Spacey/Spooky: The Clips Post

So after my 10-day "holiday" aka procrastination session/twitter discovery, it's time for a clips post. I'll quickly cover reviews of the episodes I've been enjoying over the past two weeks.

Supernatural, Episode 18
Up until now I've always said that shows or movies about the writing process are usually self-indulgent and twee, but I've had to eat my words. This is how writing about writing should be done. The latest Supernatural was the best episode in the series to date. It's up there with "Blink" from Doctor Who or "Hush" from Buffy. I'm not just gushing here.

This episode broke down the fourth wall and the man writing pulp novels about the boys discovers that he is "the great prophet, Chuck" and the boys are real. Hilarity ensues as the boys discover their own slash fiction, and try to rebel against Chuck's prophecies and fail.

The act of writing becomes the true source of horror in the episode, a theme that could easily fall into cliche, but the guest star does a great job as Chuck, and I found the ending sold me on the horror of the writer cursed only to observe and not influence events.

Kings, Episodes 3-5
Of all the shows I've been reviewing this week, Supernatural and Kings are the most well-written and well-acted. Like I predicted, Kings is not doing well, and has been moved into a new time slot. It's too bad because this is the best new show of this year, regardless of genre. It's intelligent and totally relevant to the politics of the moment, without being totally obvious about it. Fans of West Wing and Battlestar Galactica would love this show.

Over the past episodes, peace for Gath has been achieved and lost and regained again, but at a dire price for David's family, a price that becomes too great and tears them apart. Members of the royal family plot against each other and King Silas struggles with his double life.

The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, Episodes 2-4
This show has really picked up steam from the first episode. The actors seem more comfortable in their characters, and that pacing issue I noted for the first episode has resolved itself. The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency is on my list of recommended shows, especially as a mental palate cleanser after watching some horror or sci-fi/horror.

Dollhouse, Episodes 7-9
Dollhouse is improving with each episode. Whedon is ramping up the tension between the main characters. Since he's not depending on humor in the same way that he did for Buffy, he has to play with tension and show concept to keep viewers tuning in. Luckily, that is exactly what he is doing. It's turning into a not half-bad show. I tune in and I enjoy it, but I don't watch each episode over and over, the way I do for Supernatural or Legend of the Seeker or Doctor Who.

The Listener, Episodes 4-5
The mystery surrounding the origin of Toby Logan is only hinted at, but it's one of the more interesting parts of the show. What is so refreshing is that the main character doesn't have any of the usual neuroses about attracting lovers or the "I'm too wrapped up in my job to date" pose that a lot of characters in TV seem to have.

Episode four has a trans character, and they handle it sensitively, as far as I can tell, although they say that FTMs take "steroids" rather than T, although I'd have to do a re-watch to confirm that for sure. I'm not sure that's actually correct, but I could be wrong. They treat the character with respect and don't have the "look at the wacky, unusual person" attitude that Law & Order falls into at times.

In episode five, a woman takes Toby home, they are interrupted by an ex and then she ends up dead by the next morning. So Toby has to eliminate himself as a suspect. It's not a huge twist, but it's hard to be fresh in the well-worn police procedural format, so I give them props for plotting this episode well.

Law & Order UK
It's just so crazy to see Jamie Bamber (Apollo from BSG) as a British DCI in this BBC localization of the venerable American show. It's pretty much exactly the same show, but with crown prosecutors, instead of DAs and assistant DAs.