dreamloom

Category: Reviews

Deeper, analytical pieces on shows and episodes.

  • Leverage Preview

    People like that, corporations like that, they have all the money. They have all the power. And they use it to make people like you go away. Right now, you’re suffering under an enormous weight. We provide…Leverage.

    If you’re a certain age, you might have grown up as I did, watching shows like It Takes a Thief and The Saint. ((In syndication in my case; I’m not *that* old.)) You might even have rooted for David Niven in The Pink Panther. The thief with a heart of gold is the oldest and most revered anti-hero in the storyteller’s pantheon and used to be common on our televisions, but he’s been MIA for a long time. The networks have made a few attempts at reviving the genre with little success; however, the recent growth of original drama on basic cable makes this the perfect time and place to bring back the thief.

    So on December 7th, TNT expands its repertoire of original dramas by adding the stylish, charming, and amusing Leverage to its lineup.

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  • Pushing Daisies: “Robbing Hood”

    Ned: I’m out of counter space, so I’m stress baking in my head.
    Chuck: Feels like you’re stress baking me.
    Ned: I’m channeling fear into anger.
    Emerson: Anger leads to hate.
    Chuck: Hate leads to stress baking the people you love.

    Watching tonight with one eye and a heavy heart was probably not the best way to appreciate another fine outing from Bryan Fuller et al. I barely caught the key party exchange ((For a worldly pervert, I’m ashamed to admit I hadn’t heard of this ’70s staple until Sam and Annie took a walk on the undercover wild side on Life on Mars.)) and had to skip back to enjoy Ned’s innocence and Chuck’s teasing tone. I only barely noticed the Yoda bit. And I couldn’t tell you what color schemes the costumers and set dressers went with if you held a gigantic musket to my head.

    But I did still smile. It’s hard not to smile while watching this show. Which is pretty remarkable considering my mood today and how directly it is related to this canceled gem.

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  • Grey’s Anatomy – The New Medium?

    Ok, I admit it. After last week, I was ready to give up on this show. But, I tuned in for one more week because I’ve been watching this show forever and it’s a hard habit to break. I don’t think I could handle Grey’s crapping out on me and I don’t think I’m the only one.

    I just want to know if Izzie is loony or sick with some tumor or other neurological disorder? What gives with that? Personally, I think the powers that be didn’t realize how popular Denny would be with viewers. He was hot, cute, sick and we loved him. And we hated that he died. So, they bring him back and get a boost with viewership maybe? Or, is this a way to get Katherine Heigl out of the show so she can make movies full time? (more…)

  • Ugly Betty – “When Betty Meets Yeti”

    Ugly Betty’s latest episode, “When Betty Meets Yeti” (Season 3, Episode 9) kicks off with Betty getting annoyed at Amanda, who treats Betty like an at-home assistant. Feeling upset about still being assistant, it becomes worse for her when Nick (Alexis’ old assistant) visits Mode magazine, bragging about his new job as deputy culture editor of New York Review. Betty asks how he got the job and he tells her about YETI (Young Editors Training Initiative), an editor-in-training program .

    Betty asks Daniel to write a letter of recommendation for the Yeti program.  She also meets with Pilar Mejia and finds out she has 48 hours to create a magazine concept that expresses who she is, complete with Table Of Contents, Front Cover & Letter to the Editor. To cut corners, she goes with a fashion mag concept, even though it is out of her league. (more…)

  • Pushing Daisies: “Oh Oh Oh…It’s Magic”


    There have been quite a few very well suited guest stars on Pushing Daisies – Molly Shannon, Patrick Fabian, the brilliant Paul Reubens – but none fit quite so well as Fred Willard. Now, I’m a sucker for Willard, always have been. He’s got a real warmth to go with the absurd-oblivious air he affects, and it never fails to make me like his characters. That’s true again here, as he plays Herman Gunt – The Great Herrmann – as a softie who can’t help but take Maurice and Ralston under his wing when their father bails on them during a Sunday matinee.

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  • Ugly Betty: “Tornado Girl”

    Betty begs for the chance to give the final approval for Mode magazine’s latest edition while Daniel is away at a business retreat, sans cell phone. This particular issue sports a flashy tornado with a supermodel imposed over it and the title ‘Eye of the Storm’. Satisfied the issue is ready to go and after having given final approval to ship the magazines out, Betty takes a break and is horrified to see a major news alert about a once in a decade twister destroying parts of Tibsley, Kansas and leaving many dead. (more…)

  • Pushing Daisies: “Dim Sum Lose Some”

    Barack Obama secured the votes of every fan of Pushing Daisies the moment he declined ABC’s offer of airtime for the Obama Half-Hour Flower Power Variety Hoe Down. Although I don’t know if the twenty or thirty of us still watching this marvelous little exercise in quirkiness are enough for him to be picking china patterns just yet. Speaking of china patterns…

    One of the small pleasures of this show is seeing how the vivid palettes are manifested in costume and set decisions. I normally wouldn’t gush about a cowboy shirt or an earth tone sweater, but look in the image above how Ned’s shirt ties in the red lacquered finishes of the restaurant, Chuck’s dress, and even the fan in her hair. Note how the two-tone sweater Emerson’s wearing picks up the beige and goldleaf accents on the walls behind them and the pattern on Chuck’s dress. Think back to earlier in the episode when Chuck wore a bright red coat.

    Every detail is carefully considered, right down to the Chai Emerson’s wearing with around his neck.

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  • Mad Men: “Meditations on an Emergency”

    Like a nautilus shell, we’ve spiraled out over 13 episodes, but finally circled back on ourselves, bigger, stronger, and more beautiful than before.

    No, let’s try this instead. Matthew Weiner is composing and conducting a symphony, each of the players his instruments. As it is a modern symphony, he is unrestrained in choosing his instrumentation. Representing tradition, Roger and Bert are his woodwind section: Roger a high, melodic, occasionally erratic oboe and Bert a reliable, confident bassoon. The junior admen – Paul, Harry, and Ken – are a chorus of brass. Sal, poor sweet Sal, picks out a simple line on the tenor sax, unaware of the world of opportunities open to him if only he were to play with soul.

    Peggy and Betty are dueling cellos. Each can be bright and lively and each can tear apart the heart of the men in their lives.

    Pete, as tone deaf and tuneless a man as ever there was, beats out a rhythm on the drums. While he lacks subtlety, his timing is solid and he pounds out a beat consistently.

    Don, he is the pianoforte. The most versatile of traditional instruments, he is percussion and string, rhythm and melody.

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  • Pushing Daisies: “Frescorts”

    Sorry he was unable to write a review for the previous episode, the Blog Maker made a silent vow never to miss one again.

    Yeah, really. Sorry ’bout that. For the tens of you who come by, here’s my drive-by of last week: at first it seems incredibly bold to dispense with all the Lily-is-your-mother NUNsense in the third episode of season two, until you realize it was probably slated to go down late in the strike-shortened season one. But it’s out there and it’s now time for Olive and Chuck to figure out their friendship.

    Which, I might add, is a lot easier when you’re not stuck in a locker with someone who uses freesia hair detangler.

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  • ‘Charlie Jade’ recap: ‘Ouroboros’

    Charlie told me once, everybody breaks. But he never did. Not once. – Karl Lubinsky

    And so the story of Charlie Jade, a story one half-hour in the future, comes to a close. A bittersweet ending for sure – there was a lot of story left to tell – but a satisfying end to twenty hours of mystery and intrigue. But before we get started breaking it down, I’m going to suggest you go back and watch it again. Trust me when I tell you: even if you think you followed the episode, you didn’t. In fact, if you think you got it the first time through, you *really* didn’t. Go watch again. I’ll wait.

    There you go. Now, you should be ready for this discussion. At least I hope it all made more sense the second time through. If not, you may want to try out the episode commentary at Charliejade.net. In particular, did you notice at the halfway mark that time was bent back on itself? Every moment with Charlie takes place after he’s entered linkspace, trying to remember what it is he is supposed to do. Scenes without Charlie occur before that, in the reference frame of the other players.

    Let’s dig in.

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