Alright, people. I'm back, after an insanely busy week that kept me from writing on the best darn blog in the biz. Whenever I get backlogged like this it's always a sort of domino effect - I just keep accumulating things I want to write about and the task of actually getting it all down on paper (so to speak), gets ever more daunting with each passing day. In any case, I will do my best to sum up some of the TV-related stuff I've been wanting to talk about, and will hopefully get to other topics throughout the week ... so buckle in, baby, we're off.
TV STUFF:
- Let me start by urging everyone to watch tonight's season finale of CHUCK. I know I haven't been good about consistently reviewing the show, but the fact is: Chuck is one of the funniest, most fun, and most entertaining shows on TV. I'll talk more about it after tonight's episode, but I do want to mention that the last few episodes of the show have been absolutely (Captain) awesome. CHUCK has always excelled at great stunt casting, but the recent additions of Scott Bakula as Chuck's estranged dad and Chevy Chase as a software mogul / evil agent have been totally inspired. Bakula is perfect as Chuck's dad, aka Orion - a mysterious mastermind tech genious. And welcome back, Chevy Chase! Chase has been a lot of fun as a wise-cracking villain. Meanwhile, the show has gotten away from formulaic standalone episodes and really gone full-speed-ahead with its ongoing storyarc. A ton of huge developments have occurred in the last few eps - from Chuck and Sarah finally sealing the deal (well, almost) as a couple, to Captain Awesome, Chuck's future brother-in-law, learning about Chuck's secret CIA-status. And in a climactic showdown with badguy supergroup Fulcrum, Chuck foils their plans and in the process has the supercomputer Intersect removed from his mind. All that, plus the usual hilarious antics at the Buy More superstore. Tony Hale (aka Buster from Arrested Development) has really been finding his groove of late, and the rest of the lovable losers that populate the store rarely fail to bring the funny. I admit, I've been back and forth on CHUCK at times, but the last couple of episodes have really put it over the edge for me - this is a show that 100% deserves to be watched and enjoyed and to come back for a well-deserved third season! Can't wait for tonight's finale.
- Okay, let me talk about a show that is definitely ending in a mere matter of weeks, that show being PRISON BREAK. It's so crazy - in the weeks leading up to its Fall Finale, PB was absolutely kicking ass, bringing a heaping helping of gravitas to Monday nights prior to 24's eventual return in January. But when PB finally came back for its final run last Friday, the show seemed out of gas. There were already signs of this in the Fall, when after an episode that seemed like a pseudo-series finale, the show just ... kept going, introducing Michael Scofield's mother as a new Big Bad. Now, part of the problem here lies with FOX's scheduling. Last Friday, they threw us right back into the middle of a fairly complicated storyline with little to no recap to get us back up to speed. It was just - bam! - Prison Break is back, hope you remember all of the plotlines from December, enjoy! Nice job, FOX, way to show some love for your show or its fanbase. That said, the first episode back from break definitely felt kind of "blah." I expected the show to come back with a huge bang, and instead there was definitely a lack of urgency to the storytelling. It was that feeling of "geez, they STILL don't have Scylla?" And of "remind me again why T-Bag and Self are still in the mix here? And isn't Lincoln acting a bit too buddy-buddy with a couple of guys who have repeatedly tried to kill him? Anyways, the whole Michael's mother thing is a bit on the lame side. For a series that's known for its amazing villains, having Michael and Lincoln's mom turn up as a conniving ex-Company operative seems more than a little generic / cliche. A couple of potentially cool moments (the General getting blowed up real good) were overshadowed by a lot of non-action. Suffice it to say, it was great to have PB back last week, but I had to admit it was a somewhat underwhelming return. Now, this past Friday's episode was definitely a step in the right direction. The pace was quicker, the tension greater, and the dialogue snappier. T-Bag finally stopped acting like a good soldier, Mahone was allowed to be badass, and Michael had a couple of vintage Scofield moments. Sure, the whole pregnancy angle just seems unnecessary, but this week's ep reminded me of one of the key elements to Prison Break's success: breakneck pacing that doesn't let up. The fact that we know the end is near was kind of reassuring in that we know that these storylines are not going to be dragged out for too much longer. We're racing towards the endgame, and that in and of itself is exciting. My hope though is that the Company storyline is wrapped up ASAP. Let the final ep or two really tighten the focus on Michael and his personal journey. Let's get one final Scofield vs. T-Bag showdown. So, yeah, despite some of my criticisms, it's good to have PB back and I'm happy to be on board for one last run.
- Meanwhile, 24 has been firing on all cylinders of late, and I can't wait to see how tonight's episode plays out. Last week's 24 provided all kinds of action, drama, and emotional highs and lows. I'm still somewhat in denial that Tony is all-out EVIL, but at the same time I am eagerly awaiting the inevitable Jack vs. Tony battle to the death. Now, one thing that does make me weary: on almost every season of 24, we get the reveal that, guess what, there is some huge evil conspiracy at work behind the scenes, and that the guy who we thought was our uber-villain is in fact just one cog in the secret-cabal wheel. We are now getting that again this season, and every time, it *sounds* awesome at the outset. The problem is, 24 has almost never delivered any true payoff on all these conspiracy plotlines. We had the President Logan / Blue Tooth Mafia conspiracy, the one with the guy from Saw / Operations from La Femme Nikita, and now this one, in which Starkwood was apparently just a bit player. So 24, my plea to you is: STOP HINTING AT THESE HUGE EVIL CONSPIRACIES IF YOU'RE NEVER GOING TO FOLLOW-UP! I mean, how many competing conspiricies are there in the world of 24? Most high-level government employees are probably involved in at least two of 'em at any given time. So that is my biggest hope for the rest of the 24 season - stop teasing us with these huge uber-villains only to drop the ball!
- Another show that has been absolutely on top of its game of late is THE OFFICE. I haven't talked a ton about the show, but for my money The Office has, over the last couple of months, regained its crown as the funniest show on TV. The last several eps, in which Michael has gone off to form a competing paper company to Dunder Mifflin (appropriately enough, The Michael Scott Paper Company), have been nothing short of brilliant. The reaction at DM to a new, sterner boss has been great. As has Pam's defection to Michael's new company. Ryan's return has been great as well, and Dwight's torn loyalties have resulted in too many hilarious moments to list. But at the center of it all is Steve Carell's increasingly awesome performance as Michael Scott - a man who, really, doesn't care about business, but just wants respect and love from his coworkers, who are essentially his surrogate family. It's heavy and sometimes dark subject matter for a comedy to go to, but The Office has dared to go very, very dark in order to mine its humor. The Office is definitely THE must-see comedy as of now.
- But what about 30 ROCK, you ask? Don't get me wrong, 30 Rock is still pretty hilarious week in and week out. It's just that it seems like the show has reigned itself in to some degree, and that's disappointing. Where last year the show seemed to really embrace its own random sense of humor, this year the show seems more sitcom-y than ever. That means that all of the awesomely nonsensical Tracy Morgan lines get buried underneath the plotlines about Liz and Jack's respective love lives. It means that the focus is increasingly on Liz at the expense of the great cast of supporting characters (where art though, Hornberger?). So again, I still love 30 Rock, and I'm happy that its ratings have been up. But I do wish it would forget about trying to appease the soccer moms and just be off-the-wall insane like the old days.
- One more show I've been wanting to talk about, and that's FRINGE. Back in the Fall, I thought this was a solid show, but never would have guessed how quickly it'd jump into my upper echelon of must-see TV. Fringe, of late, has just been kicking ass. The overarching plotline, involving mysterious corporations, alternate dimensions, and strange psychic beings, might be the most intriguing mythology currently on TV. At the same time, the characters have really grown on me. Olivia in particular has evolved from kind of a blank slate into one of the best leading characters on television. And what can I really say about the epic awesomeness of Jon Noble as Walter Bishop? The guy is delivering A+ performances week in and week out, and is far and away the show's MVP player. The one trouble spot is probably still with Joshua Jackson as Peter Bishop. Peter has definitely gotten more likable of late, but at times he still comes off as whiny and annoying. After all the times his father has been proven right with his oddball theories, you'd think that Peter would stop questioning him at every turn. That said, there is a nice chemistry developing between the lead players, and as mentioned the overarching storylines are really getting good. Fringe is easily one of THE top shows on the tube right now.
- I did catch this past week's SMALLVILLE and it was yet another *pretty good* episode that had a couple of really fun moments mixed in with a lot of groan-inducing scenes. I think looking at the overall trajectory of Smallville, one of the most obvious big-picture problems is just how slowly the show inches forward each episode and, subsequently, each season. I mean, it's amazing that this Davis Bloome / Doomsday storyline has been going on now for an ENTIRE season, and we've yet to even see Clark land a punch on his adversary-in-waiting. Same goes for this while Red-Blue-Blur thing. I mean, it is just more frustrating with each episode. Because we *know* the logical payoff to this is Clark becoming Superman, but we also know that that will most likely never happen as long as the show is called "Smallville." So it's basically a holding pattern where every single week we are teased with the prospect of Clark evolving into Superman, and yet we leave in frustration knowing that the show is not prepared to go all the way. Again, this past week's episode had some fun Lois and Clark moments, and Lois donning a superhero outfit as "Stilleto" actually played out a lot better than it had any right to. Still, the show seems to be grasping at straws to find new ways to inch Clark closer to full-fledged superhero-dom without actually pulling the trigger. Assuming it comes back next season, I really don't know where they can go from here. All I can think of is to have a season of Clark travelling the world and having random adventures, with the occasional Lois or Jimmy guest-spot. That would be cool ... but the current path is going to completely wear out its welcome if it goes on for much longer.
- Finally, I've got to give a shout-out to GOSSIP GIRL. Last week's Passover seder-centric episode was an amusing romp, and the show overall continues to be one of the most flat-out entertaining series out there. It's tempting to call it a guilty pleasure, but when a show has writing that's as sharp and clever as this (see: The OC), it's hard not to give it its props. Not entirely inconceivable.
- And oh yeah ... no LOST this past week, but this Wednesday the show is back with a huge milestone episode. *Very* interested to see what happens there.
- One more note: my DVR screwed up my FOX Sunday night recordings, so I have yet to see any of last night's episodes. But I do want to talk about the giant letdown that is SIT DOWN, SHUT UP, and also about the long-running goodness that is KING OF THE HILL, which aired its 250th episode last night. Dang! So stay tuned for my thoughts, coming soon.
- Okay, whew, that's all for now. I do have a huge movie review to get to soon, for an awesome movie by the name of ANVIL: THE STORY OF ANVIL. So stay tuned for that, and lots more, including thoughts on Sit Down and Shut Up, as well as NBA Playoffs talk. Until then, Happy Monday, and watch CHUCK!
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