ASHES TO ASHES 3.6

WRITER: James Payne
DIRECTOR: Jamie Payne
GUEST CAST: Joseph Long, Stanley Townsend & Steven Robertson

[SPOILERS] Ashes To Ashes thankfully pulls off a very good episode, if one that didn't strike me as wholly realistic -- what with Gene (Philip Glenister) refusing to wear riot gear in the middle of a prison uprising, yet somehow avoiding being hit by projectiles raining down on everyone else from angry inmates. And would such an occurrence really be tackled by the a six-man team from Fenchurch CID? Forgiving the relaxed grasp of realism with the premise, everything else was solid and flirted with greatness occasionally, if never quite managing to seal the deal...

As mentioned, this week's episode revolved around a prison riot, orchestrated by burly criminal Sacks (Stanley Townsend), who managed to capture Viv (Geff Francis) during the response team's attempt to restore order, prompting a tense hostage negotiation over the copper's life. As usual, Gene's tactics resorted to tough-talking, threats of violence and misguided plan of action, whereas modernist Alex (Keeley Hawes) tried to calm the situation and find a way to bring things to an amicable end. But with Viv's life hanging in the balance, because cop-killer Sacks intends to break his record, time was of the essence. For Alex, matters were also complicated by the arrival at Fenchurch of prison escapee Thordy (Steven Robertson), a con man who tries to convince her that he's actually "dead" Sam Tyler (with an altered appearance and erased fingerprints) who wants to tell her "the answers" to the mysteries of her being in the 1980s. But can she trust Thordy's tall stories, or is he just a fantasist manipulating the situation using her diacritic beliefs?

Episode 6 certainly had some very good moments and keen developments to this series' arc: the reveal that Viv was complicit in the riot and had passed Sacks a handgun, intending spring his cousin out of C Wing during the melee as "payment"; seeing Gene's bullheaded approach bite him in the arse once Chris (Marshall Lancaster) and Ray (Dean Andrews) went in undercover as reporters, only to be exposed and connected to a metal fence that would electrify them if Keats' (Daniel Mays) armed squad stormed the prison; and the general ambiguity about how far Alex can trust Thordy's claim that he's Sam with a new face, given that he doesn't know his pop-trivia circa 1994. Or, as he claims in his defense, do your memories melt away the longer you stay in this "otherworld".

My problems with episode 6 stemmed from a few things: specifics of the situation didn't feel very plausible to me, it would have been nice to have been given more insight into the criminal's intentions and the media storm going on, and most crucially I felt no real connection to Viv as a person. Up until this point, Viv's been little more than a glorified extra, so genuinely fearing for his safety was never an option. Why couldn't Ray have been the one taken hostage? Also, while it was a mild surprise to see Viv killed in the end, it would have been more memorable if the script hadn't lost its courage and had killed Ray or Chris, as threatened. That would have really upset the apple cart as we approach the last two episodes. Regardless, it was fascinating to see Keats was the one at Viv's side as he died from his injuries in the darkened corridor, although it seemed like he was actually draining Viv's life-force from his body, rather than ease his passing as he did Louise in episode 4. The first clear sign that Keats is the villain of the piece, for me, given Viv's expression.

Overall, there was still enough intrigue and gripping moments to keep episode 6 on-track for the duration. It was particularly unexpected to have Alex encounter someone claiming he actually is Sam Tyler, mainly because I can't fathom another explanation about how Thordy (fantasist or not) would know exactly how to push Alex's buttons. And some of Thordy's information did bear fruit, as Alex unlocked Gene's desk drawer and discovered a tin containing a roll of camera film and a photo of the young policeman who's been haunting her, before whatever caused his facial disfigurement. That wasn't totally unexpected (neither was confirmation that the numbers 6-6-20 correspond to the cop's epaulette), but how does he tie-in to Sam Tyler's story...?

Asides

• Since when did people ever call Viv "Skip"? Maybe they have done and I've never picked up on it, but it felt like this episode went to great pains to convince us how important and beloved Viv was, when the truth is he was a very underwritten desk sergeant character of no real importance.
• Some choice dialogue to ruminate on: "I want to float amongst the stars. I want to die. Let me go" says Thordy. "Dots of light, like just before you blackout" says Ray. The latter perhaps a suggestion that everyone seeing stars are, like Alex, experiencing a collective "dream"? Is the fact Chris hasn't seen stars significant? Or will he see them soon?
• The song "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles" was also sung by Keats throughout this episode, so peruse the lyrics for any significance.
• The scarred policeman. I still think it must be a young Gene Hunt, meaning the Gene we've been following in Life On Mars and Ashes To Ashes is a willing "dreamer" like Sam and Alex, but one who doesn't want to wake up and has found a way not to. I guess we'll find out how close that is to the truth in a few week's time.

7 MAY 2010: BBC1/HD, 9PM

LOST 6.14 - "The Candidate"

WRITERS: Elizabeth Sarnoff & Jim Galasso
DIRECTOR: Jack Bender
GUEST CAST: Alan Dale, Katey Sagal, Kevin Tighe, Sam Anderson & Fred Koehler

[SPOILERS] This was a strong episode of the season (one that felt like it's catapulted us into the final straight), but with caveats attached. There are now just four episodes left (although the two-part finale has been extended by half an hour) and there's still such a lot to explain. I don't think we'll ever get answers to everything, particularly questions raised in the show's formative years (like why the Others were so interested in stealing children), which is a shame, but I might be wrong. Maybe there's a unifying theory that will cover most of Lost's loose ends soon? Or a tie-in book for Christmas.

X-Timeline '04: Jack & Locke

This week's flashsideways was a satisfying part of "The Candidate", as Jack (Matthew Fox) began to realize he's been "coincidentally" bumping into passengers of Oceanic 815 these past few weeks, and took it upon himself to investigate why Locke (Terry O'Quinn) refuses to have cutting-edge surgery to restore the use of his legs.

It turned out that alt-Locke became a paraplegic after crashing a light-aircraft he was piloting; an accident that put his passenger father Anthony Cooper (Kevin Tighe) in a state of permanent catatonia. Locke's own disability is the cross he bears as penance for the accident he blames himself for. There was an especially powerful moment when Jack saw Locke's dad at a care home, because (given the fact Cooper was one of Lost's more hateable villains) feeling intense sympathy for his character was an effective surprise. Anthony's glassy, zombified expression made for a genuinely haunting visual sting.

O'Quinn and Fox were also fantastic in a scene where Jack tried to convince Locke to let go of his guilt and improve his own quality of life. I'd go as far as to say this scene was more resonant than the overt attempts to stir emotions in the present-day storyline, but more on that later. Plus, there was a cute meeting with Bernard (Sam Anderson) as Locke's dentist, and Jack grew closer to his half-sister Claire (Emilie de Ravin) over a music-box their dead father left her in his Will. Note another "reflection shot" of the pair in the box's inside mirror, too.

The Island '07: Jack, Locke, etc.

I have to say I'm disappointed by how haphazard the plotting has felt in the present-day story this season. Last week Jack swam back to the main Island, having decided he didn't want to join Sawyer's (Josh Holloway) defectors as they crossed to Hydra Island to teamup with Widmore, but here he wakes up on Hydra having been taken there against his will by Locke, Sayid (Naveen Andrews) and Claire!

Then, having spent so long being reminded that Widmore's (Alan Dale) team have erected a sonic fence to keep Locke/Smokey at bay, it turns out you can turn their fence off from the outside? What? And finally, there's been so much focus on the Ajira airplane as a means for Locke to escape the Island with the candidates, but within minutes it became clear that Widmore's rigged the plane with explosives anyway, meaning that's a dead-end. I hope someone gets word to Richard's splinter group, who were last seen heading to the Barracks to get explosives to do something that's now irrelevant! And doesn't that also make Jacob's insistence the group follow Richard's leader look very misplaced?

The Submarine '07: Jack, Locke, etc.

With the airplane too dangerous to use, Locke suggests they follow Sawyer's plan-B of hijacking Widmore's submarine to leave the Island instead, apparently having made a breakthrough in earning everyone's trust -- convincing them that it's Widmore who wanted to lure everyone onto the plane so he could blow them all up. However, Jack and Sawyer are still suspicious of Locke's motives and improvise a plan to steal the sub and leave ol' Smokey behind. Their plan was set in motion during an intense gunfight against Widmore's cronies at the jetty, during which Locke was pushed into the ocean by Jack and left behind with Claire on the dock, as everyone else piled into the sub and ordered its pilot to submerge.

However, there was a cruel twist in the tale, with Jack discovering Locke had planted a bomb in his rucksack that's timed to detonate in three minutes. Still, Jack was sure that "rules" prevent Locke from killing "candidates" by his own hand, so they're only in danger if they try to disarm the harmless bomb themselves and thus activate it for real. Unfortunately, Sawyer wasn't convinced by Jack's theory and his attempt to disarm the bomb instead hastened the countdown -- forcing Sayid to commit suicide by taking the explosive to a different part of the sub, blowing a hole in the vessel's hull. As the sub sank, Hurley (Jorge Garcia) was forced to leave with the gunshot Kate (Evangeline Lilly), Jack was likewise committed to helping an unconscious Sawyer escape to the surface, meaning everyone was forced to leave Jin (Daniel Dae Kim) as he struggled to help free Sun (Yunjin Kim) alone, who had become pinned to a bulkhead.

Given my recent ambivalence for the Kwon's, the dual death scene for Jin and Sun worked surprisingly well -- although it irritated me that neither of them thought about the fact they're orphaning their daughter. And, unfortunately, all the deaths right now don't carry a true sense of finality because Sayid, Jin and Sun are all still alive in the tangent universe. So, maybe they could come back? In the case of Sayid, will we ever get an explanation for his resurrection and why it resulted in him losing all emotions? Or has that entire storyline died with him?

In Summation

Clearly, Jack's "the candidate" destined to replace Jacob, as even Sayid entrusted him with information about where Desmond's being kept (as the Scotsman's the key to uniting the two realities, right?) I just wonder if the Island-characters will ever come to realize this alternative timeline exists, as so far nobody's aware of it. I also wonder if alt-Desmond will contact alt-Jack and explain things to him soon, if only so we can be sure Desmond actually grasps what's happened. That's still not clear. He just knows that everyone on his flight from Sydney have lived another life, right? Does Desmond have a way to actually bring that reality back into existence?

Are the characters in the alt-universe with no living equivalents in the primary-universe doomed to vanish from existence entirely, or will they return to life? What was Desmond's plan with running over Locke, exactly? Did he know that would get him interacting with Jack at the hospital? Sounds like a stretch to me. Locke hasn't demonstrated any signs of having glimpses the original reality post-op, a la Hurley, Charlie and Libby.

Overall, despite some niggles with how the storyline's often bent into shape with a hammer, "The Candidate" had the emotional clout to prove itself a worthy and thrilling hour. There were a lot of deaths, the two that mattered (Jin and Sun) worked very well, and we were finally given clarity about Locke's motivations. The gloves are off, it seems. How will Locke possibly get the candidates to kill themselves, now they're aware that's what he needs to escape?

Questions, Questions, Questions!

• Where did Widmore get his "list" from? Does it exactly match Jacob's list of candidates? Is he on the side of the candidates?
• Is Lapidus dead? I take it he went down with the sub and drowned, meaning he's one of a few characters never to have been given a proper back-story flashback (along with Libby and Ilana.)

7 MAY 2010: SKY1/HD, 9PM

JUSTIFIED 1.1 - "Fire In The Hole"

Five USA are showing FX's hit crime drama JUSTIFIED every Wednesday @10pm, starring Timothy Olyphant, the pilot of which I've reviewed over at Obsessed With Film:

"My childhood memories of American television mostly take place in pastoral areas of the USA. The A-Team, Dallas, Knight Rider, The Dukes Of Hazzard, The Fall Guy; in each the countryside were backdrops of cacti, never-ending roads, deserts, creeks, pickup trucks, good ol' boys, moonshine and Stetsons. At some point in the late-'80s, US television started to cling to its cosmopolitan coasts for more urban drama, but trends appear to be reversing with True Blood (Louisiana), Breaking Bad (New Mexico) and now Justified (Kentucky) restoring a rural view of America again. There's just something more romantic, dangerous and culturally pure about that." Continue reading...

DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES 6.14 – "The Glamorous Life"

WRITER: Dave Flebotte
DIRECTOR: Bethany Rooney
GUEST STARS: Julie Benz, Jane Leeves, Brent Briscoe, Suzanne Dodd, John Rubinstein, Orson Bean, Edmund L. Shaff, Michael Crider & Mindy Stirling

[SPOILERS] While by no means an excruciating watch, this week's snoop around Wisteria Lane suffered from not packing enough of a dramatic punch. A mid-season lull, perhaps? Far too many of the show's multiple story threads were treading water in "The Glamorous Life" (or only just picking up), and in the one instance where drama and affection should have been ramped up, writer Dave Flebotte chose puns over poignancy, robbing the episode of its heart and settling for superficial gloss instead. "Glamorous" indeed...

I will start with my gripe: I was astounded at the unsuitably trivial tone of recently paralysed Orson's (Kyle MacLachlan) struggle with depression -- since when has the solemn subject of suicide been handled with such humour?! I have mentioned in recent weeks how it is hard for me to identify with such an unsettled character as Orson Hodge, so how are we meant to sympathise with his grave and weighty matter if he's slinging out brash one-liners while supposedly contemplating giving up on life?! Furthermore, why has Bree (Marcia Cross) suddenly decided that she no longer loves her husband? While she was sleeping with Karl she admitted to Angie (Drea de Matteo) that she couldn't let go of her strong bond with Orson, so why the abrupt change of heart?

With Danny Bolen (Beau Mirchoff) and Ana Solis's (Maira Walsh) relationship in full swing, Gabrielle (Eva Longoria Parker) and Carlos (Carlos Chavira) fret about the teens doing the nasty, while Danny's mother takes a more laid-back and realistic view. That is until she spies Carlos pinning her half-dressed son up against the wall and her heckles flair up. Threatening to kill Carlos if he dares touch her son again, Angie returns home to be berated by husband Nick (Jeffrey Nordling) for letting her temper get the better of her; he fears their cover will be blown if she flairs up too often, especially as she has been getting narky with a neighbour (Suzanne Dodd) for not separating her rubbish into separate bins (see what I mean about treading water?) As coincidence would have it, Gaby and Carlos are at the Bolen's front door armed with apologies and cookies, only to overhear the unsettling domestic riot. Tongues will wag and judgement will be passed after Gaby is through spreading this exclusive around the Lane...

Having hugged out her rivalry with mentally unstable Katherine (Dana Delaney, who did not feature this week) at the end of last week's episode, it was high time Susan Mayer (Teri Hatcher) found herself a new story arc to stress her out until the end of the season. Well she couldn’t have spent a whole week doing anything vaguely normal, could she? This new hobby, conveniently, arrived in "The Glamorous Life" in the form of stripper-with-lofty-aspirations, Robin Gallagher (Julie Benz).

After signing over the deeds of her inherited share in gentlemen's club Double D's to Jimbo Rooney (Brent Briscoe), Susan spots the far-too-perfect Robin reading Moby Dick -- cue a phallus joke -- while waiting for a client, and plants in her head the idea of quitting and finding a more fulfilling and less sleazy way of earning money. Of course, that is easier said than done when you live in a community as close-knit as Fairview and you take your clothes off every week. Susan feels the weight of meddling -- sorry, responsibility, and invites the jobless and penniless Robin to stay at chez Mayer until she lands on her feet, much to son MJ's (Mason Vale Cotton) delight. Just a fortnight ago, Susan was furious at Mike (James Denton) for taking a job amongst beautiful women, now she is inviting one to live with them -- isn't that a little contradictory of her character?

Lastly, disagreeable couple Lynette (Felicity Huffman) and Tom Scavo (Doug Savant) were this week finally granted a reprieve from their stretch of solemn storylines, although they are still in therapy, so they aren't out of the woods and free to smile yet. They are, however, finished with Dr. Graham (Jane Leeves), after brown-nose Tom bought tickets to her amateur performance of Antony and Cleopatra and they endured four hours of the shoddiest acting ever from a deluded professional whose opinion they are meant to trust. It was amusing to watch Jane Leeves purposefully fluff her lines as her prop crown clanged to the stage floor, but it did seem like an episode of padding for Tom and Lynette's storyline. Although at least now they can finally agree on something, as Tom had to sacrifice being liked to admit how terrible Dr. Graham's "talent" was. Negligible progress all round for the housewives this week, then...

5 MAY 2010: CHANNEL 4/HD, 9PM

V, 1.10 - "Hearts And Minds"

WRITER: Gregg Hurwitz
DIRECTOR: Bobby Roth
GUEST CAST: Charles Mesure, Mark Hildreth, Roark Critchlow, Christopher Shyer & Rekha Sharma

[SPOILERS] Act One was especially bad and the script lacked courage throughout, turning "Hearts And Minds" into a tedious and cowardly hour. There are only a few episodes left this season, so I hope the writers have something big planned for the finale, but my expectations remain very low...

In media res openings are very common in sci-fi, but often a sign that a script doesn't have much narrative strength. They're used to hook an audience with a glimpse of an inciting moment yet to come, before rewinding to explain how things arrived at that point. There are good examples of this technique being used (see: Mission Impossible III), but it's usually an unnecessary and dull way to grab attention.

"Hearts And Minds" began with Ryan (Morris Chestnut), Father Jack (Joel Gretsch) and Hobbes (Charles Mesure) shooting down a V transport shuttle with a "bazooka", before discovering the passengers inside were innocent humans. Unfortunately, the story then spent its entire first Act explaining how we arrived at that moment, which wasn't enlightening (er, they decided to shoot down a shuttle) and certainly wasn't interesting.

Still, it became clear that Chad's (Scott Wolf) on the side of the V's, as he's using Father Jack as his contact with the Fifth Column movement and reporting back to Anna (Morena Baccarin). I'm stll not convinced by the reporter's reasons (worldwide fame), but it's otherwise a good way to link the two fronts of this series. Chad's role as an informant tipped Anna off about the Fifth Column's intentions to destroy a V shuttle, prompting her to ensure the shuttle was loaded with people. Unfortunately, the script lost its nerve when it was later revealed these human "fatalities" were corpses already, with Anna having framed the rebels as a way to turn public opinion against V dissention. Photo evidence of Anna's plan from the crime scene was also erased at the FBI, alerting Erica (Elizabeth Mitchell) to the fact a V is working undercover at the Bureau, with her boss Kendrick (Roark Critchlow) the prime suspect.

It would have been more interesting if the rebellion had really killed innocent people, let's face it, but V's unfortunately not willing to walk into that heart of darkness. So who were the dead people Anna loaded aboard the shuttle? Surely the public will want names of the deceased to grieve over, so did Anna kill innocent people aboard her mothership and put their bodies on the shuttle? If so, why bother if they were going to be killed? Letting them die as a result of the terrorist attack wouldn't have ruined her plan, and would have been the better option (i.e. it would have destabilized the Fifth Column's resolve and wouldn't have required erasure of evidence.) And surely the FBI's forensics will wonder why human bones from the wreckage are that of dead bodies, if even Erica could spot that with a cursory glance at a photo. The story's desire to go soft on its audience worked directly against any logic, basically.

"Hearts And Minds" did have a few things to recommend. Anna's plan may have been illogical in some respects, but its desired effect was nice to see play out -- as she announced the V's may leave Earth over the shuttle disaster and this prompted an outpouring of sympathy for her people. Seeing Erica have to interrogate Father Jack at the FBI was weirdly enjoyable because it was so poorly acted, and a reveal that Agent Malik (Rekha Sharma) is an undercover V with a girl-crush on Anna amused me. What is it about Sharma that lands her roles where she has a secret identity, post-Battlestar Galactica? Heck, what is it about Sharma that lands her roles?

And there was decent development with Lisa (Laura Vandervoort), when she realized humans participating in the Live Aboard program are being experimented on and have their memories erased. Her empathy growing as a result of prolonged contact with humans, she therefore decided to end her relationship with Tyler (Logan Huffman) to spare him that same fate. In the final scene, Anna sensed her daughter's emotional qualities, and ordered that Lisa's legs be broken as punishment for her failure and as a way to lure Tyler back.

Asides

• A gutless episode in many ways, but at least the V's secret experimentation on humans was gruesome (people's bodies are surrounded by metal rings that sprout hundreds of needless that pierce them from all angles). V should be more unsettling like that, to live up to the feeling of dread you get from its brief opening title.
• Erica's now lead investigator into the Fifth Column terrorists (shame she's never looked competent as an agent), and Anna believes she has the might of the FBI working towards crushing her enemy because Malik has a key role there, too.
• Father Jack's a dumb liability. His heart's in the right place, but he's unwittingly leaking information to the V's and always the one getting caught. Priests don't make good terrorists!
• Terrible greenscreen again. Hey, remember 15 years ago when you had real sets and things didn’t look like a video-game? I keep thinking I can control events using my Playstation controller during every mothership scene. Which would probably make for a more entertaining episode. Or failing that just make Laura Vandervoort takes her top off and walk around... ahem.
• So now there are "sniffers" to add to the "soldiers". These V's are fast-becoming Pokémon! "Gotta kill 'em all!"
• Kyle Hobbes. Body of Johnny Bravo, face of Peter Sutcliffe.

4 MAY 2010: ABC, 10|9C

State of the Blog: obsessed yet?

A quick update about my plans now we're in May and summer's in the air. As usual, many TV shows are drawing to an end (24, Ashes To Ashes, Chuck, Fringe, Lost and V), while others are halfway through their run (Breaking Bad, Glee, The Pacific), and all will continue to be reviewed every week. The pacing has changed for Fringe because Sky have fallen behind with the US, so I'll now be following Fox's Thursday night airings with weekend reviews.

I have no way of knowing, but I assume everyone's been following my links to the exclusive reviews I've written for Obsessed With Film (Happy Town, The Wire Season 2, Luther)? And as I said last week, OWF is now where the majority of TV news content will be posted, although I may do weekly "roundups" at DMD every Friday and link to occasional OWF news items to inspire discussion.

OWF is still in the throes of its "Beta Testing" process (not sure how long that'll last, maybe a few months), so things aren't as smooth and polished as they'll hopefully become. There's complex HTML coding involved, etc. So be patient for design, aesthetic and functionality to come good over there.

However, here are four ways to keep abreast of my writing at OWF:

• Subscribe to OWF's website in a feedreader and that will catch updates, but it's a bit messy and not targeted to my specific work.
• Keep reading DMD and click through using the links I'll be posting (but beware you may not get all the TV news content, just reviews.)
• Follow my Twitter feed for update alerts for OWF and DMD content.
• Bookmark my OWF "author page" and just keep referring to it whenever you want.

So yes, there are ways and means, just choose what works best for you.

I was delighted by the response over my decision to partner OWF. It's been a worry that nobody will be bothered to follow my writing at OWF (when it's all been so readily available here, exclusively), but people seem very positive. I was relieved and very pleased to see that my Wire Season 2 review is already one of OWF's most popular posts of the past four weeks!

Regarding the commenting system at OWF: unfortunately, they have restrictions to avoid spam, meaning you need to register to leave a message. I know, I hate that too. It means OWF doesn't get the comment traffic it deserves, so I appreciate your comments there all the more. There's a chance OWF will relax its policy one day, as I've raised this issue with the Editor there. But if you still can't be bothered to signup with them, comments at DMD relating to reviews hosted at OWF are more than welcome.

LUTHER 1.1

Over at Obsessed With Film, my review of BBC1's new detective drama LUTHER, starring The Wire's Idris Elba.

"Unquestionably, Luther has nothing new to offer its overworked genre as a detective series featuring a "maverick" who's "battling personal demons" and is considered a "wild card" by his colleagues. We've seen it before, and we've seen it done better. But for all that, there was a screwy conviction to some of its performances and enough peculiar creative decisions that made the hour slip by rather smoothly." Continue reading...

Are you still watching FlashForward?

I just wondered if anyone wanted to chime in with thoughts on the recent batch of FlashForward episodes. I stopped reviewing the series awhile back, but have still been tuning in every week at UK pace (four days behind ABC.) There's been some terrible moments that made me groan, but also some surprisingly effective sequences (usually action-orientated.) I think it's clear the writers have a decent nucleus of ideas, but the characters aren't strong enough to make them fly.

Someone needs to sit down and tell Joseph Fiennes to remove that stick from his backside, for starters. Often, the best episodes are those where characters are only needed to be instruments in service of the plot -- like the entertaining episode where Benford had to find Demetri on the day of his supposed death, as he'd been kidnapped by Dyson Frost and attached to a booby-trapped gun-firing contraption. Entertainingly bonkers, it required Fiennes run around looking fraught, and he can do that.

I also found it interesting that former-showrunner David Goyer has admitted they're burning through ideas originally planned for season 2. Maybe that was out of desperation to throw as much stuff at the screen as possible to hide its deficiencies, or the producers know their show's days are numbered and would prefer to get as much on-screen as possible before the plug's pulled.

Remember when Goyer was saying they had five years mapped out? Do you still believe him? I found it amusing when Dyson Frost's wall chart of future events indicated 12 December 2016 as "The End" -- so, what, they still believe they'll get to an eighth season? Such optimism!

So what do you think of FlashForward right now? Has it turned a corner? Is it just embracing its ridiculous nature and thus having more fun, which is enough to quell its problems? I have to admit, I like how they sidestepped the apparent misfire of revealing Janis as a mole, as she's actually a double-agent working for Vogel. Although I'm not sure why Janis doesn't tell Vogel what she knows about Simon. She's sitting on a lot of information that would aide the Mosaic investigation, so why doesn't Vogel ask her for a few breaks in the case?

And Battlestar Galactica's James Callis as a savant; is that a good performance, or excruciating?

CHUCK 3.15 - "Chuck Versus The Role Models"

WRITER: Phil Klemmer
DIRECTOR: Fred Toye
GUEST CAST: Fred Willard, Swoosie Kurtz, Scott Holroyd, Bonita Friedericy & Nadia Lanfranconi

[SPOILERS] The problem Chuck faces now is how to keep a sense of drama alive between Chuck (Zachary Levi) and Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski) as a couple. In some ways these final six episodes are occurring after the perfect "happily ever after" moment, and fairy tales usually end when those words arrive on the page. "Chuck Versus The Role Models" had an interesting way to explore the new Chuck/Sarah dynamic, by throwing a light on what their future as married spies could be like, but it didn't quite work for me.

This week, General Beckman (Bonita Friedericy) tasks Chuck and Sarah with shadowing the CIA's renowned spy couple Craig and Laura Turner (Fred Willard and Swoosie Kurtz), on a mission to steal a valuable decryption device from millionaire Otto (Udo Kier). The Turners have 30-years experience juggling espionage with the demands of marital life, so Beckman hopes their experience will rub off on the CIA's latest in-house romance. Seeing a future-echo of Chuck and Sarah was a great idea, particularly when it became clear the Turners may be a warning that working relationships don't work -- as the spy couple constantly argue, Craig's revealed as a philanderer, Laura's an embarrassing drunk, and they've actually divorced and remarried three times.

The two subplots were of mixed success. In the first, Casey (Adam Baldwin) was ordered to give Morgan (Joshua Gomez) basic training, which involved performing various tasks around the Buy More (getting a sexy customer's phone number, stealing Big Mike's access card) and gun-training session at the Castle's firing range. It's already very clear that the Casey/Morgan pairing works very well, arguably better than Chuck/Casey ever did, because Morgan's a more believable nerd. Consequently, the disparity between them is even more amusing. It also helps that the show's now able to split its characters into two neat duos (Casey/Morgan, Sarah/Chuck), which gives the show more balance. Too often in the usual Chuck/Sarah/Casey trio, one of those characters would be playing gooseberry or just given little to do (i.e. stuck doing surveillance in the van.)

Second of Strahotness: got juice?

In the second subplot, we caught up with Ellie (Sarah Lancaster) and Devon (Ryan McPartlin) as they started their Médecins Sans Frontières humanitarian work in Africa, helping sick refugees. I didn't expect to see those characters for awhile, certainly not until they came back from their trip, so this was a surprising move. The story itself was thin and the fake refugee camp not entirely convincing, but the pay-off that aid worker Justin (Scott Holroyd) has incapacitated Devon with "malaria" and is actually a Ring agent should result in something more entertaining next time. It's getting ridiculous how many characters turn out to be Ring agents on this show, but I hope the writers have a good reason for Justin's actions. I assume he's trying to make Ellie vulnerable, perhaps as a way to get to her father -- knowing that Scott Bakula will be back for the finale. And is there a chance Chuck will need to rescue Ellie before this season's over, thus exposing the fact he's a spy to her, too?

Back to the main story, and I have to say that the appeal of the Turners was lost on me. I've liked Willard and Kurtz in other roles, but they didn't convinced me as a couple here. And the plot-twist that the Turners were after Otto's decryption device, that he keeps on his Bengal tiger's collar, for themselves just left me cold. What's the lesson here exactly? That three decades of being married as secret agents will make you crave bigger thrills to keep your love alive, even if that means ignoring orders and stealing a valuable asset to sell for a quick buck? And why did Chuck and Sarah let the Turners go free once they uncovered their deception? Those two are clearly untrustworthy, dysfunctional liabilities!

So no, I wasn't convinced by the focal Turner storyline this week, although it's still enjoyable seeing Chuck and Sarah on a mission together and able to show their true feelings. As the hilarious pastiche of Hart To Hart's opening titles tipped its hat to, the idea of two spies in love doesn't have to be a problem. It can and has worked many times in the past (heck, J.J Abrams' has a new NBC series with that very premise starting next season), but Chuck will still have to tread carefully. Chuck has his dream job and dream girl, so the show needs to find convincing drama from somewhere else to drive his emotions -- because, as much fun as it is seeing Chuck and Sarah having fun together on missions (trapped in closets by a tiger, etc.), a lot of that is down to how different it feels. But that feeling will fade. I hope the writers find a way to put their relationship through various trials and tribulations, because drama doesn't come naturally from comfort and happiness.

Asides

• The Hart To Hart opening sequence was marvelous and very convincing, it has to be said. But am I the only one disappointed Morgan's voiceover didn't pronouncer "murder" as "moida?. I would also have been on cloud nine if Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers had played the Turners, too. Maybe that was the intention originally, but they couldn't get them signed up?
• For all my apprehension, if Chuck/Sarah being together results in more scenes of Yvonne Strahovski walking around in her underwear, to hell with the loss of character drama. I only half mean that.
• You may recognize Udo Kier from, well, every cheap horror movie that requires a creepy European baddie, pretty much. Blade and the Halloween remake are probably his bigger hits, and he played Yuri in the video-game Command & Conquer.

3 MAY 2010: NBC, 8|7c

GLEE 1.16 - "Home"

WRITER: Brad Falchuk
DIRECTOR: Paris Barclay
GUEST CAST: Kristin Chenoweth, Jenna Ushkowitz, Jonathan Groff, Mike O'Malley, Romy Rosemont, Michael Benjamin Washington, Naya Rivera, Heather Morris, Harry Shum Jr., Dijon Talton & Lauren Potter

[SPOILERS] "Home" marked a low for Glee because the songs weren't recognizable enough, the return of April Rhodes (Kristin Chenoweth) proved unfulfilling, and there was a paucity of laughs. It just about salvaged itself thanks to a resonant storyline for Kurt (Chris Colfer) and Finn (Corey Monteith), but this was still a weak hour...

This week in Glee-land, Mr Schue (Matthew Morrison) learned that Sue (Jane Lynch) had hired the auditorium for her Cheerios all semester, meaning he had to find another venue for New Directions to practice. And, as luck would have it, former-glee diva April Rhodes is now running a roller rink that would be the ideal replacement, but his interest in the facility also rekindles April's romantic interest in him. Elsewhere, Mercedes (Amber Riley) developed body image issues after being ordered to lose weight by Sue so she could fit into sexier cheerleading attire, and Kurt played matchmaker for his father (Mike O'Malley) and Finn's mother (Romy Rosemont) as a way to get closer to Finn. However, there was a fun twist when it became clear Kurt's dad actually enjoys "guy talk" with Finn, making Kurt feel excluded, and Finn had trouble allowing his mother to date someone eight years after her husband died.

"Home" was hit-and-mostly-miss, while perhaps the best acting showcase for Colfer and Monteith yet. Riley was also good in a few scenes, but a recurring problem Glee has is how its storylines rarely justify the performances. The subplot of Mercedes feeling guilty about her weight (a stock scenario in teen drama) was tackled so predictably and broadly that it didn't ring true. Plus, when you're recycling comic-strip gags of actors suddenly resembling food, it's obvious a certain level of desperation has sunk in. Riley was on good form, particularly during her rendition of Christina Aguilera's "Beautiful" in the gym (naturally), but it's a shame her character's storyline wasn't approached from a more interesting angle. And doesn't it undercut Mercedes' indomitable spirit by letting her sink into the doldrums because of one notoriously sour person's opinion?

The return of April Rhodes was also a damp squib that didn't go anywhere very interesting, either. Chenoweth perky airhead routine is an acquired taste, but Cheno-haters will probably agree her performance here was improved (i.e. less "embarassing drunk" scenes), but there just wasn't anything of substance for her to do. She threw herself at Schue, wore a pink negligee, and belted out a few tunes. Speaking of which, this episode's set list avoided anything I'm familiar with (beyond Ms. Aguilera), which proved to be a barrier for me. I prefer Glee when it puts a spin on famous show tunes and pop songs, so when it tackles lesser known works or songs from more obscure sources, I don't connect in the same way. Plus, the songs chosen here didn't appeal to me because of their slow nature.

The Kurt/Finn story had more to recommend it, partly because it's fun when the adults/parents make more of an appearance, and there was something oddly compelling about Finn and Kurt's relationship with their respective parents. It was creepy of Kurt to play Cupid just to have a connection to Finn (so, what, his long-term plan was to become stepbrothers then lovers?), and Finn's attitude towards letting his mother become a spinster was kind of peculiar, but the story somehow rose above it sillier moments. Shame the same can't be said about "Home" as a whole; it lacked depth, humour and memorable tunes.

Asides

• Quinn's pregnancy is very noticeable now, so I assume she'll be sitting out the dance routines from hereon in. Or will Glee do a miscarriage story relating to the dangerous number of dance numbers she's been involved in so far (see: "Mattress")
• Brittany-ism: "I think my cat's reading my diary". It's the deadpan way Heather Morris delivers her quips that I love. I'm glad Morris and Naya Rivera (as Santana) are being promoted to full regular status next year. I just hope the comic delights of Brittany isn't diluted with that exposure. She's the Ralph Wiggum of Glee, and you don't want Ralph Wiggum being adopted by The Simpsons, do you.

3 MAY 2010: E4/HD, 9PM