Tag: episodic television

  • ODDS and ENDS: Quantum Renaissance, Stupid Tottenham, and Mother’s Day

    ODDS and ENDS: Quantum Renaissance, Stupid Tottenham, and Mother’s Day

    (Bust with the whippets…)

    In the evening, it’s hard t find a tv show that me, the wife, and the kid can agree on. The stuff me and my wife watch is way too adult for the kid, and the kid thinks she adult enough for it, which she isn’t. But, the wife came up with an idea, which was to watch old TV shows on Roku TV and Tubi. (This is not a plug for either service.) As of late, the show we are all enjoying is Quantum Leap, which still hold up very well. (Though Sam does seem to fall in love with the ladies rather easily…) The most surprising aspect of watching this show is how latched on and invested my daughter is. Like, it’s what she wants to watch, and has even gone a little into a few fan theories about the show; how much Sam is influenced by the person he leaps into, and so forth. No real surprise here as dramatically, each episode is different from the last, which keeps you engaged as to see what happens next. But the kid totally got wrapped up in the show when Sam leaped into a DJ from the late 50’s, and it dawned on my daughter that the “teenagers” in the show would have been her grandparents. (MIND BLOWN!) It never dawned on the kid that her grandparents were once young and rowdy!

    Looks like Tottenham went on won their second match against Glimt in Norway, and now they are in the Europa League final against Man United. Damn It! Just when I had completely given up hope, and written off the whole Spurs season, that stupid team has gone on to position themselves with the opportunity of winning a trophy, and qualifying for the Champions League next season. Damn it, man! Now I have hope, and excitement again! That’s the last thing I wanted at this point in the season.

    Mother’s Day is Sunday. Call your mom. Sure wish I could.

  • Personal Review: Poker Face – “The Return of Guest Star Television”

    I’m not the first person that wants to sing the praises of Poker Face, the new Peacock mystery drama created by Rian Johnson and staring Natasha Lyonne as Charlie Cale, a snoop on the run who can sniff out a lie. If you have seen it, then you know that the show is a giant throw back to 70’s episodic television, specifically in the vein of Columbo and The Fugitive. The show is great fun; the humor is pitch perfect with the tone, there is a nice bit of bait and switch with some misdirection which gives the feeling that making this show is just as enjoyable as watching it. But one aspect that has been lightly touched on in other reviews, which I find the most enjoyable, is that Poker Face is a return to guest star classic episodic television. The structure of the show is perfect to let these actors shine, as the first half is just focused on the crime, sans Lyonne who doesn’t show up until the second half. This structure give these actors a free pallet to play in developing their characters, motivations, and ultimately, their crimes. These guest starts are accomplished actors in their own right; Adrien Brody, Dascha Polanco in the pilot, followed in other episodes by Hong Chau, John Ratzenberger, Chloë Sevigny, Ellen Barkin, Tim Meadows, Simon Helberg, and Jameela Jamil. But the most delicious and fascinatedly ruthless were Judith Light, S. Epatha Merkerson as two elderly hippie radicals in a nursing home, who I do hope they find a way to work back into the show. But that there is the joy and delightful frustration of this classic episodic television format – odds are we won’t ever see those characters again. But looking ahead, I know that Poker Face is about to serve up about a dozen great character actors in the final four episodes of the first season.