Happy 2012! I commented about this in the last post, but wanted to make sure people saw this call for authors. I apologize for the dead-ness of this blog. I basically inherited it by default of the owner disappearing, and on top of Alias going off the air, my life getting much busier in the last couple years, and not being a writer, writing blog posts is not a priority for me. I would be happy to add folks as authors if they'd like to post articles, and will still follow the blog and comment here and there, but I'm (obviously) not the person to keep it alive. Please let me know if you would like to be an author and I'll set it up!
~SRM
265 comments:
1 – 200 of 265 Newer› Newest»SRM, no need to apologize for having a life. And, let's face it, the blog is still around 6 years after the end of a show that only ran for 5 years, which is a minor miracle really.
There are often times when I think it's time to cut back on the blogging habit myself, and I have been doing that on a couple of other sites. And then there are times when I think a burst of activity might just extend the shelf life of LTA for a while longer. It's kind of an addictive activity, but we're in a war of attrition and I'm not sure heroic efforts to save it are called for. Nature will take its course someday.
Right now, it would be healthy for the blog to have less of my 60%-70% domination and more of everyone else. When I shake the tree looking for more participation by others, it's not a demand or a criticism of other people's priorities, it's just a nudge to see if I can coax anyone out of hiding. Sometimes, it even works.
I don't think a riveting blog post appearing on the front page every day is essential at all. We're notorious for going off-topic right out of the gate anyway. Personally, I think a minimalist approach is all that's needed. For example, a simple quarterly post giving us a clean slate so that we don't end up with 350 comments like we did recently. BLOGGER makes it a real pain to navigate all the way to the most recent activity. After that, it's up to us to use it or lose it.
Thanks Page. If at any time you have an idea for an article or would like to post one, please let me know. I agree something like a quarterly post would be fine, it's just not tops in my list of to-dos and ends up going by the wayside.
On a separate note I just saw there's a new sci-fi series from JJ coming in the fall called Revolution. Interesting premise being in a world w/o any working energy/technology.
I noticed that pilot order for "Revolution". Obviously, NBC has no hard feelings after the "Undercovers" fiasco.
The premise of "Revolution" reminds me of "Falling Skies". It actually sounds pretty interesting, unlike JJ's other pilot order from the CW for a dramedy called "Shelter". Apparently, Bad Robot wants to rule the airwaves. After so much success on ABC during the previous decade, it may soon be the only network that JJ's not represented on.
Speaking of "Falling Skies", Terry O'Quinn will be showing up there in S2 for at least a couple of episodes.
I don't know what has happened with me with regards to LTA. It is something I would hate to see end. I think it would put a finality to the end of Alias. I still watch Alias regularly, but after watching the final episode of S4 the other night and remembering how it changed Alias from my favorite TV show to an absolute obsession. I spend some time analyzing the dynamic and decided that the reason for the change was my interaction with other Alias fans. I spent hours a day on the ABC Alias forum trying to find enough meaning in every little mystery, every word and relationship, in hopes of solving the mysteries that lingered over 4 seasons, and new ones that episode injected.
There hasn't seemed to be much new about Alias to discuss here lately, but saying goodbye to "we few, we band of brothers," would be something of Alias that would die and be lost forever. If LTA dies, our contact with each other will likely die also. A part of Alias will die.
Maybe this reaction is part of why I don't feel, and probably am not, as much of an adult or grownup as I should be. I see that as a shortcoming in my own character, but at least one that I have come to see and understand. Nonetheless, I'm for keeping LTA alive, even though my grownup responsibilities distract from my more frequent participation.
I'll try to come up with an article that could help propel things a long for the moment. As long as something breathes, it is alive.
I was just reading over some posts I saved from here and ABC's site from the end of 4th season till after the end of the series. It really brought back a lot of memories. It might be fun to post some of that and relive those days.
Uncle, is LTA breathing or wheezing?
A while back, I mentioned that FOX was conjuring up a new show called "The Asset".
Now we know that Ali Larter of "Heroes" fame will be the latest CIA chick for us to try to warm up to.
JJ's high octane action drama, "Revolution" is also beginning to cast some of its players, inluding OUAT's very own genie/man-in-the-mirror, Giancarlo Esposito. As with "Fringe", Bad Robot is also tapping the Aussie talent pool for a young female star. And, as was the case with Anna Torv four years ago, it's hard to find anything substantial on Anna Lise Phillips on the internet.
I still find this one hard to believe. A trailer for "The Bourne Legacy", featuring no Bourne. Oh well, I'm in.
There's a new Spiderman in town. Some say he's amazing.
Couple other movies I'm keeping an eye peeled for:
"The Hunger Games" and "Prometheus".
We're only 2 months removed from Christmas break and every show I watch (almost) is back on hiatus again. WTF?
Kudos to Blogger for making it even harder to post.
Looks like FBI Assistant Director Kendall will be back on ABC in "666 Park Avenue".
Anyone wishing to check out Marshall Flinkman's new show, "Awake", can check out the pilot episode here on Youtube, or just wait till Thursday when it debuts on NBC. Not sure when Kevin Weisman's recurring character appears for the first time.
Page,
Ditto on the posting difficulty! Is there even an option to subscribe so we can get emails of posts?
Thanks for all of the new show info to check out.
Want me to post the first paragraph of what I posted the morning after Alias ended?
Ha, Uncle, I'm reminded of the old Maureen McGovern song, "The Morning After" from "The Poseidon Adventure". As with a ship sinking beneath the waves, so to was the "Alias" 5.17 disaster followed by the inevitable morning after. Post away!
Wow, I just took a scary trip over to TV By The Numbers and I couldn't get over the amount of free time I may have next year. According to their calculations, we'll soon being seeing the series finales of "Alcatraz", "Fringe", and "Nikita".
Nothing we haven't heard before. In fact, there seems to be a reasonably credible story floating around that "Fringe" will be back for a shortened final season next year.
As for "Nikita", she lives on the bubble, and I think it's a tad early to write off "Alcatraz", although FOX is apparently about to air episodes OUT OF ORDER to make up for this week's NASCAR fiasco pre-emption. Airing eppies out of order shows a lack of respect for the art of storytelling (if not the storytellers themselves), IMO.
Heck, "Touch" has only aired the pilot episode, and already TV By The Numbers is about ready to declare that it's in cancellation territory.
BTW, does typing two captcha's really prove that I'm not a robot?
Small gossip update: congrats are due to our girl and Ben as she gave birth to baby Samuel on Monday. :)
ABC finally has some stuff up on their website for "Missing", which debuts March 15th. Still not sure I buy Ashley Judd as a former CIA operative, but who knows?
A new trailer full of badassery from the upcoming "The Avengers". I love me some Black Widow. I'd like to see her get her own movie.
By Page 48 request, here is what I posted the morning after Alias left us. It will be in 2 parts because of length:
I blogged a lot while watching Alias' last night. I was pretty wound up and it took me a long time to get to sleep. The main reason for that was that I kept going over all the doors they left open to future Alias things- books, movie, even TV. I'll list the open doors in a minute.
First, let me state that the reason they didn't give us what we were looking for is two fold. 1)- They are people doing a job and the reality is that their true duty to us is to keep us as an audience as long as they can to keep ratings for the network so they can keep the show on the air so they can keep making money. They may care about a few other things in addition, but once they knew the show was ending their priorities changed. They had to. People who work all day making donuts are not usually the biggest fans of donuts. Or a better analogy- those who make hot dogs. We see only the finished product. We are more intrigued with the story than they are. We notice things they don't, or that they hope we won't notice. Alias was sort of a real world for us, with people we wanted to know and be friends with. I'm sure that for them it was often just one more high pressure deadline. So, in reality, we know more about the story that was broadcast than they do. Regardless of what their intent with the storyline was, we know the story as broadcast better than they do. So, they probably didn't even know what a lot of our questions are.
2)- They may just have left the questions unanswered for a reason, They may want to keep their options open for future Alias productions. And frankly I'm glad they didn't answer everything. If they had, it would be dead, all wrapped up, with nothing left to think or wonder about. So much of what held our attention was , "what does that mean...what's going to happen now...etc." well, we still wonder and we will every time we rewatch the DVD's. Our fun little Alias world is not what it used to be and we are left with finding a way to live with that. One way to hang on to it is to keep wondering about things. Obviously we would prefer it stay on the air exciting us every week as it has for 5 years. I'm sad it won't. So what do we do? I for one will try to fill in the blanks and round it all out, and do it while creating new adventures for the friends we came to love so much.
Here is how I would answer some of the questions I've seen asked that came out of last night's episode:
Rambaldi's endgame was to find a way to live forever. What we call the Mueller device was unenlightened fanatics' attempt to fulfill what little they knew of Rambaldi's plan. Sloane came the closest. When he and Syd were in the snow cave near Mt.Subasio and the light shone on the amulet, it broadcast a star chart of the location of Rambaldi's tomb. That map is what Rambaldi referred to as his sky- the stars of the night sky over his tomb. When Sloane shot the floor out from under Syd he prevented her from seeing the beauty of Rambaldi's sky while she was behind Mt. Subasio. She did not see the sky (while) behind Mt. Subasio. She is still the Chosen One.
PartII:
Once at Rambaldi's tomb in Mongolia Sloane placed the Horizon onto Rambaldi's monument, or grave, which caused a small red ball, the true Rambaldi small red ball, to materialize and produce the fluid of immortality. (Why he couldn't have done that himself 500 years ago I don't know- I guess timing was important- Conrad once told Sloane about Emily's death that certain things had to occur first for Sloane to understand what was to come.) Sloane was going to partake of the fluid. I assume he was going to use it to also bring Rambaldi back using his live DNA, or Rambaldi's consciousness (in the Sphere of Life) would come into Sloane and possess him, thus bringing Rambaldi back and making him immortal. If that was not his plan then he and Irina (after she partook of the fluid, which was filing the Horizon) were going to become the immortal rulers of the world, after bringing down the great western powers of the US and England. If this is the "greatest power" of the Chosen One prophecy, then is Irina the Chosen One and Syd the Passenger since they do great battle over the Horizon, the 0 in Rambaldi's physical <0> in which only one survives?
Here are some of the doors I see they left open:
1)- Characters who are still alive- Katya, Peyton, Sark, Cuvee(?), Cole, Syd, Vaughn, Will, Dixon, Rachel, Marshall, Isabelle
2)- Characters that could come back- Sloane (the evil genius who is now immortal and may now be insane; Jack(?), who's DNA must have mixed with Rambaldi's immortality fluid in the explosion; Rambaldi; Irina(?), who may have been exposed to the immortality fluid when they both hit the bottom; Rambaldi's artifacts and writings, and any yet to be discovered Rambaldi prophecies.
The open doors are also open doors to hope. I'm still so conflicted inside about all of this and knowing there will not, as far as we know, be any new episodes in the future. It is nice to know, though, that there are still possibilities.
If you want to read what we were posting the night of the final episode, and sometimes during it, check here:
http://letstalkalias.blogspot.com/2006/05/full-circle-finale.html
Uncle, you were spot on regarding the cast and crew taking a different view of the series than the rest of us. It's always been evident in actor interviews and JJ's constant belittling of the plot, etc...
I probably posted this VG/Jen interview a year or so ago, but just to rehash, it's clear that they don't have the same passion for the show that we have. To them, it's memories of days gone by. Good times, yes, but days gone by. I posted additional comments at Roco's Seriable.com regarding this interview.
With us, the sense of loss and longing for fresh "Alias" is always present. But you can tell from that interview that Jen and VG don't have any desire to suit up again as the Bristows.
Six years later, their careers are now shriveling shadows of their former selves, though they appear to be in total denial of what is painfully obvious to us.
Page,
It has been hard coming to an understanding of their detachment from it. But, they are essentially contract workers who take the work when they can get it and when it's over they are on to the next job.
Our problem is that their job created a special world for us that drew us in and made us want more. Hmmm...sounds like drugs. They are the pushers and we are the addicts. Never thought of it that way before, but it's pretty darn close.
BTW, it should be noted that our Agent Rachel is currently filming a new sci-fi series called "Continuum".
Some photos from the set of "Continuum" are up on Flickr.
According to IMDB, it should start airing in May. Go Rachel.
I had something to post...and I have completely forgotten what it was. I'll post when I remember.
BTW, are all of the shows taking a break again? Must be nice!
Uncle, with the exception of this week's OUAT (with Amy Acker) and the two "Alcatraz" out-of-order episodes, I don't think I've seen an original episode of anything on network TV for 2 weeks. Don't ask me why. At least there was a new "The Walking Dead" on AMC.
"Fringe" won't be back until March 23rd. "Nikita" won't be back until March 16th. What the....??
"Terra Nova" officially cancelled by FOX, but apparently the show is now in search of a new home. Ever heard that one before? Either way....Yawn! Some shows are worth fighting for, some aren't. TN is not worth fighting for, IMO.
I watched "Killer Elite" this week. Stars Jason Statham, Clive Owen, Robert De Niro, Agent Sarah Walker (minus the Intersect but with the Aussie accent). Heck it even has Mr. Eko from "Lost".
Speaking of "Lost", Desmond (Henry Ian Cusick) will guest star on "Fringe" toward the end of this season, playing an FBI agent.
New trailer for Joss Whedon's "Cabin in The Woods".
Hadn't heard of Killer Elite. I'll look for it.
OUAT, when she is the fairy, was the first time I ever thought Amy Acker looked pretty.
Page,
I still haven't had a chance to check out your links. I don't know if there is too much going on or if I'm just lazy.
I saw the John Carter of Mars movie this weekend. I thought it was great. But then I read the books in Jr. High and loved them.
However, I don't know how those who haven't read the books, or those who know them better than I do after all these years will like it. I could tell they changed a few things in the story, but they really kept true to the spirit of the books.
I saw the IMAX 3D version and the 3D was the best I have seen yet and the cg characters and other effects were great.
They also had previews to more IMAX 3D movies that will be out soon. Among them is a new Men In Black and The Avengers. The 3D effects in the previews were unbelievable. I can't wait to see those movies.
They also had a preview of the re-release of Titanic, which I have never seen. I might see this one, however, as it is now in 3D. They have a process now to make 3D versions of old movies, and I couldn't tell any difference in the quality of the Titanic 3D effects and the new 3D movies. This will give new life to a lot of old movies.
I should have mentioned this draw back to the John Carter movie. The action and dialog can be fast paced enough that you don't always catch all of the dialog or might not be able to digest it and know what is happening. At other times the sound from the action in action scenes is louder than the dialog audio. More times you will miss what someone is saying.
Uncle, I must admit that, until the movie was announced, I had no knowledge of "John Carter from Mars". I've seen the trailers and the TV spots and it's certainly one that I will catch up with eventually.
I've been reading that the box office results have been lackluster, to say the least. I'm talking about headlines like "Why John Carter Tanked Big Time" and "Some Random Theories About Why John Carter Flopped".
Fortunately, I'm not really put off by 'professional' opinions of movies or TV shows. I much prefer to see for myself. Just because the public doesn't lap something up doesn't mean they're right.
I watched "The Grey" last week. It stars Liam Neeson and two of the guys from the research team on "Rubicon", so I thought it might be worth checking out. I have to say it was 2 hours I would like to have back. For anyone not wanting to be spoiled, don't read the rest of this sentence...................................................they all died except Neeson and the final scene even left his fate in doubt. Not exactly an uplifting survival tale, to be sure. And the one guy from "Rubicon" died in the first 20 minutes.
On another note, "Missing" debuts tomorrow night (March 15) on ABC at 8:00 p.m.. The first 14 minutes are available for previewing on ABC's website, but I will hold off and watch it on TV.
I just saw the POI has been renewed!
In John Carter's defense, it was up against the new Dr. Seuss movie, which grossed $70 mil on the opening night.
POI's renewal is good news. I'm pretty confident that "Fringe" will be back for a final season, although it sounds more like a 1/2 season that is being tossed around at this point. If "Fringe" was about to wind up, I'm sure we would have had an announcement by now.
Who knows whether "Nikita" will be back next year or not? As I recall, CW waits till the last possible minute when it comes to making "Nikita" renewal commitments.
"Alcatraz" isn't setting the ratings world on fire, so the series finale may be just around the corner.
OUAT seems like a lock for a 2nd season.
Jace Lacob of televisionary.com fame says that "Missing" is a snoozefest. Here, he lays out the crux of the problem, which is that "Missing" isn't "Alias", and Ashley Judd ain't no Sydney Bristow. I think we all agree on that.
Unfortunately, Jace also says we ought to skip "Touch". My concern with "Touch" is that it will be annoyingly standalone, which is trendy these days, for some reason.
Page,
That's good news about POI and Fringe. I don't think I've been liking Nikita so much during this season. I can only think it's because they changed some of the dynamics and I guess it's not sitting well with me.
I see a problem for Missing, even if it is action packed. How long can you keep people interested in it if she doesn't save her son at least by the end of the season? Even by then the whole thing will get old. The plot demands a high level of anxiety - a child has been kidnapped - you don't have long to find them before you can't find them at all. Think of the tension there was in LN's same themed movie. Can you keep that up for even one season and have people care enough to stay with it? They will give up because of frustration or being emotionally drained. The way Alias kept some of the mystery and unresolved plots alive was by playing them a little at a time and mixing in other stories. How do you let other story lines divert you from the kidnapped child? Other plots can carry on for a long time, but not one about a kidnapping. If it does, you will make the view care less about the main story by turning it into a subplot.
Uncle, I think that the title, "Missing", could be a problem down the road (the way "Prison Break" was a problem title, long after the prison break was just a memory).
I don't think the show would be sustainable forever if the son was always missing. First of all, it would call into question Becca's credibility as a hotshot former CIA operative, if she was unable to find her kid.
My guess is that, if there was a S2, there would have to be a game-changer at the end of S1, which would not only see Becca's son turn up, but also another problem that would propel a 2nd season (presumably also 10 episodes, give or take).
Until a 2nd season is confirmed (or more likely denied), I think viewers need to approach "Missing" as a 10 episode mini-series and hope for the best.
Page,
A thought. They could end S1 making it look like her son is missing by choice, but not giving the reason why. Her mission changes having to find out why he is missing before she can find him again. One reason could be that he was recruited by CIA and is on a mission, of course not revealed till the end of season 2.
Thinking more about my previous idea to make Missing hit with a cliff hanger s1 finale:
Mom gets a tip that leads her to her son's current location, some hwere overseas. She sees him walk out of a building, makes her way to him, hugs him, asks if he is okay, where has he been, why hasn't he contacted her. He looks around to see if they are being watched, says he okay, but he can't talk now. She protests as she follows him rapidly walking away. She says, "You were kidnapped. How did you escape? Why didn't you call?" He turns and says, "Mom,I wasn't kidnapped." As she stands there shocked and confused the building he just came out of blows up. She ducks and covers her head as debris rains down around her. Then she wheels around to see if her son is okay and...he is gone.
And neither we nor her know he is CIA.
You could add to this another twist: CIA is doing this not because they need the son to do what he is doing. They are leaking info to her about his possible whereabouts to lead her to places and situations of their choosing because they know when she is there she will get get involved in things that cause her to do the things they wanted her to come back to CIA and do, but since she refused to come back they are using her "kidnapped" son to manipulate her into doing what she does in each episode.
So what's going on? POI is not on because of basketball. I don't know why missing isn't on. But I did see the last 1/2 of Touch, which seems very interesting.
OK, so POI isn't on this week and Missing was on an hour earlier than I thought.
Uncle, I just sat down to watch "Missing", then somebody came to the door. Half an hour later, it was too late to jump in so I'll have to catch it later.
So then, I turned on POI at 9:00. Like you say, pre-empted (and apparently not back till March 29th).
So then, I turned on "Touch". Rerun of the pilot.
So then, I turned on "Awake", which is where I am now.
This is not the evening I had mapped out.
"Missing"
Save it or Sink It.
Comments are overwhelmingly positive, but I wonder if these people have ever seen "Alias".
It suffered from less than top-notch writing and I'll never buy Ashley Judd as a CIA operative, but I'm in for 10 episodes. Heck, it even ended with a cliffhanger. Anybody remember those????
I'm 15 min. into Missing. Good so far, and my proposed s1 finale would fit perfectly.
I have to say that I liked Missing.
I noticed in a close up that a machine gun they used is a full auto blank gun like one that I have. Here is a clip of me shooting it. I did this in doors, so I had to use eye and ear protection, and a mask because of the smoke it produced. I'm really glad I did too. After firing almost 50 rounds it took a while for the room to reacquire breathable air. Here is the video.
Our Jenny's "Fairly Legal" kicks off S2 tonight on USA.
Nice video Uncle. Doing a little venting with those things?
Here's a preview of S2 of the aforementioned "Fairly Legal". Looks like Jenny isn't the only "Alias" refugee showing up this season.
Now, if I was a follower of that other refugee's Facebook page, I would have known of his appearance several months ago.
It's taken so long to get Vince Flynn's Mitch Rapp novels to film, that CBS has opted to begin with the recently penned prequel, "American Assassin", rather than "Consent to Kill".
As a result, a considerably younger actor is now required to kick off the film franchise. This is bad news for a number of candidates, including, to my surprise, Matthew Fox of "Lost" fame.
Page,
In the Fairly Legal clip I also saw someone who guested on a 5th season Alias as the guy who was in the top leadership group who was working for Irina. It has one of my favorite scenes, where Jack tricks them into a meeting, locks the door on them, and when Marshall makes it possible for Jack to know which one of them is the traitor, shoots him a couple of times and extracts a confession and the location of the freighter our pregnant Syd has been stashed in front of the whole group.
Uncle, good catch. And who doesn't LOVE that scene?
And, how about Jenny tossing the cell phone into the ocean? We've seen that before, albeit in a slightly different context.
"The Hunger Games" is in theaters, and feedback is very favourable, which is good news because it's part one of a trilogy.
Page,
What is The Hunger Games?
What is "The Hunger Games"?
Wikipedia summary.
Youtube channel.
Globe and Mail review.
Official Website.
I was recently introduced to the "Hunger Games" books by some friends and I'm close to finishing the third, and final, book. The books are VERY good, my husband finished faster than I did and I think might be even more excited about the movie than I am. :) I'm avoiding movie reviews so I'm not prejudiced one way or another before seeing it. No matter how the movie(s) turn out I highly recommend the books; very fun, fast-paced and intriguing.
SRM, I'm currently listening to an audio book of THG. The age of the internet has taken away my desire to actually sit down and 'read' a book. I like to be able to get outdoors and go for extended walks while listening to books or podcasts.
I had not heard of THG until this (spoiler-free) post from "Nik at Nite" last summer. Since then, I've been following the progress of the movie development and now I'm wading into the novels as well.
I meant to post this ages ago, and I don't think I did.
This is a Google search for Ron Rifkin and Bradley Cooper taking in some 2011 US Open Tennis.
This ties in loosely with some video from one of those 'blink-and-you-miss-it' TV shows, "Touching Evil", which ran for a dozen episodes back in 2004 on the USA Network.
Obviously, this show starred Bradley Cooper post-"Alias" and Jeffrey Donovan pre-"Burn Notice", BUT it was also produced by Ron Rifkin's brother, Arnold, as per these opening credits.
Bradley Cooper, incidentally, is currently filming "Serena", a depression-era story where he plays the considerably older husband of current box-office phenom, Jennifer Lawrence (aka Katniss Everdeen).
I've been enjoying one episode of CHAOS after another. For the life of me I do not understand how this series got cancelled.
It's been a banner year for Snow White, what with the success of OUAT and now "Snow White and the Huntsman".
And, the Huntsman is......THOR.
Page,
What do you think of Missing? I like it so far. POI is still good, and though I have not liked Nikita this season the way I have liked previous seasons, last weeks episode was great.
BTW, I don't know how they did this, but I caught tonight's Missing this morning online.
Uncle, "Missing" is pretty good, IMO. For some reason, it was on Tuesday night in Canada and Thursday on ABC. I only noticed it by accident on Tuesday.
I'm still watching "Touch", hoping it amounts to something. The whole numbers game is more than a little ridiculous, but there is a common thread running through the episodes so far, so hopefully there will be a suitable payoff.
Also giving "Awake" sufficient time to impress me, but I'm still on the fence with it. I'll definitely stick around long enough to catch Marshall's arc later in the season.
I think we've probably seen the last of "Alcatraz", in which case the finale was pretty grim for our heroine.
Page,
I hope that isn't the final episode. Also, since she has been driving a "Bullet" look alike Mustang all season, I've been waiting for them to reenact the famous car chase from "Bullet." They finally did a car chase shout out to the movie.
"Alcatraz" just failed in its mission to make me care about any of the characters.
Try imagining that it was Sydney laying on that hospital bed, flatlining until next fall before we find out if she lives or dies. Of course we know she'd live, but still, Sydney being that close to death would leave us all in shock for the summer.
If "Alcatraz" comes back, we already know that Hauser and the Doc have the colloidal silver blood trick up their sleeves, so Rebecca is in no real danger. She'll recover as fully as Lucy did.
And, presumably, the 63's will keep coming back and raising hell each week and killing people we don't know or care about for reasons we're not privy to, and will be rounded up and sent back to the new and improved Alcatraz prison.
The writers may have been able to whip this puppy into shape eventually, but with ratings bottoming out for the two final eppies, I think they've run out of time.
Whatever happened to the days of kicking butt right from the pilot episode, like TBT? What are JJ's writers saving themselves for these days? If they have something interesting to show us, why not just put it right out there?
Full length trailer for the "Total Recall" remake. Great cast in this one.
THIS is why Black Widow needs her own movie.
Does this scene remind us of anything? "Who do you work for, you pretty little girl?"
I have had this nagging suspicion from the beginning that the husband on Missing isn't really dead (that the explosion was a way for him to disappear), and that maybe he is somehow involved, or a factor in his son's kidnapping.
Finally, an email option for comments is back.
I just finished the latest episode and found out I've been right.
Uncle, I think I know what the husband has been up to.
Page,
Looks like a good one.
I imagine Missing will keep us in the dark for as long as they can about whether the Mr. is good or bad, and probably have us going back and forth on that for as long as they can. Is he Irina?
Uncle, if I'm betting, I say the husband turns out to be the good guy that Becca thought he was, though he's gonna have a lot of 'splainin to do.
"Missing" is definitely hurting in the ratings.
It's drawing a modest 6.6 rating on IMDB, which doesn't seem to jive with most of the reviewers who have left their comments. The comments are considerably more generous in their opinions than a 6.6 would imply.
These are dark days for those of us who love a good spy show.
Page,
Speaking of loving a good spy show, I just finished the Alias series finale for who knows how many times. It has been a while and this time it was riveting, and the end was not bad, though I did already know how it would end.
There are good newer shows out there, but there will never be another Alias.
Here's our first teaser for Agent Rachel's new sci-fi show, "Continuum".
Not much to go on. I thought there might be an actual trailer out by now.
And, in a very eerie twist, just as I'm prepping this comment, I saw this teaser on TV for the first time.
Followup to previous conversation about FOX's upcoming "The Asset". Here we have a few photos of Ali Larter in character as the CIA asset in question.
I hope The Asset is good, but we'll have to see it first.
I can't believe how irregularly new episodes of various shows are airing.
I just finished the 13th and final episode of Chaos last night. I really don't understand why it didn't catch on.
"I hope The Asset is good, but we'll have to see it first"
Absolutely. We've seen them come and go in the last few years, from Annie Walker to Samantha Bloom, and nothing holds a candle to the real deal.
Speaking of the real deal, I watched "Mission Impossible:Ghost Protocol" a couple nights ago, and it was nice to see those "Alias" writers throwing us a few crumbs, like the female spy's call sign "Outrigger" (which once belonged to Dixon) and the MI team's fully equipped Batcave on wheels (train car #47).
I liked MI4 and I'm now in love with yet another female spy (Paula Patton)
Page,
I must agree with your GP post. Good movie and all your other points.
BTW, is Annie Walker coming back?
Yup, Annie Walker et al return this summer for a third season, accompanied by another season of "Burn Notice".
I also watched Kevin Weisman's "Fairly Legal" episode last Friday. Marshall and Jenny, together again, almost eleven years down the road.
I'm also into S2 of AMC's "The Killing", which is a pretty decent series. That said, I would prefer to be watching S3 of "Rubicon". Seriously.
Page,
I'll try The Killing. It took a while to get into Rubicon, but I was really wanting it to be renewed.
Uncle, "The Killing" is not my usual fare (which is almost exclusively sci-fi, spy, or action/adventure), but it is a good serial. Each episode represents one day, in the tradition of "24", and it follows a police investigation into the murder of a teenaged girl.
Some fans were outraged because there was no resolution at the end of S1 and the investigation continues now in S2.
It's a mystery, and a murky one at that. And, being on AMC, it's a short season (13 episodes), so it won't take you long to catch up if you choose to go the distance. Sunday night's episode was just the 16th of the series.
That's good to know y'all recommend MI: Ghost Protocol, my husband and I plan on renting it once it comes to Vudu.
The Killing originates from my husband's home country of Denmark and got extremely popular in England a couple years ago (with subtitles I presume). I've heard the U.S. version is decent (and just came to Netflix), but I'm hoping to be able to see the original Danish version eventually.
SRM, the AMC version of TK sounds like it sticks very closely to the original Danish storyline, with a few more eppies per season.
As a Lostie, you'll recognize a familiar recurring character in the AMC rendition.
OK, I just ran across Revenge. Looks like it might be good. And the last name of the main (female) character is Thorn, as in Julia Thorn.
Well, This seems to be a catch up episode. My guess is that the uncompressed series will just be an enhanced soap opera.
Uncle, I was just typing the words "soap opera" when I caught your follow up post. That's the distinct impression I got regarding "Revenge" with the one episode I saw earlier in the season.
That's Emily Van Camp's specialty, having just come off of a lengthy gig on "Brothers & Sisters" and "Everwood" before that.
I don't go out of my way to watch war stories, but I recently finished watching "Band of Brothers" for the first (and probably the last) time.
For those who haven't seen it, BOB is a Spielberg/Hanks collaboration from 2001, which followed on the heels of "Saving Private Ryan". BOB aired on HBO and was a 10 part miniseries based on the lives of real WWII war vets.
I've heard of BOB for years and always in glowing terms and it stars a number of actors that I see in current series today, including "Fringe", "Covert Affairs", OUAT, and "Homeland". The comments on IMDB, along with it's stunning 9.6 rating are really what prompted me to sit down and watch BOB.
My impression was that it was very well done and did an excellent job of depicting exactly why I would never want to be a soldier, particularly in such a low-tech war. How the survivors escaped with their sanity and how they re-entered civilian life having endured those years of combat in torturous conditions is a mystery to me.
Now, will I ever get around to watching the Spielberg/Hanks followup, "The Pacific"? Eventually, I think I'd like to see it, but I'm in no rush. Sci-Fy and Spy are, and will likely remain, my #1 priority.
First photo evidence of Katniss Everdeen and Will Tippin.
Gotta say, I really don't care much for period pieces. And, isn't BC just about 15 years older than JL? Is she supposed to look 40 or is he supposed to look 20? Hmmmm.
I just finished re-watching the pilot episode of "Stargate: Universe". Such a shame that a series of that caliber can't survive beyond a 2nd season when its far inferior predecessors get renewal after renewal after renewal. Where's the justice?
Page,
I've thought that about several shows the past few years, the latest being Chaos and Human Target.
Boy, new episodes are getting hard to come by - Grimm, Once Upon A Time, Person of Interest, 5-0, and Nikita come to mind as being missing in action.
Uncle, no kidding. It's hard to get any momentum going in any of these shows when they're on for 2 weeks and gone for 4 weeks repeatedly throughout the season.
"Nikita" is back tonite and "Fringe" has no more interruptions till season finale.
I finally got to watch "Haywire". There is nary a kind word written about it on IMDB. Half the comments are written by people who claim that they walked out of the theater in disgust at how bad this film was.
On the other hand, I see plenty of complementary remarks on Rotten Tomatoes, so there seems to be a considerable difference of opinion among those who have seen the movie.
Personally, I thought it was pretty decent, with lots of special ops kickassery from from an easy-on-the-eyes Gina Carano. Not Jason Bourne quality, but respectable entertainment nevertheless.
Sure, CG is a relative newbie to acting and she's not in danger of winning an Oscar for "Haywire", but I hope she continues to make action flicks. If she does, I'll keep watching her. If she switches to rom-coms like someone else we know, she may have to go there without me.
Page,
I had mixed feelings about Haywire. I think it suffered greatly from an almost nonexistent music score. The action was good, but seemed to be disjointed as did the plot.
The director was going to be the director of the Man From U.N.C.L.E. movie, but dropped out due to budget and time disagreements with WB, and now I'm glad.
Well, I think this was one of the best Nikitas of the series.
That was an excellent effort from "Nikita" this week. Now, are we down to the final 4 episodes of the series, or will it manage a 3rd season renewal?
I understand that they are going to air a finale that hints at S3 possibilities but would suffice as a series finale, and then sit back and wait for the verdict to arrive from the CW bosses.
Sounds a lot like the predicament "Fringe" is faced with, although I firmly believe that "Fringe" will get a shortened final season.
It will be a different TV landscape next season if we don't have "Nikita", "Fringe", or "Alcatraz" returning.
My wife ran across this interesting story about Lana Turner and Sean Connery today:
The Stompanato murder case
Turner met Johnny Stompanato during the spring of 1957, but after she discovered his ties to the LA underworld, she tried to break off the affair out of fear of bad publicity. Stompanato was not easily deterred, however, & In the fall of 1957, Stompanato followed Turner to England where she was filming Another Time, Another Place, costarring Sean Connery, later of James Bond fame. Fearful that Turner was having an affair with Connery, Stompanato stormed onto the set brandishing a gun. Connery managed to land a single punch to Stompanato's jaw and took away his gun (already a real-life James Bond?). Stompanato was soon deported by Scotland Yard for the incident. Back in the States, On the evening of April 4, 1958, Lana and Stompanato began a violent argument in Turner's house in Beverly Hills. Fearing her mother's life was in danger, Turner's then 14-year-old daughter, Cheryl Crane grabbed a kitchen knife and ran to Turner's defense. She stabbed Stompanato, killing him. The case quickly became a media sensation. It was later deemed a justifiable homicide at a coroner's inquest, at which Turner provided dramatic testimony. Some observers have said her testimony that day was the acting performance of her life.
The film was then released four months ahead of schedule to capitalize on the Johnny Stompanato murder.
Two guys I fear we'll never see again are Connery and Gene Hackman, both born in 1930 and last seen in movies almost a decade ago.
A couple of dudes with a commanding screen presence, and each made some good spy flicks, too. Connery's Bond stint is legendary, of course, but Hackman had some beauties as well, like "Enemy of the State" and an oldie but goodie, "The Conversation". Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you.
Connery has one of the most recognizable voices ever. He also has a commanding presence. I think you are right, we'll never see anyone like them again, and at their stage in life we may never see them again. What a shame.
Read this quote from Scarlett Johansson today regarding her Black Widow character: "I personally think there's an awesome Black Widow movie in there that is a Bourne type of film"
To which I said...YES!
New "G.I. Joe: Retaliation" trailer looks like rotsa fun.
Black Widow-- like Sydney Bristow on steroids? I'm in!
And Go Joe!
No surprise, but FOX has officially committed to a 13 eppie final season of "Fringe" beginning in the fall.
If my math is right, this will give it a 99 episode run, just a half dozen short of "Alias"
And, true to form, my math is not right, it will be an even 100 episode run.
If Nikita keeps putting out episodes like the last two they could have a long run. Excellent episode again last night.
Excellent "Nikita" followed by an excellent installment of "Fringe".
Agent Rachel discusses her new time travel cop series, "Continuum" at Vancouver Fan Expo. "Alias" gets a token mention.
Series debuts on May 27 in Canada. Not sure what station will carry it in the States.
Well, I saw a face makeup removal commercial with JG during POI the other night, with no mention of Alias, BTW.
Uncle, the season finale of POI will see Amy Acker as the person of interest.
Some new footage to whet the appetite for "Prometheus".
I wouldn't hold my breath, but I wouldn't object to a return of "Jericho".
Netflix has already succeeded in bringing back "Arrested Development" (an utter waste of time, IMO) for 10 episodes in 2013, so who knows what else they're capable of?
That would be GREAT!!!!!
"Jericho" speculation brings out some "Alias" love when the conversation turns to other cancelled shows we'd like to have back.
Another popular show on that list is "Veronica Mars". I can't help but notice that 'Veronica' seems to have replaced 'Sydney' in the Neutrogena TV blitz. A dubious honour, IMO.
Someone just told me about this show. It ain't Alias, but it is FUUUUUUNY!
http://watchseries.eu/season-1/duck_dynasty
Hmmm, "Duck Dynasty". Are those guys allowed to vote?
Whedon recovers from "Dollhouse" disappointment and goes on to break US box office record with "The Avengers".
Personally, I'd like to see him make a triumphant return to TV with something that can rival the longevity and quality of BtVS and "Angel". As much as I love blockbuster movies, I would like to see his kind of talent week in and week out rather than every few years on the big screen.
Little bit of Agent Rachel's new show.
I'm watching a season 9 episode of JAG. Casey from Chuck is playing... a Seal Team commander. Hmmmmmm.
Uncle, I watched "Castle" a couple of weeks ago for the sole reason that 'Casey' was reunited with his "Firefly" co-star Nathan Fillion. Aside from that, I'm not a follower of "Castle".
Adam Baldwin has been in a lot of good shows from "The X-Files" to FF to "Chuck" to "Angel". He was also in a short-lived show called "Daybreak" back in 2006. I was actually enjoying that show and then, poof, it was cancelled.
Baldwin is a prolific Tweeter in contrast to John Casey, who claimed to hate Twitter in one of the final episodes of "Chuck".
"Alcatraz" officially gets the boot.
Marshall kicks off his "Awake" gig tonight.
Thumbs up to The CW for renewing "Nikita" for a 3rd season.
And thumbs up for the quality of recent episodes!
Ditto that, Uncle. I just sat down to watch 2.22, and it's pre-empted in my neck o' the woods by a Cubs game on WGN.
Oh well, I'll catch it another time. Good news is, like POI, "Nikita" is offering up a 23 episode season.
Meanwhile, "Fringe" season finale tonight.
Page,
I caught Nikita around 5PM Central online. Don't know how it was up that early, but nice for me.
Fringe was really good!
I forgot to say that POI was very good last night also!
POI was excellent. This is what I love about the end of season home stretch for the good shows. They really up their game as the finale approaches. To bad they can't achieve that level all season long.
More cancellations rolling in. This time, ABC gives "Missing" the heave-ho.
Also cancelled is NBC's "Awake", announced a day after Kevin Weisman's first episode. Better luck next time, KW.
Two of JJ's last 3 shows ("Undercovers" and "Alcatraz") lasted 26 episodes COMBINED. Sandwiched in between was POI which looks like it has a decent chance at a respectable run.
Now we have our first look at "Revolution". \\
Time will tell if NBC's 2nd go round with Bad Robot in 3 years will last more than 13 episodes.
For those that haven't seen Avengers, I highly recommend it. When I originally heard about it I thought it sounded like the corniest thing ever, but man did Whedon pull it off (no real surprise I suppose).
There's a certain chair scene with Black Widow that brought back badass memories from TBT, which btw I watched again tonight for the first time in a few years. Still. Freaking. Awesome.
SRM,
Howdie! 5-0 dipped into the Alias TBT bag of tricks tonight also for their season finale.
I saw The Avengers today. Talk about almost non-stop action! And I picked up on the TBT chair similarity also.
I'll have to watch the DVD at home when it comes out so I can pause and and replay so I can catch everything. After the movie I felt like I had been drinking coffee all day I was so cranked up by the action.
Also, it looks like the gimmick for a lot of season finales is blowing up the headquarters.
Given that "Iron Man 3", "Thor 2", and "Captain America 2" are already listed on IMDB, I think we're overdue for "Black Widow 1".
Some articles hint that it is already being mapped out as a prequel.
But, I don't really see that confirmed anywhere, and comments by Marvel boss Kevin Feige leave me with the impression that we'll see BW in another supporting role (I'm guessing "Iron Man 3") before we see get around to seeing her in her own flick.
There is enough Avengers franchise material floating around to keep all of these actors in beer money for years to come, but it's a pity that Whedon can't be the writer behind all of them.
Trailer for Kendall/Locke's new series, "666 Park Avenue".
I have to say that I'm not keen on the fact that it boasts "from the producer of "Gossip Girl" and "Pretty Little Liars". Yikes!
Original ER dude, Anthony Edwards is back with an upcoming series on ABC.
"Zero Hour" looks like it could be half decent. A little ancient mystery, a little sci-fi. Clocks. Rambaldi??
Page,
Revolution and Zero Hour both look great. I hope they are.
Uncle, "Revolution" has that sort of "Jericho" or "Falling Skies" end-of-civilization-as-we-know-it vibe to it.
Bad Robot continues to tap the Aussie talent pool (Anna Torv, John Noble, Sam Neill), this time inserting Anna Lise Phillips in the lineup.
Other than the guy from OUAT, I don't recognize any of the cast members.
I just saw POI's Finch interviewed on PBS. An interesting guy with a wife who is prettier and than you would think he could have.
Uncle, His wife (Carrie Preston) appeared in last week's POI. She played Grace, the fiance that Finch had to abandon for her own safety.
She also appeared with him in an eppie of "Lost".
She's most likely to be seen on "True Blood", which I never watch.
Page,
I did an image search and she sure looks different from photo to photo. When I saw her on POI I thought, "Finch did good for himself."
Wow, two excellent season finales tonight. Too bad about the unfortunate cliffhanger on "Missing", which will join the "Alcatraz" cliffhanger in going unresolved.
And, POI went out in true Bad Robot style. Good news re: POI in that, according to Michael Emerson, Amy Acker's character will be a major player next season.
I didn't get a chance to watch them yet. I hope to on Friday.
Page,
I just got caught up on POI and Missing.
Can't wait to see where they go with POI and how they do it.
Missing- I knew another one of them would be the next to go missing. If they had stopped before that segment it would have been a perfect and satisfying ending to an extended mini-series.
If you have not seen all of the season finales yet..............
SPOILER ALERT..SPOILER ALERT...
SPOILER ALERT...SPOILER ALERT
I just finished Grimm. Wasthere a seaon finale this time that did NOT have a TBT "Mom?" as the last word?
What ever happened to those stay-at-home Moms?
Now that the really big shows have rolled out their season finales, what's left to look forward to this summer? The shows I can think of off hand include:
"Continuum" - May 27 (series debut)
"Burn Notice" - June 14
"Falling Skies" - June 17
"Covert Affairs" - July 10
"Warehouse 13" - July 23
Unfortunately, "Doctor Who" doesn't kick off its new season until September this year. Those crazy Brits.
A new 3-minute sneak peak of Agent Rachel's "Continuum".
Caught Agent Rachel in the pilot of "Continuum" last night. Pretty decent episode with a nice surprise twist involving the Cigarette Smoking Man himself.
Rachel looks awesome, 6 years removed from "Alias" and sporting dark hair, and she kicked some ass both in the future and the present.
What with "Alias", "Star Trek", "Conan the Barbarian" and now "Continuum", is it possible that Rachel Nichols will have a better looking sci-fi/action/adventure resume than Jen by the time she's 40? While I would argue that she has yet to land a role like Sydney Bristow, she is at least making the effort.
The pilot can be viewed here, although it may be blocked outside of Canada.
Page,
The link didn't work for me, but your post alerted me to the fact that it had aired. I found it elsewhere and just finished it. I'll look for the next episode next week.
I'm a fairly new to the world of Doctor Who and am a pretty big fan, but I thought this quote from Who/Sherlock writer Stephen Moffat was applicable for Alias as well. :)
SRM, that quote is pretty much BANG ON. I wonder if JJ and Grunberg would be offended by that, being as it could easily be construed as a rebuttal to their disparaging remarks about "Alias".
Glad you're on board with The Doctor. I only started watching about 3 years ago and I think it's brilliant at times. Sometimes a tad silly, but Who's counting?
My preferred Doctor is Matt Smith, who is Steven Moffat's Doctor. I used to think David Tennant would be impossible to replace, but I'm now in that same position regarding Smith. I also have to say that Rose Tyler and Amy Pond are my fave companions.
One thing that concerns me about where Moffat is taking the show this coming season is that he is on record as saying that it will be more standalone, less serial. That actually sounds like a compromise for the very crowd that your quote addresses.
I'm also a fan of Moffat's "Sherlock" series (all 3 eppies per season) and his "Jekyll" miniseries was excellent as well, IMO.
These are busy days for the ex-"Alias" writing team of Orci/Kurtzman.
I'm not particularly fond of some of their choice of upcoming material (although I always make time for Spideyman movies).
I wonder if they'll cast Jen as The Mummy. Get it??? The Mummy. Gimme a break, it's late.
Here's an enthusiastic response to the debut of "Continuum".
BTW, SRM, I know I've mentioned "Torchwood: Children of Earth" many times on LTA, but if you're just discovering "Doctor Who", you may or may not yet be familiar with Captain Jack Harkness and/or Torchwood.
Capt. Jack is a recurring character on DW, but was later spun off into his own series, "Torchwood". I have really only seen a few episodes of the "Torchwood" series prior to COE, and, frankly, you don't really need to be up to speed on the Torchwood group or the series before diving into COE.
All you really need to know is that it is a more adult oriented spinoff of DW and that COE is a riveting 5 episode season and much better than last year's "Torchwood: Miracle Day". It is required viewing, IMO. It's TV the way TV should be. Treat yourself.
These ever changing Blogger capchas are killing me.
I posted a link to this video on seriable.com the other day in honour of Rachel's new show. I can't believe it's been 6 years already.
Yes, Marshall, it is definitely Empire-Strikes-Back-cool.
Rachel talks mostly about "Continuum", but starts talking "Alias" at about the 6:00 mark.
[Spoilers to anyone who hasn't seen the end of season 5] Nice to see Alias get some love in this article of saddest TV deaths.
SRM, scanning that list, I confess to being along for 9 out of those 30 TV deaths (tho I'm not ready to concede that Jack is dead), a couple of which go wayyyy back.
Bad Robot claimed 3/30 on that list. With "Fringe" down to its final 13 eppies, surely the Robot is gearing up to claim another main character.
Buffy Trivia: Rita (death #13 from "Dexter") was played by Julie Benz, who, as Darla, registered the first kill on BtVS.
In addition to Buffy's Mom, the TV death list could have easily made room for several more BtVS deaths (Jenny, Tara, even Buffy herself). Nobody kills like Joss Whedon.
Charlie from "Lost" was one of the classics, but TBT, I'd already forgotten about Jin and Sun. How about Ben Linus's daughter? That was shocking.
A list like this could sport hundreds of entries, but I'm glad that "Alias" got a nod, a rarity these days for the best show EVER.
I've been wanting to post for about a week, but it's been busy here. I'll either post before bed or tomorrow sometime.
Good to hear from SRM!!
"Alias" chick gets her own long awaited big-screen adventure romp.
Hint: it's not Jen
Hint: "no, I forgive you"
Yup, almost 7 years after her "Alias" debut (and demise), Kelly MacDonald (also of the excellent British version of "State of Play") is Disney-Pixar's carrot-top heroine, Merida.
I'm back!!
Ice was one of my least fav episodes. I haven't looked at the saddest deaths article yet, but I have it open.
I have been watching Continuum. Not bad. Last Burn season was extremely frustrating because Weston wouldn't just go ahead and kill Anson, and now he will have to track him down. Anson is the kind of baddie that you just have to off the first chance you get. Very frustrating to watch. They better end him soon or I won't be able to keep watching.
Also waiting for Covert Affairs and Warehouse 13. Is there anything else coming back?
OK, here are the only TV deaths on the list that I saw:
Cheers, Alias, All In The Family, MASH, Lost.
I forgot to mention that I have been watching Human Target S1. I am so Mad they messed it up in S2 and got it cancelled. It was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Good! I'm just starting Baptiste's 1st episode.
Speaking of Baptiste, it looks like Lennie James may return to "The Walking Dead", which would be great. He hasn't been on since the pilot.
Mrs. Affleck's husband (Ben, I think his name is) has teamed up with Victor Garber for "Argo", based on the hostage affair in Iran 30-some years ago. VG plays the legendary Canadian Ambassador, Ken Taylor. Interesting cast. I'm guessing that this puppy takes a few liberties with the facts.
Victor Garber also has a new series this fall on NBC. "Infamous" is supposedly NBC's answer to "Revenge". Frankly, it looks like a snoozefest to me. Sorry, VG.
It's not "Human Target", but Mark Valley has an upcoming action flick with Nicolas Cage, called "Stolen".
Season 2 of "The Killing" is done. Speculation is that it won't be back.
Season 2 of "Falling Skies" kicked off on Sunday.
Jace from Televisonary has seen the pilot for JJ's "Revolution" and says (paraphrasing) it's crap. I hope he's wrong. Time will tell.
Well, I finished all seasons of JAG, I'm caught up on all the current shows I watch, so I decided to go back to Fringe S1. I don't remember much/any about it so I thoughtthis would be a good time to revisit it.
I have 2 observations:
1- I didn't remember that the Watchers were there from the begining.
2- Anna Torv was really attractive that first episode.
Also, re HT S1- the Baptist episode was so good it could have been a movie.
Uncle, I can't bring myself to rewatch S1 of "Fringe". I just stuck with it because of it's Bad Robot heritage, hoping it would amount to something. Fortunately, the waiting paid off, but not a minute too soon, either.
Anna Torv did look good in that pilot. She caught a lot of flack in the early days for being "wooden", but she has proven over the seasons that she is very capable as an actress, playing a half dozen different Olivias.
I never get tired of watching Olivia tell Broyles "I just want to go back to before". She conveys a lot just through facial expressions. I hope she gets a better post-"Fringe" career than Jen did post-"Alias" (at least so far).
Interesting to note this week that Alias/Lost/Fringe writer Jeff Pinkner has bailed on the final season of "Fringe". Why go the distance and then bolt with only 13 episodes to go?
JJ is keeping busy. Nazi-hunting action thriller! Really?
Oh yeah, and I still want to know why Broyles sent Olivia to the storage facility. John Scott used his dying breath to pose the question, after all. It must surely warrant an answer.
Liam Neeson is ready to kick some more butt in "Taken 2".
I am SO ready!!
New trailer for "Total Recall".
Kate Beckinsale AND Jessica Biel? Wow, I'll need a defibrillator.
She's back in the Bad Robot camp. No, not Jen. Don't be silly. I'm talking about Elizabeth Mitchell (aka Juliet from "Lost") signing on for JJ's "Revolution".
I may be mistaken, but I think she's playing a dead woman, so I'm thinking she will likely be limited to flashbacks. Still, it's good to see her back after a short stint on "V".
While the 10th anniversary of the debut of "Alias" couldn't draw flies, even here on LTA, I can't help but be impressed by the reaction to the 10th anniversary of "Firefly", a show which ran for a whopping 13 episodes.
I finished S1 of HT yesterday. I was stunned at how good several of the episodes were. Truly movie quality. I'm going to make it a hobby to re-edit a couple of them into a movie just for my own satisfaction.
Watching some of the S1 Fringe episodes I have noticed how Alias some of the music was. There were times that it felt like Alias because of it.
Also been dealing with a new thing for me -- blood pressure problems. Not fun to do or to even realize about myself. Oh, well.
Don't know if I have done this before, but here is my YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/user/olduncleguy/videos?sort=dd&view=0
I had a dream the other night where I was living in a world where a guy like this (54 year old Alec Baldwin) has a shot at getting this hotness (28 year old Hilaria Thomas) to take a walk down the aisle, to have him and to hold him until death do them part.
Hang on a sec. You mean it wasn't a dream?? This is how it actually works in New York? Is that a great city or what???
Anyone familiar with the name Agnes Bruckner?
Well, we've all seen her, that's for sure. She played the part of Kelly, the daughter of David McNeil in the awesome "Alias" two-parter, "The Box".
Later on down the road, she had a recurring role on "24".
A couple months ago, she was re-united with Will's Jenny on "Fairly Legal", playing a wrongfully imprisoned inmate.
Soon, we'll see her again as she is scheduled to show up in "Covert Affairs" later in the upcoming season, which, BTW, kicks off on Tuesday, July 10th.
OK,
I forgot Covert Affairs started tonight...my birthday. I'll watch it at work on Wed.
Didn't have a party because I didn't like that it was my 60th. Now that it's 10 minutes after the 10th I wish I had had a party. Having your 60th be a frustrating ordinary work day is worse than having a 60th birthday party.
I remember Agnes B as being a good actress in The Box. She seemed like someone I should have seen on something before, but I couldn't think of where. I'm glad if she is getting parts, although it is now how long since TB?
Happy belated birthday Uncle!
Uncle, just close your eyes and pretend the 4th of July celebration was all about you....only early.
I won't see CA until Thursday.
Last night I watched the debut of "Sinbad", which featured Naveen Andrews (Sayid from "Lost") and Orla Brady (Peter Bishop's Mom). I would describe it as an adventure show for the slightly younger crowd.
Well, I won't go so far as to say "give me Sydney or give me death", but, c'mon, Jen, pleeeeeeease do something I could at least be partially inclined to watch.
The rumour mill has Hurley being invited to join OUAT.
With a little time on my hands the other night, I re-watched the first 2 eppies of "Chuck". Seems like only yesterday.
I had long since forgotten that, thanks to The Intercept, Chuck had knowledge of Oceanic Flight 815.
Speaking of "Chuck", it looks like Casey, Sarah, and Agent Carmichael himself have found varying degrees of employment. In particular:
Yvonne S. has landed a full Season 7 of "Dexter" (a show that fails to float my boat).
Adam B. has landed a guest role (possibly recurring) on "Leverage". For the record, I tried the first 2 episodes of "Leverage" a few weeks back, and I have to say that I found it lacking in intensity. It's a sort of "A-Team" setup where a team of con men (and women) help the downtrodden get back at the people who are trodding them down.
Last but not least, Zachary L. is headed for "Thor 2". Ooooh, nice one, Chuck.
I never bothered with the Linda Hamilton version of "Beauty and the Beast", but I'll definitely give this upcoming CW version a look.
Page,
Looks interesting. I really enjoyed her on Chuck, though I think she was pretty then too.
My wife and I liked the LH version when it was on. But I saw an episode of it a year ago and found in a bit intense and melodramatic.
Uncle, so many TV shows from that era are completely un-watchable by today's standards. My cut-off is really about the time "Alias" hit the air. Since that time, we've really become accustomed to watching something akin to small-screen movies, as you alluded to with "Human Target" the other day.
I'll say it again, "Firefly" fans (and Whedon fans in general) are rabid in their support for their favourite shows. They refuse to let FF fade to black, even though the whole series would fit comfortably on a flash drive.
Can you imagine a one hour special documenting an "Alias" reunion at Comic-Con or anywhere else? Given the attitude displayed by both cast and creator in recent years, I can't picture such an event getting off the ground.
And yet, for FF, a 10th anniversary TV special seems like a no-brainer. A one hour special for a series that lasted about 15 hours??
Of course, I must also say that, once the novelty of seeing a much-loved cast reunited on stage wears off, I think these panel Q & A sessions quickly turn into pretty dull affairs. Star-struck celebrity chasers asking silly questions gets old really fast. Case in point is another Whedon reunion, the 2008 Buffy Paleyfest event.
Still, I'm a little envious that FF fans care so passionately and that the show's cast continues to respond so gratefully so many years later, while it's been lights out on all things "Alias" since the closing credits of 5.17 rolled off our screens.
I thought Firefly was OK, but it wasn't my favorite show by any means.
I am still at a loss for words regarding what has happened to Alias...............................................................................................................................................
I saw in an a comic con interview that Jim Cavezal did a little training with SEAL Team 1 (?) for POI.
It's all Comic-Con this week, and, like JG and VG still get asked about "Alias", Yvonne Strahovski, in San Diego for the festivities, fields the inevitable question about the possibility of a "Chuck" movie (among other questions). Unlike JG and VG, she doesn't turn her nose up at the prospect, but offers little hope.
In other news, Seriable has posted a new NBC video with JJ and Jonathan Favreau promoting "Revolution". In a strange twist, JJ kindly refrains from bashing "Alias".
Scathing review of the new "Beauty and the Beast" pilot.
Page,
Let us know if any interesting interviews with POI cast at Comic Con surface.
Uncle, CBS has put up a whack of video from the POI panel at SDCC.
FOX has released a new trailer promoting S5 of "Fringe".
And, of course, for anyone with wayyyyy too much free time, Chuck Bartowski's NERD HQ has generated tons of fresh video from Comic Con, including his very own "Chuck" panel, not to mention "Doctor Who", with his friends Amy and Rory.
Page,
Thanks. I just downloaded all the parts and I'm going to edit them into a single video.
Uncle, I think WB did the heavy lifting for you in joining those POI videos into one.
As with all shows approaching their end of days, the inevitable "Fringe" movie speculation rears its head at Comic-Con.
However, unlike the reluctant "Alias" cast, Fringe Division seems up for it. And, why not, what else are they going to be doing in a couple of years? Rom-coms?
Glowing review of "The Dark Knight Rises".
No doubt about it, Christopher Nolan's Batman movies absolutely bury the old Keaton/Clooney/Kilmer snoozers.
'Guerrero' from "Human Target" climbs aboard the new "Robocop" movie
"Warehouse 13" returns tonight and apparently promises to take us in a new direction, with less emphasis on artifact-of-the-week.
W13 has graduated to 20 eppies this season, broken into 2 blocks of 10, much like "Burn Notice".
Page,
Thanks for all of the updates. I enjoyed the one piece POI interview. I still need to watch the Nikita one.
I'm glad CA is back on, but I'm not sure I like the jump up Annie has taken.
Looking forward to W13, and I've been enjoying Continuum and Burn, and Fringe S1.
I finished HT S1 and am watching S2. S1 was much better, but S2 is better than no HT.
So far my blood pressure is OK without meds. Hope I can keep it that way. It is a pain to have to deal with that.
Uncle, good luck with the BP issue. It's always gotta be something. My nemesis is stubbornly high cholesterol.
I almost cried like a little girl when my Doc gave me a print-out of a suggested diet. It's basically broken down into 2 categories: if it tastes like gulag food, eat it, if it tastes like awesomey goodness, don't even think about it.
Thanks, Doc!
I caught the W13 season premier tonight. I read comments last night which ranged from very positive to very negative. Personally, it did what I expected it to do at the very least, which was to (SPOILERS AHEAD)
restore the warehouse and bring Mrs. Frederic and H.G. back to life. I like the fact that Artie's choice to reboot the warehouse comes with potentially unpleasant consequences.
What I'm less enthused with is Claudia's inexplicably powerful connection to the late Steve Jinks. I just can't buy into the depth of her feelings for that dude, since they barely had time to get to know each other last season.
Aside from that, I'm hoping for a good season of W13, which has always delivered good summertime viewing, IMO.
Page,
I thought W13 was good, but it would have helped to rewatch the previous on first. And I never bought Claudia's relationship with Steve as they forced it to be. And I don't like it if they are pushing her to the dark side.
BP- I don't have a Dr., but I did get a check up at a clinic and am postponing taking the really inexpensive meds they prescribed until I determine whether or not the following that I'm doing is going to "fix" it:
-diet- low fat/low salt/low sugar/more fresh fruit
-no meds- but lots of suppliments suggested by others with HBP and by a realtive who in a retired MD
-exercise- 2 mile walks 3-5 times a week (these will drop my BP 10+ points after I do it. I may get back into the exercise part of martial arts later)
All of this I'm sure helps, but I have determined that a huge part of the problem and the solution are these 2 things:
-mental attitude- I can have good BP readings, but it will shoot way up if I allow myself to think I have to do something quickly and under pressure, or if I get into heated political debate on FB
- and maybe the single biggest factor, which also effects the effectiveness of the above- sleep. If I get 7-8 of sleep a night my BP stays normal. If I get less than 7 it can easily shoot up.
I'll bill you later for the medical advice:)
Actually, I DID decide to rewatch the previous season finale of W13 before tackling 4.01, because I had zero recollection of how it ended last year.
That's the tricky bit with these short series. After almost a year, it's like starting from scratch.
I must confess that I never read novels, so I'm completely unaware of 2004's "Cloud Atlas".
Novels only get my attention when adaptations are about to hit the big screen. And, so it is with the upcoming Tom Hanks telling of "Cloud Atlas".
There is an almost 6 minute trailer all over the internet today. Whether or not the movie is any good, it sure looks like a feast for the eyes.
AMC is shuffling their deck. They have cancelled "The Killing" after just 2 seasons (which is still a season longer than they allowed "Rubicon" to run), but they have also announced the arrival of a new drama, "Area 51", which is based on the non-fiction best-seller by journalist Annie Jacobsen.
It will be interesting to see how they approach this show, since the book itself is not science fiction.
Rachel is on a roll.
Rare use of the word "Alias" in a headline is always an attention-getter.
"Alias" chick gets her spy on for the BBC. (Anyone thinking I meant Jen should give their head a shake)
This one also seems to star Mr. Eko of "Lost" fame.
Is "Hunted" the New "Alias"? Interview with Melissa George about her new spy gig.
Anyone with time on their hands might also want to read the embedded Vartan interview (from December, 2011), where he admits that fans don't shower him with "Alias" love anymore. How quickly they forget.
Apparently, Cinemax is the U.S. home of "Hunted", and offers a short teaser.
Look what just fell from the sky.
Domestic trailer.
International trailer.
After watching those, I find myself shaken, but not stirred.
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