Category: External TV (Page 296 of 419)

Prison Break: “Hell or High Water”

February 12, 2008 / John Paulsen

This week’s episode might have been the most ridiculous yet.

1. Michael led three other prisoners through a maze of active, alert guards and no one was seen.
2. In order to have a shot, he had to count on the fact that neither T-Bag nor Bellick would give him up quickly.
3. T-Bag happened to fall and find Whistler’s bird book.
4. McGrady’s papa “took a chance” and happened to find the gang clinging to a buoy in the middle of the ocean.

It was obvious something was up when Michael decided to let Luchero, T-Bag and Bellick get a head start on the escape. When he wasn’t moving, it became clear that he was using the trio as a distraction to make his real escape, and that point was punctuated when he said, “This is the plan.” In a series of maneuvers that would have made Solid Snake proud, Michael successfully navigated a crapload of random-walking Sona soldiers to get to the fence, where he punched through the hole and entered the jungle. For a guy that usually plans everything down to the last detail, this was quite the departure, but he had to improvise with this escape and he proved that he could.

Burying the cans of oxygen at the beach was a nice twist, though how they successfully ended up at the buoy remains a mystery. Dimwit Whistler is dumb enough to lose his bird book, the same book that holds the key to his freedom, but he’s smart enough to pull the ol’ fall-down-during-the-escape-and-pretend-to-twist-your-ankle trick on Michael.

At the beach, the guards didn’t bother to look for footprints (of course), but the dogs found the buried cooler and it looked for a moment that papa and the gang would eventually have a run in with the coast guard, but that encounter never happened.

Once T-Bag and Bellick got caught, I began to wonder how they would continue to be involved in the story if Brothers Scofield were free. That question was answered when T-Bag just happened to fall next to (and retrieve) Whistler’s aforementioned bird book. That’ll be the leverage he needs to stay involved. It doesn’t hurt that Sucre looks like he’ll soon be a resident of Sona as well.

Next week’s episode is the season finale, and it looks like next season may revolve around Michael trying to break Sucre and T-Bag (with the bird book) out of Sona. Michael will feel responsible for Sucre’s situation and he isn’t going to let him rot in prison. Plus, he’ll probably have more incentive if Susan still holds LJ and Sofia hostage. Bellick will probably make it, though it might be time for the writers to kill him off. I don’t know anyone who is clamoring for more Bellick right now. I’d like the show to push off into a new direction, but I don’t see how that’s possible. But “Prison Break” has surprised me before, so only time will tell.

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

The Wire 5.6 – Dickensian Aspect

February 10, 2008 / Jason Zingale

It’s hard to imagine this season of “The Wire” becoming any more twisted, but alas, tonight’s episode upped the ante on the homeless serial killer case to the point where even McNulty is beginning to rethink the predicament he’s gotten himself into. With Carcetti’s harbor-side shopping mall getting little media coverage, the governor hopeful directed his attention to the ongoing investigation with a press conference that assured the local and national news affiliates that the city police would do whatever he takes to stop the murders. It was quite the speech, but as we know all too well, it meant very little in regards to getting anything done.

McNulty’s still only getting one detective to help, and Landsman has squashed his request for a surveillance crew yet again. Heck, he can’t even get a wire tap on Scott’s cell phone, since doing so would likely put his judge friend in hot water with The Sun. So, it seems like McNulty and Lester are back to square one – despite the fact that Sydnor has begrudgingly come onboard, if only to put Marlo away for good. McNulty can’t even dig up a fresh body anymore, since every homeless person that kicks the bucket is immediately bum rushed (no pun intended) by every cop in the city.

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Leave it to Lester, then, to discover Marlo’s method of dealing over the cell phone just before hearing the bad news. As it goes, Marlo is using his phone for drug-related business, but instead of actually talking to his middlemen, he’s sending them photos. In order to catch him in the act, Lester needs access to a different kind of wiretap (one that would allow the interception of files), and believe it or not, McNulty actually has a plan. Thanks to Scott’s dumbass decision to begin making shit up in his articles (which McNulty is more than happy to brag about to Bunk), McNulty devises a new strategy that has the killer contacting The Sun with a text message stating how displeased he is with Scott’s depiction of him. Instead of leaving dead homeless around the city, he’s going to kill them, send a photo of their dead body to his cell phone, and then get rid of the body. McNulty jumpstarts the whole operation by “kidnapping” a homeless man and shuttling him out to D.C., but when he begins to realize just exactly what he’s doing, you can disgust on his face. It’s a brilliant scene that shows McNulty for who he really is, and I completely expect him to fess up as early as next week.

Meanwhile, Bunk continues to play it safe by working real cases. He’s re-opened all of the vacant murders with the hope of stumbling onto something he didn’t notice the first time around. That includes interviewing Randy (who clearly wants nothing to do with the police) and checking into the murder of Bug’s daddy. Suffice it to say that Bunk is one lucky motherfucker, especially after learning that a temp working at the city lab has disorganized all previous blood work on the vacant deaths. Still, when he goes to question Michael’s mother about the guy’s death, it’s clear that he wasn’t expecting the answer he was given. What? Michael was bragging about his mother’s boyfriend’s death and he’s rolling with Marlo, Chris and Snoop? Too good to be true.

Equally so is the fact that Omar survived last week’s shootout, and after hearing of his courageous jump from a third-story (or is it fourth-story) balcony, Marlo says what everybody else was thinking: “That’s some Spider-Man shit there.” Chris is clearly upset that they let Omar go, and despite Marlo offering a $250,000 bounty on his head, Omar has returned to fight on his own terms. He seems intent on calling Marlo out until he can fight him face-to-face, but Marlo isn’t that kind of gangster. Primitive though he may be, he’s still one of the classier, Stringer Bell-type guys on the block. Still, now that most of the co-op know (or will know very soon) about Marlo’s hit on Prop Joe, Omar might not even have to get his hands dirty. Then again, what fun would it be if he didn’t?

External TV, The Wire, TV, TV Dramas

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Friday Night Lights: “May the Best Man Win”

February 10, 2008 / John Paulsen

The dualities of the show’s episode titles continue. This week, “May the Best Man Win” refers both to Eric’s pissing match with Tami’s ex-boyfriend, Mo McArnold, (which, by the way, is a great name for a character) and Riggins’ relentless pursuit of Miss Lyla Garrity.

Let’s start with the latter. Tim has decided to go to church every Sunday and even pitch his own show – “The Rig Show” – to Lyla’s boyfriend. The scene after the show where her new beau laid down the law was pretty funny, as was the show itself. Riggins had a great response when Lyla asked if he was going to come to church every Sunday: “Whatever it takes.”

One thing’s for sure, if Lyla’s boyfriend doesn’t put out, she’s probably going to run back into Tim’s arms. After all, a girl has needs, and that’s exactly what Tim is counting on.

I’ve always said that nothing good can come from spending time with your significant other’s exes, and this week’s episode would support that theory. After 15 years, Mo McArnold is still pissed off about losing Tami to Eric, but it sounds like he was getting some action on the side at the time, and thought that Eric was the one that told her about his indiscretions. It was a great way to show that Eric and Tami were, at one time, just as dramatic their daughter. The scene that took place the next morning where a hungover Eric had to deal with the girls as they went off to church was absolutely priceless. (And, as much as Tami would like to blame Eric for what happened at the restaurant, she precipitated the whole event by coercing Eric into spending time with Mo. It’s just a bad idea to hang out with your wife’s ex-boyfriends.)

Landry and Tyra showed up at school holding hands, which I think has Matt a little jealous. We were treated to a great conversation between the two friends as they discussed Tyra and Carlota. We need more of Matt and Landry’s debates about life.

I’m not sure how much I like this Jason/Erin storyline. He’s pumped about potentially being a father, but talking a girl into having your baby probably isn’t the greatest of ideas. It speaks volumes that she called it a one-night stand and didn’t call him back after he left 10 messages. If she doesn’t even like him enough to date him it’s going to be very difficult to raise a child together.

Lastly, it was good to see Smash’s scholarship storyline come to a conclusion. He was acting pretty desperate, but I didn’t think it was very realistic how no one was returning his calls. This is Texas, for Pete’s sake! Guys get into fistfights all the time! If you can run the ball like Smash can, someone is going to want to hear your side of the story. In this case, it was little Whitmore University, where the “family” aspect of the team appealed to Smash. He seemed genuinely grateful for the opportunity, but I wonder if the bigger schools might come calling again once he gets back on the field.

Sadly, we may never find out. There were 15 episodes in the can before the writers’ strike, and now that the work stoppage is over, there are no known plans to finish out the season. “Friday Night Lights” might come back in the fall, or it might not come back at all. Get your petitions ready.

External Entertainment, External TV, Friday Night Lights, TV, TV Action, TV Dramas

Lost 4.2 – Confirmed Dead

February 7, 2008 / Jason Zingale

Much like season two’s “The Other 48 Days,” tonight’s episode wasn’t exactly devoted to answering any of the ongoing mysteries, but it did introduce several new characters that will play a major role this season. First off, let me just say that Carlton Cuse and Co. has done an exceptional of casting this year. Fans of “The Wire” were no doubt excited to see Lance Reddick pop up in last week’s episode, but the addition of guys like Jeremy Davies, Ken Leung and Jeff Fahey will definitely force the series regulars to up their game. Oh yeah, and there’s a new female character as well (played by Rebecca Mader), but I can’t really speak on her acting ability since, well, I’ve never heard of her.

Before I get ahead of myself, though, it’s probably best to discuss these new characters – all introduced in their own flashback sequences:

– Daniel Faraday (Davies) is a physicist who, upon watching television footage of the underwater discovery of the Oceanic Flight 815 wreckage, breaks down and cries. We really don’t know why he’s upset (and it doesn’t look like he does, either), but I’m sure we’ll find out soon.

– Miles (Leung) is paranormal detective of some sort who tricks an old woman into believing that he can contact her dead son and assist him in crossing over. As it turns out, Miles really can contact the dead, but he uses his abilities for different reasons – namely in locating some (drug?) money hidden in the kid’s room.

– Charlotte (Mader) is the lone female of the group, but she’s got a far cooler back story than the first two. While interrupting an archeological dig in Tunisia, Charlotte comes across the fossilized remains of a polar bear and discovers – wait for it – a Dharma-branded collar beside its skeleton. Pretty neat stuff if you ask me, and it might finally lead to an answer about the three-toed statue that’s since been forgotten.

– While watching the very same news broadcast as Dan, the final member, Frank Lapidus (Fahey), notices that the reportedly dead pilot isn’t who they say it is. A call to the Oceanic hotline reveals that not only did Frank know Seth Gordon (Greg Grunberg, AKA the pilot who was eaten in the series premiere), but that he was originally supposed to pilot Flight 815 until he showed up drunk.

– The foursome was led by Naomi (the only “trained” member of the group), who in turn answered to Abaddon. As we see in the final flashback of the night, Naomi can’t help but wonder if there will be any survivors when they arrive, but Abaddon is more than certain that everyone is dead. As we already know, he couldn’t have been any more wrong, and for that, Naomi probably lost her life.

So, now that we’re all caught up, let’s jump back to the end of last week when Jack and Kate were introduced to Dan. As the first rescue team member on the island, it’s evident from the get-go that Dan isn’t a very confident dude. In fact, he’s downright scared to see Jack and Kate waiting for him, but he pulls it together and begins the hunt for the other three with the help of the SAT phone’s GPS tracker. On the way, the trio comes across a silver crate filled with nuclear protective gear, prompting Jack to answer the obvious question, “What the fuck is going on?” According to Dan, rescuing the survivors isn’t exactly their “primary objective,” but the dude seems nice enough, so Jack and Kate continue to follow him through the woods. That is, until they come across Miles, who’s a little more aggressive than Dan. Accusing Kate of Naomi’s murder, he demands to be taken to the site of her body so that he made figure out exactly what happened. Kate seems perplexed by the idea that he would just know, but I’m more perplexed by the idea that this guy is able to talk with the dead. I don’t know. It seems a little cheesy to me, but if anyone can pull it off, it’s Ken Leung.

When another GPS signal suddenly appears on the SAT screen, Jack and Co. go racing towards it, but when they discover Vincent the Dog with a tracker wrapped around his neck, Jack knows exactly what has happened: Locke’s taken Charlotte hostage. For the time being, though, it seems like the bald-headed leader of B Troop is perfectly content with keeping her alive. Unfortunately, Ben has other plans, and when he steals Carl’s gun and shoots Charlotte in the chest, it’s revealed that she’s clearly prepared for such an attack. Charlotte’s wearing a bulletproof vest, and after grilling Ben for information, Locke learns why she and her team have come to the island: they want Ben. For what, exactly, we still don’t know, but methinks it has something to do with his leading the island revolt a couple years back.

A Troop has just learned the same information, but that’s the least of their worries. They’ve just tracked down Frank, the pilot of the mission, and they now have a mostly functional helicopter at their disposal. So what happens now? Do Jack, Kate, Sayid and the three newbies make a run for it, or will their conscience lead them back into the jungle to warn their friends? Well, we pretty much know that escape isn’t going to happen any time, but it’s nice to know that they have a means of transportation to leave the island. The question now is: when?

External TV, Lost, TV, TV Dramas

Prison Break: “Under & Out”

February 5, 2008 / John Paulsen

As the escape grows closer, the natives are getting restless. The whole gang is on edge, from T-Bag and Bellick in Sona to Gretchen and Sucre on the outside. You know things are getting bad for Michael when Mahone appears to be his most loyal friend.

Not a lot happened in this episode. It was just a (long) buildup to the escape, which will presumably take place next week. Though one thing did occur to me – Gretchen/Susan is one badass mofo. From the choke job on Sucre in the bar to burning Sofia with cigars in the warehouse, she is one evil lady. (Of course, she already beheaded Sara, so these recent transgressions only add to the legend.) On a side note, I’m a little worried about the stopwatch that she gave Whistler. Obviously, we’re going to be subjected to several overly dramatic shots of the time ticking away as the gang tries to meet up with Gretchen. All we need is the countdown music from “24.”

Bellick whined and complained throughout much of the episode, asking Mahone to be his friend on the outside. “What’s a guy like me supposed to do?” he asked. This is a far cry from the complete asshole we saw in the first season. T-Bag also approached Mahone about teaming up once they escaped, mentioning that it would be sweet justice to turn Michael in. Mahone replied with the line of the night:

“Justice? If there was an ounce of it left in this world, you’d be lying face down in the same unmarked grave as the rest of your inbred family.”

Man, tell us how you really feel, Mahone.

In other news, Michael (unsurprisingly) has decided to let McGrady come along on the escape. At one point, Scofield told the boy, “Life in prison is better than life on the run.”

Huh?

The last few minutes of the episode were good as things started to ramp up for the escape. T-Bag and Luchero have formed an uneasy alliance and used it to their advantage to go through the hole first. Meanwhile, Linc had to figure out a way to knock the power out. That was kind of an odd scene – he drove up to the power pole, then looked and saw a bus stop sign. Then he hijacked the bus and drove it (for a long time) before running it into the pole. Was the bus stop by the pole or not?

In the end, it really doesn’t matter because the lights are out and the escape is on.