HYGOTS No. 69
February 5th, 2010
Here’s another subject I haven’t gotten around to yet (if you’ll indulge me, this isn’t the first time I’ve done a column, but it is the first time I’ve apparently found it exceedingly easy to come up with new topics on a regular, weekly basis), and that’s been my interest in the Arthurian legend. From ‘Excalibur’ (which hasn’t really been my cup of tea, but I still hope to revisit it with more enthusiasm) to ‘Merlin’ (the mini-series) to ‘Merlin’ (the TV series) to ‘The Last Legion’ (involving a prehistory of both Merlin and Excalibur) to ‘First Knight‘ to ‘King Arthur,’ I seem to have stumbled into quite a number of filmed projects over the years covering the fabled ruler of Camelot (oh! didn’t mention ‘Monty Python and the Holy Grail’ in that line-up!), which I’ve read about my whole life, whether on my own or experienced Sir Gawain and his experience with the Green Knight in school (either in the classroom or as part of a one-act play competition). It’s hard to be part of the Western and/or English tradition and escape it, really.
Fringe 2×15 “Jacksonville” review
February 5th, 2010
The following contains spoilers through the episode “Jacksonville,” originally broadcast 2/4/10.
It appears that we’re headed back into strictly arc-driven territory, something this season has been reluctant to do, even though last year ended on so many notes that would have suggested its inevitability. This was the “winter finale,” the last episode until April, at which point there will be eight episodes, leading to 5/20/10, which happens to be numbers Walter mentions this episode as important for reasons he can’t remember…
Heroes 4×17 “The Wall” review
February 2nd, 2010
The following contains spoilers through the episode “The Wall,” originally broadcast 2/1/10.
Okay, so NBC made a few things clear last night: this season is going to be eighteen episodes long (one less than originally suggested), and that, for all intents and purposes, ‘Heroes’ isn’t quite done yet. The fans, meanwhile, have still been having their say as well: whatever this season has done, it hasn’t exactly accomplished its goal of redeeming the series. If anything, it seems to have only cemented the fact that ‘Heroes’ has quite thoroughly lost the zeitgeist. At this point, a lot of the original fans have decided more of what they want than what they’re willing to accept from the creators, which is something that has killed genre shows in the past (ironically, for instance, ‘Star Trek: Enterprise,’ which attempted a similar fan-appeasing fourth season, also managed to fail quite spectacularly, though NBC is still apparently willing to suggest ‘Heroes’ isn’t quite done yet). “The Wall,” for better or worse, demonstrates an unerring confidence on the part of the creators in their own storytelling instincts.
Smallville 9×10 – “Disciple”
January 30th, 2010
Smallville returns with a bit of an appetizer before the show presents us with the first 2-hour movie next week. It’s another heavy Oliver-centric episode, where we learn how Oliver gained the skills to become the Green Arrow. There’s some Clark stuff in there as well, but “Disciple” is another episode of the Green Arrow Show. If you don’t mind that, it was pretty good. Read the rest of this entry »
HYGOTS No. 68
January 29th, 2010
Well, it’s not as if we weren’t warned in advance. Since the third season, we’ve known that ‘Lost’ was coming to an end with its sixth season. From the introduction of flashforwards onward, it’s been one breathless sprint to this moment. The fourth and fifth seasons were abbreviated runs that were broadcast during the winter and springs of 2008 and 2009, and now that the same point has been reached in 2010, you know that it’s time to begin saying goodbye…
Fringe 2×14 “The Bishop Revival” review
January 29th, 2010
The following contains spoilers through the episode “The Bishop Revival,” originally broadcast 1/28/10.
Well, I gotta say, all that negative talk I had going on last week is completely irrelevant this week. This was a wickedly good episode all the way around, not only terrifically compelling but a good one for both a casual and committed fan of the show. It’s funny, because on the surface, there are a lot of common elements between “What Lies Beneath” and “The Bishop Revival.” But where the former episode teases things we know, the latter exploits them in new and interesting ways, and even tells us some new ones.
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