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I know I shouldn’t blame Corrine Grant (the host of the debate) for the fact that the quote the debate was based around was incorrect (it’s the “love of money” that is the root of all evil – or so the saying goes), but she annoys me, so I will blame her. Maybe I’ll also blame her for the fact that neither Janeane Garofalo, Stephen K Amos nor Jason Byrne were even remotely funny. Yet, luckily the other three were, and the final result echoed the fact that one team had two amusing speakers, and the other only had only one.
Here’s another example of a premise revolving around a normal guy singled out for greatness – and it’s another one that I like. Chuck (Zachary Levi) is a very likeable nerd, and you know he’s capable of much more than he thinks. His government handlers CIA agent Sarah Walker (Yvonne Strahovski – and it’s great to see a young Aussie actress making such a break into mainstream US TV) and NSA Agent John Casey (Adam Baldwin – with his best performance since ‘Firefly’) smoothly combine action and comedy timing, and the chemistry between the three of them is really what makes the show.
It’s a real shame to see quality television like Carpoolers being axed in favour of some of the rubbish that gets renewed for season after season. But I suppose, in one way, you’re left with a British-style season of comedy television, with just thirteen high quality episodes. The writing and directing are brilliant, and some of the camera work is a lot higher than you’d expect for a sit-com of this budget. But most of all the characters are great. And not just the four central characters, but the support cast (like T.J. Miller’s “Marmaduke”) provide some fantastic non-sequitur humour.
Whilst it’s still good to see that this kind of TV is getting aired, it’s a shame to see the quality of the productions slipping. I still feel endeared to the characters and I’m following the plot with interest, but I can’t help feel that the writing’s getting a bit stale and some of the jokes are recycled. A couple of episodes seemed to have lost the vibe that was so appealing in the earlier seasons. I really hope that it can be resolved and we see a fourth season of what has the potential to be a fantastic show.
There aren’t many shows of which I’ve watched every single episode. ‘Scrubs’ is one of these shows, and with season eight they’ve shown that they’re not running out of ideas. There’s always been an emphasis on showing the main characters interactions with the new interns, but this season they’ve really closed the loop and we see J.D., Turk and Elliot as the teachers they started off looking up to. The comedy is still just as classic, and the plot closes for the season with some major changes. And I’ll admit to almost tearing up a little during the last episode.
After such a fantastic first season, it was a shame to see Heroes start to lose it a bit with some crazy time travelling plot lines and catalysts allowing others to acquire powers. But it’s great to see it back on the rails here in volume four – Fugitives. Like the first season, the focus is much more on the characters’ interactions rather than the fanciful plot lines, and the strong push towards the theme of ‘family’ later in the season is a welcome addition. Some pretty big surprises in the last episodes, so I’m already looking forward to volume five.
