THE MIDDLEMAN
Season 1 Episode 5
“The Flying Fish Zombification”
Written by Andy Reaser
Directed by Allan Kroeker

So the MiddlePlot in this episode involves a quasi-zombie outbreak, courtesy of the Peruvian flying pike, while the Dub Dub personal life subplot involves “Art Crawl,” the regular art show Wendy and her gang of bohemian art fiends indulge in.


Given that there were not only quasi-zombies in this one, but also some airborne aquatic meanies (a tribute to James Cameron’s deathless Piranha II: Flying Killers?), I had high hopes for it.
And yeah, it did play better than either of the two previous episodes, but it still lacked some, ahem, bite.
And Pip (The Bold and the Beautiful’s Drew Tyler Bell; also in Victor Salva’s Jeepers Creepers II), the talentless would-be artist/son of the owner of the building Wendy has her illegal sublet in, is a less-than-inspired character. (I’m already having trouble with Noser, people…)


There were some great bits though, like Ali Damji as Rod Argent, whose brand new wife just got all zombie on him, and !!!! (Matt Keeslar, who really just owns the Middleman role, does a fantastic !!!!)
For those, I’m grateful.
But the whole sub-MiddlePlot involving Sensei Ping’s training of Wendy seemed a tad odd considering we never see Sensei Ping at all…
Hurrrr…


Ah, well, let me just accentuate the positive (something I’m sure Dr. Gil might say, if he were still with us): this one’s better than the past two episodes…

(Images courtesy of abcfamily.go.com.)

THE MIDDLEMAN
Season 1 Episode 2
“An Accidental Occidental Conception”
Written by Sarah Watson
Directed by Michael Zinberg

“Our mandate is to protect the people from threats infra-, extra-, and juxtaterrestrial; not to become consumed by the mundane problems of everyday life.”

Oh, lookie! A new opening credits sequence. It’s cool! And all sorts’a yellow!


Even as Wendy has a spat with her best friend, “confrontational, spoken-word performance artist” Lacey (Brit Morgan), an inexplicable mudslide in The Terracotta Warrior Tea House and Dim Sum Restaurant puts the Middleman right up against his very own Kryptonite: magic.
So a supernatural consultant is required.

Enter Roxy Wasserman (Elaine Hendrix, who played Joan of Arcadia’s science teacher, Ms. Lischak) of Famouse Fashion House, renowned fashion designer and reformed succubus, who employs a whole gaggle of demons who’ve turned a new leaf.
Only with Roxy’s help can the Middleman prevent a thousand-year rain of fire from coming to pass.


So the laughs and the pop culture references continue to zing by, as do the humourous rat-a-tat lines of dialogue (“You let yourself become distracted and the next thing you know, a geological rift opens and the city’s overrun by three-toed hominids who once battled man for dominance while you’ve got your tighty-whities around your ankles.”).
And yes, the strangely appropriate Power Rangers-grade CGI keeps on comin’.

We also get some new bits, both interestingly informative (the Middleman is the only Middleman in the world) and terribly, revealingly amusing (like a high school 1991 remembrance that partially explains why the Middleman is the way he is), as well as what could be a new recurring character, Trevor (Monarch Cove’s Matt Funke), the “barely reformed” demon who could be Lacey’s new love interest.
Hendrix as Roxy is also a spot-on plus. While her eccentricities as Ms. Lischak always felt particularly contrived, making the character an ill fit in Joan of Arcadia, the overall goofiness of The Middleman affords Hendrix a space in which her just-north-of-the-top performance feels right at home.


The Middleman’s rich, people, a light, fun, pop culture confection that gets a nice groove on when it’s so inclined.
You should really check it out, if you haven’t already.

“Look, I’m a multitasker. Ability to defeat evil and deal with emo at the same time. It’s like my superpower.”

(Images courtesy of abcfamily.go.com and pinkraygun.com.)

THE MIDDLEMAN
Season 1 Episode 1
“The Pilot Episode Sanction”
Teleplay by Javier Grillo-Marxuach
Directed by Jeremiah Chechik

“You know how in comic books, there’s all kinds of mad scientists and aliens and androids and monsters and all of them want to either destroy or take over the world?”
“In comic books, sure.”
“Well, it really does work like that.”


Wendy Watson (Natalie Morales) is a comic-loving, Xbox-playing artist whose temp job inadvertently brings her into contact with the Middleman (The Last Days of Disco’s Matt Keeslar), whose job it is to deal with comic book evil.
You see, all those wonky four-colour baddies—the monsters and aliens and mad doctors and killer robots? Well, contrary to what straight society wishes us to believe, and lining up precisely with what we’ve always known, they actually exist.
And the Middleman’s our non-spandex wearing hero.
And Wendy? Well, she’s about to be the Middleman’s sidekick. (Though I imagine Wendy would much rather be called, I dunno, his assistant?)


That’s ABC Family’s new show, The Middleman, in a nutshell.
Based on a comic book written by former Lost writer, Javier Grillo-Marxuach (which, if memory serves, is pronounced “Ha-vee-air Gree-joe Marks-watch”), The Middleman is a fun and irreverent romp that finds all the neat hilarity in comic book tropes and pop culture fixtures without making fun of them.
This first episode alone (directed by Jeremiah Chechik, whose feature film work includes Benny & Joon and the Diabolique redux) takes on a convention beloved of DC Comics, and is a great introduction to the wacky world of the Middleman.


Aside from the fact that Grillo-Marxuach’s writing is silly-sharp-funny, Morales and Keeslar are well cast, fully getting the tone of the show, not always as simple a task as it may sound; sometimes, there’s only a narrow margin between loving, good-natured, humorous homage, and spoof/parody.
Not only are Morales and Keeslar amusing and engaging protagonists, they also prove to be adept at delivering sometimes incredulously goofy lines at a mile a minute.
And sure, the CGI is distinctly TV-grade, but the fakey look of the effects just adds to the B-movie charm of the show’s premise.

Admittedly, this doesn’t leave the gate with quite as much propulsion as, say, the Heroes Pilot, and the show does appear to have some minor kinks it’ll need to work out (hopefully sooner rather than later), but if you’re a comic book geek, The Middleman is definitely a show to be checked out; if you know how to have fun with your comics, I’d like to think you’ll have fun with this too.

Parting shot: 24 fans, take note: Mary Lynn Rajskub shows up in the Pilot as Dr. Gibbs of Simionics Animal Laboratories.

(Images courtesy of abcfamily.go.com.)

MASTERS

OF HORROR

Season 2

Episode 2

“Family”
Written by Brent Hanley; directed by John Landis

Harold Thompson (Cheers’ George Wendt, who is reportedly appearing as the Vice President of the United States in the upcoming House of Re-Animator*) has some new neighbors. But what David (The Last Days of Disco’s Matt Keeslar) and Celia (Dawson’s Creek’s Meredith Monroe) apparently don’t know is that George has a terrible secret, one that could prove fatal for them all.
Landis (perhaps best known for his landmark horror film, An American Werewolf in London) handles this story very well, showing us some interesting parallels regarding George: just as the bland suburban façade of his home hides a gruesome truth, so is there a psychotic insanity that lurks behind his apparently harmless exterior.
That theme is then expanded upon with a third, initially undisclosed truth which only surfaces in the film’s final act.

But, despite “Family” being one of the better episodes of the second season (certainly better than the season opener, “The Damned Thing”), it does have its share of hiccups, among them, a number of scenes which border on pure audience misdirection, scenes which may seem a bit illogical, in light of the third act revelation. They aren’t blatantly manipulative, mind you, but they do skirt a questionable area.
Given that though, the episode is still bolstered by Wendt’s creepy Harold, and Monroe gets to spout some choice lines she would never have uttered on the Creek.
It’s also written by Brent Hanley, who penned the script for the excellent American Gothic horror film (and Bill Paxton’s directorial debut), Frailty.

* William H. Macy’s the President!

(Family DVD cover art courtesy of anchorbayentertainment.com.)

(Originally posted 031107.)

MASTERS OF HORROR Season 2 Episodes 1 & 2

“The Damned Thing”
Teleplay by Richard Christian Matheson; based on the short story by Ambrose Bierce; directed by Tobe Hooper

Sheriff Kevin Reddle (Powder’s Sean Patrick Flanery, though perhaps more widely seen as TV’s Young Indiana Jones) is the law in the small town of Cloverdale, suddenly faced with the recurrence of a terror that struck 24 years ago, turning his loving father into a homicidal maniac and leaving him an orphan.
As it turns out, the titular “damned thing” is intimately connected to the Reddle family, unleashed by the Sheriff’s grandfather, a primordial entity whose coming is accompanied by flurries of violence and mayhem, perpetrated by otherwise normal everyday people.

Though “The Damned Thing” is by no means a terrible film, it still doesn’t get far beyond stretches of quiet character moments, punctuated by instances of explosive gore and bloodletting. And though director Hooper takes his time with the characters—as he did on Poltergeist—what we do see of them doesn’t make us sympathize with them enough to really care about the outcome of the story. (It is a kick though to see Sam’s brother, Ted Raimi, as Father Tulli.)
And not only is the big CGI reveal of “the damned thing” a bit of a letdown, the story’s ending also serves as a big “So what?” to cap off this season’s not-so-grand opening.

“Family”
Written by Brent Hanley; directed by John Landis

Harold Thompson (Cheers’ George Wendt, who is reportedly appearing as the Vice President of the United States in the upcoming House of Re-Animator*) has some new neighbors. But what David (The Last Days of Disco’s Matt Keeslar) and Celia (Dawson’s Creek’s Meredith Monroe) apparently don’t know is that George has a terrible secret, one that could prove fatal for them all.
Landis (perhaps best known for his landmark horror film, An American Werewolf in London) handles this story very well, showing us some interesting parallels regarding George: just as the bland suburban façade of his home hides a gruesome truth, so is there a psychotic insanity that lurks behind his apparently harmless exterior.
That theme is then expanded upon with a third, initially undisclosed truth which only surfaces in the film’s final act.

But, despite “Family” being one of the better episodes of the second season (certainly better than the season opener, “The Damned Thing”), it does have its share of hiccups, among them, a number of scenes which border on pure audience misdirection, scenes which may seem a bit illogical, in light of the third act revelation. They aren’t blatantly manipulative, mind you, but they do skirt a questionable area.
Given that though, the episode is still bolstered by Wendt’s creepy Harold, and Monroe gets to spout some choice lines she would never have uttered on the Creek.
It’s also written by Brent Hanley, who penned the script for the excellent American Gothic horror film (and Bill Paxton’s directorial debut), Frailty.

* William H. Macy’s the President!