Category: TV Sci-Fi (Page 45 of 81)

Season Pass Deleted: “Dollhouse”

March 3, 2009 /

I’m sorry. I can’t take it anymore.

I watched three full episodes of Joss Whedon’s “Dollhouse” and decided somewhere in the middle of the third episode that I couldn’t continue to watch the show. It didn’t help that the third episode had the dreaded troubled-pop-star-deals-with-stalker storyline, which has been done so many times before that it has become one of my biggest pet peeves. Bad stage production, bad singing, bad crowds…ugh.

The show has a solid premise — a business that rents out “dolls” which are programmed to suit the clients’ needs — and a pretty compelling macro storyline — a renegade doll on the loose and, separately, an FBI agent (Tahmoh Penikett) trying to find the dollhouse — but the week-to-week episodes just aren’t all that interesting. One week, the main character, Echo (Eliza Dushku) is an unconvincing kidnapping expert, the next she’s bait for a psychopath who likes to hunt humans. And last week she was a sassy backup singer who said things like, “You’re not okay…okay?”

Mind you, this is coming from a fan of Whedon’s work with “Buffy, the Vampire Slayer,” “Angel” and “Firefly.” I was really rooting for this show to work, but for whatever reason — suspect acting, sketchy writing, poor continuity — it just doesn’t.

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

Heroes 3.18 – When Harriet Tubman Met Def Leppard

March 2, 2009 /

I’m not saying this was the best episode of the season, but it was definitely filled with some of the best dialogue of the season.

I can’t tell you the exact moment that I decided I liked every character on “Heroes,” but at least I can identify it for Claire’s new boy, Alex (though I like to think of him as Aqualad). It was when he looked at her and said, “You’re not Harriet Tubman, Claire, all right? And this isn’t the Underground Railroad. You’re just a high school girl, and you’re in over your head.” He’s probably a narc, but what can I tell you? You just don’t get many Harriet Tubman references nowadays; you’ve gotta respect them when they come along. Also, I actually laughed out loud when Alex wouldn’t even cop to having sex with Claire to save his own skin.

You know, I almost hate to admit it, but I actually kind of liked Hayden Panettiere’s performance this episode…probably because she actually played some semblance of a typical teenage girl for much of the time, particularly during the discussion with her mom about whether or not a divorce from HRG was forthcoming. Her mom had quite a few good lines during the course of the episode, too, including her observation about the van that’d been sitting outside their house for way too long (“No-one’s pool is that dirty”), but nothing topped the lustful shout-out to the glory of Def Leppard’s Rick Savage. Having the agent come in and almost but not quite find Alex wasn’t nearly as suspenseful as I think it was probably intended to be, though, nor was Claire and Alex’s great escape. And the underwater kiss…?

Okay, fine, it was actually kind of sweet. Happy?

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

Battlestar Galactica: Someone to Watch Over Me

February 28, 2009 /

When this episode started, and Kara got into a conversation with some random dude in the bar, I was thinking — why are they introducing a new character at this point in the series?

My “twist-dar” went off when they failed to show her dad’s face in her flashbacks, and it really went off when he lit up a cigarette (after she reminisced about the “smell of tobacco” earlier in the episode). Then the meaning of Hera’s drawing was revealed and suddenly Kara and her “dad” were playing the “Battlestar Galactica” version of “All Along the Watchtower.”

Kara’s trip plodded along, but it was still quite intense, because the nature of her existence is still one of the big questions yet to be answered. This mellowness provided a nice balance to what was going on elsewhere on the ship, as the Chief made a bad, bad decision by trusting Boomer again. Roslin’s demeanor towards Tyrol was unnecessarily harsh, and she bears some responsibility for his actions. Boomer is (mostly) evil, a fact confirmed by her sexual encounter with Helo right in front of Athena. That has to be a tough pill for the Chief to swallow — he breaks her out of the brig and the first guy she screws is Helo? Ouch.

The scene where Boomer made her escape was one of the most nail-biting of the entire series. It was clear that the Chief didn’t know Hera was in the trunk because Boomer had to tell him to “be careful” with it. Still, he’s a dope for falling for her act again. Way to go, Chief.

So now Galactica has a hole in the side of the ship, and after weeks of intimating that the old girl was on her last legs, the ship is truly falling apart. Cavil has (or will have) Hera, and there are only three episodes left. We still need to find out the truth about Kara and the fleet needs to find some sort of home. They wouldn’t end the series with the fleet just drifting aimlessly in space…would they?

Battlestar Galactica, External Entertainment, External TV, TV, TV Action, TV Dramas, TV Sci-Fi

CW renews six shows

February 25, 2009 /

Good news for fans of several CW shows.

The CW network has picked up six series to return in the fall: “Gossip Girl,” “One Tree Hill, “90210,” the Thursday combo of “Smallville” and “Supernatural” and the reality hit “America’s Next Top Model,” which has been green-lighted for its 13th and 14th seasons.

The ninth-season renewal for “Smallville” came after producing studio Warner Bros TV was able to secure a new deal with star Tom Welling.

The last couple seasons of “Supernatural” have been great, and “Smallville” has been really strong this year as well, so I’m happy to see that both will be returning for another season. The same goes for “Gossip Girl,” which is a guilty pleasure.

There are a few other CW shows that are still in limbo…

Awaiting a decision regarding its fate is freshman drama “Privileged,” which has developed a strong fan base but has been a modest ratings performer.

Renewal chances are slim at best for “Reaper,” whose second season begins Tuesday, and for the CW’s only two remaining comedy series, “The Game” and “Everybody Hates Chris,” since the network has abandoned the genre.

I gave up on “Privileged” after a couple of episodes because the two daughters were pretty annoying. The show’s star — Joanna Garcia — is charming, so I’m not surprised that the show has developed a strong fan base. “Reaper” isn’t getting much help from its network, but it still needs to perform well in its second season to have a shot at renewal.

External Entertainment, External TV, Gossip Girl, News, Reaper, TV, TV Action, TV Comedies, TV Dramas, TV Sci-Fi

Heroes 3.17 – Let’s do right or let’s just say we’re through…

February 23, 2009 /

Last week’s “Heroes” ended with HRG taking a swig of his drink and, at least to the untrained eye (i.e., mine), his sudden wooziness made it appear that he’d been slipped a fast-acting mickey. Maybe he had been drugged…or, then again, maybe he was under the influence of Matt Parkman’s heavy-duty mental powers. It was hard to tell at the time. Whichever the case, the result was the same: the guy went down, and he went down hard. The next thing you know, he’s being dragged out by Parkman, Mohinder, and Peter Petrelli.

What we learn at the beginning of this week’s episode, however, is how this plan came into being. Unsurprisingly, it’s Matt who’s the mastermind of the goings-on…and, of course, I say “unsurprisingly” because he’s clearly royally pissed off about Daphne being taken down a few episodes ago. I had to laugh at how typically wishy-washy Pete was, though. First, he’s wondering about the issue of drugging him, asking Matt uncertainly, “Can’t you just read his mind and get what we need that way?” But ten seconds later, when Mohinder chimes in about his own issues with the kidnapping aspects, Pete confidently counters, “I don’t like it, either, but this way it gives us answers.” Damn, Petrelli, I’ve heard of getting with the plan, but that’s gotta be some kind of record!

In short, these three stooges (Mohinder, Larry, and Curly?) spiked HRG’s Scotch with a pharmaceutical agent that would enable Parkman’s abilities to penetrate all of Noah’s psychological training and get the answers they want about what’s going on with Nathan’s big governmental crackdown on America’s heroes.

What do they discover? Only the best chapter of the “Fugitives” saga to date…and, I feel comfortable arguing, the most impressive episode we’ve gotten in Season 3, period.

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

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