Welcome back, pardners. Interesting week, highlighted by my eating my words from last week regarding “Smallville.” But before we get rocking, I wish to say that I think it absolutely sucks that–according to darkhorizons.com–Fox has suddenly come to its non-senses and canceled “Tru Calling.” WTF?! For one brief, shining moment, they have the brains to keep an SF/fantasy series going for another season, allowing it to build. And suddenly they revert to the same brilliant form that blew away “Firefly,” left “John Doe” hanging, and send “Wonderfalls” over in a barrel. Not to be confused with the WB which is suddenly trying to find a way to get new episodes of “Angel.” Does anyone on TV pay attention to the fact that the so-called niche market of SF and fantasy, which they treat with such disrespect, is responsible for just about every movie in the all-time top ten moneymakers? Idiots. Well, Hëll, maybe an “Angel”-deprived WB will try to make up for it by picking up “Tru.” We’ll see. Anyway, onward…
VERONICA MARS: Veronica gets caught up in a car-stealing/drug pushing double switch with her boyfriend caught in the middle…or maybe he’s not. This show gets more and more confident each week. Interestingly, Veronica’s dad took center emotional stage in several instances, ranging from helping his daughter with her case to breaking off his blossoming relationship. Plus the last five minutes was a terrific roller coaster ride as the duplicity of Veronica’s boyfriend is revealed, only to realize that Veronica’s actually two steps ahead of him in what is effectively a smile-inducing chess game, played on several fronts, that Veronica checks and mates effortlessly.
We also get some close up and personal moments with Veronica’s mom, ranging from a flashback to a modern day moment that is heart-aching on several levels. I am sticking by my theory, however, that Veronica’s dad ain’t really her dad. That her dad is actually the Kane patriarch. Why? Because of the expression on Veronica’s mom’s face when she discovers that Veronica is dating Brad (is that his name?) Kane. They would, after all, be half-siblings. And since they’ve established that Veronica and Brad didn’t sleep together (at least to Veronica’s knowledge) that would sidestep any “ick” incestuous aspects.
LOST: Bouncing back from an episode that was merely okay, this week we focus on the Korean couple. I was right: At least one of them speaks English, but the reason that she’s kept her mouth shut about it is absolutely brilliant. Plus we get another Rashomon-like sequence as we see last week’s scene with Jack and his dad’s coffin at the airport seen from the point of view of the wife.
Truly, what a nifty concept. Clearly she wanted to marry Daniel Dae Kim because she saw him as a way of getting out of her father’s world. Instead he was dragged into it…and yet she couldn’t, in the end, bring herself to leave him. A marvelous mix of tragedy and romance. Meanwhile the castaways split into two groups, both for reasonable motivations.
SMALLVILLE: Okay, I was wrong in my trepidations over last week’s coming attractions. Despite the fact that the body switch routine has been done elsewhere–most notably, and brilliantly, on BtVS–Lionel switching bodies with Clark via a (sigh) magic Kryptonian rock nevertheless yielded an episode that was constantly engaging and occasionally jaw dropping. First and foremost was the positively sinister concept that Lionel was actually trying to swap bodies with Lex, and all that that implies. Second was Lionel’s discovery of what his new body could do, and the fiendish ways in which he took petty revenge on those who he felt had wronged him (most conspicuously, and evilly, on poor confused Chloe). And third was the work on both Tom Welling and John Glover’s parts in conveying their being occupied by each other. It wasn’t quite as transcendant as Eliza Dushku absolutely nailing Sarah Michelle Gellar’s mannerisms in “New Girl,” but it was really up there. Plus I should make specific mention of the wonderful scene where Clark-in-Lionel manages to convince his mom of what’s happened by recalling a revelatory moment when he was six and first discovered his abilities. And hey…an ominous appearance by Margot Kidder, whose organization might not be as benevolent as our initial introduction to Doctor Swann might have made us think.
The one downside was the utterly pat notion that Lionel conveniently forgot everything that happened and that he’s magically cured besides. Let’s hope that he was just lying, or that it comes back to him, because Lionel’s knowing just what Clark can do is too rife with possibilities just to be brushed off for status quo convenience.
WEST WING: Jed attempts to broker a peace settlement between the Israelis and Palestinians in which the dad from “Shine” goes head to head with what appears to be “Trek” author Michael Jan Friedman. Meantime Locke from “Lost” is bombing terrorists while relationships between Leo and Jed come completely unravelled.
Man, I keep going back and forth on this, wondering if I’d be so annoyed by these developments if Sorkin were still writing it. I mean, the easy answer is to say that Sorkin never WOULD have written it. But let’s think logically about all this. Bartlett has expressed concern any number of times about leaving a legacy, and certainly brokering a lasting peace in the Middle East would qualify. So Bartlett going for broke, being willing to do almost anything to make it work? Okay, I can see it.
And Bartlett being brusque with Leo because he’s angry? A few curt words and then turning away? Not unprecedented. His first words to Charlie Young, after Charlie had just saved his bacon by figuring out where his glasses were, was a dismissive “I don’t have time for new people now.” When he learned Leo’s marriage had broken up, he ordered him to fix it, personally offending Leo. In these and other instances he later regretted it and made it right, so this current contretemps might have gone that route as well. So okay, I can see it.
As for Leo…getting right into Bartlett’s face? He’s done that any number of times, as far back as “A Proportional Response.” Granted, he’s gone increasingly over the top in recent episodes. But the fact is that every time Jed and Leo have been in opposition, Jed has backed down or deferred to Leo’s judgment. Basically, Leo’s been in control of Jed for six years. For an alcoholic, control is everything. This time, Jed isn’t backing down. He’s pursuing a course that Leo believes is wrong. Losing control of Jed and, by extension, the country, could be pretty traumatic for Leo. Plus, y’know, he’s got a heart attack coming on. So Leo becoming increasingly agitated, louder, more desperate as control slips away? Okay. I can see it.
But I can also see the seams, and that’s where Sorkin’s missing touch is obvious. If Leo and Jed don’t pick that exact moment to have a falling out, there’s no reason Leo wouldn’t be with Jed in the chopper, or that the President wouldn’t be wondering where Leo is. If Leo doesn’t pick that exact moment to go wandering off into the woods instead of toward, oh, I don’t know, any living being at Camp David, you don’t have that final sequence with Leo lying in the woods, maybe dead. It’s as if they’ve decided on the ends ahead of time, and are forcing the means to work to their advantage. The story doesn’t seem to flow from the events; instead the events are there specifically in order to support the ending. That’s clunky and annoying and just not good writing. So ultimately, I can handle what they’re doing, but I’m not thrilled with the way they’re doing it.
Did love Tobey skeet shooting, however.
PAD
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If anyone cares or remembers… I never was a fan of TRU (although it did start to get a little interesting at the end). Since I am STILL boycotting the WB Network– I won’t be watching if the show appears there… Period.
Like a poster once said here (paraphrased)… If it don’t start with “Buffy” or “Angel” or end with “Mutant Enemy”– I ain’t watching that network no more.
Me too.
And for the die-hards screaming, “Yay! Eliza’s now free to be in a ‘Faith’ spin-off show!” Unfortunately, that doesn’t look like it is going to happen– at least not anytime soon.
For those who haven’t heard (probably a very small amount of people here– judging from previous posts on Peter’s blog)… Joss Whedon has CLOSED his TV production company and ended his studio deal a year and a half EARLY… stating he really didn’t have any good series ideas and that he’s tired of REALITY TV.
Another CLASSY decision made by a talented, classy guy.
Sadly, that also means we aren’t going to be seeing any new ANGEL episodes anytime soon– if ever. 🙁
As for what will happen with “Lost” after they finish these flashbacks my guess is that they will begin a new round of flashbacks.
The current flashbacks seem to be explaining why each character was in Sydney, but they are raising new questions. For example:
What crime did Kate commit?
What happened to Locke 4 years ago that put him in the wheelchair?
What was Jack’s mother talking about when she said, “You think you have a choice after what you did”?
Who is Sun’s father and what does Jin do for him?
Now as for Claire who seems to be the only Australian we’ve met so far in the bunch we know why she was in Australia, but my current guess for her backstory is that she is a surrogate, and had decided to keep the baby and disappear.
-Mike
Thomas E. Reed wrote:
I see the same wishful thinking on Cartoon Network. They would love another “Cowboy Bebop,” except that (probably not a spoiler to you guys) Spike Siegel dies in the end. The “prequal” they attempted in the manga comics was seen as grave desecration, if not corpse abuse. The same producers’ “Wolf Rain” has little in common with “Bebop,” and “Case Closed” has none of the film-noir tragedy that gave the series soul.
Yeah, I didn
Oh Christ, sorry about that, I saw the “you may use HTML” and thought I had to use the “” tag to make a new paragraph.
You know what I find terribly amusing? They cancel Tru Calling AFTER Joss has said he’s closing down shop for a while.
I wonder if they wanted to be sure there was no Faith the vampire slayer ready to go.
Actually, it seems Eliza was confirming cancellation a couple of weeks ago and the Whedon annoucement came this last week, but i doubt Joss would have shut down M.E. if there’s was still a solid chance of selling a Faith spin-off.
LOST: I didn’t like the survivors splitting into 2 camps either–I don’t want this show to turn into “Lord of the Flies.” I do think it was suggested that the reason the campfire folks decided to stay behind en masse was because they were afraid of the boars and the beasties getting them if they were on the beach alone. And they’ll have to go to the cave to get water, so there should be continued intermingling between the camps.
As for the flashbacks, remember there are 40-some people on the island. I suspect that, in the long run, some of the people we are now watching won’t survive. Then we will start to get to know some of the others who are now just played by extras. Focusing on 12 people a year still gives the show a good 4 years of character backgrounds to play with.
Hi, guys.
Yeah, yeah, I know, I said I was going to quit posting. Never said I’d stop reading though. But to the point. Thought I’d pop back with a mention of an article I ran across in Variety about a week ago. In light of the mention PAD made about the WB trying to get more “Angel” episodes, I thought you might be interested in this:
Joss Whedon quits TV
The “Buffy” creator is getting out of his TV deal with Twentieth Century Fox. “I spent a lot of time trying to think what my next series would be,” says Whedon. “I couldn’t think of anything. When that happens, it generally means something is just not working. I didn’t feel like I could come up with anything that the networks would want.”
Bye again.
I also remember reading that when Whedon does get an idea for a new series 20th Century Fox has the first shot at it.
I’m with you, Peter. While this week’s SMALLVILLE was a done-to-death concept, it was well executed.
Do you watch ENTERPRISE? This week’s episode with Brent Spiner was TERRIFIC! Best of the series, I think. I can’t wait for the next two parts. Any comments on the show (if you watch)?
I’m with you, Peter. While this week’s SMALLVILLE was a done-to-death concept, it was well executed.
Do you watch ENTERPRISE? This week’s episode with Brent Spiner was TERRIFIC! Best of the series, I think. I can’t wait for the next two parts. Any comments on the show (if you watch)?
Re: Veronica Mars in Canada
CTV has the Canadian broadcast rights to Veronica Mars but hasn’t put it on the schedule yet. So, unless you have premium cable, you can’t see the show. Yet.
I’m in my early 30’s and I do seem to remember enough about Fantasy Island to say with a bit of certainty, that there always seemed to be a lesson or a cost beyond that which the travelers paid to get to the island. I’m thinking that J. J. will have Mr. Rourke show up on LOST by the end of the season. Ricardo will explain to the remaining castaways that the Island had been quarantined for nearly 2 decades due to a horrible accident when a Fantasy went wrong.
Pretty simple if you think about each castaway getting their fantasy by just being on the island.
Matthew Fox wanted to see his da alive again
Terry O’Quinn wanted to walk
Evangeline Lilly wanted to get out of custody
Harold wanted to be a good Dad
his son wanted his dog
Dom wanted his Guitar
The couple wanted out from under the evil Father
We’ll have to wait and see what the other’s wishes bring, and what cost our castaways have to pay.
Just Imagine the final episode flashback of a little person in a white tux screaming “De Plane De Plane” as the chunk of debris lands on him.
Just a thought
LOST:
I think that the writers were trying for something very good, but apparently missed the mark, based on the comments here. It’s not that Kate, Said, et al are being STUPID by staying on the beach, its’ that they aren’t thinking rationally. Nor should they, really.
Moving inland, to them, is the giving up of hope. Even if there is a rotating group of people, each one of them is thinking, “if a ship comes by and I’m not there to flag it down, I’ll regret it forever.” It’s like the woman who keeps setting a place for the husband who ran out on her months ago, or the child who thinks every phone call COULD be that long-lost dad.
It’s not rational thought, it’s shock mode. And a lot of these folks are rightly in shock. Those that have some will of their own, Kate, Theif dude, etc. Are able to resist the cattle driving of Jack. Those that don’t, just follow along, figuring they have no ideas either.
I was curious, though, it’s clearly a long walk, though broken, uncleared ground. Where did the pregant woman wind up?
Since I’m out on Wednesdays and need to tape it, I finally got to see this week’s Lost this weekend.
A couple things:
* – Loved that the title was “House of the rising Sun”
* – I agree with pygmy, I was a bit confused too, were they living in Sydney all along? I thought that they were in South Korea, but suddenly they’re leaving the Sydney airport.
* – I’ve read a couple other boards commenting on this episode and everyone seems to make a big deal about the “tribe split”. I think we’re thinking how we’d react, if we’d been on that island for over 6 weeks, but remember, they’ve only been on for 6-7 days. I’m sure many are still feel that a rescue is right around the corner. Especially since over 35 of them have no idea about the distress signal (not even Locke) To me this division makes sense. I’d also be surprised if we don’t see more division in upcoming episodes. There’s got to be more power plays.
* – With the occasional extra walking around in the background, Lost has settled on 12-15 people cast, so I was surprised that we never saw Claire or Boone & Shannon. Not even walking around
Re: Veronica Mars in Canada
CTV has the Canadian broadcast rights to Veronica Mars but hasn’t put it on the schedule yet. So, unless you have premium cable, you can’t see the show. Yet.
Uhm… in Vancouver we have a UPN station on basic cable (the Seattle one) and so Veronica Mars airs Tuesdays at 8pm on channel 14.
For those of you who have never heard of Veronica Mars, here’s some info.
It’s the only show from the UPN/CBS conglomerate to land on Entertainment Weekly’s list of top ten shows of 2004.
Veronica Mars won the recent E! Online Kristin Save One Show poll with an astounding 56% of the votes. Arrested Development came in second with 9% of the vote.
http://www.eonline.com/Gossip/Kristin/Archive2005/050318.html
When given a choice between voting for Veronica Mars or Marti Noxon’s Point Pleasant in the above mentioned poll, members of whedonesque.com ]overwhelmingly voted for Veronica Mars. (Marti Noxon was a writer and producer for Buffy.)
http://whedonesque.com/?comments=6177
It is the highest scoring (based on recapper and user grades) show this season at Television without Pity.
http://forums.televisionwithoutpity.com/index.php?showtopic=3120844&st=45&p=2531877&#entry2531877
The March 13-19 edition of TV Guide called it the best show you’re not watching.
The April 4, 2005 edition of Time magazine named Veronica Mars one of the 6 best dramas on TV now.
To find out what other TV critics are saying about Veronica Mars, visit the reviews page at MarsInvestigations.net.
http://marsinvestigations.net/critics.php
If you need help catching up with show, check out Mars Investigations: A Beginner’s Guide to Veronica Mars. It’s a site specifically designed to help introduce new viewers to the show. They have character sketches, episode summaries, and clues about each mysteries.
http://www.marsinvestigations.net