Quotations Marks – Eliot knocks Hardison, Weeds knocks hipocrisy, and FX showrunners knock NBC
Another great quotation week in the world of Television. The great lines weren’t all just on scripted television, as it seemed to be the week of taking shots at NBC, and their … uh … suspect decision making as of late. Can’t say that I blame them. Welcome to the #nbcfail party, boys and girls of FX.
Leverage
“[after explaining how a cell phone is a metal detector] …are you even listening?” – Hardison
“Yeah.” – Eliot
“Well, what did I say?” – Hardison
“You were explaining how you’re still a virgin?” – Eliot
“Skylar? Is that a boy’s name?” – Eliot
The Television Critics Association Press Tour
“They’ve clearly just said, ‘Look, we can’t develop. We can’t develop anything that’s going to stick. We have – clearly can’t find anything with any traction, so we quit.’” – Rescue Me showrunner Peter Tolan on NBC’s new Jay Leno show
“They should take down the American Flag from the building and put up a white one … They’ve given up.” – Tolan again
See Jane Clack – Grace Hanadarko vs. Patty Hewes
In my DVD post this week, it occurred to me that Saving Grace’s Grace Hanadarko and Damages‘ Patty Hewes are a lot a like. Well, maybe not so much alike, but they’re both intense and tend to live life on the edge. Let’s take a closer look at these two chicks and see how they compare … or not …
Hair: Wild vs. Neat. Grace boasts a long mane that flies everywhere and is indicative of her unrestrained outlook on life. Patty, on the other hand, has a cropped ‘do with never a hair out of place unless she’s been stabbed and has collapsed in an elevator. Even then, the hair is still prim and proper, much like her ability to sit through a conversation without letting on she’s been stabbed.
Rescue Me, Season 5 – CliqueClack Preview
One think you’ve got to love about FX – if you’re in the business of reviewing shows — is that they do it right when they send out their previews. None of that one-episode and some interviews crap. In the case of 30 Days and short run shows like that, they just go ahead and send you the whole thing. And for their staple series like the late The Shield and Rescue Me, they give you just shy of ten full episodes to look at. With Rescue Me’s fifth season, premiering tonight at 10pm/9pm Central, set to run 22 consecutive episodes, this is still almost half of that.
Now, if anyone out there is still thinking that Rescue Me has been in a bit of a creative slump, it looks like the extended hiatus was good for the writers. The show is as sharp as it’s ever been. Throughout these nine episodes there were no weak spots. Not to mention that the first few episodes kicked things off with a couple of bright guest spots as well, particularly Karina Lombard (The L Word, The 4400) and Michael J. Fox.
Damages – Who dies in the season two finale?
Oh my, my, MY! The season two finale of Damages brought a lot of surprises, but I’m not surprised, because that’s the way it went down in season one, as well. Things didn’t end up at all like I thought they would.
The scene we’ve been wondering about all season — with Patty sitting across the table from Ellen and her gun — involved a lot of twists and turns. And a bunch of characters emerged to help wrap things up, including Uncle Pete’s widow, who managed to fuel Ellen’s quest for revenge with damaging photos of the guy who attacked her, orchestrated by Uncle Pete at Patty’s request.
Damages – Patty goes ballistic; Purcell gets dirty and comes clean
I find myself waiting for that last scene in Damages, because I know we’ll get a few more clues as to how the season ends and who the shooter is. And wow, we sure got some in this episode. For anyone who hasn’t seen the show yet, I’ll wait til after the jump to go all spoilery on you, but let’s just say I can’t wait til next week, where we’ll get an hour and a half finale.
Damages – Claire Maddox gets played
Before I get to my big revelation about Damages this week, I first have to say what a fabulous actress Marcia Gay Harden is. A friend of mine sat four feet away from her two days ago, watching her on stage with James Gandolfini and Jeff Daniels in God of Carnage on Broadway. That Harden can go from stage to screen and back again — and do it all with seeming ease — is astounding.
Harden’s Claire Maddox was front and center in this week’s episode of Damages. She played Walter Hendrick like a grand piano, getting second in command Mitch to try and take over, knowing full well that Mitch had skeletons in his closet which would put Claire in the top spot. But did she really think Hendrick wouldn’t be onto her? Of course, he was ahead of the game, getting her booted out of the company before she could worm her way into the leadership.
Damages’ Patty Hewes’ house of cards
Just when I was thinking how outrageous it was that Patty would be shocked over Phil’s affair with the London trader, she shows me once again that she’s really smart and knows what’s going on around her. Or … does she?
Patty tells Ellen that it wasn’t Phil’s affair that’s got her miffed. “It was that he got sloppy. Let himself get caught. That bothers me.” So, the entire thing about the New York Style magazine article and photo shoot … of course, it was all a fiasco. Patty had Tom and Ellen talking her up big-time, saying there was not a thing wrong with Patty. That she’s pure as the driven snow.
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