"Lost" Season 5, Episode 5: "This Place is Death" Grade: A

"Lost" Season 5, Episode 5:

"This Place is Death"

Grade: A

OK I do not even know where to start with this episode. I literally was tweaking for the entire 43 minutes. While it did not have as much of a focus as we are used to seeing on "Lost" I still felt a lot happened and the amount of information and new intrigue thrown at us was more than I could ask for in an entire season I will just go through the episodes by each what the fuck moment?

1. An entire smoke monster scene in the first 10 minutes?! What the fuck!?

Ok seeing the smoke monster in full is always a big deal. It rarely happens and this time we learned something new and ridiculously awesome.....

2. The smoke monster is guarding some sort of temple?! What the fuck!?

Ok we always knew it was guarding something and even though we have no idea what it means, its still really cool to finally see where it is coming out of....

3. The smoke monster ripped someone's arm off?!?! What the fuck?!

That was sick and fantastic.

4. The smoke monster took the French crew minus Danielle into said temple and they came back out of it but it had infected them with some kind of sickness and this is how they went insane. What the fuck?!

Okay so the smoke monster provided the sickness that infected her crew. And she did not get sick because she did not go inside. Because Jin told her not to! Omg how cool is it that this is all coming together? Getting to see that moment with Danielle and the father of her baby, Robert was such a nostalgic rewarding moment. In the short 2 minutes you can see exactly how she got from point A to point B and its incredible how they pulled that off.

5. This is not a wtf moment but Sawyer's reunion with Jin is just too adorable for words. I love seeing how much Sawyer really does love Hurley and Jin because he really has grown attached to those two.

6. Charlotte tells Jin not to let Sun come back to the island and that "this place is death". Shit like this seriously confuses me. I have been under the impression that going back to the island is indeed what everyone needs to do. But when Claire and Charlotte say things like this, it gets me confused and wondering whether they really should go back to the island.

7. We learn Charlotte's history in her final moments: She was born on the island, she spent some of her childhood there, her mother took her away from the island and told her it was all imagined and since then she has dedicated her life to finding this island. Wow talk about depressing and tragic. This would have been a What the Fuck!? moment if everyone watching hadn't basically figured it out by now. But then she dropped this mindfuck of a bombshell on us;

8. She tells Daniel that she remembers a "crazy" man from her childhood who scared her. This man had told her that she must never come back to the Island or she would die. WHAT THE FUCK?!?!?! Ok it was at this point when I was just about ready to throw in the towel for the night and give up because of the awesomeness taking place. Then we get the creepiest, coolest death filled with tragedy and childhood. Charlotte's last words are incredible.It was a tragically and beautifully creepy moment. I loved Charlotte so I am pretty devastated she's gone.

9. Locke gets a stick through his leg...what the fuck? This poor man has been through enough with his leg already. Wasn't he just shot there too?

10. Who is waiting down at the well for Locke? JACK'S DAD. What the fuck?! Insane. He needs to die. Christian leads him down the path. Its all insane.

Its been a while since I had started this post so I'll end it here. But anyway great incredible episode. Not as much of a focus as some other episodes but I still loved seing a bunch of really satisying little moments and seeing really great nuggets of info for the people who really soak up the mythology of the show like I do.

"Battlestar Galactica" Season 4.5, Episode 4: "Blood on the Scales"

"Battlestar Galactica"

Season 4.5, Episode 4: "Blood on the Scales"

Grade: A-

So my show took a bit of a hit recently when my entire Critical Perspectives on TV class ripped it apart after viewing an episode for a screening. I do not agree with the episode the professor chose; I felt it was one of the weaker ones and did not show off any of the aspects that make it one of the greatest shows of all time. Everyone hated it and now I have to sit with these assholes for the rest of the semester. I swear nobody in this class watches television really. They have lives and that is good for them but whatever I want people in this class who know what the fuck is going on in television. I don't even think these people knew that "Mad Man" is on AMC. They have no idea of the status that "Battlestar" has among television critics and frankly, people with an iota of taste. They all think its just some average sci fi show not to be taken seriously. The things they said will haunt me. I'm trying to forget about it but I cannot. It was ridiculous. I have lost respect for most of my fellow classmates there. You do not blame a show for you not understanding what is going on when we are watching an episode that is taken out of context. Fucking morons. It makes me sad that even at Clark, people are unwilling to open their minds up to different storytelling. "Why are they saying things like 'hotdog' and 'nuggets'? How are we supposed to take that seriously?" "I hated her (Starbuck), her acting, her character, everything". "It was hokey and melodramatic" (which is the last way I would describe this show). Ok people, go back to watching "Grey's Anatomy" or "Heroes" or "Desperate Housewives" or any other shit shows you watch while I go back to the shows that will stand the test of time. This is my one definitive area where my false sense of superiority kicks in. I will not hide it. I am not ashamed of it anymore. I am proud of my taste in film and television. And I am sad that nobody else in my class will get to see what the show can do and will go on thinking that I and the show are lame. On the contrary. They are lame.

Getting back to the episode though, while I felt the wrap up to this was a bit too tidy and there was not the casuality rate I had wanted on the good side to make things really intense this was still a killer episode. Possibly the greatest Roslin moment ever culminating in "I'm coming for all of you!". Anders getting shot was intense. I really loved the moments with Gaeta and Gaius at the end there because it was just a really fitting way to end everything. The farther along we get the more I think that few people will die by the end of the series. Roslin surely will. Anyone else though? I'm not sure. I cannot remember what else happened since it has been a week but I remember it being really intense and fantastic to watch.

Tonight's episode looks informational and I hope it is instead of us not finding out anything until way late in the episode if at all. I hope we find out a lot of information and get some stuff answered. I swear is Anders says "I remember everything" 2 minutes before the episode ends I will flip my lid.

24 Season 7: "3:00pm - 4:00pm"

24, Season 7: "3:00pm -4:00pm"

Grade: B

Improvement from last week for me. Its hard though when the good guys have been so consistently doing things that are nearly as bad as what the bad guys are doing. Its hard to root for them. I do not like the whole Dubaku and his girlfriend subplot. Its lame, makes him not intimidating and needs to dissapear. I wonder where they are going with this whole Renee thing. Its weird. I want more FBI stuff. I love everything going on there which is basically nothing but its fun. Tony was absent from the episode. I wish they had gone balls out and just killed Henry Taylor in the last minute. That would have been awesome and gutsy but instead he gets shot in the stomach and his likely critical condition status will get dragged out for who knows how long. I love everything involving President Taylor. And yeah that's about it. Until next week.

The Office: "Lecture Circuit Parts 1 and 2"

The Office: "Lecture Circuit Parts 1 and 2": Season 5, Episodes 14 and 15

Grade: B

I figured I would do these both together and save time. Solid episodes overall with some stand out moments. I liked Michael and Pam being together for these episodes because I like her with him and it was nice to see her outside of her relationship with Jim. Her throwing the candies in the first episode was priceless. I knew Holly was not coming back because I had not heard news of Amy Ryan's return but I was secretly hoping anyways. Since Holly is the greatest character ever. I am glad we got closure on Karen.

I like seeing Jim and Dwight working together. This is when I like Dwight; not the way he's been recently. The "It is your Birthday." sign was probably my favorite moment in both episodes. As was Creed's line "Have I ever steered you wrong Jim?" to Andy. I liked how we got to see just how difficult it really is to put together a themed office birthday party.

I adore Andy so I liked that portion of the first episode. And I thought Angela's cat subplot was a really nice substitute for it in the second one. Well that's pretty much it. It's been hard to write these lately with not having a computer and everything and all the work I have but I will try to update more regularly.

"Lost" Season 5, Episode 4: "The Little Prince"

"The Little Prince"

Grade: B+

I was not blown away by this episode on first viewing just because it took time to slow down for stuff. The more I think about it though the more I absolutely loved it though and really appreciated that it took time to assess what has been going on and to really take a breather from it all while still moving the story forward a bit.

This was a sort of breather episode where we got to slow down a bit and assess what has been going on. I am still a bit confused about the jumps in time and what the rules are but I know they are not misused as in "Heroes". Can I just say that when people refer to "Lost" and "Heroes" in the same sentence it makes me want to gouge my eyes out? Two shows could not be anymore different in quality. To compare "Heroes" to "Lost" is giving way more credit to "Heroes" than is deserved and is astoundingly insulting to "Lost" and the quality of it. "Heroes" does not deserve to lick the boots of "Lost".

Anyways. Wednesday provided a moment that could be my favorite of the season thus far and that would be Sawyer seeing Season 1 Kate deliver Claire's baby. How touching/cool was that moment? It was beautiful. Locke's recall of his freak out moment in season 1 following Boone's death was insightful as well. As Jensen said, Kate delivering Claire's baby now has special significance because she is raising it.

-Daniel said to Miles that the nose bleeds might be happening in order of time duration on the island. So is Miles really Marvin Candle's son? And does Daniel know this or is he geniunely being quizzical?

-"Thank the Lord!" "I take that back!" Hilarious

- I am happy we pretty much have all of the Oceanic 6 together so we can get all of this moving along more quickly than I had expected.

Theory! I think that the show will continually try to get us to like Ben and get us used to the idea that while he is always on his own side, that he is genuinely trying to help them out. Then I think he will kill Penny when he finds out she is in L.A and subsequently the audience will have to further grapple about how we feel about him.

-Lesson learned: Never leave Sun with kids. As Jensen put it: where the hell is Ji-Yeon!?

-Jin is alive! Yay! I had already known that but I did not know when he was coming back. Fantastic return. Young Danielle Rousseau is perfect. She is cute and young and looks abit like her and has presence. I could not be happier about that.

-Hurley = happiest person to be in jail ever.

- I like seeing Jack trying to pull it all together now that he has a purpose.

-Kate giving Jack a chance was really nice and touching. I liked all of their intereactions this week.

- Who is trying to constantly shoot Sayid with tranq darts?

Theory/Prediction! Juliet and Sawyer will become a couple!

(Kate looking in shock at Ben)

Jack: "Don't worry he's with us"

Kate's reaction to all of this was great.

As was her exchanging looks with Ben as she realized he was the one trying to take Aaron away so he could basically blackmail her into going back to the island.

I wonder if we will find out the significance of Claire telling Kate "Don't you dare bring him back!"

Oh this is all becoming too good to be true. While a few are complaining about the time travel aspect it is something that has been hinted at since Season 3. Most everyone is getting a huge kick out of it including myself who loves how this device is letting us see glimpses of the past thus is filling in bits of information to us thus letting us see stuff as opposed to just having it told to us thus making the world of Lost so much fuller and so much more satisying and whole.

I wish I could go into dozens of other parts of the episode but I cannot. I can only afford short observational reviews like this one. Until next week's Episode 5 "This Place is Death" Bye!

Season 5 Episodes in Order:

1. "Jughead" (3)

2. "The Little Prince" (4)

3. "Because You Left" (1)

4. "The Lie" (2)

24: Season 7, Episode 7: 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm

"2:00-3:00pm"
Grade: B-

This episode was okay. I missed a little bit of it due to a nap. I just did not feel the same pull I have with the previous ones of the season. A lot of stuff happened and yet it felt like a filler episode. But it wasn't. That being said this was not a bad episode, I just did not feel very excited while watching it. But I will say this; I am interested in every single thing happening this season which is something the show has not accomplished in a while. And I will even take it a step further. Jack, Bill, Chloe, Renee and Tony's story is the least interesting one to me. Well, I am more interested in them than Dubaku. Everything going on at the FBI though and anything and everything involving the President and the President's husband is fascinating to me. Those scenes are the ones that grab my attention the most. I am really happy the President and Jack will be meeting up next week as it will make things more interesting. While this episode did not have me at the edge of my seat, I love the characters this season and all of the storylines are really great which is something you do not often get on "24".

Random Notes:

-Will Tony really turn himself in?
-Is Dubaku's girlfriend really that stupid?
- Will the President back down when her husband's life is at stake?

Ok until next week!

"The Office" Season 5, Episode 13: "Stress Relief"

"Stress Relief"
Grade: A-

Some people had issues with this episode but I found it to be hilarious and consistently funny for the most part. Yes its over-the-top, yes Dwight would never still have a job but honestly this show has been implausible for a long time. It shifted in a much different direction from the Office U.K early on and has not really looked back. That being said, a lot happened so I'll just jot some notes down.

The Good:

-The opening with Dwight simulating the fire was the funniest opening to this show that I have ever seen. I thought I would die laughing in those three minutes.
-"Stayin Alive"
- Everything involving the roast. Everyone was funny but Steve Carell's acting as the scene went on just became more and more impressive. Give him another Emmy please.
-I actually liked the Jim and Pam stuff this week. While it was resolved so quickly and the very end of it was lame as hell I actually liked what they did with most of that story.
-Stanley's stress level machine going off every time Michael goes near him.
-Michael trying to sit on the other side of the table at the meeting.
- Michael: "I have got to make sure Youtube comes down here to film this"
-Michael roasting everyone at the end and everyone laughing. My favorites were:
"Meredith - you have sex with so many guys you are starting to look like one; roasted!"
"Stanley - You crush your wife during sex and your heart sucks; roasted!"
"Oscar - you're gay; roasted!"
"Pam - You failed art school; roasted!"
-Michael tossing out the bread in the playground.
The pacing of the entire episode.

The Bad:

-Something that has happened in recent episodes has changed my opinion of Dwight. He has become way too cruel and mean lately. He always was but it was in a fun way but now I have been given no reason to like him at all. He annoys me now and while he is still funny, I just find his unnecessary cruelty to be overbearing at times and also really off putting.
-The Jack Black/Jessica Alba/Cloris Leachman stuff was bad and ridiculous. It had no focus, was dropped in out of nowhere, clearly forced and just unfunny. Alba was onscreen for maybe two seconds. Ridiculous.
-Andy thinking Pam and Jim were gurus was funny but it never went anywhere at all. It seemed like it was dropped in there to make the film clips feel like they have a purpose.
-Pam at the end saying "When you're a kid you assume you parents are soulmates. My kids are gonna be right about that." Barf. What a lame ass way to end a decent storyline.

"Lost" Season 5, Episode 3: "Jughead"

"Jughead"
Grade: A-

I would just like to say how much I appreciate this show and its existence. I will defend it to the death. What it has had the guts to do is incredible. So many shows are about making it accessible, inviting people to watch and while "Lost" has that with its recap specials and such this show has been very much the opposite, creating a special kind of television viewing. This kind of viewing has been adament about stripping away bit by bit the people who cannot keep up whether it be time constraints, disliking the show's progression or an unwillingness to throw oneself into it. This is not a show that can really be casually watched and if it is, the viewer is simply not getting what they could out of it. This show has gradually attained a special language in which episodes literally only make sense to the people that keep up and pay attention and in so many cases do outside research in confirming what we know. And even then it gets confusing easily. It has created an interactive viewing experience. One that has essentially purposefully attempted to weed out anyone who is unwilling to commit the time to the show so we are left with a majority of people who are an insane group of fans who are grateful to have a show that is this involving, complex, wonderfully time consuming and blissfully entertaining. I am so happy to be a part of this. It will change television and the mediums ambitions I truly believe will shift slightly as a result of this show's complexity. Much like "Twin Peaks" or "The X-Files" it makes you feel like you are a part of something and it is taking that idea a step further than either of these shows have as they paved the way for something like "Lost" to exist.

That being said; what a great episode. It really showed the potential of the new plotting devices without the flashbacks or forwards in a way we did not see in the previous two episodes which while great, felt a bit all over the place.

So is Charlotte dead? I hope not since I am way into her and Daniel. The crush I have for him grows literally with each episode and I am excited that he seems to be so important to the overall arc of this show. I wonder what the deal is with Widmore funding his research, with Theresa, with everything? What's the deal with Ellie? Widmore was an Other? WTF?! Revelations abound. Was "Jughead" the item contained in the Hatch? I am so confused.... Meanwhile, Sawyer and Juliet are totally getting together at some point. I am calling this.

I love the use of time travel in the show and how its usage is not simply thrown in but is really thought out by what we have learned from it so far and the rules that come with it. It honestly feels somewhat plausible. Its genius usage of the idea so far and has shown that this show can honestly do anything.

Ok so Penny and Desmond are going to L.A...Ben is in L.A...Ben wants Penny dead....Please do not let this happen.

Other stuff...Ok so if it has been three years since they left the island then something does not make sense. Why did Desmond have the memory recall when it had only been one day they had left the island from Daniel's perspective? This actually makes no sense...

The Locke-Alpert conversation was probably the highlight for me. Oh my God what a perfect example of why I watch this show.

Oh and Desmond and Penny's son being named Charlie basically ripped my heart out.

Oh my God this is a horrible review. I will try to do better next week. : )

Episode Order for Season 5:

1. Jughead (3)
2. Because You Left (1)
3. The Lie (2)

Battlestar Galactica: "The Oath", Season 4.5, Episode 3

"The Oath"

Grade: A+

I just don't know how to review this show without fully being able to get across the significance of what this show is doing. I am going to try to regularly update TV Reviews for this, "Lost", "24" "The Office" and the other shows I will watch but honestly this and "Lost" are very hard to review without going into all sorts of shit that I do not have the time for. But I will try because these shows are the reason I was so excited to start this blog.

So some general observations. I cannot believe what this show is doing. If it keeps this up in its last 7 episodes then it will have accomplished something so remarkable. This episode tracks the revolutionary event of the series that is the mutiny against Adama, Roslin, the administration and the Cylons whose alliance with the humans were becoming such a strong possibility that all hell broke loose and for the first time our main characters are in the midst of revolt that will decide everything.

The employment of the constant time tracker every few minutes was brilliant as it made us feel like the event we were seeing was so important that it has been documented with great precision.

All of the characters we know and love are on the likely to lose side. My mother and I (well actually my mom but really I want to take some credit for the brilliance) have coined the phrase "Hate the Gate". As in we hate Gaeta, or Gaetass as we now call him. (okay so my mom and I can be ridiculous sometimes). Ugh I hate him so much. He is the most infuriating character on anything I am watching right now. Even more than Pam folks, even more than Pam. The slow build up of everything falling into place and the revolt begins in the various different parts was nothing short of masterful. After watching this whole serises, the events in these episodes hold an indescribable and unbeatable amount of weight to them. I shall go through the characters:

-Adama has emerged as a Top 5 favorite character as we start to end the series. I felt so bad for him as him and Tigh were being fooled throughout a majority of the episode. His kiss with Roslin was perfection and I hate that they will not end happily ever after (there is no way that will happen). Again as we come to the end of the series, Adama and Tigh's relationship has emerged as my favorite interaction on the show and the one I care the most deeply about. God I feel like I have been through so much with these characters. So as you can imagine, the last scene held particular power for me.

-Roslin - I knew it would be Adama's life being threatened that would get her back into Presidential mode. "I"M COMING FOR ALL OF YOU!!!!" Holy crap next week will be....I dont even know what. She is a character I am always conflicted by because she pisses me off so much but I really do care about her.

-Starbuck - it is so nice to see her back in kick ass mode. Hell yes. We have not seen that in the longest time and it is refreshing and very much a throwback to earlier episodes.

-Gaius is the character that I am perhaps most interested in and I feel like lately they have dropped the ball with him. SO imagine my excitement when in this episode he finally breaks away from his flock, has a conversation with Gaeta, and another with Roslin. I really hope this means we will get back in these final episodes with establishing his place in this story.

-Oh god please get the Pegasus people away. They all rape people, I swear its ridiculous. And they have "Athena" and Caprica Six? Wow fantastic. I'm excited. Except not.

Tigh was killing me in this episode between the forest fire comment and "You son of a bitch!"

This all makes the show sound ridiculous. It's not. This week's episode is something the entire series has basically led upto and once again, between this and the premiere, the show has already offered two of the best hours of television I have ever seen almost reaching the artistic heights of the best of "Twin Peaks".

Until next week...