Tuesday, November 27, 2007 Rant Archive
With the WGA strike threatening to put HEROES on hiatus for an indefinite amount of time, the show tried to build its “Generations” storyline towards some kind of climax, which will culminate in next week’s Fall season finale.
Peter was able to briefly return to the ominous future where the dreaded Shanti Virus has wiped out 93% of the world’s population—in his mind at least. Was this mental projection some strange amalgamation of Hiro’s and Parkman’s powers? A question worth mulling later, perhaps. Back in the present, Peter and Adam hatched a plan to locate where the Company had hidden the Shanti virus. They would track down the biochemist who first created the virus (a member of the elder Heroes’ clandestine group, now revealed to be the Company) and learn from her where the virus had been stored.
In the first episode of this two-parter, Dan (Kevin McKidd) was instrumental in getting a serial kidnapper off the streets. The only problem, that wasn’t his mission. In last week’s episode of JOURNEYMAN, Dan was sent back to the early 1990s, where he was supposed to help a young girl get her life back on track, after he saved her from said kidnapper. While he was able to do all that, he couldn’t stand by and let the pervert continue to walk the streets. That may sound like a noble thing to do, but time is a tricky thing and now that Dan has messed with it, it could come back to haunt him. In fact, once the kidnapper gets out of jail, he targets Dan and his family to seek his revenge.
Meanwhile, our journeyman still has some time-trippin to do. This week he goes back to 1983, where he finds the origins of a criminal. But that means he has to leave Katie (Gretchen Egolf) to deal with the criminal in their time all by herself. This saving the world one person at a time is a pretty risky proposition. I mean who’s to say Dan is on the right track?
The day after Thanksgiving is approaching, “Black Friday” as it is known in the retail world, and at the BuyMore that means all hands on deck. Even the Nerd Herd has to help out the sales staff. These are the times that try men’s souls and Chuck (Zachary Levi) is going to have to learn to swim with the shopping sharks or die a painful death.
And his chief nemesis and rival for Agent Sarah’s (Yvonne Strzechowski) affections, Bryce Larkin (Matthew Bomer), is back from the dead so there’s that too.
As much promise as this episode held, last week’s was better. Sorry CHUCK fans, but this wasn’t what I was hoping for, and putting aside my expectations, what was here tonight was pretty mundane.
This week our favorite histrionic Irish family decides to celebrate Thanksgiving, and as they’re apt to do, they destroy the spirit of the holiday. Before anything even happens, Rose (Fionnula Flanagan) packs a bag, including a sexy negligee and other sex toys then leaves. On her way out, she runs into her daughter Mary Kate (Kerry O’Malley) and comments to Mary Kate that she’ll have to prepare Thanksgiving on her own. Thanks mom, you’re a giant bitch. Everything that happens from that point on is the sort of chaos that usually occurs anytime a slew of related people come together to celebrate.
Mary Kate manages to massacre the Thanksgiving feast she’s forced into making. The only person that wants to help her is Colin (Brian F. O’Byrne), but Michael sends him on an important job. A job so important that Colin might miss Thanksgiving altogether and that just pisses him off. Colin shows up hours early for the gig and gets stuck ordering pumpkin pie in a crappy diner that doesn’t even have any left—so he flips out on the waitress.
Darn it GREY’S ANATOMY! Why must you do your best to make me cry? There I am, sitting happily on my couch, all critical and judgey, and you have to go and get me weeping like a baby. It’s not right, and not fair! If I am going to cry at least let it be over a dying baby, or love affair gone awry directed by Ang Lee. I don’t want to shed manipulated tears over a bunch of broken EMTs I’ve only just met. Sigh.
I noticed while I was watching the most recent episode of GREY’s, that I no longer pay any attention to a thing Meredith says in her voiceover at the beginning of the show. Seriously. For example, this time I was busy being amused by Christina’s dance moves, and irritated by Meredith’s dickering about Shepard, when I realized that there was still talking going on. Blah blah blah, something about making a difference. I hit fast forward.
I’ve been clamoring for it all season. I’ve been saying, get more Barney (Neil Patrick Harris). He’s the straw that stirs the HIMYM drink. His performances as the shady womanizer has kept this show afloat as it muddles along in an otherwise unremarkable season. Like the Bruce Dickenson calling for more cowbell, I’ve been wanting Harris to really explore the studio space that is Barney Stinson.
Well, CBS finally paid attention, devoting nearly an entire episode to Barney – including a flashback to how he lost his virginity – and at a Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show after party, no less. And you know what? It wasn’t really that funny. Well, so much for that one!