Alias' Return

This just in from the "Watch With Kristen" Message Boards:

So, thank you ABC, for making my birthday wises come true ...

I heard last night from a reliable source (and confirmed with another this a.m.) that ...

ALIAS IS COMING BACK IN APRIL FOR 8 FINAL HOURS ON WEDNESDAY NIGHTS AT 8 PM!

April 19th is the day of the midseason premiere, I believe.

I'm told that there will be a two-hour midseason premiere, then four episodes, then a 2-hour finale in May.

On one hand - I'm glad they finally scheduled the final Alias episodes, on the other hand, I'm a little disappointed in the actual number of hours appearing. I was hoping that the 2 hour mid-season premier and series finale would could as their own episodes, so really we'd get 8 episodes, but 10 hours left... oh well, I'm just glad they finally put a date on it!

ABC Is My New Santino

So... March is around the corner, and all we know about Alias' final return is that ABC has cut the season's episode order from 22 to 17... this means that there are only EIGHT episodes left to wrap up 5 year's worth of questions. This is insanity. This is one of the best tv series ever made - it deserves the time to wrap up everything it needs to. I suppose if the first episode back and the season finale are both 2 hours long, then at least its equivalent to 10 episodes, but I still feel cut short by 3 eps.

Read about it HERE.

Speaking of the rat Santino, how upset are you that he is going to Olympus Fashion Week??? It really should have been Nick, Chloe and Daniel V, who have all been very consistently good throughout the season. Although I was upset that this week was a "reunion" episode, I have to say that I got immense pleasure watching Guadalupe speak - she was bombed out of her mind on *something*!! If you skipped the Project Runway reunion show for any reason, catch a rerun on Bravo this weekend - its actually quite entertaining, and shows some "never before seen clips".

This Makes Me Sick

I'm sorry, Kitchen Confidential gets cancelled and Freddie is not only still on the air, but is getting press on CNN?? (Click here if you care.)

What is wrong with Fox?????

Wednesday Night Sci-Fi's

Wow! Lost was great last night! Here are my three favorite moments from last night:

1. Sayid being condescending to Ana-Lucia
2. The smirk the captive gave Sayid as the armory door closed.
3. Sawyer stumbling on Hurley eating the ranch dip.

As always, last night's episode, just raised more questions... here are my ruminations:

1. Wasn't Kate's dad (or at least the dad who raised her) in the army? Did he have any connection to Sayid?
2. When that general told Sayid that he gave him a skill that he would have to use later in his life - was he referring to the torture work that Sayid did for Iraq or the torture work that Sayid has had to do on the Island?
3. What did Hurley trip over as he was going to the frog? (Didn't Boone & Locke first found the hatch by Boone tripping over it?)
4. What did those red symbols on the countdown clock mean?? I saw a stick (EKO?), a bird, and what resembled a hair pin... did anyone else get a better glance? (I'm sure there's screen shots on lost-media.com)
5. THAT GUY IS CLEARLY AN OTHER!!! Right?
6. What the hell is Rousseau doing in the jungle besides capturing strange guys? Did she capture him on purpose because she was spying on him, or did he just fall into one of her pre-set traps?
7. Was Sayid's question to Charlie conspiratorial or accusatory????

Anyway, that was the best episode in a long time... I'm excited for the Claire episode next week with the new hatch, and the Jin/Sun flashback in two weeks... its getting good people!

Speaking of good... haven't talked about Invasion for awhile... everything I asked the producers to deliver on in the beginning of the season to raise the ranking of the show from "good potential" to "great show" they have!! (You know I have a personal link to the producers!) They are great at answering some questions, while posing more... a la Alias. This is quickly rising in my favorite shows list!

Best Alias Preview Yet!!

Okay... I've been having heart palpitations with the recent buzz that Alias is not scheduled on the spring mid-season line up yet... and none of my Spoiler sources have had any additional scoop.... however, I feel much better after reading this on the Ausiello Report... for those Alias fans out there, you have to read this:

http://www.tvguide.com/News/Ausiello/AusielloReport/

Ed gets Cancelled Again

According to Kristin (from EOnline) Love Monkey is officially cancelled. Gee, really?

I am sad to see Tom Cavanaugh go.. but maybe they can give him a new role now, one that isn't Ed again, and again, and again (anyone remember Ed's trip to the Hospital on Scrubs as JD's "older brother"?)

Speaking of Scrubs... I know this season is supposed to be "For the real fans", which I've always considered myself a part of... but does anyone else get the feeling that they might be trying just a *little* too hard? Yes, its still one of the funniest shows on TV, but with each episode its straying more from absurdly funny to formula funny... thoughts?

And I Thought American Idol was Useless

Look at how wrong I was

Goodbye Commander in Chief!

Now we can finally put to rest the silly dream of a woman President.

M claims she's in Dallas this week

Why is it I have a sneaking feeling she's at this Lifetime cancellation protest in Denver?

President Allen's Numbers are Dropping

For those Commander In Chief fans out there - spread the word! Mac may not get through her first term, let alone re-elected for a second if the numbers keep dropping... only 10 million viewers this week, for a great show.

I guess a lot of people have been saying that the show lost its soul when the new producer stepped in... but here are my retaliations to people's issues with the show:

1. Too much like West Wing - I've never seen the West Wing, but I've heard great things about it. As the saying goes, "if it ain't broke..." Although it seems different, Lost is very much like Alias in the way the plot and character development is handled, but it is still a great show on its own. I bet this is the same.

2. Why did they make the husband the chief of staff? To be controversial! This makes for tension in the White House, and there is only so much you can do with the joke of a man playing the "first lady"...

3. Why is Templeton so buddy buddy with Allen now? I have a feeling that this will soon change, now that Allen has announced she is running for re-election. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, right?

In conclusion - watch this show! Its quality TV, something we don't get much of these days - although you wouldn't know it from the length of my picks list... :)

Google Away

X-Men and Indiana Jones are both great trilogies, in different ways. Just compare my crush on Wolverine to your weird man-crush on Harrison Ford.

Here.... click away:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=divorce+lawyers

Oh and by the way

If you ever compare the x-men trilogy to Indiana Jones again, I'm going to start googling divorce lawyers.

Sure. . . Research

Whatever you say Fred Savage. . . "Research"

USA Today: "Its a Gay Gay World for Fred Savage"

Also, in response to M's rant below

1. You should not need consoling because an imaginary charcter died. Sorry.
2. You should especially not expect consoling if you are going to put appandeges of a sub-zero temperature on me while I am sleeping. I don't like this.
3. Lana Lang should not die. She is incredibly hot.

R.I.P Jonathan Kent

I. Can't. Believe. It.

They killed Clark's father???? I'll let you in on a little secret - I was fully prepared to cry for last night's 100th episode of Smallville. I had my box of kleenexes and everything, wondering who Jor El was going to take. I was surprised when Lana died, because there was so much buzz in the chatrooms saying that they saw a scene with Lana in a car crash, that I figured it must be somebody else. I didn't even feel that sad, because I figured it might have been a good way to segue into the whole Lois Lane thing. (And obviously, when Lois died, we knew it was fake, because you can't have Superman with out Lois Lane.)

Then I thought they would take Lionel - that Jonathan would kill him in the barn and it would be his first official scandal as a Senator... the minute I realized that it was Mr. Kent who really died, the tears started flowing... I couldn't believe it! DAMN YOU JOR EL!!!

I have to say though, what really put me over the edge was the funeral scene.... Tom throwing the dirt on his father's casket... Lana letting go of Clark's hand... Lionel giving Martha Kent the "look"... Lex watching his fantasy father's funeral, shunned, in the corner... it was all too much for me. I sobbed for a good few minutes after the episode ended (I tried to have T console me, but I was ignored. Stupid, insensitive T.)

Here's the characters I think should died instead:
1. Lionel - obviously, because I think now that Lex has been turning evil by himself, we don't really need him around.

2. Lana - I've always found her a bit whiny, but when she let go of Clark's hand when he needed her most, I wanted to slap her. Plus we need CK to get over her so he can move on to Lois.

3. Chloe - I actually really like Allison Mac and her character, but she's not an original Superman character, so I would have been okay with it.

For future episodes... will Martha step in for Senator, because her husband technically won the election? Or will Lex get his wishes with the Senate (and with Lana???) Who will Lionel tell about the secret he confronted Jonathan with?

Stay tuned... for now, we'll miss you Jonathan Kent!

Irena vs. The Tailies

I guess I'm still a little bitter about the fact that Lost, with it's never-ending popularity and network support, is still far inferior to Alias, which never really had network support, and is now cancelled just as the plot is getting better than ever. Let's do a quick compare and contrast of Seasons 2, shall we? I haven't done a list for awhile, so this should be fun!

Point 1: Open Questions
Both of JJ's shows are about a continual plot - lots of open questions that make the audience think. If We, the viewers, do a little bit of brain work, we get paid off in the long run with rich character development, almost invisible clues and a great story. Part of telling a story this long is that some questions are opened that will not be answered for weeks, months or in some cases, years. Again, there is some fun in this - a little anticipation can be quite enjoyable! However, Alias rewards its viewers every once in awhile with *answers*... Yes, Syd's mother is alive and Yes SD6 can be brought down. Lost seems uninterested in answering any of its questions, but it loves to add more questions. We are half way through Season 2 and we still don't know anything about anything really!! Who are the others? Where's Walt? Why is Locke so weird? NOTHING!

Point 2: New Characters
Irena Derevko is one of the best characters on TV EVER. She is a smart, strong, complex woman. Even if you never really know how good or evil she is, you still love her! While Eko of the tailies is interesting with his drug dealer/priest thing going on, we already hate Ana Lucia because she killed Shannon right when we started sympathizing with her... and the writers seem uninterested in writing them into the script for the second half of the season anyway.

Point 2A: Cast Management
In Alias, we only ever followed Sydney's life, and then a few other main characters: Vaughn, Jack, Sloan... as much as I love them, the other characters only had secondary, manageable plots (Irena, Nadia, Lauren, Sark, Dixon...etc). In Lost EVERYONE is a main character... to manage that many primary plotlines is a nightmare... the payoff may never come!! This show could go on for 20 years and we still may not have the complexity for a single character that Alias has built for Sydney. Yes I love character development, but by the time Michael or Walt comes back, I'll have forgotten everything that is told to me already!

Point 3: Episode to Episode Plots
Yes - the basic plots to both shows are pretty amazing, but in Season 2, I was still hanging on to every word coming out of the characters' mouths. I would watch the clock between commercials getting upset that there were only 12 minutes of Alias left for that week... every episode was heart stopping. Lost has had some pretty amazing episodes too this season, but they've also had some pretty so-so ones (like from last night, or the Hurly one). And for those who watch both shows relgiously - can you honestly tell me the ambush of the Others onto our Survivors was as cool as the amazing post-Superbowl takedown of SD-6, followed by the Syd-Vaugh kiss? There is just no way.

In the end, as far as Season 2s go, Alias was just a better show - and in my opinion always will be. This being said, I do love Lost, but I feel that it may go stale long before the Networks cancel it. Alias had one bad season (4) - and it was good bye.

I Apologize To Jack

But NOT to T.

Who's Jack Baur?

I know a Jack Bauer. . .he works for CTU!

It's sacrelige to mispell that man's name. I demand you apoligize immediately.

Where In The World Is Jack Baur?

Here's how you can find out:

http://www.wayfaring.com/maps/show/4698

A Pair of Jacks

Yes... it's true, the former Full House cast isn't doing very well... however, Bob Saget is the narrator to one of my new favorite comedies - How I Met Your Mother. And although I'll miss Jake in Progress, the news is that if (and it still is an "if"... ABC hasn't fully cancelled it yet) it gets cancelled, John Stamos will likely join the cast of ER full time. Although I hate ER (the only medical show I like is Scrubs), it is considered a hit show, so good for Stamos. Also, don't forget that Dave Coulier made his comeback with Skating With Celebrities (albeit a terrible comeback - I've heard the show is head-stabbingly painful) and Lori Laughlin (sp?) did have a mini-cult following with Summerland on the WB... and as for DJ... how quickly we forget her memorable performance in the Lifetime original movie She Cried No!!

All in all.... not quite a Full House, but not quite a draw either.

I Heart Wolverine

Click Here to watch the X3 trailer now - it looks awesome! After watching X2 (one of the best sequels in history), I know that this could be a trilogy to match Star Wars, Indina Jones and... actually, I guess I don't know that many trilogies. But if you like the intelligent plot lines and deep character development of Alias, Lost, 24 and Battlestar Galactica*, then you will love this series. These movies are not just for the comic book geeks analyzing every scene from their parents' basements - they are intriguing and easy to follow even for people who have never picked up a comic book in their lives! Just like Batman Begins was one of the best movies of 2005, I think X3 will be the peak of the 2006 Summer Blockbuster season. In the words of Mr. Moviefone - "Run! (Don't Walk!)" to rent X-Men and X2: X-Men Evolution this weekend!

*Note: No, I haven't actually watched even one episode of Battlestar Galactica yet, but I am very confident that after Alias ends, this will be my replacement favorite show.

A Black and White Cookie

It appears that UPN and WB are going to be merged into one network. I find this pretty funny, as there are no black people on the WB and very few white people on UPN.

Can racial harmony be far behind?