I apologize for the lateness of the column, but it was a big week for television so I wanted to make sure this actually went up this week.
I was going to do an old fashioned Recap/Review for the Smallville finale, but I couldn’t get to it this weekend and my TiVo didn’t save it. Bastards. So, the now standard simple review will have to suffice.
To make up for the lateness of the column and the lack of recap, I thought I’d bring back the Continuity Police. Once again, we look at Seinfeld.
CONTINUITY POLICE:
This continuity error revolves around the classic “Yadda Yadda” episode. The main storyline included, of course, the Yadda Yadda, as well as Elaine trying to get her friends back in favor with an adoption agency. Additionally, this episode also gave birth to the anti-dentite phrase.
Anyway, so the episode begins with George, Jerry, and the Yadda Yadda girl at the coffee shop. Yadda Yadda girl excuses herself, and Dr. Whatley walks in. Jerry asks Whatley if he knows George, and they exchange pleasantries.
The problem is, not only does Whatley already know George, but he invited him (and not Jerry) to his Thanksgiving Eve party.
Quite a significant error, if you ask me.
SMALLVILLE:
Overall I’ve found this season of Smallville to be incredible, possibly the best yet. I thought it was immensely written, with each character displaying noticeable growth. On top of that, the show managed to get out of the easy-to-fall-into formulaic style with the freak of the week villain. And they barely did any amnesia stories.
That said, for some reason this year’s finale didn’t have that “big event” feel that last year’s did. I really can’t put my finger on why, it just didn’t seem like as big a deal as last year’s did. I still thought it was a great episode, and has made me interested in what’s going to happen next year, but the hype felt underwhelming compared to last year.
A while back I said that I don’t think that Lana should be brought back to the show next season, and this year’s finale (in fact, the latter quarter of the season) has done nothing but validate that.
You know what, I’m going to say it: After the finale, I found Lana to be THE most unlikable character on television. She has just become such an overwhelmingly bitter and angry character, and I don’t think it’s true to the person we’ve watched the past four years. Sure, it can be construed as character development, but I don’t see it that way. I just don’t think that the writers know how to effectively write her character if she’s not the main love interest. Just look at Chloe for a prime example of the writers doing a fabulous job of essentially rewriting the character, yet having the character stay true to herself.
The problem is that I just find almost everything related to her character so hard to believe. I find it a REAL stretch that Lana could ever believe that Clark would actually murder somebody out of spite, yet she pretty much accused Clark of that when he went to confront Lex. I also found Lana’s complete lack of concern over what Lex may do with the sort of power he revealed to her unrealistic. I understand that she wants to see the best in him, but based on his track record, she doesn’t even question what he might do with these new abilities?
Actually, the term “track record” hits another nerve. As evident through her relationship with Clark, Lana doesn’t simply forgive and forget. If you screw her over or lie to her, she’s willing to bring it up years after the fact, no matter how many times you may have saved her life in between. Yet, despite this, she overlooks the downright evil things Lex has committed (some of which have put her life in danger), all while completely ignoring the good deeds Clark has done. It just strikes me as exceptionally odd that she’s always been willing to assume the worse with Clark, who she recognizes is a genuinely good natured person, but see the best in Lex, who she also knows can have less than admirable intentions. And I don’t think it’s a complexity issue, I think it’s writing one. Once again, I just find it completely unbelievable that her character could ever believe that Clark would murder Lex out of spite and jealousy.
That major criticism aside, I found much of the rest of the finale absolutely flawless. Once again, the episode did a great job of putting each individual character in their own sort of peril by the time the hour wrapped up, creating a wonderful anticipation for the new season.
Starting with Lois and Martha, I do have to wonder how they’re going to survive (and they obviously both will) their obstacle with Clark out of commission. I do have a qualm, though, with Lois insinuating that Martha may have feelings for Lionel. It’s becoming a real fault of the show that they have the women so easily fall for obviously bad men once they turn on the charm. I think what they’re doing with Lionel’s character right now is immensely interesting (which I’ll discuss shortly), but I am really against a romance between him and Martha. Along with that, it cheapens what she had with Jonathan, since the dirt on his grave isn’t even cold yet.
Like I said moments ago, I am absolutely loving Lionel’s character right now. He definitely seems like he has ulterior motives, but he still has a genuine motivation for wanting to help Clark (even if it’s just to save his own ass) and to check on Lex. As I said in last week’s column, I find the Clark/Chloe/Lionel triad very fun, especially since those three characters have very entertaining chemistry every which way. I also like how Clark has slowly but surely softened up to Lionel since discovering that he knows Clark’s secret.
Speaking of softening, I like seeing a lighter, more caring side of Jor-El. For much of the series he’s been portrayed as this villainous, cold father-figure, so it’s refreshing to see him actually empathizing (to an extent) with Clark’s inner turmoil, and genuinely wanting to see Clark overcome his obstacles instead of dominating the planet.
For anybody wondering, I actually really didn’t mind the Clark/Chloe kiss. In fact, I found it quite sweet, as Clark felt much more “into” that kiss than he did any of their previous ones. While I think the show needs to start focusing on building Clark and Lois, I’d gladly take a Clark/Chloe detour if it means that he won’t be so preoccupied with Lana anymore.
Aside from my criticisms of the whole Lana thing, I absolutely loved the Clark/Lex stuff, as it was a very fulfilling culmination to the obvious end of their friendship. Their confrontation in the barn was absolutely perfect: From their verbal exchange to their physical encounter. I especially enjoyed Clark asking why Lex devoted so much to a friendship he knew was doomed, only to have Lex reveal that he’s wanted everything Clark has ever had, and at least walked away with the one thing he held most dear. The way Lex said it was so perfect, as if Lana was just a trophy to him.
Clark’s struggle to take Lex’s life, while Fine egged him on, was also wonderfully scripted. Might I add, actually, that everything about the scene was done excellently? Everything from the lighting, to the dialogue, to the setting. I don’t believe that it’s any mistake that Clark and Lex had their epic battle (where Clark was supposed to kill Lex) at the same location as Jonathan’s fight with Lionel, where Lionel indirectly killed Jonathan.
Anyway, I very much enjoyed Clark’s inability to kill Lex, pausing as he held the blade against his neck, before throwing the knife at Fine. I also thought that Lex’s (now as Zod) line that Clark has his father’s eyes was great.
I am curious, though, how they’re going to get around Lex finding out Clark has abilities. I perhaps spoke too soon when I said that the show has grown beyond relying on amnesia.
Overall, a great finale. It was a really, really awesome episode, although I’m not sure if it QUITE reached the amazingness of last year’s finale. That said, overall it was an incredible season (probably the best yet), and this was a great way to cap it off.
And man, Clark is like destined to never spend a summer on earth, huh?
SURVIVOR:
Leading up to the finale, I was shocked to see how many people felt like Terry didn’t deserve to win. Quite simply, if somebody “deserves” to win, this is exactly how it SHOULD be done. He’s absolutely dominated the immunity challenges, which have been mostly physical, yes, but he’s also overcome his adversaries in the mental challenges as well.
Along with that, Terry’s managed to change up his game play in order to ensure his survival. An alliance with Cirie and Shane doesn’t work? Let’s try with Bruce and Danielle. That doesn’t work? Lay as low as you can, and swoop in and attempt another shot with Courtney and Danielle. That falls apart? Move onto Shane, noticing that he’s suddenly on the outside of his alliance. Shane gets voted off? Give Danielle another shot and take advantage of the fact that Aras and Cirie are clearly planning on taking each other to the final two. Quite simply, Terry played an amazing game, despite having to face a really, really major frustration of having a massive target on your back.
I found Aras absolutely intolerable during the “final four” episode. Did he actually say “Wham-bulance?” And did he brag about it later on? I mean, honestly, is this guy really 24??? Between comparing his relationship with is mother to somebody’s relationship with their wife, and that, I do have to wonder. Along with that, I found his attack on Terry during the Cirie fight unnecessary (although everybody was in the wrong in that situation), as was his attack on Terry after the reward challenge.
That said, he did grow on me ever so slightly in the finale. I figure, hey, if Terry can get over their rivalry and lend his vote to him, I guess I can get over the hate also. After all, he probably did deserve to win more than Danielle.
However, I do have a gripe with his statement that he jumped off because Danielle gave him the nod. I don’t buy that for a second. Why, in your right mind, would you EVER put that sort of power in somebody else’s hands? The fact is, Aras was desperately struggling to stay balanced, and he felt he had an excuse to jump off. Had they gone on, it is very, very likely that he would have fallen off first.
I also found the differing approach interesting as well. Terry basically told her to do what she felt she needed to do, while Aras threatened her. His logic was pretty weak also, basically saying that he and Cirie wouldn’t vote for her if she voted him off. Well, hell, she wouldn’t have gotten those votes anyway! Danielle is the epitome of somebody who plays the game VERY shortsightedly. She would make and break deals to get one step further, totally disregarding the fact that she needs these people to vote for her to win the million. I couldn’t watch her say she played the game honestly with a straight face. She lied to Courtney, she lied to Shane, and she put herself in a situation that she would have to lie to either Terry or Aras. But hey, her method got her second place, so I guess it didn’t work too badly for her.
LOST:
So I read somewhere that next year Lost will have seven consecutive episodes, then go on a hiatus until late January or early February, and return with a straight run of episodes til the end of the season, with no repeats whatsoever. While that two somewhat month break will be tough, I think this is a much, much better schedule, and the show will flourish because of it. I honestly don’t believe this season was any weaker than last. In fact, I think that there are a lot of redeeming qualities about this season that wasn’t apparent last season. If you want a show that completely fell downhill in their sophomore year, look no further than Desperate Housewives. Lost was mostly a victim of a shitty schedule.
Well, I gotta admit it, I was wrong about Libby not dying immediately. However, I did think we’d have one of those Mike Novick moments where the victim tries to ID her one-time-friend-turned-attacker, only for those standing around her to misinterpret it.
By the way, did anybody else find the timing of last week’s episode odd? When Jack, Kate, and Locke confronted Sawyer about getting the guns, it was daylight. During this time, Michael shot Ana Lucia and Libby, and set Henry free. Presumably Jack and crew head right back to the hatch at this point (since Locke puts two and two together after discovering that Ana Lucia has the gun). Yet when they’re heading back to the hatch, it’s pitch black out. And, oddly, the time frame Michael gives them (between when they arrived and when Henry escaped) was about twenty minutes (although, of course, he could have been lying).
Then, on top of that, Hurley doesn’t ask until the NEXT DAY about Libby’s whereabouts. She says she’s going to get blankets and doesn’t return, and it doesn’t strike him until the next day to ask about where she might be?
In regards to the actual episode, I was most intrigued by the revelation that the psychic that Claire visited admitted to being a fake. This has massive implications, since a lot of attention was devoted to the fact that he evidently knew that the plane would crash, which was why Claire was told to go onto it. There are already a bunch of conspiracy theories, which may be explained in the finale, but nevertheless I found that revelation most striking.
24:
I can’t believe that next week is the finale already! Man, this has been an exhilarating season.
As has been noted by pretty much everybody, Gregory Itzin’s performance has been absolutely spot-on for the past couple of weeks. His long moments of silence when he was contemplating suicide (or, rather, coming to terms with the fact that he MUST commit suicide) were powerful. He’s done a fabulous job with a complicated character: One that can easily become too cartoonish.
I was pretty surprised when they revealed that Heller survived the crash, but I suppose they realized that they can’t kill over EVERYBODY on the show. Plus these characters need a little silver lining in their dark clouds.
The stuff with Miles annoyed me. Does this guy honestly care more about a promotion than making somebody pay for horrid crimes, including the murder of a former president? What’s even worse off than that is the fact that Jack had numerous opportunities to let other people listen to the tape or try to make some sort of copy of it.
Henderson and Jack working together was bound to happen, although I do have to wonder how it’s going to end. Will Jack stay true to his word and help him disappear? Will Henderson be killed in a gun fight? Will Jack kill him? Although I did get a kick out of Henderson saying he’s going to take Miriam with him when he disappears. Yeah, I’m sure she just loves you for letting her get shot in the leg.
THE OC:
Yes, I know there wasn’t a new episode last week, but this is once again to make the threat that they better not, absolutely under any circumstances, kill of Summer. If anything, and I mean ANYTHING happens to Rachel Bilson’s character, there will be trouble, and I mean that.
All of that said, who do I think will get killed off? Well, I read in a recent interview, one of the executive producers acknowledged that this season was a bit too melodramatic, and that next season will be lighter, quirkier, and funnier. That criterion set me at ease quite a bit, as Seth and Summer are clearly the comic relief on the show. And them being the lovebirds that they are, if one dies the other would go into a massive state of depression, minimizing the likelihood of them being all cute and quirky.
I don’t see Sandy or Kirsten getting killed off, nor should they be.
This leaves Ryan, Marissa, and Julie as the most likely, based on who was shown in the preview. Something to keep in mind is the fact that Kaitlin is supposedly joining the cast next season. Does she come back to mourn the loss of her mother with Marissa, or the loss of her sister with Julie?
I guess that leaves Ryan and Marissa, which makes sense in a way. They’re the weakest characters, and, with all due respect, probably the least talented as well. Along with that, they’re both at the forefront of the Volchek story arc, which can very easily end violently. Between the two of them, I guess I see Marissa being the one who bites the bullet (perhaps literally).
To be perfectly honest, none of the main characters really need to be killed off. And, let me reiterate, NOTHING better happen to Rachel. Nothing!
Well, that’s it this week. Check back next week to see if I go on a wild rampage should they kill off Summer on The O.C.!
