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Author: R.A. Porter

  • Beth Riesgraf fixes the writing on Leverage

    I am really excited for the second season of Leverage. Sharker is going to ROCK!

  • Battlestar Galactica: “Daybreak”

    bsg_finale

    Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence.

    God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways.

    So God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth.”
    Genesis 6:11-13

    Frak. Frak, frak, frak!

    Now, that was something.

    But before we get into the discussion, let’s get this out of the way first: I’m not surprised by the polarizing nature of this finale, but I am a bit shocked by the number of people with tin ears and tunnel vision who object to the presence of God and angels. I’m not sure what show those people have been watching for four seasons, but it wasn’t Battlestar Galactica.

    Let me clarify that:

    Nerds? Shut the fuck up.

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  • Friday Night Lights: “The Giving Tree”

    Money comes and goes, yeah? These kids of ours, that’s a one-time deal.

    “The Giving Tree” is one of Shel Silverstein’s finest works, and while Landry’s right that his relationship with Tyra superficially resembles it, the story is about parents and children. The give us life, nurture and support us. They feed us, clothe us, give us shelter and succor. They keep us warm and dry and safe. They teach us to play and teach us to become men and women. In the end, we survive our parents. We are their lives’ work and when they finish, when we finally say our goodbyes, it is with love and debt for all they’ve done.

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  • Party Down preview

    partydown
    Rob Thomas makes his return to television, not with the much (un)anticipated rehash of Cupid, but with an original half-hour comedy on Starz.

    Party Down premieres this Friday at 10:30 EDT on Starz. There will of course be multiple showings, which reduces the conflict pressure for those watching the BSG finale. It’s also nice to see Starz planned ahead and scheduled a free weekend for customers of DirecTV, so fans of wry, uncomfortable humor will have an opportunity to check the show out for free.

    My thoughts below the fold.

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  • Kings premieres. Does anyone care?

    kingss01e01
    I don’t have a lot to say about the premiere of Kings right yet; it was ambitious and interesting and I’ve saved a season pass for it, but I don’t really know what to think. It could easily degrade into a soapy mess, more 90210 than The West Wing, but Michael Green’s pilot managed to hold the line. It certainly doesn’t hurt that he’s got Ian McShane and Eamonn Walker around to recite some of his Jacobean dialog. And it doesn’t hurt that he’s willing to write such stylized dialog.

    Unfortunately the ratings were…poor. Which is a shame, because unlike other high-profile, heavily hyped shows that have premiered lately (*cough* Dollhouse *cough*) this one deserves a chance to fly on its butterfly wings. Sad that someone who played Vamp #3 in some episode of BtVS or another didn’t make an appearance. Maybe the Whedonverse faithful would have tuned it to this with some of the passion they’ve been wasting on that Friday night abortion.

    If you didn’t watch the pilot, go online and give it a chance. It’s available on the NBC website and Hulu. If you did watch, pipe in below with your opinion/thoughts on the episode. Did you like it? Will you be giving it a chance? Should we be reviewing it?

  • Friday Night Lights: “Game of the Week”

    When Friday Night Lights is at its best, football is the hub around which each story revolves. Some are obviously and tightly coupled, such as the QB controversy or Matt standing tall under the weight of hit after hit to go back for one more play, one more yard. Some seem detached, like Mindy and Billy acting out the behaviors they’ll repeat for the next 30 years. But in the good episodes, every story – every *person* – is impacted by Panther Football. Tonight was one of those episodes.

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  • Call for Writers

    We are always looking for new contributors here at DreamLoom, right now more than ever. See, I’m about done with TV I’d write about for the next couple of months unless one of the new shows coming up really grabs me hard. Leverage and Burn Notice are off until the summer, Friday Night Lights is winding down its season, and even if I wrote about BSG…well…there are only three hours left!!!

    I don’t think I’ve got any shows in my queue until July.

    I’m planning on doing some different things in the interim – reviewing DVD collections, longer critical pieces on some older shows, maybe doing a deep critical breakdown of Burn Notice as I write a new spec episode – but that’s not going to fill the week. Kari’s going to be done with BSG soon and that’ll just leave us with her excellent Flight of the Conchords reviews unless she feels some love for anything else on the air. And Tawnya is still mourning Dirty Sexy Money, I think.

    So, if you’ve got something to say about something we don’t…why don’t you contact us with a writing sample and some ideas on what you’d like to write for us at submissions(nospam)@dreamloom.com.

  • Friday Night Lights: “New York, New York”

    You’ll be swell! You’ll be great!
    Gonna have the whole world on the plate!
    Starting here, starting now,
    Honey, everything’s coming up roses! – Mama Rose

    So ends Six’s story, with the tearful reunion of an accidental family and the broken heart of a lifelong friend. Nothing ever could stop Jason Street, not even a broken neck. So while yes, the kid with the GED getting even an entry level job at a New York boutique agency is a bit crazy, I can *almost* believe it. Scott Porter is that good. He’s so good, I could watch Jason lie outright to Wendell about being on his way back to Dillon and stopping in just to help the poor kid make the right decision and *still* believe every word he said.

    That’s a testament to Street as a character and Porter as an actor.

    Jason rolls off into the sunset on $40K a year and the knowledge that he’ll be running that agency someday. At least he should know that.

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  • Burn Notice: “Lesser Evil”

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    I’m not sure what to say about tonight’s season finale. It did everything Burn Notice does well, only bigger. Much, much, BIGGER. Two big car chases, bombs and fireballs, and the biggest blowup to Michael’s situation we’ve seen since the season one finale made this the most packed hour I can recall. Despite all the action, there was still time for humor and a lot of real emotion, making the long wait until June and new episodes that much more of a drag.

    Whereas last week was so much fun because Jay Karnes played such a compelling and capable villain, this week was exciting because Michael Shanks played such a compelling and capable client. It’s a real shame we’ve seen the last of Victor.

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  • Friday Night Lights: “Keeping Up Appearances”

    I was mocked tonight for tearing up near the end of this episode. I can’t help it, as I’ve got much love for Billy Riggins. Every time I see that dumb lug bust his ass to help out his ungrateful little brother, I get to thinking maybe there’s hope for humanity after all. I know he’s a fictional character, but he’s also very real. If someone like Billy – filled with contradictions, prone to screw up, abandoned and unloved by his parents – can find enough love to do what he does for Tim, maybe the rest of us have a chance. ((In the short-term, it means I won’t be working on my orbital death ray tonight. Long-term? Don’t cut me off in traffic and you might all survive.))

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