Captain's Log
Okay, THIS is our last Sunday article before the move to Thursday
Once again, I have provided inaccurate information in the TV post. I said Digman! was coming back on the 9th, and it got bumped to the 23rd. Then I said we were moving to Thursday this week… but Dave Shutton had an article ready to go for Thursday morning, so I let him take the spot instead. Next week, we’ll be taking over the Thursday spot regularly.
So let’s see what happened this week!
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia kicked off season 17 with a double feature. The first one gives us the other side of the Abbott Elementary crossover, “The Gang Fucks Up Abbott Elementary.” (Technically, the title is censored, but I have no cares about being appropriate for broadcast here.) We, of course, get the Gang’s perspective on the events of that episode… but also a significant part of the Abbott faculty’s perspective, which, honestly, one of my favorite parts of the episode was getting to hear them let the swears rip. (Particularly Ava, but Janine gets a surprisingly good one in there.)
The second episode is “Frank Is in a Coma,” and during the titular coma, the guys ditch Dee while she’s watching over Frank to attend some business gala Frank never let them go to while he was conscious, which ends up taking some very funny turns (particularly once Alex Woolf shows up as a spoiled rich kid). And in the end… the Gang does come to appreciate Frank more. Was that what he intended all along? Or did he just want them to appreciate cake? Who knows? I mean, I’m not saying the coma was a scam, but it doesn’t take a rocket surgeon to figure out they’re not going to kill off Frank in this way.
So, I think I enjoyed both of those, but I have to admit to being pretty drunk when I watched them. I probably need to give them another shot.
Murderbot gave us its season finale with “The Perimeter,” which, from a season-pacing perspective, I gotta admit, feels a little like they stretched some of the earlier episodes a little too thin and crammed a lot more plot into this episode. Anyway, after the culmination of all the events on whatever outer planet the PresAux team was on in the last episode, we find ourselves back on the Corporate Rim, with the PresAux team wanting some serious answers (and wanting Murderbot back), and Murderbot’s fate up in the air as its memory has been wiped and it may be sent in for recycling as defective (or “suboptimal”)… of course, Murderbot’s not actually going to get recycled; the show’s called Murderbot. But what does happen and how does the season end? I’ll leave that for you to find out– although I will say, it was nice to see the PresAux team demonstrate some serious smarts and competence in dealing with the Corp Rim. And this was a pretty fun show; I wouldn’t call it top-tier or must-watch, but I did have a good time throughout. So if you want a kind of goofy sci-fi dramedy with some elements of a serial, this will be a fun one for you.
I actually have nothing to catch up on right now. I was caught up going into the week, but then I fell behind. But that’s for next section.
I did not get to this week’s Rick and Morty on time. Sorry. And it turns out that Fox decided this week to release a new Bob’s Burgers and Grimsburg… which I discovered too late to get to. I also did not realize Bob’s aired a new episode on the 3rd, because what networks air new shows during the Fourth of July long weekend? Anyway, you’ll read about those on Thursday, I’m sure.
We’ve been on a Those Who Can’t kick lately, which leaves me a little bummed that it’s not streaming anywhere, so none of you can discover why we’re fond of it. The three-season show created by Denver comedy trio the Grawlix aired on TruTV and, really, the best one-line pitch I can come up with is “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia with high school teachers.” (It’s Always Flunking in Denver?) That, I suppose, made it particularly appropriate with the Abbott Elementary / Sunny crossover being completed this week.
Quick rundown: Adam Cayton-Holland plays Loren Payton, the Spanish teacher, ex-hipster who thinks he’s still young and hip and sees himself as the coolest guy in school; Ben Roy plays Billy Shoemaker, history teacher and ex-hardcore musician with rage issues; Andrew Orvedahl plays Andy Fairbell, gym teacher who is basically a human golden retriever (in personality and especially intelligence). And outside of the Grawlix, Maria Thayer plays the fourth lead, librarian Abbey Logan, who tries to be a voice of reason and pretend to be a good person from time to time but ultimately is as dysfunctional and desperate as the other three.
The cast is also pretty loaded throughout with some real comedy names– Rory Scovel and Kyle Kinane are the most frequently recurring characters (other than the late Sonya Eddy’s Tammy, the no-bullshit secretary who can and will kick Loren and Shoemaker’s asses); other recurring roles are played by people like Susie Essman, Mary Lynn Rajskub, and the Sklar brothers; smaller roles feature people like Peter Stormare and Patton Oswalt; one-off guests include people like Sarah Michelle Gellar and Michael Madsen (whose recent passing was part of the reason we decided to give the show another watch).
Anyway, it’s just really damn funny and that comedy and the often-farcical plotting makes it really rewatchable, too.
Murderbot‘s first season is finished. A renewal announcement for season 2 came out shortly before the finale was released.
Digman! had its premiere date delayed by Comedy Central, but on the bright side of that, they’ve bumped it back to follow the premiere of South Park, which does feel like they’re really interested in giving it a shot to succeed. Season 2 will now premiere July 23.
Sound off in the comments on what TV you’ve been watching this week. And, to be clear, we will actually be moving to Thursday this week, so look for our next TV column on Thursday the 17th.
About the writer
Captain Nath
Born on the bayou, thriving in the mountains. Writer, gambler, comedian, singer-songwriter, bon vivant, globetrotter, and all-around Renaissance Man with perfect opinions about TV and music. Pronounced with a long A and with the H.
It's a gaming ship.
Tags for this article
More articles by Captain Nath
As the network TV season comes to an end, we take a look back at some canceled shows that shouldn't have been
Captain's Log
I should've saved "season finale season" for the excerpt
Captain's Log
The image represents the spiritual imprisonment this column has me in. Either that or I have a thing for necks
Captain's Log
Hey, you try coming up with something to say besides "good episode" every week
Department of
Conversation
Nothing about Sherlock and Daughter demands binge watching. But the third episode is definitely an improvement over the first two. Because the overarching plot comes into focus. And because Dougray Scott shows up to play Moriarity opposite David Thewlis’s Holmes. Scott isn’t great but he matches up well with Thewlis, who continues to impress. Blu Hunt continues not to.
Really liked the Murderbot finale: the team’s efforts to get Murderbot back and get its memories restored was fantastic. I loved Gurathin’s memory heist utilizing his old dealer (nice touch having Dastmalchian look like shit even before that, like it’s really taking on a toll on him just being back there) as the centerpiece, but also Mensah cleverly using the media coverage as leverage–praising the Company and making it clear she could easily change her tune on that–and Pin-Lee getting to do some aggressive lawyering. Very nice final scene between Skarsgard and Dastmalchian too.
I think I agree with your assessment overall. Not “premium-quality entertainment” like Sanctuary Moon, but consistently fun, with some standout elements. I’m glad it’ll be back for S2.
And, as you (our host) already knows, I also started watching Mr. Show! I’m kind of glad that I was unspoiled–if you can say that about a sketch comedy show–for the structure of it, because I was really delighted to realize that every episode is like a series of interlocking pieces or nesting eggs.
I did get a kick out of Murderbot’s “I am missing episodes 402 to 568 of Sanctuary Moon.” How many fuckin’ episodes are they making? Is Sanctuary Moon the Eastenders of space?
Going to repost last week’s TV recaps here for good measure:
Mad Men
Season 6, Episode 7. “Man with a Plan”. First time.
First day of school for Sterling, Cutler, Cooper, Gleason, Draper, Chaough, Price and Co. The writing consistently finds great comedy out of both teams moving into the same space, highlights being Ted Chaough presiding over an awkward and fruitless spitball session, Harry moaning about his office gain and Roger’s incredible second firing of Burt Peterson. The latter points towards the bubbling tension underneath it all, most evident in Round 1 of Don and Ted’s game of one-upmanship (not without the comedy of a smash cut to the plane in a storm and “Not now!”), and every partners’ meeting when they consider who to keep and who to hire. The women pick up on this fairly quickly, with the ever-perceptive and ever-more-assertive Peggy taking Don down a notch for embarrassing Ted, and Joan saving Bob Benson’s job after some remarkable kindness (maybe future affection?) from him helps her get rid of a cyst she didn’t even know she had. The former feels like another step in a long and complicated relationship (Peggy won’t be the last woman to shock Don with her refusal to go along in this episode), the latter like a tentative first step in an unpredictable one, since Joan an the audience know so little of Bob Benson yet. Speaking of unpredictable relationships, I dig that look of understanding Pete, of all people (again), gives Joan when she speaks up for Bob. Weird how those two seem to have grown closer, even after the Jaguar debacle. And it gives Pete a surprisingly quiet and relaxed exit from an episode where his personal and professional lives keep destroying each other. I like the confidence of Clara, his new(?) secretary, taking his hissy fit and calmly talking him down only for him to spit out some of his darkest invective yet.
Now, the core of the episode is Don and Silvia’s two-day hotel roleplay, where Don is at his most intense but also his most controlling, nearly demeaning. We can see how and why it’s exciting for both of them, but also that Don is going down a familiar pattern, and that his latent abandonment issues and need to drive things the way he wants them ensure he will be left alone again. Difference is Silvia sees it too, and in her epiphany decides to cut to the chase and end the affair and be the wife again, which was always the endgame here. Don ends up with the rug pulled from under him again, by his inability to see himself as he is and the cycles he goes through. There’s another Kennedy dead on TV, there’s a different wife crying, and he’s numb and alone, again.
Looks ahead at what the next Mad Men episode is
Awwww yeah boy, let’s fucking gooooooooooooooooooo.
Season 6; Episode 8. “The Crash”. Partial rewatch, I saw the latter two thirds of this years ago, though I don’t remember when, how or under what circumstances, which is fitting given how much of this episode is about not knowing where you are whether its on in time, in space, in a relationship, in the Chevie account or in your heart which might be broken or misdiagnosed due to faulty equipment but hurts all the same just like a car crash with people you hate but need to keep happy or fainting head-first into the floor when the drugs wear off or getting stung in the arm by a dart thrown by the most awkward dope in the world, or coughing your lungs out from cigarrettes or from living in the 1930’s or from getting bashed in the head for the unpardonable sin of popping your cherry with a hooker who’s actually a rather nice person just like Sylvia who’s right not to put up with telltale cigarrette butts or the silent treatment in the elevator and not at all like Ida who only feigns niceness and becomes an unsettling figure who just might be a ghost of Don’s old life and no one could know it certainly not Sally and what I realize now is that underneath all the lunacy and world-level tap dancing there’s the basis of a regular old Mad Men episode with the firms woes and Don’s personal bullshit firmly in place before the doctor’s happy shots derail the place and reveal how close everyone is to collapse and SCDPCGC is not going to stop you when you fall they’re just going to see the I-ching coins drop like bets on the side and watch even Peggy with the nice ass and underlooked personal professional wisdom and by the way Jay Cutler seems like a real wild card so far he doesn’t seem to care or even enjoy turning the office upside down for a weekend R.I.P. Jack Gleason he might be the lucky one Wendy’s probably gonna be alright.
X-Men ’97
Season 1, Episode 1. “To Me, My X-Men”. First time.
All that playing Marvel vs. Capcom made me curious to watch this when it showed up on the Disney+ front page, so I gave the first episode a try. I won’t be watching the rest but this is good, setting up two immediate problems and resolving both by the end of the episode: A rich mutant gets abducted by bigots and rescued by the X-Men but doesn’t particularly like them, while Cyclops has a leadership crises in the wake of Professor X’s death. The latter plot point is apparently how the old 90’s cartoon ended, which I never knew and is not a big deal because this show gets the story up to speed fairly quickly and with little fuss, with plenty of action scenes against human and non-human foes. My only big observation is that superhero serials in animated TV fare much better than, say, the larger MCU interconnections, which only get more awkward and bloated as they go along. And of course, this being a serial, the aforementioned resolution lasts just enough to be upended at the end by a melodramatic turn that’s straight out of a soap opera. This may not be for me but it seems to me the writers here know very well what they’re doing.