Category: External TV (Page 313 of 419)

Prison Break: “Photo Finish” / “Vamonos”

November 6, 2007 /

Heading into this “two-hour event,” I was wondering how the show was going to take off in a new direction once the boys escaped Sona. Would they join (or chase) Whistler and Susan as they looked for whatever it is they want on the bottom of the ocean? Would they try to find the money (from the first season) that’s sitting in a bag at the bottom of the cove as they dodge the Panamanian law? Would Michael discover that Sara was dead and seek vengeance on her murderers?

What we got was four more days in Sona. Oh, and the big twist – Susan’s real name is Gretchen and she knows Whistler. Apparently, he’s her boss. Yawn.

For someone who wants her boss out of Sona safely, I find Susan to be grouchy and unhelpful. First, she kills Michael’s girlfriend, which was a really risky move. She didn’t know that Linc wasn’t going to tell his brother about her death, and if/when Michael found out, he’s just as likely to freak out and stop planning the escape as he was to keep pushing forward to try to save LJ. The best she can do on the photo is give the brothers the same one she gave them before, which is pretty sketchy considering all the resources the Company is supposed to have. I don’t know if these plot holes are intentional or just a natural part of the series, but they sure are distracting.

Apparently, the purpose of Tyge’s arrival at Sona was so that he could be killed, creating suspense around whether or not Whistler would be available for the escape. This is also a very fishy plot point. Is Tyge really just this random guy that got thrown into Sona and just happened to recognize Whistler? Come on.

I’ve got to hand it to Linc. He went almost a whole season without making a boneheaded move then, on the day of the escape, he lets it slip that “something went wrong drugging the guard, but it’s OK now” when he could have said nothing and Susan wouldn’t have known about the daylight escape attempt. Way to go, Linc! I love how he told Michael that “she figured it out.” Yeah, right. She figured it out because you told her, you dolt!

The writers are being a little heavy-handed trying to humanize Bellick. First, Tyge embarrasses him in line and then he’s devastated by the news of Sara’s death. Suddenly, he’s this compassionate, misunderstood guy. Did anyone else suspect that he was in fact Tyge’s murderer? I know Michael found the knife in Mahone’s cell, but that could have been planted. I wonder if that’s going to come up again.

Speaking of Tyge’s death, what does the betrayal of Luchero’s man (discovered via the cigar stub) have to do with Whister? In other words, why did Luchero let Whistler go after killing his man? I don’t know what one has to do with the other, especially when Luchero goes on and on about whatever justice he thinks exists in Sona. I think that the writers sometimes use shocking moments like that as misdirection so that we don’t notice them shoving a bunch of shit under the rug.

How about that brutal fistfight between Michael and Whistler where each guy lands like 10 punches yet neither guy gets a bloody lip or a black eye? I’m sure this had something to do with not wanting to give pretty boy Michael a black eye for the next five episodes, but it’s just too silly to ignore.

As you can probably tell, I wasn’t a big fan of these two episodes. Once Michael sent Whistler back up the ladder, I knew we were in for several more episodes in Sona, and it’s starting to feel a little tedious. This part of “Prison Break” is starting to drag out, and the show feels like one big tease. They tried to kick things up a notch by having Luchero’s power taken away from him, meaning that he now wants to escape, and by revealing that Susan/Gretchen really works for Whistler, but after almost two hours of teasing, it just feels like too little, too late.

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

Heroes 2.7 – Mind Games

November 5, 2007 /

First off, how cool was it to have Hiro say, “Previously on ‘Heroes,’” except in Japanese rather than English, with the logo translated accordingly as well?

Hiro’s doped up on opium back in the 1600s until his new lady love proves that women should never be underestimated. (How could that not occur to anyone? Surely that little fact was pretty well-documented even then!) Poor Hiro is still hopelessly naïve when it comes to believing in the inherent good in all people. Oh, well, at least it made for a good swordfight…not to mention a hell of an explosion! It didn’t occur to me ‘til Hiro was sorting through the rubble that Kensei had the power to heal and might well have managed to survive the explosion, but when things wrapped up, I began to think I’d been on the wrong track. (More on that in a moment.) I liked how it turned out that the final Kensei story was a metaphorical one, based on Hiro…and for as long and drawn out as I felt Hiro’s storyline in Japan was, it was still a very sad yet sweet ending. But, c’mon, how awesome was his reunion with Ando? Well, I mean, until Ando had to tell him that his dad was murdered, anyway; talk about your buzzkill.

So I’m thinking “making waffles” could be a new sexual euphemism…well, if it isn’t already one, that is. But swinging by Claire’s house for breakfast confirmed for me once and for all that AngelBoy is totally a stalker. Well, okay, maybe he isn’t, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t still relish watching him get comPLETEly freaked out when he realized who Claire’s dad was. Speaking of her pops, it looked like we weren’t going to be getting much of him this week after that scene at the beginning where HRG and Brother Voodoo were going all “burn, baby, burn” on Isaac’s paintings. My question, though, is this: was it really all that great that we got that Bennett family scene toward the end? It was pretty melodramatic and felt less like a “Heroes” moment and more like something from “Dawson’s Creek.”

Mohinder starts out sitting by Molly’s side, with Nikki…erm, Jessica…watching him every minute until Matt and Nathan show up to warn Bob about Matt’s dad. “Now is not the time to recant the past,” says Bob. Yeah? Well, when the hell is? Bob indicates that Matt might share his father’s power, even if he hasn’t exercised it to its fullest. Matt doesn’t believe it, so he goes to vent to Molly, who manages to hear him through her coma. Aw, what a “love conquers all” moment…rather the antithesis of the creeptastic moment when Jessica…erm, Nikki…was visited by her late husband. Actually, Matt’s scene with his dad looked for a second like it was going to get as melodramatic as his “I love you” scene with Molly before it took that rather dark turn toward the end…and, of course, it finally got there with the big Matt / Molly embrace which closed it. “Adam is…complicated,” sayeth Bob, during his decidedly dark conversation with Matt. Yeah, complicated and then some. So Linderman was Adam’s disciple? That little revelation spoke volumes about the dude. I’m sure a lot of people cheered when it was revealed that Nikki…erm, Jessica…oh, screw it, I’m gonna start calling her Nikica again. Anyway, when it was revealed that she was stricken with the Shanti virus, I know a lot folks were, like, “Goodbye to bad rubbish,” but, hey, lately, I’d rather see her story unfold than Claire’s.

Peter and his new Irish lass are in 2008, in a version of New York City that’s been ravaged by disease…the Shanti virus, to be specific. The government official painted a dark picture of the future, but as soon as Peter’s mother showed up, I immediately began wondering, “Is this whole thing just something that’s been constructed by Adam?” And then look who walks in at the end of the episode. Better yet, Adam is Kensei!

Yep. That right there was an “oh, shit” moment.

Actors, Actresses, External Entertainment, External TV, Heroes, TV, TV Action, TV Dramas, TV Sci-Fi

Friday Night Lights: “Let’s Get It On”

November 3, 2007 /

This episode’s title has two meanings. It’s Coach Taylor’s first game back as the Panthers’ head coach and he has to deal with the fractured relationship between Matt and Smash. I thought Matt’s comments over the chili dinner were pretty strong and it looked like Eric took them to heart. Though when it was time to play the game, he played hardball with the two kids and forced them to reconcile. Matt’s “BFF’s once again” line was great.

The second meaning is Eric’s desire to get busy with Tami. His conversation with his assistant coach was hilarious, and I loved his spiel to his wife about Wednesday night: “What happens on Wednesday nights? Well I would know that because of this new chart I created. Gee, Wednesday night is book club night.” I’m happy that we’re getting some more of the classic Taylor banter again. Their dynamic really drives the show.

Eric’s interaction with Landry was pretty funny. He called “Lance” into his office and Landry replied, “Lance? You mean Landry?” He called him Lance again during the game, but you have to give Landry credit, he went in there and made a couple of good plays to turn the game around for Dillon.

Things, however, are not as good at home as the manslaughter seems to be catching up to him. Old Yeller has put two and two together and decided that it added up to Tyra being out of Landry’s league. I thought Tyra missed a chance to squash that by saying “Sir, I love your son” when he dropped by her house, but she was probably so thrown by his visit (and request) that she didn’t have the cojones to respond that way. She was really harsh when she broke up with him, but she probably had to be. The tears she shed afterwards spoke volumes about her true feelings for Landry. What a bittersweet feeling for him though, getting dumped and then going back inside the restaurant where the Dillon faithful were still chanting his name.

Thankfully, it looks like the Mexico trip is finally over. It was pretty funny when Lyla asked Riggins about his plan and he presented his booze cruise idea. I did like the fact that Riggins stepped up and spoke candidly about his feelings for Jason and how he wouldn’t let him go under the knife. It was a weird moment when Jason threw himself in the water, but maybe he needed to face death to discover that he really wanted to live. I’m not sure what the whole double kiss thing meant at the end, but there seems to be a lot of sexual tension between Lyla and Riggins.

By the way, did Jason ever find out that Eric returned to Dillon? If so, you’d think he’d feel a little better about his life now that there was a coach there that respected his ability to bring something to the team. Maybe Lyla should have mentioned it.

It was good to see Matt stand up to Julie. Sure, he still has feelings for her, but she can’t just expect to get him back after the thing with the Swede fell through. I expect the two will get back together at some point, but I’d like to see the breakup drag out for a while (and Matt to get a little action from Carlota, though there was no progress on that front this week).

Overall, I really liked the episode. It feels like the old “Friday Night Lights” again, but let’s hope that Landry can dodge the law and get Tyra back at some point. Whatever Old Yeller thinks, they make a great couple.

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

The Office: “Branch Wars”

November 2, 2007 /

“U-TI-CA! U-TI-CA! U-TI-CA!”

Jim just knew things weren’t going to end well when he realized that Michael and Dwight had hoodwinked him and were taking him to see Karen in Utica. But once there was talk of blowing the branch up, he felt like he had to go to keep things under control.

The road trip was classic – fake moustaches, throwing cell phones out the window, and Dwight peeing in a soda can (and subsequently cutting his penis on the lip). When they finally got to Utica, Michael asked Jim, “Do you want the afro wig?”

It was smart to shoot he scene where Dwight and Michael are infiltrating the branch from Jim’s point of view. I loved Micheal’s line to the security guard – “We are warehouse workers. Do you need more proof?” – as well as Dwight’s obsession with attacking someone in the eyes because “the eyes are the groin of the head.”

Jim’s interaction with Karen was hilarious, from her finding him hiding in the PT Cruiser “in a ladies warehouse uniform” to her speech to him once he said that things were going well with Pam:

“Oh, things are going really well? Are they? They are? That’s great. That’s SO great. I want to hear more about how happy you are with Pam. Can you tell me more about that? Thank you so much for coming to Utica and breaking my copier and telling me how well things are going in your relationship. Really. Thank you.”

Jim’s response? “All right. You…are…welcome.”

The episode’s other storyline was the “Finer Things Club,” which was mainly meant to keep some of the other characters busy while Michael, Dwight and Jim went to Utica. While I did like the scene where Kevin comes in to buy some candy and Phyllis microwaves popcorn, I thought the best line was Oscar’s introduction: “Besides having sex with men, the Finer Things Club is the gayest thing about me.”

Did I miss any great moments?

External Entertainment, External TV, The Office, TV, TV Comedies

Will “Origins” ever be revealed?

November 1, 2007 /

It doesn’t look good at the moment, anyway. Whether it’s the fault of the impending writer’s strike or the recent drop in the ratings of “Heroes,” but the show’s heavily-hyped spin-off – “Heroes: Origins” – has been yanked from NBC’s early-2008 schedule, with no suggestion as to when we might expect to see the series…if, indeed, we ever will.

This is actually rather shocking news, given how much advance publicity the network had given the show, including the signing of high-profile directors like Kevin Smith and Eli Roth to helm segments within the 6-episode commitment; it’s also really going to piss off “Heroes” fans, who’d been getting psyched about the concept ever since it was first announced this past summer. Most odd, though, is that this seems to completely fly in the face of the new status quo with networks paying more attention to the bottom line of how a series will play both in its initial network airing and when it’s released on DVD…and lord knows the “Heroes: Season 1” set was a huge sales success. This is a show that the geek community – of which I am a proud member – has been embracing all along, and it’s a given that they’d continue to do so with the spin-off, especially with those two big names already associated with it.

I’d like to think that things will change for the better when this strike is rectified, and that NBC will come to their senses and reschedule “Heroes: Origins,” but at the moment, I’m grumpy as hell.

External Entertainment, External TV, Heroes, TV, TV Action, TV Dramas, TV Sci-Fi

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