While much of 24 [...]]]> Now that I’ve been back home for a couple of days, I should probably get around to unpacking and maybe some other productive activities like doing dishes and cleaning. Afterall, I did manage to fit in the first season of 24 and plenty of sleep so some balance is in order.

While much of 24 was excellent, I wasn’t nearly as impressed as I thought I would be. There were too many plot holes and instances of character stupidity in the second half. And I felt cheated by the very end. No, it’s not that Terri was killed — at least that made complete sense for Nina to do — or that there was no semblance of a happy ending. It just felt incomplete. There was a certain expectation that things would be wrapped up in the twenty-four hours, but there were far too many questions at the end. Maybe it’s because Nina’s double-agent reveal was so ludicrous that there had to be more to it.

Despite the distracting inconsistencies, the show is fun to watch: fast pace, intense action, numerous plot twists, well-developed characters portrayed by an excellent ensemble cast. Kiefer Sutherland was great as Jack Bower. The show is basically Die Hard: The Series and perfect for commercial-free, DVD-watching marathons. I’ll be seeking out season 2 soon enough … just what I need, another TV addiction.

First Carol Vessey gets messed up in that car accident. And who knows what’s happened to her since the wedding, but Jack certainly isn’t wearing his ring anymore. Now poor Dr. Mike survives the plane crash, only to be done [...]]]> Where do the inhabitants of Stuckeyville go to die/get horribly maimed? Apparently Lost.

First Carol Vessey gets messed up in that car accident. And who knows what’s happened to her since the wedding, but Jack certainly isn’t wearing his ring anymore. Now poor Dr. Mike survives the plane crash, only to be done in by one of The Others. And I bet he was only in Australia because of some crazy bet — there’s $10 that won’t be exchanging hands between him and Ed.

Don’t let me down!

I had only a vague idea of what the show was about before downloading last year’s premiere season: something about [...]]]> While I have been fairly busy the last couple of weeks, a main reason for lack of updates around here is that my free time has been taken up by a new TV addiction: Veronica Mars.

I had only a vague idea of what the show was about before downloading last year’s premiere season: something about a girl who was a reporter or detective working undercover at a high school. And that it was good. Well, that second part was correct, anyway. The premise is actually as follows: Veronica lives in a 90210/The O.C.-esque area, where her dad was the local sheriff, and at school hung with the rich & snobby by virtue of dating a guy named Duncan and being best friends with his sister, Lilly. Then some bad stuff happens: Duncan mysteriously dumps her, Lilly is murdered, Veronica’s dad thinks the father did it, the rich & powerful get her dad fired as sheriff but he sticks it out in town as a private investigator, Veronica’s mom abandons them, Veronica is ostrisized at school, and some other dude confesses to Lilly’s murder. Veronica works at her dad’s office, picking up more than a few tricks of the trade.

The good:

• season-long murder-mystery plot, carefully advanced each episode. Lilly seems to be Laura Palmer-like with the secrects she kept, and uncovering the truth of her death often leads to more questions than answers.
• not your typical teen drama that you’d expect from UPN; when it does cross over into cliched territory, the stories at least have an interesting twist.
• besides the overall Lilly storyline, the weekly cases/detective work/mysteries are often fun; sometimes it’s like a teenage version of Alias.
• the charming Kristen Bell as Veronica.
• Veronica’s cynisim, wry humor, and cool and collected personality to get her out of many a tough situation.
• guest appearances by Alyson Hannigan.
• Enrico Colantoni (of Just Shoot Me) as Veronica’s dad.
• catchy theme song by The Dandy Warhols.
• more than a few appearances of BlackBerrys, including the use of one to leave behind a suicide note. As they mentioned, how post-modern.

The not so good:

• early guest appearance by Paris Hilton.
• guest appearances by multiple kids from Home Improvement, still waiting for their careers to skyrocket.
• detective resources available to Veronica and her insight into cases can stretch plausibility a little too much … but if I can get over it with Alias, I can do it here. Hmmm, she’s like the love child of Sidney Bristow and MacGyver.
• does venture into teenage melodrama stories sometimes.

All in all, it’s been quite addictive so far, with about half a dozen episodes from season 1 still to get through.

Note: ignorantly made with Windows Movie Maker and DivX 6 codec, so who knows how well this will play with the masses.

Even if the show had ended with Claire driving away, it would [...]]]> The last episode of Six Feet Under was fantastic. I find finales are often a let down, but I think series mastermind Alan Ball sent the show off on a perfect note. Needless to say, there may be spoilers in my comments.

Even if the show had ended with Claire driving away, it would have been a satisfying moment to leave the extended Fisher family as they were, finally having a few things going their way and appreciating it instead of messing it up. The montage capping things off was so utterly perfect; for what other series would it be entirely fitting to show each of the main characters die? Counter to the randomness of most of the deaths which began each show, the original characters were spared some cruelty and died of natural causes. Poor Keith was gunned down, but that’s the price for not becoming a regular at the beginning of the series I guess.

It’s hard to describe what made Six Feet Under so compelling to watch. The characters are all so selfish and self-destructive; you spend more time being exasperated at their actions rather than rooting for them. But maybe it’s like accident gawking – you want to see how bad it is. The father of the family was killed by a bus in the first episode, and it basically went downhill from there. There was the odd moment of hope and happiness, but it was always short-lived; just plain fucking things up seemed to a sport on this show.

I think that the writing, from the complicated issues to the twisted (and incredibly funny at times) dark humor, really sets it apart. I watched most of the final four seasons over the past few months, and if anything felt the show picked up steam as it went along. It’s only now that I’ve caught up and began reading info on the web (greatly avoided before so I wouldn’t be spoiled) that the final two seasons aren’t as highly regarded. While it’s certainly tough to top the Lisa storyline of season three, I’ve enjoyed the more recent episodes just as much.

An odd thing happened as I began to catch up with the season five episodes. While watching previous seasons that were a few years old or more, there was a sense that “this is the way things were in the SFU universe” and it was just a matter of it finally being revealed. But then as it sunk in that the supply of episodes was running low, and I knew just as much of the story as those watching since the beginning, there was more anticipation, speculation, and expectations. Shows were more surprising, because events didn’t feel as set in stone as before and it felt like anything was possible. Strange, eh?

As addicting as Six Feet Under was, I don’t think it’s something that’s easily rewatchable. It’ll probably be more than a few years before I could sit down and watch it through again. I heartily recommend it to those who like something on the “different” end of the spectrum, but I won’t be having any marathons to help get others addicted. That’s more fitting for Wonderfalls (check!), Firefly (check!), and Lost (next on the hit list).