Category: TV (Page 463 of 595)

Heroes, Week 18: No Pot Pie For You!

March 5, 2007 /

I love “Heroes,” and I love NBC…but the reality of the matter is that, sometimes, NBC fucking sucks.

Seriously, do they really just not trust viewers to watch entire episodes anymore? Do they really feel like they have to give away information at the beginning of the episode for things that will be revealed later in that very episode…? Okay, I admit, I thought they’d pulled a completely bullshit move of giving away a major revelation of the episode – that Simone wasn’t actually dead after all – within the promo hyping the upcoming “Spider-Man 3” promo (when it was bad enough that it seemed as though they’d already given it away in the preview at the end of last week’s episode)…but then they went and pulled the carpet out from under me on that one when it turned out that, well, actually, Simone is dead, but that the new girl on HRG’s team has some serious illusion-casting abilities. But the big annoyance I had was that, after spending almost six months leading up to the revelation of Mr. Linderman’s identity, then having it not occur until the last five minutes of the episode, could they not maybe leave Malcolm McDowell’s name out of the fucking opening credits…?

I could go on and on about the dumbing down of society, how Hollywood doesn’t trust Americans to go see films if they don’t know virtually everything that happens beforehand, and how my wife and I got firsthand proof of it this weekened when we went to see “Zodiac” this weekend and got pissed because every single preview we were subjected beforehand revealed almost the entire plot of the movie being previewed. But you came here for a “Heroes” blog, so I’ll save that for another time…

So HRG has indeed had his mind wiped…though not a significant amount. Just, it appears, enough to be able to answer honestly that he doesn’t know what’s happened. Watching him freak out at how much his wife knows – for the first time EVER – was pretty awesome. The new girl in HRG’s life is pretty damned sexy…and it really showed when she showed up in that Catholic-schoolgirl-inspired outfit. Yowza. She’s also got some pretty major powers, too…and she’s clearly not afraid to be a part of the Dark Side; the move of impersonating HRG’s wife was EVIL, “sorry” or no “sorry.” And speaking of the Dark Side, it looks like Matt Parkman’s in with the in crowd now, whether he wants to be or not…and he apparently doesn’t want to be.

Claire’s on Brother Voodoo’s tour of America, and it looked like it’s gonna turn into a worldwide expedition…but, of course, no one really believed that Claire was gonna allow that to happen, did they? Sorry, did I say Claire? I meant Vivian, of course. Either way, I didn’t anticipate the meet-up with Grandma Petrelli.

Mohinder (briefly) gets the upper hand on Sylar…? Holy shit! Who would’ve thought that our man Mo had such a dark side to him…? Of course, it didn’t last, mostly because Mo got cocky and complacent…but, still, kudos for pulling it off even briefly!

God bless Hiro. He’s so wide-eyed and innocent. It was wayyyyyyy too convenient that Ando managed to be assigned to just the right location in Linderman’s building at just the right moment, especially since not only couldn’t he have been employed there for very long, but, also, wasn’t he on the casino’s watch list along with Hiro…? Still, nice use of Ian Gomez…and, plus, it was the excuse we needed for Hiro to finally get the sword. I’m just glad it actually did give him the confidence to use his powers again; with this show, you never know what might happen. So NYC did go up in smoke…but can it still be changed…?!?

Isaac is back on the smack attack. Ho-hum. And Nathan and Nikica cross paths, but that was probably the least interesting part of the episode. In fact, if it hadn’t led up to the reveal of Mr. McDowell as Mr. Linderman…and, no surprise, our man Malcolm remains one of the coolest motherfuckers in the business…I wouldn’t have cared about it at all. (I’m probably the last one to say this, but even I’m finally bored with the Nikica storyline.) So how much does Linderman know? What’s his deal? Is he a “hero” (in the loosest sense of the word)? Can he see the future, or is he just so powerful that he can really get Nathan into the White House…?

So I’m sure that even if Sylar slices Peter’s scalp completely off, he’ll pull through…but, still, damn, we have to wait ’til April 23rd for resolution? Shit, what am I gonna do when the season finale gets here…?!?

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

Battlestar Galactica: “Maelstrom”

March 5, 2007 /

A maelstrom is defined as “a large, powerful or violent whirlpool” and also as “a restless, disordered, or tumultuous state of affairs.” Both definitions are appropriate for this intense episode, which gave us a reprieve from the rather mundane day-to-day stories we’ve endured the last few weeks.

In many ways, this is Starbuck’s signature episode. Katee Sackhoff’s acting was terrific throughout, from the pressure-packed cockpit scenes to the emotional moments with her dead mother. Jamie Bamber (as Lee) provided great support, especially in the scene in the hanger where the duo talked about the state of their relationship(s). And, once again, Edward James Olmos’ considerable acting chops were on display as he mourned his surrogate daughter’s death.

But back to the story: Leoben said something interesting when he first brought her back to see her mother – “All of this has happened before and will happen again.” This destiny-filled, cyclical thinking has been mentioned before (by Roslin) and it will be interesting to see how it is used as the series progresses.

So is Starbuck really dead?

I doubt it. She had her hand on the eject handle, so she could have launched herself into the atmosphere.

Or maybe she’s a Cylon and she’s going to wake up, reborn, on a resurrection ship.

Whatever happens, she did commit suicide, which falls in line with her mother’s opinion of her…that she’s a quitter.

Destiny is a bitch, isn’t it?

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

Rome: “Death Mask”

March 5, 2007 /

One of the very first scenes this week set the tone for the entire episode. During Jocasta’s wedding, while Antony winks at a not-that-attractive slave girl, Atia mentions to him that she’d like to get married. The point? Men and women are rarely on the same page.

Even though she’s an insufferable bitch, I actually felt sorry for Atia this week. First, Servilia lays the mother of all curses on her before committing suicide in front of her house. The real Servilia died of natural causes, but like Antony said, the fictional Servilia knows how to make an exit. Then Octavian arranges for his sister, not Atia, to marry Antony as a show of goodwill to the people of Rome. This, of course, does not sit well with Atia or Octavia. While in bed with his new wife, Antony had a great line that pretty much sums up the situation – “This is strange, isn’t it?”

Even with the marriage, it’s clear that the conflict between Octavian and Antony isn’t resolved.

Meanwhile, Eirene’s run in with Gaia led to a great scene between Titus and the slave girl. It seems that the temptress Gaia is looking to climb the social ladder, and she isn’t afraid to use all of her……um……assets to that end. When she laid the “she’s such a mouse of a woman and you’re such a lion of a man” line on Titus, I knew the big fella was going down. If nothing else, a man has needs and it certainly didn’t help that Eirene decided to withhold sex because the baby started moving. Just like Titus, I almost spit up my drink when Eirene said that he should beat Gaia the same way once a month to keep her in line.

The Timon/Levi storyline ended unceremoniously when Timon stabbed his brother to keep him from trying to assassinate Herod. Other than Timon’s decision to release Servilia, this storyline hasn’t had much of an impact on the show. It will be interesting to see how much of Timon we’ll see now that this thread with his brother has come to a conclusion.

The episode ended with Gaia buying a concoction that presumably causes a miscarriage. Obviously, she intends to use this on Eirene. But what’s her end game? Does she truly want Titus, or does she just want to screw up Eirene’s life?

And how will Vorena’s actions affect Lucius? What will he do when he discovers his daughter’s betrayal?

External TV, Rome, TV, TV Action, TV Dramas

Things looking grim for “Studio 60”

March 2, 2007 /

The writing was on the wall.

Viewers might have seen the last episode of “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip,” Aaron Sorkin’s much-anticipated, then much-derided drama for NBC. The series, about the behind-the-scenes machinations of a television sketch show not unlike “Saturday Night Live,” is being pulled a week earlier than expected after its season-worst ratings performance. It’s unlikely to be renewed for a second season.

And if “Studio 60” comes back to finish its six remaining episodes, it will have everything to do with the respect accorded Sorkin and nothing to do with a last-ditch effort to save it.

The Courier Press goes on to give reasons why the show failed:

The premise wasn’t so much flawed as doomed. It turns out that most Americans didn’t care at all about the career woes and personal crises of pampered Hollywood writers.

It’s hard to argue this point. It’s impossible to know how America wants to spend its time when “Dancing with the Stars” and “Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?” are huge hits. It’s just unfortunate that a show about “the career woes and personal crises of pampered Hollywood writers” can’t find its niche and survive for more than a season. Of course, there was really only one writer who had a big part on the show – Matt Albie (played by Matthew Perry).

It was a drama about a comedy show, but the skits weren’t funny. In fact, much of the show was decidedly unfunny.

This I don’t buy. As far as the skits go, there weren’t very many of them, but Sarah Paulson’s impersonation of Juliette Lewis and The Nic Cage Show were both pretty good. If the folks on SNL can’t come up with consistently funny material, I don’t know why we have such high expectations for Sorkin. I thought the rest of the show was decidedly funny. Especially the relationships between the four main characters – Albie, Harriet Hayes (Paulson), Danny Tripp (Bradley Whitford) and Jordan McDeere (Amanda Peet).

The cast was a bad fit. Aside from Matthew Perry (who was a wonderful surprise) and Timothy Busfield (who was underused), not much else worked.

Paulson and Peet were both terrific, and Whitford fit the Lorne Michaels-mold well. I also thought Steven Weber was hilarious as network president Jack Rudolph, and I wasn’t a fan of “Wings.”

The article goes on to point out all the perceived problems with the show. In the end, it’s hard to argue that America hasn’t grown tired of Sorkin’s writing and creative style. “The West Wing” was still going strong creatively, but saw a dip in ratings over the last few seasons. Even the writer’s fans weren’t sticking with “Studio 60” throughout the season.

But that makes me wonder – when there’s a deathwatch attitude surrounding a show from the get go, are there a certain of number of viewers who bail early because they don’t want to become invested in the show only to have it cancelled? Would the show have done better in the ratings if viewers could watch it in a vacuum?

Of course, this is just a paper in Evansville writing about the demise of the show. It hasn’t officially been cancelled. Maybe there’s still hope.

External TV, TV, TV Comedies, TV Dramas

American Idol: No Real Surprises

March 1, 2007 /

So tonight’s “American Idol” results show featured a group performance that was slightly better than last week, but still typically annoying. The group did “Joy To the World” and all I could think is that Sundance Head is one big bullfrog.

Then the guys were lined up and as always, Ryan Seacrest sent them back to the pack one by one:
Phil, Chris Sligh, Sundance (ugg), Blake and Jared all were safe. The first to go? Nick Pedro. Looks like America didn’t “Vote for Pedro” as he had pleaded for them to. Simon reiterated that Nick is a good singer but lacked charisma, and in the end that’s what did him in.

Then the girls were up. Staying in Hollywood: Stephanie, Gina, Sabrina, and Melinda (duh!). Then Alaina was sent packing. This wasn’t a huge surprise to most people, but it was somewhat humorous to watch Alaina try to sing her way out while crying. She literally could not get the words out.

Then we were treated to a performance by one of last season’s finalists, Kellie Pickler. Kellie has been turned into a country star and announced that she was going to be touring in support of her gold album, supporting Brad Paisley. Also in attendance were Kellie’s new boobs…..I mean, how could you miss those things? I don’t remember them last season, so either they are a gift from her record label or she was just pushing them out from the inside. Also, her dress and hairstyle made her look ten years older than she is. Maybe fifteen. It’s like Nashville decided they wanted to turn Kellie into a Brentwood soccer mom. (those of you who don’t live in Nashville, insert some ritzy suburb in for Brentwood). And her performance made me think that her and Carrie Underwood would both be completely outclassed by at least four of this season’s females.

Then it was back to business. Chris Richardson and Brandon were safe, leaving Sunjaya and AJ. Judging by Tuesday’s performances, everyone was pretty sure Sunjaya would be going home, most of all Sunjaya. But it was AJ. I’m almost sure Sunjaya bought a non-refundable plane ticket home yesterday and he was thinking of how he was going to get the show to reimburse him. Randy and Paula thought the voters were wrong, and I don’t disagree completely, but I do think Sunjaya was way worse than AJ and Nick.

Then it was the girls’ turn again. Lakisha and Haley were safe, and Ryan asked Antonella, Leslie and Jordin to come out front. Antonella was sent back, surprising pretty much everyone in the world. But once that happened, you had to know it would be Leslie. And it was. I mean, Jordin is too loveable to be sent home this early. So Leslie sang and right as the credits were rolling she changed her lyrics to “I knew I shouldn’t have done the scat thing”….pretty funny Leslie, now enjoy the rest of your career. Seriously, she’s not that bad, just kind of weird.

So Nick, AJ, Alaina and Leslie all went home tonight. We all know that despite their awful vocal ability, Sunjaya and Antonella keep getting votes, but at the end of the day no one should be surprised at the outcome tonight. Everyone that went home was vulnerable.

Another week, and now we’re down to 16. After next week we’re down to the final 12. Where is the time going? We’re all having way too much fun, aren’t we? Well, not nearly as much fun as Kellie Pickler’s boobs. See y’all next week!

American Idol, TV

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