Community more than just "Cooperative Escapism"

Article first published as Community more than just "Cooperative Escapism" on TheTVKing.

NBC's Community delivers the second consecutive solid episode of the fourth season this week with "Cooperative Escapism in Familial Relations." It's Thanksgiving, and Shirley (Yvette Nicole Brown) invites everyone to her home for dinner. They accept, except Jeff (Joel McHale), who has a surprise - he's going to visit his estranged father, William (James Brolin, Castle, Catch Me If You Can), this holiday.

Jeff is a shallow jerk of a man, or so we believe for the first couple of seasons. But at the end of season three, Community made a choice to begin to explore his psyche in a real way, allowing for growth and development, and delving into what makes him the way he is. It's great to see "Cooperative Escapism in Familial Relations" continue that trend.

Who Jeff's father is has long been eating at the character, as William abandoned Jeff as a young boy. In this episode, we see a lot of what Jeff gets from his father, but also the type of guy that would disappear from his son's life. It's a complex portrait, developed in such a way that we see the similarities and differences between the Winger men, as well as the cause of them, all in a single episode of a sitcom. It's quite a feat.

At first, William wants to take credit for Jeff. Jeff appears confident and successful, having had a good life, and William thinks that may be what has helped Jeff. By contrast, Jeff's younger half brother, William Jr. (Adam DeVine, Workaholics), who William raised reluctantly, is a blubbery emotional mess. But Jeff sets William straight, baring a lot of his soul, a deeply painful story, and a literal scar. It's a bit of a wake up call for William, though only time will tell if he will squander the second chance he doesn't deserve that Jeff is graciously giving him.

For someone who originally seems sarcastic and closed off, this honesty and rawness from Jeff in the episode is startling and impressive. For the first time, viewers get to really know Jeff. It's a whole new side of the character, and one that explains a lot. This is McHale's masterpiece in the series, and he handles it with brilliance and a huge amount of talent that seems to come effortlessly. Bravo.

It completely adds to this plot that Britta (Gillian Jacobs) follows Jeff to his family's home. Everyone makes fun of her, and rightly so, for her desire to be a therapist, and the poor way that she seems to perform as one. Yet, here, she has clearly gotten through to Jeff, and as reluctant as he might be to admit it, Jeff owes her a huge debt of thanks.

The whole thing perfectly pays off when Jeff prepares a lovely and sincere Thanksgiving for the group, and even invites the Dean (Jim Rash). These are his chosen family, the people that mean the most to him, and he finally ready to start showing it.

Meanwhile, at Shirely's house, the rest of the group finds a horrible mess of an event, and end up hiding from Shirley's family in the garage. Shirley's feelings are hurt, which we eventually learn, since she invited them to have a buffer from her husband's horrible family. At this revelation, they rally and support Shirley the way that they should.

Some of this arc is weak. Having Abed (Danny Pudi) turn their garage stay into a Shawshank Redemption and Prison Break bit is going a little far. There are some solid jokes, such as digging the tunnel behind the poster and the unnecessary map of the house on his stomach. But I do wonder if perhaps Abed is losing it. What I perceive as a hollowing of the character could be symptoms of a larger issue that will have to be dealt with, a continuation of the problems glimpsed in the season premiere. If so, this is a smart, not lame, arc for the character, and would redeem the first couple installments of the season. If not, the writing for Abed is just so much more flat this year, and that's disappointing.

Besides the bigger stories, there are a ton of fun callbacks and references stuffed into the episode. We see Shirley's sandwich shop sign, Abed utters "cool, cool, cool," Pierce (Chevy Chase) tries and fails to engage Abed on numerous occasions with Star Wars references and being meta, and Jeff uses Britta's name as a verb against her. Also, in the opening scene in the study room, inside messages are written on the board behind the cast, including a thank you to fans for tuning in. Awesome.

After a soft opening, spirits are buoyed as Community picks up steam. Maybe the emotional stuff Jeff in particular experiences isn't completely consistent with what the show was, but they have been earned and feel natural at this point. Community airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.

Breakout Kings delivers respectable "Pilot"

     After an extremely disappointing first foray into scripted television with The Glades, A&E is trying its hand again with a rejected FOX pilot, Breakout Kings. The differences between the two are enormous. Breakout Kings would be better compared to Leverage, except the pilot has me thinking Kings will be a darker, edgier, better developed version. Which is good, because I got bored with Leverage and stopped watching awhile ago. Unlike Leverage, the main characters are immediately given some real depth. Plus the cast is just plain better.

     The concept is that several cons will work with the U.S. Marshals to catch fugitives in exchange for reductions to their sentences. Four are chosen, but one is quickly kicked off the team, so we are left with three. Lloyd (the fantastic Jimmi Simpson, Psych, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia) is super smart, especially at reading people, which probably contributed to whatever gambling-connected illegal activity got him into trouble. Shea (Malcolm Goodwin, American Gangster) can pick a lock or drive in a high speed chase equally well. Philly (Nicole Steinwedell, The Unit) is a sexy con woman, who regrettably will be replaced in episode two by Erica (Serinda Swan, Smallville, Percy Jackson).

     They are joined by Ray (Domenick Lombardozzi, The Wire) a loose-with-the-rules cop that once caught them, now secretly also a con, and Charlie (Laz Alonso, Southland, Avatar), the boss. The two struggle for leadership for much of the pilot, though Ray eventually defers to Charlie. This seems strange, given his personality, until the ending twist that Ray is no longer a cop, and is as much making a deal as the other cons. Also present at their office is Julianne (Brooke Nevin, The 4400, Call Me Fitz), a woman with social anxiety problems whom Ray is protective of for reasons still unknown.

     The con the group goes after in the pilot is interesting, as he is extremely smart and keeps them scrambling. However, my main interest in the case of the week is how he tests the central cast. Lloyd, Shea, Philly, Ray, Julianne, and Charlie all have to contribute to his take down, so we get an immediate look at each character's specialty, and how they will contribute to the whole. I can't imagine how effective the booted con would have been, as he appeared to be there for muscle, not exactly a need for this task force. I think his presence in the beginning of the episode is merely to show that Charlie means business and will not hesitate to remove anyone who will not cooperate.

     My main worry going forward is that Breakout Kings will devolve into a procedural. There is certainly the potential for that, but I feel the series will be stronger if it focuses on each of the central group. What is Ray's connection to Julianne? Why is Lloyd in jail? Is there a bit of a romance brewing between Julianne and Lloyd, or is he just there to help her with her issues? Why has Charlie agreed to this task force? What is the motive for participating for Ray, other than that he can be a cop again, and this was his idea? We get a little less background on Shea at this point, and I will withhold my questions about Philly, since they likely won't be answered, sadly. Erica better be as good, and that's a tall order.

     Despite my gut distaste for procedurals, a balance would work okay. There are a number of great shows that blend the serial and the procedural elements together to form a satisfying mixture. As long as there is continuous character development and unfolding background, the show can bring in a new bad guy to catch every week without being a total waste of time. Even cooler would be a bad guy who eludes them for numerous episodes, which just may be on the horizon.

     I'm very much looking forward to Robert Knepper reprising his disgustingly sleazy T-Bag on the show for four episodes. T-Bag was a main character in Prison Break, a former favorite show of mine, and Knepper was one of the best parts. It has been announced that T-Bag will be in Breakout Kings. When he last saw the one-handed molester, he was back in prison, after a couple of break outs, so I'm assuming he will escape again. This time without Michael's help. I will likely refresh my memory with some PB DVD re-watching, and I recommend you do the same. That goes double if you have never seen the show.

     Breakout Kings airs on A&E Sunday nights at 10 p.m. ET, and reruns throughout the week, so there is still time for you to watch the pilot before episode two premieres next weekend.

Article first published as TV Review: Breakout Kings - "Pilot" on Blogcritics.

For an alphabetical list of all of Jerome Wetzel's Current Season Reviews, please click here.

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The Walking Dead inspires

     AMC's newest series, The Walking Dead, is awesome. At least, the pilot is. Before I am jumped all over for expressing that opinion, I'd like to break down why I think it is such, and what the series has to offer.

     Zombie fans have had plenty of movies made over the years. Some of the more serious ones, like 28 Days Later, have been intensely scary. Lately, zombies have also been a fodder for comedy, with Shaun of the Dead and Zombieland, which have actually increased the zombie fan base. Personally, I have never been a fan of the genre, but the comedy attempts introduced me to enjoyable zombies, and I can take the more horror-driven if there is a good plot. The Walking Dead goes for the serious route, creating creatures that are gross and hungry for flesh. They are very dangerous, and out to eat you.

     While zombies are traditionally slow, more current films have imbibed them with supernatural speed, making them that much more deadly, and much harder to escape. The Walking Dead goes for a middle ground. They can move sort of fast when they need to, and when excited into a feeding frenzy. Usually, they move slow, or lie around until something disturbs them. The real threat from Walking Dead zombies are being trapped by a pack, and not having an escape route. This happened to Deputy Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln, Love Actually) at the end of the pilot, and he found refuge in a tank.

     Like speed, zombies' intelligence have been approached in different ways. Some are so dumb they can't even turn a door knob. Walking Dead zombies do not fall into that category. However, they don't seem smart enough to throw things through windows or use a sledgehammer to break down doors, either. They are not scared off by bullets, but I've never seen a zombie that was. Fire remains to be seen.

     What the scariest zombie movies do is build suspense, keeping a tight knot in your stomach for the duration. The Walking Dead certainly did that. Whether Grimes was walking down a dark staircase, or approaching a city known to be dangerous on a horse, my adrenaline never stopped pumping. The danger element was ever-present, and camera angles frequently kept the wide shot a mystery, making things seem even more precarious.

     The camera work was spectacular. AMC is known for making beautiful-looking shows. Blood, guts, and gore don't really count as aesthetically pleasing, but the landscapes were nice. And each shot was executed with care and precision. The pilot felt so well made, I couldn't help but be pulled in. Certainly, even if you are not a zombie fan, you can appreciate elements that fall into place with such care?

     The biggest question is, are zombies ripe for a series, and will fans keep tuning in week after week? I believe the audience for this type of show is limited. Plenty of people can't stand the genre, and few non-zombie fans (except, perhaps, myself) will be drawn into the premise. It will never reach a super-wide fanbase, but zombie lovers have bought enough tickets to sell many a movie, so perhaps they are abundant enough to sustain a weekly television show.

     I can't imagine The Walking Dead will not appeal to the zombie-philes. All of the traditional elements are there, in such rich detail. The pilot felt like an R-rated movie, with so much gore I couldn't believe I was watching basic cable. This is what they love, and so, as long as they can find it, there'll be some fans.

     A huge part of zombie stories, though, usually involves most of the main characters being picked off one by one. Here is where The Walking Dead has to be careful. Yes, characters have to die in order to keep interest and the sense of impending doom strecthed out for many installments. Yet, it would get old to keep finding new pockets of survivors. In this case, important deaths will need to be doled out slowly, not allowing the body county to rise swiftly. The longer the show goes on, the more attached viewers will become to their favorite characters, and each death will carry a risk of alienating fans of a certain actor. But if death is not a regular part of the show, more will tune out because the series will seem too tame for zombie fans.

     So far, everything looks great, and the people playing the survivors of the zombie plague are all decent enough performers. There is mystery, as the audience is still in the dark about where the pathogen came from or how it spread (I assume it's a pathogen; it often is). There seems to be a fairly large cast, which will support periodic killings, although very few had much screen time in the first episode.

     There is also human drama. Grimes is searching for his wife, Lori (Sarah Wayne Callies, Prison Break), who is holed up with his former partner, Shane (Jon Bernthal, The Pacific, The Class). They believe that he is dead, so it's not really cheating, right? Although Grimes has not yet found them, previews and pictures released online reveal that it won't be long before he does. Also, one of the most moving moments from the pilot dealt with Morgan (Lennie James, Jericho) trying to bring himself to shoot his zombie-wife.

     Smart writers will pull a Resident Evil, giving tidbits at a time of the backstory, and be willing to extend the universe periodically, with new directions that fit with what's come before, but still feel fresh.

     The first episode of The Walking Dead will re-run several times this weekend, and new episodes air Sunday nights at 10pm on AMC.

 

For frequent mini-reviews and occasional tv news, follow Jerome on Twitter.


Article first published as TV Review: The Walking Dead on Blogcritics.

Burn Notice wimpers through season premiere

     USA's Burn Notice is a great show... sometimes.  Last night was the season four premiere, "Friends and Enemies".  When last we saw Michael Weston (Jeffrey Donovan), he had been hauled into a tastefully decorated room, where he had been brought against his will.  Turns out, that room belongs to Vaughn (Robert Wisdom, The Wire, Prison Break), who wants Michael's help to take down some bad guys.  Michael is torn between helping people he hates and fighting the good fight, or staying out of it.  Michael and Vaughn are soon in a jungle being shot at by a predator drone.  All of that was awesome!

     And then Burn Notice went back to it's case of the week format.  I know that there are still plenty of people out there who like formula shows, where they can tune in any episode at random and find a complete story to enjoy.  I dare say most television viewers fall into that category.  Unfortunately, that's today's version of pulp fiction, and it holds back a great show, limiting it to just a good show.

     Sure, the case of the week was interesting enough.  Michael and friends had to call off a biker gang's hit order on a lawyer.  Plenty of fist fights, shoot outs, and explosions made it exciting.  But aside from Michael's brief reunion with Fiona (Gabrielle Anwar), the story failed to highlight the wonderful storytelling that sometimes goes into the show.

     That's not to say that episode was without great moments.  Michael's teary conversation with his mother (Sharon Gless, who has finally become an indispensable part of the cast) at the end has proved that Donovan has grown as an actor, and Michael has grown as a character.  Three years ago, when he was just a burned spy dumped in Miami, he had few personal connections, and cared about no one all that deeply.  Now he balances deep affection for his mother, romance towards Fiona, and a best friend, Sam (Bruce Campbell).

     This season will feature a new character who was only briefly glimpsed last night, but whose name has joined the opening credits as one of the stars.  Jesse (Coby Bell, Third Watch, The Game) is a spy that Michael accidentally burned by stealing information.  Next week, he will attempt to clear Jesse's name.  Something tells me that won't work, since Jesse is slated to join their little crew and shake things up.  It has potential for an exciting, new arc.  However, it will likely only get a few minutes an episode, in between whatever victim Michael helps that week.

     Please Burn Notice stop catering to the mindless viewers just watching for entertainment at the end of a long day and give us some intricate, fascinating story telling.  Not that there's anything inherently wrong with that technique, but there are plenty of other shows that do it, and so few that really stretch their boundaries and show great story telling.  I know you're capable of being one of the latter.  Burn Notice airs Thursday nights at 9pm on USA.

Heroes begins a brave new chapter

     Last night NBC's Heroes completed their fourth season, fifth volume.  While it was a good ending to Samuel's (Robert Knepper, Prison Break) carnival, the most interesting parts of the episode had nothing to do with this season's new characters.  Instead, Heroes will continue to fuel a new creative resurgence by making its core characters interesting again.  For example, Hiro (Masi Oka) also got a bittersweet ending to his quest, finding his beloved Charlie (Jayma Mays, Glee) had already lived a full life without him. She helped Hiro understand what Ando (James Kyson-Lee) had been hinting at, that Hiro would only interfere more with her for him own sake, not hers.

     Sylar (Zachary Quinto, Star Trek) appears to finally be ready to make amends and become a full fledged hero.  This plot has been toyed with before on the show, but the writer's threw circumstances and obstacles at him to drag him back down.  Despite some bad choices (his plot for the entire first half of the season), leaving him and Peter (Milo Ventimiglia, Gilmore Girls) alone in a mind trap for five years, to their perspective, led to acceptance and forgiveness I never thought possible.  It allowed Sylar the time, free from distractions, to come to grips with who he is versus who he'd like to be, something he was already grappling with before his entrapment.  And Peter, who is often dull, got to deal with the death of his brother, and proved that he is a real hero in how he relates to others.

     The best part of the episode, however, though I never expected to write these words, was Claire (Hayden Panettiere).  She came to terms with the dark side of her father, Noah (Jack Coleman, Dynasty) and grew up enough to make her own life choice.  In fact, this development made the Volume Six teaser at the end not only Heroes's most exciting one, but also more stunning than the actual Volume Five finale.  Deciding to reveal who she was to the world at large, and that there are people with gifts walking among us will rock the Heroes universe in a way that no other plot twist has.  Again, this direction was played with earlier in the series, but abandoned.  It's nice to see it embraced.

     Sadly, there was no similar fitting revelations or triumphs for one my favorite actors, Greg Grunberg, (Alias) who plays the character of Matt Parkman, and seems to have run his course at present.  Hopefully, that will be corrected early next season.  Heroes will likely return to NBC in the fall, though the decision to renew it is not yet final.  However, if this was the end, a lot of fans will be very angry at the giant cliffhanger and enormous potential left untapped.

Heroes finally finding footing

     Way back in October when I last wrote about NBC's Heroes, I lamented that the show was struggling, but celebrated a few bright spots on the horizon.  After having just viewed Monday's two-parter, I am happy to report that Heroes has found it's stride again.  If you had written Heroes off, now is the time to get back on board.  Catch up online, then read on.

     As before, there has only been limited Hiro (Masi Oka) and Ando (James Kyson Lee), who used to be just about the only part of the show worth watching.  As their names did not even appear in the latest installment's opening credits, one must assume that the plummeting ratings forced the main characters down to limited episode counts.  Not that Hiro has become uneccessary to the show.  He still should have a hand in the showdown, and he has not yet resolved his plot to rescue Charlie (Jayma Mays, Glee).  However, I am gratified to see Heroes mess with time travel and changing the timeline, but not have things go disastrously wrong, as is the norm for science fiction, and have to have it put back.  Ando's new standing is welcome.  There has also been very little seen on Mohinder (Sendhil Ramamurthy), who popped up only briefly in the fall, before disappearing again.  Similarly, another less popular character, Tracy (Ali Larter, Final Destination, Varsity Blues) has appeared in just five of the first thirteen episodes this year.

     Meanwhile, while Claire (Hayden Panettiere, I Love You Beth Cooper) has not gone into lesbianism, as I thought she might, she has gone through a lot, being lied to by her adopted father, loosing her biological father, and almost falling prey to a cult.  She is staying interesting and relevant to the plot.  Speaking of her biological father, it appears that Nathan's (Adrian Pasdar, Judging Amy) plot, months after his death, has finally played out and he will no longer be a part of the show.  This is mostly welcome, though he had gotten more engrossing last season.  The character I most miss at this point is Matt (Greg Grunberg, Alias), who had a hell of an episode battling the villain in his brain, but hasn't been seen since.

     Speaking of villains, has Sylar (Zachary Quinto, 24, Star Trek) finally met his match in newest main cast member Samuel (Prison Break's Robert Knepper)?  Their showdown this week gave me chills, and made me yearn for more.  If the two ever fought head on for long, or teamed up, it would be quite a show.  Samuel is easily the most complex, compelling enemy to grace television screens in quite some time, and his carnival slash cult has given much drive to Volume 5: Redemption, the title for this fourth season.  The place had introduced a slew of new heroes with unusual abilities, and brought a few old ones back out of the woodwork.  Plus, what the heck was up with Sylar's new tattoo of a familiar face?  With only six episodes left, Heroes doesn't have much this spring, but what it does offer will surely be worth tuning in for.