Monday Night Television

[fenchurch]

I'm so behind on commenting on television shows... I should probably just try to work something up on my laptop (it's a tad easier for me to type on that for longer periods of time).

Anyway, a few quick thoughts about tonight's episodes...

Chuck

"Big Trouble in Little China" reference FTW!!! I just about choked when it was revealed James Hong's character was named Lo Pan! Hee!!! And he was essentially playing the same character, except without all the supernatural powers.

I'm loving this show more every week... and the writers really seem to have finally hit their stride with the character dynamics. But where was Captain Awesome?!?

Heroes

Between this week and last week, it's finally starting to get interesting again. I was starting to get worried that they weren't going to be able to pull off a second year of intriguing plotting. I think it helped that we didn't get the twins/Sylar and we didn't have Claire/creepy stalker guy... plus Peter started actually doing stuff again. Yay!

And how wonderful were Matt and Nathan?!?! We need much more of that. As for Matt's dad? Cree-pee. But good job from the writers and director in making it look like he just might not be the villain we thought he was... and that fight scene was so well choreographed and edited.

Mohinder continues to be pretty. And stupid. But I guess he's at least consistent.

Monica and Micah are fun to watch... so enthusiastic! And how convenient that she sent Micah to bed right before Mohinder showed up (since I'm pretty sure they've met before, haven't they?). I'm also wondering what sort of abilities Uhura Monica's grandmother has, because you she's got to have some... and speaking of which, when are we going to see more than 30 seconds of her in an episodes? And does Monica's brother have some sort of ability? It seems likely.

The other big question is how far in advance did Isaac write the issues of 9th Wonders... or was that an old copy? I couldn't tell. It does seem to indicate that she's likely to try out the superhero gig.

Lastly, Kristen Bell was awful. I mean, really awful. The other word that comes to mind is cringeworthy. You know, once upon a time she could act. What happened? Here's hoping we don't have to see much of her in the future, although I suspect we won't be that lucky.

Comments

[queenofattolia.livejournal.com]

Totally agree about Matt and Nathan, and the utterly adorable Micah and Monica (they were so Disney Channel I wanted to scream), but oddly, I have to disagree about Bell. Although she still is a bit Veronica-ish, I definitely saw flashes of that horrible girl on Deadwood, which is why I became a fan of hers in the first place. Plus her character incinerated that Annoying Fake-Irish Thug Guy (the one with the worst Irish accent since Boreanaz's Liam), which was heartening. Now if only she'd kill the Annoying Fake-Irish Sister of Thug Guy, things would be perfect.

Anyway, I have this feeling that Bell's character is Pannetiere's character's shadow sister. Oooooh.

You're right about it all finally becoming interesting -- I mean, except for the prospect of watching the Boring Latino Siblings and Sylar (who should start foaming at the mouth any minute now).

[petzipellepingo.livejournal.com]

Plus her character incinerated that Annoying Fake-Irish Thug Guy (the one with the worst Irish accent since Boreanaz's Liam), which was heartening. Now if only she'd kill the Annoying Fake-Irish Sister of Thug Guy, things would be perfect.
"snorfle" From your keyboard to God's ear.

[redeem147.livejournal.com]

My daughter wouldn't watch Veronica Mars because she couldn't stand Kristen Bell. So not everyone thought she could act.

At least she wasn't trying to do an Irish accent.

Ah, Mohinder. So pretty, so stupid.

I think the fight scene was the very best part. And the evil look on Parkman's dad's face was the next best. Maybe he's Sylar's real dad.

[hollywdliz.livejournal.com]

*Hated Kristen Bell, and I came in with no preconceived ideas about her; all I knew was that she was tiny and a lot of CJers loved her on "Veronica Mars." I'm thinking Bob is her dad, which could be interesting, but the way her power was revealed was obvious and trite and worthy of a "Lois & Clark" supervillain of the week, and I just didn't buy the character.

*Am I the only (terrible) person who suddenly sees slash pairings everywhere on this show? Mohinder and Parkman raise a kid together! Parkman and Nate Petrelli are like Mulder and Scully! HRG and the Haitian! OK, that last one is a bit of a stretch. Yeah, going to hell in any case.

I honestly haven't found myself getting bored or distracted at all this season (except perhaps when Kristen Bell was onscreen). To me it feels like they picked right up where they left off. "Heroes" continues to be one of my absolute favorite hours of television. I can watch "The Office" while browsing through a magazine, but "Heroes" -- I can't look away lest I miss something subtle that will turn out to be vitally important. Everything they do takes me by surprise, and every episode leaves me going "AAAAHHHH!!!" I can't describe how hard I love this show!

[hollywdliz.livejournal.com]

P.S. Mohinder is pretty enough to make up for a hell of a lot of stupid.

[psubrat.livejournal.com]

Chuck is definitely made of awesome!! I laughed so hard when they made the "Big Trouble In Little China" references. This is by far my favorite new show of the season. Oh! One other thing, I swear Chuck's apartment is shot in the same building they used to for Alias or at least the kitchen is from Alias. The first time they showed the kitchen, I was like, OMG! That's where Will and Sydney kissed! :)

As for Heroes, I still think they're trying to do way too many storylines at once. But I am glad that the Latino twins and Syler weren't on this week. I miss Hiro and I thought it was cute how Ando was hooked on reading those little missives that Hiro left for him in the sword. I'm really looking forward to finding out how that storyline turns out, not just because of Hiro, but because I just absolutely adore David Anders. When DA's character showed up, I giggled because they had him doing another English accent. I guess he does one so well that he gets parts like that. I really enjoyed Nathan and Matt doing their thing together -- loved the fight scenes and how well they were put together. There's something about a show when it really starts to come together. And poor Mohinder. I really hope the Company doesn't let him down with Molly. Oh, and Kristen Bell? I was disappointed in her character and her acting. I even said to SoccerRef that she needed to leave Veronica behind because that's who she was playing, not the new character the writers gave her. Maybe once she settles in, she'll be much better.

[ayinhara.livejournal.com]

I tried hard to like Veronica Mars but never succeeded, so I am far from being a Kristen Bell fan. I haven't seen last night's Heroes yet, but I taped it.

[pmgoose.livejournal.com]

I don't watch Heroes, but I absolutely LOVE Chuck! Definitely my favorite show this season! It makes me happy. :)

And I'm wondering the same thing - where's Captain Awesome?

I liked Kristen Bell in Veronica Mars, but I've never seen her in anything else.

[madripoor-rose.livejournal.com]

Hi, passing lurker:

head-desk. I love Big Trouble In Little China, and I love Chuck...and I recognized the actor but didn't catch that the character's name is Lo Pan. That's brilliant! Half the fun of Chuck is the geeky in-jokes and references they've been making.

[wildrider.livejournal.com]

I absolutely ADORE Chuck! By far my favorite new show this season.

There was a mention that Captain Awesome was working -- maybe the actor's only a part-timer, so doesn't have to appear every week or something. But on the whole, best show ever. So far. I just love Casey. Hee!

Heroes is moving fast and furious this season; I like the pacing very much (it's much faster than last season) -- and for me, so far, no one's annoying the heck out of me (although the Latino siblings come mighty close). There definitely needs to be a LOT more Hiro.

[typographer.livejournal.com]

Yes, which is what I keep saying about Peter, too. And why I think they should be together... but then I often ship weird...

[rahirah]

I think the reason I like Chuck better than Reaper so far (besides the Zork reference in the first episode, which won me over at once) is that the Chuck writers seem to have some character development arcs planned. Pretty basic ones, but still, I get the impression that the show is going somewhere. With Reaper, that's not so clear. The ep where the girlfriend decided not to go to college, for example, had some really creepy subtext for me, about the main character not only living a dead-end life, but sucking those around him into dead-end lives as well. If it was deliberate, that was masterfully done, but I wasn't sure if it was, or if we were supposed to be happy that the quasi-girlfriend decided to stay at the hardware store.

[rahirah]

My hope is that Sylar eats the twins' brains and then dies of mad cow.