Tuesday, September 18, 2007 Rant Archive
Who of us out there didn’t cry a little when Hiro’s (Masi Oka) first love was killed by the evil Syler (Zachary Quinto?)? Well we will get a chance to relive that romance all over again, and in more depth, thanks to Del Rey Pubishing. I got the news at
The Futon Critic that there is a book in the works about Hiro’s six months in the past, where he met and fell in love with a Texas waitress. This publishing news comes on the heels of the November 7th release of “a graphic novel collection based on the show HEROES, which will feature covers by comic book superstars Alex Ross and Jim Lee,” that I just read about at
DCComics.com.
On top of all that, we also have HEROES:ORIGINS to look forward to this upcoming season as well. While all this news is exciting for fans of this ingenious Sci-Fi show, I just hope they aren’t biting off more than they can chew. Right now this show is fresh and original, but with an influx of mass media devoted to it there is the possibility that the quality will suffer. Not only that, there is such a thing as over saturation. I mean will we get tired of these super heroes and their stories with all this information out there? Granted, Hiro is by far the most interesting character, at least in my humble opinion, so focusing on him is a smart move. He’s really the little engine that could, and now he gets a whole book devoted to him getting the girl. That’s got to give a lot of late bloomers out there a little hope. Of course, I assume his girlfriend still dies, but at least he gets a little more time with her than we saw on the show.
It looks like Santa Claus will be bringing all of us STAR TREK fans a special gift on Christmas Day 2008. I just read on
zap2it.com that “several major leads including Zachary Quinto as young Spock and Anton Yelchin as young Chekov,” have already signed on, and now we know who Uhura will be. Zoe Saldana, who you may know from DRUMLINE and GUESS WHO, will be giving us a look at what the only female lieutenant was like in her early days.
Director-producer, Abrams, is going back to the beginning in this movie. Much like what the STAR WARS franchise did, Abrams plans on turning this installment into a prequel. So many people have invested so much energy and loyalty into STAR TREK that I see this as the franchise giving back to the fans. I mean haven’t we all wondered how these space journeys began? And how about how this diverse group of people from all over the galaxy came together. And with all the other shows that have come out of Gene Roddenberry’s original STAR TREK, it’s nice to get a chance to get reacquainted with the characters we all came to love first.
At the end of last episode, Captain Jack (John Barrowman) offered Gwen (Eve Myles) a job with Torchwood. Of course, Gwen immediately takes it. This week, it’s her first day of work, and what a way to start! When the team goes to investigate a strange comet, Gwen accidentally lets out some glowing gas. Over and over again she apologizes to the team for doing something so careless. Everyone keeps telling her to stop saying she’s sorry, and when she finally gets the hint, Gwen utters words that are a sure sign of something menacing: “It’s just gas. How much damage can it really do?”
Well, that pinkish glowing gas turns out to be a sex-addicted alien that gets its energy from orgasms. Oh yeah, and then it obliterates its victims when it’s done. Now Torchwood must find the woman whom the alien has inhabited and stop her from giving guys the last orgasm they’ll ever have.
This episode kind of reminds me of the second episode of ANGEL called “Lonely Hearts” about an alien that inhabited humans and changed hosts during sex. Hmm…the first episode made me think about BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, and the second made me think of ANGEL. Gee, I need to get out more.
Several years ago, I went to New Orleans for a conference. It was the mid-90s, a full decade before Katrina, and the city was every bit as wild and fun as its legend…and that was in November. Watching the premiere episode of K-VILLE, the Fox Network’s latest police drama to hit the airwaves, I felt a lot of nostalgia for the city I so enjoyed, and a lot of sadness for what has happened, not to mention for what hasn’t happened. All good shows are about more than what they’re about, and K-VILLE, despite the police characters and situations, is really more about New Orleans than anyone living in it.
As the episode opens, it’s September 2005, and Marlin Boulet (Anthony Anderson), a dedicated New Orleans police officer, is doing his damnedest to save the beleaguered residents of the Ninth Ward. Unfortunately, not everyone shares his enthusiasm, and Marlin is abandoned by his partner Charlie (Derek Webster) as the waters rise. Fast-forward two years, and Marlin’s still in the Big Easy, living in his same neighborhood and fighting to reclaim his home, even though his wife and child have moved to Atlanta. Enter Boulet’s new partner, Trevor Cobb (Cole Hauser), a former Army Ranger who has left the service to be a cop. Boulet finds it odd that Cobb would come down from Cincinnati to be a cop, and given the reasonable paranoia and rage leftover from his partner’s betrayal, it makes things a little tense.
It is the inspirational story of Scottish cyclist Graeme Obree, who came out of nowhere to win several world titles. It is the little guy taking on the establishment and winning, a tale of a man overcoming his demons.
Quite frankly, I am a sucker for these kinds of films. I cheered for the HOOSIERS. I still REMEMBER THE TITANS. And when RUDY finally got into a game, my eyes welled up. But in a very manly way.
THE FLYING SCOTSMAN is very much like those films. I loved it. But there was a little problem. The movie was presumably filmed in Scotland and used Scottish actors. Or actors who sounded like they were Scottish; and by sounded like they were Scottish I mean they were indecipherable. There were some sections of the film where I couldn’t make out what was being said. And it’s not like I didn’t try.
In fact, I poured myself a wee dram of whiskey hoping the Scotch would make me more receptive to the Scottish – but sadly that didn’t work.
So it’s the Donatos.
I did what I could but it didn’t matter. It is those two in “The Final Two.” And tonight I had to sit and watch these two knuckleheads reminisce about the highs and lows of the whole summer. They got to bounce off each other how smart and clever and superior they are to rest of the dismissed houseguests.
We got to see Amber cry. And Jameka cry. And Daniele cry. And Jen cry. And Dustin and Eric cry (on the inside). They were all crying because of something Dick said to them at one time or another. Picking apart the morality and intellect of twenty-something reality show contestants is neither profound nor jocund when handled by a bitter old fart, desperately, and with no self-awareness, clinging to his wasted youth. It is in fact rather sad. It is about as sad as watching the “Just For Men” black dye drip from the painfully inappropriate soul patch during his second to last battle with Zach.
It’s no secret that the cable networks run most of their original series over the summer, while their broadcast brethren are knee-deep in re-runs. Sometimes these shows turn out – how to put this delicately? -- not to be as good as the networks had hoped. From this year’s crop, TNT’s HEARTLAND comes to mind. But most often, they’re better than okay – consider DAMAGES and MAD MEN.
It’s very rare that you get extremes – though this summer saw the premiere of two newbies at the complete opposite ends of the quality spectrum. HBO’s JOHN FROM CINNCINATTI was mind numbing, and wasted its potential (not to mention HBO’s money). I don’t think the adjective bad begins to describe it. Unfathomable is better.
And then there was SAVING GRACE, which was in my view superb. If it manages to maintain its first-season quality in the coming seasons, it will rank with some of the best series in the history of television. It manages to entertain while it examines deep moral issues – all without being preachy. It is textured, extremely well written and the acting – particularly Holly Hunter – is equal to anything you’ll see anywhere in terms of both quality and intensity.