Flash-sideways(es?) Rule

March 9th, 2010 is the day that I became sick of so many people saying that the flash-sideways(ese?) in Lost are boring. Ben's flash was very interesting and has convinced me of a pattern that I have noticed.

For whatever reason, the flash-sideways are a type of resolution for these characters. Each character has one main regret in their life, and the off-island flashes are helping them to resolve these issues.

-For all of the vitirol (deserved and un) regarding Kate's plane in season 1, it represents her deepest regret. Her running and me-first nature got her childhood friend killed. So, in her flash-sideways, she takes the time out to Stop running and help a pregnant girl.

-Locke lets go of his "destiny" by tearing up Jack's business card. Old Locke would have called, scheduled an appointment and if the surgery didn't take, he would have wheeled himself outside of Jack's door banging on it yelling and crying. This Locke was more realistic.

-Jack got to deal with his father issues... not by talking to his father but by being a better father to a son that he somehow has. He supported his son even though he never received such support himself as a child.

-Sayid got to see Nadia happy, but recognizes that he himself does not deserve her for all of the evil that he has committed.

-Ben got to put Alex's welfare ahead of his own thirst for power.

It's not clear yet how these people have been given this opportunity but they seem to be getting a chance to do the correct thing and move on from their largest issues. It's very intriguing thus far and I'm curious to see how these two timelines eventually merge. I'm assuming that they will because I doubt that the writers would have these flash-sideways(ii?) not mean anything.

Hey Conan, Don't Do The Tonight Show

Yeah, I'm the last to still be commenting on this Conan/Jay thing (for the record, I don't regularly watch either, but to me Jay's actions seemed rather classless throughout this disaster so I'm pro-Conan) but rather than focus on the drama, I just want to take this time to send Conan an open letter with the vain hopes that somehow he may get to read it.

Conan, don't do The Tonight Show. No, I'm not a technology-deprived hillbilly (cuz hello... blog!) who doesn't know that you were dismissed from the show, what I'm saying is that I sincerely hope that you don't leave and pull a Letterman. Or a Kimmel. Or any of the other Tonight Show-clones out there. Why?

You were, for a time, the host of The Tonight Show. Yay. What does that mean? It means that, at best, in the running to become the second best host that show ever had. Now, Jay will probably have that distinction, and good for him, but you have the chance to do something more.

Carson hosted a late night talk show... THE late night talk show. And he did so at a time when the late night talk show was important. Are they still important? All of these shows follow the "monologue/skit/guest/guest/musical guest" outline (or some may throw an extra skit in there) and that's fine, but in Carson's time there was no CNN or internet... so the monologue was important because it was the only way that a lot of people heard about some of the topics that were discussed. In today's society not only has everyone heard about all of the news that's discussed in a late-night monologue, but most have even read a few jokes about it on Twitter or a blog (for instance, I wonder how many feminine hygiene jokes will be made about Apple's new iPad on late night monologues contain this week... whereas I'm already worn out on them because of various tweets that floated around Minutes after the announcement was made.)

In Carson's time, a lot of people learned about actor's upcoming projects through late night talk shows. Now, there's YouTube, IMDB and Aintitcool.com. ow many people know that Iron Man 2 has already been shot and are looking forward to seeing it this summer? How many people are honestly going to watch The Tonight Show the night before and decide "hmm, that looks like fun, I think I'll see that."

Conan, my man, you are being given the opportunity (whether at Fox or wherever) to do something Different. Something relevant. Honestly you're almost there as it is... I mean the people on your show though up such timeless ideas as Triumph, the horny manatee and Robot Pimp. Those are wonderfully Original ideas. So, you can take this time off and come back and do yet Another outdated late night program, or... you can take these 8 months that you were given, sit down with your writers and invent something New and original. You can change late night television. You have the opportunity to break away from all of the clones and create your own thing.

Personally, I hope that you do. Because That... I'll watch. Well no, realistically I have to wake up pretty early, so that... I'll TiVo.

Except I have a DVR and not actually a TiVo, so...

My 2nd Favorite DVD Series...? What!

So, if I was trapped on a desert island and could only take one television series dvd with me... it'd be The Wire. Obviously. But, my second choice? No, it really wouldn't be Lost because that's the last thing that I'd want to watch if I actually Was stranded on a desert island... nightmares of polar bears, smoke monsters and four-toed statues would be a bit much.

Actually, my 2nd choice would be Psych... and there's honestly no third option even close. I have recently "discovered" these dvd's over the holidays and personally I think they are fantastic. I love the television show as it is, but watching them in a row (as opposed to the way that USA airs them where it seems like every year has 7 season premieres and 7 season finales) it becomes apparent that there are actually quite a few running gags and references to past episodes. And I love both of those things.

Also, the creator of the series, Steve Franks, does some very fun commentaries with the stars, James Roday and Dule Hill. The commentaries are informative enough to be interesting, but fun enough not to be boring. Although, they generally are more funny than informative. Not that I'm complaining. Maybe it's because I'm of the age that I love the same 80's and early 90's movies and music that they reference so often in the show, or maybe it's just that, as a guy, I completely understand the Shawn/Gus dynamic and enjoy seeing their friendship on screen. Whatever it is, I really enjoy the television show, and absolutely love the dvd's. The commentaries, deleted scenes, outtakes... they're all great. I just wish that the Psych-outs that air at the end of each episode were on the dvd's (my favorite of which is here. That might even make them pass The Wire on my list then.

Well no, probably not. But still.

Berrypost: Baseball is the Devil

Fringe's ratings last Thursday were terrible. So bad, in fact that quite a few fans have banded together on Twitter (and other places online) to campaign to "save" it. Now, considering that Fox did an amazing job backing up Joss Whedon this season (for as long as the low Dollhouse ratings would allow anyway) I have recently begun to appreciate the network. Needless to say, if Fringe gets cancelled then a lot of this goodwill flies out the window (almost all of it would actually) but I remain hopeful.

Why? Well, I was talking to my wife when she pointed out to me that a lot of people in the Comments section of EW.com were pretty peeved last Friday. As it turns out, these people did not know that a new episode of Fringe had just aired because their DVR's all said that the World Series was on Fox last Thursday night... Even though the Series actually ended the night before.

Viewers didn't tune in live due to this information and apparently a lot of people's DVR didn't record at that time because the listing said "Baseball" and not "Fringe". I had the exact same problem and the only reason that I was able to catch and watch Fringe is because I keep up with sports. For all those that don't keep up with baseball... Well, they were screwed.

Now I know that logically it makes more sense to blame the cable companies, but "baseball is the devil" has a much better ring to it. Besides, I don't like baseball, but I do like cable... And I don't want my cable company doing something nefarious like blacking out the final 5 minutes of the Lost finale on me just because they read a mean tweet of mine. I know which side my bread is buttered on.

Maybe I'm wrong... It certainly won't be the first time. But, if I'm right then the ratings for tonight's Fringe will be a good deal higher. Let's watch and see, because if I'm right and baseball really is to blame then I am SO gonna boycott baseball by not watching next season.

Not that I watched any baseball This season, but still. This time I'll be not watching... In anger.

Berrypost: RIP Dollhouse

This is the first of my "Berryposts" that will be done from my Blackberry (oddly enough) to help me keep up with my blog from work. Links will rarely be used in Berryposts since I have to sneak and blog while the bosses aren't looking.

Anyways, Fox has announced that Dollhouse has been cancelled... A lot of other Joss Whedon fans are heart-broken and/or angry, but me... I find myself happy.

I'll miss Dollhouse certainly, but a season and a half in, I find that it's my least favorite in the Whedonverse. I loved Buffy, Angel, Serenity and even Dr. Horrible more than Dollhouse so I can't help but feel that Joss has much better creations inside him. I'd prefer one of those.

And the best news is that unlike with The Firefly Debacle, we the fans will get an actual finale for Dollhouse. And seriously, who does a season or series finale better than Joss?

Now I want to see Dr. Horrible in theaters. IMAX. In 3D.

Why Dollhouse Is Failing

Usually at the beginning of a blog like this the writer will begin with a long, meandering preamble trying to convince the reader that he/she is a fan of Joss Whedon... not me. I mean, I am one, but whoever reads this blog is pretty much going to believe whatever they choose and I'm cool with that. However, since so many others have done it, I figured that I'd post my opinion as to why so few people are watching Dollhouse.

After watching the 2nd season premiere of Dollhouse I turned to my wife and said "this show is so doomed." And my wife promptly did the wifely thing which is to roll her eyes. And that's fair... but after watching last night's episode "Belonging" it demonstrated how this show, when it's at the top of it's game, is the best show on network television. It also demonstrated why it was always going to struggle though.

Think back... when was the last time that a television program took such an obscure sci-fi concept, dealt with such big questions (What's a soul? Where should lines be drawn morally? how hot is Eliza Dushku?) on network television and had 10 million viewers? For whatever reason, it just doesn't occur. If Joss and Co. had made the show into more of a procedural... like an involuntary-type Alias then it would have had a much better chance I think. And then it could pull a Fringe and forward it's mythology every few episodes and ask a big question every once in a while, and life would be a bit more merry Nielsen-wise.

The constant "big idea" nature of Dollhouse, however, does not seem to be able to keep viewers. Why? Are Americans too stoopid to appreciate a show like this one? A lot of people say yes, but me, I think it's just that Most people don't have the time to just stop and focus on television for a couple of hours every night. Or they just don't want to. American Idol kills Every Single Time it airs, and what is it really? Background music while America washes dishes, clothes or studies. The Super Bowl is the highest rated event every year, but who do you know that watched every second of it last year? I'm a big football fan, but those dogs playing football get some time on my television every year.

Procedurals rule all... the NCIS's, CSI's and OPP's. Add Survivor in there and all of these shows have the exact same formula every single week. Crime-investigation-wrong arrest number one-*insert cool bullet trajectory visual here*-wrong arrest number two-tribal council, wash, rinse repeat. You can watch, miss 8 minutes because that meatloaf isn't sitting well with you, come back and catch up with minimal effort. Skip 8 minutes of Dollhouse and see how long it takes for your brain to implode, I dare you. Just call the ambulance Before you attempt it. And lay down a tarp over your furniture so the cranial fluid doesn't ruin the sofa.

So, yes, that's my opinion as to why Dollhouse was always doomed. As I've tweeted, if Fox really does honor it and let it run 13 episodes, I will officially forgive them for the Great Firefly Debacle. As for the show... honestly I'd rather it have this limited run and stay as good as it is and as honest as it is to itself than to see it proceduralize itself for ratings. Yeah, I know that's not a word and I see all those red lines under it, but I'm a rebel so screw it.

And since Joss, at this point, could write a show about a tv show about an invisible-deaf-mute and it'd still get around 2 million viewers every week, I think that his next move should be to cable. Starz or Showtime. Then maybe we could get another 5 season show out of him. You could count me in... though probably not if it's the invisible-deaf-mute thing.

The World Needs More Dub Dub

I just got around to watching USA's White Collar. Originally I wasn't going to bother because goodness knows I have enough television shows on my schedule as it is, but after hearing good things about it (most notably from Matt Roush, one of the few television critics whose opinion carries weight with me) I decided to give it a shot. I figure I'll be able to find time for it every week now that the new Fall shows are starting to air repeats, so it's either watch the repeats, find news shows or spend some time outside so...

Yeah, not really much of a choice.

Well, if the rest of the episodes are as fun as the pilot then I'll make the time. It's sort of a Catch Me If You Can goes to television-type thing except that the Hanratty character is actually a brilliant agent in his own right. The FBI agent, Peter "I got Kelly Kapowski as my wife of the last ten years so suck it Zack!"Burke (Tim McKay) and the criminal Neal Caffrey (Matt "Chasing Will Traveler" Bomer) do great jobs with their roles and I will probably love this show even more when Natalie "Dub Dub" Morales joins effective next week. The world needs more Dub Dub.

Anyways, the feel of this show is a cross between the aforementioned Catch Me If You Can and more than a little Leverage. Both good things as far as I'm concerned. Oh, and Diahann Carroll has a small role in it also. The last that I saw of Diahann Carroll was about ten years ago, and the woman has not gotten any older. It's like on her 50th birthday she glared at God and said "alright that's enough now, don't make me hit you" and hasn't gotten any older since. I'm happy for her.