Fuzzi Wahwah

Arrow: Honour Thy Father

(Source: CW,tvguide)

 CW Arrows delves a little more into the Green Arrow universe in a light energetic hour.

Oliver Queen goes to court to get his death certificate; at the same Laurel is bringing a case against one of Oliver’s targets, Martin Summers. All the while Oliver’s mother and Walter are trying to get him to be more involved at the company, leaving him with a dilemma of whether he should honour his father’s request to fight for the city or be the man his mother wants him to be.

Stephen Amell continues to shine as in his dual role, impressing throughout whether he’s subdued, obnoxious or just being a badass.  His pop culture references continue to make Oliver Queen, a prickly character warm, whilst his scene in Laurel, showcased his two sides perfectly. After last week’s episode, which showcased his physique endlessly, it was a welcome change to see him display acting chops.

David Ramsey, Diggle, apes Michael Caine’s Alfred Pennyworth  to good effect, providing some memorable scenes with Amell, which were just as useful in humanising Oliver as well as moving the plot along.

On the other hand Colin Donnell’s Merlyn seems just as flat as Laurel, which raises  concerns as to how contrived the forced love triangle, which given CW’s audience makes sense, but in the context of the show its a dud. Also  Moira Queen (Susanna Thompson) who is  seemingly modeled along the lines of Revenge’s Victoria Grayson but without being anywhere as treacherous, twisted and convincing.

At a time when Person of Interest’s John Reese mumbles his way to kicking ass, its refreshing to have a mysterious vigilante willing to revel in the absurdities of his life, rather than constantly brood. Whilst it will still mimick batman begins, the fact that Green Arrow is credible on the small screen is an achievement unto itself and hopefully a sign of better things to come from the DC universe, it’s just a shame it has to be weighed down by a contrived love triangle.

Unforgettable Season 1 Review

(Source: CBS, i-moviechannel.net)

Following the surprise renewal of Unforgettable by CBS , I decided to take another look at the first season.

Starring Poppy Montgomery (Without a Trace) as Carrie Wells a former Syracuse detective left the police force after being to resolve the murder of her sister. Consulting with the police from time to time, through coincidence she becomes the witness to the murder of her neighbour. Add that to the fact she has a perfect memory, and the lead officer on the case is her old boss, Carrie comes back to work to solve her past as well as the routine cases

The show’s insistence relying heavily on the star appeal of its lead, meant that the other characters were underdeveloped. The biggest examples were Saunders and Irana. Det. Saunders’ (Kevin Rankin) comic relief  was contrived as there were no other characters to interact with to good effect.  Whilst Det. Irana (Daya Vaidya) was practically Carrie’s shadow during the first couple of episodes, leaving the audience wondering as to what she was bringing to the team that was different. With a plot structure similar to Monk, its special effects similar to USA’s Psych, underdeveloped supporting characters, the show neither stood out nor was it cohesive.

The new characters

With these problems the show addressed them by bringing in five new characters changing the complexion of the show slightly.

Dr Webster (Jane Curtin) The new medical examiner brought in more comedy almost immediately. More importantly her interaction with Carrie was something that had been missing.

Tanya (Britt Lower), the techno geek provided a good partner to the young Saunders comic relief. Although she is a stereotypical geek (something CBS excels in) she showed a different aspect of workplace interaction. A great example of this is in

Steve Coiffi (Jackson Hurst) The final important addition was that of bringing in the son of the mob godfather. It helped display Carrie’s tendency to get herself on harms way. The Romeo and Juliet storyline whilst cliché was effective in providing a distraction from the police work and opening up more scenes between Webster and Carrie.

Apart from the special effects the show was doing very little to warrant it getting a second season. The characters interactions felt forced most notably in scenes between Carrie and Al, and the supporting cast wasn’t interesting enough.

The new characters however cliché they are, brought a change of pace making the show more interesting,  They added more depth to characters by bringing out different aspects of existing characters  and indirectly enhancing already existing relationships. Det Irana, might not be remembered as being distinctive during this first season, but come 2013 it might all change.

All in all, Unforgettable’s first season, will remembered for having quite forgettable beginning, and a entertaining end.  Therefore the 13 episode order for 2013, makes sense when looking back. 

My Favourite light hearted comedies

With a recession in Europe and violence in the Middle East, light hearted comedy is a perfect prescription to get through these dark days. Below are some of my favourites

Call Me Fitz

Jason Priestly, Brooke Nevin and Peter MacNeill star in this raucous comedy about a morally bankrupt  used car salesman who somehow obtains conscience only for it to be in the form of another salesman called Larry.

Jack of all Trades

Historical fantasy, with Bruce Campbell at the helm, Jack of all trades succeeds in creating light hearted comedy. Set in the 19^th century, Bruce Campbell’s character Jack Stiles is an American spy sent by President Jefferson to the East Indies to work with Emila Rothschild, a British spy in order to thwart Napolean’s schemes.  One liners, and slapstick run amok here, make it everything you would want from a Bruce Campbell show.

Workaholics

Now in its third season this Comedy Central sitcom, features three characters who all recent college graduates, roommates and work in a telemarketing company. Despite its title it’s a slacker comedy, with the show set mostly in the house the main characters live in or the cubicle they share.

About a Girl

Canadian comedy centering around a girl named Amy moving into a house off campus, where her four roommates are all stereotypical guys. Most of the show involves Amy fighting to change her roommates habits whether it be their study patterns to the way they treat women in general. Think New Girl but aimed at a teenage audience.

Better off Ted

Short lived workplace comedy involving a group of employees working for the merciless Veridian Dynamics.  This madcap show at times could feature three separate show all wrapped into. You had the romance between Ted and Linda, geeky comedy with Phil and Lem, with Veronica (Portia de Rossi) rounding it off by being very similar to the evil queen in the snow white story.  

Go Girls: Hidden Gem all the way from New Zealand

With the new HBO show ‘Girls’ creating a lot of hype as the voice of its generation and the ‘spiritual successor’ to the critically acclaimed Sex and the City, it would be a travesty if this good show never get a mention.

This New Zealand comedy centres around friends who all at the start of each season make a vow concerning their lives from which they all go about during the season trying to fulfil their respective goals.  The episodes unlike a lot of British, Canadian and American shows is done in months, which can take some time getting used to.

At the start of the series it featured one guy- Kevin, and three girls- Amy, Britta and Cody. All of them are in their mid 20’s, and have been best friends with each other since childhood.

Kevin and the tomboy Cody own a car garage  together which actually seems to do well earlier on in the series. There’s Amy who’s had perfect life only for it to fall apart due to her parent’s divorce, leaving her to try and recover her old life back. Britta’s the nympho constantly attracted to guys who are out of luck. This leaves Cody- a single mother of a ten year old daughter named Possum- whose love life remains the most interesting even after four years.

In the latest episode to air, it pitted Amy up against a fellow colleague (Rupert the Perv) who had roofied her drink only for Amy to give the bar owner, Brad, who collapsed in front of his family and friends.  Now obviously this is a sensitive issue but it still doesn’t weigh down the episode and helps to exhibit what the show does best, crazy humour all across the board.

The show’s theme like Friends, How I met your mother uses the theme that friends are the family you choose. In this episode it was most evident as all of Amy friends united together with their own families to wreak havoc and misery on the insidious Rupert ranging from periodic prank calls to getting his car towed whilst he’s at work.

For making the villain of the story a lawyer the writers deserve credit. Seeing as how they’re taught in the workplace not to be afraid of making ethically dubious decisions for the sake of victory. It makes sense that such a character would have no problem crossing the line every now and again.

It really shouldn’t matter if this show is set inNew Zealandbecause its storylines are universal and once you start watching it you wont stop. It should be considered as the sex and the city for this generation just like Girls is but its origin means it stands the chance of never getting noticed outsidenew ZealandandAustralia. On a good note, this shows provides a good look at the influence sex and city had on the television worldwide.

Go Girls at times misses Kevin’s ( Jay Ryan) eternally grumpiness, and whilst he’s away, we’re treated to Brad’s sibling rivalry with his just as perfect brother Will. The return of Kevin is all dependant on the success of Jay Ryan’s new show, CW’s Beauty & the Beast of which he’s the co-star.

Go Girls success has been that it mixes so many different elements together to make it universal. It has complex soap opera-esque relationships between the characters, comedy, tragedy, heartbreak, family, friendships. From what I can tell its not on the top rated channel inNew Zealandbut that shouldn’t detract from what a gem this show is. Fans of shows likes Sex and the  City, Friends, and soap operas would do well to watch this show.

Favourite 5 Episodes of Psych Season 6

In no particular order

1. The Amazing Psych-Man & Tap Man, Issue #2

Comic book references galore in this one from the spinning ipad to the epic scene in the factory. What made it better was the childhood fantasies that Shawn and Gus resurrected when they realised they could team up with the Mantis.

2. This Episode Sucks

When Cory Feldman and Kristy Swanson guest star you know the show brought its A-game to the table. Plus you get the start of the romance between Lassie and Marlowe. My favourite moment was the scene where they ask “wheres lucien” whilst not even noticing the other names.  The  vampire costumes Shawn and Gus wear made me laugh so hard.

3. Indiana Shawn and the Temple of the Kinda Crappy, Rusty Old Dagger

The episode with the best mystery simply because it was a quest. Pierre Despereaux returns with finesse and mastery of criminality. This episode features the funniest scene  of the season in my opinion when Shawn is speaking on the pulpit at the funeral, sounds weird to say but its true.

4. True Grits

Anthony Anderson was so good in this episode. His character’s best moment for me is when he gives a speech about how he told his girlfriend to find someone else, it was so good. Definitely one of the best guest stars of the season if not the series as a whole

5. In for a Penny…

Psych didn’t disappoint when it got William Shatner to guest star as O’Hara’s father. Though his second appearance later on felt a little out of line with the rest of that episode, this one was spot on.

The Good Wife: Kalinda’s interests , Grace’s revenge

A couple of pointers whilst watching “Marthas and Catilins” the fifth episode of season three.

Kalinda

Seeing as how Cary is stuck with the Amani, Kalinda and Eli as a result are getting more time working together. The relationship is traditional in the political sense, Eli needs dirt, Kalinda finds the skeletons.

 It is well noted that Kalinda is great at manipulating people, she used Peter to change her life, Will to get rid of Blake and uses Cary for case information. The question here is how is Kalinda going to use Eli to further her own interests, whatever they may be.

Could it be that she is using Eli to get Will to give her more power within the firm as the head of investigators, since Will values her enough not to let have her work for Eli full time.

Grace

It is going to be interesting to see how she reacts to the way her mom told the tutor to stop friends with her, thereby making Grace a loner. It’s possible that this could lead to Grace either exposing the full extent of her parents marriage troubles, and Alicia and Will’s relationship or use the threat to blackmail her mom.

In season two she reacted to her dad’s campaign exclusion of blacks by annoying Eli, and by trying to go to a political event with a black boyfriend just to embarrass her dad. 

Next Week

Finally  we get a chance to see Mrs Gold, played by Parker Posey,  in the flesh, expect alot of noise within the office. Should make for some exciting times.

A look at what psych season six might bring

Psych returned after ten months with a diplomatic themed episode guest starring Malcom Macdowell and Polly Walker. Apart from the  a couple of points came to my attention as i watched the episode

1. Shades of season 1

Shawn Rescues Darth Vader was written by Steve Franks who also wrote the pilot. This gives the two episodes a similar theme with Shawn being just as outlandish in his act, Shawn receiving a tip off from within the police and him stumbling on to the answer. 

Even when you look at the advertisement of the show, you can see similarities to the 2006 campaign. The show at that time was new to the screen and it was important to get the word out intensively. In 2011, Psych is starting in the fall  a brave move for a cable network. In this case the  USA Network is probably looking to get the word out to the mainstream audience in the same way it did in 2006.

2. Emotional moments

At times Roday’s dramatic acting does seem to be forced*, which does bring the question of how in this season is Shawn with his relationship going to display emotion.

Maybe the template has already been provided by looking  his confession during the polygraph test and him informing Gus last season of him and Juliet. In these scenes Shawn blurt it out with almost blatant disregard for the gravitas of his comments, hiding behind his Chandler-esque facade. This is fitting with the basic premise of the show not taking itself seriously, by peppering emotion with humor regardless of whether its appropriate or not.

3. Henry Spencer

Now he is Shawn’s patron in the police department, it would be interesting to see how far he would go to protect his son from Lassiter, Chief Vik and others. He’s already given a tip off to his son, seen the coroners report before the chief, all to protect Shawn. Will this season provide instances of bias towards Shawn from Henry.

*http://www.daemonstv.com/2011/10/04/psych-vs-the-mentalist-who-has-the-edge/