The curated portfolio of film journalist Joe Lipsett
Courtesy of AMC
Last week’s episode ‘Chupacabra’ was a standout episode because it delved heavily into Daryl (Norman Reedus), but TVangie and I had issues with the secondary storylines, particularly Glenn’s (Steven Yuen) and Andrea’s (Laurie Holden). This week focused on both of these secondary characters, almost as though the showrunners knew what we were thinking. Maybe we should stop reviewing television and work as fortune tellers?
A full breakdown of ‘Secrets’ is coming up… [Read more…]
Courtesy of Fox
This week marked the fall finale of Fringe as it takes another hiatus until the new year. Plagued by mediocre ratings, and slow narrative progress, perhaps another long break isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Viewers need to get re-energized, and based on the teaser trailer of what’s upcoming, Fringe may return to much stronger numbers and viewer interest once it’s back from vacation. (We clearly need more Walternate, Faux-livia and the Observers)
Let’s take a look at this week’s episode, which sets up some nice plot points going forward…
Courtesy of ABC
What a way to rebound! After a week’s hiatus Happy Endings came back full force. In my previous post I complained about the show’s story problems, and although this week still felt a little weak, the episode was saved by the acting and some of the funniest jokes of the season. The jokes came one after the other, and I had to watch twice just to catch some of them. [Read more…]
Courtesy of ABC
It’s becoming increasingly difficult to recap ABC’s Revenge the day after The CW’s Ringer. The two shows share a number of similarities: both feature main characters pretending to be someone they’re not (Emily VanCamp’s Emily and Sarah Michelle Gellar’s Bridget), both feature the tortured lives of the impossibly rich, and both feature all sorts of narrative twists and turns. The problem, however, is not that they are similar, but that Revenge is so damned good at what it does. So even when Ringer seems to be making progress (as I felt it did with this week’s episode), along comes Revenge to remind me of everything that Ringer is missing.
Everyone’s favourite anti-heroine returned this week, but the seams in Emily Thorne’s plan are beginning to unravel as unplanned players begin making power moves. Let’s break it down… [Read more…]
Courtesy of The CW
Ringer is the television equivalent of a dysfunctional relationship: one week they’re taking you to the opera in your pretty red gown, the next they’re vandalizing your giant narcissistic glamour shot with the word ‘Bitch.’ Last week was a televisual crapfest that made me question everything I knew and loved; this week the show was back in top form. It’s just about enough whiplash to make you forget all the pseudonyms on the show, but I much prefer this Ringer.
Let’s break it down. Readers Beware: Redheads ahoy. [Read more…]
Courtesy of CBC
With just a few more episodes left in the series, Being Erica finally addressed some sticky issues regarding time travel and hinted at some of the rules of what the whole “doctor” process entails.
Despite addressing the larger mythology questions of the series, this episode had some major missteps. Being Erica has been one of my favourite shows of all time, but I feel this current season has been struggling to live up to the kind of quality I’ve seen in previous seasons in terms of character motivation and narrative cohesion.