Category: TV Action (Page 117 of 145)

Rome: “About Your Father”

Rome

That’s it. That’s the last episode of “Rome.”

I’ve said before, with all the jumping ahead in time, that this season felt awfully rushed, but the final episode provided a fitting conclusion to most of the show’s storylines.

It starts with a great monologue by Mark Antony as the remainder of his navy rowed its way back to Alexandria.

All my life I’ve been fearful of defeat. But now that it has come it’s not near as terrible as I’d expected. The sun still shines, water still tastes good…glory is all well and good but life is enough, nay?

Then, in contrast, we get another monologue from Atia as she laments the news of Antony’s defeat:

[Octavian] wasn’t like that as a child. He was a good, honest boy. I don’t know what happened. I’m to blame, probably.

Probably?

Antony’s meltdown in the palace is a brilliant piece of acting by James Purefoy. When Cleopatra pleads with him to come up with some military trick to win the war, Antony quips, “I’m a soldier, not a fucking magician.”

Then, he has a “GoodFellas” moment when one of his guests laughs as he gets knocked down. Antony shouts, “I’m a fucking clown?” before killing the weakling in a swordfight. (I had visions of Joe Pesci.) That moment is Antony’s “lampshade” moment. You know, that moment when a partygoer partakes a little too much and their night spins out of control. I’d like to applaud the hazy cinematography of the scene. It really adds depth to Antony’s frame of mind at the time.

He has another great line when Cleo’s slave comes to tell him of her death and to urge him to commit suicide: “Anything to cure this fucking hangover.” The suicide scene with Lucius was intense, and it was a nice gesture that Antony did not force Vorenus to follow him into death.

Then there’s the matter of Caesarion. Though there isn’t any real-world evidence of this, the show’s position is that he is the son of Titus Pullo. When Lucius offers to take Caesarion to his father, Cleopatra asks, “Is he a good man?” Lucius answers, “Define good.”

The negotiation scene between Cleo and Octavian was terrific, and I can see now why they wanted Simon Woods instead of Max Pirkis for the latter half of this season. Octavian was actually 33 when he invaded Alexandria, so casting Woods was a logical choice. Of course, Caesarion was 17 at the time, and the creators didn’t have any problem shaving seven years off of his age.

It was good to see Atia get back to her old self. That was a terrific diatribe she laid on Octavian’s wife before the triumph. Now that the series is over, it’s comforting to know that the bitch is definitely back.

Finally, there’s Titus and Lucius. Even with all its politicking and betrayal, the show is really about the friendship between these two men. It was sad to see Lucius go, but I’m glad he got his wish to see his children and that his eldest daughter decided to forgive him. Titus got his wish – a son – and appears to have finally found some happiness in his life.

And, speaking of Titus, how’s this for the last line of the series?

Listen, about your father…

All in all, the finale did an excellent job of providing fitting conclusions to virtually every major character, but in reality, the only good thing about “Rome” ending is that we’ll finally get to see the last nine episodes of “The Sopranos.”

R.I.P. “Rome.” We’re sad to see you go.

Battlestar Galactica: “Crossroads, Part 1”

Finally, some real Cylon contact!

It turns out that the Cylons have been tracking the human fleet, but Number 6 supposedly gave Tigh the information he needed to throw the toasters off their scent.

But that info came at a price. Number 6 threw Tigh into a guilt-ridden tailspin, which climaxed at the trial when he said he’d do anything to put Dr. Baltar away except, of course, stay sober. Way to be a good witness, Tigh! Thanks a bunch!

What was the deal with the music? Didn’t Sam hear it in the bar as well? And what was the deal with the look that the President’s aide (Tori) and Sam shared at the bar? Are Sam and Seelix are becoming an item? My head is spinning.

I still don’t get why Lee would want to help Baltar. I understand that Starbuck’s death has made him want to step out from his father’s shadow, but why help Gaius? That scene in the Admiral’s quarters was classic:

Lee: Are you calling me a liar?
Will: I’m calling you a liar and a coward.
Lee: I will not serve for a man who questions my integrity.
Will: And I will not have an officer under my command who doesn’t have any.

Ouch.

It looks like Baltar’s trial and the season are going to wrap up next week. Is it just me or is this season lacking the normal buildup to the finale? All those self-contained domestic episodes in the middle of the season threw me for a loop.

24, Hour 14: Yo bad azizi as a nuclear war

Correction to the Hour 13 blog: the Doom board I found that was so awesome is called “Go 2 It.” I play the ultra-violent version in “God mode,” which gives me the most bang for my buck with no consequences for my inability to actually survive the level legitimately. The sheer chaos on the screen makes me giggle.

This episode brought about a million lyrics from ‘80s pop songs to mind, but I decided to name-check a super-obscure Duran Duran B-side. You know, to bolster my street cred.

Here is what I said last week about the preview for this week’s episode:

As CTU is tracking the “drone” plane that houses one of the suitcase nukes, it is clear to them that someone within CTU is manipulating the action. Is this when they finally play the Nadia/Milo card? Does Nadia sell Milo down the river? Of course she does. Isn’t that what he’s been here for all this time?

As usual, I got it half right. Nadia was indeed fingered as the internal leak that is supplying the satellite intel to the Russian flight simulator, but she maintains her innocence, and has the nerve to dismiss Milo for not believing her. And knowing “24,” it’s safe to assume that she is indeed innocent. They did allow one new girl have a speaking line in this episode. Maybe she’ll be outed as the mole next week. And as much of a cocky jerk as the Ricker is, and as much as he seemed to enjoy choking Nadia, I don’t believe he has the technical savvy to pull such a stunt, his lust for hurting people be damned. Maybe Milo set her up? That’d be a surprise, but it would also be a cheat. Given Eric Balfour’s reputation as a show-killer of Ted McGinley proportions, it’s safe they’re not about to make him a bad guy. It’s one thing to do something that no one expects, but it’s another entirely to do it solely because no one will expect it. Ask David Lynch about that, he knows all about cheating in his movies.

Senator Roark, meanwhile, is one step away from off ripping his clothes, jumping on the table in a crouched position, beating his chest with his fists, shrieking, “WAR! WAR! WAR!” at the top of his lungs, and throwing a pile of feces at Karen Hayes. He’s using the same logic that a high school teacher of mine used once to give me and a classmate a zero on an exam. His proof: we couldn’t prove that we weren’t cheating. Very clever, Mr. Steve Clippinger. Why didn’t you ask me when I stopped beating my girlfriend while you were at it?

Anyway, Roark is doing the same thing, blatantly fitting his square-peg, square-peg, square, square, peg “Killing an Arab” policy into whatever round hole he can find, even when he’s told at every turn that what he’s doing is fucking nuts and he himself knows that he’s making gross assumptions in order to make his case. It all seems like a whole lot of time-killing bluster when you consider the timeline: it’s dark, and the day/season ends in ten hours, which means that this is going to end before you see any daytime shots of riled-up citizens arguing about the civil rights of the Muslim community or the backlash from bombing Fayed and Dr. Bashir’s homeland. It’s all a distraction, people. Let’s move on.

Now, what to make of this whole ‘Audrey is dead’ thing? Is it true? My first instinct was to say that it was bogus, but we have to remember that when they were writing these episodes, they had no idea if “The Nine,” the new show of Audrey Raines actress Kim Raver (who showed all kinds of skin that you only wished she had shown on “24”) was going to be picked up. As it turns out, the show was canned – which is too bad, because it had its merits despite a lack of longevity as a series – so they have the liberty of either leaving her in the ground or bringing her back. And given the number of unanswered questions on the show, I would bet on her showing up in just enough time to make Heidi Petrelli jealous. Speaking of which, was anyone else surprised to see her make a pass at Jack within the confines of CTU? Dr. Romano’s body’s still warm, for crying out loud.

Here’s what I want to know, though, stat: Farmer Hoggett left his son with a cell phone that had President Buck Buck Brawwwwk’s number. Why hasn’t anyone investigated a link between Hoggett and Former President I.M. Weasel? In fact, given that Jack now knows that his father was partially responsible for not only the current day’s events but the assassination of his boy David Palmer – not to mention the framing of Jack for said events – why the hell isn’t CTU using every exhaustible resource to find Hoggett? It’s as if he flew to another planet or something. He’s in Los Angeles, you halfwits! Go get him!

Also, what about the shady group that Mr. Hilary Swank works for? They were the ones that set this whole plan in motion, after all. Don’t think for a second that we’ve forgotten that. Sometimes I feel as though the writers of “24” treat us like cats, that they can jangle keys in our face and we’ll forget about whatever we were thinking about beforehand. That’s not a smart tactic, since cats are fickle and will forget your precious show when they lose interest. All hail the fickle cats!

Prison Break: “Panama”

Though I do like the fact that the story has moved to Panama, there are a few inexplicable decisions in this week’s episode that simply cannot be overlooked:

1. There’s no way in hell that FBI Internal Affairs lets C-Note go on his own recognizance if he’s supposed to testify against Mahone. They might keep him in jail or they might keep him in a safe house, but they would not release him.
2. Why in the world would Michael have a tattoo of Christ(ina) Rose on his arm, allowing anyone bright (or determined) enough to figure out his endgame? It’s the name of your mom! You can’t remember it without a tattoo? For that matter, if you’re an escaped felon, why would you name your boat after your mom?
3. How does T-Bag neglect to put a “Do Not Disturb” tag on his door when leaving a murdered prostitute in the hotel bathroom? It would have bought him at least a few hours head start.

Ridiculous, dumb and dumb.

Like I said in my last post, I just hate it when smart characters do stupid things. It makes the show tough to enjoy.

And, otherwise, there was a lot to like about this episode. From Sarah’s question – “Are you asking me to sail off into the sunset with you?” – to Bellick’s insult – “What’s Spanish for INS?” – there were some good lines.

But still, there is one thing that bothers me. If the President is out of office, why does Mr. Kim still care about tracking down the convicts? Wasn’t the original intent to protect the President? Now that she’s gone, who really cares?

I’m guessing it has something to do with the mysterious SONA file, but even money says that the writers don’t even know where that storyline is headed right now.

And where in the world is Agent Eisen?

Rome: “No God Can Stop a Hungry Man”

Rome Lucius

Man, this show isn’t afraid to jump ahead in time! Apparently, “all these years” in Egypt has corrupted Mark Antony and it’s obvious that the spicy Cleopatra holds a lot of influence over him. After the dynamic duo multitasked by negotiating with a delegation from Rome while practicing their archery (on a slave, no less!), there was a great exchange between the Lucius and the representative from Rome:

Roman representative: Is he always like that?
Lucius: Like what?

Speaking of Lucius, he’s still in Egypt and is spending his nights having sex with scary bald prostitutes and dreaming about Niobe. He’s also charged with raising Caesarion, who is Titus’…er…Caesar’s son. Lucius certainly thinks it’s the former, because whenever the kid asks about his dad, Vorenus describes Titus.

It was a cold move for Octavian to send his sister and mother to Egypt and it was even colder that Antony sent them packing without even meeting with them. I was a little worried that their ship might sink on the trip home, but when Lucius said it wasn’t a bad idea for Posca and Jocasta to stow away, I figured killing Atia and Octavia wasn’t a part of the “delicate mission” that Antony gave him. Once back in Rome, Posca provided Octavian with justifcation for war (Antony’s will), so now everybody’s happy.

Titus had apparently been with Gaia for some time. The relationship felt rushed (as does the entire season), but the fight with POW Memio was still effective. You just knew that once Gaia confessed, the big fella was going to kill her. I thought Gaia was one of the more interesting (and more attractive) characters on the show, so I’m sad to see her go.

But I have to say that she had one of the best sendoffs ever. That final shot of her drifting in the water was simply gorgeous.

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