Pretty good week of television, actually, as Lost FINALLY returned, and most of the other shows I watch were new episodes as well.
Well, let’s jump right into the deep end, shall we?
LOST:
Being a fan of Sun and Jin, I really enjoyed this episode. Sure, nothing monumental happened (not explicitly, anyway), but I thought it was sweet nonetheless.
I must admit, I was a little worried we were going to see the asshole Jin when he tore apart the garden, but I was really happen when he was genuinely remorseful over it and his subsequent reaction to the news that Sun was pregnant.
What is especially curious, though, is the implications of Sun’s pregnancy, provided she’s not lying about never having an affair. There must be something about the island that is curing people, between Locke being able to walk and Jin being able to conceive. Very interesting, indeed.
However, Beer Pong Champ Frank may have put it best the day after the episode aired: “I think Sun’s a lying whore who’s lucky to have a mystical island to blame it on.” Touche, old friend. Touche.
Oh, I don’t know if anybody else caught this, but the English major in me went crazy when the subtitles used the wrong version of “You’re” during one of the subtitle scenes. C’mon, people!
So, what else? I actually found Ana Lucia tolerable this episode. It was interesting seeing her complete 180 regarding her paranoia over whether somebody is an Other. I also find Sayid’s new attitude interesting as well. He seems so eager to punish somebody for Shannon’s death, so much so that I honestly expected him to purposely and actively have them not find the balloon so that he could justifiably punish Henry.
I’d hate to see it, because I really do like both characters, but I’m finding this Locke vs. Jack thing a bit….much. I can’t quite put my finger on what I don’t like about it, except maybe that I truly do like Jack as a character, but he seems so overly self righteous and acts like such a douche when it comes to Locke. That said, I did enjoy Ana Lucia’s very true and perceptive line: “Jack and Locke are a little too concerned with Locke and Jack.”
TV Guide had an interview with Terry O’Quinn, who plays Locke. Apparently next week is a Locke episode, which is always good. I think part of the reason why Locke’s episodes are so enjoyable is the fact that “Flashback Locke” and “Island Locke” are so completely different. Also, apparently something really weird happens with the hatch, which was hinted at during the previews.
Oh, and I wouldn’t be so sure that the scene with them finding the balloon means Henry is telling the truth. It’s entirely possible that somebody did crash onto the island in their balloon, and that the Others captured or killed him, and decided to use this story as their contingency plan in case one of them ever gets captured. Or, this may have actually happened to Henry, but he’s already been assimilated by the Others.
Speaking of Henry, I did enjoy his little “hypothetical” about sending Ana Lucia and them into a trap. Again, seems like a very good contingency plan.
And did anybody else get a kick out of the Dharma Initiative cereal box?
24:
Well, after raving on and on about how great Jack’s emotional state was after Tony’s death, he gets over it and moves on in an instant. Yes, yes, I do recognize the need for him to do so in both in the context of the show and the logistics of it being a television show, but still.
Also, one of the other IP columnists acutely pointed out that Curtis and Jack were awfully friendly with each other despite the fact that, just a matter of hours ago, Jack choked him out. In a lot of ways the show does a wonderful job of reminding us that this is all one day. In a lot of other ways, they seem to conveniently forget.
Man, CTU is like the king of hiring moles and being overtaken by another division during a crisis, I think the show is amazing, probably the best on television, and they never fail to keep me sitting on the edge of my seat, but I really think a lot of these plot devices have become cliché and really need to be abandoned for at least a season. For that reason (and the fact that the character has grown on me immensely), I really, really hope it turns out that Audrey is not a mole.
Truth be told, I really think it will turn out that she’s not. It doesn’t really fit in with her character, and I think it’s logical that she would be framed like this. Assuming that the people behind the current attacks are the same ones that tried to frame Jack, it makes sense that they’d want to create a personal and professional crisis situation by making him believe that Audrey may be playing a part in the attacks. But anyway, based on Jack’s actions in the previews and commercials, it looks like that relationship has hit the fan no matter what ends up happening.
DEAL OR NO DEAL:
I actually caught this show for the first time last week, after hearing it talked about everywhere, and damned if it’s not one addictive show. Anyway, last week with the attractive young lady who didn’t take the $16,000 (or however much it was) despite the fact that practically every other high number had already been eliminated, what the crap were you thinking? I mean, geez, you truly do scream at the television during this show. How could you not take that money? I mean, what did she end up walking away with, a few hundred?
Oh, and so apparently Howie Mandel has a touch of OCD, and thus has to knock fists instead of shaking hands. Are we under the impressive that, like, germs can’t jump from one host to another unless the hands are firmly clasped?
THE OC:
Looks like my worries were wrong last week, and it WAS a new episode after all. And geez, I almost felt like I was watching porn during it!
I found the Seth/Summer/Taylor stuff immensely enjoyable, as usual. Especially with Taylor trying to coach them into finding their spark again, only for it not to work and for her to quip, “Well, I do break up counseling as well.” I also found the eventual romp in the sack with Summer attempting to hit Seth, only for him to catch her fists, resulting in them finding their passion very funny. Honestly, I’m going to be pissed if those two ever break up, because they’re so extremely entertaining together.
Ya’ know, Ryan really does have a savior complex, and it’s really annoying as a viewer, nevermind what it must be like for the people on the show trying to date them. Sadie was a lot more forgiving than most people would be. Also, shouldn’t, like, Trey be in jail or something? How about that whole attempted-to-rape-Marissa thing? Or the almost-killed-his-brother deal?
Oh, and another thing that bothers me about Ryan is that he’s portrayed as this super tough guy that all these people are afraid of, and constantly wins fights, but he really doesn’t look tough at all.
That criticism aside, I actually quite enjoyed Kirsten’s role this episode, as they seemed to try to expand her character and the characters she shares scenes with (i.e. she shared scenes with somebody other than Julie and Sandy). Her advice to Ryan was helpful and caring, but not pushy.
The whole Sandy’s Crusade to Build a Hospital story arc is interesting, only because it seems really out of left field. It was also intriguing that he didn’t take the blame for Matt’s break up with Maya, as it was Sandy’s intervention and prodding that made her dump him. Is this more of the ends justify the means version of Sandy?
ANIMATION DOMINATION:
Caught Simpsons and Family Guy last night. The Simpsons opener was good, but would have been more enjoyable if it hadn’t been circulating on the internet for the past couple weeks. It was very clever, though.
As for the episode itself, a bit on the “meh” side, but not bad overall. However, pretty much all of the “Simpsons making fun of Fox with Reality Shows” jokes were already done in the episode where the Simpsons had to live in a house from the 18th century (or whenever it was). Yeah, we get it, networks copy reality show ideas from other networks.
The guy who Marge was married to was pretty funny, actually. I especially enjoyed the bit where he was telling Marge the joke about the genie, and kept reminding her to remember the part about his wife getting double what he does. Marge was pretty good too, as she’s at her funniest when she’s overly naïve.
Family Guy once again ruled all, however. The return of Bertram was fantastic, as was Stewie (and eventually Bertram) with the arm candy trophy girlfriend. And did anybody else get a kick out of the fact that, during the air battle, all those explosions meant that young children were being killed?
Another funny quick bit: Brian repeatedly saying “no” to Stewie asking if he wants to play games and then eventually saying that he would if Stewie found other kids to play with them.
Lois putting on weight because she wasn’t getting any sex from Peter, and Peter’s candid comments because of it were pretty funny as well, as was Brian admitting to Peter that he would still do her anyway.
Oh, and speaking of animation, South Park’s answer to Isaac Hayes leaving the show was positively brilliant. “We can’t hate Chef for leaving South Park, we have to hate that fruity club that brainwashed him.” Also, the “Super Club Adventure actually believes this” subtitle was an awesome throwback to the original Scientology episode. And, in its own way, the episode’s conclusion, with Kyle’s eulogy, was a pretty touching tribute to Isaac Hayes and the Chef character.
Anyway, that’s it for this week. We actually, gasp, get two new episodes of Lost in a row, so I should have a nice amount to talk about next week.
Until then, Case Closed!
