Monday fun

As usual, Monday was Heroes night. And though I was exhausted, you just can't miss Heroes. You just can't! Unless you have a really good excuse, and I didn't.

So I exercised to Chuck (fun!), and while the exercise was mostly rewarding, Chuck was just good. Actually, that's not true. The episode as a whole was lotsa fun, and it was interesting to see the characters develop in their interactions with each other. The whole Casey vs. Sarah thing worked well, but it'll get old really quickly, so I hope they find a new gimmick for next week.

The thing that really brought the episode down was (SPOILERS!!!!!!!!!!!!) Chuck landing the helicopter. I mean, seriously? Just because you played a flight simulator game? Pfft. I've spoken to plenty of pilots who've said that it's nothing like a game. PLUS, a helicopter is one of the toughest vehicles to master. Furthermore, the rotors don't randomly just turn off. Once you hit the ground, there's a bunch of stuff you have to do. And helicopters land vertically, not horizontally. Aaaand, when he was battling with the doc in the helicopter at the beginning of this absurd plot twist, the helicopter appeared to be going in circles. Too bad the pilot was dead and wasn't putting any pressure on the joystick (or whatever it's called).

Anyway. The ending was disappointing and waaaay too obvious. It would have been cooler for him to flash of a memory of how to land a helicopter.

Next, Heroes! It was really good. I can't believe she cut off her toe. Seriously!! I love how it grew back though, that was wicked! Hiro was stellar, as usual, and I was really impressed by Mohinder's French! It was actually really good!

The Haitian... well, I didn't realize he was the same guy as the kid from the comics. THAT was a revelation. Or at least, I THINK that's what they revealed. It was sort of ambiguous; maybe they want to keep us wondering.
I love that Bennet and Mohinder are working together, and that the Haitian is back and better than ever. And he's speaking ;)

That's enough Heroes gushing... on to Journeyman, which I thought really improved this week! It built on the setup from last episode, and inserted some comic relief moments... The plane being turned back? awesome. The no fly list? Absolutely fantastic. lol.
A lot of good character development, but I think we need to see more about his work as a journalist, and a bit more of his kid. I had totally forgotten they even HAD one. Inserting a line like, "I guess we can call the babysitter off" would help.

Journeyman's still not on my "Must Watch" list, but it will always be on. It's just a matter of whether I mind skipping a few minutes to go to the washroom.

Fall Premieres: Monday

I have another post to write between the last one and this one, but... this just can't wait. Today was the Monday Fall Premiere night. On the agenda: Chuck (NBC), Heroes (NBC/Global) and Journeyman (NBC/Global).

Today it a totally NBC night.

Chuck was highly recommended by critics, and for good reason. The show got off to a semi-slow start... the first episode as a whole was not as amazingly spy-ish as a random ALIAS episode, but that's to be expected. Still, it was a great first episode, a perfect set up for an awesome season of geekiness and spyness. Captain Awesome? amazing. Nerd squad or whatever it's called... also awesome. Buy More is the name of the "Best Buy" like store. Wasn't that used in some other movie?

Chuck is definitely on my must-watch list. And the girl is hot. The concept is sort of similar to 5th element, in that images are encoded with information. There, Mila's character, the 5th element, absorbs all of the world's information through a series of images. But the overall flow and premise of the show is different. Also, it makes me laugh. And it has that, "so true" or "I could see that happening in my life" feel to it, because the guy is an everyman.

Then, Heroes. Obviously not as amazingly jaw dropping as last year's premiere, and if you've read the comics over the summer, there's definitely extra information that made it easier to understand some stuff... But it was just as wicked as ever. The Kenshin twist is... better than great, but I don't want to abuse "awesome" and "amazing". It's also really funny :P
We meet Maya and Alejandro, learn what happens to Matt and Mohinder... and the Bennett plot is interesting... Claire still keeps her first name, but must resign to going un-noticed. Too bad her classmate and love-interest-to-be has totally noticed her. The pictures bring an interesting aspect to the whole company thing. And the twist at the end is of course, "OMG"!!!

Now, I'm watching Journeyman. It didn't get great preview reviews... It's presented in a very confusing way, with tight shots when they're not needed and wide shots that are just too wide. Cool side note... we know it's set in San Francisco... but they use the Charmed house.
The storyline has a lot of inside talk... the brothers don't get along, and it seems there's a problem with wives or girlfriends... The lead actor played in Rome, on HBO, and for a journalist... he's just too military. Rolls away from oncoming trams, rescues someone from committing suicide... It looks like he does it for a living.
I do like the premise, but the casting seems weak and the editing of the show, in terms of style... I just don't think it works. We need a little more information at the onset than they've given us.
Judging from the first 30 minutes, I might or might not continue to watch it.

Verdict: Chuck = Yes, Heroes = YES, Journeyman = eh.