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"Does anyone on TV pay attention to the fact that the so-called niche market of SF and fantasy...."

Network TV? No. But there's a little cable channel you may be interested in...

Comments on Lost and West Wing:
I don't like that the castaways split into two groups on Lost, and thought it was ridiculous that anyone on the island thought they might have to split up or choose. Why can't everyone basically move into the interior where there's shelter and fresh water, and organize into rotating shifts of two or three people to keep watch on the beach and keep the signal fire burning. Why does it have to be either/or?
And Leo's death on WW was handled very poorly. I can accept Jed's and Leo's actions. But how does the Chief of Staff to the President of the United States wander off and die at Camp David and no one knows about it? The place was shown earlier in the episode crawling with secret service agents. With that many White House staff, not to mention Israeli and Palestinian officials, on the grounds, I don't see how anyone could go anywhere alone. But let's suppose for a minute that Leo did wander off alone and no one knew. How does everyone leave at the end of the summit and noone questions that a world leader is missing and unaccounted for? That's quite a stretch.
Don't get me wrong, I like both shows, but those were some weak spots last night.

RE: Lost

I missed last week, but found this week intriguing. Especially the part where "Quinn" (walking man from Alias) tells the rock star to have faith and look up. Was the object there all of the time? Was it really a matter of faith?

I also found the Korean couple's story brilliantly told. You could see the descent coming, and yet it is moving. It fit the pattern and advanced the story in a great way. You have a guy who has done who knows what in the past now on the island. What will he do? Was he "forced" by circumstances or can he really change? I suspect his "bad" nature is part of him and will come out again.

RE: Smallville.

First, let me express my thanks that we have a second episode that did not turn into "sexville."

Second, let me agree that they remarkably pulled off the switch in more ways than one.

That being said, I want to see if there is real damage to his relationships with Chloe and Lana. As Chloe said, Clark's excuses ran out a long time ago. Part of me is frustrated that he has not gotten better at covering for himself. I don't mean he should become a great liar since that would be anti the superman of the future, but at dealing with situations in a way that is honest without revealing the whole truth. I know this is a journey and Clark is learning, but I still expect more.

The relationship with Lex is also getting better. Clearly Lex suspects something. Yet Clark clearly goes to great risk to protect him. I am curious to see how they develop it. Clark is a horrible liar, and Lex knows it. The question will soon become, how much does Lex really know? He is not the same naive but curious Lex of previous seasons.

Jim in Iowa

With this episode, I have officially given up following The West Wing. It's too painful to remember what it was. From now on, for me, The West Wing was four wonderful seasons with the greatest unresolved cliffhanger ever.

LOST: I'm with Steve. Don't like the Two Tribes thing. I hope, really really hope, that they don't go into some sort of cheap Shirts vs Skins tribal rivalry thing, that the two groups actually work together to both survive and hope for a rescue.
The Two Koreans plot was excellent. The airport sequence: Beautiful. Sun's actress did a great job throughout.

V MARS: Kane boy is called Duncan. I hope they don't do a "I'm your brother" story, as it's been heavily speculated already and well...it's just plain icky, even if they never got it on.

SMALLVILLE: Nicely done, but not really spectacular. So not only does Clarks blood have healing properties, his "spirit" does too?
So the elment on Lana's back means Transformation (like on the rock). What exactly did she get changed into?

"And Leo's death on WW was handled very poorly. I can accept Jed's and Leo's actions. But how does the Chief of Staff to the President of the United States wander off and die at Camp David and no one knows about it? The place was shown earlier in the episode crawling with secret service agents. With that many White House staff, not to mention Israeli and Palestinian officials, on the grounds, I don't see how anyone could go anywhere alone. But let's suppose for a minute that Leo did wander off alone and no one knew. How does everyone leave at the end of the summit and noone questions that a world leader is missing and unaccounted for? That's quite a stretch."

Well, first off, I'm not ready to concede that Leo's dead. And second, in the Sorkin-scripted "Twenty Hours in America," Josh, Tobey and Donna all got left behind when Bartlett's reelection caravan pulled out. So it's not unprecedented that in the hustle and bustle of things, staffers (and Leo IS a staffer, not a world leader) have been AWOL and unnoticed.

PAD

Lost: The producers of Lost did say that Stephen King's The Stand was an influence on the show months ago, so it wasn't a big surprise that they would split up into two camps.

I thought the most disturbing thing about Lost this week was the commercial starring Buffy's mother. Is it really smart to have the spokesperson for Advil be a woman who portrayed a character who died from a headache?

Smallville: I took a different point of view on Lionel stating he didn't remember what happened to him the past few days. I interpreted his comment to be a reference to the fact that he did know what his "body" had done or been through in the past couple days, since he wasn’t in prison. I think he still knows about Clark’s powers.

""Does anyone on TV pay attention to the fact that the so-called niche market of SF and fantasy...."

Network TV? No. But there's a little cable channel you may be interested in..."

I assume your talking about sci- "we cancelled mst3k, the Invisible Man, and Farscape" fi.

Yea, they do a lot better. -Rolling eyes in disgust-

"Not to be confused with the WB which is suddenly trying to find a way to get new episodes of "Angel."

As this was news to me, PAD not to ask you to reveal your secret sources, but could you elaborate on this?

Thanks,
Jeff

I was rather un-impressed with Veronica mars as I'm tired of the "Good Boyfriend is actually Evil" storyline.

So all this time this guy who was still in love with his girlfriend decides to date a Private eye? And then Enlists her help to find the car he stole?

It doesn't really make any sense, especially since we'd have to believe that all these past weeks he's been lying to Veronica, being someone he's not, and only the last five minutes were his true Personality.

But I guess in TvLand any SO that's not part of the gang will turn out to be evil.

Smallville, on the other hand was Great!

"Not to be confused with the WB which is suddenly trying to find a way to get new episodes of "Angel." As this was news to me, PAD not to ask you to reveal your secret sources, but could you elaborate on this?
-Jeff

Not PAD here, but there have been rumours that the WB was now looking to do more Angel stuff - maybe TV movies etc. To be honest, my sources are saying it's not that much more than the murmurings and empty promises we had at the end of the series. Last time I spoke with any of the ex-Mutant Enemies they were shrugging it off as PR rather than intent. Also, David Borenaz seems to have little interest.

John

PAD writes:

In the Sorkin-scripted "Twenty Hours in America," Josh, Tobey and Donna all got left behind when Bartlett's reelection caravan pulled out. So it's not unprecedented that in the hustle and bustle of things, staffers (and Leo IS a staffer, not a world leader) have been AWOL and unnoticed.

No, I'm sorry, there's all the difference in the world between leaving three staffers in a small town in Indiana on a campaign trip, and losing the White House Chief of Staff at Camp David during a summit attended by Arafat and Sharon.

If I squint really hard, I can almost imagine, say, Will Bailey being left behind. Almost. But I need a lot of Willing Suspension of Disbelief to shove aside teh much more visible image of teh Secret Service putting a "Hold" on departures, and saying, "There's one less person leaving than arrived. We need everyone to stay put while we find out where they are." That's really all I can see with Will. Leo? No.

And the whole thing could have been fixed with a bit of dialogue:

ABBY: Jed, where's Leo?

BARTLET: I guess he wants to stay here awhile. He's not too happy with me.

I'm with you, by the way, on Leo not being dead. Did you notice that the "scenes from next week," while talking about "tragedy" in the voice over, didn't show a "funeral" scene?

About the "Angel" thing, I suspect Mr. D is placing himself in the shoes of the network suits. They would most definitely want a show that pulls the audience demographic that "Angel" pulled. (Now, I in my shoes am not happy about vampire shows, or any sadistic TV shows, but that's besides the point.)

If they can't get "Angel," they'll shop for something that might get the same group. They haven't had much luck. Apparently, that soap opera about a ski resort that used to follow "Smallville" didn't work. Neither did that bizarre show that supposes that Jack and Bobby Kennedy are contemporary horny teens without Poppa Joe or Teddy around, and without the Boston Catholic background.

I see the same wishful thinking on Cartoon Network. They would love another "Cowboy Bebop," except that (probably not a spoiler to you guys) Spike Siegel dies in the end. The "prequal" they attempted in the manga comics was seen as grave desecration, if not corpse abuse. The same producers' "Wolf Rain" has little in common with "Bebop," and "Case Closed" has none of the film-noir tragedy that gave the series soul.

Of course, it would be wrong for either network to try something completely original and new; that's courting danger in the corporate hive-mind.

"Well, Hell, maybe an "Angel"-deprived WB will try to make up for it by picking up "Tru." We'll see"

Or even better they can throw a truckload of money at Whedon and Dushku so that they can do the FAITH series that was being talked about a few years ago.

SMALLVILLE:
John Glover was awesome in this episode adapting the farmboy mannerisms or Clark and Welling surprised me by how good he was at being malicious. I felt really bad for poor Chloe but I was hoping Clark/Lionel would do something really heinous to Lana and her bohunk. I've lost all interest in the Lana character and really wish she had stayed in France.

LOST:
I have friends who were whining because there wasn't much action in this episode but I thought this was one of the best episodes so far. Junjin Kim's anguish and vulnerability was heartbreaking. I'm really interested to see the fireworks if Sun and Michael's unspoken chemistry actually turns into something real.

LOST- Wonderful, wonderful stuff. I do worry about the long term prospects for the show once we've seen the backstory of every character. It's also great to see how the writers have done the difficult trick of turning our expectations on our ears without doing so in a fake, hotshotting way. When they revealed that Sun was a daughter of privilage and her husband merely a waiter...bam, thwok, pow, I just sat there with a smile--"Got me again!". And by now I'm EXPECTING things to be Not As I Expect and STILL they get me. Great stuff.

SMALLVILLE was terrific. Kudos to the actors, Glover in particular (no surprise there).

While the whole "I forgot everything that happened" bit was predictable, I'm not so sure that I want Lionel to go back to the evil guy we had...what if occupying Clark's body really DID turn him into a new man, in both body AND soul? At the very least we have a way to get Lionel back onto the streets, as he confesses all to the Feds, turning states evidence on former business associates (and probably ruining Lexcorp in the process). They could spend most of the season in a "Is he or isn't he" plotline and end it with Lex finally killing him--the Line That Cannot Be Crossed, the thing that sends him on the road to Evildom (it's two exits past Nogoodnickville).

You think evil Lionel was bad, imagine how much harm a GOOD one could do! You can only accomplish so much with avarice and a billion dollars; to REALLY muck things up you need good intentions.

WEST WING: I can certainly see PAD's points about the show, and I agree that it seems like John Wells started with the ending of the show, and tried to tailor the events to fit the ending. I think Wells knew last season that Leo was going to have a heart attack (given the scenes in the season finale last spring) and is trying to shift the pieces around on the chessboard to achieve artificial character drama. That is a shame, as far as I'm concerned.

Everything I've read about this season indicates Leo's not dead. He had a massive heart attack, and will need to resign his post as Chief of Staff. In fact, I read an interview with Wells where he indicates that it's Leo who convinces Josh to make a change during the middle of this season, and where it was indicated that Leo would become a close adviser to Bartlet, without serving as Chief of Staff. I'm fairly sure Leo's alive, but it was such a weak ending, with Leo wandering off into the woods after essentially offering his resignation to Bartlet.

I'm going to give it a few more weeks, but then, I'm going to have to give up watching. It's not just that Sorkin's not writing the show...it's specifically that Wells IS showrunner, and he's trying to wring artificial drama from the show. Anyone who's read the spoilers knows that over the next few months, characters are going to be shuffled into new roles that I don't particularly like. Three of the longtime characters are leaving the White House staff, one gets a promotion, and new faces are going to be brought in. A season of change, indeed, and I'm none too happy about it. :-(

LOST: I've only started watching the show in the last few weeks, and I think it's an outstanding show, but I have to say: I nailed the surprise twist of this episode two weeks ago. I've only seen three episodes, but from the moment I saw the Korean couple, I predicted that she would be able to speak English, while he would not, but it made for a powerful episode nonetheless. What I really like about this show are the flashbacks. We know that they're on the island, and we don't quite know what's going on, but it's so great to trace each character back to a particular starting point, and gain insight into the characters. Great stuff.

"I see the same wishful thinking on Cartoon Network. They would love another "Cowboy Bebop,"

Of course, it would be wrong for either network to try something completely original and new; that's courting danger in the corporate hive-mind."

In my perfect dream world, cartoon network would produce new futurama....sigh.

Jeff

SMALLVILLE:Very good job by Tom welling and john glover this week.Both the mannerisms and facial expressions by both were dead on.Was I the only one creeped out by Lionel(clark)sniffing Martha Kent's hair?She is an attractive older woman but Clark doing that with his mom Yuch!:(
Once again Chloe gets crushed with her feelings for Clark.Poor kid,I like Chloe and besides Alison mack is really cute:)Can the writers stop dumping on her PLEASE?
Margot Kidder 's character may not be what she seemed at first huh?The plot thickens.
Lex has to suspect something ,did he see the Rock martha used to ward off her son?Not to mention the quick healing after Coach teague beating clark's ass.How much of his memories when he was "delusional "are still in tact?
Really tired of Lana at this point.Kristin Kreuk is fine just dont like the Lana character.

Smallville: My theory is that he really DID forget everything. But...he's not about to let that go. Now that he's not terminal, he's going to be back to thinking long term, and he's going to be digging. So, while he may not be able to find out everything Clark can do, he'll soon know there's SOMETHING up. Something supernormal.

SMALLVILLE:

I've noticed that many people seem to have missed this: Lionel said that he had "no recollection of the past few days," which would make sense. He wasn't in his body, after all. He would have no idea of what Clark (as Lionel) did or even how he received the injuries for which he was probably being treated (the beatings he received, for instance). It was a smart cover.

Clark, meanwhile, *does* remember what happened to him when he was in Lionel's body, so it's logical to assume that Lionel does, as well. It would be nifty if Lionel knows but is honestly now a "new" man, "cured" of both his physical and psychological ailments.

This would evolve nicely into how I'd like to see SMALLVILLE end: With Lionel horrified at what his son becomes. That's what I'd envisioned during the first season when Lionel was presented as simply a nastier Donald Trump. Unfortunately, by the end of the second season/beginning of the third, he was as evil as the Lex Luthor we see in the comics, which to me lessened the impact of Lex's journey to the dark side.

I do like that Lex's fall is highlighted by the enjoyment he's deriving from destroying his father. The man who Clark Kent is and will become would never relish his enemy's suffering, no matter how awful that enemy is.

What day and time does Veronica Mars air? It sounds fun and I need a new show to watch.

This is off topic Peter, but I wanted to share it with all your fans.

On the unrated version of the 2004 Dawn of the Dead, on of the special features is a Special Report news cast. The news caster is played by Richard Biggs. He doeas an excellent job of playing a news caster trying to keep it together as he reports the end of the world.

At the end of the segment the station goes off the air with a voice over broad cast from the president, who is voiced by Bruce Boxlitner.

Smallville: Kudos to Tom and John - very nice physical acting, and yes, "Clark" smelling his Mom's hair, then shooting off his heat vision was a nice, creepy touch. I figured that Lionel would not remember what happened, but the ideas expressed above make an interesting point - wonder if Jeph Loeb read this? But I don't understand why Clark couldn't come clean to Chloe and Lana about what happened. Lex knows, and enough weird stuff happens in Smallville, so I'm sure that Chloe and Lana would have believed it, especially if Lex backs him up. I guess it's just an other way to make Clark's life that much more angst ridden, and once again, Chloe gets trampled.

Lost is a great show. Normally I hate flashbacks as a means to tell a story, but in the context of this show, it really works well.

Cartoon Network can't make a new Futurama with out lots of of negotiation with FOX who has first refusal rights and apparently doesn't want to give them up. One could hope that what happened with Family Guy (new season in the works) will happen with Futurama esp. after the DVD sales sort themselves out. My concern is that FOX is looking for Simpson DVD numbers for Futurama which is not going to happen.

In other news, Greg the Bunny is out on DVD with 2 episodes that never made air.

Not to mention that the interview piece with the creators is essentially a new episode as well, since the puppets stay in character. :) The Greg the Bunny DVD set is the first time I've watched all of the extras on a disc (that had significant extras, of course) in a while. I usually just leave the making of and interview extras unwatched. I do kinda wish they'd included more of the IFC bumper pieces, though...the one they did include was delightfully twisted and existential.

WW: I'm afraid that I fall into the camp that just can't see the Marines and Secret Service at Camp David not being aware that Leo hasn't left the property. They MUST have an ongoing policy of controlling access to that place or it's entirely useless as a Presidential Retreat. However, I can accept that the various security forces view his not leaving yet as an artifact of the split between Leo and Jed. So they weren't really concerned that Leo isn't traveling back with the President. An hour later while they're shutting the place down and still can't find Leo...I figure that's when they'll start turning the place upside down for him.

Smallville: some interesting twists and turns going on. It was REALLY creepy to see "Clark" sniffing Martha's hair, but it's been clear for some time that Lionel has had some facination with Martha Kent. It was obvious when she was working for him and I've always thought that it goes back to when they were both younger. Perhaps her rich lawyer father tried to some match-making with Lionel when they were both younger...

Margot Kidder's appearence at the end makes things really interesting. Swann's been collecting a variety of Kryptonian artifacts and I can see how he might be especially interested in this one. The writers could even use it as a way to keep the character of Swann even though Mr. Reeve is, sadly, gone. If they do that, I hope they do it well. I can see that Margot Kidder is a fine stand-in for Swann because it simply can't be easy for Swann to travel. He suffers from the same problems that Mr. Reeve did, afterall. However, there will likely come a time when the story, or the characters, will demand an audience with the man himself. If they can get someone capable of pulling that off, it could be very powerful to Swann in the body of whoever he killed to regain his health. On the other hand, done poorly it would be, well...Bad.

Above, Dave (not me) mentions that he doesn't understand why Clark doesn't come clean with Chloe and Lana about the body-switch with Lionel. I can actually see why he'd be reluctant to let that out, especially to Chloe. Given how fanatical Clark is about keeping his powers a secret, I'd have a hard time coming up with something more frightening than ending up on the Wall of Weird. Plus Lex backing up Clarks story would let Chloe and Lana know that Clark had exhibited super-strength. If Chloe's worth her salt as an investigator she should be suspicious that Clark's body was the only one to get super-powers. And Lana's expressed her suspicions that Clark is a Kryptonite Mutant before. This could make her suspicious of him again.

For that matter, I can't believe Lex accepted Clark's pat answer at face value. I think Lex has suspected that Clark has some kind of special powers for some time. Clark can just get away with answers like that, because he and Lex both keep secrets from each other so neither has much moral authority to push the other.

David points out one of the issues I've had with Smallville for a while (though it hasn't stopped me from tuning in), and that's the remarkably short memory of the characters. Shouldn't almost every episode end with, "Hey, sorry I turned evil for a couple of days there."

"That's okay, (fill-in-character-name), I was evil for a couple of days last month. It happens to everyone around here."

"Darned meteor rocks."

I actually found myself watching more of “Smallville” than “Lost” this week (though I saw enough of both to follow the storylines). I like episodes where there’s a body switch and/or evil twin and/or someone’s possessed (when they’re done well) because it gives the actor a chance to do something different.

In this case, I think the switch was done well, acting-wise. On the other hand, how was Lionel able to come into the visiting area with the Kryptonian object, much less sit at a table with Lex, without some sort of barrier between them? This was a prison, after all.

I’m also not crazy about the use of what looked like a Kryptonian Petoskey stone to cause the mind swap, but I’ll just file it under Clarke/science/magic, and move on.

I agree that it would be too pat if Lionel has forgotten everything and also just happens to have been miraculously cured of his liver disease. I’d be more willing to accept one or the other (though I think Lionel actually does remember); but both is really stretching it.

Of course, we’re talking about a show which focuses on a kid from another planet who will one day change the course of mighty rivers, bend steel with his bare hands and fool the world with a simple pair of glasses, so it’s all a stretch. But even so...

The thing about “Smallville” is that if I’d tuned in a bit later, at a scene where I wouldn’t have immediately known something was off, I might have switched back to “Lost” and skipped “Smallville” entirely. Which would’ve been too bad, because overall, it was a good episode.

Speaking of actors playing more than one role, John Glover appeared in an episode of “Deep Space Nine” in which he played a trill who forced Julian to transplant the Dax symbiote to himself. I thought he did a good job with both roles.

But the one who always seemed to hit it out of the park when it came to playing another character was Brent Spiner on Next Generation. Whether doing Lore; Ira Graves possessing Data; Sherlock Holmes; Data, Lore and Dr. Soong together in one episode; an alien criminal “ghost”; and others I’m probably overlooking, he always seemed to just nail it. (never saw the latest “Trek” film, so can’t comment about anything that might’ve happened in it). I’m actually gonna watch “Enterprise” tonight just because he’s in it.

As to “Lost”, while I was able to follow the particular thread of the episode, I missed a few things. I gather there was something significant involving the Korean couple (or at least the woman) at the airport. I also caught a bit of the (related?) scene where another woman appeared to be urging her to get away from her husband. Obviously, that plan didn’t work.

As to moving into the interior of the island, I’ve got to agree with Jack that it makes sense; and with those on this thread who point out that the characters could take turns monitoring signal fires and the like. There’s really no need to keep their encampment (or a large portion of it) on the beach.

As for Michael and the Korean man (I assume if we didn’t already know it, we learned his name this episode), what are the odds that down the road they’ll become best buddies? Doesn’t seem likely, but with TV, you never know.

With “West Wing”, I’m not sure how I feel about everybody inadvertently leaving Leo behind. Yes, he _could_ have gone back early, as Josh suggests, but unless they thought he walked back, wouldn’t they notice the car that brought him down was still there? O.K., I’m assuming it’d still be there, since Leo has to get back somehow.

On the other hand, he is an adult, who doesn’t require supervision. Why would they search for him?

On the third hand, they do at least call him, to check in with him. I’m guessing they’re expecting he’ll answer and say he’s back in Washington, or is going to stay for a bit and come back later in the day. Now the question is, how soon after he fails to answer (or it goes to voice mail) will someone realize something might be wrong?

I have a feeling “West Wing” will be a “watch it from time to time” show this year. We’ll see.

Didn’t see “Veronica Mars.” Maybe next week. Assuming it isn’t preempted for election coverage.

Rick

I've been expecting for a while that the survivors would end up split in two. I wish though it was clear cut where the "good guys" (doctor, Locke, fat guy, hobbit, Iraqi,...) go one way and the "bad guys" (redneck, punk, punk's sister, korean guy) go the other. But that would probably be unwieldy.

About that "other network"..
Yes, these are the same folks who cancelled Farscape and MST3K and let's not forget The Chronicle. They also buried Babylon 5 and failed to develop Legend of The Rangers. Okay, good job with Peacekeeper Wars and the Galactica miniseries but overall SciFi Channel has been
"dumbing down" with cheesey cheapo movies and crap like Scare Tactics for awhile now. Good shows are getting few and far-between.

John Ham points out something that's been bugging me for some time. Just what is it about Kryptonite that amkes someone evil when it gives them super-powers. The only super-people that haven't been evil also didn't get their powers from Kryptonite (The Flash, the fortune teller, the kid who could read everone's mind but Clark's).

Can anyone think of any Kryptonite mutant who didn't turn out to be evil? The closest that I can come up with is Lex (assuming his exposure during the meteor shower did change him in some way) but even Lex has his dark moments.

'Cartoon Network can't make a new Futurama with out lots of of negotiation with FOX who has first refusal rights and apparently doesn't want to give them up. One could hope that what happened with Family Guy (new season in the works) will happen with Futurama esp. after the DVD sales sort themselves out. My concern is that FOX is looking for Simpson DVD numbers for Futurama which is not going to happen."

Actually my understanding of the reasons fox will never do it is because they own the rights to Family Guy, but Matt Groni... however his name is spelled kept the rights to Futurama.

For anyone who keeps missing Veronica Mars on UPN, MTV airs the previous weeks episode on Tuesday at 7pm.

I quit watching West Wing a long time ago.

Without Sorkin's genius, it is just another show.

So much potential, so little of it delivered. Sorta like a John Byrne comic.

Fox canceled TRU CALLING????!!!????
I am too much of gentleman to say out loud what I am thinking at this moment in a public forum. But as great as the show is, I hope UPN doesn't turn around and treat Veronica Mars the same way because of the ratings.
Meanwhile, while I agree with your points concerning Smallville, there is a previous issue I must raise again. When red kryptonite was first introduced in the senior class rings, I was corrected about the timing of the show concerning Clark's grade level versus the fact that Smallville is scheduled to last five seasons.
But now Clark is officially a senior in high school and we're only in season four.
Real timing is nice to an extent, and it's real convient that we have major cliff hangers with Clark being AWOL for some reason over summer vacation, but what do we do about the last season?
Are we going to spend these last two seasons in senior year? That would put Clark's latest AWOL escapade (if any) over the Christmas/winter break.
Perhaps the three rocks turn out to be the TV show version of the Jor-El training academy ala the first movie with Christopher Reeve, and the last season becomes Clark preparing for Metropolis and beyond.
Inquiring minds would like to know, that's why I keep watching.

Does anyone know if Veronica Mars is airing anywhere in Canada? (We don't get UPN or MTV) :(

"Can anyone think of any Kryptonite mutant who didn't turn out to be evil?"

Well, the episode with the two guys who had powers of persuasion had one of them on the side of good. Chloe's power to force people to tell her the truth didn't turn her *EVIL*, per se. Same with the guy who had the Kryptonite poisoning from working at LuthorCorp -- he did take hostages in the plant, but he wasn't really EVIL. And Whitney got mixed up in the tattoo gang in Season One and came out alright.

Most of the people who've gotten Kryptonite powers haven't been EVIL, in my opinion. They just fell into the "Power Corrupts" paradigm, and most of them don't have the parents that Clark did to help them deal with it. Some of them DID deal with it, others didn't. (And Bart was fuzzy, at best -- he was a thief, after all.)

Smallville:
Echoing Peter, good performances from everyone, if not quite up to the result of the Faith/Buffy switch. Genuine creepy moments with the hair-sniffing and the manipulation of Chloe, but I'm pretty sure that we're meant to assume Lionel doesn't remember anything - which is a bit of a stumble and lousy get-out clause.

Lost:
It does seem a bit contrived that no-one thinks to put a temporary revolving annex on the beach (to keep fires lit and an ever-present presence there in case the Love Boat comes cruising by) rather than the 'them or us' approach used instead. However it's a minor gripe and I've yet to see a bad episode of Lost. Quite how the series develops once we've ahd the major back-stories will be the true test of the show, but that should bring us at least halfway into the season and beyond.

The West Wing:
I don't know why but every time there were shots of the wood/forest, I kept thinking of Miller's Crossing. Most people ahd heard that leo would have a heart attack but even those who went into the hour not knowing would have seen the signposts from halfway through. I'm all for exploring the differences between Leo and Bartlett - and certainly those have widened) but I find it hard to believe that Bartlett would simply ask for Leo's resignation so bluntly. Yes, the President is driven and obssessed by making inroads into the Israel/Palestine problem, but this is... well, it's Leo. Bartlett used to listen carefully to his advice and either go with or ignore it, but here (and in the last two eps) Leo ahs been dismissed as almost a lowly intern. It just doesn't ring true - or at least the speed at which it has happened seems forced. Equally, I agree that the drawn out ending (the cell phone probably answering the question of whether when a politicians falls over in the wood and no-one is there to hear him, does he make a sound?) seems melodaramtaic and the whole idea of him beign left behind without a head count, rather silly.

Still, any show that at least gets us to talk about political issues (next week the ever-helpful Mary MacCormack solves world hunger?) has to be a blessing in the age of Reality TV and the unreality TV of the current political race.

Oh - and on an unrelated note: Just seen the official poster for Revenge of the Sith. I've got to say... I think by the marks and creases in his cloak Anakin might have a secret mike under there prompting him?

John

The West Wing:
I found much of the episode boring and repetitive. You could play a great drinking gaming while watching this week’s show, every time some one during the negotiations says “That’s it I’m leaving,” take a drink. After awhile I was screaming at the TV “Leave already! I just don’t care anymore!”

I agree with the comments on LOST. It was a great episode, from the delayed revelation that the wife spoke English (which could've been played for cheap laughs about 2 episodes ago as the father gestured elaborately with his hands and arms, asking her to watch his boy) to the husband's flower (which is the sort of sentimental gesture that would make a wife stay with a -- hired gun? hitman? enforcer? -- after deciding to leave him). We'll see how Charlie copes with his withdrawl next episode.

I didn't see SMALLVILLE (can only watch and tape 1 show at a time, and LOST comes first), but surely the body swap can't have been all that new for the folks who know Clark. His personality's done a 180 when exposed to red kryptonite (which has happened at least twice on the show so far), and his folks (and Lois -- will she be back?) saw the Kal-El side of him. Actually, some of the townsfolk weren't surprised by this: Lex didn't seem at all amazed or surprised that his father found a way to switch bodies with him. (Kudos to Lex for looking past the harm Lionel-as-Clark might have done and realizing that if Clark hadn't intervened, Lex would be in prison and Lionel would once again be free.)

I thought Lionel already knew about Clark's powers. He was doing heavy collecting and research into both kryptonite and kryptonian artifacts, and it's possible he saw Clark using his powers while Lionel was faking blindness. Thoughts, anyone?

And the series I'd most like to see on dvd: PROFIT. This was a brilliant drama-black comedy-satire on the business world and obsession, an absolutely brilliant series that didn't even have its last 2 episodes air in the U.S. (I got a copy from Canada, so my tape has French subtitles.) Adrian Pasdar is the perfect modern-day Iago, there's the stepmom from Hell, and the series stands up to numerous viewings. I want PROFIT!

Regarding SciFi Channel

Wait...why, except for Rena Sofer, would you want us to remember The Chronicle?

Anyway, they saved Stargate, Andromeda, MST3K, and (briefly) Good vs. Evil (which, regrettably, they jettisoned...but DAMN that was a great show!), developed some solid stuff (Stargate Atlantis, Dune, Farscape), developed some not so great stuff (Third Wave, Invisible Man, Tremors), and gave me some things I never thought I'd see adapted (Riverworld, Anonymous Rex), and brought back Battlestar Freakin' Galactica, AND gave us more B-5. Hell, I was able to watch the entire run of Roswell earlier this year when they ran it 5 days a week.

Now, if only they had rescued Odyssey 5, and they DAMN well better get their hands on the new Doctor Who...

I just don't understand the SciFi bashing is all.

My thoughts on Smallville (copied from my LJ)

-First I'd just like to say to all those naysayers who say Tom Welling can't act since he's such a pretty boy...HA HA HA YOU ARE ALL PROVEN WRONG WITH THIS EPISODE!!!!

-how did Lionel get the transference stone? Oh wait could he have gotten it from his stuttering/talk fast cell mate OR one of the Luthor expeditions.

-Anyways the look on Clark's (Lionel) face is priceless when he lifted the tractor...he KNEW something up is with Clark (before) but couldn't prove it or didn't have evidence thats believable.

-And then Lionel (Clark)..gave such a naive expression when he was in prison and just looked so out of place and scared....strange..

-Oh and Clark(Lionel) hugging Martha in a non-son way in that he sniffed her hair and fire came out of his eyes...guess he got turned on too much? LOL

-And Clark(Lionel) shutting down Chloe...classic and not to mention the slap Clark got from Lana when she bitched at him about something (but then what else is new). And choking Lex really, positively hard...dayum!

-Lionel (Clark) somehow managed to fight back hard when the other cellmates wanted to play "let's torture the billionaire" which surprised me...guess Clark picked up good fighting techniques or strength or whatever when he was in his old body. My only beef with that scene (which resulted in a prison riot) was that Jimmy Eat World's song "Pain" was playing like it got cued in the middle of that scene which just seemed really awkward .

-Of course when they switched back to their old bodies with Clark remembering what happened and Lionel didn't BUT still baffled how his body healed.

-And of course Lex knew of the switch since Clark told him and it was meant for him but think he also tried telling Chloe and Lana..some people have said he didn't but could've sworn I thought he did.

-The ending with Bridgette Crosby and the stuttering cellmate..with the transference stone...very intriguing. I wonder if she would take the stone to Swann who would then use it to switch bodies...but then again probably not.

-Next week's episode looks interesting although some others don't like Mytzlplk (or whatever his name is) being portrayed as some foreign exchange student since he's some tiny guy

To answer James Lynch's question, I think Lionel does know something is fishy with Clark but doesn't have FULL knowledge (you know when he had those bullets Clark smooshed in Red and then Clark saving him and Martha from that adrenaline hyper human) I mean don't think he knew Clark can shoot fire from his eyes and can hear a conversation 100 feet away...

Lost - The Korean couple subplot more intriguing and interesting than deciding where to camp. I KNEW Sun was going to speak English to Michael when she was facing him. Although a bit confused on what her husband did with her dad...was he a hitman or thug for hire for his father in law?

Veronica Mars - Great...didn't expect Troy setting up the whole thing but a bit confused or forgot how did Veronica find out he's in it? Was it from his old file of trafficking???

Smallville thought.

We've got to get Lois back for an episode where we can have a mystery where one of the characters in targeted for death. Fortunately we have a solid clue: the Good Guys have intercepted a note to the killer that refers to victim by their initials: L.L. I can just see Clark and Chloe talking it over.

Clark: This can't be too hard. I mean, how many people can there be with a connection to the Caves with the initial's "L.L."

Chloe: Well, there's Lex and Lionel who've been vying for control of the stuff. I sent Lois down there for some research, and I noticed that Lana been sneaking down there with her new boyfriend to make out or something. And I guess you didn't know that Lois' dad's middle name is Lenny... Y'know Clark, there's just entirely too many people in this with those initials. I'm going to pin that up on the Wall of Weird.

For my money, Lionel was lying about having forgotten everything. I sure hope he was lying, because that's just plain cheating on the writers' part if he was telling the truth. After all, Clark doesn't forget anything - he remembers Twitchy the Roommate and helps him get out.

Also - connection between Lex and Margot Kidder? Hmm?

Am I the only one who didn't think it would be implausible for Chloe and/or Lana to believe that Clark and Lionel had switched bodies? This is Smallville. The town that sits on top of the Hellmouth ... er .. "meteor rock" deposit. Weird crap has happened to both of them so often, that just about anything should be believable. I didn't understand why Clark didn't just tell them. I really thought Chloe should have picked up on something being wrong, or even that it was Lionel, on her own when Clark called her "Miss Sullivan." The only one on the show who has ever called her that was Lionel (okay, maybe not ONLY, but certainly one of the few, and never Clark).

It just made their angst at Clark seem more contrived than it had to be.

I also thought Lana's exposition about her relationship with Jason was artifical and forced. At some point before explaining the relationship, I felt she should have gotten fed up with Clark being obtuse "on purpose" and walked away.

Finally, am I the only one who thinks Lionel's soul may have been cleansed along with his liver?

Regarding "West Wing" there's an interesting piece over on aintitcoolnews.com from a Josh Malina appearance http://www.aint-it-cool-news.com/display.cgi?id=18695

Thomas E. Reed: Re: “Jack and Bobby.” I haven’t watched it, and frankly never gave it any thought until I came across a website today about fictional U.S. presidents (was actually looking up info on Peter Ross’ presidency in the DC universe), which revealed Bobby is the future president, a fact confirmed by the show’s website.

So, I don’t think they’re supposed to be updated versions of the Kennedy brothers. Though I suppose the use of those names, as opposed to, say, Ralph and Artie (or any other combination), might be a bit too coincidental. Especially since Bobby McAllister is apparently supposed to be one of the greatest presidents in history, and many put Kennedy on a pedestal, deserved or not.

Even though I don’t plan to watch it, I have to admit the concept is interesting. We know that Bobby will be president one day, and a great one at that. But for right now, he’s still a kid. The show apparently focuses on the beginnings of his development into the man who will be that great leader, influenced to some degree by his brother. Done right, _how_ he grows into that role (especially if he doesn’t yet seem the type) should keep viewers involved in his arc; same with Lex’s descent from friend to deadly enemy on “Smallville.”

So, a question for you. Are your comments based on supposition, without having watched the show; or did you watch it and found that they blew their chances to do something interesting with the material?

Rick

If anyone cares or remembers... I never was a fan of TRU (although it did start to get a little interesting at the end). Since I am STILL boycotting the WB Network-- I won't be watching if the show appears there... Period.

Like a poster once said here (paraphrased)... If it don't start with "Buffy" or "Angel" or end with "Mutant Enemy"-- I ain't watching that network no more.

Me too.

And for the die-hards screaming, "Yay! Eliza's now free to be in a 'Faith' spin-off show!" Unfortunately, that doesn't look like it is going to happen-- at least not anytime soon.

For those who haven't heard (probably a very small amount of people here-- judging from previous posts on Peter's blog)... Joss Whedon has CLOSED his TV production company and ended his studio deal a year and a half EARLY... stating he really didn't have any good series ideas and that he's tired of REALITY TV.

Another CLASSY decision made by a talented, classy guy.

Sadly, that also means we aren't going to be seeing any new ANGEL episodes anytime soon-- if ever. :-(

As for what will happen with "Lost" after they finish these flashbacks my guess is that they will begin a new round of flashbacks.

The current flashbacks seem to be explaining why each character was in Sydney, but they are raising new questions. For example:

What crime did Kate commit?

What happened to Locke 4 years ago that put him in the wheelchair?

What was Jack's mother talking about when she said, "You think you have a choice after what you did"?

Who is Sun's father and what does Jin do for him?

Now as for Claire who seems to be the only Australian we've met so far in the bunch we know why she was in Australia, but my current guess for her backstory is that she is a surrogate, and had decided to keep the baby and disappear.

-Mike

Thomas E. Reed wrote:



I see the same wishful thinking on Cartoon Network. They would love another "Cowboy Bebop," except that (probably not a spoiler to you guys) Spike Siegel dies in the end. The "prequal" they attempted in the manga comics was seen as grave desecration, if not corpse abuse. The same producers' "Wolf Rain" has little in common with "Bebop," and "Case Closed" has none of the film-noir tragedy that gave the series soul.




Yeah, I didn’t know that, but that’s not the point of this response. I just wanted to say the Cartoon Network will be airing a new anime called Full Metal Alchemist, a show which I had the pleasure to watch in its subtitled state. Cartoon Network will be airing it unmolested (so I’ve heard) with English dubs. I have a high expectation for this show, simply because everyone I know who has been convinced to watch it has loved it, including those like me who have little to no interest in anime.




However, if you consider Angel to be sadistic, then it might not be the show for you, as it does contain sometimes excessive violence, though I dare anyone to watch up to episode 25 and not be moved by it. But the basic plot is of two young brothers who are on a quest to get their old bodies back, as they were either completely lost, or terribly injured when they tried to bring their dead mother back to life using the shows version of science/magic, Alchemy. Yeah, alchemy, but this isn’t turning lead into gold.




Eh, enough ranting on it, totally off topic anyway.

-Seamus.

Oh Christ, sorry about that, I saw the "you may use HTML" and thought I had to use the "" tag to make a new paragraph.

You know what I find terribly amusing? They cancel Tru Calling AFTER Joss has said he's closing down shop for a while.

I wonder if they wanted to be sure there was no Faith the vampire slayer ready to go.

Actually, it seems Eliza was confirming cancellation a couple of weeks ago and the Whedon annoucement came this last week, but i doubt Joss would have shut down M.E. if there's was still a solid chance of selling a Faith spin-off.

LOST: I didn't like the survivors splitting into 2 camps either--I don't want this show to turn into "Lord of the Flies." I do think it was suggested that the reason the campfire folks decided to stay behind en masse was because they were afraid of the boars and the beasties getting them if they were on the beach alone. And they'll have to go to the cave to get water, so there should be continued intermingling between the camps.

As for the flashbacks, remember there are 40-some people on the island. I suspect that, in the long run, some of the people we are now watching won't survive. Then we will start to get to know some of the others who are now just played by extras. Focusing on 12 people a year still gives the show a good 4 years of character backgrounds to play with.

Hi, guys.

Yeah, yeah, I know, I said I was going to quit posting. Never said I'd stop reading though. But to the point. Thought I'd pop back with a mention of an article I ran across in Variety about a week ago. In light of the mention PAD made about the WB trying to get more "Angel" episodes, I thought you might be interested in this:

Joss Whedon quits TV
The "Buffy" creator is getting out of his TV deal with Twentieth Century Fox. "I spent a lot of time trying to think what my next series would be," says Whedon. "I couldn't think of anything. When that happens, it generally means something is just not working. I didn't feel like I could come up with anything that the networks would want."

Bye again.

I also remember reading that when Whedon does get an idea for a new series 20th Century Fox has the first shot at it.

I'm with you, Peter. While this week's SMALLVILLE was a done-to-death concept, it was well executed.

Do you watch ENTERPRISE? This week's episode with Brent Spiner was TERRIFIC! Best of the series, I think. I can't wait for the next two parts. Any comments on the show (if you watch)?

I'm with you, Peter. While this week's SMALLVILLE was a done-to-death concept, it was well executed.

Do you watch ENTERPRISE? This week's episode with Brent Spiner was TERRIFIC! Best of the series, I think. I can't wait for the next two parts. Any comments on the show (if you watch)?

Re: Veronica Mars in Canada

CTV has the Canadian broadcast rights to Veronica Mars but hasn't put it on the schedule yet. So, unless you have premium cable, you can't see the show. Yet.

I'm in my early 30's and I do seem to remember enough about Fantasy Island to say with a bit of certainty, that there always seemed to be a lesson or a cost beyond that which the travelers paid to get to the island. I'm thinking that J. J. will have Mr. Rourke show up on LOST by the end of the season. Ricardo will explain to the remaining castaways that the Island had been quarantined for nearly 2 decades due to a horrible accident when a Fantasy went wrong.

Pretty simple if you think about each castaway getting their fantasy by just being on the island.

Matthew Fox wanted to see his da alive again
Terry O'Quinn wanted to walk
Evangeline Lilly wanted to get out of custody
Harold wanted to be a good Dad
his son wanted his dog
Dom wanted his Guitar
The couple wanted out from under the evil Father

We'll have to wait and see what the other's wishes bring, and what cost our castaways have to pay.

Just Imagine the final episode flashback of a little person in a white tux screaming "De Plane De Plane" as the chunk of debris lands on him.

Just a thought

LOST:

I think that the writers were trying for something very good, but apparently missed the mark, based on the comments here. It's not that Kate, Said, et al are being STUPID by staying on the beach, its' that they aren't thinking rationally. Nor should they, really.

Moving inland, to them, is the giving up of hope. Even if there is a rotating group of people, each one of them is thinking, "if a ship comes by and I'm not there to flag it down, I'll regret it forever." It's like the woman who keeps setting a place for the husband who ran out on her months ago, or the child who thinks every phone call COULD be that long-lost dad.

It's not rational thought, it's shock mode. And a lot of these folks are rightly in shock. Those that have some will of their own, Kate, Theif dude, etc. Are able to resist the cattle driving of Jack. Those that don't, just follow along, figuring they have no ideas either.

I was curious, though, it's clearly a long walk, though broken, uncleared ground. Where did the pregant woman wind up?

Since I'm out on Wednesdays and need to tape it, I finally got to see this week's Lost this weekend.

A couple things:

* - Loved that the title was "House of the rising Sun"

* - I agree with pygmy, I was a bit confused too, were they living in Sydney all along? I thought that they were in South Korea, but suddenly they're leaving the Sydney airport.

* - I've read a couple other boards commenting on this episode and everyone seems to make a big deal about the "tribe split". I think we're thinking how we'd react, if we'd been on that island for over 6 weeks, but remember, they've only been on for 6-7 days. I'm sure many are still feel that a rescue is right around the corner. Especially since over 35 of them have no idea about the distress signal (not even Locke) To me this division makes sense. I'd also be surprised if we don't see more division in upcoming episodes. There's got to be more power plays.

* - With the occasional extra walking around in the background, Lost has settled on 12-15 people cast, so I was surprised that we never saw Claire or Boone & Shannon. Not even walking around

Re: Veronica Mars in Canada

CTV has the Canadian broadcast rights to Veronica Mars but hasn't put it on the schedule yet. So, unless you have premium cable, you can't see the show. Yet.

Uhm... in Vancouver we have a UPN station on basic cable (the Seattle one) and so Veronica Mars airs Tuesdays at 8pm on channel 14.

For those of you who have never heard of Veronica Mars, here's some info.

It's the only show from the UPN/CBS conglomerate to land on Entertainment Weekly's list of top ten shows of 2004.

Veronica Mars won the recent E! Online Kristin Save One Show poll with an astounding 56% of the votes. Arrested Development came in second with 9% of the vote.
http://www.eonline.com/Gossip/Kristin/Archive2005/050318.html

When given a choice between voting for Veronica Mars or Marti Noxon's Point Pleasant in the above mentioned poll, members of whedonesque.com ]overwhelmingly voted for Veronica Mars. (Marti Noxon was a writer and producer for Buffy.)
http://whedonesque.com/?comments=6177

It is the highest scoring (based on recapper and user grades) show this season at Television without Pity.
http://forums.televisionwithoutpity.com/index.php?showtopic=3120844&st=45&p=2531877&#entry2531877

The March 13-19 edition of TV Guide called it the best show you're not watching.

The April 4, 2005 edition of Time magazine named Veronica Mars one of the 6 best dramas on TV now.

To find out what other TV critics are saying about Veronica Mars, visit the reviews page at MarsInvestigations.net.
http://marsinvestigations.net/critics.php

If you need help catching up with show, check out Mars Investigations: A Beginner's Guide to Veronica Mars. It's a site specifically designed to help introduce new viewers to the show. They have character sketches, episode summaries, and clues about each mysteries.
http://www.marsinvestigations.net