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Quantum Leap’s “The Boogieman” Flips the Script on the Formula

Scott Bakula has one of those likable personalities that immediately connects him to audiences. This heart is at the core of Quantum Leap and its lead, Sam Beckett. It’s easy to expect that he’ll do the right thing, no matter how crazy the situation. The NBC series premiered in 1989 and aired for five seasons during a much different TV era. The theme song, episode structure, and overall style spring from that era and lack the rough edges of many notable shows today. There were certain beats to most stories that brought a familiarity that can be comforting. Viewers shared the journey with Sam and only knew the information that he received. The audience’s connection with Bakula made the show work because his persona made the adventure worth taking. There were some exceptions that diverted from the show’s formula, however.

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Looking, Ep. 1.08: “Looking Glass” is more than half empty

Looking’s season finale ends where it all began, with Patrick and Richie living together as roommates, watching The Golden Girls on their laptop in bed. For a relationship that has been framed as the central one of the show, the writers seem not to be very interested in it. Patrick’s season long arc was to get himself into a half-hearted love triangle with a hot British videogame designer and an even hotter Mexican barber. Agustín spent most of the season moping around and being casually racist before being brutally dumped by a blank slate of a character whom I’ve just now learned is named Frank. It would have really served the show to focus just one episode on Patrick and Agustín’s friendship, if that is the relationship the viewers are ultimately supposed to be invested in.

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Looking, Ep. 1.06, “Looking in the Mirror” turns forty, reluctantly

Looking’s sixth episode, “Looking in the Mirror”, is a very pleasant surprise. There’s an energy and vitality in this half hour that had been missing from the show up until now. Maybe it’s because almost all the characters finally interact with one another, or maybe it’s because the editing and dialogue are paced less leisurely than usual. But a theme Looking has been exploring – going after what you want rather than what you should want – comes into focus and propels the stories forward in an exciting way.

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Looking, Ep. 1.04, “Looking for $220/Hour” at the Folsom Street Fair

“Looking for $220/Hour”, the fourth in Looking’s eight episode run, takes place during the Folsom Street Fair, an annual San Francisco BDSM and leather party. Patrick, Agustín, and Dom aren’t really part of that scene, but like much of the city, they use the fair as an excuse for some good old-fashioned Sunday day drinking. Aside from a few skimpy leather outfits, Looking doesn’t show much of the debaucherous celebration. Instead, the episode is structured around a trio of dates, even though the characters would never classify them as such

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Looking, Ep. 1.03, “Looking at Your Browser History” follows the boys to work

Well, “Looking at Your Browser History” sure gives more ammo to those who find this show boring. There are absolutely no crazy orgies, and even a bathhouse sex scene happens completely off screen. In fact, this episode veers almost completely away from sex and dating, concerning itself with the career and job anxieties of its main characters. Patrick is mortified (yet again) when the cute British guy he clumsily flirts with at a work party might become his new boss. Agustín unwisely insults his boss, a middle-aged artist who makes chair sculptures, and gets fired. Dom wants to poach a chef at Zuni Café for his not yet existent Portuguese chicken-centric restaurant, but has no money or investors to actually get his dream off the ground.

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Steven Soderbergh Month: ‘Behind the Candelabra’ a glitzy and disquieting deconstruction of a hidden relationship in Hollywood

Behind the Candelabra Written by Richard LaGravenese Directed by Steven Soderbergh USA, 2013 Steven Soderbergh thoughtfully details the purported destructive indulgence of Liberace’s most intimate relationship in Behind the Candelabra. A film replete with the salacious dirt and glamorous high living of a legendary celebrity, this project is perfectly tailored to Soderbergh’s nuanced flair for …

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Steven Soderbergh Month: ‘The Informant!’ has a healthy blend of comedy and biopic

Slammed by populous opinion, 2009’s The Informant! has been ridiculed for being “dull,” with “laughs far and few between.” Although critically acclaimed with an IMDB rating of 6.5/10 and Metacritic score of 66, a staggering 42% user approval lingers over the film at Rotten Tomatoes, without any signs of it becoming a cult classic. Yet …

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SXSW 2013: ‘Snap’ is a head rocking thriller with a killer score

Snap Directed by Youssef Delara, Victor Teran Written by Victor Teran Snap is a psychological thriller that plays like a dubstep song on celluloid. It’s loud, abrasive, with hard cuts, and loud imagery. The film follows Jim Whitman (Jake Hoffman), a musically talented schizophrenic as he traverses an introverted life, trying to keep a darkness …

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