The West Wing blew the hatch with Charlie’s assassination attempt
The first season of The West Wing was some great drama. Mixing political and social commentary with deft humor and pop culture references, the show gave us a number of entertaining and thought-provoking episodes. There were hints of bigger and more dramatic events during the season, but nothing so earth-shattering that it changed the dynamic of the series.
That is, until the second season premiere. With the assassination attempt of Presidential aide Charlie Young, the series Blew the Hatch and became a different show. Not in a bad way, mind you. On the contrary; what the multi-part episode “In the Shadow of Two Gunmen” did was set the stage for a more vibrant program, with an enhanced cast of characters.
The West Wing Blew the Hatch with Bartlet dressing down Mary Marsh
As much as I love The West Wing, and as much as I was feeding into the hype surrounding its premiere (being the SportsNight nut that I was at the time), I actually forgot it was on the first night, and only caught the last act. I was instantly hooked, because, well Sorkin is a genius with words (when not … er … distracted by other things), because the actors so wonderfully fit into their characters (for the most part, and I’ll get to that in a second), and because I was a political junkie (at the time … no longer an affliction I still carry). That moment solidified my fandom, so much so that now that I’ve seen all of the episodes (many, many times), it still deserves the Blow the Hatch tag.
Defying Gravity’s Beta revealed … blame Canada
Friday night, Canada’s CTV aired the ninth episode of Defying Gravity, an episode we in the U.S. may not ever see until the series makes its way to DVD. By other means — be it via a friend with a SlingBox or dowloading via torrents — some of you may (or will) get a chance to see that episode and the few more to follow. For those who were hanging on just to know what this “Beta” thing is, well, I’ll go ahead and tell you.
SPOILER ALERT! If you continue reading on or even looking below, you’re basically at risk of having the gist of the entire episode revealed to you, including what Beta is, how they have it and what it means for the rest of the show!
Angel blew the hatch with Wesley’s road to bad-assery
This example of Hatch Blowing is going to sound familiar, if you read my previous one on Veronica Mars. As I said then, the transformation of Logan Echolls from unlikeable punk to likable suitor for Veronica was remarkable. Along those same lines, Angel had an amazing transformation to behold, with the depussification of Wesley Wyndam-Pryce. However, unlike Veronica Mars’s Logan, the road to bad-ass “rogue demon hunter” Wesley took seasons to accomplish in full.
Twin Peaks blew the hatch with Cooper’s dream
It’s no secret that I’m a huge Twin Peaks fan. When we started tossing around the Blow the Hatch idea, I knew exactly what that moment was for me on Twin Peaks. In the second episode of the show (not including the TV movie pilot), agent Dale Cooper has a dream. A super trippy, David Lynch directed, acid trip of a dream. I still think it was one of the greatest scenes to ever be on television, and it defined the show. The scene would go on to be mocked, mimicked, and analyzed for years to come.
When Supernatural blew the hatch – Bloody Mary
Now wait a minute — hear me out, you naysayers. Even though I only recently earned my Supernatural whore status, I’m aware of what the fan community generally thinks of “Bloody Mary,” and for the most part, it ain’t good.
I have a different experience with this episode, though. Look beyond the camp of the urban legend, and for crying out loud, don’t say “Bloody Mary” three times to see if the episode gets any better. That’s not what this episode was about, people.
It was about Supernatural laying the groundwork for the series it was to become. “Bloody Mary,” my friends, was when Supernatural Blew the Hatch for me.
30 Rock Blew the Hatch when Jack and Kenneth played poker
Remember how 30 Rock and Studio 60 premiered at the same time, and everyone knew that there was only room for one “behind the scenes at a late-night sketch comedy show” series, and most people, it seemed, had their money on the Sorkin one? Before they aired, one of my friends even dismissed 30 Rock “the un-funny sitcom version” of what was sure to be the far-superior Studio 60.
Well that obviously turned out to not be true. But while Studio 60 became universally hated, 30 Rock was busy being universally ignored. No one I knew was watching 30 Rock. I fell instantly in love, but felt as though I were by myself. I tried to get my friends into it, but nobody was biting. Until, that is, Jack and Kenneth played poker.
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