Paul Levinson's Infinite Regress

reviewing Black Doves; Cross; Dark Matter; Dept. Q; Dexter: Resurrection; Dune: Prophecy; For All Mankind; Foundation; Hijack; Memory of a Killer; MobLand; Outlander; Paradise; Presumed Innocent; Severance; Silo; Slow Horses; Smoke; Star City; Star Trek: Strange New Worlds; Tehran;The: Day of the Jackal, Diplomat, Last of Us, Night Agent; Your Friends & Neighbors +books, films, music, podcasts, politics

George Santayana had irrational faith in reason - I have irrational faith in TV.

Showing posts with label Ted Danson. Show all posts

Friday, July 29, 2022

The Orville 3.9: Why It's Become Better than any Current Star Trek

Having just watched The Orville 3.9, let me explain why I think The Orville is better than any current Star Trek series, as well as in the same league with The Original Series and The Next Generation.

It's because The Orville is not beholden to any prior or current Star Trek, not burdened with being true to all that was Star Trek before, and is Star Trek now. The Orville can plot its own course, take its own chances. And now that it's on Hulu not Fox, The Orville is also free fromall the network constraints, including length of episode and language.

Spoilers ahead ... ]

Episode 3.9 makes use of, and epitomizes all of those advantages. It was unafraid to kill off a semi-major character, Admiral Perry (played by Ted Danson) and a major, vibrant new character introduced just this season, Ensign Charly (played by Anne Winters). Charly was so impressive, she even sang some great harmony and lead when she and Gordon performed Simon and Garfunkel's "Flowers Never Bend with the Rainfall" in Grayson's family cabin. And the lyrics of this song -- "I'll continue to pretend, my life will never end" -- have a special, pang-in-your-heart significance, given Charly's extraordinary sacrifice at the end of the episode. This accentuates the ethical incandescence of Charly doing this to save the Kaylon, whom she understandably hated up until the episode before last.

The story line was also top-notch, for a bunch of interlocking reasons. "The Orville" has increasingly become a continuing story this season. Episode 3.9 picks up on the Moclans leaving the Union, and they form an alliance with the Krill against the Kaylon. And by the end of the episode, the Kaylon (impressed by Charly's sacrifice) are aligned with the Union. These seismic shifts are conducted with subtlety and apt motive. For example, the Moclan at first balk at giving the Krill co-command of their military, because the Krill leader is a woman. And we see the Kaylon leader very aware of the enormity of Charly's sacrifice.

The battle scenes were also outstanding, especially the spaceship dogfights between the Union and the Kaylon vs. the Moclan and the Krill. All of this was reminiscent of an extended scene from a movie like Star Wars, and was possible because "The Orville" as been given room to the breathe on Hulu, in this case, an hour and nineteen minutes.

Next week is the season 3 finale. I'm very much looking forward to that, and to many seasons to come.

Joel McKinnon and I discuss Star Trek, The Orville and much more

watch The Chronology Protection Case FREE on Amazon Prime

Friday, June 24, 2022

The Orville 3.4: The Captain's Daughter

An excellent episode 3.4 of The Orville up on Hulu today, which connected to a momentous, disastrous US Supreme Court decision today which couldn't have been known when the episode was made.

[Spoilers follow ... ]

The Union is pursuing a treaty with the Krill to fight their mutual enemy the Kaylons. High stakes diplomacy ensue, including the best admirals on TV these days, Halsey and Perry, played Victor Garber and Ted Danson (you can't go wrong with that). But before the treaty is concluded and signed, the head of the Krill is beaten in an election by the fascistic Teleya. This is just the beginning of the resonances in this episode to the present USA.

Teleya has been on The Orville before, in its two prior seasons. In 3.4, she's not only elected President (presumably -- perhaps she and her party fixed it), she turns out to be the mother of a daughter fathered by our one and only Captain Mercer (the two had an affair). Ed gets to meet her, and it's a great scene. The fact that Teleya kept the baby is not surprising -- an abortion is a crime in their culture, and couples who have them are forced to interact with a hologram of what their child would have been like. (See The Talmud vs Today's Supreme Court Decision Overturning Roe v. Wade for at least some of my thoughts about what U.S. Supreme Court did in our reality today.)

Back on The Orville, I won't tell you how all of this turned out, though you'll of course know that Captain Mercer survives. I will say there are some crackling battles in space, Ed and Kelly have a tender moment, and I like the art deco look of the Krill big city,

See you back here next week with my review of episode 3.5

watch The Chronology Protection Case FREE on Amazon Prime

Thursday, April 11, 2019

The Orville 2.12: Hello Dolly!

Another powerful episode of The Orville tonight - 2.11 - which follows the two-part "Identity" episodes (rebroadcast the past two weeks) even better than did the episode that followed the first showing of "Identity," though that episode was excellent, too.

Let me begin this little review by mentioning that I was at a great panel at HELIOsphere this past weekend (in addition to panelists listed on that link, Hildy Silverman was the panel, too), where we discussed our favorite science fiction television series. I and several panelists mentioned The Orville as outstanding. In fact, everyone agreed, but someone also indicated that a weakness of the series is that all the nostalgia is from the late 20th century. Since The Orville takes place a few centuries from now, shouldn't some of the nostalgia be from our future?

A fair point, logically. But the 20th-century nostalgia is part of the conceit of the show, part of the irresistible way that humor is smuggled in with the serious stuff, or maybe the other way around, but the result is the remarkable quality, the uniqueness, of this series.

So, with that in mind, let me say that the part I enjoyed most in this episode is the way Dolly Parton's "9 to 5" became a theme song for the Moclan female surge for independence - or, actually, life. This was a good development of what Bortes earlier went through, when he had to see his female baby undergo "correction" to become male. There is nothing the least bit funny about that. And it of course relates to the oppression women receive on our own planet, in off-screen reality.

The other memorable part of this episode was seeing the Union Council on Earth in its full glory, chaired by a character well played by F. Murray Abraham, and assisted by the characters well played by Ted Danson and Victor Garber. I bet the woman who played the female Moclan leader was a top-notch actor, too, but I couldn't tell through the make-up.* (Speaking of women: fabulous to see Marina Sirtis on board The Orville as a teacher!)

Anyhow - I'll be sorry to see this season end in two episodes from now, but I'll be watching every episode and reviewing when it returns.

*My wife just researched this online, and found it's Rena Owen!

See also The Orville 2.1: Relief and Romance ... The Orville 2.2: Porn Addiction and Planetary Disintegration ... The Orville 2.3: Alara ... The Orville 2.4: Billy Joel ... The Orville 2.5: Escape at Regor 2 ... The Orville 2.6: "Singin' in the Rain" ... The Orville 2.7: Love and Death ... The Orville 2.8: Recalling Čapek, Part 1 ... The Orville 2.9: Recalling Čapek, Part 2 ... The Orville: 2.10: Exploding Blood ... The Orville 2.11: Time Capsule, Space Station, and Harmony

And see also The Orville 1.1-1.5: Star Trek's Back ... The Orville 1.6-9: Masterful ... The Orville 1.10: Bring in the Clowns ... The Orville 1.11: Eating Yaphit ... The Orville 1.12: Faith in Reason and the Prime Directive

1st starship to Alpha Centauri ... had only enough fuel to get there

Monday, October 9, 2017

Curb Your Enthusiasm 9.2: Wife Swapping

Well, it wasn't really wife swapping, and I said I wouldn't be reviewing any more episodes of Curb Your Enthusiasm - because I don't usually review comedies - but here I am with a review of Curb 9.2, in which the wife swapping which wasn't really wife swapping was one of the funniest parts.

It's not really wife swapping because Larry and Cheryl (the fictitious couple) are no longer married, though Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen really are - in reality - even though not on the show. Which means (I think) that by the internal logic of the show (or any logic, even Aristotelian), Larry and Ted would not have been trading mates if all parties had agreed to Larry's suggestion after Ted came to ask/inform Larry about Ted's interest in Cheryl. Not that anyone actually said it was wife swapping. But what is the case is that Cheryl and Mary both look great, and Mary turning Larry down because he's just not her "type," only to be seen by Larry walking cosily with a man who looks a lot like Larry was pretty funny, too.

By the way, speaking of what Larry looks like, wouldn't you agree that he never looked better than in his Buck Dancer disguise, that he's using to avoid the fatwa? He looks, like, I don't know, maybe an older rock star who can still do a good concert, or even like Don Johnson and whatever he might look like now.

The other best part of tonight's episode for me were actually two unrelated things that both speak to same brilliant part of Curb Your Enthusiasm: the difficulty of opening a pickle jar, and the stupidity of using tongs to pick up cookies from a table in a hotel lobby (or, by extension, at any public event). Larry always has a way of putting his finger - in this case, a hand, or a tong - on an aspect of our lives which is illogical, even ridiculous, but we somehow put up with, anyway. Larry in effect is the voice for what we all believe but never quite get around to actually saying or complaining about.

Lots of other funny parts in tonight's episode, but, as I said last week, I don't like assessing what makes comedies comedies, so I'll end this now and may or may not be back here next week.

See also: Curb Your Enthusiasm 9.1: Hilarious!

Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Fargo 2.1: Good to Be Back in the Freezer

Fargo was back for its second season on FX on Monday, with a narrative that promises to be as brilliant, blackly humorous, complex, and altogether in a world of its own as what we saw in its first season. And other than this story also taking place in North Dakota, this story seems at this point to have only one connection to the first season, which I'll get to shortly Indeed, whereas the first season took place in the present, this second season is happening in 1979.

Let me see if I got the setup (always a question, when you've only seen an episode of Fargo just once). There's a criminal family, the Gerhardts. They need a judge to make a proper ruling. One of the sons, a hothead with a gun, thinks he can convince her to do what they want. He accosts the judge in a diner, and ends up shooting her, a former athlete now working there, and the waitress, all to death. Then he's hit by a car, and carried along on its hood.

We learn that the driver, Peggy (played by Kristen Dunst) is a married to a guy, Ed (played by Jesse Plemons), who works for a butcher (the honest kind who sells meat, not as far as we know a murderer of humans). This serves Ed in good stead, as he has a freezer in which to stow the killer's body (after he kills him, after the bad guy attacks him, because the bad guy wasn't thoroughly dead). You just know that freezer with the body is going to be opened in some upcoming episode at the worst time.

Meanwhile, the sheriff and state trooper are investigating the three killings at the diner. Hank Larson the sheriff is played by Tad Danson, always good to see. The state trooper is none other than Lou Solverson, who will age well and be played by Keith Carradine in Season 1 (that's the one connection).

And just to top it off, and provide a little more sinister depth to this story - always a key ingredient in Fargo - the episode ends with a bigger criminal enterprise in Kansas City set to move in on the Gerhardts in North Dakota.

There nothing else quite like Fargo on television, and I'm looking forward with relish to the rest this second second (maybe some mustard, too).

See also: Fargo Debuts with Two Psychos ... Fargo 1.7: The Bungling and the Brave ... Fargo 1.8: The Year ... Fargo Season 1 Finale: The Supremely Cunning Anti-Hero

A story about another kind of killer ... The Silk Code

#SFWApro

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Lying about Damages

Damages came back last night to FX, and so far it's just about as powerful, brooding and complex as the first season, which is to say, top notch television.

The essence of Damages is that you never know, completely, who is telling the truth, and that pertains, especially, to Patty Hewes, and her seconds in command, and in and out favorites, Ellen and Tom. It seemed at the end of last season that Patty put out a hit on Ellen, to remove a possible witness to Patty's wheelings and dealings, and Tom was sort of Ellen's friend.

Ellen's belief that Patty tried to have her killed motivates Ellen this season - in particular, her working with the FBI to bring Patty down. We did see loyal, old Uncle Pete tell Patty on the phone last season that "it's done," and given the circumstances, and what we know of Patty's ruthlessness, this statement certainly seemed like a strong indication, if not proof, that Patty had instructed Pete to get rid of Ellen.

But I can't help wondering - what if not? In the premiere episode of this season, Ellen goes to see Patty, but we see only part of the conversation. Ellen tells the FBI afterward that all Patty told Ellen was more of Patty's "bullshit" ... but do we know all of what Patty really told Ellen? Is it possible Ellen is now working with Patty?

As in the first season, there are teasers to the future - in the case of last night's episode, to someone Ellen is talking to, and eventually shoots. We're supposed to think this is Patty ... But let's say it's someone else?

I'm thinking Tom might be a possibility ... he's as much a part of the lying web of Damages as anyone else.

Meanwhile, Ted Danson is back as Frobisher (he wasn't killed, and Ellen's out to get him), and William Hurt is on the show as a complex new client, and together with Glenn Close as Patty, Rose Byrne as Ellen, and Tate Donovan as Tom we've got one smack in the mouth show. Though I'll miss Zeljko Ivanek's Ray - well, at least he's on True Blood now...

3-min podcast review of Damages 2.1

See also Damages 1-10

The Plot to Save Socrates

"challenging fun" - Entertainment Weekly

"a Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News

"Sierra Waters is sexy as hell" - curled up with a good book

more about The Plot to Save Socrates...

Read the first chapter of The Plot to Save Socrates .... FREE!

Sunday, September 7, 2008

Damages 1-10

I have but three episodes left to watch of the first season of Damages - nominated for an Emmy* - and while I'm waiting for the last disk for Netflix, I thought I'd say a few words about what I've seen...

Grim, powerful punches to the solar plexus. Glenn Close in the lead role of Patty Hewes is an actress as a lawyer to be reckoned with (and thoroughly deserving of her Emmy nomination). At this point, about all I'm not willing to put past her is murder. Ted Danson as the CEO Arthur Frobisher of the Enron-like company Patty is suing is the least funny - and best - of his career (though his hilarious spots on Curb Your Enthusiasm are a close second). Zeljko Ivanek has been superb on everything from Homicide to 24 in the past, but never better than Frobisher's brilliant, tough, but almost endearingly vulnerable lead attorney - and a good match for Patty. Tate Donovan as Patty's second-in-command is outstanding, too.

But Rose Byrne as Ellen Parsons - hey, she was in Attack of the Clones - as the new addition to Patty's office is the gem of gems on this show, and the centerpiece of the story...

Which is ... she finds her former fiance murdered, after having been almost murdered herself, and the police (of course) suspect her. The story is told via a series of harrowing slivers of the present, with much longer flashbacks to months ago, which close in on the present as the series progresses.

Damages is really much more than a lawyer show. It's more of a blend of The Fugitive and Lost. I'll be back with more after I see the ending, and with reviews of the Season Two on weekly basis when it's aired in early 2009 on the FX Network.

*Damages and Mad Men are the first basic cable series to get Emmy nominations. Details in the video that follows. My generally rave reviews of the first two seasons of Mad Men start here.

See also Season 2 reviews: Lying with Damages

Read the first chapter of The Plot to Save Socrates .... FREE!

"challenging fun"
- Entertainment Weekly

e-mail received from a reader:
Dear Paul, I just dreamed of airships flying between raindrops. I just returned from 2042 CE, where I sold my hardcover copy of The Plot to Save Socrates for seventy million Neo-Euros, because it had your response to this e-mail from way back in 2007 scotch-taped onto the inside of the cover. A Paul Levinson collector paid top Neo-Euro, because of the authentic archaic e-mail printout from you. It turns out that not many of your e-mails from before your tenure as CEO of HBO/Cinemax and terms as United Nations Secretary General will survive that far into the future. So, please respond to this e-mail, to help found my great-grandchildren's fortune. My Will will stipulate that they must share with your great grandchildren. Thanks! Tom

I of course happily replied...

42 reviews of The Plot to Save Socrates!