Weekend Rant – Endings & Beginnings

Things have been very busy this time of year and while the end of the regular television season is upon us I been catching up on a few things. I have been pretty disappointed this season with the meh endings to the majority of the shows. It used to be that end of seasons were for huge cliff-hangers or other hooks to get you on board for the next season, but it seems that a ton of shows have taken the easy route and done nothing more than a regular episode. That’s just plain lazy.

Although not mentioned earlier, the season finale to Lost was as mind blowing as expected and I will be on pins and needles until 2011 and the final season of this astounding show. The parallel stories of our time lost heroes trying to save the future and the enigmatic Locke look a like who is out to kill the very mysterious Jacob (who suddenly seems to have an influence in the lives of almost all of the survivors). There seems to be other eternal beings who are responsible for creating Richard and it’s hard to read who is on the side of angels… some of this story smells like Cain and Abel to me but the whole Egypt angle has me really intrigued. There is so much to this story that it blows my mind.

Survivor Tocantins finished up almost as expected, I did see JT winning but did not see that it would be between him and Stephen at the end. It was a great season full of some very memorable characters, but I was happy to see that the majority think that Coach is a complete knob and fraud and I am soooo happy his 15 minutes is up. The next season in Samoa looks great and I will be checking out Burnett’s next venture, Expedition Africa: Stanley and Livingstone. I would love to see Mark return to his roots and bring back some Eco-Challenge, one of the best competitions ever.

So you think you can dance? has started the selection of the Top 20 and the auditions were as interesting as usual. I still prefer the Canadian format that highlights more of the talent as opposed to the losers, and found the brother and sister team very disturbing in an incest kind of a way (just creepy) and I can’t believe that they had that retarded “Sex” idiot back again (seriously?) in a dance off with another delusional idiot. I would much rather see the talented dancers and see the best. At least next week it will be Vegas portion of the auditions and the first culling has been done. I hope to see them pushed hard and it will be great to see some of the choreographers come back. Nigel seems particularly snippy this season and Mary definitely has the cougar claws out.

The Fashion Show is boring me senseless and has none of the appeal of Project Runway. The change in format, the hosting of Not–Beyonce and Isaac is terrible and the editing sucks. There was so much crap on that catwalk last night that I was wondering why it wasn’t a multiple elimination. I don’t agree that our Underwear designer got bumped, there was stuff that was so fugly that got through that I don’t understand how the voters could not have chosen one of them instead. The show is just filler until the real Fashion comes back.

I finally caught up with Dollhouse and loved the first season. I was shocked to learn that our Doctor is actually an ex-active Whiskey (one of my favourites from Josh’s universe Amy) who was the hottest ticket until Alpha went postal on her. The storyline was well developed and the characters fascinating, so I hope Josh has a good plan for next year and some more interesting developments with the concept.

Make me a Supermodel surprised the hell out of me over the past 2 weeks with the elimination of Salome last week and then the dismissal of Mountaha this week has made it an all male finale that has Jonathon poised to win the big title. I wish he was back to his more natural looking blonde, but he is still bringing it big time each time and the best of the boys. I still can’t believe that the 2 strongest girls are gone, the Judges seem to want a male winner this year but I don’t think Branden has the goods and Sandhurst is too limited. Jonathon has been consistent pretty much every week and has the look.

WipeOut returned this week and was even more hilarious than last season. I think the level of cruelty has been oomphed up a notch this round, but the competition is so funny to watch and the commentary so scathing that I am literally rolling on the floor laughing my ass off (ROTFLMAO for all you acronym people) watching these poor contestants get bashed and bruised senseless. I would love to get my shot at this show, but the new final zone looks even harder than before.

This week I am getting all hyped up by seeing the final episodes of Pushing Daisies (I am still so disappointed with ABC for not giving this one the chance it deserved) and the return of Burn Notice. Some of my favourite summer fare is around the corner and I can hardly wait until we get into some fun dance competition and see the return of Kathy Griffin and friends.

Weekend Rant – The beginning of the end

I am still playing catch up with several shows (most notably 24 and CSI) and have been in full blown End of Season mode all this week as a whole whack load of my shows on the Watch List are already wrapping things up as this season winds down. It’s already a Win Some / Lose Some situation as it’s a shame to see some shows go (already?) but it will also herald the beginning of the Summer season and the return of favourites such as So you think you can Dance? and WipeOut. There are a few new things of the horizon as well and Glee looks like my kind of show. All that will be checked out in the upcoming weeks. It’s a busy time of the year.

Desperate Housewives is following up on some of the storylines (the Jackson/Susan wedding is too stoopid for words) and developing others in an attempt to create some tension and get things all built up for the end of this season, but has left me the impression that there is much frantic grasping at straws and trying too hard. I think they are going in the right direction of trying to streamline things, but need to get back to the the core characters and the challenges of being desperate and a housewife. I hope the next death is Orson… his character has had it’s time.

Dancing with the Stars pissed me off so much the other week with the untimely dismissal of Lil’ Kim that I was holding my breath to see who would make it to the finale and didn’t want to make any predictions in case I was sending out the wrong vibes. I still can’t believe that Ty got to hang around for another round and one of the best dancers ever was sent home. I will never understand bone head moves like that, and one of the reasons I avoid voting shows like American/Canadian Idol where it turns into a popularity contest instead of being judged on talent and ability. All that being said and done… I know that I have whined about Melissa and her lack of celebrity, but I am pulling for her and Tony to win because I like them, and think that they have great chemistry together. Besides, as sexy as Gilles is, I am not too fond of Cheryl and would rather see someone else win. I don’t think Mark and Shawn have as much of a chance due to entertainment factor. Shawn is cute, she just doesn’t connect as well with the viewers.

Make me a Supermodel has been true to form and the real candidates for the title are becoming the front runners. I think it is interesting that Salome resembles last year’s winner (Holly) and has been winning the majority of the challenges. Jonathon was doing incredible but seemed to loose some of his glow this week (that makeover was not a good idea) and I was very pleased that the really bitchy girls are gone. Like last season, the boys last longer than the girls but it will be hard to say if one of them will win the big prize… I’d still love to see Jonathon win, even if there aren’t that many male supermodels.

Survivor - Tocantins has finally granted my wish and that knob Coach is finally voted out. I am pulling for Taj to surprise all and win the big prize, she has played a great game. I am wondering if JT will be able to fight off all the other players for the final Immunity, I have the feeling that if he doesn’t win it he will be voted off before the final Tribal Council. It’s been another good season and I feel sorry for the Jury being saddled with Coach, but better them than me.

Smallville disappointed with an impotent finale that just left a bad taste in my mouth. Jimmy dead? What? I sure as hell hope that Lois travelling through time will help remedy that situation… I was really disappointed with the small battle with Doomsday, the yucky Justice League that just posed and flexed and did nothing, and the whole Clark abandoning Chloe after her shitty storyline. I know the show is coming back next year, but they better make sure the Clark grows a pair and stops being such a knob. The guy is supposed to be an inspiration and a hero and not some schmuck. There was way too much build up for a story that never seemed to be all bark and no bite.

Supernatural had the potential for a hell of an ending and left me begging for more… as any good ending should and while it ended abruptly, I know that the show is already back for next season and can hardly wait to see how things turn out. The writing was phenomenal this season but I hope to get back more of the lighter side of the series and more of the dead pan humour. The guys are too multi faceted to waste on just angst, sacrifice and anger.

Weekend Rant – The Week in Review

Things have already started finishing up for this season and this past week brought the end of the season (and possibly the end of the road) for Chuck and Heroes. Heroes has completely bored me this season and it really felt like the writers were grasping at straws before ending this season with a whimper and nothing that particularly interesting. I can not understand how and why they have decided to make the characters all caricatures of themselves, and the only bright spot in the last episode was the reappearance of Tracy (at least her story had an interesting twist) but I hate what they are doing with Hiro and the rest of the gang. Why have the big fight scene with Peter and Sylar if nothing was shown? The whole death of Nathan and resurrection via Sylar was stupid. What a waste of characters.

Chuck fared much better and I love the multiple storylines with the gang at the Buy More, Ellie and Awesome’s wedding and the whole Chuck/Sarah dynamic. I was in hysterics at the end when Chuck got all Intersect 2.0 and suddenly had ninja skills. It was a great way to continue the series and I really really hope that the show will be back for another season. There is way too much of a wealth of characters to ignore or to waste. Good writing – it’s just too bad that some of the viewing public has jumped ship.

Bones had another astounding episode with The Beaver in the Otter (and no it is not some new fancy food preparation) that delved in frat life and it has to be the scenes with Booth and Brennan that kill me each time. Temperance is so clueless (yet curious) and her dismissal and apparent fascination with Sweet’s methods of deduction had me on a roll. I still say that our psychologist is up to no good and I bet you that our dweeb that was helping out the Beaver with hacking into the database is a potential new acolyte for the Gorgoman, the guy seemed too impressionable and there is something about Sweets that gets the hair standing up on the back of my neck when he is on screen sometimes, I may sound repetitive but I am still convinced that he is up to no good. In our rotating intern position, the Muslim guy was hilarious and I loved his reasoning to why he was willing to work with Hodgins on his banned experiment. The episode was more brilliance and the whole Beaver was banging a Cougar was hilarious…. the writers do an amazing job. It was great seeing Booth’s brother again and Booth hit the nail on the head when he got Brennan to “Dine & Dash” in an effort to get her to lose some of her good behaviour and harden her frontal lobe. Booth has some pretty funny theories sometimes and I love watching Brennan’s head explode at the threat of non science. This show is so under rated it’s ridiculous.

Lost is blowing my mind with all the twists and turns that we are learning concerning our scientists that Widmore hired to come to the Island, and more information about Daniel (and his very cool mother) and the big revelation that Mr.Widmore is also dear old dad to our nerdy scientist. I am still not sure what the whole scoop is with the Hostiles and why Eloise left as well (it seems that many of the residents on the Island decided to leave at one point) and it looks like we might be getting more of a reveal to some of the big secrets as this season starts wrapping up. There is still a lot of unanswered questions and I am wondering how Mom shooting Daniel is going to work out.. the death tally on these scientists is stunning and I wonder if Miles will survive also.

Survivor Tocantins is as amazing as any of the good seasons of Survivor, and I am really digging how the game is coming together for some of the players. It’s a shame that the know Coach won immunity this round, but I have the impression that lots of the gang are getting tired of his yapping and I can’t believe how utterly disposable his morality is. All bark and no bite it seems, the way that things are going I am starting to get the impression that one of the more subtle players (like Taj) will win it all. The alpha players seem to be all about getting rid of each other right now and not looking at the more subtle threats. I was sad to see Sierra go, but it depends on how you play the game but I loved how she was fighting to the very end.

Smallville is prepping for the end of the season (and breathing a sigh of relief knowing that they are coming back for another season) and I can’t believe that after all this time that Clark is such a knob that he doesn’t realize that Chloe is trying to protect him. I don’t completely understand the dynamics with Jimmy and Oliver (seemed like filler to me) and Clark needs a super kick in the butt to realize what Doomsday is. It’s all going to hit the fan with only 2 episodes left this season and I am looking forward to seeing how it all ends. I still say that Clark and Doomsday bite the big one at the end of the season and we will have to wait for next season for the big resurrection. Time for more heroes!

Supernatural was quite the episode and explained more about Angels than previously know ( I had no idea that they used vessels while on our plane of existence) and the back story to Castiel was interesting. I am not sure if they are building up to the same kind of finale that we have had for the past couple of years, but Sam is in some big kind of trouble with that demon blood monkey on his back and his detox could be interesting. I am looking forward to the last 2 episodes of the season but finding that suddenly the season seems short and the ending snuck up on us. The storyline has not developed as clearly as I first thought and I almost feel like we have missed a chapter. I am glad that we already know the Winchester boys will be back next season, but I think that might have cheated us out of a more dynamic last few episodes.

Weekend Rant - The Week in Review

The past week was not bad with some surprising episodes of Lost and Bones, while a few shows fumbled the ball (Smallville - again) and Project Runway Canada is really beginning to get on my nerves, but there were shows like Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and Dollhouse that have really surprised and shocked me.

The Amazing Race is still as amazing as ever, and it was a shame to see Mike & Mel hit the road but you know that once one team gets way behind the others there is never that much of a chance to catch up. It's all about how you play the game and our 2 stunt men got perilously close to hitting the road after sabotaging the other teams. This game is really about fair play and you have to out perform to win -- not try to trip up the other teams. The teams are really pushing themselves and Tammy & Victor seem to be the leaders at this time.

Dancing with the Stars dumped Holly and the Woz (finally) and I hope that Steve-O gets his act together soon or he will be leaving soon.Lil' Kim was amazing and looks great, and you can really tell that Cheryl wants to win this year so she pulled out all the stops (and probably a roll of duct tape) to get her cleavage into that outfit and tangoed Gilles into a frenzy. Ty is still impressing me and Shawn is adorable.

Both Chuck and Heroes missed the boat this week with episodes that felt too repetitive (again) but I am looking forward to seeing the story arc with Chuck's dad. Heroes has completely lost it's way and feels like the same story done over and over.... I am just waiting for the next version of Ally/Niki/Traci to show up and get killed. My interest and hopes of a 3rd season are fading quickly, and I can't believe how the writers have dropped the ball on this series. What was once very promising has turned into an test of endurance.

Project Runway Canada has me waiting for Sunny to win and nothing more. This season was too dull for my taste and this crop of designers is too straight and bitchy. I can hardly wait until the US version returns (the legal issues are getting settled finally) and I will have to check out the new Bravo replacement The Fashion Show when it hits the airwaves. I need a Heidi and Tim fix.

The only thing that has been fabulous enough on TV recently was RuPaul's Drag Race (one of my favorite Guilty Pleasures this year) and I was like a little boy Christmas morning when I heard they have already booked a second season. The only thing as fun as that is this season of Make me a Supermodel, which has all the gorgeous people and the craziness of the Janice Dickinson Modelling Agency with out the psychopathic Janice and some astounding photo shoots. I think Jonathon has a great chance of winning and is really impressing me. The cast is less gay this time around, but as enthralling as ever.

Lost has my head spinning with possible temporal paradoxes and I absolutely love that Hurley asked the questions that we all had to know... and I was literally peeing myself laughing as he and Miles had their "nerd off" to see who had the right theories. I love how they are tying up some of the mysteries (what Sawyer whispered to Kate) while starting more and Ben being taken by Richard to be healed. Seeing our modern day Ben wake up to John Locke was a hell of an ending and I am literally on pins and needles waiting to see what happens next. One hour per week is not enough of this show.

Bones pulled off a surprisingly serious episode that was very Cam-centric, and was almost too different as it was not as humorous as the usual episodes. I was pretty sure that Cam's new adopted daughter is none other than Monica from Heroes, so I am glad to see her getting more work but wondering how this all fits into the series. I think I am just in shock because the episode was so different than the usual episodes of Bones and it was interesting to see one of the other characters in the spotlight. It was nice to see Tamara have the chance to show her acting chops.

Survivor: Tocantins is great and I love how we are getting up to the merge and the Hidden Immunity Idols are starting to come into play. I think that if anyone finds an Idol now they better be sceptical, because it seems that everyone who has found one of the Idols tries the Fake Idol fake out now (and it's a good idea) and it might keep people on their toes. Rule of thumb, they have to be played occasionally as well as it's great to have one but useless if never used. I would really like to see that tool Coach hit the road though, and hope that happens soon.

Smallville has me wondering why Clark is such a tool most of the time and why Chloe is still the poster girl for bad choices this season. I thought that after the previous episode she was being more proactive about things, but this Davis/Doomsday thing is getting out of hand. Tessmacher surprised me with blowing up Davis, and I saw an interesting twist on her personality that makes her psycho and dangerous, but nothing like Lex. Her idea of testing Clark is a good one and am waiting for the big fight at the end of the season. More adventure and less angst please.

Supernatural churned out another great episode and I loved the slant on the print version of Supernatural with our boys being all romance novel inspired. Angels, demons and prophets -- it seems the end of days is coming up and I expect an Apocalypse of a finale this year. I am glad that the show is coming back and feel better going into finale season knowing that there will be a follow up, but still wondering how they are going to try to tie up this major storyline in the next few episodes.The series has been even more thrilling this year and the writing has improved over last year.

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles shocked me this week with the very unexpected death of Derek in a move that I really did not see coming. No one is safe on this show (except John) and it is really starting to tear him apart watching everyone die for him. There is some very interesting developments with the storyline and I am loving the tension. I just hope that next week is only the season finale and not the series finale. I expect a pretty big body count after the next episode and when the dust clears I hope to see Cameron still around. This show is not getting the credit or attention that it deserves.

Dollhouse is continuing to be another brilliant brainchild of Joss Whedon, and although I am having a bit of a problem getting past the whole "pet" angle of the Dolls (and am still not sure of the whole human traffic element of the show), the writing has been great and Eliza is as phenomenal as ever. I love seeing the Dolls bond, and the underlying story of our very hunky FBI agent Paul Ballard (loved our Canadian guy in Galactica) and the apparent chemistry between Echo and Ballard. Hot stuff... and the insights into what makes Echo, Victor, Sierra and November tick makes the show even more fascinating. Josh is all about writing great characters, and his work is shining here. I just hope that the ratings are enough to get another season, things are starting to get very interesting and this better not be another Firefly.

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.