Heroes Season Two

First, before you watch season two, or read this review, you probably should have seen Heroes Season One by now. In other words: Spoiler Alert

I really enjoyed season one of this show. I did feel like the season finale didn't feel so much like a high-impact season finale as it did a pause in the story, the end of an arc. And to be honest I was okay with that.

So far this season, well, I'm not as interested. Each Monday I look forward to Chuck and then watch Heroes because it's on next. I won't say it's dissapointing, it's not. But it's just not fascinating. Once, I tried to explain to a friend how each episode of first season ended not on a cliff-hanger but on a "Oh my gosh, REALLY?" moment.

My prime example of that is when you learn that Nathan is Claire's father. The ends of the episodes almost always were a moment where you got a vital piece of the mythos, where you learned a little more about how everybody was connected. Where suddenly you knew something that you didn't know and you didn't get any screen time to acclimate to the idea.

I can't think of any endings this season that have had that kind of impact. Nothing that has made me gasp and say, "What?" Every moment like that is firmly entrenched in the middle of the hour. Then we almost immediatly get the explanation after the commercial break. While I'm also not a fan of the Lost school of thought where you give questions and more questions but no answers. But when you get the answers too quickly, in a show like Heroes, you just start to get bored.

But honestly, that I could live with, I'd just be a little bored. It's not the worst thing that's happening this season.

I read a an interview in Entertainment Weekly where one of the creators said that he realized he had all these heroes and he "may as well" start having them hook up.

Yup, seemingly on a whim he decided to make this season "Heroes with Hormones" instead of having interesting plots. Suddenly, we have West who seems to have been created to be Claire's boyfriend. West is one-dimensional and creepy, there is no better way to say it. He looks and acts like the season one version of Clark Kent on Smallville . Only he also has the distinction of being an "outsider." Only, any real high school outsider could easily tell the creators that he's acting like what people think high school outsiders are like, not what they really are. And he's just plain creepy. He's a STALKER. Let's remember girls: boys who stare at you through your windows without letting you know they're there? They are peeping toms, not hopeless romantics.

I'm already bored with Peter and his girlfriend because they did the typical tv course of romance: they happen to be of the opposite sex and in the same place, he does something heroic, they dance around the attraction for about ten seconds, they kiss hesitantly once, and then they make out like rabbits. I don't believe them for a second. I do like her accent though, and I liked her interactions with her brother. So she's one-up on West.

The only relationship that I'm more or less okay with is Hiro's "unrequited" love. Maybe it's because the entire situation seems to be taken straight from a manga (and honestly, one scene of the swordsmith's daughter and I was calling her Kaoru) or maybe it's because his attraction to her seems so sweet and genuine. Claire and Peter don't seem to be really in love, just hormonal. I don't know if this is the writers' fault or the actor's. But I'm assuming writers, because Claire had the distinction of being one of the first television teenagers I actually liked.

I won't stop watching the show any time soon, that's for certain. I would still like to own a copy of Heroes Season One. But the show needs to take a deep breath, find it's direction, and move ahead. It needs to capture the storytelling that it had last season, the pace, and perhaps make their "Nightmare Man" (the moniker literally made me laugh out loud) as threatening and fascinating as Sylar.

Or just give Sylar more screen time. Zachary Quinto is now one of my favorite actors, he could carry the show by himself.

A Dog's Breakfast

A Dog's Breakfast

Okay, I have to admit I was almost worried about this movie. It seemed too good to be true. Two actors I love from Stargate Atlantis make a dark comedy? With David Hewlett directing?

When you add in Kate Hewlett, who I loved in her Atlantis appearance, Christopher Judge, and a chance to see Rachel Luttrell play a different character, I knew I had to see this movie.

I also knew that there was a chance I would be disappointed. Sometimes, when something gets built up in your mind, you're almost afraid to experience it because it might not live up to your expectations.

A Dog's Breakfast is not that kind of movie. It is everything it said it would be, it is a dark comedy, it is hilarious, and really shows off the acting skills of all involved. While Luttrell plays an alien princess, her character is part of a fantastic "Space Soap Opera" spoof that had us all laughing as we watched. I would watch Star Crossed any day of the week.

While Hewlett's character, Patrick, has some mannerisms related to Dr. McKay, in the end he is his own neurotic crazy person. Paul McGillion steals the show, playing Ryan in a way that is absolutely nothing like Dr. Carson Beckett.

The plot is very over the top, and it could have been too much. Patrick doesn't like his sister's fiance, Ryan. So he contemplates killing the man to get him out of the way. His attempts at murder are so inept they usually leave Patrick injured instead of his intended victim.

But in one moment the movie suddenly starts to become so bizarre that you're not sure where it could be going. It's saving grace is that almost at the second where you look at your television and say, "No way" the movie suddenly starts to make a twisted kind of sense.

The group I watched it with was almost constantly laughing and talking to the screen. I know I am going to put it on my list of films to buy and own.

As an added bonus, the DVD actually contains special features. I expected it to be a nearly bare disc, with the movie and perhaps some subtitling options. Instead there are featurettes, commentary, and a few deleted and extended scenes. The deleted scenes, like almost every set I've seen, aren't really worth inclusion if it wasn't for clearer versions of the scenes from Star Crossed. But the featurettes are actually revealing and interesting. You see behind-the-scenes moments and interviews with everyone involved. David Hewlett still has a great sarcastic sense of humor as a person.

This movie is absolutely worth renting, and if you already like the actors at all then go ahead and buy it. It is well worth it.

Freaks and Geeks

Freaks and Geeks - The Complete Series

I wanted to like this show. I really did. I'd heard that it was fantastic, I'd heard all these tales of how great it was and how tragic it was that it had been canceled.

Of course, since half the people involved have gone on to make huge hit movies like Knocked Up, it has been hyped up and talked about even more.

Normally, I give new series one disc to impress me. If I don't like the first episode, I at least give it on more. I usually try to give it three. This had three episodes on the first disc. Perfect!

But really, I should have given up halfway through the first episode when I realized it was like an homage to a bad 80's movie. Only it was a bad homage, the kind where instead of remembering the great elements of a genre and improving on it they instead just reproduce the genre entirely.

I knew everything that was coming before it happened. I couldn't even stand to watch the second episode because I knew it would just be a rehash of every other "My parents are out of town and I'm going to invite a few friends over but then the party gets out of control!" Even Mean Girls couldn't improve on that old plotline.

I know I was supposed to sympathize with the main character, but I just couldn't care. She made stupid decisions every thirty seconds, and while I can understand why she would be friends with the drummer (no, I can't remember anyone's names from the show) I can't understand why she would want to be in the same room with James Franco.

If you want a show that is as funny and difficult to deal with as high school, and at least moderatly realistic go with MMy So-Called Life. If you want one that takes the high school drama and makes it better, pick up Buffy The Vampire Slayer.

But don't bother with Freaks and Geeks.

Edit and addition: I have to admit something after reading up on the series on Wikipedia. I did not watch the second or third episode in their entirety. I actually have a huge aversion to watching people embarrass themselves, and so I skipped through most of the kegger in the second episode. Turns out that her brother switches the beer with a non-alcoholic variety and the kids act drunk anyway. This DOES in fact bring something new to the story, and I have to admit that I commend them for that. Since I haven't sent the show back yet, I might watch this episode completely.

But I don't believe it will really change how I feel about the show or the characters, so I've already taken the rest of the show off of my queue.