The X-Files: Gender Bender

Case: A series of deaths in which the victim dies in the throes of passion, with symptoms of massive coronary arrest and huge amounts of pheromones in the body.
Destination: Germantown, Maryland and Steveston, Massachusetts

Mulder and Scully’s investigation into a serial killer who seems to be using sex to lure and kill his victims leads them to a reclusive community of Amish-like folk called The Kindred. They soon discover that The Kindred are much more than the simple people they appear to be, possessing the ability to seduce anyone through a simple touch and, even stranger, to change genders.

‘Gender Bender’ is a pretty weak episode. It’s like a bizarre mash-up of Witness, The Crying Game, and Basic Instinct. Yet another episode I had only seen once prior to doing these reviews, and the only thing I remembered about it was that it featured Nicholas Lea in his pre-Krycek days as one of the near victims.

The basic freak-of-the-week concept wasn’t too bad; a killer with a voracious sexual appetite who so overloads his partner’s system with pheromones that he sends her into cardiac arrest or anaphylactic shock is actually kind of interesting. The gender bending ability was a cool added bonus that created an opportunity for some parity in the range of victims (as opposed to just having a bunch of dead women like most serial killer stories). But tying it all in to some anti-society/anti-technology religious cult whose members turn out to be other worldly beings was ridiculous.

Plus, I absolutely hated how they turned Scully into a near-rape victim. She is a strong, smart woman and it was upsetting to see her rendered so weak-kneed and helpless by some sort of alien Rohypnol. I suppose with the type of killer they were after, story-telling tropes would dictate that one of the agents become a potential victim, but that doesn’t make it any less irritating to see Scully victimized that way.

Other Thoughts

Mulder started out in high spirits for this one. He seemed strangely giddy. He really does love finding genetic mutants, eh?

The various club scenes were pretty funny. Especially with the dancing woman in the cage and the eighties porno-style music. Was this really representative of early ‘90s club life in the D.C. area? Yikes!

I found myself wondering what kind of footwear Scully was wearing when they were traipsing around the woods looking for the Kindred. Usually she’s sporting heels because she’s so short. A mile hike through the woods would have been pretty sucky in heels. Mulder should think to warn her about the possibility of lengthy hikes on a given assignment.

I got a little confused by the locations towards the end. It seemed pretty clear that the killer was working the same club in the D.C. area through the whole episode, but the Kindred farm was in Massachusetts. After Not-Krycek got attacked, were Mulder and Scully jetting back and forth between D.C. and Boston? Where did they try to apprehend Martin? In D.C.? It didn’t seem like enough time was passing for them to be doing all that travel.

Mulder lost his gun during a beat down. This becomes a recurring theme that they make light of in a Season 3 episode.

The ending shot with the crop circle was a laughable capper for a very weak episode.

Quotes

Mulder: “Each body showed the presence of huge amounts of pheromones.”
Scully: “The chemicals animals secrete? You mean sexual attractants?”
Mulder: “Radar love.”

Mulder: “This guy is a walking aphrodisiac. He’s the ultimate sex magnet.”

Scully: “So what is our profile of the killer? Indeterminate height, weight, sex. Unarmed, but extremely attractive?”

Scully: “There’s something up there, Mulder.”
Mulder: “I’ve been saying that for years.”

Mulder: “I think it was all an elaborate act.”
Scully: “What? The choking?”
Mulder: “No, all this simple life, living from abundance crap. These people know something, Scully.”

Mulder: “I know what I saw, Scully. And I saw you about to do the wild thing with some stranger.”

Not-Krycek: “After she left the car, when she was fighting with the cop, I saw her in her clothes and she looked like a --- she looked like a man.”
Scully (with deadpan disbelief): “She was a man.”
Not-Krycek: “The night club scene used to be so simple.”

Scully: “I don’t understand. How can they just disappear? They have no means of transportation.”
Mulder: “No earthly means of transportation.”
Oh, please.

Final Analysis: ‘Gender Bender’ takes a somewhat interesting idea about a sexual predator who can change genders and bizarrely blends it with an alien Amish society. Another Season 1 clunker.

(Season 1, episode 14)
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Dexter: Living the Dream

Dexter: "If I want to be around for my son. I have to do this right. I'm killing for two, now."

Dexter never expected to be a devoted husband and a father of three. His quiet, ordered life of crime-fighting and serial murder has turned into sleep-deprived chaos.

Clearly, Dexter can't accept that he has physical limitations, and isn't very good at expressing his own needs to other people. Rita didn't take the "night shift" because Dexter didn't even think to ask her. He should have told Rita that he desperately needed sleep, and he didn't, or couldn't. Marriage isn't a partnership for him -- not yet, anyway. And now he just screwed up. Dexter never screws up. (I must admit that Dexter fumbling a body part like a football was pretty funny. I also loved how they recreated the credits with the broken shoelace, baby spit-up on Dexter's tee shirt, and so on.)

It looks like Deb is on her way to discovering what happened to Dexter when he was a toddler. I really want her to find out. Deb is the person Dexter is closest to, after all, and Dexter's childhood trauma is the core of his existence. Wouldn't it be good for him if he could talk with Deb about it? She would never be able to wrap her head around his murders, but at least she could understand the extent of his damage.

I heart Keith Carradine and I'm glad they brought Lundy back. (Anton probably doesn't stand a chance against Deb's daddy fixation -- although maybe finding out truths about Harry will change that.) Dexter and Lundy working together to bring down a killer would be cool. Dexter admires Lundy's brilliance and is deeply wary of him at the same time, which makes for a complex and interesting relationship. It would certainly make things uncomfortable for Dexter if Lundy and Deb become a permanent couple. My brother-in-law, the serial killer catcher.

John Lithgow is a terrific actor, and the Trinity killer story is promising. He certainly seems to have a deep and complex psychosis, what with the baths and showers and mirrors and all. And there are tourist murders, too. Because one killer would just be too easy, wouldn't it?

Angel and Maria as a secret couple made my jaw drop. "Sergeant." "Lieutenant." I like them both, and I'm worried for them. The oblivious Masuka constantly between them in the elevator symbolized the problems they're going to have with their office romance. It had better work out because if they break up -- well, then again, Maria managed to stay friends with Doakes, didn't she? I still miss Doakes.

That scene with the baby made me think of all the scenes with young Dexter and Harry. Dexter will have to keep himself a secret from his own child. No way to recreate that special relationship with Harry.

Bits and pieces:

-- The cast is the same, except for the addition of Desmond Harrington (Quinn) and special guest star John Lithgow. I'm glad James Remar (Harry) is still in the cast. He works well as Dexter's inner voice, the visual and auditory code of Harry.

-- Michael C. Hall, who has a professional singing voice, sang to his baby. He didn't really sing, though. The baby's name is Harrison Morgan. After Harry, I assume.

-- Nice bit with Adrienne Barbeau as one of Harry's informants. I was glad that Harry didn't sleep with all of them. I'd hoped that Dexter's real mother Laura was important to Harry.

-- It seems unlikely that with a new house and a baby, Dexter can truly afford to keep his apartment, doesn't it? Well, maybe he has zillions in savings.

-- Quinn is still a jerk, and he's too dense to see that Christine Hill, bright cute reporter, was hitting him up to pump him for police dirt. I can see inappropriate headlines coming our way. I'm sure the Internal Affairs thing hasn't gone away, either.

Quotes:

Dexter: "There's this cliche where serial killers are always described as quiet, kept to himself, kind of a loner. It's a cliche for a reason."

Rita: "Car pool and swimming pools. How much are we living the dream?"
Dexter: "So much."

Masuka: "Talk about your blood bath. Hehehehe. (No one laughs) Tough room."

Masuka: "How about you, Morgan? Stud muffin still out of town?"
Deb: "It's tempting, Masuka. And elegant. Fuck off and die. Then die again."

Dexter: "Daddy's not going anywhere, buddy. I already lost my innocence. I'm not going to sacrifice yours, too."

Lundy: "Hello, Debra."
Deb: "Motherfucking fuck."
Lundy: "Nice to see you, too."

I'll admit I was disappointed with last season. It had some high points and Dexter's relationship with Miguel was interesting character development, but it wasn't as enthralling as it could have been. I'm ready for Dexter to blow me away again,

Billie

All of my Dexter reviews are archived here.
(Season four, episode 1)

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Fringe: Night of Desirable Objects

Walter: “We’re all mutants. What’s remarkable is how many of us appear to be normal.”

Bucolic Lansdale, Pennsylvania has experienced a rash of disappearances lately. Peter discovers the case in a routine trawl of the FBI database, and hopes it might shed light on Olivia’s late arrival on the scene of her car accident last week. Walter, meanwhile, hopes that frogs are the answer. Because aren’t they, always?


Peter really took the lead this week. He reported to Broyles, and was tasked with keeping an eye on Olivia. He masterminded the exhumation, and even Sheriff Golightly seemed to acknowledge his authority. He figured out some major plot twists. But he’s also stuck with figuring out what to do with Olivia’s possible instability: the look on his face after Olivia shot at him was angry more than scared. He may be a reluctant leader, but he’s quite good at it, and it shows his continuing investment in the work the Fringe team is doing.

A few scenes were handled in an interesting way. Olivia’s discovery of Mr. Hughes’s body was completely without dialogue, and her flickering super-hearing was mostly handled with strange camera angles (and, in places, just shots of her ear, which is a cliché). Her physical weakness, her unwillingness to take charge, and even the ease with which she was captured by Scorpion/Mole-Rat Man, show her at her lowest ebb. I hope she comes back to full Olivia strength soon, as long as Peter gets to stay strong, too.

The gross-out of the week didn’t really do it for me, but I understand that they have to prolong Olivia’s discovery of the truth so it doesn’t seem like they’re selling it short. I’m also wondering, though, if we’re really in the “real world” with the past two episodes. Olivia is weakened, and Peter is strong (and open to being emotional with his father). Walter is back from wherever he went with the Observer (whom I didn’t see this week), Broyles is getting it on with Nina Sharp…it’s like a low-key bizarre world. This theory is probably ruined by Pseudo-Charlie’s note, which called Leonard Nimoy World ‘The Other Side.’ I guess things are just changing.

Changes, by the way, is our Theme of the Week. Changes as betrayals, as Nina Sharp said, and as mutations, as Walter did.

I felt really bad for Mr. Hughes: his son’s gravestone had just one date on it, and that date was his son’s entire life. The realization that his son had lived on as an underground monster who eats people couldn’t have been easy. There’s a Douglas Preston/Lincoln Child novel with a very similar plot: Still Life with Crows. Which, come to think of it, perfectly describes the crow on the scarecrow that lured the utility man victim in.


The Good:
• Walter: “We are all products of our gene pool. Someone must have peed in yours.”
• Walter: “Science is patience.”
“It’s also slimy.”

The Bad:
• “Night of Desirable Objects” was the final album by the band Snakefinger (thank you, Google). It also has something to do with…night fishing?
• Scorpion babies? I have spider fear.

I Don’t Understand (as Mr. Hughes said):
• How does the guy with the typewriter shop support himself? The bodysnatchers don’t appear to be paying him, and there’s not a huge market for old-but-not-antique typewriters these days. Maybe he repairs vacuum cleaners in his spare time—you don’t seem many vacuum cleaner repairmen these days. More’s the pity.
• Boston and Pennsylvania are awfully far apart. Were they flying back and forth?
• Peter digging through the dirt with his bare hands when he knew there was a possible paralytic agent at work.

I’m having a hard time rating this episode, as I’m excited by the mythology possibilities, but underwhelmed by the stand-alone elements. They’re doing really interesting things with the characters, but nothing is really jelling yet (and I haven’t even mentioned Agent Jessup and Sam Weiss). I think the next two or three episodes will be good, and that I’ll look back on this arc happily while forgetting the Case of the Week elements.

Two and a half out of four Non-disappearing Frogs.

Season Two, Episode Two

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Warehouse 13: Season 1 Post-Mortem

Warehouse 13 initially made it onto my summer viewing schedule for three reasons: (1) it was mildly reminiscent of The X-Files; (2) it had a nice roster of some of my Sci Fi favorites lined up as guest stars; and, (3) there wasn’t much competition on my summer TV plate. But with a kicky pilot, engaging leads, and quirky supporting characters, the show quickly became an enjoyable summer staple.

For me, the best part of the show is the characters. I find the comedic/dramatic tales that stem from each character’s personality quirks and emotional baggage highly entertaining. The artifacts themselves are often interesting, but the episodes are most compelling when they connect to the overall Warehouse weirdness or are used to focus on our main characters’ issues (e.g., ‘Claudia,’ ‘Burnout,’ ‘Implosion,’ and ‘Regrets.’)

(Beware Season 1 Spoilers Ahoy!)

I particularly enjoy Pete and Myka’s partnership. The writers initially set them up in the skeptic/believer mold from The X-Files, but they’ve settled nicely into their own yin-yang dynamic, which pairs Pete’s instincts and intuitive leaps with Myka’s keen eye for detail and deductive reasoning skills. Plus, I almost always get a chuckle from the clash between his laid back ways and her tightly wound, by-the-book demeanor. (The running joke about her reading the whole Warehouse manual amuses me.)

Even more entertaining is watching the two agents interact with Artie. What’s not to love about Artie? He’s incredibly smart and resourceful, frustratingly secretive, and often quite cranky. Yet, for all that he obviously cares about his agents and their well-being. I like how even as his past is slowly unfolding, he remains an enigma in many ways.

I’m also a big fan of the other supporting characters. Mrs. Frederick is even more mysterious than Artie, and CCH Pounder is a delight. She does imperious disapproval like nobody’s business! Balancing Mrs. Frederick’s aloof and domineering presence, we had Leena with her calm, insightful, and supportive manner. Until the finale, I was convinced these two were somehow two sides the same person. (Strange, I know. But strange and improbable is this show’s stock and trade.)

And then there’s Claudia. I know the introduction of Claudia was a bit controversial with viewers. Some find her an annoying distraction and don’t think Artie needs a young foil. Others think her quirks are amusing and enjoy her dynamic with Artie. Personally, I like Claudia. I like the fresh perspective she brings to the crazy Warehouse technology, and I get a kick out of her affectionately needling Artie and his grumpy curmudgeon reactions to her. I also enjoy her “little sister” vibe with Pete. Sure, she can be incredibly annoying and troublesome at times (the incident with Volta’s coat springs to mind), but overall, I think she’s been a fun addition.

Of course, then the writers blew everything to hell in the season finale. Literally. I was kind of stunned and at a loss when ‘MacPherson’ ended. Pete and Myka are seemingly trapped in the Warehouse, Claudia ran away after being framed as a traitor, and Artie is presumed dead? I’m having trouble swallowing that last one. The show wouldn’t be the same without Artie! Maybe he somehow got his hands on the Phoenix and managed to survive. (I hope, I hope, I hope.)

Even worse was the revelation that Leena is working with MacPherson. It seemed pretty clear throughout the episode that MacPherson was always one or two steps ahead of the Warehouse crew, and that his endgame was getting back into the Warehouse for nefarious purposes, but I didn’t see this twist with Leena coming. I was down with Claudia being an unwitting, Manchurian Candidate-style mole; I thought that was an intriguing turn of events. But Leena as MacPherson’s willing accomplice came out of nowhere and was a hefty blow. I really can’t wrap my mind around it. I feel as betrayed as the team will when they find out. Why, why, why Leena?! I’ll certainly be tuning in next year to see how it all plays out.

Favorite Episode of the Season: This one’s a toss-up between ‘Burnout’ and ‘Regrets.’ For ‘Burnout,’ the ultimate defeat of the artifact (the electric spider weapon that attached to people’s spines) was a little cheesy, but I loved the Warehouse team interactions and getting some insight into agents past. I particularly loved the ending when former agent Rebecca warned Myka to get out before it was too late. Intriguing. ‘Regrets’ had a really interesting artifact (the creepy prison driving penitent people to commit suicide), and the episode as a whole provided a great opportunity for Pete and Myka to deal with their demons. I wasn’t too keen on the music they chose to underscore Myka’s climactic confrontation with her dead lover (too poppy), but overall this was one of the season’s standouts.

Honorable Mentions: ‘Claudia’ and ‘Resonance.’ The former brought Artie into the foreground and gave us our first real glimpse of his regrets and his questionable past as an agent. The latter had a cool artifact (a song that entranced and immobilized people), and I was quite touched by the revelation that the “bad guys” were just trying to somehow restore a sad, damaged man they cared about.

Least Favorite Episode: ‘Elements.’ No contest here. I was excited that Joe Flanigan was going to be on and I really wanted to like this one, but the completely anti-climactic ending just killed it for me.

Side Note: As noted, the guest star roster was part of the reason I started watching Warehouse 13 in the first place, but the guest roles have been pretty meh. Either the actor didn’t have much to do (Tricia Helfer, Mark Sheppard, Michael Hogan), or the story itself was terrible (Joe Flanigan). Joe Morton’s appearance as a Florida prison inmate/cult leader is the only one that I’ve truly enjoyed. Roger Rees’s turn as MacPherson wasn’t too shabby either. (And Tricia Helfer does work the hell out of a slow-motion, windblown entrance.) I don’t really want to take time away from our main cast of characters, but I hope that if they get some recognizable guest stars for next year, they give them better material.

Overall, a fun and entertaining first season. Looking forward to Season 2.

Promo image credit: Lindy52 at www.fanpop.com
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Dollhouse: Vows

Echo: "Wait. What did they make me this time?"

Fake wedding in the beginning. Real wedding at the end.

I found the first half hour and the FBI plot confusing the first time through, and that's not good. But I thought the powerful ending made up for it. They fixed two huge problems I had with season one: (1) they finally made me like Echo and see her as the center of the story, and (2) they finally created a strong, emotional connection between Echo and Paul.

In fact, I liked every scene centered around the relationship between Echo and Paul. His distress at her having sex with Jamie Bamber. Him being the only one to realize she was in trouble. The way he recreated their fight in the Chinese restaurant in order to key up her programmed fighting skills. Her confession to him that she remembered everyone she has been, except who she really is.

Paul finally agreed to be Echo's handler in order to protect her -- no small thing, considering how distasteful he finds all of it. That rote recitation ("Do you trust me?" "With my life") actually meant something this time, because Echo and Paul were aware of what they were saying and they both totally meant it. Vows.

Claire's identity crisis was amusing as well as tragic. Interesting what Claire said about not wanting her current self to "die." It raises such complicated questions about self and identity. Isn't the current Claire, with her wealth of experience, just as much a person as whoever she originally was? I hope we see Claire again. I want to know who she is. I want her and Boyd to have a wild and crazy love affair, too. I loved that he asked her out. And that he did it only after he discovered she was a victim of the Dollhouse, too, and not really on the staff.

Topher's reaction to Claire's crisis showed us his human side. He's a brilliant, lonely geek who sleeps in a server room. Claire freaked him out by making a pass, and Topher brings up a Muppet? He's such a sexless man. At least he's no longer creeping me out.

I'm so glad Adelle's guilt over her sexual exploitation of Victor got him his beautiful face back. I'm very fond of Victor. I'm confused about the real Sierra, though. She is partly Asian, and prejudiced against Asians? Is this a "I hate myself" thing that she also expresses with sexual masochism? Or was she imprinted with someone else but dressed in her own clothes? Confusing.

I will again say that I love how Joss Whedon brings back actors that he loves. But having the casts of Buffy, Angel and Battlestar mixed together like this feels a little like television incest. And was outright weird to hear Jamie Bamber and Alexis Denisof reverse accents. Although, oddly, they were returning to their own accents. Television can be strange.

I also wish the first half hour had been easier to follow because I bet it turned off some new viewers; I'm surprised that Joss Whedon made a mistake like that. But it was still an emotionally stirring episode, and I loved it.

Bits and pieces:

-- The cast is the same as season one. New credits, all focused on Echo. Why not the rest of the cast, too?

-- Senator Daniel Perrin (Alexis Denisof) was introduced. Please give us lots of him, pretty pretty please. Many episodes. Did Paul give Senator Perrin his new anti-Rossum cause? Did Boyd?

-- Too bad Alexis Denisof didn't get to do a scene with Amy Acker. Maybe later, huh?

-- Jamie Bamber was suitably despicable. And he and Tahmoh got to do a scene together, which was fun.

-- Topher used Bride of Frankenstein as his alert mechanism for Claire hacking into his files. Funny and cruel at the same time, like Topher himself.

-- Was Claire about to go for a scalpel, like Alpha? That little hint did not make me happy.

-- Did some client pay to see Whiskey and Echo making it together???

-- Ivy got to add rat catching to her resume, along with fetching inappropriate starches.

-- Echo has three more years on her contract.

-- In this season's hair report, Adelle got a new do. More severe, a bit darker. I'm not sure I like it. Topher's hair seemed wilder and longer, too. Softer, maybe. Like him.

Quotes:

Boyd: "After that news anchor..."
Adelle: "Which one?"
Boyd: "The one who wanted to be rolled in eggs and flour and dipped."
Adelle: "Ah, Tempura Joe. Such a lonely soul."

Ivy: "We're backed up like LAX at Christmas."
Topher: "It's the autumn rush. Temperatures plummet to the high sixties. The leaves fall off that one tree on Wilshire."

Claire: "I like my scars. They bring out my eyes."

Claire: "What if she went over your head?"
Boyd: "I'm very tall."

Claire: "My entire existence was constructed by a sociopath in a sweater vest. What do you suggest I do?"
Boyd: "Have dinner with me."
This is a couple I could definitely get into.

Topher: "Guy's asleep. Could have been Fozzie Bear and I would have... not that I think about Fozzie Bear."

Claire: "So why didn't you stop there?"
Topher: "Because I was designing a person, not a Roomba."

Not sure how to rate it. What did you all think?

Billie

All of my Dollhouse reviews are archived here.
(Season two, episode 1)

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Glee: Preggers

"I've known it since you were three. All you wanted for your birthday was a pair of sensible heels."

After watching "Preggers", I'm rethinking my evaluation of last week's "Acafellas".

Like Puck, Glee came on a little too strong last week, but this week's episode showed that underneath the swagger is sensitivity. While I still don't love the way it was executed, I now see that "Acafellas" was setting up the foundation for "Preggers", just as finding your identity needs to come before you can get outside your box, and become truly spectacular.

"Preggers" was hilarious as usual, yet managed to be very touching and real. The episode centered around Kurt, who is terrified his father is going to find out he's gay. After he's caught prancing to Beyonce in a sparkly unitard ("Guys wear them to work out nowadays... they wick sweat from your body"), Brit lies and says that Kurt is on the football team, and that they were just helping him with his "conditioning".

Surprisingly though, very little of the episode was about whether or not Kurt would make the cut and be able to hold up his lie. The team, who is 0 for 6 this season, needs a new kicker, and with Finn's help, Kurt is able to "audition". And after Sue's gloating in the teachers' lunchroom - she has gotten a segment on the local news - Ken is willing to try anything to break the losing streak. After all, he says, "we already gave up our pride when we lost to that school for the deaf."

But then Glee turns the Miraculous-Football-Team-Comeback-Thanks-to-the- Unlikely-Kid cliche on its head: Kurt handily score an impressive field goal during tryouts, and the team is able to win the big game by learning how to dance. (I wonder if Beyonce knew what a comedic goldmine her video/dance would become - I don't think I've ever laughed as hard as when I saw a line of football jocks "sneak back to the finger.") Even better was the reveal that Kurt's dad always knew he was gay. I guess he was waiting for Kurt to feel sure enough of himself to tell him, and/or to finally be able to trust that his father would love him no matter what. I was sniffling.

That's what I love about Glee - it teases that it is going to do one thing with the story, then handily dismisses it and takes you down a totally unexpected road. For example, any other show would have dragged out the Rachel pining after Finn storyline, but they kissed in the 2nd episode, making what is usually the climax a jumping point for a larger story. At first, I was thrown off by this pacing - e.g., how did Glee Club come together by the end of the pilot?!? - but now I appreciate it, as it keeps me guessing where the writers will go next.

It is also in this episode that the characters - both lead and secondary - really start coming to life. Terri shows that she's not just a manipulative bitch, but a desperate woman caught in a lie, holding on to a husband that she pushed away with her selfishness. She's freaking out about the fake baby, and is ready to confess to Will when her sister stops her. ("Dishonesty is food to a marriage," Kendra advises. "It will die without it.")

We start to see past the arrogant confidence of key players as their vulnerabilities are revealed. Puck clearly envies his best friend. Finn has a natural talent that he's not afraid of hiding; even though Puck can also sing, he is too concerned about his "stud" image to perform. Finn has a beautiful (if not faithful) girlfriend; Puck has randy cougars, and sex on Star Wars sheets. So Puck seduces Quinn by getting her drunk on wine coolers. Ironically, the president of the Celibacy Club is now pregnant after losing her virginity to her boyfriend's player best friend.

And Sue's success is actually only hanging by a thread. Some of her Cheerios are defecting to the Glee Club, and if she doesn't win Nationals, the TV segment she's been lording over the other teachers will be canned. In desperation, she blackmails Figgins with a Mumbai Air hose commercial, and teams up with Sandy to bring about Glee's demise. The plan? Steal away Glee Club's star singer - Rachel Berry - by promising the lead in a production of Cabaret ("Four words: Liza. Minelli. Celine. Dion.") Rachel is ripe for the picking - Mr. Schuester has given the West Side Story solo to Tina, a role that Rachel has "had a personal connection with since the age of one."

A couple of weeks ago, I would have been massively annoyed by Rachel's brattiness. But in the last few episodes, the producers have done a good job of showing what is driving her diva-like behavior: Yes, she thinks she's good, but it is also the only thing she knows she has going for her. As she said to Will, kids are still throwing her lipstick down the toilet. She needs to be a star to show everyone that she's not a loser; she needs her high school years to mean something.

Finally, I am soooooo happy that the show is finally giving characters like Kurt and Tina the spotlight. I mentioned in my last review that I like how Glee is becoming an ensemble show, and this episode only reinforces that. Will's determination to give everyone an equal chance to shine seems to reflect the producers' thinking as well. Not only are "minor" characters now instrumental to the plot, they are being invested in with their own backstories, solos, and personalities. And since the writers seem to relish on turning stereotypes on their heads, I am overjoyed to say that I have no idea how the characters will turn out, but I can't wait to see.

GLEEful Moments:
- How adorable was Kurt with the pageant waves? First after he rocks the tryouts, then when he was jumping up and down waving at his dad, and finally blowing kisses after he makes the field goal.

- Sandy in his short, short kimono. I was waiting for him to flash Sue any moment, a la Sharon Stone.

- Wow, Rachel singing "Taking Chances." I've never been much of a Celine Dion fan, but I'm totally downloading this song. Lea Michele has a way of making so-so songs spectacular.

- The Figgins hose commercial was painful and not very funny. Sorry.

- Sue and her "that's how I 'C' it." So cheesy.

- Quinn telling Finn to "Think of the mail! Think of the mail!" when they were in the hot tub.

- The acapella version of "Moonlight Sonata" during the scene with Quinn and Puck was amazing. It really set the mood.

Quotes:
Terri: "If I tell you something, do you promise not to tell anyone?"
Kendra: "Oh my God. Is the baby black?"

** FYI, this conversation was a wink to Nip/Tuck. On that show, Jessalyn Gilsig's character, Gina, had convinced Christian Troy that she was pregnant with his baby, but when the baby was born, he was black.

Kendra: "Your wife is going to be pushing a watermelon out of her boy-howdy in 5 months. She doesn't need nice!"

Kurt: "My body is like a rum chocolate souffle - if I don't warm it up right, it doesn't rise."

Sandy: "I’m living in a cocoon of horror. Yesterday, I ate 9 cans of aerosol of whipped cream."

Terri: "Take these three times a day or your baby will be ugly."

Kurt: "Nighttime skincare is a big part of my post game ritual."

Kurt: "I need to ask you something."
Finn: "Thanks, but I already have a date for the prom."

Tanaka: "You make this and you die a legend."
Kurt: "Can I pee first?"

Finn: "I got this from the school library. Did you know you can borrow books from there?"

Sue's Corner: (she deserves her own, dontcha think?)
This week she called Emma "Alma". Last week, it was "Irma".

"Caning works."

"Boy, the only thing missing from this place is a couple dozen bodies lying and rotting under the shallow grave of the floorboard."

"If I was out to get you, I'd have you pickling in a mason jar by now."

"I'll often yell at homeless people 'Hey, how's that homelessness working out for you? Give not being homeless a try."

Music:
No huge numbers this week, but the Single Ladies dance and Rachel's solo more than made up for it.

"Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" by Beyoncé

"Taking Chances" by Céline Dion, performed by Rachel Berry

"Tonight" from West Side Story, performed by Tina Cohen-Chang

"Preggers" didn't dazzle me like the pilot; it also didn't make me wince or worry the way that both "Showmance" and "Acafella" did. In some ways, I'm happy that it was a solid, low key episode, and not an explosive showcase like episode one. These are the kinds of episodes that build characters, further plotlines, and makes a show a long term player.

Three out of four sparkling unitards.

Side Note: Did you know that much of Glee as we know it today grew organically from the auditions? For example:

- At least 3 of the songs the kids sang for their Glee Club audition - "Mr. Cellophane" by Kurt, "On My Own" by Rachel, and "Can't Fight This Feeling Anymore" by Finn - were the songs the actors sang for their audition for the show.

- Ryan Murphy created the character of Kurt after he met Chris Colfer.

- Finn plays drums because Cory Montieth drummed on Tupperware and glasses in his audition tape.

- Lea Michele actually got into an accident on her way to the audition. Even worse, the piano player messed up her solo. She got a little upset, which the casting directors thought she was doing on purpose to be funny, and incorporated that into Rachel's character.
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FlashForward: No More Good Days (Series Premiere)

“You’re worried your future is going to come true. I’m worried mine won’t.”

Everyone in the world blacks out for 2 minutes and 17 seconds. Only they don’t all black out: they experience themselves six months in the future. When they wake up, chaos: drivers lost control of their cars, surgeons lost patients, helicopters lost their bearings and crashed into buildings.

There are two big questions that permeated this series premiere: what’s going on? And what does it mean? A few characters saw something so wonderful that it seems impossible; others saw what seems like the end of their lives. And some people saw nothing at all, which might mean there’s nothing to see.


FlashForward remains relatively faithful to the basic premise of the book (well, the FlashingForward part), but really seems to be taking things in a new and exciting direction. The characters, at this point, are defined by one or two quirks: Mark Benford (Joseph Fiennes from Shakespeare in Love) is a recovering alcoholic who loves his wife; Bryce Varley (Zachery Knighton) was a suicidal doctor who now has hope for the future; Stan Wedeck (Courtney B. Vance from Law and Order: CI) is deadpan and doesn’t take prisoners. The emotional core of this story is really how these characters are grappling with the incredible.

The genre/SF core of the story is precisely that incredible event. “What happened?” is still up in the air, and the mystery is made deeper by the last-act reveal that at least one person was awake during the FlashForward—a pretty good sign that the answers to the questions will not be the same as they were in the book. And also a pretty good sign that this won’t be a show of stand-alones and one-offs. Hooray for mythology!

But even as the impossible happens, life goes on. Mark and Demetri (the awesome John Cho, who did a lot with a little, performance-wise) shook off their confusion, saved people, and captured the criminal. Olivia (the luscious Sonya Walger—Penny from Lost) went back to saving lives. This felt very emotionally honest to me, especially since FBI agents and doctors are exactly the people whom one would expect to shine in an emergency like this.

Obviously, quite a few shows are shot in LA (although not as many as local politicians would like). But this episode really felt like LA, from Mark and Olivia’s Simi Valley home to the Venice Beach Pier and various recognizable street shots, including traffic gone horribly wrong on the 101/110 interchange downtown. Even though all these places are in the greater LA area, they’re very far apart, which made the settings feel both universal and very personal. For this Angelino, at least.

Having said that, in places the cinematography was a bit too much like that movie Crash (or some Soderbergh films, as well as a number of other things) for me. There were the blue scenes, the yellow scenes, the warm scenes, and the washed-out scenes. LA is definitely a place with incredible light, and incredible variety in light, but the overuse of blue-scenes has always irked me, as that’s actually rather rare in LA, and quite localized to the 20 minutes after dusk within 10 miles of the ocean in temperate weather. But there were other neat allusions, too: the opening shot was very Lost-ish with the whole in medias res thing, and very Godfather-ish with the oranges.

Flashes
• The big puddle of water that Mark walked through might have been a sinkhole. They’ve been popping up (or down, I guess) all over the place in LA this month.
• That was a very CGI kangaroo.
• There was a great Lost Easter Egg when Mark and Demetri were staking that guy out.
• The injured kid’s dad’s name is Lloyd Simcoe. Interesting…
• Courtney B. Vance’s flashforward was hilarious. As was his version of it.
• The cast is incredibly British (and one guy is from Ireland). The American accents were of varying degrees of accuracy. Joseph Fiennes needs a bit of work.
• April 29, 2010. 04-29-2010. 137 seconds. Go to work, number crunchers. I’ve got nothin’. Except that it’s a Thursday.

I really want this to be a wonderful show, and I didn’t see anything in this premiere to indicate that it wouldn’t be truly awesome. The previews for the rest of the season look tantalizing, and Dominic Monaghan, who was sadly missed in this episode, will appear soon. I’m definitely going to keep watching it, and I’m pretty sure I’ll keep enjoying it.

Could be a four-kangaroo rating, could be a three to allow for future coolness. For now, 3.4 kangaroos.

My review of the book on which this series is based is here.

[Please don't post book spoilers here on the blog. If you want to talk book vs. show, join us over at the message board.]

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Smallville: Savior

Can you believe it's the ninth season???

No more red blue blur. He's the man in black. Clark has become Johnny Cash. It suits him, actually. I've never been a fan of superheroes wearing primary colors, anyway.

Did he fly? Or did he jump off the Statue of Liberty and land on his face? I vote for flying. I'm sure that after eight seasons, they can't hold them to no tights no flights any longer. Actually, I'm fine with no tights. I just want Clark to freaking fly, already.

I wanted them to kill Tess off or send her to Australia. Instead, they've centered a brand new, confusing Kryptonians-led-by-Zod plot around her. Callum Blue is channeling Terence Stamp in the second Superman movie. I'm confused about the fake-blue-eye chick; would somebody explain her to me? Or was she supposed to be confusing?

At least we have actors migrating in from other sci-fi shows. Alessandro Juliani from Battlestar appears to be a permanent fixture, someone for Allison Mack to do dialogue with, and that's very cool. Brian Austin Green from Terminator is a new reporter who is probably going to create love triangle idiocy to separate Lois and Clark. Who are still connecting in a phone booth. I like the phone booth, a sure sign that it'll be taken away. They'll bring Lana back, and Clark will immediately forget that Lois exists again. I've been burned too many times.

More cage fighting and Justin Hartley with his shirt off pummeling people. That's never bad.

Chloe wants Clark to bring Jimmy back from the dead. Chloe, that's never a good idea. Haven't you read Pet Sematary?

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Supernatural: Free to Be You and Me

Castiel: "His name is Raphael."
Dean: "You were wasted by a teenage mutant ninja angel?"

There I was, thinking Dean had gotten the more interesting "separate vacation," until we reached the end. And boom. I was right about Sam being Lucifer's chosen vessel. Makes sense, of course. It must have been obvious, because I don't usually guess these things.

Will Sam succumb? Of course he will. He has demonic delusions of grandeur, after all; how could he resist the lure of that kind of power? And Sam can't even kill himself to get away from Lucifer. (Do you hear that, Mr. Winchester? That is the sound of inevitability.) So, obviously, we *are* going to get brother against brother this season -- except it won't actually be them. Because if anything would make Dean let Michael take him over, it's saving Sam from himself.

I love how they just go for outrageous and make it work. They've pulled off so much wild and crazy already. But Michael versus Lucifer as Dean versus Sam? I'm apprehensive about this storyline, because it could very well be their series finale. Where can they go with it but out the door with both of them dead or in wheelchairs, like Bobby? And if they don't do it right... I don't even want to consider it. Maybe I'm just depressed about one of my favorite shows coming to an end, and probably tragically.

Anyway. Dean and Castiel felt awkward together, but they also cracked me up about a dozen times. It was nice to see Dean having fun again. (Although there was an underlying sadness to Dean acknowledging that he couldn't have fun with his brother any more.) I loved Castiel holding the fake badge upside down, mostly because he was oblivious to the fact that he was holding the fake badge upside down. Dean may not have gotten Castiel laid, but he's already corrupted him; by the end of the episode, Castiel was calling Raphael his little bitch.

Raphael really believed that God was dead. He said that God wouldn't have allowed bad things to happen like they did in the 20th century. But... but... terrible things happened before the 20th century, too. Really terrible. And there were even fewer people for God to keep an eye on back then, so what was his excuse? Interesting subplot for a fantasy adventure show, this thing about the existence of God. I like it.

There's an open phone line between a vessel and his angel. Dean can reach Michael, then, if he really wants to.

Bits and pieces:

-- Every time I saw the title of this episode, I laughed out loud.

-- I liked the opening scenes where we saw Dean and Sam doing the same things. A visual reminder that they're still connected, even while apart.

-- Lucifer appeared to Nick as Nick's dead wife. I should have realized what Jessica was right away, but I didn't.

-- An archangel can be trapped by a circle of burning oil from a specialty store in Jerusalem. What do you want to bet we see Dean in one of those circles by the end of the season?

-- Garber, Oklahoma; Greeley, Pennsylvania; Waterville, Maine. Sam was living at the Great Plains motel, which was all red and black with lots of wrought iron. Perfect sort of place for Lucifer to visit. Or more accurately, Lucifer's astral projection.

-- Does Castiel have cooler hair this season? Actually, I think Castiel has Dean hair now.

-- Dean was Detective Bill Buckner, a baseball star, according to Google. Dean was Agent Alonzo Mosely and Castiel was Eddie Moscone, two characters from Midnight Run. No rock stars this week.

-- Keith?

-- My cable went out twice during this episode, so if I missed something important, please post it!

Quotes:

Dean: "Eat it, Twilight."

Dean: "Whoa, whoa."
Castiel: "What?"
Dean: "Last time you zapped me someplace, I didn't poop for a week. We're driving."

Dean: "You mean to tell me you've never been up there doing a little cloud-seeding?"
Castiel: "I've never had occasion, okay?"
Not even with Anna? When they so obviously had a thing?

Dean: "There are two things I know for certain. One, Bert and Ernie are gay. Two, you are not going to die a virgin. Not on my watch."

Hunter: "No offense, but what baggage is so heavy it can't be stowed away for the freaking Apocalypse?"

Castiel: "This is a den of iniquity. I should not be here."
Dean: "Dude, you full on rebelled against heaven. Iniquity is one of the perks."

Dean: "This whole industry runs on absent fathers. It's the natural order."
That one was sad and true. Not funny at all.

Sam: "I did it. I started the Apocalypse."
He finally admitted it.

Dean: "I've had more fun with you in the past twenty four hours than I've had with Sam in years. And you're not that much fun."

I'm not sure how I felt about this one. I enjoyed it a lot, but it felt odd to me. Maybe it was because Dean and Sam were apart, which was screwing with the natural order of Supernatural things.

Billie

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

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Glee: Acafellas

"I want you to smell your armpits. That's the smell of failure, and it's stinking up my office."

Ryan Murphy is not a subtle man.

Anyone who has ever watched Nip/Tuck, the show that made him a Hollywood power player, knows this. No doubt the show has fantastic actors, character development, and cheeky commentary on the value our society places on beauty. But it also uses shock and taboo to drive forward the plot: a 16 year old having an affair with his friend's mother, who happens to be a post-op transsexual that had an incestuous relationship with "her" son. A killer being pursued by a detective who happens to be his sister that he's had sex with. You see a pattern here?

Now, Glee has never claimed to be a sensitive teen drama a la My So Called Life. But "Acafellas", the 3rd installment, was about as subtle as Christian Troy's bare behind. The theme of the night was confidence. I know, because it was repeated four times. Oh - and in case you didn't get the memo - Ryan helped us along with helpful synonyms like "balls", "guts", "cajones". I'm not sure if I felt so stupid at the end of the episode because my head had been bashed in with an anvil, or if it was because we, the viewers, were treated like we were borderline retarded.

Don't get me wrong - I enjoyed "Acafellas" a lot. There were some excellent isolated moments, and overall, I am pleased by the continued character development. I just think that they tried a little too hard to be "deep" this week. It's always great when you have parallel story lines to tie together a theme - such as they did last week with "Showmance". Or when you can get seemingly unrelated characters or plots to come together into a greater whole - like Heroes did in its first season.

But this was rather ham-fisted. Four male characters and one female all having a crisis of confidence in one episode? That was all resolved by the end of the hour? Come on, this is high school, parenthood, life. Confidence and identity issues don't go away - they could have developed these themes over time as characters grow and become more complex.

Ok, rant over. Now onto the good stuff...

First off, how great was it to have Sandy "not allowed within 50 feet of children" back? And stalking Josh Groban, an "angel sent down to deliver platinum records unto us"? The only thing that made me more excited was more Figgins screen time. He is definitely my favorite secondary character. Who else would mollify angry parents ("they found out we were serving prison food") with an acapella version of "I Wanna Sex You Up"?

Speaking of which, I'm not sure I ever needed to know the lyrics of "Poison" or "I Wanna Sex You Up", which seemed so much dirtier when sung by Ken Tanaka. One of the things I love most about the show is that the songs they showcase are really just ... wrong. And the audiences who are watching (in the show) don't even blink. I wonder if that's deliberate or an oversight, especially after they made such a big deal about the "Push It" performance last week. You'd think it would occur to at least one parent that "Rehab" is not exactly an appropriate high school show choir song.

On the character development front, Quinn and Terri both continue to grow on me. Terri has now noticed Emma's overenthusiastic support of her husband. She also seems to be appreciating how great Will is more and more. I can forgive Quinn for watching Bring It On one too many times, as she seems to have defected from Camp Cheerios. Hooray.

But the star of the night was Mercedes. Besides the fact that she blew the roof off with her rendition of "Bust Your Windows", I'm glad that all the characters are getting their share of screen time. Glee could have easily focused on Emma/Will/Terri and Rachel/Finn, but it is truly developing into an ensemble cast show.

Last, but far from least, Kurt's coming out to Mercedes was a touching moment.

GLEEful Moments:

Victor Garber! In a bow tie! I know that he's played many more roles than Spy Daddy, but it still throws me off a bit when he smiles. He looked adorable, but I can't wait for him to sing.

The lead singer from Vocal Adrenaline was named Best Female at Absolutely Tampastic.

Henri and the two thumbs up cake. He had to bite the thumb off because he couldn't use his fork.

Sandy: "I told Figgins that you are going to have a school full of nancies unless you get some hot wood in those teenagers' hands."

Doctor: "There's no baby."
Terri: "Did it fall out?"

Mercedes: "Just because he wears nice clothes don't mean he's on the down-low."
Rachel: "He wore a corset to second period."

Sue: "You know, the way you use your mental illness to help these kids is really inspiring."

Puck: "Dude, my bowels have better movements than you."

Josh Groban: "Josh Groban loves a blowsy alcoholic."

BTW, Ken Tanaka also plays Chang on True Blood. He looked familiar, but the knee high socks threw me off.

The Music:

"This Is How We Do It" by Montell Jordan, sung by Acafellas

"Poison" by Bel Biv De Voe, sung by Acafellas

"Mercy" by Duffy, performed by Vocal Adrenaline

"I Wanna Sex You Up" by Color Me Badd, performed by Acafellas

"Bust Your Windows" by Jazmine Sullivan, performed by Mercedes

No singing by Rachel this week... I definitely missed it.

All in all, it was a solid episode. The emotional bits felt awkward, especially when juxtaposed next to the musical numbers and the snarky comedy, both of which Glee does seamlessly. But it's still better than the majority of shows out there. I'm optimistic that things will smooth out as the show finds its footing.

Two out of four missing thumbs. ... Read full post

The X-Files: Beyond the Sea

Case: Two kidnapped college students, apparently abducted by a serial kidnapper/murderer who tortures his victims for a week, then kills them.
Destination: Raleigh, North Carolina

When two kids are kidnapped around the holidays in what appears to be a serial incident, Mulder is asked to speak with Luther Lee Boggs, a serial killer he put on death row who claims to have information about the case. Boggs says his information comes from psychic transmission, but Mulder is skeptical, believing that Boggs is orchestrating the kidnapping from the inside to scheme his way into another stay of execution. Scully, on the other hand --- reeling from the recent, sudden death of her father --- finds herself in the atypical role of believer.

‘Beyond the Sea’ is one of my very favorite X-Files episodes. The story perfectly blends a compelling “freak of the week” with a fantastic character piece. Moreover, it is the first episode centered on Scully, and Gillian Anderson is simply outstanding. She ran the gamut of emotions from shock and disbelief to hollowed-out grief to fear and anger. The way she conveyed Scully’s barely repressed grief was so real and raw, and very in keeping with the character we’ve come to know. I thought she was particularly strong in her confrontation with Boggs. I was really moved by her delivery of “I’ll believe you … if you let me talk to him.” So understated but emotionally exposed. Her hesitant smile when Boggs seemed to become her dad for a moment was fantastic. In that instant, she was a little girl happy to see her beloved dad come home. Very poignant.

Brad Dourif was also outstanding as Luther Lee Boggs. This is another case where I always think of this role when I see the actor. Boggs was a truly heinous criminal, complete with “KISS, KILL” tattoos on his knuckles. “When he was 30, he strangled five family members over Thanksgiving dinner and then sat down to watch the fourth quarter of the Detroit-Green Bay game. Some killers are products of society. Some act out past abuses. Boggs kills because he likes it.” One of my favorite aspects of Dourif's portrayal is that I never quite knew if Boggs really did have psychic abilities, or if he was playing them. The episode seemed to come down on the side of his abilities being real, but Brad kept me guessing throughout by balancing Boggs’s over-the-top channeling with quietly compelling moments that seemed eerily real.

Overall, I thought it was a great change of pace to have Scully as the believer and Mulder as the skeptic. For once, she actually got to experience most of the “out there” phenomena, starting with her visionary encounter with her deceased father. By the end, she convinced herself it was nothing more than an opportunistic villain playing on her grief and regret, but the change up certainly led to some interesting exchanges between the partners about belief in extreme possibilities.

Other Thoughts

It was nice to see Don Davis as Scully’s dad, Captain William Scully. I loved the brief glimpse of their relationship in the opening scenes. “Good sailing, Ahab.” “Good night, Starbuck.” In those few moments, they managed to convey the great deal of love and fondness between them, but also the awkward strain her work choices had created.

I’ve always wondered what Scully’s dad was trying to tell her. He was so cold and robotic, it just didn’t seem like he was trying to tell her he loved her and was proud of her. Was it something else? Was it anything at all? From a story-telling perspective, I think it was better to leave us with whatever Scully chooses to believe about his message, but I’ve still always wondered.

The episode gets its name from the Bobby Darin song played at Captain Scully’s burial. Mrs. Scully’s story about how it was playing when he walked off his ship and proposed to her was quite moving. Great performance by Sheila Larkin.

It was weird to hear Mulder call Scully “Dana.” He did it multiple times in this episode, and it just didn’t sound right. It seemed to throw her for a loop, too, the first time he did it.

I love the bit where Mulder gives Boggs a piece of his New York Knicks t-shirt to see what he can "read" from it. Boggs put on quite the performance. I’ve always wondered if he really was "seeing" the information, even if he wasn’t getting it off the T-shirt. Especially since he saw through Mulder’s fake newspaper and Scully’s lie about getting a deal for him. “Luther, if you really were psychic --- ” “I’d have known you lied. That there never was a deal.”

What a shocking moment when Boggs first channels Scully’s dad. “Did you get my message, Starbuck?” I had almost the same reaction she did.

I liked the flashback to Boggs’s first walk to the gas chamber (except for the souls rushing into his body, which was slightly cheesy). “I know my hell’s gonna be going back to that chair over and over again for all of time. But in this life --- my one and only life --- I don’t ever wanna go back again! Ever!” It really added weight to his dead man walking and execution sequence at the end.

The transition from the Blue Devil on the brewery wall to Boggs’s face was an awesome shot. I wonder if they just found an image that resembled Brad Dourif, or if they purposely created one.

Our two serial killers were Luther Lee Boggs and Lucas Jackson Henry. Apparently their names were derived from real serial killer Henry Lee Lucas. Lucas was once believed to be America’s most prolific serial killer, although many of his confessions were later debunked (per Wikipedia).

Quotes

Scully (to Mulder): “Last time you were that engrossed, it turned out you were reading the adult video news.”

Scully: “Mulder, do I detect a hint of skepticism?”
Mulder: “I believe in psychic ability, without a doubt. But not in this case. Not with Boggs.”

Scully: “I know that you and Dad were … disappointed that I chose the path I’m on instead of medicine. But I need to know --- was he at all proud of me?”
Mrs. Scully: “He was your father.”

Mulder: “Don’t get me wrong, Luther. I want to believe.”

Scully: “Did Boggs confess?”
Mulder: “No. No. It was five hours of Boggs ‘channeling.’ After three hours, I asked him to summon up the soul of Jimi Hendrix and requested ‘All Along the Watchtower.’ You know, the guy’s been dead twenty years, but he still hasn’t lost his edge.”

Mulder: “Why did you feel you had to lie on your police report?”
Scully: “I thought it would be a better explanation under the circumstances.”
Mulder (bitterly): “What you’re really saying is that you didn’t want to go on record admitting that you believed in Boggs. The Bureau would expect something like that from ‘Spooky’ Mulder, but not Dana Scully.”

Scully: “I thought that you’d be pleased that I’d opened myself to extreme possibilities.”
Mulder: “Why now? After all we’ve seen? Why Boggs?”

Scully (to Boggs after Mulder is shot): “Well I came here to tell you, that if he dies, because of what you’ve done, four days from now nobody will stop me from being the one to throw the switch and gas you out of this life for good, you son of bitch!”

Scully: “I don’t believe you.”
Boggs: “Oh well there’s plenty of room in that cold, dark place for liars, Scully. You go ahead and play it like you need to, but I know you believe me.”

Boggs: “Scully. Avoid the devil. Don’t follow Henry to the devil. Leave that to me.”

Mulder: “Dana, after all you’ve seen. After all the evidence. Why can’t you believe?”
Scully: “I’m afraid. I’m afraid to believe.”
Mulder: “You couldn’t face that fear? Even if it meant never knowing what your father wanted to tell you?”
Scully: “But I do know.”
Mulder: “How?”
Scully: “He was my father.”

Final Analysis: ‘Beyond the Sea’ is a fantastic and emotional episode that perfectly meshes a memorable villain with a character-driven story. Gillian Anderson and Brad Dourif shine. One of my all-time favorites.

(Season 1, episode 13)
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Heroes: Orientation--Jump, Push, Fall

[Okay. I'm not going to do a formal review, but sure, I'll post some thoughts, as a couple of people have suggested.]

A carnival? Really? At least there's Robert Knepper, who looks cooler and sexier than he has in anything else he's done lately. Maybe it's the eye shadow. The constant prophetic art thing is now cloudy tatts. That's a new and interesting interpretation.

Okay, they're doing Peter right now. Him playing Peter Parker with the police scanner and that knife fight in the vault were the highlights of the episode. His darker, sexier, broodier attitude works for him.

My second favorite thing was bodiless Sylar haunting Matt.

I like Claire's new best friend, so I'm sure she must be evil. I don't like that the Bennets are still broken up. How many times has HRG nearly been killed? And why is not-Tracey so interested in him?

Hiro dying? I'm surprised by how much I don't care. I used to love Hiro. I wasn't paying complete attention; did his trip to the past do more than put Kimiko and Ando together?

Please do post your thoughts.

Billie

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Fringe: The Same Old Story

“These events appear to be scientific in nature, and suggest a larger strategy—a coordinated effort. It’s been referred to as The Pattern.”

As Olivia struggles with John Scott’s betrayal, she’s faced with a case from the past: a serial killer who removes the pituitary gland from his victims while they’re paralyzed but conscious. Can our plucky heroine handle re-visiting the past, now that she sees it through the prism of betrayal and lies?


Meanwhile, Peter is stuck with a similar problem: the revelation that Walter’s own research lead to these killings has got to be tough to grapple with. Peter, however, doesn’t seem to be a “let’s talk it out” kind of guy, although he does do a great job of getting Olivia to open up. And Walter seems concerned about some sort of past history with Peter, as well as his own complicity in the pituitary murders.

The second victim, too, had a story from the past to tell (well, her eyeball did). I think the Theme of the Week isn’t that life is just the same old story, but rather that we have Second Chances. Olivia is trying to fix what she didn’t know was broken with John Scott, and Peter has the chance to atone for his own and his father’s past sins. On the other hand, the German doctor misplayed his second chance, and encouraged his son’s killing.

Olivia felt rather paralyzed, when faced with John Scott’s betrayal, but she managed to shake it off and find solace in action. She connected with the victims, even dreaming that she was one of them when waiting for Nina Sharp. It’s tempting to say there’s a mini-theme of the harm that men do women, and the extreme sadness between betrayals that center around sex, pregnancy, and love, but I think that might be overreaching.

Nina Sharp acted as the voice of irony here, noting that many of Olivia’s male colleagues would most likely assume she was sleeping with her partner. I wonder if this was a nod to the show being created by three men, but centering on a sort-of complex female character.

The episode was nicely bookended with two character statements: Broyles defended Olivia to Nina Sharp (at the beginning), and Nina Sharp defended Broyles to Olivia near the end.

The Good:
• The helicopter shot of whatever is standing in for the Boston Federal Building was neatly reminiscent of The Dark Knight.
• Walter: “You underestimate me, which I suppose I deserve.” The line isn’t hilarious, but the low-key delivery was.
• Peter (looking at severed hand in a jar): “Friend of yours?”
Walter: “I certainly hope not.”
• Peter’s discomfort when Walter started to give him the sex ed. talk.

The Bad:
• Walter on the “ass-warming” function on modern car seats.
• Tantalizing non-hints about Peter’s medical history…what can it all mean?

I Consider Myself a Fairly Intelligent Guy, But I’m Not Following You Here:
• How gross was the baby, that the doctors has such a strong reaction—and why was it so gross as an infant, but so person-shaped as an adult?
• The dancer was oddly unconcerned about being taken to an abandoned warehouse.
• People-growing.
• The idea that investigators could see the last image a victim saw has had moderate scientific currency since the 1700s, at least. It has never been true.
• Private citizens having top-secret clearance.

(Season 1, Episode 02)

It isn’t a bad episode, but it’s not great. The stakes don’t feel particularly high, because the show is obviously a procedural at this point.

Two out of four severed hands.

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Glee: Showmance

"If you quit the club, I'll let you touch my breasts."

I can't remember the last time I've been so excited about a show. From the moment Will Schuester pulled into McKinley High's parking lot with his "GLEE" license plate, I was grinning from ear to ear.

I admit, I was kind of nervous going into "Showmance". The nearly flawless pilot made Glee one of the most anticipated shows of the fall season. Was it just a fluke? Would it live up to the hype and frenzy intensified by the 2 month break? And, really, could anything top a high school musical rendition of "Rehab"?

Happily, I can say that "Showmance" was well worth the wait. There were so many laugh out loud moments that I don't even know where to start: The Celibacy Club ("If the balloon pops, the noise will make the angels cry"). Sue Sylvester's attempt to disband Glee because they used the Cheerios photocopier. Finn thinking about running over the mailman every time he tries not to ejaculate. The pamphlets in the guidance counselor's office ("So You Like To Throw Up").

I love Glee's wry take on high school stereotypes - I mean, do cheerleaders really wear their uniforms every day?!? - and I love its self deprecating tone, but what makes the show stand out from every other High-School-Sucks satire is its ability to balance comedy with true emotion and humanity.

For example, "Showmance" focused on *unrequited love - more specifically, Rachel's for Finn. In the pilot, she mentioned offhandedly that she expected them to become a couple, because "[you're] the hot male lead, and [I'm] the stunning young ingénue everyone roots for." When she said that, I snorted, and just wrote it off as another example of Rachel living in the fantasy, cliche musical in her head. In this episode, they expanded on her newfound boy crush, and in doing so, showed a vulnerability and humanity to Rachel that I didn't get in the pilot. Honestly, if it wasn't for her magnificent voice, *I* would be tempted to throw a slushee in her face. She was annoying, self absorbed, annoying, delusional, and did I mention annoying? Yet the hysterical lengths that she went through to get Finn to notice her - (a) trying to be bulimic, (b) joining the Celibacy Club, (c) staging an over-sexualized performance of "Push It" so he wouldn't have to face his fears - brought me closer to her as a character, especially when (d) she got her heart broken in the end.

I say *unrequited because, well, maybe it's not unrequited. Whether Finn kissed her because he's a 16 year old boy, or because he really does have feelings for her remains to be seen. What is nice about the development of this little love triangle is that the writers also showed Quinn's perspective. No high school / junior high show would be complete without the unrequited love. What's not so common is allowing the audience to see the other side. Quinn is a beautiful, popular cheerleader, as well as an expert negotiator ("Under the shirt?" "Over the bra."), and she's insecure about Rachel and her boyfriend. It's not easy to make a character both a cliche and a human being, yet the writers managed it with not only Quinn, but also Ken Tanaka, the overweight gym teacher that could have easily been a one-liner punching bag.

Which leads me to Terri. One of the complaints I had about the pilot was that she was such a one-dimensional caricature of the shrewish wife, demanding that Will give up teaching/Glee Club to support her Pottery Barn addiction, or work extra hours to buy a new house ("We can't buy a used house - it's not clean"). It was disappointing and cheap, using a shrill, unsympathetic character to show how Will and Emma are destined to be together. But this week, Terri showed that she really does love Will, as evidenced by her giving up her craft room so that Will didn't have to work extra hours. Yes, some will argue that she did it out of guilt, because she's not really pregnant, and that it's manipulative of her not to tell him. But I thought Jessalyn Gilsig did an excellent job of conveying her inner conflict, how scared she was of telling the truth, and how much she realized she didn't want him to leave her. It's easy to judge a TV character's actions, but I know that if I were in that situation, I'd be terrified of telling him the truth, especially after I'd used the baby to reach my own, selfish ends.

Of course, no review of Glee would be complete without talking about the mind-blowing musical numbers. Who didn't get goosebumps when Rachel sang "Take a Bow" at the end of the episode ... you could practically hear her heart breaking as she watched Finn and Quinn kiss. I thought Quinn's rendition of "Say a Little Prayer" with her cheerleader posse was appropriately cheesy. But it was Matt Morrison rapping "Gold Digger" with Terri in the new house that stole the show. ("We want pre-nup, we want pre-nup!")

Admittedly, I am a musical theatre geek - my friends and I used to burst into random song and dance walking across campus - so I'm going to have a little soft spot for any show about performing arts. But as "Showmance" proves, Glee is more than a good musical show. It's edgy and snarky, but it has heart; it's able make us laugh out loud at the absurdities of high school, while drawing characters that we can relate to, love, hate, sympathize with, and share their hopes, dreams and fears. It is not only able to seamlessly integrate performances into the plot - the Achilles heel of almost all musical shows and movies - but flaunts them in the face of critics with deliciously bold and inappropriate songs.

And again - Matt Morrison. "Gold Digger." Need I say more?

GLEEful Moments:

Finn and Quinn? Really?

Sue: "Iron tablet? Keeps your strength up while you're menstruating."
Will: "I don't menstruate."
Sue: "Neither do I."

Rachel (when caught trying to throw up): "I tried, I guess I don't have the gag reflex."
Emma: "One day when you're older, that will turn into an advantage."

"It's all about the teasing, and not about the pleasing." - Celibacy Club Girl's Power Motto

Pamphlets in Emma's Office:
- "Divorce - Why Your Parents Stopped Loving You"
- "I Can't Stop Touching Myself"
- "Wow, There's a Hair Down There!"

Music

"Le Freak" (not even sure this counts), performed by Glee Club

"Gold Digger" by Kanye West, performed by Will Schuester + Glee Club

"Say a Little Prayer" by Dionne Warwick, performed by Quinn + cheerleaders

"Push It" by Salt-n-Pepa, performed by Glee Club

"Take a Bow" by Rhianna, performed by Rachel

All in all, an excellent start to the season. If they keep this up, Glee will easily become one of my favorite shows of all time.

3 out of 4 crying angels.

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So, about Glee being a cult show...

We have something of a narrow focus here at Billiedoux.com. Science fiction, fantasy, and cult shows only. What's a cult show? Is there an actual definition, or is it whatever we decide it is? I think we can safely say that a cult show is (1) brilliant and original, (2) not really mainstream, and (3) inspires a passionate following. The other shows I've reviewed that aren't sci-fi or fantasy tend to fit into this niche: Dexter, Six Feet Under, Veronica Mars.

So we're adding Glee. And we're adding a new writer to cover it for us. Her name is Serena Yang, and she'll be posting her reviews of episodes two and three shortly. Let's give her a warm welcome. And let's also cross our fingers that the brilliant, original, not really mainstream, passionately followed Glee gets a nice long run instead of a painful cancellation.

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Supernatural: Good God, Y'all

Dean: "So. Pit stop on Mount Doom?"

The townspeople of River Pass were seeing each other as the enemy when in fact, none of them was the enemy. Great big metaphor for Sam and Dean, huh?

That was a good twist, with the Horseman War playing games instead of a demon infestation. I guess I need to pull out my Bible and glance through Revelations to see what's coming this season. (No, on second thought, I don't want to get spoiled.) (I'm kidding. Yes, I've read the Bible.) And bringing back Ellen and Jo and Rufus Turner from previous seasons was like a party, only with evil and death and all. I particularly enjoyed the idea of Ellen and Jo hunting together. Shades of John and Dean, huh?

Castiel took Dean's necklace. An object that I always thought had some secret power we hadn't heard of yet, and bingo: God EMF. (How did that happen? Were the Winchesters important to God even when they were children?) Of course, Dean taking off the necklace also symbolized the breaking of his connection to Sam. I really don't like the idea of Sam as an addictive power-hungry megalomaniac barely in control himself. I really don't like the idea of Dean letting Sam go fight it alone, either. Dean seemed dispirited, pun intended, as well as emotionally exhausted. But it's not like the Apocalypse can wait until Sam gets control over his demonic delusions of grandeur.

(How long will they be apart? It's never good when the boys are apart, although yes, it's definitely easier on Jensen and Jared. What now? Will Dean spend more time with Castiel? Will Sam go check into Betty Ford?)

I really liked the scene with Dean and Sam sitting on opposite sides of a picnic table in front of a mountain. It was a visually striking way of illustrating their separation. In fact, the entire episode was striking, lots of scenes of isolated characters in a nice looking but deserted town in bright sunlight. Unusual for Supernatural.

Just had a thought about last week's. If being a vessel for an angel is in the blood, and Dean is the perfect vessel for Archangel Michael, would he also be a possible vessel for Lucifer? Of course, Dean would never say yes, but what if he were tricked or forced, somehow? For that matter, what about Sam? Is he vessel material, too? Okay, I'm now picturing Dean as Michael and Sam as Lucifer tearing up the town to get at each other. You don't suppose that's where they're going this season?

Bits and pieces:

-- Bobby is not a saintly, cheerful sufferer. Definitely a crabby sufferer, like me. Castiel picked an inconvenient time to lose his healing powers.

-- Will we get more Ellen and Jo? Or will this be it?

-- Those x-rays of Dean's sigil whatever on his ribs? Awesome. Literally.

-- It would be nice to believe that War is manufactured by a guy with a ring, and not by people's pointless aggression, stupidity and hate.

-- Ellen threw holy water in Dean's face. Then she hugged him. Then she whacked him in the face. And that was nothing compared to what Rufus and Jo did to Sam.

-- Finger. Ick.

-- Dean offered Sam the Impala, which was unbelievably generous. Sam turned it down. Good for Sam.

-- I don't tend to comment on music, but I just loved them using "Spirit in the Sky" the way they did. Especially considering Castiel is currently questing for God.

-- This week, we went to River Pass, Colorado. And wherever St. Martin's hospital is.

Quotes:

Dean: "God?"
Castiel: "Yes."
Dean: "God?"
Castiel: "Yes. He isn't in heaven. He has to be somewhere."
Dean: "Try New Mexico. I hear he's on a tortilla."
Castiel: "No, he's not on any flat bread."
I love Castiel's complete lack of a sense of humor.

Bobby: "When you find God, tell him to send legs."

Dean: "Where'd you serve?"
Guy: "Fallujah. Two tours. Got back a little over a year ago. Takes one to know one. Where'd you serve?"
Dean: "Hell."
Guy: "Seriously."
Dean: "Seriously. Hell."

Guy: "So you think that all this comes from outer space?"
Dean: "This isn't X-Files, pal."

Three stars,

Billie

All of my Supernatural reviews are archived here.
Screencap credit: Oxoniensis Screencaps
(Season 5, episode 2)

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The X-Files: Fire

Case: A series of murders in which members of the British parliament are burned alive in front of their families and no evidence is left at the crime scene.
Destination: Boston and Cape Cod, Massachusetts

With ‘Fire,’ we get the X-Files version of Firestarter. Mulder is asked by an old girlfriend from his Oxford days to help catch an arsonist/murderer who is targeting prominent British politicians. With no discernable ignition source, Mulder theorizes the suspect is someone with pyrokinetic abilities.

The freak of the week really made this episode for me. It may not actually be that strong an outing, but I really loved Mark Sheppard as Cecil L’ively (a.k.a., Bob the Caretaker). He was downright freaky and very memorable. He left so much of an impression on me in this role, that whenever I see him pop up on my TV screen (which is pretty frequently these last few years --- see below), I always remember when he first creeped me out in ‘Fire.’ The smile he gives Scully from behind the potted plant is just the skeeziest!

I also kind of liked Mulder’s ex, Inspector Phoebe Green. Sure, she was ultimately revealed as a manipulative, slutty bitch, but we pretty much knew that from the start given her “fun” little car bomb tape recording and from Mulder’s various comments. “I got in over my head, and paid the price.” “This is classic Phoebe Green. Mind game player extraordinaire. Ten years it’s taken me to forget about this woman and she shows up with a case like this.” “Phoebe is fire.” Still, I liked her general demeanor and attitude. She was a fun, cheeky change of pace.

Scully’s assorted reactions to Phoebe and Mulder were also entertaining. From amusement at seeing this side of Mulder, to mild jealously, to annoyance at him trying to hook up with his ex while she’s trying to work the case. I particularly enjoyed her gently teasing him.

Scully: “Mulder, you just keep unfolding like a flower.”

Scully: “Yeah, I noticed how you couldn’t drop everything fast enough in order to help her out.”
Mulder: “I was merely extending her a professional courtesy.”
Scully: “Oh, is that what you were extending?”

Those in the ‘shipper camp may interpret some of Scully’s reactions as romantic jealousy, but I thought she was simply reacting to the closeness in the dynamic between Mulder and Phoebe. It is usually just her and Mulder against the world and they’ve become close friends. I can see how having someone suddenly intruding on that would result in a bit of jealousy and irritation. Especially when that someone thought it would be amusing to make you think you were trapped in a car rigged to blow up!

Other Thoughts

We learned Mulder is deathly afraid of fire because, as a child, he had to spend the night at a friend’s burned out house to keep away looters. “Sooner or later a man’s gotta face his demons.” Between the fire and Phoebe, Mulder got to face lots of old demons in this one.

In addition to Mark Sheppard, this week’s guest roster also includes Amanda Pays. I’m amused by the irony that back when this episode originally aired, Amanda Pays was the known name (Max Headroom, wife of L.A. Law star Corbin Bernsen) and Mark Sheppard was a relative unknown. Now, Mark Sheppard is probably better known (at least in geek circles), having been featured in memorable guest roles on countless series, including Firefly, Battlestar Galactica, Medium, and Burn Notice. He was also just on Warehouse 13.

I really liked the arson guy. He had a great sense of humor about him and was clearly one of those people who loves his work. “Well, I’ve seen fire bend around corners. Seen it bounce like rubber ball. Fire’s got a certain genius, you know. A certain … demon poetry. It’s like it’s got a mind of its own. But I’ve never seen one that can defy the laws of physics. Not when you figure it out.”

Why did it take them so long to find the burned up driver in the bathroom? The Marsdens knew he wasn’t feeling well. That’s why they had “Bob” drive them to the event in Boston. Why not look for the driver in his room or bathroom first? Did “Bob” look in those places for them and report that he couldn’t find him?

And why, when the upstairs room caught on fire, did Scully, Phoebe, and the Marsdens all just stand around watching Mulder try to put the fire out? Get the hell out of there, people!

Cecil’s non-death scene is this strange combination of awesome and cheesy. I love that he got completely engulfed by the flames he used to kill so many others, but his deranged, maniacal laughter was over-the-top and took something away from the impact of the scene. “You can’t kill me! You can’t fight fire with fire!” At least they turned it around a bit by ending with the reveal that he survived and was expected to make a full recovery in as little as a month. Shuddery!

Quotes

Scully: “I forgot what it was like to spend the day in court.”
Mulder: “That’s one of the luxuries to hunting down aliens and genetic mutants --- rarely get to press charges.”

Phoebe: “Oh come on. Don’t tell me you left your sense of humor in Oxford ten years ago.”
Mulder: “No, actually. It’s one of the few things you didn’t drive a stake through.”

Mulder: “This is Phoebe Green. Terror of Scotland Yard.”
Phoebe: “Hello.”
Scully (with false cheer): “Hello.”
Phoebe (whispering to Mulder): “She hates me.”

Phoebe: “I figured my friend Mulder couldn’t resist a three-pipe problem.”

Scully: “So, Sherlock, is the game afoot?”
Mulder: “Afraid so, Watson.”

Mulder: “Doesn’t look like your arsonist is going to make an appearance.”
Phoebe: “That doesn’t mean there won’t be any fires to put out.”

Nurse (to the badly burned Cecil): “Can I get you anything, sir?”
Cecil: “I’m just dying for a cigarette.”

Final Analysis: I’ve always liked this one. Mark Sheppard is at his creepy, wonderful best, and Mulder got to deal with some of his demons. 'Fire' isn’t one of my must-see favorites, but I enjoy it every time I watch it.

(Season 1, episode 12)
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Fringe: A New Day in the Old Town

“There really isn’t a point where things just can’t get weirder, is there?”

This episode was quite discombobulating for me, the same way that Olivia’s car accident threw her completely off. As Peter summarized when talking to Broyles in The Irish Heather, Fringe Division’s job is to jump in when something weird happened, and then play the clean-up crew. We know, though, that the Fringe Division is operating with only half the facts, at best, and that’s never been clearer than in this episode: we know where Olivia’s been, and probably how she wound up in that car. But Peter, Walter, Astrid, and newbie Agent Jessup were only able to figure out a few of the answers, and didn’t even know to ask some of the big questions.


I was surprised that they took the approach of having Olivia forget her trip to Leonard Nemoy world—and that forgetfulness was the driving force behind the “you’ve just got to go with it” aspect of this episode. It’s interesting to think about who knows what: Walter knows Peter is really alterna-Peter, and suspects the existence of other dimensions; Olivia is in a daze; Peter’s along for the ride; Agent Jessup is just as confused as we are, but seems willing to take a lot on faith. Rather rapidly, too. I don’t trust her.

The typewriter/mirror Instant Messaging is a puzzler. Is it neat? Is it silly? Is it like EPF, but with mirrors and outdated technology? The car accident guy looked in a mirror, too—I think our Theme of the Week is Double-ness. Walter’s still freaked out about alterna-Peter after his “recent trip down memory lane,” too. Not to mention the shape-shifters, who create a “double” of someone, killing them in the process.

Olivia spoke in Greek when she woke up from her coma, and said “Be a better man than your father,” which is what Peter’s mom used to say to him after Walter left. I hope that’s not the death-knell of Olivia and Peter as a couple, especially if she’s acting as a “double” for his mom. They still have sparkage, don’t they? Then again, I thought Olivia’s sister was sending out romantic vibes, too.

Peter is willing to give the federal government to capabilities for super-soldiers to keep Fringe Division going. Isn’t that throwing the baby out to keep the bathwater clean?

What was Agent Jessup doing at the end? It really felt like I missed a few minutes of this episode, but everything seemed to be working fine with my DVR.

The Good:
• Walter: “I’d like to see her face when she eats my pudding.”
Peter: “That’s disturbing.”

• Receptionist at the FBI: “Please feel free to file a civilian request on our website.”

• Agent Jessup: “There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of…”
Peter: “Oh, wow. Really? Butchered Shakespeare?”

• Walter: “I love custard, but I hate flan. Which could be an issue of semantics, or difficulty with the French.”

• The awesome X-Files shout-out during the appropriations hearing.

• The cow in the birthday hat.

The Bad:
• Nina Sharp and Agent Broyles kissing. Ewww! That absolutely doesn’t work for me: Broyles is way too young for her.

• The coconut telegraph says that Agent Francis is not long for this world, and being taken over by a shape-shifting alien doesn’t bode well. That’s a real pity.

Confusion aside, this was a really interesting episode. The score was great, and I love some of the new motifs that Giacchino introduced. The previews for the rest of the season look like we’ll get a mix of mythology and stand-alones, which I guess isn’t surprising. And the more I think about it, the more I like the discombobulation.

Four out of four Custards.


Season 2, Episode 01

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