Captain's Log
Hey, you try coming up with something to say besides "good episode" every week
I’ve been working on a new project and held off on some TV until Mrs. The Captain’s Wife got back to town, but in practice that mostly means I’ve fallen behind. So, this will be even lower-effort than usual. Except Abbott Elementary, because I was able to watch and write it the night of before things really got underway.
Jury Duty: Company Retreat had two new episodes, one with a motivational speaker and one with potential buyers Doug brings in after Dougie Jr.’s fuckup. These weren’t quite as funny as the first three, but still had some good moments. “Dougcathlon” reminded me of Get a Life‘s “Dadicus.”
This season feels a little different than the last, which was unavoidable. It’s hard for lightning to strike twice, and the changed setting can make some of the moments feel artificial, particularly since we seem to be getting significantly more moments between the actors themselves, without the mark. However, it’s still been funny, and Anthony has been a great choice for this season. He’s helpful like Ronald was, but he also has more of a sense of humor and willingness to mess with people or crack jokes at the retreat. So, we’re still enjoying this.
Invincible also had a new episode, and I did not get to it yet. So… I have 3-5 to watch still.
Abbott Elementary, “No Homework” – Ava’s latest attempt to one-up her nemesis Crystal sees her instituting a no-homework policy at Abbott. This frustrates all the teachers, because the younger kids aren’t retaining what they learn in class without it, and the older kids have to do so much reading in class that there’s no time for discussion. Melissa getting into a sports betting app is a minor side plot, but speaking from my qualifications as a professional gambler, I hate what those apps have done to society and sports, and that is played well, plus we get a great James Harden joke. Barbara: “If Sir Isaac Newton didn’t have homework, would we even have gravity?” Maybe not, but maybe he wouldn’t have died a virgin. A-
St. Denis Medical, “Here a Righteous Woman Comes” – The birthing center finally opens, and the show knocks this one out of the park. Joyce doesn’t understand the tale of Sisyphus, and that’s very funny, but Ron’s story gives it some real gravitas, and Matt and Serena give us something to cheer for. But there’s a whole lot of funny in there in any case, plus guest star Jayma Mays. A
The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins, “The World Is Full of Beaks” – Felt a little slighter than recent ones, but I may be wrong; there were a ton of funny lines and some great growth in character relationships. Oh noooo Arthur. But look at him move like a jackrabbit! A-
DMV, “Gilbert” – Fun story with Gregg and Colette “parenting” Vic as he considers adopting a dog (with guest star Tom Lennon. As the dog rescuer, not the dog). Cece tries to coach Noa as “a fellow hot” into not letting flirtatious customers keep his processing times so long. Really sharp, full of very funny moments, and one heartbreaking line from Vic. Insane Paula is a delightful new addition. Totally on point, and the kind of fun I wish the show had figured out sooner, because [see later section]. A
Best Medicine, “A Tale of Two Sister Cities” – Norwegians from Port Wenn’s new sister city come to visit. Martin’s distrusting nature proves to be correct! Mark may have auto-brewery syndrome! Glendon hopefully will get run out of town on a rail! Good episode. A-
High Potential, “Second Sunday” – Mother’s Day, for what it’s worth. But what we get isn’t focused on that, so much as a high-end heist team working out a pretty intricate and impressive plan to hijack a bunch of cash from high-end retailers. Also fills us in more on what exactly Captain Wagner’s deal is. Best thing I saw this week? I’m not sure, but for this show, it’s worth an A.
Man, I’m not even caught up on what I’m caught up on.
Andor: Still great. Continued taking my friend through Party Down over the weekend. Also still great.
CBS has canceled DMV. No idea exactly how many episodes are in the can, but it seems we’re still going to get a few more. The series finale airs May 11.
I also learned this week that apparently back in February Luke Cook mentioned there wouldn’t be any more Good Cop / Bad Cop. Well, I guess TV networks and TV audiences still don’t listen to me.
My sources tell me St. Denis Medical, Best Medicine, and High Potential are all airing their season finales next week. Jury Duty releases its final episodes tomorrow.
Hacks will premiere its final season next Thursday. I am heading out of town next Thursday, so these next two weeks may just be placeholders. (So, even less effort than today’s low-effort effort.) Inquire within if you want to take a crack at them instead.
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.
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Department of
Conversation
What did we watch?
M*A*S*H, Season Three, Episode Twenty-One, “Big Mac”
This is the one where the characters spend all episode prepping for a visit from General MacArthur, only for him to simply drive through. It’s a good one for Hawk and Trap completely failing to take military pomp seriously, and the double-punchline – with MacArthur also seeing Klinger dressed as the Statue of Liberty and saluting respectfully – is fantastic.
There’s a great little piece of blocking where Henry, in the important part of a monologue about MacArthur, leans down to Radar’s height so the camera can go into closeups on both of them.
“My belly-button has been puckering and unpuckering all day!”
“Maybe you could break the four minute welcome, Henry.”
“Then it’s agreed. We’ll do a hysterectomy on Major Burns.”
[referring to a small photo of a man next to a gigantic picture of MacArthur] “Who’s the little guy?”
“President Truman.”
“Well, that’s about the size of it, I guess.”
Extremely rare case of Frank getting a genuine burn off on someone.
Alfred Hitchcock Presents, “The Creeper” – will drop in with more thoughts on the article later but this delivered on its reputation as one of the best episodes without really winning me over to the show as a whole.
Nothing cool but I’d like to spotlight this clip (speaking of Reggie Dinkins and Daniel Radcliffe) of (1) Radcliffe’s timing and manic energy, something I didn’t expect from when I was a kid and he was semi-stiff as Harry Potter* (2) great background acting as Groff gets increasingly embarrassed and stews in his fury and humiliation, something he’s excellent at, and (3) Sondheim’s genius for depicting a breakdown via music, something NO OTHER composer in musical theater has been able to do as well. To an extent, musical theater shows the downside of art NOT made by tormented or difficult people; Sondheim was both of these things, the product of horrible and/or neglectful parents, and I would argue it *did* make his work more interesting and complex because he could capture the full extent of the human capacity for denial, rationalization, and rage which other composers simply do not do. I don’t think this means everyone should be raised as products of abuse, more that nice, “normal” people sometimes aren’t that interesting as creators.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRfOn3Ghpzk
*not that Harry Potter is exactly a three-dimensional and demanding role, you are a child and mostly bewildered and average.