Veronica Mars: Season 2: Episode 10: One Angry Veronica

The problem with UPN
Sure, Veronica Mars may have a small audience, but UPN isn’t helping. For one thing, some people can’t get that station. Also, I haven’t been able to see the last three episodes, because on Wednesday I watch Lost, and than I can’t catch them when they’re replayed on Sundays. Problem is that I can’t tape Veronica Mars when it’s first on and the last three weeks they had basketball games on Sundays, and on one day they had this idiotic Security Installation screen up. So if I say something that doesn’t make sense- remember, I haven’t seen the last few episodes. It’s a sad thing- I really love Veronica Mars. (It’s a 10 out of 10 show.) Thank god for DVD sets!

Duncan and Meg
I was wondering why Meg was being such a jerk, though being pregnant doesn’t mean she should of been that way to Veronica. It’s not like she knew and purposely stole the father of her child away from her. After this episode I find myself really not liking Duncan now. He does this to his first girlfriend, and than he takes the risk of doing it again with his next! I find that he’s just another irresponsible teenage boy. If I was Veronica I wouldn’t have found it so easy to forgive him. He kept all that big information away from her. I’m also wondering how Meg thought Veronica could keep her child from being sent to that orphanage. (Wait a second! Isn’t it the choice of the mother? Maybe I just don’t know my law very well.) Anyways, Meg’s parents seem like horrible people to do that to their own grandchild. There’s one of the things I love about Veronica Mars- it has great ideas for ongoing storylines.

Jury Problems
While you may think that an episode taking place almost entirely in a jury room wouldn’t be very entertaining, Veronica Mars (as always) does it very well. One question though- if the jury is deadlocked don’t they have to stay in a hotel? Maybe I’ve just watched The Simpsons a bit too much. Also, did Veronica come into the jury when the main part of the trial was over, when it was open for jury debating? This part of the episode was entertaining. (Keith Mars anybody?) Anyways, it was very funny when he showed her the jury duty notice. Also, I found that one man in the jury was incredibly prejudicial. (He is a few words I won’t even type.) Then there were those stupid vandals who wrote those very insulting words on Veronica’s car. The ending of this episode with Wallace coming back at New Years was incredibly wonderful. (Though I have to wonder if this means that Veronica was on jury duty Christmas Day.)

The Lilly Kane Tapes
This is maybe my favorite part of the episode, due to the fact that it focuses around Keith Mars. (Go Keith!) I could kind of guess that it was Leo who stole the tapes… it’s just this 6th sense that I have. I find his justification was pretty lame, (Stealing porn to get money for his sister with down-syndrome) but I thought it was honorable that he didn’t try to fight it off. (Though he still should have received some jail-time instead of just being kicked off the force.) Another part of this episode I loved was how Keith trapped Logan. (“That’s Mr. Mars to you.”) Didn’t Logan hate his father for what he did? Logan, destroying those tapes isn’t going to cause that whole thing to not of happened. Or did he do it for some other purpose? Hmmm. That was also a pretty stupid thing for that one guy (I forget his name) to put those papers on the desk when Logan was there. All I have to say for my closing statement is that UPN had better not cancel Veronica Mars.

Smallville: Season 5: Episode 9: Lexmas

It’s a Freaky Life
Ok… so why did that girl shoot Lex? Was it to leave no witnesses? Anyways, I was kind of annoyed at some of these “Wonderful Life” parts. Lana and Lex!? (Not to mention that they didn’t look any older than they do at the present time.) Clark seemed to be a little absent when Lana needed to be taken to another hospital. He could have flown her there, and even if he did have that power yet (Not even then!) he could have at least super speeded her to the hospital. And if Lex’s ghost mother wanted him to change than why did she show him the bad parts of this future? (The death of his wife!) While Lois sadly remained absent from this episode, it did show some great bits of Clark’s future, such as his being a reporter at the Daily Planet. Chloe and him also seemed to be an item at that time. But what about the major death that’s coming up? Everybody from the cast seemed to be there, except Lois, and you know she’s not going to die. Also, after Lionel went to prison, didn’t Lex get all the money? How did Lionel reclaim the company? (Not to mention how he went from evil, to good, and back to evil again.)

Drunken Santa
The music was annoying! These parts seemed to be fillers and god bless Clark- he saved Christmas. I did find drunken Santa funny. (B@#$, B@$$, B@$$.) And the fact that the “real” Santa is a drunk and was going to throw himself off a building was very funny. Clark saving Santa by running on the side of the wall was a classic moment in the series, but I thought that Santa was easily convinced. Sure, two people may have Christmas spirit, but what about the rest of the world? And I hate the whole “The girl you loved since you were a kid,” bit. Clark- there’s a lot more girls right for you than Lana. From what I originally read the girl that told Clark “He’s not Santa” was going to be named Cindy. I glad she wasn’t because that would of driven me off the edge. There were enough references to other Christmas specials in this episode.

Decisions, Decisions
We all knew from the beginning that Lex was going to choose to continue on to his path of corruption. Though for someone as smart as Lex, he sure doesn’t know his Charles Dickens very well. He says he had a Scrooge-like experience and to secure his happiness he needs money and power. First off, if he had a Scrooge-like experience he would be more into the welfare of others. Second, he would learn that money and power is worthless compared to being loved. I did enjoy the scenes between Lex and his informant. I also believe it was a great ending, leaving me to wonder what information could possibly bring good ol’ Mr. Kent down. And does it have anything to do with Clark? Also, why didn’t Lex ask what it was? Overall, I may sound like I’ve been harsh on this episode, but I really love Smallville. And this was a good episode, though not the best.

A Charlie Brown Christmas

Good Grief!
(“Do they still make wooden trees?”) One of the reasons this special appeals to me so much is that we share something- the belief that Christmas is getting too commercialized. Charlie Brown holds the true spirit of Christmas, such as when he gets that scrawny tree because, as he puts it, “It needs me.” All of those other trees were too commercialized and didn’t hold any spirit at all. (Pink Christmas trees?) Another character in A Charlie Brown Christmas that shows some true Christmas spirit throughout this special is Linus. He is the only one who sticks by Charlie Brown, though he did advise that he should do what the group wanted. One classic television moment is Linus’s annual Christmas speech, answering Charlie Brown’s yearly question as to what is the meaning of Christmas. I did think Lucy had a little Christmas spirit when she allowed Charlie Brown to be the director… but then she blew it by her insulting comments about that tree. More moments in this special showing the commercializing of Christmas is when Sally was going to have her poor brother write down that long Christmas list saying “I only want what’s coming to me,” and when those kids (and even Snoopy!) laughed at Charlie Brown because of his choice of getting that small tree. They may have shaped up some after Linus speech, (“He did pick out a good Christmas tree.”) but they still called him a blockhead. Truly it is not Charlie Brown that is the blockhead, but all those moronic kids that have called him that throughout this special. (And throughout the years.)

The Christmas Play
What the heck were those kids thinking? They put together a Christmas play, about the birth of Jesus, but the whole time they just dance to Schroeder’s piano playing? Charlie Brown had some good ideas as a director, but unfortunately no one else participating has the capacity to listen. Would anybody come to a play where all of the play is just dancing kids, and listen to music that isn’t even Christmas music? Saying that Charlie Brown would be a bad director was just plain stupid. At least he tried to keep order. And what was Lucy thinking when she was talking about being an ice queen in a religious play? (Also I don’t get the jingle bell bit she had with Schroeder.) I have to wonder how they fixed up that tree at the end. It had very little branches to begin with, but when they fixed it up it became a full-fledged (but still small) Christmas tree. Not to mention the fact that they tore down all of Snoopy’s work on his doghouse.

Is it just me…
Isn’t it amazing seeing the whole cast from that time period? Some of those characters disappear and some fade away into background characters. How often do you see Shermy, Patty, or Violet anymore? (And they were some of the originals too!) I find this classic is different from other holiday specials for many reasons. One is that it focuses around the fact that Christmas shouldn’t be commercialized- instead it should be a time where you better yourself. Many holiday specials say that if Santa Claus can’t deliver presents than Christmas would be canceled. That is not true… Christmas is there no matter what. (Also well shown in the How the Grinch Stole Christmas holiday special.) It also isn’t the normal cheery holiday special- it shows Charlie Brown’s depression about the holiday season and his questioning of what we think of first when we think of Christmas. It also shows that Christmas is a religious holiday at heart. Some funny things I see in this special are how their number of fingers keeps changing. Sometimes it’s four. Sometimes it’s five. At one time I even saw six! Then sometimes it looks like Lucy has a uni-brow! Despite those animation problems I find this is a special I cannot miss… year after year.

LOST: Season 2: Episode 9: What Kate Did

Episode Centric: Kate

Kate
Many comments I have read suggested that Kate had no good reason to do what she did. But when I think of the problem I see deep psychological issues. Kate, who has all this anger built up at Wayne throughout the years, finally explodes and kills him. Some think that Kate’s reasoning was not very strong, but what I believe to be the cause was that she thought, at least in her subconscious mind, by killing her father she would be free of the curse of his genes. But we know this is not true and she actually becomes more like him by doing so. I don’t believe the murder was very well planned though. If her “stepfather” dies in an explosion and she suddenly disappears than people might be getting suspicious. And telling her mother when she knew she loved the jerk was a wrong move. Did she not expect her to say anything? And is it just me or did it seem like the man she had thought was her father was a noble person? That woman cheats on him while he’s in Korea and he tries to keep the truth from Kate because his ex-wife loves Wayne. He also tried to take Kate when she was 5 and even gave her a head start before he called to turn her in. As for the horse all I have to say is that “the plot thickens.”

Inside the Hatch
I loved the suspense when Jack and Locke came back into the hatch to find the alarm going off, and finding Sawyer lying on the ground. Later when Sun left, leaving Kate with Sawyer was a bad move on her part, unless she didn’t know what happened. When Eko was telling the story to Locke it seemed to me like he (Locke) thought of it as fairy tale. One thing I have noticed is that these two have very different kind of faiths, such as when Eko told Locke not to confuse consentience as faith. I may be the only person that thinks that they may not get along very well. About the film, that’s what I expected the missing piece about the computer to say all the way from Orientation… except for the fact that it might cause another incident. When that sound started I expected for a second that Michael might have messed up the computer. Then when I saw someone typing a message on the computer I knew it had to be from was Walt. (Or was it?)

Sayid and Shannon’s funeral
This scene had some beautiful music. But it seems to me like the islanders aren’t making too much of a deal of Shannon’s death. When Boone died Jack was ready to kill Locke, even though he didn’t directly kill him. Now Ana Lucia killed Shannon and he goes out to give her a drink. This just goes to show that Sayid is a much more reasonable man than Jack. Sayid showed some great grief during the funeral scene, even though I’ve always wondered how a man like Sayid could love Shannon. I also thought it was polite thing for Eko to do to go to the funeral, even though he didn’t know her. I thought it was inconsiderate of Kate to not go to the funeral; staying with Sawyer should have been the doctors job.

Romance between our Islanders
I knew from the first episode that Kate and Jack would kiss… but not like that. The music made it seem creepy and awkward. I have to wonder why Kate did that. Was it to shut Jack up or for some other reason? As for Kate saying that Sawyer would get a kick out of her treating him like a baby; I very much doubt that. Sawyer seems like a man that would rather take care of himself. And I wonder if Sawyer meant someone other than Kate when he said “I love her.” Another part of this episode that I loved, was how Sawyer thought they had been rescued… then they step out into the jungle. (“Son of a @#$%”) Why did Jack say that all women are crazy, and what is also what is Jacks deal with Ana Lucia? He seemed to really be into Kate and than Ana Lucia comes in. He even brought AL a drink (That could very well be used for medical purposes.) He doesn’t even seem to care that she shot Shannon. (I wouldn’t of cared, but that’s because I’ve always hated Shannon.)

Ghost Whisperer: Season 1: Episode 10: Ghost Bride

Psycho Ghost Bride
Finally a change in pace from the normal “Help Me” ghosts. We finally have a ghost that wants to ruin the chance of happiness for a poor girl, instead of making up for mistakes in the past. It all seems so creepy… and than they have to ruin it with the ghost threatening Melinda’s husband and OH MY! She stole her husband’s ring. Oh… that’s so evil… By the way ghost bride was speaking I thought she’d try to kill Melinda’s husband, but they had to do it the cutesy way. It was interesting though that she never told the guy about the miscarriage, but how come she tried to ruin his chance at love when she’s dead and he can never have her back in his life?

Trust Issues
This is part of what makes the show soapy. Melinda’s husband is keeping in touch with an ex-girlfriend and she asked him to stop, because she’s afraid she might be “trying to find a new father for her baby.” My question is if she has so much trust in her husband, than why should she care? If she really felt like they both love each other enough to get married, than why did she try to get her husband to not talk to that girl anymore? If she really trusted him she’d know that even if the girl did try to seduce him that he’d never go for it.

And People Just Seem to Believe it
One thing that really bugs me on the show is how everyone either believes it from the start, or how they eventually believe it. Melinda could of done her research on the person and eventually turn out to be a scammer. (Though we know that wouldn’t happen.) All she does is eventually tell them something they’ve said or done and they come to believe it. Also, why does she just tell people that she can talk to the dead? By doing that people just think she’s crazy and wouldn’t want anything to do with her.

And They Lived Happily Ever After
One thing I find about this show is that it’s too predictable. You know from the beginning that everything is going to turn out ok- the ghost will cross over and the person close to him/her will come to terms with the death. There are no big twists that keep you waiting for the next episode. It all has a happy go lucky feeling that is repeated over and over again till you want something new. Let’s try to keep it new and refreshing, shall we?

A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving

Snoopy and Woodstock
As always, Snoopy is the heart and soul of Peanuts. One thing showing his character traits is the elegant, yet obscure way he set up the table, such as his origami by each plate. And what was the deal with his fight between that chair? It may have been crazy, but it was fun crazy. I believe the best and funniest part of this holiday special is the part they hadn’t shown for years- when after Snoopy gave them a feast of toast and popcorn he saved the turkey and the pumpkin pie for himself and Woodstock. How could they cut that part out!

Charlie Brown Aka “That Blockhead”
After watching all the specials and reading the comic strip I have to wonder, why is everyone so mean to Charlie Brown? I know it’s an important part of the Peanuts mythology and without it Peanuts wouldn’t be the same. Everybody is so mean to him that he seems to even think those things about himself. My example is when he say’s that he ruined everybody’s Thanksgiving. No Charlie Brown, that would be Peppermint Patty’s fault. That poor guy, always waiting by the mailbox each year for the mail that will never come.

The Feast
Why did Snoopy even put plates on the table if he’s just going to knock them off with other plates? And I can’t help but wonder how Linus, a young boy who carries around a blanket, can memorize all those long, elegant prayers. It was a beautiful thing though, reminding us of the real spirit of Thanksgiving. Marci even added on to that with her conversation with Peppermint Patty. And how could those kids’s think it’s a normal Thanksgiving dinner without any adults? I feel sorry for both Snoopy and Charlie Brown because of the way Peppermint Patty was acting. Anyways it was nice of Charlie Brown and his grandmother to take his friends over for Thanksgiving dinner… especially after the way Peppermint Patty treated him.

The Annual Football Kick
Charlie Brown can be dense can’t he? I remember recently I’ve read the very first strip in which someone pulled the football away from Charlie Brown’s foot, and guess what… it wasn’t Lucy; instead it was Violet, a character that eventually disappeared from the strip. But soon a tradition was born, for the next time this would happen it would be Lucy pulling the football away, and unlike what Lucy said in this special, Charlie Brown’s football kick (and miss) has become a tradition, very much like this special, which has survived year after year.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

The Quiddich Cup
I think that it was a good thing that they cut out most of the quiddich game. It would have taken too much time and also would have taken too much time away from the main storyline. Part of me feels like the movie didn’t really start until the deatheaters burned down the camp. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the beginning. But that part of the film really intrigued me. The deatheaters were spine-chilling and not for all those 4 year olds in the theater. This scene is part of what sets this apart from the other Harry Potter movies- It’s not exactly for little kids anymore.

The Goblet of Fire
Boy did Dumbledore seem angry when he was in the backroom with Harry! He even slammed him against a table! I believe they did a great job with the eeriness in this scene, even though people who haven’t read the book could tell that was coming. How could it not? Would they just show the Tournament without Harry having any part in it? The goblet was wonderfully designed- including when it spit out the names to Dumbledore… and when it spit fire out at Fred & George. This scene even had people muttering that Harry was a cheat, even though some had tried to cheat themselves into the contest.

THE TOURNEMENT #1: Retrieving the Golden Egg
The special effects crew went all out on this beautiful scene. My question is though, why didn’t Harry try to use his wand sooner? Was he to frozen in shock to do anything? While this was somewhat different than the book, it was still a fast paced, incredibly fun scene. I don’t remember the dragon breaking his chain and chasing Harry around the castle. Why did he do that? The was a lot of people in the stands that he could of easily eaten. I don’t mind filmmakers changing things from the book as long as they do it well. And in the case of this scene and the rest in this movie they did it wonderfully. One thought though- that old castle is going to have a good deal of constructive work to be fixed after that dragon.

The Yule Ball & Romance
It was even more obvious in this movie that Ron was jealous of Hermione and Krum than it was in the book. I must admit, I’m not a fan of romance. I’d rather have action and mystery, so whenever I could sense any romance coming my face grimaces. But fortunately for me they kept it at a minimum and did it pretty well. (Not to mention Neville dancing around the common room with himself.) Even Hagrid had some romance, taking the girls part in his dance with Madam Maxine, and even combing his hair!

THE TOURNEMENT #2: The Deep
Wasn’t it Dobby that gave Harry the gillyweed? I do understand why they changed it to Neville- They would have to explain the whole Dobby part of the book, and some things have to be cut out for time. Also this part of the movie brought out a great quote from Neville (“I’ve killed Harry Potter!) when Harry seemed to be getting sick and was pushed in the water. And what was the deal with Moaning Myrtle? Didn’t she seem a little perverted? Once Harry was in the water, that hour really seemed to fly by quickly, didn’t it? And how come Harry could talk even the little bit he did underwater? Also poor Harry was the only one those Mermaids seemed to bully around.

THE TOURNEMENT #3: The Maze is ALIVE!
Boy did Harry and Cedric really compete here- Harry even considered letting Cedric be eaten by the maze! Boy that’s rough- I thought Harry didn’t care about eternal glory, at least not enough to let a fellow student be eaten alive. And either Victor Krum was evil, blind, or bewitched. Though it was pretty obvious it was the third, especially for those who’ve read the book. Dumbledore said that the contestants might lose themselves in the maze. All that the movie showed was Krum trying to kill them, the maze trying to eat them, or the maze try to close in on them though.

Return of the Dark Lord
This part of the movie seemed to go by so quickly as compared to the book that it seemed a little rushed. I understand that they have a time limit to follow though. When I think about it I realize they included practically all the parts. And why didn’t Cedric just do as Harry say and grab the port-key, instead of trying to be the hero? Now he’s dead. Finally Voldermort is back and as ugly as ever. Great effects there! This part of the movie could be a little gruesome too! (I almost looked away when Wormtail cut off his hand!) The duel between Voldermort and Harry was pretty sweet, though as I’ve said before it seemed a little rushed.

Mad Eyed Moody
Let’s face it; we all knew something was wrong with him the way he was always spying on Harry. But the character was a great and funny addition to a wonderful movie. It seems to me as if Moody stole every scene he was in. (One funny thing was his mad eye constantly scanning the room.) He also got the most laughs in the film, as when he turned Malfoy into a ferret. Somehow I forgot how he was drinking a polyjuice potion whenever he was drinking from that flask.

Rita Skeeter
I really wanted to see Rita Skeeter get what she deserved, such as what happened at the end of the book. Her character is that type you want to see thrown out into the street, but unfortunately nothing happens to her… she just gets away with everything, Rita and that quill of hers. She publishes that Harry twelve years old in the newspaper! Don’t they have people to check these things! Apparently not in the magical world. She still wasn’t as evil as in the book though…

The Little Kids in the Theater
That goes without explaining, doesn’t it?

LOST: Season 2: Episode 8: Collision

Episode Centric: Ana Lucia

Ana Lucia
While I do understand AL more, I actually found myself liking her less after this episode. I do understand that she was pregnant, that she trusted the guy, and by doing so lost her unborn baby. But her actions on the island were inexcusable. After killing Shannon she ties up Sayid, shoots at Michael, and uses the vines that was holding Sawyer’s stretcher together to tie up the poor guy who just lost the woman he loves. Probably what angers me most though was the fact that she shot at Michael. Killing Shannon may have been an accident, but if she had hit anybody then I would have wished her to be tarred and feathered. When she picked up Sayid’s gun I was thinking to myself “Great, trigger-happy Ana Lucia has yet another gun.” The 48 Hours had me liking and understanding Ana Lucia more. But now, maybe not so much.

Eko, Jack, & Michael
I thought the moment when Eko came up behind Jack was a little creepy, even though I knew Eko was just bringing Sawyer back to their camp. It could have just been the look on Kate’s face that really got to me. I also believe the scene when Jack was interrogating Eko was very well acted. Is it just me or does it seems that Eko is very good at being silent? Talking about him, I believe he is becoming one of the shows most interesting characters. When I first read about his character in the TV Guide it seemed to me like he would be a man who was already on the island and one who was connected to the drug runners. Though it does seem that he’s a priest… Another wonderful moment is this episode was when Sun saw Michael. The look on her face was priceless! Also when Michael and Jack were going to head off to the Tailies with those guns I think Eko really showed that his level-headedness when he agreed to take Jack to the camp, but only him and no guns.

Locke
One of the things that I thought really defined Locke’s characters was how he acted when he learned of Shannon’s death. He actually showed some grief, and Shannon being the one who tried to kill him! And than he almost forgot about typing in the numbers when he saw Sawyer! I have heard many people say he is not very levelheaded, so I bet they were surprised when he told Jack to “think this through” and when he also told Jack not to blame Eko.

Ana Lucia’s Fallout
Before all the Tailies had all trusted Ana Lucia’s judgment and leadership. But after her actions in this episode it was nice to see how the Tailies broke themselves away from her dictatorship (Such as when Bernard told Ana Lucia that he knew what she has done for them but he’s going to find his wife whether she allows him or not, and when Libby reminded her about Nathan.) I’ve always seen Eko as someone outside of AL’s leadership, so it didn’t surprise me when he went off to find the doctor on his own. (“I’m not doing it for him. I’m doing it for me.”) Sayid's such a great guy. Ana Lucia was going to allow him to shoot her, but he passed down the chance. ("We're both dead.") He even asked AL what happened to the guy that shot her. Now that's character. I've always liked Sayid, but I like him even more now.

The Others and Walt
One of the things I've really been looking forward to this season is seeing everyone’s reactions when they hear what happened to Walt. Michael did tell Sayid but that only left me wanting more. One of the things I'd like to see is Charlie’s face when he learns that there are others and that they weren't made up by Danielle.

Reunions
To me the best and most emotional part of this episode was the beautiful ending, partly due to the music fitting in perfectly with everything that was going on. This is the moment I've been waiting for all season. We see Rose reunite with Bernard, Sun and Jin embrace, and Vincent running across the beach to Michael. For some reason I really loved that last one. That dog seemed so happy to see Michael, and it's good for him to have someone in this difficult time he's having without his son. I don't believe I've ever cried watching a TV show, but this is as close as I've ever gotten. Finally, this episode ends with Jack running into Sayid, who is carrying Shannon’s body back, and the doctor notices Ana Lucia standing in the background. Why does Jack seem to care for someone he talked to for a few minutes in an airport? I guess we'll find out sooner or later.