Grid Effect

Kind of a tame but attention grabbing ending last night to Rescue Me. Yet another Gavin died and the concept was eloquent in its own morbidly twisted way, but their wasn’t really any finality to it. There was momentum in virtually every storyline, but nothing was resolved. And maybe that’s a good thing. For such an aimless season, the finale really shouldn’t be any different.

But, enough with marginally watchable television. Onto Mad Men. Where Pete and Peggy’s bizarre relationship devolved into their first sexual encounter since Pete got hitched. This time instead of showing up unexpectedly at her doorstep, they let their instincts take hold and did it in his office before anyone else arrived, sans a janitor, who could see their sillhouette through Pete’s window. The entire thing is especially creepy. It seems like Peggy gets off on being mistreated and disdained (or something along those lines), and Pete needs someone to disregard to compensate for how undermined he is on a day-to-day basis.

This is just the beginning of what would be a very good day for Peggy. The makeup company she wrote copy for accepted her ad campaign (after a forceful hand from Don) and she was embraced as something of an equal with Don, Salvatore (much more on him later) and another guy whose name I can never remember, though he is present for all these casual drinking conversations in various offices. At least, moreso of an equal than any of the men have treated any of the women with at Sterling Cooper. The dialogue in this particular scene was irreverant, and watching Peggy beam with contentment here and throughout the day really was a stark contrast to her general self-conscious demeanor. She even does a little skip-for-joy while walking down the hallway when no one is watching. Of course, Joan is jealous/disapproving of all of it.

Pete? Well, say what you will about Pete, he really knows how to kill someone’s buzz. With everyone dancing to that “Let’s do the twist” song (that damn near causes a riot with the girls when it comes on the jukebox) at a bar called PJ Clarke’s, Peggy takes note of Pete sitting by himself, being somewhat solemn. She eventually shimmies her way over to him doing some modified “twist” dance while Pete looks on disgusted. Basically its the least provocative thing I’ve ever seen.

When she finally makes her way over to him (it reminded me of The Sopranos episode “In Camelot” where Tony begins hanging out with his dad’s old mistress and she does that really creepy rendition of Marilyn Monroe singing “Happy Birthday” with JFK’s boating hat on) and invites him to dance, he looks at her coldly and simply says, “I don’t like you like this”. What a dick. Anyhow, she slinks away, completely humiliated, and begins to cry on the dance floor while surrounded by her entire office enjoying themselves.

The other two plotlines this episode focus on Don’s relationship with Midge and Salvatore’s closeted sexuality, as one of the phone operators tries unsuccessfully to make a play for him. So, when were gay stereotypes brought into the mainstream? Because if this show is an accurate depiction in anyway of 1960, then it was after then. Salvatore has everything but the words “I’m Gay” tattooed on his forehead. Anyhow, he ends up ditching her PJ Clarke’s invitation (though it seems like he just forgot about it) to go scout out the hotel where one of the representatives from the makeup company is staying. They end up having a conversation over dinner where several three, four and five-syllable words are tossed around. Salvatore, whom we all assumed would have had a healthy, confident sex life with the manner he carries himself, is scared to death when the guy invites him upstairs. Salvatore essentially runs out of the hotel and bids the guy a good day.

It may be curtains for Midge on this show, as she opted to smoke weed with her beatnik friends over flying to Paris with Don on a whim. He ended up staying and getting high with her friends (”I feel like Dorothy, everything turned to color”) and continued to debate the ethics of his career with Roy and one of his equally burnt out friends, while the three women looked more annoyed, Don ends the conversation by saying, “The universe is indifferent”. Meaning, no one gives a shit if I’m a corrupt corporate sleazebag or that your exceedingly altruistic.

It seems like Don gives Midge an ultimatum when he says, “Paris. Now.” She begrudgingly declines, and he shoves the $2,500 check he received for being a valued employee earlier in the day, into her blouse and says, “Go buy a car”. As if to rub salt in the wounds, when Roy says he cannot go outside because the cops are addressing a domestic violence call, Don succinctly replies, “No, You Can’t”.

During his visit, however, Don experiences two flashbacks, in which a drifter/homeless man (though he suggests he is homeless by choice) visits Don’s family and offers to work for a meal. During said meal, Don’s aunt offers him money for the work he is scheduled to do the following day and he says he cannot accept it until after his work is through. At night, the man shows Don several symbols drifters use to communicate with each other, including one that symbolizes a dishonest man lives in the house. When Don’s prick father refuses to make due with the dollar that was promised to him by Don’s aunt, that is exactly the symbol he sees on the outside of his house, leaving Don to look at his father in a new, unflattering light.

Also in these dreams, Don refers to himself as a whore-child when explaining his situation to the drifter. The drifter advises him to get out of wherever they are (I’m guessing somehwere flat and bland like Kansas or Oklahoma) because death is all around them there. Yikes. For all his wisdom, he doesn’t really know how to talk to children.

That pretty much covers anything. More synopsis that editorial, sorry about that. But the episode was an eye-opener and damn entertaining. Tonight it goes head to head with It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia, the jury’s still out on which takes precedent. W’ll let you know tomorrow.

Well, the season finale is tonight. Definitely a lack of buzz compard to past seasons, in fact, I can hardly remember what happened last week. Something about Tommy secretly fighting fires without his counterparts any the wiser. I don’t know, it was damn weird, to say the least. I get the feeling that this season is going to end up being a Tommy Gavin dream, because there is nothing at stake going into this finale.

Actually, strike that, Black Sean (new probie) and Mike (former probie) got into something of a dust up when Mike called out Black Sean for using the tips he gave him against Tommy in last weeks hockey game. Really, I’m not entirely sure what else Mike thought Black Sean was going to do with pointers that were nothing more than strategy to be used against Tommy Gavin on a hockey rink. I guess Mike is naive and stupid. Anyways, the shoving ensued after Black Sean accused Mike of wanting to emulate Tommy. So, maybe that will and maybe that won’t be touched on this episode.

One thing that’s been unique about this season vs. the previous three is every scene seems to involve Tommy in some way. The only exceptions I can think of are the Franco-Natalie-Susan Sarandon drama, Lieu’s issues with his brother and former ex-nun girlfriend (though he did discuess much of this with Tommy) and I suppose instances of Chief’s suicide Tommy wasn’t privy to. Other than that, we’ve been inundated with Tommy Gavin, even if its something as mundane as him walking around NYC making/receiving phone calls with a dog that could scare the night.

This issue with him running into fires and making saves while wearing a dead man’s fire jacket (someone named Keefe, cannot remember if we ever met him or not). Needless to say, if this isn’t a dream, then I’m not really interested in whatever the explanation is going to be. Maybe he’s doing it to prove a point to himself, when Black Sean said he signed up to be a hero, Tommy resented the motivation. Maybe this is Tommy’s catharsis in finding meaning in his job without the glorification?

Actually, if this season is an unconscious experience, it sounds like its more of a nightmare than a dream. His wife left him, the two women in his life are fighting over the same kid, and now chief Feinberg (aka Hesh) hates him because he is under the impression Tommy disrespected his daughter, played by Amy Sedaris, on a date (that entire storyline has me confused). Oh, the Gina Gershon thing is still happening. At least Tommy had the foresight to arrive with Fresca in hand. Unless you’re a bisexual married man who cheats on his wife, this is the most bizarre love life imaginable.

Probably my favorite scene from last week was the dualing “guys night out” scene. One with Mike and Garrity proving they’re alcoholics to Lieu and his cousin in a dive bar, and the other with Franco and Black Sean at a trendy NYC night club, full with curtains and multi-colored lighting. This series isn’t really trying to break that misogyny tag when they have Garrity waking up horrified by the woman lying next to him. This didn’t really include Tommy in anyway.

If he is in a coma or what have you, maybe they are in his hospital room discussing the details of either the upcoming evening or the evening beforehand? I know, I’m stretching. But I’ve always said this series attempts to model itself as much as possible after The Sopranos. And when Tony was in his coma, everything his friends and family were discussing with him was reflected in his dream/supernatural experience.

Also, his daughter still hates his guts, even after he was proved right about her now former boyfriend, who married someone else (presumably one of her friends). Tommy completely overwhelming the kid, then being relieved when he discovered the ring the kid bought on his credit card was for another girl, was pretty damn funny. You just have to approve of the self-interest and twisted sense of morals.

Another uplifting, vintage Rescue Me scene I liked was the Gavin AA meeting that ended with the hot-headed lawyer cousin and Lenny Clarke standing in opposite corners, facing the wall, with the schoolroom they were held up in turned upside down by the presumable off screen scuffle. It’s humor like that, that just doesn’t exist anywhere else on television.

Anyhow, that is pretty much it, Here’s somewhat looking forward to tonight’s episode, If only because it’s a finale, and I want to see how they conclude a mediocre and (by all accounts) disappointing season. It can still be salvaged with a decent conclusion tonight, but it will take something remarkable. Like Tommy growing wings and learning to fly, or Mike embracing his homosexuality, or Lieu paying someone in prison to kill the girl who stole all his money. Either way, I’m on the fence as of now, and something needs to happen to guarantee I’m back for a fifth season.

With the fall television season kicking off in a couple weeks, we figured it was time to finally knock these out, and we have admittedly been procrastinating, with the FOX and also the ABC preview. We haven’t enjoyed a series on either of these networks in quite a while. In fact, with the exception of Arrested Development, we haven’t watched a series on ABC or FOX since we were too young to screw. But this is the last of these, and for that I couldn’t be more thankful.

Click on the links to read the previews for NBC, CBS, ABC and HBO.

Today we are previewing FOX. A network that has three staples (American Idol, House and 24), then fills up the rest of its primetime airing with crappy dramas nobody watches (Bones, Standoff, etc) comedies that have seen much better days (Simpsons, Family Guy) and trash reality TV (too many to name). Needless to say, FOX could stand to diversify their portfolio.

Note: I couldn’t find starting times for any of these series’ anywhere so my apologies for that, you’ll have to periodically scroll through your digital TV guide. Also, like all the network previews before it, these are just guesses, as none of these shows have aired, nor have they been sent to me.

When Women Rule The World
Synopsis: Several men have to appease several women or face being shunned and voted off. The “last man standing” wins some sort of award. I’m assuming that means he to keeps his genitals intact. Literally, not figuratively.

Initial Impressions: Well, it doesn’t get much trashier than this, and not much else really needs to be said. It’s like FOX’s version of CBS’s Kid Nation minus the parental negligence, violation of child labor laws and the intrigue. My guess is this series sinks like a stone and is prematurely cancelled. Audiences generally do not go for these gender baiting gimmicks, I don’t see why this would be any exception.

Canterbury’s Law
Synopsis: A woman is a defense lawyer, she is morally conflicted.

Initial Impressions: Not exactly an original concept, but it stars Julianna Marguiles and is produced by Dennis Leary and others, so it definitely has a high ceiling. Never the less, if Chris Moltisanti doesn’t come back from the dead and start lacing up with Julianna, then I’ll probably take a pass. Just watch Boston Legal if this is your sort of thing, and go rent The Wire’s first season if you want to see a superior crime-drama.

K-Ville
Synopsis: A cop series set in New Orleans post-Katrina. Said protagonist cop must adjust to a new partner since his former one ditched him for greener pastures.

Initial Impressions: Certainly a new modification of the buddy-cop genre, though it might be rife with controversy given the setting and whatnot. It stars Cole Hauser (the guy from that awful Mel Gibson Paparazzi movie) and Anthony Anderson (the large, gregarious black guy from everything, also has dramatic acting history on The Shield, so he should feel comfortable with this material) so the faces will be recognizable. But I just don’t know if the post-Katrina novelty will be enough to keep this series afloat. Plus, that may delve into socio-political issues that most FOX viewers aren’t accustom to. If it isn’t a man wrestling an alligator or a Brit slamming nervous high school kids about their inept singing abilities, then most of the networks regular viewers won’t be terribly interested.

New Amsterdam
Synopsis: A man is made immortal after saving a Native-American woman but reverts back to a mere mortal after meeting his future wife. Its kind of like that Stephen King movie, Thinner. Except instead of being cursed to lose weight uncontrollably by a gypsy after killing a gypsy woman, he is blessed with immortality after saving a Native American woman. Then gives it back. So nevermind, it’s nothing like Thinner, but it did come to mind.

Initial Impressions: Unlike the other two series’, I don’t recognize any of the names in the cast. That generally doesn’t bode well for pilots nowadays. It’s really at the point that a series needs a failed/aging movie star to spark the public’s interest. Personally, after K-Ville and Canterbury’s Law, I’d think that this might be one too many cop/lawyer shows, regardless of the variations. This series seems like it could benefit without a laugh track, but FOX is probably scared to death over the concept since Arrested Development-gate.

Back To You
Synopsis: Kelsey Grammar plays a successful anchorman forced to return to his old job after a faux-pas on air. Only to discover Patricia Heaton, his old on-air partner, resents his homecoming.

Initial Impressions: One of three comedies the netowrk has coming out and it has all the makings of a successful sitcom, but the genre seems to be on its deathbed and there will need to be some serious buzz after the show’s debut for it to last. As you can tell, the cast has two television vets and also includes Fred Willard (best known for his work in Christopher Guest films A Mighty Wind, Best In Show and For Your Consideration). This show, more so than any other I’ve profiled, is hevaily dependent on its writers.

The Rules For Starting Over
Synopsis: People struggle with dating after failed long-term relationships.

Initial Impressions: A relationship show! Thank goodness, I was begninning to think FOX had missed the boat entirely on this genre. Rashida Jones is the lead, so if you want to know why Jim and Pam got together on The Office…now you know. At the very least, it’s a Farrelly brothers project, so it will be raunchy, but will probably be limited by FCC restrictions to meet its inevitable early demise.

The Return of Jezebel James
Synopsis: Parker Posey is the run of the mill television career woman who is incapable of conceiving. And asks her scatter-brained sister to do it for her.

Initial Impressions: Despite how bleak the synopsis sounds, this is a comedy. Posey, after a string of successful indie flicks has decided to go for a payday in television. Given its potentially devastating material and Posey’s penchant for the melodramatic, I’m not sure how this is going to thrive at getting laughs. If it does, it will certainly demonstrate Posey’s range.

The Sarah Connor Chronicles
Synopsis: A spin-off from the Terminator character. Expect a bevy of barely-veiled references to the films.

Initial Impressions: This is one exception to the “needing a failed movie star for a scripted television show to succeed” rule, is just adapting a film concept for television This doesn’t star Linda Hamilton (Lauren Heady is the protagonist), but features everything about the character and the movie that people enjoyed (minus the masculine physique). Personally, this is something I’ll veer away from because the Terminator movies were something I enjoyed, but was never obsessed with (I always enjoyed Total Recall more when it came to Schwarzenegger movies), but this series is a stone cold lock to be a ratings monster.

So, there you have it. FOX’s new slate in a nutshell. Or rather, a seven series third-hand preview nutshell. Its new roster is so deep that it could alter my opinion of the lowest-brow broadcast network, but it probably won’t. Look for series reviews in the oncoming weeks.

I should probably give the sixth season premiere to the best consistent comedy on television its own post, but if you want your own post, then don’t schedule your return from a two year hiatus on the same day the NFL returns and the horrific VMA’s.

In the interest of full disclosure, outside of Curb, football took precedent last night. I was advocating for HBO programming as my fantasy matchup was essentially already determined, but you try to presuade three testosterone induced twenty-something males to flip from an NFL game that is quenching their thirst for blood to a show called Tell Me You Love Me and we’ll see how you do. Once you succeed then you can give me shit about it.

Despite being overruled at that moment, I attempted to watch the pilot after the game and nodded off about twenty minutes into it. In that twenty minutes, however, I saw several pretentious arguments, a man have the most narcissistic jerk-off session in the history of television (seriously, he might as well have been looking at his reflection in a mirror) while his wife peered nervously out the bathroom door at him (are married women really naive enough to believe their spouses never pound one out?), two sets of external genitals and really nothing all that enlightening or interesting. Also, given that I’m something of an insomniac, it’s probably a bad sign that this put me to sleep.

The basic premise is we are introduced to three couples each respectively in their 40’s, 30’s and 20’s all struggling with different aspects of their relationships. They all separately decide to see a senior-aged psychiatrist and we are privy to her private life as well. Beyond that, going into details seems somewhat pointless because we’re not planning on following this series. Sorry. If it gets any better then tip us off and we’ll give it another viewing.

Curb, on the other hand, got started off on the right foot. This season’s plot revolves around Larry and Cheryl taking in a displaced African/American family after their city was ravaged by hurricane Edna (not Katrina). And this is what makes this series better than any other comedy out there: every plot advancement is a joke, or at least comedically situational. Everything in the show targets laughs and ignores melodrama. Why does this seem so rare nowadays?

Larry agrees to this after answering honestly in the newlywed game that he wants to sleep with Richard Lewis’ girlfriend, Cha-Cha, (or he would prefer to over any of his other friends wives/girlfriends), when apparently you’re supposed to simply say your wife. Funkhauser went before him and acted accordingly because he’s a tool, and Larry went before Jeff, who was never backed into the same corner.

Even beforehand, Larry decided to subsequently inoculate himself of any blame from skipping parties by showing up the next day, pretending that he got the date mixed up. In addition to this we got a penis cake, about five minutes of Lewis-David banter, a disparagement of golf, Ted Danson and a Mary Steenburgen who looks younger now than she did in Back to The Future III.

A few qualms, that in no way effected my overall enjoyment of the episode: It’s obvious they’re setting up Larry to clash with the new family he brought in, especially Vivica A. Fox, who upon being asked not to smoke in the house, put the cigarette out in the penis cake that Larry was enjoying. Something about it seemed overly harsh and confrontational. I mean, he is helping your family recover from the unthinkable, being asked to take the cancer stick outside seems like a reasonable request. It wasn’t him that exposed your kids to the penis cake.

Also, when Ted Danson arrived at Larry’s house the day after their party, claiming to have gotten the dates confused, it didn’t really jive, considering Larry’s house was being cleaned out in the morning, after the fire, and it was presumed that their party was scheduled for the evening, or at least the afternoon, not first thing in the morning.

Still, a great episode with several memorable lines (”Your last name is black, that would be like if my last name were Jew”) and a great concept for the remaining nine episodes. It has been almost two years since their last season, so anything less would have been surprising.

Just a quick note, and this transition is as odd as the one last night (going from Curb Your Enthusiasm to interviews with Iraq war veterans), but if you want to see the actual sacrifice of this war, one that most of us are unfamiliar with, watch Alive Day Memories: Home From Iraq, as James Gandolfini interviews ten permanently injured soldiers as they share their stories. Their injuries range from amputations to brain trauma to blindness, and while it’s a difficult, and thankfully apolitical hour, it is well executed and provides more perspective than all the Bush is evil/Bush is a saint documentaries currently available.

My apologies for the last paragraph, I’ll never do that again, but it really is a dramatic, moving hour of television that should be acknowledged.

I stated yesterday that you can identify a great series if each episode improves on the one before it. Well, last night’s episode of Mad Men, “Hobo Codes”, wasn’t necessarily better than its predecessor, “Red in The Face”, but it certainly made me cringe more often than not. Next time I get in a drunken verbal spat with someone, I am definitely calling them a “whore child”.

Just a couple programming suggestions (sans football) for this weekend, they’re both on HBO’s Sunday lineup: obviously, and I’ve mentioned it several times here before, Curb Your Enthusiasm debuts its sixth and potentially final season (though in the wake of Larry David’s divorce, I suspect there could be a seventh) at 10pm ET. Reviews have been laudatory, and even if they were shitty I’d still strongly suggest tuning in. Its been almost two full years since Larry moved to Arizona to find out he wasn’t gentile.

Leading into the seasoned comedy is HBO’s new raunch drama, as I am going to dub it, Tell Me You Love Me. It is surprisingly sexually explicit and yet artful, making it the ideal series for male liberal arts majors. We will be watching and offer a review, but the jury is still out as to whether it will actually deliver, HBO is starving for a quality drama. It’s on at 9pm ET, or currently on HBO OnDemand.

Linkage…

Well, it looks like I’m going be forced into watching 30 Rock on a regular basis this season. Not only did they snag Seinfeld for a cameo (the lead on arguably the greatest comedy of all time) and Will Arnett (the supporting lead for a series in the same category), but also Edie Falco (the best female lead performance in television history). I miss the days when I could believe Tina Fey wasn’t funny…

Speaking of cameos and guest appearances, the aids queen from Nip Tuck is scheduled to play Tami Taylor’s supportive sister on the upcoming season of Friday Night Lights. Will she be of loose morals in Dillon as well? Probably not, but I’m holding out.

Michael Cera and Jason Bateman are in the same film, and they are quick to tell you, it’s not a reunion. An indicator of Arrested Development’s success is when one of its cast members is in another project, everyone immediately queries about the series. Way to drop the ball on that one, FOX.

Jenna Fischer has had a difficult summer. First back surgery, and now a divorce. This article asks whether her newfound celebrity was the cause of the separation. I’m sure it played a role, but if she left her husband because he wasn’t on par with her fame? That is fair un-Pam Beesly like.

Fox News viewers hate FOX’s primetime lineup. Honestly, these people have to have something better to do with their time then complain about something as trivial as American Dad.

The Wire has wrapped up filming, and now I wait on pins and needles for the beginning of the end. What the hell else am I going to spend my time on uselessly pondering once that series stops airing new episodes?

Suggestions for an Entourage rebound. The reviewer seems to be under the impression Drama will be portrayed as more successful than Vince. That is really some misguided idealism to think Vince will be portrayed as anything less than his peers.

That’s it for now, I’m exceptionally busy at work today, but I’m going to attempt to start and finish the last fall preview for FOX, as the season premiere of Curb is somewhat worrisome that my window is closing to finish these.

One indicator that you’re watching a great series is each episode seems to top the one that preceded it, and that is definitely the case with Mad Men. This episode focused primarily on Roger’s superiority complex, Pete’s inferiority complex, Don’s relative normalcy and Betty’s resentment of it.

Of course normal in 1960 meant he cheated on you regularly but was discrete about it and kept it away from friends and family. Roger, however, threw his infidelity right in Don’s face, more specifically, he threw it right at Betty, and she all but reciprocated. Now, since Don isn’t exactly the posterboy of monogamy, he doesn’t really have any right to complain, but as far as we know Betty has no proof of his discretions, and since she implies later that she values herself strictly by her desirability to other men, and she enjoys it when other men look at her, I think this had more to do with her own reassurance and pissing off Don, who dropped Roger on her for dinner at the last moment.

What was surprising is that Roger apologized the following day, claiming that having his name on the building lead to his own misinformed sense of entitlement. Though the apology was halfhearted and ambiguous, it was still unexpected that he would address the situation at all, particularly since Don never really caught him with his hands around Betty. It appears that all three of them knew what transpired when Don went to the kitchen to look for more alcohol, since both Betty and Roger apologized for what could be perceived as nothing more than an awkward moment. Obviously they both know Don is no one’s fool, the guy is living like five different lives for christ’s sake.

This however, lead to the greatest revenge I think I’ve ever seen. With the Nixon campaign coming into to discuss strategy, Don, being the funny, evil prick that he is, paid off the elevator operator to pretend like it’s out of service. Before this ruse however, Don went to lunch with Roger and used Roger’s own gravitas against him. As Roger kept baiting him into eating more oysters, drinking more martini’s and eating cheesecake (at first I was remotely jealous with the first order of martini’s and oysters, after the second order of oysters and lord only knows how many martini’s plus fucking cheesecake, I decided I’m better off not eating for a month), I suspected something was afoul, because at that moment I had no idea what Don was giving the elevator operator wads of hundreds for.

Watching the ensuing walk up twenty-three flights of stairs and Roger’s struggle with it reminded me of Fatty McGee from the Adam Sandler album. Don took advantage of his comparative youth, and though he was somewhat winded when he got to the top of the steps, it was probably a result of smoking on the way up. Meanwhile Roger actually collapsed, and was wheezing like Engelberg after he hit a double. He eventually tells Don to go ahead to spare himself any further embarassment, and by the time he introduces himself to the Nixon boys, he is ready to and does vomit all over the carpet. With Don offering the most emphatic consolation, it may have clued Roger in on Don’s intentions. Whether Don wanted him to know or whether Roger actually does is just speculation, but I’d like to think both are true. Don does give him a smug look that reads, “if you touch my wife again this will seem like Christmas because I’ll fucking kill you”.

(Sorry this was so long winded, but it really has been my favorite part of the series, I felt like it needed to be explained in full detail).

Pete’s plight would be sympathetic if he wasn’t such a creepy dipshit about it. After being shot down by Don and Roger (who calls him Paul), his friends giving him shit about being whipped, the store clerk(s) being unnecessarily bitchy towards him, then them reciprocating his random friend’s advances, then his wife chewing his ear off about returning a “chip ‘n dip” that was a wedding gift he was under the impression they had two of; one might be inclined to feel bad for the character. But then again, after attempting to whore out his wife, one might not.

Anyhow, how does Pete deal with everything above? He exchanges the “chip ‘n dip” for a shotgun and regals some twisted hunting fantasy with Peggy, in which he slaughters a deer, his wife prepares it for him and watches him eat it (though he goes into, vivid, vivid detail). This is after pointing the gun at several people in the office and cracking lame “frat boy” jokes while doing so (Note: this gun is going off before the season is over). Peggy, however, instead of being scared for her life and filing an appropriate restraining order, indulges in some luncheon meats and a pastry because she is so hot and bothered by Pete’s abnormal since of masculinity. Yikes.

Honestly, I’ve never seen so much controversy and human emotion result from something as inanimate as a “chip ‘n dip” (which, in case you were wondering, is two bowls to put chips in and one smaller bowl connecting the two you put chip dip in). Pete said the phrase at least eight or nine times, and each time it was inflected so much that it was burned into your memory.

Other notes:

-Peggy is idiotically sharing her copywriting notes with Pete, who has been known to willfully steal others ideas. She’ll probably regret this.

-Betty was confronted by the divorcee about giving her kid a lock of her hair. The woman’s accusatory tone led to Betty slapping her in a grocery store. The only way this slap could be any lighter is if she had a small hand pillow taped to her hand. But, regardless of degree of volatility, it was some huge gossip piece that had the whole neighborhood buzzing. Also, Betty hates JFK, we are never told why, probably because he represents change, something Betty probably feels is beyond her control.

-Speaking of which, Pete was the only Sterling Cooper employee who seemed to understand what JFK represented and the threat he posed. Admittedly, he wasn’t terribly convincing, but his head was in the right place in understanding the threat that JFK posed to Nixon. They also made fun of Nixon’s affinity for playing the piano.

-Don is still conversing with Betty’s therapist, who describes her psyche as being like that of a child. And Don accuses her of being just that when confronting her about the dinner with Roger.

Like stated earlier, probably their best episode and we can’t imagine it being improved, which is a rare acknowledgement from this website.

You know what’s really great about Rescue Me? It’s the short episode titles. Other series’ like Friday Night Lights or The Wire tend to elongate their headings. Sure, the episodes themselves might be more insightful or have better narrative structure. But I can’t always fit the full title in the allotted space in the websites title bar, sometimes its extended and the first letters of the title post are taken out of the shot. So, Rescue Me, I’ve been hard on you this season (though not as hard as most), but there is a feather in your cap. Keep up the good work.

This episode opened with Tommy dreaming about everyone on his crew (Sean, black Sean, Probie, Franco & Kenny) dying in a fire. Only, we weren’t supposed to know its a dream until he wakes up. It was like the biggest non-surprise in television history. And its shit like this (that is becoming redundant) that is making it difficult to take the series seriously. I mean, the scene itself was well-executed, and it illustrated what I imagine is a fireman’s worst on-the-job fears, but I guess I just didn’t see the relevance of having it in there. Other than to maybe demonstrate that despite how self-destructive Tommy Gavin is, he still has something to lose? Your guess is as good as mine.

The highlight of the episode belonged to Charles Durning, who by all accounts has been woefully underused this season. Tommy had developed a resurgence of faith ever since his rescue of the window worker the week before and he used a prayer to overcome his resurgent fear of heights. Tommy’s dad (played by Durning), explained to him his disbelief in God, and how his own mortality haunts him everyday. This after Tommy’s entire family mocked him for praying for any guidance at one of their makeshift AA meetings. Looking into Durnings old, probably failing eyes as he regaled these legitimately morbid thoughts was chilling, to say the least. And he really managed to knock Tommy out of his born-again-ness.

Other than that, we had another dialogue deprived scene between Tommy and Gina Gershon, whose name we found out this week was Valerie, or Val, which makes Tommy think of Val Kilmer in Tombstone. Tommy getting his daughter the car he promised her last week to keep him in the family loop, she needs a philips head to start it but the issue never broached. At least not with her. What’s worse, he traded the car in an even swap for the escalade. Which, I guess he can afford it, since he still has all that good baby selling money. Speaking of which, apparently he still plans on Janet getting tired of watching the kid with her new job and boyfriend, so Sheila is anticipating getting Dylan/Elvis back sooner than later. Also, Tommy is fucking obsessed with Eric Clapton.

In the rest of the firehouse, Kenny is losing his mind over some chocolate pizza made by his cousins girlfriend that he is contemplating having revenge sex with. Franco is unimpressed with Natalie’s new boyfriend and insulted that she is dating some he deems unworthy so soon after they broke off their engagement. And Garrity is still pretending to be a drunk to finagle his way into the Gavin AA meetings.

Again, I may have been overly harsh in the opening paragraph, but the episode just seemed so aimless. We really do not feel like we’ve had a good episode since “Seven”, but we’re watching tonight, and it’s still open season as to whether we cut this or Entourage from weekly episode recaps.

Any preference?

Welcome back, hope everyone’s labor day was as reckless as mine. Whenever there is a three day weekend, that following Monday or Tuesday seems infinitely longer than a Monday after a two day weekend. It’s miserable, and that is exactly what I am today, fucking miserable. So my apologies for the lazy, dual post. But this is all I really have the energy/capacity for right now.

Entourage certainly could have been worse, but they fit so much into one episode it kind of ruined it. This is another situation where they could have spent three days in France working out who to sell the film to, instead we saw several abbreviated conversations then they dropped an anvil on us when the Arab guy doubled the studio’s offer and went straight to the financier, who then dropped the film because an isolated crowd at Cannes Film Festival didn’t enjoy it. Then Harvey, the abrasive studio head bought it for one dollar, promising to turn it around. Which will undoubtedly prove to be a successful venture by the end of next season.

At the very least, the project turned out to be somewhat of a bust (for now). On the other hand, Eric was proved right about it. And therein lies a problem, because regardless of which one of the parties was going to accurately project the movie’s success, and guess correctly (Eric or everybody else), it was going to be agitating. That is a significant problem when in a lighthearted, campy, summertime series, you wouldn’t mind seeing everyone fail. It might be worth addressing.

As for the peripheral aspects of this finale, the Johnny Drama plot was pretty overdone, and Ari felt obsolete (at least compared to how significant a role he should have played). Also, for those who feel this show is misogynistic, between the coke binges with Paul Rubenstein and his band of hookers, to the Arab guy fixing Turtle up with some free oral off-handedly, this episode did little to quell those complaints. Lloyd giving his boyfriend advice on the limbo was damn funny, though we could have done without that mamosa spout, but it caused quite the reaction with the people I was watching the show with. Who would have thought the highlight of an Entourage season finale would take place on a gay vacation?

Conchords actually ended on a bit of a cliffhanger, which will probably be dismissed with nothing more than a quick explanation (if that) in the season two premiere. Whether I like or dislike this is one thing, the fact that it worked well in this episode is undeniable. For one, we had a Dimitri Martin cameo, albeit an all but silent one, but anytime the best young comedian is involved, I tend to approve. Greg Fitzsimmons, who started this entire mess when Murray “discovered” him and his bongos, and caused a riff in the band when Murray forced him onto Bret and Jermaine.

Another great thing about this episode, we weren’t inundated with eight minutes of crappy songs like we usually are. Outside of a Footloose parody, a portion of “Crazy Dogs” new “Arf Arf” video, some tidbits of “The Humans Are Dead” performances (One with The Orginal Flight of The Conchords (Bret and Dimitri) and Flight of The Conchords (Greg and Jermaine)) and some rehersals; we were spared any uncomfortable, psuedo-videos that were beginning to test my patience. What we saw, sans the parody, was actually necessary to the plot and the humor was appropriately derivative.

This was a bizarre little episode, but enjoyable all the same. And a good conclusion to a successful pilot season. Whether they have enough versatility to stay interesting for a second season remains in question, but for now the series is a success, and we can leave it at that.

There it is, once Mad Men and Rescue Me wraps up their respective seasons, we are done with summer television on this site. Clear your schedules for It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia and Curb Your Enthusiasm both of which start next week.