Aussie TV Fan

Flash Forward: Season 1, Episode 1

2009-09-29T20:55:00.002+10:00

Yep, the big premiere. People are saying Flash Forward is "the new Lost", but I think it's too soon to tell.

Joseph Fiennes plays a starring role as the FBI Agent investigating the Flash Forward blackout, and he certainly has the gritty hotness of a Series-1-Doctor-Jack-from-Lost. The horrific scenes following the blackout are reminiscent of a certain plane crash on the beach, with unexpected explosions and amazing special effects.

The story seemed to move slowly...the skipping back and forward in time is fun, but since we're all familiar with the premise of the series, sitting through 30 minutes of background story before we get to the Flash Forward 'incident' was kinda lame. We all know it's coming, let's not stuff around. As we Lost fans are accustomed to screaming at our televisions: "GET ON WITH IT!".

I'm intrigued, I will admit. And the final scene was incredibly creepy: the man walking around the stadium while everyone else was blacked out - it made my skin crawl. It's that unusual 'shivers down my spine' moment that makes me think this show has some potential to be my Lost substitute when the show comes to a sad end next year.

But as I said, it's too soon to tell...

LOST: Season 4, Episode 2

2008-02-16T15:03:00.000+11:00

Here we go, fans! In this episode, we get to meet the NEW CHARACTERS for Season 4.

The biggest bombshell in this episode is that Naomi appears to have been telling the truth: Flight 815 really WAS discovered at the bottom of the ocean with all passengers on board…no survivors. (I can’t help but wonder, does that mean that Drive Shaft really did release a hugely successful Greatest Hits album after the crash? Mysteries, mysteries…)

It’s always tough to welcome new characters into an established television series, but a look at the history of Lost tells us that most of these characters will probably die soon anyway.

Take Season 2 for example. The new characters were the “tail-ies”, those passengers from the tail section of the plane. First the Aussie hostess was taken by The Others (although it turns out that she isn’t actually dead), then Ana-Lucia and Libby are shot and killed. Mr. Eko was finally killed by the Smokey Monster in Season 3, leaving sweet old Bernard as the sole survivor. Yep, new characters are doomed in the world of Lost.

In Season 3, the day-to-day lives of The Others were revealed. Remarkably, Ben and Juliette have managed to stay alive thus far, while most of the other Others have been killed by the Losties throughout Season 3 (even poor Tom, the original bearded man who took Walt and sunk the raft). Even Naomi, who parachuted onto the Island to rescue them, is dead before the Season is over.

So here we are, two episodes into Season 4 and four new characters have been introduced in a not-so-subtle way. One of them has the ability to communicate with dead people. The woman appears to be the modern, female equivalent of Indiana Jones (with a keen interest in Dharma paraphernalia and of course, Polar Bears), whilst another new guy confirms the “THEY’RE NOT IN HELL” theory by pointing out that the dead pilot at the bottom of the ocean is NOT the man who was flying the plane (he knows that the pilot always wears his wedding ring – and the dead guy in the water had no ring).

OK, we know these people are from a boat which is NOT PENNY’S BOAT, but that doesn’t mean they’re evil, does it? So far they seem like friendly folk.

Less friendly was the black guy who first made an appearance in the previous episode, harassing Hurley at the mental institution. Here we see him instructing Naomi to take these 4 new characters to the island to retrieve Ben. It seemed for a moment that Sawyer or Locke might finally kill him and put us all out of our misery…but if we weren’t squirming over Ben’s creepy mind games, it just wouldn’t be Lost.

Funniest moment: The look on John Locke and Ben’s faces when Hurley reveals that he has seen The Shack (“it’s back that way”).

Saddest moment: They go to the trouble of bringing Naomi’s body to the helicopter, only to be told that it can’t take any unnecessary weight. It would’ve been nice for SOMEONE on the island to get a decent burial.

Biggest potential screw-up: Letting Ben live. (Would somebody just pop a cap in his proverbial already?)

LOST: Season 4, Episode 1

2008-02-08T21:44:00.000+11:00

Welcome to Season 4 of Lost!

While the Series 3 finale didn’t leave us with as much of a cliffhanger as previous seasons, it was one of the most intriguing episodes to date. We saw a crazy, drunken Jack with a beard…and the moment that rocked everyone, when we discover that these events in Jack’s life are taking place AFTER the crash.

In the first minutes of Season 4 we discover that Jack and Kate are 2 of only 6 people to have been rescued from the Island. Hurley is the third. So who else will make up “The Oceanic Six”? One is surely the man (or woman) in the coffin from the Season 3 finale.

As expected, Charlie’s revelation that it is “Not Penny’s Boat” proves to be a crucial point in this episode. Locke wastes no time in exploiting Hurley’s grief, by convincing him that Charlie will have died in vain if they don’t heed his warning. Hurley convinces the Losties that the people on the boat are dangerous and that they should follow Locke to The Others’ abandoned Barracks. Judging by Hurley’s conversation with Jack at the end of this episode, this is a decision that Hurley would later regret.

There are some disturbing moments in this episode, not least of which is Hurley’s encounter with Jacob’s mysterious house, which seems to appear out of nowhere. According to the official “Lost Secret Clues”, the man who spooks Hurley at the window is in fact Jack’s father (whom we know is dead – and also happens to be Clare’s father). Not sure how this is important, but then again we never really know why dead people keep appearing on the island…

After his rescue, Hurley begs to be taken to a Mental Institution after receiving an unwanted visit from Charlie (or, more than likely, Charlie’s ghost). He is also confronted by a disturbing character: a man who claims to be an attorney from Oceanic Air, but quickly turns dark with anger and demands to know whether “they” are still alive. Who? The survivors of Flight 815? The others? It seems that escaping from the Islands doesn’t mean you’ve escaped from the freaky Dharma people.

Hurley earlier dodged a question from a Police Officer (Ana-Lucia’s former partner) and claimed that he had never met Ana Lucia. It appears that those rescued from the Island cannot (or will not) discuss what happened there.

And finally, after another Lostie reunion and another Lostie-group split up, Jack and Kate are waiting alone under a section of their plane (nice link back to where it all began, huh?). The helicopter lands and the man asks, “Are you Jack?”. Well, who wants to know?

Funniest moment: When Bernard encourages Hurley to do something he has often thought about: Cannonball-ing into the ocean.

Saddest moment: Hurley breaks the news to Clare that Charlie is dead.

Biggest potential screw-up: Soon we are going to discover that somebody has made a major, life-altering screw up: either Jack has allowed some terrible people to locate the Island, or John has spoiled their one chance to be rescued. Only one of them can be right.

Prison Break: Season 3, Episode 7

2007-11-17T17:12:00.000+11:00

Vamonos

Wow, Prison Break has really hit it’s stride. This week there was constant tension from the moment it started.

One of the best Prison Break cliff-hangers thus far was quickly dismissed as a plot by Michael to distract the inmates. But then what seemed like decent break out plan was destroyed when the sun disappeared behind a cloud. It’s one of those nail-biting moments where Michael’s ingenious plan gets screwed up and he is left in a worse position than ever before – on this occasion, it’s chicken-foot fight.

We already know that a chicken-foot fight in Sona is a fight to the death, and in the current circumstance we don’t want to see Schofield OR Whistler get killed. Cliff-hanger episodes, cliff-hangers between ad breaks…this is getting good.

Lincoln had a perfect opportunity to kill Susan (Evil Green Eyed Lady) and her bodyguard, but acted a little too slowly (damn it) and found himself in a stand off he couldn’t win. Desperate to save LJ, he backs off and offers to come up with a new plan.

In the stand-off, Susan feared that the mission was a total failure and asked repeatedly for Lincoln to shoot her, proving that she is the worst kind of villain: one who is ready to die and therefore has no limits.

Alex Mahone is stuck in a van, then a hotel room with no drugs and huge concerns about missing his opportunity to escape from prison. His withdrawal symptoms are blatantly obvious and it seems the people who say they want to help him may only be interested in getting him to spill the beans on whether Michael is planning an escape.

The Security guards identify that there was an attempted escape and in the ensuing madness, Lechero is publicly shamed by the official head of the prison. So we finally have Lechero on board, demanding Schofield break him out. Well, it just wouldn’t be Prison Break unless Michael Schofield had an unwanted posse of inmates to break out with.

But the moment we’ve REALLY been waiting for…James Whistler is not the guy we thought he was. I think despite the ongoing clues, most of the fans wanted to believe that Whistler was a good guy in a bad situation – another “Schofield” or “Burrows” victimized by The Company. But no, he really is to blame for Sarah’s death. He is the man pulling the strings.

Funniest moment: Was there a funny moment? This episode was pretty full on.

Saddest moment: LJ making an attempt to save his own life by telling Evil Green Eyed Lady about his dreams for the future.

Biggest potential screw-up: Susan visiting James Whistler at the prison. Very stupid. If Michael hadn’t of seen her, surely Lincoln or Sophia would have. (Not that we care so much about Susan's screw-ups).

Prison Break: Season 3, Episode 6

2007-11-15T21:20:00.000+11:00

Photo Finish

Ah-ha! Whistler isn’t “The Ambassador”, he worked at The Ambassador Hotel! Well that explains that. And now the Spanish guy has conveniently been killed, so we won’t hear anymore about it for awhile.

Are you sensing a note of sarcasm? It’s moments like these I want to throw a rock through my television screen.

Here we are, thinking that Whistler and the Spanish guy both have some kind of mysterious political background - but no, they’re both nobodies. For now…

However, I did think this was a clever episode. I had a minor heart-attack when it appeared that Lechero had stabbed Whistler in the stomach. And a second heart-attack when Evil Green Eyed Lady was about to murder little LJ.

It even seemed for awhile there that the escape might go ahead as planned, until Lincoln breaks the news to Michael that Sarah Tencredi is dead.

And now we’ve got another “Chicken Foot” showdown on our hands, this time between Michael and Whistler. What a great cliffhanger! I have no earthly idea what is going to happen next (and I’m being serious this time).

Funniest moment: Has to be when the Spanish Guy gets his wires crossed about Bellick’s offer of friendship: “I just don’t want to have sex with you. Is that so hard to believe?”. Ha ha…Karma keeps biting Bellick harder every series.

Saddest moment: Poor Michael gets the news about Sarah’s death (thankfully Lincoln left out the specific details).

Biggest potential screw-up: Mahone refuses an offer from the US Authorities, which would reduce a lifetime in prison, to just a few years. Won’t that make them suspicious? They know Michael Schofield is in there, surely these smart men and women can put two and two together? Watch this space…

Prison Break: Season 3, Episode 5

2007-10-26T21:09:00.000+10:00

Interference

This was one emotionally-charged episode! Reminds me of everything that was great about this show in Season 1.

The tension mounts as Michael has only 24 hours to break-out of Sona Prison. Alex Mahone is now officially "in" on the escape (I suppose threatening and breathing all over Michael last week did the trick).

Lincoln is making preparations on the outside, while Michael's careful observation of the Prison Guards almost gets him killed. Quick-thinking from Whistler saves the day but we can probably expect some backlash from Sona-King Lechero for the disruption that was caused.

It's great to see that there's more to Whistler than meets the eye ("You were with the Ambassador") - the innocent fisherman story was too easy.

And is this sexual tension we see between Lincoln and Whistler's girlfriend? That was a very weird moment between them on the beach...

Las Vegas: Season 4, Episode 13

2007-10-25T11:36:00.000+10:00

"Pharaoh 'Nuff"

The award for most predictable plot must go to Las Vegas this week.

A genuine Egyptian mummy (Ramesses, no less), valued at 400 million dollars is signed for by Danny on behalf of the casino. It promptly disappears. We didn’t see that coming…

However (to balance-out the universe), a surprise twist was Mary unearthing a string of staff thefts in the hotel. She provides some whimsical comic relief with her determination to prevent a regular guest at the hotel from his usual trick of stealing everything in the room that isn’t nailed down.

Danny and Mike have a good laugh “deputising” her so that she can take care of this covert operation. But Mary has a satisfying victory when she discovers it’s actually the hotel cleaning staff who are behind the thefts. So the brunette-bimbo-makes-good in the end. I like it.

Prison Break: Season 3, Episode 4 CONTINUED

2007-10-22T15:15:00.000+10:00

My hissy fit is over...

Gonna dig me a hole…
Gonna dig me a hole…
Gonna put a nerd in it…

(Sorry, having a flashback to The Simpsons).

I’ve had my hissy fit over The Beheading of Sarah, glad that’s out of my system. Now I can concentrate on other matters.

I’m excited about the digging of the hole. Finally it feels like they’re really breaking out.

Alex is making a return to the nutty behaviour we remember from Series 2. Nearly stabbing Michael in the head was a nice reminder of exactly the sort of guy we’re dealing with here (he has earned my sympathy, but let’s not forget the many, many murders of Mahone).

The big question is, if Sarah is really dead, can Michael ever forgive Lincoln for not telling him?

And (on a lighter note) how long before the Jamaican King-Pin of Sona cottons-on to Michael’s escape plans? Surely he is going to become a member of the posse, too? I can’t figure out why he would be adverse to the idea of someone staging a successful prison break, as long as he is on board.

Great to see Sucre back on the scene as the Prison’s new grave digger. Now if only Lincoln could learn Spanish and go for a job as a Guard in the Watch Tower…

Prison Break: Season 3, Episode 4

2007-10-22T13:09:00.000+10:00

The Beheading of Sarah

This episode was downright amateur. I’m so disappointed. Prison Break was my favourite show up until now, the beheading of Sarah just sux.

It’s not that she’s dead that bothers me, it is the pathetic manner in which it was done.

Shouldn’t there have been a scene where the Evil Black Haired Lady walks into the room and engages Sarah in some smart-ass conversation before she kills her? Shouldn’t we have at least seen the look of terror on Sarah’s face? Some kind of struggle?

To see NOTHING of Sarah for 3 episodes is just so far removed from the formula we know and love on Prison Break. There have been lots of characters murdered over the course of the series and we were shown the bloody confrontation every time: LJ’s mother, Nick, Veronica, John Abbruzi, David/Tweener, Schofield’s father, the list goes on…

So far this season we’ve seen the back of Sarah’s head, a blurry photograph, a voice on the phone (which didn’t even sound like her) – not the blow-by-blow account of her life we’ve come to expect. I suspected that the actress had left the show and a friend of mine confirmed it yesterday. Apparently she has gone to spend more time with her family, which I totally respect, but surely the producers of Prison Break could’ve signed her up for one or two more episodes to wrap things up nicely.

After the brothers, Sarah is the most important character on the show. I should’ve been in tears over her dying, instead I sat there and asked “What the hell?”. At least 4 people I’ve spoken to felt the same – not sadness, but utter confusion. “Is she really dead? Is this what’s happening now?”

Well, I’m very close to boycotting the show. However, Alex Mahone was extremely hot this week so I think I’ll hang in there. Plus we’ve got an Aussie hottie to watch now as well, who *conveniently* brings with him a romantic subplot to replace the one that just died a pathetic death.