Television

24 – Day 8: 2:00 P.M to 4:00 P.M

As Jack Bauer’s final hour as a CTU agent came to a close, I couldn’t help but feeling an overwhelming sense of nostalgia wash over me.  It helped to flush away the bitter taste left over from any disappointing seasons or episodes that the show produced over the last eight years and instead helped me to remember the show it should be remembered: as one of television’s greatest and influential dramas.  “24” took an idea (each episode being an hour in a day) and turned it into a television show that combined cliffhangers, twists, turns, double agents, action sequences, moles, and an infectious tick-tock sound effect that acted as the segue way between the show and commercials.  “24” grew better over time, and while some shows lose their popularity over time by sticking too closely to a format, “24” remained watchable even when it was considered mediocre.  Fortunately for the show, a mediocre season of “24” was better than the best season of some other shows, and it’s final season, which was frustrating at times and brilliant at others, ended on a surprisingly quiet note.  There was still plenty of great action scenes, and we got to see Jack Bauer doing what Jack Bauer does best: killing terrorists, getting justice, and just being an overall bad-ass.  However, the final scene of the show decided to trade in a game-changing cliffhanger for some subtle yet emotional character development.  While it may not have been the perfect series finale, it was still great and reminded us of everything “24” does good.

DVD/Blu-ray DISCussion (New for 6.1.10)

Here’s what’s up for DISCussion for this week: 2010’s biggest hit thus far in Alice in Wonderland, monster flick The Wolfman and re-releases of Michael Bay’s Bad Boys, the 2005 remake of War of the Worlds, and the Blu-ray collection of Clint Eastwood in Sergio Leone’s famous trilogy of westerns: The Man with No Name Trilogy.

Stargate Universe – Pain

Season One, Episode 17

In this latest episode of Stargate Universe we are pulled back into the inner workings of the relationships on the ship and the interaction of the crew.  The action begins with a number of key personnel beginning to have some very strange experiences.  These seem to get worse and worse until they become a threat to the whole crew and possibly Destiny herself.  Lieutenant Tamara Johansen (TJ) played by Alaina Huffman who is the medic who plays doctor for this crew of misfits comes front and center as she must figure out what is happening and stop it from spreading into a catastrophic outbreak.

Justified – Hatless

Season One, Episode 9

We get to see a new and different Raylan Givens in this episode of Justified.  The US. Marshall has been suspended and now he is off duty and waiting to see what will happen.  A little drunk, he get’s himself into a fight and loses not only the fight, but his favorite hat.  Sort of a metaphor for what will occur during the rest of the episode.  Only the bar tender with a shotgun ends the fight with Raylan not beat senseless or dead by two good ole’ boys.

Flashforward – Future Shock (Show Finale)

Flashforward is no longer with us. Doomed from birth and neglected by promiscuous parents with a penchant for lizard people, the show really never had a chance. But as the season finale demonstrated, the series is not one to go down without a fight, with Future Shock bringing the story full circle and ultimately leaves us teased with the hint of things never to come.

Chuck Vs. the Subway & the Ring, Part II

A rousing finale after a handful of mediocre episodes, the final installment of Chuck’s third season was All That and Then Some. Secrets were revealed, acts of unspeakable heroism were perpetrated on an unsuspecting audience and some minor silliness can be overlooked in the face of such well-orchestrated action and excitement.

Lost – The End

Odds are people will be torn by Lost’s series finale.  People likely went into the episode with expectations on how Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse would bring this landmark show to a close and they clearly were not worried about irritating anybody with their ending.  For them, this finale was emotional and spiritual; the ending went beyond plot points, beyond smoke monsters and caves filled with an eerie golden light, beyond the Dharma Initiative and the Others.  The finale was an opportunity to remind everybody what made “Lost” so great in the first place: the characters.  A show is only as good as the acting and the writing, and “The End” brought us a beautiful amalgamation of these two elements.  We were given powerful scenes lined with emotion, some great action sequences, incredible special effects that dwarf much of what’s on television right now and an ending that should leave people talking for months.  Regardless of what you may think of the finale, Lindelof and Cuse got it right, even if it’s not exactly what we expected it to be.