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  • Charlie Jade recap: “The Enemy of my Enemy”

    But if thou shalt indeed obey his voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries. – Exodus 23:22

    After last week’s S&M lovefest between Charlie and 01, it was time to bring together Charlie and Reena. Here we are in episode 14, and the only interaction these two have had is a few seconds during the link explosion and one foot chase through Cape Town way back in episode 2, “Sand”. Reena’s been off on her own, being poked, prodded, shocked, beaten, and abused by everyone in Betaverse, but she’s been doing it on her own. Tonight, a first attempt is made to bring her into the fold.

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  • Mad Men review: “The Gold Violin”

    “I saw one at the Met. It’s perfect in every way. Except it couldn’t make music.” – Ken Cosgrove

    Salvatore and Kitty are the model of a modern couple. Sharing common interests and household chores in their boldly decorated apartment, on the surface they’re everything Pete and Trudy, for example, are not. But we know who Salvatore is, and no matter how hard the mama’s boy from Baltimore tries, his interests lie elsewhere. Seeing in Ken the soul of an artist, it’s no wonder his interests are drawn that way.

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  • Charlie Jade recap: “Through a Mirror Darkly”

    Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. – 1 Corinthians 13:12

    Alright. So last week was a bit of a feint. 01 didn’t give Charlie 12 reasons not to kill him. But he gave him one. One, excellent reason summed up by Karl: “01 Boxer, that sick bastard, has done more to hurt Vexcor than either one of us.”

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  • The Middleman recap: “The Palindrome Reversal Palindrome”

    Typical supervillain horsefeathers. Can’t wait to hear this guy’s monologue. ‘I am the palindrome. Feel my power. Power my feel. Palindrome the am I.’ Peter Piping weirdos. – The Middleman

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  • Mad Men review: “Maidenform”

    Reflections and appearances.

    How we see ourselves is rarely how others see us. Sometimes the differences are small but sometimes they are cutting: a despicable woman seeing herself reflected in us; undeserved worship from a child; the judgment-free gaze of a dog. These cut deep, showing us the darkness beneath our public facades.

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  • EXCLUSIVE: Interview with Charlie Jade’s Michael Filipowich

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    Sometimes cool stuff happens when you’re not even looking for it. Like how Mike and Jason were looking for writers to expand the roster here on Pop Critics just a couple weeks before one of my favorite shows was premiering. And how even though Sci Fi saw fit to bury Charlie Jade after two episodes, we’ve managed to keep a nice little group of fans coming back each week to talk about the show.

    A couple weeks back, Mike forwarded me an email he’d gotten from someone who’d worked on the show and wanted to thank us for taking an interest in it: Michael Filipowich.

    We weren’t actively looking for another interview, but if we had been, he would have been top of my list. His take on 01 Boxer is…well…crazy. But after exchanging a series of emails with him, I’ll tell you this is about the most carefully crafted, well-planned crazy I’ve seen in a long time. He knew exactly what 01 was doing, why he was doing it, and what his endgame was. He took a character who had initially been written as a one-dimensional psycho and fleshed him out into the crazy, funny, scary dimension hopper we know and love.

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  • Charlie Jade recap: “Choosing Sides”

    Well I may have killed a few people, I may have even enjoyed it. But you want to walk away from 10 billion people. And they’re all going to die without your help. Which one of us is a psychopath? – 01 Boxer

    Remember a few weeks ago when Charlie and 01 got a minute or two together on screen and it sparkled? What do you think about an entire act of the two together?

    I had a chance to interview Michael Filipowich a couple weeks back; we’ll be posting that Wednesday morning. In that interview I found out just how lucky we all are the writing chores changed hands. The first guys…well, here’s Filipowich:

    They were always worried about putting Jeff and I together…I swear they said this – “we don’t want to blow our load too early.”

    Yikes. Fortunately, tonight we got an episode designed to bring them together.

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  • The Middleman recap: “The Clotharian Contamination Protocol”

    I’m so glad I got attacked by that tentacled ass monster back in the lab and that you framed me so that I’d have to be your sidekick. Because I am so proud to be a MM. I’m proud to know you. And I want you to know, that since my dad disappeared, you’re the closest thing I’ve had to a father. – Wendy Watson

    It was a blast this week. Let’s go through the checklist:

    • Mark Sheppard, check.
    • An ambiguously evil corporation that looks like Apple, check.
    • Tyler Ford dressed like a shifty talent agent, check.
    • Nanobots, check.
    • Vejar references, check.
    • Many Doctor Who references, check.
    • Even more Die Hard reference, check.
    • Dubby’s very touching Code 47, check.
    • Oh yeah. And WENDY WATSON IN UNDERWEAR!!!

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  • Mad Men review: “The New Girl”

    You’re never going to get that corner office until you start treating Don as an equal. And no one will tell you this, but you can’t be a man. Don’t even try. Be a woman. It’s powerful business when done correctly. – Bobbie Barrett.

    The boys in the office might think the new piece of eye candy sitting outside Don Draper‘s office is the new girl, but we know it’s Peggy. Peggy is Don’s protege, his wingman, and his project, but tonight she asserts herself as her own woman. It takes a kick from a former dancer, but she finally knows she has to treat Don as an equal.

    That’s easier to some extent now that she and Don have both covered for each other and both helped each other through trying times. We have a much clearer picture of what happened to Peggy after last year’s finale, finding her in the hospital unable to accept or comprehend why she was there. Don’s words of advice, as true to his nature as any he’s ever uttered, could have been stolen from the hobo’s code.

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  • Burn Notice recap: “Rough Seas”

    Last time you were in town you nearly got her killed. That’s not going to happen again. – Michael Westen

    Oh man, oh man. I-I-I don’t think I can do this. Do I have to…what…no. I-I-I really have to go…can I just…why don’t you just…No. No. Okay, okay, okay. It’s okay. Fine. Michael’s going to be late so I’m…do I have to…okay. I’m Jackson and I’ll be going in a minute, I swear. Michael’s going to be right back.

    The Recap

    Michael and Fiona have a meeting with her friend to ask about the sniper rifle. What? No. He’s an arms dealer. That’s not good. He’s an arms dealer in the middle of a deal with some angry B-B-Bulgarians and he makes Michael be his bodyguard? That’s really not good. At least they make it out in time, even if watching Fiona drive the Saab to shake off that SUV made me a little woozy. It’s okay. They’re okay.

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