Month: September 2008

Heroes – One Of Us, One Of Them

Watch Heroes – One of Us, One of Them

A couple of things about this week’s Heroes.

First, extra mega-creepy points for Syler’s “feeding” at the beginning. From Syler and Peter’s Mom. Yikes.

Second, it was (thankfully) a lot less frantic then last week’s episodes.

Third, I don’t like the way they threw Syler into partnership with Noah without really showing Syler’s motive for going along with the whole thing. Noah’s motivation, (kill Syler when he can) is clear, but Syler just going along for the ride seemingly willingly? We KNOW he’s up to something.

Fourth, what, NOTHING about Mohinder this week? Ok, narration, I’ll give you that… but come on. The Tracy/Nikki/”It-Appears-She-Might-Have-Been-Constructed” story line could have waited.

LOST: Dharma Test 6


Just got this:

ATTENTION ALL RECRUITS
RE: SPECIALIZED DEPARTMENTAL EVALUATION

Namaste.

I am pleased to announce the release of the sixth assessment in the Dharma Initiative’s Volunteer Recruitment Program is now available at www.dharmawantsyou.com.

This latest assessment has been specifically designed around the results of your previous examinations.

It is a multiple-choice exam and aims to determine your suitability for a number of departments within the Dharma Initiative.

Additionally, a select group of talented recruits have contributed to this examination. The outstanding efforts of these individuals stand as an example to us all.

The following recruits have been officially promoted to ‘Instructor’ status;

Bboepple, DanyWho, Ellenh, Iseibert, Lost4evr, Mattabramson, Orangemoonbeam, Sawyer78, Wrinkledogs.

Instructors will receive an official Dharma Initiative Instructor t-shirt for their efforts.

IMPORTANT: SECURITY UPDATE

Please be aware that investigations are continuing into the latest security breach discovered around the Volunteer Recruitment Program. Measures are being implemented to preserve the integrity of the program and to ascertain the identity of ‘Black Swan’. Additionally, assessment data is being analyzed in order to determine which recruits may have exploited confidential information.

Recruits found to have benefited illegally from this material will be dealt with appropriately by the Dharma Initiative’s Recruit Evaluation Panel.

In the meantime, I urge all recruits to avoid contact with the material being distributed by ‘Black Swan’. The integrity of the entire Volunteer Recruitment program is at risk.

Namaste.

Hans Van Eeghen
Head of Recruiting
The Dharma Initiative

LOST: Is Jin Alive?

Well, well, well… Hot on the heals of Claire’s news, there’s still no definitive answer to Jin’s fate, but TVSquad thinks that Jin might be alive still, and there are definite hints in this interview over at EW.com.

Jin might just be a ghost running around the island, but I don’t think so. Given Jin’s been around the water a lot (son of a fisherman, remember?), and that the island doesn’t get rid of people until they’ve served its purpose, it’s likely that Jin will be floating in that water at the beginning of next season.

Just think: Sun is the new Penny, and Jin is the new Desmond. Powerful women, both trying to find the fate of their men.

NetFlix to Stream ABC and CBS Shows

LOS GATOS, Calif., Sept. 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Netflix, Inc.(Nasdaq: NFLX), the world’s leading online movie rental service, todayannounced separate agreements with the CBS Television Network and Disney-ABCTelevision Group that will allow current season episodes of a number oftoday’s most popular TV shows to be streamed at Netflix. The two deals addmeaningfully to a growing library of 12,000 choices that Netflix members canwatch instantly on their PCs and TVs as part of their existing subscriptionplans and without impacting the number of DVDs they receive.
The CBS deal brings to Netflix the global phenomenon “CSI.” Starting inOctober, when it returns for a ninth year, current season episodes of theoriginal “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” can be instantly streamed atNetflix. Beginning this week, current season episodes of the hit spin-offs”CSI: Miami” and “CSI: NY” join the roster. The CBS agreement includes twoadditional current hit shows, “NCIS,” which dramatizes the Naval CriminalInvestigative Service of the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps, and the FBIdrama “Numb3rs,” from producers Ridley and Tony Scott. “NCIS” returns for itssixth season this week and “Numb3rs” is back for a fifth season in October.

The agreement for Disney Channel content centers on three of the Channel’soriginal series — “Hannah Montana,” “Wizards of Waverly Place,” and DisneyChannel’s newest original series, “The Suite Life on Deck,” a spin-off of thehit, Emmy-nominated “The Suite Life of Zack & Cody,” starring fan favoritesDylan and Cole Sprouse, Brenda Song and Phill Lewis and introducing DebbieRyan. The series premieres Friday, September 26. “Wizards of Waverly Place”and “The Suite Life on Deck” can be streamed instantly at Netflix beginningthis week, 24 hours after each episode’s initial broadcast. Disney Channel’ssmash hit comedy series “Hannah Montana,” starring multi-talented Miley Cyrus,will be available online at Netflix beginning this November. Brokered byDisney-ABC Domestic Television, the deal represents the first Netflix digitallicense for Disney-ABC Television Group content since Netflix launched theinstant streaming component of its service 18 months ago and is a significantaddition to the company’s lineup of studio and network partners.

“We are thrilled to enter into these relationships with CBS and DisneyChannel and build upon their innovative distribution strategies,” said RobertKyncl, vice president of content acquisition for Netflix. “We have a sharedinterest in granting fans expanded access to and strengthening the networks’key shows.”

The agreements with CBS and Disney Channel also add catalog shows to thelibrary of choices that can be watched instantly at Netflix. Some 500episodes from Disney Channel’s kid-driven, family-inclusive programminglibrary, including previously aired episodes of “The Suite Life of Zack &Cody,” “Wizards of Waverly Place” and “Hannah Montana,” as well as episodes ofthe popular animated series “The Replacements,” “Lilo & Stitch: The Series,””The Emperor’s New School” and many others, will come online to Netflixbeginning in 2009.

Some 350 CBS episodes covered in the deal include prior seasons of thethree “CSI” series and “Numb3rs,” the first two seasons of the popular”Jericho” series and, among others, episodes from TV classics such as “StarTrek,” “MacGyver,” and “Family Ties.” The catalog episodes will come onlinethis fall.

As Netflix continues to expand the online content it offers its members,the company is also partnering with leaders in consumer electronics to bringto market a growing number of network devices that can instantly stream moviesand TV episodes from Netflix directly to subscribers’ TVs. The Netflix Playerby Roku was introduced in May to strong reviews and Netflix has previouslyannounced plans to instantly stream movies and TV episodes via Microsoft’sXbox 360 game console and LG Electronic’s LG BD300 Network Blu-ray Disc Playerstarting this fall.

About Netflix, Inc.

Netflix, Inc. (Nadsaq: NFLX) is the world’s largest online movie rentalservice, with more than eight million subscribers. For one low monthly price,Netflix members can get DVDs delivered to their homes and can instantly watchmovies and TV episodes streamed to their TVs and PCs, all in unlimitedamounts. Members can choose from over 100,000 DVD titles and a growing libraryof more than 12,000 choices that can be watched instantly. There are never anydue dates or late fees. DVDs are delivered free to members by first classmail, with a postage-paid return envelope, from over 50 U.S. shipping centers.More than 95 percent of Netflix members live in areas that generally receiveshipments in one business day. Netflix is also partnering with leadingconsumer electronics companies to offer a range of devices that can instantlystream movies and TV episodes to members’ TVs from Netflix. For moreinformation, visit http://www.netflix.com/.

SOURCE Netflix, Inc.

Heroes Season Premiere Summary


This is the third season of Heroes and it was pretty action packed. We got two episodes, back to back! It was…perhaps a bit TOO action packed. I’m not sure if they felt they needed to make up for last year, or what, but there were so many things going on it was nearly a jumbled mess. Nearly… but not totally.

Spoilers ahead…

We saw that Nathan’s shooter was Peter, and that Nathan didn’t die at the end of last season. (Turns out there was more of that going around… more on that later). He ended up in the hospital, where he died. But then, TA DA! He wasn’t dead… again. This time he stayed not dead.

The other dead person that came back was Linderman! Quite a surprise that one; something I didn’t see coming at all. Neither did anyone else, since Nathan’s the only one that can see him. We know this because 1) Nikki/Tracy didn’t go ballistic and kill Linderman on the spot and 2) Linderman told Nathan that. Pretty big clue on #1 though, so #2 wasn’t a big surprise.

Syler ended up at Claire’s house, looking to pick Claire’s brain about her powers, and he did just that. This is another one of those shows where a giant “WARNING! BRAINS ABOUT TO BE SHOWN!” would have been helpful. I can only attribute the lack of this warning to possibly getting a paper towel company to sponsor the show, because there was probably a bit of barf people had to clean up when they showed the scene where Syler went into Claire’s brain.

Ando and Hiro were great, as usual. I’d like to see a show with just those guys in it. They met a fast woman…. I know what you’re thinking, this is a family blog, but yeah, she’s super fast. She stole the formula that Hiro’s father made Hiro promise to guard. (Nice touch with the “I thought I told you not to open the safe”).

Parkman went on safari out to Africa, not really by choice, but through “Peter from the Future” when Parkman figured out something wasn’t quite right with the whole Nathan shooting.

Peter ended up in – a Level 5 prisoner’s body? Yeah, OK… We can go with that. HOW that happened, well, “Peter from the Future” must have learned it somehow.

The biggest surprise was that Peter, Nathan and Syler…. brothers. Yeah, that’s what Peter’s mom said.

Other things happened, including some obvious product placement, finding out too late that Bob’s special ability was pretty cool, and that Maya really has to get on the bandwagon if she wants to stop bad things from happening.

PLUS they let out all the bad guys on level 5. Peter’s going to be hanging with them for a while.

As for Mohinder… Poor Mohinder. He’s turning into Spiderman.

And, this season something new! Ha! Kidding. They’re saving the world… AGAIN! (Anyone else catch “Save ourselves, save the world?”)

This is an interesting show, that’s for sure. Where else can you see the Greatest American Hero show up for a guest spot as a popsicle, right? I’m just afraid that in their zeal to make this more action packed, things have gone a little bit TOO action packed. WAY too many things going on.

Let’s hope things settle down a bit so we can get into some storylines that make all this fit together nicely.

Oh, and a nice “WARNING! GROSS STUFF ABOUT TO HAPPEN” would be nice too.

Season Premieres – Monday, Sept. 22

Here’s a listing of what’s premiering tonight:

8:00

Dancing with the Stars (ABC)
The Big Bang Theory (CBS)

8:30

How I Met Your Mother (CBS)

9:00

Two and Half Men (CBS)
Heroes (NBC)

9:30

Worst Week (CBS)

10:00
Boston Legal (ABC)
CSI: Miami (CBS)

—

I’m planning on catching The Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, and Heroes, either by watching “live” or via the DVR. Still haven’t given up on “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles”, so I’ll be recording that too.