John Adams - Photo: Kent Eanes/HBO

Alternate Title: “Abigail Adams’s European Vacation”

The program begins with John waking up to a knock at his door and new information stating that the British have surrendered. Whatever sickness he was suffering from is now gone! I’m sure it was psychosomatic, stemming from an obscene amount of worrying about his nation. Only John Adams, right?! Suddenly, the Dutch are like, “Hey, you know what? That money you wanted earlier? You got it, bud. All America had to do was win a war!” Reeling off of two successes, Adams calls up Abigail and says, “What are you doing later? You wanna come over?”

The reunion of Abigail and John was pretty heartwarming for me. Forget Ray and Debra, it’s these two that have the best relationship on television. They have nothing but love for each other, and each one understands the other completely. Abigail knows her husbands faults, that his ego can sometimes get the best of him, but it’s her advice that helps him get to the position he eventually reaches. She compliments him perfectly, and is just as important to American history as he is. He refers to her as his “dearest friend,” and he truly has complete faith in her suggestions. “No man wants to appear a fool before his wife,” he says, expressing his esteemed opinion of her while also severely underestimating the appeal of Married…With Children.

Continue reading Television: John Adams, Part 4: “Reunion”

“David Cummings”

Before he was J.D. on Scrubs, before he was Andrew Largeman in Garden State, before he made it his personal mission to kickstart the careers of sub-par singer/songwriters, power tool Zach Braff was David Cummings on a little show I like to call The Baby-Sitters Club. Although at first it seems like there might be a spark between David and Dawn, shit hits the fan when Dawn realizes that David is the son of The Commissioner of the Department of Public Works who is trying to build a road through her beloved Flat-Rock Brook Park and probably some other bastardly acts disguised as “public works.”

“Wait a minute, I don’t understand! You think the road is a GOOD THING?” she exclaims. Well, at this point, the afternoon is fucked for the rest of the Baby-Sitters who just want to go see a movie. Anyway, it all works out in the 90’s pre-teen fashion you’d expect. Between the ridiculous plot, terrible music, and over-acting, this episode has a feel not unlike the masturbatory later seasons of Scrubs. Well, it’s not that bad. Oh, I almost forgot to make fun of his hair, which, even for 1993, is pretty shocking.

Watch the highlights-reel after the jump
Continue reading Television: Zach Braff to Erect “Road” in Baby-Sitter’s Woods.

John Adams - Photo: Kent Eanes/HBO

Alternate Title: “Adams and Franklin Go To France!”

When I first heard the synopsis for last night’s episode of John Adams, I expected zany confrontations between Adams, Ben Franklin, and French policemen. The required chase scene would culminate in a hallway with many doors in which Adams and Franklin try to evade police by running in and out of various rooms. Instead, I got 70 minutes of brilliant performances and tense drama. Maybe next time.
Continue reading Television: John Adams, Part 3: “Don’t Tread On Me”