Weekend Rant - The Week in Review

This week went by in record speed (I think losing that hour had a bit to do with it but just as much was the release of Watchmen in Imax which I thoroughly enjoyed. If you want to see an amazing and complex film -- I highly recommend checking it out, the film blew my mind.

It was a great week for the tube ( or the LCD to be a tad more modern) and I was impressed with the quality of some of the shows and the great writing. Monday nights are still ruled by The Big Bang Theory and the hysterical nerds. My other nerd fare for the evening, Chuck and Heroes are not hitting as many balls out of the park this season (although I do have to say that Chuck has been improving the past couple of episodes), but Heroes is really leaving me lukewarm and wondering why they have gone in this direction more than anything else. Medium is still the best bet for the evening and with such a daunting schedule, I am still running way behind on 24. I'll catch up eventually.

RuPaul's Drag Race is the fiercest show on the airwaves at this time and I can't get over the way over the top outfits, the fabulous make up or the brutal honesty of our girls. Bebe Zahara Benet is the hottest thing and my choice for Queen of this Ball, but dear little Ongina was so real and honest that I was heartbroken when she was let go. I can only dream for a better world. You may be gone from the competition Ongina but you will survive and only one thing to say - you better work it!

Tuesday is still a mostly Canuck TV night, and the regular mainstays like the Rick Mercer Report and This Hour has 22 Minutes are as scathing and hilarious as usual, but Project Runway Canada is boring me with the same formula over and over in their second season. Unless some huge disaster happens, Sunny is going to win the competition as he is miles above everyone else, is not saddled with the ego problems that seem to be a requisite for the majority of the competitors and is the highlight of each runway. Sure, Jessica may have gotten the top nod this week (I didn't really care for her design and can not understand her whole urban vibe that she is trying to pull off, the girl is from Toronto and not some hood in southern LA) and Jeff got the boot for being a bad designer and by his bad executed reversible (wtf?) disaster. When you have to start glueing pieces together or drawing on stitching then you might think you are in the wrong competition. It's a shame though, I did like him at the beginning but quickly realized that he (and several of the other designers), are way out of their element and the competition has this weird symmetry to it.

Lost has my head spinning in different time paradoxical ways with the gang being back in the 1970's and part of the Dharma Initiative. I can see more why Daniel's mom was so reticent about the Oceanic Six being on that last plane as it seems to have drawn all of the players back together on the Island, albeit at a different time and in different circumstances and it opens up a whole new can of worms with Ben being there. There is of course all the issues of Locke dealing with Ben (who killed him), the new identities of the Jin, Sawyer and Juliet and the rest of the motley crew that have now become part of the Dharma group, the ever mysterious and ageless Richard and the sudden arrival of the Oceanic Six. Things are complicated, interesting and making my brain hurt. I literally had kittens when our gang was time shifting and we saw the giant statue for a few seconds before they shifted again and it was gone once again. I wonder if there is some ancient people behind all the unique properties of the Island (Atlantis maybe?) but still have the feeling that it was aliens and possibly a crashed ship that has been on the Island for a very long period of time. This season has been astounding and I can't believe how great the writing has been.

Make me a Supermodel came back with it's second season, and it is as addictive as ever with mix of competitors, great challenges and sexy boys and girls. I am really liking Sandurst and it's nice to see one of the boys out and married (Shawn), and it think of Clark Kent kind of guy, Colin is completely adorable. The very very very androgonous Chris is a bit too much, and our good Mennonite girl Salome is reminding me alot of last year's winner, Holly. I don't think it will be the same kind of girl winning this year but am looking forward to the competition. Let the games begin!

Survivor Tocantins is barreling along and I really like the mix of characters this year. Taj is really growing on me and I love the sneaky alliance that she has going with Brendan, Sierra and Stephen. Coach and his minion Tyson are starting to get on my nerves and I hope that their team wakes up and gets rid of Coach soon, he talks big but sure as hell has not been walking the walk that goes with all his talk. Tyson is just turning into a jerk that likes to see people suffer, that is a bit too sociopath for me and we'll have to see what happens when and if things are shaken up. Our hidden Immunity Idols should be coming into play soon (it looks like they are hidden the same spot as the first Immunity Idols) and they are sure to shake up the game soon. I love it when we get to merge time and it's everyone for themselves, let's just see if they can get rid of some of the deadwood before that time. The location is stunning and I can't believe how amazing this show looks in all of its HD glory. Nice work Survivor.

Burn Notice finished up the season and redeemed it's self over the past few weeks with episodes that ended up the current storyline and brought the series back to the fun and dangerous feeling that it had is season one. It's great having Fiona and Michael back together (and they make such a hot couple) and I love how well Sam and Michael's mom are playing off of each other. Here's hoping they bring the show back for another season as it is still Top Twenty at the least and no one else has such a great voice over explaining the tricks of the spy trade. Michael Westen is the sexiest spy on TV at the moment (not to mentioned best dressed) and it would be a shame to miss out seeing more of his adventures.

Battlestar Galactica is amazingly good and I can't believe that in a couple of weeks it will all be over. I know that the finale will be atleast 3 hours long but have the nagging feeling that it will leave more questions than answers and possible/probable sequel or follow up to the series. It's heartbreaking to see Adama losing all of his important women at the same time, Galactica and Roslin. There is so much going on but you can feel the impending sense of finality with all things, the end of Galactica, the end of the quest for a new home, the end of their current way of life. I think we are in for a huge final blow out, with the winners picking up the pieces and creating a new race of Cylon/humans. All I know is that I can only hope for something to follow this (in the spirit of Galactica 1980), showing the new home.. and I have the feeling that the other Cylon homeworld " The Colony" is a key to all of this. It will be a trip to see this all play out over the next couple of weeks. All good things must come to an end eventually.

Weekend Rant - Making up for Lost Time

Things have been running fast and furious for several weeks now, and as I continue playing catch up with a few shows (24 is one of those), I have been making sure that I keep up with my Best in Show favourites such as Lost and Battlestar Galactica. This has to be one of my favourite times of the year as both of those series are rolling out phenomenal seasons and the writing has been incredible. It is nice to see some complicated and enthralling story lines and both series have been keeping me on the edge of my seat.

Dollhouse has really sucked me in with after only 3 episodes and I salut Josh Whedon for creating another fascinating universe. Eliza Dushku is really having a chance to show her acting chops with her portrayal of each of the different persona's and as her fugue Echo in her Tabla Rasla state. The premise is intriguing, I am loving the stories so far and the back story with Alpha and the massacre at the Dollhouse. Casting Amy Acker as the resident doctor for the Dolls is more Whedon brilliance and is totally geek pleasing stuff seeing one of my favourites from Angel (Fred/Illyria) as the scarred Dr. Claire Saunders, and I have been thrilled to see Tahmoh Penikett (Helo from BSG) cast as the FBI agent trying to uncover the Dollhouse. This strange melding of both the Buffy and Galactica universes has me hooked and I can hardly wait to see more.

Lost and The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham has my head spinning watching John Locke getting manipulated by all the different players surrounding his quest to return to the Island, and it's hard to tell who is actually telling the truth.Is it Richard (and Christian?) that are working together on behalf of the Island, or is Widmore and his quest to get the Island back or does it have something to do with Ben? The big reveal that John was going to commit suicide after visiting and being rejected by the majority of the Oceanic 6 in an effort to get them back to the Island, only to be stopped at the last minute by Ben. Of course John made the error of revealing a bit too much information and then was killed by Ben who staged John's suicide. Now that we have John waking up on the Island with a new group of people and an injured Ben makes me wonder what John did in a past life that he needs to make up for it now, or what is so damn special about him that has been alluded to by all the players. One thing is certain, they all seem to need him. The only thing that I can say is that the return to the Island was astounding with all those convenient coincidences.... but I can hardly wait to see Sun and Jin meet again once we figure out When everyone is. Damn this show is astounding.

Battlestar Galactica has me completely sucked in to the last few episodes and I am on pins and needles waiting to see how they will end things with our survivors. Will they finally find home? Is Hera truly the salvation they are looking for? Is Starbuck a clone or hybrid? Something else? Will Galactica hold together long enough to find a new home? Will the President live long enough to see her people safe? So many questions and so little time left...

Heroes is still boring me senseless with the current story line and if the ratings keep dropping like this we may not see any more after this season. Unfortunately this series has fallen victim to the biggest problem that hits sci fi shows ... it seems that it is a problem to try maintaining good writing or well developed story lines that keep the viewers coming back, and I have been bored silly since this story arc started. Wake me up when this snooze is over as they keep just rehashing the same things over and over. At least Chuck is still hanging in there quality wise, but it really has to be Medium which is the most gripping show of the evening. This show is an example of good writing that has made for some great stories so far this season. I love Alison being a bit more out of control and this past body snatcher/possession storyline is making me think that hubbie Joe is going to have a major meltdown soon if Alison keeps putting the kids in danger.

I wish the scheduling would get back to normal and shows like Bones and Big Bang Theory get back to airing new episodes,the occasional new episode is not enough and don't get me started about wanting to see the final episodes of Pushing Daisies. Some shows get no respect and I am furious with ABC for holding on to the last episodes and not even giving the crew a chance to tie things up with the storyline. MADtv finally had a new episode this week, and it was great to see the gang doing their very funny schtick after several months of repeats and compilation episodes. I hope they will air all the final season and let the cast say their farewells. It would be great to see some of the old gang to tie things up but I am not really holding out too much hope for any hooplah. For all we know, all the stuff has already been taped and we are just waiting for it to air.

Project Runway Canada is starting to become too predictable with pretty much the same formula being used over and over. Iman looks fierce, Challenge, at least one designer freaks out and is on the verge of a complete meltdown. There is tons of bitching and usually the biggest whiner goes home, and Sunny wins. Repeat. I bet ya Sunny wins the competition...

My biggest guilty pleasure at the moment has to be RuPaul's Drag Race, which is turning into one of the best shows ever. Not only are our contestants fierce from A to Z, but they are all such lovely and different creatures that you can't help but want all of them to win, except for the one that they are shamelessly promoting as the biggest bitch because the show has to have one. This show hits so many of the right notes with its over the top spoofing of other reality shows and having the balls to show the guys as much as the boys they are as their Drag counterparts. It's a shame that a couple of the more marginal girls have had to go, but I am routing for Angina. Drag is about being a parody or being a character and not necessarily about being a female impersonator. You go girl!

Weekend Rant - Another Blitz !

Life has it's busy moments, and I am still sprinting non stop for the next few weeks... so this week is another Week in Review and my biggest hits and misses of the week.

I absolutely loved the special edition of Desperate Housewives and their tales of the handyman. Not only was it great to see the ladies in flashback mode (loved the first meeting of Gaby and the girls), and it was nice to see characters like Rex back for an appearance, and I think it is always a great treat to see Mary Alice. The episode was very well written and I laughed and cried with our housewives and the common thread that brought them all together.

Momma's Boys came to a merciful end with our boys and mothers unhappy. Like I said before, I am not predicting any happy endings and I am glad that this experiment is over ... none of the guys really followed their heart and that should be the essential element. In reality, should we even expect anything deep from these self professed momma's boys.. they are used to being told what to do and to have everything done for them.

24 is keeping a decent pace, but is already starting to stretch into more of that
"Did they really do that ? " territory with the apparent shooting and burial of our more than slightly miffed and confused FBI agent Renee. The storyline is still intriguing enough that I am coming back for more and I can hardly wait to see more with Bill and Chloe. Another geek off between Janis and Chloe would be more than appreciated (their mutual admiration for each other was cute as well) and I have the feeling that Janis is the mole and will be kind of like the anti-Chloe to to screw things up for Jack. At least the essential and important elements of this series are in sync , and Jack and Tony are being rough and tough double agents working for some rogue agency because of some government conspiracy. I wonder if the story lines will change now that there is a different vibe at the White House and the new administration seems more public and honest.

Smallville delved into angst territory again this week with Lana still on board and Lois curiously absent once again. I am looking forward to getting back in to hero mode and Lana leaving again, Clark just turns into a babbling idiot and some one needs to give him a super kick in the ass. They have been going back and forth on the hero thing and we better get into some tights soon, or attempts at disguising our reluctant hero so he really can be a force for good and start realizing his potential. I will say that I did like the Lana stuff when she showed Tessmacher how she was the eyes and ears of Lex with out knowing it, and it will be interesting to see what side she will play on now, but I am more interested in seeing things develop with Lois and Clark and for the series to be more action and adventure oriented.

Bones came back this week with 2 episodes and both of them were brilliant for different reasons. I loved seeing Booth and Bones undercover and off to join the circus as Canadians, Buck and Wanda Moosejaw who have this nifty act called Boris & Natasha & their Russian knives of death. Both of them were hilarious and Bones had me on the floor with her deadpan questions and comments. Her blind faith in Booth and his knife throwing abilities was surprisingly logical, and the affection between the two of them is obvious to everyone except them it seems. They had too much fun together at the Circus and it was great to have the show back on the air. I loved the 2nd episode as well, and you could see that David was having too much fun with the hockey theme. I still have alarm bells that go off with Sweets, and am still convinced that he will be a bad guy some time in the future.

The return of Lost was the biggest highlight of the week, and I loved the 2 hour opener that started to answer some questions and reveal some of the secrets of the Island. I love the whole unstuck in time thing that is happening and how it appears that things can be influenced over the time stream if you know the right door to go knocking on... they had already shown in a past episode that there was a distinct link between Desmond and Daniel (The Constant), and now it looks like Daniel can communicate with the Desmond on the Island (in the past), who will remember the meeting as a dream or memory and maybe able to change the sequence of events. The time travel/paradox issue looks like it will be a major part of the storyline and I am interested to see how all it will play out and how it ties into the apparent death of Locke and the need to get everyone back to the Island. I bet that once they are all back, Locke will come back to life (he is very special after all) and things will be changed in the Time/Space Continuum. This show is amazing and I have the distinct feeling that long term viewers will be treated to lots of great stuff this season. It was great to find out more about what happened with the gang on the Island after the big white out and it was a definite treat to have an episode of Sawyer shirtless. I wonder if Jack's hairy chest will come back during one of the flashbacks and I bet we will have at least one time travel episode where our survivors meet up with themselves. That will be a trip.

Weekend Rant - The Week in Review

Things have started off pretty decently this New Year, and I was very impressed with the returning shows this week. Things are very busy right now so my rantings may be less frequent for the next month but I will do atleast one posting per week.

24 has turned out to be a pleasant surprise, and reminding me more of the early seasons of the series. I still have problems with the the time lag and not really getting much background about when and why CTU was shut down and what happened with some of the key players, but it feels better than the last season and I am always a fan of Jack.

The Big Bang Theory is really getting it's groove, and the guys are getting the geek sensibility down to an art form, but I am concerned that Sheldon is going to overshadow Leonard and I hope that his character will not just be the straight man to all the funny guys around him. The characters are hilarious, and Wolowitz was hysterical this week when his feelings got hurt by Penny. I was practically drooling over his figurine collection (it figures that a brilliant nerdy scientist that still lives at home would have thousands of dollars worth of figurines)and I can't get over the details in this show, there must be some serious geeks in that set decorating department.

I am not ashamed that I have been loving Momma's Boys and it is currently one of my Guilty Pleasures. My favorite boy has to be our man-whore/fireman/actor Michael who seems to really like those blond chicks with a huge rack, he also seems to like to take them for a test ride before buying, yet seems put off by girls that are too slutty. Go figure, the guy is getting to be hot after one of the girls (Erica) that was the Penthouse Pet of 2008. His mom thinks this is the perfect girl for him (no one knows her deep dark secret) and it is like a great soap opera. One of the other guys, JoJo, has a very bigoted mother, who freaks at the idea of her son being with anything other than a white girl, and thinks that none of the girls are good enough for her boy. Our last contestant, Robert, is a nice Jewish boy and Mom wants to keep it that way.She doesn't want her dear boy to be with anything but a nice Jewish girl and she has one all picked out for him, the problem is that he really likes one of the girls,and she isn't Jewish or Caucasian and Mom is having conniptions. It's all drama and over the top and terrible and I can't stop watching. I love seeing the moms freak out and how the boys are rebelling like crazy and I have to admit that a couple of the boys are pretty fine watching.It'll all be over this week but I don't predict a happy ending to any of these relationships.

Superstars of Dance can not end quickly enough for me, if there wasn't atleast a couple of really interesting dance numbers per episode it wouldn't get any of my attention at all but skipping over most of it and just taking in the real dance numbers makes it tolerable, but just barely.

I played catch up with Lost and got back in tune with the last 3 episodes of last season, and can hardly wait until Wednesday... seriously I am literally on pins and needles waiting for my next Lost fix.

Smallville came back in full force this week and I just loved the Legion of Super-heroes episode titled Legion. The episode was great due to guest writer Geoff Johns, one of my favorite comic book writers (he does has been doing some great stuff with Green Lantern and Teen Titans and ton of other stuff) and he tied things together nicely in the Smallville Universe. The characters were good adaptations of the original Saturn Girl, Lightning Lad and Cosmic Boy and fit the style of Smallville, and the story was excellent and even reflected the storyline that Geoff had done in Action Comics with Superman and the Legion.Great story and I liked how they tied up some of the stuff with Brainiac (for the moment)and how they hinted at bigger things for Lana. That I am not sure about as the character hasn't really been in the forefront for awhile and to me she will always be Clark's girlfriend when he was a teenager before Lois. In the older version Lana was a hero also, putting on an alien ring that transformed her into different insects and she became the honorary Legionnaire, Insect Queen.I do find it kind of convenient that Lois hasn't been around in the episodes that Lana is in, I am wondering if there is trouble between the 2 girls? In any case I hope they drop the "No tights, No flights" rule pretty quick ( I loved the comment about that in the episode)and get Clark in some tights.. some things are not meant to be hidden.

Supernatural pulled out one of those episodes Family Remains that was terrifying and even scarier because it wasn't ghosts or demons but humans, and unfortunately inspired by the terrible events that transpired in Austria with the father locking the daughter away and doing terrible things to her for years. Dean said it best when he said all this was worse than any of the demons and monsters that they usually deal with. It was a very creepy episode, I jumped quite a few times and thought the storyline was really well done. It was nice to see Helen Slater again on the tube, it seems that she is finding a place in the Sci-Fi/Horror genre. I am looking forward to seeing how the storyline develops with Lilith and how things will play out over the next while, this was a great episode to get back in the beat of things.

Battlestar Galactica came back this week and I loved the first of the final 10 episodes. The crew was so devasted about not finding the Earth that they were looking for but finding the nuclear wasteland that was some planet that had been inhabited by Cylons. I am still not convinced that this was the true 13th Tribe, but it certainly took the story in a different direction. I was shocked with how everyone was crushed, and the worse blow of all was when Dee blew her brains out. It was another example of how profound they will go with this series and how they will change things up so things are not what is expected at all.They keep spinning around who is the Final model, and were dropping hints back and forth about Starbuck (and her discovering her body and ship on the planet -- I still haven't wrapped my head around that one) and it looks like Tigh's dead wife Ellen is supposed to be the final model. The flashbacks with our Final Five have been fascinating, and I can hardly wait to see what happens next.  I bet there is a reunion around the corner with Tigh and his wife, and I can hardly wait to see some of our characters run into their duplicates. Damn this show is good!

Weekend Rant - Starting off the New Year

The arrival of the New Year heralded the beginning of new and exciting things, but unfortunately it also signaled the end of a few of my favorite series.

Just leaving the airwaves on New Year's Eve and after an incredible 16 years on the air and a total of 35 years of history,  The Royal Canadian Air Farce (a fun play on words of our air force) finished things up and it was a bittersweet finale. I will miss their parodies and political mischief and hope that some of the comedians will be seen in other shows or maybe another weekly variety show. It's always hard when you lose an institution like Air Farce and I will miss seeing Roger Abbott, Don Ferguson, Luba Goy, Jessica Holmes, Craig Lauzon, Alan Park and Penelope Corrin each week. There has rarely been a week that has gone by that they have not had a scathing commentary on the current political scene or some brilliant insight to Canadian Issues. They are as important to culture as Second City Television (SCTV). May the Farce always be with us!

It was also announced that MADtv is ending it's run after an impressive 14 seasons, surviving in a time slot that has seen many a pretender come and go and it has been the only viable competition to the long running SNL. I have been a huge fan of the show since day one, and have marveled at the brilliant parodies that they have pulled off over the years. No other show has been as biting and sarcastic as this crew, and they have had some very funny people that have stayed on for multiple seasons. The list of favorites is practically endless, but Mary Scheer, Orlando Jones, Bryan Callen, Michael McDonald, Aries Spears, Debra Wilson, Mo Collins ,Bobby Lee, Nicole Sullivan, Alex Borstein,Will Sasso, Stephnie Weir, Frank Caliendo, Phil LaMarr, Ike Barinholtz, Nicole Parker, Paul Vogt, Crista Flanagan,  Keegan-Michael Key, Jordan Peele, Arden Myrin and Josh Meyers all made me laugh my ass off at some time and I will really miss having this show around. I always found it to be consistently funny and edgier than the last decade of SNL. They have also done some of the best music video spoofs out there, and I hope the rumors are true that they are trying to shop the show around to some other networks. If anything, I would just like to thank all the cast and crew for many years of funny stuff and hope to see them around in some form or another.

Wrapping things up, Stargate Atlantis ended with a whimper (not even close to a bang) and I am just happy that it is finally over. It's unfortunate that the series lost direction (and I have never liked it as much since the Doctor Elizabeth Weir character was written out of the series), and they really lost their direction with casting and interaction between the characters. I just hope the next series that the spin off of SG1 will fare better. I will miss  Joe Flanigan but imagine that he will pop up elsewhere (or so I hope).

Sanctuary finished up it's first season and I still keep waiting to get really interested. I haven't found the characters that interesting or enthralling and I am completely on the fence about future episodes. The concept is great, it is once more a question of writing, and getting some interesting and gripping story lines down.

I heard over the holidays that NBC has decided to pull the plug on American Gladiators and I am heartbroken. I was really enjoying the series and the herd of new Gladiators (there go favorites like Hellga, Crush and Toa) and still hold out hope that it might be picked up as a summer series .... one can dream. I can't believe that they keep Knight Rider and not this.

Starting back up this month are Battlestar Galactica and Lost, two of my favorite series and I am waiting with much ... (say it!) ...  anticipation to the series premiere this Friday of Galactica. I absolutely love the series and can hardly wait to see where it takes us in the final 10 episodes. The big reveal of the final Cylon model should be something, I bet the writers have been making us think that it is Starbuck but it will turn out to be Roslin. Lost has left a ton of questions in the air since last spring (it's a long time in between seasons of Lost), and I can hardly wait to see how things develop and I am thrilled that Bones is back this week, but hate the fact that it seems that almost everything is on Thursday night. Thank god for technology that enables you to record 2 things at the same time, but it means that I have to play catch up on the weekend to see some of my favorite shows.

Thursday is going to busy with Smallville and Supernatural coming back this week (I can hardly wait, both series have been great so far this year) and then the big return of America's Best Dance Crew, which is better than the almost tolerable ( I question the judging and what they qualify as dance) Superstars of Dance, which is filling a hole in the schedule and has enough good content to counteract the bland hosting and bizarre format. I have no idea who that South African Judge is, but I just want to reach out to my HD TV and smack him. Damn that man is irritating.

I will check out the season opener of 24, but if it is as dismal as the TV movie last month (24 - Redemption) that didn't really bridge the time span and missed season due to the strike last year. The end of the previous season (from a couple of years ago) had Jack taken hostage by the Chinese and the storyline was not really resolved. It was a crappy season anyways and is the reason I am looking at the big debut this week with a bit of trepidation. If the storyline is not gripping or interesting enough (or just plain stupid), I will not be continuing. The only thing that I have seen that was good and  24 related over the past while was a part of the Les Parent this past week on Radio-Canada. The whole real time feeling and incredible multi tasking done by mom, all while ranting about the impossible amount of things done by Jack Bauer in one hour was hilarious and great use of a camera. The writers have really been impressing me on this series and they deserves a shout out for that sketch.

24: The Unaired 1994 Pilot

Jack Bauer saves the world with AOL 3.0. in this brilliant parody by College Humor