The Way We Watch Now — Allegiance, The Surprising Pleasures of a Failed Series

May 26, 2015Kay Gardella Memorial TV Review BlogMarion

It may surprise some to know I don’t own a television machine. Shocking given my status as a semi-professional television recapper. I mostly watch online – legally streaming, or if on deadline, from my “standing desk” – the elliptical machine at my apartment complex’s fitness room where no one else watches the shared televisions unless it’s Superbowl time.

So Friday evening, having finished the excellent Grace & Frankie on Netflix, I checked out the options on Hulu and came across Allegiance – a show I had referred to on the virtual pages of HNTP as a Frankenstein’s monster – an obvious rip-off of The Americans, with a damaged-genius detective like Homeland/Sherlock/House etc, plus whacky Get Smart style top secret spy meetings in the depths of Grand Central station, and a ticking time bomb plot like 24. What a mess! No wonder it only lasted five episodes before being replaced by the meh-blandness of The Slap. (Click to continue reading this life altering post.)

Wayward Pines Recap — Also Keep Off The Grass S1 E2

May 26, 2015Kay Gardella Memorial TV Review BlogMarion

Remember that really bad Wesley-centric episode of Star Trek-TNG (Okay every-Wesley-centric episode was bad but this was the worstest) the one where they visited the planet of the beautiful overly friendly people and the boy caused an intergalactic incident by stepping on the grass DESPITE being warned not to and as a result they were going to execute him, but then Captain Picard used common sense to save the day?

Turns out Wayward Pines also has a bunch of rules, which some have to learn, as Nurse Pam might put it “the hard way.” (Read the rest of those essential recap over at Happy Nice Time People that site that gives television all the respect it deserves.)

The Brilliance of the Ending — Mad Men

May 19, 2015Kay Gardella Memorial TV Review Blogforeshadowing of Mad Men finale, Mad Men finale commentary, Mad Men post mortemMarion

I’m going to write more about this later. Just wanted to throw in some stray thoughts. We should have known. One of the things that Mad Men such a fun trip was the interplay with the audience like that time that some people suspected (or hoped) that Megan would be killed by the Manson family. We kept seeing bits thrown in that seemed to support the theory, or the idea that Joan and Peggy would go into business together — and then it comes up, but they don’t. Even Betty’s cancer had foreshadowing — her scare a couple of years before, the fact that in show where everybody smoked Betty smoked more than anyone.

Apparently Matt Wiener is sort of playing cat and mouse about the ending. A few critics have suggested that Don didn’t invent the “hilltop” ad, that we were Continue reading The Brilliance of the Ending — Mad Men →

Mad Men Finale — The Real Thing

May 18, 2015Kay Gardella Memorial TV Review BlogMad Men finale detailed analysis, Mad Men finale recap, Mad Men finale spoilersMarion

And now the time has come…. It’s time for shout-outs and good-byes. A time for nostalgia and moving forward.

imgres-1 — Jon Hamm would've killed in this.

Back in the 1960’s and 70’s there were several television series premised around a lone man on the run from something or someone. He’d travel from town to town – usual in the heartland – and wind up in all sorts of different situations – The Fugitive was the prototype, but it was followed by Run for Your Life, Then Came Bronson, Kung Fu, The Immortal. Has this become Don’s fate? To wander the earth like Caine, getting involved in other people’s business? Don is still on the road, now driving a fast car – but it’s only a test drive, for some young ones who have designed the car. What will happen next? Is this the finale or the spin-off pilot? (To read the rest of this snarky, yet insightful recap please visit HNTP the blog that like Roger Sterling considers TV the bestest friend anyone could have.)

Wayward Pines – It’s Like You Know

May 16, 2015Kay Gardella Memorial TV Review BlogWayward Pines episode 1 recapMarion

Welcome to Wayward Pines. It’s got a two word title and northwestern exposure like Twin Peaks, people are stuck in a mysterious place like Lost, and it has secret agents like The Prisoner. The only things missing are humor, originality, wit and irony. But it’s produced by M. Night Shymalen, the Ed Wood of the 21st century so what did you expect?

Let’s open with an eye opening because if you make it more bloodshot than Jack’ eye on Lost then it totally isn’t a rip off. It’s homage. Also while the character is wearing Jack’s suit, he’s upside down so that’s original! Who does the eye belong to? Matt Dillon, a man who hasn’t been in a movie anyone’s seen for so long that his brother is now famouser than he is. Welcome to television, Matt! Hey wouldn’t that be an interesting concept? Over-the-hill actor is driving with his assistant. They get into a car accident and the actor wakes up as a character in the world’s most hackneyed television program. He keeps trying to call his agent to get him out of there, but they’ve taken away his phone and everyone refers to him as the character, and they won’t let him leave the set. Oh shit! I didn’t just guess the ending, did I? (Please read the rest of this at HNTP where TV is your friend.)