Sunday Night Round-Up 07/07/13

The Simpsons: What Animated Women Want
While I have been an irregular watcher of The Simpsons I still enjoy watching it. This one has Homer trying to please Marge and Milhouse trying to displease Lisa. The whole episode tries to peek into the minds of women and does it very well. After 20+ years The Simpsons still no how to balance adult and kid cartoons well.

Under The Dome: The Fire
After ranting about missing last Monday's episode they repeat it tonight. The townspeople are begin to crack. The villainous types are working hard to try and cover their secrets while the heroic types are moving slow to understand the scale of the problem.

Falling Skies: Be Silent and Come Out
The Masons just cannot catch a break. Fallout from another mind-bug puts everyone in jeopardy but as you know the Masons are a tough bunch. A nice look at new technology for fighting the aliens probes is explored. This show is more of a family drama than a sci-fi or political show.

True Blood: At Last
The obvious Ben/Warlow connection is made but is it too late. Poor baby vamp Jessica cannot control her urges and the funny 4 fairies may have to pay the price. Next week is going to be a tough one to watch. 

All that and I still need to watch Dexter.

Postponed

Due to the shooting in Connecticut some shows were cancelled or postponed.

Haven: Reunion 
Originally took place during a high school reunion and had some violence. The SyFy channel left these statements: "In light of today’s tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut, Syfy will not be airing the new episode of #Haven tonight at 10/9C.", "At this time, no decision has been made as to when the episode will air."

General Hospital: 12.14.2012
The episode was postponed both on ABC and Soap Network due to the coverage of ABC news. They plan to air the non-controversial episode on Monday.

Most of ABC and the rest of networks pre-empted their daytime shows but since they are horrible it didn't really matter.

Over at the laist they have a great article of other shows and events that were pulled, I helped out a bit with one tip.

Partial Monday Season Premiere 2012

Bones: The Future In The Past
I have to admit I have not all of last season because it is against CBS shows. Apparently last season some genius killer setup Bones and so she ran with the baby. Of course they solve the murder and prove Bones is innocent but it did take three months.

Warehouse 13: Second Chances
The overall storyline of bringing back the bad timeline continues. The show is getting funnier but for secret service agents they are hardly professionals.


Revolution: Pilot
Electricity suddenly stops working and one family knew it was about to happen. 15 years later the world has plunged into chaos with everyone turning into gangs of thugs and pilgrims barely surviving. 

As an engineer I know this is utterly ridiculous. Old New York City, Old Chicago and currently half of the world lives without electricity. Wait not only do they live without an modern appliances but they thrive. Add to that that every scientist and engineer would just make things that didn't need electricity. Wind and water could still turn things and make grain. Clocks work with gears and so can many other things. Light, sound, and wave technology would thrive in the absence of electricity and little in modern life would change.

Famine, plagues, and other disaster would be easily handled and this future could never happen. Katrina was a large event and after a few days of partial lawlessness everything calmed down, 95% of the people did not act like idiots. After 9/11 and the east coast blackout in NYC no one rioted went crazy or anything close to that. I guess people are less like animals than the media portrays.

So back to show. The family that knows too much is being hunted by the new Monroe government and people need to be rescued and answers must be found. Nothing original and the end shows someone using a Dharma like computer. Expect little answer and a quick cancellation if this logic continues to fail.

Being Human vs. Being Human

Thanks to repeats I got caught up with the U.S.A. and U.K. versions of Being Human. This show is about a reluctant vampire, an accidental werewolf, and a anxious ghost live together and try to be normal.

Image source: SciFi Mafia

Being Human (UK):
Darker, more cursing, and more comedy. Everyone who comes across the path of the trio is much worse for it. There is a lot of history, conspiracies, and prophecies all of which gets resolved. The vampire is a bit naive, dangerous, and funnier than his U.S. counterpart. In the latest episodes everyone is dead and gone except the ghost who is looking for roommates. 



Being Human (USA):
More drama, less blood. The trio is less silly than there UK counterparts which makes them very sympathetic. Since this show is about three seasons behind the UK version you can see where there going. BUT, yes that is a big but, they are not doing as much of the conspiracy/prophecy stuff. Although it is a bit early too accurately compare.


In both cases the show is fine but watching them at the same time is better. There is something about comparing stuff that makes it better.

Stargate Universe

Stargate Universe: Common Descent

The least good of all the Stargate series is ending the show in a gooder way. Grammar aside the show started slow with a lost in space vibe but without alien encounters or fun sci-fi goodness. Instead they were just very introspective.

Now that the show is coming to an end they are meeting aliens, fighting robots, and time-traveling.

This episode has the crew meeting their descendants on a planet and then getting trapped with them while others search for the the rest of the great-great-great-great-grand kids. Apparently some previous accident split their ship into two and while using the Stargate the crew went 2,000 years back in time.

The second-crew established a modern civilization but the unstable planet caused problem and they disappeared stranding scouting parties throughout the local Stargates.

Confused enough yet?
All I know, since I've been missing a few episodes, is that now everyone on the crew is good and they all love each other, but they're running out of patience.

Reviews: Summer so far

Cover of The Colorado Kid (Hard Case Crime)

Summer has been better than normal.
TV on the other hand has never been worse.

Royal Pains, Eureka, Psych, Warehouse 13, Wipeout have all returned without a bang. I mention only the shows I watch.
Sci-Fi as been particularly weak this season.

Haven a new Sci-Fi channel show based on the Stephen King novel The Colorado Kid is not good at all.

True Blood has been the only bright spot. That and repeats of ABC comedies I didn't see last year.

All the "premium" movies that made hundreds of millions in the box office are awful. Honestly I haven't seen a great movie in years.

I'm having more fun taking pictures of stuff being filmed around NYC than actually watching the shows.

V is for Victory

YANKEES!!!

Photos from AP.

V : Pilot
They went really fast from nice aliens to evil aliens.
The CGI was good for the most part.

V before V

In 1983 the V mini-series debuted to a huge response. It spawned a sequel then it's own TV series ending in a 2 hour finale.


Sci-Fi channel repeated most of it this Sunday in anticipation of the big remake on ABC this Tuesday.

To recap aliens come to Earth they claim to need chemicals for their world. Soon scientist begin to disappear and other scientists are brainwashed to tell lies because science would reveal the truth. The truth becomes clear that the human-like aliens are just lizards in disguise, they are lying about their mission, and they are using Republican Nazi tactics.

As the aliens slowly takeover and suppress humans a resistance begins to form. Using mostly bombs as a tool the aliens are shaken up but hardly defeated, seriously bullets versus spaceships. Some moderate aliens help the resistance and reveal the full plan. They are on a dying planet and are stealing our water and people to eat.

A side thought that never gets developed after the first series is other aliens. The (V)isitors have another enemy so dangerous that they defeated the V in battle. They Other aliens are also to dangerous for the good V to approach for help against the bad V. Some humans will be turned into soldiers to fight the enemy. Humans send a signal into space to find the Other aliens but it would take years.

Throughout the series humans keep fighting and drive the aliens off the Earth but as V reinforcements come a half-human half-alien super-girl becomes the liaison to both races and takes off to broker peace.

Problems:

• Aliens also have magic powers (mind control, telekinesis, etc.)
• Water is heavy in gravity. Especially since the Oort Cloud around our solar system has thousands of moon size balls of ice-comets free to take.
• Why not cows? Or pigs? Even if humans have some special chemical just modify livestock DNA to produce a viable alternative.
• How much do they need? The V talk of visiting at least a dozen planets and doing the same.

SyFy

Formerly Science Fiction Channel, Channel #48

New tag line: Imagine Greater
Translation: We are dumping science and bringing in paranormal crap.

Lots of science fiction originals and repeats. Although recently they expanded to include reality, wrestling, and paranormal shows.

Current Watchlist:
Primeval
Portals open up in time and bring in animals and change history. Great British show that has been canceled.

Doctor Who
Time traveling alien and his pet human. Again British and great but a year or two behind the current run. BBC America carries newer episodes but my cable company doesn't carry BBC America.

Warehouse 13: Pilot
A remake of Friday the 13th: The Series.
Three former secret service agents must find and store paranormal objects.
I enjoyed Friday the 13th: The Series because it was the devil cursing objects. Warehouse 13 tries to gives some pseudo-scientific explanation which is annoying and only fosters more bad science.

Eureka
A comedy about a town full of mad scientist and one sane sheriff.

Just Ewww!

Dollhouse: The Target
Again Echo is being used as a hooker and then becomes the victim of a human hunt.
Honestly I don't understand how a show about a glorified brothel is on air, oh yeah it's Fox. I think it comes as no surprise that men buy prostitutes at higher rates than women. Keeping that in mind half of these dolls in the Dollhouse are guys so I can only conclude that they are also being turned into sexual play things for rich men, even if they are originally straight.
Unless they blow up the Dollhouse in the next few episodes I will probably stop watching soon.

Don't get me wrong Mr. Joss Whedon I'm a fan of morally ambiguous story lines and hope this is all leading up to something just don't stretch out like they did with Battlestar Galactica.


Verminators: Night at the Races
This is a Discovery channel reality-documentary where we follow exterminators doing their job. They enter an apartment that is clean but they have roaches. Soon the expert concludes it is a neighbor causing the problem and they enter the next door slum and find roaches under everything. I insist on eating while this show is on and eventually make myself nauseous.

Dollhouse

Dollhouse: Ghost

When I first heard of this show I thought this was doomed and had no chance. A group of young troubled people get new personalities/lives for special missions. Then I saw some trailers from the original pilot and was intrigued but then came the reshoot.


This episode Ghost was the second pilot and was not as good as the 1 minute original trailer. It doesn't seem as much sci-fi and instead it's more corporate and conspiratorial. Elisha Dushku is great and so is Harry Lennix (last seen getting beat-up in 24).

The first problem I had is she is being used as a high priced designer hooker, although probably realistic if this type of personality exchange did exist, it left a hatred for the entire organization behind these transplants. Knowing this the next episode will deal with a rogue agent.

While I know the pilot is the worst episode, Lost being an exception, this one makes me want to root for the bad guys at every stage.

So your remaking my childhood...

Fine then I want more candy and a TV in my room.

Wait you just remaking my favorite shows and movies, never mind.

Robert Englund has been out promoting his new movie Jack Brook: Monster Slayer and let it slip about his older productions which as far as he knows he will not take part in.

First he reveals that the newest Freddy Krueger movie will be a remake with a budget. Oh yeah Billy Bob Thorton is in line for Freddy Krueger.

Second he reveals V the great sci-fi series is being remade. The script has already been partially leaked here.

He did make the point that hardly anyone watches the original King Kong but that the remake by Peter Jackson was awful with a nice ending.

I haven't watched any of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Halloween, or other horror remakes because they look so bad.

I saw The Hills Have Eyes both remake and original on the same day. While both are B level the original is far superior.

Sci-Fi friday

I'll admit Flash Gordon is better then I first thought or I'm desperate for any TV show with a script.
The show started out like many sci-fi crap with a search for someone lost. Flash looked for his father for a few episodes now he is focused on uniting aliens in a war against Ming the Merciless.

Stargate Atlantis: Harmony
This was the best episode of the half-season which is not saying much. It had a teen queen being escorted through a forest by two Atlantis team members.
It was funny and clever but very predictable. At least it wasn't another talk fest like last weeks quarantine.

I watch Sci-fi to watch aliens, robots, and humans fight not to be preached on how bad the Iraq war is..cough...cough...BATTLESTAR GALACTICA..cough.

Master of whaaa

Master of Science Fiction: The Awakening
Finally got to see this show, although I missed the first episode.

It is like the Outer Limits except happier. Here is what I got from this episode.
The guy from Lost was playing Jack O'Neil from Stargate and he helped relay a message from angel-aliens about being peaceful while they threatened to blow up the Earth.

Did I miss something?

.

Fridays Again

Doctor Who: The Shakespeare Code
Apparently there is little use in blogging this show since the episodes I watch on the Sci-Fi channel is a year or more old and there are 2 million Doctor Who sites. Still great show I miss Rose and the other Doctor.

Monk: Mr. Monk and His Biggest Fan
The show use Sarah Silverman to poke fun at themselves. It shows how bad they have got. They completely abandon the search for his wifes killer and lost the soul of the show.

Psych: American Duos
The guys investigate an attempted murder on an American Idol copy show. I laughed from begin to end. The funny references were flying out every second. Gina Gershon as Emilina the Paula Abdul copy was brilliant when she had the her exchanges with Lassiter.
This show is simple it is straight men versus comedian. When O'Hara put on the pink fame outfit and was giving her speech it was great. Shawn and Lassiter actually solved the case when they first meet the crooks.

Addiction Recovery

Hello my name is Man and I am a TV addict.

For years I would watch up to 5 shows at the same time now I have a busy life and have only been watching what I actually care about.

Why the change? Easy because of great shows like Surface that only lasted a half season. Also good shows like The 4400 that turned to crap but more important most of this semester classes invovle computer assignments which leaves me little time to watch TV.

So my new policy is just watch returning shows and only a few new ones the others are probably going to cancelled and available for free on YouTube in case I every really want to watch them.

I look forward to watch Jericho on CBS, Men In Trees on ABC and any show I watched last season.

Now for some brief reviews:
House: Meaning
6 weeks after emerging from a medicaly induced coma House is fine and healthy he treats 2 patients, one of which was Claire Kramer better known as Glory/Glorificus from Buffy. Soon though House notices he has some pain and gets himself some pills. I was kind of disappointed that they didn't show his path to recovery or the results of the patients from the season finale.

Stargate SG-1: Memento Mori
Vala gets her memory wiped by a Goa'uld and becomes a waitress. The story center around Vala's trust issues and was nicely done. At the end she officially becomes part of the team.

Stargate Atlantis: McKay & Mrs. Miller
Very cool episode dealing with McKay's personal issues and featuring his sister. Which was played by his Hewitt's(Mckay) REAL LIFE SISTER. That was cool watch it again if you did not know this before and you'll see the brother-sister chemistry between them. We also meet a cooler version of Dr. Mckay from a parallel universe. Also a very touching episode about family and friends. Who knew nerds were so sentimental. I guess thats why it took the almost destruction of 2 universes to bring out the emotions.

Image from the great site gateworld.net.

Kyle XY

Kyle XY: Memory Serves
Kyle goes to college to research the dead professor and finds a picture of himself in 1985. Althuogh it is not possible he traces the picture to a box of stuff from a missing person and finds a secret location in the wods.
Foss finds himand tells him to back off for his new family's sake. Unfortunately the men inside the secret location saw Kyles face and recognize him.

The show is moving fast.

More Fiction Than Fact

The Ron Clark Story
Matthew Perry plays real teacher Ron Clark in this melodrama. The kids are bad because their homes are horrible but the great savior comes and brings some structure and value to their world.
Nice story but complete garbage. The school, P.S. 83 is one of this city's best schools. The parents raised $16,000 for another school before Clark came.
Here is a quote form Clark...

'Five years later, I saw a program about a school in Harlem. It showed these students who although they were intelligent had extremely low test-scores because the school couldn't attract good teachers. And at that moment I had a feeling... it was like a calling. The next day I told my co-teacher, "I'm going to teach in Harlem." '

Seriously I've been to some of the worst public schools in NYC and they were never this bad even in the South Bronx. Don't believe this "NY will kill you" attitude.

Stereotypes are so compelling.

The 4400: The Gospel According to Collier
Jesus Christ Jordan Collier is back and he brought all the old characters out of hiding. J.C. is large and in charge and told Isabelle where to go.
Diana on the other hand is forced into love by Maia's prediction. Maia sees Diana marrying her sisters boyfriend and goes along with it.

Sci-Fi Friday vs. TiVo

Stargate SG-1: Uninvited
Mitchell and the General are bonding at Jacks cabin for some odd reason. While Sam is in charge of Stargate command.
Both the cabin boys and the Stargate teams are getting attacked by mutant monsters. They figure out that transdimensional worms are causing all the mess and find a way to stop them.

Stargate Atlantis: Progeny
The team finds an ideal planet but it's made of Replicants, damn. So they learn the true origins of the Replicators and try to free them of there warped ways but only suceeded in getting them angry.

TiVo
My nice little black PVR has gotten kid friendly. They upgraded to KidZone a feature that filters shows for kids according to age. It is customizable and completely unneccesary for me.They also changed the "Pick Programs To Record" option to "Find Program".

This kid safe crap is getting ridiculous I bought Tivo for a simple recording device not some restictive complicated computer. Yes I know it's optional to use but it still takes up precious space on my TiVo.

Sci-Fi Friday

Stargate SG-1: Insiders
There are lots of Baals and the potential for ball jokes were high but alas they kept it mostly serious.
All the Baal clones gather at Stargate Command to "help" find an ancient weapon but it is to obvious of a set-up and Baal escapes with some gate addresses from the Stargates files.

Baal is a bit wimpy know he didn't even kill anyone.

Stargate Atlantis: Sateda
This was a Ronon centered episode. He gets recaptured by th Wraith and taken home. We see in flashbacks his sad life before Stargate: Atlantis. He lost everyone and decides to fight alone. Losing he gets help from some friends and realizes he has a new family that will always be there for him.

Luckily this sappy episode began with a shot in the rump to the obnoxiuos Rodney.