It's Been A While

OK, so it has been just over 4 months since I last wrote a blog post. Here's a summary of what happened.

• After being out of work for month I got a job at a 3PL called Pro Star Logistics.
• I finished my yearly reading of Harry Potter.
  
• My new favorite currently running show "Once Upon a Time" premiered. (LOST is still my all time favorite show in case you were wondering)
  
• The 5th and Final Season of "Chuck" Premiered.
  
• We had a fun Halloween in which I dressed up as a member of The DHARMA Initiative, Alisa was a witch, Collin was a dinosaur coming out of an egg and Liam was a pea-pod.
• We had a fun Thanksgiving at Grandma Norberg's house and one at my in-law's house in Idaho.
• I began my yearly reading of The Lord of The Rings.
  
• We all celebrated Kari's return to her family.
• Season 19 of "The Amazing Race" concluded.
  
• The first season of "Terra Nova" concluded.
  
• Collin (or one of his little friends) threw something at my TV and cracked the screen causing an annoying black line that extends from the crack to the edge of the screen.
• We had a wonderful Christmas.
• 2011 ended.
  
• 2012 began.
  
• I began watching the 4th Season of "Merlin" via iTunes
  
• I lost my job at Pro Star and became unemployed again.
• "Alcatraz" premiered.
• Liam turned 1 year old.
  
• The 5th and Final Season of "Chuck" Concluded.
• Alisa and I started watching the show "Prison Break" on Netflix while up in Idaho and got ourselves hooked.
  
• I finished my yearly reading of The Lord of The Rings.
• Season 20 of "The Amazing Race" began.

So, that's about it. At the moment Alisa and I are waiting for the next few DVDs of "Prison Break" to arrive at the library but my main focus is job searching. Things are going pretty well. I have had several interviews and one coming up tomorrow and I'm actively networking. More posts soon.

LOST: Still Awesome

Back at the end of February I made a purchase. An Epically Awesome purchase! I bought LOST: The Complete Collection on Blu-ray disc. So, over the last nearly four months I watched through all six seasons of my favorite show as well as a whole bunch of special features. I just finished a couple days ago. And yes, I did find the hidden bonus disk that was cleverly concealed inside the box lid. You see, you shine the DHARMA black-light on the map of the island on the underside of the lid to reveal a picture of the donkey-wheel. Than you turn the island to get to the disk. Isn't that such a LOST thing!? Anyway, watching it all through again just reconfirmed for me that LOST is still the greatest show in the history of television. Now, I just need to learn to play senet and I'll be all set. Namaste.

Farewell to THE EV∃NT

A little over a week ago I watched the finale of Season 1 of The Event. Unfortunately, it was also the series finale. The Event has been canceled after only one season. Do you know what it feels like to watch the first season finale of a show you really, really love when you already know that the show has been axed? I think it might be a bit like the way you would feel if you watched the dinosaurs go extinct. Or maybe, if you stood at the Grey Havens and watched the last ship sail into the West knowing the elves were gone from Middle Earth and they were never, ever, EVER coming back. OK, the analogies aren't perfect. I mean, both the dinosaurs and the elves were around for more than one year. As sad as it is, I have to admit that I can understand why NBC chose to cancel it considering the below chart showing the shows ratings. Can you say nosedive?

However, in spite of all of this sadness there is one very slight ray of hope. According to this article, the creators of the show are looking for a way to possibly keep the show going on a cable network or through a service like Netflix. I really have no idea what kind of chances something like that has so, though I will keep my eyes open I shan't be holding my breath.

Anyway, this show was good. I really think it could have even been great had it been given a chance. The show reminded me a lot of LOST in terms of the story telling and level of complexity. I guess that's probably why I liked it so much. Interestingly enough, the season finale turned series finale of The Event occurred on the one year anniversary of the LOST series finale. I know; I'm a nerd for knowing that. So, I must bid farewell to The Event. Hopefully, the efforts to keep it going will succeed. If they do you can bet I will be watching.

Oh yeah, and ABC canceled V as well. Grrr!

Oh the Nerdity! - The Big Bang Theory Season 4

How can you not love this show?! I discovered this little gem last season and I've hardly stopped laughing since. I love the idea of a show where the socially awkward Star Trek, Star Wars, Lord of The Rings geek getting the hot blond? I can appreciate that; it happened to me too. Granted, Leonard and Penny are currently broken up but lets be honest; we all know they're gonna end up back together eventually. And, since the show has already been renewed for 3 more seasons it looks like there will be plenty of time to do it and have lots of fun getting there. Of course, Sheldon makes the show. And now the addition of the almost as awkward Amy makes it even better. With the season finale they had the next season should be great.

The Office Season 7

Not a whole lot to say about last week's Season Finale of The Office. With most seasons of this show the finale is a bit of a letdown. However, this one actually felt more like a finale than usual. There are actually a few things that I'm wondering about for next season. Who will end up as the new manager, will Andy and Erin get back together? Than there's the mystery surrounding "The State Senator." So, there is more to look forward to for next season than there usually is. The show has been renewed for another season but I think that, now that Steve Carell has left the show, there's a good chance that the eighth season may be the show's last. I guess we'll see.

Chuck Season IV - Awesomeness

Last week another great season of Chuck ended. Fortunately, I already know that it has been renewed for another season. It has also been announced that this fifth season will be the last for the show. That is sad in a way for me because I'm such a big fan but at the same time, it's nice to have that decision made ahead of time so that the shows writers can give it a proper ending.

In all honesty, I still don't understand why this show has struggled so much over the years. Most every season it has come close to being canceled. Yet, in spite of all that they still manage to get some incredible guest stars: Brandon Routh, Linda Hamilton, Scott Bakula, Timothy Dalton, Chevy Chase, Gary Cole, Stacy Keibler, Steve Austin, Morgan Fairchild, The guy from the Old Spice Commercials. There's a lot more but I think you get the idea.

Anyway, on to the awesomeness of this season. Well, the season was awesome. Not much else I can say. I thought it was great that Chuck and Sarah finally got married. I loved the way it ended with Chuck and Sarah purchacing the Buy More and going into business for themselves to figure out the big conspiracy that is the Intersect Project. Oh, and the great twist at the end . . . Morgan is now the Intersect! Season Five can't come soon enough for me!

The Amazing Race: Unfinished Business

So, a few days ago I watched the season Finale of The Amazing Race: Unfinished Business. As always, this season was great. This season was unique in that it was all made up of returning teams so I was already familiar with almost all of them. Unlike The Amazing Race: Allstars (which was also made up of returning teams), none of these teams had won when they were on for the first time and most of them had been eliminated because of one particular big mistake or problem. Zev & Justin had been eliminated because they lost their passports, Gary & Mallory because of an incompetent cab driver, Flight Time & Big Easy because of a Road Block that they just couldn't finish, etc.

Just as I did a couple seasons ago, I was cheering for Jet & Cord to win and, just as before, I was disappointed. They got U-Turned and it was all over. Kisha & Jen ended up winning and I was happy to see that. So, as I say every time, great season and I look forward to September when it will come back for season 19.

Fringe Season 3

So, the season finale of Fringe aired back on Friday. I have made some pretty long blog posts regarding this show but I'm going to keep this one short. Overall, a really strong season. It ended with a really great cliffhanger which I had to rewind and watch a couple times just to make sure I got what was going on with the two Walters, two Olivias, no Peter and a whole pack of observers. One of the great things about this show (besides the show itself) is the fact that it has already been renewed for another season. So, I will look forward to September to see what happens.

Which Olivia is holding the gun? Do you know? I do!

V Season II - Now We Wait

So, the second season of V just wrapped up about a week ago and it was great. All ten episodes of this short season were action packed and the show ended with about a million cliffhangers. This season introduced several new characters including two played by actors from the original 1980's V TV show. With the way this season ended it's clear that we are right on the verge of the truth about the Vs coming out and the real fighting to start. Hopefully, The Fifth Column (and now Project Ares) will be able to strike back against the Vs without so many of their plans backfiring.

Of course, all of this is dependent on V coming back for a third season. Unfortunately, there is a lot of speculation that this may very well not happen. Ratings for this season were lower than the first season. So, now all we can do is wait and hope that our buddies at ABC see the potential of this show and give it a chance. I think it would be a mistake for them to cancel it considering the somewhat militant online fan base this show has.

2010 in Review

Well, I have to say that 2010 was a MUCH better year than was 2009. Let's review some of the highlights shall we?

• After approximately 14.5 months of being out of work I got a job. More importantly, I still have said job.
• The LOST Series Finale lived up to all my expectations. You know, I even watched it while wearing my suit so I could be dressed like Jack was in the series pilot. Nerdy? yes.
• Patrick Rothfuss announced the publication date for The Wise Man's Fear.
• Alisa continued to become more beautiful.
• Alisa and I found out that we would be having another little boy.
• NBC premiered The Event.
• Chuck began its best season so far.
• I grew my first "Big Max" pumpkin.
• My dad gave me a 42" plasma TV. BEST CHRISTMAS EVER!!
• We purchased a new furnace just in time to get all the 2010 rebates.
• On the last day of 2010 I made the switch to a Blu-ray Disc player.

So, that about sums it up. Happy 2011 to you all!

FINALLY! Merlin Season 2

Well, iTunes finally got their act together and fixed the problem with Merlin Season 2. So, after a long wait I was eventually able to watch those last two episodes. And, it was totally worth the wait. This season was great and since I bought it I now have it forever. Or at least until this computer crashes.

This season had some great episodes. I especially liked the one where Merlin fell in love. Of course, she ended up dead but it was a still a very well done and touching episode. I also enjoyed the episodes with Uther being bewitched by and marrying a troll. The love triangle with Arthur, Lancelot and Gwen got more interesting this season. And, Uther's war on magic got more intense so I look forward to seeing how things go with that next season especially now that Morgana has disappeared and Mordred has a grudge against Merlin.

As great as the season as a whole was I really thought the finale was spectacular. The introduction of Merlin's father and the release of the dragon really makes me wonder what direction next season will take. I look forward to season three being made available next spring.

So, there you have it; the long awaited review. I hope that both of you found it satisfactory.

The Great Merlin Conundrum - Part II

So, I am sure that all of you have been wondering when you will have the pleasure or reading my review of the second season of Merlin. Well, as you may remember, NBC chose not to broadcast Merlin Season 2 and I don't have cable so I couldn't watch it on The Syfy Channel either. So, I ended up purchasing the season pass on iTunes. This was going along just peachy for a while until we have hit a snag. The season has 13 episodes and the first eleven came to me just fine. They became available for download the morning after they aired on Syfy and I would watch them on my computer the following evening. However, just as we are getting to the end iTunes has provided me with two copies of episode 11 while episode 12 is nowhere to be seen. On top of that, when I downloaded the final episode of the season it ended up actually being the season 1 finale mockingly masquerading as the season 2 finale. Needless to say, iTunes had me a little bit confused and annoyed. I mean, I paid for the full season so I really should get the full season. Anyway, I went to the comments section for Merlin Season 2 on iTunes and found that there were pages of comments from others who also were having the same problem. I wrote a message to iTunes in their feedback section so I'm hoping this will be resolved soon so I can see how the season will end.

Chuck Season III

Well, last week I watched the season finale of Chuck. It was a lot of fun. And, one of the best parts is the fact that, unlike last year, NBC has already renewed it for another season so I won't have to keep checking my "online sources" to find out if it is coming back.

So, this season was great. I really like how the new intersect program allows Chuck to access abilities as well as information. The new guitar playing, kung-fu fighting Chuck was really fun. The season ended great. I was sad about Papa Bartowski dying but I was glad to see that Mama Bartowski is still alive so I'm excited to see who will be playing her next season. I guess the destruction of the BUY MORE was inevitable. I mean, now that (practically) everybody in Chuck's life knows he's a spy his working there would quickly not make sense anymore. I was glad that Casey's daughter knows about him now. I'm not sure how I feel about Ellie knowing what her brother really does. I think that the show needed to have someone close to Chuck who was still in the dark about his being a spy. And, I really hope they make her a little less naggy next season. Anyway, we'll see how that all works out.

And that's a wrap. All my regular season shows have had their season finales now. Hopefully, the shows I have coming up for the summer will be enough to tide me over until September.

Jack Closes His Eyes - The End of LOST

Well, I guess it's about time I write my LOST Series Finale blog post. I have decided to spare the one or two of you who read my blog from having to sit through an intolerably long post. I mean, I know when I go to other people's blogs I skip the really long entries. So, I will try to keep it relatively brief.

Anyway, let's dive in. I have already stated in my preliminary LOST blog post that the Finale was AWESOME so now it's time to explain a little about what made it awesome. There are several things that are necessary for any story to be able to enjoy long term popularity. One of these is that it has to answer enough questions for the audience to come away from the experience feeling like the story came to a satisfying conclusion but it also needs to leave enough questions unanswered so there are still things left to wonder about, to talk about and to theorize about. If a story doesn't do this though it may enjoy a lot of popularity while the story is still unfinished the popularity will likely fizzle out not long after the last episode airs, the last movie comes out or the last book is published. LOST managed to get the balance right. The finale (well, really the whole final season) provided enough answers to make me feel like the story wrapped up nicely. But, there is still plenty to wonder about. What was so special about Walt? Why did the big Egyptian looking statue only have four toes on it's foot? Did the man in black actually have a name? What is the nature of the island? Why was Micheal's spirit doomed to spend eternity on the island for committing two murders while Ben who killed a lot more people didn't get that punishment?

Now, as great as this was there were still a few problems. The biggest one was that there were some things in the finale that made it look as though everybody had actually died in the plane crash and that everything that we've been watching for the past six seasons was just these people in purgatory or it was all a dream that happened in someone's dying moment. Basically, it got some people a bit confused about whether everything we have been watching actually happened or not. But, in spite of the confusion, this is defiantly not what happened. First of all, the whole "everybody-really-died-in-the-crash" theory has been around since the beginning of the show but the creators made it clear very early on that the people of Oceanic flight 815 were not dead and that the island was a real place that physically existed somewhere in the world. Also, if this theory was correct that would be a big, fat smack in the face to all the fans because it would essentially be saying that we wasted all these years invested in a story just to find out that none of it really happened. As Sawyer would say that would be quite the "Long Con." Fortunately, that is not the case.

I like how the exact nature of the "sideways universe" is still somewhat up for grabs. However, it seems the basic idea is that it is a place our characters collectively created in the afterlife to allow them all to find each other so they could move on together. I thought that was a really great way to rap things up especially since they brought so many people back that we hadn't seen in a long time. The best part though was the final scene and the way it mirrored the opening scene of the series with Jack lying in the same spot and seeing his eye close as he died.

Well, so much for not writing a long blog post. I should have known I couldn't do this in less than a bajillion words. I could go on forever but I shall end now by saying this: As far as I am concerned LOST is the greatest TV show ever made and if it ever falls from the top spot it won't be for a long time. So, it is time to bid farewell to LOST. It's been great. As corny as it may sound there has never been a TV show that has meant as much to me as this one has. Oh, and by the way, the complete series comes out on DVD August 24th (three days before my birthday. Hint Hint!).

LOST

LOST Series Finale. AWESOME! NO time to write at the moment! Will write full review in the next few days!

Fringe does it again!

OK, so we had the Fringe Season 2 Finale back on Thursday and it was DYNAMITE! This is a great show and it had another great season. Last season's finale was awesome but this one was even better. Like last season this one ended with Olivia stuck in the alternate dimension. However, the great thing about this one is that nobody knows it yet because the Olivia from the other side has taken her place. I also have to wonder if we have really seen the end of William Bell. I can't wait to see how everything will play out next season. I think they did a really great job with designing the alternate universe. I think it is effective because they differentiated it from our world in very subtle ways. Though there are some pretty hefty differences (The blimps, The Statue of Liberty being a different color, Madison Square Gardens being encased in a giant wormhole) most of the differences are in the small details. I think that makes it more believable for the audience than it would be if the other world were vastly different.

In addition to this season ending well it also had some really great episodes along the way. One of these was the episode "Peter" in which we get to flash back to 1985 and see the story of how Peter ended up on this "side." I also thought it was great how Peter finally figured out the truth about where he came from. Though, I think the best episode was "Brown Betty." It was a really creative episode and I loved how they presented it as Walter telling an old fashion 1940s detective story but still having modern elements mixed in.

All and all, it was a great season and I look forward to watching it again when it returns in the fall.

Just Another Office Episode

Well, The Office has been rather hit or miss this season. It had some really good episodes (like the Jim & Pam wedding) but some that just weren't that funny. Unfortunately, just like last year the season finale was a bit of a disappointment. Like last year it really didn't feel like much of a finale; it was just like a regular episode and not even a very good episode. Now don't get me wrong it wasn't a complete disappointment. There were some funny moments and it looks like there's a chance of Holly coming back next season which should be good. But, next season may be the last chance because Steve Carell's contract is up at the end of the 2010-2011 season and he has stated that he may not be coming back. And let's face it, if he's gone, the show won't make it. So, if the end of the show is coming I hope they make it a good one.

The "V" Season Finale

Well, it's that time of year again. That wonderful yet sad time when season finales air and I say goodbye to my TV shows for at least a few months if not forever. Anyway, last night I watched the finale of the first season of V. Not much I can really think to say except that it was an exciting episode right from the start.

This was one of those season finales that ended with a big cliffhanger. There are a lot of unanswered questions that I will be anxious to have addressed next season. Now that Chad Decker knows the truth about the Vs, what is he going to do about it? Is Anna really going to start the invasion of Earth right away? What will become of Ryan and Valarie's baby? Is Marcus actually part of The Fifth Column? How many people who watch V will go through their lives thinking that the term "The Fifth Column" is an invention of this show? OK, that isn't really a question raised by this episode but in case you are wondering the term originated during the Spanish Civil War. For more information Click Here.

Anyway, this show had a really good first season and, fortunately, I have confirmed that ABC has renewed it for a second season. So, we'll see our alien friends again in the fall. But, until then remember; "We are of peace. Always." NOT!!!

Dan & Jordan Win The Amazing Race 16

Well, another season of The Amazing Race has come to an end and I have to say; I cannot believe that Jet & Cord didn't win! I'm even more surprised that Dan & Jordan actually did win. Let's face it, I don't think anybody would have predicted that. During the last few minutes of the show I sat on the edge of my seat with my heart pounding and hoping that Jet & Cord would pull ahead and manage to win. When I saw Dan & Jordan come through the gates and start running to the finish I began to feel a little bit sick. Now, don't get me wrong; it's not so much that I dislike Dan & Jordan (in spite of their little stunt at the airport). I just really, really wanted the cowboys to win.

I'm also glad that Brent & Caite made it into the final three. Much more glad than Carol & Brandy were. Brandy's little tirade against Caite at the finish line was an embarrassing display of what it means to be a sore loser. She thinks that Caite was stupid to U-turn her and Carol? As Caite pointed out, if she's so stupid, why is she the one standing on the finish mat while Miss Carol who thinks she's so smart is not? Personally, I think that Brent & Caite were absolutely right to U-turn them. If I were in the race and some team was treating me or my teammate with the kind of contempt and rudeness that Carol & Brandy were showing Caite, I would want to get rid of them too.

Anyway, that's a wrap for now. I look forward to September and the premiere of the next season of The Amazing Race.

Spooky Ghosts in Miami

So, last night Alisa and I watched a very interesting episode of CSI: Miami. In this episode Calleigh helps to figure out who started a fire that resulted in the death of a 15-year-old boy. Now, that in and of itself is not unusual at all considering that's right in line with what she does every episode. The weird thing was, she did this while she was unconscious in the hospital and her "ghost" was wondering around the crime scene and the lab with the ghost of the dead 15-year-old boy. All I can say is, they must really be desperate for ideas for new episodes because this was a little out there. Probably would have worked a little better if they had done this one around Halloween.