The Middleman (1.2)

Monday, June 23rd, 2008 @ 8 PM
ABC Family

The Middleman - Season 1, Episode # 2- "The Accidental Occidental Conception"

A Terra Cotta Warrior is brought back to life, sending The Middleman and Wendy on a mission into the underworld to stop him before he can kidnap the last living heir of the Qin dynasty. Should they fail, fire will rain down on the Earth for a thousand years. (IMDB.com)

Manatee: Middleman – not great, but not the worst show I’ve seen. I’d rather watch this than Fear Itself

Marmot: I don't know what to make of it. This episode was much more focused than the pilot and way more coherent and it retained some of its charm, but for some reason, I liked it a lot less.

Manatee: I feel like Middleman has a little of that original Batman series feel. A little wacky, not taking itself too seriously, and it's fun. But even after episode #2 I want it to be better than it is.

Marmot: Which is so odd, because it's much improved over the episode. Yet I feel like it lost something. Like the crazy cutaway scenes. Where were those?

Manatee: They did lose a little silliness this week. I thought the two main characters still had good dialogue and a quick back and forth’s. But maybe it did lose some of its uniqueness, production wise.

Marmot: I do like the banter, but I feel like I can get that anywhere. If this is going to turn into Juno meets Men In Black, boredom will be imminent.

Manatee: I think ABC Family has lost interest. I'm positive it will not be renewed (the numbers were horrible for the pilot episode). All we have to look forward to on ABC Family is Brenda Hampton's (7th Heaven) The Secret Life on the American Teenager starting July 1st at 8 PM. And that is described as Juno for TV, not Juno meets anything.

Marmot: What is so secret about the life of an American teenager? I think there have been plenty of shows and movies exposing this seedy underworld.

Manatee: I don't think ABC Family does seedy or underworld. My bet is "secret" refers to the pregnancy, which could be an interesting plot for young female teens to watch. I usually don't condone teen pregnancy talk on TV, especially TV geared towards kids (i.e.: Nick and that Younger Spears girl), but we'll see how this is done.

Marmot: Oh, she's pregnant? Well, then that is something to keep secret. Actually, the one thing I really like about The Middleman is the fact that nothing is evil or dark. It's just silly, and I'm okay with that.

Manatee: Yeah, I like that too. Though why was it necessary to wear togas to go to the underworld last night? Don't they allow suits? The show seems to be geared more toward keeping it light.

Marmot: I didn't get that either. Considering the desk attendant was wearing a sweater-vest, you'd think that a military suit would be acceptable attire

Manatee: And the clay man stuck with his ancient Asian garb? Hmmm.... that costume change did jump out at me a little. Do you think Ms. Fashionista Succubus will become a recurring character as the international consultant?

Marmot: I hope not. I had my fill of her from that episode. Ship her to Ugly Betty to make her a foil to the pregnant Scottish wardrobess.

Manatee: That could work. Do I smell cross-over?

Marmot: It's all ABC. How hard could this be to do?