Yeeeha, kids. From the depths of space to Kansas cornfields to seat of government power, it's been an interesting week. Lessee what we've got. Spoilers follow:
CHARMED: An attack on one of the Elders is blamed on Leo, until it's discovered that...for no discernible reason...every fifty years a blue moon turns the menstruating Halliwell sisters into werewolves.
Linking a woman's period to werewolves isn't exactly new. If nothing else, Alan Moore did it memorably and better in "Swamp Thing." Nevertheless, it's an eminently watchable episode, even if the transformed sisters look a touch too CGI for comfort. Plus we get our first serious look at exactly who the main baddies are for the season, although I'm still a little fuzzy on what their deal is. There's a sense of forward motion but standing still at the same time. And the split, yet again, between Piper and Leo seems so forced that the seams are starting to show. I find myself wondering if Nick Lachey's character wound up getting Phoebe pregnant, since they made such a point of establishing that they'd slept together.
FARSCAPE: A four hour film that was literally willed into existence by the fans, and God help you in following it if you haven't been watching the series until now. If you have, then this show is a major treat as the reconstsituted Crichton and Aeryn hit the ground running and never stop the entire time. There is a constant sense of urgency in terms of the wild and woolly spacecapades of our heroes being caught in the middle of the titular Peacekeeper war. But as is always the case in "Farscape," it's the countless character moments and rock solid relationships of the characters that ground the outlandishness in serious, down-to-earth emotion.
Stellar (no pun intended) dialogue abounds, from a sobbing Rigel--a temporary gestator for Aeryn's fetus (don't ask)--moaning that he misses the baby, to the laboring Aeryn blasting away with a huge gun while moaning "Shooting makes me feel better", to the best moment of all: Scorpius, almost orgasmic in his about-to-be-satisfied desire to see a wormhole used as a weapon, will say anything that Crichton wants him to if Crichton will just whip it out, up to and including "Pretty please with sugar on it and a cherry on top." And that's not even including the heart-tugging moments of full blown tragedy, climaxing in the death of one of our heroes.
Considering how beautifully they made the Peacekeeper war work within the equivalent of a mere four episodes, you almost wonder why they would have needed the whole season. Presumably there would have been other stories to tell as well. Who knows? Perhaps the Sci-Fi channel will come to its senses and slate more TV movies or miniseries. Maybe if we say pretty please...
VERONICA MARS: Some scamming college guys hosing Veronica's friends results in her doing a Sydney Bristow and going undercover...including, most hilariously, as a Japanese schoolgirl to catch the attention of the anime-obsessed bad guys. If they released a poster of her in that outfit, they could sell millions.
Even more interesting than this, the most involved case yet, are the flashback sequences that fill out her relationship with her dead friend and gives us for the first time a real sense of her loss. When the cut-together video of her is shown at a memorial service, you can't help but notice the opposite reactions of her mother and father, with the dad alternately laughing and crying and the mother stone-cold pissed off. They're definitely going somewhere interesting with the case, and I'm along for the ride.
LOST: It would seem almost impossible to match the sheer emotion of the previous episode...and, sure enough, this outing doesn't quite accomplish it. Jack's past is explored and is, frankly, the least interesting or surprising that we've seen. Of far greater interest is the growing sense that they've landed on the planet from the Star Trek episode "Shore Leave," encountering people or things that are tailored to their own hopes, needs or aspirations. Then again, if there's one thing we've learned from the first episodes, it's that things can and will be dropped in that seem inconsequential at first, but will be the subject of major "Ah ha!" reveals down the road.
Most interestingly of all, the castaways are beginning to come to grips with the fact that they could be there for a long time, if not forever. Sooner or later they'll have to consider shelter, a means of governing themselves, and whether to start eating each other. At the very least, the dog can start looking mighty tasty.
SMALLVILLE: In this season's nudge-nudge, wink wink episode, Clark Kent encounters the future Flash in a script packed with more in-jokes per minute than, well, one of mine. Identified here as Bart Allen, but he's not necessarily Impulse since Bart was actually named for Barry Allen, so it might be Barry. Then again, he jokingly identifies himself as being from the future...except, hey, maybe he wasn't joking. Plus he carries such varied ID as Jay Garrick, Barry Allen and Wally West, so who really knows?
In the same spirit as last season's Perry White episode, this one was a kick as we see a super-speedster rebel without a clue, actively denying the spark of greatness that Clark is able to see within him. His chipper suggestion that a form a "clue or league" is a hoot, and overall the episode was a hell of a lot of fun (says the sucker for in-jokes.) Interestingly, Bart's description of how he acquired his powers is almost identical to Lana's telling how she wound up with a tattoo. Coincidence? Does the "Smallville" universe's Flash owe his power to a random lightning bolt...or is there something Kryptonian behind it all?
In addition, Clark learns of some sort of weird Kryptonian map hidden in the pages of an ancient text. Where does the map lead? I dunno...the Fortress of Solitude, maybe? Then again, I keep waiting to find out that Lana's boyfriend is actually working for one of the Luthors, because in this town, with the exception of Clark, EVERBODY is or has been working for the Luthors at one time or another (except when they're crashing cars) so why should this guy be any different?
And speaking of Luthors, next week...body switching? Oy. I mean, yeah, okay, they pulled it off with Buffy and Faith, but there was a whole characterization subtext there that made it work. Plus how are they doing it? Red Kryptonite? I guess the timing sucks for me in that Bendis just got done making fun of the body switch as a hoary "Jump the Shark" cliche in "USM," and now they're doing it in "Smallville." Then again, who knew the turn-Angel-into-a-puppet episode would rock as much as it did?
WEST WING: Have to say, I'm stunned: A very strong season debut. While America screams for vengeance over the Gaza bombing, Bartlett defies the advice of damned near everyone (including an increasingly wild-eyed Leo) to try and broker a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians. And why not? Modeling Jeb on Clinton, they had him shut down the government last season in a showdown with the GOP; so why not the abortive Camp David accord this time around?
What's really fascinating is if you give thought to early in the first season, Bartlett's doctor friend's plane was shot down by a hostile nation and Bartlett was practically ready to go thermonuclear on them while the Joint Chiefs tried to talk him down. Now it's five seasons later, an attack results in the deaths of Fitzwallace, two Congressmen, not to mention Donna being on the critical list, and Bartlett coolly resists retaliation in favor of peace talks. Why the change? Well, you could argue that they just don't remember. But me, I prefer to think about the fact that the last time Bartlett listened to Leo's advice on how to deal with terrorism, he arranged for the assassination of that Qumar guy. And the retaliation for it was Zoey being kidnapped. Perhaps it gave Bartlett an up-close-and-personal realization that answering violence with violence simply perpetuates violence, and sooner or later someone has to shout, "Enough, hold enow." Although I almost wish that Josh had been in the Oval, because I would have loved to see him say, "These bastards nearly killed Donna. I don't want to talk to them! I want to blow them to pieces!"
A promising start to what should be a very interesting season.
PAD
> "These bastards nearly killed Donna. I don't
> want to talk to them! I want to blow them to
> pieces!"
For a smart guy, Josh has no sense, because if he had a speck of it, he'd already have asked her to marry him.
But it's not too late.
From a politics standpoint, I thought The West Wing was very strong. The question of whether it's possible--and worthwhile--to go to Camp David rather than letting slip the dogs of war, the use of Commander Harper and her role as a military person who isn't gung-ho, plus the upcoming refocus on domestic politics with the question of the next Presidential election...
Even the conversation between the Irish photographer and Josh was reasonable, though the continuing saga of Donna's health is getting rather tedious; it mostly served as something for Josh to do while the important stuff happened.
What I didn't like was some of the characterization, primarily Leo's. "We don't always know how this ends" with that face just doesn't fly...If I'm right about the scenes I saw in upcoming episodes, then all I can say is I'm not surprised.
Toby was about right with his position on Israel, though a mention of his ex-wife and kids, while it's clear he wasn't letting emotion color his judgement as is good and proper for Toby, would not have been out of line; Will was rather one-note (and why would he have a Carnegie Mellon T-shirt? He's a professional political operative; I don't think he majored in fine arts or computer science, and I don't think he went to the East Coast from California to do it.) CJ continues her role as the calmer one, but it's nice to see she's being backed up by Commander Harper. The Commander, actually, had the best scene with Leo, where he tells her in no uncertain terms that the President makes his own decisions. Those two work well together.
The dialogue isn't quite there, either...though "Nurse Rached" was all right, there wasn't the crackling Sorkin wit--understandably--which took a dimension out of the characetrs. (Thankfully I've been getting a hearty dose of Sorkin wit, as supplied by DVD's of Sports Night and the first season of WW.)
You know what I didn't mention? The best moment in "West Wing," when Leo says to Bartlett, "You have to do this!" and Bartlett says, coolly but dangerously, "Or what?" Considering how candy-ass Bartlett was for much of the previous season, that was just great. Leo's dictating terms, issuing ultimatums? Boy, did Bartlett shut that one down.
PAD
Leo's dictating terms, issuing ultimatums? Boy, did Bartlett shut that one down.
As well he should. But still, and I've been saying this since the day Wells stepped into the Big Chair, what's with Leo doing that?
I think the characterization on Leo went too far in this one. As he literally screams in the president's face, "We don't always know how this ends," all I could think of was Josh telling his shrink, "You don't yell at the president! There's always vigorous, spirited debate, but there's a line you don't cross." And I remember Leo hustling Josh out of the oval, for being a lot less off the handle than Leo was in that scene. Who is Wells' Leo? I don't know this guy, who cooks independent scientific reports and makes CJ stand behind them, who meets political operatives in dark parking garages to find out what will happen to Bartlett's approval ratings if Zoey is killed by terrorists. ("I'm just saying there's a way to be a human being, Josh.")
You know what I want to see? I want to see Bartlet say, "Screw the Party. Screw the politics. Screw the next guy. I never have to run for another office as long as I live, so I'm going to stop holding this office as if I do, and I'm going to do what I believe is right. The most successfull president in the world gets one term where he doesn't have to pander to anybody -- his last one. I've wasted half of mine, but no more!"
And Bartlett then cuts loose and does as he dfamned well pleases, horrifying the Democrats and enraging the Republicans... And creates a legacy of greatness that changes the face of the world.
That's what I want to see.
Among the manifold sins of the fifth season of TWW (and, from the sounds of it, the sixth -- didn't watch it Wednesday as there was a Yankee game on, and if there hadn't been, I likely would've been watching paint dry as a preferable alternative to the atrocity that is the John Wells West Wing) is the fact that Aaron Sorkin's Leo McGarry was modeled on one of Clinton's chiefs of staff, Mack McLarty, where John Wells's Leo McGarry is modeled after Karl Rove. There is absolutely nothing about fifth-season Leo that even remotely resembles first-through-fourth-season Leo except that John Spencer happens to be playing both of them. But you know, he played Tommy Mullaney on L.A. Law, too, and he bears about as much resemblance to Sorkin's Leo as Wells's Leo does. Yeesh.
Not to mention the despicable character assassination of Will Bailey, which comes across to me as a vindictive attack on a character played by Sorkin's pet actor (Joshua Malina has been in every movie and TV show that Sorkin's been involved with, including Malice, for which Sorkin only wrote part of the screenplay). There is nothing in his character that even remotely suggests the possibility that he'd go to work for Bingo Bob and betray Bartlet's staff like that.
Gah. As far as I'm concerned, this show came to an end after four years. What's come since is a totally different show that only bears a superficial resemblance to a great show.
---KRAD
I was also stunned by TWW. The season-ending "sting" the the PA chairman was great, and this was a good follow-up. What I found interesting is that he's trying to have his cake and eat it too. He wants to try and make peace - but attack the Syrian camps at the same time. It's GOING to blow up in his face.
Alan Alda and Jimmy Smits are joining the cast as the possible next president. They are supposedly examing making Alda the next president as a conservative. I'm curious how that would go over. Would Hollywood be able to effectively write a keep-the-government-out show about the government? It might be interesting. I doubt it would happen though.
I was also stunned by TWW. The season-ending "sting" the the PA chairman was great, and this was a good follow-up. What I found interesting is that he's trying to have his cake and eat it too. He wants to try and make peace - but attack the Syrian camps at the same time. It's going to blow up in his face.
Alan Alda and Jimmy Smits are joining the cast as the possible next president. They are supposedly examing making Alda the next president as a conservative. I'm curious how that would go over. Would Hollywood be able to effectively write a keep-the-government-out show about the government? It might be interesting. I doubt it would happen though.
I just wanted to thank you Peter for opening my eyes to Boston Legal. I only started watching it because of your appearence at the Motor City Comic Con and how Wiliam Shatner performance was hilarious. I agree he makes the show! Boston Legal is one of the the best shows of the season and should be added to COWBOY PETES ROUNDUP!!!
I half expected the previews for next week's West Wing to say something like, "it all hits the fan".
Farscape:
Agreed. I love this show.
Veronica Mars:
Agreed, this is my favorite new show of the season, though I can't look at her dad without saying out loud "You are our last hope!"
Lost:
A lot of people site "Shore Leave" as the metaphor for this show....I think it's more like the cage. I think that the island itself, or some entity is actually trying to help the humans, but can't quite figure out which thoughts are gooood and which are baaaddd....And I also think the essence of the island inhabited "the body" that was missing (see..see how I did that for people who don't like spoilers? huh huh?) to try to better understand the castaways...maybe even talk to them at some point a la Contact.
Oh, and the writing this time wasn't as strong or emotional as the week before because Walkabout was written by the genius David Fury from the Whedon camp!
Smallville:
Great ep! Steven S. DeKnight from Whedonville penned a great ep. I also loved all the in-jokes, and hope it did well. Since this was a test for a possible flash/impulse spin-off.
-Andy
Trying to post this for the third time now, even after PAD said the problem with the "questionable content" block had been fixed. Let's see if going through typekey helps...
I watched “Lost” and “The West Wing.” “Smallville” was pre-empted by the basketball game, but even before I got home from my comic store, I’d already decided I’d skip “Smallville” this week. Whatever the episode was about, I told myself, I’d see it in reruns eventually; and although Lex’s arc is keeping my attention, “Lost” is more interesting right now.
Speaking of “Lost” and “The West Wing”, did everyone notice that Terry O’Quinn (Locke on “Lost”), showed up as General Alexander, just a few minutes later, on “West Wing.”
It’ll be interesting to learn why and how Jack was able to see “Mr. Roarke” (real name withheld to avoid possible spoilers), and whether others will have similar experiences.
I missed almost all of “The West Wing” last year because it conflicted with “Angel”, (and only saw a portion of the episode this week), but I think I’ll check it out from time to time. I’m curious to see Alan Alda’s portrayal of a conservative senator. While I know he’s done a variety of work, pretty much the only thing I’ve seen him in (other than the occasional Scientific American Frontiers on PBS) is M*A*S*H.
As to the other shows, didn’t see them, save for a few minutes of “Veronica Mars.” I’d already missed most of the episode and decided to skip the rest. I’ll try to catch a full episode next week.
You know, Speaking of Lex, when I was a kid, I had a friend named Lex. Lost track of him years ago. Wonder if he went into either science or the corporate business world.
Excuse me, a package just arrived. Hmmn, a lead box. What’s the note say?
“Hello, old friend. Thought you might be interested in these mineral samples. L.”
Mineral samples, huh? Well, let’s see what’s insi
(and why would he have a Carnegie Mellon T-shirt? He's a professional political operative; I don't think he majored in fine arts or computer science, and I don't think he went to the East Coast from California to do it.)
You do know that the main campus of Carnegie Mellon is in Pittsburgh (The west coast campus is a branch) and that they do have a poli sci major, right?
I still do like West Wing, but I miss the Sorking days where it was the story of a group of people who worked in the White House who happened to run the country. Now it seems that the plot of the series has taken over and the characters are rapidly becoming more and more two-dimensional.
The conversation between Josh and the Irish photographer about unrequited love seemed less a real conversation than a placeholder for the Donna/Josh love story. Will's only place in the story was to expand the politics of the story (the VP wants to distance himself from the problem and to randomly talk about the Israeli/Palestinean history of conflict. And unfortunately, like the first quarter of the last season, we're back to a lot of characters yelling and not quite getting along with each other.
West Wing is becoming a very intelligent, well plotted political drama, but it's not the same West Wing I fell in love with.
Peter David: His chipper suggestion that a form a "clue or league" is a hoot.
Luigi Novi: I dunno, Peter. I don't think trying to form their own board game is the way to go. What would be the point of that?
:-)
[i]At the very least, the dog can start looking mighty tasty.[/i]
Well good thing there's that Korean couple with them...
*ducks* :P
Yes, Smallville rocked. Damn fine Flash introduction. If we could just cut the episodes between #2 and this one out.. we would have had an entirely awesome season so far. The freak-of-week (or in the case of next week's episode Freaky Friday) is just damn old. Why can't they do something inventive. Ah well. I'll probably still watch it anyway. :)
WEST WING--It was a strong episode (of course, I'd qualify that by saying, "...for something written by John Wells," who I think is out to destroy every beloved television drama by running it into the ground, a la "ER" and "Third Watch"), but I have to say, I agree with what others have said, in that Leo was badly out of character here. I don't say that because I don't think Leo would push for attacks...I think the Leo McGarry of Seasons 1-4 would have absolutely pushed for the attacks. He would not, however, raise his voice to the President. Last night, I was watching my West Wing Season Two DVDs, and I just happened to watch "Noel," a brilliant episode. As mentioned, Josh tells Stanley (from American Trauma Victims Assocation) that there's a line you never cross. You never raise your voice to the President. I know Leo and Jed are contemporaries, but I don't see Leo coming unglued to the extent he seems to be. Given the promos, and knowing what I know about the upcoming season (hint: there's a new Chief of Staff coming, and it ain't Josh, but that's all I'm saying...I'm not sure it's permanent, but it's definitely happening), it seems that Leo's arc is to mentally unhinge, then tragedy strikes, and Bartlet is faced with guilt about the consequences of recent events.
Aside from that, it was a strong episode, and it wasn't difficult to pick up at the not-so-subtle "real world" analogies being drawn, wherein a President seeks peace, refusing to let slip the dogs of war based on questionable intelligence. I'm still not terribly thrilled with the sharp turn in Will's behavior. C.J., Toby, and Charlie are still their old selves, but Josh and Donna are stranded in melodrama subplot B which needs to end NOW. I'm not opposed to a Josh-Donna relationship, but this whole "stranded in a hospital waiting for Donna to heal" subplot needs quick resolution. (I do give Wells credit for a great moment in this episode, where a shaken Josh dons scrubs to visit Donna before surgery, and her first words of communication to him are the written words "Nice hat." Very nice moment.
Final comment: I really really really hope that John Wells is smart enough to end the series when the Bartlet presidency ends...I don't want to see this series meander on for 10 seasons. I love the series, but I hate to see a strong series go crashing in flames. I have no interest in seeing an Alda/Smits presidency...they're both fine actors, and I welcome them to the series, but the show really needs to wrap up once Bartlet's term ends. Otherwise, the magic of the show fades, in my opinion, and we're left with three pretty strong seasons, three okay seasons, and a downward spiral.
Farscape: I want more! Also, since this was brought back, can some of my other favorites be far behind?
Wishfully thinking....
Den W:
You do know that the main campus of Carnegie Mellon is in Pittsburgh (The west coast campus is a branch) and that they do have a poli sci major, right?
Yes, I know the main campus of Carnegie Mellon is in Pittsburgh, but for a Californian like Will, that's still East Coast.
As to the polisci major: Maybe, but the two areas where CMU is renowned are computer science and fine arts. Will would not have wanted to go to CMU for polisci if he could go to, say, Berkeley.
The return of Farscape was the highlight of the week for me. THE PEACEKEEPER WARS cured the bad taste that the last episode of Season Four left. God, have I missed this series. Rarely predictable and with much better characterization than any of the characters in Enterprise.
Hey, with this miniseries airing and next year with Firefly metamorphing into Serenity, isn't it time to bring back Crusade?
About the West Wing:
I understand that a lot of people were upset with the replacing of Sorkin with Wells and many were REALLY trashing last season.
But I prefer to look at last season, and this years' premeire with a different perspective. These characters have been "running" the US for 5 years now. Besides all the usual politcal problems, there have been:
1) the death of a close friend (Mrs. Landingham, now appearing as god on Joan of Arcadia BTW)
2) An assassination attempt (though not on the President, but pretty damn close).
3) A "secret" assassination by the President.
and
4) the kidnapping of the president's daughter.
I think we NEEDED a "dark" year. I think the characters are changing, and though we may prefer the happy, gung-ho group from season one, I think we as viewers would be short changed if they still acted the same.
Sorry, I phrased that wrong. I meant to say that while CMU's main campus is in Pittsburgh, they have a branch campus in California.
Last time I checked, California is on the west coast.
RE: Farscape -
I'm yelling at the TV - "You are NOT leaving him behind!"
and found tears in my eyes when I saw they were.
But tribute was paid.
Bye, D - you're the daddy and we miss you already.
The Peacekeeper Wars rocked, although I didn't really agree with Peter's comment that you had to
be a faithful viewer to know what was going on.
I'll admit Farscape lost me a few times. The miniseries clued you in as best they could.
Now, let's get JMS to put out some sort of B5 incarnation...
Farscape:
I have to quote Farscape to explain my first reaction:
"Frell me dead."
Wow. Good one. Only B5's "Sleeping in Light" comes to mind as a better episode.
Umm, is Farscape actually the first show to air human artifical incemination? In a firefight?
But it sucks that all the little things that won't be explored, or at least reacted to by the characters. I really want to see Crighton's reaction to the little fact that Peacekeepers are force evolved early humans...
I'm really gonna miss Crighton's pop-culture quipping... "I hear dead people...", "Tough Noogies!" and my favorite, "No body moves or the white boy gets it!"
I was actually crying a bit during a lot of Farscape, such as:
"Will you promise me one thing?"
"Anything."
"Can you get us out of here?"
Followed by a shot of John Crichton, with no fooling, no jokes, blasting his way past Scaarens with his child and wife on the line.
Hell, look at at Aeryn and John being regenerated, and their first impulse is to cover each other's backs. This may be one of the best series finales ever.
Sorry, I should have mentioned just how much the death affected me. BAWL.
"Walkabout" will probably be on everyone's "favorite Lost episode" list for years to come, so it's a hard act to follow.
If you have it on tape or TiVo, and you have the time, (or if you catch tomorrow's double feature rerun) watch it again. Lost not only stands up to repeat viewing, it benefits from it.
It was a bit more subtle, but still some nice foreshortening and echoing. The ep opens with a Jack flashback of him getting beat up for trying to defend a friend from bullies. In the end the survivors are ganging up on the guy that took the last of the water and Jack comes to his rescue.
There were other bits like that if you notice them. I won't "'spoil' any more.
(I also love that in the new TV Guide Abrams said "No one is here to be a redshirt" and this episode a minor, never-talked-to character drowns.)
At Ain't It Cool and TV Without Pity the fans were over-analyzing the fact that a character was seen reading "Watership Down". Hey, jack and Locke go looking for water and find a chunk of the downed plane (their 'ship'). Pretty simple.
Okay, one more small SPOILER illustrating the merits of the writing here. jack fails to save Joanna, the drowning girl, but when he finds the much needed water he pulls a doll from the pool, in effect saving everyone.
"Nice bits of foreshortening?"
Oops, sorry, I meant foreshadowing.
Problem with being a comics fan,
I'm mixing my artistic and literary
techniques.
My bad.
Wells is trying to do to WW what was done on ER - make the show more about the work (in ER's case, medicine, in WW's case, politics) and less about the people, thereby allowing for massive casting changes. Look at ER for a moment: at the end of this season, when Noah Wyle leaves the show at the end of this season, the only remaining original regular cast member will be Sherry Stringfield - and remember that SHE took a 5 year break. (I'm not including supporting cast members, nurses and the like, who may have been there from the beginning - they generally don't get story arcs and such.)
The problem becomes that The West Wing was built on the foundation of the characters. If the series continues beyond the natural conclusion of Bartlett's second term, I think the audience would expect/want the show to stay with Jed Bartlett and his Life After Politics. Even if the Democratic candidate ([Switch] Jimmy Smits) wins the election in "November", the main body of supporting characters (CJ, Josh, Toby, Donna, etc.) wouldn't necessarilly have a role in the new administration - and we certainly know that's true if Alda's character wins. So where does that leave the show? With an entirely new cast of characters and the occasional cameo from Bartlett or CJ? At least the current characters are still (for the most part) grounded in Sorkin's character development - any new characters would be straight from Wells, and just as two-dimensional as Speaker Haffley (Steven Culp). I already watch a show like that...it's called "ER".
As for the Carnegie Melon reference...I hate to think it's a jab at Sorkin, but Aaron Sorkin is an alumni of Syracuse University's drama department, which is extremely competitive with CMU. But that's awfully arcane, even for an in-joke.
Veronica Mars: I can't agree more, it's one of the best new dramas this year. I can't wait to see where the Lilly Cane murder arc goes...and who the big bad ends up being in the end.
Incidentally, when Veronica was in the game club, did I see "You killed Faith" come up in the game? Or did I just imagine that?
Michael Cravens writes:
Final comment: I really really really hope that John Wells is smart enough to end the series when the Bartlet presidency ends...I don't want to see this series meander on for 10 seasons. I love the series, but I hate to see a strong series go crashing in flames. I have no interest in seeing an Alda/Smits presidency...they're both fine actors, and I welcome them to the series, but the show really needs to wrap up once Bartlet's term ends.
I think I disagree. I think it's clear that Wells is struggling with Sorkin's characters. That makes me want to see him work with his own. Doctor Who remained viable for years by giving itself the ability to replace anyone and everyone in the cast over time. I think The West Wing can do the same.
Er, without Daleks, of course.
>>I still do like West Wing, but I miss the Sorking days where it was the story of a group of people who worked in the White House who happened to run the country. Now it seems that the plot of the series has taken over and the characters are rapidly becoming more and more two-dimensional.
West Wing is becoming a very intelligent, well plotted political drama, but it's not the same West Wing I fell in love with.
Is "plot" fast becoming fandom's new dirty word?I like West Wing now. I'm glad the "talking twice as fast and saying nothing while tossing out every last pop culture tidbit and in-joke we can think of" stuff has been scaled back.
Smallville: Im a huge fan of the Flash.Something about the speedster always was so cool to me.He fights talking gorillas,whats not to like?Anyways i like the episode but feel he should have been taller.Love the Jay Garrick,BarryAllen,WallyWest,
BartAllen thing.Does this mean that in theory he could have been any of the above and the rest were false ids?
Dont quite see where Lana's storyline is going as far as the strange marking on her lower back.By the way Bart hitting on Chloe ....Good choice speedboy:)
Since we have seen a young Flash,will someone PLEASE give us a young Bruce Wayne.He could be an acquaintance of Lex,just passing thru or investigating the Smallville strangeness.Just a thought.
PAD wrote: In this season's nudge-nudge, wink wink episode, Clark Kent encounters the future Flash in a script packed with more in-jokes per minute than, well, one of mine.
I knew there was a reason I liked the episode!
I also appreciated that we got at least one episode this season without the strong sexual themes or nudity. But I am sure they will make up for it in the weeks ahead.
Jim in Iowa
Leviathan:
Doctor Who remained viable for years by giving itself the ability to replace anyone and everyone in the cast over time. I think The West Wing can do the same.
The problem with your analogy is that while Dr. Who has had a continually rotating cast, the show always remained centered around the character of the Doctor - regardless of who was playing him at the time. The nature of the show - the portability of it, if you will - allowed for the Doctor to pick up new companions and meet up with new adversaries (or old ones, like The Master) throughout his travels.
The West Wing, on the other hand, if it is to become Wells' political procedural drama, must remain rooted to the White House. Which means a wholesale (or near-wholesale) abandonment of the existing, familiar characters, regardless of who "wins the election".
The analogy fails because the character of The Doctor remained - different incarnations, different personalities, but still the same character for the audience to connect to - whereas the character "Jed Bartlett" (arguably the centerpoint of the show, after Sorkin took the focus off Sam Seaborn in season 1) must be removed from the foreground, leaving only a position of "President". The characters that would subsequently fill that position would have little/no emotional connection to the audience.
Personally, I feel that if Wells wants to continue the series after the Bartlett administration ends, he should take a cue from David E. Kelley and tweak the name of the show slightly. "The West Wing" incarnation could, as I noted earlier, continue to follow Jed Bartlett and the supporting characters in Life After the White House.
Leviathan:
"Er, without Daleks, of course."
Duuuuude. You almost got me interested in watching The West Wing there.
M-D November:
The problem with your analogy is that while Dr. Who has had a continually rotating cast, the show always remained centered around the character of the Doctor - regardless of who was playing him at the time.
But the Doctor's character changed completely with each re-casting. Troughton was nothing like Hartnell, Pertwee was unlike Troughton, Baker a complete change-up from Pertwee, Davison was far from Baker, Baker(II) was certainly no Davison, McCoy couldn't have differed more from Baker(II), Mcgann was nowhere near to being McCoy, and Eccleston shows no sign of resembling any of em.
In short, in any useful sense, "The Doctor" is much more a title than a character. Sort of like "The President."
Charles K writes:
Leviathan:
"Er, without Daleks, of course."
Duuuuude. You almost got me interested in watching The West Wing there.
Well, the show will continue to have something like Daleks, just a little less mentally flexible. They're called "Republicans."
Leviathan:
"Well, the show will continue to have something like Daleks, just a little less mentally flexible. They're called "Republicans.""
Although, ironically, it was the Kaleds who were in favor of stem-cell research.
PAD wrote:
"What's really fascinating is if you give thought to early in the first season, Bartlett's doctor friend's plane was shot down by a hostile nation and Bartlett was practically ready to go thermonuclear on them while the Joint Chiefs tried to talk him down."
Not just the Joint Chiefs, but Leo, as well.
None of the characters sound quite right without Sorkin providing their words, but Leo (and, as KRAD notes, Will) are, in many and obvious ways, completely off.
Anthony White wrote:
"I like West Wing now. I'm glad the 'talking twice as fast and saying nothing while tossing out every last pop culture tidbit and in-joke we can think of' stuff has been scaled back."
The fact that you think they were somehow "saying nothing" demonstrates precisely why you apparently didn't properly appreciate Sorkin's West Wing.
.
David Aspmo
> Doctor Who remained viable for
> years by giving itself the ability to replace
> anyone and everyone in the cast over time. I
> think The West Wing can do the
> same.
>
> Er, without Daleks, of course.
No, NO, NO, Daleks are exactly what the show needs! I can see it now, a ten-episode arc under the collective title "Invasion: 2005 A.D.", as the planet struggles to unite against the extra-terrestrial threat, ending with now-U. N. Secretary-General Bartlet ordering the U.N.I.T. to expand their operations into space as a Starfleet. (Okay, Earthforce, I'm not picky.)
You have to admit it'd be a great revenge by John Wells on all his fan critics comparing him to Aaron Sorkin. "You don't like what I did with the show? Well, I got your changed characters right here...!"
Hey, with this miniseries airing and next year with Firefly metamorphing into Serenity, isn't it time to bring back Crusade?
I'm still dreaming of a "Space Above and Beyond" reunion. It could happen, dammit.
I loathe Smallville. yes, I know as a student of Towson University, where the guy who plays Lionel somehow manages to find time to teach, is just wrong. My school spirit isn't that strong.
I caught bits and pieces of The Flash episode while channel surfing. Let's see.. Flash from the future. Carrying fake IDs for Jay Garrick and Wally West. Perhaps it is none other than John Fox, The Flash that time forgot.
As Mr. David noted, "Smallville" has taken his favorite writing trick, in-jokes. And yet, as of this date, they haven't purchased any scripts from him (assuming that he has solicited them). I know it's not infringement of anything, but I think it is a shame.
Because, you know that if Mr. D DID put in-jokes, they would refer to a whole lot of other things, not just DC comics trivia.
My thoughts on Smallville (pasted from my LJ)
"It's a big world, maybe i'll check it out. see if there's anyone else out there like us. maybe start like a club or a league or something" - Bart Allen to Clark Kent
great kickass line coming from Bart Allen aka Kid Flash and who had different aliases (Jay Garrick, Barry Allen and Wally West...heh loved the way they incorporated those names of the past Flash into the show). Overall a great episode in my opinion :)
-Of course there was the Lana/Jason Teague subplot which wasn't all that interesting...it seems such a mere coincidence Lana is involved with the Kryptonian symbols from that thing she sketched out.
-Loved the way the race was shot/done with Clark chasing Bart and then Bart crossing the river as though its like skipping rocks (if you throw the rock really fast across a stream).
-I think introducing Kid Flash was better than if it would've been Bruce Wayne, gave Clark an ally and somewhat of a challenge since he thought he was the only fastest person alive.
-Liked the fact that they showed Bart as cocky, smartass, and not afraid to show his abilities (yes even though he MAY NOT be accurate)....nice to see a flip side of someone who takes advantage of his abilities while Clark is reluctant to use it whenever in the public eye.
Veronica Mars - loved the episode although it was a bit hard to understand. liked the flashbacks used of when Veronica was still popular and my thoughts on when the mom seemed a bit disgusted by the video, all I can think was "maybe she did it!"
Lost - good episode although not as strong as previous (with Locke's secret) but interesting to get an insight on Jack's reason for going to Australia. this week's looks pretty interesting...
Watched three episodes of VERONICA MARS courtesy of a friend and ...
Boy, what a good role model for kids SHE is. Lying, breaking laws right left and center, ignoring rules when it suits her.
She's got a great future in politics, I can tell.
Count me out as a fan.
Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars was amazing. A great ending to the best sci-fi series ever IMO.
I'm really gonna miss it..
"Watched three episodes of VERONICA MARS courtesy of a friend and ...
"Boy, what a good role model for kids SHE is. Lying, breaking laws right left and center, ignoring rules when it suits her."
What an odd attitude to have. Why is it incumbent that Veronica Mars be any more a role model than any other character on any other drama? "Lying, breaking laws, ignoring rules." Well, that also describes Buffy the Vampire Slayer and just about any maverick cop on any crime drama. You appear to have decided for yourself that the show is supposed to fit into some slot that you yourself have created and, because it doesn't, you've no patience with it.
How about judging it what it is--The story of a young, frustrated, troubled and flawed young woman who nevertheless is doing the best she can to help others in trouble--rather than what it isn't, namely "The Waltons."
PAD
Because the doctrine of "the ends justify the means" has always troubled me and this seems to be her guiding imperative. I'm not saying she's not doing some good. And I'm not saying that the town seems populated by people who have it coming to them. At least the very flawed character of Vic in The Shield seems to realize that what he's doing is bad to the point that he tries to keep it from his family for their sake. One doesn't gets that impression from Veronica. Cajoling other people (friends/schoolmates) into helping her break the laws/rules is not what I'd call setting a shining example.
For all his flaws, I respect Michael Moore for what he did in high school. Fed up with how the system was treating him, he didn't do as he pleased, ruled be damned, he joined the system by running [successfully] for office [school board] at 18, and then worked within the system to make the changes he perceived as necessary.
I think I know which approach is healthier for society. But, hey, it's harder, and often takes longer right? So, let's take the quick and dirty way and rules be damned. (And, no, I realize that's not what you're saying, I'm aiming this at how I perceive, rightly or wrongly, the show to be.)
Back to the Carnegie Mellon t-shirt reference...
Carnegie Mellon has a top professional program in public policy and management at the Heinz School of Public Policy and Management. [I'm considering attending this fall.]
Great reviews, Cowboy Pete!
Regarding what they could have done with an expanded fifth season of Farscape:
1. Go over what happened between the "Scorpius is dead" and the "Why is Scorpius abandoning his post NOW?" subplots that the "loyal viewership" didn't get to see.
2. Clarify whether Grayza was impregnated by Creighton during the rape scene in "What Was Lost Part I" or was the Chancellor the father.
3. Explain how Grayza's status changed from being Braca's prisoner at the end of season 5 to being the Chancellor's mistress in this miniseries.
4. Explain how Grnchlik survived when we saw Stark kill him in the beginning of season 3.
5. Explain what happened to Sikozu's people and where they stand regarding The Peacekeeper War.
I could go on, but you get the idea.
As great as the miniseries was, there could have been a lot more stories to tell. Maybe they'll have their chance in the future.
BTW, I don't believe for a "microt" that "Heavy D" is dead! Knowing that Chiana will be going to Hyneria AT D'ARGO'S INSISTANCE would be more than enough of an incentive for him to stay alive IMHO.