A Conversation With My Brother About Desperate Housewives

My brother and I get on gChat and talk about TV occasionally. Here's today's installment on the season premiere of Desperate Housewives. The show is now taking place five years into the future. I add some punctuation, capital letters, and a few items in parentheses so the conversation actually makes sense.

me: I happened to enjoy Desperate

10:30 AM Chris: Yeah, I guess it got a little better towards the end.

10:31 AM The 5 yr experiment should be interesting, but it should take the show in a new direction.

me: I liked the whole thing. I was kind of sick of some of the old stories and this kind of lets everyone start over.

10:32 AM Chris: Yeah I feel ya. I think they really did it because, babies aren't that interesting. A couple of the women had really young kids--C'mon, how fun is that?

10:33 AM me: Not fun at all. I thought it was interesting that we still didn't really see Susan's kid.He's like 5, she was without him a lot.

Chris: Yeah not until the very end.

LOL...cause she's the worst mom ever.

me: Exactly. And I didn't think Lynette's twins were 11 last season.

Chris: (Still on Susan) ...and doesnt she write KID'S books? NQ.....NOT QUALIFIED, lol.

me: (on the twins) They looked about 9.

10:34 AM And where is their (Lynnette & Tom's) daughter?

10:35 AM Chris: Yeah, I would agree on both fronts about Lynette's kids...I was kinda wondering the same thing. But once again..8th graders are boring. There's a lot you could do with high school kids who are of driving age.

I think they are just trying to maximize story lines.

me: Yeah but they could've made the other son driving age

Chris: Ahhhh, good point.

10:36 AM But he is kind of a nerd right? Maybe he's already at college

me: Well he must be.

If their saying the twins were 11 last year, the older one must've been 12 or 13.

Chris: yep

10:37 AM me: Well either way it was interesting. I like that Edie's husband is a rage-a-holic.

10:38 AM Chris: (Going totally off subject) Oh crap...i just realized i never watched P-Break last night.

Sweet...Bonus DVR today!

me: It was good.

Chris: (Returning to the subject) Yeah, you know they had to have a twist, and with that creepy hair---I figured it was him.


Photo: ABC.com

Guest Blog: Here We Go Again...Prison Break Season Premiere

Well, Fox has done it again. Getting a jump on all of the major networks fall lineups and showing the season 4 Prison Break premiere last night. The Break, as I like to call it, rarely disappoints and this premiere was no exception.

Sucre is still a fool for love, T-bag has already eaten his first human, Sarah returns with torture scars (veeerryy similar to Jack Bauer's scars in 24 Season 6) and of course "Linc" has put my Michael in a tough spot.....again. The gang is back together baby! But this time they will have to work as a unit to keep everyone out of jail.

The villains are new, including a bad ass black guy who apparently has no regard for human life. And of course big business is driving governmental decisions and actions (classic Break). The crew is really in for it this year and I think this could be the best season yet!

Quite frankly, my heart is already pounding in anticipation of next weeks episode.

Breaking Free From The Norm

I just got around to watching the season finale of Prison Break last night. While critics (especially those who don't watch the show) will say its gotten implausible or crazy this season, I've enjoyed its twists and turns.

Monday's finale was no exception. It was fascinating, suspenseful and brought all of the characters, and viewers to their breaking points. The episode finished off with a Spanish song that was so piercing and agonizing I almost had to put it on mute, but yet I couldn't turn away. Television hasn't captivated me like that in a long time It was borderline intoxicating. I had to turn off the TV and sit in silence for a few moments before I could continue.

Maybe my defenses are low after suffering through so much reality and shitty TV for the past 100+ days, but Monday night's season finale of Prison Break was truly exceptional. It made me a believer in Fox again, and made me even more excited that writers are back to work.

Coming Back In The Future

Just got off the phone with my friend Liz. We like to gab about TV and today we spoke about what shows we're looking forward to in 2008. Here's the short list:

• Real World/Road Rules - The Gauntlet: I have my money on Coral. I don't even know if she's playing. She could win from afar. Just like Tanya. I bet she's phoning this one in. I tried to look up online to see what exotic locale the show is in this time but no such luck. They've been to South Africa, Australia, and all over the Caribbean but every set looks identical. They probably film all of them on a sound stage in Hollywood. If they really wanted to give these people a run for their money, they'd shoot in Dubai or Beirut.
  

• Lost - I've decided to commit and watch the back half of season 3 on DVD just so I can catch up with this show. I have a feeling it's going to be really big this time.
  

• The L Word: This is a short clip with the cast and producers talking about season five. To say I am geeked out about the whole thing an understatement. Apparently some changes to this season include more group interaction, Bette and Tina possibly getting back together and more sex. I don't know if I can handle pay-cable and all of this sex. Between Tell Me You Love Me, The Tudors and The L Word I am just getting worn out and they make me look pervy. I am not weird, I just like good TV.
  

• Rob & Big: Say what you will about the guys but I wish I were friends with them. Their show is just as scripted as all of the MTV stuff but it's a lot funnier.
  

• Prison Break: I kind of forgot what's happening but hopefully it will all come back to me. Something about Panama, guards, shanks, tunnels. Same old, same old.
  

TV-Giving

Before I sit down to my favorite meal of the year, here's what I'm thankful for, at least where TV is concerned.

• Returns to normalcy for Desperate Housewives & Prison Break. Thanks for finding your niche and settling in again. I'm glad I held out hope.
  

• The Writers Strike is a blessing in disguise. It's high time the writers get what they deserve, plus it clears the schedule for some ridiculous reality shows that I can rant and laugh at for years to come. Stay tuned for my diatribe on Clash of the Choirs.
  

• Again, I'm thankful for my DVR and iTunes for ensuring I never miss a moment despite late night meetings, boring banquets and priceless moments with friends.
  

• To Showtime & HBO for always raising the bar. The Sopranos finale made people believers again. New shows on HBO (Flight of the Conchords, Tell Me You Love Me) and dark hits on Showtime (Weeds, Dexter) are carrying the torch. They owe it to the Sopranos to continue to develop intelligent beautiful television...and they are.
  

• And before I forget, I'm thankful for all of the great blogs I ran into this year, mostly while writing for this one. Scanner, and Reality Blurred to United Hollywood and Best Week Ever. I learn and laugh my way through work everyday. Thanks for bringing up to date pop culture news to the masses.
  

A Very Happy Thanksgiving to all five of our readers, wherever they are. Here's to lots of turkey, awkward family moments, the best naps of the holiday season and great sales on TV on DVD.

Prison Break Fall Finale! Thoughts?

What scared me most about the Prison Break fall finale? The thought that I'm going to wait through a very long and very cold December and a good half of January for the show to return, only to get one or two episodes before the Writers Strike cuts the show like a shank.

So let's talk about this while we still can. Tonight's episode was a little confusing and very disturbing. I made a short list.

• We learned last week that vixen/villian Gretchen was a former soldier who was kidnapped, tortured and from what we can assume, sexually assaulted at the hands of her captors in Iraq. So imagine our disgust and shock when see some rich, White government type guy tell her that unless she does what he wants he's " going to make what happened in Mosul look like a massage." Ahhhh! So awful. That's kind of a cheap shot, even for an ominous threat.

• Whistler was supposed to kill Michael before the company busted him out of Sona. It was a very tense moment, but I couldn't stop thinking how much Whistler (Chris Vance, right) looks like a dirty, poorly shaven Ryan Seacrest. I think this an intense cross promotion from Fox.

• It was kind of ballsy for Linc to just shoot that guy in the streets of Panama, even if it was in self-defense. No one saw that? They had just come off a really busy street. This show makes Panama look like Vice-City.

So there is a lot to chew on between now and January. Where are they taking Michael? Will Mahone come back to Sona, and if so, how will he fare with the only sane American gone? And I refuse to believe that was Sarah's head in a box. Let's hope she makes a return in '08.

Stars Behind Bars: Lane Garrison

Let's see him break out this time.

Remember Tweener (Lane Garrison, pictured) from seasons 1 and 2 of Prison Break? Well awhile back he drove drunk, crashed and killed his 17-year-old passenger. He was just sentenced to just over three years in prison.

This guy should be in prison. Someone died. Lock him up. But for some reason, I can't help feeling sad for him. If he is still as baby-faced as he was on the show, things are going to be very hard for him. I also think about the lady-celebs who mishandle their money and do drugs, endanger their children and flash their lady parts all around town. Grnated they haven't killed anyone, but it's only a matter of time.

I support a moratorium on movies, parties, TV shows and new music for awhile. Everyone just stay home. Find yourself. Stay out of the limelight and out of trouble. And if you're going to drink, get a frickin' cab.

Week In Review

A few of the highlights from this week in TV...basically things I forgot to mention or didn't have time for.

-Pushing Daisies was superb. It was bold, romantic and very funny. Ned's (Lee Pace, pictured with Anna Friel) sincerity is so refreshing. I had forgotten how many conniving, vindictive and genuinely annoying people there were on television. Ned and the rest of his cast of quirky characters reminded me that I shouldn't lower my expectations.

-Degrassi premiered last night on "The N," Nickelodeon's solution to teenagers. This Canadian teen drama is in its 7th season and last night's episode featured teen drinking, a blind date, threats of violence via podcast, a visit to a graveyard and oh yeah, a stranger rape. These kids are seniors in high school. More happened to them in 55 minutes than my entire 4 years at JMM. The show's tagline " It Goes There," has never been more true.

-Prison Break is off to a good start. If you're not into it now, it may be too late. DVD it...pronto.

That's all for now. Next week should be sweet with new shows on MTV and Discovery Health. Hot!