Category: TV Dramas (Page 203 of 235)

Jericho, Episode 10: As God Is My Witness, I Thought Turkeys Could Fly.

November 24, 2006 /

Okay, so the line doesn’t have anything to do with the episode except that, like the famous “WKRP in Cincinnati” show from which it’s taken, they’re both Thanksgiving-themed. (The holiday is also why this blog entry is delayed; Wednesday felt so much like Friday that I totally forgot to watch the show!)

So the townsfolk of Jericho prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving, which gives them a perfect opportunity to go on a turkey shoot. Funny how, with all the people getting low on food, no-one’s ever gone hunting before now. Never mind, I’m sure they did, and that they just did it off-camera. Anyway, while in mid-hunt, Jake and Stanley witness a fly-over by a couple of jets…which Jake observes are Russian and of a type that hasn’t been flown in years…that drop shipments of food all over town, along with a generator. That the boxes contain notes from the Chinese that say, “Don’t fight, we’re your friends,” makes it reasonable enough for the natural paranoids in town to be skittish about eating the food, but, hey, people are starving, of course they’re gonna eat the food…and, of course, Gray “The Ass” Anderson is first in line to prove that the Mayor is being foolish by suggesting they hold off. There’s talk of the delayed-by-the-bomb election finally happening soon; I’m laying odds that Anderson wins, he fucks up royally, and then he either has to plead with former Mayor Green for help, or else he gets killed and the town says, “Mayor Green, you know we always believed in you!”

Gracie, we discover, made a deal with the devil – a.k.a. Jonah – to keep her store filled with food…and when she backs out of the arrangement at Mayor Green’s request, she gets stabbed…presumably fatally…for her trouble. Count on sullen teen Dale suddenly returning to the forefront as a character as a result. The aforementioned devil also steals the generator from Stanley’s field…and has Stanley’s ass kicked in the process…but as Jake and Robert Hawkins prepare to steal it back, they discover that Emily – Jonah’s estranged daughter – has done it for them. Nice and ballsy of her. Stanley, meanwhile, is apparently having his wounds licked by the hot DC accountant, and I do mean that literally. It was inevitable, of course…but the idea of him wooing her by making Tang Margaritas was inspired.

Oh, and Eric now knows that April’s pregnant. Had to happen. But at least they’re both reacting in a real way to the situation, rather than getting overly sentimental and getting back together, as I’d feared they might. The only real schmaltz this episode is Robert getting the lights turned on as a gesture to his son, to show him that, for a change, he can actually show what Daddy does when he’s working.

Next week will, of course, show the repercussions of Gracie’s stabbing. It bodes well, methinks, for a consistently dark episode, leading to an inevitable cliffhanger ’til the show’s return in the spring.

External TV, Jericho, TV, TV Dramas

Heroes, Week 9: You Gotta Embrace Your Inner Freak

November 21, 2006 /

Despite several nice segments throughout, I think you ultimately have to deem this episode disappointing, if only because NBC spent way too much time playing up the suggestion that we’d get something approximating resolution this week…and it’s safe to say that we did not. Oh, sure, we finally got the long-awaited scene that Isaac painted, where Claire’s cowering in an arena-like place and looking scared out of her wits…but, ultimately, what we really got was an example of what’s commonly known as “The ‘Lost’ Effect,” where viewers get a bunch more questions without getting much in the way of actual answers.

So Claire wins the title of Homecoming Queen, in no small part because of the freak vote. (Nice “Battlestar: Galactica” shirt on the guy in the front of the freak chorus, by the way.) She celebrates by flattening her bitchy rival with one punch, giving us another opportunity to hope that Chris Tucker would suddenly appear and yell, “You got knocked the fuck out!” No such luck. Damn.

The moment when Mohinder figures out his father’s password and discovers that Daddy had been maintaining a database of each of the world’s super-powered individuals is a nice one, although the whole thing with the kid appearing outside of his dream and in the real world was a bit too “Twin Peaks” for me…and that’s more Season 2 “Twin Peaks” rather than Season 1 “Twin Peaks.” (It’s a crucial distinction, I can assure you.)

I think you have to wonder what poor Ando’s liver must look like, given how much coffee he must have drunk by now, waiting for Hiro to return. That whole subplot offers no resolution whatsoever. How disappointing. And we don’t get much more forward momentum with the whole Niki / Micah / D.L., except to have it end with a cliffhanger as to whether or not Niki’s aim is any good. Nathan only appears long enough to further his reputation as an ostensibly well-meaning asshole, Simone doesn’t get much more screen time, and Matt is totally and utterly MIA.

So, basically, the big story this week belongs to Claire…and, eventually, Peter, of course. The scenes where Sylar is stalking her through the locker room are appropriately disturbing, as is the scene where Jackie really, really gets what’s coming to her…but I was definitely surprised at just how much of a turncoat Eden turned out to be, not to mention how powerful she apparently is. Based on her actions at the end of the episode and the fact that Mental Wipe Guy was by her side, it appears that Claire’s dad has no idea what’s going on behind the scenes of his own operation. Also, the fact that Peter was able to continue his healing process even after Claire was no longer in his immediate presence begs the question, can he continue to access these powers he “borrows” after the person he’s borrowed them from isn’t around anymor, or do they just linger for a certain amount of time before vanishing? Perhaps we’ll find out during the inevitable jail break scene that’s undoubtedly going to occur in a future episode…though it’s hard to say when that’ll happen, since we’re apparently preparing for at least one (and maybe more) episode taking place six months before the events of this week’s episode.

Anyway, not a bad episode…but it’s clear that NBC knowingly and willfully faked out viewers by making them think they were going to get more than they got. That ain’t cool, man. It might not be all that surprising…but it still ain’t cool.

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

Prison Break: “Disconnect”

November 21, 2006 /

Well, Mr. Medsker was right on the money last week when he said that Sarah was going to pull out the drain chain with her teeth. I cheered when she pressed the hot iron on Agent Evil’s chest. He just squealed and dropped like a rock to the floor. I thought Sarah might be able to get the gun from him and end this chase once and for all (or just hit him over the head with the iron), but her leap out the window made for pretty good television. It now appears that the tables have turned on AE since Mr. Kim is none too happy about his performance of late. To utilize Jeff Foxworthy’s comedic structure: when you’re boss is erasing you from pictures, you might be a dead man.

Meanwhile, Bellick is another baddie that is getting what’s coming to him (sort of). The dynamic between Bellick and the detective was pretty good, and I loved Bellick’s line, “That’s the way Roy would have wanted it,” before he took a big bite out of a chocolate donut. But I kept waiting for the detective to play his voicemail message for him. It would have been more of a surprise had they not shown him threatening Roy in the “previously on…” clips at the beginning of the show. Anyway, it looks like Brad is going to be on ice for a while.

C-Note’s storyline is getting a little old. He and his family go camping, but they forget their daughter’s medication. Then the pharmacist just happens to have a newspaper with pictures of C-Note and his wife on the front page. The pharmacist calls the cops and they cart wifey off without even bothering to look around the parking lot. Of all the characters, I think I’m least interested in C-Note right now.

But back to the desert. After firing off about 40 shots without a hit, it’s clear that Agent Mahone didn’t go to the Jack Bauer School of Shooting. He did finally make contact, conveniently killing off Proud Pappy and shifting the whole direction of the series. No longer is Panama the #1 priority – the brothers need to find Sarah. Let’s hope their dad expanded on his statement, “Sarah can end it,” which is almost as cryptic as “Save the cheerleader. Save the world.”

Now, for a few gripes. I don’t understand why cell phone coverage was so spotty. Michael can’t get a signal, yet Mahone wasn’t having any problems making calls. Did anyone else think it was a little fantastic that Mahone would have the power to scramble fighter jets on a moment’s notice? Puh-lease.

For those that are counting, the hospital switcheroo (substituting Fu Manchu Drug Dealer for Proud Pappy) makes four this season. I wonder how many more times they’ll use that trick.

All in all, it was a pretty action-packed episode. It’s a balancing act trying to intertwine four (or more) different storylines, and they did a good job this week. The next episode is the fall season finale, which means we’ll be sans “Prison Break” until the New Year.

Did anyone catch the “24” promo? It looks like Jack escapes the Chinese. Whew! (I was really worried about that.)

External TV, Prison Break, TV Action, TV Dramas

Battlestar Galactica: “Hero”

November 18, 2006 /

Until now, Will Adama seemed utterly infallible. In this episode, we learned that even the Admiral has a few skeletons in his closet. But who would’ve guessed that one of those skeletons was going to enter the fleet’s space, flying a damaged rogue Raider?

Apparently, the Cylons let Marcus Dixon…err…Bulldog…sorry, I had an “Alias” flashback there…anyway, they let him escape so that he would learn the truth about how he was left for dead in Cylon space three years earlier. (Although if the Cylons know where the human fleet is, why don’t they just attack? Maybe annihilation of the human race is no longer their endgame.) When you think about it, the Cylons would have to know that Adama was the one in charge of Bulldog’s final mission if their ultimate goal was to get him to kill Adama. That would be quite crafty on their part.

That whole storyline led to the realization that Adama believes that he started the war. I think he’s being way too hard on himself. But still, that’s some heavy stuff.

Meanwhile, Cylon Biers is having a spiritual crisis on the mothership. Was it the result of the apparent three-way she had with Baltar and Number Six? Doubtful, but possible. I’m not sure where that storyline is going, though the other skinjobs looked pretty worried when she said there was something beautiful between death and rebirth.

Baltar never ceases to amaze me. One minute, he’s on the verge of execution. The next, he’s getting double-teamed by a former Victoria’s Secret model and Xena the Warrior Princess. He’s certainly got the mojo working.

And then there’s everyone’s favorite alcoholic, Saul Tigh. There was a great exchange when he offered Bulldog a drink.

Tigh: Drink?
Bulldog: You have no idea.
Tigh: Yes, I do.

It looks like the Bulldog encounter is going to bring Tigh back to the world of the living. The cigarette game he was playing – “I see it…I see it…I see it.” – was pretty creepy. But none of my regular readers should be surprised that he looks razor sharp in an eyepatch. I was hoping for a black one, but that tan one looked pretty tight.

Battlestar Galactica, External TV, TV, TV Action, TV Dramas

Jericho, Episode 9: I’ve Seen Some Children Crossing The Bridge…

November 16, 2006 /

There’s a lot of emotion in Jericho this week, my friends.

First off, Emily’s originally-scheduled wedding day has rolled around, and she finally begins to deal with the realization that her fiancee is almost certainly dead, thanks to a combination of flashbacks and dream sequences. It’s pretty funny that Heather decides to help Emily get through the day by getting her rip-roaring drunk. That’s right, kids, because everyone knows that alcohol isn’t a depressant. Oh, wait, yes, it is. Whoopsie! Sorry, Heather, could we see your college diploma? I’m beginning to wonder if you really have a degree in education. I like the character of Dr. Dhuwalia, by the way; hopefully, we’ll see more of him as the series progresses.

It’s revealed that April is pregnant, which is a damned convenient piece of plotting, but rather than take the easy way out, she doesn’t reveal the information to Eric when he finally…FINALLY…admits that he’s in love with Bartender Mary and that their marriage is over as far as he’s concerned. Of course, Mrs. Green – Eric’s mom – is ready to kick her son’s ass over his announcement, and she guarantees April that she can stay at the Green’s house for as long as she wants.

Eric’s lost jacket comes back to bite him in the ass, just as we knew it would, even if they hadn’t tacked on that scene at the end of last week’s episode to confirm it. The mercernaries, claiming to be under government orders, show up with the intent of storming into Jericho, taking everything they need, and leaving…but nobody in town is having any of that. The issue, however, is that some folks want to blow up the major bridge in town, and some don’t, and it’s a major dividing line…and what a shock, the line goes right between Eric and Jake. I so didn’t see that coming! (I can never remember; does my sarcasm translate well in these blogs?) Stanley stays consistently belligerent when it’s suggested that he do the smart thing, and it’s no shock that Gray Anderson once again attempts…and, from what I saw, fails…to make a political power play against the mayor, who’s finally back in good health and ready to party. The showdown on the bridge between the townsfolk and the mercernaries is nice and tense; you never believe that Jake is ever gonna blow up the bridge, of course, but as the scene plays out, you’re never entirely sure that someone isn’t gonna get shot. And someone does, thanks to Mr. Robert Hawkins. Nice shootin’, Tex!

This was a really solid episode all around, deftly blending action sequences with the more subtle emotional drama of other storylines; even the sentimentality is handled nicely, without ever getting too schmaltzy. The writers and producers of “Jericho” finally seem to have a handle on the show. Of course, they’ve gotten that handle just in time for the 3-month hiatus. After next’s week’s sort-of season finale – which, by the way, I’m annoyed about, and I steadfastly refuse to accept the network’s attempts to lessen the impact of this break by referring to a “fall season” and a “spring season” – let’s hope the show stays at the level of this week’s episode. Given the comment in the preview for next week that a cast member will die, it sounds like a very real possibility.

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

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