Previously, from Jan. 30-Feb. 5…

08 Feb 2011 1 Comment

by marisacarpico in Previously, on Television... Tags: "Advanced Dungeons and Dragons", "Brave New World", "Daddy Issues", Alison Brie, Annie Edison, Candice Accola, Caroline Forbes, Community, Lyndsy Fonseca, Maggie Q, Nikita, Paul Wesley, Simon Baker, Stefan Salvatore, The Mentalist, The Vampire Diaries

Considering the amount of shows I watch, it’s pretty obvious I have trouble letting go. I often invest months or even years following a show each week and breaking that connection is always tough. Though my list of abandoned series remains small, I added another this week when I finally discarded The Mentalist. This isn’t the first time I’ve tried to drop the CBS crime procedural from my schedule. From the beginning I viewed it as a sort of poor man’s Bones or even Castle with less chemistry, but I stuck around because of Simon Baker’s performance. The dangerous charisma he gives Patrick Jane makes the character so volatile that I wondered how long Jane could possibly get away with manipulating people for his own enjoyment with only a passing regard for the cases.

Each time I attempted to drop The Mentalist, Simon Baker’s performance—especially his bantering dialogue with costar Robin Tunney—convinced me to return. However, I finally decided Baker’s performance, while still engaging, cannot make up for the fact that the show will never be as good as I want it to be. Instead of becoming more sympathetic Jane has somehow become less likable and more of a caricature. He continues to push everyone’s buttons without impunity and I have simply grown tired of watching the same formula each week.

The strong shows in the rest of my lineup were what finally convinced me to move on. Like my former affection for The Mentalist, there is always one part I love most about my remaining programs, but unlike that show my favorite aspects are simply one part of what makes those shows great. So for this article I will focus on the small elements of my favorite shows that keep me coming back each week.

I would be remiss if I didn’t explain that I abandoned The Mentalist primarily because it had the misfortune of coming after two of the most exciting shows in my schedule: The Vampire Diaries and Nikita. I have fawned over TVD a lot lately and I’m about to do it once more because this week’s episode “Daddy Issues” validated my devotion. In my article on the Best Show of 2010, I mentioned that newly turned vampire Caroline Forbes is quickly becoming my favorite character. That is thanks in no small part to Candice Accola’s performance. Though Accola only had a handful of roles prior to starring on TVD, she gives Caroline such depth and believability that it is a wonder her résumé is so limited.

This week’s episode saw Caroline kidnapped and tortured by a pack of werewolves and while those scenes were heart wrenching, my favorite moments came when Accola interacted with Paul Wesley’s Stefan. Accola and Wesley had little interaction in Season 1, but since Caroline’s transformation, Stefan has helped her acclimate to vampirism. Their first scene together came in the second episode “Brave New World” after Caroline killed a man in bloodlust. Stefan helps a hysterical Caroline clean blood off her face and teaches her to control her thirst. At the time, I remember thinking the actors had a strangely palpable chemistry. Though no romantic connection was supposed to exist between them, something about the way they interacted just gave the scene an extra something. Take a look:

They have had some great moments together since that initial scene, but this week’s episode really showcased their chemistry. After saving Caroline from her torturers, Stefan takes her home and asks if she would like him to stay so she does not have to be alone. Once again something simmers just below the dialogue. I doubt Accola and Wesley actively cultivate that chemistry, yet there it is. I for one blame Accola. For some reason, she seems to have chemistry with every person on the show. She just has a certain appeal that makes Caroline’s interactions with every character seem interesting and real. I never once considered a Stefan/Caroline pairing before this season, but now I almost cannot wait until Stefan’s girlfriend Elena inevitably has a dalliance with his brother Damon. Who better to comfort Stefan than his beautiful, caring best friend Caroline?

Alex and Nikita looking badass

Nikita, like its lead-in TVD, has incredible pacing and creative storylines and that CW double whammy always had me so on the edge of my seat that by the time The Mentalist started all I could think was, “Wow, this is boring.” Thanks to years of devotion to Alias, I’ll watch pretty much any spy show that appears and with a similarly strong female lead, Nikita perfectly satisfies my need for high-stakes espionage. I approached the show expecting little more than a showcase for Maggie Q’s sex appeal, but throughout the season I’ve been surprised by the show’s dark, dangerous tone. Nikita, much like Patrick Jane, lives for revenge and while that is her defining feature, Maggie Q has endowed the character with so many powerful emotional layers that it is wonderful to watch the character each week.

Perhaps the most engaging part of the show is Nikita’s relationship with Alex, her contact within Division, the sinister organization she has sworn to destroy. As Alex, Lyndsy Fonseca delivers a performance just as believable and compelling as Maggie Q and their scenes together are truly fantastic. In a lesser show, their relationship would probably be written between a man and woman. Nikita would be the protective male nurturing Alex to become a great spy and Alex would be the naïve girl who fell in love with the man who saved her. I’m glad the show instead created two strong female characters who depend on each other and work together to achieve a common goal. Not a lot of television programs show a supportive friendship between two powerful, independent women so I admire Nikita for managing to create kick-ass women who also know how to be vulnerable.

Finally, there is Community. I previously mentioned that Community was one of my favorite shows of 2010 and this week’s episode “Advanced Dungeons and Dragons” reminded me why. Above all else, Community is an ensemble piece. Each actor brings something different and they are each necessary to making the show work. That fact was especially clear as the characters played a game of D&D. By far the best scene came when the group’s resident good girl Annie (the stellar Allison Brie) pretended to seduce an elf maiden in the game. As Brie and Danny Pudi, who plays Abed, acted out the encounter, I was positively howling with laughter because the scene was brilliant on so many levels. First, there’s the fact that the supposed “good girl” described a sexual encounter so intense that the elf maiden ended up tied up. However, the scene would not been nearly as funny without the other characters. Jaded cad Jeff stared at potential love interest Annie in admiring disbelief, conservative Shirley looked shocked and slightly appalled and dumb jock Troy took notes. It was brilliant and certainly the funniest moment in my TV schedule this week. Take a look below:

Finally, I want to make a special mention of Chuck. I was pretty tough on it last week and of course the very next episode did exactly what I least expected: it wrapped up an uninteresting storyline and moved onto a new chapter. I’ve never been so happy to be wrong about a show. That’s the kind of daring I want from my whole schedule and I had to commend Chuck for being as great as it can be because moves like that are the difference between tuning in and abandonment.