Well, unfortunately the TiVo didn’t record Smallville last week, so I didn’t have a chance to watch it a second time to do the detailed recap of it. So, instead of just doing a review of it, I thought I’d just include the review in this column. Therefore, without further adieu, here’s that review!
CONTINUITY POLICE, VOLUME 15:
Okay, this is an admittedly cheap one. And I know I usually have a no-cartoons rule, but I made an exception here (well, another exception, since I already once used King of the Hill), since I felt obligated to include this feature, after a several week hiatus.
Anyway, the Simpsons once had a cross episode with The Critic, in which Jay (the main character of the latter show) appeared to be a celebrity judge at a Springfield film festival. I’m sure everybody remembers the episode. Anyway, this means that each show is a reality within each series’ context (as in Jay Sherman is a “real person” according to the Simpsons, and Homer and Marge are “real people” according to The Critic). Yet, some time after this episode, Jay and his girlfriend dress up as Homer and Marge for a costume party. Of course, a devil’s advocate may argue they’re just dressing up as two of Jay’s friends, but the implication is clear: They’re dressing up as the well-known cartoon family members. This is a contradiction to what we had already been told.
SMALLVILLE:
Overall, a very enjoyable episode, actually. I thought that they’d phone this episode in, since the 100th episode mega-event is a week away, but they actually had quite a bit happen this episode, including a very surprising death.
I’m usually pretty critical of seeing “nice Lex,” but I mostly found it excusable this episode, since it was isolated to Lana (and thus can be explained through his feelings for her, as much as I don’t like them). However, I’m more critical of the fact that Lana is so emotionally attached to Lex, especially considering how bitter and hostile she was towards him at the beginning of the season. Yes, they shared the bond over the spaceship, but even then I thought she’d get to the point that she can see past his double talking. Along with that, I find it hard to believe that she can’t see the implications of her hanging out with her boyfriend’s father’s political opponent.
Along those same lines, I was actually quite pleased with Clark’s animosity towards Lex. Yes, I do believe some of that was attributed to jealousy, but nevertheless I appreciated that the writers have now explicitly shown that these two are not friends any more and that Clark now sees Lex for who he is. On top of that, it was also nice to see that Chloe recognizes Lex for who he truly is as well. I also liked how Clark, really for the first time ever, recognized that Lex’s intentions with Lana are less than innocent. All of that said, I also thought it was a somewhat sweet moment where Lex fondly reminiscences about his dream that he and Clark were still friends. By the way, hasn’t Lex been shot like 10 times now?
Like I mentioned earlier, I was pretty surprised by Sheriff Adams death this episode. Along with that, and a few other fans have stated this, I am also quite pleased with the fact that for the past few episodes, the villain of the week hasn’t been a meteor freak. It’s a very, very refreshing change, and one that was definitely necessary.
Oh, and I really liked the sly moment in the episode where Clark tells Martha that he can’t imagine loving anybody other than Lana, and right that moment, Lois drives into the driveway. My one major criticism of the show this season is that I feel like they’ve focused a bit too much on Clark’s feelings for Lana, to the extent that they’ve placed her on such a high pedestal that it almost becomes hard to believe that Clark could ever love Lois that much. The fact that Lex is completely ga-ga over her as well doesn’t help matters.
This, of course, makes me scared to death that Lana could be the one who dies this upcoming week. They’ve definitely been leading towards Clark telling Lana his secret, and from what I’ve seen in promotional pictures (which include Clark and Lana in the fortress of solitude), it seems as if this may be a reality. This makes me worried that Clark will make the big revelation to Lana, and by episode’s end she’ll be killed somehow. Really, the only other candidate seems to be Jonathan Kent. The writers seem to be tying the death into Superman lore (and in many cases, Jonathan does die), and in the commercials I see, Clark’s demeanor does look more like he’s burying a loved one than burying the love of his life.
By the way, I wish the writers would do a better job of making us understand exactly why Clark can’t tell Lana his secret. They did a real good job with this in season three, when Clark was about to tell her, but then Pete basically got his teeth kicked in because of his knowledge, so he couldn’t tell Lana to protect her. Well, now Chloe knows the secret and has been impeccably understanding (in fact, they’ve probably become closer because of it), and she’s yet to face any danger whatsoever. In fact, her knowing has been extremely valuable. Along with that, Lana has been understanding and loving towards the baby a couple of seasons back. So what exactly is he afraid of?
Anyway, the 100th episode looks to be really good, and I’m definitely intrigued to see who they’re killing off. Should be a lot of fun.
LOST:
A definite home-run episode in my estimation, with definite significant moments scattered throughout it. Arguably the most significant is when Jack, Locke, and Sawyer communicated with the Others. It is definitely interesting to note that their leader knew all of their names, which I suppose could be attributed to Ethan (great reference, by the way). I also find it intriguing that the island definitely seems rather large, yet the Others were able to infiltrate both groups almost immediately. In what capacity are they aware of what happens on the island? Were they responsible for the plane crashes?
Another thing definitely worth noting is the fact that the leader asked for Alex to bring over Kate after they had captured her. If you recall, Alex is the name of the French chick’s daughter, who had been kidnapped as a baby 16 years earlier. There was already a belief that she is now one of the Others, and this may confirm that. With that in mind, why do the Others want all the children? They tried to kidnap a pregnant Claire, they took Walt, and they took the children from the tailies group. They’re not killing them (the Others have repeatedly reported that the children are safe), so is it a form of recruitment? Is that why their group is now so big?
I am curious if this means that we now won’t see Michael for an extended period of time as well. I (along with many others) found it curious, though, that Jack chose to go to Ana-Lucia (an almost universally unliked former police officer) over Sayid (an almost universally liked and respected soldier) to train an army. Nevertheless, I’m definitely excited for the prospect of having Ana-Lucia train the group for much of the rest of the season, to culminate with a full on attack on the Others in the season finale (which will, of course, feature a couple of significant deaths). That definitely piques my interest.
The stuff with Jin and Sun was spot on fantastic. The way Jin now relies on Sun to communicate with everybody else is a huge contrast to his anger and betrayal over how she secretly learned English last season. It was a nice, unspoken way of him showing tremendous growth and acceptance for who she is. Along with that, his complete allegiance to Michael is significant as well, considering the way the two of them were at the beginning of last season. I really liked when Jin insisted “Michael is my friend” only for Sun to respond with “And I am your wife.” After some contemplation, Jin decides to put down his bag and stay with her. It was a tremendously sweet moment. Of course, so was when he later told her that he doesn’t like to be told what to do, only for her to tell him that she was told what to do for four years, and didn’t like it much either. Again, Jin concedes to his wife (and rightfully so). I really love the two of them together.
Jack’s back story was pretty interesting, if only because we finally found out what happened between him and his wife (played by the beautiful Julie Bowen). Also, there was some who believed that it was Jack’s wife in the picture with Desmond in the hatch. If they’re right, perhaps Desmond is the person that Jack’s wife was seeing.
I may have mentioned this last week, but it’s curious to note the amount of crashes that have occurred on the island. The slave shipped crashed onto the island, the French chick’s group of scientists crashed onto the island, the Nigerian Priest plane crashed onto the island, Desmond’s boat crashed onto the island, and BOTH halves of the flight 815 plane crashed onto the island, despite breaking apart in the mid-air. Could this be caused by the electromagnetic forces that the orientation film makes reference to? If so, what’s the significance?
Side note, but I got a real kick out of Charlie and Hurley’s high school-esque conversation about girls in the hatch. This also begs the question of why more people don’t take more advantage of the convenience and luxury of the hatch. There’s two beds, a shower, a fully working kitchen, a lounging around area, records, a record player, and more. And on top of that, there is evidently SOME food or seasoning left, so why is it being wasted on target practice for Michael? Another thing I got a kick out of was Locke calling Sawyer “James” at the end of the episode. Earlier this season I was racking my brain over why he kept calling Hurley “Hugo,” and I now realize it’s probably because he got a look at the flight manifest.
Additionally, I’ll touch briefly upon the Jack/Sawyer/Kate triangle. I liked how Sawyer didn’t interject when Jack refused to let Kate join them on their mission to get Michael. In all likelihood, he realized that Jack was burying himself, so there was no reason to try to look like the hero there. It seems to me like Jack is acting like a prick towards Kate as a defense mechanism. He does have feelings for her, but he sees how Kate is growing closer to Sawyer, and instead of allowing himself to get hurt, he’s distancing himself from her, even to the extent that he’s making himself unlikable to her. This is also the likely reason why he’s getting drawn towards Ana-Lucia. I think that by the end of the season, we’ll see Jack and Ana-Lucia together, and Kate and Sawyer together. However, by the end of the series, ultimately we’ll see Jack with Kate, and Sawyer with Ana-Lucia. That is, if they all survive til the end of the series.
24:
This show is certainly not holding back, that’s for sure. By the way, more shows should take note of 24’s scheduling. Doing a two night, four hour premiere is a fantastic way to draw in your audience, and then going the entire season without missing a single episode or showing a single repeat only makes it more enjoyable.
Before anything else, let me mention this disgusting observation I made. Remember when the first lady interrupted that guy taking a piss, and demanded his key card to access the hard copies of each phone transcript? Well let me remind those who don’t: The guy takes a piss, doesn’t wash his hands, ultimately gives the first lady his key card (again, without washing his hands) and the first lady PUTS THE KEY CARD IN HER MOUTH! Jesus Christ, now that’s gross.
I loved the episode, but again my main criticism has to be the, um, unrealistic (for lack of a better word) reaction each person is having to the fact that Jack is still alive. I mean, Curtis runs into Jack for the first time since finding out he’s still alive, and he tells him “it’s good to see you again.” That’s it? That’s something you say to somebody you haven’t seen for a while, not somebody you thought was dead for a year and a half. The only person I feel is acting realistically regarding Jack’s faked death is Audrey (who, although I didn’t like her last season, is really growing on me this one). I also find it odd that Derek and his mother had known Jack as “Frank” for an extended period of time, but have now converted to referring to him as Jack without a hitch.
I found the interaction between Bill and Lynn McGill very entertaining. I love the method of making your “villainous” boss character suddenly likable when he is confronted by HIS “villainous” boss. We’re conditioned to dislike Bill, to a certain extent, but once we see him in contrast to Lynn, we’re suddenly rooting for him. I loved it when Lynn requested that he call him “Mr. McGill” only for Bill to say “You know what Lynn, I’d rather not.” Overall both characters and actors excelled in their roles.
The pacing of this season and last season are distinctly different than seasons’ past. The past two seasons, there have been numerous minor conflict resolved over the course of just a couple episodes, while in previous seasons the conflicts were stretched out much further. Consider that within the four hour premiere, Jack managed to escape getting caught numerous times and resolved a hostage situation. This would have been stretched out much longer before.
I appreciate the fact that President Logan is such a contrasting character to President Palmer. Palmer always had such a confident presence and handled each situation with such calmness and rationality. Logan, on the other hand, has such a false sense of confidence, and reacts to each crisis with panic and hostility. After being so conditioned to Palmer’s style, it is enjoyable watching Logan in the same role. I also got a real kick out of his throwaway line of how he authorized the attack which resolved the hostage situation. I’m also wondering how long it will be before they discover the mole within his administration.
THE OC:
Right off the bat, let me state this: Rachel Bilson looks absolutely amazingly hot with that wavy hair in the loose pony tail. Geez, she was impeccably hot. Also, although Willa Holland is only, like, twelve (exaggeration for humorous purposes) she’s also amazingly hot as well. And, like, a giant as well.
As predicted (since it was, ya’ know, predictable) the relationship between Marissa’s mother and Summer’s father is starting to come to fruition. The stuff with Seth spreading the lie about Summer’s dad having genital warts was great, especially after Summer realized that he actually did tell that lie (and, as a result, punched him in the face). I also found the whole thing with the entire family helping Julie get with Summer’s dad pretty cute, although I’m interested in seeing how the two girls will ultimately react to the news. Also, I’ve said it before, but I find this lighter, more caring side of Julie very refreshing. The ongoing joke with Gus at the trailer park is also pretty funny as well.
Well, it’s getting late so I’m going to wrap this up. I basically only really wanted to talk about how hot Rachel Bilson looked anyway. But before we close this Case, here’s your….
TV FUN FACT OF THE WEEK:
Did you miss it? Well, here’s a good one for you:
During a scene in a graveyard in The X-Files, the camera pans past a headstone which bears the names Diana and Nicholas Salinger, with the year of death 1994. This is a reference to the late parents of the Salinger family featured in another Fox show, “Party of Five.”
Although this is a very clever reference, The X-Files must not have learned from The Simpsons and The Critic: Cross over references are a dangerous ploy.
Anyway, that’s it for this week. Be good, everybody!
