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.

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.

Stargate Atlantis - Ghost in the Machine - WTF??

I haven`t blogged much about this season so far of Stargate Atlantis, mostly because this season has been pretty bad so far. I haven`t enjoyed the storyline (or more the lack of story) and the current development with trying to fit in Woolsey in to the mix just hasn`t been that interesting. I do understand that they are trying to set the stage for this season, but it`s taking too long and has not been interesting in the least.

I was really unhappy with the last episode, and it looks like Torri Higginson has had enough of them as well as she didn`t make it back for this past episode, which was to feature the return of her character Dr. Weir.

After the way she got shafted by the writers (who seemed to think that bringing Samantha Carter on board was a good idea for one season and then to have her vanish off the map this year so she can go off to do that other sci fi series) I am not surprised, but disappointed that she is gone.. and that her role in the episode was done only by flashbacks and then the stupid idea to use FRAN`s template as a `new body` for Weir. After the whole song and dance number of it being Weir or not (I say no because it wasn`t her or the writers don`t know how to write her character) and the re-creation of the replicants and then that stupid ending with them floating in space may leave the remote possibility that Weir may appear another day, but I have pretty much given up on seeing her character again.

If she is gone forever -- then RIP Dr. Weir. You were a great character and one of the reasons I liked the show. Maybe she was dodging a bullet by not coming back and it was the best choice for her.... maybe she will get the last laugh out of this.

The way things are going, I am losing interest in Atlantis more and more each week and I can hardly wait until the fall TV season begins... then maybe we can get some decent sci fi. Friday nights used to be my favorite night of the week for sci fi and now it`s just crap...

Weekend Rant - Sci Fi Fun & Games

EUReKa came back to the airwaves this week, and it's another of my favorite programs with it's great mix of comedy, sci fi geeks and some progressive thinking. Of course, it really doesn't hurt that sexy Colin Ferguson (who plays the very down to earth but so out of his element Sheriff Jack Carter) is originally from Montréal and has that home boy appeal. Carter is the great "straight man" to all of the zany characters in the government/corporation think tank of a town. EUReKA is one special little town, and I love seeing the mixture of "what if ?" and all those wacky inventors as we all know there is a very fine line between genius and insanity.

The current season zipped out of the gates at light speed this year and followed up nicely from where things were hanging at the end of last season. The special effects budget looked better in the season opener and the chemistry was still there with all the characters. It's kind of funny that they have changed their protagonist from last year (red headed Dr. Beverly Barlowe) to " The Fixer " (red headed Eva Thorne) and I wonder if the red hair is any indicator of being good or evil. Not that it looks completely natural on either of them or anything. Anyways ... the story was a great one to start off the season and it had some nice comedic moments balanced with the touching ones and it left me all warm and fuzzy inside. Just like a good TV show should.

I can't say that I have been as impressed with the return of Stargate Atlantis over the past couple of weeks. Yes, I know that I bitched non stop last season about how they had the Samantha Carter character brought in for no apparent reason last year ( except to replace Dr. Weir, who I still miss). Last season sucked for me, and even the changes they have done so far this season with having Carter removed and Woosley brought in to replace her (and believe me I love Robert Picardo), it's still not doing it for me. The team of characters don't have the same chemistry as they did before, not since the loss of Weir and the apparent re-animation and re-departure of Doctor Carson Beckett. I am still in shock that I have seen the guy that plays the Chairman on Iron Chef as a character a couple of times on the show (Tyre) and keep expecting him to pull out some secret ingredient. That would have been way more interesting than that sad story line with Ronon. If they get back to some hot chemistry between Ronon and Doctor Keller they might make something interesting out of both characters but at this point things are not that interesting. Teyla is slowly getting back to duty after having the baby (congrats) and for some reason they are pushing her towards some kind of techie role. Like I said -- I don't understand what they are doing with the characterisation on this show or if the writer's have a clue.

I am glad that they have started doing some changes, but as the last remaining Stargate Show on the air I am still hoping for better cohesion and some better stories or this franchise might be over quicker than expected. At best, it's still testing my patience.

I did get a copy of Stargate: Continuum and am happy to say that if follow up nicely the franchise and it was great to see so many of the characters again.

It was a great time travel story (and who doesn't love a great one of those?) and in our alternate time line we get to see bad ass Vala (still one of my favorite new characters) and an unsettling vision of how things could have been if the Stargate Program hadn't been put together.

Seeing all of the originals and their great chemistry together was like welcoming old friends in to your house and things were like old times. I hope the direct to DVD movie is enough of a success that they will churn out a few more as I want to see more of this gang, and would have preferred if they had stayed on the tube instead of the gang in Atlantis. But as we all know, you don't always get what you want when it comes to programming and the TV graveyard is full of "Brilliant but cancelled " shows.

Stargate Atlantis - Quarantine

Talk about a non-episode for the most part. Nothing really happened... sure the city was in lock down mode due to system glitches, but except for some sexual tension between Ronan and Doctor What's-her-face (the one that used to be the Engineer on Firefly), not much of significance really happened... or did it?

Here is what I got out of this episode :
Teyla is suddenly so pregnant she looks like she is ready to burst and we get the cutesy moment with baby kicking. At this rate she'll be ready to pop within a couple of episodes so we probably won't see her around for a bit.

The whole lock down sequence and everyone being in pairs was a tad cheap, and then adding the repeating dialogue between our various duos just seemed lazy.

Sexual tension between Ronan and Dr.Keller = good.
Zelenka getting all worked up over Carter = creepy.

Atlantis has really crappy windows that break surprisingly easy considering the city is adapted for being underwater and in outer space.

WTF? - The whole storyline with Rodney wanting to propose and the fake flu and all the drama was far from making the character more endearing.... just shoot him now and get it over with. Don't get me started on that cheap ass ring ... no big rock there Rodney and that probably won't impress the Botanist.

I know... I was happy for a couple of episodes this season but this one left me feeling all empty inside again... hopefully things improve in the next couple of weeks....

Stargate Atlantis - Spoils of War

After all of my whining last week about Atlantis not taking the ZPMs, I had to laugh when I saw this week's episode was all about the Wraith having taken the ZPMs and getting a Cloning Hive operational. So much for gaping plot holes that don't make sense.... I have to credit the writers with resolving an issue that irked the hell out of me.

It was trippy to see the last few minutes of the Replicator war again from the Wraith persepective before our smart and dangerous aliens escaped destruction and were off on their new mission.

There was some headway with the whole Teyla pregnancy story and Sheppard not wanting her to put her into danger, which to some alien cultures, might seem sexist. I have to agree on that one as Teyla was willing to work until ready to give birth it seems, and ultimately it should be her choice. Anyways the whole point becomes moot as they need Teyla and her Wraith genes to pilot a ship so they can investigate what happened to their former Wraith ally (who they decide to call Todd) and what is happening with some mysterious installation.We do get some interesting back history of the Atlanteans and the Wraiths.

It's quite the site the Cloning facility, and to see the Queen in action and how they can produce thousands of warriors quickly is pretty disturbing. Since this is all because of the ZPMs that power the facility, our team wants to get them back and shut the facility down before it's too late. After the gang is captured (as usual), Teyla makes psychic contact with the Queen, and is able to take control of her, releasing the prisoners and then there is a big battle inside Teyla's head between her and the Queen before Teyla breaks free. It appears her psychic abilities are augmented by being pregnant (wtf?) and in the end they end up crashing the Wraith ship into the facility to destroy everything and leave empty handed. So much for the ZPMs.... and Teyla now realizes (of course) that she should be more careful during her pregnancy so will probably be out of the picture for the next while.

I am still wondering where Weir is.....

Stargate Atlantis - Be All My Sins Remember'd

Things picked up a bit last night with the return of Atlantis. Before the holidays I was less than pleased with how things were rolling along, and they seemed to save the best for later as last night's episode was pretty good for Atlantis. Good story, better interaction between the characters and finally some plot development that seemed to go somewhere.

For the first time, I felt like Sam was in charge. Her exchange with one of the other Colonels was great, putting her foot down and defending her team. The quick exchange of Col -Col-Col as introductions was deadpan on... thankfully they are maintaining some of the humor that I expect with SG programs, and they delivered several times last night with Rodney and the Wraith scientist and later with F.R.A.N.

I was ecstatic that they finally acknowledged the Teyla pregnancy.... seriously though, trying to hide it in all the shots and using props (loved the flak jacket and hold the rifle in front of you all the time routine) was getting a bit tiresome and that is finally in the open. I assume this means the actress (Rachel Luttrell) is pregnant in real life?

Anyways back to the big story, Replicants destroying all humans, a deal with the devil is made and Atlantis teams up with the Wraiths against their common foe (very Art of War) and we get additional forces from the Travellers who join the fight. Of course this is great for Sheppard, who gets to team up again with his too hot friend/foe Larrin. These 2 have smoking hot chemistry and you know will end up together eventually.....

Rodney creates F.R.A.N (Friendly Replicator ANdroid), who is designed to attract all of the other Replicants and fuse them together into one big blob, and then they can destroy them all together. I find it slightly disturbing that this is a humanoid looking weapon (similar to terrorists that blow themselves up..) and although the concern is raised the plan goes forward, warts and all. After all, they are already teamed up with one of their enemies and it appears that the rules need to be more flexible in times of war and that in it's self is still kind of disturbing. SG doesn't seem to have "Prime Directive" orders like Star Trek, and I wonder if that is because it is less futuristic (obviously) and meant to be more "real"... or is it just a reflection of a nation at war? Anyways I never wax long on issues like that with Atlantis because it's not Battlestar Galactica and I don't expect to get that intellectual about an episode.

Anyways plan goes into action, things don't turn out quite as expected and luckily they can super implode the Replicant blob into the center of the Replicant world and blow everything up. There is a pretty cool space battle sequence, F.R.A.N is frightening and childlike about her destiny and it all goes kablooey at the end. There was some very nice special effects and the status quo seems to be back in effect as the Replicants are destroyed and the Wraith have disappeared. I didn't understand for the life of me why they didn't try to salvage the ZPMs from the Replicant world before teleporting out as these things seem to be always in high demand and it seems like Atlantis needs a new one every couple of weeks but that was just me ranting...

To my surprise, we see the Replicant Weir and her group at the end of the episode, checking out the destruction and I am happy to see her still around.... but is this good or bad?

Stargate Atlantis - Weir's Swan Song

Last night's episode had that feeling and chemistry that has been missing from the series for the past several episodes. Why may you ask? Well simply because Dr.Weir was back, and hopefully this is not the last appearance of this character.

Changing things up this year hasn't really worked for me. I love Samantha Carter, but she was another no show in this episode, and the interaction between the characters seems so much more familiar and fun with most of the gang back together. Granted they were all Replicants... but it was the chemistry that I like.

The ending of the episode left quite a bit to be desired... the Replicants are taking out the humans all over the galaxy and it appears our merry band of Replicant SG Atlanteans have sacrificed themselves to get valuable intel to the regular SG Atlanteans.

There is a petition on line at :
Save Dr. Elizabeth Weir


If you are a fan of Dr. Weir and want to see her back on a regular basis there is nothing to lose but a minute of your time to sign the petition. Let's bring her back.... please.

Stargate Atlantis - Miller's Crossing

I can't say that I have been loving this season of SG Atlantis. The story lines seem to be off this season, and I am not sure if it is because the character of Dr.Weir is no longer there, or just the way the episodes are being more character driven than big picture... the worst part is that there is a new commanding officer Col. Samantha Carter who is rarely around... why have the big name come over from SG1 and then not use the character?

Anyways this episode was all about McKay's sister being kidnapped and forced to help scientist's daughter dying of cancer and some nanobot stuff. I was not too impressed with the story... the only thing that I liked was the change of venue to Vancouver (where the show is filmed) and seeing the cast in regular clothes was a change... although I prefer when they are on Atlantis or on some world far far away. It was kind of risque for them to have Rodney tasered with all the bad press recently don't you think? I think even Sheppard was bored in this episode as you can see him reading a newspaper and as much as I love our resident Canadian character I didn't think it was that great of an episode (except when his sister called him Nancy Drew) and it left me as unfulfilled as I have most of this season.... something is off with the writing or maybe I miss the chemistry with Weir and the gang... at least according to the preview she is supposed to pop up next week...

Stargate Atlantis Season Premiere

Following up on the big cliffhanger from earlier this year, Atlantis is in space, lost, damaged and in danger of becoming a big old piece of space junk.

Unfortunately SG1 has recently finished it's run on TV and Amanda Tapping (Col. Samantha Carter) needs a new job and it looks like she is stepping in to replace Dr.Elizabeth Weir who has been injured and possible repaired by Replicator Technology. whew!

I really enjoyed the Dr. Weir character, and hope there is a decent resolution to her storyline and not another pointless death to get rid of a character. The episode is well paced, and the developing storyline is slight reminiscent of Star Trek:Voyager and their need to repair to survive. All the fun essentials are there, and love the humorous undertones to parts of the story to lighten things up (if possible) and McKay is still one of my favorites on the show (and as always, managed to throw in some Canadiana with his comment on " Cole's notes ", our version of Cliff's notes). Friday nights are fun again!