Caprica 1x17

The Damsels in Distress are still ensconced in their virtual fortress, but Sam Adama has agreed to join Amanda and Daniel Graystone to find them. The Cricket has no idea why the threesome needs to be dressed like Canadian ranchers, but let’s indulge. Sam, however, is not so much interested in finding his niece Tamara, but in killing her and ridding the world of this avatar travesty. Amanda is rightly worried that he may kill her daughter Zoe in the process. So she shoots him back to reality. Zoe senses her approaching parents and sends them some of her childhood’s favorite dragons as a warning. Amanda realizes that Zoe is as contrarian as her parents: if you chase her, she’ll run away; if you corner her, she’ll lash out. They need to invite her, so that she can make her own decision. They won’t have to wait long for the tearful reunion. Zoe concedes she will think about visiting them in their virtual home.

That fearsome Fidelia (we got suddenly introduced to in the previous episode) turns out to be the Guattrau’s daughter. When she informs him of the illicit shipments of Cylons to Tauron, he orders the death of the Adamas. “Quick and painless,” he adds. I doubt that strangulation fits that bill, but Joseph escapes death when his dead wife’s mother attacks his assailant first. Fresh out of V-World, Sam hears of the hit put on his family and rushes to their meeting point – to get money and fake papers so they can escape to Tauron. Two more hitmen reach them. Young William Adama causes a distraction, so that Joseph and Sam can deal with the assassins, but Willie is shot and bleeding profusely. (We are lead to believe he’ll live, since Bill Adama is one of the main characters in Battlestar Gallactica.)

Over on Geminon, Thunderlord Odin betrays Lacey, knowing she will be killed for her ability to control the Cylons. His STO commanders order him to kill her himself. Then the tables are turned as their classmates save Lacey and Odin, and shoot the commanders. Instead of rushing back to Caprica, Lacey takes her friends to the robots. The fight for the One True God is on. While Daniel and Amanda are still in V-World, Clarice and her husbands break into the Graystone house – to find the apotheotic holoband and finish the Graystones off. Zoe’s avatar won’t let that happen. She returns to the U-87 Cylon prototype conveniently lying in the room. The robot sweeps one killing stroke, Clarice and her one surviving husband dash off. Returning to their virtual home, Daniel offers his daughter a partnership to create a real life body for her, flesh and bone. “A skin job,” Zoe contemplates. Finally we are inches away from Battlestar Gallactica! One more episode and we’re done.

Spooks – Series 5

When the fifth season of BBC spy series Spooks picks up, we are exactly where the fourth left off. Some deranged woman, who is plotting to kill the Royal Family, has seriously shot Adam Carter, while Harry Pierce is looking around in a panic. When Adam regains consciousness in a hospital the news is all abuzz about a violent terrorist attack on Britain’s fuel deposits by an al-Qaeda splinter group. With news outlets spreading fear that the country is becoming ungovernable, MI5 (national security) is forced to co-operate with MI6 (foreign intelligence), and the Prime Minister’s son’s life is threatened. While demands increase for new anti-terrorist legislation that would further curb civil liberties, a conspiracy to overthrow the government is well under way to establish a dictatorship. The coup d’état involves media mogul Millington, bucktoothed petrol magnate Jocelyn Myers, some colluding Cabinet Member, and none other than Harry’s MI6 counterpart Michael Collinwood. Of course, the threat is averted in the nick of time. Even detailed synopses won’t be able to do justice to the complexities of every episode’s plot.

Unfortunately, though understandably (as the season first aired in 2006), al-Qaeda remains very much on the forefront throughout the season. Because of that focus, though, episodes can easily become predictable and lose in entertainment value. Other topics, however, are included: a summit on African poverty that risks being torpedoed by a major industrial deal between America and Japan; the head of the Joint Intelligence Committee, Oliver Mace (Tim McInnerny), who appears involved in the execution of seven imprisoned terror suspects; the Mossad (Israeli Intelligence) plotting to de-rail a British nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia; a Christian group hoping to provoke Armageddon by attacking the Muslim community; the transportation of a Serbian war criminal to The Hague; and environmental terrorists aiming to flood the greater London area unless a secret document is made public proving that Britain is collaborating with the U.S. to benefit economically from the catastrophes of global warming – rather than attempting to stem the tide. Nevertheless, this season overall has lost some of its previous intelligent excitement. At times I was even considering to stop watching the show altogether.

Rather than the various plotlines, the strength of the show has thus far been the dynamic between the characters, their moral dilemmas – especially in face of governmental expectations – and their emotional turmoil. That has changed quite drastically this season. There were a couple of fascinating moral judgment calls our spooks had to make. In one of those moments MI5 has to decide whether to protect one of the African heads of state from assassination, when they learn that he intends to go on an ethnical cleansing spree in the north of his country. The main story arc, though, was Adam’s inevitable nervous breakdown from post-traumatic stress disorder. He witnessed the assassination of his wife Fiona; he nearly got killed himself; someone else got shot and died in his arms; he struggles being a good father for his son; out of loneliness and escapism he falls for his son’s nanny; she confronts him about his secrecy and lies; one of his childhood friends is suspected of being a traitor; he breaks down twice during mission. No wonder his operational fitness is seriously questioned. Yet, the emphasis on this story arc (sometimes compelling, sometimes tediously predictable) and draws our attention away from the other characters.

In the past, when main characters were killed off or forced to leave MI5 their replacements were similarly interesting, or even more so. Now we’ve seen Ruth Evershed disappear, the Senior Intelligence Analyst, one of my most beloved characters. She si wicked smart, recognizing literary references at the drop of a hat, but socially awkward. She and Harry were on the brink of romantic intimacy, when she is implicated in someone’s murder whose subway suicide she witnessed. In order to protect Harry, she had to fake her own death. Ruth is briefly replaced, but that character is murdered the next episode. We barely get to know Field Operative Jo Portman (the excellent Miranda Rainson), although there was a nice bit in the beginning when she was able to foil an attempt to take the PM’s son hostage. Likewise, we see frightfully little of the inner feelings of her colleague Zafar Younis, even though he witnessed the deaths of several innocent people right before his eyes.

The team loses one of their most valuable members, Colin Wells (their Technical Specialist), just as he had discovered a plot of a mid-air collision of two passenger planes over the city of London. He is never replaced. Although the National Security Coordinator, Juliet Shaw, is paralyzed from the waist down by a car explosion, she occasionally reappears in her function – seemingly recuperating fast. Adam’s wife Fiona Carter is replaced by former MI6 Operative Roslyn Myers (the petrol magnate’s daughter), who has an air of cold rigidity and apathy about her. She enjoys telling other people what to do, but is fully capable of throwing a few flying kicks and punches around when necessary. I found it difficult to sympathize with her. It’s only by the time of the season’s finale that we establish something of a rapport. But then she is left drowning with Adam in a flooded tunnel. Cliffhangers notwithstanding, I doubt that Adam Carter will survive for much longer. Nor is the Cricket sure he’s curious to find out, though the other critics are still raving about the show.

Californication 4x03

Hank wakes up in the hospital after OD-ing. The youngish doctor gives him a hilarious antithesis of a lecture. Then Karen walks in. I love that woman, and feel Hank’s pain. What a beautiful moment! She takes him home, lets him sleep in her bed, and admits she was scared witless when she thought he would die. How she makes me cry. Honestly! (The Cricket’s a sucker for romance.) For his part Runkle has to speed Hank up on getting the script ready. Producer Stu Beggs is practically stalking Runkle for it. Stu’s also hitting hard on Marcy – and can you blame him? In return he offers Runkle one hell of a hottie, in the shapely person of his development girl, sweet Heather (Camille Chen). When Hank finally has a moment alone with Becca, he confesses he didn’t give up on her, he didn’t try to kill himself, he merely screwed up – as always. When Karen hears that, she gives up on him all over again, and throws him out. The hurt and anger finally stirs him to rent a room, sit down, and start the script. Will he be able to become the man that Karen can love again? Will he get his life in some sort of order? Don’t get your hopes up too high...

Boardwalk Empire 1x05

Prohibition or no, people will drink. Nucky Thompson is making his fortune on that truth. The Temperance League, however, is seeing numbers dwindling and have little means to change anything. Then Margaret Schroeder speaks up. She noticed men shipping barrels of beer off a truck behind her home that morning. Perhaps Mr. Thompson could be of help, he’s been of great assistance to her since her husband died (or, rather, got killed as scapegoat for Jimmy’s shootout), she might try and arrange a meeting. Once in Nucky’s office, she realizes her folly: asking a man who’s making a living off the illegal liquor trade to shut down some contraband beer operation. He promises her to take care of it before the tide goes out, and emphasizes he isn’t doing this as a personal favor to her. “Yes, I realize that,” she replies. That night, another shipment is loaded into the garage behind her home. So, Margaret turns to Agent Van Alden, who informs her he doesn’t have the means or personnel to enforce the law. But when she tells him ward boss James Neary owns the garage, it’s a whole other ballgame.

Van Alden busts the St. Patrick’s Eve Celtic Dinner with the press and the women of the Temperance League watching everything outside. Although Nucky spots Margaret among the chanting crowd, he is only drawn more to her for standing up against him. At night, while Van Alden’s men destroy the beer barrels, Nucky knocks impatiently on Margaret’s door. He needs to be with her and they kiss passionately. If she is his angelic conscience, then he must be her repressed desire for danger. (Your Cricket can’t seem to find their mutual attraction very compelling, though. The “opposites attract” trope feels rather trite.) Meanwhile in Chicago, Jimmy’s precious Pearl shoots herself with his gun – seeing no other way out after her face got cut up badly. Jimmy hits Chinatown to forget his miseries in an opium den. Over in New York, Rothstein is afraid of getting caught for fixing the 1919 World Series (i.e., the Black Sox Scandal).

Gossip Girl 4x12

Gossip Girl is back from winter break, and my dear god, do I have trouble keeping up with what is going on! Serena was unsuccessful finding the judge who signed the affidavit that got Juliet’s brother Ben into jail. Chuck returns from New Zealand with two busty ladies in his limo – similarly unsuccessful in finding his uncle Jack. To prevent the take-over of Bass Industries (which Lily has put on sale), Chuck recruits Serena, so she can meek out her own vengeance by getting Ben out of jail. Then it transpires that perhaps selling the company now, with the real estate and hotel business in recession, to Bass’s old partner Thorpe (Michael Boatman) who will maintain the company’s integrity will be better than going bankrupt or selling it to the highest bidder. Seems like Lily isn’t such a Wicked Witch of the Upper Eastside after all.

Blair is planning (or should I say “plotting”?) an internship with Indra Nooyi, for which she is obviously employing her minions. In other gossip, she is adamant no one hears of the movie she and Dan saw together. All her plans backfire, and her mother resents her for her childish games. Nate’s father is out on parole, enjoying the hell out of freedom, which worries Nate. Thorpe throws a party, where naturally everything comes to a head. Actually, he is not the intended buyer at all – if he’d known it was for sale he’s buy it on the cheap and hosted a fire sale to dismantle it. Serena learns that her mother persuaded the judge to release Ben. Blair realizes Dan sometimes has his advantages. He scoffingly called her an “evil dictator of taste,” which made her realize she should become an editrix of a fashion magazine. She makes her mother proud – and once more joins Dan to watch a comedy. Unsure about his future, Chuck drinks alone at Riverpark Bar, until Thorpe’s daughter Raina picks him up. What in the name of all that’s unholy is this devil’s daughter scheming at, sleeping with the enemy?

Modern Family 1x18

There are two possibilities: either the Cricket is starting to really like Modern Family, or this is the best episode thus far, because I don’t remember laughing out loud this much watching the show before. Over at the Dunphy residence Clair and Phil have chores with Haley and Luke respectively. Phil needs to make sure that his son finishes his project on Vincent van Gogh, but gets distracted by a chair he wants to repair, then notices a flickering tube light he tries to fix, thus finding his long-lost sunglasses, and in the process knocking about half the contents off the garage shelves. Hottie Haley ain’t no dummy and tricks her mother into baking cupcakes without her help. Then, what do you know? Little Luke surprises everyone by presenting his very own poster board. Clair is baffled that Phil was right, that they should trust their children more, rather than trying to micromanage everything. She throws out the cupcakes and tells her daughter to make them herself. Consternation is written all over Haley’s face!

Meanwhile, Mitchell made plans to watch a meteor shower with his father, the only interest they share. Their bonding moment doesn’t go as Mitchell hoped, as Jay brought Manny along for the stargazing, who mocks and zings him with delighted gusto. More hilarity ensues when Mitchell gets sprayed by a skunk and has to don one of Gloria’s dresses. For his part, Cameron wants to patch up things with gorgeous Gloria after he ridiculed that Columbian lady and her little Brown man – though he was merely deriding Ivy Leaguers, it all came out wrong. Although Cam has made reservations at a fancy restaurant, Gloria rather goes to some Latina dive in her old neighborhood. Obviously he orders the most spicy dish on the menu, not to be outdone by his sweet thing. They remain my two most favorite characters – and their scenes together are adorable – but the antics of Clair and Phil really made me roar with laughter!

In Treatment 3x13

Paul Westen’s Bengali patient Sunil is convinced his daughter-in-law Julia is having an affair, the thought of which repulses him as much as it enthralls him. He finds her open flirtatiousness at once shamefully immoral and irresistibly enchanting. His absolute proof that Julia is sleeping with one of the authors her firm represents is that he found birth-control pills in her study, when he felt compelled to look for the manuscript of this genius author, who he ridicules. His son Arun would very much like to have another child with Julia, so why would she be taking contraceptives? Sunil speaks about a disturbing dream and about watching Arun and Julia in their sleep, and then returns to the girl, Malini, he loved when he was in college. It is clear he’s buried the pain of losing her deep down his heart, and it’s similar to the animal he tried burying in his dream. And just as the animal fell off a high cliff, Sunil tells Paul that Malini, the love of his life, jumped off a bridge after breaking up with him. It’s a deeply emotional moment – even Paul is pained by the tragic story. The universal theme of love and heartache also bridges the cultural divide that has prevented Paul from making much progress with Sunil. However, Sunil remains unwilling to accept that he recognizes in his son’s marriage the love and passion he felt for Malini, or that the anger he feels towards Julia is not so much because her affair might jeopardize her marriage with Arun, but that he wishes to save his son from the same undying hardship. In short, this was yet another wonderful and highly gratifying episode.