From ABC: Kate's original crime that started her life on the run is revealed. Meanwhile, the survivors lay one of their own to rest, Kate sleeplessly watches over a feverish Sawyer, and Mr. Eko has a surprise for Locke regarding the hatch.
My Rating: 4 out of 4
This week's episode was a bit of a departure from the events in recent episodes of Lost. This episode titled 'What Kate Did' totally focuses on Kate and her past. The hatch also plays an important part in the episode, and we have one shocking ending here that was definitely unexpected.
Early on in the episode, we learn that Kate killed her father. Appears he was abusive to her mother, and he had some sort of sick attraction towards her, but she tells the man that arrests her that he never touched her. Her mother is the one that turned her in. The marshal that was on the plane with her when it crashed picks up Kate. Once he captures her, he tries to figure out why she killed her father because she has had a perfectly spotless record up to this point.
As he keeps questioning her, he turns his focus from her for a split second, and in that moment something crosses the road in front of them. It's raining, and the car ends up going out of control, and there is a car crash. Kate is able to escape after a bit of a struggle, and we don't deal much with her past after this point. Other than a brief visit to her father, the man she thought was her father in any case, her past isn't shown much past her escape.
Her past does play a part in this episode a great deal. When Jack leaves her to attend to Shannon's funeral, Kate is in charge of both looking after Sawyer and the magic button. While alone, she is talking to him, in preparation for feeding him, and he wakes up. He is delirious it seems, and she attacks her. He demands to know why she killed him.
After a commercial break, we see Jack return to the hatch with Locke, but Kate is nowhere to be found, and the alarm is going off with moments to spare. Jack runs in to check Sawyer, finding him on the ground. Locke rushes to input the code and push the button. Once these tasks are complete, Jack goes to find Kate. We see her in the jungle, a bit dazed and confused. In the jungle she bumps into Charlie, but she doesn't stay with him long. Jack also bumps into Charlie, and he gives Jack and idea where to look.
Jack does find her, and the two talk about her leaving the hatch. She doesn't tell him much in the way of answers. However, in a surprising development, she does kiss him. After doing so, she looks even more confused, and she feels she is going crazy. She tells Sayid as much when he finds her at Shannon's grave.
Kate believes that the spirit of her dead father has taken over Sawyer's body in his current condition. She also keeps seeing a black horse on the island, and this is possibly the same horse that crossed the road the night she was first arrested. Kate does end up returning to the hatch much later in the episode, and to a sleeping Sawyer she confronts who she thinks is her dead father. In the middle of her tirade, Sawyer wakes up, and he thinks they have been rescued. He left on the raft before the discovery of the hatch. She takes him outside to show him that they are still on the island, and they both see the horse. She isn't going crazy after all.
The other half of this episode focused on the hatch. Locke shows both Eko and Michael the Dharma film, and this opens up the door to another discovery. Michael begins his own inspection of the hatch, and we learn something new. The hatch has blast doors in cast of explosion. Michael tells Locke this, and then Locke offers to show Michael the video. Eko asks to join them, and they watch the sequence we've seen before a few times.
Eko leaves silently, and returns some time later to talk to Locke. After giving Locke a bit of a history lesson, he brings out the bible the tail enders found at the other bunker. After Eko is done with his story, he hands Locke the bible. When Locke opens it, he finds another role of film inside. This film is part of the missing piece from the film they just watched. Locke splices them back together, and we see a sequence with the scientist telling them to not use the computer for communication purposes.
As soon as this is said, a beeping noise is heard from the computer. Michael is in the computer room looking at the equipment, and he investigates the noise to find someone messaging him. He engages the person in conversation, revealing his identity. And the last thing we see is … Dad? Walt is on the other end? Interesting!
Now here is my theory. The others and the children are in the third bunker we haven't seen yet. They have a similar set-up to the hatch, and they have to go through a similar drill. If one fails, some horrible thing happens. Or perhaps it is a failsafe. If one does fail, the other can prevent another incident. It definitely makes this interesting with Walk communicating with Michael now.
This was a great episode. A break from the previous episodes was definitely welcomed here, and we were able to learn even more about Kate. The extra film find by Eko was good too. I really love his character, and I want to see more interaction between him and Locke. These two should have some interesting conversations that may or may not go over our heads!
Bad news here, the next two episodes are repeats, and the schedule doesn't go past that. So we might not have new episodes until after the holidays. As I've mentioned before the holidays is a bit of a slow down time for television.
Things won't slow down much here on this blog though. I won't be taking time off over the holiday weeks ahead, but I might be a bit less visible. I do have more reviews on the way - some more music and book reviews. Also I have a free spot on my sidebar for a new blog of the week. Blogexplosion members check for my blog and bid. I'll pick a new blog to feature tomorrow!
TV Review: Lost Episode 2.09
TV Review: Bones Episode 1.08
From FOX: Brennan's former forensic anthropologist professor and ex-lover – Dr. Michael Stires, surprises her with a visit to her lab at the Jeffersonian, while in town to interview for a job. While they make plans to have dinner together that evening, Booth wheels in a soiled refrigerator, revealing the decomposed remains of a young woman inside. As Brennan and her team go to work to uncover clues as to what may have happened, Booth discovers an old ransom note sent to the girl's parents shortly after she disappeared. Booth and Brennan determine the supposed kidnapping was a hoax and Booth makes an arrest in the case. When Bones is called in as an expert witness, she is shocked to discover the defense has brought in an expert of their own in "The girl in the fridge."
My Rating: 4 out of 4
We have another excellent episode with Bones and her crew. This time around a decomposed body is found stuffed into a refrigerator and brought to Bones and her team by Booth to investigate. Just before he arrives, a man enters the picture from Temperance's past, her professor and former flame. He immediately starts offering his own assessments of this new case of her, and she sets to work.
We soon discover it is a woman, and she's been dead and in the refrigerator approximately a year. The team also soon fleshes out exactly how she died. Seems she had been tied and bound, held in the refrigerator for a very long time before a drug being administered to her causes her to overdose. There had been a kidnapping case, but it had gone unsolved. Bones and Booth soon also discover that the kidnapping case was merely a ploy to get money out of the girl's family.
She was unhappy, and had made some friends. Not the best kind of friends to make because the couple she had befriended liked the kinkier side of life, and she had joined them in their sex games. The three liked to play a bit too rough, and this is what led to the young girl's death. That and the fact she also suffered from a thyroid condition that caused some of her injuries to be even worse off than normal.
While Bones works on the case, she also rekindles things to an extent with Michael. He has moved in for the duration of his trip, and they have resumed a sexual relationship while he is there. The job interview doesn't end up being the only reason why he is town however. Booth informs her that the couple arrested for the murder of the victim in this case has hired Michael, and this means the two will be going up against each other on either side of the case. She asks Michael to move out, and the two seem to go head to head a bit in this surprising plot twist.
If anyone knows how to discredit Temperance in a case, it would be the man that taught her everything she knows, and that is exactly what we have here in Stires. Plus, the people love him. While she is cold and distant, he is a definite people person that isn't too hard on the eyes either. She has the looks, but she is lacking in the warmth here. The jury preparation person on this case hits Brennan pretty hard when it comes to this point, trying to make Bones act more friendly once she is on the stand. Bones fails in doing this, and once Michael gets on the stand he rips her cold demeanor apart. In order to counteract his testimony, Temperance has to go back on the stand in defense of herself. In order to help win the jury over to their side, the lawyer and Booth bring her life story onto the stand, and this does end up angering Brennan a bit, especially with Booth because she had told him things about her life and the disappearance of her parents in confidence only.
Her emotional response to the question about her parents is what ends up turning the tide in their favor, and the couple is convicted. After the trying day Temperance has had, all she wants to do is bury herself in work, and Booth gives her the perfect opportunity when another body is found. As they begin to work on this case, the scene fades to black, and another episode is done.
Another great episode for Bones this week. I don't think I've had one disappointment when it comes to this series yet. I really enjoyed seeing Temperance break character a bit as she deals with someone from her past. This person allows her to find her a bit of a comfort zone, and we see a bit underneath her cold façade. Similar to how we see her with Angela. However, she is sent teetering off balance when the man she had trusted goes up against her. Definitely an exciting plot twist here. I wonder if we'll be seeing more of Michael Stires in the future. I know I wouldn't mind!
No new Bones next week, but the show will be back on December 13th with a holiday themed episode! See you back for more Bones thoughts then.
TV Review: Surface Episode 1.10
From NBC: When Laura (Lake Bell) and Rich (Jay R. Ferguson) return to the surface from the ocean floor, they realize the boat that took them to this location is nowhere to be found. Meanwhile, Miles (Carter Jenkins) is taken to the hospital after suspiciously passing out in class. Elsewhere, Miles' sister Savannah (Leighton Meester) comes to the realization that her brothers sudden admittance to the hospital may have be a result of a bite mark on his body caused by his former pet Nimrod. Eddie Hassell also stars. TV-PG
My Rating: 4 out of 4
Tonight's episode of Surface was probably the most intense episode of this series yet. The last couple of weeks have left us with cliffhangers, which wasn't the case tonight. However, tonight's episode left us with a bit of a sad ending. This episode actually had me even yelling at the screen in some parts.
At the end of last week's episode, Laura and Rich had somehow made it back to the ocean's surface after the cord that connected them to Jackson's boat was severed, dropping them to the ocean floor. With limited time and oxygen left, they finally made it back. However, there is no Jackson with his boat waiting for them. They also come up during a bad rainstorm. This doesn't make for a good situation. They are adrift, with the creatures of the deep all around them. This doesn't only include the creature, but it also includes anything else that normally resides in the ocean waters, including sharks. Not only are they are adrift, but also their raft is leaking air, so once again their time is limited.
The majority of the episode shows them on the raft, shivering from cold, and dealing with knowing the creatures are nearby. They hear them, and they see bolts of lightning shooting off from the water not very far from where they are. All of this is very bad. At one point a creature comes up under them and destroys what is left of their raft. They then see that the creatures have decided to put a batch of eggs in that area. It seems they are laid down below, and then brought up to the surface before they hatch.
A helicopter does come over their location, attracted by the eerie green light the eggs emit, and the men in the chopper do spot Laura and Rich. The first time they come in for a rescue, a creature comes out of the water and attacks them. They are successful the second time, and it looks like Laura and Rich were able to keep their underwater footage of the creature intact as well. It also appears we have our answer about Jackson. The coast guard finds his boat, and it is covered in blood and shell casings. No sign of Jackson. My guess here is that he is dead.
Well, it looks like the scientists are going to have a field day with the new creature now. Not only will they have the footage shot by Rich and Laura. They also now have a dead specimen of one of the infant creatures in probably the saddest development of this series so far. I'm getting ahead of myself a bit though. The other half of the episode dealt with Miles. Once again Nim has returned to him, but Miles is in bad shape, suffering from the bites he received from the group of creatures he encountered. His parents once again leave on a trip, but they picked the worst possible time to do so. He ends up collapsing in school and is rushed to the hospital. The doctor's aren't too sure of what to make of him; his fever is of undetermined origin. Savannah brings in Nim, and he somehow escapes his carrier.
A search for him is undertaken, and they find him with Miles. He runs, and once again there is a search. This time they find him and corner him. In a sad scene, the hospital security shoots and kills Nim, just as Miles wakes up. Nim appears to die on Miles' lap. When Miles next wakes up, he is well. Nim has somehow healed him before he died, and now the man that is in charge at the aquarium has Nim's body. The episode ends just as it looks like the man is about to perform an autopsy. I was very saddened to see Nim killed. Looking at it though, we knew it would happen sooner or later. He is another creature, and eventually he will be just as big as the ones in the ocean. No matter what the case, it was still sad to see him go.
This was probably the best episode of this series so far. Even though it does have a few small problems. The last minute saves for Rich and Laura when all appears lots both this week and last. We knew they would make it, but still it seemed a bit cheesy that the helicopter got attacked the first time, but the second time there was no creature watching over the eggs. Other than that, this series is a strong series, and I'm really enjoying the journey this series has taken me on.
No previews for next week attached to the end of tonight's episode, so it looks like we have a week off! I'm sure the show will return shortly. Things do seem to slow down a bit over the holidays.
TV Review: Grey's Anatomy Episode 2.10
From ABC: Meredith is mortified when her "one night stand" shows up at the hospital suffering from priapism and needing medical attention; a woman carrying quintuplets is overwhelmed by numerous medical issues as she navigates her high-risk pregnancy; and Alex's shortcomings frustrate Izzie.
My Rating: 4 out of 4
Well, the award for the person I wanted to smack most during this week's episode of Grey's Anatomy titled 'Much too Much ' goes to Alex. We'll get back to that though. This episode, while not the fastest paced of episodes, had a lot going on and was very entertaining and humorous.
I truly felt bad for Meredith in this episode. She has the misfortune of one of her one-night stands coming into the hospital with a bit of a problem. Since he left her house that morning, it seems he can't keep it down. He is suffering from a condition known as priapism. The story of Meredith breaking a man's penis travels through Seattle Grace like wild fire. Bailey, Meredith, and Cristina all work to help solve the man's problem, and it seems that they are successful, but the problem returns on its own. Bailey calls in for a consult from neurology, and Meredith's worst dream comes true. Her ex, Dr. McDreamy, has to work on the man she just slept with hours before. As it turns out the man has a tumor. Derek and Meredith go into surgery, and the problem is taken care of. I really felt bad for Meredith though. Even George and Alex ask her about her breaking a man's penis.
While this case is a bit lighter hearted, the other case that had all the surgeons on call during most of the episode involved a set of quintuplets. The mother has been brought in, and they are trying to prolong the pregnancy as long as they can, so the babies can develop more. As the episode goes along, we learn that this set of babies has a lot going against them. Each of the babies seems to have their own set of health problems. The whole surgical staff will have to work in order to deliver and operate on them once they are out. The mother is overwhelmed as she learns of the different problems her young infant's will face once they are born into the world. The main doctor on this case is Addison, and she has Izzie working under her. By the end of the episode, the woman goes into early labor, and the doctors all have to go to work. The episode ends with them all delivering the babies. This story line will continue on next week's episode as our five interns fight to keep the babies alive.
Another case had Derek and Alex involved. A man that is put in Alex's care. He is not allowed to drink water before his surgery the next day, but he can't help himself. He even ends locking himself in the bathroom and drinking out of the toilet. Once Alex has him restrained, he gives an order to a nurse, and it is the wrong one. It sends the man into an attack, and Derek is definitely not happy with Alex.
As with any other episode, the romantic lives of our interns' plays a huge part. Meredith's broken penis isn't the only thing we see when it comes to her. She seems to have been busy with a number of one-night stands with men she meets at Joe's bar. Steve, the broken penis, is only the last one in a long line of men. By the end of the episode, she realizes she is trying to replace Derek. SO … that story line is far from over. However, it looks like Derek is really trying to make a go of it with Addison. They have sex, which we know doesn't mean much these days! It does show he is trying though. Meredith is showing classic bad behavior. The men, the drinking exhibited in previous episode, and the avoidance. She still loves Derek, but she can't have him. In time, it will get easier as she herself said to Derek in this episode.
A good part of the focus this episode fell on Burke and Cristina this episode. He leaves her his key, and Cristina isn't so sure what to make of it. She does end confronting him on it through the episode, and he says he knows her. She is adamant that he doesn't. He even threatens to leave the relationship if she doesn't begin to give a little. She takes a step, and takes him to her apartment – the pigsty. She is trying.
However, I found myself asking this question during this episode. Is this too soon? Burke even goes so far as to ask Cristina to move in with him. Wow … am I the only one that thinks this relationship is moving a bit too fast? I'm not sure how much time has passed since the beginning of the series. I know the beginning of this season mentioned two months, and it's been about two months since then. Talk about fast moving. To me this is a bit too fast. Burke even threatening to walk away just seemed way off for me.
Alex and Izzie also made a huge appearance in this episode. The two seem to be trying to move their relationship to the next level, but Alex is having a small problem – opposite to the one that Meredith's man had in this episode. The two attempt again in the on call room at the hospital, but Izzie called on her pager. Alex ends up talking to the nurse he'd had a brief fling with early on this season, and he ends up in bed with her. This is after a talk with the other interns about emotions and sex. After this conversation, I almost felt that Alex was having a difficulty in performing because he actually has feelings for Izzie. This might still be the case, but she catches him in the on call room with the nurse, and that is sure going to cause some problems – if not kill the new relationship altogether. I really liked Izzie and Alex together. She made him almost likeable, but I so wanted to smack him this week. He screwed up big here, and in more ways than one.
"Much too Much' was a good episode for this show. I know I say that every week, but I truly think Grey's Anatomy is one of the best shows on television right now. Each week it comes in consistently in the top ten shows for the week, and the past couple of weeks it has entered into the top five. People love this show. Last weekend's show had the highest viewer turnout this season for the series, and I wouldn't be too surprised if the numbers increased as the season progressed. Grey's Anatomy has even won the coveted post – Super Bowl spot this year. That surely will bring in even more viewers. We have another new episode next week. I think we'll return to the more emotional episodes with next week with the quintuplets fighting for their lives.
Don't forget to check out my discussion topic for tonight's episode over at the Media Village forums!
Saturday Night Premiere: The Flight of the Phoenix
This week's Saturday Night Premiere is The Flight of the Phoenix, which premiered tonight on HBO. The movie follows a pilot that is taking a plane full of oil workers back for a company that has given up hope on a women's quest for oil in the desert. On the way to Beijing, they encounter a sandstorm, and the plane crashes. The plane is a total loss, and the group has very little food and water. At first the captain of the plane decides they should wait it out for help to arrive.
One man, Elliot played by Giovanni Ribisi, proposes that they build a new plane using the old one, and he tells them that he knows just how to do it too. Well, at first Townsend, the captain played by Dennis Quaid, tells him no, but once he gets too many speeches about giving up and not even trying, he does change his mind. The group sets out to work. First, they work at night in order to conserve water and energy, but they need to move the work to days once things get a little shaky. Turns out they aren't alone in the desert. There are nomads, and they have no problems with shooting people.
The group does try to communicate with this group, but only costs them another man when they shoot him. Even with all of the problems the group does complete a plane. They are almost out of water, and they lost most of their fuel in an explosion, but they do have enough to just make it. That is if the plane even gets off the ground. They have no seats and no covering. All they have to hang onto are windows taken from the plane and used somehow to make something for them to hold onto.
However, a problem does arise after the plane is done. As it turns out Elliot hasn't been totally truthful. Yes, he works for a company that builds planes, but not planes that carry people in them. Turns out he works for a company as a designer of model airplanes. There is no guarantee that his design for the plane, which as been dubbed The Phoenix, will make it off the ground at all. This causes some tense moments, and one of the men even threatens to shoot Elliot. Elliot has been on a bit of high and mighty power trip since work on the plane began, so they definitely aren't happy with him.
To make matters even worse, a sandstorm comes in and topples their newly created plane. It looks like all is lost, but the captain takes charge once again, and the group that is left works together to fig out the plane and get it ready for take-off. After another tense few moments of trying to get the plane started, the plane is able to run, but they have one last hurdle. The group of nomads makes another appearance, chasing the plane until it runs off a cliff and takes off. The group makes it home.
This movie is a remake of a 1965 movie starring James Stewart. I never saw the original version, so I really can't speak to whether or not this movie was as good as the original. Remakes usually aren't in my opinion, but I can say that I liked this movie. It had the right mix of suspense, action and humor to make it enjoyable for me. The cast has a few familiar faces as well. The Flight of the Phoenix is definitely worth a pick up on DVD or a viewing on cable if you happen to catch it.
My rating: 3 out of 4
What's the buzz and my Blog of the Week
Hi everyone! Hope all of you that celebrate today had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday spent with family and friends. This weekend is going to be a bit on the slow side because so many programs aren't on, but there is just that many that are as well. These are the stories I've covered over the last few days on my TVfanBlog at Media Village. Thoughts from the Couch is now one of the sites HOT blogs, but it isn't the only one. Check out the site and you'll find other blogs, polls, news, and forums all centered on television and related media.
Now onto the news!
There were a couple of other news pieces as well such as my look at this week's DVD releases. I'm expecting a slow weekend news wise due to the holiday.
Check out my new Blog of the Week on my sidebar. This week we have Pond Perspective! One women's take on life told from the perspective of a frog! Before I forget, for all you blogazoo loving folks, I have a new gazoo.
TV Review: Lost Episode 2.08
From ABC: Tempers flare when Ana Lucia and her group stumble upon Sayid and the other castaways.
My Rating: 4 out of 4
Tonight's episode of Lost titled 'Collision' was probably the most powerful episode of the season so far in my opinion. So much happened, and everyone was involved in tonight's episode. This was also an Ana Lucia flashback episode, so we finally learn some of her secrets. We finally know why she is the way she is, and it made me like her just a bit more. I know Ana Lucia is getting a lot of flack throughout the fandom for killing Shannon, but with tonight's episode we finally know why she is so hard. She really had it rough back home in Los Angeles. We'll get back to that though.
This episode picks up right where the last two episodes had left off. Yes, remember we did the same thing they did with the premiere episodes this season. We saw a scene play out on two different episodes from different points of view. Not sure how much I like this plot device in this show, but its working for now. Let's hope the writers don't overuse it.
As soon as Sayid sees Shannon is dead, he goes after Ana Lucia, and Eko then takes him down. A battle ensues, and Ana Lucia finally takes Sayid captive. She seems really unstable in this scene, and during this entire episode. She has them tie Sayid up to a tree, but no one really wants to do it. It is understandable why he lashed out. The woman he loved just got shot. Anyone in his place would act in the same manner.
They all want to head back to the camp, but Ana Lucia is determined to stay where she is. Eko makes a decision on his own to take Sawyer to the camp and find the doctor. He leaves against her wishes, but she can't do anything to stop him. He carries Sawyer on his back because they used the vines on his make shift stretcher to tie up Sayid. He does find Jack and Kate, and we have a tense moment, but we then see Jack taking him and Sawyer to the hatch.
This is the first time hatch has made an appearance in awhile. You had to wonder why such a big deal was made about it in earlier episodes this season because it appeared to be all forgotten in more recent episode airings. The hatch is still there; Locke is on button duty this time around. Jack has Kate help him treat Sawyer, and we can see that Kate is obviously affected by the reappearance of Sawyer.
The two treat him, and Sawyer is really bad off in this episode. Jack goes to work on trying to set things right, and then he leaves Kate to watch over him. He finds out from Eko about Shannon, and his first thought is of revenge, especially when Michael shows up after finding Sun. Ana Lucia has sent him back to the camp to obtain a few items for herself – basic necessities of survival on the island type stuff. Eko stops Jack and Michael as they are about to leave the hatch to go back to find Ana Lucia and the others. Eko is able to talk some sense into Jack, and they leave together for the others.
By the time they arrive though Ana Lucia has let everyone else go, except for Sayid. When the two are alone, we learn even more about Ana Lucia. The two swap stories about their lives, and what they have done. Ana Lucia doesn't tell him everything though. We learn a lot about Ana Lucia in this episode. We learn she is a cop from the L.A.P.D., and she was shot on duty. The man that shot her used hollow points that were able to pierce through her bulletproof vest. Now she is a bit on the trigger-happy side. This explains why she shot Shannon so quickly.
We also learn that instead of allowing the man be arrested and tried, she finds him herself once the police find him, and she kills him. Turns out when she was shot, she was pregnant. So now we can really understand why she is so worried about the children, and why she is as cold as she is. She already considers herself dead, and so does Sayid. Now with Shannon gone, he really has nothing on the island to live for. These two actually bond, and for some reason I think we'll see these two connect on some level eventually. Not immediately, but eventually.
We had some lighter moments during this episode as well. Earlier in the episode before the arrival of Sawyer is returned, Kate and Jack partake in a friendly game of golf. I love when these two bounce off of either with their one-liners. They are fun and flirty and just plain great, but I think we're really seeing who will win Kate's heart here, unless something drastic happens. It just might because the previews for next week really hinted at some changes on the way.
We also see the rest of the survivors reach the camp of the front-enders. Michael is reunited with Vincent, Jin is reunited with Sun, and we finally see Bernard reunited with his wife Rose. She never gave up hope. She was adamant that he was indeed alive, and she was right. This final scene of the episode definitely made me cry. It was great to see everyone back together, and it was just in time for Thanksgiving tomorrow too. Nice touch by Lost I think.
This episode was just amazing. The right mix of humor early on with powerful scenes and emotions throughout. I really enjoyed this episode a great deal. We have another new episode coming to us next week.
If you missed tonight's episode, you can download it via Itunes tomorrow. Check for the link to that on my sidebar! Don't forget, if you want to discuss this episode with others, you can hop on over to my discussion topic for tonight's episode at the Media Village forums here.
TV Review: Supernatural Episode 1.10
From WB: Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) investigate an abandoned sanitarium and discover that when the hospital was open, the patients held a revolt against the cruel and unusual punishments inflicted by the head doctor. While the brothers search the premises for four lost college students, the tortured spirits cause them to go insane, turning Dean against Sam.
My Rating: 3 out of 4
This week's episode titled Asylum finds the Winchester brothers sent off on a case by what appears to be there father, when a mysterious text message comes through on Dean's cell phone containing coordinates. Even though Sam is reluctant to go, Dean is adamant that they do once he researches the case. Turns out a cop killed his wife and then himself following a call to the Asylum. This occurrence is what opens tonight's episode. We see the man shoot his wife, and we also see him venturing through the Asylum with his partner.
The brothers head off to the town the Asylum is located, immediately jumping in and trying to find out what they have on their hands here. The Asylum definitely has a checkered past, and several deaths occurred at the location. The spirits are obviously still in residence. The brothers venture into the asylum during the light of day, and they do pick up some weird readings. They joke around a bit about Sam's newly discovered ESP powers. However, Sam is adamant he just feels things from time to time, and it isn't that big of a deal.
Things are also a bit sketchy when it comes to their dad. Dean thinks their father wants them to investigate the Asylum because he sent them there. He might even possibly end up joining them there. Sam feels they are in the wrong place, and they need to be looking for their dad. After some heated words, they find some new evidence, and decide they want to learn more about one of the doctor's from the facility and more about what happened in the asylum's south wing.
In order to do this, Sam goes into see a psychiatrist that is related to the doctor, posing as a patient. Instead of talking about himself, he tries to pump the man for information, and he is successful. He learns there was a riot in the south wing, and several people died. Some bodies were never discovered. They decide to return to the asylum that night. However, they aren't the only ones that idea.
We jump to the asylum, and a young couple has just entered. Apparently walking through a creepy haunted mental asylum is his idea of an ideal date. The date isn't amused, but she sticks with him for a bit - that is until he goes somewhere she doesn't want to, and he leaves her. He does get some payback He meets up with a spirit he thinks is his girlfriend and she lands a big kiss on him.
Soon after Dean and Sam arrive, they have their own encounter with one of the asylum spirits. Sam notices the ghost isn't trying to harm him, but Dean has sent her on her way by then anyway. They found the girlfriend, and then separate to find her boyfriend. Sam finds him, and he is unharmed as well. Just a bit grossed out by the kiss he shared. After the girlfriend has her own encounter, the four try to leave the asylum, but they discover they are locked in by one of the spirits. They definitely do not want them to leave. In order to get out, Sam and Dean must find out which spirit is holding them hostage and dispatch them.
Sam figures the ghosts are trying to tell them something, and the ghost that encounters Kat tells her a room number, 137. The brothers think this room might lead them to the solution of getting out of there. The group separates, and Dean goes to find the room. While Sam is with the others, he gets a call, and it seems it is from Dean. He goes off to find Dean, but Dean shows up back where the couple is waiting.
Sam was tricked, and he encounters the spirit causes all the evil happenings in the asylum. He somehow possesses Sam, and when he Sam finds him, they have a show down. Sam says some things, and we have even more development of the brother's relationship and the problems in it. After Dean handles Sam, he goes about finding the doctor's body and destroying it. Once that is done, and they are free to go, and Sam is fine. Sam does apologize for what he says, but we know that is how he feels. The episode ends with another surprise twist - a call from their father.
A good episode, but not really all that scary in my mind. This episode helped us develop the characters and their relationship more than anything else. I really enjoy this show a great deal, and it keeps getting stronger with each week. I can't wait to see if it was their father that called. We'll have to wait a couple of weeks though it looks like; the WB is airing a movie next week in Supernatural's time slot.
TV Review: Bones Episode 1.07
From FOX: Condemned man Howard Epps is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection in 32 hours for the murder of 17-year-old April Wright. Epps' attorney, Amy Morton, makes a last minute appeal to Booth, the man who arrested Epps, to re-examine the case. Booth believes Epps is guilty, but acknowledges that the case has a few loose ends. He asks Dr. Temperance Brennan and her team of squints to review the evidence and confirm Epps' guilt. But when Brennan finds forensic anomalies in the case, and Booth turns up evidence that another man was with April Wright the night she died, they must race against the clock to stay the execution in the "The Man on Death Row."
My Rating: 4 out of 4
Usually Dr. Temperance Brennan is on the case to find a killer based on the findings she discovers as she examines the victim's bones. This week, she is working against the clock to find out if a man serving on death row, hours away from execution, is in fact the murderer of a teenage girl seven years before. Booth was the FBI agent on the case, and he is the one responsible for sending the man to prison. He asks Bones to look into the case because there are now doubts whether or not the man in jail for the crime actually did the murder. He wants her to confirm they do indeed have the right man.
As with any Bones episode, we have a number of twists and turns that make this show what it is - a smart drama with good characterization and story lines on a weekly development. Brennan jumps straight into the case, knowing she has only a day to find out if the man convicted is indeed guilty. A new suspect also comes to light - the lawyer mentor of the young woman killed. Turns out they were having an affair. Does that fact make him her killer? Booth thinks it is possible, or at the very least worth looking into - especially after Bones finds some interesting forensic evidence that point away from the killer Epps. Bones even has the body of the victim exhumed for further examination.
With the more evidence that comes to light, the more it looks like the man may be in fact innocent, but time is running out, and the judge on the case isn't ready to offer a stay of execution without concrete proof that the man is innocent. This puts a time crunch on Bones and her team, and they definitely have to work fast. All the new evidence they have found points to a field outside of a chemical processing plant. Once the FBI gives them some reluctant assistance, they find which plant, and begin to look for the murder weapon.
However, they find much more than just a tire iron used to kill April Wright. They find a grave with several other bodies, some as old as ten years old. They have been had by the suspect. With the discovery of the new bodies, he will get his stay of execution, but he is also the one guilty. He knew they would find the bodies, and he knew the discovery would give him added life, possibly even long enough that the death penalty will no longer be an option.
A majority of the focus of this episode was on the race against the clock for this case, but we also see Angela dating. She goes out with a man it appears she met via the Internet. When Brennan calls her back in to help her work on the case, she brings her date along, but he isn't too enthused to be there after awhile. Once they return with the exhumed corpse of April Wright, he runs out after calling Bones and her squints all freaks. Poor Angela.
Brennan also has an interesting conversation with Amy Johnson about her and Booth. Bones now says she as absolutely no interest in Booth. Is this possibly a case of the lady doth protest too much? We'll definitely have to wait and see, especially since it now appears Booth might be girlfriendless. That isn't definite, but after the botched trip last episode a break-up is likely.
Another excellent episode of Bones. This show is witty and intelligent, with moments of humor thrown in when appropriate. I'm really enjoying this television show, and I fall in deeper with each new episode that air. We have another new episode next week.
TV Review: Surface Episode 1.09
FROM NBC: As Laura (Lake Bell) and Rich (Jay R. Ferguson) race against time in a submersible they realize the "unidentified species" are laying thousands of eggs on the ocean floor. Meanwhile, Miles (Carter Jenkins) hears a report of a vicious attack on two electricians working on a marine dock, and suspects that Nimrod may be the culprit. Elsewhere, Phil (Eddie Hassell) stakes out an underwater power cable in hopes of finding Nimrod only to discover Nimrod now has a lot of underwater friends. Ian Anthony Dale and Leighton Meester star.
My Rating: 4 out of 4
This show just keeps getting better and better with each week that passes. Last week's episode left us with a huge cliffhanger, and tonight's episode did as well. Tonight's episode opens with a Lee finding Laura, Rich and Jackson's hide out, and the sea orchid she had found. Lee and his men know they have just missed Laura, and somehow they also know they have gone down below the surface of the ocean.
We jump to just that place with Laura and Rich. We last saw their man made submersible falling down a hole in the ocean after the cable that attached them to Jackson's boat on the surface appears to have broken. They fall down to the very bottom of the ocean; landing in what we later find out is a bitching zone for the creatures. They are surrounded by hundreds of the creatures it seems, and they are all laying eggs.
Air is in short supply, and they only have about an hour left when the episode opens. They spend the episode trying to figure out a way to get the life raft attached to the top of the submersible to hatch. At first, they don't even have power to get it to do that. However, Rich is able to restore power. Even then the raft doesn't inflate because it is stuck against the bottom of the submersible with the way it landed.
It starts to look pretty grim for Laura and Rich. They are running out of air fast, and if they don’t find a way to get to the surface and quick they won't survive. After sitting there until there air is almost gone and death is inevitable, they finally decide to attract the attention of the creatures to see if they can knock them loose enough for the raft to inflate. They are successful, and the raft does take them to the ocean's surface. However, they have rough seas, and it appears Jackson and his boat is gone.
Is Jackson another victim of the creature? We do know they can grow big enough to eat a boat whole. We also know there is no sight of a boat on the surface because a distress call Laura is able to send out is picked up and sent to Lee. The man that tells Lee about says there are no boats on the surface over the location Laura gives.
Now here is my question. Why didn't Laura and Rich try to attract the attention of the creature sooner? They actually turned off the lights to avoid it early on in the episode, but with the raft being stuck against the ocean floor and air running out, they really didn't have many options open to them. They wait until the very last scene of the episode to attract a creature to jar the submersible loose and go to the surface. I guess if they had done it sooner, we wouldn't have had much of an episode.
Laura and Rich aren't the only thing happening in this episode. In one of the opening scenes we see a man killed by what appears to be Nim or another creature like him. Miles hears about the killing, and he is worried they will go after the creature in question and find Nim, but Nim we learn has been captured in a fisherman's net, and is on a boat. He causes some trouble for the fisherman, and they lock him up in the freezer. He somehow breaks the freezer, and when they find he has done that he attacks the men on the boat. They do capture him, but he shocks one and they drop the bag they placed him in and he dives back into the ocean. Somehow by the end of the episode, a much larger and angrier Nim has found his way back to Miles and his home.
However, Miles is a bit worse for wear. In an attempt to find Nim before the men looking for him do, he attracts the others like Nim and they attack him. He is able to get away though, but we now see a pack of wild creatures like Nim out in the wild, and they are killing anything they can. This is not good. Nim was at least raised somewhat by a human. This pack of creatures hasn't been, and we are now seeing what the world will be like once more creatures invade. Just last week on my media blog, I proposed the theory it was the infant creatures like Nim off on a killing spree, and it is good to know I was correct with this train of thought.
Surface is becoming a really great television show. Early episodes were a bit slow, but now the pace is picking up a bit. I really love this show and its slow development. This program is also visually enjoyable. The creature sightings are amazing, and I really can't wait to see what happens next week. Laura and Rich may have made the surface, but that is just the beginning of their journey.
Weekend Buzz
A relatively quiet weekend in the entertainment news world, so there isn't much to report on this weekend. Here are some of the stories buzzing in TV land and some random observations myself for the weekend over at the Thoughts from the couch.
Movie Releases 11/18/05 - Read about the new movies hitting the theaters this weekend and then see how they did in this weekend's box office update.
Don't forget to check out my Blog of the Week. That title will become available Tuesday, so check out Blog Explosion if you want to claim that spot on my sidebar for your own. As you can see the design on this blog has changed a bit. I wanted a new look, so there we have it. Have a great night everyone.
TV Review: Grey's Anatomy Episode 2.09
From ABC:The Thanksgiving holiday is more difficult for the interns and residents than any of them is willing to admit, as Izzie plans a big dinner at Meredith's -- but it remains to be seen who among the invited guests will actually show up. Meanwhile, George endures the O'Malley tradition of hunting turkeys with his less-than-sophisticated family, and Meredith treats a patient who's been in a vegetative state for 16 years.
My Rating: 4 out of 4
The Thanksgiving holiday has arrived a bit early this year, at least in respect to the interns and staff at Seattle Grace. It is early Thanksgiving morning when our show opens, a show titled "Thanks for the memories" – reminds me a bit of Bob Hope. Am I the only one? Izzie has made plans for herself and two roommates to cook a huge Thanksgiving feast. However, Meredith and George have other ideas. The men in his family drag off George to perform a manly family ritual – killing his first turkey. Meredith sneaks out the front door and heads into the hospital.
Meredith isn't the only staff member venturing in during the holiday. Derek, Bailey, Webber and Burke all are in residence once she arrives. She also has to deal with a temporary attending covering the ER with most of the staff not staying throughout the day. Meredith and Bailey are assigned to a man that is brought in to the ER in a vegetative state from a nursing home. The man has been in that state for the last sixteen years. When Meredith begins to work on him, he waking up gives her a shock. Didn't we see this story line a few episodes back on ER?
In either case, Meredith sees his eyes open and focus on her, and she is adamant that he has woken up. Even after both Bailey and Derek tell her it is likely he just opened his eyes out of some muscle reaction. Derek does concede to check on him, and once she begins to speak, he agrees that the man is coming out of his vegetative state because he is focusing his attention on her voice. They only have to fully wake him up. The two doctors call in his family, and learn that his wife has moved on and married someone else, and he has a seventeen year old he hasn't seen since the accident that put him in that state.
Meredith sits to wait for him to wake up, and she discovers she isn't the only one hiding out at the hospital on Thanksgiving. Alex has also come in that day instead of going to Thanksgiving with Izzie. The two share a bonding moment, and immediately afterwards the man wakes up. He isn't even aware how long he has been out, and the task of telling him exactly how long when the man asks her to. Definitely not a task she wanted, but she takes it.
Once he is awake, Derek and Meredith have a MRI done, and immediately find that the fall that sent him to the ER did injure his brain and if he doesn't have an operation he will die. However, there is a chance he will die on the table anyway. The man asks for Meredith's opinion, but she tells him she can't tell him what to do. He ends deciding to go ahead with the surgery, and Derek is the one to perform it. Meredith needs to remain on the floor due to the low amount of staff working the holiday. However, she does eventually try to scrub in, but she does so just as the man flat lines.
After this happens, both Meredith are saddened by loss of the man. Before the end of the episode, we see these two share a moment outside the hospital that I believe marks the end of the relationship between Meredith and Derek. She says good-bye, and we can see by the way she acts at the bar she is ready to move on, or at the very least try to. We see Derek finally end up at home with Addison, and it looks like these two are on their way to mending their relationship.
While all this is happening, Izzie is back at Meredith's trying to cook a dinner for the holiday. She isn't alone for long because soon after Burke leaves the hospital, he arrives at the home with Cristina. The bartender Joe even shows up with his boyfriend. Yes, I said boyfriend. I don't think I saw that one coming. I'm not sure if that little tidbit of information had ever been revealed prior to tonight, but it sure did make for a nice little addition to his character. I really love Joe.
Cristina begins by telling Burke pointers on how to act during the dinner, and then starts looking for alcohol because she can't live through the day without it. When none is found in the house, she leaves with Burke's car to find some. Instead of looking for booze, she ends up at the hospital as well. This leaves Burke, who likes to be called Preston, with Izzie, and he helps her cook dinner. Apparently his mother owns a restaurant, so he definitely knows his way around the kitchen. Between the two of them they cook a feast, but soon they are the only ones there to eat it. Everyone else is at the hospital.
Even George makes his way there after a day spent with the O'Malley men. One of his brothers shoots their father in the ass, so a trip to the ER of Seattle Grace is necessary. While George is working on his father, they are able to have a long talk, and it is definitely a family bonding moment.
Preston and Izzie also bond while cooking, and her speech about Thanksgiving and why she likes the holiday so much shows a lot about her character, and I thought it was probably the best dialogue by her all season. She isn't all that happy Alex hasn't shown up at the dinner either.
When George realizes the interns are all at the hospital instead of at Meredith's, it appears he drags Cristina back. Meredith goes home but doesn't go inside. Alex shows up on his own just before Meredith leaves and makes her way to Joe's bar. This is immediately following her talk with Derek, so it is understandable she wants to be alone, but her heading to the bar is becoming a habit. Are we seeing a possible alcoholism problem being developed here? Only time will tell. As the episode closes, we see the group of SGH staff gathered in the kitchen sharing Thanksgiving happily. We also see Meredith picking up a guy at Joe's bar.
"Thanks for the memories" was a good lighthearted but also sad episode of Grey's Anatomy. This episode had a good mix of both, and it was a perfect episode to air right before the holiday. I really love this show, and I can't wait for yet another new episode next week. That will make episode number ten. This show hasn't taken a break yet!
Don't forget to check out my Grey's Anatomy forum over at Media Village forums. I have a discussion topic set for tonight's episode here.
Check back soon for an updated music guide of songs used on tonight's episode of Grey's Anatomy!
Saturday Night Movie Review: The Skeleton Key
This week's Saturday Night Movie is a new movie released on DVD just this week. I had the fortunate opportunity to review this new DVD for Blogcritics. My review will appear on that site in the days to come.
The Skeleton Key is a supernatural thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat for over ninety minutes, and then pushes you off the edge with a surprise ending I never even saw coming. I wasn't fortunate enough to catch this film when it hit the big screen, but I'm glad I've had the opportunity to check this movie out on DVD.
The film tells the story of hospice worker, Caroline, played wonderfully here by actress Kate Hudson. She answers an ad placed in a local paper looking for a hospice care worker for a family out in the bayou of Louisiana, an hour from where she lives in New Orleans. She never expects when she takes on the position caring for an elderly man in his last month of life would forever change hers, but that is exactly what happens here.
The movie then takes us on a journey into the hoodoo subculture prevalent in the bayous. As Caroline learns more about it, so do we. Spooky occurrences fill this movie, including the story of what happened to two servants in the house many years ago. These servants are quite important to the story. Caroline believes the answers to the house's mysteries lie in the locked room in the attic, which she finds soon after she moves into the home. The skeleton key the mistress of the house gives her doesn't open the door, and it should open every door in the house, including that one. This raises her curiosity, and she begins to question things. The more Caroline learns about hoodoo, the more she believes, and this is what seals her fate.
This movie in my mind is one of the best supernatural thrillers I've seen since the Sixth Sense. Kate Hudson and Gena Rowlands both provide outstanding performances in this film, and the end of the movie will definitely shock you and leave you wanting more. The movie was shot in Louisiana, both in the bayous and New Orleans. It was a bit sad to see this area, since we now know that much of it was ravaged when Hurricane Katrina hit a few months ago.
Not only is the movie excellent, but also the DVD is a real deal that you would want to at least consider adding to your collection if you're a fan of the movie. It is chocked full of bonus features that make this definitely worth the buy. Not only do you have behind the scenes features and over twenty minutes of deleted scenes from the movie, the DVD also contains a look at the hoodoo/voodoo culture, a documentary of the music in the film, and so much more. Definitely pick up this DVD for a good movie and a little bit of knowledge that will take you even further into the story of the film.
What's the Buzz ...
These are some of the things buzzing in TV Land since my last post here! These are taken from my media blog Thoughts from the Couch, which I update several times a day.
That's it for now. I'll be back with more news. If you want to know about the posts as they happen, just check my sidebar for my headline feed! It's updated as I update! Don't forget to check out my Blog of the Week. Julie has a great blog. Definitely worth a look.
TV Review: ER Episode 12.08
From NBC: Neela (Parminder Nagra) thinks that she is going on a routine ambulance ride-along with Gates, (Guest Star, John Stamos), and soon finds herself in the middle of an emergency, attending to a plane crash site where many are injured and trapped inside a burning building. Meanwhile, the ER opens to trauma victims of the plane crash and Sam (Linda Cardellini) struggles with an executive decision that could cost her her job. Neela's (Parminder Nagra) bravery has won the respect of her co-workers and especially Gates the ambulance driver but, her day is not over when she receives a surprise.
My Rating: 4 out of 4
I'm not sure what has happened from the start of the season till now, but tonight's episode of ER called 'Two ships' reminded me of why I fell in love with this show to begin with. Could it be the addition of Clemente spicing things up? Or is this just show just that damned good? I'm not sure which of the two it is, but this episode was the best of the season.
We start this episode like any other day. Abby wakes up in bed with Luka at his place. Everyone else is busy at the ER. Neela is finally doing her paramedic ride along she has need to, and she thinks she is in for just another normal day. How wrong is she huh? Soon after the episode starts, Pratt is on the roof to witness the crash of a plane in mid-air, the plane falls to the ground and lands on an apartment building. There are lots of serious injuries here. Neela is one of the first to arrive with Gates, once again played by John Stamos, and he talks her through what she needs to do. There is complete and utter chaos on scene and many are dead. Those that aren't dead are severely injured and will soon be dead. We have injured both from the plane and the ground.
So much is going on, but as always a few cases stand out. One being of a mother from the building played by guest star Serena Williams. She runs out of the building with her daughter, but her son is still trapped inside. Against orders of the police to stay out of the building, she runs back in with Neela following to help Gates find her son. Soon after she does that, there is an explosion. The mother is impaled, and Gates is injured. Neela makes a decision to stay and go for the boy, even with everyone else telling her to leave the building. She finds him and is on her way out when a piece of the building falls and blocks her way out. She eventually does find her way out of the building, but she suffers from smoke inhalation.
Once outside, she treats Gates as well, and then heads back to the ER with Pratt. Pratt has been sent out to the scene by Clemente to work on amputation. The man is fairly bad off, and they soon learn the only way he will live is if they keep compressing his heart, which they do until his family can arrive and they can be with him as he dies - a heart breaking scene during tonight's episode.
Meanwhile back at the ER, they are receiving patients from the incident, and we see everyone involved. Clemente and Luka once again go head to head once he arrives with Abby. They both had the night off, but they came in when they heard the crash. The plane hit close enough to shake up Luka's apartment a bit.
Eve is on her way out of town, and when the plane does crash, Sam seems to be the only one that even spares a moment to consider if the plane that crashed was the one Eve took off on. Sam is in charge of the ER nurses, and she does well. They were short staffed at the beginning of the episode, and with the trauma this makes things even more difficult. She makes a command decision and calls back in Nurse Helah to help with the trauma. Those of the staff that see her are happy she's back. When Even returns to the ER, she even commends Sam on her decision to bring Helah back in.
Once things are settled down, Luka and Abby are able to finally talk about what's happening between them. In an awkward scene, the two decide to remain just friends, but the looks between them tell me this won't last for long. There is some definite tension when it comes to the two of them. Abby sticks around after he leaves. She also is the one that treats Neela for her breathing, and she tries to get Neela to stay, but she is determined to go home.
She even leaves when Abby tells her she slept with Luka. "Nice try," she said. Good thing she returned home though because just as she is opening the door, a taxicab pulls up and someone steps out. Gallant is home, and the first one he went to go see is Neela. I think I jumped out of my chair when I saw he was there, and I might have screamed. I love these two together. Although, I have noticed something between Ray and Neela, that looks to be mute point though after what they showed in tonight's previews for the next new episode. I got a little teary eyed even when they were hugging in the middle of the street at the end. She'd wanted him back for so long, and he arrived the night she probably needed him the most. She had a few scary moments in the building, and for a moment or two it looked like she wouldn't make it out. It all worked out though, and now she has her man back.
This episode was excellent television. Early episodes this season had left me really wanting more. Even with the addition of Kristen Johnston, things didn't really pick up. Things really started moving in the right direction with the addition of John Leguizamo, and I think he has made all the difference to this show. There were so many awesome lines on tonight's episode. I was really pleased, and I can't wait for the next new episode. Not sure if that will be next week since it is Thanksgiving, but whenever it is I know I'll be watching.
TV Review: The O.C. Episode 3.07
From FOX: When the gang heads to The Bait Shop to see The Subways, Taylor’s horsing around causes a major rift between Seth and Summer. Marissa, determined to end the potentially explosive conflict between Ryan and Volchok, does whatever it takes to watch out for Ryan. Meanwhile, Matt, Sandy’s Newport Group partner, goes above and beyond the call of duty. Julie Cooper reigns supreme as the only “b!tch” in Orange County, and Ryan needs to use his head for once.
My Rating: 3 out of 4
Tonight's episode of The O.C. titled 'The Anger Management' deals with a lot of issues. Once again everyone is involved in keeping this show going. The main plot of tonight's episode follows Ryan. On last week's episode, he punched the guy Johnny's girlfriend cheated with. Now Volchok is after Ryan to settle the score. He shows up everywhere Ryan is – the diner, school, and the Bait Shop. He ever leaves a nice little note on the side of Sandy's SUV, which Ryan appears to be borrowing. This guy is intent on fighting Ryan, and Ryan is doing all he can to avoid doing that.
He goes to Sandy for his advice, and he is told to use his head for once and not his fists. When Marissa goes off with Volchok the night of the charity fundraiser Charlotte, Kirsten and Julie are holding, Ryan runs to her rescue. He decides to follow Sandy's advice and go a bit over the edge in trying to get Volchok to fight him – like Volchok wanted in the first place. However, the aggressive stance that Ryan took has the desired effect – Volchok backs off.
However, I'm a bit concerned here. In a scene later on in the episode, Ryan waits until Marissa returns home to punch his punching bag. He isn't just punching it though. If that were a person, the force he is using would be enough to cause some bodily injury to them. I think Ryan is holding a lot inside him. He has changed, but the instincts to act out are still inside him. He is just holding them in check, but at what cost? Is it possible that we are heading for a Ryan explosion? Or will he learn how to handle his outbursts and in time be able to handle them better without the awful after effects? Only time will tell.
Since I mentioned the charity function already, let's move onto that. This is the big night Charlotte was waiting for. Her and Julie have set things up with Kirsten's help, and the money is rolling in. Five thousand a plate certainly does add up quickly doesn't it? However, Julie is starting to have second thoughts. She doesn't want to hurt anyone if things are discovered. Charlotte has prepared for this eventuality and keeps Julie in check by threatening to expose her to the cops. Julie holds back, but not for long.
On the night of the event, Julie pulls a fast one on Charlotte when she tells those making donations to send them to the national organization instead of signing it over to Charlotte. The other woman confronts her, and Julie tells her straight out that there is room for only manipulative bitch here! The best line of the night, and Julie Cooper is back. Of course this means she is back at square one, but she should have a bit better footing now, and she knows she has Kirsten on her side.
This isn't all that happens though. We also see Seth and Summer in action during this episode. They actually act like a couple, which is shocking. In past episodes before the hiatus, viewers were left wondering if they were actually a couple. There is no question of that here now though. As soon as Taylor starts to work her way into stealing Seth away, Summer certainly let's her and him know that he is her boyfriend, and that is that. Seth is really just trying to be a nice guy, and Taylor is going overboard. She is looking for someone to latch onto post-Hess, and she has chosen Seth. I actually do feel sorry for her because Taylor's mother is certainly no peach.
During this episode, we also see Sandy take over Caleb's company The Newport Group. He immediately receives bad news though because in order to keep things afloat, he will have to cut employees. At first, he has to cut nine, but after some figuring he only has to cut four, but he has to take a large salary cut. Matt, his new young Vice President, goes a bit overboard and calls in those to get the ax on the Sunday of the benefit. Sandy goes into the office and does the firing himself. He actually feels bad about doing it, but he knows it had to be done.
Tonight's episode included a performance by the Subways, as well as two other songs heard over certain scenes. Over at iTunes, The Subways have the free download of the week. You can check that out on my sidebar. Tonight's episode also included music heard on The O.C. Mix 5.
This was a good episode right before the break for Thanksgiving. Not too fast paced, but with some good story lines and acting to keep things moving right along. I really have my eye on Ryan here. I don't think we're out of the woods when it comes to him yet. The O.C. will return with an all-new episode on December 1st.
Don't forget if you want to talk about this episode with myself and others, hop on over to my O.C. forum at Media Village. I have a topic for tonight's episode set up here.
The songs heard on tonight's episode of The O.C. were:
Interruptions - Rogue Wave
Rock & Roll Queen - The Subways
I Want To Hear What You Have Got To Say - The Subways
Oh Yeah The Subways
Travel In Time Carmen Rizzo feat. Kate Havnevik
Opium Dreams Rithma
TV Review: Lost Episode 2.07
From ABC: The harrowing first 48 days in the lives of the tail section survivors are revealed.
My Rating:3/4
This week's episode of Lost titled "The other 48 days" tells us just that – the other 48 days of the tail-end survivors of Oceanic Flight 815. We see how they crashed, who survived impact and we also see the group dwindled down over a period of days and two night time attacks by the others. We once again see one of the others infiltrate the group in order to help in this - much like Ethan infiltrated the first group of survivors when he took Claire and Charlie.
This show is fast paced early on in the episode. We go through the first twelve days quite quickly. We see the others come in and take three of the men that survived the plane crash. They try to take on a fourth of the men, but he fights back and kills two of the others before they are able to successfully take him too. This is Eko. The large black man that led the remainder of the survivors to the original camp of the first group of survivors. He didn't start as a mute though. This only happened after the attack of the others on the first night.
After the first night, we see the survivors dealing with their new surroundings. One more of them die, and we see the man buried. The survivors are all waiting for rescue planes. We know these will never arrive. The night of the second attack by the others nine of the tail end survivors are taken, including the children that survived. On this night, something mysterious is found, and I'm still wondering about it.
A list with the name of the survivors pops up shortly after they are taken. Full names, and no one could really know this. How did the others know the names of the people? I just had an idea pop into my mind typing this. Is this Hurley's list? I'm not sure how early on he made it, but he did have a list of all those on the plane. Could the others have somehow gotten this list from Ethan and used it? Still how would they know who was who in order to take them? We'll come back to the list in a bit!
Once they are attacked, Ana Lucia takes charge and the group moves in-land, walking three days until they find a new place to call home for the time being. They find a place, and Ana Lucia and the rest of the survivors start wondering about the list as well. Have they been infiltrated? It's possible, and they all point fingers at one man, Nathan, which is a logical choice in my mind. He even looks a bit like Ethan, and there is a similarity in names – Nathan and Ethan. However, I think we can tell he is innocent with his constant denial. The writer's wanted us to think it was him, but Ana Lucia figures out it isn't quite quickly, and her attention is drawn to another survivor, Goodwin.
After Nathan somehow manages to escape, also known as Goodwin letting him out and killing him, Ana Lucia's suspicions are confirmed, and she goes a for a little walk with Goodwin once they find a radio and the bunker. She confronts him, and she does get some information from him. She asks about the list, and he mentions those were the good people, and the children were safe and in a better place. We still don't know anything about the others. We don't know why they are taking the survivors or how they got on the island in the island in the first place. The little we do know only makes us want to know more.
Goodwin does tell Ana Lucia that Nathan wasn't on the list because he wasn't a good person. Those on the list were, and this just raises more questions. Eko was obviously on the list, and he appears quite religious. When the tailies find the other bunker, the first thing that Eko is drawn to is the bible.
Is this a good versus evil thing? This has been brought up before last season in regard to Claire's baby. This season it has even been mentioned in passing that it is possible that her baby son is the Anti-Christ. A scene in once of the recent episodes appeared very much like a nativity scene with her and Locke holding the baby over the cradle and three people coming towards them. These three people were said to symbolize the three wise men coming to them with gifts. The religious aspect seems to keep coming up. Now even more so with the list of "good people." Goodwin's name is also a bit of an oxymoron here because he isn't all that good now is he?
Once Goodwin is out of the picture, things pick up again. We see a sad scene where Ana Lucia finally breaks down and cries, and we see Eko break his silence of forty days to comfort her. Another religious reference here because forty days relates to Noah and his ark. Ana Lucia cries in his arms, and you actually feel bad for her. There has to be more in her past though to make her so tough. I hope an episode focuses on her back-story because I think this might be really interesting.
As the days progress, we finally see when the tail end survivors meet up with our three men from the front end. These days go through in fast forward until the moment we left off last week. Ana Lucia pulls the trigger and shoots, killing Shannon. We once again see the looks on the faces of everyone, and all I have to say is Ana Lucia better watch our for Sayid. If looks could kill, Ana Lucia would have been dead on the spot.
This was a good episode of Lost. However, I do have some problems with this season that I'll speak about at later point. I think it was good to see the past 48 days from another perspective, and this episode did give us some more clues about the others, but to me it only created even more questions than answers. This seems par for the course for this show, so I'm not all that surprised. I'm excited to see the group united next week. Something tells me things are going to be interesting and possibly explosive.
Don't forget if you want to discuss this show with myself and others to head on over to my Lost forum on Media Village. I have a topic for tonight's show set up here. If you missed tonight's episode, it will be available through iTunes in the morning.
What's the Buzz and Blog of the Week!
These are the stories that I've posted about since my last buzz post here over on Thoughts from the Couch. These are just some of the stories buzzing in TV land the last couple of days. It would be impossible for me to cover everything because I'm just one person, little ole me! Here are some stories that caught my eye recently though!
I've also chosen my new Blog of the Week! This week we have the personal blog of one woman living in the midst of Hollywood as a currently unproduced screenwriter. Check out her posts over at Things they don't tell you in film school! You can find her blog on my sidebar.
TV Review: Supernatural 1.09
From WB: After Sam (Jared Padalecki) has several haunting dreams, he persuades a reluctant Dean (Jensen Ackles) to return with him to their childhood home for the first time. They find much more to battle with than painful memories when the house's current occupants, a single mother with two young children, experience terrifying supernatural phenomena, just as in Sam's nightmares. The boys track down an eccentric local psychic, Missouri Mosley (guest star Loretta Devine, "Waiting to Exhale," "Crash"), who is mentioned in their father's journal, and together the three fight to rid the house of powerful spirits. But before they can stop what's happening now, they have to face what happened when they lived there - including their mother's horrible death. Amazing twists and revelations await Sam and Dean on their most personal mission yet.
My Rating: 4/4
Oh my God! I really had high hopes after seeing the teasers for this episode, and boy did this episode live up to my hopes. In my mind, this was the best episode of the season for this show to date. So much happened in this episode. We learned so much about what happened all those years ago. Am I the only one that cried at the end of tonight's episode?
Let's discuss this episode titled 'The Journey Home' and all that happened. A new family moves into the rebuilt house the two brothers lived in as a child – a single mother with two young children. Almost immediately things begin happening in the house. The girl sees a fire being in her closet, and the mother hears strange sounds. Sam also starts having dreams about his old house and a woman begging for help. Turns out we can see it is the woman that moved in.
After some work, Sam gets Dean to return to the scene of their mother's death all those years ago. He has to tell dean about the dreams he has, and the current dream involving their house. It does involve a lot of work though because Dean swore to himself that he would never return to their childhood home.
They do return, and for once they are completely honest about whom they are. They go to their old house, and talk to the woman now living in it, Jenny. She quickly starts to tell them about the house and all the problems she has had in it since she moved in. She blames it all on the house being old. The brothers know different.
After a long conversation, the two start treating this like any other case, but Dean isn't handling being back at the house so well. He makes a frantic phone call and leaves a message for their father. One he hopes he hears. I've never seen tough guy Dean so shaken up before.
The two brothers go off to learn more about the house and what has happened in it, while things continue to occur at house. A man called in to fix the kitchen sink loses his hand it appears when the garbage disposal turns on with his hand inside it. The youngest child, her son, is locked in the fridge by the force in the house.
While all this is happening, Sam and Dean are meeting up with various people, the last being a psychic their father had gone to years before. She tells them things before they can even do so themselves. She knows about Jessica's death and their father being missing by just holding Sam's hand. I love the psychic's character. She can read their thoughts before they act, and she catches Dean a few times. She also tells them something evil once was in their house, but she is confused as to the reason it is acting up now.
They take her to the house, and the three arrive just minutes after the mother finds the little boy locked in the fridge. She takes through the house and to the room that was once Sam's nursery, the location of their mother's death. She tells them the spirit there in the house now is not the same one that took their mother years before. She also tells them there is two spirits in the house.
The three then go about cleaning the house of spirits. They send Jenny and her children away, and proceed to destroy the spirits. They appear to be successful after a few scary moments, but Sam still feels something in the house. He takes Dean back, and they see the scene he has dreamt with Jenny pounding on her window. They run inside the house, Dean goes for Jenny and Sam goes for the children. Dean makes it out okay with the mother, but Sam gets trapped inside the house.
Dean runs in, and they both see the fire spirit. Dean is about to try to kill the spirit, but Sam stops him. Well, it turns out the fire spirit is the spirit of their dead mother, Mary. This scene just made me cry. The mother returning, seeing her boys and then sacrificing herself so they may live. This scene was so sad and touching and spooky – all at the same time. However, now the house is free.
The episode doesn't end here though. In a surprise twist, the psychic returns home, but she isn't alone. Their father was closer than thought. It appears he is staying with Missouri. She tells him to go see his boys, but he says he won't - not until he knows the truth. Truth about what I'm not sure, but this just adds another twist to this amazing episode.
We learned so much here - about the brothers, about their father, about their mother. This episode has to be the best to date as far as this show is concerned. Another great episode looks to be in store for us next week.
TV Review: Bones Episode 1.08
From FOX: When Brennan and Angela get caught in a melee in a dance club, Brennan kicks someone into a wall, causing it to break open and reveal a mummified corpse and a stash of methamphetamine. Once it's determined a murder was committed, Brennan and Booth pair to follow a trail of drugs and money within the Washington D.C. club scene. Their investigation uncovers a turf war between artists within the local urban music industry, where the quest for success may end in death. Meanwhile, it remains to be seen if Booth's current relationship is ready to move to the next level.
My Rating: 4/4
If possible Bones just keeps getting better and better with each episode that airs. Quirky characters, interesting plot lines and good writing all make this show compelling and in my mind one of the best of the crop of new shows on television at the moment. I only love Surface as much. Tonight's episode titled 'The man in the wall' puts an interesting case before us, which also allows us to see more of Brennan's quirky eccentricities come to life.
Angela decides to take her and Bones out dancing at a club. After finally dragging Brennan away from her full of inbox of emails, they are out and about, and what do you know Brennan likes hip-hop music. Never pictured her to be the hip-hop fan, but hey whatever works right? While out dancing, Brennan opens her mouth about how hip-hop music is tribal influenced, and it causes a bit of a brawl to ensue. Once again, we see Brennan get involved in a bit of a fight and coming out on top. However, when she kicks a man into a wall, a startling discovery is found. A mummy is found in the wall.
The police are called and Booth shows up, with girlfriend in tow. Just last week I mentioned we hadn't seen her much, and look here she is! Turns out when the mummy came out of the wall, he also somehow triggered the release of a lot of Meth into the air, and it gets everyone in the club high. This includes Bones and Angela. Let me tell you Bones high was hilarious! All that smart talk coming out all jumbled because she's high – best thing yet.
Bones is excited they have a modern mummy on their hands, and she immediately starts to work on identifying the victim and cause of death. Here starts our journey into the hip-hop world with plenty of opportunities for Bones to say how much she loves hip-hop music. I think we got the point after the third mention! After some work it turns out the victim is a rapper and DJ, and he has been dead about six weeks. Bones finds out he was killed the man, and it leads down a bumpy path of twists and turns.
At first, Bones and Booth think his girlfriend, who also dated a rival rapper, killed the man. When the two find out she has been missing for almost as long as the dead rapper, they throw out that as a possibility, and start looking for her as well. Turns out she is dead as well, buried in the cement underneath her ex-boyfriend's brand new studio - an obvious attempt to try to frame the murder of the girl on him, but he's innocent. Early on in the program, we learn the rapper had been shot in the wrist in the past, so it was impossible for him to have committed the crime.
So Bones and Booth finally figured out who it is, but there is no way they can touch him. It is the club and record label owner. He is as clean as a whistle, but too clean. The cops are onto him, and trying to take him down. His bodyguard is part of this, and he tells Booth how hard it is to get this guy. If they are going to be successful, they need solid proof.
Booth and Brennan confront the man anyway, and in the process Bones discovers something that might just make the case against the man. Both victims had small indentations on their skin. When Bones sees the man poke Booth with his cane, she tells Booth to take the cane as evidence. Back at the lab, she has Hodgins use the cane, and the mark left matches the same exact mark left on both bodies. We have our killer.
This show is truly amazing, and it isn't something you can just casually watch either. This show is intelligent, and the characters are also intelligent. However, this show succeeds by mixing the intelligence with humorous one-liners and great acting. Each week we learn something new about Brennan, and she is definitely one that marches to the beat of her own drum.
Back to Booth and his girlfriend for a moment. This week, Booth tells everyone the two are going on a vacation. However, a small talk to Angela scares the girlfriend silly because Angela tells them both about the steps of a relationship, and after the long vacation comes moving in. Well, the girlfriend mysteriously had something come up at work last minute, so she didn't end up going. Booth decides to go anyway, but I almost wanted him to ask Bones to take the girlfriend's ticket and go. I know its way too soon for that though.
Another great episode of Bones, and we have another new episode set for next week. See you then!
TV Review: Surface Episode 1.08
From NBC: Laura (Lake Bell), Rich (Jay R. Ferguson) and Jackson (Austin Nichols)) race to finish the submersible they are building, and despite several setbacks during a test run, take it out to the spawning site. As Rich and Daughtery begin their descent, they spot the creatures spawning but a system failure causes the submersible to freefall, putting them in jeopardy. Elsewhere, Miles' (Carter Jenkins) parents consider sending him to a boot camp for problem children, but rethink their decision and send him to an aquarium for volunteer work. Ian Anthony Dale and Leighton Meester also star.
My Rating: 4/4
Well, folks, it looks like we have a cliffhanger on our hands, and we won't know the answer until next week's episode. Last week, Laura began working on a submersible with Rich and Jack. The man-made sub would take them down on a date when it is known for the creature to act up. This week, they continued their work on the submersible with only days left before they have to launch. Some problems do pop up. Namely one with a leak, but Rich thinks he finds the source and fixes it.
With the sub ready to go, the group leaves for the launch site, and the creature is sighted almost immediately as it creates a lightning storm from the ocean. They launch the sub, and all appears well. All systems are go until they reach about 1700 feet, and then water starts dripping in. Apparently what Rich thought was the source of the leak wasn't, and the sub starts to slowly take on water. The further it goes down, the faster the water will come.
After a bit of a debate with Jackson, Laura and Rich decide to continue on, especially after the two hear the creatures nearby. They continue going deeper and deeper, and eventually have a sighting of creatures, which Laura is able to capture on film.
However, even more problems arise. Up top, Jackson sees something, and then we cut to commercial. When the show returns, the sub is going down even faster, and Laura can't reach Jackson by radio to tell him to stop it. We then find out why the sub is going down so fast. The cable connecting the sub to Jackson's boat has snapped, and 3,000 feet of cord is coming down towards them. Once it reaches their depth, the cord then pulls them down into one of the craters that go down further into the earth.
This is where we leave Laura and Rich as the episode ends. What happened to Jackson? Did a creature just chew the wire or is Jackson gone as well? We do know the creatures are capable of eating an entire small boat. We're not sure what happens to him either. I'm sure those questions will be answered next week.
The cliffhanger isn't all that happens. We also have some happenings with Miles and also with the mysterious Lee. First, let's talk about Miles. Last week, the police found him after he sets Nim free. We assume he was arrested, and this week's episode confirms that, but apparently his father is able to call in some huge favors and Miles gets off with just community service it appears. He starts working at his new job after school cleaning up the roads as part of the trash patrol.
However, his parents aren't done. They start to wonder if Miles should be sent to a wilderness camp for troubled teens. When his sister overhears their plans, she goes to them and tells them she knew about his pet all along, and she had never seen Miles act so interested before. After some thought, they decide to try to change his community service, and they are successful. Instead of trash patrol, he now is working at the aquarium after school, caring for the animals there. On his first day, his boss decides to show him something cool. Turns out to be some eggs similar to the one Nim hatched out of him. Things should get interesting once those babies hatch!
Now about Lee! I'm not so sure what he is up to, but he is looking for Laura. This week, he goes to her ex-husband's home and tries to get the man to tell him where she is. For some reason, the man keeps quiet, and doesn't speak one word about Laura, even though she just called him minutes before. I really don't trust Lee. I'm not sure what he will do once he finds her, but it can't be good.
This episode was amazing. In my mind, this episode was the best of the series to date. The sightings of the creatures, and the cliffhanger ending make me on the edge of my seat as we wait for the next episode. I love how every story gets equal time. I'm glad Miles got changed to the aquarium too. I really wonder when Miles will connect with Laura and Rich. He has to eventually.
Speaking of Miles, apparently NBC has created a character blog for him over on the show's website. Each week, he writes entries that go along with the story line for the show. Last week's entry talks about the arrest. Past entries have talked about him caring for Nim. Check out the blog here.