"Battlestar Galactica: Season One" and "Stephen King's It" Reviews (Spoilers)

[matt_zimmer]

Reviews for the latest episodes of Lost, South Park, 24, American Dad, King of the Hill, and the season finale of Prison Break.



Lost "Left Behind"

Good episode but REALLY frustrating in places. No real resolution with Locke made me mad. But the stuff with Kate and Juliet was good.

Locke is DEFINATELY a bad guy now. Randall Flagg indeed. I KNEW nothing good would come from him in the pilot and it seems they are FINALLY making him a bad guy. I can't wait to see what happens with him next but I'm guessing they are going to pull a "Micheal" and have him disappear for awhile.

The Sawyer and Hurley stuff was really funny although I think making Sawyer a "leader" came a few episodes too late since Jack will be back soon. I hope this is brought up again. I like that Sun didn't forgive him.

Kate's flashback with Cassidy was fun. I had always thought her mother was a doormat for turning Kate in but she explained why she did it REALLY well. I understood completely why she gave Kate up.

And is it just me or do Jack and Juliet have more chemistry than Jack and Kate do? It's OBVIOUS Kate has more chemistry with Sawyer than with Jack but I actually hope that the coupling that seems "destined" doesn't actually happen at this point.

The monster! I STILL want to know more about it. HUGE clue that the Others don't know what it is but I had already figured that was probably the case.

Good, if somewhat frustrating episode. ****.

24: "9:00 PM - 10:00 PM"

I wasn't feeling this episode. The ending seemed completely arbitrary and designed to make a bigger mess of things than was actually needed. Yeah, okay, unpredictable, but it also made little sense.

If they are trying to make Doyle likable at this point it's way too late for me.

Best scene in the episode was Tom blackmailing Daniels. Peter MacNichol is SO awesome and it was great to see Chronos vs. Grodd.

Other than that the episode didn't do much for me. ***.

Prison Break "Sona"

What a disappointment. Prison Break was originally only going to be two seasons long and it's obvious that trying to get picked up for a third season was a huge mistake. Where the episode was right before Kim showed up would have been a PERFECT place to end the series and the last fifteen minutes of the episode was basically designed to screw up a perfect ending. I'm not looking foward to Micheal in Prison next year ESPECIALLY since this whole situation SHOULD be able to be resolved with a few phone calls and some translaters. Sigh. ***.

South Park "Fantastic Easter Special"

The first two thirds of this episode sucked and were as predictable as ALL South Park conspiracy plots but the last act pleasantly surprised me. Kyle having to kill Jesus was hysterical especially since he made Jesus promise he wouldn't tell Cartman. I also really like how evil Bill Donahue was portrayed as that's how messed up he is in real life. I can't give the episode TOO high of a score because the first two acts were so weak but the episode had a very solid climax and ending. ***1/2.

King of the Hill "Hank Gets Dusted"

Okay it was BRILLIANT to have Hank related to ZZ Top. That said, this episode had a cruel streak in it throughout most of it that the sweet ending couldn't quite diminish. That reality show producer was SERIOUSLY unpleasant and really hard to watch. I also didn't get the ending with the car being fixed just to be half buried at the end. Ah, well. ***.

American Dad "Four Little Words"

This episode was disturbing but hilarious. Stan is SUCH a butt turd and I loved him doing everything he could to make sure Francine didn't say "I told you so". Bullock accidently murdering his date was priceless amd I really liked the resolution of him adopting the Indian baby. Roger's Kevin Bacon subplot sort of petered out (it IS a Seth MacFarlane show) but it was still pretty funny. ****.

Stephen King's It

This miniseries from 1990 is REALLY campy and overacted but I still really like it and I prefer the way it made the resolution a bit more tidy (ESPECIALLY as a Ben/ Bey shipper). Tim Curry is creepy beyond belief as Pennywise and the scene of young Beverly's father wiping her cheek with blood from the sink is still horrifying. The kids (including a young Seth Green) actually did a better acting job than the adults. The climax with the spider was of course a disappointment but unlike the book it didn't TRY to pretend it wasn't. And I have to say I'm RELIEVED the miniseries didn't take the part of the book where the little kids have sex in the sewer and put it in. As Tommy Lee Wallace noted on the commentary it was a ridiculous fantasy and I think the worst part of the book. I liked the mini-series and even though the ending was techinally even more of a let-down I prefer it to the book. ***1/2.

Battlestar Galactica: Season One

Good solid start to the season. The whole season seemed to be leading up to the shocking climax of the season finale which no matter how many times you see it still surprises and scares you. Kara wasn't quite as unlikable here as she got in later seasons. My favorite character is easily Laura Roslin who seems to be the guardian angel of this series. Good jumping off point for the rest of the series although I have to admit knowing TWO of the character have been revealed as Cylons in the third season finale is still a head-scratcher. ****.

Miniseries: DEFINATELY overlong (especially when viewed as a three-hour movie) the miniseries still has a lot about it to recommend. The scenes of destruction and how people had to make choices about who to save are still chilling. Baltar is a GREAT villain and both funny and sympathetic. The end reveal of Sharon being a Cylon is still fun and I LOVE the guy being framed for being a Cylon by Baltar ACTUALLY being a Cylon. ***1/2.

33: Solid first episode of the series. It was very well-done although it wasn't quite as Earth-shattering as the miniseries. ****.

Water: Good "disaster" episode which is a great set-up for Sharon becoming increasingly deranged as the season progresses. I'd already seen the episode and I STILL wasn't sure if Sharon would be able to pull off the mission. ****.

Bastille Day: I was never a huge Tom Zarek fan and I've never liked this episode. Still knowing Callie better makes her warding off her attacker all the more rewarding upon second viewing. **1/2.

Act of Contrition: I liked this episode and thought the cliffhanger was good. I was feeling for both Kara AND Adama throughout. ****.

You Can't Go Home Again: The ending with the Cylon raider and Lee figuring out who was piloting it was funny. I also liked the tension between Roslin and Adama as I understood both of their points of view completely. ****.

Litmus: The episode was only okay but I liked the paranoia it set up. I also thought Adama's "soft touch" line was hilarious. ***.

Six Degrees of Seperation: I LOVED this episode. REALLY funny Baltar stuff (ESPECIALLY in the bathroom with Gaeta) and is it just me or are the sex scenes on this show totally hot? (see Sharon and Helo) I love how increasingly bad things got for Baltar and I also love that Roslin totally believed he was capable of treason in her gut. Fantastic episode. *****.

Flesh and Bone: Kara's scenes with the Cylon were really cool and I really loved Baltar freaking out and unable to to think of what he should have told Sharon about her being a Cylon. Good episode. ***1/2.

Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down: I hate, hate, HATE Ellen Tigh. Although I have to admit the ending scene with everybody in the lab accusing each other of being Cylons was priceless. ***.

The Hand of God: REALLY tense episode and I love how fate seems to play a hand in this show. How else to explain Baltar's completely out of left field guess being the right one? ****.

Colonial Day: After seeing season three it's obvious to me Mind-Six knew EXACTLY what she was doing in telling Baltar to second the idea of choosing a vice-president. If he hadn't things on New Caprica might have gone down a WHOLE lot differently or possibly not at all. Still not a huge Zarek fan and I'm glad to see Lee isn't either. And poor Helo. ***1/2.

Kobol's Last Gleaming: Part 1: I love the scene between Baltar and Sharon. I love Roslin seeing visions. I love Helo finding out Sharon is pregnant. I love pretty dang much everything about this episode. ****1/2.

Kobol's Last Gleaming: Part 2: Watershed episode. Aside from the frightening cliffhanger I love the smackdown between Starbuck and Six and the fact that Helo stood up for Sharon at the end. And you KNOW the ending is coming but that doesn't make it any easier to watch. Perfect finale. *****.

Comments

[zhugeliang.livejournal.com]

*points to icon* He has been in 2 episodes of "24" (that I know) and I missed them both!!

[mattzimmer.livejournal.com]

I hate missing things. 24 is kind of hard to dip in and out of though. It's also WAAAAAAYYYY overrated.

[zhugeliang.livejournal.com]

I'll have to see which episodes he was in. That way, you can gloat to say, "HAHA!! I SAW HIM!!" and I'll go "CRIES!!"

[mattzimmer.livejournal.com]

Somehow I can't picture the conversation being that way. :P

[zhugeliang.livejournal.com]

You.. have yet to see him or hear him??

[mattzimmer.livejournal.com]

Well, I've seen your user-icon. Does that count?

[zhugeliang.livejournal.com]

ASDFGHJKL!!!!!!!!!!!!

OMG!! CLICK!! (http://www.vincentcorazza.com)

[mattzimmer.livejournal.com]

I hate having dial-up.

[style92.livejournal.com]

Did you ever see the film version of "The Da Vinci Code?" I have, and the riff on it in the middle is what kept my attention up. Though I admit, the episode doesn't truely come alive until Jesus shows up. South Park Jesus is one of my favorite Jesus' and surprisingly accurate portrayal of the original. Except that he kicks ass too much, real jesus was a pacifist.

[mattzimmer.livejournal.com]

I didn't see The Da Vinci code although I recognized that was what it was a parody of.

I LOVE South Park's Jesus and was mega thrilled they FINALLY brought him back this episode. You're right that he's too violent (and regarding Cartman's mom too gross) but I really enjoy his portrayal on the show.

[90scartoonman.livejournal.com]

South Park - The final act was the best part, but I still thought it was a strong (if predictable) episode throughout. Every time they did the Latin Peter Cottontail, I cracked up.

King of the Hill - Guess they couldn't use Faith Hill, but I liked Dusty Hill. The Bobby beard and John Redcorn admitting to sleeping with Nancy was funny.

American Dad - It was pretty disturbing, but not TOO disturbing not to be funny.

It - Gave me nightmares as a kid. ::shudder::

[mattzimmer.livejournal.com]

South Park: I disagree about the rest of the episode being strong but I liked the episode well enough after I saw Jesus as Blade. :)

King of the Hill: I forgot about John Redcorn admitting it! And Dale STILL doesn't get it! Hilarious!

American Dad: Agreed. American Dad is usually more disturbing than Family Guy but it usually isn't too much. Sometimes it is (like when Haley had to prostitute herself because of a scam by Stan).

It: It's a scary movie but upon rewatches it's kind of campy and over-acted too. I still really like it though.

[90scartoonman.livejournal.com]

I just called it strong because it made me laugh, really.

As for American Dad, it's weird how it's more disturbing than Family Guy. I think because it's more grounded in reality. FG can have cutaways where Peter is an eye or someone runs into a TV character, but American Dad is straightforward, so when it gets a bit intense, it reaches new levels of disturbing.

When did they show It? I was born in 82, so doing the math, I wasn't old enough to be immune to horror camp.

[mattzimmer.livejournal.com]

"As for American Dad, it's weird how it's more disturbing than Family Guy. I think because it's more grounded in reality. FG can have cutaways where Peter is an eye or someone runs into a TV character, but American Dad is straightforward, so when it gets a bit intense, it reaches new levels of disturbing."

That may be it. It may also be that Family Guy is a bit of a more straightforward sitcom with the nuclear family while Amercian Dad's family is a lot weirder.

It originally aired in 1990.

[dcauyojimbo.livejournal.com]

That Lost episode was a bit of a jerk off, I think last week's was better .

That that was neat that Kate was playing with a Backgammon set in Tom's place. It implies Tom ain't a slouch in the brains department after all...or he's good at making it look like he's smart.

Hurley and Sawyer make great scenes together.

I thought it was freaky how from the Monster's perspective, they were those big flashes. Wonder what that was. Kinda reminded me of an old camera, maybe it was 'reading' Juliet for the first time. But in any case it was good to see it confirmed it had no direct connection to the Others, and that there is at least one thing on the island capable of kicking its metaphorical ass. Didn't think it'd be the sonic death fence but go figure.

I wasn't surprised that Rousseau abandoned them, but come on!!!

Locke was always on the list ("Two for the Road," I think when Ben revealed it.) so seeing that he'd pull an Anakin wasn't much of a shock. But in the least, he just wants to find out more about the island. My guess is the Others and Locke are headed deep north to that place where Michael got captured. There was that oddly well shaped rock with the square hole in it.

Next week looks like a Juliet flashback but perhaps a peek into the Others' society a little more. I wonder if we're going to have another smackdown between Sawyer and Jack.

[mattzimmer.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it WAS kind of a disappointment. I wanted some resolution with Locke and his father.

"That that was neat that Kate was playing with a Backgammon set in Tom's place. It implies Tom ain't a slouch in the brains department after all...or he's good at making it look like he's smart."

I love Tom. He's my favorite Other after Juliet (and she doesn't really count). Hopefully the season finale will be a Ben flashback.)

"Locke was always on the list ("Two for the Road," I think when Ben revealed it.) so seeing that he'd pull an Anakin wasn't much of a shock. But in the least, he just wants to find out more about the island. My guess is the Others and Locke are headed deep north to that place where Michael got captured. There was that oddly well shaped rock with the square hole in it."

I had always assumed Ben was lying last season when he said Locke was on the list but now it's obvious he was telling the truth. And I seriously doubt Locke is trying to gather info on the Others. He's outright joined them and after the last three weeks it's completely obvious to me that he is a bad guy now.

[dcauyojimbo.livejournal.com]

I rewatched "Three Minutes," and it turned out, Matt, that Miss Klugh threatened Walt with 'the room.' I assume this is the psycho brain washing room that Karl was in earlier this season. That's downright bastardary, subjecting a child to that? But I came up with a theory that when Walt was put into this room, his 'abilities' manifested-he appeared in Hurley's dream (when was eating Dharma reserves, Cluck mascot, Jin talking English) and when he kept appearing in "Abandoned," to Shannon and later Sayid.

I also took a closer look at the mystery rock. It looked like the Hatch was embedded in this rock. Very interesting. I am guessing this is exactly where the Others went to to during "Left Behind." The fascinating thing is that, on those Dharma Orientation slides, it is indicated there are only 6 official Hatches. The unofficial hatches drawn on Radzinsky's map are this one embedded on the rock and what looks like The Barracks.

That was a good re-watch, but I still got nothing on the disembodied voices in the jungle. ;)

[mattzimmer.livejournal.com]

The Room eh? I am STILL furious at Micheal for betraying the castaways like that. I want to know what the Others actually mean by putting someone who is "good" on the list. It was good to know last week that when Sawyer was kidnapped he wasn't actually on the list.

The voices confuse me too. I think they may have something to do with the monster.

[dcauyojimbo.livejournal.com]

You may be onto something with the voices and the monster connection. It is named after Cerberus, traditionally a three-headed beast. Could be its three 'heads' talking at once about the person its going after. Kind of an ominous warning sort of thing. At first I thought it was the Others playing telepathic mindgames with the Survivors.

[mattzimmer.livejournal.com]

The voices always seem to be around at the same time the monster is or nearby. I think they may be connected.