Heroes: The LineAs I watched "The Line" I kept shaking my head in stark disbelief at all the bad choices this show is making. It's amost as if you said, "How can they make this show any worse?" and the producers decided to show us.
Basically, we've reverted back to season one's plotlines. Peter doesn't understand his powers, Sylar is evil and if we don't stop what's going on, the world will end. Or at least New York City
I could almost accept the re-treads if the characters didn't all do incredibly bone-headed things that made me want to throw things at the television. Let's start with Mohinder, whose intelligence and common-sense is on a sliding scale based on what the current scene needs. One second he's defying the Company and throwing a chair into the refrigerator that contains the virus (a bone-headed move if I've seen one since doesn't that release the virus?!?) and saying he's leaving, only to see him still there a scene or two later, talking about working for the greater good. It's a real headscratcher, that's for sure. Then, you've got Sylar who has a monologue on his evil nature to the non-English speaking half of the Wonder Twins. Which brings up the whole question of why does one half of the Wonder Twins speak English so well and the other doesn't. Oh wait..I forgot. It's called lazy writing. And then we've got Peter, who is re-treading his whole arc from last year and not very well.
It's enough to make you scream. Were it not for the hope of seeing Kristen Bell in the next epsiode, I'd honestly give up on this one. Though another part of me is curious to see how Hiro's story plays out. But I'm sure no matter what kind of big twist the producers thing they have in mind, it will be totally predictable, something we've seen before and ultimately disappointing.
Bionic Woman: The Education of Jamie SommersI keep wanting to love this show. It teased me with the third episode, almost as if it were saying, "Ha, ha...look at how good we could be, if we wanted to." The thing is, the show does just enough to keep my interest up until we get to the big change at producer and bringing in the writers from
Friday Night Lights. I believe that changeover happens soon, though I am discouraged that Glen Morgan's leaving might take Darren Morgan with him. Darren Morgan's
X-Files episodes were all brilliant. I'd love to see him write an episode or two here.
But back to
Bionic. One thing that bugs me is how easily the sister angle is shoved aside for the sake of the plot. The past four episodes, every time Jamie is given an assignment, she brings up her responsiblity to care for her sister. Here she's given the chance to go undercover and it's not mentioned ever. Instead, Jamie heads to campus and meets the hot T.A. who may or may not be the bad-guy. He turns out not to be, but we suspect him for a long time.
But in between those rather pedestrian moments, we have some better stuff to tease us. The show seems to be trying to embrace the whole Jamie struggles to reconcile her want for a normal life with the new-found powers and responsiblity she has. I could say this was all better done on Buffy, but I promised myself I wouldn't do that...oh wait. Anyway, the whole plot of Jamie going to college, having a normal life and proving she could succeed in the tract she wanted to pursue was a nice touch. Yes, it didn't till a lot of new ground but I still liked it and it was these scenes where the show worked best.
Friday Night Lights: Backfire, Let's Get It OnMeanwhile, I continue to love just about every last second of
Friday Night Lights. Well, every last second that isn't somehow directly about Landry killing the man attacking Trya and the two covering it up. Those scenes just seem to bring the whole thing to screeching halt every week. And I find it interesting that this overly melodramatic plotline is the one that is highlighted in the previews every week. NBC, this may be the reason new fans aren't tuning in. I'm not sure how you highlight the other plots, but there's got to be some guy making a lot more money than I will in the promo department who could do it.
That said, I still like where the storyline has taken the characters (again when we're not obsessing about it and the details like the watch). Anything that gives Landry more screen time is good in my book and man, have they been making good use of it. This week's episode where Landry becomes the unlikely hero was nicely done. Seeing him soak in the adoration of the fans and his name being chanted by the crowd was nice. And in the midst of that, Trya dumps him so he can't even really savor the moment. (I loved how Landry's father goes to Trya and warns her away from his son. The statement of "Landry has never lied to me, but he did now" was great).
Meanwhile, Eric Taylor is trying to get things back in order in Dillon. I'm hoping the show doesn't go the same route as Voo-Doo last year with the terminated coach. When he shows up and points out he has a family too and that he'll see Eric again, I have to admit I liked the moment. And I also said, "Please let's not have them meet in the playoffs." Maybe if they met in a pivotal game that might work better. But I have a bad feeling we could repeat what we saw last year.
That said, seeing Eric try to get back in the swing of things was nicely done--both at home and as the head coach. The scene in the office talking about getting back in the saddle was hysterical and I love how both parties played it. It's scenes like that that make me love this show.
And we're seeing a different side to Matt Scarcen. He's growing up, becoming more assertive and a leader. I believe that is why he's clashed with Smash and I loved seeing him tell Julie he wouldn't go with her to the concert because he was too mad at her. I'm intrigued to see where all of this goes.
The Simpsons: Treehouse of Horror XVIIIAnyone remember when the segments on the annual Halloween episodes, oh I don't know, had something to do with Halloween?!? Of the three here, only one of them had anything remotely to do with Halloween. I'd love to hear why a
Mr. and Mrs. Smith parody is thrown in as part of the Halloween episode. I guess whenever season 19 comes out on DVD, we'll hear that on the commentary. Other than that, I have to say this was a disappointing Treehouse of Horror.
Labels: Bionic Woman, friday night lights, heroes, the Simpsons, tv shows
posted by Michael Hickerson at 11/05/2007 03:11:00 PM |
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