In Sickness and n Health
This episode of the cancelled horror anthology shows why it was cancelled. This was directed by John Landis and stars Maggie Lawson and James Roday of ‘Psych’ as a couple about to get married when the bride receives a disturbing note. William B Davis and Marshal Bell star in this ineptness that was written by ex-con Victor Salva of all people.
There is foreshadowing, the script underperforms, the past plagues the couple and the acting is mercilessly free of intensity. Samantha (Lawson) wears too much make up and has walk of shames lashes. This was unexceptional. It’s obvious where this is going. There is a deep jagged schism from reality and a lack of basic human decency. Roday cannot act.
Nobody understands nothing. There is no devastatingly forensic honesty and 1980’s ‘Twilight Zone’ episodes were better than this. There is no vibrancy or thought-through plotting. The priest (Davis) is an idiot and the foundational elements of this show are dumb, the plot has no momentum and the acting is hammy and cheesy. The plot isn’t strong and suspenseful, the wedding dress is ugly, the cake is naff and proof of malice is obvious. The acting was bad and ‘Shasta McNasty’ was better.
Best Lines:
“No one wants this to happen.”
“How long is long enough?”
“Don’t do that with your face.”
“The language of your father.”
“Since before we had Barbie dolls.”
“No one saw anyone.”
“Go have a drink, you need one.”
~
Persecute Envoys
This was renewed. We’ll see. Anyway this has murder, blackmail and Kurt treating Mayfair like the worst sham of all. There is manipulation and coercion and flashbacks to five years ago when Mayfair shut out detractors and committed compromises of respectability. There was a suicide, but was it really?
In the now, much cherished standards are violated, Kurt is disaffected and there is denial, collusion and grim hopelessness. There is speculation and conjecture. A clearly exploitative baddie lurks and Kurt mutters about promised devastating social consequences for Mayfair’s actions. Kurt has a simmering sense of indignation. Kurt’s maybe unfairly maligned father still lurks. Jane does traumatic bonding with blondie and snaky. This was okay.
Best Lines:
“Be ready for war.”
“We were so wrong.”
“Wound up a human weapon.”
~
Pilot
The new residents are introduced to Trauma 1 at Angel’s Memorial hospital and deal with a series of patients. There is a nice senior ER nurse, blood, mess, cold infusion and everything is yellow tinged and grubby. Nobody shouts but instead speak calmly in the face of a horrible brat, an undetected head trauma and a c-section in a traffic jam. This had an ageist sexist burk, a woman (Bonnie Sommerville of ‘Grosse Ponte’) getting fired and then unfired and was good.
Best Lines:
“Lying, crying or dying.”
“What the hell’s a homeboy drop-off?”
“Gangbangers leave their wounded on the sidewalk.”
“Ride up top.”
“Where’s your concern?”
“Left it in a bottle of Xanax.”
“Half of LA is in this room.”
“What you see now and possibly worse.”
“They had to break all the windows.”
“What’s your ETA?”
“Not soon.”
~
Doctor Of The Dead
Flashbacks show a demented old man/weirdo doctor and hints at the origin of the virus. In the present something is wrong with Cassandra and Murphy bristles openly with annoyance and he has a nasty tendency to annihilate anything he touches. It’s 2018 and the gang wander around a bio-lab and there is unsubtle foreshadowing that if the lab is breached it will be taken out by a nuclear warhead. There is a sighting of Mack and Addie, an encounter with patient zero (Richard Sloniker) and no clue as to why someone would cause the sudden definitive extinction of humankind. Murphy crosses several lines and is hard wired to resist criticism. Murphy ruins everything with terrible consequences. This was good, see you for season 2.
Best Lines:
“Define alive.”
“Password: Red Death.”
“What fresh hell awaits us?”
“Fried my gonads.”
“Zombies can’t open doors.”
“Mercy her.”
“Why should I care?”
“Third strike weapons on a dead man’s switch.”