We’ve got new episodes of shows popping up everywhere, but this week has been all about four hours with Jack Bauer, and how he will once again save the Western world. Some thoughts, in point form:
– So Palmer and Dessler get killed, right off the bat. Meanwhile, Tony is “only” in critical condition, meaning that noone should be surprised when he’s back for the last half of the season.
– Derek looked to be the new Kim this season, but there’s an off chance that he may become the new Behrooz.
– I’m assuming that we’ll have an explanation as to why Lynn McGill is Buchanan’s superior despite being half his age.
– Speaking of McGill, Mikey came through in the clutch catching Bauer’s codewords, but it still doesn’t excuse him for being a stuffy protocol-abiding suit.
– Jean Smart is a great choice for the First Lady.
– Logan is still a f*cking wuss. Aaron the Secret Service guy and Novick need to take him into a back room and slap some sense into him.
– Jack Bauer still owns you. And when his running buddy Tony gets back on his feet, the bad guys are gonna be in some serious shit.
– Sandrine Holt (Evelyn) still looks pretty hot.
– Nice to see Wayne Palmer again.
– Interesting guest star notes from IMDB (even if they’re not always reliable. Sabrina Lloyd (‘Numb3rs’, ‘Sliders’) and Daniella Deutcher (‘Hang Time’) were supposed to appear at various points in the four hours, but I guess they were cut. Also, one of the terrorists was former UFC fighter Oleg Taktarov.
UFC Ultimate Fight Night 3
Chris “The Crippler” Leben def Jorge “El Conquistador” Rivera (TKO – Punches, 1’44”) – Leben cuts a decent promo, and I’d love to see him go up against Patrick Cote again.
“The People’s Warrior” Josh Burkman (‘The Ultimate Fighter 2’) def Drew “The Master” Fickett (Tapout – guillotine choke, 1’07”) – The UFC “Best of 2005” show saw Burkman destroy Sammy Morgan early, and he did the same thing to Fickett. And now he wants Diego Sanchez. I guess he’ll have to get in line, because I”m sure the UFC wants to put Diego up aginst Nick Diaz again first.
“The American Psycho” Stephan Bonnar def James “Sandman” Irvin (Tapout – Kimura, 4’30”) – Not an exciting fight if you were hoping for a standup war. Bonnar did the right thing in taking this to the ground, where he grabbed an arm and kept torquing it until Irvin had no choice but to tap.
Duane “Bang” Ludwig def Jonathan “The Road Warrior” Goulet (TKO – strikes, 11″) – That’s right, eleven seconds. Tough luck on Goulet’s part, and it’ll be interesting to see if he returns for the “USA vs Canada” PPV.
Tim “The Maine-iac” Sylvia def Assuerio Silva (Decision) – This fight doesn’t make me put any faith in the heavyweights. I figure that Frank Mir vs Andrei Arlovski should be good, but beyond that, I’m not too sure. Maybe bringing in a hungry guy like Brad Imes would give the heavyweights a spark.
Big announcment, as we’re getting Matt Hughes vs Royce Gracie in the spring. This should be interesting, as Gracie will be forced to compete under official UFC rules – meaning no gi and three 5 minute rounds – which I think puts him at a handicap. It should be fun, and may be enough to get me to buy the PPV.
What I Watched:
Thursday:
‘My Name is Earl’ (NBC, Global) – Apparently, Jon Favreau wants to play Blob in X-Men 3.
‘The Office’ (NBC, Global)
Friday:
‘The Next Great Chef’ (Global) – I tried to watch this since my brother works at Unilever (makers of the Knorr brand of products) and my reaction is… YAWN.
‘Numb3rs’ (CBS, Global) – Following in her brother Howard Lederer’s footsteps, Annie Duke makes her acting debut as a dealer. And it’s still weird to see Ethan ‘Neelix’ Philips not in makeup.
Saturday:
‘Battlestar Galactica’ (Space) – I had thought that this was the “back half” of the season like you’re getting down there in the States. Not so, as they’ve just started season 2 here. Which is of course ironic, given that I just put up a review for the DVD.
Sunday:
’24’ (Fox, Global) – see above
‘Gray’s Anatomy’ (ABC, CTV) – Yeah, I’m pretty much in disbelief that Sandra Oh won an Golden Globe. But then again, Geena Davis won for being the second best female president on television, so it goes to show you that when it comes to handing out awards, I know nothing.
Monday:
’24’ (Fox, Global) – see above
‘Love Monkey’ (Global) – Pleasantly surprised by the first episode. First, it kicked off with one of my favourite songs – “Someone Who’s Cool” by The Odds. And then we get to the cast. Tom Cavanagh feels very natural in the lead role, and the supporting cast seems pretty good too. Interesting turn of character for Christopher Wiehl, seeing as he was the womanizing QB on ‘Playmakers’. And I hope that the presumed success of this show doesn’t prevent Judy Greer from appearing as Kitty IF ‘Arrested Development’ continues past this season.
‘UFC Best of 2005’ (Spike)
‘UFC Ultimate Fight Night 3’ (Spike) – see above
Tuesday:
‘Rick Mercer Report’ (CBC)
‘Rachael Ray’s Tasty Travels’ (Food Network Canada)
‘King of Vegas’ (Spike) – Interesting experiment taking a bunch of pro card players and making them play a bunch of different table games to see who is the best all around player. Max Kellerman, surprisingly, isn’t annoying but his commentary partner (and apparently, the exec producer) is. And the piped in crowd noise doesn’t help either. I figure that they’re hoping that (Toronto native) Evelyn Ng goes a long way – it always helps ratings when a hot chick goes far.
Wednesday:
‘Lost’ (ABC, CTV) – Something to think about – if your significant other was leaving you, would you rather she just leave with no explanation except maybe a note or would you rather find out straight from her?
‘CSI: New York’ (CBS, CTV)
Bits and Pieces
– Mathan asks if you’d rather be shipwrecked with the Oceanic survivors or stuck in a prison with guys named T-Bag and Haywire. I don’t know about you, but the chances of me getting gang raped is a lot scarier than Smokey the Creature. Give me the Losties any day of the week.
– Romo gives us the skinny on the best season of Enterprise.
– Ian lets people rip Grant Morrison’s X-Men run, and rightly so.
– Fox released it’s viewing schedule for March (returns/premieres in bold, time changes underlined (news courtesy Cynopsis):
Monday – Prison Break (March 20) and 24
Tuesday – American Idol (60m performance episode), House
Wednesday – Bones, American Idol (30m results show), TBA
Thursdays – That ’70s Show, The Loop (March 16), The O.C.
Fridays – Bernie Mac, Bernie Mac, Trading Spouses: Meet Your New Mommy
Saturdays – Cops, Cops, America’s Most Wanted
Sundays – Malcolm in the Middle (Jan 29), King of the Hill, Simpsons, War at Home, Family Guy, Free Ride (debuts March 12)
– Also according to Cynopsis, NBC is going to have another season of ‘Last Comic Standing’, which is really surprising considering how they managed to kill the show in 2004.
– An interesting little feud is brewing up between two comicon promoters in Toronto.
– And finally, just a reminder for all the Canadian readers to vote on Monday if you’re eligible.
That’s it for this week.
