Season 4, Episode 10 - Truth and Consequences

Tonight was a pretty thick episode. There was a lot of stuff going crammed into this hour in the buildup for next weeks potential season finale. So let’s dive right in.

While it was attempted to make Claire’s response to Noah’s death a very emotional, moving storyline, it just seemed to hit every wrong note possible. While I actually like West last week, my typical passive dislike of him transformed into just loathing this week. He’s just back to being creepy. I know that Tim Kring admitted that the romance storyline was a bad idea, and hopefully we’ll see the last of West soon.

And at the memorial service when Claire spreads Noah’s ashes, why would his two actual blood relatives just stand at a distance and let her do all the eulogizing? I understand that Hayden is the “star”, but that really just pulled me out of the moment. However, when she went of on Elle, it made up for it.

Speaking of Elle, my like for her is beginning to slide. At first, she was calm, cool and collected. Tonight, though, she was a bumbling fool. I mean, the whole deal with her fumbling with the keys and then spilling the drink in her lap…here’s a tip, if you’re on a stakeout, keep the keys in the ignition. Just a thought.

Mohinder is really beginning to frustrate me. I just can’t get a feel for him. Is he really as stupid as he is coming across? Or is he really just playing both ends against the middle? Now that he knows that Claire’s blood can heal others, he plans to use it to save Nikki. Then he goes and confronts Bob, telling him that he wants the Shanti virus destroyed, and appears to actually believe Bob when he says that they will work together to do so. Come on, dude. Bob hasn’t told a single truth to you yet, why are you still believing him?

Sylar is finally freaking back. And not wimpy Sylar that we’ve had all season, the real, mean Sylar. He plays evil Yoda to Maya’s Luke, and teaches her to control her powers, so that her brother is completely expendable. (They’ve both been expendable all along, in my opinion.) When she comes to Alejandro to give him the good news, he shows her what he found out about Sylar…that he murdered his mother. This was one of my favorite scenes this season…Sylar actually uses this to grow closer to Maya, and to show her that they are really not so different at all. They send Alejandro packing, but he has no intentions of leaving his sister alone with Gabriel. He returns to confront the villain, but Sylar quickly and easily dispatches him, leaving his run at Maya unobstructed.

Though there wasn’t much of him, Hiro had some of the coolest scenes in the show. It was great to see the flashback to November 2, 1977, where Hiro sees Kensei/Monroe being captured right after the attempted outbreak. I think it’s solidified now that Monroe’s gone just plain loopy. He’s spouting the typical bad guy dialogue about how the world has become such a terrible place, so everyone has to be wiped out. I guess living for 400+ years would drive anyone nuts.

Peter and Adam head out on a search to find strain 138 of the Shanti virus. Their mission is the same, but their motives are just a bit different. Peter wants to save the world, but Adam wants to completely destroy it, and apparently live all by himself…well, him and Claire I guess, since they can both heal.

So they track down Victoria Pratt, who was responsible for the mutated strain of the Shanti virus that is apparently going to destroy the world. After a bit of exposition, Peter pulls her thoughts out of her mind and finds that strain 138 is being held in Odessa, so they head back there.

Hiro is still my favorite character on the show, and he proves it in the last scene. He is ready to strike down Monroe, but Peter stands in his way. Hiro charges, and Peter charges (electrically), and…to be continued. Sweet.

Not as high-quality as last week, but a worthy addition to the lineup. Here’s hoping next week is a quality finale.

A-

Season 2, Episode 1 - How to Kiss Hello

October Road is one of those shows that’s really not very good, but really, really wants to be. The show is heavily inspired by the Gilmore Girls (even going so far as to cast “Kurt” from the Gilmore series in a role this season). It tries very hard to be as witty and smart as the show it wants to be, but so far, it hasn’t even gotten close.

Still, there is something I like about it that I can’t quite put my finger on - oh wait…yes, I can, it’s Laura Prepon…why? Because she’s super hot.

The episode focuses on where Hannah and series star Nick (Bryan Greenberg) stand relationship wise, and where Eddie stands with publically handling his relationship with Janet, the chubby girl that runs the bar. See, even though she’s smart and funny, and he likes her - he still has a problem breaking his life long “no fat chicks” policy.

Anyway, the show is hard to review. It’s hard to get through. Basically if you take every melodrama series you’ve ever seen, from 90210 to Hyperion Bay, mix them all in a cliche blender and poor a little sap on top of them…you’d have this show.

It’s just not very good.

Grade: D-

It looks like Journeyman may end up being the first show in our Death Pool to get canned (which I find SHOCKING since “Cavemen” is also on our list).

The show hasn’t been officially cancelled, but several sites including TV Squad are reporting that series creator Kevin Falls is getting the word out that episode 12 may be the last installment of Journeyman.

The episode could serve as a season finale, Falls says, but with the show’s so-so ratings, and the writer’s strike not showing signs of ending any time soon…Journeyman may not get another chance to capture the hearts of viewers.

Remember, it’s not cancelled yet, so you can still enter our New Fall Show Death Pool contest and win a season of one of your favorite shows on DVD. Click Here for the contest page.

Former “Saved by the Bell” and “Showgirls” star Elizabeth Berkley has joined the cast of CSI: Miami where she will play Horatio Cane’s (David Caruso) ex-wife Julia Winston.

Most people between 25 and 30 will remember the 35 year old actress as Jessie Spanno on the immortal “Saved by the Bell”. Jessie was a stuck up, straight laced, no-dose addict (at least in the very special “drug” episode of the show). After “Bell” ended, Elizabeth took a big risk taking the lead in a little film called “Showgirls” that you might remember. The high profile picture was supposed to make her the next Sharon Stone…but it didn’t quite work out that way.

I’m glad to see her getting a regular role on CSI: Miami. I don’t watch that show, but I might give it a look to see what she’s up to. I have a special place in my heart for all the “Saved by the Bell” alumni, and I love seeing them doing well.

Amazon has a really great holiday promotion where customers are allowed to vote on several crazy deals. The most popular deal is offered to a limited number of people, while the other deals are offered to a small group with a “runner-up price”.

I’ve been following the contest, and as of yet have not been selected for any of my offers, but I did notice some very interesting numbers as they relate to the current Hi-Def format wars.

In the Hi-Def show down part of the contest, it was HD-DVD vs. Blu-Ray vs. Tivo HD.

As you can see from the picture above, HD-DVD won with 41% of the vote. Tivo HD came in second with 36%, and Blu-Ray came in last with only 23% of the vote. Does this give us a clear indication of which format consumers want more?

Not necessarily, but I do think its a good start. There are several factors that have to be included when looking at a poll like this. One of those factors, is number of PS3s sold. Since there have been over 1 million sold, it is highly possible that some of the people voting for HD-DVD players in this poll already own a Blu-Ray player.

As you can see from the image, I voted for a Blu-Ray player. That’s not because I prefer Blu-Ray. In fact, its just the opposite. I prefer HD-DVD - and I already have a HD-DVD player…and I’m not willing to go above $150 for a player in a format that I don’t think is going to win the format war (Blu-Ray).

My personal preferences aside, while this poll doesn’t necessary (in my opinion) show us that people want HD-DVD INSTEAD of Blu-Ray, it does clearly show that people do WANT HD-DVD. Maybe in addition to Blu-Ray, maybe in place of…either way, it’s a good sign for HD-DVD.

Between this and the Wal-Mart/Best Buy HD-DVD pushes, things should be looking up for the format after the holiday season.

In what is an all too familiar situation with “Lost” cast members, Daniel Dae Kim plead not guilty today in regards to a DUI arrest from late October of this year.

This is particularly odd since he has already issued a statement to his fans, apologizing for his action (which sounds like an admission of guilt to me).

Both Michelle Rodriguez and Cynthia Watros were booked with DUI charges in 2005, and were subsequently killed off on the show - for unrelated reasons. Then, Adewale Akinnuoye Agbaje, who played Mr. Echo on the series, was arrested for a traffic violation - and he was subsequently killed off on the show - for unrelated reasons.

I fully expect Kim to be killed off of the show - for unrelated reasons (of course) - by the end of Season 4.

What do you think?

So, Hulk Hogan got some really terrible news via a reporters phone call last week. His wife has filed for divorce.

That’s the culmination of what has been a really terrible few months for the Hogan family. Son Nick has been in trouble with the law since a little incident earlier this year where he crashed his car and critically injured his best friend.

In an episode earlier this year, the Hogans contemplated divorce - but seriously, the show seems so close to scripted, that I doubt everyone believed it. For all we know - this could be a plot to further the show along, but I doubt it.

The VH1 hit “Hogan Knows Best” is probably going to be cancelled after this incident - if it isnt’ - I don’t think there’s anyway that the show could be taken seriously, because the whole thing would have to be a work. (note - “work” is a wrestling term that basically means a put on, or storyline).

Still, if it is all true, I feel bad for the Hulkster - maybe he didn’t know best after all…

“Season 19 Episode 08 - Funeral for a Fiend”

Sideshow Bob is at it again - but, unfortunately, there’s nothing terrible special about this appearance of everyone’s favorite homicidal clown - other than the gimmick of reuniting the cast of Fraiser.

The episode opens with an extended Tivo bit - and how corporate heads think you’re stealing from them if you fast forward through the commercials. It’s a bit we’ve seen on Family Guy before, and when you add in Marge’s staying up all night (which the Simpson family did when they first got cable) the entire opening segment felt like it had been done before. This bit led us into the family going to eat at a steakhouse that was actually a ruse for Sideshow Bob to attempt, yet again, to kill Bart.

This is Sideshow’s 10th appearance on the show - and I really wish it had been better. Bob fakes his death with the help of his family, and their plot is ultimately foiled by Lisa, who notices that Bob’s coffin has a place for his giant feet, which you wouldn’t do for a dead man… apparently.

Unfortunately, that’s how Bob was caught the first time when he attempted to frame Krusty for robbing the Kwik-E-Mart, so even that felt a bit, “been here, seen this.”

Now, having said all that, there were still a few good moments in the show, and overall it was enjoyable - just nothing particularly special. I’m not one of those people that think the Simpsons is passed its prime, or that it “hasn’t been funny in years”. I love this show - and hope that it continues on for another 10 years (although I doubt it will). The day The Simpsons airs its last new episode will be a very sad, sad day in my house.

BUT - they can do better than this.

Grade: B-

Season 4, Episode 8 - Distant Past

‘ll start with something a little off-topic. Because of the way the Thanksgiving holiday fell, I wasn’t able to watch Private Practice until the weekend. Did anyone else find it a bit off-putting that they used Joy Lauren, who plays Danielle on DH, in the part of the girl who has just had a baby and is wanting to give it up? I mean, of all the potential girls to play that part on Private Practice, they pick the one girl who plays almost the exact same role on another ABC series. I’m sure that confused more than a few viewers…it sure threw me for a minute.

Anyway, on to the review. The show seems to have been in a bit of a slump over the past few installments, but this week was a definite improvement.

Bree and Orson are still trying to become accustomed to life with a new baby. I guess I can really relate to this story…we have a child that just turned two, and I remember the “family bed”. Orson was a bit more uptight than I was, though. The stress seems to manifest itself the most in Andrew, who decides to move out so that Bree doesn’t have to be reminded of her “flawed” first attempt at motherhood with him. All this led up to a very heart-warming scene between him and her dealing with their mutual forgiveness.

Meanwhile, Mike’s drug addiction is coming to a head. When his young and attractive dealer comes to his house to collect, Susan decides to try to hook him up with Julie. I was actually pretty excited about this storyline, especially after Mike confronted him. The concept of the dealer (whose name escapes me) moving in on Mike’s family while Mike watches powerlessly is really intriguing, but, like all of my favorite stories, it was over too soon. While Mike’s confrontation and confession was exactly what I would have expected, I would have liked it to continue a bit.

Katherine was absent tonight, but that doesn’t mean that there wasn’t any story progression on that front. Adam had a stalker. That’s it. It’s starting to feel like they know that we don’t care about this plot and are just tacking bits on out of obligation.

The Carlos/Gabrielle/Victor plot remains my favorite. While I do get tired of the “We can’t go to the cops” mindset (come on, they always find out), the drama is getting thicker and thicker. And Victor’s chilling threat at the end was enough to get me really pumped about where the show is heading.

Alas, there is only one more episode before Desperate Housewives falls victim to that pesky strike, so the momentum that is being built could quickly come to a stop. Tonight, though, was good.

B+

A while back, I posted a story about the Lost “webisodes” that ABC was hosting (which have turned out to be the biggest waste of time I’ve ever experienced). After the story, Michael posted a comment that said:

And the Writer’s who wrote them won’t be getting paid a DIME!!!!

STRIKE!!!
STRIKE!!!
STRIKE!!!
STRIKE!!!

This did seem to be a perfect example of what the writers are striking for. I chuckled and went on, but it turns out that’s incorrect.

According to this New York Times article, these episodes were produced under an agreement with the Union, and the writers actually have been compensated for their work on these episodes. The writers were apparently paid approximately $800 per minisode, which is right along the lines of what the WGA is asking for in the negotiations. They’re saying that if the studios were willing to do it for this instance, they should make it the standard, which I totally agree with.

As a comparison, when the writers of The Office created the “The Accountants” a couple of years ago, they received no specific pay or residuals.

Hopefully, this will add more fuel to the writers’ fire, and get this strike resolved quickly.