Mad Men 4x06

Don is at the height of his career. His Glo-Coat commercial is nominated for the ad industry’s Clio Awards. Although he denies it, he is clearly nervous. It is the perfect moment for flashbacks to the time when Don was still a fur coat salesman and first met Roger. He is intrigued to learn that Roger is in advertising and wants to show his own work, but Roger is not interested. Don encloses his portfolio with a coat Roger bought for his first date with Joan. Don persists, offers Roger lunch, keeps showing up at the office, until Roger budges. Unfortunately, we hear nothing of late about Peggy’s hip friend Joyce. Instead, we see her struggle for recognition. Everyone knows she is Don’s favorite, but he did not thank her for her contribution to the Glo-Coat ad. She is not even invited to the ceremony; the guys are taking Joan to charm potential clients. When she complains that her new art director Stan is lazy, Don brushes her off with “Learn how to work with him.” Stan flirts with two secretaries, talks about nude photography, but treats Peggy as one of the guys. They spend the whole weekend brain storming.

At the award ceremony in the Waldorf-Astoria, one of Ken Cosgrove’s clients drops a hint which Pete misinterprets that their firms are merging. Duck Philips drunkenly interrupts the emcee. Don and Roger joke that they have already won. Naturally, Don gets his award, but they have to leave the ceremony to give a presentation for the executives of Life cereal. They find Don’s “Eat Life by the Bowlful” campaign too sophisticated. Still drunk and excited about the award, Don starts running a few other slogans. They like the tagline, “The Cure for the Common Breakfast” – except that he plagiarized it from Jane Sterling’s cousin who has been trying to get a job at the firm. Peggy tries to warn him, but he scolds her for not producing any ideas for the Vicks campaign. When he finally gets a chance, Pete confronts Lane about the merger. Lane replies that actually Ken is joining the firm. “We can’t have you pulling the cart all by yourself,” he explains – since he is the only partner bringing in clients, and Ken will come with Mountain Dew. Returning to the after party, Faye spurns Don’s attempt to hit on her. He goes home with some other woman and wakes up two days later with another. He missed his weekend with the children. He sends the woman out, has another drink, and falls asleep on the coach.

The contrast between Don and Peggy is poignant. While he gets the recognition of the Clio award, he hardly performs at work, his life is a mess, he sleeps around, and drinks the emptiness away. It’s sad to see. Peggy for her part is working as hard as she can in a man’s world, without getting the gratitude she wants from Don, she feels like an outsider at the office. And that, too, is sad to see. Roger half admits that his only job is to find guys like Don. He threw his wife’s cousin in his lap, perhaps to remind Don of his own small beginnings. But Roger would not have hired Don if Don didn’t buy him drinks. If Mad Men is trying to get across that the state of inebriety at the firm is unhealthy – as it clearly has become for Don – then are we to assume Don is going to bring them down? Is Don going to slide farther and farther into this drunken stupor or is something or someone going to pull him out? Faye is painfully aware of Don’s mess. Peggy is too busy getting recognition. We are halfway through the season with this episode, the story arc, it seems, can go both ways, up or down. I am still rooting for Don, and for Peggy, that something good is going to happen.

Breaking Bad 3x09

The underground laboratory is working in full force manufacturing the purest methamphetamine ever seen: the notorious “Heisenberg” Blue Crystal. Walt kept his word. But Jesse did the math: they’re producing two hundred pounds a week for three months; they’ll be paid a million and a half each; but the street value of 2,400 lbs of crystal is some $96,000,000! Walt wants him to just leave it at that, be happy he’ll be a millionaire, but Jesse feels cheated. Afterwards, Walt visits Gus, because he has figured out Gus’ strategy: to divert the Cousins from Walt to Hank; turn an assassination into a shootout; setting the American and Mexican governments against each other; cutting off the drug supply from south of the border; and having the Southwestern market all to himself. Walk admits he owe his life to Gus, he respects his strategy, and would have done the same if he were in his position. In return, Gus agrees to extend his offer beyond the three months, for fifteen million a year, open ended, plus a guarantee of the safety of Walt’s family. For his part our crooked fake-Jew Saul is talking to Jesse about laundering his money by using a nail salon as a façade business. But Jesse’s uninterested.

Meanwhile, Hank’s DEA partner Gomez visits the hospital to relate that the blue meth is back on the market, just as Hank predicted. But Hank’s too concerned about the state he’s in. It’s unclear when or if he is ever going to be able to walk again. Health care insurance being what it is, Marie is understandably anxious that mediocre physical therapy isn’t going to be enough. She wants the best. And that may cost them. Later, Skyler offers her sister to cover Hank’s medical expenses. To Walt’s consternation, she tells Marie that they have enough money, because after Walt was diagnosed, he started gambling, he was too proud to take money from others and he wanted to provide for his family even after his death, and so he devised a system to predict cards at black jack and started gambling in illegal back rooms. Walt plays along with the lie and admits that’s how he made seven figures. Walt doesn’t know what to think. Has Skyler forgiven him? Does she really understand that he did it all for the best? But she avoids any confusion and warns him that she hasn’t forgotten that Hank’s in the hospital because of Walt. This is such an unbelievable series! I’m continually impressed where they’re taking the story, delving deep into the human drama of drugs.

Dexter 4x03

Married with children, living the dream in suburban Florida, Dexter finds himself surrounded by nosey neighbors in the middle of a backyard barbeque. Rita takes Dex aside, because she did call his bluff and call the doctor at the hospital. She’s upset that he lied again about his concussion. She insists he won’t drive for the next ten days. Then the neighbors start talking about random acts of vandalism happening of late, and decide they should stay vigilant catching the culprit. The next day Dex finds graffiti on his front porch. That night, when he arrives home, the neighbors have installed motion-detection spotlights to scare of the local vandal. The neighbors have also decided to organize a neighborhood watch to keep an eye out. Dexter starts to suspect this emo kid who’s chatting up Astor. When he checks finger prints from the can of spray paint left at the porch with those from the kid’s can of soda, they match. At night, he goes out spying on the kid, but instead is pursued by the neighborhood patrol. “This neighborhood is going to kill me,” he quips when he gets back home unseen. The next evening, he decides the wait for the kid to come back home from his vandalism spree, but finds him sleeping in his bed. Then the kid’s father comes home carrying a wrench. Clearly father and son are both vandalizing the community. With a flashlight and a mask on his on his head, and a masked voice, Dexter threatens the father to quit his vandalizing. The security spotlight turns on again when Dex approaches his house, he smashes it with a rake, not realizing Rita saw it all!

Meanwhile the “Trinity Killer” brought his next victim, the mother of two he has been stalking, to an abandoned warehouse. He brings her to the edge of the top floor and talks her into jumping off. Next to her body, he mutters, “Mommy,” and then smears some gray powder next to his victim. Deb has no leads on the bathtub murder case, and LaGuerta is more concerned with the “Vacation Murders.” Then they are informed about the jumper at the warehouse. All evidence points to suicide, but Deb believes this is the victim Lundy predicted. He just happens to arrive and wonders if she has a husband and two children, and if a similar incident occurred thirty years ago. That would clinch the deal. Of course, thirty years to the week an exact same apparent suicide happened at the same warehouse. Still Deb’s colleagues remain skeptical. Det. Quinn also did his homework and runs a list of several other suicides around the same site. LaGuerta and Batista follow a lead on the “Vacation Murders,” and accidentally run into the suspect at his girlfriend’s house. There’s a brief shoot out and then the two flee. Later, Lundy explains to Dexter that the pattern of the “Trinity Killer” is always the same: a young woman in a bathtub, a mother of two falling to her death, and a father of two getting bludgeoned. He kills three and then moves to another city. Now he has returned to Miami to start the cycle all over. In a dark room, the serial killer puts ashes back into an urn, pours a glass of whiskey and a glass of water. Offering the whiskey to an empty chair, he says, “Drink up! You’re next,” and sips his water.

It is hilarious seeing Dexter trying to fit in desperately his new suburban neighborhood, acting the family man, and failing hopelessly. Astor is growing up, and he has a difficult time adjusting to her moods. I continue feeling awkward about Maria and Angel sleeping with each other on the sly. Even more uncomfortable is the scene when Lundy joins Dex, Deb and Anton for lunch. Dex dashes off right away, and soon Deb is excitedly running all the connections between the two apparent suicides at the warehouse – and has no eye for Anton sitting next to her. Deb is finding her relationship with him is increasingly strained. Now that his gig at the cruise ship has ended he doesn’t do anything around the house, and his new gig will keep in Miami every night. It is also fascinating to hear Dex ruminating about his colleague serial killer, admiring his technique and audacity. That cutie Christine is clearly milking Quinn for information on the “Vacation Murders,” giving him a topless massage as he spills information about the “Trinity Killer.” It won’t be long before he’ll get into trouble at work for dating a reporter. The big question for the next episode, of course, is how Dex is going to talk his way out of smashing the security lights. I expect he’s going to have to take the fall, because the truth is even more disturbing.

Burn Notice 4x12

Four years ago, Michael Westen was blacklisted. He has spent all this time trying to uncover who is behind his burn notice. In the process he has discovered a global conspiracy involving assassinations and wars around the world. Jesse Porter has been investigating the same conspiracy, but while trying to find out more about it, Michael inadvertently caused Jesse to be blacklisted, too. Michael offered to help Jesse, while Jesse swore to kill anyone involved with his own burn notice. Fiona has been feeling guilty all this time for lying to Jesse, and Michael’s mother, Madeline, has been pressuring her son, too, to come clean. Now Jesse has learned the truth on his own. He nearly killed Fiona for helping Michael, and now Michael fears Jesse is coming after him. Even Sam is complaining to Michael that the situation is bad for the team.

Then there is Simon’s coded bible that communications technology CEO John Barrett needs to get his hands on. With Barrett in town and Jesse after him, it’s not as if Michael doesn’t have his hands full, but still he agrees to help some criminal defense attorney retrieving his kidnapped daughter. For once I had hoped that the episode would focus just on the conspiracy plot, without the distraction of one of the clients. The story is classic Burn Notice: plan A, simply to rescue the daughter, fails; but plan B, to make it appear they are agreeing to the kidnappers’ terms, succeeds. Meanwhile, Fiona tries talking to Jesse, and brings Madeline in tow. As always, Madeline gives the most touching performance, this time defending her son in front of Jesse. “If you’re going to kill my son,” she tells him, “just wait a few days, because he is trying to save a little girl’s life.” Jesse then agrees to talk to Michael, who admits he is guilty as charged, but suggests that Barrett may offer an opportunity to get Jesse reinstated.

Michael’s meeting with Barrett doesn’t exactly go as planned. Despite Michael’s insistence that he’ll go at this alone (well, with Sam and Fiona), Vaughn and his men show up, causing a chaotic shoot-out. One of Barrett’s bodyguards grabs Michael. Suddenly at of nowhere, Jesse shoots at Michael, so that the same bullet kills the bodyguard, but not Michael. Barrett drags Michael into his car and drives off. Michael, bleeding profusely, jerks the steering wheel, to get the car to tumble off the road. This summer finale ends with Michael crawling out of the car, while someone in tanker boots picks up the suitcase with the coded bible that we now know contains the key to the names of people behind all the burn notices. So, who picked up the briefcase? Was it one of Vaughn’s men? Simon himself? Or perhaps Jesse? We have to wait until the show returns in November.

Weeds 6x02

So, Nancy, Andy, Silas, Shane and little Stevie are on the run for Esteban Reyes – not to mention the FBI – for the death of Esteban’s public relations manager Pilar. They are driving north, making one more purchase on their credit card, with $80 of money back on every single item to withdraw as much money as they can get for the road that lies ahead. They get fake IDs and take on the family name Newman, a metaphor for their rebirth. Nancy becomes Nathalie, Shane becomes Sean, Silas become Mike, and Andy, well, he becomes Randy Newman, the “short people”! Though the story is serious, the scenes are kicking and screaming hilarious! Andy, as always, is a hoot, with tales of the road and living off the grid, which, clearly, he has done many times before. Alaska’s out of the question, Andy says, because of a knife fight in a salmon smoke house, “If I ever catch you in this state again,” he intones in a deep voice, but doesn’t finish the story. “Gosh, it’s not worth talking about.” Shane is actually proud of what he did, but Silas is freaking out and upset how his family keeps dragging him into their mess. And Nancy, well, at least she’s talking control of the situation. She’s guilt-ridden, but still doesn’t have a plan. How are the Newmans ever going to have a normal life? And how are they going to survive with their money running out soon? Well, check back in same time next week!

Entourage 7x08

This episode is intense. Everyone seems either angry or anxious. Poor Ari got himself in a pickle. His wife is upset about all the things that were said about him on Deadline Hollywood, but most of all because it took him hours to come home after the news broke. She feels he is putting his work before his family, suggests more therapy, and threatens with divorce. We know his wife and kids mean everything to him, and I find her a little lacking in understanding that he owns the biggest agency in Hollywood and has been under a lot of stress of late. True, much of the mess he is in is of his own making, but you don’t become big in this world by making nice. At work he tries his best to restrain his anger, but when the studio calls for a drug test because Randall Wallace believes Vince is using cocaine, Ari yells at Dana Gordon, “You will not fuck me in the ass, and Vince won’t piss in a cup!” The whole office is looking on in utter bewilderment. When Eric hears from Billy that Vince has been doing coke with Scott, he storms into Scott’s office furiously. Scott tells him it wasn’t his coke, nor Sasha’s. Vince, too, feels insulted they are asking him to take a test. He has always been reliable. But Dana tells him Wallace will drop out if he doesn’t take it.

Sasha is naturally careful about entering into a serious relationship with Vince. As a porn star she knows how difficult it is. And he shows his ugly side the moment she tells him she had an offer to shoot a five-man gang bang for $200,000. He is jealous and possessive, and offers to pay her the money if she won’t take the offer. She tells him she’s not a whore and wasn’t asking for his permission. He later apologizes. Eric confronts him about his drug use and his relationship with Sasha. Vince retorts there’s no need to worry and that he should find a role for Sasha in the upcoming movie. Meanwhile, Turtle has been so successful promoting Tequila Avión that the Mexican factory cannot handle the orders. They would like to expand, but it will take time and money. Turtle suggest talking to Ari about funding, but while waiting for him, he meets entrepreneur Mark Cuban who shows interest in the product. For his part, Drama is still adamant he won’t do “Johnny’s Bananas,” even though the studio has approved it. They are threatening to find a replacement, but Eric tells them “no,” because he owns the show and he will convince Drama to do the cartoon. With one dramatic exception, the Entourage is taking control even if the world around them is in a whirlwind. Can’t wait for next week!

True Blood 3x10

So, Bill explains to Sookie that she is a fairy, as if we had not figured that out by now. But he also tells her that vampires think that fairies are extinct – after they had sucked every last drop of their intoxicating blood. Eric, too, knows that Sookie is a fairy and warns her not to trust Bill. In a dream she continues the conversation, intuitively knowing Eric is right. She visits Fangtasia to learn what Eric means. Instead, he takes her prisoner in his dungeonesque basement! He is planning on using Sookie and her fairy powers to defeat Russell. The vampire King has set off a serious backlash by murdering the news anchor on live television. Now he is mourning the death of his lover Talbot by hiring a male prostitute, saying his goodbyes and then staking him.

Instead of driving twenty miles to the nearest emergency room, meanwhile, Lafayette takes Crystal’s father Calvin to his porch and administers him a drop of vampire blood to heal his wounds. Enraged that two gay men gave him “vamper juice,” he disowns his daughter – telling her she should have married her half-brother Felton. “Them fuckers is a whole new dimension of trash,” Lafayette sighs. That same night, Jesus wants to try some V with Lafayette – and together they go on a psychedelic trip into their past watching their ancestors perform rites of witchcraft and black magic. One thing that has always puzzled me is how it can be that people go on a powerful hallucinogenic trip taking just a few drops of vampire blood, but when they gulp blood straight from a vampire, all it does is heal them.

Sam tries to calm his nerves with a bottle of Jack, which induces an interesting flashback to his past when he was a jewelry thief. His partner-in-crime, Charlene, was unaware, of courses, that he is a shifter. She double-crosses him with her boyfriend Jon, and in retaliation he killed them both. Not that I know what to make of the story. I get the impression the writers did not really know what to do with his character this season. Holly, the new waitress at Merlotte’s, we learn is a Wiccan – a practitioner of witchcraft, though not a witch herself. She offers Sam some herbs for his stress, but he refuses. But Arlene hopes Holly can help end her pregnancy of Rene’s child. For his part, Jason withdraws his invitation to Bill, because Bill chides him for not looking after Sookie. Then he hears someone breaking into his bedroom, only to find a beautiful black panther – that shifts into Crystal. Exciting as it is that he now finally knows she is a were, the transformation was disappointingly silly again.

Still, this was perhaps the best episode of the season thus far. And that is fascinating, because True Blood has created something almost entirely unrelated to Charlaine Harris’ source material. Some elements are, actually, preliminaries to the next season, Holly the Wiccan and Crystal the were-panther. In the Southern Vampire Mysteries, King Russell does not meet his true death, so we have to wait what will happen between him and Eric. The story arc this season seems to require that Eric will avenge his human father’s death. Apart from that I am curious what is going to happen with Tara, Lafayette and Jesus, Hoyt and Jessica, and if we are going to hear from Hadley and Queen Sophie-Ann. Well, there only two more episodes left, so we will find out soon.

Mad Men 4x05

Thus far, Don has been drunk, distant and depressed since his divorce from Betty. He has not achieved anything in his private or professional life. Is he going to snap out of it? He seems to be on the verge of something in his battle with Faye, the market research consultant. For her part, Peggy has been dabbling in the 60s counter-culture and I am hoping that love affair is going to continue. Don has told her he needs her in the firm because she understands young people. Will he also come to “get” the new 60s? But Don also wanted Pete on the team, because he is open for new and young markets, yet Pete is more concerned now with maintaining his position and keeping up the façade of his marriage. With their Clearasil and Jai Alai accounts gone to a competitor, Pete is proud to announce they are invited to compete for Honda’s business. Roger Sterling’s World War II experience keeps him form appreciating the opportunity.

Nevertheless, the other partners are eager to take the chance and Pete recommends they read anthropologist Ruth Benedict’s The Chrysanthemum and the Sword. When the Japanese executives explain they have a set of rules for the competition, Roger explodes. After the meeting, Don has an ingenious idea: as Bert Cooper believes they must resign because Roger insulted the executives, Don does not want to see the business go to the competitor by default; since they do not have the financial means to break the rules and produce a finished commercial, he suggest they make it seem as if they are shooting one, so that the competitor will actually make one. On the day of the presentation, Don offers his resignation and complains that they broke their own rules. It gains him their respect, they win the account and have bankrupted the competition. Don’s stunt has paid off royally.

Meanwhile, Don’s daughter Sally is acting out against her grandfather’s death, her parents’ divorce, her father’s many affairs, her mother’s new marriage. First she cuts her hair and later she touches herself on a sleep over. Betty is angry and mortified, but Henri says punishment will not make Sally change her ways. Instead he suggests seeing a therapist. Like Don, Betty does not believe in psychiatrists. She has been in therapy years ago and it did not do her any good. Not surprisingly, his daughter’s behavior brings Don closer to Faye and as they chat she admits she merely pretends to be married to avoid male attention at the work floor. He almost asks her out for dinner. A new blonde in his life. But that’s for later. Don is starting to get his groove back. Now let’s hope we will hear more about Peggy next week.

Breaking Bad 3x08

Jesse, still battered and bruised after Hank beat the crap out of him, is leaving the hospital. Just when he’s waiting to be picked up, an ambulance drives Hank in, barely alive after the shootout with the Cousins. It makes Jesse’s day. He then visits the new underground super-lab, an Jesse realizes Walt still has no idea what happened to his brother-in-law Hank. Walt rushes to the hospital to be with his family, leaving Jesse in the lab bored out of his wits. Although Hank survives the emergency surgery, he remains too weak to receive visitors. His colleagues in the hospital lobby take Walt to see the sole surviving Cousin, whose legs had to be amputated below the knee. Meanwhile, Mexican cartel lord Bolsa accuses our secretive Gus of ordering the hit on Hank. With no meth coming from south of the border and Hank in the hospital, Gus worries about his business. Community sponsor as he is, Gus personally delivers the officers free food from Los Pollos Hermanos, and offers a $10,000 reward for any information about the shooting, but also uses the opportunity to compel Walt to return to the lab. Walt promises to manufacture 400 pounds by the end of next week. Soon after Gus leaves, the Cousin flatlines – and goon Mike slips out unnoticed. Outside his restaurant, Gus gets a call from Bolsa that the U.S. government is putting pressure on Mexico to crack down the cartel – and while Bolsa’s still on the phone with Gus, an assassination team crashes into his headquarters killing him and his bodyguards.

The episode has several scenes that are beyond believe. All the tense moments of Walt and his family sitting in the waiting room anxiously hoping for some news about Hank. Hank’s wife Marie is desperate to blame someone, the DEA for confiscating his gun, Walt for knowing Jesse. Absolutely captivating, too, is when the surviving Cousin recognizes “Heisenberg.” He pushes himself off the hospital bed and crawls towards the door before he is subdued. Walt realizes the would-be assassins must be Tuco’s cousins, but doesn’t tell anyone. The show certainly knows how to set us up for drama. The combination of tense action and human depth makes for thought provoking entertainment. The criminal world of drugs is never glorified or glamorized. Instead we’re shown the horrible damage it does to those involved – dealers and users as well as law enforcement, their family and friends alike. The main characters are all fascinating and the writing is stellar. It is easy to sympathize with Walt and Jesse, as well as with Hank. We gradually come to appreciate Skyler, we feel for Marie now that her husband has nearly lost his life, and obviously we adore Walter Jr. Personally, I found the Cousins a little cartoonish and out of sync with the tone of the show. But they’re done away with now. It remains to be seen, though, where the story arc is taking us on the last third of the series. Will Jesse do right this time? What are Gus’ plans for Walt after the three months are over? Will Walt’s cancer return?

Dexter 4x02

Dexter is hanging upside down his wrecked car when we pick up the story. At the hospital they tell him he’s had a serious concussion and needs to remain for observation for at least twelve hours. Then Rita rushes in, he tells her he only had a minor fender-bender and is ready go to. His problem is that he doesn’t know what he did with the body of his last victim. He’s suffering from short-term amnesia. Plus, at the office they are working overtime not only on the bathtub murder, but also an apparent killing spree of tourists. Special Agent Lundy wants to pick Dex’ brains about the “Trinity Killer.” Not wanting Lundy breathing down his neck when he has more important things to do, Dex points him to his sister Deb. When he gets to his car on the impound lot, he only finds his tools, not the body. His search is interrupted when he is needed on another crime scene. Lt. LaGuerta is upset to read that the newspaper has already coined the phrase “Vacation Murder” and Det. Quinn has to downplay his relationship with cute Christine Hill, the reporter he’s dating. Later he has to berate her for printing information he told her “off the record.” When Dex gets to the site of his car crash, he finds no remains of his victim there, either. Arriving late on the crime scene, Dex feels sick and heads to the balcony, where he finds blood on a cactus needle – their only possible clue.

Meanwhile the “Trinity Killer” is already stalking his next victim, a mother of two. Dex relayed to Deb that an identical bathtub death occurred in the very same house thirty years ago. She later tells Lundy that she followed up and has brought in the man who was convicted for it. When they question him, they soon come to the conclusion that the man had been set up and has a sound alibi for the recent bathtub death. Deb agrees with Lundy about the man’s innocence. Lundy wants to share his theory about the “Trinity Killer,” and invites her to dinner. But when she shows up at his hotel room, she embarrasses herself talking about Anton and rushes out. Back at the boxing gym where he performed his murderous ritual, Dex still cannot find the remains of his victim, although there is a careless drop of blood in the ring. Rita is livid to find out that Dex lied about his fender-bender, but he tries to console her that he didn’t want to worry her – and he bluffs that she can call the doctor that he is fine. Working on the blood sample from the crime scene Dex is finally able to trace the killer’s identity. Now he can return to the boxing ring for a double check and finds another drop of blood, even though he’s cleaned the place meticulously. Then he looks up and remembers he filled a punching bag with the body parts!

It’s an exciting season so far. The various stories and relationships are very engaging. I still don’t know what to make of Angel and Maria, but I wish them the best – which is probably not this: secretly dating and trying to lay low at the office. Masuka’s already suspecting something. Plus, Batista cannot help getting touchy when LaGuerta takes over the case of the “Vacation Murders,” claiming high priority to save Miami’s tourism business. It would seem obvious that Quinn is going to run into trouble with Christine – a cop dating a reporter is never a good idea. I wonder if she really likes him, or if she’s just using him as a source. Deb is clearly shaken by Lundy’s return to Miami, but it’s also clear that she needs to convince herself things are going great with Anton. While I sympathize with Rita, I find her a little insensitive about Dexter’s efforts to juggle work and fatherhood. True, he’s always working late (and not particularly honest about his “extracurricular activities”), but he’s losing sleep because of their new baby – and he’s giving his all to be there for his family. Then there’s Deb’s quest to find out if her father ever had an affair with one of his informants. She seems to have given up, but we know she had the file of Dexter’s mother. I am curious whether they are going to leave it at that. Naturally, the real interest is Jon Lithgow’s character. I am having high hopes for the story arc there!

Burn Notice 4x11

Hoping to deflect blame for Jesse’s burn notice, our team has faked an intelligence file that implicates communi- cations technology CEO John Barrett, the man who has been behind the whole global-war-for-profit con- spiracy that Michael is trying to uncover. Barrett is after Simon’s coded bible which will help him bring down Vaughn. Jesse suggest they go to Barrett in New York (which incidentally would be impossible, because the premise of our show tell us that blacklisted spies cannot travel), but Michael instead calls Barrett on his secret number to lure him to Miami.

Meanwhile, Fiona and Sam help a wealthy widow who has lost her money to some sleazy womanizing con-artist. They don’t have much success convincing him to share in his game, even after drugging him. Fiona and Jesse follow him to his money manager, learning that they have too many bank accounts to easily drain him. They try scaring him, which backfires, too. Finally they make it seem he killed the widow in a drunken rage and offer to clean the crime scene for the neat sum of one million dollar, which they can then hand over to the woman.

For her part, Michael’s mother Madeline decides to pack up and leave. She can no longer see her son lie to Jesse. This has been one of the summer season’s main story arcs. The audience has been waiting for the resolution. Will Jesse believe that Barrett is behind his burn notice? Fiona returns to Michael’s place only to find Jesse’s gun in her face. He found out the truth. His former handler Marv showed him security footage of Michael running away from Jesse’s old office building on the day he got blacklisted. Jesse’s promised to murder who ever set him up. But he can’t bring himself to kill Fiona. In tears she calls Michael to warn him that Jesse is on a rampage. Next week’s summer finale will pick up from here. It is impossible to tell how this is going to end, but it doubtless going to be exciting. There’s also no question the situation with Barrett will offer an action-packed cliffhanger.

Weeds 6x01

The premiere of Weeds’ sixth season was leaked on the internet early this month, probably to generate some hype about the upcoming season. Unfortunately, the premiere doesn’t have much promise of what’s to come. The episode is more properly the end of last season. It closes the door on that chapter and throws the door wide open for the next. Over the past five years we’ve witnessed the show transform from a light-hearted comedy with a pinch of human drama to a dark tragedy with a pitch-black sense of humor. It started with recently-widowed mother of two, Nancy Botwin (Mary-Louise Parker), selling pot to keep her family afloat. Gradually increasing her distribution, she also became increasingly involved with criminals, until she was surrounded by money launderers, cocaine and arms dealers, and human traffickers. She married the Mayor of Tijuana, Esteban Reyes, who also happens to be a big crime lord south of the border. They have a child together, but his public relation manager, Pilar, orders Nancy’s death when Esteban is running for governor. The hit goes awry, but in retaliation, Nancy’s son Shane kills Pilar with a croquet mallet. That’s where we left of last season, and the new season begins with Nancy packing up and leaving together with her sons Silas and Shane, and her brother-in-law Andy. Anything can happen from here. Let’s hope the new beginning will also see Nancy getting a grip of herself, because it was getting bothersome seeing her slide into apathy while shit seriously hit the fan.

Entourage 7x07

Barely dressed girls, tequila, weed, cocaine and you wonder why guys enjoy Entourage? Billy Walsh must be having a hard time staying clean and sober at Vince’s mansion, though. Eric is concerned that Vince is losing his focus on his upcoming movie. He calls Vince in the morning to make sure he isn’t going to miss his next meeting with director Randall Wallace. Sasha gives Vince a quick head before he rushes out. Our reformed Billy is meditating in the front lawn and senses Vince isn’t right. Vince rushes back in, washes his face and gets some coffee. At the meeting, he’s so twitchy, Wallace is certain Vince is on coke. How is he going to repair the damage he’s done? He’s dating a porn star, snorting coke, and promoting tequila!

Ari is still in damage-control mode, hoping to salvage the havoc Lizzie Grant and Amanda Daniels threatened to wreak. He phones Anna Fowler at Deadline Hollywood, who has no idea why he might be calling. She does tell him that Lizzie quit Amanda’s firm. It is one of the greatest moments of the series, seeing Ari genuinely make peace with Lizzie. Not only does he treat her as a human, he admits he had to let her go because his wife was jealous. He agrees to find Lizzie a studio job, and in return she hands him the tapes. Ari is ready to return to his deal with the NFL, but then Barbara Miller (Ari’s business partner) breaks the bad news that the contents of the recordings have been posted online anyway – no doubt by that vengeful Amanda. The NFL deal’s off. How is Ari going to save his career?

Knowing what a complete prick Billy used to be, it is wonderful seeing him excited about his idea for a cartoon featuring Johnny. And it really is hilarious! The show, he pitches, is called “Johnny’s Bananas,” and is about an angry monkey looking a lot like Johnny Drama. Eric is intrigued, but Drama’s insulted – overly sensitive as always. Let’s hope we are going to see this cartoon happen! Meanwhile, Turtle is full of ideas how to make Avión big Stateside, but is shot down by the owner, who just needs him to convince Vince to become the face of the tequila. The episode is jam-packed with celebrity cameo appearances, too, including Mark Wahlberg (who is a co-executive producer of the show), Lenny Kravitz, and Sean “Diddy” Combs.

True Blood 3x09

After their fierce bout of strangulation sex, Sookie and Bill take a relaxing shower together, with blood dripping from their naked bodies into the drain. Then it’s time to clean up the mess downstairs – including one dead werewolf. Later she gets a call from her cousin Hadley asking to meet at the aquarium in Monroe. Hadley admits that she told Queen Sophie-Ann that Sookie is a telepath, which is why Eric is so interested in her – and which is why Bill has been keeping a file on Sookie’s family. Crystal has convinced her boyfriend Felton that Jason kidnapped and raped her – just to avoid getting beat up again. But when Felton attacks Jason, she beats Felton over the head and ties him up. Later, at Merlotte’s her father Calvin comes barging in looking for her. Sam loses his temper and beats him to a pulp. Jesus and Lafayette have to rush him to the hospital, and Crystal joins them, despite Jason’s protest. Tara is left on the parking lot, shaken all over again from all the bad things happening around her. Suddenly Franklin appears out of nothing his usual psychopathic self. He’s still alive! But not for long, because Jason shoots him with a wooden bullet from his days at the Fellowship of the Sun.

Eric returns to Fangtasia, but finds the club raided by V-Feds. The whole spiel is a tad ridiculous, what with the storm troopers, the interrogation, the black jacket, and the webcams. With his hand forced by Nan Flanigan (the spokesperson for the American Vampire League, lobbyist for equal Vampire rights, and apparently a high-level bureaucrat in the Vampire “Authority”), Eric exposes King Russell’s quest for world domination, to subjugate the human race by employing werewolves. Eric also confesses that his family was killed by Russell’s wolves a thousand years ago in Sweden. Eric has been after Russell ever since, among the Aztecs, at the Sack of Constantinople, in the Wehrmacht. Meanwhile, Russell collects Talbot’s bloody remains in a glass urn – a disgusting sight. He looks on as Flanigan returns to deliver the Authority’s verdict. They will not persecute him or the king, but instead presume the investigation non-existent. They do expect Eric to eliminate Russell – without any official support. Then Flanigan drives off in her limousine, feeding on a naked woman (in spite of her public claim only to drink synthetic blood), while watching the news. Russell breaks into the studio, kills the anchor, and with the man’s bloody spine still in his hand, berates the human race for their spinelessness – proclaiming to the world his desire to feed on humans and their children.

Waking up from his subterranean sleep, Bill is surprised to enter the fairy glen around the bright-shining pool nearby a cemetery. He walks on the rose-petalled water and talks to Claudine. He ensures her Sookie is safe. She tells him he must have had so much of Sookie’s blood that he can visit their realm. We’re left at the point when Bill is about to tell her what her true nature is. But, of course, y’all know. It’s so nice seeing Lafayette and Jesus making sweet-talk. Fortunately, Jessica and Hoyt share a sweet moment, too. Then there’s Holly, the new waitress at Merlotte’s. (We’ll hear more about her next season.) She has a calming effect on Arlene who is distressed about the possibility that she’s pregnant from her diseased boyfriend, serial killer Rene. The many various minor plots do still distract from the main plot, though.

Mad Men 4x04

Mad Men, the most amazing show on television at the moment, is delving deep into relationships of various kinds. Don’s secretary, Allison, is disturbed by his callous attitude about their one-night-stand. She breaks down during a focus group meeting about Pond’s facial cream when the conversation steers toward marriage. She later tells Don she is quitting and throws a paperweight at him when he agrees to sign a letter of recommendation if she writes it for him. He cannot even show her enough respect to write the letter himself. “You are not a good person,” she responds. When he comes home drunk (as usual), Don starts to write an apology letter. He tries to explain his life is in a mess, but he cannot even finish the sentence. The main reason Pete Campbell is working at the firm is because he was able to bring in the Clearsil account through his father-in-law. Now he is told they have to drop the account due to a conflict with Pond’s – and Pond’s brings in more money. Right at the moment he wants to inform his father-in-law, he blurts out that Trudy (Pete’s wife) is pregnant. The next evening at home, Pete demands that his father-in-law gives him the entire Vicks account, or otherwise the firm will have to drop Clearasil. He breaks the good news at the office next day, receiving congratulations from all, before taking his father-in-law out for lunch.

Meanwhile, Peggy meets an assistant photo editor at Life, Joyce, in the elevator. She shows Peggy some rejected nude photography that intrigues Peggy. Later Joyce invites her to a party downtown that the photographer is throwing. There’s lots of drinks and weed, and that delicious Joyce flirts with Peggy talking about vaginas. Peggy gets berated for being merely a copywriter, and the photographer is insulted she invites him to work for the firm. “Art in advertising?” the photographer exclaims, “Why would anyone do that after Warhol?” Then the police raid the party and Peggy hides in a closet with one of the writers. They kiss before Joyce calls them to flee down the fire escape. It is fascinating to see Don clash with Faye Miller, their market research consultant, about the validity of focus groups and psychoanalysis. “You stick your finger in people's brains, and they just start talking,” he chides her. Don brags that people won’t understand a new idea until he shows it to them. In other words, people won’t know what they need until advertising tells them to. They are both manipulators of consumer behavior, but he’s in for radical new ideas while she opts for the conventional. Then there’s a casual reference to race riots in Harlem and the death of Malcolm X (Feb. ’65). The countercultural revolution is about to burst at the seams!

Breaking Bad 3x07

Another saturated, oily yellow scene down in Mexico, the Cousins are still kids and Don Salamanca is talking to someone on the phone about Gus the “Chicken Man.” The kids get into a fight and one of them says he wishes his brother was dead. Uncle Tio pushes the other kid’s head down a tub of water to teach them a lesson: “La familia es todo (family is everything).” In the present, the Cousins place a photo of Hank Schrader at the altar of Santa Muerte. For his part, Hank takes out his anger on Jesse, beating the crap out of him. In the hospital, Jesse swears revenge, to press charges, to haunt Hank for the rest of his life, to return to cooking crystal, and if he ever gets caught, to give them “Heisenberg.” Later Skyler visits Walt as his new condo begging him to convince Jesse not to press charges, sensing Walt is somehow responsible.

At the lab, Walt the perfectionist complains to his new assistant Gale about putting the temperature off by ten degrees. He has to throw away the whole batch. He tells Gus he wants to replace Gale. He offers Jesse a renewed partnership, sharing equally. But Jesse gives him the full motherload of all his pent up anger and frustration. Yet by the time Walt arrives at his new place, Jesse calls and agrees on a 50-50 partnership. Hank gives his statement of events as honestly as he can. He believes his career is over. He gets suspended, without pay, badge or gun, but word is that Jesse dropped the charges. Hank goes to a shopping mall, all relieved. He gets a call from a muffled voice warning him there are two guys coming to kill him. One tense minute later and a dramatic shootout commences. Hank pins one Cousin between two cars and with the guy’s gun shoots the other Cousin in the head just before he could take a swing with his silver axe. All I can say is “wow!” This sure was pay-off for the slow start of the season. Now half-way through, the action is really picking up. Exhilarating!

Dexter 4x01

...And so we move on to the fourth season of our serial killer series. Dexter Morgan is happily married, with kids, living the dream in suburban Florida – blood splatter analyst at Miami Metro Homicide by day, vigilant murderer of those deserving to die by night. His new baby, though, is keeping him up at all hours – and the sleep deprivation is hurting his job. For, when he has to testify in court, he accidentally brings the wrong file, and so a killer goes free. Meanwhile, Deb is still with Anton, although she is already fretting something will go wrong soon. Even more wrong is that Lt. LaGuerta and Sgt. Batista are hooking up, without telling anyone. Crazy! But, oh, lord who art in heaven, what is really sick and twisted is the murder of a young woman in her own bathtub by strangulation and severing of her femoral artery. When Special Agent Lundy arrives on the scene, we know we are dealing with another serious case. Because he meticulously kills in threes, Lundy has dubbed him the “Trinity Killer,” and he has been working on this case for fifteen years. Another special treat: we already know who the killer is and he is performed by none other than John Lithgow! Some nice piece of ---, well, a nice looking reporter, Christine Hill, also shows up on the crime scene, asking Det. Quinn lots of questions. It doesn’t take long before they talk dinner. Dex has a difficult time getting any rest. On his one night off, his lovely Rita wants to make love. In fact, his exhaustion is also hurting his killer instinct, as he falls asleep at a stake out – and when he has finally caught the killer who got off scot-free in court, he can barely stay awake. When he is driving home from his bloody ritual he falls asleep at the wheel and totals his car!

So, we are off to a very good start. Of course, Lithgow is a wonderful addition to the cast. We soon learn that another young woman was killed in the very same bathtub thirty years ago. Keith Carradine’s return as FBI Agent Lundy is sure to throw Deb’s life into utter confusion. She has had so much bad luck with her relationships that I can only hope for the best for her. First she fell for Dex’ biological serial-killer brother; she had a fling with a writer she met at the gym; then she fell even harder for Lundy; last season she found her soulmate in Anton; and every time her heart broke when things didn’t work out. Now she is going through her father’s files searching for an informant he may have had an affair with – hoping to prove her legendary father wasn’t all that perfect. We already know who the woman is: Dexter’s biological mother. Then we have LaGuerta and Batsita, both also unlucky in love. I do not know what to make of their affair. Somehow it makes sense, but I am afraid it is going to end up disastrous for both of them – what with their history. I am sure Quinn is going to offer an interesting plotline with this gorgeous reporter. I can only hope our foulmouthed perv Vince Masuka is getting more screen time. He’s hilarious! “Blood bath,” he quips when he finds the victim of the “Trinity Killer.” Obviously, the real question is how Dex is going to cope with his married family life. I am very curious what story arc this season has in store for us – especially since he just had a car accident. In all, this was an exciting season premiere. (Incidentally, I started watching season 4 in late last month.)

Burn Notice 4x10

So, Michael needs to have a face to face with Simon Escher – this is the man, mind you, who committed the acts of terrorism for which Michael was blacklisted, the man who escaped as high-risk prisoner on transport to Poland, and who threatened to blow up half of South Beach. Reluctantly, Vaughn has agreed to let Michael talk to Simon in the high-security prison. Obviously, Simon won’t tell Michael anything about the coded bible, but he does point him to a tape he has hidden in a historic cemetery. After Fiona has retrieved the tape, and they play it, they listen to a recording of Vaughn and Simon back in 2007 – that is before Michael got his burn notice. Apparently, “Management” was planning on using Michael as Simon’s replacement.

Meanwhile, Sam visits a pal in prison, called Juan. Although he is set to be released in a week, Juan fears he will be killed by the leader of the Mexican gang. Michael uses his FBI contacts to break into prison, so he can save Juan’s life. So, the plan involves some corrupt guards, threatening language, a fist fight, a prison riot, and another fun explosion. Initially, Michael hoped to break out with Juan, but during the riot, Juan’s leg was broken, so he couldn’t run. Then Michael lures the gang leader and breaks him out. With the help of Sam and Jesse, he drops him off somewhere, and warns his FBI contacts. The escaped convict is returned to prison and is soon enough murdered back inside. In short, this episode was mostly about Michael, with little screen time especially for Jesse. I’m wondering if Michael will keep his secret about causing Jesse’s burn notice. It’s surprising how little initiative Jesse is showing finding the guilty party...

Entourage 7x06

This season’s special treat on Entourage most certainly is Sasha Grey. She and Vince are wild about Turtle’s Avión Tequila. They shoot a video in which she jokes she has the best sex in her life on Avión, and Vince chimes in “Guys can fuck like me and girls can fuck like a porn star.” Turtle decides to post some clips on the internet! You know that won’t fly. It’s a delight to watch Ari squirm under the threat of a law suit from Lizzie. He’s mortified that she will slurry his name and that the whole NFL deal will fall through because of it. So, he decides to convince Amanda Daniels to let it go. For her part, she tells him the war is on. Not only did Lizzie keep a journal, she also made recordings of Ari’s typical rants. He then hopes to persuade Lizzie to settle, but she tells him she won’t sue. She will just post her recordings on Deadline Hollywood for all the women of the world to know how Ari thinks of them!

Meanwhile, Eric has received Vince’s new 12 million dollar contract (plus back-end) for the new “Air-Walker” film. Together with his new buddy Scott, Eric goes to Ari gloating about the deal and chiding him for ignoring his biggest client. Ari’s been too busy with the NFL and Lizzie to even know about the movie. Then a reformed Billy Walsh arrives at Vince’s mansion, begging Eric to get his career back on track. If you know their history, you’ll understand Eric’s reluctance. Walsh already has an idea for Drama, too: an animation. He may not be a looker, Walsh explains, but he has a great voice for an angry cartoon character. Then Ari barges in. Vince’s publicist and the studio brass are out of their wits about the racy clip of Vince and Sasha. Eric assures him Vince is fine, but when Ari wants to talk to him, they find Vince poolside with Sasha – both butt naked. What a terrific fun episode!

True Blood 3x08

Sookie awakes from her coma shrieking. She asks to talk to Bill privately and tells him they should no longer be together, because ever since she met him, her life has been in danger. They both cry. Alicide brings Sookie back home and tries to console her. He has to return to Jackson, though, when he hears Debbie has burned down his sister’s shop. Returning to Bon Temps as well, Bill wants to release Jessica from his control, but she feels alone and helpless. To protect her from the wolves and vampires heading their way, they practice fighting skills. Back in Jackson, Mississippi, Talbot complains that Russell is putting Sophie-Ann, Sookie, and Debbie before their relationship. But he brightens up, when Eric suggests he will keep him company when Russell leaves for Bon Temps.

Meanwhile, Jason, wanting to kill Bill because he’s furious for what he’s done to Sookie, gets a visit from Crystal. She’s run away from Hotshot. Happy to be together, they make love. Her father and boyfriend barge into Merlotte’s looking for Crystal. Sam and Tommy pick up their scent, and the Hotshot dealers, too, can tell Sam and Tommy are shifters. Sam’s birth parents have finally left, while Tommy stays with his brother. It’s about time, because this storyline has been tedious from the start. There was another nice scene, however, between Lafayette and Jesus, though I have no idea where all this is heading.

Sophie-Ann’s human lover Hadley, it turns out, is Sookie’s cousin. She’s sent by Eric to warn her of Russell’s coming and not to trust Bill. Before Sookie can ask any more questions, Hadley dashes off. Then Debbie arrives with her werewolves. Fortunately, Bill and Jessica wait for them and attack the wolves. Debbie makes her move and gets into a fist fight with Sookie. It’s an exhilarating scene! Debbie flees after Sookie gushes her with a pair of scissors. Downstairs, Jessica is caught by Russell. Bill demands he lets her go. Russell orders his wolves to attack Jessica, who flies off. When the King is tormenting Bill with his silver spurs, he suddenly has the awful sensation something is wrong with Talbot. In fact, Eric has just killed him. That sly double-crosser is out to avenge his father’s death. It is impossible not to admire his Nordic vigor.

With the threat gone, Bill and Sookie make love passionately on the bedroom floor. A little strangulation sex to release their anger. So, evidently, all is forgiven, and they are back together – despite everything. But what about that hot-blooded Alcide? I can’t wait for Jason to learn more about Crystal, because that is going to be exciting stuff. Lafayette and Jesus would seem to be an item again. (So sweet!) Tara is having nightmares about Franklin, who apparently is stone dead forever now. We’re left wondering what will happen with Jessica and her Hoyt, not to mention Russell and Sophie-Ann. And I haven’t even mentioned Holly, the new waitress at Merlotte’s... I remain curious what is going to happen in the last four episodes of the season as the main plotline – Bill’s kidnapping – has already been resolved.

Life: Primates

Of the family tree of life, there is one branch that perhaps has the greatest fascination for us humans – and that’s the one on which apes and monkeys swing. This final installment of BBC Life explores the world of primates, some of the most intelligent, curious, social and quarrelsome in the animal kingdom. A troop of some 400 Hamadryas baboons encounter a rival troop in a violent clash on the Ethiopian plains, stealing females and settling old scores. Japanese Macaques, the most northerly living monkeys, have learned to evade the bitter winter cold by lounging in thermal springs of Yamanouchi Valley, a privilege held by females and their young. In the Congo, the silverback Gorilla warns off other males through vocalization and beating his chest, while spectral tarsiers, with their large eyes and large ears, communicate with piercing calls to warn against danger and to return stragglers. Ring-tailed Lemurs in Madagascar use scent not only to mark their territory but also to prepare for mating, as males approach a female in heat by waiving their furry tail rubbed with odor.

Female Phayre’s leaf monkeys help rear each other’s young as long as it retains its bright orange fur. A female orangutan will raise her young for nine years by passing on the skills to survive in the rainforest of Sumatra. The most southerly living non-human primates are the chacma baboons of the South African Cape Peninsula, who collect shark eggs among seaweed on the lowest tide. White-face capuchins hammer clams on mangrove roots along Costa Rica’s coast to exhaust the muscle and the shell opens, while their cousins, brown-tufted capuchins in Brazil, use hammer stones as tool to crack open palm nuts. However, our closest ancestor, the Chimpazees have improved their tool use even further. For, in West African Guinea, they dip twigs to gather ants, strip palm leaves as pestle to crack the nutritious palm heart, and use stone anvils on which to crack nuts without breaking the kernel. I hardly need to repeat that I adore this show. It’s a pity this was the last episode, but it certainly was a worthy end to one of the most excellent nature documentaries ever produced.

Mad Men 4x03

1964 is almost over for the Mad Ad Men on Madison Ave. Financially Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce is still in a precarious position, but Lane tells Don it’s been a magnificent year. Don is spending the holidays in Acapulco, but makes a stopover in L.A. to visit Anna, the widow of the real Don Draper. She knows more about Dick Whitman than anyone alive. Anna’s sister Patty is helping with chores, because Anna broke her leg. And Anna invites her niece to stay over, not only to meet Dick, but also because she got “grass.” Stephanie is a college-age, pretty girl and it is obvious Dick is instantly attracted to her. Anna steers the conversation to Betty. He’s still broken-hearted about it, but seems to think she couldn’t be with him anymore because of his false identity, not because of his patronizing and promiscuous ways. Later, Dick drives Stephanie home and flirts with her. She tells him Anna has cancer, but that they’ve decided not to tell her, because it’s terminal. Next day, instead of flying to Acapulco, he returns to New York.

Meanwhile, Joan’s relationship with Greg is tearing at the seams because their busy schedules hardly leave time for them to be together. When she asks for some days off after the holidays to be with Greg, Lane rebukes her in a most unkind way. Joan is worried Greg will be sent to Vietnam as a military physician, and all he can tell her is that they will make it. Joan’s the kind of woman who wants to be in control, who doesn’t leave anything to fate, while Greg is stumbling from one failure into the next. He wants to take care of her, raise a family, but it’s hard to picture how that’s going to happen. Meanwhile, Lane was supposed to visit his family in London. He has been arguing with his wife, and his secretary accidentally sent her the wrong apology card. She hates New York, he loves the City; you say eether, I say eyether; let’s call the whole thing off. His wife left him. Don finds Lane still at the office and they decide to have some fun together. They go to a B-rate Godzilla movie, have dinner at a steakhouse, visit a comedy club, and invite some lady friends. Lane thanks Don for the “welcome distraction.” Heading the office meeting after the New Year’s weekend, Joan says, “Alright, Gentlemen, shall we begin 1965?”

Breaking Bad 3x06

The Cousins are back. They kill a police officer who’s investigating the disappearance of the elderly lady living in the house they’ve occupied on a reservation outside Albuquerque. Skyler continues having second thoughts about the divorce. If she goes ahead, she will be blamed for ruining their marriage. Yet she is troubled accepting Walt’s drug money, even if that’s what has been paying their bills for the past half year. Walt for his part has bought a new condo. He brings Walter Jr. to school and then goes to work in his state-of-the-art underground laboratory to manufacture methamphetamine with his new assistant Gale. Meanwhile, Hank is staking out at Jesse’s house, waiting for him to lead him to the RV (the camper van he uses as meth lab). Then his wife Marie reminds him that Walt knows Jesse. So, Hank calls Walt and asks him if he happens to know something about the RV. Walt of course fears that his fingerprints are still all over the van, thus he has to get rid of it, but also has to make sure Jesse doesn’t lead Hank to it. Naturally, disaster magnet as he is, Jesse leads Hank straight to the RV on the junk yard!

Walt and Jesse are now stuck inside the camper. Hank wants to break in, but the owner of the lot walks up to Hank asking about a warrant. With a little more time on their hands, Walt figures out a way to get rid of Hank. He asks Saul to let his secretary call Hank pretending to be an officer informing him that his wife was in a car accident. Hank rushes off to the hospital, only to realize he was tricked. At the junk yard, the RV is already crushed into a tin box. The Cousins show up at Gus’ fried chicken diner, Los Pollos Hermanos. And they won’t budge – even if they don’t order anything. Eventually, Gus tells them to meet him at sunset in the desert. There, Gus tells them it wasn’t Walt who killed Tuco, but DEA officer Hank Schrader and he allows them to satisfy their vengeance on him. The pitch is really building up now: a great episode such as this is how I enjoy the show, with the right combination of depth and drama.

Dexter 3x12

It’s already the third season finale on the serial killer show about our dearly devoted Dexter Morgan, blood pattern analyst at the Miami Metro Police Department of Homicide. When we last saw Dex, he killed the only friend he has ever had, assistant DA Miguel Prado, using the technique of another serial killer, nicknamed the “Skinner,” to pin the murder on him. Dex leaves Miguel’s body in a waterside park for an early morning jogger to find. The whole police department is shocked. But Miguel’s middle brother, Ramon, who had already lost his younger brother, Oscar, turns to anger – and vents it on Dexter, suspecting he killed Miguel. When Dex gets home, his condo is trashed, cops swarming all over place. Ramon Prado. At least he didn’t take Dex’ blood slides or killing tools – or Ellen Wolf’s ring! Exciting!

At the office, they learn that “Skinner” George King had once been a captain in the resistance army back in Nicaragua, where he headed the interrogation unit – in other words, he is a trained torturer and killer. Batista lets Deb know he got the budget approval to give her the detective shield. After he learns that she had been sleeping with their key witness Anton, he considers withdrawing his recommendation. In her frustration she blurts out that he shouldn’t be talking, because Batista met his girlfriend Det. Gianna while strolling for hookers. Batista walks to Lt. LaGuerta admitting that’s how he knows Gianna. LaGuerta, dealing with her secret about Miguel, advises him to feel free keeping his skeletons in the closet. He then tells her about Deb and Anton. Despite that, LaGuerta gives Deb her shield, because she is proud that Deb doesn’t sacrifice her personal life for work – and because she is one of the smartest, hardest working, most annoying pains in the ass! With her promotion, Deb rushes to Anton, to tell her they’re so different, he’s exactly what she needs. So sweet!

Dex has a heart to heart with Ramon, when he has been sent to the slammer. He confronts him with his violent behavior. Ramon admits he has been cleaning up after Miguel’s mess his whole life, while Miguel got the credit. It takes Dex by surprise, but once it’s out, it calms Ramon – accepting that it wasn’t Dex who ruined his family. Then, Dex gets kidnapped by the “Skinner,” tied up on a table in an abandoned cigar factory, ready to be flayed. Nice reversal of fortune. In an unguarded moment Dex is able to flip the table, breaking his wrist in the process, and get on his feet. While he’s wrestling with the “Skinner,” police cars come rushing in (following yet another lead Deb and Quinn got). Dex tosses the body in front of a car, making it look like suicide, and quietly slips out unnoticed – getting away with murder yet again.

Meanwhile, Dex accidentally found out Rite has been married before, not just to Paul Bennett, but earlier – at sixteen – to some John Ackerman. Not that Dex minds, it’s just that Rita continues the pretense she’s only married Paul before. She’s lying to him, but he respects her secret – it’s not like he isn’t hiding a few skeletons in his closet. At their wedding rehearsal Ramon busts in and pulls a gun. Fortunately, Deb and Batista are behind him and throw him on the floor. In the end, Deb and Rita get married. They say their vows, and dance, while blood drips from his broken wrist on her beautiful white wedding dress... A very symbolic end of another great season!

Burn Notice 4x09

Finally Vaughn is back (that middle-ranking spy from “Management”)! Michael is hoping he will arrange a meeting for him with that terrorist Simon, so he can find out more about the coded bible. But Vaughn tells him “no.” He wants the bible for himself. Then Michael is asked for help by two FBI agents tracking down a material witness who’s supposed to stand trial against some Turkish criminal. Except for some two-way radio contact, Michael is on his own on this job, facing an assassin and a hit team, all while a hurricane made landfall in Miami. Meanwhile, Vaughn pays Fiona a visit. He offers her a tempting deal: if she gives him the bible, Vaughn will make sure Jesse gets his old job back and won’t find out who got him blacklisted. She later tells Michael about Vaughn. She trusts that he will do the right thing, even though she hates the way he’s using Jesse. Now Michael has to ask the FBI agents to do him a favor, threatening Vaughn. He relents, but not without warning Michael how dangerous Simon is. In short, this episode was mostly about Michael; the action was fairly tame and the interaction with the assassin was rather lame; but the deal with Vaughn got him one step closer to learning more about his burn notice.

Entourage 7x05

Vince is hitting on porn-star turned actress Sasha Grey without knowing who she is. His entourage turns the conversation to anal sex, her specialty, and they urge Eric to try it before marrying Sloan. Drama is down in the dumps again after finding out he got passed over in favor of Bob Saget (Full House, Home Videos). The network has been waiting for a chance to reconnect Saget and Stamos. Turtle gets Vince involved in his new business venture promoting Avion tequila Stateside – despite Eric’s disapproval. Ari faces another marital crisis because he cannot stop thinking about Lizzie Grant stealing his clients. At the office he declares war and goes into full-on damage control, arranging meetings with Myke Tyson, Jessica Simpson and Andrew Sorkin. Then he learns Lizzie is working for his archrival Amanda Daniels. Worse, she’s kept a journal of the past half year! Director Randall Wallace complains Vince showed up at a meeting with a porn star reeking of tequila. At night, Eric and Sloan reluctantly attempt anal sex, but give up. Yes, the episode was really as trivial as it sounds – and not particularly funny either. Let’s hope this was just an irregular mid-season dip.

True Blood 3x07

So, Tara has rescued Sookie from the King’s clutches. But Sookie won’t leave without Bill, who’s been tortured by his maker Lorena. Now Sookie impales Lorena. It’s a disgustingly bloody scene. Sookie is bleeding from Lorena’s attack; Bill is covered in wounds; and Lorena’s guts area spilling all over the slave quarters. Tara and Alcide urge Sookie to get away, but Debbie and Coot try to stop them. After a heated argument and struggle with his ex, Alcide kills Coot. Dashing off in his truck, Alcide kills one of the pursuing werewolves. In the back of the truck, Sookie hopes to save Bill by giving him her blood. It rouses a passionate rage to feed on her. When Tara later finds out, she throws Bill into the sunlight (he sizzles but doesn’t burn), and rushes a ravaged Sookie to the hospital. There, the doctors are puzzled to find Sookie has no blood type and responds violently to type O.

Sookie has fallen into a coma and dreams of a mysterious woman named Claudine, who takes her to a fairy world where scantily dressed men and women dance around a pool nearby a cemetery. When she drinks from the bright shining pool, Sookie says it’s the best thing she’s ever tasted. Then suddenly darkness descends on the fairy glen. Everyone dives into the pool, screaming and yelling that they have never seen a vampire before. Begging her to join them in the pool, Claudine warns Sookie never to let Bill “steal her light.” In the hospital, Jason has allowed Bill to give Sookie a transfusion of his blood. She comes to and screams at the sight of Bill!

Meanwhile, Eric cannot get Queen Sophie-Ann to say why she is so interested in Sookie, but draining her human lover, Hadley, gives him all he needs to know. Hadley whispers in his ear so we can’t hear. It should be obvious by now, though, that Sookie’s a fairy, just like Claudine. The Magister has been unsuccessfully torturing Pam in the basement of Fangtasia. Sophie and Eric arrive, admitting that they sell vampire blood. Then Russel walks in disavowing any allegiance to the Vampire Authority that the Magister represents. He even decapitates the Magister, after he wed Russell and Sophie under the threat of death. For his part, Jason is still dreaming about Crystal. “Never really thought I was smart enough to get depressed,” he sighs to Hoyt, who is still hurt about Jessica. And Sam finally convinces his brother Tommy to quit dog fighting for their parents.

We’re just halfway through the season, so I wonder what else is going to happen, as saving Bill from Russell’ Edgington happened toward the end of Charlaine Harris’ novel. Quite a few changes have been made to the original plot. The fanatical Fellowship of the Sun hasn’t returned. Eric hasn’t saved Sookie’s life by sharing his blood, and they haven’t shared an intimate moment. Bill merely ravages Sookie on his mad feeding frenzy, but hasn’t raped and mangled her. I’m not sure whether Tara killed Franklin, as the series keeps changing how vampires die their final death, but her whole subplot is new to the show. Overall, though, I find the season engaging enough even if it’s not always breathtakingly fascinating – what with all the distracting minor characters. Let’s see what will happen in the second half of the season.

The Box

The premise of The Box (2009) is fairly simple, as you probably know even if you haven’t seen the film: Would you accept a million dollars knowing that by accepting it you will cause the death of somebody, anybody else? It sounds simple enough. Most of us would probably say “yes.” But think of the altruism coefficient (or rather the opposite): if too many people are unable to sacrifice their individual desires, humankind would not survive. That is the message that comes late in the movie. Few of us can see beyond the temptations dangling in front of us and cannot foresee the consequences of our actions. Profound as that sounds, it is at this point that the film unfortunately fails – offering no other resolution than the rather Stoic moral of resisting temptations. In that respect, the movie smacks of Puritan Protestantism. Nevertheless, the story is a real thriller with a dash of science fiction and a hint of horror – and it is unsurprising that the short story on which the film is based (“Button, Button” by Richard Matheson) has also been adapted for The Twilight Zone.

The Lewis family receives a box with a red button under a glass hemisphere and a note that Mr. Steward will call upon them that afternoon. Arthur Lewis (James Marsden) works for NASA, where he developed a 360-degrees camera, but is notified that his application for the astronaut training program is rejected. His wife Norma (Cameron Diaz), a private high school teacher, is informed that faculty will no longer get a tuition waiver for their children. With these setbacks fresh on their minds, Mr. Steward’s offer of a million dollars is a tantalizing temptation. They have one day to make their decision – and after much deliberation, Norma pushes the box’s button to accept the money. Steward arrives to deliver the cash and retrieve the box. He tells them it will be reprogrammed but they do not know the person who will next receive the same offer. Meanwhile, NASA employee Jeffrey Carnes has shot his wife point blank. From that moment, events take weirdly mysterious turns in their life. People show up with secret messages and nosebleeds. Steward seems to know their every move.

It is 1976, Lynyrd Skynyrd is at the height of their fame, President Ford is on television, and the Viking mission is broadcasting images from Mars leading to speculations about life on Mars. Arlington Steward (Frank Langella), it transpires, was once hit by lightning while working at NASA’s Langley Research Center. Considered dead, he revived, regenerated at ten times the normal speed, his cell degeneration halted (implying he no longer ages), but his face still displays a scar the shape of the Face on Mars. He is now a vessel for “those who control the lightning” – apparently divine or extraterrestrial beings who are putting humankind to some twisted test. There are references to salvation and eternal damnation, to Sartre and 70s culture in America. There are drones moving like zombies who apparently do Steward’s bidding. With all these conspiracies, plot twists and complications abounding it is disappointing that so many threads remain dangling at the end. With a different ending, I would have said it’s a good movie, but as it is I felt we were bombarded with questions but received unfortunately few answers to anything.

Mad Men 4x02

Freddy Rumsen is back! Not only has he been clean and sober for half a year, he’s bringing the $2 million Pond’s Cold Cream account. His only request is that Pete Campbell cannot get near the account. Soon Freddy argues with Peggy over the creative direction of the Pond’s advertisement. Pond’s wants to use an older celebrity, but she suggests Elizabeth Taylor, as young women don’t respond to beauty advice from older women. It is Christmastime, 1964, Don has his secretary buy presents for his children, and the office is all a-bustle with excitement. Even at his apartment his flirty neighbor is busy preparing early in the morning for a party. Lee Garner Jr. of Lucky Strikes has invited himself to the party at Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce. And so, despite the firm’s dire financial situation, Roger asks Joan to turn the party into a “Roman orgy.” Back at Don’s apartment that night, his neighbor Phoebe is already cleaning up after her party and has to let him in as he’s too drunk himself. He tries flirting with her, but she tells him to be a good boy. The big office party is the next day. Lee Garner pressures Roger to put on the Santa suit, and he reluctantly agrees to please their most important client. Santa hands out cartons of Lucky Strikes to everyone, but gives a Polaroid camera to Lee. After the party, Don arrives home drunk again, without his keys. He calls his secretary, Allison, who finds and brings them. “My goodness,” she giggles after they have sex. She’s all smiles the next day at the office, but Don’s stiff demeanor sobers her up. While I sympathize with Don, he’s starting to lose his charm and becoming pathetic.

Meanwhile, that creepy kid Glen (who once had a crush on Betty), has been trying to bond with Sally over their shared experience of their parents’ divorce. To encourage Betty and Henry to move out of Don’s house, Glen breaks in with a friend and empties the fridge all over the kitchen. I’m not sure what to make of Glen’s reappearance. It seems a little contrived. Is Glen going to be Sally’s love interest? (Parenthetically, Glen is played by Marten Weiner, the son of the show’s creator Matthew Weiner.) Then there is the situation with Peggy and her boyfriend Mark. He begs her for sex. “I want to be your first,” he says. So she hasn’t told him yet she slept with Pete Campbell and Duck Philips before. He talks some nonsense about Swedes making love right away. She asks him to leave. At the office, Freddy notices she’s testy about marriage. He advices her to hold off sex, if she wants to marry Mark, but not to lead him on. Afterwards, she goes to bed with Mark. “Do you feel different,” he asks. She doesn’t even answer. I don’t know what to make of Peggy and Mark either. For now their relation is hanging in the air like an afterthought. I do not know this Mark, and thus want better for Peggy, for she deserves the best. Maybe Duck Philips wasn’t so bad after all. There was also an interesting discussion about the dangers of Medicare, entirely appropriate for the present day: “They won’t stop until they ban personal property.” Hilarious! As always, it’s the characters that make this show so enjoyable, and by now we’ve gotten to know them so well, that scenes barely have to explain anything. A gesture or glance can be enough to remind us of some previous episode. Brilliant!

Breaking Bad 3x05

In a flashback all the way to the beginning, we see Walter White giving all his savings to his former student Jesse Pinkman so as to buy an RV (recreational vehicle – i.e., the camper van they will soon use as meth lab). Instead, Jesse burned most of the money with his buddies Skinny Pete and Combo at a strip club. Early in the morning, Combo offers Jesse a quick deal for the remainder of the money. Jesse’s too hung-over from liquor, drugs and strippers, to realize they just stole the van from Combo’s mother. Back in the present, DEA officer Hank Schrader is humiliating himself in front of his wife and partner by tenaciously pursuing the “Heisenberg” figment of an investigation. He has basically searched for every single RV of the make he saw on the ATM’s security tapes. Except for one, of course, the one Jesse stole, but that Combo’s mother never reported. Now Combo’s been dead for two months – killed on the street by rival dealers. That is, in the end, what Hank learns. Plus, at Mrs. Ortega’s house he finds a picture of Combo at the strip club – with Jesse. For his part, secretive businessman Gus Fring finally has his chance to appeal to Walt’s weaknesses. He shows him the state-of-the-art underground laboratory (concealed by an industrial laundry facility) which he has built for him. And he tells him a man provides for his family even if he’s not loved, because that is simply what a man does. It’s the clincher of the deal!

Walt’s wife Skyler is starting to have second thoughts. Maybe Walt did change after he was confronted with death, maybe he did it all for the good of his family, maybe he’s a good father to their children. But then her divorce lawyer hammers in the nail. “You may not have married a criminal,” she tells her, “but you are married to one now.” And she urges Skyler to leave the house, because she is accessory to Walt’s crimes, she’s culpable. When she comes back home, Walt’s gone and signed the divorce papers. At the law office of sleazy Saul, Walt and Jesse have a confrontation. Walt hands Jesse his half of the money from the deal with Gus. Then Walt tells them he’ll be earning $3 million by working for Gus for three months. Jesse’s out of business. They have become competitors now on the same market, rival drug dealers – and Hank’s already onto Jesse. This is going to be interesting! Things have really picked up and our patience has paid off. The season has gradually built up the dramatic tension and the audience is now reaping the rewards. What is going to happen with Tuco’s Cousins? Will Hank trace Jesse through the van? Will Skyler come to accept Walt’s choices or will all his efforts be for naught? It’s impossible to stop watching this show now. You just have to know what will happen next. Excellent!

Dexter 3x11

Dexter decided it was time to get rid of Miguel. Then we learn that Miguel sent the “Skinner” to him – promising that only Dexter knows where Freebo is. As he’s getting out of his car at night, someone throws a sack over his head and tosses him in the trunk! Dex is telling himself this isn’t how it’s gonna end. He’s able to untie himself. When the trunk opens he punches the guy it the face. It’s Vince Masuka, the pervy forensics expert! He and the guys kidnapped Dex for his bachelor’s party! Ahahahah! Terrific!!! And the party is pervy, too! Topless dancers and all. Miguel is there as Dex’ supposed Best Man, giving a speech about friendship, trust and forgiveness. Big party or not, next morning everyone needs to get back to the Ellen Wolf case as well as the “Skinner” investigation. Lt. LaGuerta is staring right at the only lead she has for finding Ellen’s killer: a dark SUV with big headlights, the same Miguel is driving. She just can’t believe it. He’s her friend. It’s so cute to see Sgt. Batista with this new, gorgeous girlfriend, Det. Gianna!

Deb and Dex have a conversation about their father, and Dex accidentally lets slip Harry had an affair with one of his informants (he just manages not to mention it was his own mother). Deb can’t believe it: her father slept with a “snitch,” just like she has with Anton. She’s very emotional about it, and right then she has to go over Anton’s statement – another emotional situation. But it doesn’t seem to give her any more information. So Deb and Quinn return to the crime scene hoping to find another clue. They don’t have cell phone reception at the place, Deb asks Quinn for change to use a payphone, and then she remembers Anton told her the “Skinner” took his phone and small change. Putting two and two together, she realizes George King must have been using the payphone. Another lead! They check the phone record, from which they learn the guy had been talking to a lady in New Jersey, whose Miami garden he’s landscaping. So, he knows it’s empty – a great hideaway from the police. When they get there and find the guy, he flies out before they can catch him. Later, Deb and Dex talk some more about their father – and Dex has a moment of clarity, Deb should be his Best Man. He trusts her more than anyone.

LaGuerta invites Miguel home to talk, she says. But in an unguarded moments, she walks out and takes a sample from Miguel’s trunk – so that Dex can later test it for hair or other DNA evidence. Of course it checks out. When LaGuerta explains what it means (which he already knew, of course, but she didn’t know that), Dex tells her to give it time, build a solid case against Miguel. He’ll keep the secret. Meanwhile, though, Miguel is starting to suspect LaGuerta. He noticed his trunk was still open after he left her house, and he saw that she had accessed the system for Ellen’s DNA. In his own sneaky way, Dex anticipates that Miguel is now going to try to get rid of LaGuerta – and is able to get to Miguel before he gets to her. And so it’s time for Dexter’s usual ritual. “You’re a little freak! You think I’m done with you? You think this ends here? It doesn’t!” are Miguel’s last words before he dies.