['Tos]

Chuck

GREAT episode. I thought that was the best episode of the season, if not the series. Tons happened, lots of Chuck/Sarah implications, lots of comedy (a very well-balanced episode), and set up even more to come.

The VERY first scene, we get a Chuck/Sarah scene where Chuck makes sure that Sarah wants the intersect out, that he makes clear that he wants it out to have a normal life, and KEY, a real relationship. Nothing new, but that's only the very first scene of the episode. Then we get into the mythology with Orion. Then we've got the HILARIOUS heist, which was incredible. And then tiny Beckman. Then more mythology. And Sarah standing up for Chuck, despite it being against protocol and against her boss. And then she shows just how much she knows him, knows he won't sit back while Orion is out there, and knowing that he'd come in to see Beckman. All great stuff. And so much more, like the importance of Chuck FROM Beckman, NEEDING Chuck, that he's been the best, he found Orion, he hurt Fulcrum. Man alive, this was just awesome all over. To hear all these positive things about Chuck, and it feels like they've been building it up all season with how much more confident he's been getting and how much more success he's had without it all being an accident. Then Sarah once again stands up for Chuck in the face of her leader. We've got Casey protecting Sarah/Chuck. I mean, obviously the end with Chuck hiding the cards from Sarah, implying not fully trusting her, but that's Chuck. He's been doing this all himself, and it's his devotion to get the intersect out, it's his obsession, so I don't mind him doing it on his own, and of course Sarah is going to come out and help. And Casey. Oh....Yeah. that was good, eh? Hee. I dare say it's pretty much everything I've been looking for, especially to hear how important and great Chuck has been lately. He deserves it.

Heroes was also very good. It gives me a little hope that the show actually can improve. Having Fuller back helps, because he brings some heart to the show, as well as a focus on character. The crazy twists and turns and action and effects don't matter if the audience doesn't care about any of these people or their choices, so hopefully he continues to bring more of a focus on character back.

[The Crow]

Chuck

I agree with some of what you wrote, but not all. This was a very good episode, but I didn't love it as much as you obviously did. My first major gripe: if Beckman is so dead set on Chuck keeping the intersect because he's the only one who's hurt Fulcrum, why was she so willing to have him killed in the first episode of the season? Am I supposed to think that she's come to this conclusion in the time since that happened? Maybe his discovery of the Fulcrum intersect project and subsequent exposure to it was enough to tip her over the edge, but we've seen little indication of this throughout the season.

My second gripe, as usual, is with the Chuck/Sarah storyline. After the first part of the episode, I thought that they were heading in the right direction, then Orion provides the surveillance feed of the meeting, and the show fell right back on their tired formula: Chuck once again disappointed by something Sarah says without any regard for her body language or voice when she says it, then he leaves before she makes a supportive declaration, which once again results in him 'not trusting' her as evidenced by his not telling her about the schematics.

I mean, really? Did Chuck actually expect Sarah to flat out refuse when Beckman said that? He's been a spy long enough to know how well that would fly, and like I said, he paid no attention to the shocked look and dejected body language when she said it. Instead, he chirps "Sarah, no!" and then runs off to get taken hostage once again, in a twist that I saw coming a mile away, by the not-dead bad guy.

I like that they are apparently trying to change up the formula a bit, and in the end they made it so that it was good that he didn't entrust Sarah with his new secret, but it is still annoying to me and will continue to be until they bring a fresh spin on the 'keeping Chuck and Sarah apart' bit.

One Tree Hill

Now, that's why I love this show. Is the writing brilliant? Never. Is the acting top-notch? Rarely, but what other show would feature a scene where one of the villains of the piece has to watch in horror as the heart that is supposed to be transplanted into his chest is instead eaten by a dog that recently ingested a large quantity of drugs? No other show. None. And that's why I keep watching One Tree Hill. It frequently pisses me off to no end, and I'm increasingly afraid that they're going to kill Peyton, but until that happens, I'm going to keep watching because I keep being entertained.

P.S. I'm going to miss Van Der Beek, and I never thought I'd say that. I loved his turn as the stereotypical a-hole director.

[MAKRO]

CHUCK

I'm going to have to go with THE CROW on this one. I thought the episode contained some good things, but all-in-all I found myself disappointed YET AGAIN by the way the Chuck/Sarah relationship is currently being handled. There has GOT to be consistent injections of hope that these two will eventually be together and that idea MUST be reinforced regularly with "moments" that are mutual. Right now most of the moments are one-sided. How long has it been since we have seen a moment where their feelings were mutually expressed, or even indicated at the same time? It goes back to "heart". Without it the show becomes simply a cartoon-like spoof which should be aired on Saturday mornings between Scooby Doo and Speed Racer. And the frustrating thing is there is no reason to restrict them to one-sided moments. The show's premise wouldn't collapse if Chuck was allowed to be aware of the strength of Sarah's feelings. The General wouldn't have to know, and the job would still keep them apart.

My overall opinion may be somewhat colored by a few other things which I'm fnding increasingly annoying:

1) When did the government, as embodied by the General, attain such dictatorial control over Chuck? Did I miss his joining the C.I.A.? As far as I know his participation is strictly voluntary, resulting from his patriotism, his love for Sarah, and his being a good guy. If he wanted to he could tell the government to shove it at any time. As long as he is the intersect that idea may be unrealistic, but it seems to me he should be getting regular and profuse thanks for his contributions and not be getting dumped on regularly like he has been recently. Also, I think bringing the General from the computer monitor to on-site is a mistake.

2) The Buy More antics are getting sillier by the week. To me those characters are far less interesting, and should get much less screen time, than Awesome and Ellie.

3) As desperate as Chuck is to get the intersect out of his head so he can have a normal relationship with her, Sarah has never really said that would be the case. She seems to forget that her job is actually a JOB. People quit jobs, especially ones which constantly require one to do things they don't want to do and hurt people they don't want to hurt. If Chuck were to become intersect-free she and Chuck and Casey could start their own security firm and she and Chuck could be together. The Buy More could be a client. This has no chance of happening of course, but one can dream......

I don't like to put much stock in trailers, but the one for next week shows some promise. It looks like Jealous Sarah may put in an appearance. There's nothing like the Green Monster to bring out the inner feelings. I just wish I had more confidence that the writers will handle that with "heart" and not do it the same old way.

['Tos]

Chuck

Aw, I hate being the lone one out. No, you guys bring up some really good points. Especially about Chuck/Sarah. I was glad to see a further indication that Sarah gets Chuck, but looking back on the season one episodes, that's nothing new at all, although I was still pleased to see it. There still isn't a direction for those two, which is sad. There actually does seem to be more consistency with the Buymore filler than there is with them sometimes. We can't afford that with the ratings the show is getting. I need something to happen with them!

As long as he is the intersect that idea may be unrealistic, but it seems to me he should be getting regular and profuse thanks for his contributions and not be getting dumped on regularly like he has been recently. Also, I think bringing the General from the computer monitor to on-site is a mistake.

Ah, but that's why I thought she was brought in. While he was dumped on in the episode, he was also praised by the top brass of the mission. That, to me, was the crux of the episode. Sarah has praised what he's been doing, and we've even seen Casey grudgingly give a few words of praise, but that the head of the operation said that they needed him and that he is valuable seemed worth it to me. While I have been disappointed in how off track the Sarah/Chuck relationship has gone this season, Chuck's growth has been fairly consistent. He's become more adept, more confident and more willing to go on missions and he even enjoys it (when there's not a gun pointed at him, of course). To me, last night's episode was the pay off for all that build the writers have done at showing that Chuck is actually becoming really good at this spy stuff. He has hurt Fulcrum and found Orion, and it's not just because he has the intersect. It's also because he is smart, determined, hard-working and all that. I was really happy for Chuck to hear him get that praise, because I think he needed to hear it. He still doesn't believe in himself. As much as the Chuck/Sarah relationship is the core, Chuck himself and his growth and becoming important outside of the intersect and his mediocre life that we saw in the Pilot is also such a huge part of the show, and I did think the episode succeeded on that front. That, to me, was the heart of last night's episode. But, lone wolf here this week, hee. Bah.

That's why I was fine with Beckman suddenly not wanting to kill Chuck. Because from episode one to now, he has really come into his own as a spy that doesn't just accidentally save the day as we saw every episode in season one, but has actually learned to help save the day with his own talents. That still needed further explanation, though, but..yeah, I'm just tying everything into Chuck growing and finally some recognition of that by the top brass, hee.

As desperate as Chuck is to get the intersect out of his head so he can have a normal relationship with her, Sarah has never really said that would be the case. She seems to forget that her job is actually a JOB. People quit jobs, especially ones which constantly require one to do things they don't want to do and hurt people they don't want to hurt.

But it's not quite a job in the sense that Chuck working at Buymore is a job. It really has been her life for a very long time. Add to that the fact that she knows things, secrets, that you can't know as an everyday citizen. I would really love to see them explore this, actually: can Sarah walk away? One, she seems to actually enjoy it a lot of the time. And two, will the government just let he go with what she can do and what she knows? How does that work?

[The Crow]

Chuck

I've never been under the impression that Chuck's involvement with all this is voluntary. Seeing as how Chuck has national secrets in his head, I'm sure that the government could just move Chuck to an undisclosed location and never let him see the light of day again. They've threatened that in the past. And, while Beckman did praise Chuck, it was sort of a backhanded compliment because in the same breath she was telling him that she never intended to let him even try to resume a normal life, no matter what his feelings on the matter.

[everwoodfan52]

Interesting bit of information that I received for any House fans.

House is killing someone… for good By Tim Surette03/20/09 2:36 PM128 Even Dr. House won't be able to save one of the medical drama's main characters from getting a toe tag. Who will it be, Death Cat? It's open season on television characters as several shows end their current cycles, and one mainstay of Fox's House has a gigantic target on his/her forehead. That's the news from E! Online, which says one of the cast members of the medical drama will be killed off the show before the end of the season. The death is described as a major shocker--both in how it happens and who it happens to. E! Online says it isn't "the most likely candidate" nor is it "someone who has been rumored to be leaving," and that the death "just happens." A possibly related article over on EW.com says that one major show will be rocked by a major character's shocking (there's that word again) suicide later this season. Could this item also be about House? I'm by no means a House expert, but one of the House fiends here in the office swears it's going to be Wilson (Robert Sean Leonard), though that's just a guess. Who do you think it will be? And will this person die of lupus?

I sincerely hope it's not Wilson. His relationship with House is one of the main reasons that I watch the show.

['Tos]

Lost

Sayid is a bad man. There's something about shooting a child in cold blood, even knowing that it's Ben and that he (probably) isn't dead anyway, but..that was pretty messed up.

I like that they're going back into how the characters got back on the island and why. But (1) If it's all a big coincidence and the island got them together because it wanted them back, that's fairly uninteresting. So is that cop working for either Ben or Whidmore, so I hope they have something else up their sleeve. And (2) we have further separation of the group which is becoming tedious.

Locke is on the second island in a different time, Sun on the main island in a different time, Faraday who knows where, Jack/Kate/Hurley/etc on the main island in the 70's and now Sayid is off. Last season was interesting with the separation story with people in different groups and some people getting off and how is that going to happen, but I have to say that this separation story with how everyone is going to get all together is not very interesting. That's becoming my major problem right now. The episodes are good, there is a lot of intrigue and mystery and action, but they've been playing with separating everyone for almost two seasons now and it's just not as captivating this time around, even if everything else is.

I feel complainy, hee. It was a solid episode, on par with last week's, there's just some issues I have with how the writers are structuring this part of the season. Drugged Sayid was pretty awesome, and as always he had about eighteen good lines in the episode.

[BepperGirl]

FNL

Renewed for two more seasons at 13 episodes a season.

(Hopes Betty reads this when she comes back.)

[The Crow]

That is awesome. That seriously just made my day.

[Dolfan13]

Pretty awesome news about FNL.

Well it says that Lyla and Tyra's storylines will probably be wrapped up next year like Smash and Jason's. I get the feeling that they will find a way to keep Matt and Riggins around. Maybe Matt will go to community college and Tim will drop out of college. That wouldn't be shocking, heh. Then they'll probably build around Landry, Julie, JD and a few other players next season for the High School kids.

[The Crow]

I figure that Matt's grandma will be a big reason that he stays around. That and possibly continuing to rebuild a relationship with his mother. And hopefully Julie will still be in the picture too.

[The Crow]

Lost

Decent episode, but a bit of a letdown as far as story goes. It was a slow mover, and nothing really happened until the end. I know I'm supposed to be shocked that Sayid shot young Ben, but they beat us over the head with it the entire episode, so I was expecting it. I expect him to not be dead either. I remember thinking that Locke was dead after being shot, and that totally ended up wrong, so I'll believe that Ben is dead when they put his cold body in the ground.

Smallville

I like Zatanna, so this was a good episode for me. The actress that played her was perfectly cast, and she could actually act a little bit, so bonus there. As for the episode itself, it was nothing special. Outside of the greatness of seeing Zatanna walking around speaking her backwards spells, nothing really grabbed me until Chloe made up her mind to let her hero flag fly at the end. That was great.

Supernatural

Someone finally told Dean to stop being whiny?!?!?! Hallelujah! The episode was just so-so, and we've seen the 'Dean and Sam aren't hunters storyline' before, pretty recently as I recall, but overall I really liked the result. The boys learning to hunt from the Ghostfacers was a funny little touch, and having Dean being a calorie-counting pencil pusher who listened to NPR was amusing as well.

Friday Night Lights

Another in a line of great episodes. The smoldering cauldron of rage and barely supressed child abuse that is J.D.'s father finally boiled over tonight, and it was pretty chilling to watch. I'm interested to see how they will deal with the fallout of this situation, and I'm pretty interested to see how Matt and his mom are going to deal with his grandmother. It was heartbreaking to watch her in this episode, and it was just as heartbreaking to watch Matt realize that he just isn't equipped to deal with her any more, no matter how much he wishes that wasn't the case.

['Tos]

Great news about FNL. Betty will be doing back flips when she comes back from Jamaica, hee.

Since there is (at least) one other Early Edition fan, I should mention that the second season is being released on DVD too! Which should give Everwood fans hope with our DVDs, because they have a small fanbase, not a huge internet presence, and that show has been gone for a very long time.

And Thief, have you heard of The Concretes? Last.fm finally gave me a really good recommendation, because they really are quite a bit like Camera Obscura. Not as good lyrically, but a similar sound, I thought.

[ShadowMagist]

Gaby, have you been watching HIMYM lately? What've you thought about the last...3 or so?

[BepperGirl]

Originally Posted by ShadowMagist (View Post) Gaby, have you been watching HIMYM lately? What've you thought about the last...3 or so?

I have... just been busy as mentioned in the Cafeteria. And typing spaces is a bit difficult of late. Anyway, HIMYM thoughts:

4x16: Overall, a bit eh, but it was worth it to see Barney fall out of the booth.

4x17: LOVED the mention of Victoria. I'm so hoping she's the mum.

4x18: Heh, love the CanadianSexActs.org website. "If you are not of legal age or are unsure of your age, please exit immediately."

Those are my basic thoughts on the episodes