“I could do this all day. Who’s next?”
—Kara “Starbuck” Thrace

“Felix Gaeta. Who would’ve thought?”
—President Laura Roslin

“When this is over, there’s gonna be a reckoning. And live or die, it’s how you act today that’s gonna matter.”
—Admiral William Adama

Semper frakkin’ fi, indeed. What an amazing hour of television. So many chickens come home to roost in the form of a good old-fashioned hell raising, packed from fore to aft with petty comeuppances and epic betrayals, as well as a couple of gloriously dirty gunfights. “The Oath” was also a welcome reminder that nothing that’s happened so far—no decision too great and no grievance too small—has occurred in a vacuum. Everybody’s fair game for a smackdown, and into the breach we go.
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There were a few great, moving lines in this episode, but as usual it was the silences that spoke loudest. Two minutes, one line of dialog, and Death Cab for Cutie singing a lamentation.

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Fiona: Michael McBride. Sometimes I wonder if he’s the one I fell in love with.
Michael: I wouldn’t be surprised. We caused a lot of mayhem, you and I. He was your type of guy.
Fiona: Yes you were. Where did he go?
Michael: Oh you know how it is with cover IDs. You become who you need to be.
Fiona: And everyone gets to guess who you really are.

The dance between Fiona and Michael had been picking up steam before the long winter break and really sped up last week when Campbell broke up with Fi. She’s known for a long time that her feelings for Michael run deep, but her detour with Campbell let her bury them for a time. Now they’re resurfacing, but making her question who Michael really is and wheter he ever felt for her the way she feels for him.

By episode’s end she’ll have the answer.

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A very quick note to pass along the good news from Javi Grillo-Marxauch’s blog: Shout! Factory, producers of some of the finest DVD sets on the market, are working on the box set of season one of The Middleman and should have it in time for Comic-Con!

Oh, those nasty, nasty contractors. Having grown up around the world of contracting, this episode wins on the believable bad guy who deserves whatever Team Leverage can do to him front. Taking advantage of the victims of natural disasters? Run of the mill for a GC.

I do have to admire the simplicity of the scam Retzing & Sons pull, though.

1. Swoop in on stunned victims of natural disaster.
2. Convince victims to take out an equity loan to cover repair work.
3. Dawdle.¹
4. Do shoddy work.²
5. Wait for victim to default on loan payments, and since equity has been sucked out of the house thanks to shoddy, delayed word, they have little choice but to default.
6. File a contractor’s lien.
7. Profit.

See? Better than underwear gnomes. There are more steps, but none are missing.

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1. This part comes naturally to most GCs. They must teach it in Contractor 101. [↩]
2. Ibid. [↩]

In the world of the Conchords, every decision has its consequences and every action carries its weight in impending disaster, so in the whole grand, daisy-chain scheme of things, it’s not only plausible but inevitable that the purchase of a nondescript tea cup for the princely sum of $2.79 would be what finally leads one of them to prostitution and both of them to jail.
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Fans of The Closer tune in for tonights episode, “Good Faith”, eager to discover the fate of Detective Sanchez, who had been shot trying to save the life of Detective Provenza. The last time Det. Sanchez was seen, he was being airlifted to a hospital. While I won’t reveal whether he lives or dies, I can say the episode overall is a good one.

Brenda’s parents come to visit, creating issues for her as she tries to avoid the pressure they place on her to commit to wedding plans. (Will she walk down the aisle this time? Has she overcome her commitment issues? Will she wear her mom’s wedding dress? Keep tuning in – I won’t leak this one either.) Read the rest of this entry »

When the soul has suffered all it can.
—“There is a Languor of the Life,” Emily Dickinson

Holy tylium ship, Batman! The wheels on the bus keep popping off one by one, don’t they? And where last week’s episode was filled with ever more painful revelations and monumental open-ended questions, this week we pause for a breath, zooming in on the personal fallout and pressing at the wounds in search of a little relief. And still the hits keep coming, like the surprises, and the pain is no less great.

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Was it just me, or did anyone else get chills when the team came out to run with Smash? FNL does epic moments better than any show in recent memory, but we haven’t had one of them since the first season.

Last week was a workman-like return to competence, but it was tentative and had lost a few steps. Like Smash, it needed a little help to regain its confidence and regain its footing. After the disappointment of its sophomore year, I think the little show we love is back.

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Michael’s old toys. Most of them are blown up or taken apart, but I bet we can find a few good ones.

My normal conceit when doing a Burn Notice review is to do a short recap in the character Michael took on for the scam, but I’m not feeling Donny¹ so you’re stuck with me tonight. That’s probably more appropriate for this more serious, straight-ahead episode anyway. This one was raw and more emotional than we’ve ever seen before.

The Recap

Mikey go boom. When we last left Michael Westen, he was diving from his landing inches ahead of a shockwave. Tonight: the aftermath.

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1. He’s a little bit rock ‘n’ roll. [↩]