Category: TV Dramas (Page 207 of 235)

Heroes, Week 6: He’s Just My Ex…Nothing More, Nothing Less

October 30, 2006 /

As the episode opened, I found myself wondering, “Was there a slightly less insane-sounding way that Peter could’ve explained what he believed to be going on?” I mean, you can’t really blame Ando’s skeptical reaction to the comments…but, then, nor can you blame Hiro for blissfully sighing, “I have a sword…”

I think we all knew it was even money between whether Niki would kill or screw her ex-husband, so no real surprise that it turned out to be the latter. It’s amazing to me that she keeps falling back into her relationship with the guy…but, then, I’ve never claimed to understand the ways of the female mind. That was a gruesome scene she and her ex stumbled upon, huh? Is it wrong that my first thought, like Niki’s, was that her alter ego was responsible…? Although it only lasted about as long it took Niki to find that briefcase in the attic crawlspace, I admit to surprise that her ex spent the episode becoming an almost sympathetic character…even if Mirror Girl didn’t feel the same way. Her ex’s power of intangibility…paging Kitty Pryde!

Of things that didn’t surprise me, however, let’s talk about Claire’s dad. When Claire gets the chance to meet her birth parents, it immediately seems fishy that her dad – a.k.a. Evil Incarnate – would set it up in the midst of everything that’s going down. I didn’t trust for a second that it was authentic…and, of course it wasn’t. And Mohinder suddenly macking on the next-door neighbor…? Dude, at that point, I didn’t even need to see her talking to Claire’s dad on the phone to know for sure that she was working for the dark side.

Hiro and Ando find their way back to the poker table again, helping Mr. Cowboy Hat enjoy some payback for the losses he incurred at their hand a few episodes ago; thankfully, Hiro’s finally figured out a less obvious way to win…one which gets confounded when Ando accidentally discovers that one of the players is packing heat. Ando grabs Hiro and makes up an excuse to the others at the table, which leads to a hilarious exchange:

Gambler: You guys go to the bathroom together?
Ando: Yes. It is how we roll.

When a bloodbath goes down while they’re behind the bathroom door, Hiro begins questioning how much of a hero he really is, since he just allowed people to die. Ando floats the idea of Hiro just getting the hang of his powers first, then coming back and fixing everything with a “do-over.” It would explain his showing up from the future…but I just feel as though it bodes ill.

No sign of Alias Boy this week, but he’s in the preview for next week’s episode, which looks to kick ass. Wow, that’s new…

External TV, Heroes, TV, TV Dramas

Sunset for “Studio 60”?

October 30, 2006 /

Fox News reports that the Aaron Sorkin dramedy “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip” may be hovering near death. Although NBC ordered three additional episodes as recently as this past Friday, cast members are reportedly telling their friends that the show is as good as cancelled.

Aside from the inherent news value of the impending cancellation, two points in this story are worth noting:

A) Fox News “reporter” Roger Friedman appears barely capable of restraining his glee at the idea of watching the guillotine fall on another earnest, chatty, liberal Sorkin drama; and

B) If NBC does indeed cancel the program — as part of its recent schedule overhaul emphasizing inexpensive reality programming over quality dramas and sitcoms — the recent “Studio 60” episode dealing with fictitious parent network NBS’s efforts to eschew cheap reality stunts in favor of more expensive highbrow programming will be an ironic footnote indeed.

Since bastion of conservatism Fox News appears to be the first to report such a dire fate for “Studio 60” (and, given the show’s primarily left-leaning content, Fox’s motives in breaking this story are decidedly suspect) there may still be hope for the show…but it needs to find a larger audience very quickly, and tonight’s bump from the sweeps schedule in favor of “Friday Night Lights” does not bode well for Matt, Danny and the gang.

TV, TV Comedies, TV Dramas

Battlestar Galactica: “Collaborators”

October 29, 2006 /

At some point someone had to make contact with Gaeta to set things up. How did the resistance know that the dog bowl was the signal? How did they know to look in the drawer for the information? Gaeta could have anonymously contacted someone, but he would have been much better off approaching the Chief on the level so that he had some protection once the occupation was over (or during a resistance attack on the President’s ship while on New Caprica). Once everyone was back on Galactica, I’m surprised it was still such a secret who the leaders of the resistance were – Gaeta needed to seek them out and clear his name. Of course, he didn’t know that there was a circle of six executing people, but still – you’d think he’d want to set the record straight.

Another thing that’s confusing: one of the women from the circle was in the mess hall and it seemed like she overheard Gaeta tell Starbuck about the dog bowl, yet she didn’t say anything to the rest of the circle. Starbuck also failed to mention this important piece of information when she joined the circle, but she isn’t the sharpest tool in the shed, so it’s within the realm of her character to neglect such things.

Tigh is losing it. He’s freaking out on the bridge and proclaiming people guilty while barely looking at the evidence. It’s obvious he’s affected by the loss of his wife, but he needs to pull it together. I still think an eye patch would do the trick.

And poor Dr. Baltar, stuck on the Cylon ship. Biers was the first to talk to him and it seemed like she was coming on to him, which was odd. Number Six later laid out some clothes for him, so I’m guessing she decided to let him stay. It will be interesting to see how long he stays with the Cylons. One of the most interesting parts of the series is how Baltar interacts with the humans, but he is going to have a tough time earning their trust again.

Battlestar Galactica, TV Action, TV Dramas

Jericho, Episode 6: WORST. ENDING. EVER.

October 25, 2006 /

Oh. My. God.

I don’t think the producers of “Jericho” could’ve come up with a more annoying ending unless they’d had everyone join hands and sing “Good Morning, Starshine” over the goddamned closing credits.

But I’m getting ahead of myself.

This week’s episode begins where last week’s ends: with those missles going into the air. A few minutes later, there’s an electromagnetic pulse and the power goes out. Cut to the opening credits (such as they are), then go to commercial. When we come back, we get a title card that informs us that two weeks have passed…but, strangely, the only thing that seems to have happened in that time is that kids are now playing baseball with their cell phones. I guess that’s supposed to show us that the phones are all dead now, thanks to the EMP.

Actually, there have been a few developments in that time. The Mayor has “the flu,” or at least that’s what everyone’s being told. Robert is still majorly paranoid around his family, but he’s managed to incorporate himself into the local police force pretty well. Stanley’s crops are infested with bugs, which turns him into an instant asshole. Also in those two weeks, Dale started running with a bad crowd, though we don’t really get much clarification as to how that came to pass, and Eric is steadfastly avoiding talking with his bartender babe, even though he and his wife don’t seem to have been getting along that swimmingly.

We get more clues about Jake’s reasons for leaving town, including his dad’s key line, “You left town and a boy was dead.” We meet his former cohort, Mitch, who’s apparently started stealing horses for fun and profit, and we get a little bit more detail from the conversations between Mitch and Jake, including Jake’s comment about how “I told you I wasn’t going to rob anyone.” Oh, yeah, and Jake’s mom gets trampled by some horses, which is actually kind of a scary scene…but maybe that’s just because I have friends who are equestrians and have told me about the dangers of finding yourself underfoot of one horse, let alone several.

Okay, fine, I’ve waited long enough: what about that fucking ending…?!? Oh, CHRIST, it was bad. After spending the episode with Stanley being an asshole about not wanting to share his crops with the town, then getting all whiny and asking, “Is this what we’ve come to,” the whole town shows up and, to a soundtrack provided by the new Jakob Dylan album (which is helpfully hyped after the credits roll), helps him harvest his crop. It was so schmaltzy that I just kept smacking my forehead with my notebook, repeating over and over again, “This is not happening, this is not happening.” We got no further details about the government, making the phone call and broadcast from last week nothing more than a tease, and the last few seconds of the episode, with that brief encounter between Jake and Mitch, was in no way enough to redeem the big steaming load of dung that immediately preceded it.

Okay, Mr. Paulsen, I’m with you. “Jericho” is now officially on notice. Enough with the conflicts within the town; give me more of the big picture sooner than later, or I’m on the verge of walking.

External TV, Jericho, TV, TV Dramas

“View’s” Hasselbeck hassles “SVU”

October 25, 2006 /

“The View” co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck is up in arms over an episode of “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” that features a character named “Elizabeth Hassenback” being raped and murdered. The character is close in age to Hasselbeck, and, like her, lives in New York. Claiming to feel “disrespected,” and calling the episode and its implications “socially irresponsible,” Hasselbeck called the show’s producers to demand an explanation. Instead, what she got was an insincere apology followed by a dial tone.

Stunned and appalled by her callous treatment at the hands of a Hollywood producer (a famously cuddly bunch), Hasselbeck is now attempting to blacklist all “SVU” cast members, prohibiting them from appearing on her show…which might be more of a threat if “The View” were actually considered a cultural tastemaker rather than a mildly entertaining means of passing the time between cups three and four of coffee.

Just the same, looking to make amends, producers for the show called back to chalk the character similarities up to coincidence…and encouraged Hasselbeck to tune in next week, when a lesbian character named Posey O’Connell will be force-fed chocolate bon-bons until her stomach explodes.

Actresses, Gossip, TV, TV Dramas

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