-
Becker (1998) s02e01 – Point of Contact
I’ve had some trepidation about “Becker” season two. Season one did not impress as I remember it (eventually) doing—worse, it made me worry the only reason I liked it the first time I watched it was because I was able to go with all the blind jokes and white guy doctor Ted Danson punching down… 📖
-
Resident Alien (2021) s01e03 – Secrets
I would feel a whole lot better about where this episode of “Resident Alien” seems to be sending Sara Tomko if it had passed Bechdel for longer than three lines. Three lines with a female writer (Njeri Brown). We get a lot of backstory into Tomko—with zero mention of the long-term abusive boyfriend from the… 📖
-
Resident Alien (2021) s01e02 – Homesick
There’s a lot going on this episode. “Resident Alien” will go for (single camera) sitcom type laughs but still manage to run as a full hour long (forty-four minute) show. I was wondering if they’d be able to keep up the energy from the first episode when not doing a pilot and they succeed. Outside… 📖
-
Frasier (1993) s03e24 – You Can Go Home Again
For the third season finale, “Frasier” goes with the wholesome flashback (with some bite) route. The script’s from Linda Morris and Vic Rauseo, which is appropriate for the flashback—although they’re executive producers, they haven’t had many script credits this season—but they wrote a bunch in the first and second seasons. The episode opens establishing it’s… 📖
-
Frasier (1993) s03e23 – The Focus Group
The episode opens with a lengthy setup for the eventual A plot, getting most of the B plot out of the way in an early chunk. Both Daphne (Jane Leeves) and Niles (David Hyde Pierce) are upset; she’s mad at her boyfriend for ditching her on their anniversary weekend to go to Vegas (we learn… 📖
-
WandaVision (2021) s01e05 – On a Very Special Episode…
There are a couple moderate surprise choices in the episode—first is when Randall Park (who gets some really good moments even though the action thriller aspect of the episode is very secondary) makes a Captain Marvel mention and it gets a reaction from Teyonah Parris, which is the first acknowledgement of her being the little… 📖
-
Frasier (1993) s03e22 – Frasier Loves Roz
I wanted a Roz (Peri Gilpin) episode, and for my sins, they gave me one. Frasier Loves Roz is not a bad episode. It’s a mediocre episode to be sure, but it’s not bad. It’s problematic because writer Suzanne Martin can’t decide whether or not to do easy body shaming jokes, or homophobic ones, or… 📖
-
Frasier (1993) s03e21 – Where There’s Smoke There’s Fired
It’s time for the seasonal Bebe (Harriet Sansom Harris) episode and it’s another fantastic one. I keep looking at Harris’ IMDb page because her never winning an Emmy for this part has got to be a mistake. She wasn’t even nominated, yet she’s so good. But we don’t know right off Harris is going to… 📖
-
The Match Factory Girl (1990, Aki Kaurismäki)
The Match Factory Girl is a hyper-focused character study. It opens with the visually fascinating process of a match factory before introducing lead Kati Outinen. Technically protagonist, obviously more subject. She quite noticeably doesn’t talk for the first twenty minutes or so, which says more about her situation than her character—no one’s interested in what… 📖
-
Take Care of Your Scarf, Tatjana (1994, Aki Kaurismäki)
I spent much of Take Care of Your Scarf, Tatjana waiting for the character, played by Kati Outinen, to forget her scarf because I thought the title was Don’t Forget Your Scarf, Tatjana. I knew the film only ran sixty-two minutes and so assumed there’d be some scarf-forgetting. Oops. Is there scarf-forgetting? No spoilers. But… 📖
-
Frasier (1993) s03e20 – Police Story
Police Story is a standout episode—and writer Sy Rosen’s sole “Frasier” credit—from the very start. It’s a moving car shot with Kelsey Grammer and Peri Gilpin, where Gilpin’s getting ready in the back seat and getting Grammer to speed because they’ve got to get to her date on time. It’s a fantastic sequence and going… 📖
-
Frasier (1993) s03e19 – Crane vs. Crane
At first it seems like Crane vs. Crane is going to be a Martin (John Mahoney) versus his snobby sons episode, as it opens with David Hyde Pierce going on about how he’s going to be on Court TV testifying in a competency hearing for an old lumber baron (Donald O’Connor) whose son is trying… 📖
-
L’Atalante (1934, Jean Vigo)
L’Atalante begins with a wedding procession; village girl Dita Parlo has married commercial barge captain Jean Dasté and is going off to live with him on the barge. The wedding guests drop all these details through exposition—we’re not privy to the newlyweds’ conversations as they walk through the village to the barge. Juxtaposed, first mate… 📖
-
Zero for Conduct (1933, Jean Vigo)
There are some truly excellent moments in Zero for Conduct, usually when director Vigo slows down the film (literally) and focuses attention on how the characters are experiencing said moments. The biggest one—though maybe not best—comes during the prelude to insurrection, when the students in a boys’ school are marching towards… well, it turns out… 📖
-
Resident Alien (2021) s01e01
“Resident Alien: The TV Show” is not Resident Alien: The Comic Book. And it turns out, that arrangement works just fine. When I first heard about the TV show, I was interested but more excited comic creators Peter Hogan and Steve Parkhouse would get to finish the comic, which has been low-selling, absolutely sublime, and… 📖
-
The Little Things (2021, John Lee Hancock)
There’s a point where Rami Malek gets exasperated at having to stake out suspected serial killer Jared Leto and it’s the most real moment of The Little Things because it’s been exasperating having to watch Malek stake out suspected serial killer Jared Leto. The scene’s somewhere near the end of the film’s second act but… 📖
-
Frasier (1993) s03e18 – Chess Pains
Chess Pains is Rob Greenberg’s first solo script credit—and Gordon Hunt’s first episode directing—but it feels like a familiar (good familiar) “Frasier” mix, albeit right down to Peri Gilpin getting a filler subplot. Gilpin’s getting her hair cut and has nothing to talk to her stylist about; it’s just there to give Kelsey Grammer something… 📖
-
Frasier (1993) s03e17 – High Crane Drifter
This episode’s got an outstanding last scene, which basically makes up for the rest of it. And the last scene is outstanding because of David Hyde Pierce as a showcase for his mix of physical and dialogue comedy, nothing else. It’s a bit of a deus ex machina just because Hyde Pierce hasn’t had anything… 📖
-
Frasier (1993) s03e16 – Look Before You Leap
Look Before You Leap is one of those exemplar “Frasier” episodes. It’s just the regular cast, it’s just the regular sets, and it’s perfect situation comedy. The episode starts with Kelsey Grammer taking Eddie the dog for a walk, which should’ve forecasted everything being off since Grammer abhorring the dog is one of the show… 📖
-
Frasier (1993) s03e15 – A Word to the Wiseguy
Is the “member of the Italian-American social club” visits a WASP-y sitcom a trope or just does seem like a trope? I feel like every sitcom with a sufficient number of episodes is going to to get to it eventually… at least when you still could make Godfather and GoodFellas dialogue references. Not sure anyone’s… 📖
-
WandaVision (2021) s01e04 – We Interrupt This Program
The most important success of this episode of “WandaVision” is not Randall Park not just returning as Jimmy Woo—he previously appeared in Ant-Man and the Wasp—but the show “fixing” his character (he was incompetent comic relief in Ant-Man 2), thereby laying the potential ground work for an Agents of Atlas adaptation; it’s probably not even… 📖
-
Fatale (1980)
Fatale is a quite unfortunately unfinished work from Jean-Patrick Manchette and Tardi, based on Manchette’s novel. They got twenty-one pages done of sixty; the pages seem to end around at the start of the second act and it’s a real bummer because it’s a phenomenal start. There’s a sublime, mysterious beginning, then maybe a little… 📖
-
West Coast Blues (2005)
I’m not sure how much more you get out of West Coast Blues if you know all the music references—I know all the movie references and it doesn’t really add anything except being able to contextualize the story as a noir piece, which isn’t particularly necessary. Like, it comes across real easy, even if you… 📖
-
Frasier (1993) s03e14 – The Show Where Diane Comes Back
Shelley Long is a very good guest star for “Frasier.” She irritates John Mahoney in a particular way he’s never been irritated before and it leads to some great expressions from him and some great one-liners too. Long’s also really good with David Hyde Pierce; they’re both snobs but he wants to be more of… 📖
-
Frasier (1993) s03e13 – Moon Dance
I miss guessing when an actor will be directing an episode based on their character going out of town for the show. The episode opens with Kelsey Grammer rushing through one last call to the show—my “Frasier” ears are broken because I had no idea it was Jodie Foster and I tried on this one—before… 📖
-
All Rise (2019) s02e07 – Almost the Meteor
There has to be someone else who notices all the “All Rise” retcons; not just the little ones where it seems like someone’s going to be disgusted with being part of the carceral system but—and here’s a perfect example—the back and forth on whether or not Todd Williams is moving to L.A. to help wife… 📖
-
Frasier (1993) s03e12 – Come Lie with Me
The episode begins with Jane Leeves in bed with boyfriend Tony Carreiro, having slept in, and her antics trying to get him out of the apartment unseen. Since she’s not up to referee John Mahoney and Kelsey Grammer, they’re already bickering with one another. There’s a nice layering to the plot threads, which all come… 📖
-
Frasier (1993) s03e11 – The Friend
It’s the first Kelsey Grammer-centric episode in a while, with Grammer realizing he doesn’t have any friends outside his family and ending up stuck with annoying new bestie Griffin Dunne, who Grammer can’t dump because Dunne’s in a wheelchair and what if Dunne thinks it’s about the wheelchair. Kind of wants to turn ableism inside… 📖
-
Destry Rides Again (1939, George Marshall)
There are a lot of great shots in Destry Rides Again, with director Marshall finding a lot of raw human emotion in a comedic Western; it starts with opening titles, which are a long tracking shot introducing the setting—the town of Bottleneck. The tracking shot is at night (cinematographer Hal Mohr’s black and white photography… 📖
-
Deluge (1933, Felix E. Feist)
If it weren’t for the “fallen woman” third act, Deluge would probably stay afloat at the end. Instead, it flops out in the really protracted finale, which involves a survivor camp deciding on a credit system in an effort to get capitalism back. It’s a real let down considering the second act is all about… 📖
-
Frasier (1993) s03e10 – It’s Hard to Say Goodbye If You Won’t Leave
I thought this episode was the season finale but, no, it’s not even halfway through the season. As Kelsey Grammer realizes he’s still pining for station manager Mercedes Ruehl (they’ve behaved since their on-air tryst) and commits to doing something about it, Ruehl is accepting a transfer to Chicago. They’ve both been fantasizing about each… 📖
-
Frasier (1993) s03e09 – Frasier Grinch
I really wish I were keeping some kind of track of “Frasier” episodes. I’m half-assing the watch-through. I wasn’t sure if this episode was the first “Frasier” Christmas or not, but it turns out its the first one where we get the Crane family having Christmas onscreen. And find out John Mahoney is a Christmas… 📖
-
Frasier (1993) s03e08 – The Last Time I Saw Maris
Despite some very silly—and funny (well, not really Paul Mazursky’s call, it’s Paul Mazursky after all)—opening shenanigans, it quickly turns into a very dramatic episode. The opening antics involve station “Star Trek” nerd Patrick Kerr—weird how Paramount self-advertised its properties in the nineties—organizing a petition to get an homage to Peri Gilpin on “Trek.” It’s… 📖
-
Frasier (1993) s03e07 – The Adventures of Bad Boy and Dirty Girl
The episode opens at the coffee shop and it stands out because it’s the first time this season there’s been a coffee shop scene. Kelsey Grammer and David Hyde Pierce have a quick scene post “previously on” to talk about Grammer’s “tawdry” romance with boss Mercedes Ruehl. Ruehl then shows up, so exit Hyde Pierce,… 📖
-
WandaVision (2021) s01e03 – Now in Color
This episode does an excellent job changing the tone—first with color (the show looks and sounds very “Brady Bunch,” but without the kiddie antics), then with a big reveal in the finale. Director Matt Shakman has been doing a good job with the show so far, with this episode the first time where he’s been… 📖
-
Frasier (1993) s03e06 – Sleeping with the Enemy
Mercedes Ruehl’s really funny. She’s been good on “Frasier” before and the casting is working out great, but this episode she’s occasionally really, really funny. Like they must’ve had this episode in mind when casting the part because she and Kelsey Grammer’s back and forth yelling is next level phenomenal. They’re yelling because Ruehl’s frozen… 📖
-
Frasier (1993) s03e05 – Kisses Sweeter Than Wine
It’s an apartment episode, very much an apartment episode; such an apartment episode, the apartment plays a vital role in the plot. The episode opens with the obligatory radio station scene, giving Peri Gilpin a chance to reminisce about the great cheese state of her birth with a caller (Brooke Adams) to Kelsey Grammer’s utter… 📖
-
WandaVision (2021) s01e02 – Don’t Touch That Dial
When this episode started—again in black and white, with a glorious animated title sequence (homage to “Bewitched”), I was a little confused because I thought they were doing a different sitcom style every episode. But it turns out it’s part of the narrative, which is rather a nice turn of events given the alternative is… 📖
-
WandaVision (2021) s01e01 – Filmed Before a Live Studio Audience
Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany never got much to do in the Avengers movies—when we recently watched them in preparation for “WandaVision,” it turns out I’d made up my favorite Bettany moment in my head. It doesn’t appear in any of his three appearances. And, indeed, Olsen’s accent does disappear over the years, even as… 📖
-
Frasier (1993) s03e04 – Leapin’ Lizards
Mercedes Ruehl is back, initially as a quick foil for David Hyde Pierce and Kelsey Grammer. Hyde Pierce is visiting Grammer at work—there’s a brief, welcome Peri Gilpin eye-roll in Hyde Pierce’s direction—and they run into Ruehl. She quickly shows them both up, which is hilarious, and then seems to disappear–“Frasier” has these outstanding pivots… 📖
-
Frasier (1993) s03e03 – Martin Does It His Way
After a couple professional episodes where John Mahoney and Jane Leeves are interactive scenery, Martin Does It His Way is an apartment episode. There’s a radio station setup—with some great work from Kelsey Grammer and Peri Gilpin—establishing Grammer’s aunt has died and he’s leaded to the lawyer’s to talk about the estate. Cut to after… 📖
-
Frasier (1993) s03e02 – Shrink Rap
The episode opens on David Hyde Pierce in couples therapy—Milo O’Shea plays the counselor—are we finally going to get an appearance from Maris. And if we’re not, what are we getting in compensation. We get Kelsey Grammer. It’s a “Crane Brothers” team-up episode, complete with a list from dad John Mahoney to remind everyone of… 📖