Sunday, October 7, 2012

Week Three

Lundy Watches...
The theme of the week is captivity, whether through physical means or societal duties. Ropes, shackles, cages, locked doors, and threats of a bleak future are just a few of the things that keep out protagonists from their ultimate goals.


Secret Diary of a Call Girl Control and Relief [4]

Captivity takes on a greater meaning for protagonist Hannah/Belle (Billie Piper) as she herself is held hostage in two separate lives; as Hannah she remains closed off from family and friends, unable to reveal to them the truth about who she is and what she does, whereas as Belle she is controlled by her situation, remaining indebted to both her madam and her clients as long as she continues to pursue escorting as a career.

In regards to the episode itself, it is the client, her accountant (Simon Kunz,) who is being controlled, though his is of his own choosing. There is so much in his life that he is responsible for, so much that is riding on his shoulders, that it is only through relinquishing all control that he's able to find any form of peace.

It is through his eyes that Hannah is able to understand the relief that can be felt when all responsibility is taken from him that she gains the courage to reveal her secret to one of her closest friends, and through this action she, too, is able to relax a little.


Daria Café Disaffecto [2.5]

The residents of Lawndale experience a lack of control when a break-in robs them of their only internet café, leading to Daria (Tracy Grandstaff) accidentally conceives a fundraising scheme that quickly spirals out of her control. Daria herself is trapped in the situation due to having appeared to have come up with it, and soon is forced further into indebtedness when she refuses to sell her wares to an ailing woman.

In the end, Daria is forced to create and recite an original work when she's threatened with a lack of credit that would otherwise have helped lead to a greater chance of college admission, and must take herself out of her comfort zone in order to earn what she was promised.


Buffy the Vampire Slayer Teacher's Pet [1.5]

Xander (Nicholas Brendon) and the other impressionable young men of Sunnydale High find themselves enthralled by Ms. French (Musetta Vander,) the new science teacher. While Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and her friends muse that the boys simply can't help their baser instincts, they soon realize that something is wrong when the boys begin vanishing.

Upon accepting an extra-credit assignment with the teacher, Xander finds himself being held captive by her in her basement. In truth, Ms. French is a demon, capable of seducing men using her insect-like pheromones, and it is only the timely arrival of Buffy that will save Sunnydale's male population from getting murdered.


Life on Mars Honey Trap [4]

Sam (John Simm) embarks on a mission to find his mother (Joanne Froggatt) only to find that she is being terrorized by her landlord. He takes things into his own hands when he confronts mob boss Warren (Tom Mannion) before considering the ramifications that his actions might have against his mother and himself.

Later, in trying to rescue Warren's working-girl Joni (Kelly Wenham) from herself, he finds himself getting played and ends up further indentured into Warren's services. Sam confronts Joni once more, convinced he can save her from the path she's on, but finds that, once more, his rash actions bring more trouble than good to those he cares most about.


Better Off Ted Racial Diversity [4.5]

A glitch in the new systems finds Lem (Malcolm Barrett) unable to leave his office due to the motion sensors not recognizing him as a person. Office culture quickly grows insensitive when white employees are hired to follow around the black employees to ensure properly functioning lights and doors, though Lem's complaints remain mostly unheard.

After having lived as a compliant employee for the passed few years, Lem finally takes it upon himself to speak up for his rights, heading straight to the top to file his grievances. Through his teamwork with both Ted (Jay Harrington) and Veronica (Portia de Rossi,) the previous system is reinstalled and the black employees are once more able to enter and exit the building of their own volition.


Firefly Bushwhacked [4]

Detained by Alliance officials, the crew of the Serenity are kept on guard in an effort to protect both Simon (Sean Maher) and his sister River (Summer Glau) from arrest while also maintaining their innocence in regards to the murders aboard an abandoned refugee ship. Mal (Nathan Fillion) puts himself at further risk when he volunteers his skills in an effort to capture a missing survivor who has turned somewhat volatile.

Used to working under his own orders, it has been a long time since Mal has followed the word of someone else, and it puts a bad taste in his mouth when he's forced to work for the force he fought against during the war. His deeds here are of his own volition, working to both protect his crew from the people who mean them harm as well as maintaining a somewhat healthy relationship with them in order to avoid further detainment.

The true victim of circumstance in this story is the survivor of the Reaver's attack, who has been broken mentally beyond repair, convinced he has to become the very thing that destroyed who he was. Cutting his flesh and attacking those who come near him, acting in ways that he imagines the Reavers would act in his situation, he wears the very visage of the enemy and meets their same fate.


Winner of the Week Firefly

While not technically the greatest performer of the week, Firefly's "Bushwhacked" contains what might be the greatest studies of character that we've seen so far.

Every actor has their moment to shine here, and each of their characters have something interesting to offer to the story. Even when separated from the others, they still maintain a healthy chemistry with one another, connecting with those who aren't present as well as those that are.

It is sometimes the words that are not said here that are the most telling in regards to how these people feel.

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