Reality vs. Storytelling. The Sopranos is an awesome example of great storytelling. We’ve got the panic-plagued mobster dealing with his biological family and his mobster family. What could be better? I know there are people like Tony Soprano out there, but to me, The Sopranos is just a really good story.

The Wire, on the other hand, is so real that you feel like you”re watching a documentary. I’m into season three now and just noticed that there’s no soundtrack, no music at all (yeah, it takes me a while). It’s like someone is following these guys around with a camera.

Good Guys vs. Bad Guys. The Sopranos is mostly centered on Tony Soprano and his thugs and family, while The Wire gives equal time to thugs and the cops, with some politicians and dockworkers thrown in (as mentioned, I’m just into season 3, so haven’t gotten into the school system or press yet). I guess you could say that Stringer Bell, Avon Barksdale and Omar Little are the Tony Sopranos of The Wire; Stringer’s got his real estate business, and Tony’s got his sanitation business. But that’s not quite right either.

In many ways, Avon, Omar, and especially Stringer are much, much smarter than the cops. I guess Tony is, too; a mobster almost has to be in order to stay one step ahead of the law. But I recall a few times when the feds shook his house down. In The Wire, it’s often difficult to tell where the bad guys end and the good guys pick up. The line is very fuzzy, whereas in Tony’s situation, it seems more clear-cut.

Street Talk vs. Mob Talk. I can pretty much follow what Tony’s crew is saying, even though their conversations are peppered with New Jersey mob lingo. But I’ve gotta tell ya, sometimes I have no idea what the guys on The Wire are talking about. Some of my commenters over at TV Squad said to watch it with the subtitles on, and that definitely helps. That and having Prez translating the conversations on the wire.

Getting It vs. Not Getting It. There’s no doubt that you have to pay attention on The Sopranos. It can get confusing figuring out who’s related to whom and how everyone fits in. But The Wire brings complex storytelling to a whole new level. Basically, you can’t be doing anything else while you’re watching it, otherwise you’ll be completely confused. I’m ready to watch The Sopranos again, but I’ll NEED to watch The Wire at least two or three more times before I really get the gist of it.

So what do you think? Any similarities between the two shows? Or am I just barksdaling up the wrong tree here?

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(Season 3, Episodes 1-3)

Ever since its excellent cliffhanger at the end of season 2, I’ve been super-exited about starting season 3 of Weeds. I’m happy to report that the first three episodes do not disappoint. We start off exactly where we left off, and the story takes a bunch of twists and turns that I never saw coming. I’m still not certain where some of the storylines are going (Andy’s going into the Army, Celia’s divorce), but I can’t wait to keep watching so I can find out. Plus there’s an extra bonus for me in these episodes: there’s so much action and Nancy’s in so much danger, that I actually forget to hate her most of the time. Win!

(Season 3, Episode 1 “Doing the Backstroke”)

What a great/horribly frustrating season opener. After leaving off with a pretty amazing cliff hanger, I was looking forward to seeing how Nancy was going to get herself out of this situation. Instead I got a (very entertaining) half-hour of her just getting deeper and deeper into the shit. Not only does Celia end up with Silas’ car that has all of the pot, but she finds it and throws it into the pool. Now I’m no drug kingpin, but something tells me that even if you could dry it out again, the chlorine may negatively affect the product. On the other hand, drugs are cut with all kinds of crazy stuff, so maybe it’ll end up being just the ingredient MILF weed needs to take it to the next level.

So where exactly is poor Shane? He gets dumped by Kat, learns how to drive the van, but by the time Andy catches up to him, the van is on the side of the road and Shane is nowhere to be found. Did he hitch a ride? Is that going to be another horrible situation that Nancy needs to get her family out of?

The other thing that made this episode for me was Doug and Dean popping pills in the bathroom together. I love how Doug’s marriage works despite the fact that his wife may be a lesbian. She buys his underwear and new razor blades for him! The dick measuring contest was a little awkward, but at least they came to the realization that they took too much drugs before things got even weirder.

(Season 3, Episode 2 “A Pool and his Money”)

The whole Shane thing was pretty anti-climatic: he just ended up in the police station with Silas. It’s kind of funny that Andy got his ass kicked by a group of truckers for being a child-molester though. In the end, the Botwin family all makes it home, almost in one piece.

I really expected Nancy to find a brilliant way out of her predicament, but I guess there are no easy answers on this show. The Armenians are at least out of the picture, but now U-Turn owns both Nancy and Conrad. Conrad is growing for him, and Nancy has to come up with $150,000 to pay U-Turn. I still don’t really understand why she doesn’t just sell everything she owns, pack up her kids and get the hell out of Agrestic. Now that Peter’s dead and she’s had half a dozen guns pulled on her in the past 24 hours, I would think she would come to the realization that things are going to get a lot worse before they get better. However, Nancy does have quite the history of poor decision-making skills.

Oh, and way to tease me with a Doug/Celia reunion, show. You know I love them together!

(Season 3, Episode 3 “The Brick Dance”)

Could this episode actually be the beginning of the easy answer I thought Nancy would find to get out of her predicament? Throughout most of this episode, she’s pretty much in the shit, with U-Turn ordering her to become much more of a drug dealer than she had previously been. However, at the very end, what seems like a terrible development may actually turn out to be pretty great for Nancy.

Nobody wants to see a DEA agent at their door when they have a brick of pot spread out on their dining room table. This particular visit, however, I think will save Nancy. After all, she mailed in her marriage certificate before Peter died, so I’ve got to think that that’s going to come into play in some way. He probably had some assets, and I have a feeling Nancy is going to be able to use them to get herself out of this current mess.

On the other hand, I could be completely wrong about this. I thought Sanjay was hiding in the closet because he was going to come in and save the day at the last minute, much as he did when he set the bakery fire. However, he just turned out to be literally “in the closet,” as he came out as a homosexual, which I totally did not see coming. So who knows why the DEA agent is there? I’m certainly no good at predicting where this show is going to go.

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In taking stock of season two, so far a few things became apparent. Veronica Mars really likes certain actors. In the slightly washed up popular actor from the ’80s category, they’ve replaced Harry Hamlin with Steve Guttenberg (The Goot!). I’m totally down with this. The former Buffy vixen is being played by (a very scantily clad) Charisma Carpenter this season, though I hope that doesn’t mean we’ve seen the last of Alyson Hannigan (was she filming How I Met Your Mother at this point?).

In any case, season two seems to be getting off to a good start. There were certainly some jaw dropping moments in the first few episodes, so let’s get right to it….

“Normal is the Watchword”

The first episode of the season featured a bus crash and a train wreck, both of which I imagine are going to play large parts in the rest of the season moving forward. The bus crash, of course, is fairly obvious and was quite shocking. The train wreck I am referring to is Veronica and Duncan getting together. Seriously?!? My eyes almost rolled right out of my head.

I love the way that this episode was structured, flashing back through the summer to give highlights (and lowlights) from Veronica’s love life. They did a good job keeping Veronica and Duncan’s relationship under wraps until the big reveal. I was wondering why Meg was so mad at Veronica earlier in the episode. I figured, as I think I was supposed to, that Duncan was still hung up on Veronica (especially after he found out that she wasn’t his sister), and so he dumped Meg. While that may be the case, there was certainly more to it than just that.

“Driver Ed”

Is it bad that I’m slightly disappointed that the writers didn’t have the balls to kill Meg off in the bus crash? It’s not that I didn’t like Meg, but I think it would have given the bus crash a little more gravity. At this point it’s really just the death of a bunch of characters we never knew.

I love that Keith is going to be running for sheri again. I hope that it sets up a bunch of great moments between he and Lamb. That should be fun to watch.

I don’t know what to make of this new Jackie Cook character, and I don’t think Veronica does either. She seems a bit… abrasive. I hope that Wallace isn’t making a huge mistake getting involved with her. Please tell me that she isn’t going to end up being as annoying as she seems at this point… We really didn’t need more characters forced into this show, did we?

“Cheatty Cheatty Bang Bang”

I have to say that I am really enjoying the Casablancas clan a whole lot more than I enjoyed the Kanes. That probably has everything to do with their circumstances. The Kanes’ story was much darker, whereas the Casablancas are just greasy, dishonest business people. I loved watching Mr. Casablancas running through the office in a panic, telling everybody to shred everything before fleeing in a chopper. This is not going to end well for Dick, methinks.

If Duncan and Veronica as a couple is the price that I have to pay to watch Logan and Kendall together, it might just be worth it. They are a riot.

“Green-Eyed Monster”

The first boring case-of-the-week of the season featured a paranoid fiance hiring Veronica to dig into the past (and present) of her potential husband. The woman was annoying, and the plot was fairly useless. I’ve said it before, but I really like it when the cases focus on the mysteries of the show (like the previous two episodes) or at least on the high school. This episode just didn’t work for me.

Don’t get me started on the big reveal at the end of the episode. Wallace’s dad appearing?!? OMG!!! Really, I think it’s good that they are finally giving Wallace something to do, but it seems too little too late. After a season of essentially being a cardboard cutout for Veronica to talk to and ask favors of, the Wallace character just bores me at this point. I’m fine with him in the obligatory “best friend” role, but beyond that… I’m just not that interested. Maybe this plot, along with he and Jackie dating, will change my mind.

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(Season 3, Episode 3)

Saving Grace does family very well, from the family dynamic that has developed in the squad room to the extended family that Grace was born into. It’s the latter that took focus this week, as a criminal from Grace’s past targets members of her family. Church bombings to sniper fire, Grace’s family escapes for the most part unharmed, but one of Father Hanadarko’s (the brother the priest, and not, you know, Grace’s dad) congregation is killed in the blast meant for him.

Any show that can ramp up the drama every once in a while and still hold true to its characters really has something going for it. As much as ER’s “event” episodes grew tiresome late in its run, the earlier versions were always outstanding, as we believed that this is how things would go if our ordinary docs were put into extraordinary circumstances (Once we realized that it would happen about three times a season, the believability factor dropped off a bit, though). Saving Grace is similar in that Grace’s reaction was exactly as it should have been.

For once, the subtle echos of the Oklahoma City bombing weren’t a part of the story, and frankly, I was a bit surprised. I think for Clay, who had lost his mother in the bombing of the Murrah building, his reaction to almost losing his uncle, and then finding that he was holding the next bomb, was understated. He handled things amazingly well. In fact, the best scene of the episode was Grace coaxing the memories of the bomber out of him by distracting him with playing catch and asking about his day. It was obvious, and Clay knew what she was doing, but it still worked. These two actors (Holly Hunter and Dylan Minnette, have great nephew/aunt chemistry on screen).

A close second for scene of the night was Grace and Ham at the location of the attack on her brother Leo. Grace holds things together so well most of the time, that when she loses it, it’s always a great scene.

The only thing that didn’t work for me was who was behind the whole thing. I guess it was wrapped up rather neatly, and quickly, but it just didn’t seem true to me that he would hold Grace so responsible for what happened to him and his family.

Most shows like this, specifically cop shows, have these episodes where they pull one part of the main character’s life into the other. As I mentioned, most shows don’t do it well enough, but Saving Grace shined at it here. Grace’s family is a big part of her life, so its natural when they become a part of her work life. Bringing in everyone at once, and managing it well, is very impressive.

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If you’re following our series of Blowing the Hatch posts, then you saw last week that Keith talked about Buffy The Vampire Slayer. The fun part of the Blow the Hatch moments is that they make for great debates. Keith thought that when Angelus popped back onto the scene in season two of Buffy the show took off, and my Blow the Hatch moment isn’t too different.

I think even the most ardent of Buffy fans will admit that the series really came into its own during the second season. I certainly have a fondness in my heart for a lot of the episodes from the first season (I still think I’m the only person who likes “The Puppet Show”), but the show kicked into gear during season two.

I was always a huge fan of the Jenny Calendar character. She was the typical Buffy female character: a smart, funny, and strong woman. She also was a great foil for Giles, and I think she really brought him out of his shell and made him the well-rounded character that we all got to love, instead of the uptight Watcher from season one.

The episode that really cemented my love of this show was “Passion.” I still get chills running up my spine when I think of Angelus chasing poor Jenny through the hallways of the high school. Of course, it didn’t end well for Ms. Calendar. Indeed, Angelus caught up with her and snapped her neck with relish and cruelty. I think it was the first of many gasp-worthy moments on the show, for me. Jenny was such a great character, I never thought that the writers would actually kill her, but in doing so they raised the stakes on the show.

Of course, to add insult to injury, Angelus set up Jenny’s corpse in Giles’s house, making him believe that Jenny had planned a romantic evening for them. This was a truly heartbreaking moment, and it set up some great drama between the rest of the group and Buffy, and certainly illustrated just how much of a monster Angelus was.

Oh Jenny, poor sweet Jenny. I still miss her.

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(Season 1, Episodes 21-24)

Another fun guest appearance in these last four installments of Season One. And a welcome return. Doug Hutchison was truly one of the creepiest monsters of the week as Eugene Tooms (I’m still checking my vents every night before I go to bed), so it was great seeing his creepy performance again.

I was even more surprised, though, to see Zeljko Ivanek as a mentally challenged twin in “Roland.” He gave a stellar performance, so convincing that if I hadn’t already seen him elsewhere I might have thought they got a truly autistic man to play the role. It’s nice to know that he was just as good at giving the creepiest stares back then as he is now.

21 – “Tooms”
(Original Air Date: April 22 1994) I wonder if they knew they were going to bring Tooms back when he first appeared, or if it was after the response to that episode. I had a friend who used to watch this show back in college, and Tooms was one of the “monsters” he liked to talk about.

I’m just impressed that Tooms always knew exactly where to stand so that shaft of light would hit his weirdly changing eyes. I’ll give it up to Hutchison here, because it’s hard to convey so much character with so few lines. I don’t know if he’s said more than twenty words between both appearances. And I also didn’t recognize him as Horace from Lost.

I found myself thinking of him more of an animal than a man. It was instinct that drove him to kill and nest and hibernate. Just because he looks like a man, and occasionally talks like one, doesn’t mean he necessarily is, does it?

Plus, can you really kill a folding man underneath an escalator? Not that Tooms would have been able to stay there. Again, if he were a man he’d have known that an escalator needs occasional maintenance, so it’s a horrible place to build a nest you hope remains undisturbed for thirty years. That’s not good planning at all.

It was nice to see Cancer Man again, as well as Director Skinner. He’s one of those characters that I knew was significant later on, so I was glad to finally see him make an appearance. That, plus it was feeling like Scully and Mulder were working in a vacuum.

22 – “Born Again”
(Original Air Date: April 29, 1994) This one, even though it had reincarnation, was a little pedestrian for me. Maybe I just want Mulder and Scully investigating things that are a little more creative than someone coming back from beyond to kill for money.

I did learn, though, that the way to talk to little girls is to bend down to a 90 degree angle so your head is level with theirs. It puts them at ease. Especially when two people are doing it side-by-side. God that looked ridiculous.

As for the girl, Andrea Libman looked incredibly familiar to me, and yet her Wiki page says this is one of her most prominent roles. Maybe I saw her in … Little Women? Maybe I saw her in my room at night using her mind to kill me by choking me with my alarm clock cord. Yeah, I think that was it. Bitch.

23 – “Roland”
(Original Air Date: May 6, 1994) A little strange to have two beyond the grave murderers back-to-back, don’t you think? One reincarnated as a telekinetic little girl and the other using telepathy to control his autistic twin. Sure, they’re different but I still think it might have been a better idea to space these out a bit in the season.

This one was sold by the acting of Ivanek. He was spot-on as Roland, so much so that he was nearly unrecognizable, except that nobody does creepy like Ivanek. Hell, I saw some of those same weird sideways glances on Heroes this past season.

The wind tunnel deaths were a little gimmicky, but the method of control between the twins was intriguing. Even more intriguing was why Roland’s relationship to his brother wasn’t on either of their records. If Roland wasn’t taken away until they were five, how could his birth and relationship just be erased like that. I’d be pissed and want to throw my stars, too!

24 – “The Erlenmeyer Flask” [MythArc] – SEASON FINALE
(Original Air Date: May 13, 2994) Oh Deep Throat, we hardly knew ye. No, honestly, how many times did you show up and we don’t know a damned thing about you? It’s a little ridiculous if you think about it. That and the admitted lying. Why, as Scully suggested, should we even trust you now?

Still, I didn’t know he died this early. Where will Mulder get his tips now? I liked how we got two catch-phrases in one episode though. Deep Throat’s dying words: “Trust no one,” and Mulder’s assertion that he wasn’t going to stop because: “The truth is out there.” After all, he’s been reading it in the intro credits all season.

The show has me so skeptical of everything, I’m wondering if the alien fetus Scully grabbed was real or another elaborate hoax perpetrated by the government on them. Hell, Deep Throat’s death could be part of that. He might not even be dead. Trust no one? How about trust nothing!

Is Scully even a woman? Maybe she’s an alien in a woman body suit. Mulder’s a robot man and the cigarette smoking man is a walking car; he uses the cigarettes to explain the exhaust. That makes sense.

I can’t believe they closed the X-files down. What will Mulder do? How will they sustain this show for another eight seasons and two movies (and counting). Probably re-open it.

The bottom line is that this was a good opening season for an ongoing show. They had a decent balance of done-in-one episodes and mytharc installments. I would have liked a bit more connection between the other stories, but I’ve been told by you that some of that is coming. I guess we’ll see how Season Two plays out starting next week.

Previously on The X-Files Virgin’s Diary
Now you can just click the show title under TV Shows over there on the right for all our previous installments. Handy, isn’t it?

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I moved to new york exactly four years ago on July 1. I started out renting a room by the week from a nice Hispanic family in Harlem. I moved around several more times before ending up in Jersey City with a baby. My time in the JC was brief– maybe about 10 months. I still worked in NYC, so I never really considered myself a Jersey resident. However, I did take advantage of the few ways in which Jersey City totally wins over Manhattan: Target and a regular-sized grocery store. It was at that grocery store, the A&P to be exact, that I encountered a woman who just about made Sharon Osbourne poop her pants the other night on America’s Got Talent.

I didn’t know her name, but she was the serene grey-haired woman who would scan my groceries efficiently and gush over my newborn as I tried to dig my A&P card out of my cavernous and poorly-organized purse. I always liked getting in her line because she was fast and good at her job (plus, the baby-gushing didn’t hurt). What’s funny is I don’t remember a single other person who worked at that grocery store; nor would I be able to pick a single Target employee out of a line-up. Yet when I caught a glimpse of a woman dancing her heart out on television recently, I knew exactly who she was.

It turns out that I’m not the only one. A quick search turned up other A&P customers who recognized the cashier, Carol Lugo, as soon as they saw her. It’s the contrast between her exterior personality and what America now knows she had hiding beneath the surface that makes this woman so compelling. She seemed calm, quiet, perhaps even timid. She didn’t seem like the kind of woman who would gossip or get too involved in other peoples’ business. I bet people who knew her would describe her as someone who kept to herself. Yet underneath it all, this is what she had going on:

Was it a technically brilliant performance? No. But I defy you to watch that and not get a smile on your face, if not a tear in your eye. With the worldwide success of the most recent season of Britain’s Got Talent, of course the judges on AGT are looking for their next Susan Boyle. Do I think Carol Lugo fits the bill? I don’t know. I’m not sure how far she’ll make it in the competition, but I know that in four minutes, she has brought more people genuine entertainment than many celebrities way more famous than she ever have, so no matter what, following her dream was worth it.

This unassuming woman decided that, at 62, she was going to live her dream. She auditioned for this show and not only wowed the judges, but brought an entire auditorium to its feet. What fascinates me about this is that the audition that we just saw the other night likely took place months ago. So after this triumphant validation of her lifelong dream, Carol Lugo went right back to doing her job, not giving any indication to the customers who saw her every day that behind her register that she had her dancing shoes on. Here’s hoping she’ll Moonwalk right out the door.

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True Blood, Moonlight, Reaper and the upcoming Vampire Diaries: I don’t doubt that these shows have clever writing, talented actors, and engrossing stories. In the case of Buffy and Angel, I assume the writing and acting are top notch, because I’m a fan of Joss Whedon’s other work. However, I have seen enough commercials, and read enough plot explanations to know that these shows are not for me.

I have many reasons for passing on EV-TV (Evil Television). Generally speaking, EV-TV muddles truths, twists things of beauty, and profanes what I find sacred. The frightening imagery also does not sit well with me. Even during a commercial for one of these shows, the distorted evil faces make me want to jump out of my skin. Being frightened is just not a feeling I would like to subject myself to on a regular basis.

I can watch Good battle Evil when the roles are clearly defined. When the lines are blurred, and perverse creatures with fangs or horns coming out of their heads are honored and called good: I’m out.

The bummer here, especially in the case of Buffy and Angel, is Joss Whedon. Because of my sincere appreciation for Firefly, Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog, and even Dollhouse, I know that I’m missing some good writing, and it stings a bit. Especially in summer, when I could be enjoying a CliqueClack Virgin Diary. Bottom line, though:, it’s just never going to happen between EV-TV and I.

I do, however, enjoy the mystical and amazing. I don’t think I’m alone is saying I’d like to see more well written, mystical and amazing shows that shun the frightening.

I have an idea too. Far fetched and improbable that it would come to fruition, but it’s a nice thought I’ve been massaging. I’d like to see the clever and talented write — and act — the mystical and amazing for the side of good: namely, the Saints. (Don’t anyone roll your eyes, and Sebastian, I can feel you coming for me like a heat seeking missile. Cool your jets and keep reading.) Saints do radical things like pray for those who persecute them. They throw off the chains of earthly comforts and live their lives in pursuit of doing good works for others. As for the mystical and amazing, they more than have it covered. Here are two examples:

St. Francis of Assisi (1181-1226)

Went from naughty, selfish party boy to kissing the hand of a leper. He wore rags and sang in the woods. When robbers beat him and took his clothes he “climbed out of a ditch” and went off singing again. He famously preached to the birds about their beautiful clothes God gave them, while they sat peacefully, not bothering to fly off until he was finished. He intervened when a wolf was preying upon the inhabitants of a village. He talked the wolf into never killing the villagers again. The wolf became a pet of the village and they all kept it fed.

St. Pio of Pietrelcina (Padre Pio) (1887-1968)

He was granted Stigmata, Visions, and Ecstasies. There are eyewitness accounts of bilocation (the ability to be in two places at once) by Padre Pio. He also felt pains of the Passion of Christ, crowning of thorns and scourging.

In my mind’s eye, I can see their stories played out on a show, and it would be wholly absorbing.

Again, I don’t know about the feasibility of such a show. Who would/could take on such a project? What network would pick it up? But, I am entirely convinced that there is a market for the mystical and amazing, minus the overt glorification of evil.

Can I get an Amen?

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We’ve got your standard 30 Rock/ Office block, but tonight on the menu you also have your choice of the Royal Pains pilot or a Burn Notice marathon! It’s almost like TV is good right now, right? Just squint your eyes and you can see it, I swear.

• USA is airing a Burn Notice marathon all day today. It’s going on now! Turn and watch! Go go go!
• At 8:00, you can relive the episode of Bones in which Booth is suspected of murdering a rival ice hockey player with whom he has previously had a beef.
• NBC is playing The Office and 30 Rock all night, but in the 9:00 hour, there are great episodes of both. The Office is airing “The Duel,” in which Andy finds out about Angela and Dwight, and 30 Rock is airing “St. Valentine’s Day,” with the ever-dreamy Jon Hamm.
• After you’re finished watching Burn Notice, you can catch the pilot of Royal Pains on USA, in case you missed it the first time around.

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The last couple weeks of Webisode Clack have had a lot of relationshippy (new word!) comedy. Funny Canadian lesbians… Urkel getting married… The obvious next step is, of course, ninjas! KarmaKula: Mystic Warrior comes to us from the Ninjai Gang. That name might ring a bell. If you have been partaking of the internet for a reasonable length of time, there is a good chance that at some point you stumbled upon their earlier work, Ninjai – The Little Ninja. It’s a flash based cartoon that has been around for years, and having watched it all again this week, it’s still as captivating as ever.

The Ninjai Gang have shifted gears with KarmaKula, offering a live-action web series. It certainly shares a certain style and feel with The Little Ninja, but what really sets KarmaKula apart is the production value. Seriously. It’s amazing. Locations, cinematography, costumes, makeup, CG… it’s all top notch. The real highlight though, is the action sequences. In a word, they are un-fucking-believable. Have a look for yourself in the embedded episode after the jump.

Much of the credit for the amazing action sequences goes to the Bellord siblings. Satya, Subhadra, and Siddha Bellord are lifelong students of martial arts, and those skills are captured amazingly in KarmaKula. My penchant for Japanese cinema means that I have seen a whole host of martial arts movies, and I can honestly say, many of them don’t measure up to this. Watch the battle with the ninjas in this first episode and see if you agree. I’ve embedded it here for convenience, but I do highly recommend that you head over to IGN’s KarmaKula page and watch the high quality stream. It’s fantastic.

Well? Are you blown away that a web based series looks like that? After watching the first episode I was left shaking my head. Are you kidding me? If this is the future of web based series, it’s a very bright future indeed. IGN has picked up the show for ten episodes, and four of them are available now. As to The Little Ninja, work progresses on that front. The Ninjai Gang say that their new animation compares to big budget animated films. After seeing what they’ve been able to do with KarmaKula, on a relatively modest budget, I tend to believe them. And I look forward to seeing more of both.

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Technically, this is more along the lines of a born-again virgin diary. I had a grand plan to watch and review Battlestar Galactica from the start, but I blew it by voraciously attacking the first two seasons worse than Kirstie Alley attacks a buffet. Wocka, Wocka, Wocka! By the time I awoke from my week long DVD viewing marathon, I was on the first disc of season three. Hey, blame Ronald D. Moore for creating such a damn compelling series. At any rate, I’m beginning this diary with what BSG fans tell me is the “all is revealed” season. We shall see.

As season three concluded, there was plenty to talk about. Gaius was a free man, Laura’s cancer returned, Lee quit the military, Starbuck came back alive, and the identities of four Cylons were revealed. Whew! That’s a lot to digest. Enough of my rambling. It’s time to pop some season four cherry.

“He That Believeth in Me”

A full-scale Cylon vs Human space war is a great way to kick things off. So, Anders’ stare down with a Raider causes the toasters to retreat. Hmm. How the hell is he going to explain that one? It makes sense, though. I’m sure the Raiders are programmed to recognize their own kind. Speaking of the “four.” They aren’t hearing “All Along the Watchtower” anymore. Good. I hope I never hear it again. I found its use as a motif silly. Although, I’m pretty sure I haven’t heard the last of it.

Starbuck has no memory of being gone for two months. Her Viper is brand new. The nav computer contains no data. Come on, she’s dead, right? Or at the very least some sort of angel. With all the religious mumbo jumbo dominating the plots, it’s only fitting she’s back to lead the human race to salvation. However, holding a gun to Laura’s head won’t exactly ingratiate herself with the masses.

Gaius Baltar needs to just go away already. I loved the dude when he was a philandering douchebag. Now he’s the philandering leader of a religious cult comprised mostly of nubile women. I can’t fault him for accepting the crown, but he’s turning into a King of Fools. He asks God to save the dying kid, and surprise, surprise, the kid lives. Gaius needs to be the center of attention. I get it. But the whole “Jesus” routine is getting old.

“Six of One”

First off, Katee Sackhoff absolutely killed it in this episode. Starbuck is really losing her shit. Her confrontation with Adama was intense. Her liplock with Lee was long overdue. It’s a shame those two kids just can’t find a way to work things out. She has to love herself before she can love anyone else, and I doubt that’s ever going to happen. Especially, since she’s dead.

The Cylon rebellion angle intrigues me. Boomer continues to be a bitch-on-metal-wheels. Six giving Centurions the power to reason was an astute power play. I dig it when Cavil gets pissed, and he is none too happy. War among the Cylons will put a serious damper on their plans to crush humanity.

I have a feeling I will not like Lee as a politician. The dude rocked as the lovelorn space jockey. A suit and tie, really? Meh. It seems like the writers don’t know what to do with his character. Gaius is Jesus. Starbuck is the key to finding Earth. Laura is dying again. Saul, Chief and Anders are Cylons. By comparison, Lee’s foray into the world of politics is boring.

“The Ties That Bind”

Once I realized Cally was the central figure in the episode, I knew she was a goner. It reminded me of when Kat bought it back in season three. Tory is becoming a major problem. First she hops in the sack with Gaius, now she’s blowing chicks out of airlocks. I suspect Chief won’t be thrilled when and if he discovers she whacked his wife. Tory is hot, but not very likable.

Here’s my issue with Starbuck getting her own ship to find Earth. Adama gives her Anders, Helo, Sharon, Gaeta, Hotdog and a bunch more of his best warriors for what could be a suicide mission. I’m sure it won’t turn out that way, but if I was an Admiral, I wouldn’t hand over that many quality soldiers. Just a thought.

Six continues to be a nudge. Taking over Cavil’s ship with aid from the Centurions was bold, indeed. Watching the so-called superior machines resort to human like behavior makes me giddy. Despite all their technological advancement, the toasters just can’t get along. When you model a machine after a flawed being, can you really expect them to be any different? I think not.

“Escape Velocity”

What a trippy episode. Chief’s goodbye to Cally was tough. I liked the Cally character and wish she had been utilized more. I’m probably in the minority. Chief is not in a good place. His admission to still being hung up on Boomer was a little shocking. I wonder if his still strong feelings for Boomer has anything to do with both of them being Cylons. Or is he just overcome with grief?

Gaius is officially the King of Dogville. Ugh. I wish the thugs who invaded his enclave would have chopped off his annoying head. His “love yourself” and “we are all perfect in God’s eyes” spiel is mind-numbing. Does he really believe what he’s preaching, or is he just placating his followers? With Gaius, I can never tell. Again, I used to like the cat, but now I wish he would die a horrific death.

Saul’s got a thing for the Six prisoner. He’s even hallucinating that she’s Ellen. Hmm. Could Ellen be the fifth Cylon? It could be anyone, I suppose, but I have a suspicion we haven’t seen the last of Ellen. Her sudden arrival on Galactica always bothered me. In other news, Tory has turned into a sexual freak. Nice. She’s eating up Baltar’s loins and his religious ramblings. For my money, these two are a perfect match.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I am liking the direction of season four. Will Starbuck find Earth? How will the Cylon rebellion play out? Are Chief, Saul, Anders and Tory capable of keeping their true identities a secret? Will anyone do me a favor and kill Gaius? So many questions. Such is life as a kinda sorta Battlestar Galactica virgin. Until next time….

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(Season 1, Episode 11 “Loose Ends” Part 1&2″)

Season 1 of Burn Notice has been a bumpy road for me. I like the idea, but the execution has never quite worked all the way. Jeffrey Donovan (who I am still convinced is an Australian operative living among us and just posing as a dude from Massachusetts) is charming and funny as Michael Westen, and is complimented by Bruce Campbell as Sam, and Sharon Gless as his chain-smoking mother. If the show were about the three of them, I would be way more on board. However, there’s also Fiona.

I don’t believe I’ve ever seen Gabrielle Anwar in anything besides Burn Notice, so I can’t really speak to her as an actress. And it’s not that her acting is bad, per se, but as I’ve said before, she and Donovan just have absolutely no chemistry. Even this wouldn’t be so bad, if the writers weren’t so intent in making her “sexiness” and the resulting alleged sexual tension such a huge part of every episode. It’s distracting and takes up valuable screen time that would be better spent blowing shit up and/or watching Sam drink beers.

The season finale, however, does give me hope. It’s probably the darkest episode of the entire first season; The body count as well as the overall danger is heightened, and for the first time, we really see that Michael may be in a bad situation. With the people who burned Michael attempting to assassinate him a few episodes back, and now Toby Ziegler getting murdered for just speaking to him, the overall mystery of who burned Michael is getting way more interesting.

Plus, they do a great job of bringing in Michael’s family in a more meaningful way. I love how Michael has finally just admitted that he was a spy, and is now allowing his brother to help him out. I’ve always thought that Nate makes a much more interesting partner than Fiona, so the more he’s involved, the better.

Along with the actual Burn Notice storyline, I loved Bruce Campbell’s performance when he was taken hostage. With all of his womanizing and drinking, it’s easy to forget that he’s not just some South Florida gigolo. His military training was in full-force, and it was a good reminder as to why he’s such an integral part of the team.

Overall, my hopes for season 2 include less Fiona (which I know isn’t going to happen), more action, more Sam, and more Westen family. I like the darker turn that this episode took, and the show will be served well if it stays on that course. Sam can still offer levity, and Michael can still be charming if they do — the show will just be more interesting because the stakes will be higher. I’ll probably be starting the next season in a couple of days, so I’m excited to see exactly what Michael has waiting for him after he drives out of that panel truck.

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You may not believe this, but the original (and greatest) Transformers series premiered twenty-five years ago! No, your eyes aren’t deceiving you. It’s been a quarter of a century since you rushed home after school to forego your homework and watch Transformers (as well as G.I. Joe and Voltron) before your folks came home from work. With the current Transformers movie raking in the big bucks at theaters and the 25th anniversary Transformers season 1 DVD set currently available, now is the perfect time to talk about these “Robots in Disguise”.

Though they premiered only one week after each other, Transformers tended to be the favorite over direct competitor Gobots. There were numerous reasons for this, including the animation style of the two programs. Sure, by today’s standards, the animation style of Transformers could be considered average at best (though it was produced in Japan, a country known for its high-quality animation). Back in 1984, however, it was seen as downright movie-like. Especially after viewers had endured years of sub-par, Saturday morning animation.

Then there was the focus on characters. While Gobots had its mix of serious and comic robots, they seemed like every other stereotypical character that Hanna-Barbera produced. On the other hand, each of the Transformers had a uniqueness to them. Which meant everyone had their favorites. From the noble Optimus Prime, the plucky Bumblebee, and tough Ironhide on the side of the Autobots, to the evil Megatron, power-hungry Starscream, and analytical Soundwave on the side of the Decepticons.

And, with unique characters came unique voices that people still remember today. In particular were Peter Cullen and Frank Welker, who voiced Optimus Prime. Like Olan Soule and Kevin Conroy did with animated versions of Batman, Cullen gave Optimus Prime a voice of calm authority that became the standard for others to follow in future incarnations of Transformers. So connected was his voice to the character that he’s reprised it for the live-action Transformers movies.

Of course, another big draw was that these robots actually transformed into something else, with the Autobots assuming the guise of various land vehicles while the Decepticons, at first, focused more on flying machines. As the series progressed new robots were introduced that could turn into construction vehicles, dinosaurs, and insects. Soon enough, thanks to the popularity of shows like Voltron, some of these new robots would even combine to become one giant robot.

However, what really drew viewers in was the underlying, and epic, story of good and evil. Unlike Gobots, where Cy-Kill and his merry band of evil doers were lighter in tone, Megatron, Starscream, and the rest of the Decepticons were really bad folks. They wanted one thing and one thing only: the elimination of the Autobots in order to obtain all of the energy in the known universe. It’s what drove them in every adventure and eventually caused their downfall.

The first two seasons of The Transformers are considered the standard for most fans. This is when the history of the robots was established and secondary characters like Spike were introduced. These seasons also set the stage for The Transformers: the Movie, which killed off Optimus Prime, eliminated most of the original Autobots, saw Spike utter the word ’shit’ to Bumblebee, and changed the status quo of the series. By season 3 the show was unrecognizable from its beginnings, which caused a riff in the fan base. Even the reincarnation of Optimus Prime towards the end of that season couldn’t bring back the magic. By 1987, after a very short fourth season, The Transformers ended its original run.

Though there have been a number of Transformers series in years since, none have really come close to the popularity of the original series (except, possibly, Beast Wars). Even the current version, Cartoon Network’s Transformers Animated, doesn’t have the same feel and scope of the original. Luckily, anniversary DVD releases and video outlets like YouTube help us relive easier times when all we needed to do was root for either the Autobots or Decepticons.

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(Season One, Episodes 9 – 12)

I wouldn’t say my honeymoon with House is now over, but at the same time, I’m starting to get some of the criticisms of the show. It is kind of the same story week after week. Sure, there are tweaks and twists, but the set-up for each episode is very similar. That being said, I’m still in. The characters and the dialogue writing are where this show shines.

“DNR”

The guest cast carousel this week has Harry Lennix from Dollhouse, Commander in Chief, and the Matrix movies. I’m a big fan. I continued to be impressed with the casting director on the show. Not only do they continue to get great actors on the show, but cast them in perfect roles. This is the case with Lennix here, though he does spend quite a bit of the episode lying in bed with a tube down his throat.

House has a lot in common with John Henry Giles, and the dying musician definitely calls him out on it. House’s one minded pursuit of whatever patient or illness he sets his sights on has everything to do with the fact that he has no life outside the walls of the hospital, at least not anymore (I know we’ll eventually get to that back story, but in the meantime, it’s pretty obvious).

General Hospital….  I know I haven’t mentioned it yet, but … Really?

“Histories”

The rivalry, for lack of a better word, between Foreman and House continues to be interesting. Foreman thinks he doesn’t respect House, but deep down he does. Its not always easy on the recipient of ‘tough love,’ but the smart ones get it.

The teaching project that Cuddy gives House really speaks to what he does well. He’s a problem solver, and even though he discounts patient histories, he proves to the two students, and to us the viewer, that despite the lies he expects to hear, there is still good information to be learned.

More backstory into Wilson, and continued development of the relationship between and House. Our curmudgeon of an anti-hero follows his friend because he knows Wilson was hiding something from him, and he was right. Wilson opens up about his missing brother, but only to House, and only after House saw through his lie.

“Detox”

The bet between Cuddy and House has been the most interesting side plot yet on the show. A battle of the wills like this is a fairly standard trope, but considering how personal the bet is, it was a bit different than just standard TV drama. And it made House admit to being an addict, to Wilson, obviously. I didn’t see the twist that it was Wilson’s idea in the first place. It’s obvious that both he and Cuddy care a great deal about House’s welfare.

I try to only gush about the guest casting once a week, but I’m a big fan of Amanda Seyfried. I wish she had been used more.

I talked last week about House lying to other doctors to get what he wanted (and saw a little bit of that in “Histories”), but here the question is raised, “Is it ethical, EVER, to lie to a patient?” I wouldn’t think so, at least I would hope not. But what do you tell a parent when the best treatment might just hurt more in the short run?

The cat autopsy was bad, but not nearly as bad as the baby a couple of episodes before.

“Sports Medicine”

I break my rule again. At first, it was just Scott Foley (Because I’m a big fan of The Unit, and not any other TV property he’s been in, no sir)  but then, BOOM, Meredith Monroe! I’ve been a big fan of hers since … well … (Ok, so if you didn’t know of my weakness for sappy high school and college dramas, I pretty much just outed myself there). And I didn’t miss Bryan Singer sneaking in there, either.

And thank God for Monroe. To show joy and more joy, and then to have it ripped away … She played it brilliantly. She is one of those actors that I just don’t get why she’s not getting more work. She brings depth to every role she plays, and did great work here.

Wilson lies to House, but only to protect him from knowing about his dinner with Stacy. As Cameron asked House about his past, and I haven’t been completely unspoiled about the show, a quick IMDB search for Sela Ward confirms my suspicions.  I’m glad that Wilson was lying for good reasons, though I couldn’t imagine him not.

Vol. One: Diary of a House virgin: Wait, that doesn’t sound right
Vol. Two: Diary of a House Virgin – Still picking up steam

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Early last month I had a little e-chat with writer/producer Jane Espenson about the Buffy Season Eight comic she’s been a part of (came out yesterday — go pick it up!). At the end of that interview, I asked Jane which sci-fi show she’d like to see get a Battlestar Galactica-like reboot next. Her answer: Alien Nation. As it turns out, word came yesterday that that’s exactly what Syfy plans to do.

Not only is Alien Nation getting the reboot treatment, but what’s really interesting (and damn cool) is who’s helming it: Angel, Dollhouse and Firefly producer Tim Minear. I wonder if Jane’s heard of him.

So, now I wonder which came first: Jane’s mention of what she’d like to get a TV remake, or Tim Minear’s pitch? Oh, I know what you’re all thinking — she was totally putting the bug in our ears after knowing the idea was coming ’round the corner from her pal Tim. But you’re wrong, I say. Wrong!

I say Mark Stern, VP of original programming at Syfy, reads my posts religiously. He saw my post with Jane Espenson last month and — BOOM — Alien Nation with Tim Minear was born. Hey, it’s the same way the new Alice movie went forward.

Come on, let me think it — it’s all I’ve got.

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The Superstars

The rest of this show though, it’s just painful.

First off, can we please stop throwing around the term “star” and “celebrity” around so liberally? When I have to look up half the contestants on wikipedia just to find out who the heck they are, they are neither a star, nor a celebrity. Yes, Estella Warren, you were fantastic in Planet of the Apes, but are you a “star?” Not even close, sorry. Just a small pet peeve on my part.

The big problem with The Superstars is that it’s really, really boring.  Perhaps if it were a half hour and heavily edited instead of a full hour and a half it would be a little better. Unfortunately, the show is an hour and a half long (for the first few episodes) and shows just about every second of each dull event. In the latest episode I think there was a solid 45 minutes of people long jumping. You know what? Long jumping really isn’t that exciting, even with Robert Horry trash talking the whole time.

The other big problem, and I do feel badly about this, is the horrid commentary provided by host John Saunders. Come on, John Saunders, you are a respected sports journalist. You host The Sports Reporters on ESPN for crying out loud! Is this the best way you can find to spend your summer? His feigned excitement during the overdubbing is just painful to listen to. It’s like he’s trying to inject some life into this dead fish of a show and it just comes off as a little sad.

The fact is, I was hoping this show would fill the void of the dearly departed American Gladiators. Why did NBC cancel this awesome, super campy show? I miss the ridiculous costumes, I miss the way-too-excited audience. I miss the over the top sob stories that each contestant seemed to have. I miss people hitting each other with giant Q-tips. I miss the absolute beat down that the gladiators would put on the competitors. I miss how “Crush” always had that wry smile that said “I can’t believe I am on this stupid show.” I even miss that nutjob Wolf. That dude was just crazy.

Sadly, no matter how insane TO acts, he’s no Wolf.

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Sunday nights is a pretty respectable night to be aired, albeit on a fourth place network. But nevertheless, Merlin isn’t setting the ratings world on fire. So what is it about Merlin that’s isn’t clicking? It’s latest outings garnered just north of four million viewers. That’s less than half the number that watched Jon & Kate break up. Or maybe that says something about the American viewing audience right there.

I don’t think they helped themselves by doubling up the episodes in these first two weeks. Especially considering each episode is almost entirely self-contained. At least in the sense that the major conflict was resolved with a nice bow and a 1980s style “awww” moment at the end. Thank god there’s no audience track.

I know NBC seems in a hurry to get through these episodes and get this show off their airwaves, and now I can’t say as I blame them. I just don’t think we were ready for four episodes in eight days of this decidedly different show.

Think about it, how accepting is mainstream America about shows of the historical, sci-fi or fantasy element? Lost is the most successful “genre” show on television, and its ratings have dropped the weirder it got. And it plays pretty subtle with the otherworldly stuff.

Merlin is a 100% period piece with blatant magical elements, including constant chanting of magical spells by Torchwood agents, mythical creatures and Bionic Women stewing over cauldrons. I love this kind of stuff, but I’m not most of America. Perhaps it should have gone the syndication route where it could have found success similar to Legend of the Seeker. Or to Sci-Fi or even BBC America.

Certainly, Merlin is well produced and well written. It even has a lighter tone to it like Seeker. I like everyone in the cast, I even like Anthony Head’s Uther Pendragon even if it is to despise what an asshole he is. I’ve never been a king or spent much time around them, but he seems overly pig-headed. I’m sure there have been, are and will be kings like that, but it doesn’t mean I have to like it.

Especially since I’m enjoying a much less sure Anthony Stewart Head as Giles on Buffy the Vampire Slayer this summer (you are reading my Virgin Diaries, yes?). What’s frustratingly obvious by packing this many episodes together, is that Uther isn’t really growing as a character at all.

He’s as ready to wrongly convict someone, ignore Merlin and even let the boy die now as he was in the first episode. I know Arthur is going to be a better king than his father, but that doesn’t mean Uther has to be completely static in his portrayal, does it? Plus, he’s not the villain of the piece, so let’s give us some reason to like him.

As an example of how to do it right, take Arthur. In the first episode he was a younger, brasher version of his father. Now he’ll risk his life to save Merlin’s. That’s growth and something we can appreciate. Hell, have Uther give his daughter some kindness once in awhile if you need to keep him aloof and distant from Arthur and Merlin.

Despite all of this, I am enjoying the show. As I said, it reminds me a lot of Legend of the Seeker, which I enjoy as well, and is a perfect blend of fantasy and fun for the summer months. I am, however, curious where the second season will air stateside as it seems unlikely NBC will take it on.

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It was all about who wanted to bang who in this episode. Even Veronica, who’s wound tighter than a dog with ADD leashed to a parking meter, got some banging in. Granted, hers was the “into a chair” variety with a silencer attached, but the theme remained intact.

Ted was checking out Linda, who was loving being checked out, Lem was checking out the not-exotic Asian, Lucy. Unfortunately for Lem, he’s not that suave with the ladies and so rather than try and talk to her or woo her away from douchebag “suit” he went the unconventional route.

We’ve all been there, try to make the douche vomit so he’s incapacitated (though really, doesn’t that just make the girl want to take care of him; it’s a thing with women, they can’t help themselves), and wind up making the girl vomit instead. And while the ladies can look sexy doing a wide variety of tasks, the hurling of bile and partially digested food stuffs is not on that list.

With the banter going between Ted and Linda right now, I think I want them to go the way of so many star-crossed lovers on television shows and continue to not get together. I just see things falling apart if they lose that tension and mutual frustration. I don’t, however, feel that way about Lem and Lucy.

I think that could be a nice romantic sub-plot for a little while. Maybe she could even join the cast in a more significant way. What can I say? She had me with the “who’s exotic?” argument.

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I got a peep at HBO’s Hung about a week before it premiered, and though I didn’t watch more than the first episode, I’m wondering why people are all hung up on the show already. With all the hype surrounding the show, I sorta felt like I was given the shaft.

Let’s go over a few of the meatier points of why I felt Hung fell flat:

- The main character — Ray Drecker (Thomas Jane) is pretty much like any ol’ Tom, Dick or Harry — though maybe a bit more of a tool — and has got one massive thing going for him: a big dick. And … that’s pretty much it. He doesn’t have anything else going for him really except that, maybe, he’s good at plotting a full-court press for a bunch of sweaty guys.

- It’s humorless — Someone forgot to turn the funny knob up a few notches on Hung, because with a show premise and title like that, it’s gotta have something funny so I can get my rocks off. I could’ve done without the dicking around and had them get right to something that would get more than a short chuckle out of me.

- The kids are unlikable — I get that it’s the first episode here, but the kids are hard to swallow. I felt like the show’s creators were so hard up to inject some sort of drama into Ray’s life that they had to throw these two ungrateful dorks at us.

- The plot makes no sense — Why would Ray stoop down to the level of a man whore when his biggest asset would be better suited — and better used! — in porn? Not just video porn, but just take a few pictures of it for magazines and keep your mug out of it. Why a bell didn’t dong in Ray’s head for him to realize this would keep him from being hosed when he was ID’ed is beyond me; I’m stumped.

That’s about all I’ve got. I know a bunch of fans will come gushing at me like a full-open fire hose to tell me how wrong I am and that I should go piss off. Well, hopefully you’re right and the next few episodes will get a whole lot better. Until the writers are able to erect a better story with funnier lines for me, I’m simply going to find it hard for this show to get a rise out of me.

Penis.

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You see, I’ve actually discovered a trick to enjoying the show: ignore the characters. Now I know, I know, that seems kind of ridiculous, but, hear me out on this one.

There’s nothing wrong with (most of) the main characters on the show. But there’s also little that’s compelling about most of their stories. I think that’s what was confusing me the last two weeks: where was the substance? And then it dawned on me: it’s in the hospital.

I’ve never been a fan of ER, nor did I watch Chicago Hope back in its day. So I really have no TV medicine background upon which to draw on. And, guess what? HawthoRNe assumes as much. Sure, it may be rudimentary for you vets, but the show is starting in medical drama 101: last night we had the case of the comatose woman whose son couldn’t pull the plug, and the baby who came into the ER after seizing, with the single mother who has suspicion cast upon her. The basics.

But, for me, it’s new. So, for me to ignore the characters and watch the medicine, I actually feel as if I’m seeing something for the first time. For those of you who’ve been there with the docs, but like the characters? This is a character-driven show, so there you go. It’s win-win for us all.

I was, however, able to get on-board with Christina Hawthorne (Jada Pinkett Smith), administrative personnel, this week. I’ve felt before that it was unlikely she’d be regularly actively involved in patient care; her taking charge of the woman in the coma this week stunk of a little too much heavy-handedness, but it was a Chief Nursing Officer (still don’t get that title) as she should be. Or, at least more so.

The only characters that truly bother me are Candy (Christina Moore) and Ray (David Julian Hirsh). Well, more Ray this week, but I still find Candy to be a bit too clueless. Did anyone else get Love Boat shenanigan déjà vu while watching their scenes together? I don’t know, but something felt very throwback to that entire episode.

Anyway, I just feel like the two of them are so busy with nonsense, that they’re unlikely to really be focusing on their work. I appreciated that Ray stayed after-hours to watch a movie with that patient, but, and this is his own fault, he seems a lot more like an orderly than a nurse. He’s a bit of a buffoon. Whereas, Candy just seems to be cast in a “pretty girl” role. To serve what purpose?

So, yeah! I won’t say I’m eagerly awaiting the next episode, but I think I could see myself enjoying HawthoRNe, at least in an off-season like summer. A few observations and/or questions:

• Anyone who also watches Nurse Jackie notice how much better training Kelly (Vanessa Lengies) appears to be getting, versus Zoey (Merritt Wever)? At least Kelly is hands-on.
• What is it about our nature that compels us to jump to conclusions and overreact? As a parent, I suppose I can appreciate that the hospital was looking out for the welfare of a baby, but also as a parent, I would be suing the hospital and the police for kidnapping my baby. Why do people not stay mad on TV? (see also, for recent example, Hank not simply walking away from the mother of that kid with the tick bite on Royal Pains, after curing him.) It’s a recurring trait on television that I believe has no basis in reality. At least not mine. And, I’m not talking about holding capricious grudges … just being human.
• How could the daughter have authorized pulling that woman’s plug, as per her wishes, when her wishes also specifically indicated that she wanted the son to do it? I got the impression that there was a living will. Christina may have overstepped by making a makeshift room out of a storage closet, but she should also possibly be arrested for murder. How could they have done that?
• While Camille’s (Hannah Hodson) video was touching, it’s not an essay, and it doesn’t negate the fact that she disobeyed her mother. Why do people on television never care about that stuff?

Anyway, tune in next week. I sure will.

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