Channelup

Fantastic episode (and i mean really fantastic) that began to tie a great deal of this season together. Faraday's return to the island triggers a series of events that well.. it's Lost , with every answer comes more questions. HUGE SPOILERS AHEAD! The key theme in this season has been motives. Specifically, what has driven the characters to/ back to the island? Tonight we get both with background on the enigmatic Daniel Faraday, or as Sawyer calls him "twitchy" or "HG Wells." When Faraday sees a picture of the Oceanic crew also in the past as part of the Dharma folks he subs it back to the island to save them all. Faraday's mother has been the driving force in his quest to discover time travel and the island has been her motivation for him the whole time. Daniel's motivation is to stop basically the entire history of Lost's storyline. Stop energy release, stop hatch from being built, stop the pushing of the button, stop Desmond from faili...

I do not understand Fox. No station is quicker to move, mis-promote, not promote or f$%@ with. After one episode the powers that be already moved Sit Down, Shut Up 's timeslot. Much in the same way Fox ruined Arrested Development (one of the funniest shows of the last decade)by rearranging its broadcast time, they seem intent on doing the same thing here. Arrgghh. Okay I got that out of my system and Hulu'ed the latest episode. Miracle feeds the entire teaching staff hemlock. Not a great move from the science teacher. The staffs medical bills force the school to hold its ill-fated Fair. I get the sense that the writers of this show (many the same from Arrested Development ) are having fun with the animated medium. They take advantage of things like dream sequences, thought bubbles and quick movements. Things they probably wish they could have done on Arrested Development . The character banter is almost exactly the same as AD but the visuals offer something totally n...

I have to be honest. My attention was not totally in the Top 5 at the onset. Mrs. Channelup was out for dinner with her sister. I had the Red Sox game going on the computer, the Yankees and Mets games just a click away and was monitoring my fantasy baseball team. Notice a theme here? My focus was drifting until Jamie Foxx came out as the celebrity mentor. Nice job Idol. Nice job. I got legit excited. Jamie Foxx is one of the few entertainers that, to me, can seemingly do no wrong. On In Living Color he was awesome, great in action movies, transcending as Ray Charles, and even though I don't particularly care for his music, I can't deny he has crazy talent. He also came across as a great mentor. Unlike other celebrities (Tarantino) Foxx appeared to be as excited as the contestants in coming up with strategies for quality performances. That being said. This was an hour long show with 5 songs. From a programming standpoint that is simply not acceptable. This episode...

I'd be lying if I said I had my full attention on 24 tonight. I had the Red Sox game on simultaneously. The reason I'm not afraid to say that is because President Taylor runs such a wishy-washy Presidency that no one could ever be scared of anything under her administration. Her lack of leadership has led to a domestic terrorist group run amok. Jack lets Bad News Tim and President Incompetent know that Tony has the canister of nastiness. She can't believe it. How can she be surprised about anything anymore? If I were her, Jack could tell me Bigfoot just attacked the White House working under the direction of the Loch Ness monster and I wouldn't be shocked. President Taylor has been legitimately surprised with every single development throughout the day. This lack of forward thinking makes her a terrible President. That and she has cried multiple times in the last 24 hours. Would President David Palmer, God rest his soul, ever have cried in the face of distress? ...

You knew the great Michael Scott could never be fired. You knew that right? We all knew that. He is too radical. His rag-tag group of over/under-achieving salespeople managed to parlay a shit business into a literal Scranton goldmine. A legitimately great episode playing on all of our expectations by making Charles the zero and Jim the hero. It is about time. The "Jim as the slacker bad guy" bullshit was getting a bit old for me. When he literally showed Charles the door Mrs. Channelup and I gave a little cheer for all the good guys out there. The negotiation scene symbolized everything I think is great about Michael's character. He is a master salesman: that is for sure. What he usually lacks are the subtleties. Tonight he lacked nothing. He did every single thing right. One thing The Office has been consistent with is when Michael's back is against the wall: he steps up in big ways. And we finally understood everything about the wiki entry on negotiations...

Mr. Channelup's sister had a baby tonight. No tv watching allowed in the hospital. I agree, totally unfair. Kid is awesome though. Will return this weekend with some Office, Parks and Recreation and Southland highlights and insight. And here is the rest of it.

Thanks to Lost airing some sort of recap (ratings grab) the Channelup house was forced to watch the Idol vote-off. I have successfully avoided these all year. Tonight confirmed that I haven't been missing much. What a disaster. (Spoilers ahead) Many many many many awkward moments in this. The disco-dance/ medley-Paula Abdul-choreographed mess was tough to watch. The contestants looked like idiots, the dancing was terrible, the music worse but I grinned and bared it. Highlight of this whole thing was Matt Giraud "being surprised" to find out he could download his own songs as a ringtone on his Blackberry. WHHAAA?!! Is this the future or something? Phones can play songs?! I suppose next you'll be telling me they can take videos or something crazy like that? Idol is always ahead of the technological curve. Then Lil Rounds gets voted off and sings fantastically. I kind of wonder if the nerves just never left her all season. She always seemed to under perform ...

Last week Mrs. Channelup and I cursed when the scenes for this week's Lost told us tonight's episode would be a "Lost Special." We hate these recap episodes. Everyone does right? We immediately turned it off although if any show could benefit from a look back like this, it's Lost . With so many characters, plot lines, twists, turns and history I can see how the less intelligent would have a problem following the action. Not me, I'm a genius. I understand everything and basically have the ending figured out already. I don't want to ruin it, but when the series is over I will tell you if I was right. For those with lower IQs I hope you enjoyed tonight's "episode."

Matt got saved last week which had all the suspense of reading the dictionary. Tonight the producers chose everyone's favorite genre of music: disco! I wish we could vote off the idea people for Idol . As stated last week: there is Adam Lambert and everyone else trails by a pretty wide margin. That isn't necessarily a knock against the other performers. Some of them are really, really good and in another season would be front runners. Unfortunately they got lumped in with an actual juggernaut of talent. Adam slayed it again tonight and proved that he could hit the big time very very soon after the ridiculous cash grab called "The Idol Tour." Most of the performances were above par tonight. Fairly predictable (isn't all disco?), but really good. Besides Adam, I think two performers stood out tonight. Kris Allen was clearly out in front of the rest of the crew with his song choice and arrangement. His version of "She Works Hard for the Money" sou...

With the word that next year 24 heads to New York City I can’t help but think a few things. One, this is probably the best setting for a format like 24. Being in such close proximity to so many major landmarks and places of cultural reference should make the season visually impressive. 24 incorporated a number of different Washington, DC landmarks this season and worked them seamlessly into the story. But what really strikes me about this location announcement is what it means to us as Americans. Continue reading this story at cinemablend television .

Jason Bateman, Will Arnet, Cheri Oteri, Will Forte and Kenan Thompson in cartoon form? Sign me the f$%@ up. This animated series combines my three favorite things: the brain trust behind Arrested Development , pissed off/loser teachers and envelope-pushing comedy. In other words - Hilarious. Sit Down, Shut Up is adapted by Michael Hurwitz ( Arrested Development ) from the Australian series of the same name. It follows a group of neurotic, self-absorbed, incompetent teachers and administrators through their lives in a high school (mascot: the Baiters). The group includes a pornography obsessed German teacher, a God loving- Evolution hating science teacher, a bisexual technology teacher, a grim reaper- like librarian, and an ego maniacal english teacher, among others. The faculty want to do everything except teach. They take steroids, start hunger strikes, dig for money, and hide in the locker rooms to spy on the cute boys. Sounds like my high school. What I loved about this sh...

This episode comes fresh off the news that next year Jack will spend a day in the Big Apple. Frankly I am amazed it took until this season to just get Jack out of LA. I wonder how much of not bringing Jack to NYC until now was spurred by September 11th and the images it conjures. At the same time, 24's popularity is aided by the terrorist alert level we have been on since 9/11. I think we are sufficiently removed from September 11th that having a terrorist plot to further destroy New York is something 24 can explore well. This season has benefited from being in a new city and I suspect next year the plot will use the city that never sleeps in new and creative ways. I am looking forward to it and will write a more detailed piece on this before the end of the week. Well Jonas Hodges is in jail. Jack has the boogey woogey flu (from a bio-terrorist weapon). Agent Moss is dead. And Tony is a bad guy again. Jonas Hodges was a man with a plan. Now he is just a man who is asked ...

Do I get Southland ? Yes. Am I impressed with the amount of story the writers have taken on? Yes. Do I enjoy the characters? Yes. Do I like the show? I think so. Recapping or summing up this show would be tedious, boring and nearly impossible as the show's manic nature jumps from character to character and story to story with alarming speed. Even when they keep with the same plot line the scene changes happen frequently. I like this because the show does not get boring, but alternately makes the action difficult to follow. Additionally, the characters all seem deep, troubled and real. But I don't know any of their names. Is that a bad thing? I am not sure especially considering Southland appears as much a documentary as it does a drama. The shaky screen and odd camera angles give it a real feel. Having the cops act more like law enforcement and less like scripted characters contribute to this effect. Giving the officers real problems like punk kids, affairs and...

Michael and Dwight have had such a tumultuous relationship, but in their latest argument the stakes have gotten pretty high. I mean a fish in the vent system? That's just cruel. I have always felt bad for Dwight when it came to his devotion for Michael. He always put so much work in for so little payoff. When a guy's notes about you include "tall" and "beets" the relationship is probably pretty one-sided (though Dwight has schemed against Michael in the past). Tonight the feud reached new heights as they completed for Dwight's clients. In another scene reminiscent of Jerry Maguire, the two duke it out for the account of a book publisher. Michael, as expected comes out on top. The Michael Scott Paper Company needed a big win, and as Michael has said, when his back is against the wall he performs his best. He lands the account with style, giving new life to his terrible business plan (like having cheese ball related office contests). The side stor...

The subcommittee is out canvassing to replace the pit with a beautiful new park. . I expected Tom Haverford to be very much the Jim Halpert character in his slacker mentality, aloofness and disrespect for authority. He hits the mark on all of them, but has a geeky salesman aspect to his persona that makes me think, that unlike Jim, he wants to be respected and high powered. He just doesn't have the drive or work ethic to be anything else but a parks assistance. Also, unlike Jim, he has a very very low IQ. Great character though. Leslie Nope is a parks manager only a mother could love. Unfortunately her mother thinks she is a loser too. That is until she filabusters her own park meaning. This was probably the only smart thing Leslie did as it delayed the vote against the park. I think her mother felt a little pride, not because Leslie is accoomplished or successful, but because she stood and took the abuse with a smile on her face. Mothers can be proud of that kind of thin...

We finally get the background on why the Asian version of the kid from The Sixth Sense initially came to the island. We also get plenty of Miles and Hurley moments. What we didn't get was that intriguing an episode. (Spoilers ahead) Miles is one of the better characters on Lost . I suspect he is a favorite of the writers because of the comedic effect he brings. And ever since Sawyer got all security professional on us, Miles has filled the sarcastic asshole void nicely. Bottom line: I love Miles. That being said, I thought I would love this episode. I didn't. My main man Miles gets info from dead people. That we knew. What we didn't know was the Asian doctor from all the Dharma training videos is his dad. Nice touch, but I am skeptical about how this information will play into the plot. We already know the island connects everyone. I hope this addition of Chang as Miles' father, and him being born on the island has a purpose. Otherwise it is just one of t...

The judges came on tonight and admitted their errors in timing from last week. Then the producers go out and make the decision to make Quentin Tarantino a centerpiece for the hour. Replace one error with another. Sigh. There is a possibility that Idol producers felt their weird, creepy factor had gone after Scott McIntyre got the boot last week. Seeing a gaping whole in uncomfortability, they decided to remedy by bringing in Quentin Tarantino. Tarantino was misplaced as a judge a few years ago, and he is even more strange as a celebrity talent coordinator/ advice giver. I just do not get it at all. The movie night theme was fine, but of all the people to bring in, his presence just felt odd all over. Oddest moments of the night - Tarantino staring at Alison Iraheta like he either wanted to kiss her or cut her ears off. - Tarantino looking like a crazier, dorkier version of Frankenstein when he is growling at Anoop. - Silvio Dante in the crowd. Idol must have tried to get the n...

I'll get to the hot tamale pictured above a little later. This has nothing to do with tonight's episode, but I started thinking about something. If there is one constant of all the days in the 24 series, the terrorists and agents alike have been blessed with beautiful weather. (Spoilers ahead) I could be wrong but I don't remember the elements ever playing a role in 24 . Having a majority of the series taking place in sunny Cali eased the part weather had to play, but I wouldn't mind seeing some wintertime 24 . Even a little rain could put a new twist on the show. If nothing else it would just give the writers more excuses why strike teams couldn't get to strategic locations quicker. Just a thought. Even Bad News Tim (White House liaison)thinks the President has lost her mind. Presidents on 24 have been stripped of their power before and have been much much much more competent than Taylor. Tim questions her decisions. Jack calls her a liar. Her own daughte...

Mrs. Channelup's sister came by tonight so we rewatched last week's penultimate episode. What a great decision because it just reinforced to me how FNL is light years ahead of any other show in story, production and writing. Tonight's episode comes to us five months after the heartbreaking state final loss. It was interesting to see how Dillon functions in non-football times. (there were 4 fans at the baseball game). Coach Taylor's job is in trouble. Matt doesn't want grandma in a nursing home. Lyla is having San Antonio St. remorse and the Riggins boys just bought a steer. I love the football off season. Thoughts: - I understand the effective firing of Coach Taylor from a writers' standpoint. It opens up a new avenue of drama into a show that doesn't need it now but may need it in the future to maintain interest. It doesn't mean I was happy about it. I hate Wade Aikman and Joe McCoy and everything they represent. At the same time this kind of...

A hallmark of a good drama is making the viewer feel anxious and uncomfortable even when they know what is about to happen. Southland pulls few punches for a network cop drama and comes off as a decent attempt at censored police work. To try and recap the first hour of this show would prove folly. Some criticism I read centered around their being too much going on in this first episode. Like we were introduced to every character and forced to identify with them right away. I disagree. The manic nature of the premiere only let on to the idea that there is just a ton of shit going on in these lives and this police force. Sure the drama is a bit heavy handed and the lines a little melodramatic but expecting more from this format is wrong. Instead we focus on the positives. A cop show about the cops without getting to know them by name. Intrigue in the form of random violence rather than who-dun-its. This makes for good watching. I believe in Southland (which doesn't mean muc...

It is easy to be skeptical of a show with the same format as, what I consider to be one of the funniest shows ever, The Office . At the same time, how can a show go wrong with this same format considering it's made by the same people! It's a layup! And guess what? Parks and Recreation delivers. Following the group of folks running the parks department in Pawnee, Indiana, Parks and Recreation represents all of the government jobs you could imagine never having. Working to make the park system work is like working to ensure the library runs efficiently (which is probably the next premise on the mundanely-comedic horizon). Parks and Recreation goes right in all the same ways The Office does which is no easy feat with spinoffs/ remakes. Too often a spinoff wants to take side characters and put them in almost the same situations they had in the original but with some little twist. Where those spinoffs go wrong is the side characters weren't funny to begin with or the w...

An amazing aspect of The Office is its ability to take the same dull characters in the same dull place and continue to come up with story lines that don't stray too far out of the ordinary. When a show has been on this long it is easy for writers to get caught in the trap of the spectacular and unbelievable. It happens. Its easy. Make the plot twists or comedic hi jinx so ridiculous as to not create boredom among the fan base. The Office avoids this because they make the mundane seem ridiculous in such a believable fashion that we rarely every feel the idea of "this could never happen!" Tonight's double episode brought this into light when Jim played the fool with Dwight as the antagonist. Making Jim play soccer against Charles (Stringer Bell) Miner won major points for Dwight in their on going battle (where Dwight is the clear loser). Watching Jim squirm was tough for everyone in the room. (my living room) It's tough to not feel bad for Pam but is also ,...

I am starting to think that I am a television death knell. The Nine, Journeyman, Terminator , and now Kings . Whenever I start liking it, the network starts canceling it. The problem with the shows I just mentioned (besides them all getting canceled) is that they develop originally with the idea that people will watch from the beginning. When those people don't see the first episode, they rarely tune in at all. I get that. I have not watched a number of shows because I missed the beginning and feel like I won't understand everything by jumping in mid-season. Examples include Mad Men, Breaking Bad, The Tudors, Big Love, Rescue Me and Chuck . This is just a short list. I feel fairly confident through just friend reviews that I would enjoy all of these programs. I just haven't taken the plunge because I either A: need to start from the beginning or B: need to try and figure it all out part of the way in. Neither option seems appealing. But when I actually get on sh...

I didn't watch the vote off but I need to comment on something. Reading some reviews of the night (I never watch the vote off) I saw that 2 judges voted to save Scott. To SAVE SCOTT?!!!!! How? Why? For what reason? I am beside myself. Maybe I am missing something here or maybe they just didn't want the guy to feel bad, but what a joke. To think a judge wanted to use the save rule on Scott is an atrocity. Just needed to get that off my chest.

Nothing better than a Ben Linus-centered episode. This episode had great interplay between Locke and Ben. Locke is the first person on this show to repeatedly, consistently, and accurately call Ben's bullshit what it is: bullshit. Ben had numerous faces of incredulity when Locke would just offer some alternative to Ben's schemes. And finally when Locke just gets in his face about Ben having to be a follower rather than leader was one of the only times Ben has been put in his place. Ben is, by far, the most interesting character on Lost and this episode went a great way to provide us with some needed background of his time on the island. We saw how exactly Alex became his daughter, the seeds of his feud with Charles Whitmore, and how he accesses the monster. (Which by the way was one of the craziest scenes ever in Lost . The way he basically "rang the monster's doorbell and asked it to come out and play" was beyond bizarre). We saw from Ben tonight sadness...

The top 8 sings songs from their birth years. They should have called this late 80s early 90s night. Nice disguise Idol, but I'm on to you. What a boring night. This may have been the most boring night of American Idol which is totally unacceptable considering how late it is in the competition. The top 8 had to pick songs from their birth years. That meant mostly songs from the mid-80s except for Allison whose song came from 2002 or something like that. (She is young. Get it?) Because of iTunes, the internet and the plethora of crappy bands remaking good songs the contestants aren't wont for alternate renditions of songs technically released in a certain year. Even with the numerous choices, this week just fell so flat. There were a couple of clear winners and a bunch of pretty goods. Allison Iraheta, Adam Lambert and Matt Giraud clearly crushed it tonight but because of Idol 's mismanagement of time, Adam and Matt were left with only seconds of judge's praise. ...

My television watching schedule is about to take a fairly major hit. 24 is winding to a close. But Friday is an especially harsh day as Terminator ends(possibly for good)and Friday Night Lights calls it an excellent season. All is not lost though. Three new, promising looking shows are coming on the horizon. On Wednesday The Unusuals premieres. After seeing a number of different teasers for this show, I can't decide if it is a comedy, drama, dramady, comma, or something else entirely. It looks interesting though, so we give it a try after switching away from Lost . On Thursday NBC premieres Parks and Recreation , the new faux docu-comedy from the creators of the Office (but more importantly from Michael Schur of FJM fame :). I watched some clips here and am really looking forward to this. As a huge Office fan, I love this kind of format and am one of the few people who actually thinks Amy Poehler is funny. (Mostly because she is married to Gob Bluth) Finally, NBC has cho...

Are you ready for the worst decision-making ever in the history of 24 ? That is no small feat. It's coming and it's made by an unlikely source. I want to focus on something that was possibly the most disturbing sequence of decision-making ever in 24 . It involves the annoying, First Daughter Taylor story arc. She is leaking information to the press about her mother's administration. That's bad because she's been warned not to. But wait, there's more. The reporter she has been leaking info to, Creepy Ken I will call him, wants more information. After having an entire, personally-implicating conversation over the phone while at the White House, First Daughter says, "I can't talk here," and agrees to meet him. But wait, there's more. She goes to Creepy Ken and tells him the whole story about the WMD and how the FBI is working to intercept it. But wait there's more. To protect the story (THAT SHE JUST TOLD HIM!) she agrees to sleep wit...

Trouble's brewing in beautiful Gilboa. (Is that not the worst name of all time for a country?) Silas's decision to hand over Port Prosperity isn't exactly a hit on the countryside and Prince Jack is a news czar. What is this poorly-named country coming to? Quick recap and then some thoughts: Silas is being a testy little bastard. He sends David to Port Prosperity to make them see the light and reason behind handing the land back over the Gath. Nobody really likes the idea, but the Shepperd family really hates it. David's brother starts a protest that turns into the princess being taken hostage. This is an especially bad idea considering Silas's pissy temperament. Meanwhile Prince Jack uses his uncle to gain control of the media. This is basically what Bush did with Fox News right? Jack is going to leverage his new media power to gain favor with his father. This plan also seems flawed and basically Prince Jack is a spoiled, fuck up. But King Silas is nothing ...

I missed the first half of Friday's episode as I wrote for Blend Television .. Mrs. Channelup caught me up and I got the second half. I saw enough to know it is time to turn out the lights, lock the door, and not look back I wrote extensively about why I thought Dollhouse was not living up to potential . I decided to give it a couple of more weeks to iron out the kinks. Mission not accomplished. The problems with the show are many, but I feel these are the major ones: Bad acting - Eliza Dushku is a bad actress plain and simple. I can't root for her. I don't care about her character. She looks like a deer in headlights at all times. Bad stories - The last episode was such a cop out of an ending that I might break my keyboard out of frustration if try to sum it up. Let's just say that it was a waste. Bad characters - Each is more boring than the next. I'm not a production expert but it stands to reason that if the acting, stories and characters are subpar, ...

I don't think I could ever write enough praise for Friday Night Lights . Lords knows I would like to try. Friday's episode "Underdogs," illustrated that what FNL does best is take pride in the little moments. Look I could recap the whole episode, but I won't. Instead, I just want to go through the moments that made this one the best of the season. The look on JD's face as he answers questions from Child Protective Services. For a boy that is the answer to Dillon's football prayers, he is just a scared and immature kid with too much pressure placed on him. Grandma Saracen and Julie talking about Matt's future. Matt is kind of like the glue for so many people's lives (and the show as well). He represents something that he probably doesn't even see in himself. His grandma relies on him and loves him so much that she can't imagine him leaving. For Julie, he is the hope that life exists outside of Panther football. She is scared to see h...

After some family stuff and some back ups I will be back tomorrow with some Friday FNL and Dollhouse updates. Doug.

It's not easy to say goodbye. My cousin Chris actually never says it, instead choosing, "See you later," because he doesn't want to jinx anything. It's especially not easy to do it after fifteen years. But tonight ER said goodbye. The remainder of this article appears at Cinema Blend Television

Unfortunately I read the television guide before watching this episode of Lost so I got an idea about Young Ben still being alive. What a quasi cop out. I thought it somewhat landmark (and morbid) that the writers would kill off a kid in a television show. I couldn’t think of any other shows having done in before. But Ben miraculously survives a bullet to the chest. Booooo! (For the record I wrote the following paragraph before tonight’s show as a little tune up. Was trying to bang out some words so I could go to bed earlier. Then Hurley and Miles had the same, but much more hilarious, conversation thereby stealing some unoriginal thunder) I mean from a time travel / Daniel Farraday-ist standpoint this makes sense. Ben has intimate knowledge of Jack, Kate, Sawyer and the group because he has already met them as kids back in the day. Assuming the strandees cannot change the future, Future Ben already knows he is shot by Sayid when he was a kid and survives. Sayid has no chance...

I thought the end of the Mayan calendar in 2012 would spell the end of the world. I was wrong, for the Osbournes are back. Civilization as we know it begins to crumble. Because I forgot to change the channel last night after American Idol ended I was forced to watch Osbournes Reloaded . Technically no one strapped me down and held a gun to my head, but once I started I could literally not avert my attention from this nuclear meltdown of a program. Up until now I considered Hole in the Wall to be the nadir of our society. Osbournes Reloaded makes Hole in the Wall look like a PBS special. Here are some highlights: - Whole clan comes out cursing for unknown reasons at the audience - Two blindfolded people make out for money. One blindfolded person is substituted with elderly woman. Making out continues. - Guy comes out of audience only to have his girlfriend give him an ultimatum: Marry me tonight on this show or we break up. Exactly how me and Mrs. Channelup tied the knot - Ozz...