Finally got caught up on the Thursday night shows I missed while we were in New York. I wasn’t happy with the outcome of Survivor. I was hoping the heroes could turn the tables and even the score with the villains, but it looks like they’re now ripe for the picking and it will get down to a villainous final five. I was especially disappointed with Colby’s abdication during the catfight over the clue to the immunity idol. Since there were no official rules governing what should happen in this situation, I think Amanda should either have held onto the clue and read it aloud to all three of them (advantage: heroes) or destroyed the clue (advantage: heroes, sort of). Failing that, I think that someone from the hero tribe should have followed Danielle like a puppy dog to see what happened with the clue. Major fail for the heroes. JT’s miscalculation tipped the balance…irrevocably, I think. At least the ousted heroes (and Coach) are having a good time at Ponderosa.
It was fun seeing Tim Conway on C.S.I. He used to slay me on The Carol Burnett Show. In fact, he used to slay everyone, including his colleagues. Watching him crack up Harvey Korman was a delight. He hasn’t really lost much from his off-hand, casual delivery, either, which was good to see. “Women, yeah, they’re good” and “Yay! At least he went with his shorts down.”
Sharon Stone is slumming on Law & Order: SVU for a few episodes. Can’t say I was impressed with her performance overall, but what can one do when one is handed lines like the moral-of-the-story-statement “That’s why we don’t rely on junk science,” which came out of left field. This was the second show in recent weeks that tackled the issue of fire marshalls coming to erroneous conclusions in suspected arson cases, both of which turned out to be accidental fires. The other was a recent episode of Cold Case.
Malcolm McDowell looked like he was having fun on The Mentalist. Other than his appearance, it was pretty much a by-the-numbers episode, though.
I really enjoyed this week’s episode of Fringe, though, which was a retro-noir musical. I know that sounds like a holodeck episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, but they actually pulled it off in my opinion. It was a terrific metaphorical recap of the current state of affairs on the series. “Uncle Walter,” under the influence of controlled substances, tells Olivia’s niece a story that is reminiscent of The Singing Detective. It looks like a vintage noir detective film, except it’s chock full of anachronisms: computers, cell phones, laser beams. Walter-in-the-story (not as handsome but just as brilliant as the real Walter, according to Walter) looks like a James Bond villain, as he wanders his lab in a wheelchair. Even the cow is in on the gag, decorated with huge polka dots. Walter is the inventor of everything cool in the world: bubble gum, flannel pajamas, hugs, rainbows and…wait for it…singing corpses. “Why not bring a little life to the dead, I say,” Walter says after their rendition of “Candyman.” Then, in an aside he admits, “The harmonies are still a little off.” Detective Broyles gets some of the best lines. “Time to leave things to the big boys,” he tells Olivia after responding to her greeting by asking if she really meant “hello” or was she just stringing him along. I’ll admit I had my doubts when Walter first broke into song (Tears for Fears, of all things!) but the metaphor of the broken heart worked well, in my opinion, and was probably a much needed break from the grim direction the show has been heading in of late.
I’m glad I stuck with FlashForward, as it continues to be interesting. I have to admit that I don’t have any interest in the Kandahar subplot, and I think they pushed the close calls with the mole a little hard, but I liked the revelation that she’s actually a mole’s mole. It’s also interesting that Olivia (Penny from Lost) is on the wrong timeline, according to the savant.
We watched The Lovely Bones last night. I went into it knowing it had reviewed poorly, but I was willing to give it a shot. I think Jackson blew this one completely. It’s hard to put a finger on exactly what went wrong. Stanley Tucci is excellent, but I think too much of the story was about him. In fact, I also think that too much of the story was about Susie Salmon, when in this rendition of the tale it was really Lindsey Salmon’s story–the younger sister. She’s the one I was more interested in and she was the one who cracked the case, after all. Susan Sarandon was funny as the grandmother, but are there really people like her outside of TV and movies? They’re a trope of storytelling, but I’ve never encountered anyone even remotely like her in real life. Soairse Ronan was very good as Susie Salmon, but her purgatory was underwhelming. In the novel it was much more a place that a young schoolgirl might conjure up, rather than this idyllic grassy plain. Susie’s mother is treated more generously in the movie than in the book, too. In the latter, she resorts to alcohol and an affair. In the novel, Susie’s death has a far broader impact on the community, and she is much more in touch with what happens with her family and friends during the 10-year period that it covers. The film does poorly in trying to convey how tragedy rips a family apart. Sure, dad smashed up his little ships (I did like the repercussions of that action in Susie’s world) and mom goes walkabout for a while, but everything’s cool in the end, and even Susie’s would-be boyfriend isn’t freaked out when she shows up for her first and only kiss. Ultimately, I think the movie deserved the drubbing it received.
