Battlestar Galactica: The Oath

Adama: "It's been an honor to have served with you, my friend."

Frakking wow. It's a mutiny. And I was worried that the final episodes would be an anticlimax. Silly me.

The characters of Bill Adama and Saul Tigh are sort of a microcosm of the whole human/Cylon conflict. They may have broken apart when Tigh told Adama the truth, but it wasn't enough to trump forty years of friendship. I absolutely loved the two of them overpowering their guards (they didn't reach the top of the chain of command for nothing) and Adama confronting the soldier that was marching them to the brig ("You wanna shoot, go on. Let's see if you've got a pair"). Yes, it's too big a story for one episode, but that cliffhanger at the end was a killer. Did we just lose Adama? Tigh? Both?

We've been on the Galactica for years now. We know the good guys. We know the mutineers. Because we're so near the end of the series -- because poor Larry, who was just doing his job, died in the opening teaser -- because Dee, a continuing character for the entire series, just died two episodes ago -- I kept thinking *anyone* could die. Anyone. There has been too much death already, and it all hurt, every death, on both sides. Even the mutineers, who are almost certainly going to be executed. When this mutiny fails. If it fails. I can't believe I just said that, but they tend to do the unexpected on this show.

And, as Lee said to Tigh, it's not as if Gaeta and Zarek don't have good reasons for what they just did. The Cylons did wipe out the twelve colonies. Gaeta believes he's doing the right thing. Outstanding performances by everyone, but I'm going to single out Alessandro Juliani; you could actually see his emotions tamped down beneath his calm as he took one irrevocable step after another, knowing there was no turning back.

Bits and pieces:

-- This week's survivor number: 39,643. You could see 39,644 on the white board, but Larry's death hadn't been recorded. Doesn't matter, because the number will be a lot lower by the time someone updates it.

-- The long, passionate kiss between Adama and Roslin as they said goodbye, possibly forever, actually overshadowed Starbuck unexpectedly planting one on Lee. They were wonderful scenes, and wonderful kisses. Thank you, Battlestar writers. It's about time.

-- Roslin was finally pushed to take back her power, but it might be too late. I loved Gaius telling Roslin that they had both made mistakes choosing their vice presidents. :) And I liked what Roslin did with Gaius' secret wireless. Very cool, and a great story payoff for Roslin forgiving Gaius.

-- Algae coffee and algae cream of wheat. A reminder that they're still eating dreck.

-- I should have mentioned in the previous episodes that they're doing a good job with Gaeta's CGI missing leg. It must have something to do with him becoming a mutineering kamikaze. In fact, I wonder if this whole thing would have happened if Gaeta hadn't lost his leg.

-- There was a commercial for the continuing auction of the Battlestar props: battlestarprops.com And more frakking good chicken. :)

Quotes:

Adama: "I'll try to make it home for supper."
Roslin: "I'll have it ready."

Starbuck: "Look at you. The proud papa. When I named you Hot Dog, I sure as hell got that right."

Adama: (to Gaeta) "If you do this, there will be no forgiveness. No amnesty. This boy died honoring his uniform. You? You'll die with nothing."

Gaeta: "We can fine-tune our rationalizations later."

This is the type of episode you watch with your heart in your mouth. And then you swear out loud when they leave you with a cliffhanger. Four big stars, and next week can't come soon enough,

Billie

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Supernatural: After School Special

Mr. Wyatt: "The only thing that really matters is that you're happy. Are you happy, Sam?"

Ah, yes. High school as hell. Buffy the Vampire Slayer, how I miss you.

I liked this one. It explained what impelled Sam to rebel against John and the family business, and go to college. At a high school that meant nothing to Dean, Sam got one of those life-changing teachers who took an interest in him and gave him some good advice. Yes, Sam is stuck and unhappy as a hunter, but he does save the lives of people like his friend Barry, who wasn't as lucky.

Most of us felt alienated and alone in high school. With their bizarre upbringing, Dean and Sam experienced a level of alienation even more extreme. Sam dealt with it by literally and figuratively keeping his head down and staying off the radar. Taking on Dirk the Jerk to save Barry was something Sam tried to avoid and really didn't want to do. Yes, you could see it coming a mile off, though. And I did love seeing little Sam take down a bully twice his size.

(I didn't quite buy the revelation that Sam turned Dirk from a bully into a victim, though. Someone that nasty, who became such a vicious, vengeful ghost, was actually a good guy? I don't think so. But okay, necessary to the plot, moving right along.)

Enlightenment for Sam. Nothing for Dean. Interesting that the teenage Dean, a handsome, sexy, self-assured monster hunter who already thought of himself as a hero like his father, came off as limited and trapped and someone to be pitied. I did like that he still took being Sam's substitute father very seriously, though. I suspect that deep down, Dean knows how tragic and empty his life really is. And maybe he knew, even as a teenager. He just wouldn't acknowledge it, because he didn't see any other choices in life.

The flashbacks took place in November 1997, eleven plus years ago. The producers made the right decision retaining the young actor who did such a great job playing Sam before (Colin Ford, who deservedly got first billing), while recasting the teenage Dean (Brock Kelly). Definitely more Dean-like, but not dead on; he couldn't pull off calling a teacher "sweetheart." And he felt a bit too old for the part, while Ford felt a bit too young. (The actors are 12 and 23.)

But logically, it sort of worked. Dean was 17, and Sam 13. (Or 18 and 14.) It's very possible that Sam, even though he's uber tall now, was small for his age then and jumped ahead a grade at some point. Or Dean was left back. Whatever. I would not be unhappy with more episodes about the boys as teens if they use these two particular actors. Especially if they do stories this good.

Bits and pieces:

-- They carefully didn't show John. Which is fine. The story wasn't about him, anyway. I liked how they used the Impala to link the flashbacks with the present.

-- Teenage Dean was wearing the necklace Sam gave him in "A Very Supernatural Christmas" and that he still wears as an adult.

-- Cuisinart scene. Much like the garbage disposal thing. Ick.

-- Dean loves dodge ball. There was a rather unnerving dodge ball scene in an episode of Buffy called "The Pack." Sorry, I have Buffy on the brain lately. Probably not all that applicable.

-- I particularly liked the shot during the opening credits of the hospital (or prison, or prison hospital) where April was incarcerated. The angle of the shot and the reflections on the glass made it look like an empty, eerie facade. Very effective.

-- In this week's Most Obvious Symbolism, Wyatt's class was reading "The Outsiders." I thought that applied to Sam not once but twice: in his life as a hunter among normal people, as well as his desire for a normal life outside of the family business. Dean is comfortable with his role in life. Sam will never truly fit in anywhere.

-- This week: Fairfax, Indiana; Truman High School. Sam was a health care whatever as well as a school janitor, while Dean got to be a substitute assistant coach.

Quotes:

Dean: "So what's our cover? FBI? Homeland Security? Swedish exchange students?"

Sam: "Having fun?"
Dean: "The whistle makes me their god."
Sam: "Right. Nice shorts."
I don't think we've ever seen Dean in shorts, much less bright red ones. In the second episode of the series, Dean said, "I don't do shorts." No, wait; there was lederhosen once.

Dean: "I had to break into the principal's office to get this. And oh, FYI, three of the cheerleaders are legal. Guess which ones."
Sam: "No."

Young Dean: "Dude, she wants me to meet her parents. I don't do parents."

Mr. Wyatt: "You know this assignment was non-fiction, right?"
Young Sam: "Yes, Mr. Wyatt."
Mr. Wyatt: "So you and your family killed a werewolf last summer, huh?"

Dean: "Go have your Robin Williams oh captain my captain moment and make it quick."
Dead Poets Society.

Dean: "Look. Martha Dumptruck, Revenge of the Nerds and Hello Kitty, they all rode the same bus." Martha Dumptruck was a character in Heathers. I didn't even have to look that one up.

Dean: "Do you mind telling us where Dirk is buried?"
McGregor: "He wasn't. I had him cremated."
Dean: "All of him?"
I immediately flashed on Giles asking Cordelia, "Have you ever actually heard of tact?" Like I said, Buffy on the brain lately.

Dean: "He's giving you the full cowgirl." Yes, this is what fighting evil gets you. On the side of the road with a huge possessed unconscious guy on top of you.

Good one. Rather poignant. Three out of four stars,

Billie

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Heroes Webisode: Recruit #5

Chapter Five – The Truth Within.

Summary:

Angela frees Rachel from her restraints and concedes that she's lost the battle. She commends her on being a fighter, much like herself, prompting Rachel to insist that they're nothing alike. Outside a car is waiting to take her to freedom.

Later, Rachel pulls in at a gas station and goes to the bathroom, where she prises the missing vial from her shoulder wound. She dresses the wound before leaving, only to be confronted outside by Angela who's been hiding in the shadows.

Angela admits that the whole interrogation was a test to see whether Rachel was trustworthy. Rachel confesses that she just wanted to find a cure. Angela tells her that her ability is part of her. Rachel hands over the vial and one of Angela's henchmen pulls a hood over her head and drags her away.

Angela makes a video call to Leona.

Thoughts:

Okay, it's been pretty obvious from the word go that this whole series has been about Rachel trying to find a cure. We knew pretty early on that she already possessed an ability. We also knew that a vial of serum was missing. So it was relatively easy to fit the pieces together.

Evidently Leona's still alive. That was an interesting tidbit. Shame they didn't elaborate. How can she still be alive? I suppose this is a thread they could pick up in the series proper, but I suspect they won't. At least, not in any meaningful kind of way. She'll probably turn up in a future episode selling doughnuts or something equally as lame.

I wasn't particularly impressed with this series. Having Angela in there was probably its only redeeming feature. We learned zilch about Carlos. Hanover and Sullivan were vaguely interesting but both ended up dead. And Mills just wanted to cure herself...but in the end didn't manage it. The only semi-hmmm-worthy moment was the Leona reveal...and that lost some of its impact by virtue of the fact we've had similar plot lines in the show before (Arthur Petrelli, Claire Bear, etc).

Jesse Alexander was responsible for this webisode series. Anyone remember him from Alias? I think he had co-production duties on Lost too.

Quotes:

Angela: “I commend you. You are a fighter. We are a rare breed”.

Angela: “This is why I never wanted a daughter. They're so much more complicated. You watch helplessly as the world slips in and turns all the sugar and spice into bitterness and deceit”.

Mills: “I just wanted to try and find a cure....maybe”
Angela: “Rachel, your ability is as much as part of you as the colour of your eyes. Or the loss of your mother. Leona. Beautiful name”.
Mills: “I'd like to think I'm going to see here again one day”.
Angela: “Well that's up to God”.
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Heroes Webisode: Recruit #4

Chapter Four - Day of Reckoning.

Summary:

Angela asks Rachel about her relationship with her mother, only to be told that Leona killed herself. Angela admits to knowing Leona and confesses to being there the day she discovered her abilities. She criticises Leona for being weak and abandoning Rachel. She also tells her that Leona killed herself because she couldn't live with the fact she was different. She urges Rachel to claim her power and accept who she is.

Angela then explains how she knows Rachel has an ability. When the lab was destroyed at Pinehearst, the facility was locked down. Rachel shouldn't have been able to escape. But she did escape...right through a locked door.

Rachel insists that's not who she is. Angela tells her she doesn't believe her and turns to leave.

Thoughts:

This must surely be the slowest of all the webisode series'. We're four episodes in, with one more to go and to be honest, little of note's happened. There's just so little intrigue. If it wasn't for Angela I would probably have stopped watching two episodes ago. But Angela's dialogue's so good, and she delivers it with such aplomb, you can't help but hang on her every word.

By contrast, Rachel's dialogue is one dimensional. All she seems to say, week in week out, is that she's not special: when it's perfectly obvious to all an sundry that she is. I know it, Angela knows it, and Rachel certainly knows it. Yet she keeps on denying it with such conviction that you can't help but wonder who she's trying to fool. Herself maybe? She's certainly not fooling us.

They did throw us a small bone this week. Apparently Rachel inherited her abilities from her mother, who also possessed some kind of gift. So that would make her abilities natural rather than synthetic.

And how convincing was Angela's speech about her love for her sons? I don't recall seeing much of that love when she ordered Peter's death in “Powerless”. Nor did she seem particularly phased by Nathan's shooting. Perhaps she's one of those people who internalise their feelings. You think?

Quotes:

Angela: “I have sons...handsome Boys. And I love them with all of my heart”.

Angela: “I knew your mother, Rachel. We were girls together, Leona and I. In fact I was there on the day she discovered her power. She was very special. But she was also scared and weak and didn't want to be different. So she chose to kill herself rather to face up to the truth of who she really was. She chose to abandon you, left you to fend for yourself rather than embrace her power and be of service to the world. It's just so difficult sometimes to see the ones we love in the cold light of day”.

Angela: “I know you. I know you went into the service to make your grandpa proud. And I know that you had to fight for every good thing you ever had in your life. But you can stop fighting now Rachel. Claim your power now Rachel. This is your day of reckoning”.
Mills: “I'm not special”.
Angela: “There's so much you can do for this world if you just accept who you are”.
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Smallville: Power

Lana: "I *am* moving on."
Chloe: "Really? Because it seems to me that you're not just playing with fire, you're stepping into a raging inferno."

And now Lana is a superhero. Lana Lang. Is a superhero.

You know what? I'm a sincere believer in being positive. When I review a show, it's usually because I love it and I want to talk about it and share the love. I'm not much for the snark, the nitpicking, the hypercritical ripping-an-episode-to-shreds fanfest. If I can't say anything positive, why review a show at all?

I've continued reviewing Smallville, even after my two favorite characters left. And now I'm starting to wonder if I made the wrong choice. Because they're NOT GIVING ME WHAT I WANT.

What do I want? I want to watch Clark become an adult and gradually find his way into his future role. I want him to fall in love with Lois. Some Justice League action would be nice. And the Davis Bloome/Doomsday arc has promise. This was how I pictured season eight. But no.

I'm sorry, but this is nuts. A perfectly healthy, stunningly beautiful, and supposedly sane woman submits herself to molecular transfusion transdermal evisceration, whatever that is, or in other words, Nazi-like experiments on her skin, and she pretends to be a Navy SEAL having the nerve to freeze and burn herself ... for what? Not that I care, but what does Lana really want? To not be a victim any more? After years of being targeted by meteor freaks, I get that. To take revenge on Lex for what he did to her and to stop him from hurting anyone else? Okay, I get that, too.

But this whole thing with the Prometheus suit felt like... okay, I'll pick a nicer "p" word. Power envy. Lana doesn't want to love Clark; she wants to *be* Clark. If they were doing it with a better character and a better actress, it could work. But not with Lana Lang.

I have been hanging on to Smallville this season, but I might not for much longer. I did not sign up to see Lana Lang become a superhero. I did not hang on to see Clark go back to Lana. Please tell me they have a reasonable destination in mind.

Because I've pretty much had it.

Bits and pieces:

-- Minions all over the place. Lex's minions, Tess's minions, Tess rather gorily killing Lex's minion and her own. (Blood everywhere at the Daily Planet. I don't fancy spending the next month getting minion out of the carpet.) Even Lana has minions now.

-- Many mentions of Lex, as they've been doing for awhile now. It's not enough.

-- Prometheus suit. Invulnerability. But what about broken bones? Or pneumonia?

-- This episode was directed by Allison Mack. She did just fine. Not her fault that I didn't like this episode.

-- Tess: "Lana Lang was born to be a martyr." Give me hope, why don't you.

I again apologize for being so negative. If you liked this episode, could you tell me why?

Billie

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Lost: Jughead

Sawyer: "Who taught you Latin?"
Juliet: "Others 101. Gotta learn Latin. Language of the enlightened."
Sawyer: "Enlightened, my ass."

So Charles Widmore is an Other. That loud click you just heard was another Lost puzzle piece snapping into place.

The name tags and the uniform suggested that Widmore was in the military in the 1950s, ended up on the Island somehow, joined the Others and became a believer, and then, for some reason, he left. Maybe he was exiled when they realized what a prick he was. And just like the Oceanic Six, he's been trying desperately to return. Or to control the place. Kill everyone on it. Whatever.

Widmore's status as an Other also explained his previously cryptic conversation with Ben, and why Ben threatened to kill Penny instead of Widmore himself. The Others don't kill each other without a tribunal, but they're very much into an eye for an eye -- remember the burn on Juliet's back for Ben's surgical scar? Ben must have been certain that Widmore's man Keamy wouldn't kill Alex, and was shocked to his shoes when Keamy did it anyway. Widmore changed the rules. It all makes sense now.

I love Desmond episodes, and this one didn't disappoint. After two years of watching Desmond long for her, it was lovely to see how happiness, marriage and fatherhood has changed him for the better. And I especially enjoyed the second stand-off in Widmore's office. Desmond was in total control this time and held all the cards; no sneers, insults, or MacCutcheon from Widmore this time. Except that their lack of communication means Desmond doesn't know about Ben. And Desmond is about to take Penny with him to Los Angeles, where Faraday's mother is. And where Ben is. (I'm in Los Angeles, too. Clearly, it's the place to be. :)

There was a lot of Faraday. He's more of a ladykiller than I expected; in fact, he's apparently leaving a trail of broken brains behind him. Was he involved with Theresa Spencer? Was that her in the photo? Or was she just a human test subject who ended up like Eloise the Rat? Why is she adrift in time instead of dead, like Minkowsky? Because she's the victim of Faraday's pink hairdryer instead of the Island, I suppose. Widmore funding Faraday and taking care of Theresa Spencer explains why Faraday was working for him, anyway.

The Island segments were one big mishmosh of time travel confusion. I even thought at first that we had two factions running around with bows and arrows. I'm glad they actually gave us a date (1954), because that grounded me a little. And I thought "Jughead" would turn out to be one of Sawyer's nicknames, but no. Where is Jughead the hydrogen bomb right now, in 2004? Encased in cement somewhere on the Island, leaking radiation? Does the radiation, in combination with the Island's time travel brain thing, cause pregnant women to die? Will the series end with Jughead exploding? They don't introduce an element like this one into the story for nothing, you know.

We learned another bizarre little factoid about the Island; the Others communicate secretly in Latin. That's so weird and obscure that I can't even begin to figure out what it means. So here's some wild-eyed speculation. Do the Others date back to ancient Rome? Did the Island start out in the Mediterranean or the Atlantic? (For all we know, it could be back there now.)

Was the Island the original Atlantis? And if it were, wouldn't that be cool?

Character bits:

-- It's Lost, the Next Generation. Walt, Aaron, Ji Yeon, and now Charlie Hume. When we heard Charlie's name, I actually teared up. I think we can be reasonably certain that Des and Penny didn't name their son after the man they've been running from for three years.

-- You could say Desmond cleans up real good. He looked fabulously handsome in clean clothes and shades, and that hair? I'm sorry, I'm a girl. Deal with it.

-- Desmond lied to Penny, and she knew immediately. Very cute. I just realized that Desmond carried that photo for years of Penny and himself at a waterfront, and they've just spent three years living on the water.

-- Ellie knew Faraday. He didn't know her, but he said she looked like someone he knew. Clearly, he doesn't know her *yet*. She reminded me a bit of Alex and her slingshot. I miss Alex.

-- Miles said in the season opener that it took Widmore twenty years to find the Island the first time. Widmore was a young man in 1954, though. So what did that mean?

-- Locke told Richard to go see him born in Tustin, California, May 30, 1956. And we know that was just what happened. But in "Further Instructions", Locke's gun registration listed his birth date as November 15, 1946.

-- Richard said that leadership on the island starts at a young age. I guess Locke is an exception.

-- This week in Sawyer nicknames: the Geek (Faraday) and Blondie (Ellie). And again, it just seems odd to me that Sawyer has never called Juliet a nickname. I even went through my old reviews and checked; he never has.

Bits and pieces:

-- In 1954, The U.S. military came to the Island to "run tests". Richard had them all killed.

-- Apparently, Jacob was around in 1954. Huh.

-- Why was the repellent young Widmore wearing fatigues with the name "Jones" on them? Was he wearing someone else's jacket, or was his name Jones back then?

-- Mabuhay, where Charlie Hume was born, is in the Philippines. When the doctor pulled out forceps, I thought Penny and/or the baby were toast. Fortunately, no.

-- No flashbacks again, except to the birth of the Hume baby. No 'three years ago" cards, either. They're unnecessary, anyway.

-- "Department of Physics. Claredon 142-08".

-- We saw the painting of the polar bear and "namaste" before, in "Flashes Before Your Eyes."

Quotes:

Richard: "I assume you've come back for your bomb."

Locke: "How did you know Richard would be here?"
Juliet: "Richard's always been here."
Locke: "How old is he?"
Juliet: "Old."

Sawyer: (to Juliet) "What about you? Want to stay here in Crazytown or help me rescue the geek?" Now, see? Can't you hear a nickname right after that "what about you?"

Three out of four polar bears. What's your rating?

Billie

All of my Lost reviews are archived here.
(Season 5, episode 3)

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Fringe: The No-Brainer

Do you remember those really bad X-Files episodes? You know the ones I mean—they usually revolved around computer programs that suddenly were able to turn light switches off and on, on-screen images of the humanoid inner selves of the hardware causing so much trouble, and the Lone Gunmen explaining the impossibility of a 5 megabyte-per-second internet connection.

Maybe this episode of Fringe will look that dated in a few years. But, for right now, it isn’t so bad.

The creators still had some fun with the impossibility of the old-fashioned computer menace story: the “weird, glowy, scary hand” that came out of the screen wasn’t a possibility, but a hallucination. Even the title puns on the inevitability of a technological villain—it’s a no-brainer for a show like this. And while the science behind visual and aural stimuli producing liquefied brains seems a bit suspect, I’m willing to extend the benefit of the doubt.

My rather unusual willingness to finally give this show some credit stems from the subtlety of the show’s real topic, communication. Sure, there was the computer virus that can infect humans. And the subplot of “What’s Peter hiding from Walter and Olivia?” And the niece-in-peril sub-subplot (did I call it, or what?). And the bureaucratic villain sub-sub-subplot. And the constant question of whether or not Abaddon/Broyles is supposed to be that creepy.

But there were also various forms of communicative media, and not just the traditional trappings of emails, IMs, and texts. Jessica Warren, the mother of the lab assistant killed back in Walter’s halcyon days, wrote him a letter. She also called him on a landline, in perhaps the funniest scene in the history of this show. (A similar moment recently happened to me and a group of my colleagues. My astonished response was: “People still use phones?”)

And then there was the communication that actually matters: real person-to-person contact. Olivia’s niece lied to her mom. Astrid translated Walter’s nonsense. Olivia’s sister had sparkage with Peter. Luke brought his dad food, but didn’t know what to say, and Peter brought his dad joy and closure, but didn’t expect to. And Walter comforted Jessica Warren with a hug and a willingness to share memories of her dead daughter.

Not all of the communication ended well, of course. Olivia’s and Peter’s fight in the car was rather brutal, especially when Peter discounted her attempts to connect—and it was made worse by Olivia’s evident chagrin at her sister’s interest in Peter (but maybe that’s just the actress’s face). Olivia doesn’t know her neighbors, a black mark in her disaster-preparedness book according to a recent study. Olivia and Agent Francis failed in their interrogation of Luke Dempsey. And Olivia couldn’t talk Brian Dempsey out of killing himself.

It’ll be interesting to see where Fringe takes this idea. Will Olivia’s distance from just about everyone be her undoing? Or are the writers just poking fun at the one-dimensionality of her character by pointing out that she has no exterior life, just as she seems to have no interior life? Either way, I think it I like it.

3 out of 4 weird, glowy, scary hands.

All of my Fringe reviews are archived here.
(Season one, episode twelve)

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Battlestar Galactica: The Disquiet that Follows My Soul

Adama: "You know, there are days when I really hate this job."

Adama went back to life as usual. He put his grief and despair in its place and moved on to the important business of saving the human race. But the rest of the fleet wasn't ready to move on with him. To them, allying with the Cylons is still sleeping with the enemy. And not telling the fleet who the final Cylon was? Big mistake. Huge. Everyone is going to rush to fill in the blank.

Like Gaeta did, with Starbuck. I'm having a hard time seeing Gaeta as a mutineer, even under these circumstances. Well, okay, they're extraordinary circumstances. That scene in the mess where Starbuck did just about everything but slap him with a glove and challenge him to a duel was pretty powerful.

The emphasis was on the humans, but what was happening to the Cylons was even more disquieting. I've always assumed that the Final Five were a different kind of Cylon, and now that's been put to the test; Six is pregnant, and Saul Tigh is the father. (Pardon me while I throw up in my mouth just a little.) And, in another major and interesting development, it turns out Callie is still frakking up from beyond the grave; she lied to Tyrol about something pretty damned important. Hot Dog, Callie? Really? Tyrol's connection to the human race just got a whole lot weaker.

When this gets out, the Cylons will know that Cylon/Cylon reproduction is now possible, and human/Cylon reproduction looks a bit less probable as a long-term solution. Guess those rebel Cylons won't need the humans any more. They can all have babies with Saul Tigh.

Roslin really has given up. Her exercise euphoria felt oddly ridiculous as well as uncomfortably tragic. What really bothered me, though, were the great big honking hints that Adama is ill, too. (Because heaven knows things aren't bad enough.) I had never once considered the possibility that the "dying leader" could be Adama.

The final scene showed Adama and Roslin in bed together. I always thought they had done it before now and we just hadn't seen it, but I guess not. Roslin asked Adama if she had earned the right to live a little before she dies. Maybe they both have.

Bits and pieces:

-- No saga sell. The credits were the same, except for the phrase "home called Earth"; it's just "home" now. Twice.

-- This week's survivor number: 39644. Six less, since Dee was already counted. The suicides that they mentioned?

-- This week's Most Obvious Symbolism was Adama picking up litter around the Galactica, as well as that piece of paper that represented Tom Zarek's betrayal of his "rebels". There was the pointed symbolism of Zarek washing his hands, too, before giving Gaeta the order.

-- That scene where Adama bluffed Zarek into giving up the tyrillium ship because of evidence that Zarek sold favors reminded me of the Blagojevich scandal. I wonder if that was deliberate?

-- Loved Cottle smoking in front of the pregnant Six.

-- This episode was written *and* directed by Ron Moore.

Quotes:

Six: "It's our baby, Saul. Our baby."
Saul: "I need a drink."
And so say all of us.

Chief Tyrol: "Their technology... our technology is way ahead of ours. Yours."
Tigh: "Maybe you'd like a chart to keep it all straight."

Gaeta: "So I guess a pity frak's out of the question, then?"

What do you think? Three out of four stars?

Billie
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Heroes Webisode: Recruit #3

Chapter Three - We Do What We Have To.

Summary:

At a undisclosed facility in Tappen, NJ, Angela Petrelli continues her interrogation of Rachel Mills. She wants to know why Rachel killed Sullivan. We flashback to the laboratory at Pinehearst, where Sullivan is in the process of being changed by the serum. Hanover tries to shoot him, but he escapes at super speed. Rachel urges Hanover to put the gun down but he refuses so she tries to disarm him with a piece of scrap metal. Floored, he manages to stand again and is just about to shoot Mills when Sullivan attacks him and drags him to the ground. Mills stands and is also attacked by Sullivan, but manages to teleport across the room to safety. She picks up a pair of large scissors and Sullivan attacks again, only to be skewered and killed by the scissors.

Back in the present day, Mills tells Angela that she didn't have a choice. Angela seems to understand her predicament but still won't free her until she reveals where the serum is. Mills explains that after seeing what the serum was capable of, she destroyed the last sample. After a pause Angela says “wrong answer” and leaves the interrogation room.

In another flashback we see Mills with the missing vial.

Thoughts:

It was good to see Angela again. She's grown on me a lot of late. I was never a fan of Arthur Petrelli, but if I had to pick one positive thing that came from him being in the show, I'd have to say that his back story with Angela gave her some much needed depth. I actually kind of like her now.

What exactly is, or should I say was, Sullivan's ability? His eyes glowed red and he seemed to turn semi-feral. Was that super speed too? Or maybe slightly less than super speed but still pretty damn fast. Shame it wasn't enough to save him from a pair of scissors (albeit nasty, pointy looking ones).

And Angela's certainly not stupid. I would have totally bought Rachel's story. But judging by the flashback at the end Mills is feeding her a pack of lies. She didn't destroy the vial after all. I wonder what she wants it for? To cure herself, maybe?

Quotes:

Mills: “I didn't have a choice
Angela: “We do what we have to”.
Mills: “So I've noticed”.






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Doctor Who: The Next Doctor (Christmas Special 2008)

Doctor: “Rosita? Good name. Hello Rosita”.

Christmas is traditionally a time where new Who goes mental with the special effects. The Christmas episodes are not your average episode. They're bigger, brasher, littered with innuendo and for the most part, incredibly entertaining. True, some are turned off by the occasionally over the top production (which does have a nasty habit of getting in the way of the story sometimes) but only a fool would deny that more often than not, they're a stonkingly good romp.

This year sees the Doctor on his own again. Last year he was without Martha, after a stiff dose of unrequited love forced her into handing back her TARDIS key for good. The year before that he was without his beloved Rose...sucked into the void between worlds...never to be seen again...well, until she was seen again in season four. And this year he's without Donna, who's presumably spending Christmas in Chiswick, oblivious of the fact that the world still turns because of her selfless, now forgotten, efforts.

The setting is England, 1851. We have snow (albeit of the fake, paper variety), annoying little street urchins and more Dickensian dialogue than you can shake a stick at. The premise of the episode's pretty interesting too. The Doctor meets the Doctor. Or certainly someone who appears to be the Doctor. At first our Doctor's not sure what to make of him. Is he an impostor? Is he his future self? He even has a Dickensian sidekick, Rosita, who's even more gobby than her modern day counterparts (if you can imagine such a thing).

Of course, it soon becomes apparent that something's wrong. Yes the new Doctor has a sonic screwdriver (a wooden handled thing he smacks against the wall to prove it's sonic) and a TARDIS (a hot air balloon in this case....TARDIS being an acronym for Tethered Aerial Release Developed In Style...sheesh!!). But if he is the Doctor then why doesn't he recognise his old self? Obviously the answer lies in stolen memories. But the question still remains - who exactly is this new Doctor and what's happened to him?

One of the strengths of this year's episode is its principal actors. No pop stars or comediennes masquerading as actors this time around. Just kosher thespians. And David Morrissey's a joy to behold. The character of Jackson Lake/The Doctor is a complex one and Morrissey's portrayal of the Time Lord is as ebullient and brash as you could ever hope for. But it's as Jackson Lake that he shines. Lake is a more fragile, brooding creature, haunted by the shadows of a forgotten past. I particularly enjoyed the turn around in his story. In the end he saves the Doctor, not as a man believing himself to be a Time Lord, but as a mathematician, an everyman, spurred on to do great deeds – which is very much the constant theme of new Who. You don't have to be special to do special things.

Of course, that's not to say everything was perfect. Morrissey was given some distinctly dodgy dialogue at times...which he did his best with.....but even Olivier would struggle with the line “I'm the Doctor! Simply the Doctor. The one. The only...and the best!".

The two Doctors part of the story worked well for me. The Cyberman part less so. I've never been a fan of the modern day Cybermen. Clearly they're the best designed of all the Cyber incarnations. But I was never really convinced by the way they move. Seeing them in a long line, marching in perfect sync, always makes me think of a chain of paper men. Which let's face it, isn't the scariest of images. And their modern day refrain of “delete” started to grate pretty early on in the game (about ten seconds after it was first uttered to be honest). For me, the original Cybermen will always be the best. Sure they were just men wearing cloth masks and pretending to be robots. But when they opened their mouths and spoke without their lips moving....well...it was a terrifying sight to behold.

But negativity aside, the Cybermen were okay in this episode. They looked vaguely menacing as they appeared out of the snow at the Revered Fairchild's funeral. But what were the Cybershades supposed to be? Did the budget suddenly run out? Were they part of some Blue Peter design-your-own-monster competition? They looked like hearth rugs with masks on. Perhaps it was meant to be a throwback to the days when all Who baddies wore costumes made by their mums ...I'm not sure. But compared to the regular Cybermen, the Cybercontroller and the giant Cyberking, all of whom looked superb, the Cybershades looked decidedly sub-substandard.

That's not to say the whole Cybermen story was a bust. Dervla Kirwan weighed in with a pretty solid performance as disillusioned feminist Mercy Hartigan. Generally actors play Who villains like they're in panto. But Dervla played the role with surprising restraint. No over the top histrionics. No maniacal laughter and bulging eyes. Instead we got a sober, reserved performance that gave her character a genuine sense of menace. Even after becoming the Cyberking her performance didn't degenerate into the usual stereotypical über villain we've become accustomed to.

And what of the Cyberking? Great special effects (at least from a distance). But the main story was so compelling that the Cyberking element seemed little more than an unwelcome distraction. Russell T. Davies seems obsessed with making each Christmas special bigger and better than the last. Which is a shame really because it's the smaller, more intimate story lines that suffer as a result.

Which is somewhat the case here. I'm sure the rise of Cyberking thrilled the shows younger viewers. But it left me a bit cold and ultimately wondering what might have been had they dropped the Cybermen story altogether.

Bits and pieces:

Jackson Lake's fob watch was a throwback to the fob watch used in the episode “The Family of Blood”. In that story, opening the watch restored the Doctor's memories. In this story, opening it caused it to fall apart.

The Doctor asks Lake about “blink” and “Sally and the angels”, a reference to the third season episode Blink – written by by Steven Moffat (Russell T. Davies' successor).

Judging by the infostamp, Paul McGann is officially the eight doctor: making David Tennant the tenth. Not that we didn't know this already. Russell T. Davies has said as much in interviews. But it was nice to have the visual confirmation.

The Court of the Cyber King? A reference to the King Crimson album “In the Court of the Crimson King” perhaps? Is Russell T. Davies a closet prog rock fan?

According to the end credits the next episode will be “Planet of the Dead”, scheduled to air Easter 2009. Already confirmed as appearing are Michelle Ryan (star of now defunct Bionic Woman) and comedian Lee Evans.

Quotes:

Doctor: “You there boy. What day is this?”
Urchin: “Christmas Eve Sir”.
Doctor: “What year?”
Urchin: “You thick or something?”
Doctor: “Oy! Just answer the question”
Urchin: “The year of our Lord 1851 Sir”.
Doctor: “Right. Nice year. Bit dull”.

Doctor: “Hold on.......who are you?”
The Next Doctor: “I'm the Doctor! Simply the Doctor. The one. The only...and the best! Rosita, give me the sonic screwdriver”.
Doctor: "The what?
The Next Doctor: “Now quickly, get back to the TARDIS”.
Doctor: “Back to the what?
The Next Doctor: “If you could stand back, sir, this is a job for a Time Lord”.
Doctor: “Job for a what-lord?

Mercy Hartigan: “The Cyberking will rise. How like a man”.

Overall, a ripping yarn, probably superior to Voyage of the Damned, a lot better than the Runaway Bride, though probably not as good as The Christmas Invasion.

Three out of five sonic screwdrivers.
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Lost: The Lie

Ana Lucia: "Oh yeah. Libby says hi."

This episode was worth it for the Ana Lucia surprise ghost cameo alone. And I loved everyone carrying Sayid around, sort of like the Lost version of Weekend at Bernie's. Even Jack carried Sayid. And Jack discovered that waking Sayid is something you do *very carefully*.

Hurley's parents were both pretty good parents for a change; they did their bit to earn their millions. I started feeling uncomfortable about Ben being there at the end, though. I hope he didn't do anything to the Reyes'. It was also unfortunate that Hurley chose capture over going with Ben. Before Sayid was shot, he told Hurley to do the opposite of whatever Ben told him to do. Maybe he should have added some caveats, like, not if you're wanted for murder and the only alternative is the cops.

Was everyone else creeped out by Sun "forgiving" Kate for leaving Jin behind? I just didn't believe her. We still don't know who the other person is that Sun blames for Jin's death, but it could very well be Kate.

The most intriguing bit was Ben and his new, mysterious accomplices. We have Jill the butcher who can keep Locke safe. (In a meat locker?) And there was the time travel jewelry shop woman from Flashes Before Your Eyes and Catch-22. Is she the mother that Faraday told Desmond to find? The accent certainly makes it believable. Plus the fact that she was writing formulas on a blackboard and typing stuff about event windows. Okay, being a physicist isn't an inherited trait. But why would she be working for Ben? And why would their secret headquarters be under a church?

Actually, *she* might be the boss, not Ben. She told Ben he only has seventy hours to get all of them back to the Island. Seventy *hours*? I bet it still takes a whole season, though. Possibly two.

Character bits:

-- Hugo believed that bad things were happening because he bought into the Oceanic Six lie. This seems to be a trait of his, like his superstition about the lottery numbers.

-- Jack was sobered up by Ben. That's really funny.

-- I kept thinking Ben looked really good. Then I realized it was because he was clean for a change, instead of beaten and bloody. He was beaten repeatedly for two whole seasons.

-- Sawyer got something sharp in his foot again. That happened before, in season three, I think.

-- Bernard thought he could boy scout a fire. Not so much. Loved Neal, a.k.a. Frogurt, and the flaming arrows. Be careful what you wish for, Neal.

-- Hurley's father made a caviar and pepperoni sandwich before sitting down to watch Expose'. Must be nice to be rich.

-- I noticed that Kate was looking less well-groomed and more like Island Kate: messier hair, no make-up. Life on the run will do that to you. Even if you're just now on your way out of town.

-- Headaches and memory loss. Yeah, Charlotte's gonna die.

-- Miles can sense the dead. Handy for dead boar finding. If only there hadn't been those flaming arrows.

-- Sawyer called Neal Frogurt. He didn't call Juliet anything. Has he ever called Juliet a nickname?

Bits and pieces:

-- Lots and lots of dialogue about lies and lying, and about how it's not working any more. Because the big lie that the Oceanic Six told is falling apart.

-- We have yet another dangerous faction, and this time it's very young, nasty British soldiers who say it's *their* Island. (The leader had a name tag "Jones".) I really thought that Juliet was in serious trouble for a moment there. Locke came in handy. That was a pun.

-- I could swear I saw the word "jarrah" on the soda Hurley was drinking when he told his mother the truth.

-- Penny's boat was named "Searcher." No kidding.

-- -- Jack's phone number is 323-555-0156. Cheech's license plate was 2HDQ234. And the ticket Ben pulled at Hill's butcher shop was number 342, with 42 emphasized.

-- Even though there was an emphasis on Hurley, there were no single character flashbacks/flashforwards for the first two episodes. This is a significant change in the standard Lost method of storytelling. Will it continue?

Quotes:

Ana Lucia: "What if I were real? What if a real cop stopped you?"

Sawyer: "Welcome back, Doctor Wizard."
Miles: "I think it's Mister Wizard."
Sawyer: "Shut up."

Ben: (to Jill) "Have Gabriel and Jeffrey checked in yet?"
Gabriel and Jeffrey?

Carmen: "Who is Sayid? I thought he was your friend."
Hurley: "He is my friend. He's also got this double life where he does crazy ninja moves and spy stuff."

Hurley: "I'm a murderer. I killed four people. Three people. However many I did, I killed them. I killed them all."

And here, for your reading enjoyment, are the first four seasons of Lost according to Hurley.

Season one:

"Okay. You see, we did crash. But it was on this crazy island. And we waited for rescue, and there wasn't a rescue. And there was this smoke monster. And there were other people on the island, we called them the Others, and they started attacking us."

Season two:

"And we found some hatches, and there was a button you had to push every hundred and eight minutes, or... well, I was never really clear on that."

Season three:

"But the Others didn't have anything to do with the hatches. That was the Dharma Initiative. They were all dead. The Others killed them. And now they're trying to kill us."

Season four:

"And then we teamed up with the Others because some worse people were coming on a freighter. Desmond's girlfriend's father sent them to kill us. So we stole their helicopter and we flew to their freighter, but it blew up. And we couldn't go back to the Island because it disappeared. So we crashed in the ocean, and we floated there for awhile until a boat came and picked us up. And by then there were six of us. That part was true. But the rest of the people who were on the plane? They're still on that Island."

Okay. I'm exhausted. This was a busy reviewing week, and we just had a minor earthquake here in L.A. Three polar bears,

Billie

All of my Lost reviews are archived here.
(Season 5, episode 2)

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Supernatural: Criss Angel is a Douche Bag

Sam: "Think we will?"
Dean: "What?"
Sam: "Die before we get old?"
Dean: "Haven't we both already?"

I wasn't that wild about last week's. And unfortunately, I wasn't that wild about this one, either. But it did have some good bits. And it actually took us somewhere.

Fake magic becoming real magic. I knew what was happening almost immediately, that someone was doing it for Jay, but I didn't guess who -- mostly because Charlie, the most obvious culprit, died early in the episode and it didn't seem like it could be Vernon. At about nine-thirty, I started thinking it was the barmaid. But it was Charlie, after all. Immortality is a pretty tempting offer.

I liked that the three old magicians constantly outwitted Dean and Sam. Don't discount someone just because they're older, guys. And I liked that they actually addressed the issue of growing old. For Dean and Sam, dying young is a given. Dean was pragmatic about it, but this episode told us that Sam still dreams of a normal life that would include some golden years. Which means getting out of the business.

But how could they possibly get out of the business? Did the writers just give us a great big honking hint that Sam might be capable of ending the incursion of the supernatural evil into the real world, and put hunters out of business? Does he have that much potential power? (Actually, that feels like it would make a good series finale. Not that I want the series to end.)

They also just hinted for the zillionth time that if Sam fools with magic again, he will go dark side and Dean will have to turn against him, just as Jay turned against Charlie. But the count is up to 34 seals, and the angels are losing. This can't be good. Somebody has to do *something*.

Bits and pieces:

-- Sam and Ruby did a long scene with a toilet visible in the background between them. A little fun symbolism there that Sam's determination to resist her was about to go down the tubes, perhaps.

-- Ruby also mentioned that Sam actually likes doing magic. I don't think I'd picked up on that point before, but it makes sense. Sam was into magic when he was a kid. That also makes sense, because he's into real magic as an adult.

-- Nice use of a real Tarot deck. I have a deck like that.

-- Jay was played by Barry Bostwick, who has done many, many other things, but who will live forever as Brad in Rocky Horror Picture Show.

-- This week: Sioux City, Iowa, during "magic week." Dean was federal agent Ulrich. Lars Ulrich is a member of Metallica. And of course, Criss Angel is a real magician. Fun how they referenced a magician named Angel, huh?

Quotes:

Sam: "He's famous."
Dean: "For what? Douchebaggery?"

Chief: "Before we get started, what's your safe word?"
Okay, it's been done many times before, but that scene made me laugh. Maybe it was Dean's face. He wasn't threatened *or* amused.

Dean: "The thing about real magic is that it's a whole lot like crack. People do surprising things once they get a taste of it." (Again, *cough* Sam *cough*.)

Dean: "Not so fast. I ain't Guttenberg and this isn't Cocoon."

Ruby: "What changed your mind?"
Sam: "I don't want to be doing this when I'm an old man."

Well-enough written story, good performances, but depressing,

Billie

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Smallville: Bulletproof

Clark: "Who are you? Warrior Angel?"
Kid: "No, I'm the Red Blue Blur."

No, Clark! Don't go back to Lana! We just got rid of her after seven long years! DON'T GO BACK TO LANA, CLARK!

*sigh*

There were a few good moments, but nothing truly memorable about this episode. It's always nice to see Clark work with Oliver, even unintentionally, and at least we saw Clark put on a uniform and go out to fight crime. Actually, this episode was pretty much a superhero-bonding lesson. Cops aren't bulletproof. They need backup. So do superheroes. Got it. But wait. Clark *is* bulletproof, so this entire episode is meaningless. Okay, moving right along.

Lois continued to be distressingly absent, and it was like Lana never left. Lana and Tess trading sophisticated power bon mots was a massive yawn; the tantalizing tidbits about Lex were the best part. I did like the revelation that Lex bugged Tess's optic nerve; that was wonderfully supervillainy. And I liked the scene where Tess jammed Lex's signal, and cried. Another of Lex's lovers realizes the truth. Another instance of serious love-to-hatred turning.

But all it did was make me miss Lex all the more. And Lois. And it would have been nice to see more of Martian Man Hunter. I like Martian Man Hunter. The poor guy has a no-more-superpowers hangover; it would be nice if he got them back.

Bits and pieces:

-- How convenient that Clark was in the hospital when Jones' ambulance showed up. And as far as Clark masquerading as a cop goes, wouldn't his lack of training be obvious in, like, five minutes?

-- "Prometheus", whatever it is, is Lex's one chance at survival. Okay.

-- Emil, the ER doctor who was Oliver's "specialist on the payroll," was played by Battlestar Galactica's Alessandro Juliani. Sam Witwer, who plays Davis, is also a BSG alumnus. Tahmoh Penniket, Aaron Douglas... there have been so many BSG cast guesting on Smallville that I've lost count.

Quotes:

Clark: "Lois. Lois is sooo..."
Chloe: "Lois?"

Cop: "Meanwhile, we got these costumed idiots running around, taking all the credit. Green Arrow, Red Blue Blur..."

Tess: "And I thought we were bonding."
Lana: "Rain check on girls' night?"

Color me unimpressed. Two out of four stars,

Billie

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Fringe: Bound

Fringe is back. Olivia has been abducted. Peter is concerned. Walter is disassociated from reality. Astrid spends the entire episode in search of cheese-steak. Rhinoviruses are really creepy when they’re carp-sized. A double-agent we already knew was a double-agent is revealed to be…a double-agent!

Perhaps in an attempt to out-do Lost, this episode of Fringe had more plots than the CIA in the sixties. We start with Olivia’s abduction, from which she quickly escapes—taking the time to grab some vials, of course. This abduction may or may not have something to do with the creepy giant common-cold thingy that is killing epidemiologists, definitely has something to do with Agent Loeb, and probably has something to do with the sudden appearance of Sanford Harris of Internal FBI Affairs, who is reviewing the Fringe Division, which probably has something to do with budgetary concerns in the new economy…or does it?

Perhaps in an attempt to avoid the fate of Alias (described by J.J. Abrams himself as “literally impenetrable,” whatever that means), we were re-introduced to the series via flashbacks and exposition about Olivia and her probably-dead boyfriend John; Peter Bishop (mercenary hunk with a heart of gold); and Dr. Walter Bishop (crazy scientist cum accent). Oddly, we didn’t get a flashback explaining Agent Loeb, whom we first met in 1.7 “In Which We Meet Mr. Jones.” I’d completely forgotten about him.

We also got some Alias-style family drama, which my optimistic self found touching. My cynical self is waiting for the episode in which Ella the niece is put in dire peril from which only Aunt Olivia can rescue her. It will probably happen in February, which is a sweeps month.

It seems silly to quibble about impossible scenarios in a show where consciousness-sharing with dead people is a key plot element, but a few moments made me say “really?”:

• Two of the three abductors not wearing masks. If they’re going to kill her, no masks are necessary. If they’re not, three masks are. Don’t they watch TV?

• Olivia hiding the vials. She thought help was coming—why bother?

• Agent Harris being assigned such a prestigious position after having been cleared of a sex crime. Yes, he was cleared. But I doubt he’d just bounce right back into favor.

• Olivia being permitted to go back to work after having been abducted, lumbar-punctured, and (later) shooting someone. Doesn’t the paperwork on that sort of thing take more time?

Final conclusion? I’m still not sure about this show. Like any X-Files fan, I love conspiracy theories, and I hope that Fringe develops the hints that Agent Loeb dropped about there being much more to the pattern and Fringe Division’s investigations. The pseudo-science, however, is a bit too pseudo for me, and poor Dr. Bishop has some truly embarrassing lines to deliver in every episode.

I also like the possibilities of a Peter/Olivia romance, however long it may take to develop. The conflict between work and family was compelling on Alias, at least to this female viewer, and that seems like a potentially exciting avenue to explore. Why they haven’t explored it more, already, is perhaps even more mysterious than how a water-tank and some electrodes would enable a dead body to yield its secrets.

Two out of four rhinoviruses.

All of my Fringe reviews are archived here.
(Season one, episode eleven)

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Lost: Because You Left

Sawyer: "First things first. Give me your shirt."

[I'm doing the two parts separately. This is a review of part one only.]

Did absence make the heart grow fonder, or was this episode a hoot and a half? I was bouncing around and laughing, I was so delighted. It was like a gift to the fans tied up with a great big bow. (Yes, new viewers would have been totally Lost, but tough. Rent the first four seasons, new viewers.)

Every season has opened by introducing a new faction and new characters. Not this time. And interestingly enough, there were none of the standard character flashbacks or flashforwards. Just lots and lots of stuff about the characters we love and the situations that have merrily confused us for the past four years. In fact, there was so much juicy goodness that I almost don't know where to begin. No, wait. I do.

Yes, we have time travel

Even though it was established last season, this episode confirmed that There Really Is Time (and Space) Travel Going On. Good thing we had a time traveling physicist around to explain it to the cast, huh? Faraday's explanation about time as a stream that can be traveled in both directions but can't be changed explained (for me, anyway) why Michael couldn't kill himself. It wasn't a mystical Island consciousness that stopped him; it was the time stream asserting itself. It might explain the Walking Dead, too. Are the dead that are walking around not supposed to be dead, perhaps?

The jumping around in time also mimicked the structure of the entire series. Flashbacks and flashforwards have always been given to us out of order, haven't they?

The Island, and miscellaneous delightful details

I just laughed through the entire opening flashback to New Otherton and the outtake from the Dharma orientation film. Apparently, the guy we've seen so many times with so many names (as well as now and then with a false arm) is really called Dr. Chang. Faraday was there working as a grunt during the discovery of the Time Machine Anomaly Wheel Thingy. I guess his pink hairdryer time machine really does work. Unless he's just skipping around even more than everyone else does. No, it seemed deliberate and undercover.

Loved the different states of the Hatch. And paranoid Desmond in his yellow hazard suit and gas mask. And the Nigerian plane crashing. And Locke climbing up to it again, and falling down just like Boone, and getting shot *again*. And Ethan showing up with a rifle. Yes, it was confusing and all over the place, but it was also great fun.

Sawyer and Juliet seem to have developed a connection. That's probably because he's the new Jack now. Or maybe she was subconsciously affected by the fact that he wasn't wearing a shirt for the entire episode. I wonder if that was producers' way of apologizing to Sawyer fans for keeping him so filthy and in a cage for half of season three?

Charlotte now has the fatal time travel nosebleed. Ben was right up close to the Time Machine Anomaly Wheel Thingy last season, and it didn't kill him. Because he's "special", right? Possibly for the same reason that Richard doesn't jump around in time?

The Oceanic Six and Desmond

Sayid, my favorite assassin, was channeling James Bond. (Knives in the dishwasher. Ick. At least the points weren't sticking up out of the guy's chest.) And Sun has become an international woman of intrigue. What is she up to with Widmore? I don't believe she just wants to kill Ben. Is Sun becoming a bad guy, too?

The key fact seems to be that Richard told Locke he had to die in order to convince the Oceanic Six to return to the Island. (That might be why I kept expecting Locke in the coffin to open his eyes.) Coming back to life would certainly be convincing, wouldn't it? What about Walt? Does he not count because the Island let him go? If the dead are important, what about Michael and Jin?

Faraday said that the Rules don't apply to Desmond. He's uniquely and miraculously special. Does that mean he alone can change the time "stream"? I'm glad that his reunion with Penny wasn't the end of the journey for his character. I'd hate it if they'd written him out.

Character bits:

-- Yay! Jack's terrible, horrible beard finally went away. May it never return in flashback.

-- Richard gave Locke an old compass, which I seem to remember from the "test" Richard gave Locke as a child. So I guess little John should have chosen the compass instead of the knife?

-- Dr. Chang and his wife had a baby. I thought women on the Island couldn't have babies? Maybe they had just arrived. Or maybe the Island wasn't killing pregnant women back in the seventies.

-- What the hell is Richard? It's one of the most intriguing unanswered questions.

-- Faraday made it, even though he was in a boat with extras instead of cast members. I'm not the biggest fan of the Daniel Faraday character, but I had a feeling he'd be back this season.

-- When that guy showed up with a court order, Kate was ready to run. She and Aaron were out the door in five minutes. Not a surprise.

-- Sun was born on March 20, 1980. The passport was issued May 31, 2001, which makes sense.

-- Desmond was with Penny for three years. Were they on the boat all this time?

-- Sawyer called Charlotte "Ginger" (come on, that one had to happen) and Faraday "Whiz Kid," "Danny Boy," and... was it "Dilbert"? And for some reason, Kate called Aaron "Goober." Goober?

Bits and pieces:

-- Emilie de Ravin and Harold Perrineau are out of the cast. And Daniel Dae Kim is still in, even while officially being blown up. Intriguing.

-- The first thing we saw was an alarm clock that said "8:15 a.m." Season two and three also started with a new character putting on music. This time, the music skipped. Just like the Island.

-- Dr. Chang mentioned station two, the Arrow, and defensive strategies against the "indigenous hostiles". That was the station the Tailies were in back in season two.

-- Miles said that it had taken Widmore twenty years to find the Island the first time. That sounds familiar so we may have heard it before, but anyway.

-- Ben and Jack were sharing a motel room. That made me smile, too. They were watching Action 8 news. We don't have a channel 8 here in Los Angeles, but it's one of Hurley's numbers.

Quotes:

Explosives guy: "Okay, so what? We're going to go back and kill Hitler?"

Sawyer: "So when are we now, whiz kid?"
Faraday: "We're either in the past, or we're in the future."
Well, duh. What other options are there, other than the present?

Hurley: "Want a fry?"
Sayid: "No, thank you."
Hurley: "You know, maybe if you'd eat more comfort food, you wouldn't have to go around shooting people."

Locke: "What is it?"
Richard: "It's a compass."
Locke: "What does it do?"
Richard: "It points north, John."

Sawyer: "Open up! It's the ghost of Christmas future!"

I absolutely loved this episode, so four out of four polar bears. My review of "The Lie" will be up sometime tomorrow,

Billie

All of my Lost reviews are archived here.
(Season 5, episode 1)

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Heroes Webisode: Recruit #2

Chapter Two – It Was Nothing.

Summary:

At an undisclosed facility in Tappen, NJ, Rachel Mills is interrogated by Carlos. Like Angela, he wants to know the whereabouts of the serum. He informs her that a drug is neutralising her abilities She tells him that she doesn't have any abilities and that she's not special.

We flashback to the Pinehearst Laboratory. Sullivan confides in Mills that she should have told him about her abilities, but Mills is still in denial. As she's helping Sullivan to his feet, Hanover appears behind them. She notices he's holding two vials of the serum and asks where the third is. He admits to injecting himself with it after hearing a rumour from Tracy that it would make them into super soldiers. She tells him to let Sullivan try the serum. Hanover refuses and convulses in pain, allowing Mill's to take a vial from him. Recovered, he points a gun at her but she injects Sullivan anyway. Hanover shoots her in the shoulder. Sullivan falls to the ground...and instantly the serum starts to take effect.

Thoughts:

Well, I guess now we know why Rachel has a bullet hole in her shoulder. And we can be reasonably sure that Rachel already possessed her abilities before enlisting in the program. So that's two mysteries solved. But other than that not a great deal happened.

No Angela this week, which is a shame. I think webisodes benefit greatly from having at least one regular character in them. So why replace Angela with Carl I wonder? They seem to have virtually identical roles in the story.....that of the interrogator. Perhaps Cristine Rose wasn't available for all of the webisodes.

I'm also a little unclear as to what the serum actually does. I know it gives ordinary people seemingly random powers. But what if you inject someone who already possesses powers with it? Would their genetic changes disappear, as appeared to be the case with Mohinder? What would happen if Mills injected herself with the serum? Is that her plan maybe?

Short and not so sweet.

Quotes:

Hanover: “Give me the damn serum!”
Mills: “You had your shot”.

Mills: “Did you inject yourself with the serum?”
Hanover: "Damn right I did. I heard that Tracy chick say it would make us into super-soldiers”.

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Battlestar Galactica: Sometimes a Great Notion

Starbuck: "If that's me lying there, then what am I? What am I?"

Cheese and crackers. Can you say intense?

This episode was like a string of powerful negative emotions, one after another, as virtually everyone hit bottom. Confusion, bitter disappointment, intense grief, anger, despair. Dee's suicide was so powerful and unexpected that I actually shrieked out loud. The Adama-Tigh scene with the booze and the guns was sort of amazing. Even Roslin gave up. She burned the Pythian Prophecy, her Bible, and stopped getting her diloxin treatments. The foxes choosing to drown in the river because they were so tired.

Ellen is the final Cylon? Or was? She used to be my favorite possible Cylon candidate, right up until she died. It explains why only four of them were activated. She's an older woman, too, which fits my more recent demographic theory (which is why I was sure it was Roslin). Tigh and Ellen were a matched pair in more ways than one.

But if it really was Ellen, then what happened to Starbuck? When she found her own dead body on "Earth", still strapped into her old viper, I immediately concluded that Starbuck was the final Cylon. If she isn't, how was she duplicated? Wasn't she downloaded?

And what planet did they actually land on? It wasn't our Earth, unless it was way far in the future. The Final Four remembered living on that planet, and Ellen, as she was dying in the past, told Tigh they would be born again together. But in Tyrol's vision, the people behind him in the crowd were unrecognizable. Other Cylon models? Cylon individuals created through sexual reproduction, like Hera and Nick? That planet and its secrets were fascinating. Like D'Anna, I rather wanted them to stay -- but not to just lie down and die. To keep touching the broken ruins and the ocean and digging for artifacts so that they could learn more about the thirteenth tribe.

But Lee was right that it was time to move on and find a planet the colonials can actually live on. Hopefully before anyone else commits suicide.

Bits and pieces:

-- No credit sequence, but the cast was the same. The opening saga sell was nearly the same; they exchanged "seven are known, four live in secret" with "seven are known, four live in the fleet." "Eleven are known" probably lacked drama. What will it be next week?

-- Were the ruins they were exploring the famous temple they keep talking about? I was totally creeped out by Tyrol recognizing his own blast shadow.

-- Leoben just followed Starbuck around. His obsession with her used to be threatening, and now it's endearing. He looked completely freaked when she found her own body. Maybe he's not obsessed any more.

-- Dee pretty much represented all of the colonials. She was a symbol of the depth of their despair.

-- Hoshi got Dee's job.

-- "Frak Earth."

-- This week's survivor count: 39,651, with Dee's death making it 39,650. The last number we got was 39,665, and I only counted one death in "Revelations", the hostage that D'Anna tossed out the airlock. Who else died? What did I miss? I'm also wondering if the number includes Cylons. By this time, it should.

-- "Sometimes a Great Notion" is the title of a brilliant book by Ken Kesey. My late sister was a fan of his; Kesey is probably best known for "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest". I was going to write about what it meant in relation to this episode, but Jess Lynde did it already and saved me a lot of work. :)

-- Roslin: "Perfect. We traded one nuked civilization for another."

Gripping episode, and really depressing. Battlestar Galactica is back,

Billie
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Battlestar Galactica: The Face Of The Enemy #10

Episode Ten:

Summary:

Aboard raptor 718, everyone's dead bar Gaeta. He injects himself with a syringe of morpha and prepares to administer a second, fatal dose. He starts to sing when suddenly the ship's interior is illuminated from outside and Hoshi's voice comes through on the com. Finally help has arrived.

After receiving medical treatment back on Galactica, Gaeta is in CIC with Tigh. Saul tells him there will be no investigation into the incident for fear of jeopardising the alliance. Gaeta tells him there shouldn't be an alliance and requests an audience with Adama. Tigh wants to know why and Gaeta tells him “because you're a Cylon...Sir”.

Gaeta leaves CIC. Outside he bumps into Hoshi who wants to know what's going on. Gaeta implies that he has a plan, but seems less than confident as to its outcome. He tells Hoshi to have a bright future and keep his head down.

Thoughts:

An ambiguous ending. What's Gaeta planning? He made it sound awfully important. But what exactly could he tell Adama? That he was fooled back on New Caprica? That the Eight's have traitorous tendencies? Well, Adama's already au fait with that notion, having been shot by one back in the first season. Or is his plan nothing to do with Adama at all?

I thought Tigh took the “because you're a Cylon” comment well. A little too well in fact. What's up with that? You could almost see the mental cogs grinding.....but instead of anger and abuse, he came out with the last thing I expected...a reasonable response. That's not the Saul we know and love. He's chucked people out the airlock for less.

Five dead and no investigation pending? Gaeta must be clapping his hands. He must surely be the prime suspect. His prints were all over the scalpel used to murder Esrin, Finn and Sweet Eight. And what about the morpha that killed Brooks? That was Gaeta's too. Ostensibly he's as guilty as hell. So lucky break for him.

Overall, a pretty good series.....scuppered somewhat by a confusing or maybe just incomplete ending. It had me fooled from the word go and still had me guessing right up until the last episode. I wonder what the knock on effect of the webisodes will be? More tension over the current alliance? Gaeta's trust in the Cylons has certainly taken a knock. I just hope we get some answers in the series proper.

Quotes:

Hoshi: “You're nowhere near the fleet baby, but you're good”.

Gaeta: “I need to speak to the Admiral directly”.
Tigh: “And why would that be?”
Gaeta: “Because you're a Cylon...Sir!”
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Battlestar Galactica 4.11: Sometimes a Great Notion

Some thoughts from Jess Lynde ...

There is a great article over on the Chicago Tribune about last night's BSG. I didn't find it spoilery, but read at your own risk, as it does address that final reveal. It is quite lengthy, but includes an interview with Ron Moore and thoughts from the episode's writers and directors. Here's the link:


http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/entertainment_tv/2009/01/final-fifth-cylon-ellen-tigh-battlestar-galactica-dualla-dee-.html

Some good stuff from Ron in the interview, especially regarding the final reveal of the episode. But I think my favorite part of the article is this bit from David Weddle about his inspiration for the title and the theme of the episode:

"The day the staff finished putting the cards up on the board with Ron, and the day before we began writing, I flashed on my favorite American novel, Sometimes a Great Notion by Ken Kesey. It is a much underappreciated and towering work. Anyone interested in fine literature and great story telling should read Kesey's masterpiece.

"The book opens with a childish rhyme that enunciates the theme of the book and what to me was the theme of our show. `Sometimes I live in the country. Sometimes I live in the town. Sometimes I get a great notion. To jump in the river and drown.'

"In Kesey's book, the hero---Hank Stamper, an Oregon logger---does constant battle with the river that runs past his home, a river that has claimed the lives of pets and loved ones and comes to symbolize the vast and indifferent power of the universe that both gives life and cruelly snatches it away again. In his notes to himself as he was writing the book, Kesey scribbled something that has become one of the shorthand phrases Brad and I use while writing scripts. Kesey wrote: "Try to make Hank quit." By that he meant: take this strong, heroic character and pile one misfortune on his back after another until he finally falls. What happens in that moment? Does he despair? Does he get up and go on? For me, there is no more defining moment for a character.

"We tried to do this with almost all the characters in this episode: Adama, Laura, Kara, Lee. We ripped everything out from under them then sat back to see what they would do. What were their individual breaking points? And if they did break, would they stay broken or grope toward a recovery?"

***

Interesting stuff. I like the dark place to which they took this episode. Dee's suicide was heartbreaking, but made absolute sense. When you've lost everything and all hope is stripped away, someone is bound to break. Dee was a powerful choice, given that she's always been the quiet, calm center, refusing to give up and providing strength to others. If Dee can't continue, where does that leave everyone else?

There were a number of great scenes and shocking moments in this episode, but I think my favorite scene was when Adama, Laura, and Lee returned to Galactica and faced with all the hopeful faces of the crew, Laura simply couldn't say anything. Powerful stuff. My second favorite scene was when Leoben freaked out after finding Starbuck's body and admitted he was wrong about Earth. Even crazy, faith-driven Leoben doesn't know what to make of Kara. Whoa!

I've got tons of questions about the 13th colony, the timing of its destruction, and the final five. And, of course, what the heck is Kara? I'm looking forward to where it goes from here. ... Read full post

Supernatural: Family Remains

Sam: "So it's just a girl?"
Dean: "It's not just a girl. It's psycho Nell. I'm telling ya, man. Humans."

If anything, this episode proved that Supernatural doesn't need supernatural elements to be scary.

But even though it was technically excellent, chilling, and an effective metaphor for Dean's time in Hell (an imprisoned and tormented girl turning into a monster herself), I was oddly disappointed. Maybe Supernatural really does need supernatural elements to work for me. I'm ready for Dean to get over his Hell hangover, too. Part of me wanted to slap him and yell, "Snap out of it!"

The scary house was definitely scary. (Especially the wallpaper.) Even though there were many clues -- a ghost doesn't slash tires and walk off with a trunkload of guns and equipment -- I didn't guess that the girl was alive until right before she walked through the line of salt. The best bit was Kate's hand being licked by something other than the dog, although it was lifted directly from the classic Haunting of Hill House. I also really liked Dean lowering himself into that creepy hole in the floor chanting, "Please nobody grab my leg, please nobody grab my leg." Although Dean should have known better and not left Uncle Ted alone.

Let's protect Mom and Daughter by putting them in the flimsy, scary shed. And leave them alone with no weapons. Oops. And in the end, nobody seemed all that upset about their dead dog, much less Uncle Ted. And what happens next? Can they get out of that mortgage? Talk about a housing crisis.

Yes, Dean and Sam on the road fighting evil, it's what the show is about. But isn't the breaking of the sixty-six seals and the impending apocalypse kind of important? What's happening with that?

Bits and pieces:

-- This was (I think, correct me if I'm wrong) only the second time that the Winchesters fought an evil that was just human. The other was season one's The Benders.

-- Loved the decapitated doll head in the closet.

-- Raw rat. Yum.

-- The writing on the wall was right out of Haunting of Hill House, too. Wait... I think the movie was just called The Haunting. I'm a lot more familiar with the original book by the brilliant Shirley Jackson.

-- A dumbwaiter is supposed to go from one level of a house to another. This one went nowhere. I'm just saying.

-- Did Buster the dog really have to die? Uncle Ted was a tool, so I wasn't all that upset about him, but I hate it when the animal dies.

-- This week: Stratton, Nebraska. The guys were Stanwyck and Babar, county code inspectors. This appears to be a reference to a bit from the movie Fletch. Either that, or to actress Barbara Stanwyck. Possibly both.

Quotes:

Dean: "Well, that's super disturbing."

Kate: "I just got molested by Caspar the pervy ghost."

Danny: "You hunt ghosts?"
Dean: "That's right."
Danny: "Like Scooby Doo?"
Dean: "Better."

Uncle Ted: "You smell that?"
Dean: "Every day."

Dean: "Dog. It's what's for dinner."

Sam: "That's all she talks about. Being pregnant. Being ashamed of being pregnant."
Dean: "Geez. Rent Juno. Get over it."

This one was pure horror movie, and I'll admit it was very well done, even if it was too grim for me,

Billie
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Smallville: Legion

Garth: "Where's your cape?"

Smallville used to be about a young alien -- one alien -- trying to fit in on planet Earth, and about his personal journey toward his destiny as the world's greatest hero. Now it's superhero central. And how convenient that three alien superheroes from the future showed up with exactly the right powers that were needed to turn Brainiac into a big silver bocche ball.

I thought Allison Mack did her usual good job; her Brainiac was actually pretty scary, and all she had as props were a bloody wedding dress and silver contacts. I was also glad that they hit the reset button with Chloe's memories of Clark, because I really didn't like that plot development. But for me, the most interesting thing in this episode was the revelation that Chloe wasn't, or won't be, in the history books; the Legion had never heard of her. What does that mean? Will Chloe die at the end of this season? Or (my choice) will she become someone else? Take another name? Or was this just a fanwanking acknowledgment that Chloe wasn't in the original comic books?

Poor Davis Bloome, Kryptonian pawn, has emerged from his cocoon a total monster. Will he be reverting back to human form as a disguise, or is it a 24/7 change? Does this mean poor Sam Witwer gets to spend the rest of the season in a huge monster suit and horn face, unable to emote?

Davis was programmed to love Chloe only because of Brainiac. It made sense from a plot standpoint, but it also struck me as sort of sad, like Chloe herself isn't worth loving. And it got me to thinking about why I don't like Chloe and Jimmy as a couple. Chloe is a popular character, and the writers are finally moving Clark in Lois' direction, leaving Chloe permanently out in the cold. So I think they wrote Chloe falling in love with Jimmy so that the show doesn't end with her still stuck on Clark. And it feels like a pat fix. It doesn't fit Chloe as a character, and it just doesn't work for me.

Bits and pieces:

-- Despite the futuristic leather and minimalist superhero emblems, I thought the Legion had a medieval Robin Hood kind of vibe. Maybe it was Rokk's hair and beard. Of the three Legion members, I liked Imra the best. She had an interesting quality.

-- Dan, a comic book fan and reader, told me that the whole Legion thing was very fanboy and very well done, and that Clark getting the ring was a big deal. If he says so. He also told me that Brainiac is reprogrammed in the future and becomes a good guy. Like Spike, huh?

-- Clark now has a magic Legion ring good for one trip to 3009. Hey, I have a thought. Maybe that's what will happen to Chloe.

-- Barn go boom. I wonder how many times the Kent farm has been nearly destroyed in the past seven years?

-- Lana was still around but mostly tucked away alone at the Isis Foundation, where she (fortunately) couldn't generate sexual tension with Clark. And apparently, Lana will go on to do incredible things that have nothing to do with Clark. Couldn't she just go and do them already?

-- The moral of the story? Never kill the innocent. Especially if it's Chloe.

What did you all think? Comments welcome,

Billie

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The Oceanic Six: A Conspiracy of Lies

As of this writing, the next new episode of Lost is only 14,531 minutes away. Yes, I’m desperate for more. Yes, I’ve been re-watching old episodes (I recommend the end of Season 3: knowing what we do about what happens, Ben’s dismay and confusion over Locke’s coup is even more powerful). Yes, I’ve been dissecting the new promos and trailers. But no, it isn’t working.

So in a pathetic attempt to satiate my Lost cravings, I’ve been indulging in commentaries, easter eggs, and special features galore. I’m always disappointed by the Lost DVD special features: I want more! I want the drama, heartache, philosophy, and confusion of…okay, I really just want new Lost episodes. But since the impossible is, well, impossible, I recommend for your viewing pleasure The Oceanic Six: A Conspiracy of Lies from the Season 4 DVDs.

The Oceanic Six: A Conspiracy of Lies is allegedly from an “anonymous source,” and purports to investigate the plausibility of the Oceanic Six’s story. The mockumentary uses real-life experts to support its final conclusions that: the crash was staged; the Oceanic Six (and possibly a pregnant woman, to give birth to Aaron) were hidden in a remote location for 108 days; and the entire thing is the work of the U.S. government, the United Nations, or a sinister corporation with nefarious and ambiguous motives.

The mockumentary has the trust-me-I’m-serious narrator, blurry videos, and extremely cheap graphics we’ve come to expect from similar works on the Kennedy assassination, alligators in the sewers, and other completely erroneous, completely earnest documentaries. It’s structured as an investigative narrative, proposing and discarding theories (like cannibalism) as new evidence comes to light.

Occasionally, bold-fonted words pop up over the on-screen images: “Truth?” or “Lying” or simply, “?”. The best one, of course, is the narrator’s final assertion that the Oceanic Six, instead of being lured by money, must in fact be living in fear. On-screen graphic: “Of What?” and “Of Whom?” How can you not trust a conspiracy theorist who knows his objective case?

Of course, this mockumentary assumes that we’re familiar with the travails of the Oceanic Six as their story was told to the general public. Whether or not such notoriety will prove an important plot point for our plucky band of heroes remains to be seen. But it’s also pretty cool to see a tongue-in-cheek acknowledgment by the Lost Power that Be of the impossibility of the little things: grooming, changes of clothes, lack of sunburns and weight loss. And there’s something neat about the sense of being included in a gigantic in-joke.

Does The Oceanic Six: A Conspiracy of Lies make the waiting any easier? Not really. But, at about 25 minutes in length, it helps pass the time. All 14,531 minutes of it.
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