Sorry I’ve been slackin’ on the ol’ blog this week, I’m moving this weekend and I’ve been spending my free time packing instead. (I know, where are my priorities?) Hopefully things will settle down next week. My TV-watching didn’t drop off much though. Here’s a look back at the best and worst of TV in the past week (Feb. 13-19), and a peek at what’s coming up.
Highlights
Better respect a substitute teacher with a knife collection. (ABC photo)
1. “Lost” (ABC). I know it’s a bit early to call this the best episode of the season, but wow, it was good. Locke-centric episodes always seem to be somehow better, and this one was a doozy, with parallel-world Locke living more or less happily (or at least less bitterly) and slowly coming to terms with his disability, and Fake Locke offering tantalizing clues about why the Losties are on the island. The names! The numbers! What the whaaaa? Sawyer was great too — now that he has nothing to lose, it’ll be interesting to see if he becomes Smokie’s partner. And like every great “Lost” episode, it raised more questions than it answered. Like who (or what) is inhabiting Sayid? And who was the ghost kid? (A young Jacob? A young Sawyer?) And why did Sawyer see the kid but Richard didn’t? Does it have to do with Sawyer being a “candidate”? And how is Sawyer going to get back on top of that cliff now that the ladder (Jacob’s Ladder? Oooooh!) fell apart? This is starting to give me a nosebleed. Can’t wait for next week’s episode.
2. “Human Target” (Fox). Totally dumb and disposable, but still very fun, and what I really liked about the past two weeks’ episodes have been the “X-Files” guest stars. Cigarette Smoking Man played a mob boss a week ago, and Assistant Director Skinner played an evil corporate security boss this week. And a guest appearance by Marshall from “Alias” to boot! Little things, I know, but I dug it.
3. “The Inbetweeners” (BBC America). Suddenly the most consistently laugh-out-loud series on TV. (With the possible exception of “Archer.”) Totally raunchy and juvenile, but I love it. FYI, “The Ricky Gervais Show” and “Life and Times of Tim” might have slid into this slot, but I haven’t had a chance to watch either one yet. Moving and all. (UPDATE: Just saw ’em both and “Inbetweeners” was funnier. It earned this spot.)
Lowlights
Curl! Curl faster! (AP photo)
1. Winter Olympics (NBC). We can all agree that NBC tape-delaying everything for the West Coast is the worst idea since shifting Jay Leno to 10 p.m. But I’m also sick of all the daytime curling coverage. In fact, I’m convinced it’s not really a sport, it’s all just a big practical joke played on us by a bunch of Canadians and Minnesotans. Or maybe I’m just not drunk enough to enjoy its finer points. I still haven’t seen enough hockey either. (Correction: Too many boring women’s hockey blowouts (13-0? Really?), not enough competitive men’s games.) NBC arrogantly dismisses all complaints and points to the fact that everyone’s still watching. Yeah, NBC, that’s because we don’t have a choice. I can’t wait until a few years down the line when/if ABC/ESPN win broadcasting rights and (hopefully) show live events properly.
2. “Amazing Race” (CBS). Is this the stupidest cast yet? Good lord. From ignoring clues (and not knowing what a funicular was), to thinking Brazilian currency would work in Chile, to thinking Chile was China, to painting the wrong house, to choosing the fat — errr, husky — teammate who’s afraid of heights try to balance high on a wire, the season premiere was one embarrassing fiasco after another. To the people who said “Big Brother” stars Jeff and Jordan were cute? Wrong. They’re dingbats who make even Miss Teen South Carolina look good. I can’t remember a “TAR” season opener that left me so disgusted with the quality of teams. Even the grandmother/granddaughter are preachy and annoying in that way that exercise fanatics are (“Look grandma, I already worked on my cardio and now I’m working on my delts!”). Ugggh.
3. “Tool Academy” (MTV). I couldn’t watch more than 5 minutes, I could feel my brain cells dying. It’s actually a pretty sad show — the contestants all have significant others who love them and want them to change, but it’s glaringly obvious that each and every relationship here is poisonous and completely unsalvageable. The significant others need to dump these tools and move on, pronto. After they get their big moment on TV, of course.
Dishonorable mention: The guy who played Damon, the bad-guy fashion designer on “Burn Notice.” Terrible character, even worse acting. The client storylines are always pretty cheesy, but this one was just awful. On the bright side, Sam’s cheeseball “CSI: Miami” references were a nice touch, and the Gilroy plotline is still intriguing.
Looking forward to . . .
1. USA vs. Canada hockey (4 p.m. Sunday, NBC). The showcase game in hockey’s showcase tournament. The crowd will be rabid and it should be a fantastic matchup. The one possible glitch: Comcast is scheduled to hook up my cable between 2 and 4 p.m. Sunday. They’d better be speedy.
2. “Lost” (9 p.m. Tuesday, ABC). Jack: “Why is my name written down on this?” I wanna know too.
3. “Damages” (10 p.m. Monday, FX). Watching Joe Tobin’s descent to the dark side is fascinating. I can see him turning into a Frobisher-like villain by the end of this. (Speaking of whom, where’s Frobisher this season?) Right now, “Damages” is neck and neck with “Lost” as the most successful series on TV at pulling off shocking twists and game-changing revelations.
