My Two Cents

The Best of the Year

2011-09-07T01:45:00.001+01:00

So, it’s been a while and I’m not really back as such, too many other projects on the go but I wanted to put my feelings out there on what I think have been this years top shows.

Best Returning Show – Big Bang Theory

Considering that the BBT is now in it’s fourth year this was a strong returning season, possibly not as good as season one but certainly stronger than other returning shows such as Chuck, Supernatural and How I Met Your Mother.

Best New Comedy – Raising Hope

Contenders for this category included Running Wilde, Episodes and Mr. Sunshine and as Raising Hope was the only one of these shows to see renewal it was an easy decision to make for me. While both Episodes and Mr. Sunshine had their moments, Raising Hope was consistently funny across it’s run.

Best New Drama – Hawaii 5-0

This reboot of an old series is just phenomenal. Everything from the writing to the locations to the action is just superb. Add into that the quality of the cast and high pace of the episodes and you’re really on to a winner here. I hope for many more seasons to come…

Best Summer Show – Rescue Special Ops

For three years this show has delighted me, everything from it’s music to its locations, to it’s fantastic characters is brilliant. What Network 9 was thinking of when they cancelled this show I have no idea. Certainly their excuse that they want to end on a high just seems ridiculous. Other hot contenders for this category included the excellent return of Covert Affairs and the short lived but wonderfully witty Chaos.

Best Animated Series – Avengers the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes

Avengers is the perfect tie in with the current series of the Marvel movies and the series was certainly better than the lacklustre Clone Wars. That said, I’m also really enjoying the excellent new Thundercats series!

Best Genre Show – Being Human US

Having never seen the UK version of the show I was sceptical to say the least of a SyFy channel version of the show, but boy was I wrong. This show was a delight from start to finish and I can’t wait for a second season!

Biggest Disappointment – Falling Skies

Where do you begin with this category? There were so many, Falling Skies, The Walking Dead, Running Wilde The Event, Undercovers and The Chase. Falling Skies however turned out to be pretty drab, considering all the weight that was behind it, so it scoops the biggest disappointment award.

Best Show of the Year – Hawaii 5-0

Really guys, it wins hands down, if you haven’t given this show a go then stop what you’re doing and go try it out. Adrenaline-pumping, high octane story telling, set in gorgeous locations with a sexy, talented cast. Seriously, best show of the year!

Weekend at Bobby’s vs. Live Free or Twi-Hard vs. You Can’t Handle the Truth

2010-10-30T19:49:00.001+01:00

… or the “Why is Sam such a Dick Trilogy”

It’s no secret that since Supernatural has been back I’ve not been the biggest fan. But then Weekend at Bobby’s happened and I remembered why I love the show.

Weekend at Bobby’s manages to make that “Monster of the Week” format, that the new series is running with, fun and exciting. It takes its lead from a classic episode of the X-files (I can’t remember which) where Mulder is sidelined and we focus entirely on Scully with on Mulder appearing on the phone. Well, instead it is the Winchester boys on the sidelines with Bobby taking centre stage, giving us a much overlooked glimpse into the life of Bobby Singer.

The trigger for the episode however comes from Dean, who rings Bobby up to complain about how different Sam feels since he came back from the pit.

True, Sam has been acting like a dick all season, but that’s not exactly new. Sam has been a dick for some time now, season 4 was dragged down notably by Sam being a dick! Anyway, I digress.

Live Free or Twi-Hard, while an amusing title and a nice little play on the current popularity of films like Twilight, fails on multiple levels. Firstly it follows the Star Trekkien style of storytelling. By that I mean, something happens to the one of the main characters, i.e. becoming a Vampire, that will be entirely reversed by the end of the episode, despite there being evidence to the contrary that is even possible.

Instead of providing an episode about the characters striving to overcome adversity, this method of storytelling simply drags on for 40 minutes until the inevitable conclusion is reached without the episode ever having had any meaningful impact.

The second reason the episode fails is that it breaks canon, Dean’s vampirism being reversible is both convenient and poor storytelling. Part of what makes Supernatural interesting and unique is the lore that Kripke creates for the monsters, changing that lore breaks an audiences engagement with the story.

What I would have found more palatable would be for the cure to fail, after all it wouldn’t be the first time. Back in season 2, one of the most memorable and shocking failures on the Winchester Brother's’ part happened in Heart. After promising to cure Madison of her lycanthropy Sam is forced to kill her when the cure fails.

Obviously, long term, turning Dean into a vamp would be a terrible idea, but a catastrophic failure of the cure would have made the fact that Sam let Dean get turned even more impactful.

Which brings me back to Sam is a dick. The whole point of Live Free or Twi-Hard was to bring to light this betrayal moment when Sam allows his brother to be turned into a monster. The rest of the episode is by the by and it really could have been any kind of betrayal really it didn’t need to be vampires.

So the final episode of this trilogy focuses on a Pagan god of Truth who is causing people in a sleepy little town to commit suicide. I had a brief hope at the start of the episode that Gabriel was back, but sadly, no.

Again, this weeks monster of the week is one of convenience, providing a simple way to finally get rid of Lisa (big damn shame) and out Sam as being a dick. (Have I mentioned that Sam is a dick) While I didn’t find this episode as objectionable as Live Free or Twi-Hard, it still felt staged, that everything which proceeded was only there to give some lead-in to the rather unshocking confession and plea for help from Sam and the rather more shocking and violent response from Dean.

To be honest I’m glad that Dean finally got to unleash his anger at his brother and not in a namby-pamby pre-watershed kind of way, but in a full on, brutally uncut kinda way. But overall the Sam possibly-not-being-human-storyline has been a bit of a downer. With only two characters in the show, having one of them continually antagonise the other really does a lot to alienate the audience. So while it might make sense from a story point of view (and I say might) it really doesn’t from an audience perspective, especially an audience that felt the show had come to a natural conclusion at the end of season 5!

Well, that’s My Two Cents anyway, until next time…

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

2010-10-12T02:42:00.001+01:00

So, with Caprica finally back on the air, everything is up and running, so I thought I’d do a quick summary of what’s good and what’s not…

The Good

How I Met Your Mother, Raising Hope, Running Wilde and Big Bang Theory have all been great so far, performing at least as well as I had hoped, in some cases better.

Nikita was a welcome surprise and has so far been an exciting little spy drama with a twist.

Hawaii Five-O is proving itself to be a fun little tongue in cheek crime drama, like Bones and Castle but with a high octane element that makes it a very enjoyable experience all round.

Chuck, well, Chuck is Chuck and what’s not to like about that? It’s good to finally see some love for this show from the network that very nearly killed it a year ago.

The Bad

Where to start? I had high hopes for Chase. A sexy, high tension drama produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, the studio behind such movies as Pirates of the Caribbean. But the show failed on all levels to be engaging. The characters were hard edge almost to the point of dislikeable, even the incompetent one was pitiful rather than endearing. With a season chock full of good stuff, this show just didn’t make the cut.

Undercovers, the new Spy-Fi from J.J.Abrams, a name synonymous with sexy-confusion has managed to produce a pilot that fails to be anything but a joke. Undercovers picks up the story of two retired spies and throws them back into the field. They proceed then to not miss a single beat as they shoot or shag their way out of trouble. Yes it’s sexy and yes it has action, but it doesn’t take itself seriously.Abrams has so far disappointed me with Alias and Lost and Fringe, even Star Trek, but never have I been so disappointed so quickly as I was with this show. If you want a less serious spy drama then Chuck has the perfect mix of comedy and suspense, where as Undercovers tries so hard to cool and quippy that it feels like you’re watching something Sam Raimi might have churned out.

The Ugly

Supernatural… Wait what? You’re favourite show of all time??? Well yes, I said 5 was enough, Eric Kripke said 5 was enough, even the Winchester Boys said 5 was enough, but nobody listened and now look what’s happened. Supernatural is never bad per se (well Bugs was a bad episode, but aside from that) but this has been a clunky start to the season. Coming back from what should have been the end of the show should have been an explosion of goodness that explained why we absolutely needed a 6th season (and “because it makes money” is not a good enough reason.) but instead we’re back to the grungy, emo-ish style storytelling that bogged down the show’s 4th season. Sure Sam and Dean are back hunting together now, so things will pick up, but so far I have failed to be impressed.

Merlin, after a promising start the show has relapsed into it’s lazy scripting/bad British acting habits. It’s such a shame, the first season, despite its poor finale, was genuinely a surprisingly good show. Why BBC shows go downhill in later seasons has always baffled me, but still there are some good moments and some fun moments so I still have hope that once we get the “silly” episodes out of the way the show might return to form for a good season finale.

The Event has the potential to be a good show, however it is as ugly as all hell. The story is chopped, nay, finely diced into bite size chunks, these chunks are then all thrown in a bag and whichever comes out first makes up that week’s episode. In the wake left by the passing of Lost and Flash Forward, I’ve really felt the need for a mystery show, but somehow this is more annoying than it is mysterious. The entire pilot tells you next to nothing, forcing you to watch on in the hopes of figuring out why you just wasted an hour watching the last episode.

Admittedly, the second episode is better, but seriously, what was wrong with linear storytelling? Haven’t we had enough messing about with time and narrative for one generation (thanks Lost!) ???

Caprica and SGU are also back, Sy-Fy’s main dramas are both running one after the other on Tuesday nights and so far they are managing to be okay. Neither is blazing a trail of goodness, nor stinking the place up. Based solely on trailers I have high hopes for the second half of Caprica’s (final?) season where as I have no further expectations for SGU. I would be seriously surprised if I’m still watching either of these shows come this time next year. But they both have the potential to improve

So, that it, My Two Cents on this seasons TV. If I didn’t mention a show, its probably because I’m not watching it, in some cases like Bones and Castle I’m still working through previous seasons, in others I’m just not interested enough. So, until next time…

BRING BACK DOLLHOUSE!

Caprica: Unvanquished

2010-10-08T01:02:00.001+01:00

It’s been a long, long time but Caprica is finally back for the second half of its first season. After only 8 episodes the show took a 5 month hiatus, surely that can’t be a good thing. Despite the fact that almost nothing happened in the first 7 episodes of the show, the eighth episode left us on a major cliffhanger and I couldn’t wait to see how it resolved.

The problem with Caprica, when compared to the massively successful Battlestar is that it’s not an action show, it’s a show about religion and about politics and unfortunately while that makes the show deep and interesting, it also makes it thinky and occasionally dull. This week’s episode was a little bit of everything. I enjoyed seeing the resolution to the explosive cliffhanger and yet I wasn’t blown away by it.

Initially we are led to believe that Daniel Graystone has lost everything, his company, his football team, his wife and as we later learn, the Cylon that contained his daughters consciousness. While that is an interesting plotline, it isn’t enough to sustain the show, we still need action in our sci-fi.

Meanwhile Clarice has returned to Geminon to meet with the Church elders. She returns to them proposing a new faith, one based on science rather than faith, one that can offer an afterlife for certain. She is talking about the software that Zoe created, about using it to create a virtual avatar of anyone who dies, so that they can be reborn in a virtual paradise. I never much cared for Clarice and her continual religious waffle is rather irritating, I was rather hoping she would be killed off in the midseason finale, but her death seems unlikely now.

Back on Caprica Lacey has been fully integrated into the STO, working for Barnabas. I don’t know where that storyline is headed, but with James Marsters slated to have his own series very soon, I thinking we’ll know before the season is out.

In New Cap City, we finally discover what happened to Zoe after the car blew up at the end of the last episode, her robotic body may have been fried, but somehow she made the jump to the virtual world. Now she is on a mission to find Tamara. To what ends we don’t know.

In the closing moments of the episode we discover that Amanda Graystone is also alive and well, and for some reason, living with Clarice. This of course puts a whole new spin on Clarice’s afterliffe idea. It would seem that the Graystones and the STO may well be working together.

Overall I thought the episode was a bit of a mixed bag, I liked some of it, I didn’t like other bits. The CGI was all very nice, I loved the look and feel of Geminon, even if the action that took place there felt a bit stagey. I like the idea that the Cylons are now in full production, trained to be soldiers without a conscience, although the removal of Zoe brings up the question of how they achieve a higher level of conscience and evolve into the monotheistic Cylons we see in Battlestar. However, I’m glad that it’s back as I really want to see where it’s going to go, but I have my doubts about the possibility of a second season, especially after the bizarre way the schedule has been treated.

Stargate Universe: Intervention

2010-10-05T01:52:00.001+01:00

SGU is back and do you know what? It’s not as bad as it has been… Sure, that’s not exactly a raving compliment but there has been little positive about the show on which to rave. Bad scripts, poor acting and poor plotlines that focused on petty squabbles rather than action.

In fact, the only reason I tuned in to the season premiere this time around was to see how last season’s cliffhangers would be resolved. The writers literally left every single cast member is some kind of jeopardy, a trick designed to make people do what I did, tune in next time.

But, unexpectedly it wasn’t too bad. I’m pretty sure you need prior knowledge of the Stargate mythology now to really follow what’s going on though, which is a shame because I don't think I can sit through 10 seasons of that, not even when Browder takes the lead role! But there was plenty of action and it was a fun little episode.

What annoys me most about this series are the missed opportunities. For example, in this episode only handful of the crew were left on Destiny, while Col. Young and most of the civilians were banished to a storm- blasted planet, alongside a bunch of the mercenaries who had come to kill them in the first place. Little more is said about this planet and 5 minutes later everyone is back aboard Destiny.

Why not instead have Destiny jump into FTL, stranding Young. Now he needs to work together with the mercenaries to stay alive and make it back to Destiny with his people intact. Meanwhile Rush and Eli have regained control of Destiny and are searching for Young, but with so few people to man the ship, things turn sour, especially when the nasty aliens turn up… Or something like that. Why confine the show to Destiny, why not explore the Universe, after all it’s the name of the show.

Anyway, will I keep watching? Maybe, if the next couple of episodes are as good as this one or better, but Caprica’s back this week and that’s so much better.

First Impressions: Hawaii Five-O

2010-10-01T00:52:00.001+01:00

So, I finally got around to watching the pilot episode of the reimagining of the classic tv series Hawaii Five-O, I know it’s been around for almost two weeks, but I’ve been really busy and to be honest, it was near the bottom of my list of new shows to watch, the only one lower than it being Undercovers.

Anyway, to cut a long blog post short, I enjoyed it. I’m not exactly sure what I was expecting going in, probably a police procedural drama I guess. I’ve never seen the original, but my assumption was that it would be like CSI: Miami, but probably with better scripts. Instead the episode opens with a fire fight, a metric ton of explosions and a helicopter gunship. Throw in James Marsters as a recurring bad guy and I was already sold.

When the opening action is over and done with Anton Hesse (James Marsters’ brother) lies dead, alongside Jack McGarrett, the father of the show’s main character Steve. Fast forward a day or so and Steve is back in Hawaii looking to bury his father when the Governor approaches him with an offer. She wants him to lead a special division of police officers to seek out the corrupt and nefarious citizens of Hawaii.

Obviously Steve turns her down, that is, until he realises there is more to his father’s murder than simple revenge. Steve quickly takes over the task force, appointing “Hawaii Hating” Danny Williams as his second in command, mainly so he can wind him up I’m guessing. Not long after that he ropes in his childhood friend and ex-cop Chin (Daniel Dae Kim) who was kicked off the force after supposedly taking a bribe and his kid cousin, Kono, fresh out of the academy and played by the stunning Grace Park.

With him team assembled they set off after Marsters (Victor Hesse), after a quick but well executed rumble in the shipyard, James’ body is in the drink and presumed dead… Really, is he…? I doubt it. Although with Caprica and his rumoured lead role in an upcoming superhero show, he could well be.

Anyway, whatever the case, it was a fun and exciting first episode and it holds a lot of promise. I found the characters believable enough that they were engaging to watch, but also fun and stereotypical enough that the show was not too heavy. I was certainly surprised by how much I enjoyed the pilot, a lot more than I did the Chase, which I was much more excited about.

Whether I will stick with the show, I don’t know, it’s certainly a good show and I love the cast, but I think it really depends on what kinds of episodes they choose to do and whether or not there will be an engaging season subplot. But for now it’s definitely on my ever increasing watch list. And for those who have been dying to know, yes it still has the classic theme tune!

Supernatural: Exile on Main Street

2010-09-27T00:21:00.001+01:00

It doesn’t seem like five minutes since I was sitting here writing about the awesome finale to season 5 of Supernatural. What I said back then was that if the show did come back, the opening episode of the new season would need to be awesome. But, it wasn’t.

The episode opened really well, I love the montage of Dean putting his skills as a hunter to use in the real world. But what followed was a rather mediocre episode, which referenced another reasonably mediocre episode from either last season or the season before, I can’t recall.

Dean has been poisoned by a Djinn and is hallucinating. Sam shows up and saves him. Sam and Samuel (their grandfather) are both back from the dead and have been for about a year. During which time they’ve been hunting with a select group of 3rd cousins.

Everyone barring Dean knows this. I liked that, I liked that Dean was the last to know, but at the same time I didn’t and I can’t explain why. I liked many things about the episode. I liked the idea that since the apocalypse was averted the supernatural creatures have changed or new ones have evolved. But I didn’t like that Samuel just came out and said it, show us don't just tell us.

I liked the idea that the Djinn were the children of the Djinn Sam and Dean had killed and that they were out for revenge. But overall I didn’t like the idea that the Djinn, of all things, were what caused Sam to come for Dean after vowing to let him live his “apple pie life” In fact, I would most definitely have preferred Azazel to be back, after all, if Sam and Samuel can come back, why not Old Yellow Eyes. Plus if we’re resurrecting characters Jeffery Dean Morgan would have been cooler than Mitch Pileggi. And where the hell is Castiel? He was such an awesome character, bring back Cas!

So, in summary, Supernatural is back, yey! However, we need a better explanation for why Sam is back than “I don’t know” because that’s just crap. Remember Dean’s reappearance back in season 4? Castiel pulling him from hell, the angel’s hand print seared into his flesh. Come on guys, we know you can do better.

The episode closed out with Dean choosing to stay with Lisa and Ben, which was good because as far as I could see Sam offered no good reasons for him not to. I really hated that “have it your way” moment where Sam almost chastises Dean for not leaving. But we know that sooner or later Dean will leave and head out hunting again, but will it work? Right now, I’m not sure!

Geek Comedy at it’s Best

2010-09-26T00:08:00.001+01:00

I’ve been insanely busy this week, so managing to get around to writing anything has been a huge struggle, but how could I not throw some love around for the return of the Geeks!

In the last few years Geek culture has become more widely accepted. Superhero movies grace all the big screens, there are sci-fi and genre shows spilling out of every TV screen, but nothing truly speaks to the geeks inside of all us like Chuck and the Big Bang Theory.

Chuck returned to our screens on Monday with a new episode, setting up Chuck’s new quest, to find his long lost mother, who is of course, none other than Linda Hamilton. Linda however will not be the only terminator alumni to grace the show this season, but more on that story later. The episode primarily revolved around Chuck and Morgan teaming up as possibly the worst spy team since the Lone Gunmen, but, like the inept trio, just as funny. Last season Chuck went from merely ok, to one of the best shows on the airwaves. The final six “bonus” episodes were an adrenalin fuelled rollercoaster ride and if the premiere of season four is anything to go by Chuck is back and just as kickass as ever.

I did find it interesting that Chris Fedak had cut back on the use of the Intersect in this opening episode. In fact the only time Chuck went Superspy was during an off-screen moment. Hopefully Fedak and Schwarz aren’t regretting turning Chuck into a superhero because if they try and tone down his powers or remove them completely they could find themselves in the same position as Heroes did with Peter and Hiro.

But, overall an excellent episode, nothing overly memorable, but a fun filled hour of action. It’s nice to see that Bonita Friedericy has finally made the main credits after only four years with the show, as the head of the new improved CIA HQ a.k.a the Buy More!

Also back this week, by popular demand, I’m sure, is the geek comedy Big Bang Theory. In possibly one of the funniest episodes to date Harold accidentally gets his member caught in a robotic hand he “borrowed” from NASA. While Leonard and Raj figure out how to deal with that situation, Penny takes Sheldon on his first date with Amy.

I’m so glad that both shows are back, but there’s still so much more to talk about… So, I’ll leave you with my condensed Two Cents and get back to watching all the other new stuff… Supernatural here I come!

First Impressions: Raising Hope

2010-09-25T23:42:00.001+01:00

When I first turned this show on to see a hillbilly family attempting to be funny I nearly turned it off again, it was only the short running time I had to endure that stopped me.However, I quickly realised that someone over at FOX knew what they were doing.

Over the last couple of years, indie-style movies like Juno, have been making big bucks. Raising Hope is is in the same vein. Jimmy Chance is a 25 year old, emo-ish looking kid, not overly intelligent and a general under achiever. Through a series of bad choices and even worse luck he is lumbered with a baby girl, whose mother has been executed for murder.

Already the show is off to an ambitious start. Quickly Jimmy learns that he isn’t cut out to be a father, but he is also not willing to give up on his daughter. He soon meets the cute but ultimately quirky shop assistant who thinks he’s “weird” and from that point on we know this is going to be an oddball of a romantic comedy.

Overall, the show’s set up turned me off, I have always found shows that try to dredge up humour by laughing at those less fortunate (i.e. the poor hillbilly family that can’t afford to raise a baby girl) to be dull. But Raising Hope is not focused on what this family can’t do, but instead on what it can. The show is about perseverance in the face of adversity and with that slant I found myself warming to it. The show is definitely piggybacking on the success of movies like Juno, trading the canned laughter of guaranteed success for something a little more edgy, a little more “of the now”. Will that pay off? It wouldn’t the first time that FOX has taken a step forward only to find that the audience stood still. Either way, I enjoyed the pilot of Raising Hope and I applaud FOX for their great choices in half hour comedies, in offering us two (Running Wilde) new shows that are very different to what the other networks have to offer.

First Impressions: Running Wilde

2010-09-23T02:40:00.001+01:00

My first impressions of Running Wilde? It’s funny, it very funny, but it is also silly. I mean, any show that features Peter Serafinowicz riding on a tiny horse is pushing the boundaries of ridiculous, right?

But somehow, magically, Michael Hurwitz pulls it off. I have no idea how, this show is crazy, it’s connection to reality is threadbare but, somehow, it’s funny, but it’s clever funny, not slapstick funny, despite all appearances to the contrary.

The jokes that made Arrested Development so funny are back too, along with two members of the cast. For example, Emmy (the female lead and environmental activist) has named her daughter Puddle, and like Bob Loblaw, it’s a name that gets funnier each time it comes up.

Ultimately, I have no idea where the show intends to go, the initial storyline makes for a great opening episode, but the implied follow up, where Emmy tries to shape Steve (Will Arnett) into the ideal man kinda feels a bit too mainstream considering the bizarre way the show opens. But I trust Michael and I trust Will and I think that this show has the potential to go far.

I also think that Running Wilde is more immediately accessible to a new audience. Unlike Arrested Development where the jokes were sometimes in the things that weren’t said, in the subtleties of the characters, in knowing their quirks, in Running Wilde the jokes play to Will Arnett’s strengths. They are huge and visual, still clever, there’s still that intellectual payoff for knowing what was about to happen, but I get the feeling that while the show is nowhere near as down to earth as it’s predecessor, it might just be more readily accepted.

Either way, it good to have Will back on our screens, Keri Russell is a beautiful fresh breath of air and Peter Serafinowicz really has the potential to be a comic genius! Overall I thought the show was very very funny, but it is walking a fine line between acceptably silly and overtly ridiculous, but the longer it can tread that line, the funnier it will be!

Rescue Special Ops: Crazy Love

2010-09-22T04:59:00.001+01:00

Well, this season has really been like an adrenaline fuelled rocket. The highs and lows of the characters lives have not been quite as intense as season 1, but Chase’s spiral into depression after Bingo’s death was handled well. Overall I prefer the first season, but this season has been gripping, edge of your seat drama from down under.

That said, I found the season final a little laughable. The show opens with a recap reminding us that Ian and Michelle have been threatened by a low life scumbag by the name of Eddie Van Heussen. Shortly after that Michelle is carjacked, but her son James is still in the back seat. Libby Tanner, who plays Michelle gives a sterling performance throughout this episode and I was seriously worried the writers were about to kill her off.

The police continue to operate under the assumption that Eddie has kidnapped James, in order to prove something to Ian and Michelle, however as the plot unfolds we discover that it is instead Renae who has done the dirty deed. Renae, although currently dating Vince, is secretly in love with Ian and this is where the plot fell apart for me…

Fair enough, she wants Ian back. But so far in the 5 or so episodes Renae has appeared in she has never shown any signs of being crazy. So, why then, does she concoct a plan which involves paying a drug addict to steal Michelle’s baby? And why on earth does she believe that this will make Ian see how good a mother she can be? Even worse, why does she kidnap Michelle and tie her up in the boot? More to the point, how? When the said incident occurred she was parked outside Rescue Special Ops HQ, surely somebody would have seen it?!

The bizarre plot of this episode turned what was a very tense and exciting story into a farce and while the final rescue moment, where Dean heroicly pulls Michelle from the submerge boot, was exciting, it was also ridiculous. Michelle should never have been in the boot in the first place, had she died under those circumstances I think I would have found the whole thing very difficult to accept.

Overall this was an excellent season, but a poor finish.The problem seemed to stem from the writers trying to throw us a red herring, in Van Heussen, so that we wouldn’t guess the real culprit. The problem with that though was that the Eddie Van Heussen story made more overall sense, whereas the “Renae suddenly becoming crazy” story didn’t.

All that said, I had a great time with this show this season and I’m overjoyed to hear that it will be returning to our screens with a full 22 episode season next year!

Covert Affairs: When the Levee Breaks

2010-09-22T04:30:00.001+01:00

Covert Affairs, for me at least, was a surprisingly good show. I expected nothing from it, yet I found it to be both endearing and exciting, which is exactly what the season finale should have been…

Unfortunately, I felt rather underwhelmed by the last episode. The episode still had all the same ingredients, Piper Perabo’s beauty, Christopher Gorman’s charm, all the action sequences of a major blockbuster and suspense by the bucket load. But somehow it all went to waste. For some reason, rather than having the season finale be about Annie Walker, it was focused almost entirely on her mysterious ex-lover Ben Mercer, who duped her into failing in love with him before abandoning her in a tropical paradise.

Is that really the hero we deserved for a season finale? No! The plot wasn’t even particularly good, Ben had come to fetch Annie to help him save a professor Ben had promised to protect. I still don’t really understand why and to be honest it just seemed to be a reason to drag Annie back into Ben’s world. However, the story really has little to do with anything else we’ve seen this season, it didn’t really tie anything up, except to confirm that Ben was alive, which we knew from the season premiere anyway.

Overall, I felt that this final episode was a poor show for what has been a great series. I’ve really enjoyed Piper’s performance this season, Annie’s honesty and general good nature have been a refreshing example to the spy-drama community. Christopher Gorman, too, has finally found a role into which he fits perfectly and I’ve really enjoyed his funny quips and unexplainable good luck with the ladies.

So, I really hope that Covert Affairs will return soon, but I also hope the Ben Mercer storyline is at its end.

The Clone Wars: Clone Cadets & ARC Troopers

2010-09-20T17:33:00.001+01:00

I got a little fed up with Clone Wars last season, the show became very much focused on Anakin and Obi-Wan and the storylines felt rather pointless. There were some great episodes and some excellent animation, but overall the major story arcs felt flat.

But now, they’re back! The first two episodes of this season stretch back to episode 5 in season one, “Rookies” an episode that introduced Echo, Fives and Heavy to us and an episode that really proved that The Clone Wars was going to tell dozens of different and interesting stories from across the Star Wars universe.

Clone Cadets is the story of how Domino Squad manages to go from Zero to Hero by working together as a team. It takes us through how the clones come by their callsigns and what they were like before we met them in episode 5. Ultimately the episodes ending is clear from the beginning but it’s still a nice tale and it sets up ARC Troopers perfectly.

In ARC Troopers Kamino is under attack from the Separatists. Ani and Obi turn up to help out, but it is the Clones who are the most defiant, defending the only homeworld they know by any means necessary. The episode sees some great sequences including a fight between Grievous and Obi-Wan that is visually spectacular. The episode ends with Fives and Echo being commissioned as ARC Troopers.

Both of these clone-centric episodes give me renewed hope for an exciting and varied new season, which will take us on a journey across the known universe.

Merlin: The Tears of Uther Pendragon – Part 2

2010-09-20T15:36:00.001+01:00

I have to be honest, my hopes for this season of Merlin were not high and yet, two episodes running the show has managed to make me smile. This week’s episode possibly blew the entire budget for the whole season though as Camelot is besieged.

Honestly I hoped a couple of things would have turned out differently. Firstly, I would have liked to see Camelot fall, forcing Merlin and Arthur out into the wilderness to live as rebels attempting to regain the lost city. I’d also like to see Uther killed off to enable Arthur to take on the role as leader.

However, after an epic battle which included some Harryhausen style skeletons, all was resolved. Almost. Unfortunately Morgana’s charm managed to persuade the King that she was not only innocent but was, in fact, the possible saviour of the realm. Why unfortunately? Well because that means this season will be heavily focused on Merlin trying to prove she is a traitor and Uther and Arthur refusing to believe him, which could get old, really really fast.

Overall the episode was quite enjoyable, I really liked the build up to the siege, especially the moments with Arthur and Merlin, where Arthur doubts his own ability to lead. The CG animation was ok, although Skeletons are always hard to pull off convincingly. I think my reference to Harryhausen may be a little harsh because, considering they were done for TV, they were pretty good!

Hopefully this season will continue in the Epic storytelling vein and not revert back to the silly “special guest star” driven drivel that dogged the last season.

Merlin: The Tears of Uther Pendragon

2010-09-17T04:55:00.001+01:00

So, the last series of Merlin was, well, not as good as the first. So much so that I almost didn’t even start watching this season, but I’m pretty glad I did. Yes, the plot was a bit weak and the acting a little shaky here and there but overall it was a fun start to a new season.

The one reason I have stuck with the show through the bad times (yes I’m thinking of Beauty and Beast) was because of the interplay between Merlin and Arthur. Colin Morgan and Bradley James really carry this show, the big names might be Richard Wilson and Antony Head, but it is these two that give the show pace and heart and humour.

This season picks up where season 3 left off, although a year has passed. Morgana is still missing and Arthur and Merlin are on a quest to find her, which they do reasonably quickly. She is so grateful to be returned home that the audience can’t help but smell a rat. This episode was a great way to showcase the dazzling beauty of Katie McGrath, who was severely underused in the previous season. Although her acting wasn’t flawless she is great fun to watch.

So, Morgana has returned to destroy Camelot, starting with Uther, while her sister marches on the castle with an army. We definitely get to see a darker side to Morgana in this episode. After having been discovered as a traitor she attempts to murder a guard, stabbing him and then throwing him from the wall. When that fails to kill him she returns to finish the job with a vile of poison (that she found conveniently marked Poison with a skull and crossbones in Gaius’ stores).

Suspecting the lady of treachery Merlin follows her as she leaves the castle to report to her sister. But Merlin is not as cautious as he thinks and is soon bound with chains and left out to be eaten by giant scorpions. When will villains learn to simply start slitting throats, leaving the hero unattended to be eaten NEVER works! Anyway, Merlin screams a spell of summoning skywards and calls down the ancient Dragon to save him, but not, however, before he is stung by the scorpions.

And so the episode concludes with the Dragon flying away, Merlin clutched in his talons. And once again, I find myself strangely drawn to this overly British show. The budget may not be as big as it’s American rivals, the acting may not be as good either, but there is something just a little magical about this show and that is My Spellbound Two Cents.

Warehouse 13: Buried

2010-09-16T19:03:00.001+01:00

This week Warehouse 13 goes all Indiana Jones and let’s face it, this is a show about collecting magical artefacts, it was bound to happen sooner or later. In a build up to the season finale Mika. Pete and Helena (H.G.Wells) head off in search of Warehouse 2. It seems that the Warehouses are in fact living entities, each one has a Caretaker, such as the mysterious Mrs Fredericks. However, Warehouse 2 was lost for eons and when it was rediscovered it awoke with no Caretaker, so it latched on to Mrs. Fredericks. Unfortunately for her, the connection will kill her.

So, the three agents set off to Egypt to deactivate the Warehouse and save Mrs. Fredericks. To help them along the way Valda (Mark Sheppard) joins up with them. Upon entering the Warehouse the group must solve three puzzles, Body, Mind and Soul. While these sequences are ok, they feel a bit stagey. In order to pass one of these challenges the Warehouse demands a life, so Valda sacrifices himself. I seriously doubt that Valda actually died, partly because demanding a life is a dumbass safety measure, but mainly because Mr. Sheppard is well on his way to becoming the most pervasive actor on the genre television circuit!

Back at the Warehouse Mrs. Fredericks is dying, if she dies, the Warehouse dies with her, again, a rather silly way of doing things, but fair enough. In order to protect the Warehouse, she prepares to pass her duties onto Claudia. This was a nice twist, I’ve always enjoyed Allison’s character, I was so glad she got made into a permanent cast member, so making her into the Warehouse’s new caretaker would be an awesome new direction for her.

However, it wasn’t to be, Mika and Pete deactivate Warehouse 2 in the nick of time and all is well. That is until Claudia discovers that it was H.G.Wells that arranged for the Warehouse to be reactivated. Her sudden but inevitable betrayal was not really a shock, but still it left us on a cliffhanger. Personally I would have preferred for Mika and Pete to succeed but too late to save Mrs. F and that the Warehouse had already been transferred to Claudia. Like I said, I’m not convinced by Valda’s death and I would assume he’ll be back as early as the very next episode. As for the H.G betrayal, I’m neither surprised nor thrilled. As far as Supervillains go Warehouse 13 hasn’t had a good one yet. Considering this show came from Jane Espenson, who wrote 23 episodes of Buffy, I would have expected better.

But, that doesn't mean it was a bad episode or even a bad cliffhanger, it just doesn’t push the buttons I know this show can push. Well, that’s My Two Cents anyway…

Eureka: I’ll Be Seeing You

2010-09-13T03:15:00.000+01:00

Of all the shows I watch, this one has the most ups and downs. Some episodes are brilliant while others are less than satisfactory. When the first episode of season four set out to explore time travel (something which had already happened before in Eureka back in season 1) I felt we were in for a bumpy ride. Despite how much I enjoy James Callis in Battlestar and even FlashForward, I was not fan of Dr. Charles Grant, I’d much rather have had Matt Frewer return to the show as the crazy veterinarian Taggart.

Anyway this week’s episode marks the halfway point of the season, only nine episodes with no announcement as yet to when the show will return or how many episode the second half will contain. We, however, know that we can look forward to a Christmas special.

So, the midseason finale sets out to wrap up the time travel storyline and bid a fond farewell to Dr. Grant. However, like Heroes and every other show that includes time travel, it just doesn’t feel like it worked.

What I do like is the fact that the final episode didn’t “fix” the timeline, returning all the characters to their previous roles and thus making the last nine episodes irrelevant. But other than that the whole episode felt a bit messy.

Initially I liked the fact that Jack gets dragged back to 1947 unintentionally and the possible death of Allison Blake. After that though things went downhill. Dr. Grant had intended to return to 1947 to stop the bridge device being built. But he returns after everyone else has already arrived. That could only happen if the bridge device exists already in 2010. Additionally, destroying it now would trap Alison, Carter and the others in 1947. Which of course makes no sense either.

Dr. Grant then forgets about attempting to destroy the bridge device and instead works on a way to return home and save Allison (who had been killed by accident just before they travelled back in time.) They try to warn past Allison about the accident but fail, so instead Jack records a message to his future self and tells him how to save Allison and stop Dr. Grant. Which he does and the everything is as it should be. WHICH MAKES NO SENSE!

Hopefully though, this means that the whole time travel storyline is dead and we don’t have to put up with it again. That’s not to say there haven’t been some good episodes this season, but they have all been rather over shadowed by the less than satisfactory “Time Travel” story arc.

Still I look forward to the Christmas special and the return of the show, which has been confirmed for a fifth season.

That was Eureka and this has been My Two Cents!

First Impressions: Nikita

2010-09-11T16:36:00.001+01:00

So, we’re back. It’s been a nice long summer, with plenty to watch for a change, but now it’s time to get back into the season proper. If the 2010-2011 season should be considered special, it will be because of the intense number of brand new scripted shows hitting the airways. The first of which comes out of Warner Brothers via the CW… Nikita!

I’ve heard a fair amount about this show, even seen a couple of trailers, but I failed to get excited, even though I like Xander Berkley. However, through the dull tedium of life I found myself with nothing better to do so I sat down and I tuned into the new hotness. The first thing that struck me was the shows similarity to James Cameron’s Dark Angel. Young people, taken in by a shady arm of the government, trained as assassins, before going rogue and escaping into anonymity, vowing to return for your fellow inmates.

Add to that bit of familiarity a small dash of Alias, as we quickly learn that Nikita had been in love with a civilian and that her involvement with “Division” had led to his death. Throw in some reverse-24-style traitor twists and you have the pilot episode of Nikita.

But, let’s face it, we’re not looking for originality in our TV anymore, if we were we’d be sorely disappointed (ala Lost?), no, what I’m looking for is fun and Nikita delivers on that. Like Piper Perabo’s Covert Affairs. I went in not expecting much and I feel like I had a good time. I particularly enjoyed Lyndsy Fonseca role as Alex, the troubled new recruit, who turns out to be Nikita’s “man on the inside”. Leading man Shane West was ok, although he reminded me a lot of Joshua Jackson, while Maggie Q who plays Nikita herself, comes across as both sexy and dangerous in equal measures.

I’ll certainly be willing to give the show a few more episodes to really impress me, but so far it’s entertaining enough for me to not turn it off, but it’s also not on the same par as my favourite CW show, Supernatural! Obviously, with only one episode down so far it’s hard to know what the show intends, however if they drag out Nikita’s attempts to destroy Division across multiple series I can see it getting old fast. Personally, I’d like to see her bring down Division HQ by the end of season 1, saving some of the recruits, while alienating others, thus changing the focus of season two.

So, that’s My Two Cents, overall a good show, some nice performances and as long as the show doesn’t stagnate it could well have a bright future.

A Year on the Small Screen

2010-08-06T04:58:00.001+01:00

So, September will soon be here and now its about time to look back and see what has been the best and the worst of this year’s TV.

Best Finale – Supernatural: Swan Song or Chuck vs. The Ring: Part II

This year was a really strong year for Supernatural and the season finale brought everything to a head, resolving enough of the current storylines for everyone to be happy, but leaving enough wiggle room for the show to continue on in a less Mythology heavy fashion. A great episode and a great end to a great season.

But, Chuck was awesome too. The whole season was great but the last two episodes of Chuck were funny and tense and that is just a winning combination. So it’s a tie, two of my favourite shows just ended so very very well!

Best Find – Warehouse 13

I discovered a lot of new shows this year that had managed to pass me by including How I Met Your Mother, The Big Bang Theory and Legend of the Seeker. But Warehouse was such a breath of fresh air, a genuinely good fun show that I enjoyed immensely.

Best of the British – Top Gear

This show is so well put together, so, so well. If any single episode should be singled out for praise this year it would be the boys trek through the Amazon Jungle. Such a great show, no wonder so many people tune in to watch it EVERY DAY!

Most Surprising Newcomer – Covert Affairs

Of all the new shows to start this year Covert Affairs has got to be the one that I really didn’t see coming. Despite two false starts Christopher Gorham (Jake 2.0 and Harpers Island) is back, this time as Auggie, a blind CIA operative, with newcomer, the beautiful Piper Perabo playing Annie Walker, the well meaning agent. It’s well scripted and light hearted and I’m enjoying it a lot more than I thought I would.

Worst Finale – Dollhouse – Hollow Men or Legend of the Seeker: Tears

Actually there’s no contest, Legend’s finale was a pile of drivel and I could barely watch it! Unfortunately Hollow Men was one of the worst Dollhouse episodes, but Epitaph Two did go a long way towards mitigating the pathetic finale.

Worst Returning Show – Scrubs

OMG! This was such a disaster. Scrubs had gone downhill for a long time. After season 4 things got bad, there was an excellent moment near the end of the season 5, but things rapidly deteriorated from there, but season 9? The season that should have never been was just truly awful!

Worst Newcomer – Stargate Universe

A show that started out so promisingly just failed to deliver any kind of excitement during it lacklustre second half. Despite some endearing individual performances, the script writing and the stories to be told were just not worth tuning in for.

Biggest Disappointment – V

I had such high hopes for V. When you look at the cast list it should be a no brainer. After all Alan Tudyk, Morena Baccarine, Lexa Doig, these are people I would follow to any show on any network, any show that is but V.

Biggest Surprise – Dollhouse

Dollhouse getting renewed for a Second Season was a huge and delightful surprise. The cancellation shortly after was not so surprising!

Most Missed Show – The Unit

David Mamet’s unique and challenging Drama series was sorely missed this year. Nowhere can be found the same sense of tension and drama mixed with love and heart. Snake Doc, Dirt Diver, Betty Blue, Cool Breeze and Hammerhead, we miss you!

Weirdest Scheduling – Caprica

Yep, that’s right, 8 episodes and then nothing for a whole year, the Battlestar Prequel will not return to our screens until January!

Best Show of the Year – Dollhouse

Did you really expect anything else? Really? Not only is it Joss, Eliza and Tahmoh, but the second season was just superb (mostly). The storytelling, the pacing, the acting was all just fantastic. Sure it had some problems wrapping up the end but overall this was a superb show and I wish we could have had just a little bit more. But if wishes were candy I’d have own Haribo and Serenity would still be sailing the Black.

Ok then, that’s it. I’m sure there should be more and that other shows may have deserved a mention in the “worst” categories, but lets stay positive and enjoy all the good stuff we got this year instead. Until September, enjoy the summer.

The Aussies are Back

2010-07-14T03:54:00.001+01:00

One of my favourite new shows of last year was the Australian recue series Rescue Special Ops. Three weeks ago the show returned to our screens and I have to say that it’s really gripping drama.

Each week I’m on the edge of my seat with suspense. The show looks as beautiful as ever, with some gorgeous panoramic views. Truly spectacular. Plus the theme tune is great, its the first one since The Unit where you just can’t help but sing along and bop your head!

For those who don’t know the show follows a team of rescue experts as they attempt to save the lives of dumb, crazy or helpless Australians while they also deal with their own personal baggage, pressure from government officials and massive budget cuts.

If you get the chance to check this show out I highly recommend it. The first season ran for 13 episodes and was a huge hit, I’m hoping that the second season might get a longer crack of the whip, or perhaps just a faster turn around between seasons. Whatever the case, I’m just happy to have the whole gang back, saving lives on the small screen where they belong!

Return of the Good Stuff

2010-07-10T17:12:00.001+01:00

Sci-fi’s back baby! This week saw the return of 2 of my favourite shows that I discovered within the last year. Eureka and Warehouse 13…

***Spoilers Ahead***

Warehouse 13 – Tuesday on Syfy

Last year W13 left us on an almighty cliffhanger, Arty had been engulfed in flame, MacPherson was on the loose and poor old Claudia was being framed as a spy.

I couldn’t wait to find out what happened but I was left slightly disappointed. All the cliffhangers were resolved with very little consequence, the slate was wiped clean and a new villain was introduced.

Overall the episode was good, there were still plenty of laughs and some nice little action set pieces. The acting was good and Allison Scagliotti is still very cute, but, just like the pilot episode, it lacked something. I have no doubt that the show will pick up speed and continue to get better, I just wish it had a little more… something!

Eureka – Fridays on Syfy

Eureka finally returned for it’s forth season, it’s been quite some time since the show was on the air, but still it manages to pick up where it left off.

This season see the introduction of a new actor to the main cast, James Callis, otherwise known as Dr. Giaus Baltar. Unfortunately, so far, his character does not appear to be as strong as either his character on BSG or on the short lived FlashForward, but I have complete faith in James to make the role his own.

To introduce James the show takes the characters back in time to the founding of Eureka and as always with time travel, when they return things aren’t quite the same as when they left. What I do like about this however is that the changes are small, but significant and quite possibly entirely beneficial, except for poor Jo.

For example Allison’s son Kevin no longer seems autistic, Henry is married to a hot new mechanic and Tess never left for Australia. However, Zane is no longer in love with Jo, despite the fact that she had finally decided to accept his proposal!

More Good Stuff

With several new series starting in the next two weeks I’ll be looking forward to plenty of new stuff, plus the return of another old favourite Rescue Special Ops.

First Impressions: Castle

2010-06-06T23:18:00.001+01:00

I wouldn’t be lying if I said that Castle is one of the best pilots I’ve seen in a while. It was a show I largely ignored despite being a big fan of Nathan Fillion because (like Bones) the theme is not something I really care about.

I’ve never been a crime kind of a guy. The closest I’ve ever come to a crime drama before discovering Bones last year, is The X-Files and I wasn’t the world’s biggest fan of that show either. So despite Nathan playing the title role I ignored the show, after all Nathan had appeared in Desperate Housewives too so I couldn’t exactly be assured of his integrity.

Then I was watching an episode of The Unit (awesome show, damn shame it was cancelled) in season 3 of the show called Binary Explosion, in which guest starred Stana Katic. Immediately I had to work out where I knew her from, turns out it might have been 24 or even Heroes but anyway, that was when I noticed she too was in Castle.

But still I ignored the show, until late one night… I was sat up at a friend’s house playing games and in the corner the Tv was set to “Dave” and in between segments of QI there would be an advertisement for Castle. Subliminally the message was implanted in my brain, over and over “Watch Castle, Watch Castle” until I could ignore it no longer.

So, what is the show about? Well, the title character Richard Castle is a crime writer, who, after killing his best selling character is looking for a new lead. Meanwhile Kate Beckett, a New York city cop, discovers a rash of killings that point to the killer being a Richard Castle fan. Hoping that he can help she turns to Castle to help her solve the mystery.

Kate gets her closure on the crime and Castle gets his new muse. Obviously there is a lot more to the pilot but as that is all part of mystery I’ll not mention it here to save any spoilers and what not. What I’m more interested in is the delivery. Castle is clever, its funny without being corny (like that dreadful CSI… urgh!), it’s pretty, it’s well written and its a nice bit of escapism.

Sure it’s unlikely that a Cop and Writer would team up and become a crimefighting duo, but who really cares…? It no less likely than two FBI agents tasked with following up on UFO sightings.

Nathan finds a happy medium in this role, he’s not quite as smarmy as his character Captain Hammer in Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog (you must watch this!) and not quite as drastic as Malcolm in Firefly. In fact, if I had to compare him to another character on TV, it would be either Seeley Booth (David Boreanaz) or Chuck (Zach Levy). He plays the fish out of water character, but one that is not a bumbling idiot but an intelligent, reasoning fellow, with possibly just a touch too much fame. Overall Fillion’s character is fun and believable and that’s what matters.

Stana is the John Casey to Nathan’s Chuck. She is the consummate professional obsessed with “doing the right thing” because (like Temperance Brennan in Bones) she has a history with crime. As yet we don’t know who she lost but I’m willing to bet it was a boyfriend/husband/child or possibly a sibling or a parent… have I covered all the bases there?

Stana Katic is beautiful and intelligent, she isn’t above the humour that permeates the show and that’s refreshing. She’s powerful too, which is mixed nicely with a vulnerable side. This is one thing the pilot does so well, it develops the characters in depth, showing us a kaleidoscope of each one, their likes, dislikes, strengths and weakness and even their personal failings, it’s all right there in the first episode. In fact, if this had been a simple one off episode the characters would still have been rounded out enough for me to enjoy it.

So, I doubt you need to me to say that in conclusion “I loved this show” because I’ve done nothing but rave about it. I can’t think of anything I didn’t like. I enjoyed the way that the show admits, through Castle’s need for a narrative to the crime, that it is at heart a machine for storytelling, that there will always be a twist or a mystery, that it is, in effect, a fiction. I liked the interim characters too, Castle’s goodie-twoshoed daughter who loves her daddy but frowns on his attitude to life. His mother who constantly embarrasses him… And lets not forget that in Castle’s world Homer Simpson is a county judge!

This is a fantastic show with a third season already confirmed to start in September of this year. Go, watch it, you will not be disappointed.

On Hiatus

2010-06-02T00:35:00.001+01:00

So, it’s all done and dusted and TV is over for another year and for some shows forever. If I could I would have liked to give each show a full post for their finales but it just isn’t possible. In fact based on my current work load elsewhere writing for Two Cents will need to become a secondary objective.

What does this mean? Well it means that between now and September I will post sporadically. I have a list of First Impressions and 10 Reasons posts as long as my arm to write. Plus I have a plan for a new “Blast From the Past” segment where I will review favourite episodes from old shows. In amongst all this I will try and cover the various show finales from this season but I make no promises.

Come back soon for my First Impressions on the ABC crime drama Castle.

The Upfronts

2010-05-24T02:19:00.001+01:00

Rather than have me witter on in my usual way this week with a rather pointless round up, I thought instead I’d talk about the upfronts.

This week’s TV was ok… Lost was blah, Flash Forward was really a two parter that I’ll talk about in full detail after the next episode, Chuck was ok, How I Met Your Mother tried to be clever and it didn’t really work and I haven’t gotten bored enough to watch Stargate or Legend of the Seeker.

Round up done, now onto the new shiny stuff.

Firstly what’s been Cancelled?

Technically, not a lot. Heroes is gone but there is really no love lost there. They tried to do something interesting this season and it almost worked at times, but for the most part the show seemed to have lost its way. However Kring may not be done yet so keep your eyes peeled.

A bigger shame was the loss of the quirky comedy Better Off Ted which I wrote about last month. After only two very short seasons this original and funny comedy found itself getting canned. Some people have blamed the fact that the show was teamed up with the rather dire Scrubs: Med School but how much truth there is in that I’m not sure.

Scrubs: Med School has also been canned by ABC and I can’t blame them. After 4 episodes I gave up all hope of the show getting better, it would have been a medical miracle for this show to hang on when other, better, spin offs like Joey were binned.

In a further culling ABC has cancelled FlashForward, which, for all it’s faults was better than V, which got renewed! It remains to be seen if FlashForward will successfully answer enough questions to make the series worth watching in the first place.

As we knew Legend of the Seeker has been cut and again, I can’t say I’m sorry. The show started out with so much promise, but it ended up horribly clichéd and rather boring. Even the beautiful Tabrett Bethell can’t make this show worth keeping. Plus now she’s available to go and do something better!

Also, as we knew, Fox is not renewing Dollhouse for a third season… no surprises there. 24 and Lost have both reached their final seasons and have not been renewed. And that’s about it…

Renewed

CHUCK! Yay! If only Chuck got renewed I would have been perfectly happy. After it’s close brush with death last season I’m glad to see that my favourite spy comedy will live on for at least another year.

CW has renewed Supernatural for a sixth season, despite the obviously natural end point that this season brought. I’m not complaining because Supernatural is the best show on the airways, but I’m kinda scared things might go down hill if it gets dragged out too long. CW has also renewed Smallville for it’s tenth season, I had no idea the show was still going!

CBS has renewed both of its major comedies How I Met Your Mother and The Big Bang Theory (which I recently started watching…). How much longer HIMYM can keep going without Ted meeting “their mother” I’m not sure, but I’m not complaining about these renewals in the slightest.

ABC has renewed the crime drama Castle (which I also just got into) for it’s third season and they also renewed V, which as far as I was aware was only supposed to run as a 12 episode mini-series. It has been such a dreary ride so far that I will definitely be falling off the V train before the next station.

Fox has renewed Bones for a sixth season, I’m still waiting to buy season 3, but I do love this show so I’m glad to see it is keeping it’s audience.

Sure there is plenty of other renewed stuff, but none that I care about. But before I say goodbye, lets take a look at some of the shiny new shows…

New Stuff

CBS has a new Crime drama, Hawaii 5-0 which will feature Lost star Daniel Dae Kim alongside BSG Alumni Grace Park.

NBS has several new and interesting looking shows including The Event, which is billed as the new 24. Chase, a Jerry Bruckheimer production about a badass female marshal. Plus J.J Abrams’ new series Undercovers (which may as well have been called Alias 2: Return of the Bristows.) which looks sexy and funny, but as it is billed as a spy-fi, it will ultimately end up in the same toilet as Alias… Well maybe.

Spy dramas and Superheroes are the order of the day this year. ABC is coming out with a new Superhero drama “No Ordinary Family” which has one of the lamest premises I’ve heard of to date. A family of four (with a resemblance to the Incredibles family) crash a plane into a river and develop superpowers! Starring Michael Chiklis from the Shield and Julie Benz (Darla from Angel.)

Fox has a new comedy starring Will Arnett “Running Wilde”, from the creator of Arrested Development Mitchell Hurwitz.

And the CW have a new show Nikita. She is a spy working to bring down her own agency after she goes rogue. Among other the show will feature Xander Berkeley, otherwise known as George Mason from 24.

Mid Season and The Summer

ABC will have a new vampire/supernatural drama this summer called The Gates, which is about weird goings on in a gated community. Plus a new Matthew Perry comedy Mr. Sunshine airing in the midseason slot.

Fox also has a rather interesting looking show from Steven Speilburg in their midseason entitled Terra Nova, can’t wait to find out more details on that.

While NBC has gone with a superhero midseason show called The Cape, which will star former Firefly alumni Summer Glau.

All in all it’s shaping up to an interesting looking year for new stuff and that list doesn’t even begin to look at what Sy Fy might throw at us. So, enjoy the summer break because come September you wont want to leave your TV sets!

Spotlight: Supernatural – Swan Song

2010-05-21T17:07:00.001+01:00

This week’s Supernatural opens with the signature song by Kansas “Carry on My Wayward Son.” and never have two lyrics been more accurate. Take:

Carry on my wayward son
There'll be peace when you are done

And apply to Sam and you’ll see what I mean. This is the season finale, the final showdown with Satan himself. Many things will be revealed and resolved, not least the identity of God himself.

The episode is narrated by “Chuck” the prophet who writes under the pseudonym Carver Edlund. He opens by describing the history of the Impala, particularly the details that make it unique, like the toy soldiers in the ash trash and the lego Dean stuffed down the vents. This opening is particularly well done because it gives us a sense, that like the medallion Dean always wore, the Impala is part of the legend, but because it is Chuck narrating, the description feels like the opening to a novel, rather than important exposition for something that will come later.

So, Sam and Dean are finally agreed, Sam will say yes to the Devil, Dean will open the gate and Sam will jump in. As the two of them sup their final beers together they have that heart felt talk we all knew was coming. “Thing is.” Dean says. “Watching out for you, it’s kinda been my job, you know, but more than that, it’s kinda who I am. I don’t know if we’ve got a snowballs chance, but I do know if anybody can do it, it’s you.”

So, as the episode begins Sam and Dean are seen filling great big bottles with gallon after gallon of Demon blood for Sam to drink, in order for him to say yes to Satan. They dump the bottles in the boot of the Impala and they set off for Detroit.

On the way Sam answers that question we’ve been asking. “If this thing goes our way, you know I’m not coming back.” If Sam goes into the Devil’s trap with Satan on board, that’s it for him too… but wait… what about season 6??? “So, you gotta promise me something. You gotta promise not to try and bring me back.”

“What????” Dean snaps. “No, I didn’t sign on for that. Your hell is going to make my tour look like Graceland, you want me to just sit by and do nothing? No, no, no, as if I’m just going to let you rot in there.” But Sam insists. “So what am I supposed to do?” Dean asks. “Go find Lisa, you pray to God she’s dumb enough to take you in and you have barbeques and go to football games, you go live some normal apple pie life. Promise me!”

Dean says nothing. So, they reach Detroit, they say their goodbyes to Bobby and Cas and they go inside to take on Lucifer. With Sam hyped up on demon-juice the guards are no problem and soon enough the brothers are face to face with Satan himself.

So, Sam says yes but Satan knows about their plan, but Sam doesn’t care, he still says yes and they still try the plan, because it’s the only plan they’ve got! Dean opens the pit with the rings, but Sam is long gone. Lucifer takes the rings and vanishes from sight. It seems that all is lost!

It was a dumbass plan in the first place!

With his new meatsuit Satan takes Sam on a trip down memory lane, showing the youngest Winchester that all his life he was being watched by Demons to ensure that he would one day grow into the man he is today and accept his part in the larger plan. One line from Lucy’s speech stands out above the others “So much anger, young Skywalker” Is Lucifer suggesting that, like Luke Skywalker, Sam’s father is not his father?

Outside an electronics store Dean, Booby and Castiel watch as the news reports roll in of disasters all across the U.S. “It’s starting.” Cas says simply and emotionlessly. “So what do we do now?” Dean asks. “I suggest we imbibe copious quantities of alcohol and wait for the inevitable blast wave.” Clearly being human has done nothing for Castiel’s sense of honour, duty and optimism.

“Listen to me you junkless sissy, we are not giving up.” Dean turns to Bobby for support on this, but Bobby too has chosen to embrace the inevitable.

Dean is unwilling to give up on his brother so he calls Chuck to get the location of where the final battle is going to go down. Lawrence Kansas. Right in Sam and Dean’s backyard. Dean asks Chuck if there is another way to stop it, but Chuck doesn’t know one. He asks if he knows what will happen next and Chuck replies “I don’t know yet.” Now, that is important… (see the end of this post)

Dean resolves to go to Lawrence, Castiel tries to talk him out of it one last time. “All you are going to see out there is Michael killing your bother.” Cas says in that emotionless way that we’ve come to love but that make this line just a little soul destroying. “Then I ain’t going to let him die alone.” And that is the true spirit of Supernatural.

In a graveyard, somewhere just outside of Lawrence Kansas, Sam (Lucifer) and Adam (Michael) finally come face to face. “You ready?” Michael asks. “Part of me wishes we didn’t have to do this.” Lucifer replies. “Yeah, me too.” Michael sighs. “So why are we? Think about it, Dad made everything, which means he made me who I am. God wanted the Devil. Why make us fight? I just can’t figure out the point.”

“What’s your point?” Michael asks. “We’re going to kill each other and for what? One of Dad’s tests? We don’t even know the answer, we’re brothers, let’s just walk off the chess board.” Lucifer finishes his proposal.

“I’m sorry, I can’t do that,” Michael replies. “You think I’m going to rebel, I’m not like you. You haven’t changed a bit, little brother. You betrayed us, all of us and you made our father leave. You’re a monster Lucifer, I have to kill you.” So, they could have had peace, but instead Michael chooses war. I’m not saying he’s wrong, I’m just saying it was his choice.

Anyway, as the two brothers face each other down, ready for the smackdown of the century a 1967 Chevrolet Impala pulls into the graveyard. “Hey boys.” Dean greats the Angels. “Sorry, am I interrupting something?”

“Hey,” Dean says to Lucifer. “We need to talk.” “Dean.” Lucifer sneers, “Even for you, this is a whole new mountain of stupid.” However it is Michael who takes the real objection to Dean’s presence. “You’re no longer a part of this story.” Michael fumes, clearly angry that Dean denied his request to dance.

“Hey, ass-butt,” Castiel calls to Michael, appearing like the cavalry, tossing a Molotov cocktail of holy fire at the Archangel, banishing him temporarily from the battlefield. But Lucy is angry now. “No one dicks with Michael but me!” And Lucifer clicks his fingers and explodes the Angel into little tiny pieces…

STOP KILLING CASTIEL!!!

I did actually scream that at the Tv. Dean tries to get through to Sam, but Lucifer is all that there is. The Devil throws Dean down on the hood of the Impala, smashing the windscreen. Bobby takes a shot with the Colt, but it is to no avail. Lucy snaps Bobby’s neck as if he were nothing more than a bug to be smushed. Even as Dean cries out with anguish Lucifer begins to pummel him.

Dean repeats over and over again “I’m not going to leave you.” As his brother, heart-wrenchingly, breaks every bone in his face, until at last something catches the Devil’s eye… An army man sticking up out of the ash tray. In that instant Sam seizes control. He casts the rings on the ground and opens the pit.

But just as it looks like it’s all over, Michael returns. After all these years of waiting he isn’t about to postpone this fight. Michael grabs Sam and together they fall into the pit. With them inside the rift is sealed and all that is left are the rings.

After a brief advert break Castiel is returned to life and he is an Angel once more. Castiel heals Dean’s wounds and then the older of the Winchester boys asks him flat out if he is God. Castiel laughs. “That’s a nice complement, but no. Although I do believe he brought me back. New and improved.” He says, resurrecting Bobby.

If there is any part of this finale I don’t agree with it was bringing Bobby back. Much as I love his character, I felt like this episode should have had some collateral damage, after all we know Sam will come back and after all this was supposed to be the last episode ever. But even so, it’s good to have Bobby back and his resurrection is only a minor quibble anyway.

The episode closes out with Chuck narrating the final moments:

“Endings are hard. Any chapped ass monkey with a keyboard can pump out a beginning but endings are impossible.

You try to tie up every loose end, but you never can. The fans are always going to bitch, there are always going to be holes, and since its the ending it’s all supposed to add up to something, I’m telling you they’re a raging pain in the ass.”

As they drive away Cas and Dean talk about what’s next. Castiel tells Dean he will return to Heaven. “I' don’t know what God wants.” he explains. “But he helped; maybe more than you realise.” The Angel offers. “And where’s my big reward?” Dean asks, through his sacrifice he is entitled to be selfish. “You got what you asked for, no paradise, no hell, just more of the same. What would you rather have? Peace? Or Freedom?”

In a series of montages Bobby and Dean say their farewells.

“This is the last Dean and Bobby will see of each other for a very long time. And for the record, at this point next week, Bobby will be hunting a Rugaru outside of Dayton, but not Dean. Dean didn’t want Cas to save him, every part of him, every fiber he’s got wants to die or find a way to bring Sam back, but he isn’t going to do either, because he made a promise.“

Dean knocks on the door and Lisa opens it. The two of them look into each others eyes and they know they will make it through together.

“So what’s it all add up to? Hard to say. But me, I’d say this was a test, for Sam and Dean and I think they did alright. Up against Good, Evil, Angels, Devils, Destiny and God himself. They made their own choice. They chose family and well, isn’t that kinda the whole point?

No doubt, endings are hard, but then again, nothing really ends, does it…?”

And so Chuck fades away, revealing himself to be God in the flesh. The hand that has forever guided Sam and Dean on their journey, whether they knew it or not.

The show finished with a shot of Dean and Lisa and Ben all sitting down for dinner and as the camera zooms out we see Sam standing on the corner looking in. Has God done Dean this one last favour and returned his brother? We’ll have to wait until next season to find out.

Unlike “the fans” Chuck talks about I am not going to bitch. I’ve always been less of a fan of the heavy God vs. The Devil storyline, but this episode really finished it off in a nice and simple way. There were laughs intermixed with some really painfully, heart-wrenching moments and that is why I love this show.

My real fear is where season 6 might go. Like the X-files, which pretty much finished it’s story arcs in season 5 with the episode “The End” there is a distinct possibility that Supernatural could return in a state of flux unable to pick up where it left off, fumbling in the dark unable to find its feet. Or perhaps it will be a return to the good old days, with all of this heavy story telling behind us.

Whatever the case I’m glad it’s still around and I don't want to have to wait four months to find out what’s coming next. This has been My Two Cents… Now it’s time to watch it all over again… from the beginning!

Weekly Round-Up: 16/05/10

2010-05-16T23:43:00.001+01:00

The Good (Supernatural Finale), The Bad (Lost Answers) and the god-damn-plain-Ugly (Stargate Universe) made up this week’s viewing.

As Tv season comes to an end and the shows the begin to wind down, some for the last ever time, I am filled with sadness (for those shows that enjoy that I wont be able to watch) and relief (for those shows that I enjoyed but have since died a death). But that’s enough rambling, lets get into the meat of the round up.

How I Met Your Mother – Robots vs. Wrestlers

This week the cast of HIMYM had to face the inescapable fact that they can’t keep doing this show forever, that logically, at some point, they are all going to drift apart in order for their fictional lives to continue to make sense. Of course, they discover this through the medium of “Robots vs. Wrestlers”

Also this week the guys have to learn to live without Robin as she and Don “try to make it work”. Ted discovers what a snootily awful bore he actually can be. Marshal, Lilly and Barney discover the forth Doppelganger and Marshall and Lilly commit to having a child, but only after they find the last remaining Doppelganger. Just a little look ahead to the remaining episode titles tells me that it may be sooner than they think!

Chuck – vs. The Tooth

This week’s Chuck was ok, I watched it at work so maybe it would have been more fun had I not had to think about corporate clients. Anyway, Christopher Lloyd, otherwise known as Doc Brown from Back to the Future turned up this week as Chuck’s psychiatrist.

Turns out that the intersect is turning Chuck brain to mush and Chuck determines to keep that info from the love of his life. Meanwhile, nasty nasty Ring agents contact Ellie and convince her to work for them, believing that she is working for the CIA. First they turn her against Casey, possibly the only person really capable of protecting her if things go bad. Then they convince her to contact her father.

So the Ring is going after Chuck’s dad and the intersect is going to eventually kill Chuck? Sounds like season final stuff to me. With only two episodes to go, I’m sad and excited for Chuck. Happily NBC will almost definitely renew the show next year! Hurray!

Lost – Across the Sea

Oh dear… This week’s episode “explained everything.” we finally “know” what it’s all about. In a story that focused entirely on Jacob and his brother we finally uncover some secrets of the island.

Many, many things annoyed me about this episode, not least the fact that Smokey was only ever referred to as “Him” and “You” so that we don't discover his name. This felt so awkward it’s untrue!

On top of this we found out what the show has all been about… A tunnel with a light at the end (Heaven?). This is what Jacob (and all subsequent candidates) must protect. Six seasons and that's our answer? The guardians of the light don’t really know what it is, other than it has something to do with the spark of life and that it cannot be used for power.

Several Lost questions were answered this week, including why various landmarks existed, the wells, the frozen donkey wheel etc, they were built by Smokey in attempt to escape the island. What is not explained is WHY the wheel would help him escape. In fact, years later it would cause the island to move backwards in time. Just knowing it was built does not actually answer any questions because the very fact that it exists means we knew it was built, by whom it was built is irrelevant.

The Black and White metaphor was played to death in this episode, as was the “rules” line. The woman who pretended to be Jacob and Smokey’s mother (who killed their real mother) seems to have god-like powers but there is no hint from where they are derived and it was she that made it so Jacob and Smokey could not kill each other. Just out of interest why did she think they might try? Surely they were more likely to want to kill her because she killed their mother?

We also found out how Smokey became the smoke monster. Jacob knocked him out and sent him into the tunnel with the light and woomf Smokey was born. Again, we are just supposed to say “Oh right, that’s how it happened” and not ask “Why the F*** would that happen?”

Finally we discover who Adam and Eve were, these were the skeletons in the cave back in season 1. I’d already figured this out because Jacob’s mother is living in the caves during this episode. I also knew it would be Mommy and Smokey’s bodies because we had already been told that Smokey had lost his original body. I felt quite proud of working this out, but then the episode went and spelt it out for us by showing us the entire cave sequence from season 1. Why be clever and then explain why you were clever… sigh.

Apparently Carlton Cuse has made it very clear that no further explanation will be forth coming on the matters discussed in this episode, so “Yay” *that was sarcastic.

Anyway, it’s nearly nearly over and it’s about time. Only two more episodes to go before we can put this once great show behind us for good.

V – Fruition

Did I miss something? I thought V was supposed to just be a 12 episode mini series (that’s why I’ve stuck with it) however I’m seeing it pop up on “Renewed” lists… How?! and possibly more importantly… Why?! If ABC is going to renew any of their current shows it should be Better Off Ted.

Anyway, on with this week’s episode. It seems that Hobbs is working against the 5th column as he steals some research which could lead to a way to kill the V’s. He then offers to trade this data to Marcus in exchange for cash and being left alone by the Visitors.

Other than that, other important details include Lisa’s wavering loyalty, the Soldiers beginning to hatch and Valerie’s water breaking. Next week will see the finale and hopefully some action, but we’ll see. If V has been renewed I for one will not be returning to the show, it’s just been incredibly dull for the most part.

FlashForward – The Negotiation

Ah James Callis really has just swept in and stolen the show for me. Every week I just sit and smile through every one of his scenes. The “I have a huge hippocampus, FYI” joke was very reminiscent of his character on Battlestar.

This week’s episode revolved around the nasty Three Star gang getting it’s hands on Gabe because he knows too much. All of the events in the episode take place the day before the events seen in the blackout, which means next week is the biggie!

Suspect Zero has been revealed to the public as being Simon Campos. Zoe puts Demetri in an impossible position, asking him to choose between her and his duty, especially to Mark. Gabriel reveals the identity of the man in charge, the big man “Hellinger”, Aaron rescues Tracy and Vogel pretty much tells Janis to kill Mark in order to retain her cover.

After Gabriel proves his worth, the FBI plans to move him to a safe house, however, Mark knows Janis will leak that information. That’s right Mark knows she’s a mole, not too difficult to work out really. After Mark dissolves the kidnap attempt he returns to ask Janis why. She simply asks him to understand that she was serving her country.

Later she explains herself to Dem. Now that he survived his own death he wants more than just to be her friend, he wants to be the father of her child. That’ll be a rather complex relationship, no? After this she returns home to find Simon… He needs her help.

Also this week, ex-x-files star Annabeth Gish got a lot more screentime, with a lot fewer clothes on. Personally I preferred her as the slightly cookie FBI Agent replacement for Moulder, but maybe that’s just me. Anyway, next week is April 29th and it’s make or break time for FlashForward.

Supernatural – Swan Song

That’s right… A Supernatural Season finale gets it’s own spotlight, but I will say this. Eric pits brother against brother in a fight orchestrated by God himself, he kills major casts members, all in an attempt to put an end to the Devil itself! Now go watch it… it’s awesome!

Stargate Universe – Pain

After a few weeks of good material, this week’s episode was a huge let down. It was a dreary trudge through what would end up being an inconsequential episode. There wasn’t even anything worth talking about… nothing at all.

Coming Soon

The Fall schedules! Hopefully we’ll know pretty soon what’s been cut loose and what is going to stay. We can almost definitely state that Supernatural and Chuck will see another season, while 24, Lost and Legend of the Seeker will not. But what about FlashForward? How I Met Your Mother, Heroes and more? Well, as soon as I know, you’ll know.

Spotlight: Supernatural – Two Minutes to Midnight

2010-05-14T00:08:00.001+01:00

So, I’m taking a break from one of the most monumentally boring weeks of my life to do something I actually enjoy and what could be better than writing about Supernatural?

After the rather “heavy” feeling season four left us with, Eric Kripke seemed to try and return his beloved show to the good old days with season 5. There was more comedy, more monsters of the week, a lighter yet memorable mythology. The problem with that though was that it left very little time to tell the story or at least that’s how “Two Minutes to Midnight” felt.

The episode opens with Sam and Dean arguing over Sam’s plan to say yes to the Devil and then jump into the pit. However a call from Castiel interrupts them. We haven’t seen Cas since the brothers went after Zach and the Winchesters had presumed him dead, of course, I knew better!

However it seems that wherever Castiel went, he came back different. He can no longer teleport, he feels hunger, thirst, pain and by all accounts he would appear to be human. I have to admit I laughed out loud when Cas asked for “Money for an aeroplane ride” and even more when Dean said “It’s ok, Bobby will wire you the cash” and Bobby replied “I will???”

Cas goes on to apologise for underestimating Dean before hanging up. So the brothers set about hunting down Pestilence (Matt Frewer). However, like the Horsemen before him, getting close enough to kill Pestilence is not easy for your standard human. By the time they reach Ol’ Pesty Sam and Dean are so sick they can’t even stand.

Pestilence’s demon sidekick suggests that they get out of dodge before the Winchesters kill him, however Pesty has no intention of leaving, he wants to kill Sam and Dean and if Satan doesn’t like it “HE CAN GLUE THEM BACK TOGETHER!”

So with Sam and Dean at his mercy Pestilence begins to gloat. “You boys don’t look well. Might be the Scarlet Fever or the er Meningitis… oh or the syphilis.”

“So, you gotta wonder why God pours all his love into something so messy! Weak! All I can do is show him he’s wrong one epidemic at a time.” However before the brothers can die of a variety of STD’s Cas turns up and then promptly coughs up blood. Pestilence then confirms that Cas has indeed become human but that he is still an angel on the inside, simply powerless though.

Not so powerless when he cut your finger off though was he? That’s right, Cas grabs Ruby’s knife and cuts off the Horseman’s ring. However the rider manages to deliver his dying words “It doesn’t matter, it’s too late.” and poof he’s gone.

So, it took the brothers only 13 minutes to take down Pestilence and with him gone they moved straight on to Death. With Pestilence’s famous last words ringing in their ears the boys return home to Bobby. “Did he get specific?” Bobby asked, which is a set up for what comes next rather than an actual question. “No, we’re just a little freaked out that he might have left a bomb somewhere. So please tell us you have actual good news.” Bobby is silent for a moment, then “Chicago is about to be wiped off the map.” And then, without a hint of a smile Castiel pipes up “I don’t understand your definition of good news.” Brilliant! God bless Misha Collins!

Of course, Sam and Dean want to know where Bobby is getting his info... Enter Crowley and Bobby is forced to admit he loaned his soul to the demon in order to discover Death’s location. Then... for no apparent reason it occurs to Sam that demons like to seal a deal in a very specific way. “Did you kiss him?”

“No!” Bobby denies vehemently, at which point Crowley produces his mobile phone and shows everyone the picture. Why? This is such a funny moment in what could have been a very serious scene and it just works, it’s a twisted idea but it is very very funny.

Crowley explains that the Demons are planning to infect the country by contaminating the flu vaccine with the Croatoan Virus. So, with Bobby’s soul as an insurance policy the brothers split up and go their separate ways. Dean to seek out Death in Chicago with Crowley as his sidekick and Sam and Bobby to take out the Croatoan virus the demons are distributing in the swine flu vaccines.

As they set off there is a rather touching moment with Castiel, he feels useless. “What am I supposed to do with this?” He asks waving a shotgun at Bobby. “Point it and shoot.” The free spirited cripple replies with sarcasm to spare.

Sam takes Ruby’s knife while Crowley gives Dean the gift of Death’s Sickle and while he’s handing out gifts he gives Bobby back the use of his legs, calling it a sub-clause in the contract for his soul. It’s so hard to trust Crowley, but something about Mark’s portrayal of the character makes me think he’s batting for the home team.

Enter Death, played by Julian Richings, riding upon a pale steed, which was of course reinterpreted in the only way Supernatural knows how, as a Cadillac, accompanied by the rather eerie version of “Oh Death” sung by Jen Titus.

On the way to blow up the Croatoan supply Cas discusses the ramifications of Sam’s plan to trick the Devil. The more this idea gets banded about the more I think they are actually going to run with it. But with a sixth season in the bag can they really drop the Devil and by extension, Sam, down a hole and call it a day? Something is going to go wrong, we just know it. Also the introduction of Death’s sickle suggests that at some point (presumably end of season 6), Death will claim Lucifer.

Anyway, Castiel approves of the plan, based solely on the fact that Sam and Dean constantly prove themselves to be unlikely heroes. This, while true, does not make the plan any less stupid. Castiel also lets Sam know that Adam (their brother) is now Michael’s vessel and that they have next-to-no time before the final showdown with Lucifer that will wipe out half the planet in a righteous fire.

Finally Cas reveals that to accept Lucifer Sam will have to drink dozens of demons dry, something that we know will cause Sam to go off the reservation completely.

So, the little company of terrorists arrive at the warehouse with the Croatoan. The Demons realise what is happening but it’s too late. Sam, Bobby and Cas begin killing Demons and infected humans left, right and centre. Sam rescues dozens of innocent civilians before he will finally allow Bobby to blow the place to hell.

Meanwhile in Chicago Dean and Crowley finally track down Death, in a pizzeria of all places. Dean tries to sneak up on him but he simply ends up disarmed and looking a little naïve. Death invites Dean to join him for a slice.

“So, is this the part where you kill me?” Dean asks nervously. Although for a guy who’s died dozens of times you might think he’d be a bit more blasé about it. Death however explains to Dean that he is little more than bacteria. Death has been around for millennia, at least as long as God, maybe longer.

Death orders Dean to eat, which he does, again rather timidly. In a shocking revelation Death reveals that God too is destined to die, although given the number of gods Supernatural has killed off in it’s five year run, should we really be surprised if another supreme deity bites the mythological dust?

So Death reveals why the Horsemen are serving in the apocalypse. It seems that somehow Death and the others are tied to Lucifer (maybe the Devil beat him at chess). In any case Death wants out, to that end he offers up the final ring, but on one condition, Dean must do whatever it takes to get the Devil back in the pit, even if it means losing Sam. Happily, as part of the deal, Death decides to spare Chicago, if only because of the pizza.

“Well…?” Death asks holding out the ring. “Do I have your word?”

“Okay, yeah… yes…” That’s such a Supernatural line, here is Dean facing Death itself and he says “Yeah…” Death reminds Dean that he cannot cheat Death and so should not try and worm his way out of the deal.

The episode closes out with Dean and Bobby discussing the ramifications of Dean’s choice. “What do you think Death does to people who lie to his face?” Dean asks rhetorically. “What did you say?” Bobby asks. “That I was cool with Sam driving the bus on the whole Lucifer plan.” But Bobby doesn’t back Dean up. “Look, I’m not saying Sam ain’t arse-full of character defects but… back at Niveus I watched that kid pull one civilian out after another. He must've saved ten people, never stopped, never slowed down. Look. Sam's got a darkness in him, I'm not saying he don't, but he's got a hell of a lot of good in him, too.” “I know.” Dean replies, unable to believe he’s agreeing with Bobby.

“Then you know Sam will beat the devil, or die trying. And that's the best we could ask for him. So I gotta ask, Dean. What exactly are you afraid of? Losing, or losing your brother?”

Doof!

As I said, this episode has been a bit of a rushed affair, although I’m not sure I would have like to see it turned into three episodes either. Overall it was fun, it got the points across, plenty of hints were dropped about possible places the finale and subsequent seasons will go…

All we know is “it’s going to be bloody, for all of us.” I can’t wait to watch tonight's episode, in fact the only thing I’m not looking forward to about it is it being over for another six months! :(

Anyway, that’s just about enough rambling from me, this has been My Two Cents and now it’s time for a little more from the Winchester Boys…

Weekly Round-Up: 09/05/10

2010-05-09T23:33:00.001+01:00

So, Supernatural, Lost and even How I Met Your Mother had a week of important moments. There were plenty of laughs, some drama and a fair amount of death as we look at this week’s shows.

As always these posts may contain plot spoilers if you haven't seen the episodes.

How I Met Your Mother – Twin Beds

This week’s HIMYM was ridiculous but clever, I love that about this show. This week Ted and Barney both realise (after Don asks Robin to move in) that they are both still in love with her. This leads to a competition to win her back, which ends in a drunken mess with Robin not wanting to be around either of them.

It seems that Robin and Don are serious about each other which could spell the end for my Robin and Barney theory. Meanwhile Marshall and Lilly get separate beds, which they think is genius until Don tells them he and his ex-wife did the same…

All in all it’s a pretty over the top episode but that just makes the down to earth ending all the more effective!

Chuck – Vs. The Role Models

This episode, while being about Chuck and Sarah learning how to make their relationship and spy life work, was really an episode for Morgan and Casey to shine as the NSA agent tries to train the newest member of the team.

Morgan and Casey together is a brilliant combination and it’s one we don’t see nearly as often as we should. However I guess the really big part of this week’s episode was Devon and Ellie in Africa. After suspecting the lovers would be leaving the show I was very glad to see they weren’t, although their return to California seemed somewhat contrived, until, of course, I realised it was. Ellie and Devon are forced to return home after Devon comes down with what appears to be Malaria, however, in reality he’s been poisoned by the Ring.

What could the dastardly Ring have planned? Perhaps they will kidnap Devon and Ellie at the airport in order to trade them for the Ring Director (Mark Sheppard) ??? Who knows… Anyway, with four episodes left I’m really enjoying the show and can’t wait to find out if it’s been renewed!

Lost – The Candidate

I’ve already covered the important parts of this week’s Lost, lots of death. Next week’s episode Across the Sea will apparently reveal the backstories of both Jacob and Smokey so we’ll see if it turns out to be more interesting than Richard Alperts.

V – Hearts and Minds

This week V return to story telling boredom. We were shown Ryan, Jack and Hobbs blowing up V shuttle. However, afterwards they find that the shuttle was carrying humans not Vs. Then we flash back for the next fifteen minutes to show us how the characters got to this point. I don't like this at the best of times, it’s a trick Alias always did and it isn’t nearly as effective as people seem to think. Anyway in this case I’d already worked out that Anna knew about the plan to blow up the shuttle and thus filled it with human corpses. I also assumed that Chad had sold them out. The only bit of information I didn’t have was the rocket they used was modified with V tech.

Anyway, this was then followed with some drama. Lisa told Tyler she didn’t love him to save him from Anna, but then Anna beat Lisa and had her legs broken to ensure Tyler would come. Sarita Malik (Rekha Sharma’s character) was finally revealed as V, which I’d guessed at since she first appeared. Also I wonder if any more of the final five will turn out to Vs? And Ericka got put in charge of the task force to stop the Fifth Column.

Supernatural – Two Minutes to Midnight

This week’s Supernatural was really good and definitely deserves the spotlight treatment this week. Together the Winchester brothers face the last two horsemen and deal with the deadly Croatoan virus. If I had any complaint about the episode it would be how segmented it felt, there was a lot of story crammed into this episode that maybe should have been a little more spaced out, but still very very good.

FlashForward – Course Correction

This week’s episode set out to prove that the universe still has a plan for everyone, regardless how much they would like things to be different.

The woman who Al Gough sacrificed himself for was still run down by a car. Keiko very nearly found her way to Bryce, plus Lloyd and Olivia can’t keep their lips to themselves.

James Callis was absolutely brilliant this week, his dedication to the role is superb, although he’s so funny I can’t see how anyone else in the scene manages to keep a straight face.

However, this week’s episode focused mostly on Simon. firstly Mark rescued Annabelle, who informed Mark that Simon is going to cause the next blackout. The FBI also figure out, finally, that Simon is a perfect match for Suspect Zero. Personally, after the NLAP group owned up and said they caused the blackout, I would have already tried to match Simon, Lloyd and Gordon to Suspect Zero… but it’s the FBI so what can we really expect?

Stargate Universe - Sabotage

Last week’s cliffhanger resolved all too quickly this week as the ever present alien threat destroyed Destiny’s FLT engines, causing the ship to remain in range for Eli, Scott and Chloe to return. I had kind of hoped we would get some episodes with the three of them trapped and alone, while Rush and Young tried to turn Destiny around, but nevermind.

This episode was ok, the most important detail was that Dr.Franklin managed to gain control of the alien chair and through it Destiny. However, then he vanished… Did he become part of the ship? Is it now some kind of human hybrid? Who knows…

Still, it was enjoyable enough and we got to see a softer side to Rush’s character. As Destiny leaves the Galaxy, the Aliens follow and that cannot be a good thing for the human race… With only four episodes to go I wonder what will happen in next week's episode, Pain… Whatever it is it doesn't sound pleasant.

Legend of the Seeker -

Full details coming soon…

Coming Soon

Next week will see a special episode of Lost, plus the season finale of Supernatural. I’m hoping to bring you guys a Spotlight on Two Minutes Midnight as well although life is looking pretty hectic for the next few days… I’ll do what I can.

Until then this has been My Two Cents.

Spotlight: Lost – The Candidate

2010-05-07T19:08:00.001+01:00

This week’s Lost sees the deaths of 4 main characters, which is the main reason I’m looking at it in this week’s Spotlight. Part of me really hopes that the series does not end with the Alternaverse and Island World combining to make one true timeline where everyone is still alive, because that would both suck and blow!

A Missed Opportunity

I really thought the writers were going to make a really cool revelation this week. In the flashsideways universe John Locke and his father Antony Cooper (it isn’t explained why they have different names) are involved in a car crash which paralyses John and sets his father into a vegetative state. I hoped that this would explain Antony Cooper’s appearance on the island in season 3. Cooper turned up out of nowhere, he claimed he had just died in a car crash and that the island was hell. The idea that Antony had, instead of being killed in the Alternaverse, had instead been thrown through the veil to land on the island seemed pretty damn cool to me.

However, as was later revealed, John had lied about the car crash, it had in fact been a plane crash, so it seems unlikely then that the Antony on the island and the Antony in the flash sideways were the same person.

The Deaths

Locke now has all 6 candidates in his little group. We know that only by killing them all can he finally escape the island. He also has Kate, who Sawyer revealed this episode had been a candidate, but her name had been scrubbed from the wall. If I’m honest that is far more interesting than any of the other mysteries.

He leads them to the plane, which Widmore has rigged to explode, so he then leads them to the sub. Once there Sawyer tries to ditch Smokey and escape. Jack has vowed he will never leave the island, Sawyer accepts this but he tasks Jack with dealing with Locke.

“You get him in the water, I’ll take care of the rest.” Sawyer explains. What did Sawyer hope would happen if Jack pushed Locke in the water? We know that Locke cannot cross the water, otherwise he’d be able to the leave the island, but surely Sawyer must have realised he couldn’t just kill Locke by getting him a bit wet?

Anyway the plan kind of works and Sawyer, Sun, Jin, Kate, Jack, Sayid, Hurley and Frank all set off in the submarine. Claire is left behind again, although that was pretty much her own fault. During their escape attempt Kate was shot, once the sub is moving Jack goes into his back pack to find a bandaid instead he finds four blocks of C4 wired to a watch. The islanders have no time to return to the surface in order to get rid of the bomb, so their only hope is to defuse it.

Jack points out that Smokey cannot kill them, it is against the rules. (I’m thinking that maybe Alex was a candidate, that was why Ben believed she could not be killed???) So Jack proposes they do nothing, that the bomb will not go off. Sawyer however, having lost Juliet to Jack’s belief in the greater agenda, pulls out the wires, which only speeds up the clock.

Realising they are all about to be blow to bits Sayid grabs the bomb and runs. He doesn’t even close the hatch behind him… The bomb goes off… FOUR BLOCKS OF C4 and yet… AND YET… Everyone but Sayid is fine. Here is an image of what one block of C4 did to the sub back in season 3. One block… not four…

Anyway, despite the fact that everyone should have died, the sub begins to take on water, rather slowly I might add considering the side of it was just blown completely out. Frank, who was not with the others comes down to investigate and gets pummelled with a hatch that buckles and flies loose under the pressure of the water.

Frank is not seen or heard from again this episode. As nobody bothers to rescue him (or even ask where he is) can we assume he is dead? If he is it’s possibly the most lame-ass death ever. I really like Frank’s character and he never really got used the way he should have. Certainly, his return to the island seems to have been for nothing if he died here, he wasn’t even a candidate for goodness sake… in the end he was simply collateral damage.

The explosion causes some pipes to fall and pin Sun to the wall. Jin refuses to leave her. Hurley is tasked with getting the wounded Kate out of the sub, while Jack has to deal with an unconscious Sawyer. Jin is left alone to try and save Sun. When the two of them realise she cannot be saved, neither of them suggest that Jin should at least survive to LOOK AFTER THIER DAUGHTER! The final shot we see of Sun and Jin is of them holding hands, until they die and finally let go.

Part of me thinks that this is deliberate, that we don't actually seem them die, just their hands separating and that Jin has swam to safety. However, if my other theory is correct, that the two universes will eventually collide, then Ji Yeon will be reunited with her parents then, so it wont matter that her father selflessly sacrificed himself in a pointless Romeo and Juliet moment.

The survivors swim to shore where Kate’s mortal wound seems to have healed reasonably nicely. The episode ends with Locke realising that he had failed to kill most of the Candidates and so he heads off to finish the job.

It is possible that he didn’t in fact kill any of them, if Jin is alive, then Sun wasn’t a Candidate and as Sayid stopped being one when he died at the start of the season, the remaining five Candidates are still alive.

Desmond

Before he died Sayid told Jack to find Desmond, this confirms what we knew, that he had not killed Des. It also means that Desmond, like the other Candidates cannot be killed by Smokey. What is it that protects them? Jacob’s touch? Did Jacob visit Desmond too?

Ok, so this has been a rather cynical Spotlight. After all, possibly four of the main cast just died, but it’s difficult to feel for the character when the show has become so ridiculous and unbelievable.

Anyway, this has been My Two Cents… Until Next Time…

Weekly Round-Up: 02/05/10

2010-05-02T23:07:00.001+01:00

Well, it’s been another hectic week in real life for me which means I haven’t had chance to really watch everything or even write this post. But hey ho nevermind.

So, it looks like Legend of the Seeker isn’t getting renewed, I know I haven’t thought much of it so far this season but I still think it’s a shame. Also there is no signs of life from Better Off Ted, the ABC comedy I talked about a couple of weeks ago. How I Met Your Mother and Lost both had a week off too. So then, what did air?

Chuck – vs. The Honeymooners

I know I rave about Chuck a lot but those execs Schwarz and Fedak really know what they are doing with this show. If it doesn’t secure a fourth season I would be seriously shocked.

This week’s episode focused on Chuck and Sarah’s escape to Europe. Together they agree to never be spies again and then they set about finding amusing ways to break that promise without the other finding out.

Meanwhile Casey is tasked with finding them and that means he has to make use of the NSA-CIA’s latest asset… Morgan! I’m so happy that Morgan is finally in loop because it really does open up a lot of potential for the character.

The episode however ends with Ellie and Devon leaving for Africa… What does this mean for Ryan and Sarah? Are they out of a job or will they return to Chuck later this season?

V – Heretic’s Fork

Oddly, V is getting quite good. This week’s episode focused on Anna sending a soldier to retrieve Val and Ryan’s baby. Ultimately it failed, but Hobbs did discover that even burying an axe in it’s chest will not kill it.

Also this week Chad agrees to be Anna’s spy. Tyler accepts the invitation to “live aboard” but Lisa tries to dissuade him as she knows that Anna will kill Tyler the moment he serves his purpose.

What purpose? I’m guessing Anna wants to create a V-Human hybrid and she intends to use Tyler and Lisa to do it. Who knows? But with only three episodes remaining I can only imagine they will be action packed!

Supernatural – The Devil You Know

Firefly’s Mark Sheppard continues his mission to permeate every show I watch this week as he turns up again in Supernatural. Crowley the renegade demon played by Mr. Sheppard is directly responsible for the deaths of Jo and Ellen… but its hard to stay mad at Mark, so I officially forgive you!

There were two major plot points this week. The first is that the boys now have the location of Pestilence (who will be played by Eureka’s Matt Frewer). The second, possibly more interesting point is the deal Crowley offers Bobby. He offers him the location of the final horseman, Death, in exchange for Bobby’s soul. Now… Crowley promises he’ll give it right back, that it’s just a short term loan… but would you trust a Demon?

If Crowley ends up being responsible for Bobby’s death too… Only time will tell. But with only two episodes to go, things are really heating up!

FlashForward – Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

So, this week’s FlashForward focuses on telling us why Janis has been so helpful, when she is supposedly working for the other side!

It seems that Vogel, the CIA agent, tasked her with accepting an offer to be a spy in the FBI. Fair enough, however I suspect that Vogel is a bad guy and that Janis believes she is a double agent for the CIA but she is in fact simply a traitor to her country…

Why do I think Vogel is a baddie? Because of Charlie’s flash forward. She saw Vogel telling someone Mark was dead. Well, Mark wasn’t dead, we know that, so it stands to reason that Vogel sent people to kill Mark, otherwise why would he think he was dead?

The other thing that came about this week was the answer to Frost’s riddle. “You will be saved by the lady you see everyday” The White Queen pinned to the big board turned out to be the Lady and inside it was one of the seven rings. These rings, it seems, are miniature QEDs or Quantum Entanglement Devices. The technology however is very far advanced so are we looking at Time Travel? Aliens? What?

Who knows… Anyway, all in all, a good episode with a rather predictable ending.

Clone Wars – R2 Come Home & Lethal Trackdown

So the season finale of Cartoon Network’s Clone Wars aired this week. Well? It was quite good. Although it didn’t feel like a season finale, it certainly didn’t build to anything sensational.

The first of the two episodes, R2 Come Home, was driven by the character R2 D2 and it was pretty damn funky. There were some really nice moments of animation, really very nice looking indeed. The second episode was led by Plo Koon and Ahsoka as they set out on a mission to rescue some hostages from Aurra Sing. Both these episodes saw a lot of screen time for fan favourites Bossk and Aurra.

Like I said, both episode were enjoyable, but neither seemed to be “cliffhangery” enough for a season finale.

Stargate Universe – Lost

I really enjoyed this week’s Stargate Universe, perhaps because it actually dealt with last weeks cliffhanger, without resolving it completely.

This week’s episode picks up with Scott, Greer, Eli and Chloe trapped on a planet after Destiny abandoned them. At the next stop Rush uses the gates to planet hop back to try and find their missing crew. Meanwhile, a cave-in separates Greer from the rest of the team. Presuming him dead Scott and the others use the stargate to try and find Destiny.

Instead, however, they make their way back to the planet with the downed alien ship. Eli uses it’s nav-computer to find Destiny’s most probably route so they can more accurately jump to it. Meanwhile Greer is rescued and everyone is back aboard Destiny.

Eli manages to dial the ship, but he does so just at the moment Rush is returning and the gate cannot connect, so Scott, Eli and Chloe are stranded yet again. However this time when Destiny goes into FTL it leaves the galaxy and thus it leaves them behind for good…

Well, probably not for good, but it was a great ending. So far SGU has been a bit hit and miss but this week’s episode was exciting and a lot of fun. At times it reminded me of Sliders… ah… that takes me back. Anyway, good episode, quite looking forward to seeing where they go from here.

Legend of the Seeker - Extinction

Knowing that this is one of the last four times we might ever see Tabrett Bethell is dreadfully saddening. Once again however, she is one of the best things about this week’s Legend of the Seeker.

Knowing that the scroll they found two weeks ago can only be read by the light of a Night Wisp, Darken Rahl exterminates them all but one. He then uses the last one read the scroll before burning it and forcing Richard to accept his help.

It seems that Darken Rahl wants to seal the rift to the underworld himself in order to gain favour with the creator in order to never have to go back to the underworld again and face the wroth of the Keeper!

After Rahl is wounded by the Sisters of the Dark (sent after them by the Keeper) he reveals his true secret, that he was the first of the Banelings. An interesting revelation that ends up feeling like a bit of a throw away line somehow.

Anyway, Zed returns from his side mission to collect the listener they met back in season 1. The young boy reads Darken’s mind and tells Richard and Zed what they need to do with the Stone of Tears. Knowing that Richard has very little reason to keep him alive now Darken Rahl makes a break for it, escaping to fight another day.

Oh well…

Coming Soon

So that’s it for another week. Next week will see new episodes of Chuck, Lost, How I Met Your Mother and more. Until then this has been My Two Cents…

Spotlight: Supernatural – Hammer of the Gods

2010-05-01T19:31:00.001+01:00

In terms of real world Mythology this is an epic episode in the Supernatural canon. Many of the Old World Gods will clash as we take a good hard look at last week’s Supernatural, Hammer of the Gods.

The episode opens with Sam and Dean checking into the Elysian Hotel in the middle of a thunderstorm. (In Greek mythology, Elysium was a section of the Underworld. The Elysian Fields, or the Elysian Plains, were the final resting places of the souls of the heroic and the virtuous.) The Hotel is filled with people trying to get out of the storm, people who are now all pigging out on an all you can eat buffet… It’s almost as if they are being fattened up for some reason…

And so the Winchester brothers tuck into a slice of pie and settle down for a calm night off from the usual monster hunting fun that runs their lives.

Only… of course… we know that that’s not going to happen. Pretty soon things start to get weird. First the young couple in the room next door almost come through the wall. But when the brothers check it out there is no one to be found. When they check in with reception the concierge says the couple just checked out.

Obviously Sam and Dean can’t just let it go at that and so the snooping begins. Quickly Dean surmises that something is definitely going on after he spots an elephant in one of the rooms.

Not long after that we realise that we are dealing with Gods… plural. Their ring leader is Kali (played by Battlestar Galatica’s Rekha Sharma) who casts a binding spell to keep the Winchesters in the Hotel. Her other companions include: Mercury (the concierge), Ganesh, Baldur, Zao Shen, Odin, Baron Samedi among others.

After realising all the other guests have vanished Sam and Dean begin to suspect they were led to the hotel. Heading into the Kitchen they quickly discover the rest of the guests locked up in the freezer. But before they have time to rescue anyone the brothers are dragged before the council of the Gods.

The Old World Gods are just as worried about the apocalypse as everyone else, so they have banded together to come up with a plan to avert it. Capturing Sam and Dean to use a bargaining chips with Michael/Lucifer. After some rather amusing infighting (Odin mocking Zao Shen’s belief in a giant turtle that carries the world on it’s back), Loki turns up and asks “Can’t we all just get along,” in his musical-eske Trickster manner.

Of course, we all know that The Trickster is none other than the Archangel Gabriel, but the other Gods have no idea. Gabe quickly zaps Sam and Dean from the room so he can talk to them privately. “Those guys are either going to dust you or use you as bait, either way you’re uberboned!”

“And why do you care?” Dean asks indigently. “I don't care.” Gabriel protests. “But me and Kali, we had a thing... Lucifer is going to turn them into finger paint, so lets get going while the going’s good.”

Gabe explains that first, however, he must break the spell that is binding them to the hotel. Dean insist that they get the hostages out before they run, when Gabe protests Dean threatens to let the other God’s know Loki’s secret identity.

So Gabe wines and dines Kali in the hope of changing her mind about going after Lucifier. “Screw this marble, lets go check out Pandora.” (It’s one of Saturn’s moons… as well as that planet in Avatar… not sure which he means.) “It doesn’t have to be that way.” Kali insists. “What if we fight?” “You die.” Gabriel replies. “I’ve tussled with those winged ass-monkeys once or twice. I’m begging you, don’t do this.” But Kali isn’t listening, she cuts Gabe and adds his blood to the binding spell, trapping him just like Sam and Dean.

Downstairs Sam and Dean stake Zao Shen as he tries to stop them taking the hostages. Once again the brothers are dragged in front of Kali, only this time she is really mad. She knew that Loki was actually Gabriel and she had brought him to the hotel for one reason only… to get her hands on an Angel knife. Without warning she whips it out and I sat bolt upright and screamed at my TV…. “NOOOOOOOOOO!” as she killed Gabriel.

For a long time I’ve thought of the Trickster as one of the best Supernatural characters, when he was reveal as Gabriel I was ecstatic but to kill him off like this with no rhyme or reason.. Why, damn you, why?

So, having run out options Dean offers to bring the Devil to Kali, on the proviso that she lets the hostages go. Kali agrees and Dean releases everyone. But as he is doing so a voce calls to him from a nearby car… I should have known, you can’t kill the Trickster.

“You think I’d give Kali my real sword, that thing can kill me.” Gabe explains. “A fake, I made it out of a can of diet orange slice.”

“Hand over the real blade.” Dean insists to Gabriel’s confusion. “Since when are you butt buddies to a load of monsters?” Gabriel asks. “It’s nuts, but it’s the best idea I’ve heard. Unless you have a better one? They are going to die in there without you.” Dean says, appealing to Gabriel’s compassionate side. “I can’t kill my brother.” Gabe insists. “Can’t or wont?”

It’s interesting that Dean, of all people, asks this question, because if push comes to shove and he is forced to kill Sam, would he?

So the Gods have a fake sword, but it’s too late because Satan is already on the doorstep. It seems Mercury called him and for his trouble Lucifer kills him. Mark Pellegrino’s body is beginning to disintegrate which means Lucy will need a new body pretty soon… will Sam say yes? I doubt it but we’ll see…

So Lucifer goes on to slaughter everyone, including Baldur. However, just in the nick of time Gabe shows up, thrusts a porno into Dean’s hands and commands him to guard it with his life, then the two brothers go at each other like there is no tomorrow… Gabe and Lucy that is.

Sam, Dean and Kali escape in ruckus. “Lucifer, you are my brother and I love you, but you are a great big bag of dicks. Boo Hoo, daddy was mean to me so I’m going to smash up all his toys. Dad loved you best, more than Michael, more than me, then he brought the new baby home and you couldn’t handle it. So all this… its just a great big temper tantrum, it’s time to grow up!”

“You, disloyal…” Lucifer begins, but Gabe cuts him off. “Oh, I’m loyal, to them.To People, because dad was right, they are better than us.” Lucifer disagrees. “They are broken, flawed abortions.” Gabe is just stalling now, but his words are kinda beautiful. “Damn right they’re flawed, but a lot of ‘em try… to do better… to forgive. I’m not on your side or Michael’s, I’m on theirs.”

“I know you think you doing the right thing, Gabriel, but I know where your heart truly lies…” Satan says softly as the camera pans to show a second Gabe standing behind him ready to strike. “Here.” Lucy breathes as he stabs his brother with his own knife. For the second time this episode I cry out that it can’t be true, but this time I know it’s for real. As we zoom out the outline of his wings is singed into the floor. Gabriel is dead.

I knew it would end this way, but I’m not sure I see why it had to. Does Kripke not like his best characters, first Ash, then Jo and Ellen, now the Trickster and I’m betting even Bobby will have had it before the end of the season.

The episode concludes with Dean sitting down to watch the dvd Gabriel handed to him before his final fight… Casa Erotica 13. However, of course, Gabe has altered the porno to feature a message about how to defeat Lucy. It seems the Devil’s trap they broke Lucifer out of is still in good condition, all they need to do is cram his ass back in and lock it with four specially designed keys… The Four Rings of the Horsemen of the Apocalypse…

Doof!

Well not quite. The episode ends with a teaser of just who will be playing Pestilence… none other than Matt Frewer! I would pretend to be shocked but I’d read about it months ago… still I can’t wait to see what he does with the role.

Overall the episode was quite heavy, but still enjoyable. I still wish that Gabriel had been used in a better way, rather than dying here. Although God already brought Cas back from the dead so we might see Gabe again before the end. I’m also not a fan of the “put the Devil back in his cage” ending. We all know that Supernatural was only ever supposed to run to 5 seasons, so this just feels like a way to extend the concept after you’ve already told us the ending. But I trust Eric Kripke to do the right thing and I’ll be honest, 22 more episodes of my favourite show of the moment is never going to be a bad thing.

Tune in again tomorrow for more of My Two Cents with the Weekly Round-Up.

Spotlight: FlashForward – The Garden of Forking Paths

2010-04-29T15:59:00.001+01:00

Despite our rather dubious feelings towards ABC’s new hit show, every Tuesday my friend Mike (Author of the Slate Scrawl blog) get together to talk about this show and we were both forced to agree that if there was an episode worth talking about, it was this one.

The episode opens with Mark asking Charlie what Dyson Frost said to her last week and in typical FlashForward style his daughter closes her eyes and recalls every detail as if it was happening to her right then and there.

Specifically she gives them the following Dr. Seuss quotation. “One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish.” As Dyson points out, Dr. Seuss has all the answers. Then Dyson hands over a picture of Oedipus and the Sphinx with a meeting place written on the back.

Meanwhile Zoe goes to see Alda to ask her to help Demetri. Alda demands that she has a hearing before she will help Demetri. However, Alda uses the hearing as a chance to escape, leaving Zoe with only the tiniest scrap of evidence to help find Demetri, “Building 7”

So Mark follows Dyson’s instructions, going to the Railway station where he gets handed a phone with further instructions, telling him to ditch the rest of the FBI and come alone to a lonely place high in the hills.

Meanwhile Demetri is sat in a chair, Mark’s gun pointed at his chest. Behind him, written in chalk on a huge blackboard, is Dyson’s “Garden of Forking Paths.” Dyson explains that over the years he has engineered hundreds of flash forwards, which generated many possible futures. Each time a significant event occurred in real time the result would be only one of these possible futures. “Take the day of the Blackout, had we failed, a different path would have opened up, so we move on to the next decision point. A new path, which brings us to today, March 15th. The most important fork of all.”

Dyson explains that once you have seen a possible future, that future actually becomes more likely, like the self fulfilling prophecy of Oedipus. If you actively seek it out, or actively avoid it the future is likely to happen exactly the way you saw it.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen Demetri.” Dyson remarks as he walks away. “But in all likelihood one of us is going to die today.”

So with an hour and thirty left on the clock before Demetri dies, Mark meets with Dyson on the hilltop.

“Why me?” Mark asks. “Because I don’t trust the FBI, and neither should you.” Dyson remarks. “We found the mole.” Mark reminds Frost. “And you think that makes you safe? You have no idea.” Dyson tosses Mark a pair of handcuffs, but before putting them on Mark requests that he be allowed a sip of water. This is a poor line and a terribly conceived plan. The water, which doesn’t even look like water, is gasoline and Mark spits it at Dyson, causing him to drop to the ground as the gas burns his eyes.

“This is not the way it was supposed to play out.” Frost whines. “Where is Demetri?” Mark demands. “You already know where he is. I gave Charlie all the answers.” Frost screams. “Walk, we’re running out of time.” Mark insists. “I know.” Dyson protests. “The whole world is.” (we’ll see what this means later.) “In the end you’re going to be saved by the lady you see everyday.” Who is this? Olivia? Charlie? Janis?

Moments later Dyson Frost is shot by the recently escaped Alda. Mark tries to get his answers but Frost is already dead. Mark takes Dyson’s brief case which contains 3 more pictures from the big board in Mark's flash forward. He also takes Dyson’s car, using the GPS to locate where Frost is holding Demetri. 423 Ingres Street.

Ingres was the name of the artist that painted the Oedipus picture, but where 423 came from I don’t know. Dyson claimed he gave Charlie all the answers, but I can’t see them.

Mark gets to the compound with minutes to spare. He phones the office and Wedeck gives him the only clue they have, building 7 (again not a clue from Charlie) Mark rushes in to save Dem. He disables the sensors by pulling the wires 1, 2, Red then Blue, but the trigger mechanism is still set to fire. With only seconds to spare Mark pulls the gun upwards so that it is now pointing at Demetri’s head (genius move btw). The gun goes off… but it misses and Demetri lives.

I had said from the start that they wouldn’t kill John Cho, but even I had my doubts. The last few moments were very tense indeed, well done FF. However, the firing mechanism was mechanical, all Mark had to do was block the trigger, so why didn’t he? He was in an industrial warehouse, a simple brick or piece of sheet metal would have done just fine. That was the main thing that annoyed me this episode, but on the whole it was very tense and enjoyable.

After surviving the death trap Demetri gets up from his seat, which triggers a secondary insurance measure as a series of sprinklers erase Dyson’s Garden of Forking Paths. In fact, the only entry that Mark can remember is the last one dated Dec 12th 2016 which simply reads THE END!

And that, my friends, just reignited my interest in the show. I’ve been wondering where a second and subsequent seasons could be heading and now we have an answer.

Also this episode Olivia and Vreede have been trying to connect the dots. The homeless man that was shot with Mark’s gun last episode was the same man who sent Olivia the text telling her that Mark was drinking in his flash forward. The episode ends by introducing the dead man’s friend, none other than James Callis better known as Battlestar’s Gaius Baltar.

Gabriele (James’ character) tells Olivia he has stood behind her in line at the coffee stand on this day many many times and that he needs to talk to her about the Raven River experiments. If Gabriele is not an escaped mental patience then it would seem that Dyson isn't the only person experimenting with time travel and flash forwards.

And that’s about it for this week, hopefully I’ll find the time to bring you “The Hammer of the Gods.” at some point in the next couple of days. Until then, this has been My Two Cents…

Weekly Round-Up: 25/04/10

2010-04-25T19:37:00.001+01:00

Was there a sale on ex-Battlestar actors this week? Last week Michael Trucco took up the spotlight in V and his fellow shipmates followed suit this week with Rekha Sharma (who played Tory) appearing in this week’s supernatural, James Callis in FlashForward and Tahmoh Penikett and Alessandro Juliani both turning up in the SyFy original movie Riverworld.

Regardless of that, this week was reasonably good. Another great episode of How I Met Your Mother, a better episode of V, plus seminal episodes of Supernatural and Flash Forward…

How I Met Your Mother – Home Wreckers

This week saw the wedding of Heroes actress Cristine Rose, otherwise known as Ted’s Mom. Virginia and Clint’s wedding is a difficult time for Ted as he struggles with how much of a disappointment his life is, although Clint’s song about sleeping with his mother certainly doesn’t help things.

By the way, if you are wracking your brains trying to figure out where you know Clint from… He’s Mayor Wilkins in BtVS.

As a way to cope with his failure to complete “the plan”, wife, kids, house, Ted sets out to do the one part he can, he buys a house. His friends however are less impressed with his genius idea, because, as it turns out, the house is a death trap. Of course, this being HIMYM the house, in fact, turns out to be the very house that Ted’s future children will grow up in.

All in all this was a good episode, the Drunk or Kid gameshow-style flashbacks felt a little too hammy, but otherwise a very enjoyable episode.

Lost – The Last Recruit

Ah Lost, I’ve already talked about this already this week, check out the Spotlight if you missed my musings.

V – We Can’t Win

This week’s V revolved around Anna using human’s to take out members of the fifth column. Specifically another ex-Battlestar actor, Ty Olsson who played Captain Kelly.

Also this week the V’s learn that Valerie is pregnant with a V-hybrid, but Ryan rescues her before she is abducted. Anna plans long term destruction by offering Earth a new energy source, which she intends to turn off once we are dependant on it… Really? We’ll become completely dependant in less than 4 episodes? Lisa fails Anna’s sympathy test and realises she is love with Tyler (then the two of them get freaky in a space shuttle.

All in all a lot of small things happened this week, but it was not as dull or exposition-y as normal. With only four episodes to go though things are still moving too slowly.

Supernatural – Hammer of the Gods

Although I’m not always a fan of these very heavy episodes, this week’s Supernatural needs some attention. So this week will see two Spotlight posts, this and Flash Forward.

FlashForward – The Garden of Forking Paths

As I mentioned I will be covering this episode in detail later in the week, so stay tuned.

Stargate Universe – Human

This week’s episode had many problems, but it also had some good stuff. This week’s episode featured a guest appearance by Michael Shanks, otherwise known as Daniel Jackson. Daniel appears in a dream sequence that is experienced by Rush as he sits in that alien chair built by the ancients. This sequence is used as a way to explain Rush’s backstory. He is approached by Daniel and offered the chance to become part of the Icarus project and we learn that he said yes, despite his wife being on her death bed.

Anyway the whole thing was a convoluted way of giving Rush a clue to unlocking Destiny’s systems. 46, apparently is the clue. This is explained as being the number of chromosomes in a human, and that it is double 23, which apparently has significance. Anyway it will still be some time before they have full control of Destiny, meanwhile Eli, Chloe, Scott and Greer are trapped on a planet.

In a rather convoluted storyline the four explorers get caught in a cave in, after Greer discharges his weapon at a giant spider. Unfortunately the Giant Spider was a one off encounter used only to trigger the cave-in, which meant that the team missed the rendezvous and Destiny jumped into FTL and left them behind.

I like that they were left behind, it makes for an interesting ending to a less so episode. However, here is my problem… They have already shown that by sticking your arm through the open Stargate you can prevent Destiny jumping away… so why didn’t they. They could have held the ship there indefinitely. I hate the way this show lacks any kind of consistency.

That said, I think the next couple of episodes, which will revolve around the team being stuck on the planet and Rush trying to turn Destiny about, will make for some interesting viewing.

Clone Wars – Death Trap

Boba Fett and Aura Sing make their debuts in this Clone Trooper Cadet focused episode. Boba sneaks aboard an acclamator as part of a training squad of Cadets, with the sole purpose of killing Mace Windu, the Jedi that killed his father.

However, Boba fails, so he takes out the ship instead, before making his get away aboard Slave 1. The episode was ok. It was good to see Boba and Aura getting some screen time but the script was a bit weak. The destruction of the ship was cool though so that partly makes up for it.

Legend of the Seeker -

When I get round to watching this I’ll update this bit…

Coming Soon

Chuck returns next week, Lost reveals the Candidate, plus there is more from all our favourites. Plus, keep your eyes peeled for both of this week’s Spotlights.

Spotlight: Lost – The Last Recruit

2010-04-24T00:32:00.001+01:00

Ok, so this is a little late in coming because I’ve been fighting the urge to simply write…

WTF!!!

And leave it at that. I’ve made no secret of my feelings towards this final (thankfully) season of Lost and this episode is not an exception. So far this season the cast has simply traipsed about the island, going from the beach to the caves to temple to hydra island and back again, all with very little purpose. Meanwhile people are switching sides more times a day than your average CTU agent. First Sayid’s good, then he’s bad, now he indifferent, seriously… what the frak is going on?

Right, rant over, lets look at the episode.

Over in Alternaverse

The episode opens with Ben and Locke going to the Hospital after Desmond ran him down at the end of the last episode. Once there they run into Jin and Sun who are checking in after Sun was shot in the restaurant. Sun recognises Locke, which means she is now one of the many characters to pierce the veil.

Next we have some posturing from Sawyer as he chats up Kate. Miles breaks it up as a call comes in and they head out to arrest Sayid.

Then we see Claire and Desmond at the law firm where Ilana works. Claire is on her way to sign some papers to have Aaron adopted, but Des side tracks her and introduces her to Ilana who was coincidentally trying to find her regarding Christian’s will.

Sayid returns to say goodbye to Nadia, only to be arrested by Sawyer and Miles.

Jack and David (his son) turn up at the law firm to meet with Ilana and, for the second time this episode a rather big song and dance is made about Jack and Claire being siblings. However the meet and greet is cut short as Jack is called back to the hospital to work on Locke.

Back in the Hospital Sun comes round from the surgery and she and the baby are just fine. Meanwhile Jack realises that he knows the man he’s about to operate on… it is of course John Locke.

On the Island

So we open with Jack and Locke answering the question “Why John Locke?” Smokey admits that he can only look like dead people and it seems only ones who’s bodies are on the island. That explains Jack’s Dad, Locke, Alex and Yemi, it does not explain Walt. The only explanation therefore I can give for Walt is that he can psychically project himself (even across time). This is not a stretch as the producers already admitted Walt is psychic.

Also, why Smokey is now trapped in Locke’s body is not explained as he seems to have been able to shift from one form to another previously.

Locke tells Jack that he is on their side and he wants to get them all off the island but it will only work if all the Candidates leave together.

Once Locke leaves Claire and Jack manage a little chat, the writers are very insistent that we remember that Jack and Claire are brother and sister as the point is hammered home several time during the episode. Is this because Jack will eventually have to kill Claire or is it because the Sheppard children are effectively interchangeable in the big scheme of things?

Claire thanks Jack for deciding to come with her and Locke. Jack admits he hasn’t yet made up his mind. “Yeah you have.” Claire replies. “You decided the moment you let him talk to you, just like the rest of us” Well if that’s all it takes Locke has spoken every damn person on the island, so they’re all screwed. The point about “Don’t let him talk to you” seems pretty important, although I fail to see how they plan to tie it in to anything. Anyway, the point is Jack is now with Smokey.

So Sawyer hatches a plan to get himself, Kate, Jack, Sun, Hurley and Frank off the island. Claire, Sayid and all the other extras are not invited. Also, he never mentions his best buddy Miles.

Next Zoey (Widmore’s #2) shows up and demands the return of Desmond. When Locke refuses she shows him what they will do if he doesn’t give them what they want by just missing Locke with explosive ordinance.

In response Locke sends Sawyer to get a boat which will take everyone over to Hydra Island. However Sawyer sees this an opportunity to escape. Letting Jack, Sun, Frank and Hurley know that they are making a break for it, Sawyer and Kate head for the boat. While Locke sends Sayid on a mission to kill Des.

Sayid has been promised that he will be able to see Nadia again if he does what Locke says. However Des guilt trips the assassin into doubting his master’s words. We don’t know if Sayid killed Des, but we can safely assume he didn’t.

With Locke distracted Jack makes his break, but Claire follows behind. When they arrive at the dock Claire pulls her rifle, not wishing to be abandoned again. Kate explains that they are leaving and refuses to go unless Claire comes. And so it is that the seven of them head off to Hydra Island.

Once they are out to sea Sawyer and Jack have a final set to, partly over Juliet’s death, partly over Jack not wanting to leave the island. Of course this reaction of wanting to stay makes Jack the most likely person to become Jacob’s replacement, which of course, in Lost terms, makes him the most unlikely. Anyway, Sawyer doesn’t like what he hears so he orders Jack off the boat and Jack leaves, but not before warning Sawyer that “this is a mistake, the island isn’t done with us yet”

Jack swims to shore where he is met by Smokey and Sawyer lands on the other island to be met by Zoey and plenty of guns. Sun and Jin have a touching reunion before Zoey receives the order to kill everyone. The gang are ordered onto their knees and are prepared to be shot. Of course, this never ends well for the executioners… Remember what Sawyer did to Tom? I can only assume next week will open with Sawyer and the team executing the rest of Widemore’s men…

Meanwhile, with Locke exposed on the beach, Zoey opens fire with mortars/missiles. Of course, all this does is kill the extras because Smokey can only be killed by Jacobs sword. Locke comforts Jack as they flee reminding him. “It’s ok, you’re with me now.”

The Alternaverse stuff was really just an attempt to bring everyone together, for what purpose I don't know, but I’m assuming that Desmond is a big part of it… He is certainly orchestrating part of it.

The on-island run around was rather pointless. We know Widemore can’t execute seven of the main cast, most of whom are Candidates. We also know Smokey can only be killed with that sword and only by someone he hasn’t spoken to. The major reveals for the episode, mythology wise were that Smokey was in fact most of the “dead people” on the island. This was already pretty well known by this point (we worked it out in season 5).

All this “You’re with me now” nonsense seems a little convoluted, I’m sure it’ll all “make sense” in the end, but it seems to me that the rules only exist for it to “make sense” at the end and not for any other logical reason.

As for the title, The Last Recruit, this seems to refer to Jack going over to Locke’s side, but I couldn’t be sure that’s what it means. The next episode is called the Candidate, does this mean that someone will finally become the new Jacob? With only four episodes to go I am excited (and relieved) that the end is nigh, but it had better be damned good!

This has been My Two Cents, come back Sunday for a round up of what else has been on this week.

Weekly Round-Up: 18/04/10

2010-04-18T20:09:00.001+01:00

This week was a passable week in the world of television. Previously disappointing shows like V, SGU and Legend of the Seeker raised their game and gave us something better to enjoy. While the big guns Chuck and Supernatural disappointed, the former by not actually airing and the latter for just being a touch too heavy…

Anyway that’s enough from me, I will warn you there are some spoilers ahead, including a BSG final five cylons one… Sorry!

How I Met Your Mother – Zoo or False

This week’s HIMYM is very clever… joyously so. The writers very cleverly set up a story where Marshal tells two stories of a mugging. The first, vaguely scary, the second simply hilarious. As the episode develops it becomes impossible to tell which of the two stories is the truth and that is why it is so clever. Plus the King Kong ending is just genius.

It’s great to have this show back on our screens, very very funny.

Lost – Everybody Loves Hugo

A better episode from a season that has been rather lacking in good episodes. In Everybody Loves Hugo more people begin to see through the veil to their alternate lives. Hurley and Libby finally get it together in the alternaverse, but Desmond has it in for substitute teacher John Locke and runs the wheelchair bound fellow down with his car.

Why? I don’t know. If I had to take a guess its more of that universe-self-correcting nonsense we’ve seen elsewhere. Or possibly that the two Des’s have switched places…

Back on the island all the islanders, are now all hanging out with Smokey. John Locke throws Desmond down a well. Ilana manages to blow herself to pieces, then Hugo blew up the Black Rock, both using the unstable dynamite. After this Richard suggested that maybe they should just use the nice stable grenades the Others had in their stores… Jackass! Anyway, Hugo, being instructed by Michael refuses to go and instead leads everyone else, barring Miles Strum and Ben Linus to Smokey.

The major reveal this week was the truth behind the Whispers. Apparently they are the voices of the lost, those who did terrible things on the island and are incapable of moving on because of their sins. This begs the question about the people who have been allowed to leave. Eko, Ana and Charlie have all been seen by Hugo off island, yet they all murdered people on the island. So why was Michael trapped there when they weren’t?

V – John May

I would honestly not be surprised if Patrick Stewart turned up in this show next week, certainly every other actor from cult Sci-Fi Tv is here as, non other than, Battlestar Galactica’s Michael Trucco guest starred this week as the elusive John May. In fact, it seems that Trucco is playing an alien in human skin… has he done that before?

This week’s episode of V was certainly better. John May, the leader of the resistance and the beacon of hope amongst the Fifth Column turns out to be dead despite the message that’s been appearing over and over “John May Lives”. That said his son “James May”… no not the one from Top Gear… is alive and he joins the resistance. How well that will work out we’re not yet sure, now that we know resistance leader Ryan was the one who killed his father.

It’s certainly possible that John May is not dead and this is just misdirection, but with only 5 episodes to go I’d rather not have that “twist”.

Also this week Tyler discovers that his father (X-files’ Nicholas Lea) may not be his father at all. Top Reporter Chad Decker blackmails Anna and Joshua euthanizes resistance member Georgie Sutton.

Supernatural - Point of No Return

This week’s Supernatural saw a return to season 4 style mythology heavy storytelling that is somehow just less enjoyable. Adam, the Winchester Boys half-brother is returned to life by the angels and told that he is a candidate for Michael. This is a lie, used to lure Dean to Zachariah so that the Archangel can force him to say yes (although Dean was pretty much going to say yes anyway.)

Dean however uses the opportunity to knife the evil Angel, killing the annoying mother frakker once and for all… Huzzah.

FlashForward - Let No Man Put Asunder

As March 15th approaches Demetri and Zoey decide to tie the knot and flee the country. However, Dyson Frost is not about to let Dem get away and so on the morning of his wedding day the evil villain kidnaps Demetri. We also know by this point that Dyson has the gun that will kill our hero…

Also this week, Janis reveals that she is pregnant… As if Demetri’s life wasn’t complicated enough. Olivia and Lloyd kiss. (Bad, naughty Olivia!!!) and Marcie, the mole, refuses to talk based on her own personal vision of the future.

Oh… And Wedeck finances Aaron’s jaunt into Iraq and supplies him with guns and ammo… and I’m not talking about the magazine.

All in all it wasn’t a bad episode, I like the way the date was subtly brought up. I’m fairly sure Demetri is going to live through to the end of the season, but there was some good tension build up. However, except for the “There’s going to be another blackout” story, I fail to see what exactly will drive season 2. We kinda already know what caused the blackout and we know (pretty much) who was behind it. I just don’t see exactly what is left to discover should FF be renewed by the powers that be.

Stargate Universe - Faith

This was a better episode than we have had of late. Maybe it’s just that I’m currently watching Season 3 of BSG but this episode reminded me of the settlement on New Caprica. The crew of Destiny discover a man-made planet and sun, perfect for their needs. A small group spend a month there gathering supplies but when it comes time to return to Destiny some people don’t want to go back.

The beautiful (and now pregnant) TJ is one of the 11 people who want to stay behind, along with Matt and Chloe. However, Col. Young orders the military personnel to return and Destiny jumps away without us ever learning anything about the aliens that built the solar system.

The problem I have with the “We want to stay behind” storyline is that 11 people is not enough to start a society, it’s not even an even number for goodness sakes. But other than that I enjoyed the episode, plus we learnt that Col. Young is the father of TJ’s baby. All in all a better episode, keep it up guys.

Legend of the Seeker – Vengeance

Talking of better episodes, this week’s Legend was better than previous episodes, although it still suffers from many many flaws. These were not limited to this week’s quest for an instruction manual for the Stone of Tears. This kind of story element is so pedestrian its untrue.

John Rhys Davies’ appearance as none other than Richard’s father was rather enjoyable, although his death was rather predictable as none of Richard’s relatives live past the end of an episode (with the exception of his sister, but she got the Hot Girl Invincibility Pass.). Legend is stuck in a rut and until this Stone of Tears story is over it will be impossible for them to break out of it, hopefully if the show runs to a third season they will reassess the way they deal with story telling.

That said, I did enjoy it. I’m not sure how the Sisters of the Dark turned up at the end as I was under the impression that Nicci had killed them all. The fight sequences were mostly good, although slightly ridiculous. The fight with Zed in the monastery was particularly spectacular.

So, that’s about it for this week. Tune in around midweek for a spotlight or first impressions/10 reasons post. Until then, this has been My Two Cents.

First Impressions: Better Off Ted

2010-04-14T23:26:00.001+01:00

It’s time another first-look at a Tv Pilot, this time for the ABC comedy Better Off Ted. I only decided to check this show out after seeing it pop up in a list of shows in danger of being cancelled this season over on Sci-Fi Wire.

The core of the show is about a company called Veridian Dynamics, although it could have easily been ACME, because this really is an American Company that Makes Everything. The show opens with an advert for the company.

“Veridian Dynamics, everyday, something we make makes your life better. Power, we make that. Technology, we make that. Cows, well no, we dont make cows, but have made a sheep. And medicines and airplane engines and whatever this is and allsorts of things. Veridian Dynamics, everyday, something we make makes your life better…” *slide of a missile blowing up a bunker* “Usually”

And I really couldn’t sum up what this show is about any better than that. VD is an evil corporation that makes bombs and other nasty implements of torture, like a chair that increases productivity by being incredibly uncomfortable or creating deadly pumpkins because an newly conquered enemy has lots of pumpkins and you want to find a use for them.

But that alone, while funny, would not be enough to justify this show’s existence, enter the cast. The characters in the show are all lovely, even the R&D boss, Ted, who is in charge of creating all these products, because he has a conscience… his daughter.

The only truly evil character in the show is Veronica Palmer, the big boss lady, played by Portia de Rossi, who is probably better known as Lindsay in Arrested Development. It would be a lie to say that the roles she has played are completely different, so I wont, but that is probably why she works so well as the Ice-Queen-Bitch-of-a-Boss.

The title role of Ted is taken by Jay Harrington, the actor who played Steve in the US version of Coupling (Jack Davenport was a much better choice :P). As I said, Ted is driven by two masters, “Them” referring to upper management and his daughter Rose. The first is the evil devil sitting on one shoulder, the second is the argumentative and judgemental angel that sits opposite. Ted must walk the line between keeping them happy, while staying true to what he knows to be right.

The rest of the cast includes another familiar face, Andrea Anders who played Alex in Joey. This time she plays Linda, a potential love interest for Ted. She is beautiful and intelligent and (at the moment) understated unlike her increasing shrill and over the top character in that Friends Spin-Off. (That might have been a bit harsh… sorry Andrea.)

Finally Jonathon Slavin and Malcolm Barrett round out the cast as the two main scientists. They are a brilliant pairing. Slavin, who plays Phil, is the test subject for a flash freezing experiment in the pilot and the way he handles being selected for this task is superb.

All in all this show is a series of outrageous jokes and ideas that pile on top of one another to become funnier and funnier as the episode plays out. It’s not deep but it is possibly moralistic (it’s hard to take the show seriously enough to absorb the moral lessons though) but it is funny and that is what matters in a comedy.

I enjoyed the creative decision to not include a laugh track, in a strange way it adds more integrity to the show because it feels like it is being played straight instead of for laughs and that has to be its charm. While Ted’s continual habit of talking straight to camera gives the show a documentary feel. If anything bad is to be said about the pilot, it would be how abruptly it ended. Also with the nature of the show, the laughs come from shock and surprise so I don’t know how well they would hold up to repeat views.

All in all I think this is great idea for a show and I can’t wait to sink my teeth into the next episode.

This has been My Two Cents… Come back on Sunday for another round up of the week’s Tv.

Weekly Round-Up: 11/04/10

2010-04-11T17:59:00.001+01:00

I’m a bit behind this week as a visit from a childhood friend kept me from my Tv set. This means that I will update this post later in the week as I watch the missing shows.

Good week? Yes indeedy. Chuck takes on Superman in a duel to the death, Desmond returns to the island in Lost and the Winchester Boys go head to head with the Whore of Babylon in Supernatural!

Chuck - vs. The Other Guy

This week’s episode follows directly on from the end of last weeks as Chuck, with the help of John Casey attempts to rescue Sarah from Shaw. However, Shaw wasn’t planning to kill Sarah, in fact he was preparing her for a mission where they could take out the Ring and capture the Cypher (the brain of the Ring’s new intersect computer.)

At this point I sighed, another episode of Chuck where the cliffhanger from the previous episode is resolved without drastic consequences… Boy did I sigh too soon. It seems that Agent Shaw has switched sides, now working against the CIA who had Sarah murder his wife, he hands over the intersect data and is about to murder Sarah… And he would have gotten away with it too if it hadn’t been for that pesky Chuck.

While Chuck and Shaw have their final showdown Casey mops up the rest of the Ring capturing the Ring Director (Mark Sheppard) and handing him over to Beckman in exchange for being reinstated, with a new Crown Victoria (lol) and in exchange for making Morgan an agent! (So cool)

In a very James Bond-esque ending Sarah and Chuck finally end up together and when Beckman (i.e. M) calls to give Chuck (i.e. Bond) a new mission he simply ignores her… Very nice reference guys. However as Chuck and Sarah get freaky we are reminded, as the camera pans down the bed, that Chuck is still Chuck, because despite being a superspy, with his super hot girl, he’s still wearing his ‘Chuck’ sneakers! Nice Touch!

Lost – Happily Ever After

This episode focused almost completely on alternate Desmond. Charles Widemore blasts island Desmond with lots of EM energy and then we are treated to a lot of Other Desmond stuff. In the flash sideways Des is Widemore’s right hand man. Also Charles is married to Eloise and not whoever Penny’s mother is. Eloise still seems to have some strange power to know the past, present and future and can possibly even see into the alternaverse.

Charlie Pace also feature’s prominently in the episode, revealing to Desmond how to ‘pierce the veil’ and see into the alternate universe (i.e. one where he is happy with Penny and his Son).

After the experiment on the island Widemore releases Desmond, who has now changed from the angry Scotsman he was into a compliant young man, much like the Des in the flash sideways. Have the two switched, possibly even become a single entity? I honestly have no idea.

The episode was an interesting exploration of what Desmond could have been had things been different, but it also suffered, like much of this season, from being quite convoluted in order to retain the air of mystery that Lost prides itself on. Certainly Daniel Faraday’s theoretical conversation that he has with Desmond about the fact that he believes he set off a nuclear bomb seems, not only far fetched that he would be that specific, but ridiculous.

Anyway, not long to go now… it can’t get too much more bizarre can it?

V – Pound of Flesh

Another two cult favourites popped up in this week’s, slightly more interesting, episode of V in the form of Samantha Ferris (Supernatural’s Ellen) and Nicholas Lea (the X-Files’ Alex Krycek). The episode revolved around the Fifth Column, an organisation of Visitors, living on earth and ready to fight Anna. However, there is no way to simultaneously cause them all to rise up, so Ryan (eventually) volunteers to go aboard the V ship and broadcast a message to start the revolution.

Of course, while he’s there he steals a chemical compound to help his pregnant wife carry his child to term. Unfortunately, after sending his message Ryan is about to be captured by the V’s until Georgie sacrifices himself to let Ryan escape.

Halfway there and still no major action… but with Anna building an invasion force things have to start heating up for the last six episodes of this “long anticipated” miniseries.

Supernatural – 99 Problems

And the bitch is one! This week’s episode introduced yet another character from the Christian myths, the Whore of Babylon. However, regardless of how much fun the core of the episode was, it was not the most important thing to happen… oh no…

After Dean finished off the foul creature (that could only be killed by a servant of heaven) he took off in the Impala and went to see Lisa, the hot girl with a son he thought might be his, to tell her that if he wasn’t a hunter he would have married her… And you know what (assuming I hadn’t met Jo first) I would marry her too! But the reason he drops this bombshell on Lisa? Because he is about to go and say yes to Michael, with the condition that Lisa and her son Ben are protected.

The title of next week’s episode “Point of No Return” certainly suggests that Dean will go through with his plan but we’ll have to wait and see…

FlashForward – Queen Sacrifice

This week FlashForward turns into 24 as moles are abound in the FBI office… That’s right I said “moles” plural. It seems that the Three Star gang are watching Mark Benford very closely and they are using one of his closest allies to do so. My problem here is that Janis has been FAR TOO HELPFUL to be a mole. She discovered the man in the stadium, the crow death in Somalia… if she is working against Benford she isn’t doing a very good job.

Of course, the intent might not be to burn the investigation, but to help it along for another insidious purpose. However with both Janis and Simon working against them the Mosaic task force seems pretty well screwed.

Also this week Bryce finally admits he has feelings for Nicole, while the love of his life, Keiko, lands herself a job in a chop shop, only to be arrested by ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) the following day. This was an endearing segment of the FlashForward story that hints at the future being malleable.

All in all this episode was ok. In some aspects it was ridiculous (not as bad as Lost though) but it was also cute and interesting. I’m interested to see where Janis’ character will be taken now that she is revealed as a mole, in fact, that’s more interesting than the series tagline “There will be another Blackout” Anyway, I guess we’ll have to wait til next week for answers.

Clone Wars – The Zillo Beast & The Zillo Beast Strikes Back

In the first of these two episodes the Jedi are on the homeworld of the Dugs (the same race as Sebula the podracer from episode one) seeking a treaty to secure a fuel supply. To win the Dugs over the Jedi must destroy a massive droid army using a new EMP type bomb. The bomb however created a sink hole which releases the Zillo beast, a creature that looks not unlike Groudon (the big red pokemon from the Ruby edition of that game and yes I had to use wikipedia to find out the name!). The Dugs insist on killing the creature, while Mace Windu is intent on keeping it alive.

To that end the Jedi work together to bring it down, but alive, getting the Dugs to sign the treaty and transporting the beast off world… to Coruscant no less… Is it just me or can you say “Godzilla”?

So, predictably, the Zillo beast got loose and set about destroying downtown as it searched for the man that had sentenced it to death, Senator Palpatine. This second episode, due to it’s predictable nature, was a lot less satisfying. The end however was unexpected as Senator Palpatine ordered the doctor in charge of the project to attempt to clone the Zillo beast… presumably for an episode entitled “Return of the Zillo Beast” Although an unexpected twist I can’t say it’s a particularly thrilling one.

Stargate Universe – Divided

Well, this week saw the return of the nameless aliens that are plaguing Destiny. Apparently they want the ship for themselves (although they seem to plan on getting it by blowing it up… huh?) and to that end they implanted a tracking device in Rush so they can follow her through FTL.

To keep Col. Young from flushing him out the airlock Rush takes over the ship, or at least he tries to. However when his plan endangers Young and Scott he stops, surely it would have made more sense to sacrifice them but never mind.

This week was better than last, but not a whole lot, that’s why it took me so long to get round to watching it. Bring back Caprica… that’s what I say.

Legend of the Seeker –Desecrated

This week’s Legend of the Seeker was yet another one off story. There wasn’t even a mention of the Keeper or the Stone of Tears. This whole season-long story arc has been really rather disappointing. At least when Richard was after Darken Rahl in season one, it felt like he was getting somewhere, but this season the “compass” has just led Richard, Kahlan and Zed on a wild goose chase of unconnected and relatively unexciting errands.

Next week’s episode promises to be somewhat more interesting as John Rhys Davies, the professor from Sliders, or, as some know him, Gimli from The Lord of the Rings, joins the cast. In these final few episodes I’m hoping for some real story telling, some real action and some real consequences, although I’m not holding my breath.

Coming Soon

I’m pretty sure that a new episode of How I Met Your Mother will air on Monday with more from all of our favourites here at Two Cents. Also I’m not sure what this week’s spotlight might be on but we’ll see later. Until next week, this has been My Two Cents…

Spotlight: Supernatural – The Dark Side of the Moon

2010-04-08T19:40:00.001+01:00

They did Demons, they did Hell, they’ve done Angels, even the Devil himself and now it’s time for Supernatural to turn it’s crosshairs on Heaven.

My love for Supernatural’s brand of story telling is no secret so I could not pass up this opportunity to talk about their latest venture into the Christian mythos.

The episode opens with a montage of Sam and Dean’s various death scenes from the last four seasons, prefaced by the fantastically dry humour of Bobby Singer “Come on, how many times have you two died anyway?” And from that moment, we know, they are going to die at least one more time!

Two Hunters break into the Winchester’s motel room, intending to kill the man who started the apocalypse, Sam Winchester. Promptly one of the hunters blows Sam’s chest inside out with a shotgun. Then they turn their attention onto Dean. “Kill him.” The first hunter demands. “Killing Sam was right, but Dean???” The second hunter replies. “He made us and we just snuffed his brother, ya idiot. You wanna spend the rest of your life knowing that Dean Winchester is on your ass?” And so Dean is promptly shot too… roll on the title card.

When Dean awakes he is in the Impala and Bob Dylan’s “Knocking on Heaven’s Door” is playing over the radio. Shortly after Castiel comes over the radio and warns Dean that he is in Heaven and to stay out of the “light” as that is Zachariah searching for him to send him back to earth. Castiel informs Dean that he is to travel down the “The Road” until he finds Sam and then the two of them are to seek out an Angel named Joshua, the only Angel known to still talk to God.

Together Sam and Dean revisit Sam’s happiest memories. Dean first find’s Sam at someone else’s thanksgiving. “What? So playing footsie with brace-face in there is a trophy moment for you?” Dean mocks as he fails yet to understand Sam’s version of heaven, wondering where the Triplets and Latex might be… “Dean, I was eleven years old, this was my first real thanksgiving.” Sam ripostes. “What are you talking about, we had thanksgiving every year.” Dean retorts, his rose-tinted view of the past blinding him to Sam’s pain.

Sam and Dean, after a quick consult with Castiel, now in the Tv, head off down the road, which this time is a Scalextric track and find themselves back in their childhood home where Dean gets to spend some quality time with mom. “What?” Dean snaps as Sam stares at him teary-eyed “I just never realised how long you’ve been cleaning up dad’s messes.”

After finding a Route 66 postcard Sam and Dean are transported into another of Sam’s happy memories. A shack Sam used as a hideout when he ran away from his Dad and Dean for two weeks. Dean is less than enthusiastic to learn that, what had been a terrible period in his life (thinking he’d lost Sam) had been an awesome time for his little brother. “You ran away on my watch. I looked everywhere for you. I thought you were dead. And when dad came home…” Dean stops himself. “Dean, I’m sorry, I never thought about it like that.” Sam confesses, not really seeing the damage his happiness has done to Dean. “Forget about it, lets roll”

And so the two of them are off again, the next destination is their old house, the night Sam left for college. Dean has had enough. “This is the night you ditched us for Stanford, this is your idea of Heaven? Wow, this is like one of the worst nights of my life. Seriously… this is a happy memory for you?” Sam fights his instincts. “I don’t know, I was on my own, I finally got away from dad.”

“Yeah!” Dean retorts “He wasn’t the only one you got away from.” Sam tries to apologies but Dean wafts him away. “Come on. Your idea of Heaven is somebody else’s Thanksgiving, it’s bailing on your family, what do you want me to say?” Sam tries to defend himself. “I just don’t look at family the way you do.” “I’m you’re family… We’re supposed to be a team, it’s supposed to be me and you against the world!”

“It is.” Sam replies solemnly. “Is it?” Dean asks. Then Zachariah’s light appears and Sam and Dean run for it, disappearing into the woods where a man in a mexican wrestling mask appears and drags them into a little wooden hut. That man is non-other than Ash!

Yes this week sees the return of the deceased super genius, who’s little slice of heaven turns out to be the Roadhouse. Ash goes on to explain Heaven to us. Everybody, it seems, get their own personalised Heaven and that’s where they stay for eternity, Ash is different in that he found a way to travel between the Heavens.

“When I heard that you were up, of course, I had to come and find you… again!” Ash smiles. “Again?!?” “It ain’t the first time you’ve been here. You boys die more than anyone I’ve ever met…You don't remember” Ash sneers realising the truth.

“So have you found anyone else? Ellen and Jo?” Sam asks. “Ellen and Jo are dead?” Ash is devastated by this news. However if Ash hasn’t found them can they still be alive? PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!

“What about our folks?” Sam asks. Again Ash has no news. However Pamela (the dead, blind, psychic) is in heaven and overjoyed to see the Winchester boys again.

Ash sets the boys back on the Road to the Garden, promising to “see them again soon” and instantly Sam and Dean find themselves back at their old house again. This time however mummy is not happy to see them. It seems the spirit of Mary Winchester is Zachariah’s bitch. Whether or not this is really Sam and Dean’s mum is never made truly clear, I would like to hope it’s an Angel trick but it is truly horrifying to watch Dean being tortured and disowned by the woman he loves more than anyone.

Zachariah (who just referred to Mary as a MILF!) is about to torture Sam and Dean into saying yes when Joshua appears and informs the Archangel that God demands Joshua be allowed to speak to the boys.

Joshua leads Sam and Dean into the Garden where they get to ask the questions we’ve all been asking. “Where is he?” “On earth.” Joshua replies. “Doing what? “I don’t know.” “Do you know where on earth?” Sam asks. “No, sorry.” replies Joshua. “Can you get him a message for us?” Sam asks. “Actually he has a message for you.” Joshua explains. “Back off. He knows already, everything you want to tell him, he knows what the Angels are doing. He knows that the apocalypse has begun. He just doesn’t think it’s his problem.”

If ever there was a line that “proved” the words “God made us in his image” it’s that… no?

“God saved you already. He put you on that plane, he brought back Castiel, he granted you salvation in Heaven and after everything you’ve done, too! It’s more than he’s intervened in a long time. He’s finished. I’m sorry…”

“Forget it.” Dean snarls. “He’s just another dead beat dad with a bunch of excuses, right? I’m used to that. So what now?”

“You go home again.” Joshua says. “But I’m afraid this time wont be like the last. This time God wants you to remember.” And with that Sam and Dean are returned to their bodies.

The episode closes with Castiel trying to convince the boys and himself that God will still help. “Maybe Joshua was lying.” He tries. “I don’t think he was.” Sam replies. Cas looks defeatedly down before raising his eyes to the sky. “You son of a bitch! I believed in…”

He stops, he turns to Dean and pulls the necklace from his pocket. “I don’t need this anymore.” He says, tossing the charm to Dean. “It’s worthless.” And it would seem that Dean agrees, as he and Sam set out on the road again, Dean drops the necklace in the trash and walks away without even looking back.

Doof!

Laughs, high emotions, major disappoints, theological debate, dead guest stars, this episode had it all. God has forsaken the Winchester Boys… but we haven’t. Tune in tonight for more Supernatural, only on CW.

This has been My Two Cents…

Weekly Round-Up: 04/04/10

2010-04-05T04:43:00.001+01:00

No How I Met Your Mother or Caprica this week, but other than that we’ve got plenty to talk about. Sun and Jin finally get a flash sideways in this week’s Lost, Chuck goes solo to rescue superman from Badger’s sinister clutches and Sam and Dean Winchester die… again!

That’s all coming up and more in this week’s Round-Up, if you don’t want to know the score… look away now!

Chuck – vs. the American Hero

This episode certainly had the feel of a season finale, possibly even a two part finale, that’s how good it was. And Mark Sheppard managed to sneak his way into Chuck as the leader of the Ring. He certainly gets around that boy!

So Chuck gets the news that he is about to jet off to Rome and that he can pick his own Team (so Morgan and Casey are suddenly his best friends.) However Chuck wont go without Sarah and Sarah wont go with Chuck because she believes he’s now a killer. However Elle wont go to Africa with Devon unless Chuck goes to Rome so Morgan, Devon and Casey team up to help him get back together with Sarah.

And hilarity ensues.

However that’s not all. Shaw gets himself captured hoping to be able to take down the Ring (believing they murdered his wife) however once inside their compound a holographic image of Mark Sheppard (a.k.a Badger!) informs him that, in fact, the CIA is responsible, in particular one Agent Walker!

So Chuck busts into the compound rescues Shaw and after all that Shaw intends to kill the woman Chuck loves!

Will Shaw get his evil way? Will Mark Sheppard survive past the end of the season and become a regular or will he be needed to play some shadowy government type guy on Warehouse 13? Will Chuck, Morgan and Casey go to Rome? Will Devon and Elle go to Africa? Where the hell will this show end up? ARRRRRRGH!

Loving new Chuck! Aces!

Lost – The Package

This week’s episode was certainly better than last weeks as we explore the Flash Sideways version of Sun and Jin. We learn why Keamy had Jin tied up in the cupboard in “Sundown” apparently Jin was deflowering Mr. Paik’s daughter (in the Flash Sideways Sun and Jin are lovers but they are not married) and Keamy had been paid to kill Jin.

We also saw a return for the Russian Mikhail, who promptly had his eye shot out by Jin.

In island time Jin is captured by Widmore and shown “The Package”, when Jin asks “What is the package?” Widmore replies, “Not what, who.” and at that point we know that The Package will turn out to be everyone’s favourite Scotsman, Desmond.

Back on the main Island Smokey is making plans, he sends Sayid on a recon mission and he has a chat with Claire which leads to the revelation that Kate is “no longer” a candidate. Hmmmm… What did she do to get scrubbed off the wall? Did Kate die at some point and I didn’t notice? Certainly this is one of the more intriguing statements Smokey has ever made.

The episode closes out with Sayid surfacing by the pier as Desmond is dragged from the Sub, which I guess means Smokey now knows that Des is on the island, which I guess will probably be important… At this point… who knows?!

V

V is a smorgasbord of stars that I like. Morena Baccarin from Firefly, Scott Wolf and Lourdes Benedicto from The Nine, Erica Evens from Lost, Joel Gretsch from Taken and this week even managed to squeeze in the beautiful Lexa Doig from Andromeda and yet… and YET… I still don’t find the show interesting. Sure it’s building to something but man its doing it slowly. This week’s episode was yet another long list of reasons not to trust the Visitors… We get it already… Aliens bad… Can we please start blowing them up now?

FlashForward

Well, after knocking the show last week I’m back on board. This week’s episode revolves around Demetri and Janis as they team up with Agent Vogel (the new head of the Mosaic task force) and head into Somalia with Simon to investigate the last remaining tower.

While Vogel ends any chance of peace in Somali, Olivia cross examines her daughter to discover what she really saw in her flash forward, and the horrifying truth is she over heard Vogel saying “Mark Benford is dead!”

Also back home there are touching little scenes between Nicole and Bryce as she reveals her intention to become a doctor. The way their relationship is developing seems to be edging out the Japanese girl from Bryce’s flash forward but we’ll see.

However the real action is in Africa as a confused Warlord, Abdi, captures the team and executes all the extras. After Janis uses the Mosaic website to convince Abdi, that he is not a Warlord but an angel of peace he leads them to the Tower where Vogel discovers a mass grave (the 1991 test subjects) and a video tape by D. Gibbons with a message for Demetri… of all people! Abdi gets upset at the sight of the skeletal remains of his mother and threatens to shoot Simon, so Vogel intervenes, killing Abdi in the process.

However, it is the message that is most intriguing. Clearly D. Gibbons must have the ability to see the future without the need for a complete Blackout. We know this from his trap at the warehouse that nearly killed Mark and Dem and this video message confirms that. I’m certainly interested to know what the hell is going on.

Oh and Demetri and Janis GET IT ON! Go on my son!

A neat little action packed episode… Keep it ABC!

Supernatural – Dark Side of the Moon

I really hope to find time to talk about this is in a spotlight later this week but I just knew that this was going to be a good episode, right from the recap. We hear Bobby Singer’s voice ask the question “how many times have you two died, anyway?” And then we are treated to an awesome montage on Sam and Dean dying, over and over!

This was a fun episode and in it’s own way a mythology episode, but mainly it was an exploration of Heaven! Now that’s kinda cool! Even better was the return of Ash… But no sign of Jo and Ellen. With them being dead I’d hoped we’d get one last glimpse of them, but… Ash didn’t know that they had died… and Ash knows all so…. maybe they didn’t… Please!

Anyway I hope to talk about this more later this week, so let’s move on.

Clone Wars – Bounty Hunters

Another fun episode that introduced new characters, this time in the form of bounty hunters. I really quite liked this episode, certainly the plot was less than secondary to the action. The animation though was fantastic and with another six or so main characters and a whole new planet this show must cost a fortune to produce.

I’m looking forward now to a concluding couple of episode with actual plot, rather than one off inconsequential stories, but it’s definitely getting better.

Stargate Universe – Space

Other than being a convoluted way to “fix” the end of the last episode, Space was not much of an episode at all. The episode prior to the hiatus left us with questions about just how Dr. Rush would meet up with Destiny again.

Well… It seems that he will be basically handed over by a bunch of aliens which we discover nothing about and that disappear without a trace when it was convenient for them to do so. SGU started out so well, but the last series of episodes have been one let down after another and this episode was no different.

Sure we learn a that Rush is leading a group of mutinous scientists and intends to take over Destiny, but is that really a revelation? And can it really go anywhere? Ok Rush takes over, locks all the military types up, nasty aliens attack and Rush relents and decides col. Young should be in charge again.

I just think the format is tired and the stories aren’t as interesting as they should be. I’m usually a big SyFy channel Fanboy but this one is just falling apart on me.

Coming Soon…

I don’t think there is anything to report now, all the shows I’ve been looking forward to are either already here or wont be returning til the summer. Next week we can look forward to more of the same. Look out for a Supernatural Spotlight plus a Caprica one if I get the chance.

Until then, this has been My Two Cents.

First Impressions: The Nine

2010-04-02T23:50:00.001+01:00

With the impending holidays I’ve not had chance this week to spotlight Caprica, however I do intend to do so early next week. Also this week’s Round Up may be a little later than usual (Monday probably) but it will go up. However until then, enjoy my ramblings on the pilot episode of the short lived ABC drama “The Nine”.

The Nine is a show I’ve been trying to watch for two years, ever since I discovered the Anthony Cooper comedy Kitchen Confidential. Why? Owain Yeoman. However, it’s early cancellation makes it particularly difficult to track down.

The Nine is one of those shows that works really well in a pitch to Tv Execs, but it doesn’t translate well to the screen. The core concept is that a Bank Robbery takes place, we see fifteen minutes prior to the robbery where each of the “Nine” characters are set up and then we flash to 52 hours later, as the robbery comes to a close and everything we thought we knew seems to have changed. Each subsequent episode, as I understand it, will show us 10-15 minutes of the Robbery before flashing forwards to the present and as the series progresses we will slowly understand what happened in the bank and how it has affected the lives of the Nine characters.

When it started I really liked the show. That first section setting up the characters is done really well. Everyone’s states of mind are very clearly depicted. Even if you knew nothing about the show going in, you would know within a minute or so that it was going to focus on a bank robbery. You would also know exactly what kinds of characters you were dealing with…

There is Eva Rios (played by Lourdes Benedicto, 24) she plays the girl next door, beautiful, intelligent, shy but in a sexy way and she is interested in the renegade cop Nick Cavanaugh (Tim Daly). Nick, although an excellent cop, has found himself being constantly overlooked simply because he doesn’t do what is expected of him. Eva also has a flirty (younger) sister Franny (Camille Guaty) who we expect will be a bit of a trouble causer.

On the other side of the bank we have the down to earth, family orientated Bank Manager Malcolm Jones (Chi McBride) and his daughter Naomi (Kim Staunton). We have the suicidal Egan Foote who comes across as your stereotypical trainspotter played by John Billingsley.

Lawyer Kathryn Hale (Kim Raver, 24) is a no-nonsense go getter, with an aging mother who is frankly getting to be a bit of handful. There is the young couple in love Lizzie and Jeremy (Jessica Collins & Scott Wolfe) and finally the two bad guys. The hardened criminal Randall Reese (Jeffery Pierce) and the cautious, unintentional burglar Lucas Dalton played by Owain Yeoman.

Now that information is delivered very quickly, faster even than it took me to write it all out for you. The relationships are built up and we feel we know these characters (or at least the character types) long before Randall knocks out the security guard.

However… What follows is a crazy mixed up mess. The problem with “The Nine” is that the Bank Robbery is the hook. We want to know why Lucas is no longer armed, how Eva got shot, what Jeremy did to cause Lizzie to break up with him. Therefore the Robbery is the most interesting part 0f the story. But it is also only a third of the episode. That means that the aftermath has to be as exciting, but the aftermath is based on what happened in the bank.

This leads to a lot of “You remember that thing that happened that we’re not talking about but was really important?” “Yeah?” “Well now it has significant relevancy and I wish I could explain myself but to keep up the air of mystery I’ve been sworn to secrecy.” You get the picture. For the last half an hour of the pilot stuff was happening that made no sense, there were no prolonged scenes, everything was in bits. It was difficult to follow and I watch LOST.

The second major problem with the format is to do with just how relevant can the Bank Robbery be? After a while it will become secondary to the aftermath anyway… assuming that they didn’t find a hatch buried in the bank somewhere with a button you have to push every 108 minutes anyway.

Overall I really enjoyed the start and I’m interested to find out what happened in the bank but I can completely understand why the show failed to capture an audience. Maybe I’m wrong, maybe the format is “that” clever, but from just watching the pilot I’m afraid I just don't see it.

This has been My Let Down Two Cents… until next time.

Weekly Round-Up: 26/03/07

2010-03-28T19:46:00.001+01:00

I certainly wish I’d written this week’s post as I watched the shows… there have been rather a lot of them!

So without further ado, let’s get down to it. Beware the following post does contain spoilers including what THE ISLAND is!!!

Chuck – vs. The Final Exam

Chuck really is going from strength to strength and unlike I announced last week Chuck is now running to at least 18 episodes not the 13 I was aware of.

Picking up where last week left off, Chuck is about to face his final test and become a real spy, while Sarah prepares to leave for D.C with Shaw. Casey however now has only one goal in life and that is to be the best Buy Morian he can be.

All of this, Chuck trying to deal with life as a spy and Casey trying to be a civilian, it just works. By the end of the episode Chuck has passed his final test, the “Red Test” and is on his way to start his new spy life in Rome.

But with Sarah in D.C, Chuck in Rome and Casey in Burbank how will the show go on? I doubt that the writers will allow the team to be split up and they will find some convoluted way to bring them all back together but still, its definitely looking exciting.

However the most important thing to happen is that Sarah is no longer in love with Chuck because she believes, falsely, that he killed a defecting agent.

I can’t wait for more Chuck!

How I Met Your Mother – Say Cheese

This week’s episode was ok. Lilly challenges Ted to “Name that Skank” as the show finally admits that Ted is a bit of a manwhore. While Robin makes it her mission to take a bad photo of Barney, in a series of slapstick moments with the same punchline, but that are somehow still funny.

With only a few episodes to go before the season finale I wonder if we are still to be treated to a few more how I “almost” met your moments???

Lost – Ab Aeterno

Ah… that “pivotal” moment we’ve spent six seasons waiting for apparently happened this week. We finally know what the Island is…

IT’S A PRISON… for Smokey… ok and?

This week’s episode focused on Richard “The Ageless” Alpert. With some continuity errors and a lot of faux religious nonsense we arrived at the final conclusion about what the island really is.

It was explained to us (in story telling flashback fashion no less) that Jacob is the keeper of the island, the gaoler for the black smoke and that the two of them are incapable of killing one another. However, as we know, Jacob can be killed by someone else. Knowing this Jacob intentionally brings other people to the island to allow them to be tempted by Smokey. Those that fail to redeem themselves are presumably at some point tested and killed, those that pass through the temptation… well… who knows?

Anyway, it was all vaguely nonsensical and a rather disappointing “conclusion” to some of the LOST mysteries. Certainly the way that Richard perceives the island “This is hell” and “You’re all dead” is not a million miles off what everyone was saying around the midpoint of season 1. The idea of the island as Hell is an interesting one though as Jacob (Mark Pellegrino) is in fact Satan on CW’s Supernatural. Could it be that he is in fact the devil on two different shows simultaneously?

FlashForward - Blowback

After last week’s action packed episode this week’s FlashForward was a return to the talky-talky style episodes prior to the hiatus. Possibly the most interesting story was Aaron and Tracey. Tracey was recaptured by Jericho, a mercenary organisation headed up by James Remar. A news clipping in the hallway of his house proclaims Remar’s character as Jericho’s General, it cannot be coincidence that Remar once played Jonah Prowse, leader of a band of mercenaries on the CBS show Jericho?

Aaron learns that Jericho has Tracey and so he sets out on his journey to fulfil his flash forward by travelling to Iraq.

Other than that Mark finally discovers that Lloyd knows D. Gibbons and Demetri discovers that the gun that will be used to kill him has been stolen from the evidence room.

Supernatural – Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid

Another good fun episode of my favourite show of the moment. This week’s episode manages to be funny, scary, sweet and gross all at the same time and let’s face it, that’s why we all love this show.

So this week the Fourth Horseman sends Bobby Singer a message in the form of his dead wife returned to life. In fact the whole town see Zombies rise and rejoin their families… only… there is a catch… It seems that the Zombies, while appearing sweet and innocent still really want to EAT YOUR BRAINS!!!

In a rather Dawn of the Dead style tribute Sam and Dean set about decapitating the living dead as they try to save their wheelchair bound mentor.

Although I did enjoy the episode for what it was I was rather disappointed that there wasn’t a zombie attack on the police precinct, that would have been cool. Another really fun episode in the countdown to the season finale.

Caprica – End of the Line

So, the last episode before the hiatus… that deserves spotlighting dontcha think? Tune in again soon for my thoughts on this jam packed episode.

Clone Wars – Cat and Mouse

Best episode of Clone Wars in a while! In a very space action orientated episode Anakin gets to fly a new stealth vessel prototype against a dead adversary, Trench (voice by non-other than Agent Smith!).

Of course I don’t ever recall seeing “Cloaking” ships in Star Wars but that is beside the point. The episode is still pretty good and the character of Trench is a lot of fun. Also Admiral Yularen finally got some proper screen time this week, which was nice for him.

All in all a good fun episode. Hopefully the show will continue to pick up as it rolls on towards the season finale.

Legend of the Seeker – Creator

In a time when I thought “Clip Shows” were a thing of the past Legend brings us this. The worst thing about this week’s episode (and it wasn’t the 60% recycled materials) was that it had the possibility to be a real mythology challenging episode, but instead it whimped out at the last second and became just another one off.

This week’s episode revolved around the return of the Creator in human form. The Sisters of the Light all gave their power to one girl that they believed (possibly brainwashed into thinking) was the Creator. Then they sent her on a mission to kill Richard.

Notably this means that there are no more Sisters of the Light and only one remaining Sister of the Dark…

Using flashbacks the Creator tries to prove that Richard is working for the Keeper, while Kahlan tries to prove the opposite.

The episode ends with Darken Rahl trying to open a rift to drag the Creator into the underworld. Richard saves her and she closes the rift. Doing so drains her of her powers, thus removing “The Creator made Human” as a possible element in the endgame. Also the fact that Richard saved her made her instantly change her mind about him being an agent of the Keeper.

Things could have been so different… Clip shows and a one off episodes that don’t really add to the story are really the detriment of this show. It’s a fantasy show, it should have a grand plot interweaved with many many subplots that are just as grand or fun or dark. It’s such a shame, this show could be so much more than it is. Oh well…

Coming Soon

Ok… I absolutely promise that V is coming back this week, not that I’m that bothered, but I’d like to see how it ends. Also returning this week is Stargate Universe, plus more from everything else except Caprica which will return in the autumn.

Spotlight: FlashForward - Revelation Zero

2010-03-24T22:56:00.001Z

And so FlashForward finally returns to our screens. I don’t have time this week to do a blow by blow account of the episode so I’m just going to try and hit all the major speedbumps along the way.

What I Didn’t Like?

Conversely, this is a much shorter list than what I did like, which is unusual for FlashForward.

I’ve never much cared for the fact that the entire Mosaic project was based on what Mark saw in his flash forward. Not only does this horrible trend continue in this episode, but Mark undergoes a kind of hypnotherapy to enable him to remember even more details of what was on the “Big Board”… So Lame!

I didn’t like how quickly Lloyd’s kidnapping was resolved. After it being a rather huge deal prior to the hiatus the whole thing was resolved within half an episode… by using the stupid drug induced hypnotherapy.

My final niggle with the episode was that I don’t believe that the show originally intended to have Simon be Suspect Zero (the man who was awake on the stadium CCTV camera). To me the body shape looks all wrong. Also, why would the “Three Star” group send Simon to a public location where he was likely to be caught on camera the day they were planning to test the blackout? Surely that would cause suspicion? Why would they want that?

What Caused the Flash Forward?

We discover this episode that Lloyd was not responsible for the event. That the experiment NLAP was carrying out simply amplified the effects of the blackout. It seems that NLAP was trying to find dark matter and somehow that interfered with the 3 Star’s test.

But while Lloyd might not have been the cause, it seems that Simon was definitely involved. It turns out that Uncle Teddy, AKA Flosso a high-up in the Three Star group had been funding Simon’s education since he was small. In return Simon was asked to spy on the NLAP project and report the date of their experimental attempt to find Dark Matter.

We also discover that the Three Star group intends to use the blackouts to control the future. Hence the new tagline “There is going to be another Blackout.”

Simon

So, most of this week’s episode resolves around Dominic’s character Simon. We discover that the Three Star group killed his father in order to give Simon a convincing excuse to not be present during the NLAP experiment. Although why kill his father? Why not just kidnap Simon? We also discover that his little sister Annabelle is being held by the Three Star group to force Simon to continue helping them.

Simon however, bitter that his “uncle” killed his father, chopped off his finger and kidnapped his sister is fed up of being pushed around and isn’t about to play ball. To that end he murders “Flosso” muttering “I never get pushed around and I always get even”

Mark

So then, the main character… Well, it seems that Mark wants to be reinstated? I thought the reason for all the gun toting in Hong Kong was so that he wouldn’t be an agent anymore and therefore wouldn’t shoot Demetri.

Anyway, he continues to investigate the Blackout on his own, using a drug induced vision to remember details of his flashforward. These details lead him to Lloyd and Simon, but they also indicate that “There will be another blackout” and that Lloyd Simco knows about it!

To be fair, since the show started there has been a lot of talk about what the world would do if there was another blackout and how such a thing could be guarded against. Now it appears that the Three Star group want to use the blackouts in a controlled manner to gain access to the future and use that knowledge to consolidate it’s power.

And that is about it (I think) definitely a better episode than most of those that have proceeded it. Not perfect by any stretch and if the show continues to be propelled by blackouts it could grow tedious quickly, but I’m looking forward to tonight's episode and what exactly is going to happen in the season finale!

This has been My Two Cents… join me on Sunday for a round-up of the week’s Tv.

Weekly Round-Up: 21/03/10

2010-03-21T16:06:00.001Z

Well… I’ve certainly been busy this week. Several new features have been added to the blog to make finding your favourite Tv Shows even easier. Firstly I’ve added a new flash button that allows you to navigate the site by show and by season, as well as being able to see if the show has a 10 Reasons or First Impressions post. Currently the list only has the shows from the old Navigate This Blog list, however other shows will be added to the list.

Secondly I’ve added a google search bar which not only searches the posts on the blog but it also searches posts in the other blogs I read, which gives me a good excuse to start reading more.

Finally I’ve added a Reactions link at the bottom of the posts so you can give the thumbs up to the posts you like.

So then, lets take a look at this week’s Tv…

Chuck – Vs. The Tic Tac

An excellent episode of the comedy spy drama again this week. Want to know more check out the Spotlight directly below this post.

Lost – Recon

Possibly the best episode of Lost so far this season, although that’s not saying much. Quite a lot of stuff going on this week. We find out that the rest of flight 316 are dead, presumably killed by Smokey. We learn Smokey plans to use the plane to escape the island, but that would mean he needs Frank?! Charles Widmore finally arrives at the island with the intension of killing Smokey… So Charles is a good guy? What about the boat load of people he sent to the island to kill everyone?

Clare tries to kill Kate and Sayid is depressed. Sawyer is playing both sides promising to help Smokey kill Widmore and visa versa, while all the time he plans to escape with Kate in Widmore’s sub.

Meanwhile in Sawyer’s flash sideways we learn that he is still searching for Anthony Cooper (Not Sawyer) but that he is now a cop. As has become typical in the Flash Sideways, his partner is non-other than Mile Straum. But if Sawyer is a cop then why did he help Kate escape in the season premiere? Well I guess we’ll find out soon enough because the two of them run into each other again right at the end of the episode.

Next week will see Richard Alperts backstory along with further revelations about what the Island actually is.

Flash Forward – Revelation Zero

Finally an episode that is actually relevant. This episode led by Simon (Dominic Monaghan) is actually a lot better and a really good start to the second half of the season. As such it will be getting the Spotlight treatment later this week.

Clone Wars – Senate Murders

As may have become clear of late I’m a little disillusioned with the second season of Clone Wars. Season one was so jam packed with action and interesting episode, while season 2 has continued to fall flat.

This week’s episode is no different as we are faced with a Padme led episode about a murdered Senator. Padme is trying to pass a motion to stop the production of more Clones, which seems ridiculous to me, but even after one of the forerunners of the campaign is murdered the motion is still passed and the production of Clones will continue.

Who would have thought?

Caprica – Ghosts in the Machine

Well… This week was certainly quite a dark episode, no? Having discovered that the AI in the robot is in fact his daughter Zoe, Daniel Greystone sets out to force her to reveal herself. Daniel puts the robot through a series of trials (including forcing her to shoot her own dog) hoping to force it to show him a sign that it is his daughter.

Meanwhile, Joseph takes on New Cap City looking for his daughter, but all his can find is her signature on every wall.

All in all this week was a pretty good episode, I’m really enjoying the series as a futuristic look at modern society, but I’m still eager to see where it is all leading to.

Legend of the Seeker – Bound

So, this week’s episode was another one-shot “Star Trek” style story where nothing really that important happened. The freshly resurrected Sister Nicci casts a spell to bond herself to Kahlen in order to force Richard to lead her to the Stone of Tears.

By the end of the episode Nicci has failed, but she has also eliminated the remaining Sisters of the Dark and taken their power. Legend really could be more than just a collection of one off stories, it’s such a shame that it still hasn’t evolved into something deeper. It’s still fun and visually wonderful, it just feels like it could be something more.

Coming Soon

Next week sees Supernatural and V return, along with what promises to be a pivotal episode in the LOST canon. Also I’ll be breaking down that mammoth FlashForward episode in my weekly Spotlight… but until then, this has been My Weekly Scheduled Two Cents.

Spotlight: Chuck vs. The Tic Tac

2010-03-20T00:55:00.001Z

I knew I was going to love this episode the moment I saw Robert Patrick’s smiling face. What I didn’t realise was that this week’s episode would turn out to be even better than last weeks!

If you told me that this weeks writers Rafe Judkins and Lauren LeFranc were not fans of the CBS show “The Unit” I would call you a liar because despite turning out to be an evil Ring operative, Robert Patrick is Col. Tom Ryan right down to the speech he gives John Casey about becoming part of an elite unit of black ops specialists.

It’s a shame actually that Col. Keller (Robert Patrick) turns out to be a baddie in this episode. I would have loved to think that possibly “The Unit” still existed, even if it was only in the world of Chuck. (I miss The Unit).

Right then, let’s get down to what exactly it was that made this episode so special. This was definitely one of the funniest episodes to date but it also took huge steps towards making Team Bartowski feel like a team again. Plus there was added tension and intrigue as it looked like Casey had turned rogue and joined up with the Ring.

The episode begins with Alex Coburn a.k.a John Casey being recruited by Col. Keller, back when John was in his early twenties. Then we flash forward to the present day and Keller tasks John with a secret mission to steal an experimental drug from the CIA. John gets his chance to do so during the next mission which is to test out the CIA buildings security system.

Casey however is growing sloppy. Last week he was nearly killed, this week he lets Chuck catch him stealing the drug. Casey warns Chuck not to say nothing. Unfortunately when General Beckman reveals that the drug was stolen Chuck assumes he is being tested as to whether his loyalties lie with his friend or with his country, so he turns John in. Hilarious scene!

Casey is arrested and moved to CIA HQ (the same building the team just broke into for the test). However Sarah and Chuck discover that Keller is working for the Ring and that John is being set up. So they bust him out, unfortunately so does Keller and shock horror Casey leaves with Keller and Sarah and Chuck are forced to accept that John is a double agent working for the Ring!

Casey however stashed the drug (which eradicates fear in those that take it) in the Buy More, so he tasks Morgan with retrieving it. Luckily Chuck catches up with Morgan first and takes the package. Then together Chuck and Sarah confront Casey and force him to reveal the truth. The Ring is forcing Casey to work for them by threatening the life of his childhood sweetheart (and mother of his daughter).

Casey explains how he had been offered the opportunity to serve his country and how he had had to choose between his real life and his spy life… Exactly as Chuck did at the start of the season. He had given up everything to serve.

So with everything straightened out Casey and Sarah go after Keller while Chuck goes to protect Kathleen (Casey’s ex-fiancé, played by Clare Carey from Jericho and Point Pleasant). Chuck poses as the gas man, as do the bad guys, which leads to a fantastic line from Zach “I’m the gas company!”, his facial expression is superb.

Back in Keller’s shack Casey beats the Colonel black and blue before snapping his neck while Sarah looks on horrified. Back at Kathleen’s Chuck finds himself unable to flash and with his life hanging in the balance he takes the pill. With his fear and all other feelings pushed aside Chuck kicks some ass, finally pinned one of the guards to the wall in a sequence taken directly from the one Sarah just witnessed with Casey. Chuck is about to kill the guard when Sarah bursts in and stops him.

And so we learn that Chuck and Casey are more alike than we thought and it is Chuck’s connections to his family and friends that make the difference, that make him the better man. Certainly since the end of season 2 we have seen Casey soften towards Chuck and now we know why, because the two of them have faced the same situations, the same choices.

Back at Castle General Beckman chooses not to arrest John for Treason, but she strips him of his rank and kicks him out of the service. Chuck and Sarah point out what John has given up for his country but it’s no good, the General’s mind is made up.

Well, with only three episodes left we certainly are building towards the finale. Casey is no longer a spy, The Ring is getting bolder and Chuck is becoming more and more capable as an agent. I don't know where the show is going to go for the finale but I would suspect Casey will play a big enough role to get reinstated or possibly that he will heroically sacrifice himself.

This week’s episode was filled with so many good moments, like Morgan and Awesome’s “Do you know” moment and the softer side to Casey moments. Even Chuck’s fight scenes were really good this week (as they have a tendency to look silly). All this coupled with Casey’s dismissal and Ellie and Awesome’s decision to stay just makes this a brilliant, brilliant episode.

Keep it like this and a fourth season is a sure fire thing!

This has been My Very Impressed Two Cents…

Until Next Time…

BRING BACK THE UNIT!!!

Spotlight: Chuck Vs. The Beard

2010-03-16T16:36:00.001Z

This week’s Chuck turned out to be a contender for the best episode to date. In a laugh filled, action packed story, Morgan finally learns the truth, Big Mike leads a rebellion and Casey nearly dies…

So the episode opens with Shaw relieving Chuck of spy duty until he can learn to flash again. Chuck tries to point out that he is a spy, regardless of whether or not he can flash and that he gave up everything (looking at Sarah) to be useful. However, it seems that the U.S government only see his ability to flash as being useful and so he is cast aside.

When he gets to work, Chuck is first reminded that he has not only lost his job, but Hannah too and that blow is quickly followed by an even more crippling one as Morgan fires him as his best friend. Things are not going well for our poor Chuck.

On top of this some suits arrive with the prospect of buying the Buy More, possibly putting everyone, including Chuck out of work. Except… they are actually Ring operatives searching for Shaw’s secret base (i.e. Castle) underneath the Buy More.

The Ring floats a story about a defecting CIA operative to draw Sarah, Casey and Shaw out of Castle while they try to find their way in. The fake story, leads the gang to Devon and Ellie, which really upsets Captain Awesome as he had had assurances from Chuck that he and Ellie would be safe from Chuck’s spy life. Clearly they are not.

Back in the Buy More a nosy Lester discovers (wrongly) that the new buyers intend to sack everyone and just keep Chuck and Morgan. Armed with this news Big Mike leads a revolution, barricading the store and refusing to back down.

However, the Ring operatives have already discovered the secret entrance to Castle behind the lockers, but what they don’t know is that Morgan is watching them. Everyone’s favourite bearded BuyMorian follows the Crooks until he too discovers Castle. Realising that the Ring intend to destroy the secret CIA base below the store Morgan returns to the Buy More to seek out help from the one person he knows he can rely on… Chuck.

Our hero quickly realises that Morgan knows too much now for it to be worth keeping the truth a secret and together they enter Castle but with Chuck still unable to flash, they captured.

Meanwhile Casey, Sarah and Shaw have arrived back at Orange Orange only to discover that they have been locked out of Castle. Casey returns to the Buy More to try the back door, while Shaw prepares to phone Langley to have Castle’s self destruct sequence activated.

Casey is spotted trying to hack the back door and two Ring operatives appear. Had they shot on sight Casey would never have made it out of this episode alive. Even though they didn’t kill him, Casey seemed unable to best his attackers until Jeff inadvertently saved him.

So, Chuck and Morgan finally have a heart to heart and air out everything that has come between them over the last three years. It really is a touching sequence. Watching Chuck and Morgan drift apart has been quite saddening and something we can all relate to in our own lives I think… Finally the talk turns to Sarah and Morgan tells Chuck exactly what he needs to hear. He reminds Chuck that no matter how hard he tries to deny it, he loves Sarah. When Chuck finally admits this to himself a weigh is lifted from his chest and he is able to flash again.

Quickly the terrible twosome dispatch the Ring operatives and save Castle. Afterwards Shaw decides that Morgan needs to be placed in witness protection but both Chuck and Sarah fight his corner and the bearded wonder is allowed to stay.

Finally the episode closes out with Devon freaking out about the Ring and his life constantly being in danger and having to lie to Ellie and all gets too much so he asks Ellie if they can go away… TO AFRICA!

Huge implications from this episode. Firstly what happens with Morgan now that he knows the truth? Will he get involved with missions like Devon did? Will he become part of the team or will this revelation be ignored with only the occasional nod? Are Ellie and Awesome leaving the show? Surely not? And is Col. Casey past his prime?

This episode really has been one of the best so far, there were moments where I thought the show might chicken-out and not have Morgan learn the truth, but it didn’t, it stuck with it and the show was allowed to change, hopefully for the better. The opening segments which made Chuck out to be useless without the Intersect were interesting too considering how hard the show has been pushing for Chuck to start working alone.

All in all a very good episode that made great use of the entire ensemble cast and one that I am eager to discover the ramifications of… something I will be doing the moment I post My Delayed Two Cents…

Until next time…

Weekly Round-Up: 14/03/10

2010-03-14T21:48:00.001Z

So… I’ve had a week off work and not managed to do a spotlight post… sorry about that. I’ve also not managed to watch Caprica… sorry about that also. I did manage to watch all of Warehouse 13 though… t’was good! Cruel, cruel cliffhanger though…

Right then, lets round up the Tv I did manage to watch.

Chuck – Vs the Beard

Dual meaning title and everything this week. I still intend to spotlight this episode but I will say that this is the best episode of season 3 by far… a mythology changing episode. Superb!

How I Met Your Mother – Of Course

A very good episode that focused, for the first time, on the aftermath of Robin and Barney’s break up. HIMYM is really clever with how they set these episodes up. Very clever.

Anyway the episode deals with how Robin tries to get revenge on Barney because of all the girls he has slept with since her. It also examines the way Marshal and Ted have dealt with this in a very amusing and clever (did I mention they are clever?) sequence that continues to build throughout the episode.

Very very good and a lot of laughs to boot. Oddly it ends with Robin finally going on a date with Don, who really doesn’t seem that suited to her. I guess I’m just hoping that her and Barney finally work things out as they are the only two character we haven’t seen “in the future” glimpses of and therefore could end up together.

Lost – Dr. Linus

Hmmm… There is possibly a lot to talk about this week as more characters return from the dead in a Ben-centric episode. Interesting Dr. Artz seems to be getting a lot of screentime this season considering he was only in season one what… two episodes?

Anyway the episode focuses on Ben’s choices in life. In the island reality he chose power over Alex, while in his flashsideways his decision was reversed.

A very interesting piece of information that was revealed this week was the Candidate’s inability to kill themselves. This explains Jack and Locke’s failed suicides. Interestingly however Richard too is unable to die (explaining his youthful appearance) but he is not a candidate. Does this mean that anyone touched by Jacob is unable to die? Also, I’m fairly sure that someone revealed that there are only six candidates left. So does that mean that Frank is not one?

Also… did Ben believe that Alex was a candidate (maybe she was) is that why he thought she couldn’t be killed? Or are there further rules that we haven’t learnt about yet?

Miles reveals this week Jacob’s final thoughts, which were, predictably, that he hoped Ben would stop himself and be redeemed. How very Judas…

Finally, the most important piece of information was that Charles Widmore is enroute to the island. Presumably to take his place in the war (as the new leader of the Others?). Will Penny and Des be returning with him? Is Desmond important to the end game? Is there really an end game?

All these questions and more to answered on next weeks LOST!

Caprica – The Imperfections of Memory

So, the major plot points this week? Joseph goes in search of Tamara in New Cap City. Philomon goes on his second date with the Zoe Avatar where she gives him the idea that reason the chip that Daniel stole works is because it is based on an analogue program that cannot be copied.

However, this leads Daniel Greystone to (possibly) finally understand “who” is inside his robot.

Meanwhile Clarisse gets friendly with Amanda (who is now hallucinating visions of her dead brother) and Lacy kisses Keno, immediately after she reveals her intention to become a member of the STO in order to move the Zoe Avatar off world…

Things are certainly heating up in Caprica but has it done enough to keep it’s audience? I hope so.

Next Week

Now, if IMDB is to be believed Tv is returning in force next week. Legend of the Seeker, Flash Forward and Clone Wars, all alongside our regularly scheduled programming. Leaving us looking forward to Supernatural’s return the week after along with *yawn* V.

See you next week for another Round-Up…

First Impressions: Warehouse 13

2010-03-13T01:41:00.001Z

Jane Espenson has been involved in a list of shows longer than my arm. As a writer and producer she has worked on Buffy, Angel, Firefly, Dollhouse, Gilmore Girls, Tru Calling, Jake in Progress, The Inside, Battlestar Galactica and Caprica to name just a few… but now she comes to us with a show that she created… Warehouse 13.

In the interest of fairness I should probably mention that Jane is only Co-Creator with D. Brent Mote.

Warehouse 13 is a fusion of the X-Files, Bones, Chuck, Supernatural and Eureka with a dash of Indiana Jones and some Whedonesque quick quips. I could stop right there because no doubt I’ve already got you hooked… but for the sake of completeness I’ll go on and waffle about the pilot… but if you want to skip ahead to the conclusion I’ll tell you right now it says “Go watch it…!”

So, the story… Two FBI agents get recruited by a mysterious woman called Frederic who runs the Warehouse 13 project. Pete Lattimer played by Eddie McClintock who I know as Sully from Bones is recruited for his finely tuned intuition and his open minded nature. While Myka Bering played by Joanne Kelly is recruited for her astute attention to detail and her brilliantly deductive mind.

Warehouse 13 is “America’s Attic” run by Artie Nielson played by Saul Rubinek and it is essentially a depository for every dangerous artefact known to man, including the legendary Pandora’s Box…! Lattimer and Bering are to work for the Warehouse by collecting these dangerous artefacts from around the world and bringing them back.

The show is not in the least bit serious about this last part, much in the same way that Chuck is not a serious Spy drama. Everything from the music to the comedy segments let us know that this is, at heart, a comedy drama, like Eureka and if you try and take it too seriously you will be disappointed. But by the same merit if the writers try and take the show too serious, without doing the appropriate ground work, the show will fail to deliver it’s impact. Keep it light, keep it fun, but build in the drama too.

The pilot itself is very good. Although it’s not rolling in the aisles funny (which is a good thing) it’s charming, it’s intelligent, it’s everything we’d expect from someone with a credit on every Joss Whedon series to date. The characters are well set up, we learn that both of them are flawed in one way or another, as all good heroes are. Pete lost his father and suffers from a drinking problem, while Myka believes her drive and ambition led directly to the death of her partner. Artie, who we discover has been the caretaker of Warehouse 13 for quite some time, is simply delightful. He reminds me of a cuddly version of Q or Marshall Flinkman (from Alias).

As the pilot progresses and the two agents are recruited to work for Warehouse 13, they remain sceptical about the magical artefacts they have been recruited to collect. A scepticism that will pass (mostly) before the first episode closes out. Unlike Scully in the X-Files who spent an unbelievably long time disbelieving. But, like Scully, Myka rails against the assignment, believing it to be a demotion, although by the time she is offered an out at the end of the pilot she obviously chooses to stay.

The second half of the double length pilot episode focuses on the retrieval of an artefact in the shape of a hair comb. The comb has the power to possess a person, driving them to extraordinary lengths to protect their loved ones. Both Myka and Pete flounder about, completely out of their depths with unhelpful clues and tales of death from Artie in a light hearted and fun exploration of the world of the show.

This will be the format that the series will take as it continues forward, but with each passing episode the characters will slowly learn to depend less on Artie and begin to actually understand what is going on. Of course, as soon as they do, everything will change. It isn’t a new format but it is fresh and fun and it has a lot of potential, especially going down the light hearted “mild peril” route.

If the episode had one flaw it would be the final set piece, which came across as a bit silly and stage-y But this is a flaw that many shows with a supernatural element face, just look at Reaper. I hope that as the show progresses that it will change from an “Artefact of the Week” show into something more, without losing the fun stuff, but uping the drama and the tension, maybe raising “Mild Peril” to “Intermediate Peril”

But all in all I loved the pilot and I’m really glad I decided to check it out. Warehouse 13 has already been renewed for a second season and the first series is currently being repeated after Caprica on Friday nights on SyFy. My advice, go watch it and enjoy the fun.

This has been My Two Cents… Coming Soon a Spotlight on Chuck vs. The Beard…

Weekly Round-up: 07/03/10

2010-03-07T18:48:00.001Z

Even with the Olympics out of the way it’s still been a slow week for Tv. This week enjoyed another episode of Chuck, HIMYM, Lost, Caprica and Legend of the Seeker… That’s right folks, I’m all caught up!

So without further ado, lets get right into it… beware episode spoilers may feature below…

Chuck - Vs. The Fake Name

Another pretty good episode of Chuck in which Chuck assumes the identity of an assassin paid to take out Agent Shaw. In the process Chuck discovers the relationship between Sarah and Shaw and realises he still has feelings for her, which drives him to break up with Hannah (Gasp!).

However the fact that Chuck is really beginning to out grow his handlers seems to be changing the feel of the show. There is less camaraderie between Casey, Chuck and Sarah and that is a shame. I’m interested to see where Chris and Josh will take the show, I just hope it doesn’t lose it’s charm in the process.

How I Met Your Mother – Hooked

This week’s episode examines that part of the human psyche that we all use from time to time. The part that preys on other peoples affection for us to our own benefit. Of course, HIMYM refers to it as “being on the hook” and they don’t make it sound as dark and depressing as I just did.

It’s not a bad episode, quite a few laughs but nothing ground-breakingly funny.

Lost – Sundown

I’ve already talked about this earlier this week, but I will say that the show is certainly building towards the War we were promised and Smokey-Locke looks like he’s winning.

Caprica – Know Thy Enemy

Finally James Marsters in Caprica… well… a little bit anyway. Caprica, so far, has been one of those shows that builds up really slowly and we’ve never really known exactly where it is going, but now I think we are beginning to get an idea.

Firstly Graystone Industries is pushing forward the idea of Cylons as labourers because of Amanda Graystone’s revelation that her daughter my have been a Solider of the One. This will fulfil that opening segment of the BSG pilot that reads “The Cylons were created to make life easier on the twelve colonies.”

Secondly Lacy is trying to get Zoey’s avatar to Geminon and she hopes to use Barnabus Greeley (Marsters) to do. This means, of course, stealing the Cylon prototype, which will presumably fall into the wrong hands.

Finally Clarice, one of the Soldiers of the One, hopes to discover the truth about the Zoe avatar to offer all STO members eternal life. Will this plan work? Will all the Cylons have distinct personalities?

Who knows…?

Legend of the Seeker – Princess

Ok… so this didn’t air this week… but I watched it this week… that has to count right?

This was an episode showcasing just how beautiful Tabrett Bethell is. However it was also one of the funniest and least serious episodes of the show to date. Tabrett certainly brings a fantastic new energy to the show that it sorely lacked in the first season and it is great to see her get two episodes about her character in a row.

Sister Nicci, leader of the Sisters of the Dark, returns to life this week as she tries to capture and kill Kahlen, the mother confessor. She uses a local Lord to have him kidnap Kahlen in exchange for immunity from the Keeper. However, of course, Richard, Cara and Zedd go after her. Unable to use magic they portray a family of royal suitors to gain access to the palace and hilarity ensues.

I’m still not a big fan of the one-shot nature of the story telling in Legend but I’m still spell bound by the production quality.

Coming Soon…

Nothing new to talk about next week. Supernatural, Legend of the Seeker and V will all return the week after next, with FlashForward back in April.

Until next week…

Spotlight: Lost – Sundown

2010-03-04T22:58:00.001Z

Although in this weeks Spotlight I will be talking about the events in episode 5 Sundown I will also touch on various points from the last two weeks.

Well… We certainly need more than a Spotlight to find our way through Lost these days, we could have used the Lighthouse, if Jack hadn’t smashed it up last week. Despite the series tagline “Answers are Coming” the creators still insist on bombarding us with increasingly silly questions and offering answers that make no sense.

I know some people love the “mystery” aspect of Lost, but for me, it stopped being a mystery at some point during season 3 because, truth be told, there are no logical answers to be had. A mystery can be solved by the application of logical deduction, the end game of Lost, however, is about giving the audience an answer they haven’t thought of. For example:

The Numbers

Despite the fact that 4,8,15,16,23,42 and 108 have all been around from series one, they have remained central to the mystery of Lost. Unfortunately the question “What do the numbers mean?” has been answer too many times! Now we find out that the numbers also correspond to names written on the wall of cave by a mystical figure, possibly centuries before the people therein named were born. We also discover that Jacob contrived events to bring these people to the island where, presumably due to the fact that most of them are crossed out, they all died.

However those people with names that match the mystically empowered numbers are not dead. Soooooo if the numbers 4,8,15,16,23 and 42 are so important then why all the other numbers in the cave? And how come all the people with corresponding names to the magical numbers all arrived on the same plane… Come on, that’s just a little too much coincidence.

In short, in trying to make the numbers significant, Lost has made them meaningless.

Sayid

Much of this week’s episode focused on Sayid. Despite being a member of the Oceanic Six, Sayid is one of the dullest characters on the show, in fact, when he was shot at the end of last season I assumed he was done and out. Not so. Now Sayid has died and been brought back by some malign spirit and this week he brings about the death of the rest of the Others by killing Drogen and Lennon and letting Smokey-Locke into the Temple.

Interestingly it now looks as if Sayid and Claire will join forces with Smokey-Locke to presumably fight the “War” we were told is coming. However, what makes that more interesting is that Kate seems to be with them. Is that why her name isn’t written on the wall? Or is she the other number we didn’t see… 108? And do we really care about the numbers at all any more anyway?

Is Kate joining forces with Smokey-Locke or is it simply a self preservation thing? My vote is for the latter, all though a final climatic battle between Sawyer and Kate could be fun.

Non-Crashed Sayid however is still in love with Nadia, although she is married to his brother. In fact it is his love of Nadia that convinces Island Sayid to join with Smokey-Locke. Anyway, his brother is in a lot of debt and so Sayid kills his debtor, none other than Martin Keamy and also rescues none other than Jin. Is it just me or is this “Course Correction” thing just a little far fetched?

Ilana and the Others

Ilana seems to have taken over as leader of the Others and Ben seems to have reformed and agreed to follow her orders. Frank, it appears is her right hand man. Together they bust into the temple and successfully save the main cast from Smokey, i.e. Miles Straume as only he hasn’t gone walk about after being “captured” by the Temple-Others

Drogen

In this episode Drogen reveals his back story as to how he was chosen to lead the Others and then he is promptly killed by Sayid. Clearly there is no more room in Lost for more mystery and killing Drogen off is easier than trying to explain anything about the Temple or the Others that reside within.

Jack and Hurley

Still seeing visions of Jacob, Hurley leads Jack to the Lighthouse, which seems to be a tool Jacob used to spy on all the people who’s names are scrawled on the walls of his cave. Jack however smashes the Lighthouse. It would seem the 815 survivors have a rather detrimental effect on the islands architecture…

Sawyer

Smokey-Locke led Sawyer to Jacob’s cave and showed him the names, explaining that they were the names of the Candidates to take over from Jacob. Sawyer was offered three choices, take the job, ignore the job or leave the island… He chose the latter. However, as we all know, Sawyer is a force for good and he will eventually accept the job and lead Jacob’s people into the war against Smokey-Locke.

I think that pretty much sums things up… Ok, not in an in-depth way, but at this point reading too much into the Lost mythos is like trying to divine the future from the cooking instructions on a pack of oven chips. Pointless…

Until Sunday… This has been My Confused Two Cents…

First Impressions: The Legend of the Seeker

2010-02-27T00:26:00.001Z

Looks like I wont be able to get the Lost post done this week, so as an apology, here is something I made earlier…

So, during some downtime last week I finally got around to watching Terry Goodkind’s Legend of the Seeker. It’s odd, that as a fan of fantasy fiction, I managed to be completely oblivious to this show for so long. I have to be honest, I’m not familiar with Goodkind’s work or The Sword of Truth on which the show is based, so this will not be a comparison of how closely the series pilot sticks to the book or represents the authors work, this is simply my first impressions.

And my first impression from the opening segment was “At Last.” because finally we have a network producing a 22 episode series worthy of the genre. Just the first five minutes made me think, “Wow… I love America!” For the last five years I’ve been stuck with Robin Hood and Merlin as the only fantasy shows on television and with the small budgets the BBC gives these shows there is no chance that they can truly represent a fantasy world on screen. Everybody knows that Sci-Fi is the most expensive genre to shoot, except, I suspect that Fantasy is and that’s why you just don’t see it as often as we should.

So, I had high hopes for the double length pilot. Certainly from a visual perspective it was far and away the best fantasy series I’d seen. However as the story progressed I found myself a little disenchanted.

Firstly, the episode plays out like the opening book of a trilogy, any fantasy trilogy, pick any one, they nearly all follow the same pattern. Book one is essentially little more than 300 pages of exposition and set up, gathering the heroes and starting the quest. The same can be said of the pilot episodes “Prophecy” and “Destiny”… I admit we need to know some stuff about the Legend, but did we need to know everything. Surely with a 22 episode season the exposition could have been a little more dragged out. As they say, show don’t tell. The old man in a hut with a legend is little clichéd, no?

Really? You don't think so? Well that brings me onto my second quibble with the show. How similar the story is to Star Wars!

There is a boy with a special destiny. Men are sent to kill him but an old man with special powers secrets him away to a far off land where he is placed with foster parents. One day a beautiful woman appears carrying with her a message. Her appearance causes drastic changes in the land and the boy discovers that his father is not his father and that he is destined to become a Seeker and to kill an evil emperor. He is given a sword by the old man who rescued him as a child, but he doesn’t believe in his destiny and he returns home to find his farmstead destroyed by fire and his father dead.

But… That doesn’t really make this a bad show. The plot may be the standard fare for a fantasy novel (or a b-movie) but this is a fantasy show, it’s allowed the clichés associated with the genre. As long as it delivers clever writing and stunning visual sequences and exceptional acting talent then it can drop as many rings into as many volcanoes as it likes.

I’ve already said that the show delivers on the visual front, it is spectacular. The actors too manage to look the part. Richard, the Seeker, is handsome and slender, which allows him to have that awkward, clumsy feel to him, while retaining a sexual presence that the ladies can enjoy. Kahlan, the Confessor, is both beautiful and intelligent, she is strong willed and enchanting, she is, in other words, everything the geek in me wants from a central fantasy character. Unlike with Sci-Fi where all women are strong willed and intelligent, the fantasy genre is open to allowing the “damsel in distress” character to exist and happily Legend avoids that stereotype completely. And finally, no mention of the cast of Legend would be complete without a nod to the fantastically characterful Bruce Spence who plays Zed. The life and youthfulness that Spence brings to the role is superb and a lot of fun.

So the actors look the part and for most of the time they do well to play the parts too. After all, it’s a pilot so the roles are as new to them as they are to us and over time the roles will mature anyway. But what about the writing…? Well… It’s better certainly than Robin or Merlin and a lot of fantasy films I could mention (the hugely popular Harry Potter series comes to mind) but it didn’t feel quite there yet. With so much story to tell I guess it is hard to judge the script because so much of it was exposition but if the pilot had a weak point, it would be the dialogue… not all of it by any means, just the odd moment here and there.

So then, in conclusion… This is a show set in a beautifully realised fantasy realm with the budget to pull it off. It’s a little clichéd but so is the genre. With time the writing and the characters will develop and I can see huge potential with the cast and crew to make this show feel spectacular. I’m itching for more and with over thirty episodes still to watch I’m going to wrap this post up and settle down to do just that.

This has been My Two Cents… Join me again soon for more First Impressions.

Happy Birthday

2010-02-26T00:35:00.001Z

My Two Cents is a year old today with 127 posts under our belt. Our First Post talked about what shows I was looking forward to in the coming second half the Tv season. Since starting the site has seen a lot of shows, too many in fact, die out, but out of that darkness there has come a light in a wealth of new material.

In fact there really isn’t the time for me to talk in detail about everything I’ve watched in the last year. I have a list of 10 reasons posts as long as my arm that I mean to do. However with two other weekly blogs finding the time is not always easy.

If you have enjoyed watching Two Cents grow over the last year feel free to let me know in the comments section. If there is a particular show you would like me to watch or to talk about let me know and I’ll try and get to it.

Finally, I will hopefully get the Lost Spotlight done later today however real life is keeping me quite busy at the moment. So all that remains is to blow out that birthday candle and wish for another successful year to come.

Weekly Round-Up: 21/02/10

2010-02-21T22:56:00.001Z

… … … … … …

Erm…

Well… That’s about it.

It seems that this week everybody was more interested in curling or some such thing so all we got was an episode of Lost (which I will Spotlight along with this weeks episode, probably Wednesday) and an episode of Caprica, which I have to confess I haven’t had time to watch yet.

Coming Soon

So, coming up next week, no Chuck, no HIMYM, no Supernatural (25th March apparently) and no Clone Wars. More from Lost and Caprica but that’s it… Unless I find something else to talk about, next week will see either a first impressions or a ten reasons post instead of the usual round up.

Coming in March

March will see a return of many shows including Supernatural, Clone Wars, Chuck, HIMYM, Flash Forward and V… oh and Dollhouse season 3… Nah, I’m just kidding… *fingers crossed :P*

Spotlight: Heroes Redemption - Brave New World

2010-02-19T19:38:00.001Z

It might be a Brave New World, but it was a piss-poor finale… Come to that, was it a season finale or final episode? Will NBC really re-commission Heroes after possibly the worst season on record?

It started out well… The Sylar/Nathan thing was working… even better the Sylar in Matt’s head thing was awesome. Peter’s ability to switch powers was interesting. Hiro and Ando’s dial a hero company was light and fun. Even the mysterious Samuel and his carnival of Specials was intriguing. But it devolved into a drab, pointless quest that dragged on for weeks longer than it should have and ended in this…

Sylar, Peter and Matt

Sylar and Peter finally break out of Sylar’s head and then they take down Eli. Sylar convinces Matt he’s changed during the five years that passed in his head and that he is now one of the good guys. Matt reprogram’s Eli by pushing thoughts into his head and turning him against Samuel. Then the three of them set off to fight the big bad carnie.

Claire and Noah

After plenty of chit chat Claire and Noah are rescued by Tracey who burrows through the earth by turning herself liquid. After that Claire returns to the Carnival to convince the specials to leave to stop Samuel from having the power to kill half of New York.

Hiro and Charlie

Hiro is finally reunited with his lost love Charlie. Turns out she had been sent back in time and now she is married with Grandchildren. Hiro tries to return to the past so that he can be with her, but Ando reminds him that “There are no small butterflies” meaning that if Hiro goes back he will erase Charlie’s children and grandchildren for existence. And so with that he heads off to stop the Butterfly Man.

Doyle and Emma

Emma refuses to play the cello and bring people to Samuel so that he can kill them. So Samuel has Doyle force her to play. It’s a shame that the plot really hangs on this because Doyle can only control motor function, he cannot control what Emma is thinking and as previously stated in another episode, Emma’s power is based on what she is thinking about. Unless she was thinking about calling people to be the carnival they wouldn’t come.

Anyway that’s how Emma ends up fulfilling the dream Angela had.

Samuel

So Samuel has all the Specials he needs to bury the city of New York and he has used Emma to bring the people out to watch. His intentions are to show the world that the Specials exist by performing what amounts to an act of terrorism. However the other Heroes aren’t about to let him do that.

Firstly, Sylar takes down Doyle, freeing Emma and breaking her hold over the people gathering in the carnival. Unfortunately Sylar feels the need to come out with the corniest line ever. “That’s not you.” Doyle mutters. “You’re like me.” “No.” Sylar breathes, pausing so that the next line is as cheesy as possible. “I’m a hero!”

ARRRRRRRRRRGH! I did actually scream at the TV when Zach actually spoke those words, I saw it coming and begging him not to say it, to have a thread of integrity left in his body, but no…

Next Eli admits to killing Lidia at Samuel’s request, thus turning the Specials against him. However Samuel will not be stopped, there is no way that the rest of the Specials can get far enough away to stop him now… Cue Hiro. Our little Japanese hero, supercharged by Ando’s red lightening, teleports everyone out of there leaving Samuel powerless as Peter takes his power and the two of them do battle. With only a handful of specials left in the area Samuel is done for but he still feels the need to have a little scream about it.

And that’s it… That was what we’ve been waiting for for 19 episodes. As a Villain Samuel was more than incompetent, he was downright dumb. This was not Kirby Plaza (the final climatic battle at the end of season 1) this was limp. After a series with some really nice dark moments in it, like Sylar being bricked up behind a wall, we were left with this.

Chapter Six

And so we reach the teaser for Chapter Six: A Brave New World, which is really little more than a conclusion to the episode rather than a sneak peak at what is coming. Essentially everyone congratulates themselves on preventing the world from knowing their secret, a victory Claire then celebrates by throwing herself off the Ferris wheel. Even worse she gets up, pushes her joints back into place and says to the camera “I’m Claire Bennett and this attempt number… I guess I’ve kinda lost count.” Thus revealing to the world that superheroes exist.

*Major Yawn* wake me up next year with a better ending!

This has been My Unheroic Two Cents…

Weekly Round-Up: 14/02/10

2010-02-14T23:14:00.001Z

This week sees a corny end to a rather drawn out Heroes, a lack-lustre Lost, a rather good HIMYM and Chuck and a superb outing for the Winchester boys in Supernatural.

As always the post contains some plot spoilers so be warned… read on at your own risk.

Chuck – Vs. The Mask

A reasonably good episode with plenty of time for the new cast members Brandon Routh (Superman Returns) and Kirstin Kreuk (Smallville). However, as always happens, the best storyline from last week was resolved this week without altering the meta-storyline… The possibility that Elle and/or Morgan would find out Chuck’s secret would have been great, but instead they have assumed his secret was that he was dating Hannah… Booo!

However Sarah and Casey did reveal this week that it’s almost time for Chuck’s training wheels to come off… it’s time for him to go it alone. What can this possibly mean for the show? Are Sarah and Casey actually leaving? Are the produces setting up for a massive series overhaul? Who knows… All I know is that Chuck is as good as ever… well… almost anyway…

Heroes – Brave New World

I’m not going to say much about this as I’ll be breaking it down in this week’s spotlight, but considering how long it took us to get to the finale it really didn’t feel very climatic at all.

How I Met Your Mother – Rabbit or Duck

Another great episode of the show this week as Barney is tortured by his “Magic Phone.” After appearing on the Superbowl holding up his phone number Barney’s mobile never stops ringing with hot girls on the other end. Unfortunately Barney can’t enjoy being with the girls because there might be a hotter girl out there. Eventually he can’t take it any more and he has to get rid of the phone… but Ted finds it and the whole process begins again.

However the title of episode is really about Robin and her co-anchor Don and her in-ability to admit she has feelings for him.

Lost – What Kate Does

I’ve already talked a little bit about this episode earlier this week but it certainly wasn’t the most eventful episode. The episode title draws from the season two episode “What Kate Did” where we found out she murdered her father but all that “Kate Does” is take a pregnant girl to the hospital… It’s hardly as exciting.

Other than that we learn what happened to Claire after Christian took her at the end of season 4 and we Learnt that Sayid has been “Claimed” whatever that will mean. Hopefully next week’s episode “The Substitute”will be more exciting. With only 14 episodes remaining I would have thought the creators were done wasting time…

Supernatural – My Bloody Valentine

Another wonderful episode of my favourite CW series. This week’s episode begins with one of the shows most stomach churning moments when two star-crossed lovers devour each other in graphic detail. It even put me off my supper…

However, the episode that blossoms out of this moment is hilarious. Everything from meeting a Cherub, to Castiel’s deadpan commentary is brilliant. And despite being fun and classic Supernatural it still manages to further the Mythology by introducing us to the second of the four Horsemen, Famine!

And now I finally see where this season is going. If Supernatural is going for a sixth season then I suspect the final showdown with the Devil will be suspended until next season and instead this season will focus on defeating all four Horsemen. An absolutely fantastic episode and a great showdown with a Horseman that didn’t end with a super-hottie being killed off!

Clone Wars – Duchess of Mandalore

Ok, so my prediction last week that the Duchess would be killed off hasn’t come true… yet! But Dooku has ordered her death, which makes me think she will be dead before the season is out. So this episode concludes the Mandalore storyline as the senate decides that the planet is to remain neutral. But the Deathwatch has not yet been brought to justice so I expect we will see them again before the season is done.

Coming Soon…

More of the same as Locke gets the Flashsideways treatment in Lost. More great comedy from Chuck and HIMYM, followed with healthy doses of Caprica and Supernatural… Plus Heroes finally gets in the spotlight as we take a detailed look at a Brave New World and where season 5 is heading?

Spotlight: Lost – LA X and What Kate Does…

2010-02-11T02:58:00.001Z

Yes that’s right folks, three episodes for the price of one… Unlike previous spotlights I wont be talking about these episodes in order because, frankly, that would take forever. Instead I will break them down into components and discuss them that way.

If you want a complete breakdown check out Lost Lover At Law

Flash Sideways

The major new element in season 6 is the introduction of the flash sideways. Without actually reading about them on the web, you don't really get a sense that there are two (very real) parallel stories going on here, or at least I didn’t. However Lindelof and Cuse have made it very clear that the island story and the landing in L.A story are both equally valid and that neither should be thought of as “the real timeline”.

I’m guessing, that while the islanders fight a war against the Black Smoke alongside the new Others, the Alternate 815er’s will continue to cross paths through twists of fate. For sure, how can you explain Desmond Hulme’s appearance otherwise. Already Locke and Jack have plans to meet up, while Kate and Claire have already crossed paths.

However, in the non-crashed 815 storyline, while destiny seems intent on course correction (i.e. to bring all the survivors of the 815 crash together to fight the war between Jacob and the Black Smoke in both timelines) certain things changed. Primarily, the island sunk, presumably right after jughead, possibly killing all of the Others. This means no Charles Widmore and no Penny? (Because she is too busy with Flash Forward?).

It could also spell doom for other islanders. Did Miles’ mother escape in time? What about Charlotte? Did Eloise escape with Daniel?

With only 14 episodes remaining, that is a lot questions that need answering…

Jack

Since sometime in season 3 Jack fell from grace and now, instead of being the leader, he is just as Lost as everyone else. On the island Jack’s assurances that Jughead will reset everything have failed and now Sawyer has him to blame for Juliet’s death. Then, after failing to use his medical knowledge to save Sayid he hands his friend over to the Others, who after much secrecy ask Jack to poison the Iraqi.

Meanwhile 815-Jack lands safely in L.A only to discover his father’s coffin is missing. He also meets up with John Locke. After a bit of a theological chinwag Jack offers John a free consultation about his back issues.

815-Jack seems to be different to Original-Jack in only minor ways. He’s still angry, especially with Christian, but he has longer hair… that’s it.

Kate

On island Kate is acting as a mediator, hoping to keep Sawyer from killing Jack, however with Juliet out of the picture Kate is back in the middle of the love triangle. (Although that said, I’m not convinced either Jack or Sawyer wants her anymore.)

815-Kate however uses her bathroom break in LA X to escape from the Marshall and hi-jack a cab (driven by Doyle from Heroes of all people) and which pregnant lady should be riding in the back? That’s right Claire.

It seems that Kate is fated to help Claire give birth to Aaron (and to convince her to keep the baby). After she kidnaps Claire, the pregnant girl goes into labour and Kate takes her to hospital where she is treated by non-other than Ethan! However, with the island gone, is it safe to assume that Ethan is no longer an Other?

Ethan drugs Claire to cease her premature labour and Kate ducks out, after Claire hands over her credit card, of course. I’m sure this is not the last time these two will meet. After all, on-island Kate claims her only goal is to reunite Aaron with his mother.

Locke

Locke is dead… Yup, Dead is Dead, although that doesn’t stop a frikkin’ smoke monster turning into you and convincing ex-Other Leader Ben to murder Jacob. Yep, that’s right On-Island Locke is in fact the smoke monster. He kills the majority of Jacob’s body guards (the “in the shadow of the Statue” people from last season) and then takes charge of the last of the non-temple Others, knocking Richard out and slinging him over his shoulder.

815-Locke however is alive and well and wheelchair bound. He is returning from his walkabout, or at least he claims he is. He certainly doesn’t seem like the bitter old man from the island. In this timeline did Locke become paralysed by some method other than being thrown through a window by his father? Is he actually content?

Sayid

815-Sayid lands in LA X and sets out to look for his lost love… Other than that we know little else about him.

On-Island Sayid is a different matter. After Juliet passes away Hurley insists on taking him to the temple because Jacob appears to chubby millionaire and tells him to do so. However, the others at the temple drown Sayid and proclaim him dead.

Only he isn’t.. But when he wakes back up he is “infected”. Dogen, leader of the Others in the Temple warns Jack that Sayid has been “Claimed” just like Rousseau's team, just like CLAIRE!

Dogen insists that Jack must kill Sayid… presumably before he turns feral and starts shooting everyone.

Hurley

815-Hurley is a happy-go-lucky lottery winner who has never had a piece of bad luck in his life.

On-Island Hurley however is now talking to dead people, including the great and powerful Jacob. He convinces Jack to allow him to take Sayid to the Others, proving that Jacob sent him by handing over the guitar case. When Dogen, the Leader of the Temple Others, opens the case it is not a guitar but an Ankh (the Egyptian symbol for eternal life.) However, upon receiving it Dogen smashes it open and retrieves a piece of paper from inside.

I’m thinking that Jacob knew he was going to be killed then, otherwise why would he give Hurley this message to pass on if he thought he would be alive and well enough to do it himself. This could easily be taken as a metaphor for Jacob as Christ, who also knew he was going to be killed giving instructions to his apostles ahead of time.

The paper, I would assume, contains a list of names which includes Sayid and Sawyer for definite. I don’t know if it the same list Ben had…

Dogen

Is it any coincidence that the leader of the Temple Others is named after a Japanese Zen Buddhist who’s writings include “Treasury of the Eye of the True Dharma” Dogen is the apparent leader of the Temple-Others. When he realises that Jacob is dead he launches flares to let Richard know he and Others are needed. As well as fortifying the temple walls, plenty of ash is laid down to keep the Black Smoke out.

Dogen’s news about Claire being “Claimed” by the Dark Side explains why Christian (Black Smoke) took her at the end of season 4. It could also explain how she survived the explosion in her house, like Sayid, she probably died and was then “claimed” by whatever the Black Smoke is.

Everyone Else

So what else happened? Well, many other dead or missing characters made a reappearance this week. Charlie returned, choking on a bag of heroine. After Jack saved his life Charlie snapped at the Doc, warning him that “I was supposed to die.” Something Desmond Hulme once told him.

The irritating school teacher Dr. Artz returned but so far no major storyline for him.

Heroes’ Matt Parkman (Greg Grunberg) returned as the voice of Seth Norris. It would be quite cool to see Seth and Frank catch up on old times, wouldn’t it.

The air stewardess Cindy returns as one of the Temple Others, supposedly reassuring Jack, Kate and the others that it’s all going to be ok.

Boone makes a reappearance too, with a rather weak excuse as to why Shannon cannot be there. There were no signs of Walt, Michael, Anna Lucia, Paulo, Nicky or Libby either although I’m fairly sure Frogurt made an appearance.

Desmond Hulme made a rather prophetic appearance which has some people speculating that Desmond’s ability to remain outside the flow of normal time will affect both timelines, despite never having been exposed to the Swan Hatch in the 815 timeline.

Juliet Burke was killed by the fall into the Swan Hatch, however her dying thoughts were simply “It worked” which suggests that somehow the two timelines will be relevant to each other.

Sawyer was devastated by her death as he had planned on asking her to marry him.

Ben has been totally dethroned and is now little more than a shell of a man. He is the Judas Iscariot of the Lost world.

Richard is revealed as possibly being one of the survivors of the Black Rock, which makes me wonder just how old other Others like Dogen are.

Finally, the episode closes out with Jin being pinned down by gunfire from non-other than “Claimed” Claire.

Conclusions

We know now that the “Dead People” on the island are in fact the Black Smoke, which of course brings into question the motives of the entity. It also brings into question Walt, who has appeared on the island several times, even since leaving it. Is Walt dead? Probably not? Is he able to translocate himself somehow using his psychic powers? Or is another being (i.e. Jacob) using Walt’s familiar form to gain the trust of certain islanders?

How can the two parallel stories be related and what possible conclusion can they have? The only one I can see is that both stories end the same way, proving that everything that has happened was fated to anyway.

How many more main character deaths will we see now that they can live on in the other storyline? Sawyer, for sure, will die on the island, probably saving everyone else. And Vice-Versa, which dead characters will now return in the 815 storyline? Daniel Faraday? Libby? Anna? Echo?

So many questions, so few episodes, so much confusion… We can only be watching Lost!

Weekly Round-up: 07/02/10

2010-02-07T19:28:00.001Z

If you like to laugh then this week has been a good one. Between them, Chuck and HIMYM have brought many a tear to my eye. Also this week, new Lost comes around and confuses us with glimpses of that that never was, but more on that later.

As always, these roundups are not censored for spoilers so continue at your own peril.

How I Met Your Mother – Perfect Week

A return to form this week for HIMYM as we enjoy a Barney-centric episode. After learning that he may be fired Barney sets out to cheer himself up and achieve the holy-grail of sleeping with random women, “A Perfect Week”. Seven girls, seven days, no rejection.

As Barney is possibly the best character in the show, how could an episode based almost solely on him fail? A really good, funny episode, which has you cheering the manwhore on before the episode closes out.

Heroes – The Wall

Another week of stalling! Sigh! In this weeks episode Peter and Sylar spend the whole episode trapped in Sylar’s mind, literally trying to break down a wall to escape, in order for Sylar to stop/save Emma.

Meanwhile Samuel tries to turn Claire against her father by having Damien show her Noah’s memories of losing his first wife and child to a special and then Noah enacting his revenge against any specials that cross his path.

The wounded Lauren is handed over to Samuel by non-other than Emma and Samuel asks Eli to “deal with her.” I suspect that we may soon see Eli frozen solid by Tracy Strauss however.

In the best moment of this episode however, Samuel, fed up of dealing with Claire and Noah, buries them alive in one of the carnival trailers. Shortly after Peter and Sylar break free and we all cheer… *Yawn*

JUST GET ON WITH IT!

Sorry… The finale will air on Monday, hopefully if Heroes sees a fifth season it will be a 2 chapter split with a faster pace of story telling.

Chuck – Vs. Nacho Sampler

Another fun episode of everyone’s favourite spy comedy as Chuck attempts to hook his very first asset. We see a return for the intersect as Manush, an MIT drop out, designs a new one for the Ring.

However, the more interesting aspect of this episode is that now both Morgan and Ellie are beginning to become suspicious of Chuck and Devon. This will clearly lead to one or both of them learning the truth before the end of the season, which leads us to ask, what will the CIA do about that? I can see Schwarz and Fedak making Morgan an operator, as Chuck gets better, to reintroduce that accident prone element to the missions.

Whatever the case, another good episode. Really enjoying the new dynamic between Jeff, Lester and Hannah.

Lost – LAX

Well, for those of us who thought Lost couldn’t get any weirder, we were wrong. This season replaces Flashbacks and Flashforwards with the only direction left, sideways. That’s right, producers Carlton and Cuse have decided that instead of making a decision about whether or not setting off the bomb at the end of last season worked, they’d just do both. One timeline, the bomb goes off and the plane never crashes, in the other timeline it doesn’t but the cast is transported back to 2007, still trapped on the island.

Many, many things are revealed to us in this double length episode, including what the Black Smoke really is. We meet a new leader of the Others and we see a return for many dead characters. Charlie, Boone, Artz and even Seth Norris (voiced by Heroes star Greg Grunberg.) all return for the flash sideways.

Anyway, I’ll probably spotlight this double length episode next week, so I’ll leave it there for now.

Supernatural – The Song Remains the Same

This week sees Supernatural’s first return to a fully mythology-based episode since that fateful episode “Abandon All Hope”. And what an enjoyable return it was. Despite the fact that, as the title suggests, the episode is pretty much another plea by the angels to the Winchester boys to say “yes” it is done in a way that makes it fun and interesting.

The episode itself is Back to the Future meets Terminator as Angel Anna goes back in time to kill Sam’s mother before he can be born. The episode however ends with her being burnt alive my Michael. And finally, Dean and Michael come face to face and the Archangel lays it out for him that free will is an illusion and that, in the end, Sam and Dean will both say yes.

Interestingly the concept of free will is the basis of the Christian faith, the excuse that people use as to why people do bad things. If Michael does not believe in free will, is he really still working for the big guy upstairs?

Whatever the case the episode is great and Misha Collins is simply superb, even if he spends most of his time unconscious. Despite being mythology driven this episode, is light and fun and action packed. Love it. Next week will see an episode called My Bloody Valentine, a nod to Jensen Ackles summer film excursion.

Caprica – The Reins of a Waterfall

So, the Soldiers of the One (STO) have a plan for Zoe’s avatar and Lacy has agreed to bring the avatar (and in essence the first Cylon) to Geminon. Other than that Caprica didn’t really offer much in the way of explanation as to where it is heading. Being a fan of Ronald D. Moore’s past work, I hope it is heading somewhere exciting… it just isn’t evident where.

The episode closes with Joseph Adama, having not been able to visit his daughter’s virtual avatar (because Zoe let it out of the virtual box it was in) returns home and gives his brother Sam the order to murder Daniel Graystone’s wife.

Clone Wars – Voyage of Temptation

This weeks Clone Wars was still lacking something, I’m not sure what though. But it did have some very nice sequences, the battles with the Assassin Droids were particularly exciting and the reveal that Obi Wan, like Anakin, had once fallen in love and offered to abandon the Jedi Order.

Next week will see the conclusion of the Mandalore Trilogy, with the Obi Wan revealing his love for the Duchess of Mandalore, I suspect that the episode will conclude with her death, ending Mandalore’s attitude of neutrality and bringing them and their allied planets into the Clone Wars.

Coming Soon…

Monday will see the finale of Heroes: Redemption and not really before time if you ask me. Plus more Lost to throw fuel on the fire of confusion. This has been My Two Cents… Watch out for a Lost spotlight later this week.

Spotlight: Dollhouse - “Epitaph Two – The Return”

2010-02-06T01:55:00.001Z

So, we arrive at the second and final instalment of the Epitaph series. Last time I used ten posts to break down the Epitaph and really look at it in detail and speculate where the show was going. This time, however, the Epitaph has nowhere else to go. This is the Dollhouse tombstone, it’s final, blood thirsty hurrah! Lets take a look at it.

So, the episode opens with Mag, Zone and young Caroline being attacked by “Butchers” which are imprinted people who have gone crazy in the wake of the apocalypse. Interesting the date reads 2020, a year after we first meet Mag and Zone. Was this to allow for further Epitaphs to be slotted in before we reached this final one?

Zone has no qualms with shooting the “Butchers”, I guess it is a kill or be killed kind of world. The girls jump in the jeep and the trio drive away. Quickly Caroline and Zone perform a small recap for those of us who didn’t buy season 1 on dvd, which closes out with Caroline saying “We are lost, we are not gone.” a hint to how Jed, Maurissa and Andrew plan to end this episode.

As they get close to Safe Haven they ditch the jeep and that is when a group of soldiers from Neuropolis ambush them, throwing bags over their heads and taking them captive. Neuropolis is Tuscon, the base of operations for the old Rossum corporation. Mag, Zone and Caroline are escorted to a cell below the main building. This is effectively a wardrobe, the people in the cell are meat suits waiting for Harding or Ambrose to decide to put them on.

“Where are we?” Mag asks. “Neuropolis, city of minds.” Caroline explains. “And you didn’t think to mention that Safe Haven was parked right next door to the frikkin’ Death Star?!” Zone bellows. “It had to be, this is where we got the vaccine.” Caroline explains.

Upstairs a very large Mr. Harding is guzzling his way through a huge feast, while smoking a large cigar. Ambrose (played by Eliza’s big brother) enters, bringing with him a selection of suits for Mr. Harding to try on.

“What is it? I’m eating.” Harding snaps. “Of course you are.” Ambrose smiles sarcastically. “You’d be just as fat if we hadn’t run out of shellfish” What I find interesting here is that Harding and Ambrose are clearly just out for themselves, fulfilling their own wishes, but, despite having the technology to imprint people to do whatever they want, they did not plan for a sustainable future to fulfil their desires.

“We’re having a hard time finding acceptable replacement bodies in all the chaos out there. We have to start taking better care of ourselves.” Harding inspects the suits, interestingly they are all naked, clearly the size of your junk still matters in the post-apocalyptic world. “Where did this body come from?” Harding says, fear in his eyes as he comes face to face with Paul Ballard. “Was he with anyone?” Harding asks. “Just some girl.” Ambrose replies.

Quickly Echo and Ballard kick some ass. Echo comes up against Harding. “Still living the dream?” She asks. “It is a little bit tarnished.” He replies. “You ever think, if you didn’t cut Rossum off at the head, the tech might have never gotten out of control?” Echo points her gun at Harding. “Ah, you know I’m backed up, why do you bother any more?” “Ask me again sometime.” Echo replies, splattering his brains all over the wall.

While Echo oversees the release of the Actuals Ballard goes in search of Topher, who has at some point, presumably, been captured by Harding. Interestingly, Topher seems less damaged than he did in Epitaph One, despite the fact that he’s been being tortured on a daily basis while under Harding’s care.

“I’ve been working.” Topher declares. “One bullet a day, don't want to waste. One person down a day until I solve the problem. Erase the world all at once.” It seems Harding wanted to wipe the whole world, start from scratch. Interestingly in Topher’s babble he utters the words “Chain reaction, new problem.” I wonder if this is relevant to the way the episode ends, I guess we’ll never know. (I’ll explain this comment at the end.)

“So close to solving both problems, they would have no idea.” Topher babbles. “Close to what? Wiping everyone?” Echo asks. ”The opposite.” It seems Topher believes he can reverse the wipes. He believes he can “Bring back the world” I have to say I hate that as a conclusion to the show. After all, the second season was all about attempting to prevent the inevitable and I understand why the Whedons want to end the show in this way, because it gives the fans a conclusion but it doesn’t feel like we had to work for it. I know, I know, that is the way it had to be but I still don’t like it.

Back in Safe Haven we finally learn who has survived the apocalypse. Adelle DeWitt is in the garden digging up strawberries for T, Priya’s son. So Priya did survive, despite not being present in the final flashback of Epitaph One. And Caroline didn’t shoot Adelle, but there is no sign of Antony. When the others arrive back, Adelle is overjoyed to know that they have Topher.

Once dinner is over the main cast sit down and explain to us what the plan is. “Butchers, Dumbshows, anybody who has been wiped or imprinted will go back to their original identities.” Unfortunately this includes the Actives like Echo who would need to remain as she is to prevent a reoccurrence of the Tech.

“What Topher needs to make the pulse work…” Ballard explains. “… is in the Dollhouse.” DeWitt finishes.

“Awwwww Come on!” Zone complains. “We just left that party, that party was on fire.” However the gang needs someone to lead them back to the Dollhouse and Zone and Mag are their first choice.

The perimeter alarm sounds and everyone grabs a gun and heads outside. A giant armoured truck pulls up filled with “Tech Heads” lead by non-other than Anthony/Victor. “I got your message, how can we help?”

Priya however, is less than happy that Echo invited them. She doesn’t want to go back to the Dollhouse, she wants to take care of her son, to keep him away from the Tech, which means keeping him away from his father too.

And so they all jump aboard Victor’s truck and head back to L.A. Victor and his band of Tech Heads have a portable device that allows them to imprint themselves with new skill sets from usb hard drives, however, they must remove one set to imprint another, unlike Echo. It is interesting that Anthony and Priya would become separated, divided by their views on Technology. It is a shame that we don't get to see how that happens, only the aftermath of Anthony’s decision to leave Priya and his son.

“The garden, looks like it came a long way since I last saw it.” Anthony says as a kind of peace offering. “Three summers ago, we’ve had some time to get it right.” So, it’s been three years since the two last saw each other and there is clearly some resentment in Priya’s voice. “I wanted him brought up away from all the crap in the back of this truck!” Priya snaps. “We both did, that’s why we agreed to keep him away from me.” Anthony replies. “We agreed to keep him away from the Tech.” Priya retorts.

In the back of the truck Paul and Echo discuss the future. How that after the pulse they will have to remain underground for a year and then after that they will need to go after Harding and Ambrose. Paul however, keeps trying to steer the conversation around to Echo’s attitude of keeping him at arms length. “I’ve been knocking ten years, you still wont let me in.” He remarks. “I’ve let you in a few times.” Echo replies cheekily. “You’ve got a hundred people living inside your head and you’re the loneliest person I know.”

I like the idea that the show still has somewhere to go after this Epitaph, the destruction of Harding and Ambrose, that feeling that the story still goes on. This whole sequence in the truck reminds me a lot of the camper van trip in Buffy as the gang flee the city, hoping to escape the hell god Glory.

So it doesn’t take long before the Actives, Tech Heads and Actuals arrive in L.A. As soon as they pull up outside the entrance to the House they are set upon by Butchers and a massive firefight ensues. Unfortunately the rock underscore the fight is set to is completely wrong for the sequence and it distracted me a lot from the action. Normally I don't notice the music that much, but this felt all out of place.

As they run for the service tunnels Mag’s legs get shot out from under her and Paul comes to her aid. “Hey, hey, it’s ok you’re going to be…” He stops talking as one of the Butchers puts a bullet through his skull. I’m not sure how I feel about Paul’s death, I like the fact that it is kind of senseless, but it also leads us to a rather soppy ending (which I’ll get to later). However, we don't have time to dwell on it. Zone drags Mag onto his shoulders and he and Echo head into the tunnel.

“That’s all of us.” Echo snaps at Anthony. “What about..?” He starts. “THAT’s ALL OF US.” she repeats. But the surprises aren’t over, as Echo and Anthony repel into the House, they discover that someone has restored it to it’s original splendour, even complete with a whole new batch of Dolls.

“Aw, hell!” Echo snaps. “No, you’ll have to keep digging if that’s where you want to end up.” A sinister voice replies from behind her. “Alpha…” Echo responds, before hugging the deranged lunatic. So now I guess we know what “We have Alpha to thank for that.” means. Alpha turned good guy and helped secure the vaccine and now he has restored the Dollhouse. “Where’s big bad Ballard?” Alpha asks. “We lost him.” Echo replies simply.

Even as Topher sets to work on designing the pulse, Victor’s Tech Heads turn on the group. Seems they are power mad, they want the full upgrade package the chair can offer and they are willing to kill for it.

“What’s going on Rome?” Anthony asks, walking in on the collection of kidnappers and hostages. “Upgrades Vic.” The chief Tech Head responds. “We tweaked ourselves to fight the war. It’s ending.” Victor explains. “With all the prints on this computer, we’ll rule the wasteland, why wouldn’t you want that?” “Because, we’re not freakshows.” Alpha replies, wandering in from the hall. “If we’re going to rebuild the world, I want to do it myself.” Anthony replies, tearing his chain of usb drives from about his neck and dropping it to the ground.

However the Tech Heads aren’t about to give up. Unfortunately they never stood a chance against Alpha, Echo and Anthony. With them disarmed and locked up the attention is back on Topher.

“He’s tired.” Adelle explains to Alpha. “He’s much worse when he’s tired.” Topher’s eyes light up at this. “Bed time.” He smiles and runs off to his pod that he had taken to living in in flashback 8. “He didn’t come back for the Tech.” Adelle smiles, looking at the man she loves as sits amongst his possessions. “He came back for an idea.” I don’t know if it was how the character was written but Topher, although no more coherent, than in Epitaph One, seems to be fully aware of what is going on around him. Maybe it’s just Fran’s interpretation, but he certainly seems less broken.

Meanwhile Priya sets about destroying the usb drives to stop Anthony taking them back. However Echo launches a full on emotional assault and tells Priya to get her head out of her ass and realise that Anthony loves her. Then she breaks down as she realises that she shut out her chance at love and now Paul is gone for good.

Back in the office Alpha is helping Topher prepare the pulse. Topher explains that the device can only be activated manually and that the resultant explosion will kill the person doing so. Him. “You’re not coming back.” Adelle states simply “Small price to pay.” Topher replies.

Downstairs Anthony is burning the Tech when Priya brings T, her son, over and introduces him to his father and three are finally united as one.

“You don't have to do it you know.” Adelle says to Toper. “At least, not alone.” “I do.” Topher replies. “I’ll fix what we did to their heads, you fix what we did to the rest of the world.” He smiles and leans in close. “Your job is waaaaay harder.”

Downstairs in Dr Saunders old room, Mag and Zone have a short goodbye. “What did you do, you know, before?” Zone asks. “I was at Brookley, sociology. You?” “Landscape architect.” And with that they go their separate ways. I felt sure that eventually Mag would offers to set off the pulse, her being wounded and Topher being a genius but that was just wishful thinking, Topher was fated to die. Or was he…?

So Adelle lets Echo know that Alpha’s gone, it seems he wanted to be alone in case he turned back to his old self. “And you?” Echo asks. “I’ll lead them out, make sure they come through the pulse alright.” Adelle answers. “Ever the shepherd huh?” Echo replies. “Leading them into the light. Funny that the last fantasy that the Dollhouse should fulfil would be yours.” And with that the two are reconciled and Adelle is finally revealed as a force for good.

Up in Adelle’s old office Topher sets up the gear for the pulse. And as he triggers the device, something occurs to him and he turns to look at the wall of remembrance. “Huh?” He smiles as if finally realising something, then Boom! The pulse goes off and that is the last time we see Topher Brink. With Dollhouse off the air, the argument seems mute, but I don’t think Joss would kill Topher, if Epitaph Two sees a sequel in comic book form, Topher will be back, I guarantee it. With regards to what Topher saw when he looked at the wall, I have no idea and I would have thought it is something we’ll never know.

And so the world is given a second chance to start afresh. Up in the chair room, Echo discovers the present Alpha left for her… Paul’s wedge. The last personality Echo would ever add to her head. I would have been happy to just leave it there, but Jed and Maurissa couldn’t help but have a mushy, inner head reunion. “Am I…?” Paul asks. “You wanted me to let you in.” Echo smiles. Ok, it’s kinda sweet… but we already knew who was on the wedge… you old romantics.

And so, predictably, the episode closes out with Echo climbing into her pod.

On Sunday I said that this was unashamed of what it was, that Epitaph Two is final chapter of the story, a conclusion for the fans. That said, it makes me sad to know that we’ll never see how the characters got to this point. That we’ll never know so many things. Like what happened to Whiskey, Ivy, Lawrence. Epitaph Two leaves so much of the Dollhouse story untold because it focuses solely on concluding the series and to me, that is a tragedy. I understand why it had to be this way, I just don’t want it to be.

As I pointed out above the story still has places to go and things to resolve. The destruction of Harding and Ambrose for a start. But also Topher’s comment earlier “Chain reaction, new problem” suggests that even if the pulse worked it would cause another effect. I suspect that, like Firefly and Buffy and Angel, that Dollhouse will see further addition in the form of graphic novels, but for now, this is the end.

This has been My Final Dollhouse Two Cents… tune in Sunday for another Weekly Round-Up.

Weekly Round-Up: 31/01/10

2010-01-31T18:49:00.001Z

So, it’s been an interesting week. Sadly Dollhouse came to an end with an Epitaph that was both great and yet, in a strange way, a little disappointing. Also SyFy returned with the first new episode of Caprica.

Please note, I try to be brief in these round-ups but they do contain some spoilers.

Heroes – The Art of Deception

As the title suggests, this weeks episode is about deception. Specifically between Samuel and Noah. After Claire discovers that Noah intends to kill Samuel and disband the carnival, she offers to negotiate a peaceful surrender. Samuel agrees, pretending to feel guilty for destroying that town the other week. However, he has really sent his right hand man, Eli (The Copy Cat), into the woods to open fire on the carnival, immediately prior to Samuel’s surrender, thus making it seem like Noah did not keep his word.

In the process however there were two casualties. The first being Lidia. Samuel confesses to her even as she lies dying that he was the one who got her killed; it is not apparent if Eli had specific orders to shoot Lidia, but I think it is a definite possibility. The other is poor Lauren, who, as she lies dying in the woods, manages to call for help from non-other than Tracy-Freakin-Strauss.

However, all that Samuel nonsense pails into insignificance when we look at the truly dark moment that Sylar and Matt share together in his basement. After his wife demands that Matt put Sylar somewhere he can never hurt anyone again, Matt takes her at her word and traps the killer inside his own mind. Much like Matt’s dad did to him and Nathan. But better still, Matt bricks Sylar up in basement…

Unfortunately Peter arrives and ruins all the fun! Heroes has been extended to 19 episodes now, so just two more to go but who else is for the chop?!

Chuck – Vs. First Class

This week’s episode introduces a possible replacement for Anna Wu as well as a new love interest for Chuck (and who can blame him) in the form of Smallville’s Kristin Kreuk. The episode itself is quite good too.

Shaw sends Chuck on his first solo mission, although to be fair, we’ve seen Chuck voluntarily take on harder missions by himself before. Shaw believes that Chuck could be a great asset but that Sarah smothers him. I wonder what Fedak and Schwarz have planned for the show if they are trying to teach Chuck to stand on his own two feet?

Supernatural – Swap Meat

This week Supernatural delivers another one of their, fast becoming, trademark Bait and Switch episodes. By this I mean that they draw us into the episode and make us think, ah… it’s just a one off… and then they throw in some mythology just when we weren’t expecting it.

This weeks episode focuses on a “coven” of witches, well, three teenagers, who have taken it upon themselves to collect the devil’s bounty on Dean Winchester. Unwittingly however, they also nearly fulfil the prophecy in the process. Gary switches bodies with Sam so to get closer to Dean. If Gary were to say “Yes” to Lucifer…

I really wouldn’t have minded the episode going this way, but it didn’t, which means we still don't know, why or if Sam will allow himself to become Lucifer’s vessel.

However, with all this talk of a sixth season, I’m beginning to wonder just exactly how Eric intends to leave things this season. There have certainly been a lot of “Monster of the Week” style episodes of late (which I love btw) but you would have thought he’d be working on wrapping things up… Unless he is staying on???

But if that is true it makes THIS even more evil… *shakes fist with rage*… Damn you Kripke… Damn you to HELL!

Dollhouse – Epitaph Two

So, that’s it then, it’s over! Epitaph Two is unashamed of what it’s purpose is. It is the tomb stone for one of the best shows in recent times. It stands up and admits defeat, it is a calming word to the fans that the show is dead and that there will be no more.

By the time Epitaph Two is done the apocalypse has been averted and those responsible have been brought to justice. There is still so much we don't know, so much development from the characters we see in Dollhouse to those we see in the Epitaph that we will just never see. And if Epitaph Two has a major fault that is it. It’s a beautiful ending, but we missed out on the journey.

Join me later in the week as I break this final episode down and talk about exactly what I did and didn’t like about it.

The Clone Wars - The Mandalore Plot

After a rather disappointing episode last week, the Clone Wars returns with a story about the Death Watch. A group of Mandalorian warriors (the same race as Jango and Boba Fett), who, with the help of Count Dooku, are planning to overthrow the Duchess and take over Mandalore.

There is a astonishing amount of new material in this episode. Two new planets, dozens of new characters. It all seems like a hell of a lot of work, especially for a rather predictable episode. There were some nice touches, here and there, like the introduction of the black lightsaber, (I know someone who would have been very excited about that!) but overall the episode was disappointingly formulaic.

That said, this is just the beginning of a three episode story arc so hopefully, with the setting now established, next week will see some awe inspiring action!

Caprica – Rebirth

Caprica’s second episode, although an interesting insight into Caprican life, really doesn’t go anywhere very fast at all. That is not a bad thing by any stretch. They spend a lot of the episode developing the Zoe/Cylon character and a lot more development is needed if we are to understand how she comes to start a war against humanity.

However the most major plot point in the show is that Zoe’s mother finally comes to understand that Zoe was one of the Soldiers of the One and she admits this publically, that her daughter was possibly the person who blew up that train and killed all those people. Of course, she admits this at the memorial service for the people who died in that tragic incident… Not a smart move.

A couple of minor niggles… The credit sequence feels… erm… pretentious. Oh and William Adama’s eyes are brown… which is interesting because I’m pretty sure they’ve turned blue by the time he becomes a commander. Oh… and… I have no idea where this series is going…!

Coning Soon

We cannot possibly ignore what happens next week, as, on Tuesday, Lost returns to our screens. Like with 24, Lost is a show I never read about elsewhere until I have seen the episodes, so I have spent the week hibernating and avoiding those previews ABC have been showing. I can’t wait to find out where this final season will take us.

Missed the last episode of season 5, check out my three part ramble in which I discuss the very nature of the island and what I think it is all about.

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Until then… This has been My Two Cents…

10 Reasons to Watch: Alice

2010-01-29T00:33:00.001Z

If there was ever a network that truly commits to its show’s, it’s Sy-Fy and with Alice it is no different. I discovered Alice a couple of months back when I was wondering what Matt Frewer was doing with himself, instead of being in Eureka.

I have to say, Alice is not perfect but as this is a “ten reasons to watch” post I wont be focusing on the negatives, I will be giving reasons, that in my opinion, make this show worth watching.

So… Was it worth not having Taggart for a whole season? Let’s find out as we go through the Looking Glass and find ten reasons to watch Alice…

It’s Bonkers – What else did we expect from the channel that brought us Farscape? Possibly the best and yet most deranged Sci Fi ever envisioned. Everything from the Mad Hatter to the White Rabbit finds its place on this psychedelic canvas.
It’s Stunning – If Tin Man can be seen as a precursor to Alice, then take the visual spectacle that it was and quadruple it and then add some just to be on the safe side. Unlike Tin Man that was almost apocalyptic in it’s grey-brown world of bleak disaster, Alice is bright and vibrant. Even the city, which is little more than a decimated husk of a world is visually splendorous.
The Story – Even if you don’t know the Lewis Carroll original like me, you can still enjoy the way that Alice twists the story elements. This is not a retelling of the Alice in Wonderland story, it is more of a Return to Wonderland and everything is a very different and yet strangely the same. All the original characters are there, but, for example, The Mad March Hare is now an assassin.
The Actors – I’ve already mentioned Matt Frewer, who plays the terrified White Knight. He reminded me quite a lot of Brave Brave Sir Robin from “That Monty Python Film”. But add to that Colm Meaney and Kathy Bates as the King and Queen of Hearts and the terrific Andrew Lee Potts as Hatter and the show really comes to life. Alice herself is portrayed by Caterina Scorsone and, although occasionally shaky, her beauty and charm should be enough to win over even the harshest of critics.
A Tale for Modern Times – Whether or not Alice sets out to be a moral tale about a society built on instant gratification or not it certainly succeeds in being one. Although the issues that Alice deals with are dark, such as abandonment, addiction and revolution, the show itself remains vibrant and colourful.
Straight into the Action – Unlike other Sci-fi miniseries, for example BSG, Alice draws the viewer through the looking glass and into the meat and gristle of the story, almost instantly. Although Battlestar as an entity is brilliant, the original miniseries takes it’s own sweet time getting going, Alice however goes down the Rabbit Hole after just 10 minutes and its all action from that point on.
And What Action! – The locations for the action sequences are stupendous. The old library for example is an epic mix of fantasy and post-apocalyptic sci-fi that you just don't see everyday. The roof-top battle with the Queen’s agents feels like something from the matrix and chase sequence with the Jabberwock… I could go on!
Nick Willing – The director who brought us Tin Man, is not only the brains behind the look and feel of this epic tale, but he is also the words and the creative genius. For a writer without that much experience Willing spins an excellent yarn, that coupled with his creative vision helps Alice to feel like a cohesive story, with rich characters and interesting plots.
Flying Pink Mopeds that look like Flamingos – Where else will you find that?
One Off or Back Door Pilot? – I can list at least two shows that started on the Sci-Fi channel as just one offs and neither of them remained that way for long… Yes I am talking about Battlestar and Caprica. Will Alice too get itself a regular slot on the Sy-Fy channel? I don’t know… Admittedly Sci-Fi’s last venture into the literary remakes “TinMan” was never taken any further. On the other hand there is nothing else like Alice on any network that I’ve ever heard of, but can Sy-Fy really afford another big cast, special fx show when they already have Caprica and Stargate: Universe?

Whatever Sy-fy decide to do, Alice is certainly a brilliant reenvisioning of the classic for the modern age and while it has numerous problems, it scratches an itch we didn’t even know we had…

This has been My Two Cents, until next time…

Weekly Round-Up: 24/01/10

2010-01-24T02:46:00.001Z

So, another week over and what have we learned? Well, why not read on and find out, but beware these posts contain spoilers from the start, if you don’t want to know what happens look away now…

Heroes – Pass/Fail

This weeks Heroes still felt like it was just putting off getting to the finale, although several important plotlines were fulfilled. First off the Claire/Sylar storyline played out to its conclusion, in which Sylar discovered that if he is ever to atone for his past he must learn what it is to be human, he must rid himself of all his powers. To that end he closes the episode by going to see Matt Parkman.

Does this mean that Sylar is getting the same treatment as Hiro and Peter did last series. All three characters have an insane amount of power which made the show difficult for the writers, now it looks like all three will be neutered. I’d rather see Sylar dead, than have him returned to a weak and whining human.

Also this week, Hiro’s brain tumour was cured by his mother in a dream sequence… Yup, makes sense…! Mohinder leaves to return to India… And Samuel finally brings Vanessa to the new home he built just for her… Only she doesn’t want it, or Samuel… so the good old carnie levels a whole damn town…!

Predictable but cool! The last two episodes will surely now be a superhero team-up to take Sullivan down and that means action packed adventure for all.

How I Met Your Mother - Jenkins

Continuing the long list of guest stars this show has seen, Amanda Peet makes an appearance this week. However, the episode itself really does little new or exciting and after enjoying Amanda as the strong spirited Jordan McDeere in Studio 60, I found her role as “the other woman” rather lifeless.

As with most shows in this genre H.I.M.Y.M suffers from caricature-syndrome, where the principal characters stop being three-dimensional characters and can be boiled down to catchphrases and predictable jokes. That said, I don’t mind too much because H.I.M.Y.M is often very clever with its stories, but just not this week.

Chuck - Vs. Operation Awesome

Devon isn’t dead…! Although I guess that was implied by the title of this week’s episode. Chuck undertakes a solo mission against the Ring to get his brother-in-law out of trouble. In the process we are introduced to the leader of the anti-Ring task force, Agent Shaw. I suspect Shaw might become a new love interest for Sarah. (He was also the mystery man with answers that appeared to General Beckman at the end of the second episode this season.)

Meanwhile Jeff and Lester perform a rather dark-comic homage to the David Fincher film Fight Club.

Although the episode on the whole was enjoyable, the sitcom-esque, nothing-really-matters style storytelling still grates on me. It just feels too easy that Devon has gone from being in mortal peril back to marital bliss in a single episode. I guess I just long for a true metastory to evolve from the show but that’s probably not going to happen. I still enjoy it for what it is, I just can’t but wonder if it could be even more.

Supernatural – Sam, Interrupted

Ok, so I don't really get the title. I had assumed this episode would focus on Sam giving himself over to Lucifer. It didn’t. It was, however, old style, fun loving Supernatural without an Angel or Demon in sight. A evil wraith is stalking a mental institution and Sam and Dean check themselves in to investigate at the behest of an old, now nutty, hunter.

The best part of this story is the way the writers recapped the story so far. They had Sam and Dean reel it off to the doctor at the asylum and sure enough they were banged up and labelled crazy. A really funny episode, certainly not the best of the season, and it was a little bit of a filler episode with only 10 or so more to go, but it was really enjoyable.

The Clone Wars – Lightsaber Lost

This episode felt like a bad 80’s children’s tv show, back when cartoons had to deliver a moral message. The episode focused on Ahsoka, Anakin’s padawan, I don’t much care for her character at the best of times so this episode felt quite blah. Plus the criminals who stole Ahsoka’s lightsaber, which was the focus of the episode, looked like the fluffy, squishy things that used to advertise washing powder.

Although there were some nice Coruscant-based action sequences, this episode really just felt like filler. Hopefully the series will begin to climb towards a climax quite soon but so far it just seems a bit aimless. Unlike the first season which felt driven and focused.

Dollhouse – Epitaph Two

Wait a minute… where did my Dollhouse go?!

Next Week

So, next week then, Dollhouse’s final episode will air, and we will finally see James Masters return to our screens in the first episode of the Battlestar spin off Caprica. In the meantime I will be bringing you another 10 Reasons post, check back mid week to find out on what.

In preparation for Caprica starting back up, why not check out my thoughts on the pilot here.

Alternatively, if you want to know what I thought of last year’s Dollhouse Epitaph just scroll down and check out the recap below.