Legit, Season 1, Episode 5: “Justice” Written by Peter O’Fallon, Jim Jefferies, and Rick Cleveland Directed by Peter O’Fallon Airs Thursdays at 10:30pm (ET) on FX While Jim, Steve and Billy have, on occasion ventured out, Legit has yet to have outsiders enter the personal space of the trio for any length of time. Rodney, …
Justified, Season 4, Episode 6: “Foot Chase” Written by Dave Andron and Ingrid Escajeda Directed by Peter Werner Airs Tuesdays at 10pm ET on FX Justified is generally wonderful at balancing a ludicrous array of plots and characters, but “Foot Chase” demonstrates that the show can;t function properly without Raylan at its center. With too much …
Legit, Season 1, Episode 4: “Anger” Written by Peter O’Fallon, Jim Jefferies, and Rick Cleveland Directed by Peter O’Fallon Airs Thursdays at 10:30pm (ET) on FX Through its short run, Legit hasn’t separated Jim, Steve, and Billy for long periods of time, focusing instead on building the relationship between the three. The opening minutes of …
The Americans, Season 1, Episode 2: “The Clock” Written by Jow Weisberg Directed by Adam Arkin Airs Wednesdays at 10pm ET on FX With its stellar pilot having established some of the rhythms of the Jennings marriage, “The Clock,” also penned by series creator Joe Weisberg, takes the time to examine other facets of our …
Justified, Season 4, Episode 5: “Kin” Written by Fred Golan and VJ Boyd Directed by Peter Werner Airs Tuesdays at 10pm ET on FX As a preface, can we just…? Along with the outstanding regular cast (and an appearance by underrated ex-regular Natalie Zea), “Kin” finds time for past guests Stephen Tobolowsky, Patton Oswalt, Jim …
Legit, Season 1, Episode 3: “Love” Written by Peter O’Fallon, Jim Jefferies, and Rick Cleveland Directed by Peter O’Fallon Airs Thursdays at 10:30pm (ET) on FX The third episode is perhaps the funniest the show has been to date, while still allowing for forward progression of the characters. While the idea of Jim teaching Steve …
Justified, Season 4, Episode 4: “This Bird Has Flown” Written by Taylor Elmore Directed by Bill Johnson Airs Tuesdays at 9pm ET on FX Justified is about a lot of things, but one aspect of the show that often gets overlooked is its nuanced take on masculinity, and its subtle rewriting of the Lone Gunman ethos. …
Legit, Season 1, Episode 2: “Dreams” Written by Peter O’Fallon, Jim Jefferies, and Rick Cleveland Directed by Peter O’Fallon Airs Thursdays at 10:30pm (ET) on FX The second episode continues the sure footing the show displayed in its first week. While the early joke with the dog was somewhat predictable, it still landed effectively. It’s …
Justified, Season 4, Episode 3: “Truth and Consequences” Written by Benjamin Cavell Directed by Jon Avnet Airs Tuesdays at 9pm ET on FX – In case you hadn’t gotten the memo that Justified‘s fourth season is going to be a vastly different beast from those that came before, “Truth and Consequences” might give us a better …
Legit, Season 1, Episode 1: “Pilot” Written by Peter O’Fallon and Jim Jefferies Directed by Peter O’Fallon Airs Thursdays at 10:30pm (ET) on FX The series kicks off with a very promising pilot, one of the better ones in recent memory. A lot of the show depends on the charm of the cast, particularly Jefferies’, …
Justified, Season Four, Episode One: “Hole in the Wall” Written by Graham Yost Directed by Michael Dinner Airs Tuesdays at 10pm ET on FX In a recent blog post summing up the joys of watching Justified, Vulture’s Matthew Zoller Seitz compared the show to Cheers – not because the shows share thematic or structural DNA, …
Sons of Anarchy Season 5, Episode 10: “Crucifixed” Written by Kurt Sutter Directed by Guy Ferland Airs Tuesdays at 10pm ET on FX It was clear from the beginning that absolutely nothing in the world of SoA is holy, but just to reassure us of that, Kurt Sutter (aka Otto) brutally stabs Nurse Pam with …
Sons of Anarchy Season 5, Episode 6: “Small World” Written by Kurt Sutter Directed by Adam Arkin Airs Tuesdays at 10pm ET on FX Sons of Anarchy has always been known for its violence and brutality but it seems as if season five is trying to reach a new record in accumulating dead bodies. After …
Louie, Season 3, Episode 13: “New Year’s Eve” Written by Louis C.K. Directed by Louis C.K. Airs Thursdays at 10:30pm ET on FX The last time Louie ended a season, we said goodbye to Pamela, the one who quite literally got away. This time around, it’s Liz (Parker Posey), who finally reunites with Louie thanks …
Louie, Season 3, Episodes 10-12: “Late Show” Written by Louis C.K. Directed by Louis C.K. Airs Thursdays at 10:30pm ET on FX For all of its open disregard for TV norms, Louie hasn’t often strayed from its pattern of getting the job done, story-wise, in 22 minutes or less. Even when the show attempted a …
Louie, Season 3, Episode 9: “Looking for Liz / Lilly Changes” Written by Louis CK Directed by Louis CK Airs Thursdays at 10:30pm ET on FX If you keep up with Louie timeslot neighbor Wilfred, you’ll know that it tends to stick to one-word descriptors for its episodes, like “Control,” “Avoidance,” and “Guilt.” It’s too …
Breaking Bad, Season 5, Episode 6: “Buyout” Written by Gennifer Hutchison Directed by Colin Bucksey Airs Sundays at 10pm ET on AMC Due to life constraints, the recap’s a little late and a little brief. Apologies; expect a beefier take next week for the penultimate episode. Season Five hits a bit of a pacing snag …
Louie, Season 3, Episode 8: “Dad” Written by Louis CK Directed by Louis CK Airs Thursdays at 10:30pm ET on FX After last week’s mostly “off” outing, Louie comes back swinging with one of its most brazenly cinematic episodes, a 22-minute whip-pan through a wide variety of topics and moods that feels very much like …
Louie, Season 3, Episode 7: “IKEA/Piano Lesson” Written by Louis C.K. Directed by Louis C.K. Airs Thursdays at 10:30pm ET on FX Well, this is an odd one. “IKEA/Piano Lesson” continues Louie‘s recent experimentation with continuity – including a flashback to a previous point in the series! – as well as its exploitation of real-life …
Louie, Season 3, Episode 6: “Barney/Never” Written by Louis C.K. Directed by Louis C.K. Airs hursdays at 10:30pm ET After a few especially sober, dry outings, Louie dips back into ouright comedic territory with “Berney/Never,” a bipartite episode with a pretty clear theme: shitty people, and the people who love and hate them unconditionally. In …
Louie, Season 3, Episode 5: “Daddy’s Girlfriend, Pt. 2” Written by Louis C.K. Directed by Louis C.K. Airs Thursdays at 10:30pm ET If it wasn’t already clear, the second half of “Daddy’s Girlfriend” makes it so: Louie is just about ready to leave comedy behind completely. The standup segments that have appeared in every episode …
Louie, Season 3, Episode 4: “Daddy’s Girlfriend: Part 1” Written by Louis C.K. Directed by Louis C.K. Airs Thursdays at 10:30 PM ET on FX Continuity has never been high on the list of priorities for Louie. Normally, this would be a hindrance, but Louis CK has managed to use the freedom gained by not …
Louie, Season 3, Episode 3: “Miami” Written by Louis C.K. Directed by Louis C.K. Airs Thursdays at 10:30pm ET on FX One of Louie‘s emerging strands over its two-and-a-bit seasons is that it occasionally takes the form of a travelogue. Whether Louie finds himself in Afghanistan (actually a military simulation ground in Texas, but whatever), …