My Own Worst Enemy: This is Not My Son

I did get the big reveal that Dr. Skinner is actually a Systems Analyst for Janus, which makes total sense since someone had to assign her to be Henry's shrink in the first place. What was unexpected was her love affair with Edward - an affair that makes her feel the need to protect and save Henry as he bumbles his way through the entire deal. After she saved Henry from the phony FBI Agent, she then helped Edward pass a lie-detector test with regards to the agent's disappearance. It was only a moderately clever scene, since it solely relied upon the existence of a made up future-tech penlight/audio transmitter that provided Edward with alternate questions to answer.

Edward has really taken on a Tyler Durden-esque role - as extremely over-sexualized bruiser. There's no real reason given for Skinner's devotion to him other than the fact that he treats her like crap and gives her out-of-this-world sex. But, but by the end, Mavis figures out that Edward is definitely being protected by someone.

Some interesting developments came into light. One is that if Edward is ever discovered by boss-man Tromboll, he won't be executed like I originally thought. The Edward personality will just get erased, and Henry will live on. This seems to butt heads with the fact that the Systems Analyst agent was about to shoot him dead before he was saved by Skinner. There needs to be a bit of clarification around this. This is a very twisty plotline, and it can get muddled very easily. Agent Tom was taken prisoner in "Hello, Henry" and now Edward must head over to Beijing with a new Janus partner, Paula, to rescue him. The mission goes haywire when Henry appears in the middle of a gunfight and gets Paula all shot to hell. Tromboll seems so desperate to expose Edward that it seems a little far-fetched that he continues to accept the last minute saves and excuses that just manage to keep Edward off the chopping block. This organization seems like one that would actually just kill you if they suspected something was wrong.

While Paula lies in a coma, Mavis and Edward must make a decision about her dangerous knowledge of Henry, and Henry must try and figure out how to protect her from Edward and Mavis. In the best moment of the episode, Henry actually convinces Raymond that he's Edward, and makes Raymond leave the hospital without killing Paula. And that just leaves Skinner, to help Paula's normal alter-ego "Ellen" decide that she wants to snap and break into Janus and expose herself as being the broken operative. In the end, I find myself in a strange emotional moment when Paula is unjustly erased from existence, but the happy family gal Ellen lives on in her place.

Meanwhile, Janus must make it look like Tom had an affair to actually cover for the fact that Raymond was taken prisoner by the Chinese. And Henry discovers that his son has actually become secretly proficient in the martial arts and stick fighting. It's a revelation that he can't fully accept, since it means that Edward's genes are the actual DNA that's he's passed along. Edward is able to save the day by actually bonding with his son over the violent tournament fighting that he's been participating in.

I like this series, but I'm also waiting for both Edward and Henry to start acting smart in order to thrive, not just survive. The pettiness needs to get torched, and a new comradery needs to arise from the ashes.

Pam's New Music Downloads

To open her fifth album, Pink seals her split from motocross racer Carey Hart with a kiss-off. She continues to work through her breakup issues on Funhouse, and it makes for plenty of listening pleasure. "It's All Your Fault," is a long, mood-shifting rocker.

Lady Gaga, The Flame - This New York scenester brings a downtown party-girl vibe to her fun dance-pop debut. "Just Dance," the electro-infused first single, will bring out your inner club kid.

Ryan Adams' fourth-album with the Cardinals, Cardinology, glides by smoothly, even if it fails to truly soar. "Fix It," is the soul-soothing first single.

Prison Break: The Legend

With time running out for their chance to get a hold of Scylla, the team pushes forward with some help from the security engineer who designed the elaborate setup surrounding the still mysterious secret Company database. Scofield's health takes a turn for the worse and I learn that he's going to need surgery in the next 24 hours.

While the series does not necessarily represent the pinnacle of storytelling prowess, Prison Break writers should be given some serious kudos for their ability really stack individual episodes with tons of content. Under less capable hands, this episode would have stood out as nothing more than a filler episode leading into what should be an exciting season-defining episode. The difference here is that the writers chose the right material to include in the episode. Despite the fact that the episode focused mostly on Scofield going to the hospital, Mahone visiting David Baker, and Sucre's foot resting on a landmine, there were some great character moments in-between the action.

With Bellick's death still fresh on everyone's minds, there were plenty of flashback sequences and conversations about their fallen member. It's amazing how perceptions of Bellick have changed over the season. By the end, he could barely be compared to the badass prison guard he was in the first season. There was a short conversation between Sara and Scofield about Bellick that summed up nicely how he had evolved since his days at Fox River. Sucre seemed the most affected by Brad's death. He was the one to deliver the bad news to Bellick's mother at the end of the episode. It was also great to see the team bond together to stand up to Self in order to get a proper burial for Bellick and to have his body sent home. The moment where Mahone placed a badge on Bellick's chest was terrific and a great way to say goodbye to one of the series' original key characters.

Mahone's visit to David Baker provided the team with additional clues on how to break into Scylla facility and it contrasts the frantic work by the General's team to move the enigmatic black box. Yes I finally got a glimpse of Scylla - it looks like an encased black desktop computer case, but other than the fact that it's extremely important to the Company, I still know very little about it. It's also a difficult device to move, which means it's probably connected to a lot of other dependent systems. With the kind of security surrounding Scylla, the contents of the system had better be worth the protection.

Also in this episode, I learned that the secretary at GATE is an undercover agent working with Don Self. While it makes sense that Self would have someone at GATE working for him, it's not something that most people would have predicted. In one of her best scenes this season, Gretchen had a great conversation about "noodling" with T-Bag describing how she's using Scofield to get her hands on Scylla. Meanwhile, T-Bag pulls off a remarkably heartfelt speech about Bellick's death to some team members at GATE. T-Bag's reaction to Bellick's death was fantastic - despite the fact that he's a cannibalistic serial killer, he still feels sorrow for Bellick. It was a nice touch.

Of course, Scofield's condition was a cause for concern. I learned that he's suffering from a rare condition and needs surgery in the next 24 hours. Unfortunately, he doesn't have the time at the moment, as the opportunity to get their hands on Scylla is closing fast. While bits of the episode felt like filler material, the buildup was fantastic and the next break-in should be a memorable one.

Sarah Connor Chronicles: Mr. Ferguson is Ill Today

Well, they promised me death, and… well, I got a death. Kind of… I guess. In any case, this was definitely a sweeps-worthy episode. Told in a quasi-Rashomon multiple perspective style, it was definitely different. I’m not sure the story telling technique was used as effectively as it could have been, but it was good for the most part.

Can I really qualify the destruction of the Cromartie terminator as a death, or at the very least a death worthy of all the hype? I feel like it’s stretching it a bit. I was hoping that perky little Riley would be getting a couple bullets to the head, but alas it was not to be. If Cromartie does end up prolonging his dirt nap, it will be interesting to see what direction the show goes in. Will he be replaced by another model from the future? Will Catherine Weaver take a larger and more active role as the uber-villain? Will the Connors get a little breathing room? Time will tell, I suppose.

My guess is that I will get some further exploration into Jesse’s story. If I recall, she’s Derek’s ex-girlfriend from the future who showed up a couple weeks ago. I’ve already seen that she is carrying some intel on the Connors. What I don’t know is what her hidden agenda is. With a gaping hole in the villain category, I’m guessing that she’s up to no good.

I also think that I will begin to see more Catherine Weaver. She was looking for Cromartie, right? Is Ellison going to come clean with her and tell her about Cromartie’s destruction, perhaps leading her to his Mexican grave? I wonder if she’s really interested in Cromartie at all, or was it all just a front to get to Ellison? There is still a lot I don’t know about the mysterious T-1001 and her motives.

This was definitely a suspenseful and action-packed episode. Well, the second half of the episode anyway. The first half was a little heavy on Riley, but I will forgive it. I think I’ve bashed her enough for one review. Between Sarah’s escapades in the trunk of Cromartie’s car, the panicked fleeing in the Mexican village, and the shootout at the chapel, there were a bunch of great scenes. Personally, I loved Sarah’s complete and utter freakout/breakdown as she beat the hell out of Cromartie’s chip. Ah… Catharsis!

Family Guy: The Man With Two Brians

Let me start off by saying that I went out to dinner with my friend, and we polished off a bottle of wine, so when I watched Family Guy I was a teensy bit intoxicated- which may have made the episode funnier than it actually was. But, in general, even if I had been sober, I think it was a pretty awesome episode.

It begins with Peter and his friends watching an episode of Jackass which inspires them to be jackasses also, despite the big warning with the skull and crutches that prefaces every Jackass episode. Peter and the gang do a few humorous stunts: Peter rolls off the roof of his house in a shopping cart (and tweaks his neck horribly- it was gross), Quagmire puts honey all over his private parts and let’s a bunch of bees feast off the honey (when nothing crazy happens Peter pushes Quagmire into the other boxes of bees), and finally, Peter is pulled along by a car while on Roller Blades and then launches himself off a ramp into a lake. Injured in this pursuit, Brian swims out to save him, but becomes too tired, so Joe swims out, ties Peter and Brian up in his legs, and rushes them back to shore.

Hilarious as this first five minutes was it was merely setting up the plot of the rest of the episode. Peter realizes that Brian is getting older and cannot do all the things he may have been able to previously- so Peter gets a new dog and names it “New Brian”. New Brian is preppy and proper and going out of his way to make the Griffins feel at home. New Brian goes into Meg’s room to listen to her problems (Meg, apparently, saw girls on Discovery Channel who also have nipples that cover their entire breasts and so she felt better about herself—God, poor Meg!!). New Brian also gives Meg a stick of deodorant! Have I said it yet? POOR MEG!!

Among New Brian’s comforts are Peter and Lois waking up to the sounds of New Brian playing the flute, New Brian plays a guitar song for Peter, gives Brian a stick and a bag of Marijuana. Stewie catches wind of the fact that New Brian is trying to edge out old Brian, so Brian ultimately decides to leave, and gets no real resistance from the Griffin clan. Brian’s first stop is living with Cleveland (where Cleveland puts Brian on a leash, though, as we all know Brian is potty trained).

Next stop- Quagmire. This leads to a pretty funny scene where Quagmire explains a girl is coming over who is hot- but has a weird leg thing- and Brian needs to ignore it so he doesn’t scare off the girl. The doorbell rings and it’s Stewie who begins talking to Brian. Quagmire’s date shows up, Stewie makes a colorful comment about how ghastly the leg is, and she runs of crying. Then you hear Quagmire from the background scream “Damnit, Brian!” This was probably my second favorite scene when all was said and done.

Brian still isn’t convinced he wants to come back yet and soon there is a scene with New Brian in the kitchen baking something. Stewie comes in and says he knows what New Brian is up to, and that the chair doesn’t like having its leg humped. New Brian explains that he’s surprised the chair doesn’t like it, because Rupert certainly did the other night. As I know, Rupert is Stewie’s prized companion (toy). Stewie is clearly angry and stares New Brian down for a good six or seven seconds. Then it cuts to a scene outside, and I see Stewie dragging a heavy bag to the trash bin with a huge puddle of blood following! This was definitely the LAUGH OUT LOUD- SPIT YOUR DRINK OUT funny scene of the entire episode!! Brian, of course, moves back in after New Brian’s “suicide” (quotes because Stewie wrote a fake suicide note which was also very enjoyable to hear Peter read).

Intoxication aside, I laughed out loud a lot during this episode. It’s definitely a keeper. Family Guy continues its strong season where many other network shows seem to be losing viewership. Giggity!

The Simpsons: Dangerous Curves

I understand that The Simpsons have been on television for a very, very long time. I also understand that this is animated series and the characters do not age. This, of course, messes with the timelines and back-stories established by the series. Although these people are frozen at their current ages, the years are moving forward around them. Basically, anything that occurred "five years ago" in season two happened in 1988. Today, if the show refers to events from five years ago, they're talking about 2003. But the timeframe of events can be largely overlooked if two things remain consistent: the stories stay true to the characters, and the episodes are funny.

Unfortunately, "Dangerous Curves" just wasn't all that funny. As for staying true to the characters, it could have been worse. Personally, there haven't been many recent flashback episodes that I have enjoyed. The first ten or so seasons of The Simpsons did a fantastic job of establishing the Simpson family back-story. Episodes looking back from this era successfully stuck close to that reality. The latest flashback episodes, however, have changed a number of ideas. Last season's "That 90's Show" really irked me by establishing that Marge broke up with Homer and attended college before getting knocked up with Bart. That information changed the way I viewed Marge. She was no longer the innocent girl who fell for a boy, got pregnant before getting married and struggled to make it all work. "Dangerous Curves" doesn't do that type of damage, but it does throw near-infidelity into Homer and Marge's life.

"Dangerous Curves" was crass, cold and seriously lacked laughs. The situations were very forced and the timing was incredibly hurried. All that said, I did find Bart and Lisa as the bickering couple in the pedal car to be very funny. It added a fresh twist to this generally stale outing. And, of course, there were other fun laughs, including Alberto's 45 minutes of silence to complete his "Or should I say 'glide'" statement and Ned Flanders' quip about Homer's "single entendre." But none of that could make up for the poor story being told or the overall unfunniness of the episode. And did the writers of this episode really think that a "Cereal Killer" video game was an original and hilarious idea? That was just lazy, lazy filler.

Once Upon A Day by Lisa Tucker

Stephen Spaulding used to be a doctor and a family man. Now, two years after his wife and young daughter were killed in an automobile accident, Stephen drives a Checker cab through the streets of St. Louis. He doesn't need the money --- he just does it to relive that horrible day and to tell his imaginary, happier version of the story to the people who use his taxi. When he picks up Dorothea O'Brien, though, she recognizes the falseness of his tale and shocks Stephen into moving past the events of that tragic day.

Dorothea herself is on a quest. Raised by her rich, ultraprotective father in a highly secretive estate (called the Sanctuary) in rural New Mexico, Dorothea has not seen the outside world in nineteen years. Dressed in a long skirt and saddle shoes, Dorothea has never seen television or movies, or even many men besides her own eccentric father and her older brother Jimmy. Dorothea has come to St. Louis searching for her brother, who seems to have disappeared off the face of the earth.

After searching through St. Louis's seedier neighborhoods, Stephen and Dorothea discover Jimmy in a mental hospital. The young man has cut himself severely and is now making wild claims about their mother, who (according to their father) died when the children were young. Dorothea doesn't remember her mother at all, but Jimmy's vivid and troubling recollections of her death send the young woman on an odyssey to discover her past.

Lisa Tucker's novel is not exactly a mystery, but her brilliant storytelling skills make for a novel rich in suspense. Flowing freely through time and place, told by a half-dozen different narrators, the novel unfolds gradually, revealing a portrait of a family torn apart and of a relationship based on a skewed understanding of love. As the novel moves from past to present, I see the drastically different ways in which two very different men react to sudden tragedy, and I mourn along with the characters as I come to realize the scope of their losses.

Once Upon A Day does find a measure of hope in the end, but not before raising profound questions about the limits of love, the power of the past, and the capacity of the human heart to deal with profound tragedy.