Happy Holidays

Well, Thanksgiving's over and the Christmas specials have arrived. The TV networks are preparing for midseason, and I guess I'll check stuff out. I was rather surprised by the sudden cancellation of The Millers on CBS, but I guess it's better than drawing it out and trying to retool it, like Will's last show Up All Night. It wasn't that bad a sitcom, and I liked that they finally sold the yoga cafe, and the wife went to work while the husband was happy to stay home with the kid. We don't see that too often. The last episode with the Big Bang Theory references probably should have aired earlier, but it was appropriate meta commentary like used to be on Arrested Development. Stan Sitwell even guest starred as a hippie.


The second season of Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries just aired on PBS (and now that season is up on Netflix). I liked it, but wonder when they're going to consummate the unresolved flirtation between Phryne and Jack Robinson. I don't want the show to get cancelled before they get together. The last episode reminded me a little bit of Agatha Christie mysteries based on nursery rhymes. Here it was the 12 Days of Christmas carol, but I think too much was going on in the plot, and some of the deaths were too outlandish. I was afraid they were going to kill off Dr. Mac for a moment. It was silly that Phryne and Jack didn't kiss under the mistletoe either, when they could have passed it off as holiday fun.

Speaking of Agatha Christie, Poirot's last few episodes aired. It's weird how some shows are very faithful to the books while others (like the "Labours of Hercules") are substantially rewritten and not as authentic. I did like seeing Vera Rossakoff again, but it lost some impact by cutting her out of "The Big Four" (another substantially changed mystery) to show that she recurred in Poirot's life. They also changed Vera's child from the son she had in "The Big Four" to a daughter; the character Alice had previously been a fiancee of Vera's son. Overall it seemed too much like the writers wanted to convert "The Labours of Hercules" into a country house murder. Oh well. The whole series is over now, and the only mystery adaptations I remember actually hating were "Appointment with Death" and "Murder on the Orient Express."