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: Lost – The Candidate

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

A Missed Opportunity

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

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

The Deaths

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Desmond

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

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

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

Weekly Round-Up: 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.

Spotlight: Lost – The Last Recruit

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

WTF!!!

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

Right, rant over, lets look at the episode.

Over in Alternaverse 

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

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

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

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

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

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

On the Island

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Weekly Round-Up: 18/04/10

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: 11/04/10

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

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

Chuck - vs. The Other Guy

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

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

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

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

Lost – Happily Ever After

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

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

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

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

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

V – Pound of Flesh

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

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

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

Supernatural – 99 Problems

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

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

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

FlashForward – Queen Sacrifice

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Stargate Universe – Divided

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

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

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

Legend of the Seeker –Desecrated

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

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

Coming Soon

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

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.  

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.

Weekly Round-Up: 14/03/10

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

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

Chuck – Vs the Beard

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

How I Met Your Mother – Of Course

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

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

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

Lost – Dr. Linus

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Caprica – The Imperfections of Memory

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

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

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

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

Next Week

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

See you next week for another Round-Up…

Weekly Round-up: 07/03/10

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

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

Chuck -  Vs. The Fake Name

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

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

How I Met Your Mother – Hooked

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

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

Lost – Sundown

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

Caprica – Know Thy Enemy

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

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

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

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

Who knows…?

Legend of the Seeker – Princess

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

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

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

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

Coming Soon…

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

Until next week…

Spotlight: Lost – Sundown

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

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

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

The Numbers

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

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

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

Sayid

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

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

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

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

Ilana and the Others

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

Drogen

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

Jack and Hurley

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

Sawyer

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

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

Until Sunday… This has been My Confused Two Cents…   

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?