Rant: The Oscars

I've decided to introduce a new segment on this website called "Rants." The name is fairly self explanatory, but it's when i'll go on for a few minutes about insert topic here. So, the oscars are this sunday. First, i have a confession to make: i've never watched the oscars, nor to i intend to this year. I think that the entire ceremony is dragged out and overblown, and really just and excuse to look at celebrities. But that's the case with pretty much every award show, save the spike scream awards. I do care a little bit, just because every year there seems to be at least movie i like up for best picture, but since it's so easy to just read who won what in the newspaper the next day, i don't deem necessary to actually watch. Now, between Moneyball, the Descendants, and the Help, you have the most book-based movies up for the big award in recent memory. Moneyball is the only movie up for best picture that i've actually seen, and i loved it, so i want it to win. It was a great movie, with great acting and a great story, and was probably the only movie based on a book where I like the movie better. From what i've heard, the descendants was also really good. I didn't see it, but everyone i know who did loved it. BUT, i feel like they are both going to lose to the artist. I didn't see, don't know anyone who did, but it got good reviews, and given the fact that this is the same academy that gave the king's speech, which i honestly think is very overrated (I will get so much crap for saying that) best picture, the artist will mostly likely win based solely on the premise. I also feel like moneyball won't win because of it's screenwriter, Aaron Sorkin. Sorkin has been robbed of two oscars, for both A Few Good Men and The Social Network, both of which people wanted and expected to win, but ended up losing to movies that are too hipster even for me, and that's saying something. The academy has no love for Mr. Sorkin. I was disappointed but not surprised that Super 8 isn't nominated (there is no love for JJ Abrams these days) and as far as Harry Potter not being up for best picture goes, if we were talking about prisoner of askaban or half blood prince, i'd be upset, but, since i didn't like either of the last two, i'm not gonna lose any sleep over it. As far as acting awards go my predictions are: Best Actor Brad Pitt, Best Actress Emma Stone Best Supporting Actor Jonah Hill (that will likely be the peak of his career) Best Supporting Actress Woman From The Artist. That's it for my oscars rant this year, though you might expect another after the awards are given out based on who won. Before you go, my favorite youtube channel made this video that i think does a good job with this year's nominees.

Episode Reviewed: Alcatraz Johnny McKee

Chemical warfare. A tortured nerd turned serial killer. All that and more in Johnny McKee, who returned this week. Not surprisingly, he's killing again by use of obscure chemicals. Madsen, Hauser, and Doc try and succeed to track him down. Who do they turn to for help? Jack Sylvane. You remember him, right?There's a couple of good "the plot thickens" moments, mainly when Lucy (1960s Lucy that is) effectively confirms that they were in fact succeeding with memory tampering they've been talking about of late. Sylvane also suggests it goes beyond just memories with his statement about dreams, and that perhaps that whatever took the 63s might try to break them out of the underground Alcatraz 2.0 in the middle of the california woods. I don't mind the current villain of the week setup, but it's honestly starting to feel a bit redundant, especially because I find that when a show becomes more story arch driven, i lose patience for standalone episodes. And after Guy Hastings, which gave us some of the story arch we want and expect from this show, i found i just want more from the overall mystery. I didn't dislike this, but for a second, it was almost as if it was mocking fans with occasional, casual hints you could only pick up if you were listening. Final Rating: 83%

Movie Reviewed: Chronicle

I should start off by saying i had fairly low expectations for this movie and was pleasantly surprised. Now, this is a recovered-footage movie. Unlike the vast majority of the recovered-footage genre, which sucks (cough cough, apollo 18. cough cough, blaire witch, cough cough, you get the idea) this was really good. So, we start out with Andrew, a sad-sack high school senior in the suburbs of Seattle whose only real friend is his cousin Matt. His dad's an unemployed, abusive drunk living on a firefighter's pension and his mom is dying of an unspecified disease that leaves her bed-ridden. For no discernable reason, he starts to videotape everything he does just for the sake of having something to do. Matt talks him into going to a rave out in the woods, where he gets humiliated. And then mr. popular, Steve, says he and Matt are checking out this giant hole in the ground and they want him to record it. They go down into the cave, much to Andrew's dismay, and find this big-ass glowing rock. The shot ends. Next thing you know, Andrew's got a new camera and he, Matt, and Steve have telekinetic powers. They have fun with it for a little while, and we see a sort of feel-good story for the next... I wanna say half hour to forty five minutes. And then Andrew's life goes to hell. He gets dangerous and unstable, which actually isn't terribly unreasonable given the state he's in. The climax involves him using his powers for evil. I'd say more but I don't wanna ruin the movie. I found this movie to be immensly entertaining, full of action, some hysterical comedy, and an engaging, albeit somewhat unfocused, plot. The acting here was really good, especially seeing how it was a bunch of early twenty somethings i've never heard of, and the characters felt like real people who you could relate to a little bit. The way the movie portrayed high school students was somewhat disturbingly accurate. It didn't always seem plausible that they'd be recording some of what they did, but that was made up for by the great commentary and camera angles, plus all the other amazing scenes. Most of the special effects were pretty good as well, though it's clear this movie was operating on a relatively low budget. Overall, I'm gonna call this a very good, very well done movie, probably the best one that's gonna come out until late april at the earliest. Final Rating: 90%

The Top 10 Sequels

Okay, now a lot of the time when a great movie is released, a sequel comes out that completely trashes it. There are, however, occasionally sequels that can hold their own against there predecessors, sometimes even outshining them. Which is why I am counting down the top ten best sequels of all time. Also, a little note: The Hangover Part ii is NOT on here.


10. Star Wars Return of the Jedi
We all know the story with this one: Luke, Han, and Leia reach the climax in their duel with the empire. Luke, knowing Darth Vader is his father, must face him, and try to save him. Epic space battles, light saber duels, Ewoks, and Leia in a bikini are also in the mix. Some people bagged on this one purely because it undid a lot of the cliff hangers and events of the Empire Strikes Back, and to them I say: that's the whole point of having a third movie. The conflict is supposed to resolved, and frankly, if it wasn't, you people would probably even more upset. Now despite the fact that this movie had been out for over 20 years when i first saw it and i therefore already knew the ending, i was still happy with the action scenes and the final sequence when Anakin finally redeems himself to save Luke. The bottom line: I was entertained. 

9. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
The fourth installment in the hit Potter franchise, we have Harry involuntarily entered in a magical competition at Hogwarts against wizards from other two other schools and one from his own. Now before any of you say anything, most people who like the harry potter movies will agree that while the first movie was good, it wasn't better than any of the sequels that followed, with the exception of the last two, both of which sucked. But, this is a sequel, and this my list, so i can do what i want. The stakes are raised, lives are in the balance, and there's a tiny a tiny bit of angst. With the exception of maybe Half Blood Prince, this was the darkest movie in the franchise, with plenty of great action, an engaging and somewhat mysterious storyline, great sets, and a minor role played by David Tennant (OH MY GOD IT'S THE DOCTOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) Plus, Edward Cullen gets slayed!!!!!! Yeah, you all knew that joke was coming. Moving on

8. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
All the hail the return of the king. Even nerd haters have to respect this movie, mostly because it won eleven oscars, including best picture and best director. The final chapter in the trilogy saw Frodo and Sam nearing the end of there journey to Mt. Doom to destroy the ring, but Frodo begins to be tempted by it's evils. Meanwhile, Gandalf, Pippin, Mary, Aragorn, and company continue there valiant series of epic battles to fight the orcs. There's other stuff in the mix by way of character development, plus some great backgrounds and special effects (they filmed in NEW ZEALAND DANGFLABBIT!) As with Two Towers, the Gollum stole the show. This was just plain awesome, pretty much totally outdoing the other two by being the most action packed and the most plotty (it's a word...now.) I would have this higher up, but it's just SOOO DAMNNN LONGGGG. But it was still incredibly awesome. 

7. Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back
No list of sequels is quite complete without it. The second entry in the original star wars trilogy saw Luke go to the Degabar System (don't know if i spelled that right) to receive training from Yoda. Meanwhile, Han, Leila, Chewie, and C3PO go on the lamb and end up hiding out in Cloud City with Han's "friend" Lando Calrissian. Odds are, you know how the majority of the story goes. The darkest entry in the franchise, this had more action than the first, ended on a bit of a cliffhanger, and, of course, has quite possibly the most famous movie quote of all time. Big battle scenes, light sabers, stuffs gets tossed around with the force, the whole nine yards. Personally, A New Hope will always be my favorite Star Wars movie, but I guess this came close and just missed. 

6. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
And I hereby give you all permission to hate me. This didn't go over too well with a lot of other Indy fans, for some reason. Even Steven Spielberg admits this didn't turn out as he'd hoped. Indy, along with his pint sized partner Short Round, who is possibly the greatest secondary character of all time, and a lovely singer they picked up by accident end up in a small Indian village, plagued by dark forces after there sacred stone was taken, along with all of there children. So, the trio follow a trail to a mysterious temple, where they find slave powered mining operation for the other sacred stones headed by a tyrannical monster out for world domination. I really don't get why so many people bag on this movie, I personally was highly entertained between the awesome action, great dialogue, and greater acting. As for  how dark and gruesome this was, which you may have heard about, let me put it this way: this was the main movie responsible for the creation of the PG-13 rating. Don't let that put you off, though, this was pretty darn awesome.

5. X2: X Men United
The best entry in the original x men trilogy, we have Wolverine returning to Xavier's school after failing to learn anything on his journey. This is right after a mutant attempts to kill the president. Professor X and Cyclops pay a visit to Magneto, which leads to them being captured by a Colonel William Stryker, who despises mutants and is experimenting on them. Jean and Storm track down the mutant who tried to kill the president, but we find out he wasn't in control of what he was doing. And after the military attacks the school, Wolverine, Rogue, Iceman, and Pyro go on the lamb. Eventually, they all encounter an escaped Magneto and Mystique, and they must team up to save the Professor and stop Stryker from enacting is evil plan. By far the best plot and best action of the trilogy, good acting for great characters, and, of course, the best use of the hysterical metaphor of "mutants as gay people," in some of the best comic relief lines i've ever heard. This was just good entertainment.

4. The World Is Not Enough
What can I actually say here beyond "this is a James Bond movie. It is my favorite one. Pierce Brosnan is my Bond." Quite frankly not all that much. It's a bond movie, if you've seen one you've seen them all, but I found this one most entertaining. Go figure. Some of you may hate me for saying that, but once again, my list.

3. Mission: Impossible III
There's a reason this is my favorite mission impossible movie, and it's called JJ Abrams wrote and directed it. After the long ago success of the first two films, the Bad Robot team that brought us Lost, Alias, and Fringe picked up the third film, bringing their unique brand of magic to the table. IMF agent Ethan Hunt has retired from field work and has begun training new agents. Why? He doesn't want to put his girlfriend, later fiancee, and then wife, in danger. But, he gets roped into one last mission to save the life of his favorite student from soulless meglomaniac Owen Davian, who's after something called the Rabbit's Foot. After Ethan and company bring Davian in, he escapes and captures Ethan's wife. Ethan becomes a fugitive and has to rescue her, and, naturally, to do so, a series of intense and almost totally impossible stunts most be performed. I like this Mission best because it has the best overall story to it along with kick-ass stunts and action only Mission Impossible can deliver. Overall, just watch this.

2. The Dark Knight
Yeah, you all knew this was gonna be here. Batman Begins's superior sequel saw Bruce Wayne/Batman, as well as GPD's Jim Gordon and DA Harvey Dent launching an all out war against organized crime in Gotham City. The organized crime is now headed by none other than the Joker, the man who could make Hitler pee his pants. Heath Ledger deserved an oscar for his haunting role as the Joker, disturbing as it was, especially seeing how he died shortly after the film was made. Wayne is dealing with the consequences of his actions as people begin to die because of what he does as the batman, all the while trying to win over Rachel Dawes, who's dating Harvey Dent. I... don't know how to describe how awesome this movie is. It's very dark, very intense, very violent, great acting... even though it sometimes sounded like batman was gargling marbles when he talked, and an amazing overall story. Soooooo awesome.

Now, what could have possibly topped the dark knight for the title of the greatest sequel ever?
Let's find out! 
And number 1 is...........






1. Indian Jones and the Last Crusade
By far the best Indiana Jones movie, here we have Indy on quest for the holy grail. His father, Henry Jones Sr, has been looking for it God knows how long and has gone missing. So, Indiana goes on a search for the grail and his father in europe. He teams a gorgeous blond who was working with his dad. They deal with Nazis, a secret society, a few twists and turns, gunfights, fist fights, whip fights, motorcycle chases,  boat chases, horse chases, tank destruction, ghosts, camels, assorted villains, fire, questions involving religion, and so forth. The father-son dynamic between Jones Sr and Jr really highlights the film, plus a lot of great dialogue and comic relief scenes, and the magic touch that only Steven Spielberg can supply. I just can't describe how awesome this movie is. If you're not entertained by this movie, congratulate yourself: you're a moron. True excellence.

Episode Reviewed: Awake Pilot

Before any of you say anything about how this show doesn't actually premier for like a month, NBC has decided to leak the full pilot episode online. Don't really know why, it's seems like poor buissiness strategy, but i'm not really complaining. My fellow blogger Rocco over Seriable.com managed to get his hands on it. The link is below if you're interested. The show centers around detective Michael Brittan, who is in a car accident with his wife and son. He begins living in 2 realities, one where his wife survived and the other where his son survived. It seems pretty clear that one of these worlds is a dream, but we don't know which, and both seem completely real. He wakes up in one, he falls asleep, he wakes up in the other. He has different cases, partners and therapists in both. Stuff starts crossing over, and he's not sure what's real. The premise behind this is awesome and intriguing, good acting, very well written, and some great directing. I feel like this will be heavy storyarc, serialized type of show, and I'm all for that right now, what with Alcatraz kind of awkwardly skating around that sort of thing. The pilot does a great job of setting up the premise and the overarching storyline, and I'm really looking forward to future episodes to see where they go from here. It's another great premise show with a ton of potential. Final Rating: 95%

Feel like watching it? Click the link below, scroll down a bit, kick back with a cup of insert beverage here, and enjoy.

http://seriable.com/awake-full-first-episode-now-available-online-us-international/

Episode Reviewed: Alcatraz Paxton Petty

The plot thickens. This week, we saw the return of bomber paxton petty. He's a korean war vet who was imprisoned after going a bombing spree. He's back, and now we're dealing with another bombing spree, which follows a similar pattern to his first one. This is another episode that focuses a lot more on the overarching story and less on this week's bad guy. We see a bit more of Lucy and her mysterious presence on the rock in the 60s, and a little bit of Tommy. We find out that way back when, Lucy and young Hauser were romantically involved. We also learn that Lucy did not, repeat did not, travel back from 2012 to 1963 to change the past, and she was born before the 63s vanished. Also, it's implied once again that The Powers That Be needed Tommy specifically. This wasn't quite as good as last week's Guy Hastings, but it was definetely above average because of the story arc twists. What I'm really starting to want more and more, though, is like a full story arc episode, because the overall story here is lot more interesting then the this week's 63. Final Rating: 86%

Episode Reviewed: Alcatraz Guy Hastings

Alright, just a little warning, this review contains massive spoilers. This week we see the return of Alcatraz guard Guy Hastings. He reappears and seeks out Ray Archer, another Alcatraz guard who we learned in the pilot raised Rebecca. Flashbacks show Hastings training Archer, as well as interact with, guess who, Tommy Madsen, Rebecca's grandfather. We learn they're actually brothers, but Ray changed his last name so he could work at Alcatraz. We don't actually know what Hastings wanted Tommy for, but we do learn that Tommy is key player in what's happening. He seemed to know what was going to happen to him before it happened, and Ray seems to know something, too. This actually focuses less on Hastings and more on the Madsen clan. We also learn a bit about what the guards may have experienced when they... vanished off the rock. Now, what the guards experienced wasn't necessarily what the prisoners experienced, but it seems like something... biological, especially because Hastings says he was told he and other guards were contaminated, and we mention, yet again, that prisoners, especially Tommy Madsen, were having blood taken out of them regularly for something. Another thing is that Hastings has some fuzzy memories of what happened to him, but Jack Sylvane (you remember him, right?) had no recollection. There was also a mention of seismic activity when Hastings returned, which fits in with something we were told last week if you have that much imagination. Overall, the plot thickened. This was vast improvement over last week, much better plot, and there finally getting to what i came into the show in the first place for: the overall story of what the hell is actually happening. Plus, it was nice to see Rebecca finally give a crap about how Tommy killed her partner. Final Rating: 90%

Episode Reviewed: Grimm: Tarantula

I was excited for this episode the minute i heard Amy Acker was guest starring. And it's not in the way you think. Well, okay, yes, she is pretty hot, but that was only part of it. For those of you who don't know, Grimm's creators (David Greenwalt, Jim Kouf, and Stephen Carpenter) are all Whedonverse alums. Acker has worked with the king's consultants before on Angel and Dollhouse. Apparently Joss isn't the only one who plays favorites with casting. Anyway, Acker plays a black widow spider-like creature who kills her mates after... well you get the idea. Naturally, Nick and the Portland PD are on the case. Nick also sends a message to the creatures, who we learn in this episode are called Vessin, after a few Vessin egg his house. This wasn't as good as last week's Organ Grinder, but i was still entertained, scared, and grossed-out, so it fuffilled all the requirments for an episode of Grimm. I'm starting to want more of the season's storyarc seeing how we've now only got two episodes left this season, but I get that it will come in good time. From what we do have so far and based on the trailers for episode twelve, the season finale should be pretty good. Good enough for NBC to order season 2, perhaps? Time will tell. In the mean time, we wait. Final Rating: 89%

Episode Reviewed: 30 Rock: Hey Baby, What's Wrong

In this special hour long episode of 30 Rock, valentines day blues plague the TGS crew. Frank and Tracy try to help Lutz meet loose women. Jack and his mother in law become attracted to eachother. Jenna's dealing with some singing issues. And Liz and Criss try to survive the ultimate relationship test: a trip Ikea. We had a couple of great one liners, and a good amount of scenes when smiling. A think this would've been better as a half-hour long story, but overall i enjoyed this episode. Do i think the show is likely to resume it's usual brand of constant belly laughs soon: yes. Final rating: 85%

The Top Ten Pilot Episodes

After watching the advanced showing of Touch's incredible pilot, i decided to create this list of the top ten shows with the best pilot episodes. A little heads up: a show that had an awesome pilot but the rest of the show sucked can be on here. Let's get started.

10. Malcolm in the Middle
The only thing Frankie Muniz has done that people actually care about is Malcolm in the Middle, which ran for six seasons on FX. In the episode, we establish that Malcolm is 3rd of four (later five, and, as is implied in the finale, soon to be six) boys, with two parents who are freaks working dead end jobs. Malcolm's oldest brother Francis, who he sort of worships, is at military school. Malcolm is in sixth grade, and his school has seperate classes for geniouses, called Krelboynes, who get treated like crap. Malcolm becomes a Krelboyne after being tested and learning he has an IQ of 165. He always talks to the camera, which moves to his will. He becomes friends with a crippled Krelboyne named Stevie, who only has one lung. He deals with a bully. As strange and basic as this plot sounds, it was actually really funny and entertaining, which the show managed to stay for the next few seasons, before becoming really bad durring the last two. Either way, the pilot was good. Final rating: 89%

9. The Event
Okay, i know what you're thinking: WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU THIS SHOW SUCKED YOU MORON!!!!!!! And while that is... very true, the pilot episode and the first two episodes after it were honestly really good, but most people forget that because the rest of the show's one and only season delivered 21 solid episodes of suck. So here we have Sean Walker, apparently an average Sean, which is revealed to be less than true later, who goes on a cruise in the carribean with his hot girlfriend Leila. He's planning on proposing while they're there. And then they make some friends, and Leila goes missing. At the same time, we learn that President Martinez has learned of a group of people being kept at a prison camp in Alaska. He lets one of the prisoners, the leader, Sophia, out. And then, Leila's dad, who knows she's been taken, must crash a plane into a party the president's having and kill him to get his daughter's freedom. Sean's on the plane trying to stop him. This episode got a ton of people hooked pretty quickly because you never actually completely know what's going on. These people, myself included, were let down later when the show became incredibly bad, which is why this isn't higher up. But, the pilot was awesome, so yeah. Final rating: 92%

8. Seinfeld
One of the most iconic tv shows ever is Seinfeld, the famous show about nothing. In the pilot, a girl Jerry met in Michigan is visiting town, and he and George argue over whether or not she wants to go on a date with him. We also meet Kramer and Elaine, get the first look at the famous coffee shop, get the one and only encounter with Kramer's dog, and see quite a bit of Jerry's stand up between scenes. There's really not much else to explain. But hey, it was funny, and were it not for it, no one would be able to celebrate Festivus. It's Seinfeld, enough said. Final Rating: 90%

7. Leverage
(Episode also called The Nigerian Job)
At one point, this was my favorite show. It's the pilot of TNT's hit drama about thieves who steal to help people. In the pilot, we meet Nate Ford (Timothy Hutton) an alchaholic, divorced, ex-insurance investigator who's son died. He meets a guy who works for an airplane design company who says another company stole his designs. He asks Nate to help him steal the designs back by leading an a team of three of the world's greatest thieves. They steal it back, but they find out they've been conned, so, after picking up a skilled grifter, they go to get revenge. They pull it off, and since Nate is the only honest man among them and did most of the planning, the team goes to work for him, doing only the jobs he wants to do, which involve helping people using criminal methods. This was engaging, incredibly clever, had great acting, and some hilarious comedy relief scenes. It sent the show into mega-fame, which is appropriate because it only got awesomer from there. Final rating: 93%

6. Buffy the Vampire Slayer
(Episode also called "Welcome to Hellmouth)
If you know me at all, the you knew that this was gonna be in here. The two-part pilot episode of the show that lauched the career of Joss Whedon, the man who makes me want to be a writer, followed Buffy Summers, the vampire slayer. It's pretty self-explanatory, actually. After being expelled from her old high school (she burned down the gym) she arrives in Sunnydale, CA, hoping to avoid further vampire-slayage. But then she finds out her new watcher, which is sort of her protector, has been waiting for her there. And than she finds out that Sunnydale is built on top of a Hellmouth (giant, evil, majick vampire pit) and that a very old, very pissed off vampire is trapped there, trying to get out to kill people. This show stayed consistently good throughout it's run. The pilot was fantastically written and embodied almost everything fans would come to love about the show, mainly the huge action/fighting sequences, great characters, and hilarious comedy relief. In short, it's an awesome show with an awesome pilot. Final rating: 94%

5. Sherlock
(episode also called A Study in Pink)
BBC's modern day reimagining of the Doyle's classic mysteries comes from Doctor Who alums Steven Moffat and Mark Gattis. Set in London, we have Army doctor and Afghanistan vet John Watson returning to england after being discharched due to PTSD. Looking for a roomate, his friend introduces him to Sherlock Holmes, consulting detective. They become flatmates. Holmes, needing a doctor for a case, brings John along to help examine the body. Holmes is a genius with aspergers. He sees and notices every tiny detail, so naturally he loves mysteries. Thus begins a mind bending mystery throughout london involving a rash of apparent suicides.This show is just absolutely brilliant. If you're paying attention, you can appreciate sherlock's genius, the unfolding, highly intelligent mystery, and the fact that it's just plain awesome. Final Rating: 96%

4. Angel
(episode also called City Of)
Okay, now you may or may not be thinking, oh look another Joss Whedon show. We got another whedon addict blogger to deal with. Or if you're a whedon addict like me, you might be thinking "you have this above the buffy pilot?! what's wrong with you?" The simple truth is that enjoyed this more than i enjoyed welcome to hellmouth. This show is actually Buffy's spin off. We have here the vampire Angel, cursed with soul so he may feel the guilt and pain of the people he's killed. He's left Buffy, the love of his absurdly long life, and has come to LA. Naturally, do to a lack of other things to do, he begins doing what he did in Sunnydale: he fights vampire and other demons, mostly because saving people temporarily releives him of his guilt. He meets Doyle, a prophetic half-demon, as well as Cordelia, an old friend from Sunnydale. They decide to work together, using Angel's skills and Doyle's visions, to fight demons. This was an enormously entertaining episode, lot's of great action and humor, plus some strong performances by the lead actors. For those of you who are ticked i put this ahead of Buffy, i say: this is my list. Final Rating: 96%

3. Firefly
(Episode also called Serenity)
Yes, i am that obssesed with joss whedon. and i just happen to like this show. So here we are 500 years in the future. mankind has spread out to a new solar system. a government force called the alliance controls planets at the center of the solar system, the outer planets are lawless and wild. The show introduces the crew of the Serenity, a group of badass space cowboys who aim misbehave. The captain is a war veteran, the war being a group of planet's last attempt to keep the alliance out. They pick up some, shall we say, fugitive passengers. Why do i like this so much: gunfights, explosions, awesome characters, hilarious one-liners, and a great plot that sets up for the rest of the show. Fox, however, did not see the pilot's potential, so, being the trolls they are, they didn't air, fully knowing that the rest of the show wouldn't make sense without it. But don't let that discourage, because this is freaking awesome. Final Rating: 98%

2. Touch
Alright, technically i already reviewed this episode, so i won't spend too much time on it besides saying that it's incredibly awesome. Theatrically wonderful, even. You can read the review a little ways below. It's awesome and it's got a great premise. Final rating: 98%

1. The X Files
What is any nerd's top ten list without something x files related. Odds are, you know what this show is about. FBI agent Dana Scully (the skeptic) is assigned to monitor the work of agent Fox Mulder (the beleiver.) he works on the the X Files, the FBI's unsolved cases, which he beleives are a bit more than meets the eye. Scully is originally assigned to debunk his work as the two investigate a murder in Oregon which Mulder beleives to be a bit extra terrestrial. Everything about this episode was awesome: the acting. the script, the sets, everything. It also sets up the main ongoing story on the show involving a government-alien conspiracy theory and just about everything that i would ever love about the show. So awesome. Final Rating: 100%

Okay, thanks for reading and be sure to comment

Episode Reviewed: Grimm: Organ Grinder

NBC penned this episode as "Grimm taking a stab at Hansel and Gretel," which was appropriate. So this one adresses the fact that Oregon has the highest population of homeless children in the country through the story that homeless kids are being picked up off the street for organ harvesting. The monster this week is a sort of crow-like thing that, like all the others, has inpronouncible german name that don't know how to spell. Nick catches onto the organ harvesting after he and Juliette befriend a pair of homeless kids, Hanson and Gracie (you see what they did there?) We had a great overall story going on here, Grimm's usual brand of dark and frightening, plus some addition to the overall arc involving the captain. It's still not confirmed whether or not the captain is a creature, because while it seems logical that he is, we've never actually seen him change. We also learn a little more about the way the creatures work, plus Nick is contemplating telling Juliette about the way he sees things, and Monroe has some developement as well, but, because it's Monroe, it's funny, so you don't really realize that it's developent until the scene's over. Final Rating: 94%

Episode Reviewed: 30 Rock: Today You are a Man

Interesting. Very interesting indeed. Tracey and Jenna have an emotional epiphany while performing at their nemesis's bar mitzvah. Kenneth briefly leaves to get some respect and is replaced by someone incredibly incompetent. Liz negotiates her contract with Jack by using Jack's negotiation techniques, which makes Jack very weird. While not quite as good as "The Ballad of Kenneth Parcell," this one had several very funny one liners and a guest appearence by Suzy Orman (very strange indeed) and Liz briefly talks to the camera, probably to adress something some critic said. Overall, I laughed, mostly from Tracey and Jenna's parts. The scene at the end (spoilers) should make for some interesting episodes in the near future. Final rating: 86%

Episode Reviewed: Alcatraz Cal Sweeney

This week we saw the return of thief cal sweeney, who seduced bank tellers and used them to rob banks. He hits up a few banks, Rebecca, Doc, and Emmerson take notice, and corner him at another bank, which they end up having to break him out of so the cops don't take him. As usual, we have some flashbacks revealing what happened to cal on alcatraz in the 60s. Now, after the first few episodes, the villian of the week format is starting to feel a bit repititous and i'm starting to want Mr. Abrams to focus a bit more on the overall storyarc. It doesn't really help that, unlike Jack Sylvane or Ernest Cobb, who are both really interesting villians, Sweeney honestly feels kinda 2D. This episode did have a few saving graces, though, namely the reappearence of something (two somethings, actually, but i'm not gonna say who) and a nice twist at the end that hints a little at just what's going on and who was involved. A couple of brief notes: Memories were a big theme in this episode, as Lucy suggested the possibility of memory tampering. My theories on what's actually happening on the show are always open for change, and right now, the most likely possibility appears to be that the 63s have their memories tampered with so that they have a mission once in the future, but can't remember why they need to do it, just that it has to be done. From there, some sort of two-way time travel seems possible. That seems likely, but i know that there are a few holes, namely that it doesn't explain the blood drawing in 1960 or the scene at the end of the episode. Got any really crazy theories? Comment below and share. Episode Final rating: 84%