Maybe I'll come back to this one? Like much of the season, this episode was mostly kind of dull. And what was exciting about it (in the last ten minutes) seemed to pretty blatantly be setting up plot points for Season Five. Which is all well and good, but that's nine months from now. Mostly, what I'm left with is: OMG REVEREND STEVE!!!!!
Sons of Anarchy, 4.2: "Booster"
- I really dig the mutual disdain Potter and Roosevelt have for Jacob Hale. Just another quality that adds to the general vibe of "The time of nutbag ATF agents is over".
- I love Rockmond Dunbar anyway, but that Do The Right Thing reference put it over the top for me. (If I let my TV geekery wander a bit, it's an interesting line to borrow - originally spoken by Giancarlo Esposito who, of course, is now appearing on Breaking Bad as Gus. Who, like SAMCRO, is having his own issues with a Mexican cartel (not that the SOA writers would've known that when they put this together)).
Ringer, "Pilot"
- I wanted to like this episode much more than I did. They loaded both characters with a host of problems, which are not the same thing as personalities, and declined to capitalize on Sarah Michelle Gellar's best trait as an actress in keeping the dialogue so low-energy. It could be a good guilty-pleasure show if they double down (no pun intended) on the campy possibilities of the story. Something about it makes me hope for that trajectory, even if it seems against the odds.
- The one aspect of this episode that I found really interesting was the subplot of Bridget attempting to maintain her sobriety while masquerading as her sister.
- So what's the over-under on how long it'll take for them to bring in someone else from Buffy? I'm thinking November sweeps, by which time it will likely be clear whether the show will make it past the original thirteen-episode order. I vote for Emma Caulfield - I think she could make a quality snooty rich lady.
Up All Night, "Pilot" and Free Agents, "Pilot"
A pair of shows that need time for their ensembles to gel. Up All Night has a great central cast, and I think the pilot showed that there's a clear sense of what the show is and what differentiates it from shows like Modern Family and Raising Hope. Free Agents wasn't terrible, but there was a definite air of humor lost in translation - watching it, I kept thinking, "Oh yeah, I can see how this probably worked better in Britain." I'm interested to see where the former show goes, but the latter never grabbed my attention the way I wanted it to.
The Secret Circle, "Pilot"
I don't know whether I'll ultimately stick with this show - CW programs always end up creating DVR issues for me - but not because this episode didn't pique my interest. They established a decent number of characters in the hour, and hinted at the potential for deep mythology and background, so I'm not averse to watching further weeks. At the very least, light shows (especially teen soaps) are a good accompaniment for morning coffee.
Miscellaneous Links
- I didn't watch H8R (even I have limits), but the reviews by Dan Fienberg and Todd VanDerWerff were a couple of the best things I read this week. Good TV-critic rants are truly priceless.
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