Monsters of Television

Does anyone do the lovable prick better? Congrats, Uncle John, it's a girl.

There are a lot of sad people in Mystic Falls today. The only person who ended the day feeling satisfied and content, most likely, was Uncle John. Course, he spent most of his life being a shit, so the path from jerk to savior pretty much meant he had to do one selfless thing, you know, ever. I have never made a secret of my love for the actor portraying Uncle John. David Anders has developed a particular gift for being a lovable prick, something he exploited on both Alias and Heroes. His addition to The Vampire Diaires cast delighted me from day one, and each return of his character was met by my cheers. Seeing Uncle John fight to build a relationship with his daughter has been among the more touching developments this season. And Uncle John’s actions this week continued that trend in grand form (don’t worry, no explicit spoilers until after the jump). Uncle John became Elena’s father this week by doing the fundamental act of parenting—anyone can create a baby, but only a parent understands the sacrifice entailed in the day-to-day business of helping a child grow and thrive.

Some of you might be wondering why I have been giving so much attention to Uncle John when other characters demonstrated a similar willingness to sacrifice this week. From Jenna to Bonnie to Stefan, everyone was jumping on the bandwagon to sacrifice themselves for Elena. Heck Elena even was trying to save people, as per usual, fighting to save Jenna. The scenes between Jenna and Elena were particularly effective this week. Having been murdered and turned by Klaus, Jenna was reborn as a vampire in the episode’s earliest moments. Knowing nothing about her new life, Jenna depended on Elena to raise her as a new vampire. They both debated who let the other down more in life, but it became clear that neither woman was going to go out without a fight, hoping against hope to spare the other’s life.

People died. Honestly, it was kind of a bloodbath, complete with blood dripping into Greta’s witch’s potion. As often happens on TVD, characters surprised us and let us down. Everyone was fighting to survive this week, and the stakes have never been higher. Most shocking, it was Matt that delivered one of the night’s most honest moments. In a developing theme, TVD is finally answering for me the profound question, “why would anyone prefer to be a human when they could be a vampire?” The answer is complex, shifting for each character. As it becomes clearer, though, the tragedy that is Stefan and Damon’s afterlife becomes more poignant.

Read more »

Bet this is a show you never thought you’d see on this site. It’s kind of hard to “review” a dance competition like this because it is so heavily reliant on being able to actually see the dances. And I know close to zero terminology for dance moves and such. So this is going to be more of a rant, but a rant containing events that occurred in the episode. So it counts. It’s a rant and a recap of sorts. A rantcap, Patent pending.

This episode was specifically constructed by MTV to make me Matt-rage. And Matt-rage I did. Oh how I Matt-raged. (Matt-rage is also patent pending.)

Read more »

Renaissance biker chic

There are a bunch of reasons to celebrate this new episode of The Vampire Diaries, especially after last week’s (rare) disappointment.  It primarily features an extended conversation between Elena and Elijah during which many (many) secrets were revealed. Plots were twisted. Relationships started to come undone. Bodies were exchanged. And Damon seemed determined to play this his own way, which could make for some good drama in the last three episodes.

Let’s review the best parts of “Klaus” in a top 10 list, shall we? (spoiler alert—couldn’t avoid revealing major plot points in this list, so read at your own risk if you haven’t seen the episode).

Top 10 Reasons “Klaus” Ruled Me

10) Katherine got drunk and danced around! Also, Damon sort of helped her, which means she owes him. Not a bad marker to hold.

9) Bonnie was nowhere to be seen. (Of course, Awesome Vampire Caroline and Uncle John were also MIA, so there’s bad with the good).

8 ) Flashbacks are back! The costumes are the best parts of the flashback. Did you just love how they managed to put Klaus in a leather jacket that still seemed reasonably period-appropriate?

7) Ric is back—sort of. I think. Or rather, I’m hopeful. Looks like we’re getting more Damon/Ric bromance style banter next week, too. Love. It.

6) Klaus is back—in his own body. And he seems way hotter with shorter hair.

5) Elijah is back! Elijah has grown on me in a way that only Awesome Vampire Caroline rivals. He’s funny, smart, and super focused. Plus, dude doesn’t let anyone F with him.

4) Damon was super pissy all episode. He’s so sexy when all hot and bothered.

3) Jenna knows the truth! About damn time.

2) Damon and Stefan fought a lot. Much though I believe the real love story in this show is the relationship between Stefan and Damon, both characters come alive when in conflict. Makes for an exciting, tense episode.

And number 1? After the jump…

Read more »

Since nothing happened this week on TVD, let's remember the reason it is never a bad show, even when not good.

I really, really hate to write this. I’m serious, this is tough. These reviews take time, effort, and patience. I don’t enter into them lightly. So when I have to write a rather negative one, it bums me out. I don’t do this to bitch and moan—rather, I am excited about this show and I always want it to be good. For reals.

But this week? The Vampire Diaries was not terribly good. It wasn’t bad. It wasn’t like the premiere of Perfect Couples (wretched) or the awfulness that was the DC season of Top Chef (frustrating) or the finale of Rubicon (hah—wrote that just to annoy Noel). No, wait, it may be a bit like the finale of Rubicon, because that most excellent show failed to deliver…something happening. We didn’t get answers, the plot didn’t advance enough, there was little satisfaction after a season of questions. This week’s TVD was sorta like that. Before you freak out, I’m going to give a brief diagnosis of this week’s problem. Then I’ll offer a few more elaborate thoughts. Then you can tell me why I’m wrong. I welcome it. I want this show to be good. And I’m not always right. [Note: I wanted to rewatch parts of the episode so I could confirm my opinion, but my DVR decided not to record the show, so what we have is my reaction to first viewing alone.]

I’ve had to write something like this about TVD before—its pacing is a blessing and a curse. The show moves so fast that you sometimes wish it gave you a bit more time to savor the moment. Then when it slows down, you get annoyed that it didn’t deliver enough thrills. This week wasn’t quite like that. There were sparking lights, a big showdown, Damon dancing—all stuff that shows much potential for goodness. But the episode never came together. I kept waiting for the twist, for the reveal, for the stakes to raise. I can envision a review of this episode that thought this week delivered all that—the twist was the resurrection, the reveal was the Elena deception, and the stakes were seemingly life and death. But life and death becomes less meaningful when no one dies.

I’m the first person to admit I’ll be furious if Alaric gets killed off. His disappearance this week at the end of the episode has left a pit in my stomach—how is Klaus gonna leave Ric after he departs that body? But sometimes genuine loss can advance a story in a unique way. If there isn’t at least the risk that someone will go, then the tension never raises high enough to engage the audience fully.

Here’s what I expected the reveal to be (super spoilery—WARNING)—Bonnie was so committed to saving Elena that she was going to die for real. Not through some vague (unexplained) spell. But rather, she was going to die. Twist—she was going to die with Damon’s blood in her. So she’d be a witch and a vampire. Now, that would be loss. And stakes. And sacrifice.

But I’m not sure that is what happened. It seems they somehow found some magic way to save Bonnie. Well, if it was that freakin’ easy, then why all this talk about Bonnie having to die to defeat Klaus?

There may be more answers coming, but at this moment, the episode left me deflated. And that is not how TVD usually operates—this show is exhilarating, exciting, and always—fun! This week was just kind of lame. Can’t imagine a worse thing to say about it than that.

Read more »

“I am not a fan. I am not a groupie. I am an academic.“

I haven’t been writing much about Community lately, largely due to time constraints on my end. It’s been a little bit frustrating, but it is what it is. So I return, hopefully, for the rest of the season to keep writing about a show that I really really enjoy, even if it doesn’t always really work. Like tonight.

There’s nothing particularly wrong with “Competitive Wine Tasting” but the episode is kind of a mishmash of ideas and plots, each of which really needed room to breathe beyond their few scenes each. As a result, you can see potential for each plot kind of peek out, but since they’re just piled on top of each other, the potential is never realized, and we’re left with that, really, would’ve felt more at home in the early going of season 1 (before “Introduction to Statistics” or “Comparative Religion”).

Read more »

Mommy Dearest is back! Ready to f some shit up. (Spoiler alert: she does a good job of that.)

The Vampire Diaries is back! And boy ever. Just when you thought this series had gotten a bit tired, it reminds you that there are few rules here. For instance, the endless betrayals by Katherine and Isobel eventually begin to seem routine—gee, Katherine can’t be trusted—who would have guessed that? But then a new type of betrayal happens, and the show takes a new direction. I imagine there are other viewers like me—waiting to see how long the writers and producers of TVD can keep up this lightening pace. According to this week’s episode, they aren’t slowing down a bit.

Some events that occur during this episode excited me (Matt!), some horrified me (Ric!), and some simply entertained me (all things Damon). But despite my personal allegiance to particular characters (Ric again) or aversion to them (Bonnie) I have to admit that particular moves suggest the writers’ are all too aware of critiques and have responded to them.

The title of this week’s episode speaks to a whole host of characters—Katherine, Isobel, Uncle John, Elena, Awesome Vampire Caroline, among others. All these characters are unsure who to trust. The best answer in the world of TVD, of course, is trust no one, but as these characters reach out to find someone in whom to put their faith, they remind us that the human part of all of them (dead and undead alike) is that part who wants to believe in someone else. It is an interesting message for a show that often fails to highlight any drawbacks to being undead, perhaps suggesting that it isn’t the status of your beating heart that matters, but rather the ability of your heart to care for another—that is what divides the alive from the dead.

Read more »

Mystic Falls has a witch problem.

The houseguest of the title is Katherine, shacking up with Damon and Stefan. Her interactions with Damon throughout this episode were kind of hilarious. He is working so hard to hate her, but Katherine still has the ability to wound him, and she knows it. Damon needs to take my advice about exes—buy an island, put them on it, sail away. Nothing good comes from hanging out with an evil ex.

In other news, one of our clueless characters discovers there are vampires in town. This character’s reaction to the news was horror and anger—an incredible scene depicting a vampire’s hopes dashed against the shores of that island where exes should live.  This scene delivered.

Less successful this week was the depiction of the witches. Many viewers have commented about the oddity that witches in this world are apparently exclusively African-American—the implications of that for race studies are profound. On a more practical level, however, it seems the witches are best used in small doses, as with Katherine’s witch, Lucy. Lucy came to town, caused havoc, betrayed Katherine, demonstrated her awesome power, offered Bonnie advice, and got the heck out of dodge. Awesome. When witches stick around too long, though, they end up betraying one of our heroes and getting killed. Why Bonnie hasn’t learned that she should better corral these witches, I do not know. Oh, wait, yes I do. Though being redeemed slowly by her sexy affair with Jeremy, Bonnie still has moments of extreme suckitude. After Dr. Martin stole her power, instead of turning to despair, Bonnie should have gotten tough and gotten her powers back. Perhaps she could have spared some lives.

This show is at its weakest when it makes certain points of mythology super vague or otherwise allows characters to act in inexplicable ways in order to justify a delay in the action. I bring this up because the show went out of its way to justify showing a band at the Grill. During a conversation between Awesome Vampire Caroline and Matt, she notices a stage being set up at the Grill, so Matt explains that the Grill needs more business and has hired a band for that night. Later, the girls make a plan to go see the band. We get all kinds of exposition to justify this band at the Grill. But the logic behind having to leave the dagger in Elijah—forever—for him to stay dead? We’re supposed to just take that for what it is–justified by some sort of vampire honor code. Bonnie sucking it up that Dr. Martin stole her powers? Totally understandable—in a completely inexplicable way. Why would she not try to explain to Dr. Martin that her goal was to protect Elena, an innocent? I know I shouldn’t ask too many questions, but sometimes the show brings its less believable moments into a spotlight that can’t be ingnored.

As it is, Bonnie’s failure to talk sense to Dr. Martin led to all this week’s biggest shenanigans. Interestingly, Katherine did very little to force others to act—instead, she offered comedic relief. So our heroes were largely acted upon rather than taking charge. This goes for Ric, trying to deal with Jenna’s anger; Damon, trying to ignore Katherine; Awesome Vampire Caroline, hemming and hawing about Matt, and even Elena, whom we barely see this episode.  With Elijah gone, Elena’s plan to save her friends is kaput.  You’d think she’d be actively trying to forge another plan rather than leaving it to the Salvatore brothers.  Didn’t she say she was in charge last week?  What happened to that girl?  Oh, yeah, girl’s night.

I struggle with these weekly recaps because they inevitably descend into nitpicking.  Was this episode enjoyable?  Darn tooting it was.  Did it offer a few surprises?  Yep.  But did the central plot expand?  Only in one major way.  Damon learned something from the Gilbert journal that only he and Stefan have seen.  We also learned a few things from Katherine that are likely all mixed with lies anyway.  A couple of reveals at the end of the episode set us up for more adventure when the show returns in a month [argh!].  But that means this week provided set up and it is for the rest of the season to execute.  Makes for a less satisfying episode.

Read more »

“Why do you hate Jesus?“

Can you say breather episode?

I don’t mean that in a bad way per se, just that, well, I was pretty bored with “Silver Bullet.” I even kind of clocked out during the last ten minutes of the episode to do something else, with the episode just playing in the background (seriously, my notes stop after McVeigh suggests running off with Diane).

There were things to like in the episode, but these were things that I’ve liked in previous episodes (Eli talk to people outside the normal narrative, McVeigh and Diane’s very adult-ly written relationship, Grace being Grace) without much in the way of shiny newness. As a result, none of this feels all that interesting or engaging. Just a minute to take a breath before Will and Diane try and stop Bond, in what I hope will be the most exciting board meeting ever shot for TV. Read more »

Don't let his mild-mannered career fool you--dude is Bad Ass.

I read some comments on Twitter that suggested this episode started slow and got bogged down in flashbacks. Allow me to disagree. Sure, the flashback stuff can distract from the always-more-interesting awesomeness of the present moment, but there was much goodness to be had this week.

Right at the top of my “goodness” list is Alaric Saltzman. Can I say enough about why this character rules me? Important to note: Alaric? Not undead. Yet he still manages to be quite the badass. As the show’s coolest humans, aka guys who don’t take guff from vampires, I kinda want Ric and Uncle John to form a bromance. Course, I haven’t actually seen Uncle John kill a vampire, have I? So maybe he isn’t good enough for Ric.

Elena and Stefan largely took a backseat this week. Sure, they talked about the past, and that final scene was pretty terrific, but largely, this episode was about Ric and Damon negotiating their friendship. Not sure if I was supposed to read a parallel between Stefan’s relationship with Lexi and Damon’s relationship with Ric, but I won’t mind if it goes that way. There’s a respect between Damon and Ric, solidified this week, that I hope the writers nurture.

There are some issues with this episode.  The rules surrounding the Originals seem awfully slippery–less for logic than for the writers to have an excuse to surprise us.  Trouble is, surprises work best when they are consistent with the world view developed by the show.  Without that, they are cheating and cheap.  But hey, this is a show about vampires so I won’t be too particular about realism.  More troubling is that Damon seemed to have a breakthrough (the bad kind) a few weeks ago–rediscovering his need to suppress all genuine emotion.  Other than feeding on Andie, though, we aren’t seeing much of that.  I hope the show is just taking its time, waiting for the darkness to explode in dramatic fashion.

As for my other favorite, literal bromance—there’s some signs the show is trying to create a divide between our Salvatore brothers. Was wondering when that whole “Damon killing Lexi” thing would come back up. Could be a good way to get Damon to rethink a few things. But more about that…after the jump.

Read more »

World's dumbest plans--Werewolves prove once and for all that they are less evolved than vampires.

I’m a bit torn about this week’s episode. Some of my complaints about last week—Are all werewolves naturally sadistic? What the heck does Jules want with Tyler? Does Tyler have any compassion at all for his so-called “friends”?—remained issues for much of the episode. Not that there wasn’t goodness—Damon and Ric bantered like buddies, Jeremy and Bonnie got hot and heavy, Stefan and Elena were crazy cute—but I remain a bit less than satisfied.

This show is repeatedly praised for its fast pacing.  Things happen on The Vampire Diaries.  People die, many people get shot, stabbed, tortured, and lots of couples fall in love.  But without character development, all of that feels empty.  The first half of this season did an admirable job putting Tyler on the path to redemption.  He became sympathetic in his fear and pain, and his friendship with Awesome Vampire Caroline brought out the best in Tyler.  But in the past weeks, Tyler’s story has been pushed to the sidelines.  Even though the wolves have been the primary actors–doing all kinds of stupid things with the goal of getting Tyler and getting revenge–Tyler has not been given a chance to process all these actions.  He has followed other people without much comment and without a true crisis of self-preservation versus a duty to others.  There is much more than could have done with Tyler in the last three episodes.  Sadly, this potential was not fulfilled.  A rare instance of The Vampire Diaries failing to deliver the one-two punch of adrenaline and emotion.

Read more »