Lost: The Variable

Sawyer: "Is he still crazy?"
Miles: "It's on a whole new level, man."

I have to say that I'm just floored. That Eloise. What a bitch.

Fringe: Midnight

“Alone in a darkened room.”
“I wanna tear you apart.”

We’ve only got two episodes left of this, our first season in the Fringe Division. Some major answers seem to be coming, and many of them appear to revolve around William Bell and the role of Massive Dynamics in the experimentations on human beings. Could it all be as simple as figuring out that William Bell is a bad guy? And how does that relate to our Theme of the Week, redemption?

Caprica

I should tell you that I was hesitant about reviewing Caprica because of my disappointment of the final years of Battlestar Galactica. However, I have always been fascinated by history and this seemed like a window into Ron Moore’s vision of what life on the 12 Colonies was all about. So I pressed on and purchased the Caprica dvd. Immediately, I was concerned that this extended version of the pilot runs at only 1 hour 30 min compared to the Battlestar Galactica Mini-series that re-launched the show. There is an overall feel of a very small budget as the virtual nightclub scene is repeatedly used to the detriment of overall pacing. I did not feel any real interest until about 20 minutes into the pilot. Although, once we see some slightly familiar mechanical friends, that’s where the money is well spent. Overall this does not have the epic nature of BSG, its far more intimate and confined. This really strikes me when the credits roll and I see how few names are listed.

As the show begins we get a glimpse of what life is like for our two main families, the family Adams and the family Graystone. Joseph Adams played by Esai Morales, is not the great civil liberties lawyer we heard about in BSG, rather he works as a lawyer for a crime syndicate made up of other Taurons, including his brother Sam and run by a Godfather who evokes Lee Strasberg as Hyman Roth more than Brando’s Vito Corleone. I am instantly drawn into this underworld and hungry for Tauron culture as names are pronounced with an ethnic ring to them.

Then we have Daniel Graystone played by Eric Stoltz as a wealthy computer genius working on a combat robot that will make or break his company. He and his wife, played by Deadwood's Paula Malcomson are having issues with their daughter Zoe, something of a genius like her father. She has hacked a virtual reality system that the children of Caprica use to escape and engage in extreme forms of entertainment. At first it seems this is a sign of the decadent society of Caprica. Yet I would agrue that it would almost bolster an argument that the children of Caprica are not so lost if they are acting out these fantasies with VR instead of real life.

Tragedy strikes and seems to bring Joseph and Daniel together as they grieve over their loss. This is where the true nature of our story takes place, the temptation that is put before both of these men. For Joseph, he has already faced a life of hardship and has worked through it to become a lawyer. He makes compromises all the time (pay attention to the knowing glance he gives a judge during his court room scene) and is used to living with such consequences. Daniel on the other hand has created wealth by using technology to overcome problems with seemingly little compromise. Joseph born as a “dirt-eater” or peasant on Tauron is more “down to Earth” as it were. Daniel in his clean and pristine house on the lake, loaded with technology represents science and man’s lack of humanity. Watch as his wife and daughter argue, he is dispassionate and is removed.
Perhaps its this great personal loss that causes Joseph to stop running from his past and embrace it. To acknowledge to his son that he is not an Adams but is proud to be an Adama. He returns to his earthy roots instead of retreating into an artificial reality as Graystone does.

There are of course some other plot lines regarding religious zealots and the crime syndicate. But those pale in comparison to the human drama of what these two fathers are going through and how each of them decides to ultimately deal with it. Without spoiling anything, there is a point where I sat watching Joseph and Daniel talk and I asked myself…how are they even at this point in their relationship….and in this scene lies a moment of genius that I’ve seen from Ron Moore. The question is answered for me. That’s when it strikes me how much potential this show may have. Yet much of it seems stripped away by the revelation at the end as the implications of that moment thoroughly destroy the end of BSG. Also, watching the scenes regarding the “Soldiers of the One” makes me feel like I am viewing someone prepare a sheep for slaughter. I want to look away because I know how it will ultimately end. I don’t want to get attached to the creature for I know it’s fate will not end well.

However, the brilliant performances of Morales and Stoltz will likely pull me into this show once it begins in full swing. Then we’ll see if Ron Moore can deliver something more than a simple retelling of Frankenstein meets The Monkey’s Paw.

Heroes: An Invisible Thread

Hiro: "Payback is very bitchy."

They didn't go flashy; they went smart. What an interesting choice for a season finale. Not that it wasn't cool, because it was. The second half in particular.

I've always liked Nathan as a character, at least until they started frakking around with his motivation. And now he's dead. (I should have known the moment he "came out of the closet" with his powers that it was curtains for Nathan. Lacy, gently wafting curtains.)

But as fond as I am of Nathan as a character, I'm much fonder of Adrian Pasdar as an actor. How long will he be playing Sylar? A few episodes? Permanently? Will he need Matt to stop by and give him periodic booster brain wipes? Has Zachary Quinto been written out to do Star Trek movies while his character remains? I'm actually interested in where they go with this. I really was ready for the end of Sylar because I didn't think there was anything else they could do with him. Guess I was wrong.

And of course, "imprinting" Sylar with Nathan was a huge mistake. You can forcefeed him with memories and make him attend joint sessions of Congress, but won't Sylar still be evil at his core? Won't the real Sylar eventually emerge? Of course, he will. What would be the point if he didn't?

So Peter did pick up all of Sylar's powers when he touched him, and then he outsmarted him by becoming the president first. (Can I call it, or what?) But what about now? Will Peter hang on to all of Sylar's powers indefinitely, until he purposefully touches someone else? Would touching "Nathan" again restore them?

While Sylar was becoming a cast member of Dollhouse, Hiro with the nosebleeds and exploding brain was visiting this season of Lost. Although I did love the Noah/Danko frozen handshake, as well as Hiro and Ando replacing all of the unconscious heroes with frozen soldiers.

So fun was had. This was a clever, visually exciting, and well written episode. But I'm not sure I'm completely back on board. You know why? Nathan's actual death should have upset me, and it didn't. I don't think I'm emotionally involved any more.

Bits and pieces:

-- Viking funeral, too, like on Supernatural. So we had Dollhouse, Lost, *and* Supernatural, my three favorite currently running shows. No wonder this episode felt mildly familiar.

-- Whatever happened to the red goop brigade? Is it a dropped plot, or will we hear about it in the future?

-- "End of volume four. Volume five: Redemption." Tracy's back. Or is it Barbara? And lots of ticking. We know Sylar is in there.

Yes, they pulled it out. Yes, there will be a fourth season. But even though I'll definitely keep watching, I'm unsure about whether or not I'm still fan enough to want to review season four. Please post a comment and tell me what you think. Do you still love Heroes? Do you feel strongly about me continuing to review it? Or should I give a reviewing slot to another show? (I can only do so many. :)

Billie

All of my Heroes reviews are archived here.

Chuck: Chuck versus the Ring

“The BuyMore is no more.”

It’s pretty much impossible—even if you live spoiler-clean—to avoid going into a season finale with certain expectations. All of us here on billiedoux.com seemed more apprehensive than anything else: how, with the sense of loose ends tied and threads snipped, could we get anything other than the series finale we’re all fearing?

The promos for the season finale made me expect an entirely wedding-centric episode, with a largish gun battle at the end, the victory of good over evil, and Sarah and Chuck walking happily into the sunset. Maybe Casey could even meet a special honey at the reception. Given Chuck’s ambiguous fate, I assumed the Powers that Be would wrap things up and, if necessary, reboot next fall.

I was dead wrong. (And please, don’t read the rest of this review until you’ve watched the episode.)

The wedding battle came way, way earlier than I’d expected, which gave Chuck a great excuse to blow his massive tax refund/spy bailout/hush money on Wedding 2.0 with some hilarious help from the Special Forces. Ellie and Awesome are now married. So that’s all good. And by the way, did you notice that Sarah’s bridesmaid dress had a detachable skirt? Most dresses don’t have that kind of promise built right into the design. Or maybe I’ve just been in the wrong weddings.

What isn’t good (or maybe it is?) is Chuck’s decision to download Intersect 3.0. Sarah had been willing to give it all up for him, and he’d already nixed the analyst job (I guess the general and I think alike), so he had the chance to finally make his dream come true. Instead, he chose to reload his mental firepower. The kung-fu skills were an unknown extra—and hey! Chuck finally got those superpowers he’s always wanted.

Earlier in the episode, Morgan and Chuck had a heart-to-heart about the difficulty of following one’s dream: it’s risky and hard, and the bigger the dream, the riskier and harder it will be to achieve. Chuck’s dream has always been to be with Sarah, right? So was he so scared to risk his heart that he uploaded the Intersect again? Or did he realize that the “greater good” was more important this his own happiness? Or did he finally decide that he likes being a spy? That last one seems like the easiest answer, but I’m not sure. Chuck has always been a bit gun-shy. He’s worked at a BuyMore for a billion years, for goodness sake. Is being a spy his excuse for not getting serious with Sarah?

Bryce Larson said Fulcrum is just one part of “The Ring,” and the baddies in the Castle weren’t affiliated with Fulcrum but were still up to no good. Sounds a bit like Tolkien-level evil to me, which is something to look forward to. Speaking of which, if next season happens . . . well, what would be different? Chuck kickin’ ass instead of just flashing names, for one. The possible removal of the BuyMore from the story (it has been an odd fit, especially lately). Awesome knows Chuck is a spy, which means Ellie has got to know at some point. Chuck and Sarah are back to work versus love. And they didn’t even get to have sex.

The past few episodes have been so darn good. I really hope that they renew for next year, even just 13 episodes. I’ll let you all know when I know, which I think is sometime in May.

In the meantime, please enjoy these Refreshing Quotes:

• Casey: “If you were a true patriot, you wouldn’t cash it.”

• Chuck: “See, guys can hug.”
Casey: “Not if they don’t have their man parts.”

• Chevy Chase: “If you don’t deliver that cube within a half hour, forty minutes, top, with traffic, I’m going to kill the bride.”

• Papa Awesome: “Why are you letting Sam Kinnison and an Indian lesbian wreck your wedding?”

• Chevy Chase: “A real shotgun wedding. Just think: that terrible pun will be the last thing you’ll ever hear.”

• Casey: “No, no, no. That clashes with the bunting.”

• Casey: “Oh, chuck me.”

• Chuck: “Guys, I know kung-fu.”

Four out of four sexy, possibly evil and certainly overly pragmatic, guest-starring, surprising, former college roommates who sacrifice everything and leave Sarah’s heart free. In other words, four out of four Bryce Larkins. May he rest in peace.

All of my Chuck reviews are archived here.
(Season 2, episode 22)

Summer reviewing plans, part one

The finales are coming. The summer television wasteland will be here before you know it.

Summer has always been my time to regroup and let my brain air out while I catch up on retro reviews. But this summer, it'll be different. It won't be just me. This summer, I have (let me pause while I rub my hands together and cackle) GUEST WRITERS. Mwa-ha-ha-ha.

This summer, Paul Kelly and I will post reviews of the first four seasons of the new Doctor Who. Paul is doing Rose (seasons 1 and 2), while I'm doing Martha and Donna (3 and 4). What makes these reviews different than anything I've done before is that we're collaborating. I'll be adding a section of my own to Paul's reviews, and he'll be doing the same for me. Is that cool, or what?

The Doctor Who reviews will start going up on May 1 -- here on the blog first, and then archived on my site. We're hoping to do one season per month so we'll be caught up by September. And I hope you'll watch -- or re-watch -- the first four seasons with us. You don't have to be familiar with the old Who to watch the new Who. Take it from me, because I'm new to Who, too.

My other summer plans? I'm going to finish Highlander. I was so close to the end when I had to stop, and I'm incapable of leaving a show unfinished. And I'm thinking pretty seriously about Torchwood. Doing the new Doctor Who without its crossover spinoff Torchwood would be like yummy popcorn but without butter and salt. I love Torchwood, mostly because I love Captain Jack. How can you not love a bisexual immortal time traveler who looks like John Barrowman? Plus, hey, James Marsters guest starred. Another big incentive for me.

Our other guest writers also have some intriguing summer plans that are still in the planning stages, so check back for further announcements. This is going to be the most exciting reviewing summer I've ever had. I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to it. (cackle, cackle.)

Dollhouse: Haunted

Boyd: "So we can give you life after death."
Topher: "Only if we really like you."

The preview for this episode turned me off. Just a murder mystery with a twist, I thought. So I wasn't expecting it to be so good. Stories like this one are what I was originally hoping Dollhouse could be.

Supernatural: Jump the Shark

Dean: "Adam doesn't have to be cursed."
Sam: "He's a Winchester. He's already cursed."

Creepy. Nightmare-inducing. Also tragic.

Smallville: Stiletto

Lois: "Next time, I call myself Nike."

Fun, frothy episode. A lot of Lois and her superhero jones, which is always good. And some primo Lois and Clark stuff. Yay.

Fringe: Bad Dreams

“Gruesome.”

Cortexiphan, an experimental drug, heightens perception and can possibly allow transportation to a parallel universe. A hyperemotive part-time psychotic with suicidal ideations who is given the drug as a child can therefore cause his emotions to become contagious. A person with whom this Typhoid Mary of the mind had formed a childhood bond could then become part of the moment in which these emotions reach the crisis point, resulting in images of the crisis (murder, suicide, whatever) to be experienced by the bondee. Said person, coincidentally, is our heroine Olivia Dunham.

Heroes: I am Sylar

Sylar: "Agent Talb is nothing. I don't like being a nothing."

Since Sylar shapeshifts using DNA, he's also acquiring personality traits as well as extra teeth. Not as much fun as Sylar thought it would be, huh? And it's funny how becoming someone else -- a lot of someone elses -- took Sylar back to who he originally was: his mother's killer. Hey, it always goes back to Mom in the end, doesn't it? Revisiting Virginia Grey the way they did gave her murder the emotional weight it deserved. And Sylar had to acknowledge that killing his mother is where he lost himself.

If Danko's knife thingy didn't work, how can Sylar be defeated? Tag teaming and a special sword won't get it done this time. And if Sylar is in the body of the president, that puts an even wilder spin on the situation. You know, this is actually intriguing. There are so many ways they could go with this. Micah seems to think Sylar can save all of the heroes; turning back to the light would be a twist, and the way Sylar kept Micah alive and covered for him was a hint that they might go there. Except Sylar has changed directions before. Been there, done that.

If Sylar is unkillable, does that mean he'll have to kill himself?

The Hiro/Ando stuff was again fun -- at first -- with Batman and Superman and the Crimson Arc. But then it got a bit deeper when it became obvious how threatened Hiro was by no longer not-special Ando. And then it took a serious turn and slammed into a wall. Did Hiro's power short out? It looked like it could kill him, like an aneurysm. Did Ando's amplification power have something to do with it?

And cliffhanger, with Noah, Claire and Angela taken prisoner. What happened to Peter? I doubt he was in the back seat of that car, too. If we know Peter, and we do, he's probably off after Nathan. What would happen if Peter touched Sylar? Would he get the whole kit and kaboodle of Sylar powers? Maybe that's the answer. And that actually would be sort of like Sylar killing himself, wouldn't it?

This episode was mostly Zachary Quinto. He's one of the brighter lights of this series, no doubt about it, and centering an episode around him was a smart move. But I also think that Sylar as a character may have run his course. They've done everything with him. What else can they do?

Bits and pieces:

-- Bloody cuts on Sylar's arm for the title credits? Clever. I think that was my favorite so far.

-- In the opener, Sylar took out Tom Miller of Richmond, Virginia (played by Ron Howard's brother, Clint). Tom could demolecularize things. I wonder if that particular power is going to be important in the finale?

-- A bunch of guys with machine guns chasing a little boy. I guess I must still care about Micah, because I sure didn't want him to die.

-- Looks like the Parkmans are going to get back together. If Matt survives the finale, that is.

-- Note the little jab about the president who likes to talk about change. Is it still going to be Michael Dorn?

Quotes:

Sylar: "One of my eyes stayed blue for over an hour yesterday."

Hiro: "The Crimson Arc?"
Ando: "My superhero alias. What do you think?"
Hiro: "It's good. Dangerous, yet ladylike."

Ando: "You're noble like Superman. Believe in truth and justice like Superman. You're a little fascist like Superman."
Hiro: "I'm not a little fascist."
Ando: "You're a lot fascist."

Hiro: "I just think Crimson Arc has unfortunate connotations."

Ando: "I've graduated from bait to possum?"
That really wasn't nice of Hiro. He's used Ando too many times.

One more to go. Will they be able to pull a truly cool finale out of this see-saw of a season?

Billie

All of my Heroes reviews are archived here.

Chuck: Chuck versus the Colonel

“Do you want to be a loser for the rest of your life?”

So much happened in this episode that I don’t even know where to begin. Chuck and Sara on the run, hunted by Casey. Scott Bakula locked in a room (and who hasn’t dreamt of that?) and trying desperately to communicate with his son. Beautiful and sunny Barstow, which is now just a fireball memory. I keep harping on the sense of finality of these past few mythos-heavy episodes, but I don’t think I’m over-analyzing. In just 45 minutes, everything ended. And many other things began.

When Chuck and Sara were on the run all by their lonesomes, Casey’s sangfroid at hunting down the two people that he’d spent an inordinate amount of time with for two years was really disturbing, as was his willingness to do the wrong thing just for a promotion. I’m not actually sure that him being willing to help them out, in the second half of the episode, was that reassuring, either: he did it so that he could keep his word to Chuck, not out of any sense of moral duty to his buddies. While I enjoy many cop and federal government shows, I have always been a bit freaked out by the wanton use of lethal force by our government, and the creepiness of heroes being people who constantly intrude on reasonable expectations of privacy. When the Major asked Casey to hunt Chuck and Sara “dead or alive,”—well, that really brought it home for me.

Chevy Chase’s plan to build an army of Intersect-loaded Fulcrum agents did seem destined for the fate of all over-reaching Napoleons: scorched earth. Specifically, scorched Barstow. At least now I know why I don’t know anyone from Barstow, or anyone who has visited it: its only resident is a rocking-horse seal on a spring (now deceased).

The pragmatism of using all the snafus to bolster Casey’s promotion and keep Sara and Chuck safe was probably wise, although I’m surprised the General bought it. And now Chuck is free of his burden, at least until next week.

The coitus interruptus between Chuck and Sara was hilarious. Whenever characters on TV have spontaneous sex, I always wonder why they’re not using a condom, and now I know. Morgan, you sneaky bastard!

Back in Burbank, Awesome got locked in Casey’s apartment, and almost caved under Ellie’s questioning. It was nice to see that Awesome has his weakness: he really is a horrible liar. I worried that he would pass out when Ellie confronted him in the kitchen.

The Godfather—or should I say, The Stepfather?—theme continued at the BuyMore, with game-changing results: Morgan is off to Hawaii to become a Bachi chef. (I must admit, I don’t know what this is, and I don’t even know how to spell it, so I can’t look it up. It seems to involve knives. Assistance would be welcome.) Big Mike is going to look after Morgan’s mother, UTI and everything. UPDATE: Morgan is going to become a hibachi chef. Thanks, dear readers!

So how will it end? Going into next week’s episode, which looks (dare I say it?) awesome, we have Chuck and Sara finally together and friends with Casey, Morgan on his chef-pilgrimage, Ellie and Awesome about to get married, Scott Bakula back with his family and done being a spy, Chuck not the Intersect . . . and Chevy Chase hangin’ out with a trucker. They're calling it a “season finale,” but I’m not sure that means much.

Bytes:

• The mini-dynamite (dynamini?).

• The condom thing. (Yep, it gets two mentions.)

• Was Jeff and Lester’s dialogue about bacon from Wayne’s World?

• Chevy Chase as a motivational speaker at the drive-thru.

And Pieces:

• Emmett: “Not many people in our line of work can afford friends.”

• Casey: “Nerd bludgeoned by radiator.”
Chuck: “You can’t kill me with that radiator. It is far too confined in this car for you to get the appropriate torque.”

• Casey: “I hate this whole family.”

• The Major: “In the meantime, enjoy your last few minutes in Burbank, Colonel Casey.”

• Awesome: “There was a time in my life when I didn’t have a lot going on: dead-end job, no girl. . .”
Casey: “Really?”
Awesome: “Well, no.”

Four out of four scorched Barstows.

All of my Chuck reviews are archived here.
(Season 2, episode 21)

Plagiarism for fun and, well, not profit

I've been plagiarized.

"GotalSaiyajin" on TV.com has been stealing my reviews of numerous shows: Lost, Alias, Buffy, Angel, Battlestar Galactica, Dexter, Highlander. Since he's put up a couple of hundred reviews, I haven't even had time to document all of the word thievery. But after some analysis, I can report that he also steals consistently from a reviewer named Samuel Walters at DauntlessMedia. (Why were Sam and I so lucky? Maybe we should be flattered.)

Here is the plagiarist. His profile, which he took down after I started complaining about him a few days ago, said that he's a dental student from Romania. (As I said in my most recent Lost review after that filling killed poor Alvarez, I knew dentistry was evil.) (Okay, dentistry isn't evil. Sorry about that.) The plagiarist's latest blog entry says he was upset because he wanted to copy someone's test paper and that person wouldn't let him and wasn't she mean? Clearly, he sees nothing wrong in stealing someone else's work.

http://www.tv.com/users/GotalSaiyajin/profile.php

Because I've been asked to supply details, here's the nitty gritty. And this was only a few selected pages. There are two hundred reviews in there, and obviously, nearly every review was stolen; I could have spent all day documenting this crap. A few of the earliest reviews, poorly written and full of grammatical errors, might be his own work.

If you'd like to keep up with this situation, I plan to post updates at the bottom -- so feel free to skip the nitty and go down to the end.

I'd also like to thank MovieMark for bringing the whole situation to my attention. I never would have known if it weren't for him.

http://www.tv.com/users/GotalSaiyajin/history.php?pg_user_reviews=0

Alias "The Nemesis"

His review:
Lauren is now free to focus on the Lazarey murder, but she can't tell Vaughn she's doing it. Vaughn knows who killed Lazarey, but he's forced to protect Sydney and lie to Lauren. It's having an effect on their marriage already. And Vaughn gave Sydney a lingering look while he was fastening the X-cam necklace. A romantic implosion must be approaching. We can only hope. Allison is alive, and miraculously healed after six months in a Covenant hospital in Marseilles. Is it me, or does she have too much of an attitude now that she's not pretending to be Francie any more? Too bad Sydney didn't kill her.

Two paragraphs from my review, which is much longer:
http://www.billiedoux.com/alias3x6.html
Lauren is now free to focus on the Lazarey murder, but she can't tell Vaughn she's doing it. Vaughn knows who killed Lazarey, but he's forced to protect Sydney and lie to Lauren. It's having an effect on their marriage already. And Vaughn gave Sydney a lingering look while he was fastening the X-cam necklace. A romantic implosion must be approaching. We can only hope.

Allison is alive, and miraculously healed after six months in a Covenant hospital in Marseilles. Is it me, or does she have too much of an attitude now that she's not pretending to be Francie any more? Too bad Sydney didn't kill her.

-------------------------------

http://www.tv.com/users/GotalSaiyajin/history.php?pg_user_reviews=5

Alias "Cypher"

His review:
Irina continued to manipulate away, and I think she's making progress with Sydney. But she certainly isn't getting anywhere with Jack, at least not yet; whatever Irina was trying to sell Jack with that speech about their marriage, he wasn't buying. I was sorta hoping for more fireworks. Ah, well; the season is young. Vaughn and Will finally met, and Will almost instantly picked up on Vaughn's feelings for Sydney. Will seems to be handling the complete obliteration of his former life with humor and aplomb. He's also bunking with Sydney and Francie; that's a situation fraught with possible peril.

Two paragraphs from my review:
http://www.billiedoux.com/alias2x3.html
Irina continued to manipulate away, and I think she's making progress with Sydney. But she certainly isn't getting anywhere with Jack, at least not yet; whatever Irina was trying to sell Jack with that speech about their marriage, he wasn't buying. I was sorta hoping for more fireworks. Ah, well; the season is young.

Vaughn and Will finally met, and Will almost instantly picked up on Vaughn's feelings for Sydney. Will seems to be handling the complete obliteration of his former life with humor and aplomb. He's also bunking with Sydney and Francie; that's a situation fraught with possible peril.

-------------------------------

http://www.tv.com/users/GotalSaiyajin/history.php?pg_user_reviews=10

Now, this page is a multi-show extravaganza of rip-off.

Angel "City of"

His review:
One of the advantages of a spin-off series is that the actors and writers are already comfortable with their characters. Boreanaz really knows his character by now, and it shows. I couldn't help but notice that Angel seemed a lot more comfortable as a dark hero in L.A. than he did as a teenager's love interest in the sticks. He was definitely able to carry the lead role, and I think they're going to let him stay in touch with his inner monster. I've always rather liked Cordelia, too, and I think her shallow materialism and uninhibited narcissism complements Angel's angst and depression very well. Poor Cordy isn't used to failure, and that was rather endearing. I really enjoyed the scene where she figured out in fairly short order that Russell was a vamp. She didn't grow up in Sunnydale for nothing.

Two paragraphs from my review:
http://www.billiedoux.com/angel1x1.html
One of the advantages of a spin-off series is that the actors and writers are already comfortable with their characters. Boreanaz really knows his character by now, and it shows. I couldn't help but notice that Angel seemed a lot more comfortable as a dark hero in L.A. than he did as a teenager's love interest in the sticks. He was definitely able to carry the lead role, and I think they're going to let him stay in touch with his inner monster.

I've always rather liked Cordelia, too, and I think her shallow materialism and uninhibited narcissism complements Angel's angst and depression very well. Poor Cordy isn't used to failure, and that was rather endearing. I really enjoyed the scene where she figured out in fairly short order that Russell was a vamp. She didn't grow up in Sunnydale for nothing.

Battlestar Galactica "Daybreak part 2"

His review:
I completely understand why the Colonials and Cylons chose to do what they did, to break the cycle once and for all. But the more I thought about it, the more it disturbed me. By destroying all of their ships and scattering into small groups around the globe, they chose to completely obliterate their culture. It was like they never existed; only some of their genes remained. Kara Thrace really did lead them to their end. And the ambiguous coda in Times Square suggested that the cycle may very well assert itself here on Earth, today. Roslin saying goodbye to Cottle. Adama giving his stars to Hoshi. Starbuck kissing Anders goodbye, and him guiding the fleet into the Sun. Adama in a viper, leaving Galactica for the last time. Adama and Lee saying goodbye forever. Roslin dying during that lovely Out of Africa moment, and Adama putting his ring on her dead finger. At least she made it to the end of the journey. Adama built that cabin for her, after all.

Two paragraphs from my review:
http://www.billiedoux.com/bsg4x20.html
[bottom]
I completely understand why the Colonials and Cylons chose to do what they did, to break the cycle once and for all. But the more I thought about it, the more it disturbed me. By destroying all of their ships and scattering into small groups around the globe, they chose to completely obliterate their culture. It was like they never existed; only some of their genes remained. Kara Thrace really did lead them to their end. And the ambiguous coda in Times Square suggested that the cycle may very well assert itself here on Earth, today.
[middle]
If you've read any of my reviews, you know I'm a wuss. I got choked up over and over again. Roslin saying goodbye to Cottle. Adama giving his stars to Hoshi. Starbuck kissing Anders goodbye, and him guiding the fleet into the Sun. Adama in a viper, leaving Galactica for the last time. Adama and Lee saying goodbye forever. Roslin dying during that lovely Out of Africa moment, and Adama putting his ring on her dead finger. At least she made it to the end of the journey. Adama built that cabin for her, after all.

The Knight Rider review at the bottom is stolen from Samuel Walters, Dauntlessmedia.net:
http://dauntlessmedia.net/knight-rider/102-journey-to-the-end-of-knight-review.html

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http://www.tv.com/users/GotalSaiyajin/history.php?pg_user_reviews=15

This page has reviews stolen from Samuel Walters, DauntlessMedia. Here are two.

X-Files:
http://dauntlessmedia.net/x-files/season1/179-pilot.html

Lost:
http://dauntlessmedia.net/lost/413-theres-no-place-like-home-parts-2-3.html

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http://www.tv.com/users/GotalSaiyajin/history.php?pg_user_reviews=35


Here, he returns to plagiarizing me -- Lost reviews "Orientation", "Adrift", "Man of Science, Man of Faith." I don't really need to quote paragraphs at this point, do I?

http://www.billiedoux.com/lost2x1.html
http://www.billiedoux.com/lost2x2.html
http://www.billiedoux.com/lost2x3.html

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http://www.tv.com/users/GotalSaiyajin/history.php?pg_user_reviews=45

The first Dexter review is apparently stolen from MovieTome, although I can't access it because I'm not a member. Search a quoted line on Google and see for yourself.

The second Dexter review of "Seeing Red" is two paragraphs of my review.
http://www.billiedoux.com/dexter1x10.html

Personally, I want this Gotal character gone. And I would like to assure him that from here on out, I'll be searching random selections of my reviews online every few weeks to make certain it doesn't happen again.

UPDATES:

So far: A TV.com moderator has assured me that they'll be looking into this situation on Monday.

UPDATE SUNDAY NIGHT: Mr. Serial Plagiarist is obviously reading my blog because he started deleting the reviews I specifically mentioned. And to think he told me that he *couldn't* delete them because his roommate put them up! What a load of hooey. Guess he can tell what's coming. Maybe he doesn't know that even if he deletes them, TV.com still has access to them.

UPDATE MID-DAY MONDAY: I've been checking off and on and I just noticed that *all* of Mr. Serial Plagiarist's reviews are now gone! Yay!

UPDATE MONDAY NIGHT: A TV.com rep has told me that Mr. Serial Plagiarist has gotten a five day suspension. That's it. Five days, and he gets to come back and do it all again. They have rules about progressive moderation, and apparently, stealing 200 reviews isn't enough to get booted. What do you have to do to get booted from TV.com? Stalk someone? Shoot puppies? I personally feel that such excessive plagiarism is more than enough. I also feel that I spent a lot of time on this problem, and as a member of TV.com, I have not been fairly treated.

I was one of the original featured reviewers on TV Tome before it was bought out by TV.com. I've posted reviews here and there since the buy-out just to keep my hand in, and I do get referral hits from TV.com now and then. But I'm very tempted at this point to just close up my tent, remove my reviews, and delete my account.

FINAL UPDATE, TUESDAY NIGHT: I have been told by a TV.com rep that Mr. Serial Plagiarist has been banned from TV.com, after all. I'm pleased that TV.com came through and took this action, and not just because of me. Thinking he can get away with stealing other people's work would not do him any favors in life. Plagiarism could lose the guy his career. I wish him... I was about to say I wish him well. I don't. But I hope he learns something from this experience.

YET ANOTHER UPDATE, THURSDAY NIGHT: Just when I thought it was over, I got an email last night from another alert reader (thank you so much, Shabeeh) who found another person on TV.com who was also plagiarizing my reviews. I reported it last night. I was told tonight that the reviews are now gone and the person has been disciplined or moderated or something. I was encouraged to use the "report abuse" button if this happens again.

I'm starting to think the format of TV.com has something to do with this. If you can't write and you want points -- and you have no conscience -- what do you do? I can't be the only writer that has been plagiarized like this on TV.com. I was just lucky enough to find out about it.

Lost: Some Like It Hoth

Hurley: "It all could have been avoided if they just, you know, communicated. Let's face it. Ewoks suck, dude."

Nice backstory for Miles. I've grown to like Miles. But I don't think we really learned much about him that we didn't already know.

Chuck: Chuck versus the First Kill

“NSA, Fulcrum, the CIA—they’re all the same. They all lie.”

Things are really heating up for Chuck. His attempts to get his father back led to his first, and second, kill (the Morgan really is a doozey), as well as a firefight to end all firefights. Enemies united in an attempt to save our hero, and Casey got to act like a window-washing badass. All good things and great television.

But Operation Moron, as Casey calls it, is going to be shut down, and Chuck secreted away to a secure facility…unless his far from fool-proof plan to track down his father in the desert actually works. Sarah’s willingness to commit treason for her beloved speaks volumes, but it’s got me a little worried: if this really is the end of Chuck, how can guns, treason, deadbeat spydads, and a mysterious location called the Black Rock possibly lead to a happy ending?

What would a happy ending even be? Chuck making use of his Stanford degree to get a real, non-spy job, I guess. Although I’m starting to think that all of LA is one big spy city. Sarah leaving behind the intelligence game and settling down (as a…what? Second-grade teacher?) to be with Chuck. The death by boiling water of Emmett the Usurper. Casey, of course, would still be a spy. Can the show possible get from where it is now, to there, in just two episodes?

At the BuyMore, Emmett’s Machiavellian machinations led to the coup de tech, with some residual fallout between Morgan and Big Mike, his almost-stepfather. Everything is falling apart.

Bytes:

Emmett: “You test me, and you’ll be flippin’ burgers in Encino for the rest of your life.”

Casey: “And since the new administration discontinued waterboarding, Fulcrum agents don’t talk.”

Casey: “Congratulations, Bartowski. You now qualify for conjugal visits.”

Chuck: “You can’t shoot us, because the whole family will hear it.”
Uncle Bernie: “You’re right. But I can beat you to death.”

Emmett: “Every many has a weakness to exploit. Mine is Renaissance Faires.”

Chuck: “Please tell me where my father is.”
Fulcrum Guy: “Or what, you’ll drop me?”
Chuck: “Of course not—that’s a horrible thing to do.”
Fulcrum Guy: “Really?”

Casey: “Operation Moron is over.”

And Pieces:

Morgan’s logic in the anit-Emmett planning scene resembled Vizzini’s from The Princess Bride.

Jill’s parents were bizarrely clueless. Like something out of a John Cheever story that accidentally went undercover.

Fulcrum calls its new recruits “comrades,” and one of their posters said “None of is us as smart as all of us.” It’s a nifty callback to shows like Get Smart and the Red Scare of worldwide brainwashing.

Morgan and Big Mike kissing: can a scene be both Godfather-y and really disturbing?

This episode was such a cliffhanger that it’s almost a two-parter. I’m worried, fearful, biting my fingernails in dread and concern. And I want to reserve judgment on the emotional fallout until next week. Hopefully by then, or the week after, everything will come up roses.

Four out of four Comrades.

All of my Chuck reviews are archived here.
(Season 2, episode 20)

Heroes: 1961

Angela: "Say good night, Alice."
Alice: "Goodnight, Alice."

I thought at first that this episode was Heroes continuing to reinvent itself. But instead, it took us back to the core story and filled in a lot of holes. And it got the Petrelli family back together, which is a good thing.

Did they have to dig up all those graves? Peter had a point about them all just sitting down and talking about it in a restaurant, although that would have been a lot less moody and dramatic. And I really had a hard time swallowing the idea that any sister of Angela Petrelli's would spend fifty plus years of her life hiding in a hole in the ground waiting for Angela to come back. Plus, flashback Alice had big dark eyes and present day Alice had pale blue eyes, and it was jarring. I mean, come on. Contacts, people.

But it was fun seeing sixteen-year-old Angela meet and bond with Charles Deveaux, Bob Bishop, and Linderman (what was his first name again?) as they talked about forming the Company while eating fries at the Coyote Sands Cafe. Followed by the extended Petrelli family doing the same thing, and possibly preparing to repeat the original Company's mistakes.

But... lots of buts... I was disconcerted by the reboot of Chandra Suresh as Mengele. I could have sworn Chandra Suresh discovered the broken helix and the gifted people because of Mohinder's dead sister. Am I remembering it wrong? Maybe the answers are in that can of film. I'm sure we'll be seeing the film at some point.

Sylar *again* wound up impersonating Nathan. This time in the present, though, not in a never gonna happen future. Are we working up to a repeat of Kirby Plaza at the end of season one, with the Petrellis and the other heroes all fighting Sylar? If so, I hope this time they do it right.

Bits and pieces:

-- The flashbacks took place in February through May, 1961. Good casting of young Angela and young Charles in particular, even though much of the flashback acting was a bit wooden and the black-and-white prison camp photography had delusions of Schindler's List.

-- I liked the callback to Angela shoplifting socks for Alice. That was a nice bit. Another possibly out of character loose end neatly tied up.

-- There was a sign on the door of the cabin: "Home is not where you live, but where they understand you." If that's so, then my home is my web site.

-- Alice was deeply into Alice in Wonderland (or more accurately, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland), which was my favorite book as well. I kept thinking that Claire looked like the Alice illustrations.

-- Charles Deveaux had Matt's gift. That explains some of what happened with Peter when Charles was dying.

Not bad. Not great. Two out of four stars,

Billie

All of my Heroes reviews are archived here.

Fringe: Unleashed

“Monsters aren’t real, right?”

Sometimes, watching Fringe, I go momentarily crazy and start seeing allusions and connections everywhere. In this episode, it started off with Olivia reading the book to her niece, just like Willow reading Jack London in…some episode of Buffy (‘Beauty and the Beasts’?). Then it was onto every horror movie ever made with the security guard getting sucked back into the room, and every suspense film ever made with the upside-down shots of the car crash—the girl yelled, “We have to go back!” and you know where that’s from. Even the first-person camera angle was reminiscent of the first Halloween (and Doom, if you play shoot ‘em up video games). And animal liberation? Yeah. Walter’s reference to a hell-beast woman in Cleveland sealed the deal on my insanity, and I vowed to quit seeing allusions in every shadowy corner. We’ll see how long that lasts.

Terminator: Born to Run

Given Terminator: The Sarah Conner Chronicles’ ratings struggles this spring, it seems a near certainty that this episode wasn’t just the season finale, but also the series finale. If that’s the case, I think it performed ably on both counts. As a season ender, this was an outstanding episode with great emotional beats and some fantastic action sequences. Many of the slow-burning plot elements from this season were paid off, and it left us in a place rife with great possibilities for continuing the story. As a series ender, it wasn’t quite so successful, leaving us with many questions and no true sense of closure. However, I felt it effectively wove in bits from the full spectrum of the Terminator series (movies and television show) and, thankfully, didn’t leave us with a massive cliffhanger. It is certainly disappointing that we will likely never see where the story was heading, but the show ended on a strong note.

All of the major arcs of the season came to a head in this episode: Sarah’s struggle to accept that the best way to help John is to let him go; John slowly maturing into the John Connor of legend, losing his entire support system along the way; and the true purpose of Catherine Weaver and John Henry. Many of the elements introduced in earlier episodes came back into play, including the drone and the possible alliance between the Connor camp and the liquid metal. They even brought back numerous familiar players, from the priest and the girl from the forgery operation, to the Turk, the three dots, Derek, Kyle, and Allison from Palmdale.

The John and Sarah story arcs came to their natural conclusion, with both characters finally reaching the point where they could let go of each other. Sarah was the first to recognize that John needs to stand on his own, telling him to leave this place and not to come for her, and then refusing to go with him to save Cameron. Perhaps she knew she was dying and didn’t want John to see her weakened by cancer, but I like to think her choices were the result of all her experiences and soul-searching this season. John, on the other hand, wasn’t truly ready to let go just yet (as evidenced by his inability to let Cameron go), but he was starting to accept that he might be losing Sarah. Combined with his experiences this season---especially losing so many people he loved in recent weeks---this gave him the push he needed to leave without Sarah. It struck me as a step towards truly being able to stand on his own.

The Catherine and John Henry story arcs also came to a fitting conclusion, or at least to a good “end of the beginning” point. Catherine’s true nature was revealed to all and she confirmed that she was trying to build something to stop Skynet. “Your John may save the world, but he can’t do it without mine.” The various T888 and drone attacks seem to lend credence to her story. It was great to get confirmation of things we were starting to suspect, but the end sequence left me with a lot of questions. How did Catherine know John Henry went to the future? Was this always the plan? Did Cameron give him her chip so that he could download into it and become mobile? If so, is he really the same John Henry? Mr. Murch said that John Henry as we knew him was that specific combination of hardware and software in the Zeira Corp basement. Plus, if he downloaded into Cameron’s chip, is she gone?

Cameron had some truly great material this week. She got to be mysterious, quietly philosophical, and a badass prison breaker. Her tete-a-tete with John about her nature was fascinating, culminating in a very sexually charged moment between them on the hotel bed. She seemed to be trying very hard to convince him that she’s just a machine (whose shielded nuclear reactor was intact), but her methods only seemed to make him more emotionally attached to her (despite his logical misgivings).

I was pretty startled by the way things ended for Cameron. I’ve thought for awhile now that her mission was possibly to die, but I never suspected she would sacrifice herself in this way. I’m not even sure if this was her intended mission. Certainly, Weaver asking (via Ellison) “Will you join us?” got a very big reaction from her (and gave me a little thrill!), but I wonder if this was something she was always waiting for or a new path that unexpectedly presented itself. Either way, she completed the mission Sarah assigned her: make sure John leaves this place.

So things end with John at some indeterminate point in the future. What a fantastic twist for the final act. Strange, I never considered the idea of John Connor jumping past Judgment Day to become the man, the myth, the legend. I always thought that he survived Judgment Day and the legend built from there. I wonder if this is a new development, or something that always happened in some form or another. Based on what we’ve seen before, it seems like this might be a new wrinkle in time. I’m bummed that we’ll likely never know the answers, but I’m thrilled that we got those last few moments with John seeing Derek again, meeting Kyle for the first time, and then seeing Allison. I loved the subtle shift in his expression from joy at finding Cameron to confusion and then a little bit of horror when he realized he was actually looking at a human. It truly is those great character moments that hooked me on this series, and I’m really glad things ended on an emotionally resonant note.

Other thoughts:

I enjoyed the allusions to previous events in the series history, including John’s comments to Ellison about the fate of his last S.W.A.T. team, the scene with the T888 in the gunshop (similar to a scene from the original Terminator), and Cameron’s shoot ‘em up at the prison (very reminiscent of Arnie’s attack on the police station).

Catherine dispatching the T888 and protecting everyone from the drone attack were pretty rocking sequences. She’s such a cool customer. I especially loved the way Shirley Manson said “Sure” when the T888 asked if she was Catherine Weaver.

I liked the priest’s confession that he prays every day to understand what happened when the Connors came to his church. Plus, it looked like Cameron’s “friend” took over the document forging business run by Enrique and his nephew after they were all killed. Both these touches were a nice nod to the ongoing impacts of the Connors travails on others.

On that subject, I wonder what will happen to poor Savannah. She lost her father, the thing she thought was her mother, and her friend, John Henry. Who does she have left? Mr. Ellison?

It’s too bad we didn’t have more time to delve into Ellison’s reaction to the Weaver reveal. It was clear he was thrown for a loop, but it would have been cool to explore it more.

I wonder where they were planning to go with the Danny Dyson thing. The fed mentioned he’s been missing for three months, but that was the only time it came up.

I loved the extended preview for Terminator: Salvation during the commercial breaks. Yet more apparent references to downloading into or becoming machines being the key to human salvation. It made me wonder if in the movie John Connor is a machine, but doesn’t know it.

Quotes:

Ellison about the Cameron and the Connors: “I told you before, she’ll never leave his side, and he’ll never leave his mother’s.”
Weaver and John Henry: “We’ll see.”

The Forger: “We lose everybody we love.”

Final Rating: 5 out of 5. If this is it for the series, I’m very glad it went out on a high note.

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Doctor Who: Planet Of The Dead

Carmen: "No, but you be careful, because your song is ending, Sir. It's returning. It's returning through the dark and then Doctor, oh, but then. He will knock four times."

According to Russell T. Davies, "Planet of the Dead" was the Doctor's last chance to have some fun. It's common knowledge now that the tenth Doctor's just four episodes away from his end. So this was probably his last hurrah. As Carmen puts it, the Doctor's song is almost over. So this was likely Tennant's last chance to have a good old fashioned romp - before the serious business of his demise begins in earnest. So, no surprises, POTD is a fairly lightweight yarn....with a terrible sting in its tail. Something is returning. Carmen doesn't specify what. But we can be almost certain that whatever it is, it'll mean the end of the road for David Tennant. Of course, all of this is still future. We still have four episodes to go. So lets not get maudlin just yet.

Dollhouse: A Spy in the House of Love

Echo: "Sometimes it is about the pain."

This episode was just electrifying, in a brain wipey sort of way.

Heroes: Turn and Face the Strange

Nathan: "When your grandmother has a dream, it's a good idea to pay attention."

Three decent episodes in a row. So it's not a fluke. Clearly, someone who knows what they're doing is back at the helm. (And yes, I know who it is.)

The Noah/Sylar death match chess game was the highlight. Even though I was actively watching for it and fully aware that Sylar could be *anybody*, I was still fooled a couple of times because of the clever way the scenes were set up. Like showing Sylar/Danko in the same room with Sandra right before Sylar/Sandra hit Noah with the divorce papers. I particularly loved Noah walking into Danko's office pretending to be Sylar pretending to be Noah.

Let's hope it's not over for Noah and Sandra Bennet. Yes, she's put up with more from Noah than, well, I can't think of a really terrible husband off the top of my head, but you know what I mean. Noah has done some terrible things, but he really does love her. He made the worst mistake of his life when he went to work for the Company all those years ago, and he's just been treading water and making the best of it ever since.

At least Mister Muggles and his pills saved the day. Quick, Noah and Sandra! Come up with a code phrase and a response so that Sylar can't successfully replace one of you again! Why didn't they do that? *I'd* do that. Maybe they were too emotionally wrought up to think clearly.

The Matt plot had zero suspense. I knew Matt wouldn't kill an innocent woman *or* Danko. But at least he deprived Danko of his amazingly attractive and rather sweet honey. Good. Someone that evil shouldn't have an amazingly attractive and rather sweet honey. And the reuniting of the two Matts was somewhat heartwarming. Will Janice make three?

Hiro and Ando were again droll and funny. It's not easy to make me laugh just by making faces, but Ando did it at least twice. Loved the Japanese-American trucker Sam Douglas from Lubbock, Texas. Very cute.

The left turn in the story where suddenly everything was about Coyote Sands was mildly frustrating, but at least no one was painting pictures of it this time. Digging for corpses as a Petrelli family bonding exercise? Those kooky Petrellis. So what happened at Coyote Sands? We already know that superpeople have been created artificially. Are those bodies their failed experiments?

Bits and pieces:

-- Good CGI of Sylar morphing.

-- What happened to the lizard and the turtle in the Suresh apartment? Loose ends. I hate loose ends.

-- Danko's incredibly hot girlfriend Elena played a demon on Supernatural last week. Memorable face.

-- Just like Claire did last week, Nathan while running for his life stopped off somewhere and got his hair done. Much, much shorter.

-- Turn and face the strange. Is that a line from David Bowie's song, "Changes"?

Quotes:

Sylar: "I'm not going to kill him. I'm going to destroy him."
But Sylar liked Noah once. No, wait. That was in the alternate universe Heroes, before we got back to the real Heroes. That's how I'm going to think of the last couple of volumes.

Ando: "This will never work. Who's going to pick up two Japanese guys and a baby?"

Sandra/Sylar: "This isn't a marriage. It's an arrangement. It's cover so you can go around shooting at people."

Sam the trucker: "What say we try moving your magic baby the hell away from my truck?"

Another watchable episode, check. Characters we used to love are lovable again, check. I'm very encouraged,

Billie

All of my Heroes reviews are archived here.

Lost: Dead is Dead

Locke: "If everything you've done has been in the best interest of the Island, then I'm sure the Monster will understand."

Dead is dead. Dead isn't dead. I'm so confused.

In fact, I'm such a hopeless Lost geek that I started getting really excited at the prospect of answers about the Monster, the Temple, the Others. But all we really got were more tantalizing clues. I feel like Charlie Brown with the football.

Fringe: Inner Child

“Your mother raised you well.”

Yes, Fringe did return last night—and if you managed to slog through 8 minutes of American Idol, you were in for a belated treat. This return episode was slower than the average Fringe, but the pacing (finally) didn’t feel off. Which is ironic, given that, thanks to American Idol, my TiVo cut it off right at the climax. Grrr.

Chuck: Chuck versus the Dream Job

“I’m sorry for the technical delay. Must be my rock star magnetism.”

Chuck dipped its toe in darker waters this week. Chuck’s dad has some issues: not quite the crazy kind, but certainly the tragic spygame kind. Ellie’s confusion at the prospect of dealing with a father she doesn’t know anymore, and who abandoned her, was well-played and felt authentic. Chuck’s own conflicted issues about how to deal with his dad focused more on his desire to please him—Chuck’s face lit up when his dad praised him, and especially when his dad put into words all the angst Chuck has been feeling about the Intersect.

The big reveal that Mr. Bartowski is a spy—and the creator of the Intersect (well, the cool parts)—wasn’t much of a surprise, especially given the promos we saw last week. Chevy Chase as evil is, of course, never a surprise. But watching it play out, and watching the writers play with the fine line between Crazy Person and Super Spy, was worth it.

They played with another fine line, between comedy and drama, with impressive skill: Chuck’s flashbacks to all the intel that Orion sent him was hackneyed and clichéd, but that only made its tongue-in-cheek necessity even funnier. Chuck threatening Casey with the tranq gun is a great example of tension and humor playing well together. The score really helped create just the right tone for this episode—comic and touching and emotionally powerful.

I do wish they’d just ignored the BuyMore staff this week (see below if that sounds grumpy). Funny as they are, this episode didn’t need comic relief, and the B-plot just took away from the main story.

Bytes and Pieces:

The comic book hiding the Intersect information that Orion sent is called Ex Machina, and created by Bryan K. Vaughn, who’s been getting quite a lot shout-outs on TV lately.

I had a huge crush on Scott Bakula when I was younger. He’s still superfine. Even if Chevy Chase claimed that he’s the one who’s always had a way with the girls.

100 miles east of Barstow is a national preserve.

“Maybe we should wait ‘til dark: they’re tracking my every move.”

“Guess the apple doesn’t fall too far from the crazy tree.”

“Is that a tranq gun? You don’t even have the common courtesy to threaten me with an actual firearm…I’ll kill you when I wake up.”

[As an irrelevant side note, I’m typing this review on my shiny new laptop (can’t you tell? Isn’t it prettier?) I spent the whole laptop-buying adventure desperately wishing that Chuck was real person—or even Morgan. Or Lester. Nope: he really is overqualified for that BuyMore job.]

Looks like next week is a resolution to the cliffhanger and the return of an old friend. It’s also the antepenultimate episode of the season, if not the show.

Four out of four Quantum Leaps.

All of my Chuck reviews are archived here.
(Season 2, episode 19)

Terminator: Adam Raised a Cain

Now *that’s* what I’m talking about! I thought this was an outstanding episode, despite a completely shocking turn of events that, quite frankly, has taken me a few days to process. This one started out on an emotional note, ended on an emotional note, and took us for quite a ride in between. Not only did it have great action and suspense, but even the simplest character conversations were loaded with tension and things left unspoken. Best of all, this episode finally brought the John Connor and John Henry plots together.

I’m not quite sure what to make of it all. The events of this episode and last week’s seem to confirm that the Connors and Zeira Corp are fighting the same enemy: Skynet. Why else would a terminator come to kill or kidnap Weaver’s daughter? Catherine’s scene with Ellison in the elevator, and later with John Henry in the lab, finally shed some light on her agenda and it doesn’t fit with Skynet’s mission to exterminate humanity. Whatever it is she is trying to create with John Henry is designed to ensure humans survive. John Henry’s survival may one day ensure Savannah and Agent Ellison’s survival. So it seems suspicions regarding different factions of metal have been confirmed.

I really enjoyed all of the John Henry scenes this week. In the last few weeks, he has gone from completely freaking me out to becoming someone I root for. I don’t know if it is Garrett Dillahunt’s delivery or the physical quirks he brings to the character, but I’ve become quite fond of John Henry. I, too, want to know what his brother is thinking, and I don’t want him to die again. He genuinely seems to care about Savannah. From the look on his face when she was trapped in the garage and he didn’t know how to help her, to his willingness to keep Ellison’s secrets in order to ensure her safe return, to them singing together at the end. I actually got a bit upset when John described him as something worse than Cromartie and when Sarah said they were going to burn Zeira Corp to the ground. Kudos to Garrett and the writers for what they have done with this character.

While the writers giveth this week by finally having the Connor and Zeira Corp plots intersect, they also taketh away with Derek’s sudden, random death. Despite the characters living in a world where death literally lurks around every corner, I was not prepared to lose a major character this way. Especially not Derek. How can that be it for Derek? He added so much to the show, and I felt like there was so much more for him to do in this story. Even though they showed him quite dead, I kept expecting it to not be real. I guess I just expected a more profound or ‘noble’ death for Derek, not something so senseless and random. Perhaps what happened is more appropriate and more realistic, given the world the Connors live in, but it has left me kind of numb. I think I’d be more upset if the series wasn’t about to end (or I'd be holding out hope that through the miracle of time travel and altered realities that we’d see Derek again), but as things stand, I give the writers credit for making such a bold and unexpected choice. R.I.P. Derek Reese.

It is a good thing that John is starting to become more the John Connor of legend, because he is rapidly losing his entire support system. First Riley, then Charlie and Derek, and now possibly Sarah. If not to prison, then to terminal illness. Cameron said that Sarah is losing weight, which is one of the things she noted about her cancer-stricken buddy back in ‘Self-Made Man.’ So is the implication that Sarah does have cancer, even though the breast lump wasn’t what she thought?

My chief complaint about this episode is that I think the writers really frakked up the timeline continuity. If memory serves, the series started out in 1999 and they jumped ahead eight years to 2007. Events have been happening in fairly tight time intervals since then, and I’m pretty sure that there were references to it being late 2007 early in the season (wasn’t that part of their phone code?). It is conceivable that up to six months or so have passed during the course of the season, but that doesn’t quite fit with Weaver saying in this episode that Ellison has only worked for her a few months. Plus, both Sarah and Ellison referenced her death/disappearance 8 years ago (1999). So how is it 1984, the year of Kyle's death, is 25 years ago, and Derek is getting buried in 2009? Where did we pick up an extra year in the story? Did I miss something somewhere along the way? Is this some clue that things are not what they seem? Or did the writers completely screw this up?

Other thoughts:

The parallel scenes with the final resting spots of the Brothers Reese was a nice touch. I actually started to believe Derek was really gone when I saw that ‘2009’ headstone. I got a bit choked up. (I didn’t pick up on the timeline problem until later.)

Kudos to Thomas Dekker this week. He had to convey quite the range of emotions with little more than facial expressions, and he was very effective. His reactions to Derek’s death, Savannah’s imaginary friend, and Sarah’s arrest said so much with very few words.

John Henry’s comments about the human brain’s inability to download when we die made me wonder if speculation about Future John being dead or now metal are true. Maybe that’s how John Henry leads to survival for humans. Not sure how many humans would consider that survival.

The light and images reflected on John Henry’s face when he was talking to Ellison about his brother reminded me of the dot-and-spoke pattern associated with the drones.

I loved the song at the end of the episode. Even though the lyrics were humorous, the tune had an air of sadness and fit well with the ending montage. I was surprised to see that it was John Henry singing, but it nicely brought Savannah’s comments about teaching him to sing full circle. Garrett Dillahunt has a nice voice.

Final rating: 4.5 out of 5. Although I’m pretty upset about what happened to Derek, this was a very strong episode that effectively brought the various plots together.

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Dollhouse: Needs

Dominic: "It's easy to become attached to your assigned active. In fact, it's necessary. But don't think of them as children. Think of them as pets."

Like dogs that might need to be put down, as Sophie the handler said. Pampered pets that can't be allowed out on the streets alone.

Supernatural: The Monster at the End of this Book

Chuck: "I am so sorry. I mean, horror is one thing, but to be forced to live bad writing?"

I loved this episode so much that I actually stopped taking notes for my review. That almost never happens.

Smallville: Eternal

Davis: "I need you to help me die."

This was the most exciting episode of Smallville I've seen in a long time. It was complex, sexy, and as deep as a field full of corpses. It had a lot of "beauty and the beast," which I love. And a lot of Davis Bloome, who is starting to get to me.

Lost: Whatever Happened, Happened

Locke: "Hello, Ben. Welcome back to the land of the living."

Geez, Sayid. Heart and head! What sort of half-assed assassin are you?

So young Ben was *supposed* to get shot so he would end up in the Temple with Richard. Adult Ben is a creepy, manipulative killer, and he was always destined to be a creepy, manipulative killer. (Poor kid.) And conveniently, whatever happens in the Temple involves memory loss, so adult Ben won't remember Sayid shooting him. Perfect. Exemplary writing, and it all made sense.

Chuck: Chuck versus the Broken Heart

“To discuss this further would be to violate protocol.”

I didn’t think it was possible to replace the sunny, sexy, curvaceous in all the right ways Yvonne Strahovski. But I guess I hadn’t thought of the stunning, gamine, superhot Tricia Helfer from Battlestar Galactica and Burn Notice. Wow.

Loved Awesome’s exuberance at the silliest bachelor party ever. He’s like a golden retriever. He even wears his ID around his neck, like some sort of collar. The neat way his face was framed when he declared his loyalty was a nice shot, too.

Loved the synchronicity between Casey and Agent Alex Forest. He likes the cut of her jib—and the cut of her stripper cop outfit. The scene with the guns must be what NRA porn looks like. But even Casey changed his mind eventually and stood up for Sarah against Alex Forest’s hardcore and unfriendly management of the asset. Way to go, Agent Casey!

Loved the nitrous-induced zaniness between Chuck and the terrorist doctor.

Didn’t love Sarah’s grief at being (temporarily) replaced. Ellie felt replaced, too, however erroneously. Her angry sadness was justified, even though she was mistaken, and awfully upsetting. Chuck’s right: living a lie really does have ripple effects, and the most dramatic of them aren’t at the level of national security, but at the level of interpersonal relationships and emotional honesty. Just as he and Sarah seem to be reaching some sort of rhythm to the craziness of their relationship, things start to go awry for the couple that seemed destined for eternity.

So Chuck has found his dad. That should be pretty interesting next week: a great chance for a few emotional strings to get tied up. We’re still waiting to hear if Chuck has been renewed, though, so with every string that gets tied, I worry that the big one will get cut.

“This is what you’ve been waiting for. This is Xanadu.”

“I guess romance is alive and well and living in Burbank.”

“Sarah... is it really you? Or am I superstoned?”

“I can’t believe how much the United States government has hurt the ones I love.”

Three out of four Sexy Cylons.

All of my Chuck reviews are archived here.
(Season 2, episode 18)

Heroes: Into Asylum

Danko: "If we do this, if we succeed, you'd be the only one left."
Sylar: "Funny how that works."

And again with the better. An episode with charm as well as much needed character development. Or, more accurately, character repair. If this was intended to make us like Nathan and Angela again, then it pretty much worked for me.

Peter and Angela took sanctuary in their church, while Claire and Nathan hid in a dive in Mexico. It was rather sweet to see Peter and Claire taking care of their erring parents, both of whom did some serious apologizing for their past mistakes. Their enormous, evil, out of character past mistakes.

We learned that Angela originally wanted to be a teacher, until her gift manifested and she became a present-day Cassandra. She's obviously rethinking some of her earlier life choices. I liked the obvious symbolism of Peter making Angela put on the old coat that she had previously given away. She's her old self again.

Nathan and Claire have spent so little time together; it was fun seeing them trying out a father-daughter relationship for size. I liked the booze bets. And Claire telling Nathan she had thought of him as Superman. And Nathan getting Claire's necklace back. Nathan's his old self again, too. Claire, too, for that matter. Okay, and let's include Peter. He was praying, something that just seemed like something Peter would do.

And then we got Sylar and Danko, a match made in, well, most certainly not heaven. Set a superperson to catch (and take out) all of the other superpeople? If they go through with this plot point, it'll eliminate superfluous supercharacters and narrow the focus to our cast members. And possibly eliminate cast members as well. Sylar seems to be Sylar again, focused on absorbing as many powers as possible.

Both Peter and Hiro have had their powers redacted, cut down to a size more suitable for dramatic conflict. But Sylar just picked up a really huge power, and he was already too powerful to write into a corner. The writers did carefully tell us that there is still a way to take Sylar out, and Danko knows what it is. Is Sylar going to die? Is it time for the character to go? Sylar also reminded us that we really know nothing about Danko, so it's hard to tell what he'll do. Although a permanent partnership with Sylar seems, well, unlikely. And I'm sure Sylar is aware of that.

There were several laugh out loud moments. I particularly liked the take-off of Seven. ("What's in the box?") Even the music was good. But I have to say they lost me on the illogic of one particular plot point. If I were going to a bar to pick up some cutie and I could look like anyone I've touched, it certainly wouldn't be Danko.

Bits and pieces:

-- Claire stopped on the way to Mexico and got a much better wig. Her scrubbed clean look got even cleaner, too; I could swear I saw some wholesome freckles. She looked so young and fresh that for a moment, I thought they'd cast another actress.

-- Claire can't get drunk. That's actually sort of sad.

-- Nathan and Claire really don't look like father and daughter. Everyone seemed to think Claire was his girlfriend.

-- There were several candidates for Most Obvious Symbolism: 1. Angela and the coat; 2. Nathan getting back the necklace that Noah had given to Claire, and 3. Sylar and Danko on either side of a chessboard.

-- Peter praying was rather sweet, as well as very much in character. Although the answer to his prayer was a whole lot of government agents.

-- Angela has a sister? Ruh roh.

Quotes:

Danko: "How'd the hell did you get in here?"
Sylar: "You'd be amazed what you can do with a lifted ID badge, a four dollar tie, and a west Baltimore accent."

Sylar: "Why does anybody want power? To screw with people? Or to simply screw people?"

I enjoyed this episode. Three out of four stars,

Billie