2/14
The second week of the off-season has arrived and with it the Orange Is The New Black online release. That's set to add some interesting extras to this roundup which will continue for another twelve weeks after this, by which point the on-season will be right upon us and it can begin all again! So let's get into it.
DEADBEAT - 3x02 "Digging Up The Past"
"When Pac moves in with his new roommate, Clyde, he is soon visited by the ghost of Clyde's old middle school guidance counsellor, Mr Faget, who had fled to Africa after Clyde told the principal Mr Faget exposed his testicles to him and was subsequently mauled to death by guerrillas (and gorillas). Mr Faget says his unfinished business is to see Clyde achieve his potential by winning the Ideas Fair, but when it becomes clear entrants must be under twelve Mr Faget's hidden agenda emerges."
To win the Big Apple Ideas Fair and finish Clyde's middle school guidance counsellor's unfinished business, Pac and Clyde have to find a child aged 12 or under to enter for them - only when their advert and ensuing emails become suspicious, they are ambushed at their meet with the kid by a TV show host and end up on an exposé segment called "Dumbest Predators" - which was Mr Faget's real motive: getting revenge on Clyde for the lie that led to his dismissal and later death. Following their arrest, they are forced to bribe their way out of jail.
In short this was another hilarious episode, its humour once again on the cusp of too far, but never straying across the line. The plot was well-worked and fit easily inside the 23-minute sitcom timeframe. I had been worried the premiere's excellence would be a one-off, but "Digging Up The Past" is another superb offering. Kal Penn (Clyde) and Tyler Labine (Pac) play a great on-screen bromance.
VERDICT: I like the edgy stuff, and this was another edgy episode that was dealt with in just the right manner. Funny, and the two main characters' relationship is blossoming brilliantly. 8/10
HELL ON WHEELS 5x09 "Return to the Garden"
"Following The Swede's death, Cullen attempts to reconnect with his family, but finds Naomi has a new prospective husband. Durant deals with the fallout of Cheyenne becoming the railway's hub and Fong, grieving from her father's death and pretending to be a man to keep her work on the Central Pacific Railroad, finds an ally in a prostitute."
Another wrap-things-up episode to do with Cullen, only today the airtime was more evenly split between everyone. We see Cullen dealing with letting his family go, but also are shown how the characters in Cheyenne (where Durant has scammed a great number of people by telling them Laramie would become the railway's central hub and instead it was to be Cheyenne, benefiting himself and Eva; and Mickey is doing what he can to keep his gambling business legitimate) and at the Central Pacific (Fong's retreat into a dangerously indifferent reclusiveness),
After realising he cannot win back his wife, the episode ends with Cullen returning to the Central Pacific, where Fong, seeing her mentor and the one man who knows the secret about her true gender, return, skilfully seduces him by dropping all her clothes to her feet.
I must admit, I didn't see the Cullen-Fong sexytimes coming, and it made for an interesting conclusion to an episode that wasn't particularly gripping. There was little in the way of any kind of action as the writers began to set things up for a true-to-history finale, but the plots skipping from one to the other felt forced because of that need. A single cohesive structure, as in the previous episode, was missed, but then this entire season is all about wrapping things up and there is only six episodes (five after today) to wrap up the plots of a regular cast list that includes a tremendous thirteen actors.
VERDICT: Felt flat after the captivating 5B premiere, but everything here was necessary to set up the conclusion. Still wasn't enough to thrill. 6/10
Another wrap-things-up episode to do with Cullen, only today the airtime was more evenly split between everyone. We see Cullen dealing with letting his family go, but also are shown how the characters in Cheyenne (where Durant has scammed a great number of people by telling them Laramie would become the railway's central hub and instead it was to be Cheyenne, benefiting himself and Eva; and Mickey is doing what he can to keep his gambling business legitimate) and at the Central Pacific (Fong's retreat into a dangerously indifferent reclusiveness),
After realising he cannot win back his wife, the episode ends with Cullen returning to the Central Pacific, where Fong, seeing her mentor and the one man who knows the secret about her true gender, return, skilfully seduces him by dropping all her clothes to her feet.
I must admit, I didn't see the Cullen-Fong sexytimes coming, and it made for an interesting conclusion to an episode that wasn't particularly gripping. There was little in the way of any kind of action as the writers began to set things up for a true-to-history finale, but the plots skipping from one to the other felt forced because of that need. A single cohesive structure, as in the previous episode, was missed, but then this entire season is all about wrapping things up and there is only six episodes (five after today) to wrap up the plots of a regular cast list that includes a tremendous thirteen actors.
VERDICT: Felt flat after the captivating 5B premiere, but everything here was necessary to set up the conclusion. Still wasn't enough to thrill. 6/10
THE NIGHT SHIFT 3x03 "The Way Back"
"Drew struggles to adjust after returning from Afghanistan, but a patient's father issues make him realise his real problem. Topher takes his mum to a casino with TC, but when TC has to take a patient back to the hospital, Topher and his mother work through some of their own issues. Kenny agrees to stop pranking Paul, Jordan continues her relationship with Fireman Sam and Shannon deals with some showboating wedding guests."
Lindsey Morgan (The 100) was touted to appear in one episode and this was it, as a bride whose wedding day goes wrong when an unknown condition lands her in the hospital along with her alcoholic father. Family issues were the overlying theme of this episode, what with Drew's insistence on fixing the bride's family stemming from an unresolved issue with his own father's non-acceptance of Drew's sexuality; and Topher and his mum get to the gritty stuff in a casino café. It all came round to the fact that the night shift staff were a family, which closed an excellent hour of TV.
Drew is a great character and to see him hurt was painful to watch, but it made for a great if not heartbreaking ending when his father again rebuked him. Kenny's airtime was lessened without Gwen, but his character didn't suffer for it and he was cheerful as ever. Paul continued his mission to be taken more seriously (even standing up to his Attending, Dr Clemens, and Kenny) which I was glad to see, and I warmed to Shannon quite quickly after she embarrassed a showboating wedding guest in front of his friends by suggesting he was an "inchworm".
Finally, Jordan and TC's relationship didn't play a factor tonight for very long, but everything seems cordial between them. TC's happy for now to let her go and Jordan's clearly happy with Fireman Sam. I hope it doesn't last, but it's still nice to see her smile after losing her baby.
VERDICT: The easiest hour of Night Shift TV so far. Well-balanced writing, everyone got the airtime their plots required and funny to boot. 8/10
ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK 4x01 "Work That Body For Me"
"After enjoying a short while at the lake, the ladies of Litchfield are returned to the prison to find 100 new inmates arriving. Piper continues her act of being the big cheese in the prison, Alex confronts the hitman sent to kill her, Maureen and Crazy Eyes decide to flee the prison altogether, ."
OITNB will be hard to analyse succinctly given it has so many threads of plot in comparison to your average 40-minute broadcast network show. Fortunately, the premiere's direct follow-on from season 3's finale means there's not as much to speak about as there will be later on.
We'll start with the lake: in the season 3 finale everyone escaped from the prison confines to the nearby lake until killjoy guards, including 6 newbies from maximum security, donned the riot gear and shepherded them into the mess hall with 100 new inmates, until they were finally allowed back into the dorms and given their new bedding arrangements. I think this overcrowding is going to be a great plotline: it's going to stress out the guards and new warden Caputo, and it's going to heighten tensions between everyone. But it's also going to make things harder for -
Piper! Piper, who is a self-titled "gangster with an A" after setting up her illegal used panty business and framing Stella for having contraband. She'll crush some and some will fight her, but either way it'll be interesting. Piper isn't at play much here, and mostly appears only to set up her future conflicts: one of the new inmates, whose name I do not know, wants to know who the big dog in prison is. Flaca, the Latina Piper fired from her panty business for insurrection, tells this new woman it's Piper, who is confronted in the breakfast queue the next day. But, unlike Vee in season 2, Piper hasn't established total dominance of all the prisoners and is relishing her self-aggrandised position a little too much. As I said, she's gonna get a nasty comeuppance at some point. Yay, because while I do like Piper, she's grown waaaaaay too arrogant and needs bringing down a peg.
Elsewhere, Crazy Eyes realised that Maureen was a bit too crazy even for her and begged to be let back into the prison, celebrity chef Judy King arrives and Brook Soso continues to be a love interest for Poussey.
But in the premiere's main plot, Alex Vause was saved from her old boss's hitman by conspiracy theorist Lolly, only to come back later that night to find he isn't actually dead. So Alex must kill him herself, and returns the next morning to bury the body, only for one of the gardening ladies to have found it. Then, instead of narking, she advises Alex to chop him up and bury him in the garden. Well, that was all a lovely plot. (Appropriately, the back credits following Alex and Lolly cutting up the hitman's body had the song Motherfucker Got Fucked Up - Folk Uke playing - good choice.) It had some disgusting moments (Alex's boss demanding pics of dead Alex's dead boobs, which Lolly and Alex send him to throw him off; and Alex hiding keys to the shed in her lady bits - was that not painful? That seems like it would hurt...) but overall it was about Alex coming to terms with her past and Laura Prepon's acting was wonderful. This storyline is going to underline whatever happens to her in the future - especially if Lolly flips on her and uses it for leverage or blackmail.
VERDICT: Had some great comedic moments, Piper and Alex's characterisation were brilliant and the overpopulation set up some interesting threads. 8/10
We'll start with the lake: in the season 3 finale everyone escaped from the prison confines to the nearby lake until killjoy guards, including 6 newbies from maximum security, donned the riot gear and shepherded them into the mess hall with 100 new inmates, until they were finally allowed back into the dorms and given their new bedding arrangements. I think this overcrowding is going to be a great plotline: it's going to stress out the guards and new warden Caputo, and it's going to heighten tensions between everyone. But it's also going to make things harder for -
Piper! Piper, who is a self-titled "gangster with an A" after setting up her illegal used panty business and framing Stella for having contraband. She'll crush some and some will fight her, but either way it'll be interesting. Piper isn't at play much here, and mostly appears only to set up her future conflicts: one of the new inmates, whose name I do not know, wants to know who the big dog in prison is. Flaca, the Latina Piper fired from her panty business for insurrection, tells this new woman it's Piper, who is confronted in the breakfast queue the next day. But, unlike Vee in season 2, Piper hasn't established total dominance of all the prisoners and is relishing her self-aggrandised position a little too much. As I said, she's gonna get a nasty comeuppance at some point. Yay, because while I do like Piper, she's grown waaaaaay too arrogant and needs bringing down a peg.
Elsewhere, Crazy Eyes realised that Maureen was a bit too crazy even for her and begged to be let back into the prison, celebrity chef Judy King arrives and Brook Soso continues to be a love interest for Poussey.
But in the premiere's main plot, Alex Vause was saved from her old boss's hitman by conspiracy theorist Lolly, only to come back later that night to find he isn't actually dead. So Alex must kill him herself, and returns the next morning to bury the body, only for one of the gardening ladies to have found it. Then, instead of narking, she advises Alex to chop him up and bury him in the garden. Well, that was all a lovely plot. (Appropriately, the back credits following Alex and Lolly cutting up the hitman's body had the song Motherfucker Got Fucked Up - Folk Uke playing - good choice.) It had some disgusting moments (Alex's boss demanding pics of dead Alex's dead boobs, which Lolly and Alex send him to throw him off; and Alex hiding keys to the shed in her lady bits - was that not painful? That seems like it would hurt...) but overall it was about Alex coming to terms with her past and Laura Prepon's acting was wonderful. This storyline is going to underline whatever happens to her in the future - especially if Lolly flips on her and uses it for leverage or blackmail.
VERDICT: Had some great comedic moments, Piper and Alex's characterisation were brilliant and the overpopulation set up some interesting threads. 8/10
FINAL THOUGHTS
A pretty even spread in terms of my ratings for these shows today, with only Hell on Wheels' offering being remarkable for being unremarkable. I look forward to bingeing these shows over the weekend since I'm going to wait until after my shift rotation to watch and analyse Person of Interest's series finale. I have a feeling I'm going to need time to process it!
Thanks everyone for reading and as I say, I'll see you mid-week for POI's series finale digest!
Sam
Thanks everyone for reading and as I say, I'll see you mid-week for POI's series finale digest!
Sam
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