Thursday, September 28, 2006
900 posts
It's almost depressing to think I've spent that much time on this page, but oh well. Whatever it takes to keep me going...
And now, we talk about Veronica Mars.
Just finished the DVDs for season 2, last night, and I was pretty damn disappointed by the finale. In a major way. If you plan on watching the DVDs, don't read further.
I cannot imagine that anyone would buy that Beaver was the bad guy mastermind. Not for a second. Why? Because unlike Aaron Echolls in season 1, what we see of Beaver's character offers absolutely zero credence to the suggestion that he's a murderer. Zip. Ziltch. Nada. Not only that, it's only in the last 20 minutes of the series when Veronica looks at a little league team photo in a Woody's Burger that reads "not pictured: Cassidy Casablancas" that there's eve a hint that Beaver blew up the bus. For a show that seemingly prides itself oh so much on plotting and pacing, I'm sorry, that's just bullshit. I mentioned Aaron Echolls being the heavy in season 1 and, at first, having issues with that, but the way that the first season finale carried it off made me buy it. We've seen that he's a bad guy. Peripheral character, yes, but the seeds had been planted long before. Whereas with Cassidy, it's as unjustified as Scream 2 when Laurie Metcalf's character (who has nothing to do with anything and is long forgotten) just happens to be one of the bad guys. I hate it. The mystery for season 1, I thought, was far more compelling than that of season 2.
There are a good half dozen episodes that I wish I had skipped, looking back on them. Among those: "My Mother, the Fiend," "Rapes of Graff," and whichever one was set at the school carnival ("Plan B?"). Having so much filler in an otherwise pretty serialized storyline irritates even further when you note the show's awful habit of not showing key events that just happened to have occurred between episodes (Logan's dropped trial, Terrence in the hospital, etc). At the risk of sounding horribly racist, anytime that black characters on this show are on screen, time slows to a painful crawl. BOOOORRRIIIIINNNNGGGG.
I'm totally immersed in the noir world created by the show and the build up is so good, but damn... Beaver? It's stupid. Am I willing to watch season 3? Definitely. There's a lot of strength in this series. I just hope they can come up with a satisfying ending this time. Also, dollars to donuts says that the next washed-up, faded celebrity guest star of yesteryear (Hamlin, Guttenberg) ends up being a bad guy. I can't wait for Dabney Coleman to show up and be a serial rapist druglord.
Other stuff on the TV:
Project Runway - Last night's episode turned out to be so fluffy and feel-good. I'm down with that, as nearly all reality TV feasts on the opposite. I just wish Bravo hadn't ruined this surprise with their promos.
Studio 60 - I'm still with this show. It's not mind-blowing, but it's got a fair start and has promise. Everyone fawns over Sorkin's dialogue, but I have to say, his unrealistic dialogue is probably the number one inhibitor to making this show (or any Sorkin shows, for that matter) laugh-out-loud funny. When you don't believe that people really talk that way on a constant basis and it feels like the writer is just dripping with self-love, it's hard to laugh.
The Daily Show - Think for a moment about how absurd it is that President Musharraf (sp?) of Pakistan appeared on this show before all others. He wasn't on CNN or FOX News or any of the networks... he was on Comedy Central with Jon Stewart. It is simultaneously hilarious and depressing when thinking about the state of television news.
The Office - Thank God, they're bringing back Jim already. It took all of one episode before they realized that the show loses a ton of comedic zip when it's core characters aren't physically in the same space. Love this show, though. Best on the air, right now.
NFL:
Miserable 7-7, both straight up and against the spread, last week. Just a really bad week.
Sometimes, you're right on (Cincinnati 28 Pittsburgh 20)
Sometimes, you just miss (St. Louis 16 Arizona 14)
Sometimes, you get lucky (Baltimore 15 Cleveland 14)
Sometimes, you're just horribly wrong (Seattle 42 NY Giants 30)
And sometimes, you didn't expect the emotion of the night to carry (New Orleans 23 Atlanta 3)
If you're a Steelers fan, don't panic. The team is 1-2 and they have a couple real difficult games to come after the bye, but they're still a good team. They've just facing a brutal schedule.
Patriots fans, maybe you have a little more cause for worry. Pats just looked flat out bad at home to Denver on Sunday night. They might just be one Corey Dillon recovery away from bouncing back, but narrow wins against Buffalo and the Jets to start the year don't exactly inspire confidence.
Terrell Owens claims that he did not try to committ suicide. Fine. I believe him. Let's move on. Dallas is a suspect team, so long as he is out of the lineup.
Kurt Warner's days are numbered. ESPN reported that Matt Leinart was going to start this weekend before coach Dennis Green had to clarify that Warner was still the starter. But really, is Warner going to make it to, say week 6? I don't think so. He's bad.
Picks -
Philadelphia, on Monday night, over Green Bay. It's the lock of the week.
Best game of the week will feature San Diego beating Baltimore.
Cincinnati over New England in a game of two teams headed in opposite directions.
No Shaun Alexander maybe open things up for Chicago as they nip Seattle.
Atlanta over Arizona
Minnesota over Buffalo
Carolina over New Orleans
St. Louis over Detroit
Dallas over Tennessee
Kansas City over San Francisco
Jacksonville over Washington
Indy over NY Jets
Miami over Houston
Even in this matchup of winless teams, I think the Raiders are probably the inferior team. But if they can't beat Cleveland at home after a bye week, we may as well cancel the season immediately. Hoping against hope, going with Oakland.
(B, I like all of these winners to cover except for KC, Carolina, and Dallas)
War Raider Nation!
|
And now, we talk about Veronica Mars.
Just finished the DVDs for season 2, last night, and I was pretty damn disappointed by the finale. In a major way. If you plan on watching the DVDs, don't read further.
I cannot imagine that anyone would buy that Beaver was the bad guy mastermind. Not for a second. Why? Because unlike Aaron Echolls in season 1, what we see of Beaver's character offers absolutely zero credence to the suggestion that he's a murderer. Zip. Ziltch. Nada. Not only that, it's only in the last 20 minutes of the series when Veronica looks at a little league team photo in a Woody's Burger that reads "not pictured: Cassidy Casablancas" that there's eve a hint that Beaver blew up the bus. For a show that seemingly prides itself oh so much on plotting and pacing, I'm sorry, that's just bullshit. I mentioned Aaron Echolls being the heavy in season 1 and, at first, having issues with that, but the way that the first season finale carried it off made me buy it. We've seen that he's a bad guy. Peripheral character, yes, but the seeds had been planted long before. Whereas with Cassidy, it's as unjustified as Scream 2 when Laurie Metcalf's character (who has nothing to do with anything and is long forgotten) just happens to be one of the bad guys. I hate it. The mystery for season 1, I thought, was far more compelling than that of season 2.
There are a good half dozen episodes that I wish I had skipped, looking back on them. Among those: "My Mother, the Fiend," "Rapes of Graff," and whichever one was set at the school carnival ("Plan B?"). Having so much filler in an otherwise pretty serialized storyline irritates even further when you note the show's awful habit of not showing key events that just happened to have occurred between episodes (Logan's dropped trial, Terrence in the hospital, etc). At the risk of sounding horribly racist, anytime that black characters on this show are on screen, time slows to a painful crawl. BOOOORRRIIIIINNNNGGGG.
I'm totally immersed in the noir world created by the show and the build up is so good, but damn... Beaver? It's stupid. Am I willing to watch season 3? Definitely. There's a lot of strength in this series. I just hope they can come up with a satisfying ending this time. Also, dollars to donuts says that the next washed-up, faded celebrity guest star of yesteryear (Hamlin, Guttenberg) ends up being a bad guy. I can't wait for Dabney Coleman to show up and be a serial rapist druglord.
Other stuff on the TV:
Project Runway - Last night's episode turned out to be so fluffy and feel-good. I'm down with that, as nearly all reality TV feasts on the opposite. I just wish Bravo hadn't ruined this surprise with their promos.
Studio 60 - I'm still with this show. It's not mind-blowing, but it's got a fair start and has promise. Everyone fawns over Sorkin's dialogue, but I have to say, his unrealistic dialogue is probably the number one inhibitor to making this show (or any Sorkin shows, for that matter) laugh-out-loud funny. When you don't believe that people really talk that way on a constant basis and it feels like the writer is just dripping with self-love, it's hard to laugh.
The Daily Show - Think for a moment about how absurd it is that President Musharraf (sp?) of Pakistan appeared on this show before all others. He wasn't on CNN or FOX News or any of the networks... he was on Comedy Central with Jon Stewart. It is simultaneously hilarious and depressing when thinking about the state of television news.
The Office - Thank God, they're bringing back Jim already. It took all of one episode before they realized that the show loses a ton of comedic zip when it's core characters aren't physically in the same space. Love this show, though. Best on the air, right now.
NFL:
Miserable 7-7, both straight up and against the spread, last week. Just a really bad week.
Sometimes, you're right on (Cincinnati 28 Pittsburgh 20)
Sometimes, you just miss (St. Louis 16 Arizona 14)
Sometimes, you get lucky (Baltimore 15 Cleveland 14)
Sometimes, you're just horribly wrong (Seattle 42 NY Giants 30)
And sometimes, you didn't expect the emotion of the night to carry (New Orleans 23 Atlanta 3)
If you're a Steelers fan, don't panic. The team is 1-2 and they have a couple real difficult games to come after the bye, but they're still a good team. They've just facing a brutal schedule.
Patriots fans, maybe you have a little more cause for worry. Pats just looked flat out bad at home to Denver on Sunday night. They might just be one Corey Dillon recovery away from bouncing back, but narrow wins against Buffalo and the Jets to start the year don't exactly inspire confidence.
Terrell Owens claims that he did not try to committ suicide. Fine. I believe him. Let's move on. Dallas is a suspect team, so long as he is out of the lineup.
Kurt Warner's days are numbered. ESPN reported that Matt Leinart was going to start this weekend before coach Dennis Green had to clarify that Warner was still the starter. But really, is Warner going to make it to, say week 6? I don't think so. He's bad.
Picks -
Philadelphia, on Monday night, over Green Bay. It's the lock of the week.
Best game of the week will feature San Diego beating Baltimore.
Cincinnati over New England in a game of two teams headed in opposite directions.
No Shaun Alexander maybe open things up for Chicago as they nip Seattle.
Atlanta over Arizona
Minnesota over Buffalo
Carolina over New Orleans
St. Louis over Detroit
Dallas over Tennessee
Kansas City over San Francisco
Jacksonville over Washington
Indy over NY Jets
Miami over Houston
Even in this matchup of winless teams, I think the Raiders are probably the inferior team. But if they can't beat Cleveland at home after a bye week, we may as well cancel the season immediately. Hoping against hope, going with Oakland.
(B, I like all of these winners to cover except for KC, Carolina, and Dallas)
War Raider Nation!
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