But before they go, here’s a quick look at where I stand with the current crop of futuristic, non-realistic, ghostly, ghastly, makes-you-wonder, shows on TV.

Read Part One here.

Dollhouse

What can I say about this one? I’d like to rename it Whedon’s Folly as I feel that the Joss-meister got too wrapped up in his own fantasy and forgot he had an audience to feed.

Dollhouse started off with an interesting concept, a kick-ass set and some great guest stars but even with Joss behind the wheel, this monster kept veering off course. The show was built around two kinds of episodes, the mythology and the fantasy of the week. The mythology was too complex to follow and the fantasies were aimed at men -  that worked wonders for my husband but left me cold. I quickly tired of sexy costume of the week storylines — like a weekly Halloween party at a frat house we had Eliza as a sexy nurse, as a sexy babysitter, as a sexy spy, and let’s not even talk about the dominatrix outfit.

Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t mind the fantasy sex play if there was some real angst and story to go with it. I simply never saw any except in the finale of last season.

I came into this season hoping for more. I heard about all the great guest stars and I thought they’d pull it off. They didn’t. Two weeks in, I stopped watching. The show is heading for cancellation and I want to miss it, but I won’t. (Cr: Carin Baer/FOX)

Fringe

Fringe is an example of how you properly balance mythology with monster of the week. They’ve been doing a great job handing out morsels of backstory along with juicy monster bits in every episode. I’ve been very pleased to see Peter (Joshua Jackson) step up and take a more proactive role, Walter (John Noble) still cracks me up and manages to make me misty when he slips into remorse and sadness. I like Olivia (Anna Torv) but she’s not why I tune in week after week.

What I didn’t like this season was the shapeshifter assassin storyline that ended in the demise of Charlie. There were plot holes and it all came off a little too neat and then bam, it’s over. Are the shapeshifters all gone? Did I miss something? I do like bowling alley guy and the unique way he has of making Olivia see what’s around her. I still dig Astrid and I hope she gets her own episode soon. She’s a smart cookie and I’d like to see her save Walter or Peter’s life.

The whole AU storyline is interesting, but I tune in for the monster of the week stories and they’ve been terrific this year. Season Two and Fringe is still going strong. The only thing I have to complain about is the 9:00 Thursday time slot, it’s killing my DVR and the ratings. (CR: Justin Stephens/FOX)

FlashForward

The fact that I like the monster of the week episodes on Fringe, will probably clue you in to the fact that I’ve given up on FlashForward. I watched the pilot of this series and found it really compelling, but two episodes in I walked away. I’m not a fan of shows that are all mythology based as was the case with Lost. There were too many stories, too many characters I didn’t care for and what about the kangaroo? Did they explain the kangaroo?

FlashForward is one of those shows that I know is well written, creatively directed and properly acted but I still don’t enjoy it. I’m glad other people do, because it is good TV, just not for me.

Post from: SF Universe

But before they go, here’s a quick look at where I stand with the current crop of futuristic, non-realistic, ghostly, ghastly, makes-you-wonder, shows on TV.

V: The Series

We’re only a few episodes in but I’m into V for the long haul (which means waiting until Spring of 2010 for the second half of the season.) I’m enjoying the pace of the reveals, I like the characters a lot and I see Visitors everywhere I look. I think this show is so fitting for the climate we live in today, even more so than when the original was made. The idea of sleeper agents among us, living next door, ready to turn on us at any moment. No one is safe and I really feel that from Elizabeth Mitchell’s character. I’m also very intrigued by the idea of a priest as one of the story’s main heroes. Religion keeps cropping up in all of my favorite shows and that, I believe, is also a sign of the times. (ABC/JEFF PETRY) JOEL GRETSCH, ELIZABETH MITCHELL)

V gets an A

The Vampire Diaries

Damon Salvatore is the coolest, hottest villain on TV right now. His patented mixture of snark and smarm keeps me coming back week after week. It’s kind of like a modern, teen version of Dark Shadows, with Elena as Victoria Winters. I’m glad that Elena learned the truth this early in the run. She’s a bright girl and to drag it out any further would have been unbelievable. Now, how they’re going to keep a vampire story going in one town for a whole season without it getting ridiculous — that’s the big question.

The downside of this series is the teen angst portion. I can barely sit through another one of Jeremy’s pout-fests or the all-girl gossip sessions. I do like the town vampire hunting council and the fact that they’ve taken Damon under their wing. Last week’s unexpected murder of the visiting vamp was a solid stamp that this show is prepared to go for the jugular anytime they want to. (Photo: Guy D’Alema/The CW ©2009 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved.)

The Vampire Diaries gets a B

Warehouse 13

Currently on hiatus, but renewed for a second season, this series was an early favorite. Yes, I know there are plot problems and it is formulaic, but the characters make up for the flaws. Pete and Myka have that perfect relationship where they compliment each other, filling in where the other lacks. Eddie McClintock gives Pete that goofy smile and that childlike sense of wonder — he’s a character I’d love to spend the day with. . . and can we spend it in the warehouse? Like a softer version of Friday the 13: The Series which cursed objects running amuck, there’s no end to the stories that could be written. Saul Rubinek steals the show each week as Artie and paired with Allison Scagliotti’s Claudia, he’s even better.

What would I like to see in the new season? A little more danger. We got some of that near the end of last season and it helps balance out the more humorous tone of the show. I also hope they stick with objects from actual historical characters. Poe was a great one. Now let’s see H.P. Lovecraft left behind.(Photo: Syfy)

Warehouse 13 gets a B

Come back later this week as I deliver grades to Supernatural, Fringe, Stargate Universe and more.

Post from: SF Universe

That’s kind of the idea behind Ghost Hunters Academy, the latest spin-off series from the popular Ghost Hunters franchise. Spirit-chasing wannabes are shoved head-long into a ghost hunt and only the strong will survive.

In this case, strong doesn’t mean brave or even paranormally talented — it means hard-working, honest, passionate people who are interested in getting the job done even when they’re not on camera. In this group, I’d say you’re talking about one out of the five.

Ghost Hunters second’s Dave Tango and Steve Gonsalves are in charge of training the newbies. They take them to a hunt in a spiffy new camper that gives you the “living in one house” feel of other reality shows. And though Steve and Dave don’t curse or throw tantrums like Gordon Ramsey, they do express their disappointment when someone screws up.

In the first episode, which premieres this Wednesday, November 11 at 10:00 on Syfy, the group investigates Fort Mifflin in Philadelphia. TAPS has been here before with good results so it’s time to see if the newbies can find anything.

Karl Pfeiffer and Ben Smith were pretty interchangable for me. Ben is a little geekier but neither made an impression in a good or bad way. Chris McCune strikes me as a 15 minutes of fame guy. He’s not going to last long.  Both girls are a problem (in a good way, because that’s what makes this show interesting). Heathyr Hoffman claims to be a medium, something the TAPS people are very skeptical about. Because she’s a medium she asks for special treatment, going so far as to sit out the site tour at the top of the investigation so she isn’t “influenced” by what she hears. That’s simply not going to work in the long run. Not with the way these guys conduct their investigations.

Then there’s the appropriately named Susan Slaughter.  She’s hiding something and that lands her in hot water with the bosses by the end of the episode.

The best thing about the episode is the bullshit meter – seriously, they should have a graphic on the screen because it is deep in there. When one trainee started going on about, “wow man, that’s why you guys are the pros,” in response to a common sense tip, I thought, oh please. Then we switch to Steve talking to camera about how this guy is kissing ass big time. Hooray!

The best bit comes when Steve purposely sets out a line of nonsense to see if any of the trainees will take the bait. One does and Steve calls him on it instantly, leaving the kid floundering for an explanation as to why he agreed with something that made no sense. Lesson learned? I doubt it and therein lies the fun.

I’ve been watching Ghost Hunters since the series began and lately I’ve been feeling like it needed a shot in the arm. Ghost Hunters Academy is that shot. These fresh personalities mixed with the patented Ghost Hunters formula is making everything old look new again. And though they aren’t kicking anyone off at the end of the episode, there is that sense of competition that you get from other reality shows such as Hell’s Kitchen or America’s Next Top Model.

If you’ve become an infrequent viewer of Ghost Hunters, try this new incarnation. They’re still not photographing full-body apparitions but you never know. Maybe Heathyr the medium will redeem herself and be the first one to get a ghost to smile for the camera.

Ghost Hunters Academy premieres this Wednesday, November 11 at 10:00 on Syfy.

Dave Tango, Steve Gonsalves — Syfy Photo: Tommy Garcia

(l-r) Karl Pfeiffer, Heathyr Hoffman, Chris McCune, Ben Smith, Susan Slaughter — Syfy Photo: Michael Perez

Post from: SF Universe

SPOILERS AHEAD

Over the years, Supernatural has done an amazing job with their parody episodes. They recreated the world of the Universal monsters in Monster Movie, complete with black and white photography and fake-looking sets. One year they pulled out the hand-held cameras and took out the crew for a perfect recreation of a ghost hunting reality show.

This season it’s personal, as Supernatural pokes fun at some classic TV shows in an episode called “Changing Channels.”

When I heard rumors of Supernatural as a sitcom complete with laugh track and a visit to Dr. McDreamy, I was worried. I should have remembered the motto — In Kripke We Trust.

“Changing Channels” is mostly brilliant. It’s loaded with sharp dialouge, double-layers of meaning and terrific performances by the Supernatural crew. Oh, Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles are good, too but they really aren’t the stars of this episode. It’s the camera man, the lighting guy, the director and the editors that get the kudos for this little gem.

The show opens as a typical 70’s sitcom complete with bright lighting, playing to the studio audience and very broad jokes. We know Dean likes to eat, but in the sitcom world his sandwich is three feet tall.

“I’m going to need a bigger mouth!” he exclaims, then offers a patented sitcom smirk directly into camera. As they often do with these parodies, the typical Supernatural logo card is pulled out and replaced with an appropriate piece, in this case a full sitcom theme that tells the story of two ghost hunting brothers. It’s your basic humorous montage that includes (fangirls get ready) riding a tandem bike together, playing football, and racing mini-scooters.

It’s so spot on, it’s scary.

From there, we do spend a little time in the real world as the boys begin investigating a very unusual “bear” attack. Then it’s on to the next show, an excellent Grey’s Anatomy spoof complete with overly dramatic nurses, a face-transplant, Dr. McSexy and a ghost.

As Dean explains to Sam, the actor on the real show plays a ghost who can only be seen by one of the doctors who was in love with him. (Sound familiar?) To which Sam replies, THIS show has ghosts? Go figure.

With Supernatural fighting the ratings race against Grey’s Anatomy for so many years, and then losing Jeffrey Dean Morgan to the show, the barbs are well deserved and well placed.

By this point in the show, I began to realize how much the lighting, camera angles and the music contributed to the feel of what I was watching. It might be Sam and Dean on screen, but that sappy Norah Jones-esque music screams nighttime soap.

But don’t think it’s all about the laughs. The nurse in the piece may be talking about her imagined love affair with Sam’s Dr. Brilliant, but everything she says has a double meaning and then it takes a turn for worse.

Like all good Supernatural parodies, this one gets serious and none too soon. The Japanese game show NutCrackers (yes, it’s exactly what you’re thinking) was pushing the joke a little too far but I did love the spoof commercial that fell in where the real one should be.

Next, we cue the slowmo, dim the lights and slap on the sunglasses — the boys are pushed into CSI Miami and that’s where Kripke takes a moment to really shove home his opinions about the lack of original programming on TV. The funny thing, there’s a moment where Dean is completely into the CSI character of it all and he fits. Or, I guess more accurately, Jensen does. It’s a fantastic parody inside a parody.

I don’t want to give it all away but I know the fangirls are going to love Sam’s “uncomfortable” reaction to Dean digging around in the trunk, Castiel being referred to as a “Pretty boy, angel,” and several mentions of brotherly love.

For me, “Changing Channels” hits the spot, but then I’m a diehard TV junkie and have been since I was little. I got all the jokes. Younger viewers, and international viewers aren’t going to pick up on the nuances and I’m sure some people will put the episode on the bottom of their favorites list.

I say, go in watching for what it’s meant to be — another great Supernatural homage that also happens to be one of the big pieces of the puzzle.

“300 channels and nothing on,” says the Trickster.

I beg to differ.

Watch Supernatural: Changing Channels, next Thursday at 9:00 on The CW.

Photo: Jack Rowand/The CW ©2009 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Post from: SF Universe

Last night’s episode of Supernatural was my favorite so far this season as the regulars got to stretch their acting muscles by playing alternate versions of themselves. Much of the heavy lifting went to poor Jensen Ackles who is becoming a victim of his own talent. After wowing the audience when he faced off with a demonic version of himself in Dream a Little Dream of Me, the writers threw him an even tougher challenge. Instead of one scene, this was half an episode and instead of playing a drastically different Dean, he had to play one that has only marginally changed — and yes, that’s tougher because it’s all about the nuisances.

Want to see Jensen Ackles at his best? Watch him plead with Dean to say ‘yes’ to becoming Micheal’s vessel. The layers of pain and regret and anguish are all there. Add to that the fact that Jensen had to deliver that speech to a stand-in (possibly his stunt double as per Jensen’s comments at the recent Vancouver Con) and that’s one heck of a performance.

Future Dean is broken. He’s shut down cold so he thinks nothing of torturing a demon for information and barely sweats walking his friends into an ambush so he can get his one shot at Lucifer.

Oh Lucifer, hanging out in the very young and innocent looking body of Sam Winchester. We saw that one coming but what we still don’t know is the why. Why did Sam finally say ‘yes’ to being Lucifer’s prom dress?

What we do know is that in this reality, the last time Sam and Dean spoke was when Dean told Sam they were better off apart, permanently. That their bond, be it love or family loyalty, was the chink in their armor and it was going to get them killed.

HEAVEN MUST BE MISSING AN ANGEL

The other stellar job award for Supernatural: The End, goes to Misha Collins. His hippie version of future Castiel was brilliant and it was great to see him playing some different notes after a season of being stiff and stone-faced. The key, however, is in the fact that we still saw some of Castiel in there, or maybe it was more of Jimmy — but it was completely believable that the man we saw standing on that dark street waiting for daylight, was this man waiting for either an orgy or a massacre to begin.

The performance I wasn’t so sold on was Jared Padalecki as Lucifer’s vessel. I know a lot of you thought he was at the top of his game but I’m not going to agree. People said he was great because it was all Lucifer and no Sam and that’s why I think it wasn’t great. We needed to see Sam. Like Dean, I wasn’t moved by his sympathy for the devil speech, but I might have been moved if I had seen some of Sam in the story. I think that Lucifer’s story about being tossed out of heaven by a father he loved too much is Sam all over again.

Why did Sam and John butt heads so often? Because Sam loved his father so much that in his own eyes he couldn’t ever be good enough. Sam couldn’t compete with Dean, whom he thought was the preferred son. John is God, Sam is Lucifer and Dean stands for the human race. I wanted to see that parallel, but all I saw was another Big Bad facing off against Dean Winchester. This isn’t all on Jared, of course, it’s in the writing and directing as well.

Circling back around to the beginning:

The phone conversation between Sam and Dean –  heartbreaking. I was surprised that Sam told Dean the truth about Lucifer, not surprised that Dean didn’t react. He’s on empty and a volcano could erupt across the street and he’d simply go move the Impala away from the lava flow.

Zachariah — I’m getting tired of him. I liked him initially, but now it feels like an endless game that Dean can’t win because Zach has magical powers on his side. He should know by now that the more he badgers Dean, the more he’s going to resist. Zach needs a new plan and he needs to be absent for a few episodes so I can learn to miss him.

The special effects – I’m fascinated by how they did the double Deans. In the past, it would have been a split screen but this looked more like a greenscreen digital kind of thing. The small moment that killed me was when future dean put two glasses on the table one further from his hand, one closer. In an old split screen, he’d have to grab the closer one because that would be the only one actually there in his frame. But he reaches across and grabs the further glass with past Dean reaching across the midline to get the glass on furthest from him. As I understand split screens, you can’t cross the midline because you’d be reaching into a spot on the film that will be cut away when you film the reverse.  Probably making a bigger deal out of it than it was but I just spent hours reviewing the Patty Duke Show which is all split screen so it caught my eye.

The Future — I bow down to the production designers, wardrobe crew and the music supervisor. When Dean woke up in the future I thought hmm, he’s in Alec’s apartment in Dark Angel. Could be, it’s all Jerry Wanek.

Then, when he looks out the window at the devastation, that was like a scene from a movie. The film feeling continued all through Dean’s exploration, from the creepy kid to the mob attack. The quick cuts and the long, wide shots aren’t things you normally see on TV.

If you’re a Planet of the Apes fan, listen to the music cue as the mob first comes around the corner in the alley. It’s that same, primal, jungle drums sound and I loved it. The rest of that scene is masterfully directed and edited. The second best music cue is “Do You Love Me” pouring out of the rebel army vehicles as they swoop in for the slaughter. It was very Vietnam.

What we didn’t get, that I was expecting, was more interaction with the Croats. I expected this to be more of hide and seek episode, constantly ducking the dangers. We heard about the horrors of living in this new world (hoard toilet paper) but I thought we’d see more.

On the lighter side, I loved the entire exchange with Risa (Lexa Doig), her accusing him of sleeping around, Dean’s ‘did I’ to Chuck and then following up on that idea in the group meeting later on. And can we talk about the whole Rachel and the pink panties bit? I guess that means most of the kinky fan fic just went from fanon to canon! Oh, I love my show.

The final scene was as awkward and emotional as any reunion on Supernatural could be. Did you see Sam flinch when Dean pulled out that knife? Trust issues remain and I imagine it won’t be smooth sailing because this is Supernatural. But hearing Dean say he was wrong was a huge step in the right direction. Now they need to find a way to make that brother bond work for them and not against them.

And they need to hug. Curse you, Kripke.

Next week it’s the case of the killer Paris Hilton. That’s hot. Supernatural airs Thursdays at 9:00 on The CW.

Photo: David Gray/The CW ©2009 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Post from: SF Universe

Yeah, what they’ve been saying all along is true — this is not your father’s Stargate.

I’m sure you’ve already heard the basic premise. A group of civilians, scientists and military personnel are forced through the Stargate in order to survive an alien attack on their not-secret-anymore base. Trouble is, instead of dialing home, Dr. Nicholas Rush (Robert Carlyle) decides to dial a mysterious gate address that he’s been puzzling over for years.

Everyone goes through the gate, gate room is destroyed, there’s no going back, which is a bad thing because they’ve arrived on the deck of an ancient starship that isn’t in shape to support human life. So, it’s a survival story more than a exploration story. It’s back to basics looking for food, keeping the air breathable, providing medical care and keeping everyone hopeful and undercontrol. Yeah. . . good luck with that.

Stargate Universe is dark in theme and in design. Destiny, the ship in the show, is a beautiful piece of work. The production designers did a great job capturing that feel of ancient tech that’s decayed with age. Add to that the minimal lighting, hand-held cameras and a haunting soundtrack and you’ve got a very claustrophobic, tension-filled hour. The only thing missing here is the alien chest busters but it’s only the first episode of the season, so there’s hope.

The premiere is two hours long but some of that time is devoted to those annoying flashbacks that flesh out the character backstories and way too much time is spent acquainting scifi geek Eli (David Blue) and us with the details important to the Stargate franchise.

I am probably alone in this, but Eli is my least favorite character in the cast of ten-ish regulars. I do understand the need for an audience POV, but I find it hard to get on board with the idea that he was plucked, literally, out of his mother’s house because he solved a video game conundrum.  For such a dark and serious show, the introduction to Eli is played for laughs and smacks of Men In Black or Galaxy Quest. Now this kid is practically running the life saving efforts on Destiny because Rush is too focused on the tech to worry about human lives and I’ve got a problem with that.

I like Brian J. Smith who plays the young Lt who must step up in a way he never imagined he could. Smallville’s Alaina Huffman works for me, as does Elyse Levesque who plays a civilian caught in this mess while on a tour with her father the Senator.

Ming-Na feels severely underused in the pilot, but I imagine that will be remedied in upcoming episodes and Louis Ferreira is troubling me because he’s a killer on Durham County and I’m having a hard time getting past that.

When I first started reading about the show and the “edgier, younger tone,” I didn’t think I’d like it but I did. The opening action is a grabber, the danger feels real and that characters, for the most part, are intriguing. What really seperates this from the other Stargate’s is that it’s not about military personnel doing a job. It’s about the struggle for survival where only a few people are trained for this. Like every good disaster movie, Stargate Universe is about coming together and going beyond their own personal limits to ensure the survival of the group. This is no place for power trips, jealousy, greed or fear.. . . in other words, they’re in big, big, trouble. See how much trouble when Stargate Universe premieres Friday, October 2 at 9:00 on Syfy.

Syfy Photo: Art Streiber

Post from: SF Universe

The entire episode felt disjointed and their usual rhythm was gone.  I know many of you will say it was because the brothers weren’t together but I don’t think that’s the case. We’ve had other episodes with parallel storylines that worked, but this one didn’t.

For parallel stories to work, there has to be a common thread or theme between them and I didn’t see that here. I also found the jumps between them to be jarring so neither side  flowed. Part of the problem was that they were trying to compress what I’m assuming was weeks into a under an hour.

SAM STANDS ALONE

On Sam’s side we have him working in a bar. He’s burned all of his fake IDs and he’s determined to make a new life for himself as Keith (did anyone else think DeCandido?). He makes friends with the waitress at the bar and then something happened that I didn’t see. The CW feed cut out for several minutes but I assume there was a hail storm or some other demonic sign that freaked Sam out. He calls in hunters to help (bad move) and they end up ratting him out, force demon blood down his throat, and threaten to kill his new gal pal. The overall plot here was a good one but having it crammed into under 20 minutes made it tough. I would have liked to see Sam more settled, happier, really thinking he’s made the break before it all comes tumbling down around him. They should have stretched his story over two episodes at least.

As for the bedroom scenes, well, I was looking forward to the return of Jess but I don’t think they made the most of it. Two small annoyances, the full conversation while they were both propped up on their elbows made me crazy.  And why does Sam start out with his shirt OFF then end up with it ON after he’s. . . what. . . had sex with hallucination Jess? It’s weird enough that he kissed her and then she turned into he. That’s where I really get confused. Lucifer says he can’t find Sam. If he can’t find him then how can he be there in the form of Nick?

So we end with more of Sam fearing that once again he’s going to turn darkside and bring about the end of the world. Well folks, that was kind of a given since day one. I always assumed Sam would be the anti-Christ and Dean the savior who has to fight him in the end. It’s age old mythology and storytelling. I just wish Sam had something else to do other than hang his head and furrow his brow. Sam fans, I’m about to agree with you here, I think Jared needs some new beats to play. This, hang dog, I’m to blame bit has worn out its welcome and it’s only episode three.

CASTIEL & DEAN

Sadly, I didn’t like this side of the story any better than Sam’s side. There were too many holes, too many things that didn’t make sense. Castiel wants to hunt down Raphael, trap him and force him to tell them where God is. He says that he won’t survive the attack (so what’s the point?) but Dean will because Raphael won’t dare hurt Micheal’s preferred vessel. Since it might be Castiel’s last night on the planet, Dean decides to take him out to a whorehouse because that’s Dean’s comfort zone — booze and broads.

First, I can’t wrap my brain around the idea of an angel who has had sex. Castiel’s body (aka Jimmy) has had sex. So does that mean the living being that Castiel was before he died and ascended never did? Aren’t angels supposed to be virginal? Okay, so they did it for the laugh, but there weren’t any. The dialouge, the set up, it simply wasn’t funny and the Supernatural writers know how to do funny (Mystery Spot, Tall Tales). The jokes fell flat and when Dean tumbled out of the whorehouse saying he’d never laughed so hard. . . huh? He wasn’t laughing when we last saw him. He was chastising Castiel and running from a beating. I’m lost.

Actually, quite a few of Dean’s lines fell flat last night including everything in the scenes with Raphael.  The Chinese basket trick, the “what he said” retort; Jensen’s better than this, so I don’t know what was up.

The one highlight in the middle of this muddled mess was the scene in the Impala with Dean trying to convince himself that he’s happier without Sam. It’s not true, people. Everything he said about how he’s never been better is a lie. He’s lonely, that’s why he’s talking about dad. That’s why he looks longingly at the passenger seat when Castiel disappears.  For his own sanity, Dean is trying to convince himself that he’s better off. He’s not and he knows it. He isn’t going to stop worrying about Sam just because he’s not sitting beside him. And after next week, Dean is going to realize that if he’s going to change the future, he needs to keep Sam  within arms reach until the end of days — which could come sooner than expected.

Free to Be You and Me goes to the bottom of the list but I’m expecting next week to be in the top five. Here’s hoping.

Photo: Jack Rowand/The CW ©2009 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Post from: SF Universe

For me, the biggest question is one that crosses the boundaries of reality — was actor Kirk Acevedo telling the whole truth on his Facebook last spring or was it part of a planned ruse?

DO I NEED TO SAY THERE ARE SPOILERS AHEAD???!!

Back in May, Kirk Acevedo who plays FBI agent Charlie Francis posted to his Facebook that he had been summarily fired from Fringe. This cause a wave of excitement and anxiety among the Fringe fans who took his word to heart. But soon after, producers for the series went on the record as saying, that like everything on Fringe, this was not what it seemed. They said that fans should rest assured because they’d be seeing more of Charlie in season two, literally — which seemed to imply that there would be two Charlies, an easy concept to absorb given the alternate universe plotline in the show.

The second season begins and we’re presented with a shapeshifting assassin who can take on the form of anyone as long as he can stick a three-pronged adaptor in their mouth and his. Next we find out that congress is shutting down Fringe division, which could be conceived as a firing from Fringe, but Charlie wasn’t ever an official member of the gang. He was more like an outside accomplice. So I don’t think that meets the standard of “being fired from Fringe” as Kirk wrote back in May.

By the end of the episode, we do indeed see Charlie split in two. The real Charlie goes into an incinerator while the assassin with his face (played, of course, by Acevedo) takes his place. Ah wait – has Charlie now been “fired” — as in burned to a crisp? That would make the play on words work out nicely, wouldn’t it? Both his Facebook comment and the later comments by producers.

But the LA Times has a different take. Their review of the season opener says that Kirk Acevedo is indeed leaving the show and this is just a very cool send-off.

So what do you think? Was the initial “I’ve been fired by Fringe” message a publicity ploy, or did he really get pink slipped by the locale-shifting production? Was this new shapeshifter twist written to take some pressure off the producers, or was this the plan all along?

We’ll probably never know for sure, because this is Fringe where it’s possible to tell the truth and a lie all at the same time.

FRINGE: Kirk Acevedo returns as Agent Charlie Francis. ©2009 Fox Broadcasting Co. CR: Justin Stephens/FOX

Post from: SF Universe

Now that I have that out of my system, here’s what I thought of Night of the Comet!

The opening teaser was typical horror movie fun, of the kind you often see at the start of Supernatural, just with a little more schlock. Boyfriend leaves the tent and goes into the dark woods. Girl hears raindrops on the tent and laughs — but oh no — that’s not rain, sweetie. That’s blood. Sure enough she steps outside and finds her boyfriend bleeding and up a tree. She runs for it in true Hollywood horror style, gets to the car and the door won’t open!  And then, the best thing happens, we hear that familiar little beep, beep, of a car alarm releasing the door locks. Seriously, how can one little sound be so creepy and so funny all at the same time.

Damon’s back and he’s got a wicked sense of humor.

After the teaser there was a bunch of show about Elena’s brother and his drug habit and her aunt who got unfairly reamed out by the history teacher (she’s doing the best she can, believe me.) And Stefan tried his hypno tricks to keep Vicki from remembering that it was Damon who attacked her. All necessary back story and it’s all a blur, because then Elena went to visit Stefan and met Damon for the first time.

Let’s take a moment to notice something. Stefan and Damon / Sam and Dean. Damon wants Stefan to stop resisting the urge to drink blood. Dean wants Sam to keep resisting the urge to drink blood. Both Sam and Stefan brood beautifully and both fear that one wrong move will be deadly for their loved ones. Both Damon and Dean are snarky big brothers, who really do want it to be like old times with their little brothers, even if they go about it the wrong way.  Yeah, I love my Thursday nights.

WELCOME TO THE FAMILY

So, back to the mansion and Damon’s charming all over Elena, telling her about how poor Stefan hasn’t really recovered from the break-up with his old girlfriend and when he offers to pull out the family album – yikes — that’s brilliantly nasty of him. It only gets better when Stefan shows up and his eyes bore into big brother like that comet in the sky.  But it really gets hot after Elena leaves. When Damon leaned in and practically whispered in Stefan’s ear – good gosh, I thought he was going to lick his neck, it was that hot! (Anyone else feeling a Supernatural / Vampire Diaries cross over?)

But one confrontation is not enough. Later, as the comet sails across the sky, Damon makes his point big time when he uses Vicki as bait to lure Stefan up on the roof. He then makes Vicki believe that Stefan attacked her, thereby messing up little brothers bid to live amongst the humans. How to solve the problem, simple –just feed, Stefan and become the brother Damon wants you to be. He doesn’t, of course, then hits home with the fact that he’d rather be dead if it meant being free of Damon.

Ouch. That hurt like Dean not protesting when Sam said he was going to leave.

And since this is a romance at heart, we end with Stefan and Elena getting into a lip lock earlier than I imagined they would. But because Kevin Williamson is a smart cookie juxtaposed that with the image of Damon getting “down” and dirty with Caroline and oh, can they do that in the 8:00 o’clock hour?

Cocky?

Much.

Thursday nights rock. Thanks, CW.

“Night of the Comet” Pictured: Ian Somerhalder as Damon, Nina Dobrev as Elena, Paul Wesley as Stefan Photo Credit: Bob Mahoney / The CW © 2009 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Post from: SF Universe

For me, “Good God Y’All” should have been the season opener. It had drama, action, humor and fabulous brother angst, not to mention a whole cast blast from the past. I am in love with Supernatural once more.

The episode can be dived into the three parts. The opening was all about Bobby and Castiel, effectively getting both of them out of the way for the rest of the episode. Bobby’s still in the hospital and he’s never going to walk again unless Castiel lays on some healing hands. Sam starts off in furrowed brow mode and the furrows deepen when he gets a phone call from Castiel. Two things here: what was with his odd pronunciation of the name, and why didn’t Castiel call Dean’s cell?

ARE YOU THE KEY MASTER?

When he arrives on scene, Castiel explains that thanks to the carving in the ribs (of which Dean now has a lovely x-ray photograph) no angel can find them, not even him. Now, let’s take a moment to ruminate over the new and not so improved Castiel. He’s lost most of his mojo, including his ability to heal and he looks different. What is it? Hair cut? Clean shaven? Skinny tie? There’s something different about Misha and man when he lets loose on Dean it’s. . . well, it’s hot. . okay? It just is. That whole, “I did it for you” speech, was killer. And then he says he’s come for the amulet that will lead him to God and four years of mythology clicked into place. Kripke, forgive me for ever doubting you! The key to God is right around Dean’s neck.

I adore the way Dean refused to give up the necklace, then reluctantly handed it over with a “don’t lose it.” I muttered, he’s going to feel naked without it just as he uttered the line on my TV. I also laughed because weeks ago we noticed the missing amulet in the photos from the episode and thought it was a rehearsal shot. Love that it was a plot point. So Castiel flies off (appears he hasn’t lost that power) and then Rufus calls Bobby to say there’s trouble in River City.

WITH A CAPITAL  D

Part two of this episode is almost monster-of-the-week, though it does tie into the mythology by the end. How cool was the broken bridge? Gotta be a CGI shot, right? But it looked fabulous. The boys are forced to hike into town and ooh, check out that cherry red Mustang — what a shame she and the Impala couldn’t hook up, they’d make beautiful babies together.

The town looks abandoned, cars have crashed, Spirit in the Sky is blaring from a stereo (oh how I missed the old rock music) there’s blood on the ground and. . . Kripke, you lose points for the baby carriage under the car’s front bumper. First nuns and now this! And then someone gets a drop on the boys and it’s Ellen. Surprise, surprise. . . for anyone who didn’t see the photos or spoilers online (I must say this is one of those times that I wish I had been surprised, would have been cool.)  Ellen and Jo have been hunting together but Jo and Rufus are now missing and the town is overrun with demons. She takes them to a church basement where only a handful of survivors are barely hanging on. . .but wait. . . I recognize that one actor so that’s a clue that everything is not as it seems down here.

In general, this is a scenario that makes me very happy, Sam and Dean charged with protecting the innocents, just like in Wendigo and Croatoan, it’s a good place for them. Only trouble is Dean can’t concentrate on doing his job properly when he’s constantly worried about what Sam might do at the first sign of blood. The tension between the brothers here is excellent. You can feel Dean wanting to go into military mode but Sam’s that fly buzzing in his ear. I’m also thrilled to see that we didn’t slough off the blood addiction that easily. Sam’s tempted and that helped ratchet this episode up from good to great. When Sam shoved Dean back against that wall, wow. I didn’t see that one coming. Lots of anger simmering under the surface and Dean’s just too worn out to fight back, too many battles on too many fronts.

So the boys split up and Ellen goes with Sam in hopes of finding Jo. They find her, but something’s not right and it’s not just the black contacts. Sam gets knocked out and wakes up tied to a chair with demons pouring salt down his throat and splashing him with holy water and now it’s starting to make sense. They aren’t demons. Everyone is simply hallucinating demons thanks to one of the biblical four horsemen who rode into town in that cherry Mustang.

WAR, HUH!

What is he good for? Apparently he’s good for Supernatural because his scenes were excellent. The conversation he has with Sam about how easy it is to push humans to violence reminded me of the Twilight Zone episode “Monsters Are Due on Maple Street.” In that show, aliens turn off the electricity in a suburban block, plant a few seeds of doubt and before the night is over the neighbors are paranoid and out to kill each other. Last week I saw a glimpse of another Twilight Zone episode. Coincidence or is someone paying homage to the classics?

War returns to the church and incites that group to riot, forcing Dean and Ellen to flee for their lives. They go after Jo and Rufus, convince them that it’s all a hallucination, then free Sam who has the solution to the problem. Grab War and cut off his finger so he can’t twist his ring. Eww, but done and done.

Did anyone else notice how long the commercial breaks were in the second half? Too long! Get us all revved up then make us wait. It’s not fair.

IT AIN’T NOTHING BUT A HEART BREAKER

Part three of the episode is all about the brotherly angst. Sam and Dean are having a heart-to-heart at rest area picnic table and they couldn’t look more uncomfortable. Sam acknowledges that Dean doesn’t trust him then admits that he doesn’t trust himself. He’s dangerous and because of that, he needs to stop hunting. They have to split up. Dean agrees without a moment’s hesitation and that hurts more than earlier shove. But it’s all right there. He can’t do his job when he’s constantly worried and looking out for little brother. Given that the end of the world is nigh, it is best if they split up.

Sam says take care (what, no hug?), he grabs his backpack and hitches a ride with some guy with a camper. I felt like I was watching David Banner head out of another town, lost and alone and knowing he could hulk out at any moment.

Fade to black. Sob.

Next week, Sam’s got his shirt off. See, that’s why Castiel carved the sigil into their ribs and didn’t tattoo it or brand it, because that would have been a nightmare in the make-up chair every time one of them showed some skin.

I’m a happy Supernatural fangirl once again and I can’t wait until next week.

Supernatural airs Thursdays at 9:00 on The CW.

Photo: David Gray/The CW©2009 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Post from: SF Universe