TV Week in Review: October 10 - 14

This past week was an improvement over the previous week.  Chuck, with its great writing and use of characters, had its best episode of the season so far.  It also helped that Jeff and Lester were absent this week (I know, I know, most fans love Jeffster; I prefer the spy stuff).  Parenthood maintained its high quality.  Stargate: Universe improved.  Glee, for a change, had a coherent story, good character development, better songs than its had recently, and a lack of the over-rated Sue Sylvester interference.  It went from bottom two for three weeks in a row to number four this week.

The middle of the pack shuffled around a little this week with Hawaii Five-0 faltering a little but Cougar Town being a little better than usual.  No Ordinary Family has potential -- I think -- but it still fails to really impress me.  I'm beginning to lose my patience with The Event and Undercovers.  The Event seems to be trying too hard to be a deep conspiracy and mythology show, but it's missing the mark a bit.  Undercovers has the opposite problem in that it could use a little conspiracy or mythology because its procedural, mission-of-the-week format seems stale when compared to Chuck's already developed storyline.  But, shows need time to develop, so I'm not saying I'm giving up on any of these shows quite yet.

Caprica is starting to feel just as dark and depressing as Battlestar Galactica, if not worse.  And, with virtually every character being edgy, corrupt, troubled, or misguided, I'm having trouble finding a protagonist I can really invest in.  Sanctuary opened its third season with the conclusion of last season's bizarre and disappointing two-part season finale about a giant sea spider named Big Bertha creating islands and causing a tidal wave in the Indian Ocean.  I can't believe they spent three hours on that story, but I'm glad they can finally move on to something else which will hopefully be better.

I totally forgot to include the South Park season premiere from the previous week, but it wasn't great.  This past week though it made fun of Jersey Shore which managed to feel funny and relevant even though I've never watched a second of Jersey Shore (and would never want to).

Week of October 10 - 14
01.  (A-)  Chuck  (s4 ep04)
02.  (B+)  Parenthood  (s2 ep05)
03.  (B+)  Stargate: Universe  (s2 ep03)
04.  (B+)  Glee  (s2 ep04)
05.  (B)  Fringe  (s3 ep04)
06.  (B)  Cougar Town  (s2 ep04)
07.  (B)  South Park  (s14 ep09)
08.  (B)  House  (s7 ep04)
09. (tie)  (B)  Survivor  (s21 ep05)
09. (tie)  (B)  Mythbusters  (s8 ep14)
11.  (B-)  Hawaii Five-0  (s1 ep04)
12.  (B-)  No Ordinary Family  (s1 ep03)
13.  (B-)  Caprica  (s2 ep02)
14.  (B-)  Undercovers  (s1 ep04)
15.  (C+)  The Event  (s1 ep04)
16.  (C)  Sanctuary  (s3 ep 01)

Week in TV: October 04 - 08

Last week was a big mash of mediocre.  Since it was the third episode in the season for a lot of shows, hopefully they were just cost-cutting after blowout season premieres.

I know the 3rd episode of Chuck felt a lot like a "bottle show" with many scenes happening in air ducts of the new Buy More.  It was still good, but a slight dip in quality compared to the first two episodes of season four and the 4th episode I just watched tonight.  Hmm.  At least part of that may be due to Jeff & Lester...  They were back in full force last week, and the episode wasn't as good.  They were completely absent this week, and the episode was awesome.  There's more to it than that, but that makes feel better about being the only person on the planet who doesn't like the hijinks of the Buy More crew.

On the bright side, Glee had a slight upswing in quality this past week.  I didn't like everything about the episode, but this time I had to fast forward through only two songs.  Stargate: Universe redeemed itself too.  Oddly, its 2nd episode was better than the season premiere.

Undercovers was by no means bad, but in the battle between Undercovers and imitation Nyquil, Undercovers couldn't keep me awake.  I kept having to rewind parts of the episode because I kept dozing off.  Undercovers has potential, but it needs some kind of spark that fellow spy show Chuck has. It's early enough that it may find it, but it's not there yet.  And, for the record, I don't take cough syrup for fun.  I was fighting a cold last week.  Kids, don't do drugs; stay in school.

Week of October 04 - 08
01.  (B)  Parenthood  (s2 ep04)
02.  (B)  Chuck  (s4 ep03)
03.  (B)  Hawaii Five-0  (s1 ep03)
04. {tie}  (B)  Fringe  (s3 ep03)
04. {tie}  (B)  House  (s7 ep03)
06.  (B-)  Stargate: Universe  (s2 ep02)
07. {tie}  (B-)  No Ordinary Family  (s1 ep02)
07. {tie}  (B-)  The Event  (s1 ep03)
07. {tie}  (B-)  Caprica  (season 2 premiere)
10. {tie}  (B-)  Survivor  (s21 ep04)
10. {tie}  (B-)  Cougar Town  (s2 ep03)
10. {tie}  (B-)  Glee  (s2 ep03)
13. (B-)  Undercovers  (s1 ep03)

Oh, and since I'm already one episode into the current week of October 11 - 15, I'm going to go ahead and say tonight's 4th episode of Chuck was at least an A-.

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."

Series Premiere Review: Pushing Daisies

Pushing Daisies [s1 ep01]: "Pie-lette"

*** Spoiler Warning ***

Key Plot Points of Season Premiere

• Ned is a pie-maker at the Pie Hole who has an unusual, complicated gift. If he touches a dead person, animal, or plant, he can bring it back to life. If he touches the thing a 2nd time, they die permanently. If he does not touch them a 2nd time, something or someone else must die after 60 seconds from the first touch. Confused? Careful narration and a flashback to Ned's childhood help explain the whole thing.


• When Ned's childhood sweetheart Charlotte Charles, a.k.a. "Chuck," is murdered while on a cruise, Ned goes to the funeral home and touches her to find out who her killer is. He is too attached to her to let her die permanently, so he does not touch her within 60 seconds, and the corrupt funeral director dies in her place. Chuck decides she's okay with collecting the reward for finding her killer and splitting it with Ned and Ned's usual business partner, a private investigator named Emerson Cod.


• It would seem Chuck was, for some reason, killed over a pair of plastic monkeys. While trying to retrieve the monkeys from Chuck's two agoraphobic aunts, one of her aunts is attacked by Chuck's killer. She is able to shoot him out a window with a shotgun while Chuck grabs the monkeys out of sight. The two aunts split the reward for getting Chuck's killer and venture out of the house. Meanwhile, Ned, Chuck, and Emerson split the wealth from the monkeys, which happen to be pure gold on the inside.
  


• In the flashback to Ned's childhood, we see that Ned discovered his ability by bringing his dog back to life. Then, Chuck brought his mother back to life but discovered one loophole of his abillity when Chuck's father died next door, 60 seconds later. That same night, Ned discovered his other loophole when touching his mother for a 2nd time caused her to die permanently. Then, at the ages of 10 and 8, Ned and Chuck had their first kiss--at their own parents' funerals.

Opinions and Observations

• This is the television critics' darling of the season. It's the show with the most positive hype. It's virtually unanimous that it's the next big thing. And, I don't totally agree.


• The show has good writing and excellent production qualities, but the concept may be a little too bizarre and quirky, and I'm a person who usually doesn't mind quirky shows. All of the random death and temporary reincarnation seem a little morbid and twisted for me.


• *Somehow* Ned has gone a whole decade or longer without touching his dog at all because the dog is still alive (you'd think the dog would eventually bump into Chuck and be dead permanently). Plus, in more than a decade, Chuck has not ever kissed anyone else, making Ned her first and last. Despite the potential danger of Chuck dying permanently if Ned touches her again, she still rides in the passenger seat of Ned's car (if I were her, I'd have been in the back a little further away from him), they often stand close, and when they discover the monkeys are too heavy to be plastic they--each holding one monkey--crash the monkeys into each other coming close to having their fingers graze each other.

Hopes, Concerns, or Expectations for New Season

• You *know* that eventually Ned is going to have to admit that his power inadvertantly killed Chuck's father when they were kids, which will probably put a wedge between the two. After that, the two of them reconciling will no doubt be part of the season finale.
  


• Maybe the show will get better upon further episodes, but oddly, the critics's top favorite show of the new fall season actually comes near the bottom of the barrell for me. I'll give it a chance, but I'm not as impressed as the rest of the world.

Season Premiere Review: Brothers & Sisters (Season 2)

Borthers & Sisters [s2 ep01]: "Home Front"

*** Spoiler Warning ***

Key Plot Points of Season Premiere

• Justin is still in Iraq, something that concerns everyone all the time, especially since they haven't heard from him in quite a while.


• Sarah and Joe are still separated, requiring Sarah to spend more time with the kids. Sarah and Joe have a quicky, leading Sarah to think they may have a chance at reconciliation, but Joe wants to go forward with the divorce.


• Kevin is still dating a minister and gets upset when the minister gets an opportunity to go on a foreign mission.


• Tommy and his wife are having slight problems because she's still mourning the death of the twin that didn't survive and stressed out from the demands of parenting the twin that did survive.


• Rebecca is still living with Nora and not talking to her mother. On the anniversary of William's death, both Nora and Holly show up at the grave at the same time, something Nora has come to terms with. Nora invites Holly to Kitty's birthday dinner so that she can see Rebecca there.


• Kitty struggles with the press focusing on her new role as Robert's fiance rather than her continued role as Robert's chief of communications. Kitty also continues to pressure Robert to use his connections to find out her brother's whereabouts in Iraq. Robert resists at first but, for Kitty's birthday, finds out Justin is okay. Later, he finds out Justin's group was hit by an IED. They don't know if he's okay, slightly injured, maimed, or killed.

Opinions and Observations

• In general, this is a good episode, but this show isn't known for huge shocks or revelations. It's a steady, realistic drama, so nothing huge to comment on.


• There are excellent performances as usual. Sally Field continues to earn her Emmy.


• I wish Sarah and Joe could get back together. Considering how amicable their split has been and that Sarah is being so forgiving, you'd think Joe would jump at the chance to get back together. His desire to go through with the divorce confuses me.

Hopes, Concerns, or Expectations for New Season

• Of course, the mystery now is what has happened to Justin. I think the previews for next week's episode make it look like he died as an intentional fake-out. My guess is that he survives but is injured badly enough to require coming home so that the character can be around once again.


• I hope we learn more about the reason Rebecca's own mother warned Nora one time last season that Rebecca can be trouble. Sure, she's already kissed Joe, leading to Joe and Sarah's split, but that seems to have blown over somewhat. What else is this girl capable of?

Season Premiere Review: Stargate: Atlantis (Season 4)

Stargate: Atlantis [s4 ep01]: "Adrift"

*** Spoiler Warning ***

Key Plot Points of Season Premiere

• We pick up right where we left off last season. After the Asurans (human-form replicators from the Pegasus Galaxy) endangered Atlantis with a Stargate-carrying satellite that shot a continuous beam at the city, Atlantis first submerged into the water and then took off into space. In the process, Dr. Elizabeth Weir, leader of Atlantis, was severely injured when the beam grazed the command tower before the shield was restored.


• The Atlantis crew faces a series of challenges in survival including damaged power conduits, a draining ZPM (Zero Point Module--a primary power source), a shrinking shield, an asteroid field right in Atlantis's path, and micro asteroids that damage the stardrive (and injure Dr. Radek Zelenka when he tries to repair it).


• Meanwhile, Col. Samantha Carter and Dr. Bill Lee are trying to finish some of the systems onboard the Midway Station, the center-point in a chain of Stargates linking the Pegasus and Milky Way galaxies. Col. Ellis of the earth cruiser Apollo is able to contact them and tell them that Atlantis did not arrive at the rendezvous point.


• Dr. Wier's brain is swelling from her injury. A risky surgery is done to try to release the pressure, but Dr. Keller believe's there'll be significant brain damage no matter what. Against Sheppard's orders, Keller and McKay go through a with a procedure that re-activates some nanites that a replicator infected Wier with last year. The nanites repair her injuries, but now she will be half-human, half-replicator for the rest of her life. Sheppard disapproved because of the potential danger of nanites sending signals back to the replicators (a function McKay believes he's disabled), and even Wier herself agrees with Sheppard after she's healed.


• Sheppard and Zelenka don't repair the stardrive in time before power drops below the required level for sustained hyperdrive flight. But, there is just enough energy to make it to a world with a Stargate and/or ZPM. They decide to raid the replicator homeworld for a ZPM. To be continued...

Opinions and Observations

• I like Jewel Staite as the new Atlatis doctor, Jennifer Keller.


• As usual, this was a well written, well acted, well directed episode. A *lot* happens in just one hour.


• Only two things make this a 4 star episode rather than 5 stars: (1) The episode depends a great deal on a problem of the city not having enough power, a *very frequent* plot device used on this show; (2) This is the first of a multi-part storyline, so we won't get resolution until later, and we didn't even get to see Col. Carter join up with Atlantis yet.


• There is a nice moment when tough guy Ronon thanks the unconscious Wier for letting him stay in Atlantis staring two years ago.

Hopes, Concerns, or Expectations for New Season

• I really look forward to the rest of this season. Things are going to be really different with Amanda Tapping reprising her Stargate SG-1 role of Samantha Carter, this time as a full colonel in charge of Atlantis.


• I've also seen internet buzz about Christopher Judge guest starring later in the season. From the pictures I've seen, I can't stand his new long, greasy hair-do, but at least it'll be one more familiar character.


• Hopefully, other SG-1 characters may guest star later in the season. I'd love to see a whole SG-1/Atlantis crossover episode like they did last year. If not a full crossover, I'd love to see Claudia Black guest star in her SG-1 role of Vala Mal Doran.


• If the team is able to steal one or more ZPMs from the replicators, I hope that will alleviate their constant power problems that have plagued them in a number of episodes.

Series Premiere Review: Moonlight

Moonlight [s1 ep01]: "No Such Things As Vampires"

*** Spoiler Warning ***

Key Plot Points of Season Premiere

• The episode begins with a dream sequence in which L.A. private investigator Mick St. John is being interviewed about what it's like to be a vampire. He gives us all the rules about what's true and what's not... Vampires do have to drink blood, but Mick "has a guy" (access to a dealer) so that he doesn't have to bite anyone to suck their blood--unless they really deserve it. He sleeps in a freezer instead of a coffin. Vampires are not harmed by garlic, holy water, or crucifixes. Vampires cannot turn into bats. Vampires do not burst into flames from sunlight, but the longer they're in the sun, the worse they feel. Vampires can only be killed by being burned or beheaded, not by stakes to the heart.


• Mick is only about 90 years old. His best "friend" is Joseph, "one of the oldest vampires in L.A. Four-hundred, going on 30." Joseph lives a rich lifestyle thanks to investments. His house is full of women, and it appears at least one (if not some or all of them) is willing to let him feed off her blood in exchange for sharing his rich lifestyle.


• Guillermo is a vampire who works at the morgue (with convenient access to un-needed blood). He supplies Mick with investigative information and blood. He can't understand why Mick likes A-positive blood so much when the O-positive blood "has got much better finish."


• Mick is alarmed when Beth Turner, an internet reporter for Buzzwire, covers a story about the murder of a girl by two puncture wounds to the neck.


• Mick and Beth both investigate this and other similar murders. Mick sneaks into places and intimidates. Beth goes undercover. The primary suspect is a college professor of ancient mythologies who appears to be leading a vampire cult. The professor is not a true vampire but uses his own take on vampire legend as a personal philosophy--and as a way of getting women.


• By the end of the episode, it's revealed that the professor's T.A. (teaching assistant) is the murderer.


• We also learn that Beth was abducted as a child by a female vampire named Coraline who was Mick's wife and was the one that sired him (made him a vampire). Mick killed Coraline to save Beth, and he's been trying to protect her from a distance ever since.

Opinions and Observations

• I forgot to mention this in my Journeyman review, but Beth Turner in Moonlight and Dan Vasser in Journeyman both use iPhones. Wow, the iPhone hasn't even been out that long, and it's already in wide use in at least two new fall shows. Cool.


• I like the main character, Mick St. John. There's nothing too deep about him yet, but I think there's potential for him becoming more interesting.


• Comparisons between this show and Angel, another show about a vampire P.I., are inevitable, especially since both shows share a common writer/producer. However, this show definitely has a different tone and feel to it, as well as different vampire "rules." I think this show could and should be judged on its own individual merits.

Hopes, Concerns, or Expectations for New Season

• Mick's voiceover seems a little forced, like the writer is trying too hard to explain things about vampires and Mick's life. I like voiceovers sometimes, so if it remains an element of the show, I hope the voiceovers become more witty, introspective, and/or informative.


• From the previews, it appears that Mick and Beth may develop a romance. If so, I hope it develops slowly and that form a genuine friendship first before taking it to the next level. I wouldn't want it to feel forced, especially since the concept of Mick saving Beth as a child makes him seem like more of a father figure initially.

Season Premiere Review: Grey's Anatomy (Season 4)

Grey's Anatomy [s4 ep01]: "A Change is Gonna Come"

*** Spoiler Warning ***

Key Plot Points of Season Premiere

• The interns are all residents now and each have four new interns of their own to teach. The exception is George who failed his internship and is having to start all over as one of Meredith's interns. Meanwhile, one of Christina's interns is Lexie Grey, Meredith's half sister.


• Bailey seems upset over not getting the Chief Resident promotion


• Callie is turning out to be a bossy Chief Resident not earning the respect of those under her.


• After a car pile up, trauma cases come in. Meredith's team is assigned to a single pregnant woman who's arm was sliced off in the wreck. Karev's team is assigned to a hungry guy who will eat *anything* that will fit into his mouth including cotton balls, clamps, and coins. Christina's team is assigned to a guy whose spinal cord is severed inside his neck. Izzie's team gets stuck treating the deer that caused the wreck in the first place.


• George is still avoiding Izzie. Callie and George are still not acting like a normal married couple. Meredith is still avoiding Derek. Christina hasn't heard from Burke and later finds out Burke resigned and left permanently. Karev still misses Rebecca, his Jane Doe case from last season. Derek misses having someone to hang out with.

Opinions and Observations

• Luckily, the medical cases were a little more interesting in this episode.


• I'm growing tired of George's mannerisms, way of speaking, and the way he handles his relationships. I'm tired of Izzie's melodramatic ramblings (see quote below). I'm tired of Derek and Meredith constantly changing their mind about being together or being apart. And, I've never really liked the Christina character.



* Horrible Izzie Dialogue Example *

Izzie: I'm Bambi! I'm Bambi, George, okay. If anyone in this situation is a sad little cartoon character, it's me. I'm all alone in the forest. All alone in the forest, George. And, my mother's been shot by a hunter, and where are you? Where the hell are you?



• This wasn't exactly a bad episode. It has some redeeming qualities that make it average, but it's got some flaws, as mentioned above, that are getting too frequent.

Hopes, Concerns, or Expectations for New Season

• I think the character of Lexie Grey might turn out to be more likable than some of the pre-existing characters.


• According to internet buzz, this season is going to be more lighthearted compared to last season's heavy melodrama. I hope the buzz is correct.


• I like the show, but I've never liked it quite as much as the rest of the world. If it doesn't get better soon and if I need to dump a show to make room from any new ones that escape cancelation, this one will be first choice to dump.

Season Premiere Review: Ugly Betty (Season 2)

Ugly Betty [s2 ep01]: "How Betty Got Her Grieve Back"

*** Spoiler Warning ***

Key Plot Points of Season Premiere

• Betty is trying to balance things at work and at home. Daniel is still in the hospital, Justin is at some kind of day camp, Hilda is hibernating in her room, and Betty's dad is still stuck in Mexico.


• Claire Meade and her ally from prison have escaped and are hiding out in the beach house owned by a friend of the Meade family. Claire wants to see her children and get her husband back.


• Wilhelmina is still engaged to Bradford Meade and is trying to keep Claire away.


• Daniel's sister Alexis is still in a coma. She wakes up by the end of the episode but doesn't remember having had a sex change. She thinks she's still Alex, Daniel's brother.


• Amanda has gained a lot of weight on candy ever since she learned that Fey Summers is her biological mother. She's shocked further to find out her non-biological parents are swingers and that her on-again-off-again relationship with Daniel was incest, since he would be her half brother.


• Betty still misses Henry. Daniel convinces her to have a "funeral" of sorts in which she buries any items that remind her of Henry. At the end of the episode, we see that Henry has arrived back in New York, no doubt hoping to work things out with Betty.


• Justin sneaks out of camp and into Mode where he gives fashion advice. Later, he's given an apprenticeship at Mode for the two weeks before school starts again.


• We see Hilda spending time in her room with Santos, who supposedly survived his gunshot wounds from the store robbery in the season finale. But, by the end of the episode, we see that Santos has been dead and that Hilda has just been in her room grieving and wishing he was still there.

Opinions and Observations

• None of the Amanda subplot comes as a shock. I guessed that Bradford Meade was her biological father back in the season finale the instant it was revealed that Fey Summers was her biological mother. Her quick and excessive weight gain in just a few weeks seems unrealistic. I'm guessing she'll already be back to normal by next week or soon after.


• The Betty-Henry-Charlie love triangle is getting old. The Daniel-Alexis fued is also getting old, so maybe her amnesia will fix all that.


• I kind of had a feeling that Hilda's time with Santos was a dream, hallucination, or just wishful imaginings. Granted, I might have been more easily fooled had I not accidentally seen a spoiler on a blog implying he had died.

Hopes, Concerns, or Expectations for New Season

• I hope Amanda loses her weight at a realistic rate, not in one episode like Lee Adama did in Battlestar Galactica season three.


• I hope it's revealed that Bradford Meade has not been duped by Wilhelmenia and that he's known all along she's marrying him to get to his money and his magazine business. I'd like to see him dupe her back.


• I hope Hilda doesn't mope forever.


• I hope Daniel cleans up his act as he says he should during Betty's funeral of Henry-related items.

Series Premiere Review: Private Practice

Private Practice [s1 ep01]: "In Which They Meet Addison, a Nice Girl From Somewhere Else"

*** Spoiler Warning ***

Key Plot Points of Season Premiere

• Pediatric surgeon Dr. Addison Montgomery (Kate Walsh) quits Seattle Grace Hospital and moves to L.A. to work at Oceanside Wellness Center. Her friend Dr. Naomi Bennett (Audra McDonald), a fertility specialist, owns 55% of the business and has hired Addison without consulting the other four business partners which include her ex-husband Dr. Sam Bennett (Taye Diggs), the center's internal medicine specialist.


• A couple visits the center with fertility issues. While giving a, uh, donation, the man has a heart attack and dies. The younger girlfriend want his sperm so she can still have his baby. The emergency room doctor refuses the postumous donation. Sam & Naomi fight for the girlfriend's rights, which get complicated when the man's wife shows up.


• Dr. Violet Turner (Amy Brenneman), the wellness center's psychiatrist, goes to a department store where a patient of hers named Jenny is obsessively counting floor tiles. Violet tries to figure out what's wrong with Jenny and is joined by Dr. Cooper Freedman (Paul Adelstien), the center's pediatrician, who shows up to help out. They discover Jenny's episode was triggered by a store camping advertisement video that reminded her of the last trip her family took with her son who died of brain cancer. (Note: This was the best part of the episode; only reason I'm giving it 4 stars instead of 3.)


• A pregnant teenager, accompanied by her angry father, goes into premature labor at the center and has complications. Bothered by the lack of the center's surgical equipment or sterile environment (the center is not intended for surgeries, and an ambulance won't get there in time), Addison has no choice but to operate on the girl to save both her and the baby.


• The four other partners are upset about Naomi hiring Addison, but Addison babbles on about how much she needs to be there, how much they need her there, etc. and basically insists on not leaving. No one puts up a fight, so the matter is closed.

Opinions and Observations

• The acting is really impressive. It'd have to be because the casting is so good. The script, however, isn't so good in spots, but the actors do the best they can with it.


• I like Paul Adelstein's character. It's refreshing to see him play someone funnier and more likable compared to his corrupt Secret Service Agent character on Prison Break.


• I was worried about Amy Brenneman's characrer being annoying, because she's so fragile and neurotic, but she's growing on me.


• The scene where Violet and Cooper are talking to Jenny after discovering what happened to Jenny's son was very powerful. It was well written, well acted, and genuinely tear-jerking.


• The character of Addison has become to talky, too quirky, and too silly. She wasn't the most interesting character on Grey's Anatomy in the first place, and her dialogue here, especially her tirade near the end, is the worst of the episode.


• Tim Daly's character thinking Addison would ever have moved from Seattle to L.A. just because the two of them kissed a few weeks earlier is arrogant and unrealistic.

Hopes, Concerns, or Expectations for New Season

• This pilot was not as bad as the negative internet buzz implied. I found it more enjoyable than the season premiere of Grey's Anatomy.


• After the pilot, I'm actually willing to give this show a chance. However, I'm watching *a lot* of TV already, and Scrubs and Pushing Daisies haven't even premiered yet. If I have to dump any shows, Grey's Anatomy is my first choice among returning shows, and I may also tire of Private Practice by association.

Series Premiere Review: Bionic Woman

Bionic Woman [s1 ep01]: "Second Chances"

*** Spoiler Warning ***

Key Plot Points of Season Premiere

• Jamie Summers is a 24-year-old bartender in San Francisco. She's the legal guardian of her teenage sister named Becca who, for some reason, has a court order saying she can't use a computer that's hooked up to the internet.


• After revealing to her boyfriend that she's pregnant during dinner, they get into a drastic car wreck. Jamie loses the baby, both legs, and an arm, eye, and ear from her right side.


• Jamie's boyfriend is part of a secret organization specializing in nanotechnology. To save Jamie's life, he uses his security clearance to have anthrocytes implanted in her body. The anthrocytes form for her new body parts. The legs and arm kick in almost immediately. The eye and ear don't come online until a few days later.


• It turns out that the woman driving the truck that collides with them is the first bionic woman (making the wreck obviously intentional for not-so-obvious reasons). The first bionic woman, named Sarah Corvus (Battlestar Galactica's Katee Sackoff) had a relationship of some kind with another member of the nanotech organization.


• Sarah visits Jamie at the bar around the time Jamie's bionic senses come online. Later, after Sarah shoots Jamie's boyfriend, the two get into a fight on a rooftop in the rain.


• Jamie agrees to work with the nanotech organization but only under her terms.

Opinions and Observations

• To be honest, there's not much to comment about yet. The pilot episode is almost all setup, not a lot of character development. There are hints at a larger conspiracy going on, but it's not obvious what direction that'll take yet.


• Jamie and her boyfriend don't have a lot of chemistry.


• Jamie reacts negatively to the concept of bionic parts inside her. Sure, it would be strange and disorienting, but the alternatives would be either death or a life lived with only one limb, one eye, and one ear. You'd think she'd have a smiggen of gratitude. Other than having the first bionic woman, who seems half psychotic, following her and beating her up, having bionic parts isn't so bad.

Hopes, Concerns, or Expectations for New Season

• Although the pilot episode was not spectactular, it has potential. Now that all the setup is out of the way, I hope we see more character development and more depth of storytelling in future episodes.

Season Premiere Review: House (Season 4)

House [s4 ep01]: "Alone"

*** Spoiler Warning ***

Key Plot Points of Season Premiere

• It's been two weeks since Foreman & Cameron quit and Chase was fired. House has done nothing but now has a new patient. The patient was pulled out of rubble six hours after her office building collapsed from a gas main explosion. House makes a deal with Cuddy that if he can diagnose the patient's problems without a team, she must leave him alone for a week.


• Needing someone to bounce ideas off of, House enlists the help of a janitor and even dresses him up as a doctor to help interact with the patient's mother and boyfriend.


• Wilson kidnaps House's guitar and holds it ransom until House agrees to interview candidates for a new team.


• In the course of his diagnosis, House discovers that his patient was on anti-depressants, was an alcoholic, and had an abortion, none of which the mother or boyfriend were aware.


• House solves the case by realizing that the symptoms weren't lying, but the chart was. The physical injuries from the building collapse were so bad that the mother and boyfriend didn't realize...the patient was someone else. The woman they knew has already died. This patient is someone who worked in the same building and had a very similar hair color, figure, and facial features. With the severe facial injuries, the two patients looked practically the same.


• House is finally convinced to hire a team but plans to have some fun in the process. So, he plans to narrow down his team from a group of 40 potential doctors, no doubt embarrassing and mentally torturing them for several episodes to come.

Opinions and Observations

• It was a great inside joke when the janitor says, "Maybe it's Lupus. My grandmother has Lupus." It's a running gag of the show that Lupus is a commonly hypothesized diagnosis.


• I know House ultimately outsmarts everyone, but it's very fun to watch Wilson and Cuddy come close sometimes. Wilson's idea to kidnap House's guitar was ingenious and hilarious. Cuddy's idea to stop enabling House was good too. Unfortunately, she couldn't carry through on her intentions because doing so would be the equivalent of patient neglect.


• The three cast members of House's old team are still in the opening credits. Previews for next week's episode plus internet rumors suggest that they'll still be on the show, and their characters will still be at Princeton-Plainsboro Hospital; they just won't be working for House.

Hopes, Concerns, or Expectations for New Season

• I'm glad they're switching things up this year. Even though Foreman, Cameron, and Chase were good enough to still be on the show, their chemistry with House was getting old. He says something obnoxious, and they roll their eyes at him. House needs new blood, and I look forward to seeing who he chooses for his new team.

Season Premiere Review: Boston Legal (Season 4)

Boston Legal [s4 ep01]: "Beauty and the Beast"

*** Spoiler Warning ***

Key Plot Points of Season Premiere

• Denny is arrested for soliciting a prostitute after his date requests payment for sex, which Denny accepts, and then turns out to be a cop. Alan's girlfriend, Judge Gloria Weldon, tells the prosecuting attorney to drop the case. Earlier in the evening in question, Alan & Gloria were on a double date with Denny and the female cop, and Gloria feels the cop's acting job as a genuine date went beyond entrapment before payment was requested.


• Shirley gets sued for retracting a donation to Stanford for political reasons. She asks Alan to represent her. Opposing council turns out to be Lorraine Weller (Saffron Burrows), an irresistable and compulsively tempting ex-flame of Alan's. He tries to resist her advances but cheats on Gloria twice in the court elevator. From next week's previews, it appears Shirley hires Lorraine at Crane, Poole & Schmidt.


• Carl Sack (John Larroquette), is a senior partner who makes waves when he transfers from the New York branch to Boston. He is interpreted by several to be mean and impersonable. He gradually loosens up, and near the end of the episode we're shown that he and Shirley are secretly in a relationship.


• Sack has researched the Boston office's associates and finds a YouTube video of Clarence dressed as Clarice, singing and dancing in a duet. Clarence has entered a singing contest with a fellow shyness-recovering female friend, and they are in the finals. Despite this, Sack insists Clarence leave the competition so as not to embarrass the firm. After an empassioned plea from Clarence regarding the quarkiness and family nature of the Boston branch, Sack backs down, and Clarence keeps his job. Sack turns down an invitation to attend the contest but secretly shows up and watches Clarence and his friend sing, to which he is surprisingly amused.


• Jerry Espenson is drafted to help out newly-graduated and recently-hired associate Katie Lloyd (Tara Summers) in a challenging murder trial, her first trial ever. The case is made more difficult by the defendant being silent and aggressive. Katie's niceness, patience, persistence, and soft, British voice eventually lead to her defendant opening up to her. She believes he's genuinely innocent despite all the evidence and circumstance stacked against him. The defendant won't accept help from Alan, and Jerry insists to Katie that it will be her sweet demeanor and faith in the client that will get a jury to side with her. The story will continue into future episodes.

Opinions and Observations

• I love this show. It's the perfect blend of preposterous quirkiness, dry humor, serious drama, even more serious social commentary, and all around comforting entertainment. Some subplots, like this episode's storyline about Shirley getting sued by a university, aren't that great, and some episodes are better than others. But, there's always at least one redeeming quality per episode, and this one had several gems in it.


• David E. Kelley loves shuffling around the casts of his shows, and I think Boston Legal has seen the most changes. There's of course the returning "big three" of James Spader, Candice Bergen, and William Shatner. This season the characters of Paul Lewiston (Rene Auberjonois), Denise Bauer (Julie Bowen), Brad Chase (Mark Valley), and Claire Simms (Constance Zimmer) are all out or, at best, reduced to recurring status. Tough senior partner Carl Sack (John Larroquette), sweet British newbie Katie Lloyd (Tara Summers), and Alan's ex-flame Lorraine Weller (Saffron Burrows) are all new. Christian Clemenson is promoted to main cast as Jerry Espenson, the former tax lawyer who's dealing with Asperger's Syndrome and taking on trial cases. And, Gary Anthony Williams continues to get opening credits billing he started getting midway through last season as shy assistant-turned-lawyer Clarence Bell who sometimes cross-dresses as Clarice to deal with his shyness.


• I'm thrilled about the new cast. I think David E. Kelley finally got it right. The characters he got rid of were all boring and under-used anyway. The dysfunctional but likable and relatable characters of Jerry and Clarence add innocence and even more quirkiness to the freak show that is this law firm. Carl Sack acts as the much overdue love interest for Shirley Schmidt. I'm a little worried that Lorraine Weller will turn into the Alan Shore sex partner of the month and not be interesting after that, but I'm intrigued by the fresh but unshakable Katie Lloyd character.

Hopes, Concerns, or Expectations for New Season

• I hope the cast changes bring a fresh new chemistry to the show. It already appears that it will.


• Even though Shirley is in a relationship with Carl Sack, I hope we see more moments of intimate yet plutonic friendship between her and Denny Crane, like we did in this episode. Denny singing "You Are My Sunshine" to Shirley while she rested her head on his shoulder, after a discussion about getting older and remembering happier times, was the best moment of the episode.


• I also hope we get more social and political commentary in future episodes. This show always does a great job showing you two sides of an important issue and then hitting one side of the argument out of the park. It's always powerful whether you agree with the viewpoint or not.

Series Premiere Review: Journeyman

Journeyman [s1 ep01]: "Pilot"

*** Spoiler Warning ***

Key Plot Points of Season Premiere

• Dan Vasser (Kevin McKidd) is a normal husband and father, of one son, who works as a newspaper reporter for the San Francisco Register.


• For some unknown reason, Dan begins traveling back and forth through time, particularly 1987, 1997, and 2007.


• It appears he is meant to save the life of a certain person, but he eventually realizes it is the man's wife and child that are in danger, and he must save them instead.


• Along the way, he runs into his ex-fiance, Livia Beale (Moon Bloodgood), as well as the 1997 version of his 2007 wife, Katie (Gretchen Egolf).


• While in 1997, Dan runs into an older version of Livia who says cyrptic things about his disorientation and things he should do during his experiences, implying she's jumping around in time too. Livia should not appear to be that much older because she died in an airplane crash in 1997 or not long after.


• Dan's jumps through time occur at random, including while he's driving, and keep him away from 2007 for hours or days at a time, worrying his family. At one point, his wife and friends arrange an intervention for him, but his police officer brother Jack uses a plausible (but ultimately unprovable) hit-and-run charge against Dan to get him out of it, suspecting the problem is almost anything but drugs and alcohol.


• During one jump to 1997, Dan hides a 1997 newspaper and his wife's ring, that he's recently gotten re-sized, in a toolbox in the ground behind the house that would someday be his. To prove he's jumping around in time, he has his wife in 2007 watch him smash up their patio, laid in 2000, to get to the toolbox he hid in 1997.

Opinions and Observations

• This looks like an interesting show. The pilot episode is almost all setup, but hopefully we'll get more character development in future episodes. I'm willing to continue giving it a chance.


• The comparisons to Quantum Leap are inevitable (and already exist), but I think the show is unique enough to stand on its own. Also, Quantum Leap was very episodic, but Journeyman exists in the era of continuing story arcs (thanks to the style being revived by Babylon 5 in the '90s). So, I'm hoping and assuming that there are layers of underlying storline to be revealed gradually over the course of the show.


• As an added twist on time travel, Dan faces the moral dillema of loving his wife Katie in 2007 and still having an attraction to ex-fiance Livia in 1997. He's tempted by Livia in the first episode but doesn't screw up his vows yet. I think it will be interesting to see how he handles this in future episodes, especially since there's both past and present versions of Livia and that Katie was a friend to both Dan in Livia in 1997.


• According to Journeyman's entry at Wikipedia, Dan Vasser's house in the show is right next to the house inhabited by the Haliwell sisters in WB's Charmed.

Hopes, Concerns, or Expectations for New Season

• The show doesn't bother explaining the science behind the time jumps or who's controlling them. I'm okay with that in the pilot, but I hope we do get some hints as to the science fiction element later on.


• I hope future episodes have better sound quality. Several times in the pilot I felt like the music was drowning out the dialogue and that some dubbing was really obvious, especially dialogue spoken by the Livia character.

Season Premiere Review: Heroes (Season 2)

Heroes [s2 ep01]: "Four Months Later"

*** Spoiler Warning ***

Key Plot Points of Season Premiere

• It is four months after the events of the first season finale, and our Heroes have moved on...


• Mohinder is in India giving speeches about special abilities and human evolution. He is being followed by someone who is probably part of "The Company." Later, we learn Mohinder has been giving the speeches as a way of luring out someone from the Company.


• Siblings Maya and Alejandro (new characters) are in Honduras running from the police. They are trying to make it to New York to see Dr. Suresh. Later, we learn that the Maya's power has something to do with unintentionally killing people in her vicinity.


• Claire Bennet, her dad Noah (HRG), and her mother and brother have moved to Costa Verde, California, and are trying to keep a low profile away from the Company. HRG tells his daughter to be as un-extraordinary as possible, so as not to attract attention. Claire meets a boy at school.


• Hiro is in 1671 Japan. After witnessing an eclipse, he saves his hero, Takezo Kensei from a rain of arrows. To Hiro's surprise, Kensei is a caucasian con-man from England, not a native Japanese warrior.


• Matt Parkman is in Manhattan taking his police exam. He has survived his four bullet wounds (obviously), has gotten divorced, and is a co-guardian (along with Mohinder) of the hero-detecting Molly. Molly is having bad dreams about the person she feels is worse than Sylar. Her teacher shows Parkman the creepy pictures Molly's drawing, but Molly doesn't want to talk about it when Parkman brings it up.


• Ando has become a friend of Hiro's father Kaito (George Takei). Kaito finds in his newspaper a warning that he is going to get killed. Ando agrees to stick with Kaito no matter what.


• Nathan Petrelli and his mother Angela are in Peter's apartment. Nathan is still in grief over his brother's apparent death. He's bearded, his family has given up on him, and it would seem he gave up on public office. Nathan and Angela argue, and then Angela gets an assassination warning like Kaito did.


• Claire Bennett calls Nathan Petrelli, her biological father, but he's in too much grief to be of comfort and quickly blows her off. We see the boy from school hovering outside Claire's window, and then he flies off.


• Before Ando can get a sword to Kaito, a hooded figure pushes Kaito off the roof of the building. Kaito *appears* to be dead in the alleyway, but his assassin is gone.


• In Cork, Ireland, three guys knock out a guard and look for a particular freight bin. When they pry it open, Peter Petrelli is inside, still with at least one power (radioactive Ted's hand blasts) but with no memory of who he is.


• Niki and Micah are not shown. We don't know if D.L. survived being shot. Candace, Sylar, and "the Haitian" are not around either.

Opinions and Observations

• This was more of a refresher episode than a blowout season premiere. Because the timeframe has advanced by four months, this episode mostly just explains where everyone is at.


• I am curious what exactly Maya and Alejandro's power(s) is/are. I have read somewhere that they share a power that only works in tandem. From one scene in the episode, it looks more like their power is to kill people at a distance or infect them with a virus whenever they're separated from each other.


• I'm glad Peter Petrelli and Matt Parkman survived the season one finale. I'm pretty sure Sylar survived too. I'm impartial about Nathan's survival. Surely, D.L. actually died and is still dead. I would rather it have been Niki. D.L.'s power is cooler.

Hopes, Concerns, or Expectations for New Season

• From what I've read, there will be several new characters with all new powers this season. I look forward to seeing who and what they are.


• I hope the person that is "worse than Sylar" turns out to be a satisfying villain.

Series Premiere Review: Chuck

Chuck [s1 ep01]: "Pilot"

*** Spoiler Warning ***

Key Plot Points of Series Premiere

• Chuck Bartowski is a geeky tech repair guy at the Nerd Herd inside a Buy More (fictional version of Geek Squad in Best Buy) where his best friend Morgan also works.


• Chuck lives in a nice condo (that he could never afford on his own) with his successful sister Ellie and her boyfriend. Ellie and her boyfriend are both doctors, and Ellie's boyfriend is so good at everything he does that Chuck has nicknamed him Captain, short for Captain Awesome.


• Several years ago, Chuck dropped out of Stanford University when he broke up with the only girlfriend he's had in the past few years.


• Chuck's former roommate from Stanford, Bryce Larkin, is now a CIA agent. Bryce steals a massive amount of government secrets and, realizing he's about to be killed by his pursuer, e-mails all the data to Chuck.


• When Chuck opens the e-mail, *all* of the government's secrets are downloaded into his head via several hours worth of subliminal images.


• Two agents are sent to retrieve the data, Major John Casey from the NSA and the beautiful Sarah Walker from the CIA. Tracing the e-mail to Chuck, Sarah wants to protect him from the NSA, and Casey wants to threaten Chuck to get to the data.


• Upon discovering that all the data is in Chuck's head, Casey and Sarah work together in protecting Chuck. Chuck then uses his knowledge to lead them to a terrorist bomb that is meant to assassinate a high profile military general. Chuck defeats the bomb by downloading a virus onto the laptop computer attached to the bomb.


• Using his leverage as a living computer, Chuck insists on returning to his normal life. We learn that Sarah and Bryce were in a relationship. By the end of the episode, Casey has been hired as the newest Buy More employee so that he can keep an eye on Chuck. Posing as a customer, Sarah keeps an eye on him too. One of the pieces of top secret information that flashes in Chuck's head is about Sarah's past.

Opinions and Observations

• This was one of the most well-made and entertaining pilots I've seen since the first episode of Alias (a masterpiece pilot that its latter two seasons didn't live up to). In the past few years, only Lost and maybe Ugly Betty or Men In Trees have had pilot episodes that have come this close to perfect.


• Everything in the episode just clicks. The characters are interesting, the humor has perfect wit and timing, the action is exciting and fast-paced, etc.


• I like that Chuck's sister Ellie comes off as loving and supporting. She's smart, beautiful, professional, social, and has money and a relationship. Chuck, meanwhile, makes $11 an hour and crashes in an extra room in her condo. It would be easy for her to be a b**chy, self-righteous character. Instead, she cares for Chuck, throws him a birthday party (inviting all her friends because he only has one), tries to help him get a girlfriend, and helps him prepare for his date with Sarah (before he discovers Sarah is a CIA agent).


• The show is already quirky enough all around, but Chuck's best friend Morgan provides even more comic relief.

Hopes, Concerns, or Expectations for New Season

• Strangely, I wasn't looking forward to this show much. But, I admit, I'm thoroughly impressed. I'm a little worried how they'll sustain the show's concept for a whole season or more, but they're definitely off to an amazing start.


• It's probably inevitable that Chuck and Sarah will hook up at some point in the series. On their fake date, they genuinely got along. For a geek, Chuck is actually charming, and when Sarah smiled or laughed at things he said, it didn't always seem like she was acting just to get to his secret info. Their moment sitting on the beach, the morning after defusing the bomb, was very sweet. Sarah may be as smart and skilled as Sydney Bristow from Alias, but she's got the same amount of heart too.

Season Premiere Review: Survivor - China (Season 15)

Survivor: China [s15 ep01]: "A Chicken's a Little Bit Smarter"

*** Spoiler Warning ***

Key Plot Points of Season Premiere

• This year takes place in China. Near the beginning of the episode, the sixteen players attended a Buddhist welcome ceremony. Leslie, a Christian radio talk show host, chose to leave the ceremony because it felt too religious to her. Afterwards, Jeff Probst told the contestants that, as a reflection of giving up personal possessions in Buddhism, they would have to leave behind all of their luggage and go to their respective camps with nothing but the clothes on their back.


• The two tribes are: Zhan Hu, meaning Fighting Tiger, wearing yellow; and Fei Long, meaning Flying Dragon, wearing red.


• Everyone was given a copy of Sun Tzu's The Art of War and was told that reading it would give them ideas how to survive the game.


• For the challenge, the players were provided with their running shoes from their previously abandoned luggage, and they were allowed to wear their running shoes back to camp with them.


• Fei Long won the elaborate reward/immunity challenge.


• In the first Tribal Council, Zhan Hu sent home Chicken, the old farmer from Virginia.


• Part of the reward challege Fei Long won was flint for fire. In a rare move for the series, Jeff allowed losing tribe Zhan Hu to take their Tribal Council torches back with them, so now both teams have fire. On top of that, he also gave them free flint.

Opinions and Observations

• I don't like that the players have to wear the clothes on their back. When they did that in Pearl Islands (season seven), some people ended up wearing weird things or nothing at all. For instance, Rupert, one of the most popular players of Survivor history, had to wear a skirt made out of a dress that a female player donated to him. Sure enough, in the first episode of Survivor China, people are walking around in their underwear.


• Courtney, the New York City waitress, is obnoxious, unpleasant, and self-centered.


• Jean-Robert desperately needs a belt for his pants.


• Ashley, a WWE female wrestler, has the most annoying lip piercings. They look like tusks.


• Dave is proving to be underhanded already. He assured Ashley she shouldn't worry about being on the chopping block just because she was sick, then in an interview, he said she would be the first to go.


• I like that Leslie approached James to try to get to know him. He's a professional grave digger and is so used to working alone that he came off as being very shy.

Hopes, Concerns, or Expectations for New Season

• I've read that the new twist this season is that tribes get to kidnap or capture players from opposing teams as part of their reward for challenges. I look forward to seeing how that affects the game and hope it's more interesting than Exile Island was.


• So far, several players are annoying. Granted, it's always tough to find likable players this early in the game, but I don't get a great impression of anyone. I'm a little worried that this will be a boring and/or frustrating season. But, we'll see...

Series Premiere Review: Kid Nation

Kid Nation [s1 ep01]: "I'm Trying to Be a Leader Here"

*** Spoiler Warning ***

Key Points of Series Premiere

• Forty kids between the ages of eight and 15 are dropped off in the New Mexico desert to caravan to an old west ghost town called Bonanza City where they will create their own society, without the assistance of their family or any other adults, and live there for 40 days. Thirty-six of them are dropped off at the caravan point by school bus. The other four are helicoptered in and are introduced as the group's pre-selected Town Council.


• Later on in the episode, the town is divided into four color-coded districts, with each Town Council member in charge of a district.
  Mike, 11, a boy scout from Washington state, gets the Red District.
  Taylor, 10, a pageant queen from Georgia, gets the Yellow District.
  Anjay, 12, a spelling bee champ from Texas, gets the Blue District.
  Laurel, 12, a student leader from Massachusetts (easy to tell from her thick Boston accent and her pride of being Irish), gets the Green District.


• Every four days the Town Council gets to award the most deserving kid with a gold star, literally worth it's weigh in gold, equaling $20,000.


• Despite some initial chaos, including a leg injury along the caravan, some trial-and-error with the kids cooking their own food, and the Town Council forgeting on the first day to check the chapel for a book with further instructions (as told by the host Jonathon), they division of districts brings order to things.


• The first challenge resembled the pumping of oil from the ground using pumping towers, only they pumped colored water instead of oil. The order in which each district won determined their class and salary for the next four days.
  1st: Mike's Red District = Upper Class = $1.00 each.
  2nd: Anjay's Blue District = Merchant Class = $0.50 each.
  3rd: Taylor's Yellow District = Cook Class = $0.25 each.
  4th: Laurel's Green District = Laborer Class = $0.10 each.
  Also, by all four teams finishing in less than an hour (with literally a few seconds to spare), the Town Council got to choose between two possible prizes for the whole town: a TV or seven more outhouses (in addition to the solitary outhouse they had so far). The Council rightly chose the outhouses.


• As the Merchant Class, the Red District got to run the town stores where kids could spend their winnings on food, drinks, games, and supplies.


• Every few days, the pioneers gather for a Town Hall Meeting where kids get to state concerns or grievances, elect to go home if they want to, and have the $20K gold star awarded to one pioneer by the Town Council. At the first meeting, homesick Councilperson Taylor decided to tough it out and stay (to a round of applause), but youngest pioneer Jimmy insisted on going home (despite an older kid saying he's more mature than others). Despite some complaining about cooks not cleaning up after themselves, Sophia was still awarded the gold star. As part of the reward, she got to use the town's only phone to call her mom and tell her about the gold star.

Opinions and Observations

• The chaos during supper and the unofficial town meeting reminded me a little much of my one and only year of teaching public school. Luckily, Michael, age 14 from Washington state, stepped up and gave an inspirational speech that motivated the other kids and got them to calm down and let the Council begin to organize things. Unlike an adult on a reality competition program who may have resented such unsought leadership, Councilperson Mike appreciate Michael stepping up and helping gain order.


• I felt bad for the show's youngest pioneer named Jimmy, only eight-and-a-half years old from New Hampshire, who started crying on the 2nd day because he was already so homesick and felt he was too young to be trying this. Then, I almost started crying when Laurel, his leader on the Green team, tried to console him and said she would do her best to substitute for his mom and dad while he was there and asked if he would give her that chance. It's that kid-sticking-up-for-up-for-kid aspect that I think is going to make this show so cool.


• A couple of the 14 & 15 year old kids from Blue District wrote graffiti on bunkhouses of other districts. I liked it when their fellow teammate Alex, 9 years old from Nevada, said the graffiti was stupid, juvenile, two-year-old behavior. When Greg, the oldest pioneer and ring leader of the graffiti hoodlums asked if the homesick Jimmy wanted to be his "new wingman," even Jimmy had the good sense to say no.


• I liked that Sophia, a Green District 14-year-old from Florida, stepped up when it came to cooking (at least until the Yellow District came in 3rd place in the challenge and, consequently, took over as the town cooks for the next four days). She was also ambitious enough to entertain for tips, helping her afford the general store's bicycle which cost $3.00, when she only started off with 10 cents. Sophia had to step up again and prod kids into cleaning up when the Yellow District refused to clean after they were done cooking.


• Despite Sophia under-estimating the Yellow District's cooking abilities, they did really well. I liked that Sophia was able to admit they did a good job and that kids starting cheering for the good job the Yellow District did.


• This show has earned some controversy, but it doesn't look that bad to me. I think the experiment of having 40 kids build their own society is big enough, so mixing it with the inhabitation of an old west town does go a little far sometimes. For instance, 40 kids having only one outhouse at first seems a little extreme. It also seems weird that kids were sleeping on floors in sleeping bags and that the first challenge involved water when it appeared the weather was chilly when the show was being filmed. Beyond these nitpicks and some other off-camera mishaps that may have happened even with adults around, I'd say the show, when it comes to living conditions and adult presense, isn't too different from summer camp.

Hopes, Concerns, or Expectations for New Season

• One pioneer named Leila, a nine year old on the Yellow District team, is from my home state of North Carolina. So, I'll probably root for her automatically.


• Despite the controversy about this show's handling of child labor and lack of adult supervision, I think it's a relatively harmless show, and I find some of the ways the kids support each other to be uplifting. Sophia and her mom's reactions to her winning the $20K gold star are really genuine and heart-warming. Even graffiti hooldum Greg gave Sophia a hug and said he wanted to win a gold star too. This was one my most anticipated fall shows, and I'm going to continue giving it a chance.

Season Premiere Review: Beauty and the Geek (Season 4)

Beauty and the Geek [s4 ep1]: "A Curveball for the New Contestants"

*** Spoiler Warning ***

Key Plot Points of Season Premiere

• The new 2-hour premiere kicks off with the host, Mike Richards, and last year's unlikely love connection couple, Nate and Jenny Lee, traveling to the following cities for casting: Boston, Mass.; Washington, D.C; my home state's captial, **Raleigh, North Carolina**; Chicago, Illinois; Little Rock, Arkansas; Los Angeles, California; and Las Vegas, Nevada (lots of beauties, no geeks).


• Nine male geeks and nine female beauties are chosen. After the lengthy introductions of contestants on both sides, the cast gets to have an outdoor slumber party in tents on the back lawn.


• For their first challenge, the beauties undergo an intellectual skills analysis and the geeks undergo a social skills analysis. The purpose is to measure how much each contestant needs to improve.


• After the analysis tests, Mike revealed that the lowest scoring beauty Shay and geek Joshua were the winners of the challenge because it showed they had the furthest to go to improve. Their reward was to choose their own teams, and assign everyone else's teams as well.


• After some arguing over strategy, Shay and Joshua chose to team up together, even though they were both the lowest scoring people in the challenge. They slowly reveal their other pairings. Aspiring Playboy model Amanda got her wish to be paired with Asian, bowtie-wearing Tony. David was disappointed to be paired with Jasmine instead of Katie. Overly-bleached "blond" (practically white-haired) Erin was thrilled to be paired with Jesse. Natalie, who looks amazingly like Denise Richards, got John. The quiet Jen got red-headed William, who was hoping to be paired with Rebecca or Hollie and found it hard to hide his surprise and disappointment. Rebecca, the most attractive beauty among them, got Will. Professional Betty Boop Impersonator Hollie got Josh, despite how much Hollie and Luke wanted to be paired together. Luke was left with the sweet and understanding Katie.


• The big "shock" this season is that, for the first time, there will be a tenth team consisting of a female geek and a male beauty.

Opinions and Observations

• I know some people are better at book-smarts than others, and that part of the point of the show is to find female beauties who use their appearance and social skills to survive, but it still astonishes me how uneducated some of them tend to be. One of the frequently asked questions of the potential beauties during casting was, "Who won the Civil War?" Some of the answers were, "Who was that between," and "We did...We win all the wars."




Mike Richards: Who's the current Vice President?
Chicago Beauty: Are you kidding me?!? Pass!! Hehh.
Mike Richards: What's closer, the moon or the sun?
Chicago Beauty: They're both equal. {she says confidently}
Mike Richards: What are the three branches of the U.S. government?
Chicago Beauty: They're's branches?






Mike Richards: How many stripes on the U.S. flag?
Another Chicago Beauty: Fifty-two.
Mike Richards: How many stars?
Another Chicago Beauty: Hmm. Eight?
Mike Richards: What was the last book you read?
Another Chicago Beauty: Well since I've been at school I haven't been reading much because I've had to study a lot.




• The beauties this year look a little better than last year. On average, there seem to be fewer "over-processed" girls. There also seems to be a better balance between blonds and brunettes.


• One brunette named Amanda who may have been "over-processed" but in a good way and in one particular area (if you know what I mean) seemed to be very proud of her enhancement and very open about her ambition to be in Playboy. She has one of the best faces of all the beauties, so with her enhancement included, she should have no trouble getting in the magazine.


• One of my favorite beauties so far is Katie who seems to be sweet and more open-minded about the geeks. She feels sorry for them when they're nervous, said one of them was cute, and said that another was going to be "like a diamond in the rust." (Yes, she said "rust" not "rough.")


• Usually respectful of the unique strengths, weaknesses, and personalities of the contestants, the show hit an uncharacteristic low point with the geeks' social skills tests. They had to draw their ideal woman (hello, what do art skills have to do with this contest?), undergo an ink-blot test (what???), and--most insulting of all--hug and kiss a feminine mannequin. The mannequin test was so absurd and degrading that they only showed three of the geeks take that test (I'd like to think the other six refused). As if the request to hug and kiss a mannequin weren't insulting enough already, the mannequin was leaning back at a bit of an angle, making it physically awkward to even complete the task. Wouldn't it have been just as informative yet less degrading to ask the geeks questions about dating, fashion, romance, etc.?


• The beauties' analysis test wasn't much better. They were given a math problem, which wasn't too bad, especially since they made it a word problem about shopping for clothes. However, they also made the beauties read a paragraph with a few big words in it, which just made the beauties seem illiterate.

Hopes, Concerns, or Expectations for New Season

• I think it's a good idea to switch the genders on one team. I always wondered if they would do a whole season of male hunks and female geekettes. I guess having one team like that this season is the test run for such a thing.


• Overall, I love this show, even though it is hard to endure sometimes. Sometimes I identify with the geeks a little too much, and other times they're so geeky in ways I'm not that it's almost embarrassing to watch. I'd like to think I'm not quite as awkward as these guys are. On the other hand, I almost envy how smart they are.


• I like that the beauties, so far anyway, seem to be sweeter, kinder, and more open-minded than than some of the overly shallow, b**chy contestants they got last year.


• It's too soon to have any favorite teams, but I just hope they keep this a genuine social experiment as they have in the past. I sometimes get emotionally invested in the players the way some people do in sports teams. I'm often impressed and even a little envious as to how much some contestants improve. I hope this season is even more enjoyable than the past ones.