Yeah, I Got Nothing
I had hoped to get back to a more frequent posting routine. That doesn't seem to be going well at the moment. Honestly, I don't have a lot to say about TV this week. I still haven't watched Law & Order: UK. But the April 6th episode will be the end of series 1 which means no new Jamie for awhile and no need for me to rush to catch up. While thirteen episodes have been filmed, ITV seem to be following in the tradition of U.S. cable outlets and splitting the series/season.
Brief (Really!) thoughts on a few other shows:
ER - Yes, I'm one of those people who hasn't watched the show in years but tuned in for Clooney's ep a few weeks ago and the series finale tonight. I felt the finale dragged a bit, but it was satisfying conclusion. I liked that it was just a normal (by their standards) day in the ER and there was a possibility that Carter was coming back to County General. And I thought it was really cool that they not only brought back Rachel Greene, but the same actress who played her all those years ago. It was such a nice surprise, I'll even overlook the insurance issues of having a future med student hanging around the ER.
Chuck - I was rather disappointed with Tricia's guest appearance. Not only was Alex not all that much different than Carla on Burn Notice, she wasn't even a very good agent. Chuck, the Intersect, is the government's top intelligence asset, yet was Alex extremely lax in keeping an eye on him and didn't seem to have a problem with letting him die.
What I did like was Chuck's two lives beginning to converge. It's hard to believe the general would be so careless when signing off from her video conferences, but it allowed Chuck to reveal (in a way) his secret identity, Agent Carmichael, to Awesome. And while I hate to see Awesome and Ellie's relationship suffer because of Chuck's double life, we seem to be approaching a point where they are going to find out the truth.
And Casey was almost as awesome as Awesome! Not only was he incredibly supportive of Sarah because she was the best partner he ever had (Awwwwwww), but he stepped in to give Chuck a chance to speak on her behalf. And did I actually see him give Chuck a reassuring pat on the shoulder?
Castle - I just looked up the title of the episode and, let me get this straight, they gave away the murderer in the title??? REALLY?!?! Not that it was difficult to figure out the wife was involved. I had her and the campaign manager pegged as the culprits early on. Though I suspected they were also having an affair.
The only other thing I have to say about this episode is Kate trying to look sexy at the end was ridiculous. I'm not not knocking the actress's looks. She's attractive. But between the bed hair (it was flippy on the sides, but flat in back), the hideous retro 80's hot pink dress, and bad makeup, no way is she making him lose his place in the book.
Life on Mars - Out of curiosity, I wanted to see how the American writers were choosing to end the series since they had stated they planned on deviating from the UK version. To be fair, they didn't have a lot of time to come up with an ending and I do give them credit for bringing closure to the series. But I'm still shocked they went for such a literal ending. Sam was an astronaut on a mission to Mars and the whole season has been a dream. And Gene was his father. Er, OK.
The Mentalist was just too cracktastic to even discuss this week.
Season 2 of 'Pushing Daisies' comes to DVD July 21st. And the final three episodes will air in the UK before the DVD's are even released here.
Anyone interested in rewatching Farscape? Then join
farscaperewatch! The rewatching commences this Sunday, April 5th.
There has been a lot of debate and discussion about the Battlestar Galactica finale. I was feeling a little overwhelmed by it all so I've been limiting myself to a couple of posts each day. One of the major topics of discussion at the moment is the role of women on BSG and the fates of those women. I had a bunch of links saved to share, but
siljamus has kindly collected them in her post here. Whether you agree with the posts or not, it's some thought provoking reading. Just as with the finale, I find myself somewhere in the middle of the debates.
I still need to listen to the final two podcasts, but I'm torn. Part of me wants to jump ahead to 'Daybreak', the other part of me, the more orderly part, feels I should listen in order which means 'Islanded in a Stream of Stars' comes next. So, I'm going to leave it to you all to decide.
Brief (Really!) thoughts on a few other shows:
ER - Yes, I'm one of those people who hasn't watched the show in years but tuned in for Clooney's ep a few weeks ago and the series finale tonight. I felt the finale dragged a bit, but it was satisfying conclusion. I liked that it was just a normal (by their standards) day in the ER and there was a possibility that Carter was coming back to County General. And I thought it was really cool that they not only brought back Rachel Greene, but the same actress who played her all those years ago. It was such a nice surprise, I'll even overlook the insurance issues of having a future med student hanging around the ER.
Chuck - I was rather disappointed with Tricia's guest appearance. Not only was Alex not all that much different than Carla on Burn Notice, she wasn't even a very good agent. Chuck, the Intersect, is the government's top intelligence asset, yet was Alex extremely lax in keeping an eye on him and didn't seem to have a problem with letting him die.
What I did like was Chuck's two lives beginning to converge. It's hard to believe the general would be so careless when signing off from her video conferences, but it allowed Chuck to reveal (in a way) his secret identity, Agent Carmichael, to Awesome. And while I hate to see Awesome and Ellie's relationship suffer because of Chuck's double life, we seem to be approaching a point where they are going to find out the truth.
And Casey was almost as awesome as Awesome! Not only was he incredibly supportive of Sarah because she was the best partner he ever had (Awwwwwww), but he stepped in to give Chuck a chance to speak on her behalf. And did I actually see him give Chuck a reassuring pat on the shoulder?
Castle - I just looked up the title of the episode and, let me get this straight, they gave away the murderer in the title??? REALLY?!?! Not that it was difficult to figure out the wife was involved. I had her and the campaign manager pegged as the culprits early on. Though I suspected they were also having an affair.
The only other thing I have to say about this episode is Kate trying to look sexy at the end was ridiculous. I'm not not knocking the actress's looks. She's attractive. But between the bed hair (it was flippy on the sides, but flat in back), the hideous retro 80's hot pink dress, and bad makeup, no way is she making him lose his place in the book.
Life on Mars - Out of curiosity, I wanted to see how the American writers were choosing to end the series since they had stated they planned on deviating from the UK version. To be fair, they didn't have a lot of time to come up with an ending and I do give them credit for bringing closure to the series. But I'm still shocked they went for such a literal ending. Sam was an astronaut on a mission to Mars and the whole season has been a dream. And Gene was his father. Er, OK.
The Mentalist was just too cracktastic to even discuss this week.
Season 2 of 'Pushing Daisies' comes to DVD July 21st. And the final three episodes will air in the UK before the DVD's are even released here.
Anyone interested in rewatching Farscape? Then join
farscaperewatch! The rewatching commences this Sunday, April 5th. There has been a lot of debate and discussion about the Battlestar Galactica finale. I was feeling a little overwhelmed by it all so I've been limiting myself to a couple of posts each day. One of the major topics of discussion at the moment is the role of women on BSG and the fates of those women. I had a bunch of links saved to share, but
siljamus has kindly collected them in her post here. Whether you agree with the posts or not, it's some thought provoking reading. Just as with the finale, I find myself somewhere in the middle of the debates. I still need to listen to the final two podcasts, but I'm torn. Part of me wants to jump ahead to 'Daybreak', the other part of me, the more orderly part, feels I should listen in order which means 'Islanded in a Stream of Stars' comes next. So, I'm going to leave it to you all to decide.
Which Podcast Do I Listen to Next?
Islanded in a Stream of Stars
7(77.8%)
Daybreak
2(22.2%)
-
sleepy
OMFG, whut? Really? WHAT?
Also, I voted for Islanded because of the orderly part of me says you should do it in order :D
Not only that, but that was the original Reese Benton. Him I was surprised to see moreso than Rachel being played by the same actress.
Teen Rachel annoyed me in many ways, but it was really good to see her back, see her mature.
Like you, I haven't watched ER in years, but I've tuned in for these last several eps and have enjoyed them for nostalgia's sake. It's weird that the show's going to be gone, even if I haven't been watching, I'm just so...used to it. Ah well. I think it was a good sendoff for the show.
Not only was Alex not all that much different than Carla on Burn Notice, she wasn't even a very good agent.
Yes on both counts. I didn't watch BSG, does she have more of an acting range than this? Only reason I wanted to have her stick around was for Casey to possibly get some, but oh well :P
we seem to be approaching a point where they are going to find out the truth.
Which could be interesting, as I always kinda expected Morgan to be the first to find out about his secret identity.
And Casey was almost as awesome as Awesome!
See, no matter how much I can dislike an episode, Casey never seems to disappoint me.
Tricia is, well, an Awesome actress. ;) She's had to play multiple roles on BSG and she's made every one unique. And that can make you sympathetic to a character who played a large role in the near annihilation of humanity is to her credit. Chuck just didn't giver her much to work with. Alex can be summed up as tough, but beautiful. Meh.
As for Life on Mars, I thought the ending was okay, considering the lack of time they had, but I was disappointed that Sam and Annie's relationship wasn't real. I did not watch the British version, but I have heard it was very good. I need to check it out.
The British version is much more complex than the US version. One of the reason's I didn't watch the US version beyond the first episode is Gene Hunt was a pale imitation of his UK counterpart. Gene isn't gruff with a heart of gold underneath, he's an ass! And Sam and Gene do form a sort of grudging friendship after awhile, but there is non of this father/son crap. :p I believe the UK version is getting a DVD release here soon. I'd recommend renting it.
Also, she and Casey could have had sex. Just saying.
That would have been far more interesting.
As much as I love Ellie and Awesome together, I recalled that in the Christmas episode we saw that Casey had a bit of an interest in Ellie. At least I assumed that was the case when he said she should be the first hostage released from the Buy More. I'm sure Ellie and Awesome will work things out, but I had this thought that it would be funny if Chuck had to deal with Casey going after his sister. ;)
AHAHAHA? WHUT?
That sounds even funnier than the real ending. XD
Ah well! It's not like I've watched for a decade, anyway. And I'm sure it would have been a more satisfying finale for the people who have been watching all these years, and they're the ones whose satisfaction really counts, I think. I'll have to see what my mom (who has faithfully watched the entire time) thought of it.
I may end up rejecting the 150,000 year thing myself when I get around to writing my fic.
What? WHAT?!?
I thought it was fun to see Tricia Helfer have chemistry with Adam Baldwin. In general, though, any episodic character on that show is just going to be an obstacle in the Chuck/Sarah tug of war, and the way the show pushes the reset button on that after every episode has gotten beyond old. I'm glad they're moving forward on the Intersect plot, because it means there's at least some forward movement, but I also feel like they already did it at the beginning of the season and it's a retread too.
I enjoyed this week's Chuck more than other recent outings because, while the Chuck/Sarah storyline was still prominent, they at least weren't moping around about not being able to be together. And that they almost kissed at the end gives my a small bit of hope that they're coming to the point where they say 'Screw the government!' and go for it.
I wonder if they didn't think that American audiences could deal with ambiguity. Also, it seems as though they wanted to kill all Sam/Gene slash before it even started. First by making him so much older and then by making him his father.
BSG has made me immune to hiatuses ;) Well, and having waaaay too much tv to catch up on.
I've not kept up with E.R. It's a show I used to enjoy - I'd catch it late at night after work, usually when they were doing rapid repeats here - an episode or two a day. It got a bit frustrating, watching characters like Abbi or Carter angsting a lot, getting involved with people, breaking up, and angsting all over again... but I remember some lovely episodes. I think my favourite was one where the unsociable ex-cop receptionist had a heart attack, and the rest of the E.R. staff found out at last how he felt about them - through his wife, and their daughter with Downs Syndrome. E.R. could do that kind of thing really well, when it was on form. I tried watching again recently, and pretty much every character I remember appears to have left, or died, or left and died. I'm not sure I'll ever catch up with it - I've got the first 5 seasons on DVD, and they feel... nicely self-contained.
I liked this weeks episode of Castle; I liked seeing Kate starting to push back against Castle not just in her own environment, but his. I realised I'd been waiting for that for a while... I did rather assume the ending was just played for laughs, though. I have no idea what's fashionable and what isn't, so I just assumed the point was her turning up looking as different from her police persona as possible to throw Castle off his game, and it seemed to work. I don't think I'm watching the show on a particularly deep level :P
Having read your description of the end of the US version of Life On Mars... wow. It sounds as if they ripped a lot of the character out of Gene, and any possible ambiguity out of the ending. That seems a crying shame :( It reduces Gene to far less than he is in the UK tv series, and strips away so much of the relationship between him and others. Does this mean they aren't going for a second season? I've seen an advert for Ashes to Ashes airing here again soon, and I'm in two minds as to whether to watch it or not, because it's apparently an inferior show to the original Life on Mars... and if I'm in two minds over Ashes to Ashes, I can't see myself ever watching the US Life On Mars.
Thank you for the link to all the BSG meta... I've just spent an engaging half hour reading through it. I agree with the lions share of it, I think. It's good to know it's not just me and the shippers I know having issues with the show that go way beyond the fact that our ship got retconned and screwed in the same finale episode.
I've been watching series one of Ashes to Ashes on BBC America. I'm enjoying it, but it's not as complicated as Life on Mars. Alex Drake is far more accepting of her life in 1980 whatever, yet also is convinced she's going home. And has a reason to because she has a daughter waiting for her. Gene is not the ass he was in 'Mars'. Which, I'm actually OK with since I can buy that Sam was a positive influence on him and several years have past. There's even some UST going on between he and Alex and he seems to have no problem with her being his equal.
I agree with the points being raised in that BSG meta, but I'm not sure how much of it I actually agree with...if that makes sense. It's definitely made me thinky and I'm still processing. I don't believe Ron had a grand plan to kill off and/or destroy the female characters on the show, but I can agree he didn't put much, if any, thought into how the fates of the female characters might be perceived.
However, the sheer WTFery of the Life on Mars US ending cheers me up. I knew there would be no way they would do the original ending, but that's kind of hilarious.
That was me too. Haven't watched ER since the finale where Pratt, and a car full of others went into the river. But I tuned in when Doug and Carol returned and followed them all to the end. Also was so happy they got the young actor that played Reese to come back! Very cool. they even had me finally liking Rachel Green! lol Loved pretty much everything about the finale. They did it "right" IMO.
Life on Mars - Out of curiosity, I wanted to see how the American writers were choosing to end the series since they had stated they planned on deviating from the UK version. To be fair, they didn't have a lot of time to come up with an ending and I do give them credit for bringing closure to the series. But I'm still shocked they went for such a literal ending. Sam was an astronaut on a mission to Mars and the whole season has been a dream. And Gene was his father. Er, OK.
I have not had a chance to see the U.K. version of this show so I only know this American version. Considering they didn't have a lot of time to tie up the series (though some poor shows get nothing and we're left with a literal cliff-hanger), I liked it. Totally shocked me, but then I didn't know what to expect. Probably Sam going back to 2008 or maybe lost in some other year, maybe? As someone who has *very* weird dreams, it worked for me. ;)