'06-'07 TV Wrapup

Well, HEROES and 24 finales kind of underperformed for me. They were both decent but seemed a bit anticlimactic. With 24, that's all right, as you really didn't want a THIRD disaster breaking out in the last five minutes. But HEROES, man, after all that buildup, it just seemed a bit lackluster (SPOILERS). I'm sure that the Petrellis will both be back next season, but especially with Sylar sneaking away at the end, it was a pretty Meh ending to Volume One after all that excellent buildup. Loved that they went into the first minutes of Volume Two, though, that was a great touch and got me right back in the game.

LOST was another matter. And is addressed in-depth here: survivorsofoceanic815.blogspot.com

Now we're just left with the last couple episodes of the first season of THE RICHES, which was treading water for a minute there but seems to be back on track, and the last two ever of THE SOPRANOS, which should be absolutely crushing.
___________________

Finally finished that FOUNTAINHEAD. Really great work of literature. As totally engaging as it is overly verbose. Which should be an oxymoron, but it all comes together somehow. Should be required reading in schools of architecture.

Also lately hit Chabon's newest THE YIDDISH POLICEMAN'S UNION (a gorgeous slice of alternate-history noir), THE NAMESAKE (excellent meditation on Indian immigration/integration into American life), and McCarthy's THE ROAD, which just won itself a Pulitzer. The last is a stark, compulsive read. Beautiful words at play there, as dark as the story is.

Reading Erdrich's LOVE MEDICINE now and just loving it, such a great collection of stories and people bouncing off each other down the years.

4/23/07

So, TV was a lot of fun last night. We got the first new HEROES in seven weeks and started the last quarter of Jack Bauer's sixth (and final?) day. I've got to say, I'm worried about ol Jack. He started out the day as a Chinese prisoner, has had missiles and bullets fired at him more than once, disarmed two nuclear weapons (both at 5 minutes till the hour, natch), and is running pretty ragged. More importantly, he's going against the White House with a potential replacement for protagonist waiting in the wings (Ricky Schroeder, of Silver Spoons fame). They do a good job about making you think that they would actually kill off the leading man. We'll see.

And HEROES, quite enjoyable, though a couple of things fell flat for me. The way they dragged out Peter being dead was just silly, we all knew he was going to be fine. The way they burned like two minutes of the new episode showing the cliffhangers that we've been stewing over for four weeks (Mohindir's apartment, Hiro & Ando in the future). And Isaac's death was somewhat unmoving, I thought. But, loved Linderman all over the place, particularly talking about the good old days, and that Tim Sale painting of Nate in the Oval Office was huge. And of course, great cliffhanger. As usual.

Didn't even get around to THE RICHES, but also watched the excellent Jarmusch flick starring Bill Murray, BROKEN FLOWERS. Murray reprises his mid-life crisis character from the Anderson flicks and LOST IN TRANSLATION, but the plot moves him along enough so that we don't get bored. I enjoyed how it reflected usually inconsequential minutiae of life, and didn't wrap up in a tidy bow at the end.

Read 100 pages of THE FOUNTAINHEAD. Catherine's been after me to read that for years, and I feel like a chump for putting it off this long. I'm loving it, great characters, a sweeping narrative, and a truly engaging meditation on what puts the art in architecture.