on this list: i wrap up the shows that made my Fall 2008. if you read my last power rankings, you'll have a pretty good idea where shows ended up, but there was SOME movement.
without further ado, the TV power rankings wrapping up Fall 2008.
1) The Shield
last ranked: 1
a great show that had an excellent ending. seriously. when the curtain fell on the series i was like "there was no other way they could have ended the show." almost brought a tear to my eye. it was so, so good. even though seasons 3 and 5 weren't really my cup of tea, The Shield stands as one of my favorite shows OF ALL TIME. godspeed Vic Mackey.
2) Sons of Anarchy
last ranked: 3
i said last time that this show kept creeping up and up the rankings, that it almost deserved to be #2 behind The Shield. well, with the season finale, it jumped to #2. with this show around next year (hopefully), i won't miss The Shield as much. WATCH IT.
3) House
last ranked: 2
fell to #3 for two reasons. first, i needed to make room for Sons of Anarchy. second, the whole concept is wearing a little (just a little) thin after almost 2 years straight of watching House. that said, i'm still interested enough in House and his supporting cast as characters to keep this show at #3.
4) Life
last ranked: 4
still too many relationships, but it's getting better. take out the relationships and this would be #3. still, it's one of the only things i still watch on my once-favorite network (oh NBC, how you have fallen).
5) Chuck
last ranked: 6
this is a show like House - very formulaic in the layout of their single episodes. and the only reason i haven't tired of the formula yet is because of the overarching story, the character arcs. they throw me for a loop every few episodes and introduce a new dynamic to the Chuck/Sara story and it's like "wow, where did that come from?" it's a funny show, sure, but it's also got some good writing going on behind the scenes.
6) 90210
last ranked: 7
i should NOT like this show. that said, i LOVE it. it's my guilty pleasure. moving on.
7) Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
last ranked: 5
fell down the list because Chuck and 90210 have been doing better in my opinion. i'm not really liking how crazy Sarah is getting looking for the pattern of the 3 dots, how stupid John is being about Reilly, etc. that said, i still like the show - i just wish it would go in a different direction sometimes.
8) South Park
last ranked: 8
had a good half-season. not a great half-season, but a good half-season. i patiently await its return this March.
9) Fringe
last ranked: 9
still bugged by all the overarching stuff. you know, it's weird. i like shows like House and Chuck for the overarching stories, their character arcs, but then Fringe all i want is the single episodes. i could care less about her family or The Pattern. give me single episodes about weird stuff that remind me of what i REALLY want to be watching, The X-Files. hmm, maybe i should just watch The X-Files if i want to watch The X-Files.
10) Law & Order
last ranked: new
it's Law & Order. i've been watching it on and off my entire life. it has no right being as high as it is on the list, but hey, it's actually been pretty good this season. maybe i like the new cast.
11) Law & Order: SVU
last ranked: 12
funny enough SVU is showing its age more than the original is (maybe because they have mostly the same cast and can only do shows about special cases?), but i still look forward to SVU almost as much as the original every week.
12) Life on Mars
last ranked: 10
well, after several episodes i'm taking the American version of Life on Mars on its own merits - the only problem is, it's not very good on its own merits. ABC extended its life through the Spring, so i'm going to keep watching to see if it comes into its own. i mean there's some good acting, and the stories are ok. but it just doesn't have the LIFE that the original did, the charm, the reality. like i said above about Fringe, if i want to watch Life on Mars, maybe i should just watch the original. we'll see.
13) It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
last ranked: 11
a good comedy that used to be great. still hope there's another season or two for these guys. see you next fall?
14) Heroes
last ranked: 11
so if you've been following the power rankings, you'll know that Heroes has been a roller coaster for me this year. i mean it's always pretty much been at the bottom of the list, but it's been up and down like "should i keep watching or not?" well after watching the majority of the fall season (i still haven't seen the final 2 episodes), i think i've settled on "not." i saw some previews during the Super Bowl and at first i muted the TV because i didn't want anything ruined for me - and then i was like "you know what? i really don't care." so i don't know, if i find myself some Sunday afternoon with nothing to watch and some time to kill, maybe i'll catch up on Heroes. otherwise this is goodbye. never did a show show so much promise and fall so hard. godspeed Heroes.
well that's it for the Fall 2008 wrap up. stay tuned for the first power rankings of 2009. will anything be better than The Shield's final season? hint: probably not. but there are a few contenders to overtake House and Life.
-k
Showing posts with label television. Show all posts
Showing posts with label television. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 3
Friday, October 24
TV power rankings - going into the week of 10/27/08
on this list: some shows rise causing others to fall. others fall because, well, they haven't been up to snuff these past few weeks. and we've got 3 newcomers: South Park, the Life on Mars remake, and Crusoe. how did they fair? well, you won't be seeing one of them on the next list.
without further ado, the TV power rankings going into the week of 10/27/08.
1) The Shield
last ranked: 2
the last 2 weeks have set the stage for the final 5 episodes - and possibly set the stage for the best ending to a TV series ever. seriously, things happened that you would NEVER see in another show - things that just raised the quality of season 7 to almost season 6 quality. it's that good.
2) House
last ranked: 4
just like The Shield, the last 2 episodes have vaulted House to the top of the list, and it's mostly due to the House/Wilson dynamic - one of the most interesting friendships in all of television.
3) Sons of Anarchy
last ranked: 5
with each week this show creeps up the list a little more. with last week's episode, it almost deserves to be #2 below The Shield. it's really, really good.
4) Life
last ranked: 1
only reason this fell is because the shows now above it have stepped up their game in the past few weeks. Life hasn't gotten any worse; those shows just got a lot better. the one MINOR gripe i have with Life is that it seems to think that every week they need to focus on a relationship or two. Charlie and his ex wife. Charlie's roommate and Olivia. Charlie's partner and the new head of the department. it's too relationship-y. they especially took it too far with his partner and the head of the department. no way would that have happened.
5) Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
last ranked: 3
this fell for pretty much the same reason Life did. only small problem i have this year: everyone is really, really moody. i like that the once-inseparable mother-son combo of John and Sarah Connor has some tension now, but damn do those two know how to scowl and be moody.
6) Chuck
last ranked: 7
you know what? i've always looked at this show as just a fun distraction until two weeks ago. it was then that i realized it actually had pretty good writing. last year it was about Chuck pining over the unattainable Sarah. this year she's pining for him but they both know they can't take their relationship any further while he remains her mission. it's pretty cool stuff. it's got better writing than, say, Heroes. WAY better.
7) 90210
last ranked: 8
do you know what else has better writing than Heroes this year? this show. no, it's still not that good of a show. yes, it's still totally a guilty pleasure. but you know what? the last episode i watched had genuinely funny moments in its writing and acting. oh, and apparently it's not going to be canceled this year. the network has ordered a full season's worth of episodes. i guess it's doing well. wow. who woulda thunk it.
8) South Park
last ranked: new
started with a bang 3 weeks ago with the Indy rape episode. then it aired two episodes that were just par for the course - the latest being part 1 of at least a two-parter (and i'm not usually a fan of multi-part South Park episodes, as they tend to be too drawn out). with the ups and downs so far, i'm still interested to see where this season goes - just not maybe as excited as i was after the first episode this season.
9) Fringe
last ranked: 6
this was higher on the list until two weeks ago when they aired an episode that was all about "the pattern" or whatever the hell they call it. i like this show when it's about the wacky cases and the quirky father/son duo. when it devotes an entire episode to furthering the ridiculous overarching story of "the pattern" - that's when i'm not a fan. the show is too serious for its own good. i enjoy it when it's fun, not when it's bogged down in laughable conspiracy theories. oh, and for those that think the main chick is interesting? come on. she's either a horrible actress or they're giving her horrible material. scowl a little more will ya? scowl must = serious. she'd fit right in on Terminator.
10) Life on Mars
last ranked: new
it's taken me 3 weeks, but i'm finally starting to take this show on its own merits and trying to forget the near-perfect British show that it's based off of. i like the main character and the supporting women characters. i hate - HATE - Harvey Keitel (sp?) as the captain. he just plays his normal self. he's no Gene Hunt. but he never will be. like i said, i'm trying to forget the original and enjoy this new version - because i'm pretty sure it won't be around for long. as it is though, it doesn't hold a candle to the original.
11) It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
last ranked: 9
each episode is getting more and more absurd. as i said before, absurdity for absurdity's sake isn't always funny. however, the only reason it slipped down the list is because of the new shows above it.
12) Law & Order: SVU
last ranked: 10
had to make room for the new shows, so this slipped too. i still love you SVU, but why do you feel the need to constantly focus on the main characters' lives instead of just focusing on the cases? that show 2 weeks ago that focused on Elliot's family was cringe-worthy.
13) Heroes
last ranked: 11
i just don't know what to write about this show anymore. after this week i think i'm starting to take season 3 on its own merits, but there's still way too much going on that's just rehashing of season 1 and season 2. Peter losing his powers? check. Claire hating her dad? check. Parkman being totally useless when he could be written so much better? check. the writers not remembering which heroes have what powers and writing scenes that make absolutely no sense given the powers of those involved in the scenes? check. i'm still watching, but it's more out of a morbid curiosity now than anything. that, and like i said - season 3 is sort of coming into its own, which is good... i just don't like what it's becoming.
14) Crusoe
last ranked: new
yes, there is currently something worse than Heroes. tried watching this show on a whim. it's just NBC trying to cash in on the Pirates of the Caribbean fad. it's a weird mix of humor and drama that just doesn't mesh well together. will not watch again.
what are you all watching? what should i be watching that i'm not? where did i go wrong on my list?
-k
without further ado, the TV power rankings going into the week of 10/27/08.
1) The Shield
last ranked: 2
the last 2 weeks have set the stage for the final 5 episodes - and possibly set the stage for the best ending to a TV series ever. seriously, things happened that you would NEVER see in another show - things that just raised the quality of season 7 to almost season 6 quality. it's that good.
2) House
last ranked: 4
just like The Shield, the last 2 episodes have vaulted House to the top of the list, and it's mostly due to the House/Wilson dynamic - one of the most interesting friendships in all of television.
3) Sons of Anarchy
last ranked: 5
with each week this show creeps up the list a little more. with last week's episode, it almost deserves to be #2 below The Shield. it's really, really good.
4) Life
last ranked: 1
only reason this fell is because the shows now above it have stepped up their game in the past few weeks. Life hasn't gotten any worse; those shows just got a lot better. the one MINOR gripe i have with Life is that it seems to think that every week they need to focus on a relationship or two. Charlie and his ex wife. Charlie's roommate and Olivia. Charlie's partner and the new head of the department. it's too relationship-y. they especially took it too far with his partner and the head of the department. no way would that have happened.
5) Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
last ranked: 3
this fell for pretty much the same reason Life did. only small problem i have this year: everyone is really, really moody. i like that the once-inseparable mother-son combo of John and Sarah Connor has some tension now, but damn do those two know how to scowl and be moody.
6) Chuck
last ranked: 7
you know what? i've always looked at this show as just a fun distraction until two weeks ago. it was then that i realized it actually had pretty good writing. last year it was about Chuck pining over the unattainable Sarah. this year she's pining for him but they both know they can't take their relationship any further while he remains her mission. it's pretty cool stuff. it's got better writing than, say, Heroes. WAY better.
7) 90210
last ranked: 8
do you know what else has better writing than Heroes this year? this show. no, it's still not that good of a show. yes, it's still totally a guilty pleasure. but you know what? the last episode i watched had genuinely funny moments in its writing and acting. oh, and apparently it's not going to be canceled this year. the network has ordered a full season's worth of episodes. i guess it's doing well. wow. who woulda thunk it.
8) South Park
last ranked: new
started with a bang 3 weeks ago with the Indy rape episode. then it aired two episodes that were just par for the course - the latest being part 1 of at least a two-parter (and i'm not usually a fan of multi-part South Park episodes, as they tend to be too drawn out). with the ups and downs so far, i'm still interested to see where this season goes - just not maybe as excited as i was after the first episode this season.
9) Fringe
last ranked: 6
this was higher on the list until two weeks ago when they aired an episode that was all about "the pattern" or whatever the hell they call it. i like this show when it's about the wacky cases and the quirky father/son duo. when it devotes an entire episode to furthering the ridiculous overarching story of "the pattern" - that's when i'm not a fan. the show is too serious for its own good. i enjoy it when it's fun, not when it's bogged down in laughable conspiracy theories. oh, and for those that think the main chick is interesting? come on. she's either a horrible actress or they're giving her horrible material. scowl a little more will ya? scowl must = serious. she'd fit right in on Terminator.
10) Life on Mars
last ranked: new
it's taken me 3 weeks, but i'm finally starting to take this show on its own merits and trying to forget the near-perfect British show that it's based off of. i like the main character and the supporting women characters. i hate - HATE - Harvey Keitel (sp?) as the captain. he just plays his normal self. he's no Gene Hunt. but he never will be. like i said, i'm trying to forget the original and enjoy this new version - because i'm pretty sure it won't be around for long. as it is though, it doesn't hold a candle to the original.
11) It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
last ranked: 9
each episode is getting more and more absurd. as i said before, absurdity for absurdity's sake isn't always funny. however, the only reason it slipped down the list is because of the new shows above it.
12) Law & Order: SVU
last ranked: 10
had to make room for the new shows, so this slipped too. i still love you SVU, but why do you feel the need to constantly focus on the main characters' lives instead of just focusing on the cases? that show 2 weeks ago that focused on Elliot's family was cringe-worthy.
13) Heroes
last ranked: 11
i just don't know what to write about this show anymore. after this week i think i'm starting to take season 3 on its own merits, but there's still way too much going on that's just rehashing of season 1 and season 2. Peter losing his powers? check. Claire hating her dad? check. Parkman being totally useless when he could be written so much better? check. the writers not remembering which heroes have what powers and writing scenes that make absolutely no sense given the powers of those involved in the scenes? check. i'm still watching, but it's more out of a morbid curiosity now than anything. that, and like i said - season 3 is sort of coming into its own, which is good... i just don't like what it's becoming.
14) Crusoe
last ranked: new
yes, there is currently something worse than Heroes. tried watching this show on a whim. it's just NBC trying to cash in on the Pirates of the Caribbean fad. it's a weird mix of humor and drama that just doesn't mesh well together. will not watch again.
what are you all watching? what should i be watching that i'm not? where did i go wrong on my list?
-k
Thursday, October 2
TV Power Rankings - going into the week of 10/6/08
for some reason i'm a big fan of power rankings. i have no idea why. maybe i just like ranked lists. anyway, i thought i'd rank the TV shows i'm currently watching. i might not do this every week, but we'll see.
rankings are not necessarily based on how i feel about a show on the whole, but how i feel the show is currently doing - how i liked the previous episode, how it's been doing overall for the season, and how much i'm looking forward to the next episode. for example, Heroes is a pretty good show (and i will always think it's a good show overall) that has had a horrible start (in my opinion) this season. that's why it's at the bottom of this week's list.
without further ado, the TV power rankings going into the week of 10/6/08.
1) Life
this show started its second season out with 2 of the most original episodes in the police drama setting that i've ever seen. the writing is just so... fresh. Life has yet to disappoint. my only worry is that with NBC pumping out 4 episodes in 2 weeks and then pushing it to Friday nights, Life doesn't have much longer to live.
2) The Shield
halfway through the final season and i am not disappointed in the least. is it as good as the start of the sixth season? of course not - nothing ever will be. but it's on the right track to ending with a bang (in more than one sense).
3) Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
a second season gives the show a chance to flesh out backstories. that's exactly what Chronicles is doing. and it's pretty entertaining to say the least.
4) House
a show that never plays it safe. last year he lost his team, this year he loses his only friend. say what you want about the weekly cases, it's the drama between House and the rest of his team is what is so compelling. my only worry for this year: the new private eye House is paying for is a being written a little too quirky, too cute. oh, and a relationship with Cuddy is completely unnecessary.
5) Sons of Anarchy
good start to this fledgling series. i could see this going a few seasons if the writing is able to stay fresh. i'm a fan.
6) Fringe
this was higher on the list until this past week, when they aired an episode that was all about "the pattern" or whatever the hell they call it. i like this show when it's about the wacky cases and the quirky father/son duo. when it devotes an entire episode to furthering the ridiculous overarching story of "the pattern" - that's when i'm not a fan. show is too serious for its own good. i enjoy it when it's fun, not when it's bogged down in laughable conspiracy theories.
7) Chuck
a good, fun show. while i can see myself getting tired of the formula in another year or two, it's a good distraction for now.
8) 90210
a guilty pleasure. started watching it because of the ties it had to the old 90210, but now i'm a full-fledged fan. is it a good show? no, not really. but it's fun. and it's neat seeing some of the old gang around - even though it seems like they might be getting phased out. i'll continue to watch it until it inevitably gets canceled later this year.
9) It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
still continues to be funny despite its downward spiral from its golden first season. i'm a fan of the absurd, what can i say?
10) Law & Order: SVU
it's Law & Order. how can i not watch it? is the show good anymore? that's tough to say. i still have a good time watching, but i'll be the first to admit it's a mere shadow of what it used to be 4-5 seasons ago.
11) Heroes
once one of my favorite shows, Heroes has taken a mighty fall. all they're doing this year is rehashing stories from previous seasons (mostly season 1) and coming up with ridiculous and ludicrous team-ups. and i'm not a fan. there are still a few original, interesting things happening, so i'm going to stick around a few more weeks to see how those develop, but if they wither and die instead of blossoming, i'm done. oh how the mighty have fallen.
yet to be ranked: Life on Mars, South Park (both coming next week), and Crusoe (2 weeks).
-k
rankings are not necessarily based on how i feel about a show on the whole, but how i feel the show is currently doing - how i liked the previous episode, how it's been doing overall for the season, and how much i'm looking forward to the next episode. for example, Heroes is a pretty good show (and i will always think it's a good show overall) that has had a horrible start (in my opinion) this season. that's why it's at the bottom of this week's list.
without further ado, the TV power rankings going into the week of 10/6/08.
1) Life
this show started its second season out with 2 of the most original episodes in the police drama setting that i've ever seen. the writing is just so... fresh. Life has yet to disappoint. my only worry is that with NBC pumping out 4 episodes in 2 weeks and then pushing it to Friday nights, Life doesn't have much longer to live.
2) The Shield
halfway through the final season and i am not disappointed in the least. is it as good as the start of the sixth season? of course not - nothing ever will be. but it's on the right track to ending with a bang (in more than one sense).
3) Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
a second season gives the show a chance to flesh out backstories. that's exactly what Chronicles is doing. and it's pretty entertaining to say the least.
4) House
a show that never plays it safe. last year he lost his team, this year he loses his only friend. say what you want about the weekly cases, it's the drama between House and the rest of his team is what is so compelling. my only worry for this year: the new private eye House is paying for is a being written a little too quirky, too cute. oh, and a relationship with Cuddy is completely unnecessary.
5) Sons of Anarchy
good start to this fledgling series. i could see this going a few seasons if the writing is able to stay fresh. i'm a fan.
6) Fringe
this was higher on the list until this past week, when they aired an episode that was all about "the pattern" or whatever the hell they call it. i like this show when it's about the wacky cases and the quirky father/son duo. when it devotes an entire episode to furthering the ridiculous overarching story of "the pattern" - that's when i'm not a fan. show is too serious for its own good. i enjoy it when it's fun, not when it's bogged down in laughable conspiracy theories.
7) Chuck
a good, fun show. while i can see myself getting tired of the formula in another year or two, it's a good distraction for now.
8) 90210
a guilty pleasure. started watching it because of the ties it had to the old 90210, but now i'm a full-fledged fan. is it a good show? no, not really. but it's fun. and it's neat seeing some of the old gang around - even though it seems like they might be getting phased out. i'll continue to watch it until it inevitably gets canceled later this year.
9) It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
still continues to be funny despite its downward spiral from its golden first season. i'm a fan of the absurd, what can i say?
10) Law & Order: SVU
it's Law & Order. how can i not watch it? is the show good anymore? that's tough to say. i still have a good time watching, but i'll be the first to admit it's a mere shadow of what it used to be 4-5 seasons ago.
11) Heroes
once one of my favorite shows, Heroes has taken a mighty fall. all they're doing this year is rehashing stories from previous seasons (mostly season 1) and coming up with ridiculous and ludicrous team-ups. and i'm not a fan. there are still a few original, interesting things happening, so i'm going to stick around a few more weeks to see how those develop, but if they wither and die instead of blossoming, i'm done. oh how the mighty have fallen.
yet to be ranked: Life on Mars, South Park (both coming next week), and Crusoe (2 weeks).
-k
Monday, September 22
TV - Fall 2008
so i didn't think there was going to be a lot to watch this year, what with NBC canceling excellent shows like Journeyman and putting in its place Knight Rider 2008 and My Own Worst Enemy. then i sat down and figured out what i want to watch and you know what? there's enough.
Mondays
7PM
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
Fox; second season already in progress
WILL WATCH
2 weeks in and this show is already kicking ass like it did when it premiered last year. sleeper hit of the year last year (maybe because of the writer's strike) has now become one of my favorite shows.
Chuck
NBC; second season premieres September 29
WILL WATCH
funny show. first season ended abruptly and with no real wrap-up because of the writer's strike, so i'm interested to see where it goes from there.
8PM
Heroes
NBC; third season premieres September 22
60-minute clip show precedes episode;
show moves to 8:00 on September 29
WILL CHECK OUT
they really, REALLY lost me with how crappy season 2 turned out to be. if they don't hook me again in the first few episodes of season 3, i'm out.
9PM
Life
NBC; second season premieres September 29
Special preview; show moves to Fridays on October 10
WILL WATCH
EXCELLENT show. fills my "wacky detective" television show quota for the fall. however, it's main night is going to be Fridays, so i don't expect it to be around long (thanks a lot NBC).
Tuesdays
7PM
90210
The CW; first season already in progress
WILL CHECK OUT
i was a fan of the original (god knows why) so i have to check out the remake. it can't be that bad, can it?
House
Fox; fifth season already in progress
WILL WATCH
the end of the first episode of this season was AMAZING. this is a show that's not afraid to take risks with it's main cast members. and i like that.
8PM
Fringe
Fox; first season already in progress
WILL CHECK OUT
it's X-Files for the new generation. if i were to watch this show seriously i would laugh at the absurdities (in the cases and, moreover, in the writing) - so it's nowhere near as good as X-Files - BUT for some reason it's fun to watch. it's just cheesy goodness. oh and the main actress is hot.
9PM
The Shield
FX; seventh season already in progress
WILL WATCH
not as good as the start of last season (some of the best television i've ever seen EVER was the start of the sixth season) but still great. only 7 more episodes left until it's all over. :(
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
NBC; 10th season premieres September 23
WILL WATCH
i'm a fan, come hell or high water. what can i say? it'll be interesting this year because at least 2 of the main characters left. see who they got to replace them.
Wednesdays
9PM
Sons of Anarchy
FX; first season already in progress
WILL CHECK OUT
after 3 episodes, this is turning out to be a pretty good show about a biker gang that is in it's final days (sort of like The Shield is all about the final days of the Strike Team). sure you could put the plot onto any "gang" situation - mafia, yakuza, Bloods/Crypts - but it's still an interesting show. oh and the mom from Married with Children is a BADASS and Ron Pearlman is awesome like usual.
Thursdays
7PM
My Name is Earl
NBC; fourth season premieres September 25
Special one-hour episode
MIGHT WATCH
if i happen to be home with nothing to watch.
7:30PM
Kath & Kim
NBC; premieres October 9
WILL CHECK OUT
if i happen to be home with nothing to watch.
8PM
The Office
NBC; fifth season premieres September 25
Special one-hour episode
MIGHT WATCH
if i happen to be home with nothing to watch.
8:30PM
30 Rock
NBC; third season premieres October 30
MIGHT WATCH
if i happen to be home with nothing to watch.
9PM
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
FX; fourth season already in progress
WILL WATCH
i still think their first season was comedic gold and everything after that has been good but not great (absurdity for absurdity's sake isn't always funny) - however, it's still an wholly original comedy that's just my sense of humor.
Life on Mars
ABC; premieres October 9
WILL CHECK OUT
a remake of one of my favorite shows of all time? oh you know i've got to check it out. i'm worried, however, that it won't translate well, that putting it on Thursdays at 9PM is a death sentence (that the show will never have a chance), and that if they HAPPEN to make it past the first half-season, the premise is going to get old. the original only had 16 episodes TOTAL. oh, and the ending? there's NO WAY they could pull that off on American television. no. way.
Fridays
7PM
Crusoe
NBC; premieres October 17
Special two-hour episode
WILL CHECK OUT
mildly interested. seems like something fresh and different, so i'll check it out.
9PM
Life
NBC; moves to Fridays on October 10
WILL WATCH
damn you NBC for renewing Life only to put it in one of the worst time slots EVER. this - along with your canceling of Journeyman, your Knight Rider remake, and your My Own Worst Enemy show - makes me think you lost your mind around the time of the writer's strike. if Heroes ends up sucking, i may just be done with you.
-k
Mondays
7PM
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
Fox; second season already in progress
WILL WATCH
2 weeks in and this show is already kicking ass like it did when it premiered last year. sleeper hit of the year last year (maybe because of the writer's strike) has now become one of my favorite shows.
Chuck
NBC; second season premieres September 29
WILL WATCH
funny show. first season ended abruptly and with no real wrap-up because of the writer's strike, so i'm interested to see where it goes from there.
8PM
Heroes
NBC; third season premieres September 22
60-minute clip show precedes episode;
show moves to 8:00 on September 29
WILL CHECK OUT
they really, REALLY lost me with how crappy season 2 turned out to be. if they don't hook me again in the first few episodes of season 3, i'm out.
9PM
Life
NBC; second season premieres September 29
Special preview; show moves to Fridays on October 10
WILL WATCH
EXCELLENT show. fills my "wacky detective" television show quota for the fall. however, it's main night is going to be Fridays, so i don't expect it to be around long (thanks a lot NBC).
Tuesdays
7PM
90210
The CW; first season already in progress
WILL CHECK OUT
i was a fan of the original (god knows why) so i have to check out the remake. it can't be that bad, can it?
House
Fox; fifth season already in progress
WILL WATCH
the end of the first episode of this season was AMAZING. this is a show that's not afraid to take risks with it's main cast members. and i like that.
8PM
Fringe
Fox; first season already in progress
WILL CHECK OUT
it's X-Files for the new generation. if i were to watch this show seriously i would laugh at the absurdities (in the cases and, moreover, in the writing) - so it's nowhere near as good as X-Files - BUT for some reason it's fun to watch. it's just cheesy goodness. oh and the main actress is hot.
9PM
The Shield
FX; seventh season already in progress
WILL WATCH
not as good as the start of last season (some of the best television i've ever seen EVER was the start of the sixth season) but still great. only 7 more episodes left until it's all over. :(
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
NBC; 10th season premieres September 23
WILL WATCH
i'm a fan, come hell or high water. what can i say? it'll be interesting this year because at least 2 of the main characters left. see who they got to replace them.
Wednesdays
9PM
Sons of Anarchy
FX; first season already in progress
WILL CHECK OUT
after 3 episodes, this is turning out to be a pretty good show about a biker gang that is in it's final days (sort of like The Shield is all about the final days of the Strike Team). sure you could put the plot onto any "gang" situation - mafia, yakuza, Bloods/Crypts - but it's still an interesting show. oh and the mom from Married with Children is a BADASS and Ron Pearlman is awesome like usual.
Thursdays
7PM
My Name is Earl
NBC; fourth season premieres September 25
Special one-hour episode
MIGHT WATCH
if i happen to be home with nothing to watch.
7:30PM
Kath & Kim
NBC; premieres October 9
WILL CHECK OUT
if i happen to be home with nothing to watch.
8PM
The Office
NBC; fifth season premieres September 25
Special one-hour episode
MIGHT WATCH
if i happen to be home with nothing to watch.
8:30PM
30 Rock
NBC; third season premieres October 30
MIGHT WATCH
if i happen to be home with nothing to watch.
9PM
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
FX; fourth season already in progress
WILL WATCH
i still think their first season was comedic gold and everything after that has been good but not great (absurdity for absurdity's sake isn't always funny) - however, it's still an wholly original comedy that's just my sense of humor.
Life on Mars
ABC; premieres October 9
WILL CHECK OUT
a remake of one of my favorite shows of all time? oh you know i've got to check it out. i'm worried, however, that it won't translate well, that putting it on Thursdays at 9PM is a death sentence (that the show will never have a chance), and that if they HAPPEN to make it past the first half-season, the premise is going to get old. the original only had 16 episodes TOTAL. oh, and the ending? there's NO WAY they could pull that off on American television. no. way.
Fridays
7PM
Crusoe
NBC; premieres October 17
Special two-hour episode
WILL CHECK OUT
mildly interested. seems like something fresh and different, so i'll check it out.
9PM
Life
NBC; moves to Fridays on October 10
WILL WATCH
damn you NBC for renewing Life only to put it in one of the worst time slots EVER. this - along with your canceling of Journeyman, your Knight Rider remake, and your My Own Worst Enemy show - makes me think you lost your mind around the time of the writer's strike. if Heroes ends up sucking, i may just be done with you.
-k
Tuesday, July 22
San Diego Comic Con - the panels wish list
the San Diego Comic Con is but a few days away. it's my first year attending. i don't think i've been this excited for an event in a long time. here are the panels that, if i had all the time in the world, i would like to see while there:
- spotlight on Steve Purcell, creator of Sam & Max, now part of the creative braintrust at Pixar.
- a few panels on science fiction writing (if you've been reading the blog, i've been on a sci fi kick the past several months).
- Halo Wars and the Halo Universe. what can i say, i'm a Halo fanboy. also, with the ball being dropped by Microsoft last week at E3, maybe something will slip out this week about the new Halo game Bungie's working on.
- Entertainment Weekly is sponsoring a few panels that feature "creative visionaries" in fields such as comics and movies. the comics one is going to have Mignola, Kirkman, and Morrison. the movies one is going to have Kevin Smith, Apatow, Frank Miller, and Zack Snyder.
- bunch of Star Trek panels.
- Episodic Games: Rewriting the Adventure Game. a panel about a rather new trend in video games. i'm interested because of the talent at the panel.
- a bunch of Marvel Comics panels, though not as many as i would have been interested in attending in the past. i'm just not reading that many mainstream comics nowadays.
- a bunch of television show panels that will feature some/all of the cast and creators/producers. shows include: The Big Bang Theory, 24 (with Kiefer!), Heroes, Sarah Connor Chronicles, The Office, Battlestar Galactica, and Chuck.
- spotlight on Max Brooks, author of World War Z (perhaps my favorite work of zombie fiction).
- one on one with Terry Moore, author of Strangers in Paradise, Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane, Echo, and Runaways. SiP has been over for a year now, but maybe he'll talk about it a little... however, i'm really going just to get some news on Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane.
- Watchmen (the movie) with the director and a bunch of the movie's stars. i'm psyched for this movie, since the director did 300 before this.
- a Spaced reunion, with the creators/cast. Spaced is one of my favorite shows of all time. from the guys that made Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. as good as those movies are, Spaced is 10 times better.
- a Spectacular Spider-Man cartoon panel with a lot of the voice actors and a few producers of the show. this is at the same time as the Spaced panel, so we'll have to see which one has the shorter line to get in. i want season 2 details!!!
- Ghostbusters: The Video Game panel, with Dan Aykroyd and Ernie Hudson. if by some stroke of god Ramis and Murray show up, i will die a happy man (IF i'm there to see it).
- The Spirit panel, with director Frank Miller and cast members SAMUEL L. JACKSON and Eva Mendes. movie looks like the spiritual successor to Sin City. looks good.
- a Family Guy panel. even though i don't really like Family Guy anymore (the formula wore thin on me after the third season), i have to admit, it'd be pretty cool to hear Seth MacFarlane and Seth Green talk about the show.
- an Image and Vertigo panel. more comic panels. mainly interested in them because each panel has a few of my favorite writers/creators on them (Kirkman, Larsen, Buckingham, Morrison, Wood).
- a Venture Bros. panel with the creator and some of the cast. great, underrated cartoon airing on adult swim.
- a Robot Chicken panel with the creators and a few of the cast members. another adult swim program. would mainly go to see Seth Green talk.
- a Futurama panel with a bunch of the cast and crew. always been a casual fan of the show, would be neat to see the cast.
- Sam & Max, Strong Bad, and the Secrets Behind Turning Comics into Games. interesting because, well, i'm in the games business.
- spotlight on Dean Koontz! those that know me well know that i grew up on Koontz novels, reading them all through high school. his latest novels haven't interested me much - maybe my tastes just evolved - but he is still the writer of one of my favorite books of all time, Lightning. even though he'll be talking about his new books and new comic deal with Marvel (i.e. stuff i won't care about) it'll still be cool to see one of my former idols.
- Xbox Creators' Showcase: Gears of War 2 and Fable 2. 2 great games coming out this fall, both being shown off by their semi-famous creators. would be neat to see. hey, maybe i'll have my own panel at SDCC 10 years from now! ah, but as a game designer, or as a writer? hmm...
- spotlight on J. Michael Straczynski. one of my current writing idols. still can't believe that he was at a Chicago comic con back 10 years ago when B5 was in its hayday and i didn't see him (hell, i didn't even know who he was, or what B5 was). this time, i won't miss him. this is the panel i'm probably most excited to see.
- a panel on the creation of the upcoming survival horror game, Dead Space.
- A STARSHIP TROOPERS 3 PANEL! FEATURING NONE OTHER THAN THE STAR OF THE SERIES, CASPER VAN DIEN!!!
- a panel on the creation of the upcoming Bionic Commando and Bionic Commando Rearmed.
nighttime programming:
- Comedy Central's TV Funhouse with Robert Smigel. some of you may have heard of Smigel - he does Triumph the Insult Comic Dog on Conan and Saturday TV Funhouse on SNL - but i know him best for this short-lived, wonder of a show called TV Funhouse. it's a reunion of sorts. should be a blast (whether or not i choose to go).
- Mystery Science Theater 3000 20th Anniversary Reunion. with the creator, producer, and i believe the entire f'in cast/crew! and Patton Oswalt is the host!! ENOUGH SAID!!!
- Spaced screening. the cast is back to screen their favorite episodes. if i don't make it to the earlier panel, i'm definitely hitting this one up.
...and that's it! whew! now, that's all the panels that i WANT to see. i would be surprised if i actually make it to 1/4 of those.
i mean, first off, this is my first year at SDCC, so i'm sure a lot of time will be just figuring the whole thing out. i also need at least a day to just walk the floor and buy stuff/get a bunch of free shit. next, the lines for some of these panels i'm sure will be INSANE. some i'll be willing to wait for, most i won't. oh, and a lot of the above panels are happening at the same time - like i think the worst is there are 4 panels i want to see that overlap in a 2-hour period. so i can only go to 1 of those 4 panels, if that. and finally, i'm going to be meeting up with a bunch of friends i haven't seen in a while, so i'm sure i won't want to spend the majority of my time in panels (or in line for panels).
however, there are those that i'll do everything in my power to make. i need to see JMS, Dean Koontz, MST3K, Spaced, Terry Moore, Max Brooks, and maybe Spectacular Spider-Man. oh, and it'd be great to attend a few of those TV show panels - specifically 24, Battlestar, and Heros - but i imagine the line for those will be crazy long. crazy crazy long.
i'll let you know how it all went on the flip side. wish me luck!
-k
- spotlight on Steve Purcell, creator of Sam & Max, now part of the creative braintrust at Pixar.
- a few panels on science fiction writing (if you've been reading the blog, i've been on a sci fi kick the past several months).
- Halo Wars and the Halo Universe. what can i say, i'm a Halo fanboy. also, with the ball being dropped by Microsoft last week at E3, maybe something will slip out this week about the new Halo game Bungie's working on.
- Entertainment Weekly is sponsoring a few panels that feature "creative visionaries" in fields such as comics and movies. the comics one is going to have Mignola, Kirkman, and Morrison. the movies one is going to have Kevin Smith, Apatow, Frank Miller, and Zack Snyder.
- bunch of Star Trek panels.
- Episodic Games: Rewriting the Adventure Game. a panel about a rather new trend in video games. i'm interested because of the talent at the panel.
- a bunch of Marvel Comics panels, though not as many as i would have been interested in attending in the past. i'm just not reading that many mainstream comics nowadays.
- a bunch of television show panels that will feature some/all of the cast and creators/producers. shows include: The Big Bang Theory, 24 (with Kiefer!), Heroes, Sarah Connor Chronicles, The Office, Battlestar Galactica, and Chuck.
- spotlight on Max Brooks, author of World War Z (perhaps my favorite work of zombie fiction).
- one on one with Terry Moore, author of Strangers in Paradise, Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane, Echo, and Runaways. SiP has been over for a year now, but maybe he'll talk about it a little... however, i'm really going just to get some news on Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane.
- Watchmen (the movie) with the director and a bunch of the movie's stars. i'm psyched for this movie, since the director did 300 before this.
- a Spaced reunion, with the creators/cast. Spaced is one of my favorite shows of all time. from the guys that made Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. as good as those movies are, Spaced is 10 times better.
- a Spectacular Spider-Man cartoon panel with a lot of the voice actors and a few producers of the show. this is at the same time as the Spaced panel, so we'll have to see which one has the shorter line to get in. i want season 2 details!!!
- Ghostbusters: The Video Game panel, with Dan Aykroyd and Ernie Hudson. if by some stroke of god Ramis and Murray show up, i will die a happy man (IF i'm there to see it).
- The Spirit panel, with director Frank Miller and cast members SAMUEL L. JACKSON and Eva Mendes. movie looks like the spiritual successor to Sin City. looks good.
- a Family Guy panel. even though i don't really like Family Guy anymore (the formula wore thin on me after the third season), i have to admit, it'd be pretty cool to hear Seth MacFarlane and Seth Green talk about the show.
- an Image and Vertigo panel. more comic panels. mainly interested in them because each panel has a few of my favorite writers/creators on them (Kirkman, Larsen, Buckingham, Morrison, Wood).
- a Venture Bros. panel with the creator and some of the cast. great, underrated cartoon airing on adult swim.
- a Robot Chicken panel with the creators and a few of the cast members. another adult swim program. would mainly go to see Seth Green talk.
- a Futurama panel with a bunch of the cast and crew. always been a casual fan of the show, would be neat to see the cast.
- Sam & Max, Strong Bad, and the Secrets Behind Turning Comics into Games. interesting because, well, i'm in the games business.
- spotlight on Dean Koontz! those that know me well know that i grew up on Koontz novels, reading them all through high school. his latest novels haven't interested me much - maybe my tastes just evolved - but he is still the writer of one of my favorite books of all time, Lightning. even though he'll be talking about his new books and new comic deal with Marvel (i.e. stuff i won't care about) it'll still be cool to see one of my former idols.
- Xbox Creators' Showcase: Gears of War 2 and Fable 2. 2 great games coming out this fall, both being shown off by their semi-famous creators. would be neat to see. hey, maybe i'll have my own panel at SDCC 10 years from now! ah, but as a game designer, or as a writer? hmm...
- spotlight on J. Michael Straczynski. one of my current writing idols. still can't believe that he was at a Chicago comic con back 10 years ago when B5 was in its hayday and i didn't see him (hell, i didn't even know who he was, or what B5 was). this time, i won't miss him. this is the panel i'm probably most excited to see.
- a panel on the creation of the upcoming survival horror game, Dead Space.
- A STARSHIP TROOPERS 3 PANEL! FEATURING NONE OTHER THAN THE STAR OF THE SERIES, CASPER VAN DIEN!!!
- a panel on the creation of the upcoming Bionic Commando and Bionic Commando Rearmed.
nighttime programming:
- Comedy Central's TV Funhouse with Robert Smigel. some of you may have heard of Smigel - he does Triumph the Insult Comic Dog on Conan and Saturday TV Funhouse on SNL - but i know him best for this short-lived, wonder of a show called TV Funhouse. it's a reunion of sorts. should be a blast (whether or not i choose to go).
- Mystery Science Theater 3000 20th Anniversary Reunion. with the creator, producer, and i believe the entire f'in cast/crew! and Patton Oswalt is the host!! ENOUGH SAID!!!
- Spaced screening. the cast is back to screen their favorite episodes. if i don't make it to the earlier panel, i'm definitely hitting this one up.
...and that's it! whew! now, that's all the panels that i WANT to see. i would be surprised if i actually make it to 1/4 of those.
i mean, first off, this is my first year at SDCC, so i'm sure a lot of time will be just figuring the whole thing out. i also need at least a day to just walk the floor and buy stuff/get a bunch of free shit. next, the lines for some of these panels i'm sure will be INSANE. some i'll be willing to wait for, most i won't. oh, and a lot of the above panels are happening at the same time - like i think the worst is there are 4 panels i want to see that overlap in a 2-hour period. so i can only go to 1 of those 4 panels, if that. and finally, i'm going to be meeting up with a bunch of friends i haven't seen in a while, so i'm sure i won't want to spend the majority of my time in panels (or in line for panels).
however, there are those that i'll do everything in my power to make. i need to see JMS, Dean Koontz, MST3K, Spaced, Terry Moore, Max Brooks, and maybe Spectacular Spider-Man. oh, and it'd be great to attend a few of those TV show panels - specifically 24, Battlestar, and Heros - but i imagine the line for those will be crazy long. crazy crazy long.
i'll let you know how it all went on the flip side. wish me luck!
-k
Thursday, July 10
a tv-less summer
those of you that know me know that i fill my nights with two things: television and video games. what happens when one of the worst seasons of television (summer or otherwise) comes upon us, bringing with it retreads of reality shows copied from other stations or stolen from other countries? no, i don't play more video games (though i really should, my pile of games is becoming increasingly unmanageable) - i download and watch my own television series.
so here's what i've been watching this summer. the stuff on tv, and the stuff off my computer.
- Battlestar Galactica finished out its first half of its final (fourth) season, and it ended with a bang. seriously, the final episode was SO good (minus the out-of-place fast pacing - seriously, they took material that would normally have been maybe 3 episodes and packed it into 1) i can almost forgive the show for the rest of the season. almost. however, season 4 so far for me has had many more lows than highs. here's hoping the last half of the season (not on until next year sometime) is better. much better.
- Spectacular Spider-Man finished its first 13-episode season and it was, well, spectacular. it was a great blend of stuff for the kids and stuff for the adults. the stories were mostly based on classic Spidey, but with their own modern-day twist. there was one twist on a super villain that i liked, and i love classic Mary Jane (the one that's a free spirit, doesn't want to be tied down to anybody). and the action scenes - oh man. best action scenes in a cartoon, hands down. this is by far the best Spider-Man cartoon that has ever been - possibly even the best superhero cartoon that has ever been. well, besides The Tick. its reported that it will have a second season, but when is anybody's guess.
- stopped watching The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles - or maybe i'm just taking a break from it, i don't know. all i know is that i couldn't take "cute" Indiana anymore. if i were to start watching the series again, maybe i'd just skip ahead to when he's a bit older. as it is, i made it through only 4 of the 22 "chapters" (each 1 1/2 hours, with 2 stories a piece).
- started watching the X-Men cartoon series from the 90s. i'm about halfway through season 2 of 5. each season has around 15 episodes, with a grand total of something like 75 episodes. what's amazing is how much i remember of the show (i watched it when i was little). i'm not sure how much of it is nostalgia and how much of it is it being a good show, but i like it quite a bit. sure it's got its problems, but what 90s cartoon doesn't? the stories are condensed versions of comic stories, so that's cool. oh, and surprisingly it has an overarching story that takes you through an entire season - something i wouldn't have thought a 90s kids cartoon would have had (well planned-out plot points). probably the funniest thing is that Wolverine, arguably the strongest mutant on the team, continuously gets his ass kicked the second he joins a fight. he's damn near useless. oh, and Jean Grey is pretty useless too - though maybe this is before she's really learned what her powers can do. anyway, it's good fun.
- Hell's Kitchen Season 4 is over and all i have to say is this: Petrozza should have won. i don't know if FOX told Ramsay that this year a cute girl had to win, or if he had a sweet spot (i.e. the hots) for her, but Petrozza. should. have. won.
- been watching this new show on NBC called Fear Itself. each week is a new mini horror movie. the first episode was a sort of "cabin in the woods" tale, while the next week was about a haunting. as long as you go into it knowing what to expect - a pretty cheesy B-horror movie that is guaranteed to have a twist - it's sort of fun. actually, the last 2 weeks were pretty good because i didn't see the endings coming. next week is zombies. yay zombies!
- ok, so this past weekend i downloaded and watched the RoboCop movie trilogy. first movie, a masterpiece. second movie, a mess. third movie, a piece of... well, the furthest thing from a masterpiece (i actually almost stopped watching it after the first half hour). however, i love the world and character(s) SO much that i decided to download and watch the television series. yes, for those of you that don't remember, RoboCop had a tv series in the early 90s. it lasted only one season, so i don't blame you if you don't remember. so i've watched the first 4 episodes and you know what? it's still far from the masterpiece the first movie is, but it's WAY better than the movie sequels - if only because the writing is at least cohesive. it may not always be good, but it's cohesive. and it introduces ideas such as religion and cyborgs, cyborgs and humanity, etc. it may not always follow THROUGH on those ideas, but it at least brings them up and explores them a little. oh, and just like Wolverine in the X-Men cartoon, RoboCop gets his ass handed to him the minute he enters a fight (well that sort of happened in the movies too). and it's always in the stupidest ways too. learn how to fight Robo! then maybe you can be of some use for the majority of the episode instead of just sitting there being fixed/waiting to be fixed. still, i'm a fan.
- and finally, what prompted me to write this blog - Burn Notice Season 2 is upon us. how was the first episode? spot-on. it was everything i expected it to be. i was a little sad that things are basically back to the way they were at the start of last season (after some characters had grown over the course of last season) but it was expected. you can't really have your characters grow in a comedy/drama. so Michael is back in Miami, doing the same types of jobs he did last year (except with a steady stream of them this time supplied by a new boss), still trying to learn who burned him and - more importantly this season - why. and i'm fine with it. it's a great ride.
what's next? after RoboCop and X-Men i think i'll tackle either Time Trax (another 90s sci fi show most people don't remember) or maybe Deadwood. however, lately i've been on a huge sci fi kick, so it'll probably be Time Trax. and the fall season isn't that far away. FOX starts airing new episodes around Labor Day, with NBC following later in September. can't wait for Sarah Connor, House, and yes, even Heroes - though if they start doing stupid stuff, i'm done. DONE. oh, and later in the year - 24: the tv movie. hell. yes.
- k
so here's what i've been watching this summer. the stuff on tv, and the stuff off my computer.
- Battlestar Galactica finished out its first half of its final (fourth) season, and it ended with a bang. seriously, the final episode was SO good (minus the out-of-place fast pacing - seriously, they took material that would normally have been maybe 3 episodes and packed it into 1) i can almost forgive the show for the rest of the season. almost. however, season 4 so far for me has had many more lows than highs. here's hoping the last half of the season (not on until next year sometime) is better. much better.
- Spectacular Spider-Man finished its first 13-episode season and it was, well, spectacular. it was a great blend of stuff for the kids and stuff for the adults. the stories were mostly based on classic Spidey, but with their own modern-day twist. there was one twist on a super villain that i liked, and i love classic Mary Jane (the one that's a free spirit, doesn't want to be tied down to anybody). and the action scenes - oh man. best action scenes in a cartoon, hands down. this is by far the best Spider-Man cartoon that has ever been - possibly even the best superhero cartoon that has ever been. well, besides The Tick. its reported that it will have a second season, but when is anybody's guess.
- stopped watching The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles - or maybe i'm just taking a break from it, i don't know. all i know is that i couldn't take "cute" Indiana anymore. if i were to start watching the series again, maybe i'd just skip ahead to when he's a bit older. as it is, i made it through only 4 of the 22 "chapters" (each 1 1/2 hours, with 2 stories a piece).
- started watching the X-Men cartoon series from the 90s. i'm about halfway through season 2 of 5. each season has around 15 episodes, with a grand total of something like 75 episodes. what's amazing is how much i remember of the show (i watched it when i was little). i'm not sure how much of it is nostalgia and how much of it is it being a good show, but i like it quite a bit. sure it's got its problems, but what 90s cartoon doesn't? the stories are condensed versions of comic stories, so that's cool. oh, and surprisingly it has an overarching story that takes you through an entire season - something i wouldn't have thought a 90s kids cartoon would have had (well planned-out plot points). probably the funniest thing is that Wolverine, arguably the strongest mutant on the team, continuously gets his ass kicked the second he joins a fight. he's damn near useless. oh, and Jean Grey is pretty useless too - though maybe this is before she's really learned what her powers can do. anyway, it's good fun.
- Hell's Kitchen Season 4 is over and all i have to say is this: Petrozza should have won. i don't know if FOX told Ramsay that this year a cute girl had to win, or if he had a sweet spot (i.e. the hots) for her, but Petrozza. should. have. won.
- been watching this new show on NBC called Fear Itself. each week is a new mini horror movie. the first episode was a sort of "cabin in the woods" tale, while the next week was about a haunting. as long as you go into it knowing what to expect - a pretty cheesy B-horror movie that is guaranteed to have a twist - it's sort of fun. actually, the last 2 weeks were pretty good because i didn't see the endings coming. next week is zombies. yay zombies!
- ok, so this past weekend i downloaded and watched the RoboCop movie trilogy. first movie, a masterpiece. second movie, a mess. third movie, a piece of... well, the furthest thing from a masterpiece (i actually almost stopped watching it after the first half hour). however, i love the world and character(s) SO much that i decided to download and watch the television series. yes, for those of you that don't remember, RoboCop had a tv series in the early 90s. it lasted only one season, so i don't blame you if you don't remember. so i've watched the first 4 episodes and you know what? it's still far from the masterpiece the first movie is, but it's WAY better than the movie sequels - if only because the writing is at least cohesive. it may not always be good, but it's cohesive. and it introduces ideas such as religion and cyborgs, cyborgs and humanity, etc. it may not always follow THROUGH on those ideas, but it at least brings them up and explores them a little. oh, and just like Wolverine in the X-Men cartoon, RoboCop gets his ass handed to him the minute he enters a fight (well that sort of happened in the movies too). and it's always in the stupidest ways too. learn how to fight Robo! then maybe you can be of some use for the majority of the episode instead of just sitting there being fixed/waiting to be fixed. still, i'm a fan.
- and finally, what prompted me to write this blog - Burn Notice Season 2 is upon us. how was the first episode? spot-on. it was everything i expected it to be. i was a little sad that things are basically back to the way they were at the start of last season (after some characters had grown over the course of last season) but it was expected. you can't really have your characters grow in a comedy/drama. so Michael is back in Miami, doing the same types of jobs he did last year (except with a steady stream of them this time supplied by a new boss), still trying to learn who burned him and - more importantly this season - why. and i'm fine with it. it's a great ride.
what's next? after RoboCop and X-Men i think i'll tackle either Time Trax (another 90s sci fi show most people don't remember) or maybe Deadwood. however, lately i've been on a huge sci fi kick, so it'll probably be Time Trax. and the fall season isn't that far away. FOX starts airing new episodes around Labor Day, with NBC following later in September. can't wait for Sarah Connor, House, and yes, even Heroes - though if they start doing stupid stuff, i'm done. DONE. oh, and later in the year - 24: the tv movie. hell. yes.
- k
Tuesday, June 10
what i've been up to - may television edition
so wow. may's over. what did i watch?
- House, Law & Order: SVU, and Law & Order were back for several episodes, and now they're gone again. each show was pretty good in its own right - especially House - even SVU, which has been pretty lackluster the past few seasons.
- now we've entered a pretty bleak summer in terms of television. i'm currently watching mostly reality stuff - Hell's Kitchen, Last Comic Standing... even So You Think You Can Dance during commercials - and of course i'm still watching Battlestar season 4 and the Spectacular Spider-Man cartoon. the reality stuff is just filler stuff to watch, but Battlestar and Spider-Man are my bread and butter. but Battlestar... oh man it's letting me down this season. but not Spidey! Spider-Man continues to be GREAT. i urge everyone to track it down. the sad news? Battlestar and Spider-Man are on hiatus starting next week! and after that, Hell's Kitchen will be over at the end of the month! not really much to look forward to either except for Burn Notice and Mad Men, which both return July/August sometime. oh well. no television means i can focus on catching up on series of the past and/or video games.
- finished watching Freaks and Geeks at the start of May. had they been able to have a four-year production plan in place and been able to pace things out better, the show could have been one of the best. ever. as it was, the show was a little rushed and muddled, yet somehow it started to get repetitive in the final few episodes (of only 18). it sort of had an ending, so at least there's that. it's a great show that could have been even greater.
- watched the first season of the BBC show Ashes to Ashes. it's a spin-off of one of my favorite shows of all time, Life on Mars (which, funny enough, is itself being adapted for American television this fall on ABC - might be worth checking out). Ashes didn't hold a candle to Life at the start of the series, but by the end of the eighth and final episode of the season, it certainly came into its own. it had 2-3 plot twists in the final episode that i did NOT see coming - in a good way. great writing. now if only the rest of the season had been as good. oh well. the best part is just seeing the gang back in action, even if it's in the 80s instead of the 70s. supposedly there's 2 more seasons planned, so here's hoping for some more Ashes goodness next year.
- well, in my last post i said i was going to move on to Deadwood after Ashes. well, i didn't. what happened? Indiana Jones fever struck. with the movie coming out, i devoted a weekend to watching the original trilogy. then i saw the new movie. and it wasn't enough. then i remembered that there was a television show that revolved around Indy as a young lad. The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. so i downloaded it and i've been slowly making my way through it. why slowly you ask? ...well, it's not very good. ok, the series might pick up when Indy is older, but right now i'm watching the episodes where he's a little kid (like 10-12) and he's sort of annoying! that, and the thin plots are stretched to their breaking point at 45 minutes length. that said, the show does have a certain innocent charm to it, and it's neat seeing all of Europe and Africa (each episode it seems they're filming in a new exotic location - how many shows have the budget for that?) - oh, and it's cool how he meets all these famous people along the way, like Picasso, Tolstoy, Freud, Teddy Roosevelt, etc. so i'm making my way through the show, but it's taking longer than i'd like.
and that's what i've been watching. i suspect June will see me abandoning broadcast television altogether (until Burn Notice and Mad Men start up) and maybe, just maybe i'll make my way through The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles.
-k
- House, Law & Order: SVU, and Law & Order were back for several episodes, and now they're gone again. each show was pretty good in its own right - especially House - even SVU, which has been pretty lackluster the past few seasons.
- now we've entered a pretty bleak summer in terms of television. i'm currently watching mostly reality stuff - Hell's Kitchen, Last Comic Standing... even So You Think You Can Dance during commercials - and of course i'm still watching Battlestar season 4 and the Spectacular Spider-Man cartoon. the reality stuff is just filler stuff to watch, but Battlestar and Spider-Man are my bread and butter. but Battlestar... oh man it's letting me down this season. but not Spidey! Spider-Man continues to be GREAT. i urge everyone to track it down. the sad news? Battlestar and Spider-Man are on hiatus starting next week! and after that, Hell's Kitchen will be over at the end of the month! not really much to look forward to either except for Burn Notice and Mad Men, which both return July/August sometime. oh well. no television means i can focus on catching up on series of the past and/or video games.
- finished watching Freaks and Geeks at the start of May. had they been able to have a four-year production plan in place and been able to pace things out better, the show could have been one of the best. ever. as it was, the show was a little rushed and muddled, yet somehow it started to get repetitive in the final few episodes (of only 18). it sort of had an ending, so at least there's that. it's a great show that could have been even greater.
- watched the first season of the BBC show Ashes to Ashes. it's a spin-off of one of my favorite shows of all time, Life on Mars (which, funny enough, is itself being adapted for American television this fall on ABC - might be worth checking out). Ashes didn't hold a candle to Life at the start of the series, but by the end of the eighth and final episode of the season, it certainly came into its own. it had 2-3 plot twists in the final episode that i did NOT see coming - in a good way. great writing. now if only the rest of the season had been as good. oh well. the best part is just seeing the gang back in action, even if it's in the 80s instead of the 70s. supposedly there's 2 more seasons planned, so here's hoping for some more Ashes goodness next year.
- well, in my last post i said i was going to move on to Deadwood after Ashes. well, i didn't. what happened? Indiana Jones fever struck. with the movie coming out, i devoted a weekend to watching the original trilogy. then i saw the new movie. and it wasn't enough. then i remembered that there was a television show that revolved around Indy as a young lad. The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. so i downloaded it and i've been slowly making my way through it. why slowly you ask? ...well, it's not very good. ok, the series might pick up when Indy is older, but right now i'm watching the episodes where he's a little kid (like 10-12) and he's sort of annoying! that, and the thin plots are stretched to their breaking point at 45 minutes length. that said, the show does have a certain innocent charm to it, and it's neat seeing all of Europe and Africa (each episode it seems they're filming in a new exotic location - how many shows have the budget for that?) - oh, and it's cool how he meets all these famous people along the way, like Picasso, Tolstoy, Freud, Teddy Roosevelt, etc. so i'm making my way through the show, but it's taking longer than i'd like.
and that's what i've been watching. i suspect June will see me abandoning broadcast television altogether (until Burn Notice and Mad Men start up) and maybe, just maybe i'll make my way through The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles.
-k
Monday, March 17
Spectacular Spider-Man is, well, pretty spectacular
i love Spider-Man. i think you all know that. so when a new Spider-Man project is announced, i'm always cautiously optimistic. that, and i watch it like a hawk, finding out as much as i can about it.
well, there's a new Spider-Man project that just started last week. it's an animated series. Spectacular Spider-Man. it's on Kids WB on Saturday mornings, which means i download it later in the day and watch it off my computer (there's no way i'm waking up that early). it's had 3 episodes so far.
what was tough for me going in is that there was little-to-no information about this show leading up to its premiere. all i knew was the premise and the art style. oh, and i knew that a former producer of the Gargoyles cartoon was going to be on it.
the story focuses on a young Peter Parker about a year after getting his spider powers. he's entering his junior year of high school after just having the summer of his life playing Spider-Man. however, now he's got to balance school, Aunt May's bills, friends, and his life as Spider-Man. oh, and super villains are starting to show up on the scene. it's a great premise and a great starting point to a new series.
the art is similar to a lot of today's animated shows - shows such as The Batman, Kim Possible, and Teen Titans. it's a highly stylized, exaggerated style that looks to be influenced by anime - very different from the more realistic style of 90s cartoons. it can work in some instances, but in others it can be too cute, too cartoony. here, thankfully, it works.
so, knowing what i knew, i was excited. and the show didn't let me down. not one bit.
the main characters (so far) are Peter, Gwen Stacey, Harry Osborne, Eddie Brock, Flash Thompson, Liz Allen, J. Jonah Jamison, and Aunt May. the Connors may also play a pretty big role (as they were in the first 3 episodes) but Doc Connors was turned into the Lizard in the third episode, so they may go away for a while. here's my thoughts on some of the characters:
- Peter is perfect so far. the writer's really nailed the tone and the actor really portrays him pretty well. oh, and the quips Spidey whips out in battle are great.
- Gwen is Peter's close friend (along with Harry), but that's it. there was a hint in one of the episodes that she wants to be more than just friends, so i'm sure we'll see them hooking up later.
- Harry is being portrayed as sort of a wimp. the voice actor they got for him really gives Harry this wimpy quality. it's an interesting take on the character - usually he's handsome, charismatic, and pretty popular. not here.
- Eddie is Pete, Gwen, and Harry's older friend. he's a freshman in college. of course in the comics and movie Eddie is a photojournalist that doesn't meet Peter until they're older, but this portrayal of a younger Eddie meeting a younger Pete has been in a few of the latest Spider-Man projects (Ultimate Spider-Man for instance). i have no problem with it, as long as he becomes Venom like he should.
- Liz Allen. now, she's just a secondary character, but they did something to her that really bothers me. what did they do? they made her Latina, no doubt for the sake of political correctness. she's supposed to be a spoiled white girl. instead she's a street-talking Latina. sigh. oh well.
what's interesting to note is that they went with Gwen instead of Mary Jane. of course, in the comics Gwen came first, and was Peter's first love, but modern day audiences only know of Mary Jane (i mean they went with Mary Jane in the movies and demoted Gwen to a pretty crappy cameo in the third movie). it's an interesting choice, and i give them kudos for doing it, but i miss Mary Jane. what will probably happen is Gwen and Peter will hook up (or almost hook up) and THEN they'll introduce Mary Jane into the mix. i can't wait!
the first 3 episodes introduced us to The Vulture, Electro, The Lizard, and The Enforcers (with The Kingpin behind the scenes). they were all pretty good episodes in their own right, with only the Lizard one feeling a little weak. usually with The Lizard/Doc Connors, Peter reveals his identity and the 2 of them share the secret of who the other is. that didn't happen here. however, something else happened at the end of the episode that i was like "no way." suffice to say, it distanced Peter from his friends even more. it really showed how being Spider-Man conflicts with being Peter Parker. it was great.
one last thing to note - the battles are amazing. the animation is fluid and visceral. and Spider-Man gets the CRAP beat outta him. being a kids show i was worried they wouldn't show this aspect, but they do. one of my favorite things about Spider-Man is that he's pretty much a normal guy (with somewhat superhuman strength, sure) going against super villains that are usually stronger or have some advantage over Spidey at least. Spidey usually gets his ass handed to him before he can figure out how to beat the villain. it reinforces the "average Joe with not-so-average powers" thing i love so much.
in conclusion, you should check this series out. it's got 13 episodes in the can, and i believe 13 more are going to be ordered. i hope so at least. because it's a great series so far.
-k
well, there's a new Spider-Man project that just started last week. it's an animated series. Spectacular Spider-Man. it's on Kids WB on Saturday mornings, which means i download it later in the day and watch it off my computer (there's no way i'm waking up that early). it's had 3 episodes so far.
what was tough for me going in is that there was little-to-no information about this show leading up to its premiere. all i knew was the premise and the art style. oh, and i knew that a former producer of the Gargoyles cartoon was going to be on it.
the story focuses on a young Peter Parker about a year after getting his spider powers. he's entering his junior year of high school after just having the summer of his life playing Spider-Man. however, now he's got to balance school, Aunt May's bills, friends, and his life as Spider-Man. oh, and super villains are starting to show up on the scene. it's a great premise and a great starting point to a new series.
the art is similar to a lot of today's animated shows - shows such as The Batman, Kim Possible, and Teen Titans. it's a highly stylized, exaggerated style that looks to be influenced by anime - very different from the more realistic style of 90s cartoons. it can work in some instances, but in others it can be too cute, too cartoony. here, thankfully, it works.
so, knowing what i knew, i was excited. and the show didn't let me down. not one bit.
the main characters (so far) are Peter, Gwen Stacey, Harry Osborne, Eddie Brock, Flash Thompson, Liz Allen, J. Jonah Jamison, and Aunt May. the Connors may also play a pretty big role (as they were in the first 3 episodes) but Doc Connors was turned into the Lizard in the third episode, so they may go away for a while. here's my thoughts on some of the characters:
- Peter is perfect so far. the writer's really nailed the tone and the actor really portrays him pretty well. oh, and the quips Spidey whips out in battle are great.
- Gwen is Peter's close friend (along with Harry), but that's it. there was a hint in one of the episodes that she wants to be more than just friends, so i'm sure we'll see them hooking up later.
- Harry is being portrayed as sort of a wimp. the voice actor they got for him really gives Harry this wimpy quality. it's an interesting take on the character - usually he's handsome, charismatic, and pretty popular. not here.
- Eddie is Pete, Gwen, and Harry's older friend. he's a freshman in college. of course in the comics and movie Eddie is a photojournalist that doesn't meet Peter until they're older, but this portrayal of a younger Eddie meeting a younger Pete has been in a few of the latest Spider-Man projects (Ultimate Spider-Man for instance). i have no problem with it, as long as he becomes Venom like he should.
- Liz Allen. now, she's just a secondary character, but they did something to her that really bothers me. what did they do? they made her Latina, no doubt for the sake of political correctness. she's supposed to be a spoiled white girl. instead she's a street-talking Latina. sigh. oh well.
what's interesting to note is that they went with Gwen instead of Mary Jane. of course, in the comics Gwen came first, and was Peter's first love, but modern day audiences only know of Mary Jane (i mean they went with Mary Jane in the movies and demoted Gwen to a pretty crappy cameo in the third movie). it's an interesting choice, and i give them kudos for doing it, but i miss Mary Jane. what will probably happen is Gwen and Peter will hook up (or almost hook up) and THEN they'll introduce Mary Jane into the mix. i can't wait!
the first 3 episodes introduced us to The Vulture, Electro, The Lizard, and The Enforcers (with The Kingpin behind the scenes). they were all pretty good episodes in their own right, with only the Lizard one feeling a little weak. usually with The Lizard/Doc Connors, Peter reveals his identity and the 2 of them share the secret of who the other is. that didn't happen here. however, something else happened at the end of the episode that i was like "no way." suffice to say, it distanced Peter from his friends even more. it really showed how being Spider-Man conflicts with being Peter Parker. it was great.
one last thing to note - the battles are amazing. the animation is fluid and visceral. and Spider-Man gets the CRAP beat outta him. being a kids show i was worried they wouldn't show this aspect, but they do. one of my favorite things about Spider-Man is that he's pretty much a normal guy (with somewhat superhuman strength, sure) going against super villains that are usually stronger or have some advantage over Spidey at least. Spidey usually gets his ass handed to him before he can figure out how to beat the villain. it reinforces the "average Joe with not-so-average powers" thing i love so much.
in conclusion, you should check this series out. it's got 13 episodes in the can, and i believe 13 more are going to be ordered. i hope so at least. because it's a great series so far.
-k
Monday, February 4
no reservations: new orleans
i didn't really think i'd find myself writing about another episode of No Reservations, but here i am, writing about the New Orleans episode i just watched.
Vancouver i wrote about because the episode really hit home for me. i thought it summed up nicely what Vancouver is and why i love it and miss it so much. this New Orleans, well, it was a real reminder. a real eye-opener.
that place, more than 2 years after Katrina, is still in shambles. every place Bourdain went to eat in this episode told another story of the tragedy, another story of the rebuilding and healing. it was a poignant episode of a show that i never really thought could be poignant.
i urge you all to see it. the scenery is unbelievable, the stories unheard of, and the anguish, pain, and suffering still all very much in the faces of everyone. i was almost brought to tears a few times during the show. powerful stuff.
-k
Vancouver i wrote about because the episode really hit home for me. i thought it summed up nicely what Vancouver is and why i love it and miss it so much. this New Orleans, well, it was a real reminder. a real eye-opener.
that place, more than 2 years after Katrina, is still in shambles. every place Bourdain went to eat in this episode told another story of the tragedy, another story of the rebuilding and healing. it was a poignant episode of a show that i never really thought could be poignant.
i urge you all to see it. the scenery is unbelievable, the stories unheard of, and the anguish, pain, and suffering still all very much in the faces of everyone. i was almost brought to tears a few times during the show. powerful stuff.
-k
Tuesday, January 22
no reservations: vancouver
i just got done watching the most recent episode of Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations on the Travel Channel. tonight he visited Vancouver.
why was i so compelled to write? well because i think he did a good job of showing and explaining why Vancouver is such a wonderful place to live. sure he missed some stuff (and i, apparently, missed some stuff too), but the message he hit right on the head.
Vancouver is a wonderful urban melting pot that's got one of the densest populations on earth in the downtown core but yet manages to keep nature all around you. it has wonderful food, friends, and work (if you can get it).
so check it out on reruns if you can. see why i love the city of Vancouver so much. it doesn't cover everything, but it covers enough. oh, and i recognized some of the places and streets they were filming. at one point they were about 2 blocks away from where i used to live - right in front of where i used to grocery shop.
Vancouver. the best place on earth that i've been to.
i will return.
-k
why was i so compelled to write? well because i think he did a good job of showing and explaining why Vancouver is such a wonderful place to live. sure he missed some stuff (and i, apparently, missed some stuff too), but the message he hit right on the head.
Vancouver is a wonderful urban melting pot that's got one of the densest populations on earth in the downtown core but yet manages to keep nature all around you. it has wonderful food, friends, and work (if you can get it).
so check it out on reruns if you can. see why i love the city of Vancouver so much. it doesn't cover everything, but it covers enough. oh, and i recognized some of the places and streets they were filming. at one point they were about 2 blocks away from where i used to live - right in front of where i used to grocery shop.
Vancouver. the best place on earth that i've been to.
i will return.
-k
Tuesday, January 8
the writer's strike and late night Comedy Central - plus, No Reservations: Singapore
the final two late night shows returned tonight - The Daily Show and The Colbert Report - both sans writers. how did they do?
Jon Stewart on The Daily Show "winged it" a little more than Colbert did (or he gave the impression that he was winging it a bit more at least, maybe to subtly show that they need writers - like Conan), but he was still good. they both were in their own ways.
both he and Colbert covered a little bit of politics but then devoted most their time to the writer's strike, doing rather funny bits in regards to the whole situation. then, Jon's guest for the night was an expert on strikes, and Colbert's guest was an expert on unions. it was actually pretty bold, and i'm surprised Comedy Central let them get away with all of it.
i learned that the WGA is granting more and more smaller companies leave from the strike (like Letterman's company, which i talked about last week) and that hopefully that will light fires under the larger companies to the point where they say "look, we need to get our writer's back - they've got theirs back!" interesting tactic.
i also learned that now that talks have broken down (they did before the holidays), it will take a LONG time before they talk again, because whichever side approaches the other first will look like the "weaker" side, as if they caved to the pressure. so expect the strike to go on for a few more months (i was predicting it would be over in April, but we'll see).
i've said it over and over again - this whole thing simply fascinates me. i'm going to try and tune in to a couple more episodes of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report this week to see how things are going, but we'll see how long i can keep it up - i've already missed 2 nights of Conan and Leno (last Friday and then tonight).
- kawitchate
PS: the new season of Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations started tonight on the Travel Channel with an episode on Singapore. i had a particular interest in it because some video game companies look to Singapore for outsourcing. heck, George Lucas set up a branch of his company there to work on animation and video games!
there was very little i knew about Singapore going in: that it's hot and humid there, it has very strict laws that keep crime down to a minimum, and that they cane people there in extreme cases. what i DIDN'T know is what a cultural melting pot it is! one of the people on the show said that you should head there to get a crash course in Asia 101. there's Indian, Chinese, and Malaysian - plus it's being Westernized, so a lot of people speak English there. anyway, where cultures meet, so do their foods. and wow did the food look good. yum.
i may have to add Singapore to my list of places to see. for now, it's still way down on the list - somewhere below Korea and England.
Jon Stewart on The Daily Show "winged it" a little more than Colbert did (or he gave the impression that he was winging it a bit more at least, maybe to subtly show that they need writers - like Conan), but he was still good. they both were in their own ways.
both he and Colbert covered a little bit of politics but then devoted most their time to the writer's strike, doing rather funny bits in regards to the whole situation. then, Jon's guest for the night was an expert on strikes, and Colbert's guest was an expert on unions. it was actually pretty bold, and i'm surprised Comedy Central let them get away with all of it.
i learned that the WGA is granting more and more smaller companies leave from the strike (like Letterman's company, which i talked about last week) and that hopefully that will light fires under the larger companies to the point where they say "look, we need to get our writer's back - they've got theirs back!" interesting tactic.
i also learned that now that talks have broken down (they did before the holidays), it will take a LONG time before they talk again, because whichever side approaches the other first will look like the "weaker" side, as if they caved to the pressure. so expect the strike to go on for a few more months (i was predicting it would be over in April, but we'll see).
i've said it over and over again - this whole thing simply fascinates me. i'm going to try and tune in to a couple more episodes of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report this week to see how things are going, but we'll see how long i can keep it up - i've already missed 2 nights of Conan and Leno (last Friday and then tonight).
- kawitchate
PS: the new season of Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations started tonight on the Travel Channel with an episode on Singapore. i had a particular interest in it because some video game companies look to Singapore for outsourcing. heck, George Lucas set up a branch of his company there to work on animation and video games!
there was very little i knew about Singapore going in: that it's hot and humid there, it has very strict laws that keep crime down to a minimum, and that they cane people there in extreme cases. what i DIDN'T know is what a cultural melting pot it is! one of the people on the show said that you should head there to get a crash course in Asia 101. there's Indian, Chinese, and Malaysian - plus it's being Westernized, so a lot of people speak English there. anyway, where cultures meet, so do their foods. and wow did the food look good. yum.
i may have to add Singapore to my list of places to see. for now, it's still way down on the list - somewhere below Korea and England.
Friday, January 4
the writer's strike and my subsequent television watching - Thursday edition
well, the third night of basic cable channel-hopping with the writer's strike in full force and i'm starting to see a pattern emerge - one that i basically fell into when all my shows ended last year. i watch reruns of Law & Order, Law & Order: SVU, and Without a Trace. tonight it was SVU and Without a Trace... oh, with a rerun of South Park and Drawn Together thrown in for good measure.
also tuned into the opening segments of both Leno and Conan. both still gave ample time to the issue of the writer's strike - even incorporating it into their bits/jokes more - and it was pretty good. Leno's monologue is spot-on. he must have written the majority of that himself to begin with. it's the segment after that where we see Leno "wing it," and it's really interesting seeing such a seasoned veteran wing it... same with Conan. good stuff so far.
- kawitchate
also tuned into the opening segments of both Leno and Conan. both still gave ample time to the issue of the writer's strike - even incorporating it into their bits/jokes more - and it was pretty good. Leno's monologue is spot-on. he must have written the majority of that himself to begin with. it's the segment after that where we see Leno "wing it," and it's really interesting seeing such a seasoned veteran wing it... same with Conan. good stuff so far.
- kawitchate
Thursday, January 3
the writer's strike and late night television
so i've been looking forward to tonight for a few weeks now. you see, i learned back then that the late night mainstays - Leno, O'Brien, Letterman, Ferguson, Kimmel - were all going back on the air tonight after most of them had been off the air since the writer's strike started 2 months ago (most of them being members of the guild). how would the show be without writers? what would be said? would they pull it off? well i tuned in to Leno and Conan and, well, it was interesting.
Leno did the better job of the two in terms of pulling off a pretty normal show without writers, but that figures because the guy is a workhorse! in the midst of doing the Tonight Show he's still doing his own stand-up acts regularly and writing a good chunk of the monologue of every show. so he had his normal monologue, went to the audience for unscripted questions for the bit after the monologue (where you could really tell it was unscripted, as Leno was stumbling and/or rambling a bit with his answers, which was kind of nice to see - a natural, human reaction), and then moved on to the usual 3 guests.
Conan skipped his monologue, did bits on his new beard, what he's been up to for the past 2 months, and a wedding ring spinning contest, then had his usual 3 guests. he was pretty uncomfortable at times, way more so than Leno. with his uncomfortable moments and the obvious time-killer of the wedding ring spin, i'm wondering if Conan was trying to send a message to everyone that yeah, i'm back on the air, but i'm nothing without my writers. get them back or this is all you'll get out of me.
both guys gave ample time at the start of their shows to explain their situations - that they're members of the WGA but could not go on not working. they each have a staff of 50+ that AREN'T writers, and those people needed to work. of course, i'm sure that NBC was also breathing down their necks, but whatever. the sad thing is, the WGA is now picketing both of them.
i'm going to try and tune in to at least the start of each program to see how things are progressing over the next few days/weeks, because it's kind of interesting. hour-long late night television unscripted. these guys aren't particularly loved now by either side (the companies that employ them or their writer's guild). we'll see what happens.
on the flip side of things, i heard that Letterman and Ferguson both got their writers back due to some loophole. i guess CBS doesn't actually "own" the two shows, but rather Letterman's company Worldwide Pants does... so the WGA made a separate deal with Worldwide Pants that allowed the writers of those shows to go back to work.
cheaters.
kudos to Leno and Conan for returning on the air with no writers. good luck to both of them. now the next thing to watch out for is the return of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, which are both apparently coming back next Monday - sans writers.
- kawitchate
Leno did the better job of the two in terms of pulling off a pretty normal show without writers, but that figures because the guy is a workhorse! in the midst of doing the Tonight Show he's still doing his own stand-up acts regularly and writing a good chunk of the monologue of every show. so he had his normal monologue, went to the audience for unscripted questions for the bit after the monologue (where you could really tell it was unscripted, as Leno was stumbling and/or rambling a bit with his answers, which was kind of nice to see - a natural, human reaction), and then moved on to the usual 3 guests.
Conan skipped his monologue, did bits on his new beard, what he's been up to for the past 2 months, and a wedding ring spinning contest, then had his usual 3 guests. he was pretty uncomfortable at times, way more so than Leno. with his uncomfortable moments and the obvious time-killer of the wedding ring spin, i'm wondering if Conan was trying to send a message to everyone that yeah, i'm back on the air, but i'm nothing without my writers. get them back or this is all you'll get out of me.
both guys gave ample time at the start of their shows to explain their situations - that they're members of the WGA but could not go on not working. they each have a staff of 50+ that AREN'T writers, and those people needed to work. of course, i'm sure that NBC was also breathing down their necks, but whatever. the sad thing is, the WGA is now picketing both of them.
i'm going to try and tune in to at least the start of each program to see how things are progressing over the next few days/weeks, because it's kind of interesting. hour-long late night television unscripted. these guys aren't particularly loved now by either side (the companies that employ them or their writer's guild). we'll see what happens.
on the flip side of things, i heard that Letterman and Ferguson both got their writers back due to some loophole. i guess CBS doesn't actually "own" the two shows, but rather Letterman's company Worldwide Pants does... so the WGA made a separate deal with Worldwide Pants that allowed the writers of those shows to go back to work.
cheaters.
kudos to Leno and Conan for returning on the air with no writers. good luck to both of them. now the next thing to watch out for is the return of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, which are both apparently coming back next Monday - sans writers.
- kawitchate
the writer's strike and my subsequent television watching
a funny thing is happening. the majority of shows i was interested in are now over - with some probably over forever - and i'm starting to watch the most curious of shows.
see, after a 8-9 hour day of sitting in front of a computer, the last thing i want to do when i get home (at least immediately) is get on the computer here, or even play video games. i usually veg in front of the TV for a couple two three hours. if there's "nothing on," i search until i FIND something on.
tonight started off with 2 hours of Law & Order. yes, an old favorite of mine is back for its 18th season (holy crap!) and, while i normally wouldn't watch it (haven't watched the original for a few years now, save for the episode here and there), there's ABSOLUTELY NOTHING ELSE ON! so i gave it a shot, and it wasn't half bad.
in the midst of watching Law & Order i continued my basic cable channel-hopping hoping to learn which channel is what number. well, i happened upon the Travel Channel and the Food Network tonight (the History Channel was busy with shows on bunkers and WWII, no lie) and i rediscovered shows i had stumbled upon in the past.
first was Dinner: Impossible on the Food Network. this is a show that's got this uber-chef that goes into "impossible" (or improbable) cooking situations and has to work with the staff at hand to make this huge, delicious meal to feed sometimes hundreds of people. it's fun to see the interesting dishes he prepares and of course HOW he prepares them. tonight he had to work in a school cafeteria and in the famous ice hotel (that was pretty interesting).
next was Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations on the Travel Channel. he's a chef and author. think of the chef on Hell's Kitchen, but this guy is a little more reserved. anyway, what he does is travel to a city or region and partake in their food and culture. his observations are always a little off the wall (and blunt) which is why i like it so much. tonight he was in Osaka, Japan and it was just amazing. i have to get to Japan. oh, and i had actually heard of most the dishes he tried and had actually eaten a few myself!
last was Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern on the Travel Channel. he's a food writer, dining critic, radio talk-show host, TV personality, chef and teacher (got that bit from the official website). this guy is really nice, quite the opposite from the guy above. he also travels to a region of the world and takes in their food and culture, but some of the foods tend to be a little more on the "interesting" side (read: bugs, fermented things, etc). tonight he was in Taiwan and wow... every little restaurant he visited was amazing, especially the one where everything is made/prepared with tea leaves in some way or another. now i'm thinking i might have to make it to Taiwan too! gotta try that stinky tofu!
it'll be interesting to see what i find to watch tomorrow night, as there's not one single show on network television that i want to see.
good thing i have basic cable.
- kawitchate
see, after a 8-9 hour day of sitting in front of a computer, the last thing i want to do when i get home (at least immediately) is get on the computer here, or even play video games. i usually veg in front of the TV for a couple two three hours. if there's "nothing on," i search until i FIND something on.
tonight started off with 2 hours of Law & Order. yes, an old favorite of mine is back for its 18th season (holy crap!) and, while i normally wouldn't watch it (haven't watched the original for a few years now, save for the episode here and there), there's ABSOLUTELY NOTHING ELSE ON! so i gave it a shot, and it wasn't half bad.
in the midst of watching Law & Order i continued my basic cable channel-hopping hoping to learn which channel is what number. well, i happened upon the Travel Channel and the Food Network tonight (the History Channel was busy with shows on bunkers and WWII, no lie) and i rediscovered shows i had stumbled upon in the past.
first was Dinner: Impossible on the Food Network. this is a show that's got this uber-chef that goes into "impossible" (or improbable) cooking situations and has to work with the staff at hand to make this huge, delicious meal to feed sometimes hundreds of people. it's fun to see the interesting dishes he prepares and of course HOW he prepares them. tonight he had to work in a school cafeteria and in the famous ice hotel (that was pretty interesting).
next was Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations on the Travel Channel. he's a chef and author. think of the chef on Hell's Kitchen, but this guy is a little more reserved. anyway, what he does is travel to a city or region and partake in their food and culture. his observations are always a little off the wall (and blunt) which is why i like it so much. tonight he was in Osaka, Japan and it was just amazing. i have to get to Japan. oh, and i had actually heard of most the dishes he tried and had actually eaten a few myself!
last was Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern on the Travel Channel. he's a food writer, dining critic, radio talk-show host, TV personality, chef and teacher (got that bit from the official website). this guy is really nice, quite the opposite from the guy above. he also travels to a region of the world and takes in their food and culture, but some of the foods tend to be a little more on the "interesting" side (read: bugs, fermented things, etc). tonight he was in Taiwan and wow... every little restaurant he visited was amazing, especially the one where everything is made/prepared with tea leaves in some way or another. now i'm thinking i might have to make it to Taiwan too! gotta try that stinky tofu!
it'll be interesting to see what i find to watch tomorrow night, as there's not one single show on network television that i want to see.
good thing i have basic cable.
- kawitchate
Wednesday, January 2
basic cable channel-hopping
my roommate recently downgraded us from digital cable (comparable to satellite in terms of number of channels) to basic cable. without telling me. initially i was upset, but then he explained that we've still got 70+ channels and that most of the main ones were still there. i was skeptical, but upon inspection, he is right. however, now all the numbering is wrong and i have to discover which channel is what number all over again.
while i was basic cable channel-hopping tonight, i happened upon the History Channel. now, i've never been one to really watch the channel - in my mind it's always been the "WWII channel," with tonight's episode focusing on the tanks of WWII - so imagine my surprise when there was a show about space on there. and not some history lesson on space - oh no. this was like Discovery Channel-type stuff.
it was a program called Universe, or The Universe. and the episodes i caught were on cosmic holes, the moon, the Milky Way, and a bit of the episode on asteroids.
cosmic holes and the Milky Way episodes were by far my favorites, as they dealt with things that i've never really grasped - wormholes, time travel, white holes, black holes, solar systems, galaxies, the universe, and how they're all connected. it really reminded me of just how wonderful and vast a place space really is.
and i just read two graphic novels about space - Orbiter and Ocean. both are by Warren Ellis and both are pretty good reads (Orbiter being the better of the two). maybe i'm on a space kick. who knows.
check out Universe on the History Channel if you can, paying special attention to the episodes on cosmic holes and the Milky Way. great stuff.
- kawitchate
ps. i'm back from a week-and-a-half-long vacation home for Christmas and ready to pay more attention to the blog in the new year. it became a little Heroes-centric there for a while... but with the writer's strike, i won't be writing about TV much for a while (unless it's to say how bad it is)!
while i was basic cable channel-hopping tonight, i happened upon the History Channel. now, i've never been one to really watch the channel - in my mind it's always been the "WWII channel," with tonight's episode focusing on the tanks of WWII - so imagine my surprise when there was a show about space on there. and not some history lesson on space - oh no. this was like Discovery Channel-type stuff.
it was a program called Universe, or The Universe. and the episodes i caught were on cosmic holes, the moon, the Milky Way, and a bit of the episode on asteroids.
cosmic holes and the Milky Way episodes were by far my favorites, as they dealt with things that i've never really grasped - wormholes, time travel, white holes, black holes, solar systems, galaxies, the universe, and how they're all connected. it really reminded me of just how wonderful and vast a place space really is.
and i just read two graphic novels about space - Orbiter and Ocean. both are by Warren Ellis and both are pretty good reads (Orbiter being the better of the two). maybe i'm on a space kick. who knows.
check out Universe on the History Channel if you can, paying special attention to the episodes on cosmic holes and the Milky Way. great stuff.
- kawitchate
ps. i'm back from a week-and-a-half-long vacation home for Christmas and ready to pay more attention to the blog in the new year. it became a little Heroes-centric there for a while... but with the writer's strike, i won't be writing about TV much for a while (unless it's to say how bad it is)!
Friday, December 7
i knew it - Heroes edition
in this day and age of the internet, you think it would be easier to come by information on shows - how many episodes have been ordered, how are they doing in the ratings, etc. etc. i'm REALLY trying to get info lately because of this damn writer's strike. however, in general, i've found info on TV shows really hard to come by.
in my recent hunt for information, i found out that Chuck and Life (both new shows that i enjoy thoroughly) were greenlit for full seasons (i guess they originally only had 11-13 episodes each). cool beans. i ALSO found out that NBC may not have time in their schedule to air the last episode of Journeyman (which has NOT been picked up for a full season yet). next week is the 11th episode, and then there's a 12th out there that's been filmed and everything that wraps up the story just in case no more episodes are ordered but NBC might not have a time slot to air it in. oh, and it's part 2 of what happens in episode 11. wow. nice one NBC.
all that's fine and dandy, but here's the real reason for this post: Heroes and their sloppy, sloppy finish to season 2 (or season 2 part 1 if the writer's strike ends in time). quoted from an article on tv.com from a month ago:
- kawitchate
in my recent hunt for information, i found out that Chuck and Life (both new shows that i enjoy thoroughly) were greenlit for full seasons (i guess they originally only had 11-13 episodes each). cool beans. i ALSO found out that NBC may not have time in their schedule to air the last episode of Journeyman (which has NOT been picked up for a full season yet). next week is the 11th episode, and then there's a 12th out there that's been filmed and everything that wraps up the story just in case no more episodes are ordered but NBC might not have a time slot to air it in. oh, and it's part 2 of what happens in episode 11. wow. nice one NBC.
all that's fine and dandy, but here's the real reason for this post: Heroes and their sloppy, sloppy finish to season 2 (or season 2 part 1 if the writer's strike ends in time). quoted from an article on tv.com from a month ago:
so there you go. damn writer's strike.NBC's Heroes is preparing for the worst. According to TVGuide.com, the superhero drama is reshooting the final episode of the season's first half--also known as Volume One or "Generations."
Originally scheduled for multiple volumes, the second season of the drama may be halved, and the reshooting of the December 3 episode is designed to wrap things up nicely...by transforming the episode into a potential season finale rather than a midseason cliffhanger. The strike was allegedly also the cause of the indefinite postponement of the Heroes: Origins spin-off.
- kawitchate
Tuesday, December 4
Heroes - week 11
so i bet you all think you know what i'm going to say.
and you're probably right. at least partially.
here's how it went. i was ENGROSSED up until the commercial break at 8:35 - i mean i was on the EDGE OF MY SEAT the writing was so good. i was loving it.
then i started to realize... there's no way they can cover everything i want them to (or better yet, everything they should) in the time left. and then the scenes with characters started getting shorter and shorter (Claire reunited with her dad was WAY too short of a scene, same with Peter and Adam storming the compound, Hiro and Adam facing off, Nathan and his hastily called press conference, etc. etc. etc). and then it was over.
what happened? i HAVE to think the writer's strike (or the impending writer's strike at the time of writing the second season) meant they needed a quick finish to the half-season (season?). for Heroes to drag on for 6-8 episodes (at a slow, but steady pace - better than what came after it) and then quickly (and somewhat sloppily) wrap up in 3-4 just plain sucked.
what should have happened? i think there were about 2 episodes missing - one dealing mostly with Nathan (as we saw VERY little of him this season, more on that below) and another dealing with what happened 30 years ago with the old heroes (when Nathan and Parkman were talking to Mrs. Petrelli and she was like "It happened 30 years ago..." close up on her face and everything... you KNOW that was begging for a flashback episode).
if i could have more episodes, i would have liked one that showed what happened to the OTHER characters 4 months ago (see my post from a few weeks ago) and maybe yet another dealing with more of the aftermath of Claire's dad being "dead." but if i can't have those, we SHOULD have had at least the 2 i described above.
and we didn't. and the season suffered horribly for it.
notes:
- all in all, for an episode that had almost every (every?) hero in it, the pacing and face-time for each hero wasn't all that bad. as i said, i was really loving it up until i realized that this was it, there was no more time to cover everything that needed to be covered. it's just too bad that we didn't get the 2 episodes i described above that were needed to make this REALLY good.
- virus was stopped, but what was the aftermath of it? where's Peter's Irish lass? was that future really avoided? the whole virus storyline sort of just stopped once Peter incinerated the vile. so... is everything cool then? hello?
- Elle maturing is still a fun ride. when she went to face Sylar on her own i was worried they'd kill her off, but i'm glad they didn't. in fact, it was really neat how she smiled when Sylar said that she saved their lives, was their hero.
- the Company using Claire's dad to quiet her was pretty cool, but felt rushed (again, that's why i wish there was another episode with Claire dealing with her father's death). i wish he would have stayed "dead" longer... however, he isn't going to get to BE with his family for a while, so i guess that's interesting.
- i really liked the Nikki/Micah moments between the two of them in the car, but otherwise that ENTIRE storyline was dumb and boring. and now she's "dead" and honestly i couldn't care less. i really haven't liked what they did to her character (and her family for that matter, killing DL the way they did) all season long.
- the Suresh/Sylar/South American chick/Molly storyline was pretty tight. i'm surprised Sylar showed his true self so early to the South American chick, but whatever. oh, and i was kinda sad that she didn't die since i find her pretty annoying - HOWEVER, now that she's on the good side and knows what Sylar did, i think she's going to play a big part in bringing him down. let's just hope she's less annoying.
- yes, Sylar got his powers back, and i guess it was about time. the next "chapter" is called Villains, and as much as i'd like to see Sylar and Adam team up, i think what is more likely is that the Villains are going to be Sylar and the Company... although Sylar knows that the Company was the one that took away his powers, so he's going to be after them as well. very interesting. oh, and they'd BETTER start off next season by showing us what happened to Sylar 4 months ago, how the Company got him, and all that happened to him down in Mexico up until the twins came upon him in the middle of nowhere.
- i liked everything that went down at Primatech Paper with Adam and Peter and Nathan and Parkman and Hiro, but it just should have been LONGER. show Adam and Peter storming the place. show the face-off between Adam and Hiro as Hiro takes him in time and leaves him there. show some more of what's in the vault. and for god's sake did they rush into that press conference thing - where the hell did that come from?!? which leads to my next point...
- they shouldn't have killed Nathan. i mean sure, dead doesn't necessarily mean dead - especially with Claire's blood everywhere now, but for some reason i think they're going to make this one stick. the writer's think it'll serve to strengthen Peter's resolve, that Nathan was just an ends to a means for Peter's character (and Peter is EVERYONE'S favorite, right?). i mean the signs are there - Nathan doesn't have his family anymore, he was a broken man, a drunk, a destitute... they were getting him ready to die. and i HATE them for it. Nathan has always been one of my favorite characters and they SHAT ALL OVER HIM this season (both literally, by making his life hell, and figuratively, by not giving him enough face time on the show). this once-proud Congressman with a family suddenly had NOTHING, and that doesn't make for interesting TV? where was the Nathan-centric episode this season?!? hell, where was he in ANY of the episodes?!?!? and now you have the audacity to kill him?!? you give him a few brotherly lines in this episode and show his quick turnaround back into the man he once was by calling the press conference and you think it's enough? well it's not. if you can't tell, i'm actually livid. if this death sticks, i am seriously going to think about dropping this show.
and that about sums it up. it was a fun ride taken by itself, but the season was missing 2 key episodes (ideally 4) that would have made the package whole. as it said at the end, Heroes returns "in 2008," but with the writer's strike, does that mean it will return for the second half of season 2, or will we have to wait until the Fall for season 3?
i'm willing to give the sloppy pacing and writing a break because of the writer's strike, but if Nathan truly is dead, that's going to be something hard to forgive. if they would have given him his dues this season, i wouldn't mind as much.
but they didn't.
and i do.
damn you Heroes for being so good last season and sloppy - yet still a blast in its own right - this season. and damn you for Nathan's death.
i still love you... but you're on thin ice.
- kawitchate
and you're probably right. at least partially.
here's how it went. i was ENGROSSED up until the commercial break at 8:35 - i mean i was on the EDGE OF MY SEAT the writing was so good. i was loving it.
then i started to realize... there's no way they can cover everything i want them to (or better yet, everything they should) in the time left. and then the scenes with characters started getting shorter and shorter (Claire reunited with her dad was WAY too short of a scene, same with Peter and Adam storming the compound, Hiro and Adam facing off, Nathan and his hastily called press conference, etc. etc. etc). and then it was over.
what happened? i HAVE to think the writer's strike (or the impending writer's strike at the time of writing the second season) meant they needed a quick finish to the half-season (season?). for Heroes to drag on for 6-8 episodes (at a slow, but steady pace - better than what came after it) and then quickly (and somewhat sloppily) wrap up in 3-4 just plain sucked.
what should have happened? i think there were about 2 episodes missing - one dealing mostly with Nathan (as we saw VERY little of him this season, more on that below) and another dealing with what happened 30 years ago with the old heroes (when Nathan and Parkman were talking to Mrs. Petrelli and she was like "It happened 30 years ago..." close up on her face and everything... you KNOW that was begging for a flashback episode).
if i could have more episodes, i would have liked one that showed what happened to the OTHER characters 4 months ago (see my post from a few weeks ago) and maybe yet another dealing with more of the aftermath of Claire's dad being "dead." but if i can't have those, we SHOULD have had at least the 2 i described above.
and we didn't. and the season suffered horribly for it.
notes:
- all in all, for an episode that had almost every (every?) hero in it, the pacing and face-time for each hero wasn't all that bad. as i said, i was really loving it up until i realized that this was it, there was no more time to cover everything that needed to be covered. it's just too bad that we didn't get the 2 episodes i described above that were needed to make this REALLY good.
- virus was stopped, but what was the aftermath of it? where's Peter's Irish lass? was that future really avoided? the whole virus storyline sort of just stopped once Peter incinerated the vile. so... is everything cool then? hello?
- Elle maturing is still a fun ride. when she went to face Sylar on her own i was worried they'd kill her off, but i'm glad they didn't. in fact, it was really neat how she smiled when Sylar said that she saved their lives, was their hero.
- the Company using Claire's dad to quiet her was pretty cool, but felt rushed (again, that's why i wish there was another episode with Claire dealing with her father's death). i wish he would have stayed "dead" longer... however, he isn't going to get to BE with his family for a while, so i guess that's interesting.
- i really liked the Nikki/Micah moments between the two of them in the car, but otherwise that ENTIRE storyline was dumb and boring. and now she's "dead" and honestly i couldn't care less. i really haven't liked what they did to her character (and her family for that matter, killing DL the way they did) all season long.
- the Suresh/Sylar/South American chick/Molly storyline was pretty tight. i'm surprised Sylar showed his true self so early to the South American chick, but whatever. oh, and i was kinda sad that she didn't die since i find her pretty annoying - HOWEVER, now that she's on the good side and knows what Sylar did, i think she's going to play a big part in bringing him down. let's just hope she's less annoying.
- yes, Sylar got his powers back, and i guess it was about time. the next "chapter" is called Villains, and as much as i'd like to see Sylar and Adam team up, i think what is more likely is that the Villains are going to be Sylar and the Company... although Sylar knows that the Company was the one that took away his powers, so he's going to be after them as well. very interesting. oh, and they'd BETTER start off next season by showing us what happened to Sylar 4 months ago, how the Company got him, and all that happened to him down in Mexico up until the twins came upon him in the middle of nowhere.
- i liked everything that went down at Primatech Paper with Adam and Peter and Nathan and Parkman and Hiro, but it just should have been LONGER. show Adam and Peter storming the place. show the face-off between Adam and Hiro as Hiro takes him in time and leaves him there. show some more of what's in the vault. and for god's sake did they rush into that press conference thing - where the hell did that come from?!? which leads to my next point...
- they shouldn't have killed Nathan. i mean sure, dead doesn't necessarily mean dead - especially with Claire's blood everywhere now, but for some reason i think they're going to make this one stick. the writer's think it'll serve to strengthen Peter's resolve, that Nathan was just an ends to a means for Peter's character (and Peter is EVERYONE'S favorite, right?). i mean the signs are there - Nathan doesn't have his family anymore, he was a broken man, a drunk, a destitute... they were getting him ready to die. and i HATE them for it. Nathan has always been one of my favorite characters and they SHAT ALL OVER HIM this season (both literally, by making his life hell, and figuratively, by not giving him enough face time on the show). this once-proud Congressman with a family suddenly had NOTHING, and that doesn't make for interesting TV? where was the Nathan-centric episode this season?!? hell, where was he in ANY of the episodes?!?!? and now you have the audacity to kill him?!? you give him a few brotherly lines in this episode and show his quick turnaround back into the man he once was by calling the press conference and you think it's enough? well it's not. if you can't tell, i'm actually livid. if this death sticks, i am seriously going to think about dropping this show.
and that about sums it up. it was a fun ride taken by itself, but the season was missing 2 key episodes (ideally 4) that would have made the package whole. as it said at the end, Heroes returns "in 2008," but with the writer's strike, does that mean it will return for the second half of season 2, or will we have to wait until the Fall for season 3?
i'm willing to give the sloppy pacing and writing a break because of the writer's strike, but if Nathan truly is dead, that's going to be something hard to forgive. if they would have given him his dues this season, i wouldn't mind as much.
but they didn't.
and i do.
damn you Heroes for being so good last season and sloppy - yet still a blast in its own right - this season. and damn you for Nathan's death.
i still love you... but you're on thin ice.
- kawitchate
Wednesday, November 28
Heroes - week 10
oh my. the first Heroes impressions post that's not on written the same day as Heroes! well, i wasn't quite home yet from Vegas Monday when Heroes first aired, so i had to download it and watch it last night. reason i didn't post THEN is because i was busy catching up on Journeyman and Chuck (yes i watch Chuck now, it's a guilty nerdy pleasure).
so here it is. hope i remember all my thoughts from last night.
- things seemed to move like molasses the first 8-or-so episodes this season and all of the sudden things are rushing to a conclusion starting this week (and presumably into next). did it feel rushed to any of you guys? like this red-headed woman has been a mystery for a while and Peter and Adam decide to track her down AND find her ALL IN ONE EPISODE?!? and Sylar and the twins took FOREVER to get through Mexico and now they're all of the sudden in New York?!? SLOW DOWN.
- really think they're missing out on telling stories about Nathan's recovery (i mean come on, the guy just learned his brother is alive and... what? what is he up to? is he trying to find him or what?) and Parkman. Parkman especially this week. Parkman last week went into Peter's mom's head (we're led to believe) to get the location of the red-haired older woman hero, so shouldn't we have had a scene with him either meeting up with Peter and Adam at her place or maybe him arriving after she was dead? AND WHAT IS NATHAN UP TO??? my suggestion: skip the New Orleans story and deal with people we really care about.
- tired of the twin chick falling so easily for Sylar and his tricks. i could see maybe, MAYBE her telling her brother to leave, that she didn't need him anymore, but now all of the sudden she's so blindly in love with him that she'll enter Suresh's apartment where this little girl is sleeping (Molly) and basically hold her hostage so that Suresh will show up? no way. oh, and they shouldn't have killed the brother, not yet... but Heroes has a tendency to kill people too fast.
- ok, after all that hate, a little love. i love that Claire's dad is alive and being held by the Company. i ALSO love that Claire is mad as hell and isn't going to run anymore... though the declaration came out of left field, i can't wait to see where it leads.
- you can see Elle starting to doubt her father and the Company. very cool, as long as she doesn't lose that spark that makes her her.
- will the outbreak of the virus be from this super-strain being held in Texas (that we just learned about this very episode by the way - RUSHED) or will it instead be from what Nikki is infected with? that would be more interesting (and a nice case of misdirection) - we think it's in Texas, and that one gets saved, but then because Suresh couldn't get to Nikki in time because Sylar was knocking at his door... Nikki is the alpha case.
- just as i'm tired of Sylar manipulating the twin chick so easily, i'm even more tired of Peter being so easily manipulated ESPECIALLY now that he has his memory back. i know they're trying to say that he cares about this new girlfriend of his more than anything and that's why he's trying to help Adam "stop" the virus, but COME ON! you can't tell me that once he got his memories back he wouldn't have rushed to see his brother and mother!!!
- they are SLOWLY revealing things that the old heroes did in the past, but it's not nearly enough ESPECIALLY now that the writers are killing them all off. i mean come on! we don't even know what half of them can do! what was Hiro's father's power? how about the red-haired older woman? clue us in will ya!
i think that's about it. i didn't see the preview for next week but was told that some of the heroes converge on Texas and have a stand-off against Peter and Adam. i don't know... we'll see how it plays out. oh, and i heard that "2 heroes will die!" - what?!? it better not be anybody important / that i like. well, if they "die," they've always got Claire's blood now to bring them back.
to sum up: writing that was once keeping me happy and on a pretty good (but slow) pace has suddenly turned frantic and hectic. storylines are being neglected and others are being told needlessly. it's sloppy and rushed. i don't know if the impending writer's strike (impending at the time, now it's an actuality) had anything to do with the sudden change, but all i know is that this could be the last Heroes we get for 9 months (if the strike continues) and i just want it to continue to be GOOD while we've got it.
- kawitchate
so here it is. hope i remember all my thoughts from last night.
- things seemed to move like molasses the first 8-or-so episodes this season and all of the sudden things are rushing to a conclusion starting this week (and presumably into next). did it feel rushed to any of you guys? like this red-headed woman has been a mystery for a while and Peter and Adam decide to track her down AND find her ALL IN ONE EPISODE?!? and Sylar and the twins took FOREVER to get through Mexico and now they're all of the sudden in New York?!? SLOW DOWN.
- really think they're missing out on telling stories about Nathan's recovery (i mean come on, the guy just learned his brother is alive and... what? what is he up to? is he trying to find him or what?) and Parkman. Parkman especially this week. Parkman last week went into Peter's mom's head (we're led to believe) to get the location of the red-haired older woman hero, so shouldn't we have had a scene with him either meeting up with Peter and Adam at her place or maybe him arriving after she was dead? AND WHAT IS NATHAN UP TO??? my suggestion: skip the New Orleans story and deal with people we really care about.
- tired of the twin chick falling so easily for Sylar and his tricks. i could see maybe, MAYBE her telling her brother to leave, that she didn't need him anymore, but now all of the sudden she's so blindly in love with him that she'll enter Suresh's apartment where this little girl is sleeping (Molly) and basically hold her hostage so that Suresh will show up? no way. oh, and they shouldn't have killed the brother, not yet... but Heroes has a tendency to kill people too fast.
- ok, after all that hate, a little love. i love that Claire's dad is alive and being held by the Company. i ALSO love that Claire is mad as hell and isn't going to run anymore... though the declaration came out of left field, i can't wait to see where it leads.
- you can see Elle starting to doubt her father and the Company. very cool, as long as she doesn't lose that spark that makes her her.
- will the outbreak of the virus be from this super-strain being held in Texas (that we just learned about this very episode by the way - RUSHED) or will it instead be from what Nikki is infected with? that would be more interesting (and a nice case of misdirection) - we think it's in Texas, and that one gets saved, but then because Suresh couldn't get to Nikki in time because Sylar was knocking at his door... Nikki is the alpha case.
- just as i'm tired of Sylar manipulating the twin chick so easily, i'm even more tired of Peter being so easily manipulated ESPECIALLY now that he has his memory back. i know they're trying to say that he cares about this new girlfriend of his more than anything and that's why he's trying to help Adam "stop" the virus, but COME ON! you can't tell me that once he got his memories back he wouldn't have rushed to see his brother and mother!!!
- they are SLOWLY revealing things that the old heroes did in the past, but it's not nearly enough ESPECIALLY now that the writers are killing them all off. i mean come on! we don't even know what half of them can do! what was Hiro's father's power? how about the red-haired older woman? clue us in will ya!
i think that's about it. i didn't see the preview for next week but was told that some of the heroes converge on Texas and have a stand-off against Peter and Adam. i don't know... we'll see how it plays out. oh, and i heard that "2 heroes will die!" - what?!? it better not be anybody important / that i like. well, if they "die," they've always got Claire's blood now to bring them back.
to sum up: writing that was once keeping me happy and on a pretty good (but slow) pace has suddenly turned frantic and hectic. storylines are being neglected and others are being told needlessly. it's sloppy and rushed. i don't know if the impending writer's strike (impending at the time, now it's an actuality) had anything to do with the sudden change, but all i know is that this could be the last Heroes we get for 9 months (if the strike continues) and i just want it to continue to be GOOD while we've got it.
- kawitchate
Monday, November 19
Heroes - week 9
forgive and forget. i was pretty mad at Heroes last week, only showing us half the stories i wanted to see, but i'm over it now... mostly because i think they WILL show us the rest of the stories (especially Sylar's story - they HAVE to), it's just a matter of when.
Heroes is back on track this week and it was pretty darn good.
notes:
- really liked how this was like a "theme" episode with everyone involved dealing with father issues. i know that Heroes tries to do the whole theme thing (with the Suresh voice over at the start of the episode and at the end tying things together) but never before has it felt so... cohesive. Parkman dealing with potentially becoming his father, Claire and her dad, Elle and Bob, Hiro letting his father go (or rather, accepting his departure from THIS world)... all very cool.
- Parkman's new power is AWESOME... and the way he's got to struggle with not becoming his father now has some real potential. since it's such a powerful power, i hope it doesn't get overused like that reality-bending power got overused in the latter half of last season (the girl that worked for the company and was watching over a kidnapped Micah).
- speaking of powers that could potentially become overused, how about Claire's blood? we saw what it did to her dad... does this mean dead doesn't necessarily mean dead anymore? will anybody really die? i liked it more when the lives of characters were on the line last season, how Mendez died and stayed dead... well, we'll see what happens.
- speaking of what happened to Claire's dad, what a great story. the painting made you (and him) believe it would be Claire and her new boyfriend that would kill him - but it was Suresh and the Company. and of COURSE he wasn't going to stay dead (i'm just surprised they showed him alive again this episode - thought they'd save it for later), but what are the ramifications? does the Company have him now? will they make him work for them, threatening they'll go after his family if he doesn't? could be some interesting stuff to come out of this new storyline.
- Suresh has some issues to deal with as well after betraying the trust of Noah and sticking with the Company (oh, and murdering someone).
- Elle couldn't get any more cool. however, i'm worried that what Noah told her this week will set her on a path that will make her the Company's lap dog no more (and to an inevitable confrontation with her father)... and while that's cool for character progression, i think i'll miss the Elle that was. we'll see.
- Hiro finding out that Adam is the one murdering the old heroes was cool. it's interesting trying to piece together what exactly Adam is up to. he's telling Peter they've got to save the world (from the virus supposedly, at least that's what Peter thinks) and then he's going around murdering the old heroes. maybe his definition of "saving the world" isn't what Peter thinks it is - maybe it's to rid the world of heroes.
2 more episodes before the end of the Fall season, perhaps the end of the ENTIRE season if the writer's strike goes on too much longer. i really doubt they can wrap up all the open storylines in 2 episodes and save the world but... we'll see. that's what all the ads say is going to happen. what do i think? there'll be a cliffhanger and we'll be left hanging until next Fall when the writers have time to catch up on writing after the strike is over sometime next Spring.
preview for next Monday's episode looked good. most interested in Claire and Elle's confrontation and Sylar and Suresh's confrontation - and if Sylar is there... where are the twins?
- kawitchate
Heroes is back on track this week and it was pretty darn good.
notes:
- really liked how this was like a "theme" episode with everyone involved dealing with father issues. i know that Heroes tries to do the whole theme thing (with the Suresh voice over at the start of the episode and at the end tying things together) but never before has it felt so... cohesive. Parkman dealing with potentially becoming his father, Claire and her dad, Elle and Bob, Hiro letting his father go (or rather, accepting his departure from THIS world)... all very cool.
- Parkman's new power is AWESOME... and the way he's got to struggle with not becoming his father now has some real potential. since it's such a powerful power, i hope it doesn't get overused like that reality-bending power got overused in the latter half of last season (the girl that worked for the company and was watching over a kidnapped Micah).
- speaking of powers that could potentially become overused, how about Claire's blood? we saw what it did to her dad... does this mean dead doesn't necessarily mean dead anymore? will anybody really die? i liked it more when the lives of characters were on the line last season, how Mendez died and stayed dead... well, we'll see what happens.
- speaking of what happened to Claire's dad, what a great story. the painting made you (and him) believe it would be Claire and her new boyfriend that would kill him - but it was Suresh and the Company. and of COURSE he wasn't going to stay dead (i'm just surprised they showed him alive again this episode - thought they'd save it for later), but what are the ramifications? does the Company have him now? will they make him work for them, threatening they'll go after his family if he doesn't? could be some interesting stuff to come out of this new storyline.
- Suresh has some issues to deal with as well after betraying the trust of Noah and sticking with the Company (oh, and murdering someone).
- Elle couldn't get any more cool. however, i'm worried that what Noah told her this week will set her on a path that will make her the Company's lap dog no more (and to an inevitable confrontation with her father)... and while that's cool for character progression, i think i'll miss the Elle that was. we'll see.
- Hiro finding out that Adam is the one murdering the old heroes was cool. it's interesting trying to piece together what exactly Adam is up to. he's telling Peter they've got to save the world (from the virus supposedly, at least that's what Peter thinks) and then he's going around murdering the old heroes. maybe his definition of "saving the world" isn't what Peter thinks it is - maybe it's to rid the world of heroes.
2 more episodes before the end of the Fall season, perhaps the end of the ENTIRE season if the writer's strike goes on too much longer. i really doubt they can wrap up all the open storylines in 2 episodes and save the world but... we'll see. that's what all the ads say is going to happen. what do i think? there'll be a cliffhanger and we'll be left hanging until next Fall when the writers have time to catch up on writing after the strike is over sometime next Spring.
preview for next Monday's episode looked good. most interested in Claire and Elle's confrontation and Sylar and Suresh's confrontation - and if Sylar is there... where are the twins?
- kawitchate
Tuesday, November 13
Heroes - week 8
well, here it is. the episode in which we were promised we'd find out what happened to everyone 4 months ago after the blast. i hadn't been this excited for an episode of Heroes since the season 2 premiere.
i haven't been this let down by an episode of Heroes since the season 2 premiere.
why? i think it's because they both promised things they didn't keep - or rather there's just so much more that they COULD have been. as they were, they were disappointing. they both were half-episodes, only revealing parts, only focusing on a few of the characters - and i'd be fine with this episode if next week were part 2... but it's not. next week we're back to the present. and it sucks.
notes:
- we were promised we'd find out what happened after the blast. well, we found out what happened TO SOME HEROES, not all of them. what happened to Claire and her family? what happened to the cop that caused him to break up with his wife and move in with Molly and Suresh? how did Claire's dad, the cop, and Suresh team up to take down The Company? how did Ando cope with Hiro being gone? and, most disappointing of all - WHAT HAPPENED TO SYLAR??? of the stories we were told, they were pretty cool, but i wanted to hear them ALL. and don't tell me they didn't have the time - Nikki's story didn't need to be as long (or told at all if it meant telling another story in its place), Peter's ran a bit long as well, and i don't know if we needed the twins' backstory at all.
- LOVED finding out what happened to Nathan (burnt to a crisp) and Peter (guilt-ridden per usual) post-blast. cool to see Peter blow up, then fly back and save his brother. also really cool to see the exchange between Nathan's wife and mother (so the mother is the one that broke them up essentially?) - actually would have liked to see MORE of Nathan's story. oh, and how Nathan got back to looking normal? nice.
- i'm not sure how i'm liking how gullible Peter is, first being convinced to join the program to control his powers and now being Adam's puppet to "save the world." it seemed Peter was finally becoming his own man at the end of last season, but now here he is, just as guilt-ridden and gullible as usual.
- MORE KRISTIN BELL PLEASE!!! man her character rocks.
- LESS TWINS PLEASE!!! while their powers are interesting, the constant "i killed people, cry cry cry" "it's ok, it'll be ok, i'll fix it" back and forth between the two is getting a little annoying.
- bringing D.L. back from the dead only to kill him IN THE SAME MANNER (gunshot) was a bit lame, but i did like the story (of her trying to go straight with the pills, then trying it on her own, failing, and him dying sort of as a result). another reason i didn't like it? i think i would have liked it if the 3 of them were doing super-hero stuff like the kid suggested (like the Fantastic 4 - er, 3). it was cool to see him save that girl in the fire... won't get to see that again now that he's dead (for good i'm assuming).
so, i liked what stories we were given, but was pissed that we didn't get them ALL (and that it doesn't look like we will - or won't for a while). the preview said there are 3 episodes left until the first part of the season is over - and after that who knows if we'll get a second half, what with the writer's strike and all - and i'm liking where things are going.
i just didn't like their incomplete telling tonight of where things were... 4 months ago.
- kawitchate
i haven't been this let down by an episode of Heroes since the season 2 premiere.
why? i think it's because they both promised things they didn't keep - or rather there's just so much more that they COULD have been. as they were, they were disappointing. they both were half-episodes, only revealing parts, only focusing on a few of the characters - and i'd be fine with this episode if next week were part 2... but it's not. next week we're back to the present. and it sucks.
notes:
- we were promised we'd find out what happened after the blast. well, we found out what happened TO SOME HEROES, not all of them. what happened to Claire and her family? what happened to the cop that caused him to break up with his wife and move in with Molly and Suresh? how did Claire's dad, the cop, and Suresh team up to take down The Company? how did Ando cope with Hiro being gone? and, most disappointing of all - WHAT HAPPENED TO SYLAR??? of the stories we were told, they were pretty cool, but i wanted to hear them ALL. and don't tell me they didn't have the time - Nikki's story didn't need to be as long (or told at all if it meant telling another story in its place), Peter's ran a bit long as well, and i don't know if we needed the twins' backstory at all.
- LOVED finding out what happened to Nathan (burnt to a crisp) and Peter (guilt-ridden per usual) post-blast. cool to see Peter blow up, then fly back and save his brother. also really cool to see the exchange between Nathan's wife and mother (so the mother is the one that broke them up essentially?) - actually would have liked to see MORE of Nathan's story. oh, and how Nathan got back to looking normal? nice.
- i'm not sure how i'm liking how gullible Peter is, first being convinced to join the program to control his powers and now being Adam's puppet to "save the world." it seemed Peter was finally becoming his own man at the end of last season, but now here he is, just as guilt-ridden and gullible as usual.
- MORE KRISTIN BELL PLEASE!!! man her character rocks.
- LESS TWINS PLEASE!!! while their powers are interesting, the constant "i killed people, cry cry cry" "it's ok, it'll be ok, i'll fix it" back and forth between the two is getting a little annoying.
- bringing D.L. back from the dead only to kill him IN THE SAME MANNER (gunshot) was a bit lame, but i did like the story (of her trying to go straight with the pills, then trying it on her own, failing, and him dying sort of as a result). another reason i didn't like it? i think i would have liked it if the 3 of them were doing super-hero stuff like the kid suggested (like the Fantastic 4 - er, 3). it was cool to see him save that girl in the fire... won't get to see that again now that he's dead (for good i'm assuming).
so, i liked what stories we were given, but was pissed that we didn't get them ALL (and that it doesn't look like we will - or won't for a while). the preview said there are 3 episodes left until the first part of the season is over - and after that who knows if we'll get a second half, what with the writer's strike and all - and i'm liking where things are going.
i just didn't like their incomplete telling tonight of where things were... 4 months ago.
- kawitchate
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