Eureka: Try, Try Again

It's Allison's first day as the new head of Global Dynamics, and it's a doozy. Fargo, intent on being irreplaceable as the assistant to whoever sits in the head office, happens to find an object in his jacket pocket that turns out to be a personal force field. Not only that, but it's one of the devices that was discarded for being too dangerous - which in Eureka - is a frightening thing to contemplate.

Allison immediately is faced with the prospect of having to plunge Fargo into a miles-deep hole and then explode a nuclear device just to stop the force field from consuming the town. The only person who can stop it and find an answer in time is Carter - who is tracking down the original creator of the device, as well as the man who put the device in Fargo's pocket in the first place. The mystery is a fun one to unravel, but even more fun is watching the recently deposed Stark work with Jack as they search for answers. Colin Ferguson and Ed Quinn have a great chemistry that involves both mutual respect and hateful disdain. It doesn't help that they're both in love with Allison.

Speaking of Allison, Salli Richardson does a great job making me believe that she is up to the job of heading GD. She fits the role well and even when a General is breathing down her neck to nuke Fargo, she holds her ground. The convincing part is that Allison was ready to do whatever was necessary; she just wasn't going to take that route unless she absolutely ran out of options.

Henry continues to search for what happened to Kim. He, of course, still remembers the five years he spent living an alternate timeline. It seems that Henry is growing suspicious of Beverly - whom I now know is working for the Consortium - though I don't know to what ends. Joe Morton is terrific as Henry - both the amiable genius that he presents to others and the darker, somewhat vengeful and grieving man that he really he is. It's also interesting to note that not only has Henry been through Kim's death twice now, but he's been through the obsessive search for a way to stop it before as well. This is not old ground for him. And it'll be interesting to see how Henry exploits the knowledge of others that he gained in the five years that he lived and they did not.

The series has only begun to touch on the ideas of who the Consortium are, what the artifact is, as well as the seemingly rich history of Eureka. In one scene Nathan says, "That was before my time" - opening up a lot of possibilities of what happened when others were in charge of Global Dynamics. The show is fun to watch, and it is just getting better. If you're not watching, start - and if you are watching, tell your friends to give it a shot. It's worth it.

New Music Downloads

With expatriates from Guns N' Roses (guitarist Slash, drummer Matt Sorum and bassist Duff McKagan) and Stone Temple Pilots (lead singer Scott Weiland), Velvet Revolver formed a winning union back in 2004. They continue their hard-rock rule on Libertad (which is Spanish for "freedom"). There is plenty of sleazy good fun to be had on testosterone-charged track like "Mary Mary".

Having helped produce Amy Winehouse's hit Back to Black, as well as Lily Allen's Alright, Still, Mark Ronson is on a real roll in 2007. So the timing couldn't be better for Version, on which Ronson puts his retro-cool spin on "Stop Me Melody", featuring Australian singer Daniel Merriweather, which merges the Smiths' "Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before" and the Supremes' "You Keep Me Hangin' On" into the most soulful rave since Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy".

Anyone who witnessed this year's superbowl halftime show was reminded that Prince possesses more talent in his little pinky than your average musician. Really, though, he's been on a resurgent roll since 2004. He's got his purple mojo working on Planet Earth, which, at its best, recalls his '80s reign. A song like "Guitar," the ax-slinging first single, is classic Prince, full of sexy swagger, Revolution-era riffs and cheeky humor.

Singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles used artistic differences with her record company as the creative inspiration for "Love Song," the defiant first single from her major-label debut. The result is a vibrant piece of piano pop that helped make Little Voice the No 1 album download at iTunes.

The Closer: The Round File

Not my favorite episode so far this season, but still very entertaining. That's because The Closer does quirky very, very well. Brenda is usually the freakiest freak of the bunch, but this week she got overshadowed by her real estate agent and by a surly old man who claimed to have killed seven people.

Let's start with the real estate agent, named Gary (played by French Stewart). He works his catch phrase, "Gary Doesn't Lie" into almost every conversation with Brenda and Fritz as he helps them look for a new home. I don't know what these two professionals are doing with this slimeball-- as interrogators for the FBI and the LAPD, don't they know creeps when they see them? French Stewart did a marvelous job of playing an LA-type real estate agent who was working his gimmick the whole time.

The other freak of the bunch ended up being less freaky as the episode went on. Don Baxter got Brenda's attention by claiming he killed 7 people by poisoning them. He refused to give up his name at first, so Brenda called him Rumpelstiltskin. Baxter's character was the one who helped the story unfold in a very unique way. He claimed to have killed people in his retirement home and then started pushing the investigators to look into his claims, knowing it would become evident that he did no such thing.

It turned out that the manager of the retirement home was the one poisoning residents near the end of the month so he could fill their rooms and get a bonus for high occupancy rates. The interrogation at the end, where Brenda gets a confession out of the guy, was pretty entertaining. She tells him she knows he killed those people and then tells him that 'mercy killings' aren't as serious as murder. Well, that's his in and he spills his guts about how he puts old people with no money and no family out of their misery.

Sidenote: Brenda and Sgt. Gabriel's relationship seems to be getting back on track. He was on suspension for beating a suspect (something Provenza made great joke about) and when he returned, I think Brenda didn't know how to behave towards him. She was the reason for his punishment and I couldn't decide if she felt guilty or if she was still mad at him. Anyway, things seemed to be better for the two at the end of the episode when Brenda invited her old wingman in to help interrogate the manager of the old folks' home.

While the episode was goofy-- with Rumpelstiltskin and Gary-- it also had a tender message about the way Americans treat their elderly. We put them in homes and forget about them. The proof that no one cared about the dead people was in the way that their families kept their ashes in shoe boxes, coffee cans, and with the family pet's ashes.A great episode: both for its quirkiness and for its social relevance.

DVD Review: Osama

Osama does a great job of invoking sympathy and emotion as it shows the severe type of violence and evil events that take in the Afghanistan. It is an excellent movie about a young girl posing as a boy to earn money for her family, and the movie is one of the best foreign films I have ever seen.

The young girl is given the name "Osama" when she cuts her hair short like a boy's, and she sets out to find work. The Taliban are always prowling the streets, and she knows that if they catch her, they will kill her. Luckily, she finds a job with a kind man who sells milk. He helps to hide her and pays her. She is living in constant fear, and the man, although he is kind, can't seem to comfort her. Instead of becoming used to her new life, I see that while she is trying to act mature, her child instincts are taking over and she acts and feels like a small child lost in a foreign world.

The girl does have a family that I can tell loves her (especially her grandma), but it makes me wonder why her mother and grandmother would risk her life just for money and food. There had to be another way to do this, but, one again, I am unaware of the circumstances in those countries, so maybe this is the only alternative.

Anyway, after working for the milkman for a while, she is whisked away by the unknowing Taliban to be trained for war (they are gathering all of the local boys to go to war). She is nervous that she will be found out, and eventually she is.Her fate is sure death, but a man agrees to marry her, and her life is lost and saved at the same time. When she arrives at this man's house, she meets his dozens of other wives who say that their life was ruined by coming there. This is not a happy conclusion to the movie, and I see the girl's life deteriorate right before my eyes.

Osama is a brilliant exercise in emotional drama, with a great storyline and superb acting. It seems like this is more of a documentary than a film because of the acting. It feels like you are watching real events happen to real people. This is a must-see film that is very emotional and realistic.

Rescue Me: Pussified

"Next time I'm on the can and I want a drink, I don't want to have to reach back and come up empty!" - Maggie

I think this may have been the first episode in the history of Rescue Me where there wasn't one moment that really made me laugh, smile, or chuckle. How could it? A montage bouncing back and forth from Mike's mom's funeral to Needles discovering Jerry's body! Wow. That being said, I wasn't 100% satisfied with this episode. It just felt a little stale, like nothing really moved. I suppose when a close friend kills himself, life comes to a bit of a screeching halt though.

Now that I think about it, every big thing that happened in this episode has been something that was hinted at or suggested already. Franco bought an engagement ring. Sean and Maggie are probably getting a divorce. Tommy might actually be impotent. The insurance companies are settling and neither Tommy nor Sheila will go to jail. See? Nothing really shocked or surprised me. What did? I'm still getting nothing from Tommy's ghost parade. I need some hallucinations of dead people and I need them fast.

The episode did have its moments. Some funny and some sad:

• It was a nice touch when Tommy convinced the M.E. to list Jerry's cause of death as "coronary failure." That way Peter will never know how his father actually died, especially since the guys had him cremated too.
• I loved the look of satisfaction on Lou's face when he figured out that Jimmy the Jew was leeping with another fire-fighter's wife. Looks like Bart is coming to the 62 Truck crew.
• Troy being completely obsessed with Tommy was a riot. Is that the only reason that he's dating Sheila?
• Loved when Lou gave Mike a hug instead of making a gay joke. Not for long though. ("We attack at dawn!")
• The fire scene in the office building was tense too. After they got lost, I really thought someone minor like Mike was going to die. If one show out there can layer on the deaths, this would be the one.
• The scene with the marriage counselor was by far the best part of the episode though. Janet and Tommy explain their screwed up life and the guy thought he was being set up by a co-worker. Hilarious!
• I loved the little nod to the Worcester, MA, Cold Storage Fire (where Leary's own firefighter cousin was killed) when Tommy talked about a similar fire that Jerry helped with in the Bronx back in the 70s. Another nice touch.

Beyond those little moments, there wasn't much else other than what I mentioned earlier. Just a lot of stuff that confirmed what I already sort of knew. Now that I'm four episodes in, I think my biggest concern is not knowing what the big conflict is going to be.I think Tommy and Janet will still probably have another shot once he actually has a doctor diagnose what's wrong with his wedding-tackle. As far as Nona goes, she'll be around to complicate things. I'm sure Sheila will be too once she tires of Troy. But still... where's the conflict? I suppose all I can hope for is something big that I can't yet predict. Knowing this show, I'm sure it will be good.

Eureka: Phoenix Rising

Eureka is a quirky show on the Sci-Fi Network that just started its second season. I had never heard of this show until I read an article about it in a recent issue of the TV Guide and thought "Hey, I have to check this out." And you know what? I like it. Probably because I love shows that are just a little off kilter and have unique characters.

The premise of the show is Eureka is a secret town in Oregon, I believe, that is home to the best minds in America. Jack Carter somehow stumbled upon this "secret" town while transporting a prisoner and soon became the sheriff of this unknown city. Most everyone works for Global Dynamics, which is ran by the Pentagon.

From what I gathered the season finale last year left open the question of whether or not (or at least how much) Jack and Henry remembered from the now non-existent future. This episode clears that up quick: they remember everything. It's fun to watch Jack so easily slip back into the patterns that were familiar to him in 2010. He gives his keys to Zoe so she can drive, but she's only 15. He refers to Allison as "Ally" and refers to the two of them as "we," since in his timeline they were married. Here, of course, they haven't even gone out on a single date. While Jack finds his knowledge of the future somewhat enjoyable, Henry of course has a much more tragic story. He and Jack's future only existed because Henry went back in time to save Kim, and now Henry has to deal with that loss. Jack still has the possibility of getting together with Allison, but Kim is gone. Things get a bit less for Jack as events diverge from the way he remembers them - particularly with the spontaneous combustion of certain citizens of Eureka.

Carter and Henry investigate Eureka's latest mystery. They keep referring to an Artifact that must plays a huge role in setting up a big mystery for this one. It seems nearly everyone is involved this time, Allison's autistic son Kevin, Beverly the therapist/escort/assassin and nearly everyone connected to Global Dynamics. The Artifact is an active force of its own.

The show has a terrific set for Global Dynamics, and everything from the writing to the acting - especially the banter between the leads - has a crisp feel to it. The relationship between Jack and Henry seems to be pretty deep and this dynamic adds to the show. The end is also a terrific setup for the season - as Henry becomes something of a tragic anti-hero who is likely going to repeat his mistake of trying to get Kim back. Perhaps he believes that he can figure out a way to save her without changing the time line - or maybe he just doesn't care anymore. Whatever the case, his decision to wipe out Jack's memory but preserve his own seems a lot less altruistic when he shows up to apply for a job at Global.

Eureka has an eccentric tone and attention is paid to the numerous quirky inhabitants of the town. The vibe is very much Northern Exposure meets X-Files. I have added this to my "must see" list of TV shows and look forward to finding out more about this quirky little town called Eureka.

The Closer: Ruby

Wow. Just... wow. I had to keep reminding myself to breathe during this episode. I held my breath as Brenda and the Priority Homicide team looked for a kidnapper. And then I held it as Brenda, and then Sgt. Gabriel, interviewed the creepiest sex offender ever shown on television. And then again, as they found the kidnapped 8-year old they were looking for. Let's just say my brain didn't get a whole lot of oxygen.

And let's talk about that sex offender for a second. Was he scary or what? I am going to have nightmares about that guy. I kept muttering, "Oh my God" to myself as the guy said, "You see, everyone pretends kids don't want to have sex. But they do." *Shiver*

That was some ballsy dialogue on the part of the writers. I can't even imagine hearing something that extreme on Law & Order: SVU.I was actually very thankful when the focus of this episode shifted from the kidnapped girl/sex offender to the covering of Sgt. Gabriel's butt. Besides Lt. Tau, Gabriel is the one in the squad room who is a rule follower. We know he has been simmering a bit lately and hasn't been seeing things in black and white (legal vs. illegal), and this kidnapping was the last straw for him.

I honestly didn't know how on earth Dep. Chief Johnson was going to save Gabriel's job and her case, but Dep. Chief Cmdr. Taylor sure came to the rescue, didn't he? Of course, Taylor was doing it for Gabriel and not for Brenda... but still. He cleverly offered to book Roger, the sex offender who had a confession beaten out of him by Sgt. Gabriel. And, oops!, he put the guy in with the general population of prisoners and let the word slip that he was a child molester.

Prisoners may be bad dudes, but they all hate child molesters and beat Roger to a bloody pulp... covering up any evidence of what Gabriel had done. Sort-of sick and wrong, but in the grand scheme of things, much less sick than Roger.That opened the door for Brenda to do her thing.

She knows that Roger has a mother complex and she comes in as the mother figure--the protector--and gains his trust. And when she catches him in a lie, she gets real stern with him. And gets him to confess... not just to the murder of the one kidnapped girl, but also to two other murders. She also drove him to suicide by gaining his trust and then being so disgusted by him, like his own mother is disgusted by him.

I don't know about you, but this struck me as an Emmy-worthy episode. Brenda's quirks and weirdness were completely gone and she was just in all-out detective mode. She had to switch from being angry to being sympathetic, and finally to delivering some tough love to both a sex offender and Sgt. Gabriel. It has become obvious that Brenda's role in the squad room has become 'mother hen' and I get the feeling she doesn't like that very much. Watching her in this episode made me feel exhausted. Kyra Sedgwick truly was spectacular, and she was backed up by a terrific script that let her show a very large range of emotions.