Lost - "Jughead"

Oceanic who? Wednesday's Lost was the first one in forever not to focus on the misadventures of Jack and the team and instead shined a welcome light on some of the more interesting storylines set up this season.

On the island, the time is 1955 and Sawyer, Juliet, and Locke discover that the people they have taken captive are indeed Others (or Locke's people if you're a bald man with a desperate need for meaning in his life). One of their captives was someone we knew, but I'm getting ahead of myself. Meanwhile, the Freighties got themselves taken hostage where they met the Others' leader: Richard Alpert! Looking exactly the same age. Richard and Co. assume that the Freighties are from the US government, there to deal with their leftovers.

That leftover was the titular figure: an H-bomb named Jughead. Faraday managed to convince Alpert that he wanted to disarm the bomb...by confessing his love for the sickness-bound Charlotte. That scene didn't quite connect for me, maybe because Alpert seemed a little too willing to go along with this. But in the end, Faraday and an Other named Ellie went to check out Jughead, where they met up with the Juliet-and-Sawyer cavalry who had come to rescue the Freighties. At the camp, Locke met Richard and told him when he was born (thus setting up Alpert's visit to John Locke's birth) and also encountered an Other who goes by the name of CHARLES FUCKING WIDMORE! Yes, Widmore's history with the island seems to go back much further than we knew. But then there was another time jump, leaving the Charlotte collapsed with a major nosebleed, Locke no closer to getting off the island, and the Others with a still-armed H-bomb and Faraday's advice to cover it in concrete and bury it. After all, the bomb hadn't gone off as of 2008, so this shouldn't be a problem. Right?

Well, tonight's other storyline threw that into doubt. It was Desmond's stuff that worked a lot better from an emotional standpoint, starting with the reveal that Penny and Desmond had a child together. A child named Charlie, as we found out in the episode's most touching moment. However, Desmond has to risk all that to go back to that island he left so long ago: Great Britain. There he encountered Faraday's old lab (after being told there was no record of a Professor Faraday) and learned about a woman named Theresa Spencer. Theresa was Faraday's lover/test subject when something went very wrong and she was left in coma. So we now know that Faraday's time travel theories have been wrong before, with tragic results.

Equally shocking was the news that his research was underwritten by none Other than Charles Widmore. Desmond's decision to visit Widmore wasn't as ill-advised as it seemed; it turns out that all Charles cares about is that Desmond is keeping Penny safely off the radar. Much more ill-advised was Widmore's decision to tell Desmond what he wanted to know. Now the whole family is on the road (water?) to Los Angeles, the current whereabouts of a certain bug-eyed, revenge-hungry Other.

All in all, I'd say this was a good, but not great episode. The Desmond stuff was interesting and touching and I liked what happened on the island a lot. But the two elements didn't quite feel united, and the leaving the Jughead stuff literally dangling was unsatisfying (although I'm sure that it'll come back soon). It seems a little like Lost is still trying to find their way around this new structure and it lacked the visceral pop of "Because You Left" (which I think has been kind of underrated). However, given the number of shocking developments and nice twists contained in the episode, I won't let a little nit-picking get in the way of enjoying a great episode.

A-

Top 5 Lost Theories of the Week (In this space I'll partake in a little theorizing):

5. Okay, so I was watching Deus Ex Machina (the one where Locke and Boone go to the plane and Boone dies) and I was reminded of what Boone says in his dream: ""Theresa falls up the stairs, Theresa falls down the stairs" What if that Theresa, Boone's childhood nanny, is THE SAME THERESA!!! It doesn't really make sense to me, either. The best I can come up with is that she fell down the stairs because she happened to be climbing them when her consciousness got displaced from time.

4. So, if you watched the repeat of The Lie, you no doubt noticed what a waste of space those pop-up pieces of info are (for example, when Locke appeared for the first time, the pop-up said "this is John Locke." I am not kidding.) However, the very end did reveal something useful and previously unknown. It turns out that Mrs. Hawking's first name is Eloise. Is she the Ellie we met on the island tonight? And is she Faraday's mother and namesake of Eloise the Doomed Lab Rat (new band name!)? Its looking Michael's-on-the-freighter obvious, so let's hope they don't drag this out.

3. So can the future be changed? After all, we saw Desmond acting on what Faraday told him to do in the past. But, more than that, the weird ending to all the Jughead stuff seems to me to be setting up a switch. What if you can change the future? And what if Faraday just changed it in a very negative way?

2. Desmond and Penny named their child Charlie, which is sweet. But what if Charlie gets to the island, travels through time and grows up to be CHARLES WIDMORE?!?!? Yeah, I'm not buying it either, simply because it would be very very silly for Penny to be the mother of her father.

1. What became of Jughead? I imagine that will be a topic that returns later, but I found a very intriguing idea on the AV Club's comments thread. What if the Others take Faraday's advice, encase Jughead in concrete and bury it underground. And what if they buried it in the site that would come to be known as the Swan? Perhaps the bomb was interfering or somehow affecting the island's weird properties, thus causing what happened down at the Swan. I think this is a really solid theory.

In preparation for tonight's Lost

Check it:


Find out Which Lost Character Are You at LiquidGeneration.com!

Battlestar Galactica - "A Disquiet That Follows My Soul"

I'm currently working on the first draft of a novel. As I'm writing it, I find that the destination keeps changing and the needs of the story are causing me to have to change details of the characters, one's profession, for instance. I can roll with this, because I have the luxury of then going back and changing everything so it fits together before I show it to anybody. So, in a way, I am sympathetic to the plight of Ron Moore and the writers of Battlestar Galactica. Clearly they did not plan on there being a second Cylon/human hybrid and, when they decided to turn Tyrol into a Cylon, they left themselves with a gaping hole to fill.

The solution to that problem was one of my many issues with "A Disquiet that Follows My Soul." Out of nowhere, we get this random news about Cally that just randomly renders moot a major part of of the story for the last couple of years just because it suits the writers' need. It was lazy and boring, which kind of perfectly describes the episode.

The show this week revolved around what the fleet was going to do about their tenuous relationship with the Cylons. Adama and Roslin want to align with them, while Zarek, Gaeta, and in all likelihood a large part of the fleet want to cut them loose. In a way, this could be an interesting development - if the fleet's whole existence has come down to find Earth and beat the Cylons then it could be just as big a blow to some people to lose the Cylons as an enemy as it was to find that the whole Earth thing wasn't going to come together for them.

But the whole thing just didn't really work. Right now it seems like everyone would have much larger concerns. Roslin and Adama, both still seem too shaken up about Earth to really contribute much, Gaeta wasn't exactly convincing in his role as betrayer of the fleet, and Tom Zarek has never really done it for me. I also see the other side a little bit more than the show did. Yes the Cylons are kinda good now and sure the right thing to do is to ally with them. But let's not forget that these Cylons were completely okay with destroying the colonies and ending life-as-everyone-knew-it. You can't expect everyone to happily let bygones be bygones that easily

So this week's episode felt lazy and wheel-spinning and, combined with the mehtastic reveal of the final Cylon (that went more or less unremarked upon this week) I haven't really been feeling the last hours of Galactica so far. Of course, its still way too early to make any final judgments, but the writing problems and lack of imagination here really bugged me and had me longing for the days of season one and two.

C

Lost - "Because You Left"/"The Lie"

Jam-packed with more crazy plot twists, strange developments, and time travel than most shows pack into a season, the two hour, two episode fifth season premiere of Lost showed that the writers no longer care about making concessions to new viewers. Mad Men may be slow and ambiguous, The Wire hopelessly complex, but there's no show as challenging and rewarding as Lost.

We begin, as is our season premiere custom, with a jaunty song and a man going through his morning ritual. That man: Dr. Pierre Chang who you may remember from such hit movies as The Swan Station Orientation Film and The Orchid Station Orientation Video. He travels out to the construction site of what will become The Orchid, the location of “an almost limitless energy that will allow us to manipulate time.” But there are rules, rules that will likely come to play this season. Oh yeah, and Daniel Farraday is there. I don't think I'm overstating things by saying this may be one of the best sequences Lost has produced and perfectly launches us into the epic and exhausting season premiere.

Back off the island, Ben has set about his plan to bring the Oceanic Six plus Locke back to the island. Their first step is to go get Hurley, but Sayid has already busted him out and now Hurley's wanted for murder. None of the rest of them will be any easier for Ben/Jack to get to, with Sayid clearly having had some kind of falling out with Ben and Sun making a pact with Widmore to kill Ben (also something that's against the rules, if what we learned at the end of The Shape of Things to Come is to be believed). As for Kate, she's on the lam after lawyers come to give Aaron a maternity test (a kind of test that I imagine doesn't really get a lot of action). I'm still betting that the lawyers work for Ben, but it is for now unclear.

This was all very exciting, but it was the stuff on the island that really captured my imagination. It appears that by turning the wheel and moving the island, Ben caused the Losties still left on the island to become displaced in time in what appears to be a more severe version of what Desmond went through. Speaking of Desmond, we got to see hatch-bound Desmond again, who Farraday told to go see his mother. So did Daniel change the future, even though he was insistent that's not possible? Why do the rules not apply to Desmond? Either way, Desmond had better hurry, since Charlotte is getting the Nosebleed of Doom. It seems like she still has way too much story to tell before she can go the way of Minkowski (there wasn't any mention of the still looking for where I was born thing), but I'm worried because it doesn't look like there's going to be a solution to their problems anytime soon.

Meanwhile, Sawyer (if he doesn't refer to Farraday as Doc Brown by the end of season I will be very disappointed) took over as leader of the survivors who because of the time travel stuff, lost their shelter and all the Dharma gizmos and supplies that had been keeping them alive. Frogurt(!) seems especially freaked out by all of this, but hiss terror would be short-lived as things got even worse when someone with flaming arrows attacked them, someone who appears to be neither Dharma nor Other. Or are they? Could these people be the Others before they became Other? Widmore and his cronies?

And Locke had a couple of bang-up sequences of his own. First, he encountered the plane crash that brought Eko's brother to the island. Then he runs into Ethan who nearly kills him before the island shifts through time and Richard Alpert shows up in time to give Locke the information he needs. It seems that what's happening on the island wasn't supposed to happen and in order to fix it, Locke's going to have to bring everyone back. And die, confirming the Locke-as-island-Jesus theory. Oh, and Richard gives Locke a very familiar looking compass (which one of these things belongs to you, already)

The second hour focused a little too much on the Oceanic Six, specifically Hurley who didn't want to lie but had to. But unlike last season's "The Beginning of the End," which was really about the same thing from an emotional standpoint, this one came up a little short, since there was too much going on for Hurley's emotional beats to resonate, but not so much going on that it could make up for that problem. That being said, there was still a lot to like in "The Lie," from Mr. Reyes watching Expose (with a special cameo from the Previously on Lost guy) to the Ana-Lucia appearance.

With Hurley still on the lam, he goes to the only people he can trust: his parents. They do a decent job of stopping the police, but Sayid needs a doctor, so he goes to see Dr. Shepard. Jack revives Sayid, but their story ended before we could get into the meat of why Sayid now distrusts Ben or how Jack will convince him to go back. Meanwhile, Kate met up with Sun, but not a lot happened there either. And in the end, Ben came to see Hurley and seemed to just about have him convinced when Hurley ran out in the street and turned himself into the cops.

This was really about just stacking the odds against Ben and while the process that got us there was kind of tedious, the pay-off was excellent. Ben goes to see Mes. Hawking, the grey-haired lady who talked Desmond out of marrying Penny the first time he traveled through time. It seems that she is in league with Ben (and the woman who works at that butcher's shop), but tells him that he only has 70 hours to convince the Oceanic Six to go back. What happens if he fails? "God save us all."

So in my humble opinion we got one killer episode and one just okay episode. "Because You Left" showed us what Lost 5.0 would look like while relaunching us into the action with the pedal to the floor. "The Lie" suffered from being a little plot heavy, but I think the awesome ending kind of redeemed it. Either way, our long wait is over and its clear that Lost is as exciting and action-packed as ever. Downloading that much mind-blowing information at once was very exhausting but so worth it. Relax and sleep well everyone, our obsession is back.

Because You Left: A
The Lie: B

Tailgating Lost

T-2 hours till the season premiere of Lost and I'm pretty pumped. In case you're looking for some Lost-related ways to fill the time, here's some cool links:

The first Doc Jensen article of the season is up and it is, as always, excellent. Be warned though that while there aren't any overt spoilers he does seem to give away something that was surprising (to me anyway).

Doc also talks to Darlton Clindelof about season 5.

Here's an excellent interview with Damon Lindelof that goes into a lot of stuff about how the strike altered season 4 and features an especially interesting answer towards the end about the casting process of Ben.

USA Today does a pretty good job of recapping where we left everyone and has a pretty good interview to boot.

And from io9, a compendium of the best Lost shout-outs and parodies.

That's about it. See you guys after the show for the recap!

Woo-Hoo!!!

Less than 24 hours!

Battlestar Galactica - "Sometimes a Great Notion"

What was the biggest surprise of the episode? The thirteenth tribe? Kara's charred body? The identity of the last Cylon? For me, it was the scene the in the morgue. Lee stands over Dualla's body searching for a reason. He asks Adama, seemingly setting up Olmos for another gradiose speech. Instead he spits out "I don't frakking know." This episode wasn't about major revelations or mind-blowing twists (although it has both). It was about the people.

But I'm getting ahead. Last night's episode picked right up right with last summer's gut punch of an ending: Earth, it seems, is not the safe haven everyone thought it was. Instead, Baltar's testing confirms that the planet has been radioactive for a veeeery long time. Everything that they've gone through and fought for: its all been meaningless. The implications of that certainly weigh on the episode, but I don't want to neglect the somewhat shocking revelation that the thirteenth tribe was Cylon, not human. What? There were all kinds of twists here, but nothing made my head hurt quite like that one. How are these Cylons related to other seven? How can the Cylons have been invented and manufactured? I've long thought that the show has been building towards some kind of reveal that the humans are actually Cylons themselves and perhaps that's the case, but this new info doesn't really bolster that case.

That being said, the most effective part of this episode for me was watching the toll the news of Earth took on the fleet. Roslin's face when she got back to Galactica and saw the mass of gathered people seemed to say it all. Meanwhile, with Roslin checked out it was up to Lee to take charge and try to give some hope to people who had lost all of theirs. This led to the shocking scene with him and Dualla, one which took me completely by surprise. With the throbbing hopelessness of their situation staring her in the face, Dualla spends her last few moments savoring her perfect evening with Apollo and then pulls out a gun and shoots herself.

This led us into the scene I talked about earlier. Watching as Roslin and Apollo fell apart, it was for a moment reassuring to see Bill Adama, pretty much the most emotionally solid character of the last four seasons, step into the frame. Which made it that much bleaker to see that he had given up too. I've got to give all kinds of credit to Olmos, who nailed the scene with Apollo and the equally powerful one with Tigh later on.

Meanwhile, Kara and Leoben explored Earth and found that the distress signal that led them to Earth came from a downed Viper containing...the body of Kara Thrace! What??? We now know officially that she's not a Cylon (that always seemed a little too easy) so how is she still alive? That's a little too much of a mindbender for me to deal with and it seems like Leoben felt the same way (yet another person who can't handle what he finds on Earth).

Then there was Tyrol, Tory, Anders and Tigh who all began to remember parts of their lives on Earth 2000 years ago. So they're all over 2000 years old. And it appeared that Earth, while populated with Cylons, was not populated with just the 12 models we know and love. I imagine this notion will be the one that the remainder of the episodes pivots on.

But of course, there was the big finale. It seems like Ellen was one of the few characters who I completely failed to consider as being the last Cylon, but it definitely wasn't the kind of great gut punch twist that the show is known for delivering. For this reason, I was initially disappointed. But think about it and it seems like one of the few choices that actually makes sense. It raises the stakes of what went on in New Caprica even more and it adds yet another dimension to the Saul-Ellen relationship. The most important thing to keep in mind is that this isn't the end of the series, which means that while the choice of Ellen may not have been the most immediately satisfying, I have enough faith in the writers to trust that it will pay off in the long term.

A-

P.S. Pretty much the definitive post-show analysis is here, featuring interviews with Ron Moore, the episodes' writers, and its director.

Happy Battlestar Day!

I'm currently watching a BSG marathon on Sci-Fi and that can only mean one thing! Battlestar Galactica is back! Yes, the glorious hour is nearly at hand, so here's some stuff to get you psyched:

Feel like diving headfirst into the "many mysteries of Battlestar," then does Sci-Fi Channel have the website for you! I've been staying away from it to avoid spoilers, but apparently this You Will Know the Truth site offers clues to unlock the show's mysteries.

Of course, if you prefer to do it the old-fashioned way, Sci-Fi is rerunning season four all day (they've just started too).

All alone and looking for someone to watch tonight's big premiere with? Why not check Craig's List

This speaks for itself.

Finally, io9 has a review and a compendium of awesome fan theories.

There you go. See you tonight!

Amy Ryan Returning to the Office!

SPOILER ALERT!!! DON'T READ ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN ON THE OFFICE!

Yep, you read correctly. It seems like the best thing to happen to the Office since Jim and Pam is coming back. Check this out for more.

According to Office Tally, Michael will be going on a tour of branches to give motivational speeches to them and it includes a visit to Holly's branch. While there's no word as to whether she was actually in the episode, she's not gone yet, which is good enough for me.

More on New Amy Poehler Show

This is from the AP:

Coming off her final and triumphant "Saturday Night Live" season, Amy Poehler says she's looking forward to switching gears in a new NBC comedy.

Poehler told a meeting of the Television Critics Association that she's excited about the idea of being able to "turn the volume down a little bit and sit with a character."

In the mockumentary-style comedy, Poehler plays a mid-level bureaucrat in an Indiana city parks and recreation department who's looking to get ahead.

The still-untitled series debuts 8:30 p.m. EST April 9.

Poehler's portrayal of Hillary Rodham Clinton opposite Tina Fey's Sarah Palin on "SNL" was a highlight of the show last year.

The new series isn't intended as a satire on national politics but instead offers a comedic take on how government works in an American town, said Michael Schur, who's executive producer along with Greg Daniels (of "The Office," NBC's other mockumentary-style comedy).

Poehler's character, Leslie Knope, finds her love of the democratic process tested as she faces defensive government workers, selfish residents and real estate developers.

Additionally, this is from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via Office Tally:

In the show, Leslie attempts to improve her town and advance her career by helping a local nurse (Rashida Jones, "The Office") turn a construction pit into a park. They're opposed by defensive bureaucrats, NIMBY neighbors and developers. She's helped and hindered by Tom Haverford (Aziz Ansari, "Human Giant," "Scrubs"), another government official.

In the process, Leslie hopes to inspire her bored college intern (Aubrey Plaza) and reach her goal of becoming the first female President of the United States.

30 Rock, Office Renewed by NBC

In awesome news for comedy fans, NBC announced today that 30 Rock is being renewed for a fourth season. For a show with ratings as low as it, it shows how desperate NBC is. I won't complain though, 30 Rock should be on forever. This I guess is the good news about NBC's floundering of late. If they were a little more successful, they might not have kept the show around for so long. The network also announced the shocker that The Office will also return for another year. Lastly, they announced the still unnamed show starring Amy Poehler that has been created by the same producers as The Office will debut on April 9th at at 8:30 PM.

A Battlestar PSA

Like all of you, we're super excited for the return of Battlestar, but as you can tell from the concerned look on Adama and Roslin's faces, there's something up. That something, according to Sci-Fi Wire, is that the episode is running 3 and a half minutes long, so if you're DVRing, take note that the episode will not end on the hour as usual and the rumor is that you don't want to miss the ending.

Sit Down, Shut Up Gets Air Date!/Arrested Development Movie News

According to Variety, the long put off animated series being produced by Arrested Development's Mitch Hurwitz, Sit Down, Shut Up, has been given a firm air date by Fox. The show will run Sunday nights at 9:30 starting on April 19.If you don't know what the show is, it's a remake of a live action show from Australia about a group of teachers at a school, but it's about teachers as much as Arrested Development was about tax fraud. The cast for the show is amazing, including Will Forte, Jason Batemen, Keenan Thompson, Maria Bamford, Henry Winkler, and Cheri Oteri. It looks awesome, and apparently Fox is promoting it big.


Additionally, we've sort of put off talking about the rumored Arrested Development movie because, truthfully, we didn't want to get our hopes up too high, but at the end of the Variety article (link above), they had this little bit:

"Meanwhile, Hurwitz hinted that all sides are closer to putting together that long-rumored "Arrested Development" movie. The scribe said he was "really optimistic" that an announcement was imminent: "We have a deal more or less in place from Fox Searchlight," he said.

Hurwitz also quipped that he has a storyline in mind: "It's 'Valkerie' meets 'Hotel for Dogs.'"

Upon reading that, I blue myself.

Jonah adds: There is one catch to the AD movie and it remains Michael Cera. Says Jason Bateman:

"I know he's thinking about it, and we're all awaiting some finality to all of that so Mitch can get writing."

I guess he's busy making more winners like Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist...

24: "8:00 AM - 12:00 PM"

I haven't decided whether or not to add this to the regular recapping slate but after having plowed through the four hour season premiere of 24, the first episodes of the show proper in almost 20 months, I must say I'm more pleased with 24 than I have been in a while.

When last we left Jack Bauer, he had boringed his way through Africa before coming back to good ole US of A. The show picks up a few months later, with Jack testifying before the Senate about the "enhanced interrogation" from his days at the now disbanded CTU. The show has often been quite casual about all the torture stuff, so it was weird to see it addressed directly. Even weirder, however, was how overtly, angrily right wing it all was. From Jack's petulant defense to the straw man pomposity of the Senator to the gratuitous scene with the appreciate cop in the car, it seems that the creators of 24 are very pissed off with the shifting of public opinion and the impending closing of Guantanamo Bay. These scenes were pretty unpleasant, even by 24's vaguly fascist standards, but they were mercifully contained to the first hour.

Instead, we quickly shifted focus to the terrorist threat of the day: Jack's presumed dead BFF Tony Almeida. 24's biggest problems have always come when it gets too bogged down in its own internal logic. This is never going to be The Wire, but at its best, its a cracker jack action serial, which is why I have no problem with the way they casually brushed aside the fact that we watched Tony die in order to give Jack a more personal stake in the matter. Jack angrily discovers that not only is Tony alive, but he's working on an evil plan involves the kind of super-hacking technology that only exists in 24.

Of course, if you've made it to the end, you know that all is not what it appears. After an awesome interrogation sequence, Tony slips Jack an old CTU code word and a number that leads Jack to his old friends Chloe and Bill Buchanan. Yes, Tony is deep deep undercover trying to expose a conspiracy that goes deep inside the President's circle. But this isn't CTU. Instead, Jack, Tony, Chloe, and Bill end up forming a sort of A Team, operating outside of the government for the good of the country. Jack proceeds to bust Tony out of FBI custody in the most exciting sequence of the premiere and the two start working with the bad guys in an attempt to get to the man behind the attacks.

Meanwhile, that fictional African country (heretofore known as FAC) from the movie has descended into genocide and since that wimpy UN won't do anything, President Cherry Jones has decided its time for Team America: World Police to invade. The bad guys, who are behind the genocide, don't want that to happen and they tell her if she doesn't stop the invasion, bad things will happen. Honestly would there really be massive riots if there was a blackout for a few days? I thought that was a little overblown, but the other stuff they could do with that device seemed scary enough.

Meanwhile, the President Cherry Jones' son killed himself...OR DID HE? The First Gentleman certainly suspects foul play when a PI finds out that the son's girlfriend recieved $400,000 just a couple days after the death. It takes four hours but she finally comes clean that the son had discovered a conspiracy, THE SAME ONE JACK BAUER IS TRYING TO STOP. Yeah, it wasn't really that shocking (especially since it was information we learned in that lame movie from November), but it at least provided some hope that this storyline may get more interesting soon.

And finally, there's the FBI, which is the new CTU and features both Janene Garafolo and Entourage's Billy Walsh. Walsh seemed like an early favorite in this season's molestakes, but it turns out he was just worried about his wife, who was stuck on an airplane. So he interfered and lied to get her plane on the ground. Surely nothing bad will come from that. Meanwhile, the main character at the FBI is a female agent who I'll be calling Jack Jr. until I can remember her real name. Jack Jr., in the course of four hours, goes from by-the-books Constitution lover to a paranoid torturer. That Jack sure is persuasive. She clashes with her boss, who clearly has the hots for here, and Garafolo, who is the FBI's Chloe equivalent.

Its pretty exhausing to go through all that and it leaves precious little space for analysis but, despite myself, I have to admit that I kind of like it. Taking all the wackiness with a grain of salt, its actually pretty great to have Jack and Tony back together and the fact that they're no longer working for anyone is very interesting. It also says a lot about how 24 sees itself in Obama's America. Here's Jack Bauer, defender of the American way, deciding that his authority superceded the government, the military, or law enforcement, taking it upon himself to remove elements of power that he sees as dangerous or threatening. It is undeniably fascist and reactionary, perhaps moreso than the show has ever been, but its also a shocking amount of fun. Ultimately, the writing on 24 has never been its strong point and despite the bonkers political stuff, Jack is more human and interesting than he's been in a while and the greater the odds are against him, the more exciting it is. The first four episodes of season 7 may be a lot of things, but they aren't boring and, as far as I'm concerned, that makes them a vast improvement over season 6, as well as a lot of the TV that I watched last fall.

B+

How I Met Your Mother - "Benefits"

After the last episode, the awesome "Little Minnesota," it was great to see the gang back at McClaren's again. This week was an episode loaded to the brim with hilarity and the plot devices that have made HIMYM so endearing. This episode perfectly encapsulated the show for me, and even if you'd never watched an episode before, this episode is one I'll show to friends who've never watched it before, that is, after "Slapbet."

So it all started with Ted and Robin deciding to sleep together to alleviate roommate stress. They are discovered (in one of the funniest moments of the episode) by Marshall, who is having problems of his own due to his inability to "read a magazine" at work. When Barney discovers Ted and Robin's secret, he flips out, continuously destroying TVs. In the end, Marshall overcomes his fear and Ted catches on to Barney's crush on Robin, ending their relationship. Unfortunately for Barney, who is ready to finally tell Robin his feelings, Robin makes it clear she doesn't want to get involved with a friend again.

The episode did the things that HIMYM is best at: combing the goofiness of friendship with a plot that is compelling. Ted's knowledge of Barney's crush will really make things interesting. This plot is far from over. The good news is, HIMYM has hit its stride in the wake of the Stella Breakup, and I like where it's heading.

A

Scrubs - "My Jerks" & "My Last Words"

First of all, sorry this is a little late. I just got back from vacation and I'm a little behind on my posts, but now I'm back and ready to go.

For its first two seasons, Scrubs was a show that was one part comedy and one part coming of age comedy. It was funny, often silly at times, but other times showed the hardships and trials of a group of young doctors trying to make it in the most important of professions. By the time it hit its third and fourth season, it leaned toward the silly side a little more before sliding there completely in its fifth, sixth, and seventh seasons. Though there were attempts to get the show back to a more serious tone (Nurse Robert's death, Carla's post-natal depression, J.D.'s unexpected fatherhood), the show was a shadow of its former self, entertaining, but not compelling.

With its move to ABC, the show has entered its final chapter and show creator Bill Lawrence made it very clear that it would again become a more serious show. The first two episodes of the season, "My Jerks" and "My Last Words" clearly showed this was going to happen. The regular cast of characters have issues that have been long glazed over and it was nice to see Elliott's resolution of her breakup with Keith, Dr. Cox's constant stubbornness, and J.D.'s constant impatience with his own interns. The jokes were still there, thanks largely impart to the addition of his new interns (yeah Aziz Ansari!), but there was the old degree of seriousness that was the underlying factor of the show's first two seasons.

The second episode, "My Last Words" was easily the most poignant episode the show has ever done. As J.D. and Turk forgo their coveted Steak Night to spend time with a dying patient, Scrubs did what it once did best: seamlessly going from laugh out loud funny to emotional and deep. As Scrubs heads into its last season with Lawrence and Zach Braff, it seems that it's resolution time for its characters. They're no longer young and brash, but experienced and accountable. It will be interesting to see how things unfold, and I can't wait to see it.

B/A

Midseason Review: The Office (Season 5)

As "The Office" is set to return tomorrow night, I thought it'd be helpful to gain some perspective on what we've seen so far. The show's writers reached an interesting point going into the season. The initial draw of the show, aside from Michael's crazy antics, was the relationship of Jim and Pam. By the end of the fourth season however, the couple was together and Jim was planning to propose. With wedding bells in the future for the high drama couple, the plot appeared to be left to Michael and the rest of the office.

The brilliant addition of Holly however changed all of this. Though only in a few episodes, Amy Ryan's character was the female Michael Scott and made him both more human and more likable. A character that was hard not to like, Holly made Jim and Pam take a backseat to her burgeoning romance with Michael. The closure to his relationship with Jan was also a nice touch. Holly's departure (due to Amy Ryan's departure) was heartbreaking, not only for Michael, but for the plot of the show. If Holly doesn't return, then someone else needs to fill her place.

The Dwight-Angela-Andy love triangle also helped make things interesting. Dwight, originally the stupid brief comic relief, has been transformed into a character that is as likable as Jim, despite his more brash approach to everything. Though Angela is still quite shrill, she has become an enjoyable character that is just as flawed as all of her co-workers. The decision in season 3 to change Andy from an over angry prep boy to an overly cheery prep boy was a wise choice. He's funnier than he was before and I find myself wanting both he and Dwight to be with Angela, and her to be with both of them. Phyllis' revelation of Angela's affair with Dwight will make things interesting. I can't wait to find out what will happen with that.

On the note of Phyllis, having the other office workers start to have their own day in the sun has been really a stroke of genius. On the British version of the show, the other workers were largely ignored and used only as background for the antics of David, Gareth, Tim, and Dawn. But the American writers have done a good job of using these characters. Whether it's Stanley's grumpy observations to Oscar's dry remarks, to Phyllis' ability to come into her own as head of the Party Planning Committee, the minor characters of The Office have become just as lovable as the main ones, making the story even more interesting than without them.

That brings us last to the former cornerstones of the show, Jim and Pam. In the season finale of last year, Jim was all set to propose to Pam when Andy interrupted it all with a proposal of his own. As a result, there was a missing part of the (as Kevin called it) PB&J Relationship. The show picked up wisely with sending Pam to New York, a world of possibility, away from her boyfriend. By giving Pam freedom, suddenly it seemed like she might not need Jim anymore. But his proposal was a moment Office fans had been waiting for, and her subsequent return to Scranton has made the show's idealized couple even more idealized. Not making their relationship stagnant will be a major part of keeping this show going, despite all of the other improved elements of the show.

Overall, Season 5 has been good, but not great. Holly's departure really has been the only part that has held it back from that greatness. It appears, however, things will get interesting when the show returns, tomorrow night.

Battlestar Preview

With Battlestar Galactica returning in a few short weeks, Sci-Fi has put up a couple previews of the final episodes. The show offered up an interesting twist by having them reach Earth before the end, so I'm excited to see what happens. Enjoy the clip below!

Happy 2009!

With a new year, TV Rules the Nation is looking to return and be better than ever. We know we've been slacking, but now that we've reached our final semester of college, we're a little less swamped with work and a little more willing to slack off by watching TV and using the interweb. So for those who have been frustrated with our lack of posting, have no fear, we're coming back!

Reviews will resume as shows come back, but until then, we'll have some recaps of seasons so far and, for right now, some previews!

1. How I Met Your Mother: First off, isn't that picture from Entertainment Weekly awesome? There's a bunch that are all hilarious. When TV Guide's best show of 2008 returns on Jan. 12, they'll return with an episode called "Benefits" that, without spoiling anything, will feature several reality TV stars haunting Marshall. Some interesting things are on the horizon for roommates Ted and Robin, but I won't spoil them here. If you just can't wait, then check out this blog. Lastly, HIMYM will begin syndication on Lifetime, starting today, so you'll have another place to get your fix of awesomeness.

2. Scrubs: It's always sad when a show reaches its end, but according to show creator Bill Lawrence, it might not be. In an interview with Michael Ausiello, Lawrence revealed that ABC might keep the show on, despite the fact that both he and star Zach Braff will be leaving at the conclusion of its 8th season. From the sound of things, the show has gone back to a format similar to what it was in its first two seasons, where it wasn't quite so goofy, but still incredibly funny. Also, apparently every character will have their story wrapped up by the end, including a conclusion to the J.D.-Elliot relationship. Also, the Janitor gets fired by Courtney Cox in the second episode (WHAT?!) Be sure to read the interview and catch Scrubs' return on ABC TOMORROW NIGHT!

3. The Office: Tomorrow, I'll post a review of the first half of season 5 of the Office, but for tonight, there's some awesome news. First off, the show revealed that their post-Super Bowl episode will feature cameos from none other than Jack Black and Jessica Alba. Apparently, the crew at Dunder-Mifflin will be attempting to watch a bootleged film that features the two stars. In other Office news, Amy Ryan (Holly) reportedly said that she'd be interested in returning to the show, but there are no imminent plans for her return.

4. Heroes: As has been expected, Bryan Fuller is returning as a consultant to Heroes following the end of Pushing Daisies. Also interviewed on EW.com, Fuller said that the show is finally realizing that they suck. According to Fuller, the show will drop a lot of the mythology crap and return the idea of ordinary people with extraordinary abilities. Fuller revealed that everyone returns to their normal lives and then deals with saving the world from there instead of living in an alternate world where responsibilities don't matter. Hopefully the show will return to it's old awesomeness. In other Heroes news, Sylar's dad is going to appear on the show. Hooray?

5. Lost: OMG IT'S COMING BACK IN TWO AND A HALF WEEKS AND I CAN'T WAIT AT ALL!!! (Sorry for not really having news, I just can't wait!)

Like I mentioned, I'll check back in tomorrow with a review of the first half of the season for the Office, and hopefully I'll get 30 Rock finished by the time it comes back on Thursday to recap that too. I know they're both good, I just need to refresh my memory. Anyways, more to come soon!