Spoilers for last night's "Life" coming up just as soon as I note that the two other shows to have shared a timeslot with the show this year -- "My Own Worst Enemy" and "Lipstick Jungle" -- have apparently been canceled, while Charlie Crews and company are sitting relatively pretty with a full-season order..."Black Friday" was a definite improvement over the last few episodes. The humor was really strong -- as with "House," the leading man's comedy chops become a useful crutch when other things aren't working -- and I especially enjoyed Charlie going all Crocodile Dundee(*) with the fruitcake.
(*) Hi, I'm old. Is there a more contemporary reference for a hero taking out a fleeing bad guy by throwing produce at him than a 22-year-old movie starring a walking tourism ad?
I also thought the world of the mall and the terrifying culture of Black Friday created fit the off-kilter sensibilities of "Life" very well, but as with the Stanford Prison Experiment episode, I feel like the episode dropped its main hook after about 10 or 15 minutes. Once we cut from Crews and Reese frantically searching for the body to Crews looking into another Wall of Blame candidate (played by legendary '80s movie sleazeball William Atherton!), all the tension of having to work a case on a day like this fell out. By the time we got back to the mall, the pace was far too leisurely.
Also, I could really do without either Crews romancing his ex or, as I've said, Reese contemplating a Tidwell hook-up. I suppose I should be grateful that the creative team has been wise enough to never so much as hint at a Crews/Reese romance, and so these storylines serve a purpose in making sure we understand the show isn't going to Go There, but they do little for me beyond that.
Still, it was an overall strong episode, and yet another entry in guest star Kyle Gallner's clip reel to make sure he monopolizes every homicidal teenager role on television.
What did everybody else think?
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