Monday, January 23, 2012

Alcatraz: Season 1 Episode 3 - Kit Nelson


Hello TV Addicts and welcome to THE ROCK!  (when will that get old?)  I thoroughly enjoyed following our 3rd case in the new JJ Abrams drama.  The whole "prisoner/guard per week" angle may tire on some of us serial TV fans eventually, but for now it still feels fresh.  And I feel we're getting enough mythological tidbits to keep us satisfied.  Like I mentioned before, it feels very FRINGE-ish to me in the format.  The further out the show goes, inevitably the show will have to get more serialized.  We'll be too far down the rabbit hole!  So, hopefully fans stick it out and we get to see what they have in mind.   I'm going to stick to my brief recapping format for now as it provides me more time with the little one! So let's get on with it!


Kit Nelson


So Kit Nelson is just your average child snatcher who even the country's worst criminals can't even stand the sight of.  He steals them for 48 hours leaving a chrysanthemum on their bed, takes them to do their favorite things with some weird fetish moments along the way (umm, put him under water for as long as you can? Dude has issues!).  Oh yeah, and throws him in Desmond's swan hatch for a little while too.   It turns out that the reasoning for his psychotic ways is rooted in his past where his mother died and father left for the military.   He felt abandoned and this inspired him to strange his brother giving him the thirst for murder.  Interesting! 

Diego "Hurley" Soto was prominently featured on our 63s Manhunt squad this week as he figured out Kit's patterns and tracked him down, even when Emerson wanted to call off the hunt due to staying out of the public eye.  Emerson came around by the end and even delivered the final blow and took down Kit, making him our first fallen inmate.   

Mythology Talk
  • It was confirmed in tonight's episode that the "Man Behind the Curtain" in 1960 is indeed Tommy Madsen, Rebecca's grandfather.  We already had put this together last week based on him identifying himself as prisoner 2002 and the newspaper clipping putting that number with Tommy's mugshot.  

  • Tommy was showing giving even more vials of his blood for whatever reason.  Still has me leaning towards the cloning angle.  But, of course, it's way too early to be coming up with these kind of simpleton theories as we learned with the whole LOST Purgatory theory.  (Sidenote: It still drives me crazy that some people still think that the entire LOST series was purgatory based on them not being able to process the ending correctly.)
  • But, allow me to add further to these present day criminals not being exactly the same version as their 1963 counterparts.  After that massive beating Kit took by the inmates, he looked like he would be permanently scarred on his face.  Yet, in the present day he looked just fine and dandy.  Hmmmmm
  • So, as I mentioned, we have our first deceased 63er.  Yet, Emerson still brought him back to the new-fangled Alcatraz.  And we finally put a face with Dr. Beauregard.  And yes, it's the same smoking doctor (not attractiveness, just the fact that he smokes cigarettes while he "doctors") that we met tending to inmates in the 1960 Alcatraz!  I'm sure there will be more to that story, but for now it was pretty funny just to see him dancing to his oldies while performing an autopsy.



  • Looks like Diego Soto has a bit of a past himself.  He was kidnapped when he was 11?   Madsen mentioned that he might have quite the origin story himself.  Sure, it was a reference to his Comic Book writings, but maybe it will somehow tie into the Alcatraz 63s plot and how he was always destined to help.  
  • Hurley (sorry can't help it) had some great moments in this episode too.  The whole scene with him trying to stall Kit until Madsen got there.  "So...what are you guys up to?"  Good times!  Loved that he had a police radio too!  I don't care if he seems exactly like Hurely sometimes.  I miss Hurley on my TV every week! 

  • The scenes with the Warden and Kit were pretty darn intense.  First where he left a beat up Kit who could barely walk hugging a window sill and telling him to walk back.  And then the whole scene in the solitary cell with the matches, getting a confession out of him for killing his brother.  Crazy stuff!  Obviously, this Warden guy seems to have some secrets stored up his sleeve as well.  Him and his deputy Warden Tillman both (who's older version was killed by Sylvane).  


  • So, they still kept up showing us all the inmates that have been captured this week (Cobb and Sylvane).  I guess they could have filmed that scene when they filmed the 2nd episode, but I just can't imagine them keeping these actors around for every episode when they return to the prison.  But pretty cool so far and for how long they can keep it up!   And another scan code for Cobb this week too if anyone can get their phone to capture it! 


Well that's all I have for this week.  Hopefully, it was enough!  I'll be back next week for more comments on the next episode, but until then I look forward to discussing the show with you here (and as always, any other show we can think of).  Hope you enjoyed my ramblings as always and I'll see you next week! 

End Credits
  • This season I will be recapping FringeTerra NovaThe Walking Dead and Alcatraz
  • Sneak Preview of TOUCH will air after American Idol on Wednesday January 25th.  Once Alcatraz airs it's 12 episodes, Touch will take over and air its 12.  I'm looking forward to this one as well! 
  • Other shows that are being discussed in comments recently:  Sons of Anarchy, How I Met Your Mother, Once Upon a Time, American Horror Story, Dexter, Chuck, Shameless, Mad Men (March!!), Game of Thrones (April 1st!), among others.  Feel free to join in!
  • See trailers for the Mid-Season shows I'm looking forward to: AlcatrazAwake and Touch.   I doubt I'll have time to recap them all but they will most likely be discussed on this blog!  
  • As always, there are other shows that I watch as well and would be happy to discuss with all of you. For a complete list by day, you can check out my "FALL TV" post.

48 comments:

Anonymous said...

Just wondering if I am missing something here....
In episode 1 Jack Sylvane came back to the present time at Alcatraz and got off the island with the tourists.
Are we to assume that all the prisoner initially return to the world in the same way... specifically at Alcatraz?

If that is the case then the whole premise of this show is somewhat stupid. If this were really happening the government would find a way to shut it down to tourists. Once the tourists were shut out they would turn it into a west coast equivalent of Guantanamo. When the prisoners "reappeared" there would be someone there to greet them with an M16, a pair of handcuffs and a nice, clean cell.

What am I missing here? Is it a fact that all the prisoners re-enter the current time at Alcatraz or was it just Sylvane? To me this is a major flaw in the premise of the story that I am having a hard time accepting.

Bill B

Mike V. said...

Bill, why so negative these days???

I don't think we can assume anything about how Jack came to the present day. We don't even know if he time traveled. And he is the only one that we saw who woke up at Alcatraz. The rest of them seem to already be loose in society.

I think we still have a lot to learn before we can make assumptions like that. Or even call them flaws in the premise.

Anonymous said...

Mike,
I am not trying to be negative I just want things to make sense. I mean it was a prison from which no one could escape. Doesn't seem like it would be a problem if the prisoners all re-materialized on Alcatraz.

You are right, we haven't seen anyone else come back, only Sylvane. That is why I was asking if I missed something - like where anyone else re-materialized.

Sorry if I sound negative but I like my SF to be somewhat logical. Your assumption that perhaps most of them have come back already (before anyone in authority knew about it) and are at large amongst the general population works fine for me if that's the case.


Bill

Mike V. said...

I totally understand being logical, but you also have to factor in how JJ Abrams and co like to tell stories. They're not going to give you all the details up front. They're going to want you to work for them, stay invested, get clues as we go. Obviously, we want the stuff to make sense in the long run, but we need to let them lay the groundwork of the show first. That's my opinion anyway.

I don't even know if we can officially say we saw Sylvane "come back". That is the assumption I and everyone else probably made, but all we saw was a guy wake up in a cell and put on a new jacket with current currency and a ticket to take a ferry off of Alcatraz island. Someone may have planted him there. He didn't necessarily "re-materialize" Whoever is behind the conspiracy is the person we need more info on. And we're going to keep getting more information in the form of flashbacks of each of these inmates and the reveals of who in the present day could still be involved (Lucy, and Dr. Beauregard, and maybe Emerson Hauser so far) Then maybe we'll revisit the scene where Jack Sylvane showed up in the alcatraz prison and we'll find out how he got there.

Or at least we'll uncover the reasoning for why these people are showing up and then could rewatch the pilot episode with a new set of eyes and know why he was there.

And for the record, I do enjoy you bringing your criticisms to the comments. We need people to question things or else it just becomes one giant love fest around here! lol But, I'll always want to play devil's advocate and try to justify what the show is doing. That way we see both ends of the argument. So keep the comments coming!

Kelly said...

I love it when an actor is so good that he invokes uneasiness in me! Nathan Fillion did that for me in Buffy. He was so evil that I couldn't watch Firefly when it first came out. While it's a shame (because I finally watched Firefly last year, and it's AWESOME!), it's really a testament to an actor's talent. The guy who played Kit Nelson (I hear he was also on Fringe?) was awesome as a serial killer. That scene in solitary confinement gave me the chills. When he finally admitted to killing his brother and was all shaky? Wow. And a good job by the warden, too.
I do like how they finally made a character that was just evil and messed up. You didn't feel sorry for him in any way. I'm sick of shows making the villain have an understandable reason for why the person is the was he/she is. Sometimes they're just messed up! And Kit Nelson.. well, he's just messed up (Mommy paying more attention to his brother is NOT a reason!)
I was a bit disappointed in the lack of of mythology this week. The Beauregard revelation was the only real reveal, but whatevs. It was still a good episode, I'm still on board!
So it seems that Hauser knows that Lucy and Beauregard are from the past (or clones or whatever the heck they are!).. at least, that's what I'm going to assume unless it's shown not to be the case.

MJ said...

I too adored Firefly. Farscape as well. And hey - someone from Farscape/SG-1 was on Chuck ! Won't say more as I don't think Mike has caught up on Chuck yet ?

Until this ep I was on the fence on whether Hauser knew about Lucy or not - but now with Beauregard I'm pretty sure he does. Hey - wasn't Beauregard one of the kids names on AHS ?


Agree with all of you that the part with the matches was just chilling. Glad that Hauser killed him too - he seemed to only want them alive to begin with. Though the way Hauser was touching Lucy's stuff was a little creepy.

MJ said...

Hmm - just read this article that was actually posted before last nights show. It's about Sylvane and is VERY hinty for those who wish to avoid. It was a little in line with some things Mike was saying to Bill I think.

http://blastr.com/2012/01/will-alcatrazs-first-badd.php

Mike V. said...

Looks like I'll try a combo response here. lol

I am caught up on Chuck and we discussed it yesterday! But considering I didn't watch Farscape or SG-anything...I don't know who the actor you're referring to is! lol

I think the guy that played Kit Nelson was on Fringe last year. I kept thinking it was the same guy but then he looked different enough that I figured it wasn't him. There was a guy in the "OVER THERE" universe that and a condition where he could calculate future events. It was a really cool episode and he was very memorable in the part. It must be the same guy.

Kelly, I wouldn't get used to seeing just flat out villains on the show. From interviews I read, there will be times where we'll be rooting for the inmate. They said they want to make all of the inmates so memorable that everyone will have their favorites and even joked that there should be trading cards. lol But, I hear ya. Every once in awhile it's nice to just root for the good guys. But hey, even on LOST when the villains seemed to have a fleshed out backstory of why they are the way they are...they were still the people we rooted against in the long run. We wanted Jack and his peeps to win most of the time! (well, I did at least. lol)

Agree with both of you...it would seem that Emerson does have knowledge of Lucy and Beauregard. Since he was a guard back in 1963, he probably had seen them around before they disappeared. Which brings up the question...is he in on the conspiracy or are we going to find out there are 2 flavors of 63s? The people they want to stop and the people that are out to stop them? Interesting stuff.

Mike V. said...

Thanks for the link, MJ! Interesting stuff indeed!

Leslie said...

I really enjoyed this episode! I’m gonna go out on a limb and say I got a completely different impression of the last scene when Hauser brought the dead prisoner to the doctor. He said, “I brought you another one.” And, then combine that with his next request that “I may need your help for a friend of mine depending on how it goes,” and the doctor said “Armed and ready.” I took that to mean help with Lucy in case she died. Maybe I’m too paranoid from years of LOST, but I got the impression that the doctor could bring them both (the prisoner and Lucy) back to life. Am I totally crazy???

Another thing I’ve wondered is if there is some reason Hauser has been the one to shoot all 3 prisoners . . . Sylvane in the leg, Cobb in the hand, and now this guy in the head. He mysteriously appeared to take care of it last night. Again, I will admit I may be taking this too far so early in the game. I feel like part of the end game is to have all the prisoners united again and alive for some reason…kinda like they all had to come back to the island together in LOST.

Also, I’m wondering about the grandfather. We saw him in the present day in the first episode, and he ran away. Why doesn’t anyone seem concerned about catching him? He’s obviously one of the 63s.

Mike V. said...

Hmmm, interesting point Leslie! I didn't pay too much attention to what they were saying as I was trying to figure out if that Doctor was the same guy in the past. lol If he did say that stuff then yeah that seems to make sense that they may "revive" or "make another version" or "something else I can't think of" of Lucy and/or the prisoner. You're not crazy. I'll have to watch that scene again!

I did think Emerson showing up out of nowhere to take out Kit was definitely pretty shady. But I didn't make the connection that he has shot all 3 prisoners. Definitely an interesting and maybe integral observation! Yeah, I'm definitely not ruling out Emerson as being a total "GOOD GUY"...he may be using Madsen and Soto to help round up the troops for something bigger. I love how you're already thinking about the end game 3 episodes in. lol But hey, at some point this all has to lead somewhere so it's good to think about it!

As far as Tommy Madsen goes. he's been referred to in all 3 hours of the show so far so he's definitely an important character. It's a good question to why they're not looking for him yet. But it might be because they don't really have any leads on him. He kinda just vanished. They usually are just going after people that make themselves known through their past patterns being identified. But you raise a good point to help with Bill's question above. Tommy is another prisoner that's on the loose in San Francisco. So, it's not like these prisoners are just appearing out of thin air on Alcatraz. They may already be loose around San Fran, maybe even further. Or maybe whoever is behind this is releasing them in phases but maybe not all from Alcatraz.

I don't know about you, but I get excited when a show introduces so many open ended questions. It just means that they have plenty of ground to cover down the road which means they can provide years of entertainment. Of course, I do wonder how long they will keep the mystery of the prisoners' disappearance/reappearance a mystery. Will it be a SERIES long mystery or maybe a season 1 mystery only to be topped by a bigger season 2 mystery? It seems like a series long mystery, but I can imagine people will get impatient. We'll see!

Kelly said...

That was my first reaction, too, Leslie. I almost expected Doc Beauregard to revive Kit right then and there! but if that's the case, then was was he so adamant about having Cobb be brought in alive? Maybe it's just really annoying bringing these peeps back to life or something? It's definitely something to chew on though, good point!
I definitely don't expect all of the inmates to be pure evil (nor do I want that, either!), it was just nice to see someone that deserved all badness to happen to them, lol.
Yes MJ, Beauregard was that deformed kid in the attic on AHS: )
And interesting link, thanks! I can't wait to see how this all works out in the coming weeks. Anyone know how long the season will be?

Mike V. said...

Kelly, the season is 12 episodes and then TOUCH will take over in its slot in March sometime. The 2 hours last week count as 2 episodes also. I wouldn't be surprised if they give us a 2 hour finale too. You gotta give credit to FOX though. Terra Nova, Alcatraz and Touch will have short seasons but they will basically run straight through, eliminating the whole complaint about reruns and hiatuses! (fyi - touch airing this wednesday is just an early preview of the show then it will resume in march) I'm fine with short seasons. It's easier on me too! lol

Kelly said...

You know, I really like short seasons. Like you said, they run straight through, and it really eliminates the need for filler episodes. Just look at SOA! The formula works, I think other series should follow that format as well. Except for Revenge (for now). Keep Revenge at many many episodes, please! lol

Mike V. said...

Agreed, the only reason seasons are usually so long is to fit the US TV Network Season schedule. They need to air episodes from September to May and there are a whole lot more weeks than 22 or 24 from September to May! And it leads to a lot of filler episodes and important episodes usually during premiere weeks and sweeps weeks. LOST was able to get out of that mess with their negotiations for seasons 4-6. But you could see the pain they were feeling in seasons 2 and 3 with some of the worst episodes of the series. They were killing time and showing us Jack's Tattoos and what not.

But yeah...shows like Revenge, I don't think it really matters how many of them they air per season. I say that with no real knowledge of the show except that it's a juicy night time soap that's really fun. lol

Leslie said...

I'm glad to hear my impression was at least plausible to you guys. I mentioned it to a couple of people at work who looked at me like I was crazy, but then again, that's not that unusual! lol

I recognize the doctor from Saving Grace that was on TNT a couple of years ago with Holly Hunter. He played the angel, Earl.

Mike, I also like the open ended questions. That's what gets us talking, right? And, thanks to you, we have a place to do that. :)

Anonymous said...

Doctor Beauregard, is he the guy that played the mentally challenged mail clerk on LA Law years ago? Loving the show and everyone has been making some interesting comments so far. I don't think all of the inmates return to the present via the prison. I think they are placed in selected areas by whoever is control. We need to come up with a name for this person for our discussions. Why don't you get on that Mike? Maybe something like....I don't know....Jacob? Cajun

Kelly said...

Oh man, Jack's tattoos.. the absolute worst episode in the entire series, in my opinion! And yes, it's worse than the Nikki/Paulo episode.. because at least in the N/P episode they died at the end!
Oh, and a little tidbit about the last episode of Once- WHERE CAN I GET THAT POTION THAT SNOW DRANK?? Cuz the pain of an ex makes ME Grumpy, too, but I don't like it! hahaha :) I'd love to be able to have my ex test me, and me be like, "Who are you?" lol!

Kelly said...

oops, test=text

Mike V. said...

@Leslie - My Pleasure!

@Cajun - lol on the Jacob naming. Maybe we should call him Man in Alcatraz (or MIA) because he will forever remain nameless just like the MIB (of course, he did get the name Barry in that comic-con bit from last year. Which I found hysterical because Barry is always my go to random name. lol)

@Kelly - You'll get no argument from me on Stranger in a Strange Land being the worst LOST episode ever. A close second for me was Fire + Water with Aaron getting baptized and all. But on rewatches, it didn't bug me as much as the Tattoo ep. I actually really enjoyed Expose'....There were some excellent stand-alone season 3 episodes that I absolutely loved because it just showed the survivors having a good time. Sawyer's whole "who the hell are you guys" bit was classic whenever it came to Nikki/Paulo. Remember those awesome episodes like Tricia Tanaka Is Dead where Hurley gets the van working and Sawyer is teaching Jin english? That stuff was priceless! Or Catch-22 when Desmond and crew go hiking and Jin told a scary ghost story in Korean? Season 3 was a really fun season in the middle before things got awesomely serious. I know some people think it's the worst season but it's one of my favorites. And I know this totally contradicts my whole philosophy that shorter seasons are better. Longer seasons do allow for some fun episodes along the way. But once LOST past a certain point, they had to bring the show to conclusion and shorter seasons were better to do that.

ONCE - Nice on the potion! lol I just want that giant Apollo candy bar! :-)

Mike V. said...

wow...did I really just use "PAST" the way I did? lol PASSED! lol

MJ said...

CHuck - the Farscape/SG-1 guy was on of the bad guys in the parking lot. Both those shows had huge cult followings so it was awesome to have him on before the end.

I knew you'd watched the previous week's ep but wasn't sure if you'd caught up to this one as you were traveling home.

Agree with what all of you are saying and hypothisizing with Alcatraz - and I'm hoping they DO go there. LOL

Mike V. said...

Ohhh yeah....I recognized one of the guys in the parking lot, so I'm sure I've seen him in something.

Ahh...you're probably right. the weeks are just flowing together right now. I am all caught up and can't wait for the finale! Yeah we definitely did talk about it because I said I hoped for one more Jeffster reunion...which I think has been confirmed in something I recently read. lol And I talked about how chuck vs. sarah is a fitting way to go out.
So I just read Matt Roush's take on Touch and I gotta say, I'm pretty psyched to watch the preview tonight. I doubt I'll be recapping, but maybe when it swings back around in March I will (since Alcatraz will be over).

I'll definitely comment here about it though. Also, not sure how many musical fans are out there but I watched the Pilot of SMASH free on iTunes, and I was blown away. Looks like it's going to be really good. And Roush may have me sold on watching The River since he's seen 5 episodes and loves it. Yikes...too much TV as always!! (And Awake still doesn't have a premiere date!!)

http://www.tvguide.com/News/Wednesday-TV-Review-1042187.aspx

MJ said...

Just wait til you watch Justified next year too ! And Revenge. Cause when you chek them out this summer you will be hooked LOL

I also plan on watching Smash - though I am not a Gleek or Idol lover - I had heard Smash was to be good. Also will watch River and Touch.

I'm also whammied by the fact that I watch some USA shows that have returned for some eps. I let them linger until I have time though.

I'm still slogging thru Desperate Housewives - almost quit until they announced it was the final year - but i'm behind on it.

Mike V. said...

After one episode, I can tell you that Smash is nothing like Glee or Idol. It is a behind the scenes look at the musical industry. Creating/Producing a musical, the trials and tribulations of performing in one and all of the backstage drama. I was hooked after the hour and pretty annoyed when it ended because I wanted more! lol And, I will have you know, had it not been for American Idol Smash would not have its leading lady -> Katharine McPhee lol

I'm absolutely positive you'll be right about Justified and Revenge. I do know there are people out there that watch the TNT and USA shows. I've never gotten into them. But I'm sure they're entertaining. I hear nothing but good things about Psych, White Collar, The Closer, etc... It's just too much!

Ahhh DH - I gave up on that show a couple seasons ago. But, I'm sure I'll tune in for the finale (or few episodes leading into it), or at least fast forward through them! That season that LOST, DH and Grey's started...I was watching them all and was hooked on all of them. But Grey's turned into just another typical hospital drama and DH...well I don't think it's ever been as good as the first season. I still watch Grey's every once in awhile, but I have let my wife go ahead and watch them without me. lol

Leslie said...

I plan to check out Touch, The River and Smash. All look interesting from the previews. And, Mad Men is finally coming back in March! It's about time!

Mike V. said...

Agreed Leslie. Can't wait for Mad Men to come back either! It's been far too long!

For everyone -> Jason O'Mara provided suggestions for fixes of Terra Nova season 2 if it happens. (I haven't read yet but will) http://www.tvline.com/2012/01/terra-nova-season-2-pickup-jason-omara/

And apparently, IMDB provided a Top 10 list of most accessed TV pages over the past 10 years. Guess what was #1? Yup...LOST!! Carlton Cuse tweeted his thanks, but I'm still having a hard time finding it on IMDB. lol

Mike V. said...

ew.com did the work for me! Here's that top 10 list with LOST at #1.

http://popwatch.ew.com/2012/01/25/the-dark-knight-rises-johnny-depp-and-lost-top-imdbs-top-searched-lists/

Anonymous said...

Here is a link most readers will have some opinions on. All the shows that tried to capture the same success that LOST had using the same long story arc strategy and failed....
http://blastr.com/2012/01/9-series-that-tried-to-be.php

Bill B

Mike V. said...

Wow, I forgot about a lot of those shows. lol The only ones I really tried out were FF, V and The Event. And I really did enjoy FF. I thought they finally found their way at the end of season 1. Too late! Thanks for sharing Bill!

Kelly said...

I loved Flashforward. I thought the pilot was the best I had seen since Lost. Them iddle was a little tedious, but it really seemed to find its footing at the end. I was disappointed when it was canceled.
I was annoyed that ABC kept V in favor of FF, only to have it fail as well. But I'm sure whichever show they saved would've been canceled anyway. I started watching V only because there was nothing else on, and that show also seemed to get better towards the end. But alas, it got the ol' heave-ho (not that I'm crying about it).
Ugh, The Event. I watched out of curiosity but it was so underwhelming! Mike, you know how much I made fun of that show... as did we all, honestly! I'll never forget "Mr. Andrea Zuckerman", lol! And man, when you put that show next to all of the good shows that came out this season.. I can't believe I saw through the whole season. It was fun to make fun of it though, that's really the reason why I kept watching!
Oh snap, I watched Persons Unknown! That was a bad summer for me, I couldn't drive so I was stuck at home watching bad TV. This was another one that started off semi-strong, but boy did that start to stink quickly! Oh, and the girl who played Dualla in BSG was in it as some ghetto "hard" woman who wound up falling in love with the leading lady.. it was awful, such an unbelievable role for her!
Oh man, what a reminder of all of the hours of time I wasted, lol.. Thanks Bill, let's hope future showrunners learn from these!

Mike V. said...

Yeah...last year was definitely an "OFF YEAR" in terms of new shows. Unless you count premium cable stuff...because Game of Thrones and Shameless became instant favorites of mine!

But yeah, The Event was not much of an event at all. I faked it for most of the season, and it was entertaining at times. But yeah...we had much more fun making fun of the show than taking it seriously. (which can be as entertaining as watching a good show sometimes. lol)

This year is definitely another fantastic year for new television. I haven't even asked if anyone is watching NEW GIRL. We don't normally discuss comedies outside of HIMYM, but I find New Girl to be hysterical!! Definitely very polarizing in terms of people liking/hating it though. lol Depends how much you enjoy Zooey Deschanel.

And I haven't even brought up TOUCH from last night yet. LOOOOVED IT! Very "touching" story for lack of a better word. It'll be interesting to see how they keep the pilot concept going in future episodes but I loved how everything tied together in the end. And of course, good ol' MIB was in it! And just getting a few choice "DAMMIT!!" lines from Kiefer was enough to get my 24 fix. :-) And how bad can a show that is all about patterns in "NUMBERS" be?!

Leslie said...

I also watched FF, The Event and Persons Unknown. Of the 3, FF was definitely the best. So far, in my opinion, Alcatraz has the best chance of going somewhere good.

I liked Touch, too. I do think there's something to the connections between us all that we may not even realize. They explored that in LOST, too, showing us how their paths had crossed before the island. And, how could you not be touched when the kid hugged the dad in the end? Awwww! It'll be interesting to see where it goes.

Kelly said...

I didn't watch Touch. The premise didn't grab me enough. But my Titus was in it?? Darn it! I have a huge crush on him, lol :) I even looked past his horrible Irish accent in last year's season of SOA! I'm sooooo happy he'll be on a future episode of Grimm :)

Mike V. said...

Definitely loved the hug at the end! I saw it coming but it was still so sweet. They did a good job setting up their relationship over that hour. BTW, Kelly if you want to watch it to see if you can get past the premise, I think it's going to be online for awhile (on FOX's site). May as well check it out!

As far as the connections go, yeah I loved that part about LOST. And I like the concept of it. I look forward to what else they'll do with the show and what types of adventures Kiefer's character will stumble upon.

Totally agree that Alcatraz has the best shot to go somewhere. It's kind of like Fringe has been the best sci-fi show on networks since the LOST era has begun. And guess who is behind all 3 of those shows? Yup, JJ Abrams and his Bad Robot squad. Always have to give those shows a shot. Some will stumble (Undercovers), but they usually are a good time. I'm still kicking myself for not watching Alias.

Mike V. said...

Ok Fringe Peeps, I knew I was on the right track with Zeppelin X-Man! Here's some insight from the producers on what is coming our way this season:

"Fringe | OK, you wanna know about The Zeppelin Man who was introduced in the animated segment of last season’s “Lysergic Acid Diethylamide” and is fated to kill Olivia? Here is what exec producer J.H. Wyman told me about that loose thread: “We ourselves get frustrated with other shows that only ask questions and leave things up in the air and don’t really answer them, so we really take pride in saying, ‘Look our drama is strong enough that we can actually answer the questions.’ Let’s just say that we’re going to try and get you satisfying conclusions for all those things that are up in the air.” For example, Wyman shared, “You’ll learn a lot more about the Observers this year. And yes, you probably will understand a lot about that guy in the zeppelin.” Now let’s just hope that the show bosses get one more season to tie everything in an extra-neat bow!
"

http://www.tvline.com/2012/01/matts-inside-line-scoop-mentalist-house-fringe-justifed/

Anonymous said...

Ok here's an Alcatraz related story...
According to TMZ, after the show Alcatraz started, tour guides at Alcatraz have said there have been a number of visitors that have strayed off the guided tour looking for the hidden "bat cave" below the prison. LOL

http://www.tmz.com/2012/01/26/alcatraz-fox-show-tourists-warning/#.TyKaNyu7pCd

Bill B

Mike V. said...

That...is....AWESOME! lol And totally hysterical. Thanks for sharing Bill!

Kelly said...

I saw that article yesterday, Bill- hysterical! That's either a testament to how believable the show is or how stupid people are (methinks it's the latter, lol).
I can watch Touch on Free on Demand (how I got into AHS), but I may skip it entirely. I already have too much to watch right now, lol! Who knows though, we'll see how bored I get in the coming weeks :)

Mike V. said...

I have way too much to watch, but I can't seem to stop myself! Too much good television out there. lol

Leslie said...

You mean the Easter Bunny and Tooth Fairy aren't real???? I don't know if I can go on.......

MJ said...

I watch new Girl ! I should have known that you did too since we both love HIMYM and Modern Family. Tried Happy Endings but that didn't tickle my funny bone. Wish I'd stayed with Cougar Town - heard that got really good.

I have to read that article with the scoops - the link looks like it has Justified in it too.

Thanks.

I taped Touch and have not watched yet. Looking forward to it, but since it really doesn't start til march I am not in a big hurry.

SIGH! Final Chuck tonight. I'm so sad. But I hear it will be a great ep. I'm just glad they got the half season to clise it out right ! NBC really did right by the fans with this one. For once.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Mike V. said...

That's awesome that you watch New Girl! Come to think of it we may have discussed it before. But I never posted an update with how great it has been. My wife and I are laughing non-stop when it's on. Happy Endings is hit or miss. I'd rather Cougar Town still be on after MF. It definitely did get really good once they dropped the whole "cougar town" part of the concept. lol I love the promo for the new season. "Bad Name. Good Comedy" lol

I purposefully avoided the Justified scoop! I'll see it all this summer. :)

Can't wait for Chuck tonight! My wife is stir crazy with the baby and wanted us all to go out and do something tonight. And I was like...are you kidding!?!? It's Chuck Series Finale and Fringe night! lol Anyway, we'll probably step out for a bit. Doesn't matter since the baby will be up all night anyway! Agreed, NBC definitely did something right with this one. Both this one and Friday Night Lights. Hopefully Fox and WB will find some way to keep Fringe alive for at least one more season too.

You have a great weekend too! All of you!

And @Leslie - Ummm, I think you read some false information! There's no way that can be true. lol :-)

MJ said...

Hey Mike - don't you watch Parks and Rec also ? Cause this week's ep had me crying I was laughing so hard.

Mike V. said...

I do watch Parks and Rec. The whole bowling thing was fantastic. Ben punching the guy and Leslie making out better for it. Tom doing the granny bowling and Ron bowling a 300 with the style after being so embarrassed by it in the first place. Fantastic!

That show just gets funnier and funnier too! lol

Mike V. said...

Totally called it. EW.com posted Josh Schwartz's goodbye to chuck that was featured in last week's magazine. It's good stuff!

http://insidetv.ew.com/2012/01/27/chuck-finale-josh-schwartz-goodbye-essay/

MJ said...

I was actually in tears from laughing at Ron's reactions to Tom's bowling.

But I had real tears friday while watching our final Chucks.

We'll talk in the Fringe blog, after i read the link you posted ;-D

Mike V. said...

Agreed on Parks and Chuck and see you over in the Fringe blog! lol