Saturday, December 13, 2008

Weekend Rant - Holiday Blitz

Things have been zipping along this holiday season, and I wanted to get down some final thoughts before putting out my Top Ten lists of 2008.

First of all, congratulations are in order for the first winner of So you think you can dance Canada, the incredible Nico. It was not really a surprise, the guy deserved and easily won the title, and it was a phenomenal first season for the show. I am happy to say that the show exceeded my expectations and was more enjoyable than the American version.

Congratulations are also in order to Nick and Starr for winning this past edition of the Amazing Race, the brother and sister team were very impressive in this round and won many of the legs. It was nice to see a team that got along well, played hard and did a great run. It was an enjoyable season, and I am happy that the next one is just around the corner this February.

I am really getting into the final manipulations in Survivor: Gabon, and the wrench that Sugar threw in to the gears at the end of the last episode was priceless. I don't care what anyone else is saying, but I am convinced that Sugar is going to win it all. She has been under the radar a lot for someone who everyone knew had the hidden Immunity Idol, and her passing her idol to Matty at the last minute and ousting Crystal (thank god -- she really got on my nerves) has shifted the balance once again and Kenny better watch himself for the next round. I can hardly wait until the Finale this Sunday, and am still betting on the Pin Up Girl. She appears to be the accidental strategist but I am pretty sure there is more than that going on.

CSI is starting the departure of Grissom, and it's breaking my heart as much as the crew on the show. I bet the majority of tears on the show are the real thing and I can only imagine how emotional the scenes are. The introduction of our new (soon to be) level 1, Dr. Raymond Langston (Laurence Fishburne). I am happy it's not a quick in and out kind of meeting and that we get to see our new guy in his current job, but no one can replace Grissom. The big question will be to see what the chemistry will be like with the rest of the team, and how the new dynamics are going to play out. I am still interested but have quite a bit of trepidation.

Heroes is still not hitting all the right notes for me with the current storyline and I hope that things start getting back on track soon. I was disappointed that they decided to kill of Elle (one of the few interesting characters) and I am getting tired of all the back and forth with Hiro. At least it seems like he has his memories back but now is stuck back in time and powerless once again? I am starting to see Hiro as the joke here and never to be the actual Hero that he wants to be... at least the scenes with his mother were great but the time ripples from this particular event ( Hiro getting the catalyst instead of Claire) should be felt in modern time. This show is getting more confusing to watch but I am crossing my fingers that there will be something interesting that comes out of all of this.

Per usual, my biggest highlight of the week was Pushing Daisies. This past episode, The Legend of Merle McQuoddy, was such a brilliant combination of all the things that I love about this show that it's probably impossible to list every single thing that I loved, but some of the highlights included the developing drama with Chuck's undead Dad Charles Charles, and his disdain for pie. The whole pie or cake argument is not only a pivotal part of the storyline, but it is completely reflective of the fact that the show has only a few episodes left and soon all of us will be with out pie. I wish that someone had the balls to keep a quality show like this running on the air, but it appears that the almighty dollar reigns supreme once more.

Charles Charles is not quite the man that Chuck thinks he is (and how different is he really after being dead for so long and then undeaded?). The fight with him and Ned was brilliant, and we'll have to see what happens now that so many rules are being broken. I am surprised that we haven't seen Digby recently and wonder if he will show up in the last couple of episodes before the end.I almost expected Digby to jump in at one point and help Ned.

Olive just kills me, and between her snippy comments back and forth with the Diorama Widow (sorry but every time I think of those two and their back and forth passive aggressive barbs I hear Olive asking " Are those cotton balls stuck to your ass?".) I was rolling on the floor over that one and all the other bitchy comments that were exchanged between our ladies. Once again, high five to the art direction team and their brilliant choice of rain ponchos for our characters, Olive's rain gear was covered in olives (naturally), Ned had Pies all over his and our dear Emerson had Sharks all over his rain poncho. Sheer brilliance on all levels. Bryan threw a little nod to Prop 8 in his addition to the storyline that our Mr.McQoddy was shipwrecked and rescued by a Gay Family Cruise ship (more brilliance), and I loved the allusions to Batman at the beginning with the lighthouse signal, and it was another fun mystery story that got Olive further into the detective business with Emerson and a possible career option. We even got treated to a bit more music this week, this show must be saved some how. We need a Christmas Miracle!

Sunday, December 07, 2008

Weekend Rant - Cold Comfort

Pushing Daisies had to be the biggest highlight of this past week, and Comfort Food , had even more tasty goodness than our last episode. The cold comfort is the impending demise of the show and the fact that the stories are getting better and better. The art direction is still astounding, and I loved the whole "Bake Off" atmosphere and odes to characters like Colonel Sanders (Colonel Likkin), the sheer insanity of the Waffle Nazi and the surprise appearance of Muffin Buffalo, another shout out to Wonderfalls and the whole zany universe that Bryan Fuller has created. My dream of a cross over featuring George from Dead like Me, Ned and Jaye from Wonderfalls may only be realized in a dream (or comic book).

We got treated to another song by Olive (as beautiful and brilliant as usual), and the more we learn about our main characters and their past, the more I get attached to this show. I know it's not every one's cup of tea, but it has so much depth and is so unusual that I can help but feel cheated that it will not get to realize it's potential. As usual there was tons of witty quips and a hilarious slow motion run to the finish. Chuck's story with her un-dead dad and the repercussions of lying to Ned to keep dad alive (and conveniently saving her and Ned's life at the cemetery) just got to the crux of the issue at the end of this episode, and I can hardly wait to see what happens next week. Cold comfort indeed.

The Amazing Race got closer to the finish line and will finish up this run tonight -- I was a bit in shock when Dallas forgot their bag with their money and passports and ended up eliminating him and mom during the penultimate leg, and even more shocked that the Frat boys actually kept it together enough to finish and be finalists this week. Andrew & Dan may have snuck into the Top 3 but they are so dysfunctional that I can't honestly see them winning and it would be the biggest upset in Race history if they do. I am still betting on Nick & Starr to win the big prize but Ken & Tina might beat them to the finish line. It will still be fun to watch tonight and I am happy to hear that the next round is already scheduled for February.

Heroes is pushing things a tad with their never ending eclipse that temporarily took away powers only to be things back to where there were before. The saving grace is our comic book nerds who are helping Hiro get back his memories that he no longer wants now that he has looked in on events in the 9th Wonders comic book. I just get tired of Hiro always reverting and going back to who he was before instead of becoming the kick ass warrior that we saw in season 1. Some of the story has been lost along the way but I was glad to see more of HRG in action like we know and love. The show needs to concentrate more on what works and to stop rebooting things non stop.

Survivor: Gabon is proving that out witting the other players is the way to win the game, and Bob has really been stepping his game up these past 2 weeks with some killer Individual Immunity performances and not one, but two fake Immunity Idols. I still think the biggest danger is Sugar, and she seems to some stay under every one's radar, even when she is being quite the bitch and not playing that nice. She still hasn't played her own Hidden Immunity Idol and doesn't seem to be in danger (and it appears the rest of them are so into their own game play that they have forgotten about it) and seems to be in the right direction to make it to the final four. It will be interesting to watch how things play out over the next couple of weeks.

On a side note: enough was enough and over the past few weeks I have dropped Stylista (what a snore fest) and can hardly wait until Stargate Atlantis finishes. I am just not liking the stories and everything feels terribly forced. It sucks when you have a great series that goes downhill ( I still blame all of it on the departure of Weir) and try as they might, they just can't get that chemistry back that was there a few seasons ago. It's a shame.... maybe the next series will resurrect the franchise.

Friday, December 05, 2008

So you think you can dance Canada - Final Four

After 3 months of competition (and it seems like only last month we started), we finally got down to the Final Four and the last dances before the final vote on the penultimate episode of So you think you can dance Canada . This week it was all about finding that one great dancer and I really think it was pretty obvious who had the goods after all was said and done.

I loved that we had Dan Karaty back at this important time, and I loved his opening number that was all very insane Mad Hatter influenced and had some great flow and cane work. The dancers did a great job but per usual Nico shined. There is nothing that they have thrown at him that the guy has not been able to handle.

It was a great mix of everyone paired up with everyone (in every combination possible including boy/boy and our 2 girls together) and it was a lot of choreography and practice to pick up in one week. The judges were very supportive last night of all of the dancers, and even when Miles blanked on some of the choreography in his number with Natalli, the judges brushed it off and told him to do the same and just to do his thing. It was very kind, but at the same time you knew that was going to be a factor at the end of the night when it came to voting.
Allie did very well for the evening, and I really think that she will be in second place once the do the first part of the elimination and Natalli and Myles are thanked and commended for their hard work and talent. Her contemporary number with Nico was breathtaking and I love her lines. She really has gone out of her element but brings such a natural grace and beauty to everyone dance that she performs. Natalli did an okay job, but was not as consistent as Allie over the evening and I think that maybe an influence at voting time. Miles did manage to get some good stuff out but was overwhelmed at times. Miles is astounding and has gone really far from his style, but ultimately it will be Nico who wins the big prize and gets the title. He doesn't even drive (which is not unusual for us urban dwellers who are used to transit and making our way around this great city), so it's kind of ironic that he wins the car but who cares? He's a great dancer and has been great to watch.

I can hardly wait until the big finale Sunday night -- I voted until I lost count this past Wednesday and am looking forward to seeing all the Top Ten perform again and the return of Mia Michaels and Mary Murphy to the panel. If this keeps up they will have to give Mary dual citizenship so she can be a regular on our show. Good luck Nico!