by Lee Padrick, October 30, 2013
The Blacklist - S1E6
WARNING: This review contains spoilers.
After a strong episode last week, The Blacklist delivers "Gina Zanetakos," an episode as hard to follow as the title is to pronounce. A lot of stuff happens within the show's 44 minutes and a fair amount of it does not make much sense.
As I've said previously, for me to enjoy The Blacklist, I have to suspend logic and just come along for the entertainment of Spader's acting and the big-budget action scenes. But this week requires more than a suspension of logic. It requires thought. And thought during The Blacklist can make the show much less enjoyable, because most of the plot of The Blacklist does not make sense.
by Lee Padrick, October 29, 2013
Masters of Sex - S1E4
WARNING: This review contains spoilers.
Remind me not to invite Masters over for dinner.
This fourth episode of Masters of Sex was a strong showing. The main characters are coming more in focus, as we see what tends to shape them into who they are. This episode also reminds us that this is the mid-1950's and things that we take for granted are quite shocking, when disclosed, 60 years ago.
by Lee Padrick, October 28, 2013
Walking Dead, S4E3
WARNING: This review contains spoilers.
Carol is the new Carl.
The one character that has never been given a compelling story arc is Carol (Melissa McBride). In Season Four, Carol has not only been developed further as a character, but she has exhibited some good old-fashioned badassery. Last episode, she was teaching children how to use knives and having two young girls help her put their flu-ridden father down before he turned, even remarking that the inability to put people down after death, in order to prevent expanding the zombie population, is a sign of weakness.
by Lee Padrick, October 24, 2013
Masters of Sex, S1E3
WARNING: This review contains spoilers.
Bill Masters is interested in sex research because he does not understand it. The flashback with Masters and Scully gave us insight into how and why he is driven to research a taboo subject in the 1950's.
Lots of stuff happening, leading to a scattered episode. We see an idealistic Bill Masters in the flashbacks, excited about his work and future research opportunities, contrasted with the present-day Masters, who is cynical, burned-out, and frumpy. The opening scene where a young bride-to-be comes into the office for some discrete advice about birth control reminds us that the 1950's was a stuffy place. This young woman is embarrassed talking about sex with her betrothed, and the look on her face when Masters shows her to apply a condom is priceless. Masters explains her alternatives, including a cervical cap, and the young woman asks, "Where's my cervix?" That's good stuff.
by Lee Padrick, October 23, 2013
The Blacklist - S1E5
WARNING: This review contains spoilers.
Ford F-150 versus Jeep Cherokee!
The strength of The Blacklist is size of the budget. Every week, the show continues to up the ante on its action scenes.
There is a new unknown international badass ghost that is known as the Courier. The Courier specializes in moving things, often across international borders, for his clients. His service is expensive, and if the buyer or seller does anything untoward, he executes them both. And, he happens to be on Reddington's (James Spader) blacklist.
by Lee Padrick, October 23, 2013
The Blacklist - S1E4
WARNING: This review contains spoilers.
OK, by the fourth episode of a new network show, its fate has usually been sealed. Future episodes are ordered, or the ones already in the can will likely be burned off at 8 PM on fall Saturday nights.
The fourth episode of The Blacklist worked for me, as it moved back to the promise offered by the pilot. Not coincidentally, this episode (along with the pilot) was directed by Joe Carnahan, and it showed. Carnahan may not be able to do much about the writing, but he put the "creep" in "creepy" as our latest Villian of the Week was an odd bird indeed.
by Lee Padrick, October 22, 2013
The Blacklist - "Wuijing" S1E3
WARNING: This review contains spoilers.
OK, James Spader is bringing a world class 'A' game to The Blacklist. Trouble is, the script cannot keep pace with Spader's acting chops.
At least in this third episode of the show, the FBI is no longer pretending to have Reddington in custody. So watching the first half of the episode was more enjoyable, considering I didn't have to keep wondering how he comes and goes from custody. You know, since he is a High Value Detainee and all.
by Lee Padrick, October 21, 2013
Walking Dead, "Infected", S4E2
WARNING: This review contains spoilers.
There will be no BLT's on The Walking Dead.
There's a prevailing theme on The Walking Dead. Everyone will die a horrible death, and no one gets out alive and happy. Sure, there are moments when the characters forget their plight, and smile, but that fleeting happiness is often interrupted by a scream, signalling the return of the threat of death.
by Lee Padrick, October 18, 2013
The Blacklist, "The Freelancer", S1 E2
WARNING: This review contains spoilers.
Watched the second episode of The Blacklist. James Spader (three-time Emmy winner for Best Lead in Drama), playing Raymond "Red" Reddington, one of the most wanted criminals in the world, is incredibly talented. The Blacklist writers, not so much.
by Lee Padrick, October 16, 2013
WARNING: This review contains spoilers.
Brody's back! And thing's are not going well for him.
When we last saw Brody (Damian Lewis, the 2012 Best Actor in Drama Emmy winner), he was sneaking into Canada and on the run. He shows up in this third episode of Season Three and because of a $10 million bounty on his head, he has caught a bullet on the Columbian/Venezuelan border. He is taken in by local drug lords from Caracas.
The drug lords take him to an unfinished high-rise somewhere in Caracas and his wound is treated by Graham (Erik Dellums), a pedophilic "doctor" that's found a home in the Tower of David, a project that was started by an Evil Banker, but never finished, and is the home of squatters and those folks under the protection of El Nino and his gang.
by Lee Padrick, October 15, 2013
WARNING: This review contains spoilers.
Homeland's second episode of the season gives us a good idea of where the writers are taking us this season. And the destination looks like ... well, nothing we haven't seen before. Carrie (Claire Danes) is full-blown manic and unmedicated, and she spends the majority of the episode walking around bug-eyed. Something we've seen in Seasons One and Two. Carrie is taken into protective custody by police officers as she's sitting down to spill national security secrets to a reporter (who also appears skeptical of anything Carrie tells her). And Carrie is scheduled for a Commitment Hearing, but she loses it at the beginning of the proceedings. She is institutionalized and sedated against her will.
by Lee Padrick, October 15, 2013
WARNING: This review contains spoilers.
I apologize for my late, late review of the first few episodes of Homeland. I'll admit, I've been trying to watch "Tin Man Is Down" for a couple of weeks, and I keep falling asleep. So I'm not doing a good job of time management, or the writers aren't doing a good job of making me care.
by Lee Padrick, October 14, 2013
WARNING: This review contains spoilers.
This episode of Boardwalk Empire established the rise of one Meyer Lansky. We see Agent Knox, Hoover, and the FBI charting the gangs that run criminal enterprises throughout the northeastern portion of the country, and we know historically that Lansky, along with Lucky Luciano, is credited as the founder of organized crime.
by Lee Padrick, October 14, 2013
WARNING: This review contains spoilers.
Well, I didn't see that coming. Maybe there was lots of foreshadowing, but I somehow missed it. So I was surprised at what transpired at the end of this good episode.
Clayton's being charged with the murder of Bucky!
by Lee Padrick, October 14, 2013
WARNING: This review contains spoilers.
The Walking Dead premiered its fourth season, and there are a lot of changes. The show has a new showrunner (third one in four years) in Scott Gimple, and he has brought the show a bunch of new characters. The prison is now populated with the folks from Woodbury and strays that the Ricktatorship has taken in, and there has been a time jump (at least 30 days, likely longer, since the "Prison-ers" (I'll use this term to affectionately refer to Rick's peops) are now gardening, hunting, and gathering.
by Lee Padrick, October 9, 2013
WARNING: This review contains spoilers.
The Bridge has wrapped up its initial season and is poised for 2014. The Big Bad of Season 1 was defeated a few episodes ago, and we've been treated to a few episodes of Season 1.5. A bonus thrown to the audience for tolerating David Tate? Perhaps.
Hank (Ted Levine) and Sonya (Diane Kruger) spend some time at Hank's ranch, where he shows off his rodeo skills while Sonya decompresses. These two characters are fun to watch, and I hope we get more of their backstory next season. Sonya is concerned that Hank is considering retirement, but he assures her (and us) he will be back next season.
by Lee Padrick, October 8, 2013
WARNING: This review contains spoilers.
The second episode of Masters of Sex continues on the path of character development and world building. We are immersed in 1956, with all the trappings of societal mores during this period in time. A period where its OK to hit a woman, as long as you're apologetic the next time you see her. A world where doctors and nurses smoke in the lunchroom of a hospital. A time when couples sleep in separate twin beds. A strange world.
by Lee Padrick, October 3, 2013
WARNING: This review contains spoilers.
Come for the nudity, stay for the drama.
A show about groundbreaking sex research in the 1950's? Sign me up. Although, I must admit, even in 2013, I'm concerned that my parents may find this post and read my thoughts about a show entitled Masters of Sex. Sounds like a title I see in the Pay-Per-View menu on my Tivo, followed by Big Butt Girls in Rio 8.
This new Showtime period drama is unlike anything else I've seen recently. While most networks are signing up for the latest anti-hero or omnipresent criminal genius drama series, this new show is a breath of fresh air. Other than an obvious Mad Men similarity, primarily because it takes place around the same era, Masters of Sex gives us some new water cooler fare. In between our ramblings about whether Walter White got his just desserts or the contrived brilliance of Reddington from The Blacklist, we know can openly discuss orgasms and plateaus. OK, maybe we can't (and shouldn't, in the workplace).
