Author: John Paulsen (Page 40 of 79)

Friday Night Lights: “Seeing Other People”

After this season’s noticeable lack of football action, this week’s episode started with a blowout loss. I don’t think it’s going to quench the thirst of those viewers looking for more football, and it didn’t have much of an effect on the rest of the episode, other than the fact that it didn’t make Eric’s mood any better. He’s understandably pissy about Tami’s friendship with Glen, who can’t seem to take a hint. I thought Eric was going to flip when Glen was addressing him while lying on the couch in Tami’s office. By the end of the episode, it seemed like Eric and Tami worked out their differences.

Tami is having serious problems with Julie, however, and they stem from Tami’s decision to dress down Noah without closing the door first. I think her actions were (for the most part) completely justified, and if she had made the conversation completely private, there probably wouldn’t be a problem.

Meanwhile, Smash was a total a-hole to his teammates after the loss, but he got what he deserved on his recruiting trip. Matt had a great line when he picked up Smash under the bridge: “Seriously, was it like Cabo in your pants?”

Matt had an opportunity to spend the night with Lauren, but he’s completely infatuated with Carlota. For her part, Carlota is struggling with the morality of starting a relationship with a high school junior, but she has a tendency to succumb to her desires. Matt finally lost his virginity, but mark my words, things are going to get weird with the two of them living under the same roof.

Riggins’ budding friendship with Ferret Guy was good for some laughs. First, Ferret Guy showed up in some tighty whities and then he took a big swig out of his binocular flask. I loved the conversation about hunting:

FG: If you don’t have the stomach to take it down yourself, you might as well be eatin’ chicken.

Riggins: I agree.

Tim finally worked his way back on the team, but as I said in an earlier writeup, he never even mentioned Jason Street’s Mexican surgery. Surely, Eric would have cut him some slack had he known that he went with Street to keep him from going under the knife. Anyway, Riggins’ speech was hilarious, especially the bit about Smash wanting to sleep with all the girls he previously slept with.

Speaking of Street, where is he? He hasn’t been heard from in a few weeks and he hasn’t been coaching, either.

Lastly, I must bring up Landry’s decision to turn himself in. I thought Lyla’s “tell the truth” advice was pretty naïve, and I wonder if she would have made the same suggestion if she had all the facts. Regardless, the cat is out of the bag now and it looks like this storyline is going to come to a head next week. I sure hope Landry doesn’t go to jail – his interaction with Tyra is priceless:

Tyra: What if they’re twins?

Landry: They’re probably not.

Battlestar Galactica: “Razor”

For those “Battlestar Galactica” fans that weren’t paying attention, the Sci-Fi channel premiered the two-hour event, “Razor,” last Saturday night. If you missed it, you can check it out on DVD when it hits the shelves on December 4th.

With Christmas approaching and the writers’ strike just now starting to affect new programming, there’s never been a better time for newbies interested in getting into “Battlestar Galactica” to finally make the plunge. The first three seasons are out on DVD and the fourth season (starting in March) will be the show’s last, so you know the creators are going to have the freedom to end the series properly.

**SPOILER ALERT**

When I first heard about “Razor,” I thought it was going to focus completely on the Pegasus crew under Admiral Cain. This provided plenty of story potential, but the creators decided to weave in two other timelines as well. The story jumped back and forth frequently between the Cain’s Pegasus and the time when Lee was in command of the ship and its crew (before the fleet settled on New Caprica). There was also a brief scene where a young William Adama made a gruesome discovery forty years earlier during the First Cylon War.

I figured that Kendra Shaw wasn’t long for the BG world considering we haven’t seen her in any subsequent episodes, so her little sacrifice at the end wasn’t all that surprising. Besides, it was a lot more effective the first time Bruce Willis did it in “Armageddon.” Regardless, her interaction with the old man (was that the hybrid?) on the ship revealed something big. He said:

“Cara Thrace will lead the human race to its end. She is the herald of the Apocalypse and the harbinger of death. They must not follow her.”

Considering Cara returned at the end of season three and promised to lead the fleet to Earth, his words are especially forboding. Of course, he’s the one that kept saying, “This has all happened before and will happen again,” so I don’t know what the point is of trying to dissuade the humans from following Cara. Kendra tried to warn Lee, but of course the Cylons scrambled the signal.

It was interesting to see the old school Cylons again. Apparently, they are only used in minor duty, and they aren’t as effective as their newer counterparts. It was also fascinating to see Gina’s backstory on the Pegasus. She went from being Cain’s lover to a rape and torture victim. It makes a little more sense now why Cain was so harsh with Gina. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

“Razor” certainly isn’t for the newbies, but it serves as a nice fix for those of us who can’t wait for the final season to begin.

Friday Night Lights: “Pantherama!”

Much of this week’s episode revolved around Smash’s foray into the world of recruiting. He and his mom differ on what college is supposed to mean to him, but someone should tell him that you can go to a good football school and get a degree. In fact, if Smash were to go to any school in the Pac-10 or Big 10, he’s pretty much guaranteed exposure to NFL scouts and a good education, if he wants one. I don’t blame his mom for riding his butt, especially with the way that his face lit up when that “white girl” he brought over told the story about her brother getting a free Porsche. There’s a middle ground between Miami Southern and Whitmore, and Smash needs to find it.

Last week, I commented on the lack of progression in the Matt/Carlota relationship, but this week’s episode made up for it. Her reaction to the kiss probably gave Matt the impression that she wasn’t at all into him, but the next morning it was obvious that she is. It’s funny how much of an impact a plate of warm food and hand on the shoulder can have on a person (and the flirtatious glances didn’t hurt, either). Matt now finds himself in a romantic square, with Lauren, Carlota and Julie all in the picture to different extents. Ah, the life of a Panther QB1.

Speaking of Julie, she is obviously headed for trouble (or embarrassment) with her rapidly growing relationship with Mr. Noah Bennett (played by Austin Nichols, who also plays the title character on HBO’s great drama, “John from Cincinnati”). Whether it’s trouble or embarrassment depend almost entirely on how Noah reacts to her advances (or if he makes a move on her). It’s obvious that Tami has the same thought, so it would be quite ballsy for him to try to take advantage with her mom as one of his co-workers. For his part, he hasn’t done anything wrong…yet.

Santiago continues to play a major role in the show, and now he’s moving in with Buddy Garrity, and the duo make quite the odd couple. I loved Buddy’s line in Tami’s office: “I came up with a moment of scintillating clarity. He should move in with me.”

Scintillating clarity?

Who knows, maybe Riggins will end up with the top bunk. He has moved out of his house because he can’t deal with his brother’s relationship with the neighbor. (Of course, it doesn’t help that she’s walking around the place with wet hair and giant cleavage.) Now he’s moving in with a guy who wants him to help take care of his parrots. I have no idea where this storyline is going, but one thing’s for sure – Riggins needs to get back on the team. There was no talk of that this week.

Eric had a couple of great lines when he asked Tami not to “whisper yell” at him and when Julie asked him for a comment “through the bathroom door.” The look he gave Tami at Pantherama was priceless.

Nothing major happened in the Landry/Tyra storyline, though he did tell her about his dad’s decision to torch the wagon. But the scenes for the next episode showed that things are definitely about to change.

The Office: “The Deposition”

Michael Scott is great under oath. Not great in the way that he answers questions correctly, but great as in hilarious. I loved all the little interjections he had:

“That’s what she said.”
“They hang off m’lady’s chest.”
“I will allow it.”
“I throw myself at the mercy of the deposition.”

I feel bad for Toby. He tried to open up at lunch but Michael responded by pushing his tray off the table. I still don’t know why Michael hates him so much, though it probably didn’t help that Toby asked for a copy of Michael’s journal. I hope that they do a flashback episode someday that explains the vast chasm between them. There is some good comic potential there.

Back at the office it was all about ping-pong. Kelly was this episode’s Most Valuable Character with all of her smack (not trash) talk and her version that Avril Lavigne song:

“Hey Hey I I don’t like your boyfriend / be-cause he he can’t play any ping-pong”

Of course, when she and Pam took over the table, they couldn’t even rally for serve.

All in all, it was a pretty good episode. The thought of Michael under oath still makes me laugh.

Was that Dwight and Moes playing table tennis at the end?

“All of my heroes are table tennis players.”

Prison Break: “Bang & Burn”

When I heard that this week’s episode was the fall finale, I was a little relieved. Recent episodes have left me a little irritated with the show and, frankly, I need a break from “Prison Break.” But when I heard that the General intended to utilize a “band and burn” escape plan this week, my interest was definitely piqued.

Michael feels understandably betrayed by Lincoln, but these words were a little harsh: “You used me, Linc. So I guess you and the Company have something in common.”

Ouch.

In last week’s blog, I was wrong when I surmised that Gretchen worked for Whistler. She works for the General, and her second interaction with Whistler at Sona made that quite clear.

Anyway, Gretchen wanted Whistler to kill Michael, and he had a couple of opportunities to take Scofield out, but he was either interrupted or chose not to. It turned out to be his undoing, however, when Michael tried to piggyback on Whistler’s copter ride, forcing the duo back into Sona. (By the way, why couldn’t the helicopter fly off with two people on the rope? Search and rescue helicopters do that all the time. All…the…time.)

Meanwhile, Sofia discovered Whistler’s bachelor pad, and mark my words, this is the beginning of the end for the couple. She obviously felt betrayed when he lied to her about the apartment. Don’t be surprised if the Sofia/Lincoln relationship heats up next year.

The series took an interesting turn right at the end when Michael was kicked out of Sona. T-Bag, Bellick and Mahone will remain in Sona, while Michael is off to some new prison. I’m not sure how they’re going to make that work, but I’ll admit, I’m interested to find out.

« Older posts Newer posts »

© 2026 Premium Hollywood

Theme by Anders NorenUp ↑