Spotlight: Heroes Redemption - Brave New World

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

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?

Weekly Round-up: 07/02/10

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.

Weekly Round-Up: 31/01/10

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…

Weekly Round-Up: 24/01/10

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.

Weekly Round-Up: 17/01/10

We’ve got a lot to cover this week with 3 episodes of Chuck, plus Dollhouse, Heroes and How I Met Your Mother with its musical 100th episode, so let’s get right down to it…

 

 

Chuck – Vs. The Pink Slip, Vs. The Three Words & Vs. The Angel de la Muerte

Yes, that’s right, 3 episodes of Chuck this week because one just isn’t enough. When we last left Chuck he had just turned super nerd, uttering those immortal words “I know Kung Fu.” and even I have to admit that I was worried about how season 3 would pan out.

But as it turns out, I had no need to fret. Yes Chuck knows Kung Fu, but he is still as inept and as funny as before. The first episode really focuses primarily on getting us back into the action and letting us know some of what Chuck can do. The real major plot developments are Chuck and Morgan’s return to the Buy More, the loss of Anna (she left Morgan and hasn’t returned) and the apparent death of Tony Hale’s Emmett. I say apparent because his death was not confirmed to the audience after he was shot and in Chuck people have been known to rise from the dead… ala Bryce.

The second of this week’s episodes continues that streak of unlikely guest stars that Chuck is becoming weirdly famous for as Vinnie Jones takes on the role of a hapless weapons dealer. Once again, the actual mission has little of interest, its just a backdrop for the character development, particularly Chuck and Sarah’s relationship. The episode had a lot of laughs and some really nice moments, especially during Chuck and Sarah’s sparring match.

The third and final episode of the week follows the same format of every other episode, although Devon’s knowledge of what Chuck does helps add some comedy and some nice interplay between two characters who don’t really get to play together often. But as the episode closed out I was ready to write that Chuck is on the verge of Power Rangers style storytelling, by which I mean, each episode Chuck can’t flash when he needs to, but then, right in the nick of time he can and saves the day, he might as well just morph into a megazoid.

I was about to write that down and suggest that Chuck needs to fail in at least one episode for us to start to feel the realism, to feel the threat and then what happens? The bad guys only go and get Devon! Now the writers have deliberately set it up to make us think Devon’s dead, but honestly, I can’t see it… Whatever the case, I got that funny tummy churning feeling I get whenever I fear the worst and my faith in Fedak and Schwarz was restored.

YOU CAN’T KILL AWESOME!!!

How I Met Your Mother – Girls Vs. Suits

I don't think I have ever known a show to get away with teasing us as much as H.I.M.Y.M… It’s been 5 seasons and still we haven’t met her. This week Ted is actually in his wife-to-be’s apartment and all we see is a foot! However, at this moment, Ted is more interested in her roommate, star of the O.C, Rachel Bilson (Although I know her better as the Deli Girl from Chuck). However, as he nearly always does, Barney (Neil Patrick Harris) steals the show and makes it his own. Neil’s long await musical return closes out this episode, sure, it’s not Dr. Horrible… but it’s still pretty good.

Heroes – Close to You

Well… I got my wish. Last week I suggested that we should have a Claire/Sylar free episode and we did. In fact the infamous cheerleader only appeared briefly in the doorway of her dorm room to chat with Noah. I wonder if this week we will see that same conversation from the other side of the door, with Sylar holding her hostage?

Other significant things? Hiro, Ando and Mohinder escape the asylum and Ando’s red lightening conveniently cures Hiro’s scrambled mind. Peter takes his mother’s ability to dream the future and subsequently smashes Emma’s cello to stop her killing thousands of people. Meanwhile Parkman and Noah track down Vanessa, Samuel’s old flame, in the hopes of using her to capture Samuel. They fail and Samuel takes her hostage.

When Noah gets back Lauren finds him and they admit how they feel about each other, before being rudely interrupted by Hiro, Ando and Mohnider. An ok episode but ultimately it did nothing to further the story, it just brought a few people together for the fast approaching finale.

Overall Redemption has lacked some of the energy and imagination and character of Fugitives. It’s not been all bad, but there has been too much filler. 3 episodes left… I wonder who will be left alive at the end of it?

Dollhouse – Hollow Men

It may just be that I was expecting too much, but I was kind of disappointed by this weeks Dollhouse. Sure, the story was there, but the character development was not. It all felt a little off. Of all the series finales on all Joss Whedon shows, this ranks only a small amount above Objects in Space and way behind Chosen or Not Fade Away. I just don't understand why newcomers Michele Fazekas & Tara Butters were allowed anywhere near this script, especially after their rather dull first episode Instinct. I know Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen were working on Epitaph Two but surely Joss could have found the time to write the season finale?!

Ok… so it wasn’t terrible, it just wasn’t everything I felt it could have been. Of course, I’m still spotlighting it this week and I can’t wait for Epitaph Two next week… It’s going to be awesome.

Coming Next Week

Another episode of Chuck where we will find out Awesome’s fate. The second and final Epitaph of Dollhouse, it’s going to be great, I just know it. But possibly even more important, next week sees the beginning of the end as Supernatural returns for the countdown to that final climatic battle between Good and Evil as Sam and Dean try to take down the Devil himself.

Weekly Round-Up: 10/01/10

So as I promised, a new format for a new year. Despite the fact that I enjoyed the daily posts, it was difficult for people to keep up with everything as posts would disappear quickly from the front page. So until the end of this season I will be doing a weekly round-up of the shows I watch every Sunday with a Spotlight post on my favourite show of the week.

Obviously, until Dollhouse finishes its run the Weekly Spotlight will focus on my favourite show of 2009.

So what’s been going on this week…?

Clone Wars –Grievous Intrigue & The Deserter

Cartoon Network’s superb Star Wars spinoff returned on New Year’s Day with a double bill of episodes.

Both of this week’s episodes focused on the Jedi Council’s attempts to capture General Grievous. In his continuing mission to wipe out the entire Jedi Order, Grievous captured Master Koth. Obi-Wan, Anakin and Ada go after him and while Anakin and Ada chase down Koth, Grievous goes after Obi-Wan. Other than some pretty cool fight sequences, all this episode really does is set up for the next two (possibly more) episodes. Just before the Jedi destroy Grievous’ ship he escapes to Saleucami (the nearby planet).

Down on the surface of the Planet Grievous and his troops set out in search of a functioning communication device to call for a taxi home. Meanwhile an injured Rex is taken care of by a local Twi’Lek farmer and her husband… A Clone Deserter. An interesting point is made here that the Clones have free will (and therefore were partly to blame for the Rise of the Empire.) I’m pretty sure that this fact will come to play a big part in later episodes for Rex and Cody. Obviously, in the end, Cody sides with the empire… but what about Rex?

Although neither episode really did much to further the plot they weren’t bad episodes. However the fact that both were focused on the capture of Grievous with no success made them feel a bit like filler episodes.   

Heroes – Upon this Rock & Let It Bleed

Monday saw Heroes return too with two of the remaining six episodes.

The first of this week’s episodes focused almost entirely on the circus. We discovered, finally, what purpose Kring had in mind for Emma, the hero with the seemingly useless power to see sound. Turns out she is in fact the Pied Piper, able to express emotion through music and specifically for Samuel’s purpose, she is able to summon specific individuals by concentrating on them as she plays.

Specifically Samuel was seeking a Hero with the power to give life to the barren earth. Claire, who was growing increasingly suspicious of Samuel’s intentions, is somewhat placated when he shows her why he has been gathering Heroes to him… He is building them a new home. Then before her eyes Ian, the green fingered hero, causes the barren valley to blossom. Although Claire declines to stay with Samuel, she can at least see some good in him.

Hiro also returned this week, convincing Ando to go with him to free Mohinder from the insane asylum where Hiro put him to be out of the way while he did Samuel’s dirty work (in order to save Charlie). Unfortunately Hiro’s run in with Samuel has left his brain all screwed up and he can only communicate through riddles.

The second episode focuses on the faking of Nathan’s death (in a plane crash) and the aftermath of that conspiracy. Less interesting than the previous episode, Let it Bleed sees the return of Sylar. After a lot of posturing and not much else Sylar leaves and heads after Claire (Samuel’s magic ink informing him of his path.)

Noah and Lauren capture Edgar and eventually get him to help them. Unfortunately Noah and Edgar don’t see eye to eye on what should happen the to Carnival after they take down Samuel and Edgar takes off, stealing Noah’s files into the bargain.

After burying Nathan, Peter goes out looking to get himself killed because he feels guilty about not being able to save Nathan. Claire shows up and saves him the nick of time and Peter takes her ability.

Not that great a start to the second half of the season, it certainly feels as if Heroes is dragging its heels a bit now. Although I like the rather Magneto-esque brotherhood Samuel is forming, it just seems to be slowing the whole story down. I feel like 12 episodes would have been better than 18, more condensed and fast paced storylines like we had in seasons 2 & 3. I’m hoping that the last four episodes will be a bit more action packed, with stories from Hiro and Mohinder, rather than Claire and Sylar, but we’ll see…

Dollhouse – Getting Closer

Quite possibly the best episode of the season, really edge of your seat stuff. In what, at the start, felt like a filler episode to stave off the finale, we learnt more than we’ve learnt in the last two seasons. Special guests Summer Glau, Amy Acker and Reed Diamond  all returned for an explosive episode. Tune in again soon to My Two Cents for a spotlight on this episode.   

Next Week

Tonight in fact will see the return of everyone’s favourite spy Chuck and Friday will see the finale of Dollhouse *uncontrollable sobbing* Can’t wait!

Tv Nibble: Heroes Try to Keep it in the Family

This weeks episode of Heroes “Thanksgiving” had some good moments and some corny-as-hell moments too. The focus was very family orientated. Noah and Claire, Samuel and the Circus and Peter and Nathan all had equal air time.

Claire and Noah did little more than fill time. While entertaining enough there was little that was ground breaking. The fact that Noah and Sandra seem to take Claire’s newfound bisexuality in stride speaks volumes about how accepting they have become.

Peter and Nathan confront Angela about the dead body in her lockup. Over dinner she confesses all. We have never seen Angela in such a weak moment before, but the way she tries to justify her actions says so much about how she looks at the world. She tells Nathan (Sylar) that he has his own memories and he looks like he always did and that is what matters. However, it seems that that is not true as Sylar takes over and holds Peter and Angela hostage.

Sylar’s “take over” moment is very pantomime. I’m really enjoying Nathan’s troubled “who am I” personality, but I hate Sylar (I always have) and I don’t doubt that I am in the majority in saying we’d rather have Adrian Pasdar than Zachary Quinto and if someone has to go it has to be Sylar.

However what was really interesting this week was the discovery that we have a new supervillain in Samuel Sullivan. Before this point he has always been ambiguously good in a self serving way. Now, however, we know that he killed his own brother in his pursuit for power and having gone that far, it seems unlikely that he will turn back. However Samuel is not truly evil, he’s inquisitive, he wants to explore his power to it’s fullest extent, unfortunately he doesn’t really care who he might hurt in his pursuit of this goal… And of course that means somebody is going to have to stop him!

I still have high hopes for this season but it has had some terrible moments. I know its not nice to show favouritism but please, get rid of Quinto and give us some new villains. Hopefully next week Heroes will really step up its game and start to bring all the storylines together and deliver some really fantastic action in the run up to the close of season 4.

Tv Nibble: Knowledge is Power

Heroes just keeps on getting better and better and this week’s episode is no exception. Knowing that Kring intends to kill one of our beloved Heroes leaves us speculating as to who.

This week focuses mainly on Mohinder, who finally rejoins the cast, and on the events that led to his death 8 weeks before. It seems that Samuel was one of the original test subjects in Coyote Sands, along with Angela Petrelli and a few others. Mohinder has discovered a film explaining how dangerous Samuel can become, should he gather enough “specials” to him. It was Hiro’s mission to retrieve this film from the past and deliver it to Samuel so that he could learn the truth about his power.

Of course Hiro being Hiro, he had to save Mohinder too. Also, as I predicted last week, Peter saved Matt. This takes Matt and Mohinder off the endangered list, but we can now add Tracy Strauss to the list as she begins to lose control of her ability. Sylar too is a distinct candidate for the chop, after Matt was healed Sylar managed to jump back into his own body, although it seems that Nathan remained in control.

With a little help from the Haitian Nathan and Peter learnt the truth about Nathan’s death and Sylar’s banishment and now Nathan has to face the truth. This new Nathan is somewhat better than the previous incarnations we seen, it’ll be a shame to see him go if Kring decides that it is Nathan who is to be axed.

This really was a very good episode and considering it was about Samuel Sullivan, the writers managed to do a good job of still telling us very little about him at all… I only hope the wait will be worth it. Can’t wait for the next episode to find out more!

Tv Nibble: Heroes Showdown in Parkman/Sylar Grudgematch!

Pretty damn good episode this week, I’ve gotta say! The episode focused for the most part on Matt and Sylar, with their roles now reversed, Matt the voice in the head, with Sylar in control of the meat suit. Although there was a significant amount of Claire/Noah/Samuel stuff going on too.

NBC leaked the fact that one of the Heroes was on their way out and did they leak that information at the right time. With Hiro, Nathan and Mohinder all either dead or dying and now with Matt and Peter showing signs of potentially leaving the show before the season ends, it really is anybody’s guess.

Firstly Peter’s new found ability to heal is draining his strength significantly. Unfortunately Peter is too stubborn (or focused on helping people) to give it up, even if it kills him.

Secondly Matt, who Sylar took control of a couple of weeks ago, was playing the Villain at his own game, this week. A very entertaining series of events that ended with Matt sacrificing himself for the greater good. Matt managed to take control of Sylar long enough to write “I have a gun and I’m going to shoot everyone in here” on a napkin. When the police came to arrest him he forced Sylar to appear as if he was drawing a gun and the officers promptly gunned him down.

Of course, it would be too simple to just kill him then and there, surely better to leave us wondering. Before the episode closes we see him under the care of a group of EMTs, no doubt winging his way to Peter’s hospital! And lets not forget, this is not the first time Parkman has been shot. At the end of season 1 he was shot five times in the chest.

So who’s number is up? Nathan’s reappearance at the end of this episode not only throws his name back in the hat but Sylar’s too. Peter could die attempting to save Hiro or Matt and of course if Hiro doesn’t help Samuel, Mohinder has had it. And right now… I couldn’t tell you who is the most likely candidate!

Tv Nibble: It’s That Time Again…

I’ve just finished watching this weeks, rather excellent, Heroes. In a throw back to season one style storytelling the episode offers us answers that we were not expecting.

“Once Upon A Time In Texas” focuses on 3 people, Hiro, Noah and Samuel. While Noah’s story is interesting (Angel fans might recognise Elizabeth Rolm as Noah’s love interest) it seems ultimately pointless, although, as is the way with Heroes, those things that seem trivial can end up having far reaching consequences.

The episode focuses mainly on Hiro’s second attempt to save Charlie from Sylar, without altering the future. To have Hiro fail in this attempt would be fruitless and a waste of our time, thus he either has to succeed or the consequences for failing a second time must severely outweigh the consequences of failing first time round.

This week NBC announced the death of a major character in Heroes and the assumption was that it was Nathan Petrelli, the only problem with that theory is that he is already dead. Last week I suggested that in saving Charlie, Hiro would meet his demise, his wrongs set right, going out in a blaze of glory.

Forewarned that a major death was coming I felt our Japanese Heroes time had run out as he faced off with Sylar. However Hiro did not die and we finally found out the answer to a question I’ve been asking for weeks.

Hiro forced Sylar to help Charlie and save her life, which he did, only for Samuel to steal her away and stash her someplace in time where Hiro cannot find her. All of Samuel’s appearances point to him being an empath, travelling through time, destroying buildings with his mind but still we don't know. What we do know now though, is what he needs Hiro for… Eight weeks before Samuel Sullivan shot and killed Mohinder Suresh!

Dum Dum Dum… Well, I know I didn’t see that coming. What I don’t understand is why Samuel needs Hiro. He can clearly travel in time himself, what is that Hiro can do to help save Mohinder? More to the point, are we getting two chapters this year or one? Eight episodes down, we’re either drawing to a close or building to a cliff hanger. Is Mohinder the surprise death we have been warned about? Or is it just a simple red herring?

Answer to this and more in next week’s Heroes, this has been My Two Cents, until next time…  

Tv Nibble: Heroic Return

So I finally managed to find the time to watch Heroes last night and I’m glad I did. I’ve been a little down on Heroes for its ambling approach to story telling this season but “Strange Attractors” for me, was a great episode.

Still Heroes suffers from the “too many characters for one show” syndrome. For example, last weeks cliff-hanger with Peter and Hiro got no screen time at all this week. Instead though we saw a return for Greg Grunberg’s Matt Parkman and the sadistic Sylar in his head. This is certainly the best side of Sylar we have seen in the show so far. His whingey-whiny alter ego that is currently all pally with Samuel Sullivan is distinctly less fun.

The pay off for the Matt/Sylar thing this week was that Sylar tricked Matt into letting him take over. Now Sylar is in the driving seat and in control of Parkman’s body, which already poses an interesting question as to where that might go.   

Also this week Noah’s first attempts to help someone ends in tragedy, a tragedy that will eventually drive Tracy Strauss into the welcoming arms of Samuel Sullivan.

Talking of Samuel, I suspect that he may be an empath, like Peter. His abilities don't seem to be entirely connected, although he seems to have some form of control over nature. Even in this episode he managed to transport Tracy instantaneously to his circus, an ability that bears no resemblance to the one he uses to destroy a building in the closing sequence. If he is an empath, that would explain why he gathers other Heroes to himself and perhaps why he seeks to remind Sylar of his true nature.  

Tv Nibble: Hiro is Missing in Action

A couple of things came up in Heroes this week that referenced back to earlier seasons.

After Hiro teleports into Peter’s living room and is revealed to be dying from a brain tumour, Peter promptly takes Hiro’s power and teleports to Noah Bennett, whose daughter Claire just happens to be visiting at the time. I naturally assumed that Peter intended to use Claire’s blood to treat Hiro, but apparently not. It had always seemed strange to me that Claire’s blood never came up after it was used to restore Noah Bennett to life after he was shot in the eye at the end of season 2. Certainly it could have been used to help heal Daphne when she was shot at the start of Fugitives.

The second backwards reference was to Sylar murdering his own mother. Samuel Sullivan tries to trigger the “old” Sylar by bombarding him with his true memories. Why he does this is unclear. Samuel’s merry band may be slightly nefarious but they don't appear to be a group of assassins, so why would he want Sylar to go back to the darkside.

The last reference occurs moments before the episode’s close, when Hiro accidentally teleports back in time to the Burnt Toast Diner where he first met Charlie, the love of his life. Hiro is determined to right all the wrongs in his life, a path he was set upon by Samuel Sullivan and it seems that the path has led him to his final destination, saving Charlie.

Back in season 1 Hiro attempted to save Charlie’s life and failed, the possibility that he could succeed this time around seems unlikely. By the end of the episode Peter has an ability capable of healing Hiro, but I just wonder if he’ll get the chance. It is perfectly possible that Hiro has travelled through time for the last time, setting right this final wrong and ultimately achieving his “Redemption”

Can they kill Hiro? More importantly will they? Will Mohinder ever reappear? Or Matt? Is Nathan Petrelli really off the show for good? All these questions and more to come next week.   

Tv Nibble: The Sound of Sylar

So far this season Heroes has been a little aimless. Each episode has followed a different hero, with little to connect them together other than the appearances of the travelling circus troop, led by Samuel Sullivan.

However, episode 5, Hysterical Blindness sets out to change all that. The circus finally recruits a new member, Gabriel Sylar, the Nathan/Sylar story seems to have been put to rest too. Peter is reunited with a dying Hiro and the storylines all seem to be pulling in the same direction.

Other than the major plot points, the episode is rather bland. Certainly there is a nice visual spectacle when Peter takes the ability of Emma (the Deaf Girl) who can see sound. Then there was the oh-too-obvious lesbian kiss and a dreary return to “I’m a misunderstood innocent that wouldn’t hurt a fly” Sylar. He’s just so whiney when he’s like this. He’s much better as a ghost in Matt’s head.

Talking of Matt he hasn’t been seen much this series, which is nothing compared to other regulars like Mohinder who hasn’t been seen at all. And what about Adrian Pasdar, has he left the show now that Nathan is officially dead and Sylar has returned to his original appearance?

All in all this week’s episode didn’t suck, there were nice moments to it, but it doesn’t have that rollercoaster feel we got with Fugitives. By the end of episode 2 we’d witnessed a major plane crash and the apparent death of a season regular. I’m hoping now that the heroes have been reunited (sort of) that the real meat of the season can begin to unravel.  

Tv Nibble: Heroes

Well, last season, it would appear I was one of the few people singing Heroes praises. Fugitives was definitely the best season so far, with a deep and interesting story. So far, Redemption is not living up to the standard of Fugitives. It’s certainly watchable and you can see the development of some clever story arcs, but it just feels a little slow getting going.

However, lets not dwell on that, lets look at what I did like from this weeks episode “Ink”. Although Orientation did some of the leg work with introducing the new Heroes, Ink is really about bringing us the new character of Samuel Sullivan. Samuel appears to be a Magneto like character, the head of a brotherhood of mutants, focused on using his powers for a personal vendetta and using other Heroes to achieve that goal. Interesting that he should choose Hiro and Peter to try and subvert, the two character who are firmly devoted to helping others. I think it might be interesting to see where that goes.

However, what interested me more this episode was where the show has taken the character of Sylar. Anyone who followed my updates last season probably knows I’m not a fan. I personally thought Sylar should have either died in season 1 or been retired for a season or two and brought back, like a proper supervillain. However the end of last season made his character much more intriguing.

Matt Parkman took Sylar’s mind from his body and forced him to believe he was Nathan Petrelli, a process that is now unravelling. However, true to all good science fiction, nothing can be unmade, everything goes somewhere and Sylar’s mind somehow bled into Parkman’s. Throughout this episode Sylar offers Parkman a choice, set him free or he will ruin your life.

This is what heroes has always been about for me, forcing good people to make difficult choices and more often that not, watching them fail and having to deal with the consequences. I wasn’t sure that Zachary Quinto would return to the show this season, after his “death” at the end of season 3 and his fame and glory in the world of the big screen, but now, I’m really glad he did.