This is so cool. I'm watching tv and writing in my livejournal at the same time - all thanks to my new wireless internet connection! This set up totally appeals to my love for multitasking.

Besides waiting for the cable/internet guy to come and figuring out how to set everything up correctly, I've caught up on Prison Break and Smallville today.

Smallville

I'm finally done watching the last season ... just in time for the new television season. I wish that Smallville would always be as exciting as the season finales. Despite the excitement - and "to be continued" conclusion - I have to admit that my biggest questions are:

Will Lois return next season? I want to see more of her and Clark's fun banter.

How long do I have to wait to see James Marsters on television again? I've just checked and he'll be on the season premiere airing September 29th (according to the imdb).

Prison Break

I recommended this show to my brother who mostly watches hockey and CSI, and he got hooked (he said he'll definitely watch it again). Now this is impressive considering my brother can get up and leave the room in the last 5 climatic minutes of movie.

I'm with my brother about this show - it's good stuff. Although I went into Prison Break expecting I would like it, I was still pleasantly surprised to find the show gripping, edgy, moving and compelling. I've read some criticisms about aspects of believability on the show (ie. how could Michael be sure he'd get into the same prison as his brother?) but I've been satisfied with the solutions to these issues. I don't mind accepting a few general contrivances in fiction as long as there's verisimilitude in details, storyline and characters.

What I'm liking about Prison Break:

1. Wentworth Miller is fantastic - sexy, scary, threatening, vulnerable, cunning, scared, etc. etc. etc. His performance as Michael Scofield makes the show work.

2. It's Oz for network television. I really liked Oz, except I had difficulty watching more than an episode a month because I'd need time to recover from the brutally violent events depicted. Prison Break doesn't glamourize prison life (I'm guessing here since I've never actually been in prison, and I imagine a tour of Alcatraz doesn't count), and there's certainly brutally violent stuff happening (ie. there's a scene involving toes and pruning shears) but because it's on network tv it can't be as graphic as Oz was on HBO. This is a good thing - there's still scary stuff but it doesn't take away from the rest of the show.

3. The brief moments of humour, like Michael's comment to John Abruzzi:

"Like I said, you're a mercurial man."

I'm also entertained that Abruzzi is after a guy called Fibonacci, as it reminds me of the Fibonacci sequence, the mathematical sequence of numbers, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13,..., in which each successive number is equal to the sum of the two preceding numbers (I got the definition from dictionary.com). I suspect that the name Fibonacci is meant to evoke (for geeks like me) the idea of the show: as Michael's plan unfolds more factors are added on which exponentially increase the complexity of his original idea and further complicates the prison break. Of course it could just be a name but what's the fun in that?!

4. As much as I love when Wentworth Miller's Michael is all tough and stoic, it's great to see him freaked out (and actually cry). I love his moment of vulnerability with Dr. Sara:

"Don't make me lie to you ... please."

God that "please" is so gut-wrenching.

5. I enjoyed that there's sappiness mixed in:

"In the end the only thing that matters is love, family."

6. Wentworth Miller. He must be mentioned again but I'm loving how hot he is. Shallow I know, but I'm convinced that part of that hotness results from his intense performance.

After watching the first 3 episodes, I do have a question:

Did I miss when they explained why brothers Michael and Lincoln have different last names?

Joss-a-thon on Space

All day today Space has been airing Buffy, Firefly, Angel episodes, and Serenity ads. I've just been leaving my tv on Space so that something I love is playing in the background. I would love to have watched all the Firefly episodes today but I really wanted to get caught up on Smallville and Prison Break particularly since there's more shows premiering this week (The O.C. and Reunion).