It was a slow starter, but what a payoff in the end! This week’s surreal episode lulled me into an annoyed state of complacency…and then pulled the magic carpet out from under me to provide a fun hallucinogenic ride.
Certainly, the episode had its share of problems. Besides the aforementioned dull first half, the guest stars continued this season’s trend of California bland. Robin Lively…I haven’t seen her since Savannah was mercifully axed. She certainly reminds me of why Jamie Lunar is the only actress from that series who continues to find steady work.
However, the pluses this week still outweigh the minuses. The dialogue and the acting was just enough off kilter that the dreamlike aspect of the story worked perfectly. It says a lot about a series when we viewers are able to pick out dialogue that is out of character.
By the way, that scene with the alien elicited nothing but laughs from me. Thank goodness it wasn’t authentic. I kept expecting the little guy to say, “Phone home.”
The highlight had to be the moment where Scully and Mulder suddenly realize that they’re not really sitting in Skinner’s office but are, in fact, still being digested by the giant mushroom. Talk about an effective piece of paranoia; how can we trust what is truly reality?
So, while it wasn’t a perfect show, it does qualify as a success for one major reason: it kept me guessing. I certainly didn’t expect the story to be about Scully and Mulder shroomin’.
Rating: 
1/2
Wow, with two episodes left, the writers of Melrose have decided to raise the camp quotient and let things get just about as wild as they’ve ever been on the show. We’ve been treated to deaths, partner changes, wedding proposals and the ever-important psychotic bitch murder threats.
Jane and Kyle were, as usual, the pathetic couple of the week. Their mini-breakup over Kyle’s desire to comfort Amanda was less than pulse pounding. In fact, their best moment had to be when Amanda showed up at the restaurant to meet with Marlin and she completely blew off Kyle’s attempts to be friendly.
The Megan and Ryan romance started out weakly, but ended the show on a high note. Did they really have to make Megan look like Phantom Of The Opera after Auntie Dearest elbowed her in their family game of basketball? I could barely stand to look at her. Oh well, at least it’s making me look forward to the big catfight between these two vixens. And, is it just me, or does Terri have the largest mouth this side of Carly Simon?
Ryan’s wedding proposal scene was very touching, even if it was a little ludicrous. First of all, I laughed out loud when Michael Fienstein showed up. I didn’t buy their past business dealings at all….it’s much more likely that he’s Ryan’s ex. Also, wasn’t the roof an odd choice of settings given that the last time Megan was up there, she was screwing around with Michael and fell through? Now that’s romantic!
Lexi and Michael excelled in their recent role of comic relief. Her little burlesque number for Marlin was great. This girl reminds me of a drag queen more and more each week. The ultimate, though, was her big victory over Marlin as he signed the contracts draped over her naked body. Marlin’s death was inevitable, so I howled with laughter as Lexi purred, “A little reciprocation would be nice.” Even I was surprised, though, that we actually got to see Marlin’s gasping corpse with Lexi riding atop him. How sick!
Of course, the Amanda/Peter/Eve triangle was the big draw this week. All episode, I was concerned that Peter’s face was going to fall off. It looks like his facelifts are finally loosing their hold. First, Eve mauls him in a blatant reconciliation attempt, and then she splashes water in his face after he dumps her. In both scenes his face had an amazing putty-like quality that churned my stomach.
But, at least he and Amanda did the right thing and stopped denying their feelings for one another. It was their dealings with Eve that has me counting the minutes until the next episode. Peter wisely realized that she wasn’t going to take it well, but Amanda’s line was perfect, “Maybe she’ll try to push me off a bleacher.” It was only a matter of time before she went completely insane…first sleeping with nasty Christmas Tree Guy and then freaking out like a second rate Kimberly, “I’m a cheerleader. 2, 4, 6, 8 who can I annihilate?” Damn, was that foam coming out of her mouth?
The next two episodes promise to be memorable as Eve vows to make Peter and “his blond slut” bleed. Like I’ve been saying all season…Eve must die!
Rating: 1/2
THUD! That was the sound of this mediocre, uninspired episode landing directly after Melrose’s silly tour de force. It wasn’t that this week’s show was necessarily bad. It was just so uninspired and anticlimactic.
First of all, the whole male escort thing was completely unbelievable. Ya, a male escort’s job is really just to provide companionship for women. What alternate reality does this show take place in? They could have at least done something a little edgy by having Antonio Sabato Jr. turn out to be gay….as are most male escorts. That would have been the perfect explanation for him rebuking Ally’s advances.
I did enjoy Georgia’s attempts to break out of her shell by wearing those revealing dresses that Ling designs. Who knew that Allison/Georgia was so hot! However, they wore out that terrible singing scene. One butchered song was plenty. Did they have to go on and have her ravage that classic Dusty tune as well? She made Vonda sound like Aretha Franklin.
Elaine had the best dialogue of the evening. Upon meeting Antonio, she asked Ally, “How about you sharing?” And then she applauded Ally’s schemes, “Congratulations Ally, you got him the old fashioned way: manipulation.”
Speaking of which, I’m glad that the whole Dr. Love issue is getting a little more attention. I’m not convinced that they’re going to work everything out, but I didn’t like the way Greg was just dropping her without even trying to reconcile.
Finally, is it just me, or are they running out of things to do on this show already? I swear that they’ve used the whole Ally and Renee dancing together closer several times before. C’mon, the thing that makes this show so special is its ability to catch the viewer off guard. If they’re to sustain the quality of this series, they need to stop repeating their tricks.
Rating: 1/2
It’s been weeks since I saw a new episode of Buffy, so my expectations were mighty high. Thankfully, this episode delivered with some great lines, surprisingly strong acting, and a lot of serious plot development.
Xander had a particularly strong episode. The opening with him talking to his hand was perversely funny. And, I loved the fact that he wound up going to the prom with Alia (sp?). This series has a wonderful habit of bringing back fun characters like that.
Xander’s best moments, though, were delivered thanks to his interaction with everyone’s favorite brat, Cordelia. Buying that dress for her after he found out that she had money problems was the sweetest thing I’ve seen since Oz told Willow that they didn’t need to rush into a physical relationship. And, Cordelia’s reaction was perfectly in character…sincerely thankful, yet bitchy on the surface.
Willow and Oz didn’t have enough to do, but Willow did get the best line of the night, “You’ve seen one hairy bringer of death, you’ve seen them all.”
The whole Buffy/Angel breakup was unexpectedly affecting. I have to admit that I found it difficult at first to feel bad for the Buffster. All season, she’s been running hot and cold with Angel. So, it’s not really Angel’s fault now that he’s having second thoughts about the sanity of their relationship. However, Buffy’s breakdown with Willow was undeniably heartwrenching.
Plus, having Angel show up at the prom as The Sundays’ classic cover of “Wild Horses” blared out was irresistible. Even more emotional, though, was the class gift to Buffy, their protector. By the way, did anyone else recognize the presenter as the adorable boy who Cordelia’s friends teased her with at the beginning of the season? Another great returning character!
As for the whole controversy over whether or not the plots on this show echo the Columbine incident…I have only one thing to say: Art is a reflection of society….not the other way around! One of the things that makes this show so special is its ability to entertainingly and intelligently serve as a metaphor for the hell that is high school and growing up. Banning this show, or toning it down won’t serve to make our society any gentler. It would only be a classic case of burying our heads in the sand.
Rating:
