"V" returns, revitalized and ready to get back into action

I don't know if it's too late for "V" to recover from its rocky first season, but its return last night certainly bodes well. Maybe it's too late for it to catch on or be renewed, but I have high hopes for the direction of the rest of the season. Not that the show is anything amazing, but I don't think it's as campy or terrible as people say it is. It's enjoyable for what it is, and last night we got a lot of exposition and the pace picked up. Really, I'm just happy to have another SciFi show out there that is entertaining even if it's not outright enthralling.

It seems like forever, but things picked up right where they left off - Chad Decker discovering the truth about the Vs, Anna turning the sky red, etc. I think they really utilized each character to the right amount in this episode. Elizabeth Mitchell's Erica Evans is still a bit of a bore and the only moments where she gets to shine are when she talks with Anna. Outside of those scenes where she gets to be a headstrong mother and a steadfast resistance fighter on board the ship, she's rather dull and I'm glad they're expanding the cast. Like Erica, a lot of the other characters have this problem of being personality-less. They have designated roles but they aren't very realistic. And you know what? I'm okay with that. This isn't a deep show and some of the characters are entertaining even if they aren't very lifelike. Luckily, Father Jack got very little screentime and most of it actually centered around the Fifth Column storyline and therefore wasn't as useless as his time normally is. It makes me sad that he's such a bore as well since I loved Joel Gretsch on "The 4400." But I like that Chad Decker is in the know and has to grapple with his guilt as well as the pressure of acting like he knows nothing.

The one human character I liked the most is Hobbes, the British mercenary. Well, now I have another human to root for on this show - Bret Harrison's Sidney. I've missed him since "Reaper" ended. Hobbes' declaration to Sidney that he was now working for the Fifth Column was great - "and if you say no, we'll kill you. Relax, I'm kidding. Maybe."

But my favorite characters are still the Vs fighting on our side. Ryan returned, but luckily the rest of the group wasn't moronic and actually questioned why he escaped so easily and what his true motivations are. Joshua was revived, but due to amnesia problems it looks like that was just a quick stunt and he isn't really back. Or maybe they'll go daring and have him report to Anna that Lisa was acting strangely and the friend will turn into a foe. And then we'll get to see his true nature to sympathize with humans resurface and we'll actually get to see him struggle with his loyalties. But that's only in my dreams, if they decided to capitalize on their one awesome character. Aside from him, though, Lisa is turning into my favorite character. She's in the most precarious position and is dealing with the highest stakes. She is embracing her feelings for Tyler and trying to protect him but she has to follow her mother's orders as well. I wish Tyler wasn't such an oblivious horny moron though. But Lisa's big turn to actually helping the Fifth Column is a big deal and I find her to be the most intriguing character, morally. Unfortunately, the more Lisa grows the more obvious it is that Tyler is painfully underdeveloped. I have a feeling the actor doesn't have the chops to pull off much more, though. Like her daughter, Anna is also getting more interesting with her struggle with human emotions. I'm not sure why the human skin also endows them with emotions, but I like the drama it brings. Watching Anna deal with her emotions by becoming more of a cruel bitch was a neat inversion of what her daughter is doing. You can't just give peace a chance, Anna? Come on, all you need is love! Do you really have to populate Earth? There isn't another planet out there you can use?

Another thing I noticed about this episode was that is was really gruesome. Red rain, tearing apart V leaders, Tyler getting his face ripped off (alas, only in a dream sequence)? I think this show borders on cheese without going overboard and I'm really enjoying the balance. It's just cheesy enough without being campy, although it could use some lightening up as it gets a little too morose sometimes. Alien invasions aren't a day at the park, I know, but they can be serious and still riveting.

After watching "V" and seeing a promo for TNT's "Falling Skies," I really want a show where aliens actually do come in peace. They would be screwed because we would never believe them and it would probably end up as a "District 9" type situation, but I would like to see something different.

So I guess the new big development is the phosphorous in the red rain and its ties to V breeding. It's a very elaborate plan full of a lot of work just to breed more Vs, so I have a hard time believing that's all they want - to populate the Earth with Vs, or make humans give birth to Vs, or whatever. And apparently Erica had some phosphorous issues when she was pregnant, leading her to get a blood test with Sidney to learn more. I have a question that's been bugging me - how bad is it to just slice your hand open with a knife? Couldn't Erica have just taken blood the old fashioned way? Lots of movies and TV shows (like the first "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie for example) show characters slitting their palm to get blood. Does a wound there clot that easily? Wouldn't that hurt like crazy for a while? It just doesn't seem practical or healthy. And now that I've rambled on needlessly about something no one else thinks about, I'll sum things up again - I'm enjoying this show for what it is and hope the rest of the season is as enjoyable as this episode was.

"The Event" - a show that wants desperately to be riveting and intriguing

I was hoping the second episode would hook me, or at least get me more excited about "The Event." Alas, I'm still lukewarm on this show. But lukewarm is better than cold hatred, so I'm sticking with it for now.

I was really surprised that they decided to break out "not of terrestrial origin" in the second episode. So much for not embracing SciFi. That said, I'm still not intrigued by their human-looking aliens, why these aliens are here, what they're doing, are they good or bad, etc. I just suddenly feel like I'm watching the less promising bastard offspring of "V" and "Flashforward." There are aliens infiltrating our society for some unknown reason, there's a mysterious event that happened, and meanwhile Jason Ritter is off running around in the desert. The plane crash victims' untimely end surprised me, but I still feel like this show is incredibly scatter-brained. We know that Jason Ritter's missing girlfriend/plane crash storyline is somehow connected to the alien prisoners, but I just don't care because they're going to have to take some giant leaps to connect the conspiracies. I don't know what the plane stunt was for, but I highly doubt the answer is going to be anywhere close to satisfying. These days, shows write giant mysteries to hook viewers then write themselves into corners because they didn't think to develop an eventual conclusion to their narrative. The result is unhappy, bitter viewers who are less willing to trust the Next Big Show. After "Invasion," "Flashforward," "Heroes", and "The Nine," we're just less willing to commit and put our faith in the showrunners. Additionally, the fractured timeline is needlessly confusing and isn't adding much of anything to the show. There are bits and pieces of character development, (Jason Ritter meeting his girlfriend, the CIA agent who is an undercover alien) but not enough at any one time to make us care especially about any one character.

I will say this for the show: I can't help but like Jason Ritter as the sort-of protagonist. Yeah, he hasn't done anything really spectacular or heroic yet, but he does have that Everyman quality every critic has been mentioning. But I could just be getting that impression because I haven't seen him in many things. I think the show needs to stick with him for a little bit as the main protagonist to get us invested in at least one person's business, then they can add on all the other characters they want in more depth. If they narrow the focus from this epic scale a la "Flashforward" and give us a more intimate look at one man's struggle to find the woman he loves while being wrongfully accused of murder, they could just make viewers care about the vast conspiracy. I really think they should take some tips from an older, semi under-the-radar SciFi show, "The 4400." They managed a big mysterious event that changed the entire world while focusing on fascinating characters. That show made you care about what happened to their fictional world because you cared about the people in it. If "The Event" can focus more on its characters and less on its EVENT, then it will turn out to be a much better show. Oh, and if they could get someone to write dialogue that doesn't sound like it was written by a high schooler, it would be greatly appreciated.

Tis the Season - More Shows Renewed, Cancelled

It's that time again! That nervewracking time of the year as we creep closer and closer to upfronts where the networks have to announce their fall schedules and decide what stays and what goes. I'm happy to announce that I've had some luck with my bubble shows this year. I'm also happy to announce that I officially love Michael Ausiello (but that's nothing new!)

(Ausiello is keeping a great Bubble Show Scorecard here. I think his version is the best as it's the most up-to-date.)

In his column this week he filled us in on when each network has their upfront presentation:

• Monday 5/17 - NBC and FOX
• Tuesday 5/18 - ABC
• Wednesday 5/19 - CBS
• Thursday 5/20 - The CW

But, onto the good news/bad news segment! "V" was renewed, much to my delight. I think the show still has potential, unlike "Flashforward," which was just cancelled. "Flashforward" was an epic disappointment for me this year so I'm hoping "V" will make up for it by returning strong next season.

Also cancelled by ABC were "Romantically Challenged," (which I hardly remember hearing about), "Scrubs," and "Better Off Ted." I'm glad "Scrubs" is finally retiring; it really wasn't the same show, just the same title. And I'm unsure about "Better Off Ted." I heard from quite a few sources that it was good, but I never watched myself so all I can do is offer my condolences to any "Ted" fans.

"Human Target" and "Lie to Me" were both saved, despite every site talking about saving one or the other. Well, unofficially saved so far, but I'll trust Ausiello with this one and take the victory. "Human Target" seemed like a fun enough show and I checked out a few episodes, but I'm a "Lie to Me" girl all the way. Any show that teaches me how to detect lies is a winner in my book.

But the best news of all? "Chuck" was finally, officially renewed. And we didn't even need a giant Subway campaign this year, so yay for us.

This has been a crazy season: "Lost" is going away forever, "24" the television series is ending (personally, I am totally ready for some "24" movies), "Supernatural" got renewed despite its intention of ending this season (and ending the season with a very series finale-y episode), "Fringe" got renewed without too much last minute drama, "Southland" got the life it deserves on TNT, "Burn Notice" was renewed through, like, 2035, and who knows what the hell is going on with "Heroes." (I'd take another season. Even though I hate this concept, it's the perfect definition of a 'guilty pleasure' for me.) [Update: "Heroes" is dead. Finally. It's still sad remembering your glory days though.]

I'll probably post something else about the new fall pilots when we get closer to fall. There are so many right now that still have such fluid concepts and casts at this point that I don't bother to brush up on them until later. So for now, I'm going to celebrate the renewal of the shows I've been cheering for all year.

"V" - SciFi isn't dead yet! (So stop saying it's in trouble)

The year looked like it was going to be good for SciFi on ABC. I was psyched for "Flashforward," thinking it couldn't possibly go wrong (but wow, did it ever.) Then I was psyched for "V" and found it okay. It wasn't anything special and I just didn't care enough to come back after its three year long break, or however long it was off the air. Felt like three years. The concept felt so been-there-done-that. Alien invasion, no one knows they're sinister but the conspiracy groups who are pegged as terrorists, etc. etc. It didn't grab me right away. I was more distracted by Morena Baccarin's haircut as Anna than I was the plotlines. And Elizabeth Mitchell's irritating son, the embodiment of teenager stereotypes, was getting way too much screen time. Joel Gretsch was much more effective as Tom Baldwin at NTAC dealing with the 4400 than he is here as self-righteous Father Jack tangled up in the resistance. Don't even get me started on how much Scott Wolf annoyed me as Chad Decker. As all the articles about the political allegory of it all stirred about in the media, I found myself realizing that I rather do something else at 10:00 on a Tuesday. Like watch "Southland." Which was completely worth it. But when "Southland" ended its run on TNT, (it will be back, albeit in a painfully long time) I decided to revisit "V" after the whirlwind of "Lost." Although it's a wonder I forgave "V" for that dreadful countdown clock during Sun's "Lost" episode when it not only distracted from the show, but cut off important info Sun had written down. I guess I'm blaming that on moronic ABC execs, not the show itself.

To my utter surprise, the show has become quite engaging. The Fifth Column has condensed to a few people on our screens, including some new British guy that I'm liking. Erica and Jack are a little more tolerable, and I'm hoping Ryan hasn't disappeared for good as I liked his storyline with his human wife. Speaking of "The 4400," the plot of him and his wife running from the Vs in an effort to save their baby felt a lot like Richard and Lily running from Jordan Collier to save their baby Isabelle. But I digress. I find the most fascinating resistance leaders to be the ones who are Vs, like Joshua aboard the ship with Anna. He's in the most dangerous position of all and he's sacrificed a lot already. Lisa has also gone from being a bland robot sent to seduce Tyler to being a facsinating character struggling with newfound emotions. She's trying to protect Tyler, who she obviously has real feelings for, while keeping her emotions under wraps enough to not invoke the wrath of her mother. It's nice to have someone in that relationship be mature and adult, since Tyler is immature and, not really entirely his fault, doesn't understand the gravity of their situation.

I've read some articles that say Tyler and Chad are going to change soon into less useless characters. I really hope so. I think it will be a great moment when Chad realizes what he's done by being Anna's pet. And I think Tyler has potential to do something significant if he grows up and they strip those annoying stereotypes away that say he has to be whiny and petty. I liked the touch of appointing Erica as head of the committee investigating the Fifth Column. It's reminiscent of the FBI appointing real life infamous traitor Robert Hanssen to be in charge of finding the mole in the bureau, which was him. Great stuff.

I'm going to keep watching, and I'm actually hoping it gets renewed now. I think it's starting to get on a good track and it has potential to be a solid show as long as they stick to developing the characters. The plotlines aren't always riveting, so making three-dimensional characters you care about will elevate this show above being simply a bad remake. My last complaint is that I'd just like to get an inkling of a clue of why the Vs are invading Earth and why this way. If they wanted resources, surely they could wipe everyone off the planet in a number of different ways and just take what they want. Or maybe they want the humans for something and need to be able to control them first? I'm not asking for a "Torchwood: Children of Earth" scenario of aliens needing humans for something downright horrifying, but something more than the standard "they need resources, but are evil and want us to kill ourselves" situation. I like the route they're going with emotions too. We all know that creatures without emotions are evil, (Daleks, Cybermen, early Cylons, Terminators, replicants, those asshole angels on "Supernatural") so it's compelling to see more Vs realize they have the capacity for empathy when trying to trick humans. All in all, I like the direction the show has taken and hope it finds its rhythm. Because I love SciFi, and I'm sad to see it fail when the vision isn't cohesive or it doesn't find enough viewers to justify its renewal.

(And I'm just sick of hearing "there isn't a demand for SciFi shows," or "the SciFi genre is dying because fans aren't supporting these shows." We aren't supporting the shows because they suck. The genre is not dying, SciFi has never really been entirely mainstream, so it shouldn't shock people when these types of shows don't do blockbuster ratings. Don't blame us because we won't support poor writing, acting, etc. just out of some obligation to the SciFi gods.)