Our three-day respite from probing the collective psyche of the nation was a welcome one–and who doesn’t immediately appreciate the improvements on The Corner? I especially like the live video feed from Jonah’s couch and the animated K-Lo icon that says “No Star Trek!
No Star Trek!”
Meanwhile, I used the time off effectively and wisely–catching up on my TV. I had three hours of 24 with which to finale the season, and the same happy circumstance on Lost. (These are my two favorite shows, in the absence of a Race that is Amazing, which is otherwise number one but ended sooner.) These program reviews brought to you by the high-definition DVR that comes inside my high-def cable box. And in wide-screen high-def both of these superbly mounted shows look as good as movies.
24 was great. Poor Jack Bauer–can he ever just catch a break?
At least no one he loved got killed this time around. On the down side, everyone who loves him thinks he’s dead. A small negative note–after a lengthy build-up of suspense about a nuclear warhead mounted on a missile by a terrorist and then launched somewhere in the U.S., a fighter jet needed all of about 45 seconds to shoot the missile down and cause no damage to anyone. The big thing apparently with missiles is just finding where they’re headed–the rest is easy. Also, the return of Mia Kirschner as an exceptionally bad girl was dee-licious. Emmy for Kiefer this year, please.
As for Lost, some have complained (JPod) that the finale had no payoffs and could lead to a frustrated audience. Well, not this one.
People need to remember that season finales are about questions, not answers. J.R. was shot in March, and we found out who did it in
November. And for my money, Lost is consistently involving,
inventive, and ultimately very satisfying. As we have (or maybe
haven’t) learned from Thomas Pynchon and Twin Peaks, it’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey.