A weekly feature in which we're trying to find the most compelling, best acted, written, directed and just generally great scenes that we've seen recently on TV.
BENCHED, "Campaign Contributions" & "Brief Encounters", December 30, 2014, Actors: Eliza Coupe, Jay Harrington, Yvette Nicole Brown, The Scenes: Nina and Phil work the room so Phil can earn an award & Nina meets Donna
Dahne: Nina and Phil work the room so Phil can earn an award. Much of this scene was actually silent, but it worked so well in showcasing Nina's strengths. Often the show finds its comedy in Nina's ineptitude, but this was an area in which she excelled. It was also great to see this new side of Phil and I liked how they worked as a team. AND Nina meets Donna. This scene had me laughing long after the episode was over, mostly because of the guest turn of Yvette Nicole Brown, best known as Shirley on Community. I loved how cranky she was and the dialogue was fantastic. It was like a non-alcoholic dark timeline version of Shirley and Nina backs off meekly in the presence of her snark.
MIRANDA, "The Final Curtain", January 1, 2015, Actors: Miranda Hart, Tom Ellis and more, The Scene: Gary and Miranda get married
Nirat Anop: I was so happy with this ending, everything ended nicely (though the journey to the end was quite emotional), with Miranda showing really moving character development whilst still having fun. Everyone galloping to the restaurant was awesome followed by the subsequently funny vows. I will miss this show, the talented cast/characters and Miranda Hart, she's one of my favorite comedians. It's been "such fun" watching this show for the past few years.
THE LIBRARIANS, "And the Apple of Discord", December 28, 2014, Actors: Christian Kane, John Larroquette, Matt Frewer and more, The Scenes: Jake's worst side is revealed & Dulaque and Jenkins talk at the end
Justyna Kubica: Seeing Jake's worst side was just such a funny surprise. Poor guy, just wanted the right paintings to be next to each other. There were many great moments in the episode and I'm really interested to see what's the story between Dulaque and Jenkins but this funny bit kinda made my day when I watched it for the first time so I thought it's a good one to share here with you. I'm really enjoying the show so far. As you can read in our weekly roundtable reviews. Fingers crossed for season 2!
Dahne: Dulaque and Jenkins talk at the end. We had a hint in the previous episode that there was history between them. This time it became crystal clear. While the standalone cases are always entertaining on this show, the mystery of exactly what these two are and what kind of history they have makes the story deeper and captivates my interest.
THE MUSKETEERS, "Keep Your Friends Close", January 2, 2015, Actors: Santiago Cabrera, Marc Warren, Ryan Gage and more, The Scenes: Aramis finds out about Adele & The zip wire prison escape & King Louis meets his new son
Justyna Kubica: I waited for this reveal for the entire first season and I just started to believe that Aramis is not gonna find out the truth about Adele when this scene happened. What a great surprise! Even though the Cardinal's gone, his presence is still somehow felt with the possibility that he told a secret about the little king to someone before his death. It sure feels like it's gonna be a hard season for Aramis. It must be painful to stay away from his son and Anne. I was glad to see his reaction and just how much he cared, at least now he knows Adele loved and chose him. Beautifully acted by Santiago Cabrera. And it was good to see Athos being there for Aramis when he needed a friend. I think the two were my favorite duo in the premiere. It's so great to have the show back!
Sandi: The zip wire prison escape. I've been toing and froing on a few scenes this episode for the past month, but in the end there really is only one logical choice. It's simply an amazing stunt that all of the actors threw themselves into in order for it to look as heart-stoppingly spectacular as possible. A fierce gun battle, d'Artagnan heroically leaping out on to the wire to save Lucie, baddies tumbling into a deep ravine to their death and Rochefort facing Athos down the barrel of a musket, all set to the majestic new Musketeer theme from Paul Englishby. Superb stuff!
Dahne: To be honest, I think the best scene is the one Sandi picked as well. However, there wasn't much on this week so I decided to spread the wealth. Generally the action of The Musketeers is the best part, but this small, tender moment also stuck out. It's all the more surprising because I usually don't care for King Louis, but when he walks in to meet the son Queen Anne just delivered the whole room stops. He enters with all his retinue and yet his beaming smile and exuding joy at having an heir eclipses everything else. That joy narrowly beats the introduction of Rochefort for my second best scene.
Dahne: Nina and Phil work the room so Phil can earn an award. Much of this scene was actually silent, but it worked so well in showcasing Nina's strengths. Often the show finds its comedy in Nina's ineptitude, but this was an area in which she excelled. It was also great to see this new side of Phil and I liked how they worked as a team. AND Nina meets Donna. This scene had me laughing long after the episode was over, mostly because of the guest turn of Yvette Nicole Brown, best known as Shirley on Community. I loved how cranky she was and the dialogue was fantastic. It was like a non-alcoholic dark timeline version of Shirley and Nina backs off meekly in the presence of her snark.
Nirat Anop: I was so happy with this ending, everything ended nicely (though the journey to the end was quite emotional), with Miranda showing really moving character development whilst still having fun. Everyone galloping to the restaurant was awesome followed by the subsequently funny vows. I will miss this show, the talented cast/characters and Miranda Hart, she's one of my favorite comedians. It's been "such fun" watching this show for the past few years.
Justyna Kubica: Seeing Jake's worst side was just such a funny surprise. Poor guy, just wanted the right paintings to be next to each other. There were many great moments in the episode and I'm really interested to see what's the story between Dulaque and Jenkins but this funny bit kinda made my day when I watched it for the first time so I thought it's a good one to share here with you. I'm really enjoying the show so far. As you can read in our weekly roundtable reviews. Fingers crossed for season 2!
Dahne: Dulaque and Jenkins talk at the end. We had a hint in the previous episode that there was history between them. This time it became crystal clear. While the standalone cases are always entertaining on this show, the mystery of exactly what these two are and what kind of history they have makes the story deeper and captivates my interest.
Justyna Kubica: I waited for this reveal for the entire first season and I just started to believe that Aramis is not gonna find out the truth about Adele when this scene happened. What a great surprise! Even though the Cardinal's gone, his presence is still somehow felt with the possibility that he told a secret about the little king to someone before his death. It sure feels like it's gonna be a hard season for Aramis. It must be painful to stay away from his son and Anne. I was glad to see his reaction and just how much he cared, at least now he knows Adele loved and chose him. Beautifully acted by Santiago Cabrera. And it was good to see Athos being there for Aramis when he needed a friend. I think the two were my favorite duo in the premiere. It's so great to have the show back!
Sandi: The zip wire prison escape. I've been toing and froing on a few scenes this episode for the past month, but in the end there really is only one logical choice. It's simply an amazing stunt that all of the actors threw themselves into in order for it to look as heart-stoppingly spectacular as possible. A fierce gun battle, d'Artagnan heroically leaping out on to the wire to save Lucie, baddies tumbling into a deep ravine to their death and Rochefort facing Athos down the barrel of a musket, all set to the majestic new Musketeer theme from Paul Englishby. Superb stuff!
Dahne: To be honest, I think the best scene is the one Sandi picked as well. However, there wasn't much on this week so I decided to spread the wealth. Generally the action of The Musketeers is the best part, but this small, tender moment also stuck out. It's all the more surprising because I usually don't care for King Louis, but when he walks in to meet the son Queen Anne just delivered the whole room stops. He enters with all his retinue and yet his beaming smile and exuding joy at having an heir eclipses everything else. That joy narrowly beats the introduction of Rochefort for my second best scene.
