A Televisual Feast

According to IMDb, “Touching Evil” is a miniseries. The second episode lends some credence to that category assignation… but not much. Sure, there are unresolved plot threads–a couple anyway–and it does pick up immediately following the first episode (and I was right about the read on the conclusion of that episode), but it’s not really […]

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No spoilers, but “Ashes to Ashes” closes in a way quite similar to the first series closer of “Life on Mars.” Enough so, it suggests the co-creators to be one trick ponies.
Most of the episode is bad, bringing out the worst in the series, the constant scenes of Alex’s lunacy, the emphasis on the mother, […]

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Another blah sensitive episode. While it’s nice to see some actual relationship development between Ned and Stacey… Messing’s falling behind in the acting here again, real bad. The opening bit, with Ned pestering Stacey about possible nicknames, is gold and so’s the first half of the episode. The problems arise when things get touchy-feely in […]

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I’m trying to figure out the hook for “Touching Evil.” It’s well-acted and decently scripted–if way too long in the tooth–but there’s no hook. Robson Green’s dedicated cop is, at least in the pilot, just another dedicated cop. Sure, he’s got a seemingly psychic ex-con friend and a good relationship with his ex-wife and her […]

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With the third episode, “Ned and Stacey” finds its mix. It’s got a great scene with the quartet–Ned, Stacey, Amanda and Rico–bringing out all the possibilities of the situation. Here, it’s Amanda agreeing with Ned even though he disgusts her… not to mention Ned, annoyingly, trying to facilitate Stacey’s happiness (by urging her to date).
As […]

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Another first season burner, this time with David E. Kelley trying out the revered lawyer with memory loss, though guest star James Whitmore (as Bobby’s mentor) is suffering due to a stroke, not mad cow. The show continues to ring up the guest star money with Valerie Perrine, playing a mix between herself and maybe […]

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The first series whimpers along–hard to believe the next episode is the last of the series, since almost nothing has happened–toward the finish line. There’s some teasing this episode might have big, momentous events. I’m guessing my tone is all the spoiler needed.
Some decent scenes for Gene. A couple almost decent ones for Alex–had this […]

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A sitcom not ending on a laugh–and not a “very special” episode either… It’s like Weithorn realized it at the last minute and tried to pull it around but couldn’t. Schmaltzy. It was a schmaltzy end.
Otherwise, the episode starts strong, peaks early and then the bicycle goes down the hill. The episode opens the morning […]

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A concept episode. Woo-hoo. A documentary team follows the firm as they try to save a black guy on death row for killing a white girl. The dramatic problem? The format–the documentary team, who only get their boom mikes in the shot after commercial breaks–determines the conclusion immediately. I mean, is there any suspense to […]

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As a pilot episode, “Ned and Stacey” is awkward. While it does introduce the characters well, even getting in all the members of the supporting cast, the problem has to do with the show concept. Thomas Haden Church playing a jerky ad exec who marries Debra Messing’s liberal journalist (who’s more than a little materialistic) […]

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