Another week, and this time I’m going to get it in nice and early for all of you faithful readers. I’ve got some other silly stuff planned for later, so let’s get the usual bunk out of the way first.
NOTE: I’m starting to just throw together reviews on TV.com for the shows that I watch, so if the reviews there look familiar, it’s because I posted them (it should be pretty obvious, though).
The 4400
In order to give us a taste of what will happen when the feces really hits the fan next week, Kyle continues to polarize himself. For right now it’s only leaving friends in the dark as to his whereabouts, but Father Tom is being brought in as well to bridge to next week’s episode. The subplot is another round of “miracle ability isn’t all it’s cracked out to be,” which we saw not too long ago with the “Thinner” copycat. However, this is made even more interesting with the idea that this man killed plenty of people before he started saving them. And then the ultimate kick in the teeth: The ability is killing him. Seems like a cruel joke from the futurepeople who provided this ability, but its intent is clear: Edwin has been punished to use his new ability to heal as many people as he can to make amends for past atrocities, and then he will be executed by the most humane of executioners: Nature. Still, it’s obvious that the writers were just giving us a taste of what’s to come as Kyle will no doubt be pushed in the forefront next episode, and from the looks of the preview, Tom will be defending his boy to the very bitter end. Obviously a filler episode but a very well done at that.
The Dead Zone
Okay, so it probably wouldn’t have been feasible for a filler episode to introduce a new character to the storyline, but damned if it wouldn’t be interesting to see John actually raise a child from infancy, even if it was on the most bastardly of terms. Nice of John to say that he’s glad he went into a coma instead of dealing with J.J. as a kid. As much as I think babies are a waste of time, I’d rather take care of one then get HIT HEAD-ON WITH A SEMI. Some more Sarah/Johnny stuff this episode makes me happy, and keeps me wondering if they’re going to have some more sparks between them once we finally get the train back on the track towards Stillson. There’s just something off about Walt’s performance as the episodes go on, but I can’t put my finger on it. Credit to the writers, though, they’ve been hitting some homeruns for filler episodes as they keep us hungry for more Stillson.
MythBusters
As I was watching Adam and Jamie begin their dive into the Border Slingshot myth, I waited patiently as I figured they would soon switch over to the other myth or myths that would be tackled in this episode. Imagine my surprise when they stuck this one out to its very end. And there’s a good reason, too. Save for the beginning stuff when they were kinda fooling around, there was plenty of great stuff to go around in this episode, as Adam and Jamie seemed scared to death of an errant bowling ball that just wouldn’t sling, but eventually got it to at least somewhat work. And even though they broke the world record for human cannonball, it was awesome to note that they still hadn’t perfected it, and probably could’ve got even more distance if they had more time. The early stuff wasn’t all that interesting but once you realized they were sticking with this one to the end, your interest was piqued. Currently in the process of acquiring the Shark Week episode, so I might jump back and touch on that one without warning.
Made In The USA
Not much to say here except that it seems to be one of those reality shows that seems too good to be an utter failure. The official description from USA Network’s official site for the show:
“For anyone who ever had a great idea, for anyone who ever believed in the American Dream, there’s MADE IN THE USA, television’s newest and most ingenious reality series. America’s unknown inventors and entrepreneurs will vie for a one-year contract with Home Shopping Network… and a shot at fame and fortune. Six teams will compete. Only one will be given the chance to turn a lifelong dream into a reality.”
Raise your hand if you can already see the problem with this show: Team-based. There will be fighting between teams, inside teams themselves, and there will be silly challenges that will not really accomplish anything but give the producers a chance to play dramatic music over a staredown taken straight out of a spaghetti western. Credit where credit is due, it sounds like a great idea, but there’s just too much to screw up about it. I’ll try and watch the trainwreck for as long as I can when it makes its debut.
Before I go into my big treat of the evening, I wanted to talk about something that I haven’t talked about in quite some time: Books. Specifically, comic books. After watching American Splendor, I found myself wanting to read comic books, or to be more to the point, comic books that had kind of an edge to them. I seem to have discovered Preacher and Sandman, and though I have not dove into Sandman just yet, Preacher is right up my alley. I’m not surprised to hear that it is in development to be turned into a movie (much like author Garth Ennis’ other project, Hellblazer/Constantine), as it’s an engrossing story that sucks me as I go issue by issue. I’m only halfway through, and I love it. Can’t wait to start reading Sandman. But Sandman’s hard to get a hold of unless you have an awesome library and/or a cheap bookstore that offers graphic novels. I have neither. I did purchase American Gods by Neil Gaiman (the author of Sandman) and Dirty White Boys by Stephen Hunter. The latter’s opening sentence is flattening and was more than enough to convince me to purchase it at the $4.00 pricetag: “Three men at McAlester State Penitentiary had larger penises than Lamar Pye, but all were black and therefore, by Lamar’s own figuring, hardly human at all.” That’s insane, and insanely racist at the same time. I think this book is going to be a bad trip.
And now, for the meat and potatoes, I’ve decided that at least until Lost and Desperate Housewives make their return, I should occupy myself with something. But with a lack of really good TV around, I’ve decided to do something drastic:
I’m going to leap zones.
Yeah, that’s right, I said it. Leap zones.
Leaping Zones
From TV to Wrestling, I present you my first zone leap, as I review the match between Bret Hart and Steve Austin, a street fight from the April 21st Raw which had Austin as the ambulance driver.
Bret Hart
vs.
Steve Austin
4/21/1997
WWF Raw Is War
The video clip of this includes a “Moments Ago…” where Steve gets in the face of Vince McMahon, at the time still at the announce table and not letting people kiss his bare ass. Austin is breathing heavily in the corner, waiting for Bret Hart to make his appearance. If I remember correctly, this is almost a month or so after Wrestlemania 13 and their legendary I Quit match. Bret’s music hits and Austin is pumped. Bret stalls long enough for Owen and Bulldog to hit the ring, beating the hell out of Austin until Shawn Michaels comes from the crowd and decks Owen and Bulldog with a chair (is this during his Commissioner days?). Bulldog does a very limited sell of a couple of chairshots, but the point is Bret Hart’s in the ring alone with a beaten Austin. Bret drops a leg and then pummels Austin in the corner, then brings him into the center of the ring to pummel some more. Bret nails a piledriver and is still getting some decent heat as he brings in a chair, looking to Pillmanize Austin’s ankle but the stomp from the top misses. Austin grabs the chair and goes to work on the right leg of Bret, getting some good face heat as Bret gets a mudhole stomped and whatnot. Austin hits the left leg this time, and Bret signals to his right as if to convey that that’s the one Austin WAS working on, so Austin just decides to mimic a Garvin Stomp with a chair. Bret retreats to the corner and flips off Austin, and continues to get chair shots to the leg and then catches a nasty one to the shoulder. Austin slaps on the Sharpshooter, flipping off Bret (and Bret returns the bird in a nice moment) as Austin locks it on tight. The referees swarm the ring, trying to stop the match for some reason, and the Sharpshooter remains on a LONGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG time, as the referees and Pat Patterson and so on continue to try and relinquish the hold. Finally, after just over two minutes, Austin is finally yanked off, and here comes the EMT to take Bret away and such. In this video clip the famous ambulance scene is not shown, however. No contest in a street fight? Bollocks. Pretty good sports entertainment until you hit the Eternal Sharpshooter. Wish I would’ve seen the ambulance part.
Anyway, that’s all I got this week. Enjoy the fact that I got this up early and get used to it, because I feel good when I get it in early. And when I feel good? Look out.
Whatever that means. Keep on truckin’, kids.
