The Positively Positive

Okay so after seeing three episodes of this show, I finally came to a decision about it last week.

I love it.

In some ways, I’m surprised by that. This show is kinda corny in some parts, overly dramatic in others and likes to put in a lot of one-liners. All of which should have put me off and truth be told, in the beginning, it kinda did.

When I first heard about Human Target, I had no idea it was based on a comic book. From the ads I saw it looked like it would be full of action and maybe some drama. So the overly dramatic music, one-liners and general corny-ness put me off. But the more I watched it, the more I liked it and once I found out it was based on a comic, it all made a lot more sense.

Also when I watch it, for some strange reason, I can’t help but to be reminded of that great 80’s ball of cheese that I adored – MacGyver. It’s got the handsome hero always trying to save the damsel (or dude) in distress. It’s got the older, crankier sidekick guy who works mostly in the background and handles all the mundane stuff. It’s got a wacky sidekick who’s full of mystery. Plus it’s got the music. Like I said, at first I didn’t like it, but now the music has totally grown on me and become one of my favorite parts of the show.

Plus, last night’s episode featured a fight in a gondola and featured one of the best Wilhelm Scream’s I’ve ever heard – what’s not to like?

Overall a fun tv show full of action, some comedy, damsels and dames in distress, a handsome hero and of course that really, really dramatic music.

Jeffrey Donovan in Burn Notice, season 3, episode 11 “Friendly Fire”.

Just when I think Michael Westen can’t get any cooler, he does. Showing up in an impeccable black suit with a red shirt and tie, he invades a gang’s territory to get their help in capturing a fugitive. The locals give him the moniker “The Devil” which seems very appropriate. He talks with a voice I’ve never heard before (and I thought we’d heard all the accents he had under his hat) and shows the gang that he’s not one to be messed with by a simple snap of his fingers.

The first time Michael snapped his fingers he made a random car explode and himself disappear, an awesome trick.

The second time Michael snapped his fingers and made the warehouse door come crashing down, was even better. The shot was done beautifully, giving us the image in slow motion with the gang leader reacting and Michael standing there like it was the most normal thing in the world.

The final time he snapped his fingers, I nearly jumped and cheered. The scumbag child molester tells Michael to go to Hell. He replies “join me” and snaps his fingers to rain Hell down upon them. I loved it.

I also liked Michael’s little smile in the end, walking away from the gang leader as the other man snapped his own fingers like a little boy pretending to be his hero. It was such a great closing shot.

Overall another exciting episode of this show that made me love Michael Westen even more than I did before.

More Burn Notice….
Burn Notice, season 3, episode 10 “A Dark Road”

Kristin Kreuk and Zach Levi in Chuck, season 3, episode 5 “Chuck Versus First Class”. Image from www.daemonstv.com

Some of the best scenes to me in this episode were the ones between Casey and Morgan. We don’t usually get to see these two interact together all that much, and I found the combo of Casey’s big, brawny tough-guy to Morgan’s little, scrawny weakling absolutely hilarious. Morgan asks Casey to help him with the subordinates in the store that are making his life hell – in other words “insurgents”. Casey’s methods are nothing less than over the top, and completely expected from a former Marine and current spy.

I also really liked seeing Chuck out on a mission on his own. His character is growing but I like that underneath it all we still get the same old Chuck. He doesn’t like guns so he brings nunchucks, and then is disappointed when he never gets to use them. He’s been trained to handle dangerous situations and yet still manages to get himself into all kinds of trouble, calling on both Casey and Sarah to get him out of it. He may be a trained spy but he’s still the bumbling geek we all love.

The other part of the episode I liked was Chuck meeting a lovely new stranger on the plane, Hannah (played by Kristin Kreuk from Smallville). I have to admit that I totally suspected her of being a spy at first so it was a nice surprise to find out that she was just who she said she was. Perhaps I’ll be proven wrong in future episodes, but for now I’m eager to see where this bit of storyline goes.

Overall another fun episode that let Chuck stretch his legs as a spy and introduced us to an intriguing new character.

More Chuck…
Chuck, season 3, episode 5 “Chuck Versus First Class”

Bruce Campbell and Jeffrey Donovan in Burn Notice, season 3, episode 10 “A Dark Road”. Image from www.daemonstv.com

The newest episode of Burn Notice was so much fun for me. Seriously, it was like someone made a list of some of my favorite stuff and put into a show just for me.

First of all we have Michael, Sam, Fiona and now Michael’s mother, Madeline, all working together. In the beginning it was just Michael and Sam, with a little bit of Fiona. I really like that they’ve all become a part of Michael’s team now, even if sometimes they don’t always want to be.

Secondly there is that car, that lovely Charger that I could watch on screen all day. The Charger has always played a role in this show but in this ep, its part was even bigger. Michael and his team are out to bring down an operation running insurance scams by wrecking cars. All of the scenes featuring the Charger were great but by far my favorite was when Michael, Sam and Fiona played full size bumper cars with the bad guy. So very cool.

Finally I loved the final scene between Michael and his mother. Things come to a head after she had to play a part in the operation that she didn’t like and finally confronts her son about his chosen “profession”. She doesn’t understand why Michael does what he does and when pressed, he finally admits that it’s because there are people out there who need him. I have to admit that even I wondered about Michael’s motivations. He got into it by accident while trying to get back into the spy game so it was great to hear him say he’s now doing it to help people.

Overall a great episode that had a nice guest spot from Sharon Gless’ former Cagney & Lacey co-star, Tyne Daly.

Brandon Routh, Zach Levi and Ryan McPartlin in Chuck, season 2, episode 4 “Chuck vs Operation Awesome”. Image from www.daemonstv.com

Chuck is another show that I have to file under “got lost in the shuffle last year”. Not having a DVR really made it difficult for me to keep up with this show and after missing a bunch of episodes, I gave up on it. So once again I’m watching a tv show where I missed most of the previous season. Luckily they keep new fans in mind and last week’s premiere episode had a nice teaser in the front that caught me up on everything that’s happened with my favorite geek/spy.

I’m so glad they did. Four episodes in and I’m remembering now why I loved this show in the first place. The writers are fantastic at blending together comedy (provided this week by the Geek Squad Fight Club scenes), wacky spy gadget stuff, drama, action and romance. This is not nearly as easy as it sounds.

Since getting the World’s Greatest Invention (aka my DVR) last year, I’ve been trying my best to broaden my tv watching experience. Any time a show catches my fancy, I set the DVR and give it a try. Then I usually give it at least two or three episodes before deciding whether or not to add it permanently to my schedule.

Some shows make it, some don’t. Recently I saw one that, on paper, sounded great – lots of action, humor, interesting characters. In other words, it’s my kind of show. Trouble was it just didn’t cut it. The action was a little too over-the-top, the humor a little forced and the unrealistic stuff didn’t come off well at all. It was ….well, unrealistic.

Chuck has all the same elements as this other show, the one that I should like, but Chuck does it incredibly well. The funny part being that if somebody described Chuck to me, I probably wouldn’t like it. I’d never believe that all those things could work well together. Therein being a good lesson – which is that I should watch a show if I want to know if I’ll like it, not read about it.

Overall a fun episode that makes me very happy I got back into this show.