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Encapsulated TV reviews
for:
November 16th- November
22nd, 2008.
The Techtite.com ratings system (icon version):
 Burnout
 Near
Miss  Small
Crater  Large
Crater  Deep
Impact
For
more on this web site's "Techtite" rating system, click here.
Sunday
8:00, CBS: The Amazing Race (13).
I don't think anyone is surprised at Terence & Sarah's elimination
tonight, as much as they're surprised at Andrew & Dan staying. How many
lives to these guys have in this game? This time they actually leave
their shoes behind, nearly three "stops" away from the pit stop at the
end of this leg. To top it all off, they take a cab to the pit stop. Yet
they're able to backtrack on foot and get back to the pit stop on time.
So let the odds makers begin. What are the chances these two frat boys
will actually win this thing? Rating:
Large
Crater.
9:00,
ABC: Desperate Housewives. The season's Big Mystery
reaches fever pitch tonight when a local bar is set on fire during the
guys' band concert...and everybody's a suspect. The bad news: the
writers spill the beans on who actually did it, which is bittersweet,
since it's nice to know, and still...anyone could've been a suspect in
the crime.
Rating:
Large Crater.
Monday
9:00,
CBS: Chuck. Ex girlfriend Jill turns out to be a double
agent, just in case nobody knew that already. Unfortunately the only
person oblivious to Jill's shenanigans is Chuck, who by the end of the
episode is driving off with Jill...and without his GPS locator, so if
she send him into harm's way he's in deep trouble. This is long after a
lot of amusing moments this episode, including Chuck having to choose
between trusting Sarah and trusting Jill (and obviously making the more
foolish choice), and an admittedly cliche yet still very funny scene
when Sarah and Chuck must strip to their underwear and jump in the
shower after a possible contamination scare, only to have Jill walk in
on them at the wrong moment. Rating:
Small Crater.
9:00,
NBC: Heroes. While earlier episodes lately have been
pretty good, this was pure "filler" until they air the final three (or
so) episodes of this "volume" of the series. In short, the episode is
called "It's coming..." and the eclipse? It's coming. What's more; it
appears that the eclipse is what activated the Heroes' powers
somehow...and somehow, when it reappears, it can take them away. Though
we don't see this happen until next week, this was a more than
passable "filler" episode, with such moments as Parkman finding a way to
free Mrs. Patrelli, followed by her revelation as to what, exactly, is
her estranged husband planning, who he's looking for, and why. This is
almost immediately after his henchmen try to kidnap Claire, only to be
defeated by Peter, powers or no powers. So in short; the villains get
their butts handed to them by a guy who doesn't even have powers
anymore. Finally; the series is beginning to remember what the title
"Heroes" actually means. Bravo! Rating:
Large Crater.
9:00,
CBS: Two 1/2 Men. Charlie has trouble sleeping over at his
current girlfriend's house. You would think both Charlie (and this
series) would've had this "problem" a while ago, though...no. Rating:Small
Crater.
Tuesday
8:00, CBS: NCIS. Gibbs is onto the mole, and
uses almost his entire team as "bait" for the trap...including Abby, who
must act all standoffish to her friends to complete the "ruse" of
suddenly being the "mole" they're after, so the real mole will drop her
guard when Abby's "arrested." Does that make sense? Well, no, though it
was still a great episode.
Rating: Large
Crater
10:00, ABC: Eli Stone. I'm sure it's just
coincidentally bad timing that Eli had a "mole" story the same night as
NCIS. In a nutshell their newly rival firm is stealing their clients
just minutes before Eli's firm can get them. Turns out the mole is
nobody we know and, I'm sure, nobody we'll ever see again. So what was
the point of that story? In the episode's second story, Eli must defend
a scientist's desire to give marijuana to his son for medicinal reasons,
all while Eli's visions show him things spontaneously combusting during
the case. Is this a sign of "damnation" if he takes this case...or
something else?
Rating:
Small Crater.
Wednesday
8:00, FOX: Bones
was a surprisingly good episode where Bones and Booth are on their way
to China for an archaeological dig of sorts. Why Booth would act as
chaperone for Bones on such a trip I don't know, though during the
flight there is a murder, and of course, since this is Bones and not
CSI, the murder has to be a "murdered to the bones" type of thing, even
if the reasons for this sudden death-to-the-bone has to be dragged in
kicking and screaming all the way. In short: this plane has a microwave
big enough for a murdered body to fit into. Yeah I don't get it either.
In related stories nobody cares about; Angela's faux-mosexual
ways continue as the series tries to make us believe that a red blooded
heterosexual can suddenly like girls at the flip of a switch, so long as
the falling ratings for the series require it. Two words, guys: Grey's
Anatomy. Want more words? Okay; hire an actual lesbian, as an actual
lesbian. Show some stones...pun not intended.
Rating:
Small Crater.
10:00, CBS: CSI: NY.
Taped it; didn't see it.
Rating:
N/A
Thursday
8:00, CBS:
Survivor.
Best Episode "EVAR"! Let's put it this way: when even the cynical folks
at
Television Without Pity call this "the best episode of the season,"
and users at that site give the episode a seemingly unanimous grade of
A-PLUS? Oh yeah; this was one fun episode! While being punk'd into using
a faux "immunity idol" is nothing new (remember last season's classic
line, that it can't be the real idol because "It's a @#$%ing
stick"...?), the way that Randy got eliminated tonight will be part of
Survivor infamy. That's something for Randy to be proud of...even if at
the time, it must've been quite the embarrassment. In short: Bob made a
fake idol as leverage. He "gives" it to Randy, alerting Sugar and her
alliance of the ruse, as a sort of reprieve from their voting against
Bob, which some say they were about to do, though I doubt it,
because...keeping Randy in the game longer than this? After what he did
to his ex-Fang tribe through the weeks? Seriously? Most memorable line
of the whole week goes to Crystal, who when "privately" voting said "You
have made my life HELL...Bye Bye!!!" so loudly that even the people
still seated in tribal council could hear her. At a very close second
to best quote of the week (we're talking photo finish here) is Sugar's
lengthy comment that Randy was an alcoholic bigot who will die alone if
he doesn't grow up..."Lo-sah!"...complete with the "L" hand gesture. So
Randy uses the fake idol, his sole true blue ally Corinne gives a "wink"
to her friends in the jury bench, and then they get told it's not the
real deal, to the LOL of the Fang alliance. Only thing bad about this
scene is Bob's sorry look of guilt on his face, which, hey; it's a game
guy, and you're the only good thing to have come from the ex Kota tribe.
If it kept you in the game it was good strategy. I have to be totally
honest this time around: I was a bit concerned this season was going to
suck, though now it is so entertaining that I actually watched the final
10 minutes of this episode at least six times. It was that cool to
watch. Rating:
Deep Impact
9:00, CBS: CSI.
No cryptic review intended; it's on my DVR and I haven't watched it. Rating:
N/A
Friday
9:00, Sci-Fi: Stargate Atlantis.
Only four episodes left until the series wraps up for good, and that
means more closure. The good news is that we finally see Dr. Jennifer
Keller (Jewel Staite) and Dr. Rodney McKay (David Hewlett) confess their
love for each other during a tense moment when she almost gets killed.
The bad news, for some fans, is that there are too few episodes left as
it is without taking one of the episodes and making it into, for all
intent, a two-actor show (Staite and Hewlett). In short: Shepherd, Teyla,
Ronon and the rest of the gang practically sat out this entire episode,
as the Doctor duo go to Earth for a scientific meeting that goes
terribly awry. With special guest stars like Bill Nye the Science Guy
and Dave Foley (NewsRadio) this was a really enjoyable episode, although
with so few episodes left, and only two lead stars for the majority of
the entire episode, I can see how not everyone would agree. Rating:
Large Crater
Saturday
11:35, NBC: Saturday Night Live.
Host Tim MacGraw with musical guests Ludacris with T-Pain. Again; Sarah Palin lost
and that means no more Tina Fey. Again: Amy Poeler is on maternity leave
so she's not around either. Seth Meyers is still doing an
admirable job as a one-man-show on the SNL Update news skit. Chris' daughter
Abby Elliott and Michaela Watkins are offered more work than their debut
performance last week, with Watkins offering her first solo performance
as "Arianna Huffington" during the news skit. Speaking of the SNL Update
skit; it has been said online that Seth does a better job without Amy
than he did with her, and while I liked them as a duo...I agree. As for
additional sketches: they did a really good James Bond parody tonight,
though the other sketches are pretty much of a "blur," and not worth the
time to summarize them.
Rating:
Small Crater.
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