Boom

I don't watch much television; especially not lately, what with the bloat of increasingly moronic reality shows that the increasingly desperate networks have been using to fill their schedules the last couple months. I mean, WHO WANT'S TO MARRY MY DAD? Are you kidding me?

So it was a pleasant surprise to discover tonight that BOOMTOWN was back. And it was back with a vengeance. Yeah, sure, I've had some problems with the show in the past, but like I said, it's been a long, dry summer for dramatic entertainment. And despite the incredible silliness of a sub-plot that might as well have been titled "Filler," this episode had me grinning from ear to ear. Why? Because Mykelti Williamson is one of the best actors currently working in television, and because the opportunity to watch Iron Mike take on a couple dozen Russian mobsters with a shotgun is just too damn good to miss. And sure, the scene where he jumps off the roof of a motel with a submachine gun in each hand and crashes onto the hood of a Buick, taking out a score of Russkies on the way down, might be a bit over-the-top, but really, who cares?

Just when you think it can't get any better, it does, as Mike, holding a Russian at gunpoint, walks into the room where Super-Bad Head Commie is holding hostage the mother of the little girl whose testimony can but Super-Bad behind bars, and who was the motivation for the Shootout at the O.K. Motel.

I wanted to give you a message, Mike says. Anyone who threatens that girl or her mother is dead.

What do I care about that guy, says Super-Bad. You don't scare me. I'm gonna--

Mike shoots Super-Bad in the head, turns to the other Russkie, who's just wet himself.

You get my message, Mike asks?

Russkie nods and heads for the hills.

Sure, it's melodramatic. Sure, it's unrealistic. It's also fun as hell, and after all this reality show crap that's passing for entertainment lately, I'll take unreality any day of the week.