Rod's TV Files

Apocalypse Now: Thoughts on Supernatural 5x01 “Sympathy for the Devil”

2009-09-16T00:50:00.010-04:00

Better late than never, here are my thoughts on Supernatural's awesome season 5 premiere, "Sympathy for the Devil." (For those living under rocks – or on vacations away from their DVR's – be advised that there be spoilers ahead.)

"Sympathy for the Devil" picked up right where the season four finale ended: Lucifer’s essence is rising out of the depths; the meat-suit corpses of the defeated Lilith and the treacherous Ruby lie on the ground (and conveniently just out of camera range); and the brothers Winchester, reunited at last, stare at the swirling, violent presence heading towards them and towards the planet – the end result of the fruits of their season four labors. Sam looks at Dean. Dean looks at Sam. And then, bam!, season five is off and rolling. And what a great season it's going to be, if the premiere is any indication.

(Rod interrupts this blog to beg everyone's pardon for the potential random ordering of his thoughts on the premiere episode beyond this point. Also, Rod wants to let everyone know that he has yet to read any other reviews of the premiere, so any similarities to other SnOb's or blogger's viewpoints is just a sign of like minded thinking – not of blog copying. Similarly, if there are opinions below that completely contradict other bloggers, it's purely coincidental and not a call to battle. Rod will now stop talking about himself in the third person.)

Thunderstruck
"The Road So Far" segment wasn't set to Kansas' Wayward Son, but we may have gotten the next best thing. Only a few seconds into AC/DC's Thuderstruck and I was completely digging the recap… both the music and the selected scenes. The opening montage seemed to focus exclusively on season four events (i.e., the introduction of the angels, Castiel's involvement with the brothers, Sam's addiction, etc.). Very little was flashed on from the first three seasons, indicating to me that season 5 is moving full speed ahead with the expanded mythology of season 4 and not looking back. I'm cool with that, and I'm not worried that the potentially epic-scale storylines will take away from the real heart of the show: two brothers, against the world, saving people. (Yes, the brothers now have an MIA renegade angel on their side, but I think the core of the show will remain the same nonetheless.)

Broken Trust
A recurring theme throughout the episode was Dean's avoidance of discussing Sam's role in unleashing Lucifer and also in avoiding any chick flick moments in which Sam attempted to explain how sorry he was. Only at the episode's end did we learn the real reason that Dean didn't want to discuss the issue: because facing the truth meant admitting how much Sam had hurt him and how much that betrayal had fundamentally fractured their relationship and destroyed Dean's trust in Sam. As painful as it was for viewers to watch Dean reluctantly drop that bombshell on his brother, it made for great television; and let's be honest: it had to happen. No way could Sam and Dean pick up this season as if nothing had happened. Like Dean said, Sam chose a demon over his own brother (a brother who gave his life for him), and that's not something you can forgive and forget so easily.

Captain Awesome
If Castiel wasn't ubercool enough last season, then how bloody fantastic was he in this season's premiere? Renegade angel or not, Castiel's two minutes of screen time were possibly the best two minutes of the entire ep. Castiel's sudden appearance at the storage locker jumping in and kicking some serious angel ass and saving the brothers from Zachariah was full-on awesome. I'm psyched that Misha has been upgraded to a series regular, especially given that the character was supposedly killed (or “smote”) by the archangel after the events of last season’s finale.

Are You There, God?
Castiel's unexplained resurrection, Sam and Dean's mysterious rescue and relocation to the airplane, and Sam's rapid, symptom-free withdrawal from his demon blood addiction all point to the presence of some supremely powerful, off-screen character. It's gotta be God, right? Zachariah's fear when he realized that Castiel had been saved confirmed my suspicions: Zachariah and the angels are working outside of Big Daddy’s plan, so He took a few matters into his own hands and rescued Cas and the brothers.

The Sword of Michael... Er, Not So Fast
I'm anxious to read other viewers' opinions of Dean's actions in the storage locker, because I can see how they might be polarizing. Should Dean have given into Zachariah and Michael to save Bobby and Sam? My answer: no. Dean made the right call by not giving into the angels, even though it may have cost Bobby his legs and Sammy his lungs. The Winchesters have made far too many deals with devils in order to save each other, and every deal seems to have made matters worse; so Dean drawing his line in the sand, crippled by stomach cancer and with his brother suffocating behind him, and telling Zachariah to shove it, was unquestionably the right decision. (In my opinion)

The Bitch is Back
The return of the long-absent DemonMeg was, to be blunt, somewhat underwhelming. Meg (now played by creepy Rachel Miner) was on screen for less then five minutes. Given how much havoc Meg wreaked on the boys in season 1, and then again in her brief return in season 2, I expected a lot more from her this time around. Hopefully she'll have more to do in later eps; otherwise, I'm not sure I see the point in the series bringing her back at all. (Stop doubting, Rod. Remember: "In Kripke We Trust.")

Quickies:
• How the hell does Bobby not have one of those demon-possession protective tattoos?

• How long have the angels known that Dean is the sword of Michael? Did they know when they rushed into hell to rescue him?

• Molar in the hair? Kripke is seriously twisted sometimes.

• Samlicker81. MoreThenBrothers.net. Gotta love the writer’s for poking a little fun at themselves, and some of their more, uh, "creative" fans.

• Lucifer is Rising (and there's a whole twitter war to prove it), and he's embodied by Mark Pellegrino. Pellegrino has been landing some seriously high profile guest starring roles over the last few years (most notably Dexter and Lost), and he seems like a perfect choice to play Lucifer and his emotionally shattered meat-suit.

• Ellen is back next week!!

Thanks for reading, everyone! (Oh, and just in case it wasn't clear or in case I didn't say it definitively enough: I loved this episode.)

50 Things I Didn't Say in the Last Four Months (part 10 of 10)

2009-08-30T00:16:00.004-04:00

Part 10 of the "50 Things I Should Have Blogged About..."

• I really want Flash Forward to be awesome, and I suppose we'll find out soon enough if the show truly is the new Lost or not. Of all of the new fall dramas, Flash Forward may be the one that I'm looking forward to the most.

• In yet another sign of complete unoriginality and desperation, the CW is putting out a remake of Melrose Place this fall. And in yet another sign of Rod's inexplicable need to sample every new show that hits the airwaves, I'll be watching. Is it too early to declare this show the "worst new show of the season" without having seen a single episode? I watched the over-the-top original series, and I can't understand why the CW would ever try to recreate that niche. Oh wait, yes I can. They're completely desperate for any type of buzz or viewer attraction that they'll scrape the bottom of the barrel for previous hits that they can recast with a bunch of skinny, white people and feed it to the tweeny boppers of today under the label of "shows you mush watch in order to remain cool."

• Jay Leno is taking over the 10pm hour on NBC's primetime lineup every weeknight this fall. Let's be honest: I don't care how many promos NBC runs claiming that Americans want more comedy or that Jay Leno is the answer to the nation's emotional recession, we all know that this programming change is, in actuality, the networks form of surrender given their complete inability to find enough quality series that viewers will watch. It's a shame, and although NBC has my sympathies for their current predicament, they can't fool me into thinking that the Leno experiment is something other than what it really is: a huge white flag.

• Starz is still pursuing their foray into series programming, preparing to launch an ambitions retelling of Spartacus in early 2010. When I first heard about Starz's plan to retool the story as an hour-long weekly series on premium cable I was less than intrigued, but after this promo hit the internet, I was definitely paying attention. I'm psyched that I have Starz, and I can't wait to see this show hit the airwaves – even if only the 0.0001% of the population who have Starz are watching.

• Why the hell is Adam Rodriguez leaving CSI: Miami? And more importantly, with Delko's character gone and the possibility of a Celleigh/Delko happy ending obliterated, is there really any reason to continue watching the show?

50 Things I Didn't Say in the Last Four Months (part 9 of 10)

2009-08-29T00:13:00.007-04:00

Part 9 of the "50 Things I Should Have Blogged About..."

• I admit that I will be tuning in for The Vampire Diaries on the CW this fall and hoping that it exceeds expectations. Not having read any of the books (as I'm not a big fan of teen chick-lit, go figure), I'm assuming the show will be the CW's version of True Blood – less sex , violence, and mythology; more teen angst, heavy sighs, and pop music soundtracks. Regardless of how unoriginal the material may be in today's vampire-infused pop culture, I still want the show to do well to prove to the CW execs that the network doesn't have to fill every primetime hour with vapid models or 90’s remakes.

• HBO is going to shoot a pilot for A Game of Thrones, the first novel by George R. R. Martin in his not-yet-finished fantasy series "A Song of Ice and Fire." I had never heard of this book series before the HBO announcement, but after seeing all of the buzz and hype surrounding the pilot, I went out and read the first book. I liked it a lot, all 600+ pages of it, and I can't wait to see what HBO does with the material. I'm now in a race to finish the other three books in the series before I stumble upon any spoilers for them given how much internet activity this subject is now generating.

• Supernatural is coming back soon (September 10th), and not only has Misha Collins been promoted to a series regular this season, but Samantha Ferris is coming back for episode 2. Whoo-hoo! Also, how awesome is that new "O Death" promo?

• I remember reading on one of the countless TCA recaps that NBC was "retooling" Southland to focus primarily on the characters played by Ben McKenzie, Regina King, and Michael Cudlitz. That sounds good to me, as they're three of the best characters on the show; but I was also digging Shawn Hatosy and Kevin Alejandro as well, so hopefully they're not marginalized next season.

• I've never watched Stargate: SG-1 or Stargate: Atlantis. The few episodes, or segments of episodes, that I've seen over the past years have been, shall we say, less then fantastic. Not even the additions of Ben Browder and Claudia Black to the cast could keep me tuned in. However, the new spin-off, Stargate: Universe, looks like it might be completely different than its two predecessors. The promos are promising enough that I'll tune in and hope for the best.

50 Things I Didn't Say in the Last Four Months (part 8 of 10)

2009-08-28T00:10:00.006-04:00

Part 8 of the "50 Things I Should Have Blogged About..."

• It's great to see that Mad Men has charged out of the starting gate full speed ahead this season as opposed to the laborious, molasses-like start of season two. Also, kudos to the new additions to the cast (and guest cast) this year, especially Jared Harris and Ryan Cartwright.

• Royal Pains, I'm happy to say, continued USA network's trend of introducing quality, scripted dramas onto our summer line-ups. Granted, not all of the episodes were winners, but for the most part the show was a hit. Mark Feurstein finally found a show that's perfect for him, and the supporting and recurring cast members are all perfect fits as well. It's somewhat mystifying that USA network hasn't had a flop in years (maybe The Starter Wife, depending on your definition of the word "flop"), whereas the network's umbrella company, NBC Universal, can't get a break-out hit on NBC even if their lives depended on it.

• Speaking of NBC execs whose lives depended on getting a hit -- and I don't mean the following to be harsh -- but good riddance Ben Silverman. (You never should have dissed FNL, buddy.)

• I caught the Caprica pilot on DVD, and I am hooked. I can't wait for the show to premiere on tv and begin its weekly airings. Added bonus: James Marsters will be a recurring player in later episodes.

• I blogged a long time ago about my wish list for season 2 of Crash, but it doesn't look like the network took any of my suggestions. The website for the show's second season reveals that the show is going to be massively re-tooled, but unfortunately the cast changes aren't all positive. The characters of Bebe and Axel are gone, while the characters of Ben and Anthony are still around. It should have been the other way around. Oh well. The new cast additions (Eric Roberts, Linda Park, Jake McLaughlin) look promising, and at least the show has mercifully gotten rid of Cesar.

50 Things I Didn't Say in the Last Four Months (part 7 of 10)

2009-08-27T00:08:00.011-04:00

Part 7 of the "50 Things I Should Have Blogged About..."

• Here are my biggest Emmy nomination disses this year (shows): The Shield, Friday Night Lights, Battlestar Galactica, Chuck, and Supernatural.

• Biggest Emmy nomination disses this year (individuals): Walton Goggins (The Shield), Chloe Sevigny (Big Love), January Jones (Mad Men), Sprague Grayden (24), Krysten Ritter (Breaking Bad), Jensen Ackles (Supernatural), and Chris Lilley (Summer Heights High).

• Emmy got a lot of things wrong with this year's nominations (what else is new?), but I do have to compliment them for getting a few important things right: finally nominating Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad), Rose Byrne (Damages), and The Big Bang Theory... all of whom were tragically overlooked last season.

• I often wonder if the creators, producers, and other individuals involved with making The Secret Life of the American Teenager ever actually watch their own show. And if they do, can they actually be proud or pleased with the end result? It baffles to me to think that anyone involved with the production of that show could view any of their season two episodes and feel a sense of accomplishment with the fruit of their labors. The less-than-mediocre, often-laughable (sometimes nauseating) acting and writing is an affront to the show's promising premise and one-time status as a guilty pleasure. Nowadays, it's an effort for viewers to sit through an episode, and the only saving graces are India Eisley and an occasional witty remark that somehow made its way into the script.

• In general, why does it seem like the people on Britain's Got Talent are so much more talented than the folks on America's Got Talent? Am I the only one who’s wondering that? (sigh)

50 Things I Didn't Say in the Last Four Months (part 6 of 10)

2009-08-26T22:16:00.007-04:00

Part 6 of the "50 Things I Should Have Blogged About..."

• Torchwood: Children of Earth was another one of this summer's high points – but holy crap, was it dark and disturbing. [SPOILER ALERT] Ianto's death was deeply depressing and Jack's sacrifice (murder?) of his grandson was jaw-dropping. Even though I didn't always like where the story went on this show, it was still excellent summer television. I'm not sure where Torchwood: Season 4 will go, but as long as we get a season four (as it has yet to be announced) I'll be happy.

• True Blood has been having an awesome season this summer. The show started out well, picking up right were last season's finale left off, but the most recent run of episodes (the Godric and post-Godric ones) have been awesome, especially "I Will Rise Up." That episode, which ended with Godric and Sookie on the roof (if you saw it, you know what happened) was terrific television and was the first episode of the 2009-10 season to get an A+ from me. For a character who only lasted 3-4 episodes, Godric had an amazing impact on the story and on the show itself. His scene with Sookie on the rooftop cemented True Blood’s status as a show that is more than just summer escapism. Much more. There is only one episode left of the season, and I’m already dreading the year-long wait until it returns next summer.

• I've read an unfair share of Entourage hating this season (which, come to think of it, happens almost every season), but I'm not sure what all of the hate is about this year. Season 6 is, in my opinion, off to a great start. I'm really liking that E and Turtle are finally expanding their lives out of Vince's shadow; and any season that gives more screen time to Emmanuelle Chriqui (Sloan) is doing something right. Now if only E and Sloan would finally get back together, all would be well.

• The Closer's summer season has already ended, and before we close the books on it, I would be remiss if I didn't point out how great it was. The Closer is into its fifth season now, so it doesn't draw all of the media attention that newer and flashier shows get; but the series was a solid, reliable, and often-excellent hour of television each Monday night. No episode this summer scored below an A- for me, and that is a rare and terrific accomplishment.

• Will Army Wives ever be good again? Honestly, most weeks it feels like it's not worth watching anymore. The show has never yet matched its highpoint of the season two premiere – and that was over a year ago. Viewer loyalty has its boundaries, and Army Wives is certainly pushing those limits.

50 Things I Didn't Say in the Last Four Months (part 5 of 10)

2009-08-25T22:15:00.012-04:00

Part 5 of the "50 Things I Should Have Blogged About..."

• Of the summer's two new, nurse-centric shows (TNT's Hawthorne and Showtime's Nurse Jackie), Nurse Jackie is by far the superior series. Both shows attempted to tap into a model that has worked well for their respective networks: a strong, dramatic female lead for Hawthorne (that worked wonders for The Closer and Saving Grace) and a complex, dark-comedic lead for Nurse Jackie (that worked so well for Weeds, United States of Tara, and Secret Diary). The gap between the quality of these two new shows is staggering, especially considering the caliber of both casts. Nurse Jackie became one of the best shows of the summer – and possibly one of the best new shows of the season – while Hawthorne became nothing more than an exercise in viewer patience and frustration.

• Primeval went through some huge cast changes this season that I wasn't expecting. Only two of the original main five cast members are still around, yet the show was able to successfully rebuild its new core team in a way that kept me tuned in and invested. Unfortunately, despite the show's decent reinvention, the season finale was unquestionably the worst episode of the season. What a disappointment.

• I’ve been watching TNT's new show Dark Blue this summer, and it's generally grading in the "B+" range, which isn't bad; but it has potential to be so much better yet isn't delivering on its full promise. I think the main problem with the series is that the show is trapped in the procedural template (much like every other Jerry Bruckheimer show), but it would work so much better as a serial. Forcing the team in-and-out of an elaborate undercover situation each week stretches the bounds of believability and makes the show a little less easy to buy into. Also, the general lack of character continuity from episode to episode (another drawback of many procedurals) isn't doing the show any favors either. If the show was able to function more as a serialized drama and really follow the inner turmoil of the squad from week-to-week as they fight their inner demons while confronting the line between "good cop" and "going too far" then I think TNT would have another winner on its hands. Unfortunately, thats not happening.

• For a summer show on the Lifetime network, Drop Dead Diva is surprisingly non-sucky and somewhat endearing. In fact, it's actually pretty darn good. Brooke Elliott is a major surprise find and she turns this show into something well worth watching and something far superior in execution than how the show's tag line reads on paper.

• Monk’s final season is sadly upon us, and the show now has 12 episodes (and shrinking) to reveal to us the identity of Trudy's killer. I read an interview with Tony Shalhoub over at TheFutonCritic.com in which he says that the killer won't be revealed until the final two episodes. I'm ok with that, but he better not be lying. If Monk ends without ever revealing the identity of Trudy's bomber -- and how that revelation impacts Monk and Co., -- then I (and millions of viewers, I presume) am going to be royally pissed.

50 Things I Didn't Say in the Last Four Months (part 4 of 10)

2009-08-24T20:33:00.006-04:00

Part 4 of the "50 Things I Should Have Blogged About..."

• Pushing Daisies received the summer burn-off treatment from ABC, giving viewers at least a little smidgen of closure on the series. I personally didn't find those last few episodes to be anywhere near the show's strongest hours, but I was grateful that the door was left open on multiple happy endings for the characters before the final curtain came down: Olive and Randy Mann; Emerson and Simone; Chuck and her aunts; Chuck and Ned. It's a sad reality that shows like Pushing Daisies can't survive on network television anymore. Fans of the show will just have to content ourselves with the memories of the good thing we had when we had it.

• 16 and Pregnant, overall, was oddly fascinating and compelling in ways that I can't quite explain. The adoption episode had me (me!) a little chocked up; and my sister told me it made her cry when she watched it. Who would have thought that MTV was still capable of producing non-garbage reality television? Kudos.

• Being Human, a new show this summer on BBC America, was a real freshman winner. It was fun, dark, witty, serious, and addictive. Six episodes was a tragically too-short season for a show this cool. Hopefully the series will be back soon with a longer second season.

• NBC's freshman summer line-up was pretty bunk, no? Merlin, The Listener, and The Philanthropist were all pretty underwhelming. The Listener didn't even get to finish its run (although you can watch the last five eps on-line if anyone truly cares). Here's hoping that the new shows on NBC's fall slate will be significantly better – although judging from the previews I've seen so far, I'm not holding my breath.

• I wish that Warehouse 13 was better. It has such potential, yet it never delivers. Eddie McClintock and Joanne Kelly are great together, but they're forced to work with silly scripts and sub par writing that keeps them – and the show – from really succeeding. What could have been a cool Bones meets X-Files hybrid instead has turned out to be another mediocre procedural. I'm still hopeful that the show will get better, but only time will tell.

50 Things I Didn't Say in the Last Four Months (part 3 of 10)

2009-08-23T20:30:00.008-04:00

Part 3 of the "50 Things I Should Have Blogged About..."

• Sad to see that Kings is now dead and gone. The show wasn't perfect, but it certainly had its moments. I could list a dozen reasons why the show failed, the chief culprits being NBC's inability to market the series successfully and the often-wooden acting by some of the cast members; but overall, I have to applaud NBC's attempt at putting this show on the air in the first place, and I've also got to give kudos to Ian McShane, Susanna Thompson, and Sebastian Stan for turning in consistently great performances each week.

• FOX's failed pilot, Virtuality, aired towards the end of June, and my immediate thought after watching the 2-hour program was: "why the hell didn't FOX order this pilot to series?" Virtuality certainly deserved to move forward. The pilot was very well done and had a great cast, unique premise, compelling storylines, and intriguing mysteries that could have made for appointment viewing. Granted, had FOX picked up the show to series, the network geniuses over there most likely would have killed the show by placing it on their Friday night death-slot; but still, the show should have at least gotten the chance.

• Kristin at E! posted an interview with the creators of Eli Stone in which they revealed to her how some of the characters' storylines would have ended. If you've read that article, you know that some of the endings would have been different than those shown in the finale; if you haven't read the article, then here's a big 'ol SPOILER ALERT. I was ok with the big revelation that Eli and Maggie don't end up together and that Eli instead ends up with Grace and Maggie ends up with Eli's brother – bringing a sense of consistency to the season 1 flashforward in which Maggie was seen with that baby. Those endings would have worked just fine for me. I'll miss Eli Stone. It was a worthy show that ended long before it should have.

• Harper's Island ended up being a total surprise. It started out as a complete mockery of scripted television, but it grew into something unexpectedly addictive and actually worth watching. I called the murderer from the first episode, but that didn't lessen the enjoyment and humor of the final eps for me. If there was an award for a show that most improved within a season, Harper's Island would own that trophy.

• The biggest flop of the summer – and there were many – was probably ABC Family's horrid teen gymnast series Make It of Break It. I watched the first three episodes, and I want those three hours of my life back. It's unbelievable how horrible that show is/was. How the hell this garbage is on the network while Kyle XY is dead and buried is a cruel mystery of the tv universe. An even crueler mystery is how folks are actually watching this show without gouging their eyes out and how "legitimate" tv sites (I'm looking at you E!) promote the show as something worth your time. Nothing could be further from the truth.

50 Things I Didn't Say in the Last Four Months (part 2 of 10)

2009-08-22T19:09:00.003-04:00

Part 2 of the "50 Things I Should Have Blogged About..."

• Although it's been months since the season finale, I would be remiss if I didn't point out that Breaking Bad was absolutely awesome last season – hands down, one of the best shows of the year. If you're not on board with this show yet, I highly recommend catching up. Season 1 was strike-shortened, but good; and season 2 was off the charts. I know this will sound sacrilegious to many, but Breaking Bad was the superior show on AMC last year (yes, that means better than Mad Men).

• Glee seems to be the most highly anticipated series of the fall season in some circles. I watched last spring's pilot episode and I liked it well enough. I especially liked the cover of Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" sung by the show's cast and probably listened to it at least 100 times over the summer. I'm hopeful that the show, and the music, will be just as good when it premieres again in September. Glee does have one major drawback, however, and it's a drawback that's hard to overlook: the inconsistent audio dubbing during the musical numbers. If you've seen the show (or the extended previews), you know what I'm talking about as it was too obvious to ignore. They've got to find a way to clean that up somehow, otherwise it's going to be the major drawback to the series.

• I didn't say much (if anything) about Dollhouse last spring, which is a shame because Dollhouse does not deserve to be ignored. The series admittedly had a relatively weak opening for me, and it definitely struggled in the first few weeks – especially with a few of the "stand alone" episodes. However, around the midway point, Dollhouse transformed itself into the awesomeness that is the Whedon trademark, and it became one of the best new shows of the season. So much good stuff was packed into those last few episodes, and I'm highly anticipating the start of season 2. If the network suits keep their hands out of Joss Whedon's vision and storytelling, then I think season 2 will rock. (It remains to be seen how the events of the DVD-only 13th episode, Epitaph One, will be incorporated into the second season premiere. That episode rocked, by the way.)

• I never blogged about the season of finale of Smallville last year, and since it's now been three months since it aired, I feel I can safely post my comments now without hiding them behind a spoiler alert. (However, if you're wary, be warned now that the next few sentences will discuss the season eight finale… so, uh, I guess there's a spoiler warning after all.) Killing off Jimmy Olsen was a crazy move, and I honestly never expected the show to go there. When the previews were teasing two significant deaths, I was sure it would be Doomsday and Tess, but I was only half right. Doomsday was dispatched (and what a shame to lose Sam Witwer), and so was poor Jimmy. In a clever twist, viewers learned at Jimmy's funeral that Aaron Ashmore's Jimmy was actually the older brother of "the real" Jimmy Olsen from the comic book mythology, thus keeping the main strings of the Superman gospel in tact. It was truly a heartbreaking ending, but it was also great television.

• The finale of Dirty Sexy Money, much like its entire sophomore season, sucked. It sucked hard, and then it swallowed. What a complete waste of time... even for a summer burn-off. If there was any redeeming value in the finale, it was only that long-time, loyal viewers finally discovered the answer to the show's oldest mystery: who killed Nick George's father. (Spoiler alert: no one killed him after all; he's apparently still alive in hiding somewhere and manipulating everyone behind the scenes. Whatever.)

50 Things I Didn't Say in the Last Four Months (part 1 of 10)

2009-08-21T18:57:00.005-04:00

Part 1 of the "50 Things I Should Have Blogged About..."

• 24's seventh season, which wrapped in May, dealt heavily with the theme of redemption. Redemption for Jack Bauer of all the guilt that he's carried over the years. However, the season was also one of redemption for the show itself, as the excellent and stellar DC-set, seventh worst day in Jack’s life obliterated any memory of the sub-par sixth season the show suffered a year earlier. Without question, 24 was back in top form last year; and it's important to say so up-front because I don't want anyone thinking that the nitpicking that follows is any indication of how I viewed the season in general. "What nitpicking?" you may ask. And I answer: "I hated the way Sprague Grayden's storyline wrapped up. HATED it."

• Although it happened months ago, I still get mad anytime I think about the viewer f—cking that was the Prison Break finale. Seriously, what the hell were the writers thinking?? Michael and Sara don't get a happily ever after?? Are you freakin' kidding me?

• Speaking of series finales, on the opposite end of the spectrum, how awesome and satisfying was the Battlestar Galactica closer? I loved it (even though it was a tad drawn out and left a few lingering questions), and I was thrilled with some of the closing events, particularly: Team Agathon getting a happy ending together; Chief getting justice on Tori for the murder of Cally; the answer to the Opera House visions; the answer to the nature of HeadSix and HeadBaltar; and the fitting ending to Starbuck’s character. Well done, Team BSG. And thank you.

• I'm still a little bummed that Without a Trace was cancelled at the end of last year. I understand that it was a hard business decision for CBS and that they felt forced to choose only one show between Without a Trace and Cold Case for the fall 09 roster. However, I’m not 100% sure that they chose correctly between the two options. I suppose only time will tell. It remains up to viewers’ imaginations now to decide whether or not Sam would have ended up with Jack (I hope not), Baby-Daddy Brian (not bad), or somehow, someway, gotten back together with Martin (yay!). At least the season/series finale ended in cool way, with that quick montage of all of the season 7 "cases of the week" flashing on the marker board as the team left the office for Danny and Elena's wedding, all set to the song "The Wind That Blows" by Pierce Faccini. (It took me forever to find out the name of that song, btw.)

• It sucks that Privileged isn’t coming back; not even as a mid-season replacement. The horribly vapid-looking Beautiful Life got a place on CW schedule instead. Whatever. Another genius move by Ostroff, I’m sure.

I Last Posted 107 Days Ago... but the Hiatus is Now Over.

2009-08-20T02:47:00.006-04:00

I blinked my eyes and nearly four months seems to have passed by in an instant. It's hard to believe that I haven't posted an update to this blog since the beginning of May. Crap, where did all of that time go? Since that last post, life has essentially been consumed by: work, work, more work, a little sleep, even more work, a most awesome and glorious two-week beach vacation, and then back to work and more work. Through it all, however, my trusty DVR has been faithfully recording all of my shows for me (as well as a slew of new summer series), and we've finally gotten up to speed with everything just in time for the new fall season to begin.

Since last May, there have obviously been a slew of tv-related happenings that deserved commenting on by yours truly (i.e., finales, premieres, cast changes, plot twists, spoilers, new shows, summer flops, etc.), but they were all sadly ignored by me and my blog. In an effort to make up for the nearly four-months-long lack of updates, what follows is an unceremonious barrage of the 50 things I should have blogged about over the last three months - broken up into ten parts for reader (and author) sanity. Enjoy!

It's good to be back...

Thoughts on Monday Night's Show

2009-05-05T16:44:00.010-04:00

Some thoughts on Monday night's shows:, including 24, Castle, CSI: Miami, Gossip Girl, House, How I Met Your Mother, In Treatment, and The Big Bang Theory.

(SPOILERS AHEAD)...

• 24 - It is irrefutable now (with only 3 hours to go) that 24 has completely rebounded from its lackluster season 6 and delivered a fantastic, knock-out season 7 -- and it ain't over yet. Does anybody else think that Aaron Pierce had Hodges killed without Olivia's knowledge? I think so. And I further think that him doing is awesome.

• Castle - I am really liking Castle these days. Last night's ep was the first "A" episode of the show for me, and it's more proof that Castle has been saving its best for last. I hope ABC gives us a second season. I feel like the show is finally growing into the great show that we all knew it could be, and hopefully ABC will let it continue.

• CSI: Miami - For those of us paying close attention, I think the show had its first actual Caruso/Procter scene in which the actors appeared together -- not with body doubles or split screens or any of the other technological wizardry the show employs to keep their feud from becoming public knowledge -- in a long time. It looked like the car trunk scene in last night's ep required the two of them to actually be in the scene together. (If you have no clue what I'm talking about regarding the Caruso/Procter feud and how the show shoots around them individually, then don't worry about it.)

• Gossip Girl - Who would have guessed that the return of Georgina Sparks would be the "spark" that this show needed to jump it back into high gear. After stumbling along or coasting by for far too long, Gossip Girl finally delivered an "A" episode on Monday night. "Tell Jesus that the bitch is back" has just become 2009's equivalent of "Welcome to the O.C., bitch!" In other Gossip Girl news, Kristin at E! revealed who is playing the son of Lilly and Rufus and when he'll be appearing on the show. That link is here.

• House - Ok, not that I want House to be insane or anything, but I would love to see more of Anne Dudek as Amber. She was, without a doubt, a superior HeadGhost to Denny on Grey's this season. I do love me some JDM, but the GhostDenny storyline was tragically awful and there's no way of avoiding it. GhostAmber, on the other hand, was all kinds of awesome.

• How I Met Your Mother - Oh man, what a great episode this was! I'm no longer a Stella fan, after she left Ted at the alter, but gosh darn it, her return at the end of this episode was the sweet icing on an already delicious cake. The ep was complete with: tons of laugh, expanding mythology, and inside jokes and easter eggs for the long-term fans (interventions! the yellow umbrella!). I don't think that Stella is the mother, but I think that she must play some type of very instrumental role in ultimately introducing Ted to the real mother. Also: Barney possibly settling down to make a long-term play for Robin? Love it!

• In Treatment - Color me surprised, but I actually felt kinda bad for Daddy Luke this week. Kudos to Russell Hornsby for making me care. I have to admit that I started out this season liking the Oliver episodes the least, but now they're some of the most compelling sessions of the show.

• The Big Bang Theory - Penny secretly likes Leonard! And he now knows it. Whoo-hoo!

Thoughts on Sunday Night's Shows

2009-05-04T01:00:00.000-04:00

Some thoughts on Sunday night's shows: Breaking Bad, Brothers and Sisters, Cold Case, Family Guy, In Plain Sight, In Treatment, Sit Down, Shut Up, The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, and The Tudors.

(SPOILERS AHEAD)...

• Breaking Bad - Another excellent episode. How can two guys trapped in a winnebago cooking meth for four days make for such compelling television? And that ending in the doctor's office? Awesome on so many levels.

• Brothers and Sisters - Can we all agree that we're over this Ryan Lafferty nonsense? Can we all also agree that the writers completely wasted this character? Also, kudos to Matt Letscher for turning in a solid performance as the guy who almost stole Kitty away from McAllister.

• Cold Case - The first part of the 2-hour Pearl Jam-infused season finale was pretty darn good. Cold Case hasn't been as great this year as it has been in previous years, but at least it's poised to go out with a bang. Or a splash. (See what I did there.)

• Family Guy - Lauren Conrad is a good sport, and Set MacFarlane is a genius. This was one of the funniest eps of the season.

• In Plain Sight - I don't want to get my hopes up too high, but might we finally be witnessing the decades-overdue emotional maturation (is that a real word?) of Jinks and Brandi (Mary's mother and sister)? It's about bloody time. Also, I hope Joshua Malina comes back. I was digging his character's chemistry with Brandi.

• In Treatment - Mia was kinda annoying this week, but April's session was all kinds of awesome (as usual). Alison Pill has been really great in this role.

• Sit Down, Shut Up - I'm done. Three strikes and you're out. What a disappointment.

• The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency - Another slow hour. This show could be really good... if only it would pick up the freakin' pace!

• The Tudors - It can't be long now until the downfall of Cromwell. I hope his destruction is bloody awesome.

Last Week in Brief Review

2009-05-03T20:33:00.029-04:00

Last week completely sucked on the work-front, with way too many 14-hour days (or longer). Although I'm thrilled to still be employed in this recession, last week was pretty horrific at the office. Now that the crisis has subsided and I've finally caught up with all of my shows on the DVR, here are some quick thoughts on the highs and lows of last week.

(SPOILERS AHEAD for several of last week's shows)...

• Chuck - First and foremost, Chuck's finale was all kinds of awesome. It was everything you could want in a season finale, and I pray to the tv gods that NBC does the right thing and renews this blessed show for a third season.

• Heroes - On the opposite end of the spectrum, the Heroes season finale was just one step above a pile of crap. It continues to amaze me how far this show has fallen. Poor Greg Gunberg and James Kyson Lee. They both survived the finale and will now be forced to suffer another season of horrid writing and ridiculous plots.

• 24 - I know we're supposed to view Olivia as a bad girl, but I'm personally rooting her on in her quest to get vengeance against Jonas Hodges. Also: welcome back, Chloe!

• NCIS - I was hoping to like the NCIS potential spin-off a little more than I did. Hopefully next week's conclusion will be better. I'm cool with the Chris O'Donnell and LL Cool J characters, but I wasn't a fan of Louise Lombard as the Special Ops Team Leader, nor was I happy to see Ziva's mystery man as a potential big baddie.

• American Idol - I was pretty surprised that Adam landed in the bottom two last week. That was certainly unexpected. If Allison was in the top two, and Adam in the bottom, does this mean that the race is theoretically wide open now?

• Lost - Ugh. When is Lost going to get out of this crappy 1970's-centered rut? I could tolerate it at first, but now I'm actively disliking it. Strongly disliking it.

• In Treatment - I haven't blogged much about In Treatment this season, but I have definitely been watching it regularly and I'm happy to report that season two is just as good as season one (which is to say, pretty damn good). Last week was good all around, and it also brought us the best April ep and the best Oliver ep of the season to date.

• Supernatural - Thursday's Castiel-centric ep (or Jimmy-centric ep, to be more accurate) was another winner. There were a ton of things that the episode did right, but unfortunately there were also some blunders that could not go unnoticed and so I had to give the episode an "A-" instead of an "A." The drawbacks for me were: the limited use of Anna, the occasionally subpar writing/dialogue, and the overall predictability of how the episode would end -- including what happened to Castiel and what happened to Sammy.

• Smallville - As the season quickly comes to a close for Smallville, the show is definitely stepping up its game. Thursday's ep was great, and that is really saying something considering that Erica Durance was completely MIA for the hour.

• Dollhouse - Dollhouse has become nothing short of awesome in the second half of the season. It's morphed from an "iffy" sci-fi show into the full-blown appointment-viewing series worthy of the Joss Whedon name. Last week's ep ("Briar Rose") was the best episode of the season yet, and it makes me sad to know that the season will be over next week. And possibly, the series as well.

• Prison Break - I don't care what Michael's mother said about Michael and Lincoln's biological non-brotherhood. Michael and Lincoln are brothers, and that's all there is to it. They don't have to be blood related to still be brothers. It was a crazy twist/revelation, though. Also: when will we ever see Sucre again??

The Tudors: Farewell, Queen Jane

2009-04-27T23:32:00.007-04:00

Kudos to The Tudors for having their best episode of the season yesterday. Last week's ep was good, but yesterday's ep was great. Some awesome stuff all around, especially from Queen Jane, King Henry, Suffolk, and Lady Mary.

Some thoughts... (SPOILERS AHEAD)...

• RIP, Queen Jane. We knew from the history books that you wouldn't be long for this world (or the show) after the birth of Prince Edward, but still your death was extremely moving and sad. (It also made for some great television.)

• Henry and Mary are finally reunited (thanks to Jane), and it's really nice to see Henry acting like a human, loving father to his children again. With Jane now gone, I wonder how long it will take for Henry to turn to his old ways.

• Loved the little moment between Lady Mary and 8 year old Princess Elizabeth where the future Queen says that "boys aren't more important than girls."

• When will someone give Henry Cavill his own show as the series lead? This guy is awesome, and although we're loving him as Suffolk on The Tudors, he really does deserve his own starring vehicle.

• Joss Stone enters the picture next week as Anne of Cleeves (wife #4). Can the fall of Cromwell be far behind? (Spoiler alert: wikipedia and the history books say 'no.' yay!)

Avoiding Suburbia and Other Horrible Comedies

2009-04-26T23:35:00.005-04:00

While I have a quick moment to do some catch-up blogging, I wanted to state for the record my immediate disinterest in several of this spring's new comedies. After just one episode of the shows listed below, I knew I was already over them. No chance of season pass for any of them on my DVR.

Here's what failed to make the cut and was eliminated from my line-up after just one ep:

• Surviving Suburbia (ABC),
• Krod Mandoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire (Comedy Central),
• Roommates (ABC Family), and
• Sophie (ABC Family).

Thumbs down to all of them.

Fixing CW's Thursday Mistakes: Smallville and Supernatural

2009-04-25T15:36:00.010-04:00

I won't say how, but I was just able to watch last Thursday's episodes of Supernatural ("Jump the Shark") and Smallville ("Stiletto") that the Pittsburgh CW affiliate didn't broadcast because they had "technical difficulties." Anyway, thanks to the fandoms (and not to iTunes), I was able to watch the eps.

I thought the Supernatural ep was great, and the Smallville ep was decent too.

A few thoughts...

• I used to always give Big Daddy Winchester a lot of leniency in how he raised the brothers after Mary's death. I know a lot of Supernatural fans aren't also BDW fans, and I used to try and defend John as much as I could to those folks. However, I have to be honest and admit that last night, I got really pissed at the guy. Thinking of all of the times that John left Dean to take care of Sammy while John himself slipped off to Wisconsin to go to a ballgame or do something "normal" with his "other" son really made me mad.

• So the little brother really was a half-brother and not just a demon trap (or ghoul trap, in this case) to mess with the boy's heads. John obviously had some pretty big secrets in his past. In a perfect world, Dean and Sam would go find Ellen and ask her to spill anything she knew about John's other secret life. I know it won't happen, but I sure would love to see Samantha Ferris on the show again someway, somehow. Maybe next year?

• The promos for next week look great. Even though it appears to be a Castiel-centric ep (to the dismay of many hardcore, old school, loyalists), I'm personally really looking forward to it.

• Smallville: Could Erica Durance get any hotter? Good Lord, that woman is gorgeous.

Southland: 3 for 3

2009-04-24T11:47:00.008-04:00

NBC's new Southland is now three for three. Three episodes aired so far: all of them either an A- or an A.

Last night's ep ("See the Woman") was another winner, and I kind of liked the shift the show took from trying to service all of the characters in one hour to focusing on a subset of them instead. Not that I was happy to see Shawn Hatosy and Kevin Alejandro completely MIA or Regina King in only background scenes, but the show worked well last night by spending extra time on Ben McKenzie, Michael Cudlitz, and Arija Bareikis. (I could have done with a little less C. Thomas Howell though).

I'm still not convinced that...

... we've heard the whole story about what happened to Ben Sherman and his mom during the home invasion 15 years ago. I think there's more to the story that has yet to revealed.

I was going to give this an episode an A-, but then I loved that Sherman walked out on his dad in the closing moments without saying a word and I knew I had to give the episode an A.

Keep up the good work, Southland. (But pretty please don't keep Chuck from being renewed for a third season. This Leno-filled 2009-10 schedule nonsense is so wrong: making us actually root against some shows in order to get our other faves like Chuck renewed.)

Harper's Island: It's So Bad, It's Almost Good

2009-04-24T09:20:00.008-04:00

Aw man. Only one death in last night's episode? What gives?

And it wasn't even that nasty of a death. The ex boyfriend got shot in the boat while he was leaving the island. Not like the decapitations or mutilations that the other victims got. Lame.

Let's update the body count:

1. The cousin got tied up under the boat and mutilated by the engine blades;
2. Uncle Marty was hacked away from the waist down;
3. The priest was strung up in a trap and quickly decapitated;
4. The creepy childhood girl friend was found hanging to death;
5. The chick with the poodle was burned alive;
6. Hunter, the ex-boyfriend, was shot to death on the boat;

Here's a question: how come no one has noticed that the priest is missing, or that the wedding guest with the poodle is completely gone too? Wouldn't someone have noticed her absence from the festivities for an entire day??

Grey's Anatomy: Izzie is Dying, but Does Anybody Care?

2009-04-24T09:19:00.008-04:00

Wouldn't it be awesome if Grey's Anatomy cut out all the bullshit and melodrama and focused primarily on Miranda (Chandra Wilson), Owen (Kevin McKidd), Christina (Sandra Oh) and Callie (Sara Ramirez), and pushed everyone else to the background -- or even off of the show altogether?

That would be awesome.

Until that glorious day, I guess we're still stuck dealing with all the nonsensical Izzie drama, the Mer/Der Lifetime movie crap, the producers horrid attempts to hide Lexie's real-life pregnancy by making the character overeat, and the long-overdue but incredibly disappointing face off between Alex and George.

But kudos to Chandra Wilson and the others who still make the show worth watching.

The Beast: Going Out With a Whimper

2009-04-24T09:18:00.005-04:00

A&E's freshman season of The Beast wrapped up last night. I would be lying if I said I was thrilled with the season finale. I was hoping for more.

Too much Barker (Swayze) and nowhere near enough Ellis and Rose (Travis Fimmel and Lindsay Pulsipher) for my tastes. Plus...

...making Pamela Reed the secret big bad was not cool; and it was also kinda predictable.

Infuriating "Technical Difficulties" at the CW

2009-04-24T09:17:00.005-04:00

I. Am. Pissed.

The stupid CW affiliate in the region was having "technical difficulties" last night and, as such, could not air the new episodes of Supernatural ("Jump the Shark") and Smallville ("Stiletto"). The station flashed a message across the bottom of the blank screen that apologized for the "inconvenience" and thanked viewers for their "patience."

Um, are you freakin' kidding me? An "inconvenience," folks? Missing a brand new Supernatural and a Lois-centric Smallville after a four week absence for both shows is much, much more than just an "inconvenience." It's a downright bloody catastrophe. Heads should roll!!

So I have yet to see either episode. The station hasn't announced when they will re-air the episodes... and they probably won't. And the CW website is horribly out of date and doesn't have the episodes on-line either. Looks like I'm shelling out $3.00 each on iTunes unless the fandom posted some decent youtube copies. (sigh).

The Office: The Gang's Back Together

2009-04-24T09:16:00.006-04:00

How awesome was last night's episode of The Office? I loved it.

Definite A+.

And what a great episode it was for the characters of Michael, Pam and most especially Jim.

It's episodes like this one that give credibility to people who say that The Office is the best sitcom on tv. It certainly was last night anyway.

Is Anybody Else Watching Better Off Ted?

2009-04-23T16:29:00.008-04:00

Quick question: has anybody else out there been watching ABC's midseason comedy Better Off Ted?

Follow-up question: if so, are you liking it?

I've seen all six episodes so far and I have yet to be significantly impressed. It's had a few good moments, but the episodes overall leave something to be desired. Better Off Ted is a lot like ABC's other comedies, In the Motherhood and Samantha Who: funny concepts with talented casts but also with poor execution and often hokey writing. In the Motherhood and Samantha Who were just benched by ABC, and I wouldn't be surprised if the hammer fell for Better Off Ted soon too.

Kings: Dethroned from Saturday Nights

2009-04-23T16:29:00.005-04:00

Well, this is a bummer. NBC's impressive yet risky Kings has just been booted from its Saturday slot on the schedule and will now get a summer burn-off. That's too bad. Kings wasn't awesome, but it was pretty damn good. It certainly deserved a bigger audience than it got...

... but what can you expect from a show that got shoved in as a lead-in for Celebrity Apprentice and lost all of its marketing push once the network realized that Southland would be their new crowned prince (bad pun intended).

Too bad. "Another [quality] one bites the dust."

American Idol: Two Sent Packing

2009-04-23T16:22:00.005-04:00

Awww. So long, Anoop. It was fun while it lasted, my friend. Too bad that you became a sacrifice of the double-elimination or you probably would have made it though to next week. (I'm assuming, of course, that Lil had the lowest number of votes and would have been the sole contestant going home last night if it wasn't for the double elimination brought about by saving Matt last week.)

Is it worth talking/blogging about how horrible the "legends of disco" performed last night?

No? Ok then. We'll spare ourselves the pain of reliving the nightmare. All 3 of them.

And don't even get me started on the craptastic group choreography number. What the frak was that all about?

Reaper:What the Hell Happened?

2009-04-22T21:13:00.004-04:00

Does anybody else remember when Reaper used to be good? When we actually laughed out loud (in a good way) at the antics of Sock and Ben; were fondly reminded of Moonlighting as we watched Sock and Josie spar with each other in a love/hate way; rooted for Ben and Andi to find a way to be together; were intrigued by the expanding mythology with the gay demon neighbors and their underground rebellion; and were even more intrigued by the mysterious backstory of Ben's parents and the secretive nature of their deal with the devil twenty years ago. Remember that?

What the hell happened to that show?

Seriously, where did it go?

The Reaper on tv now is nothing like the good old days of season one -- especially the last half of the season when the show was getting really good. Nowadays, in season two, the show is a mess and it's a creative nightmare. Has any show ever tanked so quickly as Reaper has? Maybe Heroes; but Reaper would be in close second.

What a shame.

American Idol: The Top 7 Perform (Again!)

2009-04-22T09:52:00.004-04:00

Wow. As talented as Danny Gokey and Kris Allen are, I think it's beyond clear by now that Adam Lambert is the lone frontrunner of the competition this year. In my opinion, the title of Idol champ is his to lose. (Provided, of course, that the cougars, tweens, and the evangelicals don't learn about his fondness for kissing dudes.)

My predictions for tonight's double elimination:

So long Matt and Lil.

The Unusuals: Still Looking Good

2009-04-22T09:41:00.007-04:00

ABC scrapped Cupid last night for a special showing of The Unusuals. I think they made the right call. The Unusuals turned in another solidly good ep in the timeslot (I gave it an A-), and in a direct comparison of the first three episodes between Cupid and The Unusuals, the latter wins hands down.

The quirky characters on The Unusuals are just quirky enough to be amusing and entertaining without being annoying or ridiculous. I like what I'm seeing, and I'll be tuning in for more.

In other Unusuals-related news... I searched on-line last night for the song that played during the end of the episode, but unfortunately I came up empty. While I was searching, I tried the ABC message boards to see if anyone had posted the song info there, and holy crap, there are a lot of angry, hateful people over there. What the hell, folks? It's just a tv show. If you don't like it, then don't watch it. No need to go to the network community boards and start trashing everyone. Good grief.

Cupid: The Gods Aren't Smiling Favorably

2009-04-21T01:50:00.005-04:00

It's probably not a good sign for Cupid that ABC yanked the show from its spot on tonight's Tuesday night line-up in place of The Unusuals, is it? This might be the beginning of the end for this blink-and-miss-it midseason replacement.

In ABC's defense....

... I have to admit that Cupid hasn't lived up to its potential. Not by a longshot. Three episodes into the season, and I have yet to be genuinely impressed. Such potential, but never realized. It looks like ABC isn't going to give the show a chance to find itself... or an audience.

Castle: Finding It's "A-" Game

2009-04-21T01:06:00.002-04:00

Finally! After going five weeks scoring B's or B+'s, Castle finally scored another A- (something it hasn't done since the pilot) with last night's episode "Home is Where the Heart Stops." It was great to see the show finally delivering on its potential, including...

... the continually evolving and extremely entertaining dynamic between Castle and Beckett; increased use of the rest of the ensemble (particularly John Heurtas and Seamus Dever); some great comedic moments; and some emotionally moving moments too.

All in all, it was a darn good episode and I would have graded it an "A" instead of an "A-" if it hadn't have been for the somewhat prolonged focus on the boring, retired jewel thieves in the first half of the ep.

24 Continues To Soar Into the Homestretch

2009-04-21T01:04:00.006-04:00

So it's official. Tony is a bad guy and that's all there is to it.

Soulpatch, how could you?

I still maintain that the twist to make Tony a bad guy after everything that happened in the beginning of the season was a brilliant turn of events and a stroke of creative genius; but I also have to admit that I'm still horribly saddened to see Almeida playing for the bad guys now. After everything that Tony (and Michelle) went through in previous seasons playing for Team Bauer and saving his life multiple times, it's kinda heartbreaking to see Tony as a full fledged member of the dark side.

In other 24 news, it deserves repeating that I think both Annie Wersching (Renee) and Sprague Grayden (Olivia) are awesome on the show this year.

Oh, and when is Chloe coming back??

Chuck: So Awesome.

2009-04-21T01:03:00.010-04:00

How awesome is Chuck in general, and how awesome was Chuck last night? So freakin' good! Man, I love this show. If NBC doesn't give us a third season, I don't know what I'll do.

Here are some of my quick thoughts on last night's truly awesome episode:

(SPOILERS AHEAD)

• Loved, loved, loved that Chuck finally told someone in his personal life about being the intersect. For the past two years, we've been waiting for someone on the non-CIA/NSA side of Chuck's life to discover the truth, and last night it finally happened. I never suspected that it would be Captain Awesome who would learn the truth before Ellie or Morgan; but I loved it all the same.

• Adam Baldwin. What more can I say about this guy then "hand him an emmy, people." I loved his scenes with Chuck and Sarah last night -- all of them -- but especially the final scene in which he accepts Chuck's invitation to the rehearsal dinner.

• The intersect is out of Chuck's head. Holy heck, talk about a game changer!

• Spoilers for next week's season finale claim that there is a "shocking death" before the end of the episode. Bryce Larkin (Matthew Bomer) is coming back, but I've got a horrible feeling that the death is going to be Morgan. Morgan's farewell to the Buy More was a great scene (getting the girl, getting his freedom, saying farewell to Chuck), but it also had an eerie sense of finality to it as well. I'm worried.

• NBC Execs, for the love of all that is holy, please, please, please renew Chuck for a third season.

Heroes: Will It Ever Get Good Again?

2009-04-21T01:03:00.007-04:00

I have one question for the creative "geniuses" behind Heroes: will the show ever stop sucking and get good again? Ever?

Here are a few other questions:

• Does anybody still care about any of these characters anymore?

• How many viewers can the show lose before NBC realizes that the show needs to be buried?

• Has any show ever creatively tanked so quickly and so horribly like this and still been allowed to air 25 freaking episodes in a season? 25!!??

• Which of our beloved, worthy bubble shows (Chuck? Life?) will lose a place on next year's schedule instead of Heroes?

• Why the hell am I still watching? Why can't I cut the cord already?

Bones: Oh Well, It Was Fun While It Lasted

2009-04-21T01:01:00.005-04:00

Well that's a bummer.

After having such a great episode last week, Bones sadly reverted to its less-than-excellent level of performance that it has been coasting on for most of the season. The squints do their version of Weekend at Bernies? Seriously? Come on, Bones, you're so much better than this!

And, uh, while I'm griping, let's keep Booth from doing any more solo vocal performances, ok?. It was cute last season when he and Bones sang Poco's Keep On Tryin' in the diner together, but his one-man, wannabe-gospel break out of Swing Slow Sweet Chariot last night was painful. Note to Hart Hanson and TPTB over there... not everything that Boreanaz does is adorable. Some risks shouldn't be taken. I'm just sayin'.

Milestone or Lowpoint?

2009-04-20T17:30:00.004-04:00

So, we've now officially surpassed the 1,500 hour mark for hours watched during the 2008-09 tv season... and we've still got a month and half to go. That's right, fifteen hundred hours so far. As a wannabe tv critic, is this much tv viewing justifiable and something to be proud of; or as a human being, is this amount of tv viewing considered excessive and something to be ashamed of?

I'm going with the former. Fifteen hundred sounds like an awful lot, but keep in mind that the clock started counting all the way back at the end of May 2008 (a long time ago) and that 99% of what I watch is viewed time-delayed on DVR which cuts out between 1/4 to 1/3 of the each show by avoiding all of the commercials. So it's not as bad as it sounds. Right?

The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency: The One We've Been Waiting For

2009-04-20T00:43:00.005-04:00

I complained last week that HBO's new show The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency had failed to grab my attention with any of the episodes it had aired yet, mentioning that my main objection to the show was how slow and kinda boring it was. Thankfully, last night's episode with the awesome CCH Pounder broke the mold and gave us the first solid and truly entertaining ep of the show this season.

The ep ("The Boy with the African Heart") was surprisingly well-paced, engaging, and moving. I finally felt like the show gave me a reason to care about the characters and a reason to keep tuning in on Sunday nights. Props to relative newcomer Jill Scott for her best episode to date. More props to Anika Noni Rose for stealing the show. And extra props to CCH Pounder for giving the show the much-needed spark that we've been waiting and hoping for.

Hopefully the show delivers the same quality of ep next week and the weeks to come instead of reverting back to the dull storylines and molasses-like pacing of the former eps.

An Odd Connection Between State of the Union and In Plain Sight

2009-04-20T00:27:00.001-04:00

Did anybody else notice that last night both In Plain Sight (USA) and State of the Union (Showtime) used the same song for pivotal moments in their episodes? Both shows used...

... "Down In the River to Pray" quite effectively; one for dramatic purposes and one for laughs. It worked well in both cases. I had never heard the song before, but I was impressed. I looked it up and I think it's a traditional folk song or hymn made popular again by Alison Krauss on the O Brother Where Art Thou soundtrack; but I could be wrong, so feel free to correct me.

I'm not really sure why this connection was worth blogging about, but at least it gives me an opportunity to mention how funny State of the Union was last night. It was definitely one of the better eps of the show to date.

In Plain Sight: The Marshalls Are Back

2009-04-20T00:24:00.003-04:00

USA's In Plain Sight returned for season 2 last night and I gave it an overall A-. My quick thoughts on the premiere:

(SPOILERS AHEAD, obviously)

• After the awesome season 1 finale, I was a tad underwhelmed by the show's return to normal episodes -- but I guess that's to be expected considering what a high note the show went out on last year. I still liked the ep, and I was glad to see Mary and Marshall again.

• I was also glad to see Dershowitz (Todd Williams) get a fair amount of screen time, and I hope that trend continues. I thought that Williams was significantly underused last season, so hopefully the show won't repeat the same mistake this year.

• No doubt that Mary's mother and sister are beyond annoying and frustrating, although I can understand why they are important to the show (i.e., the dramatization of Mary's needy family and dysfunctional personal life). However, that said, I was hoping the mother and sister would at least be slightly less annoying this season. That wasn't the case last night. In fairness though, the events of last night's episode took place only one day after the events of last season's finale, so I guess my expectation of a season-to-season attitude adjustment for these characters was unrealistic considering that less than 24 hours of time had actually gone by on the show.

• Where the heck has Will Estes (American Dreams, Reunion) been? It was good to see the guy on television again. I think he needs a new agent because he should be a series regular somewhere, not a one-stop guest player on cable. What's the deal?

• Kudos to the show for attempting to address Mary's post-traumatic adjustment. I hope the series doesn't unrealistically rush her back to normal. The stress that Mary Shannon (the character) is experiencing is providing some great material to Mary McCormack (the actress).

The Tudors: Now That's More Like It

2009-04-19T23:07:00.008-04:00

Alright, now we're back to The Tudors that we know and love. After two weeks of relatively unimpressive episodes, the show delivered an A episode tonight with ep 3.3.

This ep got back to the perfect balance of Royal Court politics, family dynamics, and the historical events happening outside of the castle walls (in this case, the religious rebellion).

Jane has now successfully reunited Henry with his daughters Mary and Elizabeth (as the history books say she did) and is now pregnant with the future King Edward. Poor Brandon is being played by Cromwell but doesn't know it yet and is now facing an incredible moral crisis because of it. I can't wait to see Cromwell brought down (as the history books say will happen). Henry put in motion the destruction of the uprising's leaders, including executing one of them in one of the most horrible ways I've ever seen a man die on television. (If you saw it, you know what I'm talking about.)

Welcome back, Tudors!

FOX's New Animated Show: Sit Down, Shut Up

2009-04-19T22:46:00.003-04:00

Quick thoughts on the premiere of the new animated comedy Sit Down, Shut Up from some of the same creative minds behind Arrested Development...

To be honest, I was hoping for more. It wasn't nearly as funny as I was hoping it would be. It has potential so I'll give it a few more chances, but I was certainly less than thrilled with the pilot.

Prison Break: The Beginning of the End

2009-04-18T00:34:00.011-04:00

Prison Break finally returned last night with the first of its last six episodes ever. I've stuck with Prison Break and Team Scoffield for four years now, through thick and thin, so there was no chance that I would skip coming back to see how it all ends. That said...

... I have to admit that I was a little disappointed with this episode ("The Mother Lode"). With only six episodes left (well, five now), I want to be blown away by the final few hours, and last night that didn't happen. Instead, we got just another, average episode. Too much time in the episode was spent on Michael and Sara running away from yet another potential bad guy and not enough time spent on giving us answers to Michael and Linc's mother and why she's doing what she's doing.

On a good note, at least we learned that the producers haven't completely forgotten about long-lost LJ. I still maintain that Linc won't have a truly "happy" ending unless LJ is safe and happy too.

Southland: Looking Really Good

2009-04-17T21:05:00.006-04:00

After a great pilot episode, Southland proved that the high-quality of its premiere wasn't a fluke with a great follow-up, second episode last night.

I gave the episode an A-, and I would have given it an A if it wasn't for the subpar subplot with the unhappily married older detective who was having an affair with the tv reporter. That isolated storyline seemed cliched and completely out of context with the rest of the episode. Other than that, Southland was pretty darn good... again.

Regarding the mysterious backstory of rookie Sherman (Ben McKenzie), I'm thinking that there's a Prince of Tides-like tragedy that's going to be revealed once we get the full story of what happened to young Sherman and his mother in that house so long ago.

In other Southland news, I thought Regina King was aces in this ep. And there was a very nice use of Amy Winehouse's "Tears Dry on Their Own" at the episode's end.

Harper's Island: More Cheese Please

2009-04-17T21:00:00.004-04:00

The ridiculous, B-movie antics of Harper's Island continues; and those of us who are not strong enough to resist were subject to another episode of horrid writing, even worse acting, and more cheesiness than should be legal.

The body count is now at five. Let's recap so far:

Death Count:
1. The cousin got tied up under the boat and mutilated by the engine blades;
2. Uncle Marty was hacked away from the waist down;
3. The priest was strung up in a trap and quickly decapitated;
4. The creepy childhood girl friend was found hanging to death;
5. The chick with the poodle was burned alive;

Fun times. More to come... with extra cheese, I'm sure.

Parks and Recreation: Yep, It Got Even Funnier.

2009-04-17T20:50:00.005-04:00

I thought the premiere of Parks and Recreation last week was pretty good (A-), but last night's follow-up, second episode was even better... and funnier too!

Is it too early to declare a show a "keeper" after only two eps? Maybe so, but I'm definitely on board.

It's taken a while, but NBC is slowly getting back in the game of producing new shows that are actually worth watching (Parks and Recreation, Southland, and Kings). It's just a shame that more folks are actually watching them.

The Beast: Prepping for the End Game

2009-04-17T19:45:00.007-04:00

For those of us -- those very few of us! -- who have stuck with A&E's The Beast this spring have witnessed several things:

1.) Patrick Swayze's notable performance given his real-life battle with cancer while filming the series;
2.) Newcomer Travis Fimmel stealing most of the scenes that he's in; and
3.) One of the most uneven freshman series of the season.

The show started out relatively well, but then it got bogged down with some subpar acting performances and mediocre case-of-the-week storylines. The Beast works best when it's focusing on the Training Day-like aspects of the storyline with Swayze and Fimmel or the smokin' hot chemistry between Fimmel and his on-screen neighbor/lover played by Lindsay Pulsipher. Everything else just feels like filler.

Last night's penultimate ep of the season was a little disappointing (I gave it a B+), but it did have one stand-out moment that deserves mentioning. The break-up scene when Ellis lied to Rose about his past in order to get her to safely leave town and forget about him was all kinds of awesome. While watching that scene between Fimmel and Pulsipher, I couldn't help but think that those two are the real stars -- or at least the real heart -- of the show.

Next week is the season finale. I hope it goes out on a high note, especially if it turns out to be the series finale as well.

Bones: Back to the Good Stuff

2009-04-17T18:45:00.006-04:00

Welcome back, Bones! It's great to see you back in top form again following your all-too-long string of episodes which had me wondering where the show I loved had gone to and left the B-Team in it's place.

Bones, which I still maintain is one of the better procedurals on television today, hasn't had a truly "A" level episode since the beginning of February with "The Hero in the Hold." Between then and now, none of the half-dozen eps managed an A grade, so I'm happy to report that last night's "Mayhem on a Cross" episode was terrific and brought back a lot of what had been missing over the last two months.

All of the stuff with Sweets, Bones, Booth, and Dr. Wyatt was awesome. I loved the new backstory for Sweets and how it revealed to the viewers why Sweeets' somewhat infatuation with the two of them is, well, sweet.

American Idol: The Save

2009-04-16T23:53:00.001-04:00

My thoughts on the Idol results and the judge's "historic moment" last night:

Matt isn't the best singer in the competition (but don't get me wrong, he is good and he does deserve to be there), and Simon is most likely right when he says that Matt doesn't have a chance in hell of winning the title; but nevertheless, I found myself caught up in the moment along with the audience last night cheering and hoping that the judges would give Matt the first ever "save" of the show. Sure enough, the judges saved him and Matt gets to come back next week. Whoo-hoo!

Now we just have to hope that the use of the save doesn't come back to bite us, or more accurately -- one of our favorites like Kris, Danny, or Adam -- in the ass in the weeks to come.

Lost in the 70's Dharma Nonsense

2009-04-16T01:59:00.002-04:00

I'm so over this time travel nonsense on Lost. When will it end and when will we get our real show back?

Apart from a few relatively decent moments for Miles, last night's Lost was another 1970's-Dharma-filled dud. Even worse... the promos for next week look like we're getting more of the same. Boo.

American Idol: Top 7

2009-04-15T11:33:00.010-04:00

My thoughts on the Top 7 performances from American Idol's movie music night:

I love me some Danny Gokey (in a hetero way, of course) and I think Adam Lambert is incredibly talented; but last night Kris Allen's version of "Falling Slowly" from the movie Once was, hands down, the best performance of the night and quite possibly one of the best performances of the entire season.

Unfortunately, the FOX copyright police are all over youtube on this one, forcing the removal of almost every video of this performance that's been posted to date.

Anoop's inconsistency continued, this time totally nailing (in a good way) his song; Matt gave a good effort, but some of the those high notes were painful; Allison did her usual thing; and poor Lil' failed to deliver once again on her amazing potential.

24: Say It Ain't So. Tony's a ...?

2009-04-14T20:55:00.003-04:00

My thoughts on the mind-blowing twist at the end of last night's 24:

(SPOILERS AHEAD)

I was completely floored by those last few minutes. Tony killed Larry. With his bare hands. Then helped the terrorist escape with the bio weapon. Did I really just see that? Really? Say it ain't so.

It was a brilliant twist, to make Tony actually be a bad guy after all. However, as clever as it was, I'm pissed that Tony, such a great character on the show, is unequivocally one of the bad guys. How depressing; and at the same time, how awesome for the show.

R.I.P. Larry Moss. We disliked you at first, but we definitely came around to you at the end. Too bad your time with us was tragically cut short.

Thoughts on The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency

2009-04-13T23:27:00.005-04:00

HBO's new spring show The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency has aired three episodes so far and my overall reaction to the series so far is...

...SLOW.

The pace of the show is painfully and frustratingly slow. So much so that the sluggishness takes away from almost all of the other things that the show does right (i.e., the casting of Jill Scott, the entertaining performance of Anika Noni Rose, and the Botswana setting).

I'm close to throwing in the towel with this show, but I am reminded that both Big Love and The Tudors had really slow starts for me but now I'm long hooked on both. Perhaps the same thing can happen with The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency. Next week, the awesome CCH Pounder is a guest star, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that she'll bring a much needed spark to the show.

The Tudors: Court Back in Session

2009-04-13T22:55:00.005-04:00

Season three of The Tudors premiered last week and we're two eps into the new post-Boleyn era of the show. So far...

...the new season has been decent enough, but I have to admit that I've been a little underwhelmed with what we've seen of season two. The increased focus on the rebellion instead of the Tudor family discord in the first two eps has been a tad disappointing. I feel like the show went out on a major high note with the season two finale, but the first two eps of season three have fallen short in comparison.

Also, for the record, Showtime was relatively successful with the transition of actresses playing Jane Seymour (Henry's third wife), but those of us watching closely know that Jane was played by a different actress last season -- despite Showtime going back and reshooting certain scenes for the "previously on" segments.

Breaking Bad's Second A+ of the Season Already

2009-04-13T21:40:00.004-04:00

Two words to describe last night's episode of Breaking Bad ("Peekaboo"):

Freaking Awesome.

Two words to describe Aaron Paul's performance in the ep:

Emmy Worthy.

Job well done, Breaking Bad. I'm loving you this season.

UPDATED: Color me surprised, but Bruce Fetts over at TV Guide Magazine completely agreed with me on this ep, including calling Aaron Paul's performance Emmy-worthy. The proof is here.

Attempting a Return to Normalcy

2009-04-11T16:22:00.003-04:00

After far too long of a roller coaster ride, work and life are slowly getting back to a sense of normalcy. Hopefully I'll be able to post more often now; not only here, but also on the BFZ, guilty-pleasure Twitter, and new-found time obsession Plurk -- where I found the old TVG SnOb community reunited, alive, and kicking!

I'm also working on making my blog posts here expandable (or "peekaboo") with the 'Read More' option in order to keep spoilers invisible to anyone reading or just visiting. It's bothered me for a long time now that blogger doesn't have that convenient "after the jump" option that a lot of professional bloggers use on their blogs, but I recently found a hack that should make it work for us common folk down here on the ground.

Let's see if it works:

It works!

Two Weeks Absence

2009-03-23T01:15:00.015-04:00

Work has been crazy and stressful for the past two weeks (with more bad times on the horizon; thank you, recession), so I've been completely MIA from the blogosphere since early March. I'm going to try my hardest though to soon get some thoughts posted about everything I've been delayed on over the past two weeks, including:
• my mixed (but mostly positive) reactions to Battlestar's finale,
• my thoughts on Supernatural's crazy (in a good way) last ep,
• why I loved the ending of Big Love's finale,
• why Kings deserves a shot... and many more viewers,
• my predictions for Damages last two eps,
• my disappointment over Kyle XY's series finale,
• why United States of Tara might just be the best new show of the season,
• the awesomeness of Breaking Bad's second episode,
• the much-needed spark that Vanessa Marcil and Adam Kaufman are bringing to Without a Trace,
• how Dollhouse finally grabbed my attention with the game-changing sixth episode,
• the resurgence of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles,
• how to make a grown man weep (hint: by not renewing Chuck for a third season),
• Sprague Grayden's continued awesomeness on 24, (ditto Annie Wersching),
• why I want the time travel to end on Lost,
• and more.

Hopefully I'll be posting more soon; but if not, I guess the bullet points above succinctly summarize my thoughts on the past two weeks in 100 words or less. :-)

Tuesday Morning QB: Chuck, 24, Big Love, More...

2009-03-10T11:03:00.017-04:00

Some Tuesday morning thoughts on recent shows. Chuck, 24, Big Love, Breaking Bad, CSI: Miami, Trust Me... SPOILERS AHEAD...

Breaking Bad
• OK, I really liked the season premiere of Breaking Bad, and I'm psyched to finally have this show back on the air; BUT... what the hell was up with that part at the beginning of the episode when Walt comes home after witnessing Tucco's killing and then tries to rape his wife in the kitchen? Seriously, what the fuck was up with that? Not cool.

• Other than that, I thought the premiere was great. Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul didn't take long to remind me why I thought they both should have been nominated for emmys last season. (Cranston actually won an emmy, but Paul got left in the shadows.)

Chuck
• Chuck, Chuck, Chuck... How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

• Well, actually, there are too many ways to list; so I'll just say that Chuck continues to be on fire this season, and last night's episode was another A+ for me. The episode was bordering on the A/A+ fence most of the night, but when Chuck turned over the Tron poster to reveal that it was really so much more than just a poster, that immediately earned the show an A+. What a great topper to another fantastic episode!

• Also... Tricia Helfer draweth nigh. (And she's playing a spy posing as a stripper!)

24
• I think it's safe to conclude that 24 has unquestionably rebounded from it's forgettable season six. Season 7 has been mostly awesome so far, and unlike previous years, the show hasn't hit a mid-season lull. It's still firing strong at the halfway mark, and I'm loving it.

• RIP, Bill Buchannan. You were loved, and you will be missed. You were a great and loyal member of Team Bauer. You went out like a champ, big guy. RIP.

• How awesome is Sprague Grayden on this show? I'm loving the dynamic she's bringing to the show. I'm not loving, however, these rumors that she's going to turn out to be a Sherry Palmer-like bad guy this season. Boo.

• Now that Awesome Renee has been suspended by Pansy Larry, can she finally go meet up with Tony to kick some bad guy ass and from what might be the coolest dynamic duo on this show ever.

CSI: Miami
• I can't believe that I forgot to mention this last week, so I'll do it now: Calleigh and Delko are together! Finally!!

• Too bad we didn't get any follow-up on their new relationship this week. Typical Miami. Ignore the good stuff to focus on a silly murder case in which the killers were already clearly revealed in the promos last week. (sigh)

Big Love
• I know that Nikki (Chloe Sevigny) is often times a character that is easy to root against, and I know that she's done some pretty shady things against the family this year, but I'll be darned if I didn't find myself rooting for her in the last episode... and not only rooting for her, but rooting for her to actually do the deed with the DA. If Bill can have multiple partners, then why can't the wives? This seemed like the first time in Nikki's life that she might have had one moment of true happiness for herself, but it all got ripped away. Kudos to Chloe Sevigny for a great performance. As someone who never really liked the character or the actress, I've been converted.

Trust Me
• Trust Me is rapidly running out of chances to impress me. Tonight is the seventh episode, and I have yet to be impressed by the show in any of its previous six outings. Tonight will most likely be the last straw.

• It's not that there's anything particularly wrong or awful about the show. It's just too boring. Who has time for boring tv nowadays?

Odds and Ends
• How I Met Your Mother and The Big Bang Theory both had pretty funny episodes last night. I'm really enjoying Big Bang this year and I like how Penny has become much less of the "dumb bimbo next door" and much more integrated with the rest of the gang. Mother, it's a relief to report, seems to have definitely rebounded from its stutter-start earlier this season.

• I didn't get a chance to watch Castle yet, but it's waiting for me on the DVR. Hopefully I'll catch up with it tonight.

• There's a very interesting piece over at EW written by Scott Porter (who plays Jason Street on Friday Night Lights) about his final episodes and the end of his run on that show.

• Pilot season is in full swing, and there are probably two dozen shows (at least!) that sound very interesting, but one of the shows that I'm most intrigued about is HBO's pilot for The Wonderful Maladys, starring Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy), Nate Corddry (Studio 60, United States of Tara), and Molly Parker (Swingtown, Deadwood). It's a great lead cast, plus a cool premise (think The Royal Tenenbaums). I hope it all comes together. There's a little more info about it here -- but basically that reviewer feels the same way that I do about it.

• Why is it that the CW always takes one step forward, but then two steps back? The Gossip Girl spin-off casting news (Brittany Snow in the lead) was awesome news, but then they announce a Melrose remake... and cast Ashley Simpson as one of the leads? Are you freakin' kidding me?

Quickies: Battlestar, CSI, Legend of the Seeker, More...

2009-03-07T21:12:00.016-05:00

Here's some thoughts on the recent episodes of Battlestar Galactica, CSI, Legend of the Seeker, Friday Night Lights, Dollhouse, and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles... SPOILERS AHEAD...

CSI
I never really say much about CSI in my blogs, since I only started watching the show again this season (after a five year break); but I would be remiss if I didn't take a moment to acknowledge how great last Thursday's Nick-centric episode with Taylor Swift was. That was a great hour of television, and it reminded me that when CSI does what it does best (focusing on emotional cases and their impact on the team instead of reveling in gory effects and prolonged montages with fingerprint id machines) that it truly qualifies as appointment television. I just wish CSI would put out more episodes of this caliber consistently.

(Oh, and I really loved how they were able to work Grissom and Warick into the episode as well.)

Legend of the Seeker
Saturday's episode of Legend of the Seeker was, in my opinion, the best episode of the season to date. Excellent continuity (Chase, Michael, Anna, the return to Hartland); emotional reunions, reconciliations, and sacrifices (Richard's brother, Michael. RIP); real stakes for the characters (i.e., closing the barrier permanently); and, perhaps most importantly, no annoying Zed (as he was off somewhere trying to hide the box).

Seeker is never going to be a massive hit, even for a syndicated show; but it does have the potential to kick out some decent hours of television. Last week's ep was definitely one of those hours.

Battlestar Galactica
I'm not sure how I feel about Kara being an angel, but it would at least solve the mystery of who/what she is in her resurrected form. And with only 3 precious hours left to this show, I'm not sure there's going to be time to present any alternative answers.

Holy crap, Tahmoh Penikett was amazing in his two brief scenes, one with Grace Park (Athena) and the other with Edward James Olmos (the Admiral).

We got more glimpses of the opera house, but no answers about what it all means. (If BSG ends with Baltar and Caprica Six assuming the parental roles for Hera over Helo and Athena, I'm going to be royally pissed.)

Where in the world was the Chief?

The promos for next week (the first part of the series finale) have me on pins and needles for what will happen next.

Friday Night Lights
Hooray for a happy ending for Jason Street. As we will probably never see him again on this show, I was touched to see him get a happy ending with his lover and his baby at the end of his final episode. So long, 6. Texas Forever!

Somebody better start an emmy campaign for Scott Porter in the best guest actor category.

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
Why is it that Terminator is getting really good again just in time for what will probably be its final batch of episodes ever? The tv-gods can be so cruel and unfair sometimes.

Dollhouse
I know I sound like a broken record on this point, but it deserves to be said again: Tech Topher is a freakin' creep. I hate this character.

Quickies: Big Love, Damages, Lost and more...

2009-03-05T13:27:00.015-05:00

Some quick thoughts on tv that aired earlier this week. SPOILERS AHEAD... Big Love, Damages, Lost, Reaper, Heroes, Lie To Me, Chuck, American Idol, Kyle XY...

Lost
You all know that I love me some Lost, but I have to admit that I'm not becoming a big fan of all of the time jumping. I'm sort of over it. It raises too many questions and it starts to get a little too comic-booky for me; plus, it leads to too many questions about who can affect whom and who can interact whom in the past. For instance, if Sawyer, Juliet and the rest bunked down in Dharmaville for three years in the 70's, then surely a young or teenage Benjamin Linus was living with them as well. Doesn't that make things pretty messy? And where the hell are Rose, Bernard, Vincent, and the remaining few survivors of 815 who didn't perish in the arrow attack? Are they trapped in the 70's too? Where are they on the island? Did they really hide from Dharma, the Hostiles/Others, the Smoke Monster, and everyone else for three whole years?

Don't get me wrong, I love Lost; but I am starting to get a little frustrated with the time jumping stories... especially since they're becoming the dominant theme this year.

Damages
Allright, you can call me crazy, but I'm going to post my theories about what's going to happen in the last four episodes:

-Wes is going to turn on DetectiveCorruption and join forces with Ellen (and Katie peripherally). Wes is going to shoot DetectiveCorruption in the back of the head in the car... the scene we partially saw in the closing seconds of one of this season's earlier episodes.

-Ellen doesn't shoot Patty in the hotel room, although Patty is there and crying. Ellen actually shoots Frobisher, in front of Patty, finally getting her revenge for David. Patty is crying and telling Ellen "don't do it, it's not you" because she doesn't want Ellen to cross that line and become a killer; but Patty's not actually pleading for her own life. Ellen's revenge on Patty will come later (since the show has already been renewed for season 3, there's no way Ellen caps Patty in the hotel room this season).

-Not sure why Ellen gets the gun from Tom. Tom probably doesn't know what Ellen is really going to use it for.

-The FBI agents really are FBI agents; but they don't have Ellen's best interests at heart.

-I could care less about the energy conspiracy or all of the posturing to get Patty's husband appointed to some office. I think it's all going to mean very little in the long run (sort of how last season's whole CrazyLila story took up a lot of time but ultimately factored into David's murder in only a small, albeit important, way when all was said and done.)

Am I crazy, or am I on to something?

Big Love
Poor, poor Kathy. And poor Joey too. My heart broke for Kathy when she died so tragically and abruptly in the last episode, just as she was seemingly about to marry Joey and finally find some happiness (despite Wacky Wanda living with them). If Roman Grant isn't struck down for all of his many sins soon, I'm gonna be pissed.

American Idol
Tatania to the wild card round? Seriously? What a shameless ratings ploy. And, uh, how the hell did Jorge get voted in over Ju'Not? And how did the judges not correct that mistake and advance Ju'Not into the wild card? I'm baffled... but such is the course of American Idol voting. Rock on, Lil and Danny.

Reaper
Reaper is back, but I have to admit that I was a little disappointed. I expected more. The ratings were respectable, though, especially against American Idol. It still bothers me that Sam has always just accepted that his soul was sold, instead of going all out to try and discover that individuals have to sell their own souls, no one else should be able to do it for them -- just what Ben told Sam in the pilot episode, but neither Sam nor the writers ever acknowledged it again.

Lie To Me
Lie To Me is going to have to get a lot better very quickly, if it's going to keep me interested. Last night's post-Idol ep was a dud.

Heroes
Is this show ever going to get good again? Ever??!! Every week I hope that it will rebound, and every week I am disappointed. Poor Greg Grunberg. He deserves so much better than the shit they're doing with his character. Ditto James Kyson Lee, Ali Larter, and Cristine Rose.

Chuck
Just because I haven't posted anything on Chuck in a long time doesn't mean that I haven't still been loving the show. It's still one of the best shows on on Monday nights, and it's undoubtedly one of NBC's two best shows (along with Friday Night Lights). This season has been consistently great with very few missteps, and all of this spoiler whispering about a "game changing" finale has my psyched that maybe Ellie, Awesome and even Morgan will learn the truth about Chuck before season's end. That would be fantastic and open up the show in a ton of new directions for season three... and there had better be a season three. You hear me, NBC!

Lost
I am still very bummed that Kyle XY didn't get renewed for next season. I am really going to miss the awesomeness that is Josh/Andi when this show is over. Only two episodes left, and if Kyle doesn't end up with Amanda before the final curtain then I am going to be pissed. What the hell was he doing kissing Jessi in the last ep? Dude?!

Calling B.S. on B&S

2009-03-02T13:32:00.004-05:00

OK, I've got to call "bullshit" on Brothers & Sisters for their completely misleading promos leading up to last night's two-part episode. The promos had everyone mistakenly believing that someone was actually going to die for real... not just flatline for a few seconds and then bounce back. I declare bullshit!

With that said, I'll admit that I'm glad Robert (Rob Lowe) didn't die. It's not that I wanted any of the characters to kick the bucket, I'm just pissed that the ABC marketing folks are such liars.

Lowe gave a pretty great performance overall last night. His character is becoming a complete SOB, but at least Lowe is playing him with some awesome talent. The promos look like more drama and fireworks are coming between Robert and Kitty. I guess they're ultimately going to call it quits, or at least Kitty will consider straying, which opens the door for the new love interest that Ausiello teased.

Battlestar: Someone To Watch Over Me

2009-03-01T14:45:00.014-05:00

Some thoughts on Friday's frakkin' awesome episode of Battlestar Galactica ("Someone To Watch Over Me"). SPOILERS AHEAD...

• First off, this was definitely an A+ episode for me. I thought it was awesome. Yes, I admit that it had its flaws (i.e., did anyone really not know that the piano player was really Kara's father in her head well before the end of the episode?), but any shortcomings were easily overlooked in light of all of the other great stuff packed into this ep.

• I take back every nice thing that I ever said about Boomer. I was duped last week, right along with Chief, that maybe Boomer was on the Fleet's side and there might be a happy ending for Boomer and Chief at the final curtain. Man, was I wrong. Dead wrong. Turns out Boomer was working with Cavill all along and orchestrating Ellen's escape was just part of their larger plan to steal Hera away from the fleet and from the Final Five. What a bitch!

• Major kudos to Grace Park for her incredible range in this episode playing two sides of Boomer (a lover and a user) and our regular, beloved Athena. It was quite a tour-de-force from her, in my opinion. Usually, I'm giving Tricia Helfer all the credit for playing multiple roles, but this time all the accolades go to Grace Park. The show topper was when the real Athena broke down in Helo's arms and started punching him in grief and loss after Hera's kidnapping. If Grace Park submits an ep for emmy consideration, this should be the one.

• Helo, Helo, Helo. What the hell were you thinking, man? How can you not tell Athena apart from the other Eights by now. I've got mad hetero-love for ya, bro, but seriously... what the frak? And poor Athena. Having to watch Boomer frak her man while she was helpless to do anything about it.

• Looks like the importance of Baby Hera, her connection to the Final Five, and her connection with Roslin are about to come into play in a big way. It's about time.

• I loved everything with Starbuck in this episode, including her devotion to the still comatose Anders. Obviously though, everything with Starbuck's dad and the piano was what was really amazing. Even though we didn't get definitive answers about Starbuck's origins or resurrection, it seems like we're getting a lot more clues. Is/Was Starbuck's father Daniel (the eighth skinjob), and if so, then is Starbuck a hybrid herself? Is that how she was able to be resurrected?

• Did you notice that the name of the tape of Starbuck's father's music that Helo gave her was "Dreilide Thrace, Live at the Helice Opera House" or something like that?

• I still haven't forgotten that Tory deserves to be airlocked for killing Cally. Is Chief ever going to learn the truth? And speaking of Cally, where in the world is Cally and not-Chief's son, Little Nicky? Is he now living with Hot Dog (his bio daddy), and did Chief basically forget all about him once he realized they weren't related?

• Only three episodes left. I'm dreading the post-BSG tv landscape already.

Until the copyright police take it down, here's a video of that awesome scene where Kara plays the piano with her father and Saul and Tory recognize the music.

Promo for Supernatural

2009-02-27T15:10:00.005-05:00

Have you seen the promo for the new ep of Supernatural yet? It looks freakin' awesome.

Castiel. Anna. Reapers. Ruby. PsychicPamela. Sammy. Dean. Can't Wait!

Odds & Ends (Feb 26, 2009)

2009-02-26T16:25:00.010-05:00

Reactions to recent tv: Damages, United States of Tara, Lost, Dollhouse, Heroes, and the HBO movie Taking Chance. SPOILERS AHEAD...

Damages:
• No way can Patty really be Ellen's shooting victim in the hotel room, right? I was stunned when they finally showed the person that Ellen was talking to in the hotel room... and it was Patty. I was so hoping that it would be Frobisher or the corrupt detective. But Patty? I just don't believe that Ellen would pump two bullets into her... even though Patty deserves it. I'm afraid that the show is going to cop out and reveal that Ellen just shot beside Patty or shot her with blanks. That would be a shame, because Damages has a lot of guts, but if they cop out and reveal Ellen's shooting to not really be a shooting, then I'm going to be disappointed.

• I really wanted Ellen to kill Frobisher in revenge for David's death, then turn the tables on Patty for Patty putting a hit out on Ellen. I also want Wes to turn the tables on the corrupt detective and partner with Ellen to take him down as well. (Maybe that's the guy whose head Wes blew off in the car from the flashforward a few episodes ago?)

• I am still loving the show, but I find myself really only invested in Ellen's part of the story and her plots with the FBI against Frobisher, Patty, Pete and the rest. The whole energy/stock market/conspiracy part of the story is a little boring for me.

United States of Tara:
• More praise for United States of Tara. The show's most recent episode (where Tara's parents come to visit) may have been the best ep yet. It was awesome, and the revelation of a secret, hidden fourth alter was crazy cool. Tara is turning into one of the best new shows of the season. I wonder why more people aren't talking about it; and I'm still flummoxed how some critics were so against it when it first premiered. (ahem, Ausiello)

Lost
• Lost is getting crazy, and they keep piling on the mythology and the mysteries. I can accept that Locke was resurrected from the dead; I can accept that Ben is really a bad guy and the Widmore might not be a bad guy; I can accept a whole new crew of castaways (316'ers) I can accept the timetravel; and I can accept the long wait until Sun and Jin's reunion. What I can not accept is that Ben may have killed Penny before he boarded Ajira 316. My hope is that the reason he was so bloodied and bruised was that Penny kicked the shit out of him when he tried to attack her and then she got away safely with Desmond and Little Charlie.

• Also, I'm not cool with Kate abandoning Aaron. I know Claire told Kate not to bring Aaron back, but I still want to know what she did with him... and why the hell she never wants to talk about it again with Jack.

Heroes
• Heroes, you can't make me like you again by all of a sudden resurrecting Daphne. You still need a lot of work. A lot. You're supposed "reinvention" with the Fugitives arc has gone absolutely nowhere.

Dollhouse
• The second episode of Dollhouse was an improvement from the first, and I liked the glimpse of the violent backstory surrounding Alpha.

• Speaking of Alpha, Ausiello reported that knowing the identity of the actor playing Alpha would spoil the show for us. Kristin, however, already reported on her site who it was; so if you really want to know, you can check it out on her site. (She may have taken it down now. If you want to know, just ask and I'll tell ya.)

• Am I the only one who finds the tech/geek character to be completely creepy and not in any way endearing or likable? That guy's gotta go.

Taking Chance
• If you get the chance to watch the HBO movie Taking Chance, then you must watch it. It is incredibly powerful and an excellent movie. Please, please see it.

Housekeeping:
• I've reformatted (again!). I know, what a surprise. This time, I was trying to make the blogs a little more streamlined and less scattered. Also, in an attempt to save the memory of everything I posted over at tvguide.com, I've been slowly importing all of my blog posts from that now-extinct site over to this blog. That's why the number of posts in the archive section has suddenly seen some massive increases in the 2006, 2007, and 2008 sections. Unfortunately, all of the comments on those posts are forever gone. (sigh)

Supernatural Season Five is Coming!

2009-02-24T16:58:00.006-05:00

Kristin has just reported that Supernatural was renewed for season five.

Whoo-hoo!! Best news I've heard all week!

Also picked up: Smallville, Gossip Girl, One Tree Hill, 90210, and ANTM. I could care less about Model and One Tree Hill. Renewing the crap-tastic 90210 is a huge mistake. But good news for Smallville and Gossip Girl.

March 2009 Premieres. Right Around the Corner

2009-02-24T15:23:00.015-05:00

March is nearly here, and this year (thanks to the effects of last year's writers strike) the networks are bringing us a slew of promising mid-season premieres; not to mention the returning shows that are also coming back in March. Here is a list of the March premieres, in alphabetical order, with some comments by yours truly.

Better Off Ted (ABC)
Premieres Wednesday, March 18
Base on the promos, I don't have high expectations for this one.

Breaking Bad (AMC)
Premieres Sunday, March 8
Following its strike-shortened freshman season, Breaking Bad returns for a second season of drama starring Bryan Cranston as a chemistry teacher who turns to dealing crystal meth in order to support his family financially after finding out that he only has a few months left to live. Cranston won an emmy for this role last season, and co-star Aaron Paul was great as the highschool drop out who partners with Cranston's character and shows him the ropes (and the dangers) of the business. The show was really going strong creatively in the last few eps last year, especially with the introduction of Raymond Cruz (The Closer) as a local psycho drugpin. I'm hoping that Breaking Bad will avoid the sophomore slump and maintain the intensity and high drama that it sustained at the end of season one.

Castle (ABC)
Premieres Monday, March 9
Nathan Fillion. I'm there.

Cupid (ABC)
Premieres Tuesday, March 31
Here's hoping that the remake, starring Sarah Paulson and Bobby Cannavale, lasts much longer than the original version. ABC's decision to reduce the order to seven or eight episodes has me worried though.

In the Motherhood (ABC)
Premieres Tuesday, March 26
The previews for this show and the caliber of the cast (Megan Mullally, Cheryl Hines, and Jessica St. Clair) lead me to believe that this show could either be extremely hilarious or extremely repetitive and predictable. I'm hoping against the latter, but I guess only time will tell.

Kings (NBC)
Premieres Sunday, March 15
I'm really looking forward to this one. It promises to be different than anything else on tv at the moment, and the promos look really intriguing. I hope the show delivers the goods and finds an audience. I'll be disappointed if Kings turns into another Black Donnellys... that show had a brilliant start then it tanked creatively and in the ratings.

My Boys (TNT)
Premieres Tuesday, March 31
My Boys is back for a third season on TNT. Here's hoping that PJ and Bobby can finally get their timing right and make it work. I love them together.

Party Down (Starz)
Premieres Friday, March 20
Rob Thomas's new show is on Starz, so probably no one will see it; but I'm rooting for it and I hope it does well. Behind the scenes, Rob Thomas is a proven genius; and the on-screen talent isn't too shabby either: Ken Marino, Lizzy Caplan, Jane Lynch, Ryan Hansen, Adam Scott. Plus: rumor has it that Mars' alums Jason Dohring, Alona Tal, and Kristen Bell herself are guest starring this season.

Reaper (CW)
Premieres Tuesday, March 3
Reaper is back for season two, and now that it's proven not to be any type of threat to Supernatural, it's safe to enjoy and root for this show. Reaper got much better in the second half of its first year, so hopefully the show will pick up where it left off on that high note. I admit that I'm not thrilled to be losing Privileged in the timeslot, but the fate of that charmer is well out of my hands.

Roommates (ABC Family)
Premieres Monday, March 23
After Kyle XY and Secret Life finish their runs, ABC Family has Roommates and Sophie lined up to replace them. I'll be honest, the promos don't look all that great for either show.

Saving Grace (TNT)
Premieres Monday, March 2
Saving Grace is taking over The Closer's timeslot to finish out its second season. I wasn't a fan of season one, but season two has been pretty darn good... at least it was before the hiatus.

Sophie (ABC Family)
Premieres Monday, March 23
See above with Roommates.

South Park
Premieres Wednesday, March 11
South Park returns for its 12th season. Not much to say about South Park except that if you like that kind of humor, then get ready for more of the same. (Hey, I'm not judging you; I'll be watching!)

The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency
Premieres Sunday, March 29
Not sure if this is going to be good tv or chick-flick-lite. We'll have to wait and see.

Funny Torchwood video

2009-02-22T16:41:00.003-05:00

This cracked me up:

I've never seen Pride and Prejudice, but it's easy to understand the gist of what's going on. Kudos to the youtube user (MadameDeVideoland) who put this together.

Ianto to Jack: "You have bewitched me body and soul." Hysterical!

Speaking of Torchwood, when is BBC-America going to announce a premiere date for the third season Torchwood: Children of Earth?

Odd & Ends (Feb 18, 2009)

2009-02-18T16:25:00.011-05:00

Some odds and ends for Wednesday, February 18 2009: American Idol, Secret Diary of a Call Girl, Brothers & Sisters, Gossip Girl, Big Love, Leverage...

American Idol
• Ugh. How crappy was last night's first semi-final round on American Idol? I couldn't believe how bad some (er, most) of those singers were during those performances. Only Danny Gokey (the recently widowed music minister) was any good. Everyone else was just an embarrassment.

• After only one episode of all four judges getting to comment on the singer's performances I can tell that it's going to get very annoying as the season progresses. The critiques seemed to take for...ev...er.

• Listening to how poorly the guys performed last night was just another stark reminder that the judges really screwed up when they didn't pass through Jamar Rogers (Gokey's best friend) through to the top 36. Big mistake.

Secret Diary of a Call Girl
• I maintain my initial assessment that the first season of Secret Diary of a Call Girl was pretty underwhelming; but the show has pulled a major 180 and season two is turning out to be really good.

• The latest episode, in which Belle finally decides to tell her boyfriend that she is a prostitute, was extremely well done and was arguably the best episode yet for the show.

• Major kudos all around to Billie Piper, Callum Blue, and Iddo Goldberg for their performances in that episode.

Brothers & Sisters
• I'm spoiler-free for Brothers & Sisters, but I think I'm putting two and two together correctly when I guess that Rob Lowe might be getting killed off of the show.

• The previews for next week's two-hour event claim that a major, shocking death is coming, and I think it's going to be Rob Lowe's character. Why else would Ausiello have scooped that Kitty is getting a new love interest later this season?

Gossip Girl
• There's a funny and somewhat insightful article by The Daily Beast comparing the similarities between the plotlines of The O.C.'s final days and the current plotlines on Gossip Girl. The article is titled "Gossip Girl Deathwatch" and is a fun read.

Big Love
• I haven't said much about Big Love's third season, but I've been glued to my tv watching it every Sunday night. The show is just as addictive as ever.

• Personally, I'm glad Anna walked away from the family. I wasn't down with a permanent fourth wife.

• More crazy Grace Zabriskie, please!

• And bring back Aaron Paul too. He and Amanda Seyfried are great together.

Leverage
• Leverage is another show that I haven't said much about all spring, but I have been diligently watching every episode and I generally like it. It's a little corny at times and it doesn't get top priority on my DVR; but I still have managed to watch every ep, and it's a solid keeper.

• Gina Bellman, in particular, has been a real find.

• The last two episodes have been the best of the season, particularly last night's ep which was the first of the two-part season finale. Kari Matchett and Mark Sheppard were great guest stars, and I can't wait to see how it all ends next week.

• Leverage was already renewed for a second season, but I'm still hoping we don't get a cliffhanger.

Drive-By Blogging: February 17, 2009

2009-02-17T14:17:00.026-05:00

Various drive-by blogging bullets that I wanted to post for the record:

• Wow! Where to begin on another awesome episode of BSG? Talk about finally getting some answers! This episode was massive in terms of revelations. Once Sam Anders started talking, he just kept 'em coming.

• Everything with Ellen Tigh in this episode was great, especially her showdowns and her revealing conversations with that s.o.b. Cavill. I love that Boomer (the original Boomer!) came to her senses and helped Ellen escape at the last minute. Can't wait for the two of them rejoin the fleet next week (most likely with Cavill in hot pursuit) and watch all hell break loose.

• Am I the only one who was picking up on a foreshadowing that there may still be hope for a Boomer/Tyrol happy ending? Maybe that's just my inner true-love-wins optimist, but I got all excited when Boomer asked Ellen "who would I love" (or something like that), and the screen immediately jumped to Chief Tyrol. Is there a chance that our happy couple from season one will get a second chance?

• Speaking of Tyrol, I am really enjoying his character in these last several episodes (since the return). I just wish that he would find out the truth about what Tori did to Cally and then beat the crap out of her. Sure, maybe Tori is being a voice of reason and sanity all of a sudden, but I am not forgiving her for her past sins. Airlocking Cally and taking her baby was all sorts of wrong, and there needs to be a reckoning.

• I really hope Anders doesn't die, although I've got a bad feeling that his days are numbered.

• Is it possible that Daniel (the eighth "skinjob") still exists somewhere, or were all of his models permanently destroyed?

• There are only five episodes of the show left, and the show still has a lot of mysteries that it needs to explain; in particular: the Opera House; the importance of Baby Hera; the nature of HeadSix and HeadBaltar (whom we haven't seen in weeks, btw); the deal with Starbuck; and whether or not my beloved Athena and Helo will get a happy ever after.

• Aw, man. RIP Charlotte. You will definitely be missed.

• Now that Ben has conveniently reunited with Desmond, I'm very worried about Penny. No way did Ben forget his murderous agenda to kill Charles Widmore's daughter, and now that he's found Desmond, surely he'll soon find Penny and Baby Charlie too. If Ben hurts Penny, I will be royally pissed.

• Rose, Bernard, and Vincent are all still alive, right? They better be!

• Loved that we got more information about the smoke monster (it's a security system for the temple? WTF?!) and more information about Danielle and her crew's bloody days on the island.

• Is Jacob disguising himself as Christian Shepherd? And, if so, how come he could hold a lantern in the donkey-wheel cave, but he couldn't help Locke up off the ground?

• Agent Aaron Pierce is back! No frakkin' way! What an awesome surprise it was seeing him again. (The benefits of going spoiler-free, I suppose.)

• Sprague Grayden (Jericho, Sons of Anarchy) joined the cast as President Taylor's daughter. Another piece of awesome casting.

• I am really enjoying Annie Wersching this season. Her character is a great quasi-partner for Jack this time around, and her rapid evolution from by-the-book Agent to bend-the-rules Renegade -- and her struggles with her conscience along the way -- have made for some great television.

• Bring on the Chloe/Janice smackdown.

• We got confirmation in the last episode that Chloe and Morris are still together. I wonder if we're going to get confirmation on whether or not Karen Hays is still married to Bill (and where she's been all day) and whether or not Agent Pierce and First Lady Logan ever tied the knot.

• I thought the pilot for Dollhouse was interesting and showed some real potential. Too bad the ratings were so low. Looks like FOX's Friday death slot is soon going to claim another two victims (Dollhouse and Terminator). That's a pity; but I'll be watching anyway.

• What's up with Fringe going on hiatus until March? Come on, FOX. If you want to build the audience for the show, then you've got to stop yanking the show from the schedule -- especially just when it was getting really good.

• Anybody who still thinks that Friday Night Lights isn't one of the best shows on television needs to get their head examined. Those scenes in the last episode between Coach Taylor and Matt Saracen were phenomenal. Absolutely awesome television. It's a shame the emmys will never recognize them.

• So far, I've been relatively unimpressed. Anyone else?

• The promos for NBC's new show Kings look like the show might be really cool. Something completely different; with Ian McShane and Susanna Thompson rocking the lead roles too. I'm excited about it, and I hope it gets an audience.

• The annoyingness and nails-on-chalkboard presence of Shenae Grimes seems to know no end.

• In the prior episodes of the new 90210, it seemed like the attractiveness and semi-talent of some of the other newcomers (in particular, Jessica Stroup, Dustin Milligan) and nostalgia for the first-generation characters were enough to compensate for the show-killing lack of talent from the series’ lead (Ms. Grimes). Nowadays, however, Grimes is leading the show's charge, full stride, into absurdity, mediocrity, and all-around crappiness.

• Watching 90210 over the past few months has been like watching a slowly- approaching train wreck that can’t be stopped. They've gotten rid of most of the good characters that actually had some potential (the grandmother, the "bad boy" for Naomi, the undercover cop, the not-biological son of Harry and Tracey); replaced, instead, with inane plotlines surrounding crack-whore teen pregnancy and who will get the lead in the high school musical. Are you freakin' kidding me with this crap?

• And are you freakin’ kidding me, Dawn Ostroff, that this is the show you choose to promote over Supernatural and Smallville. And are you freaking kidding me, American viewers, that this is the show you choose to watch over Privileged. Sad. Sad. Sad. Somebody please rescue Jessica Stoup from this debacle, and get Aimee Teergarden and Kellan Lutz away from the madness too.

• I've got little hope that neither newcomer Matt Lanter (Commander In Chief) nor the return of Donna Martin (Tori Spelling) will reverse the show's downward spiral.

Odds and Ends (February 10th, 2009)

2009-02-10T15:29:00.015-05:00

Some various tv-related odds and ends that I wanted to post.

First and foremost, how incredibly, off-the-hook, amazing were the last two episodes of Battlestar Galactica ("The Oath" and "Blood on the Scales")? Some of the best episodes of the show, ever; and damn, that's really saying something. Incredible television, folks. I can't believe that we only have six precious hours of this show left forever.

And in other incredible television news... Friday Night Lights has also been at the very top of its game recently. I love it. It doesn't get much better than the residents of Dillon, Texas. The Taylors proved, once again, why they are the best couple on all of television; and I know I'm not the only one who gets all excited about Matt and Julie making their way back to each other, even despite all of the crap that life continues to throw at that poor boy. It's going to break my heart to watch Coach Taylor pull the starting position from Saracen and give it to Boy Wonder McCoy instead.

Jin lives!! Jin lives!! I could not be happier. Now we get to go along for the season-long reunion tour that had better end with Sun and Jin getting a reunion moment like the awesome Penny/Desmond reunion at the end of season four.

We're now four episode into the first season of Tara, and I'm still really, really liking the show. I don't understand why some critics are dumping on it (Ausiello even called it "unwatchable), but I think they're off base. The show is pretty good, in my opinion. Rock on, Toni Collette and Company.

Aw man, say it ain't so. Ellen's new boy toy is secretly working with David's killer? Poor Ellen. I guess we should have seen that coming all along, since this is Damages after all. The show is still kicking in high gear for me, and I'm still rooting (naively?) for Ellen to get her ultimate justice in the end on Frobisher and his minions... and on Patty too.

Monday's episode of The Big Bang Theory ("The Maternal Capacitance") was extremely funny. Christine Baranski was awesome as Leonard's mother. I really hope that's not the last we've seen of her on the show.

What the ~~fuck~~ hell, Heroes? I give you the benefit of the doubt (which you don't deserve, btw) that the Fugitives volume will get the show back on track, and what do you do with that extremely generous opportunity? You piss it away on two crappy episodes, the second of which ("Blood and Trust") was horrid. And then you go and top it all off by killing my beloved Daphne? Are you freakin' kidding me, Heroes? Where did it all go wrong for you? (Hint: the answer is "season 2.")

I really enjoyed the latest grave-digger episode, but I feel like they should have made it a two-parter. So much great stuff happened, yet so much still felt like it was left out of the ep: Booth getting to thank his brother; Booth getting to thank the squints; Sweets coming back to help after Cam kicked him off the case; some type of involvement for US Attorney Caroline (who should have been involved); some resolution with Agent Perotta and the squints; an intern-of-thwe-week; and more. All of it was left out.

An Interview with Supernatural's Misha Colling

2009-02-06T14:25:00.004-05:00

A great interview vid with Misha Collins of Supernatural:

Some of the highlights:
• Castiel returns to the show in early March;
• He'll stick around for several more eps until the end of the season;
• Castiel will be on the show next season too;
• Misha's fave eps are "Ghostfacers" and "A Very Supernatural Christmas."

The Funniest -- and Most Pathetic -- Video I Have Seen In a Long Time

2009-02-03T15:40:00.006-05:00

You gotta see (and hear) this. A distraught NY Giants fan tries to handle the reality of his team's loss to the Eagles:

Freakin' hysterical.

Six-Burgh!!!!!!

2009-02-02T09:32:00.006-05:00

Holy freakin' crap, the Steelers won!!!

Best. Night. Ever.

There are no words to describe how awesome (and how nerve-racking) that game was. In the end, Big Ben pulled out a win, and the Steelers are the champs. Halle-freakin-lujah!

Go Steelers!!!!!!

Who Says Friday Night TV Is a "Wasteland"??

2009-01-31T16:06:00.002-05:00

Anyone who still thinks that Fridays are the "graveyard shift" of the weekly primetime tv schedule must not be living in the same universe as I am.

How exceptionally awesome were last night's episodes of Friday Night Lights ("How the Other Half Lives") and Battlestar Galactica ("The Oath")? They were two frakkin' incredible hours of television, and they both got an A+ from me. I know I sound like a broken record when it comes to these two television treasures, but fans of these shows will know that I'm not exaggerating; they truly are two of the best shows on television.

And to top off a night of awesome Friday viewing, Psych gave us a truly terrific and hysterical episode that was one the season's best to date (second only to "The Greatest Adventure in the History of Basic Cable").

Odds & Ends (January 29, 2009)

2009-01-29T15:59:00.020-05:00

Some various tidbits I wanted to throw out there:

Lost is off to a fantastic start this season. I was a little hesitant about the increased focus on time-jumping, but so far it hasn't been tough to follow the story at all. I was thrilled to see that Rose, Bernard, and Vincent were all still alive and kicking on the island. Hopefully we'll see more of them soon. Plus, while watching the first three eps this season, I was reminded how awesome Sonya Walger (Penny) and Nestor Carbonell (Richard) are on this show and how much I wish they were both series regulars.

Variety reported this week that Legend of the Seeker was renewed for a second season. That's cool. The show didn't start out that strongly, but the most recent eps have shown considerable improvement and promise for the future. I hope the upcoming episodes continue that trend. Newcomers Craig Horner and Bridget Regan (who play the leads Richard and Kahlan) are nice enough, but Bruce Spence (who plays the old wizard Zed) is extremely annoying and a big drag for the show. He's not as annoying as the nails-on-chalkboard on-screen torture of Shenae Grimes on the new 90210 (nothing is that bad), but he's still pretty unlikable and brings down the show in my opinion.

There are times when Bruce Fetts at TV Guide Magazine royally pisses me off. I swear that sometimes he just makes up stupid shit in order to justify his Cheers & Jeers column at the magazine. His most recent jeer claims that new 24 addition Annie Wersching (FBI Agent Renee Walker) is just "getting in the way" and should "have been left for dead" after last week's ep. Bruce, with all due respect (and that's very little at this point), get a clue. You don't know what you're talking about. In addition to Tony's (Carlos Bernard) return, the addition of Annie Wersching has been one of the highpoints of this season's new direction. I'm loving her.

So far so good with the new Showtime series United States of Tara. Two episodes in, and I'm liking what I'm seeing. Toni Collette is doing awesome work playing the multiple personalities (or "alters") of Tara; and the storylines with her kids are top notch. Kudos to the show for the great casting in that department too.

Am I the only House fan who doesn't hate Olivia Wilde (Remy/13)? It seems like the more I read about this show, the more I read about fans hating her and her character. What gives?! Personally, I think Remy/13 is a fascinating character and I think Olivia Wilde plays her extremely well. The only thing I can think of to explain the backlash is that the increased screen time for Remy/13 means less screen time for Cameron and Chase and that's why folks are pissed. Although I feel for the Chase and Cameron fans, the show is really about House and his team... Chase and Cam aren't part of the team anymore, so their reduced screen-time is to be expected. Don't take it out on Olivia.

I thought the pilot of TNT's new show Trust Me was decent. It wasn't as good as The Closer, but it was slightly better than Leverage, and miles better than the craptastic Raising the Bar. Eric McCormack and Thomas Cavanagh make a good on-screen team. So far.

The second episode of Friday Night Lights third season was even better than it's terrific season premiere. Episode 2 ("Tami Knows Best") got an A+ from me, and it reminded us all of why we adore this show so much. FNL, I heart you. Big time.

I was very hesitant to check out season two of Secret Diary of a Call Girl since I thought the first season (which premiered this past summer) was pretty lame. However, I gave the show a second shot and it really surprised me. The second season (two eps in) is vastly superior to the first season and looks like it has some real staying power. We'll see if the rest of the season is just as good or if the first two eps were just a happy fluke; but I'm sticking with it and hoping for the former. Who knew that the addition of Callum Blue (The Tudors) and Ashley Madekwe (Cassandra's Dream) would spice up the show this well. Secret Diary is now in the running with Saving Grace for "Most Improved" show.

In the interests of full disclosure, I must admit that I DVR'd the first two episodes of the new X-Men animated series Wolverine and the X-Men and they didn't suck. Yes they were cartoons, and yes I shouldn't admit to watching them; but it's the X-Men so I couldn't help it. Don't judge me. At least it's shaping up to be a much better show than Star Wars: The Clone Wars turned out to be.

Ok, that's enough for today. New Supernatural and Burn Notice tonight! Whoo-hoo!!

Major DVR Catch-Up This Weekend

2009-01-23T16:11:00.006-05:00

Thank goodness that there's no football this weekend, because I have some major DVR catch-up that I need to take care of this weekend. It feels like I've missed almost all of my primetime shows this week. Here's what I've got to get up to speed on:

• Damages,
• Gary Unmarried,
• Lie To Me,
• Smallville,
• Supernatural,
• Bones (2 eps),
• Ugly Betty,
• Private Practice,
• Grey's Anatomy,
• The Beast,
• Burn Notice,
• CSI,
• The Office, and
• 30 Rock

Plus tonight's shows too: Friday Night Lights, Battlestar Galactica, Flashpoint, Psych, Monk, and Everybody Hates Chris.

Sheesh!

Lost is Back!

2009-01-22T15:49:00.002-05:00

Lost is back!

Whoo-hoo!

Loved last night's two-hour premiere. So glad this show is back. This January is certainly the winter of returning television greatness: Friday Night Lights, Battlestar, Lost, Damages, Big Love, etc., etc., etc.

Odds and Ends

2009-01-22T15:06:00.010-05:00

Some various odds and ends...

--Korbi reported this week that the long-promised 15-minute, wrap-up to resolve October Road's remaining mysteries (i.e., who is Sam's real father) is filming soon and will most likely be included on the season 2 DVD set. As much as I want to know who the father is/was, I will never shell out a penny to purchase this DVD set; so I'll wait until someone posts it to youtube. (My money is on Eddie being the real dad, for the record.)

--I'm not sure what to make of this article in the The Hollywood Reporter, but apparently BBC has sold MI-5 to PBS (or something like that). The article ends with these hopefully-true words: "The series will run on PBS stations beginning in January and February." Please, please let it be true... and let them air season 4, 5, and 6... which are the seasons I still have yet to see.

--The Oscar nominations were announced this morning. A full list of the nominations is here; and a fun guide to the overly-complicated voting and nomination process is here (courtesy of Variety).

--Sepinwall is all hot and bothered about 24 and is vowing not to watch the show anymore. Whatever, man.

--I finally caught the premiere of United States of Tara (Showtime) since I missed all of last Sunday's shows due to the Steelers incredible victory. I watched Tara last night on DVR and I liked it quite a bit. The pilot wasn't perfect, but it was still pretty darn good. Toni Collette is all kinds of awesome in this role.

--Does anybody else find it ironic that the networks behind high-school shows are getting all "high school" with each other? And by that I mean issuing petty press releases when Secret Life beats out Gossip Girl in the ratings. Come on ~~kids~~ network execs, grow up a little.

We Did It!!!

2009-01-19T10:07:00.004-05:00

Excuse me while I take a detour from TV show blogging to celebrate the Steelers huge win yesterday.

Freakin' awesome! Steelers are going to the Superbowl!!!

I was at the game and it was, in a word, incredible.

Luv ya black n' gold.

Some DVR Catch-Up

2009-01-17T23:47:00.011-05:00

Some noteworthy tv this week that I finally caught up on...

Damages ("Shred It, Burn It, I Don't Care")
I'm very, very happy that Damages has had two home-run episodes to begin the new season. I'm not so thrilled about the low ratings, but that's another story. Damages is off to a great start this year, and I can't wait to see what happens next. The revelation with Wes (Timothy Olymphant's character) was great, as was the addition of Marcia Gay Harden. Next week, rumor has it, Katie (Anastasia Griffith) returns!

The Office ("Duel")
This week's episode of The Office was hysterical and brilliant. The duel between Dwight and Andy for Angela's affection was classic, and it ended in such a perfect manner. The stuff with Michael and the CFO was awesome too. This show doesn't get as much press or as many accolades as 30 Rock, but if should. It continually cracks us up every week... as it has for years.

Privileged ("All About Tough Love")
Even though no one watches this show, it's still one of the best new shows of the year; and this week's episode proved why. This was one of the best episodes of the show all year, and that's really saying something. My psychic tv powers predict that Ostroff and her corporate minions will yank this show in favor of some 90's remake or spin-off next season, and that's a real shame. Privileged is so much better than 90210, but nobody seems to notice it.

CSI ("One To Go")
Grissom's final episode was a powerhouse. And to top it all off, they followed the ER Carol-and-Doug route and let Grissom reunite with Sara at the very end of the hour. Great stuff, CSI. (Now that's a sentence that I didn't think I would ever write!)

The Beast ("Pilot")
Patrick Swazye's new show premiered this past Thursday, and I have to admit that I liked it. It wasn't perfect and it was certainly akin to a watered-down-Training-Day; but there was still a lot to enjoy. Swayze's performance is obviously noteworthy considering his battle with cancer while filming; but I was even more impressed with newcomer Travis Fimmel as Swayze's conflicted, rookie partner.

24 ("10:00AM - 12:00PM")
Ok, so Tony is not a bad guy (anymore!); and Chloe and Bill are back in action on TeamJack. All is well, and so far, 24 is looking really good this year. My one minor gripe is that we didn't get any info on Karen or Morris (Bill and Chloe's spouses) in these eps.

Well, Holy Frak!

2009-01-17T23:21:00.006-05:00

Awesome. Frakkin' awesome.

That's the best way to describe the long-awaited return of Battlestar Galactica. So many great moments and revelations and jaw-droppers in "Sometimes a Great Notion" that the episode had to be watched twice. And it was amazing both times.

I won't say much more to avoid spoilers for those who may not have seen the episode yet, but the revelations and developments with Dee, the Final Cylon, the 13th Tribe, Starbuck, Earth, and more were all so well done and made for a fantastic hour of television.

We finally know the 12th and final cylon! Holy frak!

Friday Night Lights is Back

2009-01-17T22:48:00.006-05:00

Dillon Panthers and Residents of Dillon, Texas...

It is so good to have you back in my tv life. God how I've missed you.

It goes without saying that I loved this show's return episode. Matt, Tyra, Landry, Tim/Lyla, Billy/Mindy, Family Taylor... all of it was fantastic.

ABC, I Want My Finales!

2009-01-16T17:03:00.005-05:00

Some troubling news coming out of the ABC TCA session today.

TVGuide.com is reporting ABC President Steve McPherson's "cagey" answers to the questions posed to him regarding when fans and viewers would ever get to see the finales of Pushing Daisies, Eli Stone, and Dirty Sexy Money.

It doesn't look good. McPherson made no promises for when we might get to see these eps. James Hibberd reports that perhaps the eps will be made available on-line at some point (boo!) and Kristin mentions that we may have to wait all the way until summer (bigger boo!).

I really want to see how it all ends for Eli and Company, and also to see how Pushing Daisies ends (although the rumor is that the show ends on a frustrating cliffhanger). Plus, even though Dirty Sexy Money has tanked this year, I feel like I stuck with the show long enough that I deserve a freakin' answer to who killed Dutch and why.

Tonight's the Night!!!

2009-01-16T12:57:00.004-05:00

Tonight's the night!!

CLEAR EYES. FULL HEARTS. CAN'T LOSE.

SO SAY WE ALL.

Note: Mo is reporting that BSG runs 3.5 minutes long tonight, so set those DVRs accordingly.

Note 2: Holy crap! Several sources are reporting that tonight is the night in which the final cylon is finally revealed!!

Speaking of Great Returns...

2009-01-16T12:49:00.002-05:00

The past few days have been all about the anticipation for the Friday Night Lights and Battlestar Galactica premieres, but they're not the only two great shows to return from a break. Supernatural came back from its winter hellatus last night with a really good episode (Family Remains). The print edition of Entertainment Weekly dissed this episode somewhat, claiming that fans of the show deserved a better episode after a six-week break; but I thought the episode was damn good and a very fine return for the show.

That little girl was freaking creepy.

Grey's Anatomy Is Still Sometimes Really Good

2009-01-16T12:30:00.003-05:00

I've made no secret about the fact that I think Grey's Anatomy has had some major missteps this season (i.e., GhostDenny, Brooke Smith's untimely exit, the addition of underused Melissa George, the tragic waste of Mary McDonnell's ridiculous character, etc.), but every now and again Grey's is able to remind us why we fell in love with the show in the first place. Last night was one of those times.

"Sympathy for the Devil" was a great episode for Grey's, and it was a smart episode to launch the show's return from winter break. Even though the GhostDenny stuff continues to ludicrously drag on and on, the rest of last night's episode soared: Bailey, Christina, Mark/Lexie, guest stars Jessica Capshaw and Eric Stolz, the storylines, and especially McArmy.

Kevin McKidd is, hands down, one of the best things to ever happen to this show.

One Day Away...

2009-01-15T12:02:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow!

Tomorrow they're back!!! :-)

The Gossip Girl Spin-Off is Really a Prequel

2009-01-15T11:52:00.002-05:00

The Hollywood Reporter is reporting today (story here) that the the long-rumored Gossip Girl spin-off appears to be officially happening; and that it will not follow one of the existing teen characters to a new set of adventures, but instead follow the story of Lilly (Kelly Rutherford) in her teen years in LA... before she met rock-star Rufus.

I'll be honest: I'm slightly intrigued. If done correctly, it might be a lot of fun.

However, on the other hand, am I the only one frustrated at the CW's lack of finding and developing an original idea. Remakes and spin-offs seem to be the MO for Dawn Ostroff and Company these days. That's sad, very sad. But the silver lining to the dismal creative talent drain at the CW is that existing shows like Supernatural and Smallville on the network are probably safe for next season. (Kristin hints at the same idea in her blog here.)

Two Days...

2009-01-14T13:30:00.000-05:00

Only two days left!!!!!

American Idol Returns

2009-01-14T13:18:00.005-05:00

American Idol returned to our television sets last night, kicking off season 8 with the customary first of many two-hour best-of/worst-of audition episodes. Months ago, when FOX announced that they would be adding a fourth judge (Kara DioGuardi ) to the competition, I was skeptical. Last night, we the viewers got our first look at Kara as a judge, and although I know that 1 episode alone isn't enough to form a solid opinion, I will admit that I liked what I saw and my first impression of her is pretty favorable.

Love it or hate it, you have to admit that American Idol is certainly still a pop culture staple and also one of the most watched shows in the country (30 million viewers last night). For me personally, I'm glad to have the show back and I'll be even happier once the drawn out audition episodes are over and we get to the real competition.

The one drawback to Idol's return is that it typically crushes all of the non-CBS competition in the ratings. NCIS and The Mentalist did just fine (according to the ratings report), but poor, underrated Privileged got crushed.

Three Days...

2009-01-13T16:57:00.000-05:00

Continuing the countodwn...

Only three days left!!

Prison Break Set To End

2009-01-13T16:46:00.006-05:00

FOX announced today that Prison Break will come to an end this season, meaning that the spring 09 episodes will be the shows last. Ever.

I loved Prison Break in season 1, and I've stuck with it ever since; but I'm ok with saying goodbye to the show. Now that season four has returned the show to its better days, I'm alright with the show going out on a relatively high note.

Here's my wish list of things I want to see happen before Prison Break goes away:
• For Michael and Sara to get a happy ending... together;
• For Linc and LJ to be reunited (Sophia's presence is preferable but not mandatory);
• Closure for Sucre and Maricruz (and by closure, I mean "happy ending");
• Some type of final resolution or justice for the brothers;
• A full explanation for why Linc was ever framed in the first place; and
• The resurrection of Kellerman.

Anything I'm missing?

Four Days And Counting Down...

2009-01-12T12:07:00.002-05:00

Obnoxious countdown alert:

Only four days left until the return of BSG and FNL!

Jack is Back. And, uh, so is Tony.

2009-01-12T11:03:00.004-05:00

At long last, 24 is finally back on the air, kicking off its seventh season last night with an interesting two hours.

I have really high hopes that 24 will rebound from its subpar season 6 last year and return to the heights of scripted television dominance that it knew in season 5. Judging season 7 solely by its two hour premiere last night is premature, and I think the only safe thing to say is that "the jury is still out." I wasn't thrown back to the glory days of season 5 while watching last night, but I also wasn't reminded of the stink of season 6 either. The new setting, the new characters, the resurrected character, the new First Family, and the new national emergency threat all seem compelling enough and a good springboard for the show's turnaround.

That said, there's also plenty of room for disappointment too. For instance: are they making Janeane Garofalo's character a Chloe-clone? can we ever accept Tony as a bad guy? can there really already be another mole inside the agency Jack is working with? can those FBI guys really see the world in only those black and white cliches? is there really no traffic in DC at 9 in the morning? etc.

We'll see how the season plays out. I'm optimistic, but admittedly, it's with a cautious optimism. I don't want to be disappointed again, or worse, have my heart broken by the character assassination of Tony... or Chloe or Bill for that matter, who I assume will turn up all RogueTeamJack later in the season.

Some Thoughts on Crash's Season and Season Finale

2009-01-10T21:15:00.006-05:00

Crash finished its freshman season on Starz last night, and I can report that I stuck with the show (for better or for worse... and sometimes it was for the worse) throughout the whole run. This was the show that TPTB at Starz hoped would launch their premium channel into the same arena of quality scripted programming like HBO and Showtime. I don't think it worked.

The show was too hit and miss for me. The beginning episodes showed promise, but the show never really achieved its full potential. The idea to tell multiple, disconnected stories in every episode only works if all of those stories are compelling. Crash's problem was that for as entertaining and intriguing as the story's surrounding Kenny (Ross McCall), Bebe (Arlene Tur) and Axel (Nick Tarabay) were, the show was bogged down by the pretentious, lame, and annoying stories of Ben (Dennis Hopper), Anthony (Jocko Sims), and Cesar (Luis Chávez); the last of whom may just be one of the most annoying and pointless characters in all of scripted primtetime television. Even the addition of the awesome Kari Matchett couldn't save the crappy Ben/Anthony storyline.

If I had my wish for a Crash Season 2, I would center the stories around Kenny, Bebe, Axel, and their estranged spouses and lovers; beef up the storylines with Eddie (Brian Tee) and Christine (Clare Carey); and completely get rid of Ben, Anthony, and Cesar.

I realize that if you haven't seen Crash the series and are still reading this post, you have no idea who/what I'm talking about. And given that no one else in the country seems to have watched this show, that's probably all of you. Thanks for reading anyway. :-)

Some Happy Friday News

2009-01-09T12:42:00.005-05:00

Only one week left until the return of two of televisions greatest shows: Battlestar Galactica and Friday Night Lights.

FNL kicks off its third season on NBC next Friday at 9. (If you have DirectTV, you've already seen the season and ~~I hate you~~ good for you.)

BSG kicks off its run of final episodes ever next Friday on SciFi at 10.

Can't wait!

Comings and Goings

2009-01-09T11:04:00.001-05:00

Several noteworthy comings and goings on tv tonight...

Monk and Psych both return on USA for the second half of their seasons.

Flashpoint returns to CBS. (Some ads are calling it the "new season," but I think it's really a continuation of the first season that began this past summer.)

Crash (Starz) and Sanctuary (SciFi) both have their season finales tonight.

Damages Is Back!!!

2009-01-08T00:05:00.002-05:00

FX's Damages, one of the best new shows, and one of the best overall shows, of last season finally returned last night for Season 2. I'm psyched to have this show back, and I really liked the new set-ups and cast additions for the sophomore season.

For whatever reason, Damages was never a ratings smash last year; but here's hoping that all of the emmy noms and critical praise will bring the show a host of new viewers this time around. The show is well worth it.

The New (?) TVGuideMagzine.com Site Coming Soon

2009-01-07T01:57:00.000-05:00

I know a lot of us are refugees of the former community blogs at tvguide.com (now completely zapped from cyberspace by the new owners as if those 2.5 years never existed), so I thought I would share this little bit of info that appeared in the print edition of TV Guide Magazine.

According to the blurb in the print edition, the new TV Guide Magazine website (www.tvguidemagazine.com) will be fully up-and-running soon. This means that we'll finally get online access to Matt Roush and some of the other columnists again. It's unclear whether or not there will be a community section again. It's even more unclear it anyone would sign up for it again given how burned we all got the last time around. I'm going to keep my eyes on it and check it out further when the site fully launches.

There's a slimmed-down version of the site on-line now, which is where I grabbed the screencap posted above.

A Third Winchester Brother???...

2009-01-06T16:14:00.001-05:00

Sounds completely crazy, but Kristin is reporting today that her spies are telling her that Kripke may be working a third Winchester brother into the show somehow.

I know, crazy right? Right?

Anyway, the rumor is in her spoiler chat here.