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February 25, 2008

"The Wire" loses another iconic character

WARNING: If you didn't see this week's episode of "The Wire," please don't read this post. It includes a MAJOR spoiler.

Ok, with that out of the way, let me just say that I am absolutely DEVASTATED that Omar Little, the almost-mythic stickup man played by Michael Kenneth Williams, was killed off on last night's episode of "The Wire."
Omar was one of the show's most complicated and interesting characters -- a man who robbed drug dealers and killed criminals who got in his way, but refused to kill innocent citizens, and sometimes helped the police. Oh, and he was gay. Talk about a complex guy.
Throughout the series' run, Omar was treated almost like a Western anti-hero. Who else was man enough to take down the brilliant criminal henchman Stringer Bell, or to survive a series of attempts on his life?
Even in a series filled with sympathetic criminals, Omar stood out. He was a legend on the streets, and even earned the respect of some police officers, including the no-nonsense Bunk Moreland.
Though "The Wire" is known for its bleakness, I never thought Omar would be killed off. Indeed, I thought the series would end with him taking out the psychopathic drug kingpin Marlo, or at least Marlo's henchmen, Chris and Snoop.
To have Omar die the way he did, at the hands of a sociopathic little boy (whom we earlier saw in the process of lighting a cat on fire) was nothing less than a shock. Even sadder, his death is brushed off by mainstream society. His murder didn't even merit a brief in the Baltimore Sun police log, and is body is almost mis-catalogued when a morgue worker improperly labels it.
As always, "The Wire" never fails to shock and, even though I'm upset at the loss of this iconic character, I applaud the show's bravery and commitment to its own grim ideals.

Posted by amanda on 12:39 PM | Comments (0)

February 13, 2008

Ewwwwwwwwwww!!!!

Ok, "Nip/Tuck." I have stuck by you through a lot of stuff. I stuck with you when Sean and Christian had a threesome with a prostitute. I was with you when Matt started dating a woman old enough to be his mother...and then it turned out that she was a transsexual.
I was with you through the Carver storyline, the organ-stealing storyline. I stayed with you through every stupid, boring plot involving Sean's imploding marriage to Julia . I was even with you during Sharon Gless's recent turn as a nut who poses as a talent agent, and murders someone by stuffing him like a teddy bear.
But now, you've gone too far. Now, you've journeyed to a dark place from which I don't think you'll be able to return.
I must ask ... was it entirely necessary to incorporate an incest plot into the show?

Let me backup and explain. "Nip/Tuck" -- a drama focusing on a pair of plastic surgeons and their various personal and professional problems -- prides itself on pushing the envelope. Sometimes, this results in an engaging guilty pleasure. But this latest storyline is just plain gross. It involved Matt (John Hensley), the biological son of plastic surgeon Christian Troy (Julian McMahon). Christian's business partner Sean (Dylan Walsh) actually thought Matt was his for a while, and Matt refers to the guys as "my dads."
But I digress.
Anyway, Matt is known for getting himself into detstructive situations and, following his latest ugly breakup, he happens upon a young woman in the recovery room of his dads' plastic surgery clinic. She just had a birthmark removed from her face. She and Matt talk. They go out. They have sex. Then he learns that Christian may be her dad too. Ew!
The two decide that even if it turns out that they share a father, they will continue dating. Eww!
Christian happens on the couple post-coitus and, not knowing the young woman is his illegitimate daughter, gives his approval. Ewww!!!
Now, "Nip/Tuck" has flirted with an incest storyline before. The aforementioned transsexual was also, supposedly, having an affair with her. But, of course, it turned out he wasn't her biological son. Besides, they were just minor characters.
Matt is a member of the show's main cast. And, even if the girl turns out not to be Christian's daughter, I'm still horrified that the couple plans to continue their affair regardless.
Such a storyline isn't shocking or bold or entertaining. It's just gross. Now, I plan to watch the show's finale, airing next week, but after that I'm not sure I'll be back.
Because, well, EWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!

Posted by amanda on 10:28 AM | Comments (0)

February 5, 2008

I have faith in "Eli Stone"

So, I got so swept up in the new season of ABC's twisty drama "Lost," that I forgot to talk about the other show that premiered on the network last Thursday, the nutty, charming dramedy "Eli Stone."

The series centers on ambitious but fairly decent attorney Eli Stone (Johnny Lee Miller), a fast talker with all the trappings of success, including a fiancee (Natsha Henstridge) who also happens to be the daughter of his boss (the always great Victor Garber of "Alias," once again playing a less-awful-than-he-seems sourpuss).
Things are going well for Eli, until he begins hearing music -- specifically, the song "Faith" by George Micheal (and yes, the cheeky 80s pop icon made a fun cameo as himself in the show's pilot). Why is having these hallucinations? Are the result of a brain aneurysm, with which he was recently diagnosed? Or are they prophetic visions, meant to propel Eli on to great things? The show interestingly suggests that it could be both.
The series has been compared to "Ally McBeal," I guess due to the fantasy sequences and the legal setting. But it actually reminded me more of the short-lived Fox series "Wonderfalls," in which a disaffected young woman received messages from the knick knacks she sold at a Niagara Falls gift store.
Both protagonists resist the idea that they might be messangers of God, yet find that their new roles give them a purpose they never had before.
It's a difficult type of show to do, and the "Stone" does threaten to become heavy-handed at times (especially when Eli takes a gushy young female associate under his wing in the second episode). Yet the show works, mainly due to the witty dialogue and the excellent acting. Miller is a wide-eyed delight as Eli, a former nerd who wants so badly to be a master of the universe, only to find that the universe has other plans. But it's Garber who once again proves that he's as essential to the TV universe as the remote control.
He never failed to break your heart as Sydney's ruthless yet vulnerable dad on "Alias," and here he's just as good and he gets to show off his musical theater pedigree. In the episode that airs this week, we actually get to see him sing another George Michael song, "Freedom" ("So," quips Eli's neurologist brother upon hearing of this latest hallucination. "You're no longer being stalked by George Michael. Just his catalogue."). Garber is nothing less than awesome singing and dancing his heart out.
It's one of many moments that makes "Stone" worth checking out.

Posted by amanda on 3:22 PM | Comments (0)