Tube Steak: "White Collar," You Surprised Me

(updated with video at the bottom of the page @ 9:00 pm)

So I was going to sit down and begin to work up a "Family Ties" centered Munch My Benson blog entry(ies?...) after finishing up with the "White Collar" fall finale, but now I can't.

Now I've not spoken about the show on the blog before, but I have written about some of the USA Network's other programs at length, which is kind of weird I guess. And there is the matter of having started up an entire blog with other people solely devoted to one program that they air about 15 episodes of every Tuesday... Suffice it to say, I watch a fair deal of USA, and I'm not sure how I feel about that.

In their newest show, "White Collar," they have quite the little hit on their hands (it generally pulls better ratings than "Smallville" does on Friday nights, although they are in different time slots).

"White Collar" seemed very much akin to "Burn Notice" in that they both feature impossibly cool protagonists who are capable of doing just about anything their work requires, and their work is pretty fun to watch. Where "Burn Notice" has its super spy, "White Collar" has its master thief/forger/conman. And, of course, Matthew Bomer is a dashing man who wears a suit well with a winning smile, so it makes it really hard to root for his character...

*****Spoilers ahead*****

So much of what has been driving Caffrey is the yearning to get his girlfriend, Kate, back. At the same time, he has had to earn the trust of his partner in the FBI (he's on work-release essentially), Peter. As cards have been turned over, it has become evident that Kate is being controlled by a third party.

As this fall finale played out with Neal wiggling free from the grips of sure imprisonment (this time wrongful) using his wiles and charm, he got a phone call from Kate telling him to trust no one.

Now if they left it at this moment that reeked of "The X-Files," it probably would have kept me wanting for the six weeks between now and the next new episode.

Then it took a turn for the dark side, and after the break Kate entered her hotel room to find her pinky-ringed pseudo-captor seated behind a high-backed chair.

And then there was the reveal.

Ho. Ly. Fuck.

Color me shocked.

Now maybe there is more to this story, but if Peter* is really some crazy double-life living mastermind, then you can consider me utterly surprised.

*By the way, love that Tim DeKay is in this. He was great in "Carnivale" and has been insanely likeable (/hate-able?...), and his play with Bomer has been some of the best buddy cop chemistry in recent television.

That is a first from a show on this network, and this viewer is pleased as punch.

Needless to say, I really cannot wait for January 18th to roll around because that curveball threw me way off.

And since I can't find an embeddable version of the Private Eyes "Psych" promo, here's an oldie but a goodie...

PSYCH Sing-Along "Ebony & Ivory"
Uploaded by USANetwork. - Check out other Film & TV videos.

All right, I finally found it...

Tube Steak: Down Time Breeding Curiosity About the Future

Now that Burn Notice* is on six-month hiatus**--having given way to Psych on the USA docket (I know they're different time slots, but USA clearly only likes to have a few of its own series airing at a time) and leaving only Rescue Me on extended basic cable as must-see semi-serialized drama--I find myself rewatching the House season finale.

*It is a well-established view of this blog that Burn Notice is great fun while not being altogether light fare. This past season/half-season/whatever-it-was played well, and the ending points towards some much bigger things coming at Michael Westen. There were a few episodes toward the end of this run that lulled us into a false sense of security/hope after Michael opted out of The Management's offer, but The Management's warning about the consequences of his refusal would seem to carry some weight now. I'm already impatiently waiting for this winter to roll around.

**I can't imagine I haven't mentioned this before, but I really love that USA has started doing the two half-seasons a year thing. I don't watch a lot of USA programming, but it makes the time between new Psychs and Burn Notices less painful.

While marvelling at the adept muddling of House's perception of reality latent in the final episodes of this past season, I cannot help but wonder what is in store for the viewing masses for the next season of House.

My main concern is what is going to happen to House now that he has been hospitalized, as the point was made a few episodes prior that such an action would result in his loss of medical licensure? How can he return to the hospital? Will he have to answer to Foreman now?

Apparently Andre Braugher is involved in some capacity. No complaints on that front.

Needless to say, I really want September 21st to roll around.

Speaking of September, the fourth season of Dexter is set to being airing then. Dexter has gone from being merely watchable in its initial season to being intensely compelling. The second season* was superior to the first by leaps and bounds, and the third built upon the goodwill earned in season two. My confidence in the producers is so strong at this point that I have no concerns about the show's direction as its protagonist finds himself entering into fatherhood--the kiss of death for many a show (Growing Pains anyone?). With Dexter, I get the feeling that it will only feed into the tension as life gets in the way of Dexter feeding his homicidal urges.

*(I totally forgot to do this earlier) It is weird, but it seems like every girl I talk to who has watched Dexter fucking hates Lila so much that they think season two was worse than season one.

I really like the fact that I get to watch a show that allows me to type that sentence.

And let us not forget that Curb Your Enthusiasm is set to come back in only a few weeks. The TV landscape is about to get a lot richer.

Tube Steak: "Burn Notice" Season Finale

It is probably no secret to those who read this blog regularly that I am a pretty big fan of a little show called "Burn Notice". I stand by my statement in which I describe the show as "The Rockford Files" imbued with the instructive spy teachings of "MacGyver" without the cheesiness of "MacGyver"--think "MacGyver" with a slightly more hell-raising mindset.

Season Two* has focused on Michael trying to get out from under the thumb of a dastardly mysterious black-ops organization. These are the same people who were presumably responsible for him having burned in the first place, and the evidence continues to mount that the reason Michael Westen was burned was to force him into becoming an operative for the organization.

*I like how USA has taken to breaking their seasons up into two uninterrupted runs. Every few months, I get a new mini-season of my shows "Burn Notice" and "Psych", and when they end I'm not stuck waiting two years for a new season, like I'm having to right now for "Curb Your Enthusiasm"...

So the show's second season has had Michael carrying out tasks for the very people he is investigating. Their reach seems to know no bounds, so his blows often glance off, having been misdirected by their defense network at nearly every turn. Every time he gets close to some information about who the people that burned him were, the information lacks the substance he hoped for, leaving him searching for more answers.

What works for this show in the same thing that worked for "Veronica Mars". Each episode has its own self-contained mystery to solve/client to help while also advancing the season-long story arc in its teaser and coda with a little drop here or there in the middle of the show. Also like "Veronica Mars", the show is largely character-driven. Without having a rooting interest in what the protagonist is fighting for, the show is dead in the water, but Jeffrey Donovan has charisma to spare and his character is nothing if not nobly inclined.

Much like Ms. Mars, Westen also has a support system in place filled with likeable characters and able actors. Bruce Campbell and Gabrielle Anwar play off Donovan really well as peers, and Sharon Gless plays the overbearing, guilt-tripping mother to a 't'*.

*Is that right? Is it 'tee'? Never knew that one. I took a stab.

The only casting issue I have was with Tricia Fucking Helfer. I may or may not mentioned this, but Ms. Helfer cannot act. She is always cast as this hardcore tough-ass who is not to be fucked with, and she can never fucking pull it off. To make matters worse, she does this bullshit eye-acting that just looks like she has a tic whenever she is angry. As I said before, she's "a model saying words on a screen"*, and it sucks to have her take a show down a bit each time she 'graces' the screen.

*How douchey is it that I just quoted myself? Jesus, I am an asshole. I can't believe I haven't read Ayn Rand and that this self-obsession is entirely fueled by my own massive ego.

Now, here is what KRD was waiting for...

Spoiler Alert!

She gets shot in her model gut at the end of the episode. FUCK YES! Holy shit, you have no idea how elated I was. You see everytime she dies in BSG (still hate it), it is an empty death. You know she's coming back, and there are more of her out there anyway. It's like when Captain Kirk dies in the beginning of Star Trek: Generations. You had seen the trailer, and you knew he's coming back meaning you got to deal with more of his special brand of 'acting'*. The finale of Season Two of "Burn Notice" is like the end of Generations where Kirk dies for real. Glorious.

*I don't hate William Shatner. As a recording artist. When working with Ben Folds. Sure, his early covers are funny, but I sincerely like his solo record and his tracks on Fear of Pop "Vol. 1". As a Captain on Star Trek, he does not cut it. Give me Patrick Stewart or Avery Brooks any day. I never saw an episode of Enterprise, but I'm sure that Bakula kicks his ass, too. Call me a blasphemer, but his special brand of camp acting seems like it belongs in a autistic summer camp production of The Cat in the Hat.

That alone made this pretty much the best finale of anything ever. In the history of time.

And then it got better.

Management shows up. Management is John Mahoney! FUCK YES AGAIN! The world of "Frasier" collides with the world of "Burn Notice"? This is really what Martin Crane has been up to since retiring from the Seattle Police Department, isn't it... Wait, was he always a spy? Was the cane a put-on? Is Kelsey Grammer going to be in season three? Matt Nix & Co. are trying to make up for past transgressions in a hurry.

Speaking of past transgressions, the final couple of minutes set up the third season for what promises to be a new but exciting season in which Michael's past comes running up on him as fast as he can take it.

So if you want resolution from your finales, hated characters getting gunned down by favorite characters, and exciting directions for the show's next season to go in, then "Burn Notice" gave it to you here.

Tube Steak: "Psych"

I actually don't feel good about myself when I watch "Psych" usually. The show falls into the category that most USA shows tend to fall into--a little too light in tone. I think what makes me generally feel worst about liking the show is the absolutely embarrassing theme song, which especially in the show's earlier seasons was so retardedly (and no, the irony of making up an adverb using the root word of 'retarded' is not lost on me) hokey that I felt physical revulsion and was involuntarily compelled to change the channel.

But ultimately, the likeability of stars James Roday and Dulé Hill defeated the guilt I had festering in my formidable gut, and the 80's-centric humor that sprang forth from a love for the 80's (not deriving its laughs at the expense of the 80's like the abhorrent "Family Guy") kept me coming back for more.

Keeping in mind that I actually feel generally reluctant to embrace "Psych", the season finale that aired Friday was really fucking good. Co-written by Roday--who has actually had his fingers in the mix on some of the other particularly noteworthy episodes of the past two seasons, including Tuesday the 17th, American Duos, and Black and Tan: A Crime of Fashion--An Evening with Mr. Yang was actually emotionally challenging. Roday had to display some range, was required to look past falling back on his seemingly endless supply of affability, and commanded scenes while operating outside of his comfort zone.

The episode was infused with more than its fair share of tongue-in-cheek in jokes for the observant viewer--a serial killer using cereal to send messages, Shawn referring to himself as Judd Nelson on the phone only to have *spoiler* Ally Sheedy turn up later, and the usage of The Replacements' "Within Your Reach" at the end of this episode as Shawn left with his lady which happens to be the very same song playing at the end of Say Anything... when Lloyd is leaving the apartment to go to England with Diane--and included such weird references as a rat being referred to as Ben from and busy TV guest star of late Jimmi Simpson then being called Willard. Gus had to alleviate Shawn's stress by acting the part of Shawn to hilariously awkward effect. One of my personal favorite semi-forgotten actresses (Rachael Leigh Cook) made a return appearance on the show.

And honestly, the show seemed to have a degree of gravitas rarely present in an episode of any USA show, even the sleek "Burn Notice"--a show I unabashedly adore.

So, while this slightly more serious and suspenseful tone may not return in every episode, I can honestly say that I do not feel bad for liking this show anymore. That is something.

Tube Steak: January Returns and Fuck "Lost"

Thankfully that month long no man's land that is the last two weeks of December and first two weeks of January has passed. Gone are three repeats of "Bones" a week--not that I have anything against David Boreanaz or the lesser Deschanel sister--and back in glorious Hi-Def are "Flight of the Conchords", "Psych", "24", "House, M.D.", and "Burn Notice".

Unfortunately for anyone with testicles, Showtime has rolled over into its estrogen-fueled, "The L Word" and friends slate of programming, so there is little drawing me to the "This Isn't TV Either, Guys--Seriously" net. HBO is still just coming on with two shows, with the obvious pairing of "Big Love"--which I lost a taste for by the end of the first season and have not gone back to--and "Flight of the Conchords". Soon a new project will join them on Sundays, set to premiere in February, straight from the minds of Danny McBride, Jody Hill, and Ben Best with Will Ferrell and Adam McKay serving as executive producers. It is called "Eastbound & Down" and follows the return of a flamed out Major Leaguer who returns to his hometown to teach middle school gym.

The "Flight of the Conchords" season premiere was solid, but not great. The presence of Greg Proops did not help its cause.

USA's programming not geared towards our grandmothers has returned. "Psych"--irritating music notwithstanding--has returned. If nothing else, it allows the world to see what Charlie did after working in "The West Wing". I don't think any of us guessed he'd become a pharmaceutical rep/sidekick to a fake psychic investigator or that Winston from Ghostbusters and Claire Huxtable were his parents*. While "Psych" is good fun, "Burn Notice" fucking rules. I've said it once and I'll say it again, "Burn Notice" takes all of the good elements of "MacGyver" and imbues it with the charm and wit of "The Rockford Files" but strings the viewer along with the season-long story arc that keeps you tuning in like "Veronica Mars" did at its best.

*And don't think I haven't forgotten that Charlie Young's mom was a D.C. cop who was killed in the line of duty. Oh, yes, I remembered. But there's his mom. On the TV. What the fuck, Charlie, was it all a lie?

"24" is back, apparently. I forgot to TiVo the first four hours, so I'll have to try to catch that online soon before my memory runs out. And now "24" has my favorite ornery doctor as its lead-in, which can't do anything but help its numbers. I hope that by the time I get around to catching up on this season of the Jack Bauer Power Hour the new setting has put me at ease and infused the show with a much needed change of energy.

Now, while I was waiting impatiently for all of these programs to make their returns, I got antsy for something to watch. For Christmas a year ago, my brother and sister bought me seasons two and three of "The [American] Office". I'd seen the first three episodes when they originally aired and, frankly, hated them at least as much as I loved its British counterpart. So the DVDs sat on my shelf for a year, but when I had nothing better to do and had finally finished the first two seasons of "Moonlighting", much to the little lady's delight (menu music), I decided I'd throw in "The Office" for a spin. I watched seasons two, three, and four over the course of about eight days and caught up with this season online over another couple of days. You can judge me reaction to the show's own direction by the voracity with which I devoured it. Needless to say, I was wrong to write it off so summarily.

The past week has seen me rewatch the all-too-short run of "Garth Marenghi's Darkplace" and complete my viewing of the entire run of "The IT Crowd". If one thing has been made clear, it is that Matt Berry is a gifted comedic actor with few, if any, in his class. Now, I'm on to "Saxondale". Through four episodes, it's been pretty great.

And to close: "Lost" can go fuck itself. There will never be a time in which I can go back to trying to watch that mess of a show. You can only piss me off so many times by accomplishing little while having spent all of the promise you once possessed before I give up on you. Take notes, people. You could be in my doghouse like "Lost" has been since about the seventh episode of season three where I decided I was done being upset by a shows aimlessness. I'll be glad when you're off the air "Lost". You're dead to me.

Y'all best reckanize

So this evening, the second season of "Burn Notice" had its premiere, and despite the limited presence of Tricia Helfer--who you may or may not already know, I loathe as an "actress" (read: model saying words on a screen), and intend to devote an entire entry in my BSG bashing series--it hit the ground running. The first season just got its release on DVD, and USA is putting all new episodes up on their website. That's my hint to you, reader. It's pretty easy to get caught up to speed. There are only 11 episodes in the first season. It's easy.

As for the show, it's really fun. You'll find yourself watching two or three more episodes than you planned on watching in a night, and before the week is over, you'll have finished the whole first season. Michael Westen, played by a cool and confident Jeffrey Donovan, is a spy who has been mysteriously blacklisted in the international espionage industry and is dead-set on finding out what happened. In the meantime, he puts his know-how to use as what essentially boils down to being a P.I., and often the show plays out as a marriage of all the best parts of "The Rockford Files" and "MacGyver" for a 21st Century audience.

In the interest of full disclosure, I watch more USA programming than I'd like to admit. I have seen more than my fair share of "Monk" and "Psych" (at least the latter can be kind of funny sometimes--"Monk" has become a show that pisses me off more often than not, but I still find myself watching Tony Shalhoub walking around being all OCD more often than I'd like to admit). Both of those shows are very PG, and "Burn Notice" is to a certain extent, as well*. But where the USA Friday night fare errs to the light detective comedy, "Burn Notice" has some edge and is genuinely cool. There's no grating psychobabble or retarded score. It's sleek and sexy and smart, something those other shows often fail to be.

*This actually kind of upsets me about USA as a network. I feel like they're missing out on a golden opportunity to air some shows that actually push some limits, but their slate could air very easily in the 8:00 PM ET timeslots on CBS, ABC, or NBC. Instead, the opportunity has been squandered, and they're essentially airing a new weirded up "Murder, She Wrote" for a new generation every Friday night.

So you can watch "Burn Notice" or blow it off. It won't change a thing in my life. I can tell you that I happened to watch it a few times because of Bruce Campbell's presence only and ended up rabidly devouring the entire series as they re-aired the first season over these past couple of months. I think you can, too.