Medium - Girls Ain't Nothing But Trouble

I have really being enjoying this season of Medium. The entire season has had a special extra "oomph" in the various opening dream sequences, and following last week's "Deaf" episode we have Alison in Silent Film mode. The looks and characters were dead on, and having her kids as the "poor little ones" and all the financial problems was another reflection of her life being interpreted in her dream.
Medium has it's deep moments (as well as tons of funny ones), and I was pleasantly surprised by her wake up... alone and GASPLESS... instead it was not what is usually expected and so predictable and very cute and funny.

The appearance of the ex-DA Devalos was another welcome surprise and he's one character that I have missed a lot (and he will soon opening his own office so I expect to get more of him) and then in the spirit of funny coincidences (are there really any with a psychic involved?) the appearance of old time nemesis Larry Watt, Defense Attorney from Hell. Larry popping in as the savior in Alison's dream and then popping up in real life with a case he wants her to work on was just one of those surprises. Methinks there is a theme going on with this episode.

This particular client has been accused of killing his wife, and Alison's first impression is that he is not guilty and that seems to look good. As the story progresses, we get another surprise as Alison sees "the client" disposing of the wife's body and it seems that he is covering for his mentally challenged daughter.

Surprise! It's actually the other daughter, who has already bumped off a previous mom and pinned it on her sister as well (that is just plain evil) and in the end it's Dad who takes the fall, confesses and is off to prison. Alison has her eye on that daughter now and I expect her to return at some time.

The side plot with Ariel and "selling her services" as a psychic to make some cash was interesting, and I loved how mom took care of that and explained why she doesn't want Ariel showing off her abilities and possibly changing other's perspective of her. It was a good follow up and an interesting tie in to the underlying story from last season, of Alison being "outed" as a psychic and all the ensuing turmoil since that point. Maybe this episode was to help tie some of that up and to now let things become more stable and move forward.

That would be a nice surprise -- and a completely fitting ending to this episode. I love surprises!

Survivor: Micronesia - In the Middle

Another great episode this week, I loved the rough and tumble challenge of our gang fighting in the mud... and things got pretty physical between the 2 groups. I would have loved to have seen more of the struggle, but the big thing was that our Favorites won the Reward challenge which was a choice of 3 items out of the Survivor catalog.

Things got really tense later on when the Fans won the Immunity Challenge and all of a sudden the Favorites were scrambling and looking at who to eliminate on their team.

The whole idea that Cirie was the swing vote... and being insistent that Yau-Man was to be voted off played back and forth and you could practically see the smoke coming out of Jonathon's ears. Cirie managed to get her way, Yau-Man was voted off (crap) and the tension level has been upped a few levels back at camp. I think Cirie is pushing it (and she even made a comment that being the swing vote should incite the others to treat her like a queen and carry her around) and the pack will probably turn on her quickly. Our 2 couples seem to be doing well, and from what it sounds like the girls are playing the guys big time. I am still hoping that Ami will go far.... but it's still pretty early to see who is gaining advantage.

Oh yeah... and on the Fan's side... tensions are building more and more between Mikey B and Joel and the team is still pretty divided.... I am not seeing any of these guys going to the end if they can't get their act together soon.

Project Runway - getting down to the finale

After the "Cliffhanger" in the last episode we had the "Reunion Special" this week and a quick look back over this past season. As usual there were some designers that came and went so quickly you don't remember them (barely) or they seem so bitter you are glad they are gone.

I am still not sold on the whole competition between Rami and Chris for the last spot at Fashion week, and the consensus seems to be that Rami will be winning the showdown and showing his collection... while I would love to see Chris show his collection and win the grand prize.

Christian seems to be favored to win (and as shown above won the Fan Favorite award, and I was disappointed that my fave Elisa didn't win) but it isn't always the favorite designer that wins.... it's all relative to the collection, the actual show and the judges. Anyways we won't know for 2 weeks as the next episode is all about deciding which designer joins Jillian and Christian. I have heard some interesting rumors about Victoria Beckham being the guest judge at the finale and would love to see her there.

If we want a good show... let's go for Chris who will probably go way over the top instead of our draping queen who will have miles and miles of beautiful fabric everywhere but with nothing new or original. Christian isn't my favorite (nor has he been that fierce) and Jillian is just dull most of the time but does nice work when she has the time.

I actually felt that Chris was being dismissed as a potential winner during the Reunion special... and still think he might surprise all of them. At least he got a great montage of his laughing episodes and is a great fun character.

It was great to see Jack looking fit and ready to compete again (hopefully next year) and our little cry baby got his moment in the sun. Poor Ricky... no respect anywhere it seems... at least Heidi has a sense of humor (loved her montage) but what was she thinking with those bangs? I thought we had a sheep dog on stage and we even got to see a bit more of Nina and Michael this time around, which was kind of cute yet somewhat forced none the less.

I don't really agree with Tim that this is the best gang so far... in fact I was more bored this season than in any previous one..... let's hope the finale doesn't let us down.

Jericho - Condor

I have to say that I am not loving this second season of Jericho. I did like it last year, but there are too many characters missing (like Jake's mom and that nerdy kid that ran the store), and the new direction with the various leaders in a divided America is just not doing it for me.


I feel bad for all involved, they were canceled, got tons of fans to send in peanuts (NUTS!) and make some noise with the big guys, and it seems all a big waste... the ratings suck, the story drags and it is missing it's heart from last year.


Sometimes it's just better to "Let a sleeping dog lie" ... I wonder where all those fans are from last year?

Knight Rider - Oh No! Not another remake!

I think that if I hear the words "remake" and "NBC" in the same sentence I am going to run and hide.

After the complete disaster that they called Bionic Woman, the Peacock network has the gall to "re-imagine" the Knight Rider series (which was okay the first time around but nothing that spectacular) and churn out a 2 hour movie that had me bored senseless. NBC, I would like those 2 hours of my life back please and no more crap like this. DO NOT make a series out of this.
Seriously, you will just be wasting my time (and yours) and that's enough said.

Supernatural - Mystery Spot

This was another great episode with the Winchester boys. Not only is this show smart, but it's such a great balance of dark humour and action/adventure. The whole Demon Hunter angle/ bad boy vibe with our handsome brothers just make this show entertaining as hell.

Supernatural is great at taking concepts and showing their perception or interpretation. This week's Groundhog Day inspired episode had the repeating day concept.... but each day was all about Dean getting killed and then Sam waking up and starting all over again. As the episode progressed, not only did the ways that Dean was killed become more imaginative, but that sly sense of humour that Dean has peeked out more and more. You could see him revelling in torturing Sam with the repeated behaviour over and over, and I was in hysterics when they went off on a huge sequence of deaths one after another including slipping in the shower, electrocution, a falling piano, a nasty puppy, food poisoning and getting axed (literally) by a distraught Sam.

All of this revolves around what they call a Mystery Spot, one of those freaky places where "the rules of physics have no meaning". These places are usually hoaxes and have stuff like furniture nailed to the ceiling, but there is more than meets the eye here and it turns out to be the Trickster. The boys have had a run in with this character before, and with his ability to be able to control time and space (sounds pretty damn powerful to me), he has made a time loop where Dean dies every day and Sam has to deal with the loss every day.

Trickster goes all the way with Sam and kills Dean off and we get a glimpse of what a future would be like for Sam without Dean, and this Sam is a harsh, cold and mean man who lives to get his vengeance on the underworld. Trickster says it is for them to learn that they can't keep sacrificing themselves to save the other, and I am not quite sure what his intentions were with all of that. In the end, Sam wakes up once more and Dean is still alive... I am still more than confused on why all this happened but think it might be part of a bigger picture later on.
Still.. All in all... a great episode and one of my faves of the season.

Lost - The Economist

This week we learned the Sayid is one of the Oceanic Six, joining Kate, Jack and Hurley. There are still 2 unknowns in this equation and I have been trying to think of who else could be part of this gang ... and Michael and Walt keeping popping into my mind. I still have a sneaky feeling that it is Michael on that mysterious boat and that he will be part of the equation once we get to the actual boat and see who else is there. We did hear more than one name mentioned in connection with the ship (Regina and Minkowski which don't sound familiar at all), and I wonder how many other people are on that ship....

Between the flashforward and a look at what has become of Sayid in the future was a fricking amazing episode. The whole hit man/espionage angle, his notoriety as one of the Oceanic Six, his sexy/dangerous persona was all a hit out of the park by Naveen Andrews. His character as always been fascinating and he added even more depth and dimension (again) with his whole falling in love with the wrong woman routine (how very James Bond) and then getting the ultimate shock/betrayal/surprise by finding out that he is working for Ben in the future. Just seeing Ben there and still pulling the strings of those around him is the big shock of the night.

Seriously, this show is such a mindfrack, it's complicated and has tons of subtle imagery and clues (sometimes a cigar is not a cigar) and it gets my mind racing in ways that no other show can. I have TONS of questions and want to know more of how things might/will/did happen.

Faraday (and his gang) on the island blew my mind with his little science experiment involving a rocket, some timers and a freaky time shift of 31 minutes. Curiously.... this is not one of the Lost numbers (4 8 15 16 23 42) but it is a prime number as well. At this rate, my head is going to explode I think. Does this mean that the island is in a different space/time continuum and that is the reason the Faraday was so insistent that he instructed Frank to follow the exact bearings that they used to reach the island? Does time pass differently on the island? We might know soon with Sayid off in said helicopter and off to the ship...

Meanwhile, Locke has problems trying to track down Jacob's cabin, has to play alpha male and take charge and later his gang bait a trap using Hurley, capture island time Sayid and his gang and in the end exchange Miles for Charlotte. Since it has been alluded to that Miles can speak with the dead, will there be some time in with the mysterious Jacob or the lost souls that have died on the island?

There is more drama with Kate and Sawyer (and Jack) and more of the angst involved in all of that but it's the gripping drama with Sayid that is center stage this turn around and I can hardly wait until the next episode.

Rumour has it that with the strike over we will get a few more Lost episodes this season... I can hardly wait!

Survivor: Micronesia - the Temptation Island Episode

My my my... how things are getting hotter in this edition of Survivor.

James is really into Pavarti, Ozzy and Amanda are making out like teenagers at Make Out Point, and on the other team we have Mikey who is seriously attracted to Mary (or atleast the way she fills out the bikini).

There's usually not this much lovin' happening in Survivor and I wonder if it's the moon or the convenient timing with Valentine's Day... it does make for some interesting team dynamics and you can see all the wheels turning amongst various players who want to see if they can play this to their advantage or how it can be a disavantage for them. Cirie made some very funny comments about 'Jungle Love' and had general disdain for all the nookie happening on her team and "teams" up with Jonathon. There are some hilarious team dynamics happening.

It's all great stuff and I am so hooked on this season. I love seeing my faves, and after this episode I started getting a better feeling and more interest in seeing the fans. They are still quite overshadowed by the faves, and the competition is pretty fierce.

Great challenge and nice to see Dolphin boy ( Ozzy) living up to his potential, and I was pretty impressed with Erik and Jason on the other side. Chet was damn close to being eliminated after his piss poor performance, and the new Exile Island with one member of each team competing against each other to find the hidden Immunity Idol is great. Kathy gets picked from the Fans and Cirie volunteers to go for the Faves.The treasure hunt for the Idol is all about finding a clue and then going back and forth between the little islands to get different clues to where the Idol is. It's different, looks tiring as hell and was another nice twist in this edition. It doesn't appear that Kathy or Cirie found anything but they walked and swam for hours.

I felt the drama at the Fans camp with having 2 shelters (one for the so called young hip crowd and another for the oldies) was childish and to my recollection, a first for Survivor. A tribe divided is not a good thing this early in the game and the Fans not be the great players that they imagine themselves to be.

Mikey is one of the best examples of this, his over analyzing over the different ways Kathy could play her Immunity Idol (or Idols) was too over done, and between his game playing and interest in Mary he threatened Joel, who was all primed to play Alpha Male for the tribe. Joel bullied his way around the rest of the tribe and got them to vote for Mary and "crippling" Mikey. Joel wants to show everyone who is boss and his plan works, surprising Mikey and getting his way.

What I didn't understand was why Joel didn't vote for Mary..... his plan, yet he voted for Tracy and I wonder what sneaky things he has up his sleeve next... or until he gets the snot kicked out of him by James.

The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency - Miami & the Big Finale

Another season done... and of course the HUGE cliffhanger ending... yawn ... if this episode hadn't had the requisite underwear modeling scene it would have been pretty close to being a complete write off.

Mind you, patience has it's virtues, and I do try to take into consideration the fact that there was a Writer's Strike and that the editing is horrendous on this show.

Besides the underwear runway, I absolutely loved the scene with Peter and Janice (and the lawyer) where Janice gets her lawyer to tell Peter that the Partnership is being dissolved, and seeing how Janice can hardly move her face. A little bit too much work and botox maybe?

Peter's comment that Janice has a little crazy woman running around in her head made me think that Janice has an insane Hamster running on it's wheel in her head and that made me laugh... the crap about whether or not Peter should sue and try to keep the company name made me snicker.... seriously Peter, have you not had enough crazy yet? Sucker for punishment?

Anyways... all is said and done and enough Janice for me for awhile.... I don't think I'll even check out Janice's other show since none of the hottie boys will be there, after all they make the show worth watching, and Janice really needs to highlight her boys more, and give her public what they want. It's all about beauty, hot bods, ridiculous storylines and a big heaping helping of crazy.

You can't get better than that.... see you next season Janice.

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles - Queen’s Gambit

Oh, how this show is growing on me.

Not only did we get some interesting twists in the plot, there were a couple of loose threads that were picked at and some very interesting new ideas. Like I said last week, the new mythos being added do the original concepts justice, and Lena does such a great interpretation of Sarah that I am completely taken aback by her ability to channel the character. Just watching her do her pull ups on the swing set made me think of Sarah in T2. She has such a physical presence, and her narration and cadence with the character is so spot on I almost prefer her to the original, now that we have had the chance to see her in several episodes.

The underlying theme of Chess that floated through this episode brought things full circle in many ways. John learns about the art of war via Chess and it continues to fascinate and inspire him. Andy returns (from the Turk episode) with a new and improved Chess playing robot and the tie in with the Robot Chess Challenge was all outstanding. The contest and the winning team getting a military contract certainly raised a lot of eyebrows.... and was essentially the nail in the coffin for our cell phone salesman. I am not usually that interested in Chess, but the whole fake and sacrifice the Queen for our Japanese team worked very well and it goes to show the limits of an artificial intelligence. Machines still have problems working around the whole dishonesty thing and tend to play by the rules, which is probably the saving grace at this moment.

Seeing the evolution of Skynet is quite the trip.... watching Cameron and how she related to or "felt" a tie with her predecessors made the whole episode worthwhile. The juxtaposition of robots from old, clunky versions to our T3 was like seeing an evolutionary chart of some kind, it was such great imagery. I am still very impressed with Summer and her ability to play such a stiff/robotic character. Seeing her deal with the grief counsellor was sheer hysteria, and her way of turning the tables on the teacher was great characterisation once again. She is fitting into the role of sister very well, and it makes a great cover for both of them.

The big fight scene with our bad Terminator of the week was a great one, and Ellison finding the hand later on might bring his story more around, the whole chasing mysterious blood type thing was only going so far, and I am wondering how he will react to more definitive proof that "they are out there".

Of course the biggest treat was the appearance of Brian Austin Green as John Connor’s uncle, Derek Reece. It was a bold move to make family for the Connors... but a very interesting gamble none the less. Seeing how he survives should make for some interesting TV, and definitely makes all of them seem more human. The arrival of Sarah's ex fiancé (from what? 8 years ago?) adds more fuel to the fire..... and I can hardly wait until next week to see where they are going next.

Smallville - Siren

This has been one of those weeks that had way too many "WTF?" moments. My response?

Dear Smallville,
Please stop adapting well established DC characters and turning them into mockeries of these dearly beloved characters. Your recent portrayal of Black Canary was such a vicious slap in the face that I feel compelled to take one of the Ninja Knives (WTF?) that you gave said character and gut you like a fish.

Best,

The Couch Potato (and comic book geek)

... You may have figured out that I was most unimpressed with the recent portrayal of Black Canary (who it appears is named by Clark.... I really don't get this show sometimes) and how they were so off with her look.. the costume was not that bad but what was it with the hair and that ultra cheesy makeup job -- at least they had the decency to get her look and personality down in the Justice League Unlimited Cartoon series.

Black Canary is a strong character that relies on her martial arts skills and Sonic Cry to disable her opponents.... She doesn't usually use weapons such as knives, cross bows or guns and having her portrayed with all the knives was ridiculous. The Sonic Cry was cool, but the hair and that bad make up was just too much...

Anyways -- there was the return of Green Arrow (yippee!), Clark was a bigger douche than usual this episode, Lois got some nookie with GA/Oliver Queen, learned about his double identity and said she isn't ready for that kind of thing... yeesh... somehow they managed to take a half interesting character and still have to have an angst filled plot. I wish they would lay off the teenage soap opera routine... all this crap is ruining the stories and I have no idea why it has to be in continual Dawson's Creek mode. BORING---

Chloe got to have some fun and games helping out Ollie, I love seeing her involved and being the great sidekick. I think it's time Clark got more serious and started playing hero instead of just being a big schmuck and all whiney. Yup another episode and as much as I rant I still can't stop watching...

Lost - Confirmed Dead

This was a great addition into the mythology of the series, and the whole big reveal that everyone thinks that Oceanic Flight 815 has been found and that there are no survivors was not that much of shock, but a trip none the less. Things are playing out at a nice pace (I guess having a definitive amount of episodes left to play things out) and in only 2 episodes we had some nice twists with the storyline and another creepy appearance by the new freaky character Abbadon.... yikes! I have to note that I was ecstatic to see more of Vincent in this episode and still wish that they do an episode from his perspective, that dog has seen and done quite a bit of stuff... It goes to show how far things are playing out and the influence and control that Dharma (or some other force) is holding over the Island and its inhabitants.While I always have a ton of apprehension anytime there are new characters added into the equation that we call Lost (and know that it doesn't always work out that well as most of the "Tailies" learned the hard way), characters like Juliet have added more and interesting dimensions to the storyline.

I can see how these new additions can enrich a story and give even more impact to the events that happen. Our not-so-Fantastic Four that have just arrived include: -Daniel who is some kind of neurotic scientist and has some kind of a connection to Oceanic Flight 815 that we don't really know about yet; -Miles who is some kind of ghost whispering psychic for hire/con man character -Charlotte, the perky anthropologist who found a polar bear skeleton with a Dharma collar in Tunisia (huh??) and finally our pilot with a drinking problem, -Frank, who knows that the news footage about Flight 815 is false and he was supposed to be the pilot of that particular flight..... It's a complete and utterly glorious mindfrack of a situation that gets even better when you learn that: - We have an interesting flashback with Naomi and see her get put together the not-so-Fantastic Four who are there to find Ben and even have his photo... -Surprise! Surprise ! Ben knows all about them... and even says he has someone on their boat..... .....3 guesses says it's Michael.... it might explain where he has been all this time.... does that mean that Tall Walt Ghost has been on the Island the whole time? So many questions... so few episodes...

Survivor: Micronesia - Fans vs. Favorites

Talk about being a kid in a candy store.... this edition of Survivor has so many of my Favorites it's hard to know where to start...

I have to say that I am most excited about *blush* Ozzy being back for another round. Dolphin boy was a great player last time around and is one of my picks for taking it this time around.... for some reason I can't make an absolute choice yet as there was so much going on in the first episode with all the Favorites returning (including my other Favorites Yau-Man and Ami who have just as much a chance of taking it all)... but I still think that he is a great player and that might get him voted off quickly...

The problem with having so many Favorites is that I didn't really care about the Fans... sure I found Kathleen to be hilarious and "that crazy one" that her team will be dying to vote off, and the beefy firefighter guy Joel seems to be a big hunk of man ready to compared himself to James... but I didn't want to see them (and didn't really care if they won or lost the first Challenge) as I wanted to see the characters that I feel already invested in.

The whole fiasco with Jonny Fairplay-- sigh.... all I can say is that it's a very good thing the knob was booted right away because NO ONE wanted him there. I found the prospect of him reproducing just as scary, I have no idea what girl is stupid enough to hook up with him.

But all in all who cares? He's gone, there are great characters on the Island and things look like they are going to be heating up quite a bit this time around..... I can hardly wait!

Project Runway - WWE ? WTF?

I have to go with Chris on this one... not only did he win but he had the best comment about this episode... "Wouldn't it have been better if it was MEN?" pretty much wrapped it up for me as I have been getting a little disappointed with this cycle of Project Runway.

I did not get why this challenge was part of the competition for the life of me. " Tranny stripper wear" is not an area that I like my Project Runway in and I am not going to dignify much of the actual " competition" that happened this week aside from Chris winning (not a big surprise since the guy knows how to make an costume for a drag queen) and was all about channelling Shania Twain for our WWE diva, and that Ricky was FINALLY given the boot.

Cry-baby disappointed completely in this round, and our so called "lingerie designer" couldn't make stripper wear and was finally aufed and the little bastard didn't even cry... oh the drama....

Rumour has it 2 designers get the boot next week before the big finale at Fashion Week... my bets are that Christian, Rami and Jillian go to the end, but Chris might pull out a surprise and make it there instead of Ms.Bland.....

The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency - the Pilgrimage to the shrine of Versace

After leaving us on the edge of our seats last week with her famous " Everything you know is about to change" routine, Janice tells her models that she is taking some of them to South Beach to spread her wings and get the Agency more clients.

She also fires a model on the spot (Maria), who dared to arrive late (such a work horse that Janice) and gets all kind of information about Peter from her models. It appears that lots of them are unhappy with pay delays and the percentage they are getting and Janice says she will solve all these issues.... anyways some of the models are selected and off to Miami they go.

Besides the crappy editing that we have to endure in this show (the "coming up" and "previously on" parts really need to be cut down, but that would probably cut the show down to 30 minutes because it wouldn't be repeated all the time) we have to endure more drama with Crystal and Chris, and some pouty looks and "don't make me cry" business as Crystal jets off to Japan for a gig. She is looking even skinnier than before and her luggage weighs more than she does for the flight.

Janice has a meeting with Otto Models for a possible partnership and sets the wheels in motion to get rid of Peter (we have been hearing this all season)... and there is a big emotional scene where Janice cries. It's scary stuff....

There is a deal set up with Custo Barcelona and an impromptu meeting where CC doesn't get the message and accuses Traci of trying to manipulate things that seems overblown and over the top, but then again most things in this show are all manipulated in some way. There is more drama about the models not drinking at a party and working the crowd, which is kind of a repeat of the previous drama in this show. Sorin gets some bodyguard training and looks gayer than ever, but you can blame Janice for that one.

The biggest thrill of the episode was the pilgrimage to the shrine of Versace. Janice takes all her gang to pay tribute to Versace and she lays flowers on the stairs of his house. It's a huge cheesy moment and probably the biggest scene of the episode..... and it was all handled in a very supermodel way. Janice takes the models to a fancy restaurant after, where all the plates are less than 300 calories. Unfortunately this episode didn't really have any gratutious shots of the b oys so all in all it was pretty boring..... I think Janice misses the mark sometimes and really has to up the beefcake if she wants to keep us interested. Next week-- the big finale!

Terminator:The Sarah Connor Chronicles - Heavy Metal

I am still so happy that they have skirted around the disaster that was T3 and that the storyline has gone off in a different direction. This was another great episode, and besides seeing how the characters are evolving I am really liking seeing more about the Terminators and how they are constructed/grown and seeing some of the technology involved.

Our Terminator from the future that has been reconstructing himself shows up again this episode, this time after a Plastic Surgeon who he forces to change his look (and I assume make him look more human). FBI guy Ellison gets in on the action once the dead surgeon is discovered (and more of that mystery blood). It appears that Ellison is losing some of his pull with the other law enforcement agencies and they are looking at him kinda funny. Since our Terminator has just had lots of work done, he looks like some guy named Lazlo who was in the surgeon's data base and they bring the guy in to interogate him and take a blood sample.

Of course none of this pans out for Ellison, and he looks like an idiot in front of the cops... but his story is far from over and he doesn't realize how much closer he is getting to the truth.

Not that the episode was all about Ellison, it was mostly about discovering that they were followed through time via the nasty Terminator who is rebuilding himself, and that there have been shipments of Coltan alloy that are disappearing. It seems this is an alloy used to create the T3s (or is it T4s?) because it has a high melting point.

We have some more butting of heads between John and Sarah, and John is evolving more and more into his role of mankind's savior. There were more fun scenes with Cameron ( who is pretty cool and I love how she plays the robotic part up) and Sarah pulls no punches when it is time to get information out of the bad guys. The scene where she leaves the guy in the minefield was hilarious, and I feel for her character. She is still walking that fine line between mom and protector and trying to save the world. It ain't an easy job. The episode ends well, the scene in the bunker and seeing how our Terminator of the week went into "sleep" mode once he completed his mission was interesting. Seeing our nasty Terminator from the future kill his human template and take his place and then meet with Ellison was even better.... and I can hardly wait to see how they will continue to develop this storyline.

Weekend Rant - The Thursday Dilemma

It's hard to believe that even with the ongoing writer's strike (and the rumors say that there may be resolution to this soon) and the limited amount of new episodes left to play, that the viewing schedule would be so fricking congested on Thursday night. There is too much on, and with the next installment of Survivor starting this week, I have no choice but to record stuff to watch later (and that means watching shows from Thursday on the weekend with having a busy Friday schedule).

What it all means, is that it seems like everything plays on Thursday and there are other nights that are a complete wasteland. Sigh...

So-- It was great to have a new episode of Smallville called Persona, and there was finally some follow up to the cliffhanger left at the end of the previous episode with Bizarro Clark taking our original boy scout's place while he is kept prisoner in the Fortress by mean old Dad. At least the superboys are easy to keep track of, as they like to inverse their primary colors.

I am still getting real tired, real quick of the whole angst between Lana and Clark, and now the whole " Bizarro loved Lana in ways that Clark didn't" and " Lana was never as happy as she was with Bizarro" make me wish she has just left with him (instead of destroying him with the nifty Blue Kryptonite) and finishing this crap off once and for all. The best stuff was the return of Brainiac (yes, more James Marsters!), the guest appearance of yet another Superman alumni (Marc McLure aka Jimmy Olsen from the Christopher Reeve movies) as yet another Kryptonian on Earth and seeing Chloe know something is up and not to be the doormat of the episode. All this and more scene stealing by Lex, who has eliminated his cloned brother and is becoming more and more evil... the show still has enough good stuff that outways the teen angst (they are all getting a little old for all of this) and attracts enough of my attention and want more.
Supernatural returned with a great episode entitled Malleus Maleficarum, which was all about a surbuban coven of witches and some good plot development. Not only did we get more insight into the newer character of Ruby (bad yes but how bad?) and how she has fallen out of the graces of her dark lords.

I loved the whole housewives and their " Book of Shadows" (shades of Charmed!) and I was looking to see if any of the Halliwell sisters was going to show up. We spent a few minutes trying to see who the housewives resembles as far as the Halliwells go, and decided they were more like the original 3 than the later 3, and think that Shannon Doherty is way overdue to appear as a witch or demon on Supernatural.

Dean coming more to terms with why Sam has been changing was some nice resolution to the whole " Is Sam becoming evil?" routine that has been going on, and seeing Dean go ballistic on the witch/demon with Ruby's demon knife was way out there... Yikes-- do not piss these boys off. At least they kept the requisite humor ( the rabbit jokes were great, and Dean is always dependable for making some snide comment) and the new look of Ruby as more of an ally than enemy is a good move. The whole thing about a new leader rising in the west opens up more questions and I wonder how much is supposed to be resolved before the end of our abbreviated season.... will Dean make it to the end or will his fate play out later than expected?

Lost- The Beginning of the End

What an adventure last night.... Lost returned for a limited run ( 8 episodes? - let me repeat myself again, damn strike--) and sent my mind into overload with a kick ass season opener.

After ending last season with the killer flash-forward that showed Jack and Kate off the island, we join Hurley in the outside world (our time and space?) where he is on the run, and is now known as one of the Oceanic Six. It's hard to tell if this is the same future time as Jack and Kate, and it was interesting dissecting whether or not the events happening on the island are now flashbacks or current time... but the point quickly becomes moot. Time is used with such fluidity in this series it gets hard to figure out when and where things are all the time.

Hurley is one of my favorite characters and has a big part of the story. His big freak out and car chase in the beginning and then meeting Anna Lucia's former partner (and pretending not to know her) shows how there are really no coincidences in this show. Learning that Hurley has been having visions of Charlie who keeps appearing and trying to explain why he died is something that only this show can pull off. The freaky guy from Oceanic Airlines (so he said) who was offering Hurley a nice insane asylum to go rehabilitate in was so creepy... but that was not as freaky as Jacob's place appearing in the jungle and freaking Hurley out even more on the island.

Yup, bad stuff happened(s) to the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815... and we get another glimpse of part of the future (present?) before catching up where the story ended on the island in the present (past?). Yes, Charlie just died cutting off the jamming signal in the Looking Glass Station and the story is continuing on from that point. Jack is with the majority of the survivors and they are trying to contact the so called rescue ship and can finally do so because of Charlie's sacrifice. The only hitch is Locke who is not interested in leaving and throws a knife into Naomi (and believes she is not there for the right reasons nor she is who she says she is) trying to stop the communication and fails.

Our gang of survivors who are still at the beach have managed to get out of a difficult situation due to Hurley's heroism, and have just learned that Charlie has died and relayed the message that it is not Penny's boat that is out looking for them. We have no idea if these other people (not to be confused with the Others) are on their side or not, but are willing to listen with their hearts to what Charlie died to tell them.

It's all very derisive, and the survivors end up splitting into 2 groups, with some willing to hide and survive (Locke, Hurley, Sawyer, Claire and others) versus those wanting to be saved (Jack, Kate, Juliet and others) and all we know is the so called rescuers are on their way, and that in the future(s) Hurley had been locked away again, and that both he and Jack have felt in some way that they have done something wrong and need to go back and fix it.

Lost is back in all it's complex glory... and I am completely hooked again. I fear for the survivors and want to know who the rest of the Oceanic Six are... are they the only ones that got off the island? The only survivors? Why so famous? So many questions... so little episodes.