Category: Television

Desperate Housewives – A Little Night Music

*blah blah blah SPOILERS blah blah*

Tonight’s intro gave us the lowdown on events leading up to the present with the Bolen family. It told the tale of two eco-terrorists who planned to set off a bomb, except people got hurt and our friend Angie didn’t like that. She didn’t want to go to jail, especially since she was pregnant, so she ran away with Nick’s help and they all became a family.

If this made you think that they would be the focus of the night then you were as disappointed as I was probably. Their story did progress somewhat, but it either happened at the very beginning or very end. Don’t get me wrong, what did happen was great. I just wish there had been more! I’ll save the best for last though and take a look at the rest of the residents of the lovely ladies of Fairview.

Lynette had invited Eddie the psycho into her home, thinking he was helping him out of a bad situation. Little did she know she was inviting a troubled killer into her house. She starts to see signs of this when he goes off on Porter and Tom in two separate instances of them disrespecting her. After the incident with Tom, the two parents discuss kicking Eddie out of the house. Lynette eventually convinces Tom that they should try getting the kid some therapy first before they leave him to fend for himself. The therapist says it will take time to deal with Eddie’s issues but it would go faster if they had his mother present. Lynette volunteers to get her to agree to it. When she goes to the house to look for her, however, a neighbor reports she has not been seen for days now. This is where we left things with Lynette, but she is one step closer to figuring out the truth about this kid. I’m just scared about what happens if he feels threatened in any way by her or her family.

Gabi and Susan kinda had their stories intertwine tonight. Last week we saw Mike ask Carlos for money, because he is too proud (and stupid) to accept help from his wife. I already told you how I felt about this last week, so I won’t bore you with that rant again. This week we saw Mike start paying Carlos back what he owes, but neither of them has told their wives the situation. Carlos covers by claiming to Gabi that the money is tied up in a business deal. He won’t tell her any more details though, so she goes to investigate and finds out about the money that he gave to Mike. She goes to Susan and when she sees the new piano in the house, demands she get her money back. This is how Susan finds out about what Mike did. They then conspire together a way to get back at their husbands and make them realize how it feels to not be told everything. They make Carlos think Mike has spent the money on the piano, while simultaneously making Mike think Carlos and Susan are having an affair. Eventually it comes out that the girls are just screwing with their men, but it was still fun while it lasted. Susan’s part of the story did end on a serious note, however: with her making Mike promise to never keep something like this from her again, then looking through all their finances to see where they stand.

Bree and Sam start their day with a bit of grocery shopping, but things turn serious when Sam runs into someone he recognizes (and obviously didn’t want to see). Bree goes back to talk to the woman later and finds out that she is actually Sam’s mother (who is supposed to be dead, according to him). When asked how he could go around telling people his mother is dead, she answers, “He’s a complicated boy.” That seems to be an understatement, to say the least. Apparently Rex tried to get full custody of Sam when he was a boy, but the mother wouldn’t allow it. Sam found out about this a few months ago and became furious. We see just how angry he can get later, when Bree confronts him about it. He claims he said his mother was dead because she is dead to him. He also gets very angry about the lifestyle he grew up with because his mother wouldn’t let him live with his father who was better off than they were. Bree apologizes to Andrew for not listening to him sooner, but after seeing Sam’s temper, she is scared to make any attempts to get rid of him.

That brings us back to the Bolen family drama. Early in the episode we see Patrick run over Nick while he is jogging in the street. Nick survives but is significantly injured. Nick tells Angie he thinks they should run but she wants them to stand their ground. They do send Danny someplace safe though (albeit grudgingly). When Nick is told he has to be placed in a coma to reduce swelling in his brain from the injuries, he wants Angie to go stay with Danny for a few days. She agrees, but comes home to find Patrick waiting for her – and he has a gun. At first she thinks he will kill her, but he says he needs her alive to “do her a favor”. He won’t say what it is until the next morning though. He is all packed and plans to spend the night in the guest room. “Can’t she just kill him in his sleep?” you might be asking. I wondered the same thing. And apparently Angie did too, as she asks him how he knows she won’t do just that. His answer: “If the past 20 years have taught us anything it’s that you’re not comfortable killing anyone.” He also says that if she tries to run then he will kill Nick in the hospital. My argument for all of this: maybe she had problems hurting people before, but this guy has threatened her family for 20 years now. Not only does that change a person, it gives them a pretty good motive. The more her family feels threatened, the stronger her “mother bear” instinct is going to kick in and she is going to want to protect them. All I’m saying is this guy might want to sleep with one eye open tonight.

My only complaint about this episode was wanting to see more of the Bolen story. I know they have always played a backseat to the rest of the cast, but we are coming down to the wire here and have lots more we can do. Also, don’t make the intro about them and then not show them again until the last five minutes. That’s just cruel. Other than that though, I really enjoyed this week. I especially liked seeing Gabi and Susan working together instead of competing with each other like they usual do. When they put their minds together, they make an unstoppable duo.

Things I want to see next week: MORE PATRICK LOGAN, PLEASE. I love this story and the actor playing him and want him on the screen as much as possible before it all ends. Also, can we please see Lynette finally realize this kid is more troubled than she can help and that he should be getting some special care – preferably in a room with padded walls and happy pills?! Thanks!

What about the rest of you? Did you like tonight’s episode? What do you look forward to most about next week? And what do you think Patrick is going to ask Angie to do? I look forward to all of your responses.

Doctor Who – Victory of the Daleks

*INSERT USUAL SPOILER MESSAGE HERE*

When last we saw The Doctor and his lovely companion, they were getting a phone call from Winston Churchill saying he might need their help. Apparently the TARDIS still has some kinks to work out yet, because The Doctor doesn’t actually show up until a month after that call takes place. By that time, Churchill has already put into place a new secret weapon: the Daleks?

Wait, did I just see Winston Churchill working with the Daleks? That can’t be right… can it?

That is how it in fact seemed to be. Except they weren’t calling themselves “Daleks”. Instead they were called “Ironsides” and were created by a Professor Bracewell. It is all very confusing for The Doctor, especially the part where AMY DOESN’T REMEMBER THEM?! You mean AT ALL?!

So that was another thing that seemed off about this whole situation.

Also, their new purpose was to win the war for Great Britain. The Doctor isn’t buying any of this and even says to “Exterminate them” – Hey, Doc, that’s their line.

Another great line from The Doctor – “What does hate look like? It looks like a Dalek, and I’m going to prove it.” We all know The Doctor hates the Daleks, but for good reason. They destroyed his home and tried to destroy Earth (which is like his second home). You would hate them too, if you were him. Even still, it is amazing to see the level of emotion that they bring out in him (a combination fear, hate, and anger).

After enough words are shared between the two species, we finally get some explanation as to what is going on. It turns out the Daleks found this “Progenitor” that contained pure Dalek DNA, but did not recognize them as Daleks (because of mutations that happened in a previous episode). They needed The Doctor’s testimony to get the progenitor working. This created a whole new race of Daleks. First task: exterminate the old “inferior” models. Next they turn their sights on their old enemy: The Doctor. How will he escape this time? With the help of Winston Churchill of course!

Churchill sends Spitfires to blast the Dalek ship. The Doctor lowers their shields long enough for the planes to get a clear shot. But there is a slight complication. Seems old Bracewell is really an android created by the Daleks as part of their plans, and he is set to self-destruct. The Doctor now has a choice: stop the Daleks from escaping or keep the bomb from going off and taking all of planet Earth with it. He chooses to save the Earth, which the Daleks criticize him for. “His compassion is his greatest weakness,” they say. I disagree. I believe that is is actually one of his greatest strengths and what sets him apart from the rest of the world (besides, you know, the whole “Time Lord” thing).

The Doctor proves this in saving Bracewell. He tries to get Bracewell to remember how it felt to be human in an attempt to stop the bomb from going off. This is a great idea, but needs help from an actual human. Yet again we see the companion helping The Doctor in a crucial way. This time she asks Professor Bracewell if he has ever been in love with someone he shouldn’t have been. As he starts telling the story of a girl he knew once, the bomb is deactivated, thus proving that love is our greatest strength. Unfortunately, the Daleks use this to complete their time jump and escape. When Amy proclaims that they won (because the Daleks are gone and nobody died), The Doctor questions this. Was it really the right thing to let them escape, considering how much harm they could do to the Universe? The phrase, “Live to fight another day” came to mind here, for me.

Things that still needed answering at the end of this episode: why couldn’t Amy remember the Daleks? My second “open-ended” item might be connected to this – what is the deal with the cracks appearing everywhere? First we saw one in Amy’s room, then in the side of the ship in “The Beast Below”. Now we saw one in the wall as the TARDIS was disappearing. These are supposed to be cracks in time, so I am thinking this will be connected to Amy’s memory being apparently altered. Maybe something happened to “break” time somehow and caused history to be altered. We will have to continue watching to find out more.

As always, after the episode finished we were treated to another edition of Doctor Who: Confidential. This week gave us a behind-the-scenes look at the Churchill cabinet war room. The writer (Mark Gatiss) went there for research purposes. We also see how the “Spitfire in space” scene worked. Some very cool stuff worth having a look at, if you haven’t already done so.

Next week we get part 1 of the two-part episode with the Weeping Angels. This is the one I’ve been most excited to see, so you can be sure I will have lots to say once it’s over.

Not So Happy Town

After reading a slew of negative reviews of the new series, Happy Town, I was worried that it would prove to be a disappointment and not meet my previously high expectations. I would like to take this opportunity to thank ABC for proving me wrong. Sure, the first episode didn’t blow me away, but it had its moments. At the very least, it met its question quotient for the evening. There were so many of them that I actually had to make a list to be sure I didn’t miss any.

Who is Chloe? (was answered at the end, but more on that later). And why does the Sheriff keep mentioning her and then not remembering when he does? By the end of the episode he seems to have some kind of mental break. What’s up with that?

What secrets are hidden in the house with all the widows? Especially curious is what could possibly be on the third floor that Henley (the mysterious visitor) isn’t supposed to see.

Who is the Magic Man and what did he do with all the missing kids? And why did the disappearances suddenly stop?

Who killed Mr. Friddle? I’m assuming it’s this mysterious “Magic Man” but that could prove to be wrong. Also, why did everyone see Friddle as the “town weirdo”? It seems to me they all thought he deserved what he got. (Sorry, but I have a hard time believing ANYONE deserves having a hole drilled through their skull).

Final question is mostly for me: Was anyone else creeped out by Merritt Grieves? (the guy staying in the house with all the ladies)

For all these questions, Happy Town gave us one answer… sorta. It turns out that the mysterious visitor is the aforementioned Chloe. But what is she doing in town? She seems to be there to investigate something… but what? We leave her as she is about to go to the forbidden corridor that is the third floor.

Well, that is what you missed on the series premiere of Happy Town. The show looks to have potential, so News on Shuffle will be keeping tabs on the townsfolk for the time being. Hope some of you will join us.

Things Americans Can Learn From British Television

The title link today is from theTVaddict and discusses a few things American TV can learn from Doctor Who. I have actually discussed the ways in which British television (specifically Doctor Who and Torchwood) are superior to what you get on this side of the pond, just never on this blog. Methinks it is time to rectify that.

The first thing that jumps at me with these shows is the writing. Since they have a 13-episode season instead of 22 or more like there is here, it forces the writer to work harder at every script. There is no longer room for “fluff” episodes that don’t move the plot along. At the same time, there always seems to be a good balance between humor and drama. Know how 24 says, “Every second counts”? It really is true with these shows.

Moving on to the acting side of things… the acting is superb. This is true of every actor involved, not just the big name stars. Honestly, the only big names I can even think of are David Tennant and John Barrowman. (Is JB even a big name, or am I just overly obsessed with him?) No matter how famous the actor is though, they always seem to give it their all and bring their character to another dimension. This isn’t to say that there aren’t American actors who are equally talented. I just mean that British shows don’t always need big names to make big things happen.

Next I’d like to talk about the special effects. More specifically, how surprised you might be at the budget some of these shows get. Americans seem to think that the more you spend, the better it will be. (Capitalism in action!) In reading interviews with Steven Moffat on Doctor Who, I found it especially interesting how low their budget is and how much they are able to accomplish for such a small amount. It just goes to show, you can get quality programming even on a budget.

Finally, I would like to speak on the creativeness some of these shows offer. In a way this goes with the things previously mentioned (writing, working on a budget) but there is more to it than that. Take, for example, Doctor Who. The premise for that show seems simple enough, and yet it has an intricacy to it that makes it one of the most unique shows in television history. The character of the Doctor is both simple and complex at the same time. At times he seems almost childlike, but when you take a deeper look you see many layers and the burdens underneath. Then look at Torchwood, which is possibly one of the most successful spin-offs of a show ever. Rarely do you see the same level of excellence in a show that the original had. With Torchwood, you get the connection to Doctor Who while also developing a whole new world to explore. And yet again, the acting and writing for this show are just as sharp as the series it was spawned from.

There are many reasons why British television can be more appealing to American viewers. All elements of the series I have mentioned make for excellent programming. (Plus, the accents don’t hurt much either). If you don’t want to take my word for it, I suggest you watch an episode of Doctor Who and decide for yourself. (Another great thing is you can watch almost any episode and it won’t matter if you have no background in the series to start with). So go check out what you have been missing. Once you do, you may never look at television the same way again.

24: 10-11am recap

*yeah, you guessed it, SPOILER ALERT HERE*

When last we saw Jack he was stealing the helicopter that was supposed to be taking hm to McGuire AFB. We open tonight with that very same chopper being pursued. Jack quickly ditches the chopper and continues on foot, jumping rooftops like the ninja he is. He slips into the city streets and disappears into the night, er, morning.

Chloe gets put in the impossible position of having to stop Jack from opposing the President’s orders. At first I thought this was a conflict because she believed he was right, but later we see that the only conflict is going against a “friend”.

My first thought upon seeing and hearing President Taylor defend her actions to Ethan was that she came off as too desperate for someone with as much power as she has. Is she really willing to risk the ruin of her administration for this peace treaty – even when it isn’t even guaranteed? It looks like Ethan convinces her to do the right thing… that is until President Logan has his say on the matter.

At first it seems as if Logan is taking the news surprisingly well – too well, in fact. He has one last trick up his sleeve, however – trying to get Dana Walsh locked away so the evidence won’t be on public record (and torturing her for said information while she is locked up). “Isn’t morality relative considering what’s at stake here?” he asks President Taylor. Yet again we see him try (and succeed) in getting Taylor to compromise her morals. Taylor asks Chloe to transfer Dana to a safe house and says she will be sending someone from a private security firm to make the transfer. Chloe doesn’t like this but does what she is told like a good little soldier. (Question: when did Chloe become so obedient to authority and stop trusting Jack’s gut feeling?)

Reason for question: Jack calls Chloe for help. She tries to convince him to stand down. “You’re not thinking clearly,” she says. His reply: “Right now I’m the only one that is.” Eventually Chloe agrees to help him… or so it seems.

Chloe, being the evil genius that she is, manages to snag the location where Dana is being moved to. Unfortunately for us, she decides Jack really is not thinking clearly and that she is going to follow the Presidential order. (All together now: ARRRRGGGHHHH). She orders CTU to find Jack and bring him in. She then gives Jack an address which is really an old CTU safe house and plans a trap for when Jack gets there.

Switching back to President “I’ve-totally-become-Logan’s-puppet”… Taylor informs Ethan that she has changed her mind and is not going to back out of the peace treaty like she said she would. (The look on Ethan’s face when she tells him her full plan said to me – “You’re thinking what we all are, aren’t you?”) He tries to convince her she is making a mistake and has “lost her way” but is unsuccessful. He then tells her he “cannot be a part of this any longer” and that he will use his health as the excuse for his resignation. When she tells him he cannot abandon her now he replies, “I’m not abandoning you – I’m listening to my conscience.” (My thought: “Thank God somebody is!”)

Meanwhile, back at CTU: Chloe, for reasons unknown, has decided to stop trusting Jack after YEARS of being right and has given him instructions which lead straight for a trap. *bangs head against the wall* Who else at this point was asking how she could do this with seemingly no problem at all? Jack figures it all out though (because he puts the “Super” in “Superman”) and gets the drop on them. “How did you know?” Cole asks. “I know Chloe” (Apparently better than she knows you, mate).

Jack guesses correctly that Cole doesn’t agree with anything that is happening and asks him to help in finding Dana’s true location. Cole agrees and the two of them set off to save the day for the billionth time.

Now we get to, in my opinion, the scene of the night. It starts with Ethan giving President Logan the best stare down EVER. They then face off in a brilliant battle of words.

Ethan: If she suffers for this I will come after you with everything I’ve got.
Logan: Are you threatening me?
Ethan: I’m warning you.

*gets chills*

We conclude tonight with President Taylor addressing the nation. “Peace must and will prevail,” she informs them. “No matter what the cost.” As she says this we see the beginnings of Dana being tortured to reveal what she knows. I’m sorry folks, but peace formed in this way is hypocritical – this is what President Taylor has become.

As you can see, we are still dealing with some huge ethical issues on this show. Scenes for next week showed Jack dodging two governments while trying to bring the truth to light. It would seem the show plans to go out with a bang. Just like it came into the world, so shall it leave it.

Desperate Housewives – Epiphany

*BLAH BLAH BLAH USUAL SPOILER MESSAGE HERE*

Tonight Desperate Housewives gave us an interesting look at how a serial killer may potentially be born. Let’s dive right in, shall we?

First reaction on meeting the mother: this is the source of all this kid’s problems. (I wasn’t entirely right, but it’s a large part of it). I mean, she is pretty horrible to him from the time he is about 4 (and possibly even since he was born). She leaves him home alone to go to a bar, tells him he ruined her life, ignores him for her boyfriend, laughs at his attempts to woo Danielle, makes him feel inferior, and eventually develops a drinking problem. It doesn’t get more screwed up than that. Add to that a little psychology (which is what I’m studying) and we can start talking about parenting styles of attachment and how that leads to problems forming relationships with others as well (especially romantic relationships). So it is no wonder the kid has some issues, but does that excuse his actions? Let’s take a look at the ladies of Wisteria Lane and the Eddie they got to know before making that call.

Gabrielle – Eddie is still pretty young when Gabi meets him for the first time, but he already shows signs of being a troubled kid. I have to say that Gabi is one housewife that consistently surprises me. She may have selfish motives at times, but she genuinely seemed to be concerned about Eddie and how lonely he was. Eddie does not appreciate her suggestion that he make friends his own age, however, and makes no effort to hide this from her.

Bree – Eddie is closer to the age we see him now, and he is having your typical girl troubles. Bree hires him to do work around the house and they end up discussing some of his issues. He says girls never notice him and Bree suggests maybe they are waiting for him to notice them. She also suggests he try wooing the girl he is interested in, little knowing that said female is her daughter, Danielle. When she realizes this (and that Danielle is not interested) she goes to Eddie’s mother to try to get help in letting him down gently. The mother definitely does not let him down gently though. She is overly harsh to him and causes him much distress. “I want someone to love me,” Eddie proclaims. His mother simply laughs. (This is when I really started getting my idea about attachment style. His mother drives his need to be loved by treating him so badly). It is here we see a pattern develop of everyone laughing at Eddie’s attempts to find love. This is what sets off his violent streak, which we see in the alley with the prostitute.

Susan – She first gets to know Eddie as “the boy who sold her coffee,” but she eventually also notices his artistic talents and compliments him about it. She says he has potential and offers to help him develop it. Eddie accepts, and eventually exceeds what she can teach him. She offers to send him to an art institute seminar, but he is worried that his mom won’t allow it. Susan tells him, “when you love something that much you can’t just let it go.” This advice may have been taken the wrong way and fueled his extreme behavior but it is unclear. We see Eddie fall for Susan though, and he even asks her to marry him instead of Mike. (It is probably due to her generosity that he feels so strongly towards her). She laughs at his proposal, taking it as a joke. The pattern continues. He lashes out again, but hurts Julie instead. I found his comments in the hospital room about the “weak, insignificant, piece of garbage” and “should kill himself” interesting. I wondered if that was how he felt about himself, or if he was just covering in front of Susan. I think the former is the more likely scenario.

Lynette – She and her family first notice a problem during a Friday night game of Charades. Eddie’s mother interrupts and shows them all how messed up she is.

Switching over to Eddie’s house, we see how jealous he is of “normal” families. We also see Mom find the scrapbook with the newspaper clippings of all the crimes her son has committed. She confronts him and he admits it. “I didn’t raise you to be like this,” she yells. Eddie’s reply: “Didn’t you?”

This is the real question. Is it the mother’s fault for mistreating him? Or is it the neighbor’s fault for knowing something is up and not doing anything about it, as Lynette suggests? While the neighbors could have helped, they are not entirely to blame. As Mary Alice points out in the end: monsters come from other monsters.

As always seems to be the case, the ending was the best part. Mom tells Eddie, “the worst mistake I ever had in my life was having you.” “No,” I reply to the television, which clearly can hear everything I tell it. “It was saying something like that to your crazy son.” This as he proceeds to kill her in another of his uncontrollable rages. (Note: if he really can’t control himself then legally he should go to a mental facility, not jail. But that is a debate for another night.)

Finally, Eddie gets his chance at a normal family when Lynette offers to let him live with her family. She sees Eddie’s mom lying on the floor, but assumes she is passed out drunk. She has no idea she has just invited a killer to live in her house. (It shouldn’t take long to figure out though, seeing as how there are only, what, three weeks left?)

Whew, that was a lot to recap. Now that we’ve gone over everything, got something you’d like to share? Do you think Eddie is in control of his actions? And is the mother to blame for how he turned out, or is part of it still him? I’d love to hear what others have to say.

Doctor Who – The Beast Below

The Doctor constantly has some tough choices to make in his travels, but “The Beast Below” may have given him one of his toughest yet.

*Spoiler time, kids*

At first all we know is something big and bad is happening on the Starship UK, but that is all. Oh, and it is something big and bad enough that Amy sends a message to herself telling her to stop The Doctor from investigating the goings on of the space-age British Empire.

Then we find what is at the center of it all, and it is rather quite sad.

It turns out there is a creature guiding the ship, and it is being tortured to keep it going.

Once The Doctor finds the Beast, he has to decide what to do with it. Does he let it keep being tortured to protect the people onboard, set the creature free and kill an entire civilization in the process, or lobotomize the creature so it no longer feels the pain it has to endure? The Doctor is ready to set into motion option number three, but in the final moments Amy gets a realization that changes everything.

“Open your eyes,” The Doctor had told her when they first arrived in the ship. Thank God for everyone that she listened to him. For she was the one who noticed how the creature behaved around the children. And, looking at The Doctor, she remembered what Liz Ten said about when they first found the creature. And she was the one who realized that they didn’t need to torture the Beast for it to continue moving the ship.

“If you were that old and that kind and the last of your kind, you couldn’t just stand there and watch children cry,” she told them. (Quote of the night)

This episode showed the hard choices The Doctor has to make in his life. It also reminded us that sometimes he doesn’t have all the answers and needs someone to show him the right path. Funny that another red-head teaches him this lesson, as Donna was best at doing this for him (as demonstrated by the Series 4 episode “Turn Left”). This season looks to be just as much Amy’s story as it is The Doctor’s.

As always, BBC America gives us a behind the scenes look at the latest episode with Doctor Who Confidential. This gave us a behind the scenes look at everything from cast reactions to set design.

Next week we’re going to get the return of the Daleks and… Winston Churchill? That should be interesting. So tune in next week at 9pm on BBC America for another great adventure with The Doctor and his companion, Amy.

Reasons Why An American Torchwood Now Makes A Whole Lot Of Sense

Why not just leave it in the UK where it belongs?

That was the biggest complaint on hearing Torchwood would be moving to America. After the few updates I found last night, however, it now makes much more sense to me that Russell Davies would want to make the switch.


Fact: Davies has written scripts that will pick up where Children of Earth left off.

If this is the case then I can understand why the move from the UK. Jack isn’t going to want to stay there after everything that happened. (no spoilers here, promise). There aren’t really many reasons left for him to stay. He is going to need a fresh start. At the same time, he loved working with Torchwood and isn’t going to want to give it up so easily. It was established that there are multiple Torchwood locations, so it makes sense that he just moves to a different branch. And since he is American (I didn’t just make that up, right?) it makes sense that would be his chouce of location to move to.

It doesn’t make sense to have a Torchwood branch in America?

Sure it does. Torchwood may have been formed in the UK, but it grew to be an organization that was meant to protect the Earth from alien species. This caused it to spread outside of its original borders.

An American version won’t be as good. Anytime America tries to touch a British show it always screws it up.

Except usually the same people who created the original version aren’t also working on the reboot. With Davies and Barrowman both involved I am confident they will create a quality show that fans can be proud of.

So, class… any questions?

Torchwood Update

A quick update on the American Torchwood that Russell Davies was working on with Fox. BBC Worldwide issued this statement:

BBC Worldwide Productions and the FOX Broadcasting Company have mutually agreed not to progress together with a 13-episode serialized ‘Torchwood’ format. We are currently in discussion with several interested networks.

Sorry if this sounds mean but I was actually glad to hear this. Fox seemed like a poor choice of network to host this show for a number of reasons. I think Davies would be much better off working with another network. My suggestion: ABC.

Think about it. ABC needs a show to replace Lost, which is ending this season. Plus you have the added bonus of John Barrowman already working on the network because of Desperate Housewives. And yes, Barrowman has confirmed that he will be involved in the new Torchwood series. Not only that, he says that Davies has scripts written already and the show will pick up where Children of Earth left off. More good news for Torchwood fans everywhere.

All my fears of how an Americanized Torchwood could fail are slowly being lifted. Hopefully Davies finds a good network that will do the show justice and not worry about stupid things like the sexuality of a certain character we all love. (Another reason ABC is good: Desperate has a gay couple that currently has a really good story going for them. Proof that the network won’t be afraid to work with what is apparently still a sensitive subject).

What does everyone else think about this news, or the series in general? Are you glad to see Fox removed from the process? Based on comments I saw from when it was first announced I would guess the answer to that last question to be a firm “yes”.

Lost Recap – The Last Recruit

*Insert obligatory Spoiler Alert here*

From the first few minutes of this week’s episode of Lost I had one prediction: everyone in Sideways world was going to end up together by the end of the night. I wasn’t exactly right, but I was damn close.

We started with Sun and Locke being rolled into the hospital at the same time. Sun seemed to not only recognize Locke but was also scared of him… what gives? We also saw Sawyer bring Kate to the police station and talk about being pushed together somehow. Then Miles gets the call about the shooting and Sayid and with that the hunt is on. Sayid gets arrested and presumably ends up in the police station with Kate (although we don’t see this so who knows). Claire and Desmond end up at the same place as well. He is going to meet a lawyer (Ilana) while she is going to talk to the adoption agency. Desmond offers to help her out and introduce her to his lawyer friend, who is conveniently the same lawyer that Jack hired to handle his father’s will. Thus Jack and Claire meet and discover their paternal link. Before they can really discuss how they are related, however, Jack gets called in to do emergency surgery on… John Locke. No idea how that plays out yet but I predict he not only saves Locke but also might be able to fix his spine. It’s a miracle! And speaking of miracles, Sun and the baby are perfectly fine. So all is right with the world… for now.

Meanwhile, back on the island… the whole gang is back together (minus Jin, who is still with Widmore’s posse) and they are planning on leaving Smokey and the island far behind. Sawyer has supposedly made a deal with Widmore to get them off the island. While they are en route to meet Widmore & Co. Jack and Sawyer have a little chat and talk about their feelings a bit. Well, Jack talks and Sawyer scoffs at him. All kidding aside, Jack brings up an interesting point. He says, “If that thing (Smokey) wants us to leave, maybe it’s afraid of what happens if we stay.” I never thought to ask this, mostly because I assumed it just really wanted off the island. What if that is not the only factor? Maybe Jack is right and Smokey is somehow in danger if they all stay there. And yet again Lost offers twice as many questions as it does answers.

Back to the action though… Sawyer tells Jack to get off the boat if that’s how he feels… so he does. And swims to shore right where Smokey just happens to be there to greet him. Coincidence? No such thing on this show. (Also not a coincidence: Jack jumping off the boat much in the same way that Sawyer jumped out of the plane the last time they tried to leave the island. Oh Lost, I see what you did there).

But going back to Sawyer… Jin and Sun are finally reunited after an entire season of them trying to find their way back to each other. And just like that Sun is able to speak English again! It’s a Christmas miracle! (Wait, “Sun” and “miracle” happening both on the island and in Sideways world? Huh.) Jin and Sun say how much they love each other and that they will never be apart again. Anyone else think that was the kiss of death for them? I honestly thought someone was going to get shot right then and there. Bad fortune was to come for them though, as they were told the deal was off and Widmore would not be helping them get off the island. *Gasp* I never saw that one coming…

Oh wait, I did.

Widmore’s second in command (whose name eludes me right now) gave the order and just like that Smokey and his followers found themselves under fire. In an ironic twist, Smokey pulls Jack out of the way and essentially saves his life. Will Jack be able to do the same for him in Sideways world? Tune in next week to find out. Actually, you have to wait a couple weeks, but I’m sure it will be well worth it.

Smokey’s final words to Jack before ending were, “It’s going to be OK. You’re with me now.”

Yes, Smokey. We are with you… all the way to the end.