Category Archives: TV-G[eek]

The X-Files S1 E21

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“Tooms”

Eugene Tooms returns to the forefront of The X-Files to continue his horror-filled lifestyle. Tooms, who originally debuted in “Squeeze” earlier in season one, was one of the first really popular of the ‘Monsters-of-the-week’ format that the X-Files used.

However, it also blended the whole conspiracy storyline into this episode as well as we meet Walter Skinner, FBI Assistant Director. Skinner would become a recurring characters and an ally for Mulder and Scully, though here he seemed to be in direct subjugation to the Cigarette Smoking Man, played by William B. Davis. This episode was the first time that we heard CSM speak.

Tooms remained as creepy as he was in “Squeeze” and continued to be a significant threat to Mulder and Scully. He did frame Mulder for attacking him, but that storyline bit did not go anywhere, which seemed a waste of time.

Otherwise, this episode was very good with Tooms getting his fifth murder and almost getting to his hibernation. Thankfully, Mulder and Scully found him and he wound up killed an escalator.

This episode also showed the growing connection between Mulder and Scully, as Scully put herself on the line a couple of times in order to help Mulder out.

Tooms was a fantastically creepy villain and helped give the X-Files credibility in episodes that are not just about UFO cover ups.

Picket Fences S2 E19

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“Buried Alive”

A traffic stop by Maxine leads to a a special episode of Picket Fences that examines the relationships of everyone involved.

I remember this episode, but I have to say I thought it was a holiday episode. However, it was simply a visit. Jill’s father returned and this episode had the flavor of the Thanksgiving episode from season one, which is why I seemed to remember it that way.

Maxine pulled Hayden, Jill’s father, over for rolling through a stop sign (something I think about every time I do the same thing) and things get out of hand. Maxine arrests Hayden, taking him down to the station. She says she would drop the charges for an apology, but Hayden refuses to do so.

In order to try and smooth everything over, Jimmy invites Maxine to dinner with them.

This triggers all sorts of fireworks that somehow ends up with an examination of the marriage of Jimmy and Jill.

It is a classic Picket Fences episode that goes into problem after problem, all stemming from each other. Each character laid out their personal resentments and their inner most dialogue to each other in an uncomfortable and suspenseful manner.

“Buried Alive” used events from the last year worth of episodes to inform the arguments. Episodes involving Maxine’s therapist, Hayden’s girlfriend, Jill kissing her former fiancée, Thanksgiving, the under sheriff drama were all referenced. I love the use of continuity. Despite the fact that these Picket Fences episodes feel self contained for the most part, they constantly use the things that happen as part of their lives. Just like real people.

I’m not sure that real people lay out their dirty laundry like the Brocks and those in their orbit do in real life (without complete devastation to relationships), but there is no doubt that it makes for riveting drama when they do it on screen.

Picket Fences S2 E18

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“System Down”

James Earl Jones guest stars in a dramatic episode that is as relevant today as it was back in the early 1990s.

The show is similar to the classic movie 12 Angry Men as the show features the conflicts and dialogue inside the jury room. Jimmy’s reputation as a fair man winds him up on the jury despite the fact that this case was involving the shooting of police officers.

A drug dealing black man shoots two police officers who are kicking in his door. There was a video as well.

It felt as if this should have been an open and shut case, but the defense argued that the suspect had a reasonable fear for his life at the time and that this was self-defense.

Watching the jury debate this point was fascinating. The jury spent almost an equal amount of time attacking each other in the jury room. We meet Ed Lawson, played by Richard Masur, who would become an important recurring character. He is an unlikable man who is implied to be a bigot.

There is no falling action in this story. I felt like I wanted to see how some people reacted to Jimmy on this decision, but the show does go to black with Jimmy sitting in the jury box after giving the ‘not guilty’ verdict.

A few scenes between James Earl Jones and Fyvush Finkel were epic. The show does a solid job of giving the jurors who we do not know personalities and an easy way to familiarize us with who they are as characters.

Moonlighting S2 E12

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“North By North DiPesto”

So here we are.

Moonlighting would do a few of these DiPesto-centric episodes throughout the series, and they were always lowlights of the show. The episodes were fine and Agnus was a beloved member of the cast, but throwing her into these Moonlighting plots never worked. Mainly because we wanted to see David and Maddie in these Moonlighting plots. So while the episodes are fine, they are just not what we want out of this show.

Maddie even made a fourth wall breaking joke at the end of the episode about talking to the writers about bigger roles for next week’s episode. Some of the reasons behind DiPesto episodes were because of Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd’s availability, but this did not seem to be the issue here, as Dave and Maddie were in the episode at the beginning and at the end.

Agnus wound up in some spy craft story with a bunch of spies trying to find hidden plans. It was really an underdeveloped story and needed that extra spice that Dave and Maddie could provide, but weren’t there to do it.

Again, I think the use of DiPesto is fine. I prefer when she is used like she was in “Twas the Episode Before Christmas.” She was a major player in that episode, but it was anchored by Dave and Maddie. These DiPesto episodes get much worse later when they include Curtis Armstrong, who will play office worker Herbert Viola. I’ll talk more about him when he arrives.

The X-Files S1 E20

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“Darkness Falls”

This was yet another X-Files season one episode that I do not remember at all. It has some of the best horror aspects to it.

Mysterious insects, who would only swarm when it was dark, would attack people, drain them of their liquids, and leave the bodies in cocoons.

So Mulder and Scully wound up stranded in a cabin in the woods with a limited amount of gasoline to keep the generator going so the lights will stay on.

There are a bunch of horror tropes going down in this episode and they were very effective. Including the moment when Mulder and Scully wound up trapped in a jeep being swarmed by the insects. However, they were able to survive because they were found before they could be totally drained of their fluids. They were all cocooned up though.

I did enjoy this episode with the anxiety of the claustrophobic location and the uncertainty of how they were going to find their way out of this situation. We also saw Scully panic more than I think we have ever seen before or since. She even blamed Mulder for a decision that he had made since he had done it without checking with the group. I didn’t expect that either, but it made perfect sense.

Picket Fences S2 E17

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“Squatter’s Rights”

This was the second consecutive episode of Picket Fences that I had not seen before. It is strange that there are episodes of a show that I thought I had seen all of them keeps finding episodes that I hadn’t.

In fact, this was the introduction of the potential relationship between John and Maxine. I remember during the original run thinking that the relationship came out of nowhere, but this gives the origin of it.

There were two main stories in this episode, one I liked and one I did not. The one I did not involved the alleged murder of a husband by her grossly overweight wife. The one that I did featured Douglas Wambaugh fighting against being thrown out of his synagogue.

Good first. Wambaugh’s outlandishness finally pushed his rabbi over the edge. The rabbi told Wambaugh that he was expelled from the synagogue. Being Wambaugh, he was going to fight. He insisted on a Beth Din, which is a rabbinical court of Judaism, to state his case.

The whole Beth Din was used as a way to deconstruct the character of Douglas Wambaugh, looking at his behavior and how people react to him. An emotional response from Kimberly and a kind note from Zack saved Wambaugh and gave him a chance to show his softer side.

The second story Dealt with an overweight woman and her dead husband. She confessed to his murder, claiming that she sat on his head and smothered him. There was more to the story than that. I am never a fan of using overweight characters in this manner. It felt disrespectful. The actress was grossly overweight and I kept thinking about how she felt doing this role. They never showed her on her feet and I wondered if she was able to walk. None of this helped entertain me with the story.

Moonlighting S2 E11

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“The Bride of Tupperman”

This was always one of my favorite Moonlighting episodes back when the show was on ABC every Tuesday, so I was very excited when it was the next episode on the list to rewatch. I will say that the episode was not quite as epic as I recalled, but I still loved it very much.

The movie “The Bride of Frankenstein” is used a couple of times during the episode, once at the beginning with David and once at the end with Tupperman. It is a great analogy to the story of the episode.

Tupperman came to Dave and Maddie to hire them to find a missing person… a woman that he could marry. Of course, they disagreed on the case. Dave and Maddie compromised and each of them decided to find their own version of a woman for Tupperman.

Like many of the Blue Moon clientele, Tupperman had an ulterior motive in hiring Dave and Maddie. He had already made up a fake wife and was looking for a way to cash in on the life insurance. For that, he needed a body. That was a really cold blooded plan.

The end chase scene in the hospital was funny and really slapstick funny. David keeping Maddie tied in the wheelchair to make the chase fair is a hoot. David also had an awesome fourth wall break when confronting Tupperman in the hospital. David started laying out Tupperman’s plan to him and Maddie asked him when he figured this out. David’s response?: during the commercial. LOL

This is a clever episode with a ton of fun. The connection between David and Maddie continues to grow and their banter/arguing remains top notch.

Picket Fences S2 E16

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“Terms of Estrangement”

What a treat.

Today, the Picket Fences series did indeed leave Hulu, so I had to start watching on Amazon Prime and I am so grateful that I could because this was the best episode of the show so far.

In fact, during the X-Files rewatch I have been doing, I have come across a bunch of the first season episodes that I did not remember. Kind of like a special little surprise. However, I had not come across any Picket Fences episodes that I had not seen… until this morning.

I do not remember ever seeing this episode before and, it was so great, that I cannot imagine that I had ever seen it before. As I said earlier, what a treat.

One of Jimmy’s former partners who had gone too far once in an interrogation, leading to the death of the suspect, kidnapped Kimberly.

Rick, played by Louis Gossett Jr., hid Kimberly away in a bomb shelter that was soundproofed, and then he went to see Jimmy at the police station, to “offer help” but actually to to play mind games.

The portrayal of a shattered man who had lost everything, including his wife and daughter, was done brilliantly by Gossett Jr. and his interactions with jimmy showed another level for Jimmy. Tom Skerritt was unbelievable in this performance. His internal anguish and feeling of helplessness came through as he tried to remain strong for his family.

The ending was tense and suspenseful as Jimmy was forced to attack Rick in order for Rick to give up Kimberly. Jimmy mournfully saying “Don’t make me kill you” was heart-wrenching.

I was not expecting something so amazing and unexpected. I loved Picket Fences and I love this episode so much.

It’s funny, but all three of my top favorite Picket Fences episodes as of this watching, featured FBI Agent Donald Morrell, played by Sam Anderson: this episode, The Green Bay Chopper and Be My Valentine. Sam Anderson who played Bernard on my all-time favorite show LOST.

Picket Fences S2 E15

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“Divine Recall”

The reign of Mayor Rachel Harris is the major focus of this episode, as an old soft porn tape she made when she was 21 resurfaces, presenting the church an opportunity to call for censure against Rachel.

Rachel’s secret affair with Kenny comes out as well, leading to some conflict between Kenny and Jimmy.

Father Barrett was leading the charge against Rachel on grounds that she lacked the moral compass to be an effective leader. The show is able to present every angle of a situation so you can see where everyone’s motive was coming from.

And the episode had a surprise in store. With Rachel censured, the ranking member of the City Council would become mayor and that was Howard Buss.

Howard, who has been suffering with Alzheimer’s Disease, does not seem the type to take the reigns of the mayor’s office, but Howard was excited to fill the position until a special election for the position.

Lots of big ideas in this episode and everything fit nicely together as the storyline of Rachel Harris, mayor, takes a turn. My memory was that this story is never quite fully resolved, but maybe I am mistaken. I believe that I’ll have to move the viewing over to Amazon Prime since Picket Fences looks to be leaving Hulu as of tomorrow.

Moonlighting S2 E10

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“Twas the Episode Before Christmas”

‘Tis the season.

This was one of the best Moonlighting episodes of the series. There is so much wonderful stuff here.

First off, the story is such a clever mashup of the story of Jesus. Even David called it an allegory, which it certainly was. David’s disappointment was great when he found out that the baby’s name was Chris and not Jesus.

Secondly, there was a ton of great writing, including a bunch of dialogue from David and Maddie. The Santa Hotline led to some funny moments before the main story got going. We also had a bunch of fourth wall breaking. More on that later.

Next, Richard Belzer as the main villain was sinister and, even with a one-note villain, he was a fantastic presence on the show.

The finale of the episode was silly, but funny and very appropriate for the episode.

They added a tag at the end of the episode that really broke the fourth wall, as the cast, the staff, their families etc. joined together back stage with a version of “The First Noel” with snow falling on the stage. David and Maddie wished us a Merry Christmas at the end.

The X-Files S1 E19

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“Shapes”

This episode kicked off with a problem, but it was my problem. I immediately was distracted because the actor who played Butch from SOAP was one of the characters. Then, Deputy Hawk from Twin Peaks showed up as the sheriff in the episode. These familiar faces are not the fault of the show, but are something I have trouble getting past.

Mulder and Scully head to investigate a murder of a Native American. There is a whole Lycanthrope story happening among the Native Americans. A man that can turn into a wolf.

Unfortunately, the episode is damaged by the 1980s style special effects for the wolf. Some of the shots of the creature were truly bad.

The rest of the episode was solid, with a good story and some interesting ideas. The use of the Native American cast was excellent and they all did some quality work. Michael Horse, who was Deputy Hawk in Twin Peaks, does a really great job playing opposite Mulder and Scully.

A lot of the episode did feel like the basic werewolf type story and was pretty predictable.

The creature was called a Manitou and we got a couple of different people in this episode infected with it.

Moonlighting S2 E9

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“Atlas Belched”

I am into a stretch of Moonlighting episodes that are just awesome. This episode guest starred Mark Linn-Baker of Perfect Strangers fame.

Baker played a down-on-his-luck assistant who did not lock away in the safe a rolodex of numbers containing some of the most important phone numbers possible. The office is robbed that very night and the rolodex was gone.

He met David in the bar, also drowning his sorrows. David found out that Maddie was preparing to sell Blue Moon Investigations to Lou LaSalle, detective to the stars. David and Linn-Baker, who played Phil, decided they would find the rolodex.

Bruce Willis and Mark Linn-Baker had some fun chemistry between them and worked well together. The sequence at the dump (to the dump, to the dump, to the dump dump dump dump dump dump dump) was very funny and well-written.

When Maddie sold the company, it did not take her long to realize that she missed it and that Lou LaSalle did not really want Maddie as anything else but a figurehead.

This was a great episode. I also appreciated that the show did not feel as if they need a major twist or a silly chase scene. While I enjoy a silly chase as much as the next guy, breaking the typical Moonlighting formula is good too. It helps to keep the show fresh and unpredictable. This episode continued to show the relationship between David and Maddie as it deepened through the conflict.

Picket Fences S2 E14

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“Supreme Courting”

This was one of my lower level Picket Fences episodes so far in this rewatch. It was Valentine’s Day in Rome and love takes a hit.

Carter uses the Cyrano de Bergerac method to help him with a date with the beautiful woman. He also slipped some tequila into her drink. When he told her the truth, she felt betrayed, rightfully, I think.

She went and wanted him charged with rape, which, again, I feel she had a case. However, Judge Bone dismissed the case and chastised them for bringing it, wasting his time. This section of this show did not age well.

Zack got a girlfriend and got in trouble by rubbing her breasts when they went to kiss. The other boys of 4th grade egged him on. Zack and the girl got caught and Zack wound up suspended for a week.

Kimberly had a boyfriend who was anxious about kissing her because she had a reputation. He was nervous about being accused of sexual harrassment.

This episode was about an important issue that felt tossed into a Valentine’s Day episode.

Fargo S5 E1 & E2

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E1: “The Tragedy of the Commons”

E2: “Trials and Tribulations”

I watched the first few seasons of Fargo on FX and I liked them tremendously. However, the schedule was always tight and they were on a bad night, if I remember correctly.

But I saw the first two episodes of season five on Hulu during one of my trips to that sight for the bunch of rewatches that I am doing. They dropped the first two episodes together and there will be a new episode every Wednesday on FX and Hulu.

This pair of episodes were right in with the Fargo tone.

Juno Temple plays Dorothy “Dot” Lyon, who is a housewife in Minnesota. She seems that there is some kind of surprise to her because two men arrive in an attempt to kidnap her, but she shows that she is more than capable of taking care of herself.

When she set one of the guys’ mask on fire with a lighter and a spray can, it was astonishing.

She also was a bad ass at a gas station where she killed one of them and is able to escape. Strangely enough, though, when she returned to her family house, she denied being kidnapped and insisted that she was just having a bad day and walking around. She had bloody feet, and, even with the cops compiling evidence, she denied.

We also met Roy Tillman, a local sheriff, played by Jon Hamm and this guy is something else. He is a hard man for a hard time.

He is the one who sent the kidnappers after Dot. Why? I am not sure why and I can’t wait to find out the back story to these weird charaters.

As with Fargo, these characters are amazingly eccentric and interesting to watch. This was violent, fun and curious. I’m glad to be back on the Fargo train.

Bodies E7 & E8

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E7: “Catch Me If You Can”

E8: “Know You are Loved”

I have been hoping to finish this limited series on Netflix for awhile now, but it always seemed as if something got in the way. Well, it is Thanksgiving and I have the day basically open and so I finally got the chance to watch the remaining two episodes of this thrilling limited series.

Time travel is always mind-bending.

In episode seven, things really go wrong, for everyone except Harker/Mannix. Things for him go exactly as they are meant to go… the same as they have gone since the loop began.

However, in 2053, Iris Maplewood makes a decision. She saves Defoe in her timeline and they hatch an attempt to go back to 1890 and prevent Elias Mannix from his plot.

Unfortunately, she does go back in time, but does not realize that the technology that helps her walk does not exist in 1890 and that leaves her as a cripple.

So much is going down in this episode that I continued to wonder exactly what was going to happen to stop this time loop from continuing. Who knew that it would be Alfred Hillinghead?

Hillinghead had confessed to the murder to save his lover and, as we saw in ep. 7, he is strangled to death from Mannix’s orders. Mannix, as Julian Harper, goes to Hillinghead’s daughter, Polly, and ends up marrying her. She gave birth to a son that began the lineage that would lead to Mannix’s own birth and all the tragedy that occurs.

In episode 8, Maplewood was able to get to Hillinghead, when they were both in holding cells, and she let him know about everything. This time, when Hillinghead is visited by Mannix before being strangled, Hillinghead went on to insert doubts and uncertainty for Mannix.

Things went along, basically, but the marriage to Polly winds up being compromised and they are anything but happy. On his deathbed, Mannix records one more record telling his future self that everything was a lie. Before Charles Whiteman kills him, Mannix gives him the record and begs him to put it in a safe place and get it into the hands of Shahara Hasan.

Whiteman take the record with him and hides it at the police bar. Shahara, from 2053, goes back in time and finds the record, playing it in 2023 for Elias before he detonates the bomb.

Elias chooses not to explode the bomb and the future is changes, the loop is broken, and Elias and future Shahara disappear, having technically never existed.

This was a compelling 8-episode series that was well-written and very smart. It required the attention of the viewer and I like that kind of show.

we went back to the past to see that the lives of Whiteman and Hillinghead were better, and the people that had died in the time were back. There was a strange ending to the show. 2023 Shahara was in a cab talking about life in general, and the camera revealed that the cabbie was Maplewood and that she used Shahara’s name.

I am not sure how that happened or what that meant, but it put an odd button on this sci-fi series that was really well done.