I'm Getting Kind of Used to Insane: Lost Recapped

Based on the common sense brought upon by watching 100 episodes of Lost, it's obvious that when the show focuses on a character that doesn't fit inside the inner circle--Locke, Sawyer, Jack, Kate, Sayid, Hurley--the chances of that character dying are as high as contracting swine flu on a vacation to a Mexican pig farm. Before the last episode, the Miles-centric "Some Like It Hoth", I wrongly suggested that Miles was going to end up dead, a casualty of too many characters and lack of integrity to the plot. The fact that he seemed to get a goodbye episode even furthered my suspicions. Then, poof! He survived without a scratch on his head.

I guess my theory was one episode off.

I Know Kung-Fu: The Season Two Finale of Chuck Goes Out with a Bang

If that is the last we see of Chuck, well then I'm pretty happy. The season (and possibly series) finale was a fitting cap to what had become the mythical "perfect season." Chuck's second season can now safely join Lost (S1), The O.C. (S1), Mad Men (S1) and Ricky Gervais' Office (the whole thing) on that great DVD shelf in the sky--these are the seasons of love; the seasons that accomplish exactly what they set out to do, without straying from their established goal.

Nothing in the season finale of Chuck was especially surprising: of course, Chuck (Zachary Levi, blissfully disarming) would have to return to the life of spy; of course, his perfect union with Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski, crazyhot and perfectly unattainably attainable) would get momentarily derailed; of course, guest-star Chevy Chase would have to be disposed of (getting shot in the heart seemed very anticlimactic, since Mr. Chase's Ted Roark was the kind of colossal dick that one-time funnyman should be playing more often as he gets older); and, of course, Chuck would save the world and his sister's wedding (if one thing is clear, it's that Chuck's charms can solve issues both large and small). But despite the met expectations of each plot machination, the impact of Chuck's finale wasn't diminished one iota.

WIR: The Pilot

Hello loyal readers! I'd like to welcome you to 42 Inch Television's Week in Review!

(Hold for applause.)

The Week in Review column (WIR, for short) will take a look back at the week that was on my DVR by using short and pithy comments. Pretty simple formula, right? Enjoy!

Let's Face It: The Ewoks Suck, Dude: Lost Recapped

Here's a question to ponder: how many time filler episodes do we have to sit through before we can safely call season five of Lost a placeholder? Because while "Some Like It Hoth" was one of the better time-filler efforts, it was time-filler none-the-less. And it's now part of an alarming trend. I can count on one hand the amount of honest-to-goodness, full bodied episodes we've been treated to this season; mostly it's been one-off character stories that either work (Sayid, and, yes, Miles, which I'll get to) or don't (Kate).

The problem with "Some Like It Hoth" was that if it never existed, we wouldn't really be any worse for wear. The big reveal, that Miles was Pierre Chang's son, is something I've been expecting since the season premiere, and it's not like I was alone. Were we supposed to be shocked to find that Dharma was building The Swan to cover for an electromagnetic event? Or that the numbers being engraved on the hatch door were "4 8 15 16 23 42"? Floored that Daniel was one of the scientists on the submarine? Or even mildly surprised that Jimmy Barrett from Mad Men turned out to be a sneaky douche that found out something he shouldn't have? That stuff was telegraphed from three thousand miles away. And normally this would have irked me quite a bit, but since Ken Leung is so subtle and good as Miles, I didn't really care.

Bring Out the Big Guns: Southland and Parks & Recreation Reviewed

For all the crap that NBC and Ben Silverman get (deservedly so), the network has a bunch of sneaky, and, not-so-sneaky, good shows. You can safely add Southland and Parks and Recreation to the list. I wrote about both for the Observer this week, and I'm happy to report that both are definitely worth your DVR space.

About Southland...

There is a care of craft to Southland that is rarely seen on television; with its on-location exteriors and handheld vérité camera work, the series looks and feels more like something suited for the big screen.

Awesome, right? How about Parks and Recreation...

As The Office chugs along toward 100 episodes, the cast has become too predictable and too large, so we kinda like the small troupe of Parks and Recreation a little more.

You can read the full articles, plus follow all the stuff I write for The New York Observer, right here. Or, just follow me on Twitter!

What Lies in the Shadow of the Statue: Lost Recapped

To paraphrase Mike Lowrey: from now on, that's how you write an episode.

If "Dead is Dead" was supposed to atone for the sins made during the past season of Lost--I hate to burst the bubble of the chattering class, but season five has, thus far, been a disappointment--consider everything forgiven. This is what the show is all about: a fantastic character study wrapped in ludicrous mythology; a boatload of answers surrounding another shipment of questions; and Michael Emerson.

As much as there have been some bizarre decisions made with Ben that are open to discussion--having him become a post-Island combination of Harry Lime and Ernst Stavro Blofeld was not necessarily the path I would have taken for the character--the best thing to ever happen to the show is Mr. Emerson's emergence. His performance has elevated Lost from "that awesome show about crazy stuff" to "that awesome show about crazy stuff with the best actor on television."

Seriously.

Back to the Future, Part II: Lost Recapped

It's nice that the more things change on Lost, the more they stay the same. Case in point: the latest episode, a Kate-centric affair titled "Whatever Happened, Happened", was just as crappy as every previous Kate-centric affair. Boring even. That it was written by Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse manages to be both disconcerting and comforting. At this point, I expect better from episodes written by the show's stewards, but it's nice that they've approximated the same bland vibe that underscored every Kate episode from season's past. Whatever issues I've had with this season of Lost notwithstanding, the one undeniable truth is that it has proved the flashback structure of years gone by feels exhausted.

And so, like last week, when we learned how Sayid got on the plane, this week, we learned how Kate wound up inside Jack's apartment, sans Aaron. And, like last week, the answer was a lot less interesting than originally thought. Good old Kate left Aaron with his grandmother, because she had to go back to the Island to find Claire. Or Sawyer. Or, well I don't know. Her motivations were muddy, unclear and lazy. In fact, so much of this episode was alternatively muddy, unclear and lazy.