I finally got finished w/ the 6th season - cind5
Coincidentally, I picked up the commercial DVDs for Season Six a couple of weeks ago and have been cherry-picking a few episodes from throughout the season.
My general comment is, boy, does music make this show or what? Substituting the original music from the broadcast versions with the generic house music for what has been released on DVD doesn't seem as noticeable for Seasons One through Four because those episodes are in general much stronger, but for the last two seasons, at least for the episodes I've seen so far on the commercial DVDs, there just seems to be a palpable deflation in the impact whenever the substitution music is used.
It seemed very obvious that this was it last season, even if Rob Morrow had hung out for the last 8 episodes.
Yes. There is a general sense of the show stumbling toward the finish line in this last season. In another thread in this forum, someone posted a long and thoughtful comment in which the poster relates that some of the producers noted that they had run out of ideas, but the poster felt there were still ideas to explore. I don't agree, not without developing some of the peripheral characters, because I think they had reached their peak with the principal characters. Any show can run on indefinitely--somebody will think of stories and situations that can be used--but the key criterion is whether they would be at the level of inspiration as previously realized, and I think that NX had already peaked at this point.
Regarding the specific episodes you listed, I agree with "Dinner at Seven-Thirty," "The Quest" (my absolute favorite episode, and I think the culmination of the show), and "Balls."
For me, though, "Little Italy" is one of the worst episodes in the series. It's not intrinsically deficient, by which I mean the story structure, interest, etc. That's okay, if not stellar (or "Stella del Nord," if you'll pardon the expression). It's really just the overall tone and look of the episode: From the first shot on, Cicely looks like Generica--this could be any town anywhere in the US, and not somewhere special. "Gran Prix" from the previous season had the same quality to it, although that story may be weaker than "Little Italy."
As for "Tranquility Base," ah, well, it has so much to live up to as the series finale, and it probably couldn't provide a satisfactory resolution even if the narrative had been stronger. It's really Maurice's resolution, even if it seems contrived, as well as reinforcing the idea that Michelle had been anointed as a Cicelian, and thus accepting the spiritual torch passed to her by Joel, from her first appearance (in "Sons of the Tundra"); this I think is self-evident from Rabbi Shulman appearing to her (although the "burning bush" is a little heavy-handed). Chris is a jerk throughout this until the patched-together reunion with Maggie, but then he had become NX's punching bag in the last season anyway, from his power-fetish obsession with Maggie in "Realpolitik" to his getting pushed around by a teenage girl in "Let's Dance." And Holling's "rutting"? A great way to sidestep any conclusion to his and Shelly's arc--lock 'em in the bedroom and forget about 'em.
Other really strong S6 episodes: "Shofar, So Good," "The Letter," "Up River" (I just watched this a few days ago, and the Joel-Ed goodbye still chokes me up), and "Mi Casa, Su Casa."
Other decent episodes: "Eye of the Beholder," "The Robe" (gotta love Charles Martin Smith as the devil: "I've been reduced to being the Monty Hall of theistic duality."), "Zarya," "The Great Mushroom," and "Buss Stop."
On a side note, is it me or is Maggie at her hottest in the last season. Even Shelly looks her best. Even the Dr. Kapra's wife got better looking in each episode. Unfortunately Officer Semanski stayed the same.
The longer Maggie's hair got, the more attractive I found her. So, yes, she looks best to me in this season.
Shelly? Another hair issue for me. I thought she was the most attractive in the Season Two opener "Goodbye to All That." What really makes Shelly so
unattractive in this season was her attitude: She had become spiteful and manipulative, particularly in "Horns" and "Little Italy," and quite unlikeable.
Michelle Capra? Ah, Teri Polo looks great to me every time she's onscreen, but I'll save my rhapsodizing for elsewhere; I see some schmuck has posted at thread topic in this forum called "NX Hunks and Hotties" or something, so I'll gush over there.
As for Barbara? Hey, she floats Maurice's boat. She is hilarious in "Horns" ("Take a load off, Fanny!" [pivots heavily] "Take a load for free!"). And I think the best joke in "Tranquility Base" is the god-awful frock she wears--it looks like a reject from a K-Mart Blue Light Special. But Maurice has only stars in his eyes . . .
------------------
"We hear very little, and we understand even less." - Refugee in Casablanca
reply
share