Okay, so first thing on the agenda today is to put this little piece of self-promoting but also very cool news out into the internet ether:
SLIDERS and TREMORS on iTunes:
As of RIGHT NOW, one of the biggest cult sci-fi TV hits of the 90's is BACK, baby. Yes - Jerry O' Connell, Sabrina Lloyd, John Rhyss-Davies - in one of the coolest and most fun shows ever made -- SLIDERS.
Yes, SLIDERS is available NOW on Apple iTunes - Seasons 1 and 2 - as either a la carte episodes or as full seasons. This is your ONLY chance to get individual eps or even Seasons 1 and 2 as individual seasons (the DVD combines them into one package). I say this both as a guy who helped to get this up on iTunes and as a unabashed Sliders fanboy - go download this NOW - if you do, it may convince the powers that be that there is real interest in the show and will instigate more iTunes and DVD content becoming available. SLIDERS - right now - on iTunes!
And, for those of you whose tastes lean more towards small quirky towns beset by giant, carnivorous worms, well, TREMORS - the cult fave TV series - is also NOW AVAILABLE on iTunes.
- Okay, with that plug out of the way, my other big topic of discussion is:
VERONICA MARS - "Fall Finale"
HOLY CRAP, last night's VERONICA MARS was ridiculously amazing! I know it's been a while since I extolled the virtues of this show, and yes, sadly it's been a while since my usual level of VM-centered hyperbole could be justified. But as of last night, the Veronica Mars of old is BACK, baby. I mean, wow - what an episode!
First though, I want to briefly address last week's ep, which was unceremoniously given a grade of "D" by Entertainment Weekly. While it wasn't the best ep ever or anything, no way did it deserve a D. Maybe, MAYBE if you judge on some crazy sliding scale only in relation to other Veronica Mars eps, but I'd give it a solid B at least. Sure, the ep was one giant Big Lebowski tribute / rip, but if you have to pay homage you might as well do it to the best, right? But anyways, my point is - VM hasn't been hitting the same A-leage level as Season 1 and 2 thus far in s3, that much is clear. But it's still been high quality, top-notch stuff ...
Until last night that is - last night VM swung back at its critics with a vengeance, delivering one of the most intense, smart, funny, and riveting eps of TV thus far in the 06/07 season. Sure, it was only a "fall finale" as is so vogue these days, but it felt like a HUGE ep - as all the plotthreads that had been building up brilliantly came together ...
SPOILERS
Unlike previous mystery-solved eps, the reveal here was not particularly shocking, but it didn't need to be. Mercer was already one unlikable guy, and revealing him as the Hearst rapist just served to elevate him from obnoxious thorn in side to true threat. The sense of danger and tension was palpable as Veronica ran for her life after being drugged - bringing to mind the brilliant s1 finale - that same sense of danger and dread was again brought to the forefront. But really, this ep wasn't so much about the big reveal but about the character moments that it brought about. I mean - how GREAT was the return of psycho-Logan as he smashes a police car, gets thrown in jail, primed and ready to bring the pain to Mercer and his partner in crime? How classic was Keith Mars' but on Mercer and friend? How fun was it to see Veronica leading her gang of friends at the party, Neil Diamond cover band and all? And man, it's sad to see Ed Begley as Dean O'Dell bite the big one - Begley was simply excellent all season so far as the Dean, and last night he had his best performance yet, to the point where he really won me over as a character who deserved a permanent place in Mars cannon. Of course, that wasn't to be the case, but his deat BRILLIANTLY sets up a new murder mystery, one in which nearly every lead and supporting character could be a suspect. Okay, we can probably rule out Keith and Wallace and Mac and Piz (all such great characters by the way - Piz earned his stipes last night with his crazy dancing at the frat party), but aside from them, so many potential murderers. Let's see, off the top of my head we have the criminology professor, the Dean's wife, Veronica's T.A., Weevil, the Fitzpatricks, the frat-alum we saw in this ep, one of the girls from Lillith House, Sherriff Lamb, and probably about 5 or 6 others ... Anyone who likes a good mystery HAS to watch this show.
In any case, as a VM fan and vocal supporter, it was just great to see such an overwhelmingly great return to form last night. Some shows I watch (cough*Heroes*cough) and constantly (maybe misguidedly) think to myself: "I could do better." With VM, when it is on its game like it was last night, I just watch in awe at the combination of brilliant mystery-writing, vivid characters, and crackling dialogue, wondering all the while "How do they do that? These guys are GOOD."
My Grade: A
- I also really enjoyed much of last night's Gilmore Girls. I especially loved pretty much everything with Luke and April, and I know, some fans of this show might object. But to me as a male fan of the show, Luke is the real heart of GG, and seeing him bottle up and then let loose his emotions about losing his newly-discovered daughter was genuinely moving. Otherwise, as always, I laughed out loud at the antics of scene-stealing Paris and her nerdy boyfriend Doyle (their dance-floor hip hop moves were hilarious), and got a kick out of all the quirky residents of Stars Hollow. Still, I feel like the whole central storyline of Lorelai-Christopher is a little forced, and almost artificially dragged out when we all see that their relationship is being set up for the fall (at least I hope). Good stuff, again, but they still need to tone things down a bit and let the dialoge flow a bit more naturally - especially those Lorelai-Suki exchanges - geez!
My Grade: B+
- And yeah, I've got to talk about Monday's PRISON BREAK, which was badass to the core. I mean, man, talk about intense - THAT is how you do good action-drama - balls to the wall. Sure, it's over-the-top, absurd, and comic-bookish, but man - how could you not be on the edge of your seat as W. Fichtner mutters "take the keys, take the keys" as Lincoln and Michael contemplate escape from the caravan escorting them back to prison. And the final standoff between the brothers, Fichtner, and Kellering was just awesome, with the final twist creating a nice means for the brothers to avoid capture and form a new uneasy alliance with Kellering, who is just brilliantly sleazy and fun to hate. Speaking of sleazy, you knew, the whoooole episode, that former prison-guard Bellick was headed for some hard time, so to speak, but that still didn't make his final fate, sharing a cell with the posterboy for "don't drop the soap", any less laugh-out-loud funny. I was dying of laughter on that one ... And how about T-Bag, brutal as ever - I mean, what other show makes you, in a weird way, root for a psychotic but oddly endearing serial killer? What a messed-up, crazy, glorious show is Prison Break.
My Grade: A
OTHER STUFF:
- Is there no dignity left in this world? What's with all these grossly revealing photos of celebs, well, of Britney Spears, popping up on the 'net? Wear some underwear, for the love of God! And stop hanging out with Paris Hilton - how low can one go? It shows how it's true - the trailer park and the penthouse are not that far removed ...
- Superman Returns, aka the biggest let-down of the year, is out on DVD this week. While I am curious to see Bryan Singer's deleted scenes set on Krypton, I have little desire to revisit this crapfest of a movie. My question is - now that the initial hype has died down (or just died), are there any big supporters of this movie still left out there? Anyone who's chomping at the bit for Singer and co.'s big sequel? Hmmm ... I hear Peter Jackson is free these days ...
- Oh yeah, I have to mention some excellent reading that had me riveted for hours and hours over Thanksgiving. Basically, I want to give my highest reccomendation to THE WALKING DEAD, a comic / series of graphic novels by Robert Kirkman. Basically, this is the premise of Night of the Living Dead meets the serialized character drama of a Lost or Sopranos. The world is completely overrun, decimated, by the undead, and the series follows a small band of survivors who have banded together and set out on the road in search of food and shelter. They are all basically average, normal people, but the extreme circumstances of their plight tests their limits. Kirkman writes this thing brilliantly - once you start reading you can't put it down - I seriously plowed through Books 2 and 3 in a single sitting. The genius of it is that it completely focuses on characters first, so when the big moments of zombified danger DO come, the danger feels real as you feel like you know each character through and through. Check out the Walking Dead - one of the best things I've read in a while.
- And speaking of best things I've read, just heard today that HBO is apparently doing a series that will adapt PREACHER. To me, Preacher is one of the greatest things I've ever read - disturbing, extreme, violent, but completely thought-provoking and intelligent, full of great character moments and sweeping themes of religion, love, morality, and the American Dream. Very curious to see how this turns out - if it is as good as it could be, I may just have to get HBO.
- Also, I'd like to express my condolences about the passing of the legendary Dave Cockrum. Dave was one of the all-time great comic artists, who along with writer Len Wein was responsible for the late 1970's / early 1980's rebirth of the X-Men. Prior to Wein and Cockrum's take, the characters had long languished in obscurity. But then these two came along and co-created a few little characters named Storm, Mystique, Nightcrawler, and Collossus, and helped make Marvel's mutants into the pop-culture force they are today. Cockrum was one of the great illustrators, but his death is made all the more tragic by the fact that he never saw a dime for any of the movie royalties that the X-Men films made. Hopefully Cockrum's situation - a lack of funding to treat his ongoing battle with diabetes - will help to create a better model so that creators can financially benefit from their creations. As much as we associate people like Bryan Singer and Hallie Barry with these characters, it's important to remember the brilliant and imaginitive minds from which they orginated ...
- Alright, I'm sliding out of here. Yep, check out Sliders on iTunes - download the pilot (2 hours of worl-humping fun for $1.99~!), tell your friends, write your senators.
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