Week in TV: September 27 to October 01

I'm two weeks behind on rating episodes, so I'll skip the commentary and just stick to my ranks & grades...

Week of September 27 to October 01
01.  (B+)  Chuck  (s4 ep02)
02.  (B+)  Parenthood  (s2 ep03)
03. {tie}  (B)  Hawaii Five-0  (s1 ep02)
03. {tie}  (B)  Fringe  (s3 ep02)
03. {tie}  (B)  House  (s7 ep02)
06.  (B-)  No Ordinary Family  (series premiere)
07. {tie}  (B-)  Survivor  (s21 ep03)
07. {tie}  (B-)  Undercovers  (s1 ep02)
07. {tie}  (B-)  Cougar Town  (s2 ep02)
10.  (B-)  The Event  (s1 ep02)
11.  (B-)  Stargate: Universe  (season 2 premiere)
12.  (B-)  The Colony  (s2 ep10; season 2 finale)
13.  (C+)  Glee  (s2 ep02)

This Week in TV: September 20 - 24

This past week was a big premiere week for a lot of new & returning shows.  Overall, it was pretty good.

I was most excited to see the return of Chuck, and while the season 4 premiere itself wasn't mind-blowing, it showed just how well the writers are keeping the forward momentum started back in the season 2 finale.  From the previews they showed after the episode and some spoilers I've read online, I get the feeling I'm going to like the direction the show takes this year.  I like that Chuck & Sarah are truly together and will remain that way all season (and hopefully the duration of the entire series) and that the will-they/won't-they nature of their relationship is finally over.

Hawaii Five-0 was the last show I got around to watching but had the 2nd best episode of the week.  I don't know if I'll retain interest in a procedural cop show week after week, but they had an impressive premiere.  I still don't see how they pulled off one stunt in which the main character does a running slide across the trunk of a car while that car is simultaneously rear-ended by another car -- and with the slider looking like the main character, not a stunt man.  My guess is there was some CG work involved, but it sure looked seamless.  In addition to the stunts, the story, characters, performances, casting, dialogue, and scenery were all good too.

Parenthood remains strong.  There’s not even much I can elaborate on.  In general, I just love the actors, the characters, and the storylines so far.

Fringe focused it's season 3 premiere almost entirely on the over-here Olivia stuck in the over-there universe.  Consequently, there wasn't enough time with over-here's Walter or Peter to give the episode sufficient quirkiness or heart.  However, the cab driver character that helped Olivia evade her captors helped out in the heart department by becoming a trusted sidekick, even if he was forced into it.  Supposedly, the show is going to alternate episodes between the two universes, so next week we should get more time with the over-here Walter & Peter and the over-there Olivia (a.k.a. Bad Olivia, Bolivia, Not Olivia, Nolivia, Faux-livia) who's secretly embedded herself over here.

Warehouse 13 ended its 2nd season with an episode that had a goofy plot, the disappointing revelation of the H.G. Wells character as being neither good nor evil but just plain insane, and the equally disappointing split between Pete and his girlfriend played by the gorgeous Paula Garces (who may replace Lauren Graham as having the best hair ever).  Maybe the split isn't permanent and she'll return next season.  I hope so.  Despite the goofy plot, I've come to appreciate the show for its quirky characters, increasingly frequent comic relief, and occasionally clever dialogue.  The characters have also bonded well enough that they feel like a family.  Myka leaving Warehouse 13 is no doubt temporary, but it made for a nice bit of tension at the end.

As for the other shows...  Undercovers seems to have potential.  Cougar Town is no better or worse than it was before.  The Event was pretty good although a little boring until the end, many viewers have complained online about the story bouncing around in time too much, and I think I may already have a plausible theory as to what the big "event" is.  House was well-acted, well-produced, and well-directed as usual, but I just don't buy the new romantic relationship between House & Cuddy.  I hope it hasn't jumped the shark.  I continue to have a love-hate relationship with Glee, and the season premiere was all over the map.  I really don't think the writers quite know what to do with the characters, but they're determined to take them in completely different directions every single episode.

My ranks & scores for this week's shows:

01.  (A-)  Chuck  (season 4 premiere)

02.  (B+)  Hawaii Five-0  (series premiere)

03.  (B+)  Parenthood  (s2 ep02)

04.  (B)  Fringe  (season 3 premiere)

05.  (B)  Warehouse 13  (s2 ep12, season finale)

06.  (B)  Undercovers  (series premiere)

07.  (B-)  Cougar Town  (season 2 premiere)

08.  (B-)  The Event  (series premiere)

09.  (B-)  House  (season 7 premiere)

10.  (B-)  Survivor  (s21 ep02)

11.  (B-)  The Colony  (s2 ep09, penultimate episode)

12.  (B-)  Kate Plus 8  (s1 ep04)

13.  (C+)  Glee  (season 2 premiere)

Best Moments:

• Chuck:  A captured & tied-up Sarah trying to type an urgent text message to Chuck using her toes.
• Hawaii Five-0:  Several mind-blowing stunts, most involving vehicles, but the best one being the trunk slide explained above.
• Parenthood:  Adam walks in his front door to see his wife consoling a sobbing friend who’s going through a separation, that woman’s son jumping on a trampoline indoors, and his own son being hyper and making constant noise with an annoying whistle.  Adam just backs out quietly, goes out to his car, reclines the seat, and listens to the radio.
• Parenthood:  Adam comes home another night to see his house messy but empty.  A note from his wife says she’s taken the kids, including the annoying trampoline kid, out to eat so that he can have some quiet time.  He reclines on the sofa with a beer and starts to watch TV but realizes something isn’t right.  Next, you see his family at the restaurant, and Adam walks in and joins them.
• Fringe:  Even after Olivia let him go, the cab driver still hung around to see what happened to Olivia.
• Warehouse 13:  Claudia starting to cry because Artie got shot.  They really are forming a pseudo father-daughter type relationship.
• Warehouse 13:  Pete getting emotional and not being able to hear the rest of Myka's resignation letter after she calls him the best big brother she never had.  They could have gone the romantic route with Pete & Myka, but I very much prefer them continuing with their relationship being more like brother & sister.
• House:  Any scene involving Cuddy without her clothes on (and, there were several).
• Glee:  The short cheerleader with Down Syndrome (I think) delivering some hilarious commentary during Finn's embarrassing audition for the Cheerios squad.
• A "You Again" commercial during Glee:  Betty White, co-star of the new movie "You Again," saying, "Okay, I'm going to level with you...  Glee Club was for dorks."

Season Finale Review: The 4400

The 4400 [s4 ep13]: "The Great Leap Forward"

*** Spoiler Warning ***

In Brief: What's Good

• Danny's Promicin-induced ability is one of the most bizarre (and there have been some bizarre powers this season), but it moves the overall story arc foward in an extreme and intriguing direction.


• Stories about people with weird powers this season have paid off because everything has set the stage for the complicated yet exciting and satisfying chain of events that occur in this non-stop, epic season finale.


• The distribution of Ubiquinone gives the government, NTAC, and The 4400 Centre a chance to work together, which might be a necessary alliance to wrestle control of Seattle back from Jordan Collier in season five.


• Excellent performances, especially by Patrick Flueger as Shawn Farrell whose character must react to the death of his mother and the realization that he must kill his own brother to save thousands.


• NTAC's computer geek, Marco Pacella, gets the best of the new powers from the Promicin virus. Able to transport himself to any place of which he sees a picture, his ability reminds me a lot of the use of Trumps from Roger Zelazny's Amber Chronicles, one of my all-time favorite book series.

In Brief: What's Not So Good

• Sometimes this season's "heaven-on-earth" motif and references to Jordan Collier being some kind of modern day messiah seem cliche. Calling the agents from the future The Marked might also be a reference to the mark of the beast in Revelation. I sometimes feel uneasy when sci-fi tries to use the Bible as inspiration for some fantastical storyline.

10	Story
8	Performances
10	Drama/Intensity
10	Suspense/Cliffhanging
10	Nostalgia/Coolness
9.8	AVERAGE

Summary:
Picking up where the last episode left off, Diana has just shot Tom who is has been infected with an alternate personality from the future by way of nanites, making him one of the Marked. The Marked are a faction who want the future to remain the way it is and must stop the 4400 in order to maintain the status quo. They place their personalities in nine host bodies in order to manipulate things from our current time.

Rescuing Tom
To get the real Tom back, Meghan and Diana plan to inject Tom with a lethal dose of Polonium, which will kill the nanites, and then have Tom's 4400 nephew Shawn use his healing ability to repair Tom's body from the radiation. The plan works.

Later, when Tom is able to get to Jordan, he tells Jordan how to rid himself of his Mark, and gives him the names of the seven other Marked so that Jordan can free them as well. Tom feels Jordan should be the one to do so because NTAC and the government would never be able to get to the other Marked through official channels.

Free Promicin for Everyone, Not the Way You'd Expect
Meanwhile, Shawn's mother is rushed to the hospital after his brother Danny has told her that he took the Promicin shot and she started bleeding and coughing. Once at the hospital, others who come close to Danny start bleeding and coughing too.

Apparently, Danny's Promicin-induced ability is to spread Promicin like an airborne virus. Everyone who comes near him reacts as if they've taken the Promicin shot. They have a 50% chance of dying or a 50% chance of developing an ability. The virus eventually spreads to the rest of Seattle, including NTAC. In effect, he's spread Promicin to most of the city and has inadvertantly killed his own mother and thousands others in the process.

Dr. Burkhoff gives Danny the Promicin inhibitor, but without airborne release, the virus continues to build up in Danny, eating away at him. Meanwhile, the chaos and panic from the Promicin deaths get so bad that Meghan reluctantly accepts Kyle Baldwin's public offer to use 4400s and other Promicin-positives to restore order throughout Seattle with their special abilities.

Realizing there's no cure for his Promicin build up and that going off the inhibitor would endanger thousands, Danny asks Shawn to kill him. Shawn argues at first but reluctantly and painfully agrees. Shawn is forced to use his healing abilities in reverse on Danny. In a few seconds, Danny is gone, and Shawn curls up and cries beside the 2nd family member he's lost in one day's time.

Diana's Immunity = Key to Promicin Cure
Because Dr. Burkhoff experimented on Diana with an early version of Promicin last year, her body built up an immunity to Promicin. She never did develop an ability and still doesn't, but the Promicin virus doesn't kill her either. The immunity comes from a build up of Ubiquinone which is conventiently available to the public via an over-the-counter supplement. By telling people to take these pills, they can stop the spread of the Promicin virus (although they can't undo the damage that's already done).

The End of the Line for Isabelle
The Marked, in order to keep control of Seattle away from Promicin-positives, send Isabelle to Promise City to kill Kyle Baldwin, who's taken a leadership role during Jordan Collier's abduction. When Tom attempts to infiltrate the Marked by pretending to still be Marked himself, he gives away his cover with a slight flinch when told of the plans to kill Kyle. He's locked away with Jordan.

Isabelle goes to Promise City to kill Kyle. She tries but can't go through with it. Tired of being manipulated by people from the future, she fights against her handlers and their painful killswitch that they implanted in her, and she rescues Jordan and Tom. Isabelle's fight is her last act as the killswitch is enough to finish her off.

Eight Days Later
The best scene in the episode is the funeral of Susan and Danny Farrell, Shawn's mom and brother. Kyle stands off in the distance but comes over to Shawn after the service. Kyle and his dad Tom reconcile too. Tom hugs his son and nephew and says they'll get through this. Despite all the weird sci-fi elements, this show at its heart has always been about family. So, not only is this a touching scene, but Tom, Kyle, and Shawn now represent NTAC, Promise City, and The 4400 Centre, respectively. Despite a possibly dark future, this scene shows that the Baldwin/Farrell family will be the key to maintaining balance and hopefully, someday, bringing harmony to a world complicated by Promicin.

Meghan tells Diana that there are 9000 *confirmed* dead, which means there are also 9000 more Promicin-positive people who will now have abilities. For now, Jordan Collier's people are maintaining order, which is unavoidably necssary while Seattle is under quarantine. But Diana wonders whether Jordan will be willing to stand down when the quarantine is eventually lifted.

Jordan Collier gives the public a rousing speech about healing, the thousands of dead being "heralds" of a new age, and how he plans to guide the city into the future. Standing beside him is Kyle Baldwin, holding the book of Promicin-related prophecy he procured earlier in the season (in Revelation, I believe the anti-Christ has a chief priest; is that where they're going with these two?).

Diana and her adopted 4400 daughter Maia watch Jordan Collier on TV. They disagree about what they see, much to Diana's dismay:

Maia: See, I told you he was a good guy.

Diana: Maia, can't you see what's happening? Jordan Collier is naming himself dictator of Seattle. There's nothing good about that.

Maia: You're wrong, Mom. *We're* in charge now. It's better that way.

Meanwhile, we see the special abilities that survivors at NTAC have gained from the Promicin virus:

• Meghan Doyle is writing something at her desk when her pen gradually turns into a flower.


• Jed Garrity stands up from a bottom file drawer to see an exact duplicate of himself standing beside him.


• Marco Pacella, with the coolest ability of all, skims through some photos of Promise City while in his office. After focusing on one photo in particular, he finds he has instantaneously transported himself there to that same spot in Promise City.

Jordan Collier: ...I've spoken to the world before of heaven on earth. Many of you thought it impossible. But, now, I'm convinced...WE WILL SEE IT IN OUR LIFETIME!!! {to great applause from the crowd around him}

Kyle Baldwin goes home to his dad. Tom is lamenting all the people he's lost. He wonders how to move on. Kyle lays the Promicin shot that his book of prophecy claims Tom must take. "Dad, it's time," Kyle says. Does he take it? Does he refuse? I guess we'll find out next summer.

In a closing shot of a highway, we see the Seattle skyline off in the distance. The camera pans down to a sign that says, "Welcome to Seattle." The word "Seattle" has been crossed out with red spray paint and painted over it are the words, "Promise City."

---

WOW!!! I'd say season five is going to be just a... Little. Bit. Different. I love this show, and this was a virtually flawless season finale. It was probably as good, if not better, than their season two finale, which also blew me away with its many shocking reveals.

In fact, I'd say I've enjoyed the season finales of The 4400 even more than the season finales of shows with bigger hype such as Lost or Battlestar Galactica.

For a summer season show that's only lasted 47 episodes so far, the story arc has moved much faster than it feels like it has. This show masterfully mixes sci-fi elements, an underlying theme of family, compelling drama, and exciting action. I can't wait until next summer!

Season Finale Review: Rescue Me

Rescue Me had its season finale almost two weeks ago, but I'm just now getting around to watching it one last time before clearing it off TiVo (making room for new fall shows), so I thought I'd review it while I watch.

Rescue Me [s4 ep13]: "Yaz"

*** Spoiler Warning ***

In Brief: What's Good

• A funny scene in which Tommy & Kenny are on top of the roof of an elevator that rockets all the way to the top and then shoots back down a few seconds later.


• An oddly touching scene in which Tommy fulfills his dad's wish to see a minor league baseball game only to have his dad pass away quietly as they watch.

In Brief: What's Not So Good

• The near-hookup scene between Tommy and Janet is intriguing but, by going nowhere, seems pointless.


• In general, a mild and subtle finale to an already uneven season. The death of Tommy's dad is supposed to be the big shock at the end, but it kind of felt like it was coming. Hopefully, the 4th season was meant to be a subtle yet intricate setup to a blowout 5th season.

6	Story
8	Performances
6	Drama/Intensity
5	Suspense/Cliffhanging
5	Nostalgia/Coolness
6.2	AVERAGE

Summary:
This was a very strange season, even for this show.

Strange Things From Season Four

• Tommy not drinking (strange in a good way).


• Tommy smoking only once (one time too many, but I'll give him a pass since he was trying to talk Mike out of suicide at the time). Come to think of it, hardly anyone smoked this season. Garrity and Mike were the most frequent offenders. I guess the no-smoking bet they instituted last season had a lasting effect, even after the contest was over.


• The frequent close-ups of the words in Tommy's 12-step book.


• Tommy's disfunctional family AA meetings.


• Tommy going from seeing ghosts of dead family members to more vivid hallucinations, such as his apartment being on fire and daydreaming of boozing and womanizing while spending time with his dad over club soda in bars.


• Tommy pretending to be the ghost of his 9/11-victim cousin Jimmy Keefe for reasons that aren't 100% obvious.


• Tommy coming extremely close to dropping the un-named baby (of Janet and his dead brother Johnny who had an affair last season) into the Hudson River, at the behest of Johnny's ghost, since no one in the family was connecting emotionally with the baby but Tommy. Instead, Tommy accepted Sheila's offer to take the baby. Janet uses her younger daughter in a ploy to get the baby back from Sheila. Afterwards, Tommy secretly shares the baby with Sheila whenever the baby is supposed to be with him. Janet *finally* names the baby Wyatt (after Wyatt Earp), much to the disapproval of Sheila who prefers the name Elvis.


• Chief Jerry taking his own life early in the season, just because he was assigned to desk duty at work, after a heart attack (granted, his problems with his gay son getting married probably helped in his decision). Even stranger was Jerry eating a salad as his last meal instead of enjoying a steak or junk food.


• Jerry's replacement Chief Feinberg repeatedly prodding Tommy to date his daughter only to blow his top when Tommy finally goes out on two dates with her and on their 2nd date semi-accidentally cupping one of her boobs.


• *Every* woman in Tommy's life continuing to be eccentric, frustrating, and borderline insane. This is a running theme of the show but was especially true with Tommy's latest "relationship" with Valerie who prefers super quick, uh, gratification over any romance whatsoever but then still expects monogamy from Tommy.

Tommy Going From Seeing Ghosts to Pretending to Be One
As far as Tommy pretending to be the ghost of his cousin Jimmy--by wearing Jimmy's old fire jacket, sneaking into firetruck storage bins during his time off, and rescuing people in fires anonymously... It seems he's doing it to mess with some of the background characters in the firehouse who have been drinking too much in between fires. Now, they all think their seeing the ghost of Jimmy Keefe and decide to cut down on the booze. But, I think it's deeper than that. I think Tommy is replacing his addiction to alcohol and cigarettes with an addiction to saving people.

One of the coolest scenes from this season was a few episodes back when Tommy left his bizarre date with the chief's bipolar daughter to rescue people from a nearby fire only to return to the date, covered in soot, acting like nothing ever happened, and attracting the attention of a new cleavage-bearing character Valerie (Gina Gerson) who puts her phone number in Tommy's shirt pocket without saying a word. I think Tommy's life, family, friends, and romantic/sexual partners are all so messed up, that he takes solace (and earns cool points) by saving people from fires. Doing so while wearing his dead cousin's jacket may be a way of paying tribute to Jimmy and/or paying penance for hooking up with Jimmy's crazy wife Sheila in the first season.

Sublots Wrapped Up or Left Hanging in Season Finale
Some subplots get wrapped up, such as Garrity and Tommy's sister Maggie splitting up, Kenny and his cousin not being mad at each other for sleeping with each other's girlfriends, and Tommy's daughter Colleen breaking up with her loser bass-playing boyfriend (who recently used the credit card Tommy gave Colleen to pay for his other girlfriend's engagement ring, something Tommy was surprisingly okay with as long the loser wasn't marrying Colleen).

One thing that may continue to get explored next season is Tommy finding a way of making his "relationship" with gratification-obsessed/romance-hating Valerie work. Early in this episode he tries to break up with her. Later, he storms into her apartment, tells her to put on lingerie, throws a couple steaks on the counter for her to cook, starts to read the paper, and tells her that they'll have sex on the table after she's cooked him supper. She seems willing and intrigued.

One subplot that just doesn't invoke too much interest is Franco's on-again-off-again relationship with Natalie. Although hanging by a thread, it might just get revived later thanks to a meaningful phone call they have while she's in Chicago.

At the Game with Tommy's Dad
The subtle yet touching highlight of the episode is Tommy fulfilling his dad's wish to see a minor league baseball game. The two of them, along with Kenny, Garrity, and Uncle Teddy (who all have separate seats away from Tommy and his dad) go to a game where Tommy's dad looks happy for the first time in a long time. They reminisce, they talk about baseball, and they even sing a little bit of a song.

Musical Montage that Ends the Season Finale

• Sheila, drunk and hanging around at the fire station hoping to see the ghost of her dead husband Jimmy (like everyone else allegedly is), finds the storage room where Tommy and his new dog have secretly been staying while in between apartments. In it, she also finds Jimmy's fire jacket that Tommy has been secretly wearing at fires. On the inside, Jimmy wrote, "To my Godson, Connor. Love, Uncle Jimmy. 4/26/97" (Connor was Tommy's son who was killed by a drunk driver in season 2 episode 12.) Sheila curls up with the jacket and breaks into tears.


• Probie Firefighter Bart, a.k.a "Black Sean," and Tommy's daughter Colleen are sharing a romantic picnic in the park after having met each other for the first time at the firehouse earlier in the day (Tommy is sooo going to punch Black Sean out at some point next season).


• Chief Feinberg--who also discovered Tommy's hiding place, dog, and cousin's fire jacket, earlier in the episode--is filling out paperwork on Tommy for Section Eight, a designation for firefighters that go crazy.


• Against Natalie's wishes, her mentally-challenged brother Richie is getting married to his wheelchair-bound girlfriend. Depsite knowing Natalie was afraid of leaving Richie alone while she's in Chicago for this very reason, Franco approves and serves as Richie's witness and best man at the ceremony.


• While out with her new boyfriend from work, Janet notices that one of baby Wyatt's ears is pierced, something Sheila wanted to have done on Wyatt despite Tommy's disapproval.


• While still at the baseball game, Tommy's dad quietly passes away in his seat. Instead of alarming Kenny, Garrity, and Uncle Teddy, Tommy just puts his arm around his father and continues to watch the game with him.

Season Finale Reviews: Ugly Betty, Grey's Anatomy, Scrubs

Ugly Betty [s1 ep23]: "East Side Story"

*** Spoiler Warning ***

In Brief: What's Good

• Excellent performances all around.


• In general, a lot of twists and turns. For a comedy/drama/soap opera, there is plenty of suspense and intrigue.


• I'm not positive, but I think Ana Ortiz, who normally plays Betty's "fashionable" sister Hilda, was made to look very different for a bit part as a nerdy dental hygentist (or maybe just an office assistant) at Betty's orthodontist's office. This is reminiscent of Becki Newton, who plays the witchy receptionist Amanda, one time appearing--under heavy disguise--as a geeky office assistant in a previous episode.

In Brief: What's Not So Good

• Daniel's on-and-off-again relationship with his brother/sister Alex/Alexis is getting a little old, as is his growing dependency on sex, alcohol, and pills.


• The "romance" between Bradford and Wilhelmina is just creepy.


• The episode does not address the possibility that Ignacio's life may be in danger because the family of the man he accidentally killed long ago knows he's back in Mexico while waiting to complete his visa back into the U.S. This subplot was hinted at in the previous episode, but in the finale, Ignacio only appears in a brief phone conversation with Betty.

8	Story
8	Performances
7	Drama/Intensity
8	Suspense/Cliffhanging
6	Nostalgia/Coolness
7.4	AVERAGE

Plot Points

• Betty is back from Mexico and decides to pursue Henry, even if she must compete against Henry's current girlfriend Charlie.


• Bradford asks Wilhelmina to marry him.


• Alex/Alexis has hired someone to kill his/her father.


• Claire is included in on plans for four women to escape, in transit, from a prison van.


• Betty confesses her feelings to Henry. He says he broke up with Charlie, so they are free to go out on their first date.


• Hilda is planning her wedding to Santos.


• Alex/Alexis embarrasses Daniel in the press by calling him on his lie about saving a girl scout form drowning in the lake.


• Wilhelmina is competing with Fabia (Gina Gershon) for a wedding location. The only way to get it is to give her assistant Marc to Fabia.


• Charlie tells Betty and Henry that she's pregnaant. Henry goes to make plans with Charlie instead of having his first date with Betty.


• Justin is the understudy for the part of Tony in West Side Story at his school. When he gives the primary actor a sandwich that has walnuts in it, he gets sick, forcing the role to fall to Justin.


• Christina finds out about Fey's "love dungeon," and she and Amanda get locked in. While stuck inside, they get drunk and find a safe. They crack the safe and find documentation inside showing that Fey Summers is actually Amanda's biological mother. If there's any chance that Bradford could be Amanda's father (since Bradford and Fey had an affair long ago), then that means Daniel and Amanda--who have dated and had sex multiple times--could be half-siblings.


• Fabia mistreats Marc. Wilhelmina remembers the good times having him as an assistant and gives up on the wedding location to get Marc back.


• Daniel tells Alexis that he's quitting his job instead of continuing to compete with him/her. Daniels's high from pills and alcohol. Alexis takes Daniel in their father's car to get medical help. The brake lines have been cut (as a result of Alexis plotting to kill her father), and the car crashes with both of them unconscious.


• Betty finds out that her orthodontist and Charlie have been dating, so Charlie is using her pregnancy with another man as a way of holding onto Henry.


• On his way to see his son in West Side Story, Santos stops at a convenience store to get Justin teeth whitening strips as a gift. He has walked in on a robbery, and the robber holds Santos at gunpoint.


• Claire and a fellow inmate she's chained to are able to escape from the prison van.


• Santos is shot in the store robbery.


• Receiving the news about Santos at home, Betty is interrupted from her plans to track down Henry.


• The episode ends with Betty going to Justin's school to tell Hilda about Santos being killed.

Grey's Anatomy [s1 ep25]: "Didn't We Almost Have It All?"

*** Spoiler Warning ***

In Brief: What's Good

• Intercut throughout the episodes are scenes of Chief Webber having meetings with attendings to tell them whether he's chosen them to replace him as chief of surgery.


• Nice scene between George and Dr. Bailey when they talk about George failing his intern exam.


• I am *sooo* glad that Burke and Yang did not get married. That relationship has seemed doomed from the beginning.


• I'm glad that the Chief Webber character is not leaving the show, even though he was trying to retire.

In Brief: What's Not So Good

• Neither the marriage between George and Callie nor the restrained attration between George and Izzie are particularly believable or enjoyable to watch. So, when Callie says she wants to a have a baby with George, it comes off as forced and far too sudden for that character to be thinking about such things. Izzie's confession to George also comes off as forced.


• A scene of Yang freaking out near the end of the episode seems a bit over-acted.


• I was hoping that Dr. Bailey would get the Chief of Surgery position. That may be unrealistic, since she's apparently a resident instead of an attending, but she's also very capable and the most emotionally grounded. I thought she deserved it the most and that it would be ironic if she got since she everyone else was fighting so hard for it and all she wanted was Chief Resident. Things didn't work out my way.

7	Story
7	Performances
6	Drama/Intensity
6	Suspense/Cliffhanging
6	Nostalgia/Coolness
6.4	AVERAGE

Plot Points

• Burke and Yang are getting married in 24 hours, and Christina still seems more concerned with being a surgeon. Burke is needed for surgery, but he's confident he'll be on time for the wedding. Bailey sends Yang home to prepare for the wedding.


• Chief Webber's estranged wife has collapsed in the hospital with complications from her pregancy. Webber stands by her side.


• Several of the doctors are trying to determine what happened among four mountain climbers that led to one of them having an ice axe embedded in the back of his head.


• Jeff Pope, the husband of Rebecca Pope, shows up to re-unite with his wife who has been missing and has had amnesia and facial reconstruction.


• Derek throws in Meredith's face that he met a woman at the bar last night and that he enjoyed flirting with her.


• Callie tells George that she wants to have a baby with him.


• In surgery on ice-axe-in-the-head guy, Derek determines that the axe did not go in by accident. The climbers are lying about what happened.


• For practice, Burke recites his wedding vows, from memory, in the operating room, and all the women in the room are thoroughly impressed by his words.


• Karev confronts Jeff Pope about why he didn't look for his wife sooner. He says they had a fight before she left, and Jeff thought she didn't want to be with him any more.


• Burke's mother has had Yang's eyebrows ?waxed? off.


• When Derek confronts the climbers, they're forced to reveal the truth to the cops.


• Yang *begs* Bailey to let her operate on someone so she can feel like herself again.


• Webber's wife Adele has complications from pregnancy at 52, and the baby is lost. Adele tells Webber that the baby was actually his.


• Izzie confesses to George that she's in love with him.


• All the interns are given their final medical exam scores. They all claim to have passed.


• Rebecca Pope has been discharged from the hospital. She tells Karev how good a man her husband Jeff is, but she also says she wants Karev to give her a reason to stay. Karev says he thinks she "should stay with the decent guy."


• Derek discusses his and Meredith's relationship with Meredith and then with Burke.


• Addison tells Karev that she can tell he wants Rebecca (a.k.a. Eva) and that he should fight for her.


• Dr. Bailey finds out that Callie got the Chief Resident position.
  
• George and Dr. Bailey didn't go to the wedding. They're both depressed. George has failed his intern exam. Bailey says he can walk away or do the internship all over again. Bailey asks, almost tearfully, "Did I... Did I fail you, George?" He replies, "No, I failed you." She puts her hand on his arm as if to say, "No, you didn't."


• Karev leaves the wedding early to see if he can stop Rebecca before she leaves.


• Callie tells Izzie that she and George are going to try for a baby; she kind of rubs it in Izzie's face.


• Yang had written her vows on her hands but realizes they've been washed off. She panics which delays the wedding long enough to make Burke question whether Yang is ready.


• Meredith talks Yang into being ready even without the vows written down.


• Burke goes to the doors at the back of the church to check on Yang. Once he's back there, Yang says she had a snag but that she's ready. But, in a sudden switch, Burke is the one that says he can't get married. He doesn't believe Yang wants to get married. Meredith walks down the aisle, gives Derek a weird look, and says, "It's over. You can all go home. It's over," and then under her breath, as if talking to Derek or at least about her and Derek, "So over."


• Karev is too late to catch up to Derek.


• Meredith goes to Burke's apartment where Yang is noticing that certain prized possessions of Burke's are gone. Yang thinks Burke is gone despite how much other stuff he let behind. Then Yang says, "He's gone. I'm free. Dammit. Dammit. Dammit. Dammit. Get this off. Get this off. Get this off." And, then Meredith takes off the choker necklace that Burke's mother gave her and gets scissors to cut Yang out of her dress as Yang cries and gasps for air.


• Izzie and Callie are both still at the empty church waiting for George.


• As George cleans out his locker. The next year's new interns come in. One new intern introduces herself to George. Her name is Lexie Grey (played by Chyler Leigh). I'm assuming that Lexie Grey is Meredith Grey's half sister (who doesn't know that she has a half sister).


• In the final scene, we see Webber try to give the chief position to Derek. Derek says that he's still trying to learn from his mistakes, something Webber is already good at. He says that the chief should be able to do it all over again. Derek says that Webber should keep the job because he is the best man for it.

Scrubs [s6 ep21/22]: "My Rabbit" / "My Point of No Return"

*** Spoiler Warning ***

In Brief: What's Good

• Elizabeth Banks does an excellent job playing Dr. Kim Briggs, the pregnant mother of J.D.'s child. Her performance made it really believable that Kim felt bad lying to J.D. and that she wanted to try for a lasting relationship with J.D.


• Bunny-headed gym-teacher conscience is yet another funny sight gag from J.D.'s inner psyche.


• When Jordan refers to her and Dr. Cox's newborn daughter (Jennifer Dillon) as J.D., it drives Dr. Cox nuts.


• Love Ted's way of getting warmed up to role-play as Elliot in a demonstration for Keith.

In Brief: What's Not So Good

• I'm not an expert on weddings, but is it unusual that Elliot's bachelorette party is approximately four weeks before her wedding (at the beginning of the Part 2 episode, Elliot says he and Kim have been growing closer over the last three weeks and then says Elliot's wedding is a week away)? That seems like a long gap between party and wedding.


• It's still creepy as always whenever The Todd rips his pants off to expose his filled-to-capacity "banana hammock" underwear.

8	Story
9	Performances
8	Comedy/Drama
8	Suspense/Cliffhanging
8	Nostalgia/Coolness
8.2	AVERAGE

Plot Points

• Carla has to reassure Elliot as she starts to have second thoughts about marrying Keith.


• J.D. continually avoids Kim because he's still in shock over the fact that she did *not* have a miscarriage and is still pregnant with his baby.


• Eventually J.D. gives in and agrees to let Kim stay with him. Their relationship gets better the longer that she's there.


• Many people are mad at Kim for what she did to J.D. Because of that, she agrees to let J.D. name their son whathever he likes. He wants to name it Sam Perry Gilligan (Sam after his father, Perry after Dr. Cox, and Gilligan because he lost a bet to Turk). Kim says at long as it isn't nerdy like Aragorn or Chewbacca. J.D. says Turk already has dibs on Chewie.


• Turk has second thoughts about doing non-critical vascular surgery on an older patient after he finds out the patient is the father of a very young child.


• Carla gets upset when Elliot starts taking over more and more control over the bachelorette party that Carla wanted to plan for her.


• To accommodate for Elliot's control freak nature, Carla plans a multiple-choice bachelorette party in which they can do virtually anything Elliot wants to.


• J.D. has a vision of a future with he and Kim together with their son, and he realizes he needs to give the relationship a chance.


• For the next three weeks, J.D. and Kim stay up nights talking, they get the baby's crib ready, and they're a couple again.


• J.D. convinces Kim to give up her old apartment and move in permanently with him. He also convinces her to quit her old job and look for one locally, since her old hospital will only grant her a six-week leave of absence and Dr. Kelso hates the new urologist at Sacred Heart.


• Janitor gathers the braintrust to help pick a wedding gift for "blonde doctor" (Elliot). They decide they should try to control what kind of husband Keith should be.


• Dr. Cox tries to make a deal with J.D. to get him to relinquish his status as his daughter's godfather. J.D. turns it down. But then Dr. Cox makes a deal with Jordan to let relinquish J.D., and she agrees after a list of demands. At the christening, they pick Carla to be the godmother.


• At the christening, Elliot starts to have doubts about marrying Keith, and J.D. starts to have doubts about being with Kim. Later, they both avoid their troubles by hanging out in the doctors' sleep room and talk about their problems.


• Keith refuses "help" from the braintrust, stating that he'll be the best husband to Elliot that he can be without anyone's help.


• In the final scene, J.D. and Elliot are lying next to each other. They're done talking. They hold hands and lean in like they're going to kiss before the screen goes to black.

Series Finale Review: Gilmore Girls

Gilmore Girls [s7 ep22]: "Bon Voyage"

*** Spoiler Warning ***

In Brief: What's Good

• Surprisingly, it does feel more like a series finale than I was expecting (considering it was canceled *after* the "season" finale was already filmed).


• Nice to see pretty much every current character in the episode (except for Logan, since he and Rory broke up in the previous episode; Paris, since she was a part of Rory's non-Stars Hollow life; and April, since she's a predominately unliked recurring character attached to Luke's separate storyline; oh, and no Mrs. Kim either).


• Nice to see Luke up to his old ways of going above and beyond the call of duty to do something nice for Lorelai and Rory.


• A nice conversation between Rory and Lane.


• Glad to see Richard say something nice about Lorelai.


• Lorelai agreeing to continue Friday night dinners with Richard & Emily, even though Rory will be gone for over a year, shows she's come a long way with her parents.

In Brief: What's Not So Good

• Not enough closure nor progress in the Luke and Lorelai relationship. Yes, they seem to be back together, but the show won't be around any longer to see it. I don't think fans want to assume they gradually rekindle things with the possiblity of getting married someday (off-camera); they want to see it happen--or, more appropriately, wish it *already* had happened. [sarcasm] Thanks a lot, season six & seven. [/sarcasm]


• Despite wrapping things up nicely and being a better series finale than I expected, even this final episode did not carry as much humor, wit, and emotional gravity than some of the miscellaneous episodes of earlier seasons. Even though there are still nice moments and some redeeming qualities of seasons six and seven, the show started losing its "spark" some time in the last few episodes of season five. The last really excellent episode was probably season five's 16th episode entitled "So...Good Talk."

7	Story
8	Performances
5	Drama/Intensity
n/a	Suspense/Cliffhanging
7	Nostalgia/Coolness
6.75	AVERAGE

Summary:
The episode begins with Rory getting to meet her idol in journalism, Christiana Amanpour (sp?). Amanpour is staying at the Dragonfly Inn. Rory doesn't believe Lorelai when she wakes her up tells her Amanpour is at the inn, so when Lorelai drags her to the inn, Rory ends up having to meet Amanpour in her pajamas.

Rory has prepared over 70 resumes to send out to what I'm guessing is every major newspaper in the country. (Who knows, with over 70, the Winston-Salem Journal might even be in there.) Rory is still lamenting having to turn down Logan's proposal. She says the sadness comes in waves, but she seems to be handling it well. Lorelai and Rory are planning a one month tour of roller coasters to celebrate Rory's graduation. Lorelai warns Rory of the town's graduation celebration for Rory that's happening in about a week.

Luke is preparing the food for the celebration. Liz and the baby come by begging for Luke to babysit, and Liz asks how things are between him and Lorelai.

Rory shows up to Emily & Richard's late for dinner because she was talking to someone about a job. She got a job as an online reporter covering Barrack Obama's campaign trail. She leaves in three days. The salary is low, but all her expenses would be paid for. Everyone is happy for Rory but also sad because Rory will be gone for, possibly, a year or more.

Lorelai tells Luke the graduation celebration is canceled as is the massive food order he put in. Kirk, Lulu, Babette, and Miss Patti are all upset that there'll be no party.

Luke goes to the inn to see Sookie. Luke proposes having an earlier surprise party for Rory and needs Sookie's help. Lorelai and Rory go by Patti's studio to borrow something, but Patti doesn't let them in. The whole town is in the studio to plan for the impromptu graduation ceremony. Taylor stresses out over all the codes and rules the town will be violating by having the party, but they revolt and plan it anyway.

As Lorelai and Rory discuss Rory's shopping list, the townspeople try to set up in the town square. When they see Lorelai and Rory nearby, they move everything back so quietly that Lorelai and Rory don't even notice. Rory and Lane are talking out on Lane's porch. Because Lane's porch has a view of the square, it's delaying everyone from setting up.

Rory starts to worry she won't be a good reporter or that she's rushing things. She's also freaked out about leaving Lorelai and that she doesn't seem too sentimental. Lane reassures her. Then, Rory and Lane talk about how much their friendship means and that they're like sisters to each other.

The whole town is busy setting up at night for the party. Luke is coordinating everything. Babette runs up panicked that it's going to rain because her ankles are swollen, something that always happens to her before a rain. Luke tries to figure out how they're going to have the party despite the rain.

Lorelai goes into Rory's room and just watches her sleep. She nearly cries.

Luke is in the diner stitching together every tarp and water-proof material he could find. He's determined to build a shelter for the party. He sees the necklace under the counter, the one he claimed to Liz was just a backup gift for Rory but is probably meant for Lorelai. He puts it in his pocket.

Lorelai is driving Rory through town in the jeep with it raining like crazy. The whole town is under the tarps Luke made. Zach and Jackson run out to them with huge umbrellas. Everyone is there and is applauding. Kirk presents Rory with a sash he made for her.

Emily and Richard are there too. They just found out about the party from Sookie last night and had to cancel plans to be there. Richard says the party isn't just a testimony to Rory but also to Lorelai as Rory's mother. He says, almost choking up, that it takes a remarkable person to inspire all of this.

Rory gets to make an impromptu speech. She thanks her mother, and Lorelai almost cries.

Emily brings up to Lorelai her idea to add a spa to the inn. She and Richard are willing to give Lorelai a loan to start it up, but they would need to discuss the business occasionally. Lorelai realizes it's just Emily's way of trying to stay in Lorelai's life, so Lorelai says they can discuss it Friday night at dinner. She's gotten used to the Friday night dinners, so she doesn't mind continuing, even without Rory.

Emily tells Rory that it's an honor being her grandmother.

Sookie tells Lorelai that Luke planned everything for the party and that he must have stayed up all night stitching together tarps, tents, and raincoats that he collected from townspeople. Taylor tells Lorelai to tell Luke that he's responsible for all the cleanup.

Lorelai goes to thank Luke. He says he just wanted to see Lorelai happy. Then, they kiss.

The next morning, Lorelai and Rory are back at home. Lorelai goes on about how she needs more time, like she feels ambushed (ironic since that's how I and probably a few other fans feel about the show being canceled *after* this "season" finale was filmed). Lorelai rambles off advice to Rory. Rory has to stop her and says, "You've given me everything I need."

At 5:00AM, Lorelai and Rory go to Luke's diner. He opened up early just for them. They order massive amounts of food, as usual. Rory noticed she's wearing a new necklace, no doubt the one Luke must have given to her off-camera. Lorelai starts rambling something about getting Rory a "World's Best Reporter" thrermos or mug to match her hat. Rory says something about the hat not quite looking right.

Meanwhile, the camera slowly pulls back outside Luke's diner. You can see, through the large front window, Lorelai and Rory, best friends, bantering about while Luke works on preparing food and coffee in the background. This shot closely matches the shot at the end of the very first episode, in some ways, bringing the show full circle.

Season Finale Review: Survivor Fiji

Survivor: Fiji -- Season Finale and Reunion Show

In Brief: What's Good

• Thanks to Yau-Man's intense strategizing and Dreamz' wavering integrity, there were plenty of twists and surprises to make things interesting.


• The final immunity challenge, which is always endurance based, was quite a bit more interesting than most final immunity challenges.


• This season continues a trend started last season in which the penultimate tribal council automatically leads to a final three instead of a final two formed by the last immunity winner choosing his fellow finalist.

In Brief: What's Not So Good

• In the reunion show, Jeff Probst spends a little *too much* time and effort prodding Dreamz for a straight answer about whether Dreamz ever planned on keeping his word to Yau-Man or if he always planned to betray him.

n/a	Story
n/a	Performances
8	Drama/Intensity
8	Suspense/Cliffhanging
6	Nostalgia/Coolness
7.33	AVERAGE

Summary:
The next-to-last immunity challenge involved the contestants wandering blind-folded through a series of mazes. Each maze was separated by a pool and a draw-bridge. Each player had to find a key station where they unlock a device that lowers another key that lowers their next draw bridge. Cassandra did horrible in the maze, hardly even able to get it started. Earl didn't do that great either. Boo and Dreamz were hot on Yau-Man's trail the whole time, but Yau-Man won.


I was really excited at this point. Earl had found the third hidden immunity idol in the previous episode. So, with Yau-Man now having the immunity necklace, the best players were guaranteed to move on.

Boo knew his neck was on the chopping block. He tried to convice the others that they'd have a better chance if they kept him for the final four or three and voted out Dreamz instead. At tribal council, Earl played his immunity idol. He probably didn't need to that badly, but it was the last time he could use it, so it would have been a waste not to. The alliance stuck to their original plan, and Boo was voted out.

The final immunity challenge involved the contestants hanging by a bar on a slope. Water dripped from barrels over their heads making the slope slippery. Every five or ten minutes, Jeff Probst increased the steepness of the slope, making it that much harder to hang on. Cassandra was the first to let go (of course). Earl played it smart by positioning himself to the side so that the water dripped beside of him rather than down his back. But, eventually, the wrist pain was too much for him, and he had to let go.

Dreamz and Yau-Man continued to fight for immunity. In a way, it shouldn't have mattered. According to the deal Yau-Man struck with Dreamz previously, Dreamz got Yau-Man's truck reward in exchange for giving Yau-Man immunity in the final four if Dreamz won it. Yau-Man couldn't hang on any longer, and Dreamz did win.

For the rest of the day Dreamz talked about being okay with making it to 4th place and that he wanted his son to see his dad making the right decision based on integrity and keeping his word. However, he also struggled with the fact that keeping immunity would guarantee him a chance at $1 million, since--like last season--there would be a final three rather than final two.

For the whole day, including the tribal council that night, Dreamz continued to struggle with the decision. Either he really was stuggling or was doing some really good acting, because his final decision was to keep the immunity necklace, which shocked everyone. Because he was the biggest threat, Yau-Man was voted out, even by Earl.


I was really surprised and disappointed in Dreamz for going back on his word, especially since it spelled certain doom for Yau-Man, one of the most strategic players in Survivor history. After council, Dreamz tried to act like he had planned to keep immunity all along. Earl was surprised that he found himself voting Yau-Man out, since their alliance was so strong, but Earl knew he could never win against Yau-Man. Voting Yau-Man out was his only chance to win.

Trivia Note: Last season, Survivor tried to address criticism about lack of diversity by starting out with four separate racially segregated tribes: Caucasian, African-American, Asian-American, and Latino. Ironically, the final four (which also happen to be one of the stronget and most likable alliances in Survivor history) consisted of one Latino, one African-American, and two Asian-Americans. I thought that was pretty cool, especially since the Caucasians were doing so well up until the last few rounds. This season did not start out with similar tribal divisions but did continue the same extent of racial diversity. And, this time, the final four consisted of three African-Americans and one Asian-American. After Yau-Man's elimination, the final three were all from the same non-Caucasian ethnicity. Another first for survivor (although it was never mentioned in the finale or the reunion show). I wonder if Survivor will continue the ethnic diversity in the next season. I think they should.

At tribal council, there were the usual angry tirades from formerly eliminated jury members. Lisi was as annoying as ever with her comments and questions in which she kept interrupting and wouldn't let the contestants give a response. Alex seemed angry at the world and used his lawyering skills to grill the finalists. After giving a shout-out for the excellent playing by Yau-Man, Boo chose to focus on Dreamz, accusing him of un-Christian actions when he betrayed Yau-Man and others. Maintaining her cute and sunny personality, Michelle asked easy, non-confrontational questions (sure, a little wimpy, but she's just so cute, I really like her). Yau-Man did ask Earl why he voted him out. Earl was completely honest and said that he knew he couldn't win against Yau-Man. Yau-Man seemed very satisfied with that answer.

Most were especially angry at Dreamz for his repeated double-crossing and back-stabbing. A bit of ire was directed at Earl and just a little to Cassandra. Cassandra was barely addressed, and surprisingly, no one asked whether she felt she rode coat-tails to get as far as she did (which I feel she did).

The voting results, as usual, were held over and revealed on the live portion of the show. Jeff read out five consecutive votes for Earl, enough to win the game. Before going to commercial, Jeff announced over all the cheering that Earl did, in fact, win unanimously with all nine votes, which I think is another Survivor first.

I'm guessing that Dreamz angered too many people and that no one saw Cassandra as deserving. Also, in the tribal council in which Boo was voted off, Dreamz addressed a comment by Boo, insisting that he would never use his poverty-filled personal background to gain sympathy in the final vote. And yet, Dreamz did bring up his homelessness in the final tribal council in a trying-to-get-sympathy-votes kind of way.

I was glad Earl won. Even though I was pulling for Yau-Man because he was such a smart player, Earl was a little more likable and played more of a subtle game.

Overall, this was not one of the best seasons of Survivor. Thanks to someone dropping out of the game on the plane going to the island, it started off with the odd number of 19 contestants. The twist of having one tribe with a lot of luxuries and another tribe with almost nothing seemed unfair, because the tribe with more comfort, shelter, and food did much better in the challenges, as one might expect. The players did not seem that interesting until they got closer to merge, and even then, there were several unlikable players still in the game. And, I didn't like the change in which the hidden immunity idol must be revealed before the votes are read instead of after the votes as in previous seasons.

On the positive side, Exile Island was better utilized this season than usual. I liked that there were multiple hidden immunity idols, one per tribe. I liked that once a hidden immunity idol is used, a new one is hidden, with Exile Island having new clues for it. The hidden immunity idols were, overall, utilized better in this season than in previous seasons and really did add a new dynamic to the game. And, as mentioned, there were several firsts this season: first unanimous final vote, first time for African-American dominance in the game, first time the car prize was used as a strategic bargaining chip, first time a reward challenge winner ever turned down a reward to send himself to Exile Island, and first time hidden immunity idols were ever "shared" and exchanged among multiple players.

Misc. TV News & Updates

• As you can see from my last couple entries, I *finally* got around to watching and analyzing the first Democratic presidential debates. I still need to re-watch and blog about the first Republican presidential debates, and they already had their second one tonight (thank goodness for TiVo). I'm busy in the next few days, so I may not get around to them until Sunday or even next week.


• Sunday night's Survivor finale was pretty good. I still need to blog about that.


• I just watched the series finale of Gilmore Girls. To save time, I wrote the text for a blog entry while I was watching it. I have the text ready and will post it after I do the Survivor entry. Just a preview... Since this was meant to be a season finale or series finale -- and the decision to end it didn't come down until after the episode was filmed -- I'll admit that it worked as a series finale better than I expected. It wrapped things up nicely, contained as many characters as possible, and had some nice emotional moments. On the down side, the Luke and Lorelai relationship doesn't have enough closure or progress to warrant satisfaction, and the show overall lost its spark about two years ago.


• In really bad TV news, I just found out that CBS has *probably* canceled Jericho. For now, I think it's technically unconfirmed, but the rumor sounds pretty strong. Plus, CBS's upfronts are tomorrow, so it's most likely some valid information that leaked early. I'm majorly disappointed. Jericho was one of best new shows of the 2006-2007 season. It was good enough to get picked up or a full first season, ended on a cliff-hanger, and garnered a significant cult following (as well as a wealth of speculation and analysis all documented at the Jericho Wiki). It feels like Alien Nation, John Doe, and Commander in Chief all over again. Thank goodness The Shield is rumored to have an excellent episode tonight. I'm getting ready to watch it now, and I could use a pick-me-up.


• Actually, this is on the good side... NBC and ABC have already had their upfronts, and it sounds like they may have some good shows in development for this fall.

Season Finale Review: Jericho

Jericho [s1 ep22]: "Why We Fight"

*** Spoiler Warning ***

In Brief: What's Good

• Glad to see that Jericho finally got to use their tank


• Glad to see that Heather Lisinski is still alive, despite assumptions that she had been killed in New Bern


• Liked that Darcy now knows all, well most, of Robert's secrets


• Heather's time on an Army base is informative as to the structure of the new "United States"

In Brief: What's Not So Good

• Did not like that ________ was killed (spoiler, see summary for character's name)


• The flashbacks, althrough brief and well done, distracted from the action and intensity of the New Bern attacks


• Overall, a good episode, but for a season finale, not quite as exciting as I had hoped; they've had better episodes recently than this one

8	Story
8	Performances
8	Drama/Intensity
6	Suspense/Cliffhanging
8	Nostalgia/Coolness
7.6	AVERAGE

Summary:
The episode starts with a flashback to Eric & April's wedding reception, six years before the bombs. Brief flashes back to this event are intercut throughout the episode, revealing that Eric was Jake's best man but only upon their mother's insisting because Jake was no hero back then and didn't get along with his brother.


Meanwhile, Constantino and his army from New Bern is on the way to invade Jericho. They've already taken at least one farm, and they have a huge line of trucks and several mortars. We also find out that Heather, who has been missing and presumed dead, is actually alive despite being in a car wreck 60 miles from Jericho. She's picked up by the military and nursed back to health on an Army base.

Best Quote of the Night
Hawkins reveals to Johnston that he has access to a keyhole military satellite that he can use to track New Bern's movements in the field. All he asks is that Johnston keeps it secret from *everyone*. Hawkins is surprised how easily Johnston accepts the offer without asking any intrusive questions. Best line of the episode...

Johnston: "I am about to go to war with New Bern, Kansas, the home of the nearest Costco. Today is already about as weird as I can handle. I'm not asking any more questions."

Jericho plans to make their stand against New Bern at Stanley Richmond's farm because it's on the outskirts or town, is near an entryway into town, and has the highest ground.

I like the scene with Stanley, Mimi, and Bonnie at the grave, talking to Stanley and Bonnie's parents, with Mimi introducing herself and Stanley joking how she shouldn't reveal that they're living together.

I also liked that Robert didn't bother trying to hide from Darcy that his laptop was being traced while he was linked into the satellite. He has enough to handle right now without trying to keep secrets from his wife any longer. She even helped him think out the bomb situation, that the people that are seeking the one remaining bomb don't necessarily need it to detonate it but to get rid of the evidence of who made all the other bombs..

The Tank and the Big Death
It was so good to see the tank (from a previous episode) come into play on Jericho's side. It helped, but it was also a little anti-climactic, considering they only loaded it with one mortar. The tank was used just long enough to scare away New Bern's first wave and to result in our big impending death--Johnston Green. He was walking beside of the tank when it came up over the hill and was shot by someone from New Bern. Johnston didn't die right away. He lay on Stanley's kitchen table long enough to get some final words with his sons and for them to have an emotional moment.

I had heard that the season finale was probably going to have a major death, but I was *really* disappointed to see that it was Johnston Green. I had never been a Gerald McRaney fan before, but he was so cool in the role of Johnston Green. Despite losing the recent election after being mayor for decades, Johnston had ten times more wisdom, courage, and fortitude than the new mayor Gray Anderson, and people still looked to Johnston for advice and leadership. It was also Johnston's idea to keep the tank (that they had previously confiscated from wanderers pretending to be Marines) in Stanley's barn in case they ever needed it. I had hoped that perhaps Emily, Gray Anderson, Mary Bailey, one of the deputies, or one of the teenagers would be the one to die. Not Johnston. I like this show, but I'd like it better if he were to be in 2nd season (if there is a 2nd season).

The United States Restored (allegedly)
In the next scene, Heather talks with a colonel on the Army base. She urges him to get military support to Jericho because she became aware of New Bern's plans before her escape from there.

A few weeks ago at Black Jack Fairgrounds, Heather heard that there were six people claiming the presidency and saw six stars on the map representing regional capitals.

• Sacramento, California


• Cheyenne, Wyoming


• San Antonia or Austin, Texas


• Montgomery, Alabama


• Columbus, Ohio


• Syracuse or Albany, New York

In their conversation, Colonel Hoffman reveals to Heather that the new federal government has been restored in Cheyenne, Wyoming. But, he also says there are a couple hold-outs, one in Texas and one in a "bloc in the East." With Sacramento in the west, they must have come to an agreement with Cheyenne. Obviously, the Texas hold-out is San Antonia or Austin, but the "bloc in the East" could be any one of the remaining three.

When Heather looks up at the flagpole later in the episode, she sees a new American flag with 13 vertical stripes and 21 stars. According to the Jericho Wiki, vertical stripes implies a civil government as opposed to horizontal stripes of a military government.


Wyoming, California, and each of their border states add up to to 11 states. If you include nearby Washington state and North Dakota, that equals 13. I get the feeling that the new "United States" is mostly to the west. It's tough to say whether Kansas would be claimed by the new U.S. or by Texas or caught somewhere in between.

The Toast and the Death Announcement
When Jake steps out of Stanley's house to tell everyone that his father is dead, he pauses for a *long* time. The very long pause is intercut with flashback scenes to Jake's best man toast at his brother's wedding reception. The toast starts off painfully awkward, where you're worried he's going to make a huge scene, but then he turns around and talks about how proud he is of his brother. When Jake, in the present, finally says something, it's much more simple and straight-forward...

Jake: "My father is dead. We'll get through."

While I don't like that Johnston was the one killed or that the flashbacks interrupted the intensity of the conflict, the flashbacks do give a nice contrast between the screwed up Jake of six years ago and the new leader Jake has become today.

Jake Takes Command
Jake is shown assuming leadership over the resistance against New Bern. He feels that Gray Anderson should be escorted to a safe location away from battle so the town won't lose another leader. Gray resists at first, but Jake says it's non-negotiable.

Gail shows up. I like how they handled this scene. They didn't waste time having her talk to Johnston or cry about his death. As the men file out to give her some privacy, the camera simply shows her from behind leaning over her husband as sad music plays.

Jake is sitting on the porch alone, trying to keep it together. But, when Emily walks over and hugs him, he breaks down. Hawkins comes on the radio to tell Jake that New Bern's reinforcements are coming. Hawkins then notices a train coming from New Bern. Darcy is concerned that the trace on his laptop is almost complete, and she shuts the lid, but not before the trackers decode the final digit of the satellite link number. When Hawkins gets off the radio, Jake kisses Emily.

Military & Government Intervention
As Colonel Hoffman communicates via video conference with government officials about the situation in Kansas, we see that the bald guy with the cane (that Hawkins suspects of being behind the bombings) is on the government committee. The bald guy says that there is a suspected "terrorist" in Jericho (no doubt referring to Hawkins) and that Hoffman's men should quell the conflict between Jericho and New Bern so that they can search Jericho for the "terrorist."

Stanley tells Jake he's going to propose to Mimi and that he doesn't want to die today. When Hawkins meets up with Jake and the others, he asks to borrow the tank. I was really afraid that he planned to use the tank to block the train tracks or ram the train. But, all he does is park it on a hill and watches the train. I don't understand what he's doing, but I'm just glad the tank will survive into the 2nd season.

In the last of the flashbacks, Johnston and Jake have a heart-to-heart talk outside of the reception hall. In a moment surely symbolizing death and passing on, Johnston walks down the street with Jake's grandfather to drink 30-year old malt by the lake. Jake says he'll catch up, but his grandfather jokes that Jake would surely rather stay behind with Emily.

Back in the present, Constantino contacts Jake by radio to apologize for the death of his father and to offer one last chance for surrender. But, Jake tells him to go to hell and that he'll be after him for causing his father's death.

Colonel Hoffman tells Heather that the Jericho conflict has been moved to top priority and that he's on his way. We then see a cloud of gas near Jericho's line and hear trucks pulling toward them. Jake, Eric, Stanley, and the others get ready to fire their weapons. Meanwhile, Hawkins, observing the train from a hill sees eight military helicopters flying overhead. Jake orders the men to wait, wait, and then fire--and the episode ends.

While this season finale was not as exciting as I had hoped or expected, the season overall has been excellent, very much worthy of a 2nd season. So, I hope that, when the networks have their "up-fronts" in the coming week, Jericho will be on CBS's line-up for the fall.