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April 4, 2007: Joe Day Afternoon
This was a completely riveting show! I was literally on the edge of my seat. I am still having heart palpitations!
The show starred the fantastic Adam Goldberg who was incredibly intense in the role of Bruce, a dying man who has lost his job and finds he has few options to protect his family once he is gone. Dazed and Confused wasn’t the first thing I saw Adam Goldberg in, but it was the movie that I think of whenever I see him. (Besides The Hebrew Hammer, which was hysterical to say the least.) Adam is a gifted comedic actor, so it was really satisfying to see him in Medium playing a very unfunny character.
The show opened with Allison speaking of dread and its many manifestations. My favorite lines from that were:
“Dread gnaws at you.”
“Dread is worrying about something you can’t do anything about.”
I’ve had that horrifying feeling and it is not something you can easily shake. This is going to be an intense show.
Double dream opening! Al has a dream within a dream where she thought she was awake, but lo and behold, she wasn’t and the second time she saw Bruce with a hole in the back of his head — gruesome! Ariel had bad feelings, too. And she was having a bad hair day — her sentiment, not mine. I would kill for hair as thick and gorgeous as that child’s!
I found it funny that the crazy Bruce drove a Prius; I don’t know why exactly, but it’s not exactly the kind of car you would think a crazed killer would drive. Am I right?
The only funny line in the whole show was from the pregnant engineer who said her baby didn’t like coffee, because every time she took a sip, the baby forced it back up. Holding her swollen belly, she said, “I like coffee, maybe it’s not my baby.”
Who is the guy playing the boss? He’s been on every show under the sun and I can’t place him. Someone, please come to my rescue. I think Joe’s had like a thousand different bosses in three seasons. Mr. Dylan Cravits probably won’t be alive at the end of the show anyhow, so we might as well add him to the pile.
I don’t know what an eighth-grade principal should be like, but Ariel’s sucks! He was watching the TV with the news story about Aerodytech and he didn’t know her father works there? It has to be one of the biggest employers in the area. Adults should trust kids sometimes to know a thing or two. Ariel’s mother was exactly the person she needed to talk to, so who is he to decide otherwise? It’s not like she was smoking out back or drinking in the girls' bathroom.
I thought it was very strange, very strange indeed, that when Allison got to the crime scene, she ran towards Miguel and called him, “Mr. District Attorney!” Why did Allison refer to the DA as the DA? Wouldn’t she just call him by his name, or “Sir”? Anyone have a theory?
When Bruce shot Aaron, I jumped out of my seat; that was a little too intense for me. And at that point I knew Bruce would shoot someone else. I also knew it wouldn’t be Joe; he’s so levelheaded. And he would never shoot the pregnant lady. But Cravits? Well, frankly, folks, he had it coming, if you ask me. You want to handle a crazed former employee weeks away from death with kid gloves, not by humiliating him. That was some seriously bad judgment.
And finally, all was set right with the world and we got to see a nice gratuitous chest shot of hunky Joe! Life is good! What a ridiculously good show, don’t you agree? I’m going to think about this one for quite a while.
Next week, Patricia’s real-life brother David Arquette directs Medium when Allison and her screen brother duke it out over opposing dreams. I look forward to seeing you all back here next week.
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Apr 5, 2007 3:39 AM
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Great review, Paula. The actor you are trying to place is Larry Miller. He's been in tons of things and to find out more here is the IMDB link:
http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0588777/
I agree this was an intense and very good episode. It wasn't your typical Medium episode, but it kept my interest anyway. Probably because Joe was the star, basically. I thought the most interesting psychic parts were with Ariel.
I wanted to slap that principal upside the head. This was a lousy way to portray the principal. I'm hoping the majority of them aren't like this guy was.
I, too, thought how odd it was when Allison called her boss Mr. District Attorney. I love Patricia Arquette but she doesn't do too well at acting the overwrought wife or mom. It's overdone, in my opinion. But that's my only criticism of her!
This was just so good. And I wish they would showcase Ariel a little more. I love when she gets to show her "gift".
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Apr 5, 2007 4:24 AM
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If I were Joe, I'd be looking for a new job soon. A company that would fire a dying man so his family can't get pension doesn't sound like a place that would have my back when times were tough.
Otherwise, really great episode. Very intense. When Allison saw the dead co worker and went and talked to him... I got chills. And Ariel's vision at the school of Bruce's son overhearing his parents conversation the night before was so good. Her determination when she went back to the principal was excellent.
So, now that the money is transferred, did Bruce get away with it, or will authorities be able to find the money?
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Apr 5, 2007 7:12 AM
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This was a fantastic episode! I had to take a deep breath to calm down when it was all over. I really can't understand why the ratings for this show are going down. This season has been the best yet.
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Apr 5, 2007 9:36 AM
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One of the best episodes of the season. I think the reason she called out 'Mr district attorney' was for 2 reasons. One to get his attention for sure, calling 'sir' or even a name in a parking lot full of guys could get missed. And it sounded more official and not like a hysterical wife.
I don't think the company knew he was dying when he got fired. I do think he was trying to get money (while still employed) to secure his wifes future when he told his boss that it would cost an extra $750,000 seeing as how he was able to correct the problem.
Actually I think the principal was very realistic. I doubt anyone from the schools my kids attended knew where I worked. And what should he do, go through every student package to see who has a parent that works at that particular company? Now what I would like to see would be Allison telling him that if her daughter ever wants to call mom he better darn well let her.
I thought from early on in the crisis that the boss was just looking to get shot, so I have to admit I was suprised that he pretty much sacraficed himself to save the others counting on the police to break in when they heard shooting.
Hope next weeks show is better than the preview looks, because it didn't look nearly as good as this one.
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Apr 5, 2007 9:56 AM
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The company didn't know about his illness when he was fired--just an unhappy coincidence.
And about the principal...he wasn't realistic to me, either. Thinking back...none of my principals had a TV in their office. I never caught them sitting there with their feet up on the desk. Mine were actually busy--or good at looking like they were.
Also, who immediately calls the parents? If I had defied my principal she probably would have had a stern talk with me, and then sent me to either/both detention and the guidance counselor. The latter of which to figure out why I, a usually good student, as I presume Ariel is, was acting up.
They wouldn't go "Oh, you're defying me! Let's call mom!" What the hell would my mom do about it over the phone? "Uhh, sweetie, shut the hell up and listen to the principal?" No. She would wonder why the principal wasn't disciplining me and doing his/her job.
But I really didn't harp on that issue as long as it took for me to write about it.
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Apr 5, 2007 11:40 AM
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OK, people, where's the love for Aaron? I just feel really sad they killed him off. We did get to know him a bit, as in the repeat from last week where he gave Joe the heads up about autism, as his child has been diagnosed with the disease. But it was nice to see Larry Miller's boss throw himself on the grenade after being so flippant for most of the hostage crisis. Not a good way to gain your freedom, I would say.
As to Allison addressing her boss as Mr. District Attorney, that appears to be pretty much how they greet each other most of the time. Even when she calls him in the middle of the night. And when he calls her he usually announces his full name too. Weird, but then so is the show. Just one of the quirks that makes it different from most of the other fluff out there.
I did miss Scanlon last night. He always adds a nice touch of the sardonic that's needed when your dealing with so much life and death on a regular basis.
ITA, that principal should be brought up before the Board of Ed. Who has that much time on their hands running a school to be kicking back watching TV? But his treatment of Ariel was pretty much right on. Remember, we know she's got the gift, not him.
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Apr 5, 2007 1:31 PM
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I too was on the edge of my seat. My dog was not happy with me when Aaron was shot and I jumped off the couch.
I think I've heard Alison call him "Mr. District Attorney" before, but it did kind of stick out. I think the above poster had it right about getting his attention.
He was fired when the satellite he was working on fell from the sky. I wondered if his brain tumor had something to do with that.
Loved when he hit the boss as a "memory jogger." Reminded me of The Black Donnleys this week when Kevin had to hit someone to get his money. Tommy was confused, but that got him to give up the money, just like the punch got the boss to give up the root file. Guess he didn't shoot him first 'cuz he knew he had the info needed to break into the file. I too wonder if his wife will get that money.
I thought Ariel's hair looked pretty good!
Loved the scene first of Ariel in school (detention?), then Alison in the car when the dread left them.
I bet next time Alison wants Joe to play hookey he will.
I loved his bare chest at the end - YUM!!!!!!!!
It was a nice wrap up with Ariel coming in, and Alison saying it was the first night he had slept through since the funeral. A nice way to show the passage of time, and that this would have some effects on Joe. Now I wonder if we will see some of those things manifest in future episodes. That kind of continuity would be cool.
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Apr 5, 2007 1:31 PM
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My son's principal had a television in her office. I do not know how often she watched it. He might have turned it on to check something and the crisis came on. The principal probably got sucked into watching. I can remember sitting in my living room watching reports on various disasters, etc.
If the school was up-to-date, the principal could have typed the name of the company into his computer and found every student whose parent is suppose to be working there. If they are a large local employer, I am surprised he did not do it. He would need to be prepared to deal with the after effect on his school.
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Apr 5, 2007 2:04 PM
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Forgot to say, I loved this episode. I was not sure that Joe wasn't going to get shot.
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Apr 5, 2007 2:05 PM
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paula i also thought allison's "mr DA" remark was odd, but as soon as he showed up and jumped out of his car in that scene, another person---unseen, probably a reporter----shouted "there's Mr. Distric Attorney" then allison said it immediately after that. my very next thought was if she wanted his attention in the noisy chaos she should have yelled his first name, it certainy would have stood out. who knows, maybe it was just a mistake by patricia and they kept it in cuz it wasn't worth the time and money it would take to re-do the scene?
i too was shocked when aaron(?) was shot, but it really worked to capture the completely terrifying uncertainty you would feel if you were caught in that kind of horrible situation.
i thought the ending was cute when she was watching him sleep, cuz as fabulous as he would be for a husband, i've never felt a love connection for him by allison. maybe they are trying so hard to make her the busy soccer mom (to keep all of us soccer moms happy), but there doesnt seem to be any romance from her. i see him acting that way, she just seems disconnected to me.
of course i'll watch next episode, the story line---from the little we've seen--doesnt look terribly interesting , but it will defintiely be twisted and intriguing in some way since it IS david arquette. i also like the fact that brother and sister are working together, that would be fun.
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Apr 5, 2007 2:08 PM
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I thought the "Mr. District Attorney" was odd, too, but maybe, as has been mentioned, she used it to get his attention, as anyone "official" would use that term as well.
I also thought that the principal didn't ring true--Ariel didn't say that she felt bad, she said that she had a bad feeling. His lecturing her that "we're in 8th grade now and should learn to handle our feelings" was a crock. And since I doubt that she's a trouble-maker or repeatedly tries to call her mom from school, he should have given her more consideration. I agree that he wouldn't call Allison the minute that Ariel refused to go to class, though. That smacked of, "Well, I'm telling your mom on you!" to me. It worked out well for Ariel, though. I too would like to see Allison chewing out the principal and telling him that any time her daughter wants to call her, she'd damn well better be allowed to.
I literally jumped when Bruce shot Aaron; I didn't think that he'd actually end up killing anyone. It worked out for Allison that he did, though, as she was able to get inside info.
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Apr 5, 2007 3:37 PM
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Allison calling "Mr District Attorney" sounded perfectly appropriate to me. I say this because I was a police officer for several years and would always refer to other officers, supervisors, etc by their "official names" (Sgt Smith, Officer Brown etc) in public. This was true even if in private I called them by first name. It just added an air of professionalism when we were in public settings.
I agree though, that the principal could have handled the situation with Ariel better. He needs to take a lesson from Ariel's teacher. It would have been a good idea for him to check the student records for anyone who had parents employed at Aerodytech if for no other reason than to be aware of any students who might have been affected by the hostage crisis.
Also...Paula, Adam Goldberg had a guest appearance on Law and Order:CI a couple of years ago and played a decidely creepy individual who murdered his girlfriend's husband. He did a good job on that show also.
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Apr 5, 2007 4:22 PM
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Actually, I wasn't that impressed with the episode. It was good to see Joe have a larger part & I thought he was really good at trying to calm down Bruce - it felt like he might have succeeded if the boss hadn't been such an idiot. But Allison did very little except moan & wail. And she sees Bruce with a hole in his head (from the illness or being shot by police I wasn't sure) and the best she could come up with was "a feeling of dread"?
Ariel at a school where she has no access to a phone except via the principal? No-one had a cellphone and there were no payphones around? And speaking of cellphones - claiming Allison's information from Aaron had come from Joe via cellphone is okay at the time - but what happens when the hostages are debriefed and they all say the first thing Bruce did was confiscate the cellphones?
Oh, and there was at least one other funny line - at least to me. When Cravitz said Bruce couldn't sell the plans to any of their competitors & he muttered "there's always Ebay"!!!
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Apr 5, 2007 4:42 PM
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Another great review, Paula!
Where the heck was Scanlon? Boo Hoo! I missed him so much - and if for any reason he should have been there, it would have been to support Allison - I thought she should have called him for help to find out info.
I wondered why she called Devalos "Mr DA" as well, why not Mr Devalos to keep it professional?
It was shocking the way he shot that poor guy - after all he did everything he asked.
Larry Miller was the guy who played the crazy attorney on Boston Legal who showed up in his boxer shorts one day to work. He's very good.
Very good episode, but I do have to take away points for not including Scanlon! I had to pull out my DVD's and watch one with Scanlon just to get my weekly Scanlon fix.
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Apr 5, 2007 4:48 PM
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