Seriously. If we have masked vigilantes running around Cincinnati, I need to get downtown more often.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
My God, Please Let This Happen
The Bengals might appear on HBO's Hard Knocks.
Now, I've never seen Hard Knocks, but I would totally watch it if the Bengals were featured (I think I've made it clear that I only watch reality shows when they involve Cincinnatians). This HAS to happen. Actually, no. This only has to happen if Mike Brown is prominently featured throughout the show (and since he's the only in charge, I'm guessing that would be inevitable). Brown is crazy reclusive to the point where he almost never gives television interviews, so I have a hard time seeing him getting on board with this. But seeing just how dysfunctional and ass-backward Mike Brown runs the team would be so worth it. Everyone who follows the NFL would want to see the Bengals on this show. EVERYONE. Please, make this happen.
Now, I've never seen Hard Knocks, but I would totally watch it if the Bengals were featured (I think I've made it clear that I only watch reality shows when they involve Cincinnatians). This HAS to happen. Actually, no. This only has to happen if Mike Brown is prominently featured throughout the show (and since he's the only in charge, I'm guessing that would be inevitable). Brown is crazy reclusive to the point where he almost never gives television interviews, so I have a hard time seeing him getting on board with this. But seeing just how dysfunctional and ass-backward Mike Brown runs the team would be so worth it. Everyone who follows the NFL would want to see the Bengals on this show. EVERYONE. Please, make this happen.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Weekly TV Thoughts: 04/19 - 04/25
Light week this week, with Lost taking a break and Kings being relegated to the summer to burn off its remaining episodes after being relegated to Saturday nights first. I think its clear that Kings won't be on NBC's schedule next season.
-Chuck, Monday: If you didn't know any better, you might have thought that this episode was setting up the end of the show. Chuck rescued his father, destroyed a critical Fulcrum base, and got the Intersect out of his head. Where does the show go from here? Thankfully, there's one more episode this season to set up Season 3 (which NEEDS to happen; be sure to head to Subway on Monday to show your support for Chuck), which has been billed as a "game changer." And while I think that phrase is waaaaaaaay overused in television, with the Chuck no longer being the Intersect, I think it actually applies in this case. I think Chuck trying to be a spy just to be a spy and not because he has the Intersect in his head is a great direction for the show and I can't wait to see how it turns out (because there WILL be a Season 3).
-Heroes, Monday: First off, totally random Clint Howard sighting! As to the episode, I didn't know what the think about Sylar's (literal) identity crisis; I guess it was his turn for the therapy session since he wasn't part of the group session that took place last week at Coyote Sands. Parkman, Hiro, and Ando also worked through their issued as well. Now everyone's cleared the air with themselves and everyone else so we can move onto the big seasion finale. I wonder how they're going to take out Danko. He tried (and failed) to kill Sylar at the end of the episode; do they just have Sylar do it and be done with it? Or will someone like Nathan or Bennett get a chance to do it? Going back to Parkman for a moment- why can't he stop Sylar? As he showed this week, he should NEVER be captured because he can make around him think he's not there. So why not use that ability to trap Sylar? It seems to be the best option to me; no one's immune to Parkman's power, not even Sylar, so trapping him in his own mind appears to be much easier than planting a sharp object into the base of his spine. But perhaps that just too easy.
-24, Monday: How many times have moles on this show gone with self-inflicted gun shot wound to try and cover up the fact that they're a spy? That's already twice in this season alone; at least Tony was a man about it and shot himself somewhere halfway believeable, as opposed to Sean, who wussed out and went with the arm. I glad they they don't appear to drag out the secret of Tony's betrayal any further than the next episode; I'm guessing Jack would've shot Tony right there at the end of the episode had he not collapsed the ground in convulsions. I'm also glad that Jonas appeared to fail in his suicide attempt; I want more Jon Voight. And next week, they teased the meeting of Jack and Jonas, which should be great. I guess it was inevitable that Jonas and Tony were working for the same people, though I doubt either one knew it about it. Jonas was supposed to devolop the bioweapon for his employer, and not for his own personal use, so Tony was tasked to stop Jonas's rogue mission and get the bioweapon to its intended location. Again, I hope the main, big bad guy behind everything that's happened this season isn't someone ridiculous, like a character we've already seen who's been a traiter this whole time (like Ethan or someone). Just make it somone we haven't seen before and keep the crazy out-of-left-field twist in your pocket for now.
-Dollhouse, Friday: This was a nice stand alone episode; not much here that advanced the overall story arc of the show, and that was okay. The A story was okay, about someone using the Dollhouse to bring themself back to life, temporaily, to solve their own murder (because clearly if they died, it was murder). That's an awful creepy way to use the Dollhouse, but it kind of makes sense. If you have enough money to enlist the services of the Dollhouse, you clearly don't have any moral reservations about the work they do, so why wouldn't you get request that you get yourself scanned every now and again so that you could live forever? Its like backup up your computer files, only with your personality and memories. Creepy, yes, that you'd be in a different body every so often, but you live forever (or, at least as long as the Dollhouse existed). Next week's episode looks like the one where everything for Agent Ballard comes to a head, as the promos showed him sneaking in to the Dollhouse. Plus, Alan Tudyk (aka- Firefly's Wash) guest stars, which can only be a good thing. This show's really gotten better week to week after a very slow start; I just hope the start wasn't too slow that it doesn't get a second season.
-NFL Draft, Saturday: Ugh. I wrote about the Bengal's first pick here. But I have to say, I think they're draft had gotten a lot better since that point (its still going on, so we'll see if they can finish strong). I'll more reaction to the Bengals's draft tomorrow or Tuesday.
This week should be good. Both Chuck and Heroes have their season finales, and Lost returns with "The Variable", the show's 100th episode.
-Chuck, Monday: If you didn't know any better, you might have thought that this episode was setting up the end of the show. Chuck rescued his father, destroyed a critical Fulcrum base, and got the Intersect out of his head. Where does the show go from here? Thankfully, there's one more episode this season to set up Season 3 (which NEEDS to happen; be sure to head to Subway on Monday to show your support for Chuck), which has been billed as a "game changer." And while I think that phrase is waaaaaaaay overused in television, with the Chuck no longer being the Intersect, I think it actually applies in this case. I think Chuck trying to be a spy just to be a spy and not because he has the Intersect in his head is a great direction for the show and I can't wait to see how it turns out (because there WILL be a Season 3).
-Heroes, Monday: First off, totally random Clint Howard sighting! As to the episode, I didn't know what the think about Sylar's (literal) identity crisis; I guess it was his turn for the therapy session since he wasn't part of the group session that took place last week at Coyote Sands. Parkman, Hiro, and Ando also worked through their issued as well. Now everyone's cleared the air with themselves and everyone else so we can move onto the big seasion finale. I wonder how they're going to take out Danko. He tried (and failed) to kill Sylar at the end of the episode; do they just have Sylar do it and be done with it? Or will someone like Nathan or Bennett get a chance to do it? Going back to Parkman for a moment- why can't he stop Sylar? As he showed this week, he should NEVER be captured because he can make around him think he's not there. So why not use that ability to trap Sylar? It seems to be the best option to me; no one's immune to Parkman's power, not even Sylar, so trapping him in his own mind appears to be much easier than planting a sharp object into the base of his spine. But perhaps that just too easy.
-24, Monday: How many times have moles on this show gone with self-inflicted gun shot wound to try and cover up the fact that they're a spy? That's already twice in this season alone; at least Tony was a man about it and shot himself somewhere halfway believeable, as opposed to Sean, who wussed out and went with the arm. I glad they they don't appear to drag out the secret of Tony's betrayal any further than the next episode; I'm guessing Jack would've shot Tony right there at the end of the episode had he not collapsed the ground in convulsions. I'm also glad that Jonas appeared to fail in his suicide attempt; I want more Jon Voight. And next week, they teased the meeting of Jack and Jonas, which should be great. I guess it was inevitable that Jonas and Tony were working for the same people, though I doubt either one knew it about it. Jonas was supposed to devolop the bioweapon for his employer, and not for his own personal use, so Tony was tasked to stop Jonas's rogue mission and get the bioweapon to its intended location. Again, I hope the main, big bad guy behind everything that's happened this season isn't someone ridiculous, like a character we've already seen who's been a traiter this whole time (like Ethan or someone). Just make it somone we haven't seen before and keep the crazy out-of-left-field twist in your pocket for now.
-Dollhouse, Friday: This was a nice stand alone episode; not much here that advanced the overall story arc of the show, and that was okay. The A story was okay, about someone using the Dollhouse to bring themself back to life, temporaily, to solve their own murder (because clearly if they died, it was murder). That's an awful creepy way to use the Dollhouse, but it kind of makes sense. If you have enough money to enlist the services of the Dollhouse, you clearly don't have any moral reservations about the work they do, so why wouldn't you get request that you get yourself scanned every now and again so that you could live forever? Its like backup up your computer files, only with your personality and memories. Creepy, yes, that you'd be in a different body every so often, but you live forever (or, at least as long as the Dollhouse existed). Next week's episode looks like the one where everything for Agent Ballard comes to a head, as the promos showed him sneaking in to the Dollhouse. Plus, Alan Tudyk (aka- Firefly's Wash) guest stars, which can only be a good thing. This show's really gotten better week to week after a very slow start; I just hope the start wasn't too slow that it doesn't get a second season.
-NFL Draft, Saturday: Ugh. I wrote about the Bengal's first pick here. But I have to say, I think they're draft had gotten a lot better since that point (its still going on, so we'll see if they can finish strong). I'll more reaction to the Bengals's draft tomorrow or Tuesday.
This week should be good. Both Chuck and Heroes have their season finales, and Lost returns with "The Variable", the show's 100th episode.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
What Sold Them?
"The Cincinnati Bengals are on the clock."
Bengals fans dread hearing these words. Nothing good ever happens after these words are uttered. Most fans look forward to the draft; not the ones in Cincinnati. Why? Because it doesn't seem to matter who they pick, even when they get it right, they get it wrong. The latest example- 2009's first round pick Andre Smith out of Alabama.
The Bengals needed to draft an offensive tackle. They don't have much, but what they do have, they have in Carson Palmer. And he's nothing if he doesn't get any protection. Enter the left tackle. Anchor the line, give your franchise quarterback time to make plays, you've got a chance to win. And with the first pick of the 2009 draft, the Bengals did indeed select an offensive tackle. But why Andre Smith?
Could it have been because he was suspended from playing in 'Bama's bowl game? Or perhaps it was because showed up the NFL combine overweight and out of shape and eventually left before completing his drills? Or maybe it was because when he had a shot at redemption at his pro day, he bombed. Which one of these points do you think Mike Brown focused on when deciding to draft Andre Smith?
Listen, I don't put much stock in the NFL combine (you focus only on 40-yard dash time, you end up like Al Davis and draft Darrius Heyward-Bey at #7). But what bothers me is that fact that he wasn't prepared for it. Its not like the combine sneaks up on anyone; you know exactly when and where it happens, and you know that you have to be ready for it. And Andre Smith was not ready for it. And when he got a second chance on his pro day, he still wasn't ready for it. What about that mindset says "we've got to draft this guy" when you've to Eugene Monroe still out there? Call me a UVA homer, fine, but the one thing the Wahoos have done well under Al Groh is produce solid offensive linemen. D'Brickashaw Ferguson, Brandon Alpert, Eugene Monroe... all first round picks (all top 10 picks, I believe). What about Monroe did Mike Brown not like? Oh well, I guess at the very least I should be happy they didn't take Beanie Wells at #6.
The Bengals had a need at a position and they didn't take the best guy available at that position. Business as usual.
Bengals fans dread hearing these words. Nothing good ever happens after these words are uttered. Most fans look forward to the draft; not the ones in Cincinnati. Why? Because it doesn't seem to matter who they pick, even when they get it right, they get it wrong. The latest example- 2009's first round pick Andre Smith out of Alabama.
The Bengals needed to draft an offensive tackle. They don't have much, but what they do have, they have in Carson Palmer. And he's nothing if he doesn't get any protection. Enter the left tackle. Anchor the line, give your franchise quarterback time to make plays, you've got a chance to win. And with the first pick of the 2009 draft, the Bengals did indeed select an offensive tackle. But why Andre Smith?
Could it have been because he was suspended from playing in 'Bama's bowl game? Or perhaps it was because showed up the NFL combine overweight and out of shape and eventually left before completing his drills? Or maybe it was because when he had a shot at redemption at his pro day, he bombed. Which one of these points do you think Mike Brown focused on when deciding to draft Andre Smith?
Listen, I don't put much stock in the NFL combine (you focus only on 40-yard dash time, you end up like Al Davis and draft Darrius Heyward-Bey at #7). But what bothers me is that fact that he wasn't prepared for it. Its not like the combine sneaks up on anyone; you know exactly when and where it happens, and you know that you have to be ready for it. And Andre Smith was not ready for it. And when he got a second chance on his pro day, he still wasn't ready for it. What about that mindset says "we've got to draft this guy" when you've to Eugene Monroe still out there? Call me a UVA homer, fine, but the one thing the Wahoos have done well under Al Groh is produce solid offensive linemen. D'Brickashaw Ferguson, Brandon Alpert, Eugene Monroe... all first round picks (all top 10 picks, I believe). What about Monroe did Mike Brown not like? Oh well, I guess at the very least I should be happy they didn't take Beanie Wells at #6.
The Bengals had a need at a position and they didn't take the best guy available at that position. Business as usual.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Glow-Hoinking Lives On!
The ongoing saga of whether or not Western Bowl will be closing has finally come to an end- Western Bowl will remain open.
This is huge news. Western Bowl will be under new ownership AND still be called Western Bowl (after all, what's the point in saving the place if you up and change the name?). From the article, it looks like the site could have become a fitness center; how much would that have sucked? Also, the Hoinke Classic is set to make its triumphant return in 2010. Perhaps this is a sign of better days to come.
This is huge news. Western Bowl will be under new ownership AND still be called Western Bowl (after all, what's the point in saving the place if you up and change the name?). From the article, it looks like the site could have become a fitness center; how much would that have sucked? Also, the Hoinke Classic is set to make its triumphant return in 2010. Perhaps this is a sign of better days to come.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Weekly TV THoughts: 04/12 - 04/18
Good TV week this week, which is to be expected as shows head toward their season finales.
-Chuck, Monday: I think I said is last week, but this show is just REALLY good right now. They found a plausible way to bring Jill back into the fold, which was cool, and with Chuck letting her go at the end, I wonder if this wasn't the last time we'll see her. I really love how they've sent Chuck and Sarah rogue for the time being, pitting them against Casey and the US Government. What happens when Casey eventually meets up with them on the trail of Chuck's dad, Stephen/Orion? As much as Casey is beholden to his orders, I think its clear that he'll end up helping Chuck and Sarah when it comes down to it. And while the mirror B-story at the Buy More wasn't anything great, it was saved by the Godfather II reference between Big Mike and Morgan. I can not wait to see where the story goes to finish out the season, and it better come back for Season 3.
-Heroes, Monday: Ask any fan of this show and they're bound to tell you that Company Man is one of, if not the, best Heroes episode ever. Clearly, this episode was meant to channel that awesomeness (even using the black-and-white) flashback scenes, and I think it succeeded, for the most part. This episode was essentially one big therapy session for the characters, with everyone present at Coyote Sands becoming alarmingly self aware. It was an fairly deft way to reset all the characters back to where they were in Season 1 (or, at least close to that) after a couple of seasons of messing them up. There wasn't much to the story this week, I thought, other than to bring the Patrellis and the Bennetts together. The story about Angela's sister was nice to know (especially since they dropped that line about why she steals socks, making a call back to the pilot), and it was kind of cool to see the origins of the Company (or the origin of the idea of the Company), but neither really advanced the current storyline. Its was all set up to get the characters pointed in the right direction, which is what this show needs. I think its clear that they'll be wrapping up the Danko storyline this season, and then spring board into next season by creating the new Company they talked about in the diner. Hopefully, they can bring everyone back into the story to finish out the season in a satisfying manner.
-24, Monday: Okay, I have to admit that I didn't see Tony's betrayal coming. Not because I didn't think it was possible (because anyone can be a mole on this show), but because I just didn't think the writers would go that route. I thought that it would seem forced to have him switch sides AGAIN, and you what, I think it felt forced. So after Tony "died," he was a bad guy. Then hooked up with Bill again, and he was good guy posing as a bad guy. Then he joined up with Jack and he was just a good guy again. But no, because he's actually been a bad guy this whole time. It calls into question everything we've seen him do this season, though I guess we now know where Tony was getting his insider information about Starkwood; he had a guy on the inside. And he HAS to be a bad guy because he up and killed Larry Moss, who was just starting to get interesting. At least, I think he's dead; he didn't get a silent clock, but he did get a long, drawn out suffocation scene at the hands of Tony. So let's say he's dead. I really hope that Tony isn't revealed to be the ultimate head bad guy when its all said and done (since clearly Jonas Hodges wasn't it). I can stand him being a bad guy this whole time, but not the mastermind. That would just be stupid. Oh, and finally, Kim's back and it wasn't completely contrived. It was very natural (with her already being in D.C., trying to reach Jack since he was supposed to be testifying before the Senate), and now they have a way to save Jack's life (becasue c'mon, you know that they experimental treatment's going to work). And we got a tender scene between Jack and Kim that we don't often get on this show, which was a nice change of pace. I wonder how Jack will react to Tony's latest betrayal. I'm guessing he's going to kill him.
-Lost, Wednesday: I'm a big fan of Miles, and I'm glad he got his own flashback episode this week. He, along with Hurley and Lapidus, get the best lines on the show, and the pairing of Miles and Hurley is just comedy gold. We got some good backstory on Miles, like confirming he is Dr. Chang's son and was born on the island, why he was on the freighter to begin with, and why he asked Ben for $3.2 million. None of that is all that shocking, but the bigger news about about Miles's confrontation with Bram and the people who ask "why lies in the shadow of the statue?". Clearly they're not Widmore's people (so there goes that theory); so who are they then? Are they Ben's people? Eloise Hawking's? The remants of the Dharma Initiative? Some other group we haven't learned about yet? Don't know, but I'm banking on them being a part of Dharma, or at least what's left of it. Maybe they formed from the people that were on the mainland, back in Ann Arbor. And speaking of Ann Arbor, welcome back to the show, Daniel Faraday. There was a moment there where I wasn't sure if Daniel was going to recognize Miles there on the pier, but sure enough, he did. So he got off the island, joined up with Dharma in Ann Arbor, and is now back on the island to join in what looks like the construction of the Swan station. What's he been up to in the past three years? We'll have to wait two weeks to find out, since there's a clip show coming up this week. Oh well, I can handle the week's off because I know there's an end on the horizon.
-Kings, Saturday: So Kings got dumped to Saturdays to finish out its run (since its never a good sign for a pickup when you're airing on Saturday nights). Oh well, at least they'll get to finish out their story, which I hope has some semblence of an end to it. I was getting a little sick of everyone in the royal family trying to get between David and Michelle, first it was the King, then the Queen, and this week it was her brother Jack, so I'm glad they finally came forth and had Michelle explain her situation; as expected, she is already promised to someone else. Wonder who. And Macaulay Culkin debuted this episode as the King's nephew, Andrew, who's been in exlie for some reason. Not much was revealed about Andrew other than that his time in exile has seemed to make him a little off (he stared at a fork as if he had no idea what it was for). Clearly he'll be used more in episodes to come, but I thought they'd do a little more in his first episode, especially since it seems like he came back from exile out of the blue. I was a little surprised they didn't even mention the mutiny storyline this week; it was almost like it didn't happen. But the one scene between Silas and Reverend Samuels was tense, so maybe its still there, just not on the surface.
No Dollhouse this past week, but its back this week, and there's no Lost this week. Maybe I can find some time to watch some more baseball (that is, as long as FSN Ohio doesn't decide to cut away from anymore games).
-Chuck, Monday: I think I said is last week, but this show is just REALLY good right now. They found a plausible way to bring Jill back into the fold, which was cool, and with Chuck letting her go at the end, I wonder if this wasn't the last time we'll see her. I really love how they've sent Chuck and Sarah rogue for the time being, pitting them against Casey and the US Government. What happens when Casey eventually meets up with them on the trail of Chuck's dad, Stephen/Orion? As much as Casey is beholden to his orders, I think its clear that he'll end up helping Chuck and Sarah when it comes down to it. And while the mirror B-story at the Buy More wasn't anything great, it was saved by the Godfather II reference between Big Mike and Morgan. I can not wait to see where the story goes to finish out the season, and it better come back for Season 3.
-Heroes, Monday: Ask any fan of this show and they're bound to tell you that Company Man is one of, if not the, best Heroes episode ever. Clearly, this episode was meant to channel that awesomeness (even using the black-and-white) flashback scenes, and I think it succeeded, for the most part. This episode was essentially one big therapy session for the characters, with everyone present at Coyote Sands becoming alarmingly self aware. It was an fairly deft way to reset all the characters back to where they were in Season 1 (or, at least close to that) after a couple of seasons of messing them up. There wasn't much to the story this week, I thought, other than to bring the Patrellis and the Bennetts together. The story about Angela's sister was nice to know (especially since they dropped that line about why she steals socks, making a call back to the pilot), and it was kind of cool to see the origins of the Company (or the origin of the idea of the Company), but neither really advanced the current storyline. Its was all set up to get the characters pointed in the right direction, which is what this show needs. I think its clear that they'll be wrapping up the Danko storyline this season, and then spring board into next season by creating the new Company they talked about in the diner. Hopefully, they can bring everyone back into the story to finish out the season in a satisfying manner.
-24, Monday: Okay, I have to admit that I didn't see Tony's betrayal coming. Not because I didn't think it was possible (because anyone can be a mole on this show), but because I just didn't think the writers would go that route. I thought that it would seem forced to have him switch sides AGAIN, and you what, I think it felt forced. So after Tony "died," he was a bad guy. Then hooked up with Bill again, and he was good guy posing as a bad guy. Then he joined up with Jack and he was just a good guy again. But no, because he's actually been a bad guy this whole time. It calls into question everything we've seen him do this season, though I guess we now know where Tony was getting his insider information about Starkwood; he had a guy on the inside. And he HAS to be a bad guy because he up and killed Larry Moss, who was just starting to get interesting. At least, I think he's dead; he didn't get a silent clock, but he did get a long, drawn out suffocation scene at the hands of Tony. So let's say he's dead. I really hope that Tony isn't revealed to be the ultimate head bad guy when its all said and done (since clearly Jonas Hodges wasn't it). I can stand him being a bad guy this whole time, but not the mastermind. That would just be stupid. Oh, and finally, Kim's back and it wasn't completely contrived. It was very natural (with her already being in D.C., trying to reach Jack since he was supposed to be testifying before the Senate), and now they have a way to save Jack's life (becasue c'mon, you know that they experimental treatment's going to work). And we got a tender scene between Jack and Kim that we don't often get on this show, which was a nice change of pace. I wonder how Jack will react to Tony's latest betrayal. I'm guessing he's going to kill him.
-Lost, Wednesday: I'm a big fan of Miles, and I'm glad he got his own flashback episode this week. He, along with Hurley and Lapidus, get the best lines on the show, and the pairing of Miles and Hurley is just comedy gold. We got some good backstory on Miles, like confirming he is Dr. Chang's son and was born on the island, why he was on the freighter to begin with, and why he asked Ben for $3.2 million. None of that is all that shocking, but the bigger news about about Miles's confrontation with Bram and the people who ask "why lies in the shadow of the statue?". Clearly they're not Widmore's people (so there goes that theory); so who are they then? Are they Ben's people? Eloise Hawking's? The remants of the Dharma Initiative? Some other group we haven't learned about yet? Don't know, but I'm banking on them being a part of Dharma, or at least what's left of it. Maybe they formed from the people that were on the mainland, back in Ann Arbor. And speaking of Ann Arbor, welcome back to the show, Daniel Faraday. There was a moment there where I wasn't sure if Daniel was going to recognize Miles there on the pier, but sure enough, he did. So he got off the island, joined up with Dharma in Ann Arbor, and is now back on the island to join in what looks like the construction of the Swan station. What's he been up to in the past three years? We'll have to wait two weeks to find out, since there's a clip show coming up this week. Oh well, I can handle the week's off because I know there's an end on the horizon.
-Kings, Saturday: So Kings got dumped to Saturdays to finish out its run (since its never a good sign for a pickup when you're airing on Saturday nights). Oh well, at least they'll get to finish out their story, which I hope has some semblence of an end to it. I was getting a little sick of everyone in the royal family trying to get between David and Michelle, first it was the King, then the Queen, and this week it was her brother Jack, so I'm glad they finally came forth and had Michelle explain her situation; as expected, she is already promised to someone else. Wonder who. And Macaulay Culkin debuted this episode as the King's nephew, Andrew, who's been in exlie for some reason. Not much was revealed about Andrew other than that his time in exile has seemed to make him a little off (he stared at a fork as if he had no idea what it was for). Clearly he'll be used more in episodes to come, but I thought they'd do a little more in his first episode, especially since it seems like he came back from exile out of the blue. I was a little surprised they didn't even mention the mutiny storyline this week; it was almost like it didn't happen. But the one scene between Silas and Reverend Samuels was tense, so maybe its still there, just not on the surface.
No Dollhouse this past week, but its back this week, and there's no Lost this week. Maybe I can find some time to watch some more baseball (that is, as long as FSN Ohio doesn't decide to cut away from anymore games).
Friday, April 17, 2009
Orbiting The Sun
So today, I complete another full rotation around the sun. And while I enjoy my birthday, I have a hard time getting exciting for it. Don't know why, but its just another day for me.
That said, I have a odd fascination with people with whom I share a birthday. Again, I don't know why, but it interests me. Here's an abbreviated list (courtesy of Wikipedia):
1897 - J.P. Morgan
1894 - Nikita Krushchev
1934 - Don Kirshner (produced the Monkees, among others)
1950 - L. Scott Caldwell (Rose from Lost)
1954 - Rowdy Roddy Piper
1957 - Nick Nornby (British author, Fever Pitch, High Fidelity)
1959 - Sean Bean
1961 - Boomer Esiason
1965 - William Mapother (Ethan from Lost)
1967 - Henry Ian Cusick (Desmond from Lost; clearly, today's a big day on the island)
1967 - Liz Phair
1970 - Redman
1972 - Jennifer Garner
1974 - Victoria Beckham
Who's my favorite? Its got to be a toss up between Boomer and Rowdy Roddy Piper. I mean, Boomer is Boomer (and the only Boomer, thank you very much; I'm looking at you Chris Berman and David Wells) and I'm a Bengals fan, but Roddy Piper was in They Live, which, while a terrible movie, inspired Shepard Fairey to create his OBEY line (and gave us a great fight scene was the hillariously remade by South Park). So its a tough call either way. Maybe I should avoid the choice althogether and just go with Jennifer Garner. Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.
That said, I have a odd fascination with people with whom I share a birthday. Again, I don't know why, but it interests me. Here's an abbreviated list (courtesy of Wikipedia):
1897 - J.P. Morgan
1894 - Nikita Krushchev
1934 - Don Kirshner (produced the Monkees, among others)
1950 - L. Scott Caldwell (Rose from Lost)
1954 - Rowdy Roddy Piper
1957 - Nick Nornby (British author, Fever Pitch, High Fidelity)
1959 - Sean Bean
1961 - Boomer Esiason
1965 - William Mapother (Ethan from Lost)
1967 - Henry Ian Cusick (Desmond from Lost; clearly, today's a big day on the island)
1967 - Liz Phair
1970 - Redman
1972 - Jennifer Garner
1974 - Victoria Beckham
Who's my favorite? Its got to be a toss up between Boomer and Rowdy Roddy Piper. I mean, Boomer is Boomer (and the only Boomer, thank you very much; I'm looking at you Chris Berman and David Wells) and I'm a Bengals fan, but Roddy Piper was in They Live, which, while a terrible movie, inspired Shepard Fairey to create his OBEY line (and gave us a great fight scene was the hillariously remade by South Park). So its a tough call either way. Maybe I should avoid the choice althogether and just go with Jennifer Garner. Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Terminator: The Albert Pujols Chronicles
News is that FOX is going to cancel Terminator: The Sarah Conner Chronicles. Not to worry. You can get your Terminator fix by watching the St. Louis Cardinals play.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Because Clearly It Wasn't Important
A bit of advice for Fox Sports Net Ohio, in the style of Burn Notice's "Spy Tips":
"When you're airing a live baseball game, its probably not a good idea to cut to an episode of The Best Damn Sports Show when there's two outs left in the bottom of the ninth of a one-run game. People might get pissed."
Unfortunately, this advice comes one day late, as FSN Ohio did exactly that last night. Seriously. Bottom of the ninth, one out, Reds up on the Brewers 7-6, with Reds closer (and former Brewer) Francisco Cordero on the mound, and then as we crossed the bottom of the hour, BAM, right into the middle of Best Damn. And it wasn't even a cut to the beginning of the episode; it was the middle, where they were discussing the greatest relief pitchers of all time with special guest Rollie Fingers. Exciting, I know. Given the choice between watching that and watching my hometown team try and close a game out a one-run game on the road against a division opponent, I know I'd take Best Damn every time. Right.
So what happened in the game? Oh nothing. Cordero walked the next batter, then gave up a fly ball to Taveras in center, who tried to double off the runner at first, only to make a wild throw that was backed up by Cordero, who then tried to get the runner going to second, but hit him in the back. Two outs, tying run on second, base hit sends the game to extras. But Cordero gets a ground ball to first to end the game. So yeah, nothing exciting.
I had no idea what was going on last night. By the time I figured out that they weren't going to be going back to the game and scrambled to a radio, the game was over. Stupid FSN Ohio.
[Edit: FSN Ohio has issued an apology. Seems a similar incident happened back in December with UC basketball. Silver lining- the hometown team won in both cases. But it still sucked.]
"When you're airing a live baseball game, its probably not a good idea to cut to an episode of The Best Damn Sports Show when there's two outs left in the bottom of the ninth of a one-run game. People might get pissed."
Unfortunately, this advice comes one day late, as FSN Ohio did exactly that last night. Seriously. Bottom of the ninth, one out, Reds up on the Brewers 7-6, with Reds closer (and former Brewer) Francisco Cordero on the mound, and then as we crossed the bottom of the hour, BAM, right into the middle of Best Damn. And it wasn't even a cut to the beginning of the episode; it was the middle, where they were discussing the greatest relief pitchers of all time with special guest Rollie Fingers. Exciting, I know. Given the choice between watching that and watching my hometown team try and close a game out a one-run game on the road against a division opponent, I know I'd take Best Damn every time. Right.
So what happened in the game? Oh nothing. Cordero walked the next batter, then gave up a fly ball to Taveras in center, who tried to double off the runner at first, only to make a wild throw that was backed up by Cordero, who then tried to get the runner going to second, but hit him in the back. Two outs, tying run on second, base hit sends the game to extras. But Cordero gets a ground ball to first to end the game. So yeah, nothing exciting.
I had no idea what was going on last night. By the time I figured out that they weren't going to be going back to the game and scrambled to a radio, the game was over. Stupid FSN Ohio.
[Edit: FSN Ohio has issued an apology. Seems a similar incident happened back in December with UC basketball. Silver lining- the hometown team won in both cases. But it still sucked.]
Monday, April 13, 2009
Fun With Rockets
From this past week's episode of Mythbusters, one of the coolest high speed camera shots I've ever seen (starting around the 3:00 mark):
Good times.
Good times.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Weekly TV Thoughts: 04/05 - 04/11
Best thing that happened for the Reds this week? Getting rained out Friday night so they could end the week 1-3 instead of 1-4. How's that "pitching and defense" approach working out for everyone? Yeah, not so much right now. The team's young, and that's great for projecting what they could do in the future, but it means nothing if it never materializes. Gonna watch them again this afternoon, though, because its what I do. Gonna catch some golf, too, because there's not a whole lot better than Sunday at a major, especially at the Masters. Tiger's not in the lead, so he's not going to win (that fact's so money in the bank that it even survived the curse of this blog), but he is paired with Phil, which should make for some good theater, even if they're not in contention.
-Kings, Sunday: So even the King's top general is positioning to overthrow him. We knew that the King's brother-in-law wanted Silas out, but now, the opposition is building fast. I am still curious about Reverend Samuel, though. How does he fit into all of this. He knows that Silas's time is coming to an end, but he not all that willing to join the coup. Will he start to push David to the foreground? Or will he just bide his time and wait? Clearly they're setting up Jack to oppose his father, but Silas just gave him a ministry position and it looks like Jack's swung back to the side of supporting Silas (or, at the very least, not opposing him). Again, the political drama of the show (dealing with the uprising in David's hometown) wasn't all that interesting to me, but the characters again draw me in. Kings is getting dumped to Saturday nights starting April 18, I believe, which means all signs point to it not coming back next year. They'll get to finish out the season, which is good, but I hope they can manage so sort of an ending instead of leaving on a cliffhanger that'll never get resolved.
-Chuck, Monday: This show REALLY needs to be renewed for next season. Of all the shows I watch that are on the bubble for pick up, Chuck is my #1 choice to save. I've said before how much I enjoy this show, and I still think it's consistently the most entertaining show on the TV. But after this week's episode, I think the show's hit a whole new level. As they barrel toward the season finale, they've set things in motion (with Chuck's dad being Orion and the creator of the Intersect, and having him being captured by Ted Roark and Fulcrum) that look to send the show into an awesome new direction. Season 3 of Chuck needs to happen!
-Heroes, Monday: As I said last week, it only matter of time before Bennett found out the truth about Sylar. I didn't quite expect it to happen this week, but now that I look at it, I'm glad that it wasn't drawn out. The best thing they could have done with Bennett was to burn him and get him out from under the guise of working with Danko. He's now on his own and by him showing up at Coyote Sands, we now know exactly where his allegiances lie. And speaking of Coyote Sands, it was only a matter of time before this comic-staple ret-con showed up in Heroes. "Remember that time when I told you about where all this started, when I told you about the beginning? Well, that wasn't really the beginning because this here is the beginning, That other beginning, not the beginning; this is the real one." Cliche, yes, but not totally unexpected. Giving the show a new origin story wouldn't even crack the top 10 of crazy things Heroes has done, so I can live with it.
-24, Monday: So the FBI raid on Starkwood didn't quite go as planned, but don't worry, Tony's still there and will have to neutralize the threat on his own. Funny how it always seems to come down to just one man on this show. Of course, that man is usually Jack, but he's currently infected with a deadly pathogen that quickly ending his life. And while there's no cure, there is, amazingly enough, an experimental procedure that uses stem cells from a biologically compatible donor (like, say, a direct family member) that could do the trick. And this is how they wrangle Kim back into the show. Although Jack's not to keen on calling her, prefering rather to die than talk to his daughter, so I'm thinking that it'll be Renee who contacts Kim, going behind Jack's back. Because Jack can't die; they've still got to shoot Season 8! We finally get a converstation between President Taylor and Jonas Hodges, and while Hodges doesn't reveal what his demands are, he does imply that the impetus for all this was the fact that he felt that the US Government betrayed Starkwood by asking them to "get the job done" without asking any questions only to put them on trial in front of Congress for doing just that. So he's a little disgruntled. It happens. I am curious to see how the face-to-face meeting in the White House goes next episode.
-Lost, Wednesday: Once again, Ben proves that we can't trust a single thing that comes out of his mouth. Take Locke being alive again. First, he tells Locke to his face that he thought the island might resurrect him, but he wasn't certain until he saw it actually happen. Then, he tells Caesar that he thinks Locke might have never been on the plane in the first place (this one's the obvious lie, but a lie none the less) and that maybe he's been on the island this whole time. And then, he tells Sun that "dead is dead" and that he has no idea what John Locke is now. So which is it? Did he know what the island would resurrect Locke or was that complete shock to him (you know, since Ben murdered him and all)? You never know with Ben, and we as the audience may never know. And then there's this whole business about whether or not Ben remembers being shot and then saved by the Others. We get a scene where Young Ben wakes up in the Other's camp and he seems to have no idea why he's there or how he was injured. But then Ben says later that the temple where he, Locke, and Sun are going to is where he was taken as a child and healed. How does he remember the fact that he was healed at the temple, but not the facts surrounding why he needed to be healed in the first place? Unlike the previous query, I think we will get an answer to this question. It should be really interesting to see how Ben handles having to follow Locke's lead now; from the look on his face after his encounter with the Smoke Monster, it looks like he might be a changed man. Who knows if his reason for coming back was the be judged (again, can't ever trust what Ben says), but that fact is he was judged, and the island let him live, contingient on him following Locke and not trying to kill him. Again. Now its time for Locke, Ben, and Sun to figure out a what to meet up with the rest of the O6 back in 1977. Locke's in the lead, wonder how he's going to handle it. I was really bummed out when Lapidus left to go back to the plane because I really wanted to see him invovled in the story. And then they dropped the "what lies in the shadow of the statue?" bombshell when he got back. So some of the passengers, including bounty hunter Ilana, have another agenda, and they knew they were going to land on the island. Questions abound- how did they know, who sent them, what's in the box? Can we assume that maybe it was these people who were shooting at Sawyer, Juliet and Co. in the boat while they flashed into the future for a bit? I think so. Finally, a quick note about Desmond and Penny- very glad that neither one of them is dead. Guess if Ben has one soft spot, its not killing mothers. He never got to know his, and he apparently can't inflict that sort of pain on someone.
-Dollhouse, Friday: Good episode, with a great storytelling device; I love the jumping back and forth through the story, so that you get the whole story from everyone's veiwpoint. I don't quite know what the think about Mr. Dominic being the mole; he said somethings in the episode, specifically to Ms. DeWitt, that would seem to contradict his actions as a mole. But if you assume that he was lying to DeWitt in a final effort to save his life, then things seem to fit together nicely. He was trying to bring down the Dollhouse and he was setting up Echo and Agent Ballard to do so. He knows that Echo will eventually take down the Dollhouse, so he did things specifically to trigger her towards that path. I like how Echo became somewhat self aware and understood, on the most basic level, what Topher does in the chair; he makes people different. And she understood enough to volunteer for an engagement. This sets up Echo to be used more by the Dollhouse, which in turn, we are to assume, will lead to her having an "Alpha" moment and become complete self aware and destroy the Dollhouse. And speaking of Ballard, how shitty is his life right now? He's suspended from the FBI, he's gone completely paranoid and become totally obsessed with the Dollhouse (more so than before), and he's just found out that his neighbor/girlfriend in actually an Active. But he still has to pretend that he doesn't know Mellie's a Doll. Without a mole inside the Dollhouse, where will Ballard's investigation go? Again, he was told to focus less on where the Dollhouse is and more on the Dollhouse's true purpose. "Follow the money," I guess. He figures out the why, and that will lead him to the where (and possibly a whole lot more).
-Kings, Sunday: So even the King's top general is positioning to overthrow him. We knew that the King's brother-in-law wanted Silas out, but now, the opposition is building fast. I am still curious about Reverend Samuel, though. How does he fit into all of this. He knows that Silas's time is coming to an end, but he not all that willing to join the coup. Will he start to push David to the foreground? Or will he just bide his time and wait? Clearly they're setting up Jack to oppose his father, but Silas just gave him a ministry position and it looks like Jack's swung back to the side of supporting Silas (or, at the very least, not opposing him). Again, the political drama of the show (dealing with the uprising in David's hometown) wasn't all that interesting to me, but the characters again draw me in. Kings is getting dumped to Saturday nights starting April 18, I believe, which means all signs point to it not coming back next year. They'll get to finish out the season, which is good, but I hope they can manage so sort of an ending instead of leaving on a cliffhanger that'll never get resolved.
-Chuck, Monday: This show REALLY needs to be renewed for next season. Of all the shows I watch that are on the bubble for pick up, Chuck is my #1 choice to save. I've said before how much I enjoy this show, and I still think it's consistently the most entertaining show on the TV. But after this week's episode, I think the show's hit a whole new level. As they barrel toward the season finale, they've set things in motion (with Chuck's dad being Orion and the creator of the Intersect, and having him being captured by Ted Roark and Fulcrum) that look to send the show into an awesome new direction. Season 3 of Chuck needs to happen!
-Heroes, Monday: As I said last week, it only matter of time before Bennett found out the truth about Sylar. I didn't quite expect it to happen this week, but now that I look at it, I'm glad that it wasn't drawn out. The best thing they could have done with Bennett was to burn him and get him out from under the guise of working with Danko. He's now on his own and by him showing up at Coyote Sands, we now know exactly where his allegiances lie. And speaking of Coyote Sands, it was only a matter of time before this comic-staple ret-con showed up in Heroes. "Remember that time when I told you about where all this started, when I told you about the beginning? Well, that wasn't really the beginning because this here is the beginning, That other beginning, not the beginning; this is the real one." Cliche, yes, but not totally unexpected. Giving the show a new origin story wouldn't even crack the top 10 of crazy things Heroes has done, so I can live with it.
-24, Monday: So the FBI raid on Starkwood didn't quite go as planned, but don't worry, Tony's still there and will have to neutralize the threat on his own. Funny how it always seems to come down to just one man on this show. Of course, that man is usually Jack, but he's currently infected with a deadly pathogen that quickly ending his life. And while there's no cure, there is, amazingly enough, an experimental procedure that uses stem cells from a biologically compatible donor (like, say, a direct family member) that could do the trick. And this is how they wrangle Kim back into the show. Although Jack's not to keen on calling her, prefering rather to die than talk to his daughter, so I'm thinking that it'll be Renee who contacts Kim, going behind Jack's back. Because Jack can't die; they've still got to shoot Season 8! We finally get a converstation between President Taylor and Jonas Hodges, and while Hodges doesn't reveal what his demands are, he does imply that the impetus for all this was the fact that he felt that the US Government betrayed Starkwood by asking them to "get the job done" without asking any questions only to put them on trial in front of Congress for doing just that. So he's a little disgruntled. It happens. I am curious to see how the face-to-face meeting in the White House goes next episode.
-Lost, Wednesday: Once again, Ben proves that we can't trust a single thing that comes out of his mouth. Take Locke being alive again. First, he tells Locke to his face that he thought the island might resurrect him, but he wasn't certain until he saw it actually happen. Then, he tells Caesar that he thinks Locke might have never been on the plane in the first place (this one's the obvious lie, but a lie none the less) and that maybe he's been on the island this whole time. And then, he tells Sun that "dead is dead" and that he has no idea what John Locke is now. So which is it? Did he know what the island would resurrect Locke or was that complete shock to him (you know, since Ben murdered him and all)? You never know with Ben, and we as the audience may never know. And then there's this whole business about whether or not Ben remembers being shot and then saved by the Others. We get a scene where Young Ben wakes up in the Other's camp and he seems to have no idea why he's there or how he was injured. But then Ben says later that the temple where he, Locke, and Sun are going to is where he was taken as a child and healed. How does he remember the fact that he was healed at the temple, but not the facts surrounding why he needed to be healed in the first place? Unlike the previous query, I think we will get an answer to this question. It should be really interesting to see how Ben handles having to follow Locke's lead now; from the look on his face after his encounter with the Smoke Monster, it looks like he might be a changed man. Who knows if his reason for coming back was the be judged (again, can't ever trust what Ben says), but that fact is he was judged, and the island let him live, contingient on him following Locke and not trying to kill him. Again. Now its time for Locke, Ben, and Sun to figure out a what to meet up with the rest of the O6 back in 1977. Locke's in the lead, wonder how he's going to handle it. I was really bummed out when Lapidus left to go back to the plane because I really wanted to see him invovled in the story. And then they dropped the "what lies in the shadow of the statue?" bombshell when he got back. So some of the passengers, including bounty hunter Ilana, have another agenda, and they knew they were going to land on the island. Questions abound- how did they know, who sent them, what's in the box? Can we assume that maybe it was these people who were shooting at Sawyer, Juliet and Co. in the boat while they flashed into the future for a bit? I think so. Finally, a quick note about Desmond and Penny- very glad that neither one of them is dead. Guess if Ben has one soft spot, its not killing mothers. He never got to know his, and he apparently can't inflict that sort of pain on someone.
-Dollhouse, Friday: Good episode, with a great storytelling device; I love the jumping back and forth through the story, so that you get the whole story from everyone's veiwpoint. I don't quite know what the think about Mr. Dominic being the mole; he said somethings in the episode, specifically to Ms. DeWitt, that would seem to contradict his actions as a mole. But if you assume that he was lying to DeWitt in a final effort to save his life, then things seem to fit together nicely. He was trying to bring down the Dollhouse and he was setting up Echo and Agent Ballard to do so. He knows that Echo will eventually take down the Dollhouse, so he did things specifically to trigger her towards that path. I like how Echo became somewhat self aware and understood, on the most basic level, what Topher does in the chair; he makes people different. And she understood enough to volunteer for an engagement. This sets up Echo to be used more by the Dollhouse, which in turn, we are to assume, will lead to her having an "Alpha" moment and become complete self aware and destroy the Dollhouse. And speaking of Ballard, how shitty is his life right now? He's suspended from the FBI, he's gone completely paranoid and become totally obsessed with the Dollhouse (more so than before), and he's just found out that his neighbor/girlfriend in actually an Active. But he still has to pretend that he doesn't know Mellie's a Doll. Without a mole inside the Dollhouse, where will Ballard's investigation go? Again, he was told to focus less on where the Dollhouse is and more on the Dollhouse's true purpose. "Follow the money," I guess. He figures out the why, and that will lead him to the where (and possibly a whole lot more).
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Weekly TV Thoughts: 03/29 - 04/04
I think I've made it clear that I believe in sports karma; there's this and this, and the fact that I believe that this blog is cursed. So it makes me very glad that Michigan State defeated UConn yesterday to knock Calhoun out of the tournament. Between the tirade about his salary to the (alleged) NCAA infractions, there's no way he deserved to win this year. And there is absolutely EVERY reason why Michigan State should. I don't think I could bear it if the first two major sports championships of the year went to the Steelers and North Carolina.
-Arnold Palmer Invitational, Sunday: My prediction of Tiger Woods winning 2 majors this year is looking a whole lot better now. Was there any doubt that he'd make that putt? Is there ever any doubt? Everyone knows its going in and yet, there I was, literally on the edge of my seat, waiting to see. The Masters is this week; anyone taking the field over Tiger? I'm not.
-Kings, Sunday: Another solid episode. Up until now, the Queen, Rose, had been the weakest character of them all. Everyone else, Silas, David, Jack, Michelle, Reverend Samuels, and even the Queen's brother had some intrigue attached to them, but Rose just seemed ditached and kind of aloof. Not anymore. Here, we found out that she was responsible for shaping the entire structure and image of the royal family; she "designed" the monarchy. As she said after the ballet performance, they, meaning the royal family, was the show, not the dancers. She is keenly aware of the people's opinion and perceptions of her family, and she showed that she's just as capable as Silas in manipulating the people around her to get her desired end. The characters in this show just keep getting more and more interesting. The political aspects of the show are starting to wane on me, but the characters are still going strong.
-Heroes, Monday: I thought this was a halfway decent episode. Claire and Nathan in Mexico? Couldn't care less about it. Peter and Angela in church? Meh. I don't really care too much for Peter at this point, and Angela is hit or miss. Clearly their stories this week were to simply to set the four of them up for coming together next episode. But Bennett, Danko, and Sylar? That was the redeeming part of the episode. I have to admit, I didn't see Danko's fake out with the shape shifter coming. Sylar can now change his physical apperance, as if he needed to be more powerful. And you know that Bennett isn't just going to let "Sylar's" capture sit like that; its just a matter of time. Until then, it should be cool to see Sylar wreak havoc as disguised as other people.
-24, Monday: First off, I was partially right about Olivia becoming the new CoS. Clearly, naming a new CoS a mere minutes after the old one resigned is impractical, so being provisional CoS is as close as its going to get. I'm calling that a win. Interesting fake out with Jack's condition- he's infected but its not contagious. I thought the scene between Jack and Larry, where Larry tells Jack that he can't go on the Starkwood raid because he's infection makes him a liability, was awesome. A tough realization for a man like Jack, but its no surprise that he was able to accept it; as he said, he always knew that there'd be a day where he wasn't the best man for the job. And geting infected with a bio-weapon is that day. Now, clearly, Jack's not going to die, so the question is how will he be saved. As currently, there is no cure for the infection; could this be how Kim is brought back into the story? I sensing yes. Now onto the raid on Starkwood. I really thought that Tony was being played by Seaton when he came to break Tony out of his cell. Then, when they contacted the FBI and they were able to see and hear Seaton, I began to think that maybe this might be for real. Then, given Jonas's reaction, I futher thought that Seaton was being truthful. So of course, Seaton played the FBI and had Larry not been there, Tony would've killed him. I'm guessing that Starkwood takes Tony, Larry, and the FBI team hostage and Jack will go in and break them out. 'Cause that's something Jack would do, infected with a bio-weapon or not.
-Lost, Wednesday: Another great character episode. That's two weeks in a row where we've gotten Season 1 type episodes, complete with flashbacks and the like. This week, we got some answers to what Kate was up to off island. We found out what Sawyer whispered to her before jumping out of the helicopter (to take care of his daughter). We found out what happened to Aaron (she gave him to Claire's mom). And we found out what her motivation was to return to the island (she wants to find Claire). Some great scenes for Kate this episode, especially her saying goodbye to Aaron. Back on the island, Yonng Ben is dying and needs a real surgeon to save him. Cue Jack opting not to help. I love the complete reversal of character for Jack now; this was the first example of him letting go and letting whatever is supposed to happen, happen. He's completely embraced that he has some sort of destiny, and is convinced that when its his time, the island will make it apparant to him what that is. Clearly, this is going to come back and bite him in the ass. But anyway, Kate and Juliet (and eventually Sawyer) come to the conclusion that Young Ben can only be saved if they take him to the Others and Richard Alpert. Richard explains to them that if they take him, Young Ben will never be the same. He won't remember this happening and will lose his innocence; he'd be "one of them" from now on. The question I have is why did Juliet even suggest taking Young Ben to the Others? They're currently living off in the woods somwhere; how did she know that Richard would be able to help Young Ben? Now we know (or, at least we think we know) how Young Ben became the Ben we're accustomed to; I would love to see Young Ben one more time, after he has been saved and changed, to see him act more like Old Ben around the survivors. I like the idea that the survivors, while in the past, were responsible for turning Ben into the very person that would terrorize them in the future. And speaking of moving through time, I could have watched an entire episode of Hurley and Miles discuss time travel. It was awesome that the writers had enough foresight to know the exact questions the fans would be asking at this point and having Hurley ask them to Miles. It gives me faith that we'll be getting the answers when and how they want to give them.
-Dollhouse, Friday: So letting some of the Actives escape and remember parts of their personality was all just a ploy by Ms. DeWitt to give them closure. The actives fell asleep when the reached their desired closure, but it was still a nice fake out. We learned that Sierra was brought to the Dollhouse against her will, and that Millie/November had a daughter that died. But the REAL twist was that Echo managed to call Agent Ballard and leave him a message before she fell asleep and sent back to being an Active. I really hope they start ramping up the Agent Ballard storyline, because I find that part of the show the most interesting.
Big week this week, with Opening Day tomorrow afternoon. Weather in Cincinnati forecasted for tomorrow afternoon? Low 40's with a 60% chance of rain and snow. Note that its been near 70 the past two days. Of coure, this wouldn't be the first for Cincinnati. I may or may not get around to writing my bold predictions for the Reds this season before Opening Day; maybe I'll wait a few days. I do stick by my original prediction, though, of the Reds finishing 82-80. Play ball.
-Arnold Palmer Invitational, Sunday: My prediction of Tiger Woods winning 2 majors this year is looking a whole lot better now. Was there any doubt that he'd make that putt? Is there ever any doubt? Everyone knows its going in and yet, there I was, literally on the edge of my seat, waiting to see. The Masters is this week; anyone taking the field over Tiger? I'm not.
-Kings, Sunday: Another solid episode. Up until now, the Queen, Rose, had been the weakest character of them all. Everyone else, Silas, David, Jack, Michelle, Reverend Samuels, and even the Queen's brother had some intrigue attached to them, but Rose just seemed ditached and kind of aloof. Not anymore. Here, we found out that she was responsible for shaping the entire structure and image of the royal family; she "designed" the monarchy. As she said after the ballet performance, they, meaning the royal family, was the show, not the dancers. She is keenly aware of the people's opinion and perceptions of her family, and she showed that she's just as capable as Silas in manipulating the people around her to get her desired end. The characters in this show just keep getting more and more interesting. The political aspects of the show are starting to wane on me, but the characters are still going strong.
-Heroes, Monday: I thought this was a halfway decent episode. Claire and Nathan in Mexico? Couldn't care less about it. Peter and Angela in church? Meh. I don't really care too much for Peter at this point, and Angela is hit or miss. Clearly their stories this week were to simply to set the four of them up for coming together next episode. But Bennett, Danko, and Sylar? That was the redeeming part of the episode. I have to admit, I didn't see Danko's fake out with the shape shifter coming. Sylar can now change his physical apperance, as if he needed to be more powerful. And you know that Bennett isn't just going to let "Sylar's" capture sit like that; its just a matter of time. Until then, it should be cool to see Sylar wreak havoc as disguised as other people.
-24, Monday: First off, I was partially right about Olivia becoming the new CoS. Clearly, naming a new CoS a mere minutes after the old one resigned is impractical, so being provisional CoS is as close as its going to get. I'm calling that a win. Interesting fake out with Jack's condition- he's infected but its not contagious. I thought the scene between Jack and Larry, where Larry tells Jack that he can't go on the Starkwood raid because he's infection makes him a liability, was awesome. A tough realization for a man like Jack, but its no surprise that he was able to accept it; as he said, he always knew that there'd be a day where he wasn't the best man for the job. And geting infected with a bio-weapon is that day. Now, clearly, Jack's not going to die, so the question is how will he be saved. As currently, there is no cure for the infection; could this be how Kim is brought back into the story? I sensing yes. Now onto the raid on Starkwood. I really thought that Tony was being played by Seaton when he came to break Tony out of his cell. Then, when they contacted the FBI and they were able to see and hear Seaton, I began to think that maybe this might be for real. Then, given Jonas's reaction, I futher thought that Seaton was being truthful. So of course, Seaton played the FBI and had Larry not been there, Tony would've killed him. I'm guessing that Starkwood takes Tony, Larry, and the FBI team hostage and Jack will go in and break them out. 'Cause that's something Jack would do, infected with a bio-weapon or not.
-Lost, Wednesday: Another great character episode. That's two weeks in a row where we've gotten Season 1 type episodes, complete with flashbacks and the like. This week, we got some answers to what Kate was up to off island. We found out what Sawyer whispered to her before jumping out of the helicopter (to take care of his daughter). We found out what happened to Aaron (she gave him to Claire's mom). And we found out what her motivation was to return to the island (she wants to find Claire). Some great scenes for Kate this episode, especially her saying goodbye to Aaron. Back on the island, Yonng Ben is dying and needs a real surgeon to save him. Cue Jack opting not to help. I love the complete reversal of character for Jack now; this was the first example of him letting go and letting whatever is supposed to happen, happen. He's completely embraced that he has some sort of destiny, and is convinced that when its his time, the island will make it apparant to him what that is. Clearly, this is going to come back and bite him in the ass. But anyway, Kate and Juliet (and eventually Sawyer) come to the conclusion that Young Ben can only be saved if they take him to the Others and Richard Alpert. Richard explains to them that if they take him, Young Ben will never be the same. He won't remember this happening and will lose his innocence; he'd be "one of them" from now on. The question I have is why did Juliet even suggest taking Young Ben to the Others? They're currently living off in the woods somwhere; how did she know that Richard would be able to help Young Ben? Now we know (or, at least we think we know) how Young Ben became the Ben we're accustomed to; I would love to see Young Ben one more time, after he has been saved and changed, to see him act more like Old Ben around the survivors. I like the idea that the survivors, while in the past, were responsible for turning Ben into the very person that would terrorize them in the future. And speaking of moving through time, I could have watched an entire episode of Hurley and Miles discuss time travel. It was awesome that the writers had enough foresight to know the exact questions the fans would be asking at this point and having Hurley ask them to Miles. It gives me faith that we'll be getting the answers when and how they want to give them.
-Dollhouse, Friday: So letting some of the Actives escape and remember parts of their personality was all just a ploy by Ms. DeWitt to give them closure. The actives fell asleep when the reached their desired closure, but it was still a nice fake out. We learned that Sierra was brought to the Dollhouse against her will, and that Millie/November had a daughter that died. But the REAL twist was that Echo managed to call Agent Ballard and leave him a message before she fell asleep and sent back to being an Active. I really hope they start ramping up the Agent Ballard storyline, because I find that part of the show the most interesting.
Big week this week, with Opening Day tomorrow afternoon. Weather in Cincinnati forecasted for tomorrow afternoon? Low 40's with a 60% chance of rain and snow. Note that its been near 70 the past two days. Of coure, this wouldn't be the first for Cincinnati. I may or may not get around to writing my bold predictions for the Reds this season before Opening Day; maybe I'll wait a few days. I do stick by my original prediction, though, of the Reds finishing 82-80. Play ball.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
A Ray Of Hope In These Tough Economic Times
The Reds have brought back $5 seats to Great American Ballpark!
This is great. Sure, its limited to the sections in the corners of the upper deck and not the "top 6 rows" like back in the day, but its better than nothing. And its a baseball game, so unless there's a giant pillar right in front of you, there really isn't a bad seat. This makes games (more) affordable for people, and getting families to the ballgame without breaking the bank is always a good thing.
A mere 4 days until Opening Day, and no, I don't count the ESPN Sunday night game; the baseball season doesn't start until the Reds play their first game (its baseball history regardless of what the television schedule says). Upcoming, an in depth look (well, not so much) at the Reds 2009 season with predictions that are most assuredly to be completely wrong.
Baseball's back (almost). Anyone want to catch a game next weekend?
This is great. Sure, its limited to the sections in the corners of the upper deck and not the "top 6 rows" like back in the day, but its better than nothing. And its a baseball game, so unless there's a giant pillar right in front of you, there really isn't a bad seat. This makes games (more) affordable for people, and getting families to the ballgame without breaking the bank is always a good thing.
A mere 4 days until Opening Day, and no, I don't count the ESPN Sunday night game; the baseball season doesn't start until the Reds play their first game (its baseball history regardless of what the television schedule says). Upcoming, an in depth look (well, not so much) at the Reds 2009 season with predictions that are most assuredly to be completely wrong.
Baseball's back (almost). Anyone want to catch a game next weekend?
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