Every episode of Skins is basically a self-contained coming-of-age novel but none more so than Freddie’s ep. We got the hook: Freddie’s got a dancing whore of a sister, a dad who favors her more, and to top it all off his mother’s dead. The conflict: Freddie’s stuck in a slacker slump and in love with a girl who won’t love him back. The resolution: Freddie forces himself to grow up and tell the girl how he feels. But the formula stops there because although he is the hero of our tale he doesn’t get the emo girl of his dreams in the end.
The ep starts with Freddie’s dad forcing him to tell his sister she’s sexy. Score one for the creep factor, show! And then he does and goes outside to be angsty and is surprised to find Effy in his garden. And she’s all, Yeah I’m in your garden. That’s not strange at all. And Freddie’s all, It kind of is. And she’s like, I wanna go inside your shed. And Freddie’s like, Is that a euphemism? And just like that the spark of romance ignites.
It burns brighter in class in the most chaste of ways when Freddie and Effy’s forearms touch and the hair on his skin stands on end.
And finally, when he decides to do something about it and goes to Effy’s house to “return her bracelet” aka tell her how he feels. Now, the thing about Freddie is, he’s not very good at articulating anything. This was his primary character trait throughout the episode so it was nice when he got to the point and told Effy that they’d be good together. And she tells him something about how she’s a heartbreaker and therefore it would be a seriously stupid idea. So Freddie goes to explore his feelings some more and we’re subjected to yet another skateboarding montage where we’re meant to understand that Freddie’s a crap skater when girls don’t love him back. And things are about to get a lot worse: his dad destroys/cleans up his shed; he learns that Cook fucked his sister; and then, in a gratuitously gross scene, he throws up.
But then, like an angel, Effy appears to him in a post-vomit haze and enlightens him with the words, “Just be.” which sounded a lot like “just pee” to the point where I thought she had a secret remedy to cure vomiting, but alas, she was just the catalyst to make him point his life in a new direction.
He decides to stop skating, stop smoking, put on a suit (later) and go kiss Effy in a lake. (The scene was sweet, and probably had all the Effy/Freddie lovers absolutely dying, but I’m still not sold on this ship. They just seem wrong for each other and I can’t picture what a relationship between the two of them would look like. Suffice to say, the Freddie/Effy scenes made me cringe a little bit.) But anyway, Freddie’s loosened up! Here’s the thing about Freddie: he may be a bore (when he isnt being a self-richeous little pris) but he’s still the prettiest boy on the show (he’s got the dirty-boy-chic thing down.) And when he loosens up his personality matches his looks and he becomes... cute. That scene of him singing along to “Ass to Ass”? Adorable!
He continues the adorableness by reconciling with his sister and supporting her throughout the loss of her Sexxxbombs competition. But Cook comes over and completely amps up his dick quota for the series by revealing that he was the one who sabotaged of Karen’s career as a singing slut. Freddie head butted him and Cook retaliated by kissing him- which actually isn’t the non sequitur that it sounds like.
After all this, Freddie’s still thinking about his undying love for Effy, and in a climactic scene towards the end Mrs. Stonem essentially tells him that Effy doesn’t want any Freddiebrek because she’s having a Cookie upstairs. And maybe Freddie and Effy aren’t that wrong for each other because the one thing they share in common is that neither one is much for communicating well. They give and receive messages through action. Freddie proclaims himself to her through a kiss. Effy turns him down by showing him, deliberately, that she doesn’t want him (well, she does want him, she just doesn’t “do” relationships.)
The closing of Freddie’s story opened up a whole new one. Not only has the show’s main romance taken a turn for the worse, but we’ve seen the turning point of Cook/Freddie too (and I’m not talking about that kiss.) Cook’s acting out of jealousy now and his actions are becoming a lot more malicious. He’s definitely taking notes from Tony Season 1 in the ways of alienating friends and making yourself the most hateful “friend” of the group. An interesting character arc but I like my Cook to be flavored mild, thanks very much.
All in all, not the best ep of the series by far, but it moved things along somewhat. Some great moments in the episode:
- Naomi = I moan. Hehe. Naomi gets all the sexual references and I love it.
- Cook = “Crayola Dick.” Now I’m just really curious.
- Speaking of Naomi and Cook, this episode was not without its Naomi/Cook allusions. Cook thinks she’s funny, and along with his “I like her” statement from the premiere episode, it was just another subtle hint that he’s developing more than just boner-inspiring feelings for her. At least imo.
- “Hi this is Effy, I’m not talking right now.”
We finally got an answer to a question we never thought to ask: How did Effy talk on the phone back in her non-speaking days? She didn’t! And thanks to Effy’s fantastic voicemail we now know that she really took the silent vow thing to heart. A great throwback to series 1.
- Speaking of the earlier series we got a few other refrences in this episode. Cook said something about encountering an “Anwar the Magnificent.” (So Anwar’s a magician now?) AND, Josie’s back! Ever since counseling Chris in the ways of careers she’s been a delightful recurring character on the series. And she even brought back Chris’ beloved “pucking.” Glad she’s back.
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Friday, February 20, 2009
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Chuck Vs. The Suburbs: Charles Carmichael always comes quickly.
This week’s episode had Chuck and Sarah, for one flimsy excuse or another (I really don’t pay that much attention to the underlying reasons behind most missions) moving to the suburbs. The episode started off with Chuck and Sarah on a very awkward Valentines Day cover date which was the perfect reason to launch them into the next mission disguised as the young, happily married couple Mr. and Mrs. Carmichael. Cuz if it isn’t awkward to have to spend the weekend in a house with photoshopped wedding pictures and a very real pet golden retriever, I dunno what is! The thing is, though, it wasn’t awkward, and Chuck and Sarah proved, rather surprisingly, that they’re actually pretty good at the whole suburban bliss thing. (It was like a fan fic reader’s wet dream, only minus the 2.5 kids.)
The setup was rife with plenty of potential Charah goodness and the episode delivered, especially in a quaint little morning scene that had Sarah trading her gun for a spatula as she cooked breakfast for a bemused Chuck. The smile on Chuck’s face after she revealed that she was cooking for him, with out pretense or reason, was adorable. Kudos to Zachary Levi for proving yet again that he is very capable of making a girl’s heat melt. But props have to be given to Yvonne Strahovski as well who played the whole scene with a demure smile on her face that said, “yes, I’m totally loving this just as much as you are.” A great Charah moment that had the charah fangirls smiling. I know it had me smiling like an idiot.
Anyway, Chuck and Sarah think they’re dealing with a run-of-the-mill terrorist but they’re in deeper shiz than they thought when it turns out that all their neighbors are fulcrum. Funny peeps Andy Richter and Jenny McCarthy are perfectly cast as part of the cul-de-sac– they’re unassuming funny persona’s lending themselves to an innate creepiness I can’t really put my finger on. (I think it may have something to do with the way their eyebrows arch when they smile). But anyway: Oh no! Fulcrum!
Without knowing it Chuck gets himself tested for a fulcrum intersect. This is worth mentioning for lots of reason but primarily because in his walk of shame (in his boxers!) Back home Sarah delivers a whopping slap across his face that was just pure comic gold. (And perfectly orchestrated with the music starting again at the exact moment Sarah’s hand collides with Chuck’s face.
The episode until now was pretty fun but one of the great things about Chuck is that it could go from funny to dire in just a matter of scenes. Next thing we know, Casey, Chuck, and Sarah are taken by the cul-de-sac folk to an underground facility so that Chuck could be strapped to a chair Clockwork Orange-style so that his brain can be exposed to the Very Bad Intersect (or dark intersect, as some are calling it.) Sarah did a good job of squirming in her seat while the whole thing went down. And when it was over it looked like Fulcrum had unwittingly found their new human intersect in none other than the old human intersect.
Meanwhile, in a funny moment of irony, Casey had to do what he tried to get Chuck to do earlier; break his thumb to get out of handcuffs. It was both gross and heroic. With, along with the shooting off of his toe, is something we’ve come to expect from dear Casey. He stormed the viewing room and just as the bad guys were sitting Sarah down for her own dose of Very Scary Images, he secretly set the thing off to room full of people not wearing their RayBans. Another sweet Charah moment resulted of this: Chuck protectively held Sarah’s head close to his chest in order to shield her from the images, and a shot of their hands locking only expounded the intimacy of the moment.
The incident killed/seriously harmed the Fulcrum agents. Because apparently, this special viewing in the red room will not only make you go crazy– it’ll kill you too! Which begs the question: why didn’t they just close their eyes? To this I say: Oh who cares! Chuck could be known as Plothole Central for all the unexplainable things that occur but there could be an entire camera crew in the shot and I’d turn the other way cuz this show is just too damn fun. Bring on the plotholes! Like I mentioned earlier, the semantics of the missions is the least of my worries.
When all is said and done Chuck goes back home only to tell Ellie that him and Sarah? Totally not the awesome couple everyone thinks they are. But why, Chuck? Why do you have to go on blabbing to your sister about it? You know this will mean only bad things in the long run whenever Ellie and Sarah are anywhere near each other again. This will inevitably cause complications and I’ looking forward to future episodes to see the ramifications.
Back at the Orange Orange Beckman tells Sarah the honeymoon’s over. Things are more serious now than ever, and Sarah takes the sentiment to heart. After Chuck asks her if they could go back to the suburbs she turns him down (rather coldly) and asks for the wedding ring back. “We cant go back there,” she tells Chuck. It’s a sad moment for Charah- the “two steps back” portion of their “one step forward two steps back” formula. But it’s essential to getting this couple their happy ending. The only reason Sarah’s the one acting so harshly is because she’s the one who let herself fall the hardest over in Suburbialand. She let herself imagine a life of normalcy with Chuck- and she liked it. In the final scene, as she watche the cleanup crew take back all the wedding photos and close up shop, you could see the symbolic meaning of it all on her face. Leave it to Yvonne Strahovski to turn a silent moment into one rife with meaning. The girl, she is very good with her face.
Other great things about this very great episode:
-Emmet’s wig! More of that, please. Also, I wouldn’t mind seeing Henrietta any time soon.
- At NYCC Chris Fedak mentioned that they’re goal was to cast as many Star Trek and Whedonverse actors as they could. It may have been an offhand comment, not meant to be taken entirely seriously, but last night we got our first Whedon alum! Sylvia’s husband was played by Brian Thompson, also known as Luke on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. You may remember him from season 1 as The Master’s right hand man. It was nice to see him sans vampire face and I can only hope more Buffy people show up. (Nicholas Brendan as Chuck’s zany cousin perhaps?)
- The episode’s perfect soundtrack– especially when Chuck drives up to the new house and looks around the neighborhood.
- Andy Richter’s business card scene was right out of American Psycho. That shoulda been chuck’s first clue.
- The first appearance of Morgan’s mom! Right under Big Mike’s lips! This was first hinted at back in the summer when Josh Schwartz surprised the cast at Comic Con by telling them Big Mike would be getting a love interest in Morgan’s mom. Comedy gold, I say! Also, her name’s Bologna. Nice.
- And last, but certainly not least: “Charles Carmichael always comes quickly.” Nuff said.
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The setup was rife with plenty of potential Charah goodness and the episode delivered, especially in a quaint little morning scene that had Sarah trading her gun for a spatula as she cooked breakfast for a bemused Chuck. The smile on Chuck’s face after she revealed that she was cooking for him, with out pretense or reason, was adorable. Kudos to Zachary Levi for proving yet again that he is very capable of making a girl’s heat melt. But props have to be given to Yvonne Strahovski as well who played the whole scene with a demure smile on her face that said, “yes, I’m totally loving this just as much as you are.” A great Charah moment that had the charah fangirls smiling. I know it had me smiling like an idiot.
Anyway, Chuck and Sarah think they’re dealing with a run-of-the-mill terrorist but they’re in deeper shiz than they thought when it turns out that all their neighbors are fulcrum. Funny peeps Andy Richter and Jenny McCarthy are perfectly cast as part of the cul-de-sac– they’re unassuming funny persona’s lending themselves to an innate creepiness I can’t really put my finger on. (I think it may have something to do with the way their eyebrows arch when they smile). But anyway: Oh no! Fulcrum!
Without knowing it Chuck gets himself tested for a fulcrum intersect. This is worth mentioning for lots of reason but primarily because in his walk of shame (in his boxers!) Back home Sarah delivers a whopping slap across his face that was just pure comic gold. (And perfectly orchestrated with the music starting again at the exact moment Sarah’s hand collides with Chuck’s face.
The episode until now was pretty fun but one of the great things about Chuck is that it could go from funny to dire in just a matter of scenes. Next thing we know, Casey, Chuck, and Sarah are taken by the cul-de-sac folk to an underground facility so that Chuck could be strapped to a chair Clockwork Orange-style so that his brain can be exposed to the Very Bad Intersect (or dark intersect, as some are calling it.) Sarah did a good job of squirming in her seat while the whole thing went down. And when it was over it looked like Fulcrum had unwittingly found their new human intersect in none other than the old human intersect.
Meanwhile, in a funny moment of irony, Casey had to do what he tried to get Chuck to do earlier; break his thumb to get out of handcuffs. It was both gross and heroic. With, along with the shooting off of his toe, is something we’ve come to expect from dear Casey. He stormed the viewing room and just as the bad guys were sitting Sarah down for her own dose of Very Scary Images, he secretly set the thing off to room full of people not wearing their RayBans. Another sweet Charah moment resulted of this: Chuck protectively held Sarah’s head close to his chest in order to shield her from the images, and a shot of their hands locking only expounded the intimacy of the moment.
The incident killed/seriously harmed the Fulcrum agents. Because apparently, this special viewing in the red room will not only make you go crazy– it’ll kill you too! Which begs the question: why didn’t they just close their eyes? To this I say: Oh who cares! Chuck could be known as Plothole Central for all the unexplainable things that occur but there could be an entire camera crew in the shot and I’d turn the other way cuz this show is just too damn fun. Bring on the plotholes! Like I mentioned earlier, the semantics of the missions is the least of my worries.
When all is said and done Chuck goes back home only to tell Ellie that him and Sarah? Totally not the awesome couple everyone thinks they are. But why, Chuck? Why do you have to go on blabbing to your sister about it? You know this will mean only bad things in the long run whenever Ellie and Sarah are anywhere near each other again. This will inevitably cause complications and I’ looking forward to future episodes to see the ramifications.
Back at the Orange Orange Beckman tells Sarah the honeymoon’s over. Things are more serious now than ever, and Sarah takes the sentiment to heart. After Chuck asks her if they could go back to the suburbs she turns him down (rather coldly) and asks for the wedding ring back. “We cant go back there,” she tells Chuck. It’s a sad moment for Charah- the “two steps back” portion of their “one step forward two steps back” formula. But it’s essential to getting this couple their happy ending. The only reason Sarah’s the one acting so harshly is because she’s the one who let herself fall the hardest over in Suburbialand. She let herself imagine a life of normalcy with Chuck- and she liked it. In the final scene, as she watche the cleanup crew take back all the wedding photos and close up shop, you could see the symbolic meaning of it all on her face. Leave it to Yvonne Strahovski to turn a silent moment into one rife with meaning. The girl, she is very good with her face.
Other great things about this very great episode:
-Emmet’s wig! More of that, please. Also, I wouldn’t mind seeing Henrietta any time soon.
- At NYCC Chris Fedak mentioned that they’re goal was to cast as many Star Trek and Whedonverse actors as they could. It may have been an offhand comment, not meant to be taken entirely seriously, but last night we got our first Whedon alum! Sylvia’s husband was played by Brian Thompson, also known as Luke on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. You may remember him from season 1 as The Master’s right hand man. It was nice to see him sans vampire face and I can only hope more Buffy people show up. (Nicholas Brendan as Chuck’s zany cousin perhaps?)
- The episode’s perfect soundtrack– especially when Chuck drives up to the new house and looks around the neighborhood.
- Andy Richter’s business card scene was right out of American Psycho. That shoulda been chuck’s first clue.
- The first appearance of Morgan’s mom! Right under Big Mike’s lips! This was first hinted at back in the summer when Josh Schwartz surprised the cast at Comic Con by telling them Big Mike would be getting a love interest in Morgan’s mom. Comedy gold, I say! Also, her name’s Bologna. Nice.
- And last, but certainly not least: “Charles Carmichael always comes quickly.” Nuff said.
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Monday, February 16, 2009
Dollhouse: y/n?
I give it a solid m. For maybe.
Don't get me wrong; I think Joss Whedon is (nearly) infallible and Eliza Dushku’s Faith was my favorite character on Buffy (and one of the best characters in TV, imo), but the pilot for Dollhouse hasn’t got me jumping out of my seat.
There are a few things I can’t get behind. Partly it’s the FBI angle. Whenever you bring FBI into anything Sci-Fi it’s just automatical fail (I wasn’t a huge fan of Roswell but anyone can tell you things went sour when the FBI started looking for aliens). And on a more superficial note, Tahmoh Penikett just doesn’t do it for me. But I’m willing to give him another shot.
The biggest thing wrong with Dollhouse, though, was that there wasn’t a single character I could latch on to.
The doctor (played by Angel alum Amy Acker) was mysterious and interesting but there wasn’t enough of her to really like or dislike. Fran Kranz’s mad scientist was fun in his very obviously Joss-like way, but also a little flat. He’s like the Xander character only minus the goofy heart. And then there’s Echo. The hints of her past are the most intriguing bits of character we’ve gotten out of anyone. And I even like the between-the-missions Echo’s simple innocence. But with her changing characters every week, I don’t know if I’ll be able to really care about her at all.
But some of the good things that got me very excited about the show were the little snippets of classic Joss dialogue. Mostly all of Topher’s dialogue, but especially “She hurts.” For some reason, when Echo said that, I was reminded of the simpleness and the poignance of what Joss is capable using just words.
It all comes down to Joss, though. He is, essentially, the only reason anyone is watching this show. And really, the only reason I’ll give it a second shot. If Joss’s name wasn’t attached I’m ashamed to say I’d write this show off completely. But I have faith in Joss, and when he and Eliza say that the last few episodes of this season are some incredible, mind-blowing stuff, I believe them. So I’m sticking around for the long haul.... til it gets canceled. (Cuz judging by the ratings we all know that’s coming.)
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Don't get me wrong; I think Joss Whedon is (nearly) infallible and Eliza Dushku’s Faith was my favorite character on Buffy (and one of the best characters in TV, imo), but the pilot for Dollhouse hasn’t got me jumping out of my seat.
There are a few things I can’t get behind. Partly it’s the FBI angle. Whenever you bring FBI into anything Sci-Fi it’s just automatical fail (I wasn’t a huge fan of Roswell but anyone can tell you things went sour when the FBI started looking for aliens). And on a more superficial note, Tahmoh Penikett just doesn’t do it for me. But I’m willing to give him another shot.
The biggest thing wrong with Dollhouse, though, was that there wasn’t a single character I could latch on to.
The doctor (played by Angel alum Amy Acker) was mysterious and interesting but there wasn’t enough of her to really like or dislike. Fran Kranz’s mad scientist was fun in his very obviously Joss-like way, but also a little flat. He’s like the Xander character only minus the goofy heart. And then there’s Echo. The hints of her past are the most intriguing bits of character we’ve gotten out of anyone. And I even like the between-the-missions Echo’s simple innocence. But with her changing characters every week, I don’t know if I’ll be able to really care about her at all.
But some of the good things that got me very excited about the show were the little snippets of classic Joss dialogue. Mostly all of Topher’s dialogue, but especially “She hurts.” For some reason, when Echo said that, I was reminded of the simpleness and the poignance of what Joss is capable using just words.
It all comes down to Joss, though. He is, essentially, the only reason anyone is watching this show. And really, the only reason I’ll give it a second shot. If Joss’s name wasn’t attached I’m ashamed to say I’d write this show off completely. But I have faith in Joss, and when he and Eliza say that the last few episodes of this season are some incredible, mind-blowing stuff, I believe them. So I’m sticking around for the long haul.... til it gets canceled. (Cuz judging by the ratings we all know that’s coming.)
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Thursday, February 12, 2009
Skins 3: "Pandora"
Pandora. Who woulda thunk that the girl who likes to eat pens (and cocaine) would turn into one of this season’s most interesting characters. At the beginning of this episode Pandora’s still pining for Thomas, her lost love of three days, but she isn’t exactly down in the dumps about it just yet (that comes later). In fact, she’s in quite a cheery mood, talking up an intelligible storm at Effy’s breakfast table and being giddy about her pajama party.
At the party we finally get to meet Pandora’s mum who we’ve only had to imagine since Pandora told her over the phone that she was staring at Tony’s cock. Suffice it to say Mrs. Moon is everything I was hoping her to be. The thing that keeps surprising me about Skins is how fully formed all the individual worlds are. The peripheral characters especially (Pandora’s neurotic mom, the neighbor with the affinity for Edward Scissorhands-like landscaping and a penchant for S&M) remind me of the kind of characters you’d find in a Wes Anderson movie: quirky, crazy, and innately interesting. Most of the writers for this show haven’t reached their thirties yet but you’d think they were doing this sort of thing for ages.
The party, which was supposed to consist of jelly and twister (and a bouncy moonwalk in the yard!) quickly turns into something more appropriate for Skins, which is to say it’s filled with sex, drugs, booze, and unruly behavior. And thanks to Effy’s scheming Pandora’s mom is blissfully out of it for the duration.
Though, as much as it was Pandora’s name in the title, this episode was shared with Effy.
Her mother’s affair has finally come to light and in a sad and all-too-real scene that involved Mr. Stonem both calling Anthea a bitch and telling her he loves her we got to see Effy emote– which is a rarity. “They fuck you up,” she tells Pandora.
Effy deals with a lot of issues in this ep; her parents, her love life, but what it all really comes down to-- what’s been the great big elephant in the room since last year– is friendship. Effy may be hanging out with a lot more people this season and she may have collected herself a sidekick but things haven’t changed much since Episode 7 of Series 2 when she told Pandora that she doesn’t have any friends.
Effy starts to realize the impact of her friendless friendships when Pandora confronts her through the door of her loo, accusing Effy of not being sympathetic to her needs and ruining her party. Because it’s her party and she’ll cry if she wants to. (Lisa Backwell does an amazing job of straddling the line between bonkers and sincere. Well, she’s always sincere but this time she asks us to empathize with her character and she absolutely holds the viewer in the palm of her hand.)
And then comes Freddie, or as I’m going to start calling him now; Fun Sponge (thanks show!), who was quick to point fingers when he came tosave pick up JJ. “You have to look after him!” Ah, Freddie. Effy doesn’t exactly “look after” people. In fact, she looks pretty confused at the concept, mumbling something about Cook being the guy’s friend. The scene ended with Effy realizing just how big of a mess she’s gotten herself into by running to Cook when she should have been following her heart and getting it on with Freddie. But that’s Effy for you. She’s a runner. When her parents split, she splits, and when she develops feelings for skater boys with emo haircuts she jumps into bed with the Wrong Guy.
But it wasn’t til episode’s end that Effy finally got the message she needed from Pandora. You don’t get to be mad at your best friend stealing your man when you aren’t really best friends to begin with.
Which brings us to Pandora/Cook! This ship sailed in out of nowhere but... it just felt so right! Nothing has to happen between them again (and nothing probably should) but in that Twister scene we got to see what a Cookie and a Panda looks like together. And it actually worked! Cook may be a horn dog on the loose but what makes him so ultimately lovable is that he’ll try everything but he isn’t above anything. If the weird girl wants to play to Twister why shouldn’t he? He was the only one out of the gang who wasn’t mortified by the idea. And you gotta love the guy for that.
And as if the episode didn’t tackle enough it also gave us the Emily/Naomi storyline that so many fans have been pining for. Emily’s been a favorite of mine since the beginning but my love for Naomi has grown with each episode and it hit its high point here. Everything from the way she dealt with the prying neighbor to the way she described herself as a “cock cruncher” (loved the “tennis elbow” joke in her little erectile dysfunction discord). Their first kissing scene was executed really well (especially with the chorus of the Lily Allen song perfectly suiting the scene; Emily not being able to find the words to ask for a kiss but Naomi figuring it out anyway; Naomi’s “Oh” afterwards like she maybe should consider doing this female kissing thing more. She may have blamed it on the drugs but if that bouncy moonwalk scene was any indication, she enjoyed it.
Other things about the ep:
-THOMAS!!!! I think I missed the guy just as much as Pandora.... ok, not quite, but still, it was so nice to see that he’s back! And seeing the two of them hug just looked so right. I’m rooting for this couple.
- Katie. For the last three eps we’re meant to like her about as much as Emily does but this episode finally turned things around for her character. She’s such an annoying little bitch that it’s actually funny at this point. Especially the scene where Effy looked non-too-pleased to see her again and Katie proceeded to gush to her boyfriend about her new BFF.
- Leave it to Skins to give new meaning to the words “Pandora’s Box.” What will we find in there next!
- Kaya’s acting has gone leaps and bounds since last year. She was at the top of her game in this episode.
- JJ seeing all the naughty stuff that Cook warned him about was pretty funny, but I’m starting to question his character a little bit. Is he so socially awkward that he’d really start to go mental at a party? I don’t know what to make of him yet.
- They’re doing an awful job of covering up Jack O’Connell’s tattoo (the one beneath “Jack the Lad”). First there was his green shirt which rode up when he was on the roof with JJ and showed the tattoo creeping under the rim. Then there was the makeup that did not match his skin tone at all. His character’s already got tattoos, so why bother covering this one up?
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At the party we finally get to meet Pandora’s mum who we’ve only had to imagine since Pandora told her over the phone that she was staring at Tony’s cock. Suffice it to say Mrs. Moon is everything I was hoping her to be. The thing that keeps surprising me about Skins is how fully formed all the individual worlds are. The peripheral characters especially (Pandora’s neurotic mom, the neighbor with the affinity for Edward Scissorhands-like landscaping and a penchant for S&M) remind me of the kind of characters you’d find in a Wes Anderson movie: quirky, crazy, and innately interesting. Most of the writers for this show haven’t reached their thirties yet but you’d think they were doing this sort of thing for ages.
The party, which was supposed to consist of jelly and twister (and a bouncy moonwalk in the yard!) quickly turns into something more appropriate for Skins, which is to say it’s filled with sex, drugs, booze, and unruly behavior. And thanks to Effy’s scheming Pandora’s mom is blissfully out of it for the duration.
Though, as much as it was Pandora’s name in the title, this episode was shared with Effy.
Her mother’s affair has finally come to light and in a sad and all-too-real scene that involved Mr. Stonem both calling Anthea a bitch and telling her he loves her we got to see Effy emote– which is a rarity. “They fuck you up,” she tells Pandora.
Effy deals with a lot of issues in this ep; her parents, her love life, but what it all really comes down to-- what’s been the great big elephant in the room since last year– is friendship. Effy may be hanging out with a lot more people this season and she may have collected herself a sidekick but things haven’t changed much since Episode 7 of Series 2 when she told Pandora that she doesn’t have any friends.
Effy starts to realize the impact of her friendless friendships when Pandora confronts her through the door of her loo, accusing Effy of not being sympathetic to her needs and ruining her party. Because it’s her party and she’ll cry if she wants to. (Lisa Backwell does an amazing job of straddling the line between bonkers and sincere. Well, she’s always sincere but this time she asks us to empathize with her character and she absolutely holds the viewer in the palm of her hand.)
And then comes Freddie, or as I’m going to start calling him now; Fun Sponge (thanks show!), who was quick to point fingers when he came to
But it wasn’t til episode’s end that Effy finally got the message she needed from Pandora. You don’t get to be mad at your best friend stealing your man when you aren’t really best friends to begin with.
Which brings us to Pandora/Cook! This ship sailed in out of nowhere but... it just felt so right! Nothing has to happen between them again (and nothing probably should) but in that Twister scene we got to see what a Cookie and a Panda looks like together. And it actually worked! Cook may be a horn dog on the loose but what makes him so ultimately lovable is that he’ll try everything but he isn’t above anything. If the weird girl wants to play to Twister why shouldn’t he? He was the only one out of the gang who wasn’t mortified by the idea. And you gotta love the guy for that.
And as if the episode didn’t tackle enough it also gave us the Emily/Naomi storyline that so many fans have been pining for. Emily’s been a favorite of mine since the beginning but my love for Naomi has grown with each episode and it hit its high point here. Everything from the way she dealt with the prying neighbor to the way she described herself as a “cock cruncher” (loved the “tennis elbow” joke in her little erectile dysfunction discord). Their first kissing scene was executed really well (especially with the chorus of the Lily Allen song perfectly suiting the scene; Emily not being able to find the words to ask for a kiss but Naomi figuring it out anyway; Naomi’s “Oh” afterwards like she maybe should consider doing this female kissing thing more. She may have blamed it on the drugs but if that bouncy moonwalk scene was any indication, she enjoyed it.
Other things about the ep:
-THOMAS!!!! I think I missed the guy just as much as Pandora.... ok, not quite, but still, it was so nice to see that he’s back! And seeing the two of them hug just looked so right. I’m rooting for this couple.
- Katie. For the last three eps we’re meant to like her about as much as Emily does but this episode finally turned things around for her character. She’s such an annoying little bitch that it’s actually funny at this point. Especially the scene where Effy looked non-too-pleased to see her again and Katie proceeded to gush to her boyfriend about her new BFF.
- Leave it to Skins to give new meaning to the words “Pandora’s Box.” What will we find in there next!
- Kaya’s acting has gone leaps and bounds since last year. She was at the top of her game in this episode.
- JJ seeing all the naughty stuff that Cook warned him about was pretty funny, but I’m starting to question his character a little bit. Is he so socially awkward that he’d really start to go mental at a party? I don’t know what to make of him yet.
- They’re doing an awful job of covering up Jack O’Connell’s tattoo (the one beneath “Jack the Lad”). First there was his green shirt which rode up when he was on the roof with JJ and showed the tattoo creeping under the rim. Then there was the makeup that did not match his skin tone at all. His character’s already got tattoos, so why bother covering this one up?
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Skins 3: "Thomas"
Not many shows can pull off bringing in a new character just to dump him by the end of the episode to (possibly) never be heard from again. The only other show I can think of that did it was Lost with “Expose” where they featured and then killed off Paolo and Nikki, but most people consider that to be one of Lost’s worst storylines. What’s so great about “Thomas” is that it managed to seamlessly introduce a brand new character that had little to do with the rest of the characters or storyline, and still managed to turn him into a new fan favorite. And then, with no real reason at all, the show abruptly got rid of him. What gives?
For the first three acts of the episode (cowritten by Daniel Kaluuya aka Posh Kenneth) we were forced to follow Thomas, an African immigrant on his own, as he tried to make his way through the new world of London where he had to find a job fast so that he could keep his dump of an apartment. In fact, the episode revolved so much around him, that it wasn’t until the final act that we even got to see the majority of the cast again. And amazingly, I hardly seemed to notice. But perhaps that was because Effy and Pandora were prominently featured and they held up their part of the Skins bargain.
Thanks to Pandora’s increasingly hilarious penchant for vomiting we got to see Effy’s home life once again, and it looks like now that Tony’s out of the house the familial balance is a little off; Anthea is having an affair with her husband’s coworker. This new development seems to have affected the up-til-now seemingly emotionless Effy in ways I’m sure we’ll get to in her episode. Meanwhile, not only has Pandora got a rich pot-growing, and judging by her collection of chainsaws probably batshit crazy aunt, but now she’s got her very own love interest in Thomas, who surprisingly, and adorably, reciprocates Pandora’s affection (perhaps since he’s so pure-hearted he sees her innocence in a way that everyone else dismisses as nuttiness).
The episode not only served to introduce a new character but it also advanced the story. Johnny White was back, and this time digging his very thin claws into Thomas, who deftly got the better of him in, of all things, high comedic fashion with that red hot chili peppers scene. And the Naomi/Emily storyline continued on with a few more tidbits of info into their past. Apparantly both of them are unsure whether Emily is great.
Other points about the episode:
-I am a completely biased fan of Effy and so when she told Katie off with the three simple words, “I never try” I couldn’t have found it cooler. You could write pages of essay and spend hours trying to figure out the enigma that is Effy but she laid it out for us in the simplest and clearest terms. Effy doesn’t try. She just is. Hee. I’m a little apprehensive about where her character will be going this season because I love what she’s been in the last two but I’m also eager to see her transformation.
(Also, was it me or has she never been more stunning than when she was giving her mom the stare down at the dinner table?)
-The problem with Naomi. I really like Naomi so far but I’m finding her inclusion in the gang very hard to believe. All the boys hang out together because.... all the boys hang out together. We know that Effy goes with the group because she’s got a connection to Cook and Pandora goes with Effy because she’d probably get lost without her. Katie follows the group because she’s a follower who will follow Effy wherever she goes, and Emily won’t leave her sister’s side. So that leaves Naomi who’s been continuously ridiculed by different members of the group (mostly Katie who can’t seems to think of anything else to say that doesn’t come down to “GAY!”). She’s not friends with anyone except for maybe Emily.... who she actually seems to want to avoid. I don’t buy it and I wish they would’ve given her a stronger bond to someone so that her inclusion would be more believable. But I’m willing to turn a blind eye on that.
- The last problem would have to be the decision to let Thomas go. I don’t read spoilers so I don’t know if he’ll be back but I really hope he is. He was a truly great character and Merveille Lukeba did a great job acting him out. Alas, we’ll have to wait and see!
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For the first three acts of the episode (cowritten by Daniel Kaluuya aka Posh Kenneth) we were forced to follow Thomas, an African immigrant on his own, as he tried to make his way through the new world of London where he had to find a job fast so that he could keep his dump of an apartment. In fact, the episode revolved so much around him, that it wasn’t until the final act that we even got to see the majority of the cast again. And amazingly, I hardly seemed to notice. But perhaps that was because Effy and Pandora were prominently featured and they held up their part of the Skins bargain.
Thanks to Pandora’s increasingly hilarious penchant for vomiting we got to see Effy’s home life once again, and it looks like now that Tony’s out of the house the familial balance is a little off; Anthea is having an affair with her husband’s coworker. This new development seems to have affected the up-til-now seemingly emotionless Effy in ways I’m sure we’ll get to in her episode. Meanwhile, not only has Pandora got a rich pot-growing, and judging by her collection of chainsaws probably batshit crazy aunt, but now she’s got her very own love interest in Thomas, who surprisingly, and adorably, reciprocates Pandora’s affection (perhaps since he’s so pure-hearted he sees her innocence in a way that everyone else dismisses as nuttiness).
The episode not only served to introduce a new character but it also advanced the story. Johnny White was back, and this time digging his very thin claws into Thomas, who deftly got the better of him in, of all things, high comedic fashion with that red hot chili peppers scene. And the Naomi/Emily storyline continued on with a few more tidbits of info into their past. Apparantly both of them are unsure whether Emily is great.
Other points about the episode:
-I am a completely biased fan of Effy and so when she told Katie off with the three simple words, “I never try” I couldn’t have found it cooler. You could write pages of essay and spend hours trying to figure out the enigma that is Effy but she laid it out for us in the simplest and clearest terms. Effy doesn’t try. She just is. Hee. I’m a little apprehensive about where her character will be going this season because I love what she’s been in the last two but I’m also eager to see her transformation.
(Also, was it me or has she never been more stunning than when she was giving her mom the stare down at the dinner table?)
-The problem with Naomi. I really like Naomi so far but I’m finding her inclusion in the gang very hard to believe. All the boys hang out together because.... all the boys hang out together. We know that Effy goes with the group because she’s got a connection to Cook and Pandora goes with Effy because she’d probably get lost without her. Katie follows the group because she’s a follower who will follow Effy wherever she goes, and Emily won’t leave her sister’s side. So that leaves Naomi who’s been continuously ridiculed by different members of the group (mostly Katie who can’t seems to think of anything else to say that doesn’t come down to “GAY!”). She’s not friends with anyone except for maybe Emily.... who she actually seems to want to avoid. I don’t buy it and I wish they would’ve given her a stronger bond to someone so that her inclusion would be more believable. But I’m willing to turn a blind eye on that.
- The last problem would have to be the decision to let Thomas go. I don’t read spoilers so I don’t know if he’ll be back but I really hope he is. He was a truly great character and Merveille Lukeba did a great job acting him out. Alas, we’ll have to wait and see!
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Monday, February 9, 2009
Chuck @ NYCC Montage Recap
It seems like no one recorded the 5 minute montage of the second half of the season from the Chuck panel at NYCC so I'll post whatever I remember. Obviously, there are spoilers up ahead!
About Chuck's dad:
We see Ellie handing Chuck a card he recieved in the mail that says "return to sender." It's a card he apparently tried to send to his father.
Chuck and Sarah go and find Mr. Bartowski together and he's living in a trailer.
Chuck brings dad home to Ellie and Awesome and Ellie does not take the surprise very well. She yells something like, "You said you were going to get pancakes!"
Chuck's dad gets threatened by Chevy Chase.
About Chuck/Sarah:
Chuck tells her he wants to recreate the sububrs (or go back to spend another night at the suburbs) and Sarah turns hi down, explaining, yet again, that that wasn't real and it was just a mission.
There's a shot of them lying in Chuck's bed, where Chuck's staring up and Sarah has her back to him, both awake. Seemed like a tense/sad scene.
Chuck tells Ellie that he and Sarah are never going to be more than they are right now. And that he's OK with that. Ellie looks like she is not OK with that.
A scene in the courtyard where Chuck tells Sarah that one day he will get the intersect out of his head and when he does he'll live the life he wants with the girls he wants.
A scene in the Suburbs where Chuck's huddled with the guys and Andy Richter looks off and says "who is that woman talking to my wife". Chuck turns to see it's Sarah, proceeds to fawn.
Misceleneous stuff:
Chuck's tied to a bed and Jenny McCarthy is... we'll say "threatening" him with some seductive propositions.
Chuck, Sarah and (possibly) MI-6 dude gets captured and tied up. Chuck ranks the torture at an 8 out of 10, Sarah tells him the torture hasn't even started yet.
In another scene we see someone dumping wate on Chuck, and he says, "Please stop the torture! I'm freezing!" (it got some laughs at the con :D)
Sarah making out with MI-6 guy but also fighting with someone in her underwear (I'm going to say it's him even though it was kind of hard to tell who she was fighting).
Alex Forest (Tricia Helfer) giving Capt. Awesome a strip tease (???) and he not looking very pleased about it.
Big Mike making out with Morgan's mom at the Buy More. And Mrgan standing right there. Anna says they should prove that his mom isn't the only one who can be loud in the bedroom.
Jeff sitting in a bathrobe uncrossing his legs ala Sharon Stone Basic Instinct. (This probably got the most laughs).
And that's the most important stuff I thought to mention. Again, it's all just what I remember to the best of my memory. Nothing is word-for-word. If anyone remembers anything differently or something else I missed, drop me a line.
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About Chuck's dad:
We see Ellie handing Chuck a card he recieved in the mail that says "return to sender." It's a card he apparently tried to send to his father.
Chuck and Sarah go and find Mr. Bartowski together and he's living in a trailer.
Chuck brings dad home to Ellie and Awesome and Ellie does not take the surprise very well. She yells something like, "You said you were going to get pancakes!"
Chuck's dad gets threatened by Chevy Chase.
About Chuck/Sarah:
Chuck tells her he wants to recreate the sububrs (or go back to spend another night at the suburbs) and Sarah turns hi down, explaining, yet again, that that wasn't real and it was just a mission.
There's a shot of them lying in Chuck's bed, where Chuck's staring up and Sarah has her back to him, both awake. Seemed like a tense/sad scene.
Chuck tells Ellie that he and Sarah are never going to be more than they are right now. And that he's OK with that. Ellie looks like she is not OK with that.
A scene in the courtyard where Chuck tells Sarah that one day he will get the intersect out of his head and when he does he'll live the life he wants with the girls he wants.
A scene in the Suburbs where Chuck's huddled with the guys and Andy Richter looks off and says "who is that woman talking to my wife". Chuck turns to see it's Sarah, proceeds to fawn.
Misceleneous stuff:
Chuck's tied to a bed and Jenny McCarthy is... we'll say "threatening" him with some seductive propositions.
Chuck, Sarah and (possibly) MI-6 dude gets captured and tied up. Chuck ranks the torture at an 8 out of 10, Sarah tells him the torture hasn't even started yet.
In another scene we see someone dumping wate on Chuck, and he says, "Please stop the torture! I'm freezing!" (it got some laughs at the con :D)
Sarah making out with MI-6 guy but also fighting with someone in her underwear (I'm going to say it's him even though it was kind of hard to tell who she was fighting).
Alex Forest (Tricia Helfer) giving Capt. Awesome a strip tease (???) and he not looking very pleased about it.
Big Mike making out with Morgan's mom at the Buy More. And Mrgan standing right there. Anna says they should prove that his mom isn't the only one who can be loud in the bedroom.
Jeff sitting in a bathrobe uncrossing his legs ala Sharon Stone Basic Instinct. (This probably got the most laughs).
And that's the most important stuff I thought to mention. Again, it's all just what I remember to the best of my memory. Nothing is word-for-word. If anyone remembers anything differently or something else I missed, drop me a line.
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Sunday, February 8, 2009
Chuck panel at NY Comic Con!!!
Yvonne Strahovski, Josh Schwartz, and Chris Fedak were on hand for the Chuck panel at this years NY Comic Con. They got one of the smaller rooms (compared to the massive one designated for Dollhouse and Fringe) but they pretty much filled up the 1000 seater which I think is a good sign for Chuck. They showed a montage of the last half of Season 2 with lots of SPOILERS Sarah/MI-6 Guy scenes that had them making out and engaging in other steamy activities (and yes, Sarah did look into it). Josh, Chris and Yvonne watched the montage from the door, before they were let in, and Yvonne especially looked pretty satisfied with her semi-nude fight scenes. :D
The best of the audience Q & A came from all of Yvonne’s fans, and when I say “best” I mean “amusing in their creepiness.” One dude wanted to know if this was Yvonne’s first time in New York (it wasn’t) and what she’ll be doing around the city (the audience’s creeped out laughter saved her from answering). Then there was the guy who officially nominated her as Grand Marshal for some Polish parade (she seemed pretty flattered by that on actually, if a bit confused). And lastly there was the webmaster of Strahotski.com who gave her a teddy bear wearing a “Strahotski” t-shirt. (When asked later on who some of her creepiest fans had been Yvonne held up the doll and said “this guy.” So she finally confirmed that the guy who coined “Strahotshi” actually creeps her out too! It may sound like she came off mean but it was actually hilarious and she managed to be completely charming and everyone in the room basically agreed with her lol. Good times.
Here are some of the things addressed at the panel:
- Yvonne hasn’t complained about any of the little outfits she’s had to don for fight scenes but she once drew the line at fighting in a towel. One of the upcoming fight scenes is her favorite; it happens in a car.
- We’re going to see some behind the scenes at the Fulcrum headquarters.
- We could see Chuck’s first kill coming up soon.
- Josh was totally for Yvonne changing her surname because it’s original spelling is so hard to pronounce. Yvonne recalled him wanting her to change it to Smith but Josh said he’d suggested “Striker.”
- Josh confirmed that the next episode would be preempted thanks to Obama (and like us he’s pretty bummed that NBC built up so much momentum for the show for it to have to go off the air for a week). And he said that the same thing might have to happen next weekend even Yvonne looked surprised that Obama was speaking two Mondays in a row. Josh joked that Obama’s first order as presidency was to destroy Chuck (Obama as Fulcrum, anyone?)
- Yvonne’s funnest thing to shoot has been the shower scene with Nicole Richie, and her least fun thing was the rooftop fight scene with Michael Clark Duncan (it was too hot).
- The issue of whether or not the government is paying Chuck for his duties will get addressed.
- Yvonne was surprised when she found out she’d have to do her Aussie accent for the show and was uncomfortable doing it since she’s so used to being American in front of the cameras. She says her aussie accent isn’t very strong anymore because she’s “Becoming and an American.” She looked a bit bummed to be admitting it but the audience cheered anyway.
- A little kid asked if Casey got a robotic toe since his was blown off in the Xmas ep, to which Fedak replied, “ It’s actually a toe and a missile.”
- The issue of Chuck moving out or Sarah moving “seems like the popular way to go,” according to Josh.
- They’d still love to do an episode that takes place in Comic Con just because it’d be funny to try and find the bad guy when everyone looks like Darth Vader.
- We may geta look at the Beverly Hills BuyMore to see how the better half lives.
It would’ve been great if Zacharly Levi was there too but Josh, Yvonne, and Chris are hilarious enough without him. Good times all around.
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The best of the audience Q & A came from all of Yvonne’s fans, and when I say “best” I mean “amusing in their creepiness.” One dude wanted to know if this was Yvonne’s first time in New York (it wasn’t) and what she’ll be doing around the city (the audience’s creeped out laughter saved her from answering). Then there was the guy who officially nominated her as Grand Marshal for some Polish parade (she seemed pretty flattered by that on actually, if a bit confused). And lastly there was the webmaster of Strahotski.com who gave her a teddy bear wearing a “Strahotski” t-shirt. (When asked later on who some of her creepiest fans had been Yvonne held up the doll and said “this guy.” So she finally confirmed that the guy who coined “Strahotshi” actually creeps her out too! It may sound like she came off mean but it was actually hilarious and she managed to be completely charming and everyone in the room basically agreed with her lol. Good times.
Here are some of the things addressed at the panel:
- Yvonne hasn’t complained about any of the little outfits she’s had to don for fight scenes but she once drew the line at fighting in a towel. One of the upcoming fight scenes is her favorite; it happens in a car.
- We’re going to see some behind the scenes at the Fulcrum headquarters.
- We could see Chuck’s first kill coming up soon.
- Josh was totally for Yvonne changing her surname because it’s original spelling is so hard to pronounce. Yvonne recalled him wanting her to change it to Smith but Josh said he’d suggested “Striker.”
- Josh confirmed that the next episode would be preempted thanks to Obama (and like us he’s pretty bummed that NBC built up so much momentum for the show for it to have to go off the air for a week). And he said that the same thing might have to happen next weekend even Yvonne looked surprised that Obama was speaking two Mondays in a row. Josh joked that Obama’s first order as presidency was to destroy Chuck (Obama as Fulcrum, anyone?)
- Yvonne’s funnest thing to shoot has been the shower scene with Nicole Richie, and her least fun thing was the rooftop fight scene with Michael Clark Duncan (it was too hot).
- The issue of whether or not the government is paying Chuck for his duties will get addressed.
- Yvonne was surprised when she found out she’d have to do her Aussie accent for the show and was uncomfortable doing it since she’s so used to being American in front of the cameras. She says her aussie accent isn’t very strong anymore because she’s “Becoming and an American.” She looked a bit bummed to be admitting it but the audience cheered anyway.
- A little kid asked if Casey got a robotic toe since his was blown off in the Xmas ep, to which Fedak replied, “ It’s actually a toe and a missile.”
- The issue of Chuck moving out or Sarah moving “seems like the popular way to go,” according to Josh.
- They’d still love to do an episode that takes place in Comic Con just because it’d be funny to try and find the bad guy when everyone looks like Darth Vader.
- We may geta look at the Beverly Hills BuyMore to see how the better half lives.
It would’ve been great if Zacharly Levi was there too but Josh, Yvonne, and Chris are hilarious enough without him. Good times all around.
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Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Chuck in 3D: The eye popping and the… not so… eye popping.
Now, I love Chuck as much as the next gal but Chuck vs. The Third Dimension wasn’t one of the shows best outings, and not just because the 3d glasses were tricky/cumbersome/gave everything a blue hue (although, for optimum viewing I would recommend watching the episode at hulu.com. I originally saw it on a regular TV screen and was disappointed to see that hardly anything popped out at me-- which probably serves me right for still having an analog TV, but watching it on hulu.com was super fun. The smallest things were coming out of the screen, including the opening credits and the posters on Chuck’s wall).
Anyway, let’s start with the good things about this episode:
- Dominic Monahan was actually funny! I was never a fan of his Charlie on Lost (always found that character to be utterly useless and annoying) but as Tyler Martin with that cockney accent the guy really made the two-dimensional and admittedly stereotypical rock star character really stand out. A few of his best lines were the ones he murmured after all of Casey’s tranq darts. My fave? “I feel like a daffodil.”
- Speaking tranq darts-- I loved them. I’ve seen some reviews calling the repeated use of them tiring but I thought they got funnier the more they appeared. Especially when used on Chuck himself.
- Chuck’s nightmare. Great way to start the episode, and a rather ingenious way to paradoxically excite the fangirls and fanboys. The fangirls got their “charah” (Chuck and Sarah, for the uninitiated) moment, even if it was a dream, and the (sex-crazed) fanboys got their fill of Yvonne Strahovski in black lingerie. Thank you show. Too bad the whole thing ended with a stabbing.
- The BuyMore! A lot of people felt that this week’s BuyMore storyline had absolutely nothing to do with the spyworld storyline, but while that may be true it was nonetheless entertaining. Come on, Lester shouting he’s a man after Butterman yanked his skivvies (tiny, tiny skivvies) off him wedgie style? Jeff eating a urinal cake (and Emmett having to splash himself silly?) Those two will always bring the lulz and I love them for it. The show would not be the same without them.
The not so good:
- The Mauser incident; dealt with and swept under the rug. It took about 20 seconds of air time for Chuck to finally tell Sarah why he’s been acting the way he has towards her and for Sarah to explain that it’s all just part of the job. The Mauser incident has been tiding us for weeks since the last episode. It’s spurred on dozens of fanfics. And it’s one of those psychological things so essential to Chuck’s overall conflict with this new life and this new girl and what kind of world he’s being forced to live in now that the fact that it was just thrown out the way it was was a little bit disappointing. (Especially for those out there who have written dozens of—pretty bad—fanfics dedicated to the issue.
- Chuck and Sarah chemistry. A dream/nightmare is not enough to tide us over and so when the final scene with Chuck and Sarah came about (in their usual heart-to-heart courtyard setting) we were expecting some fireworks. And we didn’t even get sparks. This is the episode they were using to reel in new viewers and if I was a new viewer watching the show for the first time I’d wonder what all the Chuck/Sarah fuss was about. Their lines fell flat, and the usually ultra express Yvonne Strahovski left some a little something to be desired (and I only say that cuz she usually gives us so much with just a smile or a look.
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Anyway, let’s start with the good things about this episode:
- Dominic Monahan was actually funny! I was never a fan of his Charlie on Lost (always found that character to be utterly useless and annoying) but as Tyler Martin with that cockney accent the guy really made the two-dimensional and admittedly stereotypical rock star character really stand out. A few of his best lines were the ones he murmured after all of Casey’s tranq darts. My fave? “I feel like a daffodil.”
- Speaking tranq darts-- I loved them. I’ve seen some reviews calling the repeated use of them tiring but I thought they got funnier the more they appeared. Especially when used on Chuck himself.
- Chuck’s nightmare. Great way to start the episode, and a rather ingenious way to paradoxically excite the fangirls and fanboys. The fangirls got their “charah” (Chuck and Sarah, for the uninitiated) moment, even if it was a dream, and the (sex-crazed) fanboys got their fill of Yvonne Strahovski in black lingerie. Thank you show. Too bad the whole thing ended with a stabbing.
- The BuyMore! A lot of people felt that this week’s BuyMore storyline had absolutely nothing to do with the spyworld storyline, but while that may be true it was nonetheless entertaining. Come on, Lester shouting he’s a man after Butterman yanked his skivvies (tiny, tiny skivvies) off him wedgie style? Jeff eating a urinal cake (and Emmett having to splash himself silly?) Those two will always bring the lulz and I love them for it. The show would not be the same without them.
The not so good:
- The Mauser incident; dealt with and swept under the rug. It took about 20 seconds of air time for Chuck to finally tell Sarah why he’s been acting the way he has towards her and for Sarah to explain that it’s all just part of the job. The Mauser incident has been tiding us for weeks since the last episode. It’s spurred on dozens of fanfics. And it’s one of those psychological things so essential to Chuck’s overall conflict with this new life and this new girl and what kind of world he’s being forced to live in now that the fact that it was just thrown out the way it was was a little bit disappointing. (Especially for those out there who have written dozens of—pretty bad—fanfics dedicated to the issue.
- Chuck and Sarah chemistry. A dream/nightmare is not enough to tide us over and so when the final scene with Chuck and Sarah came about (in their usual heart-to-heart courtyard setting) we were expecting some fireworks. And we didn’t even get sparks. This is the episode they were using to reel in new viewers and if I was a new viewer watching the show for the first time I’d wonder what all the Chuck/Sarah fuss was about. Their lines fell flat, and the usually ultra express Yvonne Strahovski left some a little something to be desired (and I only say that cuz she usually gives us so much with just a smile or a look.
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There’s something about Cookie
This week we got an inside look at James Cook, better known as Cook to friends and Cookie to gangsters. Here are a few of the things we learned:
1) He’s got the thickest accent in the bunch (He'll be hogging all the subtitles on BBC America)
2) He loves booze/drugs/birthday cake
3) He’s absolutely crazy.
Number 3's a big one because that’s all we got in terms of character backstory. Unlike most of the episodes in the first two series, Cook’s episode didn’t actually take us into his home or family life (the only hint of family came when he threatened Johnny for mentioning his mother, but who wouldn’t do such a thing when their mother’s honor is at stake?). The point is, the home life of a character is almost always an indicator of why they are the way they are, but when it comes to Cook sometimes it's better to experience the crazy without being privvy to the source of it.
A lot of people have been comparing Cook to series 1 and 2's Tony and Chris and sure, his character does share some things in common with them, but Cook’s a whole different animal. Chris was a “Fuck it” pills-obsessed party animal but unlike Cook his partying ways were more lighthearted, and though extreme, all in the spirit of living life to its fullest. Cook wants to live life till it kills him.
Tony lacked a conscience and did things just to see how far they would go before someone finally stood up to him. He was twisted and conniving and for the better part of series 1 he was a psycho, clearly having no compassion for anyone or anything. While Tony pushed others to the brink of insanity Cook doesn’t push anyone but himself. He threatens men that could kill him, he sleeps with whoever he wants, and his liver must look like a full ashtray. But he's having fun.
The best and scene (with the most insight into who Cook is) comes right after everyone in the party starts fighting; Cook takes in the scene before him and cracks up. Chris and Tony could've found themselves in that position at one point but there's no way they would've reacted like that. Cook's laughter, more than anything, made him dangerous. And as if that wasn't enough the tense scene between him and Johnny upped the ante.
The rest of the episode didn't really give us anything new. We're getting closer to learning the truth about Emily. (but I'm sre we all guessed that she's gay from the first episode.)
The only other major character development came from Freddie who is proving himself to be more of a douche as the episodes go by. His choice to not look after Cook anymore would've made a lot more sense had we seen more instances of where Cook has failed him. And this might be pacing problem, because as it stands all we've seen are two episodes of him and we can't yet believe that he's this fed up with his best friend.
Some great things about the episode:
The moment shared between Cook and Effy in the tunnel. I don't know how I feel about this pairing yet and it seems Effy isn't quite sure either. She's so unreadable that it's almost frustrating but I wouldn't change that about Effy.
Pandora eating coke. Nuff said. :)
And Gareth Keenan! Mr. Mckenzie Crook was fantastic as Johnny White the gangster. (I had no idea he could pull off scary.) His Johnny came off a little like Captai Jack Sparrow but it worked. And speaking of Pirates of the Carribean, Kayleigh looked a lot like Keira Knightley. Ok, a whorish Keira Knightley, but still.
And finally, Skins really lucked out in finding Jack O'Connell. He's a great actor and really deserving of being on this show.
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1) He’s got the thickest accent in the bunch (He'll be hogging all the subtitles on BBC America)
2) He loves booze/drugs/birthday cake
3) He’s absolutely crazy.
Number 3's a big one because that’s all we got in terms of character backstory. Unlike most of the episodes in the first two series, Cook’s episode didn’t actually take us into his home or family life (the only hint of family came when he threatened Johnny for mentioning his mother, but who wouldn’t do such a thing when their mother’s honor is at stake?). The point is, the home life of a character is almost always an indicator of why they are the way they are, but when it comes to Cook sometimes it's better to experience the crazy without being privvy to the source of it.
A lot of people have been comparing Cook to series 1 and 2's Tony and Chris and sure, his character does share some things in common with them, but Cook’s a whole different animal. Chris was a “Fuck it” pills-obsessed party animal but unlike Cook his partying ways were more lighthearted, and though extreme, all in the spirit of living life to its fullest. Cook wants to live life till it kills him.
Tony lacked a conscience and did things just to see how far they would go before someone finally stood up to him. He was twisted and conniving and for the better part of series 1 he was a psycho, clearly having no compassion for anyone or anything. While Tony pushed others to the brink of insanity Cook doesn’t push anyone but himself. He threatens men that could kill him, he sleeps with whoever he wants, and his liver must look like a full ashtray. But he's having fun.
The best and scene (with the most insight into who Cook is) comes right after everyone in the party starts fighting; Cook takes in the scene before him and cracks up. Chris and Tony could've found themselves in that position at one point but there's no way they would've reacted like that. Cook's laughter, more than anything, made him dangerous. And as if that wasn't enough the tense scene between him and Johnny upped the ante.
The rest of the episode didn't really give us anything new. We're getting closer to learning the truth about Emily. (but I'm sre we all guessed that she's gay from the first episode.)
The only other major character development came from Freddie who is proving himself to be more of a douche as the episodes go by. His choice to not look after Cook anymore would've made a lot more sense had we seen more instances of where Cook has failed him. And this might be pacing problem, because as it stands all we've seen are two episodes of him and we can't yet believe that he's this fed up with his best friend.
Some great things about the episode:
The moment shared between Cook and Effy in the tunnel. I don't know how I feel about this pairing yet and it seems Effy isn't quite sure either. She's so unreadable that it's almost frustrating but I wouldn't change that about Effy.
Pandora eating coke. Nuff said. :)
And Gareth Keenan! Mr. Mckenzie Crook was fantastic as Johnny White the gangster. (I had no idea he could pull off scary.) His Johnny came off a little like Captai Jack Sparrow but it worked. And speaking of Pirates of the Carribean, Kayleigh looked a lot like Keira Knightley. Ok, a whorish Keira Knightley, but still.
And finally, Skins really lucked out in finding Jack O'Connell. He's a great actor and really deserving of being on this show.
Read More
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