Posted Apr 10th 2010 3:40PM by Mike Moody
Filed under: Stargate, Episode Reviews, Episode Recaps
(S01E12) The tide is turning.
'Stargate Universe' is quickly becoming a must-watch sci-fi drama. So far, season one's second half has delivered two of the best episodes of the series. The writers, cast and crew are really starting to get the hang of that dark, tense and atmospheric thing they've been trying to do since the show premiered last October.
"Divided" grabbed me from the opening moments with Chloe walking through the empty ship and that brooding Brand New song creeping up in the background. The nightmare sequence ended on a chilling note with Chloe trapped in the water tank trying to make contact with her mother. Things got extra spooky when that Blue Meanie showed up; those guys are really starting to give me the creeps.
This episode centered on Wray and Rush's attempt to seize command of the ship from the military personnel. Like I wrote last week, I really wasn't looking forward to watching Wray stroke her ego by leading a mutiny, but this ep had a lot more to offer than that.
Continue reading 'Stargate Universe' - 'Divided' Recap
Posted Apr 10th 2010 1:03AM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: OpEd, Smallville, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S09E15) I'm usually pretty critical of
'Smallville,' but tonight was a darn good episode. Pam Grier's character of Amanda Waller, taken straight from the comic books, showed the right amount of menace (albeit a bit comic book-y). The interaction between Tess, Oliver, Chloe and Clark kept my interest. There was even a new mystery relating to whomever Jonn is working for.
If there were any downsides to the episodes, they were minor and revolved around Tess. Her character seems all over the place and has had too many different roles in her history. First, she's Luthor's pawn, then she's a bad-ass corporate CEO, then she's in bed with Zod, then she's a Checkmate agent, and now she's a rogue agent with a price on her head. The writers need to decide who she is and be consistent about it. Or maybe the inconsistency is part of her character. But that gets a pass since the rest of the episode worked so well.
Continue reading 'Smallville' - 'Checkmate' Recap
Posted Apr 9th 2010 7:21AM by Jane Boursaw
Filed under: Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, Fringe
(S02E17) "I have to tell him. I've gotta tell Peter the truth." - Olivia to Walter
I wish I could figure out how Sam, the bowling alley guy, fits into everything. I don't trust Nina Sharp one bit and neither does Olivia, so why should she think that Nina's suggestion to talk to Sam is a good thing? He could be totally nefarious (even though I don't get that vibe from him).
His midnight game of Clue did give us the great title for this episode, though, so there's that (along with the fact that we got to see Finn Garrity from 'Damages' again). But even so, he's not being very helpful at this point. Is he from the other universe? "I'm older than I look," he told Olivia. "I barely remember my childhood. I'm also taller than I appear."
Continue reading 'Fringe' - 'Olivia. In the Lab. With the Revolver' Recap
Posted Apr 9th 2010 5:58AM by Jane Boursaw
Filed under: Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, Vampire Diaries
(S01E17) "I'm not gonna turn someone who learned everything he knows about vampires from Netflix." - Anna to Jeremy
There's a storm brewing, not only in the weather, but also those 25 cranky vampires in the farmhouse outside of town. By the end of this episode, there were a few less vampires there, not to mention the owner of the house.
Damon and Alaric made a great badass team, even if Alaric was ticked enough about the whole incident to slug Damon after it was all over. And everything that happened helped to further my fascination with (the still not-dead?) Frederick, especially after Pearl told him they can't live by revenge and need to have better control over their emotions. We can see how well that worked for him.
Continue reading 'The Vampire Diaries' - 'Let the Right One In' Recap
Posted Apr 9th 2010 2:32AM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: OpEd, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, FlashForward
(S01E15) After reading that title, I got out my chess board to watch this episode. While amateur players tend to strive to protect their queens, experts know that sometimes the best strategic move is a queen sacrifice. Is that idea what
'FlashForward' was going to be exploring this week, or is it just Aaron selling all his old Queen LPs to finance his crusade against Jericho?
It's a bit of a blow for me to find out that the characters won't be reaching their April 29 flashforward moments on the April 29 episode. I was looking forward to the synchronicity, and it at least gave me hope that I would know what day it was in the show for a moment. That hiatus has shifted things back, and now we don't know when the characters will meet their dates with destiny.
What we do know is that while Mark seems to be taking big steps toward helping his flashforward come true by moving out of the house, at least one major character seems to be doing everything in his power to thwart his.
Continue reading 'FlashForward' - 'Queen Sacrifice' Recap
Posted Apr 9th 2010 1:43AM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: OpEd, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, The Mentalist
(S02E18) -
"Oh, that's OK then. As long as you're sorry, we'll let you go ... kidding." - Jane, to the killer
OK, did I miss the part of the episode where they explained what "Aingavite Baa" means? I've been wondering all day what it could mean and even typed the words into one of those web anagram generators. I came up with "Avian Abate Age," "Gab Eat Via An I," "A Agate Via Bin," and many others (including several with the word "vagina" in them, but I doubt that has any meaning).
If I missed it somehow, let me know in the comments so I can look goofy.
Continue reading 'The Mentalist' - 'Aingavite Baa' Recap
Posted Apr 9th 2010 1:26AM by Michael Pascua
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, OpEd, Project Runway, Episode Reviews
(
S07E12) The contestants have finally reached the final challenge on
'Project Runway' before the final collection. The final dress has to be a high end dress inspired by performances from Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey. They had two days and $300 to create the best dress they could.
One effect that was used really well this episode was the montage of outfits the contestants used during judging. It made you realize that you went through twelve episodes already. Granted, they skipped several of the dud outfits, but it does show that people like Seth Aaron and Mila have a strong point of view.
Continue reading 'Project Runway' - 'The Big, Top Designers' Recap
Posted Apr 8th 2010 11:32PM by Jackie Schnoop
Filed under: OpEd, Survivor, Episode Reviews
(S20E08) This season should have been a slam-dunk for some of the more savvy castaways on
'Survivor.' Instead, we're seeing convoluted alliances and bad decisions. Some folks only thinking about their own end game without realizing they actually have to remain standing into the merge. First it was the heroes tribe in a losing streak, then a few challenges back, it all flipped and the villains did the very same thing, voting out Boston Rob and Tyson.
Why? Because they're getting rid of the strong players when they should be thinking about keeping their original tribes strong at this point. Will they continue the pattern until skeletal Courtney remains the sole 'Survivor'? Oh my. That would be such a waste of a season.
Continue reading 'Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains' - 'Expectations'
Posted Apr 8th 2010 10:02PM by Isabelle Carreau
Filed under: Bones, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S05E16) "What you call a mistake, Sweets calls an interpretation." - Booth to Brennan
Thanks to the mistake Sweets made in his book, we were treated to a flashback with backstory for our favorite squints and co., including Zack, as well as finally getting to see Booth and Brennan's first case. Of course, these reveals were all overshadowed by the real question of the week: Do Booth and Brennan really truly love each other?
Continue reading 'Bones' - 'The Parts in the Sum of the Whole' Recap
Posted Apr 8th 2010 12:45PM by Mike Moody
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, Episode Recaps
(S01E11) "You a hot mess." - Winston to Guerrero.
Chance rubbed elbows with royalty on last night's
'Human Target.' But while Fox's pre-show introduction (starring a couple of 'Glee' kids) promised big thrills and explosions, "Victoria" failed to deliver any truly spectacular action sequences. At least we got to see the show sorta return to its original premise, with Chance posing as someone close to the client to protect her from the threat. It seems like he hasn't done that in quite a while.
Winston and Guerrero got themselves into a pretty tight spot during this ep. It's always fun to see these two paired up out in the field instead of stuck in a room staring at computer screens or talking on cell phones. Follow me after the jump to discuss last night's Crown conspiracy.
Continue reading 'Human Target' - 'Victoria' Recap
Posted Apr 8th 2010 1:03AM by Michael Pascua
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, OpEd, Episode Reviews
(
S14E05) When
'America's Next Top Model' starts off with a statement about drinking pickle juice and bodily functions, you know there will be something really odd about the episode. Anslee continues to cry through most of the episode, but fortunately for her, Tyra isn't done with airing her emotions on the show, and she doesn't even land in the bottom three.
My biggest concern for this show is the fact that Angelea gets high amounts of praise for looking heavily transsexual. I'm not sure if I get her whole appeal. Whereas Cycle 8 winner Jaslene could look drag, she understood her angles and fixed her chin by the end. Angelea still hasn't been given enough criticism about looking more feminine and could be the winner for 'RuPaul's Drag Race.'
Continue reading 'America's Next Top Model' - 'Smile and Pose' Recap
Posted Apr 7th 2010 11:15AM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: OpEd, The Biggest Loser, Episode Reviews
(S09E12) Is there any point in saying it was a crazy week in the house anymore? The producers seem determined to make every week more intense and stressful than the week before, and that's exactly what happened.
Right off the bat,
Alison Sweeney announced that contestants would have a chance throughout the week to earn immunity. They stuck a button in the middle of the gym. The first person to hit the button opened the scale. If they lost at least 2% of their total body weight, immunity was theirs. If they didn't, they were out of the hunt for that week.
Right away, the queen of gameplay, Melissa, was gunning for that button. With no allies in the house, she would need it to save her bacon should she fall below the yellow line. And then there was the challenge.
Continue reading 'The Biggest Loser' - 'Week Twelve' Recap
Posted Apr 7th 2010 5:54AM by Jane Boursaw
Filed under: Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, V
(S01E06) "It's time we told him the truth about who he really is." - Joe to Erica, about Tyler
Well, who is he?! Is he supposed to be some sort of warrior a la John Connor, who'll lead the resistance against the aliens? I have no idea, but can't wait to find out. Based on the fact that Tyler seems enamored with the Visitors, it's hard to imagine him as a leader of the resistance. The dynamics will have to change with Lisa; Erica's plan to hide Tyler away at his dad's isn't working.
I've been thinking about where I'd fall in the alien vs. humans war, and I'd definitely be a member of the Fifth Column -- organizing meetings, gathering weapons, training people to fight ... I have no tolerance for any sort of manipulation, and doubt that I'd fall prey to Anna's bliss. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.
Continue reading 'V' - 'Pound of Flesh' Recap
Posted Apr 7th 2010 4:50AM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S01E04) "I knew that deep down, I was capable of this. I yank a guy's teeth out and now I kill a guy. You gotta get away from me." - Roland to Mindy
The real challenge for
'Justified' is finding new ways for Raylan Givens to blow people away. Of course he's going to do it in just about every episode. He's a borderline renegade U.S. Marshal with an eagle shooting eye and a distemper for disrespect. He's a colonial cowboy with a beat-up heart. He's Dick Cheney on Zoloft.
The trick, however, is changing the game just a little bit each time so the surprise doesn't wear away over time. This week's episode not only found a new way for Raylan to put a bullet in another smart-ass criminal's torso, but the ride getting there was just as fun.
Continue reading 'Justified' - 'Long in the Tooth' Recap
Posted Apr 7th 2010 4:23AM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Comedy Shows, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S01E06) "Wow, Crosby, you're a dad." - Zeek, after hearing about Crosby's son for the first time
I'll admit it.
'Parenthood' has been a hard show to read. It tries very hard to connect the audience with the human drama of the American family, but at the same time, it expects you to understand and appreciate every problem they come across.
It drags you through their cornfield of sadness and expects you to come out feeling as happy and reserved as the characters do in the end. It makes me wish life actually worked this way. Then it just makes me angrier.
Continue reading 'Parenthood' - 'The Big O' Recap
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