Heroes, Smallville, Prison Break, Lost - One last visit

Like I said at the beginning of the week, I have some fun blog features planned to keep things interesting over the summer (which I will explain in detail next week). But before we get to that, let's finally put to sleep any lagging matters from this past television season.

But speaking of summer, long-time reader Dan asks:

What looks good this summer? Royal Pains is good so far, but outside of that, I haven't found any shows I like.

I have to agree with Dan here. Even more than in the past, this summer seems pretty dead TV-wise. That being said, if there's one show I would suggest, it's True Blood on HBO. I don't plan on formally reviewing that show, but I will frequently discuss it on the blog. Also, this will be the final season of USA Network's Monk. I plan on watching that, as well (by the way, Emmy Clarke has grown up into quite the beautiful -- not to mention tall -- young lady).

And I don't know when Curb Your Enthusiasm returns, but I've been anxiously awaiting that show's return for, like, ever. Anyway, onto last season!

Heroes:

Another one of my readers, Larry, took the time to write me a lengthy and well thought-out e-mail regarding the Heroes finale. Unfortunately I can't copy it in its entirety, but here are some of the more noteworthy passages:

I think that this chapter was especially good. Was it better than Genesis? That's a tough call, I think that it'll hold up better in the long run, as it is a very tight and dramatic story.

This is an important and often overlooked point. Despite its almost universal acclaim, Genesis was rather flawed. It's greatest fault was probably the inconsistent behavior exhibited by certain characters -- most notably Mohinder -- and the sometimes slow pace and stalling. That wasn't nearly as apparent this past chapter. Should the series last a few more seasons, I think Fugitives might stand the test of time a bit better.

I know that they don't have the budget to do big effects all the time, but at the same time, I do think it'd be nice if they did splurge at least once in a while, but I recognize business realities.

This is one factor that I will openly criticize Heroes for. They either need to splurge or they need to discontinue the build towards an epic battle, because they're just going to disappoint the audience.

One thing I really like, is when in season 1 they travel into the future, Nathan is revealed to be Sylar in disguise, obviously they averted the explosion and some other things, but it is interesting the way that has turned out to have developed. Sylar did get the Cheerleader's power. He has taken Nathan's form, and he could be on track to be president.

I enjoyed this as well. It's almost as if certain things are inevitable. Actually, it's similar to the Lost "course correction" time-travel mentality. Another example: No matter what happens, Claire is destined to dye her hair brown.

So that idea about giving characters the season off, I think if they kept it down to chapters that would be more practical. Like this chapter didn't include the Haitian. The previous chapter didn't really include Micah. I think that would be a useful tool for them.

Absolutely. Certain characters are crucial to the series -- like the Petrellis and Bennets -- but others can easily take the chapter off. I honestly think it would benefit the characters and the show as a whole.

I agree, If they just drop a few hints that Sylar is still in there, but otherwise play it straight as Nathan, that would be best. Suddenly a meeting between Nathan and HRG becomes a lot more tension filled, especially if there is a clock/watch on screen someplace. Sylar's trademark ticking now changes from a signal that he's working something out, to a reminder that is likely just a matter of time before things go horribly wrong.

I feel very strongly about keeping "Sylar" dormant for at least a season. Even though Zachary Quinto is now one of the show's biggest stars -- and the Sylar character has become such a central part of the series -- they really only have one chance to make this Nathan/Sylar thing work. If the dual personality collapses too quickly, they missed out on a real dramatic opportunity.

That being said, I do like the potential of "hinting" towards the Sylar side of Nathan (like with the clock ticking, as Larry noted). If they insist on having Sylar return sooner rather than later, I also wouldn't mind characters discovering Sylar-esque murder scenes, and Nathan realizing that something just isn't right.

I am curious What happens Nathan/Sylar tries to fly? Wouldn't some powers be passive? Like what if he gets wounded, wouldn't he just heal, or can Parkman block powers? Or what if he waves his hand around in a speech and accidently slices off somebody's head? That would be kind of funny.

If you recall from the finale, moments before Sylar slit Nathan's throat, you heard the ticking sound, indicating that he was acquiring Nathan's ability to fly. So, at the very least, Nathan/Sylar CAN fly. Also, if you remember, both Sylar and Peter had to train pretty extensively to control their new powers (at first Sylar couldn't control the super hearing, and Peter needed to be trained by Claude). I think it's fair to assume that without his Sylar memories, Nathan simply wouldn't realize he has certain abilities to use.

But like I noted above, with Nathan realizing something's not right, I could imagine Nathan being shot and healing, and wondering how it happened.

Oh and here's a question, was Sylar using telekinetics, or Puppetmaster powers when controling Claire? As he now had the ability to learn powers without killing people did he pick it up from the Puppetmaster before turning him over to Danko?

I would assume that's the case.

I do like the establishment of a new sort of Company, particularly with HRG at the top. It lets it be a pretty clear cut force for good, while still giving a lot of opportunity for interesting stories.

I like this too, but I must admit that I find it somewhat irksome how HRG went from being so venomously against the Company in season two, to becoming its biggest fan for the latter half of season three.

Smallville:

I was pretty disappointed that Jimmy was killed off, but much like with Tony's ressurection 24, I was more bothered by the reasoning behind it. According to a recent edition of Entertainment Weekly, the character was retired because DC Comics is very protective of their intellectual property, and they didn't like that Smallville's version of the character didn't quite fit with that from the legendary comic. I no longer have the magazine, but here's what Aaron Ashmore said in the website interview:

I know when [the idea of] Jimmy coming to Smallville first came up, DC Comics had a bit of a problem because of the age difference thing. But the producers really wanted to bring the character in because they thought they could do some interesting stuff with him. I believe [producers] had reassured DC that by the end of the series -- or at some point -- they would rectify that [by making it clear that he's] not the real Jimmy Olsen.

This strengthens my initial reaction, which is that this feels like a cheat. Why introduce this classic and significant character if you're only going to say, "nah, we're just joshin' ya'"? I mean, how do we know THIS is the real Lois Lane? Or that this is even the actual Clark Kent? Seems to me like the REAL Superman would've learned to fly by now.

The reveal that Jimmy's brother is ACTUALLY the real Jimmy also seemed like an 11th hour save. If this was always the plan, why not plant some seeds earlier on? Particularly when Jimmy started talking about his family earlier this season.

Prison Break:

Dan also asks:

Have you seen anyone translate what the general said before he was being executed?

He's asked if he's ready, to which he answers, "Semper Paratus," which translates to "Always Ready."

Also on the blog, my episode number correcting friend writes:

There have been two further episodes of Prison Break which aired in the UK titled "The Final Break."I haven't watched them yet, but did they air in US? No-one seems to have reviewed them..

These episodes are direct-to-DVD, as I understand it, but I haven't seen them. I'm actually not entirely interested in seeing them, only because I find them a bit unnecessary. I feel like the finale was a suitable way to end things. In my mind, certain gaps don't need to be filled. I know C-Note works for UPS. That doesn't mean I need to watch his job interview.

Lost:

On the blog, Kyle writes:

I was under the assumption that the mystery man was the Smoke Monster as well, although I'm starting to rethink that a little bit. I can get behind the ash keeping him in the cabin (although the "Help Me"
came long after Smokey was wandering around) because there's presumably some "mysticism" or "ancient power" or something along those lines behind it, but what about the fence the Others can activate? Or the fact that Ben can apparently summon it?

First things first: Is it that Ben CAN summon it, or that he simply knows how to? As in, if Sun knew that there's a latrine buried beneath Ben's house that beckons Smokey D., could she do it as well?

Also, while I firmly believe that the Man in Black and the Smoke Monster are one in the same, there are some logistical gaps that still don't make sense at this point. Obviously, we're going to have to wait until next season to see if this theory holds water.

Okay. Now we can move onto the summer.