Niles Crane (David Hyde-Pierce) after taking care of a sack of flour as if it were an infant:
Last night, I actually had a dream my flour sack was abducted and the kidnapper started sending me muffins in the mail.
Archive for the "Television" Category
On August 18th Julius Carry passed away from pancreatic cancer. Apparently he wasn’t famous enough to get mention anywhere that I read even though he was the co-star of the geek favorite ‘The Adventures of Brisco County’ and the 80’s action flick ‘The Last Dragon.’ He was famous enough in our house to cause sadness at the news of his death.
So long, Mr. Carry. RIP.
Back at the end of season three when we first saw that coffin and then heard the hate in Kate’s voice when Jack asked if she was going to the funeral, I knew it could contain only one of two men: Benjamin Linus or John Locke.
By the end of the episode last night I was convinced it was going to be Ben. I was so happy to see that I was wrong.
Don’t get me wrong - I like Locke very much. He’s been one of the best three characters from the very beginning but I have this unhealthy fascination with Ben. If I were on the island I would be very tempted to join the Others - and the fact that Nestor “I am Batmanuel” Carbonell is one of them would have nothing (okay, maybe a little) to do with it.
I was honestly surprised that the island actually, literally, physically moved. This is television and things like that don’t happen on shows that aren’t out and out scifi or fantasy. Lost has always been both, but not so blatant like Buffy or Farscape, etc. When the island went ‘poof’ leaving nothing but a huge ripple in the ocean (nice touch) I laughed. But I didn’t laugh in the way I’m sure a lot of the audience laughed. You know, the audience who has no imagination and have been waiting for a logical explanation for all of this. No, I laughed in happy surprise.
No logic here. Ben went way down below the island to a very cold place - wearing the coat he was wearing when he turned up in the desert - turned an ancient wheel and after a noise as annoying as Jim Carey’s screech it went bye bye. Right on! Find THAT Charles Widmore, you man who keeps showing up on all of my favorite shows.
Speaking of Charles Widmore - who is Sun looking for? At first I thought it was Ben - but then Jack said Sun blamed him for it all. But if it were Jack, she could find him easy. Go to L.A., find the stoned out doctor and take him out. Nah - I think it’s Ben she’s after. If John visited her like he visited everyone else, he probably told her about Ben killing the evil mercenary that lead to the freighter’s explosion.
And what the hell was Locke doing off the island? Did Jacob evict him, too? I think Jacob should give up with outsiders and just give the leadership job to Nestor
This season finale did cause one reaction I don’t think I’ve ever had with this show - crying not because of a disaster, or sad ending but for a very happy ending. When Desmond and Penny saw each other I turned into a total girl and cried for them. There aren’t too many of those kind of moments on Lost and I was glad that it went to the third of my three favorite characters (Desmond).Funny, two of my favorite characters on the show didn’t show up until season 2.
I’m not so sure that Jin and Michael are really dead. I mean, yeah, that boat blew up but time and space is awful funky around that island. Maybe it just blew them into the future or the past or…the desert?
And what about Charlotte? Was she born on the island? If so, is she the key to ‘fixing’ the pregnant women problem?
Finally, Malcolm David Kelley can come back without us asking ‘why does he look so much older?’ I wonder if they chose to have a kid in the first season just so they could do that ‘three years later’ scene with Hurley and show us how much time has passed.
And what’s with Sayid ‘rescuing’ Hurley from the asylum? And why was there a guy watching the place? Was he waiting for someone to show up - John, Ben? Is that why Sayid killed him, or was he one of the men who was responsible for killing his wife? Perhaps it was both.
Hurley playing chess with Mr. Eko. Creepy. But I’m surprised. Mr. Eko always seemed like a good strategist. I would have thought he would win.
Ben says that all of the survivors have to return to the island, including any corpses. Does that mean Desmond has to go back, too, or is this just an Oceanic Flight 115 reunion?
And what about Kate’s dream? Is it just a self-serving dream - which would not be surprising at all, since this is Kate we’re talking about here - or does Claire really not want Aaron on the island? That doesn’t make sense to me because the psychic way back in season 1 said that Claire had to raise Aaron. And if I were Claire, Kate Austin would be the last person I would want raising my child. But then, Ben did say bad things were happening on the island - assuming he’s not lying…again.
Quickie Questions:
- What did Sawyer ask Kate to do?
- Where did the island go?
- Did everyone/everything make the jump or were others tossed out like Ben?
- Did Miles stay because he knew the boat was going to go boom or is there something else going on with him?
- Where is Sayid taking Hurley?
- Is Jack’s dad dead or not?
- When does the second half of season four start?
What the better half does
in Comics, Personal, Television Tags: Femme Noir, Kolchak, Perils on Planet X, The Husband31
Mar
My husband is a writer, and a pretty good one. (Don’t listen to what he says about himself - he’s one of those ‘his own worst critic’ types.)
Last week his first comic to be released this year came out: Kolchak - Night Stalker of the Living Dead - and it’s gotten a nice review over HERE. He’s a big fan of the character and although I’ve only seen a few episodes of the original series it’s clear that he really gets Carl Kolchak.
Later this year (June) a three-issue mini-series of his comic Femme Noir is coming out, and it’s already getting good press. He’s been working on Femme Noir for years - it was a webcomic on his first web site back in 1999 and now it’s made the jump to print with all new stories. If you like old films of the noir and/or horror persuasion or like old pulp novels, this one would be right up your alley.
And later this year or early next year another three-issue mini-series will be released of another title, Perils on Planet X. It’s science fiction/fantasy along the lines of ‘John Carter of Mars,’ ‘Flash Gordon‘ and ‘Buck Rogers (the comic and old serials, not the 70’s tv show.)
As you can tell his writing subjects are as eclectic as his tastes and in my opinion he does a wonderful job on all of them.
Over here, you can see a list of other comics he’s done in the past. (This listing is not complete yet).
Waiting for Supah Skeet
in Actors & Actresses, Television Tags: Apocalypse Fiction, Jericho, Skeet Ulrich12
Feb
We didn’t watch Jericho when it originally aired on TV. We don’t have cable and we were trying to limit our TV watching. Besides, it was on network television and chances were that it sucked anyway.
The husband has a DVD column and will sometimes get review copies. He was sent Season 1 of Jericho and we decided to give it a try. We had heard about the ‘nutty’ campaign of die-hard fans to get a second season so that piqued our interest. Also, I hadn’t known until Chris got the set that it was post-apocalyptic fiction - one of my favorite genres. Besides, Gerald McRaney was in it and a show can’t be all bad if it has Rick Simon in it, right?
So, we watched the first episode…and finished the season in about three days. Damn, but it was good. If I had been watching when it originally aired, I would have sent in some nuts, too. Halfway through the series Skeet Ulrich had been dubbed ‘Super Skeet’ (pronounced Supah Skeet) and we can’t wait to see how he’s going to save the world single-handed.
Tonight, the second season is finally starting. Rumor has it that the episodes they’ve finished will give a sense of completion but will be open-ended enough to continue on with a third season, just in case.
Hopefully ratings will be good and we’ll get a third season, too.
Just to prove how much of a nerd I am…
in Film, History, Literature, Television Tags: 1776, David McCoullough, I'm a nerd, John Adams17
Jan
We don’t have cable - haven’t since we moved from Florida. Except for Turner Classic Movies, we haven’t really missed it much, either. I mean, sure, we sometimes wish we had The SciFi channel to watch “Battlestar Galactica” and BBC America to watch “Doctor Who” and “Torchwood,” but if we really want to see something we’ll get it on DVD. And believe me, it’s so much better watching TV without the commercials - as long as everyone’s getting their fair share from the sale of DVDs (writers, directors, etc. - hint, hint you greedy producers.)
Anyways, I just found myself wishing we had cable so that we could get HBO. Why, you ask, would I want that? Is there some hip, new, edgy series about to premiere?
Nope - a mini-series about John Adams.
A few years ago I saw 1776 (yes, the musical - which is a damn fine movie, no matter what you think, Doug). It got me interested in John Adams. In all of my history classes (and I minored in college) I don’t remember hearing about John Adams - just the usual suspects - Jefferson, Washington, etc. etc. From what I gathered from 1776, Adams seemed to be pretty damn important in that whole Independence thingy.
So, I went out and got David McCoullough’s book (pulitzer prize winning, even) and I loved it. Adams became one of my heroes, despite the repugnant Sedition Act. As an added consequence, Thomas Jefferson was roughly pushed off his pedestal and while I still admire Benjamin Franklin, I don’t think he was as wonderful as he’s usually portrayed.
But then again, I’ve always been rather prudish about how one conducts themselves in public and especially in their work. I’m one of ‘those’ that gets annoyed when someone brings their kid/spouse/boyfriend/girlfriend/etc. to work.
But I digress. No doubt this mini-series will make it to DVD and I’ll be at least renting it. I’m glad they didn’t cast some stud to play Adams as Hollywood usually does. Paul Giametti is a fine actor and I’m sure he’ll do great in the part. Let’s just hope Laura Linney, who is playing Abigail Adams, is just as good.
…because if I could I would embed this.
Fan of Monty Python AND Star Trek? Check out this YouTube Video:
Bruce Campbell Alert!
in Actors & Actresses, Television Tags: Alien Apocalypse, Bruce Campbell, Rene O'Connor, Xena26
Mar
For all your Shemp Fans out there, Bruce’s new movie ‘Alien Apocalypse’ is premiering tonight on the Sci-Fi channel at 9:00 EST (8:00 CST).
For all of you who don’t know what a Shemp Fan is, or don’t know who Bruce Campbell is, tune in! Even if the movie is crap, Bruce is always great fun to watch.
Oh, and I can’t forget to mention that Bruce’s co-star is Rene O’Connor, of Xena: Warrior Princess fame. Rene is another performer who is overlooked way too often.
And now, for your viewing pleasure:
There aren’t many men out there that can make this outfit look good.
Today’s new knowledge acquirement: Twin Peaks is just as infectious as it ever was.
Since the husband and I don’t have cable, we’ve been watching our DVD and VHS collection. I got the Twin Peaks season one DVD set for Christmas two years ago and we had never sat down to watch the series straight through.
Last week, we decided to finally watch it. I have the second season on pre-recorded VHS tapes so after we finished the gorgeous DVDs, we’ve moved on to the crappy, fuzzy, hissy VHS tapes. (Oh please, Lions Gate, please release season 2 on DVD.)
I find that the series is just as addictive, mesmerizing and just plain fun as it ever was. I’m getting a lot more of the film noir ‘in’ jokes (thanks to my film noir-buff husband) and I’m re-evaluating my opinions on several of the performances.
When the show was originally on ABC, I didn’t like Joan Chen (Josie Packard). I thought she was terrible. This time around, I’m finding that she did a great job. James Marshall (James Hurley), while very annoying in the beginning, has grown on me. It’s too bad that he’s given the most annoying plot line a quarter of the way through season two.
One opinion that has not changed is that of Kyle MacLachlan’s performance as Agent Dale Cooper. His portrayal of his character’s joy at discovering rural life is never hokey and never feels false.
Here’s to hoping that Lions Gate does release that second season and includes the ‘previously on’ and ‘next time on’ clips, which were just as bizarre as the show itself.
In closing, I’d like to leave you with my favorite quote from the show, spoken by the ever-yelling Agent Gordon Cole, played by David Lynch:
“THE WORLD LINKAGE REMINDS ME OF SAUSAGE! NEVER CARED MUCH FOR THE LINKS, PREFERRED THE PATTIES! BUT BREAKFAST IS A REAL GOOD IDEA!”
Maybe because I have a lot of time on my hands right now, I was thinking about the ol’ cliche ‘you learn something new everyday.’ I realized that it’s pretty much true unless you sleep all day. And even then you might learn that you enjoy dreaming about alien abduction.
Today, I learned that the theme song from The Golden Girls was not written for the show. No, not a big revelation, but it was something new. It was recorded in 1978 by Andrew Gold.
So there, now you’ve learned something new today.
-Brandi
