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Thirteen Years Later

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Libby

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It is interesting that episodes that you may not like at first can grow on you. I've always been a fan of Omerta and not a big fan of Somehow..., yet the more I watched it the more I liked it. No mater how many times I've watched Thirteen Years Later, I just don't like it. I at least tried repeatedly. Maybe it's because I'm not a fan of Kiss. I found the episode somewhat stupid, but that's just my opinion. It's at the bottom with Human Essence on my list, which is one episode I don't think anyone liked. At least I haven't heard from anyone who does. Broken World is an OK episode, just very disturbing for me because of the killing of horses.

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Guest Ghostmojo

Thirteen... is perhaps less successful than the other two. But I do like the comedic touch. It might not be 100% MM - but then how do we define what that really is?

I was greatly amused by the two shows Omerta and Somehow Satan... I suppose their weakness is that they don't feature FB so heavily and the other characters get far more airtime (particularly in SSGBM); but that ironically is also their strength somehow. They are both definitely in the tradition of the standalone XF whimsies. I guess the 10:13 team liked to include these things from time to time for the simple reason - they are great individual ideas and stories. The problem then becomes how best to showcase them. God knows MM needed lightening up. Everybody involved in the show recognised that. Both of these programmes could easily have been redrafted as XF episodes.

The best things about these shows are the guest 'leads'. The 'reformed' mobster hitman Eddie, is brilliantly portrayed in Omerta. Some of his throwaway lines are hilarious - as is his self-parodying and embarrassed response to his previous 'successes' (numerically). You just have to warm to this guy, despite his past. It is played so tongue-in-cheek. If I can find myself caring about characters in The Sopranos - then I can definitely root for this guy. He might have done terrible things - which he treated like a job and a game, with rules - but he was not evil. FB warmed to him in the spirit of Christmas forgiveness as we are supposed to as an audience.

Ditto Somehow Satan... Again in classic XF style, the intro teaser is just hilarious as the newspapers are 'delivered' with increasingly calamitous results. The notion of four demons chin-wagging in a coffee break again reduces the notion of even diabolic activity to that of menial workload. This could be any four guys - complaining about their lot, but bragging about their limited successes - anywhere in any setting. It makes you wonder if demons actually have souls themselves. The final story suggests that they do and it is left to FB to comment upon the evident sadness and loneliness that even these otherworldly and nefarious creatures can be afflicted with. Again this is an episode that is script-driven with some brilliant throwaway lines. Perhaps that is why they succeed? Even in the best FB-featured MM shows, poor laconic old Frank is a man often of very few words. Some scenes he just gives knowing looks or facial expressions, when so much more needs to be said.

The writers sometimes need more meat to get their teeth into. And they get their chance with set-pieces like these particular episodes.

ps - thanks for the welcome back Libby! :cool_beans:

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  • 1 month later...
Guest I Made This

I have to say I really enjoyed this one more than I thought I would. It's not the best episode by any stretch, but there's a lot of great stuff in that I love, like Frank being able to second guess horror movies based on his profiling skills, plus I love seeing Klea Scott do humour, makes me wish we seen more of her doing it. My biggest criticism would be that everything about it screams "it's a comedy" whereas the Darin Morgan episodes and Vince Gilligan's work on The X Files know how to have their laughs whilst not desperately crying out that their episodes are all about the comedy.

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I have to say I really enjoyed this one more than I thought I would. It's not the best episode by any stretch, but there's a lot of great stuff in that I love, like Frank being able to second guess horror movies based on his profiling skills, plus I love seeing Klea Scott do humour, makes me wish we seen more of her doing it. My biggest criticism would be that everything about it screams "it's a comedy" whereas the Darin Morgan episodes and Vince Gilligan's work on The X Files know how to have their laughs whilst not desperately crying out that their episodes are all about the comedy.

You pointed out something that I have to comment on, the part about it having a lot of great stuff in it. Yes!! I have definitely come to the conclusion that the reason I have never liked the episode is because I don't like KISS, and no other reason. Watching it and ignoring KISS makes the episode so much more enjoyable to me.

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Guest I Made This

You pointed out something that I have to comment on, the part about it having a lot of great stuff in it. Yes!! I have definitely come to the conclusion that the reason I have never liked the episode is because I don't like KISS, and no other reason. Watching it and ignoring KISS makes the episode so much more enjoyable to me.

I've never listened to enough KISS to form an opinion on their music, although I found their music number strangely enjoyable and I loved how they managed to make small cameo appearances throughout without their make up.

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  • Elders (Moderators)

When I first watched this episode, and also when I typed the transcript, I had no idea that the music group were a real-life one called KISS. I still can't identify which KISS member played which character. It was only thanks to the internet that I was enlightened that it was a real-life, and famous!, group. And then discovered that KISS were imposed on MM by 20th Fox.

It didn't really make too much difference to me when I first watched it, I just regarded it as a somewhat bizzare episode of MM, much the same as the unusual episodes in Season 2, in that it was good for completely the wrong reasons.

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  • Elders (Moderators)

Oh, dear, what can I say? :icon_redface: Over here in the UK, the term "family jewels" is a euphemism, and then I misread the name as that guy who does the fitness programmes and wears teeny, tiny shorts. :wtf-sign: I nearly spat my coffee all over the keyboard.

Sorry, beer. I do wish my brain wouldn't make these kinds of connections.

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