There's a lot in here. Kate and Toby really want a child, one that represents the features of the long dead father and her mother (who is meddling again). It is a dangerous decision and it's understandable that Rebecca noses in, but it is their decision. Randall gets accepted to Howard and then throws it away after realizing how sad his mother is and how depressed Kate is. Of course, Kevin is off feeling sorry for himself. That was sad, and I'm sure there is going to be some big time angst from Kate and Mom coming up. There are things I wonder about and maybe I'm to dense to see. First of all, after Jack's death, how did they support themselves? Did Jack have a million dollar life insurance policy. Secondly, Randall's family is flush. Even after he left his job, his wife obviously has a high powered position. Kevin must have a bunch of money socked away. But what about Toby and Kate. Does Kate just have that clothing store job? These are little things that are important to the realities of the show.
Reviews
15,686 Reviews
A Little Reprise
20 April 2024
For those of you that don't like Kate, let's face it. She is one of the most unique characters on all of television. Her obesity is a curse and to handle this when audiences are so judgmental was quite courageous of the producers. The wish to do IVF is life threatening and also courageous. She is a contrast to her brothers who, at least, have all their parts working fine. We are given a view of the first date of Jack and Rebecca. It was hard to watch him desperately get nine dollars to last through a trip to a carnival. It was refreshing when he came clean to her as he dropped her off at home. I'm sure we will soon see how the sad reaction as another guy kisses her on the doorstep. Good beginning.
Deep Water
20 April 2024
I guess since Columbo is a star, he can get away from the usual LA crime scene. But here he enters international waters, gun running, and terrorism. I have to agree that basic police work seems to be tossed aside (like fingerprints and access to the scene). This is more an episode to play on the charm of the characters. Columbo has interacted with suspects before, even closely, but this takes the cake. Oh, that's right, Irishmen are notorious for their drinking, so move in and test the waters. The plot was decent but hardly based on deduction and solution. The scratches on the bottles were some pretty careless acts by the murderer.
Uncomfortable
19 April 2024
Warning: Spoilers
I've always hated weddings on drama series. I'm sure the reason for the high average score is that people always gravitate toward them. There are so many things going on. First of all, once again, Kevin and Randall are all twisted up. Kate is having dreams about her parents, still alive and renewing their vows, and Deja is wandering around, filled with fury. Her mother is now officially rid of her and she can't reconcile that. That is the real point of interest in the story. The parking lot thing at the end is a bit dramatic. It is worthy of a lot of discussion, certainly. She strikes out at the people who saved her, on the one hand, but probably sees them as the ones who stole her from her mother. It is a narrative hook, certainly, to carry us into Season 3.
I also thought that the toasts were awful. They were toasting a father who died 20 years earlier. Granted, it was a tragic death, and he was a nice guy, but for him to permeate this day, making Kate truly secondary, seemed really weird.
I also thought that the toasts were awful. They were toasting a father who died 20 years earlier. Granted, it was a tragic death, and he was a nice guy, but for him to permeate this day, making Kate truly secondary, seemed really weird.
It Helps Moving Forward
19 April 2024
Since Deja has become a significant character, what is wrong with an episode to show us her roots. This show is making points all the time. The foster care system in this country is really tenuous, hit and miss. Some use it as a means to earn government cash. Deja has a a past. She is a real person; she has tried to maintain herself with a mother who never had been equipped to handle a child. When the Pearsons move in and provide a safe place, she is still filled with the distrust. The mother walks away, and this girl feels betrayed again. The Pearsons aren't the issue. The hopelessness of a high school girl whose roots have been ripped from the ground is what it is all about.
A Lesser Episode...But
19 April 2024
This seemed a contrived little piece. First of all, I find the whole Vegas experience tiresome. It's an excuse to let people act like children. The two simultaneous parties didn't seem like much fun. I didn't even know who those other men were. Since they didn't have speaking parts, they must have been paid a lot less. The two men wearing their ridiculous obsessions on their sleeves, Kevin with his assumption that he has lost his movie role and Randall with Deja. Of course, Kate gets into the act. I don't know. I have faith things will get back on track, but this one did nothing for me but dislike the whole gang. Oh, I am also really tired of Kate's clingy friend.
Ice Cold
18 April 2024
Trish Van Devere (widow of George C. Scott) plays a rising star in the TV business. She is betrayed by her lover when she expects him to promote her to a significant executive job. Since others don't know what has been done to her, she decides if he is dead, she will still move up. She plans a crazy plan based on impeccable timing with some film, allowing her to kill him and go unnoticed. The problem is that our boy gets in there and begin pulling bits and pieces from the plot. She has a few problems. One, loyalty to an old friend who has no talent and a drug problem, which angers her fellow execs. The other is the sophistication of the process if pecked away at will fall apart. It's a decent show but we know that Columbo has her right away.
Jeep Wagoneer
18 April 2024
The writers here are so amazing. They could so easily fall back on tried and true, formulaic plot elements. Jack is dead and his funeral is about to take place. So what do they focus on. The car. It begins when the family is in bad need of a new car. So they go to the dealership. The kids want the Wagoneer but they are very expensive cars. Just when they are headed off to the used car lot, Jack gives a speech that would make Clarence Darrow proud, and manages to get the car. It is still too pricey, but, obviously, it holds up really well. We then are shown various events involving car trips. Some are not fun. When Randall is being taught to drive, Kevin is in the back seat taunting him until he nearly gets in an accident. The two of them walk five miles home. There is a time when Rebecca is waiting for results of an MRI to see whether she has cancer. And, finally, Rebecca drives the kids to the graveside service and the luncheon where Kevin and Randall get into it again. Kate makes a final plea and the boys, hopefully will find a better way.
It's Only a TV Show--Right?
18 April 2024
Warning: Spoilers
I've been watching TV since we got our first one 72 years ago. Much of my life, like every other American, has been spent in front of the boob tube. And that derogatory term fits because the large majority of TV isn't worth the time. I could have written that novel or solve hunger. Even some of my favorite shows aren't all that memorable. When this one came on, people told me, "You've got to watch this." That's normally the kiss of death. So when Netflix put the whole thing out there, my wife and I started. While it has a flaw or two, I have never been so emotionally moved by a dramatic TV show. We watch as though it were a documentary. We feel what the characters feel. The simplest explanation is that it grabs at our experiences and our pain and our fear of failure and our fear of dying and our fear of losing control and not being able to make things better. Jack dies in a fire because he goes back in a burning house to rescue a dog. He comes out, but the damage to his lungs is too much and he has a heart attack. The pain Kate feels is expressed so realistically because she demanded he save the dog. If she were a real person, she would never get over that. We also now know what's with Kevin, who wasn't there but was with his girlfriend. He can only speculate as to what he would have done and then he goes after Randall, who had no role in anything but survival. And so he feels the blame, even though everything was chance, except for Jack's foolish act. And, for a while, he seemed to land on his feet. I thought the hospital scenes were the most realistic I've ever seen. And when fate comes crashing through, that is why we need to care about each other and live every day, even when our egos can barely stand it.
Peter & the Wolf
(2023)
Interesting New Take
18 April 2024
Using some of Prokofiev's recognizable score, Bono takes the classic story, tweaks it, uses the same characters, and tells us a tale about anger and what it can do. Here a young boy whose life seems devoted to hurting other things, has lost his family and lives with his grandfather. He is a stern man and only sees that the boy is unpleasant. But as time goes by, he begins to realize that this anger has a cause. The boy is obsessed with potentially killing a wolf. These animals are known to live in the nearby forest. He manages to capture the wolf but has a surprise when he does so. It makes him realize that what we do in anger can have painful consequences. I thought it was a bit slow and could have benefited from more of the original score--but that is a small criticism. I was quite taken.
Complicated Murder
17 April 2024
First of all we need to buy into the far fetched method used by the murderer, a top flight, commercially successful psychologist. This came out when Dobermans were seen as the most dangerous dogs on earth. Well, they're not. Anyway, the guy's work is so complicated that the layers he puts on his act are too much and Columbo sniffs things out. It makes you wonder sometimes how Columbo can drive fifty miles to some remote location to ask one question, but that's television. No budget limits I guess. Anyway, the ultimate thing is the old eternal triangle that is at the root of the plot. Jealousy is the motivator.
Breaks Your Heart
17 April 2024
One thing we need to remember is that for some people there is no tomorrow, so don't bear grudges or belittle the people you love. What we have here are a series of events that show acts of kindness in the present and then the usual flashbacks that determine the underpinnings of the characters. Strangely, an older couple who are trying to sell their house are at the root of things--a random act that determines the future.
It is Super Bowl Sunday (the Steelers are in the game again in what seems like a routine thing). But what was once a total family involvement thing shows that people are moving apart. In current time Kevin and Randall are working on a dilapidated building where Randall's father lived. Kevin is trying to make peace with people as part of the 12 step program for AA. Kate finds out that Toby would like a dog, but Kate reveals that there is something in her past that makes her hesitate. She goes to the pound.
Jack and Rebecca make love, and after the Super Bowl he cleans up. But here chance takes over. There's more and one reviewer summarized it beautifully. Suffice it to say, this is such a sad episode and yet it is life. There are elements of Wilder's "Our Town" here.
It is Super Bowl Sunday (the Steelers are in the game again in what seems like a routine thing). But what was once a total family involvement thing shows that people are moving apart. In current time Kevin and Randall are working on a dilapidated building where Randall's father lived. Kevin is trying to make peace with people as part of the 12 step program for AA. Kate finds out that Toby would like a dog, but Kate reveals that there is something in her past that makes her hesitate. She goes to the pound.
Jack and Rebecca make love, and after the Super Bowl he cleans up. But here chance takes over. There's more and one reviewer summarized it beautifully. Suffice it to say, this is such a sad episode and yet it is life. There are elements of Wilder's "Our Town" here.
To Find Someone
17 April 2024
The intro to the show with that mangy cat running through the streets with Billy Holiday's "God Bless the Child" playing is dynamite. Then we see a series of examples of characters needing each other in various ways. Randall picks up a box from his father's former neighbor, and in it is a beautiful romantic poem. He goes about trying to find out to whom it was written. When he does it is quite a surprise. Kate is talked into shopping for a wedding dress by Madison, the girl from her weight class. Things are revealed and appearances prove deceiving. Randall begins to find his new career in a rather outrageous way. Several very human stories.
Any and Chris? Hope Not!
16 April 2024
The Capras are having real issues with some land they bought. They had intended to put a house on it, but they are cash poor. Soon a series of events take place that lead to an anxiety attack and a bit of disrespect to the citizenry. Meanwhile, Maurice, being the selfish jerk he is, tries to begin to give gifts to Holling's little girl, Randi. It's so obvious that he is doing this for the creepiest of motivations. He will not have children, and he is really overstepping. Chris is putting moves on Maggie and she seems to be accepting the moves. I guess there could be worse things, but Chris is hardly a gem--too self centered and esoteric.
Chef Columbo
16 April 2024
I will start by saying that I've never been able to stand Louis Jourdan. Other than his good looks and his French accent, I always found him smug and tiresome. Guess what. That's the character here. He plays a successful food critic who holds great power over restauranteurs. He extorts money for good reviews. But one of them finally has had enough and threatens him. Of course, Louis poisons him and Columbo comes on the scene. It turns out that our detective is a gourmet chef with great knowledge of the fine points of food preparation. Interestingly, there are scenes in the past where it is obvious that Columbo has no interest in food--only chili with lot of crackers. That stuff aside, it is an enjoyable romp with the two of them playing off each other.
Ruth Gordon Is the Boss
15 April 2024
First of all, to the person who isn't sure whether the guy killed his wife, I can point to three closeups where he shows us that he is indeed a murderer. His facial expressions tell the story. Ruth Gordon decides that he needs to pay the price for the death of her dear daughter. Her plan is a good one, but he probably could have survived and ruined it for her. Mariette Hartley is the fly in the ointment. She decides to make hay while the sun shines and betray her boss. The business with the key. Why she didn't find a time to just get rid of it rather than put it in that sand tray. Since no one was looking for it for some time, it would have been so easy to get rid of.
Ruth is great. One little bit that is getting a bit tired. It is Columbo's astonishment when he must interrogate a famous person. He is so stunned. This time Gordon is a famous Agatha Christie type mystery writer, every book gold. It is like he had never met anyone with celebrity when it has happened over and over. Let's face it. He only ends up at the most high profile cases. That said, it doesn't matter. Loved it anyway.
Ruth is great. One little bit that is getting a bit tired. It is Columbo's astonishment when he must interrogate a famous person. He is so stunned. This time Gordon is a famous Agatha Christie type mystery writer, every book gold. It is like he had never met anyone with celebrity when it has happened over and over. Let's face it. He only ends up at the most high profile cases. That said, it doesn't matter. Loved it anyway.
Don't Read Your Press Clippings
15 April 2024
Kevin goes to Randall's house and immediately breaks into his vodka. He is already stoned on pills and ready for a breakdown. He has had these before and people just blow them off. But after Deja leaves, Randall's little girl is furious. When Keven begins driving recklessly, she pops up in the back seat of the car; she is a stowaway. Kevin get pulled over and is handcuffed. Beth is furious. Kevin is in rehab and the whole gang goes to see him and be part of his therapy. The therapist is having nothing to do with the kind of avoidance that they have used to shield themselves. When she is done, no one is happy. Ultimately, they deal with Jack and his inabilities (where previously he has been treated as a saint). Then they have to look inward. And when it's over, they see that nothing is simple; that we are all human. Everyone is amazed that Kevin has anything to complain about. Rebecca really is a victim, more than the others. Even though her sin is inaction. Kate's obesity was fostered by her father over and over. Time after time, she asked for more sweets and he gave them to her. Randall, it turns out, got her attention because it was easier. Kevin was cruel and self centered. This is a superb episode. There is a secondary plot with the non-Pearson, hanging in a bar discussing their stuff.
The Most Complex of All
15 April 2024
This time Randall is at the center. He has been dealing with being black for a long time, but he does love his mother and all that the family has done for him. Jack takes him to Howard University, a predominately black university (and a really good one), but it's obvious, he has already got him enrolled in an Ivy League school. The tension is thick as the comfort of the young man reins over the bragging rights of Dad. Jack, for all his Christ-like being (I'm sarcastic), has some real flaws. He runs the family as he sees fit. The secondary plot is about Deja returning to her mother, who has a rap sheet. And Randall's tendency to run everything, makes him ready to go to court to keep the girl. He is so self righteous at times, but he learns a bit this time. The girl, also, has learned from the family, and their influence will be with her forever. Fantastic episode.
Revisiting a Time
15 April 2024
We return to the exact time period as the injury to Kevin, except now Kate is the focus. In real time we are there as her miscarriage is announced and we see the pain. They have been so involved in preparing for this event that they believe nothing else is possible. Toby gets the brunt of things by saying he is hurting too, but Kate verbally assaults him. This whole thing is so real as the wheels begin to fall off. Her solution: Life goes on. She does a singing gig at a party and takes off. Toby is to pick her up but she is nowhere to be found. He goes to the UPS and tries to circumvent a delivery that would be hurtful. He ends up going through the entire warehouse, checking packages. Meanwhile, Rebecca shows up and things get settled down. Excellent portrait of a lost child.
Comes Up Short as a Package
14 April 2024
I agree with those that enjoyed the surreal nature of the trek that Joel and Maggie went on. I guess the result is the result and even if we wanted them together, it wasn't going to happen. I also agree that the whole thing with Chris, his brother, and Capra was ridiculous. It wasn't in Chris's nature at all. He wouldn't do that to someone that did him no wrong. As for the restaurant review bit, that was so contrived and almost slapstick. I've alway been amazed at how much food they served and the obvious quality of it. It seems that they had to get Mrs. Capra a little screen time and that was about it. Sadly, this is really a final episode but it had to end sometime.
I Wanted One of Those Fancy Turntables So Bad
14 April 2024
Back when record albums were the only thing to use to play music, along comes this turntable where you could program the cuts. A laser would read the spaces and the tone arm would move to the spot. But they were really expensive and I could not afford one. But it wasn't long before CD's and the rest is history. This is one of the episodes I remember, but it wasn't as good as I thought. All the elements were in the right place, but the plan lacked much sophistication. I was much more intrigued by the puzzle Theodore Bikel gave to Columbo than the murder. Columbo immediately honed in on the embezzlement and the financial history of the guy. While the actual murder took genius to find, Columbo knew he had his man long before he put those things together. Getting rid of the gun the way he did seemed absurdly inefficient. Also, his co-workers were bad news as well. Still, it is fun to watch the lieutenant work his magic. There are different kinds of geniuses. That's for sure.
It Made Me Cringe
14 April 2024
We've watched Kevin as he has gone to the road to destruction. Every so often we hear about a celebrity who seemingly had everything, taking his or her life. I would call it the Richard Cory syndrome, after the character from the poem. To have that much attention from every angle for your entire life. From the time he walked first to his football career and its end to the Manny. He never seemed to be dismissed, except by his father, but he didn't accept that because he was always forgiven. The scene where he talks at the homecoming event, where he gives credit to accomplished people, saying he doesn't deserve the award, is gut wrenching. He is so high and disintegrating. And, of course, the chain his father gave him, which he loses as he tries to rob a woman's medicine cabinet, is really horrible. And then the flashbacks to the night his knee was destroyed. Incredible television.
Other People in Control
14 April 2024
We know that Deja's mother is going to be a force to be reckoned with. From all I know about these things, that girl will go back to her because the foster system is always seen as a last resort. Future episode? The judge who is overseeing Randall's adoption doesn't seem to have a clue about the realities of the intermediate situation with little children like him. Perhaps he will end up with a black family, but what happens in the interim? It's almost as if end automatically justifies the means. Kevin, meanwhile, is going down the road of drug abuse and his ex has about had it. And Kate and Toby are doing the best they can where his mother terrifies him. Interesting the power parents can have, even when they don't deserve it.
An Easy Sell
13 April 2024
Here the narrator proffers the idea that love is at the center of everything when it comes to movie plots. It then deals with love in all forms, from deep friendship to sexual love. It deals with exaltation and loss. Loss is only tragic when love precedes it. We as humans are hard wired this way. Even using the events at the end of Toy Story III, where Woody and Buzz are left with a little girl. They go from being ignored because their owner is getting old to being loved. I'm hoping that there will be more episodes and a new series in the future, but this one proved better than I thought and it grew over time. The whole thing is really well done, but the theory is not as hard to prove as previous ones. Lots of clips are used that make the point and that is the strength of these last couple episodes.
Opposites Attract
13 April 2024
The narrator presents us with a history of filmdom where opposite things combine to bring us tension, enjoyment, and pain. If everything stayed on an even keel, we would be bored to death. So we give human qualities to non-human things, like HAL in "2001." We have characters who speak of death as a glorious thing, like Dracula. He delves into the history of literature and social commentary, using Arthur Koestler as a source. The logic those who are desperate is to lie. He even uses Pinocchio as a figure for this with his growing nose. He goes back to figures that are inherently good or evil in mythology, like the sphinx, the chimera, and others. Even the monsters, such as the Alien, have human qualities such as teeth and vacant eyes, which are borrowed from humans. I think this is the best episode in the series so far.
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