Lost: The Variable

Sawyer: "Is he still crazy?"
Miles: "It's on a whole new level, man."

I have to say that I'm just floored. That Eloise. What a bitch.

She knew for thirty years that she killed her own son in 1977, and she never even tried to warn him. She guided him in the path that would lead him to his death, and she wouldn't even let him play the freaking piano. If it had been my son, I would have told him the story every single day. I would have had it tattooed upside down on his chest. Jeez Louise.

That was what the scene with Daniel and Charlotte was all about. Daniel believed there was no point in warning little Charlotte, but he had to try, anyway. Because he loved her. Didn't his mother love him? Did she keep her distance his entire life, knowing what would happen?

The conversation that Eloise and Charles Widmore had in Long Beach intimated that they really did have no choice. The only thing that would even partially excuse them as parents is if they knew with absolute certainty, for sure and no mistake, that it was impossible to save their son. Was there another reason? Was Daniel's death critical to the survival of the Island, maybe? Did they love the freaking Island more than their own son? Why wouldn't that surprise me? Ben sacrificed his daughter for the Island, too. Maybe it's an Others trend.

The Losties book-clubby meeting in Sawyer and Juliet's living room was great fun. We haven't seen the cast together all season, and I don't think we've ever seen them all in one room. And apparently, they're not supposed to be in 1977 after all, so we can forget all that destiny crap. (That was Eloise's fault, too.)

Was Faraday wrong about people being variables? The gun Daniel carried that got him shot was Kate's idea; whatever happened, happened. I can't imagine the sort of re-write they'd have to do if the Losties succeeded in stopping "the incident" with Jughead. It'd be nuts. And let's face it, Radzinsky deserves to spend the next twenty some years pushing a button; he's insufferable.

Trickstersonii on my Lostreviews list suggested that the Losties will try to use Jughead to prevent "the incident" but that it will actually cause the catastrophe, not stop it. Meaning that the Losties cannot change the course of history and are, in fact, the reason they themselves crashed on the Island in the first place. It's beautifully circular. I like it. Print it up.

Character bits:

-- We were right about Ellie being Eloise. Where was Daniel Faraday in 1977, by the way? When was he born, and where? Was it on the Island, one assumes? Was young Daniel in the camp, even? Widmore was his father, so where did the name Faraday come from?

-- If Daniel experimented first on himself and he was all right (before doing something awful to his girlfriend Theresa Spencer), then why was he all screwed up and memory-less in 2004? Did I forget something? Who was Caroline, who was with him then? A nurse? Did he leave her before he did her in, too?

-- Charlotte definitely wasn't born in 1979, because she'd be minus two. According to an article someone posted, the actress said 1979 instead of 1970 and no one caught it. Ah, vanity.

-- Desmond was indeed shot, but is now recovering in Marina Medical Center in Long Beach. Desmond, Daniel's "constant," was Daniel's brother-in-law. Penny will probably never know she had a half-brother. (Another familiar Lost theme, huh? Jack and Claire never knew, either.)

-- The "incident" and upcoming evacuation explains why Charlotte and Miles didn't grow up on the Island. It doesn't explain how so many survived it.

-- This week's nicknames: Sawyer called Faraday "Twitchy" and "H.G. Wells."

Bits and pieces:

-- The Lost credit at the beginning faded into a star field and a commercial for the Star Trek movie. Very funny. I'm a big Star Trek geek and can't wait. I'm definitely reviewing it, by the way.

-- Is Jeremy Davies out of the cast? Or is he going to hang around as one of the Walking Dead? I guess, since he time travels, he could probably keep on showing up alive until the end of the series, too.

-- The grant Widmore gave Faraday was 1.5 million pounds. But the code for the fence is 141717, which I don't think can be massaged in any way into Hurley's numbers.

-- The restaurant where Faraday met his mother after he got his doctorate was the Kashmir Curry. I think. I was reading it backward. I don't suppose there's an anagram in there? Maybe there was a meaningful statue or something.

-- What was on the TV in the hospital waiting room in Long Beach? I'm sure it was also something important that I didn't recognize.

-- The music young Daniel Faraday was playing on the piano was the classical piece which was made into a popular song called, "I'm always chasing rainbows." Fitting.

-- It looked like there was another "death by rampaging dental filling" under the Orchid.

-- Four hours until "the incident." Time is running out.

Quotes:

Young Daniel: "But I want to keep playing the piano. I can do both. I can make time."
Eloise: "If only you could."

Faraday: "Hey, James."
Sawyer: "Welcome to the meeting, Twitchy."

Hurley: "You guys were in 1954? Like, Fonzie times?"

Penny: "Is Des going to be okay?"
Eloise: "I don't know. For the first time in a long time, I don't know what's going to happen next."

Kate: "He's talking about erasing everything that's happened to us, Jack. It's insane."
Jack: "We disappeared off a plane in mid-air and ended up in 1977. Getting kind of used to insane."

We all expect something special of a 100th episode, and we definitely got something special. I didn't care all that much about Daniel Faraday, so his death didn't break me up or anything. But by the end of the episode, I felt such compassion for the poor guy,

Billie

All of my Lost reviews are archived here.
Screencap credit: LostMedia
(Season 5, episode 14)

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Fringe: Midnight

“Alone in a darkened room.”
“I wanna tear you apart.”

We’ve only got two episodes left of this, our first season in the Fringe Division. Some major answers seem to be coming, and many of them appear to revolve around William Bell and the role of Massive Dynamics in the experimentations on human beings. Could it all be as simple as figuring out that William Bell is a bad guy? And how does that relate to our Theme of the Week, redemption?


Dr. Boone was something of a boon for our heroes. He had all the answers. Then again, he asked for quite a few boons from them, too. A boon can be a gift, “a thing freely given,” according to the OED. But it can also be the request itself, the act of asking for something to be given—the doctor engaged in both definitions. The nature of the gift is interesting. The bestower never gives just the gift, but also an obligation to ‘deserve’ the gift, retroactively. That’s why we write thank you notes: to prove that we’ve earned what’s already been given, and to return the gift with the gift of gratitude. The ultimate gift is sacrifice of the self, but it also carries the ultimate obligation. Dr. Boone sacrificed himself to save his wife, so her obligation is to live a life worthy of that sacrifice. But in a Christological understanding of the gift (which is almost the required lens through which to view self-sacrifice), an obligation also falls on the witnesses to that boon.

Here, that’s Olivia, Peter, Astrid, and Walter. With the possible exception of Astrid, about whom we know exactly nothing, each of our characters has something to atone for. Walter (who really opens up when he senses an intellect akin to his own) desired redemption, as was highlighted in his discussion with Dr. Boone. Walter worries that the soul might exist, and that his might be doomed. I wonder how, and when, Walter realized the evil that comes from overzealous scientific pragmatism. Did he finally get around to reading Frankenstein? Was it in his time in St. Claire’s? And on a loftier level, how does the obligation of the witness come into play, when the witness was already unsure of the state of his own soul? Midnight, notably, is also a time in which the balance between good and evil is up for grabs—a moment of possible redemption, or possible damnation. (That’s only been true since we had clocks, though. Before that, noon was a creepy time. Seriously.)

As far as the mythology goes, Walter’s attempts at redemption might help us clear up who’s who in the big war: the bad guys are the scientists without morality (whether on this plane or another) and the good guys are the ones reacting to the scientists. Reaction, of course, is the prerogative of law enforcement—“taking the war to them” hasn’t, historically speaking, been super-successful or entirely legal.

Walter’s philosophical and soteriological musings were interestingly counterpointed by his exuberance over The Clapper. (Although I probably feel that way if I had one, as well.) He even made cookies for the EMTs. Peter ran hot and cold, too. His statement about hating the cold when he and Olivia discovered the body spoke volumes about his comfort level with all the death that they’re forced to experience on a weekly basis, but he opted out of the quick insult to the girl at the club: I was quite worried that he was going to tell her she wasn’t “hot enough.” And he got to play with the lights and siren. Although I’d probably do that, too, if I could.

As far as the ‘home stuff’ goes, let’s take a minute and have a shout-out to all the single mothers out there. Yes, it’s got to be damn hard, both personally and dealing with the guff that people are willing to dole out. Very little rest, lots of work, all the blame. But I (as someone without kids) like to think that it would be okay to portray a happy single mother who isn’t reduced to tears at the sight of a marginally contented couple. Surely, some people are comfortable with the choices they’ve made. Rachel’s angst about her soon-to-be ex was pretty tough, though. Sounds like divorcing him was a good idea.

The Good:

• Bauhaus, She Wants Revenge, NIN, and Ladytron? Yipee! Yes, my musical tastes run to the discordant and gloomy. So it does drive me crazy when discordant and gloomy songs are used to portray how evil someone is, or to imply that all poorly lit nightclubs are populated by evil denizens. But it’s still nice to see these exciting bands get some mainstream airplay.
• “Just for the record: one mad scientist is my limit.”

The Bad:

• Biological attacks? Let’s not get all conspiracy-crazy about swine flu. Or maybe we should.
• “Shrimp cocktail.” It is unbelievably disgusting. Almost as gross a syphilis. Or all those bloody spines.
• One of the photos that Olivia showed Dr. Boone was of a guy in the weeds, who I think was the same guy that Peter and Olivia discovered later in the episode.

C’mon, That’s Ridiculous:

• “No, there are no vampires, sadly.” Everyone here knows that Walter’s wrong about that one.
• Boone’s wife craved spinal fluid because the contagion used hers all up. So she drank other people’s. Analogously, drinking blood would cure leukemia. Or eating arms would replace missing limbs.
• Did you know that St. Clare is the patron saint of, among other things, television? That's gotta be a Vatican II thing.

This episode was heavy on the set-up and deep thoughts. I’m curious to see how the next two episodes play out, although, having read a truly marvelous casting spoiler about next season, I have some suspicions that nothing will wrap up neatly. Let’s stay mum about the spoiler (if you know what it is) in the comments section, as people who don’t want to be spoiled shouldn’t be tricked into it. I ask it of you, as a boon.

Three out of four Shrimp Cocktails.

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

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Caprica

I should tell you that I was hesitant about reviewing Caprica because of my disappointment of the final years of Battlestar Galactica. However, I have always been fascinated by history and this seemed like a window into Ron Moore’s vision of what life on the 12 Colonies was all about. So I pressed on and purchased the Caprica dvd. Immediately, I was concerned that this extended version of the pilot runs at only 1 hour 30 min compared to the Battlestar Galactica Mini-series that re-launched the show. There is an overall feel of a very small budget as the virtual nightclub scene is repeatedly used to the detriment of overall pacing. I did not feel any real interest until about 20 minutes into the pilot. Although, once we see some slightly familiar mechanical friends, that’s where the money is well spent. Overall this does not have the epic nature of BSG, its far more intimate and confined. This really strikes me when the credits roll and I see how few names are listed.

As the show begins we get a glimpse of what life is like for our two main families, the family Adams and the family Graystone. Joseph Adams played by Esai Morales, is not the great civil liberties lawyer we heard about in BSG, rather he works as a lawyer for a crime syndicate made up of other Taurons, including his brother Sam and run by a Godfather who evokes Lee Strasberg as Hyman Roth more than Brando’s Vito Corleone. I am instantly drawn into this underworld and hungry for Tauron culture as names are pronounced with an ethnic ring to them.

Then we have Daniel Graystone played by Eric Stoltz as a wealthy computer genius working on a combat robot that will make or break his company. He and his wife, played by Deadwood's Paula Malcomson are having issues with their daughter Zoe, something of a genius like her father. She has hacked a virtual reality system that the children of Caprica use to escape and engage in extreme forms of entertainment. At first it seems this is a sign of the decadent society of Caprica. Yet I would agrue that it would almost bolster an argument that the children of Caprica are not so lost if they are acting out these fantasies with VR instead of real life.

Tragedy strikes and seems to bring Joseph and Daniel together as they grieve over their loss. This is where the true nature of our story takes place, the temptation that is put before both of these men. For Joseph, he has already faced a life of hardship and has worked through it to become a lawyer. He makes compromises all the time (pay attention to the knowing glance he gives a judge during his court room scene) and is used to living with such consequences. Daniel on the other hand has created wealth by using technology to overcome problems with seemingly little compromise. Joseph born as a “dirt-eater” or peasant on Tauron is more “down to Earth” as it were. Daniel in his clean and pristine house on the lake, loaded with technology represents science and man’s lack of humanity. Watch as his wife and daughter argue, he is dispassionate and is removed.
Perhaps its this great personal loss that causes Joseph to stop running from his past and embrace it. To acknowledge to his son that he is not an Adams but is proud to be an Adama. He returns to his earthy roots instead of retreating into an artificial reality as Graystone does.

There are of course some other plot lines regarding religious zealots and the crime syndicate. But those pale in comparison to the human drama of what these two fathers are going through and how each of them decides to ultimately deal with it. Without spoiling anything, there is a point where I sat watching Joseph and Daniel talk and I asked myself…how are they even at this point in their relationship….and in this scene lies a moment of genius that I’ve seen from Ron Moore. The question is answered for me. That’s when it strikes me how much potential this show may have. Yet much of it seems stripped away by the revelation at the end as the implications of that moment thoroughly destroy the end of BSG. Also, watching the scenes regarding the “Soldiers of the One” makes me feel like I am viewing someone prepare a sheep for slaughter. I want to look away because I know how it will ultimately end. I don’t want to get attached to the creature for I know it’s fate will not end well.

However, the brilliant performances of Morales and Stoltz will likely pull me into this show once it begins in full swing. Then we’ll see if Ron Moore can deliver something more than a simple retelling of Frankenstein meets The Monkey’s Paw.

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Heroes: An Invisible Thread

Hiro: "Payback is very bitchy."

They didn't go flashy; they went smart. What an interesting choice for a season finale. Not that it wasn't cool, because it was. The second half in particular.

I've always liked Nathan as a character, at least until they started frakking around with his motivation. And now he's dead. (I should have known the moment he "came out of the closet" with his powers that it was curtains for Nathan. Lacy, gently wafting curtains.)

But as fond as I am of Nathan as a character, I'm much fonder of Adrian Pasdar as an actor. How long will he be playing Sylar? A few episodes? Permanently? Will he need Matt to stop by and give him periodic booster brain wipes? Has Zachary Quinto been written out to do Star Trek movies while his character remains? I'm actually interested in where they go with this. I really was ready for the end of Sylar because I didn't think there was anything else they could do with him. Guess I was wrong.

And of course, "imprinting" Sylar with Nathan was a huge mistake. You can forcefeed him with memories and make him attend joint sessions of Congress, but won't Sylar still be evil at his core? Won't the real Sylar eventually emerge? Of course, he will. What would be the point if he didn't?

So Peter did pick up all of Sylar's powers when he touched him, and then he outsmarted him by becoming the president first. (Can I call it, or what?) But what about now? Will Peter hang on to all of Sylar's powers indefinitely, until he purposefully touches someone else? Would touching "Nathan" again restore them?

While Sylar was becoming a cast member of Dollhouse, Hiro with the nosebleeds and exploding brain was visiting this season of Lost. Although I did love the Noah/Danko frozen handshake, as well as Hiro and Ando replacing all of the unconscious heroes with frozen soldiers.

So fun was had. This was a clever, visually exciting, and well written episode. But I'm not sure I'm completely back on board. You know why? Nathan's actual death should have upset me, and it didn't. I don't think I'm emotionally involved any more.

Bits and pieces:

-- Viking funeral, too, like on Supernatural. So we had Dollhouse, Lost, *and* Supernatural, my three favorite currently running shows. No wonder this episode felt mildly familiar.

-- Whatever happened to the red goop brigade? Is it a dropped plot, or will we hear about it in the future?

-- "End of volume four. Volume five: Redemption." Tracy's back. Or is it Barbara? And lots of ticking. We know Sylar is in there.

Yes, they pulled it out. Yes, there will be a fourth season. But even though I'll definitely keep watching, I'm unsure about whether or not I'm still fan enough to want to review season four. Please post a comment and tell me what you think. Do you still love Heroes? Do you feel strongly about me continuing to review it? Or should I give a reviewing slot to another show? (I can only do so many. :)

Billie

All of my Heroes reviews are archived here.

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Chuck: Chuck versus the Ring

“The BuyMore is no more.”

It’s pretty much impossible—even if you live spoiler-clean—to avoid going into a season finale with certain expectations. All of us here on billiedoux.com seemed more apprehensive than anything else: how, with the sense of loose ends tied and threads snipped, could we get anything other than the series finale we’re all fearing?

The promos for the season finale made me expect an entirely wedding-centric episode, with a largish gun battle at the end, the victory of good over evil, and Sarah and Chuck walking happily into the sunset. Maybe Casey could even meet a special honey at the reception. Given Chuck’s ambiguous fate, I assumed the Powers that Be would wrap things up and, if necessary, reboot next fall.

I was dead wrong. (And please, don’t read the rest of this review until you’ve watched the episode.)

The wedding battle came way, way earlier than I’d expected, which gave Chuck a great excuse to blow his massive tax refund/spy bailout/hush money on Wedding 2.0 with some hilarious help from the Special Forces. Ellie and Awesome are now married. So that’s all good. And by the way, did you notice that Sarah’s bridesmaid dress had a detachable skirt? Most dresses don’t have that kind of promise built right into the design. Or maybe I’ve just been in the wrong weddings.

What isn’t good (or maybe it is?) is Chuck’s decision to download Intersect 3.0. Sarah had been willing to give it all up for him, and he’d already nixed the analyst job (I guess the general and I think alike), so he had the chance to finally make his dream come true. Instead, he chose to reload his mental firepower. The kung-fu skills were an unknown extra—and hey! Chuck finally got those superpowers he’s always wanted.

Earlier in the episode, Morgan and Chuck had a heart-to-heart about the difficulty of following one’s dream: it’s risky and hard, and the bigger the dream, the riskier and harder it will be to achieve. Chuck’s dream has always been to be with Sarah, right? So was he so scared to risk his heart that he uploaded the Intersect again? Or did he realize that the “greater good” was more important this his own happiness? Or did he finally decide that he likes being a spy? That last one seems like the easiest answer, but I’m not sure. Chuck has always been a bit gun-shy. He’s worked at a BuyMore for a billion years, for goodness sake. Is being a spy his excuse for not getting serious with Sarah?

Bryce Larson said Fulcrum is just one part of “The Ring,” and the baddies in the Castle weren’t affiliated with Fulcrum but were still up to no good. Sounds a bit like Tolkien-level evil to me, which is something to look forward to. Speaking of which, if next season happens . . . well, what would be different? Chuck kickin’ ass instead of just flashing names, for one. The possible removal of the BuyMore from the story (it has been an odd fit, especially lately). Awesome knows Chuck is a spy, which means Ellie has got to know at some point. Chuck and Sarah are back to work versus love. And they didn’t even get to have sex.

The past few episodes have been so darn good. I really hope that they renew for next year, even just 13 episodes. I’ll let you all know when I know, which I think is sometime in May.

In the meantime, please enjoy these Refreshing Quotes:

• Casey: “If you were a true patriot, you wouldn’t cash it.”

• Chuck: “See, guys can hug.”
Casey: “Not if they don’t have their man parts.”

• Chevy Chase: “If you don’t deliver that cube within a half hour, forty minutes, top, with traffic, I’m going to kill the bride.”

• Papa Awesome: “Why are you letting Sam Kinnison and an Indian lesbian wreck your wedding?”

• Chevy Chase: “A real shotgun wedding. Just think: that terrible pun will be the last thing you’ll ever hear.”

• Casey: “No, no, no. That clashes with the bunting.”

• Casey: “Oh, chuck me.”

• Chuck: “Guys, I know kung-fu.”

Four out of four sexy, possibly evil and certainly overly pragmatic, guest-starring, surprising, former college roommates who sacrifice everything and leave Sarah’s heart free. In other words, four out of four Bryce Larkins. May he rest in peace.

All of my Chuck reviews are archived here.
(Season 2, episode 22)

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Summer reviewing plans, part one

The finales are coming. The summer television wasteland will be here before you know it.

Summer has always been my time to regroup and let my brain air out while I catch up on retro reviews. But this summer, it'll be different. It won't be just me. This summer, I have (let me pause while I rub my hands together and cackle) GUEST WRITERS. Mwa-ha-ha-ha.

This summer, Paul Kelly and I will post reviews of the first four seasons of the new Doctor Who. Paul is doing Rose (seasons 1 and 2), while I'm doing Martha and Donna (3 and 4). What makes these reviews different than anything I've done before is that we're collaborating. I'll be adding a section of my own to Paul's reviews, and he'll be doing the same for me. Is that cool, or what?

The Doctor Who reviews will start going up on May 1 -- here on the blog first, and then archived on my site. We're hoping to do one season per month so we'll be caught up by September. And I hope you'll watch -- or re-watch -- the first four seasons with us. You don't have to be familiar with the old Who to watch the new Who. Take it from me, because I'm new to Who, too.

My other summer plans? I'm going to finish Highlander. I was so close to the end when I had to stop, and I'm incapable of leaving a show unfinished. And I'm thinking pretty seriously about Torchwood. Doing the new Doctor Who without its crossover spinoff Torchwood would be like yummy popcorn but without butter and salt. I love Torchwood, mostly because I love Captain Jack. How can you not love a bisexual immortal time traveler who looks like John Barrowman? Plus, hey, James Marsters guest starred. Another big incentive for me.

Our other guest writers also have some intriguing summer plans that are still in the planning stages, so check back for further announcements. This is going to be the most exciting reviewing summer I've ever had. I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to it. (cackle, cackle.)

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Dollhouse: Haunted

Boyd: "So we can give you life after death."
Topher: "Only if we really like you."

The preview for this episode turned me off. Just a murder mystery with a twist, I thought. So I wasn't expecting it to be so good. Stories like this one are what I was originally hoping Dollhouse could be.

Do people really love us for ourselves? What do they really think of us? Who will mourn us when we're gone? Adelle's friend Margaret (or rather, Margaret's imprint) discovered that her beloved son was a compulsive gambler who poisoned her for her money, and it broke her heart. But at least, she also learned that her daughter and her brother truly loved her. And, unexpectedly, so did her young trophy husband. And she got to posthumously right some wrongs, like re-write her will. Who wouldn't want a chance to do that?

And she didn't even try to keep Echo's body. At the end of the episode, I liked Margaret enormously. And I thought better of Adelle for having such a quality friend.

What really interested me, though, was the concept of dolls as life after death. My favorite science fiction author, John Varley, wrote several times about a future method of immortality: clones with memory imprints, like Margaret's. People get scans every now and then, and when they die, a clone is created and downloaded with their last brain scan. Someone goes on, and they look like you and they act like you and they even think they're you -- but they're not you. You're still dead and gone. Ersatz immortality, but better than nothing. Or is it?

Has someone actually done this in the Dollhouse 'verse? Is there a doll out there living someone else's life? I bet if someone has thought of it, someone has done it.

So Topher has his hand in the Dollhouse cookie jar, too, much like Adelle. Who was this person that Topher had imprinted once a year to play with? A real person that Topher cared about, or a construct? Male or female? Not that it matters, since Topher is so asexual. I suppose it doesn't matter.

This was the first time I felt any empathy at all for Topher. He's brilliant but childlike, and he has no one to play with. How narcissistic that he imprinted a buddy just like himself, not a lover or someone with a different perspective. Adelle's understanding was, well, understandable, I guess, considering she had a similar need. But note that she let Topher have it, while denying it to herself.

On to Paul and Mellie, who aren't doing so good. Paul isn't faking it well; he can't control his anger. I was disappointed in him taking out his frustrations on Mellie by getting rough with her in the bedroom. He knows what she is; he knows it isn't her fault. That wasn't very nice of him, was it?

Bits and pieces:

-- I thought "Margaret" was way too exuberant when she "awoke", too accepting of her own death. Later, it felt more logical; she seemed to be that kind of person, joy in the moment, acceptance of the inevitable.

-- Paul brought November's fingerprints to his friend at the FBI, and the file imploded. This can't be good for Paul. Or his friend.

-- Boyd was still fretting about being separated from Echo. I saw no sign of Echo's new handler in this episode, probably because the mission was off the grid and the Dollhouse was officially "inactive."

-- Speaking of which, Victor got an imprint as a horse breeder. No vacation for him. Or for Echo, November, or Sierra. Everyone else was down, and our four lead dolls were still working. And I thought they were the problem dolls?

-- Margaret got to ride her horse one final time. I know that if it were me, I'd want to spend time with my two cats.

-- Nice performances by Olivia Williams and Eliza Dushku. I particularly loved Eliza's performance on the terrace when her "son" hit on her and she was trying not to throw up. Very cute.

Quotes:

Topher: "You were no fun as Echo's handler, and now you get to be twice as no fun as head of security."

Echo/Margaret: "Am I being paranoid?"
Adelle: "You spent a year and a half having regular, painful brain scans because you thought someone was going to murder you. Paranoid is still a contender."

Boyd: "Eternal life."
Adelle: "Nice adjective. Excellent noun."

Sierra: "Speaking of sci-fi, can we play with the sleepies?"
Topher: "No."
Sierra: "Come on, Topher. We could have them battle one another and bet on them like gladiators."

Topher: "In a world where all men are guilty until proven dead..." Where was that from? It sounded like a quote.

Mellie: "I don't want you thinking I'm in here nuzzling your shirts while you're gone. Anything weird like that."
Paul: "Good to know."
Mellie: "I mean, they smell really good. Some of them, not so much. But overall, your shirts are nuzzle-worthy."

Echo/Margaret: "Will I see my whole life flash before my eyes?"
Adelle: "Every single moment."

Excellent. I am starting to seriously like this show. And waiting on renewal news is getting aggravating. Enough with the suspense, you nasty Fox suits,

Billie

All of my Dollhouse reviews are archived here.

Season one, episode ten.

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Supernatural: Jump the Shark

Dean: "Adam doesn't have to be cursed."
Sam: "He's a Winchester. He's already cursed."

Creepy. Nightmare-inducing. Also tragic.

Supernatural is the only show I watch that sometimes scares me. Something under the bed grabs you, drags you under, and eats you alive? Plus we had Dean buried in a crypt full of body parts, as well as crawling through tight spaces -- twice. Yes, let's hit some of the big fears, why don't we? Personally, I'm never parking over a grate again.

Dean told Sam, "I think it's too late for us." As if they were ruined, somehow. That really got to me. There will be no happy ending for the Winchesters. No real friends, no marriages, no kids, no future. Dean and Sam will keep doing what they do until something gets them. (Or the world ends, or they kill each other, whichever comes first.) They don't feel sorry for themselves; they just do the job. It's high tragedy.

Unfortunately, it was too late for Adam, too. His ignorance of who he was actually killed him. Dean and Sam had a brother, and they'll never get to know him. I did fall for it; I thought Adam was the real deal, so good writing, there. And Adam was believable as their brother. He was smart, brave, straight-forward; he was even a good shot. What a horrible way to die. I liked that they gave him a Viking funeral, a hunter's funeral, like their father.

Dean couldn't accept Adam's existence because he couldn't let John topple off his pedestal. I completely understand Dean's need to see his father as a hero. But Dean spent his deprived, lonely childhood on the road taking care of Sam; he wouldn't be human if he didn't envy Adam, just a little. If Dean ever really thought about what John did to him, he'd never stop being angry about it. Yes, John taught his two elder sons how to protect themselves, how to fight evil. But he also took away their childhoods and any possibility of a normal life.

And yet, I can't blame John, either. He never chose the life; it happened to him because Mary was a hunter. And Mary had no choice because her parents were hunters. It's like human dominoes.

Sam's reaction to Adam's doppelganger was a lot more positive than Dean's, and why not? This time, Sam got to be the wise older brother, the one to teach Adam what he needed to know. And Adam was in college like Sam, too. Sam has become so powerful (clearly, his psychic crap doesn't work on ghouls) that it was a shock to see him totally helpless and bleeding out. A reminder that Sam isn't evil, and isn't a demon. Yet, anyway.

Maybe that was the point of this episode. Sam and Dean are family, and they trust only each other. Again, and still.

Bits and pieces:

-- Jump the shark. What a great title. Especially since Supernatural keeps getting better and most certainly hasn't jumped the shark. So what did it mean in relation to the story? Is introducing a formerly unknown sibling a shark-jumping plot?

-- Dean doesn't wake up well when he's slept in the car. Sam apparently does fine, because he was brushing his teeth in the great outdoors. I wonder if they did a sleeping in the car scene so they wouldn't have to set dress two motel rooms? (Loved the oars.)

-- Dean got out of the crypt by using a coffin rail to break a stained glass window of an angel. A little interesting symbolism there.

-- Keep pressure on that? How is Sam supposed to keep pressure on both arms at once? With the arms he's supposed to keep pressure on?

-- Ghouls apparently take the form of the last person they ate. That was a particularly ghoulish twist. Pun intended. Why did the ghouls collect Sam's blood in bowls? To drink? It reminded me of Meg and the bowl of blood.

-- Adam Milligan and his mother lived in Windom, Minnesota. Mom was a nurse. A number of female characters in Supernatural have been nurses.

-- Dean did FBI agent Nugent again.

Quotes:

Sam: "A hunter rolls into town, kills a monster, saves the girl, sometimes a girl's grateful."
Dean: "Now I'm thinking about Dad sex. Stop talking."

Adam: "Okay. So basically you're saying that every movie monster, every nightmare that I've ever had, that's all real."
Dean: "Godzilla's just a movie."

Cemetery guy: "Tell me, Agent Nugent, have you thought about where you might like to spend eternity?"
Dean: "All the damned time."

Dean: "Sloppy Joe."
Ick. Dean, how could you? Yeah, I know, snark in the face of extreme danger. But really, Dean.

Shuddery and scary. And ick,

Billie

All of my Supernatural reviews are archived here.
Screencap credit: http://caps.oxoniensis.org/
Season four, episode nineteen

... Read full post

Smallville: Stiletto

Lois: "Next time, I call myself Nike."

Fun, frothy episode. A lot of Lois and her superhero jones, which is always good. And some primo Lois and Clark stuff. Yay.

I went "aww" three times when Lois and Clark were on the phone. When Clark gave Lois the story on the Red Blue Blur that she wanted so badly. When he told her she could name him (like she did in the Superman movie.) And the third time, when Lois opened the door to an off-the-record friendship. Will there be romantic phone calls in future episodes? Is that how they're going to get around Clark never quite getting into the big blue costume?

Speaking of which, that was some outfit Lois squeezed herself into. Loved the squeaking leather. And I immediately thought she would quickly regret those heels, and she did. (How could anyone fight crime in five-inch heels? It's hard enough to walk across a room.) Clark knew it was Lois immediately, and said he'd know her even if she had a bag over her head. What about when it's finally finally finally Clark's turn? Lois is in love with Clark; won't she know him immediately?

While Lois and Jimmy were all heroic, poor Chloe was tossing Hefty bags full of body parts into the dumpster. (Not that the bad guy didn't deserve getting torn apart.) This week's Most Obvious Symbolism was the red scarf that Chloe wore around her neck to cover her wound; it reminded me of enthralled Dracula victims hiding their bite marks, and symbolized her relationship with Davis in a great big way. Chloe won't be able to handle this for long. But at least she doesn't have to stay in the hospital for observation; she has her own monster EMT in the basement. Convenient.

Odd that we didn't even see Davis in this episode. More Chloe and Davis, please. I wouldn't mind seeing some hot monster love. Does that make me bad?

Bits and pieces:

-- "Blur-etto." Fun, and shades of Clois. And much more wholesome than the fan reference to slash incest on Supernatural last week.

-- Lois is a superhero for five minutes, and already has Metropolis' most deadly crime gang after her? And strung-out Jimmy is working for them, too? What a coincidence. Metropolis must be an extremely small place, Billie said sarcastically.

-- Jimmy has hit bottom. I'm paralyzed by not caring all that much. And now he's passing counterfeit money infected with Kryptonite. Evil, poisoned money, huh? Can you say, more obvious symbolism?

-- A spike heel over a klieg light. Very funny. I'd really like to see that.

-- Has Lois' hair gotten even darker, or is it just me? Whatever. Looks terrific.

Quotes (all Lois):

"It's not like I squeezed into five-inch booted heels for my health."
"I'm going to sew an S into the chest. Is that tacky?"
"Nothing like a double frosted bear claw to ease the pain of a flesh wound, right?"
"Look who got grazed by a funny bullet."

Solid and fun. And hey, still no Lana. It's like the old Saturday Night Live sketch about Generalissimo Francisco Franco still being dead; no Lana in a Smallville episode is always cause to celebrate,

Billie

ed here.
Screencap credit: Kryptonsite.

... Read full post

Fringe: Bad Dreams

“Gruesome.”

Cortexiphan, an experimental drug, heightens perception and can possibly allow transportation to a parallel universe. A hyperemotive part-time psychotic with suicidal ideations who is given the drug as a child can therefore cause his emotions to become contagious. A person with whom this Typhoid Mary of the mind had formed a childhood bond could then become part of the moment in which these emotions reach the crisis point, resulting in images of the crisis (murder, suicide, whatever) to be experienced by the bondee. Said person, coincidentally, is our heroine Olivia Dunham.

Well, at least we didn’t get the tank again.

Olivia’s childhood trauma seems a bit hackneyed to me. Sure, it allows us to see Olivia without her game face on, but it feels false in the context of the larger narrative. Why has this never come up before? Has she never had an unexplained “flash” (to steal a term from Chuck) before? And sure, it ups her personal stake in the crimes that she’s called in to solve, but isn’t her personal stake just to do good? Why isn’t that enough?

The chess board in Nick’s apartment symbolized his relationship to Olivia: black and white, two equal sides forced to contend for dominance. The parallels were played up in the symmetry between their morning routines, too. But what determined which side went evil and which side went good? Maybe this is why the ZFT/Olivia/experimentation thing isn’t doing it for me: one childhood trauma does not an adult personality make, but we’re not getting any of the in-between stuff. Point in fact: how does all this hullabaloo related to Olivia’s crime against her stepfather?

And what’s up with the ZFT text? It’s almost more than a manifesto: it seems to have contagion properties of its own, causing a zealotry that transcends even religious fervor, because it’s against a mysterious and intangible force. Yes, I’m assuming that religious craziness that isn’t self-directed (like Jim Jones) requires a specific enemy, like the Albigensians.

Peter said that he’d always thought that Walter’s craziness was something that Walter had done to Peter and his mother. Olivia’s trauma made Peter reconsider this, in light of the pain of losing one’s mind. But the scene at the end shows that Walter, with his partner Bell, did inflict his loony ideas on people, specifically on Olivia and Nick.

And to sum up (and if I get something wrong, please help me out in the comments or via email!):

We’ve got Walter and his old partner Bell. Both were responsible for past atrocities. Nowadays, Walter’s pretty much persona non grata on the big stage of crazy, but Bell is still doing something. What he’s doing, though, is ambiguous—are all those clues that the Massive Dynamics lady helped Olivia with just deflection from the real story? Is she the Holland Manners of this universe?

We’ve got people who were experimented on in their youth (and this seems to exclude Peter, at least for now). They could be playing on either side, depending on . . . something.

We’ve got the Observer and the little boy from Inner Child. They don’t seem evil, just wacky.

We’ve got denizens of a parallel universe. Are these the time-traveling aliens mentioned in Ability? Are they the bad guys? Why? What makes them bad?

A war seems to imply that there are two sides, but maybe not. Surely each group is looking out for their own and maybe allying with other groups. But I can’t keep the groups straight, and I’m unclear on what a war would even constitute. What are they fighting for? The Fringe Science Nobel Prize?

On the artistic side, the stroller in the subway station was a great example of a well-done allusion: it evoked the Untouchables just enough to make me nervous but not enough to be overwhelming—and that evocation is what make it unnerving. The reference had a purpose. The red balloon thing, though, might have been a reference to the 1956 Limorisse short film about, you guessed it, a red balloon. Is there a point to that homage?


The Good:

• Walter should sing and/or dance in every episode.

• Walter: “What is mankind’s oldest dream?”
Astrid: “World peace.”
Walter: “Oh, hardly. It’s a social construct imposed by an awareness of our own mortality.”
The first time through, I though Walter said “Soviet construct,” which would have been much funnier.

• Walter: “You see, often, when we experimented on children . . .”
Peter: “Okay, can we just stop right there, and analyze that sentence?”

• Astrid: “What’s happening? Is he hurting her?”
Olivia: “Oh, oh!”
Peter: “Oh.”
Walter: “Oh. I see.”

The Bad:

• Was the secondary Theme of the Week, coffee? Maybe that's a subset of the primary Theme: mind-alteration.

• Denizens of a parallel universe? Groan. Although it looks like we’ll find out more about all that next week.

• Castenada? Double groan.


C’mon, That’s Ridiculous (as Peter says):

• “I thought you might have teleported to New York in your sleep and killed her. Wouldn’t that have been wondrous?”

• “To murder. With the mind.”

• See my above summary of the Cortexiphan thing.

I’ve got no idea how to rate this episode. So many tiny bits of information. So little payoff (although I’m sure that’s coming).

Three out of four Holland Manners.

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

... Read full post

Heroes: I am Sylar

Sylar: "Agent Talb is nothing. I don't like being a nothing."

Since Sylar shapeshifts using DNA, he's also acquiring personality traits as well as extra teeth. Not as much fun as Sylar thought it would be, huh? And it's funny how becoming someone else -- a lot of someone elses -- took Sylar back to who he originally was: his mother's killer. Hey, it always goes back to Mom in the end, doesn't it? Revisiting Virginia Grey the way they did gave her murder the emotional weight it deserved. And Sylar had to acknowledge that killing his mother is where he lost himself.

If Danko's knife thingy didn't work, how can Sylar be defeated? Tag teaming and a special sword won't get it done this time. And if Sylar is in the body of the president, that puts an even wilder spin on the situation. You know, this is actually intriguing. There are so many ways they could go with this. Micah seems to think Sylar can save all of the heroes; turning back to the light would be a twist, and the way Sylar kept Micah alive and covered for him was a hint that they might go there. Except Sylar has changed directions before. Been there, done that.

If Sylar is unkillable, does that mean he'll have to kill himself?

The Hiro/Ando stuff was again fun -- at first -- with Batman and Superman and the Crimson Arc. But then it got a bit deeper when it became obvious how threatened Hiro was by no longer not-special Ando. And then it took a serious turn and slammed into a wall. Did Hiro's power short out? It looked like it could kill him, like an aneurysm. Did Ando's amplification power have something to do with it?

And cliffhanger, with Noah, Claire and Angela taken prisoner. What happened to Peter? I doubt he was in the back seat of that car, too. If we know Peter, and we do, he's probably off after Nathan. What would happen if Peter touched Sylar? Would he get the whole kit and kaboodle of Sylar powers? Maybe that's the answer. And that actually would be sort of like Sylar killing himself, wouldn't it?

This episode was mostly Zachary Quinto. He's one of the brighter lights of this series, no doubt about it, and centering an episode around him was a smart move. But I also think that Sylar as a character may have run his course. They've done everything with him. What else can they do?

Bits and pieces:

-- Bloody cuts on Sylar's arm for the title credits? Clever. I think that was my favorite so far.

-- In the opener, Sylar took out Tom Miller of Richmond, Virginia (played by Ron Howard's brother, Clint). Tom could demolecularize things. I wonder if that particular power is going to be important in the finale?

-- A bunch of guys with machine guns chasing a little boy. I guess I must still care about Micah, because I sure didn't want him to die.

-- Looks like the Parkmans are going to get back together. If Matt survives the finale, that is.

-- Note the little jab about the president who likes to talk about change. Is it still going to be Michael Dorn?

Quotes:

Sylar: "One of my eyes stayed blue for over an hour yesterday."

Hiro: "The Crimson Arc?"
Ando: "My superhero alias. What do you think?"
Hiro: "It's good. Dangerous, yet ladylike."

Ando: "You're noble like Superman. Believe in truth and justice like Superman. You're a little fascist like Superman."
Hiro: "I'm not a little fascist."
Ando: "You're a lot fascist."

Hiro: "I just think Crimson Arc has unfortunate connotations."

Ando: "I've graduated from bait to possum?"
That really wasn't nice of Hiro. He's used Ando too many times.

One more to go. Will they be able to pull a truly cool finale out of this see-saw of a season?

Billie

All of my Heroes reviews are archived here.

... Read full post

Chuck: Chuck versus the Colonel

“Do you want to be a loser for the rest of your life?”

So much happened in this episode that I don’t even know where to begin. Chuck and Sara on the run, hunted by Casey. Scott Bakula locked in a room (and who hasn’t dreamt of that?) and trying desperately to communicate with his son. Beautiful and sunny Barstow, which is now just a fireball memory. I keep harping on the sense of finality of these past few mythos-heavy episodes, but I don’t think I’m over-analyzing. In just 45 minutes, everything ended. And many other things began.

When Chuck and Sara were on the run all by their lonesomes, Casey’s sangfroid at hunting down the two people that he’d spent an inordinate amount of time with for two years was really disturbing, as was his willingness to do the wrong thing just for a promotion. I’m not actually sure that him being willing to help them out, in the second half of the episode, was that reassuring, either: he did it so that he could keep his word to Chuck, not out of any sense of moral duty to his buddies. While I enjoy many cop and federal government shows, I have always been a bit freaked out by the wanton use of lethal force by our government, and the creepiness of heroes being people who constantly intrude on reasonable expectations of privacy. When the Major asked Casey to hunt Chuck and Sara “dead or alive,”—well, that really brought it home for me.

Chevy Chase’s plan to build an army of Intersect-loaded Fulcrum agents did seem destined for the fate of all over-reaching Napoleons: scorched earth. Specifically, scorched Barstow. At least now I know why I don’t know anyone from Barstow, or anyone who has visited it: its only resident is a rocking-horse seal on a spring (now deceased).

The pragmatism of using all the snafus to bolster Casey’s promotion and keep Sara and Chuck safe was probably wise, although I’m surprised the General bought it. And now Chuck is free of his burden, at least until next week.

The coitus interruptus between Chuck and Sara was hilarious. Whenever characters on TV have spontaneous sex, I always wonder why they’re not using a condom, and now I know. Morgan, you sneaky bastard!

Back in Burbank, Awesome got locked in Casey’s apartment, and almost caved under Ellie’s questioning. It was nice to see that Awesome has his weakness: he really is a horrible liar. I worried that he would pass out when Ellie confronted him in the kitchen.

The Godfather—or should I say, The Stepfather?—theme continued at the BuyMore, with game-changing results: Morgan is off to Hawaii to become a Bachi chef. (I must admit, I don’t know what this is, and I don’t even know how to spell it, so I can’t look it up. It seems to involve knives. Assistance would be welcome.) Big Mike is going to look after Morgan’s mother, UTI and everything. UPDATE: Morgan is going to become a hibachi chef. Thanks, dear readers!

So how will it end? Going into next week’s episode, which looks (dare I say it?) awesome, we have Chuck and Sara finally together and friends with Casey, Morgan on his chef-pilgrimage, Ellie and Awesome about to get married, Scott Bakula back with his family and done being a spy, Chuck not the Intersect . . . and Chevy Chase hangin’ out with a trucker. They're calling it a “season finale,” but I’m not sure that means much.

Bytes:

• The mini-dynamite (dynamini?).

• The condom thing. (Yep, it gets two mentions.)

• Was Jeff and Lester’s dialogue about bacon from Wayne’s World?

• Chevy Chase as a motivational speaker at the drive-thru.

And Pieces:

• Emmett: “Not many people in our line of work can afford friends.”

• Casey: “Nerd bludgeoned by radiator.”
Chuck: “You can’t kill me with that radiator. It is far too confined in this car for you to get the appropriate torque.”

• Casey: “I hate this whole family.”

• The Major: “In the meantime, enjoy your last few minutes in Burbank, Colonel Casey.”

• Awesome: “There was a time in my life when I didn’t have a lot going on: dead-end job, no girl. . .”
Casey: “Really?”
Awesome: “Well, no.”

Four out of four scorched Barstows.

All of my Chuck reviews are archived here.
(Season 2, episode 21)

... Read full post

Plagiarism for fun and, well, not profit

I've been plagiarized.

"GotalSaiyajin" on TV.com has been stealing my reviews of numerous shows: Lost, Alias, Buffy, Angel, Battlestar Galactica, Dexter, Highlander. Since he's put up a couple of hundred reviews, I haven't even had time to document all of the word thievery. But after some analysis, I can report that he also steals consistently from a reviewer named Samuel Walters at DauntlessMedia. (Why were Sam and I so lucky? Maybe we should be flattered.)

Here is the plagiarist. His profile, which he took down after I started complaining about him a few days ago, said that he's a dental student from Romania. (As I said in my most recent Lost review after that filling killed poor Alvarez, I knew dentistry was evil.) (Okay, dentistry isn't evil. Sorry about that.) The plagiarist's latest blog entry says he was upset because he wanted to copy someone's test paper and that person wouldn't let him and wasn't she mean? Clearly, he sees nothing wrong in stealing someone else's work.

http://www.tv.com/users/GotalSaiyajin/profile.php

Because I've been asked to supply details, here's the nitty gritty. And this was only a few selected pages. There are two hundred reviews in there, and obviously, nearly every review was stolen; I could have spent all day documenting this crap. A few of the earliest reviews, poorly written and full of grammatical errors, might be his own work.

If you'd like to keep up with this situation, I plan to post updates at the bottom -- so feel free to skip the nitty and go down to the end.

I'd also like to thank MovieMark for bringing the whole situation to my attention. I never would have known if it weren't for him.

http://www.tv.com/users/GotalSaiyajin/history.php?pg_user_reviews=0

Alias "The Nemesis"

His review:
Lauren is now free to focus on the Lazarey murder, but she can't tell Vaughn she's doing it. Vaughn knows who killed Lazarey, but he's forced to protect Sydney and lie to Lauren. It's having an effect on their marriage already. And Vaughn gave Sydney a lingering look while he was fastening the X-cam necklace. A romantic implosion must be approaching. We can only hope. Allison is alive, and miraculously healed after six months in a Covenant hospital in Marseilles. Is it me, or does she have too much of an attitude now that she's not pretending to be Francie any more? Too bad Sydney didn't kill her.

Two paragraphs from my review, which is much longer:
http://www.billiedoux.com/alias3x6.html
Lauren is now free to focus on the Lazarey murder, but she can't tell Vaughn she's doing it. Vaughn knows who killed Lazarey, but he's forced to protect Sydney and lie to Lauren. It's having an effect on their marriage already. And Vaughn gave Sydney a lingering look while he was fastening the X-cam necklace. A romantic implosion must be approaching. We can only hope.

Allison is alive, and miraculously healed after six months in a Covenant hospital in Marseilles. Is it me, or does she have too much of an attitude now that she's not pretending to be Francie any more? Too bad Sydney didn't kill her.

-------------------------------

http://www.tv.com/users/GotalSaiyajin/history.php?pg_user_reviews=5

Alias "Cypher"

His review:
Irina continued to manipulate away, and I think she's making progress with Sydney. But she certainly isn't getting anywhere with Jack, at least not yet; whatever Irina was trying to sell Jack with that speech about their marriage, he wasn't buying. I was sorta hoping for more fireworks. Ah, well; the season is young. Vaughn and Will finally met, and Will almost instantly picked up on Vaughn's feelings for Sydney. Will seems to be handling the complete obliteration of his former life with humor and aplomb. He's also bunking with Sydney and Francie; that's a situation fraught with possible peril.

Two paragraphs from my review:
http://www.billiedoux.com/alias2x3.html
Irina continued to manipulate away, and I think she's making progress with Sydney. But she certainly isn't getting anywhere with Jack, at least not yet; whatever Irina was trying to sell Jack with that speech about their marriage, he wasn't buying. I was sorta hoping for more fireworks. Ah, well; the season is young.

Vaughn and Will finally met, and Will almost instantly picked up on Vaughn's feelings for Sydney. Will seems to be handling the complete obliteration of his former life with humor and aplomb. He's also bunking with Sydney and Francie; that's a situation fraught with possible peril.

-------------------------------

http://www.tv.com/users/GotalSaiyajin/history.php?pg_user_reviews=10

Now, this page is a multi-show extravaganza of rip-off.

Angel "City of"

His review:
One of the advantages of a spin-off series is that the actors and writers are already comfortable with their characters. Boreanaz really knows his character by now, and it shows. I couldn't help but notice that Angel seemed a lot more comfortable as a dark hero in L.A. than he did as a teenager's love interest in the sticks. He was definitely able to carry the lead role, and I think they're going to let him stay in touch with his inner monster. I've always rather liked Cordelia, too, and I think her shallow materialism and uninhibited narcissism complements Angel's angst and depression very well. Poor Cordy isn't used to failure, and that was rather endearing. I really enjoyed the scene where she figured out in fairly short order that Russell was a vamp. She didn't grow up in Sunnydale for nothing.

Two paragraphs from my review:
http://www.billiedoux.com/angel1x1.html
One of the advantages of a spin-off series is that the actors and writers are already comfortable with their characters. Boreanaz really knows his character by now, and it shows. I couldn't help but notice that Angel seemed a lot more comfortable as a dark hero in L.A. than he did as a teenager's love interest in the sticks. He was definitely able to carry the lead role, and I think they're going to let him stay in touch with his inner monster.

I've always rather liked Cordelia, too, and I think her shallow materialism and uninhibited narcissism complements Angel's angst and depression very well. Poor Cordy isn't used to failure, and that was rather endearing. I really enjoyed the scene where she figured out in fairly short order that Russell was a vamp. She didn't grow up in Sunnydale for nothing.

Battlestar Galactica "Daybreak part 2"

His review:
I completely understand why the Colonials and Cylons chose to do what they did, to break the cycle once and for all. But the more I thought about it, the more it disturbed me. By destroying all of their ships and scattering into small groups around the globe, they chose to completely obliterate their culture. It was like they never existed; only some of their genes remained. Kara Thrace really did lead them to their end. And the ambiguous coda in Times Square suggested that the cycle may very well assert itself here on Earth, today. Roslin saying goodbye to Cottle. Adama giving his stars to Hoshi. Starbuck kissing Anders goodbye, and him guiding the fleet into the Sun. Adama in a viper, leaving Galactica for the last time. Adama and Lee saying goodbye forever. Roslin dying during that lovely Out of Africa moment, and Adama putting his ring on her dead finger. At least she made it to the end of the journey. Adama built that cabin for her, after all.

Two paragraphs from my review:
http://www.billiedoux.com/bsg4x20.html
[bottom]
I completely understand why the Colonials and Cylons chose to do what they did, to break the cycle once and for all. But the more I thought about it, the more it disturbed me. By destroying all of their ships and scattering into small groups around the globe, they chose to completely obliterate their culture. It was like they never existed; only some of their genes remained. Kara Thrace really did lead them to their end. And the ambiguous coda in Times Square suggested that the cycle may very well assert itself here on Earth, today.
[middle]
If you've read any of my reviews, you know I'm a wuss. I got choked up over and over again. Roslin saying goodbye to Cottle. Adama giving his stars to Hoshi. Starbuck kissing Anders goodbye, and him guiding the fleet into the Sun. Adama in a viper, leaving Galactica for the last time. Adama and Lee saying goodbye forever. Roslin dying during that lovely Out of Africa moment, and Adama putting his ring on her dead finger. At least she made it to the end of the journey. Adama built that cabin for her, after all.

The Knight Rider review at the bottom is stolen from Samuel Walters, Dauntlessmedia.net:
http://dauntlessmedia.net/knight-rider/102-journey-to-the-end-of-knight-review.html

-------------------------------

http://www.tv.com/users/GotalSaiyajin/history.php?pg_user_reviews=15

This page has reviews stolen from Samuel Walters, DauntlessMedia. Here are two.

X-Files:
http://dauntlessmedia.net/x-files/season1/179-pilot.html

Lost:
http://dauntlessmedia.net/lost/413-theres-no-place-like-home-parts-2-3.html

-------------------------------

http://www.tv.com/users/GotalSaiyajin/history.php?pg_user_reviews=35


Here, he returns to plagiarizing me -- Lost reviews "Orientation", "Adrift", "Man of Science, Man of Faith." I don't really need to quote paragraphs at this point, do I?

http://www.billiedoux.com/lost2x1.html
http://www.billiedoux.com/lost2x2.html
http://www.billiedoux.com/lost2x3.html

-------------------------------

http://www.tv.com/users/GotalSaiyajin/history.php?pg_user_reviews=45

The first Dexter review is apparently stolen from MovieTome, although I can't access it because I'm not a member. Search a quoted line on Google and see for yourself.

The second Dexter review of "Seeing Red" is two paragraphs of my review.
http://www.billiedoux.com/dexter1x10.html

Personally, I want this Gotal character gone. And I would like to assure him that from here on out, I'll be searching random selections of my reviews online every few weeks to make certain it doesn't happen again.

UPDATES:

So far: A TV.com moderator has assured me that they'll be looking into this situation on Monday.

UPDATE SUNDAY NIGHT: Mr. Serial Plagiarist is obviously reading my blog because he started deleting the reviews I specifically mentioned. And to think he told me that he *couldn't* delete them because his roommate put them up! What a load of hooey. Guess he can tell what's coming. Maybe he doesn't know that even if he deletes them, TV.com still has access to them.

UPDATE MID-DAY MONDAY: I've been checking off and on and I just noticed that *all* of Mr. Serial Plagiarist's reviews are now gone! Yay!

UPDATE MONDAY NIGHT: A TV.com rep has told me that Mr. Serial Plagiarist has gotten a five day suspension. That's it. Five days, and he gets to come back and do it all again. They have rules about progressive moderation, and apparently, stealing 200 reviews isn't enough to get booted. What do you have to do to get booted from TV.com? Stalk someone? Shoot puppies? I personally feel that such excessive plagiarism is more than enough. I also feel that I spent a lot of time on this problem, and as a member of TV.com, I have not been fairly treated.

I was one of the original featured reviewers on TV Tome before it was bought out by TV.com. I've posted reviews here and there since the buy-out just to keep my hand in, and I do get referral hits from TV.com now and then. But I'm very tempted at this point to just close up my tent, remove my reviews, and delete my account.

FINAL UPDATE, TUESDAY NIGHT: I have been told by a TV.com rep that Mr. Serial Plagiarist has been banned from TV.com, after all. I'm pleased that TV.com came through and took this action, and not just because of me. Thinking he can get away with stealing other people's work would not do him any favors in life. Plagiarism could lose the guy his career. I wish him... I was about to say I wish him well. I don't. But I hope he learns something from this experience.

YET ANOTHER UPDATE, THURSDAY NIGHT: Just when I thought it was over, I got an email last night from another alert reader (thank you so much, Shabeeh) who found another person on TV.com who was also plagiarizing my reviews. I reported it last night. I was told tonight that the reviews are now gone and the person has been disciplined or moderated or something. I was encouraged to use the "report abuse" button if this happens again.

I'm starting to think the format of TV.com has something to do with this. If you can't write and you want points -- and you have no conscience -- what do you do? I can't be the only writer that has been plagiarized like this on TV.com. I was just lucky enough to find out about it.

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Lost: Some Like It Hoth

Hurley: "It all could have been avoided if they just, you know, communicated. Let's face it. Ewoks suck, dude."

Nice backstory for Miles. I've grown to like Miles. But I don't think we really learned much about him that we didn't already know.

We knew he could communicate with the dead. We knew he was deeply into money but that he has a heart, even though he likes to pretend that he doesn't. And of course, we freak-out obsessed Lost fans figured out awhile back that Miles might be Dr. Chang's son. Although it may have been a real shocker for the more casual viewer who doesn't obsess about every stupid detail of this stupid show, like the fact that the episode began with a microwave timer at 3:16.

Daddy issues, redux. I have to say, I don't know how Miles could resist getting to know his parents for three whole years. He wouldn't even look Dr. Chang in the eye. Hasn't Miles seen Back to the Future? The Changs looked happy, too. What broke them up? I wonder if Miles himself will have something to do with it? (Yeah, I know, whatever happened happened.)

Miles and Hurley were a hoot together. (Although you could say that about Hurley and pretty much anybody.) I guess you're going to bond if you're delivering dead bodies and sandwiches together, and they do both talk to dead people. Loved the connection of the whole daddy issue thing with Hurley re-writing The Empire Strikes Back. Miles, I am your father. What changes would Hurley make? It's a nearly perfect movie (says Billie the geek). Maybe something that would preemptively wipe out the Ewoks?

Naomi showed up in 2004 to recruit Miles. Bram from Flight 316 turned up in 2004 to recruit Miles, too. Bram said he had all the answers: about Miles' gift, about Chang. Apparently, Ilana and Bram and their merry band aren't the Others we know and love -- they don't know Ben, and they don't work for Widmore.

So we have a whole new faction, the "what lies in the shadow of the statue" faction. (WLITSOTS, for short.) Lots of people have theorized that "what lies" is Jughead, and it's about to blow. (Which would explain why the statue is nearly gone and there's only a foot left.) *Something* had to be encased in cement under the Swan Hatch. *Something* is going to cause people to push that stupid button every 108 minutes. I bet we're about to find out what it is.

Whatever that something is, it feels like it's going to correspond with the 1977 Losties getting into some deep crap with the Dharma Initiative. You can just feel their situation falling apart. What possessed Kate to try to make that asshole Roger Linus feel better? I know, best of intentions. Jack tried, but he basically just put a band-aid on it, and it's not going to hold. Especially now that Sawyer had to bonk Phil on the head. What is Sawyer going to do with Phil? There's nowhere to put him. Nowhere to hide.

Nice cliffhanger. Faraday managed to become one of the hotshot Dharma scientists from Ann Arbor. Nice trick. Can't wait to hear about that one.

Character bits:

-- Miles came from the Island in the first place. Miles' power must come from the Island, because it would be an unbelievable coincidence if it didn't.

-- Miles' gift doesn't work if the body has been cremated. He couldn't pick up on Gray's son. I seem to remember something about the Others needing Amy's husband's body. Just saying.

-- Loved the zillion piercings and the skunk streak in Miles' hair. :) Though I have to ask, where did all the holes go? You can usually see piercing holes.

-- Felix, the dead guy in the restaurant, was delivering info to Widmore on empty graves and an old airplane. (And we all know what that's about.) Have we encountered Felix before?

Bits and pieces:

-- Lots of Hurley's numbers. The microwave. 1.6 million. Miles's copy of Sports Illustrated had "After 23 years... new boss in L.A." on the cover. The tape Miles didn't erase was for monitor 4. The dead body that little Miles found was in apartment 4. And Hurley actually got to see his numbers being stamped on the Hatch door.

-- Little Miles moved a ceramic white rabbit to find the key to apartment 4. Lots of white rabbits in Lost.

-- Some poor schmuck named Alvarez got killed by filling. I always knew dentistry was inherently evil.

-- The blackboard that Jack cleaned had stuff on it about Egyptian history and interpreting hieroglyphics.

-- Dr. Chang called Alcatraz "Hydra Island" and said they were doing "ridiculous polar bear experiments" there. And he was reading Me and My Polar Bear to baby Miles.

-- Let's all remember that we saw Faraday in the flashback where Chang discovered the Time Travel Wheel Thingy. I bet we're about to see that, too.

-- Brad William Henke (Bram) had a key guest role in several episodes of Dexter. I recognized him several episodes back and had a feeling he was going to be more than background.

-- Seventies music. "Seems it never rains in Southern California." "Love will keep us together." Wasn't it raining when they left L.A.? And our love rectangle is an eternal mess.

Quotes:

Hurley: "Why don't we carpool? It'll help with global warming. Which hasn't happened yet, so maybe we can prevent it."

Miles: "I'm happy for you."
Hurley: "You're just jealous my power is better than yours."

Naomi: "My employer is willing to pay you one point six million dollars."
Miles: "When do we leave?"

Chang: "You, Hurley. You say a word..."
Hurley: "Polar bear poop. Got it."

Bram: "You're playing for the wrong team."
Miles: "Yeah? What team are you on?"
Bram: "The one that's gonna win."
Win what?

Three out of four polar bears,

Billie

All of my Lost reviews are archived here.
Screencap credit: LostMedia.
(Season 5, episode 13)
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Chuck: Chuck versus the First Kill

“NSA, Fulcrum, the CIA—they’re all the same. They all lie.”

Things are really heating up for Chuck. His attempts to get his father back led to his first, and second, kill (the Morgan really is a doozey), as well as a firefight to end all firefights. Enemies united in an attempt to save our hero, and Casey got to act like a window-washing badass. All good things and great television.

But Operation Moron, as Casey calls it, is going to be shut down, and Chuck secreted away to a secure facility…unless his far from fool-proof plan to track down his father in the desert actually works. Sarah’s willingness to commit treason for her beloved speaks volumes, but it’s got me a little worried: if this really is the end of Chuck, how can guns, treason, deadbeat spydads, and a mysterious location called the Black Rock possibly lead to a happy ending?

What would a happy ending even be? Chuck making use of his Stanford degree to get a real, non-spy job, I guess. Although I’m starting to think that all of LA is one big spy city. Sarah leaving behind the intelligence game and settling down (as a…what? Second-grade teacher?) to be with Chuck. The death by boiling water of Emmett the Usurper. Casey, of course, would still be a spy. Can the show possible get from where it is now, to there, in just two episodes?

At the BuyMore, Emmett’s Machiavellian machinations led to the coup de tech, with some residual fallout between Morgan and Big Mike, his almost-stepfather. Everything is falling apart.

Bytes:

Emmett: “You test me, and you’ll be flippin’ burgers in Encino for the rest of your life.”

Casey: “And since the new administration discontinued waterboarding, Fulcrum agents don’t talk.”

Casey: “Congratulations, Bartowski. You now qualify for conjugal visits.”

Chuck: “You can’t shoot us, because the whole family will hear it.”
Uncle Bernie: “You’re right. But I can beat you to death.”

Emmett: “Every many has a weakness to exploit. Mine is Renaissance Faires.”

Chuck: “Please tell me where my father is.”
Fulcrum Guy: “Or what, you’ll drop me?”
Chuck: “Of course not—that’s a horrible thing to do.”
Fulcrum Guy: “Really?”

Casey: “Operation Moron is over.”

And Pieces:

Morgan’s logic in the anit-Emmett planning scene resembled Vizzini’s from The Princess Bride.

Jill’s parents were bizarrely clueless. Like something out of a John Cheever story that accidentally went undercover.

Fulcrum calls its new recruits “comrades,” and one of their posters said “None of is us as smart as all of us.” It’s a nifty callback to shows like Get Smart and the Red Scare of worldwide brainwashing.

Morgan and Big Mike kissing: can a scene be both Godfather-y and really disturbing?

This episode was such a cliffhanger that it’s almost a two-parter. I’m worried, fearful, biting my fingernails in dread and concern. And I want to reserve judgment on the emotional fallout until next week. Hopefully by then, or the week after, everything will come up roses.

Four out of four Comrades.

All of my Chuck reviews are archived here.
(Season 2, episode 20)

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Heroes: 1961

Angela: "Say good night, Alice."
Alice: "Goodnight, Alice."

I thought at first that this episode was Heroes continuing to reinvent itself. But instead, it took us back to the core story and filled in a lot of holes. And it got the Petrelli family back together, which is a good thing.

Did they have to dig up all those graves? Peter had a point about them all just sitting down and talking about it in a restaurant, although that would have been a lot less moody and dramatic. And I really had a hard time swallowing the idea that any sister of Angela Petrelli's would spend fifty plus years of her life hiding in a hole in the ground waiting for Angela to come back. Plus, flashback Alice had big dark eyes and present day Alice had pale blue eyes, and it was jarring. I mean, come on. Contacts, people.

But it was fun seeing sixteen-year-old Angela meet and bond with Charles Deveaux, Bob Bishop, and Linderman (what was his first name again?) as they talked about forming the Company while eating fries at the Coyote Sands Cafe. Followed by the extended Petrelli family doing the same thing, and possibly preparing to repeat the original Company's mistakes.

But... lots of buts... I was disconcerted by the reboot of Chandra Suresh as Mengele. I could have sworn Chandra Suresh discovered the broken helix and the gifted people because of Mohinder's dead sister. Am I remembering it wrong? Maybe the answers are in that can of film. I'm sure we'll be seeing the film at some point.

Sylar *again* wound up impersonating Nathan. This time in the present, though, not in a never gonna happen future. Are we working up to a repeat of Kirby Plaza at the end of season one, with the Petrellis and the other heroes all fighting Sylar? If so, I hope this time they do it right.

Bits and pieces:

-- The flashbacks took place in February through May, 1961. Good casting of young Angela and young Charles in particular, even though much of the flashback acting was a bit wooden and the black-and-white prison camp photography had delusions of Schindler's List.

-- I liked the callback to Angela shoplifting socks for Alice. That was a nice bit. Another possibly out of character loose end neatly tied up.

-- There was a sign on the door of the cabin: "Home is not where you live, but where they understand you." If that's so, then my home is my web site.

-- Alice was deeply into Alice in Wonderland (or more accurately, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland), which was my favorite book as well. I kept thinking that Claire looked like the Alice illustrations.

-- Charles Deveaux had Matt's gift. That explains some of what happened with Peter when Charles was dying.

Not bad. Not great. Two out of four stars,

Billie

All of my Heroes reviews are archived here.

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Fringe: Unleashed

“Monsters aren’t real, right?”

Sometimes, watching Fringe, I go momentarily crazy and start seeing allusions and connections everywhere. In this episode, it started off with Olivia reading the book to her niece, just like Willow reading Jack London in…some episode of Buffy (‘Beauty and the Beasts’?). Then it was onto every horror movie ever made with the security guard getting sucked back into the room, and every suspense film ever made with the upside-down shots of the car crash—the girl yelled, “We have to go back!” and you know where that’s from. Even the first-person camera angle was reminiscent of the first Halloween (and Doom, if you play shoot ‘em up video games). And animal liberation? Yeah. Walter’s reference to a hell-beast woman in Cleveland sealed the deal on my insanity, and I vowed to quit seeing allusions in every shadowy corner. We’ll see how long that lasts.


Stephen King said recently in an Entertainment Weekly column that “Villains are always scarier in the shadows.” That’s why the Halloween-style shots are so effective, and why cheesy CGI tails dropping out of trees onto unwitting FBI agents…not so much. The Chekov Shotgun law, which translates from props to characters as well, also does something to decrease the mystery: of course Dr. Swift is tangentially involved—we don’t meet irrelevant people, even in these extended episodes with limited commercials. So the horror didn’t quite do it for me, the suspense wasn’t heart-stopping, and the mystery wasn’t mysterious.

But the magical text of infinite possibilities (ZFT) did pop up again, and it turns out that Walter’s nearly unfinished work has been finished and turned into non-cannibalistic hybridized animals that plant eggs through their stingers. (Nope, that didn’t remind me of anything.) Walter was in rare form before he realized his unwitting complicity in the potential loss of a co-star; in the second half of the episode, he seemed to have lost his pep.

The Walter-Peter interchanges were the most interesting part of this episode. As in ‘The No-Brainer,’ the nagging conflicts weren’t just for comic relief: there’s real tension there, between both Walter and Peter, and Olivia and Peter. The joke that Agent Francis’s wife told him really emphasized finding the joy in life, and I think that’s our Theme of the Week: Walter wants peace, quiet, and redemption; Olivia doesn’t know how to react to Peter finding some joy with her sister; and Peter must be wondering why he’s stuck knee-deep in sewage babysitting his father. The threat of joylessness is the real monster that keeps Olivia up at night. Or maybe she’s just worried about having to get back in the tank next week.

Rarae Aves, on this show at least:

• The undergrad: “Can I get you something? Orange juice? Candy?”
Olivia: “How ‘bout some pants?”

• Peter: “Walter, did you take something?”
Walter: “Psychedelics? Not since Thursday.”

• Olivia: “Walter, I need you to tell me what exactly you need to create a genetic hybrid. Like, specific items.”
Walter: “Some sodium bicarbonate and a house in the country.”

• Walter: “When I mentioned that the poison would kill me within the hour, did either of you happen to notice the time?”

The penultimate allusion: Dr. Swift’s son was named Jonathan.

And the ultimate: that dragon sewer creature was pure Buffy and the Mayor, wasn’t it? Then again, St. George’s Day is next week…

Three out of four Irish Babies (so tasty!).

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

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Terminator: Born to Run

Given Terminator: The Sarah Conner Chronicles’ ratings struggles this spring, it seems a near certainty that this episode wasn’t just the season finale, but also the series finale. If that’s the case, I think it performed ably on both counts. As a season ender, this was an outstanding episode with great emotional beats and some fantastic action sequences. Many of the slow-burning plot elements from this season were paid off, and it left us in a place rife with great possibilities for continuing the story. As a series ender, it wasn’t quite so successful, leaving us with many questions and no true sense of closure. However, I felt it effectively wove in bits from the full spectrum of the Terminator series (movies and television show) and, thankfully, didn’t leave us with a massive cliffhanger. It is certainly disappointing that we will likely never see where the story was heading, but the show ended on a strong note.

All of the major arcs of the season came to a head in this episode: Sarah’s struggle to accept that the best way to help John is to let him go; John slowly maturing into the John Connor of legend, losing his entire support system along the way; and the true purpose of Catherine Weaver and John Henry. Many of the elements introduced in earlier episodes came back into play, including the drone and the possible alliance between the Connor camp and the liquid metal. They even brought back numerous familiar players, from the priest and the girl from the forgery operation, to the Turk, the three dots, Derek, Kyle, and Allison from Palmdale.

The John and Sarah story arcs came to their natural conclusion, with both characters finally reaching the point where they could let go of each other. Sarah was the first to recognize that John needs to stand on his own, telling him to leave this place and not to come for her, and then refusing to go with him to save Cameron. Perhaps she knew she was dying and didn’t want John to see her weakened by cancer, but I like to think her choices were the result of all her experiences and soul-searching this season. John, on the other hand, wasn’t truly ready to let go just yet (as evidenced by his inability to let Cameron go), but he was starting to accept that he might be losing Sarah. Combined with his experiences this season---especially losing so many people he loved in recent weeks---this gave him the push he needed to leave without Sarah. It struck me as a step towards truly being able to stand on his own.

The Catherine and John Henry story arcs also came to a fitting conclusion, or at least to a good “end of the beginning” point. Catherine’s true nature was revealed to all and she confirmed that she was trying to build something to stop Skynet. “Your John may save the world, but he can’t do it without mine.” The various T888 and drone attacks seem to lend credence to her story. It was great to get confirmation of things we were starting to suspect, but the end sequence left me with a lot of questions. How did Catherine know John Henry went to the future? Was this always the plan? Did Cameron give him her chip so that he could download into it and become mobile? If so, is he really the same John Henry? Mr. Murch said that John Henry as we knew him was that specific combination of hardware and software in the Zeira Corp basement. Plus, if he downloaded into Cameron’s chip, is she gone?

Cameron had some truly great material this week. She got to be mysterious, quietly philosophical, and a badass prison breaker. Her tete-a-tete with John about her nature was fascinating, culminating in a very sexually charged moment between them on the hotel bed. She seemed to be trying very hard to convince him that she’s just a machine (whose shielded nuclear reactor was intact), but her methods only seemed to make him more emotionally attached to her (despite his logical misgivings).

I was pretty startled by the way things ended for Cameron. I’ve thought for awhile now that her mission was possibly to die, but I never suspected she would sacrifice herself in this way. I’m not even sure if this was her intended mission. Certainly, Weaver asking (via Ellison) “Will you join us?” got a very big reaction from her (and gave me a little thrill!), but I wonder if this was something she was always waiting for or a new path that unexpectedly presented itself. Either way, she completed the mission Sarah assigned her: make sure John leaves this place.

So things end with John at some indeterminate point in the future. What a fantastic twist for the final act. Strange, I never considered the idea of John Connor jumping past Judgment Day to become the man, the myth, the legend. I always thought that he survived Judgment Day and the legend built from there. I wonder if this is a new development, or something that always happened in some form or another. Based on what we’ve seen before, it seems like this might be a new wrinkle in time. I’m bummed that we’ll likely never know the answers, but I’m thrilled that we got those last few moments with John seeing Derek again, meeting Kyle for the first time, and then seeing Allison. I loved the subtle shift in his expression from joy at finding Cameron to confusion and then a little bit of horror when he realized he was actually looking at a human. It truly is those great character moments that hooked me on this series, and I’m really glad things ended on an emotionally resonant note.

Other thoughts:

I enjoyed the allusions to previous events in the series history, including John’s comments to Ellison about the fate of his last S.W.A.T. team, the scene with the T888 in the gunshop (similar to a scene from the original Terminator), and Cameron’s shoot ‘em up at the prison (very reminiscent of Arnie’s attack on the police station).

Catherine dispatching the T888 and protecting everyone from the drone attack were pretty rocking sequences. She’s such a cool customer. I especially loved the way Shirley Manson said “Sure” when the T888 asked if she was Catherine Weaver.

I liked the priest’s confession that he prays every day to understand what happened when the Connors came to his church. Plus, it looked like Cameron’s “friend” took over the document forging business run by Enrique and his nephew after they were all killed. Both these touches were a nice nod to the ongoing impacts of the Connors travails on others.

On that subject, I wonder what will happen to poor Savannah. She lost her father, the thing she thought was her mother, and her friend, John Henry. Who does she have left? Mr. Ellison?

It’s too bad we didn’t have more time to delve into Ellison’s reaction to the Weaver reveal. It was clear he was thrown for a loop, but it would have been cool to explore it more.

I wonder where they were planning to go with the Danny Dyson thing. The fed mentioned he’s been missing for three months, but that was the only time it came up.

I loved the extended preview for Terminator: Salvation during the commercial breaks. Yet more apparent references to downloading into or becoming machines being the key to human salvation. It made me wonder if in the movie John Connor is a machine, but doesn’t know it.

Quotes:

Ellison about the Cameron and the Connors: “I told you before, she’ll never leave his side, and he’ll never leave his mother’s.”
Weaver and John Henry: “We’ll see.”

The Forger: “We lose everybody we love.”

Final Rating: 5 out of 5. If this is it for the series, I’m very glad it went out on a high note.

All of my Terminator reviews are archived here.
(Season 2, episode 22)

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