Television

24 – Day 8: 10:00 A.M – 11:00 A.M

It’s comforting to know that some things will never change.  For instance, the Yankees will always be the bane of every New Englanders existence, “Law & Order” and “The Simpsons” will somehow always escape cancellation despite being on air for a billion years with sub-par ratings and boxers will always, always be better then briefs.  For “24” fans who are lamenting the loss of one of their favorite shows, last night’s episode of “24” should’ve been a breath of fresh air, because everybody knows that Jack Bauer will always, at least once a season, ignore the orders of his superiors, go off the grid and take matters into his own hands.  Last night saw the events of the last few episodes culminating in Jack completely ignoring the President’s orders to stand down and attempting to unearth the Russians for who they really are: the murderers of Omar Hassan. 

V – Heretic’s Fork

The following review may contain some mild spoilers, I’ll try not to go into too much detail but I feel it’s necessary to
examine certain developments, so use your discretion when reading.

A ‘heretic’s fork‘, we are told early on, is a piece of torture equipment that was a rather effective way of getting people to divulge their secrets. It’s an interesting choice of title that points to a more morally ambiguous atmosphere running throughout the entire episode.

We begin where last week left off with the human assassin, who is now strung up in a basement and is sweating profusely.  As he justifies his actions, we have an interesting scene with possibly the most polarized version of a good cop/bad cop routine ever to grace the screen. On one hand we have the good Father Jack and on the other is the sociopath mercenary, Hobbes. This little moral dilemma plays out rather how you’d expect, but this doesn’t make it any less of an adrenaline rush. Suddenly the show has it’s very own Jack Bauer, only unlike Jack, Hobbes is always a complete bastard.

There were several moments tonight where Hobbes, as shallow a character as he is, totally overshadowed the rest of the cast and without him, the resistance is really just a Priest a Mum and an Alien (that is definitely the new name of my band). He provides little more than a bit of grit and violence, but it really adds to the feeling of desperation for those who are burdened with the truth and creates a greater sense of urgency. Whilst we are discussing the atmosphere of the episode, I couldn’t help notices the way the writers seemed to have turned up the notch with the B-Movie vibe. The episode is littered with phrases like ’hybrid baby’ and ’soldiers bred to fight‘ and I for one, absolutely loved it. The show was never going to be a serious action drama and it’s relieving to see them get comfortable with the alien invasion clichés.

Party Down – TV’s Most Under-Rated Comedy

Somewhere between “The Office” and “30 Rock,” between the gritty Showtime comedies and the testosterone laced HBO comedies, somewhere in the middle of all of these critically acclaimed television shows is “Party Down,” a tiny comedy that has somehow remained under the radar.  Ratings for the show are sub-par in comparison to other premium cable shows such as “Weeds” or “The United States of Tara,” and it doesn’t help that the show was picked up by Starz, a channel that is more known for airing various movies than television shows.  However, “Party Down” and “Spartacus” have come to represent Starz’s one-two punch of comedy and drama, and with Season 2 premiering last night, it’s more important than ever that people learn about this show before it becomes yet another great show that’s tossed into the “Cancel” bin.

10 Characters TV Could Do Without

Who would you like to kill off on your favourite show? Below are my pick of the 10 characters I would happily see drive off a cliff, or die in suspicious circumstances. Feel free to call me out on my choices and pick your own in the comment section.

Chuck: Chuck vs. the Honeymooners

The first of the post-should-have-been-season-finale episodes have started. This installment of Chuck featured a great mix of romance, action, and comedy (as usual), as well as a certain “freedom” from the overwhelming UST and angst that has been steadily increasing until its culmination in the previous episode. It was with both anticipation and a little bit of apprehension that I sat down to enjoy my favorite geek hero (and his awesome entourage) this week; I really enjoyed the last episode and thought it worked well as a season (and possibly series) finale, so I worried that the last six “bonus” episodes would mess things up again.

Would they try to stuff the romance back in the box and bring back the UST?
Would they make either of the super-spies into simpering heroines in need of constant rescue (and yes, that means Chuck as well)?
Would they mess up the team dynamics that has worked so well this far?
The answer to all of the above, fortunately, was no.

Spartacus: Blood and Sand – Nudity, Gore and Uncomfortable Truths

Spartacus: Blood and Sand smashed its way onto Northern American screens in January amidst an orgy of blood, sex, severed limbs and inevitable controversy. With the success of historical epics

South Park – 201

So here it is; the conclusion to the eerily familiar cliff-hanger of South Park’s 200th episode. Will we ever find out who Cartman’s Father really is, or is it just another cruel trick played by Trey Parker and Matt Stone?

To be blunt, yes we do. Even more surprising is, that of all the directions the mischievous writers could have chosen to take this irritating little mystery, the revelation turns out to be as unexpected as it is hilarious. I had braced myself for another terrible Terrance and Phillip fartathon or maybe just an unsatisfying ‘it’s chef’ scenario, but without spoiling it, the actual result left me grinning like a masturbating chimp and laughing like any woman who’s ever seen me naked. There’s a stroke of genius in the reveal and everything about it was groin-grippingly brilliant. If the whole episode had followed Cartman’s quest for the truth, it would have almost certainly gone down as one of my favourite of all time. Characters we haven’t seen for years return like long lost Uncles (the kind that don’t bounce you too gingerly on their knee) and it’s strange how happy I was to see their return.

The Geneticist Dr Mephisto and his strange pet/friend Kevin are back and they are still putting an unnaturally large number of asses onto lab animals. In fact, almost all the old faces are their, albeit in often fleeting glimpses and these references to the past make the viewer strangely nostalgic even amongst the increasingly ridiculous circus like extravaganza. The majority of the jokes have links to past episodes and long time fans are rewarded with a depth not usually present in the episodic world of South Park.