the middleman

(S01E06) "Bring it, Marvin." -- Wendy Watson

It seems that the writers of The Middleman have decided to stop opening the show with sexy scenes featuring Natalie Morales and start also including sexy scenes featuring Brit Morgan. Watching her do those dance moves more than made for the ham-handed way the writers attempted to get me to care about Varsity Fanclub. Clearly my taste in music is tragically unhip, since I thought the band was fictional until about three hours before the episode aired.

I know Pip is supposed to be the unlikable douchebag of the show, but his character isn't interesting enough for me to care about. His dialogue reminds me of a non-animated Cartman. Someone who thinks they're better than everyone he knows and yet he still seeks approval from those people. The difference is Drew Tyler Bell is no Eric Cartman.

(S01E04) One thing that really pleases me about The Middleman is how the show walks the line between outrageous fantasy and realistic technology. While Lacey was rattling off all the places on the internet where Wendy's breakup could be seen, I was trying to catch something that sounded made up but it all seemed very reasonable, especially the girlfriend revenge site.

On the other hand, I wasn't too crazy about Dr. Gil. Clint Culp is a guy who I see quite often at auditions and he's very talented, but why would the writers do something as lame as a Dr. Phil parody? If the show were being produced 20 years ago would the character be named Alfredo Riviero or Horton Downer Sr?

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I don't know a lot of people who really like Mondays. Off the top of my head, the only one that comes to mind is Seattle radio personality The Groz.

The Groz loves Mondays. Most of us, I think, would prefer that Monday was another stop on our weekend tour. It makes it hard to get things going on occasion. If you're having that problem, I have just the cure. A girl in a bear costume, dancing to the title track from that Camp Rock movie. It's embedded after the jump, and really, it will brighten your day.

The scene is an outtake/bonus cut from last week's episode of The Middleman, where we learned of Lacey's fondness for dressing up in a bear costume. But wait, there's more. That little gem came from the Livejournal of Middleman head honcho Javier Grillo-Marxuach. It's a handy link to keep checking back to. And if the dancing bear isn't enough Middleman goodness for you, head on over to ABC Family and watch the entire table read for the episode "The Sino-Mexican Revolution." It's a fun behind the scenes look.

All things considered, the summer television season is off to a pretty good start. I've been enjoying My Boys, The Middleman, Fear Itself, and So You Think You Can Dance, to name a few. The schedules might be a little heavy with the reality programming at the moment, but that's changing soon enough. Over the next few weeks we have the likes of Eureka, Psych, Burn Notice, Stargate: Atlantis, Monk, The Closer, and Saving Grace all making their returns.

With those last two in mind, I thought I would point everyone to some handy recaps the fine folks over at TNT put together to get us back up to speed before the shows return on July 14th. Each of the videos manages to crunch the last season down to about four and a half minutes, and I've embedded them after the jump.

At least that's the somewhat sarcastic conclusion I'm jumping to. As I started watching the east coast feed, an email bounced into the TV Squad inbox from reader 'Jay.' He noted that when he tried to record The Middleman on his PC, he was greeted with an error message. I had to wait three hours for the regular airing on the left coast, but I dusted off an old Media Center PC and got that very same error, as you see in the picture. I like to think that Wendy is showing her shock and outrage at the snafu in that shot. But wait, there's more ... after the jump.

• At 8, ABC has two new episodes of The Bachelorette, followed by a new episode of The Mole.
• NBC has a new American Gladiators, then a new, two hour Nashville Star.
• USA has the U.S. Olympic Trials at 8, then a new Monday Night RAW.
• At 9, PBS has a new History Detectives.
• Food Network has a new Unwrapped at 9, about cereal.
• There's a new World Poker Tour on GSN at 9.
• VH-1 has A Concert For Nelson Mandela at 9.
• At 10, ABC Family has a new episode of The Middleman.
• Showtime has a new Weeds at 10, followed by a new Secret Diary of a Call Girl.
• Food Network has a new Drive-Ins, Diners, and Dives at 10.
• E! has a new The Soup Presents at 10.
• Also at 10: MTV has a new Legally Blonde.

Check your local TV listings for more.

(S01E02) "I'm as serious as a hefty bag full of Rottweilers." - The Middleman

One thing I noticed about last week's episode carried over into the opening scene of this week. When Wendy is "off the clock" she seems to always dress in very relaxed clothes; skimpy shorts, halters, etc. Her hot roommate not only enjoys the freedom that shorts and tanks offer but apparently has no problem with public nudity as well, especially if it's in the name of freedom. I'm not sure what these fashion choices mean but it's something I couldn't help notice.

I have a feeling Ida is going to be my favorite character on this show. Not because Mary Pat Gleason is a talented veteran actress but because she seems to have an endless array of functions. Not only can she produce a cup of coffee from her midsection but it comes in a to go cup with the logo of an imaginary coffee shop already printed on it. Very cool.

• At 8, ABC has a new episode of The Bachelorette, followed by a new episode of The Mole.
• NBC has a new American Gladiators at 8, then a new Nashville Star.
• USA has a new Monday Night RAW at 8.
• ABC Family has a new episode of The Middleman at 8.
• There's a new Good Eats on Food Network at 8.
• History Channel has a new Modern Marvels at 8.
• Also at 8: TCM has the Harold Lloyd movie Movie Crazy.
• At 9, GSN has a new World Poker Tour.
• At 10, Food Network has a new Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.
• MTV has a new Legally Blonde at 10.
• VH-1 has a new I Love The Millennium at 10.
• Showtime has a new Weeds at 10.

Check your local TV listings for more.

(S01E01) "I think Jughead's a real hoot." - Wendy Watson

From the beginning, I can tell this show is going to be pretty campy. That always tends to make me nervous. There are very few shows that can do camp and still be truly entertaining. I consider Batman to be one of those shows, although I know there are many who disagree. The corny looking mutant, the cheap special effects, the conversation about dating; all these things point straight towards camptown, but it's only the first three minutes.

Generally, I am not a fan of shows with quickly spoken dialog. It reminds me of how great Bruce and Cybill did it on Moonlighting. However, when it's done right, it not only sets a tone for the show but also gives the characters more freedom to have fun with the script. In the case of Middleman, I think it really works. Matt Keeslar and Natalie Morales have a nice rapport and their serious tone is a nice juxtaposition to the outrageous situations. One more point for the show.

• At 8, ABC has two new episodes of The Bachelorette, then a new episode of The Mole.
• NBC has a new American Gladiators at 8, followed by new episodes of Nashville Star and Dateline.
• ABC Family has the series premiere of The Middleman at 8 (repeated at 9).
• At 9, USA has a new Monday Night RAW.
• Lifetime has the movie The Memory Keeper's Daughter at 9.
• Food Network has a new Unwrapped at 9.
• At 9:45, HBO has a First Look at the Get Smart movie.
• At 10, Showtime has the season premiere of Weeds, then the series debut of Secret Diary of a Call Girl.

Check your local TV listings for more.

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