So how’s this for depressing: Sunday morning I woke up at about 7:30 in the morning, and I got really upset because it made me realize how much longer my day was going to be. Is that a bleak outlook or what? Being forced to shovel the snow we got from the night before was a nice cherry on top as well.
This week is a mixed bag of television, as about half of the shows I watch were new episodes, while the other half was repeats. Before we get to the usual suspects of shows, here’s a continuity error sent to me from one of my readers, Laura.
CONTINUITY POLICE, VOLUME 13:
Lucky thirteen, huh? Anyway, unlike most continuity errors which focus around a contradiction of a previously established fact or story, this mistake revolves more around editing (or sloppy writing). Surprisingly, the culprit is Lost, regarding the tailies flashback episode. Here’s what Laura had to say:
On Day One for the Tailies after the crash and “the rescues”, you can clearly see a large fire going on the beach. Personally I thought it was a piece of wreckage but upon closer viewing it actually looked like an uprooted tree stump. Then later on that day, once Goodwin had been established, we turn to a scene of him and the-Annoying-One (Ana-Lucia) as he’s attempting to start a fire by rubbing two sticks together. What the!?! Why didn’t they just use a branch to light their signal fire from the one that was shown earlier or various other scenarios!?! Don’t know if this was accidental or if we’re to believe that the original wreckage fire died out and that’s why they had to light another but wouldn’t just one person have shown some foresight? While I’m on this fire topic too, we’ve seen how much it rains on the island plus we’re supposed to think it is a tropical island, so then how on earth is the wood even supposed to be dry to enough to ignite in the first place!?! And then to top it all off Goodwin is trying to make fire the old Survivor/Boy Scout way that has never seemed to work on that series, so what this all of a sudden works now on wet kindling!?!
By the way, for anybody who’s wondering, the best way to start a fire is to use a battery and steel wool. Although, I suppose it’s unlikely that any of them have steel wool on them. Anyway, I didn’t take notice of that error, and I appreciate the information. See, goes to show you that if you send me something, I will eventually use it. So send along your continuity errors, people!
LOST:
Speak of the devil…
Anyway, last week’s episode was a bit of a mixed bag, since I’ve heard a lot of people praise it, and a lot of people criticize it. I’m standing somewhere in between, as I found some of the stuff a little too random and out there, while I also think that it did a great job of developing several different stories. Overall, I’d say thumbs up, but I do have to admit to having a slightly skeptical reaction following the episode.
Let’s start with the good: Most notably, the stuff in the hatch (specially, the stuff with Michael, Locke, and Eko). The part with Michael suddenly being all interested in the mechanical appliances inside the hatch did seem a bit uncharacteristic. It seemed like that would be Sayid’s department. We know that Michael is a contractor architect related person, but since when has he shown any interest or knowledge in technology?
I was talking about the good, wasn’t I? I continue to be a huge fan of the Locke/Eko interactions. Eko gave a perfect delivery when telling the story about the Old Testament, and Locke’s facial expressions were dead on as well. The two men (who both clearly have a faith oriented outlook on everything) have so much in common, and compliment each other so well. Along with their faith, it is also worth noting that both men have the capabilities of being physically dangerous people: Eko is clearly a physically powerful man, and has shown what he’s capable of doing. Likewise, through his hunting skills and affinity with knives, Locke could easily handle himself in a violent situation. That said, both Locke and Eko have repeatedly shown that they would avoid using violence by any means necessary. Whenever Jack or anybody else goes into that gun cabinet, Locke is almost always the first person to try to talk him out of it. Ditto with Eko’s resistance to Ana-Lucia’s orders to tie up Sayid. I really enjoy the chemistry between these two characters.
Oh, and the additional clip to the video. I found it very interesting, as it may lead us to more information about the supposed incident that occurred years ago. I am not completely sure whether I believe that the person on the other end of the computer was actually Walt, but it obviously has to be somebody who knows about Walt. Could The Others be in one of the other hatches on the island? Nevertheless, this communication may lead to an all out assault on The Others, which actually makes me wonder why such a move was not thought of earlier. Could this be the incident that has often been alluded to?
Before I get to the stuff I didn’t necessarily love, I’ll discuss something I am torn about: The kiss between Kate and Jack. When it happened, I marked out big time. I’m on the boat that wants these two to get together, so it was an exciting moment when they finally kissed. What was my problem with it, you ask? That it was later revealed that Kate only kissed him as a means of not feeling something for Sawyer. For such a big moment, it was a bit of a letdown.
Okay, the main thing I didn’t like was the Kate back story. I mean, she murdered a guy because she didn’t like the fact that he’s a part of her? I mean, hell, the guy never hit or molested her, he was just an asshole. Granted, he did beat her mother, and that is deplorable, but Kate made it pretty clear that that wasn’t the reason why she killed him. It just seemed very….unjustifiable.
I’m also not exactly sure how I feel about Sawyer and Kate getting together. Of course, we don’t know if the show is going in that direction or not, but they certainly seem to be hinting towards it. What do I see happening? Well, I see Jack shacking up with Ana-Lucia and Kate hooking up with Sawyer before the two end up together.
The black horse thing was also a bit strange, as it seemed very Walt-esque. Actually, it was a bit of a mix between Walt thinking of a polar bear and one appearing, and Jack seeing his father in the jungle. I’m not sure what to make of any of this, but it definitely seemed a bit more out there than most of the stuff they’ve done in the past.
By the way, seeing Jin and Sun together at the beginning of the episode was really, really cute, as was Hurley giving Jin the thumbs up. It’s interesting to note how the relationship between Jin and Hurley has evolved as well, since Hurley was convinced Jin hated him early on in the series. I also really liked Jin finally getting the handcuffs removed (by the way, bonus points for having them kept on for so long), and it was a nice moment having his show Michael that they were taken off. A nice and subtle throwback moment.
NIP/TUCK:
Interestingly, there is an article in the latest edition of Entertainment Weekly about this show, and throughout the column the writer keeps switching on and off between referring to Christian as “Christian” and “Julian” (the first name of the actor who portrays him). And not in a way that makes sense, either. Like the article will say “Sean and Julian” and then later “Sean and Christian.” It’s very odd.
Anyway, it looks like asshole Christian is back, in full force. The obvious turned out to be true, which is that the Carver kidnapped Kimber. Our resident Nip/Tuck reviewer brings up the possibility of Matt being the Carver, but I can’t say that I agree. Considering how ballistic he went after having sex with somebody who is pre-op transsexual, I can’t imagine him raping another male. I’m still going with the obvious here, and saying it’s Quentin.
SURVIVOR:
Last week I wrote a column on how I would save Danni, basically saying that I would turn everybody against Lydia so that she gets voted off, and then convincing Rafe to start an alliance with her and Cindy to eliminate Judd and Stephenie. Not a bad plan, as far as I could tell. However, Danni ended up playing an even smarter game than I had suggested.
First and foremost, she absolutely ruled all in the auction reward challenge. First off, she was smart enough to not trade in the jerky for whatever was behind the mystery door. Then she teamed with Rafe, repeatedly, and in turn creating a new alliance of sorts. Then she was the only person smart enough to, ya’ know, put as much money as possible into the immunity challenge clue. I mean, geez, even if you don’t need it, you’d think people would be smart enough to prevent somebody who does need it from getting it.
Before I talk more about Danni, I’d like to go on a mini-rant on Stephenie. I feel like she had some nerve asking Lydia to throw her money towards buying her boyfriend. First off, it had already been stated numerous times that Lydia hadn’t seen her brother in TWO YEARS. Stephenie hadn’t seen her boyfriend in, what, a month? Along with that, after Stephenie completely BULLIED Lydia in the pot breaking reward challenge (where she essentially said “you messed with me, I’m now going to destroy you”), Steph basically left Lydia with no choice but to give her all her money. It was a really, really selfish thing to do. Second question: This was not made clear, but Judd’s wife spent the night at the campsite, and Steph’s boyfriend spent the night. Do you think the show provided the two of them with condoms?
Anyway, back to Danni. She played an absolutely brilliant game. Not getting picked in the reward challenge was a MAJOR blessing in disguise, because it gave her the perfect opportunity to get in with Rafe, who is a major central aspect of the core alliance. She also managed to use their mutual respect for Gary to her advantage. Then, she used the immunity advantage at the perfect moment, and seemed like the only person in the game who really knew what she was doing. Along with that, and I’m sure the fact that she had immunity here helped, but she somehow, some way became a very major person in the alliance. If you noticed at one point Steph even came to Danni and asked “what do you think we should do?” when it came to the possibility of voting off Judd (who, incidentally, is Steph’s closest ally). I mean, geez, the so-called puppet master is going to somebody in a MAJOR minority about voting off her closest ally. How Danni managed that is a marvel.
So, what does Danni have to do next week? Well, she needs to continue to affirm her alliance with Rafe, as he seems like the most loyal person on the show, and a lot of people seem to respect his opinion on matters of who to vote off. Along with that, he doesn’t seem particularly close to Lydia, so convincing him to eventually vote her off might not be too difficult. One thing is for sure, though: Danni NEEDS to continue to win immunities, as she’s far from safe. Along with that, I would suggest she try to convince people to vote off Stephenie as soon as possible, as she’s undoubtedly the greatest threat of the remaining tribe members.
Of course, you cannot mention last week’s episode without talking about Judd’s exit, which will surely be remembered as a classic Survivor moment. Wow. Telling them he hopes they get bit by crocodiles, and then repeatedly calling them scumbags was awesome. I’m not sad to see Judd go, but I greatly enjoyed his exit. Oh, and I cannot wait for his big speech in the finale.
GO DANNI!
THE OC AND REUNION:
My comments will hopefully be brief on both of these shows, as I have a terrible headache as I write this column (hence why it may seem like I’m phoning this week in). I’ve really enjoyed the character development of Taylor, and I thought she was really sweet this episode. That said, I do empathize with Summer’s predicament: Seth did seem awfully preoccupied with his own dreams, while totally disregarding any plans Summer may have. I do, however, like the prospect of separating the show a bit next season and having Seth and Summer in Rhode Island, while Ryan and Marissa remain in California. Oh, and Rachel Bilson remains absolutely cute and beautiful. Why would anybody leave her, ever?
I enjoyed Reunion, as the show has improved in strides (no matter what Marthan says) in regards to not feeling the need to constantly remind the viewers of what year it is, and actually seeming like a year has passed between episodes. I did find it really strange, though, that they’d reveal that Craig is actually not paralyzed before we find out how he supposedly became paralyzed. They may have something up their sleeves, but right now it just feels like a potentially effective story arc has lost its impact. That said, I don’t believe he’s the killer. Right now, I’m thinking it was Carla.
TV FUN FACT OF THE WEEK:
I just watched the season finale of Curb Your Enthusiasm earlier (strange episode, by the way) so I thought I might use Seinfeld as my example this week:
During the original airing of the finale, MTV aired original cartoons that were specially timed to fit into the finale’s commercial breaks, so that viewers could freely watch both of them and not worry about missing anything.
Anyway, it looks like we’re going to go a while before we see another new Lost, and Survivor is almost over, so it looks like we may have some trouble coming up with shows to talk about.
Hope everybody has a great week.
