The Catch: Season 2, Episode 9 “The Cleaner” (B+)
One of the advantages about being over a week behind on TV is that you know what’s coming, which in this case was the announcement just hours before the final episode of this show’s second season aired that it was going to be its last ever. I never expected to be all that into this show because I thought that Mireille Enos, who I had previously seen on “The Killing,” was incapable of smiling, yet it provided some sincere entertainment. It even came back from a truly soapy detour to find itself in a positive way, with this episode offering Danny asking Margot, who has literally slept with every character except for Alice on this show, to be his girlfriend and then having Tessa call him “stepdaddy” just moments later. While one of the reports about this show’s cancellation described this second season as retooled to be a romantic comedy, there were more serious moments in this episode, namely Sophie getting shot by Felicity when she came to the room to take Tessa hostage as a way of really getting back at the murderous siblings who tried to get rid of her. We finally got to see Rhys and Tessa meet, and now we may never see them together again, and even if we do, it will be just briefly because this show is dead. I’m hoping for an enjoyable finale that offers a strong conclusion to this show, even if the creative forces behind it didn’t know that the end was coming.
Showing posts with label The Cleaner. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Cleaner. Show all posts
Sunday, May 14, 2017
Sunday, September 7, 2008
What I'm Watching: The Cleaner
The Cleaner: Season 1, Episode 7 "House of Pain" (C+)
This show is rapidly becoming less interesting, though this episode's setup is an attempt at creativity. The boy's father is not a bad guy; he's merely convinced his son isn't experimenting with drugs, and wants his privacy to be left alone. William's son problems should now be resolved, and I'm slightly curious to see where things will go next. My vote: bring back Sarah Clarke's FBI agent! I may give up on this show in the coming weeks if there ends up being too much on Tuesday nights, currently starting with "NCIS", "90210", and "The Shield", plus any new shows.
This show is rapidly becoming less interesting, though this episode's setup is an attempt at creativity. The boy's father is not a bad guy; he's merely convinced his son isn't experimenting with drugs, and wants his privacy to be left alone. William's son problems should now be resolved, and I'm slightly curious to see where things will go next. My vote: bring back Sarah Clarke's FBI agent! I may give up on this show in the coming weeks if there ends up being too much on Tuesday nights, currently starting with "NCIS", "90210", and "The Shield", plus any new shows.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
What I'm Watching: The Cleaner
The Cleaner: Season 1, Episode 6 "To Catch A Fed" (B-)
Imagine my excitement when I discovered that not one but two of the actors who I feel have given two of the best single performances I have ever seen but rarely appeared in anything afterward were guest-starring in the same night of television. Christian Camargo was so fantastic as Rudy on the first season of "Dexter", and Sarah Clarke was simply incredible on season one of "24" as CTU agent Nina Myers. Now what I got from the episode was that these two should have their own show together as FBI agents, and it would be really good. I wish they had done more with both of these characters, and I hope that the "and" credit Sarah Clarke got wasn't just because she is a well-known government agent type but rather because the writers plan on bringing her back. Glad to see the Akani angle being fleshed out; wish they did more with it. I don't want to hear any more about the son and his troubles, but I guess any good masochistic tragic hero has to have family problems.
Imagine my excitement when I discovered that not one but two of the actors who I feel have given two of the best single performances I have ever seen but rarely appeared in anything afterward were guest-starring in the same night of television. Christian Camargo was so fantastic as Rudy on the first season of "Dexter", and Sarah Clarke was simply incredible on season one of "24" as CTU agent Nina Myers. Now what I got from the episode was that these two should have their own show together as FBI agents, and it would be really good. I wish they had done more with both of these characters, and I hope that the "and" credit Sarah Clarke got wasn't just because she is a well-known government agent type but rather because the writers plan on bringing her back. Glad to see the Akani angle being fleshed out; wish they did more with it. I don't want to hear any more about the son and his troubles, but I guess any good masochistic tragic hero has to have family problems.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
What I'm Watching: The Cleaner
The Cleaner: Season 1, Episode 5 "Here Comes the Boom" (C)
I can't help feeling like too much is packed into just one episode here in terms of major plot developments. It seems weird that this is only episode five, since this show feels like it's been on for so long since the first few episodes were so surprisingly good. The setup for this episode is good, but pairing Ben's running away from home with it is a bit much. It's already clear that William's life is out of control and that he has issues to deal with. There's no need for him to get hit at the same time with everything. On top of that, Swenton being forced to smoke also seemed to come out of nowhere. I'm not quite sure why he in fact went in and what he possibly expected to happen. I'm a bit curious to see how William deals with it, but out of all the people on his team to get addicted, I would think either Akani or Darnell would have been far more interesting.
I can't help feeling like too much is packed into just one episode here in terms of major plot developments. It seems weird that this is only episode five, since this show feels like it's been on for so long since the first few episodes were so surprisingly good. The setup for this episode is good, but pairing Ben's running away from home with it is a bit much. It's already clear that William's life is out of control and that he has issues to deal with. There's no need for him to get hit at the same time with everything. On top of that, Swenton being forced to smoke also seemed to come out of nowhere. I'm not quite sure why he in fact went in and what he possibly expected to happen. I'm a bit curious to see how William deals with it, but out of all the people on his team to get addicted, I would think either Akani or Darnell would have been far more interesting.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
What I'm Watching: The Cleaner
The Cleaner: Season 1, Episode 4 "Chaos Theory" (B)
Man, Jeff Fahey is everywhere! He was just on "Psych" a few days ago, preceded of course by his recurring role on "Lost" this past season. He's starting to seem a lot like Alan Dale or Eddie Cibrian, who combined together have probably frequented every show ever to hit the airwaves (obviously an exaggeration). Fahey doesn't have much to do here, but he does a few key scenes where he really bonds with Melissa, but then undoes it all by shooting up in William's house. Interesting to see William and Melissa getting along so well, and then have her pull away because it's too soon. I'd like to see a different kind of case come along, something unexpected and surprising, but for the moment, I'm satisfied enough.
Man, Jeff Fahey is everywhere! He was just on "Psych" a few days ago, preceded of course by his recurring role on "Lost" this past season. He's starting to seem a lot like Alan Dale or Eddie Cibrian, who combined together have probably frequented every show ever to hit the airwaves (obviously an exaggeration). Fahey doesn't have much to do here, but he does a few key scenes where he really bonds with Melissa, but then undoes it all by shooting up in William's house. Interesting to see William and Melissa getting along so well, and then have her pull away because it's too soon. I'd like to see a different kind of case come along, something unexpected and surprising, but for the moment, I'm satisfied enough.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
What I'm Watching: The Cleaner
The Cleaner: Season 1, Episode 3 "Meet the Joneses" (B)
This show really is turning out to be much more of a procedural than I might ever had expected. The split-screen effect gets a little schizophrenic, though I do like how in-depth the show is with its episodic plotlines. Annabeth Gish wasn't quite as good as I might have hoped after watching her in the last season of "The X-Files". The happenings in William's home life are rather cyclical, and a new dramatic element needs to be introduced soon (more of the daughter, less of the son, perhaps?) for this show to get the creative shot it needs. Darnell's date is entertaining, and I hope that his devotion to William doesn't mess that up too badly.
This show really is turning out to be much more of a procedural than I might ever had expected. The split-screen effect gets a little schizophrenic, though I do like how in-depth the show is with its episodic plotlines. Annabeth Gish wasn't quite as good as I might have hoped after watching her in the last season of "The X-Files". The happenings in William's home life are rather cyclical, and a new dramatic element needs to be introduced soon (more of the daughter, less of the son, perhaps?) for this show to get the creative shot it needs. Darnell's date is entertaining, and I hope that his devotion to William doesn't mess that up too badly.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
What I'm Watching: The Cleaner
The Cleaner: Season 1, Episode 2 "Rag Dolls" (B)
This follow-up to last week's surprising premiere maintains the same level of quality without going above and beyond to qualify it as a great series quite yet. The cast is more solid this time, and I can see how they're going to establish its week-to-week format. I like the introduction of the junkies (in this case, drug mules) before we really know who they are and then the story incorporates itself into the main plot of the show. This show just needs a bit more time to develop, but for now I'm on board. I want to see what happens with the "perfect" daughter and her very flawed parents.
This follow-up to last week's surprising premiere maintains the same level of quality without going above and beyond to qualify it as a great series quite yet. The cast is more solid this time, and I can see how they're going to establish its week-to-week format. I like the introduction of the junkies (in this case, drug mules) before we really know who they are and then the story incorporates itself into the main plot of the show. This show just needs a bit more time to develop, but for now I'm on board. I want to see what happens with the "perfect" daughter and her very flawed parents.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Catching Up: Summer Series
With all this Emmy hysteria and my race to finish both “Firefly” and the complete “X-Files” series before their respective film follow-up theatrical showings (“X-Files” review coming soon), I’ve neglected to review all the summer television I’ve been watching. While it’s not nearly as much as I watch in the fall, there’s still a good deal of shows that I’ll summarize here before starting to review them each on a weekly basis (possibly in an end-of-week digest format, but we’ll see). I won’t be reviewing all the episodes I’ve seen over the past few weeks, but I’ll pick up where I am and start reviewing from here on out.
I’ve just posted pilot reviews for Flashpoint and The Cleaner. I plan to continue watching “The Cleaner” starting with episode two tonight. I tried the second installments of both “Flashpoint” and In Plain Sight only to discover that they were just as bad as the first ones. I am happy to say that I opted to pick up Swingtown after my initial dismissal of the show and have now deemed it a proper guilty pleasure. As I mentioned a few posts earlier, “Swingtown” will be moving to the new timeslot of Fridays at 10pm.
As far as returning shows go, I decided to check out two sophomore shows which I had only seen the first few episodes of when they premiered last summer. I’m watching Burn Notice because of guest star Tricia Helfer (“Battlestar Galactica”), who is good on the show, though regrettably not quite as good as on BSG. It’s a quirky show that’s amusing at best and entertaining enough to sustain my interest, especially now that it doesn’t conflict with “Swingtown”. The other show is Saving Grace, which I think I’ve had just about enough of at this point. I never got into it, giving up last summer after only four episodes. Holly Hunter gives a decent performance but the show just doesn’t feel right. Watching it after The Closer also doesn’t quite give it a fair chance. Brenda Jonhson and the gang were back for a strong premiere last week and a good enough episode last night. I look forward to their continuing adventures, and I’m glad to see Phillip P. Keene (Buzz) added to the credited cast at the beginning of the episode. There’s nothing I hate more than a terrific ensemble that doesn’t credit all of its members accordingly (examples: see SAG nods for the casts of the movie “Ray” and shows like “24” and even “The Closer” in its first season).
Lighting up my weekend viewing are the Friday night USA offerings Monk and Psych, which premiered last week with amusing if not somewhat unsatisfying installments. “Monk” offered a fitting farewell to the late Stanley Kamel (Dr. Kroeger) and “Psych” managed to introduce Cybill Shepherd without overshadowing the rest of the cast. I think both of those shows will improve this coming week and throughout the rest of the season. I’ve heard some exciting news about some of the best characters from “Monk” returning for the show’s 100th episode this season.
In addition to this bunch, I’ve been doing my best to keep up on Showtime’s Monday night comedy pack Weeds and Secret Diary of a Call Girl without actually having the channel. So far, so good, though I’m pretty sure I’m watching the original British version of “Secret Diary of a Call Girl”. Billie Piper really runs that show all by herself, and she’s doing an impressive job. On “Weeds”, I’m finding Mary-Louise Parker rather irritating, as opposed to fascinating last season. Justin Kirk is really fantastic this year, and while I didn’t love Albert Brooks’ arc, he spun the story in a good direction. The show, despite a clever new opening bit each episode, has been getting off to a slow start, reorganizing all its characters in the proper way, but I think it should pick up soon enough. I haven’t yet seen last night’s episodes of either show, so I’ll start off my new reviews with thoughts on these two.
It’s weird that this summer is missing so many shows that really do feel right in the summer, such as “Entourage”, “Californication”, “Flight of the Conchords”, and especially “Rescue Me”. I’d even prefer to have the second season of “Damages” running right now rather than opposite a massive slate of programming in the spring. All of those will come in due time, I suppose. At least there is one upcoming positive: season two of the best reviewed-show in ages begins this Sunday at 10pm. Tune in to AMC for Mad Men. I know I will.
Reviews of upcoming episodes of all these shows and my thoughts on the whole “X-Files” series are coming soon. I will be reviewing “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog” as soon as I get a chance to see act three.
Coming in the next few weeks: the 2nd Annual AFT Television Awards, honoring the very best in television this past season, in my opinion. I’m sorting through right now, finding eight great contenders in some categories and three in others. I’ll begin announcing categories soon; you won’t want to miss them.
I’ve just posted pilot reviews for Flashpoint and The Cleaner. I plan to continue watching “The Cleaner” starting with episode two tonight. I tried the second installments of both “Flashpoint” and In Plain Sight only to discover that they were just as bad as the first ones. I am happy to say that I opted to pick up Swingtown after my initial dismissal of the show and have now deemed it a proper guilty pleasure. As I mentioned a few posts earlier, “Swingtown” will be moving to the new timeslot of Fridays at 10pm.
As far as returning shows go, I decided to check out two sophomore shows which I had only seen the first few episodes of when they premiered last summer. I’m watching Burn Notice because of guest star Tricia Helfer (“Battlestar Galactica”), who is good on the show, though regrettably not quite as good as on BSG. It’s a quirky show that’s amusing at best and entertaining enough to sustain my interest, especially now that it doesn’t conflict with “Swingtown”. The other show is Saving Grace, which I think I’ve had just about enough of at this point. I never got into it, giving up last summer after only four episodes. Holly Hunter gives a decent performance but the show just doesn’t feel right. Watching it after The Closer also doesn’t quite give it a fair chance. Brenda Jonhson and the gang were back for a strong premiere last week and a good enough episode last night. I look forward to their continuing adventures, and I’m glad to see Phillip P. Keene (Buzz) added to the credited cast at the beginning of the episode. There’s nothing I hate more than a terrific ensemble that doesn’t credit all of its members accordingly (examples: see SAG nods for the casts of the movie “Ray” and shows like “24” and even “The Closer” in its first season).
Lighting up my weekend viewing are the Friday night USA offerings Monk and Psych, which premiered last week with amusing if not somewhat unsatisfying installments. “Monk” offered a fitting farewell to the late Stanley Kamel (Dr. Kroeger) and “Psych” managed to introduce Cybill Shepherd without overshadowing the rest of the cast. I think both of those shows will improve this coming week and throughout the rest of the season. I’ve heard some exciting news about some of the best characters from “Monk” returning for the show’s 100th episode this season.
In addition to this bunch, I’ve been doing my best to keep up on Showtime’s Monday night comedy pack Weeds and Secret Diary of a Call Girl without actually having the channel. So far, so good, though I’m pretty sure I’m watching the original British version of “Secret Diary of a Call Girl”. Billie Piper really runs that show all by herself, and she’s doing an impressive job. On “Weeds”, I’m finding Mary-Louise Parker rather irritating, as opposed to fascinating last season. Justin Kirk is really fantastic this year, and while I didn’t love Albert Brooks’ arc, he spun the story in a good direction. The show, despite a clever new opening bit each episode, has been getting off to a slow start, reorganizing all its characters in the proper way, but I think it should pick up soon enough. I haven’t yet seen last night’s episodes of either show, so I’ll start off my new reviews with thoughts on these two.
It’s weird that this summer is missing so many shows that really do feel right in the summer, such as “Entourage”, “Californication”, “Flight of the Conchords”, and especially “Rescue Me”. I’d even prefer to have the second season of “Damages” running right now rather than opposite a massive slate of programming in the spring. All of those will come in due time, I suppose. At least there is one upcoming positive: season two of the best reviewed-show in ages begins this Sunday at 10pm. Tune in to AMC for Mad Men. I know I will.
Reviews of upcoming episodes of all these shows and my thoughts on the whole “X-Files” series are coming soon. I will be reviewing “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog” as soon as I get a chance to see act three.
Coming in the next few weeks: the 2nd Annual AFT Television Awards, honoring the very best in television this past season, in my opinion. I’m sorting through right now, finding eight great contenders in some categories and three in others. I’ll begin announcing categories soon; you won’t want to miss them.
Pilot Review: The Cleaner
The Cleaner (A&E)
Premiered July 15 at 10pm
Consider this the surprise of the year. I expected nothing from this show, with a lead star I hate and a seemingly trite premise. My expectations were far beyond exceeded. This show is well put-together, and despite a few quirky elements, works incredibly well. The story is nothing too new, but the tone of the show seems appropriate and makes it feel fresh. Benjamin Bratt talking to God every few minutes is something I can do without out, and the team’s interactions need a little fine-tuning. Otherwise, this show reminds me quite a bit of “Breaking Bad” both in terms of narrative and style, but this one impressed me much more right off the bat. I was shocked to see Grace Park (Boomer from “Battlestar Galactica”) on this show, as I had no idea she was moonlighting (like Tricia Helfer, a.k.a. the only reason I watch “Burn Notice”). She’s a welcome presence, and it’s nice to see her explore her more flirtatious side. Gil Bellows, who I knew was the same guy who Tim Robbins tutored in “The Shawshank Redemption”, gave a powerful performance in the pilot, almost unrecognizable under that handle-bar mustache. And even Benjamin Bratt did a fine job – I guess there is a reason he went into acting. I’m not entirely in love with this show but it surprised me enough to hook me in for at least a few episodes unless it takes a spectacular nosedive in quality.
How will it work as a series? Simultaneously barreling through Bratt’s character’s own addictions and the way the team interacts and deals with their cases should provide an enticing double narrative which should work very well, especially as it has time to develop.
How long will it last? Original series seem to be the thing for cable networks these days, and given the critical success of recent offerings like “Damages”, “Mad Men”, and “Breaking Bad”, I think this one will be on the air for at least the season, and if it gets good enough reviews, it should be back for season two next year.
Pilot grade: B
Premiered July 15 at 10pm
Consider this the surprise of the year. I expected nothing from this show, with a lead star I hate and a seemingly trite premise. My expectations were far beyond exceeded. This show is well put-together, and despite a few quirky elements, works incredibly well. The story is nothing too new, but the tone of the show seems appropriate and makes it feel fresh. Benjamin Bratt talking to God every few minutes is something I can do without out, and the team’s interactions need a little fine-tuning. Otherwise, this show reminds me quite a bit of “Breaking Bad” both in terms of narrative and style, but this one impressed me much more right off the bat. I was shocked to see Grace Park (Boomer from “Battlestar Galactica”) on this show, as I had no idea she was moonlighting (like Tricia Helfer, a.k.a. the only reason I watch “Burn Notice”). She’s a welcome presence, and it’s nice to see her explore her more flirtatious side. Gil Bellows, who I knew was the same guy who Tim Robbins tutored in “The Shawshank Redemption”, gave a powerful performance in the pilot, almost unrecognizable under that handle-bar mustache. And even Benjamin Bratt did a fine job – I guess there is a reason he went into acting. I’m not entirely in love with this show but it surprised me enough to hook me in for at least a few episodes unless it takes a spectacular nosedive in quality.
How will it work as a series? Simultaneously barreling through Bratt’s character’s own addictions and the way the team interacts and deals with their cases should provide an enticing double narrative which should work very well, especially as it has time to develop.
How long will it last? Original series seem to be the thing for cable networks these days, and given the critical success of recent offerings like “Damages”, “Mad Men”, and “Breaking Bad”, I think this one will be on the air for at least the season, and if it gets good enough reviews, it should be back for season two next year.
Pilot grade: B
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