Life with a view

My Cinema/Tv series journal

[lifewithaview]

David Duchovny in The X-Files (1993) Folie a Deux

S5E19

Mulder and Scully are sent to Chicago after after a telemarketing firm receives anonymous threats. The company is particularly concerned as they had an employee go postal in a different office and wants to avoid another dangerous incident. One of the company's employees, Gary Lambert, is convinced that his boss Greg Pincus is literally a monster who no one else can see for what he really is. Lambert takes everyone, including Mulder, hostage but during the incident Mulder realizes that Lambert may not be the deranged madman everyone is making him out to be.

*Folie a Deux (1998) was originally going to be the final "monster of the week" episode of the series. Creator Chris Carter wanted the series to end after the Season 5 mythology episode The End (1998), and move into feature films only instead. Ultimately that plan was scrapped when Fox deemed the series too profitable to end after only five seasons.

[lifewithaview]

Maxine Peake, John Simm, Nico Mirallegro, and Bill Jones in The Village (2013) S1E1

Centenarian Bert Middleton recalls his life as a little boy in the years before the Great War. He lives on a small farm with his bullying father John,patient mother Grace and protective older brother Joe who works as a gardener for the wealthy Allingham family,whose head,Lord Allingham,is a disfigured recluse. John is frequently at odds with kindly schoolmaster Mr Eyre for taking Bert out of class to help on the ailing farm. The village sees its first bus when Martha Lane, a Methodist school-teacher,arrives. Martha is a suffragette and,at a lunch at the Allinghams with boot-maker Arnold Hankin, the progressive-thinking Martha clashes with Clem,Lady Allingham and her elder son Edmund,who hold staunchly traditional views. She does however get on with younger son George. As war is declared Joe volunteers for the army - having sex with Clem's daughter Caro before he leaves. Grace is glad that he has escaped the confines of the village but this only exposes Bert to more disapproving behaviour from his father.

[lifewithaview]

Mahershala Ali and Carmen Ejogo in True Detective (2014) The Hour and the Day

S3E4

Wayne and Roland investigate possible connections between the local church and the Purcell crimes as tensions in West Finger reach boiling point.

*Directorial debut of series creator Nic Pizzolatto.

[lifewithaview]

Lionel Stander,Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers in Hart to Hart (1979) Death in the Slow Lane

S1E4

When Jonathan buys Jennifer a gorgeous old car for her birthday, she is less than thrilled -- but two Brits seem suspiciously eager to take it off her hands.

*The Albany is not an old car but manufactured in England 1970-1997.

[lifewithaview]

Jeanne Tripplehorn,Bill Paxton,Chloë Sevigny and Ginnifer Goodwin in Big Love (2006) Pilot

S1E1

As Bill prepares for the opening of a new addition to his hardware store chain, he receives bad news about his father's health, and also deals with trying to balance the needs of his three wives.

*A Utah polygamist who owns home improvement stores in the Salt Lake City area juggles relationships with three wives while trying to keep his complex family life from becoming a public scandal.

[lifewithaview]

Michel Brown and Verónica Orozco in Just Alice/Simplemente Alicia (2025) Alejo

Episode 2

After being ghosted in Cartagena, Alicia is swept off her feet by the charming Alejo. Years later, community service sees Alicia cross paths with Pablo.

[lifewithaview]

Hello June!

[lifewithaview]

Oliver Savell and Shaun Dooley in Changing Ends (2023) Kick Off

S1E1

Between a Dad managing a 4th Division football club and friends ditching him for being camp, Alan wants to change. Should he go against his instincts and become a footballer?

*An autobiographical scripted comedy based on stand-up and presenter Alan Carr's life.

[lifewithaview]

Gillian Anderson, Mads Mikkelsen, and Tom Wisdom in Hannibal (2013) Antipasto

S3E1

After the devastating bloodbath at Lecters home, Hannibal establishes a new life for himself in Italy along with the company of his own psychiatrist Bedelia.

*Meaning of episode's name: "Antipasto" is a first light dish that comes before the meal in a proper formal Italian meal. It fits the episode, since it's the first episode of the season, the opener. The literal meaning of the term is "before the meal".

[lifewithaview]

Matthias Schoenaerts in Django (2023) New Babylon

Episode 1

The Wild West in the 1860s and 1870s. Sarah and John have founded New Babylon, a city of outcasts, full of men and women of all backgrounds, races and creeds, that welcomes everyone with open arms. Haunted by the murder of his family eight years earlier, Django is still looking for his daughter, believing she may have survived. He is shocked to find her in New Babylon, about to marry John. But Sarah, now a grown woman, wants Django to leave, as she fears he will put New Babylon in jeopardy if he stays. However, Django, believing the city is in danger, is adamant that he will not lose his daughter twice.

[lifewithaview]

Alma Prelec as Polly/Apolenka Katic in Fifteen-Love (2023) You Know the Rules

Episode 6

Renee steps out onto Centre Court for the quarter finals of The Championships, but can her friendship with Justine survive? Justine must come to terms with what Glenn did to her and make a final attempt to bring him to justice.

~The End~

[lifewithaview]

Leslie Nielsen and Kate O'Sullivan in Police Squad! (1982) Revenge and Remorse (The Guilty Alibi)

Episode 4

Frank investigates a district judge's courtroom after it is booby-trapped with a powerful explosive. The main suspect is a recently paroled ex-convict with a history of similar bombings. Upon questioning the bomber's ex-wife, Frank and Ed find she's more interested in getting charity than the fact that her ex-husband may be up to his old tricks. Frank and Ed discover the bomber has a showgirl girlfriend on the side. She has the perfect alibi for her boyfriend, but Frank and Ed wonder if she's really just covering for him.

*The "Is this some kind of bust?" gag was reused in The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear (1991).

[lifewithaview]

Dominic Zamprogna in Supernatural (2005) Dead Man's Blood

S1E20

After Daniel Elkins, a vampire hunter and John's mentor, is murdered, Sam and Dean are surprised when John himself shows up to solve the case. John discovers the vampires have taken an antique gun, which has the power to kill all supernatural beings. The Winchester family sets out to retrieve the gun from the vampires so they can use it to kill the demon that took Sam and Dean's mother.

*The inscription on the colt "non timebo mala" means "I will fear no evil" in Latin.

[lifewithaview]

Lena Dunham in Girls (2012) Pilot

S1E1

New York City based Hannah has been working at an unpaid internship since she graduated two years ago from college with an English degree. She hopes that internship at a small publishing house will lead to the publication of her memoirs, which she is currently writing but which she needs to "live" first. She lives off an allowance from her college professor parents, Tad and Loreen Horvath. Hannah's parents make a trip from Michigan to visit Hannah, but their trip is really to tell her that they are cutting her off financially, which means she either has to find a paying job or turn that internship into a paying one. As she usually does, she turns to her "friend", Adam, for emotional support. Adam is an aspiring actor who generally treats her poorly as he never returns her text messages, but gets out of her what he wants. Meanwhile, Hannah's roommate and friend from college, Marnie, is planning on hosting a small dinner gathering for their college friends to mark the return of globe-trotting Jessa, who has moved in with her idolizing cousin, Shoshanna. It isn't the greatest time for Marnie as she contemplates breaking up with her long time and supportive boyfriend, Charlie.

*Quote:Hannah Horvath: Do you know that part on your resume where they ask if you have any special skills? Well, it's the thing where they ask you to list like, 'yoga, Spanish, water skiing, Photoshop.' I feel like I don't I have any special skills.

[lifewithaview]

Robert Wagner, Randy Gray, and Stefanie Powers in Hart to Hart (1979) Jonathan Hart Jr.

S1E3

An innocent woman is being blackmailed by her ex-husband, who threatens to implicate her in a robbery. He forces her to send her son to Jonathan, saying that the boy is Jonathan's son, Jonathan Hart Jr. Jonathan realises that the boy is not his but is determined to find his mother and discover what the real story is. When the boy is kidnapped during an outing to the zoo the mystery deepens. Then his mother turns up and she appears to remember personal details about Jonathan. However, Jonathan becomes suspicious when a ransom demand is made.

[lifewithaview]

Laura Aikman and Jason Isaacs in Archie (2023) Episode 4

Elsie still doesn't approve of Dyan; Cary and Dyan's relationship with her stays rocky, but fatherhood provides the family security Cary has been searching for.

*The play which Dyan announces she will be doing on Broadway is not named by her. It was, in fact, a comedy by J.J. Coyle entitled "The Ninety-Day Mistress", which had only a very brief run after poor reviews. It was her second and final Broadway appearance. Her first play, in 1962, was "The Fun Couple", starring Jane Fonda and Bradford Dillman, which lasted just three performances.

~The End~

[lifewithaview]

Freddie Highmore in The Good Doctor (2017) Hello

S2E1

Shaun's proposed treatment for a homeless patient puts him and Jared in Andrews' crosshairs. Meanwhile, Claire tries to overcome Melendez' reluctance to do a risky heart operation while Glassman must overcome his personal feelings about his oncologist, Dr. Marina Blaize, and face a difficult decision about his health.

*Lisa Edelstein was in House M.D., a medical drama show playing the Dean of Medicine, also created by David Shore. When she tells Glassman that he's going to go through all the waiting required for her to re-run tests he's already been through, whether he likes it or not, she mentions it's because she wants "my versions" of those tests done, this is similar to how House M.D. justified House's team continually doing work done by nurses and technicians instead of doctors in real life, with Dr. House not trusting any information not personally obtained by the doctors working directly for him.