"You know what's dangerous about you? It's not that you make people take risks, it's that you make them want to impress you. You make it so they don't want to let you down. You have NO idea how dangerous you make people to themselves when you're around!"
With that little bit of dialogue Rory Williams became better than Mickey Smith, the entire Jones family, and Sylvia Noble (I'm not going to mention Wilfred, that just wouldn't be fair). I'm talking of course about the previous people weighing the companion down. That's mostly how they were used during Russel T. Davies's tenure. Mickey would pout and be angry about being left behind, Martha's mother would make disapproving faces, and Donna's mother would...well, make disapproving faces. It was the same story every time, they were always meant to be the losers out of the loop, simply there for some sort of tension to exist, even if we weren't sure what that tension was supposed to be.
Rory is different, and I point to his assessment of The Doctor as evidence. He's not in danger of losing a girlfriend, or a grown daughter, he could lose his wife, either by death or infatuation. In "The Eleventh Hour" it's plain to see that he has known her, and been in love with her, for most of his life. He even used to dress up as The Doctor, her imaginary perfect man, and tried to become a doctor to fill the role, becoming a nurse instead. He has worked, and clawed, and sacrificed for the girl of his dreams, and now she's going to marry him in the morning. At the start of "Vampires of Venice" he learns he's lost her, or is at least losing her. He's been losing her for who knows how many days or even weeks in the Tardis, while he's been experiencing a single night on Earth.
Typically these situations are grating and annoying because the odd-character-out is such an obvious jerk or fool compared to The Doctor, and the only thing keeping their relationship with the companion going is either family ties or just not wanting to break it off. I give a ton of credit to Arthur Darvill for his performance as Rory, because his humor is able to give the role the "lovable" part that's been missing from the show's lovable losers. So when he hits the nail on the head about the true danger The Doctor poses there's extra power to it, because he's a character we actually care about instead of window dressing. Okay, maybe not WE care about, but I certainly do.
Another thing that might be helping is the obliviousness Matt Smith expresses when The Doctor is in a tricky social situation. If Amy had tried to jump David Tennant's bones it would've been all secrets and attempts to save face. Instead, this Doctor shows up at Rory's bachelor party and flat out tells him that Amy kissed him and it's a problem they need to fix together. Frankly, I think it makes The Doctor more endearing as well. I'm sure it's a wonderful fantasy for all the girls out there (since it's been all female main companions so far, except for Wilf who we aren't mentioning) that this handsome super hero will appear outside your home one day in his blue box to whisk you away on great adventures and tell you how important you are. For the guys the only message seems to be, "at any moment a handsome genius with time machine that you can NEVER compete with might show up and take your girlfriend or fiancée away and she WILL fall in love with him and there is nothing you can do to stop it." So to have The Doctor make it clear that he wasn't trying to have that happen, and that he is NOT okay with stealing Rory's soon-to-be wife (it might have something to do with the destruction of time itself, but still) avoids me having mixed feelings about him.
It's a side of the show that's never really been explored in much depth, because there was never a good third point for that love triangle. I think Rory changes that, and that's why he's a Tivo Roster Key Addition.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Lost: What They Died For
Ahhh, good to be back on Tivo for Lost. Second to last episode ever, last Tuesday episode ever! Well, let's say last weekday episode ever, because it has moved around the schedule in its time, so it's not like you can really associate a single day with it. I know I said I liked "Across the Sea" but that could easily change if this ends up being an hour devoted to a whole new group of characters who build the statue...actually, I'd still watch that.
Play...
0:00 - Normally I balk at the "Previous on Lost" but this week felt like we'd taken another break. Guess "Across the Sea" was more jarring a departure than I thought.
0:01 - Sideways-Jack's cut makes a reappearance. Much worse than we saw on the plane. Is Desmond succeeding in making the sideways world fall apart? Is the whole world itself bleeding more noticeably?
0:02 - Totally forgot Claire was staying with Jack now. Thought it was Charlotte for a second.
0:02 - Why is Desmond pretending Christian's coffin has been found? Maybe he'll put Sideways-Locke in it, make a Hoffs-Drawlar situation.
0:04 - The bullet went straight through Kate...*ANGRY YELL*! I thought I was done being angry about Faraday's death, but why didn't his bullet go right through?!
0:07 - Uh oh, looks like Sawyer is realizing he just had his own Jughead on the sub.
0:08 - I was really happy Sideways-Ben stopped Desmond from hitting Locke again; that would've been excessive. A great move by Desmond to show Ben his island-self by pummeling him like he did on the docks after being shot. I guess it is a little insulting to have Ben Linus lecture you about hurting people.
0:10 - FINALLY Richard, Ben, and Miles are back! Great line by Miles about having lived in the Dharma village 30 years before Ben "otherwise known as last week." Uh oh that Ben didn't show any emotion over walking past Alex's grave...that's classic Ben, and classic Ben ain't good.
0:11 - Ben's line about how the monster was the one summoning him has lots of Lost depth to it. Was he referring to Smokey being the one in the cabin? Was he referring to being a piece in Smokey's long-con loophole? I'm guessing he was referring to the latter, and his frustration at finding out that he was never king of the island, he was just a pawn like everyone else.
0:12 - Bah, the noise in the kitchen was Zoe...HEY it's Widmore too! That was my reaction, word for word.
0:17 - So it WAS Widmore who rigged the explosives on the plane. Not a huge deal, but always nice to get some clarification.
0:18 - I thought for a second that Widmore's outrigger would prove to be the one the time-traveling group shot at, but Locke showed up before Zoe could get to it. Guess the ship has sailed on that mystery (ZING!). Also have to wonder what the equipment was in the boat since they can't get to it no.
0:19 - Ben's correction to the nurse about his being Dr. Linus not Mr. Linus was very island-Ben, as was his dead stare into the mirror. His humility about saving Locke was not though, and it was odd seeing him share a mystery with Locke (the fact that he saw something during the fight, and whether the idea of letting go meant anything to Locke) without knowing or lying about the answer.
0:21 - I'm starting to wonder if what makes Desmond special isn't that he is resistant to something as everyday as electromagnetism, but rather the light at the heart of the island. The thing that either destroys or is destroyed when it's reached may not affect Desmond the way it does everyone else. He's pulling the strings in the sideways world so effectively that it seems like he is tuned into more than just the island reality, he seems to have Jacob's ability to see and understand the big picture; the ability to "make the thread" himself.
0:21 - There was something simple and great about Sawyer asking Jack about the bomb and whether or not Smokey could kill them. He and Jack have never managed to see eye-to-eye, but now they've both had failures in judgment that have killed their friends and loved ones, and they seem to understand each other better as a result. Or at least they seem capable of giving each other a break.
0:23 - There was something really sad about Jacob revealing that he had until the fire went out, and then they would never see him again. At least that drives him to action; "we're very close to the end Hugo."
0:29 - WHAT THE HELL?! Did Richard really just get killed in a second? No, no way, I accepted Frank but there is NO WAY that Richard just died like that. Yes, Kate surviving a gunshot wound to the chest with no damage has a lot to do with my feelings on this.
0:30 - I don't get Ben right now. He seems so Zombie Sayid. Still, I guess it's a credit to the character that even though his nature is self-preservation and selling people out, I was still a little shocked when he told Smokey that Widmore was in his closet. Miles's decision to run is seeming pretty smart right now.
0:32 - How many more shows will ever be able to pull off an "in an alternate universe Danielle, whose daughter was kidnapped by Ben, says that he's coming over for dinner even if she has to kidnap him" joke? I'm guessing zero.
0:33 - One of the big questions of the episode, how much of Dr. Linus's reaction to Danielle saying he was the closest thing Alex ever had to a father was his sideways-self, and how much was his island-self? Sure, it might have been touching for Dr. Linus to hear that, but he's only been helping Alex through high school. Ben raised her on the island for years and years, always carrying the burden that he stole her, then her rejection of him, and then his accidental abandonment of her in his negotiation with Keamy. To get that compliment from Rousseau herself would've been a big moment for Ben, and I think Dr. Linus was tapping into that.
0:36 - Although many mysteries about Charles Widmore just got thrown into the abyss, I really liked this scene. Even though it's killing me that Ben is allowing himself to be a Smokey pawn again, I have Jacob's hope that Ben will be good in the end. His reaction to Widmore's attempted bargain with Smokey is understandable, "he doesn't get to save his daughter." Also Zoe is dead, nice knowing you...I guess? Desmond is apparently Jacob's "failsafe," just as he turned out to be in the hatch.
0:38 - What a relief for Hurley that everyone can see Jacob, and what a relief for the audience that he's finally finished watching from afar. The games are over, the experiment has become too dangerous, and now he needs to step in and explicitly tell everyone what to do. Someone is walking away from that fire as the new protector. Funny, ABC wanted a fictional version of Survivor, and they're getting a final tribal council.
0:45 - BAH! I had such high hopes for Sideways-Jack after his meeting with Bernard, but instead he and Locke hare having the same disagreements about fate and coincidence. It's funny though how we switch from that right back to Jack staring across the fire to the very man who made the destiny that he spent all that time denying.
0:49 - I hope after the scene around the fire people will be kinder to "Across the Sea." We needed that backstory to appreciate Jacobs flaws and burden when he explained why he brought the castaways to the island. It was also nice to have someone slap away the yearning to get back to their miserable off-island lives. John Locke understood it, and in Dharma times Sawyer did too, but when they want to be petulant they always go back to the idea that all was fine and the island screwed it up. Jacob bats Sawyer's lament away, challenging him on how awful and lonely their lives were before coming to the island. Also, I doubt that Jacob bringing people to the island was always a candidate search or always a bid to prove Smokey wrong, but rather a combination of the two. His main goal was to prove Smokey wrong about people, to change his mind, change his desire, and save his own life from Smokey's wrath. His secondary goal was probably to pick certain people from those groups who were candidates to replace him in case he ran out of time before Smokey's loophole. Those were the people who were given numbers, viewed from the lighthouse, and added to the wall.
0:49 - Oh! Big news is that Jack is the one that took the job, but it was always going to be him, right? Another advantage of seeing the story within "Across the Sea" is it added much more weight to Jacob's insistence that the candidates have a choice of who takes the job, rather than just picking one and making them do it like he had to.
0:56 - So apparently the heart of the island is beyond the bamboo field where Jack first woke up after the crash. I remember a video clip somewhere of Ghost Christan urging Vincent to run over and wake Jack up. Now we know that was Smokey, but I wonder if he knew the significance of the field. Also, it seems like you have to know or be told where the heart is in order to find it since Smokey hasn't in hundreds of years and Jack is adamant that there's nothing out there. Very Harry Potter.
0:59 - Yet more proof that Desmond automatically makes everything better. After suffering through so much of the sideways world, with one line ("we are going to a concert") everything comes together. I assumed the concert David was talking about was one of his piano recitals, and maybe it is, but there's a chance that it's Faraday's Driveshaft-Fusion concert hosted by Eloise at Chang's museum. I was surprised that Hurley seems to know everything now, including who Ana Lucia is. I guess we'll find out if getting everyone together at the concert is somehow going to finally tear the duct tape universe apart.
1:00 - I love the exchange between Ben and Smokey about walking places. First the answer is genius and chilling, that Smokey walks to feel his feet on the ground and remember he was human once. Second it was a way of saying "hey, do you REALLY want the last episodes of this show to be an endless series of random question and answer sessions just like that?"
1:01 - So season 2 it was blowing up the hatch, season 3 was shutting down the Looking Glass, Season 4 was blowing up the freighter, season 5 was blowing up jughead, and now it looks like season 6's finale will revolve around destroying the island entirely. Is Jacob THAT wrong though about how to stop Smokey from leaving? That his final resort weapon can be used for the same purpose and actually be a help to Smokey? Maybe that's not what Widmore was tasked with doing, and it'll be a different plan for Smokey.
Overall an excellent setup episode. They can often be hollow and boring, but this one made sure to answer some questions while moving people around, forming alliances, and bestowing godlike powers onto Jack. Now Sunday's finale can hit the ground running, but I don't think it will. I think we're going to get one last cryptic opening, possibly with Jacob appearing to Widmore and showing him the error of his ways. "The Incident" started with Jacob and Smokey on the beach and set up the conflict for the rest of the show from then on. I think the opening scene of the finale is going to set up the more direct conflict of Smokey and Ben versus Jack and the Losties.
Status: *ding ding ding* Three Thumbs Up
Play...
0:00 - Normally I balk at the "Previous on Lost" but this week felt like we'd taken another break. Guess "Across the Sea" was more jarring a departure than I thought.
0:01 - Sideways-Jack's cut makes a reappearance. Much worse than we saw on the plane. Is Desmond succeeding in making the sideways world fall apart? Is the whole world itself bleeding more noticeably?
0:02 - Totally forgot Claire was staying with Jack now. Thought it was Charlotte for a second.
0:02 - Why is Desmond pretending Christian's coffin has been found? Maybe he'll put Sideways-Locke in it, make a Hoffs-Drawlar situation.
0:04 - The bullet went straight through Kate...*ANGRY YELL*! I thought I was done being angry about Faraday's death, but why didn't his bullet go right through?!
0:07 - Uh oh, looks like Sawyer is realizing he just had his own Jughead on the sub.
0:08 - I was really happy Sideways-Ben stopped Desmond from hitting Locke again; that would've been excessive. A great move by Desmond to show Ben his island-self by pummeling him like he did on the docks after being shot. I guess it is a little insulting to have Ben Linus lecture you about hurting people.
0:10 - FINALLY Richard, Ben, and Miles are back! Great line by Miles about having lived in the Dharma village 30 years before Ben "otherwise known as last week." Uh oh that Ben didn't show any emotion over walking past Alex's grave...that's classic Ben, and classic Ben ain't good.
0:11 - Ben's line about how the monster was the one summoning him has lots of Lost depth to it. Was he referring to Smokey being the one in the cabin? Was he referring to being a piece in Smokey's long-con loophole? I'm guessing he was referring to the latter, and his frustration at finding out that he was never king of the island, he was just a pawn like everyone else.
0:12 - Bah, the noise in the kitchen was Zoe...HEY it's Widmore too! That was my reaction, word for word.
0:17 - So it WAS Widmore who rigged the explosives on the plane. Not a huge deal, but always nice to get some clarification.
0:18 - I thought for a second that Widmore's outrigger would prove to be the one the time-traveling group shot at, but Locke showed up before Zoe could get to it. Guess the ship has sailed on that mystery (ZING!). Also have to wonder what the equipment was in the boat since they can't get to it no.
0:19 - Ben's correction to the nurse about his being Dr. Linus not Mr. Linus was very island-Ben, as was his dead stare into the mirror. His humility about saving Locke was not though, and it was odd seeing him share a mystery with Locke (the fact that he saw something during the fight, and whether the idea of letting go meant anything to Locke) without knowing or lying about the answer.
0:21 - I'm starting to wonder if what makes Desmond special isn't that he is resistant to something as everyday as electromagnetism, but rather the light at the heart of the island. The thing that either destroys or is destroyed when it's reached may not affect Desmond the way it does everyone else. He's pulling the strings in the sideways world so effectively that it seems like he is tuned into more than just the island reality, he seems to have Jacob's ability to see and understand the big picture; the ability to "make the thread" himself.
0:21 - There was something simple and great about Sawyer asking Jack about the bomb and whether or not Smokey could kill them. He and Jack have never managed to see eye-to-eye, but now they've both had failures in judgment that have killed their friends and loved ones, and they seem to understand each other better as a result. Or at least they seem capable of giving each other a break.
0:23 - There was something really sad about Jacob revealing that he had until the fire went out, and then they would never see him again. At least that drives him to action; "we're very close to the end Hugo."
0:29 - WHAT THE HELL?! Did Richard really just get killed in a second? No, no way, I accepted Frank but there is NO WAY that Richard just died like that. Yes, Kate surviving a gunshot wound to the chest with no damage has a lot to do with my feelings on this.
0:30 - I don't get Ben right now. He seems so Zombie Sayid. Still, I guess it's a credit to the character that even though his nature is self-preservation and selling people out, I was still a little shocked when he told Smokey that Widmore was in his closet. Miles's decision to run is seeming pretty smart right now.
0:32 - How many more shows will ever be able to pull off an "in an alternate universe Danielle, whose daughter was kidnapped by Ben, says that he's coming over for dinner even if she has to kidnap him" joke? I'm guessing zero.
0:33 - One of the big questions of the episode, how much of Dr. Linus's reaction to Danielle saying he was the closest thing Alex ever had to a father was his sideways-self, and how much was his island-self? Sure, it might have been touching for Dr. Linus to hear that, but he's only been helping Alex through high school. Ben raised her on the island for years and years, always carrying the burden that he stole her, then her rejection of him, and then his accidental abandonment of her in his negotiation with Keamy. To get that compliment from Rousseau herself would've been a big moment for Ben, and I think Dr. Linus was tapping into that.
0:36 - Although many mysteries about Charles Widmore just got thrown into the abyss, I really liked this scene. Even though it's killing me that Ben is allowing himself to be a Smokey pawn again, I have Jacob's hope that Ben will be good in the end. His reaction to Widmore's attempted bargain with Smokey is understandable, "he doesn't get to save his daughter." Also Zoe is dead, nice knowing you...I guess? Desmond is apparently Jacob's "failsafe," just as he turned out to be in the hatch.
0:38 - What a relief for Hurley that everyone can see Jacob, and what a relief for the audience that he's finally finished watching from afar. The games are over, the experiment has become too dangerous, and now he needs to step in and explicitly tell everyone what to do. Someone is walking away from that fire as the new protector. Funny, ABC wanted a fictional version of Survivor, and they're getting a final tribal council.
0:45 - BAH! I had such high hopes for Sideways-Jack after his meeting with Bernard, but instead he and Locke hare having the same disagreements about fate and coincidence. It's funny though how we switch from that right back to Jack staring across the fire to the very man who made the destiny that he spent all that time denying.
0:49 - I hope after the scene around the fire people will be kinder to "Across the Sea." We needed that backstory to appreciate Jacobs flaws and burden when he explained why he brought the castaways to the island. It was also nice to have someone slap away the yearning to get back to their miserable off-island lives. John Locke understood it, and in Dharma times Sawyer did too, but when they want to be petulant they always go back to the idea that all was fine and the island screwed it up. Jacob bats Sawyer's lament away, challenging him on how awful and lonely their lives were before coming to the island. Also, I doubt that Jacob bringing people to the island was always a candidate search or always a bid to prove Smokey wrong, but rather a combination of the two. His main goal was to prove Smokey wrong about people, to change his mind, change his desire, and save his own life from Smokey's wrath. His secondary goal was probably to pick certain people from those groups who were candidates to replace him in case he ran out of time before Smokey's loophole. Those were the people who were given numbers, viewed from the lighthouse, and added to the wall.
0:49 - Oh! Big news is that Jack is the one that took the job, but it was always going to be him, right? Another advantage of seeing the story within "Across the Sea" is it added much more weight to Jacob's insistence that the candidates have a choice of who takes the job, rather than just picking one and making them do it like he had to.
0:56 - So apparently the heart of the island is beyond the bamboo field where Jack first woke up after the crash. I remember a video clip somewhere of Ghost Christan urging Vincent to run over and wake Jack up. Now we know that was Smokey, but I wonder if he knew the significance of the field. Also, it seems like you have to know or be told where the heart is in order to find it since Smokey hasn't in hundreds of years and Jack is adamant that there's nothing out there. Very Harry Potter.
0:59 - Yet more proof that Desmond automatically makes everything better. After suffering through so much of the sideways world, with one line ("we are going to a concert") everything comes together. I assumed the concert David was talking about was one of his piano recitals, and maybe it is, but there's a chance that it's Faraday's Driveshaft-Fusion concert hosted by Eloise at Chang's museum. I was surprised that Hurley seems to know everything now, including who Ana Lucia is. I guess we'll find out if getting everyone together at the concert is somehow going to finally tear the duct tape universe apart.
1:00 - I love the exchange between Ben and Smokey about walking places. First the answer is genius and chilling, that Smokey walks to feel his feet on the ground and remember he was human once. Second it was a way of saying "hey, do you REALLY want the last episodes of this show to be an endless series of random question and answer sessions just like that?"
1:01 - So season 2 it was blowing up the hatch, season 3 was shutting down the Looking Glass, Season 4 was blowing up the freighter, season 5 was blowing up jughead, and now it looks like season 6's finale will revolve around destroying the island entirely. Is Jacob THAT wrong though about how to stop Smokey from leaving? That his final resort weapon can be used for the same purpose and actually be a help to Smokey? Maybe that's not what Widmore was tasked with doing, and it'll be a different plan for Smokey.
Overall an excellent setup episode. They can often be hollow and boring, but this one made sure to answer some questions while moving people around, forming alliances, and bestowing godlike powers onto Jack. Now Sunday's finale can hit the ground running, but I don't think it will. I think we're going to get one last cryptic opening, possibly with Jacob appearing to Widmore and showing him the error of his ways. "The Incident" started with Jacob and Smokey on the beach and set up the conflict for the rest of the show from then on. I think the opening scene of the finale is going to set up the more direct conflict of Smokey and Ben versus Jack and the Losties.
Status: *ding ding ding* Three Thumbs Up
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Lost: Across the Sea
Gah! Third to last Lost review! Tivo is off duty today because it already deleted the episode, so consider this Hulu Roster for the rest of the review (don't worry, they get along...unlike Jacob and his brother).
Play, pause, fill buffer, play...
0:01 - I have to admit, I thought that was Rousseau the first time I watched this. Remember when we thought we'd never get to find out what happened during the Dharma Initiative because it was too long ago? Now we're in Roman times. What a show.
0:05 - Well, Smokey did say he had a crazy mother who he compared Claire to, turns out he tells the truth sometimes. So Jacob has a brother who doesn't a name because he wasn't expected. Also I got a distinctive Swan hatch vibe from "Mother" finding Claudia. I'll talk more about it later.
0:09 - Or right here. Mother denies the existence of anywhere else. The thing that kept Desmond in the hatch was the big QUARANTINE stencil across the door. Kelvin perpetuates the myth to make sure Desmond stayed, and Mother seems to be doing the same thing with Jacob and his brother. Of course the game he found came from somewhere else, but she gladly claims it was from her, securing her lie.
0:12 - Interesting that Mother spouts the same view of men that Smokey has on the beach in "The Incident." That they come, corrupt, destroy, and that it always ends the same. Also her dismissive attitude towards those who aren't on the island "for a reason" is interesting, because it seems morel like she has an idea of the "right" reason rather than any reason.
0:14 - And the reason is to protect the mysterious light that lies inside of all men, that they always want more of, and that they will destroy if they reach it. I don't think the light is supposed to be anything in particular, like all great myths they've left it general enough that we can put whatever we want in that cave. The question is, is that the real electromagnetism? The real exotic energy that Dharma was so excited about?
0:23 - Interesting commentary from Smokey about how Jacob's view of man is skewed by him looking down from above and not living amongst them. He believes Jacob has faith in men because he is naive and unexperienced.
0:24 - Smokey is so empowered by science. He's a little like man in the story of the Tower of Babel, ambivalent towards God's rules and beliefs because science has shown other options. Jacob steadfastly refuses the possibilities because he takes Mother's word as gospel. It's a complete turn of the Jack-Locke Man of Faith versus Man of Science rivalry. Jack's adherence to science and reason in a land of magic and destiny made him ignorant and foolish, while Jacob's belief in Mother's word makes him the same. Part of me wonders if Smokey escaping from the island is dangerous merely because it disproves that original unshakable rule that he couldn't. Faraday discussed the problems of paradoxes, events that cannot possibly happen because they will disprove the laws of the universe and unravel it. Perhaps Smokey escaping will be a paradox related to the rules of the island, and will cause that to unravel too.
0:27 - The frozen donkey wheel! I guess all that ice down there was the water Smokey mentions when he says "the water and the light" that the mechanism will adjust.
0:33 - Much has been made of the question of whether or not Mother is a Smoke Monster herself, and I am going with the idea that she is. How can one tired old woman take down that whole camp like that? How could she fill in that well that fast? Not just fill it in, but overfill it. Plus her knowledge of what happens when you go down the hole. She talks about the "worse than dying" part with far more gravitas than a person retelling a warning they once heard themselves. And i don't want to hear about how she killed Claudia with a rock instead of Smokey powers etc. Smokey has killed people with guns and by snapping their necks, he doesn't always put on his angry form.
0:38 - Mother's "thank you" after Smokey killed her also feeds into the idea that being the island's guardian is like being in the hatch. It's draining, and although it must be done it's still something you'd rather see someone else do.
0:39 - I guess you can't really blame Jacob for tossing Smokey down the glowing stream. Killing Mother left Jacob completely alone, with the huge burden to carry himself. Maybe he even realized how he had been duped into taking the job, that he was just a way for Mother to tie up her loose ends before finishing her secret fight with Smokey. Unable to kill Smokey, or take back his oath to Mother and the island, he took her favorite son/murderer and threw him down the hole she said never to go into. It eventually lead to his death, but I can see how it would be cathartic and rebellious in the moment.
0:46 - And so we find that Adam & Eve were Smokey and Mother all along. It might have seemed a little cocky of the show to do a flashback to season 1 to rub it in our faces, but with the amount of abuse the creators have faced for "making it up as you go along" I think they deserved a chance to stick it to the doubters. It also sheds some new light on Hurley's question about the possibility of Adam & Eve being them after traveling through time again. Instead they were destined to become Adam & Eve is a different way, by becoming like Smokey and Mother with their in-fighting, debates about the island, lies, and separations.
A very divisive episode, which I actually liked a lot more the second time around. At first I was disappointed, not as angry as others, but it didn't seem right to spend a whole episode on ancient backstory. The thing is though, what people probably thought was that this hour could've been better used to answer some mysteries, except it answered a bunch of them. If you had told people after "The Incident" that there would be an episode next season that explored the creation and development of Jacob and The Man in Black that filled in the gaps of their beach conversation they'd have been amped! I think the end of the series is just making people a little crazy.
Status: *ding ding* Two Thumbs Up
Play, pause, fill buffer, play...
0:01 - I have to admit, I thought that was Rousseau the first time I watched this. Remember when we thought we'd never get to find out what happened during the Dharma Initiative because it was too long ago? Now we're in Roman times. What a show.
0:05 - Well, Smokey did say he had a crazy mother who he compared Claire to, turns out he tells the truth sometimes. So Jacob has a brother who doesn't a name because he wasn't expected. Also I got a distinctive Swan hatch vibe from "Mother" finding Claudia. I'll talk more about it later.
0:09 - Or right here. Mother denies the existence of anywhere else. The thing that kept Desmond in the hatch was the big QUARANTINE stencil across the door. Kelvin perpetuates the myth to make sure Desmond stayed, and Mother seems to be doing the same thing with Jacob and his brother. Of course the game he found came from somewhere else, but she gladly claims it was from her, securing her lie.
0:12 - Interesting that Mother spouts the same view of men that Smokey has on the beach in "The Incident." That they come, corrupt, destroy, and that it always ends the same. Also her dismissive attitude towards those who aren't on the island "for a reason" is interesting, because it seems morel like she has an idea of the "right" reason rather than any reason.
0:14 - And the reason is to protect the mysterious light that lies inside of all men, that they always want more of, and that they will destroy if they reach it. I don't think the light is supposed to be anything in particular, like all great myths they've left it general enough that we can put whatever we want in that cave. The question is, is that the real electromagnetism? The real exotic energy that Dharma was so excited about?
0:23 - Interesting commentary from Smokey about how Jacob's view of man is skewed by him looking down from above and not living amongst them. He believes Jacob has faith in men because he is naive and unexperienced.
0:24 - Smokey is so empowered by science. He's a little like man in the story of the Tower of Babel, ambivalent towards God's rules and beliefs because science has shown other options. Jacob steadfastly refuses the possibilities because he takes Mother's word as gospel. It's a complete turn of the Jack-Locke Man of Faith versus Man of Science rivalry. Jack's adherence to science and reason in a land of magic and destiny made him ignorant and foolish, while Jacob's belief in Mother's word makes him the same. Part of me wonders if Smokey escaping from the island is dangerous merely because it disproves that original unshakable rule that he couldn't. Faraday discussed the problems of paradoxes, events that cannot possibly happen because they will disprove the laws of the universe and unravel it. Perhaps Smokey escaping will be a paradox related to the rules of the island, and will cause that to unravel too.
0:27 - The frozen donkey wheel! I guess all that ice down there was the water Smokey mentions when he says "the water and the light" that the mechanism will adjust.
0:33 - Much has been made of the question of whether or not Mother is a Smoke Monster herself, and I am going with the idea that she is. How can one tired old woman take down that whole camp like that? How could she fill in that well that fast? Not just fill it in, but overfill it. Plus her knowledge of what happens when you go down the hole. She talks about the "worse than dying" part with far more gravitas than a person retelling a warning they once heard themselves. And i don't want to hear about how she killed Claudia with a rock instead of Smokey powers etc. Smokey has killed people with guns and by snapping their necks, he doesn't always put on his angry form.
0:38 - Mother's "thank you" after Smokey killed her also feeds into the idea that being the island's guardian is like being in the hatch. It's draining, and although it must be done it's still something you'd rather see someone else do.
0:39 - I guess you can't really blame Jacob for tossing Smokey down the glowing stream. Killing Mother left Jacob completely alone, with the huge burden to carry himself. Maybe he even realized how he had been duped into taking the job, that he was just a way for Mother to tie up her loose ends before finishing her secret fight with Smokey. Unable to kill Smokey, or take back his oath to Mother and the island, he took her favorite son/murderer and threw him down the hole she said never to go into. It eventually lead to his death, but I can see how it would be cathartic and rebellious in the moment.
0:46 - And so we find that Adam & Eve were Smokey and Mother all along. It might have seemed a little cocky of the show to do a flashback to season 1 to rub it in our faces, but with the amount of abuse the creators have faced for "making it up as you go along" I think they deserved a chance to stick it to the doubters. It also sheds some new light on Hurley's question about the possibility of Adam & Eve being them after traveling through time again. Instead they were destined to become Adam & Eve is a different way, by becoming like Smokey and Mother with their in-fighting, debates about the island, lies, and separations.
A very divisive episode, which I actually liked a lot more the second time around. At first I was disappointed, not as angry as others, but it didn't seem right to spend a whole episode on ancient backstory. The thing is though, what people probably thought was that this hour could've been better used to answer some mysteries, except it answered a bunch of them. If you had told people after "The Incident" that there would be an episode next season that explored the creation and development of Jacob and The Man in Black that filled in the gaps of their beach conversation they'd have been amped! I think the end of the series is just making people a little crazy.
Status: *ding ding* Two Thumbs Up
Friday, May 7, 2010
Parks & Rec: Telethon
Pawnee local-access diabetes telethon, I love it! Let's get right into it.
Play...
0:00 - Apparently Tivo is laughing in the face of the space time continuum, but anyway! This exchange from the cold open kills me:
0:07 - Okay, someone on the writing staff HAD to have worked at a local-access telethon before. The self-important host and the guy who is just doing impressions of out-dated comedy bits are already giving me flashbacks.
0:08 - Far more painful is the subplot of Leslie trying to stay awake when she's been up for 24 hours already. Not painful as in badly done, because it's as accurate as the telethon (especially Leslie's nap obviously just making her more tired, and Ann's trepidation about waking her up), but painful because it's such a horrible situation that we've all been in.
0:09 - A classic rule of local-access: if you have been paid to play sports or act then you are suddenly Tom Brady or George Clooney. Hence, Indiana Pacers legend Detlef Schrempf.
0:14 - Of course Ron suffers from "sleep fighting." Although I think "suffers" is probably just the terminology.
0:15 - April and Andy's oblivious relationship should annoy me, but it doesn't. I think it's that it's so un-angsty. April's attempts to make him jealous are so cliched and ham-fisted, and can never seem to overcome Andy's dumb positivity. Perfect example, April trying to flirt with the guy on the phone but struggling to come up with what to say and settling on him being funny, followed by Andy happily asking "funny girl on the phone?" Usually the frustration with these relationships comes from the writers constantly using them to make us all feel bad. Eventually you want the payoff to the relationship because you've earned it by being put through the emotions of it, and you just want the bad feelings to stop. Andy and April have their moments of feeling bad, but it's mostly funny misunderstandings, and I'm in no rush to get away from funny misunderstandings (if they stay funny).
0:17 - First, I love how Mark is just watching Ron sleep-fight when Leslie finds him ("it's like watching underwater ballet"). Second, I was slightly wrong about Leslie. Sometimes she will use others for her own purposes, but her end-game is the greater good, while Michael's is always himself. Yes, she wants Mark to propose to Ann on TV to get more donations, but it's just a means to funding diabetes research, not for her own benefit. Well, other than her own sense of accomplishment.
0:17 - Why don't I love this show more? It has three of the best characters on TV: Ron Swanson, Andy, and Jerry. I'm giving Jerry extra-credit for uniqueness and difficulty. The only thing that makes him a loser is that everyone thinks he's a loser, but at the same time I have no sympathy for him because there IS something weirdly unlikable about him. He's a man with skills and not a single molecule of charisma, which is unusual to see...well, until Heroes comes back. ZING!
0:23 - Atta boy Andy! Another thing I love about Andy, the fact that he's so dumb and oblivious takes all the meanness out of his and April's relationship. It probably should've been mean that April pretty much lured the creepy guy to the studio and Andy chased him off, but Andy was doing it out of chivalry rather than jealousy. Also, that guy was seriously creepy, he got what he deserved no matter what.
0:30 - Lots of sleep jokes this episode, which is odd since it was about a telethon for diabetes. Well capped off with Leslie sleeping for 22 hours (so far) and sitting up at one point only to fall right back to sleep.
Overall a nice little episode. Mostly just a chance for lots of one-liners and new situations for the characters to end up in, but there's nothing wrong with that on a sitcom. The big plot move was Ann and Mark having issues, but are we supposed to care about them?
Status: *ding* One Thumb Up
Play...
0:00 - Apparently Tivo is laughing in the face of the space time continuum, but anyway! This exchange from the cold open kills me:
Ron: Look, I love a good dog as much as the next guy, but this building doesn't allow animals. Andy, take him outside.0:03 - It has been said, and I agree, that Parks & Rec didn't work until they stopped trying to have Leslie be Michael. I think the scene of her suggesting ways for Mark to propose to Ann was a good example of their differences. They still have the same child-like, fairy-tale-informed sense of the world (suggesting riding up on horseback to Anne in a balloon, and pointing to skywriting with the proposal spelled out), but there's a selflessness to Leslie's fantasies that Michael doesn't even show in his everyday life. Michael can be happy for others but will always try to make it about him in the end, Leslie keeps herself out of it.
Andy: What? And SHOOT him?!
Ron: No, just keep him outside.
0:07 - Okay, someone on the writing staff HAD to have worked at a local-access telethon before. The self-important host and the guy who is just doing impressions of out-dated comedy bits are already giving me flashbacks.
0:08 - Far more painful is the subplot of Leslie trying to stay awake when she's been up for 24 hours already. Not painful as in badly done, because it's as accurate as the telethon (especially Leslie's nap obviously just making her more tired, and Ann's trepidation about waking her up), but painful because it's such a horrible situation that we've all been in.
0:09 - A classic rule of local-access: if you have been paid to play sports or act then you are suddenly Tom Brady or George Clooney. Hence, Indiana Pacers legend Detlef Schrempf.
0:14 - Of course Ron suffers from "sleep fighting." Although I think "suffers" is probably just the terminology.
0:15 - April and Andy's oblivious relationship should annoy me, but it doesn't. I think it's that it's so un-angsty. April's attempts to make him jealous are so cliched and ham-fisted, and can never seem to overcome Andy's dumb positivity. Perfect example, April trying to flirt with the guy on the phone but struggling to come up with what to say and settling on him being funny, followed by Andy happily asking "funny girl on the phone?" Usually the frustration with these relationships comes from the writers constantly using them to make us all feel bad. Eventually you want the payoff to the relationship because you've earned it by being put through the emotions of it, and you just want the bad feelings to stop. Andy and April have their moments of feeling bad, but it's mostly funny misunderstandings, and I'm in no rush to get away from funny misunderstandings (if they stay funny).
0:17 - First, I love how Mark is just watching Ron sleep-fight when Leslie finds him ("it's like watching underwater ballet"). Second, I was slightly wrong about Leslie. Sometimes she will use others for her own purposes, but her end-game is the greater good, while Michael's is always himself. Yes, she wants Mark to propose to Ann on TV to get more donations, but it's just a means to funding diabetes research, not for her own benefit. Well, other than her own sense of accomplishment.
0:17 - Why don't I love this show more? It has three of the best characters on TV: Ron Swanson, Andy, and Jerry. I'm giving Jerry extra-credit for uniqueness and difficulty. The only thing that makes him a loser is that everyone thinks he's a loser, but at the same time I have no sympathy for him because there IS something weirdly unlikable about him. He's a man with skills and not a single molecule of charisma, which is unusual to see...well, until Heroes comes back. ZING!
0:23 - Atta boy Andy! Another thing I love about Andy, the fact that he's so dumb and oblivious takes all the meanness out of his and April's relationship. It probably should've been mean that April pretty much lured the creepy guy to the studio and Andy chased him off, but Andy was doing it out of chivalry rather than jealousy. Also, that guy was seriously creepy, he got what he deserved no matter what.
0:30 - Lots of sleep jokes this episode, which is odd since it was about a telethon for diabetes. Well capped off with Leslie sleeping for 22 hours (so far) and sitting up at one point only to fall right back to sleep.
Overall a nice little episode. Mostly just a chance for lots of one-liners and new situations for the characters to end up in, but there's nothing wrong with that on a sitcom. The big plot move was Ann and Mark having issues, but are we supposed to care about them?
Status: *ding* One Thumb Up
Community: Modern Warfare
My first Community review! I'm not finally getting to it just because tonight was the best episode yet, it just happened to work out that way. What an amazing half hour of television. Someone on Twitter made a comment about Iron Man 2 having a tough act to follow tomorrow, they really aren't kidding. I'm honestly worried. Let's relive this thing.
Play...
0:02 - A few things about this opening scene. "Assassins" holds a special place in my heart because it was the first social I ever did as an RA and I am very jealous that they could use paintballs. I agree wholehearted with the group and Jeff and Britta's sexual tension being old. It was old in the pilot, and as I said in The Hurry Up for Community, it's become clear that their possible sexual relationship was set up to fail from the start. They are the anti-Jim and Pam. I picked Jim and Pam because that was a TV relationship of missed opportunities that worked, but there have been plenty that haven't. The number is so high because almost every show seems to feel the need to include them. This is also why Community had to include one, because how can it comment on the full range of sitcom conventions without having one of the biggest ones? One of the things I love about this show is how cathartic it is. They don't mention pop culture conventions as a cutsey meta-joke (hi Scrubs!), but rather as a way for the show to challenge itself to get past them. Will-they-won't-they relationships are almost always a crutch, Dan Harmon and the writers have grabbed that crutch away from their show and have challenged it to walk anyway. That's what makes it so strong...wow, this show makes me write a lot
0:04 - I CAN'T EVEN TELL YOU HOW GENIUS THIS WAS! Yes the all-caps were necessary. It takes a lot of confidence for a show to do an effective time-shift. Often times it will look like a cop-out, and the show kind of hopes everyone will just forget that they did it (perfect example will be if Heroes does it, if Heroes comes back). A weak show would have felt the need to show the start of the paintball game, this is a strong show. This is a comedy that's strong enough to have a character wake up from a nap in an nightmarish hellscape of paintball. We know something crazy happened immediately, and the fallen student in the hall informs us that it's still happening. The dean proposed a prize so great that society has crumbled over it. Not all of society obviously, but one of Community's strengths is that a campus is a world within the world, and it always takes full advantage of that. Also well done to Danny Pudi for that sick wall jump to take out Leonard (even though Leonard is awesome).
0:05 - I figured the prize had to be administration related, but I never would've guessed priority registration. As a person who once ran across campus in PJs and a bathrobe when he almost slept through pre-registration, I can say this makes perfect sense to me. Also great that the knowledge of the prize is almost like a virus, and once Jeff catches it his whole demeanor changes. I hope people don't think this episode is over the top, because this is how these things happen. Look up the Stanford prison experiment, games get out of hand FAST.
0:05 - Funny how Community and Modern Family ended up in a random rivalry (they're not even on the same night, but I have to admit loving Community made me adverse to watching Modern Family. Only one could be the best new comedy!) but the show Community is always poking is Glee:
0:11 - LOVE that Annie is wearing shin guards. Troy fills the double-role of the guy who is about to double-cross everyone getting killed AND the black guy dying first. Also loved Shirley's lament of "Troy made God mad!" when he was shot.
0:12 - "Write some original songs!" Another shot at Glee since it was directed at the glee club. Jeff has a point, most musicals have at least some original music involved.
0:15 - Even with Tivo, even with a pause button, I still can't keep up with the awesomeness of this episode. The survivors huddled around a trash can fire swapping stories about what they're fighting for. The Warriors-style theme gang ambush. Shirley with her guns held out in opposite directions reciting the Lord's prayer as she cuts people down. Abed's zombie movie-style "he almost got me" turning into a "he got me." Plus Jeff's relief that the stain on his shirt was just blood from an actual wound and not paint, which would obviously be FAR worse. Again, this is how games go sometimes. It's not ridiculous at all, I swear!
0:16 - AMAZING scene with Senor Chang and the dean. Chang does seem like the kind of guy who would play paintball regularly and bring his own equipment. Had a very Michael Bay feel to how it was shot, reminded me of The Rock anyway.
0:17 - I think the best word I can use for Community is "devolve." Things on the show devolve all the time. It's part of the "here's the sitcom convention, now watch us break it" theme. The "wounded solider fantasy" scene managed to make Jeff and Britta's kiss both explained and shocking at the same time. Explained because it's what you expect from that situation, shocking because they were both mocking how that was what should be expected. Weird that I care more about this relationship now that its pointlessness has been mentioned than I ever did when it was expected to be important.
0:23 - It needs to be said that Senor Chang is the best character on television right now. This scene isn't even over yet!
0:24 - Okay, now the scene is over. EVERYTHING about this was amazing. Chang in the khaki suit, shooting into the air, his double golden pistols, the soundtrack, the bomb strapped to him. I can't get over it.
0:26 - And things are back to normal. It was a little jarring returning to the normal tone of the show, but that says two things. First that the show has a normal, identifiable, and unique tone, and second that the paintball tone started out well and was built up well because, despite being a huge departure, it didn't seem jarring until it was over. Of course Abed notices something is different when Jeff and Britta walk in. He can't put his finger on what it is, but he will!
0:30 - Voicemails are hard, they just are. That's one of the things I love about Jeff's character. He's very strong, he's very stubborn, he's very proud, but he gets sucked into silly things a lot. It makes sense though, because it's the silly things we all get sucked into.
So there it was, the best episode of Community ever. Yes, that might not seem very impressive since the show hasn't finished it's first season yet, but that's one of the things that makes this episode so impressive. It's still their first season, they don't need to change up the formula, they don't need to make things fresh, but yet they do. Getting back to the world-within-a-world thing for a second, I realized during this episode that Community is a little bit like Scrubs (which I invoked earlier).
Sacred Heart was a world within a world, except it was always tethered to the real world via the patients who would sit in bed and look incredulous or via Doctor Cox being over everything all the time. Community lets every character play in the sandbox it has created, but still manages to keep them from becoming zany caricatures. The world of Community really is a community, just like a real college campus. It's nice to have a show that doesn't have to rely on the crutch of keeping a character distant in order to make them seem cool. Another show would've ruined this episode by having some character stay above the fray and make faces about everyone else's behavior, and make snide comments about how stupid the whole thing was. This is a show that gets not just it, but everything. It gets that TV is stupid, it gets that TV is fun, and it gets that life gets crazy and stupid, and that's when it's fun.
Basically that's it, it's a show that doesn't fear enjoying itself. Glee tries to be like that, but there's a big difference. Community doesn't mind pointing that out, and I side with Community on this one. Sorry.
Status: Save until I delete
Now, here are all the action movie conventions I could notice:
Play...
0:02 - A few things about this opening scene. "Assassins" holds a special place in my heart because it was the first social I ever did as an RA and I am very jealous that they could use paintballs. I agree wholehearted with the group and Jeff and Britta's sexual tension being old. It was old in the pilot, and as I said in The Hurry Up for Community, it's become clear that their possible sexual relationship was set up to fail from the start. They are the anti-Jim and Pam. I picked Jim and Pam because that was a TV relationship of missed opportunities that worked, but there have been plenty that haven't. The number is so high because almost every show seems to feel the need to include them. This is also why Community had to include one, because how can it comment on the full range of sitcom conventions without having one of the biggest ones? One of the things I love about this show is how cathartic it is. They don't mention pop culture conventions as a cutsey meta-joke (hi Scrubs!), but rather as a way for the show to challenge itself to get past them. Will-they-won't-they relationships are almost always a crutch, Dan Harmon and the writers have grabbed that crutch away from their show and have challenged it to walk anyway. That's what makes it so strong...wow, this show makes me write a lot
0:04 - I CAN'T EVEN TELL YOU HOW GENIUS THIS WAS! Yes the all-caps were necessary. It takes a lot of confidence for a show to do an effective time-shift. Often times it will look like a cop-out, and the show kind of hopes everyone will just forget that they did it (perfect example will be if Heroes does it, if Heroes comes back). A weak show would have felt the need to show the start of the paintball game, this is a strong show. This is a comedy that's strong enough to have a character wake up from a nap in an nightmarish hellscape of paintball. We know something crazy happened immediately, and the fallen student in the hall informs us that it's still happening. The dean proposed a prize so great that society has crumbled over it. Not all of society obviously, but one of Community's strengths is that a campus is a world within the world, and it always takes full advantage of that. Also well done to Danny Pudi for that sick wall jump to take out Leonard (even though Leonard is awesome).
0:05 - I figured the prize had to be administration related, but I never would've guessed priority registration. As a person who once ran across campus in PJs and a bathrobe when he almost slept through pre-registration, I can say this makes perfect sense to me. Also great that the knowledge of the prize is almost like a virus, and once Jeff catches it his whole demeanor changes. I hope people don't think this episode is over the top, because this is how these things happen. Look up the Stanford prison experiment, games get out of hand FAST.
0:05 - Funny how Community and Modern Family ended up in a random rivalry (they're not even on the same night, but I have to admit loving Community made me adverse to watching Modern Family. Only one could be the best new comedy!) but the show Community is always poking is Glee:
Troy: They say the glee club is luring stragglers into sniper traps with cheery renditions of hit songs0:07 - I keep wanting to mention all the action movie shoutouts in this episode, but I guess I'll make a list for the end. It'll take forever otherwise.
Jeff: Really? And people fall for that?
0:11 - LOVE that Annie is wearing shin guards. Troy fills the double-role of the guy who is about to double-cross everyone getting killed AND the black guy dying first. Also loved Shirley's lament of "Troy made God mad!" when he was shot.
0:12 - "Write some original songs!" Another shot at Glee since it was directed at the glee club. Jeff has a point, most musicals have at least some original music involved.
0:15 - Even with Tivo, even with a pause button, I still can't keep up with the awesomeness of this episode. The survivors huddled around a trash can fire swapping stories about what they're fighting for. The Warriors-style theme gang ambush. Shirley with her guns held out in opposite directions reciting the Lord's prayer as she cuts people down. Abed's zombie movie-style "he almost got me" turning into a "he got me." Plus Jeff's relief that the stain on his shirt was just blood from an actual wound and not paint, which would obviously be FAR worse. Again, this is how games go sometimes. It's not ridiculous at all, I swear!
0:16 - AMAZING scene with Senor Chang and the dean. Chang does seem like the kind of guy who would play paintball regularly and bring his own equipment. Had a very Michael Bay feel to how it was shot, reminded me of The Rock anyway.
0:17 - I think the best word I can use for Community is "devolve." Things on the show devolve all the time. It's part of the "here's the sitcom convention, now watch us break it" theme. The "wounded solider fantasy" scene managed to make Jeff and Britta's kiss both explained and shocking at the same time. Explained because it's what you expect from that situation, shocking because they were both mocking how that was what should be expected. Weird that I care more about this relationship now that its pointlessness has been mentioned than I ever did when it was expected to be important.
0:23 - It needs to be said that Senor Chang is the best character on television right now. This scene isn't even over yet!
0:24 - Okay, now the scene is over. EVERYTHING about this was amazing. Chang in the khaki suit, shooting into the air, his double golden pistols, the soundtrack, the bomb strapped to him. I can't get over it.
0:26 - And things are back to normal. It was a little jarring returning to the normal tone of the show, but that says two things. First that the show has a normal, identifiable, and unique tone, and second that the paintball tone started out well and was built up well because, despite being a huge departure, it didn't seem jarring until it was over. Of course Abed notices something is different when Jeff and Britta walk in. He can't put his finger on what it is, but he will!
0:30 - Voicemails are hard, they just are. That's one of the things I love about Jeff's character. He's very strong, he's very stubborn, he's very proud, but he gets sucked into silly things a lot. It makes sense though, because it's the silly things we all get sucked into.
So there it was, the best episode of Community ever. Yes, that might not seem very impressive since the show hasn't finished it's first season yet, but that's one of the things that makes this episode so impressive. It's still their first season, they don't need to change up the formula, they don't need to make things fresh, but yet they do. Getting back to the world-within-a-world thing for a second, I realized during this episode that Community is a little bit like Scrubs (which I invoked earlier).
Sacred Heart was a world within a world, except it was always tethered to the real world via the patients who would sit in bed and look incredulous or via Doctor Cox being over everything all the time. Community lets every character play in the sandbox it has created, but still manages to keep them from becoming zany caricatures. The world of Community really is a community, just like a real college campus. It's nice to have a show that doesn't have to rely on the crutch of keeping a character distant in order to make them seem cool. Another show would've ruined this episode by having some character stay above the fray and make faces about everyone else's behavior, and make snide comments about how stupid the whole thing was. This is a show that gets not just it, but everything. It gets that TV is stupid, it gets that TV is fun, and it gets that life gets crazy and stupid, and that's when it's fun.
Basically that's it, it's a show that doesn't fear enjoying itself. Glee tries to be like that, but there's a big difference. Community doesn't mind pointing that out, and I side with Community on this one. Sorry.
Status: Save until I delete
Now, here are all the action movie conventions I could notice:
- 28 Days Later style waking up in an apocalyptic wasteland
- Jeff finds a dying fighter who has a handle plot synopsis waiting
- Leonard has a laser sight on his gun
- Abed arrives impressively to save Jeff from Leonard in slow motion with a wall jump right out of The Matrix
- Terminator 2-style Abed running at Jeff with a gun, Jeff drops to the ground and finds that Abed was saving him all along
- "Come with me if you don't want paint on your clothes"
- Troy on a computer (just realized there always seems to be a character in action movies introduced while using a computer) also his Mad Max-style shoulder-pads (and cup outside his pants taking it to the comedic extreme)
- Oh! And Abed's goggles, and Troy has some too
- "Look who I found wandering _______"
- "You son of a bitch!" *hug* "I thought you were dead!"
- Jeff randomly stripping down to a tank-top to show off the guns
- Ambush of the ambush on the chess club
- Abed, Troy, and Jeff holding their guns sideways
- Sneaking up on looters (Starburns and Pierce)
- Supply-run ambush (although this was a "pee break" which was also a way of pointing out that no one ever seems to need to pee in action movies)
- The paint trickling down the wall and Abed slowly realizing that evidence points to this being a deathtrap
- Ambush and stand-off (with random and repeated changing of targets by everyone involved)
- Black guy dies first (Troy)
- Pinned down behind cover
- Snipers in the trees
- Huddled around a burning barrel and having a serious conversation
- "Come out and play-AYYY"
- The disco theme gang (which I'm counting as another Warriors shoutout)
- Shirley reciting the lord's prayer as she takes out adversaries with her guns held out in opposite directions and then shockingly being killed from behind
- Jeff being out of ammo and Britta saving him
- Abed saying someone almost got him, and then realizing they had. Also losing his legs.
- "I'm going home" during Shirley's death scene
- Chang as the game-changer assassin being introduced to the game
- Lens flare and sunrise for the "wounded soldier fantasy"
- "wounded soldier fantasy" leading to sex
- After-sex double cross
- Jeff taking the clip out of Britta's gun
- EVERYTHING about Senor Chang (it was just faster)
- Britta sacrificing herself for Jeff, the pre-sacrifice kiss, Britta stealing her clip back during the kiss
- More slow motion
- Chang's bomb
- Jeff diving away from the explosion in slow motion
- Jeff confronting the dean Rambo-style
- Just realized Chang's gun sounds like a minigun
- Jeff's hidden gun strapped to his back
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Lost: The Candidate
Whaaaaat just happened? I'm not sure I can even sum it up. Let's just start this thing.
Play...
0:02 - I guess Jack and Locke are always meant to be rivals, no matter what. Well, not direct rivals, but men with conflicting views of the world. Jack thinks he can help Locke walk again, Locke says no thanks, does not compute with Jack who thinks everyone wants to be fixed and he's the one to do it.
0:03 - How much better would the world be if Widmore had shot Kate like he threatened to? I can't have been the only person yelling at my TV for Sawyer to hang onto his gun and Widmore to do as he said. Grrr.
0:09 - Bernard! I completely forgot he was a dentist, but he didn't completely forget Jack (who he claimed was flirting with Rose on the flight). Doesn't seem like sideways Jack is quite so defensive about destiny as he didn't fly into one of his trademark "it's just a coincidence!" tirades when he started to realize how many people seemed to be on that flight.
0:11 - Important point made by Smokey, if he wanted all the castaways dead why does he keep saving and forgiving them? Seemed to convince Jack a little bit, but he still knows he's not supposed to leave. Good to see him sticking with a conviction that's supported by the facts on the island, crazy as those tend to be.
0:12 - An interesting mystery involving Kate? Impossible!...but WHY was her name crossed off in the cave? I'll just guess that Jacob realized how INCREDIBLY annoying she is and figured Smokey being stuck with her for an eternity would only make him more vindictive.
0:14 - "What are you doing here?!" Seriously Kate? You all think you're about to be murdered by the Smoke Monster because you're stuck in a cage, Jack shows up and opens it, and you stand in the doorway blocking everyone's escape so you can look stupid and ask that? Isn't Kate supposed to run, isn't that her thing that she does? RUN KATE YOU IDIOT!
0:21 - As much as we all hate Anthony Cooper for being a complete dirtbag there was something really sad about seeing him catatonic in that rest home.
0:22 - Two things. #1 Why the hell did Smokey need a watch? #2 that wooden staircase to the plane was very Gilligan's Island. If only it had been a wooden staircar we'd have an Arrested Development reference instead!
0:26 - Nice to see things moving along quickly. Earlier in the season we would've had a whole episode about the trip from the cages to the plane, then the twist before the credits would be the bomb Widmore planted, then Smokey's line about leaving on the sub would be in the preview for next week. Instead we got all that in the span of a few minutes. Again, glad to see Jack refusing to change his mind about staying, and glad to see Sawyer is at least determined to leave Smokey behind.
0:30 - Sideways Locke unconsciously muttering about pushing the button and his "I wish you had believed me" suicide note to Jack? Yes please!
0:35 - This was one of my favorite Lost moments of all time and if you told me two seasons ago that it would involve Jack I wouldn't have believed you:
0:35 - THEN! IN THE VERY SAME MINUTE! Kate gets shot! SOMEONE SHOT HER!!! I'm sure someone will be offended that I leaped up and cheered, but whatever. I was on cloud 9 after this minute of television.
0:37 - I knew there was something up with Smokey fiddling with the backpacks, and the moment it became clear. The C4 is in Jack's backpack! Smokey IS the bad guy, I was right! It's been obvious the whole time, but I'm still happy to be right.
0:38 - So THAT'S why he took the watch. A timer on the bomb. Very clever.
0:45 - Welcome to the button pushing scene part 2. Jack urging someone else not to do something to save themselves, because the truth is nothing will happen. Old Jack, down in the hatch, made that decision about the pointlessness of the button out of defiance and frustration. New Jack on the sub makes that determination about the bomb based on logic and evidence, but it's logic based on the rules of the island. Smokey can't kill them, just like Blond Ghost Kid said, so that bomb can't go off just like the dynamite Jack lit couldn't kill him and Alpert. Sawyer wasn't there, he doesn't trust Jack, and he pulls out the leads, the timer stops, everyone is saved, Jack was wrong again...
0:45 - ...until the timer starts going faster. Congrats Sawyer, Smokey can't kill you, but you can. Well, he shouldn't be able to because he's a candidate, but I guess since Smokey made the bomb and Sawyer merely changed it then it could kill them.
0:45 - Goodbye Sayid...I'm always amazed by what can happen in one minute of Lost and how little can happen in entire episodes. I guess Desmond's question of what he would tell Nadia had a major effect on Sayid. He told Jack where to find Desmond, and that he must be important since Smokey wanted him dead and seemingly couldn't do it himself. Then he ran as far as he could with the bomb before it exploded in his hands, saving everyone else from instant death. Before he went he said something very interesting when Jack asked why Sayid was telling him everything; "because it's going to be you Jack." Jack will replace Jacob? How could Sayid know that? Might have something to do with him being dead.
0:46 - Okay, so Frank got hit with a steel door, but did that kill him? Many people seem to think so, but I'm not believing it until someone explicitly says on the show that he's dead. Maybe I'm in denial, but I need to be right now.
0:52 - I was never invested in Sun and Jin to the degree that others seemed to be. I didn't really care about them having their reunion last week, and it wasn't on the list of things that HAD to happen or I'd be pissed this season. Still, their death got to me. Watching it again, when Jin sends Jack away with the air you know it's over for them. If Jack can't get out without a canister then Jin doesn't stand a chance since he still has to free Sun. It's interesting that their deaths are set up by their time apart, and almost justify the amount of time the show held them apart. If they had always been together it might have seemed a bit convenient that Jin stayed so the show could get rid of both of them in one go. The fact that they had been separated for so long meant you could understand when Jin refused to leave.
0:59 - Great sideways scene between Jack and Locke. Sideways plane crash put Locke in a wheelchair, island plane crash got Locke out of one. Being used by a father he hated ruined island Locke, injuring a father he loved ruined sideways Locke. Seems like he's a tragic figure no matter what.
1:00 - There's something so crushing about Hurley crying over Jin and Sun. In that moment it felt like he was crying over everyone and everything. The guy who is the positive light of this show finally breaking down and wailing was brutal. Normally Jack walking away so no one could see him cry too would have annoyed me, but since he's really been getting it lately I'll let him have this one.
It seems like we've waited all season for things to start to pick up, and they officially have. We now know that Smokey is officially evil, he is officially trying to kill everyone (just like Ghost Michael said), and they really are supposed to stay on the island. I still don't think it lets Widmore off the hook. If Smokey can't be harmed by gunfire then would shelling the camp really have taken him out? Anyway, let's take a quick status report just so I can get my head straight.
Status: *ding ding ding* 3 thumbs up
Play...
0:02 - I guess Jack and Locke are always meant to be rivals, no matter what. Well, not direct rivals, but men with conflicting views of the world. Jack thinks he can help Locke walk again, Locke says no thanks, does not compute with Jack who thinks everyone wants to be fixed and he's the one to do it.
0:03 - How much better would the world be if Widmore had shot Kate like he threatened to? I can't have been the only person yelling at my TV for Sawyer to hang onto his gun and Widmore to do as he said. Grrr.
0:09 - Bernard! I completely forgot he was a dentist, but he didn't completely forget Jack (who he claimed was flirting with Rose on the flight). Doesn't seem like sideways Jack is quite so defensive about destiny as he didn't fly into one of his trademark "it's just a coincidence!" tirades when he started to realize how many people seemed to be on that flight.
0:11 - Important point made by Smokey, if he wanted all the castaways dead why does he keep saving and forgiving them? Seemed to convince Jack a little bit, but he still knows he's not supposed to leave. Good to see him sticking with a conviction that's supported by the facts on the island, crazy as those tend to be.
0:12 - An interesting mystery involving Kate? Impossible!...but WHY was her name crossed off in the cave? I'll just guess that Jacob realized how INCREDIBLY annoying she is and figured Smokey being stuck with her for an eternity would only make him more vindictive.
0:14 - "What are you doing here?!" Seriously Kate? You all think you're about to be murdered by the Smoke Monster because you're stuck in a cage, Jack shows up and opens it, and you stand in the doorway blocking everyone's escape so you can look stupid and ask that? Isn't Kate supposed to run, isn't that her thing that she does? RUN KATE YOU IDIOT!
0:21 - As much as we all hate Anthony Cooper for being a complete dirtbag there was something really sad about seeing him catatonic in that rest home.
0:22 - Two things. #1 Why the hell did Smokey need a watch? #2 that wooden staircase to the plane was very Gilligan's Island. If only it had been a wooden staircar we'd have an Arrested Development reference instead!
0:26 - Nice to see things moving along quickly. Earlier in the season we would've had a whole episode about the trip from the cages to the plane, then the twist before the credits would be the bomb Widmore planted, then Smokey's line about leaving on the sub would be in the preview for next week. Instead we got all that in the span of a few minutes. Again, glad to see Jack refusing to change his mind about staying, and glad to see Sawyer is at least determined to leave Smokey behind.
0:30 - Sideways Locke unconsciously muttering about pushing the button and his "I wish you had believed me" suicide note to Jack? Yes please!
0:35 - This was one of my favorite Lost moments of all time and if you told me two seasons ago that it would involve Jack I wouldn't have believed you:
Smokey: You sure you won't reconsider Jack?Amazing to see Locke get some redemption from beyond the grave with all the garbage Smokey has been spouting about him with his own voice. Jack is no longer begrudgingly believing Locke's claims, he's proudly sticking up for him.
Jack: Yeah, I'm sure.
Smokey: Whoever told you you needed to stay had no idea what they were talking about!
Jack: John Locke told me I needed to stay. *SHOVE* *SPLASH*
0:35 - THEN! IN THE VERY SAME MINUTE! Kate gets shot! SOMEONE SHOT HER!!! I'm sure someone will be offended that I leaped up and cheered, but whatever. I was on cloud 9 after this minute of television.
0:37 - I knew there was something up with Smokey fiddling with the backpacks, and the moment it became clear. The C4 is in Jack's backpack! Smokey IS the bad guy, I was right! It's been obvious the whole time, but I'm still happy to be right.
0:38 - So THAT'S why he took the watch. A timer on the bomb. Very clever.
0:45 - Welcome to the button pushing scene part 2. Jack urging someone else not to do something to save themselves, because the truth is nothing will happen. Old Jack, down in the hatch, made that decision about the pointlessness of the button out of defiance and frustration. New Jack on the sub makes that determination about the bomb based on logic and evidence, but it's logic based on the rules of the island. Smokey can't kill them, just like Blond Ghost Kid said, so that bomb can't go off just like the dynamite Jack lit couldn't kill him and Alpert. Sawyer wasn't there, he doesn't trust Jack, and he pulls out the leads, the timer stops, everyone is saved, Jack was wrong again...
0:45 - ...until the timer starts going faster. Congrats Sawyer, Smokey can't kill you, but you can. Well, he shouldn't be able to because he's a candidate, but I guess since Smokey made the bomb and Sawyer merely changed it then it could kill them.
0:45 - Goodbye Sayid...I'm always amazed by what can happen in one minute of Lost and how little can happen in entire episodes. I guess Desmond's question of what he would tell Nadia had a major effect on Sayid. He told Jack where to find Desmond, and that he must be important since Smokey wanted him dead and seemingly couldn't do it himself. Then he ran as far as he could with the bomb before it exploded in his hands, saving everyone else from instant death. Before he went he said something very interesting when Jack asked why Sayid was telling him everything; "because it's going to be you Jack." Jack will replace Jacob? How could Sayid know that? Might have something to do with him being dead.
0:46 - Okay, so Frank got hit with a steel door, but did that kill him? Many people seem to think so, but I'm not believing it until someone explicitly says on the show that he's dead. Maybe I'm in denial, but I need to be right now.
0:52 - I was never invested in Sun and Jin to the degree that others seemed to be. I didn't really care about them having their reunion last week, and it wasn't on the list of things that HAD to happen or I'd be pissed this season. Still, their death got to me. Watching it again, when Jin sends Jack away with the air you know it's over for them. If Jack can't get out without a canister then Jin doesn't stand a chance since he still has to free Sun. It's interesting that their deaths are set up by their time apart, and almost justify the amount of time the show held them apart. If they had always been together it might have seemed a bit convenient that Jin stayed so the show could get rid of both of them in one go. The fact that they had been separated for so long meant you could understand when Jin refused to leave.
0:59 - Great sideways scene between Jack and Locke. Sideways plane crash put Locke in a wheelchair, island plane crash got Locke out of one. Being used by a father he hated ruined island Locke, injuring a father he loved ruined sideways Locke. Seems like he's a tragic figure no matter what.
1:00 - There's something so crushing about Hurley crying over Jin and Sun. In that moment it felt like he was crying over everyone and everything. The guy who is the positive light of this show finally breaking down and wailing was brutal. Normally Jack walking away so no one could see him cry too would have annoyed me, but since he's really been getting it lately I'll let him have this one.
It seems like we've waited all season for things to start to pick up, and they officially have. We now know that Smokey is officially evil, he is officially trying to kill everyone (just like Ghost Michael said), and they really are supposed to stay on the island. I still don't think it lets Widmore off the hook. If Smokey can't be harmed by gunfire then would shelling the camp really have taken him out? Anyway, let's take a quick status report just so I can get my head straight.
- Jack, Kate, and Hurley are on a beach (I'm guessing on the main island)
- Smokey and Claire are at the docks on Hydra island
- Widmore and Zoe are in the Dharma station on Hydra island
- Desmond is in the well
- Richard, Ben, and Miles are somewhere (hopefully we'll find out next week because I miss these guys)
- Ghost Michael, Blond Ghost kid, and Ghost Jacob are all on the island somewhere
- RIP Sun, Jin, Sayid, and Frank (okay, he wasn't on the beach with everyone else, which means neither Hurley or Jack saved him. I'm accepting that he's dead too)
Status: *ding ding ding* 3 thumbs up
Monday, May 3, 2010
The Hurry Up: 30 Rock
I was about to write about how little seems to be going on in 30 Rock this season. Apparently I'm not smart. Here's a few things that are ongoing:
- NBC has been bought by Kabletown
- Don Geiss is dead
- Liz is desperate for a man (more than usual)
- Cerie is getting married and Liz is a bridesmaid
- Floyd is getting married and Liz is doing a reading
- Grizz is getting married and Liz is the "woman of honor"
- All those weddings are on the same day!
- Jack is being forced to choose between Avery and Nancy
- Tracy is having a daughter and trying to become a better husband
- TGS has added a new cast member, who gets periodically forgotten
- Best Episode So Far: "Anna Howard Shaw Day" (but there were a few contenders)
- Worst Episode So Far: "Verna" (but it wasn't terrible)
- MVP Candidate: Alec Baldwin as Jack (obvious, but I can't think of someone who beats him)
- Rookie of the Year Candidate: Cheyenne Jackson as Danny (I almost went with Elizabeth Banks as Avery, but I'm sure if Danny was featured more often he'd have run away with this)
- Favorite Scene So Far: Tracy's "rule of threes" call to Betty White, Liz drugged up at the dentist in "Anna Howard Shaw Day," or the town hall meeting about Kabletown acquiring NBC.
- Remaining Episodes: 3
- Finale: May 20th
Sunday, May 2, 2010
The Hurry Up: The Office
The other day I read about the possibility of Steve Carell leaving The Office after next season. My reaction? Good! (I hate myself)
WHY did I say good?! I love(d) this show! Wait, no, get rid of that d. I love this show, just as I love The Simpsons, but it's a different show now from the one I fell in love with. As big a fan I am of The Simpsons, I don't watch it anymore. There are times when I'm bored and I'll check out the new episode on Hulu and that usually scares me off for a while. It's just not the show I watched everyday (thank you re-runs!) for years. The Office seems to be heading down that road, and I say heading because there have been episodes and moments this season that were classics, but there are also those times when the writers seem to be yearning to write a different show because they're a little bored with this one.
If the show has run out of steam for Carell by the end of next season (which really wouldn't surprise me. How many more ideas could they have past another season?) then I think the show will have run out of steam completely and it's probably best to let it go with dignity. I don't want to see another Scrubs, if it's time then don't fight it. The US version has lasted almost ten times longer than Gervais and Merchant's original, I don't think they'll have shot under their potential after another season. Of course, I might just feel this way because Season 2 was the finest assembly of episodes in the history of anything, so I don't believe the best could possibly be yet to come.
Anyway! The task at hand. This season has been a bit uneven partially because they were nice enough to give us the season finale during the 4th episode (let's face it, "Niagara" was the season finale, but waiting for it would've ruined the season. Too predictable.) and it has been tough to come back from that. The Sabre stuff is working better than I expected, but there is still a lot to be missed with no more Wallace, no more corporate, no more New York. I love Andy, I like Erin, but Erin and Andy has quickly become annoying with a needless injection of drama. I realize they lost the Jim & Pam courtship, but that drama worked because their relationship was defined by that drama from their first introduction. Andy and Erin are at their best when they're obliviously happy, dragging both of them down with Angela is stupid. I'm glad Erin was back to her chipper self this week, but if "Secretary's Day" was just a way to break them up then the whole storyline feels like a waste. I want an episode based around something like Andy and Erin's constant use of pet names causing Michael to try and come up with pet names for everyone to feel less alone. Erin's "hair room" was funny, but like I said when I named her a key addition, there are enough depressed people on this show now, without Erin and Andy there's no sunshine left.
WHY did I say good?! I love(d) this show! Wait, no, get rid of that d. I love this show, just as I love The Simpsons, but it's a different show now from the one I fell in love with. As big a fan I am of The Simpsons, I don't watch it anymore. There are times when I'm bored and I'll check out the new episode on Hulu and that usually scares me off for a while. It's just not the show I watched everyday (thank you re-runs!) for years. The Office seems to be heading down that road, and I say heading because there have been episodes and moments this season that were classics, but there are also those times when the writers seem to be yearning to write a different show because they're a little bored with this one.
If the show has run out of steam for Carell by the end of next season (which really wouldn't surprise me. How many more ideas could they have past another season?) then I think the show will have run out of steam completely and it's probably best to let it go with dignity. I don't want to see another Scrubs, if it's time then don't fight it. The US version has lasted almost ten times longer than Gervais and Merchant's original, I don't think they'll have shot under their potential after another season. Of course, I might just feel this way because Season 2 was the finest assembly of episodes in the history of anything, so I don't believe the best could possibly be yet to come.
Anyway! The task at hand. This season has been a bit uneven partially because they were nice enough to give us the season finale during the 4th episode (let's face it, "Niagara" was the season finale, but waiting for it would've ruined the season. Too predictable.) and it has been tough to come back from that. The Sabre stuff is working better than I expected, but there is still a lot to be missed with no more Wallace, no more corporate, no more New York. I love Andy, I like Erin, but Erin and Andy has quickly become annoying with a needless injection of drama. I realize they lost the Jim & Pam courtship, but that drama worked because their relationship was defined by that drama from their first introduction. Andy and Erin are at their best when they're obliviously happy, dragging both of them down with Angela is stupid. I'm glad Erin was back to her chipper self this week, but if "Secretary's Day" was just a way to break them up then the whole storyline feels like a waste. I want an episode based around something like Andy and Erin's constant use of pet names causing Michael to try and come up with pet names for everyone to feel less alone. Erin's "hair room" was funny, but like I said when I named her a key addition, there are enough depressed people on this show now, without Erin and Andy there's no sunshine left.
- Best Episode So Far: "Niagara" (If they top it I may never recover)
- Worst Episode So Far: "Mafia" (Good idea to stuff it in after "Niagara")
- MVP Candidate: Ed Helms as Andy Bernard
- Rookie of the Year Candidate: Zach Woods as Gabe Lewis (I point you to his reaction to saying "almost too black" in "Body Language")
- Favorite Scene So Far: Come on! It has to be the dance down the aisle in "Niagara"!
- Episodes Left: 3
- Finale: May 20th
The Hurry Up: Community
I love this show. It took four episodes for it to happen, but that's really not a bad thing. WAY better than loving the first two episodes of FlashForward and then slowly realizing we weren't meant for each other. In fact, I might go out on a limb and say that Community is my favorite comedy right now. Apologies to 30 Rock and The Office, but it's the one I find myself re-watching the most these days.
Funny enough, the reason I love it so much is for its uniqueness, but I had trouble warming to it at first because it seemed so formulaic. In the pilot Jeff forms the study group in an attempt to hook up with Britta, and I groaned. "Alternative" Britta will spurn "Cool" Jeff, "Innocent" Annie will pine for "Hunky" Troy, "Awkward" Abed will be weird, "Old" Pierce will be out of touch, and "Nice" Shirley will be the heart. Gag!
The fact that I want to punch myself right now should tell you how ashamed I am of all those assumptions. It's now clear that the pilot suckered us into building those expectations so the show could go ahead and smash them into tiny pieces. The creator, Dan Harmon, is a veteran of Channel 101 where an ability to deconstruct pop culture convention is the norm rather than a unique edge. So it's no wonder the show is so good at it, because you have to be VERY good to stand out from that crowd.
It has a "little show that could" feel to it, but I like that its hook is deeper than usual for a show living on originality. Do you like to see yourself as super quirky and artsy? You'll love Pushing Daises! Nothing to do on Fridays and don't know you can see boobs anytime on the internet? Go watch Ghost Whisperer! Have a terribly over-analytical brain that ravenously devours every morsel of pop culture and processes it in such a way that every time you try to have a simple conversation about it you end up sounding like a senior thesis at Emerson? Then you need to watch Community so your brain can be happy for 30 minutes a week and will have something to chew on the rest of the time.
Funny enough, the reason I love it so much is for its uniqueness, but I had trouble warming to it at first because it seemed so formulaic. In the pilot Jeff forms the study group in an attempt to hook up with Britta, and I groaned. "Alternative" Britta will spurn "Cool" Jeff, "Innocent" Annie will pine for "Hunky" Troy, "Awkward" Abed will be weird, "Old" Pierce will be out of touch, and "Nice" Shirley will be the heart. Gag!
The fact that I want to punch myself right now should tell you how ashamed I am of all those assumptions. It's now clear that the pilot suckered us into building those expectations so the show could go ahead and smash them into tiny pieces. The creator, Dan Harmon, is a veteran of Channel 101 where an ability to deconstruct pop culture convention is the norm rather than a unique edge. So it's no wonder the show is so good at it, because you have to be VERY good to stand out from that crowd.
It has a "little show that could" feel to it, but I like that its hook is deeper than usual for a show living on originality. Do you like to see yourself as super quirky and artsy? You'll love Pushing Daises! Nothing to do on Fridays and don't know you can see boobs anytime on the internet? Go watch Ghost Whisperer! Have a terribly over-analytical brain that ravenously devours every morsel of pop culture and processes it in such a way that every time you try to have a simple conversation about it you end up sounding like a senior thesis at Emerson? Then you need to watch Community so your brain can be happy for 30 minutes a week and will have something to chew on the rest of the time.
- Best Episode So Far: "Introduction to Statistics" (Not that I'd wait until Halloween to watch it again, but I can't wait for Halloween so I can watch it again)
- Worst Episode So Far: "Pilot" (although I feel like I should watch it again)
- MVP Candidate: Danny Pudi as Abed (close race with Ken Jeong as Senor Chang)
- Favorite Scene So Far: Troy and Abed singing "Somewhere Out There" (I was really bummed out that week, watching that scene repeatedly got me through it)
- Remaining Episodes: 3
- Finale: May 20th
The Hurry Up: Lost
Alright, I REALLY need to get back into doing this blog, but I've slacked so much that I need to do quick recaps of my opinions of how the seasons are going just to get my head together. This is the first "hurry up" for Lost.
What a terrible time to slack on recaps for Lost! I can never do it again after this season. Feels like I have a final exam coming up in a class that I've done no work for. Well that's not true, I've had opinions, I've been reading Doc Jensen, I've been pouring over episodes. I just wish I had a record of all my thoughts so far. There are a lot of things going on right now, so I'll use bulletpoints where I can.
The sideways world is obviously the big question for the season. Just as the nature of the button, the freighter, and the incident were for previous seasons, this season (and thus the series) seems to hinge on the nature of the sideways world. There is also the nature of Jacob and Smokey, but I'll get to that later because I think it's tied up in the nature of the sideways world anyway. It might seem like a random thing to introduce in the final season, but it's something that has been set up logically by the whole series.
The fact that we constantly jumped off island via the flashbacks, spending large amounts of time in the pre-island lives of these characters, means we were always led to wonder about how those stories would've continued if the plane had landed. When it became clear that you can't have the island without the crash we get the sideways world where there is no crash, no island, and everything is a little different (or a lot in some cases) as a result.
Okay, defense of Lost's writers done, here are my theories:
What a terrible time to slack on recaps for Lost! I can never do it again after this season. Feels like I have a final exam coming up in a class that I've done no work for. Well that's not true, I've had opinions, I've been reading Doc Jensen, I've been pouring over episodes. I just wish I had a record of all my thoughts so far. There are a lot of things going on right now, so I'll use bulletpoints where I can.
The sideways world is obviously the big question for the season. Just as the nature of the button, the freighter, and the incident were for previous seasons, this season (and thus the series) seems to hinge on the nature of the sideways world. There is also the nature of Jacob and Smokey, but I'll get to that later because I think it's tied up in the nature of the sideways world anyway. It might seem like a random thing to introduce in the final season, but it's something that has been set up logically by the whole series.
The fact that we constantly jumped off island via the flashbacks, spending large amounts of time in the pre-island lives of these characters, means we were always led to wonder about how those stories would've continued if the plane had landed. When it became clear that you can't have the island without the crash we get the sideways world where there is no crash, no island, and everything is a little different (or a lot in some cases) as a result.
Okay, defense of Lost's writers done, here are my theories:
- I had thought the sideways world was constructed by Smokey, but as I'm writing this I'm going to take a chance and drop that idea. I think it's the result of Jughead destroying The Swan, just as we all assumed when it was first introduced.
- The sideways world was created by a rejection of destiny (Faraday devised the Jughead plan after letting go of "whatever happened, happened. You can't change anything.") and I think it shows. Characters with a destiny always seem to get the rawest deals in literature and myths, but the also get the greatest rewards and glory. Sure, Desmond has an easier life in the sideways world, but that ease is his only reward. He has nothing rivaling his destiny with Penny that he suffered so much for.
- Final note on the sideways world; I think it's flimsy. The island world bends like a reed, because with the outcomes being known it is easy to course correct. In "Flashes Before Your Eyes" (which I think is a very important episode for figuring out what's going on, but it seems to be forgotten) Eloise Hawking introduces us to the universe's ability to course correct as Desmond struggles to escape his island destiny. She never seems worried, only frustrated that Desmond is wasting time by fighting destiny, and in the end he realizes the futility and gives up. Contrast that to Desmond and Eloise meeting in the sideways world. When he inquires about Penny on the guest list she seems terrified, like there is no mechanism protecting the sideways universe like there is in the island one. Desmond was helpless in one, but seems to be the destroyer of worlds in the other.
- I'm frustrated by everyone assuming a huge connection between Smokey and Locke just because Smokey looks like Locke now. He hasn't even possessed him, Locke is buried on the beach, it's just an illusion that makes Smokey look like Locke. I had to say it, because Doc Jensen has been frustrating me with his theories about Desmond tried to force Locke's consciousness back to the island world by hitting him with a car. Back to his dead body in the grave? Why not kill Alex, Smokey looked like her once too!
- Having Smokey look like Locke allowed for a big twist in "The Incident" and it allowed Terry O'Quinn to stay on the show even after they killed his character. That's why Smokey looks like Locke. Non-meta reason? It's tragic to hear Smokey berate Locke in Locke's own voice, calling him a sucker. Locke was the truest believer, he saw Smokey as a bright light rather than a pillar of smoke. He was brave, and selfless, and correct in the end! Yet he gets strangled by Ben, impersonated by Smokey, unceremoniously dumped out of a crate by Jacob's bodyguards as a lump of rotting evidence, and ends up eulogized by his killer.
- After the emphasis on "you let him talk to you," I have to think that Smokey and Jacob are representative of something like despair and hope. To truly give yourself to one means you can't listen to the other. It might seem like Smokey is the hope, since he's offering people impossible things all over the place, but what greater despair is there than obsession with something you can never have. I look to "Ab Aeterno" as the most important episode for understanding Jacob and Smokey. Despair is the easy one, and it takes very little prodding for Richard to truly believe he is in hell. Smokey tells him he has to kill the devil (Jacob) to escape and be with his wife again. Impossible things that he will believe out of despair (a path Claire and Sayid continued on). Jacob beats him up, almost drowns him, and yells at him because hope is difficult. Hope requires some acceptance and moving forward. Jacob reveals that he can't bring Richard's wife back, hoping won't make that happen, but he is able to him give a purpose again, a "job." Dogen explains that Sayid and Claire have an infection that is irreversible when it reaches the heart. One that makes them numb and cruel and erratic. That sounds a lot like despair to me.
- Best Episode So Far: "Ab Aeterno"/"Happily Ever After"/the last 10 minutes of "Sundown" (couldn't decide)
- Worst Episode So Far: "What Kate Does" (not even close, total blowout. Why isn't Kate dead yet?)
- MVP Candidate: Terry O'Quinn as Sideways John Locke and Smokey
- Rookie of the Year Candidate: Hiroyuki Sanada as Dogen
- Favorite Scene So Far: Smokey attacking the temple
- Remaining Episodes: 4
- Finale: May 23rd
Underrated Tivo Advantage: Old Promos Can Be Hilarious
Tivo lets you skip the commercials. You never have to watch them ever again!
That's the well-known advantage of Tivo and other DVRs. Unheralded is the fact that you can go back and watch an episode of The Office from last year and see an ad proclaiming My Own Worst Enemy to be a "hit show." In case you need final, definitive proof that those promos for new shows are bullshit let me repeat that again: they said My Own Worst Enemy was a hit show.
I still had the last season of The Office saved until I delete on Tivo and I've been clearing it off to make space for new s.u.I.d. season passes for Community and Parks & Rec. Here are some of the shows I've seen promos for:
I actually went back and checked, and out of the 16 shows NBC debuted or promoted during The Office's '08-'09 run, one remains. Parks & Rec is the only one that survived. I know people rag on NBC all the time, but it didn't really hit me how bad things were until I saw all those promos for legendarily embarrassing failures. And I'm not even mentioning the promos counting down Jay Leno's final Tonight Show episodes!
Pretty incredible...so thank you Tivo for also being a time machine. An perfect record of the past as it was, not as we remember it. Also, I'm not mentioning Kings because I really liked Kings. Don't talk to me about Kings!
That's the well-known advantage of Tivo and other DVRs. Unheralded is the fact that you can go back and watch an episode of The Office from last year and see an ad proclaiming My Own Worst Enemy to be a "hit show." In case you need final, definitive proof that those promos for new shows are bullshit let me repeat that again: they said My Own Worst Enemy was a hit show.
I still had the last season of The Office saved until I delete on Tivo and I've been clearing it off to make space for new s.u.I.d. season passes for Community and Parks & Rec. Here are some of the shows I've seen promos for:
- Superstars of Dance
- Momma's Boys
- Kath & Kim
- Crusoe
- I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!
- The Philanthropist
- The Listener
- Rosie Live
I actually went back and checked, and out of the 16 shows NBC debuted or promoted during The Office's '08-'09 run, one remains. Parks & Rec is the only one that survived. I know people rag on NBC all the time, but it didn't really hit me how bad things were until I saw all those promos for legendarily embarrassing failures. And I'm not even mentioning the promos counting down Jay Leno's final Tonight Show episodes!
Pretty incredible...so thank you Tivo for also being a time machine. An perfect record of the past as it was, not as we remember it. Also, I'm not mentioning Kings because I really liked Kings. Don't talk to me about Kings!
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