This Friday, after more then 7 years, it’s about time to say goodbye to Adrian Monk, the detective with an OCD that actually helps him solve crimes, and getting him over and over into awkward situations.
The USA Network will air the Final episode of Monk on Friday.
The show was not an immediate hit in our home, and it kind of grew on us in the last couple of years. And even though we did not become addicted to it like we are to let’s say… The Office, we still tried to catch up here and there, and to follow up on the reruns.
So it’s a little sad but not too bad… Worth watching, if you have the time for it.
The Celebrity Apprentice finale last night was the most disgusting thing I’ve seen on TV in a long long time. In fact it was so annoying, that I could not bring myself to watch more then five minutes, so I don’t even know who won, and I really don’t care. The one thing I am happy about, is that it was the season finale, and next week, instead of trying to avoid Trump and his stupid wannabe never gonna be kids, we are getting our Thursday back with My Name Is Earl, The Office and back. What a relief!!!
30 Rock will take a bit longer, but it’s a start.
If you’re a Lost fan, it’s hard imagine what next after a season finale which featured never-before-seen previews of the life after the island (yes, they do manage to get off somehow); a climactic showdown between the show’s two bitter rivals/archenemies; the death of a beloved, yet flawed character who left us with a fateful message or one that’s construed as such anyways; and a possible pregnancy forcing the Jack/Sawyer/Kate love triangle storyline to its near breaking point.
With build-up in tension like that, it’s easy to see the rationale behind ABC waiting 8 mos to launch a new season of their most popular show and even more so why there was no way the premiere could hold a candle to the fireworks that ignited back in May.
Still, my biggest pet peeve about the Lost season premiere on Thursday was the lack of imagination and forethought into the characters’ development. And most of all, this overplay of the same 2-dimensional theme that the island holds some magical force which perpetuates good and that once you’re off the island you become dysfunctional and your entire sense of equilibrium gets shifted off-kilter to the brink of insanity.
Case-in-point: the anti-burly Hurley aka Hugo. Read More…
The cast didn’t help, nor did the strong marketing campaign, it just didn’t pick up, and on Monday, HBO decided to cancel the TV drama John From Cincinnati after only one season. The cast included some impressive names such as Bruce Greenwood, Rebbecca De Mornay, Luke Perry and of course the one and only Ed O’Neill, but even they couldn’t save the show.
HBO’s upcoming series include the drama “In Treatment,” the comedy “12 Miles of Bad Road” and “True Blood,” the recently picked-up vampire drama by “Six Feet Under” creator Alan Ball (Reuters).
Hillary Clinton rocks the vote in this clever parody of “The Sopranos” series finale. Chelsea may be MIA but a some Billing and a little Journey go a long way.
“The Sopranos” ended with a whimper I’m sorry to say, with a series finale that hardly did justice to the caliber of show it started out as. For 59 minutes, nothing of note happened and the show driveled on building up to the final slow-mo climactic scene in which Tony and his family meet for dinner. Each members arrives separately so you’re held in suspense as to whom will be killed and whom will be spared. In the end, Meadow walks into the diner late to meet up with Tony, AJ, and Carmela and it’s “understood” that there’s a hit out on Tony and the assassins are at the restaurant setting up their mark.
Unfortunately Meadow running into the diner last minute is where the clip abruptly ends and credits start rolling. Huh? Disappointed? We sure were…
It’s Saturday night and I’m watching the 80s teen flick “Loverboy” on TBS with Patrick Dempsey. I’m also arguing with my husband that the scrawny dweeb that once wooed current Weight Watchers spokesgal (before she was on WW of course) Kirstie Alley in the movie is in fact the one and only Dr. McDreamy. He doesn’t buy it and keeps trying to convince me Dempsey is Sean Penn. This got me thinking that Dempsey and Penn might have started out on similar 80s film role paths, but their careers definitely diverged. Somehow Dempsey became McDreamy and Penn opted for more er, um socially consciouswork?
Moving right along, I heard today Isaiah Washington’s character Dr. Burke will not be returning to “Grey’s Anatomy” next season. I guess one botched up season of slurs was one too many. No doubt the cast is pleased, especially T.R. Wright. But from where I stand it was a lame character/plot development write-in for the producers to dispose of Burke the way they did on the show’s season finale. Just cause Washington may or may not be a jerk in real life doesn’t give the writers license to downgrade a formerly upstanding character and have him suffer the same fate as his portrayer.
In this week’s Amaldo.Com podcast, I tackle haiku and fail miserably. The good news is this attempt at poetry spawned a very creative poem entitled, Ode To “Lost” Season Two: I Didn’t Want To Get Punk’d Or Bent But I Did.” There are quite a few laughs to be had here, for both viewers and non-viewers. I’m hoping J.J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof take note of my stellar use of creativity here and hire me on as a writer next season…A girl’s gotta have dreams afterall!
I’ve been a little disappointed in season finales as of late. It’s a general rule of thumb that all that anticipation and excitement built around one major event will inevitably fall short of expectation. I can say that after enduring 2-hours of repeatedly asking myself “Huh?” while watching the “Lost” season finale last night that I’ve been humbled into making this particular season finale the exception.
Warning: Don’t read ahead if you you’ve TiVoed and haven’t yet watched. This is a post-analysis of last night’s season finale.
So here’s why I’m still in awe, even 12 hours later:
1) There were no flashbacks in last night’s episode. Rather, we catch a glimpse into life after the island as Jack struggles to come to terms with his own and his desire to go back to the island. In the future, Jack’s become an alcoholic, abuses painkillers, takes trans-Atlantic flights in the hopes that the plane will crash, and he’s still hung up on Kate as his sole connection to the island. We learn that someone (presumably from the island) died and that no one other than Jack bothered to attend the funeral. When Jack confronts Kate on this mysterious person’s passing, her reaction is, “Why would I go?” leaving us all to think that the dead person is Ben and he clearly makes it off the island. In the future, Kate pities Jack, but has moved on leaving Jack behind. There are clear 9-11 allusions going on here as well.
Jack’s fate leaves us with the open-ended question: Were Ben and Locke ultimately right about the island and Jack’s rescue mission being the worst thing for his people? It clearly was the worst decision for Jack.
2) Walt=Jacob? I’m still unclear as to whether or not Walt was an apparition or has some sort of special connection to the island, like Locke. Either way, it would appear that Walt harbors supernatural abilities and his uncanny timing with regards to stopping Locke from committing suicide and getting him to walk again. Is Walt Jacob? More likely, he holds some connection to the island’s force.
3) Charlie dies, but WHY? I’m glad Sayid, Jin, and Bernard survived but I felt Charlie’s death to be superfluous, yet inevitable. On a more existential level, the Charlie dies storyline carries out the fate vs. individualism metaphor carried out throughout the show. After initially objecting to dying, Charlie subscribes to Desmond’s prophetic spells/visions that he must die so that the rest of them be rescued. As being rescued is the objective, Charlie sacrifices himself. But Jack’s fate leaves us to think that perhaps Charlie sacrificing himself was in vain, at least as far as Jack goes. In back-to-the-future flash-forwards, Kate also seemed a little hardened around the edges, but perhaps she too was torn out of obligation to an old friend/former love? and her desire to move on from the experience of the island.
4) Has Sawyer’s experience killing Locke’s father and the man responsible for his mother’s death turned him into a killer? Sawyer killed off Tom in last night’s finale without flinching leaving Juliet and Hurley a bit blown away. (no pun intended) And even Kate commented on Sawyer’s withdrawn behavior post-Locke episode. Will this have a long-term effect on the former con with a heart of gold? Has the island transformed him into a killer with a heart of stone?
5) I’m super glad Locke didn’t die, but still questioning if him killing Jack wouldn’t have made for a better ending to the season finale. We know that Locke represents island/fate and Jack represents rescue/reason and given all this a showdown was necessary. But with everything that lies ahead, the ending leaves you thinking: Maybe Jack would have been better off dead? Of course the beginning flash-forward featuring Jack wanting to jump from the bridge also follows along with this theme.
6) Jack/Sawyer/Juliet/Kate Love Quadrangle: Jack has always loved Kate (he tells her so in the season finale), but she clearly loves Sawyer. In the future episodes, he is not with Kate, but hung up on her in some capacity, even if it is just the island connection. We don’t know about Sawyer and Juliet, but Kate alludes to a “he” waiting for her in the future sequences so perhaps she ended up with Sawyer. I don’t think Jack and Juliet ended up together. Maybe Juliet died, but since he didn’t really love her I guess it’s a non-issue.
That’s if for my AM-after-finale notes. Feel free to add your own comments here. I love to think about this stuff.
On an end note, what I really enjoyed about the way “Lost” ended the season (and the show on a whole) is that it delves a little deeper. For example, it doesn’t leave you thinking life is always preferable to death or to elaborate, that death has to be the end- more that it can act as a portal or perhaps even if it doesn’t function as that, it’s how you spend your time and were able to resolve your issues while you were on “earth” that really mattered. I don’t know if I buy the whole island as time-space continuum theory, but I like that the shows gives a little humanity and breath to this subject. It f*cks a little with societal conventions and ideas about mortality and right/wrong and for that I’ll miss this show dearly over the course of the next 8 mos.
As much as I tried throughout the time this blog has been up and running to avoid mentioning the tedious term American Idol, my morning commute with dozens of local radio stations with only one thing in mind (ratings) were in a constant blabber about the 2 hour special Event. And in the end, all this focus on the the songs the final contestants will sing tonight drew me unwillingly into the commotion. I will never understand this rush after complete mediocrity. All I know is that nobody is going to watch this “Event” in my house, and while my lovely wife devotes herself to a 2 hour Lost, you’re humble servant will watch… South Park.
On this week’s Amaldo.Com Cast, I discuss my DVD picks of the week, season finale talk, a certain chanteuse nuptials, and our upcoming Amaldo.Com interview with Ingrid Michaelson whose Keep Breathing appeared as the closing song on the season finale of “Grey’s Anatomy” last week.
I’ve been bombarded with season/series finales this week. I daresay that the current New England weather staple of cold and heavy rain doesn’t help with the emotional trauma inflicted from knowing that another season of TV is over and I’ll have to wait till Sept/Oct before I can know the fate of my favorite characters.
I started counting down the months till the new season at 59 past the 8 PM “Office” hour, knowing full well that by the time the new season comes, I’ll be excited again, but pondering all the personal changes that could affect my life between now and then to make me less of an avid watcher.
We have mini-seasons now and hiatuses have become more commonplace leaving viewers with a feeling that they are getting less of a return on their investment. I’m not sure why I feel such an anti-climatic sense of closure: If I’m still reeling from the numb of Locke’s loss last week on “Lost” or simply do what I do when I can sense the end of the something that had a more profound effect on me than I’m willing to admit: Withdraw.
I’ve gone through the whole week watching “Heroes,” “Lost,” “The Office,” “Scrubs,” and “Grey’s Anatomy” without feeling too much remorse. The shows end with the typical formulaic cliff-hanger: Will Meredith and McDreamy bid their adieus? (most likely) Will George leave both Izzy and his wife out in the cold and develop yet another unrequited crush on a Grey sister now that Meredith’s presumably half-sister is an intern? Will JD and Eliot come clean with their love for each other or use the kiss as the convenient narrative scapegoat for last-minute, cold feet jitters?
The truth is “The Office” season finale left us all with some questions too-the big one being whether Pam and Jim were really going to get together, but the show is a cut above the rest in scripting, acting, and comedic delivery and because of this, the finale stuck out from the rest of the pack. It was not only delightfully poignant, but the final scene didn’t do what every other show on Network TV does-it ended with some sense of closure and promise for what the next season holds.
Whereas “Grey’s Anatomy” leaves us in some chronic emotional crisis over characters who are so self-indulgent I can’t stomach them, let alone care for them anymore, and “Scrubs” builds up to the Eliot/JD kiss for the past three mos, “The Office” took us on a more original detour, leading us just where we might have supposed we’d be (with Pam and Jim together), but taking a much more lively and animated path to get there.
I guess what all this boils down to is the ability for “The Office” to remain true, steadfast, and faithful to its core and what drew fans to it in the first place. It hasn’t suffered a second season writing slump cum “Desperate Housewives” and most other hit first season shows. It’s managed to leverage its success and sustain the course of time, critics, and fame. Moreover, it’s retained that ability to not take itself so seriously, which in life and on TV, is so critical to our well-being.
Besides, that line that Steve Carell’s Michael Scott says to Jenna Fisher’s Pam after taking back his ex Jan (who recently underwent breast enhancement surgery), “Your argument was strong, Pam, but hers was bigger.”
I don’t know why I haven’t thought of doing a “Lost” play-by-play before for this site. I used to dissect reality TV to the point I wrote a book on it, so why not do the same with a show I actually enjoy watching?
Well, perhaps I feared that by breaking down my favorite show into tiny little critical bits of dusty particle-like matter, I wouldn’t enjoy watching anymore. But then I realized that it’s not passion that fuels me to write, it’s compulsion and since the latter is the very thing that also compels me to give up my Wednesday nights for the sake of a 10-11 ABC timeslot, it’s all pretty much the same anyways.
So as mentioned previously, last night’s “Lost” was Charliecentric. And as most “Lost” fans have grown to love the flawed bugger, we didn’t want to see him endure the same careless whisper of a fate as John Locke. We learn in the first five minutes of last night’s episode that Charlie knows new girl Naomi (and no, not from Las Vegas, her old stomping grounds) but from Manchester, England. They’re Mancunians. Naomi informs Charlie that he’s famous posthumously, in that everyone in the rest of the world thinks he’s that rockstar that died on that airplane.
Ouch!
This makes Charlie sad because later on when Desmond tells Charlie he must die so that Claire and her baby can live (A little Jesus, anyone?), all is not forgotten. Like the martyr/hero he is, Charlie volunteers himself for the life-sacrificing role of going underwater to work some magic on the hatch. In Desmond’s premonition, Charlie drowns for our sins. Ok, so the latter half of that sentence isn’t entirely accurate and in real life, he doesn’t actually die, but more on that later…
While Charlie is battling his childhood demons (in flashbacks), we’re also getting propelled forward with the Jack/Juliet/Sayid storyline as they prepare the island and wire it with explosives in preparation for the invasion of The Others/Hostiles. Unfortunately, they learn through Rousseau’s daughter’s boyfriend that Ben’s cult of crazy, gun-happy, baby stealers will not be coming in three days as Juliet anticipated, but that very night.
The remaining episode features more Charlie. We learn that he was afraid of the water as a lad, that his brother considered him the more mature, responsible one and gave him some sort of family heirloom for keep safing. There is also a tender moment between baby Aaron, Claire, and Charlie in which Charlie shares a platonic kiss with Claire, but more protective emotion is conveyed through expression.
The final scene has Charlie and Desmond on a boat in the middle of the ocean. Charlie is wrestling with going down, and Desmond senses his hesitation so he once again steps in on Charlie’s behalf and offers to save him. Charlie whacks Desmond over the head unconscious to show his disapproval of this and to prevent Desmond from risking his life once more on his behalf.
Charlies jumps, but does he die?
I will say that he makes it to the surface and that the hatch is actually more of an indoor pool, not unlike the one in Charlie’s childhood flashback with his dad and the pool. Charlie climbs up the ladder only to be met with two machete-happy “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider” lookalike women. We want to feel sorry for him, but he looks so positively happy to be alive and in the presence of such girls, it’s hard to feel too bad for the chap.
Next week’s “Lost” season finale features the conflict we’ve all been waiting for between the clash of The Others & The People We Care About. Stay tuned throughout the week for updates on this episode.
The Celebrity Apprentice finale last night was the most disgusting thing I’ve seen on TV in a long long time. In fact it was so annoying, that I could not bring myself to watch more then five minutes, so I don’t even know 
“The Sopranos” ended with a whimper I’m sorry to say, with a series finale that hardly did justice to the caliber of show it started out as. For 59 minutes, nothing of note happened and the show driveled on building up to the final slow-mo climactic scene in which Tony and his family meet for dinner. Each members arrives separately so you’re held in suspense as to whom will be killed and whom will be spared. In the end, Meadow walks into the diner late to meet up with Tony, AJ, and Carmela and it’s “understood” that there’s a hit out on Tony and the assassins are at the restaurant setting up their mark.
It’s Saturday night and I’m watching the 80s teen flick “Loverboy” on TBS with Patrick Dempsey. I’m also arguing with my husband that the scrawny dweeb that once wooed current Weight Watchers spokesgal (before she was on WW of course) Kirstie Alley in the movie is in fact the one and only Dr. McDreamy. He doesn’t buy it and keeps trying to convince me Dempsey is Sean Penn. This got me thinking that Dempsey and Penn might have started out on similar 80s film role paths, but their careers definitely diverged. Somehow Dempsey became McDreamy and Penn opted for more er, um socially conscious 
I’ve been a little disappointed in season finales as of late. It’s a general rule of thumb that all that anticipation and excitement built around one major event will inevitably fall short of expectation. I can say that after enduring 2-hours of repeatedly asking myself “Huh?” while watching the “Lost” season finale last night that I’ve been humbled into making this particular season finale the exception.
On this week’s 
I’ve been bombarded with season/series finales this week. I daresay that the current New England weather staple of cold and heavy rain doesn’t help with the emotional trauma inflicted from knowing that another season of TV is over and I’ll have to wait till Sept/Oct before I can know the fate of my favorite characters. 
I don’t know why I haven’t thought of doing a “Lost” play-by-play before for this site. I used to dissect reality TV to the point I 
The most enjoyment I’ve gotten out of SNL all season was watching Scarlett Johansson (surprisingly funny gal) and series’ regular Alec Baldwin pop in. So when I found out that Zach Braff was 