 This week’s episode provided a little bit of movement in the two more compelling ongoing storylines: the fate of the Demetrius and the intra-Cylon war. While I understand how Starbuck’s crew is getting eager to return to the fleet, what are the odds that they stumble upon Leoben at the site of an intra-Cylon battle? It’s obviously not a coincidence so either Starbuck (skinjob or not) is indeed on the path to Earth or she’s (intentionally or unintentionally) leading the ship into a trap. This is the first good clue the ship has discovered on its mission, and there simply isn’t time to go back and check in with the fleet before following the clue to see where it leads. However, that makes me wonder why Adama and Starbuck wouldn’t arrange for some backup meeting point and time if the circumstances prohibited the Demetrius from returning to the fleet at the 60-day mark. Maybe the solution is for Starbuck another crewmember to take a raptor or two and follow the clue while the rest of the crew meets up with the fleet. One thing’s for certain - Starbuck needs to talk to the hybrid, and fast. Leoben wants to form an alliance between the humans and the remaining Sixes, Eights and Twos that would allow Cara to fulfill her destiny, which Leoben says is to lead the humans to Earth. Back on Galactica, Baltar’s tiresome evangelizing intersected with the Tyrol’s semi-dreary mourning/coming-to-grips storyline. The former Chief decided to shave his head and jump rope in his cabin, which are (apparently) common reactions to discovering that you’re a Cylon and losing your wife to suicide. The whole Tyrol/Baltar holding hands thing seems extraneous right now, though I sure hope there is some purpose to it. Watching Baltar preach just makes me squirm, so I hope that he eventually gets what’s coming to him. Filed under: TV and TV Dramas and TV Action and External Entertainment and External TV and Battlestar Galactica and TV Sci-Fi Comments: 2 Comments Digg this! Add to Del.icio.us |
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I like this show as much as the next guy, but his episode was pretty tough to watch. It meandered from depressing storyline to depressing storyline with the speed of a drunk turtle. From the Chief’s badmouthing of his dead wife to Tigh’s fragile grip on reality to Baltar’s fairly lame speech about religion, it was pretty tedious throughout. In fact, it felt a lot like last week’s episode, only without the shocking ending. Hopefully this is a slow buildup and not a trend for the season. A couple of questions occurred to me: 1) Why doesn’t Roslin get another blood transfusion from Hera? That worked the first time, so it would be the first thing I’d try if I were in her situation. 2) What is the meaning of the Chief’s rant in the bar? Was he just trying to get himself reassigned so that he couldn’t do any more damage to the humans or was he seriously upset that he wasn’t able to be with the love of his life (presumably Boomer, who is also a Cylon)? I was never really a fan of the Tigh/Ellen relationship, so seeing her pop back up isn’t a good thing. It was interesting to see Six plant a kiss on Tigh; I thought for a moment that she was going to try to escape (which would have been a whole lot more exciting) but maybe she’s drawn to Tigh because he’s a skinjob. Anyway, we didn’t get any news from the Demetrius or the Cylon fleet, so this episode failed to move those storylines along. From the “next week” scenes, it looks like the Demetrius is heavily involved, so at least we have that to look forward to. Filed under: TV and TV Dramas and TV Action and External TV and Battlestar Galactica and TV Sci-Fi Comments: 5 Comments Digg this! Add to Del.icio.us |
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Wow. As I was watching this episode, I couldn’t help but think that it felt a lot like filler. Much of it was dedicated to ho-hum storylines like Lee adjusting to his new job, Cally dealing with the difficulty of motherhood and, of course, the grumpy, unbelieving underlings on Cara’s new ship, the Demetrius. But then it happened. The gritty Cally (whom I’ve always liked, even though she was tough to watch for much of this episode) followed Galen to the weapons locker and managed to learn the truth about the three newly aware skinjobs. Suddenly, the secret was out. It was quite the moment, though I question Tigh’s decision to leave a note for a super-secret meeting where an obviously suspicious Cally could (and did) find it. Several questions jumped to mind. Who would she tell? Would anyone believe her? What would she say to the Chief? And what would she do about Nicholas? It turns out she didn’t want to say anything to Galen. Her world was turned upside down, so she reacted by hitting him over the head with a wrench – by the way, that’s some serious symbolism, considering their professions – and then whisking her baby away to the airlock. Apparently, her solution was to commit murder-suicide without bothering to tell anyone in the fleet that there were more cylons in their midst. It was a little on the unbelievable side, but the writers set it up with all of those sleepless nights earlier in the episode. We were to believe that she was tired and she wasn’t thinking straight. Still, as a new father myself, I was appalled at the prospect of her apparent decision to jettison her son out of an airlock. But there was Tory to “save” the day. Of all the new cylons, she seems to be the most complex. Her speech in the airlock and subsequent betrayal was a shock to the system. I don’t think that it was until I saw a lifeless Cally floating through space that it finally hit me – this is really the last season of “Battlestar Galactica.” Heads will roll. The Cally/Galen/Tory storyline was the crux of the episode, but there were some interesting developments at Cylon HQ as well. Genocide seems to be ruling the day, and it’s unclear which side is going to win out. I’m a little hazy on the whole there’s-no-resurrection-ship-nearby-so-we-can’t-survive line of thinking, as dead skinjobs have never had a problem traveling long distances before. But what the heck, I’ll play along. I thought the best moment of that whole mess was when Six had to say “please” to the Centurion. That moment was just dripping with subtext. Speaking of subtext, it seems like VP Tom’s suspicions about Roslin’s presidency is a commentary on the secretiveness of the administration currently inhabiting the White House. Lee didn’t like Roslin’s attitude when he tried to quell concerns about the Demetrius, so he got a little vindictive and brought up that classified executive order. By the way, wasn’t VP Tom pretty annoying with that little knocker of his? Lastly, on the Demetrius, nothing really happened in Starbuck’s world in the last 22 days, and the natives are getting restless. However, we did learn that she just wants “to frack.” Filed under: TV and TV Dramas and TV Action and External Entertainment and External TV and Battlestar Galactica and TV Sci-Fi Comments: 3 Comments Digg this! Add to Del.icio.us |
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“WE’RE GOING THE WRONG WAY!” Starbuck’s screams are still echoing in my brain. Last week’s cliffhanger ended rather sheepishly after Cara handed the President her gun. Sure, there was a gunshot, but did anyone really believe that Roslin actually shot Starbuck? For a moment, it looked as if Cara’s actions would be for naught, but by the end of the episode, the Admiral (sort of) came around to her way of thinking. Apparently, she and Helo are going to take a sewage recycling ship and try to find a way to Earth. Since the fleet continues to jump further and further away, I’m not exactly sure how they’ll find a way to Earth and then find their way back to the fleet, but at least she’ll have some company on the trip to verify her discovery. The fuzziness of the plan makes me wonder if we’ll ever get a detailed explanation of why the details of her first trip to Earth are so sketchy. Not much happened with the Four - Tigh, Sam, Tyrol and Tory – other than their secret meeting where they decided to try to use Baltar to find the final Cylon. Considering that Tigh, Sam and Tyrol are so devoted to the humans, it’s surprising that they don’t just turn themselves in. Aren’t they risking the fleet’s destruction? Is there some sort of programming that blocks the ability to tell the truth about themselves? Anyway, Tory quickly infiltrated Baltar’s bed, but that’s not that difficult of a task, is it? Baltar saw a vision of himself for the first time (I believe) and the dynamic was pretty funny. His doppleganger said that he should handle Tory “with care,” to which he responded, “Oh, I’d love to.” I think the Four are barking up the wrong tree with Baltar; I don’t think he knows the identity of the final Cylon – can anyone confirm this? Speaking of the Cylons, there is serious trouble in River City. With all the Number Threes boxed up due to their supposed Messiah defects, there are only six models running things, and they butt heads over whether or not to lobotomize the Raiders. The conflict seems to be the Raiders’ decision to turn tail at the last encounter with the humans, which made Number Six believe that the remaining five Cylons are indeed in the fleet. Number One says that they aren’t allowed to think about it and wants to take away the Radiers’ ability to withdraw from battle. The discussion ends badly for him when Six walks in with a couple of newly-freed Centurions, who are none too pleased with his actions. Does this mean that there are only three models left? And what was the deal with the weird little montage where Boomer (or some other Eight) was dancing around topless while the hybrid ranted gobbledygook? Not that I’m complaining… In (fairly) minor news, Lee has left Galactica to take an empty quorum position. I’m not sure what this means, but methinks he’ll still be involved in the day-to-day happenings of the show. He had a nice little moment with Dualla before he left. I hope her character gets more screen time than she’s been getting in the last few episodes. Lastly, Roslin and Adama had some sharp words about Starbuck that precipitated his decision to let her go. After some back and forth (and a little Psych 101 analysis by the President), Adama quipped, “You’re afraid you may not be the dying leader you thought you were. Or that your death would be as meaningless as everyone else’s.” Ouch. Seriously, why is Roslin so convinced that she knows the way to Earth? Isn’t Cara’s relationship with the Eye of Jupiter enough of a clue that she does in fact know the way to Earth? “WE’RE GOING THE WRONG WAY!” Filed under: TV and TV Dramas and TV Action and External Entertainment and External TV and Battlestar Galactica and TV Sci-Fi Comments: 4 Comments Digg this! Add to Del.icio.us |
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This video popped up on my TiVo the other day. It’s an eight-minute recap of the entire “Battlestar Galactica” run, and it’s pretty funny. Filed under: TV and TV Dramas and TV Action and External Entertainment and External TV and Battlestar Galactica and TV Sci-Fi Comments: None Digg this! Add to Del.icio.us |
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Welcome to the first in an ongoing series, where we’ll be examining famous and infamous guest-star turns from throughout television history. Show: “Hawaii Five-O”
Role: Eddie Calhao, a mustachioed attorney who thinks he’s real tough stuff because he’s running a behind-the-scenes operation which involves framing McGarrett’s right-hand man, Detective Chin-Ho. Eddie’s the kind of guy who throws out one-liners like, “You’ve gotta learn to use the media,” or, “Unfortunately, some violence has always been connected with progress. Unfortunately, I say.” He rarely gets his own hands dirty, preferring to let his underlings do the hard work for him while he reaps the benefits. Meanwhile, poor Chin-Ho’s world is collapsing around his ears, and McGarrett is getting pissed off about it, so he starts trying to unravel the mystery, which leads to the interrogation of banker Austin Summers. Summers, as it happens, is one of the aforementioned underlings, and he starts to twitch under McGarrett’s steely gaze, so as soon as he leaves the police station, Summers immediately runs Eddie. Eddie basically just tells him to keep cool, offering financial incentive for his continued silence. (”Ten thousand dollars should help chase the butterflies away. What say you?”) But when further moves are made to ruin Chin-Ho’s name, McGarrett decides that it’s not business anymore. It’s personal. Sheen doesn’t interact with anyone in the regular “Five-O” cast until the 43-minute mark of the episode, so when Eddie’s approached by McGarrett while sitting alone in a restaurant, the inherent drama in their encounter is comparable to the Pacino / DeNiro sitdown in “Heat.” Or not. But it is pretty funny to watch McGarrett walk in, sit down at Eddie’s table, and, without saying a word, pull out a business card and begin scribbling something on the back of it. Finally, McGarrett breaks the silence. McGarrett: My office number is right on the card, but I’ll give you my home number, too. And with that, McGarrett smirks, stands up, and walks away. Eddie’s appropriately rattled, and he only becomes more so when he returns to his office and finds it completely disheveled. He grabs the phone and books himself a ticket off the island, but as soon as he runs out of the building and onto the street, he’s startled by the sound of gunfire…specifically, someone shooting at him! He spots two shadowy figures running toward him, and, suddenly, Eddie’s on the run for his life through a construction site, with guns blazing behind him. As a result, when he hears police sirens, he immediately opts for the lesser of two evils and starts yelling for their assistance. What luck: McGarrett himself is there! Eddie demands protection from Carl Brohme, but McGarrett - with a twinkle in his eyes - demands dates, places, “the whole set-up.” Frightened for his life, Eddie agrees…but immediately after he rides away in the back of a squad car, it’s revealed that the “shadowy figures” were actually Kono and Danno! Okay, so you might’ve seen that coming…but what you probably didn’t figure was that they were shooting real bullets! “You aimed a little close,” says McGarrett. “He was really shook.” “No more than he deserved,” replies Danno. Here’s an alternate ending I’d like to have seen: Chin Ho is exonerated on all charges, but Danno accidentally kills Eddie and is brought up on manslaughter charges. The last line? “Go book yourself, Danno.” Filed under: TV and TV DVDs and Actors and TV Dramas and TV Action and External Entertainment and External TV and And Our Very Special Guest Star... Comments: None Digg this! Add to Del.icio.us |
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It’s pretty amazing that it has been just more than a year since the season three finale of “Battlestar Galactica.” How time flies. I’d like to say that the show is back with a bang, but most of this episode seemed to be a setup for the rest of the season. It was implied that the fifth Cylon would be revealed (it wasn’t) and all of Starbuck’s talk about knowing where Earth is and how she was going to take the fleet there seems to be a bunch of hooey. She probably did visit Earth – she did describe Jupiter and Saturn in detail – but she has no idea how she got there or how to get back. Great. Throw in the fact that she supposedly survived an explosion, lost months of her life and that she’s flying a brand new Viper (that doesn’t have any navigation history) and it’s not surprising that the President is suspicious. She flips out every time the fleet makes a jump in the wrong direction and finally decides to raise a gun on Roslin. That probably isn’t going to end well for her. The opening battle sequence did look terrific. When I think back to the first space battle I ever saw (“Star Wars”), it’s truly amazing how far special effects and CGI have come. This is a basic cable show on a limited budget and they’re able to put together an immense, realistic battle scene. The nice thing is that those special effects are backed up by great writing – otherwise, the show would be paper thin. It was interesting to see the four new skinjobs – the Chief, Tigh, Sam and Tori – deal with their new realities. I felt a little used after Tigh’s fake assassination of Adama, but was impressed with the way they shot that scene. I jumped initially at the gunshot, but knew that they wouldn’t kill off Adama at this point so I figured they were just messing with us. Presumably, the purpose of that scene is to show the kind of internal conflict that Tigh is going through. But is he really driven to assassinate Adama or is he just worried that a switch will flip and he’ll betray his friend someday? Sam and Tyrol are in the same boat as Tigh. Neither want to believe that they are actually Cylons, so they’re going to go on trying to be the men they want to be as long as they can. To me, this would include telling everyone the truth (to protect them), but apparently that’s not in the cards at this point. Sam’s experience in this episode was the most interesting given the fact that he encountered a Raider face-to-face, which precipitated the Cylon retreat. Tori’s character is probably the most questionable, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s the first of the four to betray the humans. Lastly, let’s not forget that Tyrol’s kid is a hybrid – the creators have to address this, right? I’m not a big fan of the whole Gaius/Messiah storyline, and much of the premiere was unfortunately dedicated to his new situation. It was funny that a majority of his new followers are (hot) women and, predictably, it didn’t take too long for him to succumb to the temptation. (But who can blame him? He did spend the last few weeks cooped up in a cell.) The storyline has a cult-ish feel to it, so it will be interesting to see how this affects the big picture. Based on what I’ve read, it does appear that the fleet will find some version of Earth this season. They could arrive in our past, our present or our future, or they could arrive to an alternate version of Earth. They could be the first humans to settle on Earth (maybe the two hybrid babies are Adam and Eve – though all the technology would be a problem) or they could arrive to a futuristic Earth that has the ability to fend of the Cylons. A grimmer possibility is that they arrive to find that the human civilization destroyed itself, not unlike the ending of “Planet of the Apes.” The possibilities are almost endless. The only thing that’s bothering me is Starbuck. How was she able to survive the explosion, travel to Earth, take pictures and travel back in just six Viper hours? Why would the pictures survive if the nav data didn’t? On one hand, it seems like she has to be a Cylon, but that doesn’t explain how she found Earth. Unless the Cylons have already found it…but, in that case, why would they try to lead their enemy there? So many questions, and just nineteen episodes left to answer them all. Let’s get a move on, people! Filed under: TV and TV Dramas and TV Action and External Entertainment and External TV and Battlestar Galactica and TV Sci-Fi Comments: 7 Comments Digg this! Add to Del.icio.us |
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With the writers’ strike throwing the TV schedule into a tailspin, it has been difficult to keep up on when our favorite shows are returning. “Battlestar Galactica” begins its fourth and final season on Friday at 9 PM (ET and PT) on SciFi. If you want to watch last season’s finale again, SciFi is running the two-parter, “Crossroads,” at 1 AM and 2 AM (ET and PT). If you live in the middle of the country, check your listings as the time changes depending on which SciFi feed you receive. Remember to check back on Saturday for my blog of premiere episode. Filed under: TV and TV Dramas and TV Action and External Entertainment and External TV and Battlestar Galactica Comments: None Digg this! Add to Del.icio.us |
 Michael Franti once described television as “the drug of the nation, breeding ignorance and feeding radiation.” As such, we’re guessing he isn’t nearly as excited as we are that we’re finally beginning to see the fruits of Hollywood’s writers at last being able to put pen back to paper. CBS clearly got the jump on everyone else with the premiere of their new episodes, but as you can see, the other networks will soon be joining in the fun as well, offering up all the fresh new comedy and drama we’ve been craving for so very long. Okay, maybe it hasn’t been that long – as soon as the strike wrapped up, you probably noticed how some series magically “found” a few episodes they’d unabashedly been sitting on – but it’s damned sure been long enough. Check out our coverage here, then head back over to tell us what shows you’re most psyched to see return!
Filed under: TV and Actors and Actresses and News and TV Comedies and TV Dramas and TV Action and Desperate Housewives and Lost and The Office and My Name Is Earl and External Entertainment and External TV and Heroes and TV Sci-Fi and Reaper Comments: None Digg this! Add to Del.icio.us |
 I’m not surprised, of course, but nor am I any less sorry about it. CBS Entertainment President Nina Tassler just released the following statement: “The March 25th episode of Jericho will be the series finale. Without question, there are passionate viewers watching this program; we simply wish there were more. We thank an engaged and spirited fan base for keeping the show alive this long, and an outstanding team of producers, cast and crew that went through creative hoops to deliver a compelling, high quality second season. We have no regrets bringing the show back for a second try. We listened to our viewers, gave the series an opportunity to grow, and the producers put a great story on the screen. We’re proud of everyone’s efforts.” Clearly, the fact that I stopped blogging the show had absolutely no effect on its low ratings, but I still feel bad about it. (It was one of those situations where circumstances prevented me from blogging one week, and it just snowballed.) These episodes of Season 2 were consistently strong, powerful, and packed with both plot development and action, but, ultimately, if America would rather watch lesser programming, that’s their choice. It’s the wrong choice, of course, but you know what Doris Day sang: “Que Sera, Sera.” Do I think the Sci-Fi Network will consider picking it up for a third season? No, not really. I mean, I’d love it if they did, but when a show has been rescued from oblivion once and still can’t get its ratings up, you’re clearly dealing with a situation that isn’t going to be remedied by moving the program to another network. But at least you can’t say the series didn’t go out the same way it began: with a bang. Filed under: TV and News and TV Dramas and TV Action and External Entertainment and External TV and Jericho Comments: 5 Comments Digg this! Add to Del.icio.us |
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Maybe I’m wrong about this, but after last night’s crazy-high numbers for the British premiere of “Bionic Woman,” (thanks to the homeland fame of star Michele Ryan, late of “EastEnders”), somehow I can’t imagine that NBC-Universal will be able to resist keeping it going for at least a little bit longer. At the very least, I’m anticipating that it’ll stick around somewhere, if only over at Sci-Fi. Filed under: TV and Actresses and News and TV Dramas and TV Action and External TV and TV Sci-Fi Comments: 1 Comment Digg this! Add to Del.icio.us |
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As everyone knows, ratings are the lifeblood of a television series. “Jericho” was cancelled at the end of last season, but a grassroots effort saved the show. The series is in the middle of its six-episode second season, and the ratings are just so-so. For the first four episodes of the second season, “Jericho” is averaging 6.4 million viewers as compared to an average of 8.0 million viewers over the last 10 episodes of last season. There’s no telling what CBS would consider a “win” here. Given the effect of the writers’ strike, it’s difficult to guess what kind of numbers the execs see as a baseline for renewal. There was a pretty big twist at the end of last week’s episode, and without giving anything away, it would seem that things are going to be pretty hectic in “Jericho” the next two weeks. Filed under: TV and TV Dramas and TV Action and External Entertainment and External TV and Jericho Comments: None Digg this! Add to Del.icio.us |
 Although he’s been bouncing around Hollywood as far back as 1987, when he played Kolya ‘Nikolai’ Rostov on the “Dynasty” spin-off, “The Colbys,” it’s fair to say that Adrian Paul is more often remembered for his role as Duncan McLeod in the “Highlander” saga. After quite a few episodes of the TV series and a feature film, Paul took a break from the “Highlander” universe for several years, but he returned at long last for last year’s “Highlander: The Source,” which turned up on the Sci-Fi Channel and has recently seen DVD release. We spoken to Paul about his experiences in making the film (and whether there’ll be any more), his thoughts on longtime “Highlander” producer Bill Panzer, why his other sci-fi series, “Tracker,” never really took off, and what he’s been working on recently.
Adrian Paul: Hi Will. Bullz-Eye: Hey Adrian, how’s it going? AP: Good, good. BE: So how hard was it to step back into the shoes of Duncan MacLeod after a few years? AP: It was interesting. It was a different time, too, you know, and they wanted a slightly different type of character; you know, a little darker. But, you know, it’s fine, and you can do that because you know the values of the character; you kind of step back into it and try and find new stuff. So what with the old and the new stuff, you hopefully have a character with some new twists. BE: Was it painful to lose your katana after all these years? AP: (Laughs) No. The thing was, I think nothing’s lost, y’know? I mean, we know where it’s buried! But I love the katana. I love tai chi and working with the katana; I find it a very malleable type of weapon. But I do like using other weapons, too, and we wanted to sort of give it a whole different type of flavor. So we tried it, and even though a lot of the fights were sped up…which wasn’t my idea…we had some really interesting fights. The thing was that we actually tried a whole bunch of different types of weapons and stuff so that we’d have a roundabout look on it, but we didn’t know what we were facing when it comes to visual effects. That was an unknown quantity to us, so all we could do was choreograph it and hope for the best. Filed under: Movies and TV and Movie DVDs and TV DVDs and Actors and Interviews and TV Dramas and Movie Dramas and Action Movies and TV Action and External Entertainment and External Movies and External Movie DVDs and TV Sci-Fi Comments: 1 Comment Digg this! Add to Del.icio.us |
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It looks like FNL has bucked the odds yet again.
I feel like Landry after a night with Tyra right now. Filed under: TV and TV Comedies and TV Dramas and TV Action and External TV and Friday Night Lights Comments: 1 Comment Digg this! Add to Del.icio.us |
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First off, if you didn’t see last week’s write-up, there’s a perfectly good reason for that, but to find out what it is, you’ll have to click here. Are you back? Excellent. Let’s move on, then, shall we? Hey, everybody, Dale’s back! I always thought the guy was a little squirrelly because, well, he is squirrelly. But, wow, the guy’s really grown up over the course of the past few months. One trip to Missouri, and he’s become a man. And by “man,” I mean he’s actually about one evil look away from being a full-fledged bad-ass. I think I’ve said it before, but, seriously, you don’t want to be around that guy when he’s finally fed up. Y’know, I’ve heard some people say that D.B. Sweeney is too damned likable to accept as the devious Goetz, but, personally, I think the combination of this against-type performance and a disconcertingly dark second season of “Jericho” makes him exceptionally off-putting in the role…which I mean as a compliment, if that wasn’t evident. Jake’s hatred of Ravenwood is understandable, given his history with the organization in Iraq, but it doesn’t take long for the majority of the town to turn against them when they start screwing with Dale’s shipments of the Hudson River Virus vaccine. (More on that in a moment.) Hey, everybody, Jimmy’s back! Or, to put it another way, “Narc, narc, who’s there? Jimmy!” Not that we should’ve expected him to anything other than tell Beck what he knew about Sarah Mason, but what wasn’t expected was the way Hawkins decided to handle the situation: by bursting into Beck’s office and saying, “You’re killing my investigation!” It’s actually a good ploy, given how readily Hawkins has had lies spill forth from his lips during the course of the series, but in this case, it’s for the greater good, as he attempts to pick and choose bits and pieces of the facts at his disposal in order to sway Beck into realizing that the government isn’t telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. It’s a slippery slope he’s treading, but Major Beck’s conversation with Thomas Valenti was clearly sufficient to sway Beck into believing Hawkins’ story. And as long as we’re speaking of Beck, I like him a little more each episode, especially after the scene with him and Heather in the waning minutets of the episode Hey, everybody, Dr. Dhuwalia’s back! The guy’s not a very good liar, though, and he’ll clearly break under pressure at the drop of a hat. Still, I love the character, so I’m glad to see him return. Plus, even though he’s got the kind of loose lips that sink ships, the whole issue with the virus made for great drama, from the transmission Heather received that clarified just how bad things had gotten to the tension-racked scenes in the warehouse. So Bonnie’s going the Kerouac route and hitting the road with Jennings & Rall, eh? Well, we did get our first full-fledged CBS’ing of Season 2 with the way the music swelled during the front porch conversation between Stanley and Bonnie, but we also got a bit of heretofore-unrevealed information about how Stanley and Bonnie lost their parents, and I’m sure fans - like, say, myself - enjoyed getting those details. It’s nice to see that the cute girl from J&R seems to have some scruples; at least it looks like Bonnie will be in good hands. So who’s this mysterious person on the other end of the line from Hawkins…? Time, as they say, will tell… Filed under: TV and Actors and Actresses and Reviews and TV Dramas and TV Action and External Entertainment and External TV and Jericho Comments: None Digg this! Add to Del.icio.us |
 First off, my apologies for waiting until Wednesday afternoon to write up a movie that aired on Sunday night. I really did try to get an advance look at NBC’s new 2-hour “Knight Rider” movie, but I was denied. This wasn’t just a case of my not having enough pull: no-one got a look at it beforehand. The stock answer for why screeners weren’t being made available was that the special effects were being worked on right up until the last minute, but, truth be told, someone should’ve spent less time on the effects and more time trying to figure out who this movie was being made for…but I’ll get to that. So why did I wait so long to watch it? Well, you know how it is: Monday was President’s Day, my wife was off work, my kid was home with us, and, basically, the day got away from me. But you want to know why I didn’t watch it Tuesday, and…well, the truth of the matter is that I was scared.
My wife was battling a case of insomnia on Sunday, and she watched part of it without me; when I asked her how it was, she said, “Not good. The two leads didn’t have any chemistry, and David Hasselhoff is still one of the worst actors ever.” Fair enough…but I didn’t watch the original show for The Hoff. I watched it for The Car. But, still, reports on the flick kept popping up all over the ‘net, and they were all universally awful. More and more, I wondered if it was even going to be possible for me to enjoy this movie that I’d originally excited as hell about watching. After much delay, I finally decided that, as a professional critic, I was quite capable of rising above the opinions of others and could not only still manage to establish my own opinion about this film but, indeed, might possibly find something to like where others could not. So I watched it. Filed under: TV and Actors and Actresses and TV Dramas and TV Action and External Entertainment and External TV Comments: 2 Comments Digg this! Add to Del.icio.us |
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You know, you’d think it would be awesome to get advance screeners of TV shows…and, okay, yeah, for the most part, it IS pretty awesome. But there’s one problem with it: you forget when shows are actually on. That, in case you were wondering, is why this entry is mysteriously appearing in the archives almost a week after the episode originally aired. Not that you’d know this without my telling you, since it’s actually been backdated to seem as though it was posted more or less on time, but I feel guilty enough about the ruse that I felt I needed to acknowledge it upfront. There, now that’s out of the way. Now, let’s talk about how happy I am about the way “Jericho” is continuing to maintain this seriously dark tone. It didn’t start dark, of course. The lighthearted breakfast scene with Stanley and Mimi was funny, thanks to Stanley’s well-intentioned but poorly-phrased observation, “That’s probably the most boring story I’ve heard in months.” It seemed a bit odd that the President’s team needed to land their helicopter in Stanley’s front yard to ask if “Condor” could make his speech on the front porch of the farmhouse. What, couldn’t they go through channels with the military instead of using the Whirlybird Express? But let’s stay on our original topic and keep talking about the Stanley / Mimi relationship. Once again, Stanley has proven to be a lunk-headed sweetheart, accidentally putting his foot in his mouth about who Mimi might invite to the wedding, then trying to backpedal by seeing if he might be able to use Jennings & Rall to find some of Mimi’s family. Last season, they might’ve CBS’ed things by miraculously discovering her mom or even a long-lost cousin, but not so this year: even with the resources of J&R, it’s a big ol’ goose-egg on the family front. It’s depressing, but I applaud the producers for not shoehorning in a happy ending. Okay, back to the Presidential visit. Y’know, I realize that they were trying to show that the President’s men weren’t screwing around with their security measures, but it seemed a little over the top when one of them snapped at the local sheriff, “Sir, nobody told you to move.” Really? Not any respect for local law enforcement…? Hawkins’s buddy, Chavez, got busted in his guise as Lieutenant Parker, which I think we all figured would happen sooner than later. I definitely like this new relationship between Hawkins and his wife, but I still find it weird that we haven’t heard so much as a whisper about their kids so far. By episode’s end, of course, Chavez was out of custody and on his way to Texas, but not before stepping up the mystery about this Project Boxcar. As a Democrat, it probably won’t surprise you that I snickered at the suggestion that the new government would immediately attempt to rewrite the textbooks in order to make it look like America screwed up by not attacking the Russians during the Cuban-Missile Crisis and by pulling out of Vietnam too early. Do I really think the Republicans would do something like that? Maybe I’m naive, but I don’t think so. But, then again, Bush got elected to a second term by riding on his post-9/11 high, so what do I know? Okay, enough personal politics. How about the situation with the journalist? From “okay, I’m in” to “okay, I’m dead” just a few short hours. Now that’s what I call an effective cover-up. Again, though, I was shocked that he met his end as quickly as he did; I’d really anticipated that that plot thread would go on for several episodes. I guess this is another case of a short season paying off in terms of rapid-fire plot progression; there’s definitely no moss growing under anyone’s feet this time around. At least Writer Boy managed to leak the info to Jake about the progression of the Hudson River virus. As things wrap up, Gray leaves for the constitutional convention in Cheyenne and grants Eric the status of interim mayor, and we get the return of the dastardly Goetz. Yep, he’s made good on his ominous assurance from Season 1 that Ravenwood would be called in to help the U.S. Government put the nation back together again. Boo, hiss, etcetera. Can’t wait for next week. Filed under: TV and Actors and Actresses and Reviews and TV Dramas and TV Action and External TV and Jericho Comments: None Digg this! Add to Del.icio.us |
 Season finales of “Prison Break” are about heading off into a new direction. Now that Linc and LJ are safe, Michael is all about seeking vengeance on Gretchen. Part of me would like to see the brotheres retrieve that bag of money (that should still be sitting underwater in that Panama cove) and retire to some sleepy beach community. But then there wouldn’t be a show, would there? Once next season starts, I’m guessing that Michael will catch wind that Sucre is in Sona, and will feel obligated to try to break him out. But if Whistler, Gretchen and Mahone (how about that threesome?) leave town, I’m curious to see how Michael finds out about Sucre. For his part, Sucre seems resigned to his fate, but inside Sona, he has to deal with T-Bag, who has turned himself into something of a communist Robin Hood after pulling a fast one on Luchero. T-Bag still has the bird book, which is apparently still important even though it doesn’t contain coordinates. On that front, it turns out that Whistler and Gretchen are more closely linked than we first thought, though there was that mid-season meeting at Sona where it seemed to me that the two were working together. It was surprising to see Whistler and Mahone hook up and it looks like Mahone’s new job is to protect Whistler from Michael. This should reintroduce the Michael/Mahone chess match that was so compelling in season 2. However, the roles will be reversed – Mahone will be the one on the run, and Michael will be hot on his trail. It was pretty laughable that Sofia just happened to get shot outside the museum – I mean, what are the odds? – which led to Michael overhearing LJ tell Linc about the case in Sofia’s apartment. This gives Michael the ammunition he needs to find Gretchen. So that’s where season 3 ends. I wondered last season if the show would be better off wrapping it up, but in Gretchen they introduced a new foil for Michael, something to keep him going, and now that she has Mahone’s help, they should be a formidable team. Whether we like it or not, “Prison Break” will go on, so we might as well see where it takes us. I still wonder about that money, though. Hopefully, the writers will reintroduce that storyline next season. Filed under: TV and TV Dramas and TV Action and Prison Break and External Entertainment and External TV Comments: 2 Comments Digg this! Add to Del.icio.us |
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Yeah, I know, I already declared “Jericho” to be back in my preview of Season 2. But now the show’s made the declaration itself during the opening credits of last night’s season premiere…in Morse code. The resulting ratings must’ve made a lot of people really, really happy: it scored first with adults 25-54 as well as tying for first (with NBC) with adults 18-49. Not too shabby. The bigger question, of course, is whether or not the show can maintain that ratings momentum. If it doesn’t, however, it won’t be the fault of the onscreen goings-on…or, at least, that’s my perception after watching Episode 2.1. When we last left the population of Jericho, they were engaged in battle with the people of New Bern. Instead of leaping back to the concluding moments of Season 1, however, we jump into a tête - à – tête between the leaders of the two sides – Jake Green and Phil Constantino – and get our first look at a scruffier, scarier looking Skeet Ulrich. I realize the fear of cancellation was rough on all of us, but, really, he’s looking a bit bug-eyed, don’t you think? Anyway, the talks between the two sides are moderated by Esai Morales, who plays this season’s major new character…and that pun was totally not intended, even if the name of Morales’s character is Major Edward Beck. As Beck stands by, we’re treated to a quick wrap-up of how the battle between Jericho and New Bern came to its conclusion…namely, via military intervention. There have been complaints that Morales doesn’t come across tough enough for the role he’s playing, but he seemed plenty gruff to me when the situation called for it. Filed under: TV and Actors and Actresses and Reviews and TV Dramas and TV Action and External Entertainment and External TV and Jericho Comments: 2 Comments Digg this! Add to Del.icio.us |
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This week’s episode might have been the most ridiculous yet. 1. Michael led three other prisoners through a maze of active, alert guards and no one was seen. It was obvious something was up when Michael decided to let Luchero, T-Bag and Bellick get a head start on the escape. When he wasn’t moving, it became clear that he was using the trio as a distraction to make his real escape, and that point was punctuated when he said, “This is the plan.” In a series of maneuvers that would have made Solid Snake proud, Michael successfully navigated a crapload of random-walking Sona soldiers to get to the fence, where he punched through the hole and entered the jungle. For a guy that usually plans everything down to the last detail, this was quite the departure, but he had to improvise with this escape and he proved that he could. Burying the cans of oxygen at the beach was a nice twist, though how they successfully ended up at the buoy remains a mystery. Dimwit Whistler is dumb enough to lose his bird book, the same book that holds the key to his freedom, but he’s smart enough to pull the ol’ fall-down-during-the-escape-and-pretend-to-twist-your-ankle trick on Michael. At the beach, the guards didn’t bother to look for footprints (of course), but the dogs found the buried cooler and it looked for a moment that papa and the gang would eventually have a run in with the coast guard, but that encounter never happened. Once T-Bag and Bellick got caught, I began to wonder how they would continue to be involved in the story if Brothers Scofield were free. That question was answered when T-Bag just happened to fall next to (and retrieve) Whistler’s aforementioned bird book. That’ll be the leverage he needs to stay involved. It doesn’t hurt that Sucre looks like he’ll soon be a resident of Sona as well. Next week’s episode is the season finale, and it looks like next season may revolve around Michael trying to break Sucre and T-Bag (with the bird book) out of Sona. Michael will feel responsible for Sucre’s situation and he isn’t going to let him rot in prison. Plus, he’ll probably have more incentive if Susan still holds LJ and Sofia hostage. Bellick will probably make it, though it might be time for the writers to kill him off. I don’t know anyone who is clamoring for more Bellick right now. I’d like the show to push off into a new direction, but I don’t see how that’s possible. But “Prison Break” has surprised me before, so only time will tell. Filed under: TV and TV Dramas and TV Action and Prison Break and External Entertainment and External TV Comments: 1 Comment Digg this! Add to Del.icio.us |
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