I'm Jackie and I watch TV. I'm not proud. Bookmark the blog now as your source for live feed reports from inside the 'Big Brother' house! Come, join in on the fun ...
Nope, not a TV image. This is a shot I took in the NYC subway as a train was going by. I think it symbolizes how quickly things can pass us by.
I apologize for the lack of an entry yesterday. I have many things going on -- some good, some not so good, but all seem to be time-sapping. On the good end, I have a new computer monitor as my old one was fading away (thanks and a shout out to my brother for my birthday gift). I also bought a cheapie MP3 player and found out that all the Rhapsody music I've downloaded for years on my computer due to the BB SuperPass have to be burned to a CD before I can load them in the MP3 player as they're RealPlayer file format. The last few months of my SuperPass they've switched to MP3 format at Rhapsody, but I have years of the downloads.
I go not only to the vampires tomorrow, but to the orthopedic surgeon, too. It's my pre-release back to work visit. Right now I don't think I'm ready to stress the knee as much as need be for my return to work. When I go back, I have to return full time and with very few work restrictions. So I don't know. I'll see what the doctor says.
Also, tomorrow is the season premiere of Survivor. I'll be covering it here and on TV Squad later in the evening. It's going to be two hours. Right now I'm not sure if I'll do an actual live-blog here or not. I'll decide before it airs!
Can I get a show of hands from folks who want a Prison Break discussion post set up?
Yes, there is a three-hour block of Heroes scheduled tonight. The actual new season begins at 9 PM ET/PT. I'll be watching, but I don't think I'm going to write up a full review. I'm a bit fuzzy on where last season left off although I'm sure it will come back to me. But three hours worth is too long for my knee to be in one position watching and blogging. I'll try to get the more important things mentioned, though.
The first hour is a pre-season premiere special. All of the stars and a huge party with clips from the past seasons, a run-down of the heroes, some glimpses into the new season. I'll have to have a Heroes party with my cat. She doesn't like to fly ... sigh.
Who shot Nathan Petrelli? Noah? Adam Monroe? Niki's Jessica? His mother? Mohinder? Claire? Sylar? Unknown assassin? The suspense builds.
Volume Three - "Villains"
Ohh ... Claire tries to shoot Peter, then he goes back to the past when Nathan was shot. Peter chased the would be assissin into the mens room only to find his cap and jacket. Hmmm....
UH-oh, now Nathan is dead but we know he isn't. He zooms to life right at Peter and we get the opening credits.
Hiro now has 51% of his father's business, but he's the same old Hiro at heart. A message recorded by his father was given to him. But then there's Claire packing to save Nathan but running into Sylar instead. He wants her healing power, of course. But she gives him a right uppercut instead. He's locking all exits before she can get to them. No working phone. Claire! He's in back of you! She hides in a closet with a butcher knife.
Cut to Maya being surprised by Mohinder. He's ready to give up his work. He decides her powers have a mind/body connection ... flight or fight. He has an epiphany ... the abilities are produced by adrenalin.
Back to Hiro -- He leaves him a sacred duty. He must keep a secret. In the wrong hands the secret could destroy the world. He's supposed to be a sentinel, but Hiro wants to be a hero. He's not supposed to open the safe, but that's what he wants to do. Heh, another DVD from his father scolding him. He has half of a formula that the fate of the world depends on and must find the person with the other half.
Ohh ... a new blond female evil "hero" speedster snatched the formula and he froze time to catch up with her. She escapes with the half the formula.
Meanwhile, Peter might be the assailant of his brother. He went to retrieve the gun and Parkman caught him. Yipes, it turns out that Peter's scar returns and he tells Parkman that he came from the future to stop Nathan from telling the world about them. And, now that Parkman knows, he can't be there anymore. Uh-oh, is it the end of Parkman?
Nathan leaves the hospital as a news reporter talked of his miraculous recovery ... and Peter's looking for him. Nathan thinks he was saved to do great things. Peter's ready to shoot him again if he talks. Nathan says God is the only one with a message -- "We're all connected. Only together can we be the stewards of our own destiny." Peter doesn't shoot him. "Save ourselves, save the world."
Cut back to Mohinder and Maya. He's trying to figure out the source of her power. He's isolated the genetic building blocks of her abilities. She wants her powers taken away, not given to others!
Back to Claire and Sylar. He has found her father's files on the heroes. She attacked him, but he's ready to ... he starts to slice her head ... and we go into commercial.
Back. She is cut and wonders if he's going to eat her brain. He doesn't; he just goes for a certain little bit, no eating. He pulls out the knife she stuck in him and the healing power seems to be working. He has taken off the top of her headbut he puts it back on, she lives. She heals. When she wonders why he doesn't kill her, he tells her she's special and can never die. Now neither can he.
Back to Mohinder and Maya. Blah-blah. He wants to inject himself with his discovery. She doesn't understand, thinks her abilities are a curse. She thinks his discovery is evil and should be destroyed.
Back to Nathan and Peter. Peter reminds him of the powers while Nathan thinks it's the hand of God or angels. Now Nathan doesn't want to tell the world so I guess Peter won't have to kill him again. Yikes. Peter leaves and Linderman comes in. He's the one who healed him. "You and I are meant for great things, Nathan."
Niki/Jessica is with a governor and they see Nathan on TV. She likes him. Isn't he such a lucky man?
Eww. Parkman is in a desert with a scorpion on him. He's all alone and panicky.
To Ando and Hiro talking about the woman stealing the formula. Ando wants him to go back in the past and ask his father. But Hiro wants to go to the future to see if the world gets destroyed. So he does. Future Hiro has the formula, Ando kills future Hiro while present day Hiro watches. Ando has the formula and it looks like the city is esploding, but it's back to present day. Hiro tells Ando they must get the formula.
Oh, back to Mohinder. He's ready to shoot up the serum from Maya, he does it. An allergic reaction? Poisoning? He collapses.
Back to Peter, Nathan and Mom Petrelli. She asks Peter what he's done with Peter. She knows he shot Nathan. He tells her the formula she has will destroy the world. She says something different happens and it's all because of him. She wants her son back. "I put him somewhere safe," Peter says and walks away.
But she's right, he's not Peter. Peter is trapped underground with HRG. Into narration from Mohinder about the second coming. Parkman, Claire, Sylar ... all seem to be on their missions. Hmmm ... Mohinder is laying in the same prone position as Sylar when he went down. Thugs try to steal his money and he jumps to life with some sort of super strength, not Maya's blackening eyes bit.
Chapter Two - "The Butterfly Effect"
Claire's mother is in the house and is upset that Syalr was there. Clair cut her hand, but this time she doesn't feel the pain. Before she would heal but feel the pain. She's upset -- said the pain was the only time she knew she was still human.
Huh? Mrs. Petrelli walks into a buidling foul of our heroes, the good ones all dead. The bad ones alive. Phew. It was a dream as she rode in the back of a car. She goes to Peter and tells him it's her fault. He tells her he can't, he's busy saving the world. She tells him you don't screw with time -- the butterfly effect. You step on a butterfly today and three years from now a million people die.
They talk about Claire. She tells him that she's had a bad day and he should go see for himself.
Maya and Mohinder in NYC again. He's really developed superpowers, it seems. He's thrilled to death with his new powers. He's sort of like Spider-Man with his climbing. They kiss and we get hero-sex and then a commercial.
Parkman is still staggering through the desert and looking weak. He presses on. He collapses. And we go to part two -- Syular walking up the street and getting shot by cops, flinging the two agents aside. Back to Bob and Elle at Primatech -- the agents were theirs. She wants to go find Sylar.
Back to Hiro and Ando. Hiro is jumpy around Ando probably because he saw Ando kill future Hiro. The speedster is Daphne and they get a file on her from their detectives.
To Jessica and the governor. He thinks Nathan is untested. Sje is pushing for them to go with him ... politically, it sounds like. She wants him to appoint Nathan to the junior senator of New York. She's off on her mission.
Eep. The guy who played Willard (rats), approaches her. He's some kind of journalist and wants to exp[se her past.
Back to Hiro and Ando. They see the Mona Lisa? Now Claire is recording again, thinking she's not human. "If you can't feel anything, do you still have a soul?" She stands in front of a train, but Peter swoops in and saves her. She tells him something awful happened to her and ... commercial.
She tells him about Sylar taking her top of her head off. Peter blames himself and knows that Syalr can heal now. Peter tells her he can't help her because if something goes wrong, it could change the whole world.
To Nathan and Jessica arriving. He's surprised. She tells him that she works with Governor Malden (?) and about the position. He tells her that she's Niki Sanders and she tells him she's Tracy Strauss. Linderman watches her leave. He tells Nathan that it was legit and that it wasn't Niki Sanders. He tells Nathan that it is God's plan. Nathan kicks him out of the room.
Back to Elle and Bob. She tells him that Sylar could be sent to Level Five and have a buffet. Uh-oh, Bob is dead. She goes to Level Five -- and that's where Peter and HRG are. She gives HRG a gun and says they have to go for Sylar.
Whoops, Sylar is there. HRG shoots him several times. He looks dead, but the bullets are falling out of him and the healing works. He tells him he got the power from Claire and flings him. Elle tried to use her hands on him. He turns the gun to gold, tells her he killed a lot of people and she's as much to blame. All of a sudden the electricity flash and I think it was Sylar gping up in the air with it. Hmmm ... did the Peter who doesn't look like Peter do it? I turned my head a second, not sure if it was indeed Sylar. Definitely a guy, not Elle.
Yep, Peter did it. He escapes with a black guy. Elle is still alive as is HRG. Syalr is pretty out of it and it looks like they're going to lock him up.
Ando and Hiro -- In France. Hiro tells him about the future Ando killing future Hiro. Ando is dubious about that. Hiro is in Daphnre's place looking for something they can use to bargain for getting the formula back.
Peter and Nathan. Nathan mentions the position offered. Peter tells him he came from the future and came back to kill him. He said it was because the future heroes were tortured and abused because of Nathan's speech and he had to shoot him. Nathan asks future Peter what he should do ... take the offer? Peter says he's from a different future and Nathan must make the right choices. Peter vanishes telling Nathan that he has to set things right.
Nathan accepts the offer and tells "Tracy" he wants her on his staff. Back to the rat ... er, journalist. She denies she's Niki Sanders. He has a video of Niki and Nathan. He keeps at her, she pulls on his arm, he freezes and shatters like glass. ZMD 320 is the plate on her car if that means anything. She seems to have frightened herself with her power.
Elle is guarding over Sylar when Mrs. Petrelli arrives. Mrs. P tells her now that her father's dead, she's in charge. She's very condescending and tells Elle that her electrical power cut down the grid and allowed the prisoners to escape -- her services aren't needed anymore. "I suppose you'll have to get yourself another life," says Mrs. P.
Hiro and Ando trying to figure out Daphne with Catwoman. Daphne arrives and Hiro dangles her running medal trying to get the formula back. The formula paper is behind the Mona Lisa. She tells them her boss won't be happy. She zooms at Ando, holding a knife to him. She wants the formula and the medal. Hiro is confident -- he put a tracker on the medal. They go off following her.
Mohinder and Maya are in bed and he ain't doin' too well. His skin is peeling off all over his back and he seems all hot and bothered.
Someone has found Parkman in the desert. It's a turtle, telling him the plant nearby will give him water. Um, okay. It does. But the turle is not a turtle. It's an African asking him if he knows Britney Spears because he's from America. They walk. He tells Parkman he must stay and spirit walk for several miles. He sees the future. They walk on.
Claire is in her house, HRG is home again. She's so happy to see him but realizes he's not staying.
Chess game -- Linderman and Nathan. Linderman tells him he made the right choice by taking the senate seat. Nathan tells him that he won't be manipulated this time. Uh-oh, turns out that no one can see Linderman but Nathan. So his aide thinks he's playing by himself.
HRG is showing Claire all the heroes files, the evil ones it seems. Yep, evil. He says they will cause unimaginable destruction to the world -- they're villains. He's the only one who can stop them. Claire wants to help him. HRG has appointed Claire's firehands biological mother to protect the family.
Peter is after Sylar in Level five. His mom arrives and tells him it was the butterfly effect. She calls him Jesse and tells him that she wants her son back. Yikes, Peter sees the flamethrower guy kill people. The evil villains are befriending him. Hmmm ...but Peter's reflection is the guy who didn't look like him but was him in Level Five. Curioser and curiouser.
Mrs. P has Syalr captive. She calls him Gabriel and wants to take him in as her son. He says she's not his mother. "But I am, but I am," she replied.
It's that time again! Although I'll peek at the show now and again, I don't faithfully watch it each week. But I know a lot of you do. So here's your place to discuss the new season. The official website for the show is located right here.
A second discussion post is up as the comments here are hard to wade through. Please head on over to the new post!
You're being warned -- crude language ahead. It is Evel Dick, after all. But what he does, you don't see Julie Chen doing. He asks the questions and makes the statements YOU are thinking ... albeit probably not in the same words.
Carrying on with what I started yesterday, I continue to explore the castaways we'll be seeing this Thursday when Survivor Gabon premieres. When you compare and contrast the casting between Big Brother and Survivor, you generally find folks with more stable careers on Survivor. I think that might have something to do with the time away from the job needed. Survivor is just over a month while BB is around three months. Oh sure, you still get the bartenders and the Hollywood wannabes represented on Survivor; that's the nature of the reality TV beast. Part 1 of my look at the Survivor Gabon cast can be found right here.
Randy Bailey, age 49, Eagle Rock, Missouri I don't know. I think I'm getting sappy as I age. He's 49, thus I want him to do well. Yeah, I know that's not a great reason, but there you go. He does seem capable enough on the mental level. But on a physical level for challenges, I'm not so sure. He's a wedding videographer, not generally an all too physically demanding job. In a bio segment elsewhere, he describes himself as a bully and a train wreck. Uh-oh. I'm not liking him so much now. But he does do marathons and such. He might have what it takes to make it to the end if he doesn't brush too many folks the wrong way.
Paloma Soto-Castillo, age 24, Downey, California Close your eyes as she talks and notice the Keesha-esque quality to her voice! Like, wow, like she should be blond. But this girl seems to have much loftier goals than Hooters. If she wins, she wants to build a school in Kenya for students with whom she previously worked. Yes, she works part-time as a waitress, but she is still a full-time college student with a B.A. already in pocket. She has experience living in Africa and I think she'll do very well in that aspect. If she can be cut-throat enough and think ahead, I think she could be a strong player.
Michelle Chase, age 24, Los Angeles, California Ohhh ... I like her and I don't. What I don't like is that she's very smug and arrogant. But that can play well in the game. She seems to have adopted the strategy of Dan the Man in BB -- she's very strong and plans to come off as weak as long as she can to stay in the game. She's spunky, has lots of personal survival skills, has been on her own since the age of 16, married and divorced by 19. Plus, she boxes and is into triathlons. She's going to be one to watch, methinks.
Matty Whitmore, age 29, Pacific Palisades, California Okay, I'm glad he's so proud of being self-sufficient and on his own at the age of 29. I guess it's a generational thing, but I was proud of the same things at the age of 17. Well, no dog, but I had a cat! It will be interesting to see if there is a showmance or a snake in his days in Africa. Heh. I'm tossing around with whether he'll do well or not. For some reason, I'm thinking not. But I can't tell you why. Maybe it's the young male physically fit bit. I'm thinking he might be an early target. I could be wrong, though.
Marcus Lehman, age 28, Atlanta, Georgia Is there a doctor in the tribe? Medic! Medic! Yep, we have an actual doctor in the cast and not too bad on the eyes either. In 2006, he was named Georgia's Hottest Bachelor by Cosmopolitan magazine. He went to Harvard. I liked him in his interview. I think I'm gah-gah goo-goo over this one. How well will he do? Well, he has both the mind and the physique to go far. I only worry about that target thing. I wouldn't mind watching him for most or all of the season. Yeah, I'm being shallow.
Kelly Czarnecki, age 22, Buffalo Grove, Illinois We're talking a self-proclaimed "denim expert" who, unless I'm hearing wrong, likes to "snooze" her customers to make them buy more. Um, that would be "schmooze." While I think she's probably got some good things going for her, I'm not all that sure she'll do too well. For some reason, I can see her coming on with MY doctor.
Stay tuned for part three. What can I say? It's a big cast.
