a hiccup, a necessary conflict for drama that probably ultimately lead nowhere.

Peggy, on the other hand, plays up her desire to be like Don as she tries to assert herself over the new art director Stan, an oafish pseudo-bohemian type, like Kinsey but with less education. Their little game of Strip Advertising Writing is a bizarre moment for the episode, but demonstrates just how far Peggy is willing to go to be accepted. I applaud her drive, but she’s mistaking, as Stan kind of points out, smugness for confidence. Don is never smug in front of people, just unnervingly confident. Peggy isn’t there yet, and has to belittle those around her to get there, because I think she thinks that’s how Don does it.

But like Don (and Danny Strong’s character), all Peggy really has are her ideas, or better still, her perceptions of reality. And even when finding Don horribly hung over from the bender to end all benders (at least on cable television), she’s the voice that wants him to do better, wants him to shape up and be the idea of a man who so very much wants to be, and she’ll do whatever it takes to protect that perception.

“You do not get to lie to me anymore!“

Burn Notice comes to a summer close, with new episodes back in November, including the couple of extra episodes USA tacked into the show this season. But those are in November, so we have to wait a bit, I’m afraid. However, this break will give us (or at least me) time to decide about how I should be thinking about Burn Notice. As things stand right now, I find myself where I tend to myself at the halfway point of every season: not caring a lick about the show.

I suppose, at this point, I should probably get over myself and just accept the fact that Burn Notice isn’t going to alter its formula one iota. It save me from writing the same thing over and over again and probably enjoy the show more. But “Guilty as Charged” pretty much sent me over the edge on Thursday, and I have only just now recovered.

I was pretty excited going into these last episode of Burn Notice before the hiatus, especially given that Jesse finds out the truth, thus paying off this interesting and long-simmering arc, and that there would be movement on Simon’s Bible in regards to Robert Patrick. It would be a run of episode that would juggle two different serialized demands and paying them off. And why shouldn’t they? The show normally juggles two different plots each episode, so it would make sense to expect “Guilty As Charged” to do the same. So wrong.

Over at TV Surveillance, Cory Barker has a good piece on why USA needs to give up the arc structure in its shows. If you’ve been reading these Burn Notice reviews, then you know I pretty much agree with him, at least when it comes toBurn Notice; I don’t watch White Collar, and I really don’t have an issue with Pysch’s end of the season stuff (in fact, I find it preferable). Like Monk before it, Pysch really could give two flying flips about its overall arc, trotting out the Ying and Yang killers for proper suspense at the end of each season (creating weird tonal issues, but that’s for Nick to parse out), but Burn Notice, and I guess White Collar, make a committed effort to have a seasonal arc, and they should probably stop.

With “Guilty As Charged,” Burn Notice does the same thing it always does in the “finale” (whether they be summer or season): pay the arc just enough lip service to keep it moving, but always incorporate some trouble Miami citizen. And, honestly, I would be okay with the Client of the Week story in a finale if said story tied into the arc in some way. But they rarely do. Here, Michael saving the daughter of a rich defense attorney serves more as a distraction than anything else. Now, say the defense attorney became a recurring character, then this would mean a lot more in the long-run (other than Michael and company getting a submersible vehicle, which is pretty cool).

But I don’t see this happening and thus the time spent trying to save the little girl is ultimately wasted. Spending it working through bringing Jesse around or playing cat and mouse with John Barrett would’ve been more rewarding from both a dramatic and narrative standpoint. That Michael’s sit-down with Jesse lacks the power that Fi and Maddie’s meeting did shows just how little the show ultimately feels about paying off these arcs.

It’d be one thing if these arcs mattered, but at this point I’m not exactly sure what exactly Michael’s motivation is, and that muddies up the waters for a clear character arc, too. If it was stand-alone after stand-alone, then it really wouldn’t matter too much. I’m with Cory: ditch the arcs so I can legitimately enjoy the show.

Who’d a thunk it? Fox’s Gordon Ramsay-hosted cheeseball collection of recycled reality tropes, Master Chef, is ringing more authentic than Bravo’s Top Chef. Diagnosing the trouble with Top Chef this season has been a preoccupation of mine. But now they are moving into dangerous territory—where I dislike so many of the chefs that I no longer want any of them to win. Save one. More on my horse in this race after the jump…

I better just come out and say it—I am rooting for Angelo. Shocking? Perhaps. But he is heads and tails better than all these other contestants.  In fact before the program aired, an article in the Los Angeles Times noted that Angelo was the most famous of all the contestants, such that the article’s writer did not know exactly what Angelo had to gain from competing on the program. My own theory on this is that the solution to the mystery is pretty simple. Angelo loves food. If you take this as a genuine fact, then the rest of Angelo’s behavior makes sense. You know how he is always advising other chefs? That’s because he thinks it is fun to talk about food. The strange bit about the shrine of favorite chefs? Dude loves to learn about others who love food. He’s a true believer—a real zealot. And lucky for him, his talent justifies his devotion.

There is no debate about it—I bet Angelo’s greatest detractor would admit that his talent is undeniable. Watching these petty chefs

E tu, Tiffany?

relish his defeats has been toxic to the program’s integrity, and isn’t a sense of integrity what separate Bravo’s reality from other cable and network programs? Oh, wait, I’m describing a historical moment in Bravo’s history. With the Real Housewives (does anyone know how many versions of this format have now aired on Bravo?) and the loss of Project Runway, Bravo seems headed in a more sensational direction. “Sensation” apparently requires the ouster of good chefs (Arnold, Andrea, Kenny) while less good chefs (do I even have to name Alex and Amanda?) remain on the program to cause havoc and create drama.

Call me crazy, but I prefer integrity.

With Master Chef, you won’t find me declaring this show to be the model of integrity. As a Fox star, Ramsay understands that a certain about of drama is requisite for mega ratings. Yet as I’ve claimed before, Ramsay’s Hell’s Kitchen boasts a logic and consistency beneath all the fluff and silly editing. Similarly, Master Chef does seem to take seriously the abilities of its winner.

I’ve only made it through one hour of the program’s two-hour airing, but that’s okay because each one-hour installment stands on its own. This episode began with a mystery box challenge—that revealed the basic ingredients for a cupcake challenge. I was dying to look more closely inside that mystery box—do you think these contestants received a basic cupcake recipe? I mean, really, would you be able to bake without a recipe? Would you know whether to use baking soda or powder? I suspect these home cooks got to lean upon some sort of guide, though mistakes abounded nevertheless. For example, Doctor Tracy put her cupcakes in the oven too late, which means she had to ice hot cupcakes, leaving her creation a melted, sad-looking mess.

The top three were Sharone (who had never made a cupcake before), Jake (a clear “appearances can be deceiving” underdog), and Whitney (so young, sweet and sassy!). Hate to say it, but Whitney drives me bonkers. Maybe it is the accent, but her “charm” eludes me. Ramsay, however, is quite charmed by her; moreover, Mr. Tough Judge Joe Bastianich has conceded that Whitney is sharper than she seems, playing towards her strengths. Despite her good performance here, though, Sharone beat Whitney and Jake with his super yummy looking Nutella and hazelnut cupcake. Did you see the middle of that thing? It looked positively gooey—yum.

Sharone’s prize offered one of the highlights of this episode—he competed head to head with “Iron Chef” Cat Cora (wonder what Food Network thought of her competing on a Fox program…). If Sharone prepared Cora’s halibut recipe better than she did, he would advance straight to the final four. Quite the prize, and this little contest proved not only suspenseful but also delightful. Sharone’s clear deference to Cora, and their surprisingly friendly banter as they cooked, belied his reputation as a cocky ass. Sharone, alas, did not beat Cora, but he held his own—an accomplishment in itself. The key distinction between the dishes? Cora seasoned like a pro. And of course, she is a professional, so that makes sense. But it also demonstrates that these wannabe “Master Chef” contestants are not nearly at the level of a Ramsay or a Cora.

So why give the winner a cookbook? I’m sorry, but I am going to keep coming back to this point until I finally understand why this prize makes sense.  Just who is going to buy this cookbook and why? Personality is the only motivating factor I can think of that would motivate another home cook to seek the advice of a…peer…instead of a professional like Cora. Is Whitney’s youthful girliness enough to make home cooks across America want to cook like her? Is Jake’s biker image able to sell his deft handling of a chef’s knife? Jury is still out on my original question about how the program plans to test contestants on their writing and recipe testing skills….

Cora’s presence on the show did answer another question—would the judges mentor the home cooks? Indeed, yes. Cora demonstrated for all the contestants her technique in preparing the halibut dish. All they had to do was copy her methods. Contestant Jake noted that watching Cora test the heat level of the saute pan by lightly touching the fish to it exhibits the type of invaluable experience these home cooks are gaining. Cora’s advice results from years of experience—perhaps advancing all the chef’s abilities to cook fish and to make a sauce.

Whitney faltered in this challenge—an unfortunate pattern developing in which she excels in the “quick fire” type challenge but fails to win a spot in the top three with the final challenge. Her inconsistency may derive from her youth and inexperience—we’ll havev to wait and see. But I wouldn’t bet against her just yet. Jake once again rose the top, with likeable Faruq hitting the road. Though Faruq’s dish likely was not the worst of the day, his repeated appearance in the bottom three confirmed the judges’ decision to send him home.

And once again we come to the matter of a competition program proving a logic to its victors and its losers–rather, Top Chef failing to do so.  Amanda was finally sent home on Top Chef. Though this week was definitely not her worst, her ouster was not only not surprising but was also long overdue. Amanda repeatedly made a great sauce but failed to properly prepare her protein. She would tell the camera her insecurities about her food and then appear shocked when the judges issued a similar critique. The best I can say about Amanda is that she knew she was an unlikely winner. But she failed to endear herself to her fellow contestants and she certainly won’t be in the running for “Fan Favorite.”

Despite her obvious lack of greatness, Amanda made it to the final 6.  Let me say that again–Amanda was in the final 6.  That put her two steps from the final four.  I feel a bit like how I did when Palin was running for VP–with one old guy between her and the presidency.  Seriously, Top Chef?  Amanda is the best you can offer us?  Shameful.  Until Top Chef decides to to create challenges that encourage the chefs to do their best and to display their best, it will never recapture some of its greatest past moments.

The most likely “Fan Favorite” is Tiffany, who in past weeks has managed to remain above the fray. This week, however, she dropped right into the muck by accusing Angelo of being disingenuous in front of the judges. This attack derived from a confusing series of events that the program’s editing likely did little to make less confusing. All the contestants had to work as a team, preparing gourmet ball park food at a baseball game. When the contestants realized that someone needed to take the customer orders at the game, no one jumped up to claim the role—a role that would likely make vulnerable any chef needing time to complete cooking and preparing his/her dish.

Angelo eventually stepped up, but moments before the customers arrived, he became worried that he was giving up his edge. Angelo suggested that each team member field his/her own contestants—and Kevin reacted like Angelo had stabbed all the team in the back. Mind you, Kevin had no intention of sacrificing his own food for the team, but somehow he felt pretty justified berating Angelo and otherwise acting like a prick. It wasn’t Kevin, however, who called out Angelo in front of the judges—that was Tiffany, who seemed offended that Angelo was taking credit—for doing exactly what he did do—for leaving the preparation of his dish to magnanimous Ed while Angelo fielded orders for the entire group.

Now, I’m an unapologetic Angelo fan, so my take on this is, perhaps, biased. But a deeper issue here is that Top Chef frequently asks contestants to take one for the team but then fails to credit them for it. If, as they told Kenny during “Restaurant Wars,” the judges care about how the food tastes, not how the food came to taste good, then why would anyone ever step up to serve at the front of house during restaurant wars? Why would any contestant try to be a team member? Why would Angelo offer to greet the customers? Top Chef is not about working as a team, so team challenges inevitably ask a chef to sacrifice his or her own chances of winning. Seems a strange way to design a challenge meant to find a truly great cook. Perhaps, one might say, a challenge that lacks integrity.

“Aha! So it’s not just a guy thing.”

Pete’s planning on having a romantic, sex filled weekend with Kelly. Myka is attending her high school reunion. But a run in with an artifact (griffin bookends owned by Robert Louis Stevenson) has them switching bodies and switching lives. With the premise that Warehouse 13 has it was only a matter of time until a body switching episode showed up. The possibilities of such an episode are endlessly amusing but, while fun, “Merge with Caution” played it relatively easy.

After the ol’ switcheroo is made, the gender bending buddies are able to offer one another a different perspective to assist in their problems outside of their duties. Myka was able to help Pete by sweet-talking his lady and making promises so sweet no guy could have ever possibly conceived them. Score points for Pete. Pete was able to talk Three Stooges and the Colorado Rockies (pick a better team, bros) with Kurt, Myka’s high school crush and score her some points as well.

That’s about it. There was an uncomfortable same sex (but not really) kissing moment and Pete felt up his new Myka body (cause honestly, what guy wouldn’t do that upon entering a female body) but I feel the episode didn’t live up to what a Warehouse 13 body switching episode could have been. It did toss a wrench in Pete and Myka’s attempts at normalcy so there’s that.

Artie and Claudia had a case of their own investigating why the higher ups of an insurance company were donating large portions of their earnings to charities. LOL greedy insurance companies. The artifact turned out to be a pair of stockings belonging to Mata Hari. The stockings got men to fall crazy in love with the wearer and managed to affect Artie, causing him to write poetry and almost shoot a man. Claudia had to step up and take charge, further solidifying her place as a capable agent. She did get to wield a Tesla (sexy) but didn’t get to use it (sad).

So the episode had some interesting artifacts and good laughs that were par for the course but outside of that, not much to say.

Final Thoughts:

• Hey look! Leena’s back! And she does absolutely nothing…
• The Twizzlers product placement is starting to get out of control. It is too in your face and it is every episode.

“I’m a faery? How fucking lame.”

My thoughts exactly, Sookie.

The faery’s out of the bag. The mystery behind “What is Sookie Stackhouse?” has been revealed and I’ve gotta say it’s pretty fucking stupid. I mean like “Who’s on the list?” and “Who’s Claire’s dad?” and every other Heroes mystery reveal stupid. A telepath with some sweet powers was enough of an explanation for me but when they started teasing there was more to Sookie than that I was pretty pumped for what the true source of her power was. All I was left thinking after this episode was “What the Puck?”.

That’s why her blood tastes so good. That’s why she has the powers that she does. That’s why everyone finds her so irresistible. Blah blah faery fuckin’ blah. I don’t know why the introduction of faeries to a show that includes vampires, werewolves, shifters, maenads, etc. upsets me so much but it does. It really does.

And it’s that terribly disappointing intro that set the tone for a somewhat meh overall episode. Even putting the faery business aside (which was very hard to do) “I Smell a Rat” sure smelled a lot worse than just a sewer dwelling rodent.

Lafayette makes use of his drug dealing past by healing Calvin’s wounds with some V he had at his house. Guess Jesús is a little thankful for it now. He must be because after the two are left alone he actually suggests they do some V together. Awesome, we’re gonna get some drugged up gay sex. Wrong.

Lafayette and Jesús start trippin’ balls. They they go on a wacky adventure through time, visiting members of their ancestry that dealt in the mystical. Turns out Lafayette has a conjurer in his bloodline. Jesús has an abuela who was a healer, specializing in fertility assistance. That’s nice. My “Jesús has no evil or ulterior motives in him” theory seemed to backed up by his gracious granny. But his sorcerer abuelo, known for a bit of dark arts dabbling, would seem to point in the opposite direction. The reason Jesús and his mom moved around so much was to get away from him. Apparently he has some dark plans for his grandson.

The scene seemed fun at first but dragged on for quite a while. Even with all the trippy effects and weird colors and body switching I got bored. And my theory is seemingly shot. And Sookie is a faery. Things just couldn’t get any worse.

Oh wait, Crystal is still around so they can get far worse.

After getting slapped as thanks for helping save her father’s life, Crystal chases her dad down and tells him she can’t go back with him. She doesn’t want to be forced to marry Felton, she doesn’t love him. She wants to experience life on the outside. Clayton says Jason will never accept what she is (he will as long as she’s not a fucking faery) and proclaims her dead to him. When next we see Crystal she is morphing from panther mode in Jason’s bedroom. And not even in a cool Voltron lion kind of way. Crystal is a shifter. Or at the very least a were-panther, which honestly is a gyp cause the ability to shift into any and all animals kinda trumps a one trick pony. Or in this case a one trick panther.

Oh hey, Lassie. What’s that, girl? Sam got some backstory? Kick ass! Huh? It’s about his randomly created problems of rage control? Go fuck yourself, Lassie. Sam Merlotte, another victim of this season’s “We don’t really know what to do with you this season” syndrome all the sudden has rage issues. While they do show that it’s happened before (he killed 2 people after a double cross back in his jewel thief days circa 2003) it still felt like it’s just something to say about Sam since he doesn’t really have a whole lot to do.

Now I like Sam. I really do. I really connected with him as the “nice guy who finishes last” in season one. And he had a great tie-in to the Big Bad of season two. Now all of the sudden he’s not really a major player and his storylines have all been muddled and disconnected in season three. So now he has a past of rage. Ok, I can appreciate that. The nice, responsible bar owner we know and love now used to be a thief and a killer. It’s interesting. It’s the placement and abruptness of said problem that makes it feel so random.

Tara and Jason are two other characters who I’ve felt have been lacking for the most part this season as well. So hey, why not connect the two? Jason and Tara bury Franklin’s body and burn his clothes together. She thanks him for saving her again and they get their kiss on. That was a long time coming. But the guilt of killing Eggs that’s been bubbling inside him finally boils over and he admits to it. Tara cries and runs off. Thanks Tara, I was beginning to wonder how I was gonna get my Kate fix what with LOST being over now and I guess you’ll fill the role. Congrats.

Oh, Holly’s a deus ex machina Wiccan. She’s gonna help Arlene get rid of her evil baby. There are 2 reasons why this is bad. One is Arlene finally told terry that the baby isn’t his but Terry, being the great guy that he is, said he doesn’t care. They’re gonna raise that baby together with love. Arlene now getting rid of said baby will probably upset Terry. The second thing is if they’re gonna go about this by way of magic, something is bound to go horribly wrong.

Ok I will admit I’m a little angry at this episode. But it’s True Blood so it can’t be all bad. And it wasn’t. There were a few things I did really enjoy. Pam and Eric had great story in this episode. Eric seems pretty convinced he’s going to die now that Russell has declared war so he draws up a will leaving everything he owns to Pam. Yvetta isn’t happy about that at all. Neither is Pam though. She sees this as a defeatist move and tries to convince Eric to think and to fight back. After settling his will, Eric kisses Sookie as (for some reason) his biggest regret should he die would be never having kissed her. Then he locks in her in the Fangtasia dungeon. Seems like Pam’s pleas got through and he’s going to make use of Sookie in the upcoming confrontation with Russell.

Speaking of Russell, his small part in the episode was one of the best. Still obviously distraught over the true death of Talbot, he finds solace in the arms of a young male prostitute. But it wasn’t the sexual healing he wanted, he wanted to be able to be there for Talbot in his final moments. So he stakes this human prostitute in the heart and apologizes to “Talbot”. A beautiful bit of vulnerable character work for Russell before he begins to terrorize everyone and everything.

Last but certainly not least: Jessica. The highlight of any episode. Not only does she stand up to Arlene and her blatant vampire hatred but it looks like we finally have a reconciliation with Hoyt. She turns down Tommy, who doesn’t take it so well, and is taken a bit of guard when Hoyt comes into Merlotte’s saying he broke up with Summer and he wants to be with her. When she can’t tell him she loves him back, Hoyt leaves. Tommy goes dog and attacks Hoyt in the parking lot but luckily Jessica comes out and saves him, letting him drink from her to heal his wounds. If that ain’t love then I don’t know what love is.

Someone convince me this whole faery thing isn’t as bad as it seems.

Final Thougts

• I like how Tara plays the race card all the time and now she is the one unfairly prejudiced against a certain people.
• Jason standing up to Bill and revoking his invitation to his house was a cool scene.
• A faery? Really?

” … because you broke your own rules.”

Speeding motorcycle.

Maybe it’s just because I watched the entire Extras series again recently but this episode kind of reminded me of a dramatic version of that episode of When the Whistle Blows when the Japanese corporate representative came into the factory. It was a bunch of white people cramming to figure out how to woo a high-powered, very traditional Japanese contingent while “the entertainment” did nothing but awkwardly offend said contingent.

Was Roger ‘aving a laugh?

Of course not. This is Mad Men afterall, where no one with a large part in the episode is allowed to smile, laugh, or enjoy themselves. For that, you have to become background (see Peggy riding a motorcycle in circles). Not only is that true of the series but it’s especially true of this episode, one the draws almost exclusively on concepts of shame and embarrassment as well as honor and loyalty. There were scenes this week that were so awkward, I was reminded heavily of a Ricky Gervais work where I constantly yell “shut up just shut up now!” at the television.

In related news, somehow, Betty has been upgraded from horrible mother to absolute fiend.

It’s been a while since we visited the Household-Formerly-Known-as-Draper and Betty has increased her venom while we’ve been away but only for her daughter. The growing pains of Sally Draper have always been a little harsh but Betty treats her every offense as attempts on Betty’s reputation, like intentional shots at her mother. Sally, however, as we can see in every season so far, is a product of media. How often have we seen her planted in front of the TV while Betty half-heartedly minds her children? Just as she is growing up, not only is she going through the normal questions and confusion inherent in all children her age, but she is also dealing with a spate of sexualized women in media as Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie, and Gilligan’s Island dominate nightly schedules. Just as media hopes, Sally is beginning to find herself in what she sees on television, but, without proper guidance on media-minded critical thinking, she is starting to implement what she sees on television (and partly in her environs — we don’t know how much exposure the children have to Don’s dating life) into her identity.

The bottom line is that cutting her hair is not a dig at Betty. But she slaps Sally anyway, duel-style, as punishment, one that both of her husbands feel as being harsh. They hint at Betty being a child all the time, particularly in this episode with the child psychiatrist (Betty looking longingly at the dollhouse is especially obvious) but she’s escalated from being petulant and immature through the innocence spectrum to irrationally severe and ruthless. Strangely, the embarrassment Betty suffers from Sally touching herself (in public no less) is treated with less severity than the hair-cutting incident. Though it could be that it was late, Betty was tired, and just about to get her rocks off herself that blunted her rage, it is interesting that something that might actually affect Betty later (she insists the mother that returned her home was going to gossip) receives far less punishment than a mishap with scissors.

Don’t get me wrong, though. Betty’s condemning of Sally’s masturbation (in totality, not just in public) is still ruthless but maybe stems from a harsher time in respect to sexual liberation. As Sally comes of age during the late-60s, she will probably be the poster child for Free Love with her mother being so unnecessarily harsh on her discovering herself. This transformation will probably only be abetted by her submission to a psychiatrist that offers the exclusive confidentiality Betty’s therapist never offered. The miles of shame Betty has forced Sally to walk all these years as mother tried to keep her daughter in line under the “Painting a Masterpiece” philosophy can be worked through, especially since Sally was escalated to four times a week immediately. Sally has dishonored the family but individual self-discovery might be her path to salvation from the punishment her mother has forced her to endure. When Sally walks into the doctor’s office at the end, I couldn’t help but feel it took some amount of courage for her to walk in and, we can only assume, dish.

The other side of the episode focused on agency stuff, a side of the show I’d hoped they would spotlight a little more since they moved into their new office. Pete is able to bring in Honda, a company toying with the idea of making cars (hope it works out for those guys), for a meeting that could put SCDP in the running to be their new agency. Everyone is on board except for Roger, the lone Pacific WWII vet in the office. Roger still harbors resent for his former enemy, some 20 years after the war ended, and stands by a promise to duty to never deal with the Japanese again. Pete, of course, thinks it’s only about Pete, that Roger is trying to sabotage anything Pete tries to bring in, but it’s probably more about military conditioning (you can’t really kill people you feel lukewarm about) than anything else. While Roger rants and raves, the rest of the partners decide to move forward anyway because, as Pete later sums up, “[They're] trying to build something here.” Beggars can’t be choosers.

So the office prepares their surroundings in order to accommodate their Japanese visitors. The worldly Cooper (hey, remember him?) leads the way and helps the silly white people learn about their cousins from across the Pacific. Everything goes swimmingly until Roger finds out what’s going on and barges into the discussion, spitting so much vitriol and epithets against the Japanese that he essentially sinks the possible partnership into the ocean. They have dishonored the people from Honda (in stunning, crash-and-burn, blaze-of-glory, super-awkward-fest style) and their competition (who have positioned themselves specifically as Draper’s competition) suddenly have more of a shot than SCDP does. That is before Draper rises to the challenge.

Remember the staged event Peggy and Pete pulled off earlier in the season with the turkeys? Draper was furious about it but his language was very specific. He asked Peggy how they could pull this off without his approval. It’s not necessarily that Don disapproved of the stunt, just that it needs to go through him first before it goes out. With SCDP certainly out of the running, he decides to bring the other agencies down with him. His subterfuge to plant the idea with his competition of breaking the hard-fast rules set by the Japanese for these presentations. Producing a full-length commercial would bankrupt SCDP for the rest of the year but it would do the same to their small competitors. His plan to goad the prideful into falling on their own swords while he stands tall in his presentation (subtly accusing the Honda of breaking their own rules) is conniving, manipulative, and just what was needed out of Draper. Though he said he was inspired by The Chrysanthemum and the Sword, he embodied Japanese-neighbor Sun Tzu a little more. He is still a reluctant hero for his organization but is willing to knock it out of the park if he has to.

But what about poor Roger, stuck in his ways? After his heart attack earlier in the series, he remarked often about how he didn’t want to be regarded as old despite the fact that he often brings up his experience and “wisdom.” Recall a similar conversation Roger had with Don and Betty over dinner about how Don’s generation was less respectable. Here, he announces that Pete doesn’t understand because he didn’t have the War. As the first name in SCDP starts to recede into obscurity, his role reduced to wining and dining his clients, falling into the background with Cooper, this was almost evidence of that fight into the dark. When Roger has to swallow his pride after the company moved on without his blessings, his demand that Cooper leave the office with him is a bit symbolic of his status of respect yet separation. He is slowly becoming a ceremonial figurehead while Don acts as the figurehead the outside world respects and with whom the outside world wants to do business. Even the mid-20s creative Don hired for Pepsi all those years ago regards Don as a genius and to be the reason SCDP functions as it does. Can Sterling go quietly into the night?

One last note on Peggy: how hilarious was it that she was riding around in circles on the set? And does anyone else get the feeling that Joey is a figment of Peggy’s imagination? My only evidence is that no one at SCDP seems to recognize his presence and his remark that he could “so” get Trudy pregnant felt anachronistic. Not that Mad Men needs Peggy to be schizophrenic but it would be an interesting fold. Just a thought.

“You missed a button.”

If you’ve been struggling with Rubicon then last week’s episode was probably a breath of fresh of air for you. The pacing picked up a little bit, and some of the characters surrounding Will were developed more. With “Connect the Dots,” it seems like the change in showrunners has taken a firm root within the show now, as the past two episodes are only vaguely like the first three in terms of aesthetics and pacing.

I’m not entirely sure how I feel about the changes that are in play with the show. Most, I suspect, will say they are for the better, but I feel a bit sad that it’s been two episodes now and I’ve barely had any of Will staring at a wall for 3 minutes straight. I miss it already.

One of the key changes is the fact there’s fewer blinds in the API offices. Sunlight, and sunny exteriors, are all the rage on Rubicon now. The pervasive darkness eased only by flickering fluorescent lights or street lamps seems to be a thing of the past (Ingram’s discussion of life before electricity seems like a not-so-subtle jab at the show’s previous aesthetics, especially when he flicks the lamp off and on to emphasize his point). Additionally, scenes inside API seem a little less present now, or limited to the conference room that Will and his team use to discuss the latest intel.

Certainly this brighter aesthetic helps the dinginess of the show that Jaime Weinman discussed when the series premiered. API in general seems cleaner now, a little less claustrophobic. While I liked the dinge and claustrophobia (I thought it helped with the reinvention of the 1970s paranoia thriller tone the show seemed to be aiming for), I could see how this would be a showblocker for some people.

More of a showblocker has been the show’s pace. I haven’t really understood this complaint about the show’s pace, as I found Mad Men to be pretty slow in places (particularly season 2) and haven’t seen much in terms of complaining about that. Like the dirtiness of the aesthetics, the slow pace was symptomatic of the 70s thriller, so I was willing to roll with it because it ultimately served a purpose. However, “Connect the Dots” moves rather briskly (even last week’s was a little slow) compared to the previous episode, but part of this could simply be the fact that there’s narrative movement, so it has the illusion of picking up the pace.

And the narrative is pretty exciting in this episode. Indeed, it puts Will squarely in the middle of the conspiracy and he has no way of knowing. He meets the Four Leaves (as I’ve taken to calling Spangler’s group) at Spangler’s wife’s charity ball, and while he has some inkling that something fishy is going on (Wheeler’s name gets jotted onto a notecard), there’s little he can do about it. It’s just one more piece, but how big of a piece is it, seeing the faces of 2 more of the men who may’ve killed your father-in-law and mentor?

However, for me, the most narratively exciting moment was the non-moment of Will and Katherine meeting, and briefly bonding, over drinking habits at the charity ball. So brief but nicely played since, really, the show has been building to this scene, only to have it be a throw away moment in an episode, quickly overshadowed by Will meeting some of the Four Leaves.

If you pile it on with Tanya coming out of her alcoholic daze long enough to make a compelling (and spot-on) case for why API should focus on George Beck instead of Yuri Po-somethingIcan’tbebotheredtolookuprightnow and Will following Donald Bloom (he used to work with Ingram while at the CIA!), and suddenly you have an episode filled with small pay-offs. The question for folks who need those small pay-offs is this: How long do you think you’ll have to wait for the next set?

While I’m not crazy about these changes, I’m willing to accept them if it means more people either tuning in, or sticking with, Rubicon.

FINAL THOUGHTS

• The episode’s big misfire was Will’s overly intense scene with Maggie. It felt like it should’ve been parody (“I think he’s from Ohio.”) but was played too straight to be funny or dramatically effective.
• When Ingram cautioned Will about avoiding mayhem, I couldn’t help but chuckle and think, “It’s okay. Will has Allstate!”

]]> http://www.monstersoftelevision.com/?feed=rss2&p=3509 0 http://www.monstersoftelevision.com/?p=3472 http://www.monstersoftelevision.com/?p=3472#comments Fri, 20 Aug 2010 20:37:44 +0000 Nick http://www.monstersoftelevision.com/?p=3472

We’ll discuss it later.

It’s been a busy week at Monsters of Television. This whole “summer-is-just-another-season/no-rest-for-the-weary” thing the networks are doing is wearing me out. But we can’t really complain about some of the great television we’re getting. Well, mostly great television. Hopefully Melissa & Joey doesn’t create a great abyss that sucks the life out of everything we hold dear. Forget the atomic collider in Switzerland: that show might obliterate the universe on its own, unraveling the fabric of time and space with ill-timed canned laughter and overacting that would make the cast of SNL blush.

Sorry. I digress.

We have some really great reviews for you to take a look at this week, from Mad Men to True Blood to Sherlock to, gods help us, that aforementioned pit of despair. If you missed any, it’s new to you!

We started the week with a little Mad Men, a particularly good episode with possibly the most literal title since “Guy Walks into an Ad Agency.” “The Rejected” shows all sorts of rejection: Allison dealing with Don’s rejection; Peggy rejecting Allison then later rejecting a woman that licked her face only to be rejected by some artsy-fartsy anti-shirt people; and, finally, Peggy dealing with her own rejection of what she could have had if she might have been a different, more manipulative, more desperate kind of woman. It even prompted an addendum piece this week based solely on Peggy’s time at a Warhol-esque-wannabe party.

Mad Men: “The Rejected” | Mad Men – Peggy and the Artists (from “The Rejected”)

Noel filled us in on the Season Finale of The Next Food Network Star where contestants made pilots for focus groups, focus groups whose composition may have been a little less than scientific. Tom deals Bob a blow that I feel is unfair for anyone (calling someone reminiscent of Guy Fieri is just uncalled for — that could scar a person) which makes me kind of happy his bags were packed as they announced the winner: Aarti! Congratulations! You’re in league with, you know, all those other NFNS superstars! Like Guy Fieri. Oh brother.

The Next Food Network Star – “Rachel Ray Directs”

Rubicon has had a bit of a rough run with some internet critics (particularly TWoP) who feel that the series is so very, very slow but people have to watch it because it’s on AMC and they do good things and you don’t want to be a schmuck when the show jumps off and you’re all like, “Dude, I was totally watching it at the beginning but then dropped off because it was boring and now I’m a pariah!” Noel cuts through it all for you, giving you what you need to know for two episodes in one concise review. And you learn something about MILFs in the process.

Rubicon – “Keep the Ends Out” & “The Outsider”

Matt recaps the Season (Series?) Finale of The Boondocks where Huey’s paranoia is not completely unfounded. The episode feels like one of those written for a show unsure of its future: a good way to end the season and a satisfying way to end the series if it is, in fact, the end of the road. It’s not Lost or anything but it’s good. It’s Matt so you know there had to be a Lost reference somewhere.

The Boondocks – “It’s Goin Down”

Ah, Bon Temps. A beautiful place to live, no? Besides the uncommonly attractive people, live and undead, wandering the streets of this sleepy little burg, there’s also a ton of excitement, what with all the murder and sexy orgies going on. Oh, you don’t really like the murder, you say? Drug trafficking? No? You’d rather just watch it all on your picture-screen? Wuss. True Blood is kind of the anti-Rubicon in that stuff is always occurring and Matt breaks down all the details as the show continues to beat all its characters about the knees. Except for Lafayette who comes out smelling like a rose.

True Blood – “Everything is Broken”

As this season of Sherlock comes to a close, Noel meditates on Moriarty and his portrayal. Obviously, being Sherlock’s nemesis (a frienemy even?) makes him very important to the series and the rabid Sherlock Holmes fanbase. Noel tells you why he’s not sure about this performance (one I believe @jmonjo called the dramatic version of the alien from American Dad) but also why he can live with it.

Sherlock – “The Great Game”

I don’t want to talk about it.

Melissa & Joey – “Pilot”

White Collar continues its discussion of the difference between criminals with hearts and criminals with guns, this time involving a Chechen mob boss as part of the former. Also, there’s some stuff about Kate but no one really cares (including Neal at first actually). Neal also plays some cards and we thank the heavens that White Collar wasn’t around before No Limit Texas Hold ‘Em jumped the shark with Dave Foley. Poor fella.

White Collar – “In the Red”

So I read Matt’s reviews of Warehouse 13 every week and I think I’m just going to have to watch the show. If you asked me what it’s about, I’m not sure I could give you the details you need to wrap your head around it. I mean, HG Wells is a woman and the Warehouse totally hates women. Did your mind just explode there for a minute? Mine did. Matt doesn’t have any trouble at all with it though and even provides you with a crazy theory/prediction for how this show is turning out. I’m going to go lie down for a bit.

Warehouse 13 – “For the Team”

Psych continues its meta-exploration this week as Shawn and Gus face themselves as old men. They lose but then they win. The cops look all impotent, Henry is grouchy, and Vick continues to have the weakest role in the series. So same ol’, same ol’. But the way they seem to be setting up the audience to notice the subtleties of the program, possibly to some great reward, is at least a little interesting, no?

Psych – “Viagra Falls”