Supernatural – 4×01 – “Lazarus Rising”
September 19th, 2008
The following review contains spoilers for Supernatural through the current episode, “Lazarus Rising,” originally broadcast September 18th, 2008.
Confession time: I started watching Supernatural on a whim. The evening it premiered, for whatever reason, there was nothing I really wanted to watch on television, so I tuned into The WB and watched Supernatural. It was enjoyable enough but not something I would call “Must See TV.” Still, thanks to repeats shown throughout 2005 and 2006, I managed to catch all but one episode of the first season (“Bugs”). The banter between Sam and Dean was what kept me coming back week after week, not the demon of the week.
How I Got These Scars No. 3
September 19th, 2008
I’ve been a part of the Lower Decks community since the beginning (and the original Section 31 in its final years), which constitutes the new millennium (I don’t know if people have properly exploited the word games they can be playing with that), but one of the things I’ve rarely done here is my love of comics. I’ve been a fan of superheroes for longer than I’ve actually read comics, which probably explains my rather ordinary predilection. I got to read some of my first comics right before they decided to kill off Superman in 1992, meaning my fine old tradition is a golden age of a different vintage. The 1990s were a kind of boom period for comics, when DC was busy having a personal Crisis for every major character, Marvel modernizing across the board, and Image redefining what it meant to be neither DC nor Marvel. By the crash that ended the decade, the century, and yes, a millennium, everyone got to scramble and find out how they would survive a not so Secret problem. Were comics doomed?
Smallville Season 8 Preview
September 18th, 2008
The following column will preview season 8 of Smallville. There will be spoilers inside, and if you don’t want to know anything about the upcoming season, I would suggest you stop reading immediately.
Is this finally going to be the season that our favorite farm boy becomes the man of steel he’s supposed to be? If you believe the spoilers, the hype, and the new producers, then that’s a big yes.
And for what might be the final season of the series, that shouldn’t exactly be big news. But it’s news to be excited about nonetheless.
Fringe – 1×02 – “The Same Old Story”
September 18th, 2008
The following review contains spoilers for Fringe through the current episode, “The Same Old Story,” originally broadcast September 16, 2008.
When I first heard about Fringe, my interest was centered on the name J.J. Abrams. It never went much beyond that. When I heard descriptions about the kind of show it would be, I would still think, “J.J. Abrams.” I saw more about Fringe, all I thought, it would be something worth having a look at. I mean, “J.J. Abrams.”
So when it came time to actually watching Fringe, I kind of panicked. I let all sorts of excuses get in the way. And when I wrote about it, I wrote, basically, “J.J. Abrams.” It’s time to be a little more fair now, with a second episode aired. The truth is, yeah, I’m not usually the guy watching this kind of show. By “this kind of show,” I mean X-Files. I’ve never seen more than a handful of Twilight Zone episodes, Outer Limits. I don’t read horror fiction, aside from the occasional Stephen King. I’ve read about as many Sandman comics as Twilight Zones. When things get sticky, I get itchy for people to start taking center stage again. I’m just that kind of guy. It’s not that I’m overly concerned with things that go bump in the night. It’s just, I like for there to be a point.
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles – 2×02 – “Automatic for the People”
September 16th, 2008
The following review contains spoilers for Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles through the current episode, “Automatic for the People,” originally broadcast September 15, 2008.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll probably say it again: this show cannot just be about terminators chasing John Connor. It simply can’t. The show won’t survive if every episode was like last week’s, and I was one of the people who liked last week’s premiere episode. The second episode, while not as fluid and compact, is more like what the show needs to be like.
Fringe – 1×01 – “Pilot”
September 16th, 2008
The following review contains spoilers for Fringe through the current episode, “Pilot”, originally broadcast 9/9/08
There’s something to be said about familiarity. Wait, I meant there’s many things to be said about it. J.J. Abrams, by all rights, should have been familiar to TV audiences long before Lost, but Felicity was on a sub-network and Alias was a cult favorite, so the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815 were his big introduction to the grand stage, when everyone started noting his name for the record. Lost made him familiar. He probably never dreamed it would be a bad thing.
The DVD Dungeon 9.15.08
September 15th, 2008
This is a good week for fans of genre television. The ABC series Pushing Daisies arrives with its first season on both DVD and Blu-ray. Likewise the Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood arrives in both formats as well: Blue-ray for the previously available on DVD first series and the region one DVD debut for the second series. The first season of the NBC comedy/action series Chuck also hits stores and those who wish to recall their youth may be interested in a trio of Goosebumps stories. The big treat for Star Trek fans is the Alternate Realities Fan Collective, which compiles twenty episodes spanning the five live action series, all built around the theme of alternate realities. The Mirror Universe stuff is included as well as some one-shots from various series that fit the theme. The five-disc set includes these episodes:
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Lost Joins SCI FI Channel Tonight
September 15th, 2008
Lost, one of television’s most enigmatic series (and one of my personal favorites) will debut in off-network cable syndication tonight on SCI FI Channel. The first four episodes of the acclaimed series will air back-to-back from 7-11PM ET. In the past, SCI FI has shown four episodes of Star Trek: Enterprise and Star Trek: The Next Generation on Monday evenings. It will be interesting to see how well Lost performs for SCI FI (episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation regularly ranked in the weekly Top Ten SCI FI Channel programs), given that it never repeated well on ABC, is available on DVD and for free on ABC’s website.
Last night “LOST in 2.0″ premiered on G4, offering on-screen trivia and interactivity features. G4 has previously offered “Star Trek 2.0″ and “Star Trek: The Next Generation 2.0,” although both appear to have been off the air for some time. “LOST in 2.0″ will air at 4:00PM and 9:00PM on weekdays and on Sundays at various times. Here is G4′s “LOST in 2.0″ website.
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