Deutsche Version | CW 01-02 | CW 04

Human Target 1×01 Pilot
The pilot episode certainly looked interesting. The action was well balanced above realistic and below unrealistic. It looks like as if it’s going to be Die Hard or Lethal Weapon in a series format and I certainly will watch more episodes of it.
“You wore a vest? Where’s my vest?” – “I’m your vest.”

24 8×01 – 8×04 4:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Dammit. I should have known better. I decided to watch the season en bloc when it is over. But I just had to peak a little and was already drawn back in…
I love Jack’s new “Are we done here? Can I go home now?” attitude. Of course they aren’t done and Jack can’t go home.
When I read that that Freddie Prince jr. (Wing Commander, Scooby Doo) – He married my Buffy, dammit!!! – would take the part of the leading CTU Field Officer I was a bit worried. But he has gotten older and looks like he can pull it off.
Of course there are again the typical 24 plot points like the incompetent CTU boss, the CTU member who has private problems and I am already wondering who the mole is – but that’s OK, it’s 24 after all.
What I also like is that – aside from the 24 alumni who have returned this season – these episodes feel like a huge School Reunion party: The aforementioned Freddie Prince jr., Katee Sackhoff (Starbuck in Battlestar Galactica) – looks gorgeous btw -, Paul Wesley (Stefan in The Vampire Diaries), Cliff Simon (Ba’al in Stargate SG-1), David Anders (Takezo Kensei / Adam Monroe in Heroes, Julian Sark in Alias), Jürgen Prochnow (Dune, Das Boot) and according to the CTU files Callum Keith Rennie (Ray in Due South, Leoben in Battlestar Galactica) will also appear anytime soon.

Life Unexpected 1×01 Pilot
I was made aware of this series at least twice. The second time was a few days ago when blogs reviewed the pilot episode. But I’ve seen bits and pieces of this episode before – most likely in a trailer a few months back. And even though I had forgotten the show in the meantime I now remember that I decided back then that I’d give it a try.
I really liked the pilot. The characters are believable and down-to-earth. Even though the show runs on The CW this isn’t Beverly Hills 90210 or Gossip Girl, this is different. As with every show it now depends on what kind of storylines they are going to tell and how this triangle+attachments is going to work out.

Spartacus: Blood and Sand 1×01 / 1×02 The Red Serpent / Sacramentum Gladiatorum
Lots of nudity (male and female). Even more blood. Better you put a bucket below your telly in case it spills out of the screen. The optic leans more towards 300 than Gladiator, especially when there’s blood flowing. The problem is the story. These first two episodes show how Spartacus became a Gladiator but it didn’t give the viewer an idea what the entire show is going to be about. And that’s why I am not yet convinced. To quote Buffy’s Spike: “I love a good slaughter as much as the next bloke” but I also need a real story in between.
Time will tell … at least you now get the chance you never got with Xena: To see Lucy Lawless in the nude.

Chuck 3×04 Chuck vs Operation Awesome
The only thing I’ve ever seen Brandon Routh in was Superman Returns but here he didn’t remind me of his character there. I like him as addition to the team because he could stir things up a little.
I don’t know if it’s just my imagination because they announced it but the show actually feels a bit less funny and a bit more serious. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still an Action Comedy and there’s plenty of fun in it. But the general tone during the spy action seems to have darkened a little since last year. I’m not complaining – I like it.

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Categories: TV Season 2009/10 Diary
Tags: 24 · Alias · Battlestar Galactica · Beverly Hills 90210 · Bones · Buffy the Vampire Slayer · Burn Notice · Cagney & Lacey · Castle · Chuck · Cougar Town · Das Boot · Die Hard · Due South · Dune · Gossip Girl · Heroes · House M.D. · How I Met Your Mother · Human Target · Lethal Weapon · Leverage · Life Unexpected · Scooby Doo · Spartacus: Blood and Sand · Stargate SG-1 · Superman · Supernatural · The Big Bang Theory · The Good Wife · The Vampire Diaries · Two and a Half Men · White Collar · Wing Commander · Xena: Warrior Princess
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Deutsche Version

Since everybody seems to be starting to count at zero instead of one the first decade of this century and millennium is now over. So it’s time to recap these past ten years and take a look at the TV Shows it has given us.

Let me give my résumé at the beginning: Of the four decades I know TV Shows from (70s – 00s) this was without question the best decade for us TV junkies. When you read my review you might say in the end “Hey what about <insert your favourite here>?” (e.g. The Sopranos, Dexter, The Wire, Six Feet Under, …) but that’s exactly my point. This decade has given us so many outstanding shows that it was impossible to watch them all. Also, everybody has a different set of favourite genres but I’d say that every genre got their fair share of excellent series in the last years.

But let’s face it: There’s rarely any series (if there’s one at all) that could keep up the quality and its appeal for its entire run. Some had a bad year in between, some fell short at the end. But even in these “bad years” they had more quality episodes in it than entire shows from previous decades. So all the shows I am going to name have of course aspects that can be criticized and I invite you to do so.

For me the most outstanding characteristic of this past decade’s shows is that they are more often than not more about the “journey” of the character(s) than the actual events. It’s not the character who shines a light upon the unfolding events but it’s the events that shine a light upon the character and his development. I have to say that shows (hereby excluding comedy shows that work with stereo- and archetypes) that don’t have a real character development don’t interest me at all. But if the character development is interesting I might even watch shows from genres that usually don’t interest me at all.

If the character development is interesting enough I might even set the fact aside that my second favourite characteristic is missing: A real story-arc. The first TV Show in my TV universe that had a real story-arc, was Babylon 5. Later Star Trek: DS9 did the same albeit not in that quality and complexity. But these shows were two of the rare exception in the 90s (another famous exception would be Twin Peaks, but I never watched it). It seemed that viewers weren’t interested in either developing characters or story-arcs.

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Categories: Short Review, Thought Storm
Tags: 24 · Alias · Angel · Babylon 5 · Battlestar Galactica · Being Human · Bones · Buffy the Vampire Slayer · Burn Notice · Chuck · Dexter · Doctor Who · Farscape · Firefly · Friends · Heroes · House M.D. · How I Met Your Mother · James Bond · Knight Rider · LOST · MacGyver · Six Feet Under · Smallville · Star Trek DS9 · Superman · Supernatural · The A-Team · The Big Bang Theory · The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy · The Sopranos · The Wire · Thursday Next · True Blood · Twin Peaks · Two and a Half Men · Veronica Mars
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Deutsche Version | CW 37-46 | CW 45-48

Bones 5×07 The Dwarf in the Dirt
Gordon Gordon is back! And Stephen Fry has lost a lot of weight. I hope he isn’t ill or something. Booth was certainly the highlight of this episode, both in regards to his mental problems and him being helped by Sweets and Gordon Gordon but also the fight in the midget wrestling.

Supernatural 5×09 The Real Ghostbusters
The second comedy episode in a row but it did work. Though I was wondering why the convention was so heavily unbalanced towards a male audience, but then again the in-universe Supernatural is just a book series and it’s certainly no kitsch like Twilight that is more likely to appeal to women.
But I am glad that they have a lead on the colt and can finally go back into the big battle.

The Vampire Diaries 1×04 Family Ties
I have to admit, the last minute of that episode made the entire show more interesting. Now I am curious what the townspeople know and how deep this thing goes.

The Vampire Diaries 1×05 You’re Undead to Me
It’s fascinating how vampirism and witchcraft seem to be connected. Whenever there are Vampires, witches are never far behind. Why? Just because they both are supernatural fantasy creatures? I wouldn’t mind a show with just Vampires (and Humans) in it.

The Vampire Diaries 1×06 Lost Girls
I am seriously starting to wonder for what kind of audience they made the pilot of this show. The pilot made it look like “Transylvania 90210″ I and nearly didn’t watch another episode. Luckily I was bored. This show definitively has some merrit beyond the “lonely Vampire wants human girlfriend” concept.

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Categories: TV Season 2009/10 Diary
Tags: Back to the Future · Bones · Castle · FlashForward · House M.D. · How I Met Your Mother · LOST · Smallville · Stargate Universe · Superman · Supernatural · The Big Bang Theory · The Good Wife · The Vampire Diaries · Twilight · Two and a Half Men · V · White Collar
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Deutsche Version | Part 7 | Part 9

True Blood

What’s the show about?
Based upon the “Sookie Stackhouse” book series by Charlaine Harris. Sookie is a waitress in Bon Temps, Louisiana and she can read minds. She’s fallen in love with a Vampire who has been around since the Civil War. The Vampires have come out of the coffin since the Japanese have invented artificial blood and Vampires need no longer feed off of Humans. The new stuff is called Tru:Blood.

“Strange Love”
Sookie Stackhouse is totally excited when her first Vampire walks into the bar where she works. And the best part of it: She can’t read his mind. The thoughts of all the people around her are constantly raining upon her but he is totally quiet. But she’s not the only one who has identified him as Vampire. So have the Rattrays and they pin him down and try to drain him dry for his “V” – Vampire blood, an aphrodisiac for Humans.

My Opinion
A bit lengthy at times but otherwise very interesting and sometimes disturbing. The show is very open about a lot of topics and also very (very, very!) visual. And except for having Vampires living openly amongst Humans the show also shows other mystical abilities like Sookie’s mind-reading and someone else’s shape-shifting. The interesting part about this show is the fact that Vampires aren’t a secret and how both sides try to deal with that fact (Vampire rights, racism, …).

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Categories: DVD / Blu-ray, DVD Marathon, Pilot Marathon
Tags: Bones · Charmed · Dragon Ball · Dragon Ball Z · Due South · Friends · How I Met Your Mother · Joey · Jurassic Park · Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman · Primeval · Smallville · Superman · The Big Bang Theory · The Fall Guy · True Blood · Two and a Half Men
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So I just watched 8×22 Doomsday. (Heavy spoilers follow!)

Man, what a waste. Clark had better fights than that against a random Freak-of-the-Week in the first seasons! That was all? The ultimate weapon? The only one who could ever kill Superman in the comics?  I am so disappointed.

And the other parts were terrible as well. Were’s Lois gone? The past? The future? She can’t go anywhere where she might fight out Clark’s true nature or they would destroy that part of the mythology, too.

And Jimmy’s dead?!? 1st WTF! And then “Henry James Olson” has a younger brother who conveniently wears a bow tie at the funeral and gets Jimmy’s camera?!? 2nd WTF!!

And finally Clark wants to get rid of his human side (again) because he blames himself for what happened to everyone? 2nd season finale déjà vu anyone?

This was so lame…

This only strengthens my opinion:
Smallville is getting nowhere.

Categories: Short Review
Tags: Smallville · Superman
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I don’t know. I’ve always been a fan of the show but for the last 1.75 seasons I don’t know where the show is heading anymore.

In the begin of season seven they brought Kara in but never made anything interesting out of this character. After the writers strike they brought up this rather ridiculous Veritas arc which contradicted basically everything we’ve learned in the last seven years. Then they decided to show Lex Clark’s secret full knowing that Michael Rosenbaum wouldn’t return in an eighth season.

Then we start with the eighth season. Lana is gone, Lex is gone. But the cliffhanger isn’t really continued, it’s simply broken off and the story continues elsewhere. They don’t even mention Kara, as if nothing had happened. And from where I am standing this whole eight season is devoted to destroy the character of Chloe. She’s been less and less the Chloe I’ve known and loved for seven years with every episode that gets aired. And maybe that’s the purpose. Maybe they want to kill her off at some point because she doesn’t exist in the original Superman universe.

But how is this ever going to work in this Smallville universe? Lana is gone and Clark finally begins to develop some feelings for Lois but suddenly they bring Lana back and Clark forgets all about Lois. And even worse: Chloe forgets all about her husband lying heavily injured in a hospital in Star City. She helps Clark and lets Lois take care of her husband! And then Lana is gone again and this time it will be permanent. And Lois will be rebound girl. And how can Clark ever become Superman in the original maskless costume when he already works glassless in the Daily Planet alongside Lois and Jimmy?

I always thought that Superman’s costume was a bit lame, but now it’s logically impossible to not be recognized by at least the DP people.

We may have a Big Bad this season and Clark will eventually defeat him in the end but I am get less interested with every episode. They have already ordered a ninth season. But I am quite sure they haven’t even a clue yet what it will be about.

Sorry, but that’s how I feel.

Categories: Short Review
Tags: Smallville · Superman
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Some people give me sometimes a strange look when they see how many DVDsI have. On the other hand: I don’t smoke, I don’t drink and I invest just enough money in my car to keep it driving.

And thanks to the cheap Pound and the exemption from import duties TV shows are as cheap as they’ve never been before. And which leisure activity costs only about one Euro per hour?

Here are the last ten TV show boxes I have bought (including preis per hour):

Categories: DVD / Blu-ray
Tags: 24 · Buffy the Vampire Slayer · LOST · Smallville · Superman
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The story of Star Wars sung to the tunes of John William’s music:

Categories: Fun, Misc
Tags: Close Encounters of the Third Kind · E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial · Indiana Jones · Jaws · Jurassic Park · Star Wars · Superman
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Deutsche Version | Season 6

Disc 1

Bizarro

Synopsis: Clark and Bizarro-Clark are still fighting and they break the dam in the process. This nearly drowns Lois, Chloe, Lionel and Lex but all are saved one way or another. Only Chloe is declared dead in the hospital but mysteriously rises from the dead. With Bizarro, everything is in reverse mode: Kryptonite is his power source but the yellow sun is his weakness.

My Opinion: Clark defeated him a bit too easy for my taste, especially since Bizarro was just juiced up with a huge amount of Kryptonite and also because one didn’t see what the Martian Manhunter did with him. But at least there are a lot of puzzles left to be resolved, e.g. the new female arrival, Chloe’s abilities, Lex’s newfound enlightenment and Lionel’s disappearance.

Kara

Synopsis: She’s been in stasis for 18 years. Her ship lay on the bottom of the reservoir lake until it was emptied due to the battle. She is Kara, Kal-El’s cousin and also a member of the house of El. And now she has to learn that her home planet is destroyed and that Kal-El is no small child anymore. And the military has her ship and if they manage to open it, it will self-destruct with the force of a nuclear bomb.

My Opinion: Now he’s not alone anymore. I’ve only seen a few episodes of this season and I have no idea how it will turn out, but I am aware of the fact that Kara will become Supergirl in the Superman mythology.
But I hated to see how they stomped over Chloe just to push Lois. That seemed unfair.

Fierce

Synopsis: Lana’s back in town – and not so dead as she was presumed to be. Clark is more than happy to see her, but his life has also changed. He has to teach Kara how to “blend in” with the Humans and she does this by entering the “Miss Sweet Corn” beauty pageant.

My Opinion: This was a funny episode to watch. I loved the character “Kara” from the start. She’s such a good counterpart to Clark. He needs to see that there are other ways than his own (a lesson Green Arrow also tried to teach him).
But I am still missing the “theme of the season”. Since the fourth season it has always been clear from the start what the season would be about. Isobel, Zod, the Zoners. I don’t believe that it will be a “Kara season” but I have yet to see anything else coming up.

Cure

Synopsis: A FotW who should be in Belle Reve reappears in Smallville and claims to be healed. Unfortunately she can’t remember anything since the time she became infected. Chloe doesn’t see that as a story but as a means to “cure” her, too. But the doctor isn’t who he appears to be.

My Opinion: Great appearance of Dean Cain who was Clark Kent/Superman in Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, a show that I also watched until it was cancelled.
What I didn’t like was the fact that the Martian Manhunter has become Clark’s “waste disposal”. The writers have found an easy way out of any kind of plot without needing to think about it.
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Categories: DVD / Blu-ray, DVD Marathon, Smallville Marathon
Tags: Smallville · Supergirl · Superman
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Deutsche Version | Season 5 | Season 7

Disc 1

Zod

Synopsis: By destroying Brainiac with the kryptonian knife, Clark opened the portal for Zod. Zod has taken over Lex’s body and is now trying to conquer the world by removing its technology. And there’s no one who can stop him, because Clark was banished to the Phantom Zone.

My Opinion: This was a great conclusion to the cliffhanger, although once again it could have lasted longer. I see the problem that if Clark would have remained longer in the Phantom Zone, Zod would have caused more havoc and probably more people would have seen him, which would be devastating for Lex. But still, two or three episodes would have been cool.
I find it funny that Aaron Ashmore is playing Jimmy Olsen, while his identical twin brother Shawn has been a recurring FotW in the early seasons, yet no one seems to see the resemblance.

Sneeze

Synopsis: Clark vigorously tries to repair the damage that has been caused by Zod. But even he gets exhausted at one point and his immune system was weakened due to his stay in the Phantom Zone. Clark has catched the “common” cold and now sneezes barn doors halfway across the county.
Meanhwile Lex gets abducted because some people want to find out how he has done the things he has done while he was being possessed by Zod.

My Opinion: They skipped that episode in the last season, probably because there aren’t many abilities left and also probably because he has been human during a few episodes. When I first watched this episode I thought Oliver Queen would just be another adversary of Lex’s, just as Victoria Hardwick or Jason Teague. How wrong I was.

BTW: When Justin Hartley (Oliver) smiles, don’t you think that he has a striking resemblance to the young Ben Affleck?

Wither

Synopsis: Someone – or something – is killing a young woman near a make-out-zone and her friend has mysteriously vanished.  But then is found, but he dies at the hospital because a plant is growing out of his stomach. And this plant can hurt even Clark.

My Opinion: Instead of FotWs we will see beings from the Phantom Zone in this season. While I found this episode to be entertaining, I still think that Pa’u Zotoh Zhaan was the more interesting plant.
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Categories: DVD / Blu-ray, DVD Marathon, Smallville Marathon
Tags: Smallville · Star Trek VOY · Superman
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