Ok, time to lighten up a bit. I've been watching the season ending episodes of a few shows over the last couple of weeks, and now it's time to pass out the reviews.
First up is Ed Well, my worst fears were realized. Y'all might remember back at midseason, when I was irritated by the plot decision to split up Ed and Carol.
It turns out it was all just a plot device to keep us watching until the end of season sweeps. Now a perfectly good character (Frankie) has been introduced and discarded, in a blatantly manipulative attempt to keep us watching. Sorry, but I just don't buy it anymore.
Which is sad, because when the writers aren't acting like a bunch of lazy hacks, they can really come up with some powerful television. The episode featuring Eli's (Darryl Mitchell) return to the restaurant he lost after the accident which paralyzed him was moving without being mawkish or manipulative. The final scene, showing Eli getting dressed for the day is simply one of the greatest acts of bravery captured on film. Ed has the writers to live up to that standard. It's too bad they decide to lay down so often.
Next is CSI. OK, is it just me, or did Jorja Fox look all discombobulated in the last episode? Even before the explosion, I mean. That, plus the way she was dressed led me to expect some kind of major announcement during the finale, like, "Grissom, I'm pregnant with your baby!" Instead, we get Grissom going to the hospital for surgery on his ear, accompanied by Catherine who just found out that her father is a casino boss and a murderer. Not a happy day for Catherine. And no Sarah story! This show is at it's strongest when it concentrates on the weekly episodes. Their attempts to draw story arcs are flat, and unconvincing.
Next up is ER. John Carter goes to war, where he gets to act heroic, disgusted, bemused, terrified, and world weary.
Yawn.
The Alias season ender was a slam bang episode, complete with all the double crosses, suspence and action Alias fans have come to expect. Then they had to end it with a clinker like that? After one of the better chick fights ever put on film, Syd collapses on the floor in her room, anly to wake up some undisclosed time later in Hong Kong. A distressed Vaughn tells her she's been missing for 2 years.
Beg pardon? Two years? There was absolutely no lead up to this, so it hit like a sack of wet cement, and was equally enjoyable. Had they ended the episode with Syd unconscious on the floor, Francie shot over in the corner, and Will slowly bleeding to death in the bathtb, that would have been enough of a cliffhanger for anyone. But no, they pushed a little too far, and had to throw in a missing 2 years.
Well, they might be able to pull it off, but it'll take a much better effort than this season's cliffhanger resolution.
Now we come to the best of the bunch, the season finale that actually exceeded expectations. The Dead Zone
In the novel by Stephen King, Johnny Smith dies while attempting to assassinate Gregg Stillson, a presidential candidate who will lead the world to destruction. Johnny dies in the attempt, refusing to shoot Stillson, who shields himself with a small child. This ends Stillson's political career, allowing Johnny to die peacefully, knowing that the world is safe from the future represented by Stillson.
While this works for a one shot movie, it kind of limits the span of a continuing series. The show's writer's came up with a creative way to resolve the technical problem while remaining faithful to both the novel and the series, and they chose to use the season finale to do it.
In the series, writers added the character of Bruce, Johny's physical therapist and later friend. In this episode, Bruce goes home for his father's funeral, and begins to wonder if he should have stayed home. Through contact with Johnny, he has a vision of an alternative reality, where he and Johnny never met. In this reality, events play out similarly to the original novel; Johnny is killed attempting to assassinate Stillson. However, Stillson isn't hurt politically either, and we are left to assume that he goes on to drag the world into destruction. Johnny and Bruce emerge from the vision, leaving Bruce to realize that Johnny needs him. The series is now free to move in a direction different from King's novel, while still remaining within the spirit of the original.
This episode also deftly changes the dynamics of the storyline in a profound way. In the novel, Johnny and Stillson were the antagonists, fighting over the fate of the world. In the series, Stillson and Bruce are now the antagonists, fighting over the soul of Johnny Smith, which will determine the fate of the world. The writers played up this shift by giving Bruce and Stillson mirrored upbringings. Both were raised around religion, but where Bruce's father was genuine in his piety, Stillson's father used religion as a con game. They are the two sides of humanity, the angelic and the monstrous, and Johnny is in between, like all of us.
What makes the episode special is that the resolution of the continuing plot issues is incidental to this story. (Writer's of Ed, pay attention!) Through the vision, Bruce deals with paternal expectations, religious faith, accepting his place in the world, and making a final peace with his father. Instead of hammering us over the head with manipulative plot devices, the writers gave us a well crafted story of loss and redemption, while also creating a new direction for the series. Truly well done.
Posted by Rich at May 21, 2003 3:06 PM | TrackBack