Sorry. That’s just where my head’s at after having read the following:
Anyway, below we begin the 2005-2006 round-up. Rather than gathering them all, I’ll just do them as I go along (since I’ve been out of town, I’m just now catching up with stuff.)
Spoilers below:
LOST: Understand, I’m not one of those who’s been screaming for everything in “Lost” to be explained. (Personally, I doubt the numbers will EVER be explained in any sort of satisfactory manner.) I’m just enjoying the ride.
That said, I thought the season debut was twenty minutes of program crammed into an hour of time. When it takes an episode dámņëd near forty minutes to get your hero back to where he was in the teaser, that’s a problem. And whereas most of the backstories have had at least some direct connection to the island–some sense of why this person was “picked” to be there–Jack’s this go-around did nothing for me. Connecting the notion that Jack used to be uncaring with his patients to a passing comment made to Hurley that “they’re just numbers” is pretty weak. It wasn’t as if Hurley was lying there hemorrhaging and Jack said, “It’s just blood.”
Frankly, it’s as if they had a great way to end the episode, and had to stall for time until they got to it. Still, it’s not as if I’m going to stop watching at this point. But not the strongest outing by a longshot.
CHARMED: Going into its eighth season with sure-handed assurance, “Charmed” follows up on the girl’s predicament (the world thinks they’re dead thanks to the producers thinking they were going to get canceled last year)with a compelling episode featuring new set-ups, a Quantum Leap-ish solution to their dilemma (the world sees them in their new identities; we see them as the actresses) and the continued question of why the hëll they don’t have some sort of mystical wards around their house so that demons can’t just pop in at will and try to kill them.
High points of the episode were Phoebe’s ill-advised trip to her former office where she finds a shrine to her and everyone sobbing their guts out, and also a psychic flash of an interesting potential future for her. That, and the great close-up shot they had of Wyatt toward the end when he had apparently dispatched a passel of demons without breaking sweat.
The demons we’ve seen thus far are standard issue; we haven’t had a really good villain on this series since Cole. So as the sisters take in hand a novice witch who’s apparently seen “Elektra” too many times (like, say, once) which promises to be an interesting storyline, here’s hoping the producers can come up with a serious quality nasty for the witches.
WEST WING: I’m not familiar with the writer of last night’s debut episode, but she’s certainly managed to come closer to nailing Sorkin’s style than anyone else. The flashforward to the establishing of the Bartlet library was a brilliant touch, showing us the future of several key characters and providing some tantalizing clues as to things that are going on now.
Note, for instance, Leo’s absence. Since I think we can safely assume Leo wouldn’t miss such an event, and dismissing the notion that Leo and Bartlet had some sort of major falling out, that leaves us with three options: 1) Leo’s dead; 2) Leo’s the VP and therefore can’t be with the president, Santos; 3) Leo IS the president (wouldn’t that be a scenario? Santos wins and, the day he’s sworn in, is assassinated?)
And CJ’s there. CJ, the prime suspect for leaking classified information. Married and with a child, which would indicate she didn’t get to jail. Which means either she cut some sort of deal (which would take some doing), or else she wasn’t the one who leaked the information in order to save the astronauts. If not her, then who? My money’s on Margaret. With razor sharp hearing, an established tendency to listen at the door, and a key enough position to be considered in the know, the loss of Margaret to the series–while it would suck for the actress–wouldn’t be the crippler that losing CJ would be.
As for the remainder of the episode, lots of really good stuff, including the interesting notion that their “polling” regarding Santos matches up with my own perception: A nice enough guy to go and knock a few beers back with, but you’re not sure you’d want to vote for him. Then again, it was enough to get Bush elected–I’m sorry, inserted into office–in the real world, so maybe that’ll be enough. And the line that Bartlet “took an oath of office, not an oath of party” was great.
Hey…going back to that earlier notion: Santos is assassinated (I mean, it’s not like Smits tends to hang around for more than a few seasons anyway); Leo is made President, and then Leo selects as his own VP…Vinick. Not that it would ever happen, but that’d be intriguing.
PAD
• 
Oh god, I missed the season opener of West Wing?! Sister Mary Joseph, how the hëll did that happen? Am I screwed for next week, or should I be able to pick up on things ok?
Dammit, I started watching WW, and then flipped to “The Half-Ton Man”. Put my self-defined weight issues in a wee bit of perspective. I do hope they replay it, however.
Peter,
Did you notice how Toby seemed to be overly effusive (for him) in being invited to the dedication? I think him teaching at Columbia is what happens to him after he reveals he was the leak.
Oh, and the way the President greeted Charlie was more like renewing acquaintances with a past associate than a son in law, so I don’t think Charlie and Zoey hook up.
Josh is a bit of a cypher to figure out. He’s not with the President it would seem or else he’d probably be arriving with him to the dedication. And while she wasn’t in the inner circle of the Bartlet administration, I was bummed that Donna wasn’t there. I guess the seven long years we’ve waited to find out if Donna and Josh finally hook up will not pan out in the Shipper’s favor.
And how about Josh’s rather cold flat refusal of Donna getting a job in the present day?
Dang. I guess it’s possible for people to have differing opinions, but–as the saying goes, did we see the same “Lost” season debut?
First, you simply have to acknowledge the brilliance of that opening shot. It was breathtaking. Second, I do think Jack’s backstory in the ep connects very closely to his experience on the island. It explains, in part, why he’s so reluctant to become the de facto leader of the island–his feeling of compassion for fellow human beings is a relatively recent thing, and therefore he’s consumed with self doubt even when everyone else automatically sees a hero. Plus, by placing Desmond directly in the middle of Jack’s moment of personal epiphany in this way, it makes Jack’s confrontation with Desmond on the island all that much more fraught with meaning and dramatic tension.
And also, Kate looked hot.
LOST: Did anyone else thing that the girl that Jack operated on was the one that he was going to eventually marry later on? She’s got Florence Nightinggale Effect written all over her.
WEST WING: As cold as it seemed, I can understand why Josh could not offer Donna a job on the Santos campaign. There’s no way that Donna could say “I didn’t really mean all that bad stuff about Santos” and retain any degree of credibility as a spokesman for the campaign. I think it would be less of a problem to hire her to work in Santos’ actual administration (assuming they won) but I freely admit my ignorance about how such a senario would play out in reality.
President Zod – At least he’d be honest about being a dictator & wanting to conquer.
West Wing – Am I mistaken or was Mrs. Bartlet also not at the library opening. And is there a reason that Josh is the only one who didn’t look like he aged?
BTW – not to be a killjoy, but Don Adams died today at 82
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050926/ap_on_en_tv/obit_adams;_ylt=AgW17A2Ua713BEJjkH.UJS6s0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA3b2NibDltBHNlYwM3MTY-
LOST: I’ve gotta disagree with PAD here…I thought this was an outstanding episode. It’s not the best episode of the series thus far, nor probably is it in the top 5, but I was blown away by it. From it’s surreal and compelling opening scenes to the character drama, it had my interest from start to finish.
Yeah, I think Jack’s flashback here was weaker than previous flashbacks. From the first few seconds of the flashback scene with Jack and the other runner, I had predicted where the ending of the episode. But it was executed really well. Lost is one of those shows that people online can discuss and debate in great detail. For example, the patient that Jack didn’t save had the last name “Rutherford,” which is Shannon’s last name, and the whole bit about Jack’s patient being unable to walk parallels nicely with the whole story involving Locke, plus Walt’s brief appearance, when played backward, indicates he is giving some warning about pressing a button. It’s a really fun show to watch, discuss, and dissect…I loved it.
WEST WING: I missed the opening 20 minutes or so, and thus it’s unfair for me to try to review the episode, but I did catch the last 40 minutes. I abandoned “The West Wing” in the middle of last season, not because the show became badly written, but merely because the show was evolving into something I had no interest in seeing. I don’t need to see a new Presidential campaign storyline, nor do I want to. That’s not a remark about Smits’ Santos or Alda’s Vinick, because I think they’re both great characters.
That said, I did give the show another chance to sell me, and I have to say, while I was impressed with the writing, it just confirmed that the show has evolved into the something that I have little interest in. I adore these characters, from CJ to Josh to Toby to Donna, Leo, Bartlet, and Charlie. But it’s just not the show I fell in love with anymore. It’s very well written, with the same characters as before, but it’s embarked on dual storylines that aren’t my thing.
I’m not completely giving up on the show…I imagine I’ll keep watching, just because they’ve now scheduled the show at a time where there’s nothing else to compete with as far as my viewing habits are concerned.
Not to be a contrary little twerp (actually at 6’4″ 230 I don’t know that “little” applies) But I have to go with Peter about the Lost premiere. Juding by the beginning, I thought I was going to see something really revelatory, but there was just too much focus on Jack and this exercise nut in the hole. I wanna know more about what happened to Walt, and the rest of the Not-Gonna-End-Up-Like Gilligan crew of the raft, and I think the I’m-Not-The-Doctor-My-Dad-Was(And-That’s-A-GOOD-Thing) angle was reasonably well explored last season.
Wish I had stuck with Charmed. Seen a few on TNT and they’re better than most. But then, with a 4 year old that NEEDS to sleep with us (don’t worry, once he’s asleep he gets put in his room) I don’t get to watch much regular TV. Although, anybody else see Supernatural and think “My Lord! Freakylinks without the wry ironic sense!”
WEST WING: I’m not familiar with the writer of last night’s debut episode, but she’s certainly managed to come closer to nailing Sorkin’s style than anyone else.
I believe the episode was written by Debora Cahn, and yeah, I recall that the episodes she’s written in previous seasons do manage to be as close to Sorkin-esque as we’ve gotten post-Sorkin. Hers is a name to look for in the credits; if she’s the writer, there’s reason to be hopeful. 😉
Did you notice how Toby seemed to be overly effusive (for him) in being invited to the dedication? I think him teaching at Columbia is what happens to him after he reveals he was the leak.
Hey, who says he’s teaching at Columbia? He could be living in [b]Colombia[/b] for all we know at this point! 😉 (Though Toby’s living in either New York City or South America would be interersting given his twins’ mother’s seeming reluctance to live anywhere but her district.)
West Wing: I thought the flash-forward was pretty pointless. It was like the producers were sucking up to the show’s longtime viewers to get them to keep watching. “Look! Bartlet doesn’t die in office! And don’t you want to find out how CJ and Danny got back together? Huh? Huh?”
I’m still wary of how the security leaky storyline will get resolved. Would it really be in character for CJ or Toby to leak the information, force the President’s hand, and then lay low and hope that it all blows over? It seems like either one would have it out with the President and then, upon failing to receive satisfaction, they’d resign and then give the information to the press out of principle. Either way I think the producers need to stop jerking us around.
But it was good to see Josh act capable and Leo-like, finally! In the last half of last season, his job seemed to be to give the Congressman exactly the wrong advice and be surprised, chagrined and impressed when Santos did the exact opposite.
I’m looking forward to this season. Either way, there’ll be a new administration, so clearly, there’s no reason to expect that anybody’s job is safe…
I gotta disagree with Peter on Lost. I LOVED it. It was a great season opener. Especially the teaser (I couldn’t believe it! Wow. Definitly not what I thought was in the hatch) and the end of the episode, but everything in between was really interesting too. One of Lost’s best episodes, imo. MUCH better then the season 1 finale, which I was disappointed in a bit.
As for West Wing, while I liked the beginning flashforward, I thought the rest of the episode was just ok. Of course, I haven’t seen West Wing in a long time, so I was out of the loop on some of the character developments. I was also disappointed that the episode didn’t actually take place three years later. Personally, I think it would have been cooler if the show had skipped past all this election stuff and revealed the new president. Would have been more interesting I think…
Anyway, Lost was great! Definitly one of my favorite season openers, if not my favorite. Of course, I liked NCIS and House openers quiete a bit too!
DF2506
” I was disappointed with Numbers opening episode though and Cold Cases. CSI’s wasn’t as great as the finale either (though there were some interesting bits in it). And I’m enjoying alot of the new shows (mainly the sci-fi/supernatural shows, though I like My Name is Earl as far as comedys go).”
West Wing:
> Would it really be in character for CJ or Toby to leak the information, force the President’s hand, and then lay low and hope that it all blows over?
Certainly not Toby. For C.J., however, it is completely in character: recall ‘Women of Qumar’ when she took her personal outrage to the briefing room, or ‘7A WF 83429’ where she surreptitiously disobeyed a direct order in order to honor an agreement she had made with a reporter about leaking the Shareef story. Of all the staff, C.J. has consistently shown a high level of idealism, coupled with a willingness to break rules when she disagrees with them and no history of owning up to mistakes.
Contrast that, for example, with Toby’s offering of his resignation when he felt he had screwed up, or the many times he vehemently expressed his disagreement with the president.
That’s why it irritates me that C.J. is being played up as the leaker (since it’s therefore obvious that she won’t really be). So far, the only other potential culprit we’ve been shown is Toby; unless we get other targets next week, I’m going to bet on it being him, despite that being completely out of character.
— Brian.
LOST – I’m not entirely sure about the Season Opener. It was quite creepy, and answered the hatch question, but it did lack some kind o’ kick. Then again, it was a Season Opener, and a Jack show.
I did find the flashback to be very important though, because we’ve now established that Sara–and that is the future Mrs. Jack Shepard–believes Jack worked a miracle on her. And Jack may just think a miracle happened. Contrast this with Jack giving Locke crap the entire time about Destiny–it’s a word he’s particularily fixated on. I think this flashback is setting up the backbone of Jack’s “man of science” posture: it’s not because he’s Scully, but because he had a miracle go sour on him, and he refuses to put himself on the line for that sort of faith again. It also plays into the Jack-Locke antagonism, which otherwise looks rather foolish.
Also we established for sure that Hurley was in a psyche ward. Now I’m dyin’ to see what brought that about.
“West Wing – Am I mistaken or was Mrs. Bartlet also not at the library opening.”
Mrs. Bartlett was busy being a doctor on another network. 🙂
I hope Stockard Channing will be able to find the time to drop in on The West Wing occasionally.
By the way, if anyone wants to see the season opener of LOST again, they’ll be showing it right before the new episode on Wednesday.
Neil
Rat said: “…I think the I’m-Not-The-Doctor-My-Dad-Was(And-That’s-A-GOOD-Thing) angle was reasonably well explored last season.”
I didn’t think that was the angle being shown here. This is the first time (that I remember) we’ve gotten a glimpse of what kind of doctor Jack’s dad really was closer to the height of his career, and in fact, it shows that there were definitely things that Jack’s dad did better than he did — bedside manner, for example.
I was a little annoyed at the way this episode seemed stretched out, but I didn’t think that the flashbacks were pointless.
Didn’t watch West Wing, but reading the posts here, I’d offer another solution to the leak: Donna? Wouldn’t she still have informants in the White Hosue to get info? Wouldn’t that also explain the cold reception from Josh?
Charmed: Never watched it. Probably never will at this point.
Lost: No spoilers, but I think the island is some sort of experiment gone bad. Halucinogens, specifically. That would explain Shannon’s vision of Walt. Jack’s vision of his Dad. Given that, the hallucinogens are probably stronger in the “work-out bunker.” So I doubt that actually is Desmond (the guy runing the stadium with Jack.) Jack just sees him as Desmond.
West Wing: at the moment, it seems like the Democrates will win without a problem. If you follow only one campaign, then it seems like there will be no chance or thrill of them loosing since all the investment will be just with the democrats.
Re: West Wing
Of course, Toby is the leak. Doesn’t anyone remember that his brother was a shuttle astronaut. What WW staffer is going to be more sympathetic to the plight of the trapped astronauts or more in a position to find out NASA secrets via unorthodox methods.
It’s the difference in this show since Wells took over from Sorkin. Sorkin assumed a level of intelligence with the viewer that Wells’ doesnt (and this storyline has already been done back in season 3 with Platt and Stockard Channing.) Wells is also following the LAW AND ORDER model of mirroring real life events (i.e. the Rove leak accusations) which may be due to the fact that Dee Dee Myers, et al are no longer consulting for the show).
Regarding Lost, I’m constantly amazed at the low-tech, or rather old-tech, of the Others: They’ve got this chain-of-smoke monster, they’re able to cure spinal injuries, crash a jetliner, control lotteries… and yet everything we’ve seen from them looks like it’s old and worn out — 25 year old computers, a leaky-looking bucky-dome, LPs, scruffy old sailors. I was expecting more of a Dr. Evil mod underground lair.
The thing that my wife noted about West Wing is that none of Bartlett’s staff ended up working for the new administration. She thought that was a sign that the republicans won. I’m not so sure, staff turnover is pretty high.
I don’t think workout guy in the Hatch IS one of the Others. He’s been (apparently)locked down there for 20 years or so. I’d say HE’s running the show on the island. The Others are just other castaways (like Delenn/Danielle Rosseau.) They’ve just been there for 16 years, so they’re a bit crabby.
I liked both _Lost_ and _West Wing_. I just hope that when all is said and done with _Lost_ there is a believeable, rational explanation for all the various coincidences (Desmond being the guy in the bunker on the island; Locke working for the box company Hurley owns; etc). If _all_ these things turn out to be _just_ coincidences, then everything will collapse like a house of cards.
Re _The West Wing_ and the flash-forward. I’m going to guess the president arriving at the Bartlett Library dedication is Santos. I base this on two thing- the _very_ brief glimpse we get of the president shows us a man with dark hair, not gray. Second, when Josh comes in, and says that the president is here, it suggests that he is acting as the president’s advance man, letting the dignitaries know that the program is about to begin.
Of course, I doubt the actor in the limo was actually Jimmy Smits, but just some extra, since we’d never see much of him. Why? The producers might not want to back themselves in a corner (both with the audience and the actors) this early in the season as to whom the next president will be. I mean, if Alan Alda’s Arnold Vinick turns out to be more popular with viewers, they might begin to reconsider whom the president will be.
It also depends, of course, on whether Smits and/or Alda have long-term contracts. If only one of them does, he’s likely to be the president; if both do, it could go either way.
Similarly, if Santos _isn’t_ the president in three years, Josh could just have been running late, and seen the motorcade arriving.
Possible SPOILER WARNING
Both Richard Schiff and Dule Hill have indicated that they’re leaving _The West Wing_ this year; Hill is doing just five episodes. I’m not sure how many Schiff will do. Since both are leaving anyway, that opens up the possibility that either Toby or Charlie could be the leak. My guess is that it’ll be Toby. The character has more of a personal stake in the matter; and there was something in Schiff’s body language in one scene where the matter came up (if I remember rightly, the one with Toby, C.J., Leo and Josh).
END Possible SPOILER WARNING
On a slightly off topic note, I’ve now watched two episodes of _Bones_, which co-stars David Boreanaz. What puzzles me is _why_ is name is not in the opening credits.
Also, _Supernatural_ has gotten off to a good start.
Rick
Why _his_ name is not in the opening credits.
Rick
Boreanaz’s name *is* in the Bones opening credits. It’s on at the same time as Emily Deschanel, on the opposite side of the screen. (I think he’s at top right and she’s at bottom left; not sure though.) I missed it too at first, but I had it on tape and rewinded; it’s definitely there.
Boreanaz’ agent needs to talk to the guy doing the credits sequence for Bones. I think his name gets overlooked due to bad placement in the extreme upper right corner, and the bad contrast of the white text versus a mostly white background. I read about the issue here first, and **still** missed his name when watching the episode on tape.
Lost may flame out this season. I’m going to see it through to the end of this season though.
Guy in the hole wasn’t set up that well. My wife and I knew that he was down there as soon as he said his “see you in another life” line in the flashback. The ending wasn’t a shock to us at all and just came off as kinda strange.
We were a bit ticked about the season ender being all about no answers and more questions. We were even more ticked about the first show of this season being about no answers and stranger questions. Lost needs to start handing out a few good answers that set up the next questions soon or it’s going to start seeing its fan base drop off week after week by mid season.
Did anyone else notice that the huge “Quarintine” sign on the hatch was for people in it to see and not go out?
The really important question here is about Jack walking around in the hole. Was I the only one who, due to the set design, the color patterns and the retro computer banks, thought that Jack was going to turn a corner and walk into a mock up of S.H.A.D.O.W. HQ filled with a bunch of lipsincing aliens? Don’t worry, my wife didn’t get that either.
My problem with the notion of Tobey being the leak is that the MOMENT C.J. is under suspicion, the Tobey that I’ve known for five years comes clean. Now is it possible they’re writing him out of character? Sure. Do people sometimes act in a manner contrary to their established pattern? Sure. Nevertheless, when push comes to shove, I see Tobey squaring off against Bartlet on a matter of morals and saying, “Yes, I did this, and I’ll take whatever consequences there are” before he’d risk C.J. being hung out to dry.
And if that woman in the Jack flashback is supposed to be his future wife, okay, I see the significance of it. That still doesn’t change my belief that the “You!” moment should have been, at most, at the station break.
PAD
The woman in the flashback is Jack’s future wife (I only know this because it’s actually on the ‘Lost’ website).
Re the Boreanaz credit: I’ll have to watch for that tonight.
By the way, the placement of one actor’s name in the lower left and another in the upper right has been done before- in film. _The Towering Inferno_, I believe, was one such example (though there have probably been others before and since). This placement essentially give both actors equal top billing. In the case of _Bones_, it would read as Deschanel and Boreanaz if read from left to right; and as Boreanaz and Deschanel if read from top to bottom.
Rick
P.S. who knows, maybe _Bartlett_ was the leak. Just as Nixon was really Deep Throat, despite what recent “revelations” told us. Think about it, Nixon had this thing about maintaining law and order. Clearly someone with such an outlook would want to make people aware of the illegal activities taking place in the Nixon White House.
The woman in the flashback is Jack’s future wife (I only know this because it’s actually on the ‘Lost’ website
And I noticed Julie Bowen’s name in the credits, and she was his fiance in the other episode
David
Re: President Zod — way too honest; he’d never make it past the first primary. Besides, he can’t run for president; he was not born on US soil. Unless Governor Terminator gets that problem out of the way before 2008.
It was hard to recognize her with her face all injured-up, but that was indeed Jack’s future/past wife. In last season’s flashbacks, we saw their wedding and reception, and she made a speech about how Jack promised to fix her after the accident, so that she could finally dance at her wedding. Not sure what happens between the wedding and the death of Jack’s father, but Jack mentions in the bar before the flight in Sydney that he’s no longer married.
>>>
My problem with the notion of Tobey being the leak is that the MOMENT C.J. is under suspicion, the Tobey that I’ve known for five years comes clean.
Right, exactly. This is the single staffer who could be counted on to confront the President, often at risk to his continued employment, and after the assassination attempt, he was the guy who insisted that the Secret Service not take the fall for his own order that the President enter and exit buildings in the open air. In a Sorkin season, Toby would insist that the lives of the astronauts are more important than the political fallout, he would have it out with Bartlet right in the Oval Office, he’d resign, and then he’d drive straight from the White House to the CNN studios and speak on the record. He has penchants both for altruism and self-inflicted misery…it’s Josh’s fantasy!
But the biggest change in the post-Sorkin West Wing is that none of these staffers really talk to one another or work as a team. Nowadays, the characters all shut themselves up inside their own little offices. Josh being sneaky and not caring a whole lot about the repercussions beyond his own four walls isn’t terribly inconsistent with the “new” West Wing…which is why, for me, the series only got interesting again late last season, when all of the action was taking place on the campaign trail.
On Who Becomes President — money’s on Santos, only because it allows the producers to keep old castmembers. But I do acknowledge that (a) the per-season budget got slashed this season, and axing all of the longstanding cast (with their annual pay bumps) makes financial sense; (b) the producers bothered to hire “real” actors to play Vinick’s staff, not unknown faces with no real track record, and finally (c) who says that the dark-haired man coming out of the limo was Santos? It coulda been a member of his protection detail, right?
WW:
Ok, I was so ready for the new season to begin and it was a good episode considering how last year’s season was pretty dull.
So who will it be Arnie (Alan Alda) or Santos (Jimmie Smits.)? I’m pìššëd that it wasn’t finalized in this episode but oh well, they’ll wanna drag it out to keep us watching. I think it’ll be Santos because where the hëll will the rest of the cast go since they all work for a Dem prez.?
I personally liked the beginning where they took it forward three years, but dámņ what a tease:
CJ and Danny married? (And btw, last year I was sure she’s the leak and this kinda hints that she might have been. But now I’m not so sure. Kate? Maybe, but I think she’s too much a part of the secret government world to give up secret info. to anyone. They make it look like it could be her too….as well as Toby.)
Ðámņ, Charlie without Zoey? Hmmm, I hope not. I like them together. Of course Will fits in good as a congressman. I don’t care much about his character so that’s fine.
At the end of that scene they blurred the current POTUS getting out of the limo…but they sure made it look like it was a tall dark-haired man getting out (Smits). (Course they could be trying to throw us off and easily explain it away with it being someone else getting out first.)
The rest of the ep.?
We see Leo now has a place (VP). Josh? Oh yes Chief of Staff, exaclty where he should be. But I kept screaming at the TV “Where the hëll is Donna”?! (I just know she’s gonna be Deputy Cheif of Staff.) My psyhic abilities musta been kicking in because she thought it was a good position for her too. And Josh does exactly what I knew he would do. He tells her “no way”.
Josh to Donna:
“You think I don’t miss you everyday?” (or something to that effect) which is the real reason he didn’t hire her.
Small scene but emotional.
She’s perfect for the job btw, since Josh taught her so well, so I’m thinking she IS gonna end up with it, despite the fact she was spouting off for the enemy’s camp last season, (Josh’s excuse for not hiring her in that position.)
Hopefully they can keep it up and rise above the last couple season duldrums.
And how about Josh’s rather cold flat refusal of Donna getting a job in the present day?
Again, didn’t think it was cold at all. It was exactly what I thought he would do.
And while we’re at it…..
Who saw the season ender of Battlestar Galactica the other night?
Who wants money on the idea that they’ll get thenmselves out of this plot twist by making the new Cain another undercover Cylon?
“Who saw the season ender of Battlestar Galactica the other night?
Who wants money on the idea that they’ll get thenmselves out of this plot twist by making the new Cain another undercover Cylon?”
I don’t think so. I think the whole point of the Pegasus Command is to show that humans are capable of pretty vile things, as are the Cylons. But that the Cylons are not humanity’s only enemy.
Instead of asking about who’s leaving the West Wing, is there anyone left of the original cast who’s under a long-term contract? I mean, are any of them under a multi-season agreement right now, or could the show conceivably end with this season? I have a bad feeling about this move to Sunday nights.
NBCS promo for the premiere talked of promise of a new leader and as they said that they show footage of allison janney with alan alda
so maybe it is santos
but they are hinting vinnick
any chance they might do their own version of the florida debacle with santos coming out on top?
And the Pegasus Command = Cylons angle is too obvious; I think the point about humanity sometimes being its own worst, petty, vile enemy is well-taken. Plus, it’s interesting to me how the arrival of the Pegasus hardliners puts Adama’s actions and command style into a kindler, gentler perspective. I think in terms of plot, it’ll go down a lot like the orginal series, with the Pegasus going off to fight the war on its own terms, still out there as a potential ally/threat in the future. I think in terms of television production, it’ll give them a chance to add and delete some cast members and new technology elements (anyone else wonder how the Pegasus got around the computer network problem in its ongoing engagements with the toasters?). And maybe they’ll move the VP’s story along when he frees the abused Cylon prisoner from Pegasus, whether that’s through physical or terminal means.
And was anyone else rankled when the admiral welcomed the Galactica back into the Colonial fleet, like the Pegasus alone was the fleet and Galactica and the rest of the ships were not?
Incidentally, when I ask myself who will become the next President on The West Wing, I conclude it all hinges on the ratings and whether NBC wants to continue renewing the show.
Here’s my logic: John Wells is infamous for milking his series. ER is the best example…it just started its 12th season. If NBC shows interest in continuing the show, Wells would be more likely to have Vinick win the election, so he can sweep in massive cast changes in the hopes of spurring interest in the show, a la ER and Law and Order.
At the same time, if NBC is privately telling Wells to wrap it up, then it’s more likely that the show will come full circle and we’ll see Santos elected, with Josh becoming Chief of Staff and Leo becoming VP.
That’s what I believe will ultimately determine the fate of the election on the show. Does NBC foresee this show going on for a few more years with a new, revitalized cast and different perspective, or would NBC rather the show close up shop?
“And was anyone else rankled when the admiral welcomed the Galactica back into the Colonial fleet, like the Pegasus alone was the fleet and Galactica and the rest of the ships were not?”
Nah, not really. It fits the command type and the situation. Don’t you think it would have been odder sounding if an admiral asked an underling if they could join the fleet?
We were very behind in Lost and managed to watch the two-part finale, then the season premiere, so I didn’t get the annoyance of waiting for months. I also didn’t feel like things were dragged out too long. Like a Bendis story, seeing big chunks of the story in a short period of time is a lot more satisfying than the episode installments.
I found the premiere quite satisfying.
When we saw Jack’s wife, Sarah, before at their wedding, Jack’s saving of her was pretty much the basis for their relationship and his reputation as a doctor. At this point we see Jack as the man of science who doesn’t believe any of the supernatural stuff (or at least he won’t admit it). Locke is his opposite, the man of faith. But then we see that Jack’s defining moment in the old life is not of science but of faith. That flashback makes us rethink exactly what Jack believes in. Plus it adds to the mystery of Desmond. Since the flashback is from only a few years ago, if he’s the guy in the hatch, how long as he been there? Lots of little things to think about.
Thank goodness for DVR – I had forgotten about the premiere, but it did it automatically for me.
As for the remainder of the episode, lots of really good stuff, including the interesting notion that their “polling” regarding Santos matches up with my own perception: A nice enough guy to go and knock a few beers back with, but you’re not sure you’d want to vote for him. Then again, it was enough to get Bush elected–I’m sorry, inserted into office–in the real world, so maybe that’ll be enough.
At this point in the show I paused the playback and said to my wife: “But that’s exactly how the last few elections have been decided.” We ran down the last few elections, and the most personable nearly always won:
Bush/Kerry
Bush/Gore (okay, Gore won the popular)
Clinton/Dole
Clinton/Bush-41/Perot
Bush-41/Dukakis
Reagan/Mondale
Reagan/Carter
Carter/Ford
What rankled for me with Cain was when her Raptor landed in Galactica‘s bay, and she stepped out without so much as a “Permission to come aboard, Commander.” Even Roslin gave him that – and she said she’s not familiar with military protocols.
Linking back to topic (sort of), I was kind of disappointed to learn that one of the wilder speculations about the hatch on Lost wouldn’t be used – the idea that the hatch was in the top of the Galactica. 🙂
I understand the top-down logic about who’s joining who’s fleet, but I guess my thought would be it probably didn’t need to be said in the situation at all, and Jonathan’s point about her lapse in protocal about asking for permission to board another’s ship, regardless of rank, was an oversight, too. Honestly, they should have included that and excluded the rejoining the fleet comment, and I’d have been fine with it. Of course, I don’t think we’re supposed to like her, so I imagine they were trying to hammer home the arrogance factor there.
Re: Galactica. I dunno, this show is pretty tightly scripted, with a lot of subtlety thrown in. My wife swears she saw Adama give a small smile at Boomer last episde, right before he said “throw this thing back in the brig,” suggesting that’s he’s personally thawing to her, but understands the fleet isn’t ready to trust the Cylons, so he publicly treats her like a toaster.
I don’t think there’s much about RoCain’s actions or words that weren’t given lots of thought for this episode.
Bobb & Jonathan: I think we’re in agreement then that they were cranking up the arrogance aspect, which is fine. Should be interesting to see what they do with it.
Abby’s name gets dropped in the flash forward (she wants a better picture of CJ and Danny’s child).
Donna is in no way qualified to be Deputy COS. She’s a secretary. She scheduled his appointments and got him coffee. Is she capable, yes. But she isn’t even a college graduate. She wasn’t his deputy in the past, she was his assitant, and there’s a HUGE difference between the two.
what fascinated me about pegasus
was ron moore seemed to be saying
galactica has it easy
they have essential
the 13 colonies
they have many merchant ships
which means they have commerece
they still have a media
they have religious leaders
so they still have faith
galactica still has elements of civilization
pegasus only had pegasus
no pleasure just combat
they are cut off from everything that made them human
all they have to look forward to is winning the war
and they are determined to win at any cost
as for cain she may indeed be arrogant
even insane
but imagine what it must be like to
believe you are the only flag officer left
the responsibility to win the war is yours and yours alone
that could drive ANYBODY mad
and you might also come to believe
the glory should be yours alone as well
great start
cant wait for the slam bang finish
“So who will it be Arnie (Alan Alda) or Santos (Jimmie Smits.)? I’m pìššëd that it wasn’t finalized in this episode”
I did hear that at one time they were going to quickly decide for Santos, but Alan Alda told them that he was enjoying himself so much that he wanted to stay around for longer than he had previously said. So, that basically got them back to square one for deciding how things would go.
Neil
First, re: Zod:
1)Did anybody notice there’s a “kids” link, too?
2)Mr. T won’t bow down to Zod – go, T! (Apparently I’m not the only person on Earth who has Mr. T pop into his head with odd frequency ….)
On the premieres: I used to watch West Wing, but I lost it, it lost me, something … so, didn’t see it. But, caught the other two:
Had kind of dropped Charmed – never really forgave them for how they screwed up Cole – but my wife got me back into it. I was pretty impressed with this episode. Yeah, it was very Quantum Leap with their new identities (I explained that to my wife since she never watched that show); the new fighter is interesting, at least as a mystery; yeah, they do need a new REAL baddie – Zanku was kind of underwhelming …. I still feel like they have to return to their former lives, so some deus ex machina will show up and restore everything eventually – but maybe they will surprise me …. BTW, I was very impressed with the actress playing Illusion Disguised Piper in the wake scenes – she had Holly Marie Combs’ cadence and pacing DOWN.
And, I’m in the “liked Lost’s premiere” camp. I also noticed Bowen’s name in the credits, so I knew where that was coming from. We do need to see more of the rest of the cast, but I am interested to hear some (though I doubt complete) explanation for the base/prison/whatever it is in the next episode.