I think the success of Lost (high ratings and Emmy wins) has caused many other shows on television to try and emulate Lost's penchant for baffling the viewer. Of course the creators of Lost are trying to confuse on purpose, whereas I suspect that other shows aren't that deliberate. Here's some questions that came to mind when watching an assortment of hour long shows this week (most comments have spoilers for the last couple of aired episodes, so click on the show title to read my questions):

( The O.C. )

( Reunion )

( Threshold )

Numb3rs

How great is it that Navi Rawat (the crazy slayer, Dana, on Angel, and the ex-girlfriend, Theresa, of Ryan who gave birth to his kid on The O.C.) is in the credits of Numb3rs? Also, is David Krumholtz cuter than ever? Yeah I know those aren't real questions, sometimes I enjoy being shallow.

The 4400

Speaking of shallow: How awesome is it that Summer Glau (River in Serenity) is in the first couple of The 4400 season 2 episodes?

( Invasion )

( Smallville )

( Close to Home )

( Lost )

I may be annoyed/baffled/bored by a few of the above shows, but there's still some shows that are rocking my world and nicely proving that I do not have a short attention span:

Gilmore Girls

When Lorelei was sorting through her videotapes my thought was: "Cool. She has as many tapes of television shows as I do. Hmm. It's possible I actually have more." I also loved her logic for not getting rid of her tapes, I use similar logic.

How could I not love a show that uses "snarktastic"?

It was so sad to see how Rory and Lane have drifted apart.

Oh the pain continues, but it's playing out so well. The last scene with Lorelei was just heart-breaking. Who knew that Rosie O'Donnell could facilitate a poignant scene?

Everwood

It's back, it's back!!! And Ephram's back! I'd forgotten how many subtle twists and turns a single Everwood episode takes, each time causing me to rethink my conclusions from previous scenes.

How adorable are Hannah and Bright? I loved Amy's haircut, very reminiscent of Rory's first year of university haircut (although trendier).

( Veronica Mars )

To conclude I must quote from my favourite exchange on television in the past few weeks, courtesy of the Weaver mother on The Amazing Race: Family Edition:

Weaver Mom: God bless you.
Helpful Trucker: God bless you too.
Weaver Mom: Stick to the Lord. Do you know the Lord?
Helpful Trucker: Ah yes, he's my friend.
[They high five each other.]
Weaver Mom: We'll be spending eternity together.

If that exchange had been scripted, it would have been criticized for it's ridiculous lack of believability. Not many people high five each other when they discover they share a religion. Although maybe if high fiving was more a part of religion there'd be less religious conflicts. I think I'm going to start asking people if they know Veronica Mars and if they say yes, I'll high five them ... hey we all have our passions!

I've never been that hip about music. I was the kid who grew up in Kingston and didn't know who the Tragically Hip were when I started high school (the Tragically Hip are Kingstonians like me). I used to only find out about a hip, cool or ground-breaking musician/band if one of my friends clued me in. But now I can actually pretend that I'm tuned into the music scene, all thanks to television.

I recall the days when it seemed like only Dawson's Creek would prominently use songs in montage sequences but now it's become commonplace. Television is now one of the key advertising venues for new albums or singles, and it's getting way less subtle than previously (which is impressive because Dawson's Creek had many good qualities but subtlety was never one of them). Did you enjoy the song you just heard in this week's episode of The O.C. or Smallville? Wait until the episode's over and we'll tell you the artist, album name and suggest that you buy the album on our website.

Sure it's starting to feel that television episodes are just advertisements for new albums or singles, and that we don't need well-written conclusions if we end with a music montage, but there's also some positives. A lot of cool music is reaching a wider audience. So even though major artists like REM (who I like, don't get me wrong) practically sponsored an episode of Smallville, the increased focus on music means that smaller artists and bands are also getting noticed by viewers.

Here's some musicians I've been introduced because of television (keeping in mind that I'm really really out of it about music):

- Franz Ferdinand: So technically I'm already a fan of Franz Ferdinand because I own and love their self-titled debut. However, I kept hearing this awesome song on television shows and was dying to know the song title and artist's name. After fruitless searching on the internet, I had a brainwave and realized the addictive song I'd heard in the first few minutes of the Threshold premiere and in the promos for Everwood is the new Franz Ferdinand single "Do You Want To." As a result of the song's connection to both tv shows, I now am excited about buying the new album this Tuesday (October 4th!!!).

- Death Cab for Cutie: Sure Seth Cohen's coolness has faded as the seasons of The O.C. pass, but Death Cab is blossoming. I didn't think it could be possible but I actually like Plans more than Transatlanticism. Also I noticed that Death Cab has been high on the charts which means that they're reaping the rewards of their television exposure.

- Postal Service: Okay, I actually had been loving Postal Service before hearing "Such Great Heights" on Veronica Mars, but it was only after seeing it on VM that I bought the album.

- Avril Lavigne: Now even I had heard of Avril Lavigne, but hearing her song "Take Me Away" on Joan of Arcadia made me a fan. I loved "Take Me Away" so much that I searched the internet to find out who the artist was, and was taken aback that it was Avril Lavigne (I'd been avoiding Avril because I wasn't impressed by her pseudo Punk thing). I now own the album that "Take Me Away" is on and enjoy quite a few other songs.

- Kim Richey - I bought the Angel soundtrack CD mostly because of her beautiful song "A Place Called Home" (the other reason for the purchase was motivated by my Buffy/Angel verse fandom). This is a good example of excellent use of a song montage to end an episode because the song perfectly evokes the character's grief and the solitary state of the characters on the show: "Someday I'll go where there ain't no rain or snow. Dream of a place called home." I don't think that this lyric is played in the episode ("Shells"), but it also perfectly describes the journeys of all the characters, including Fred: "I'd rather walk a winding road, rather know the things I know, see the world with my eyes, no regrets, no looking back, no good-byes." The reason this song worked (other than that it's an awesome song) is that it wasn't a gimmicky montage (yes I'm talking to you One Tree Hill, The O.C. and Smallville), rather it perfectly fits into the episode.

- The Dandy Warhols - Thanks to Buffy and VM I not only know who this cool band is - it was awesome to understand why my film prof talked about The Dandy Warhols in his lecture on postmodernism - but I also enjoy them.

- Modest Mouse - Another indie band that's been working for years and is finally getting noticed thanks in part to exposure on shows like The O.C. "Float On" always makes me feel better if I'm down about the state of the world.

- Damien Rice - My discovery of Damien Rice was a serendipitous television event. I initially mistook "Delicate" for Jeff Buckley's "Hallelujah" that was played in the season finale of The O.C. Season One (please remember that I am really really unhip about music), so decided to check out Rice's whole album. I then realized that I'd heard him on Joan of Arcadia and as I sorted out my confusion I became a huge fan of Damien Rice.

As much as I also really love Jeff Buckley's cover of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" (see I now am more knowledgeable about the song), the song is becoming a cliche. It was used in the ending montage of House's 2nd season premiere (lessening an otherwise excellent episode), and it isn't even the 2nd time "Hallelujah" has been used in the final montage of an episode. According to Daniel Fienberg at Zap2it.com:

"The effect [of "Hallelujah" playing on House's premiere] was probably similar to when Buckley's cover of Cohen's "Hallelujah" was used for heartbreaking closing montages on The West Wing, Without a Trace and The O.C. all within the past couple years. The song pops up again for the same purpose in the new movie Lord of War. ... Buckley's recording of the song is the perfect showcase for the late singer's fragile voice and it's made all the more haunting by his premature demise, but seriously, this abuse has got to stop. Playing "Hallelujah" has become the equivalent of showing a dead kitty cat. Need some gratuitous tears? Cue up the Buckley. Why bother working for it when you can let the soundtrack do the work. ... Forget about saving Katie Holmes. Save Jeff Buckley."

This very similar observation was also made by Dalton Ross in the September 23/05 issue of Entertainment Weekly, who additionally observes that Lost, Six Feet Under and Resucue Me have also succumbed to music montage. Ross suggests that "Keep this cliche up, and viewers may start creating their own montages - by channel surfing."

Sure television columnists - like Feinberg and Ross - and people obsessed with tv - like me - have noticed the music montage cliche and over-dominance of music on television shows recently, but have most other viewers? Do the people who tune into a few shows a week get upset that there's often music montages or that only Beck's music is played during an episode of The O.C.? Do they care about the extended/gratuitous U2 concert on Entourage? Perhaps, like me, people are pleased that they're also getting some exposure to music in an interesting way (instead of mindlessly watching music videos for hours on end, not that I've ever done that, ahem) and maybe discovering some cool new musician or band that'll become their new favourite. For example, I think it's neat that Saigon, an up and coming hip hop artist who's about to release his first album, is being showcased on Entourage as an up and coming hip hop artist.

So if I start hearing Arcade Fire or Stars on television shows (I think that a Stars' song may already be in a commercial), I'm going to be excited that excellent Canadian indie bands are getting more exposure. Hey, Canada's already getting name dropped by Green Day (they mention Toronto in "She's a Rebel") and Death Cab (Calgary's mentioned in "I Will Follow You Into the Dark"), so let's also get more play for the numerous excellent musicians of Canada! As a friend pointed out about Death Cab's popularity, they've worked really hard so it's nice that it's paying off and they're getting recognized. Let's hope that the increasingly spotlight on songs on television pays off for more deserving artists.

So I say, bring on the music montage, bring on the purchasing plugs at the end of episodes if it keeps introducing excellent and hard-working artists to a wider audience. Of course, that doesn't mean that every episode has to end in a cliched music montage, I also want to keep getting well-written episode endings, like on Gilmore Girls, that rely on good writing to create an effective and compelling conclusion. .... Now please imagine that a heart-warming yet intelligent song is playing to conclude my entry.

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).

I'm in the midst of working my way systematically through last season's Smallville episodes. I've never been the biggest fan of the show but it can be fun. I really like Lex (Michael Rosenbaum) - yes, yet again I like the bad boy. What's fun about Lex in Smallville is that he's mostly good although there's hints of darkness to come - I love when characters are ambiguous.

I just watched Onyx (written by ex-Buffy & Angel writer Steven S. DeKnight!) which was - surprisingly - really excellent! I'm not not just saying that because of my Buffyverse bias, Smallville always excels when the characters are being bad because otherwise the show can exist too much in schmultz-land.

In Onyx, Lex gets split into two and his hidden/repressed evil side takes over. What's neat is that in some ways the evil Lex doesn't seem that different from the Lex that's always on the show. That's why I particularly like the exchange between Lex and Clark near the end of the episode:

Clark: Don’t be too hard on yourself. It really wasn’t you.

Lex: That’s what I’ve been standing here trying to figure out. Did the accident create an evil Lex, or is that what’s really inside of me?

Interestingly the show comes down on the side of nature in the nature vs nurture debate. The overwhelming suggestion is that no matter how much Lex pulls away from the socialization he received from his father, deep down he really is his father's son. The final moment of the episode suggests this when Lionel - who's reverted back to his evil ways after an awakening encounter with the evil Lex - says:

Lionel: A man can’t deny his true nature, can he, Lex? No. We’re Luthors. ... We’re Luthors.

I think the repetition emphasizes the similarity between father and son, and that despite Lex's fondness for the Kents, he'll never be like them (thank god, there's only so much sickly sweetness I can take).

The problem with not having watched Smallville for 7 months and not having a good knowledge of the Superman mythology (I'm sadly not that well-versed in comics), is that I get confused. Clark says that Lex is split in two because of black kryponite, except that I have no recollection of Clark coming in contact with black kryponite nor do I know the significance of it. I have a feeling that Clark has encountered black kryponite on Smallville and that I just don't remember that (I have a horrible memory unless it's something that falls into an obsession, eg. Buffy, Veronica Mars, Anne of Green Gables).

Now that I've had this positive Smallville experience I'm actually looking forward to the next 5 episodes.

I'm excited to go home because I've taped the VM episode Weapons of Class Destruction and I might re-watch my favourite scene in it (hint: it involves kissing but not with Jonathan Taylor Thomas). Oh! I also have an Amazing Race episode to look forward to - I'm now watching season 4 and am hoping it'll help me get over the severe disappointment at Flo and Zack beating Ken and Gerard.

Joss Whedon & Veronica Mars:

Joss Whedon loves Veronica Mars! He recently posted on whedonesque.com detailing his love for VM. Here's the link to his post. He's all excited about how fabulous VM is - which I totally agree with - and describes it as "The Harry Potter of shows." I love how the connection to Harry Potter describes how VM can also suck you into an obsessive fandom mode in which you want to continually experience the universe and are very invested in the characters. (When I use "you" in that previous sentence, I really mean "me", of course.) Unsurprisingly, I also feel that way about Joss Whedon's shows (which is likely why he and I like Harry Potter and VM).

My unofficial VM conversion campaign is going well, I have most of my friends hooked on the show now. I'm so committed to getting people into VM that I'm lending out my tapes (I normally have a no lending policy). I'm pleased that Joss has declared his love for the show as it should get other Buffyverse fans to check it out. Although my sense is that most people who are into Buffy are already into VM. Veronica Mars really is "the New Buffy" - it's intelligent with excellent dialogue and a smart, independent and fun heroine who's the centre of an enthralling universe of mystery, suspense, humour, pain, drama and often a combination of more than one of the above. What I like about the title "the New Buffy" is that it recognizes that Veronica Mars is it's own show with it's premise (ie. not a copy of Buffy) that happens to share some core qualities with Buffy (namely an intelligent show with a kick-ass heroine).

2046:

It was with great excitement that I went to a free screening of the new Wong Kar-Wai movie, 2046, on Wednesday night. The movie, unfortunately didn't live up to my excitement, however it was still very good.

I'm a big Wong Kar-Wai fan so was disappointed that I didn't love it as much as Chungking Express, Happy Together and In the Mood for Love.

I'd still recommend that people see it (particularly if they've seen In the Mood for Love as 2046 is its sequel, of sorts) because it's still an enjoyable movie. My biggest complaint was that it was too long. Now I'm someone who can watch 5 episodes of Buffy consecutively with only brief bathroom breaks so I don't mind long viewing experiences as long as I feel it's not just because the director doesn't want to cut anything out.

As my friend pointed out, Chow (played by the always fabulous Tony Leung) and most of the other characters are expressions of existential philosophy so their constant state of inaction can be frustrating to watch (which aids in the movie feeling long). Fortunately, the excellent performances by all the actors (including the always awesome Gong Li, Faye Wong and Zhang Ziyi), the beautiful settings, costumes, lighting and incredible cinematography make the movie a worthwhile and enjoyable experience.

House:

As a rule, I avoid procedural shows because I'm not interested in law, order, crime, science, and medicine (I have previously made the exception for Numb3rs). After hearing so many good things about House, I finally saw an episode the other day, Role Model (1:17) - which, no surprise, I really enjoyed. I'm now excited to watch more of the show (I've been taping House for a while now and meaning to watch it). Like everyone else who enjoys the show, I love Hugh Laurie's House - prickly yet an engaging character (he's sort of in the tradition of Dr. Cox from Scrubs, if Dr. Cox was in a drama). There's also impressively witty and sharp dialogue - which always wins me to a show. After watching that first episode, I'm considering buying the season 1 dvd, that's how much the show impressed me.

Smallville:

I'm very excited because I've returned to catching-up on last season tv watching. I basically need to watch the 2nd half of this season of Smallville. I found all the episodes (they're scattered on many different tapes) and started watching the first one I need to watch (from February), Recruit. It guest stars Chris Carmack, from the O.C., and it's very fun to see him again. Because it took me so long finding the tapes, and figuring out which episode I need to watch first, I've only seen the 1st 20 minutes of Recruit so I can't really comment on the episode yet. I am, however, pleased that I'm working to get caught up on last season, especially since I'm psyched for the James Marsters presence on Smallville this season!

Amazing Race:

I keep watching the Amazing Race when I get home from work, which is a fun way to relax ... in theory. Unfortunately for me, the Amazing Race is so engaging that I'm awake and alert when I should be going to bed (I work till late at night).

I'm really enjoying the 3rd season! A few random questions regarding it:

If you have instructions that say "walk to the pit stop", how could you possibly interpret that to mean, "ride a cab to the pit stop and then walk in"? I didn't feel sorry for Heather and Eve when they got eliminated as it was a stupid mistake. Shows you that Harvard Law School can't even get you into the final 6, let alone win the Amazing Race.

Would the stress of traveling, exacerbated by competing for $1 million make most of us as cranky and bitchy as Flo is?

Were Michael and Kathy really as nice as they seemed? I was very sad when they were eliminated.

Is Ian as sexist and domineering in real life as he is on the Amazing Race? I sadly suspect yes.

Am I really in love with how kick-ass and cool Jill is? Am I also loving how sweet and supportive John Vito is?

Will the final three be John Vito & Jill, Derek & Drew, and Ken & Gerard? Those are my picks for the final three, so that's more of a hopeful question.

Serenity:

I'm still very excited about the movie - I saw the trailer again at a friend's house the other night which got me even more excited!

A very nice co-worker picked me up the 2nd of the 3 Serenity comics which are bridging the television show and the movie. I'm enjoying the comics so far, although I don't feel qualified to give a good review as I rarely read comics. This isn't because I don't like comics, I do. In fact I plan to read more in the future.