Saturday, March 22, 2008

Time to talk TV

I realized I hadn't share any thoughts about what's gone down on the boob tube lately, so I figured I'd take some time and do that now.

Lost: I have to start with the best and more important one here first. Simply put, I have been loving this season. There have been so many great moments, whether they be in the form of shocking reveals, hilarious one-liners, or scenes full of drama and tension. There may be some who are uneasy about the introduction of time travel into the storylines, but I'm really intrigued by it. Speaking of time travel though, the most recent episode had us going back in time to see what Michael aka Kevin Johnson has been up to ever since Ben let him and Walt go. I was actually somewhat disappointed with this whole backstory. From a temporal perspective it seemed a bit of stretch for Michael to have made it back to the U.S., met Tom and then flown to the freighter all in the time since we last saw him. Plus, would Tom have been available to see Michael given how involved he was with island happenings last season? Hopefully those issues will be dealt with later on. As for the 'shocking' final seconds of the episode, I was disappointed to see Carl and (seemingly) Rousseau get killed off as I thought they were both good characters, but I also understand that their storylines had mainly come to an end and they served no real purpose. So the question is, who shot them? It's likely the Others, but I've learned that nothing is a given on this show. I'm certainly glad that the strike got resolved though as that would have been a terrible way for the season to end and not resume for a full year. Now we just have to wait a month and then watch the show come back with more awesomeness.

Survivor: For the most part, this has been a pretty awesome season of Survivor thus far, even though a lot of the more interesting people have been voted off already. Anytime you have people working hard at the strategic game and blindsiding people, it's always fun. Having said that, I am really disliking Cirie this season. She has been so damn smug about the way she's ousted people. I really hope other people catch on soon to the game that she's playing. I loved Ozzy's fake idol, as cheesy as it was. I'm really curious as to what Jason thinks at this point. Does he believe that stick is the idol? Does he truly believe that Ozzy has the idol or was he just grasping at straws hoping Ozzy would admit it? It's so nice to see both Chet and Kathy gone; they may go down as two of the most pathetic Survivor contestants either. Right now, I feel that this is anybody's game and I'm excited to see how it plays out when it returns in a couple of weeks after basketball is done.

Reaper: I forgot to tape this past week's episode, but did see the return episode last week. As much as I enjoy this show, I feel like it's been in a holding pattern for a while. I would like for the show to reveal some sort of grander plan of what's to come instead of having this be simply a 'lost soul of the week' show. I thought is was interesting how Sock's mom kicked him out. I know that this week's episode dealt with the three guys moving in together, which could be a sign of something else happening, or it could be just another mild diversion like the contract, or Cady possibly being the devil's daughter. They keep introducing these ideas but then never doing much with them, so like I said, hopefully that will soon change. This show is still very much on the bubble in terms of whether it will get picked up or not. I think the fact that the strike prevented a lot of new pilots from being made for next fall helps its chances of survival.

Aliens in America: It's the same old story with this one. The show always has nice, feel-good stories, but it's never laugh-out-loud funny. I've feel that this show has squandered a lot of potential. It's not bad, it's just not what I would like it to be. It's getting killed, ratings-wise, in its new Sunday timeslot, so I'm not sure how long this one will last.

Simpsons: I usually don't bother to mention this show, mostly because I only catch it when I can these days. However, I must give them credit as their last two episodes have been really solid. One was a parody of The Departed and the other had a Columbo-esque mystery in it. Both had a number of laughs and decent plots; usually it's one or the other with most of the new episodes. If you have some free time, I would suggest checking them out online. You can go to this new video hosting site, Hulu, and watch them for free. I may post at a later time some more thoughts on Hulu because it has the potential of changing the TV viewing landscape if it takes off, but for now just give it a look.

The Office: I know, I know. It's not back yet. I'm just as eager for new episodes as you are. So to help fill the void, here's some news from EW about what we can expect when the gang from Dunder Mifflin does return:
Michael and Jan (Melora Hardin) — who aren't exactly living in domestic bliss — throw a dinner party, complete with an ill-fated game of Celebrity. As for Jim-Pam, ''They're together and things are going strong...but are they?'' says Office exec producer Greg Daniels cryptically. Well...are they? ''Hard to judge,'' he answers. ''I'm not with them every moment.'' Let's ask someone who is: John Krasinski. ''They're a fantastic couple,'' he reports. ''They're very real. It's nice to see that a love story that people have waited for doesn't bend toward the gooey side.'' In other non-gooey relationship news, Angela (Angela Kinsey) finally gives in to the advances of Andy (Ed Helms). ''They're going to be like a very old preppy couple from the get-go,'' says Daniels. Meanwhile, Dwight (Rainn Wilson) — who's ''a seething cauldron of tension'' over Angela's new romance — enters a management training program that Jim hijacks. Plus, he'll sue some neighborhood kids in small-claims court. (''It's an agricultural dispute,'' explains Daniels.) We'll also meet the other tenants in the office park (''a mix of the attractive and the dangerous'') after a parking-space flap. And as for life outside Scranton, Ryan (B.J. Novak) is joined by Michael and Dwight for a night of NYC clubbing. How does that go? ''Have you been clubbing in New York recently?'' asks Daniels. ''Neither has Michael. It's really not his world

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Lost: This is what the story of the tailies should have been: engaging and long-lasting. Can you think of any reason to have had the tailies? Michael could have shot someone else, and that empty hatch where we saw Patchy's fake eye, well nothing ever came of that.

This season is great so far, and I don't mind the flash-forwards nearly as much as I thought I would.