Tag: episode 18

Castle: Backstabber – Stana Out, Toks In

NATHAN FILLION, TOKS OLAGUNDOYE

“Castle: Backstabber” was a good episode. It gave new “kid on the block” Toks Olagundoye a decent storyline for a change, good backstory and great “lead-in” for an “in” to have her replace Stana Katic who will be out after this season.  No real surprise here, we called it last May when the “Castle” co-star opted to sign a one year contract.

Clues have mounted up throughout the season as Katic’s Beckett  basically vanished to the background in the season eight open.  Molly C. Quinn moved up, as Alexis, for at least one episode only to be moved to the periphery of events shortly after. By October last year Olagundoye was a firm presence on the show as the, then, Hayley Vargas and looked to be a clear replacement for Beckett.

No complaints here. Toks is the new Diana Rigg, aka Emma Peel, for new millennials. She combines classy, yet sexy, looks with a cool that surpasses  your average former MI6 super agent turned P.I. Plus  her chemistry with both Rick and Alexis is spot on.

The storyline for “Backstabber” (What a title, eh?  Is someone trying to tell fans something?)  is that Hayley Shipton, nee’ Vargas, gets setup by an old (dead) chum from her MI6 days.   The show has the former agent working with a former colleague, from back in the day, to set up spyware on an office computer to catch a cheating husband.

Speaking of husbands, which leads to wives, Kate is furious with Rick as she had a dream where he was unfaithful, or something along those lines, and she refuses to talk to him. Javi and Ryan side with Kate.

Back to the Shipton caper;  her “partner in crime” for this little P.I. gig is a chap named Marcus. Definitely  a one-night stand sort of man who has bad breath and XXX rated tendencies towards Hayley, and all women apparently.  Inside the Manchester power company, an employee shows up with his own one-night stand who is a “plant” and partner to Marcus.

Bad breath man is murdered and Rick gets a call to show up to the power plant . Hayley, recognizing where she was the night before tags along.  She learns of Marcus’ death and that the colleague who set the whole job up also set her up.  Shipton is told sorry, by her former boss, and then  given a “Code – 44.”

This means grab  your “go bag” (as Alexis calls it) and scarper.  Except Hayley decides, after bumping into Alexis, to find out who set her up and why. The plot is that a former agent, who was Hayley’s bestie, or  perhaps more, was left behind to die on a mission. Except…

Surprise, surprise he is not dead and buried but very much alive and out for revenge, or an act two with Hayley.  MI6 are convinced that Shipton was in on the murder and the shutting down of the entire London power grid, which was the real gig in the power plant rather than a cheating husband, and want to take her in.

By the end of Hayley’s episode, she has confessed to her old mate that she has found a “family” here and does not want to leave them. Certainly Rick, Martha and Alexis have all bonded with the uber-capable P.I. and former spy, so it makes sense that Hayley, who is Rick’s business partner anyway, stick around to fill that Kate void.

Overall a great storyline with some fisticuffs between Toks’ character and her old, not so deceased chum, and a decent plot for Shipton. With the emphasis being on Hayley, there were more faux Englishmen than  usual.   (Although it should be mentioned that one of the   spies  was an Irishman  and the English spy was played by another  Irish actor who filled in more than capably as a Brit MI6 operative.)

However, there were a few things that felt out of sync. The bit where Beckett is furious with Rick over a dream was particularly out of character. It felt entirely  wrong.

This is not Kate Beckett super cop.

The end of that particular plot device has Kate’s subconscious noting that Rick is keeping something from her. (He is. Castle has renovated an old Harley softail as a surprise.) In terms of giving Kate “an out” what better way than the proposed Harley road trip?

Sure the program makers have said no character will die, but what about another “missing” presumed dead plot thread or even a coma?

Regardless of where this ends up, this motorbike seems like a convenient way to ease Beckett out the door.

While “Castle: Backstabbed” allowed Toks Olagundoye a chance to show off her acting chops and seems to be setting her up as Stana Katic’s replacement, the show was also a good reveal of just why Tamala Jones, as Lanie Parish, is  leaving. Jones’ character has been reduced to little more than an occasional cameo after being part of the team for seven seasons.

It seems that when the show switched runners the ability to come up with things for Lanie to do fell short. Or it could be that Jones has grown weary of the Castle-verse. Katic is not saying why she is leaving.  Although with her signing of the year-long contract last year it seems that she was either working for a bigger slice of the pie, or she is ready to move on.

“Castle” makers have now made it apparent that Shipton will be the “new Kate” or at least a reasonable replacement. While the show and its fans wait for the network  to renew or kill the series, “Castle” continues to  air Mondays on ABC.

 

 

 

SNL Julia Louis-Dreyfuss and Nick Jonas (Dead Gay Boone) – Review

Saturday Night Live - Season 41

SNL tried to bounce back after the fiasco that was Russell Crowe hosting, to bring in a big gun, Julia Louis-Dreyfuss. (As apparently Tina Fey was too busy doing credit card commercials.) they also got dead gay Boone (sorry) Nick Jonas to show up as musical guest and comedic cameo character.

Last week’s episode was an all time low for the SNL gang which left this week’s host and writers a chance to redeem themselves. Louis-Dreyfuss gave great monologue, in the time given, and the Seinfeld/Veep performer got to reference her Veep show, which is starting its fifth season  April 24 in seven days time.

Part of Julia’s monologue dealt with her time on SNL as a regular. Similar to former alumnus Sarah Silverman, Louis-Dreyfuss mentions her “under-use” on a show that has a hard time knowing what to do with attractive and funny women who do not fit “the mold.”

It still goes on; this apparent difficulty in letting all its female players have more than a cameo spot. Ask Sasheer Zamata if you doubt the veracity of this statement, some female comics and writers just do not fit into the “groove” and are relegated to the background with the odd line now and then.

Still, there is life after SNL as proved by both Silverman and Julia.  Back to the show, it is interesting to note that the best bits of the entire episode dealt with the good old-fashioned faux adverts on offer. The Heroin AM commercial was funny and the Mercedes battery operated car was almost on par with the old “circumcision” commercial (1977 Royal Deluxe II) but then SNL have prior for good car advertisements parodies.

The pre-taped segments worked fairly well but were not overly topical. An edge that SNL have seemingly lost with their penchant for retreading old material dressed in a new performer. Unfortunately the writers have forgotten one old trick; sexual innuendo is funnier when done slyly.

One pre-taped gag was the “God is a Boob Man” segment with Vanessa Bayer as the straight baker bullied by a gay couple who refuses to bake them a wedding cake. Funny? Yes. Topical, not so much, the wedding cake thing has been around for awhile guys and girls.

Perhaps the best, of a not quite mediocre lot, was the pre-taped “The Pool Boy” where Julia Louis-Dreyfuss shows the realities of having your very own “toy boy” (or pool boy). Pete Davidson ruled the sketch as the totally vapid 20 something pool maintenance man who could not think his way out of a damp paper bag.

Julia does get the punch line, quite a feat after Davidson’s dead squirrel in the pool gag, when dead gay Boone Nick Jonas arrives as the new “lawn boy” and the 50 something cougar ends the sketch with “I’m going to *bleep* that kid.”

The best of the non-pre-taped segments is, hands down, the CVS “Who Works Here?” game show skit. It is biting and witty and also features Sasheer; giving her what may be the most lines in this season.

Nick Jonas performed twice musically and on his first time up, he was not alone. Nick was joined by Tove Lo a Swedish pop star who threatened to overshadow the singer. Jonas made up for that musical miscalculation by turning things up his second time up by performing solo.

(On a sidenote here…Having missed out on the whole Jonas Brothers phenom the first time, this reviewer ever encountered Nick was in his stint as dead gay Boone. Needless to say his performance was good enough that it struck a chord. Now whenever Jonas appears in anything the immediate thought is, “Oh look. It’s dead gay Boone.” Ergo, each time Nick showed up on SNL the DGB thing got in the way.)

Other skits made fun of Match.com; Kate McKinnon and Louis-Dreyfuss as female aliens who need to procreate and the Cinema Classics (which was surprisingly good) had Julia as an “old time” actress who had her dialogue written everywhere. (Best Line in the entire skit was “Made in China.”) Another odd gag, on par with the flat “Match.com” sketch was “Huge Jewelry” (Yuge) another yawn fest skit that allowed Jonas another cameo.

Once again, Weekend Update was the overall winner with Che and Jost as the most consistent in terms of delivery. The most pertinent skit of the night was Cecily Strong’s “One-Dimensional Female Character From A Male-Driven Comedy.” This one had a Stepford Wives feel to it at the end that sold the entire gag.

Overall a good followup to the Russell Crowe debacle of last week, but then, it could hardly be worse…Could it?

Thumbs Up:

The political opening shot with Julia.

God is a Boob Man.

Pool Boy.

Who Works Here.

Tove Lo and Nick Jonas.

One-Dimensional Female Character From A Male-Driven Comedy.

The Malaysian snake gag. [Weekend Update]

Thumbs down:

Everything else.

Having been a fan of SNL since its inception (yes the reviewer is that old) it is all too easy to take pot shots at things that do not work and bad habits from being on the air so long. However, this is still the place where there are more hits than misses and a great show for pop culture references, topical humor and a decided irreverence for all things political.

So despite ill advised episodes, *cough* Russell Crowe *cough,* there is still a lot of love for SNL. It has given us a plethora of talented and incredibly funny performers, some who have gone on to solo stardom and others who have not. Regardless of personal successes, without Lorne Michaels and his show, where would all the talented comics hang out?

SNL; NBC Saturday nights because there is no substitute.

Sleepy Hollow: Ragnarok – Finale Farewell (Review)

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Sleepy Hollow‘s season three finale Ragnarok bid a sad farewell to Abbie Mills (Nicole Beharie) and the death of two “big bad’s.” While Abbie may be dead, she definitely will not be forgotten as the pairing of Mills with Tom Mison‘s Ichabod Crane was magical to say the least. It has been hinted that Beharie may return in some capacity if the series comes back for another season. 

Admittedly, after the death of Henry Parrish (John Noble‘s character) and Katrina (Katia Winter), as well as Moloch’s demise, things just never seemed quite the same in Sleepy Hollow-land. Even the addition of a new “big bad” in the shape of Pandora (played by Shannyn Sossamon) could not make up for the departure of so many favorites. 

Granted, the story needed to move on leaving outdated characters behind. Some would show back up, like Orlando Jones‘ Frank Irving and Clancy Brown‘s Sheriff Corbin so while these two moved back on the back burners per se, there was still a presence…sometimes.

In this season finale of Sleepy Hollow Pandora’s alliance with Crane and Abbie results in the death of her husband “The Hidden One” (played by the superb actor Peter Mensah), although it is Jenny (Lyndie Greenwood) who puts the final bullet in the creature’s brain.  Pandora being a baddy herself;  double-crosses Crane and Jenny.

Abbie’s soul is consumed by the newly remade box and after some reluctance to give up, Mills then allows her essence to be absorbed and she dies also.

The leftenant  bumps into Corbin, in the Sleepy Hollow “green room,” where we have been before, the waiting room of death where the occupants do not “move on.” Crane pulls out all the stops to rescue Abbie from the box and even summons his old nemesis the headless horseman to help him defeat Pandora.

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The vast amount of time is spent following Crane’s attempt to get Abbie back and her “transition” to the other side, or the other side’s anteroom.  There are hints that Mills is not gone so  much as re-imagined (like the Phoenix). As a witness her journey is not over and never will be.

A great deal of time is also spent with Ichabod and Mills  talking and making peace with the death of Abbie. Crane believes it is a dream only to learn  later on it was not.

His champion, the headless horseman, defeats Pandora, with a little help and it is this event that triggers the “dream” as the box explodes when Pandora dies.

As Crane visits Abbie’s grave her father Ezra Mills (James McDaniel) turns up and drops off a message from George Washington. It makes Crane the commander of a paranormal militia group that has, somehow gotten out of hand (one feels), and  a fleet of black cars approach the cemetery. 

Ezra also explains that there must always be two witnesses, as Abbie told Crane in the anteroom, and Mills tells him that the soul of Abbie will manifest itself in a distant relative. Female, apparently, and Crane must find her.

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The Sleepy Hollow finale ends with Ichabod Crane being taken in for questioning with Ezra departing quickly. He tells Crane to “forgive them for they know not what they do.”  With the Rolling Stones classic “Sympathy for the Devil,” covered by Gail Swanson, playing over the end moments, even those who have not followed the last season devoutly were moved to tears.

Apparently the finale pulled up viewing numbers and while this may bode well for the show, it is hard to see a season four without  Abbie Mills.  Granted, the last plot device of the Washington letter allows the show to follow a different direction but will it go over with current fans?

It was difficult to maintain interest in the show’s third season; mainly because of the sing-song type rhymes or songs that Pandora spouted and that annoying accent that Sossamon was using.   (This is in no way a negative reflection on Shannyn it was just jarring.)

Still, as fervent fans deal with the loss of Abbie Mills (a personal favorite) all will await the news of a new season.  Sleepy Hollow has a tradition of serving up  small screen thrills with a tongue in cheek delivery, sometimes, and a great chemistry between the two leads always.

May it return in a year’s time and bring back Abbie in a different form as  has been hinted at in this last episode of season three.

 

Fresh Off the Boat: Week in Review – Team Jessie-Lou (Review)

Fresh Off the Boat: Week in Review reveals that in Grandma Huang’s day, the men made the money and killed the spiders. That when the word lice is uttered, everyone takes one step back. Team Jessie-Lou fall apart but get back together and Eddie not only saves the day but learns that “being homeless” is no big deal. Two of the Huang children bring lice home.

RANDALL PARK, CONSTANCE WU

Fresh Off the Boat: Week in Review reveals that in Grandma Huang’s day, the men made the money and killed the spiders. That when the word lice is uttered, everyone takes one step back. Team Jessie-Lou falls apart but gets back together and Eddie not only saves the day but learns that “being homeless” is no big deal. Two of the Huang children bring lice home.

We also learn, according to Jessica, that lice are the “pedophiles of the insect world.”

Before the oldest Huang son is ejected out of the house for being lice infected,  Eddie and his friends discuss the upcoming  student faculty basketball game; the winning team gets pizza. In class later, Eddie talks smack with his teacher Mr G (Al Madrigal). The teacher tells Eddie if he gets a basket  against him, that Eddie will have no homework for the rest of the year. 

Eddie responds that if he does not score, the teacher can give him double homework. His schoolmates are horrified.  Jessie and Louis are shocked that  Eddie has lice (We didn’t come to this country so our son could get lice,  says an annoyed Louis). Later Evan comes home infected as well.  Both boys are evicted from the family home until the lice are gone.

Comic Moments:

Jessica yelling at Trent:

“Wait, no, Big Red, keep your distance! Eddie is DISEASED!”

 

Evan telling his parents that he has lice and stretching his arms out for a hug, “Bao bao.” The next shot has the littlest Huang outside with Eddie.  Jessica places her hand, which is made into Vulcan palms through the window.

Louis and Jessica covered from head to toe to treat Eddie and Evan.

Emery not getting lice and saying, “Wait. How come I don’t have lice? I mean, how do you not want to be up in this?” He follows this with a self-satisfied slow-motion hair flip.

Eddie flinging his towel into the  crowd at the gym and their horrified reaction to it.

Jessica’s  “Louis.”

Grandma Huang watching Jerry Springer and chanting “Jer-ry, Jer-ry.”

Jessica admiring the team name that Louis has made up for their team, Jessie-Lou.

Jessica: “Sounds like a country girl who’s has sex too early.”

Louis and Jessica hugging, even though she has gotten lice from Eddie. As the couple embrace she says:

Jessica: “Louis, I just want you to know that if you get lice, I’m putting you outside with Eddie.”

Louis (sighing): “I know. I’ve always known.”

Overall Thoughts:

Not having watched the first season, except via binging after the fact, it took some time to really get into Fresh Off the Boat and its “based on real people” characters and storylines. However…

The performances of the actors, the writing and the chemistry between the players makes this a brilliant,  funny and addictive show to watch.

Park and Wu are perfect together and how can one not adore Constance Wu’s Jessica? The scene where Louis has worked out four minutes of “alone time” is cute and funny.

Louis: “And, uh, ooh, here I made a note that Wednesday afternoon, you and I have the whole house to ourselves… for four minutes.”

Jessica: (Giggling) ” Louis.”

Louis: “And you know I only need two.”

Jessica: (Giggling)  “Louis.”

Louis: “Shall I pencil you in… twice?”

Jessica: “Oh, Louis.”

Later on the day of the “four minutes” there is more romance and Jessica “Oh Louis-ing” again until Eddie returns with the news he has lice.

Everyone clicked in this episode. Hudson Yang, Forrest Wheeler, Ian Chen as the Huang kids were spot on (Ian Chen’s little gasp/scream at the sight of his stuffed toys in the box was brilliant) and Hudson just rocked it in this episode.

HUDSON YANG, AL MADRIGAL
HUDSON YANG, AL MADRIGAL

Even the school friends of Eddie’s were a delight. The smack talking sequence with the teacher was hysterical as was Eddie’s saving the day and announcing he has superpowers while eating the victory pizza.

Fresh Off the Boat continues to deliver the laughs and is another addictive comedy. The show airs  Tuesdays on ABC.

Dr Ken: Ken’s an Expert Witness – Ken Rests (Review)

In Dr. Ken: Ken’s an Expert Witness the doctor’s confidence takes a battering, going all the way down from a level 10, to an eight and dropping. The episode if full of surprises. That Ken can actually lose confidence in himself being the biggest. Other surprises follow with Dave revealing a natural talent in clothing manufacture and an attraction between Juan-Julio and Dr. Julie.

JIM RASH, JONATHAN SLAVIN, KEN JEONG

In Dr. Ken: Ken’s an Expert Witness the doctor’s  confidence takes a battering, going all the way down from a level 10, to an eight and dropping.  The episode if full of surprises. That Ken can actually lose confidence in himself being the biggest. Other surprises follow with Dave revealing a natural talent in clothing manufacture and an attraction between Juan-Julio and Dr. Julie.

Juan-Julio actually has two surprises, that  he apparently likes to perform at a local venue and he invites Damona and Julie to a lip-sync show where he will sing as “Prince” doing a Beach Boys number.  (The theme is “celebrities” singing Beach Boy tunes in their style and not the style of the Beach Boys.) The second surprise is his ability to analyze people by the state of their cars.

Even though Damona gives Julie the “thumbs down” sign, the intern tells Juan-Julio that they will go. An excited Juan-Julio leaves the reception and Damona is more than annoyed. Exhibiting the thumbs down sign again she asks Julie:

“What?  What do you think this means?”

Julie: “That we’re down to go.”

Later, Ken is asked by Pat to be the medical expert for a trial.  The administrator reveals that the other eight doctors he asked refused. Ken is overjoyed to be an expert for the court.  At home he excitedly tells Allison about now being an expert.

Molly comes down and makes an announcement.

Molly: “Hey, legal guardians. I just found a way to save our family a bunch of money.”

Allison: “Molly, we’ve been through this. We’re keeping Dave”.

It turns out Molly wants a new dress for the Spring Formal and she explains that she can wear the same garment to her wedding and even her parents funerals.  Both Ken and Allison decline the purchase and Molly asks them what she will wear instead. The parents trot out ideas and Molly storms off into the kitchen.

KRISTA MARIE YU, ALBERT TSAI

Dave offers to make Molly the dress and after initially reacting poorly big sis agrees but only after seeing that Dave has reprogrammed the “Rhoomba into a robot that brings me fudge.” The exchange between the two is not promising at first:

Dave: :What’s wrong?”

Molly: “Grown-up stuff. When I have a “Yo Gabba Gabba!” related problem, I’ll come to you.”

At the Juan-Julio performance the valet comes out as Prince (formerly known as “symbol”)  who then does “Kokomo.” He “ropes” Dr. Julie up on the stage to be part of the act and she is clearly having the time of her life.

Ken has his day in court.

As Dr. Ken leaps to enter the witness box, Clark tapes the proceedings on his mobile phone. Despite being giddy with the experience of testifying he starts giving  his evidence clearly and professionally.

The attorney (Jim Rash) for the plaintiff then rips Ken apart on the stand.  He mocks the doctor, imitates him and strips Ken of his credibility.  Flamboyance and exaggeration allows the lawyer to confuse Dr. Ken and  his actions devastate the doctor.

Dave makes the dress and dislikes it. He ask Allison to buy one instead. (This leads to a misunderstanding that is just brilliant. ) It seems that the little brother is anxious for Molly to appreciate and respect him. Allison offers to make the dress herself.

It is clear that Allison is out of her depth here as Dave has to point out that there is no thread in the sewing machine. Later her efforts as not appreciated by Molly at all, who believes Dave made the dress and she thinks there might be something wrong with him:

“Seriously, Mom. I thought something might be wrong with him. I was gonna say something to you privately.”

ALBERT TSAI, SUZY NAKAMURA

Ken complains to Allison later about the “triflin’ attorney” and she tells him not to worry but the doctor is stressed about the six jury member’s “he killed.”

“When I close my eyes I can still see their faces.”

At work, Ken is shaken after the trial and Julie feels that she and Juan-Julio have a connection. After Ken has a meltdown moment with a patient his staff try to help him after discovering the his confidence level is at an all-time low of eight. Clark tells Ken that he has nothing to prove and this motivates the doctor to action.

Forcing his staff to do an “all-nighter” they find the evidence that Ken needs to slam the attorney. While learning what his co-workers have found, the staff are all cranky and snapping at one another and Julie has heart palpitations.

Ken has a triumphant return to the courtroom and nails it.

KEN JEONG, JIM RASH

Molly sees the dress that Dave actually made and loves it, declaring that he has  real talent.  Allison is not happy as Molly goes on and on about the dress Allison made. Ken is back to up 10 on the confidence scale and Juan-Julio gives Dr. Julie a pep-talk.

Standout Moments:

The attorney blithely killing off half the jury and Ken’s guilt about it.

“You’re dead. You’re dead. You’re dead. You’re dead. You’re dead. You initially recover but then, but then out of nowhere… boom. Dead. And you hope to get a second opinion, but you couldn’t… ’cause your doctor killed you.”

Allison’s reactions to Molly, and Dave, dissing her attempt at dress-making.

Juan-Julio.

Ken’s “Matlock” moment and “You can’t handle the truth!”

Pat’s listing of all the things that Clark, Damona and Dr. Julie say not to mention.

Dr. Julie’s line to Damona about Pat:

“I know you and Pat boned a bunch of times, but still.”

Dr. Julie again with her heart issues and Ken’s reactions to her problem.

Dave’s “you pinned the blame on me.”

Final Thoughts:

As usual the cast of Dr. Ken killed it.  Guest star Jim Rash, another Community alumni, was hysterical as the attorney.  Clarks “crush” on Rash’s character was brilliant as was the entire Molly dress-capade.  The highlight of the show was Ken returning triumphant to that courtroom, but that short Prince sings the Beach Boys sequence was right behind it.  Kate Simses allowed her character to look euphoric while on that stage.

The “all nighter” bit was genuinely funny and once again Dr. Julie lets out a little fire with her retort to Ken about the website.

Kudos to Krista Marie Yu, Albert Tsai and Suzy Nakamura for the entire bit of the Molly’s dress storyline. These three performers have meshed beautifully as family and the comedy was sweet.

Mad props to Marques Ray who plays Juan-Julio, he absolutely rocked it to the max in this episode.

Generally, the theme this week was confidence: An overabundance (Ken), too little (Dave and then later Ken again) and then the building of same.

Dr. Ken: Ken’s an Expert Witness was a good follow on from the Dicky Wexler episode with an emphasis on broader comedy, more light-hearted and a guest star that just killed it. Another win for Dr. Ken.

Dr. Ken airs Fridays on ABC. This show is not to be missed.  Laughter is the best medicine and Dr. Ken provides it effortlessly.