Chuckles

Before tomorrow’s episode airs i just wanted to take this opportunity to say, this week’s Chuck was the best episode ever written.

Series creator Chris Fedak was back holding the reins this week as the writer on this episode “Chuck vs. the Predator”. Since the hiatus the show has been a little ‘Floppy’. Although it is consistently good in terms of action and comedy the stories have been a little “use once and throw away”. To give an example;

The second half of this season opened with Chuck in 3-d, a gimmick that wouldn’t be repeated and a story that really had no effect on the over arching mythology of the show. Other episodes this season such as Chuck vs. the Beefcake, ended with an awesome, series changing cliff-hanger, that Chuck and Sarah were moving in together because Chuck may have been compromised, only for the situation to be resolved within the teaser of the following episode.

This kind of inconsequential storytelling permeates Chuck because at the end of the day it is more of a sitcom than it is a drama despite its 40 minute running time and as we all know in all good sitcoms the situation is the one thing that stays the same week in and week out. However it is really frustrating when the writers suggest a new direction for the show that is all exciting only to not follow up on it.

So this week was a nice change of pace. Chuck finally discovers that he can get the intersect out of his head so he finally have a normal life, Sarah betrays Chuck again, Casey defends Chuck and Sarah and the Buy More boys get to play.

I think what I really like about this episode is the way Chris Fedak manages to incorporate the entire cast. Something that is not always easy to in this show, without it seeming forced. All of the Buy More players com e out in force including Big Mike and Emmett (Who i have a new found respect after watching the entire first season of Arrested Development.) to wreak havoc in a rival store in a series of hilarious gags.

This is played against a backdrop of serious spy stuff as Chuck tries to circumvent General Beckman so that he can meet up with Orion, the scientist who may be able to remove the intersect from Chuck’s head. It is this element of seriousness underwritten with either subtle or overt comedy that really makes this episode shine.

Anyway, that was my short Two Cents, just a little shout out to the crew of Chuck to keep up the good work, making Monday that little bit sweeter.

Best episode ever? Honestly go watch it!

They’re Dropping Like Flies

So, two new deaths in this weeks heroes, this show really goes from strength to strength and after such a long slog through disappointment and confusion it really feels like its found its feet.

Just a brief side note here before I go on to talk about this weeks episode “Cold Snap” in detail, a couple of weeks ago I went to watch Watchmen. The Superhero film that breaks the convention of Superhero films. However in some cases conventions are there for a reason. To me Watchmen felt disjointed, a sort of superhero Sin City if you will. Taking each character in turn and through flashbacks explaining how they came to be who they are. In Tv, this works, you only need to look at the success of Lost, but in film? I’m not convinced. The story of film would have stood up by itself without the flashbacks, that drove the film to its three hour running time. However the story was weak and in a lot of ways just as generic as the other superhero films that Watchmen tries to distance itself from. In fact the core story is so formulaic as to be boringly predictable, with the possible exception of the final twist. All of that said, the film is beautifully rendered with some awesome special effects. But all in all it wasn’t my cup of tea. My friend Mike, however, loved it, so check his review over here.

So back to this weeks heroes… This week sees the return of Janice Parkman and baby Matt, who has a new power that Hiro neatly dubs Touch and Go. Ando learns a new use for his power and Hiro gets at least part of his powers back. We finally uncover the identity of Rebel and Matt, Daphne and Mohinder escape from Danko.

It has taken me nearly all week to get around to watching this weeks episode of Heroes, possibly because I wrote a glowing review after the previous episode and didn't want it ruined and possibly because I’ve been busy watching the other twenty shows I watch in a week.

This episode was great. We open with Doyle gift wrapped for Danko. Last we saw of Doyle was Claire helping him escape, so what went wrong? Who betrayed Doyle? Certainly not Rebel or Noah or Angela. I would be tempted to blame Sylar however Mr. Gray seems unlikely to team up with Danko.

We move on to see Noah and Angela meet up to discuss getting Danko to trust Noah. Noah Bennett, one of my possible choices for Rebel, is clearly the inside man in Danko’s operation and Angela Petrelli is pulling his strings, but is this all a ruse? Is Noah truly opposed to Danko’s plan? After all Noah Bennett has spent his life arresting people with abilities…

Hiro and Ando discover baby Parkman who has the ability to give things life, to turn things back on that were turned off, for example Hiro’s powers. Will baby Parkman be the key to saving some of this weeks dead heroes? Can baby Parkman literally bring the dead back to life? With his powers partially restored Hiro stops time long enough to save himself, Ando and the baby, with a liberal dose of laughs that we have come to expect from Heroes.

Meanwhile Rebel hacks into building 26 and releases Tracy, Matt, Mohinder and Daphne. Leaving the others and striking out on her own Tracy runs afoul of Noah who convinces her to hand over Rebel for her own freedom. However Tracy has second thoughts when Rebel turns out to her nephew Micah. This was the most obvious choice for Rebel, however I didn’t know if he would be returning this season, it’s never guaranteed with young actors. Double crossing Bennett, Tracy helps Micah escape by icing an entire parking garage and the six agents hunting her, herself included. With Micah gone Danko turns up and puts Tracy “on ice” permanently. Her shattered face managing a final wink at the camera as if to say, “I’ll be back”. Will Tracy be back next season? Or will we be getting a visit from the third triplet, Barbara?

Finally Matt and Daphne have a last fantasy together, where Matt flies her out over Paris at night and then on to the moon. A romantic to the very end, poor Parkman loses his beloved Daphne, but is that the end for the speedster? Or will baby Matt’s new found powers be able to save her?

The episode finishes with Peter and Angela staring out over New York from the statue of liberty, a poignant reference to that which the Heroes have lost.

Ok, so more of a recap and less of an opinion, still i loved this weeks episode and can’t wait till we get new Heroes on Monday, right after Chuck.

Chuck airs on Monday at 8pm on NBC with Heroes following on at 9pm.

Exploring Dharma

So… there have been three episodes of Lost since i last wrote… However there has been sooooo much Tv on of late that i barely have time to watch it all, never mind write about it, plus I’m ill and that has to count for something right? No? Ok, i guess you have a point, i should have updated before now…

Not seen this weeks Lost, “ He’s Our You”? Stop reading now!

Ok, first off, this week is episode 10 of what appears to be a proposed (based on the listing in IMDB) seventeen episode season and as far as I can tell we’re no closer to knowing what the hell is going on.

This week’s episode sees a return to the Lost style format of story telling, yes, we have flashbacks. However these flashbacks tell us nothing and I can’t stress that enough, nothing! The first flashback tells us that Sayid once killed a chicken to save his brother from having to do it. Except as a poor “eko” (excuse the pun) of a previous flashback I really can’t see a need for this.

The rest of the flashbacks only show us information we already had or explain events we already knew to have happened, i.e. Sayid’s arrest. Unlike flashbacks of old that explored the character histories or added new layers of mystery these flashbacks were flat and boring, telling stories we already knew.

So, after my moan, lets get to the questions. Have the rules changed? Certainly the next two episode titles seem to suggest that “Whatever happened, happened”, the catchphrase of resident genius Daniel Faraday and “Dead is Dead.” However we all know that Dead is never actually dead on the island, Locke and Christian are both very much walking examples of this.

So have the rules changed as Ben so poignantly put it last season when Alex was murdered? Did whatever Locke did in the Orchid allow for history to be re-written? Certain Daniel was able to contact Desmond which he shouldn’t have been able to do. And Jin met Rousseau without future her having any memory of him. However then we also have evidence to support the nothing can be changed rules as well, for example Richard’s visit to young Locke.

The problem I have here is that future Ben doesn’t remember any of the 815 survivors when he lived amongst them for three years as a child, you would particularly expect him to remember Sawyer, no? Young Ben this week reveals that the conversation with Richard that we saw two seasons ago took place four years ago, that would mean that Ben was already living with the Dharma Initiative when Sawyer and the others arrived, when Juliet arrived. Many people have noted that Juliet had a look of the woman Ben married in the future, is she in fact the mother of that child? Is Sawyer the father? Also my theory about Ben being Charlotte’s father was shot to hell by the fact that he is only twelve when she is seven.

Another question i want to pose is why was Sun not brought back with the others? Did it have anything to do with Locke’s promise to Jin? When exactly are Sun, Ben and Frank? Certainly there is evidence to suggest they are in the present, the runway the Others were working on, the destroyed houses in New Otherton… and why is Christian suddenly appearing to every Tom Dick and Harry, when he took great pains to hide himself during the last four seasons?

Other questions pose themselves, like, how did Ethan escape the purge? Can the o6 stop it? Why haven’t we seen Daniel since Charlotte’s death? Why are so many people on contracts for the show but never actually appear in any episodes :P ? Will we ever get answers as to why Walt is special? Will Desmond return to the island? Has his son inherited his abilities? Why have the secrets concealed by the island suddenly taken on an Egyptian theme? What is the incident? Will it propel Kate and Sawyer and the others back through time to 2006? Or is their purpose to change the past, to correct a mistake? To prevent the purge?

I certainly don’t know and as we shamble towards a conclusion i find it difficult to believe that anyone knows. Certainly this new season has not been the “high-octane story telling” we were promised, in fact, it seems to have been little more than a set up for the final season, instead of being a great season in its own right. Certainly this weeks finale was good, but the execution (pardon the pun) was less than we have come to expect.

All that said, i did enjoy Mr. Ford’s comical observation. “Three years, no burning buses, y’all back for one day…!” An observation I have made myself on more than one occasion this season.

So, anyway, that’s my Two Cents, please feel free to leave inflammatory remarks telling me how i couldn’t be more wrong.

Lost is currently airing Wednesday 9pm on ABC.

Whedon Throws a Curve Ball…

Only a week after I write a scathing review about the predictability of the Dollhouse, we get this from the master himself Mr. Whedon!

This weeks episode “Man in the Street” is awesome, exposing the full scope of the show for the first time and making us all stop nodding our collective heads and go “Oh, right…”

So, if you haven’t watched this weeks episode yet stop reading now!

Questions and Answers, that’s what we get this week. FBI agent Paul Ballard finally learns the truth, the Dollhouse is real, what was I saying about them dragging it out for a whole season? Bursting in on Echo while she is on an engagement he learns the brutal truth that the ghosts he is chasing are more than real. News he shares with the girl next door, the shy, bashful and beautiful Mellie, poor form really for a seasoned FBI agent, but i guess it’s a novel experience for Paul to have someone who actually wants to hear his crazy theories.

However the transition from neighbours to lovers seems to have happened all too quickly. We all know Mellie loves Paul, but Paul is clearly obsessed with Echo and has barely noticed poor old next door neighbour. Now he beds her and lets her into his life almost completely… Pushing that aside however and filing it under “Minor Problem” Paul goes out to order some kind of oriental food and is subsequently attacked by Echo. While a disgraced handler is sent after poor Mellie because she “Knows too much.”

After kicking ten shades of **** out of poor Paul, Echo reveals she has been reprogrammed by someone within the Dollhouse. Paul immediately responds with “The same person who sent me the photo and the video?” D’oh! If Echo is playing Paul then he just handed over the information that there could be a leak in the Dollhouse! However if Echo really has been reprogrammed that opens up a whole host of questions.

Firstly, how? We have to rule out Topher here, it would be tooooooooo easy for Topher be the culprit. Secondly his devotion to the Dollhouse seems unwavering. However ruling out Topher only really leaves two suspects. The first and least likely is Adelle DeWitt, head of the LA branch of the Dollhouse. The second, the only person with the technical know how, is Topher under appreciated assistant.

Of course we have no proof that Echo was reprogrammed, it could be that what she was telling Ballard was exactly what she was programmed to tell him. Of course, if what she says is true…

Echo tells Paul “This is their first communication, security inside is very tight!” If she is telling the truth then there is an insider as well as the external source we still assume to be Alpha. “There are over 20 Dollhouses.” Interesting, that broadens the scope of the show somewhat. However the first thing that then came to my mind was “Is there an Echo, a Serra and a Victor in each, or do they all have different codenames?” Echo continues to tell Paul that the Dollhouses are spread out around the world and that they are tied into the very fabric of the political system, that there is no way to bring them down. Finally she reveals “The Dollhouse deals in Fantasy, that is their business but not their purpose.”

So what is their purpose? Echo’s final words before she leaves “You have to let the Dollhouse win, you have to trust me.” A comment that seemingly serves the agenda of DeWitt, getting Ballard to back off, but is it all a ploy or is there truth in the fantasy. So the purpose? The first thing that sprung to mind was supersoldiers. Not a new concept, the X-files certainly overplayed the notion and Heroes hinted at the idea during its last chapter and we all know how reprogramming help Neo and Trinity in the Matrix, but is the Dollhouse really that cliché?

The one thing we do know for sure is that there are other Dollhouses, DeWitt tells us as much. Also if the report at the start of the episode is to be believed, the Dollhouse has existed since the 80’s, which reduces, in my eyes, the genius of Topher. He has gone from “mastermind” to “standing on the shoulders of geniuses.” Recognise that line? You should, its from Jurassic Park. Jeff Goldblum leans across the table and tells Richard Attenborough that “You saw what others had done and you took the next step, you didn’t create it so you take no responsibility for it.” And we all know how well that turn out for Mr. Attenborough don’t we?

Ok, so I'm not suggesting that LA is going to be overrun with Dinosaurs, but what i am suggesting is that Topher could easily be working with a flawed set of principles as his building blocks and if he is how can he hope to control anything? I’m going to keep my eye on this analogy, I’m kind of hoping it plays out in my favour.

So… finally, we come to the big twist. The twist that is so big I’d already thought of it and then dismissed it. Mellie, sweet, innocent, pretty little Mellie, is a badass sleeper agent! Why? and what for? are just many of the unanswered questions posed in this weeks episode and it looks like we’ll have to wait another week to find out…

Well, that’s My Two Cents and here’s a big hand to Mr. Whedon for proving me wrong (Yes that’s right, he read last weeks blog and re-wrote the entire show just to prove me wrong.) a great, non-dushku centred episode… Well done Joss!

Dollhouse returns at 9pm on Friday 27th on Fox…

Three Words I Never Thought I’d Say…

“Too Much Eliza” Honestly, I never believed it was possible and believe me, this is the biggest, and I use the word loosely here, “Flaw” in Joss Whedon’s new show, Dollhouse.

Now I know many of you are thinking that if that is this show’s biggest flaw then this show must be out of this world awesome… Its not, but its pretty gorram shiny! (Don’t know what shiny means? Don’t know what Gorram means? Call yourself a Whedon Fan? Check out Firefly! You don't have time to watch all 14 episodes of one of the best shows on earth? Then just watch Serenity!")

I’m sorry, I seem to have gotten a little sidetracked. Ok, so Dollhouse, here’s the spoiler-free lowdown. Eliza Dushku plays Echo, one of, presumable, 26 dolls, as the other dolls that have appeared in the show so far have a codename drawn from the phonetic alphabet, with Alpha being the dominant Doll, who went AWOL after killing most of the other dolls in the project, his handler and slicing up poor Amy Acker, who looked like, in the words of Fran Kranz’s character Topher, “A Jigsaw Puzzle”

Anyway, somehow the organisation that runs the Dollhouse have found a way to erase peoples memories, leaving them in a sort of peaceful, tranquil state, with pre-programmed responses to certain triggers. Topher Brink appears to be the genius behind this project, however, no matter how good he thinks he is, something always manages to go wrong EVERY week, the guy must have the worlds biggest ego to still believe he is the best.

Topher is responsible for designing the templates that get imprinted on the Dolls and managing their vital statistics while they are on mission. The templates are created from real people, with real experiences and real problems. For example in the first episode of the show Echo is imprinted with the memories of a girl who was a abused by the man she is sent after.

When the Dolls return from a mission Topher is responsible for wiping their memories and he seems to then store these on a hard drive, for what purpose we don't yet know.

And meanwhile, Paul Ballard, (Tahmoh Penikett), an FBI agent, is on assignment to uncover the Dollhouse. However Paul is akin to Mulder (in the x-files, for anyone who isn’t old enough to get that reference), he is seen as a joke by his peers and no one expects (or possibly wants) him to succeed.

Ok, so lets do the good points first. Eliza is beautiful, definitely on the top ten list of people to invite to my fantasy barbeque. And the Character of Topher is inspired, he may have sprung from the generic Nerd template that Joss keeps in his writing desk but Fran Kranz makes the role his own and has me giggling week in and week out. The range of stories the show can tell is infinitely varied, already they have had Echo become a Hostage Negotiator, the perfect date for a guy into “extreme sports”, a Backing Singer and Bank Robber. Eliza is great at portraying strong independent women, Whedon’s trademark, and she delivers in everyway in this show and its a little crushing to see her reduced back to a defenceless puppet at the end of each episode.

The major pitfalls have been cleverly sidestepped already, so early on in the show. With this kind of drama there is a temptation for it to become formulaic, which leads to static, boring story telling. However even the first episode let us know that the Dollhouse project is still in the teething stages of life and it has many bugs to be fixed. I wont say any more on this here, go and check out the series and you’ll see what i mean.

So the show is beautiful, funny and well acted, so what is wrong with it? Firstly, every single Joss Whedon show has had an awesome theme song, Dollhouse, doesn’t. Minor nitpicking? Maybe. However it doesn't stop there. The credit sequence focuses only on Eliza/Echo, unlike any other Joss Whedon show to date. Happily, the title of the show isn’t Echo (buffy/angel) but that doesn’t stop the show being all about its main character, a lot more than any previous show. Firefly for example had so many opportunities for the entire crew to shine, but Dollhouse is very centred on Echo and that makes me worry about the ultimate shelf life of the show.

What else? Well… The FBI investigation into the Dollhouse seems fated to eventually find it, only because otherwise it wouldn't need to be shown at all and certainly not every week with with Tahmoh Penikett on the series cast. This inevitability will make getting there seem drawn out and, possibly, ultimately unfulfilling, (although i have faith in Whedon and his team to keep us guessing). And Echo becoming self-aware is also a big part of the premise, something that really has to feature as a major part of the first season finale, which begs the question, “What direction does season 2 go in?” Hopefully an awesome one!

We already know that Alpha has become self aware and is now at large, what if Echo joins him, is that why Echo survived his massacre, despite being defenceless? Maybe joining forces with the now “in the know” FBI agent to bring down the Dollhouse. Maybe they will poach Topher away, who, with his skills, will be able to reprogram Echo and Alpha with all manner of abilities? Who knows? I certainly don’t and i guess that is my main problem with Dollhouse.

Because the show is sooooooo focused on Echo, it screams out loud to have it’s noose loosened, to let the characters have some free reign and i just hope that the network has the balls to let this be more than a platform to show off just how pretty Miss Dushku is.

Well, that’s My Two Cents, I’ll leave you to make up your own minds I’m off to watch episode 5 True Believer.

Dollhouse is currently airing Friday at 9pm on Fox.

There are no excuses...

... I've been telling myself that I've been too busy to write, but it's a lie. I've been telling myself that there is just soooooo much to write about the only way i can do justice to it all is to not write at all... that's a lie too. The Truth? You can't handle the truth... well maybe...

So... Last week saw the return of Reaper. I only really caught on to Reaper towards the end of last year so i watched it all in pretty much in one go and by the end i was thirsty for more. So much so that in my mind i may have over amped it's return to the small screen because so far the first two episodes of this season have been a little disappointing.

Not seen season 1? Look away now...

The premise at the end of last season was that Sam believes he is the devil's son, however we, the audience, are still not really certain, infact the evidence seems to point away from that fact. However in the new series the Devil, played excellently by Ray Wise, seems to confirm this, raining on Sam's parade by telling him how he isn't something special, that he has a son in every port, so to speak. Add to this the fact that we have yet to see Mr or Mrs Oliver (or Sam's mysteriously absent younger brother.) this season and i just find myself asking whether or not the writers have changed their minds about where the show is heading.

It is possible that they are just playing games with us, like they did so well in the first season, getting us to watch one hand while the other does all the clever stuff we didnt expect, but i'm not convinced. For a start so many of the regulars from the first season are absent. The Oliver Family for a start, Tony the Demon, Josie (Sock's Girlfriend) and even this week, regular Ted, seems set to leave the show.

Despite Ted being a tool, i quite like him, so i hope that he isn't leaving and i'm just hoping that the writers have something great in store for him.

(I have just been back and watched the credit squence for this weeks episode only to find out that both Ted and Mr Oliver, or Donavon Stinson and Andrew Airlie as they probably prefer to be called, are still listed in the series credits (as opposed to guest stars) wow, do i feel dumb... and YEY! they're not leaving the show)

The last two episodes have suffered from a distinctly "Soul of the Week" feel, which worked great, at first, however after the way the series developed at the end of the last season, it feels like lazy writing. Despite this the show is introducing a new character, a soul that has escaped Hell and can't be sent back. Now Sam has hope that he too can get out his contract and unfortunately it is this storyline that has dominated the last two episodes, making the soul of the week stuff seem secondary and for me neither part works.

Oh and Ben is dating a Demon... That looks very promising... end on a high note, huh?

Anyhow, that's my Two Cents and I promise to bring you a Lost update very soon, along with a review of the first five episodes of Dollhouse. In the mean time, if you need a Lost fix check out Lost Lover at Law for the full low down.

Reaper is currently airing on CW Tuesdays at 8pm

It's Getting Better All The Time

So Heroes is back with a new Volume: Fugitives and in my opinion it is one of the best series yet.

Like most people, i got a little disillusioned with Heroes during its first couple of seasons but i stuck with it and i guess i did so only because if it failed, the idea would fail and the show that it should have been would probably never be made... make sense?

This weeks episode, Exposed, however was great. What i like about the new Volume is how nicely it is building up. I like the fact that they corrected their too powerful characters, Hiro and Peter, by having Arthur strip them of their powers, it was always too easy to set things right with two time travellers in the mix. I like the idea that the Heroes are now hunted, like all good superheroes, trying to do what's right, but hampered by the very agencies that should he helping them.

I'd like to see less of Sylar though. Since he was "killed" in season 1 he has become a little too annoying. His appearances through season 2 were really forced and the same seems to be true of this new volume. Also it begs the question why Peter, Matt and Mohinder are priority one with Sylar wandering round. It would have been nice to have him be "dead" for a season only for him to resurface in the next season teaser.

I would however like to see the return of some characters, it would be nice to see Molly back on screen, i think it would have been interesting to see how she coped with being on the run with Mohinder and Matt. I would love Adam Monroe to come back, however that wont happen. Maybe we should see a return of the invisible man, Christopher Ecclestons character, Peter could really use his power right about now.

Of course complaints about too many characters and over complicated plots are what led to last seasons "thinning of the herd" so the return of old characters looks unlikely. However, Heroes is now well known for killing off its main cast at the drop of a hat, DL, Nikkie, Adam, Elle to name but a few (a few i don't have to look up how to spell) so who will buy the farm this season? Is it Hiro's time? Without his power does he really have a future in the show? And if so, will it be Ando that kills him? Maybe Noah Bennet (who i think, by the way, is Rebel) or Angela Petrelli have had their day? Or the Haitian?

Who knows? I surely don't. Anyway, five episodes down and its shaping up to looking like a good season.

Heroes is currently airing on Monday at 9pm on NBC (after Chuck, also an excellent series) or in the Uk on the BBC, Monday at 9 or on iPlayer.

Coming Soon... Exploring Dharma in Lost Episode 8

Punished?

Thinking of indulging in some comic book, hollywood style mayhem? Thinking of going to see the Punisher: War Zone... *sigh* I wouldn't bother. Check out my good friend Mike's review, he puts it so much more eloquently than me...