Austin360 blogs > Digital Savant > Archives > 2005 > May > 26 > Entry
Season finale scorecard
I’m very, very behind on my TV watching (I’m about eight episodes behind on “24,” so even if you told me what happened on the season finale, I probably wouldn’t be able to put it into any kind of context), but here’s a quick scorecard for the finales I did see:
“C.S.I.”: I don’t even watch this show, but I had to see what Quentin Tarantino did with it. Ants are creepy, as are Web cams; combining the two? Genius! A very, very good two-hour episode with one very fantastic shot: the papers flying in the air after John Saxon goes Kablooey! I’m not sure what the regular “C.S.I.” viewers thought, but this nonfan was very impressed.
“Desperate Housewives”: So much better than I expected, with just the right amount of revelation and cliffhanger to satisfy everyone. An unexpected death, a solution to the season-long suicide puzzle that makes perfect and logical sense, and the introduction of some intriguing new characters. This is how you do a season finale and avoid the “Twin Peaks” curse.
“Lost”: Speaking of the “Twin Peaks” curse, this show is in serious danger of becoming a self parody if it doesn’t start to explain some mysteries, or at least introduce some new ones. I love seeing the flashback to characters’ previous lives, but the season finale’s, slo-mo plane boarding felt a bit forced. And what was up with those swarthy kidnapping pirates? Why did it remind me of David Cross’ Tobias character on the party boat in the “Arrested Development” pilot?
“Smallville”: This has been a pretty terrible season, so anything that was on a decent level of quality was automatically elevated to season-best status. Such was the case with this episode with a nicely done meteor shower attacking the town and Clark Kent uniting the pesky elements that have been the subject of many a meandering storyline for the past few seasons. In fact, one of the elements was used to stab former “Dr. Quinn” actress Jane Seymour in the chest. Oh, and I think we’re finally over that “Lana Lang possessed by a witch” junk.
“The O.C.”: My wife still loves the show, so I’m obligated not to trash-talk about it too much, but … WHAT HAPPENED?! Seth went from adorable to whiny, Ryan did a lot of nothing and Marissa became the most disjointed and depressing teen on TV. Even the usually spot-on Peter Gallagher was forced into a ridiculous almost-affair and spent the latter part of the season looking sad and conflicted about Kristen’s alcoholism. And the less said about George Lucas’ droning guest appearance (a droid would have done a better job), the better. Someone please slap Josh Schwartz around a little bit, tell him to stop worrying so much about what cool guest band will be appearing, and get “The O.C.” back on track. When Julie Cooper becomes your most interesting character, you know your show is in big trouble.
Permalink | Comments (3) | Categories: TV
Comments
By Omar G.
June 2, 2005 6:03 PM | Link to this
Unfortunately, that's one of the few shows I don't watch. I hope to remedy that (as well as "House") by catching up with re-runs this summer. You might want to check in to see if Diane Holloway's written about it, or see Television Without Pity's take on it.
I write about "Smallville" for them, and, present company excepted, they tend to be pretty on-the-mark.
By Ashley
June 1, 2005 11:24 PM | Link to this
I love your reviews. Could you do one of the season finale of Veronica Mars?
By M
May 27, 2005 12:25 AM | Link to this
"Why did it remind me of David Cross’ Tobias character on the party boat in the “Arrested Development� pilot?"
Sigh...I love you, Omar.