How I Met Your Mother 6x02 'Cleaning House'

After nearly meeting mommy last week this week we stray in the direction of Barney's daddy...

What's it about?

The gang comes to help Barney's mom move out of her home, but unravel startling revelations about him. Meanwhile, Ted gets upset when Robin oversells him to a blind date.

What we saw

After going on last week about moving us in the direction of meeting the titular mother this week we meet a dad and learn not to oversell our friends to potential dates.

Review

I need to review my scoring system for this show as this was a good episodes but I couldn't give it a higher score due to its entire lack of a search for mother. Yes sadly after last weeks advances in the world of mother this week we stray back in the direction of the genius that is Neil Patrick Harris's Barney.

A long running joke on the show has been that Barney's dad is in fact Bob Barker but here we learn, unsurprisingly, that he is not and despite the comedy which goes on here there is a sweetly sad story which shows a different side to 'HIMYM' and I like it.

NPH shows a more serious side to his character which, albeit only for a few fleeting moments in the episode, show that this show can be thoughtful and possibly even thought provoking but that in the flick of a switch you will be laughing again.

It's the complex nature of family which takes a front seat in this episode but once again it is Robyn who is the staple of the B story here. Her over-hyping of Ted to a potential date brings a large amount of comedy to the show and teaches us all not to write emails in the back of a removal truck. Although unless this girl turns out to be mommy there's no real development in terms of the overall arc of the show.

As I've said previously: I find it hard to critisise this show as we are 6 years in and I am highly invested in finding out who the mother of Ted's children will eventually turn out to be... maybe next week...

Next week...

Goliath National Bank revives its headquarters project but when Ted wants no part of it after what happened to him the last time. Barney tries to convince him of giving it a second chance by using all of his best womanizing tactics. Robin's post-breakup depression leads her to drunk-dial Don. 

Overall

Storyline    3.5

Mommyness    2.0

Barney Moments    4.0

Overall    3.0

Undercovers 1x02 'Instructions'

Back with episode two we've got a little more spy and a little less cringe but is this show shaping up to be a JJ Abrams classic?

What's it about?

When a private security detail in Pakistan murders the scientists they're paid to protect and kidnaps the lead scientist, CIA handler Shaw sends married spies Steven and Samantha to the rescue. With agents Hoyt and Leo as back up, our team travels to the beaches of Turks & Caicos, the slums of Caracas, and the center of Stockholm as they race to prevent the kidnappers from forcing the scientist to perform her expertise-building a miniature bomb for their impending attack. Amid this security threat, the most danger may come when Leo meets Samantha's sister Lizzy.

What we saw

A lot less of the struggling marriage and a lot more of the spy action which viewers were left craving for in the pilot episode. Other than that? Another generic spy story.

Review

It's JJ Abrams so there was no way I wasn't coming back for episode 2 but in the week where my Blu-Ray box set of 'Fringe' season 2 arrived I'm still underwhelmed by the lack of spark in 'Undercovers' and I think it was best described in a line on another blog: 'where is the JJ Abrams in this show?' And it's true, it's hard to see the JJ here.

With the pilot over this episode dispenses with a lot of life outside of the spy game and decides to concentrate more on the lifestyle that the Bloom's are falling back in to. There are still bits and pieces of the outside life but here they mainly focus on Steven's lack of ability to read instructions (hence the episode title) than on the troubled marriage which had proved one of the more interesting points last week.

The story here is solid, if a little overdone, and does improve the overall feel of the show compared to last week which is seconded by better effects and location. Where last week I felt like I was watching people running around on a studio rooftop this week I could almost have believed a lot of the desert and West Indian locations. One another happy note: one of my complaints last week was a lack of high-tech gadgetry and that was rectified this week albeit with supposedly comedic consequences which tie in to the title of the episode.

The most obvious flaw in this show is still the supporting characters, little is made of Samantha's sister who clearly rounds out the everyday world although there is some development of her role within the catering company this week. But it's the secondary characters in the spy world who really let this show down.

The characters of Bill and Leo spend too much time as the focus of the comedy here rather than shoring up action and to me this throws off the balance of the show. Clearly this is not meant to be an overtly deep and dark drama but the balance of the spy drama and comedy aspects still just isn't quite working for me. Finding the balance between these elements would help define the direction of the show and possibly stop the evident slippage in ratings which has occurred in the space of only two weeks.

Thankfully there is no mention of the word 'sexpionage' this week because I would genuinely have had to put the show off if it became apparent that this term was the crux of the show and it was nice to further see a lack of importance placed on the race of the two leads.

There are still more positives to this show than there are negatives but without that spark it's going to be hard to keep coming back week-by-week without a story thread to keep me interested and as you can see by the very short description of next week there doesn't seem to be anything life changing coming up.

Next week...

With the identities of every CIA agent at stake, Steven, Samantha, Leo and Hoyt are in a race against time.

Overall

Story    3.5

Character    3.0

Spyness    3.5

Overall    3.0

The Event 1x02 'To Keep Us Safe'

It's episode 2, it's crunch time, it's.... about aliens?

What's it about?

The plane crashes into a desert in Arizona, and as helicopters approach the area, Michael urges Sean to run. Michael and his daughters were kidnapped by a group of mysterious individuals including Vicky (Taylor Cole), whom Sean and Leila met on a Caribbean cruise. He is told that his daughters will be killed if he does not cooperate. It is revealed the detainees are a humanoid species with supernatural powers that crashlanded in Alaska in the 1940s. The center was constructed to hold many of these individuals, but others escaped and are living among society. Director Sterling appoints CIA operative Simon Lee (Ian Anthony Dale) to secretly find the individuals, but Lee is not who he seems. 

What We Saw

Pay off on the anti-'Lost' approach. Here we get answers to a few questions left from the pilot but thrown in with a good few 'what the f***?' moments, mix in ALOT of running and some conspiracy action and you've got episode 2 of 'The Event'

Review (MAJOR SPOILERS)

What can you say about episode 2? There's always going to be a drop in viewers from the pilot and so episode 2 is required to sucker punch those who stuck around from last week and get them invested in what's going on. Did it work? Well I'm coming back next weekly but I'm not yet sure if it's for the right reasons.

Here's what worked: the writers answered us what happened to the plane last seen disappearing into a vortex in the pilot; this proved that 'The Event' is not going to follow the 'Lost' pattern and ask more questions than it answers. New questions were also posed, some of which will have properly dumbfounded the audience but this wouldn't be a mystery show if we weren't left scratching our heads at the end.

The writers also ramped up the action with Sean now on the run from the authorities for a supposed murder which was weirdly committed by D B Sweeny who I mainly remember as the dad in 'Life As We Know It'.

As with the previous episode there was also a satisfyingly gripping cliffhanger at the end of the episode in the hope we'll come back next week in our millions.

What didn't work: aliens?! I honestly did not see this coming. As mentioned in my review of the previous episode it was widely known that a 'sci-fi' element was added to this show at the request of the network but at this stage in the season it felt somewhat cheap. It didn't feel like there had been enough time and enough mystery surrounding the people mentioned only as 'they' in the pilot.
Over the course of the rest of the season this might pan out and work well but right now it feels like we're in danger of slipping in to another 'V' if the story is to revolve around the existence of extraterrestrials and a potential invasion etc...
Sadly there are also some of the generic twists that are to be expected from a show in its infancy: a character (in fact characters) who is 'not who they seem' which will come as absolutely no surprise and more conflict caused by misinterpretation than you can shake a stick at.


What about the time jumps I hear you say? Well they're still here but as we've been prepped for them they no longer distract from the story and with a little thought and maybe some counting on the fingers you can put the pieces together and begin to understand the bigger the picture.


This isn't a bad episode, as you can see I've still given it a healthy score, but we are circling the danger zone of new show conventionalism and this is a show which I would like to see defy convention and become something truly unique.
For now we'll put it down to the creative team finding their feet and see what happens in the weeks to come...


Next week...
When President Martinez reveals a tough new strategy to force Sophia to reveal the detainees' plans, a new detainee, Maya, is thrown into the chaos. Meanwhile, Vicky and Carter are in possession of a very important hostage, and FBI Agent Collier's suspicions become more severe.

Overall

Story    3.5

Character    3.5

Weirdness    4.0

Overall    3.5

Bones Season 6 Episode 1 'The Mammoth In The Room'

The Jeffersonian crew return from 7 months apart to help Cam save her job and my how things have changed...

What's it about?

Seven months have passed and Caroline Julian calls the team back to the Jeffersonian in Washington, D.C. to help save Cam's career as they work to help solve a controversial case regarding the remains of a young boy. 

What we saw

The crew have been apart for seven months: Booth is in Afghanistan, Brennan in the Maluku Islands hunting the birth place of humanity, Hodgins and Angela have moved to Paris, Sweets is a store pianist and the interns have gone their separate ways after the program has been closed down. This is the episode that brings everybody back together and shows that they function far better together than they do apart.

Review

How do I start this review? I know... I love Bones! There's no two ways about it, I watched this show by chance during its summer hiatus between seasons 1 and 2 and fell for it hard and have never looked back since. Watching this episode felt like being back with old friends, I smiled when they smiled and felt bad when things weren't looking so good and that is the heart of why this show is so successful.

'Bones' is not your normal procedural, I've never been a fan of the many 'NCIS' and 'CSI' shows of this world and that' because they don't have the depth of character that is on show here. 'Bones' is as much about character as it is about the crimes they solve and this episode leans towards the character side of the scale.

At the end of last season we saw our characters all going their separate ways after Brennan decided that it was time for her to get away from the crime solving game, mainly out of love for Booth. All this left Cam behind at the Jeffersonian and that is the reason why everybody comes back.

It's no more than a mere plot point that Cam is working on a difficult case that could see her lose her job if she doesn't get to the bottom of a young skeleton on her table fast and that her replacement team isn't a patch on our crew (jokingly referred to as The Scooby Gang in this episode - 'Buffy' reference?). But six years in to this show who cares? All we care about is that they're back together and back to doing what they do best, but not until after we get to see Brennan kick some serious ass with a shovel.

The same could be said of the various excuses as to why Brennan no longer has any interns, after several years of a rotating cast is this finally the time to appoint a new Zack?

We couldn't talk about 'Bones' without discussing the relationship between Brennan and Booth, any fan will be aware of the twists their relationship has taken since the 100th episode and here it could not be more clearer that Brennan is coming to realise that she shares the feelings Booth has expressed.

But there's a mammoth in the room in the form of his new girlfriend and it is going to be really interesting to see how Brennan reacts to this over time, particularly after their first meeting in an upcoming episode. Fans of the emotional side of this show will find this tragic turn of events a very compelling distraction from the crime of the week.

The story in this episode is a nice way to bring the crew back together and have them realise the importance of what they do but it's also a really nice comment on family. They work best as a unit rather than apart and it takes a crime to bring that out in them.

In the end there's no murderer to catch, just a lesson to learn and it's a lesson that will bring us back to the place we need to be to really start the season. In fact you could almost call this episode zero not one as it's like a precursor to what we would expect as a normal season opener for this show and I like it.

This is the kind of episode which ends with the audience simultaneously saying "awwww" and awaiting the next episode with a nice feeling of warmth in your tummy.

Oh and the Mammoth in the room referred to in the title... it really is a Mammoth in the room!

Next Week...

The team work on trying to discover the identities of a couple whose bodies were found in a cave. Booth's war correspondent, Hannah Burley, returns to Washington, D.C. and Brennan re-evaluates her relationship with Booth after realizing he's genuinely happy with Hannah. 

Overall


Story    4.5
Character   4.5
Investigativeness    4.0
Overall    4.0

Grey's Anatomy Season 7 Episode 1 'With You I'm Born Again'

'Grey's Anatomy' returns post-shooting and it's time for our Residents to grow and get married...

What's it about?

The staff tries to deal with physical and emotional trauma in the wake of the vengeful gunman's deadly rampage; Meredith can´t confess her pregnancy and miscarriage yet. Derek makes a spontaneous decision to resign as chief and return to surgery. Christina and Owen get married. Lexie has a nervous breakdown and is admitted to psych. 

What we saw

It's time for the characters of 'Grey's Anatomy' to grow up and face the consequences of somebody else's actions in the wake of the season 6 finale shooting spree. Everybody is broken in their own way and trying to hold things together and return to the hospital and continue as if everything is normal. Oh and there's a wedding!

Review

I've already written myself in to a corner by basically saying that in a fight I am Team Addison not Team Meredith but fear not 'Grey's Anatomy' fans I am not here to slag this show off because I love it too, just not as much without Kate Walsh around.

The finale to season 6 was a shocker; there's no doubt about that and I look forward to seeing the further extended version when the DVD finally sees the light of day in the UK (we only got season 5 a couple of week ago). Due to that spree - a fact well discussed by Lexi Grey in this episode - there was no way that this show could come back light and bouncy. But it did come back fighting. Each character on show here is fighting to be normal in the wake of all the deaths and some are coping better than others.

The shooting itself did end up feeling somewhat like a plot mechanism to get rid of the Mercy West characters who had come to plague our long running favourites, luckily for us the only two of those who had been at all amiable to viewers are still alive and promoted to series regulars! You have to give respect to Shonda Rhimes for all out executing those cast members who aren't 100% committed to the show.

I feel I have to label this episode as a further return to form for 'Grey's' after the disappointing lack of Meredith last season due to Ellen Pompeo's pregnancy. I'm not going to fault her for having a family but the show didn't cope well with the lack of its lead and is doing its very best to make up for it now and as usual it is her exchanges with Cristina (Sandra Oh) which provide some of the best on-screen chemistry.

The flashbacks to the wake of the shootings give us an insight in to just how broken these characters were during the off season and help to add weight to the choices each of them are currently making, otherwise this episode would have felt like little more than a plot device to add further conflict.

As I have previously said, show runner Shonda Rhimes is not one to shy away from consequences although many of her characters are and here we are starting to see them mature and realise that due to the world they inhabit they can't hide what ails them. If there is to be a theme to this season at the moment I would call it 'growing up' and it's about time too!

At some point this show is going to end and the writers are clearly realising that before that happens there needs to be a degree of character development to move beyond the interns we first met during season 1. That is development that doesn't end in the departure of a character, with only Meredith, Cristina and Alex Karev remaining the show is going to rely much more on those characters who have been woven in to the ensemble more recently.

As with sister show 'Private Practice' this is a very strong ensemble cast here and each is doing their best here to portray characters who are hurt and scared but trying their best to return to normal and not one of them fails to pull this off successfully. 

All that remains is to see where the healing process takes out beloved Seattle Grace team from here.

Next week...

After weeks of concealing the fact she was pregnant and miscarried, Meredith at last tells Derek and is finally cleared to return to her surgical duties in the wake of the hospital shooting spree; Cristina experiences post-traumatic stress disorder in the midst of an operation; and Bailey refuses to let Alex operate until he agrees to have the bullet in his chest removed. 

Overall

Story    4.0

Character    4.0

Medicalness    3.0    

Overall    3.5

Supernatural Season 6 Episode 1 'Exile on Main St.'

'Supernatural' returns from its summer hiatus with a new season which nobody expected to see...

What's it about?

Dean lives with Lisa and her son Ben, and has given up hunting for a year after Sam left. Mysterious occurrances appear in Dean's neighbourhood and he is forced back into the world of the supernatural. Sam rescues Dean and reveals he escaped from Hell around the time Dean starting living with Lisa, and introduces Dean to family members he never even knew existed: the Campbells; his mother’s cousins, hunters lead by none other than their Grandfather Samuel. Dean leaves Lisa and Ben with Bobby so he and Sam can kill the Djinn tormenting the people close to Dean. In the end Dean decides to live with Lisa and Ben and tells Sam to visit.  

What we saw

One year on: Dean has settled in to a normal life and has no idea that Sam came back from hell almost as soon as he dropped in. Castiel is MIA in heaven dealing with the aftermath of the season 5 finale and our demon hunting family has grown to encompass the Campbells.

Review

I for one never expected there to be a season 6 of 'Supernatural' as we all knew that creator Eric Kripke had a 5 year plan for the show and you couldn't be blamed for feeling that season 5 was very much geared up be the last season. But here we are, back again and I'm very happy about it.

Upon confirmation that there would be a season 6 I was apprehensive of how the show could continue beyond the apocalypse as it seemed like a perfect way to end the show even if it was on a bittersweet note - fans of 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' who lost faith in the show post-season 5 will identify with this apprehension. But new show runner Sera Gamble has pulled of a miracle and continued this show in both a natural and exciting way.

Firstly I want to note that this doesn't feel like a new show. There are the usual differences between seasons: new logo; beginning of a new story line etc... but at no point did I feel I was watching a show with new first lady in charge.

Obviously one of the big mysteries of the season will be who brought Sam back from hell and why, but there are clearly plans for further develop the mythology of the show through the exploration of a different side of the brothers family.

In this episode we are reintroduced to Sam and Dean's grandfather, played by Mitch Pileggi, and have our first meeting with their cousins. Although we have had previous dealings with the Campbell family in time travel episodes this is the first time we're getting to explore a different side to the family, the side that was originally raised as hunters.

After years of chasing after John Winchester and living by his rules it's time for a new family to govern the playing field of 'Supernatural' although it is worth noting that for the first time in a long time we saw John's journal in this episode.

All of the stalwart elements of the show that fans are used to still remain: Bobby, the car, the guns and the girls but the show has a new vigor and a new angle at which to attack the genre. The roles of the brothers have become switched and for the early part of the season we will see Dean to the be the reluctant hunter instead of Sam.

You couldn't be faulted for saying that the changes in character are just an attempt by the writers to restart the show and keep it fresh and interesting and I am sure that is a part of it but it doesn't feel that way. All the events which take place in this episode, all the new character motivations and changes, feel as though they are born from the stories which have come before them and don't ruin the enjoyment of the show.

The relationship between the brothers one year on from the events of the previous finale is clearly going to be the most compelling story point for the at least the beginning of the season but that is something which this show has always done well: balance the interpersonal relationships with the kick-ass demon hunting and the promise of a return to a more season 1 like structure could prove to be a great move for the writers if they want to continue into a seventh season.

The demons in the episode, the Djinn, almost play second fiddle to the reunited brothers and any animosity between them for the time spent apart but they are well executed in their scenes and the special effects are subtle and considerably well executed compared to some earlier episodes.

I'm glad to have 'Supernatural' back and glad to see that this is not an unnecessary continuation to a show which could have ended with its previous season.

Next week...

Sam investigates a case about missing babies whose parents are being murdered. At one of the crime scenes, he discovers a baby that was left behind and calls Dean for help. Reluctant to leave Lisa (guest star Cindy Sampson) and Ben (guest star Nicholas Elia), Dean finally agrees to meet Sam and surprises his brother with how parental he has become. The brothers take the baby to Samuel, who decides to raise it as a hunter, which infuriates Dean. However, before they can decide the baby's future, a shape-shifter breaks in and attempts to kidnap the baby. 

Overall

Story    4.0

Character    4.0

Scares    3.0    

Overall    3.5

Coming Soon!

My eyes can't stand to look at the screen any more, tomorrow I should hopefully have up reviews for new 'Grey's Anatomy' and 'Bones' and then we'll see what else I feel like writing about. In the meantime thanks for reading!

Undercovers Season 1 Episode 1 'Pilot'

What would happen if JJ Abrams wanted to make a show about The Bristows returning to the spy game... without Jennifer Garner or Michael Vartan

What's it about?

Outwardly, Steven Bloom and his wife, Samantha, are a typical married couple who own and operate a small catering company in Los Angeles -- with help from Samantha's easily frazzled, handful of a sister, Lizzy. Secretly, the duo were two of the best spies the CIA had ever known, until they fell in love on the job five years ago and retired. When fellow spy and good friend Leo Nash goes missing while on the trail of a Russian arms dealer, the Blooms are reinstated by boss and agency liaison, Carlton Shaw, to locate and rescue Nash. With assistance from resourceful CIA field agent Bill Hoyt, whose professional admiration for Steven isn't hard to miss, the pair is thrust back into the world of espionage, disguises and hand-to-hand combat. Following leads that take them to cities spanning the globe, Steven and Samantha quickly realize that perhaps this supercharged, undercover lifestyle provides exactly the kind of excitement and romance that their marriage has been missing.

What we saw

A husband and wife struggling to survive in the everyday world that they have resigned themselves to are offered a chance to spice up their lives which also just happens to renew their romance. It's a spy show that really doesn't want to end up relying on that tag line of 'sexpionage' too much.

Review

This is not 'Mr & Mrs Smith' but it's also not 'Alias' either. It's a well shot, well edited and well scripted pilot which has all the makings of a straight spy show but lacks the spark that has made other JJ Abrams shows so great.

It's hard not to make too many judgements about this show after only one episode, clearly JJ Abrams has used what he has learnt through his other ventures to blur several genres together here to try and make something truly unique in the world of the spy show. The problem? It's not very fun. 'Alias' was fun, we loved to watch Jenny Garner dress up in garishly coloured wigs and kick some serious bad guy ass and we got caught up (and confused) in the mythology behind the show which then gave birth to the perhaps overly complicated mythology of 'Lost' just as the teen drama notion had grown from 'Felicity' into 'Alias'.

'Undercovers' has the zippy, electronic theme tune and the well executed international backdrops to mask the real locations used for shooting but it lacks the high-tech gadgetry, the supporting characters and... well... The Alliance. It's really hard to objectively review this show without thinking about all the things I miss from 'Alias' as this show feels like it should be what happened if Sydney Bristow and Michael Vaughan came out of retirement.

There are many plus points to this show, the two leads fully commit to their roles from start to finish and it's really great to see a show with non-white leads where race is not only a non-issue but also not even mentioned. The lack of a Rambaldi type character has removed the issue of following the story from week-to-week which I am sure was a prerequisite from the network to avoid the inevitable complaints from those who found it hard to keep up.

The cinematography here is solid, especially considering the lower budget appearance in some of the early scenes. In particular the teaser section of the show felt very poorly executed compared to the rescue which takes place at the end. 

In comparison the soundtrack (once again reminding me of 'Alias') compliments the on screen action perfectly. In fact it is hard to fault anything about the show in the same way that's it's hard to point out why it didn't have me on the edge or my seat desperate to find out what happens next.

This is going to be the kind of show which takes several weeks to find its footing but hopefully in that time it doesn't alienate so much of it's original audience that it doesn't get the chance to become the show which we all know that JJ Abrams is capable of.

Don't give up hope yet!

Next week...

When a private security detail in Pakistan murders the scientists they're paid to protect and kidnaps the lead scientist, CIA handler Shaw sends married spies Steven and Samantha to the rescue. With agents Hoyt and Leo as back up, our team travels to the beaches of Turks & Caicos, the slums of Caracas, and the center of Stockholm as they race to prevent the kidnappers from forcing the scientist to perform her expertise-building a miniature bomb for their impending attack. Amid this security threat, the most danger may come when Leo meets Samantha's sister Lizzy.

Overall

Story    3.0

Character    3.5

Spyness    3.0

Overall    3.0