Things are about to pick up in a hurry, so let’s enjoy one more slow week where I don’t have to do much work (or maybe “one last week where you get more than capsule summaries and episode grades”).
Well, we started How to Get to Heaven From Belfast, but only one episode in (although it’s only eight). It’s already pretty enjoyable; we’re dealing with three 38-year-old women who are each a bit messy in their own way, and that in away Lisa McGee proved on Derry Girls she knew how to make very funny. They’ve received notice that an old friend has died; they once were four, but our three lost track of and touch with her 20 years ago. So Robyn, Dara, and Saoirse (L-R in the header photo) travel to a small town in Donegal to view the body and see the family… and even the trip there is fraught with misadventure. And then once they arrive, strange things begin happening, perhaps first prompted by Saoirse, who is a writer for what seems to be a fairly formulaic ITV detective procedural, and uncovers something that suggests things are not as they seem… and a twist I certainly didn’t expect, and certainly not so soon. Anyway, that was a fun first episode; I mean, if you saw Derry Girls, it shouldn’t really require an endorsement beyond “from the creator of Derry Girls,” and if you haven’t seen Derry Girls, well, why the hell not already?
Going Dutch, “The Canuck Stops Here” – Can they say that? Anyway, Maggie invites her idol, the Canadian General Martin (Kristen Johnston!), to the base in hopes of selling herself as a candidate for her mentorship.. But Patrick and Martin hit it off immediately, so Maggie has to plead with her dad not to sleep with Martin and screw things up… this one is fun because this is the kind of premise that could lead to some really trite, phony farce, but it doesn’t— it works pretty well. (Also: Buddhists with nukes!) In the B-plot, Patrick has forbade Shrek from the base after the crew has watched it for movie night 17 times in a row, and Shah is left to enforce the order while the Quinns are out with Martin. This leads to a insurrection from the troops, led by Papadakis. Is Shrek really that important to this generation? I’d never heard that before. Or is this group just weird?
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, “In the Name of the Mother” – Fight! Fight! Fight! But also, backstory! Backstory! Backstory! Wait, why is that exciting? The backstory stuff was a bit unnecessary, which is unsurprising because it’s backstory, but it did provide a couple of details I enjoyed– one, actually giving a reason for Dunk to think Ser Arlan is a decent man. And two… well, we know Dunk can’t lose the Trial of the Seven or there’s no show, but how he wins? That is very much the Dunk of Flea Bottom we see in the flashbacks. Scraping, surviving, refusing to give up or die. Ser Duncan the Tenacious. Ser Duncan the Resilient. Ser Duncan the So Indestructible He’s Like One of Those Goddamn Robots or Something. Anyway, the battle was a blast. (I did get the sense that one reason the flashback was overlong was because of where the episode had to begin and end, and they couldn’t realistically spend more time on the battle than they actually did here.) Fun episode. I didn’t know this season would be only six episodes, so the finale is next Sunday!
Best Medicine, “There Might Be Blood” – Hey, there’s another town annual tradition! And hey, there’s another public health crisis! And hey, the townspeople would apparently rather die than give up their traditions! I could write this every episode. Things I actually liked, though: Elaine showing some actual competence in the opening scene, for one. And there were a few more funny lines in this one (nothing as funny as Elaine’s interviews last week, but still funnier than the show has generally been). And because this week’s festival involves a horror novel with a lot of fake blood, it’s an actual, real challenge for Martin to do his job. So, still part of a general overall upward trend, or at least i don’t feel as annoyed with everyone these last few episodes. That said… the plots are almost rigidly formulaic at this point. Is there a single week in Port Wenn that doesn’t have a Big Annual Festival Everyone Takes Seriously?
You know, it might make more sense to split these first three sections up into weekly releases and streaming releases and weekly streaming releases.
More Don’t Trust the B— in Apt. 23, just because it’s still really fun. If you decide to watch it, I made a document with the proper episode order, because the order ABC aired it in (which is also the order you’ll find on Wikipedia and if it ever comes back to any streaming service) completely butchers the show and wrecks a lot of the long-term stories. (Well, mostly James going on Dancing with the Stars, but that’s important, dammit!)
Also, I forgot to mention this last week, but as of Friday, February 13, Suburgatory is now on Netflix. As another great underrated1 sitcom of the early 10s with a killer cast, from the well-known adults to some terrific finds as teens, and it’s very funny. (Insofar as keeping up on the underserved network sitcoms of the 10s, Happy Endings is still on Hulu / Disney+, and Ben and Kate isn’t anywhere yet, and might be consigned to the dustbin of time. Wow, three of these shows were on ABC! And all four aired at the same time.)
Some classic Simpsons from last night: “Black Widower” reminded me of a David Mirkin commentary where he said “Everyone in Springfield is stupid— Lisa is probably the smartest, and she’s still kind of stupid— but Wiggum might actually be the stupidest person in Springfield.” And then “Homer at the Bat,” which I wanted to note, the team actually only does suffer seven misfortunes— Burns fires Don Mattingly and pinch-hits for Darryl Strawberry.
Nothing here.
Get ready for a massive wave of new TV!
On February 20, Netflix premieres Strip Law, a new animated series from comedian / poster Cullen Crawford, about a Las Vegas lawyer who decides to inject some flash into his practice with the help of a local magician. Adam Scott and Janelle James play the two leads, but the whole cast is pretty stacked, including names like Keith David and Stephen Root (and even more, except I only wanted to do so much research for this post). Here’s the trailer. We’ll be giving it a shot.
Shoresy season 5 will be officially released in the States on February 21. (You may recall we already covered it a few weeks ago.)
American Dad! marks its return to Fox and their Sunday animation block on February 22, for season… they’re tracked a few different ways, but we’re into the 20s no matter how you slice it.
The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins gets an hour on NBC on February 23, to re-air the pilot (sneak previewed after the Rams-Bears playoff game) as well as the second epsiode.
DMV also returns from its midseason hiatus on CBS February 23.
I think we get Abbott Elementary back on next week, Wednesday, but I’m not totally sure.
And a week from today, CBS also brings back Matlock and Elsbeth back from their midseason hiatuses.
Geez, that’s eight new or return shows in a week. (I guess at least the last three I don’t have to cover until the week after?) And I still don’t have word on the returns of St. Denis Medical or Stumble, but with the Olympics wrapping up, I assume that’ll be soon. Animal Control and Going Dutch are both off this week before returning next week.
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
What did we watch?
M*A*S*H, Season Three, Episode Fifteen, “Bombed”
Incredibly great setup of a guy on the phone refusing to admit the 4077th are getting bombed, probably the best satirical take this show has had on bureaucracy (especially in the followup scene where he reluctantly admits he was wrong). This is interesting in that the ostensible premise – Trapper and Margaret are trapped in a supply closet together – actually only takes up one scene, and the rest is about the consequences – a very Shield idea, and in fact one I’ve internalised in my own writing to the point of it being obvious. It means the pleasure is in watching Frank squirm afterwards, even proposing marriage. It concludes with the great moment where Frank is clearly stressed and distracted, so Hawkeye relives his anxieties about Margaret and he immediately shifts gears to professionalism (or Frank’s impression of it, anyway).
“Pierce, I’ve got to get to the latrine for about five minutes.”
“I’ll handle it.”
“I’d rather do it myself.”
Mclean Stevenson moment: sarcastically imitating Frank. I also enjoy that he’s more exasperated and exhausted than nervous during the actual bombing, in sharp contrast to, you know, giving orders in regular times.
“All that energy, wasted on a door.”
“He does have a certain je ne sais quoi.”
“I should have known he’d talk dirty to you in Spanish.”
The Practice, “Privilege” – Lindsay starts her sentence, Ellenor decides she screwed up the case, and Rebecca asks to handle the appeal. It’s still not very interesting. Though we do see the oft-forgotten son of Bobby and Lindsay, somehow a two year with a vocabulary so soon. More interestingly, if far fetched, Jimmy is approached by a woman who kidnapped a baby 16 years earlier, and now wants to make sure the real mother knows the kid is fine, and wants to find a way to get the police to stop harassing the woman accused of the crime. Only when the mother finds out, she goes to the cops, and now the pressure is on Jimmy to break lawyer-client confidentiality. Unlikely, but entertaining. Jessica Capshaw joins the cast as fresh-out-of-Harvard-Law Jamie Stringer, and it’s clear she will have no filter.
Alfred Hitchcock Presents, “The Babysitter” – A wet squib but a well acted one. More later.
“Damp squib” literally appears in my write-up!
More of The Pitt, S2E5! A real, heh, explosive episode with this poor woman being relieved of her constipation, a good balance of funny and matter of fact. The betting pool continues to be great too and reminds me of what Ebert said about local cops joking around murder scenes to relieve tension. Surprised the baby plot has disappeared yet that’s probably for the best, an infant patient really is a blank slate where the show’s juice is how much the patients have history and lives that end up at stake. Speaking of, things don’t look good for one recurring character at the end here. Sigh.
Ownage: Dr. Robby telling the waitress’ (who has a necrotic fucking leg) shitty boss “This is Dr. Robinavich, chief of emergency medicine, if you fire her, she will sue you and I will testify on her behalf,” then hanging up.
Inside No. 9, “The Stakeout”
“What are these the top five tropes of?”
We’re back, baby! This is a delicious, well-crafted season finale featuring three-day old chicken tikka masala and a tonal rollercoaster game of “Fortunately, Unfortunately.” It’s almost entirely a two-hander in a patrol car, with Pemberton as a weary PC (whose last partner was murdered on the job) and Shearsmith as the SPC who’s still figuring out his role and what kind of rapport he can have with a man who’s still rough-edged and tense from grieving. Exactly the right amount of humor to go along with the building tension and unease. And, to quote the show’s first episode: “Oh, well-seeded.”
Taskmaster, “Cows are made of milk.”
“Are you saying that you can’t describe the Treaty of Versailles because you don’t know what it’s about?”
“I think you’re impressed but you’re trying to fight it.”
“What would be my motivation for fighting it?”
“Childhood?”
“What is the head?”
“It was an owl. And I took the face off.”
“He licked human teeth to victory.”
“Rotate slowly and powerfully to thwart evil.”
“I’m amazed to watch some adults debating whether cape flaps are movements in a human being.”
“I am tempted to spend the whole time discussing why Ania doubts the bloodline of Phil’s family.”
“GREG, I AM YOUR DAUGHTER.”
“I mean, I was impressed when you had jam in a can up a chicken’s cloaca, before I found out that you’re my beloved daughter.”
“It’s nice to be finally reunited.”
“Yeah, it’s great. I don’t really want to hang out, though.”
“So it’s a cloned man mopping up baby brains with a baguette.”
Best visual: Ania’s mouth poking through the nose cut-out in the picture of Greg’s face.
Best riff: Ania as Greg’s long-lost daughter, especially when she sadly invokes it as he’s chucking baby dolls at people.
Task ownage: Reece writing a riddle and crafting an elaborate 3D embodiment of it in 15 minutes.
The History of Sound – an odd one, this is a new Paul Mescal / John O’Connor film which seems like it should have pretty broad appeal (in an arthouse sort of way) but my local cinema only decided to fit it into the schedule at the last minute and picked a bunch of weird screening times. Last night was the only evening I could make it, and it was so popular we ended up sitting on the front row! Wonder what the logic was there… maybe they’re making enough money off Wuthering Heights at the moment that they don’t care.
Anyway this is about a couple of guys in the late 1910s who love folk music and decide to travel the US cataloguing folk songs while also falling in love. It’s kinda “fictional but you would assume it was based on fact” in the same way as (e.g.) The Brutalist, and the wistful tone and era also reminded me of Train Dreams. I wouldn’t say it’s quite as good as either though, the folk music stuff is delightful, the romance is solid but the slice-of-life stuff surrounding it just feels a bit like it was assembled from stock elements and none of the supporting characters are terribly interesting, unlike the specific detail and strong writing found in those other two films. It feels like the writer was more invested in the folk music parts of the plot than anything else, and it shines during those scenes but feels a little unsatisfying when it moves beyond that – glad I saw it, but definitely fell a little short for me.
That should be Josh O’Connor, obviously. I’m just feeling a bit Skynet today.
So we get to the end of Stranger Things. Almost the entire cast – we are up around, what, 20 people? – enters the Upside Down to end it once and for all. Everyone has a chance to share their feelings with a friend, we get inside Vecna’s head one last time, and the Final Boss battle is surprisingly underwhelming and easy. Though seen from a D&D point of view, it makes sense since the game is built on “strength in numbers from a party that wins because everyone takes a turn attacking the monster.” TV, however, is not D&D. And then everyone leaves the Upside Down, only to run into the Army, who….well, we never find out what the Army does because the last half hour is eighteen months later and puts multiple bows on everything for closure. Oh, and Eleven might or might not have killed herself instead of spending her life running from the Army. Overall, this did Stranger Things things start to finish, for good and for bad and even occasionally for dull. This worked far more at an emotional level than at a storytelling level. Dear lord, that gaping plot hole. And the almost total lack of any deaths. In the end, as we knew in season one, the real boss battle is the friends we make along the way.
And that one final thing that rubbed me the wrong way. Our core cast, the D&D kids, finish their last campaign – and beat Strahd, which I can appreciate – and then put away their character binders. Suggesting that as they are all high school graduates and thus grown ups, it’s time to stop playing silly games. I don’t think this was the intent, but as a man who came to D&D after 50, I really don’t like the suggestion.
Damn it, can’t find Don’t Trust The B on streaming except Amazon rentals, blurgh. Will find through other means. Was explaining the show to my friend last night and the delight of Van Der Beek playing a version of himself. (“How are you not hungover?” “I’m a celebrity.”) That and Krysten Ritter’s ludicrously expressive face, able to cycle through funny reactions and faces much like Lucille Ball or Fran Drescher.
Yeah, I was able to get a much better copy recently than I had from Other Means.
Year of the Month update!
This February, we’ll be looking at 1957, including all these movies, albums, books, TV, yadda yadda.
Feb. 20th: Gillianren: Our Friend the Atom
Feb. 27th: Gillianren: Sleeping Beauty’s Castle
This March, you can write about any of these movies, albums, books, TV, etc. from 1980.
Mar. 2nd Tristan J Nankervis: Raging Bull
Mar. 5th: Cori Domschot: The Music Man
Mar. 16th: Tristan J Nankervis: 9 to 5
Mar. 19th: John Bruni: Gaucho
Mar. 23rd: Bridgett Taylor: Magnum PI