Welcome to Last Night on TV, our daily column that looks back at what happened on television the night before. If we’re going to stay up all night and watch TV, we might as well talk about it the next morning.
Last night on TV, we spend some time at the end of the world with You, Me and The Apocalypse, Alisha Grauso checks in on the second episode of Legends of Tomorrow, and Christopher Campbell reviews both Top Chef and Portlandia‘s midseason return. Plus some quick notes about Baskets.
Legends of Tomorrow
Alisha Grauso: The second episode of DC’s Legends of Tomorrow was technically part two of the pilot that aired last week, and I’m impressed at how quickly the show is already taking care of some of the weaker points from the first episode. Last week’s episode was fun, but a completely rushed mess that focused too heavily on the wrong characters. Part two, however, slowed down a bit and started to focus more on the character development that is so vital to an ensemble show. Last week was a bunch of disparate characters with very little background thrown into a situation that asked for some serious suspension of disbelief from viewers; this week, those characters actually had time to breathe and interact with one another. The result was some great moments of dialogue, most notably from Captain Cold, who manages to steal every scene he’s in, and Heat Wave, who may be crazy, but at least he’s loyal and crazy.
This may mostly be a team of criminals and miscreants, but they’re miscreants with heart, and this episode showed that. The team dynamic has already started to gel as everyone got the chance to pair up in small groups to accomplish their individual objectives: Captain Cold and Heat Wave with The Atom; Martin Stein and Jefferson Jackson – Firestorm – with White Canary; Hawkman and Hawkgirl together. Those small groupings gave the team a chance to interact with one another and start breaking down the barriers that separate them from one another. And there was a nice, poignant moment between Stein and Rip Hunter that showed us that maybe Rip Hunter isn’t quite as oblivious to the enormous sacrifices he’s asking this team to make as we thought.
That’s not to say there wasn’t spectacle: A truly fun scene featured the entire team joining forces to battle Vandal Savage and it was as chaotic as you’d expect – Firestorm and Atom flying around and blasting things while White Canary, Captain Cold, and Heat Wave held it down on the ground, Hawkman and Hawkgirl doing…whatever it is they do.
And that right there is the only major problem with Legends of Tomorrow: Both Hawkman and Hawkgirl are really hard to care about (though I’m starting to slowly come around on Hawkgirl/Kendra Saunders), and the storyline of them being separated through centuries and losing their son last week feels both forced and rushed. It’s hard to get emotionally invested in a story about star-crossed soulmates when you can’t really feel any chemistry between them. When Carter apologized to Kendra for pushing her too hard and too fast to care for him, he may as well have been apologizing to us, the audience. Later, when he was killed by Vandal Savage (but temporarily because, you know…reincarnation) and the team finally came together fully to mourn his loss, it was only thanks to the strength of the other cast members that the scene had any emotional resonance. Hawkman and Hawkgirl may be inextricably linked to Vandal Savage, but if Legends wants to move forward, it needs to unlink itself from the thus far dead weight of their story as the focus, and fast. If it does, this just might end up being one of the most entertaining and fun shows on television.
You, Me and The Apocalypse
Neil Miller: Until it actually happens, the notion of the impending apocalypse will always be an interesting thought experiment for modern humanity. And as our real world continues to grow more and more cynical, the idea that we’re all going to be taken in an Extinction Level Event is something that we will continue to explore. For show creator Iain Hollands, whose previous work can be narrowed to the British comedy Beaver Falls, this means gathering together all the talent that NBC can find for a comedy about our end of days.
It involves putting Jenna Fischer, in her first prominent TV project since playing Pam on The Office, in prison. And Rob Lowe shows up as a smoking, swearing priest. If the previews are to be believed, Parks and Rec‘s Nick Offerman is going to show up very soon. It’s going to be a who’s who of NBC last few decades of television. Plus, the apocalypse!
The bulk of this show’s first episode rests on the shoulders of Fischer and Peep Show alum Matthew Baynton. With a nice assist from newcomer Gaia Scodellaro, who plays it straight next to the absurd priesthood of Rob Lowe. The first episode plays fast and loose with backstory, but the opening scene tells us that these characters — those of Fischer, Baynton and Scodalerro — make it into a bunker as the world is about to be demolished by a comet. The mystery that Hollands and his writer’s room are unraveling is how they ended up there. And as half hour comedy pilots go, it’s a fun little puzzle with plenty of laughter along the way. We’re likely to learn a lot more in the coming episodes as the show begins to introduce the other 12 people who end up in the bunker. Next week’s promo indulges us in more white supremacy, Rob Lowe investigating the second coming of Jesus Christ and yes, Nick Offerman with a shotgun. The big question for this show going forward will be whether or not the apocalyptic thought experiment or the characters are more interesting. Or perhaps both. If it’s both, we’re in for a good time.
Top Chef
Christopher Campbell: This week, the chef-testants were given some really fun challenges, and for some reason they didn’t really have any fun at all. First up was a “food porn” Quickfire Challenge where the remaining nine had to make pretty plates consisting of creatively arranged junk food, like chips and candy. They got to be artistic, which isn’t really the strong suit of most of them, but they did seem happy to play around, and Phillip got to be uber precise in his usual obnoxious manner. The winner of immunity in this task was chosen by Instagram and wasn’t revealed until after the main challenge. Karen got the most “likes” for her kid-friendly “mud” design, which stood out for being different at least.
For the big event, the chefs were tasked with feeding the attendants of one of Vibiana’s Beefsteak events. They’re told that this is an occasion for the wealthy and Hollywood elite (including Colin Hanks and Arrow’s Cynthia Addai-Robinson were among those prominently highlighted) to wear fancy clothes but then dig into meats without utensils or napkins. It seemed pretty clear the idea was to cook up a carnivore’s dream, something for a caveman, as it’s noted too late. Too many people still went for dainty cuisine, a lot of seafood over red meat, as if they thought a well-cooked slab wasn’t worthy of the show or something. Only Phillip really got the challenge, serving up lamb on the bone, and big bearded Chad was out for giving the people fish with leafy greens.
At least it was one of those episodes where the judges appeared to be drinking way too much, tossing their leftover bones across the room and encouraging chefs to talk about putting their sausage in people’s mouths. And that was in the same episode that spotlighted, during the Quickfire, an Instagram-famous guest judge who goes by the name Chef Jacques La Merde (or Jacques the Shit).
Portlandia
Christopher Campbell: Kyle Maclachlan made a return to the show as the Mayor of Portland in this hilarious satire of aging Gen Xers. I’m actually slightly younger than Carrie Brownstein, but I could relate more to what Fred Armisen’s character was going through. He wakes up one day with a full head of grey hair and wonders how that could happen since he believes he’s only in his early 30s. After all, he’s still hip and listens to cool music and stuff. During an absurd scene with his mother, he finds out he’s actually 48! Was he asleep for much longer, like Rip Van Winkle? No, it just creeps up on us. He sets out on a quest that takes him to see Kumail Nanjiani and an astrophysicist who gives him a box with a black hole in it. After diving in, he learns that all he needs to do is dye his hair. But isn’t grey hip now?
Maclachlan appears for a scene with Carrie, telling her it’s time to make good on a deal they made years earlier to have kids if they weren’t with anyone at this point in their lives. She’s not interested in his can of sperm, but she does consider having a baby with someone. Because that’s what getting old for women is, needing to have kids before time runs out, while for men it’s needing to still be a big kid before — well, time never runs out for that. She sees the worst jokester of an OB/GYN, meets up with her pals, including Natasha Lyonne because she dates Armisen so she’s on this show regularly now, and they explain the physical reality of birth’s damage to your body. Eventually Carrie asks Fred if he wants to have a baby, and he says yes.
Baskets
Neil Miller: Not a terrible lot to say about Baskets this week, if I’m honest. Yet another episode that explores the meekness of Martha and provides for a nice sandbox in which Martha Kelly can play. She’s a lot of fun. You know who else is a lot of fun? Louie Anderson. He brings a real Roseanne vibe to this show and every moment he is on screen is a delight. If he continues to find screen time, this show will continue to soar on its own messed up wavelength.
What did you watch last night?
0 comments:
Post a Comment