Category: TV Action (Page 122 of 145)

Rome: “Heroes of the Republic”

February 12, 2007 /

In the middle of last season, Cicero said that he wanted to retire to the country. For someone that was thisclose to retirement, he’s certainly back in the middle of things. After getting outsmarted by Octavian (which is becoming a trend, methinks), he tries to intimidate the young man by trumping up Brutus’ and Cassius’ army. He says they have 20 legions, but in reality, they have nine. Octavian realized that was enough to defeat his four, which is why Atia went to Mark Antony. If the two generals come to a truce, they could make life very difficult for Cicero and his pals.

But I’m not sure why Atia went to Octavian in the first place. It’s clear by the shifty looks that she’s up to something. Maybe peace between her son and Antony is her end game, but it’s doubtful. After her fumbling of the Servilia situation, she definitely needs protection.

Pullo’s wife admitted that she’s jealous of the bond he has with Lucius. That was a nice moment when Titus said that he’d definitely save her if the two were drowning. She seems to be warming up to him, and it’s probably a good sign that she’s jealous. At least he can be sure that she cares about him.

I sensed that Gaia was into Lucius, and I don’t think that the two are quite done. There’s a good chance that she’ll create some conflict between Lucius and his third in command. (I still haven’t caught his name.) She seems pretty intent on not being viewed as a prostitute, so Lucius forcing her to take the money may come back to bite him in the ass.

Finally, I loved the scene where Agrippa brought Octavia home from the orgy. Octavia’s drugged explanation was terrific – “So I was at an orgy. Who cares?” – and Atia’s mood changed from embarrassment to anger, and finally to amusement when Agrippa professed his love for her daughter.

Looking forward, Brutus and Cassius intend to wait for Octavian and Antony to weaken each other before they step in to take control of Rome. Man, are they in for a surprise!

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

TV DVD QT, Vol. 6

February 9, 2007 /

All in the Family: The Complete Sixth Season – Ah, geez: this is the season when “All in the Family” jumped the shark. Or was it? My perception has always been that things started to go downhill this year, when Mike and Gloria moved out of the Bunker’s house, and Gloria gave birth to baby Joey; the majority of the votes on JumpTheShark.com, however, don’t have it occurring until the end of the eighth season, when Mike, Gloria, and Joey moved away. All I know is that after this season, “All in the Family” dropped to #12 in the ratings after spending five years at #1. That can’t be a coincidence.

The Big Valley: Season Two, Volume One – After watching seasons of “The Time Tunnel” and “Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea,” you sometimes forget that the ‘60s actually produced some dramas that provide entertainment on more levels than just kitschy fun. “The Big Valley” is probably best remembered by kids raised in the ‘70s and ‘80s as the show Lee Majors did before “The Six Million Dollar Man” and “The Fall Guy,” but it’s a solid Western drama that provides a twist on the “Bonanza” formula by having several strapping young brothers living on a ranch with their ma (played by Barbara Stanwyck) rather than their pa. It’s loaded with guest stars, but surely the most interesting performance here is the surprisingly effective dramatic turn by Buddy Hackett, who sports a beard and an Irish accent for his role.

Dallas: The Complete Sixth Season – If you didn’t watch the show, there are probably only two questions you have about this set, so let me answer them for you quickly. 1) No, it’s not the season where J.R. got shot; that happened at the end of the third season. 2) No, it’s not the season where Bobby shows up the shower and it turns out that the previous season was an entire dream; that happened at the end of the ninth season. So if you’re only a casual fan, you’ll probably be able to take a pass. If you’re a diehard…well, of course, you’ll buy it, anyway, but you’ll be excited to check out the new featurette, “Power and Influence: The Dallas Legacy.” It’s only 12 minutes long, but at least it’s a special feature; you get so few of those on ‘70s shows sets.

The Golden Girls: The Complete Seventh and Final Season – Criminey, another season already? Man, I am so freaking tired of writing about this show. Thank God it’s the last time I’ll have to do so. What else is there to say about it, really, that I haven’t already said before? It’s four old ladies living in a house together, it’s a funny show, and it shouldn’t be the guilty pleasure for guys that it is, because the writing is often downright hilarious. Plus, it was a great venue for older stars to get work…and, unlike “Murder, She Wrote” or “Diagnosis: Murder,” the odds were pretty decent that you’d get out of the episode alive! There’s also a nice retrospective on here, entitled – what else? – “Thank You For Being A Friend: A Look Back with the Golden Girls.”

La Femme Nikita: The Complete Fifth Season – Peta Wilson is hot. I think that’s pretty well inarguable. But having not watched this show at any point prior to receiving this set, it’s hard to do a review of it justice…which is why I’ve been sitting on it for so long. I tried to watch it, but, frankly, it bored me very quickly and I bailed out. I’m willing to presume that’s because I was coming in blind, though, so I’ll at least praise the fact that it includes a few special features, including deleted scenes, a teaser for the season that was previously only viewable online, and a featurette called “Season Five: Declassified.”

Penn & Teller: Bullshit! – The Complete Fourth Season – Hard to say how long Penn Gillette’s NBC game show, “Identity,” will stick around, but, frankly, who cares? Sure, it’s nice that he’s getting a paycheck for doing not very much at all, but if it vanishes tomorrow, he’s still got “Bullshit!” – already renewed for a fifth season – to fall back on. You might occasionally find yourself flinching at Penn’s explosive obscenity-filled responses to various on-screen contributors (my personal favorite: “Fuck you in the neck, motherfucker!”), but whether you agree with the show’s spin on their subjects – which, rest assured, are always well-documented – or not, every episode “Bullshit!” is invariably illuminating. And, guys, you know you want to watch the one on prostitution…

External Entertainment, External TV, Reviews, TV, TV Action, TV Comedies, TV Dramas, TV DVDs

24, Hour 7: Oh, father

February 6, 2007 /

While staring down Broadway at one of the two big twists in the final segment of tonight’s episode of “24,” the other twist T-boned my car, threw me from the vehicle, and knocked me unconscious. I knew that Daddy Bauer (official Premium Hollywood nickname pending) was going to kill Dr. Romano/Evil from the second that he asked to be left alone. Jesus, Jack, haven’t you learned anything? The second your back is turned, bad shit happens, even when your father is around…especially when your father is around. Once word of Dr. Romano’s death reaches you, maybe you’ll connect the dots.

In truth, Daddy Bauer’s plan is quite ingenious, if dastardly. He has lowered the guard of his do-gooder son, silenced the only person who could sell him out, and set up his son’s death so that Dr. Romano’s wife and “child” will hold Jack responsible, since the cause of death will surely be a fatal seizure due to excessive torture. Jack will feel as though he has betrayed his family, which will make him even more vulnerable to Daddy’s evil machinations. (And now we know why Daddy killed the goon assigned to kill him, instead of giving Jack the chance to ask him any questions.) S-M-R-T, as Homer Simpson would spell it.

As for the other twist, well, I’m embarrassed to admit that I thought that the reluctant engineer for the nuclear triggers would also be Daddy Bauer. I envisioned him killing Dr. Romano, then getting a cell phone call from Fayed, saying, “We have some unfinished business,” or something equally cliché. Then he takes off out the back door while Jack isn’t looking, and goes to settle this whole nuke thing on his own before his company is implicated any further. And speaking of the company, I have to ask this: wouldn’t the government, with its all-knowing intel abilities, know that Jack’s father and brother run a group that deals in nuclear weapons? I mean, come on, are the Bauers members of the Stonecutters or something?

So back to the twist, then: Morris, hearing the “news” that his brother is in critical condition at the hospital as a result of the nuclear blast, takes off as soon as his shortcuts to decrypting the garbled image file have started working. It’s a shame he didn’t wait until it was finished, or he would have seen that the engineer to be coerced was…him. I’m tempted to ask why he didn’t want to see who the engineer was, especially if there’s a chance in hell that it could be him, but the larger question is about CTU’s willingness to let Morris leave in the first place. When Edgar’s mother was caught in a nuclear blast during Day Four, they refused to let Edgar leave. Now look at today. Morris’ brother’s in the hospital? Go attend to that, man. We’ll cover for you. Don’t worry, it’s only a matter of four nuclear weapons in play. CTU’s gotten soft, man. No wonder there’s a mole within their operations every time they turn around.

Plot C involved the president reconsidering the Biscuit’s plan to lock up anyone who looks like a terrorist, now that Karen Hayes is out of the picture (don’t get me started). President Palmer, finally, becomes suspicious of the Biscuit and his intentions, and the introduction of the Vice President, who also happens to be the senator of Sin City, goes to great lengths to justify that mistrust. Senator Roark looks ready to bomb his own plane out of the sky for the sake of national security. Yikes. How long before they start plotting Wayne’s death during staff meetings?

I’m curious to find out how and when they are going to bring back President Buck Buck Brawwwwwk and the First Lady of Crazy. I have to admit that the White House scenes are downright boring without them. Wayne Palmer may be the sole voice of reason left in the White House, but he’s a dull voice of reason. God, I hope that Karen Hayes shakes things up when she arrives at CTU…assuming she ever gets there. Hey, there’s a plot twist for ya! The Biscuit kills Hayes, and Bill Buchanan declares war on the White House. Now, that would be sweet. After all, if they’re going to embrace their soap-y nature, why not go all the way?

24, External TV, TV, TV Action

Prison Break: “Chicago”

February 6, 2007 /

Tonight’s episode had a few silly moments…

1. “The President” offers Agent Eisen the position of Chief of Staff in her administration. Yeah, right.
2. The gang sees the roadblock up ahead, but Lincoln has plenty of time to climb on the roof and eventually commandeer the train.
3. The fourth (is it the fourth?) switcheroo of the season, which was so unbelievably obvious since they didn’t show the faces of the runners in the woods.
4. C-Note, an escaped fugitive, has the bad luck of happening upon a robbery. What are the odds?

In other news, Agent Eisen just keeps getting cooler and cooler. He had a couple of great lines on the train:

(after Sarah tries to kill him) “One! You get one of those!”

(to the worker on the train) “You need to do what I just told you to do. You take the tickets; I’ll watch the fugitive. And you guys just continue to do bong hits or whatever it is you do back there.”

And I’m really digging his sunglasses.

The bathroom scene between Sarah and Michael was nice, but it’s clear from the final shot that she hasn’t completely forgiven him for getting her in all this trouble. He’s made some headway, though.

I thought it would be interesting to see more of Bellick on the inside, but that storyline must not appeal to the writers. It would involve developing a few more characters, which wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing considering we’ve lost a few along the way. By the way, the scene in the car with Bellick practicing his FBI introduction was pretty funny.

The show continues to suffer when it delves into the three supporting storylines. They tried to dress up C-Note’s week with an armed robbery, and it was a nice moment when he came back to help the blonde, but the whole concept was pretty lame from the start. Also, the “sick kid who needs her medicine” storyline is going to get really old really quickly. Meanwhile, T-Bag must be losing his mind, because he’s a millionaire yet he continues to try to force three people to love him. It ain’t going to happen, dude.

And poor Haywire, who never got to see Holland. How about Mahone talking him off the ledge, the wrong way? That was some cold stuff.

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

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