I come to you following my return from a long weekend camping in the Adirondaks, so I’m currently pretty tired, probably smelly, and covered in bug bites.
Unfortunately, that also means I saw very little of television during the past week, which kinda sucks because I actually remembered I want to discuss Windfall, and of course I didn’t see last Thursday’s episode, which concluded a somewhat cliffhanger from the week before. So, I don’t know who got shot, although I kinda expect it turn out to be Frankie’s mom. Know the logistics don’t necessarily make sense, but that’s my prediction.
Basically, the show has potential, but it seems like there’s too much going on at once. They need to follow the Lost/The 4400 formula, where you have a large ensemble cast, but everybody doesn’t necessarily appear in every episode. It just seems like they’re spreading themselves too thin right now, with each story not getting quite enough attention to really get you emotionally involved. But, again, it has potential. I also like their website, where they show how much of their fortune each character has spent.
Also, I received the new WWE magazine (as well as the Summer Special issue), and I must say I’m a huge fan of the new lifestyle, Maxim-esque direction. I’m a little surprised how non-wrestling oriented it is, considering they’ve abandoned the RAW and Smackdown magazines, which focused on storylines and such. Nevertheless, so far, count me a fan of this new magazine.
While I’m on the subject of wrestling, may I go on a rant about all this criticism towards ECW? Actually, no, I don’t mind the criticism, because a lot of it is warranted. What I am bothered by, however, is this retrospective belief that the original ECW was this iconic, flawless, mind-altering perfect company.
Yes, The Big Show is the new World Heavyweight Champion, and yes he’s a big lug with not that much wrestling ability. I’m sorry that he wasn’t putting on those five-star wrestling clinics that former ECW World champion Bam Bam Bigelow was. And as everybody criticizes Smackdown’s Rey Mysterio for being treated as a jobber, we conveniently look past the fact that Mikey Whipwreck, whose very character was that he was a jobber, is a former champion as well.
Don’t get me wrong, I liked the original ECW and felt that it played a MAJOR role as the catalyst for the wrestling boom in 1998. However, I also recognize that it wasn’t perfect. In fact, in a lot of ways, it epitomizes the shock crash TV formula that so many people loathe today. Let’s keep in mind, folks, that this company not only went bankrupt, but wasn’t even paying their wrestlers for a while before its dying days.
And another thing, if the original ECW got their hands on Big Show/The Giant, I can absolutely guarantee you that they would have made him World Champion during his tenure there. I have positively no doubt about that.
Point of the argument (and don’t misunderstand it other than that): ECW wasn’t perfect. They pushed lugs. They had their fair share of ridiculous storylines.
Oh, and super duper congratulations to Edge for winning the WWE Championship. Now lets hope that he holds it for more than three weeks.
THE 4400:
Before I get to my thoughts on the actual episode, there is one thing that I don’t get: If Tom didn’t meet Isabelle until he met her when he went to visit Shawn, then how did he know what she looked like in his dream at the beginning of the episode?
That bothersome inconsistency aside, I thought this was a tremendous episode, and I actually felt that the actress who portrays Isabelle did a magnificent job. She’s really grown into the part after getting off to a rough start in the premiere.
I was also pleased that we discovered what Matthew had told Isabelle about what she will do. Evidently, she was sent back to destroy the 4400, and that the 4400 are actually the ones that will create the future catastrophe. I also like how, deep down, you do have to wonder who is good and who’s bad. After all, we’re just taking the word of some unknown future entities.
I was disappointed to see Matthew get killed off, since he had become one of the most intriguing characters on the show. I was also looking really forward to the eventual confrontation between him and Jordan.
It was interesting seeing a darker side of Alana. It was also fun seeing more interaction between Shawn and Maia, two central “poster-child” characters that are kept apart almost always. I hope the harmful circumstances of their confrontation will not have future implications that will prevent them from sharing scenes again.
It was also really nice seeing Tom act like he, ya’ know, cares about Shawn and his well being. It was also great seeing how important Shawn is to the center, on an emotional level.
THE DEAD ZONE:
So we got Purdy, Bruce, AND Walt in this episode. Man, that’s like the Varsity squad of this show. And it was great to see Dana again, and I was pleased that the show didn’t go the clichéd route and have her and Johnny suddenly get together. It’s obvious there’s an attraction, and they even play upon it, but it’s a slow build.
As for the episode itself, well it played upon an interesting dichotomy. One person was reluctantly doing bad things to appease his evil father, while another was misguided and doing bad things with the belief that HE was appeasing his Lord. I also liked how Bruce ended up saving the white supremacist.
Anyway, my computer has decided to move astronomically slow out of nowhere, so I’m going to close things up now. Hopefully this week I’ll have more opportunity to actually watch television, so that next week will be a bit more interesting. Until then, CASE CLOSED!
