TV reviews

For those of you waiting for my next Smallville review, I apologize but there is going to be a slight delay. My CW affiliate decided to air the baseball game on Friday, so I wasn't able to watch or tape the show during its normal airing. And the CW is THE WORST about putting their episodes online -- and they're, like, the only network that doesn't also utilize Hulu and IMDb.com either. Tell me again why this network is constantly struggling? But anyway, I'll review it once it's posted online.

Speaking of CW, I was finally able to catch the past two episodes of The Vampire Diaries (for what it's worth, I eventually had to submit and turn to YouTube for the first episode I missed. The episode wasn't even posted before the next episode aired!) I'm really glad that they finally "dumbed it down" and outwardly explained why Damon and Stefan are able to walk around during daylight, it's their rings (as I suspected, I just didn't know Damon had one as well). I also got a real kick out of their shots at the Twilight series (the one vampire-centric production I have not gotten into). There's a lot I like about this series, particularly the subtle and sneaky ways that the vampires receive their invitation into households. I do have to wonder, though: Was the ball being held at the same home as the original one centuries ago? Because if so, Damon and Stefan wouldn't have needed an invite, since they were at the original. I also enjoy how openly Damon talks about being a vampire, but it's always to somebody in a trance, so it won't bite him in the ass. It reminds me of the short-lived New Amsterdam in that sense.

Oh, and I can't help but smirk each time the "you didn't tell me you had a brother" scene plays in the "Previously" clip. It's like, who randomly just tells a person they just met, "by the way, I have a brother." Without knowing anything of their history, it's not he was keeping some deep, dark secret.

I did finally catch the first two episodes of Flash Forward. The easy critique would be that it's a bit TOO much like Lost -- same network, similar premise, many of the same actors. That's an obvious observation, hell, the series even kicked off practically the same way. The lead character wakes up in the midst of chaos, and the audience is shown what happened before that moment throughout the rest of the episode.

But why criticize a series because it's just like another show you really like? That's part of the reason why I decided to give it a shot. And, much like Lost, I think this show "works" because you can relate to, or at least get attached to, the characters. It's also not afraid to dip into a bit of humor, like with one character spending his entire flash forward taking a dump.

I also enjoy the mix between self fulfilling prophecy and trying to avoid "fate." Case in point: The entire Mossaic investigation is an outward attempt to replicate the future. Yet certain actions like avoiding the man you're supposed to get involved with and burning the friendship bracelet your daughter gave to you are efforts to prevent what is "supposed to" happen.