Fri, Apr 24, 09 - My Boys, Burn Notice, In Plain Sight, The Listener

Forints Temmuz 24, 2022

06.00 My Boys
06.30 Burn Notice
07.30 In Plain Sight
08.30 The Listener

My Boys. Season 3, Episode 2. "Private Eyes" The show deals with the PJ/Bobby romance by not writing about it, at all. Instead, we see how it will affect the group and - as a by-product - we get to see what a cool couple PJ and Bobby really are.

Not only is this a very funny show (and serious contender for funniest show on TV) it's also a major 'feel good' show. This is a good bunch of people, and they are cool to hang with.

Burn Notice. Season 2, Episode 15. "Sins of Omission" Michael's ex-fiancée shows up needing help. Michael's ex-fiancée!?!?!

Let's just run down the cast of this episode: You have Jeffrey Donovan, Gabrielle Anwar, Sharon Gless and Bruce Campbell in the regular cast, you have Michael Shanks and Tricia Helfer as semi-regulars, and the episode throws in Dina Meyer and Jay Karnes as guest stars.

Frak!

I've been a huge Donovan fan since his turn as The Pretender's brother, Anwar was one of the best things about Press Gang, I've had a crush on Sharon Gless since her time on Switch (how I love that show!) and Bruce Campbell is awesome beyond belief. Don't believe me, then check out Brisco County, Jr. Shanks and Helfer were standout, scene-stealing cast members on ensemble shows. I've adored Meyer since her time on Beverly Hills, 90210 and the opening episodes of Michael Hayes. Not to mention that she is responsible for one of the best sex scenes ever filmed for mainstream cinema. Then there's Jay Karnes who almost stole The Shield out from under Michael Chiklis (if such a thing were possible).

And here they all are, appearing in the same episode of Burn Notice.

Who stole the show?

Jay Karnes blew everyone else off the screen as - quite simply - the smartest bad guy Michael has ever faced and - it must be said - one of the smarted bad guys any action show has ever delivered. The battle of wits between him and Michael really felt like a game of chess, and I hope we see this guy again. And again.

In other news: it was a great story, with lots of superb character moments. Michael's scenes with his ex-fiancée, his mother and Fiona (especially that lovely final scene with Fiona) were superb character sketches.

In Plain Sight. Season 2, Episode 1. "Gilted Lily" A family is torn apart by stolen coins (in an unexpected way).

Clever stuff. In Plain Sight returns with an episode that not only gives full focus to Mary (who is trying to cope with the aftermath of being kidnapped and almost killed last season) but also manages to deliver one of the best case-of-the-week stories they have every used on the show. Quite a feat.

To be honest, there is enough material here for two great episodes: a deep, dark character-study on Mary, and a twisty-turny case-of-the-week yarn. But the show combines them. And it works. While the case could certainly sustain a whole episode, the Mary stuff might get a tad boring after twenty minutes. The balance works and makes them both very enjoyable.

The Listener. Episode 7. "Iris" Faith healer.

This is a strong and enjoyable tale, but it's a very, very frustrating and unrewarding episode following last week's cliff-hanger.

At the end of Episode 6, Detective Marks (the utterly gorgeous Lisa Marcos) figured out that Toby could hear her thoughts. So in this episode... the writers barely feature her at all!!! And - worse than that - when she shows up to talk to Toby, the conversation that follows is... off-camera.

What the frak?!!

I mean, that's a guaranteed way to annoy and alienate your viewers. C'mon, the only thing that we are tuning in to see (after that cliff-hanger) is how Toby and Marks deal with one another, now that she knows his secret. And they don't show it??!!

That's just inept.

Aside from the lack of story/character development, I'm annoyed that Marks doesn't feature in the episode very much because Lisa Marcos is too sexy for words. (Hence the abundance of pictures!!)

Even without Detective Marks, this is pretty strong and enjoyable episode. Toby is pretty cool in this one (leaping a hotel reception desk, at one point, to get the information he needs) and the story has a nice twist to lift it from the norm: the girl he's helping has powers, too.

Michelle Adams gives a terrific performance as the girl with the powers. She brings a great sense of being 'above' everything to the role. Just like Craig Olejnik, really, who makes a fantastic lead.