If you’re particularly persnickety about the death count on “Harper’s Island” since its debut last week, then you’re probably grousing about how, although we referred to Uncle Marty – who’s half the man he used to be – as the first victim, he was really the second person to be murdered within the episode. This is completely true, of course, since I think it’s fair to say that we collectively shuddered as Cousin Ben bought the big one at more or less the same moment the boat left the mainland dock and began its voyage to the island. Similarly, there were actually three deaths in Episode #2. So why are we only citing two of the victims here?
Here’s the thing: we’re only counting the people who appear on the list that CBS and the show’s producers have helpfully provided us to use as a scorecard of sorts. If they’re not on the list (which you can find right here), then we’re not counting them in the grand total.
Okay, now that we’re all on the same page about how the victim count works, let’s prepare to chat with Victims #2 and #3, shall we?
If you’ve checked out Bullz-Eye’s TV Power Rankings for April 2009, then you’ve already seen the site’s picks for the top 20 shows currently airing, several honorable-mention entries, and what series they’re most excited to see return. Given the way new programs are popping up constantly throughout the year, however, it was always inevitable that the voting for the Power Rankings would close just as a few promising series were making their debuts but before their consistency could be properly gauged. Here, then, are five shows which, at least as it stands right now, look like they have the potential to be ranked next time around.
1. “Party Down,” Starz. It’s a longstanding Hollywood tradition for producers to build themselves a gaggle of go-to actors who they can always count on to make an appearance in one of their projects, and although it’s Joss Whedon who has one of the most recognizable posses on television, it’s clear that Rob Thomas is building a pretty solid one, too. In “Party Down,” which focuses on a Hollywood catering company helmed by aspiring actors and actresses, you can’t go more than a few minutes without seeing someone who once appeared on “Veronica Mars.” Ryan Hansen is the only “Party Down” regular who held the same status on “Mars” as well, having played Dick Casablancas, but Adam Scott (“Stepbrothers”), Ken Marino (“The State”), and Jane Lynch, who most recently proved hilarious in “Role Models,” all made visits to “Veronica” at some point or other. Enrico Colentoni had an unforgettable nude scene in the first episode of “Party Down,” and it looks like Kristen Bell will be turning up in the season finale.
Paul Rudd is one of the other co-producers of “Party Down,” and it’s clear he had a hand in bringing some of his favorite talent onto the show as well. Martin Starr, late of “Freaks and Geeks,” is here, and after scoping out IMDb, it looks like Ken Jeong will be turning up in a future episode. With all this talent, you won’t be surprised to learn that this is arguably the funniest new show of the spring season…if seasons even still exist, that is…and is already shaping up to be the place for cool comedians and actors to guest-star. “Crash” may have been a bust as Starz’s first original series, but count on “Party Down” to do for the network what “Mad Men” did for AMC.
You lot over the UK may have been well familiar with “The IT Crowd” for quite some time now, but here the States, we’ve only just recently gotten the opportunity to be introduced to it. First, we had the Independent Film Channel (IFC) to thank, and now MPI Home Video has released Season 1 of the series onto DVD. Actually, there had been talk that the set would be released quite some time ago, but, then, that was back when NBC was still threatening to give us an Americanized version of the show. After those plans were canceled, so was the release of the set…’til now. We had a chance to chat with Chris O’Dowd, who plays Roy on “The IT Crowd,” about his experiences on the show, and we took the opportunity to quiz him a bit about a couple of upcoming film roles, including the re-telling of “Gulliver’s Travels,” starring Jack Black and Jason Segel.
First thing’s first: tonight’s episode must had one of the coolest titles in the history of television. It’s exactly this kind of geek humor that makes the “Lost” writing team one of the best in the business. (Check out Will Harris’ interview with executive producers Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof for further proof.) In fact, I liked it so much that it wouldn’t have even mattered if it didn’t make any sense in the end, but as it turned out, it did, and suffice it to say that it led to one of the biggest laughs of the night. I thought for sure Hurley was scribbling something in his journal a little more important than a script for “The Empire Strikes Back,” but then again, that’s Hurley for you. His scenes with Miles have helped fill the void ever since the big guy became friends with Sawyer, and though tonight’s episode was all about Miles, it was a great to have Hurley along for the ride.
Along with Faraday, Miles has been one of my favorite characters since his arrival in Season Four, so it was nice to finally get some backstory other than the brief bits we saw in the episode featuring his first appearance. I believe Cuse and Lindelof intended to address Miles’ past at some point last year, but had to cut the story when the season was shortened by the strike. Whatever the reason, it actually worked for the better now that the Losties have travelled back in time. We always knew that his sixth sense was the reason he was recruited by Widmore, and some of us have even had the hunch that Marvin Candle (or Pierre Chang) was his father when it was suggested that he had previously visited the island, but I don’t think anyone realized that Miles knew as well.
As it turns out, he’s known ever since his third day as a member of the Dharma Initiative when he spotted his mother in the lunch line at the cafeteria. (At least he didn’t hit on her à la “Back to the Future.”). Heck, he even saw himself as a baby later on, which begs to ask the question: is Miles’ special ability a product of his time on the island or is it just sheer coincidence? I don’t think we’re going to find out the answer to that just yet, but one thing we do know is that Miles is adamant about not wanting to meet his father. He’s more or less forced to, though, when Horace gives him a special assignment to deliver a package (read: dead body) to Candle at the Swan station.
By now you may have heard about Thornton’s interview (along with his band, The Boxmasters) with a Canada’s QTV where he takes exception to the host mentioning his acting career in the introduction. If you watch Thornton during the intro, you can see him shake his head a couple of times. For the first six or seven minutes of the interview, Thornton acts like a petulant child, giving short, ambiguous answers to direct questions. Then he goes off on a tangent talking about a monster magazine contest that he entered as a kid. Finally, around the seven-minute mark, he tells the host why he’s acting the way he is.
Thornton keeps asking the host, “Would you ask Tom Petty that?” The thing is — Billy Bob Thornton is no Tom Petty. Thornton is best-known as an actor who sees himself as a musician. Tom Petty is in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
I feel for the host — he simply introduced Thornton and the rest of the band, and has to deal with pissy Billy Bob for the rest of the interview. He didn’t ask him any questions about his acting career and it’s completely understandable why he would mention Thornton’s history as an actor in the intro to give the interview context. It would be really odd if he just started the interview without mentioning it at all.
