Saturday, April 11, 2009
Move
For the two of you that read this blog, I just wanted to let you know that my primary blogging residence has been moved to the Lostpedia blog, where I am an administrator. You can read several of my Lost episode reviews there.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Fringe 1x13 "The Transformation"
It took a while for me to get used to Fringe. After several mediocre episodes around the middle ("The Equation," and "The Dreamscape," for instance), Fringe returned from the Christmas break with a bang, with the episodes "Bound" and "The No-Brainer" being among the best of the season. "The Transformation" was no exception, although it wasn't quite up to par with the speedy plot of last week.
"The Transformation" started in a familiar way: something went wrong on a plane. I wasn't too upset about that, because really, where else can you stage something like that? A claustrophobic tube hurtling through the air is simply the best place for things to go wrong. However, I think that this should probably be the last we see of plane-related incidents for this season, because variety's the spice of life.
The ending of the cold open left me staring in stupefaction at my television screen. I got Cloverfield chills when I saw the transformed character push his way out of the bathroom. It was a perfect open, and the dark silence it suddenly left us in only added to that fantastic sensation of wondering what the hell just happened.
The overused tank has hopefully been closed for good, having been already visited four times this season. I've grown quite sick of its murky depths, and I'm glad that perhaps we'll get to move on to bigger and better things than going back and exploring John Scott's memories, which I found quite boring. Also, Walter telling Olivia that it's "impossible" for John to be talking to her quite stubborn for such a generally open-minded man, and somewhat out of character. I would have expected Walter to rub his hands together and try to figure out what was going on.
The revelation that John was a good guy leaves hope for his character, who I originally liked, but sort of doesn't make much sense, considering his murder of Richard Steig in the pilot episode. Even if he had been undercover, murdering a witness is not the only option he had.
It was good to see Mina Sharp again after several episodes, though her personality caused my TV to ice over for a moment. But when watching, I expected her to reveal to Olivia who exactly those two men that we saw at the end of "The Same Old Story" were. At least they gave us some closure to the ending of episode three, as well as a callback to that episode. And now we have an idea of the time frame that has happened. It's been months since the series began, not weeks like I had thought.
Overall, this episode was brilliantly written and executed, though a few parts were a little dense. Next week looks amazing, though, and I'm sure I'm going to tune in.
Final Grade: 85% / B
"The Transformation" started in a familiar way: something went wrong on a plane. I wasn't too upset about that, because really, where else can you stage something like that? A claustrophobic tube hurtling through the air is simply the best place for things to go wrong. However, I think that this should probably be the last we see of plane-related incidents for this season, because variety's the spice of life.
The ending of the cold open left me staring in stupefaction at my television screen. I got Cloverfield chills when I saw the transformed character push his way out of the bathroom. It was a perfect open, and the dark silence it suddenly left us in only added to that fantastic sensation of wondering what the hell just happened.
The overused tank has hopefully been closed for good, having been already visited four times this season. I've grown quite sick of its murky depths, and I'm glad that perhaps we'll get to move on to bigger and better things than going back and exploring John Scott's memories, which I found quite boring. Also, Walter telling Olivia that it's "impossible" for John to be talking to her quite stubborn for such a generally open-minded man, and somewhat out of character. I would have expected Walter to rub his hands together and try to figure out what was going on.
The revelation that John was a good guy leaves hope for his character, who I originally liked, but sort of doesn't make much sense, considering his murder of Richard Steig in the pilot episode. Even if he had been undercover, murdering a witness is not the only option he had.
It was good to see Mina Sharp again after several episodes, though her personality caused my TV to ice over for a moment. But when watching, I expected her to reveal to Olivia who exactly those two men that we saw at the end of "The Same Old Story" were. At least they gave us some closure to the ending of episode three, as well as a callback to that episode. And now we have an idea of the time frame that has happened. It's been months since the series began, not weeks like I had thought.
Overall, this episode was brilliantly written and executed, though a few parts were a little dense. Next week looks amazing, though, and I'm sure I'm going to tune in.
Final Grade: 85% / B
House 5x14 "The Greater Good"
Last night, a landmark for television happened -- the FOX television drama House, now in the middle of its fifth season, aired its 100th episode. I, personally, never expected it to last this long. It's had a few good episodes -- the second season's finale immediately springs to mind -- but overall the show is a formula drama. The sardonic wit of the protagonist is the only thing keeping to show from failing, because plot-wise, it's not that great.
Watching the 100th episode felt like a landmark in my television-watching career. It's the only show that I've seen 100 episodes of. I've watched it since the beginning, and it gave me (as well as many others, I'm sure) a proud feeling to have been a part of something for so long.
Having said that, I would have expected a much better episode than what I saw last night. While the good outweighed the bad, the fact that I had to ponder this for a moment is not a very good thing.
The patient of the episode, a former oncologist-turned-chef, was quite boring. There was nothing particularly interesting about her or her case (save for the solution), and I became quite bored when watching her case due to my interest in several of the other storylines on the show. It was a giant ball-and-chain on the leg of the episode. The only good thing the patient did was convince Wilson to begin to move on from Amber, ending the episode with a sad but satisfying scene with Wilson washing Amber's cup. That was easily the best scene of the episode, and it tied in to an earlier scene quite well.
Chase and Cameron were also noticeably absent from this landmark episode, which really saddened me. To have been such a major part of the first three seasons, I felt like those two really deserved to have a big part in this episode, because they did star in the first sixty, after all. Their absence was very noticeable, and I really hope that they come back next week to at least have a bigger role.
The story with Foreman and Thirteen was pulse-pounding as well, though the "will he tell them, will he not?" theme of the thread annoyed me somewhat.
Overall, the episode just didn't have the punch that the 100th episode of any television series should have. FINAL SCORE: 65% / D
Watching the 100th episode felt like a landmark in my television-watching career. It's the only show that I've seen 100 episodes of. I've watched it since the beginning, and it gave me (as well as many others, I'm sure) a proud feeling to have been a part of something for so long.
Having said that, I would have expected a much better episode than what I saw last night. While the good outweighed the bad, the fact that I had to ponder this for a moment is not a very good thing.
The patient of the episode, a former oncologist-turned-chef, was quite boring. There was nothing particularly interesting about her or her case (save for the solution), and I became quite bored when watching her case due to my interest in several of the other storylines on the show. It was a giant ball-and-chain on the leg of the episode. The only good thing the patient did was convince Wilson to begin to move on from Amber, ending the episode with a sad but satisfying scene with Wilson washing Amber's cup. That was easily the best scene of the episode, and it tied in to an earlier scene quite well.
Chase and Cameron were also noticeably absent from this landmark episode, which really saddened me. To have been such a major part of the first three seasons, I felt like those two really deserved to have a big part in this episode, because they did star in the first sixty, after all. Their absence was very noticeable, and I really hope that they come back next week to at least have a bigger role.
The story with Foreman and Thirteen was pulse-pounding as well, though the "will he tell them, will he not?" theme of the thread annoyed me somewhat.
Overall, the episode just didn't have the punch that the 100th episode of any television series should have. FINAL SCORE: 65% / D
Monday, February 2, 2009
Heroes 3x14 "A Clear and Present Danger"
I can't say that I didn't anticipate Heroes' return. It may not be the smartest show on television, or even the most exciting, but the simple comic book element of the show has kept me coming back through one great season and one and a half mediocre ones.
Let's face it: the first half of season three just wasn't worth the hype. While there were some truly fascinating and jaw-dropping moments throughout the thirteen episodes of "Villains," there was still the hint that you'd seen it all before. There was still predictability.
Chapter one of volume four, "A Clear and Present Danger," was certainly an improvement from the last batch of episodes we got before the winter break, and I was quite pleased when it started. Tracy's kidnapping was well done, especially when intercut with the scenes of Nathan's television interview. I had hope.
And then it all slowly started to slide downhill. We met up with Peter for the first time this volume while he was working as a paramedic, and he had failed to save a car crash victim. His "I could have been stronger" shtick was quite boring, and the angst-filled delivery of those lines made me wince a little bit. There are definitely more convincing ways to convey Peter's messiah complex than for him to say that he could have done more over and over, but unfortunately, the writers have chosen not to use it. Peter was incredibly boring and dull during this episode, and his last conversation with Nathan (and that haphazard embrace) makes one wonder if Peter has a survival instinct at all.
My only other complaint about the episode was the character turn for H.R.G. His complete three-sixty of character is making me quite annoyed -- he tased Peter without a moment's hesitation, even though he was entrusting Peter with his daughter and revealing to him his first name at the end of season one. When audiences said to lose the predictability factor, they didn't mean to change the entire characters.
Sylar's storyline was also somewhat of a bore. The conversation with his first father seemed like pure filler, and was mostly unneccesary to the overall plot.
The episode ended on a high note, however, with the fantastic airplane sequence that had me tense the entire time. Zeljko Ivanek was a welcome addition to the cast as well, performing fantastically with the bit role that the script provided. Hopefully more depth will be given to his character soon.
This volume is poised to be a great volume overall. I just hope it doesn't become as predictable as past seasons.
FINAL SCORE: 70% / C
Let's face it: the first half of season three just wasn't worth the hype. While there were some truly fascinating and jaw-dropping moments throughout the thirteen episodes of "Villains," there was still the hint that you'd seen it all before. There was still predictability.
Chapter one of volume four, "A Clear and Present Danger," was certainly an improvement from the last batch of episodes we got before the winter break, and I was quite pleased when it started. Tracy's kidnapping was well done, especially when intercut with the scenes of Nathan's television interview. I had hope.
And then it all slowly started to slide downhill. We met up with Peter for the first time this volume while he was working as a paramedic, and he had failed to save a car crash victim. His "I could have been stronger" shtick was quite boring, and the angst-filled delivery of those lines made me wince a little bit. There are definitely more convincing ways to convey Peter's messiah complex than for him to say that he could have done more over and over, but unfortunately, the writers have chosen not to use it. Peter was incredibly boring and dull during this episode, and his last conversation with Nathan (and that haphazard embrace) makes one wonder if Peter has a survival instinct at all.
My only other complaint about the episode was the character turn for H.R.G. His complete three-sixty of character is making me quite annoyed -- he tased Peter without a moment's hesitation, even though he was entrusting Peter with his daughter and revealing to him his first name at the end of season one. When audiences said to lose the predictability factor, they didn't mean to change the entire characters.
Sylar's storyline was also somewhat of a bore. The conversation with his first father seemed like pure filler, and was mostly unneccesary to the overall plot.
The episode ended on a high note, however, with the fantastic airplane sequence that had me tense the entire time. Zeljko Ivanek was a welcome addition to the cast as well, performing fantastically with the bit role that the script provided. Hopefully more depth will be given to his character soon.
This volume is poised to be a great volume overall. I just hope it doesn't become as predictable as past seasons.
FINAL SCORE: 70% / C
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