November 29, 2007 · 10:31 pm

30 Rock – “Cougars”

“Cougars”

November 29th, 2007

It’s been awhile since we’ve spent time on Liz Lemon’s love life on 30 Rock – ever since Floyd from Cleveland, her lack of dating prospects has been an accepted character trait as opposed to a storyline. This week, perhaps, represents the equivalent to last year’s “The Head and the Hair”. It involves Liz dating outside of her comfort zone, and considering that her comfort zone is a meatball sub and DVR’s Top Chef I’d say there’s plenty of comic material here.

This episode certainly identified that, although in a somewhat less subtle fashion than the aforementioned season one episode (Which I liked quite a bit). Liz doesn’t exactly fit the cougar lifestyle, although I don’t think anyone would deny Tina Fey’s sexy librarian charms and so the storyline has value. The problem was that, well, it was pretty much exactly the same storyline redone again: right down to the end of episode revelation, even.

But, Operation Little League Freedom might have made up for it.

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November 28, 2007 · 11:35 pm

Pushing Daisies – “Bitter Sweets”

“Bitter Sweets”

November 27th, 2007

While Pushing Daisies has certainly deviated from its formula to some extent in the past, this week’s episode probably represents the largest departure from the show’s mystery of the week structure. Sure, there was still a central mystery, but there were actually two murders and a guest appearance by Molly Shannon, so the basic structure certainly changed this time around.

It wasn’t a bad episode, as there were certainly some charming moments and some continued charm. I enjoyed some of the character beats the episode provided, but it felt a little bit disoriented: the resolution to the murder felt tacked on and meaningless, and Ned’s central struggle was underrepresented within the narrative as a whole. I guess it seems like the series is just marking time until the fall finale in two weeks….until its cliffhanger conclusion, that is.

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November 27, 2007 · 9:31 pm

Gossip Girl – “Blair Waldorf Must Pie!”

“Blair Waldorf Must Pie!”

November 27th, 2007

You know that Gossip Girl is going to get really serious when its titular blogger takes a vacation (quite literally) and is only present over the episode’s introduction. Kristen Bell gets a break this week, which means that we’re left to sort through the drama without her deft analysis of the action at hand. To be honest, I didn’t really miss it – the show doesn’t really need to rely on that particular conceit, as its has established its characters and its scenarios well enough to this stage.

However, I shouldn’t speak in generalities – while some of the show’s storylines seem fairly on track, “Blair Waldorf Must Pie” most certainly presents a case for those which do work and those which most certainly do not.

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November 26, 2007 · 11:28 pm

Heroes – “Truth and Consequences”

“Truth and Consequences”

November 16th, 2007

There’s a lot of tragedy flying around on Heroes these days, and this once again raises the constant struggle I have with the series. Independent of the whole, Peter’s trust for Adam Monroe is a tragic arc – waking up from amnesia, Peter blindly follows the man who we know is going to attempt to destroy the world. A lot of other tragedies are flying around – Maya placing her trust in Sylar follows the same lines, and Mohinder’s decision to follow the Company line is certainly tragic for the Bennet family.

The struggle I have, however, is that the greatest tragedy is that none of these storylines are given a chance to grow.
Every time there’s a moment of clarity in Peter’s storyline, we jump right into Micah losing his backpack and punching his cousin. The Twins storyline’s resolution is nowhere near enough to justify the nine episodes of dead air, and Mohinder’s betrayal of Bennet gets all of three scenes in the entire episode. While this makes for some occasional moments of quality drama, the “whole” lacks cohesion. And really, I don’t think that cohesion is too much to ask when the parts are coming together in some way, shape, or form.

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November 26, 2007 · 10:24 pm

Chuck – “Chuck Versus the Nemesis”

“Chuck Versus the Nemesis”

November 26th, 2007

NBC had four new hour-long series when they started this season, and it looks like they will be down to two by the end of the season – TV Guide’s Michael Ausiello has revealed that two series have made the cut while the other two will hit the chopping block. For Bionic Woman and Journeyman, this is bad news. The new is better for sleep hit Life, however…oh, and for a little show called Chuck. Looks like we’ll be seeing more of Chuck and company in the year ahead – the show has officially been picked up for a full season. Huzzah!

I’m elated at this news, because “Chuck Versus the Nemesis” represents a huge step forward for the series. An expansion of the series’ mythology accompanies the return of Bryce Larkin, as we start to learn what the intersect is and why it matters so much. The show retained its comic sensibilities, but the extension of its initial premise into a discussion of Operation Sand Wall and Project Fulcrum was handled with the same deft hand that has guided the series thus far. Josh Schwartz has done it – he has created the comic version of Alias. And while this isn’t quite its “Phase One,” its certainly a new level to Chuck’s narrative.

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November 25, 2007 · 10:02 pm

The Amazing Race – Season 12, Episode 4

“Let’s Name the Chicken Phil!”

November 25th, 2007

Most importantly, this week’s episode of The Amazing Race brought a new twist to this particular race, a new setup which appears to be replacing the oft-maligned Yield. I remember hearing that the Yield was ending, but I wasn’t aware it was being replaced by…well, more or less exactly the same thing. That being said, the U-Turn does have its advantages.

It’s still annoying in many ways, but it is now far more entertaining to watch – as opposed to watching someone sit at a mat for 15 minutes, they are forced to repeat the second Detour task. Nicely, Shana and Jennifer were kind enough to actually use the U-Turn, so we got to see how it works. Unfortunately, it was also largely irrelevant to the leg: the team who was U-Turned was, largely, never in contention anyways.

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November 25, 2007 · 9:16 pm

Brothers & Sisters – “Something New”

“Something New”

November 25th, 2007

Oh, irony of ironies: you see, tonight’s episode of Brothers & Sisters really didn’t live up to this particular wedding superstition. I don’t know about the blue side of the equation, but the old was certainly in full force in certain parts of this week’s developments. In fact, many characters are just falling right back into past pitfalls, just like any other soap opera out there.

However, let’s remember what sets this show apart from, say, Desperate Housewives: the assembled talent (Including, this week, the added talents of Chevy Chase) have a way of taking this material and turning it into something far more engaging. In the end, I’d say that the pitfalls were perhaps more apparent this week than in weeks previous.

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November 25, 2007 · 12:47 am

Battlestar Galactica: Razor – Spoilers, Commentary and Discussion

Earlier today, I spent some time doing an “official” review of Battlestar Galactica: Razor. This was light on spoilers, and focused more on alerting people to its existence. Now, however, the geekiness begins. As mentioned, I am actually writing my thesis (partially) on Battlestar Galactica, specifically its ramifications on the longevity of medieval romantic tropes and heroic representation. And yes, it’s mildly crazy. However, in writing about the legacy of the Cylons and their complicated place within the idea of the heroic within the series, watching Razor has certainly opened a new portal of discussion. And, now, I want to be able to extend that discussion and consider the ramifications (or, perhaps, lack of ramifications) of this two-hour event on the series as a whole

[Warning: This discussion will feature major spoilers for Battlestar Galactica: Razor, and the series’ third season. Do not read if you wish to avoid these spoilers.]

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November 24, 2007 · 12:25 pm

Review: “Battlestar Galactica: Razor”

As part of my thesis research, I have been watching parts of Battlestar Galactica’s second season. I think I had forgotten how much I really enjoyed this show, as its twists and turns felt just as fantastic now as they were before. I started listening to the commentaries provided by Ronald D. Moore, the developer and executive producer of the series, and on the one for “Pegasus” he noted that perhaps one day they would bring Michelle Forbes’ Admiral Cain back and tell the story of her ship’s journey in the post-attack era. Having watched Battlestar Galactica: Razor just before listening to said commentary, I couldn’t help but grin.

It’s important to note, however, that this doesn’t only tell the story of Admiral Cain. This is really the story of Kendra Shaw, a young officer who arrives on Pegasus just moments before the Cylon attack on Caprica. Much like Forbes before her, Stephanie Jacobsen flawlessly integrates into this cast. Her introduction helps us overcome the fact that it’s very difficult to surprise us – for better or for worse, we know how this story (which takes places, timeline wise, in the show’s second season) ends.

What Razor succeeds at is remaining an entertaining and interesting two-hour event even if, in the end, its resolution feels like a bit of a let-down. It takes the story of the Pegasus, told only in gripping conversations between Col. Tish and Col. Fisk (Pegasus’ XO) in the series, and plays it out in dramatic fashion. I can understand why some people might perhaps find this predictable, but I personally felt that this story was strong enough to justify a little fleshing out – its themes resonate through the entire series, so it certainly fits into the series’ motif nicely.

Plus, it’s not just about Pegasus: the story interweaves into three distinct timelines, and between them present an engaging and exciting “film” of sorts. And, really, that’s what we need to tide us over until the show’s fourth season begins.

[Warning: There will be some light to medium spoilers ahead]

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November 22, 2007 · 11:25 pm

Grey’s Anatomy: “Crash into Me: Part One”

While it’s technically American Thanksgiving, which means I could probably get away with not posting out of an assumption that I am not based in Canada, I’ll have to live up to my heritage. There wasn’t much on in terms of new programming tonight, but ABC was offering a full lineup of programming. Last night, it hit them pretty hard to do so – Pushing Daisies, Private Practice and Dirty Sexy Money saw huge drops.

I don’t often blog about Grey’s Anatomy, and admittedly I started drifting away from the series at the beginning of the season. However, a lazy afternoon (A dying breed as the term comes to a close) resulted in a bit of catchup, and I’m back on the train: for better or for worse, the show still holds its charm. With George and Izzie largely relegated to the backburner, and the addition of Dr. Hahn proving vastly beneficial to changing the show’s dynamics, the show has earned the right to have one of its “big disaster episodes.”

I’m usually not a huge fan of these storylines – ever since the train crash and the bomb scare, which were some of the show’s finer moments, it seems that they’ve gone bigger and bigger with really no benefit. Last year’s ferry crash was particular disastrous, and not in a good way – it dragged on far too long, became too centered on Meredith, and didn’t seem to do anything for the rest of the show’s storylines. And thus, heading into this week’s “event” (as ABC’s promotion department decided to call it), I wasn’t overly thrilled.

Well, let’s give thanks that this time around it was really just a marketing ploy – while it may be in two parts, Crash into Me is a much more isolated story than you might realize.

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