CURRENT SHOWS
Hello Ladies: The Movie (B+)
A sweet-natured wrap-up movie for a show that already ended on a perfect note. Still, I enjoyed all these characters so much that I was grateful to see them all again, even if the entire plot was a little unnecessary and felt like three episodes strung together. Plus, Allison Tolman showed up and for that I am always grateful.
Saturday Night Live – “Amy Adams/One Direction” (A-)
Surprisingly consistent, even if they brought back my arch-nemeses Garth and Kat. Otherwise, this episode basically killed, thanks to a reliance on pre-filmed sketches (which are almost always better). Amy Adams rarely took front and center, but still got to show off her considerable comedic talents. Best live sketch of the night was easily the Whiskers R We ad, which found Adams nearly succeeding in cracking up the incomparable Kate McKinnon.
OLD SHOWS
Pee-Wee’s Playhouse Christmas Special (B+)
As a long-time fan of Pee-Wee Herman, I was glad to finally catch this, the only bit of his I’d never actually seen. Even as someone who loved Pee-Wee then and now, this entire special is truly bizarre. It operates on its own comic wavelength, one that’s even more off than his show or Big Adventure. Every guest star had their own huge LGBT fanbase, and the camp factor is turned up to 11. But I still loved its meta-gags and corny humor. I guess I’m not really different than the kid I was back then.
The Wire (Season 2) – “Bad Dreams” (A), “Port in a Storm” (A)
After watching the finale with me, my wife turned and said, “So they’re basically saying there’s no point.” Not exactly, but as Nicky looks through that fence, it’s not far off. All he and Ziggy wanted to do was make some extra cash since work was slow on the docks. All Sobotka wanted was more business for his brotherhood of stevedores. All Daniels wanted was to make another good case before he retired. Did they succeed? In the short term, yes. But as The Wire has proven in its first two seasons, all victories in Baltimore are Pyrrhic. The wheels keep on turning.