Author: John Paulsen (Page 56 of 79)

Prison Break: “John Doe”

January 23, 2007 /

“Prison Break” is back from break and this episode picked up where we left off last year, with Agent Evil helping the brothers escape almost certain death at the hands of Agent Mahone. AE left Mahone for dead (bad idea!) and he and the brothers jetted up to Montana to pay a visit to the President’s brother.

Once they had Terrance in custody, AE went on some long spiel about how Terrance couldn’t be identified as himself, something about his cheekbones being raised and his ear lobes being lowered. He also talked about his DNA, and how that wouldn’t help, but I don’t see how DNA samples from the President and Terrance wouldn’t be able to prove that the two are related. AE is good, but he isn’t that good.

Anyway, Terrance conveniently gets the drop on the trio by stealing a gun that was conveniently tucked into the back of Lincoln’s jeans. Then he shoots himself in the head. I suppose the fact that his brains splattered over a painting he was admiring moments earlier was supposed to be poetic, but this is “Prison Break.” We are way past poetic.

So the guys are on the run again and it’s not clear what their next move will be. We did find out that AE had a long-standing crush on the President, and even asked her to marry him. That’s an interesting and unexpected twist that should pay off somewhere down the line.

Meanwhile, Mahone has flipped out…and I love it! It would have been pretty lame if he had responded to the attack on his son by “getting back to work.” But it looks like he’s hell bent on tracking down Mr. Kim, and possibly taking down the President. I like how the show has turned all of these relationships on their heads. It has made for some very strange bedfellows.

Of the other three storylines – Bellick, C-Note and T-Bag – Bellick’s is the most interesting. It’s fun to watch the former prison guard fend for himself in lockup, which is just another example of the shifting paradigms of the show. C-Note spent the whole episode on the phone and, now that his wife is in the system, it looks like he may go to Alaska to work in a fishery (huh?). (Putting his homey’s legal advice aside, I don’t see how a prosecutor wouldn’t waive the charges on Kacee if C-Note agreed to turn himself in. That’s just silly.) Meanwhile, T-Bag has lost his mind. He could take the money and retire to a sleepy beach town somewhere, but instead he decides to take his old family hostage, meaning that it shouldn’t be long before the $5 M is once again in play.

External TV, Prison Break, TV, TV Action, TV Dramas

Battlestar Galactica: “Rapture”

January 22, 2007 /

“Battlestar Galactica” is back with nine new episodes. I like the fact that they plan to show them consecutively, while only taking off one week for the Super Bowl.

This episode picked up right where they left off last year, with the tense standoff between Adama (with his nukes) and the Cylons (and their Raiders). This is what I would call a “versus” episode, with lots of one-on-one conflicts throughout the show.

Dee vs. Starbuck

Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who found it hugely ironic that Lee ordered his wife to risk her life in trying to save his mistress. Dee’s interaction with Starbuck was terrific, right down to that slap when Starbuck was starting to get punchy from the drugs. Once they got back to the ship, it was nice to see Lee embrace Dee (wow, it just occurred to me, “Lee and Dee”) in the hanger. Lee needs to cut all romantic ties with Starbuck. She’s a complete mess.

Sam vs. Lee

Most of this conflict happened in the previous episode, and for the most part, Sam and Lee worked as a team to fight the Cylons. I don’t know what it is, but my skin crawls when those toasters appear on screen. I think the creators have done a terrific job of painting them as killing machines, and have used them judiciously, so that they keep their impact.

Helo vs. Roslin

How great of a moment was it when Helo slowly walked towards Roslin, blaming her for their current situation? There were no guards around, and this is a guy that just shot his wife. All Adama has to do is put his hand out and Helo (pretty much) stops. That was a powerful scene.

Boomer vs. Athena

I wasn’t expecting Boomer to flip out like that, but I guess that’s what a few weeks with a crying baby will do to you. Caprica’s decision to help Athena and Hera escape threw me for a loop. Now she and Baltar are on Galactica…this should be interesting.

Biers vs. Baltar

So who is the Chosen One? Biers? Baltar? The Chief? Biers was the one who saw the five Cylon faces, but she only recognized one. What clues can we garner from what she said? “You. Forgive me. I had no idea.” Obviously, she was apologizing to someone she felt she had wronged…so who would that be? She’s had limited interaction with the humans. It’s doubtful that it was Baltar, because she seemed genuinely surprised, and Baltar had been blathering on and on about being a Cylon. Though, when she touched the Cylon’s hand, she ended up holding Baltar’s.

One thing’s for sure, the fact that she recognized a face means that we’re in for at least one more huge surprise before the series ends.

Battlestar Galactica, External TV, TV, TV Action, TV Dramas

Rome: “Son of Hades”

January 22, 2007 /

About a month passed between episodes and Lucius is still mired in guilt over the deaths of his wife, children and Caesar. Titus continues to be a good and loyal friend, but it’s clear that his new wife doesn’t want to stay with Lucius any longer.

Mark Antony has bit off more than he can chew and is quickly finding that the day-to-day responsibilities of consul are more than he can bear. He has to deal with Octavian, who justifiably wants his inheritance, with Cleopatra, who wants her son proclaimed to be Caesar’s, and with the gangs, who have all tried to fill the power vacuum present after Lucius’ antics last week. For the last bit, Antony enlists Lucius’ help, giving the soldier a swift kick in the ass in the process.

Lucius takes to his new mission with vigor and declares himself a “son of Hades.” Titus continues to worry about the dark path that his friend is taking, but hasn’t shown any signs of leaving Lucius’ side.

Atia’s loyalty to Antony has more to do with her underestimation of her own son than any true affection she has for the consul, though she did throw out a unreturned “I love you” early in the episode. She is still distracted by her hatred for Servilia, but has a new foil in Cleopatra, who has certainly caught Antony’s eye.

Towards the end of the episode, Octavian made his move by promising to deliver the money that Caesar originally pledged to the plebes. He decided to borrow against his inheritance, which caused the throw down between he and Antony. Octavian has decided to leave Rome, and will no doubt return with an army and loads of support from the citizens of Rome.

Now, for a few of the best lines from this episode:

Atia: (to Antony) “I love you.”

Antony: (to Cleopatra) “Your son will eat shit and die before I make him legal.”

Antony: (to Lucius) “Look at the fucking state of you.”

Cleopatra: (to Atia) “I have made a friend for life.”

Lucius: (at the parlay) “I am a son of Hades and I fuck Concord in her ass!”

Cicero: (to Servilia) “I doubt [Octavian] will be more than a nuisance to Antony.”

External TV, Rome, TV, TV Action, TV Dramas

The Office: “The Return”

January 19, 2007 /

I think my prediction that Pam and Roy will get back together before Karen and Jim break up is in serious jeopardy. This week, Jim tries to avoid Pam, but when no one will join him in playing a prank on Andy (“Ask me again ten years ago.”), he turns to his old friend for help. Karen sees that there is still something there, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she leaves Jim (and Scranton) soon. Throw in the fact that we haven’t seen much of Roy in the past few weeks and it’s looking more and more that Pam and Jim will both be unattached at the same time. But will they get together? Usually, when a show’s “will they?/won’t they?” couple finally unite, it means that the show has jumped the shark. But “The Office” isn’t all about Pam and Jim, so it still has a fighting chance.

Andy is growing ever more annoying, and has truly become Michael’s Michael. I think his antics are still pretty funny, but it’s clear that he’s getting on everyone’s nerves. So who will last longer – Karen or Andy?

Dwight’s stint at Staples was pretty funny, but the clips of his interviews were better. One of the lines – “I am ready to face any challenges that are foolish enough to get in my way” – was priceless.

Oscar’s return wasn’t too dramatic, save for Angela’s tearful apology when she begged him to be on the party planning committee. Kevin asked, “Can I join too?” Angela responded, “Never.”

External TV, The Office, TV, TV Comedies

Rome: “Passover”

January 15, 2007 /

It’s been more than a year since we’ve had a new episode of “Rome” to watch, and I always find it interesting, especially with these shows on HBO, how our everyday lives roll on as the cast and crew work furiously to but together twelve or thirteen episodes to entertain us for three months before the process starts all over again for another season.

Tonight’s episode picks up moments after Caesar’s murder, and all hell’s breaking loose in the city. For the most part, the creators did a beautiful job of seamlessly rolling the first season into the second. But Atia (Polly Walker) looks quite different to me, so much so that I almost didn’t recognize her when she first hit the screen. It’s possible that they wanted her character to look like she’s aged five to ten years and gained ten to twenty pounds, but something tells me that was an issue the creators had to deal with when they started shooting for the second season.

This episode dealt with the aftermath of not only Caesar’s death, but Niobe’s as well. It’s not often that a show will kill off two of their main characters at the same time, but the parallel storylines make for compelling television.

First, the political implications of Caesar’s death had to be dealt with and it was clear right from the start that Octavian was stepping up his role in the political realm. He’s extremely savvy, so it’s no wonder why Caesar bequeathed his estate to the young man, effectively making Octavian his son. As his mother tres to get the family out of the city, he quickly formulates a plan, and with Mark Antony’s help (and his mother’s approval), he effectively seizes control of the city. Brutus made the mistake of trusting Antony against the advice of all of his advisors, including Servilia. When she put in her two cents, his line – “You too, mother?” – was priceless.

Meanwhile, Lucius is reeling from Niobe’s suicide, but it was clear that he was going to kill her anyway for having a child by another man while he was away at war. He made the mistake of cursing and banishing his children and almost immediately regrets it.

Titus and his slave girl have a nice moment in the woods when he had the best line of the show: “I know I didn’t get us started off on the right foot, killing your man, and I’m sorry for that.” He proposes to her and she agrees to be his wife, but it’s clear that she’s having a tough time understanding that she’s a free woman now. Anyway, once someone rides by yelling about Caesar’s death, Titus hilariously knocks the guy off his horse and uses it to head back to the city.

There, he finds Lucius in a serious tailspin, but helps his friend pull things together. Lucius is torn up about placing a curse his children and the two men discover that their old boss abducted them. After a bloody attack on the boss’ hideout, the man informs the duo that for Lucius’ past transgressions, he “f*cked them, killed them and threw them in the river.” And that was the end of that guy.

It may take a while for Lucius to recover from he day’s events, and he’s not unlike the city of Rome trying to recover from Caesar’s death. Brutus has been sent to the country, so it looks like Antony, Octavian and Atia will control the city for the time being. Octavian and Titus also had words during the episode and it’s clear that kid trusts the big man. Over the season, Octavian is going to develop into more of a leader and it will be interesting to see what role Titus (and Lucius, for that matter) play in the future of the empire.

All in all, it was a great premiere and I can’t wait to see more.

External TV, TV, TV Action, TV Dramas

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