Category: TV (Page 221 of 595)

The Best of Star Trek: The Original Series / The Best of Star Trek: The Next Generation

As my colleague Will Harris pointed out, these two discs are nothing more than a shameless attempt to “wring a few more bucks off the old series in the wake of the new movie.” Well, of course they are, and Paramount has never been above repackaging this series ad infinitum. But it’s worth mentioning that, for some people, a little “Trek” can go a long way, and if you fall into such a category, then you’re the consumer Paramount is reaching for. With only 4 episodes per disc, these are an affordably-priced and time efficient alternative to the rather expensive and lengthy season box sets.

Further, perhaps you’re new to the “Trek” fold thanks to J.J. Abrams’ movie? If so, two of the episodes featured here were supposed inspirations for the new flick: “Balance of Terror” from the Original Series disc, which introduced the Romulans, and “Yesterday’s Enterprise” from the Next Generation disc, which features an alternate timeline scenario. Both are fine examples of great “Trek.” Of course they’d better be, given the “Best of” label.

Rounding things out on the TOS disc are “The City on the Edge of Forever,” a time travel story long considered a sparkling jewel in the “Trek” crown; the humorous classic “The Trouble with Tribbles”; and “Amok Time,” which sees Kirk and Spock beating the crap out of one another. Also on the TNG disc are “The Best of Both Worlds (Part 1 & 2),” which features a dazzlingly intense encounter with the creepy Borg, and “The Measure of a Man,” a Data-centric story that wouldn’t have been my first choice to represent the TNG series in this context.

Click to buy “The Best of Star Trek: The Original Series”

Click to buy “The Best of Star Trek: The Next Generation”

American Idol: Judges try hard to crown Adam

We are rolling down the hill toward the “American Idol” finale, and the judges last night were over-impressed with one Adam Lambert on a night when I thought he was good, but not nearly as good as the judges’ collective frothing at the mouth indicated. Here is how it went down…

First of all, I’m quite sure that in previous seasons at this stage, they showed the three finalists going to their hometown with a whole montage on that before performing, but this time they shortened the show to an hour and though I haven’t looked at the listings, I’m expecting a longer results show tonight. But anyway, each contestant would sing something a judge or judges picked for them, and another song of their choice.

Danny Gokey went first and the song was Paula Abdul’s selection of Terence Trent D’Arby’s “Dance Little Sister.” Not a bad choice at all, with the tone and funky chorus that is right in Gokey’s wheelhouse. The problem is that the song never really goes anywhere, but Danny did a fine job with it. Randy said it was “dope,” Kara said the song was in Danny’s money spot but that she didn’t like the dancing, Paula said she was proud of Danny, and that she as a choreographer DID like his dancing (say what?), and Simon agreed with Kara but said it was a good vocal.

Kris Allen was next, and since there are now four judges, Kara and Randy tag-teamed on this one, picking One Republic’s “Apologize.” Kris played it painfully safe, sitting at the piano and doing a good job with it, but wowing positively no one. I was bummed that they kind of gave him a lame choice. Randy said the song fits who Kris can be, Kara liked the choice but wished Kris would have changed up the arrangement and said it wasn’t a home run, Paula said she understood the song choice and that she was proud, and Simon thought it was too copycat and he gave Kara a really hard time about Kara giving Kris a hard time about the arrangement of a song she chose for him. Ha!

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October Road: The Complete Second Season

After having been left in something of a quandary after watching the abbreviated first season of “October Road,” it seemed only fair to give the show another chance with its second – and now final – season. The good news is that if you enjoyed the first batch, then you’ll likely find just as much to appreciate here. The bad news is that it’s still the same syrupy bittersweet material that has the power to deliver an instant jolt of maudlin nostalgia to the nervous system. If you hated the show before, nothing here will change your mind. “October Road” is obsessed with – even dependent upon – the past. It’s like the “Family Guy” bit that starts with “Remember the time when…” only instead of a punchline to follow it up, there are just straightforward memories and flashbacks. It seems like Knights Ridge is where the characters from “Dawson’s Creek” might end up in their late twenties, replete with all the same overwritten, trite dialogue that reached its apex ten years ago.

To be fair, over the course of these 13 episodes, the show manages to breathe a bit more than in its 6-episode freshman season. It morphs from being “the show around which a bunch of satellites orbit Bryan Greenberg” into far more of an ensemble drama, with many storylines overlapping so that each character gets his or her day in the crisp New England sun. It’s a soap opera for that guy or girl you know who still swears the best time of their life was high school. Ah, but there I go, once again picking on the poor, defenseless (and now canceled) “October Road.” It’s not a fair fight, so I might as well just admit it: it’s ridiculously addictive entertainment, and one evening I effortlessly sped through five episodes in a row. And, yet, I’m glad it’s canceled, because I don’t need to be addicted to shows I don’t even like.

The DVD contains an extra ten-minute coda that was filmed after the cancellation that aims to tie up loose ends, which it does surprisingly well in a very short amount of time. It looks a bit cheap compared to the series, but since it was a simple little labor of love for the cast and crew, it can’t be faulted, especially in this day and age of canceled series that get no resolution.

Click to buy “October Road: The Complete Second Season”

First impressions of “Caprica”

The two-hour pilot of “Caprica” debuted on DVD and digital download late last month and I finally found the time to watch it. Regular readers might be wondering why a huge “Battlestar Galactica” fan like myself would wait so long. Well, I’m not really sure. Maybe the “BG” finale was still a little to raw in my mind. Maybe there was too much other good television grabbing my attention. Or maybe I just couldn’t find the right time to watch it.

While I’m certainly excited about Ronald D. Moore’s next project, I can’t help but be a little leery of a prequel. “Caprica” has the same challenge that the “Star Wars” prequels had: Everyone knows how it turns out. The question is whether or not the history is compelling enough to outweigh the certainty of the story’s outcome. In the world of “Star Wars,” fans were clamoring for a better understanding of how Anakin Skywalker actually became Darth Vader. The transition was mentioned several times over the course of Episodes Four, Five and Six, and it became almost inevitable that there would eventually be a series of prequels to explain just how Anakin turned to the dark side.

Were there any “Battlestar Galactica” fans clamoring for a prequel? I’m sure there were a few, but I hadn’t even considered the prospect until I heard that “Caprica” was already in development. How interested are we in seeing how Cylons were developed? Personally, I’d rather get a glimpse into the behind-the-scenes scheming that led up to the Cylon invasion.

That said, there’s no doubt that “Caprica” is two strong hours of television.

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24 7.22: If you build it, Kim Bauer will fall into it

Previously, on the “24” Blog:

Now watch us find out next week that it was Hillary’s contract killer that blew up the car. Wouldn’t that suck? I mean really, how boring, how logical.

Damn, damn, damn. I work up this super-fun conspiracy theory, only to discover that the reason they kept Janis around is for one last catfight with Chloe. Ugh. Even after Janis had won the battle, I pumped my fist in the air when Chloe told her that she’s not the person you come to for validation. God, I could kiss her. I’d still like to know why Janis was the one helping in Jonas Brother’s transfer, though. Was it just to get her some additional screen time? Or to mess with bloggers like me? I’m still holding out hope that there is still a chance that she’s a mole, but I realize that it’s not very likely.

I am amused, though, at how completely and totally fucked Hillary Clinton is at this point. There is practically a trail of bodies that follows her wherever she goes. Even Old Yeller is susipcious of her – which surely began the moment he shared an elevator with her after she’d just had sex, as one Mr. Codding astutely observed – to the point where he called Warden Norton to see if the digital recorder stashed in the office was still running. How awesome was Norton’s response: “I’ll be there within the half-hour.” It’s SIX IN THE MORNING, but Warden is both ready and willing to exact his revenge. How about that, the system works after all.

I was glad to see the whole canister thing get resolved – man, how about that beatdown Jack gave Tony? – but as Jibraan locates the bomb and begins to scramble out of the station, I’m thinking to myself, “Leave the bomb inside the subway car and tell the authorities to close the goddamn doors.” It wouldn’t be airtight, but once you’ve scared everyone off, it wouldn’t matter. Hell, John McClane would have thrown it down the subway tunnel, then shot it to pieces. Dunno, it just seemed like overkill to me.

“And Iiiiiiiiii-eeeeee-iiiiiiiiii-eeeee-iiiiiiiii will always, love youuuu-hooooooooo-ohhhhhhhhh…”

All right, Kim Bauer fans, it is time for you to come to Jesus. Why is it, exactly, that you like her so much? Because she’s cute? No question, Elisha Cuthbert is a lovely woman, but Kim Bauer is death incarnate. Look at how they handled those scenes of her at the airport. It was both clumsy and convenient at the same time. She’s suspicious of the federal agent – here’s an idea: have the agent walk up to Kim and tell her that Jack asked him to look after her, and get Daddy on the phone if she’s unsure – and then she just happens to befriend the two people assigned to abduct her? Meanwhile, the male goon, who’s the worst actor ever, kills the agent in the bathroom without anyone walking in on them, which is ridiculous on two levels. For one, that agent had a gun. Grab it and shoot the guy! The other problem with that scene is that it’s rush hour at a DC airport. Those bathrooms aren’t empty that time of day, ever. So now Jack has to break Tony (his smirk once Jack hopped in the van is some of the finest acting Carlos Bernard’s ever done) out of FBI custody again in order to save Danger-prone Daphne for the seventeenth time in the show’s history.

Kim Bauer is not worth this much trouble.

Remember, the girl of a thousand disguises can only hear Jack, which means she can’t see him speak to someone else using sign language or write a note saying “HELP ME!” Ugh. So much conflict, so little need. The only way they can make up for this is if the bad actor goon is strangled to death by a cougar trap, then shot by a guy who just held a standoff at a Kwik-E-Mart. Seriously, resolving the bomb attack two hours early was a severe tactical mistake. Now we have to pretend to care whether Kim Bauer lives to see the final clock tick, and I gotta be honest, I don’t care what happens to her. The rest of the time will be spent covering the downfall of either Hillary Clinton, Madame Prez, or possibly both of them, which would be a gross injustice to the show’s finest President since David Palmer. Can’t say that either of those prospects excites me. Sigh.

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