Category: External TV (Page 399 of 419)

Jericho, Episode 8: “Hi, my name is Eric…and I’m a dumbass.”

November 9, 2006 /

Was it just me, or did the shots of Jake and Eric in the car during that opening scene look like something out of an Ed Wood flick? Not once was it ever even remotely convincing that they were really on the open road in a car. I believed it about as much as I believed Eric when he said he’d be ready to use his gun when the time came. Something I found funny, though, was that after I complained about how I didn’t buy into the chemistry between Skeet Ulrich and Kenneth Mitchell last week, they actually came off really good this episode. Maybe it’s only when they’re trying to act sentimental that I don’t buy it. Whatever the case, their sequences in Rogue River while searching for medicine to save their father’s life are unquestionably the best of the bunch this week. Of course, part of that was less to do with them than with the action scenes in the hospital, but even so.

That having been said, however, I also really enjoyed the further painting of Gray Anderson of the town’s resident asshole, thanks to his grilling of the Hawkins household. Gray kept going farther and farther over the top with his requests of Robert and his family, and you wanted to see just how much they were going to put up with it. In the case of Robert’s teenage daughter, it seemed as though it wasn’t very long at all; I admit to having been somewhat surprised that it was an intentional performance on her part. It was also nice to see Gray put in his place. That’s what you get, you son of a bitch!

In fact, the only scenes that didn’t really do anything for me were the scenes with Heather and Emily, with their attempts to make ice. The only thing I found interesting from a character development standpoint was the one bit with Heather coming within an inch of a freak-out when she couldn’t seem to make the ice; actress Sprague Grayden played the scene as if Heather felt like she was letting down this family who had taken her in, and although it could’ve gone over the top, I felt her performance worked well.

So, at the end of the episode, we still don’t know for sure that the meds worked on Mayor Green…although the preview for next week proceeded to answer the question for us (gee, thanks, CBS!)…but we do know that, in the future, Eric shouldn’t take off his fucking jacket!!!

Good lord. What an idiot.

External Entertainment, External TV, Jericho, TV, TV Dramas

“Lift up your eyes and look north”

November 8, 2006 /

I don’t really know if there’s some hidden meaning behind the abovementioned phrase that was sketched into Eko’s prayer stick, but by the look in Locke’s eyes, it seems that he’s found some kind of significance in it. Whatever the case, Mr. Eko is now dead. Let’s move on, shall we?

This week’s flashback was dedicated to Kate, which wasn’t a very big surprise seeing as how the show begins its three-month hiatus following this week’s episode. It seems that Jack isn’t the only survivor with some marital skeletons in his closet. Kate, too, was once married, oddly enough to a Miami cop named Kevin (Nathan Fillion). Unfortunately, she hasn’t exactly been honest with the guy from the start (he thinks her name is Monica), and though Kate really does love him (she even begs the FBI agent over the phone to stop chasing her so she can start a new life), she still decides to leave the poor guy. That is, of course, after informing him of her fugitive status and then drugging him. Um, okay.

Back on the island, Kate is asked to persuade Jack to operate on Ben. If she can convince him to perform surgery, Sawyer won’t be killed. Pretty simple, no? Jack, however, doesn’t buy her modest plea, and doesn’t agree to do the surgery until he’s given Ben’s word that he’ll have a ticket off the island once the operation is complete. What I’d like to know is if Ben means the island as a whole, or just the smaller one that everyone seems to believe they’re now on? Sawyer believes he’s on a different island, enough so that he’s told Kate of their situation.

So, are they really on another island, or has Sawyer truly been conned into believing so? I know this bleeds a lot into our discussion a few weeks back, but I’m still not completely sold on whether or not Ben was telling the truth. Whatever the case, Sawyer and Kate are going to have a hell of a time escaping, no matter what kind of leverage Jack has earned with his kidney-slicing diversion. There’s no way the Others are gonna let them get away that easy, and it’ll be interesting to see if they can pull it off.

External TV, Lost, TV

Prison Break: “Rendezvous”

November 7, 2006 /

Granted, Bellick and his sidekick aren’t the sharpest tools in the shed, but wouldn’t you search a guy before torturing him? Hell, the key was right there, sticking out of his sock for all of America to see. Anyway, it was fun to see the sidekick hit Bellick over the head a couple of times with that meat tenderizer. So now another guy has an opportunity to take five million dollars and disappear. What are the chances that the sidekick doesn’t end up with the money? I’d say they were pretty good…

And something tells me that T-Bag is going to lose his hand…again. That thing was ripping apart at the seams. Ugh.

I was a little worried about LJ and Lincoln when the van from “Old School” ran them off the road, but once I saw the blonde, I figured they were good to go. She looks like a potential new romance for Linc, assuming the group can get away from the bad guy. It will be interesting to see how that confrontation goes down.

Here’s a theory: all of those “Silence of the Lambs” switcheroos were just a setup for tonight’s non-switcheroo when Michael and Sarah met by the railroad tracks. I saw the car and figured it was him, but they’ve pulled the switch so many times that I was half expecting it to be Haywire or something. Understandably, Sarah wasn’t too pleased about the “run away to Panama” plan, but what was she expecting? Then she pulls a Houdini while Michael’s in the bathroom, leaving a note that said, “This time I know better.” Please. What’s the moral of the story? Stay with Michael or you’ll end up with a gun in your face.

And then there’s Mahone…it’s not too smart to mention Panama to Michael. I loved Scofield’s line just before: “When you get close, I will win…every time.” And how about Sarah telling Michael to put on his seat belt when he got into the car? I sure hope that was intentional comedy.

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

Heroes, Week 7: Who the hell is Theodore Sprague…?

November 6, 2006 /

“Heroes don’t run away; bad guys do. Heroes help people.” Damn, Niki’s son is profound.

I don’t think too many people believed that the opening scene of Peter with Simone’s dad was anything but a dream, just as I’m sure I’m not the only one who, when they saw Simone at the door, knew instantly that her father had died. It’s interesting how the elusive Mr. Linderman now has ties to both Peter and Nathan. It didn’t occur to me that Nathan’s wife might be handicapped; I have a sneaking suspicion that she’ll end up developing powers as well…beyond, of course, just to power to hypnotize men with her beautiful blue eyes. Great family brunch scene, especially Peter turning the tables on Nathan and being the one doing the blackmailing for a change. Nathan’s still an asshole, though he does show that moment of brotherly love at the last second.

I keep meaning to mention that Claire’s mom seems so eccentric that I have to wonder if it’s some sort of elaborate act…but that’s just an aside. Frankly, I thought Claire’s brother, Lyle, was going to upload the video of her various “stunts” onto the ‘net, since my understanding is that that’s what all the kids do with their cool videos these days. But, nope, he was just freaked out by her abilities…to the point of asking her if she’s an alien. You gotta love the fact that his first thought was not to ask her about her powers but, rather, just to grab a staple gun and shoot her right in the hand.

As usual, Hiro’s scene was the most fantastic of the episode, with him stopping time before a car could explode, allowing him to save the victim and her would-be rescuer…who, as it happens, was Niki’s ex-husband. Hiro also gets the obligatory funny scene, telling Niki’s son about his comic book appearance.

AliasBoy is back! Matt starts the episode still trying super hard to save his marriage, but that’s the problem with knowing everything the other person is thinking: you know everything the other person is thinking, both good and bad. The marriage may not be salvageable, but at least Matt got that punch in. So now he’s back with the FBI again, discovering that Syler’s latest victim was burned in some fashion that results in massive amounts of radiation. Before, though, he was freezing people. Then, when the dynamic duo find him in the hospital, Syler makes the comment about what might happen if he uses them again. Are his powers evolving…?

Niki asking for help from her “evil twin”? Yikes, that’s desperation. (By the way, was this the first time we heard that Niki’s alter-ego is named Jessica…?) She doesn’t really do much this episode except fret to her girlfriend…well, not ’til that very last scene, anyway. Great moment with Micah revealing his powers at last. I knew that kid wasn’t just a super-genius!

External Entertainment, External TV, Heroes, TV, TV Dramas

A few questions with Paula Poundstone

November 6, 2006 /

Paula Poundstone is listed among Comedy Central’s Top 100 Stand-Up Comedians of All Time, but after publicly suffering through some personal woes in the early part of the decade, she more or less fell out of the spotlight. Now, however, Poundstone is back, not only with her autobiography, “There’s Nothing In This Book That I Meant To Say,” but also her first new stand-up special in a decade. “Look What the Cat Dragged In” airs tomorrow on Bravo at 10 PM, and Poundstone did a teleconference to promote the special, were we had a chance to ask her a few questions. If only we’d known ahead of time that she doesn’t consider this to be a comeback…

Bullz-Eye: Hi, Paula, and congrats on the big comeback special.

Paula Poundstone: Oh, thanks. I’m not sure I view it as a comeback, but okay.

BE: Oh, well. Because I was going to ask, as comebacks go, is this “Elvis ‘68” big, or more like, “Hey, Dick Van Dyke’s back…but now he’s a mystery-solving doctor”?

PP: Oh, gee…either one! Either one would be good. Well, you know, there’s sort of a missed…I guess “back to television” for sure, I suppose that’s true, but I always think it’s funny when people say, “Oh, you’re back!” And I’m, like, “When exactly did I leave?” Other than the period of time when I was in rehab, and in fairness to me, nobody in rehab works. It really puts the old kibosh on the work schedule.

BE: As far as writing a book, did you jump or were you pushed?

PP: A little of both, a little of both. I marvel at Crown’s patience, I must tell you. Somebody told me this after I got started, which is that if it weren’t for the advance, no one would write a book, which I really think to be true. In the beginning, I was enthusiastic to do it, and then partway through, there’s just this point where you’re, like, you know what? I’m writing a book because I’ve already spent the advance, that’s why I’m writing a book. Just because it’s this big thing hanging over your head, and, after all, it hung over my head for nine years; I can’t tell you how happy I was to (finish it). By the time I finished writing this thing, I was on fire…and for two reasons. For one, and I’ve heard authors say this before, but when it’s clicking, it’s this great, fiery feeling…but when you realize how much more work you have…I mean, normally, I do my two hours of jokes and get off, but nine years is a little challenging!

BE: A few months ago, I interviewed Fran Solomita about his film, “When Stand Up Stood Out.”

PP: Oh, yeah!

BE: How did it feel to be a part of that Boston comedy scene? Were you intimidated by being surrounded by so many talented peers, or did you feel like you had a unique voice?

PP: It wasn’t…you know, honestly, I started there in ’79, and the way that stand-up comedy kind of started there had a lot to do with the comedian Lenny Clarke. Lenny was a homegrown boy, he was from Cambridge, and most people think of Cambridge as M.I.T. and Harvard, but, in fact, blue-collar workers grow up there as well, and that was Lenny’s background. And his friends were the audience, because they came there to see Lenny, so if you did anything outside of what those guys appreciated, then you weren’t considered very good. And, therefore, the truth is, it was a very hard place to start out! I mean, eventually, I sort of…well, I went away and worked in other places and came back, but it was not an easy place to start out as a comic. And it’s almost kind of miraculous that so many really great voices did come out of there, because I’ll tell ya, Steve Wright was not…to that initial crowd, he was not considered a great comic. And so I think both of us were a little bit forged by fire there, and w kind of learned to do what we did not, uh, necessarily through a lot of back-patting. (Laughs)

External TV, Humor, Interviews, TV, TV Comedies

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