Pitching Relief: Returning Television Shows - Spring 2008 Part II
by Tim Wassberg
The return of
long deserted lifelines in the form of “Battlestar
Galactica” and “Lost” were inevitable.
“Battlestar" is in its final throes with an intention that
will be likely tragic and intense with the series owing to the Book Of
Revelations the more the angle is seen. “Lost”
might have benefitted from a compacted season that forced the
contention of the focus but the questions and the flash forwards keep
piling up. “Earl” just wants to get married and
then figures out that he needs a new intervention. The Best Of TV,
despite the writer's strike, continues to find its footing as the new
year continues on.
Lost This season spells the essence of foreboding. After the flash forward at the end of last season which saw Jack out of thought and contemplating suicide, the question is what gets these people there. The key this season is the freighter and who controls it. The initial impetus of Desmond and his ability to time travel gets a bit of a practical intention when he gets Daniel (played with reserved misdirection by Jeremy Davies) to show him a play through in the space/time continuum. The physics of the island are coming into play because as we see in a readout Daniel holds, there is a discrepancy in time. A fake Oceanic airliner is found at the bottom of a deep sea trench but no one in the real world knows it is so. Ben wakes up in the Sahara. There is a loss of perception. Hurley is seeing visions of Charlie as he is in a mental institution in the future. Jack and Kate get together and yet we see Jack start to fall apart. He is seeing his father in his mind. Aaron is also under the auspice of Kate with Claire nowhere to be found, except, at the end of Episode 11, she is in Jacob's house. The man who does not age knew John Locke from the beginning. Michael has come back to die but he might be the catalyst for the end of days. The use of narrative momentum is much more adept this season whereas character motivation in the last was of primary importance. The key is the unraveling of the 6 and their plight.
Battlestar Galactica With the final season breathing on our necks, the key is to get some major resolutions in the bag. With “Razor”, the elements concerning Kara Thrace (aka Starbuck) were put in a swirl since one of the hybrids told no one left alive that she is leading them into ruin. The first couple episodes address a couple things in play. The first is the fact that Starbuck was gone for two months. They think she is a Cylon even though they are unaware that 4 are among them (including Terrell and Saul). The interesting progression is Callie is killed in the launch shaft while her baby is saved. There are now two Cylon children. It is becoming harder and harder to tell the humans and the Cylons apart. When the different models start arguing and taking sides on the lead bay ship, the world becomes even murkier. Kara Thrace is given the benefit of the doiubt by Adama and begins scouring for Earth. Baltar is seemingly becoming a Christlike religious figure which can only end, if the instinct is right, in assassination. Lee has become a politician and his predilections are starting to implode the government from within as Roselyn is dying. The producers are keeping a lot of moving parts juggling so the intensity is there. One specific moment when Starbuck's husband is in the opening battle, the Cylon fighter scans his eyes. It knows that they are there. On a technical note, those battle scenes in the premiere are the best material in terms of space fighting that I have seen in recent memory outside “Revenge Of The Sith”.
My Name Is Earl Earl was definite;y undergoing a change of sorts at the end of last season but karma can really foul you up. Adding Alissa Milano to the mix is good but most of the season is demonstrated within a 70s sitcom world which is just weird at points but definitely mixes the pot. The caricatures of the characters involved make them almost parodies of their former selves which might play to its advantage. The only one that is meticulous within his own world no matter what is Crabman. There however is one sequence involving the stealing of a motorcycle that is made for late night dorm viewing. It is just beautiful writing. Billy, Earl's girl, becomes the bride but bringing her back from the Dark Side is a chore and one that Earl (having been married before) should understand. Earl is an everyman of sorts but in searching for a better life he brings himself more difficulty in the process.
The essence of how “Battlestar” will send off is foremost in the mind whilst “Lost”, like “Battestar”, is allowing its way into the dark side which, as long as the fans stay with it, is a good choice. “Earl" simply needs to keep its personality fresh, which on its cusp, is riding the line. But Summer is just around the corner.
Lost This season spells the essence of foreboding. After the flash forward at the end of last season which saw Jack out of thought and contemplating suicide, the question is what gets these people there. The key this season is the freighter and who controls it. The initial impetus of Desmond and his ability to time travel gets a bit of a practical intention when he gets Daniel (played with reserved misdirection by Jeremy Davies) to show him a play through in the space/time continuum. The physics of the island are coming into play because as we see in a readout Daniel holds, there is a discrepancy in time. A fake Oceanic airliner is found at the bottom of a deep sea trench but no one in the real world knows it is so. Ben wakes up in the Sahara. There is a loss of perception. Hurley is seeing visions of Charlie as he is in a mental institution in the future. Jack and Kate get together and yet we see Jack start to fall apart. He is seeing his father in his mind. Aaron is also under the auspice of Kate with Claire nowhere to be found, except, at the end of Episode 11, she is in Jacob's house. The man who does not age knew John Locke from the beginning. Michael has come back to die but he might be the catalyst for the end of days. The use of narrative momentum is much more adept this season whereas character motivation in the last was of primary importance. The key is the unraveling of the 6 and their plight.
Battlestar Galactica With the final season breathing on our necks, the key is to get some major resolutions in the bag. With “Razor”, the elements concerning Kara Thrace (aka Starbuck) were put in a swirl since one of the hybrids told no one left alive that she is leading them into ruin. The first couple episodes address a couple things in play. The first is the fact that Starbuck was gone for two months. They think she is a Cylon even though they are unaware that 4 are among them (including Terrell and Saul). The interesting progression is Callie is killed in the launch shaft while her baby is saved. There are now two Cylon children. It is becoming harder and harder to tell the humans and the Cylons apart. When the different models start arguing and taking sides on the lead bay ship, the world becomes even murkier. Kara Thrace is given the benefit of the doiubt by Adama and begins scouring for Earth. Baltar is seemingly becoming a Christlike religious figure which can only end, if the instinct is right, in assassination. Lee has become a politician and his predilections are starting to implode the government from within as Roselyn is dying. The producers are keeping a lot of moving parts juggling so the intensity is there. One specific moment when Starbuck's husband is in the opening battle, the Cylon fighter scans his eyes. It knows that they are there. On a technical note, those battle scenes in the premiere are the best material in terms of space fighting that I have seen in recent memory outside “Revenge Of The Sith”.
My Name Is Earl Earl was definite;y undergoing a change of sorts at the end of last season but karma can really foul you up. Adding Alissa Milano to the mix is good but most of the season is demonstrated within a 70s sitcom world which is just weird at points but definitely mixes the pot. The caricatures of the characters involved make them almost parodies of their former selves which might play to its advantage. The only one that is meticulous within his own world no matter what is Crabman. There however is one sequence involving the stealing of a motorcycle that is made for late night dorm viewing. It is just beautiful writing. Billy, Earl's girl, becomes the bride but bringing her back from the Dark Side is a chore and one that Earl (having been married before) should understand. Earl is an everyman of sorts but in searching for a better life he brings himself more difficulty in the process.
The essence of how “Battlestar” will send off is foremost in the mind whilst “Lost”, like “Battestar”, is allowing its way into the dark side which, as long as the fans stay with it, is a good choice. “Earl" simply needs to keep its personality fresh, which on its cusp, is riding the line. But Summer is just around the corner.
