Winter TCA is over which means I finally get to watch TV again! You have no idea how happy this makes me…
THE GOLDEN GLOBES SHOW: I caught up last night and watched the second half of the show. Ricky Gervais joked about Clooney hosting the show and when I thought about it, I realized it wasn’t a bad idea at all; Clooney is beloved by all and never takes the award circuit *too* seriously. Of course Clooney has tons of better things to do with his time but wouldn’t it be a treat to look at him for a few hours? I was most charmed by Jean Dujardin’s speech when he won and it makes my heart happy to see THE ARTIST getting this kind of recognition because I believe it’s a very special film. My overriding thought about the Globes: the awards are fun but I’m starting to think NBC needs to cut an additional show of all the movie and TV stars shmoozing during the commercial breaks. For instance, I loved seeing George Clooney chatting with Sidney Poiter; that’s not something you see everyday. I want the entire ballroom wired for sound and I want to hear what they’re dishing about. Surely there’s an enterprising reality producer who gets along with the HFPA and the networks and can make this happen.
ALCATRAZ: From the first two hours, my gut reaction is that Sarah Jones is miscast in the cop role. And did any of the writers think through Sam Neill’s character completely? Is he there to be an obstacle to the investigations? I understand protagonists and antagonists but it can’t be this obvious. Jorge Garcia is always fun to watch and I like his character. I also got tired of the time jumps back and forth and simply using the criminal’s case history as a way to capture him again. There’s got to be more to it than this so I’ll watch next week’s episode.
IT’S A BRAD BRAD WORLD: Why does he keep crying? Why does Bravo think I want to watch Brad cry?? And when did the happy-go-lucky Brad Goreski turn into a tragic figure? Fix him, Bravo!
REAL HOUSEWIVES OF BEVERLY HILLS: This week’s episode was distressing on a lot of levels but the main irritants/worrisome stories were Taylor and Kim.
Taylor: This is going to sound horrible but I have to say it: I think Taylor used the show this season as a way to provide video of distressing situations that she can use later in a court of law. I suspect she will face legal charges for being the late Russell Armstrong’s accomplice in grifting and she could use clips from the show this season to show she was under duress and cooperating out of self-defense and fear for her life as well as that of daughter Kennedy. The scene that made me think this is when Taylor brought her therapist to the opening of Sur to help Taylor talk to her friends about her situation. While I understand contrived scenes for reality shows, this was too much, even for me. Ever since I read The Daily Beast piece about Russell and Taylor’s allegedly shady business dealings, I’ve looked at Taylor differently. I don’t discount the fact that her late husband may very well have been verbally (and possibly physically) abusive toward her but I also don’t think she doesn’t know a grifter when she sees one. I see her as a woman who became accustomed to living an expensive lifestyle and was willing to do things to insure she could keep living that way. She may not have been the mastermind of the business deals but she was willing to be Russell’s arm candy/trophy wife/female bait for prospective investors and that’s what they call an accessory. I could be totally off-base and only time will tell if she was part of the nefarious deeds.
Kim: While Kim has been shaky for some time, this week’s episode was particularly distressing because she pretty much had a mini-breakdown and became incoherent. We heard her say, “I have to take my medicine” but this episode made it look like her meds made her worse than before. And when she told Kyle she thought she was pregnant and Kyle didn’t have the good sense to pipe up and tell her she hadn’t had a period because she doesn’t EAT, well, it was worse than when Ramona Singer thought she was pregnant at age 53. It’s a relief to know Kim is in rehab (or recently got out, I think) and I hope she’s healthier and more stable now. This episode was a shocking and sad document of how much she unraveled. I never thought I’d feel bad for Ken but he was reduced to being Kim’s babysitter and it was clearly a job he didn’t want.
Kyle: The Kyle backlash seems to be in full swing and I agree with it to the extent that she’s always primarily concerned with how an event will affect her. Yes, she cares about her sister but whenever they disagree or have an argument, Kyle always circles back to how it’s making *her* feel, which seems wrong given the extremity of Kim’s dysfunctional behavior. I can’t presume what their relationship is really like; it’s clear they love each other even with all the baggage they have, but I kept hoping Kyle would shake her bony sister and force her to go to a hospital to get the care she desperately needed. I thought we’d see a full-blown intervention but that didn’t happen. The season finale is this coming Monday the 23rd and I assume most of the hour will be taken up with Pandora’s wedding and the fallout from Russell’s suicide. I think Kim’s story is important to tell because people who are depressed or suffering from mental troubles need to know there’s help available and it’s possible to get better.
WHITE COLLAR: Last night’s midseason premiere was a very strong episode for Tim DeKay as Peter’s wife Elizabeth was abducted by bad guy Keller (Ross McCall, an actor with one of the sexiest voices ever). Also very good: the Mozzie / Neal scene in which they talked about Neal’s decision to stay in New York and the fact that Mozzie was going to stay too. I love that the team has become Peter, Neal and Mozzie. The combination of knowledge on the sides of both good and evil make WHITE COLLAR so enticing, week after week. At the USA Network TCA lunch, both Matt Bomer and Tim DeKay said this season will end with the biggest cliffhanger to date. Also, look for an episode set at the iconic setting of Yankee Stadium. The show continues to showcase the beauty of New York City and its environs like no other show on the air.
JUSTIFIED: Our favorite man with a hat returned, with a hitch in his giddyup from a gunshot wound, which made him a bit more quick to anger or get irritated. Oddly, this made Raylan even more attractive. Desmond Harrington, aka Quinn from DEXTER, had a terrific guest role as a hitman/criminal and his performance in the episode was better than anything he’s had to do on DEXTER. And can I tell you how crazy excited I am to see Neal McDonough as this season’s villain? McDonough is reunited with Graham Yost and Mykelti Williamson – they all worked together on NBC’s short-lived but very fine drama BOOMTOWN. I chatted with McDonough at a Golden Globes party this past weekend and he’s excited to work with Mykelti Williamson again, “He’s my best friend. I’d take a bullet for him six days to Sunday. Now we’re trying to think of a spinoff we can do.” I mentioned to McDonough that I also liked seeing him on TERRIERS and he said that’s how he got on FX’s radar. McDonough is sure to add plenty to the mix of good and evil that JUSTIFIED will serve up this season. I can’t wait til his character meets Boyd Crowder.
SOUTHLAND: The best urban cop show returned last night. We found a healed and renewed John Cooper (Michael Cudlitz remains a standout performer on the show), getting a new partner played by Lucy Liu. I like that both of them were damaged in different ways and now they work together. They understand each other’s damage (as evidenced when he watched the videotape of her being literally tossed around by a huge guy she pulled over) and they go forward from there. Shawn Hatosy is terrific as a cop finding renewed spirit as he trains young cops to stay safe while they’re on the job learning to serve and protect. Ben McKenzie is still doing fine work on this show; I still think he’ll never get a better role than this one. He’s never false, he’s just in the moment. Even though Tuesday at 10pm is a hellish timeslot, I’ll be finding ways to watch all the great shows airing at that time: SOUTHLAND, JUSTIFIED, WHITE COLLAR and PARENTHOOD.
GLEE: I officially cry uncle. They got me. Last night’s episode was so unrelentingly sweet and I loved so many of the songs that I couldn’t help but be won over. From the opening “Summer Lovin’” that mimicked the exact shots and location (Venice high school) where they shot “Grease” to Nene Leakes killing it in her once scene as the swim coach, to Jayma Mays melting us with her cover of “Wedding Bell Blues” to the Busby Berkeley-inspired pool sequence (complete with Artie diving out of his wheelchair into the pool – what the what???), there was charm to spare. They pulled out every stop to work our tear ducts, but you had to love Becky trying to woo Artie, the voice in her head being Helen Mirren’s, and Sue consoling her with ice cream and “Lifetime TV for ovaries” when the Artie romance didn’t work out. The show rarely works this well. What a nice surprise.
EARLY HEADS UP FOR THURSDAY: ARCHER returns on FX at 10pm along with the premiere of a new animated comedy UNSUPERVISED at 1030pm.
TODAY’S SURF WRITTEN WHILE LISTENING TO: Jayma Mays’ sweet and lovely cover of “Wedding Bell Blues” – written by Laura Nyro, from last night’s GLEE:
http://www.wetpaint.com/glee/video/watch-jayma-mays-emma-sings-laura-nyros-wedding-bell-blues-with-sue-and-beiste-in-glee-season-3-episode-10-yesno-video
Tonight’s rundown: ROYAL PAINS returns tonight at 9pm with Hank & Jill re-evaluating their relationship, Evan & Paige have some upheaval in theirs too, and the return of Tom Cavanagh as pro golfer Jack O’Malley. Tune in at 10pm on USA!
ABC 8:00 p.m. The Middle 8:30 p.m. Suburgatory 9:00 p.m. Modern Family 9:30 p.m. Happy Endings 10:00 p.m. Revenge
CBS 8:00 p.m. NCIS (R) 9:00 p.m. Criminal Minds 10:00 p.m. CSI
NBC 8:00 p.m. Whitney 8:30 p.m. Are You There, Chelsea? 9:00 p.m. Harry’s Law 10:00 p.m. Law & Order: SVU
Fox 8:00 p.m. American Idol (season premiere, two hours)
CW 8:00 p.m. One Tree Hill 9:00 p.m. Remodeled (R)
Bravo: 10pm: Top Chef: Texas – Charlize Theron is the guest judge in tonight’s episode.
USA: 10pm: Royal Pains midseason premiere
That’s a wrap for now.
About Ben Mckenzie, if you have time, you may want to check out his acntig in Johnny Got His Gun. It’s a filmed version of the stage play. He also got sterling reviews for his performance in The Glass Menagerie at the Mark Taper Forum with Judith Ivey.