Greetings all.
I have been promising to review season three for a little while, so I
suppose I'd better cough something up here. Thanks are due to Murray,
who's given me some great insights and helped pull my own thoughts
together. We've been having a lot of fun debating things, but now it is
time to get something in print, so here goes....
SEASON THREE, BEST EPISODES: No trouble here, as the two-part THE LAST
WORD blows away the competition. For those of you long-suffering
Encoreplex viewers, I won't spoil any endings, but this rivals "There Are
Crocodiles" for tension and may actually beat it. I'm not sure I buy the
ending Steven Moffat gives us, but it is consistent with Lynda's
character.
WORST EPISODE: CHANCE IS A FINE THING wins this dubious honor hands
down. As with PG's other turkey, PICKING UP THE PIECES, Steven Moffat
tries building an unconventional romance between two complete opposites
and can't pull it off. Unlike PIECES, the subplots can't save this one.
FUNNIEST EPISODE: THE BIG HELLO wins because of some great Spike lines,
and the Kenny-Lynda office scenes are great. This plays like some of the
funny second season Spike & Lynda stories, only with a more adult edge.
MOST INTRIGUING CHARACTER: The mailing list has not too many kind things
to say about Zoe, so here's a "What if?" for you: What if it was Judy
Wellman who was Spike's beau and not Zoe? I love Judy's character and
wish more were done with her. She strikes me as a better realized
version of Sam Black's vampy character without Zoe's cardboard angriness.
MOST TIRESOME CHARACTER: Zoe looks great, but grates on the nerves. What
Spike sees in her, I'll never know.
"THE" MOMENTS OF SEASON THREE: Donald Cooper's shooting of Colin, and
his showdown with Spike at the end of THE LAST WORD.
MOST IMPROVED CHARACTER: Frazz
HOW I RANK THE SEASONS:
#1. Second Season. No doubt in my mind at all. Never have so many
good episodes aired together as they do here.
#2. Fifth Season. Wide variance in quality here, but three of the
six episodes are must-see classics.
#3. Third Season. Largely due to THE LAST WORD.
#4. Fourth Season. Many good moments, but mostly average stories
#5. First Season. Growing pains on many stories, but still good
moments to be had
Standard disclaimer here. These are my opinions, take 'em or leave 'em.
No law says you are bound to agree, and Murray and I have been
disagreeing about some things already off the list. I'm going to take a
cue from Hillary and give you my list of unforgettable stories, but I'll
save that for another post.
Kevin Nauta
prydonia@accn.org
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