Reaction Time: “Brave New World”

“Brave New World” was a superb finale. I wasn’t sure how they were going to find the time to take care of Hiro AND the Bennets AND Samuel AND Sylar, but it all ended up working out spectacularly. And it was beautiful. Performances were out their best, and everything was highlighted by some exceptionally beautiful camera work.

All the storylines got wrapped up. So…now what?

Everything has been put in place for another season. Claire just outed the Specials to the world – it may or may not work out. HRG owes Tracy a favor. (Side note on Tracy: WHY? She did basically nothing this season and her only vital function was to get the Bennets out of a trailer in a ground, and I’m sure that could have been solved another way. Why couldn’t she just die, again?) And the kicker: Sylar is a hero.

Yeah, there could be another season. But is that really a good plan?

Obviously there’s the potential for some pretty interesting things. But, call me jaded, I have some serious doubts about how this could all turn out. Heroes hinges on a good guy vs. bad guy conflict. That’s just how it is. So who’s going to be the bad guy? Trying to work that conflict into the Normals vs. Specials is going to be beyond tricky, especially since there needs to be one major player bad guy and making that one a Normal just doesn’t provide enough excitement. (We saw how it worked with Danko: Yeah, he was bad. But guns are only so exciting when you’ve got characters who breathe fire or whatever.) Samuel could be the bad guy, I suppose. He’s not dead. But I can’t help feel as though he’s run his course and that trying to stretch him out further would just weaken the character. And, of course, there is always Sylar. Don’t get me wrong, I think Zachary Quinto has been beyond brilliant in this character, but enough is enough. Stop beating the horse; it’s dead.

Is the Heroes saga totally over with? No, clearly not. Not in the minds of the writers and producers, anyway. But I think this may be a moment where it is truly better to quit while they’re ahead. “Brave New World” was marvelously crafted. Heroes finally managed in this season to redeem itself from Seasons 2 and 3. So let’s not ruin it. Let’s not allow an opportunity for things to get bad again and sully this.

Let Heroes go out with some dignity.

Day 8: Worth the Wait?

This season of 24 is already a quarter of the way over (crazy, right?), and it is SO good. After the unfortunate disasters of Day 6 and Day 7, Day 8 may be nothing short of a redemption of the series.

The problem with 24 is that, once the first season was over and the novelty of Oh my, a show whose whole season is one day?! passed, the series found itself seriously lacking innovation. Day 1 was excellent, Day 2 was alright, Day 3 was good, and then everything kept going downhill. I mean really. Once Jack Bauer flies a nuclear bomb over the California desert, an assassination attempt on the Russian president can only be so interesting.

Last season, Day 7, took an AWFULLY long time to redeem itself. It wasn’t until Episode 10 or so that I started getting really excited. But even the intense suspense couldn’t forgive the fact that Day 7 was a study in recycling. I was pretty sure 24 was going to be done after last season. Nothing says “desperate measure” like bringing back favorite characters presumed dead and turning them evil.

But, as you all may have noticed, I tend to be wrong about some things. And this is one I’m pleased to be disproven on. Because I am LOVING Day 8.

Is it stunningly original? Of course not. Again, most of 24’s innovation is in its format. But 24 has finally taken the leap and picked up some new characters this season.

Of course I’m thrilled to see BSG alums Katee Sackhoff and Callum Keith Rennie. The former’s character is irritating me, to be honest, but the latter. SO. AMAZING. Anil Kapoor is brilliant and will hopefully become a staple for American television. My perennial favorite David Anders is currently a small-time player, but who knows what he’ll end up doing. And, finally, my very favorite addition is the one I least expected to enjoy. Who knew Freddie Prinze, Jr. had such a great inner-NY cop archetype in him?

There’s even some things to commend about the storyline this season. For one thing: it isn’t all about the American president (sidenote: she’s been sadly underused thus far. Cherry Jones, people! Emmy winner!). Instead, it’s about the president of the…what are they calling it? The Islamic Republic (aka We Can’t Actually Call This An Extant Middle Eastern Country Because Then We Would Cause A Political Incident)? Anyway, he’s representative of one of the excellent things that 24 has done, historically – namely, extending understanding to those primarily considered “the enemy.” Of course, the bad guys of this season are still (apparently) Russian and Middle Eastern, but hey: more often than not, the major-player villains on 24 tend to be Americans. There is still hope.

On the non-political end, there’s one development that I’m still reeling from: Jack Bauer got out-badassed. By a woman. I was not especially fond of Renee Walker in Day 7. But I may need to reassess. Jack Bauer is starting to show his age (I have to disagree with the grandkid – he does look a little like a Grandpa), and Renee Walker is the first (non-evil) character the show has produced who looks like she might be able to take up the mantle of badassery. Assuming she doesn’t give into the Intense Emotional Drama and off herself. That’d be a hell of a thing.

I’m not saying that 24 isn’t showing its age as much as Jack Bauer is starting to. Everything happening at CTU has happened before: two employees are getting married but there’s drama, an analyst has a checkered past, the director wavers between awesomeness and dickheadedness, there’s some tech issues – I”m just waiting to find out that there’s a mole up in there. It looks like we’ll being seeing a shipyard scene before too long. And Jack Bauer is going undercover without any sort of believability.

BUT, one thing remains the same without being tiresome: I have no idea where it is all headed.

So, 24 Day 8, SHOCK ME. I dare you.

This Week 2/8 to 2/14

So the Super Bowl was yesterday.

That’s really all I have to say about it.

Tonight:
8pm – Chuck on NBC
8pm – House on FOX
9pm – Heroes on NBC
9pm – 24 on FOX
10pm – Castle on ABC

TUESDAY:
8pm – NCIS on CBS
9pm – NCIS: Los Angeles on CBS
9pm – Past Life (series pilot!) on FOX
10pm – White Collar on USA
10pm – Southland on TNT

Past Life is, as far as I can tell, a crime procedural centered on regression therapy. It could be really awesome, or just really wacko. I don’t know which of those outcomes I’m hoping for.

WEDNESDAY:
8pm – Human Target on FOX
10pm – CSI: NY on CBS
10pm – Leverage on TNT

THURSDAY:
9pm – Past Life (timeslot premiere!) on FOX
10pm – Project Runway on Lifetime

Fringe is taking a break, and Past Life is taking its place for a few weeks. (Maybe I’ll have time to actually get caught up on the former…)

FRIDAY:
7:30pm – Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony on NBC

The Olympics are starting! Which means there’s not gonna be a whole lot else on TV for a bit. Because, really, what network wants to compete with that for ratings.

SATURDAY:
More Olympics! (Check your local listings for times/networks/events.)

I love the Olympics! But I actually only watch a handful of events. So mostly I’m going to be using this time to a) catch up on things, and b) WATCH MORE LOST. Yes, I’m hopping on the caboose of the bandwagon. I finally made it through Season 1 last night, and now I feel like a moron for not catching on before now. But hey. Better late than never?

“Dude.”

Unfortunately, the only way I can think of to express the quality of Human Target is to say that it is hit-and-miss.

Hold your groans – the quality is irrelevant anyway.

All you need to know about the quality of the show is that the lead cast triumvirate of Mark Valley, Chi McBride, and Jackie Earle Haley is excellent (especially the last), the fight choreographer is wildly creative, and all the dressings – props, costumes, sets – are very well done.

But none of that matters.

What is important, is that there is nothing about Human Target that isn’t HILARIOUS. I can’t tell you what element is most utterly ridiculous – the improbable scenarios, Bear McCreary’s hyperbolic score, the excess of familiar faces from sci-fi television (mostly BSG), or the total disregard of the laws of physics – but they are all certainly work some belly-laughs…not because they try to be.

Human Target is based on a DC comic series of the same title. Supposedly there is some sort of actual storyline involved. But honestly, the build-up is so slow and the originality is so minimal that I can’t bring myself to expect much of it.

Human Target is not a show for people who want to think hard about what they’re watching. As a nonstop thinker, I can tell you that using your brain to watch this show will only cause tremendous pain. But my inner thirteen-year-old boy revels in its James-Bond-Meets-John-McClane-Meets-Every-Action-Movie-Ever enthusiasm (it even uses The Wilhelm Scream!). It may not make any sense, and it may be taking itself just a bit too seriously, but it is damn fun.

There are only two honest criticisms that I can make. 1) The opening credits. Whoever designed that sequence should be exiled to Pluto. 2) The stylistic schizophrenia. Every one of the four episodes that has aired so far is completely unique in terms of format, pacing, and general storyline. I prefer some over others, but they are all reasonably effective. And they are completely mismatched.

STILL.

Yes, there are definitely some MAJOR flaws. Yes, you could spend your time much more productively. And yes, Guerrero does say “dude” entirely too often. My brain tells me that Human Target is moronic and crazy a waste of my time. And yet I CAN’T STOP WATCHING IT.

Overall: I suggest you watch at least an episode. It’s hysterical, if nothing else. (Just skip the opening credits.)

Lost, The Phenomenon: An Outsider’s Perspective

No, I don’t watch Lost.

Yes, I am starting to feel really bad about that.

Lost isn’t just a ratings magnet, and it isn’t just a brain-requiring science fiction (I use the term loosely) series. It is both, and that is what makes it so unique. Compare Lost to any vaguely similar show of the last decade in terms of ratings and it’s easy to see, it is an outlier.

Somehow, Lost has managed to attract seemingly ALL the people who watch shows of its approximate genre (I say approximate because, from my understanding, it really is pretty much unique in these terms as well), and even a few who don’t. And they all LOVE IT. Perhaps my experience differs from that of other people, but I have yet to find someone who is so-so on Lost. You love it, or you don’t watch it.

So the question is: WHY?

And I really don’t know the answer. Has creator-mastermind J.J. Abrams discovered the formula for primetime network television that captures this unheard of combination of ratings, intelligence, and weirdness? This seems unlikely. If he had such knowledge/mastery, surely Fringe would be a much larger hit than it has been (and was expected to be; see: minimal commercial breaks for Season One*). Or, maybe he did find a formula that worked…but it only worked at exactly that time. Rewind the clock to 2004, and it becomes obvious that non-realistic television was in something of a dry-spell. Basically the only other new science fiction show in the 2004 period was Battlestar Galactica – cable, hardcore sci-fi, aired internationally (simultaneously in multiple countries).

In the present, science fiction shows are seeing a rise in popularity again – and it’s not just J.J. Abrams making them. Yes, Fringe and Lost, but also Heroes, FlashForward, V: The Reimagined Series, and Dollhouse (up until last week). And that’s just the major networks. There’s more competition for viewers. And yet Lost still rises far beyond the rest.

The final season has just started, so it will be a good long while until next fall when we see the effect of a television world without Lost. But it will certainly be a brave new world. There’s no way to predict how the sci-fi television scene will change when Lost is no longer a landmark. As a purveyor of the genre, I’ll be on high alert until the future solidifies.

For now though, Lost fans are simultaneously rejoicing and beginning to grieve. Emotional investment is high, and the whole world is buzzing with anticipation. All this political network junk aside,the success of Lost can also be boiled down to the fact that it is brilliantly done, endlessly fascinating, there is simply nothing else like it on television.

So I’ve basically argued myself into watching it.

I didn’t start watching when it began because I was a dedicated Alias fan embittered by a) the declining quality of that series, and b) how Lost was dragging all these non-Alias fans on to the J.J. Abrams bandwagon. From then on came a series of excuses about “Oh, I don’t have time for television,” (no, really – at one point I did actually have such thoughts) or “Oh, I don’t have time or resources to catch up on what’s already happen.” But my priorities have changed (see: I have a TV blog now), as has the technology (hello, SideReel and Hulu!).

I guess the only real question now is: Can I catch up in time to watch (and fully appreciate) the finale with the rest of the world?

*Commercial breaks are how networks make money. They sell airtime to advertisers. The more audience members there are in a given timeslot, the more the network can charge. There is a certain amount of money that networks are looking to make. Minimizing commercial time is a sign that the network expects they can make the same amount of money with fewer commercial slots – as in, they can charge more. Seeing as Season Two of Fringe has seen a return to standard commercial time, I’m guessing that indicates their gamble didn’t pay off quite as much as they hoped. (As I am not an economist or a well-researched expert, I should also note the possibility that this may also have been either a sign or the recession or that the first-season commercial set-up may have been part of a negotiation to get J.J. Abrams to sign Fringe to FOX instead of his home network ABC.)

A Few Thoughts

“Epitaph Two” was certainly a finale.

I mean that in the sense that it really ended the story. So, in that way, it was highly successful. I’s dotted, T’s crossed, arcs completed, et cetera et cetera.

That said, I gotta say, it was not my favorite Whedon finale.

Mostly because it was just too neat and tidy and, frankly, kind of lame.

I’ve said “it hurts me to say this” before. But seriously this time. Criticizing the sadly premature Dollhouse finale brings me real emotional pain. Because if I put on my Critical Analysis Hat, it really was lacking.

Let me break my reasoning down into characters.

1. Alpha. I’m sorry, but WHAT THE FUCK. I’m sure this is a development that would have been expanded and explained had the series continued long enough. But given the information we had at the time of the finale, this was just gross. Making Alpha one of the good guys? Having him be the engineer of Echo’s happiness at the end of it all? I love Alan Tudyk, but I don’t love him so much that I want him to come in and throw the narrative stream halfway to hell.
2. Sierra and Victor. Actually, I had the least complaint about this one. Oddly, their relationship is possibly the most complicated and most developed in the entire show. Yeah, the tied-up ending with them happy with the kid was pretty cheesy. But sweet. And it more or less made sense.
3. Topher. As with Alpha, this is just something that really needed more series to make sense. We could see the seeds of this personality transition in him. But where we left off right before “Epitaph Two” was a far reach from self-sacrifice in the interest of all humanity. One thing I will say: Fran Kranz is freaking genius in the finale, and in the series as a whole and he really should get more recognition for it.
4. Paul Ballard. He unfortunately fell victim to the golden rule of Whedon series: the faithful male lover of the strong female heroine must always die. (Seriously, it happens EVERY TIME: Angel, Spike, Wash, even Wesley and Doyle could count here.) So that was a predictable, but solid choice. Not so kosher: putting him in Echo’s head. I’m sorry, but when did the Whedon team decide that happy endings were necessary? CORNY CORNY CORNY CORNY EW. Do not approve.

I feel like “Epitaph Two” was mostly an exercise in showing everyone exactly how much Dollhouse needed to go on longer. The hints we saw of the things that would happen – character transitions in Topher and Adelle, the tech-heads, the Priya/Tony relationship, the Echo/Paul relationship, Mag and Zone – were just enough to prove that having them not occur is a tragic thing. There is no doubt in my mind that Dollhouse would have grown into a mindblowingly amazing show had it run its full course. But, sadly, that was not the case due to network politics and a slow start.

As for how it all ended, my final verdict is that this finale was just not up to standard for Whedon series finales. Even Firefly’s “Objects In Space,” which was not planned as a finale, was more effective, I feel, in terms of summarizing themes but leaving the right amount of openended-ness (if you consider Serenity to be the finale of Firefly, I’d say the success is even greater). The main problem with “Epitaph Two” was that it was name-appropriate. It really doesn’t feel like there’s that much story left. I just don’t care about the aftermath. It feels done. Closed. Self-contained.

Maybe that works for some people. But I feel like it took a different stance from the series. The end was too much of a fairytale.

This Week 2/1 to 2/7

I GET TELEVISION SERVICE AGAIN STARTING TUESDAY AND I AM SO EXCITED.

Tonight:
8pm – Chuck on NBC
8pm – House on FOX
9pm – Heroes on NBC
9pm – 24 on FOX

I am SOOO behind on Monday shows. Well, only one week on Heroes. But two on Chuck, half the season on House, and all of Day 8. Yikes. Also, Castle is airing tonight, but it’s a rerun of “The Double Down.”

TUESDAY:
8pm – Lost (Catch-up feature and final season premiere!) on ABC
8pm – NCIS on CBS
9pm – NCIS: Los Angeles on CBS
10pm – White Collar on USA
10pm – Southland on TNT

Three-hours of Lost/Lost-related things on ABC. In case you weren’t getting this already, in the world of television, the final season of Lost is KIND OF A BIG DEAL. (And, of course, I don’t watch it…)

WEDNESDAY:
8pm – Human Target on FOX
10pm – CSI: NY on CBS
10pm – Leverage on CBS

I still haven’t even seen Human Target. Once I do, it may disappear from the weekly schedule (I have heard some fairly mediocre things).

THURSDAY:
8pm – Bones on FOX
9pm – Fringe on FOX
10pm – Project Runway on Lifetime

Fringe is another show that I REALLY NEED TO CATCH UP ON.

FRIDAY:
9pm – Caprica on SyFy

Also, last week’s episode is airing right before it (which is handy if you are like me and missed said previous week’s episode). In other Friday news, RIP DOLLHOUSE.

SATURDAY:
11:30pm – Saturday Night Live (Ashton Kutcher and Them Crooked Vultures) on NBC

It is amazing what goes for a bandname these days. There is no accounting for taste. At all.

Looking back at all the things that I’ve gotten behind on, it is going to be a very, very long time before I’m caught up. If that ever happens. Oy vay.

This Week 1/25 to 1/31

Tonight:
8pm – Chuck on NBC
8pm – House on FOX
9pm – Heroes on NBC
9pm – 24 on FOX
10pm – Castle on ABC

TUESDAY:
8pm – NCIS on CBS
9pm – NCIS: Los Angeles on CBS
10pm – White Collar on USA
10pm – Southland on TNT

WEDNESDAY:
10pm – Leverage on TNT

THURSDAY:
8pm – Bones on FOX
9pm – Fringe on FOX
10pm – Project Runway on Lifetime

FRIDAY:
8pm – Dollhouse (SERIES FINALE) on FOX
9pm – Caprica on SyFy

Once again, this is the SERIES FINALE of Dollhouse. It’s called “Epitaph Two: Return.” I am simultaneously majorly excited and extremely sad.

SATURDAY:
11:30pm – Saturday Night Live (Jon Hamm and Michael Buble) on NBC

SUNDAY:
8pm – Grammy Awards on CBS

I am still/again sick. And I still don’t have internet OR television service, so it’s not even particularly useful. STILL, I am trying my utmost to fulfill minimum blogbligations (e.g. Reaction Time on Tuesday). Also coming THIS WEEK (no, really!) Hindsight: BSG. Woo!

IN OTHER NEWS: It is my brother’s birthday. He doesn’t read this blog, so this is sort of an empty gesture, but it’s the thought that counts? HAPPY BIRTHDAY BROTHER.

Reaction Time: “Pass/Fail”

I’m so glad I got all caught up on Heroes for this week, because I think “Pass/Fail” might be my favorite episode this season.

Despite the polarity that the title seems to suggest, “Pass/Fail” was actually all about middle-ground and gray area – my very favorite thing, and the one element that, even in its worst moments (*COUGH*SeasonTwo*COUGH*) Heroes has managed to maintain.

Not a whole lot happened in terms of actual story progression, but some of the things that haven’t been all that clear so far in Season Four were fleshed out and given some real depth.

For starters, Hiro. Now, I’m a sucker for a good dream sequence no matter what the context or form is. But this was a great one. I feel like Hiro’s been the most altered character so far this season, and this was an excellent way of reminding everyone exactly what lies at the core of Heroes‘ least ambiguous good guy. (Nobility, and also quoting of Quantum Leap as testimony.) The whole sequence/plotline with the tumor still gets my disapproval because there was never even a remote possibility that Hiro was going to die. Miracle surgery (that the Japanese didn’t even think was possible?) and Magical Mommy Healing? Yikes. But at least the penultimate stage of Hiro’s storyline ended more or less satisfactorily. Extra bonus: George Takei in a judge robe and David Anders in a suit!

Moving on, this episode showed Samuel Sullivan at his absolute grayest. He’s generally expected as the bad guy, but he does what he does out of love? Mushy, cheesy, fourteen-year-old boy love? His better side was book-ended by the badder one – at the beginning he shaves with a straight razor (because he’s just that much of a badass), and at the end he makes the Earth swallow up a little town in the Midwest. Ultimately, he comes out scary as hell (possibly even more so than Sylar at his worst) and ready to do major damage. But the bulk of the episode shows a new aspect of his softer side – romantic love, not creepy cult leadership family love. And he’s partnered with the excellent Kate Vernon, who I like SO much better when she is not Ellen Tigh.

The third major event of “Pass/Fail” was probably my favorite. Putting Claire and Sylar (and Gretchen) together could have gone either very well or very VERY poorly. As it turns out, it was phenomenal.

Gretchen has been a highly confusing character all season. First, she was the least irritating Claire-friend since Zach and an intriguing potential villain. Then she became the face of all the wrongness that was the out-of-the-blue girls-kissing-for-ratings. But now, after this episode, I’m liking her again. She’s funny, and also just a really nice character, and Heroes doesn’t have those. Of course, to be fair, during the part of this episode where I liked her most, she was actually Sylar.

We didn’t get any definitive answers to the question I personally have been asking since Season One – “Why Claire Bennet?” – , but we got back in touch with the incredible grayness that is Gabriel Gray with success that hasn’t been reached since the first appearance of his mother. The odd connection between Claire and Sylar has been somewhat explained, and we may be headed toward An Actual New Development: Sylar without powers. By CHOICE. Wouldn’t that be wacky. I’m not sure why he’s off visiting Parkman(s). Maybe to get all the junk out of his head?

There was one MAJOR LEGENDARY FAIL in this part of the episode. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, I’ll assume that’s because you felt so much pain you suppressed the memory. I wish my brain would do that for me.

We’re coming in on the home stretch of Season Four, which may or may not be the ultimate end of Heroes. This is the time of the season when things need to start looking exciting and building up toward an explosive finale. And oh boy are they. I am super jazzed for the next few weeks.

Final Note:

Biggest Wtf Moment: Mohinder. Is that seriously all he’s going to do this ENTIRE season? Why in the world did they bring him back at all? He’s always been a little silly, but never THIS ridiculously peripheral. Oy vay.

Golden Globes Results!

I don’t know what it was, but for some reason this year’s Golden Globes were (almost completely) AMAZING in terms of the television winners!

THE WINNERS:

Best Drama Series: Mad Men (I’m sure you’re all shocked.)

Best Actress, Drama Series: Julianna Marguilies of The Good Wife (I am actually psyched about this, if for no better reason than it is great to have the winner not be Glenn Close or Kyra Sedgwick.)

Best Actor, Drama Series: Michael C. Hall of Dexter (YES YES YES YES YES YES OMG YES!!!!!)

Best Comedy or Musical Series: Glee (YESSSSSSS!!!)

Best Actress, Comedy or Musical Series: Toni Colette of United States of Tara (I have no feelings about this either way.)

Best Actor, Comedy or Musical Series: Alec Baldwin of 30 Rock (SOMEDAY his winning streak will end. I hope.)

Best Supporting Actress: Chloe Sevigny of Big Love (It has nothing to do with Chloe Sevigny herself, but I am SO DISAPPOINTED that Jane Lynch didn’t win.)

Best Supporting Actor: John Lithgow of Dexter (Again, a bit disappointed – because it isn’t NPH – but it’s John Lithgow, so I’m cool.)

So, in conclusion, Julianna Marguilies!, Michael C. Hall!!! GLEE!!!! Way to go, Golden Globes (also for your good choices in the movie categories). A solid start for awards season, I’d say.