Category: TV (Page 311 of 595)

Prison Break 4.6: “Blow Out”

September 30, 2008 /

The whole bit at the racetrack was kind of fun, but it was a house of cards stacked on a house of cards. So many things had to go right for them to successfully copy the data from Cardholder #4. What if Bellick’s teller had agreed immediately to change his bet? What if the Operations Manager sent someone else (like security) to deal with him? What if the Cardholder had insisted that the manager come out to the track to deal with the sticky gate problem? It wasn’t like the Cardholder had a ton of personal security. The gang should have just saddled up nearby and copied the card that way. Oh well, the house of cards plan was a lot more fun.

“Michael, why are all of your plans so unnecessarily difficult?”

Morpheus continues to dig deeper into the gang’s plan and the scene with Don in the parking garage was pretty intense. Self knew that Morpheus was a killer, and Morpheus knew that he knew, so while nothing overtly menacing was actually said, there was a feeling of menace between them. I’ve liked Michael Rapaport since he played Paul Kirkwood in “Beautiful Girls,” the guy who brought a brown diamond engagement ring for a girl he wasn’t even dating. Rapaport always seems to play characters that are equal parts smartass and lovable loser, and Don Self is no exception. I’m giving 2 to 1 to any brave bettors that his wife is dead and that he listens to that voicemail every so often to remember her.

This week’s You Must Suspend Belief Moment goes not to the house of cards plan at the racetrack, but to the fact that Mahone had a court date so quickly in the city of Los Angeles. That whole scene was pretty hard to swallow. Both Sara and Mahone were able to leave the courtroom without Morpheus seeing them and Sara acquired the file that (apparently) had the only copy of Mahone’s fingerprints. Yeah, right. However, I have to admit that the moment between Mahone and Morpheus outside the courthouse was pretty cool. Mahone’s desire for revenge is one of the most compelling parts of this season’s storyline.

Meanwhile, the jig is up for T-Bag and watching him scramble to escape his new life was pretty funny. I thought last week that Trish Ann and her ample bosom were this season’s eye candy, but with the way T-Bag left the Gate Corporation offices, I’m not so sure we’ll be seeing her again. Who knows, maybe she’ll try to track him down at his apartment.

Speaking of his apartment – Gretchen is back in the fold! She’s cleaned herself up, has herself a new identity and some cash, and when last we saw her, she was standing on Theodore’s neck. Oh yeah, and she’s a mother, only she gave her kid away because she couldn’t take care of her. Anyone want to bet that that comes back around by the end of the season?

I’m still predicting that the gang will have to place their trust in her at some point this season.

Card #5 is next on the docket. See you next week.

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

Heroes 3.3 – You Can Dress Him Up, But You Can’t Take Him Out

September 29, 2008 /

I know I made this comment at the tail end of last week’s blog, but after watching the “previously on” segment at the beginning of this week’s episode, I found myself saying to myself yet again, “Thank God we’re back to just one hour of ‘Heroes’ this week.” After this week, though, it seems that the producers are trying to pack that much storytelling into every episode this season. This is going to be a very exhausting year…

The evilest Petrelli – I’m referring to Sylar, of course – is on the slab and still trying to reconcile himself with this new information about his parentage. Enter Bridget, with her awesome ability to see the history of anything she touches, and…whoops! Bye-bye, Bridget! The relationship between Mama Petrelli and her little Gabriel is a little creepy, but whether it’s true that she’s Sylar’s mother or not, he clearly believes in the possibility enough to be off-balance. Advantage: Mama.

I’m really enjoying the way HRG is playing both sides of the fence, serving as Mama Petrelli’s right-hand man even though he’s clearly got his own agenda. Granted, you know she knows he’s got his own agenda…just as surely as she knows how he’s going to react when she tells him who his new partner is. But she knows she’s got HRG over a barrel, and when he’s presented with the choice to team up with Sylar or let the psychotic run amuck without supervision, his options are limited. And, thus, Sylar puts on a spiffy new suit and enters society. Nice line from Sylar about whether or not Mama is playing them: “Maybe…but aren’t you curious to see how it all plays out?” It looks promising for a few minutes or so, with Sylar taking on the role of authority figure with ease, but despite his success at getting free coffee, things ultimately played out about like I expected they would, with Sylar succumbing to his dark urges, with the only surprise being that HRG seemed legitimately horrified about it. (I figured he’d just shrug and say, “I knew this was gonna happen.”)

Continue reading »

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

When product placement goes too far…

September 29, 2008 /

Movies and television have been using product placement for years. For a kickback from the manufacturer, the product appears onscreen and usually fits within the context of the scene. For example, someone might be working in an office, and there’s a FedEx envelope or a can of Coke sitting on his desk. This type of product placement makes sense and can even add to the realism of the scene. (It’s less distracting to have a can of “Coke” than a can of “Cola” that is made to look like a can of “Coke.”)

Anyway, with DVRs creeping into more and more households, advertisers (and television producers) are getting more and more aggressive with their product placement since they know many of their viewers are simply skipping the commercials. It’s a fine line between having reasonable and distracting product placement. If the CSI unit pulls up in a Toyota truck, that’s okay, but what the folks on “Eureka” are doing is ridiculous.

This season, “Eureka” started a joint campaign with Degree deodorant to shoehorn its logo into (seemingly) every episode. Most recently, there was the episode where Sheriff Carter kept living the same day over and over and, you guessed it, he kept pulling a stick of Degree out of his medicine cabinet. And it’s not like the stick is just sitting there in the background. The first time he pulled it out, we were treated to a two- or three-second closeup… of a stick of deodorant! Then there was the episode where Zane was working in his lab and Fargo came to him with a favor. Mysteriously, there was a stick of Degree sitting on Zane’s desk. Once again, we were treated to an inexplicable closeup. Later in the same episode, there was a scene in a larger room and in the background there were metal crates with the Degree logo on the side.

When does it stop? The shoehorning of the Degree logo into every episode has become a joke between me and my wife, and we’re seriously considering dropping the show from our watchlist because the product placement is so cheesy and distracting. Moreover, I’m actually less likely to buy Degree deodorant because the product is ruining a good show.

And I’m not alone in this. TV Guide’s website posted a jeer from one of its readers.

Jeer to Eureka, one of my favorite shows, for indulging in product placement. This season, the producers apparently came to an agreement with the makers of Degree deodorant to display their logo at every opportunity. Not only is it disappointing, but it is annoying, and distracting to deal with in an otherwise quality show.

In the associated poll, 45% agreed with the jeer, 15% disagreed, while 40% said it was a “Jump the Shark” moment.

In total, 85% of respondents find the product placement distracting. So is it worth those extra advertising dollars if you’re irritating 85% of your audience?

Doubtful.

External Entertainment, External TV, TV, TV Comedies, TV Dramas, TV Sci-Fi

Entourage 5.4 – Fire Sale

September 28, 2008 /

Can anyone say “déjà vu”? Maybe it’s just me, but with the on-again-off-again bidding war that dominated most of tonight’s episode, it sure felt a lot like last year’s Cannes-based season finale. Thankfully, it wasn’t as much of a letdown, and though not a whole lot was actually accomplished, it did bring up some very interesting story developments that will not only play a major role in the rest of this season, but next season as well.

For starters, Eric’s relationship with JB and Nick isn’t going quite as smoothly as you’d expect. The amateur screenwriters may have the hottest script in town, but at the end of the day, they’re still amateurs, and acting like a bunch of egomaniacal assholes isn’t going to help jumpstart their careers one bit. If anyone other than Eric was managing them, they probably would have already dropped them as clients. It isn’t enough that he’s gotten them a great deal ($100,000 with a $200,000 bonus if the movie is made) – Nick thinks they can get more money, and he’s not afraid to make his opinions be heard. As it turns out, he’s right, but nobody in town is willing to make the movie with Vince starring other than Amanda.

Entourage 5.4

When Vince graciously removes himself from the project and gives Eric the chance to sell the movie for more, however, Amanda flips out at the suggestion that Edward Norton get into a bidding war with every other studio in town. Ari is quick to jump at the chance of making the sale, and he comes back with an offer that any other first-time writer would kill for: $500,000 and Vinnie Chase in a supporting role. Unfortunately, Nick is not like every writer, and when he hears about Edward Norton no longer being part of the film, he’s disappointed. How cool was it, then, to have Eric take charge of the call by not only telling Nick that he plans on accepting the deal, but that he needs to say “thank you”? Eric may make mistakes every once and a while, but you gotta hand it to him – he’s doing a pretty good job for someone that still doesn’t know all the ins and outs of Hollywood.

The biggest development of the night, however, was Vince accepting a supporting role in “Nine Brave Souls” (now being called by the ultra-lame title “Smoke Jumpers”). This could be a big turning point for him in the series, as just two weeks ago I suggested that it would be fun to see him have to climb his way back to the top without the luxury of having Ari hold his hand. Now, that’s probably not going to happen any time soon, but the fact that he’s willing to settle for smaller roles certainly shows that he’s ready to begin a new (albeit different) era in his career. Not only does Vince have the chance to prove that he can still sell a movie, but he’ll also get the chance to act. Whether this means he might get that Oscar nomination just yet remains unseen, but you can’t deny that “Entourage” at the awards show would make for one hell of an episode.

First thing’s first. Just when it looked like a deal had finally been struck, Amanda came back with another offer ($2,000,000 plus the chance to work with Norton) that Eric’s writers probably won’t turn down. To make matters worse, the studio behind the deal is none other than Warner Bros., and with Allen Grey (you know, the guy who fired Vince from “Aquaman 2”) still at the helm, it’s going to take one helluva miracle keeping Vince attached to the project. Until then, it looks like he’s seriously considering starring in a new Benji movie set in Alaska, but let’s hope it doesn’t come down to that, because I have zero interest in watching a show about a movie star who isn’t even the star of some shitty kid movie.

Entourage, External TV, TV, TV Comedies

« Older posts Newer posts »

© 2026 Premium Hollywood

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑