THE O.C.: The Second Chance

Season 2, Episode 11
Date of airing: February 3, 2005 (FOX)
Nielsen ratings information: 7.25 million viewers, 4.7/7 in Households, 3.4/9 with Adults 18-49

written by: Drew Z. Greenberg, Josh Schwartz
directed by: Tony Wharmby

The writers must have really cared about Rebecca during this stage of the show, considering that the character was very much the central figure of two back-to-back episode cliffhangers. Or maybe it was just a funny writing opportunity the room took upon – Rebecca comes in, and both Sandy and Kirsten were equally shocked about seeing her face at the end of the episode, and both know that their marriage is in trouble as soon as they realized that Rebecca was not only alive, but in town. The show made sure that Rebecca is the most important character of the show at this very moment, and it hinges on the audience's interest in the storyline to find her involvement in these two episodes annoying or the greatest dramatic thing that scripted television ever presented.

Being the second back-to-back cliffhanger, it is obvious that the character is being used to bring tension into the Cohen marriage and to make sure that, as soon as the writers are finished with the story arc and Rebecca has been written off the show, she will continue to throw a shadowy presence over Sandy and Kirsten, because a troubled marriage is great material for writers of a weekly primetime soap opera. Besides that, Rebecca could finally be the element that breaks the tree of the very solid Cohen marriage, especially since Sandy decided to lie to his wife about Rebecca’s status as a living human being, and that could even “help” Kirsten in getting worse herself. All this time she was close to putting her entire head in a bottle of booze, and now that she learns her husband has been lying, is this the moment she decides to let herself go and not care about the marriage and her family any longer?

 

When you have a naked friend in your house, that means she is your girlfriend.

 

I did not get why Sandy would not tell Kirsten about Rebecca though. I did not understand his reasoning (except of course his reasoning was only grounded in his fear of putting his wife in legal jeopardy by knowing about the location and whereabouts of a fugitive, but that sounded like one hell of an excuse) and I am pretty sure the writers did not care about the legal reasoning, because they can easily use Sandy’s lies about Rebecca still being alive as the ground material for Sandy and Kirsten’s now troubled marriage. Considering the fact that the writers completely rewrote Rebecca as a character within the previous episode (previously, she was something of a freedom fighter; now, she is a person who was not even involved in anything), it is imaginable that the legal aspect of the story will be forgotten quickly and it is all just gonna be about why Sandy lied to Kirsten, and how heartbroken Kirsten is. 

The story will not be about clearing Rebecca's name any longer, and it is going to be all about how she is shaking up Sandy and Kirsten's marriage – the character is here to do nothing else but that one thing. It is not like the show has ever been known for showcasing the business side of Sanford Cohen, so Rebecca’s presence will not be doing that either. There was this deposition with his father-in-law once during season one's “The Heights,” but that was pretty much all of it. That tends to show you the writers did not have an idea how to write a proper legal drama into their weekly primetime soap opera.

Meanwhile, Ryan and Lindsay continue to break apart, and this time around Ryan cannot even blame himself. Okay, he should be blaming himself, because of his efforts to unite Lindsay and Caleb, he essentially ruined his relationship with Lindsay, but it is interesting to notice that this version of a break-up is quite unique. Lindsay just wants to get to know her father, and because of complicated circumstances, Lindsay cannot do that without her boyfriend around. It is almost a cruel way to lose a functioning relationship, but it has started happening by the end of this episode. 

By the way, I kind of loved that Caleb still believes Ryan is freeloading and on the hunt for the Cohen family money, resulting in the ongoing conflict between the two. There needs to be a person in Newport Beach whom Ryan continues to hate for eternity until their deaths, especially since Luke has left Newport, and even turned into a good friend for Ryan. There would still be Julie, but she is absent on a regular basis (where is she going when she is gone for episodes on end?), and the two share the same interest: Marissa. Still, the contentious relationship between Ryan and Caleb is wonderful to watch, and sometimes I would wish for the writers to just expand on it. I guess they did with this episode, having Ryan help Caleb along to his heart attack, but I do not think that is enough for me. I want more.

The teenage love storylines were okay. I was slightly happy for Marissa realizing that there might be some sparks between her and Alex, and I silently cheered for them as they were holding hands at the end, watching Rachel Yamagata performing one of her songs that convinces all the couples to make out on the spot. Of course, Marissa better not be breaking Alex’s heart in the next episode – holding hands was a definite answer to Alex’s question earlier, and if Marissa fails to hold up her end, then Alex deserves to punch her out of Newport.

 

Seth gets his first look at the sexy live-action version of his superhero comicbook.

 

Seth and Summer on the other hand were weird. It was predictable that the two would have a nose-touching moment again, but I was confused by the fact that neither of them were dumb and actually went for the kiss. Seth and Summer are known to just randomly kiss when they are not together, so their ability to hold it together here felt inconsistent. They did it during Caleb’s birthday party in the previous season, but during this episode, they are deeply and emotionally troubled about showing affection for one another. 

Of course, this is just the story that will lead to Seth and Summer getting back together eventually because the writers simply cannot do it without them. If there is romance in the narrative, Seth and Summer have to get involved, or else, this is not THE O.C. Even more so after the writers decided to write Zach in a clueless way, not even noticing what is going on between his business partner and his girlfriend who is his business partner’s ex-girlfriend. Zach has a lot of heart in him, which I find charming about him, but he should not be able to trust Seth and Summer together like that. He knows about their history, he should be jealous as heck and always watching over them.

JUDGING AMY: Near Death Experience

Season 1, Episode 8
Date of airing: November 9, 1999 (CBS)
Nielsen ratings information: 15.91 million viewers, 11.0/18 in Households 4.8/13 with Adults 18-49

written by: Angel Dean Lopez
directed by: Kevin Dowling

This was a solid episode filled with drama, emotional tension, and tears, all wrapped into a story arc about gun violence and what it does when people get shot or kids get killed. This hour might make you think about the world we are living in today, and how the United States very much suffers from a gun epidemic that it just cannot get a grip on. But that was not even the only major storyline of the episode, as Amy's major court case – the sentencing of a 15-year-old boy after he was found guilty of manslaughter – became the more important topic to talk about when it comes to the American judicial system: whether or not to sentence a child like they are an adult. 

I always wonder why it is even possible to convict juveniles with an adult sentencing, to throw them in prison where all the hardened criminals sit, to allow a minor to be locked behind bars with people who are all older than them. There is a reason why we call children children, and why we call adults adults. It should not matter how serious or dark the crime is – if the juvenile is younger than 18 years old, they should simply not be judged and sentenced like they are older than 18 years of age. And if you are unhappy about 16-year-old rapists and sadists going to a military school instead of going to prison, then lobby to lower the juvenile age to 16 years of age. 

 

This is the face of a traumatized survivor of gun violence.

 

In this case, Robert Chetwind was 15 years old, and the case should have never landed in Amy’s court in the first place (not to mention that I have no idea why a case that was already and successfully tried in a different court needed to get on her desk just for sentencing purposes – was the original Judge unable to do so?). In addition, the writers never really went into the manslaughter case: How old were the other drive-by shooters Robert sat in the car with, and who was the intended victim of the drive-by? If they were all minors, it would have been an interesting case because of the notion of children killing children, and that by itself would have made it Amy's case from the beginning (and potentially for another episode). 

The writers made it themselves too easy to focus on the victim, to make sure that the audience knows Amy wants to rip the head off of the 15-year-old kid, and that special circumstances (Robert's life was very much that: He had no proper life and was never allowed to just be a child) do not count. This would have been a story worthy of more attention, but, for some reason, the episode also needed that one comedic plot of the two divorced parents arguing about circumcision and breastfeeding.

The rest of the episode was okay. I did not quite like the cold open of this hour, because it seemed a bit absurd that the shooting would transpire this way. "Wrong place at the wrong time" is being defined here, although Vincent did save a life, so he was at the right place at the right time? What I liked about the story was the potential for a bit of PTSD for Vincent, who simply cannot just move on from this, no matter how often he said everyone had to, as the shooting was too traumatizing for him in this episode for the writers to just forget about it in the next. Not to mention that Lisa Matthews, the other survivor, was very much written to be more than just the random woman Vincent saves.

Nevertheless, Vincent did annoy me a bit here, even if I would file his behavior under "traumatized." But he is a writer, so he should have expected the shooting to do something more to him than just give him a wound. He got shot, was almost killed, and he did nothing but repeatedly show in his eyes that he was annoyed about being mothered by Maxine. He was so close to talking about the experience to someone when he almost broke down in front of Maxine in the laundry basement, and yet it was Maxine who broke down crying by the end of the scene. Vincent continued to stay calm about it and had nightmares. I always want to say that the story was not finished in this episode, but then again, if this shooting causes PTSD in the man, it means it is a story to be continued in later episodes, meaning it did not need to end here.

 

In some moments, Amy just cannot deal with this job.

 

The episode still had some minor storylines to offer to distract from the emotional drama of the hour. There was Maxine talking to a pair of parents who were abducted by aliens, and then there was Amy accidentally using the word "penis" in court and laughing about it, although when she removed herself from the courtroom to laugh about it privately, it almost looked like she was about to cry as well – the stress of her current cases and her brother getting shot getting to her.

By the way, I wonder what court service officers are allowed to do here. Amy told Bruce to get the circumcision and breastfeeding parents out of her courtroom – but was he even able and allowed to do so without a Judge present, or a Judge ruling on the case, even if it is just a dismissal of said case? This episode kind of told me that CSOs like Bruce are allowed to sit on the bench, take the hammer in their hands, and throw a case out of the courtroom.

SPACE: ABOVE AND BEYOND: The Enemy

Season 1, Episode 7
Date of airing: November 12, 1995 (FOX)
Nielsen ratings information: 12.5 million viewers, 8.3/13 in Households 

written by: Marilyn Osborn
directed by: Michael Katleman

So, this could have been the Halloween episode, eh? A story that focused on individual fears, set on a creepy planet with even creepier mines and a weird and scary light show that made everyone crazy, guest starring drops and pools of blood, cockroaches, and ghost voices. In 2069, Halloween might have been abandoned as a festive day to celebrate ghosts and demons, but this episode could have been a resurgence of Halloween in this series universe, and the episode itself could have aired two weeks earlier to get the audience in a mood. And if that was never supposed to happen in the first place, then this episode deserves to be on the list of Halloween-themed episodes (if you happen to create such a list and were still looking for episodes to fill it with), because it had that creepy horror effect that made for a good Halloween showing, even if nothing about the episode had the classic Halloween spook that you would come to expect on television during scary season.

This episode might have focused on the fears of the characters, but it was not really the focus of the story. The premise was mostly about whether the Wildcards would blow or beat each other up, and when their fears might take over and they end up dead like the previous group of Marines whose dead bodies (or ghosts) they encountered. It was nice that the story managed to develop the fears of the characters, though Damphousse, Wang, and Shane’s fears were created with this episode and are most likely forgotten after this hour. But let's remember: Damphousse does not like blood, Wang hates cockroaches (we all do, Wang), and Shane, for the first time, spelled out her fear of artificial intelligence, which might have been a given, considering the Silicates killed her parents during her childhood. Only the series never managed to spell out before that this is what Shane truly feared. 

 

This is a real blink-and-you-will-miss-it moment that happened on this show.

 

With that in mind, Nathan and Cooper had fears that might have not been properly introduced in the show before, but in a way, they have been part of their respective character arcs before. I especially found it intriguing that the only fear Cooper had was being trapped into a corner, because being locked in happened to be the way he was born into this world in the first place. At first, I did not even realize that this was his fear, since Cooper was acting the most aggressive of the bunch, and there was never really anything he feared because of the depiction of his aggressiveness. Not to mention that Cooper was always the aggressive type you did not want to piss off, so his behavior throughout the episode seemed rather normal – or at least the lights did not exaggerate his aggressive behavior, as he was aggressive before being attacked by the lights. But when I realized, the fear that his world would be as small as the tube he was in before he was born was great, because it further dramatically defined his character. One could hope that he truly has claustrophobia and it might hinder him from performing "above and beyond," becoming a nuisance and problem in the future.

Meanwhile, no one was scared of spiders or snakes or something like that. Just roaches. I guess big fake roaches were easier to handle for the show's production team, but maybe spiders would have been an easier scare tactic for the episode, even if it would have made this hour more of a horror show than it already was. But it would have helped to tell the audience what fear truly was, as it is almost a guarantee that the majority of the viewers were scared of spiders. 

Anyway, I was a little confused as to how the fears were portrayed. Damphousse could not stand all the blood that was around her, but I was confused as to whether Nathan was touching the blood to show Damphousse that it would not hurt her, or if it was just part of Damphousse’s fears and visions or hallucinations, meaning the blood was not even real and just in her mind. Same with Wang's fear of cockroaches – maybe the insect in his helmet was not actually there and the light show was causing hallucinations? Because why the heck would there be a container full of blood in the transporter? Granted, it was a supply run, but did the episode ever establish that part of the supplies were of a medical nature? Nathan clearly hallucinated hearing the crying girl (and the ghost who was nice enough to explain the light show to him), so why would the other Marines not hallucinate their own versions of fear?

The backstory of the creepy planet was a bit confusing as well, because I never knew how the light show was working on the characters. They were obviously somewhat affected by it when out in the open, but the episode never made clear if the light show was changing the characters when they were inside the transporter or in the bunker midway through the episode. If they were safe inside, they could have sat out the light show and made for a run when it happened to be daylight, or at least between the light shows. But if the light show was affecting them when inside, then why were they not going crazy all the way through? They were repeatedly suffering through the attacks, so they must have been getting worse with each hour, and yet they did not seem to be too bad in the end. Every once in a while either Nathan or Wang seemed to have control over their own selves, which means the impact was not lasting. Also, McQueen was not affected by the few seconds of light show he witnessed when inside the transporter. Either there was some continuity error here, or the writers did not bother much explaining what the light show was all about.

 

Damphousse has had enough of people bleeding around her.

 

And finally, I think that the framing story device of the two-men military tribunal was not needed at all. Everything the episode needed was delivered during the story on the planet, and the story of the 58th Squadron facing a military tribunal over not following orders seemed like a quickly added story because the script came in short. The framing device was telling the viewers that everyone came out of it alive, and that what happened on the planet was difficult to explain (although the characters did not even bother explaining during the interrogation scenes). And I actually liked how the episode started: With Damphousse in trouble, making me hope that this episode would focus on her. But then the episode went in a different direction entirely.

SPACE: ABOVE AND BEYOND: Eyes

Season 1, Episode 6
Date of airing: November 5, 1995 (FOX)
Nielsen ratings information: 8.9 million viewers, 5.8/9 in Households 

written by: Glen Morgan, James Wong
directed by: Félix Alcalá

This was a politically charged episode that could stand the test of time even today, the year 2023, which is when I was writing this wall of text, mere hours after Kevin McCarthy historically lost the Speakership, and around the time authoritarianism was getting its voice heard in various government seats and establishments, including the European Union. This episode had everything – a right-wing, nationalist-ish French politician being the leader of the world, France having exited the European Union, the danger of specific world leadership threatening potential peace talks, and it even had a couple of assassination attempts led by a politician who was seen as a positive influence in public and maybe still had some humanity left, and yet did not shy away from drastic measures to get what she wants. This was a pretty complex episode for 1995 television, which surprised me when I watched this episode, because I really was not expecting politics of this level in a science-fiction show from the 1990s. Maybe this episode should be one of the must-watch TV episodes of the 1990s, even though it generally was not such a stellar episode in the first place

I did however like that the premise of this episode was entirely different from the premise of the show. The war against the Chigs was barely an issue here, instead, the biggest story the writers decided to deliver was the fear of Earth's government seizing power for their own good, and for world leaders attempting to take that power, as if the war against the Chigs was a welcomed opportunity for a few members of the United Nations to try and be on top of the world, so that they can do their own bidding – as corrupt politicians usually do. 

 

If all lie detector tests could be this easy on the eyes...

 

In addition, another threat humanity faced was the danger coming from a leadership led by people who could not give a damn about any other lifeforms than natural humans. In Vitroes were treated like African-Americans were in American history, or like Muslims and other non-white American males have been treated during Donald Trump’s presidency. There were quite a few similarities between real life and the story of this episode, and it scared me a little bit that even the good guys would turn bad eventually, just to save face, and maybe even save humanity. And the thing is, this episode was written and produced in the 1990s, and most of the corrupt political behavior of some of the characters here can be found almost 30 years later in real life. Absolutely nothing has changed in that time.

The question at the end of the episode was appropriate though: If the world had managed to assassinate Hitler or Stalin before they managed to grab power and kill millions, would the world have been a better place? Were patriots like Ambassador Hayden even allowed to take matters into her own hands and try to save the world from a right-wing, potentially extremist, politician? In history class, a lot was taught about assassination attempts on Hitler, with one of them being a movie led by Tom Cruise (ewww), but there was never a moment during these classes to make us ask the question if it should have been the world’s decision to rid humanity of these evil clowns, or if humanity needed to be saved by people who accepted the dark side and the eventual consequences of their actions. It was, is, and will be a question to be asked, especially after more and more countries in the world decide to elect authoritarian leaders, even after they have been warned about what will happen when they do so.

In a way, this episode was another thriller. It started with the realization that McQueen and Cooper were targeted for loyalty questionnaires, it continued with the bomb that was set on the 58th Squadron’s transporter (that made me wonder whether it was Ambassador Hayden who put the bomb there, although that does not gel with the notion that she was putting out the hit on Chaput later), it ended with the question of who would be the next assassin (I thought for a second that Nathan would be it, or at least be framed for an attempt on Hayden or Chaput's life), and who would be the target. 

The second half of the episode was very much enjoyable because of the complexity of the narrative, though I did not like that it was kind of easy for Cooper not to pull the trigger, due to the fact that he could not properly see the coin on Chaput's uniform. Not to mention that it is a cliched science-fiction way of brainwashing an In Vitro like this, almost turning Cooper into a stormtrooper about to execute Order 66. It should not be that easy to manipulate a person, but then again, this is still a 1990s science-fiction show, so some dumb sci-fi plot devices are needed to fill episodes with.  

 

He wants no medal, he wants the truth.

 

And finally, whatever happened to the Silicates on the Saratoga? Hayden was bringing them with her to help negotiate peace between the humans and Silicates at least, but they disappeared from the story as soon as they were introduced here. Why even include the Silicates when there was no purpose for them, since the remainder of the episode was about the threat against either Hayden or Chaput's lives, as well as the loyalty tests? I actually liked the story of Silicates being present during peace negotiations (led by someone who could pass for a Silicate with her electronic device on the side of her head), so I was a bit disappointed that the story just vanished.

THE O.C.: The Accomplice

Season 2, Episode 10
Date of airing: January 27, 2005 (FOX)
Nielsen ratings information: 8.11 million viewers, 5.2/8 in Households, 3.6/10 with Adults 18-49

written by: Allan Heinberg
directed by: Ian Toynton

After a couple of the recent episodes have been quite chaotic and twisty and dramatic, this hour seemed like the viewers were supposed to take a little breather, calm and settle down, and start focusing on some of the character arcs. There were not any highly emotional events in this episode, and in fact, the writers decided to focus on some plot developments and character relationships, as the major couplings among the teenagers are developing forward (or back), and even Sandy and Kirsten are steering right towards a troubled marriage, now that a woman from Sandy’s past has emerged to definitely twist and turn that heart of the public defender. I guess that at this point, THE O.C. wants to be a character drama more than a daily soap, and so I hope that the character arcs will be at least a little bit entertaining. And it is also a fact that I appreciate the little breather from the highly soap-opera-charged storylines from past episodes.

Sandy’s current story is a character arc, which I kind of liked in this episode, and only kind of because I did not like that Rebecca showed up at the end, living and breathing, her heart pumping and her blood flowing, and her appearance teasing toward predictable marriage issues between the Cohens. First of all, Max was asking for her, and he asked Sandy to find her because of the difficult relationship between Max and Rebecca. Second of all, it was pretty obvious that she would still be alive, considering even in her potential dead state, there was enough drama to ruin Sandy and Kirsten’s marriage (and that Rebecca was predictably still alive stems out of the fact that all of Sandy’s story was about her). 

 

Do we want to go to breakfast with Emmanuelle Chriqui? Of course we do!

 

But while the latter was an obvious story choice, the former did not make sense, and showed just one more point of inconsistency the show had since the beginning. Why would Max find Rebecca, or Rebecca go with Max to find Sandy, when the story started with the backstory of Rebecca and Max’s non-relationship? It seems like midway through the episode, the writers changed their idea about who Rebecca was and what kind of impact she should have on the story, not to mention who was supposed to be looking for her in the first place. In the beginning, she was a job for Sandy. In the middle, she was a backstory for Sandy. Right before the end, she was a problem for Sandy. And now she has become a stepping stone for Sandy. It is not really one of the best-written parts of the show, but it happens to be one of the more interesting stories for the adult characters in the show, especially since now the writers were able to focus on Sandy and Kirsten, and I get the feeling their marriage was about to rock the boat for quite a while now. Notice the shot of Kirsten moving the wine glass away from her, after she realized that the thought of Rebecca in Sandy’s life is going to bring chaos and terror into her marriage with him.

Meanwhile, relationships were constructed and deconstructed among the teens. I loved that Caleb and Ryan had a couple of scenes together, because I appreciate the hostile relationship between the two (this is so Caleb, making him the currently only consistency in the show), and I liked that the writers finally went into a depiction of what a Caleb/Lindsay relationship could be about if either of them would give a damn. Of course, some brain cells in Caleb’s head were not functioning right, and all he could think of was how he could pay off Ryan and Lindsay to finally be straight with him. No wonder the guy never had any proper relationships in his life – I am pretty sure everyone who gets to him wants something from him, whether it was money or a job (remember Jimmy, who was hoping to ask for a job in his company?). It sort of reminds me of what Donald Trump could have been during his time in the 1980s and 1990s – were kids coming up to him demanding a job, a car, or money? Would that make Trump an inspiration for a fictional character in this fictional version of Orange County? Could that mean Trump is pretty much like Caleb? Ugh, those thoughts I have now...

 

This is how Summer turns into a comic book nerd.

 

Anyway, Ryan and Lindsay have trouble now, but because THE O.C. cannot just be all about bad and mad relationships, Marissa needed to get a really good friend and possible romance with another girl, while Seth and Summer somewhat secured a sweet post-romance situation for the two of them (I really tried it with the alliterations), including the teaser of the two probably getting together again, because Zach is not a main character (yet?), and of course it is all about Seth and Summer, especially after she found out that she was always on his mind, even after the heartbreak of a disappearance on his sailboat. 

I do like the idea of Seth going into comic mode and creating one though. The guy has been a nerd all his life, it is finally time to make a career out of it. For heck’s sake, he painted an entire mural on Marissa’s wall, and even back then I was wondering why the kid was not making a career out of his artistic abilities.

TWENTY-FOUR: 9:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.

Season 1, Episode 22
Date of airing: May 7, 2002 (FOX)
Nielsen ratings information: 7.56 million viewers, 4.8/7 in Households, 3.8/9 with Adults 18-49

written by: Joel Surnow, Michael Loceff
directed by: Paul Shapiro

This was a hostage-taking episode. Kim was taken hostage and barely seen in this hour (thank the heavens), Jack has been a hostage almost all the way through and a very desperate man when he attempted to fight his way out by also turning into a hostage-taker, and in a way, Alexis was a hostage in this episode as well, but at least he got better treatment than the Bauer family. Alexis got some of the oh-so-perfect American healthcare that has been keeping him alive, so he got a better deal out of it than everyone else. I am also wondering if everyone at Victor’s hideout was a hostage as well, considering the way Victor likes to “make business” (by shooting anyone he does not like, except for Jack Bauer, whom he hates but still keeps him alive for some reason). And with Victor’s decision to put a bullet in Mila’s head and ruin everyone’s day, everything that made him an intriguing character in parts of the previous episode and the one before that has now flown the coop.

Victor is now just another villain in a television drama, and the grounded anger that was part of this character during his interrogation with Jack made like a tree and got out of here. It is probably still a good thing that Victor is being portrayed by Dennis Hopper, because the man is the only hope the character has two episodes before his ultimate demise. Or will he survive and become an even bigger problem in the future? I do not mind Victor killing people for the shock value, as well as probably traumatizing Jack (I mean, he shoots Mila in the head *like that*, and Jack is not supposed to feel anything about it?), but his character is nothing but a generic killer now. One who is evil for the sake of being evil.

 

When Jack is desperate, he turns into a lethal danger for women.

 

It’s noticeable how the writers were already repeating specific storylines. Not only the kidnapping of Kim, who probably holds the world record for the number of kidnappings a fictional person had to go through in a day, but also the way it is being kept secret in front of one of the Bauers. After the safe house was attacked, Mason lied to Jack about it, and now that Kim has been kidnapped again, Nina is lying to Teri. This time it is a shame that Teri has not learned anything about her daughter’s kidnapping, because if she would have learned about it in this episode, her character had been thrown into a world of turmoil, giving Teri an emotional war for the final three episodes of the show – which is a whole lot better than walking around and asking what CTU is doing with Jack and if she can talk to Kim on the phone. Since Teri is safe at CTU, she is unable to do much and the writers were uninterested in involving her in the larger things. Teri was just walking around and asking questions for the entire episode. 

I was kind of happy though when she showed up in front of George Mason, ready to argue with him about Jack’s safety, but he shot her down quickly and she walked away quietly and defeated. That is a realistic part (there is no way Teri could have held her own against Mason), but I would have loved it for Teri to grow some courage like Kim had done in jail in the previous episode.

Jack as a hostage was boring. The only time he did something about it was when he had a knife at Mila’s throat, but in the end, it looked like it was just another plot device for Victor to be bad-ass evil and play the “our enemies did that” card while the gun he shot Mila with was still in his hand and smoking. Although, for a moment I was glad that Mila’s father was cursing at Victor for killing his daughter, because it could have given Jack another option to break away while the Drazens and Mila’s father were busy cursing and threatening each other. 

But the story was dull. Jack had no chance of winning against a handful of people who could easily shoot him dead, and when he saw Kim again, it was almost like his world broke to pieces once more. Only Jack was not terrified after he saw Kim. He continued to be Jack Bauer. The notion that he saw Kim did not seem to bother him at all in the later stages of the episode. Not that I was expecting him to do a Bryan Mills “I will find you and I will kill you” speech, but ... something should have been done with Jack’s rage.

CTU trading Alexis was also an okay-ish scene. Not much happened there either, except Mason trying his best to get Jack back, even if just for a promise of a better job in nine months. Does this mean the season is set in April, since nine months from now, it is January, which is when a new president usually starts their job? And Super Tuesday in 2000’s California was early March, so it would almost fit. Anyway, it was a bit stupid of Mason to pull a gun on one of the goons though – he does not even know what the Drazens would do to get their family back together, and he did not even expect Drazen’s goons to eventually pull their guns as well and starting a shootout. It is almost like Mason was ready for that shootout, as well as ready to die for practically nothing. He did not want the hostage exchange to happen, he was literally thrown into it because of David Palmer. And then he draws a gun like he is in a Western movie?

 

You have won Super Tuesday, but the election process is still not over.

 

And as I always end these reviews, there is something more to be said about the Palmers. First of all, what is Patty doing with this new haircut of hers? Did she go to a barbershop between the previous episode and this one? Secondly, I had to laugh when Patty and Sherry were in cahoots with one another, as the latter told the former to flirt with David and give Sherry something to work with (no one knows why because the writers did not get into it here). Now I am wondering if Patty was flirting with Palmer in the previous hour because Sherry already planned that whole thing out with her way before that, or if there may have been something “real” between the two (otherwise, David would not have reciprocated with that delightful moan). She is his speechwriter, most likely a person who connects with him on a deeply political basis, so why would she align with Sherry for this dubious plan of creating a case of infidelity against David? Patty has not gotten any character depth throughout the season, but even without this seems like something Patty would not even dream about doing.

And one final thought: It is intriguing how David is able to do counter-terrorism business while celebrating his Super Tuesday victory. First a speech to the crowd, then maybe a speech to the nation, carried by cable news networks, then a bit of champagne, and then he disappears into a dark corner and makes phone calls to negotiate a hostage situation. David Palmer is my president!

JUDGING AMY: An Impartial Bias

Season 1, Episode 7
Date of airing: November 2, 1999 (CBS)
Nielsen ratings information: 15.62 million viewers, 11.0/19 in Households, 4.4/12 with Adults 18-49

written by: David W. Zucker
directed by: James Hayman

Sometimes, episodes like this have me wonder how much writers know about the stuff they are writing. This episode had two major storylines involving children who, according to the eyes of the writer, are not the "standard" type of kids you get to see in the world – one is black, and the other is deaf. This episode took to task of explaining why their adolescence is different from "normal" kids, and it had me question the writers' room and who may or may not have had similar experiences as the two kids in this episode. What does a white writer like David W. Zucker understand about African-American culture and its importance to the raising of a child? What does he understand about living with deafness? Those questions get a little weirder to think about when you include the storyline of Vincent's writing class and his paraphrasing Flannery O'Connor's words about surviving childhood and how everyone has enough information to last them the rest of their lives, when it comes to writing words on paper.

In a way, this episode of JUDGING AMY followed O'Connor's words, which Vincent talked about at the end of the episode – who knows how many writers of this show dealt with similar or the same issues as the two kids. But I cannot overlook the notion that the episode also took charge of explaining that a black child can only learn about racial bias when raised by black parents (or a black community). It went so far as to put a crack in the working relationship between Amy and Bruce to make sure that she knew he did not like her judgment in the case and did not shy away from yelling it at her face. And that makes me wonder: Was this episode, written by a white man, a lecture on morality on how to raise black children, or was this episode an example of "you survived your childhood, so you have all the stories you need to write about?" Can both things be part of the same episode?

 

This is what happens when DCF comes to take your little brother away from you.

This episode was okay. I may not have liked the fact that the writers pulled the racial card for this episode, but I did appreciate that Maxine's case was given ample enough screentime to make me care about the story of the brothers and how Maxine brought herself front and center, and against co-worker Eliza to keep the brothers together. I could almost say that the writers may have had more fun writing for Tyne Daly than for Amy Brenneman, although I am wondering if that may have been done on purpose here, considering the racially charged undertones in Amy’s story, as well as the fact that Maxine’s story was emotionally more approachable for a general audience. But yeah, pulling that argument about a black child in a white (foster) family was a weird thing to do, especially considering the fact that Hartford has a larger percentage of African-American people than white people when it comes to population numbers (according to the 2020 census), so I do not quite get why this was such an issue for Bruce here. Maybe I do not know anything about the topic, or things were looking a little different in 1999.

That being said, Amy should not have been shocked about her realization that Bruce has a daughter. A few episodes ago, she was asking him if he was single or had a family, and he answered with “single.” She did not ask the necessary questions (especially when she realized he was answering some of them), so she had an incomplete picture of him, as she must have noticed during their working relationship that, while she was sharing a lot about her home life, he was most likely doing none of that, keeping to himself and his home life away from work. Plus, I do not believe that Amy thought she had a good friend and CSO in Bruce when she knew absolutely nothing about the man, with the exception of his middle name, allergies, and whether or not he was single.

As I mentioned, Maxine’s case was splendid. I love it when the writers put some effort into making cases difficult for both sides of the “law.” I was able to get the arguments of both Eliza and Maxine about separating or not separating the brothers, and if I had been the judge in this matter, I would have probably had a hard time making a decision. Then again, if I would have been the judge, I would have had enough information to make a sound and logical judgment. Also, I loved that the writers included some backstory for Eliza, and had her be part of Maxine's past as a DCF worker, showcasing that some of Maxine’s clients from her past can come back into her life in a positive sense, proving that she did a great job back then, helping kids and teenagers figure out their stuff before mentoring them to do great. And with Eliza’s shared backstory with Maxine, as well as the notion that Eliza herself is involved with DCF, one could hope that this episode was not Marlee Matlin’s only appearance on JUDGING AMY. She is a first-class actor, and her name is most likely known to a general audience, so one might think that she was asked to recur in this series – but I assume that her recurring role on THE WEST WING at the same time may have prevented that from happening.

In the meantime, I liked that Maxine built up a “special relationship” with Kevin’s brother Paul, though, on the other hand, it created a bit of a plothole in the story: When DCF was interested in getting Kevin out of his brother’s surroundings, did no one bother to think about the fact that Paul lost his mother as well, and that he might have been suffering some sort of emotional trauma? Not to mention that DCF initially allowed Paul, himself still a teenager, to drop out of high school, so that he could take care of his younger brother. This is no PARTY OF FIVE, DCF made some horrible decisions in this case from the beginning, starting with allowing Paul essentially sole custody rights without anyone checking up on the brothers, and ending with DCF not giving them any type of assistance, whether those are of a financial or therapeutic nature.

 

If this continues like that, they will never be a couple.

 

In the meantime, Vincent may have been a little goalless at this stage of the season. Did the writers know what to do with his character? We know he is a writer, and we know he is a little sensitive about most topics, but the writers had him aimlessly go through the narrative for seven consecutive hours now. He had a girlfriend (one with a teenage daughter no less), a potential book deal, and now he was being a teacher for people who do not know what writing is. It is like the writers have figured the character out to a tee, but had no idea what to do with him after that. 

But I did love that Vincent got to learn something about his father he never knew. The decision of raising a family and creating a business from scratch versus going to medical school at Yale University while your wife is pregnant with your first child is definitely worth talking about in the narrative, and I loved that Peter took part in the story as well. Not only did the writers not forget him (sometimes I forget about him), but I can sort of understand why their father decided on the “familyman business,” giving up a dream of a high-paying career to follow the path of his other family dream that he may or may not have had – who really knows?

MURPHY BROWN: Set Me Free

Season 1, Episode 7
Date of airing: December 19, 1988 (CBS)
Nielsen ratings information: 21.0 million viewers, 15.0/23 in Households

written by: Diane English
directed by: Barnet Kellman

Oh, hello there, seventh episode of the season that was most likely to be the third episode of the season, considering Murphy’s comment that Eldin had been painting her “kitchen” for three weeks now... I hate it when network executives think they can shuffle around episodes, even if they look very much stand-alone from the outside, but maybe there is a reason that this episode found a later airdate. After all, this episode's premise is unusual for a multicamera sitcom, so one might wonder if the network executives had a bit of an issue with a hostage situation in a program that is supposed to be funny.

Then again, the late fall premiere of the series might be a reason as well. But yeah, I think it is the hostage situation. Damn, during the recent Christmas episode, Murphy had to deal with three kids being orphaned by their mother who decided to run away. In this episode, a gunman walks into the studio and turns this into a 1988 half-hour comedy version of Jodie Foster's MONEY MONSTER, but without the conspiracy stuff that filled up the backstory of the 2016 thriller. Now I really am unsure if MURPHY BROWN was supposed to be a sitcom with mature content and premises, or if the writers just decided to go nuts in this show and just write it like the ideas come to them. I mean, turning a hostage situation into a sitcom? Yeah, this could be a funny idea when talked about in the writers' room, but I never imagined it could actually be filmed like this.

 

Two breaking news events in the same screenshot: a gunman and a TV anchor without pants.

 

The thing is, this episode was in fact funny. Henry’s initial reason to force Murphy to make the statement might have been ridiculous and just another punchline (the hostage situation was already horrendous enough to include an actual tragic reason for Henry’s prepared statement), but the reactions of each FYI member towards Henry and his inability to be a proper hostage taker gave me joy a couple of times. I laughed when Frank stood up and had to explain the cliche of TV anchors not wearing pans (his long-running excuse could have been even longer, if he had not been interrupted). I laughed that Murphy became more and more crazy as the hour went on, really just wanting to smoke a cigarette and calm herself down. And I laughed when Corky decided to take matters into her hands and flirt with Henry, only to not take his rejection very well. Honestly, Henry must have been a closeted gay man, because there is no way that any dude in this 1980s show could have rejected Corky the way Henry did. 

What a shame the episode did not go into Henry being gay at all and that his closeted lifestyle was not the reason for his taking hostages. This way, MURPHY BROWN could have immediately shot up in the charts of all the liberals and progressives in late 1980s America, especially after George H.W. Bush was just elected President. MURPHY BROWN could have delivered a sociopolitical stance this early in its lifetime, telling its audience that being gay does not mean the end of the world (although the AIDS epidemic may have printed that picture in everyone's mind during the late 1980s and early 1990s). 

By the way, I am wondering if that part of real-life America will come to fruition at some point in the series. Murphy did mention Amy Carter (President Jimmy Carter's daughter who was nine years old when she moved into the White House) during the beginning of the episode, and during production of this half-hour, Carter was still President and the 1988 general election most likely did not happen yet, even if the results were clear when this episode aired. Not to mention that the Betty Ford Clinic got a mention again, which means I am pretty much waiting for real-life events to take over the narrative of the series in an episode or two.

Corky has had enough of this hostage situation.

 

With all the hostage thingies going on, I was surprised to see that the episode took a natural turn at the end and brought a nice scene of recognition and respect for both Miles and Murphy. It turns out the guy is an actual professional, and leading on Henry with lies about skyrocketing Nielsens was the best thing he could have done since he took the job as executive producer, and I did love that Murphy reciprocated by respecting Miles for that move. The two have been fighting with each other for a few episodes now, so it was time that the two came to a kind of understanding here, especially when it comes to Miles’s job performance. At this point, Murphy should be able to accept Miles as her boss, no matter how young he is and how inexperienced he seems. Because this episode has clearly proven that Miles is able to protect his staff.

THE O.C.: The Ex-Factor

Season 2, Episode 9
Date of airing: January 20, 2005 (FOX)
Nielsen ratings information: 7.87 million viewers, 5.0/8 in Households, 3.6 rating with Adults 18-49

written by: J.J. Philbin
directed by: Michael Fresco

That final scene was so pregnant with foreshadowing, I almost gave birth to an entire LGBTQ+ storyline right here on the spot. 

I am wondering if it is generally a good idea to tease that there might be a gay story coming or if it might be best served to have it just “creep up on you” suddenly and without warning (even though this episode sort of did it – Marissa and Alex have been acquaintances for a bit now, but they seem to be developing a crush deep into in their kinda-friendship). I am neither bi, gay, or closeted, so I do not know what it is like to finally find yourself attracted to the same sex via a good friend who happens to sit beside you right this second while watching a cheesy horror film, in a somewhat nice moment after an awful day of happenings regarding love and friendship. 

In this case, it might have been a good idea to not tease the story, but then again, it is Marissa who will probably change directions here, and that cannot just happen within a scene or two. Besides all that, it is great of course to have an LGBTQ+ story coming up on THE O.C., although it involves a lesbian couple yet again. Has there ever been a broadcast network drama in which a male gay couple was the center of attention for multiple episodes? Because I cannot seem to remember a single one. Maybe Jack McPhee over at DAWSON’S CREEK, but the show was very much trying to keep Jack’s sexcapades and romances away from viewers – he never even had a proper on-screen boyfriend until the show was established enough with Jack to give him a multi-episode boyfriend, and even then, their love story was never the frontrunner on-screen.

 

The new Newport Living is all Julie.

 

The episode happened to be surprisingly good. It turns out that I liked all the stuff involving the exes, including the drama that resulted out of a drunk Lindsay and resurfaced the pre-Newport version of Ryan, including a moment to yell at Marissa about her fallacies. Heck, even Ryan’s apparent macho muscle move towards Alex in that same moment, which I might have found a little ridiculous (albeit important for Ryan’s state), was somewhat entertaining and almost dark for the character. But with Lindsay having to swirl around Ryan’s life, and Seth swirling around Alex’s life, and both kind of hitting walls over and over, it was intriguing and fascinating to witness how love became so damn difficult in this episode. All of a sudden I am very happy to be single so I do not have to deal with this, but then again, my depression and anxiety should not allow me to be alone forever and ever. 

What a shame that Summer and Zach were only the fifth wheel here – I would have appreciated seeing these two front and center, even if it would have meant this episode becoming a little more boring. Because really, Zach is boring because he is so nice and normal, and Summer does not even deserve him because what she needs is messy drama. But I like Zach too much because of his Tom Hanks-ish attitude, and I want to see more of him. So consider me happy when he and Summer shared a milkshake at the end, although I was wondering where Summer’s milkshake order went, and if she shared her black’n’white milkshake with Zach after the episode as well. 

By the way, what the heck is a black’n’white milkshake? I would assume vanilla is the white stuff, but what black thing makes a milkshake taste good? Chocolate is not black...

In hindsight, I did not know what was going on in Seth’s mind. When Alex kissed a girl in front of him episodes ago, he seemed secretly excited about the endless possibilities, but when he learns that his girlfriend has a girlfriend whom she never broke up with, he gets all mad and awkward and confused about it. I can sort of understand the lying thing that he threw in Alex’s face, because she did not tell him her entire story when it might have been a good idea to do so. But then there was Seth, babbling some random crap that almost sounded like an official break-up, just because he could not stand that his girlfriend had an ex roaming around, instead of being the guy who has a girlfriend with a girlfriend. Am I the only one being a horny dick about it and thinking “threesome?” Sure, there was this slight talk about Seth maybe feeling delighted about the prospect of his girlfriend having a girlfriend, but damn, he turned into a fury instead and I would have loved to slap him left and right. The last time I had that feeling about him was during the Seth/Summer drama that opened this season, and it was not that long ago.

Meanwhile, Lindsay is definitely not from around here, commenting on the model looks of the girls of Newport, and how they could eat and never get fat. I get that this was a growing issue Lindsay has with Ryan’s surroundings, leading to the inevitable break-up in a couple of episodes (especially now that Ryan and Marissa had a huge argument, which sounded like they were about to find each other again), but for a moment, this could have been satire about the beauty and diet crazy of the rich elite in California (or the continental United States). This coming from the character who does not inhabit the world of the rich and white in Newport, I would almost love it if Lindsay continues to burn the people around her like that, including her immediate realization that she is talking BS and she is humiliating herself.

 

It is easy making peace over a shared cup of milkshake.

 

Especially since Julie came around with a rich elite California magazine she wanted to publish, advertising all the rich and privilege Newport has to offer, I wanted Lindsay to come in and burn everyone to the ground with sick comments about their skin color and all that money in their bank accounts. Someone like Lindsay would constantly roll her eyes over stuff like that, but Julie is seriously thinking about that magazine idea, while Kirsten thinks it is a solid idea to pursue. 

By the way, the idea of a Julie/Caleb and Sandy/Kirsten double date was almost hilarious. I still believe that Sandy hates everything about Caleb and Julie, yet the two married couples always seem to hang around and make something that resembles a business deal. Not to mention that the couple from Hell always seems to hang around the Cohens, making me think that Sandy and Kirsten are pretty much the only friends Julie and Caleb have left in Newport.

And here is another postscriptum: Three episodes after the big twist revelation, there is not really anything that makes Caleb look like a wannabe-father to Lindsay. I would have thought he wanted to try to be a father, but I guess both Lindsay and her mother have locked out the grey-haired, skin-toned dude. Which is a shame, because there could be so much happening if Caleb and Lindsay would try to spend time together for a few hours. She just found out who her father is, should she not be using that new information for something? Does she not feel the urge to build a connection to a father figure, now that she has one? Does she not want to at least meet her father?

THE O.C.: The Power of Love

Season 2, Episode 8
Date of airing: January 13, 2005 (FOX)
Nielsen ratings information: 7.46 million viewers, 4.6/7 in Households, 3.2/9 with Adults 18-49

written by: John Stephens
directed by: Michael Lange

Please, more of Sandy Cohen singing! Make an entire musical episode of THE O.C. in which Sandy relives his days as a wannabe Broadway actor. Turns out that Peter Gallagher, if it was actually him singing (and I do believe it was him, but sometimes you simply cannot be sure whether or not a voiceover was used), had a pretty rockin’ voice and should have tried out for AMERICAN IDOL, if that show would allow people of his age to compete. 

The twentieth anniversary party, as predictable as it was when the two cops showed up at the restaurant (predictable, as in: I knew they were part of the plan to lead Kirsten to some evening happiness after days of agony, anger, and disappointment), was still nice to look at and listen to, including a nice visual of the Cohen family and their friends hanging out and celebrating a 20-year love, like they all have not had any problem to deal with lately. Ryan was standing between Kirsten and Lindsay, putting a visual image of the women's conflict with each other in this episode; Summer stood between Marissa and Zach, which said absolutely nothing; and Seth was smack in the middle – it was pretty cute, and it showed that the characters in this show can be friends, if they just want to, instead of talking about their troubles all the time and seeing enemies in each other who cannot deal with problems. Not to mention that almost the entire cast of important people stood in line, arms in arms, watching Sandy give his best on stage.

 

Busted!

It was to be expected that DJ would be the first of the new love interests out of the show, considering he had the least amount of screentime of the four recurring characters, and was generally used as a plot device to further the conflict between Marissa and Julie. I did not even mind that DJ was used for that, but I am a little surprised that he made it to the eighth episode in the first place, which means the guy was around for a third of a season while causing the same endless trouble between Marissa and Julie. The writers must have come to realize that at this point as well, which is why they were probably figuring out another way for Marissa and Julie to feud, or maybe even try to find a way to keep DJ in Newport without having it look ridiculous. Anyway, either Marissa or Julie can start drinking hard liquor now – probably Marissa, because she is already on an ongoing date with her alcoholic beverage of choice.

Meanwhile, Zach, Alex, and Lindsay all went to the next level with their romantic interests who happened to be central characters of the show, and only one of them does not fit. I still believe Alex is way out of Seth’s league, but for some reason, she likes him (okay, that reason being she is a fictional character, and the writers want her to like the nerd in a romantic way) and he hangs out with her, and the two seem to have fun, and now she is meeting his parents. I cannot believe there is an option for a bad girl to even date the good and sweet and nerdy guy of the bunch, because in reality, Alex would have done well for people like Luke, yet she likes Seth and is somewhat fascinated with and drawn to his parents – granted, that part is legit logical and brought her some character depth in this episode, but I still think that Seth should have realized long ago that he is dating a girl who should not even be on his radar, because she is so “out there.” A club manager, a bartender, some tattoos (small ones, and I am shocked Sandy and Kirsten seem to have problems with it – are they in actuality conservative parents dressed in liberal writing?), and maybe even capable of entering naughty foursomes of some kind, considering the moment Seth saw two guys and another girl walking out of her apartment after the Christmas episode.

Anyway, Zach and Lindsay are still in the game for Summer and Ryan, and I continue to like those two pairings and stories. Zach is wonderful as a recurring romantic love interest, thanks to his budding friendships with Seth and Ryan, and I like that he can actually be considered part of the hangout group here, maybe even part of the main character pool (I wonder if the writers were thinking of the character to become a central character at one point). And Lindsay is just cute, even if her story turned out to be a little more soap opera-ish in this episode, as she was talking to her sister, who wants to be her friend, followed by talking to her boyfriend, who wants to be her friend... It must be hard to be part of the Cohens. But let's not forget that the folks behind the camera *really* wanted the male audience to get hooked on Lindsay as a sexy character – she was essentially walking around with her bra out in the open for the entire first third of the episode. She was dressed to be the honeytrap for the male viewers.

By the way, I found some inconsistency in this episode: Previously, Summer mentioned that Zach spent his winter break with his family, but this episode established he has not seen his sister for a year. Do I win a prize now? No television show is ever going to find an antidote against inconsistencies, but since Zach has not been part of the show for that long, I would have figured the writers knew his story.

 

These are one of the very few happy times of the Cohen family.

 

There is one thing I would like to talk about though: Kirsten considered Ryan as her (adopted) son when she talked to Lindsay in the office, and Sandy said “my kids” on stage. I know that Ryan has been adopted, even if I still cannot believe it and am unable to see past the notion of Sandy and Kirsten just being Ryan’s legal guardians (since adoption is a much bigger topic that should have taken some more screentime), but here is an episode that fully acknowledged the fact that both Sandy and Kirsten see Ryan as their son now. That is something that has not happened before, if I remember correctly. On the other side of the medallion, does Ryan accept them as his parents? Because that has for sure not been part of the story yet. Sandy and Kirsten have called Ryan their son, but so far, Ryan has not called them his parents yet.