conan o'brien: triumph visits bonnaroo

snl: "the rock" obama

Dwayne Johnson does a great Barack Obama. Who knew?


And, because I never get tired of a sweet-voiced tattooed muscle man singing, here is Dwayne Johnson's monologue. He sings a song to prove how tough he is. Keep your eyes peeled for the scene involving chairs.

episode: dollhouse, "stage fright" (1.3)

Things that didn't work in this episode: Oh, where to begin. (1) First of all, the storyline was absurd. Whitney Houston exploded into the mainstream back in 1992 with Bodyguard, and every time someone tries to reimagine this plot, I can't help but think any version thereafter is "the poor man's Bodyguard." The 1992 film is far from perfect, but it doesn't seem like anyone really expands on the basic plot. Here, Dollhouse tries to put a twist on a familiar tale (which they did last week with "The Most Dangerous Game"), but the "twist" is that the singer, Rayna, actually wants to die and -- get this -- has a pact with her psychopath killer. He kills her during a show, and she is set free. The biggest problem I have with this is... the show doesn't explore how Rayna feels trapped. So she has to pretend to be happy and grateful all of the time. So she is "factory made" (which should have been a nice parallel to Echo's own factory manufacturing, but it seemed so blatant and obvious that I wish it hadn't actually been written into the script).* But so what? Why did she feel like she couldn't simply quit the business?

* To be fair, Fox is notorious for dumbing down scripts so that it reaches the lowest common denominator, and Fox, time and time again (see Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and House), has shown that they think that denominator is the shared IQ of 95, and no one can pick up on visual signs; everything must be spelled out verbally. It makes deconstructing this text entirely unengaging because Fox wants the message and purpose of the episode to be written in the very delivery of it.

Besides the narrative itself, and the grossly overdone unappreciative diva stereotype, (2) Tahmoh Penikett is still being underutilized. In the same way that Chuck had a problem incorporating the Buy More into the agent action in season one, Dollhouse is having trouble integrating Ballard's quest into the major A-storyline adventures of Echo. Although, to this episode's credit, revealing that the Russian leak was an active doll was refreshing and did offer a bridge -- though faint and minor -- between the two story arcs. But during the fight sequence between Ballard and those nameless/faceless mobsters, I found myself cheering for Helo (rather than Ballard), which may be more my fault than the show's, but Ballard's character has not been developed enough for me to care about him. Why is he so intent on finding the Dollhouse? Did he have a run-in with Echo in the past? I find it hard to believe that his sole determination hinges on secret clues left by a mysterious third party. We're three episodes in now, and we still don't know what motivates Ballard.

(3) Some of the dialogue was unintentionally referential. At one point Rayna screams at Echo, "You don't get to tell me what I can and can't do" -- which immediately transported me to various episodes of Lost. (Which further supported my feelings about Locke being an obnoxious, complaining teenage girl.) The other line was when Rayna was dangling from the catwalk and she said, "I want to live!" I definitely thought of George Bailey, and I don't think that was an appropriate connection to make here. But her delivery was almost identical to "I want to live, Clarence! I want to live!"

What did work about this episode: To continue on Ballard, I did appreciate the following exchange with the Russian. On the one hand, it shows you an intelligent contemplation on why the dollhouse could plausibly exist and the ethical implications involved (the Dollhouse is like the atomic bomb!), but it also shows, through the Russian's unbothered delivery, a common dismissiveness about the dark side of human nature.

Ballard: We split the atom; we built a bomb. We come up with anything new, and the first thing we do is destroy, manipulate, control. It's human nature.
The Russian: Yeah, people are mostly crap.

Also, (2) the last three minutes of this episode were incredibly well done -- but in no way make up for the abysmal previous 40 minutes. And for the first time, it made me excited about the next upcoming episode. Security advisor Laurence Dominic makes the point that Echo is a a risk** -- she makes decisions outside of how she's programmed ("She went off mission!") -- to which Adelle DeWitt counter-argues that Echo did precisely as told (saving Rayna's life) and, furthermore, prevented Rayna from wanting to risk her own life in the future. Of course, these two characters are looking at it from a strictly business point of view. This scene is juxtaposed immediately by the following scene between Boyd Langdon and Dr. Saunders. He calls Echo "special," but Dr. Saunders notes that, referring to Alpha, "special" isn't good in the Dollhouse. Being the best isn't the goal, as she notes, "Sometimes the best to hope for is being just good enough." These two scenes were brief (no longer than a minute each), but both of them developed strong arguments about the business structure of the Dollhouse as well as concerns for reaching beyond the safety of conformity. (I'm just waiting for the inevitable episode where Echo goes to live in Suburbia.)

** In Battlestar Galactica, "retiring" a Cylon was referred to as being "boxed." Here, the concept is similar, but the active would be sent to the "Attic" (no doubt with a capital A), which is a counter-feminist reference, I believe, to The Madwoman in the Attic. There is a thread in much of 18-19th century literature where women who are intelligent, rebellious, or independent are "monsters" and should kept under lock and key in the attic. So here, we have the independent thinking Echo, and that's a problem for the most masculine figure of the show. He's the man of action (brawn) who is quick to "retire" Echo for thinking for herself. But I find pleasure -- instead of irritation -- in this scene because Dominic is immediately silenced by a well-crafted counter-argument from Adelle DeWitt, the female mastermind behind the Dollhouse.

And in addition to this, the closing scene of the episode (3) shows a wonderful visual parallel between Rayna and Echo. Instead of explicitly drawing this connection, the episode shows us Rayna on the stage, isolated under the blinding stage lights, no longer "putting on a show" for herself or her psychopath fan. And she sings her song about freedom: Gotta find the freedom that's promised me freedoms from our struggles and our misery. Freedom is all we need to heal the pain of history. The singer is trapped by the limited space of her performance stage, and she does not exist beyond that frame. And then the camera switches to Ballard in the hospital, who is literally paralyzed by his pursuit of something intangible (technically, the gun bullet is what confines him to the hospital bed, but it's a metaphor), and Echo sings over the images: Each day when the sun shines upon my eyes, it feels me with love, makes me feel alive. I'm saving it up for a rainy day, when there's no light to guide my way. The episode closes on Echo, who, walking through the Dollhouse, feels herself being watched and does not stop to converse with Sierra, the other active. The Dollhouse is no longer the Buddhist safe-haven it parades itself to be.

episode: dollhouse, "the target" (1.2)

Critics didn't love the pilot of Dollhouse, and to be honest, I wasn't crazy about it either. There was obvious studio head meddling going into the narrative. The opening "introduction" to Echo was so short it had to be afterthought, and the closing snippet about Alpha's escape was an obvious last-minute push to add mystery and intrigue to these characters and their relationships with one another. So without going into too much about the pilot, I say -- skip it and watch the second one. The second episode, "The Target," is a much better hour of television and you get all of the introductory materials (via well-used flashbacks) in a more cohesive and less disorienting way.

"The Target" was based off of Richard Connell's short story The Most Dangerous Game" (which you can read in its entirety here), with a slight twist at the end. There are three reasons why this episode worked really well -- and why I ultimately recommend the show, basing my judgements on something other than gratuitous love for creator Joss Whedon. First, Elisha Dushku can only act one role (tough/vulnerable/naive) -- BUT you hardly notice her inability to act when she's playing this role. (See also Faith on Buffy the Vampire Slayer.) In the pilot, she played a hostage negotiator, complete with inhaler (huh?) and glasses (seriously?), and Dushku didn't sell it. But here, in "The Target," she sells that she's a sportsman and that her shift to retaliate is plausible and engaging. Second, this episode showed more of her relationship with her handler, Boyd Langdon (played ever-so wonderfully by Harry Lennix). We learn why she instantly trusts him (she was programmed to trust him when he says the phrase "Everything is going to be okay"), and we learn how Langdon was initially brought into the Dollhouse. He became Echo's new handler when Alpha went all Patrick Bateman on everyone, including her previous handler, but without touching Echo. And third, the flashbacks offered a fluid narrative device in showing -- and not telling! -- us about Echo's resurfacing memories. Whereas in the pilot, Echo remembered things kind of randomly, but here, with this narrative device, Echo gains access to privileged information, just as we do in learning about Langdon, Alpha, and the Dollhouse.

So here's my theory, one that I think leans more towards the humanist side in all of this, but not in any way that would detract from the science or morality of the show. I don't think Echo is the first doll to recover suppressed memories. (Certainly Topher isn't "erasing" or extracting memories; he's merely relocating them in the brain.) I think Alpha was the first doll to start remembering his missions, and when he learned of his true identity -- either his "real world" identity or his identity (or lackthereof) as a doll -- he decided to load into his brain martial arts skills in order to defend himself. Remember, Topher says that Alpha implanted HIMSELF with those skills, so why and how could he do this? He did this because he knew the truth about the dollhouse.

So what does that have to do with Alpha's Echo trail for Agent Ballard (who, I'm convinced, is named after the sci-fi writer J. G. Ballard)? I'm not too sure, but I definitely think Alpha has feelings for Echo. I think he fell in love with her, and every time her memories were altered and went back to a tabula rasa state, Alpha grew increasingly angrier with his and her situation. This theory falls apart when you consider Ballard in the mix (why doesn't Alpha just expose the Dollhouse immediately?) or Echo (why didn't Alpha just take Echo with him when he escaped?), but both of these concerns could certainly be answered later and still be in line with my theory.

Basically... I want the show to be more about interpersonal relationships than ethics. Is the Dollhouse ethical? Are the dolls still people without memories? (For what is the "I" if the "I" has no past?) How long will Boyd Langdon have qualms, inner conflicts regarding the Dollhouse? I'm more concerned about Alpha and his relationship to Echo. And even if it isn't romantic, perhaps he thinks of her like his sister. And hopefully -- since Alan Tudyk will be playing the as-of-yet unseen role -- Alpha will have an ironic sense of humor. Alpha can be dark and twisty, but he can also be fun to watch.

episode: chuck, "chuck vs. the gravitron"

There was a lot to recommend about this episode, though it's probably one of the weaker episodes of the season (but it's been a really awesome season). Here, Jordana Brewster's three-episode arc ends, and I have to say, I appreciated her casting as Chuck's ex-girlfriend Jill because I really did believe that Jill would leave being a Fulcrum spy for Chuck. Brewster did a good job deceiving me convincingly, and I think her being carried away in handcuffs allows for her return in later episodes, though hopefully not any time soon. The episode was too much plot and not enough dorkiness, but I did enjoy some smaller moments of the episode like Morgan's subjective slo-mo of Ellie cutting the turkey (is fantasizing about Ellie or the turkey?) and Chuck's note reading "Unleash the Casey." I can picture that line sprawled on t-shirts.

One question about this episode: Was Jill's text message about "Uncle Tobias" a reference to Arrested Development's Tobias Fünke? The writers are certainly dorky enough (they had a Vogon poetry reference last week!), so I hope this was intentional.

I am worried about the Sarah-Chuck storyline, though, because Chuck intelligently showed the audience that Chuck and Sarah both realize they can't be with each other, despite their feelings. But it seems like Sarah's feelings are starting to compromise her job, and I fear that the will-they-or-won't-they dynamic will come back. The they-can't-but-they-want-to dynamic is much more interesting, namely because it's character-driven rather than plot-driven. If the story is going where I think it's going (and hope it's going), Sarah will be put on a leave of absence to get her act together (which allows for Tricia "Number Six" Helfer to appear as Sarah's temporary replacement). This will be good so that Chuck and Sarah can have relationship issues outside of one another. They've been handled appropriately this season with Sarah's high school identity and now Jill, but there should always be an outside source that causes each other to pine for the other.

Quotes were scarce, but here are some highlights:

Ellie: The Awesomes are coming, and they make their son look Mildly Impressive.

Chuck: (to Jill) You already broke my heart. Do you have to shoot it too?

Chuck: You're under arrest, Jill, and I'm breaking up with you.

Morgan: (after wishing for Chuck and Sarah to patch things up, Chuck and Sarah walk through the door together and he realizes his "Christmas miracle" powers) I can ask for anything... (looks at the door in anticipation) a DeLorean, a flying DeLorean...

arrested development movie in the works?

News broke out at the end of last week about Mitch Hurwitz and Ron Howard closing the deal on making an Arrested Development movie. This is one of those things that goes into rotation every six months -- along with a Serenity sequel or a Veronica Mars movie -- but now there seems to be concrete evidence that this will happen. According to Kristin at E!, someone's holding out on signing, and all signs point to Michael Cera, but truth be told, as much as I adore the character of George Michael and his glorious awkwardness, I wouldn't miss Cera terribly. This show really is about the adults. Would the movie be a hundred times funnier if Cera was in it? Yes. But the movie will already be ten thousand times funny, so what's another hundred added into the mix?

Arrested Development is one of my favorite shows -- in fact, I think it's surpassed The Office as my favorite comedy. (Sometimes having a shorter life can actually help benefit a program. No one ever tired of Arrested, and I'm getting tired of The Office, especially after this past week's episode.) So in honor of this mind-blowingly awesome news (and I do mean awesome in the Godly sense), here are some clips. If you have not been converted, perhaps these will bring you over to the side of awesomeness.


My favoritest scene from television. Seriously.


Mrs. Doubtfire meets Mary Poppins


"You're killing me, Buster!" My second favoritest thing.


Justice cannot be blind... Okay, my third favoritest thing.