Procrastinator’s Roundup, Part 3: Meh Monday

So many shows to watch on Monday.  So little to say about them.  Which is why I won’t be covering any of them in any regular manner.

Gotham

I continue to watch Gotham, but in general have little to say about it.   What I enjoy most about the show is what critics seem to dislike, the inclusion of young Bruce Wayne.  But this is what gives the story its heart.

Alfred & Bruce: The best (i.e., my favorite) reason to watch Gotham

We’re told Jim Gordon is a decorated combat veteran, and the son of the city’s one-time District Attorney who was killed before his time, yet these haven’t been addressed since the pilot.  Nor has there been much effort to portray him as a lone policeman fighting corruption.  The only depth of character we’ve seen is his relationship with his fiance Barbara Kean, and that’s not only boring, it’s currently on the outs.  (And will hopefully remain so.)  I’d love the writers to explore the history of Gordon’s father.  Was it really a random car accident that killed him?

Gordon’s partner Harvey Bullock is an enigma.  He may not be on the take, but he’s not a do-gooder like Gordon.  We’ll likely learn more about him as the series progresses, which might add some depth to him.   Supposedly the next episode, “Spirit of the Goat” (106), explores some of Harvey’s history.

24: Four O’Clock p.m.’s a Bitch

Want a show where nothing goes right?  Welcome to 24: Live Another Day.

4:00 PM – 5:00 PM was a veritable smorgasbord of how to fuck up a plan.  Any plan!  Let’s count ’em.

FU #1:  Last week, the CIA raid on the terrorist compound turned out to be a trap.  An armed U.S. drone, controlled by the terrorist, demolished the building, but we didn’t know if anyone survived.  The two series regulars, station chief Steve Navarro (played by my beloved Benjamin Bratt) and new agent Eric Ritter survive, but four “red shirts” don’t.  (FYI, Benjamin Bratt looks fabulous with his face all dirty—and bloody.)

Eric and Steve survive!

What to Do? What to Do?

Chloe’s back! With a rad haircut and tons of eyeliner.

Its Monday evening and I don’t have anything to watch!  After a season of Sleepy Hollow, Almost Human, Intelligence, and Warehouse 13, not to mention my silly obsession with Charlie White Dancing with the Stars, my evening is free.

Well, there is 24: Live Another Day, complete with London and Benjamin Bratt.  I suppose it could pass for science fiction as much as Last Resort.  Like Last Resort, 24 takes place the real world (of fiction), with real problems.  But its premise and action are so bizarre, it goes beyond plain fiction.  Perhaps we could say Chloe’s mad computer skills tip the show into the science fiction realm.

Or, I could just watch last night’s Believe.

 

Last Resort: The End

Controlled Flight Into Terrain

Well, that was a fast-paced, action-packed pile of nothin’. **

Together again: Marcus and Sam.

Two shows this week left me with a nagging anxiety.  The first was Reilly: Ace of Spies, a PBS series from the ’80’s starring Sam Neill, currently airing on WETA UK.  The show is based on the real life of Sidney Reilly, perhaps Britain’s greatest secret agent.  This particular episode dealt with the attempt to overthrow Lenin, and the outcome was disturbing.  In a way, that’s how this episode felt.  I didn’t feel a sense of closure and I kept thinking of where it went wrong.

I knew Marcus was making a grave error in accepting help from the Chinese.  Not that making a deal with Serrat would have been much  better, but at least Marcus could have dealt with him (i.e., killed the son of a bitch) without creating an international incident.

Last Resort: The Pointy End of the Spear (112)

I’m finding it very hard to recap this episode.  It felt like there were lots of moving parts (but then, that’s the norm for this show), yet there were really only two:  the mutiny on Sainte Marina and the coup d’etat in Washington, DC.  Both were disappointing.

Admiral Sheppard calls Marcus Chaplin to let him know of the coup.  Once that happens, Marcus plans to surrender the Colorado.  Marcus tells Sam.  By this point he knows Sam is in cahoots with the mutineers.  Oh yeah, and the mutineers blow up a second Chinese relief ship, which could lead to all sorts of international shit.

Last Resort: Damn the Torpedoes (111)

Full steam ahead.  (Sorry, I couldn’t resist.)

Sam is mean.  Chaplin is mad.  Admiral Shepard is out!  Ernie Hudson is in!!

Last Resort; the first 3 episodes

This post was initially a separate page, but since the series is waning and the past few episodes have been rather lack-luster, I took it down.  However, I didn’t want to lose the information, so it’s now included it here.

Captain (101)

Shortly after the USS Colorado picks up a team of Navy SEALs in the middle of the Indian Ocean, they’re given an order to nuke Pakistan.  But the order came through back channels, so the Colorado’s Commanding Officer Marcus Chaplin questions it.  When the Colorado doesn’t fire, another U.S. submarine fires a cruise missile at them, sinking the boat and nearly killing the crew. They’re able to recover, and eventually the Colorado harbors on Sainte Marina, an island with a NATO Early Warning Station.

Last Resort: Blue Water

Sam and Sophie?  So much more interesting than Sam and his wife.

It may be time to take down my Last Resort Catch-up page.  The show has only three more episodes when it returns in January, and I can’t really recommend it to anyone after the last few episodes.

“Blue Water” was a bit all over the place.  XO Sam Kendal and SEAL James King head off to Manilla in search of Sam’s wife Christine.  With the help of James’s friend, a former Navy SEAL named Wes, they find her.  This leads to  sappy love-happy Sam/Christine scenes.  Sam’s acting out of character, willing to give up everything to run away somewhere with Christine.  These two have to be the most boring couple ever.  (Yes, even worse than James and Tani.)

Last Resort: Cinderella Liberty

“Cinderella Liberty” features James King’s memories of the Pakistani mission.

This had to be one of the most distressing hours of scripted network television I’ve ever watched.  I can’t give it a rating because, by some standards it was a taut, emotional, well-acted episode.  But it was hard to get past the shock of innocent lives lost.  I’ll give the Last Resort creators credit, they aren’t afraid to push envelop.

The episode begins with the SEAL team in Pakistan, 72 hours before their rendezvous with the USS Colorado (in the series premiere).  King and Hopper are preparing to extract a nuclear scientist whose report proves there are no nuclear weapons in Pakistan.

Last Resort—108

Big Chicken Dinner

And here Last Resort had been on a roll, with 2 of the last 3 episodes getting 5 stars.  But “Big Chicken Dinner” was pretty crappy.  It had so many holes, it might as well have been made of Swiss cheese.

Actually, it’s lucky to get 2 stars.  It gets an extra one for James crushin’ on Grace.  But Grace tells him to go back to being a jackass and she’ll go back to doing her job.