Saturday, May 12, 2007

Catching Up

Sorry I didn't blog yesterday for two days. I know you were all waiting sooooo eagerly to see what my Thursday Thirteen would be, and/or what I had to say about Lost and Supernatural.

Just so you know, I was going to do 13 thoughts about Lost. What? I told you I had a theme this week. ;)

So ABC gave in and gave Damon Lindelhof and Carlton Cuse what they wanted, and I'm thrilled. A finite end date for a show that absolutely had to have one. I'm glad they had the foresight to recognize it and semi-abandon the greedy need to suck any show for every ounce of ratings it can provide.

Of course, Darlton also gave in, and ABC is getting three more seasons, instead of the 1.5 that would serve the show best. But that's okay. 48 episodes is easier to work with than "indefinite," and the show will end the way it's supposed to, helmed by the people who are supposed to helm it. (If people are complaining now, just imagine how horrible it would be if they left it.)

I'm not crazy about the schedule. Having to wait until January February is annoying, and 16 eps at a time is barely momentum-building before we break again for, you know, way too long. But compromise means no one is completely happy, right?

Damon Lindelhof said there was a game-changer coming, and that we would know it when we saw it. Was it Locke getting shot? He wasn't dead when we panned back. It's not a wound anyone would survive without immediate and extensive surgery, but it's also not a wound that kills quickly. We know Jack can do it, and that the Others have the faciliities, but no one knows where Locke is.

If they kill Charlie, I'm done.

And really, what more is there to say than that?

Okay, I'll say more. But not much. I've talked about it before. Not as awesome as season 1, but excellently done nonetheless, managing to hold me on the edge of my seat each week and intrigue me more every episode. I trust Jack and I like Juliet and hope she's double-crossing Ben.

How the hell old is Richard? He looked the same when he appeared to young!?Ben as when he appeared to WorkMan!Ben as when he recruited Juliet as when he talked to Locke.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~INTERLUDE~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nickelback, Staind, and Daughtry are coming to Hershey this summer. I would say a pair of tickets would make an awesome Mother's Day gift, but a) I told him no gifts and b) he doesn't have time to read my blog anymore. Hints work better if they know about them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~END INTERLUDE~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I finished watching Supernatural at about 1:00 a.m Friday, because Number Two had a stomach ache that, alas, was not simply the bad gas I was hoping for. I slept on the couch, getting up with her every twenty minutes to half hour and/or being awakened by the animals, who have quite an active night life, apparently.

Anyway, I can comment on Smallville and Supernatural, but have not yet watched Scrubs or Ugly Betty from Thursday, and we're two weeks behind on Numb3ers.

Not that there's ever anything to say about Numb3rs. It's an enjoyable show, very smart, with cases that might change twice during the course of the show (same case, non-linear method of solving it). And I love all the characters (especially Colby!). But it's not exciting, I often wait a long time to watch it, and I would shrug if it was canceled.

(I ask you, is it better to have a show a lot of people watch but don't care about at all, or a show fewer people watch, but are very passionate about?)

There won't be anything to say about Scrubs, either. It's funny, probably the funniest comedy on TV, I can't believe it's beat out by dreck like Fat Lazy Husband with Hot Put-Upon Wife and Bratty Kids. But thought I want another season, I admit I'm getting tired of it being unchanging. There's been some growth in Jordan and Dr. Cox, but when you're watching an episode and can't tell which of the past five seasons it comes from,..

I'm not sure I'll bother watching Smallville next year. I watched the first five seasons on DVD and this season "live," and I hate Lana. If they kill her and launch an even more bitter and heated rivalry between Clark and Lex, I'll watch next year. But I am done with the Lana-centric, Clark-deficient storylines. DONE, I say!

Ugly Betty is like Numb3rs to me. I love that they manage to make even the most caricaturish characters complex. But I'm really not enamored with the Mead/Wilhelmina/Alex storylines. I prefer anything to do with Daniel, Betty, Henry, Amanda, and Marc. The best episodes are the ones that take the character out of their main role--chief among them, when Marc came out to his mom and defended Betty and her family.

Okay, now for the Big One. Supernatural.

"When All Hell Breaks Loose, Part I," does not rival my favorite episodes. I liked it. A lot of it was well done. But it was one too many episodes with Sam and Dean apart, I think, and a little too much walking around apprehensively.

I don't have the same complaints as my friends. The exposition was fine, and Ava's "bad acting" will prove (as we discussed yesterday during my Boot Squad lunch) upon repeated viewing to be really good acting, as she was "faking" all along. Her not being as likeable as in her first appearance wasn't a bad choice, because we then didn't mind Jake killing her. If she'd been less fake, though, and if our love of her had been preserved, her death would have been more shocking, like Andy's. (Nooooooooooo! Andyyyyyyyyyy!)

One thing I absolutely loved was that even though Sam liked Ava and had thought the best of her, he had no problem switching gears when he found Andy dead. He knew right away that she was responsible, and didn't let her tears throw him off. That's the Sammy we know nad love. And the Sammy who couldn't kill Jake, even knowing Jake would never stop trying to kill him.

His "death" scene was amazing, too. Just draining away, no struggle, no communication, no goodbyes or anything. God, DEAN. I can't wait for next week's episode.
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I have to take a moment to publicly laud my husband. I had plans yesterday that were easy to break, but that I really needed. He offered to stay en he went to pickh phe sick kid sofI could. Then he went to pick up work at the office to do at home this weekend, took Number One and her friend to see Spider-Man 3 last night, and drove probably close to 200 miles today to cover Number One's two soccer games while I stood in line for an hour and fifteen minutes to purchase dance tickets, then worked while the sick kid got better. And Mother's Day isn't even here yet, never mind my retreat next weekend! The man deserves...I don't know what, but he deserves a lot of it. Thank you, sweetie. :*

2 comments:

MJFredrick said...

I have been waiting for DAYS for this blog ;)

It wasn't my favorite epi, either, because the brothers were apart for too long. And I'm not crazy about the YED only wanting ONE instead of an army. But that last scene was amazing.

I've read comments where it might have been better for Ava and Sam to be the last two, because she can summon demons and that would cause a ton of problems for the boys. I almost wish that had happened.

Can't wait till next week!

Happy Mother's Day!!!!

Natalie J. Damschroder said...

because she can summon demons and that would cause a ton of problems for the boys

They've been saying the finale ends the YED story but opens up a whole new world of problems for the boys, and given the preview, with the cloud of demons surging out of the Hellmouth(!), it makes Ava's ability seem like stage magic.

Can't wait either, and HMD to you, too!