Axiom’s Edge Science Fiction and Fantasy

Short reviews/comments on select episodes from this past week’s Science Fiction and Fantasy television offerings.

By John J. Joex

(THESE REVIEWS CONTAINS SPOILERS)

Chuck (“Chuck Versus the Ring”) – After Chuck has the Intersect removed from his brain, he decides it’s time to try and live a normal life which involves quitting the Buy More and finally trying to make something happen with Sarah. But lo and behold, the nefarious Ted Roark pops back up to lay claim to the new Intersect and, you saw it coming, by the end of the episode this new and upgraded computer is in Chuck’s head. This is one of those episodes where they try and tease you into believing that things are going to change for all the principal characters, but by the end we’re back to status quo with maybe a few modifications. At first it seems like a bit of a cheat, but then I will give Chuck a break. The show has always been just a fun romp that throws a lot of television clichés at us, but plays around with them at the same time. This all-star guest star episode (including Chevy Chase, Morgan Fairchild, Scott Bakula, and Bruce Boxleitner) provided a grand season (and hopefully not series) finale for Chuck, along with one the most hilarious sequences I’ve seen on Prime Time as Buy More nerds Jeff and Lester perform Mr. Roboto to an appalled crowd of wedding guests while a deadly shootout takes place in the reception area (and curse them because we are all going to have that song in our heads for the rest of the week). Of course the final sequence was pretty funny as well as they channeled the first Matrix movie and ended on Chuck’s line: “I know Kung Fu!”. Don’t try to think too much about the details of this episode (but let’s hope Chuck really will leave the Buy More), just sit back and enjoy.  That’s what the show is all about.

Heroes (“An Invisible Thread”) – The final confrontation ensues as Sylar first gets Danko out of the way, then faces off with Nathan and Peter. Sylar kills Nathan (they promised somebody would die), but Peter manages to get Sylar’s powers. Sylar gets away and continues with his plan to become the President with his shape-shifting ability. Peter pulls a fast one with the same, newly-acquired ability, though, and tranquilizes Sylar. Angela then has Parkman mind-meld with Sylar to convince him to shape-shift and believe that he is Nathan Petrelli. Now, this new group will form a new, kinder, gentler Company to deal with other people with abilities. Hmm. Sounds like kind of a mess of an episode doesn’t it? And while watching it, I felt that way at times as well, especially the whole thing about Sylar becoming Nathan. But still, it managed to work for me. I can’t quite explain why, but it did. I decided to let the episode sit with me for a day before pontificating on it to see if it left a bad taste in my mouth like the Battlestar Galactica finale did, but as of today I’m still okay with how they wrapped up Volume 4. Sure, they left plenty of loose ends (now that the real Nathan is dead, I guess we will never get a resolution to the Harvey-Linderman asides). But even the idea of having Sylar become Nathan started to intrigue me the more I thought about it (and why do they make a habit of killing off Nathan after the end of each volume?). I believe they have laid some good groundwork for the next volume (titled “Redemption”), and even though Volume 4 was uneven at time, it managed to at least bring the series back from the edge of the abyss. Some fans may have cringed at the final minutes, though, teasing the upcoming volume as Tracy returns, now as some sort of water being. But I already knew this was coming from an interview with Brian Fuller, so it didn’t turn my stomach too bad.

Supernatural (“Jump the Shark”)- Sam and Dean are contacted by a nineteen year old boy because his mom has gone missing. Then he reveals to the surprised pair that he is their half-brother by their father. Sam decides to bring Adam into the fold and teach him the ways of the hunter so that he can help find the creature responsible for his mother’s death. But it turns out that Adam is really just a ghoul in the form of the person who was their half-brother trying to lure them into a trap. Sorry, but this episode really disappointed me. I really kind of liked the idea of bringing some new blood into the show (pun unintended, but accepted), and thought that Adam presented an interesting addition. But then to just kill him off (or actually reveal that he had already been killed off) just came as a huge disappointment. And all this after a pretty big media push about Sam and Dean finding a brother they didn’t know about. Turned out to be nothing but a smoke and mirrors trick, and I really expect more than that from this show.

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April 15th – Krod Mandoon Gets the Laughs and Benjamin Linus Gets his Comeuppance

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