Dirty Sexy Money – The usual driver
In the course of a regular season, this episode might have worked very well. Instead, it played as the return episode for a canceled series that had been off the air for more than four months. As such, with the details of the Darling family saga less than fresh in my mind, I think Clark may have just confused me more.
I appreciate the inventiveness of the script, the blatant nod to one of my favorite films of all time. Clark has been loyal to a fault to the Darling family, so I’ll admit that I was confused by his openness and candor to the reporter. And while the details of his story seemed a little odd, I found myself struggling with my memory of past events. Read the rest of this entry »
Sports Night Blows the Hatch – Dan makes an apology
This is an Ivey West original. Due to the limitations of Internet on airplanes, as well as Ivey’s inclusion on the “watch list”, I’m doing a favor for a friend. But, be sure that this is an Ivey; do I tend to be this positive when I write? Begin, sir.
My love for all things Sorkin is well known around these parts. I think The West Wing is the greatest television show that ever aired, and I’ve said as recently as yesterday that the only people that like Studio 60 were me, Bob Sassone, and Aaron Sorkin’s mother.
A Few Good Men and The American President stand with some of my favorite films of all time. However, I’ve long held that his most under-appreciated work was Sports Night. Based (not so) loosely on ESPN’s SportsCenter, the show follows the behind the scenes antics (and if there was ever an appropriate time to use that word, it would be to describe these guys) of the production of a nightly sports recap show. I’ve written about the characters before; they are wacky and witty, wise and wise-asses, and they work so perfectly well together. Read the rest of this entry »
Diary of a Six Feet Under virgin – Season four ends on a low note, a really low note
(Season 4, Episodes 10-12)
Alright, so there is a small moment of hope and wisdom to end the season between David and a vision of his father, but come on, the end of this season was pretty bleak. Let’s summarize, shall we: Nate drives his former brother-in-law to blow his brains out right in front of him, George is crazy, Claire gets coked up at her art show and alienates all her friends, David has to face his attacker, and Rico’s marriage officially comes to an end. Good times.
The penultimate season of Six Feet Under seemed to really fly by. There was one less episode than usual, but it felt even shorter than that. I can’t believe that I only have one season left, but it looks like there may be some interesting things in store for the Fishers come season five.
Diary of a Six Feet Under virgin – The past gets buried, then burned
(Season 4, Episodes 1-3)
Season four of Six Feet Under has begun, and it picked up right where season three ended, without the time jump that occurred between seasons two and three. As the season opened, everything is where we left it: Nate is still railing against the loss of Lisa, George and Ruth are newly married and everyone is trying to get used to the idea, Claire is done with Russell, and Rico continues to hang out with his new stripper friend.
I have to say that I continue to be blown away by this show. It is quickly becoming one of my favorite shows ever, and I still have the majority of two seasons to go through. The acting is impeccable, the writing is top notch, and the characters are endlessly fascinating. I love it.
Diary of a Six Feet Under virgin – A shocking turn of events
(Season 3, Episodes 8-11)
Season three of Six Feet Under is quickly (more quickly than I would like) drawing to an end. Oh boy, what an end it is shaping up to be. I don’t usually get shocked by TV shows, with the possible exception of Lost, but I can honestly say that I was shocked with the turn of events in this group of episodes.
I’ve been enjoying the bizarre, head-rubbing relationship between Arthur and Ruth. It looks like it may be over before it even began, but I’ve enjoyed it nonetheless. I’ve also appreciated the story line with Rico and his depressed wife. I usually fail to mention Rico in these diary entries, not because I don’t like the character, but because he usually takes a back seat to the Fishers. I thought it was nice to see him get a little bit more of a story in these episodes.
Sports Night: Ain’t nothing but a family thing
I was recently having a conversation with Julia about the brilliance of the West Wing, and the topic of Sports Night came up. We were talking about how TWW’s CJ was a pretty well crafted female character, one who I always compared to Dana from Sports Night. I was challenged to talk about what such strong female characters Aaron Sorkin has been able to develop over the years (A task I fear I would fail miserably, and I think the Sisterhood deserves a better spokesperson than me). Instead I want to delve into the near perfect family dynamic that the characters of Sports Night became:
Diary of a Six Feet Under virgin – Minor characters shine
(Season 2, Episodes 4-6)
As season 2 of Six Feet Under continues on, I can’t help thinking that it feels a whole lot like season 1. Not that that is a bad thing, but the transition was so smooth, and stories so fluid I don’t think I ever would have known the seasons changed if I were catching reruns.
This group of episodes happened to feature some great guest spots. Lisa, Nate’s former Seattle roommate was joined by the reappearance of Margaret, Brenda’s mother, and Mitzi Huntley, the harpy from Kroehner. Add in the introduction of Ruth’s sister, and this run was all about the guest stars.
Most Commented (Past Week)