Category: External TV (Page 170 of 419)

Lost 5.16 / 5.17 – The Incident

May 14, 2009 /

This season of “Lost” has been one of the best (if not the best) in the history of the series. The season finale? Not so much. While we’ve been hearing for weeks that the finale would prove to be a game changer – prompting many to even wonder how the show could go on – I just don’t see how anyone could come to that conclusion. Was tonight’s finale really better than the flash-forward of Season Three? Hardly, and though it may have changed the series more than we think, we still won’t know anything until Season Six starts up in 2010. After all, the show may have ended with a literal bang, but it felt more like a whimper with that fade to white.

Tonight’s episode also had way too much going on for me to even attempt my usual format, so instead, I’ve decided to break my recap down into more general ideas so that I can discuss each one in a little more depth. Hopefully it’s not too difficult to follow along and will make it easier for commenters to address certain topics without having to go into too much detail. I apologize in advance if it does the complete opposite.

1. Jacob – He certainly wasn’t at the top of my list of questions I was eager to see answered, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little disappointed by the lack of explanation we received for Jacob. Apart from the fact that we know he has some kind of magical power (including Richard Alpert-like immortality and the ability heal), Jacob remains shrouded in mystery. Oh yeah, and now that Locke’s convinced Ben to kill him, we may never find out who he really is, where he’s from, and how he was able to leave the island so frequently throughout the last 30 years. Which brings me to…

2. Jacob’s Flashbacks – Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof have always had fun trying to connect each character to one another, so it was cool to see Jacob pop up throughout the Losties’ history. Even more important, however, was that he seemed to always do so during a crucial moment in their lives. Okay, so I’m not exactly sure what significance paying for a stolen New Kids on the Block lunchbox has for Kate, but the others all made perfect sense. The funeral of Sawyer’s parents; the death of Sayid’s true love; Sun and Jin’s wedding; and the list goes on and on. The most important of the bunch, however, is Locke’s crippling fall from the apartment building. Many people called in to question how someone could possibly survive such a fall around the time that original episode aired, and now we know the answer – Jacob revived him. Which brings me back to my first point: just who the hell is Jacob?

3. Rose, Bernard and Vincent – The writers have been promising all season that we’d eventually get to see what happened to the beloved secondary characters, and as it turns out, they’ve been time jumping with the rest of the survivors all this time. That was pretty much a given, but the fact that they were able to do so without anyone the wiser is pretty impressive. Apparently, they’ve not only decided to retire in a nice beach house since the “flaming arrows three years ago,” but they’ve also become hippies in the process. I could have done without the whole “All We Need Is Love” speech that Bernard delivered, but seeing as this is probably the last time we’ll ever see him or Rose again, it was an admirable send-off for a couple that could have easily been excised from the series after Season Three.

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External TV, Lost, TV, TV Dramas

A Chat with “Harper’s Island” Victim #6

May 13, 2009 /

First off, my apologies for the delay in getting this week’s interview onto the site, though in my defense, today is the earliest it possibly could have gotten up. Saturday night’s victim was out of town on Monday, which is now my new day to do the Victim of the Week interviews, so our conversation had to be bumped to Wednesday instead.

On a related note, please be aware that there will be no interview next week. Why? Because there’s no episode of “Harper’s Island” this Saturday. And why isn’t there one? Because CBS is opting instead to show a rerun of “The Mentalist.” As for why they’re doing such a thing, your guess is as good as mine. I can’t imagine I’m the only person mystified by the maneuver. I mean, presumably, it’s a way to gauge if the “Harper’s Island” fans who’ve followed the show to Saturdays and aren’t watching it on DVR or TiVo will come back if they skip a week, but, damn, come on, CBS, you’ve already annoyed us by shifting it to the weekend. Can’t you at least just run the remaining episodes uninterrupted? Surely we deserve that much.

And just one last thing before we get to our interview: when the show does return, the Victim of the Week interview won’t happen on the following Monday, because that’s Memorial Day Weekend. It will instead take place on Tuesday…and since I’ll be out of town on Tuesday, it remains to be seen if I’ll even be able to do it.

Damn. “Harper’s Island” fans just can’t catch a break…

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External Entertainment, External TV, Harper's Island, Interviews, TV, TV Dramas

How “The Office” has kept the Jim/Pam romance fresh

May 13, 2009 /

Brian Lowry of Variety lauds the fact that the writers of “The Office” have kept the Jim/Pam dynamic from going stale.

Much of the credit goes to the writers and performers involved, and it’s a testament to their talents that Pam and Jim have recently enjoyed a relatively stable, even happy relationship — despite her impulsive decision to join boss Michael (Steve Carell) in his stand-alone business endeavor — without sending that key aspect of the show toppling into disarray.

In most instances — and “The Office” hasn’t been immune to this — taking the romantic plunge has subsequently required erecting some arbitrary impediment to again pull the same characters apart, usually with varying degrees of credibility. Mindful of the fact that happy couples are hardly the fixings for good drama (and can be equally challenging in comedy), writers thus find themselves dismantling romances that they have meticulously labored to inspire the audience to root for — as evidenced by the visceral thrill of the “Office” second-season finale, when Jim finally let Pam know how he felt about her.

Lowry mentions “Moonlighting” and “Cheers” as shows that suffered after the two leads finally got together, but doesn’t go into much detail about how “The Office” has been able to avoid the usually inevitable staleness.

To me, “The Office” is much more than Jim and Pam. I don’t know that you can say the same thing about “Cheers” (Sam/Diane) and certainly not “Moonlighting” (David/Maddie). “Cheers” featured a strong supporting cast, but Sam and Diane were still the central figures. On “The Office,” one could argue that Michael Scott is the main lead. Jim and Pam are up there, but the whole show doesn’t revolve around them. Once they got together, the writers deftly transitioned the more romantic storylines over to Michael, who continues to struggle to find companionship in his life. By doing this, the writers are able to check back with Jim and Pam from time to time and highlight the best (and funniest) things about being in a secure, committed relationship, while continuing to mine Michael’s love life — as well as the whole Dwight-Angela-Andy love triangle — for consistent laughs.

The bottom line is that, at heart, “The Office” is an ensemble comedy, and by spreading around the wealth, the writers can spread around the risk. If handled correctly, this characteristic can make a show “jump the shark”-proof (or at least “jump the shark”-resistant), which is one reason “The Office” has been so strong for so long.

Actors, Actresses, External Entertainment, External TV, The Office, TV Comedies

The Last Templar

May 13, 2009 /

There’s one major problem which infiltrates “The Last Templar” almost from the moment it begins: they’ve changed a lot of stuff from the original novel by Raymond Khoury. This obviously isn’t something that would be an issue for someone who’s never read the book, but for those who’ve been wondering how it made the transition from print to screen (and who didn’t catch the miniseries when it originally aired on NBC earlier this year), accept this assurance that you’re almost certainly going to be disappointed. Everyone else, however, will probably enjoy the adventure well enough, provided their suspension of disbelief is fully charged. Archaeologist Tess Chaykin, played by Mira Sorvino, is essentially a female version of Indiana Jones, except one who now has a child and isn’t quite as ready to go globetrotting for ancient artifacts as she once was. When four people on horseback dressed as Templars storm New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art during its exhibition and swipe key artifacts, Tess muscles her way into the investigation, albeit against the desire of FBI Agent Sean Reilly (Scott Foley), and ends up traveling across the world in an attempt to discover the lost secret of…wait for it…The Last Templar.

Veteran producer Robert Halmi Sr. turns in another good-looking yarn, and the cast is certainly strong, with Victor Garber, Kenneth Welsh, and Omar Sharif also on hand. Sorvino and Foley have the kind of chemistry that makes you wish this was a better movie than it actually is. The big action scene at the beginning of the film, where Sorvino swipes a horse and goes jousting in Central Park, is ridiculous enough to lose a lot of viewers right off the bat, and there are more than a few moments where you’ll cringe at the dialogue. (How can anyone not groan when Sorvino punctuates an ass-kicking by snarling, “I’m nobody’s baby”?) Still, the aforementioned chemistry between the leads is generally enough to keep you watching, and those who want to get themselves pumped up for “Angels & Demons” will probably find “The Last Templar” an enjoyable diversion. And if you do, then you’ll also want to watch the making-of featurette on the DVD, which is about as entertaining as these things get.

Click to buy “The Last Templar”

Action Movies, External Entertainment, External Movie DVDs, External Movies, External TV, Movie Dramas, Movie DVD Quicktakes, Movie DVDs, Movies, Reviews, TV, TV Action, TV Dramas, TV DVD Quicktakes, TV DVDs

Gavin and Stacey: Season 1

May 13, 2009 /

Many a sitcom has driven viewers mad with the plot device known as “will they or won’t they,” as you might guess from its name, keeps viewers guessing as to whether or not two of the main characters will consummate their relationship. There really isn’t much guessing, however, since the presumption is always that, yes, of course they will. It’s all down to when it’s likely to happen. “Gavin and Stacey,” however, speeds up the process considerably, presenting a series where the titular characters have been conversing on the phone for ages but are only just preparing to embark on their first date when the first episode commences. As a result, it’s a fair bet from the get-go that any such encounter is likely to happen far sooner than later – and it does.

God love Mathew Horne and Joanna Page. The story of two individuals who work for the same company at different locations and fall in long-distance love is one which, on paper, seems to be little more than a comedic device for wacky shenanigans. And so it might be, were it not for the fact that you cannot watch the performances of Horne and Page and not immediately believe that Gavin and Stacey were made for each other. It’s remarkable, really, because when you’re talking about a series that lasts only six episodes and encompasses approximately as many weeks of time unfolding within the show itself, you’d expect that it would feel horribly rushed for the couple to meet, go out, get engaged, and get married. But it doesn’t. From the moment they meet, you know they love each other, and you know they’re destined to end up together forever.

There are shenanigans after a sort, though they’re not so much wacky as realistic. Gavin’s best mate is a robust, rotund gentleman named Smithy (James Corden), Stacey’s gal pal is the equally formidable Nessa (Ruth Jones), and although the series ignores the traditional “will they or won’t they” formula with them as well, having them hook up in the first episode, they’re still great comedic characters. Nessa’s back history is convoluted, but the bits and pieces that emerge – her first husband was one of Gladys Knight’s Pips, her second husband was executed by a firing squad – are hilarious, and although Smithy seems on the surface to be the standard sitcom fat guy who loves to party, his sentimental side emerges before season’s end.

And what fun would rapid-fire wedding plans be without involving the families of the bride and the groom? Gavin’s dad, Mick (Larry Lamb), is as down to earth as his son, and his mum, Pam (Alison Steadman), is well intentioned but with a tendency to approach hysteria when trying to put on the best of all possible fronts in social situations. Stacey’s dad is deceased (though he plays a part in the season finale which may well bring you to tears), but his brother, Bryn (Rob Brydon), more than fulfills the fatherly role in her life, and her mum, Gwen (Melanie Walters), is fiercely protective. Neither, however, is immediately certain that Gavin is the man for Stacey – though, to be fair, that’s because she’d been engaged five times before he entered the picture.

“Gavin and Stacey” succeeds not because it’s funny (though it certainly is), but because it tries to stay as close to reality as possible with the love story between its two characters. The sidebar visits with everyone else add to the comedy, but Horne and Page make this the best TV romance in recent memory.

Special Features: Once again, the BBC does not let us down by offering insufficient bonus material. There are audio commentaries on three of the six episodes from Corden, Jones, and director Christine Gernon, outtakes, a making-of featurette, and footage of the show’s filming in Leicester Square. If you learn nothing else from these various items, then you will come to be assured that, when it comes to Joanna Page’s performance in the series, there’s precious little acting involved. She is Stacey.

Click to buy “Gavin and Stacey: Season 1”

BONUS!

Check out the contribution from the “Gavin and Stacey” cast to the UK’s annual Red Nose Day, with contributions from Robin Gibb and Sir Tom Jones. Brilliant, it is.

External Entertainment, External TV, Reviews, TV, TV Comedies, TV DVDs

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