Saturday, October 10, 2009
One of These Things Is Not Like the Other
Fringe: Momentum DeferredSeason 2, Episode 4
As we learned in the season one finale of Lost and into the second, the biggest disadvantage to dragging a mystery out for more than half of a season is that expectations get too big for anything to live up to them. The hatch was never going to be as cool as it was meant to be for John Locke. I've been telling Billy that The Wire is one of the three best shows ever for years... well, I remain confident that one will live up to the billing when he finally watches it. Hear that, Billy?! Watch It!Back to the main point, its especially frustrating that characters obsess over something so much that its revelation outweighs anything else. Sure, I love them getting Walter out of his comfort zone so John Noble can shine and anything relating to Peter being from Earth-2 has me downright giddy. But for the vast majority of us, the questions all revolve around William Bell and what happened when Olivia finally met him in (of course) the last shot of the season. And once again we get delayed satisfaction. In Lost, it was spending MULTIPLE episodes getting INTO the hatch from MULTIPLE perspectives. In the case of Fringe, we had Olivia's unexplained car accident and convenient amnesia.... ahh, amnesia, the lazy writer's filler (see Teri in season one of 24 for further examples). Fringe has at least handled it better, giving us exciting new science to chase while keeping the conspiracy simmering in the background. But as they say, it's time to "nut up or shut up."
For starters, any episode of any show that starts with Curtis from 24 (the always great Roger Cross) blasting some guys apart and acting all conspiratorially with a mercury-bleeding shape-shifting so-called super soldier has got a quick thumbs up from me. Apparently, he really needs him some frozen human heads. Actually, he needs one specific human head... the rest get tossed after inspection. Basically, we have the best episode of this show in a long time, one that starts off with a bang, gets us some of what we've been waiting for (NIMOY!!!!) and peals back some of the ongoing mysteries.
Curtis sharing screen-time with Fake Face Charlie continues to outline a conspiracy of these shape-shifters attempting to get to Bell through Olivia and while they have been a bit heavy handed with it this week, I was sad to hear FFC would die if he didn't get into another body soon. Because really, how many mercury thermometer's can you chug down as a quick fix while Walter and company are closing in on you?
I was hoping they would have a episode that focused on him helping them with an unrelated case, simultaneously having him hide the fact that he isn't Charlie while performing Charlie's job. But it seems that will remain a lost opportunity.
But jumping from there, we're back in the old "I remembered this experiment Bell-y and I did." grindhouse of season one. But it was fun seeing Olivia just downing a glass of crushed up flatworms while Peter and Walter argue about it. I enjoy the Let's Just Go With It approach to fringe science investigation.
When Peter once again gets to flex his "jack of all trades" status by examining the shape-shifting control device, I loved the line about him not sleeping after seeing Invasion of the Body Snatchers because he is a pod person. Earth-1 Peter fell asleep (i.e. died) and he was brought from another world to take the boy's place. Between that and his trip with Walter to visit the latter's former experiment subject/crush, it's a funny and quirky week for the Bishop boys - as it should be. Peter giving Walter some money to help him get a girl... hilarious.
But that's not what you want to talk about really. So let's get to the Nimoy Action. He shows up (of course, in the last shot before a commercial break - good old predictable television) in one of Olivia's flatworm-induced flashbacks. Apparently, Bell (call me William, or Willem) briefly catches up with Olivia and sort-of, not-really apologizes for what his experiments did to people before explain that his and Walter's goal was to create a GateKeeper (does that make one of them the KeyMaster? Must consult Bill Murray on this ASAP) to guard between the two realities. Apparently this is Olivia, which is fitting since she isn't as interesting a character as Walter or Peter so they can keep her on par with the others by making her this show's Most Important Person in the World. And no complaints from people who watch a show that made two brothers the first and second most important people in the history of the world.
Also, Bell mentions may never be able to return to ours (yeah, right). He confirm the shape-shifters as soldiers of Earth-2. I would be mad that Bell promises that the "truth" will come out, rather than telling her more of the story. But what were you expecting? It isn't like Mulder was hanging out with aliens and discussing their long term goals in season two. But now the main characters know a war is coming and they are the front line of defense. We do get the sweet story of how she came flying through that car in the premiere and altogether it was enough to intrigue the audience and as long as we get that every so often and we never have an episode explaining how Peter got a tattoo, I can live with it for now. We even have Nina Sharp to explain Bell's words of "a storm coming" meaning one of the world's won't survive the doorway opening.
My only true complaint is how shocked and surprised everyone is to not suspect Charlie, the man who was first on the scene with the body that they prove this week wasn't the shapeshifter. Shouldn't he have been one of the first suspects? Instead of Olivia's flashback of the shape-shifter's leader's symbol or Massive Dynamic rendering the last copy from the changing device, you would think simple police work would have solved that mystery. Even if they had a great showdown between Olivia and FFC, it still could have been reached through a simpler plot. It was only really done the way it was to justify Curtis from 24 recovering his leader's head. But it gave us a great final shot with his eyes opening. And Curtis likes apples too... good to know.
Finally, just a bit of a scheduling update. I know this came a day later than usual and hopefully I'll get to Dollhouse review tonight or tomorrow morning before the Red Sox once again try their worst to get me back on a regular television watching schedule (stupid untimely hitting slump... but that's neither here nor there for our purposes). Even if it takes me until next Tuesday or Wednesday, I feel obligated to posting something about this week's The Office. It's really too big a moment to skip, even if thanks to Fringe, Supernatural and baseball postseason, it's been relegated to Check Out On Hulu Friday or Saturday Status... it's still one of my three favorite comedies on today. So hopefully, you'll hear more from me soon on all of this fun stuff.
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Thursday, October 8, 2009
O Captain! My Captain!
How I Met Your Mother: Robin 101Season 5, Episode 3
One of the dominating concerns that I had coming into this season of HIMYM was how the writers would handle the Barney/Robin relationship. I feel a bit like Robin and Barney from the end of last season, part of me loves the idea of the two of them together and then when I admit that another part of me realizes that I just Mosbied the other part and now I don't like the idea very much. On paper, the two of them are made for each other. Going all the way back to the first season when Robin played Wingman for Barney and they enjoyed whiskey and cigars with each other, you could see this relationship as potentially happening in the future. But half of the jokes about Barney revolve around him being a misogynistic player, we know he wasn't always like this but for better or worse THIS is the Barney we know and (begrudgingly) love.Putting Barney into a committed relationship (with any woman) would seem a bit like neutering his character. Episodes like last week's "Double Date" didn't exactly make me feel any better about this situation. Barney got to act like himself for the most part but Robin just played the catty jealous girlfriend who was unhappy about her boyfriend going to a strip club. The problem here is that back in season one she was A-OK with going to a strip club with Barney and Ted in "Belly Full of Turkey." So her annoyance at the situation seems hypocritical. "Double Date" ended with absolutely no resolution of Robin's issues. Nope, instead, Barney stayed just as oblivious and Robin stayed just as mad. In short, it did nothing to make me feel any better about the new status quo.
"Robin 101" doesn't right all the wrongs that "Double Date" created but it does work to fix a couple issues and we get our first glimpse of Professor Mosby albeit not teaching students.
Let's get the gripes out of the way. Though Marshall's love of his college barrel and Lily's sad case of "barrel resin allergy" were funny (especially Lily's, "Damn baby, be cool" to Robin) the whole plot was just another one note misuse of Jason Segal. I'm still waiting for something meatier for him and Marshall and while the "Bermuda Triangle" in front of the apartment steps was funny, it just wasn't anything to write home about.
What was great was the Barney/Ted interaction. I suspect that this is the closest that we'll come to seeing Professor Mosby for a while and it didn't let me down. Barney acting like the typical ADHD addled college student and begging Ted to have class outside was just one of a number of hilarious moments in these scenes (Robin is a typical cover hog? Who knew).
Meanwhile, Robin and Lily obsessing over the notebook found in Barney's briefcase played out just as obnoxiously as you might imagine. It's not that I don't empathize with Robin, I mean she is dating Barney after all. That's got to be nerve wracking. But for all of Robin's going on about how she isn't a typical girl she sure acts like a stereotype. Even going so far as to become downright insulted when she confronts Barney and Ted.
Of course Barney and Robin talk it out in the end and everything is presumably going to be fine between the two of them. During all this I realized two things. 1. Barney and Robin as a couple are inevitably going to neuter Barney's character and 2. This isn't a bad thing. Some of the funniest Barney moments have nothing to do with him as a sexual miscreant. As I was going through season four on Blu Ray this weekend I was reminded of the episode where Barney and Ted keep McClaren's open during the snowstorm. That whole sequence is framed around the two trying to get with some girls but the jokes are all about Ted and Barney being goofy. Or how about Barney and the marathon or Barney and Bob Barker; the list goes on. Barney can still be slimy, but Barney can still be Barney without sleeping around New York.
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Monday, October 5, 2009
What's In a Name?
Mad Men: SouvenirSeason 3, Episode 8
I like the meanings behind episode titles (needless to say its one of the things I enjoy about shows written by Joss Whedon), but I'm especially fond of it this week. We can have a great trip, but all that's left in the end are memories and trinkets. The timing, placing the episode in August, gives everyone an excuse to take a break from the daily working grind at Sterling Cooper. In fact, the office is barely seen at all before Pete spends a weekend home along and Don and Betty jet off to visit a hotel in Rome for Connie Hilton.In a way, this isn't an episode I'd expect to enjoy too much. Pete and Betty have always been two of my least favorite characters and numerous character I enjoy Peggy, Paul, Harry and Cooper are unseen or only seen briefly there to say adios to Pete. But at this point I know even an episode of "Mad Men" that's not sitting in my wheelhouse is at least going to be well executed.
The big theme this week is pretending and slipping identities is the norm. I don't think I've ever found January Jones as attractive as when Betty was flirting with two men at an outdoor restaurant, running along in perfect Italian and then pretending not to know Don. It's an incredible change of scenery for them, both literally and figuratively. As someone who has been bashing this sham of a marriage almost nonstop since the pilot, its been easy to forget how well this couple can look together. To borrow Betty's idea of every kiss being a shadow of a couple's first, I think this is what she and Don were like when they first met. Both can not only look attractive, but be flirty and adventurous and sensual with one another. Don obviously finds it especially endearing, since he's the show's resident expert on dropping one life for another. While Betty is turned on by something exotic and new, I think Don is much more attracted to seeing how well Betty can fulfill the deception. Either way, this is a rare highpoint for the Drapers.
But don't get too happy. Back in their suburban reality/nightmare, things are as rough as ever. Don still considers his wife as little more than scenery. I loved how Don used Betty's call list as just another piece of scrap paper. It sums up how he treats her often - she's handy, like a napkin when he has a new idea to jot down.
And if nothing else, this Betty-centric episode reminds us that for all his whining and near escape attempts, Don isn't the only person trapped in this marriage. Betty might act like a shrew more than a little, but she's still this beautiful, intelligent woman that her daughter idolizes (even if they don't understand one another like Sally and Don do) and more than a few men find attractive. But just as she responded to the near collapse of her marriage last season with a one night stand before letting Don come back, Betty once again flirts with something more (kissing Henry after the council meeting) before reverting to her depressing marriage. She certainly possesses a lack of self-deception when they return and Betty is the one to admit it was nothing more than a trip and everything that is wrong is still there. Morbidly depressing words from an annoying downer killing Don's high? Yes. The truth? Also yes.
In the other main story, Pete spends the weekend home alone with Trudy out of town. Either he's playing at being a kid (I literally laughed out loud seeing him eating cereal and giggling at a kid's show) or playing the hero (helping a neighbor's nanny replace a damaged dress), Pete continues to falter every time he is denied utter acceptance. From Don at work or Trudy at home, Pete has never been able to differentiate his own self-worth from the opinions of others. The most painful part of the episode was watching him force himself on the nanny, Gudrun. Just a week after defending him to Billy as someone who had matured so much since the first season, it was disappointing to watch. And we know its coming, from the moment we see Pete's disappointed face when her thanks over the replacement dress isn't as special and glowing as he wanted. Sure enough, a bit of booze later and he's back at her door, being the juvenile prick he was back in the first episode.
In another one of our Life sure was different back then Moments, the neighbor comes by and reprimands Pete - Not because Pete sexually assaulted the woman, but because of the trouble he'd have finding a new nanny that his wife would get along with. The stand out scene of the week where I think how different it would go a generation or two later.
These episodes are so thick I normally leave a bit of discussion out, but I'd kick myself if I didn't mention the cheer I let out when seeing the manager assisting Pete at the department store turned out to be Joan. Keeping with the theme of the week, she plays and pretends to be a happy housewife just filling her time while her lovely husband starts on a new career path. We remember how desperate and sad her fallen expectations and loser husband have left her. But even now she's the consummate professional at any task and hardly dropping a hint of anything being out of sorts until after Pete leaves. And of course Joan solved his problem in no time flat... she is Joan after all.
Finally, I wanted to apologize for this review being a couple days late. I'd say it will never happen again, but that would be foolish on my part as we enter the playoffs.
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Sunday, October 4, 2009
SAT Time! Night of the Living Dead:Shaun of the Dead::28 Days Later:___________
There are quite a few rules to survival in Zombieland or so we're told by Jesse Eisenberg's Columbus a neurotic survivor of the zombie apocalypse. Rule number one: cardio, rule number 3: seatbelts and so on, it's clear that Columbus has thought a lot about how to survive in a world dominated by the walking dead. And, I imagine most of the audience for Zombieland will have as well considering how popular and prominent zombie horror movies have become in the forty-one years since George Romero created the modern take on the monster with Night of the Living Dead.Romero's zombie is a slow, shambling reanimated corpse, the Romero style zombie was lampooned in 2004's zombie romantic comedy Shaun of the Dead. Romero has publicly stated that he doesn't like the idea of quick running zombies, but with the box office hit 28 Days Later audiences proved that they don't agree. And so we have Zombieland a horror movie that openly lampoons it's own subject matter. But the big question is, does it succeed?
Zombieland follows several survivors after the world is decimated by an outbreak of zombie. Columbus(Jesse Eisenberg) is on his way to his parents house in Columbus, Ohio when he meets Tallahassee(Woody Harrelson). Tallahassee insists that the two don't use real names so that they don't get too attached to one another. Along the way the duo meet with Wichita(Emma Stone) and Little Rock(Abigail Breslin), sisters on their way to Los Angeles to visit an amusement park they once went to before the world went to hell.
The cast is small, but the performances are not. Harrelson in particular wows as the gruff Tallahassee who takes glee in killing every zombie he sees and yearns for a twinkie. Tallahassee at first seems like a one note joke, and honestly he's the funniest character in the picture, but his character has the strongest emotional arc of the film. It's this arc that elevates Zombieland from being a somewhat forgettable comedy to something stronger. Harrelson may be the crown jewel of this picture, but the other cast members don't slack. It's kinda weird to see Abigail Breslin in a zombie movie since the predominate vision in my head of her is as the little girl in Signs, she does a fine job here and when she and Harrelson share the screen it's a joy to see.
If there is a defining fault to Zombieland it would be it's lack of zombies! For a movie that insists that the world is dead and filled with the walking dead, I could literally count on two hands the number of zombies the group encounter between Texas and Los Angeles. I'm not sure if the director was saving money for the big finale or what, but it's a glaring oversight. When the group casually drives into the center of Los Angeles without seeing a single zombie--it's a problem. With a population between the city and the surrounding areas in excess of 17 million I expect to see more than six zombies in downtown L.A. When there ARE zombies in the movie it does work as a horror movie, with quite a few scares, some of them are generic jump scares, but overall the movie doesn't slight on the horror aspect.
One of the greatest aspects of this film is the narration coupled with the "survival rules." Columbus narrates the film and his survival rules accompany the narration on the screen as the happen. It's a beautiful twist that looks wonderful and results in quite a few laughs. It's like we're viewing a movie version of Max Brooks "Zombie Survival Handbook." These parts coupled with the tremendous opening title sequence make this film a visual joy to watch
Whether or not you enjoy Zombieland largely depends on how you like your comedy. Zombieland is an American comedy through and through. There is less subtlety to the humor and it plays less like an homage to it's source material than Shaun did. That's not a slight against the film, but if you liked Shaun and are expecting more of the same you'll be disappointed. The funniest portion of the movie comes during the last third of the film when the group looks for suitable lodging in L.A. I'm loathe to reveal much about it, but it's the highlight of the film and you'll recognize it when you see it.
Maybe I'm not the most partial person to review a zombie movie, I've grown up watching the Living Dead films, one of my favorite video games is Left 4 Dead, hell, my parent's first date was to see Dawn of the Dead, I can basically credit my existence to the the genre. I tell you this as full disclosure, I'm a big zombie whore. I'll pretty much watch anything with zombies in them. But I don't enjoy everything with zombies in it, the Resident Evil films have zombies in them and they are still steaming piles of shit. So, trust me when I say that Zombieland is a great film certainly worth a look during this spooky month.
Its funny, it's scary and really what else is there to look forward to in the genre this month? Saw 6? Now, THAT is funny!
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Friday, October 2, 2009
Back to the Beginning
Dollhouse: InstinctSeason 2, Episode 2
While I could tolerate the premiere wasting a great deal of time trying to catch readers up with the status quo (who everyone is and how they are involved in the Dollhouse organization) at least it was well executed. Whedon's script and direction at the least were a form of well-done monotony. But this week's episode is written (Michele Fazekas and Tara Butters) and directed (Marita Grabiak) are new to the show, so perhaps there's some learning curve benefit of the doubt I can give them. I wouldn't classify this as a poorly executed episode, just one that was rotten from the point of conception. Don't misunderstand me that there are some big problems throughout the episode, but the actors all do a very strong job. Dushku does well enough, but really what could any actress do with lines like, "Mommy's here." while holding a newborn and a butcher's knife?The latest leap forward in imprinting technology of course occurs in Echo. It's funny how all of the other Dolls work so well, especially Sierra (who works with Echo this week and manages not to turn into a lunatic when the assignment is closed). Topher remarks that he imprinted Echo's mind so thoroughly she had a biological reaction. Meaning she's breast-feeding up a storm, as the mother to a newborn who lost his mother at birth. Since dad is blaming the poor kid, he brings in a replacement mother who glitches out (surprised? maybe that there's only one glitch this week) and gets attached in a way beyond memory.
In a way, Fazekas and Butters were a source of hope I had in this season. The creators of Reaper were being added to the writing staff in place of the departing show runners Elizabeth Craft and Sarah Fain, a pair I had little trust in after the first year bounced around so much between a show with potential and an underwhelming mess.
The reason I put a great deal of the blame on the writers is that they kept going back to the glitching well with too much frequency. And they can't adequately get over the easy solution. In the case of this episode its getting Ballard and Echo together. Because once they are in the picture together, their under-explained mutual understanding will take over. First, Echo miraculously climbs out a second story window while holding a baby only to be caught when she goes to the police for help. Nevermind ignoring the questionable ability to scurry out the window (good thing the ladder was there) while holding a baby!, but the only reason they do it is so Ballard can't ask Echo if she would like a treatment. Then the have the supposedly momentous bit involving Echo refusing a treatment and freaking out take place off-screen, only seeing the final bit before she is put in the chair.
Then Ballard gets distracted by Mellie/November/Madeline so echo can knock out Topher after her wipe. Then (again off-screen) she gets out of her handcuffs and wanders past all of the Dollhouse's security forces. She then bounces from asking a car to drive (that's a cheap throwaway joke that the writers probably thought was much funnier than it really was)to driving the car back to the baby's house. Good thing they don't take the keys out of the cars. Anytime a climax needs four or five outstanding lucky coincidences to be achieved that probably means it wasn't earned.
Do I even need to describe the problems with the finale which includes Echo taking a page from Michael Myers (cutting the power before breaking in), turning into another unfunny and blatantly obvious joke ("Mommy's home." Seriously?!?!?! No, I mean it seriously???) and ultimately being convinced to give up the child by the repentant father.
The character of the father is portrayed fine, another take on the grieving widow played by Patton Oswald in "Man on the Street" and this one doesn't even sleep with her. The lack of quasi-consensual rape we get on a weekly basis and his somewhat moving journey to forgive and form a bond with his son is all handled just fine. But even this character is tainted by the unending coincidences that plague this episode. Of course, Echo overhears him calling Adelle to return Echo to sender.
And at the end of everything, we finally get to Ballard and Echo sitting together to commit themselves to taking the Dollhouse. Which would have been great if the previous episode didn't end on The. Exact. Same. Scene. I just wish we weren't sitting around and spinning our wheels with this show.
One of the most enjoyable sequences is the scenes involving Alexis Denisof's performance as Senator Perrin stalling on his investigation of Rossum before getting a mysterious package. There isn't much substance here, we're really just setting the table for this plot. I would hope things would pick up if or when he goes looking for the FBI agent that was assigned to investigate the Dollhouse. I'm anxiously awaiting the guy who played my favorite character in the Buffyverse getting a chance to stretch his legs a bit more.
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Gettin' The Band Back Together
Supernatural:The EndSeason 5, Episode 4
One thing that I absolutely love is the idea of a "What if..." story. I adore Marvel Comics What If... books(though I have not read one in about a decade. Do they still exist?) because they are always interesting at the very least. These types of stories allow the reader/viewer to see something that could have or might happen. Supernatural fans are particularly used to this form of storytelling from episodes like "What Is And What Should Never Be"(wherein Dean is drugged by a Djinn to believe his mother never died).These stories seem to crop up quite a bit in genre television with your mirror universes, vengeance demons and quantum mirrors allowing characters to visit a different reality to see what might have been or what might occur. These stories are always interesting to me when a character from the show gets a chance to see this altered reality and learn something important that can possibly benefit them. Stargate SG-1 did this wonderfully in the first season where Daniel Jackson visited an alternate reality through a quantum mirror wherein he learned that the Goa'uld were headed towards Earth. Buffy: The Vampire Slayer did this horrendously in the episode 'The Wish' where a vengeance demon sends Cordelia to an alternate reality where Buffy never came to Sunnydale. In that episode Cordelia is killed and when the world reverts back to the status quo NO ONE remembered that any of it happened. It was a wasted event.
I'm happy to say that Supernatural follows the SG-1 model and doesn't make this episode worthless. Plus, ya know, semi-sequel to two of my favorite episodes: 'Croatoan' and 'In The Beginning.'
I think I can safely say that this episode of Supernatural will go down as a classic. If for nothing else than the spectacular acting of Jensen Ackles. Dean speaks to Sam after last week's reveal that he is the vessel of Lucifer and, well, let's just say that the phone call didn't go the way that Sam exactly wanted it to. Sam is at a point where he needs his brother to strengthen his resolve and keep him from submitting to Lucifer. Dean tells Sam that the two of them need to stay away from each other because staying together might be worse--might cause the catastrophe they are trying to prevent. The emotion in Dean's voice and on his face betray his true feelings to us. This separation is killing Dean just as much as it's hurting Sam. Dean is just too proud to admit this to Sam or Castiel.
Dean ends his call and goes to sleep but when he wakes he finds that he is in the near future of 2014 where most of the world has been decimated by the Croatoan virus. It's a spectacular reveal, after the season two episode where the boys first encountered Croatoan. My only gripe, and this is a small one considering how awesome the resulting action sequence was, is that the infected people act more like 28 Days Later zombies than the demon infected people from the first 'Croatoan' episode. Dean escapes the infection zone and heads off to find Bobby.
Zachariah appears to Dean and reveals a couple things about this nightmare vision of the future. Yes, Sarah Palin is president. The end of the world is indeed nigh. Also, Dean has to stay in the future for three days. Supposedly this all happens because Dean doesn't agree to be host to Michael. So Dean gets to play Ebenzer Scrooge and visit his and his friends futures.
Let's see where everyone stands
Future Dean: Kind of a Dick
Future Castiel: De-Angeled and leading a harem in orgies
Future Impala: Busted and rusted
Future Sam: Dead to Dean
Of course, WE can tell that Future Dean is lying. In fact Future Sam isn't dead, or at least his body isn't. Apparently in the future at some point Sam will say yes to Lucifer and become his host. Think back to 'Croatoan.' Remember when the infected guy left town and told(presumably) Yellow Eyes that Sam was immune to the virus? Well, we've got our answer as to why that was important. I had assumed that the Croatoan virus was never going to be brought back into play since Yellow Eyes was killed so the fact that it was made a large part of this episode was invigorating, but getting an answer to why Sam being immune was important was downright amazing. It's part of why I love this show. It truly is the Babylon 5 of horror and if it turns out that all of this wasn't the result of planning, but just happy coincidence...well, then these writers are the luckiest people in Hollywood.
Future Dean has succeeded in finding the Colt and intends to use it to kill Lucifer once and for all. I've got to question whether this would work or not. When Dean first met Castiel, he tried using the demon killing knife on him and it didn't work. Lucifer is a fallen angel, it stand to reason that the demon killing knife would not work and if the knife doesn't work who is to say that the Colt will work. Regardless Dean and Dean head out to attempt anyway. Dean is knocked out by Future Dean(who isn't a very nice guy and intended to use his friends as a diversion while he faced Lucifer) and when he awakes he finds Future Dean dead at the feet of Lucifer/Sam.
Now, my praise of Ackles stands as the best acting in this episode, but Jared Padalecki's portrayal of the devil was spectacular as well. His Lucifer isn't as great as Mark Pellegrino's but it's so off-putting to watch Sam as the devil. Lucifer continues his attempt to win the hearts and minds of the people by explaining that he's a good guy who's only crime was loving God too much. That the angels were better than humans who only kill and make war. Hello! Mr. Lucifer! It's the pot calling, he says the kettle is black. Dean pleads with Lucifer to kill him, because if he doesn't then Dean is going to find and kill him.
Zachariah ends this trip to the future and again asks Dean to be Michael's sword. Zachariah is appalled when Dean again refuses. Dean's a smart guy, there is one thing that he can change that may prevent this future: he can bring his brother back into the cool kids club to help stop Lucifer. And so the Winchester brothers are back together. Though they only spent two episodes away from each other, the return is much appreciated.
So in the end, can we believe any of what Dean saw in the future? Did Zachariah really send Dean into the future or is this another one of his games. Last season he did make the boys forget who they were. None of that was real, why should we believe this is any more real? Plus, President Palin? Preposterous!
So, we got our "What if..." story and we got the boys back together. Dean remembers everything from the future and is determined not to have it happen. Now more than ever I cannot wait to see what is going to happen next on this series.
As a fan of the show, I must caution everyone to be prepared for the worst. The ratings this season have been abysmal. Thursday is a very competitive night of television. The Winchesters may be facing an apocalypse in more than one way.
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Thursday, October 1, 2009
Drink Up
Fringe: FractureSeason 2, Episode 3
"To all that's weird." - Peter Bishop
While I can't agree with Peter's choice of drink (I still prefer my Russians White, not Red), I easily embrace his toast. The second season has gotten off to a much better start than the first's early stumbling. It's been good to relegate Olivia remembering her time on Earth-2 to the B-plot each week. It isn't ignored and will probably be the lead story sooner rather than later, its just nice to let things take a slower pace and develop more layers to this Weird World. The bulk of the episode revolves around a single monster/villain seemingly unrelated to the multi-verse wandering experiments of Walter and Bell.As far as creepy villains go, Man Bombs is sufficiently high on the list. It's nice for scifi shows to have those stock episode plots to fall back on - in this case military science experiment continued by crazy commander. It's a formula that works well enough, especially in this episode where the main bad guy, Colonel Raymond Gordon is played by Stephen McHattie, a television veteran I remember best as the bad guy in The X-Files two-part story in "Nisei" and "731." Casting 24 and The X-Files veterans are generally both solid moves in my book.
At least we don't think its part of the main series mystery until the final reveal that Colonel Gordon's bombs are meant to destroy agents reporting to the Observer. And here I never even knew he had minions. But we're getting ahead of ourselves. The mysterious opening involves a police officer abandoning his partner and searching for a man with a black briefcase as the man on his phone, Gordon, has instructed. Promptly after finding the man, the policeman crystallizes and goes Ka-Boom. And a good time was had by all. It's a decent effect and the resulting carnarge looks great. Generally everything this week involving discovering the Colonel's identity and plans and the science behind it is golden. From Peter and Olivia's evening trip to Baghdad to Walter blowing up a watermelon like some science fair version of Mount Vesuvius - all good stuff. Fun, humorous and gives us a few tiny, but interesting peeks into Peter's back story.
The mystery that Peter does as much to solve as Walter, gives them both a chance to shine separately. Pairing Walter, Astrid and an exploding watermelon works. I mean we see it coming from the first shot of the scene, but it's still fun. John Noble always has his little quirks (licking the ear brings a special smile to my face), but in the few times he is really experimenting in the unknown and being surprised works the best. Above anything else, Noble can sell this great sense of wonderment for things and its important since this quirky character would be torturously bad if he couldn't sell those jokes at least a little. But letting Walter not have all the answers right away also gives Peter a way to step up in mentally helping solve problems (discovering the radio-wave trigger) in addition to helping carry the load of physical action with Olivia hobbling around like the female Dr. House.
Speaking of Olivia's injuries, while I'm fine with dragging out the mystery for a couple more weeks, it unfortunately only took two episodes for Kevin Corrigan's stint as Olivia's... um... bowling alley owning therapist, Sam Weiss... to wear thin. I realize he might tie more into the mystery and frankly, I'm dreading it. He just happens to be one of those That Guys that seems to always be playing themselves. And not like Dennis Quaid is always playing Quaid or Denzel Washington is usually playing Denzel, but a bad way. I've seen him in seven or eight things since, but he's still the annoying, detached guy from Grounded For Life. And his tactic of annoy Olivia until she stops relying on her cane is just... nope, nevermind, annoying is the perfect word to describe it. I can only hope he either disappears quickly or is killed off... painfully.
While talking about limiting the cast, splitting time between the mystery and Olivia's drama is helped by trimming the cast for the week. Nina Sharp, our new agent Amy Jessup and Fake Face Charlie are all unseen this week, which is a bit unusual since a major FBI operation goes down to capture the Colonel and his final (Wo)Man Bomb. It stinks to miss Kurt Acevedo as Fake Face Charlie, given how well he's performed in the first two episodes this year. Jessup is still a non-entity for me, so no problem there and the less tonsil-hockey I see between Sharp and Broyles the better.
To end things, let's mention that the ending scenes are too rushed. Perhaps some of the writers and directors have to get used to allowing for more commercial breaks this season, but there is almost no time after Gordon is taken down by Peter and Olivia to explain his motivation. They obviously wanted to tie it back to end on the Observer getting a bunch of surveillance photos of Walter and company, but it meant Gordon explaining his crazy plan of detonating his own soldiers and accepting massive civilian casualties without actually being seen by the audience while talking. And that's a hard sell, my friends, especially since the bit we do see has him sharing face time with a surprised Broyles. McHattie's best assets are his grim expression and kind of creepy face and it hurts losing these tools during his big moment of the episode. I guarantee he probably nailed the scene, but it was ruined in favor or either poor directing or saving a few extra seconds from the running time.
And come to think of it, why does the Observer need to have other people photograph the Bishops? Isn't observing people already kind of his thing?
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