#The Perfect Couple S01E03

[tv-moments]

The Perfect Couple

“The Perfect Family”

Director: Susanne Bier

DoP: Roberto De Angelis, Shane Hurlbut

[adultswim2021]

Perfect Hair Forever #3: “Cat Snatch Fever” | December 5, 2005 – 12:30AM | S01E03

Tasked to write about a show like Perfect Hair Forever, you really do realize how deep it DOESN’T go. I’m really under the impression that this show is nothing more than nonsense that you’re supposed to get stoned to before you fall asleep. Am I wrong? No! I’m right! Is that a bad thing! Well, don’t start a blog about it, I’ll just say that much.

The story of Gerald continues. The plot develops. They meet new characters, like a tornado guy that gives them ice cream. Uncle Grandfather pisses off Rod the Anime god by sicking a big hotdog bun at him. Coifio, Uncle Grandfather’s nemesis and probably brother or something, sicks a cat with wings onto, something, somewhere. Uncle Grandfather sends a hot dog into a skirmish. The king of all animals drives into a hole. One of his animals, a bird, has Zorak’s voice. Brenda whispers into Gerald’s ear, which she keeps in an ornamental box. Somehow, a war between cats and hotdog buns begins. Melt Banana does the opening and closing theme. Space Ghost is king dead during a post-credits scene. The end!

Perfect Hair Forever has a baseline level of creativity and humor that makes it “good enough” Adult Swim. I like it better than quite a few shows on the block. But goddamn, so far it’s been the most difficult to write-up. I literally just ran down the plot, sorta, and now I’m writing this paragraph where it’s basically me shrugging. Sorry, everyone.

Aqua Teen Hunger Force Volume 4 DVD (December 6, 2005)

Volume 4! AKA the first volume that actually encapsulates an entire broadcast season of the show! This release is sorta important to me, personally, because it’s announcement (which came months in advance, such is the way with many DVD releases... need I say more?) played a role in me getting into “The Best Show on WFMU” hosted by Tom Scharpling, a show I’d become VERY OBSESSED with. How so? Well, the list of extras included something called “Funny Pete Stuff”, which if I remember correctly referred to Pete Smith, and was a collection of original promos he produced where a guy in a Master Shake costume walks around. I think my friend Kon speculated that it might have something to do with Petey, a funny kid who called into the Best Show and interviewed Matt & Dave on a couple different occasions. He was an ATHF megafan and did his own animations, so it wasn’t a huge leap to make. I think this directly lead to Kon posting links to his interviews, me hearing them, and then eventually getting further and further into the world of Tom Scharpling. 

ANYWAY: This is a good release and has lotsa good fun extras, including Spacekataz, which isn’t really either good or fun, just extra. I think this is the one where if you click “PLAY ALL” then all the episodes play on a grid simultaneously, so it’s just a cacophony of noise. Is that redundant to say? Is a cacophony always noise-related, I mean? It has “phon” in it, so I bet yes. Oh well. I’m not looking it up or changing it.

[my-sherlock221b]

Supernatural Rewatch Ramblings: Dead in the Water

This episode is the first one to be directed by Kim Manners. It was written by Raelle Tucker and Sera Gamble. It is still the MoTW format and once again the ‘monster’ is something that was created by human action. Ordinary seeming stories—of bullying, lies, cover up—with deadly consequences.

Read below the cut for more and also watch out for the add-ons by my partner in crime @soulmates-for-real​ who does the most amazing gifsets and image galleries 😎

It reminded me of this quote:

“If only it were all so simple! If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?” Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, The Gulag Archipelago 1918–1956

It is a chilling experience—both the actual monster when we do finally see it and the backstory of what really happened. These monsters are all created by the flawed human beings. Here is another quote from the same source which could well be the underlying bedrock of the two very different approaches we see Sam and Dean take in later episodes to the whole saving people hunting things.

“Since then I have come to understand the truth of all the religions of the world: They struggle with the evil inside a human being (inside every human being). It is impossible to expel evil from the world in its entirety, but it is possible to constrict it within each person.” .

Philosophical overtones aside, we are also getting more glimpses into the heads and hearts of the two leads.

It is already obvious that Dean has put the whole ‘Dad- is- missing- and- hasn’t- been-home-in -a -few-days stuff’ on the back burner till …ummm  forever ? cos he has Sammy in front of his eyes who is sitting shotgun and being completely brotherly and sniping and bitching while also being boyfriend- level possessive.

As I said in the earlier review- I was just so swept away by the swashbuckling swagger of Dean that so obviously was an armour for his vulnerability that I almost didn’t notice Sam much. This is the episode where he became something more for me. Someone who was also finding out what Dean was all about at the same time as we were.

Someone who could pull him down to earth with a sharp: ‘People don’t just disappear, Dean. Other people just stop looking for them.’

But also reach out to him and remind him that they ‘can’t save everyone’.

In an early scene in the episode Sam scolds Dean for even starting to flirt with the waitress. 

He smirks when Andrea shoots Dean down. He mocks Dean’s pick- up line about kids are the best. He seems pleased in a very petty way that Dean’s attempt has failed and that he has no choice now but to hang out with Sam and to give him his full attention.

The episode does have plot holes –that house Lucas draws and the history of the friendship of the two men and the missing boy surely must be well known to everyone in that small town, including Lucas’s mother and how come no one joins the dots etc. etc.

But small quibbles aside, we get to see that the past casts long shadows—whether sins of the past or just events of the past. ( again a parallel to the lives of the Winchesters themselves. And in later seasons we find out just how far back into the past those shadows reach!)

We see that Dean connects with the mute boy, Lucas, but then we learn that he can do this because he had also shut down after he saw his mother die and he knows how scary the world can seem and how he needed to make himself brave to carry on.

Sam watches from the sidelines and we can see him have an ‘oh ok’ moment as he stores away this information because it has clearly never been discussed in the family earlier. Kudos to Jared for being amazing with the ‘active listening’ that Sheila O’Malley references so often.

So despite Sam challenging him to name 3 kids he even knows, we see that Dean actually focusses on the kid throughout. The shared sense of loss aside, maybe Dean also sees himself as the protector of all little kids especially after the Shtriga incident. (which we don’t know anything about yet) (and we do see him bond with kids in every episode that involves kids. It is adorable !!)

In this episode Dean is almost drowning in his dad’s leather jacket and the way the silver ring looks on his hand is just ridiculously sexy…sigh….and that amulet right where it belongs…..deeper sigh. Then the cocky grin, the unsubtle flirting, all macho/manly/me- so- hetero/me- see- me- conquer on the outside but the soft squidgy child- whispering caramel centre, the trauma of being a motherless kid—having become motherless in a brutal way, a missing and probably almost cruel dad, a brother he raised as his own who walked out on him to go seek his own dreams….all these layers are being put together slowly for us.

Dean is not what he seemed to be and that brash swashbuckling exterior hides a very complex and interesting person. The script and direction were excellent of course but Jensen brought to it just the perfect balance of bad-boy + I wuv hugs.

Sam is still finding his way into the story and we are still watching things from Dean’s perspective as narrator which is fascinating to realize during the re-watch. As I have mentioned earlier, I was so swept away by Dean that it took me a very long time to focus on Sam as a separate person.

Ok, now, all together shout--- --WHY do people DO the following things??!!!

Put hands elbow deep into a sink, give lifts to obvious deranged malevolent spirits in human form, ‘let’s split up so we can cover more ground’, go into a shower/bath in a scary scene—can’t they HEAR the dun-dun-dun music score in the background?!! Sheesh.

Anyway.     *eyeroll*

In a not- at- all- very- surprising turn of events Sam and Dean’s fake identity is called out and they are asked to leave town, which they do. But ….of course Dean does a very dramatic turn on the highway and takes them back to make sure the kid is ok!

Then Sam rescues the mother from the lethal bath- tub while Dean makes sure the kid is safe. Then they start to connect even more dots and eventually we see an incredible heroic rescue scene in the scary lake with Dean and the boy.

Jensen had described this shot in some interview as the most terrifying scene he had ever done apparently because he was responsible not only for doing the scene right but also for the young boy’s safety underwater.

What a fabulous visual we do get finally, with the boy in his embrace as they shoot out of the water!

That lake with its dark water is one super creepy place. That very first scene where we see the girl swimming from an underwater perspective had me yelling at the screen for her to GET OUT NOW.

So, finally, all is sorted and revenge has been had and bad folks die, good folks live and as they leave the town of course Lucas chats with Dean and they high five and just like the sister in the Wendigo episode, the young mother in this one also gives Dean a kiss on his cheek. Dean of course blushes and goes all gruff and drives off with Sam smirking in the shotgun seat.

The pattern is beginning to be established.

I am loving it!😍

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The gag reel of this episode shows Jensen leaping into Jared’s arms.

This is the third episode only. So they have known each other only for a couple of months at this point?! Hmm…my J2 tinhat is also shining. And also wow. I mean Jensen is NOT a tiny guy.

  Here are some other possibly more erudite and informed reviews if you would like to go down that rabbit hole like I did.

This one is cool https://the-orbit.net/entequilaesverdad/2016/05/10/supernatural-s1-e3-dead-water-summary/ and gives a fun and interesting score at the end which goes like this

Episode 3 counts:

Woman in the Fridge: 1

For Sophie Carlton being the first to get murdered by the vengeful spirit. It’s obviously meant to hook us harder: I mean, nobody would care as much about obnoxious brother Will, right?

Revenge from Beyond the Grave: 4

Sophie Carlton, Will Carlton, Bill Carlton, and Jake Devins.

Brotherly Love: 2

I had to give one to Sam for cock-blocking his brother right at the start. Another point goes to Dean’s sick-of-your-attitude lecture to his little brother, throwing Sam’s decision to go to college while Dean stayed behind with their dad in his face.

Toxic Masculinity: 1

For Dean downplaying his grief when Sam draws him out about the aftermath of their mother’s death.

Swimming in Sexism: 2

For Will Carlton’s comment to his sister that “guys don’t like buff girls.” I added a point for all the times they had Dean hitting on any available woman. They do want us to be extra-very sure he’s hetero, don’t they?

Cumulative Counts: Dean’s Man Tears: 3

One point awarded for all Dean’s choking up about Mom. We’re now three for three, folks.

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This review totally calls out Dean LOL. I love the reviews that were written as first watch because they are without the benefit of hindsight we have on a re-watch.

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http://markwatches.net/reviews/2013/11/mark-watches-supernatural-s01e03-dead-in-the-water/

“It was fascinating to me, then, that through this, Sam was able to learn about Dean’s own emotional reasoning behind his hunting. Of course, Dean, being the most stereotypical dude of all dudes who ever duded, has to immediately act like feelings aren’t cool because BLEH. Okay, that is one aspect of Dean that I’m not terribly interested in, especially since he expresses feelings like every five seconds. The whole “I am a straight man and I’m very straight and look at that butt straight I’m straight” thing is already exhausting because I get it. You don’t need to tell me this every five seconds.” 

The comments to this review are also super entertaining with gems like this:

“So, if you knew that someone had drowned in the lake recently and their body was never found, WHY WOULD YOU STILL GO SWIMMING IN THE LAKE? Especially if two people had. It wouldn't make you think, "Hey, maybe there's something dangerous in that lake?" This show has some of the least genre savvy people EVER. Like, for example, once this mysterious death thing shows up in a sink, why would anyone want to take a bath or really ever fill any basin with water again? Seriously, is this the Bad Decision Olympics?”

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Here is an awesome review from Fangasm also

https://fangasmthebook.com/2021/01/13/looking-back-on-dead-in-the-water-classic-supernatural/

[tv-moments]

The Perfect Couple

“The Perfect Family”

Director: Susanne Bier

DoP: Roberto De Angelis, Shane Hurlbut

[adultswim2021]

Squidbillies #3: “School Days, Fool Days” | October 31, 2005 – 12:00AM | S01E03

Squidbillies continues it's streak of being “sorta okay”. The show is still introducing itself to the masses with episodes that remind you of important character dynamics: Early is still learning to be a father to his son, and failing. The watchful eye of the Sheriff looms over Early's attempts, because if he doesn't do a good job he could go back to prison. I called this show “surprisingly serialized” but really what it's doing is what most sitcoms do in their first season; reintroducing the characters over and over again while paying enough lip-service to continuity as to not alienate those who've been and stayed on board. This one is about Early putting Rusty through school and opting to home school him in order to get some government cash.

The episode starts off with Early sending Rusty into a metal cage as part of a cockfight, with a party-hat affixed to his face like a beak, looking like a cruel, frankly racist mockery of a rooster. Rusty thinks he's playing soccer. The wanton cruelty that Early shows his own son is simply part of the series' humor. Rusty is nearly killed by the vicious bird, but luckily the Sheriff shows up in time to put an end to things. The rest of the episode becomes a series of gags where Early home-schools Rusty, teaching him various things, but in rude/wrong-headed ways.

The weird thing about this show is that it's remarkably unmemorable. I sorta like it in theory, and I believe the basic ingredients of this show could make for a funny episode. I just haven't seen it yet. There are a couple bits I admire but nothing that's made me laugh out loud. The unmemorable aspect of the show comes into play as I watch these season one episodes; I know I saw the pilot beforehand, but I'm not so sure I watched these actual episodes. And yet they all seem vaguely familiar to me. Like, maybe I DID watch this entire season and was just so unimpressed by it that none of it left an impression. I did own the DVD set. Maybe I threw them on dutifully and let them wash over me, justifying my purchase despite the fact that I got nothing out of them. Look! I'm using this superfluous thing I bought! Aren't I responsible with my money? My time, on the other hand...

MAIL BAG:

Sorry I forgot about the MAIL BAG, everyone. Yesterday’s post took forever for me to complete. It was so long. This person is referring to my write-up for Signals:

I am a fool. Let's be real here. But I still read your blog every morning during breakfast and it gives me something to do. We can be fools TOGETHER. Anyways, yeah I definitely love 12 oz. Mouse, so it's refreshing to see someone give proper respect to the show - most people I know fuckin hated it.

I do respect it, and I will defend to the death it’s right to exist.

adult swim tripling down on difficult "take it or leave it" kinda shows with squidbillies, 12 oz and perfect hair forever (even if squids is the most obviously accessible of the three), in a way i don't think they ever really did again. adult swim, feeling it's oats. cherish these moments, young lazzo,

Add Lucy, The Daughter of the Devil to that list, baby! And keep a watchful eye out for MINORITEAM, coming soon, unfortunately.