Watched three finale episodes in the past week: Veronica Mars, Desperate Housewives, and Charmed. (Smallville I’ve taped, haven’t watched yet) and liked what I’ve seen in all three. Spoilers follow…
VERONICA MARS: Gotta tell you, it’s tough (one might even say murder) to resolve a season-long plot line about a single murder case in a satisfying manner. But the makers of “Veronica Mars” pulled it off, aided by brilliant cast performances–foremost from Kristen Bell whom, I had no idea, wasn’t cast in “Reefer Madness” because of her success in VM, but rather was in the off-Broadway cast long before her TV series. And right up there with her is Enrico Colantoni,never better as Keith Mars, particularly during his heart-stopping smackdown with a murderous Harry Hamlin (doubtless still stewing with homicidal rage over “Clash of the Titans”) Speaking as someone who opined months ago that her dad wasn’t really her dad (and, hey, I was right about her boyfriend dumping her because he was convinced they were siblings), I can’t tell you how pleased I am the producers decided to go in another direction. After everything they’ve put her through in just 22 episodes, Veronica absolutely deserves some happiness…although I think it’s safe to say that it will be short lived.
CHARMED: It’s been something of a hit-or-miss season on “Charmed.” The entire storyline with the Avatars, which has been building for several seasons, spectacularly fizzled out in an amazingly disappointing, “Guess you’re not ready, oh well, see ya” anticlimax. It was like watching a race car speed up, speed up, then suddenly hit a speed bump and the transmission falls out. And since then we’ve been watching, not a race, but a rebuild and an attempt to regain lost momentum. I have to admit, the Billy Zane episodes were fun, but that’s more due to the performance of Billy Zane than anything really compelling storywise, and the guest star turn by Juliam McMahon served more to remind you how much better the series used to be when he was around. Still, the show’s been watchable, and the demon Zanku–while not terribly original–seemed a worthy opponent. But when they were advertising that the witches were “outed,” I was thinking (as I’m sure most fans were) “Wow, I wonder how they’re going to reboot this one.” Their answer? They didn’t. Instead there’s a potential whole new status quo. To say nothing of the fact that it’s always entertaining to see a story development that leaves actors at the end of a seven year contract with absolutely no negotiating room. The ending of the episode leaves them so much latitude that I find myself more intrigued in next season than ever before.
DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES: I don’t think we’ve ever had a one hour drama that has insinuated itself as thoroughly into every aspect of American life as this one has. As I write this, “The Price is Right” is on behind me, and Bob “We will bring you the limp and beaten body of Bob” Barker has just described a contestant as “a houswife, but not a desperate housewife.” When a TV series is referenced by everyone from Laura Bush to Bob Barker, that’s pretty staggering. I would say the status quo was shaken in the season ender, but the status quo in this series has been in such a perpetual chaos that it’s really tough to say. This is definitely the episode that Brenda Strong–who I’ve been a fan of ever since she was Sally Sasser in “Sportsnight”–has been waiting for, as the truth behind her actions is finally revealed. But in terms of sheer drama, it’s nip and tuck between Susan being held at gunpoint by a twitchy Zack, lying in wait to murder the guy who is actually his dad, and the staggering sequence where Bree reacts to the death of her husband. Or should I say…the REPORTED death of her husband. We didn’t see him die, and the news was delivered to her by a doctor who suspects that she was trying to kill her husband. So I’m left wondering whether Rex is really dead, or if this is an endeavor to buy cover for Rex and allow him to recuperate without Bree being anywhere near him. (Although I do have to say that I think Rex is a little slow, not even suspecting the notion that the druggist–whom he KNOWS hates his guts–might be screwing with his medication.) And I’m thinking that the introduction of Alfre Woodard will go a long way toward avoiding the sophomore slump that often hits TV series that hit as big as this one has.
PAD
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Yeah, I’v been saying the same thing about Rex not suspecting that there MIGHT be something wrong with his medication. Hadn’t considered that his death might have been faked though. How would the absence of his body be explained for the funeral arrangements? I read somewhere that not all of the men were coming back next season so maybe Steve Culp got released. Also, a running plot next season could be Bree’s trial for murder. Do you think Carlos will be back? His character always seemed expendable.
NO SPOILERS
I was very tired when I caught the SMALLVILLE finale. I lost consciousness several times during its run. By episode’s end, the plot was all a jumble in my head and I was totally lost.
I got a good night’s sleep and watched it again the next morning. By episode’s end, the plot was all a jumble in my head and I was totally lost.
I think they missed the boat on this one.
re: Harry Hamlin and Clash of the Titans..
Funny thing, in the Veronica Mars Universe, it was Aaron Echolls, not Harry Hamlin, who starred in Clash of The Titans…we saw it as a career clip of his one episode
I don’t watch Charmed, but as for the other two:
Veronica Mars: An absolutely outstanding finale. I started watching Veronica Mars fairly late in the season, right around mid-season. The first episode I watched was the episode where the student accused the teacher of a sexual affair, and Veronica had to uncover the truth behind the allegations. But the episodes leading up to the season finale were just great. The episode immediately prior to the season ender, with the various flashbacks and the unraveling of the mystery of who raped Veronica, was compelling. But the finale blew me away. That flash of Harry Hamlin’s eyes in the rear view mirror as Veronica was driving has stayed with me for the last few weeks.
Desperate Housewives: I’ll be honest…I have cooled on this show quite a bit. It’s still a thoroughly well-done series. I’d seen all of the episodes from the first half of the season, but then I lost interest and wandered away. I’d missed about 7 or 8 episodes, but I came back to the series last night, mainly to see if any of the mysteries that intrigued me in the beginning had been solved. Boy, have they ever. We now know what Mary Alice did, we know why Mike came to Wisteria Lane, we know the shocking story behind Zach/Dana, we know the story behind the body discovered in the toy chest, and everything came together quite nicely.
I’m still not a massive fan of the show, but I’m glad the writers were able to shed a little light on some of the mysteries of the show, while at the same time teasing a great cliffhanger and introducing more drama to the series for next year.
But I’m faced with a great dilemma next season: UPN has pitted Veronica Mars against Lost on Wednesday nights next year. I have digital cable, so watching one program while taping another is not really an option. I also don’t have TiVo, so the option of taping one and watching the other live isn’t really viable for me either. I’m going to have to choose between Veronica Mars and Lost, unless UPN or ABC choose to regularly repeat the shows on a different night.
Mr. David, Does the Cowboy watch LOST? I’d be interested in his take on the season finale on Wednesday.
“UPN has pitted Veronica Mars against Lost on Wednesday nights next year. I have digital cable” So, save money by dropping digital and go back to analog. 🙂 I thought one of the big advertisements for digital cable was being able to get things “on demand.” Oh, well.
Meanwhile, Veronica Mars indeed did have a great ending. The final episodes answered most of our questions and then we have the question at the end of just who is at Veronica’s door. Is this uncertainty partly based on contract negotiations? I wonder if there will be another season long mystery next season or if it will be more episodic? Did anyone notice to whom the $50K check was made out? I would think it would be made out to Veronica’s dad and also would be a cashier’s check. I can’t see how Veronica’s mother could easily cash it. But I guess we’ll have to see.
Desperate Housewives: Most of the questions we had were answered and we get a nice cliffhanger. I would have thought that Rex’s doctor – who has this huge ego and couldn’t figure out why the medication wasn’t working – or Rex would have suspected the medication. Even without foulplay, it is not unknown for the wrong medicine to be administered. Still, it isn’t fair for us to double-guess since we already know what is going on. I wonder what the secret of the new neighbors is and whether that will be the main mystery to unravel next season.
Charmed: I don’t watch the show, but I saw the final minutes by chance. Not much room for negotiations there by the main cast, indeed.
Neil
Actually, re: Charmed, I was thinking “Wow, I wonder how they’ll cover up the fact that they used the exact same story for the Season 3 finale.” 🙂
But I’m faced with a great dilemma next season: UPN has pitted Veronica Mars against Lost on Wednesday nights next year. I have digital cable, so watching one program while taping another is not really an option.
Radio Shack. A splitter and an A/B switch (and a cable ready TV) will work. At least, it works for me.
DH,
At one point Rex told Bree to switch pharmacists and she said she would. Then she didn’t cause George is such a sweet guy. So, Rex thinks someone else is filling the prescriptions.
Rob Thomas has stated on Televisionwithoutpity.com they have come up with another season long arc.
I haven’t seen smallvill since it came back from Hiatus have I missed much?
My digital cable comes with time shifting so you could watch VM or lost early or late depending on what coast you’re on. Personally I’m going with VM Lost irritates me as often as not. I’m still irked over the fact they won’t say what Kate did, though it’s most likely killing her abusive father or something.
As for desperate housewives I saw most of the plot twists coming a mile away. I wonder how long it’s going to take before Bree gets investigated for Rex’s death
Since some have mentioned the digital cable thing, I’ll briefly comment again. I could go back to traditional cable, but it would actually end up costing me more. The reason is I’m locked into a great discount on my broadband internet service, but in order to get the discount, I have to carry digital cable. I could drop 8 bucks off my bill and drop digital, but it’d still climb because I would have to pay full price for my broadband. Unless I drop that, too. 🙂 Also, my digital cable service doesn’t include time shifting west coast/east coast feeds.
I’ll figure something out. I’ll either have a family member or friend tape one of the shows for me, or I’ll upgrade my digital cable box to one which includes TiVo/DVR, so that I can watch both.
Carry on. 😉
“Lost irritates me as often as not. I’m still irked over the fact they won’t say what Kate did, though it’s most likely killing her abusive father or something.”
That is logical. There is still the 2-hour season finale which should have more flashbacks.
Michael, good luck with your digital cable situation. I can’t see how you get by. I sometimes have to get 4 VCRs hooked up and running to feed the addiction (though these days this involves not just me, but other family members’ tastes).
Neil
“Desperate Housewives” is exactly the kind of show that makes me angry at fictional characters. I can imagine a final episode of this show where I walk down Wisteria Lane with a “street sweeper” 12-shell-magazine shotgun and blow these smarmy, self-centered bimbos back to their home in Hëll.
And if that sounds misogynistic, you try working for years on an afternoon shift in a TV station, exposed to soap operas and their endless, pointless agony. You’d develop a righteous anger at these types of characters as I have. This is only a soap opera with better costuming. If you had that experience, I’d have to fight you over who got to use the street sweeper first.
Thomas, while I agree that there are 2 very self-centered women on the show, the others seem simply overwhelmed (aka “desparate”) over their current life experiences. Their responses appear fairly normal to me. The only real soap aperaish issues are the situations that they find themselves in.
Re: Housewives
I’m really suprised we didn’t hear a gunshot go off once the last shot faded to black. That would have ratcheted up the cliffhanger – did Zach fire at Mike or did Mike get the drop on the kid?
Michael, I had the same thought as the screen faded to black.
When Bree heard of Rex’s death, I half expected her to begin the obsessive cleaning and then begin trashing the immediate area, since her coping mechanism was obviously not going to help her in light of this devestating news. I did think that the camera closing in on his empty chair in the foreground was very well done. What a powerful scene.
fred
Peter, without giving you any spoilers, I think you may like the Smallville finale, but my fear is that after being painted into a corner, the season 5 premiere will use the Reset Button, which is exactly what happened with last season. The season 3 cliffhanger was AMAZING, but now I look back at the season 4 premiere as the ponit where the show jumped over a certain marine animal. The ridiculous out-of-continuity cameos by DC characters that were mutliated by the show that followed (Lois, Bart, Lucy, the dog) only cemented this feeling.
Let’s hope the season 5 premiere does the season 4 cliffhanger justice. 🙂
Re: Lost, don’t forget, we’ve got at least another season to go. It’s highly unlikely the remaining chapters of “Exodus” are going to reveal EVERYTHING (or even a lot of things).
But yeah, I’m thinking Kate killed her father. Had she been a thief or a con artist, her mother probably wouldn’t have reacted the way she did at the hospital.
“And I’m thinking that the introduction of Alfre Woodard will go a long way toward avoiding the sophomore slump that often hits TV series that hit as big as this one has.”
I’ve found that sophomore slumps generally don’t exist for TV shows, and in fact the second seasons are usually much better than the first seasons (when, let’s face it, they’re still finding their legs). A possible exception is Twin Peaks, but since the first season was only eight episodes, and it experienced a slump for only about half the second season (between the resolution of Laura Palmer’s murder and the arrival of Heather Graham), that’s not really a fair statement.
“I’m really suprised we didn’t hear a gunshot go off once the last shot faded to black. That would have ratcheted up the cliffhanger – did Zach fire at Mike or did Mike get the drop on the kid?”
The lack of a gunshot surprised me, too, but now I realize that it allows them to have a confrontation at gunpoint between the two of them.
“UPN has pitted Veronica Mars against Lost on Wednesday nights next year. I have digital cable”
I’ve got digital cable as well and can still use my VCR. I have a three-way splitter on the cable feed coming into my house. One goes to the cable box, one to my cable modem and the third to my VCR. I can’t get any of the digital-only channels on my VCR, but all the regular ones still work. I’m probably going to have to make use of it next season if the VM vs. Lost scheduling sticks.
DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES: Zach is either Mike’s son, or the son of the cop that Mike killed. So, either Mike is Zach’s father, or he killed Zach’s father. Fun! Also, the pharmacist did come back and un-switch the medication, so no one really has any concrete evidence that Rex’s meds were tampered with.
VERONICA MARS: This show is simply awesome. Hope it was Wallace and not Duncan at the door.
For Smallville, ouch. Sad really, as this entire season, only the finale and Transference (Clark and Lionel swap bodies) were worth watching. All the others either pointless or worse, too much Pink Princess Lana. Hope it’s Zod inside the ship.
VERONICA MARS: I thoroughly enjoyed the season finale, but when it was over I found myself wondering if there were any clues in previous episodes hinting that Aaron Echolls was the one who killed Lilly Kane. There were many clues that turned out to be red herrings, but were there any actually pointing towards Aaron Echolls?
You mean like the ep where we found out that he was a lecherous old man with a thing for young women? Or the ep where we find out that he is physically abusive an has a, to put it mildly, anger management problem? Or the ep where he gives Veronica a ride home and gives of some serious voyeur vibes in the conversation?
Nah, other than that, nothing. I mean, they could have shoehorned in Duncan, or Mr Kane or Weevil or Logan, but it would have been far too forced. The Lily and Aaron affair was perfecly natural when you look at both characters, and the outcome is also a reasonable progression.
Having never wathced Desperate Housewives ever, reading that paragraph nearly made my head explode. Kind of reminded me of those insanely complex mini-stories about CIA Agent Leslie Steele in the recap pages in the last few issues of Captain Marvel.
DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES: Unless I’ve missed something, there’s a huge character-related plot hole regarding Gabrielle. Is there any reason she didn’t have an abortion? She seems to have no maternal instincts and desperately does not want to have children. In fact, a woman *with* maternal instincts might consider an abortion if there’s a chance the kid might come out looking like the gardener.
I know abortion for a major character on a TV show is fairly controversial, but this time it really stands out given the circumstances and the personality of the character in question.
Gabrielle’s religion is the reason she hasn’t had an abortion. Even though she doesn’t always obey it, she is still concerned with the teachings.
Remember she asked if she would still be able to get into heaven if she repented on her deathbed, even if she kept sinning up until then?
Just because Gabrielle doesn’t want to be a mother doesn’t mean she believes in abortion.
I just want to thank PAD for wising me up to Veronica Mars. It was a great show, my favorite by far, and I probably would’ve missed it if not for his blog.
As far as the mystery went… I had Duncan picked, mid-season, as all the “clues” were pointing towards him. Plus it became more and more obvious that the Kanes covered the whole thing up, basically to protect him. My only concern was that all this was made fairly evident, prior to the season final. In other words, too soon.
And then Veronica got renewed for another season; and I had visions of “Hollywood-type-suits” messing with the mystery and rewriting the show.
It usually went something like this…
“Now we can’t have Duncan be the bad guy; he’s the love interest!”
“Well, it could be the Kanes! You know, the case of Father always knew best?”
“Yeah, but then the whole season was for not!”
“How about not solving the mystery!”
“Yeah! The show won’t work without a season long mystery.”
“We’ll kill the show if we solve the murder!”
“I got it! Here’s what we’ll do… We’ll make it look like Duncan did it. Both Duncan and Veronica will think he did it, but because he was under medication, she’ll forgive him; but at the end of the episode…
-wait for it-
…she’ll discover that it was ‘the one-arm man!!!”
“And he’s on the run!!!”
“So she’ll spend the next 3 seasons chasing after the real killer!”
“Brilliant!”
“Yes I know. Thank, you.”
“Sir, I can’t believe Big Tobacco let you go!”
______________________________________________
Anyways, there you have it.
To answer Dave’s question, NO. There weren’t many clues that pointed DIRECTLY at Aaron Echolls. But there were plenty of character moments that certainly made him “fit the profile”. If you watch the show, you’ll know that more often that not, it’s more Law and Order than it is Sherlock Holmes. In other words, clue X will take you to Point A, clue Y will lead you to Point B, and so forth, until Veronica goes “I got it”. At which point, you should pause the show and figure it out. The only Sherlock Holmes moment I can recall was during the Valedictorian episode, where all the suspects ended up in the same room during the big reveal.
As for season two, me thinks that Logan might’ve taken a dive from the Bay Bridge and gone on to join Lily on that big Neptune High in the Sky! Too bad, since I would’ve loved to have seen Logan and Duncan clashing over Veronica. But who knows, maybe Weevil will end as the big stiff, or Alyson Hannigan’s Trina, or even Veronica’s Mom.
Anyone knows if Vegas has the odds on this thing?
“I know abortion for a major character on a TV show is fairly controversial, but this time it really stands out given the circumstances and the personality of the character in question.”
Regardlessly of abortion’s legality, it’s use as a birth control method is something that I suspect even Pro-Choice people would cringe to see. Garbrielle having an abortion simply because she doesn’t want to be a mother would transform her from a vain, materialistic, yet likable woman to a person who is only vain and materialistic. The show would suffer as a result, and like it or not that is why abortion is controversial.
Personally, I think it says something about Gabrielle’s character that not only is she not having an abortion, she hasn’t even CONSIDERED having an abortion. I think everyone–at least, everyone who isn’t a sociopath–has lines they will not cross. For Gabrielle, adultery is a line she has no trouble crossing, if for no other reason than she doubtless feels she has “cause” (i.e., if Carlos were a “better” husband, she wouldn’t feel the need to go elsewhere). But she’s unable to come up with a rationalization that would allow her to abort her child. I think that’s interesting. Other women would have an abortion in a heartbeat but would never cheat on their husbands. And others still would never do either.
PAD
VCRs? Tivos? Have you people not heard of BitTorrent?
Hëll, I don’t even turn my televison on anymore… I just download the few shows I still watch (and it’s a contantly decreasing number with the downward sprial television programming quality has taken since the advent of brain dead “reality” television and the ever increasing thoughtless drek that panders to the lowest common denominator…IE stupid people…in all forms of media and entertainment.)
I wouldn’t even have cable anymore if not for my broadband connection.
And before anyone decides to bring up pointless legality arguements about BitTorrent… A) I only download televison programs.. which are broadcast free to air to start with. B) I don’t download, or condone downloading of any pirtated movies, software, etc… C) The age of broadcast networks, fixed schedules, physical media distribution, etc, etc… is at an end. If the clueless content providers (AKA media overloads) don’t accept, adapt, and embrace the changes in society and technology, then they will die… and it will be a great day for all mankind when they do… maybe, just maybe, without the same handful of corporate executives controlling and deciding everything we see, hear, and think… then true creativity, free thought, and an evolution or hopefully even revolution in society might begin again… instead of the regression that has taken the place of progress as the status quo for the last half decade….
And I think I’ve gone off into a tangental rant here.
Moral of this story? Drinking in the afternoon is bad kids.
and, er…down with VCRs!
I know abortion for a major character on a TV show is fairly controversial, but this time it really stands out given the circumstances and the personality of the character in question.”
Regardlessly of abortion’s legality, it’s use as a birth control method is something that I suspect even Pro-Choice people would cringe to see. Garbrielle having an abortion simply because she doesn’t want to be a mother would transform her from a vain, materialistic, yet likable woman to a person who is only vain and materialistic. The show would suffer as a result, and like it or not that is why abortion is controversial.
*************************
See, if Gabrielle had an abortion under these circumstances, it *wouldn’t* be abortion as birth control. I disagree with that assesment. Her actual form of birth control failed (tampered with by her husband). She’s not sure who the father of her child is. Her husband is going off to jail, and when he gets out, I imagine their financial situation will be precarious (even though there is the hospital settlement). No, I think *that* is an example of when abortion would seem a logical option.
These all seem legitimate reasons for her to choose to have an abortion that I don’t see would ruin her character (any more than her other actions have).
In response to PAD’s post, I think her not even considering abortion comes off as odd. Given her character, we need to see something to justify this, given how annoyed she is about having the child — even if it’s just a casual mention of her religious beliefs (her being religious alone wouldn’t cut it given her behavior so far).
Mike
VCRs? Tivos? Have you people not heard of BitTorrent?
Yep. I have. And so has a friend of mine. And so have the organizations that monitor such things for copyright holders, resulting in things like my friend getting her cable ‘net cut off (until she called to find out why) and a letter from the cable company telling her what she did wrong (and – hilariously – how to download and not get caught) and if she does get caught again, she can kiss the cable ‘net goodbye.
Chris
In a recent episode, after she found out she was pregnant (it may have been when she suspected), Gabrielle went to see her priest. I assumed, after that talk, her decision was based on her (shaky) morality.
Wow, abortion by a character portrayed by Maxim’s hottest hottie. On a major network on what can be considered a flagship program? Put that in the “I don’t think so” column. The potential political flak from such a story scare away all but the most insular cable shows.
Oh the other hand, DHW IS all about lieing, deceit, deception, murder, sex, adultery, drugs, even…
Come to think of it, just about everyone should already be pìššëd at this show…
“As far as the mystery went… I had Duncan picked, mid-season, as all the “clues” were pointing towards him. Plus it became more and more obvious that the Kanes covered the whole thing up, basically to protect him. My only concern was that all this was made fairly evident, prior to the season final. In other words, too soon.”
I think for those reasons that it is fairly clear that he never was the real killer and his parents just thought he was. I really doubt there was any change in the plot after the show got renewed. There might be more information at the website of the show’s creator and executive producer Rob Thomas: http://www.slaverats.com/
Neil
DH: Considering that Zach was holding a gun and Mike was also packing heat, the cliff-hanging summer-long mystery then would have been
“Who shot first?”
At least it wasn’t Greedo.
How glad are we the episode didn’t end with Mike saying (Darth Vader voice):
“Zach, I am your father…”
I’ betting Stephen Culp comes back to DHW as another “voice from beyond”.
I agree.
Charmed: Sadly returned this season and I, being a fan, stayed faithful. I was disappointed to the point of daydreaming. When Julian McMahon returned for one episode things looked up. I did enjoy Billy Zane’s performance and came to realize Cole is completely missed. The Avatar thing was a huge let down and now Leo’s an easy target. Then they go and “kill” the sisters. Seriously I found myself yelling at the tv… “What the hëll?” As three very unidentifiable woman stroll away with a man who is equally a mystery. Interesting.
DH: Whoa! Marc Cherry is messing with us. The moment the doc called Bree and told her Rex was dead I thought. Or pretending to see what Bree does. I have also been screaming for most of the season that Dana was actually Zach and Zach is not really theres. Then we find out Mike’s ex was a junkie and Mary Alice save a baby from a junkie… HELLO. Will Zach shoot his real dad? And if Susan and Mike are together that means Julie has to deal with Zach/Dana. And who the heck is the new family and what are they hiding….
As for Gabrielle not having an abortion. I don’t really think she’s hates the idea of being a mother so much she’s going to abort the child. She hates it but she’s being good… now drinking according to her. If Gabrielle has a girl can’t you just imagine how into being a mom she will get as she plays dress up like the kid is a doll or something…
Tjack:
>I’ betting Stephen Culp comes back to DHW as another “voice from beyond”.
I hadn’t even considered this as a possibility, but it has great possibilities. Whether it was short term or long, he is already known by viewers and the nudge*nudge*wink*wink lines are endless. I’d be intrigued by this turn and it makes sense with much of the current mystery cleared up.
Fred
VCRs? Tivos? Have you people not heard of BitTorrent?
Mike – speaking personally, I’m not particularly priggish about using BT – it’s currently the only way to see the new series of Doctor Who in the USA, and because of the Tuesday night scheduling hëll this past season, the thing that made it possible for me to see all 6 episodes of The Office (US) – but the problem with BitTorrent is that downloads don’t affect broadcast ratings. I don’t have to tell anyone here that ratings drive ad pricing, and as such, are the lifeblood of any television network. So while I’m sure Rob Thomas and the cast of Veronica Mars would be thrilled to find out their show was the top BT download on a given week, it doesn’t give UPN any reason to renew their show for another year, because no one is watching it on their air (and, ergo, they’re not making money on it).
Well technically speaking, you don’t count as a “rating” unless you have a neilson box anyways. So BT doesn’t affect things one bit, and may actually be a more accurate way to determine how many people are watching a program than the flawed and innacurate neilson system
Granted, this is off-topic from the usual shows reviewed here…
But I’m going through Babylon 5 right now, and, man, I have to wonder if Bush is a fan of the way Earth government becomes in this show.
I’d agree that there weren’t any direct references to Aaron Echolls being the killer before the finale, or else it would have been too obvious. But Rob Thomas and crew knew where they were going the entire season and sprinkled every episode that had Harry Hamlin in it with various character clues, as snowcrash pointed out. There were, in fact, enough clues that several astute televisionwithoutpity forum viewers hit upon “Aaron Echolls is the murderer!” conclusion after the icky car scene vibe with Veronica. In fact, I rewatched the penultimate episode this weekend – the one where VM figures out who raped her, finds out that Duncan thinks it was incest, and her relationship with Logan is outed in front of all the snotty Neptune Highers (whoo, so much happens on this show!) – and there is one throwaway pan that lasts half a second, but if you notice, Aaron Echolls has his arms around some high school students, a guy and a blonde girl, and he’s staring smarmily at the girl. The VM creators did that sort of blink-and-you’ll-miss-it type stuff all season. (Lots of people didn’t recognize Clarence Wiedman in that half-second flash in the mirror at the end of ep 15.) That’s one of the many reasons this season of Veronica Mars was so good – the answer to the mystery was a surprise but inevitable-seeming in retrospect after reviewing the previous episodes. The best art has that sense of surprise yet inevitability – I enjoyed PD’s Apropos novels because of those very qualities, and I expect that Rob Thomas and crew will fashion a second season along the same lines.
Speaking of broadcast TV being free, why do cable TV stations air commercials?
Think about it. We have to put up with commercials on the broadcast networks because they pay the bills for the networks- bills John and Joan Q. Citizen would otherwise pay in order to see certain networks and/or programs. The commercials, therefore are the price of the “free” TV we enjoy.
But John and Joan _do_ pay to receive cable (and satellite) TV. Yet, with cable at least, most of the stations include commercials. And not just the ones, like WGN in Chicago, that are actually local broadcast stations. Cable-only stations like TNT, Cartoon Network, and Nickoledeon/Nick at Night, all have commercials.
Why? It seems to me that people who pay to watch TV shouldn’t have to endure commercial interruption as well.
On another note, regarding _Doctor Who_. If you (or someone you know) lives near the Canadian border, you can watch it at 8 p.m. on Tuesdays on CBC.
Oh, and I also started watching _Veronica Mars_ based on PAD’s earlier comments. I’ve enjoyed it.
Rick
I just found your blog, I’m a big fan and I hope you don’t mind me commenting.
I have watched the VM finale about three times since it aired. I am amazed by the quality of the storylines this show has had (with the exception of the “secret society” episode, which was kinda lame). The big questions for next season for me are: Who was at the door, and what happened between Logan and Weevil? What do you think? I think it’s her ex-boyfriend/cop at the door, and I think Weevil found the love note that Logan said will prove that he didn’t kill Lilly. But I have never really been able to guess big plot points on the show, so we’ll have to see…
Desperate Housewives was another winner in the season finale race. I think it’s safe to say that everyone thinks Rex didn’t die, but I have a feeling that the pharmicist didn’t spike his potassium. Could it be his kid, trying to mess up his mom’s life?? Maybe George only replacd his medicine with aspirin. Who knows…
As for Smallville, I don’t kknow about you, but I thought this whole last season was weak. WEAK, I SAY! I have become increasingly more and more disappointed with the storylines and the lack of interest there seems to be in producing a quality show. I want to know why Smallville High isn’t making national news for having the highest murder rate in a high school… EVER. I did like the nod to the first Superman film at the end, though, with the antarctic and all that.
Alright, that’s it for me, I don’t want to talk your ear off. Take it easy!
-Robbie
I think the season finale of Smallville has been the best yet. Surely I don’t think this season can hold a candle to say season 2…BUT I’ve been reading on SHH Smallville Board and someone made a good point in that I don’t think we can really judge Smallville season-wise….but basically look at the WHOLE picture of it..I can’t wait for the days where I can watch the show from the Pilot to the Series Finale..because then I think it’ll make sense..
Desperate Housewives
In regard to the fate of Rex, I was hoping that Rex wasn’t dead since I like the interaction between him and Bree, but I saw a quote from Steven Culp indicating that as far as he knows, he’s not coming back. Of course, he might not have been told by the producers that he’ll be back next year. I’ll keep my fingers crossed.