Tag Archive for 'TV'

You’re officially on notice.

Published
by
Chuck
on July 11, 2008
in TV
. 1 Comment

burnnotice.jpg

Seriously, if you haven’t been watching Burn Notice, now’s the time to get on board. In its second season, this USA series is light, fun and action packed. Kind of like a cross between MacGyver, the A-Team, and Magnum PI the show features Jeffrey Donovan as Michael Weston, a covert operative burned by the CIA. Left out in the field, with no resources, his accounts frozen and dumped in Miami (his hometown) Michael has nothing but his wits and a few friends to get his life back on track. Michael is a classic hero-type, trying to solve the puzzle of his burn notice, while helping out Joe Average with his worse-than-average-problems.

The show delivers a lot of heart, great stories and humor with an excellent cast that reads right out of the nostalgia fanbook. First up, Sam Axe played by…wait for it…Bruce Campbell, a boozing, philandering ex-seal. He’s the trustee side-kick and confidant. The girlfriend, played deliciously by Gabrielle Anwar (”Things to do in Denver when your dead”, and the cancelled-too-soon “John Doe”) is tough, sexy, smart, and tough. She’s the on again, off again flame and all-around goto girl.

Sharon Gless shows up as Michael’s chain-smoking, neurotic, psycho-somatic mother. Excellent job, and it’s great to see a veteran actress of Gless’s caliber on the screen again.

The thing I really like about this show is that it is total escapism. It’s a great balance for LOST with all it’s heady intrigue and mystery. Burn Notice allows you to jump in at any time, and enjoy the ride. Much like X-Files, it has a longer running mythology (why was Michael burned, who did it, what do they want him for) with episode long stories that start, fulfill and end satisfyingly. The show has a great visual style with some touches of Guy Ritchie thrown in (but not too much) and all those great whooshing sound effects to keep it fun. Oh and Jeffrey Donovan’s cheeky, dead-pan VO lends great exposition without being corny.

iscore_8.jpgOh and for those of you STILL not interested, Tricia Helfer has made a cameo as one of the Burners (maybe 2nd in command?). Not sure what side of her bread is buttered, but judging by the hoops she’s had Michael jump through, it can’t be the good side.

All-in-all I’ll give this show a solid 8. Real good TV.

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Somewhere over the rainbow, things are pretty damned cool.

Published
by
Chuck
on May 30, 2008
in TV
. 3 Comments

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OK, I’ll post more later after I re-watch the episode, but it was damn cool. I gotta say, I feel satisfied with the episode. I’m not chomping at the bit for next season because I really just want to mull over EVERYTHING for the next couple of months and get prepared. They gave SO much info it’s a bit overwhelming.

****** POSSIBLE SPOILERS ***********

First tidbit: the call that Kate received was backwards. Here’s the reversed audio.

Second Tidbit: Alternate endings to hide who was in the coffin.

Random Thoughts:

  • Dharma’s doing space/time experiments - I’m curious to read timelooptheory.com‘ s take on the new space/time info and so should you.
  • Michael is dead. Jacob’s emissary (Christian) tells Michael he “can go now.” This does not mean, “get off the boat,” it means he is no longer in service of the island, he is released to do what he came there to do…die.
  • F’you, Jin is still alive.
  • I must say again. Ben Linus is the man. So over on Dube’s blog she theorizes that Ben moved the island forward in TIME, not space about 3 years. I think I agree with the time thing, but not the 3 years. Does anyone (Cesar) have info on when Ben appeared in the desert? Also, Ben took out a special forces guy. Come on seriously…he’s badass.

iscore_101.jpgOK, more later, too much to think about. Oh yeah, this ep gets a 10. No question. Cliffhangers, answers, questions…all good.

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Ruby slippers anyone?

Published
by
Chuck
on May 18, 2008
in TV
. 0 Comments

noplacelikehome_jack.jpg

So the latest episode of LOST, “No place like home, pt1″ was quite excellent. But I’m not here to talk about the show so much as I am about the writers. We see the Oceanic 6 get off the island. I mean really get off the island.

So what?

That’s right, I said it. But not how you think. I say “So What?” because the storytelling on this show is so amazing, that I now don’t care about them getting off the island. I’ve known they get off the island since last season, but that is now NOT the focus. The writers have deftly switched us to care more about them getting BACK to the island.

The island has now become a living breathing character on the show (to be fair, I don’t think it actually breathes - live yes, breath no). I know want to see why the six got off the island and why it’s only them. Where’s Jin? What’s up with Swayer? Is the island OK? etc.

Some highlights:

  1. Keemey is sooo gonna regret “capturing” Ben
  2. LOVED the return of the numbers on the camaro’s odometer. LOVED it.
  3. Jack’s revelation about Aaron and Clair
  4. Sun kicks ass - to stand up to her Dad like that, awesome. BTW Jin isn’t dead, it’s still a front. There is a VERY good reason why they can’t tell anyone about the other passenger’s. A reason yet to be revealed.
  5. Richard and the Others are back, excellent!
  6. More Dharma!

OK, tha’s all for now.

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I am Jack’s inflamed Appendix.

Published
by
Chuck
on May 2, 2008
in TV
. 2 Comments

lost_appendix.jpg

OK, the latest episode of LOST (”Something nice back home”) had a ton of stuff in it, but I’m going to concentrate on Jack for this post. First of all, what the hell is wrong with this guy? He can’t be happy unless there is something to fix. This has been a running personality trait since the beginning of the show. However, in the flash-forward, he completely sabotages his happy life. Did you notice it happened the second he told Hurley he was happy? And what was his next move? Of course it was to ask Kate to marry him! This character is nothing if not true to type.

Jack is in an unending loop of Tragedy…Fix Tragedy… Be Happy…Sabotage Happiness…Tragedy…well, you get the idea.

Okay, first…Aaron. When he tells Kate “You aren’t even related to him” it was said in a way that the next line could have been “but I am, I’m his Uncle!” I think they know. What do you think?
Second, let’s discuss the Appendix issue. Since I am a firm believer that NOTHING is a coincidence on this show, it is no accident that it was Jack’s appendix that became an issue. The appendix has no apparent function in the human body except to become infected, burst an spew toxins and waste into the human body. Jack’s appendix is a literal allegory to what’s happening with him. He can’t control his surroundings, everything is coming crashing down, and he’s realizing he can’t save everyone - so what happens? His body begins to process the bad and needs to get rid of it, but since he has an inability to ask for help, there’s nowhere for this stuff to go…but to his appendix.

My theory is that while people don’t get sick on the island - the island is trying to purge Jack of his idea of rescue. It is becoming increasingly evident that these people are meant to be on the island. And that the island will do what it needs to do to keep them there.

OK, so let’s talk about the Flash-forward. Jack is shirtless. Why? He’s never been shirtless on the show before, Sawyer handles the beefcake, not Jack. So why? Since, coincidences are not option, my guess is they want us to see that Jack does not have an appendectomy scar. Now he would have healed just fine (Island physics), but would he heal scar-less? I don’t think so. So that being said, is Hurley right, are they dead? I doubt it, but Jack is seeing his dad, and so is Claire…and so is Myles. Yes, Myles…these are not hallucinations, they are manifestations.

iscore_8.jpgThe island wants Jack back, and this is the beginning of his decent into madness as we can see by his drinking binge.

Overall I liked the episode, good stuff for the future, good reveals, in the grand scheme of the show, I give it an 8.

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