TV Rewind | Smallville: “Season 4”

This season of Smallville contains one of the most solid, concrete plots I have ever seen on the show, period. They had it figured out from start to finish – finding the three stones of power that when connected creates the crystal which will ultimately build the Fortress of Solitude (which by the way, is perfect, considering the timing). Everyone is after these stones, the Luthors, Lana, the witch that inhabits Lana’s body, Jason, Jason’s mother, Clark…just…everyone. We all know Clark is the one that will eventually find them, but it does a good job at making everything tense up to that point.

 It has some great episodes, as well as a really bad one, and it’s one of my favorite seasons of Smallville.

 The best (non-finale) episode of season four: “Crusade”

The worst episode of the season four: “Spell”

Continue for a full list of mini-recaps for the season.

TV Rewind | Smallville: “Season 3”

Season 3 of Smallville gave Clark a new ability – Superhearing, and it dealt with a couple of important storylines: firstly, Lionel is dying, so in order to help cure himself, he comes up with a serum that could help him, and tests it out on dead people, primarily Adam Knight…and just for kicks, he uses Adam Knight to spy on Clark, in return he’d continue injecting him…keeping him alive. Next storyline dealt with Lex trying to take down Lionel, and finally succeeding by the end of the season, but not without terrible consequence. Lionel orders a hit on Lex and Chloe. Jonathon is presumed dead, and Clark finally gives in to Jor-El’s wishes in order to save Jonathon’s life.

Best (non-finale) episode of the season: Relic

Worst episode of the season: Velocity

A complete list of mini-recaps for the season can be found after the jump!

TV Rewind | Smallville: “Season 2”

Season 2 of Smallville was, for the most part, quite average. In fact, this was one of the more laid back seasons of the series, that is until the end part of the season. It had a bit to do with Lex silently investigating Clark, which was his obsession, but the focus didn’t lie on him all that much. We were introduced to Lex’s fiancee in the second half of the season. The real story of this season didn’t even happen until the last two episodes, which was Clark deciding to fulfill his destiny of ruling to world or to stay in Smallville.

The best episode (non-finale) is “Rosetta”
The worst episode is “Redux“

You can find a list of mini-recaps of each episode after the break.

TV Rewind | Smallville: “Season 1”

Unsurprisingly, the first season of Smallville dealt with a lot of firsts. First new power, first time Lex uses manipulation to get what he wants, first time a girl on Smallville dates a villain (and second time), first time someone other than Clark defeated a villain, first time there was a freak of the week (FOW) that wasn’t a villain, the first in a string of surprising appearances of Metropolis, first time Chloe kisses Clark (which turns into a seasonal tradition), first time there were villains that WEREN’T infected by kryptonite, first mention of Warrior Angel…for a ten-year series, there is obviously going to be a lot of firsts.

What is really important about the season was the story lines. Each character seemingly had a different story to tell. For Clark, it was less about a story than it was about trying to fit in, develop his abilities, and develop friendships. For Lana, it was her relationship with Whitney and her friendship with Clark, which begins to turn into an attraction later in the season. Whitney surprisingly had a very loud and developed story all on his own this season, which was his ill father, and decision to go into the marines. For the Luthors, it was about feuding over the LuthorCorps Fertilizer plant in Smallville, and for Lex, it was about watching his steady descent into the temptations of power and revenge against his father (only slight, his true nature doesn’t come till much later). The biggest story of the season was Lex trying to figure out what truly happened on the day his car crashed into Clark (See: “Pilot“), and when he drops it, Roger Nixon continues on his own, and immediately finds out the truth.

The best episode (by far) is “Tempest”
The worst episode is “Zero“

You can find a list of mini-recaps of each episode after the break.

TV REWIND: How I Met Your Mother – Season 1

Still juggling with the twenty-some shows I am already watching each week, I started up a new show.  Maybe you heard of it, How I Met Your Mother? It only took me three days to finish the entire first season, and let me tell you, it drew me in pretty quick.

Sure, I’ll confess the only reason I began to watch this was because Willow from Buffy starred as one of the main actresses.  So sue me, but after seeing the whole first season, I can tell you that the rest of the main cast, and even supporting cast put on an incredible performance.

The show is obviously about how some man met his kid’s mother, what I didnt’ know is what the show really was about.  Which is about life lessons, and friends that help you get there.  Since it’s a comedy, it is not super serious about dramatic life changes, but later on in the season, the drama kept building up, and I was not dissapointed.

It’s narrated by Bob Saget, which I wasn’t aware until later, for he is uncredited.  The show reminds me now and then while watching it, of the popular show, Friends.  Think of Friends, then add Bob Saget teaching his kids about how he met their mother, and the two shows would be identical. At least that’s my opinion.

But anyhow, I love the show, I’ll get back to you after I finish the second season! Peace!

TV REWIND: Buffy – Season 6 & Angel – Season 3

Well, I finally finished the sixth season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, along with the third season of Angel. Holy crap is all I can manage to say right now.  On both accounts, more so with Buffy.  Both shows got super intense this time around, and kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time.  While season six may possibly be the saddest season of Buffy, its also, in my opinion, very well done

BUFFY

When we last left Buffy off, she was, well…dead.  She sacrificed herself in order to save her sister’s life.  This season kicked right off with Willow, the powerful witch ressurecting her.  Everyone on the show was suspecting she was in Hell.  Not one character in the show suspected that “Hey, she is a good person, maybe she’s in Heaven?”  No, they had to suspect the worst.  Turns out, Buffy was in Heaven, and they ripped her out.  Poor Buffy. Next we found out Giles was leaving the show.  Right off the bat, he headed off to England.  He came back for a few episodes, including the incredible musical episode, but then returned once again to his rightful place in England.  He felt he was no longer needed in Sunnydale.

Who is the “big bad” this season? Well I’m glad you asked, its a bunch of nerds who call themselves “The Trio.”  They have had so much better villains.  I thought that they were just kind of dull.  They got better on as the season progressed, but they were still nerds.

RELATIONSHIPS, as always with Buffy, it has to have the drama bit.  Whose with who this season?  Well, lets start with Buffy, for about half the season, she was with Spike.  It was because she didn’t feel right, and needed someone to confort her, and Spike was always there.  At first, I thought I would actually like the relationship, but it never truly was a relationship, because she was just using him. Xander’s relationship with Anya continued to grow as they planned their wedding.  But he broke up with her at the alter…which led to Anya becomming a vengence demon once more. Also in the love category is Willow and Tara, continued from the previous couple of seasons.  Their relationship ended when Willow got addicted to magic, but thanks to no magic for a month, the two got back together, just in time for  Tara to get SHOT IN THE HEART! So eventually, this is where Willow turned to the darkside.

Which brings us to the finale.  Willow went bad, and went to avenge Tara’s death, and did she ever!  She was engulfed in the darkest of dark magic, and nothing could stop her.  She found her lover’s killer, and in a split second, wripped all the skin from his body, it was gross! Most TV’s in the world censored that very moment.  Giles came back in the last episode to stop Willow, but he as well was ineffective.  The one person who saved the day was not Buffy, but Xander.  Her one best friend, and with the love he had for her, didn’t stop.  She continued to hurt him, but he just came back, saying he loved her, which eventually led to Willow returning to the way she was in a loving embrace from Xander.  That was one of my all-time favorite scenes of Buffy to date.

And of course, with every season of Buffy, there has to be a cliffhanger.  Spike went on a quest to get his soul back, and after a bunch of hard tests, he got it! Cue the end credits! Wow, I really have to say that it was fantastic.  One of my favorite seasons, if NOT my favorite. My head is still spinning.

ANGEL

This season of Angel was intense as well.  Although it was more depressing than actually intense.  So many things happened, that could turn out good, but they always, always ended badly.  This season was centered around the fact that Angel was to become a father.  Half the season was about protecting Darla, because his son not only had a soul, it was alive, heart-beating and all.  Then the last half of the season, Darla staked herself, leaving the baby alive.  Angel named him Connor, but then he was taken away. 

A few days later, a teenage Connor came back.  At first you think everything is okay again..but noooo.  He locked Angel up in a sealed box, and drowned it, leaving him living forever on the bottom of the ocean.  Cordelia was about to confess her feelings to Angel, when she was stopped and was taken to some other dimension.  Wesley is hated by Angel, and lives a depressing life, drinking alchohol all day, and Wolferman and Hart continue to try to hire him.  The only people left on the show are Gunn and Fred.  That’s it.  That’s where it leaves us. 

Holy cow! With the two shows combined…..dang.  My inside source tells me that Angel just gets more depressing and nothing good ever happens again.  I sure hope that isn’t so.  But I can’t wait to keep watchin my new favorite shows.  Peace!

TV REWIND: Buffy – Season 5 & Angel – Season 2

 

The weeks keep on rolling, and I just finished the fifth season of Buffy, alongside the second season of Angel.  Might I just say that these seasons just continue to get more crazy as they go along.  For Buffy, I’ll have to say that while this season wasn’t my favorite, it sure had some truly remarkable episodes that were amazingly thought out.  Buffy’s fifth was also the saddest season so far.  I’ve heard season six is even sadder, so we’ll have to see.  For Angel, I enjoyed the second season more than the first.  Even though it’s sad to see Doyle gone, its nice to know that Cordy has his powers, and of course…I love the karaoke bar in the second season. I’ll get to that in a little bit.

BUFFY

So many new things were added this season of Buffy, as always.  First the characters, we had Glory, who was the “big bad” of the season looking for “The Key.”  Then we had Ben, who was actually Glory…its complicated.  Then of course, we had Dawn.  For the longest time I thought Buffy actually jumped the shark with her character.  It seemed pointless and confusing.  They explaned her character later, but I still felt it wasn’t REALLY necessary.  I eventually warmed up to her character, and I accept her now.  

Then we have deaths.  Holy cow! One of the most sad and horrific episodes was also one of the best episodes in the series so far. For me, it may be my favorite.  2×16 – The episode where Joyce was killed off.  Earlier in the season, Joyce was shown to have a brain tumor, and that later, it was proved that she would be just fine.  But they made a miscalculation, and Joyce ended up getting a brain aneurism.  That episode was incredible when it came to acting, videography, and oh my gosh, the lack of music in the episode was magnificent.  It worked flawlessly.  

When it comes to Dawn’s character, they described her as “The Key” that monks made, and sent to Buffy’s life in human form.  Basically, in the finale, Glory was to bleed Dawn, and a portal to every dimension would open, once again ending the world.  So if she started to bleed, she would need to be killed in order to stop it.  Buffy realized that the monks made Dawn out of herself, so her blood is just like Dawn’s.  So at the end, when Dawn was cut, Buffy realized the only way to save the world is to kill herself…which is what she did! Holy crap!  I mean, they have two more seasons of Buffy, what will they do next!?

ANGEL

This season of Angel didn’t really have much of an overall arc, other than Lorne’s backstory.  I love Lorne’s character.  A demon that can read people’s future when they sing karaoke…priceless.  Anyways, this season, like any other season of Angel, had several small stories.  This season was about Darla’s return as a human, then turned back into a vampire by Drucilla.  Which in turn made Angel semi-evil, allowing vampires to feed on people.  Then he abandoned his team going against Wolfrman and Hart.

When he was back to normal, he had to gain the trust of his team back, which was no easy task.  The finale was like a four-part mini series, I swear.  Well, the first episode of the finale, was introducing us to Lorne’s cousin when he was transported through a portal.  When they sent him back, they ended up accidentaly sending Cordy back as well.  In the other dimension, humans are slaves called cows in a very “Planet of the Apes” like world.  More like…”Planet of the Demons.”  

Their world was like our world back when we were in England and there was no electric….that’s kind of a bad example.  Anyways, its a bad place, and sure enough the gang was able to get to the other dimension.  Just in time to see that Cordy was being treated as a princess, because she has the gift of future sight.  It wasn’t long before even she noticed the place meant bad business.  The finale almost made us think Lorne was beheaded….he was, but he doesn’t die until his body is mutilated.  ANYWAYS…good season, but like always, I have to go with Buffy.  Buffy totally won me over this season.  Peace out!

TV REWIND: Buffy Season 4 & Angel Season 1

 

It has been a week since I finished the third season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and you know what I have been up to?  I have continuously been watching the fourth season of Buffy alonside the first season of Angel, because they cooincide with each other.  Overall, they are their own story, but once in a while, there were cross-over episodes, where say Buffy went to Angel, or Angel went to Buffy, or even small things such as a telephone call were repeated in both episodes.

BUFFY

For Buffy, this season was all about her adapting to college life and everything.  We met a few new characters this season, like Riley, and Tara.  Riley was part of this underground military confound that specialized in taking out evil things such as vampires, demons, and the forces of darkness (Buffy’s job). Unknowingly, they were really collecting demons for their own evil needs. You see, they were busy creating ADAM, a human/demon/robot type thing that is virtually undestructable.  Until Buffy was possesed by something or other at the end.

Also Spike was a main character this season.  I love Spike’s character.  This season, he was captured by the Initiative (see above paragraph) and planted a chip in  his head that doesn’t allow him to hurt or bit anyone.  Other than demons that is.  I love that concept. This ran on for the rest of the season.

Of course relationships were flaring, as they always do for this series.  Xander dated Anya through the whole season, which had it’s ups and downs, and I really like her character.  Buffy dated Riley the second half of the season, and I guess she still is.  Willow dated Oz the first half of the season until he cheated on her with another werewolf, and left the show.  The second half of the show, Willow met Tara and came out of the closet towards the end of the season.  Oh yeah, and Giles was dating someone as well, only seen in about three episodes though.

This brings us to the finale.  This was a strange episode, almost felt filler.  The episode before the finale felt more like a finale.  Anyways the last episode of the season, the scoobie gang fell asleep and the ghost of the first slayer tried to kill them.  I will say, however, that whoever wrote this episode did a darn good job, I loved that episode, even though it was very confusing.

ANGEL

Originally, before I even began watching the first season of Buffy, I was getting into Angel, until a friend told me I had to watch Buffy first, in order to truly understand Angel. So I did.  Watched the first three seasons of Buffy leading up to Angel, and you know what? I like Buffy so much more than Angel right now.

Angel is what you can call the guy’s version of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. He’s doing the exact same thing, just in Los Angeles.  The form is different, it is more like a detective show than Buffy.  But the cases are the same.

The first season of Angel introduced us to some nice characters.  Not as great as Buffy’s characters, but they had their own flair.  Doyle, who was a half-demon who had the ability to see people in danger was Angel’s sidekick, and Cordelia from previous seasons of Buffy came into the show as Angel’s secretary.  Then in an act of bravery, Doyle sacrificed himself to save his friends, and Wesely from third season of Buffy came into the show, replacing Doyle.  Actually, Cordelia replaced Doyle, by inheriting his powers.

In the finale, we learn that if Angel gets through a ton of obstacles, and if he does his job right, he will become human again.  I’m guessing this is foreshadowing to the second season.  Just a guess, he won’t become human. Well, off to see the fifth season of Buffy, and second of Angel, peace out!

TV REWIND: Buffy the Vampire Slayer – Season 3

 

It took me a little bit over 3 days to finish the third season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  After reeling me in with a rivoting second season finale.  The last time we left Buffy off, she was leaving her friends and family behind by leaving town.  Angel was supposedly killed, after getting his soul back.  In my opinion, the end of the second season marked the end of the “happy-go-lucky” part of the series.  Starting with the third season premiere, things got a heck of a lot darker and more serious.  Granted, I am sure it will be getting a whole lot darker as the series progresses, but for now, they are doing the right thing.

One of the major things I saw right away was the cinematography.  It was done a lot different, giving the overall feel to the show, more creepy, not to mention more professional.  This season introduced us to some new characters.  Faith, who was another vampire slayer, and the mayor of Sunnydale, who was secretly a demon plotting to kill everyone in the season finale. Mid-season, Giles was fired from being Buffy’s watcher, and in came Wesley, her new, younger more imature watcher.  Giles didn’t go anywhere, though, don’t worry.

Of course with every good drama show out there, there has to be relationships.  Relationships are very common in this show.  As far as I can tell, there has been a romantic interest, if not more, for everyone in the show.  Especially for Xander, who has liked Buffy, Cordelia, Willow, Faith, and now this ex-demon girl…it’s complicated. Anyways, last season, Xander started to date Cordelia, which I had no problem with, but sparks flew between him and Willow third season.  I have always liked their relationship more, because it is more personal than his and Cordelia.  Naturally, they got caught in the act, and that’s where I had a bittersweet feeling.  I love the idea of Willow and Xander together, but Cordelia and Oz didn’t do anything wrong, so they shouldn’t have to deal with that. Later on, Oz and Willow got back together.

Things got more intense when Faith went bad.  She and Buffy were out patrolling when she accidentally killed a man.  She kind of lost it, and went all Anikan Skywalker, and turned to the dark side, joining the Mayor in his efforts to destroy the world.  Buffy ended up putting Faith in a coma, which upset the Mayor pretty much, leading us to the finale.  

In the finale, a ton of things happened.  Buffy quit the counsel, not taking orders anymore.  She’s a free slayer now.  There was a huge war at the end of season 3 that all the students participated in.  It was like a scene from “Lord of the Rings.”  Then at the very end, Angel left Sunnydale, never to be seen again.  Actually, I think he just got a call from a wealthy producer to come star in his own TV show called “Angel.”  In the end there was no cliffhanger, I was surprised, but it was still good.  

Now I have to start watching Angel as well as the fourth season of Buffy, cause they apparently cooincide with each other.  So I’ll talk to you guys later. Peace out!

TV REWIND: Buffy the Vampire Slayer – Season 2

 

Okay, just finished the second season of Buffy, and might I say…wow. This season really took me by surprise. Well mainly the entire season was average until the final half of the show, where it really got intense.  Most of the season was based around the descent of Angel, showing us his dark side.  Being so used to seeing him at his best, kind and gentle, it got painful seeing him act so cruel as a vampire.  The rest of the season the gang attempted to get Angel’s soul back, but failed…several times.

Also, this season liked to shock us with some terrible deaths and even some shocking twists to characters.  Really? Oz is a werewolf?  That episode had probably the worst costume I have ever seen used on either television or film.  I wouldn’t have been surprised if he ran around in a giant easter bunny costume.  The killing off of Jenny Calendar’s character was really disturbing and sad, but if it were me, I wouldn’t have written it any other way.  She sacrificed herself in order to save Angel’s life.

Then the finale, what an episode.  I was aware that Angel was going to be restored, because well…he has his own spin-off show that is done after season three of Buffy.  What I didn’t know was how everything in the finale would play out.  Spike and Buffy working together, that was great.  Spike having a awkward chat with Buffy’s mom, so great.  Then the final moments of the show, Angel got his soul back.  The moment we’ve all been waiting for. What a great moment, Buffy even had a smooch with him and everything.  Then, the show has you at the edge of your seat.  Theres a giant monster about to destroy the world, and somehow, Buffy had to get Angel to stop it.  So what does she do?  She takes a giant sword, and stabs him through the heart.  My mouth dropped straight to the ground.  All that work to have him come back gone to waste. And how will they get him back? They have to somehow, because like I said, he had his own spin-off show.

If that wasn’t enough to keep you wide-eyed, Buffy was seen at the very end, leaving Sunnydale.  Not even saying goodbye to her closest friends.  Then just like that, the season was done.  Wow, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but this single episode reeled me into Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  I can’t wait to see the third season.  I’ll catch you guys when I finish it.  Peace out!