Slightly delayed this go-around; that'll happen when you screw up vide recording several key shows. Fortunately webmaster Glenn Hauman has TiVo, so the day--once again--was saved, and not by the Powerpuff Girls. Spoilers follow...
ALIAS: While Vaughn recovers from Syd's exercise in tough love ("We stab because we care"), Syd riotously bonds with Vaughn's wife, a character so intriguing, so involving, that I've yet to remember what the hell her name is (yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm sure at least twenty of you know it off the tops of your head; bite me) during a zippy car chase. Every time Syd goes out in the field with someone other than Carl Lumbly, I keep thinking how the worst decision they made was putting his character in charge of the branch. It was always so great watching him interacting with Syd on missions; now he mostly stands around and delivers exposition. The series remains involving, but the Covenant remains too vague a threat; a convenient catch-all Big Bad organization. At the very least, I wouldn't mind seeing a human face attached to it. Or a body. Shots of a guy stroking a cat with the picture cropped at the neck and murmuring, "This Sydney Bristow bears closer watching." *Something.*
SMALLVILLE: You expect series like "The Practice" or "Law and Order" to do one of those "ripped from the headlines" stories. But "Smallville" wins the 2004 "Criswell Predicts" award by airing an episode wherein solar flares make hash of Clark's powers mere days after real-life solar flares screwed up everything from communications to MRIs (not to mention my power of super-ventriloquism. If in the past few days you thought you heard voices bitching about Bush, that was probably me.) Furthermore, only on "Smallville" can an episode feature a laugh line that hinges on a running gag from half a century ago and be confident that just about everyone watching the show is going to get it. Perry White arrives, looking a lot like "Lenny" from "Laverne and Shirley," and receives the traditional Smallville greeting: His car gets smashed up. Later, when he runs afoul of the town's "Fargo"-esque sheriff, he addresses her as "chief." "Don't call me chief," she tells him sharply. Best in-joke reference since the John Williams score played over Chris Reeves' dialogue. Perry's arc played out beautifully and underscored that there's many ways to save a person. Yes, Clark saves his life physically, but of equal importance is the way his pure heroism and goodness serves as an inspiration to a guy whose constant exposure to mankind's dark underbelly has poisoned his soul. Very nicely done. Of course, it was obvious from the get-go that the episode lay the groundwork for Clark's eventual hiring at the planet; who didn't see Perry's "If you ever get to Metropolis, look me up?" line coming? On the other hand, it beats the hell out of hiring him because he's the fastest typist he's ever seen.
ANGEL: One of the best fourth season episodes of BtVS involved a despondent Willow inadvertently raising havoc with her friends as her will becomes reality (she tells Giles he "can't see" her problems and he goes blind; she tells Xander he's a demon magnet and, lo and behold, demons come after him from everywhere; Spike and Buffy become engaged which, after season 6, doesn't quite have the shock value it did then.) The circumstances are very different this go-around as Lorne's sleep deprivation results in his casual thoughts empathically projecting onto his friends, but the result is pretty much the same: Insanity ensues until the person starting it gets it sorted out. So there's a certain inescapable been-there, done-that feeling to it. Actually, the Lorne-centric episodes seem to suffer from that (the last one, involving memory loss, evoked "Tabula Rasa.") On the other hand, points for the behavior being even more insane than on BtVS. The high point had to be Gunn's escalating chagrin over Lorne's suggestion that he should "stake out his territory" compelling him to urinate on anything upon which he's remotely interested in staking a claim (the punchline being his warning to Angel not to sit in his office chair.) The watchword for the season seems to be lighter episodes combined with Angel and the Fang Gang constantly being concerned over running a law firm where all the clients are evil. Here's a thought: Get some clients who AREN'T evil. There has to be SOMEone in Los Angeles who isn't evil. Then again, maybe not. Gotta say, it was one thing watching Wesley lose Fred to Gunn last season. But now he's playing second fiddle to some techno guy? Wes...get off the pot, man. I know in real life, you got Ally Hannigan, but c'mon! Where's your pride? You can handle them both. Next week: Mexican wrestlers? Oooookay.
WEST WING: Awright...this is starting to be a bit more like it. The VP's cherry picking of Will was the first thing in weeks that had me going, "Huh! Okay! That's an interesting development." Liked even more Toby's initially dismissive attitude which become more urgent pleading when he realized Will was considering the offer. "You work for the President!" says Toby, to which Will--who apparently read the job chart--responds, "No, I work for a guy who works for a guy who works for the President." Not only is some of the old crackle starting to work its way back into the dialogue, but I didn't feel like I needed Green Lantern's light to make out what was happening on screen...for the most part. Plus there's some intriguingly ill winds blowing: Leo is starting to sound like a megalomaniacal control freak, and it's coming across like actual character development rather than bad writing. I wonder if he's drinking again, or on the verge of it? (Remember, his closest sounding board for alcoholism was Hoynes, who's gone.) And I don't see good things happening for the Bartlet marriage. My major concern had been--and still is--that the way the show's writers were responding to the accusations of the show being "too liberal' was to have all the main characters be helpless, confused, unfocused, weak, or just plain stupid. If I want to see Democrats like that, I can watch a Democratic presidential debate. But you can't have characters as smart as these have been suddenly turn into dummies. I'm giving them time; they're still in shakedown mode after Sorkin's departure, obviously. That's fine. I'm willing to hang for awhile, just so long as they don't continue to insult the character's intelligence...and, by extension, the viewers.
PAD
Posted by Peter David at November 2, 2003 01:03 AM | TrackBack | Other blogs commentingIs it just me, or is Clark shirtless more this season? Also Why doesn't Peter ever review Enterprise? Does he watch it and find it boring. I expected someone who writes Trek novels and has been a fan in the past to be interested in the new show.
I'm really surprized you didn't mention the Hulk-like 'other' Lorne! I got a laugh out of it, and thought "Gee, what will PAD say about that!"
Actually the Smallville episode didn't just aire a few days after the first solar flare, it also aired on supposedly the day of the strongest geomagnetic storm to hit the earth in history. I'm sure WB scheduling executives are giving themselves credit for one of the most amazing plot coincedences ever.
The Angel episode was pretty lackluster compaired to the one from Buffy imho. Andy Hallett deserves to have his moment in the sun on the show, but I hope this wasn't supposed to be it. I did like the part when he character acknowledged his role in the group wasn't always as pivitol as the others, but that he still wanted to contribute.
I'd like to see some insight to techno guy's role in W&H. What motivates one to work for such a "company"? Was he recruited? Does he care about contributing to evil designs of the firm or is he in it just for the dental?
One comment about next week's Angel...they have been laying the groundwork for it in nearly all episodes this season...
I wanna hear people's comments on Tru Calling.
Whine ended.
Anyway, Angel... ehhhh... Smallville Good. Alias... beginning to...
Travis
First off, to Chris: PAD has mentioned a couple of times lately that he can't comment AT ALL on ANYTHING Star Trek, because anything he says seems to get back to the PTB at Paramount (who are one of his employers, ultimately), and misinterpreted, and pain in the neck annoyance ensues, so, as he said, it just isn't worth the trouble.
West Wing - I did think was probably the best of the new season. There were several different threads at once, and the overall intellectual level seemed pretty high. (So did the grumpiness level; but the President, at least, seemed to get over it as the ep went on.) Toby might still be the character who misses Aaron Sorkin the most; pity, as Richard Schiff is such a good actor, as the last two episodes of last season demonstrate. But, all in all - pretty good ending with Josh (hi, Tom Skerrit), in general - this really was an episode during which I didn't really feel the absence of Sorkin.
Angel - woo! I've really liked every episode this season, but for some reason I enjoyed this more than - well, last week's, for one. I was reminded of the "Will-be-done" Buffy ep ("Something Blue"); but this was a diferent enough scenario that for me it was more of just a fond reflection. I believe I figured it out with sober Wesley and Fred acting so drunk; if not, Angel and Eve "getting a room" sealed it. (If these happened in the opposite order, sorry; how I'm recalling it after one viewing.) So ... now we know Angel can ... "get some" ... if he's in darkest, world-is-doomed despair, or if he's under someone else's psychic influence. Seriously, it seems only a true act of "making love" - as with Buffy, or as it would have been with Cordelia - can cause Angel to lose his soul. "And Eve - you stay here with me, we'll have more sex." "I'm on it." - HA!
Not liking Fred with Knox so much; but I assume this'll be resolved before the halfway point of the season. Someone noted he's played by the same actor who played Buffy's classmate "Webs" in "Conversations With Dead People"; I noticed the resemblence in Angel fourth season finale, but I looked it up and thought I found that it was two different actors. Was I wrong? They usually won't use an actor out of make-up (as Webs often was, anyway) in two different parts without an explanation; Halfrek was (very subtly) explained to have been Cecily, William the not-yet-bloody's object of affection, because Kali Rocha was eventually seen out of make-up in both parts, for example. If this is the same actor, this hints at a sinister explanation for his presence (and an explanation for how he could have supposedly been at last year's Halloween party when the Beast killed off all of the former employees[except for Lilah, of course]).
And - the attack of The Incredible Host! "Puny demons - Lorne will smash!" Didn't see exactly that coming; guess that explains that Lorne's mirror conversation wasn't just a delusion. Glad to see Lorne in the spotlight; everybody's compulsions were fun, including happy shiny Spike and "pissy" Gunn .... (Eve doesn't seem to have had that much fun, though. I had to rewind her reaction at the end, as she was walking away from Angel. Was she angry that she and Angel only got together through a spell, or only that she had temporarily lost control?) So - good job, Ben Edlund and Angel staff.
Reserving the right to follow up/correct my post, as it's now past 5 in the morning ....
So ... now we know Angel can ... "get some" ... if he's in darkest, world-is-doomed despair, or if he's under someone else's psychic influence. Seriously, it seems only a true act of "making love" - as with Buffy, or as it would have been with Cordelia - can cause Angel to lose his soul.
Well, actually we've known for a very long time already that Angel needs "a moment of perfect happiness" or something very similarly worded to turn into Angelus again... and having a one night stand surely doesn't qualify as a deeper emotion.
Chris: Also Why doesn't Peter ever review Enterprise? Does he watch it and find it boring?
Luigi Novi: He probably would if he saw Wednesday's episode.
Oh goody, since Petey's late with the Roundup, I get to post.
SMALLVILLE - I liked this week much better than last. Perry White was well-played by David St. Hubbins. He's a very underrated performer. And the comedy bit of him constantly seeing Clark do superhuman stuff was kinda humorous. His interaction with Lex tells me he's gonna be back and I presume lead to a Downfall of Lionel-type storyline.
The negatives are, at this point, the Clark secret I.D. thing is totally completely f--ked up. I know we're not supposed to worry about 10 years in the future but still, it makes it hard for me to accept he ever becomes our CK with the glasses and wimpy demeanor. Also, the sappiness of some of the writing (If Bo Duke does one more "We love you son" deals or Lana has one more Dawson's Creek moment I'm gonna scream) irks me a bit. And next week's ep looks like pure suck on a stick.
ANGEL - I liked this ep a lot. I always enjoyed the Buffy traditional "humor" Halloween eps and now Angel is doing it. Hulk Lorne could've been played a bit more. My favorite stuff (besides the peeing) was Angel's dealing with that Creepy Goat Dude.
I also liked seeing Harmony dance. She needs to dance every episode.
The negative is Angel the show is just not clicking for me this year. The change in direction I just don't like. None of the characters seem interesting any more. I liked it better when they all hated each other. The show is turning too much like Buffy where they're all one big happy Scooby Gang. I like it better when Angel is pissing of Wes or Gunn and Wes both want a piece of Fred's ass, etc.
And there are too many characters. Spike had his little showcase last ep but so far all he does is stand around and crack a few jokes. I'm sick of Wes pining for Fred. Gunn the lawyer is so obviously gonna backfire I don't know why they bother. And I agree with Hopalong David, I'm sick of hearing "our evil clients"--you are running a satanic law firm..what do you expect? They also represent convents?
Maybe I'm being too impatient with Angel. It just reminds me of Buffy last year that meandered and went in fits and starts. I hope they intro their Big Bad for the season soon and get going with the main plot of the season.
Although next week's foray into Lucha Libre don't look like it.
WEST WING--You know, I didn't really like this episode all that much. It seems like EVERYONE was pissed. Leo was pulling rank, the President walks in Amy's office and gives her what for (somewhat deservedly so, I think), and even Toby and Josh seemed grumpier. I know these characters have been through a lot, but at least when Sorkin was running the show, there'd be flashes of wit and lighter moments, instead of every scene being...well...depressing. The birthday party at the end was fun, but as I watched it, Leo wasn't smiling. That ain't the Leo I know. The Leo I know is a rough around the edges, but has a good heart. And for pete's sake, turn on the damn lights! Geez, it reminds me of an episode of MST3K, where Mike and bots proceeded to remark, "This film was lit by an itty-bitty booklight." No wonder everyone is grumpy...if I spent my workday walking around in dimly lit rooms, I'd be less than thrilled, too.
ALIAS: Okay, I desperately need some plot progression here. I mean, don't get me wrong, I think it's great to see Jack and Syd acting on their own to further her memory, while the CIA is tracking down the Covenant, and its great to tie Sark into that whole storyline, but I'd really like a few answers. Every question doesn't have to be answered yet, but at least drop a few here and there. The real treat in this new set-up, though, is seeing the "new" Sloane, who is so obviously the "old" Sloane. When Sloane remarked, "I'm offering to be a double-agent," I smiled, thinking, "That's the Sloane I know!" Vaughn and his wife annoy me. It's not because I'm pulling for Vaughn and Syd, cause frankly, I don't care if they're ever "together" again, but the relationship between Vaughn and his wife is so syrupy. I liked the scene in the hospital, though, with Vaughn in the hospital bed, surrounded by Weiss, Syd, and the wife...it reminded me of the kind of conversation we'd see in season one or two.
About Tru Calling....We have it on tape since we are currently cheering for Rupert on Survivor. This week most of Cowboy Pete was seen on tape since Peter was working on the Spidey II novel and various comic books and I was working on another project that will remain mysterious for a while long or at least until we have a signed contract. So we got all of the shows watched except Tru Calling and Peter didn't want to delay his reviews any further.
Kathleen
Who is so looking forward to the Treehouse of Horror tonight.
Funny about PAD liking this week's West Wing.
I thought it was pure crap.
I've been defending last season, and liking the first few eps of this season, but this one struck me so boring and wasteful that I wonder how I managed to stay awake through the whole thing.
By the way, what's the over/under on who leaves first, Toby or CJ?
SMALLVILLE - I liked this week much better than last. Perry White was well-played by David St. Hubbins.
Actually, Perry was played by Michael McKean, who sometimes is credited as David St. Hubbins.
West Wing; Next week Pres. Bartlett has to water ski jump over a tank of sharks.
I thought I was watching Bizarro West Wing. Nobody acted as themselves. The Bartlet White House has morphed from the Anti-Bush WH into the Bush WH. The Plot with Leo changing a science report is from the current administration and something Sorkin would not have let happen when he was writing it. All of a sudden CJ is the moral compase of the WH. Amy taking it on herself to push a legistlative objective without Mrs. Bartlet's consent was preposterous. The all too obvious plot devices that "pay off" later are painful. It's as if Bartlet lost the election and these are new characters played by the same actors. We may see only one Sorkinless season, and I may not even stay for that.
SMALLVILLE - I liked this week much better than last. Perry White was well-played by David St. Hubbins.
I think Chris was referring to Michael McKean's character from "This is Spinal Tap" - a great movie if you haven't seen it.
Man, I just don't get why so many people still get Michael McKean and David St. Hubbins mixed up. I don't think they look anything alike.
SMALLVILLE: I really felt the lack of Papa Luthor this episode. The Perry White character filled most of the void, but, given the reason for his slide into alcoholism, a confrontation between him and Lionel would have been that much cooler. Otherwise, a pretty decent episode. Next week: given how much I loathed the X-Files time-travel love story Titantic thing, I have no high hopes here.
ANGEL: Ok, try living on a university residence with 300 or so other guys. Then try explaining the premise of Angel to a room of said guys who'd really rather be watching hockey anyway. Needless to say, I had a very long hour. The episode itself wasn't that bad, but I really felt Spike was desperately out of place. I mean, he said like nothing in the last scene, and it was pretty clear he was kept around only to weigh in on that pee joke. (On the other hand, pee jokes are one thing that a bunch of university guys are sure to understand. So it wasn't all bad)
>I hope they intro their Big Bad
>for the season soon and get going
>with the main plot of the season.
Why assume there will BE a Big Bad for the season? There usually hasn't been one on Angel, except for last year. Which I think is a good thing... Buffy's season long epics always ended up being a bit padded, I thought. I wouldn't mind seeing some interesting mini-arcs, but I'm glad they've said they won't be doing another season-long epic again this year (as much as I enjoyed it last year).
I liked "Smallville" pretty much, and I was glad that there was no Kryptonite villain of the week, or Kryptonite-anything. I think this TV series has used Kryptonite more than any 1960s' "Superman" comic ever did!
It was hard for me to look at Perry White and not see "Lenny" or "David St. Hubbins" of "Spinal Tap," though.
Overall, a good episode.
The Angel producers are doing more done-in-one episodes this season, to attract the casual viewer. That's fine, but the really compelling stuff seems to be the plot points that carry through multiple episodes. Anyone have an opinion on this?
I'm wondering if Eve's last line in the ep was a shout-out to Marti Noxon, who's also a UC Santa Cruz alum (and I'm assuming anyone else who's got familiarity with UCSC, home of the Fighting Banana Slugs, got a chuckle out of that line...although there are other schools not in the UC system that would've been better. And I'm wondering in Miskatonic U. is under trademark/copyright).
Re: How can anyone remember last year's Halloween party if all the W&H employees were killed? Um, remember, we've had a very fuzzily explained as to repercussions history rewrite in the meantime. Who says everyone got killed in the current timeline? After all, Wes seems never to have had a major falling out with Angel & Co., Fred and Gunn are showing zero after effects of a failed relationship, etc.
Btw, Mrs. Vaughn's name is Lauren. And Lauren's dead right that she needs to get Vaughn the heck away from Sydney. Still don't see why she doesn't say "Honey, we're getting a transfer to another office".
There WASN'T a history rewrite, there was a MEMORY rewrite (as with Dawn, only in reverse). There's all the difference.
Although Wesley's memory of the past couple of years must have more holes than Swiss cheese....
This was the episode of West Wing that made me officially give up on the series. Everyone acting like a pissy jerk is not character development. After everything these folks have endured, NOW they're grumpy? There used to be some real love in this show, a sense of higher purpose, which made the drama all that more powerful. Now everyone's acting like bickering coworkers. Lame.
As for Angel, as trepidacious as I've been this season, this ep had me giggling for days. "Pee pee." Heh.
Edhopper said: "West Wing; Next week Pres. Bartlett has to water ski jump over a tank of sharks."
Actually, E., I think you're about 6 months late. I still watch the show in hopes that it will regain the magic it once had, but I think it's done.
Treehouse of Horror - Well, it's 7:00 PM
here in the Eastern time zone and there is still 13 minutes left on the game clock in the football game. Looks like all the leaves will have fallen off the tree before we get to see this years' episode.
Oh course, last week, when Fox only had a single game, they scheduled a rerun Treehouse of Horror.
I, for one, was disappointed that Spike didn't use his newfound ability (albeit probably with great concentration) to touch things. I thought for sure, Spike would at least try to hit Lorne/Hulk. I've been wondering since last week's episode how Spike's ability to touch things would handle in a fight. Well, only time will tell.
Also, most ghosts (traditionally) can move things but can't be seen (ie Phantom Dennis), but since Spike's not exactly a ghost, he can be seen but has a hard time moving things? And another thing: Why doesn't Angel and Co just get one of the other necromancers that work for the company (hopefully one that isn't as evil as the one in ep. 2 of this season) and put Spike in another vamp body (one that Angel would've killed anyway)?
My thoughts on Smallville this week (pasted from my LiveJournal)
-Really good episode and Michael McKean did a great job portraying Perry White. I know some Supes fans are a bit pissed off as Perry played as a drunken lout but come on people this is BEFORE Clark becomes Superman NOT during it.
-Found it EXTREMELY odd that Clark's powers were out of whack because of solar flares and the very same day the episode aired there really were solar flares happening....freakish coincidence or was Mark Verheiden (the episode's writer) psychic?
-Yea it didn't seem plausible for the rope to hold Perry when he and Clark were dangling off the bridge but then again its TV so.
-Didn't know gorges exist in Kansas?
-Loved "Walking in Memphis" being played when Perry bid farewell to Clark although I prefer the Marc Cohn version myself.
FYI not sure if you know CBS 75th Anniversary show is on and seeing Bo and Luke Duke together after so long begs the question...when will Tom Wopat make an appearance on Smallville? Heh
THE WEST WING: Blah. This felt like one of the most mean-spirited episodes they've ever had. Toby can't stand Will doing anything beyond calendars. Leo all but slaps CJ around. The Pres seems more distant, physically and emotionally, from his wife. And Josh not only loses his girlfriend, but also falls into a trap we coulda seen coming a mile away. (I'm also growing tired of the intern proving smarter and more effective than Josh.) Blah.
SMALLVILLE: If there's one plot that's used over and over in comics, it's when the hero loses his/her power. This one had a new twist: The hero alternates between losing power and having it go WAY OUT OF CONTROL! Clark's fears about the heat vision were well founded, and we get yet another chance for folks to see that he can be hurt. (Lex's first encounter was running into an impervious Clark; he soon after pulled Clark down from a pole.)
Also, here's a peeve: SMALLVILLE WILL NOT LEAD INTO THE CURRENT SUPERMAN WORLD OF COMICS!!! Every time there's some sort of alternate universe story (which all comics really are), people always try to see the regular stories leading to that alternate universe. Maybe Robin's death will lead to THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS! Maybe this villain Gog will lead to KINGDOM COME! And every possible connection between SMALLVILLE and comics seems to get people picturing Clark putting on the red & blue and heading to Metropolis. It's not continuity, they'll only put Clark in the costume on the series finale (or if they're really desperate for ratings), so just enjoy it as a "what if" story instead of betting how every phrase and occurrence will lead to the latest issue of Action Comics.
Whew.
Coupla thoughts on Angel:
Did anyone notice that Spike was struck and knocked to the ground by Lorne-Hulk? Does this mean he can make his whole body solid at will?
I thought it required focused concentration just to be able to touch things a la Patrick Swayze.
BTW, didn't Spike actually round up a bunch of demons and go after Buffy on Halloween night during the 2nd season of BTVS? So much his "we stay in on Halloween" remark.
I kind of got the feeling that Spike is "nigh-intangible" in the same way that the Tick was "nigh-invulnerable", which for the Tick meant that "he could be injured when the plot called for it."
Anybody else sick of Swayze-Spike?
Eric
As I recall, that Buffy Halloween ep was a special case. That's when we first found out that vampires consider those who go out on Halloween to be posers, and thus Halloween is the quietest night of the year for a Slayer.
But when Spike realized that Buffy had been magically transformed into a spoiled and pampered lady from the Middle Ages who had no fighting skills or abilities, he figured the chance was too good to pass up. The "demons" were transformed kids in demon costumes.
Peter:
Although I don't watch the West Wing, otherwise I do agree with everything you said about last week's shows. but I do have one question:
When did Perry White ever have trouble with alcohol?
Yes, I know tv 'continuity' is different from comic book 'continuity', but Perry being the visiting reporter was the only hitch I had dealing with the episode.
Kathleen:
I liked Treehouse of Horror 14, although Jerry Lewis as Professor Frink, Senior just didn't sound quite like Jerry Lewis to me. Then again, whoever does Junior's voice seemed imtimatated by Lewis' appearance, because he didn't sound quite right to me tongiht either.
Just one viewer's opinion.
"Although Wesley's memory of the past couple of years must have more holes than Swiss cheese...."
Oh my God! You're right! Wesley this season is really Sam Beckett from Quantum Leap, here to set things right!
Nah; kidding. Though QL was a show with a perfect excuse to do crossovers. It's a shame that's been exclusive to fanfics, really.
Just a quick question for those of you with tapes/tivos.
On Angel, does Wes still have the neck scar?
If he doesn't that would probably mean more of a time rewrite than a memory rewrite.
BTW, here's a little more about "The Drunken Sailor" from the thread below:
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/features/columnists/sfl-ralph02nov02,0,6671241.column
Peter was wondering what you thought of Tru Calling.
And have you seen Joan of Arcadia? I like it a lot and it's somewhat reminiscent of the early supergirl issues
Ok. On Smallville -- I would have bought the idea of Perry forgetting or at least disbelieving seeing Clark in action if he was a blackout drunk, but we never even saw him acting drunk or nursing a hangover even -- he seem pretty functional & lucid to me...
Entirely off topic but still Smallville related -- there's talk of a big screen Dukes of Hazard movie, and IMHO if they don't cast Anthony Clarke of Yes Dear as Roscoe P. Coltrane, someone needs their @$$ kicked :^)
Thanks to two episodes playing last week up here, I'm finally seeing the same episodes you are. In Toronto at least, the flares episode was indeed aired on the same day as the real world flares.
To the fellow who commented that the comics will not be tying in with the events of Smallville, I wouldn't recomend him reading this weeks issue of Birthright.
WEST WING
See, I'm NOT buying the whole "Leo as a control freak thing" and I think this is the first sign of what I worried about when Wells took over the show: Characters established personalities suddenly changing to accomodate plot points (well, since George has to leave the show, let's have his character suddenly become a jerk!). It just felt like someone said "we need a bad guy, and it can't be a Republican -- so let's make it Leo!)
The only bit I thought felt right was Josh buying his own press and trying to drop the hammer on Tom Skerrit and having it blow up in his face. Very deft.
What's the deal with the intern, anyway? I missed the first half of his episode and I don't get him at all.
Smallville: You know, in the comics there have been some indications or hints that Perry knows that Clark is Superman, but chooses not to say anything to him, or to anyone else, about it. And there have been comments on message boards that Perry is too good an investigative reporter not to notice.
So my thinking is that when Clark gets to Metropolis, and Superman shows up around the same time, Perry will be fully aware that they are the same person, but he's too decent a fellow to try to exploit that knowledge.
I personally did not like last week's Angel at all. It seemed disjointed and repetitive (as Peter stated)-- borrowing from episodes past. The only thing I did like was Angel and Eve behind the sofa and Spike pointing and yelling at them... But that moment was ruined by all the commercials run before the episode actually aired.
All in all, it was like watching a film trailer for a comedy-- then going to the movie only to discover that all the funny bits were in the trailer and the rest of the movie was filler crap.
And I liked West Wing for the exact reasons Peter did-- and liked it for what a lot of people seemed NOT to like it for... That everyone WAS so pissed off. Congrats to the writers on that idea... People have bad days, companies have bad days... and I bet they have a LOT of bad days in the WH.
And I believe that everyone is acting differently because their ENTIRE WORLD is unraveling... and no one can seem to individually do anything about it or get everyone to come to a consensus.
I see further drift among the major players and then, hopefully, a rousing coming together as President Bartlet kicks Gary Oldman's sorry terrorist ass off Air Force One in mid flight.
I personally can't wait for the episode where newly installed V.P. Gary Cole hires Hulk Hogan to play the head of his Secret Service detail... Then we'll really see some butt-kicking!
Regarding Perry's "lack" of drunken behavior and/or hangover, obviously you've been fortunate enough not to have to be around a true achoholic. People who have gone so far as to start drinking vanilla extract to get their alchohol, as Perry seemed to be, do NOT exhibit the behaviour most people expect. You have to realize that these peoples' bodies have learned to adapt to a constant state or inebriation (sp?). In fact, when their blood achohol level begins to drop they begin to experience what is known as DTs, or delirium tremors. And one of the aspects of alchohol withdrawel that applies here is possible hallucinations and/or scizophrenic reasoning. Perry's disbelief in what he "saw" was exactly what to expect. Trust me on this one; I know way too many people by only their first name.
As to the actor's name... There seems to be some confusion as to who played Perry. The actor's true name is Jerry Palter. I was suprised at how good an actor he was, but was pleased since I grew up listning to his music.
Tru Calling.
Well, It's a morbid version of Early Edition. Except that the characters are very well developed, the acting is straight on, and I was more interested in the inter-relationships than the Death of the week.
Eliza is good... not a hint of Faith anywhere. The brother and sister and the family dynamic (as dysfunctional as it is) is perfect. And I'm very interested in her friends. And the professor.
It wasn't a perfect show, but it was a strong start. I think it will be nice.
Um on the actor thing. It was Michael McKean. Y'know, from Lenny and Squiggy, and a couple of superb X-Files episodes. And other things. Who, also, happens to be married to the first Lana Lang... Annette O'Toole.
They promoted it on the web that way. (When you read a quote by Gough and Millar saying so, you sorta take it as fact.)
Travis
re: Smallville--Haven't we seen the "Someone thinks Clark has powers, just when they don't work" thing before?
Angel: I think its time for Wes' ex-girlfriend, the wizards daughter to return. I don't like Fred anyway.
SMALLVILLE:
If Clark topless is sexist, I'd be happy to see him in a tank top or snug stretchy shirt, even more often.
After all that's what they do for the girls. And while I'm at it -- sure more skimpy top Lex would be great too! (They can skip the make-up and eyeliner unless they're doing a glam rock episode.)
ANGEL:
For a Lorne-centric episode, they made a big mistake with continuity -- Lorne is unlike most of the rest of his "race" who happen to be garden variety people in his home dimension.
Thus, Lorne is not an "empathy deamon" -- he is a deamon with strong empathy or trained mind power to empathy or personality traits leading his innate deamony natural mind abilities to empathy.
It wouldn't have been too difficult for them to say look up "the gift of empathy" and cross reference that with Pyleans... or somehow let us know if it is a magic gift or a mind/organic/science-based pyschic ability.
Maybe something to do with the rare Pylean trait of empathy?
TRU CALLING
She's a superhero!
Above average running and stamina (was track star in COLLEGE!)
and the memorizations skills and intellect to be a very well prepared pre-med student.
... oh yeah, and there's that connection to the dead clairvoyance thing.
Re: Tru Calling
As much as I like Eliza and wanted to like this, I thought the writing was horrible. Even the plot itself was full of holes (you'd think a show centered around causes of death and a morgue would use a medical consultant). I'll give it one more week to hold my interest.
Okay, first in response to webluas' response to my first post .... It did seem safe to assume that it wasn't just sex that would cause Angel to lose his soul ... but Angel hasn't always assumed such. He feared he was going to lose his soul after he slept with Darla - and whatever he may have felt about her, it was quite clear that that night was not about "perfect happiness". Angel may have figured out after this that he could have casual sex, as long as it didn't mean - everything - but I don't remember it being actually acknowledged - and certainly not blatantly demonstrated - before now. Now, it kinda has been:). And that's what I meant above, maybe a little more clearly put here.
On to the new thoughts ....
I'll be very interested when we do get more insight into what the rest of the Angel In ... do we call them the Wolfram and Hart crew now? Anyway - what exactly DO they think happened in the past couple of years? They know Cordelia's in a coma; Wesley, while on good terms with everybody, still has the skills, looks, and weapons he developed as "Dark Wesley"; Fred has the assertiveness she gained after Angel and Cordelia disappeared (although - we haven't seen her really fighting since the memory wipe, have we?) ... Why do they think they've been given Wolfram and Hart, if they don't remember Jasmine at all?
It could be that they remember Jasmine, and just not the exact circumstances of her birth .... But yes, especially Wesley's life is a lot different without Connor. (Does Christine remember anything about Connor? ... Well, considering Connor was last seen on TV, with hostages, maybe everyone who had any memory of Connor at all - except, of course, Angel - and Lilah [which raises another question - what does Eve know?] - had them altered.) It could be they just have a subliminal suggestion not to think too closely about certain things.... Whatever is going on, there will be pretty big consequences when/if the truth comes out - both from Angel's friends and the Senior Partners - this seems to be quite a spell they worked for Angel - what's the hidden cost?
If there's not a Big Bad this season - there is at least a Big Secret, and it will be very interesting to see what Joss Wheden and co. do with it.
Um on the actor thing. It was Michael McKean. Y'know, from Lenny and Squiggy, and a couple of superb X-Files episodes. And other things. Who, also, happens to be married to the first Lana Lang... Annette O'Toole.
He was making an in joke about the character that McKean played in this past summer's offering from McKean, Christopher Guest & Harry Shearer (among many others), "A Mighty Wind". It's a fake documentary about several folk music acts reforming for a memorial concert in honor of the owner of their former record label. McKean plays Jerry Palter of the Folksmen. It's a great movie and if you enjoyed "Best In Show" or "Spinal Tap" then you'll like this one.
About the thing with Eve and Angel. Does anyone remember Eve's exact words to Angel as she left? It was something like "Don't worry. It's not the first time I had sex while under a magic spell." The reason I ask is that it just hit me that they might be hinting that this REALLY is Eve. You know, from the Bible. Being seduced/tricked by the snake and all might have qualified under some people's views. Just a thought.
Someone earlier was questioning if the actor playing Knox on Angel was the same one who played Holden on Buffy. The answer is yes. (He also shows up in one of the unaired episodes of Firefly.) And ME has used other actors on multiple shows before without makeup or explanation.
The actor who played Ken in the Buffy episode "Anne" also played a character in a season 1 Angel episode (both characters were demons, but spent about half the episode in human face.) He also had a part in the Firefly episode "Serenity". I know I've seen some other familiar faces on multiple ME shows sans makeup. Though the actress who played Halfrek is the only one I can recall playing multiple parts on the same show where you saw her out of makeup.
They recycle actors, but they're better about it than The X-Files where every little detail seemed important (until the later seasons when it became painfully obvious that the mystery was just being made up as they went along) and you had the same actor appearing 2 or 3 times as completely different characters while other times it was the same character.
Smallville: Once again, I'm all for topless shots of Clark and Lex. The only thing that bothered me about this episode was wouldn't Perry White's ankle have been broken (or leg dislocated) when he reached the end of his fall and the rope tightened (it was tied around his ankle), and his weight and Clark's pulled on it?
ANGEL-...If it's one thing the creators can do, it's turn poo into something halfway decent.
But you can polish a turd all day and it'll still be dookie.
Gotta read between some of the lines, I guess. We can't really try to rationalize the memory wipe of Connor because we don't know for sure the creative crew's real reason behind it. I really don't think they intended Connor to go over as badly as he did to this point...
But that's last season.
There was a Big Bad in season 3, Holtz, probably one of the top three villians in the entire continuity.
Season 5...like I said, poo into something halfway something decent. Angel and Spike have no business being in the same show because you can't have two Alphas. Having them both is good by theory and good for ratings, but in the long run it might be a bad idea.
Eve is 95% pointless. The other five percent that makes her useful is the fact that she's hotter than Lilah. She comes off as kind of a slut, too.
Good show, though. Just saying there's better ways they could go to get higher ratings and better stories.
Lorne rules. Bottom line.
"wouldn't Perry White's ankle have been broken (or leg dislocated) when he reached the end of his fall and the rope tightened (it was tied around his ankle), and his weight and Clark's pulled on it?"
On TV shows, even normal mortals are remarkably resistant to pain and physical damage. On action shows like SMALLVILLE, people are always being thrown into (or even through) walls, and they just push themselves up and they're fine. In real life, they'd have fractures or broken bones, blood everywhere, and sometimes even a broken neck. This also goes for people falling and being caught/grabbed -- there's almost never any whiplash or damage. (One of the rare exceptions to this in comics was the death of Gwen Stacy, where she was caught and *still* died.) It's not a good answer, but it's something of a standard on TV shows.
(BTW, didn't they bring Gwen Stacy back a few years ago when the Spider-Man stories were all about clones? Is she now wandering around somewhere in the Marvel universe, or did they decide to quietly drop it?)
Re Gwen Stacy: Actually, the Gwen clone had been created some time earlier, and was brought back in the late '80s (as a tie-in with "The Evolutionary War" crossover IIRC). (As a sort of "It's been 15 years, about time we tied up this loose end" gesture, I guess.) They established at that point that some of the Jackal's duplicates weren't really clones, but regular people who'd had DNA and memory treatments to turn them into duplicates of other people. The Gwen-duplicate, realizing she wasn't Gwen, wandered off and I don't think she's shown up again. (She shared an origin with the Spider-Clone, but I don't think she turned up during the storyline itself--at least a brief search on Google didn't turn up anything.)
I did like the part when he character acknowledged his role in the group wasn't always as pivitol as the others, but that he still wanted to contribute.
Well, a lot of that comes from the fact that his ability is a plot killer. He's an outspoken precognitive with some telepath ability (or vice versa), which means that he can find out secrets and isn't shy about revealing them. S'why he spent so much of the last season out of commission.
Moreover, his other ability -- plenty of underworld contacts -- is only useful if the gamema... er, scriptwriter is inclined to allow negotiation to be fruitful. Since one of the themes so far is "Compromise with evil compromises you", that seems unlikely.
Oh... re: Swayze Spike. That's probably so they can rerun this episode independently on Halloween some other time.
James Lynch writes:
**"wouldn't Perry White's ankle have been broken (or leg dislocated) when he reached the end of his fall and the rope tightened (it was tied around his ankle), and his weight and Clark's pulled on it?"
On TV shows, even normal mortals are remarkably resistant to pain and physical damage.**
Cars, on the other hand, cannot go over cliffs or down steep embankments without blowing up.
As for the whole “this Clark cannot grow into Superman we all know because he will be recognized” issue, admittedly, the shows creators may have dug themselves into a hole by placing Smallville on the outskirts of Metropolis. Of course by all accounts the series will end once Clark officially becomes Superman and heads for Metropolis so maybe they didn’t concern themselves with that.
On the other hand, I think if Clark assumed the “glasses and suit” persona as Clark, it would be accepted if done well. There has always been some suspension of disbelief required regarding the Clark Kent “disguise” Christopher Reeve was the only one who was able to effectively convince people that a pair of glasses and change of hair style can work as a disguise. But that was because he took the character of Clark to the extreme by making him the “clumsy nerd”. George Reeves never quite pulled it off and Dean Caine sure as hell didn’t yet they were still accepted.
In the same way we accept that Buffy dusted vampires and demons for 7 years and only on TWO occasions were the villains smart enough to use a gun (the second time nearly killing Buffy). Any vampire with a decent aim and a pistol could easily make mincemeat out of the Slayer before she could even have the stake in her hand. Yet they don’t and the fans never question it. I think in that same way, nobody would really question how someone would be fooled by a pair of glasses. Those closest to Clark being fooled would be more of a stretch (Lex in particular) but the average Joe in Metropolis probably wouldn’t make the connection.
Well, on Buffy the lack of guns is a genre thing. If all the bad guys used guns, it would be a completely different show.
That and most run-of-the-mill vampires don't have guns because they don't need them. They can pretty much kill humans indiscrimnatly and guns generally don't work against other beasties, so their only use is in killing a Slayer. Most vamps don't really expect to run into the Slayer, they're being only one in all the world and all that.
Most of the villains on Buffy that expect to be fighting the Slayer don't bother with guns either due to overconfidence, pride (a real demon doesn't need to rely on such things) or a sense of tradition. Note that Spike was only prepared to use a gun against Buffy when he knew it was the only way he'd be able to kil her (since the chip made an actual fight impossible). The Master was a traditionalist. Angelus would have found it to lack poetery. The Mayor liked all the trappings of being an evil overlord. Adam did try to use a gun but it had no effect on uber-Buffy. Glory would have found the concept completely beneath her. Dark Willow was on a magical power-trip, why bother with the mundane. The First was incorporeal, so it couldn't have used a gun even if it wanted to.:) Seriously though, being the First Evil and all, I'd put it in the traditionalist category.
Though a friend of mine theorized it to be a sort of unwritten agreement among both sides to prevent an arms race. Vampires start packing guns, the Watchers' Council starts equipping its Slayers with Initiative-style equipment and vice versa.
But in the end, it really is just a genre thing.
First off, to Chris: PAD has mentioned a couple of times lately that he can't comment AT ALL on ANYTHING Star Trek, because anything he says seems to get back to the PTB at Paramount (who are one of his employers, ultimately), and misinterpreted, and pain in the neck annoyance ensues, so, as he said, it just isn't worth the trouble
Ahhh, that may partly explain why he wasn't present for the 'Verdict' panels at this past DragonCon. I really wanted to hear PAD's opinion on both 'Enterprise" and the last movie (name escapes me).
As to the shows: I also found it amusing that the Smallville episode aired on the same day as the flare, although I wonder if it was intentional. Chloe's 'wall of weird' was back up, but didn't she get rid of it the episode before? I still watch the show mostly to see the fall of Lex Luthor, however.
Angel is getting better and better, and its about time Lorne got his own episode. I'm going to have to do some checking, however. I don't remember Fred and Gunn ever breaking up, although it seems as though they are no longer a couple this season.
Kalshane:
Sure the "Big Bad" of each season may not have felt the need to use a gun because they were so powerful but what about all the lackeys and "lower" demons that Buffy routinely killed on her patrols? Surely the vamps living (or "un-living") in Sunnydale would at least protect themselves better since they know that is where the Slayer resides. For that matter, why would the vampires even stay in Sunnydale knowing it is the home of the Slayer? Sure there is the whole "attracted to the Hellmouth" thing but the lower lackey vamps seem to dimwitted to be drawn to any type of power. The first think a vampire with any sense would do upon rising in Sunnydale is either get a gun and kevlar for protection or get the hell out of town.
I think you are right in that it is a genre thing. But that was actually my point with the Clark Kent/Superman identity. That fans of Superman will find a way to explain why Clark is not recognized even though there it would seen very unlikely in the "real world"
MarvelFan:
Chloe's taking down the Wall Of Weird happened during Clark's "dream sequence" (I guess that was another subtle clue that it was a dream).
RE: Tom Wopat on the CBS Anniverssary Special
If they ever do the proposed "Bruce Wayne, Lex's prep-school acquaintance" episode, Tom Wopat MUST appear as Thomas Wayne in a flashback.
I'd actually weep. For about a second and a half. Then I'd stroke it to Lawrence Welk reruns.
"I don't remember Fred and Gunn ever breaking up, although it seems as though they are no longer a couple this season."
They broke up shortly after they killed Fred's professor who originally sent her to Pylea.
"The first think a vampire with any sense would do upon rising in Sunnydale is either get a gun and kevlar for protection or get the hell out of town."
Yeah, but then you get the arms race scenario as each side tries to out-do the other. That and I guarantee most of those "dim-witted" vamps think they can take the Slayer if they do run into her.
I've said before that I miss Cordelia (and this last episode underscored it even more for me. Harmony just doesn't have the intelligent, hyper-astute affectionate wit that made Cordelia the heart of the show for the past four seasons) but seeing Eve and Angel made me really miss Lilah.
First of all, Lilah is hotter than Eve, and also, she and Angel have so much history and hatred that onscreen the sexual tension just sizzles between them. I think Angel/Lilah sex would have packed a bigger punch than what happened, especially since Lilah's also dead (is it necrophilia if no one's alive?) and had a thing going on with Wes - who probably doesn't remember anything.
Which leads me to Wes, poor man. He doesn't even remember getting rejected the first time around, obviously. Also, how is it that Gunn and Fred have NO interaction? I mean...they used to DATE. I don't think the number of characters is really a problem, because they had a similar number on Buffy in Season Five. Instead, they need to deal with character interactions more, which is why they brought in Spike, who was a perfect opportunity to force Angel to open up some, because, really, who knows him better than Spike? They're missing a great chance to give Angel a therapist who's not afraid to piss him off or be changed by the encounter (unlike Lorne).
And when's Spike gonna sing for Lorne?
It's long been my conclusion that, on average, soulless vampires have the tactical sense of a newt.
Ignore general weaponry. After a few seasons of Buffy, it's clear that any Sunnydale vampire who wanted to know would know where Buffy lived. So:
1) Gather up 50 or so vamps, demons, etc.
2) Spend a nice day in the sewers near Casa Summers playing kitten poker.
3) As soon as the sun sets (bonus points if you wait for a rainy day so you can get out of the sewers shortly before actual sunset), go above ground and surround Casa Summers.
4) Ignite the various explosives, firebombs, etc. that you'd planted around the house and grounds the previous night while Buffy was known to be across town in a cemetary (several vamps with walkie-talkies shadowing her).
5) Anyone makes it out of the inferno, open fire with the Uzis, flamethrowers, etc. you're packing.
Oh, make sure Buffy is in the house by having a pizza delievered or something.
Tom,
Interesting scenario with the bazillion vampires that kill Buffy. I'd only suggest a couple of changes.
1) Having Vampires shadow the Slayer is risky business. I'd con some newbies into making an attack on her during her regular patrols and have one of them call in the attack before he got involved and inevitablly dusted. That way you can know that she's away from her house and Buffy would likely just think that she ran into another of those endless packs of vampires. If she noticed them following her, she might be inclined to capture one and ask questions.
2) If you assume that you have the skilled personnel to wire the house with explosives, why not just wire the car. Have some vamp hide and the sewers and torch them when Buffy takes Dawn to school. Better yet, blow it when she's going out at night. That way your gang can rush the car if she gets out somehow.
3) If you really want to go with torching the house, just break into the army base that Xander stole the rocket launcher from at night, steal some flame-throwers and burn the house down. Less to go wrong. Once again you con newbie vamps into operating the equipment in case there's a tragic flamer accident. Better yet, get some cute girlie vampires to pick up some soldiers, make them vampires, and have them operate the stuff. If you hide the bodies until they rise, then they're just AWOL instead of dead of suspicious neck trama. You then kill anything that gets out of the house...unless Willow turns the inferno into a rain of butterflies.
4) I'm not sure that are really that many vampires in Sunnydale at any one time. If they are they seem too antisocial to coorindate on these types of schemes...or too dumb.
Oh, and the dumb Faceless Minion level vampires probably don't realize that they stay in Sunnydale because of the Hellmouth. I'm sure that they rationalize their reasons for staying without realizing that dark and unnatural forces have drawn them there.
Oh, dear. I've gone and blathered on again. To keep belatedly on topic, I was amused with the whole Angel episode, but was shocked that Lorne would let W&H remove his sleep. It made that mirror scene make so much sense before we got to see Lorne-Hulk. It had phychotic episode written all over it.
One can also ask who the immortals from Highlander still fought with swords in the 20th century instead of with uzis and a chainsaw (although, a few of them did "cheat").
I think it just comes down to the fact that vamps are stalkers by nature. They really get off on sneaking up on a victim, ambushing them, and physically overpowering them before feeding on them. Killing someone at a distance with a gun just doesn't give them the same thrill and thus they disdain the use of firearms and explosives.
Re Gwen Stacy: Actually, the Gwen clone had been created some time earlier, and was brought back in the late '80s (as a tie-in with "The Evolutionary War" crossover IIRC). (As a sort of "It's been 15 years, about time we tied up this loose end" gesture, I guess.) They established at that point that some of the Jackal's duplicates weren't really clones, but regular people who'd had DNA and memory treatments to turn them into duplicates of other people. The Gwen-duplicate, realizing she wasn't Gwen, wandered off and I don't think she's shown up again. (She shared an origin with the Spider-Clone, but I don't think she turned up during the storyline itself--at least a brief search on Google didn't turn up anything.)
She was brought back duing the Spider-clone story, which re-retconned that she was a clone after all. That makes sense, since transforming people on a genetic level is more difficult that cloning them.
it makes it hard for me to accept he ever becomes our CK with the glasses and wimpy demeanor.
First of all, "mild-mannered' is as sure as hell not the same as "wimpy". Just for the sake of the english language people should not be dissuaded of the notion that being mild-mannered isn't being weak.
Besides that, there are times when Smallville Clark seems wimpy enough to me. Sure, he can juggle pick-up trucks, but when he can't have his way with getting a big TV.... whine whine whine. (I'm being a touch unfair; that was last season or so. On the other hand, when things turned tragic last season, Clark did try to solve his problems by getting drunk, aka getting a red Kryptonite surge, and running away from his problems).
ALIAS
Jack Bristow the Dark Knight Returns.
When he matter of factly explained that to the guy bleeding to death that he's the only one who can get him to a hospital in time so he had better start talking
who else thought of Frank Miller's DKR?
If it ever becomes a movie he would
make a great choice for
Bruce Wayne/Batman.