The Prime Times: Part Labrador, Part Russell Crowe Edition

By on Sep 9, 2010 in In Brief |

Television news and scoop, right off the grill: The next season of Dexter will feature laudable thespians Julia Stiles (Save the Last Dance) and Jonny Lee Miller (Trainspotting, Eli Stone). A failed FOX pilot was rescued by A&E: the cable network ordered 13 episodes of Breakout Kings, a drama about an unlikely alliance between U.S. Marshalls and ex-cons. Mystery Science Theater 3000, a 90s-era show that lovingly lambasted terrible B-movies with snarky commentary, now has installments available for viewing on Hulu—with movies like Secret Agent Super Dragon, Giant Gila Monster, and Horrors of Spider Island. David Strathairn—star of Good Night, and Good Luck and recent Emmy winner for his work on Temple Grandin—has been cast in a new Syfy series called Alphas about crime-fighters imbued with superhuman abilities. And Syfy’s new series Three Inches—a show about crime-fighters...

2010 Emmys: My Recap

By on Sep 4, 2010 in Recaps |

Now that a whole week has passed since the airing of the 62nd Annual Emmy Awards, let’s pretend like I’m live-blogging the affair! But really, I’m just reviewing the tapes. Here are my thoughts about the events of the night, laid out on a (commercial-free) timeframe. 00:00:06 Jimmy Fallon and various television stars form a ragtag glee club and perform a rousing rendition of Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run.” Where else can you see Lea Michele, Cory Monteith, Chris Colfer, Amber Riley, Tina Fey, Kate Gosselin, Jon Hamm, Betty White, Jane Lynch, Jorge Garcia, Nina Dobrev, Joel McHale, Randy Jackson, and Tim Gunn in one skit—and one that happens to be hilarious? It’s a TV junkie’s dream! 00:09:03 The comedy montage features such priceless moments as the “moon landing,” Mitchell vs. the pigeon, and “two things flaming at...

2010 Emmys: My Winners

By on Aug 29, 2010 in Inner Monologues |

For those of you wondering where the latest installment of my Lost re-watch is, don’t fret. I’ve decided to take a two week hiatus after every two seasons just to publish a few other non-Lost stories for the non-Lost fans. (Blog post variety is the spice of life.) And here it is Emmy time again! As I said last year, I’m not predicting the winners here, mind you, but stating for whom I’m rooting. I haven’t seen all of the nominated shows and performances, but from what I have seen, here are my picks for some of the top categories. Outstanding Drama Series Lost I know, this post was supposed to be non-Lost, right? But this show should be commended for providing a powerful and daring end to the Island saga—and one that was incredibly satisfying emotionally (if not mythologically). And as far as cultural touchstones for the decade go, Lost tops this particular...

Lost Again: Season 2, Episodes 21-24

By on Aug 23, 2010 in Recaps |

I’m on a quest to re-watch every episode of Lost, one per day. As I polish off each DVD, I’ll post my thoughts on the episodes contained therein. (Even if it’s a couple days late!) “?” SYNOPSIS: In a dream, Ana Lucia and Yemi tell Eko that John Locke needs his help. Jack, Kate, Sawyer, and Locke arrive at the Swan to find Michael stumbling out of it. The group finds the bodies of Ana and Libby inside. Ana’s dead, but Libby suddenly coughs up blood. Eko and Locke go off to track “Henry,” but Eko’s real motive is finding the question mark (a buzzword from his dream), and he demands that Locke take him there. Locke gives him his version of the blast door map with the question mark in the middle. The two of them happen upon the Nigerian drug plane and camp there for the night. Meanwhile, Jack realizes he can do nothing to save Libby and sends...

Lost Again: Season 2, Episodes 17-20

By on Aug 19, 2010 in Recaps |

I’m on a quest to re-watch every episode of Lost, one per day. As I polish off each DVD, I’ll post my thoughts on the episodes contained therein. (Even if it’s a couple days late!) “Lockdown” SYNOPSIS: Sayid, Charlie, and Ana Lucia find Jennifer Gale’s grave and then Henry Gale’s balloon. In the Swan, blast doors come down around the living area, trapping Locke. He manages to stop one door from descending fully, and he asks Henry to help him stabilize it so that Locke can enter the Numbers. But the door suddenly drops as Locke tries to slide under it, crushing his leg. Henry then has to navigate through the air ducts to get to the computer. From Locke’s point of view, we hear the countdown reach zero, and then black lights illuminate the living area, revealing some sort of map drawn on the blast door. But before long, the blast doors recede, and...