Not to sound like a huge geek or anything, but man, last night was a pretty epic night of quality television.
Where to begin?
- I'll start with SMALLVILLE. Let me give credit where credit is due - because, holy crap, that was one badass episode of Smallville! At first, it seemed like just another episode of the long-running series, and I winced a few times during the first several minutes, because clearly, whoever wrote the episode was making sure that every line of dialogue was EXTRA SNAPPY to the point of ridiculousness. But, things slowly but surely took a turn for the intense. Soon enough I found myself in the midst of one EPIC episode of Smallville, an episode that truly made me feel like I was watching a classic Superman comic book playing out on screen. First of all, I've talked recently how this season of Smallville has done a really nice job of maintaining continuity week to week, allowing each episode to build and build, creating a pretty cool tapestry of ongoing storyarcs. In fact, I can't remember when Smallville has ever felt this tightly-plotted before, and the newfound focus on the ongoing narrative is really helping to crank up the drama. Like many, I questioned the introduction of the Davis Bloome character, but I have to admit - the build-up to his inevitable villainous transformation has been exceptionally well-done. I also have to give the show credit for its always-great visuals. It's amazing to me that, despite reported budget cuts, Smallville continues to look this good. I loved the f/x present when Chloe was being brain-drained by Braniac, and all of the fortress f/x were also similarly well-done. On the acting front, Alison Mack deserves some credit - Chloe can sometimes be a bit overbearing as a character, but tonight you really had to feel for her and her plight. I also really liked the flashback scene to Clark and Chloe's first meeting - it really hit home how important that relationship has been to the show - in a way, you could argue that Chloe has been Smallville's heart and soul, and that flashback really served as a potent reminder of that fact. But really, the big fanboy moment came near episode's end - because as much as fans complained that Davis Bloome was a poor substitute for the monstrous villain Doomsday of comic book fame, this episode set up the emergence of the vile and horrific creature that we all love to hate. Yes, I had chills when Jor-El ominously explained the grim origins of the Kryptonian beast known as Doomsday to Clark. Now that's what I'm talking about. Now, it was tough to tell much from the preview for next week, but the small snippets hinted at a truly giant-sized nemesis for Clark next week in the form of a straight-from-the-comics Doomsday taking on Clark in an epic smackdown brawl. If next week's ep delivers on the promise of the preview - then, wow, we could be in for quite a treat. I guess the one negative here is that you get the feeling that the new team of showrunners are doing all they can to make Smallville as fun and epic as possible, but it's still clear that they are inherently hampered by the limitations of the show's premise. Having an epic Clark vs. Doomsday showdown, as cool as that is, just doesn't have quite the same awesome-factor as it would if it were *Superman*. Clark's now been talking about the idea of superheroics for so long that every episode where he's still just a plain-old guy becomes increasingly frustrating. Still, I don't want to harp on that too much, because overall this was just a great episode of a show that clearly has some renewed life and sense of purpose. Keep it up, guys.
My Grade: A-
- Okay, got to talk about THE OFFICE, as last night's ep was definitely one of my favorites of the season so far. One reason: Ed Helms. The guy has not had a ton of screentime of late, but every time he's on-camera as hapless Andy, he makes the character all the more interesting. Finally, last night the focus shifted to Andy, and the result was a lot of hilarity and some of the most memorable moments that The Office has had in a while. Everything really clicked in this ep, from Andy's awesome drunk phone call to Angela, to his budding friendship with Oscar, to Michael's excitement and eventual disillusionment with his business trip to Canada. The Jim and Pam stuff I thought was handled much better than last week - more subdued and less melodramatic. I guess my one complaint is I'm not sure if I like the path that Dwight's character has been going on. The problem is that he used to be far and away the show's funniest character - now, he's been made into such an awful person that it's a lot harder to laugh at his antics. Overall though, a really good ep of The Office.
My Grade: A-
- Finally, 30 ROCK had yet another absolutely hilarious episode that had me laughing nonstop. Every plotline seemed to fire on all cylinders. I mean, first of all, I love how this series uses its high-profile guest stars in non-gimmicky ways. Last night's appearance by Jennifer Aniston was case-in-point - she fit organically into the plot and wasn't really playing to or against type - just simply cast in a funny part that gave Alec Baldwin some truly hilarious lines. Seeing the conservative Jack Doneghy unable to resist the crazy-appeal of Aniston's character was a lot of fun. But even more awesome was the subplot involving Tracy, Kenneth, and the cast of Night Court. Yes, Night Court. Upset by the Page Program's new and spiffier uniforms which have supplanted the ol' Blue Polyester theads (gotta love NBC Page humor - awesome!), Kenneth looks to Tracy to cheer him up. Tracy asks Kenneth what would make him happy, and the answer is, of all things, a satisfying conclusion to the long-running sitcom Night Court. Random? Indeed. Hilarious? Without a doubt. Tracy got in a few choice lines of dialogue ("A Court? At night? I'm already laughing!"), and hey, Harry Anderson and Markie Post showed up! (man, Harry was looking pretty old though, I have to say ...). In the end though, this was yet another great episode of 30 Rock. Definitely a great hour of TV between this and The Office.
My Grade: A-
- Alright, bring on the weekend. It may have been a short work week but I am more than ready for some quality R &R. And I'm out.
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