Tag: recap

Doctor Who – Cold Blood

Sorry for the late recap here, folks. (I seem to be saying that a lot lately). Once June is over there will be a lot less going on, so the last few Doctor Who episodes will be watched when they are actually on. For now, enjoy this recap of Cold Blood. It was part 2 of the episode from the week before.

*I’m sure it goes without saying but – SPOILER ALERT*

The Doctor and his female companion (not Amy) have both been taken by the Silurians underground. He tries to negotiate a peaceful solution, but the Silurians just counter with a proposal of their own – his execution. Meanwhile, Amy has escaped from her Silurian captors and is in search of The Doctor. And the Silurian that had been taken by our human group is trying to provoke them into killing her in order to fuel conflict between the two species. Yet again I have to say how much I love these stories about human nature. I said in last week’s recap how the Silurians always seem to really bring this out. I have loved all the flashbacks to past situations, and continued to do so with this episode.

Eventually the whole group gets reunited, but only to be captured again. The leader eventually realizes what is going on and tries to settle the issue peacefully though. Other things I love about the Silurians – the fact that some of them actually want to be peaceful about this. Just like us humans, some are more violent than others. It’s great to see this portrayal that not all aliens are bad. That different does not have to be a bad thing.

Back to the story though – Things are looking bad for our heroes with the death of the Silurian they had captured. The Doctor gives another of his epic speeches about the future being dependent on what happens today and Amy gives about the same reaction I would – “Well, no pressure there.” Brilliant!

Other things I liked about this episode – how half of it was from the point of view of the lead Silurian. And how said Silurian actually seemed to be willing to work with the humans at a peaceful solution. He actually wanted them all to work together. IR students, take note. Peaceful negotiations actually work when both sides are willing to bring something to the table. True there will always be radicals in every group, but they usually represent the minority. A strong leader who is willing to work towards a change can do remarkable things.

On the other hand, sometimes that one radical can really mess things up. The lesser of the group becomes the representative of the whole race. One human makes a mistake and it has the potential to destroy everything. All because they choose the violent solution. See, people, violence never solves anything. I was really disappointed that a peaceful solution was in sight and then destroyed by one human. The Doctor has always had to let the Silurians down, and I really wanted to see some redemption for him here. I did love the idea, however, of making it so they would get another chance at sharing planet Earth 1,000 years from now. Hopefully that is enough time for the human race to sort itself out and finally learn how to co-exist with other species.

Final bit of academics for the day – how were Rory and Amy both on the hill if Rory dies here? I guess you’re going to tell me that time traveling changed things but that will just lead to a huge paradoxical debate (which are fun but take up loads of time that I don’t really have here). I mean, Rory doesn’t just die – all the memories of him get wiped. Maybe that makes it less painful for Amy, but that doesn’t necessarily make it better. I was angry at Rory’s death, and Amy should be too. I really wanted the two of them to make it till happily ever after.

The final scene where they reveal the piece of the TARDIS suggests very big things are going to happen in the last few weeks. Make sure you stay tuned, because you’re not going to want to miss a single second of it.

This Is Why We Stay in Happy Town

Sorry about the massive delay on this recap, folks, but my schedule for the past week or so has been pretty crazy. But you don’t really care about that, do you? You just want to soak up as much Happy Town as you can before it goes away forever. So, here it goes…

*Note: if you haven’t watched this one yet then you are slower than I am – congratulations! If you are worried about being spooled then you should probably get watching before you read this though. This is your SPOILER ALERT, people. You have been warned*

Last week Rachel reappeared after being kidnapped from the Magic Man. This week we see her making an attempt to get her life back on track while the rest of the town tries to figure out what to do next. Rachel may have come back safely, but the rest of the missing people are still out there, and there is renewed hope that they are still alive. Rachel is having trouble adjusting though, and who can blame her? She’s been through a trauma bad enough that she doesn’t remember any of it. I honestly couldn’t blame her for wanting to leave town. Normally I would be angry at the husband for not joining her, but I understand his need to stay in town and make every effort to catch this guy. As bad as he probably wanted it before, it has now become personal. There is no way he stops digging until he finds the guy responsible for causing so much destruction for his hometown. I was really glad to see Rachel not only understand that, but realize her place was right there by his side. Kudos!

At this point I’d like to give my award for most interesting character – The most interesting character on this show has to be Henley. In this episode we see her making some deal with Mrs. Haplin where she swaps the mystery hammer for a whole lot of cash. Curiouser and curiouser. Seems she is being blackmailed for something though because Mrs. Haplin doesn’t want her leaving their happy little town. I know we’re supposed to get the Magic Man mystery solved, but I wonder how much we’ll eventually figure out about Henley and any other questions we have unanswered right now. I hope they don’t leave us hanging too much or I will be a very unhappy customer.

Speaking of the Magic Man, it cannot be coincidence that the disappearances stopped when Greggy went to jail and promptly started up again the minute he got back. On the other hand, it seems almost too obvious. Also, Greggy seems smart enough to realize if he started up again right away that he would be the #1 suspect (assuming he is the Magic Man, that is). Would he really be stupid enough to leave such an obvious trail leading straight to him? I’m not completely convinced yet.

Award for second most interesting character goes to Merritt Grieves. From a conversation with Rachel Conroy we learn that his son went missing, and he believes the Magic Man is the one who took him. He asks Rachel if she will allow him to try to help her remember what happened when she was taken. As a psychology student I’m somewhat skeptical on whether or not hypnosis actually works. Even still, I enjoy when it is used as a plot device. That’s the beauty about fiction – you don’t have to believe things really work to enjoy them. In this case it helps Rachel remember flashes, but not who actually took her. We do get a sense that wherever she was taken was the same place the other women were being held, which means that those who are missing are likely still alive.

The only story from this episode that seemed to have no purpose was Georgia and Haplin’s son wandering through the forest in an attempt to get away from the craziness of the town. That was until they found a camper hidden in said forest. A camper that seems to belong to the Magic Man, as it has something that belongs to one of the victims. Whoever owns the camper drives off before the kids can get out. Not sure if he realizes he has a stow-away or not, but pretty soon it won’t matter. There’s nowhere for these kids to hide, so they’ll be discovered sooner or later.

Final wrap-up for this one – the police have found evidence that suggest the first victim was involved with John Haplin. This same evidence also suggests to them that Haplin might possibly be the guy they are looking for and only kidnapped his daughter to divert suspicion. I would have thought the same except he looked genuinely concerned about his daughter’s disappearance. Unless that was just guilt over what he had done…?

The only other thing worth noting is Henley asking Grieves for help in getting the money to mystery person (who I think is her mother but I’m not sure if they actually said it was or I just made it up in my head). Grieves says yes, but while he’s on the train heading out of town someone grabs him from behind. For those who had to wait a whole week for the conclusion of that – I’m sorry. The ending kinda made me glad I waited so long to finally watch this one. No worries though, I will definitely be watching tonight’s episode either tomorrow or Friday, so there won’t be as long a wait for my next recap.

What did you think of this episode? How about the show in general? As usual, feel free to sound off in the comments section below.

Doctor Who – The Hungry Earth

Sorry for the late recap, but I have class on Saturdays now. I know, lame, right? Anywho… without further ado, here is your recap of The Hungry Earth. *insert usual SPOILER ALERT here*

This week gave us part one of the two part episode which brought back the classic Who villains, the Silurians. If you were a fan of the original series, the last time you saw these guys was during Warriors of the Deep, which featured Peter Davison as The Doctor. Our Doctor’s adventure with them starts with a “big mining thing” and his natural curiosity that has gotten him into trouble countless other times before.

In terms of the Silurians, past encounters have been due to research or military bases that have awakened the creatures. This time it is a drilling project that does it.

While The Doctor and Amy is directly dealing with the danger, Rory gets sucked in to a problem that is connected with the Silurians underground activities (and we use the term “underground” in the literal sense here). There are bodies in the graveyard that have gone missing, and one of the townsfolk have asked Rory to figure out why.

Something I have noticed in watching both the current series and classic Who is that humans tend to be very foolish on the show and rarely ever trust The Doctor, even though he usually knows best how to handle the situation. There was more of this seen in this episode, especially from one person in particular. I love that the kid trusts The Doctor almost immediately but his Mom is skeptical throughout the show. It just goes to show how perceptive kids can be and how easily they except even the most impossible of scenarios. It’s a shame we tend to lose this as adults. Perhaps Doctor Who can be a lesson to try to keep the inner child from dying within us all.

Back to the matter hand though… Our bit of sunshine through the rain – when they are trying to get inside the one building but the door sticks:

Rory: Can’t you just sonic it?
Doctor: It doesn’t do wood.
Rory: That’s rubbish.
Doctor: Oy! Don’t dis the sonic!

Words to remember, folks. Words to remember…

It is worth noting that we don’t actually get our first glimpse of the Silurians until halfway point. That should have been our first clue this would be a two-parter (assuming you hadn’t read about it somewhere before). It also takes about this long for The Doctor to figure out who (or what) they are dealing with.

It is always fun watching The Doctor interact with different species, but it is especially true with the Silurians. They have been on Earth since before even the human race and have always fascinated The Doctor as a race. He also has always regretted not being able to negotiate a lasting peace between the two species. “Nobody dies today,” he says. Fans of the classic series remember the last encounter with the Silurians and you will know just how important it is to him to keep that promise.

Part 1 of our adventure ends thus: The captured Silurian says one of our group will kill her and ignite a war between the two species. Meanwhile, The Doctor and his TARDIS are dragged underground where the rest of the Silurian tribe is (which turns out is really an entire civilization). Oh, and Amy is in danger of being dissected by a member of said tribe.

Will The Doctor be able to keep his promise and keep Amy and the rest of them from dying? You’ll just have to tune in next week to find out.

Doctor Who – Amy’s Choice

Sorry about the late posting here. I wish I could say I have lots for you, but this one had so many twists and turns I tried to just keep it simple. So, without further ado, I present – Amy’s Choice.

The opening scene showed Amy pregnant (which made me think – This can’t be real!). Then The Doctor shows up and says something about it being 5 years later. I barely had enough time to owner if maybe this was real before they fall asleep and wake up in the TARDIS. Confused yet? Yeah, I was too.

Eventually I figured out that they’re switching between the real world and a dream world. And it’s all thanks to some Dream Lord character. One world’s real, one world’s not, and they have to figure out which one’s which. It was loads of fun trying to follow both worlds and guessing which one was the real one. Both worlds have a danger in them – in one they are in danger of freezing to death and the other they are being chased by a dangerous alien species that has hidden itself in the bodies of the elderly. At first it seems like the episode won’t have anything to do with the overall story arc, but by about midway point I realized this is all about Amy and how she is split between these two worlds. She loves Rory but knows life with him will probably be quite boring in comparison to her life with The Doctor. So even though there is no romantic attachment to The Doctor there still is conflict in terms of where she wants to be. I know, I should have seen this a lot sooner given the title of the episode, but your Blogger can be a bit slow at times. Which is ok, because Amy can be a bit slow too and takes forever to finally commit to something and make her choice. Of course it takes Rory “dying” for her to realize that is who she wants to be with.

Shocking twist: BOTH WORLDS WERE A DREAM. So people guessing which one was the dream world – you were right and wrong at the same time. And those guessing which world was real, well, you were all wrong. Also, The Doctor says the Dream Lord was really him. I guess the purpose was a life lesson for all of them.

As always, there was a Doctor Who Confidential that went with the episode. This week we got some behind-the-scenes stuff that kinda made me wish I was there (mostly because they seem to be having loads of fun together). Much love especially to Arthur Darvill (Rory), who has been a great addition to the cast.

Doctor Who will be on again next week at 9pm. The next episode is Hungry Earth.

Happy Town – Slight of Hand

After taking a break for the past couple of weeks, the residents of Happy Town came back to entertain us last night. Well, most of them did. In the last episode, Tommy’s wife (played by Amy Acker) went missing at the same time the incarcerated Stiviletto brother resurfaced. Could Greggy Stiviletto be the Magic Man we keep talking about? Stay tuned to find out.

We begin this week with the search for Rachel Conroy. It looks like every police officer in town is on the case. Some flowers were left on the door to the Conroy house that seem to be the Magic Man’s calling card. In desperation, he goes to visit his crazy old man for help. “Go see the englishman,” he says.

Englishman = Merritt Grieves.

Tommy takes him into the station for questioning, calling him a “person of immense interest”. He was definitely on my short list for at the very least being involved somehow. He claims he has an alibi for the night (playing cards with the widows of the boarding house) but then reveals he collects information on the Magic Man. By the end of the night we learn he is interested in the case for personal reasons, but we don’t know exactly what those reasons are.

The other story for the week was Henley/Chloe trying to get the creepy goat hammer from Aiden/Greggy. Thought: What is with the double identities meeting each other? And is it a coincidence they hooked up? I guess it makes sense that the two shady people with a past would be drawn to each other, but it seems like more than that maybe. Second thought: Why is it that all of the Stiviletto brothers seem crazy except Greggy? Or is it that Greg is the smart kind of crazy? Which would make him more dangerous.

Back to the main story though: A severed hand shows up in the bread factory. I don’t know what grossed me out more, the idea of cutting someone’s hand off or that it was mixed in with the bread supply for the entire town. Strike that, the second one is definitely grosser. I don’t think I could even look at a loaf of bread again for quite some time if I lived in that town (especially if I was there to see it happen). Anyway, Tommy identifies the ring on the hand as Rachel’s engagement ring but says it isn’t Rachel’s hand. Which actually made sense to me from a casting standpoint. Why get Amy Acker to be one of the stars of the show and then kill her in episode 4? Maybe I’m just bias but I feel like she is one of the bigger names on the cast list. Anyway, it turns out the hand belonged to the first victim and was only severed approximately 48 hours ago. That means the girl had been alive up until that point. Which means that the rest of the victims could be alive too. And not too much later Rachel is found alive, proving my suspicions were correct. All she remembers is being at the festival and everything going dark. Next thing she knows, she is waking up in her own bathtub. She has no idea where she went and didn’t see who nabbed her. Dave mysteriously turns up at the house though, which makes me wonder about him. Maybe all that stuff from before was him covering his tracks because he is really the guy they are looking for…? Or maybe it is a red-herring to throw us off the track.

In other news, Carl Bravin is stuck in his basement with… who is that? We see his face but I couldn’t tell who it was. I’m not even sure it’s someone we’re supposed to know at this point. Mystery Man drives off at the end of the episode, leaving George behind. What’s up with that? More questions to add to the ever-growing pile.

The very last words of the evening are a declaration from Tommy Conroy that “We are going to find the Magic Man”. And that brings us to half-way point for the season (and likely the series). It has been promised that by the last episode (which airs June 30th) we will know who the Magic Man is. That is the only reason I am still watching this show, since ABC doesn’t seem to want to give it the chance it deserves. There is a petition going around to save the show and a Twitter campaign to go with it, but I am skeptical it will do much good. I have still participated though in the hopes I will be pleasantly surprised.

24: 2-4pm recap

The following was written in real-time (for the most part). Somehow it seemed appropriate. Needless to say, it is chock full of SPOILERS so if you haven’t watched the episode yet then you should probably stop here and fix that IMMEDIATELY. For the rest of you, hope you enjoy this as much as I enjoyed writing it.

This is it folks. The moment we have all been waiting for. No, I don’t mean the series finale of Lost – that was last night. Nope, tonight we say goodbye to Jack Bauer and the rest of Team 24.

Last week ended with the massacre of a lot of Russians by our anti-hero, Jack Bauer. We pick up with CTU getting the report on that and Cole finding the guy Jack had been working with now that he and CTU were no longer on speaking terms.

Things I will miss about 24: Chloe’s snarky remarks to people that obviously have subtext asking “Why are you such an idiot?” to every stupid person she comes across.

Cole gets the intel he needs from Guy-whose-name-I-never-bothered-to-find-out and goes to meet Chloe at the UN to help with security. “We cannot let Jack assassinate the Russian President,” he tells her. No frickin DUH, Cole. Hence the you being there to stop it.

Meanwhile President Taylor is in some pretty hot water now. Like way over her head, boiling her alive type deal. She has figured out that this conspiracy goes all the way to the Russian President. This does not sit well with her. Shoulda thought of that before you worked your deal with the Devil, eh Madam President. As annoyed as I am at her, I realize the Devil in this case is a tricky son-of-a-gun. I’m glad we brought Logan back for the final season. He and his aide are both played by extraordinary actors (Gregory Itzin and Reed Diamond respectively) who have lit up the screen these past few weeks.

Back to the show though – Daughter Hassan passes on the message from Meredith to Mrs. Hassan. Mommy is skeptical but still willing to call her and see what she has to say.

Cheer moment #1 goes to Chloe – when she threatens to send the file with the evidence regarding the Russian’s involvement to every media outlet in the nation. That’ll put President Taylor in her place. And possibly get Chloe arrested. Oh well, that just means Jack can bail her out during the pending movie.

Jack has Jason PIllar held at gunpoint and is using him to get through security at the UN. Pillar notices Jack is bleeding, and is just as doubtful as I was that Jack would actually live long enough to carry out his mission. “Not if you stitch me up first, Jason!” Ha! Proof Reed Diamond is an exceptional actor – he plays a shady politician and yet we still kinda feel sorry for him when he is begging for his life. Give the man a gold star! Apparently Jack felt sorry for him too, because he spares his life and knocks him out instead.

Back at HQ, Mrs Hassan can’t get in touch with Meredith, so she goes in search of answers on her own. Who does she turn to for these answers? Why her trusted colleague President Taylor of course! Go ahead and try to keep a straight face as you pretend you don’t know what she is talking about. Or pretend that the accusations are unfounded. That could work too. If by “work” we mean work to make me hate you more. Mrs Hassan and I are both very disappointed in you. We might never speak to you again as long as we live. Of course with the show ending that won’t really be that hard to do. Cheer moment #2 – Mrs Hassan telling her to shove it and shutting down the peace negotiations now that this evidence has come to light. You go girl! Put her in her place. But *le gasp* is that our President using blackmail to keep her from backing out of the treaty? And we thought Jack had gone round the bend. I was trying to see things from her point of view and say she was stuck between a rock and a hard place thanks to Logan but this is going too far. I really hoped you would come around back to the Good Side Of The Force, but it’s not looking so good at this point.

Speaking of our buddy Jack Bauer, he’s sneaking around like the super spy he is and working his way towards the perfect vantage point for a little duck shooting. I hear Russian duck is especially game this time of year. Chloe has his location though, so he’s not in the all clear yet. She’s even packing some firepower thanks to Cole. Chloe with a gun? Sounds pretty badass to me. Tear moment for the night – Jack making his goodbye video to person we assume is Kim, telling his side of the story for when he can’t do so in person. Awww shucks, Jack. Don’t you know you have to be the star of the film? They sold the movie rights, so you gotta live!

And the awkward sauce award goes to President Taylor and Mrs Hassan greeting the Russian President. They all have to try to paste smiles on their faces and be all diplomatic and stuff, each of them knowing the whole awful truth of the matter. Mrs Hassan should get the Nobel Peace Prize for not ripping off his head right then and there. It was kinda comical the speech on honesty and trust we got right before the signing. Maybe she should also get an award for not laughing during the press conference. I know I was cracking up at that point.

But back to more important and uber tense things – like Chloe with a gun! I don’t know why this got me all nervous and excited, but it did. Jack was one step ahead of her though, and grabbed her inside before she could make a move. She tries to reason with him and show him there is a better way. What she gets for her friendship? Well she gets to live and just be passed out in a corner instead of a bullet to the head. Yay, friendship? Still, I couldn’t help but be excited at the idea he had a sniper rifle pointed at Logan’s head. How can you stay mad at the person who is going to potentially exterminate the biggest snake ever?!

And so the Big American Snake calls the Russian Snake and lures him into Bauer’s trap. Chloe continues to try talking sense to Jack, but he is just not hearing any of it. Time is running out on Jack’s plan though, because Cole has called in his location – and kept the shoot-to-kill order. I applaud Chloe for her continued pleas for Jack to stop and think about what he is doing, but I really had my doubts it would work. Of course pulling out the Renee-wouldn’t-have-wanted-this card, that completely changes things. Guess if anyone was going to talk sense to Jack, it was going to be Chloe. They are the only two remaining from the original series. It is only fitting they work together in the final moments. And if working together entails one shooting the other – well what’s a little gunshot wound between friends? The writers really seemed to work overtime in trying to make us doubt Jack would make it through these last two hours alive. Guess they didn’t want knowledge of the movie to take away from the tension the show was famous for.

Logan calls Pillar and tells him about the data card that implicates them in working with the Russians. As Pillar searches Chloe for said data card, I go back to hating him as a character and loving him as an actor all at the same time. I also love Chloe ten times more for being clever enough to stash it in her phone. Pillar – you got played son. Oh and while we’re at it, Jack would like to chew your ear off for a minute there. That would be cheer moment #I-officially-lost-count. It took a little longer than Lost but I knew it would happen eventually. Cheers are short-lived though, as Chloe is caught before she has a chance to do anything with the data. It was a valiant effort though. I salute you, Chloe.

The recording ends up in Logan’s hands, as he declares to President Taylor that they have won and it is over. He also says Jack Bauer will never let this go, which is what I was thinking when he said this was over. This will never be over as long as Jack is out there to fight them. Logan paints some scary picture to try to convince Taylor they should execute Jack. “Don’t do it!” I yell at her. “Stop him!” Taylor lets him go, but watches the data file and SURPRISE it is the message that I assumed was for Kim. So where is the taped convo we heard from before? Whatever happened, the message seems to have come through loud and clear, because President Taylor can’t go through with the signing. Instead she finally comes clean and puts an end to this farce of a peace treaty. She then jumps into actions in an attempt to warn them that Jack’s life is in danger. Thank God she finally came to her senses, even though it happens way late in the game. Too bad she didn’t have her epiphany moment sooner though, because Jack has already been abducted.

Surprised at Taylor’s sudden moment of enlightenment? Well there are more surprises ahead. Because Logan is not happy that everything has unraveled. You think his response is going to be to take it out on Bauer? Well you would be WRONG. Nope, instead he takes out PIllar and then puts the gun on himself. So if you were taking bets then you got points for Logan getting shot but lost them since Jack wasn’t the one to do the deed. (Although you could argue he blamed Jack for everything and was therefore indirectly responsible, but that would be a really weak argument in my book).

So now the race is on to find Jack before he gets snuffed out for good. And the only people who could have been tortured for info are dead (or at least brain dead). Drat! Just when it looks like Jack should be saying his final prayers, President Taylor somehow gets in contact with the people assigned to do the deed and stop them in literally the final seconds. Don’t you think you were cutting it a little close there, Prez? Taylor has her mea culpa moment on the phone with Jack, and I actually feel a little sorry for her – but only a little. She tells him he has to leave the country because both the Russian and American governments are still looking for him. And so our anti-hero is cast out from the country he has served for untold years. Before vanishing into the night, Jack thanks Chloe for all her help – not just today but since the moment she joined him at CTU. The final clock counted backwards to zero, which I thought was quite fitting.

Overall I was quite satisfied with the series finale 24 gave us. It wasn’t exactly happily-ever-after, but that is rarely the case with this show. The main problem was eliminated with its usual ramifications left behind. That’s as it should be. Jack will presumably go into hiding until whatever threat comes up in the movie flushes him out again. Or maybe the movie will be about the manhunt that will inevitably follow after the days events. Only time will tell.

So, what did you think of the finale? Satisfied? Disappointed? Sound off with your comments below.

Lost – The End

The following was written as the show progressed, in an attempt to make the writer’s life just a little easier. It is chock full of SPOILERS and lots of commentary. You get the honest to goodness first reactions to the events as they happened. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed the process. There are no concluding remarks at the end, as my brain really couldn’t process much more once it was finished. Maybe I’ll write more after a second viewing in a couple days. For now, sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride.

This is it. The moment we have all been waiting for. After 6 years investing our hearts and lives into this show, we have now come to The End of Lost. The finale was quite extensive, but I’m going to try my best to write as coherent a recap as I possibly can.

In Sideways world, Desmond has busted Kate and Sayid out of jail. Sayid has gone with Hurley while Kate has stayed with Desmond, who is going to give her a bit of Enlightenment.

Back on the Island, Jack is fresh from his own brand of Enlightenment, with Jacob passing on the Island torch to him. The stakes: protect the Light or it will be the end for all of them. Hurley says, “I’ve got a bad feeling about this.” Ya think?! After the scene with the submarine blowing up earlier this season I won’t put anything past these writers. Expect the unexpected, is what I say. Boy was I right about that.

Sideways Hurley telling Sayid, “if you stick with me you’ll be happy you did” made me think of our relationship with Lost. We have stuck with this show for 6 years, and now is the time where we get to be happy we did.

On the Island, Smokey and Sawyer are both looking for Desmond at the well, but he has somehow found himself with Rose and Bernard. Oh, and their little dog Vincent too. Looks like we really are bringing everyone back for the big finish. Smokey finds where they are hiding and tells Desmond to come with him or Rose and Bernard will die. He cooperates in exchange for their guaranteed safety.

So Desmond goes with Smokey and Ben to the next phase of “the plan”. When I saw that Ben was still in contact with Miles and hadn’t actually abandoned them I did a little cheer – and then quickly got my head back in the game.

In Sideways world, Miles is heading to the concert that Drive Shaft is supposed to give. I predict all of Sideways world will be at this concert for a huge dose of Enlightenment before we are through. (Was kinda sorta right on this point). Jin and Sun seem to have their moment when Juliet is examining Sun and the baby though. It had to have been incredibly weird for Sun watching she and Jin die in the final flashes of her memory. Still, it was great seeing them suddenly know how to speak English perfectly and using that as a merging of the two worlds.

Back on the Island, the pieces are set up and it is established that everyone is going to the Cave of Wonders for a final showdown. Switching from Island Jack planning on killing Locke to Sideways Jack working to save Locke was quite a transition. They are approaching it from different angles, but both versions are ultimately going to accomplish the same thing. Their versions of Locke are broken in different ways and they are going to fix them. Does that mean merging the two together? Keep reading to find out.

Hooray moment #2 – Frank is still alive! And he is going to fly them all off the island! Hooray!

Back to the main story though – Jack and Smokey face off. Jack looks him dead in the eye and says “I’m gonna kill you. “How are you going to do that?” Smokey asks. “It’s a surprise,” Jack replies. *gets chills* That was almost Cheer Moment #3, but not quite. The real “Hooray” comes when he actually does it. For now it was more of a *gasp*

Sideways world gives us our own *gasp* with Juliet being the mother of Jack’s child. They are all planning on going to the Drive Shaft concert as a little not-quite-perfect family.

Back on the island, I couldn’t help but think the Island brought us to the Light a little too soon. That was until Desmond basically confirmed going into the Light was going to bring them to Sideways world and their own bit of Enlightenment. Then I figured the rest of it had to be the merging of the two worlds. Desmond seems to be the thing connecting the two worlds together. By him going into the Light, it will somehow trigger this merging of the worlds. Or so I thought.

Sideways world gives us back Shannon and Boone, and in that moment also gives Sayid his Enlightenment. Now he can have his second chance. It also brings us one step closer to that merger I just talked about. And back on the Island Desmond is being lowered into the Light to really get this party started.

Speaking of parties, there certainly are a lot of familiar faces at that party/concert that we’ve been gearing up for. Aww shucks moment #I-don’t-even-know-anymore = Charlotte and Dan Faraday meeting in Sideways world. Every couple that meets in this world makes me melt a little more. And it looks like Drive Shaft doesn’t wait till the end to put in their appearance. (Sidebar – damn Faraday is a good piano player). And awww to Charlie and Claire staring at each other when he gets on stage. They were one of my all-time favorite couple on this show. It made Charlie dying even harder.

Island Desmond steps into the Light (literally) and makes Enlightenment look way more painful than the Sideways world had made it seem. Just when you think he will be torn apart, the Light goes out. And then it looks like a lock being opened and I-don’t-even-know-how-to-decribe-it. What the hell did I just witness?! Brain = overloaded. (Maybe that’s how Desmond feels?) Whatever it was just made it so Smokey could bleed – almost like it turned him human. Did Desmond walking into the Light somehow counter Smokey’s powers? Like maybe there is a balance in the universe now? You’ll just have to stay tuned to find out.

Back to Sideways world – Claire’s moment with Charlie seems to have triggered her labour. Everyone say it with me – Of course it has! And how appropriate that Kate is the one there to help her deliver the baby. That doesn’t sound familiar at all? *note the sarcasm* The whole thing makes me believe in fate more than ever – and brings the two a little piece of Enlightenment. And then when Charlie joins the picture – forget about it. No – remember! Everything! Charlie remembers Claire and we all get the moment we’ve wanted since the day Charlie died – the idea they will actually get to be a picture-perfect family and live happily ever after.

Things aren’t nearly as peachy on the island though. As Sideways world gets pieced together, the island starts falling apart. No one said paradise would be easy to reach though, did they? Oh, and hello there Jack and Locke. Them facing off makes my heart stop a little, and I wonder if I will live long enough to post this massive blog I have written. Their fight is purely primal, and sends us back to the early days of man. It is a woman who will save Jack from a knife to the throat though – more specifically Kate. Locke takes a tumble off the cliff and we wave bye-bye.

Sideways world seems to be merging even more, as the cut on Jack’s neck appears in this world as well. And Locke wakes up, knowing that “it worked” – almost as if his two selves had merged as well. And in that moment Locke has his Enlightenment, remembering the first time he walked on the island. Jack starts to remember a little too, even though he tries to fight it. He hurries off quite shaken (which I would be too if the same had happened to me).

Island Jack isn’t doing so good either though. He has quite the stab wound to contend with. Although he claims he’ll be fine, this viewer isn’t convinced.

Moments that make me smile: Frank giving Miles duct tape (!) to fix the plane. Thus proving my theory that duct tape can fix ANYTHING. He and Ben also get the exchange of the night:

Frank: Don’t bother me
Ben: Sounds like they’re making progress.

Love it! “Don’t bother me” is what we all say to our friends when they try to talk to us during Lost. And we always finish each week thinking we are “making progress”.

It is all happening too fast. Ben is saying “If the island is going down, I’m going down with it” and Jack and Kate are proclaiming their love for each other and I am just done at this point. If you thought it was hard following this review before, then you better hold on because we still have a long way to go before this thing comes in for its final landing.

Whew, ok, I think I’ve composed myself enough to continue. It’s hard when Miles gives me lines like this though:

“I don’t believe in a lot of things, but I do believe in duct tape”

Going back to the actually story though, Sawyer seems to be the only one left in Sideways world who is totally and utterly confused here. He is left wandering the hospital in this state of mind when he runs into none other than Juliet. They get their little flash of Enlightenment and Sawyer is no longer the odd-man-out. Again I say it must be weird for these people seeing the death scenes of them and their partners. It is hard to imagine just how that would feel, but the cast all did a great job of conveying it convincingly enough.

The Enlightenment continues when Kate and Jack run into each other at what remains of the party. Jack is still resisting, but Kate is going to help complete the process.

Meanwhile, Island Jack is embracing his destiny by throwing himself down into the Cave to complete his part in protecting the island. Before he goes he passes the job onto Hurley (who, if you remember, had previously said he was glad it wasn’t him when Jack got the job in the first place). They perform the same ritual that has been tradition from the beginning, and with that Hurley is the new Island Guardian.

Cheer Moment #I-stopped-counting-at-this-point goes to Jack’s line to Desmond, “I’ll see you in another life brother.” We are realizing here that while the island has huge implications, at the same time it doesn’t really matter what happens here or who survives – we’ll see them in another life.

And so we end as we began – with a bunch of people on a plane heading for they-don’t-know-what. They fly off just as the island starts breaking up beneath them. They will live together somewhere, while Jack will die alone on the island.While this sounds rather sad, the scene they paint for us is really quite beautiful. Somehow we are left knowing that this is what Jack was meant to do all along. This is how things are supposed to be.

Sideways world ties it all together in the most beautiful way possible. The scene with Locke and Ben – well, words just can’t even describe. Ben apologizing for what he did and explaining himself, and then Locke forgiving him for everything. Nope, words can’t describe how perfect that felt. Just like there are no words for John getting out of the chair and walking into the church where the other Enlightened Losties were.

Island Ben gets some good final moments too. He guides Hurley along in the learning process that is “what-the-hell-do-we-do-now”. Wish we had something like that here in our post-Lost world.

We still have one final piece of the puzzle before we can wrap this up though. Sideways Jack is ever so slowly working his way towards Final Enlightenment. As he touches the casket his father is to be buried in, it all comes rushing back to him. The first person to be introduced to us is the last one to be Island Enlightened. It seems rather fitting. Nothing could have prepared me for the conversation with his father. Dad tells him he is dead and so is everyone else and SURPRISE Sideways world is what we can possibly interpret as heaven, paradise, whatever-you-want-to-call-it. I could never have imagined a more perfect finish to this show. I never would have believed I’d be happy to see an entire cast die, but really everyone dies at some point (as Christian points out to Jack). And despite all the challenges the island presented, they were happiest when they were together. Now they can live happily-ever-after for all eternity. Can I get an Amen? If the island was purgatory, then they have finally reached their final resting place. And as the Light pours throughout the church, encompassing them all, I am left completely satisfied.

Doctor Who – Vampires of Venice

Last week The Doctor took Amy back home after their adventure with the Weeping Angels. This week brings us to that same night before her wedding. The Doctor gets Amy’s future husband, Rory, to try to sort them out. He sends them both to Venice for the biggest date ever. Little does he know that there are Vampires in Venice.

I loved the giddy reaction Amy and The Doctor had upon discovering the vampires. And poor Rory totally doesn’t know how to handle the situation. The scenario kinda reminded me of Torchwood and the dynamic with Jack, Gwen, and Rhys. Jack and Gwen had a working relationship that Rhys never really understood and at times was jealous of because of the fact that they shared things he was not a part of. The same seems to be the case here with Amy and The Doctor. It’s nothing that threatens the engaged couple, but Rory (like Rhys) is still somewhat jealous of what they share and the fact he is not a part of it. Yes, there were moments in both cases where it looked like there might be something to be jealous of but that was never the case.

The speech Rory gives about The Doctor not knowing how dangerous he is to the people who are with him hurt more than he could possibly realize. The Doctor most certainly does have an idea how dangerous he can be, which is why he traveled without a companion for awhile. After what happened with Rose and Donna he did not want that to happen to anyone else. I’m not sure what changed his mind and made him decide to take Amy along. He probably just got lonely and convinced himself it would be alright this time.

Going back to the actually story though – turns out the “vampires” are really fish from space. More specifically, they are aliens from Saturn 9. They were running from the cracks that have been popping up everywhere this season. Rosanna asks for a partnership with The Doctor. Reasons why I love The Doctor – this answer: “I’m a Time Lord. You’re a big fish. Think of the children”

So now The Doctor and company have to stop the fish from space before they take over Venice. Super! Yet again The Doctor sends Amy off to the TARDIS when things get too dangerous. I know part of this was b/c of what Rory said but he’s been doing a similar thing all season. And just like in the past, Amy doesn’t listen to a word The Doctor says. Amy picked an equally foolish fellow to marry when she got engaged to Rory though. I get he wants to protect his girl but some of the stuff he tried was just plain stupid. He’s lucky he didn’t get himself killed. It kinda reminded me of when Mickey was on the show in the Rose years. He would eventually become quite brave and clever though, so maybe there is hope for Rory too.

Back to the vampires, I mean, space fish – The Doctor is his usual amazing self and does the thing where he saves the day yet again. The sun shines, the birds sing, and everyone cheers – yippee! Well, not everyone is happy. Rosanna gives The Doctor some guilt trip about another dead race being on his hands that kinda puts a damper on things. We also get a preview for what looks to be an amazing second half of the season.

This week’s Doctor Who Confidential gave us a look at the location where they shot most of the episode. It also showed us some of the research they used to get the story just right. If you enjoy all that behind-the-scenes stuff then this is something you’re definitely going to want to check out.

Doctor Who won’t be on next week, but it will return June 5th with a seemingly super tense episode. So hold onto your sonic screwdrivers, kids. It’s going to be a bumpy ride.

Lost Recap – What They Died For

Warning: the following should not be viewed by those who don’t want to be spoiled on tonight’s Lost.

Last week we kinda took a break from the main story to get the back story for Jacob and MIB. This week we went back to the island and the remaining survivors of the awful submarine explosion that took half of our group away.

We start in Sideways land with Jack getting a call from Desmond claiming to be from Oceanic Airlines and saying they found his father’s coffin. Sideways world is mostly going to be Desmond coming in contact with everyone else from the flight and trying to get them to remember their Island lives. He even goes as far as to turn himself in for running over Locke so he can get near Sayid and Kate. His story ends with him, Kate, and Sayid escaping their imprisonment with the help of Hurley. Sayid goes with Hurley to we-don’t-know-where while Kate seems to be going to the concert Desmond set up with Charlie, but we aren’t 100% sure. All we know is they are going to a concert and this made the most sense to me.

Over in Island World, we see Ben for the first time in I-can’t-remember-how-long. When someone asked me “what ever happened to him?” I honestly had some false memory in my head of him dying. Oops? Turns out he really had been wandering the island with Miles and Richard (another person whom I had wondered what had happened to). They have a run-in with Witmore, who tells them that he was sent to the island by Jacob to stop Smoke Monster. Speaking of Smokey, he enlists Ben’s help in making a few people dead. First order of business: confront Charles Witmore. Whitmore whispers something to Smokey just before Ben shoots him dead. Apparently the killing isn’t going to stop there, but we will have to wait till next week to see what Smokey’s next move is.

On the other side of the scale, Jacob is back for what looks like could be the final time. He gathers the remains of the group together to share some things with them before he is gone for good. This speech wouldn’t have had as much meaning if it wasn’t for the back story we got last week (nor would the scene where Jacob has Jack drink from the cup before showing him the Light). He mentions how this is his fault due to his mistake (and we now know he means that he created the Smoke Monster). He also shared with the group why he chose them all. He said they needed the island just as much as the island needed them. Whoever replaces Jacob is going to have to protect the Light and kill Smokey. He is not going to choose which one it is though. He wants them to have the choice that he didn’t, so he is going to let them make the decision for themselves. Jack volunteers immediately, saying this is what he’s “supposed to do”. So Jacob takes Jack to show him what he will be guarding for the rest of his life, or as Jacob puts it, “for as long as you can”.

We end with Smokey explaining that Witmore told him Desmond is a fail safe created by Jacob in case the candidates all die, and he is going to use Desmond to destroy the Island. This brings us to the final episode, which airs this Sunday. If you want to watch the pilot and remember how it all started, that will air just before the finale. It looks like a lot of big things are going to happen, so make sure you tune in for our final hours on the island of Lost.

Edit: As was pointed out, I got my signals crossed a bit. There is a special airing just before the finale. The pilot airs Saturday at 8pm. Thanks for keeping me honest, friend.

24: 1-2pm

Sorry for the late post here, but it’s been a crazy last couple of days. Due to that fact, this will be a shorter recap than usual. There will still be some spoilers though, as is the nature of the beast, so viewer discretion is advised.

First notable event of the evening: Logan tries to convince President Taylor to stop the story that Jack has given to the reporter, but Taylor seems to be seeing the error of her ways. She definitely is not happy with Logan when they are discussing the matter. “I never should have let you do this!” she screams in frustration. This doesn’t seem to stop her from following Logan’s advice though. Maybe she has realized what she has been doing is wrong, but she is in too deep now and it is too late for her to stop. That must be her thought process anyway.

Meanwhile Reed (the reporter) calls the story that Jack gave her in to her publisher. And Jack gets ready to take Logan down. I expected lots of torture to be involved here but Logan was too scared of Jack for it to get that far. Still, it was great seeing Logan practically in tears being so scared of Jack when Bauer first captures him. At the same time, the image of Jack with the mask and own personal arsenal was quite frightening. If you didn’t already know it, you would finally have realized how completely gone Jack is. I’m not saying he is wrong for going after these men, but you can tell the situation is justification for him to get revenge for Renee’s death. Logan squeals like a little girl and gives Jack the name of the Russian who was behind all of the day’s events. Jack surprisingly takes the info and runs without killing Logan. Signs of restraint or just didn’t want to get caught? Either way it made me think that maybe he wasn’t completely gone. That was until we saw the end result of his next move.

Jack’s next move was for the Russian who’s name I’m not even going to try to spell out here. He can just be known here as The Russian. When making his move, Jack gets stabbed by one of The Russian’s men. It’s only enough to complicate things without being instantly fatal though.

This week ended with Reed getting arrested by the FBI. This wasn’t until after telling Hassan’s daughter that she had important evidence to give to Mrs. Hassan. Hopefully the daughter does the right thing and tells her mother before it is too late.

And finally, we end on a shot that looks like a massacre happened. The Russian and all his men are dead. Apparently he didn’t say anything, just came in shooting, but we only get a secondhand account. So much for Jack not being completely gone. If this was about bringing people to justice then he should have brought them in for questioning. I realize being a rogue agent this would be hard, but “shoot first, ask questions never” really wasn’t the way to go here. Logan calls the Russian President to warn him, but Jack has bugged Logan’s shirt collar and hears everything. Next week we’ll probably see him use this information, but only if he doesn’t bleed to death first. It looks like that wound is getting worse. Will time run out on Jack before he finishes his mission? Tune in next week to find out.