Belle Bridges, but not all that belle

This week’s episode of The Closer was much better than last week, getting away from gang plots and into transgender issues and black widows. Both of these have been done before, many times, but getting Beau Bridges into a dress and high heels made for a hilarious episode. The former George, now Georgette, came to terms with his self identification after leaving the police force but now he makes a rather unreliable witness in an old homicide case (if he’s uncertain about his gender, how can he be certain about anything, a defense lawyer would argue). George refuses to commit purjury by appearing as his former male self on the stand, but he’s not against going undercover as a man to try to get the all-important confession. His old friend, Lt. Provenza, of course has serious issues with George(tte)’s new appearance, and he’s even more incredulous to discover that Georgette still likes women. “You went through all that to become a lesbian?” he shrieks.

I’m still on the edge with Men of a Certain Age. Both episodes so far have had some excellent moments and some tedious/awkward ones. I think, though, that the awkward moments come from uncomfortable truths. The funniest scene is the one where Scott Bakula throws his cup at a guy who ran a stop sign and then ends up stealing the guy’s car when he gets out for a confrontation. I don’t know enough about gambling to know if Ray Romano’s character won or lost his bet. He seemed excited about the 3-pointer at the buzzer, but then he punched out the Hulk, so I’m thinking he’s down $2 grand.

I wrote the first draft of my review of Pirate Latitudes last night and should get it posted sometime later this week. I’m working on revisions to another short story for a 2010 project that hasn’t yet been announced and I have to write my essay for Storytellers Unplugged. Never a dull moment. I’m almost 1/4 of the way through the second part of Don Quixote, where the Don and Sancho have a run-in with another deluded knight-errant in a grove after encountering “Dulcinea” among a group of homely village girls.

Big Bang Theory was pretty funny last night — the appearance of a parental unit is always a source of high comedy. In this case, Leonard’s mother, played by Christine Baranski, who brings with her a lot of news that Leonard hasn’t heard, her peculiar and offbeat insights, and an untapped fondness for shots of tequila.