Pushing Daisies: Their One Minute

In a sense, its kind of appropriate that Pushing Daisies is back from cancellation, because the show is only back for a limited time to tell us what it already had completed. Much like the people Ned brings back, who only get one minute to explain what they already knew, Pushing Daisies is only back to run through the final three produced episodes before leaving the airwaves forever (it will be brought back as a comic book and possibly a movie a la Serenity). Why couldn't ABC have brought this back full time and sacrificed a different show? I hear According to Jim is pretty awful.

The first episode since October is about Olive Snook and her feelings for Ned. The opening flashback revealed the details of her childhood kidnapping and stated that often in her life, she gets what she wants, just not the way she intended (in her first flashback, she got a horse through very roundabout methods). When she was young, she wanted her parents to notice her, and it wasn't until her kidnapping that they did... sort of. In the present, she wants nothing more than to have Ned notice her. Meanwhile, it seems like she is not noticing potential suitors left and right; last season had Alfredo Aldarisio (he probably would have come back if the writers' strike hadn't happened; the actor who played him is known for his work on Broadway and a lot of people thought he was going to get a musical number) and this year as Ned's friend Randy Mann. In the last episode, Olive's love for Ned was fully reignited when he hinted that he may have had some feelings for her at one point. This week, the two of them had to pretend to be a couple, which allowed her to hold hands with and kiss Ned (they kissed once last season, but it was brief; this time around, it was a long, awkward kiss).

Why did they have to pretend? Olive's "kidnappers" recently escaped from prison and tracked her down. It turns out that they didn't so much kidnap her as she tried to run away from home to make her parents miss her, and they ended up together. The three bonded, but when the kidnappers did the right thing and returned Olive, they scolded her parents for their neglect. In return, the parents falsely accused them of kidnapping Olive. She constantly wrote them letters in prison, telling them of her love for Ned (among many many other things), and they believed the pair were engaged. Thinking it would break the mens' hearts, Ned decided to try a "normal" relationship, one that didn't require gloves to hold hands or saran wrap to kiss.

In the wake of the Charles Charles misadventure, Ned decided to forsake his powers and live a normal life. Therefore, he was involved in Olive's story rather than the murder mystery with Emerson and Chuck. The murder stories are never the highlights of the episodes, and this one was kind of dead weight, but as always, Emerson and Chuck were entertaining. Anyway, the purpose of Ned's adventure was to teach him that trying to be normal wasn't working because he kept trying to do what he THOUGHT people wanted of him, not what he thought was right. He eventually enraged Olive enough to finally get over her love for him, allowing her to finally see that other people were interested in her. Sadly for Ned, when he saw Olive and Randy together, jealously welled up within him. Whether he is jealous of another man having Olive or jealous of the ability to actually hold one's love remains to be seen, but it looks like things are going to get very rocky for the Chuck-Ned-Olive triangle... or it would if the show were actually still going on. Oh, and by the way, Olive sings again!



I was so happy to see Pushing Daisies again; it had everything that makes the show great. Witty dialogue, bright visuals, grisly deaths that seem almost normal, and alliteration. Then I got a little sad because I remembered that there are only 2 episodes left. And look what was to come; this screenshot isn't from "Window Dressed To Kill", but I had to put it up because Gina Torres plays Emerson's wife.

Up next: Angel #6...

Angel # 7: Sleep Tight

Season 3, Episode 16
First Aired March 4, 2002

The preceding episodes followed Wesley as he tried to translate a prophecy about Angel's new son Connor. Eventually, he discovered that it said "The Father will eat the Son", and although it scared Wes, he initially brushed it off. But various portents had come to pass that made him believe there was merit to the prophecy after all, and by the time "Sleep Tight" started, Wes was all but convinced that Angel would kill his infant son. In this episode, Angel started to show signs of bloodlust and became very agitated with Connor, prompting Wes to seek out Holtz, Angel's time-displaced nemesis. Wesley and Holtz make a deal; Wes will stop Angel from killing Connor and Holtz will give up his revenge scheme.

Elsewhere, Angel learns that Wolfram and Hart has been spiking his pig blood supply with some of Connor's blood they stole in an effort to make Connor smell like food to Angel. Angel confronts Lilah and finally meets Sajahn, the demon responsible for bringing Holtz to the present. Sajahn tells Angel that they are sworn enemies, but Angel has never seen the demon before.

That night, a desperate Wes prepares to take Connor, only to run into Lorne. When Wes hums a lullaby to soothe Connor, Lorne discerns (some of) Wes' intentions, forcing Wes to knock Lorne out. While escaping, Wesley runs into one of Holtz's lieutenants, who cut Wes' throat and stole Connor. Angel eventually learned of what Wesley did and tried to find him to get his son back. This led to a stalemate when every party interested in the son of two vampires converged in one spot. Holtz, who was in physical possession of the infant Connor, wanted to raise Connor as his own to hurt Angel the way Angelus had hurt Holtz (he and Darla killed Holtz's wife and turned his daughter into a vampire). Wolfram and Hart wanted Connor for study. Angel wanted his son back. And Sajahn wanted Connor dead. Angel knew that if Wolfram and Hart got his son, he would become nothing but a lab rat. He also knew that W&H wouldn't kill something of such value, so he finally told Holtz to take his son and raise him as his own. Sajahn intervened and opened a portal to a hell dimension, and threatened that he would widen it to consume everyone present if someone didn't kill Connor. Instead, Holtz ran through the portal, taking Connor with him. Pleased with himself, Sajahn disapparated. Dejected, but knowing business would continue as usual, the Wolfram and Hart employees left. But Angel fell to the ground, crying at the loss of his son.

Up next: Hiya...

Angel # 8: Destiny

Season 5, Episode 8
First Aired November 19th, 2003

Season 5 of Angel was the only season of the Buffyverse that I watched when it was actually on television, so in these posts, I may throw in bits about what it was like watching the episodes as they aired, as opposed to on DVD. "Destiny" was the last episode before the winter break, and it was a great episode to go out on, in that it had me begging to see what happened next immediately after it ended. So much happened in this episode: Spike became corporeal again, Spike won a fight against Angel for the first time, and a certain character returned (more on that later).

After about 6 episodes (Spike didn't show up until the final scene of the season premiere) as kind-of-sort-of ghost, a mysterious package showed up that gave Spike his body back. But along with his body came chaos because now the world had two ensouled vampires who fit the bill of "champion". Although Angel and Spike both existed with souls for about a year (end of Seasons 6/3 through the end of Seasons 7/4) Spike wasn't a champion until he closed the Hellmouth in "Chosen", the series finale of Buffy. However, he had to die to do it, so he and Angel were never simultaneously champions. Now, the a weird force started overtaking Wolfram and Hart, and Angel and Spike tried to find a way to stop it. They learned about an artifact that would once and for all determine who the subject of the Shanshu Prophecy was, and they both go after it.

This leads to a ruthless and bloody fight between the two as they each try to prove to the other that one of them is destined to become human again, even if it means suffering unspeakable torment before it happens. They each argue about their love for Buffy, the good deeds that they've done (and use the other's evil ones against them). At one point, Spike shows his conviction by picking up a huge wooden cross to use as a weapon against Angel, even though it burns his flesh just as much as it burns Angel's. Eventually, Spike is the victor, but just barely. When he drinks from the cup, he realizes that the liquid inside is Mountain Dew, and that they were scammed.

Back in Los Angeles, Angel confides to Gunn that Spike's victory, even though it was meaningless in that moment, has him worried that maybe Spike is the vampire in the prophecy after all. Meanwhile, Eve, the team's liaison to the Senior Partners, enters an apartment and tells her lover that their plan is going smoothly; Angel and Spike nearly killed each other, and the Senior Partners were as in the dark about the true nature of the chaos as Angel. She eventually gets in bed and the audience learns that the man pulling the strings is none other than Lindsey McDonald, Angel's old nemesis, who has been gone since Season 2.

Up next: Angel #7...

Angel # 9: Awakening

Season 4, Episode 10
First Aired January 29th, 2003

With one brief exception in Season 1, Season 4 of Angel was the only time Angelus appeared in the present day of the series (he was often featured in flashbacks, and he kind of resurfaced for a few hours in the Season 1 episode "Eternity" due to some drugs). The Angelus arc was probably my favorite part of Season 4; even though he couldn't do anything as horrific as the big things he did in Season 2 of Buffy (because he didn't love anyone as much as he loved Buffy, he couldn't torment the way he did to her, and even if he did love Cordelia, she wasn't exactly present), I think that I was more entertained by some of the little things he did this time around. I'll try and hit on those points in a later posting, because "Awakening" is the story of how Angelus returned.

So far, the Angel Investiagtions team has been having a bad year. In addition to all the personal tension, a huge rock demon, known only as the Beast, emerged from the ground, prevailed in numerous fights against the group (and I mean the group; it fought Angel, Gunn, Wes, and Lorne simultaneously), and succeeded in blocking out the sun in LA, making it a demon playground. Believing that only Angelus has the knowledge that can stop the Beast (normally, Angel and Angelus have the same memories, but all references to the Beast were elimiated in our dimension, including peoples' memories), Wes hired a powerful shaman to remove and store Angel's soul in order to question Angelus about the Beast.

Angel is very reluctant, but eventually decides to go ahead with the plan. The group builds a massive cage to hold Angelus in, and they strap Angel down while the shaman performs the spell. Halfway through the incantation, the shaman reveals that he is an agent of the Beast, and the group is forced to take him out. They discover that all over his body are tattoos telling the story of the Beast, and revealing how to defeat him. The tattoos state that a sword exists that is powerful enough to kill the Beast and restore the sun. On their quest to get the sword, Angel and Wes make amends (Wes even apologizes, which is something he had never done before), the rest of the group make up, Connor comes to see Angel as a good person, and after the Beast is destroyed, Angel and Cordelia celebrate by making love.

It is then that Angel loses his soul, and the whole adventure is revealed to be part of the spell, a way of making Angel think he is perfectly happy. Every problem in his life was conveniently solved, every broken relationship was fixed. The fantasy gives us a window into what Angel wants and reminds us that things are going to get much worse before they get better...

Up next: Angel #8...

Angel # 10: Waiting In The Wings

Season 3, Episode 13
First Aired February 4, 2002

Welcome to the Angel list. As with the Buffy list, there were a ton of episodes that I considered, but I had to pick 10. The same rules apply as before, so let's begin.

"Waiting In The Wings" was a pivotal episode for a lot of the relationships on the show. Angel realized that he was falling in love with Cordelia, Fred and Gunn began their relationship, and Wesley was forced to watch as the woman he had fallen in love with (Fred) chose another man. Also, the cast looked great in their tuxes and evening dresses.

Angel got tickets to a ballet from a very respected theater company; he related a story about how he saw the company's performance of Giselle (the same show they'd be going to that night) when he was still Angelus, and it was still able to move him to tears. When the rest of the group acknowledged that the show was indeed wonderful, Angel made a startling realization: it was the exact same show as the one he saw in the 1800s. The exact same actors made the exact same movements, the same mistakes. Angel, Cordelia, Wes, Gunn, and Fred investigated backstage to discover that the owner of the company had a powerful spell that kept the actors alive and performing the same show for eternity. While backstage, the group began feeling the effects, and Angel and Cordelia and Fred and Gunn began acting out scenes together.

The consequence of Angel and Cordelia's scene is that the two of them become even more uncomfortable about the growing mutual attraction (it doesn't help that the Groosalug shows up at the end and sweeps Cordy off her feet again), while Wes witnesses Gunn and Fred kissing, which broke his heart. However, Wes proved that he constantly puts everyone else above himself when he saved Gunn's life (he would prove this again later in the season, but with much different results).

There was definitely humor in the episode, but it was few and far between, and it became one of the saddest episodes of the series (until "A Hole In The World", that is).

Also, this episode introduced us to Summer Glau, who played the Prima Ballerina.

Up next: Angel #9...

Buffy the Vampire Slayer # 1: Becoming

Season 2, Episodes 21, 22
First Aired May 12th and 19th, 1998

So we've had a silent episode, a musical episode, and three season finales. What could possibly be my favorite episode(s) of Buffy? The Season 2 finale, "Becoming, Parts 1 and 2" may have the greatest fight sequence I've ever seen. After watching Buffy and Angel fall in love, only to be torn apart by the reawakening of Angelus, the only way this season could end was with a fight between Buffy and Angelus. But the buildup was just as intense.

Angelus, Spike, and Drusilla found the remains of an ancient demon that, if awakened, would be able to suck the world into a hell dimension. Desperate to stop Angelus from fulfilling his goal, Buffy walked into a trap, and Giles was captured by Drusilla, Kendra (a vampire slayer called when Buffy was momentarily dead in the Season 1 finale) was killed by Drusilla, and Willow was injured while trying to perform the spell to restore Angel's soul. These events finally made Buffy realize that Angel would not be coming back, and it gave her the resolve to finally take him on.

However, she couldn't take on Angelus, Spike, and Drusilla by herself... but Spike wouldn't be a problem. He didn't want to destroy the world, and he wanted Angelus out of the picture, so he offered Buffy a truce. The two foes worked together to try and prevent Angelus from awakening the demon, but they failed. Once Angelus performed the ritual, Buffy had to reverse the spell by offering Angelus as a sacrifice to it. As she was ready to perform the finishing blow, Willow was able to restore his soul. Buffy was instead forced to send the man she loved to hell, rather than an evil vampire. Sarah Michelle Gellar hit it out of the park, and she tearfully did what she had to in order to save the world. This sacrifice was slightly cheapened because Angel came back (The WB ordered the spin-off Angel, and if Angel didn't come back, the show wouldn't have a leading character), but the scene still tugs at my heartstrings every time I see it. This was truly the best episode of the series.

Up next: Angel #10...

Buffy the Vampire Slayer # 2: Once More, With Feeling

Season 6, Episode 7
First Aired November 6, 2001

Speaking of episodes that could be bad gimmicks, we come to the #2 episode, "Once More, With Feeling", the famous musical episode. Whedon is a huge musical fan, and he always wanted to do some kind of musical, and this episode was his first foray into the genre (he would do it again with Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog). When I first heard that there was a musical episode, I thought it was a silly idea, but as you can see, I no longer think that.

The arrival of a demon has caused the citizens of Sunnydale to sing their secrets to each other. Xander and Anya sing about their nervous attitude toward their upcoming wedding, Spike reaffirms his feelings for Buffy, and Buffy tells all her friends the truth about her afterlife experiences. The events of the episode are pivotal, and set the course for the rest of Season 6, but the episode wouldn't be memorable if the songs weren't good. I'm actually listening to "Walk Through the Fire" as I write this. The songs are well-written, well-performed (especially for the fact that all of the actors do their own singing, and most of them aren't trained singers), and are both humorous and dramatic.

This episode is kind of the gold standard of musical episodes; when the rare musical episode is produced, it is invariably measured against this. I remember when the Scrubs musical aired, every reviewer brought up "Once More, With Feeling". And, this episode is always brought up whenver people discuss Buffy. Season 6 was very polarizing, but I have not met a fan yet who dislikes this episode.

Up next: Buffy #1...

Buffy the Vampire Slayer # 3: Hush

Season 4, Episode 10
First Aired December 14, 1999

Joss Whedon knows how to write incredible dialogue, and the only major Emmy nomination Buffy ever received was in the writing category. Ironically, the episode that was nominated, "Hush", used very little dialogue. More than 2/3rds of the episode was done without characters saying a word. A group of monsters, called the Gentlemen, come to Sunnydale, and because their only weakness is the human voice, they magically steal the voice of everyone in town.

Without their voices, the actors had to use their faces and their bodies to convey what their characters were feeling, and they did an incredible job. I still don't know why some of the Buffy actors are relative unknowns, because they certainly know how to use everything at their disposal to play their parts.

The music was also instrumental (sorry) in telling the story. The musical cues helped express the way characters were feeling, and it added to the sense of dread the residents of Sunnydale felt. Also, the Gentlemen were some of the freakiest villains ever to appear in the Buffyverse (this includes monsters from Angel).

In the hands of a lesser writer, "Hush" would be a bad gimmick episode. With Joss Whedon, we have one of the series' best episodes.

Up next: Buffy #2...

Up: The Spirit of Adventure

Tomorrow, Pixar's new movie, Up, will be released. I was fortunate enough to win tickets to a free pre-screening through Ain't It Cool News (thanks Capone!), and once again, Pixar has proven that they are one of the best movie studios out there. The story is deceptively simple, but there is so much going on that I actually wanted the movie to be longer to delve into things that were hinted at, but I mentally extrapolated as the movie was playing. The first 10 minutes or so show us the life of Carl Fredricksen; as a boy, his hero was adventurer Charles Muntz, and Carl wanted to be just like Muntz. One day, Carl was walking past a dilapidated house, and heard someone speaking Muntz's catchphrases. It was in that house that he met Ellie, his wife and lifelong best friend. Throughout their lives together, they wanted to go on adventures, but life got in the way of living. In an effort to fulfill their dreams, Carl bought two tickets to South America (it's just like America, only south!), only to have Ellie fall ill. After Ellie died, Carl spent his time avoiding the world that was changing around him and protecting his house (the same one he met Ellie in) from developers.

Eventually, everything came crashing down. After he accidentally smacked someone on the head with his walker (I think this was the first Pixar film to depict blood), a court ordered Carl to move into a retirement community. However, Carl decides that the time has come to have his adventure; he was a balloon salesman at the zoo where Ellie worked, and he took his remaining stock and attached them to his house so that he could take it to Venezuela. But Carl wasn't alone; Russell, a Wilderness Explorer, was scurrying around under Carl's porch in an effort to earn his "Assisting the Elderly" merit badge. The first theme/plotline that I thought would be explored in more depth was Russell's approach to wilderness and adventuring. There were many times during the movie when Russell showed that he has more of a modern outlook on exploring; he had a GPS device, he had never camped outside before, and he was more interested in the results of his efforts (earning merit badges) than the experience of them. I thought that Carl would address this and contrast it to his idea of exploring new places with the bare essentials, but this was left more to our imagination.

In Venezuela, Carl and Russell met Kevin, a large and colorful bird (who is actually female), Dug, a dog outfitted with a color that translates his thoughts into English, and Charles Muntz, Carl and Ellie's childhood hero. When Carl and Ellie were kids, Muntz brought back a skeleton of a bird of Kevin's species, but scientists believed it to be a fake. Vowing not to return to America until he caught a live specimen, Muntz returned to the jungle to make good on his promise. Unfortunately, Muntz's time in isolation (he only had his dogs to keep him company) has twisted him; we aren't sure if he was always like he is in the movie, but the Muntz that Carl and Russell meet is deranged and obsessive. Of all the Pixar villains (that I've seen; I still have not watched Cars), Muntz is one of the most dangerous, matched only by Syndrome from The Incredibles and Hopper from A Bug's Life (maybe Sid from Toy Story belongs in this category because of his relative dangerousness). When Muntz meets Carl and Russell, he welcomes the company and is happy to meet someone who's heard of him, but when Russell reveals that they have found what Muntz is looking for, Muntz turns on them and tries to take Kevin. This was another plotline that I thought would be developed more, but we were left to make our own interpretations; the movie never explicitly states why Muntz was so villainous, but obsession and dementia are strongly hinted at. Various things he says and does show that he has no desire or care besides proving that he was right. My friend who went with me pointed out that he also likely suffered from egomania; the impetus for his quest was being labeled a fraud, and he could not accept that.

So much about this movie was done well; it was very funny, but very dramatic as well. The sequence of Carl and Ellie's life together was done without dialogue, and it was one of the most moving scenes in a movie in the last few years. And the climax with the derrigible was incredibly well done; the stakes were high (as was their position), and the action was exciting. Also, biplanes! Biplanes! Piloted by dogs! Muntz had a canine army, and they were always a delight to watch. Muntz created the translating collars, and Dug was one of Muntz's dogs, but when he met the much nicer Russell, he joined them. Dug cracked me up in the trailers, and he did not disappoint in the movie itself. His lines were absolutely hilarious, as were his mannerisms, like his squirrel obsession.

I don't know how Pixar can keep making such great movies year after year. Not only do they make great movies, the films continuously make tons of money. I really hope that Joss Whedon returns to Pixar one day (he did script doctor work for the first Toy Story).

Up next: Buffy #3...

Buffy the Vampire Slayer # 4: Graduation Day

Season 3, Episodes 21 and 22
First Aired May 18th and July 13th, 1999

After three years at Sunnydale high, where Buffy and her friends faced the horrors of high school, graduation day arrived, and Buffy finished high school with a bang. She was an outcast from the moment she stepped on campus, but she spent her time protecting her classmates from vampires, demons, and the forces of darkness. In an unexpected twist the week before, at the prom, Buffy's classmates gave her the greatest honor imaginable: they thanked her all she did. Meanwhile, throughout the season, Sunnydale's mayor was preparing for a bizarre ritual that would transform him into a gigantic, demonic serpent. And he revealed that the transformation would occur during his speech to the graduating class of Sunnydale High.

Buffy and her friends needed to find a way to stop the Mayor from doing too much damage, but they also had to find a way to deal with Faith, who had gone dark after she accidentally killed a human. Wesley Wyndam-Pryce, her new watcher, tried to capture her instead of talking to her about what happened, and she lost faith in her friends. In an effort to take out both Buffy and Angel, she shot Angel with an arrow coated in a vampire poison. Angel became very sick, and Buffy became obsessed with curing him. When Buffy discovered that the only antidote was the blood of a slayer, she went to great lengths to make sure Angel got some before it was too late.

Eventually, Buffy was able to formulate a plan to take out the Mayor, and it invovled the entire school. For one night, the entire graduating class was able to put aside their differences and come together to fight their demon(s). The sequence was incredible, but unfortunately, the Columbine tragedy had recently occurred, and Part 2 was delayed for a few months due to fear of being insensitive. The fight ended with Buffy blowing up the school to kill the Mayor (like I said, she left high school with a bang), and the network was afraid of that, plus all the school kids with weapons, wouldn't be positively received. Fortunately, the end was extremely satisfying and was one of the best sequences from the entire series.

Up next: Interlude...

Buffy the Vampire Slayer # 5: The Gift

Season 5, Episode 22
First Aired May 22, 2001

This is the second season finale to make the list, and I assure you, there will be more. Unlike many shows, Buffy didn't always wait for the season finales for major events to happen; people could die unexpectedly at any time, and huge plot developments could occur in any random episode. However, the season finales were usually pretty awe-inspiring; they were the culmination of all the huge events throughout the season, so although I don't want this list to be "The Season Finales of Buffy the Vampire Slayer", the ones that are on the list are here for a reason (strangely, although many of Angel's season finales were contenders for that list, not a single finale made the final Angel list).

I think that Seasons 2, 3, and 5 are my three favorite seasons of Buffy; I'm not quite sure how to rank them because each of them brings something different to the table. I liked Season 5 because it helped transition the show into a metaphor for life itself (the high school seasons were incredible, but high school ends, and Whedon embraced that idea with the later seasons) and Glory, the Big Bad, was incredible. Her story was mythic (she was a goddess) and personal because of Dawn. Even though Buffy and Dawn weren't actually sisters, the feelings that go with having a sibling were still present for Buffy, and an attack on Dawn was an attack on her. "The Gift" was the series' 100th episode, and the writers feared it would also be the last, so they decided to throw in as much greatness as possible.

The entire season comes together in this episode, and some things that seemingly were meaningless suddenly become important. Olaf's troll hammer becomes an integral part of the battle against Glory, as does Warren's Buffybot. All of the crazy people who were victims of Glory's "brain sucking", including Tara, lead Buffy and her friends to the kidnapped Dawn. Doc, played by Joel Grey, reveals his true intentions, and the First Slayer's message to Buffy, that "death is [her] gift" is given its true meaning. The fight with Glory is fantastic, but Buffy's gift is what fans remember about the episode. In order to save both the world in general and her sister in particular, Buffy makes the ultimate sacrifice: herself. By throwing herself into the portal opened by Dawn's blood, Buffy is able to close it, which stops all the destruction that it was causing (and the only other way to close it would be by killing Dawn). One other thing I want to mention is the way Giles finally ends the threat posed by Glory. The only way to kill her was killing Ben, her human host body, but because Ben is (for the most part) an innocent, Buffy couldn't bring herself to do it. She made a choice that showed how much she valued human life; even though killing Ben would likely prevent future death, she couldn't possible kill in the name of the greater good. But Giles can...

Up next: Buffy # 4...

Buffy the Vampire Slayer # 6: Surprise/Innocence

Season 2, Episodes 13 and 14
First Aired January 19th and 20th, 1998

By the time these episodes aired, Buffy had found its groove and had proved it was something worth paying attention to (I think that by "Prophecy Girl", the show was firing on all cylinders). However, if anyone had any lingering reservations, this two-night, two-part event showed everyone that not only can Buffy be entertaining, it is willing to break all the rules.

Up through "What's My Line", I'm guessing that we were supposed to think that Spike and Drusilla were going to be the season's Big Bads (Spike was originally set to die, likely in that episode, and I think the final shot with a restored Drusilla rescuing him was a near-last minute revision in response to Spike's popularity). These episodes revealed who the true Big Bad was. "Surprise" started with Buffy dreaming that Drusilla was still undead, and she fears that she will reappear in their lives. The episode then starts the "Buffy's birthday" tradition that would happen every year through Season 6; this year, while at Buffy's party, the group stops one of Spike's minions who was carrying a strange box containing an arm. Angel and Jenny explain that it belongs to the Judge, a seemingly immortal demon who was powerful enough to destroy a room full of living beings with only his thoughts. Angel realizes that Spike and Dru are trying to reform the Judge (because he couldn't be killed, he was dismembered and his pieces were scattered across the globe), and decides to take the arm as far away from Sunnydale as possible. Jenny is all too eager to assist him, and we learn that she is actually a gypsy and member of the same tribe that cursed Angel with his soul. Unfortunately, Angel fails, and the Judge is reformed. Buffy and Angel barely escape with their lives, and in the heat of passion, they make love for the first time.

The ending of "Surprise" was very tender, as the two of them finally released all of their pent up feelings... but then it turns out that that wasn't the end. As thunder cracks outside, Angel wakes up, seemingly in a lot of pain. He runs outside into the rain and yells out the name of his lover. "Innocence" picks up from there, when a random woman sees what she thinks is a man in pain. She walks up to him and asks him if he's ok. Angel whips around, with his vamp face, and feeds on her. Angelus is back. The rest of the episode is about Buffy dealing with not only the loss of her boyfriend, but the addition of an enemy, Giles dealing with Jenny's betrayal, Willow dealing with the revelation that Xander is dating Cordelia, and of course, taking on the Judge. Actually, taking out the Judge wasn't really the climax; Xander came up with a brilliant plan that worked as expected. The climax was a fight between Buffy and Angelus, a fight that Buffy actually WINS. But when she raised her stake to finish him, she couldn't bring herself to do it. Instead, all she could do was kick him in the groin, but Buffy would come to regret her weakness in the weeks to come.

Up next: Buffy # 5...

Buffy the Vampire Slayer # 7: Restless

Season 4, Episode 22
First Aired May 23, 2000

Season 4 was an interesting year; some fans think it was amazing, others classify it as the worst of the series. The Big Bad was criticized for being uninteresting (I think that's unfair; he was supposed to represent the faceless military/technology, and succeeded) and showing up too late in the season, and it had some of the worst episodes of the series ("Beer Bad" being the prime example). However, it does have some incredible episodes, and it served as a transition of sorts; the three previous years were about high school, the three subsequent seasons would be about life after school, but this year was about college. The core four (Buffy, Xander, Willow, and Giles) suffered from what many high friends go through when they all go to different colleges; they all began leading different lives (Buffy joined the Initiative, Xander entered the job market, Willow started exploring her sexuality, and Giles struggled being unemployed). So it's fitting that the season finale was different than all other season finales, in that, instead of resolving the Big Bad storyline, it was an epilogue to the season that both served as a coda to the season and foreshadowed much of what was to come in Season 5.

Each act of the episode is a different character's dream, exploring his or her fears and feelings about life and their place in the group. In college, Willow flourished, but she still had insecurities about being "outed" as the nerd she was in high school. She also feared being outed as a lesbian to her friends, who she feared wouldn't accept her anymore. Xander fears that his friends are passing him by because of his lowly dead-end jobs. When he meets Giles in his dream, he desperately asks for an explanation, only for Giles to begin speaking French. And worst of all, no matter what he does, or where he goes, he always ends up back in his parents' basement, where he had been living all season. Giles struggles with his fatherly feelings for Buffy and his unemployment. And Buffy tries to figure out what's next and what it means to be the Slayer. Tara acts as a kind of spirit guide, and gives vague hints about what is to come for her ("Be back before Dawn" was one of her lines, and the 730 riddle, which foreshadowed her death, from "Graduation Day" was brought back). Buffy's confrontation with the First Slayer, who said that the Slayer must always be alone, set up the Slayer Lore that would come back in Seasons 5 and 7.

Joss Whedon describes the episode as poetry, and that is certainly the best description. There is little narrative structure, and the bulk of the episode never actually "happens" to the characters. However, that doesn't mean the dreams are insignificant; the viewers are given an insight into the characters' feelings, and the dreams help the characters overcome these fears in the coming years.

Up next: Buffy # 6...

Buffy the Vampire Slayer # 8: Passion

Season 2, Episode 17
First Aired February 24th, 1998

Until this episode, Angelus was certainly a thorn in Buffy's side. He was a formidable opponent, and Buffy would have a hard time killing him because of her love for Angel, but until "Passion", Angelus hadn't done anything to give credence to all the "worst vampire in history" stories that had been told about him. Then came "Passion". The episode opens from Angelus' perspective as he hides in the shadows and watches as Buffy, Xander, Willow, and Cordelia go about their night, trying to have some fun amid the chaos of dealing with Oz's new werewolf affliction, the Cordelia/Xander love spell, and of course the lingering threat of Angelus, Drusilla, and Spike. Throughout the episode, Angelus orchestrates his mindgames from the shadows, making his presence known without ever being seen. Buffy awakes one morning to an envelope containing an elaborate charcoal drawing of herself, a reminder from Angelus that he can enter her home whenever he chooses. Willow gets a similar message when she returns home one night to find an envelope full of her pet fish (she invited Angel in earlier in the season). One more person gets such an envelope, but that will be explained later.

Giles and Jenny are still reconciling after the revelation that she isn't exactly who she claimed to be, but this episode gave us hope that they would end up together after all. Furthermore, Jenny finally found a way to restore Angel's soul; until this episode, the correct spell had been lost, and no one thought that they would ever see Angel again. Unfortunately, before Jenny could tell anyone about her discovery, Angelus intervened. He met her at the school one night, taunted her, destroyed her computer (which had a file of the translated spell), chased her through the hallways, and finally killed her. However, he chose not to feed on her; instead, he snapped her neck, meaning that he would have to kill again that night in order to sustain himself.

The final mindfuck and evelope went to Giles; Jenny had asked to meet him that night, and when Giles returned home, he saw an open bottle of wine, an envelope with a note that said "Upstairs", and a trail of rose petals leading to his bedroom. And in his room, waiting for him, was Jenny's body. His violent reaction reminded us that he had a turbulent past, and forshadowed his dark move toward Ben in "The Gift". The episode had humor, but it also had some of the best drama and thrills of the entire show. I still get chills every time Giles walks up the stairs.

Up next: Buffy # 7...

Buffy The Vampire Slayer # 9: Conversations With Dead People

Season 7, Episode 7
First Aired November 12, 2002

Speaking of The First, this is the episode that may have tipped fans off as to what Buffy and her friends would be dealing with in Season 7 (I never watched the show when it was on, and I knew The First was the Big Bad long before ever seeing this episode). This is also the only episode to not feature Xander and the only episode to show the title onscreen. The episode followed various characters interacting with people were dead, and each dead person passed themselves off as something different. Buffy simultaneously fought and conversed with a vampire she went to high school with. He was a psych major in college, and he evaluated why she has such trouble fitting in with her friends, even after readjusting to life on Earth (the previous season dealt with her resurrection). Willow spoke to Cassie, a recently deceased Sunnydale High student, who told Willow that she was a kind of spirit guide who brought a message from Tara (originally, the script was written to have Amber Benson show up as "Tara", but there are conflicting reports as to why this was changed). Dawn was haunted by images of her mother in one of the series' most terrifying sequences. Spike WAS the dead person who spent the night wooing a woman at a bar (there was no dialogue in his scenes). He eventually fed on her, which was an incredible turn because (1) he had a soul and (2) he still had his violence-inhibiting microchip in his head. And finally, Andrew and Jonathan returned to Sunnydale. As Jonathan spoke to Andrew of redemption and joining Buffy, Andrew conversed with Warren, who was killed by Willow (or, as we would "learn" in Season 8, temporarily killed, only to be revived by Amy). "Warren" was able to goad the weak-willed Andrew into doing his bidding by telling Andrew that the ghost of Warren was speaking to him, and that by killing Jonathan, the three of them would ascend into god-like beings. As it turned out, "Warren", "Cassie", and "Joyce" were all manifestations of The First who had a purpose for each of its victims.

The episode is one of Season 7's highlights (I think that many people who detest the season admit this episode as one example of Buffy's latter-day glory). It is extremely dark, humorous at times, and sets the course for the rest of the season (and series).

Up next: Buffy # 8...

Glee: Audition

Tonight, FOX aired the pilot of the show Glee, a new musical comedy that will begin airing in the fall (no, I don't know why they are only showing the pilot tonight, while they wait for the rest of the summer before showing the next episode). When I first saw a preview for the show, I thought it looked really stupid, but as time went by, the trailers started looking better and better and many critics released advance reviews hailing it as a new gem, with the whimsy of Pushing Daisies and the realism of Freaks and Geeks (note: in both Glee and F&G, the characters go to a school named after President William McKinley in a small midwest town). Finally, this trailer made me realize that I would have to watch the pilot:



The pilot certainly wasn't perfect, but it captured my attention, and I will be tuning in for the next episode when it airs. The episode was very funny and full of characters who initially seem offbeat, but become too close to being real for comfort. Will Schuster is the lead, a Spanish teacher at the high school who decides to take over the glee club after the old director (Stephen Tobolowsky in a funny cameo) is fired for inappropriate behavior with a student... allegedly. The whistleblower is Rachel Berry, the club's most talented member and resident overachiever. She is similar to Reese Witherspoon's character from Election, except instead of desiring power, she lusts for fame. The other members of the club certainly have talent, but none of them are anything special. But when Shuster cons the football quarterback Finn Hudson into joining the club (his strategy was hilarious and a dark look at the power anti-drug campaigns have given people in authority), it looks like the club may actually have a chance at being competitive... until they go see the school that won the national competition the year before.

Other characters include Emma, another faculty member who likely has a crush on Shuster, Schuster's neurotic, shopaholic wife, and Sue Sylvester, wonderfully played by Jane Lynch. Sue is a heartless, two-faced bitch who clearly was the popular girl in high school and chose never to leave. She is the cheerleading coach, and she openly reminds the other teachers that her squad gets the most funding because of the "prestige" they bring to the school. She openly believes in and attempts to perpetuate the social classes that are present in high schools, and is proud to be the leader of the elite. She describes the glee kids as the lowest of the low, and in many ways, that is true. Rachel is ostracized for her devotion to becoming famous (although her personality doesn't help very much; she sees herself as being above most of the other students at school). Tina is a stutterer, Mercedes is a diva, Kurt is gay (which, sadly, is not accepted by many people in high schools), and Arty is in a wheelchair. However, in the glee club, these flaws disappear. Tina doesn't stutter when she sings, Mercedes has a good voice, Kurt is a good performer, and Arty can play an instrument. They remain in somethings that most students who would otherwise have the talent to participate in avoid out of fear because it helps develop who they really are.

However, the episode was not without its flaws. I think the biggest problem was that the pilot needed two hours to tell its story. They tried to cram a lot into this episode, and sometimes it seemed like they were skipping over the smaller developments to get to the big plot points. Along those same lines, many characters, who are going to be series regulars (Finn's girlfriend, Finn's football buddy, and Schuster's wife) were underdeveloped and had only token appearances to establish their characters. Tina, Mercedes, Arty, and Kurt also weren't used too much this episode, but the episode wouldn't have worked without them. Despite these flaws though, I still enjoyed the episode and look forward to what comes next (especially because Kristin Chenoweth and Victor Garber are going to guest star and perform musical numbers).

Updated for your viewing pleasure:







Up next: Buffy #9...

Buffy The Vampire Slayer # 10: Amends

Season 3, Episode 10
First Aired December 15, 1998

Ok, let me start by mentioning how hard it was to make these lists. There are so many great episodes from each show, and I guarantee that people will be wondering why certain episodes made the cut and others didn't. I think that I eventually went for more dramatic episodes than comedic ones (although I cut a dramatic episode from the Angel list to include "Smile Time"). Also, if I can justify including two episodes together as a two-parter, I do that. Anyway, here we go!

"Amends" was important because it showed us just how much Angelus' deeds tore at Angel's soul and it introduced us to the First Evil, who would go on to be the Big Bad in the seventh and final season. The episode divulged very little information about the First in order to keep it mysterious, (this also allowed for it to reemerge in Season 7 without revealing itself too soon). The First spent most of the episode in the form of Jenny Calendar, who Angelus killed the year before, and it tried to goad Angel into killing Buffy. Angel sensed he was weak, so to avoid doing the unthinkable, he decided to kill himself.

I'll come back to that in a second, but the episode was also about Willow and Oz rebuilding their relationship after Oz and Cordelia walked in on Xander and Willow kissing (they were Spike's prisoners at the moment, so adrenaline was coursing through their bodies). Willow tried to overcompensate by offering herself to Oz, and Oz reaffirmed that he is a different kind of rock-n-roller when he told her that he didn't want her to feel compelled. That's not exactly sexy.

Buffy and Angel, meanwhile, have spent most of the season trying to deal with the fact that Angel is back in Sunnydale. After Angelus' reign of terror in Season 2, Buffy was forced to send him to hell, only to end up sending ANGEL when Willow restored his soul. Things got even more complicated when Buffy's friends found about Angel's return; Xander had almost limitless ammunition for his not-exactly-irrational hatred of Angel, and Giles, who had once trusted the vampire with a soul, could barely stand hearing Angel's name. But Buffy showed just how much Angel mattered to her... and Angel returned the favor, even his his method was a little extreme. The episode ended in a rather unexpected manner, and became pretty much the only Buffy Christmas episode (I think the only other episode that used the holiday as part of the plot was a Season 7 episode in which Buffy realized that the First was back).

Up next: Gleeful...

Crossover

I thought about this idea about an hour after finishing my big LOST Season 5 finale post, but didn't think too much of it until I saw the same theory in IGN.com's review of "The Incident". I then talked about it with a friend of mine and decided to put it up here. I think that in light of certain things that happened this season, coupled with what we already saw in previous seasons, it is safe to say that the Smoke Monster (which may or may not be Titus, but if it isn't, it is certainly his subordinate) is akin to the First Evil from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Think about it; it has appeared to various characters in the guise of dead people (it was Yemi for Eko and Alex for Ben), and it seems to have knowledge of people's pasts and inner thoughts. The biggest difference is that the Monster is able to physically touch (and kill) people. Hopefully, this will allow the producers to bring back Nathan Fillion, who played a character who was briefly married to Kate, so that Nathan can serve as the Monster's emissary.

Up next: Buffy #10...

The Best of the Best

With Dollhouse finishing its first season and this great comic series from XKCD.com, I've been on a bit of a Joss Whedon kick. So I've decided to take a look back at his first three series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Firefly and do some Top Episode lists. I will do Top Ten lists for Buffy and Angel and a Top Three list for Firefly (that will cover 20% of its episodes... oh, and I'm not counting the film Serenity as an episode, but the episode "Serenity" obviously is).

Now you're probably thinking, Andrew, this is a lame placeholder. Well let me tell you something: ...you're probably right. With law school, I haven't had a lot of time to delve into new worlds, but if I was going to do a place holder about anything, Joss Whedon's worlds are the best places because of my vast affection for them. So get ready for some in-depth looks at some of the finest hours of television ever produced.

Up next: But first...

30 Rock: Junior Season Slump

I don't know if this term goes beyond TV, but a lot of times, shows are referred to as having a "sophomore slump", especially when a show has a killer first season and a somewhat lackluster second season, whether it be by comparison or in absolute terms. The second seasons of Veronica Mars and LOST were relatively weaker (neither was awful, though LOST's second season is arguably its weakest, but the first seasons of both shows were incredible), while the second season of Heroes was pretty bad, and its good first season made it look all the weaker (let's not even go into the third season). 30 Rock's second season was an improvement on the first, and excepting a few post-strike episodes, the sophomore season was better than the first in nearly every way. Unfortunately, it seems that the now-completed third season is the show's slump year. The picture above epitomizes my main complaint, but there are others as well.

Guest stars galore is the best way to describe Season 3. 30 Rock has always featured some big name guest stars, and they have almost always been able to add a great deal to the show, but they have always supplemented the main cast. The story was still about Liz, Jack, Tracey, and the cast and crew of TGS. Carrie Fisher was a reflection of Liz. Matthew Broderick was a bizarre sidekick for Jack. And Eileen Strich helps explain Jack's mannerisms. This year, however, the purpose of the guest stars seemed to be to get ratings. I don't ever remember a huge marketing push for guest stars in the past, but this year, entire episodes centered around the guests. The second episode of the season, "Believe in the Stars" was entirely centered around a appearance from Oprah Winfrey (which was pretty brief), while the episode "Gavin Volure" was named after Steve Martin's character, who wasn't that funny (sorry, Steve).

Another big problem was the way the characters segregated into various factions; Liz and Jack became the focus of the episodes' A stories, while Jenna, Kenneth, and Tracey were given the B and C stories. Pete, Frank, Toofer, Cerie, Grizz, and DotCom were barely in half the episodes this year, and when they did show up, their roles were minimal at best. Part of the reason was that the role of TGS was greatly diminished this year. Instead, the show focused on Liz and Jack's relationships and the absolute craziness of Tracey, Jenna, and Kenneth.

The season was by no means awful, and there were plenty of funny episodes, but most of them were less than the sums of their parts. The best episodes were great because of various jokes, not because of the episodes themselves. This is an unfortunate departure from the previous seasons, which not only had great jokes, but the episodes transcended the jokes to become incredible wholes that satisfied for the combinations of jokes and stories. The episodes just didn't come together that well this year, nor did the recurring storylines. Jenna's story about her Janis Joplin knock-off film was relegated to B stories and didn't get mentioned nearly enough, while Liz's quest for a baby, which began in last year's finale, seemed to finish in the season premiere (which is strange, because the episode suggested that the story would run throughout the season).

Speaking of finales, I found this year's finale, "Kidney Now!" to be extremely bland. The two previous finales were both incredible, and last year's featured one of the funniest things I've ever seen (gay bomb!). This year, however, I just didn't dig it. I wasn't really that invested in the "Jack's real father" story, and I didn't like the charity joke. This year has done a lot of sitcom cliche parodies that have wandered dangerously into becoming the things they try to parody, and I didn't find the charity drive too funny. Hopefully next year will get back to form.

Up next: More lists...

LOST: Cause and Effect

Over the past 5 years, LOST has been a show about duality. As early as the third episode, Locke pointed out the black and white pieces in a backgammon game to Walt, and "Adam and Eve" had a bag with a black stone and a white stone in their pockets. Over the years, we saw the clash of views between Jack, the man of science, and Locke, the man of faith, the clash between the survivors and the Others, the DHARMA Initiative and the Others ("hostiles"), Ben and Widmore, free will and choice, etc. Although it looked like a third group was rising up this year (the "shadow of the statue" people), it looks like they have been folded back into one side (more on that later). Last night (this early afternoon for me; "The Incident" was the first LOST finale I didn't see when it actually aired), we were introduced to what may be the ultimate LOST duality: Jacob, who wore white and advocated letting people have free will, and, um, that other guy (I will call him Titus for now, since he is played by Deadwood's Titus Welliver), who wore black and believed in avoiding conflict and letting things play out the way they are supposed to. In the episode's first scene, Titus chided Jacob for bringing the Black Rock to the island and perpetuating a cycle of violence (someone's been watching Battlestar Galactica), and then he vowed to kill Jacob... assuming he could find a loophole. And so it went from there.

"The Incident" wasn't as good a finale as "Through the Looking Glass" or "There's No Place Like Home" (still my favorite finale), but it is probably the most important finale yet (though that title will no doubt be passed on to next year's series finale). We finally met the mysterious Jacob, who was first referenced all the way back in the Season 2 finale, "Live Together, Die Alone", Jack fulfilled his destiny and became a sort of mini-Locke, while we learned a startling secret about the real Locke (more on that in a bit), and I don't think that the characters have ever ended a season in a worse situation. Sure, in "Exodus", Walt was kidnapped by the Others while Michael, Jin, and Sawyer were stranded in the ocean, and in "Live Together, Die Alone", Jack, Kate, and Sawyer were in the Others' custody, but the fate of half the cast is theoretically unknown (there's no way Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Jin, and Hurley aren't coming back next year) and the other half aren't in a great place either. I'd say that there will certainly be a reckoning coming when Season 6 begins next January (so long...).

Before getting into some of the details, let me just say, JULIET! NO! Sorry, but I really wanted to see her finally get off the Island; unlike the rest of the castaways, she's been on the Island for 6 years, and she has taken advantage of nearly every opportunity to get off. She was even willing to return to an America she wouldn't recognize in 1974, but Sawyer persuaded her to stay. She ended up paying for her choice to help the man she once loved detonate the Swan Station because she doubted that the man she currently is in love with loved her back. In what may have the most intense scene all season, as the Incident caused the electromagnetic energy under the Swan to escape, a chain wrapped itself around her and dragged her into the pit. However, she was somehow able to survive, and ended up personally setting off the bomb. All reason suggests that she is dead (most people at ground zero don't survive), but let's think about two things: first, Jin somehow survived being blown up on the freighter last year, and second, I am still of the belief (and Miles gave me some backup) that setting of the bomb fulfilled their purpose in 1977, and instead of reshaping the future, they will just be brought back to 2007. Elizabeth Mitchell will be on another ABC show next year, but Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse have said she will be back next year. That doesn't mean very much though, because they said the same thing about Daniel Roebuck back in Season 1, right before Arzt exploded. On the other hand, LOST and V may have different shooting schedules (Tamoh Pennikett was on both Battlestar Galactica and Dollhouse this year, both of which aired on the same night; speaking of Dollhouse, I'm pretty sure that Alan Tudky is also going to be on V and I hope that doesn't take too much of his time as I want more Alpha next year). Also, did anyone notice the book in her house as a kid? "Mysteries of Ancient Americas".

The Incident is also responsible for Dr. Chang's prosethetic arm in the Swan orientation film, and it may be responsible for the anti-pregnancy thing on the Island. Unfortunately, that wasn't answered this year, and although we got to see the 4-toed statue again, we didn't see Richard Alpert barefoot, which we were promised. We also didn't see Illana and Bram shoot at Sawyer, Locke, Juliet, Daniel, Charlotte, and Miles in the outrigger, which I'm guessing should have happened at some point during this episode (remember way back at the beginning of the season?), which seems strange, because most of the time travel stuff was adequately explained. Speaking of Illana and Bram, their trek (with Frank Lapidus) ended at the 4-toed statue, where they met Locke, Ben, Richard, and Sun. They carried a mysterious box with them with contents that thoroughly shocked Lapidus; they claimed that whatever was in the box would give them some sort of leverage with an important figure and show that they had power over another. They have referred to themselves as "the good guys" a couple times (just like Ben at the end of "Live Together, Die Alone" and I saw a lot of parallels and counterpoints between that finale and this one; one is the second finale, the other is the second-to-last, one deals with the birth of the Swan, the other with its destruction, one sees Ben at his most powerful, the other at his least, and one shows Jack and Sawyer as compatriots and the other as bitter rivals), and about 2 minutes before they actually showed what was in the box, I deduced that Titus' body was in it. I thought its purpose was either to scare Jacob into respecting them or show him that they could help him (more likely the latter because of a flashback with Illana; most of the flashbacks this year showed Jacob interacting with the characters at key points in their lives). Well, I was right that Titus was involved, but his body wasn't in the box. It was John Locke's body. Ben was right, dead is dead, and ever since Ajira 316 crashed on the island, Titus has been impersonating Locke. Over the course of the episode, Titus-as-Locke slowly convinced Ben to kill Jacob, thinking this was the loophole he was looking for.

Oh Ben, what hath thee wrought? All Titus had to do was point out that Jacob was just another father figure who didn't love Ben to get him riled up. Why did Ben have to get cancer? Why did Ben have to watch his own daughter die? These were things that happened to Ben, but not once did Ben ever contemplate that his own choices were what caused his suffering. He chose to kill his father and the DHARMA Initiative, and he chose not to surrender to Keamy. Maybe Jacob disapproved of these. But I guess choice isn't something Ben Linus believes in. He certainly didn't believe Jacob when Jacob told him he had a choice. I'll give Ben this, though; the Smoke Monster scared the hell out of him by telling him to follow Locke (though I am now convinced that the Monster is at least an agent of Titus because, in addition to its command to Ben to follow Locke, both Titus and the Monster are represented by the color black... maybe there is a white smoke monster somewhere on the Island... wow, that sounds really racist).

With Jacob dead and Titus free to run wild (or free to make people not run wild?), things will certainly get interesting for the survivors next year. We still need to know what's up with Christian Sheppard and Charles Widmore, what happened to Claire, the origin of the Others (and the statue and Richard in particular), and who Titus is, among other things, but I am really excited to see how it ends. I just wish we didn't have to wait half a year...

Oh, by the way, what the hell, writers?! No Desmond?! Lame.

Up next: The best...

LOST: Last Minute Prediction

I won't be watching LOST tonight as I will be attending a Chicago Cubs game (unless it gets rained out), so I just wanted to throw this out there. I can't believe I didn't think of this before, because it seems pretty obvious, but my new belief is that Jack and Sayid haven't learned their lesson from before, and they will succeed in detonating the bomb, only to have THAT cause "the incident". We'll see what happens. Until then, enjoy.

Up next: One season to go...

Clone High: Back To School

A year after Bill Lawrence's Scrubs premiered, Lawrence and two others made Clone High for MTV. The series was the definition of "meta"; much of the dialogue is self-reflexive, numerous Scrubs allusions are made, the animation is cheap (I believe that speaks to the quality of the shows it parodies) and even the theme song poked fun of numerous teen show cliches, all of which were lampooned in the show's plots (and often commented upon by the characters). The theme song also sets up the show's premise so that the action can begin right away without having to devote actual screentime to explaining why all these clones are going to school together.

In the 80s, a board of Shadowy Figures commissioned some scientists to dig up famous leaders from history and clone them. I don't think the exact purpose for the clones was ever explicitly given (it was at least hinted at, and it was extremely absurd), but that didn't matter because the clones weren't ready for their purpose yet. First, they had to complete high school. Under the supervision of the deranged Dr. Cinnamon Scudworth as their principal (embodying the mad scientist and uncool authority figure archetypes), figures like Abraham Lincoln, Mahatma Ghandi, John F. Kennedy, Joan of Arc, Cleopatra, Marie Antoinette, Julius Ceasar, George Washington Carver, Vincent Van Gogh, and Sigmund Freud live like modern teenagers, as they try to survive the social hell that is high school.

Some of the clones were fortunate enough to be attractive and/or popular, such as JFK and Cleopatra, and they rule the social scene. Most of the rest are geeky or strange (I'd be willing to bet that most of the characters in the show were somewhat strange in their youth in real life). Some characters embrace their clone heritage, which makes them outcasts; George Washington Carver is a science nerd obsessed with peanuts, Van Gogh is a tortured artist. Along the same lines, Marie Curie's DNA was mutated because of her work with radiation, and her clone is severely deformed. Other characters, like Abe Lincoln and Ghandi reject who they were because of all the pressure associated with living up to their predecessors. Abe is afraid to take charge and lead, and prefers to remain in the background while Ghandi became an annoying partier.

The various episodes take on cliches from meldramatic teens shows; class elections, proms, and film festivals are various school events that we see. In other episodes, two characters who hate each other are forced to share a bedroom (with hilarious results), a nerdy clone is allowed to come to a cool party if he can get beer (with hilarious results), and one character runs through an airport to declare his love for another (with hilarious results). Finally, the show has some very VERY special episodes (every episode is jokingly referred to as a "very special episode" in the pre- and post-show montage) that teach us viewers important lessons, including that ADD isn't like AIDS, girls can play basketball, and litter is dangerous. Scudworth tends to have his own adventures with his robotic butler, Mr. Butlertron (originally called Mr. Belvetron, which explains his mannerisms parodying the character of Mr. Belvedere) which do everything from parody mad scientist stories, old Warner Bros. cartoons, and old sitcoms (right down to the laugh track, which only supplemented scenes that were sitcom parodies).

A lot of the humor was derived from the exaggerated situations the clones found themselves in and the comments they made regarding the situations. As teenagers, the clones were very susceptible to suggestion and believed that things that are supposed to matter to teens are matters of life and death. When a rock star told the clones that raisins can be smoked to induce intoxication, raisins became contraband at Clone High, and when prom was upon the clones, Cleopatra demanded an utterly perfect "prom-posal" from her boyfriend (which involved numerous animals performing acrobatic stunts). The characters' relationships were played up to parody the way teens interact in teen shows; people often forget the crazy things people would do from week to week and if the characters were extremely oblivious to other people's feelings. Joan of Arc harbored a huge crush on Abe, and explicitly told him a few times, only for him to not comprehend because his own feelings for Cleopatra got in the way.

Finally, for such a small show, Clone High got a fair number of big-name guest stars, many of which played themselves. Most of the cast of Scrubs acted in recurring roles and Andy Dick also had recurring roles. Marilyn Manson, John Stamos, and Tom Green all guest star as themselves (this was when Tom Green was "popular"), Jack Black plays a thinly veiled version of himself, and Luke Perry features prominently in one episode (Michael J. Fox also made a cameo).

Up next: Commenting on the penultimate season finale of LOST...

From A Hospital To High School

When I was writing about the last (?) episode of Scrubs, I mentioned Clone High, a short-lived animated show on MTV from the creators of Scrubs. The series was a parody of melodramatic teen shows like 90210 and Dawson's Creek, but the teens in the show were clones of historic figures. I probably won't do an extended look at the show, but I think that is it fairly obscure and something that most of my readers would enjoy (one of them introduced me to the show while another loathes it, so that assumption is more about me projecting my own likes onto my readers).

Up next: Their angst is entertaining...