Burn Notice meets Dexter

I am really enjoying Burn Notice. It is a nice blend of action, drama, and humour. Yet I noticed something odd. Last week's "victim" was Dexter alum, Angel Batista (David Zayas) and this week's "villian" was from Dexter as well, Mark Pellegrino, who plays Rita's druggie abusive ex husband Paul.

Woohoo!

I have to say, I was really missing the Dexter crew. If, for some reason, the one other person reading this blog is the writer/showrunner for Dexter, then I would like to see either Erik King (Sgt. Doakes) or C.S. Lee (Matsuka) next.

I'm really excited for this next season of Dexter. I guess, in a way, I wonder about my own sanity as I enjoy and root for a guy that's a serial killer, but at the same time, the show is so well written, it is hard not to.

The interesting thing about Burn Notice is that Michael Weston (our intrepid anti-hero) has no real interest in being a good guy. He is more interesting in finding out what he needs to know and takes the "good" stance because it furthers his agenda along. Dexter pretends to be good to fit in socially, to keep himself from getting caught. Each have a code, although Michael's is definitely bendable and Dexter's is set by Harry (Dexter's deceased foster father) to keep him from detection.

My wonder is how closely the show will follow the books. If this current season is very good, I may find myself looking at the books.

And LaGuerta. She'd be a good addition to Burn Notice.

Those Bruno Boys (spoilers)

I was shocked by the death of Sheriff Walt Bannerman. I sat their the entire time wondering if the death would be some prolonged vision where Johnny is sort of trapped in his vision and for once follows the vision all the way through while touching Walt.

But three episodes into the season and if that is truly the case, they are making it look too good.

Walt is dead. But Walt, played by Chris Bruno, is not the first Bruno brother to lose his spot on a show.

Dylan Bruno, Chris's brother who would occasionally have me calling him Walt, from Numbers, was exposed as a double agent. NO! Not Colby!

Why, oh television gods, do you want the Bruno boys off the air. Colby, I thought you were good. I trusted you. So did your partners. Now, I'm not sure Don will ever trust anyone again.

But the Bruno boys did add an element of determination, skepticism, and good old fashioned common sense that many characters are lacking. I liked how Walt learned to trust Johnny, but at the same time always questioned him. He just didn't even give up on the things that made sense to him. I was sad to see him go. I liked how Colby was always just on the cusp of giving himself away. The writers were good because I still feel the sting of betrayal.

Yes, we will miss you Bruno boys.

MacGyver... ummm, I mean, Burn Notice

I used to love MacGyver. I'm sure I'll tell you it was the story or watching him make anything with duct tape. But in reality, it was Richard Dean Anderson. It was the 80s. He had cool hair and a very nice profile.

So I watched Burn Notices with some trepidation. I mean, a spy that puts things together... c'mon!

But Jeffery Donovan does a good job of walking in Richard Dean Anderson's shoes. Not only does he have the know-how, with credible stories that explains how he came to such knowledge, but he also has the looks. However, I may develop a girl crush on bad-ass Fiona, played by Gabrielle Anwar.

The show is very sly, with deadpan voice-overs and equally deadpan looks from the lead actor. I loved how he found out that his services were no longer required. The Mercedes SUV joke at the beginning pretty much set the tone of the show. Menacing men with guns, scruffy looking wise guy, wry humour. Then add Bruce Campbell being his pervy best and a hypochondriac Cagney and you've got a pretty good mix of comedy and action.

I'm not going to tell you that you should watch this show, but I am going to suggest that missing this show might be extremely poor planning.

Clark and Michael

If you haven't seen this, you should watch it. There are three episodes so far, and it looks like they update on Wednesdays.

Michael Cera continues to prove he is a comic genius. I didn't realize how much I missed him and Arrested Development until now.

And for some reason, I think Michael Cera's new movie, Superbad, will be funny too.

What IS Henry doing? (Blood Ties)

There is a moment in an episode of Blood Ties, the Medusa one, where Henry is doing... something... to attack Medusa and he gets frozen... it looks like he turned into a ballerina, sticks his tongue out and moves his body in what is supposed to be a sexy/smooth/vampire way... You have to see it... Anyway, every now and then, I think about that moment in the show and no matter how bad something is, it makes me laugh.

Watch. First she "stones" Mike, then there's Vicki awkwardly handling the sword, holding it over her eyes, and then Henry... what is he doing? But it always makes me laugh.



Despite that and other obvious moments like this, I actually like the show. Good thing it got picked up for its remaining 13 shows.

TV Notes

If you have not seen the endings of any of these shows, stop, now, in the name of love.

The Gilmore Girls ending was sad. I used up a few ply of tissue on this one. However, it did seem a waste to catch up on all 6 seasons in one month to get to this sad excuse for a 7th season. Ending this show now was a mercy killing and we appreciate the memory of a satisfied, but not totally recalcitrant Emily Gilmore.

I'm glad Jaslene was America's Next Top Model. I wasn't anti Natasha, but I was completely for Jaslene. (who am I and what did I do to myself - reality shows? cwtv.com, you totally sucked me in. Your video player rocks and your commercials don't suck... well, the click it or ticket one does, but it does whether you use it or not.)

Leave it to Bones to totally get Hodgins and Angela married without ruining the show. And calling off the marriage without messing up the romance. And making us want more of Bones and Booth and for making us like Cam without forcing us to see her with Booth anymore.

Lost... I'm glad you are having a two hour season finale (like always), but what in the HELL happened to Locke!!!! I must know now!!!!

Foreman can't leave House. And all of the Cameron/House talk has been talk. I've watched every episode this season waiting for them to get together. Not Cuddy and House, not Cuddy and Wilson, and definitely not Wilson and House. Cameron and House. Do it. Do it now.

Those are my notes for today. Tune in next time.

Drive, Mal, Drive!

One night, I was dragged to a movie called Serenity by a bunch of browncoats and fell in love with a universe. Some called it the Whedonverse. It was a movie based on a short lived series called Firefly. It was a show I scoffed at. How in the world could a cowboy show set in space be 1) any good and 2) any good?

I ate my words.

I loved the universe Whedon set up, the hard edge of the browncoats, proud even in their loss. I fell in love with them all and as I watched the 13 episodes of show that got made, I wished there would be more. I wanted more of Mal, Zoe, Jayne, Wash and the rest.

So I watched other shows I wanted to see those characters. The CSI episode where Wash was a released pedophile, Standoff where Zoe is the head of an elite group of negotiators, Lost (well, I watched Lost already) when Mal was a patsy in Kate's hands, The Unit where River showed her shallow side, Daybreak for Jayne, and now, Mal's latest - Drive.

My husband saw the press kit from Drive. He said it was the worst press kit he's ever seen Fox put out. When I asked him to play Drive off of the DVR, he shook his head, warning me that it would probably be disappointing.


I didn't care. Drive had Mal. Mad faced Mal. Calm, stony faced, full of anger Mal. And while I hesitate to say that this character, Tully, is very different from Malcolm Reynolds, I will say that I will take it!

Drive is the story of an illegal street race. Tully/Mal's wife was kidnapped so that he would be forced to participate in the race. Others participate as well, some by choice, some by circumstances, some by force. The first two episodes premiered Sunday night and I found myself liking the show for more reasons than Nathan Fillion.

I found that I liked other characters as well. Ugly Betty's Kevin Alejandro plays Winston Salazar, a more bad-ass version of his UB other half. He's funnier on Ugly Betty, although more poignant as the forgotten son of a wealthy Floridian. After breaking into his father's house, he meets his half brother, Sean, and convinces Sean to race with him when Sean realizes his father lied about having another family.


Melanie Lynskey's Wendy Patrakas is the frazzled housewife who is afraid of a possibly abusive husband. She is growing to be one of my favourite non-Nathan Fillion characters. She came in last after being stopped for driving a stolen vehicle (she has, for some unknown reason, been forced to participate in the illegal race and she does so without her husband's consent). It is, in actuality, her own vehicle, but her husband reported it stolen. What a jerk. Because she came in last, she was given a gun and told to eliminate another racer.

The other racer is in a group with two other ladies (ladies I assume are the refugees from Katrina based on the commercials - but I guess we will see tonight).

There is a husband/wife team, Rob and Ellie. Ellie has been keeping calls from the army from her solder husband and according to commercials for tonights episode, will cause her husband to go AWOL. What a witch with a B.

There is also John and Violet Trimble, a father/daughter team who seem to be doing the race of their own free will, although the father only has one year to live. Violet Trimble, played by Emma Stone, bares a painful resemblance to Lindsay Lohan, causing us to refer to her as Lindsay Lohain't. Yes, we're lame, but we like it.

I'm sure we will find out about the other characters. As an opening series, I wasn't turned away from it. It doesn't have the utter implausibility of Prison Break, the time slot it is taking up. It certainly doesn't film the sense of urgency the way Fox's 24 does. And while dialogue can come off as clunky and Tully's lack of sleep hallucinations of his wife is somewhat laughable, I do find that I want to keep up with the show. It had its moments (some of the race scenes were tense), but basically because I've stuck it out for worse shows, Drive stays on the DVR. So Drive, don't let me down. I would like to get to the finish line with you.

The Tudors' Blood Ties

In a way that doesn't happen often, sci fi and re-imagined history inhabit the same time as The Tudors' Henry VIII's just born son, Henry Fitzroy is Blood Ties' resident vampire. Only Tanya Huff knows how baby Henry made it from 1519, to helping in paranormal investigations as a dead sexy vampire in 2007.

The Tudors started out well enough. Two episodes in and other than the fact that I watched the first two episodes online and the somewhat grotesque blurring of naughty parts that was slightly more scary than a horror film. With all the history and conjecture that period has, this could prove to be a very entertaining imagining of that life. If the writing bears up over the next few years, the show should have no problem coming up with stories. I wasn't blown away by the writing. The acting is okay and I find myself liking Thomas More and feeling sad about his ultimate fate. The most striking thing, though, is how similar Henry the VII's Jonathan Rhys Meyer, and Henry Fitzroy's Kyle Schmid, look. I think it's the chin and something about the way the mouth looks when they smile... Something...

Blood Ties, in its own way, is interesting. I am sometimes somewhat confused by the sudden appearance of rap music in the midst of the episode, but in general I am interested in where the show could go. There are too many awkward pauses, but I like the paranormal stuff and the dialogue has ventured into the interesting on several occasions. I think the sexual tension is well done and I definitely like this vampire show better than television's re-imagined Blade, but I may be alone in that one. It will be interesting to see where each show leads.

Holy Frak Explained

Unlike other sci-fi shows that use space to find the new and freakish in the outer limits, Battlestar Galactica has spent the last two seasons searching for the familiar, us. Even their "aliens" are mechanized copies of ourselves. The pigs are walking and they are Cylons.

In the This Girl family, there is a divide over the Cylons. I am a fan of Sharon, the one that loved humanity enough to stay, to carry the child of a human and put her stock with this group. My husband was against Cylon Sharon from the start, hoping Adama would have her thrown out of the airlock. We engaged in many conversations about prisoners of war, loyalty, and war itself, all because of this little sci-fi show. I am sympathetic towards the cylons we see try to be "good". No cylon is good in my husband's book.

Which is why the season finale was so... interesting, to say the least. Arresting. As they were all standing in the room after following the music, Chief says, "That's all it takes..." Up until that point, I knew that I should know what was going on - kind of like an "on the tip of my tongue" type of feeling - but then it was clear and the first word in my head was FRAK! For my husband, what would this mean for our "love" of these characters? Are we going to spend the next season wondering when these characters will be activated? Why are these characters not known?

Battlestar Galactica has proven that, even in a season with so many missteps, that the ability to write gripping shows has not been lost. From Apollo's speech to the President's vision, from new cylons to seeing Starbuck, the writers of Battlestar Galactica, who sometimes made us feel we would rather watch Blood Ties instead, made us long not only for the 4th season, but for any bit of Galactica goodness we could have. I know we're all still hoping that interest in Caprica would resurface and we will take the Battlestar movie we get until the new season, but oh, how I long for the new season. I wonder what will be happen next? Who is the 5th Cylon - Laura Roslin or Starbuck? Or will the writers get us after all and make it Adama? Will the other Cylons now sense that the 4 have been discovered? How will they continue to hide their new status? What about this new half human half cylon baby? Will Tyrol apologize to Sharon? And oh my word, is this going to make Col. Tigh more of a pirate than he already has been? What will earth be like? If any of you have questions or speculations, I would love to have something more to think about as I wait for the 4th season.

Holy Frakkin' Frak!!!!!

I know I'm late (don't get me started), but I finally watched the finale of Battlestar Galactica (mainly because I couldn't read a few of my favourite tv sites until I did) and I have to say that, despite the missteps of this season, that finale was about the best frakkin' thing I've seen. However, my husband has not watched the finale yet and I have, have, have to watch this episode again. So until then, I leave you with this one thought from the ending. Holy Frakkin' Frak!

Veronica Mars

I wonder what makes a show watchable to some people? I will give a new show three looks before I can decide (usually, although in the case of Dresden Files, one look was enough). 30 Rock got multiple looks. It felt like a train wreck for a few shows and then somewhere around show 5, it turned into a handsome princess. How fortunate.

Veronica Mars is one of those shows you desperately wished others would watch. Granted, I love snarkiness more than the next person, but the dialogue alone is worth the cost of admission. I love watching characters and relationships develop and VM does this better than most. It is hip and cool without having to point it out to the viewer and though there are definitely some "made for tv" teen drama involved, there is enough grit to satisfy some of the Marlowe lovers as well.

Given that its lead in is Gilmore Girls and considering the ill fated Aerie commercials that aired to get girls more into the show (thereby scaring away any heterosexual male and some homosexuals and a few girls at that), CW's marketing of the show has been horrible. Now, I'm sure that pictures of V all casual-glammed up is worth looking at, but they gave no hint of the show. The show is part mystery, part character study. It is not Nancy Drew. Just like Joss Whedon's Buffy was a take on the lives and loves and growing pains of high school students, but with a twist, this is Rob Thomas' take on the same. The high school situations persist, but the mystery, aye, that's the true essence of the show. When I heard that Joss Whedon (known for Buffy, Firefly (my favourite), and Angel) said that Veronica Mars was the best show on television, I had to watch it and I came away from that one episode unimpressed. I stayed that way until I watched the first season on video in one sitting. When I watched that random episode on Whedon's word, I was underwhelmed and slightly confused. What was an 09er? Who was she dating? Why were rich kids getting pizza? Why did the officials of the school make such horrible mistakes? It could not be communicated in that one episode. It took the season. You had to watch for the story, but you loved to watch because it was good.

Veronica Mars is on hiatus and though the murder of Dean O'Dell is solved and the loss of Sheriff Lamb is much lamented (he was a great grey character), I find that I am anxious for a 4th season. Veronica Mars is not a viewer darling. For those of us who like mysteries and having them solved, this is a fantastic show. My husband doesn't watch it because he hates shows set in high school or high school like atmospheres. Hearst College still maintains that high school-esque feel. Yet it is hard for me to describe how that one element matters so little in the makeup of the show.

Now I hear that there is confusion about a 4th season. Will it come back as a college drama? Will it be canceled? Will it skip 4 years into the future when Veronica works for the FBI? Who knows. While it will be interesting to see how Rob Thomas writes this show so that it doesn't become a procedural, I would much like to see Veronica 4 years out, interacting with others outside of her circle of friends and enemies. Watching Veronica start something new has been interesting. My favourite episode from season 3 is still the first one, where even the theme song change was interesting. I used to skip through the theme song, but now I enjoy listening to it. I know I may be in the minority opinion, but I liked season 3 more than season 2. For my view, it would be a shame if the show didn't come back. I love Kristen Bell as Veronica and Enrico Colantoni as Keith Mars. If the show doesn't come back, it will be interesting to see what those two do.

If you are a Veronica Mars fan (even if you weren't blown away by this season) you can check out E!'s Watch With Kristen blog for information about how to make your voice heard and maybe keep the CW from canceling V.

Do it for the children. And the slightly obsessed. And me.
Thank you.

Heroes

Heroes is the big show phenom these days, taking the internet by storm and replacing former heavy hitter like LOST in the minds and hearts of the viewers. Last year, Digg.com was inundated with LOST information, spoilers, screen captures, etc. This year, the darling of the blog is Heroes.

What is it about Heroes that is so appealing? Is it the writing, or the characters, or some other thought that makes this show great? Not necessarily. The writing, in any given episode, goes from abysmal to inspired in the blink of an eye. Some characters seem to always have good situations. Hiro and Ando, Claire and her dad, Peter and Nathan Petrelli. While I am always interested in Hiro and Claire's screen appearances, the rest can get tedious. Peter's lines are wooden and confusingly delivered at times. Nathan tries too hard to be a bad guy and that can become dull. I'm convinced the reason Simone was killed was because she was superfluous to the story. We liked her better with Isaac, but we wanted to like her with Peter. Isaac became boring once he stopped using drugs and while I'm no advocate for drug use, I still think that the depiction gave Isaac hardened edges, which is what was needed for his gift. Now that it is at will, the drama of finding out what his drawings mean are lessened, which makes their effect less impactful, less dramatic. Nikki/Jessica is another storyline that grows tiresome with repetition. It seems there should be a better way of showing the duality. Mirrors everywhere? The stairwell, when Parkman was trying to guard the guy, was the most interesting depiction of the two since the first time we discovered Jessica. We've seen the dual personality done well before, though it was CG animation, in Lord of the Rings. Smiegel/Gollum was a fantastic rendition of good/evil in one individual. Yes, they used the water as a mirror at times, but it wasn't forever utilized, just randomly to remind us that yes, there is something else there. I think Ali Larter does a good job of changing her voice between the two, but less mirrors and more situations that show that dichotomy would make her storyline more interesting.

"If it's so badly written," you say, "why do you watch it?" I don't think it's so badly written. I just think there are other shows that are better written. I watch the show because gaining, having, and using super powers is interesting to me. I watch because Hiro is totally engaging and his scenes are not only well written, but well acted. I watch because I want to see how they stop Peter from blowing up NYC. I watch because I want to see them work together like a team and I want to see Hiro turn into that badass that stopped time and talked to Peter on the train. I watch because something about the ending of each episode makes me want to go back. I watch because, though it is only a mediocre written and sometimes mediocre acted show, it is such an awesome, modern day super hero story. They have not done anything new, but they've made something we've become use to exciting again. I want those early show chills of the characters meeting each other and aiding in getting the next mission done. I want the present show's inclination of giving us answers which only begs more questions. I really like Heroes and am forced to watch it every Monday for my own entertainment and enjoyment. It goes to show that even shows that are not the best written can be a huge hit. Enjoy the spotlight, Heroes. You deserve it.

If you've never seen the show, you'll have to wait for it's return April 23. For the previous episodes, click on the Heroes link above to catch up with the show online.

A Few Words on DVRed Shows (Spoiler Alert)

DVRed... Something new for Oprah and Bono to promote, or just a way of watching tv when you, unfortunately, have too much of a life to stay home and watch (or else you watch 3 shows in one hour). Yes, I digress...

This week has offered a few show surprises as far as writing direction, most of which I have liked.
I'm pretty sure, the way things are going, that I will have something to say about Battlestar. I just haven't watched it yet. So without further ado:

Desperate Housewives was good this week. Despite running Mike over and appearing to be a cold blooded killer, my husband and I both found ourselves really liking Orson. And after the last few years for Bree, she needed someone that was as perfect for her as he appeared to be. I have to say that Orson's mom, better known as Designing Woman Dixie Carter, was stand out as a villain. As the revelations came, you found yourself realizing you had suspicioned that she was this evil, but the writers set up Orson as a fall guy so well that you kept thinking back to him. We just kept hoping he was innocent. It was a sigh of relief moment for him to walk into his home, all beat up and battle scarred for his happily ever after [although I was slightly afraid that one more nightmare was waiting just around the corner - This is Desperate Housewives after all].

Ziva fell in love with a dying man. I became somewhat emotionally involved in this one. I kept hoping he would get better, you know, be a trooper. If I watch next week and he's alive, I will have yet another reason to enjoy watching this show. Gibbs and Abby, Gerald from Season One, the team member that was killed by the guy who created all of the best dramatic moments for the show... Yes, I am still rooting for that dying man, although I don't have much hope.

Sheriff Lamb died! I know he was not my favourite character, but I didn't realize how much I liked him on Veronica Mars until he died. I mean, his last moment was an adequately doofus moment when he shoots the mirror because his reflection startled him. I mean, Keith should have always been the sheriff (although I like Keith better in street clothes versus the sheriff's uniform - dowdy), but Lamb was such a great instigator. I wonder how being sheriff again will hamper Keith now. RIP Lamb. I didn't think you would go out like that. See you in that big tv box in the sky.

I am beginning to see more clearly why people don't like LOST. It's because it isn't logical. Well, that's what I said to my husband and while technically, I'm right, his "correction" gave a better explanation. He said that people are beginning to grow weary of LOST because they have no frame of reference whatsoever when it comes to the LOST world. They don't know where they are, when they are (she says, pushing glasses further up her nose), or even if they are - so trying to figure out the logicality based on this world only adds confusing to an already bloated storyline. I like it, but I would love it if they explained something. LOST is not an instant gratification story - unlike Heroes, which gives you some answers while asking more, different, questions. LOST is all questions, and you watch as more and more questions get piled on. What happened to Desmond? Why does the universe want Charlie dead? Why is Daniel Mead's dad turning his nose up at Desmond? Did Penny figure out where the pulse came from? Is Alex Rousseau's child or Ben's? What in the hell happened to Rousseau? What kind of work do the Others do? That guy Danny deserved to be killed. It'd be nice to have whiskey that cost more, in an ounce, than I make in a year. When does Men in Trees come back on? Who thinks Knights of Prosperity is funny? What lazy bastard wrote Michael's dialogue? (Walt! Where is my son! Give me back my son! Walt!) That Hurley guy is funny. He should have more scenes. More things should blow up. And on and on it goes. For us instant gratification people, LOST is not the show, but for people who like seeing the mysteries piled on, keep watching. I know it's going to get good.

Well, I've enjoyed taking you through my mind as I watched a few of my must watch shows. Fare thee well 'til I write again.

Smallville

By hook and crook, I am finally caught up with all seasons of Smallville. It was not as cumbersome as I thought it would be. Yes, there was certainly much drama in the LBC, but on the whole, the myth of Superman was a great story to delve into. Of course, Superman mythology has to have certain things (things I don't really know about because I'm not a comic book reader) happen. I loved the way Clark developed and discovered his powers, but my favourite episode was the Justice League episode. It was so much fun seeing AquaMan, Cyborg, The Flash, and the Green Arrow and Clark working together. I love the way Lex Luther has become evil. I mean, when I started season one a month ago, I was almost sympathetic to Lex - but it all explains his singlemindedness about Superman and how he can find out so much about him. To me, Superman Returns was enhanced by what was done in Smallville. Which makes me wonder why other writers don't do young superhero shows. Royalty and Rights aside, I would love to see the mythology of Wonder Woman or Catwoman or Batman - it would be great to see someone delve into the things that are only hinted at by the movies and the comics and the cartoons. Speaking of cartoon, every time I saw young AquaMan, I was reminded of the Justice League episode where he lost his hand trying to save his baby son. Enjoy your youth while you can Arthur Curry! While I don't think Smallville is the best written show on right now, I do think there is something to be said for a show that consistently made growing up in a small Kansas town interesting. That some of the best scenes happened in a barn is outstanding. Meteor Freaks aside, some very good dramatic moments were had by some very beautiful people. I read once that people were upset that the show included Lois Lane, but I truly liked her inclusion. Erica Durance did an excellent job of playing her, so excellent, in fact, that - despite all of the crazy things that have happened to her - she is the type of person that, with distance, could easily forget Clark. It may be a surprise, but there are people I have had good relationships with in the past whose names or faces I cannot remember (depending on which is brought up to me). My favourite is Allison Mack. Chloe is great, a great sense of humour, a great deal of weight on her shoulders, the unrequited love thing... except for the brilliance, I can totally relate. She was an easy character to root for and to pity. As I am watching season 6, I am hoping they get to do another season. Yet, if the series ends with this season, I cannot imagine how they will bring all the threads together with the ending being open to all of the Supermans that "comes after" it. Smallville has been a fun ride and I'm glad I got to see it in a month rather than 6 years.

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