Thursday November 4, 2010

SPOILERS: Big Bang Theory, Riese, and Bones

Once again, Sanctuary pulled out one hell of an episode, thanks to the pure genius that is Johnathan Young as Nikola Tesla. Seriously that man is wonderful. The only reason he isn't a main character is because his character is so well done there is no way to work it so he would join the Sanctuary team without fans crying foul.

Oh, but don't forget about the guest stars on the other shows - BBT had Eliza Dushku (Buffy, Tru Calling, Dollhouse) and Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson (director of the Hayden Planeterium and my boss' boss over the summer) and Bones brought in tWitch from So You Think You Can Dance.

And Riese....well, you know how I feel about Riese. Nothing changed. More cute kidnapped tattooed babies though!

Episode of the Day[s]: Yeah, no question here, Sanctuary, "Trail of Blood"

Which is why, PSYCH, it's getting it's own recap. So it's not actually in this post. Just thought you should know how awesome it was.

So, episode of Thursday: Big Bang Theory, "The Apology Insufficiency"

Big Bang Theory, "The Apology Insufficiency": Guest stars and hilarious moments galore, plus the subtle return of Kaley Cucco (with a bar scene so her cast doesn't show). This may not be the best BBT episode ever, and I may not remember a few weeks from now, but it was very funny and really enjoyable.

And that's mostly due to the vignette nature of this episode. For me, the best part were the different scenes of Eliza Dushku's FBI character interrogating the boys [below] - by which I mean, her sitting there and them building these hilarious monologues around her. She didn't do or say a whole lot, but it was still hilarious.

Once we got into the "Sheldon" part of the story, it kinda got dull. As I've been saying the last few weeks, I'm really sick of the Sheldon show. Yes, he had a great scene with Penny at the bar (she knows about the Kobayashi Maru!), but can we please stop making episodes be all about him?

Finally, this guy [right]. Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson. He's the very public face of science, from director of the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History in NY to science television bits, appearances on The Daily Show and The Colbert Report and even appearances with his friend Bill Nye on Stargate Atlantis. (By the way, I asked both of them about that episode, and it turns out they loved shooting it) He didn't get much screen time, but it was funny to hear him try to defend his part in the Pluto debacle.

Quotes:

• "The mantle of self-assurance" (super excellent glasses and hair flip, by the way - I'm sold)
• "When I say [Ghandi-ville] it's not offensive"
• "It's an endless comiccon where everyone wears the same costume"
• "Hello maker of the unvierse, I see what you did there - good one" 

Riese, "Spares": Another episode of disappointment. It really is a truly beautiful show - the costumes are absolutely stunning. But there is nothing original about the story or dialouge and it's getting to me. The fight scene between the empress and her minion was pretty but very choreographed and added nothing to the character what-so-ever (besides making her MORE of a stereotype). And then we see the ledger, which tells us...

Nothing. All we know is there is a plot for the poor adorable kidnapped babies (I'm guessing brainwashing) but it would clearly take them far too much effort to actually tell us.

Bones, "The Bones that Weren't": Geez, I miss Zack playing the victim. That's what I took away from this episode. When they were acting out the murder, with Bones as murderer, and Hodgins played the victim...I just got really really nostalgic.

This may be kinda silly, but I had massive issues with the way they introduced the Anacostia bit. I'm from just outside D.C. Thing is, everyone who lives within a 50 mile radius of a D.C. knows Anacostia is a bad place. A really bad place. Booth didn't say anything more than what anyone from that area could tell you, it wasn't some secret FBI insight. It was just rather blatant exposition.

Another issue, Booth claims he's not "a betting man." Um, actually, he had a severe gambling problem for many years. So Hannah's comment is either tactless or Booth hasn't told her, both of which are rather implausible.

It was great to see Vizeri again, I really like his character when he isn't being focused on solely for the fact that he's a Muslim. It was also wonderful to see tWitch (from So You Think You Can Dance) [above] as he has always been one of my favorite hip hoppers from the show.

Otherwise, I have just one thing to say about this episode. I like Hannah. Yeah, that's right I said it. I thought the bit with Bones saving her life was kinda dumb, but otherwise, I like her character, her relationship with Booth, and the semi-awkward moments with Brennan. I like her. That's not the current problem with the show.

The current problem with the show is the total lack of interest in the cases. The science this week was shiny and cool and had lasers, but it wasn't interesting. It didn't make me sit up and write stuff down to look up later. It was just the vehicle that moved the episode along. And that's something I really sense is becoming commonplace this season.

Other funny moments:

• We never flip a real skeleton!
• Sweets translating the dissociative Shakespeare babble (even I had trouble following, but I enjoyed ever minute of it)
• Hannah asking for Brennan's sunglasses

~ Sarah