Flash Forward: Season 1, Episode 6: "Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)": 5.5/10

Flash Forward: Season 1, Episode 6: "Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps): 5.5

This episode which does take place during Halloween is named after the Bowie song and features another bad cover, this time of said Bowie track from Sea Wolf. Whoopie. It, once again was a good scene but I guess using original tracks is just not something this show feels like doing or cannot do for assumedly various reasons. One cover that was featured in the episode though which worked very well was Rufus Wainwright's cover of Across the Universe. The scene was VERY typical (one of those penultimate scenes in an episode that shows us all of the characters individually thinking which is done all the time on like every show ever now) but the usage was nice.

Anyways I am more intrigued with the show with each passing episode even though I still think the character development and characterization in general is DREADFUL! I don't know these characters any better than I did in the first episode and I did not know them at all in the first episode...WHICH MEANS I DON'T KNOW THEM NOW!!!

Thankfully my favorite character survived. The mystery of the show is continually set up very well and I hope they can follow through on a lot of the promise they have shown us with the story (because goodness knows they are not following up on anything involving character). We were finally shown a few scenes with Dominic Monaghan's mysterious character. I'll just get this out of the way right now; he is completely miscast. I absolutely cannot take him seriously in this role. He is just not convincing to me at all whihc is a shame. I still thought the opening scene with the cross cutting between Monaghan explaining The Double Slit Theory and Janice being operated on was the best moment in the episode. The Blue Hand stuff was pretty good as well. Overall another decent episode with some nice plotting but still unsatisfactory character development and now we have a key character who is completely miscast.

The Office: Season 6, Episode 8: "Koi Pond"

The Office: Season 6, Episode 8: "Koi Pond": 7.1/10

I am very intrigued with where this season could be going. I have just finished reading a review of this episode on The A.V Club and they basically have this theory that what the show is doing is slowly having Jim become Michael. They think Michael was probably more like Jim (in that people generally liked him) before he became boss and that his need to be liked has turned him into the boss he is today. While Jim does not have the same need to be liked as Michael does, Jim has insecurities that are significant as well and that we are going to see a slow transformation into how Jim becomes more like Michael. This is not my theory; it is The A.V Clubs'.

I'm not going to subscribe to this as of yet because I do not think that the series is going to take the Jim stuff that far and I do not think that Steve Carell is going to leave while the show continues. Despite this, I think that what they are doing with Jim is pretty incredible and I will get to the reasons why in a minute.

Overall I think that this episode was a bit messy. Like Curb I think it tried to cram too many things into the episod or it was not structured right or something. While the last 10 minutes were really something, I feel like it was too crammed. I like that they took Pam out of the office for the episode to let the Michael/Pam's mom story btreath a bit. I do feel that they spent too much time on the B story and I wish more time had been spent on the A one. Pam is a bitch. I guess I'll give her some slack because she is pregnant but her reaction to being mistaken for Andy's wife was entirely uncalled (although Andy's revenge went too far as well). They spent too much time on the final meeting involving Pam and Andy pretending to be a couple. The last scene with them was pretty nice though even though I cannot for the life of me figure out why Pam has a problem with Erin since I absolutely adore her.

The A story line was a bit repetitive in places. Also, apparently the entire office decided to become douches for Halloween. Something I am loving about this season so far with Jim in the co-manager position is that he is being put in difficult positions. It is very interesting to see him have the reactions that Michael can have to things when he is put under pressure. He can be awkward and it is a different experience seeing someone else besides Michael in that position. I thought the way he spoke to Angela when he said "I wasn't talking to you" was the most angry I have seen him in the shows' run. He cannot control anyone. The office employees are in control and not Michael and Jim because of the way Michael has conducted the office over the years. I cannot wait to see where they take Jim this season. He wants to try to succeed on his own and I hope they show us whether he can or not.

During the episode I though it is going one way and then it took a turn. A great turn. I did not think the Michael "breakdown" or whatever we want to call it was serious enough but it was still a slightly jarring turn of events as his joked about himself directly leads into him trying to joke about his lonliness (probably testing out a new way to handle it for himself) and it backfires immediately as none of the office members find it funny and Michael certainly is unable to joke about it either. By bringing in the next unexpected turn of events, the episode unfortunately throws this revalation to the side for the rest of the episode.

The realization that overshadows Michael's "breakdown" is a very interesting one. We see that Jim could have saved Michael from falling into the pond but he actually stepped back. Wow. Was it just a natural reaction or was it deliberate because of the way Michael had treated him earlier? They imply it was on purpose. Either way I was really surprised when the episode revealed this but I was again dissapointed in the way it is shoved under the rug. Michael says "Jim is jealous of me" and this realization maks him ok. Everything was wrapped up way too quickly in this episode but I do think that a lot of the issues in the episode will be addressed again very soon particularly everything involving Jim and his new position. Not a perfect episode but a flawed one that has great moments and begins to explore some really fantastic potential that the season has set up for us.

Curb Your Enthusiasm: Season 7, Episode 6: "The Bare Midriff": 6.2/10

Curb Your Enthusiasm: Season 7, Episode 6: "The Bare Midriff": 6.2

I personally thought that this episode had a bit too much going on that it tried to cram into the episode. I know that the show usually does have a lot of threads that all tie together in some way but I think this episode overextended himself. That being said though I still liked the episode.

I was happy to see Jerry and Julia back this week. I really love Larry and Jerry's interactions with each other. At a certain point I started to wonder if the episode was going to be following them around all day and I sort of wish it had. The material with the bare midriff was funny although I wish they had addressed the issue more as a personal offense of what is and is not office appropriate wear and not so much as the fact that they were offended by someone of her body type wearing the shirt. I love the way Larry brought the whole thing up. He tried to be gentle but it backfired of course. Other highlights included Larry and Jerry refusing to move over for Richard Lewis and Richard Lewis getting hit by a car.

Dexter: Season 4, Episode 5: "Dirty Harry": 8.2/10

Dexter: Season 4, Episode 5: "Dirty Harry": 8.2

This season is really just getting better and better. As I have said before this show can easily feel like it is on repeat but I really do feel like we are starting to delve into some new and interesting material here. Particularly in the way that the season has connected Dexter and the Trinity Killer in the issues involving family. At the end of this episode we and Dexter learn that the Trinity Killer who we assumed was a lone wolf because Lundy (RIP : ( ) assumed it, is actually a family man. Dexter is also now a family man. It brings up a lot of really fascinating stuff for Dexter and I cannot wait to see how the show explores these issues of family and being forced to maintain connection to humanity as both Dexter and the Trinity Killer do what they do and more importantly why the Trinity Killer is able to do this.

Something else I really loved about the episode is that you would expect this to be a pretty low key episode that mainly deals with the fallout of the shocker at the end of the previous episode but in fact a great deal happens here. Deb and Anton broke up, Rita found out Dexter still keeps his apartment and confronted him on it, Deb had a breakdown (which I will get to), Angel is being transferred, the Trinity Killer killed again, Dexter found out who the Trinity Killer was, etc. A lot happened which was nice.

My favorite scene of the season to date occurred in this episode and it was Deb's breakdown. I have said before that I think that Jennifer Carpenter is entirely unappreciated and she is without a doubt more talented than a great deal of the actresses working today. She gave us a very refreshing on screen breakdown that moved me to tears not only because of what her character was saying and how badly I felt for her but because she had a breakdown in the way that real people have breakdowns. She starts hyperventilating and everything; it was so real and exactly the way it actually is and she absolutely nailed this scene which was so extremely emotional. I hope Deb can pull through and I think she can because even though she is such an emotional person who really feels everything she is also very very strong. Her dialogue in that scene hit pretty hard. She has such a low sense of self worth and we rarely get to see that she does so when it all comes out it is slightly hard to take. I love Deb.

Anyways this was a really great episode and I think they are doing a much better job at keeping up momentum and intrigue than last season and the first season as well. Thinsg are just getting more and more intense and I really hope this season can end with some actual consequences or a cliffhanger because I am sick of each season ending with everything perfectly wrapped up. You would think Dexter is controversial but it is actually so easy to watch and it really pulls back a lot of the time. I want it to do something drastic at some point. Last week's end was pretty incredible though.

There are still things I do not like very much particularly Quinn and his stupid girlfriend but at least we got rid of one weak link this week; Anton. He sucked. I think the show has always struggled with making any supporting character stuff as interesting as the Dexter storylines.

Lost: Season 5, Episode 16: "The Incident: Parts 1 and 2"

Lost:
Season 5, Episode 16/17: “The Incident Parts 1 and 2”:
Grade: 8.9

Where do I even begin? I have no idea. I have no idea what is going on anymore. I had prepared myself for two things. One was for Juliet’s death. We still do not for sure whether or not she is dead because well, if they have reversed everything and since she was technically alive before she set off the H bomb will she still be alive when we see how things are reversed now that they have changed time in 1977 and thus the present? Or is Miles right and did the H Bomb going off simply create the Incident rather than destroy it? He cannot be right otherwise everyone is dead. So basically these people are on a time loop? Ugh I have no idea. All I know is that I think Juliet is dead and I guess Locke is dead even though OtherLocke is walking around now. And what about Sayid who we last say bleeding to death? Ok let us just get right into it. I am going to be all over the place here.

First of all what did I think? Well overall I thought the 2 hour finale was fantastic for many reasons but in the long run I was hoping for more answers. I knew that the finale would be a cliffhanger. I figured that the bomb would go off but that we would not see the effects of it. But I was hoping I would get a few more answers to things that will tide me over until February. Instead I have a few reveals that lead to infinite amounts of questions. I am hoping Lost can pull this story off in its last season and does not leave me utterly disappointed with its answers the way Battlestar Galactica did. I mean that show always did an amazing job with its characters and it delivered on those moments in the final eps but the answers I received felt rushed and confusing. Even though Battlestar is still one of the most criminally underwatched and underrated shows to ever come around, its flaws are something that I hope Lost can o in a different direction with. So anyways overall there were many things going on here to make for some incredible TV and a lot of that has to do with Jacob.

So we finally meet Jacob. And guess what? He’s not one of the characters we already know. It’s some guy that has been around for a long time. Some being. Oh God I cannot even begin to go into it. But nevertheless I thought Mark Pellegrino nailed it. Second cast member from Mullholland Drive! He was so awesome in this role. My favorite moments of the episode were the ones in which Jacob visits each of the characters at different points, key moments in their lives. And he touches every single one of them. He visits young Kate as she steals for the first time and tells her not to steal. He gives young Sawyer a new pen to write his note to “Mr. Sawyer” at his parents funeral, he touches Locke right after he is thrown out the window by his father. I would argue he brings him back to life actually. He visits Jin and Sun on their wedding day, he asks Sayid how to get somewhere on a map which causes Nadia to get hit by the car, he visits Jack on the day of the “angel hair pasta” incident in surgery that Jack speaks of in the very first episode of the show and finally he visits Hurley most recently after he gets out of jail and tells him to go back to the island and gives him Charlie’s guitar case which probably has something else in it besides Charlie’s guitar. Oh and he visits Ilana which I will get to when I talk about her later. He does not visit Juliet or Miles I would guess because they were not on the original 815 flight. He visits all of them. Why? To get them on the island? To set them on specific paths? And is he good or bad? He seems good. He was wearing white in the very first scene, a scene which I will talk about in a second and a scene which I believe will be easily the most dissected during the 8 months we have to mull over Season 5 of Lost.

The first scene took place I believe when the Black Rock first crashed onto the island. The Black Rock has to be ridiculously important to the end of the series. I think that the castaways were originally on the Black Rock. I think they are in a time loop and Jacob and the man in black somehow are watching and waiting for something to eventually happen with this group of people as they witness this cycle over and over again as these same people make it back time and time again over hundreds of years for some grand purpose while they slowly make progress towards the ultimate goal. Do not ask me how any of this makes sense. I have no idea But this is my grand theory of Lost and I am sticking to it. I believe the H Bomb going off propels the castaways to their final loop where, because OtherLocke fucked things up, everything will come to a head in the next cycle which I believe will constitute Season 6. I think the season will begin with the castaways still on the island but returning in 2007 on the island with everyone else somehow. I literally have no idea how any of this can make any sense but I really do believe that the show will eventually get to a grand plan that is something along these lines.
So that first scene. People are assuming the man in black was Esau, Jacob’s brother in the book of Genesis. Jacob is wearing white. “Esau” is wearing black. They discuss extremely ambiguous stuff that I will not get into because all of the other reviews certainly are. But the man says “Do you know how badly I want to kill you?” and Jacob says “Yes”. He talks about finding a loophole someday and being able to do this. This for me confirms that the man in black or “Esau” is actually OtherLocke. Why? Well, because he has Ben kill Jacob, that’s why, and it harkens back directly to that first scene. Somehow he is not allowed to kill Jacob and Ben and his situation provided the loophole he wanted. Jacob seemed to allow himself to die though. And furthermore, he egged Ben on to do it. We had that brilliant character moment with Ben when he asks “What about me?” to Jacob and Jacob says “What about you?” not in a mean way but with an honesty that felt sincere but for Ben that was enough to kill him. Jacob then says “they’re coming” most likely referring to Jack and company. This did not make OtherLocke happy as he pushed dead Jacob into the fire. So enough about Jacob; let us get into other stuff.

We learn from Ilana, Bram and crew that Locke is in fact still dead. They bring his body in a crate and show Richard the dead body as OtherLocke and Ben are in the statue. So this means Locke is dead. And this means that he won’t come back? Is that the end of his character? Because if so, I cannot even begin to describe how totally depressing and tragic that is. I seriously cannot handle the idea that it is not him. He thinks he has some grand purpose and he goes off the island, tries to get everyone back, fails, tries to kill himself but before he can Ben persuades him not to and then he kills Locke anyways? That is his end? Christ that sucks. And that new bad ass Locke that we were all loving? Not even Locke. This will seriously take me months to accept. Then we get the stuff with Ilana. Jacob visited her to ask for help. She clearly had known him before and she was wrapped up in bandages. Hmmm. She asks Richard “What lies in the shadow of the statue?” and he replies in Latin “He who will save us all”. She mentions candidates and such, whatever that means. Because of Ilana, Richard and company now know about the OtherLocke deception so hopefully that will come to a head as soon as things get organized next season.

I’ve pretty much gone through the 2007 stuff so let us get into 1977. So we got to see Rose and Bernard and VINCENT!!!!!!! I’m mostly excited about the Vincent part. Because Vincent rules. Basically they have been chilling for three years. Wow. What a twist. Notice the sarcasm there. Rose and Bernard are a little too okay with dying for my taste. It was cool to see them together with everyone again for a little while. Kate, Sawyer and Juliet go off the sub and find Rose and Bernard and eventually find Jack, Sayid, Hurley, Jin and Miles who all met up after a gunfight in which Sayid was shot. I will just point out here that Sayid’s part in the rest of the finale is to just bleed slowly to death. And furthermore as we shall see, everyone finds time to drudge up their love drama as Sayid bleeds to death and they do not even seem to mind. In fact when Sawyer asks for 5 minutes to talk to Jack , Jack does not even tell them that Sayid was shot. Everyone just leaves him in the van!

So now we have a section of the finale which focuses on everyone sorting out their issues and eventually deciding to go along with Jack’s plan. Here is where we get the Jack-Sawyer scene. It’s a great scene. It’s been a long time since Jack and Sawyer sat and had a talk. So this was a delight. Jack tells Sawyer that he wants to change everything because he wants to forget about Kate. Sawyer tells Jack to tell her how he feels but he says it is too late. Here is where we get the first of two characters who literally are willing to set off an H Bomb and will probably die as long as they can forget about a certain someone. Who are these people and why are they so insane? And I will never understand why Kate is worth all of this heartache. She sucks hardcore in this finale. Honestly, you can still see in her face just how undecided she still is about everything.
Then Jack and Sawyer get into a massive fight; easily the biggest they have ever had, with a possibility of being the most brutal beatdown in the shows history. They punch and kick for a while but eventually Sawyer gets the better of Jack and just beats the piss out of him. What an awesome scene this was. Truly one of the best scenes of the season. So emotionally charged and exciting at the same time. Then Juliet breaks up the fight. She thinks Jack is right. She has changed her mind. Why? Because she thinks that because of the way Sawyer looked at Kate that she realizes that even though Sawyer would never leave her, it’s more because he made a choice and he is sticking to it, not because it’s what his heart wants. I thought her flashback (the only non Jacob one in the bunch which tells me she is most likely dead) was a bit forced. We understood what was going on and I do not think we needed that scene from Juliet’s childhood to tell us about what she was going through. He denies this and she says if she never has to meet him than she never has to lose him. Jesus. And she would be the second person who literally is willing to blow up an H Bomb if it means that she never met another character in this case Sawyer. Some people are confused as to why she did this but it makes sense to me. I think Juliet just wanted to be in control this time around with what happened even though Sawyer would not have left her. It is just so totally depressing and she deserved so much more. If this was not enough, they had to give her one of the most depressing and painful death scenes I’ve seen on television. They all arrive at the station where Douchebag Radzinsky is still drilling. A gunfight ensues.

Jack gets to drop the bomb into the site. This particular moment before Jack drops the bomb in has got to be the best single moment of the finale. We see everyone’s faces as they look at each other knowing that these are either their last moments or that these are their last moments knowing each other. It is incredibly powerful and emotional. But it does not go off and instead the incident begins and everything metal begins to get pulled. Fuckhead Phil gets struck with a rebar in the chest. Yay! And Douchebag Radzinsky decides to get into a Jeep. Wow. You are an idiot. In the midst of everything, a chain wraps around Juliet’s midsection and drags her into the pit. Sawyer and Kate try to hold on. It is the most heartbreaking scene. Sawyer says “Don’t you dare let go!” Sawyer at this point is freaking out because he sees where this is going. In the meantime the chains are tightening around Juliet more and must be ludicrously painful for her. Elizabeth Mitchell is along with Claire Danes one of the top criers in the biz because her sobs during this scene were gut wrenching. This was not acting crying; this was real sobbing. This goes on for a while and she goes down and Sawyer emits the most emotion I have ever seen from him on the show. Along with “The Brig” which was more anger, this is his most emotive moment. He starts sobbing and I am sobbing and everyone is sobbing and it’s horrifying. It turns out that Juliet is still alive somehow and then has another gut wrenching scene in which she uses her last moments to beat the bomb into detonation as she sobs and screams in the last minute of the finale. She succeeds and the last thing we see is her face as it fades away because of the white light seemingly coming from the bomb as the Lost logo comes onto the screen in black against the new white background. This show will be the death of me. Incredible last 10 minutes. Incredible. Until February 2010 everyone!

The Office: Season 5, Episode 23: "Broke"

The Office:
Season 5, Episode 23: “Broke”
Grade: 8.3

This episode marks the end of the Michael Scott Paper Company. I was very very sad to see it go because I truly love what the new dynamic brought to the show. We got to see many moments of Michael being smart and actually being in possession of business skills. We got Pam being really likable and being a saleswoman. We saw Jim and Charles. It was just fantastic. All of that came to an end this episode.

Great episode. Poor Pam, Michael and Ryan were delivering paper at 5 in the morning with milk and sugar being what Michael drinks in the morning. We again got to see Michael in the dominant position as he successfully hid the fact that the company was broke and he negotiated a successful deal with Wallace. It was great to see the look on his face when he gets the offer. I absolutely love when Michael is in control and confidant. They are my favorite moments with him and this episode shows him keeping it together. We learned that Ryan never went to Thailand. Pam was promoted to sales at Dunder Mifflin which makes me so happy because I just did not want to see her at that desk anymore and even though things are pretty much the same now at Dunder Mifflin it will be nice to see a little bit of a change with Dwight, Jim and Pam sitting at the desks together. Charles made himself look like an asshole as he realized that Dwight is a moron and since he chose him as his assistant, he looks like an idiot in seeing any sort of potential in Dwight.

- Michael: And you have to give Ryan a job here.

David Wallace: No, Ryan lost this company millions of dollars.

Michael: I don't care if Ryan murdered his whole family; he is like a son to me

- Michael: Did I ever tell you about the day Steve Martin died?

Pam: But Steve Martin's not dead.

Michael: No, he isn't, but I always imagined that it would be the worst day of my life, but today actually is.

- Michael: Well, well, well... how the turntables.
- Michael Scott: Our company is worth nothing. That's the difference between you and I. Business isn't about money to me, David. If tomorrow my company goes under I will just start another paper company. And then another and another and another. I have no shortage of company names.

- Michael Scott: Hellooo! Time to make the donuts! Oh Halpert! Wow! Boner patrol. Arrest that man! Your donuts make me go nuts!

- Andy: Hey Boss, uh, I just wanted to point out that I have been here, less time, than these guys.
Charles Miner: Why are you telling me this.
Andy: I just think the bar should be lower for a newbie.
Charles Miner: Is this something you really want to have said?
Andy: I don't want to have said that. But I think it's important that you know it.

Lost: Season 5, Episode 15: "Follow the Leader"

Lost:

Season 5, Episode 15: "Follow the Leader"

Grade: 8.3

It is sort of hard to write this review after having seen the finale last night. I would have liked to have written this before I had seen it but such was not the way of things. I won’t really talk specifically about the finale yet but I’m not going to theorize about things that might or might not happen in the finale when we already know what happened in the finale. My plan is to set up where each of the characters are going into the finale and through that talk about the plot.
1977: Jack: Jack going into the finale has found a purpose again. A purpose unlike any he has had before. The problem with Jack is that no matter what the consequences may be, he has always been someone who when he has a goal in mind he is going to get it done. He has not even stopped to think or care about what might happen if things do not work the way he plans. I find it so fascinating how Jack’s perception of things now follows Locke’s perception. Jack has changed a lot since Season 1 but he still carries that same determination. Jack gets knocked out in the most painful way ever and is brought to the Others’ camp with Kate. They get Richard and Eloise to go along with their plan to get Jughead and have it replace the Incident and hopefully wipe out everything that has happened to them this entire time. Jack makes it clear to Kate that he is OK with not having ever met her because in fact, it make things easier for Jack. He insinuates that it was not worth it. Ohh harsh. But deservedly so since Kate totally sucks. So Jack is left at the end of the penultimate episode underground with Jughead ready to transfer it out of there and across the island.
Kate: In the last three episodes of the show Kate has really just proven to me how much I cannot stand her. I cannot believe the amount of drama that rises up over this woman. She literally ruins everything totally destroying the men she comes across because she cannot commit to anything or make a decision. Ever after all of this it is still completely unclear who she wants to be with although at this point I think it’s Sawyer since she seems to have exhausted her relationship with Jack. But still, she is so devastated and angry when she realizes that Jack is willing to give up ever having known her in order to erase things. Really though Kate? After the shit she has put these guys through no wonder he wants to forget her. Hell I want to forget her at this point. However despite all of this at this point of the season I was totally on her side in terms of her leaving the Jughead mission. I thought it was crazy too.
Oh fuck this. This character thing is getting confusing. I’ll just do it through the story.
1977: We had to see Daniel’s death again. That was fun except that it was not. Even though Eloise sucks because well, she does, I definitely liked how willing she was to believe what Jack and Kate told her and to go along with his plan. Teamwork is always nice on this show between unexpected characters. Widmore as a younger man sucks. Yet present day Widmore is awesome. It seems that Eloise at this point is already pregnant I assume with Daniel. I hope at some point we get to learn more about their relationship. Sayid pops up and shoots someone when Kate almost gets shot for trying to leave. So Sayid has been gone for basically ever. Since he shot Ben, he’s been AWOL. Well here he is, all proud that he shot Ben and convinced that it does not change anything. The exchange in which he found out that Ben is not dead was classic. I’ll talk a bit more about Sayid in relation to the finale when I get to it. I wonder what else there is for the character to do. Basically Sayid agrees with Jack’s plan because he really does not care whether he lives or dies and if there is a chance to change things, then he will take it. Nice to see Jack and Sayid working together. They all swim to the underground tunnels except for Kate who goes back because she does not agree with what they are doing. Their story ends with them reaching the bomb.
On the Sawyer/Juliet front they are pretty much interrogated by Douchebag Radzinsky and Fuckhead Phil for the episode. Sawyer gets the crap beat out of him while Fuckhead Phil actually has the nerve to hit Juliet thus becoming Fuckhead Phil. Even though Horace does not nearly enough to stop them from getting beaten at least he does into approve of it. Something I find really amusing is how everyone listens to Douchebag Radzinsky and nobody will just hit him on the head with something. This continues into the finale and it’s just so weird how he’s in charge. You can really see during these scenes how loyal Sawyer and Juliet are to each other. You can just see a bond during these scenes that is so adorable and touching. Chang tells Douchebag Radzinsky to stop drilling but apparently because this idiot is now in charge nobody stops drilling. Sawyer and Juliet make a deal with Chang to tell them what they want to know but in exchange they get to go on the submarine. The moment between them on the submarine was so adorable. And then everything was ruined by the arrival of Kate on the sub. And Juliet and Sawyer’s faces as she sat next to them were basically the same exact reaction that I had on my face.
Jin, Miles and Hurley pretty much just hang out and watch things as they happen. Pierre comes over and tests Hurley about 1977 to figure out whether or not they really are from the future which was hilarious. “Who is the President of the United States?” “…alright dude, we’re from the future.” Pierre also figures out that Miles really is his son which was also really great. Miles also gets to see Pierre yell at his mother to leave and he realizes that I was the only way Pierre could get Miles and his mother to leave the island.
2007:
Richard tells Sun when she asks him about the picture of the castaways in the 70’s that he watched them all die. Looking at what happens in the finale I am so totally confused as to what this means. We got to revisit the moment when Locke is given the compass by Richard from Richard and now resurrected Locke or based on the finale we’ll just call him “Locke”. So I guess the fact that Locke is “Locke” explains how he would know where Jacob lives and the fact that that moment with Richard and Locke during the time jump was coming at that exact moment. Then Locke pulls a WTF and makes a speech to the Others in which he asks them to go with him to Jacob to see him. So Locke is leading a pilgrimage. What I love about these scenes is basically the way that Richard and Ben react to everything “Locke” does in this episode. We never see them in this totally submissive position. Ben’s “Why do think you think I’ve tried to kill him?” line is the best of the episode. We then learn that “Locke’s” mission is not to figure out how to get to the 1977 people but to kill Jacob. WTF?! Well it makes more sense now after seeing the finale since I have my own theories about “Locke” and what he is. The moment is still a great one though. And thus we set ourselves up for the finale. Overall not a very character focused episode at all but one that successfully sets up the finale and the events that will unfold there.

24: Season 7, Episode 22: "5:00am-6:00am"

24:
Season 7, Episode 22: “5:00am-6:00am”
Grade: 6.9

I am not sure why, after so many great episodes of 24 this season I have no idea why they decided that the last 6 episodes to drop the ball. This episode was not bad. There were good things about it definitely. I guess I am just disappointed that the season went in this direction. I was really hoping and not only hoping but had faith that this season of 24 would manage to bring Kim in and not have her be in danger. I was hoping that they would rely on Kim for something else than to be in peril. But once she was in the airport, I knew that she was in for it. As soon as we had the first shot of the woman that we are supposed to think is a nice woman that will help Kim out, I knew they were bad. There are some things and some situations where 24 cannot fool me anymore, but it’s cute to see them try. There are some things with the Kim thing this time that I appreciated. One was that Kim was not actively kidnapped like she always is; in fact at this point she has no idea what is going on. This was a clear decision made by the writers so that even though they have the same situation going on that we’ve seen before; it’s being done in a different way. So this I appreciated. Something else I have realized about it is that it is the most dramatic thing they can do. It has been a while since we’ve seen Kim and thus it has been a while since Jack has had to face this situation. When you add Tony into the mix of things and the fact that Jack is dying and Renee, you pretty much get the most dramatic situation that Jack can have going for him. So I am excited to see how this I resolved and I am also excited that if they had to bring the Kim thing in, that they have done it in a way that is slightly different. I just hate that the show became so clearly predictable this late in the game.

However I really cannot stand seeing Jack having to play the bad guy. Not in the sense that I think its bad TV but its just hard to watch. Again though, we’ve seen this situation so many times and while it is exciting, I was hoping that this season could continue its’ really impressive exciting streak by bringing something new to the table. Since Kim has to stay alive for Jack to give him the bone marrow so he can survive and since we know Jack survives, we know that both of them live. And since someone big has to die because this is the finale it has to be Tony. So Jack and Kim and Renee (she’s due back next season) will survive and Tony will not. It is not hard to figure out what will happen in these last 2 hours and that is very unfortunate.

In other news, what for me is extremely exciting is that Ethan is back!!!! Here is hoping that Ethan comes back for next season because there is no way Olivia is obviously going to keep this job. I have always liked the Olivia story because even though she is aggravating, I have always been interested in the story. Again though, it’s another story that we pretty much know how it is going to end. I may not know the specific outcome of it but obviously Olivia will no longer have her position at the end of the season and she will be found out. However it will be interesting to see how this effects the Taylor administration. YAY ETHAN!!!

This episode among the goods was a great scene between Jack and Tony in which Jack beat the hell out of Tony all in a minute. Then we see him asking why he betrayed him. Neither has anything left to lose. He looks at Tony like a sad puppy. Then we go to Renee as she gets a position on Jibraan. Then she goes to get Jack and we see that he has been standing there looking at Tony all sad and disappointed and betrayed for the past minute and a half. Oh boy was it sad.

On the other hand we saw Jibraan and Hamid reunite which was nice. I really was hoping they would end up happy. No Taylor which was weird. She has been pretty absent lately. So that is pretty much it. Everything is set up for the next two final hours of 24 Season 7. I’m not too thrilled with the familiar situations we are in going into the finale but I am hoping it will be exciting nonetheless. Even though I’m pretty sure about what is going to happen, it will still be really heartbreaking and dramatic for sure if Tony is in fact dying next week.

Extras: Season 2, Episode 3: "Daniel Radcliffe"

Extras:

Season 2, Episode 3: "Daniel Radcliffe"

Grade: 8.7

Ricky Gervais and Stephan Merchant take this episode as an example of how the media get so massively twist a story and how the public can depend on the media to tell them what to think of a celebrity. Andy is not completely let off the hook though. Since the character is pretty much an asshole, his behavior at the restaurant in the first place was horrid. Yes, he felt badly and yes he did not know that the boy had Down syndrome but he still was an asshole to that mother by telling her to take herself and her kid out of the restaurant. The way we see Andy’s efforts to achieve good PR fail, majorly due to Darren’s horrible attempts to alleviate the situation.
Everything about this episode is spot on. This season of Extras so far is so much better than the first season. We get to see the opening credits to When the Whistle Blows. We get to see how quickly the press can turn on you and how Andy handles situations like this one which is not very well. Andy gets into a fight with Warwick Davis. Most hilariously though, is Daniel Radcliffe in this episode who frankly makes the episode for me as great as the rest of it is. What a sport. He is portrayed as a mama’s boy who likes to think of himself as someone who is very experienced with sex and women. In fact, he has no experience and we see his hilariously pathetic attempts to get with Maggie. The moments with the opened up condom that he carries around ready to use is to die for. Basically everything in this episode was pitch perfect delivering along with the David Bowie episode, the best episode of the series thus far.

South Park: Season 1, Episode 1: "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe"

South Park:
Season 1, Episode 1
Grade: 6.3

It’s so weird how primitive the animation looks at the earliest point of the series. Its pretty close to the way things look now but not quite. The animation almost looks 30 years old in a way that makes the early animation a lot cooler than the way it looks now which is great but not as cool as this early animation. This first episode is really focused on creating the world and the pace and dynamic of the show for us. The type of humor the show wants to convey is put on priority here as its just trying to give us a sense of what the tone of the overall show is. It’s weird how different this first episode is from the others I’ve seen and I wonder how long this feel that the show has is conveyed. The voices are a bit different as well. Kyle’s voice is higher and Cartman’s voice is much harsher. I do enjoy that there is a portion of the shows episodes that seem to concentrate in humor derived purely from the characters and the world of South Park. This episode features aliens at South Park and Cartman getting an anal probe as the episode title says. He continually denies it because of the embarrassment it brings. Favorite moments include Ike because he is so cute, the music that pays when Chef drive up to the kids, Mr. Hat telling Kyle to go to hell, the cows wanting to board the train. Anything involving Wendy Testaburger in the early seasons when Mary Kay Bergman did the voices of the girls and women on the show before tragically killed herself. Stan’s smile when he sees Wendy, the milk is yummy poster, “I love to singa about the…”, Kenny’s death and subsequent decomposition by rats, “Yeah, I want cheesy poofs!”, Cartman and the kitty, the bird landing in Stan’s puke, “Don’t be difficult Eric!”, the cows in general, “Hey look a French fry!”. Overall this was quite a good episode but it’s almost more fascinating as the first episode of South Park than it is just as an episode on its own.

24: The Past Three Episodes: 2:00-3:00am, 3:00-4:00am, 4:00-5:00am

24:
Season 7, Episode 19: "2:00am-3:00am"
Grade: 7.8

The episode after Tony reveals that he is in fact still bad is a solid one which is more than I can say for the two episodes following this one. Something that I admire about this season is how fast everything has moved. Things that would take 5 hours in another season of the show take 1 or 2 episodes at the most. So I was afraid that Tony would have to play it cool under Jack’s nose for multiple episodes which was something that I was dreading. Luckily this was all solved at the end of the episode when Jack figured out that Tony was bad. Wow Tony has really turned into quite the douche. I really just do not care much about him anymore. I’m still attached to the character only in that I’ve known him for so long but I really just do not care about him anymore. It’s what he does to Jack that I really care about. So it was pretty difficult to watch where Jack and Tony’s friendship has gone when Tony refused to give Jack his medication during his seizure. I wonder what others think about the question if Tony is willing to kill Jack if it came down to it. I think he actually would be able to do it. I hate to admit it but I think he would be able to. It was a very exciting episode during the parts with Jack and Tony because Tony was just trying to get Jack to leave because of his condition while Jack knew something was up and could not quite figure it out for a little while. However by the end of the episode he realized that he had mistrusted Tony all along. Jack was about to shoot Tony because he had said that if he found out that Tony was fucking with him, he was going to kill him on the spot. His seizure prevented him from doing that. I think Jack is extremely willing and ready to do whatever it takes to make sure that Tony stays dead this time around as much as it pains him to.
Renee learned about Moss’ death : ( and we see that Renee deals with death by bottling up her emotions (seriously, Jill Bauer coming through). I felt really bad for Renee because she cared for Moss so much and they really had their relationship put through the ringer during the season. Crazy stuff happens with a blonde woman who shows up as Hodges look alike lawyer who she killed and presents him with a suicide pill because his death will save his family. I do not get how any of this connects because I’ve just lost track of things. Hodges swallows the pill but he survives. So much for the “suicide pill”. Kim leaves and we find out that Jack is now Grandpa Jack because Kim herself has a daughter name Teri. Oh my god how depressing is that? Overall it does keep the momentum of the last episode and is good but the next two episodes just kind of meander a bit for me.

Season 7, Episode 20: "2:00-3:00am"
Grade: 6.3
Here is where we start our two episode slump. Its not an actively bad episode and I understand that set up needs to be provided on this show but honestly it just felt like we were dragging ass here. There was no urgency to anything and there should be urgency at this point in the season since there has been for the rest of the season. Tony kills the guy with the canister because he wants to double cross Tony which was a stupid thing to do. Jack questions Hodges but gets nothing because Hodges truly knows nothing about the people he was working for. This was probably the best scene of the episode as Hodges tried to compare himself to Jack. We finally see Chloe again who hugs Jack which is adorable because they are BFF’s at this point even though being friends with Jack is not what its like being friends with other people. The CTU servers are put back online which is awesome because its just like old times. Then we are introduced to the illegal Muslim that is going to be framed for the attacks that Tony and his group are going to be doing on the country. I know his role is just another one of those “how are we supposed to give a crap about you when we will only see you for a few episodes kind of person” but honestly I feel for this guy and his brother. What a sucky deal. Olivia has no capability of being mature and understanding her mother’s decision to give Hodges a Witness Protection Program deal even though he was responsible for the death of their brother/son. So she calls someone to help her take care of Hodges even though she made it pretty clear to Aaron moments earlier that this was something she wanted so it won’t look good if he turns up dead an hour later but apparently she does not care. Olivia can be a moron sometimes. Oh and Jack flipped out on Janice because she was being annoying and because of the mood changes that the virus has inflicted upon Jack. It was awesome. The throwback to Palmer’s name was enough to almost make me cry. Again, the episode was not bad but parts of it seriously dragged and that is the last thing you want to happen on an episode of 24.

Season 7, Episode 21: "4:00-5:00am"

Grade: 5.9

And we enter the second hour in which we get…a lot of set up. The moment with Chloe and Jack when she figures out that something is wrong with him and finds out that he is dying was the best moment of the episode. It was weird how slow this episode was. Again with the no urgency. It did not even feel much like 24 to be honest. The parts that I liked were the fact that Olivia called off the assassination but a bit too late apparently or maybe not because we have no idea what happened as Jonas Hodges blew up. Thank God. Seriously, what a whiny annoying schmuck he was. After he was taken into custody he just became pathetic. I actually feel bad for Olivia. That’s right. Because no matter who killed him, she is totally taking the fall for it and that sucks for her but it’s what happens when you almost set up an assassination.
Tony and others are taking on the subway system. I still feel bad for Jabraan and his brother although it should hopefully be fairly obvious to the brother that Jabraan was forced to tell that lie. It’s a pretty shitty plan Tony I have to be honest with you.
Jack and Jabraan’s imam stuff was kind of annoying. First of all it pissed me off that way Jack handled the entire situation. He was a total asshole about the whole thing. Second of all brining him along makes no sense. It’s just so another person could point out how fucked up and lost and sad Jack Bauer is. Just one more person to pity him. We get it. It just felt forced to me.
Even though this episode was another one of mostly set up for these final hours, things pretty much look as if they are set in motion. They know Jabraan is being set up already and all of the final pieces are being set in motion. Next week looks like it is going to be very intense with lots of stuff happening. So let us hope that all of this set up was worth it as we head into the final 3 hours.

My So-Called Life: Season 1, Episode 8: "Strangers in the House"

Season 1, Episode 9: “Strangers in the Night”
Grade: 9.6

Television does not get better than this. This would have to take the award for favorite episode of the series thus far; yes even more so than the pilot. While I do not like Sharon I also very much like her I also really like her. I love her character; its just the actress who bugs me. Her mannerisms and speech patterns and constant bitchiness get to me. Despite this I love what she brings to the show and this episode completely delves into Sharon and Angela’s issues and also allows for Graham to have what I would call a near breakdown which ends with him getting fired by his own wife. Harsh. Everything in this episode was perfect. The episode had a slightly different tone to it due to the seriousness of the situation. The way Angela dealt with Sharon staying over was so absurdly the way I would have handled it and while it came off as coldness from Sharon’s point of view, it’s really the only way Angela know how to deal with things. There is a moment when Angela comes in to ask Sharon something and she says it lightly and jokingly at first but Sharon does not hear her and says “What?”. Angela then reverts to saying it more seriously and its such a small moment of perfection and unmatchable authenticity. I loved everything involving Sharon’s mother and the way she handles the situation as well. I honestly do not know what to say about the episode except that everything was perfect. Brian’s connection to Sharon. The scenes with Sharon and Angela. Sharon hugging Brian. Everything involving Graham. Rayanne cutting school to drive Sharon to the hospital. The last scene with Brian and Angela. The underwhelming reactions of Sharon and her mother about their father/husband and the overwhelming ones from Patty and especially Graham. This episode really shows the potential that television has.

Quotes:
Angela: There are so many different ways to be connected to people. There are the people you feel this unspoken connection to, even though there's not even a word for it. There's the people who you've known forever who know you in this way that other people can't because they've seen you change. They've let you change

My So-Called Life: Season 1, Episode 7: "Why Jordan Can't Read"

Season 1, Episode 7: “Why Jordan Can’t Read”
Grade: 8.6

I hate that I cannot remember a ton about this one. I fell in love with the beginning with everyone in the museum. I don’ hate Jordan anymore. I still don’t really care for him I find that I enjoy his presence because it is fun to make fun of him. I figured the song was not written about Angela and I am excited to see if Angela finds out about that. The scenes with Jordan when Angela goes to his band (the hilariously named Frozen Embryos) are so delightfully awkward and true. I love how Angela takes the fact that she knows about Jordan’s reading problem to mean that they have a special connection. Its true but the essence she builds around it in her head was pitch-perfect. I wish I remembered more about this episode. Again, its’ been a while. Patty and Graham deal with the fact that Patty might be pregnant again. I freaking love Patty and Graham. I’ve fallen in love with the both of them. They are the coolest people of all time. Angela deals with a lack of enthusiasm and awkwardness with Jordan and I love how he tries to show interest but he can’t show too much and I love how she tries not to be awkward about things but fails miserably. Wow. Jordan ditches on the first date. Angela looks stunning and Brian and Angela have a scene where they flip on each other which is an awesome scene. Brian is so ridiculously awkward; he speaks his mind too much, butts in on stuff that is not his business and yet I feel bad for him because well he’s so awesome and nobody can see the awesomeness of Brian Krakow. I’m only half kidding on that by the way. So yeah, Jordan does not show because he does not want to meet the parents yet. I sort of understand but seriously that was way harsh of him. I love love love love love the last scene with Brian and Angela playing catch. There are so many groups of two whose interactions I absolutely relish and eat up; Angela and Brian, Brian and Ricky, Brian and Sharon, Sharon and Rayanne, Sharon and Angela and more. Oh and we get to see in this episode that Danielle is a sketchy creepy annoying little girl who wants saxophone lessons from Brian.

Quotes:
Angela: Love is when you look into someone's eyes and suddenly you go all the way inside, to their soul, and you both know instantly. I always imagined I'd fall in love nursing a blind soldier who was wounded in battle. Or maybe while rescuing someone in the middle of a blizzard, seconds before the avalanche hits. I thought at least by the age of fifteen I'd have a love life. But I don't even have a like life.

My So-Called Life: Season 1, Episode 6: "The Substitute"

Season 1, Episode 6: “The Substitute”
Grade: 8.5

This show is becoming an obsession of mine. I find myself thinking about it weeks after watching an episode. I find myself being depressed like everyone else that has seen it that it never lasted. I marvel at the amount of care and time and effort that is put into every single episode. Every single thing about every single episode is so perfect and specifically so. The writing is impeccable, the characters so unique and specific and special and the performances are incredible across the board with Claire Danes quite possibly giving the most impressive performance for a television series I have ever seen. I am not sure I’ve seen a more accurate, naturalistic or true to life portrayal of a teenager in TV or film. The stories are so unpredictable and they never turn out quite the way you think they are going to. They take you by surprise and have little twists that you do not expect which makes the storytelling feel so fresh and original 15 years later. What an amazing show this is.

So this episode has a substitute teacher coming to the school that takes everyone by surprise with his own rebellious way of teaching. It begins as a sort of Dead Poets Society sort of thing and ends with the teacher not being quite the amazing person we thought he was. The best moment of the episode was when Angela who was very inspired by him to fight for free speech goes to talk to him about his leaving and he calls her Amanda. But it does not end there as the episode really just shows how Angela makes a choice to pick her battle by handing out the student literature packet that had been banned from the school.

It has been almost 2 months since I’ve seen this so I really cannot remember a ton of specifics from the episode. I do remember loving the scene with Rayanne and Sharon when they discuss the banned racy poem that Sharon wrote which we had been led to believe had been Rayanne’s poem. The thing I love most about the show are the scenes with 2 characters interacting that you don’t expect to. All of the random relationships and interactions are explored and I look forward to those scenes possibly the most.

Quotes:
Brian (about Angela getting a ride from Mr. Racine): So, is there, like, anyone's car you won't get into?

Angela: Right. I live my life to annoy you, Krakow. You're, like, my world.

Brian: Shut up. I mean, he's old. He's a teacher.

Angela: What? You think I, like, did something with him?

Brian: I don't know. How do I know?

Angela: Are you demented? Do you just view everything in terms of sex?

Brian: Not everything.

Patty: So what is this substitute person like? Is Brian Krakow right? Is he mentally ill?

Graham: Ah, possibly. I mean, he, um, didn't give me any Kool-Aid to drink, or anything like that. No, actually, he's a pretty cool guy.

Patty: Cool? Cool is not what substitutes are. Substitutes have hard to pronounce last names and bad haircuts.

Graham: Well, this substitute is cool.

Patty: He's not a substitute. Maybe he's a narc.

Graham: Maybe you're a narc

Sharon: Oh god, do you know how over my life will be when people find out ..I..wrote it?Rayanne: Do you know how over mine's gonna be when they find out I ...didn't...?

Rickie (reading Angela's poem): There once lived a girl. She lived in a house made of gingerbread and candy. She was always asleep. One day she woke up, and found that the candy had mold on it. Her father blew her a kiss, and the house came crashing down. She walked down the street. Only the people were made of paper. She blew them all a kiss, and watched as they all floated away...

South Park: Season 13, Episode 7: "Fatbeard"

South Park:
Season 13, Episode 7: “Fatbeard”
Grade: 7.7
This was a solid send off for the first half of the thirteenth season of South Park. I hoped more would have been done with the way the show addressed the issue in this episode and I found Cartman’s constant “Da fuck?” lines to be irritating after a while whereas it had been funny in the beginning of the episode. The episodes definitely had a slow slump as well but its’ funny parts were extremely amusing. My favorite moments were those showcasing Ike which had me in near tears from laughter. Anything involving Butters of course is great. Then we have when the ginger kid gets kicked out of the pirate group. The shooting at the end of the episode and the lightsaber. There were a lot of moments to admire and some parts that slagged. All in all not an amazing episode but definitely a good one.

Dollhouse: Season 1, Episode 10: "Haunted"

Dollhouse:
Season 1, Episode 10: "Haunted"
Grade: 8.0

While “Haunted” in many ways gets back to a lot of the one shot episodes that were at the beginning of the show, it is a very intriguing episode. For the first time on the show I really cared about the engagement. I have been interested in other engagements on the show involving Echo but I really found myself totally intrigued by Echo’s or rather Margaret’s interactions with her relatives. It was pretty obvious it was the son early on but whatever, I still found myself captivated by the story and actually somewhat impressed with Eliza’s acting (even though Dichan is such a better actress its ridiculous). I also liked how the main plot of the episode suggested the possible eternity of life that the Dollhouse can offer. I am sure that they are setting that up for something that will eventually come up even though it won’t get to come up because it will probably be cancelled.

I really liked seeing Topher interact with someone that he connects with. We essentially got to see what Topher’s perfect day would be like. I wonder if that day ends with him having sex with the active or if he even uses a girl every time. Topher however will always to me remain creepy and difficult to sympathize with.

On the Ballard/Mellie front we have some intense stuff going on. Ballard has to deal with knowing that Mellie is a Doll as she asks questions about the Dollhouse. He does not know how to deal with this predicament so he basically deals with it by having angry rough and hatred filled sex with Mellie. He finds out that November’s real name is Polly but she has a bunch of different names and mug shots it looked like.

Overall this was a solid episode that for me showed that they could go back to the old format of the show and have a compelling episode unlike the earlier shaky episodes.

Curb Your Enthusiasm: Season 1, Episode 10: "The Group"

Curb Your Enthusiasm: Season 1, Episode 10: “The Group”
Grade: 8.4
This is a strong closer to the season. Just watching Larry at the incest meeting was priceless. His story and the nonchalant manner he explains it with was great as well. Something I loved about this was that Larry really tried to stay true to his promise. There were a lot of really great moments in the episode. Larry and Cheryl’s sex conversation, Larry’s incest survivor story, etc. I loved how surprised Cheryl was when Jeff got her the part in the Vagina Monologues. Well that’s it for Curb Your Enthusiasm. I told you I have a hard time reviewing a show like this? Can you tell?

Quotes:
Larry: You know I've never actually seen the vagina with my glasses on. I don't really have any idea of what it looks like. It's all a hazy mystery to me.

Larry: My name is Todd, and I'm an incest survivor.

Group: Hello.

Larry: I had sex with my uncle when I was 12.

Curb Your Enthusiasm: Season 1, Episode 9: "Affirmative Action"

Curb Your Enthusiasm: Season 1, Episode 9: “Affirmative Action”:
Grade: 9.2

It’s getting ridiculous how good this show is. This would be my second favorite episode of the series thus far. I believe this is the last of the episodes I had seen before. It’s been such a long time since I have watched all of the episodes I am going to review so I apologize again for this being so awful. Basically there was no part of the episode I did not like. In fact each scene was hilarious for various reason all leading up to Larry getting thrown out of the pharmacy for trying to bribe the pharmacist. This episode also features a hilarious usage of the Psycho theme and has some of the most awkward moments I’ve seen on the show thus far. Larry making the affirmative action joke in the first place and having to explain it to the dermatologists guests. Again it’s been a while since I have seen it but I remember lots of it clearly. Yet I do not feel like going into it because I have so many other damn episodes to review.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 6, Episode 14: "Older and Far Away"

Buffy the Vampire Slayer:

Season 6, Episode 14: “Older and Far Away”
Grade: 8.5

A lot of people do not like this episode very much but I happen to love it dearly. Besides moments of truly atrocious acting by Michelle Trachtenberg (“GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT!!!”) and some weird tonal issues I really just love this episode.

It is very much an ensemble episode and my favorite parts of the episode are the initial stages of the party; the present exchange, the first night when nobody wants to leaves and everyone is having fun. It was really relaxed and funny and fascinating. We got to see Tara and Willow interact.

Tara is fucking awesome in this episode. Seriously, she rocks every single moment. Standing up to Anya, her little quips to Spike, everything. I was surprised by Anya’s behavior in the episode. It seemed a bit out of character but then I realized that was because we had never really seen anything with Anya having to act like this. It makes sense for her to be claustrophobic. I liked the conflict she brought out. She was piiiisssseeeedddd off. The way she confronted Willow about having to do magic, and the way she destroyed Dawn’s room was prett intense.

While I feel bad for Dawn in this episode, the way she handles the situation is pretty awful and childish. So they cannot leave the house and she takes it personally that they are not okay with that? Who are you Dawn? You are a moron that is who you are. Michelle’s acting here is at times not bad but she seriously has horrible moments like the one stated at the beginning of this review. That moment is easily the worst bit of acting in the entire series thus far.
Overall not a favorite with fans but a favorite with me. While objectively “Dead Things” is a better episode, I find that for me personally “Older and Far Away” is my favorite episode since “Tabula Rasa”.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 6, Episode 13: "Dead Things"

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Season 6, Episode 13: “Dead Things”
Grade: 8.0

This is the episode that changes everything. The Trio dynamic changes completely and for the better I might add. Now we have clearly established positions that were very much evident before but are now solidified. Warren is the leader and Andrew is more enthusiastic than Jonathan is. They seriously are disgusting though. Seriously; sex slaves? What the fuck Is with these people? They are sickening and it’s so disturbing the lightness with which they take what they are doing. The way they decide to allow Buffy to take the fall for the murder was a bit stretchy but it ended up being something that brought out some really important issues.

Basically Buffy and Spike come to a head. They have a scene on a balcony inside of the Bronze where they have sex and it’s a pretty horrible scene because honestly I have never seen a more unrealistic depiction of sex in anything ever. They do it with all of their clothes on, she has pants on, nothing is unzipped and yet all of a sudden he is doing her from behind. It’s so lame. It’s interesting the way Spike treats her though He really goes out of his way to make her feel abnormal and perverted. But he does love her. Buffy beats the shit out of Spike is a great scene where she almost turns herself in before figuring out that Warren killed her. It’s an extremely intense scene. The other scene that completely stood out was the last scene of the episode in which Buffy confides to Tara about her relationship with Spike, breaks down when she finds out that she came back the same and begs Tara not to forgive her for it. Wow. Amazing performance from Sarah Michelle Gellar in this scene and in this episode in general.

I liked the interaction between Buffy and Dawn. Even though I’m not a big Dawn fan (I don’t hate her though) I do feel extremely bad for her. I know a lot of people think she is a big whiner and as we will see in the next episode she is, but seriously, nobody actually spends anytime with her and Buffy could not seem to give a shit about her. I really liked the scene when Buffy tells Dawn about what she did and that Buffy is willing to basically give Dawn up so that she can turn herself in.

Also Tara starts her period of awesomeness which lasts into the next episode as well where she is all sorts of awesome.

I wish I could write more about this episode but even this episode, I watched about 3 weeks ago.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 6, Episode 12: "Doublemeat Palace"

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Season 6, Episode 12: “Doublemeat Palace”
Grade: 7.2

Call the presses! I actually enjoyed “Doublemeat Palace”. Some think this is a candidate for worst of the series. I think there are much worse episodes than this. I think it was going for a ery specifically off feel and I think it succeeded. I think people mistake this feel for a bad episode or for an unintentional feel. But I think it was intentional. It’s still not a great episode but it’s a curiously intriguing one. It is a very specific monotony.

I understand that she is going to desperate lengths to feel normal which is why she got the job at the Doublemeat Palace in the first place but seriously I do not see why that one bad experience at the Magic Box would totally turn her off from ever having to work there again. I don’t see why you would not want to work with your friends.

I enjoyed the stuff with Halfrek and Anya. I had not thought about the Anya/Xander stuff in these reviews because I cannot really remember much about what was going on between them besides the regular preparations for the wedding/anxieties they are going through. I had hears that a lot of people find the redundancy of the Xander/Anya stuff to be annoying but honestly I have found that it really does not disrupt the show that much and that it really does not take up that much time. Plus I really do like them a lot so I care about their stuff even if it is not as intense as a lot of the other stuff going on.

Buffy is definitely making some progress as is Willow at this point. Buffy decided that she does not want to die in “Gone” and now is taking an active interest in supporting herself and Dawn. Willow is still trying to get along with not having to do any magic but is succeeding. I like when Spike goes to visit Buffy at the Palace. I like when the other characters visit Buffy at her job as well. Honestly, fuck Amy. She’s so annoying. She has good comedic timing and I don’t mind the actress but I hate the character.

I also really liked Dawn saying that Buffy is never going to do anything important career wise because her career is slaying. She will always have a job that pays money that won’t be anything important.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 6, Episode 11: "Gone"

Buffy the Vampire Slayer:

Season 6, Episode 11: “Gone”
Grade: 5.5

I really really did not like this episode. I mean basically nothing about it made it enjoyable for me. It felt out of tone and like a failed attempt to meld the old aspects of the show with the new tone. There are some pretty important issues that come up in the episode but because of the immature way they are handled later on in the same episode, it makes it feel like the issues are not as serious as they actually are. For instance the whole thing with the social worker. This, like other scenes in the beginning of the episode start out well but only end up getting overshadowed by really bad scenes in the rest of the episode.

I do like the scene in which Buffy cuts off her hair.

So we get more of the Trio which means automatic points taken off for the episode. The way Buffy acts when she is invisible was what I hated about the episode. It held no comedic value which the episode clearly wanted it to hold. I like the idea of her enjoying the fact that she is invisible because she does not have to answer to anyone and it very clearly reflects where she is at that point on the show but it’s just handled again so poorly. The Ghost of Fashion Victims’ Past scene made me wince. Everything at the social workers’ office was just so childish and annoying. Again I understand that they are trying to showcase Buffy’s immaturity and inability to handle anything that comes along but honestly I was just bored and annoyed by the whole thing.

The scene with Xander and Spike was amusing though but Buffy in it was just so immature. It’s ridiculous.

Well at least Buffy finds out about the identity of The Trio in this one. And then of course we get Willow going through withdrawal and drinking lots and lots of water. Ugh. Overall the aspects I liked, the opening scenes, Willow doing an old school investigation and Buffy cutting her hair are just not enough to save this episode for me which I really felt was just not good at all.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 6, Episode 10: "Wrecked"

Buffy the Vampire Slayer:

Season 6, Episode 10: “Wrecked”
Grade: 6.3
Some think this is the worst of the season along with “Doublemeat Palace”. Personally I enjoyed this more than “Smashed” and “Gone” but this episode had serious serious problems. It starts the Willow’s magic addiction /drug addiction analogy which could be the most horribly handled aspect of the show. I have been looking forward to Willow’s addiction to magic since I started watching the show and they had done such a good job up until this episode when they change the entire dynamic of Willow’s addiction. It became not even an analogy in this episode but a literal drug addiction. Magic has become a drug on the show and it’s absurd. Willow goes to Rack’s and has trips. It’s ridiculous and lame and dumb. Then Willow totally fucks Dawn over and causes them to get into a car crash. Her characterization here seems really out of whack and inconsistent. I could believe her behavior after she is on the drugs even though it’s still pretty ridiculous; I’ll suspend my disbelief. I cannot however believe that Willow would go there in the first place with Dawn. That was so out of character for her. While the episode had bigger problems that “Smashed” I personally enjoyed watching it more only because it was such an important episode and Alyson Hannigan turns in a stellar performance.

Spike and Buffy continue their sexual relationship which further causes her to completely disregard everyone in her life and isolate herself further.

I like that Xander and Anya are completely aware of Willow’s problem and its stupid that Buffy is so unwilling to see the parallels between her and Willow’s situation that she will not even acknowledge that Willow has a problem.

Overall it’s an interesting episode in that the series had been building to this rock bottom that Willow has gotten to but it is so poorly handled, so out of character for Willow and so unsubtle in its analogy it does not even feel like the same show.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 6, Episode 9: "Smashed"

Buffy the Vampire Slayer:

Season 6, Episode 9: “Smashed”
Grade: 6.2

It’s been over a month since I’ve seen this episode so bear with me.

This is pretty much where the slump of Season 6 begins. I have no idea what I think of this season so far. I get why the pacing and tone are so so different. The stuff that is going on would have absolutely no meaning of it did not affect the tone of the show. But after a while it starts to drag you down as well. Even though it is the intended feeling, it’s not something I am completely huge on when it is not done right. This episode marks the beginning of some serious issues that the season has and when you combine the issues together into certain episodes it makes for an actively bad episode. While many think “Wrecked” is worse and while I think that episode has larger problems, I got pretty bored with “Smashed”. The end scene is definitely fantastic though.
Something I do really like about the episode are the parallels it draws between Buffy and Willow and the inability each of them have to connect with each other because of their isolation. They have the scene where Buffy wants to talk to Willow about what is going on with her and Spike but they really just are not connecting and are interrupted by Amy.

I don’t really care for Amy. Willow at this point is really incapable of understanding why Tara dumped her. I just really could not care less about their story in this episode. Their shenanigans at the Bronze were so trite and immature. Again maybe that’s the point but it came off as really lame.

Then we have Spike and his discovery that Buffy can be hit. This involved The Trio; lots of the Trio. Again I really was not that interested in any of this because I hate the Trio. Although I understand that it needed to happen; that Spike needed to find this out.

Besides the last scene which I really did like a lot as it had been building for ever now, I really liked the scenes with Tara and Dawn. Tara has proven to be more mature than most of the characters on this show and has grown into being own of my favorites. Her and Dawn were in the same outsider position in the show and Tara is really the only one that really understands how Dawn feels and she goes out of her way to spend time with her.

I really cannot remember a ton of the episode so that is all I have for this one.

Lost: Season 5, Episode 14: "The Variable"

Lost:
Season 5, Episode 14: “The Variable”
Grade: 9.3

Honestly I don’t even want to review this because I am trying to forget it happened. Not because it was bad; in fact along with “The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham” I would say it’s up for Season 5’s best award so far. The episode definitely has elements that I am confused about which makes me in turn again confused about what I am supposed to be thinking about and what will actually be answered. But you do not realize just how great it is until those tragic last minutes when you realize that Eloise knew the entire time that she shot and killed her own son and literally paved the way for that to eventually happen.

People were confused about whether it was clear that Daniel is dead or not; it is official that he is. Who knows if he will make another appearance somehow but he is dead. Thus the episode ends Daniel’s death officially making him the most tragic character on Lost ever. This for me is not an arguable point. As the episode progressed I actually had the feeling that the episode was heading this way. When we got the news that the “Major-ish” character was not as major as we first thought reported by Ausiello I figured he must actually know now and I thought about that being around the time when this episode probably would have screened. Then just the vibe they created around Daniel in the episode; they made him to be a tragedy. There was the way everyone saw him as this crazy pathetic weirdo coot and the flashbacks basically summing up the shittiness of his life only to show how ironically it ends. Then Jack gives him a gun that is fully loaded and make a point of showing that Daniel has no idea what he is doing. Then they have shots of him holding onto the gun basically just flailing it. His plan then we find out goes against every single thing he has been saying this old time and ends up being (although maybe there is validity to it, we shall see) a totally desperate and poorly planned attempt to change things so Charlotte can be brought back. Then despite his best efforts not to, he ends up being the creepy guy Charlotte remembers as a child so whoop de do on the fail of supplying that memory for her. Then when Daniel just walks into the group of Others in the final moments just totally unaware of how unprepared and inexperienced he is and Jack tells Kate to let him go because he knows they should not go with him, I knew it was totally over for the poor guy and I had to sit and watch hoping and praying that I was wrong as I saw that I was right and that we lost Daniel Faraday who happens to be in my Top 5 on the show. He is easily my favorite character that has died so far. He is my Charlie. He will always be my Charlie. Let’s just get into the ep shall we?

Flashbacks:

Basically these flashbacks were a rundown on Daniel’s life and a checklist of the reasons that Daniel Faraday’s life could not have been any shittier.

- Reason number 1: Eloise his mother is an evil wench and early in life puts him on the path of his murder by not letting him play piano anymore. We see that very early in life, Daniel has never really gotten to do what he wanted. What a fun childhood that must have been.

- Reason Number 2: Eloise is a bitch to Daniel’s girlfriends and only really cares about going on his path to death! Seriously what the fuck is it with this woman? Honestly, the question has been floating around since the episode aired; why did Eloise have to make sure this happened? I guess either she really is all for sticking to the whatever happened, happened theory and doing her best to making sure everything went down just so. Or since we are clearly going to see stuff happen during the rest of the season maybe we will see why Daniel’s death needed to specifically happen. Either way, this woman is fucked up. We also see that Eloise does not give a shit about any other aspect of his life than that of his work

- Reason Number 3: Everything that happened to Theresa is just so damn depressing. Seriously that freaking sucks.

- Reason Number 4: Daniel gets dismissed and leaves Oxford; they remove any evidence of him ever having been there and all of this stuff with Theresa happened and all of his work and accomplishments were pointless.

- Reason Number 5: But of course Daniel’s twitchiness and general weirdness is explained by us finding out (even though I think we had known this from “Jughead”) that Daniel had tried out the experiments on himself and had serious memory issues because of it. That sounds fun. Daniel going back to the island would rid him of his problem. I loved the continuation of the scene from “Confirmed Dead” when Daniel has his reaction to the news that 815 went down. It had already been one of my favorite scenes in Lost history for its ambiguity and even though the ambiguity is now taken out of it, it is somehow retained because the facts of the situation in that moment are exactly the same as they were before. I also loved the scene between Daniel and Widmore. Honestly, Jeremy Davies in this episode needs a fucking Emmy or something. Seriously; he was incredible. Unbelievable.

- Reason Number 6: Then we get the scene which was very interesting before the episode ended but now is just a million times more intriguing; Eloise urging Daniel to go to the island. The reason Daniel goes? Because Eloise tells him it would make him proud. Can I just crawl under a rock and cry for the rest of my life? Seriously it gets no more tragic than this. And of course he cries just like in every scene in this episode with Daniel where he either looks like he is going to cry or in fact does.

The 70’s:
It turns out Daniel was in Ann Arbor. Scandalous. He manages to fuck things up slightly for everyone in the episode. First he tells Jack that destiny did not bring him to the island and in fact his presence is harmful. I would still like to know how he knows this. So basically Jack’s whole reason for living goes down the shitter. Then he goes and has his scene which takes place in the first scene of Season 5 which was extremely satisfying to see. Then he tells Chang that Miles is his son who reluctantly does not agree although I think he is in denial. Miles is deeply pissed off which prevents him from offering to drive Daniel later in the episode.

Then we have Jack find out about Phil who is being kept in the closet by Sawyer and Juliet. It was really depressing throughout the whole episode to see Sawyer and Juliet truly realize that the lives they built for themselves all this time was something they had to leave. They tried so hard to keep their life in Dharma but it just did not work out that way.

Everyone discusses options as to what to do. I loved this scene a lot just because so much of the cast was in it. Sawyer and Juliet are going to head for the beach while Jack, Kate and Daniel are going to head for the Others to find Eloise. While they go to do that they pick up guns and get into a gunfight with Psycho Radzinsky and two others. This was a pretty sick scene; one I did not entirely expect to see. Daniel gets shot (not the last time he will in the ep : ( Sawyer and Juliet have a nice scene together as they lament over the loss of the life they built but soon that ends when they are caught by Radzinsky on his way back from his gun battle with Jack, Kate and Daniel. That’s where we end off with them.

We learn that Daniel’s brilliant except it’s not brilliant, it’s sad and desperate plan to stop things from happening is to set off the hydrogen bomb. And then Jack and Kate and Daniel have some really great conversations and then we all know how the episode ends. Okay I cannot go on mainly because I am low on time and high on depression even thinking about this. There is so much more I could go into though.

Reason 7: He fulfilled his job as creepy dude from Charlotte’s past

Reason 8: Shot by his own fucking mother who knew the entire time that she was going to shoot him and he realizes this in his last moments.

Overall this was an incredible episode; one that would mean so much more on a second viewing. The scene with Daniel and Charlotte broke my heart. The last scene broke my heart. The entire episode broke my heart as we saw a brilliant portrait of a tragic character who had no idea the horrible fate that his entire life he spent working to get to. RIP Daniel Faraday. You were one of the most unique characters in television. I will miss you and I will never forget you and how amazing you were.

Lost: Season 5, Episode 13: "Some Like it Hoth"

Lost:
Season 5, Episode 13: "Some Like it Hoth"
Grade: 8.0
I have gone from finding Miles pretty freaking annoying to really truly adoring him. Honestly I just think he’s boss. We were supposed to get character back stories to the “freighter people” way long ago but because of the writers’ strike, they are just now getting to them (poor Charlotte misses out and I guess Frank has not really become a significant enough character to garner an episode to himself). This week we get the first of two, this one being Miles. We find out two things that we basically already knew. One was that Miles’ father is Pierre Chang. That rumor had been going around for months now. It was still very satisfying to see their interaction and to see the scene when Miles watches his father read to adorable baby Miles. The second thing we already figured was that Miles was motivated to go to the island purely by money. Wow big shocker that Miles likes his dinero. Let us discover what else was found out for us other than Hurley is attempting to write the screenplay to Empire before it is made. Seriously. Not joking.

Flashbacks:

- We see infant Miles who happens to be the cutest child of all time. His abilities started very early in life.

- Later in life a younger Miles looks basically the way he did in X3. He also tries to unsuccessfully find out information about his father.

- We next see how Miles will lie about talking to dead people if he does not have the access to the body that he needs as long as money is being offered to him. We also see Naomi again which was very cool.

- Naomi tests Miles’ abilities’ out by providing him with a dead body and asking him to figure out stuff. He declines the offer to go to the island but agrees when 1.6 million is offered to him.

- Then Bram, the one who with Ilana had the guns in the previous episode take Miles, who was just about to eat a lovely fish taco, in a van and is asked for the second time on the series (not Miles, just the show’s showing of the question in general) “What lies in the shadow of the statue”? He has no clue. Miles is then offered information about his fatherand his abilities but at this point in his life, Miles just wants money and when they won’t give him twice what Naomi offered, they throw him out of the van. This was the most interesting sequence in terms of a scene that I think is going to be very very important later in terms of the question and Bram’s presence in the episode. Again, “teams” are mentioned. I am very excited to officially find out what these teams are. I guess its Ben vs. Charles but it must be more complex than that right?

- Personally in terms of the character study of Miles, I found the last scene to be the most moving. I still think he should have assured th guy that he did in fact have abilities and was not a sham because well it’s what I would do if I were him but whatever. It’s a very obvious parallel to Miles’ own situation but it really worked and I found myself really fascinated just because we were getting to see Miles finally take center stage for an episode in the story. Ok; 70’s stuff.

The Seventies:
Ugh while I love Miles, he really is the idiot that caused all of this subsequent shit to go down by not erasing that damn tape! Can I just explain how fucking creepy I find Horace and Radzinsky and the whole ultra secretive, cult-y vibe they have going for them? :Shiver:.

Speaking of people causing trouble; seriously Kate? Seriously? You really needed to butt into everyone’s business yet again and try to comfort Roger? I know she felt bad and I would have the same urge to do that as well if I had established the weird slight interaction she had with Roger at that point but honestly putting yourself in the middle of things is the absolute last thing Jack, Kate and Hurley want to be doing right now. Jack gets that at the moment; Kate not so much.

Anyways Miles gets a package (dead body; subtle Dharma). Hurley gets roped into this excursion because he is so blissfully unaware sometimes when something is actually happening. Basically the body was a guy named Alvarez who had his tooth filling ripped out through his head because of the electromagnetic stuff they were working with.

Roger figures out that Ben is missing. Roger’s solution is to understandably freak out but more importantly doe a typical Roger and drinks some more beer. Jack tries to calm Roger down. It’s so cute that he was covering Roger’s work shift. Phil in the meantime finds out about the tape and Sawyer pulls a typical Sawyer and knocks Phil out.

I had never thought about Hurley and Miles each having different abilities involving dead people. I wonder why they each have them and whether we will find this out. Since Lindelof and Cuse have stated they are not going to address the Libby story, I find myself questioning immediately what else are they not going to answer? I get that they really don’t have time to being back a thread that has been totally cut off but does this mean the same thing about Walt? Walt, Hurley and Miles have abilities and I wonder if they will be explained to us? So anyways to see Miles and Hurley compare abilities was funny but also very insightful.

The ride in the van between Hurley and Miles and Chang was classic. While I definitely think it’s a bit over the top for Hurley to be prying into something that truly is none of his business and something that Miles is so adamant about ignoring I see where Hurley is coming from. Who the hell gets that sort of opportunity? Hurley is sort of right to egg on the situation when he sees such a unique chance passing by voluntarily. I also loved the way Hurley brought up his own situation with his father. Cheech and Hurley are adorable.

Then of course we get the poignant Miles watching Baby Miles and Father Chang scene. And then we have the end which last week I was extremely excited about in fact I was flipping my lid. Now looking back I’m just totally depressed as we see the end of the episode which will be the beginning of next week’s episode which will be the start of the devastation, the tragedy, the horrifyingly depressing thing that is “The Variable”