Weekly Round-Up: 16/05/10

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.

Weekly Round-Up: 09/05/10

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: FlashForward – The Garden of Forking Paths

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

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.

Weekly Round-Up: 18/04/10

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.

Weekly Round-Up: 04/04/10

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.

Weekly Round-Up: 26/03/07

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

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

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.

Tv Nibble: Flash Forward Comes Clean

I’ve accused Flash Forward before of remaining completely irrelevant until the last possible moment, but I never realised I was talking about the whole series. This week’s episode “A561984”, the last episode before the hiatus, was a non- stop rollercoaster of information and reveals.

Demetri and Mark head off to China in the hopes of changing the future and preventing Demetri’s ultimate demise by discovering the Iranian woman who rang Demetri 7 episode ago. Meanwhile Myhill, Simcoe and Campos come out and admit that their experiment happened to coincide with the flash forward.  

Tracking down the Iranian woman causes Mark no problems at all, neither does making her talk… and talk she does. She tells Demetri exactly who will kill him and even the serial number of the gun that would be used. To be precise, it would be Mark’s gun!

In an effort to change that very future Mark takes her hostage and ensures that Agent Wedeck has no other option than to can his ass. Off the mosaic team and out of the FBI, Mark believes that he can no longer live out the future he has seen.

Meanwhile the members of the National Linear Accelerator Project (or NLAP) have gone their separate ways. Simon Campos has turned to the FBI, offering to help Wedeck (and presumably replacing Mark as the head of the Mosaic project). Janis shows him the five towers in Somalia. Simon applauds the FBI’s creativity, claiming the towers almost look real. However when Wedeck points out that they are real Simon is angry and claims it is impossible.

It turns out that Simon designed these laser accelerator thingies in 1992, a year after they were built, and they are still only a theory, not an actual reality. Are we therefore looking at another show about time travel? Or is Simon not as clever as he thinks he is?

Also in this episode Zoey finally realises the truth behind her flash forward, she is not at her wedding, but in truth she is at Demetri’s funeral, which resolves that inconsistency.

Meanwhile Lloyd is trying to get his son to a more secure location, helped by the almost flirtatious Olivia, however (as was pretty obvious) the ambulance drivers are phoneys and they bundle Lloyd into the back of the ambulance and drive away.

Doof!

So, a pretty exciting episode, probably the best so far. It certainly looks like when the show returns (February?) we’ll be looking a different format. Simon will be helping the FBI, while Mark will have gone rogue. Unfortunately I still don't really care much about the other characters back stories so I’m still just hoping for answers about the blackout and the flash forward but this episode was enough to keep me hooked until Flash Forward returns in 2010.

Tv Nibble: Don’t Blink or You’ll Miss It

Well, after having too much to say last week for a Nibble, this weeks Flash Forward seems a little on the empty side. Sure there is plenty of story, that is, if you are tuning in to see if Bryce manages to find the love of his life.

But if what you are really interested in is, in fact, the blackout and those responsible then you will find this week’s episode severely lacking. Demetri and Mark decide to disobey orders and head off to Hong Kong (something we’ll pick up next week). Under the stress of having his daughter back in his life Aaron falls out with Mark. No sign of Simon or Lloyd or the Three Star gang.

Really very little happens at all. We learn that Bryce has cancer, but the blackout changed his life and made him feel he had something to live for. That something is a girl in Japan. He learns Japanese and heads off for orient but when he is unable to find the girl he returns home, downtrodden. However, as it turns out he has misread his flash forward and they are destined to meet in a Japanese restaurant in LA.

Hopefully next week will reveal a more interesting plot thread as Mark and Demetri set out in search for the woman that told Demetri when he would die!

Straight to Confession

I don’t think I would be tempted to say that this week’s episode of Flash Forward was the best episode yet, but it is the one I have  the most to say about. This is a no holds barred, spoiler filled post, so make sure you’re up to date before continuing on, you have been warned…

The episode opens with a music driven montage that focuses on the after effects of Al Gough’s suicide at the end of last week’s episode. I find it difficult to believe that Al is the only person to have had a Flash Forward and not lived to see it come true, but I guess, for storytelling purposes it was a convenient coincidence.

The musical montage finishes with Lloyd deliberating over whether or not to send an email. The message simply reads:

We have to take responsibility

///ssw-fileserver1/datassw/documents83479.pdf

Don’t bother clicking that link though, it doesn’t lead anywhere, which is a shame. Other shows have used this idea to provide spoilers for innovative fans, for example WB used bustyasianbeauties.com as the homepage for Supernatural.

I also noted down the list of recipients of Lloyd’s email.

• Gordon_myhill@nlap.us.com
• gabe_clayson@nlap.us.com
• Elizabeth_Rhee@nlap.us.com
• phillipe_tarhan@nlap.us.com

Four people, I think I recall Simon mentioning that there were six people involved, so Lloyd, Simon, Gordon, Elizabeth, Gabe and Phillipe.  Also a quick google result on NLAP throws up the National Laboratory Audit Program. (relevant?) What I do find interesting is that all the email addresses end in US, while the two members of the team (who are responsible for the blackout) that we’ve met are both British.

Within a couple of hours Simon turns up at the hospital to reprimand Lloyd for his stupidity in suggesting that the group confess. I also think Simon is possibly hurt that Lloyd didn’t bother to CC him in. Simon calls the email a suicide note and suggests that the cause of the blackout is not yet clear.

Lloyd persists. “Our experiment killed 20 million people”, don’t get me wrong here, that’s a lot of people, but it seems like a low, world-wide figure, that’s not even a third of the population of Britain. A website, FlightAware.com claims the number of planes right now (around midday US time) just over the US to be nearly 5000! With over 400 people able to be seated in a 747 that’s a potential 2 million casualties, just from aircraft over the US. So a figure of 20 million dead seems like the world was saved by a miracle rather than effected by a disaster.

Lloyd demands that they go public and tell the world they caused the blackout, Simon, however, is much less than receptive that idea.   “I’m going public, with or without Myhill’s co-operation, or yours.” Is Gordon Myhill the leader of the project? “Good luck getting anyone to believe you without.” Simon replies.

Sorry to burst your bubble Simon, but in these instances people are looking for someone to blame, if someone is kind enough to stick their head on the chopping block, the populous at large is generally more than willing to wield the axe. So, Simon presents a counter proposal, that he and Lloyd play Texas Hold ‘Em, if Simon wins Lloyd has to be a good little dog and lie down, if Lloyd wins, they go public and hang themselves with the truth.

In a series of vaguely tense hands Lloyd reduces his chip pile to $15,000. Simon offers him the chance of a “winner takes all” hand, a dumb-ass move and Lloyd uses the slight of hand tricks he’s been practising with his son Dylan to beat the cocky Mancunian.

“How did you beat me?” Simon whines. “There are some things even I wont leave to chance.” Lloyd replies, walking away smugly. Hmmmmm… So that’s it then, everyone will just come clean? I don't think so! I do however think Lloyd should watch his back.

Meanwhile, else where in Flash Forward…

Janis returns to work. Olivia destroys the underwear she is wearing in her Flash Forward and Demetri and Mark “accidentally” kill the man with the three star tattoo on his arm. Except, as was pretty much predictable, the three stars is a gang/military tattoo and Mark and Dem have not, as they believe, altered their future.

The closing moments of the episode take us inside the 3 star camp, where we meet Ricky Jay’s character, a, so far, unnamed villain, who takes delivery of 6 silver rings set with a black stone. He comments, “There are supposed to be seven” before, inexplicably, shooting the man delivering them. The seventh ring, we can assume, is on the finger of the man in the stadium who was awake during the blackout, who Janis is trying to ID through the ring he is wearing. What significance these rings have I’m unsure. However the addition of the 3 star gang and Ricky’s character, makes me think we’re dealing with an conspiracy of X-files proportions!

Al Gough’s death has had a profound impact on the direction of the show this week. Before, although characters wanted to believe they could change their future, they were finding themselves powerless to do so. Now, however they seem to be going out of their way to make changes and yet the impact of their actions seems to be of little consequence.

As it stands, I’m not sure if I like this or not. Before the show had a clear direction, nothing can change but the story was about how we get from A to B, now however B could no loner exist and that seems to break down the point of the show…

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

Tv Nibble: Change the Game

Well, this week’s Flash Forward certainly answered a lot of questions, while managing to open a whole Pandora’s box filled with different ones. If you haven’t seen this week’s episode, I suggest you stop reading now.

A couple of weeks ago I posed a question about ABC’s filming schedule and how Lee Thompson Young could manage a main role in Flash Forward and Scrubs: Interns, well now we know. One of the long standing questions about this show has been “Can you change the future?” and up to now, without any definitive answer, all signs have pointed to no. The exception to that rule being that Zoey saw a different future to Demetri.

Of course, Al Gough’s death changes everything. At the very least we know that the future is still malleable. It is either still in flux or the Flash Forwards were only one possible future or alternate reality. However, his death (which seemed a little too hurried from an audience perspective. It would have been nice to have some foreshadowing a couple of episodes previous to it) could essentially mean that the Flash Forwards were not visions of the future at all. After all, the butterfly effect is now active, Gough’s death will have a direct impact on how people live their lives and should cause a profound change in future events.

Of course an alternate theory (one presented in my favourite TV show of all time, Farscape) is that time runs to a set path, small changes in the timeline can essentially be erased as long as major events remain similar, time will course correct itself. That sounded confusing in my head. If you think as time as water, water takes the path of least resistance, if you divert the water, it will still take the path of least resistance and as long as it hasn’t deviated too far, it will eventually return to the original path. 

Flash Forward is far more likely to follow the second theory, that although changes in the timeline are possible, the eventual outcomes will remain essentially the same, give or take a small percentage. In some ways this was a necessary step for the show to take. Without the characters being under threat it is difficult to produce tension and knowing all but one of the major characters live happy, healthy lives for the next six months significantly reduces the level of threat and therefore the level of tension. Now however the tension is restored, not only have characters become effectively mortal again, they have been making decisions based on a possibly invalid future which, if there is an ounce of sense in the writers room, should have major repercussions.

Quickly to finish off, before this nibble turns into a three course dinner, we also learnt this week that Aaron’s daughter Tracy is still alive and well. We learnt that Bryce is in love with a woman he has never met, possibly in Japan. And we don’t know what significance the name Annabelle has to Simon, so we can just add that to the list of questions. 

Tv Nibble: Who’s a Naughty Boy Then?

This week’s Flash Forward was a little more straight forward than last week’s offering. Questions are still coming thick and fast but at  least some answers are dribbling out too!

The episode begins with possibly the most import explanation so far, as Simon works to seduce a lady with his intimate knowledge of what caused the blackout.

I think I may just have to quote Simon here and then I’ll try and break it down:

“The most basic concept you need to understand is quantum super positions. Are you aware of the Double Slit experiment? What about Schrodinger’s Cat?”

“Ok, now imagine you have a cat that fits in the palm of your  hand. You also have a poisonous sardine. Once we close your hand there are two possible scenarios. Either the cat eats the sardine and dies or it doesn’t eat the sardine and lives. Quantum Physics says that until we open your hand to discover the cat’s fate both eventualities occur at the same time. The cat is both living and deceased, that’s the beauty of quantum mechanics, the observer gets to decide.”

Ok, I just looked up the Double-Slit or Young’s experiment and understood not one word. Check it out for yourself here. But I get the principle of Schrodinger’s Cat though. It could be a possible explanation for Demetri’s dual appearance in the Flash Forwards, how he could be dead in one but not in another. How this fits with  the concept of an immutable future I’m not quite sure.

Whatever it was that caused the Flash Forward, we can now be pretty sure that Simon and Lloyd, as well as a team of other people were behind it. Lloyd admits that it was “their” experiment that (presumably went wrong and) caused the Blackouts. But what were they hoping to achieve? Does this eliminate the possibility of China’s involvement? Was it an accident or was it made to look like one?   

That’s more questions isn’t it? So what about answers then? Well, we know that Lloyd was not lying when he said he didn’t know who he was with in his Flash Forward. I was right that Janis’ gunshot would spur her on and change her mind about wanting a child. Mark’s agony over how to tell Olivia he was drinking in his Flash Forward was resolved.  And finally Demetri and Al discover the answer to Al Gough’s most pressing question, “What is the Rutheford Case?”

Ok, so not a gamut of answers, but at least it is some from the smorgasbord of questions we already had. So, until next time, this has been My Two Cents.

Tv Nibble: Swan Song for Janis?

I’ll be honest, it was six in the morning when I watched this weeks episode of Flash Forward and my head was hurting from spending the previous three hours working on networking issues, so I may not have had the clearest view of this episode.

That said, I was confused as to what exactly was happening for quite some time. The characters seemed to be communicating entirely in subtext. The general gist of the episode seemed to be that the mosaic project was about to lose its funding due to over spending and lack of results. As far as I can tell all they have spent money on was a website and a flight to Germany, surely some affiliates and a couple of frequent flyer miles would sort this out?

Apparently not. It also seems that the mosaic project was not authorised by FBI HQ, it seems odd that this would be the case. The whole episode revolves around this point but the inevitable conclusion in Mosaic gets the greenlight after bossman Agent Wedeck pulls some strings with the president himself.

However, last week’s cliff hanger remains unresolved. We still don’t know anything about Simon or his relationship to Lloyd. We don’t know how much Lloyd knows about the blackouts or if he knows that Olivia is the woman in his Flash Forward.

The real kick in the tail of this episode though is the idea that the Chinese are somehow behind the blackout. The CIA posits that because the Chinese were mostly asleep during the blackout, they had the fewest losses and that it cannot be coincidence. No, it’s not coincidence, its basic science… Anyway, the concept is then backed up when a group of Asian men (I guess we’re supposed to suspect they are Chinese) attack all the members of the Mosaic project.

Everyone survives, except the Asian gunmen but when it’s all over and the smoke clears poor Janis Hawk is left bleeding to death, alone in alleyway.

Now there are really only two ways this can play out. Either Janis is off the show and the first real departure from the predicted future occurs. Possibly but doubtful. The second is that this near death experience leads Janis to her life changing decision to have a child. This is more likely, I would think. I also suspect that Janis will use a special clinic to conceive, rather than leave the conception to chance.

All in all this episode was interesting and certainly a good departure from the “tell all” approach used in the pilot. But now we are left with so many questions… What is going to happen to the President in the next six months? Who were the Asian gunmen who attack the Mosaic team and Janis? And why did they attack? Who are Simon and Lloyd really? What relation are they to D Gibbons? Who text Olivia to tell her that Mark was drinking in his Flash Forward? Is China behind the blackout? What do the towers in Somalia have to do with the blackout in ‘91? Was it a test site for the global blackout?

I could go on… We need at least some answers to these questions next week or we’re going to run out of space in our brains to store them all. So until next time, this has been My Two Cents.    

Tv Nibble: Simon Says

The writers on Flash Forward are quickly becoming the masters of remaining completely irrelevant until the last possible second.

This week’s episode wasn’t bad, but neither was it thrilling or even particularly interesting or informative. I have literally just finished watching it and I couldn’t really make a list of five things I think might become important in the long run.

The episode really only seemed to set out the almost paradoxical idea that people now have a future based on past events which required a vision of said future in order to transpire. If this is the case then time is a straight line and what has happened and will happen is already written in stone and if that is the case then somebody is telling lies…

Demetri Noh saw nothing in his Flash Forward and he has subsequently been told he will be murdered long before the date of the Flash Forwards. His wife-to-be however saw them getting married in her Flash Forward. If the timeline is set in stone as this episode suggests then the two events cannot possibly happen.

Of course the real moment of interest in this episode is the last five seconds when Lloyd (Jack Davenport) receives a call from Simon (Dominic Monaghan) claiming the two of them are responsible for the single greatest disaster in human history. Of course, this being Flash Forward, we have no idea if Simon is referring to the Blackout or to what he sees in his Flash Forward. Of all the characters, I never thought that Lloyd would be connected to the mysterious Simon, maybe it’s a British thing, after all, we do make the best bad guys! 

Tv Nibble: Erm… Ok… That Was Odd…

I’m assuming I’m not the only one vaguely confused by the end of this week’s Flash Forward?

The episode was a smorgasbord of Tv Guest Stars, including the beautiful Kim Dickens from Lost, Firefly’s one and only Gina Torres and Friends’ (and Bad Boys 2’s) Gabrielle Union. It revolved around Mark and Janis lobbying for the release of a Nazi war criminal, who claims to have information about the Flash Forward. While Demetri seeks answers about his apparent future death.

Rudolph Geyer, the Nazi, offers up two pieces of information. The first is a suggestion as to why the blackout lasted 137 seconds. Essentially the word Kabbalah, when written in Hebrew and then translated into a numerical value equals 137.  I don’t really know much about the concepts involved here so I’ve copied ‘n’ pasted this bit of info…

“Kabbalah is a set of esoteric teachings that is meant to explain the relationship between an infinite, eternal and essentially unknowable Creator with the finite and mortal universe of His creation. In solving this paradox, Kabbalah seeks to define the nature of the universe and the human being, the nature and purpose of existence, and various other ontological questions.”

Looking at this, I can see how such an interpretation might be applicable to the show, but is that because it has been suggested by the show to have meaning? I’m not sure. It’s certainly a LOST-esque answer.

The second piece of information is that during the blackout a large number of crows simply dropped dead. Is this because they blacked out and simply fell to their deaths? Some quick research shows that certain species of crows are very intelligent, “topping the avian IQ scale” Is the show, therefore, suggesting that the blackout effected creatures capable of higher thought? Or perhaps the answer is simply one of aesthetics, crows are portents of death in many cultures, so the reason for crows has no basis in science, it simply more artistic and symbolic…?

Whatever the answer, the odd shaped, crow like cloud at the end of the episode really had me scratching my head and wondering if I’d nodded off and missed the expansion for that. Anyway, that’s another episode down and still no Dom Mon, they really want to keep us in suspense about the mysterious Simon don't they?

Until Next Week, this has been My Two Cents…