Mark Benford must die. Not because it makes sense narratively and not because it would make for riveting emotionally charged television. Mark must bite the big one simply because he is a miserable human being with a deficit of redeeming qualities. I will shed no tears for Mark if he does not make it out of this series alive, but I may cry a bit if he does because I will have been robbed of the only satisfaction I fear this series has in store for me.
Let us take stock of our characters positions relative to their flashes. Olivia and Charlie are going to ride out the flash on a beach? Something tells me they will be back home in time for their futures. Dylan and Lloyd are waiting for Olivia and Charlie to return so Dylan can have a cookie while his father roams topless around the house. Meanwhile, Mark is sobering up in a drunk tank. Hopefully he stays there long enough to stumble to the FBI where he can be killed. Janice is on her way to the particle accelerator, but she just grabbed her stomach as if something was wrong with the baby, perhaps she needs to get an ultrasound.
Wedeck is at the FBI which makes it likely that he will need to hit the toilet in that building, but I believe he will be too nervous to read the paper. His wife saw an adopted son, but we have not seen her since the one episode she was in and I fear that she is a dropped plot thread. The President is well on his way to resigning in order for his Vice President to take the oath of office. Aaron's daughter just died which means his flash was wrong, maybe he is on his way to D.C. to assassinate the president who obviously had a hand in the Jericho debacle.
Simon and Demetri are wild-cards because one did not flash and one could not flash. Hopefully together they can make something interesting happen.
Nicole confessed to Bryce that she knew the whereabouts of Kimeko. Which sent him running into the arms of Kimeko. No wonder she wanted to keep that a secret. Bryce is a jerk, maybe he and Mark should end of together.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Fringe: Over There (Part II)
Olivia is in serious trouble, I cannot believe how broken she was after what seemed like less than a day in captivity. Alivia (I know it doesn't have the same je ne sais quoi as "Walternate" but it will suffice) on the other hand managed to make contact with the mirror typewriter in record time.
I am fairly certain that Alivia will not be working for Walternate in the long term. I would have to assume that 10 minutes with her new niece will make Alivia a staunch supporter of our universe. I wonder if we will be spending a significant portion of Fringe season three with Alivia as our main character or if Walter and Peter will figure her out sooner. If their track record with Charlie's doppleganger is any indication it may not be until season 10 when someone notices that something is off with their good friend.
I loved all the little touches that made Peter's home dimension so different than our own. The picture of Walternate and an aged John F. Kennedy being my favorite touch.
I know William Bell has the numbers of stars in the universe multiplied by an overpowered nuclear bomb's worth of energy in his body, and he's crossed between worlds in the past, but Olivia was supposed to crack open the door home, not him. He should have noticed something was up right away when she was not pulling her weight. Maybe he did and then he exploded.
Peter and Olivia had their first kiss. It seems like it may be their last one for a while. I really liked this episode but my enjoyment of it was hampered by the fact that this was the first episode of television I watched since the series finale of "Lost" and nothing compares to that ending. Nothing.
I am fairly certain that Alivia will not be working for Walternate in the long term. I would have to assume that 10 minutes with her new niece will make Alivia a staunch supporter of our universe. I wonder if we will be spending a significant portion of Fringe season three with Alivia as our main character or if Walter and Peter will figure her out sooner. If their track record with Charlie's doppleganger is any indication it may not be until season 10 when someone notices that something is off with their good friend.
I loved all the little touches that made Peter's home dimension so different than our own. The picture of Walternate and an aged John F. Kennedy being my favorite touch.
I know William Bell has the numbers of stars in the universe multiplied by an overpowered nuclear bomb's worth of energy in his body, and he's crossed between worlds in the past, but Olivia was supposed to crack open the door home, not him. He should have noticed something was up right away when she was not pulling her weight. Maybe he did and then he exploded.
Peter and Olivia had their first kiss. It seems like it may be their last one for a while. I really liked this episode but my enjoyment of it was hampered by the fact that this was the first episode of television I watched since the series finale of "Lost" and nothing compares to that ending. Nothing.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Lost: The End
It seems obvious now. The flash sideways are in fact purgatory but the action on the island was real and important. One of the first theories I ever considered about Lost, way back in season one, was that the island was purgatory. When I heard the executive producers of Lost swear that the island was not the afterlife I took them at their word and dismissed that notion completely. I am extremely thrilled I did because my refusal to believe anything on the show was after death allowed my brain to create a blind spot for it even though the entire concept of "flash sideways" not "alternate dimension" now seems to scream "dead people".
I would like to clarify however, that what happened on the island really did happen. The events we have witnessed over the last six years on and off the island were the actual lives of the characters we have grown to love. What they did on the island mattered and had an impact on the course of the island's history and possibly the world. The only after life(s) depicted on screen were those shown over the course of season six as "flash sideways". If you do not want to take my word for it review the scene with Jack and Christian at the end of the episode.
I would now like to take stock of exactly what happened at the conclusion of this series. Desmond was able to stop the heart of the island by draining the flow of water and light. Once the power was off, all of the "special properties" ceased to have an effect and Smokey was no longer immortal or powerful.
Since the rules no longer applied, Un-Locke was able to stab and mortally wound Jack. Thankfully that was only seconds before Kate shot and killed the Nemesis who was no longer under the protection of the islands magical properties. Jack made Hurley the newest Jacob (as predicted) and re-corked the bottle before dying in the spot he first showed up on the island. As the light left Jack's eyes Kate, Sawyer, Claire, Miles, Frank, and Richard flew away on the Ajira plane. Hurley made a deal to share some responsibility with Ben who in turn convinced him that he was now able to make his own rules and send Desmond home to his wife and son.
Characters like Michael, Walt, Ecko, Ana Lucia, Cindy and the kids were not in the Church because they were not ready to move on or perhaps they had already moved on. More significantly, the most important aspects of their particular lives did not revolve around events on the Island. Their lives were not as interconnected to the core group of characters and therefore they did not need to show up at that particular church.
Ben decided to stay behind because even though he knew the truth he was not ready to move along. This in spite of the fact that he most likely lived a long and prosperous post-series life as Hurley's, Richard Alpert. Widmore, Eloise, Chang, Miles, Charlotte, Frank, and Daniel most likely had their own departure scheduled from the flash sideways.
Bernard had such a knowing conversation with Jack in his office because he was aware like Desmond that he needed to move on. He found Rose prior to getting on flight 815 so it stands to reason that they both knew where they were and what was happening.
While some questions remain: Why was Walt so important, why did the light create the Smoke Monster, what was the Man in Blacks name, who raised Jin and Sun's baby, why could the others not give birth on the island? None of that truly matters anymore.
When it comes down to it I can say without any disclaimer that I loved the finale of Lost. Not only did the action on the island come to a satisfying conclusion but the flash sideways provided the perfect sense of lasting peace that I usually find missing in such epic stories. This series did such a marvelous job wrapping up key questions without pandering to the audience in such a way to give them every answer formatted nicely into a check list, even though that is what some people thought/think they wanted.
While this series is over I feel I have no written my last words on Lost. Eventually when the dust settles and I have checked in with some other opinions brain may need to work out a few more puzzles with the written word.
I would like to clarify however, that what happened on the island really did happen. The events we have witnessed over the last six years on and off the island were the actual lives of the characters we have grown to love. What they did on the island mattered and had an impact on the course of the island's history and possibly the world. The only after life(s) depicted on screen were those shown over the course of season six as "flash sideways". If you do not want to take my word for it review the scene with Jack and Christian at the end of the episode.
I would now like to take stock of exactly what happened at the conclusion of this series. Desmond was able to stop the heart of the island by draining the flow of water and light. Once the power was off, all of the "special properties" ceased to have an effect and Smokey was no longer immortal or powerful.
Since the rules no longer applied, Un-Locke was able to stab and mortally wound Jack. Thankfully that was only seconds before Kate shot and killed the Nemesis who was no longer under the protection of the islands magical properties. Jack made Hurley the newest Jacob (as predicted) and re-corked the bottle before dying in the spot he first showed up on the island. As the light left Jack's eyes Kate, Sawyer, Claire, Miles, Frank, and Richard flew away on the Ajira plane. Hurley made a deal to share some responsibility with Ben who in turn convinced him that he was now able to make his own rules and send Desmond home to his wife and son.
Characters like Michael, Walt, Ecko, Ana Lucia, Cindy and the kids were not in the Church because they were not ready to move on or perhaps they had already moved on. More significantly, the most important aspects of their particular lives did not revolve around events on the Island. Their lives were not as interconnected to the core group of characters and therefore they did not need to show up at that particular church.
Ben decided to stay behind because even though he knew the truth he was not ready to move along. This in spite of the fact that he most likely lived a long and prosperous post-series life as Hurley's, Richard Alpert. Widmore, Eloise, Chang, Miles, Charlotte, Frank, and Daniel most likely had their own departure scheduled from the flash sideways.
Bernard had such a knowing conversation with Jack in his office because he was aware like Desmond that he needed to move on. He found Rose prior to getting on flight 815 so it stands to reason that they both knew where they were and what was happening.
While some questions remain: Why was Walt so important, why did the light create the Smoke Monster, what was the Man in Blacks name, who raised Jin and Sun's baby, why could the others not give birth on the island? None of that truly matters anymore.
When it comes down to it I can say without any disclaimer that I loved the finale of Lost. Not only did the action on the island come to a satisfying conclusion but the flash sideways provided the perfect sense of lasting peace that I usually find missing in such epic stories. This series did such a marvelous job wrapping up key questions without pandering to the audience in such a way to give them every answer formatted nicely into a check list, even though that is what some people thought/think they wanted.
While this series is over I feel I have no written my last words on Lost. Eventually when the dust settles and I have checked in with some other opinions brain may need to work out a few more puzzles with the written word.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Random Life: The Reel Problem
I was mowing my lawn about two weeks ago when my hand-me-down mower decided to quit. I was perturbed, especially considering I finished everything except an approximately 20 square foot section located dead center of my front lawn. I pulled the starter three times, pumped the primer twice, checked to make sure there was still gas in the tank, and then decided to call a time of death. I had been looking for an excuse to purchase a new mower and finally the old beast provided me one.
My wife, however, did not take the death of the lawn mower well. She insisted that I attempt a more serious resuscitation (like the time Jack pounded on Charlie's chest after Ethan hung him from a tree). A week later I took my socket set, a screw driver, and a single beer to the back yard in an effort to reassess the situation. I placed all the items on the ground but was distracted by my lovable dog, Benjamin Linus.
Benji decided he could not tolerate the presence of the mower in the yard so he barked repeatedly and loudly at it. I decided to throw him a stick in an effort to earn some quiet. The first few tosses went well, I threw and he fetched, it was like I had a well trained puppy. After about the fifth toss Benji came at me with purpose and it seemed as if the stick would have taken my feet out from under me if I had not moved. His intention was to fool me because at the last second Benji banked hard right, avoiding me altogether. Then he effortlessly spilled my beer, exploded my socket set, dropped the stick and ran off with my screw driver in a matter of nano seconds.
After retrieving all my scattered tools, minus most of the screw driver's handle with was now in pieces all over the yard I banished Benjamin inside and got to the task of fixing my mower. I removed a screw and was able to take out the filter. It was caked with at least an inch of dark, oily, plant material. When I had sufficiently cleaned it with my bare hands I then wiped my hands on my shirt, and attempted to start the mower. No luck.
I then took a bolt off the engine and attempted to remove the entire block but it would not budge. Next I proceeded to take every visible bolt out of my lawn mower in an attempt to reach something I could clean or replace. Unfortunately it seemed as if with every bolt I removed the engine somehow managed to anchor itself more firmly to the body of the mower. By the time I had unscrewed 16 fasteners of varying sizes I realized I had no idea where any of them came from. I pulled the mower one more time and the engine suddenly broke free of the machine and flew with incredible force until it stopped with a painful thud as it hit me in the stomach.
Once again I declared the beast dead and this time my wife agreed. I immediately grabbed my laptop and hit the internet searching for the best mower replacement I could find for a reasonable price. I quickly decided that I was done with gas powered beasts and narrowed my options to a battery powered electric mower or a human powered reel mower. I figured the best way to get my lawn its greenest was to purchase a green machine.
After some debate with the wife and several YouTube videos I settled on a "Scotts Classic Reel Mower 18 Inch". At $94.00 from Home Depot it was an economical alternative to the $299.00 off-brand battery powered mower they were selling. Assembly was simple and I was ready to mow my now out of control lawn. I took a pass at an especially tall section and felt instant gratification. Grass clippings flew everywhere and I spontaneously sprinted with the mower to take in my moment of triumph.
As I turned to survey the damage I saw to my dismay that the mower had missed 50% of blades of grass. I rallied my support for my new toy and took another pass. This time the mower missed everything. I nervously ran the mower all over the yard, attempting to make a dent in the greenery. It handled the short grass fine, but anything over 6 inches was bent over and then sprung back up after the mower moved on. I mowed the entire lawn as best I could and then used my Toro to cut the majority of the tall grass that the Scotts Reel ignored. Four hours later I decided it was time to return the reel.
The Home Depot had a helpful sign hanging over the returns area which offered possible reasons for returning a product. I decided to go with "Didn't like it". As I heaved the mower onto the counter the helpful worker asked, "Is there something wrong with it?" Reflexively I replied "No" then thought better of it and corrected, "Well, it doesn't cut grass".
My wife, however, did not take the death of the lawn mower well. She insisted that I attempt a more serious resuscitation (like the time Jack pounded on Charlie's chest after Ethan hung him from a tree). A week later I took my socket set, a screw driver, and a single beer to the back yard in an effort to reassess the situation. I placed all the items on the ground but was distracted by my lovable dog, Benjamin Linus.
Benji decided he could not tolerate the presence of the mower in the yard so he barked repeatedly and loudly at it. I decided to throw him a stick in an effort to earn some quiet. The first few tosses went well, I threw and he fetched, it was like I had a well trained puppy. After about the fifth toss Benji came at me with purpose and it seemed as if the stick would have taken my feet out from under me if I had not moved. His intention was to fool me because at the last second Benji banked hard right, avoiding me altogether. Then he effortlessly spilled my beer, exploded my socket set, dropped the stick and ran off with my screw driver in a matter of nano seconds.
After retrieving all my scattered tools, minus most of the screw driver's handle with was now in pieces all over the yard I banished Benjamin inside and got to the task of fixing my mower. I removed a screw and was able to take out the filter. It was caked with at least an inch of dark, oily, plant material. When I had sufficiently cleaned it with my bare hands I then wiped my hands on my shirt, and attempted to start the mower. No luck.
I then took a bolt off the engine and attempted to remove the entire block but it would not budge. Next I proceeded to take every visible bolt out of my lawn mower in an attempt to reach something I could clean or replace. Unfortunately it seemed as if with every bolt I removed the engine somehow managed to anchor itself more firmly to the body of the mower. By the time I had unscrewed 16 fasteners of varying sizes I realized I had no idea where any of them came from. I pulled the mower one more time and the engine suddenly broke free of the machine and flew with incredible force until it stopped with a painful thud as it hit me in the stomach.
Once again I declared the beast dead and this time my wife agreed. I immediately grabbed my laptop and hit the internet searching for the best mower replacement I could find for a reasonable price. I quickly decided that I was done with gas powered beasts and narrowed my options to a battery powered electric mower or a human powered reel mower. I figured the best way to get my lawn its greenest was to purchase a green machine.
After some debate with the wife and several YouTube videos I settled on a "Scotts Classic Reel Mower 18 Inch". At $94.00 from Home Depot it was an economical alternative to the $299.00 off-brand battery powered mower they were selling. Assembly was simple and I was ready to mow my now out of control lawn. I took a pass at an especially tall section and felt instant gratification. Grass clippings flew everywhere and I spontaneously sprinted with the mower to take in my moment of triumph.
As I turned to survey the damage I saw to my dismay that the mower had missed 50% of blades of grass. I rallied my support for my new toy and took another pass. This time the mower missed everything. I nervously ran the mower all over the yard, attempting to make a dent in the greenery. It handled the short grass fine, but anything over 6 inches was bent over and then sprung back up after the mower moved on. I mowed the entire lawn as best I could and then used my Toro to cut the majority of the tall grass that the Scotts Reel ignored. Four hours later I decided it was time to return the reel.
The Home Depot had a helpful sign hanging over the returns area which offered possible reasons for returning a product. I decided to go with "Didn't like it". As I heaved the mower onto the counter the helpful worker asked, "Is there something wrong with it?" Reflexively I replied "No" then thought better of it and corrected, "Well, it doesn't cut grass".
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Lost: What They Died For
What they died for indeed! Jacob's master plan was bringing dozens, maybe hundreds, of candidates to the island in an effort to give one of them a choice that he did not have. Jacob's decision to give his replacement a chance to say "no" effectively explains the course of the entire series. Jacob will be gone as soon as the fire fads but Jack must now shepherd the inhabitants of the island as long as he can.
I loved Sawyer complaining about Jack's god complex as he was in essence becoming a god. I believe that Jack's tenure as the custodian of the island will be brief. In order to defeat The Man in Black I think Jack must sacrifice himself.
Hurley recognized Ana Lucia! He is now a disciple of Desmond's in the flash sideways. To the point of what the flash sideways actually are, I still contend they are some form of psychic psychotherapy. Though it is worth noting that Un-Locke's newest master plan involves Desmond destroying the island.
We did see a sunken island in the first scene of season six. I truly hope that the flash sideways are not a series epilogue due to the Smoke Monster resetting time and space. I think I would feel cheated if the sideways proved to be the enduring lives of our characters.
For reasons previously explained I do not think that is the case. In fact, Jack's inexplicably bleeding neck (for the second time) is one of the most glaring signs that the flash sideways are giving way to our real reality.
It is ironic that Desmond, on island is a human fail safe considering his turning of the fail safe key was such a pivotal moment in the history of this series.
I feel I must defend "the light" of the island. I have heard some people (i.e. my wife) complain that "the light" is dumb and needs further explanation. But for me, the light is important simply because it is important. To go into the details of what the light is, how it got there, why precisely it is important, the process it would take to put it out, and how a man could stand to profit from it would take the magic out of the series. More importantly to spend time on the light would be time not spent on our characters which would be a misappropriation of valuable series finale time.
Speaking of valuable, lives are being snuffed out like candles after Sunday church services. Zoe, Widmore, and Alpert are all no longer among the islands living. That noted, if anyone can get up from a Smokey smackdown my money would be on Alpert. Miles somehow continues to defy the odds and survive each episode and make me laugh as he does it.
Is Ben playing Un-Locke or has he given in to his inner Sayid? I want to believe he is redeemable considering how wonderful of a person he is in the flash sideways. I almost believed him, Daniel, and Alex could become a family.
Were Jack and crew able to get Desmond out of the well after Jacob passed on his responsibilities? Or did someone else pull him from the well? Claire is still out there and she should have a new found fear of Smokey.
I cannot wait to see Kate show up at David's recital! More importantly I am ready to meet David's mother. Smart money is on Juliet considering she is the most significant character we have yet to see a flash sideways of. That and she still owes Sawyer that cup of coffee.
I loved Sawyer complaining about Jack's god complex as he was in essence becoming a god. I believe that Jack's tenure as the custodian of the island will be brief. In order to defeat The Man in Black I think Jack must sacrifice himself.
Hurley recognized Ana Lucia! He is now a disciple of Desmond's in the flash sideways. To the point of what the flash sideways actually are, I still contend they are some form of psychic psychotherapy. Though it is worth noting that Un-Locke's newest master plan involves Desmond destroying the island.
We did see a sunken island in the first scene of season six. I truly hope that the flash sideways are not a series epilogue due to the Smoke Monster resetting time and space. I think I would feel cheated if the sideways proved to be the enduring lives of our characters.
For reasons previously explained I do not think that is the case. In fact, Jack's inexplicably bleeding neck (for the second time) is one of the most glaring signs that the flash sideways are giving way to our real reality.
It is ironic that Desmond, on island is a human fail safe considering his turning of the fail safe key was such a pivotal moment in the history of this series.
I feel I must defend "the light" of the island. I have heard some people (i.e. my wife) complain that "the light" is dumb and needs further explanation. But for me, the light is important simply because it is important. To go into the details of what the light is, how it got there, why precisely it is important, the process it would take to put it out, and how a man could stand to profit from it would take the magic out of the series. More importantly to spend time on the light would be time not spent on our characters which would be a misappropriation of valuable series finale time.
Speaking of valuable, lives are being snuffed out like candles after Sunday church services. Zoe, Widmore, and Alpert are all no longer among the islands living. That noted, if anyone can get up from a Smokey smackdown my money would be on Alpert. Miles somehow continues to defy the odds and survive each episode and make me laugh as he does it.
Is Ben playing Un-Locke or has he given in to his inner Sayid? I want to believe he is redeemable considering how wonderful of a person he is in the flash sideways. I almost believed him, Daniel, and Alex could become a family.
Were Jack and crew able to get Desmond out of the well after Jacob passed on his responsibilities? Or did someone else pull him from the well? Claire is still out there and she should have a new found fear of Smokey.
I cannot wait to see Kate show up at David's recital! More importantly I am ready to meet David's mother. Smart money is on Juliet considering she is the most significant character we have yet to see a flash sideways of. That and she still owes Sawyer that cup of coffee.
V: Fruition
This was a pretty good episode. Ryan is slowly falling under the sway of Anna's bliss once more while Lisa seems to be rapidly breaking away. Erica was able to get valuable intelligence from Hobbes which allowed her to single handedly arrest a key anti-V figured, even if she would have rather recruited him into the Fifth Column. The arrest made Erica a household name and a hero to her son. Chad knows when he is being completely manipulated by Anna and he is knowingly going to give Father Jack's name to her. The Father had jack to do in this particular episode and his story line needs some pep. Hobbes on the other hand was moving and shaking all over the place which made his character a bit more interesting.
If Hobbes is the type of man who would accept payment for murder, why would he not already have been on the FBI's most wanted list? This guy is bad news so why is Erica and crew so willing to trust him? Would it be the worst thing if the Fifth Column dropped from four members to three? Would anyone notice?
Is Lisa going to sabotage the soldiers in an effort to save the Fifth Column? Would she bother saving them if she knew the entire Fifth Column was four people planet side, two doctors, and the guy that Joshua talked to that one time?
Val's water broke which means the entire gestational period of a human/V hybrid is approximately four weeks. It would follow then that the Val/Ryan baby, we will call him "Van", should have a speaking part by the second or third episode of season two. Hopefully heart to hearts with Van should pull Ryan out of Anna's bliss permanently. Unless of course giving birth to Van kills Val, in which case I am assuming Ryan will be less than emotionally available.
For someone that is not supposed to exhibit human emotion Anna smiles an awful lot. Maybe she is just a pathological lier and the only time Anna feels any type of emotion is when she lies. That would explain the ear to ear grins whenever she is pulling one over on the planet as a whole. Perhaps Anna needs big pharma to help her genuinely smile more often.
Speaking of happiness, I am fairly certain that was the first time we have seen Joshua smile on camera. When Lisa looked at him while she was supposed to be "blissing out" I assumed he was going to do a moon walk, which might have a different meaning in this context considering he is an alien.
If Hobbes is the type of man who would accept payment for murder, why would he not already have been on the FBI's most wanted list? This guy is bad news so why is Erica and crew so willing to trust him? Would it be the worst thing if the Fifth Column dropped from four members to three? Would anyone notice?
Is Lisa going to sabotage the soldiers in an effort to save the Fifth Column? Would she bother saving them if she knew the entire Fifth Column was four people planet side, two doctors, and the guy that Joshua talked to that one time?
Val's water broke which means the entire gestational period of a human/V hybrid is approximately four weeks. It would follow then that the Val/Ryan baby, we will call him "Van", should have a speaking part by the second or third episode of season two. Hopefully heart to hearts with Van should pull Ryan out of Anna's bliss permanently. Unless of course giving birth to Van kills Val, in which case I am assuming Ryan will be less than emotionally available.
For someone that is not supposed to exhibit human emotion Anna smiles an awful lot. Maybe she is just a pathological lier and the only time Anna feels any type of emotion is when she lies. That would explain the ear to ear grins whenever she is pulling one over on the planet as a whole. Perhaps Anna needs big pharma to help her genuinely smile more often.
Speaking of happiness, I am fairly certain that was the first time we have seen Joshua smile on camera. When Lisa looked at him while she was supposed to be "blissing out" I assumed he was going to do a moon walk, which might have a different meaning in this context considering he is an alien.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
FlashForward: The Negotiation
This episode inhabits the unfair position of being the first I have viewed since learning that FlashForward is officially canceled. While there were some strong moments I must say that I still do not love this show. Janice was outed as C.I.A. to Mark and she resigned her position at the F.B.I.? I know there has to be more to it but I was eating chips and the crunching sound in my head was louder than the volume on the T.V. and I did not care to jump back and watch the scene over again.
According to Gabriel, Demetri is bound to die one way or another. I wonder if Zoe is going to literally kill him when she finds out he is the father of Janice's baby. That would make for interesting television.
I still do not buy Aaron as Rambo. Do the creators of this show really expect us to believe he is capable of sniping two private military contractors quicker than a 12 year old could snipe the flood in a co-op game of Halo? Because I do not, especially considering he had the presence of mind to injure one of them rather than kill him.
Olivia and Mark are done and he does not care because the stakes are too high. He is the most unlikable "hero" in the history of network television. Lloyd, save his inability to divulge critical information until the required point in the story, is a much more pleasant person. I hope he finds himself in bed with Olivia at the moment of the FlashForward.
Wedeck just Watergated the president of the United States right? Which means Stan removed the man whose trust he had implicitly and replaced him with a woman who literally hates his guts. Maybe I am a bit jaded, but would the most powerful man in the world really resign over a pictures of an off the books private military contractor site?
Simon met with "senior management" unfortunately there is no way that guy was actually important. If he was truly a player he would not have scrambled to delete files, he would have instead have someone less important do that and he would have gotten out of dodge. Which leads me to speculate there were at least two dozen more important people than him in that building alone.
Will Simon and Janice save the world? Do I care at this point? I guess. What was negotiated in this episode anyway?
According to Gabriel, Demetri is bound to die one way or another. I wonder if Zoe is going to literally kill him when she finds out he is the father of Janice's baby. That would make for interesting television.
I still do not buy Aaron as Rambo. Do the creators of this show really expect us to believe he is capable of sniping two private military contractors quicker than a 12 year old could snipe the flood in a co-op game of Halo? Because I do not, especially considering he had the presence of mind to injure one of them rather than kill him.
Olivia and Mark are done and he does not care because the stakes are too high. He is the most unlikable "hero" in the history of network television. Lloyd, save his inability to divulge critical information until the required point in the story, is a much more pleasant person. I hope he finds himself in bed with Olivia at the moment of the FlashForward.
Wedeck just Watergated the president of the United States right? Which means Stan removed the man whose trust he had implicitly and replaced him with a woman who literally hates his guts. Maybe I am a bit jaded, but would the most powerful man in the world really resign over a pictures of an off the books private military contractor site?
Simon met with "senior management" unfortunately there is no way that guy was actually important. If he was truly a player he would not have scrambled to delete files, he would have instead have someone less important do that and he would have gotten out of dodge. Which leads me to speculate there were at least two dozen more important people than him in that building alone.
Will Simon and Janice save the world? Do I care at this point? I guess. What was negotiated in this episode anyway?
Fringe: Over There
Fringe pretends for 75% of the season that it is C.S.I. and subscribes to a case of the week formula. When in reality those episodes are all, albeit minor, preparation for the other 25% of Fringe episodes. It is that 25% which helps Fringe transcend from decent television to epic drama. "Over There" was a terrific episode of television and cemented "Fringe" as the series to beat in my "what will fill the Lost void" competition for the 2010 - 2011 television season.
We have known for a while that Walter is responsible for terrible atrocities in his past. We even had really good hints that his trip to the other side led to the destruction of the entire city of Boston. Now we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that Walter's pursuit of Peter is responsible for the bleeding between worlds and may bring about the end of one or both of them. No wonder William Bell removed a significant chunk of Walter's brain.
Who is Lee? I know he must have been a cortexaphan kid but I do not remember the exact circumstances of his episode. Was he the brother of the empath? Lee did recognize the him and call him by name. Fringe is definitely headed towards a place where I will need to re-watch the series in order to keep up with the twists and turns. The healer/disease giver was featured only a few episodes ago but the empath and fire girl I believe reach back to season one.
Charlie! You are alive, though not well, in zeppelin-verse. Charlie has spiders and needs to inject himself every few hours in order to keep them under control. I guess it is official that the episode which featured Charlie post-death was simply an episode aired out of order as the Charlie in that episode had hair and did not need to inject himself.
Olivia in zeppelin-verse seems to have a fairly good life. Though I was a bit upset that she was not with Agent Scott in this version of reality. Astrid, however, seems to have it a bit rough. She reminded me of the precog's in "Minority Report". On the other hand, Broyles certainly has more respect on the other side of the window.
The universes are actually much more different than they seemed at first glance. While Peter's kidnapping initiated the world collision, it did not create the point where they diverged. Lee did not know President Jackson who, for our non-history buffs, was the seventh president of the United States of America. It was pretty awesome to see Martin Luther King Jr. on the 20 dollar bill though.
I thought the scenes with Peter and his actual mother were emotionally intense. It seems like she will save him and both worlds from the machinations of his obviously crazy father.
We have known for a while that Walter is responsible for terrible atrocities in his past. We even had really good hints that his trip to the other side led to the destruction of the entire city of Boston. Now we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that Walter's pursuit of Peter is responsible for the bleeding between worlds and may bring about the end of one or both of them. No wonder William Bell removed a significant chunk of Walter's brain.
Who is Lee? I know he must have been a cortexaphan kid but I do not remember the exact circumstances of his episode. Was he the brother of the empath? Lee did recognize the him and call him by name. Fringe is definitely headed towards a place where I will need to re-watch the series in order to keep up with the twists and turns. The healer/disease giver was featured only a few episodes ago but the empath and fire girl I believe reach back to season one.
Charlie! You are alive, though not well, in zeppelin-verse. Charlie has spiders and needs to inject himself every few hours in order to keep them under control. I guess it is official that the episode which featured Charlie post-death was simply an episode aired out of order as the Charlie in that episode had hair and did not need to inject himself.
Olivia in zeppelin-verse seems to have a fairly good life. Though I was a bit upset that she was not with Agent Scott in this version of reality. Astrid, however, seems to have it a bit rough. She reminded me of the precog's in "Minority Report". On the other hand, Broyles certainly has more respect on the other side of the window.
The universes are actually much more different than they seemed at first glance. While Peter's kidnapping initiated the world collision, it did not create the point where they diverged. Lee did not know President Jackson who, for our non-history buffs, was the seventh president of the United States of America. It was pretty awesome to see Martin Luther King Jr. on the 20 dollar bill though.
I thought the scenes with Peter and his actual mother were emotionally intense. It seems like she will save him and both worlds from the machinations of his obviously crazy father.
Friday, May 14, 2010
Supernatural: Swan Song
A lot about this episode was absolutely terrific. Sam said "yes" to Lucifer in a culmination of the series arch that has been driving this show for the better part of the past five seasons. Chuck and Castiel had strong moments where they were depicted at their highest of highs and lowest of lows. Bobby shot the devil with a revolver which instantly makes him the coolest human to ever live. Dean grew up and allowed his brother to make the ultimate sacrifice.
Castiel's line about trading freedom for peace was definitely an allegory for the world today. That said it did not seem heavy handed or preachy. It felt uncomfortable and hard to swallow, which is what gave his departing words such weight. That said, he really is terrible at goodbyes.
I enjoyed Chuck's dual role as both consultant to Dean and narrator of this episode. While he could never be as direct as Cas, his words did a wonderful job bookending this portion of the series. Though I am not sure what message they were going for when he disappeared into a cloud of smoke. Was he truly a prophet or something more?
The only explanation I feel comfortable accepting at this point is that Chuck was God. If God truly was MIA and residing on planet earth Chuck was as good a cover as anything. It would explain Chuck's ability to stay alive this long and his inability to help Sam and Dean in any seemingly meaningful way considering he knew the future.
The only problem I have with this episode is that it was not a series finale. How dare the creative forces (as transitional as they may be at this point) of Supernatural bring Luci-Sam back from the pit mere minutes after they jumped in! Castiel and Bobby's sacrifice was for nothing because they were brought back instantly as well. The picture of Dean settling down for a nice normal life is completely marred by the fact that Luci-Sam is going to ruin it minutes into season six and I find that more than a little depressing.
That said, I'll keep watching.
Castiel's line about trading freedom for peace was definitely an allegory for the world today. That said it did not seem heavy handed or preachy. It felt uncomfortable and hard to swallow, which is what gave his departing words such weight. That said, he really is terrible at goodbyes.
I enjoyed Chuck's dual role as both consultant to Dean and narrator of this episode. While he could never be as direct as Cas, his words did a wonderful job bookending this portion of the series. Though I am not sure what message they were going for when he disappeared into a cloud of smoke. Was he truly a prophet or something more?
The only explanation I feel comfortable accepting at this point is that Chuck was God. If God truly was MIA and residing on planet earth Chuck was as good a cover as anything. It would explain Chuck's ability to stay alive this long and his inability to help Sam and Dean in any seemingly meaningful way considering he knew the future.
The only problem I have with this episode is that it was not a series finale. How dare the creative forces (as transitional as they may be at this point) of Supernatural bring Luci-Sam back from the pit mere minutes after they jumped in! Castiel and Bobby's sacrifice was for nothing because they were brought back instantly as well. The picture of Dean settling down for a nice normal life is completely marred by the fact that Luci-Sam is going to ruin it minutes into season six and I find that more than a little depressing.
That said, I'll keep watching.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
V: Hearts and Minds
Lisa has become a member of the Fifth Column whether she knows it or not. Jack proved he is the Achilles heel of the organization while Hobbes demonstrated he is the guy who can get a big gun and use it. Chad made a choice that throws him further into Anna's talons and he does not even know it. Anna won the award for most effective fibber in the history of human/V relations. Ryan, Joshua, and Erica all appeared in this episode and Tyler was dumped.
I feel like I could spend some time picking this episode apart and complaining about details. Details like erasing a picture from the FBI database equalling the erasure of the object itself. I could complain about the fact that Father Jack was taken in for questioning since he did a "dry run" of the attack but the time table of events was so quick there was simply no time for a dry run. I could nit-pick that Father Jack should have known that Chad leaked his information right away and instead it took him an unbearable amount of time to make that connection. But I will not complain, much.
I will focus on the terrific Father Jack interrogation where I though he was going to spill all the beans but Erica saved the day and stiffened his spine. I shall cheer the fact that Lisa is feeling emotion to the point where bringing Tyler pain prompts her break up with him. I will note that I recoiled in shock when Anna unflinchingly sucker punched her daughter and prompted her guards to "break her legs", because it will endear Tyler to Lisa.
Sadly though I must state the obvious. With each of the last few episodes, V is drifting further away from Lost territory and approaching that of FlashForward. I want to like this show, I really do, but it is simply not gripping me in a meaningful way. I cheer for Erica partly because she is a cool character, but mostly because she looks like Juliet. I want Father Jack to succeed because he reminds me of an FBI agent from Seattle that I used to know. Hobbes and Ryan have no emotional connection for me at all and while I find them watchable, I am not riveted when the appear on screen. I would recommend V should kill somebody, but they did that already.
I feel like I could spend some time picking this episode apart and complaining about details. Details like erasing a picture from the FBI database equalling the erasure of the object itself. I could complain about the fact that Father Jack was taken in for questioning since he did a "dry run" of the attack but the time table of events was so quick there was simply no time for a dry run. I could nit-pick that Father Jack should have known that Chad leaked his information right away and instead it took him an unbearable amount of time to make that connection. But I will not complain, much.
I will focus on the terrific Father Jack interrogation where I though he was going to spill all the beans but Erica saved the day and stiffened his spine. I shall cheer the fact that Lisa is feeling emotion to the point where bringing Tyler pain prompts her break up with him. I will note that I recoiled in shock when Anna unflinchingly sucker punched her daughter and prompted her guards to "break her legs", because it will endear Tyler to Lisa.
Sadly though I must state the obvious. With each of the last few episodes, V is drifting further away from Lost territory and approaching that of FlashForward. I want to like this show, I really do, but it is simply not gripping me in a meaningful way. I cheer for Erica partly because she is a cool character, but mostly because she looks like Juliet. I want Father Jack to succeed because he reminds me of an FBI agent from Seattle that I used to know. Hobbes and Ryan have no emotional connection for me at all and while I find them watchable, I am not riveted when the appear on screen. I would recommend V should kill somebody, but they did that already.
Lost: Across the Sea
Before I say anything else, kudos to Lost on having the gumption to air the third to last episode of the entire series and not have a single new scene with a series regular character in the entire episode.
For the most part the bold move worked out masterfully. Alison Janning did strong work as the pre-Jacob, Jacob. However, the child actors who played Jacob and the Man in Black simply stole the show. The Boy/Man in Black was such a fully realized character that I began to feel sympathy for him by the time his "mother" slammed his head into the walls of the well. That in itself is an amazing bit of emotional manipulation considering one week ago he was responsible for the deaths of four beloved characters.
I will now eat crow for emphatically stating that the Man in Black is Jacob. He is not, but he is about as near to Jacob as any one person can be considering they are twin brothers. It is curious that Jacob was not the distinguished sibling. In every respect, the Boy in Black is superior to Jacob. He more inquisitive, has a natural understanding of the island, and things in general come easily to him. To perfectly punctuate The Boy in Black's superiority, in Jacob's strongest scene, possibly ever, he has to ask his mother "why do you love him more than me?" To which she cannot deny that her love for not-Jacob is stronger.
Yet when she explains to mopey adult Jacob that he is the one to replace her, I believe her. She said it was always supposed to be him, she just did not know it at the time. It would seem that the innate goodness in Jacob is what the island was craving in a custodian. The Man in Black was the first person to exploit the power of the island and it would seem that the "light" of the island could see that coming.
Who dug the wells and built the wheel which moves the island? The Man in Black did because he understood that the "light" of the island could warp him somewhere else, he completed it after he was made into Smokey. Whose bodies were "Adam and Eve's"? They belonged to the Man in Black and his mother and they were placed there by Jacob. How did Jacob come to be on the island and how did he get his power? His pregnant mother was ship wrecked there centuries ago and after 43 (give or take) years on the island he took over for what I can only imagine is a long line of island protectors. How was the Smoke Monster created? The Man in Black was sent into the light as punishment by Jacob after murdering his mother, this was a fate worse than death and turned him into Smokey. Why could The Man in Black not kill Jacob? Because their mother put the hex on them, which incidentally is probably what Jacob did to Ben and Widmore.
Did anyone else find it odd that after Claudia drank the liquid "mother" gave her she instantly began speaking English? How much easier for Jin would this whole series have been if Jacob gave him a glass of that magic juice? Claudia only picked one name, seriously? Is there any chance The Man in Black's name is actually "Brother"?
Speaking of long shots, it is worth noting that the only regular characters to appear in this episode are Locke, Jack, and Kate. We already know the significance of Locke and it certainly seems like Jack is the Jacob replacement, but what if it is Kate. The previous custodian of the island was a female and it stands to reason that a gender rotation is not altogether out of the question. It just seems so purposeful that only those three characters are depicted in this episode. Kate's "who are they, where did they come from" could have easily been cut from this episode, so why make the point to include her if she was not extremely important to this part of the story?
For the most part the bold move worked out masterfully. Alison Janning did strong work as the pre-Jacob, Jacob. However, the child actors who played Jacob and the Man in Black simply stole the show. The Boy/Man in Black was such a fully realized character that I began to feel sympathy for him by the time his "mother" slammed his head into the walls of the well. That in itself is an amazing bit of emotional manipulation considering one week ago he was responsible for the deaths of four beloved characters.
I will now eat crow for emphatically stating that the Man in Black is Jacob. He is not, but he is about as near to Jacob as any one person can be considering they are twin brothers. It is curious that Jacob was not the distinguished sibling. In every respect, the Boy in Black is superior to Jacob. He more inquisitive, has a natural understanding of the island, and things in general come easily to him. To perfectly punctuate The Boy in Black's superiority, in Jacob's strongest scene, possibly ever, he has to ask his mother "why do you love him more than me?" To which she cannot deny that her love for not-Jacob is stronger.
Yet when she explains to mopey adult Jacob that he is the one to replace her, I believe her. She said it was always supposed to be him, she just did not know it at the time. It would seem that the innate goodness in Jacob is what the island was craving in a custodian. The Man in Black was the first person to exploit the power of the island and it would seem that the "light" of the island could see that coming.
Who dug the wells and built the wheel which moves the island? The Man in Black did because he understood that the "light" of the island could warp him somewhere else, he completed it after he was made into Smokey. Whose bodies were "Adam and Eve's"? They belonged to the Man in Black and his mother and they were placed there by Jacob. How did Jacob come to be on the island and how did he get his power? His pregnant mother was ship wrecked there centuries ago and after 43 (give or take) years on the island he took over for what I can only imagine is a long line of island protectors. How was the Smoke Monster created? The Man in Black was sent into the light as punishment by Jacob after murdering his mother, this was a fate worse than death and turned him into Smokey. Why could The Man in Black not kill Jacob? Because their mother put the hex on them, which incidentally is probably what Jacob did to Ben and Widmore.
Did anyone else find it odd that after Claudia drank the liquid "mother" gave her she instantly began speaking English? How much easier for Jin would this whole series have been if Jacob gave him a glass of that magic juice? Claudia only picked one name, seriously? Is there any chance The Man in Black's name is actually "Brother"?
Speaking of long shots, it is worth noting that the only regular characters to appear in this episode are Locke, Jack, and Kate. We already know the significance of Locke and it certainly seems like Jack is the Jacob replacement, but what if it is Kate. The previous custodian of the island was a female and it stands to reason that a gender rotation is not altogether out of the question. It just seems so purposeful that only those three characters are depicted in this episode. Kate's "who are they, where did they come from" could have easily been cut from this episode, so why make the point to include her if she was not extremely important to this part of the story?
Sunday, May 9, 2010
FlashForward: Course Correction
In an unbelievable turn of events Mark was presented with a terrible scenario and he did not freak out or otherwise cause mayhem and carnage. To clarify, when Mark found out that his wife may have an affair in the future with a man she has never met he instantaneously began the process of pushing her away from him. Yet, when she was sharing a bottle of wine with a man she admitted to having feelings for in his house at night and he happened to walk in on the two of them, he is totally OK except for a little stink face expression.
In the "totally convenient" department the FBI decided to crosscheck Simon's biometrics with Suspect 0's as Simon ran away. Additionally it would seem that Lloyd has absolutely no common sense. He did not think it was important to mention to the FBI that Simon uncharacteristically insisted that Lloyd run the "wanna be LHC" exactly at 11 AM when he could not be there to witness it and he learned that his father had died moments earlier.
Also frustrating was the fact that the FBI did not think it was important to keep an eye on the creator of the "Blue Hand". Did no one realize that someone with that kind of influence over people might also foster a nihilistic messianic complex (I'm pretty sure it's a thing). What was worse was watching Dem and the British agent completely botch the interview with him. Actually, the most terrible part of this episode was Dem screaming to the scared woman "run" and then radioing to the Brit "drive uncontrollably fast".
Why would Nicole not tell Bryce that his Japanese friend was in deportation detention? She recently stop his advances because she thought his head was not in her game and all she had to do with that file folder was hand it to him. If she had I am fairly certain Bryce would have met Kimeko, said hello and then gone back to Nicole. Now they are going to go on an awkward date, realize they are not meant to be together, and Nicole is going to be drowned in less than a week.
Gabriel continues to be a bright spot in this series. His bit with the hamburger was fantastically funny. I hope that Gabriel and Vreede are the team that end up saving the world. I do find it odd that Olivia felt the need to keep Gabriel in the hospital rather than send him into the FBI for questioning. Maybe Vreede cannot handle the responsibility of babysitting Gabe.
We did not get any mention of Janice or Vogel this episode. Last week it made sense to write out Demetri considering he survived his death date the week before, but there is no excuse for keeping Janice and Vogel out of the action this time around. Ironically, "Course Correction" was a sloppy return to form for a show that had been turning towards a better direction.
In the "totally convenient" department the FBI decided to crosscheck Simon's biometrics with Suspect 0's as Simon ran away. Additionally it would seem that Lloyd has absolutely no common sense. He did not think it was important to mention to the FBI that Simon uncharacteristically insisted that Lloyd run the "wanna be LHC" exactly at 11 AM when he could not be there to witness it and he learned that his father had died moments earlier.
Also frustrating was the fact that the FBI did not think it was important to keep an eye on the creator of the "Blue Hand". Did no one realize that someone with that kind of influence over people might also foster a nihilistic messianic complex (I'm pretty sure it's a thing). What was worse was watching Dem and the British agent completely botch the interview with him. Actually, the most terrible part of this episode was Dem screaming to the scared woman "run" and then radioing to the Brit "drive uncontrollably fast".
Why would Nicole not tell Bryce that his Japanese friend was in deportation detention? She recently stop his advances because she thought his head was not in her game and all she had to do with that file folder was hand it to him. If she had I am fairly certain Bryce would have met Kimeko, said hello and then gone back to Nicole. Now they are going to go on an awkward date, realize they are not meant to be together, and Nicole is going to be drowned in less than a week.
Gabriel continues to be a bright spot in this series. His bit with the hamburger was fantastically funny. I hope that Gabriel and Vreede are the team that end up saving the world. I do find it odd that Olivia felt the need to keep Gabriel in the hospital rather than send him into the FBI for questioning. Maybe Vreede cannot handle the responsibility of babysitting Gabe.
We did not get any mention of Janice or Vogel this episode. Last week it made sense to write out Demetri considering he survived his death date the week before, but there is no excuse for keeping Janice and Vogel out of the action this time around. Ironically, "Course Correction" was a sloppy return to form for a show that had been turning towards a better direction.
Supernatural: Two Minutes to Midnight
The first half of this episode seemed somehow slow and rushed at the same time. The stalking and subsequent death of Pestilence could have and should have been an episode unto itself. Instead Pestilence was squished into last episode and this one and in both cases the other parts of the episode were much more interesting. Therefore while Pestilence was telling an old woman she was going to die I was wondering if Bobby had sold his soul for information on Death's whereabouts.
The scene at Niveous Pharmaceuticals was fun. Bobby called the trio of himself, Cas, and Sam "domestic terrorists" and I got a huge kick out of that. The fact that Croatoan is not an airborne virus seems like a major defect in Pestilence's design. Actually it would appear that Croatoan is not contagious at all considering Sam had his eyes and mouth completely splattered with the blood of a Coatoan infected man.
If Lucifer has managed to put Death on a leash does it stand to reason that Michael has done the same to God? Death drew a direct comparison between himself and God more or less explaining that God would be more clearly understood if was called Birth. Birth and Death bring balance to the universe because as Birth continuously creates Death systematically makes room for more creation. Perhaps when Lucifer "raised" Death he actually managed to summon and trap him. He did this by killing a towns worth of people all at once, effectively doing the work of Death.
What if Michael has tethered Birth in the same way? Perhaps he has created new life and thus was able to take the momentum out of Gods sails. The obvious question then is; What did Michael "birth"? The answer is demons. We have always assumed that Lucifer created the demons but as far as I know, at least in the world of Supernatural, we have no firm confirmation on that. What if Michael created the demons and or other "evil" things that Sam and Dean have been killing since season the start of this series?
If Crowley thinks Lucifer wants all demons dead maybe he knows that Lucifer did not create them. What if Death gave Crowley the sickle in order to lead Dean to him? Perhaps Crowley truly is an enlightened demon, aware of his genesis because he was spared by Death.
The scene between Death and Dean in Chicago was simply fantastic. The actor they had portray Death was pitch perfect, he truly seemed otherworldly and menacing.
How Supernatural is going to continue after this season. The stakes have been raised so high at this point that fighting Wendigo's in season 6 simply is not going to cut it anymore. Are they going to feel the need to do some kind of series "reset" after this arch plays out? How in the world are they going to get Sam out of the pit after he jumps in? Will the third Winchester brother have a full time role in future seasons?
On a huge side note, did anyone else notice that Death confirmed alien life?
The scene at Niveous Pharmaceuticals was fun. Bobby called the trio of himself, Cas, and Sam "domestic terrorists" and I got a huge kick out of that. The fact that Croatoan is not an airborne virus seems like a major defect in Pestilence's design. Actually it would appear that Croatoan is not contagious at all considering Sam had his eyes and mouth completely splattered with the blood of a Coatoan infected man.
If Lucifer has managed to put Death on a leash does it stand to reason that Michael has done the same to God? Death drew a direct comparison between himself and God more or less explaining that God would be more clearly understood if was called Birth. Birth and Death bring balance to the universe because as Birth continuously creates Death systematically makes room for more creation. Perhaps when Lucifer "raised" Death he actually managed to summon and trap him. He did this by killing a towns worth of people all at once, effectively doing the work of Death.
What if Michael has tethered Birth in the same way? Perhaps he has created new life and thus was able to take the momentum out of Gods sails. The obvious question then is; What did Michael "birth"? The answer is demons. We have always assumed that Lucifer created the demons but as far as I know, at least in the world of Supernatural, we have no firm confirmation on that. What if Michael created the demons and or other "evil" things that Sam and Dean have been killing since season the start of this series?
If Crowley thinks Lucifer wants all demons dead maybe he knows that Lucifer did not create them. What if Death gave Crowley the sickle in order to lead Dean to him? Perhaps Crowley truly is an enlightened demon, aware of his genesis because he was spared by Death.
The scene between Death and Dean in Chicago was simply fantastic. The actor they had portray Death was pitch perfect, he truly seemed otherworldly and menacing.
How Supernatural is going to continue after this season. The stakes have been raised so high at this point that fighting Wendigo's in season 6 simply is not going to cut it anymore. Are they going to feel the need to do some kind of series "reset" after this arch plays out? How in the world are they going to get Sam out of the pit after he jumps in? Will the third Winchester brother have a full time role in future seasons?
On a huge side note, did anyone else notice that Death confirmed alien life?
Friday Night Lights: East of Dillon
I must tell you that I am not a Direct TV subscriber so I am watching Friday Night Lights season four on NBC as if it is airing for the first time. I realize that FNL is not the type of television show I normally care about as there are no aliens, magical islands, demons, or mutant creatures. Yet for some reason, I have loved every story line this show has ever put to the screen, excluding one major misstep in the second season.
If you are not watching Friday Night Lights, you are not alone. The only reason I even checked out Friday Night Lights was that I realized the newly released (at the time) first season DVD's could be bought for less than 20 bucks and I thought that was a steal. Most people have tuned this show out for some reason, which is why the odd deal with Direct TV exists. However, FNL is always in the top tier of television shows on the air even if they do not have the viewership to go along with it.
East of Dillon picks up a fair bit after the events of season three. Coach Taylor was forced out of Panther land, when he refused to play the football prodigy and ridiculously rich kid JD during the big state final, in a coup d'etat by JD's father. Taylor was sent by the generous board of education to East Dillon which was recently reopened without much fan fair.
Watching Eric Taylor walk onto a field with more beer bottles than blades of grass was heartbreaking. Seeing him end his first practice after only 18 minutes was demoralizing. Experiencing real fear when he stood up to the "player" that attacked Landry during practice was epic television. How could a show about such a depressing turn of events be so riveting to watch?
That is not to imply there were no moments of levity in this season opener. The new assistant coach was a lot of fun. I wonder if he will turn out to have any sort of value as an actual coach or if he will simply be a place holder until Tim or Matt take over. Tammy's protest of winning the coin toss with the wrong call and then then taking offense over D had me smiling ear to ear. Julie's decision to attend East Dillon this school year had me simultaneously cheering and wondering how she will be able to go against the new zoning laws when police officers are physically ejecting students from West Dillon.
I do not watch Friday Night Lights with the same microscope I use when viewing Lost but I would be remiss if I did not mention one inconsistency with this episode. JD as a freshman was controlled by his father to the point where he was not allowed to have a girlfriend because it interfered with football. His dad forced him to apologize to Coach the one time he drank during football season. Yet JD as a sophomore is drinking the week of the season opener, consorting with girls and assaulting his former coaches daughter in an effort to prove he is better than Matt. Why has his father not punched him in the face again?
When Taylor came back to Dillon and ousted the new coach before he got a chance to really make the team his own, that coach told him that action would come back to haunt him. Karma has a way of working and that coach could be called a prophet because no one could have predicted that less than two years later Coach Taylor would be forfeiting his season opener down at the half 45 to zip. Well no one other than the writers of Friday Night Lights I guess.
The good news for Taylor is that no one with any real power expects him to succeed. They are hoping he simply quits his job in frustration and shame. That said, I am guessing that Buddy's ego is not going to let him play second banana to JD's father. Even though Buddy bleeds Panther blue I am thinking he is going to be a booster for the Lions by the end of this season.
If you are not watching Friday Night Lights, you are not alone. The only reason I even checked out Friday Night Lights was that I realized the newly released (at the time) first season DVD's could be bought for less than 20 bucks and I thought that was a steal. Most people have tuned this show out for some reason, which is why the odd deal with Direct TV exists. However, FNL is always in the top tier of television shows on the air even if they do not have the viewership to go along with it.
East of Dillon picks up a fair bit after the events of season three. Coach Taylor was forced out of Panther land, when he refused to play the football prodigy and ridiculously rich kid JD during the big state final, in a coup d'etat by JD's father. Taylor was sent by the generous board of education to East Dillon which was recently reopened without much fan fair.
Watching Eric Taylor walk onto a field with more beer bottles than blades of grass was heartbreaking. Seeing him end his first practice after only 18 minutes was demoralizing. Experiencing real fear when he stood up to the "player" that attacked Landry during practice was epic television. How could a show about such a depressing turn of events be so riveting to watch?
That is not to imply there were no moments of levity in this season opener. The new assistant coach was a lot of fun. I wonder if he will turn out to have any sort of value as an actual coach or if he will simply be a place holder until Tim or Matt take over. Tammy's protest of winning the coin toss with the wrong call and then then taking offense over D had me smiling ear to ear. Julie's decision to attend East Dillon this school year had me simultaneously cheering and wondering how she will be able to go against the new zoning laws when police officers are physically ejecting students from West Dillon.
I do not watch Friday Night Lights with the same microscope I use when viewing Lost but I would be remiss if I did not mention one inconsistency with this episode. JD as a freshman was controlled by his father to the point where he was not allowed to have a girlfriend because it interfered with football. His dad forced him to apologize to Coach the one time he drank during football season. Yet JD as a sophomore is drinking the week of the season opener, consorting with girls and assaulting his former coaches daughter in an effort to prove he is better than Matt. Why has his father not punched him in the face again?
When Taylor came back to Dillon and ousted the new coach before he got a chance to really make the team his own, that coach told him that action would come back to haunt him. Karma has a way of working and that coach could be called a prophet because no one could have predicted that less than two years later Coach Taylor would be forfeiting his season opener down at the half 45 to zip. Well no one other than the writers of Friday Night Lights I guess.
The good news for Taylor is that no one with any real power expects him to succeed. They are hoping he simply quits his job in frustration and shame. That said, I am guessing that Buddy's ego is not going to let him play second banana to JD's father. Even though Buddy bleeds Panther blue I am thinking he is going to be a booster for the Lions by the end of this season.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Fringe: Northwest Passage
This one focused on Peter and I must say that I enjoyed the episode immensely. Oddly, this did not feel like an episode of Fringe. This hour played like a psychological suspense film more than the scifi action show we are usually treated to each week. Even if Peter was not questioning his ability to unwind fact from fiction, I was starting to believe that maybe he was hallucinating a bit.
That all changed with the terrific ending when the Director was revealed to be Walternate! If I had a system where I earned points for every correct prediction I made on the blog I would award myself 20 points for saying I believed the Director was Walternate in my post on "The Man from the Other Side". That would likely bring my all time points total to somewhere around, 20 points. I guess that is why I do not have a system like that.
Sheriff Mathis was a terrific guest star and I would love to see her fully cooperate with the FBI in a future episode. I am guessing Nelson did something to Ferguson which would give her an excuse to show up at some point next season when Peter eventually returns to Boston.
A lot has to happen before the Fringe story slows to the point where Mathis can show up again. Peter has to decide which universe he will fight for, Olivia must find a way to use her special powers, Walternate must confront Walter, and maybe we can get an explanation of what was up with the Charlie episode.
Walternate is the William Bell of the other side. He pushed technology to the limit in service of finding his stolen son. Walternate's wife must have given him enough information to ferret out the truth of what happened that night. That all noted, Walternate is a very dangerous man.
That all changed with the terrific ending when the Director was revealed to be Walternate! If I had a system where I earned points for every correct prediction I made on the blog I would award myself 20 points for saying I believed the Director was Walternate in my post on "The Man from the Other Side". That would likely bring my all time points total to somewhere around, 20 points. I guess that is why I do not have a system like that.
Sheriff Mathis was a terrific guest star and I would love to see her fully cooperate with the FBI in a future episode. I am guessing Nelson did something to Ferguson which would give her an excuse to show up at some point next season when Peter eventually returns to Boston.
A lot has to happen before the Fringe story slows to the point where Mathis can show up again. Peter has to decide which universe he will fight for, Olivia must find a way to use her special powers, Walternate must confront Walter, and maybe we can get an explanation of what was up with the Charlie episode.
Walternate is the William Bell of the other side. He pushed technology to the limit in service of finding his stolen son. Walternate's wife must have given him enough information to ferret out the truth of what happened that night. That all noted, Walternate is a very dangerous man.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Lost: The Candidate
Sayid, Jin, Sun, and Frank all died in what I can only describe as the most catastrophic Lost episode in the history of the series. Sayid found some form of redemption even though it was not what he hoped for. Frank died in almost an Illana type way without explanation or motivation when the sub door blew off its hinges and smacked him in the head. While Jin and Sun passed on in much the same way we lost Charlie. This time the blood is on Sawyers hands and I wonder how he will deal with it when he wakes up.
I am fairly certain the entity we call Un-Locke, the Man in Black, the Smoke Monster, Smokey the Nemesis, Smokey, Man in Locke is Jacob. Somehow the island split the original Jacob in two, certain qualities manifested in the being we know as Jacob while others concentrated to create the Man in Black. This would explain "Jacob's" occasional violent streak which was exemplified by mass murder of the Dharma Initiative, the killing of the soldiers that brought Judgehead, and Widmore's decision to kill baby Alex rather than bring her into the fold. Un-Locke could not kill Jacob because he could not kill himself and be allowed to leave the island. In order to replace Jacob on the island Jack must kill Smokey then the island will split him in two.
More than anyone else on the island we have seen the light and dark sides of Jack Shepard. In literally the same episode we have seen him portrayed as a shinning hero and a drunken suicidal addict. We have seen the erratic "let's blow up the island with a thermonuclear device" Jack and the more zen, "Locke cannot kill us so he is trying to get us to kill each other" Jack. Jack has obvious daddy issues, while Smokey has confessed to having serious mommy issues. Jack is already of two minds, they might as well make it two bodies.
While I am happy that Jin and Sun have evolved from the seemingly abusive couple to the couple that refuses to leave its other half behind I was dying on the inside when Jin refused to leave Sun. He decided to orphan his 3 year old daughter. While he was faced with an impossible choice he should have listened to Sun and gotten off that submarine. That said, the scene made me cry and I therefore feel emotionally manipulated and used.
Claire did not know Un-Locke's plan for her friends. She seemed genuinely shocked when Smokey told her he was going to finish what he started.
Widmore is still out there though his camp has been decimated by Smokey the Nemesis. He would have killed Kate, there is no doubt about that, but is he really the good guy in this story?
Sayid told Jack that he had to find Desmond in the well because Jack was going to be the one to replace Jacob. I still am not positive how Desmond fits into this whole narrative but I cannot wait to find out. Is it possible that Desmond is the catalyst by which Jack is split in two or is he simply the weapon Jack must use to kill Un-Locke? I just hope they do not kill him off in some cold disconnected flash of a scene like they did with poor Frank. Hurley and Kate did not even bother to ask Jack if Frank made it out of the sub.
Miles, Richard, and Ben are still out there hatching some kind of anti-Un-Locke plan. I hope they blow up the plane before Smokey can finish what he started.
I am now convinced more than ever that the Flash sideways are some form of therapy and the connections between the characters are forming the perforations that will slowly and deliberately tear the therapeutic world apart. Claire's music box from Christian played "Catch a Falling Star" which is the song she asked the couple who were going to adopt Aaron to sing to him if he could not sleep (right before she ran out of the room and headed to L.A.). Locke rambled about the on island world in his sleep and had frequent moments of reality tearing. Even Jin made a cameo in the Mr. Locke/Dr. Shepard conversation minutes after his own watery death.
Were the flash sideways created for Jack specifically? A window onto a world without Jacob? While it seems obvious that Jack will replace Jacob at this point it is worth noting that both Sawyer and Hurley are still alive and candidates.
I am fairly certain the entity we call Un-Locke, the Man in Black, the Smoke Monster, Smokey the Nemesis, Smokey, Man in Locke is Jacob. Somehow the island split the original Jacob in two, certain qualities manifested in the being we know as Jacob while others concentrated to create the Man in Black. This would explain "Jacob's" occasional violent streak which was exemplified by mass murder of the Dharma Initiative, the killing of the soldiers that brought Judgehead, and Widmore's decision to kill baby Alex rather than bring her into the fold. Un-Locke could not kill Jacob because he could not kill himself and be allowed to leave the island. In order to replace Jacob on the island Jack must kill Smokey then the island will split him in two.
More than anyone else on the island we have seen the light and dark sides of Jack Shepard. In literally the same episode we have seen him portrayed as a shinning hero and a drunken suicidal addict. We have seen the erratic "let's blow up the island with a thermonuclear device" Jack and the more zen, "Locke cannot kill us so he is trying to get us to kill each other" Jack. Jack has obvious daddy issues, while Smokey has confessed to having serious mommy issues. Jack is already of two minds, they might as well make it two bodies.
While I am happy that Jin and Sun have evolved from the seemingly abusive couple to the couple that refuses to leave its other half behind I was dying on the inside when Jin refused to leave Sun. He decided to orphan his 3 year old daughter. While he was faced with an impossible choice he should have listened to Sun and gotten off that submarine. That said, the scene made me cry and I therefore feel emotionally manipulated and used.
Claire did not know Un-Locke's plan for her friends. She seemed genuinely shocked when Smokey told her he was going to finish what he started.
Widmore is still out there though his camp has been decimated by Smokey the Nemesis. He would have killed Kate, there is no doubt about that, but is he really the good guy in this story?
Sayid told Jack that he had to find Desmond in the well because Jack was going to be the one to replace Jacob. I still am not positive how Desmond fits into this whole narrative but I cannot wait to find out. Is it possible that Desmond is the catalyst by which Jack is split in two or is he simply the weapon Jack must use to kill Un-Locke? I just hope they do not kill him off in some cold disconnected flash of a scene like they did with poor Frank. Hurley and Kate did not even bother to ask Jack if Frank made it out of the sub.
Miles, Richard, and Ben are still out there hatching some kind of anti-Un-Locke plan. I hope they blow up the plane before Smokey can finish what he started.
I am now convinced more than ever that the Flash sideways are some form of therapy and the connections between the characters are forming the perforations that will slowly and deliberately tear the therapeutic world apart. Claire's music box from Christian played "Catch a Falling Star" which is the song she asked the couple who were going to adopt Aaron to sing to him if he could not sleep (right before she ran out of the room and headed to L.A.). Locke rambled about the on island world in his sleep and had frequent moments of reality tearing. Even Jin made a cameo in the Mr. Locke/Dr. Shepard conversation minutes after his own watery death.
Were the flash sideways created for Jack specifically? A window onto a world without Jacob? While it seems obvious that Jack will replace Jacob at this point it is worth noting that both Sawyer and Hurley are still alive and candidates.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
FlashForward: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
Well it has taken seventeen episodes but I thoroughly enjoyed this hour of FlashForward. Vogel is a despicable human being and Janice is working for him. Mark and Olivia were never meant to be together because she was supposed to go to Harvard and meet Lloyd. Aaron does not blend in Afghanistan as well as he thinks he does. Vreede had a wonderful character moment where he double clicked a flashlight in Olivia's face just because it was funny to him. In an unbelievable demonstration of restraint, for FlashForward, they even kept Demetri out of this episode because his character obviously took a much deserved rest after surviving his expiration date.
Gabriel is a key piece of the puzzle, I hope Vreede is a cunning enough FBI agent to coax him into coming to the bureau. I also hope that Gabriel can gain some semblance of sanity back and become an analyst or something. I would not want to infer that James Callis singlehandedly turned FlashForward around, but I will not argue against it either.
Olivia was supposed to go to Harvard. Which means she was never supposed to end up with Mark or give birth to Charlie. I know that at some point Olivia explained on screen why she chose to go to the University of California Sunnydale (I do not remember which California school she went to, so I for now we will just say she went to the school Buffy and Willow did) but the reason is slipping my mind. If she went to Harvard would she have switched majors to physics? If Olivia was a physicist would she have been able to prevent the blackout or would she have been the cause of it along with Lloyd and Simon?
I will give the show credit for pissing me off so severely when it was revealed that Janice was a double agent only to make me extremely happy when they reveal that Janice was in fact a triple agent. Though I find it odd that she has been collecting tons of information of the shadowy organization that engineered the FlashForward for two years and seemingly has not done anything to impede the progress of their nefarious goals. What in the world is Vogel waiting for, what could be worse than killing 20 million people in a single day? Unless Vogel truly believes, like Dyson Frost did, that the world will end in 2016.
I cannot believe I am writing this but please ABC do not cancel FlashForward! It has only now hit its creative stride and I would love to see this series play itself out for at least another season.
Gabriel is a key piece of the puzzle, I hope Vreede is a cunning enough FBI agent to coax him into coming to the bureau. I also hope that Gabriel can gain some semblance of sanity back and become an analyst or something. I would not want to infer that James Callis singlehandedly turned FlashForward around, but I will not argue against it either.
Olivia was supposed to go to Harvard. Which means she was never supposed to end up with Mark or give birth to Charlie. I know that at some point Olivia explained on screen why she chose to go to the University of California Sunnydale (I do not remember which California school she went to, so I for now we will just say she went to the school Buffy and Willow did) but the reason is slipping my mind. If she went to Harvard would she have switched majors to physics? If Olivia was a physicist would she have been able to prevent the blackout or would she have been the cause of it along with Lloyd and Simon?
I will give the show credit for pissing me off so severely when it was revealed that Janice was a double agent only to make me extremely happy when they reveal that Janice was in fact a triple agent. Though I find it odd that she has been collecting tons of information of the shadowy organization that engineered the FlashForward for two years and seemingly has not done anything to impede the progress of their nefarious goals. What in the world is Vogel waiting for, what could be worse than killing 20 million people in a single day? Unless Vogel truly believes, like Dyson Frost did, that the world will end in 2016.
I cannot believe I am writing this but please ABC do not cancel FlashForward! It has only now hit its creative stride and I would love to see this series play itself out for at least another season.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Supernatural: The Devil You Know
Crowley is a terrific addition to the Supernatural cast of characters. He delivered the boys the Colt and now he is attempting to round up the remaining horsemen. He is the devil they know and I'm hoping that means they will be able to manage and control him. Of course at this point it seems like Crowley is in the drivers seat while Sam and Dean are tussling over shotgun.
Crowley's master plan also includes possessing Bobby's soul for some unknown purpose. While I loved Bobby shooting him repeatedly I fear he will give into the demon's logic and sell his soul for the whereabouts of Death. Crowley demonstrated his feelings about humans he does not need when he slit the throats of the guards at the medical company. I fear Bobby will long be disconnected from his soul if he gives into Crowley's plan. In any event it was a nice change of pace to end an episode with something other than an emotionally charged, if brief, conversation between Sam and Dean.
I was extremely upset when Sam killed the demon that was possessing his college roommate. I thought it would serve as proof that Sam was falling down the devil's rabbit hole. Then I remembered that even though demons cannot be killed by normal mortal weapons, their hosts bodies cannot survive without the demonic possession. Therefore I am assuming that the body was dead even though the demon was not and that is why Sam killed the demon.
Crowley's master plan also includes possessing Bobby's soul for some unknown purpose. While I loved Bobby shooting him repeatedly I fear he will give into the demon's logic and sell his soul for the whereabouts of Death. Crowley demonstrated his feelings about humans he does not need when he slit the throats of the guards at the medical company. I fear Bobby will long be disconnected from his soul if he gives into Crowley's plan. In any event it was a nice change of pace to end an episode with something other than an emotionally charged, if brief, conversation between Sam and Dean.
I was extremely upset when Sam killed the demon that was possessing his college roommate. I thought it would serve as proof that Sam was falling down the devil's rabbit hole. Then I remembered that even though demons cannot be killed by normal mortal weapons, their hosts bodies cannot survive without the demonic possession. Therefore I am assuming that the body was dead even though the demon was not and that is why Sam killed the demon.
Fringe: Brown Betty
I was prepared to absolutely hate this one. The film noir thing has been done many times and I simply did not think Fringe of all story vehicles would be a good fit for it. When I heard they were going to mix that with some musical numbers in order to cross promote "Glee" I almost did not even bother to watch the episode. That said I was completely enthralled with this odd little hour of television from the moment Walter whipped out his label maker after getting acquainted with "Brown Betty".
The actress who plays Olivia's niece gets a gold star. She was terrific in this episode because her interactions with Walter seemed genuine. The scene where she was being rocked by the cow while feeding him from that tiny bucket was hilarious. The way she soberly talked to Walter while being jostled like a rag doll made for a visually ironic moment.
That said, real star of this episode was Walter. He created a story for Ella that was perfect therapy for his mangled psyche. Walternate 2.0 created magical things at the expense of children and Walter judged him beyond saving. Walternate 2.0 shared a heart with Peter, inferring that Walter's only goodness comes from Peter. Walter was ready to have Walternate 2.0 die but Ella would not stand for that. She saved Walternate 2.0 and hopefully gave Walter a glimmer of hope regarding Peter's return.
What did the Observer mean when he was on the "phone" call at the end of the episode? Perhaps Peter needs to live in this world for some reason, if he goes back could there be consequences? I doubt he was hinting that Peter and Walter need to be with each other at all times because there was that long period where Walter was in a mental hospital without any contact whatsoever with Peter.
I believe that Peter and Olivia are in contact. I think when Olivia left she went to see Peter and they decided together what he might want to do next. While they are not an item yet, this episode did a lot to remind the audience of their wonderful chemistry. Therefore, I doubt Peter would punish Olivia for the sins of his father.
I know it is not true because other characters talk to her almost every episode, but does anyone else get the feeling Astrid is a figment of Walter's imagination? When Olivia first showed up she barely acknowledged Astrid being in the room and Astrid does demonstrate a knack for being Walter's one woman Greek chorus. Consider she was the first character that got a hint of Peter's true identity. Maybe that was Walter's way of bringing it up to himself.
To those of you who say, "But like you just mentioned, other characters talk to Astrid", I would say, "not often". I would then say, "keep in mind that this is the show that brought Charlie back from the double dead for an episode like it was no big deal only to have him never show up again".
The actress who plays Olivia's niece gets a gold star. She was terrific in this episode because her interactions with Walter seemed genuine. The scene where she was being rocked by the cow while feeding him from that tiny bucket was hilarious. The way she soberly talked to Walter while being jostled like a rag doll made for a visually ironic moment.
That said, real star of this episode was Walter. He created a story for Ella that was perfect therapy for his mangled psyche. Walternate 2.0 created magical things at the expense of children and Walter judged him beyond saving. Walternate 2.0 shared a heart with Peter, inferring that Walter's only goodness comes from Peter. Walter was ready to have Walternate 2.0 die but Ella would not stand for that. She saved Walternate 2.0 and hopefully gave Walter a glimmer of hope regarding Peter's return.
What did the Observer mean when he was on the "phone" call at the end of the episode? Perhaps Peter needs to live in this world for some reason, if he goes back could there be consequences? I doubt he was hinting that Peter and Walter need to be with each other at all times because there was that long period where Walter was in a mental hospital without any contact whatsoever with Peter.
I believe that Peter and Olivia are in contact. I think when Olivia left she went to see Peter and they decided together what he might want to do next. While they are not an item yet, this episode did a lot to remind the audience of their wonderful chemistry. Therefore, I doubt Peter would punish Olivia for the sins of his father.
I know it is not true because other characters talk to her almost every episode, but does anyone else get the feeling Astrid is a figment of Walter's imagination? When Olivia first showed up she barely acknowledged Astrid being in the room and Astrid does demonstrate a knack for being Walter's one woman Greek chorus. Consider she was the first character that got a hint of Peter's true identity. Maybe that was Walter's way of bringing it up to himself.
To those of you who say, "But like you just mentioned, other characters talk to Astrid", I would say, "not often". I would then say, "keep in mind that this is the show that brought Charlie back from the double dead for an episode like it was no big deal only to have him never show up again".
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