What I’m Watching: Winning Time

Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty: Season 1, Episode 6 “Memento Mori” (B+)

It was good to see Paul and Pat talking to each other as idea men who work hard but are underappreciated given that they work in the shadow of others, and Paul got a chance to be in the limelight right away, one that he wasn’t thrilled to take. Jerry calling him Pete and aggressively telling him to coach may not have been the best motivation, and, when he finally woke up, Jack was not particularly in a position to help him figure out if he did the right or wrong thing. The way he closed the press conference was certainly memorable, even if it had everyone wondering what the hell was going on. Magic’s pursuit of fame isn’t reflecting all that well on him, particularly when he had Cindy’s father be the one to break up with her for him. I should note the positive presence of those two actors, Rachel Hilson from “This Is Us” as Cindy and Steve Harris from “The Practice” as Thomas. I was also excited to recognize Eric Petersen, who plays the title character in “Kevin Can F**k Himself,” as Stan. Jerry’s negotiations continue to be wild and ill-advised, and he’s now realizing how having his mother as his accountant may not have been the best choice. Jeanie was very upset when she saw that Jessie was not doing well, and though it wasn’t the most paternal moment, Jerry’s matter-of-fact words to get her to focus may have provided some small degree of comfort. While I do like this show, its recent renewal for a second season tells me it’s going to go on for a lot longer, whereas I had thought it was a contained limited series I could watch and then finish. For now, I think I’m done with this show, though I’m open to picking it back up again in the future if there’s less on taking up a lot of my time.

What I’m Watching: The Punisher (Season Finale)

The Punisher: Season 1, Episode 13 “Memento Mori” (B+)

Most loyal viewers of this series watched this finale way back in November, but I’m happy to be concluding it now after getting to thoroughly process each and every hour. That proves to me at the very least that this show is greatly superior to the one that spun it off, “Daredevil,” which took ten episodes to get me hooked. This was an expectedly violent conclusion to Frank’s hunt to kill all those who took his family from him, though not quite as deadly as it could have been. With David safely reunited with his family and Frank rescued after killing Rawlins, it came down to Billy versus Frank, with the former tracking down first Curtis and then two innocent young employees of the carousel to bait the one person he felt he needed to kill in order to somehow get away, despite everyone knowing who he was and no way out truly existing. Billy seemed genuinely hurt that the two guys he could actually call friends had betrayed him, though lying about Frank being dead is hardly comparable to allowing Frank’s family to be killed, especially when we saw just how close Billy was with them, visiting that same carousel earlier when things were much sunnier. One thing this show did tremendously well was to visualize Frank’s psyche through the night terrors and daydreams he had about what he lost, and while he got a pass and can now live peacefully as Pete, he’ll never be able to recover from that in a real way. At least David is back with his family with no imminent threat to his life, and Marion proved to be as good as she could when it came down to it. I don’t know where season two will go, but seeing Frank try to help other people process their experiences in war while admitting that he has no idea what’s next for him is a truly appealing start.

Season grade: B+
Season MVP: Jon Bernthal as Frank

What I’m Watching: Minority Report

Minority Report: Season 1, Episode 9 “Memento Mori” (B+)

This is likely the second to last episode this show will air, which is a real shame since, unlike previous future-set crime shows, this one is actually much better nine episodes in and didn’t fall apart after a strong pilot. What’s particularly compelling is that this show has become less about seeing and preventing a random murder in the near future but much more connected to an overarching storyline, one that involves the impending renewal of the precime program albeit with a more targeted and deliberate focus. The existence of Memento Meri, a creepy group with extreme anarchist aims, helped bring two major guest stars who I was pleased to see. Christopher Heyerdahl from “Hell on Wheels” appeared briefly in a previous episode and was now much more front and center as the trigger man who mortally wounded the senator to make his point. On the other side of the law, Steven Williams, who I remember from “The X-Files” twenty years, appeared in his third current show this month as Bridge. Blomfeld seems very intent on getting the precogs back into the water, and trying to confiscate Wally’s equipment was a dangerous first step followed up by the even more worrisome close call with Agatha at her home. Her vision is still clear and shows Vega making the call to put them back in, and I sincerely hope that whatever remains of this show clues us in on how things get to that point or instead offers an enthralling series of events that leads to an altogether different outcome that defies precognition.