Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Scoop o' News

I begin this post with a piece of devastating news. Andy Hallet, who played Lorne on Angel, died Sunday night from heart failure. Lorne was a fan favorite on Angel and one it's most endearing and colorful characters (literally). Personally, I believe the show was at it's best when he was on screen and he was a key part of some of the best episodes. He is in our thoughts and he will be be sorely missed.

For more information, go here.

Here is a small scene from Season 2 of Angel, featuring the great talents of Andy Hallet.








In other, lighter news, the premiere for True Blood season 2 has been confirmed for June 14th. Some new photos from the second season have been posted online and they are getting me seriously keyed up. Bring on the gore, sex and forbidden love!


For more pics, go here.


Alyson Hannigan and Alexis Denisof are the proud parents of a baby girl, Satyana Denisof! She was born March 24th, giving her the same birthday as her mother. Congrats to the new mommy and daddy!
Side note: Not that I don't LOVE Alyson and Alexis, but seriously, what is WITH celebrities and crazy baby names? It's like the two just go hand in hand. Sheesh.


TV Review


What's Getting Good:

1) Dollhouse. Since the first episodes, which were ok but lacked the tell-tale Joss greatness, I have held onto the hope that we would soon start to see a story that pulled deeply to us, one like Buffy's story and Angel's story and Malcolm Reynolds' story. Even like Dr. Horrible's story. As was expected, my faith has been rewarded and Dollhouse is now blowing me away each week. I cannot wait to see more of it, especially when it comes to the obviously damaged, but incredibly intriguing eye-candy that is Paul Ballard. Ummmm...Tahmoh.






2) Heroes. Yes, I know, I know. Most people are SO over this show. But if you were EVER going to give it a second chance, now is the time. Bryan Fuller is officially back on the writing team, the story is starting to level out and our characters are slowly coming back to themselves. Sylar is finally over his daddy issues and back in the Fugitives game and just as I suspected, he is teaming up with Danko. What was unexpected in this development is the hilarity that the two evil masterminds bring to their evil plans. Who would have thought those two dark and sinister characters could bring out the chuckles?




3) Supernatural. We are finally back to the real struggle. Angels vs demons vs humans. The "been there, done that" filler episodes have been benched and we are now getting back to the nitty-gritty, ploughing inevitably towards the season's final battle between our favorite Winchester brothers and also an unknown character death. Let me just say, if it's Bobby, I'm writing a strongly worded email to the writers.






What's Losing It:

1) Castle. I'm not 100% decided on this show yet and it's still entertaining enough but something new needs to be introduced into the formula to keep this show from turning boring and repetitive. As you know, I'm all for Nathan Fillion and his performance is as witty and adorable as usual, but the truth's the truth.




What's New:

1) Kings. So far, so good. I'm not really one for politics and that's certainly what this show seems to be centering on, but even that doesn't keep me from enjoying it. It has a unique way of spinning an unoriginal idea (the noble man/soldier against a corrupt city/government) and making it seem original, mostly due to the fact that it looks like our world, it feels like our world, but it's not our world. But it COULD be our world. It contains surprisingly deep and complex characters and behind them all lurk dark and mysterious secrets. It's compelling, interesting and not without it's own baby-faced, handsome hero.




2) Cupid. It premieres tonight so I'll keep you updated. The main reason I am giving this show a try is because it's Rob Thomas' (Veronica Mars) baby and I know what that man can do. So far the reviews haven't been great, but I'm willing to see for myself. Stay tuned.

Monday, March 30, 2009

New Harry Potter Posters

For those of you who are like me, meaning, those of you who screamed at the heavens for the delay in the release of the newest Potter film, The Half-Blood Prince, but were then happily distracted by Twilight's release in November but who are now no longer distracted by the never-ending, repetitive Twilight/New Moon buzz and have received a thrill of excitement down your spine once you watched the newest Potter trailer and now seriously seriously SERIOUSLY want to see the damn thing, these new official HP posters might sort you out until the release later this summer. Wow, if that wasn't a run-on sentence, I don't know what is.

Don't say I never gave you nuthin'!















Thursday, March 26, 2009

Lost - He's Our You - 3/25


Whew. So it looks like we're back to our regularly scheduled OHHH! AHHHH! EEKKK! and OH NO HE DIDN'T! LOST programming. A lot of people were less than impressed with last week's episode (the word "boring" was used, to my shock) and though I personally enjoyed it, I suppose it could have used a little bit more of an emotional kick. However, it was clearly a "bridge" episode, merely serving the function of placing our characters exactly where they needed to be in order for the action to move forward on it's appointed path.



LOST has a way of giving you just the right amount of information - a glimpse into the heart of a character, a peek into the future, a hint as to the structure behind its mythology - all to make you believe that you know how events will unfold. But it's all a tease, an exercise in reminding us that we are but mere mortals, with no chance of grasping the will of the LOST gods. They set us up with pretty pictures, luring us in with a double-edged sword of knowledge and then cackle gleefully at us once we cut ourselves on that sharp sword, proving that we are there only for their godly amusement. *Sigh* Our LOST gods can be so cruel but as Lady Gaga suggests, "you've got me wonderin' why I, I like it rough, I like it rough".

When I first heard the title, He's Our You, I thought, "What's our who"? Upon listening to the ever entertaining and hilarious LOST Podcast (it's free on iTunes, I suggest subscribe now if you know what's good for you), I was given the information I wanted, almost too willingly. Someone would say "He's our you" to Sayid. If you're a hardcore LOST fan, that's all the information you need to deduce that Sayid was going to be tortured by someone from Dharma. But, willingly answered LOST questions often come in the form of red-herrings and the title of last night's episode was, in the end, misleading. We did get a torture scene, but it was hardly "heavy" as originally suspected and it was certainly not the main focus of the episode, though Sayid obviously was. The episode continued in that same misleading vein, one scene giving us information that would lead to one obvious outcome and then the next scene showing us something that made us doubt our previous "obvious" outcome. If you're anything like me, the voice in your head went something like this:

Oh yeah, little Sayid has NO problem strangling that chicken. Ewww. Wait, chicken sounds good right about now...Uh oh, flashbacks aren't a good sign. Sayid is SO dead! Oh, little Ben is so cute. Ohmigod, old Ben is so nasty and manipulative! He's being so obvious! Stupid Sayid! Dude, Sayid is SO going to kill lil' Ben. Aw, Sayid looks upset about how Ben's dad is treating him. Maybe he won't kill him after all. Oh, that's a nice teepee. Dharma's Sayid isn't very intimidating. Ohmigod, are they giving him acid or something? How very hippie of them. Ok, not acid, but maybe that got little-Ben-Harry-Potter to get some Truth Potion from Professor Snape.....Oh, stay on task, Lauren! Oh, I hope loopy Sayid doesn't give away Sawyer and Co. God, why isn't he running? Sawyer is giving you an out! GO GO! Ok, now you're just being stubborn. Oh, little Ben is so helpful and kinda starting to be creepy with his whole "I want to be a hostile" deal. I don't want him to turn creepy! Well, maybe Sayid is supposed to take little Ben to the hostiles so they can hatch the Purge plan. Yeah, that must be it. Oh no! Don't hit Jin! That's so mean! Ohhhhh....uh oh. Don't you do it, Sayid! Don't you - *GASP* OH NO YOU DIDN'T!

Well, since I'm one of a kind (and hopefully your inner voice doesn't sound like an obnoxious teenage girl), I'm sure your inner monologue didn't go QUITE like that, but I'm sure you were thinking along those same lines. Needless to say, last night's 9 - 10 o'clock hour was what I can lovingly describe as an emotional and time-warping clusterf**k. And I just really love that word.





The Number 1 Question

Are our beloved castaways following the path fate has set out for them, putting events into motion that will eventually lead to the SAME conditions on the Island when they crash there in season 1, ie: do we follow Daniel Faraday's theory that "what happened, happen" and there is no changing the future, that they are in fact heading towards that one and only future they knew in season 1?

OR are they, perhaps by the Island's own designs, on a path to CHANGE the future they know, one that includes the Purge, an older and evil Ben Linus, a Claire-grabbing Ethan, etc?



That's Not All Folks

Now that the castaways are back in Little Ben time, does this mean that older Ben has always known who they were, starting from when the plane crashed on the Island? When the Others came out of their cute little house and watch the plane go down and when Ben immediately told Ethan and Goodwin to infiltrate their groups, did he know all along who was on that plane and who he would meet? Did he allow himself to be caught as Henry Gale, all along knowing the disposition of his captors because he had grew up with some of them?
OR do we follow the Jin/Rousseau theory that because our castaways had not time-travelled yet when they crashed on the Island, then they had not technically gone back to the past yet and therefore had not met Ben, therefore Ben did not know them when he first met them.

Yeah, I think I'm starting to understand why nose-bleeds are so prevalent on this show.




A Killer Conscience

It's interesting to be re-introduced to a side-lined character like Sayid. He has been apart of things this season, but never really in the thick of things, at least not since this season's premiere. Like with Kate, Sun, Hurley and Ben's lost stories after the event at the docks, we have wondered about Sayid's story. Why did he so vehemently denounce Ben to Hurley in the premiere, when he had been working for him the last three years? If he wasn't at Santa Rosa on Ben's orders, why was he there? How did he get arrested and why was he being flown to Guam? Funnily enough, the one question I didn't ask was the main focus of the episode. Does Sayid care about all the people he had killed over the past three years, all on Ben's orders? Does he care that he has become a literal hitman for what can honestly be considered the wrong side? This episode "un-benched" his character, so to speak, and we got a good look at what Sayid had become or maybe, just what he has always been. I don't like to think badly of any of these characters. The writers have done a magnificent job of making them very human, with human flaws and human attractions. I don't like to believe that Sayid was bred to be a killer from an early age and that after so long living that life, he has come to be defined by what he does best, kill. As far as I'm concerned, Sayid loves just as fiercely as he kills, but then again, isn't that always the nature of such characters? Even so, I never bought him as just a killer and I'm not buying that now, even if he does. As with many good people lead down a dark path whilst working towards good, his heart was always in the right place. The same cannot be said for Ben.





And All The Rest

Of course, we get a couple non-Sayid scenes, most to do with the agonizingly doomed love quadrangle of Kate, Jack, Sawyer and Juliet. But, I believe that Lost Untangled tells that story far better than I ever could...






See you all next week for "Whatever Happen, Happened", LOST lovers!

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Lost - Namaste - 3/18


I have a very bad feeling, somewhat similar to the feeling I experienced last night as I watched Sun and Lapidus walk into the dark and deserted Dharma compound that was mere seconds ago filled with laughing Dharma hippies under a bright 1977 sun, that this LOST post is going to end up as erratic and chaotic as last night's story. So, mystified LOST fans, keep up if you can and read on if you dare...


If the episode "LaFleur" from two weeks ago was akin to a romantic and leisurely boat ride across a still and quiet lake, last night's episode, "Namaste", was akin to sitting shotgun next to Speed Racer as he drives for the ultimate win (Ok, yes, I used that handy analogy because our own boy Matthew Fox was in the recent film...and no, it wasn't good). Anyhow, this feeling of fate ruthlessly shoving our characters forward at an alarming speed was supported and personified in Sawyer as he runs back and forth and up and down and all around the Island, trying to dodge bullet after bullet and keep everything from falling apart around him and his newly united friends. Despite the feeling of chaos that Sawyer brought with him to every scene, we cannot help but marvel yet again at what kind of man he has become; a true and confident leader, fiercely loyal to the life he has made over the past three years and oddly, still very loyal to his newly reunited fellow castaways. However, it seems that next week will reveal to us which one he is more loyal towards, his new life in Dharmaville with Juliet or his old life amongst the castaways with Kate. Something tells me that Jim LaFleur will be the one to make the end decision, and not Sawyer.



Speaking of one-of-a-kind, totally kick-ass dudes, Frank Lapidus is and will always be, da man. Yeah, that's right, I said "da man". There are seriously no other words to describe how awesome this guy is. Or, if there are, I'm not an experienced enough writer to know them. Anyway, our new crew of castaways, including Ben and Sun, would have been nothing more than sticky red spots on the side of Mt. Hydra if it weren't for Lapidus, Pilot Extraordinaire! And of course, we can't forget the unknown runway engineer, who thoughtfully planned ahead so that Lapidus and his poor, doomed (but totally adorable) co-pilot had a clear and neat place to land the plane.


It was wonderful to watch as one of the LOST mysteries was resolved (even though it had been suspected for awhile), but we still don't know who kindly thought ahead (seriously, who has the crystal ball?) and started work, with the unwilling help of captured Sawyer and Kate, on the runway. If it was Ben's idea and he somehow knew that one day his life would depend on having a runway on Hydra Island, how in Ra's name (see how I did that? With the Egyptian god? Like our 4-toed statue? Huh, huh?) did he get that information? Or was is Jacob or even Christian Shepard that made the call? My money is on Ben. He's always looking out for Number 1. And let me just say, only Michael Emerson, genius that he is, can make the question "You wanna come?" so very sinister. As if Sun would EVER trust him. Creeeepy!




Ok, let's WHOOSH flashback to 1977, where Kate, Jack and Hurley are joining Dharma, all with ironically comedic job positions: Hurley as a cafeteria worker, Kate in the motor pool (with Juliet) and Jack, poor confused, demoted Jack, as a janitor. If that positioning doesn't have Sawyer written all over it, I don't know what does. Paybacks a BITCH! Maybe Jack can make friends with Ben's daddy, knock some fatherly sense into him and save them all a lot of Ben-related grief. Honestly shocking note, when Pierre Chang showed up in front of Jack to give him his assignment, I got the impression that something BIG happened. It felt important that they had finally met, but I'm not sure why. As it went, it was hard for me not to imagine their conversation going a different way....

Dr. Chang: Namaste, Mr. Shephard, it's nice to meet you.
Jack: Ohmigosh, it's you! It's really you!
Dr. Chang: I'm sorry, do I know you?
Jack: No, but I know you! I'm such a huge fan of your work! Your Orientation films changed my LIFE! Especially the one for the The Swan station. Can I get your autograph?!!
Dr. Chang: Ummm...The Swan doesn't exist yet...Something isn't right here...GUARDS!!

Honestly, I don't know why LOST doesn't just hire me as a senior writer. I could really bring something new to the show.......Anyway............


And...WHOOSH...back to "present day", where we get one of the creepiest, horror movie-esque scenes ever from LOST. Sun and Lapidus glance around in the dark, a light turns on in one of the abandoned Dharma houses and the door ever so slowly, creaks open to reveal a shadow figure framed in the doorway. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh, ok, it's just Christian Shephard. Being the BA that she is, Sun takes it all in stride, even as I'm still trying to get my racing heart to slow, and politely asks the Ghost of Shephard's Past if he knows where her wayward hubby is. He is unusually helpful as he guides them to the 1977 picture of Dharma's new recruits and ends the creepy meeting by telling them they have "quite a journey ahead of them". Gee, ya think? Oh, and as a side note, did anyone else think that was Jacob, invisible as always, that shoved open the door open as Sun checked out the picture? Yeah, that was TOTALLY Jacob. As I said before, CREEEEEPY!


And let's...WHOOSH (all this WHOOSHing is giving me a nose-bleed), back to Dharmaville. I'm going to skip over the Sayid/Jin/Sawyer story for now and go straight to the heart of things: Sawyer and Juliet's love-nest. My breaking heart now expands to envelop, not only Sawyer and Juliet as their peaceful and loving world falls apart, but now also to cover Jack and Kate, who are also dealing with too much in such a short time, more than any normal human can stand without suffering a major breakdown. Even as Sawyer stands up to Jack, bringing up the ugly past and reinforcing his leadership status, my heart breaks for Jack as he deals with stepping down from his leadership role, learning about the relationship between Juliet and Sawyer and being utterly confused with the whirlwind of events that has brought him back to the Island and into Sawyer's care. And my heart breaks for Sawyer, who has to make all the hard decisions and has to come to terms with living next door to Kate while he lives his shiny new life with Juliet. And my heart breaks for Juliet and Kate, who are stuck between these two dominating men and yet have more important things to deal with than romantic tangles. Hats off to each and every actor, who sell their characters' internal turmoil with such grace and poise that you can hardly tell anything has been disturbed at all.



But we know it has.



Ok, let's throw out some quick questions and comments and call it day.

  • Why did only some of the passengers on the Ajira plane get flashed off and the rest stayed? Why wasn't Sun taken, but Sayid, Kate, Jack and Hurley were? Did the Island choose who it wanted and who it didn't want or is this just about Sun? Are Sun and Jin not supposed to meet? Is the Island keeping them apart from each other for some unknown reason?



  • A couple of new character impressions: Radzinsky - total dick, Caesar - total dick PLUS something is totally going on with him. Ohhh...what is it???! Dharma Phil - total dick PLUS he knows something is up and is totally going to be a problem in the future.

  • Where in the world is...FARADAY? My adorable, absent-minded professor, where are you?!

  • BABY ETHAN! Oh no, she didn't! Notice how as soon as Amy said the name, Juliet acted like she had a poisonous snake in her arms and made like a tree and split. I wouldn't want to hold that baby either, ick.

  • Even with the crazy, madman sprint of events, it's not hard to pause and take in the total hotness of Jack in a tight, blue shirt. Yummmmmmy.



  • Thanks to Jackson for his insight - but does anyone else think that the "whispers" that our castaways have been hearing throughout the whole series are actually the echos of past people, crossing over the same place, but in a different time? Yeah, that's good right?!?!

Ok, and I know I said I would get back to the whole Sayid thing, but let's just leave that for another time. Obviously, of all people, Sayid should understand the position that Sawyer & Co. are in and that he needs to keep his head down for awhile. Also, it looks like if Jack can't become buddy-buddy with Ben's drunkard father, then Sayid might take matters into his own hands. And by "matters" I mean pre-creepy Ben-boy.




Dat's all, folks! See ya next week for "He's Our You". Anyone want to take a guess at who "He" might be?

Monday, March 16, 2009

Monday Ramblings

Holy Nipple-Suit, Batman! It's been awhile since my last post. I am totally shirking my blogging duties for my real-life job duties. I have got to get my priorities in order! With that rationale in mind, there really is a lot to ramble about and I should probably start a-ramblin' before my work catches up with me...


Let's talk Watchmen. The buzz on this movie has been...extensive, to say the least. And all that was BEFORE it was released. Now that it's been released, I actually feel like the talk has died down. From some friends and some online sources, I've gotten the impression that most people liked it, but there were of course some similar problems and critics most everyone had about it. I was told that if you hadn't read the comic yet, DON'T read it before seeing the movie and that's exactly what I had planned anyway. It was a good choice, I think. Personally, I liked the movie a lot, but didn't necessarily love it. It was very engaging and highly entertaining and it was merely the open-ended, discontented ending that didn't allow for my outright "love". I think for such a HUGE undertaking, such a HUGE translation from comic to film, Snyder did a really good job. He could have made a ton of fans unhappy, but I think he pretty much dodged that bullet. You can never make everyone happy, but he did a decent job of it. For me, a non-fan, the greatness of the movie came from its cinematic beauty, its intriguing and surprising story-line and its morally gray band of misfit heroes. And if anyone knows me, they know I just love a good dose of morally gray (and it's even better if it comes in a pretty package).


So, I officially declare Watchmen a success. Zach Snyder can go on living his high-profile life, relatively certain that his list of mortal enemies isn't as large as it could have been if he had fraked that movie up. Life is good.




Let's do a quick switch-a-roo to television. Castle premiered last week and despite the numerous B-C gradings from some online reviews, it comes off as a cute, fluffy show, with lots of room to grow. Nathan was his adorable self and did not disappoint one bit. It is already on my top TV list and can only make Monday nights even better. Yes, I am biased because I am a huge Nathan Fillion fan, but still, it's worth watching, especially if you're into something light and funny. And with shows like Heroes, LOST and Dollhouse, I could certainly use some light and funny elements in my TV mix.




Speaking of Dollhouse...I watched last Friday's episode yesterday, on my usual TV Sunday, and I've got to say (very excitedly!), that this show just keeps getting better and better. Again, I know it's had its share of bumps in the road and God knows what kind of order FOX is airing the episodes in, but honest to goodness, I am getting seriously excited about this show. Next week, Paul Ballard, the one and only Tahmoh, finally runs into Echo and I'm all a-titter in anticipation of a seriously sexually tense smackdown. As before and as always, my faith in Joss is unwavering and as each week passes with a greater and greater Dollhouse, that faith is rewarded tenfold. Now, let's just hope FOX feels the same way and renews for a second season. Here's hopin'.



And speaking of the delicious Tahmoh, I have finally succumbed to Battlestar Galactica. I truly do not know if this was the best idea ever or the worst. Up to this point, I have attempted to avoid most sci-fi shows that have huge cult followings. I am a nerd, that is for certain, but I always felt that if I took that plunge into sci-fi territory and found that I loved it, I would forever be a geek, with no way out and no excuses and certainly no marriage proposals. My dad claims that it's already too late for that, but I still held tight to that choice. When I finally Netflix'ed the BSG mini-series, dipping my big toe into highly geekified sci-fi infested waters, my worst nightmares were realized. I loved it, LOVED it. I am hooked in the worst possible way and as I ordered the first 2 seasons on Amazon today, dreaming of browsing CafePress for a FRAK YOU! t-shirt, I accepted my inevitable, lonely geek fate with a resigned sigh. I suppose I was a gonner from my very first glimpse of Buffy. No use crying over spilled milk, especially when the milk is so frakkin' amazing.



And.....work has caught up with me. This is Lauren with Monday Ramblings, signing off and re-entering real-life. See ya next time.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Heroes - Shades of Gray - 3/9





Does anyone else get the feeling that Heroes has some major daddy issues? The overreaching father theme can escape no one's notice and if I had my say, they would change the title from Heroes to Sins of the Father. Week after week, we're intently watching the immoral actions of daddy dearest more so than the beneficial actions of our heroes. As far as I can see, Heroes now contains far more morally gray characters (half of which are key father figures) than outright GOOD characters. I guess the title of the episode kind of gave that away though, huh? Yeah, yeah, I'm a sharp one. Anyway, where was I? Oh right...

Sins of the Father

Not exactly the most original overriding theme, but Heroes has always been focused on generations and origins (Volumes both), so it makes sense that it would eventually delve deeper into the background of our most mysterious character, Sylar. We come to find, via the last two episodes, that Sylar's biological father, played brilliantly by the one and only John Glover, is one very sick (literally and figuratively) and twisted individual. So, as suspected, Sylar is a regular chip off the ol' block. And so, for the third time, Sylar faces off with his father (the first time being with Arthur Petrelli and the second being with his adopted father) and for the second time, he finds the killing of his "father" beneath him. Apparently, as far as fathers go, Arthur is the only one worth the effort of killing (not that it takes much effort on Sylar's part). As with his adopted father, Sylar gets what he came for and then leaves his father to wallow in his painful misery.


It's sad really, how even his bio father with the exact same power, does not pose even a small threat to Sylar. All I could think was, "He is gonna squash you like a bug, creepy and dirty John Glover". Still, I can't help but feel grateful towards Mr. Needs-a-Bath Gray. It's long past time for Sylar to join the previously-Nathan-now-Danko game. His mission to find his lost parents and discover the reasons behind his own malicious character was an exciting idea in theory but, interestingly enough, I found that I didn't really want to know. Not only did the story-line drag on longer than it should have, but Sylar has always been at his best when he's been a mystery. Think back to Season 1, when all we saw of Sylar was a ticking watch and a hat-clad shadow lurking in the corner. I'm not saying that some revealing facts didn't up his character's creepy ante (honestly, the eyebrows do all the work), but sometimes it's better to leave things a mystery. There is nothing scarier than a villain who is evil just because he can be (hello, the Joker anyone?).





Rebel With a Cause

Rebel is popping his (or her or their) head up more and more as each episode goes by and I gotta say, he/she/they are extremely helpful. I think it probably goes without saying that Rebel is not working alone. Plenty of suspects have been thrown out there, but my own best guesses are Micah, Molly and Angela Petrelli. With Rebel pushing Doyle in Claire's path, it's becoming obvious that he's/she's/they're not discriminating between "good" specials and "evil" specials, which I believe is a good thing. If the previously-Nathan-now-Danko Project isn't turning anyone away, whether they be heroes or villains, I don't believe Rebel should either. It's no longer Heroes vs. Villains, it's now Humans vs. Mutants and the Mutants can use all the help they can get. Still, Rebel seems to be pretty on top of things and I personally can't wait to see who's behind the computer.




Claire's Daddy Issues

Claire's story is slowly snailing its way in the direction I want it to go. I guess my Jedi mind tricks are starting to work. Or else I'm the other not-so-secret child of Matt Parkman (more on that later). Either way, Claire is beginning to whine less about wanting to be normal and is starting to accept her inevitable destiny as a hero. However, every hero needs guidance and it's only natural to turn to your father for that guidance. And yet, I found Noah's advice seriously lacking (probably because it was), despite the pile o' shit that's on his own plate. Still, apparently Claire heard what she needed to hear in order to step-up and accept her hero-ly duty. Again, I feel a wave of gratitude for one of our more gray-ish father figures for pushing one of my characters in the right direction.


And here comes another wave, this one chalk-full of surprise, gratitude and some serious "awwwwww" feelings. As soon as Nathan's secret is discovered, he Superman's (not the dirty one, get your mind out of the gutter!) his way to Claire, saving her from Danko's agents just in time. That shot, with the camera slowly panning backward, away from Claire's window, to show Nathan holding her in his arms while he floats by a nearby tree, is one of my all-time favorite Heroes shots. It was unexpected and unexpectedly sweet. When it seems like either one or both of her fathers are always letting her down, here comes a day where both support her in unexpected ways. *tear*





Whose Baby Daddy?

Here's a shocker, yet another "special" kid with yet another absent "special" father. I'm going to start counting daddy figures instead of sheep at night. I kid, I kid! I don't actually count sheep. That never works. Anyway, with all Matt Parkman is dealing with at the present, why not bring up that whole "the past is going to come back and bite you in the ass" thing? Luckily, he has Hiro and Ando to babysit for him while he's being held prisoner for being a terrorist. Thank goodness for close friends, eh? So, I sort of jumped the gun earlier. We don't actually know if Parkman's baby is "special", but I'm willing to bet $2 that that cute chuck of smelly baby is in fact mentally gifted like his father. I just hope Hiro and Ando know how to change a diaper. Or do I...



Okie dokie, that's all for this week. Next week, our whole week will be ruined due to the loss of a new Heroes episode, but stay strong, Heroes lovers. We'll make it through this dark time together.

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Lost - LaFleur - 3/4




LOST fans got a rare and unexpected treat last night when they excitedly sat down to view the latest installment, "LaFleur". And what was said treat, you ask? A treat that the brain-fried audience could really use right about now; a strangely chill and uncomplicated episode.

"*GASPS* Horrors! A chill and uncomplicated LOST episode, you say? Such a thing does not exist and I'm offended that you'd even suggest such a idea! Of all the nerve!"

Ok, ok, before you go grabbing for your torches and pitchforks, allow me to s'plain. I'm not saying that the LOST writers have lost their edge (get it, lost LOST?) or that the episode was any less sweet-as-cake than all the other LOST episodes. All I'm saying is that compared to the lethal doses of mind-exploding material that's been offered up weekly since Season 5 started, last night's episode was refreshingly mind-soothing.

Depending on how good you are at guessing (watching season after season of X-Files with my parents really honed my guessing skills) or how quick you are to pick up on subtle LOST hints, last night's episode held few of it's calling card "HOLY SH*T" and "WTF?" moments. Watching with our small yet highly valuable cash of LOST knowledge and kindly given "Three Years Earlier"/"Three Years Later" story format, it was easy to sit back, relax and pretty much know how things were going to turn out (a luxury that I'm not sure we've ever had with LOST). Don't get me wrong, there were a couple "Ohhhhhhhh" moments, like when Sawyer ended up being the intimidating "LaFleur" of the Dharma people but even that wasn't too surprising, if you read between the "this episode centers on Sawyer" lines. No, this was a surprisingly easy episode to watch and enjoy and it was no less brilliant for its uncomplicated and shockless tone.



So, instead of shocking, brain-shattering revelations and time-travel frustrations (oooh, that rhymes!), this episode gave us an emotional, character-centric narrative that 1) gave us some much needed character development 2) gave us some much needed Sawyer face time (yummmm) 3) answered the burning questions as to the why and how of Season 5's first scene with Daniel Faraday as a Dharma worker and 4) allowed for our castaway characters to have the same amount of personal "growth" time as our Oceanic 6 characters (three years, to be precise). As for the last note, this was something I had not been expecting and it's the sole reason for such a heartbreaking feeling at the end of the episode, when Sawyer finally lays eyes on Kate again. What's worse, he has been spending the last three years in love with someone else, believing that he'd long gotten over his feelings for her. "Is three years long enough to get over someone? Absolutely". But, I bow my head to you, Josh Holloway, for your superb acting skills that gave us that heartrending look; the look that proved both Sawyer a fool and the invalidity of his above statement. It seems that three years is not actually enough time to get over someone. However, it is enough time to grow, become a better person and to fall in love with someone else. And that, my dear readers, is enough to take my already broken heart and burn those shattered little pieces to ashes.



So, how do I feel about this development between Sawyer and Juliet, you might ask? Well at first, I felt uncertain. The writers love to play with us, even in a somewhat uncomplicated episode, and as they set up scene after scene between Juliet and Sawyer, you just can't help but want to see that big kiss, the kiss that will finally reveal what happened between Juliet and Sawyer. Are they still just friends? Are they together? Are they married? Do they have kids? And so on. Part of me willed them to kiss, revealing to me that they were indeed together and happy. But the bigger part of me hoped that they weren't together because if they were, I knew a rock was about to be thrown at their beautiful glass house. A rock named Kate. When that kiss finally came, followed by Sawyer's "Ode to My Forgotten Love", I knew where I stood. I didn't like it. Not one bit.





A couple frivolous thoughts:


- It's interesting how Sawyer ends up being the one that grows into a better person and finds love and happiness with someone else, whereas Kate tries to live happily with Jack and Aaron but it doesn't take long before it all falls apart for her. It looks like Sawyer could have been happy with Juliet forever, whereas Kate can't find happiness anywhere or with anyone.

- It's also interesting how everyone, both the On-Islanders and Off-Islanders, were given three years to grow, change and live their lives whereas John Locke was not. He is the only person to not live those three years, to not love and change and grow.

- I was expecting that Sawyer and the gang were going to "infiltrate" Dharma, but what I wasn't expecting was that they would actually end up being a real part of it. Not only that, but that they would be happy there and make friends and come to care about the people there. It's was an unexpected development, at least for me.

- Where was our boy Daniel during the "Three Years Later" scenes? Harassing a young Charlotte perhaps?

- Who else loved the Richard/Sawyer scene? Do you know why I loved that scene so much? Because for once, it was Richard who was like "what the hell?" and our people who were "in the know". Ah, sweet turning tables.


- Is anyone else digging the new and improved Sawyer, cause damn...........




That's all, folks. See ya next week, LOST lovers!

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Heroes - Exposed - 3/2






So, I know I've dropped the ball on Heroes. *looks down in shame* It's not that I've stopped watching it or even stopped loving it. In fact, after last night's episode, it's quite the opposite. It's just that it's moving along very slowly right now, due to the tightly-spaced plot-line and I didn't think it useful to write my notoriously (or not...) long-winded posts each week. Not enough really happens in each episode to warrant that. But, I'm back in the game! Put me in coach! I'm ready to play!


So, as noted above, not a whole lot happened in last night episode, but what did happen was important. Not only that, it was GOOD. Really good; smack-my-lips first season good. The writers stuck to three story-lines, not overwhelming us and giving us a nice amount of time with each story. The episode was intense but focused and it allowed for some major character development, which is something we needed. When you have characters that are growing and changing in a speedy manner, it's imperative that you give your audience lots of face time with them, showing us WHY they are changing. This is something Heroes seriously lacked in the last part of Season 2 and into Season 3. It may cut into the action, but it's worth it if the audience can see the reasons behind...oh say...Mohinder going from peaceful scientist to power-hungry monster, just as one example. Anyway, I digress. Where was I? Oh yeah...


This episode was the best I've seen in a LONG time. So far, Fugitives has been entertaining and Monday night is still my second favorite night of television, but it's obvious that the writers are still working out the kinks of Season 2 that have flowed into Season 3. I really do have faith that the show will straighten out and get back on track (every show has bad seasons and it was hard for Heroes to show-up their amazing first season) and I think last night's episode was a great step forward towards that goal. And honestly, even if it doesn't find its groove, I'll still enjoy watching it. I love the characters and the cast and the concept is still way beyond cool. But again, I digress...





I just want to bring up a couple key points (opinions) and we'll call it a day:


1) I know some people were worried about the possibly repetitious romance between Claire and another dark and handsome "special", but I really enjoyed it. This show could use a little bit of romance drama and who better to bring it but a cute 17 year old girl? I've become very fond of our new Aquaman character and yes, I'm probably biased due to the very kind shirtless shot the writers gave us last night, but honestly, I liked him way before I saw his rockin' bod. Regardless, they gave us just enough romance to balance out the action and I thought it worked out very well. Not to mention, underwater kissing scenes make for great vicarious viewing.





2) There was a lot of humor in this episode, which is something I think the show seriously needed. Everything has been very real and serious for our characters this volume and it's important to have some comic relief for the audience. Perfect example; Sylar's "Cake?" line. This episode, from Clarie's "we're having sex" excuse to Matt Parkman's "whatup" nod to the camera in Building 26 to Sylar smushing Luke's face against the car window, had some great, unexpected comedy. It really leveled-up the quality of the episode.





3) I experienced a new emotion while watching Sylar this episode, one I haven't ever felt before; boredom. How that's possible, I'm not sure but there it is. I don't want to place Zach Quinto in this, he was his usual brilliant self, but as far as Sylar goes, I'm kinda over his whole parental unit scavenger hunt. It's interesting to know about his past and that's great information to have, but I feel like it's been dragged out a bit. I would really love to see Sylar back in the heroes game, playing along side our other characters. Some major stuff is going down and it's about time Sylar stuck his head into it, creating a whole new dynamic. In fact, I'd love to see a Sylar vs Danko face-off. Right? Right? Yeah, that'd be AWESOME!



4) At this point, do Nathan and Peter not realize that when the other comes in for a brotherly hug, it probably doesn't bode well for the hugee? Peter let's Nathan hug him and he gets tazered. Nathan lets Peter hug him and Peter uses his ability to fly away. I'm pretty sure this faux-hug theme has been played a lot over the seasons. Isn't it about time that they get a clue? No hugging allowed! It just opens a window for backstabbing!






5) Peter and Parkman are badass together. Simple.

6) And....Nathan's catching on. What he is trying to do could have been accomplished in a better way and I loved that Angela pointed that out to him. He has completely lost control of his operation and has instead unleashed a ruthless and determined semi-psychopath against innocent "specials". Let's just hope he starts to make amends for what he's done in next week's episode. I really don't want Matt to blow-up. I like Matt.

7) What did Angela whisper to Nathan and why did Nathan look back up to where Peter disappeared? Does it have something to do with Peter? Tell me, dangit!





Anyway, in conclusion, it's my informed opinion that this episode totally rocked. If you don't agree, I will happily fight you to the death.


Until next week, Heroes lovers!

Disclaimer

The views expressed on this blog are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views of my employer.