Alias Finale

OK, so I'm a year late, but I finally just finished watching Alias Season 5. Here's the thing: Alias is one of my all-time favorite shows and Sydney Bristow is one of the best female characters written in the last 7 years. I don't think that can be disputed.

Was Season 5 spectacular? No. That superlative belongs to Season 2, which undisputedly redefined television. Without Alias (first 2 seasons) there would be no Lost, no Heroes, and no ANY show with in-depth, complicated storylines that require viewers' undivided attention. Season 5 does, however, get the job done. Even with the absence of Michael Vaughn, the show manages Sydney's pregnancy with flying colors, not allowing it to get in her way while treating it realistically.

The series finale is at once satisfying and not; the ending for Jack Bristow is pretty perfect while Sydney and Vaughn walking out into the sunset with their children is everything we ever wanted for the two of them. Totally worth it.

10 Best Arrested Development Lines

10. 'Mr. F.'
9. 'She's not that Mexican, mom. She's my Mexican.'
8. 'Did I day "snog" again? Bloody Hell.'
7. 'And that's why you always leave a note.'
6. 'Alias is a show about a spy!'
5. 'I've made a huge mistake.'
4. 'Real shoddy narrating. Just plain crap.'
3. 'Hey possible nephew.'
2. 'I think he's hiding Anne in the attic.' 'From who, the Nazis?'
1. 'Loose seal!!'

New Age of Scandal?

After reading the August 31 Entertainment Weekly cover story about our 'Summer of Scandal,' there are a couple of things I feel compelled to point out. First and foremost, let me say that I have been reading EW since I was 12 and really have a hard time getting through a Friday afternoon without the latest issue. For the most part, the magazine does an excellent job of looking at new pop culture and filmmaking while having a robust appreciation for the Hollywood of the past.

Which is what makes the new issue slightly strange. One of their commentators notes a 'new age of bad girls,' while a later article lists Woody Allen marrying Soon Yi Previn as one of the more scandalous scandals of the last 25 years. While this certainly may be the case, it is not exactly an original scandal. To talk about Woody and Soon Yi and not mention their predecessors, Charlie Chaplin and Oona O'Neill, is to deny Hollywood scandal at its origins. To talk about Lindsay Lohan and not acknowledge the original self-destructive bombshell Marilyn Monroe is to completely ignore the fact that starlets have been making desperate fools of themselves since before the word was invented. And to say the words Angelina Jolie when discussing scandal and not add the words Elizabeth and Taylor immediately afterward makes it seem as though astonishingly beautiful, amazing (if homewrecking) actresses have not existed before the year 2005.

The question is not whether or not these are new, troubling phenomena, but what has changed about our culture that we care so much more.

A Statement About the Merits of Battlestar Galactica

It should be noted that I consider myself an aficionado of short-run, prematurely cancelled television programming (hello, Arrested Development!), and Battlestar Galactica is the most recent addition to my roster of must-watches. After resisting for about a year, I finally caved and asked my local library to order it for their permanent collection, and was instantly hooked by the socio-political-SciFi-ness of it all. And here's the thing: the Sci-Fi-ness can be completely overlooked. In fact, it's not even the most important thing about the show. The most important thing is the overall statement being made about Cylons (identical machines that may or may not have human characteristics) as the symbolic terrorists, and the moral dilemma posed to the people and their treatment of these murderous (but just?) beings. Fascinating.
It should be noted that Battlestar Galactica has not been prematurely cancelled by a network, but producers recently announced that season 4 will be the last. I might have to write soon about the merits of shorter, better quality shows on TV.

Initial Post

Well, I guess I better say something since I just started this blog... I have no idea what I want to accomplish here, maybe just the occasional movie review post, although it will not be limited to movies... Books will appear also. No music-- I don't do music. So let's get this party started, or something.