TV Review: Avatar: The Last Airbender - Book One: Water.

There are plenty of other TV shows I owe you reviews for, but since the movie for this one is coming out soon, I wanted to get it out sooner than later.

I became a pretty big fan of this show when it first came out. It dabbles in some great religious ideologies. There's a great cultural mix at play. The story is epic, the characters are fun, and it isn't your average cartoon. Yes, it's technically anime (despite being American-made, which is almost an oxymoron). But while it does have its moments that cater to the younger audience, it has just as many that appeal to an older one (especially as the show goes on, like its third and final season).

For those of you who do not know, the show takes place in an alternate world where there are 4 major Nations: The Water Tribes, the Air Temples, the Earth Kingdom, and the Fire Nation. Throughout these Nations, there are people known as "Benders," who can control one of the respective elements. Peace is generally kept by what is called the Avatar, a spiritual leader that can control all 4 elements. When the Avatar dies, it is reincarnated into the next Nation in the cycle (meaning the Avatar has its original element but learns the others in extensive training). 100 years before the show begins, a 12-year-old Airbender monk named Aang is told he's the newest Avatar.

Over the hundred years before the show begins, Aang disappears and the Fire Nation basically takes over the world in a devastating war (that is still going on throughout the show). There are many battles over the years. All the Air Nomads are killed, leaving the missing Aang as, well, the last Airbender. The son of the Fire Lord, Prince Zuko, is disgraced, scarred, and banished from his home. His father sends him on a wild goose chase to find the Avatar to bring back home if he wants to regain his honor. So along with his equally disgraced Uncle Iroh (who is kind of a Mister Miyagi-type), who had once been a great general, Zuko travels the world trying to find the disappeared Avatar.

When the show begins, we meets two Water Tribe siblings, Katara and Sokka. Katara is a Waterbender and will serve as the sole strong female lead of the show (at least until season 2), while Sokka is a wannabe warrior who actually is a good strategist, though is often used as comedic relief and slapstick. They accidentally uncover Aang frozen in an iceberg, along with his giant flying bison, Appa.

This begins the epic story of Avatar: The Last Airbender. From this point on, I'm going to discuss each episode one at a time. I will give a brief synopsis of the episode, what my thoughts on the episode are, and if I believe they will use or cut the episode from the movie (and why). So let us begin.

Book One: Water (Season 1)

Episode 1: The Boy in the Iceberg
Synopsis: Katara and Sokka discover Aang and his flying bison Appa in an iceberg and try to figure out who he is. But they soon discover the Fire Nation is heading right for their little village.

Thoughts: Great way to start the show. It's basically just an introduction to all the major characters. Aang is lighthearted and a bit on the immature side; Sokka is well-meaning, but comedic relief; and Katara is strong, emotion-driven, and potential love interest to Aang.

The Movie: Of course this will be in the movie. We've only seen a couple clips from the Southern Water Tribe stuff (like the actual boy in the iceberg big), though they did seem to change how they discovered him. In the show, Katara gets pissed at Sokka and shows the real strength of her bending powers, which destroys an iceberg and reveals Aang frozen inside. The movie shows it to kinda come up out of the ground for some reason or another.

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Episode 2: The Avatar Returns
Synopsis: Basically a Part 2 to the first episode, where everybody fends off Prince Zuko and the Fire Nation attack on the village. But Katara and Sokka discover that Aang is the missing Avatar in the process.

Thoughts: Again, a good way to start off the show. It's not technically a Part 2, but it feels like one.

The Movie: Again, of course. This is where you begin to see Zuko's drive for the Avatar, discover who Aang is, and begin the journey around the world to help Aang become who he needs to be in order to stop the Fire Lord from taking over completely. And thus, they head off to the Northern Water Tribe so that Aang (and Katara) can find a waterbending master to learn the art more professionally.

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Episode 3: The Southern Air Temple
Synopsis: Interested in reliving his past and going to his old home, the gang travels to the southern air temple. Unfortunately, they discover it in not-so-good shape. Meanwhile, Zuko and Iroh stumble across Commander Zhao, a high ranked officer of the Fire Nation Navy, who discovers that Zuko knows more about the Avatar's whereabouts than he's letting on. Zuko and Zhao end up in a major fight, which ends up showing some honor in Zuko, but the horrible temper of Zhao.

Thoughts: This is where we initially discover that Aang truly is the last Airbender and that all the other air nomads have been killed off. It's a great emotional episode for Aang, and it's also the first time we see a glimpse of the Avatar State--a powerful state of being where all previous incarnations of the Avatar possess Aang and give him incredible, though uncontrollable, power. Zuko's fight is a good one and is one of the first bits that shows us there is more to the guy than the show is letting on at first.

The Movie: There's no way this can't be in the movie, and I'm pretty sure it is based on the trailers. There are two air temples they travel to in the show, but the second is more of a filler episode. However, in the trailers, they show the temple being attacked, which only happens at the second air temple. So perhaps they merged the two occurrences together. This episode introduces quite a few things--the Avatar State, Zhao (who is the secondary villain of the season), the fact that Aang really is the last Airbender, more into Zuko's past, and--most importantly--Momo! Momo is a flying lemur native of the air temples. They take him in as a kind of pet/new friend, and he becomes one of the team after that. And M. Night has said Momo is in the movie, and I also recently saw a picture, so... yeah.

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Episode 4: The Warriors of Kyoshi
Synopsis: The gang ends up on an island with warrior women who honor a past Avatar, a warrior woman named Kyoshi. Sokka, misogynistic at first, eventually trains under Suki, the leader of the warrior women. There's also a slight romantic edge between them. But Zuko also catches up to them here and nearly destroys the village while trying to capture Aang (who inevitably gets away).

Thoughts: A memorable episode. This episode would generally be considered filler if it wasn't for the fact that Suki plays a pretty important role later in the series. Not to mention she's Sokka's first love interest, though it isn't played up too much in this episode as it is in later seasons. Sokka's real first major love interest comes in at the end of this season.

The Movie: I'm both happy and surprised that Suki is in the movie. I don't believe she's shown in the trailers, but she is listed as part of the cast. I'm happy that they introduce her, as she is important for multiple reasons later on. But I'm also surprised, because there is a lot of story to get through for this movie to include what is mostly a filler episode. (I did, however, find this poster of her. Click to enlarge.)

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Episode 5: The King of Omashu
Synopsis: The gang travels to an Earth Kingdom town called Omashu, where Aang reminisces about an old friend named Bumi. They end up in the clutches of a crazy king who forces Aang to do three challenges if he wants to save his friends.

Thoughts: Another memorable episode. This is a good episode, as it introduces us to (SPOILER) Bumi, who is the 'crazy king'. He becomes an important figure later on in the series. The three challenges Aang has to face are fun, though sometimes silly (Flopsy, anyone?). This episode also introduces us to a running joke in the show about the Cabbage Man.

The Movie: Cut. M. Night declared that most of the Earth Kingdom stuff in this season was cut and left for the second season, which is understandable. However, there is at least one Earthbender shown in the trailers, and I'm wondering who that is or if it's even a relevant character. He also declared that the Cabbage Man was a bit too cartoonish to leave in the films, which is also understandable.

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Episode 6: Imprisoned
Synopsis: Still in the Earth Kingdom, the gang stumbles upon a village that has been taken over by the Fire Nation. Katara accidentally gets a young Earthbender named Haru arrested by the Fire Nation, who had declared the act illegal in that village. So she devises a plan to get herself arrested and taken to the same prison ship to rescue Haru and all the other Earthbenders.

Thoughts: A very fun episode, and a great one to build Katara's character--not necessarily as a Waterbender, but as a smart young woman and a leader.

The Movie: Cut. Again, the Earth Kingdom stuff has been cut from the movie.

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Episode 7: The Spirit World (Winter Solstice, Part 1)
Synopsis: An Earth Kingdom village has been taken over by an angry spirit monster, and they enlist the help of Aang to try and figure out how to stop it. Unfortunately, Aang's attempts get Sokka taken and Aang trapped in the Spirit World, where he learns that the previous Avatar, Avatar Roku, has a message for him. However, he needs to get into the Fire Nation and to a Fire Temple before the end of the Winter Solstice in order to speak with him, which occurs very soon. Meanwhile, Uncle Iroh gets kidnapped by the Earth Kingdom to be taken back to the capital of Ba Sing Se for trial--he had laid seige to the capital for 600 days (though inevitably failed) as a young general. Now Zuko must decide between chasing after the Avatar or going to rescue his uncle.

Thoughts: At first, this feels like a filler episode, but pretty much everything that happens in it is important for one reason or another (including helping the spirit monster, which comes back into a play a little later in the season). The most important part of this episode is Aang learning he needs to get to the Fire Nation and speak with Roku before the end of the Winter Solstice, which will set up the rest of the series. Zuko and Iroh's part of the story doesn't further the story, but it does set up some great character development for Zuko as he chooses to rescue Iroh instead of continuing after the Avatar.

The Movie: I'm not sure to what degree this will be in the movie, but it will be in there somewhere. I doubt they'll include the Zuko/Iroh portion (but then again, maybe that's what the random Earthbender in the trailer is). But the Roku bit is incredibly important. However, the cartoon kind of draws it out in juxtaposition with the spirit monster subplot, and I can see them condensing this to take much less time.

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Episode 8: Avatar Roku (Winter Solstice, Part 2)
Synopsis: Zuko and Iroh chase after the gang toward the Fire Nation, where Zhao has a blockade set up. But after getting through the barrier, they head for the temple, where Aang gets help from a guardian to get into the sacred chamber and talk to Roku. Roku tells Aang of Sozin's Comet, a comet that comes by the planet every 100 year and gives nearly unbeatable power to Firebenders. The comet will be coming at the end of the summer (just a few months away), and Aang will have to learn all the bending disciplines and defeat the Fire Lord before this time, or else the Fire Lord will use this event to make his final strike against the other Nations.

Thoughts: This is a very important episode, as it essentially sets up the sense of urgency for Aang learning the bending techniques. The rest of the episode is essentially one long chase scene, which is awfully cool. Between being chased in the water by Zuko, being attacked through the air on Appa by the blockade, and then being chased around the temple, it's a really suspenseful and action-packed episode.

The Movie: Some form of this needs to be in the movie, as the Sozin's Comet thing is highly important to the overall plot. However, I've heard that M. Night extended it to about 3 years instead of about 3 months, which was smart for multiple reasons. One, it'll let the audience buy Aang's learning of the disciplines (and all the drama that occurs) in that amount of time. Two, it'll allow for the kids to hit growth spurts if necessary. This is mostly necessary for the kid playing Aang. But anyway, the Roku/comet stuff is going to be in the movie. The other stuff? Not sure.

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Episode 9: The Waterbending Scroll
Synopsis: In need of food and supplies, the gang goes to a market, where they discover a waterbending scroll in a pirate ship. The scroll could give Aang and Katara some good techniques to learn, and Katara ends up stealing it as the pirates want too much for it. However, Katara starts getting annoyed with and jealous of Aang, who learns the moves very easily, while Katara struggles. The episode ends as Zuko and the pirates all catch up with the gang and end up in a major fight where, of course, everybody gets away fine.

Thoughts: A pseudo-filler episode where much doesn't come out of it except for Katara's learning of the water whip move and getting jealous of Aang's abilities. A decent episode that's good to see the relationship between Aang and Katara.

The Movie: I seriously doubt this will be in the movie. There's no purpose to it. The point of the episode is that Aang learns some waterbending techniques, which can be done in other ways besides how it was done here. It can also be easily just done when they reach the Northern Water Tribe and give all the important waterbending moments to Katara alone.

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Episode 10: Jet
Synopsis: The gang comes across a band of guerrilla fighters out for revenge against the Fire Nation, all led by a smooth talker named Jet. And despite what Sokka tries to tell them, everybody thinks Jet is awesome. But he's really not what he seems to be.

Thoughts: This is a love-it-or-hate-it episode for most fans. I'm on the more negative side, as Jet just gets annoying... but probably not for the reasons you'd expect. His voice actor is just so... dull. Even when Jet is angry or upset, there's almost no emotion there. Jet does come back in a bit later in the series, as well. The episode is mainly a character development episode for Sokka, overall.

The Movie: Jet has been cut from the movie, according to M. Night. Not really missing anything here, and they really won't need to include him in the later movies, either.

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Episode 11: The Great Divide
Synopsis: The gang ends up having to travel across the world's largest canyon, the Great Divide. There are two warring Earth Kingdom tribes that refuse to travel together. But to save time, Aang talks them into traveling through the canyon together, as there is only one guide and it takes an Earthbender to make it through the place. But after the guide gets injured, they have to try to figure a way to stay alive and get out, as there are no other Earthbenders in the group.

Thoughts: This is almost purely a filler episode, as I don't believe anything of importance comes back later from this episode. It's overall a pretty silly episode at times (specifically the guide), but the only real positive thing to come from the episode is a bit of development for Aang as a leader figure.

The Movie: I'm pretty sure this will be cut from the movie. First of all, it's Earth Kingdom stuff, which has been mostly cut from the movie. Second, it's filler and unimportant, so there wouldn't be any reason to waste movie time with this part of the story.

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Episode 12: The Storm
Synopsis: Needing money, Sokka takes a job with a fisherman, though he recognizes Aang as the Avatar and is spiteful for him "turning his back on the world" so long ago, driving the world into what it is now. A major storm appears, and we're given background info on Aang's past and how he ended up in the iceberg, as well as Zuko's background and how he ended up banished.

Thoughts: This is a brilliant episode. It fills in the missing information that we began the show with, letting us know Aang isn't as noble as we might have been led to believe, and Zuko isn't as evil or heartless.

The Movie: This episode has to be in the movie in some form or another, as it gives us excellent background on two of its main characters. It also leads nicely into the next episode, which I know to be in the movie.

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Episode 13: The Blue Spirit
Synopsis: After the storm, Katara and Sokka get really sick, and it's up to Aang to find some medicine. But while he's out looking, he gets captured by Commander Zhao. However, while in captivity, Aang is rescued by a silent, blue-masked figure and they have to work together and fight their way out of the prison. The big shocker here, of course, is that this figure--named The Blue Spirit--is actually Zuko.

Thoughts: I love this episode. It's a great development piece for Zuko, and the prison escape sequence is just fun.

The Movie: I'm so glad they left this in the movie. You can see a really brief clip of Aang and The Blue Spirit fighting side-by-side in the trailers. I'm just not sure if they'll reveal him as Zuko in this episode like they do in the show, or if they'll stretch out the mystery and reveal it at the end.

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Episode 14: The Fortuneteller
Synopsis: The gang ends up in a village that relies heavily on the fortunetelling of an old woman, even for the most minute details of their lives. But when she says that a nearby volcano will not destroy the village--and the Aang and Sokka discover it will--they have to try and convince the town that the fortuneteller is wrong.

Thoughts: Another filler episode that doesn't do much except slowly build the romantic relationship between Aang and Katara.

The Movie: I doubt this will be in the movie--again, because it is such filler. However, I wouldn't put it past the movie to include stronger relationship building between Aang and Katara elsewhere to compensate.

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Episode 15: Bato of the Water Tribe
Synopsis: The gang come across a friend of Sokka and Katara's father, Bato, who was injured and left to recuperate. But Aang, feeling left out and ignored by everybody, hides a message he receives about Sokka and Katara's father for Bato. This inevitably leads to them distrusting Aang and almost leaving him to go with Bato to see their father. Meanwhile, Zuko hires a bounty hunter who rides a giant creature that hunts with smell and can temporarily paralyze with its tongue. This all leads to a major fight sequence.

Thoughts: Overall a good episode, but the highlight is the fight at the end. What I love most about the fight is that Appa gets involved and fights the other giant creature. It's a great moment for Appa.

The Movie: I know the bounty hunter character was kept in the movie--if not for the fact M. Night said so, then for the fact you can clearly see her on the creature in the trailer at one point (climbing up a wall and watching out over a battle, I believe. I couldn't find a still shot of it, but I promise you, it's there). I doubt the Bato thing is still in there, but considering I preferred the part of the episode that was the fight at the end, this doesn't bother me. I hope they have Appa fight the creature at some point, because that was a great part.

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Episode 16: The Deserter
Synopsis: The gang get taken to an ex-Fire Nation soldier, who Aang begs to teach him firebending, not thinking he'd get another chance this good. The soldier, Jeong Jeong, decides to teach him basics, but is wary, especially after what happened with a hot-headed former student who was all about the power of the fire and not respecting the fire. Of course, this student is revealed to be Zhao, who ends up fighting Aang, who outsmarts him. However, before this, Aang gets taken in by the power of firebending and accidentally hurts Katara, scaring him off from firebending. Though Katara learns that she has another special ability of her own.

Thoughts: A semi-important episode. Aang gains a fear of firebending in this episode due to hurting Katara, which comes back in during season 3. Katara realizes she can heal with her waterbending, which comes in use throughout the rest of the show, as well. There's also a bit of development with Zhao, as we learn more about his character.

The Movie: I doubt this will be in the movie. It would take too much time to introduce a few aspects of these characters that could be done in other ways (the firebending accident could happen in season 3, Katara's healing ability could be learned at the Northern Tribe or just already be known, and Zhao could be characterized as a hot-head prior).

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Episode 17: The Northern Air Temple
Synopsis: The gang realize that some people have begun living in the Northern Air Temple and have used the technology of the gliders to create gliders of their own (but without needing airbending to control). In fact, the guy who runs the place is an inventor and has invented many things. But after they discover something not-so-good about this man, the Fire Nation invades the temple, and they have to fend them off.

Thoughts: There's some good development with Sokka in this episode, but is mostly filler. The only other major importance in this episode is the creation of the War Balloon, which the Fire Nation will use later in the series.

The Movie: Like I said earlier, the movie will probably mix the battle from this episode with the Southern Air Temple sequence. Except, of course, it won't have all the extra people fighting along, nor will it probably have the War Balloon stuff (though that could easily be solved by just having the Fire Nation already have them).

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Episode 18: The Waterbending Master
Synopsis: Finally reaching the Northern Water Tribe, the gang begins looking for a waterbending master. They find one by the name of Pakku, but he refuses to teach Katara due to sexist customs. Infuriated, Katara challenges Pakku to a fight. Though it's not long before Pakku and Katara realize there's a closer connection between them than they both realize. Meanwhile, Sokka becomes infatuated with Princess Yue, a beautiful young woman who likes him in return, but has a confliction. Also, Zhao hires the aforementioned pirates from the "Waterbending Scroll" episode to assassinate Zuko and get him out of the way. But Zuko isn't so easily defeated.

Thoughts: The best part of this episode is definitely the fight between Katara and Pakku. It's an amazing fight sequence. Also, Sokka meets his real first love interest (as the Suki one doesn't really go anywhere until later), Yue, which is sweet. However, the relationship between them moves very fast and isn't all that believable because of that.

The Movie: This will definitely be in the movie. Hell, most of the trailers have been with an icy backdrop, so it's like the majority of the movie takes place at the Southern and Northern Water Tribes. Also, you can see Yue at a couple different points in the trailers, so I know she's in it. But I sincerely hope they keep in the Katara and Pakku fight.

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Episode 19: The Siege of the North, Part 1
Synopsis: The Fire Nation troops are getting closer to the tribe, and they're forced to start preparing themselves for battle. But Iroh persuades Zhao to hold off on the fight until morning, as Waterbenders are stronger at night due to the moon. Meanwhile, Zuko sneaks into the tribe his own way to try and get to the Avatar before Zhao can have his chance. Aang, on the other hand, decides to enter the Spirit World and find the Moon and Ocean spirits to get advice for defeating the Fire Nation. While he's there, Katara has to protect his body from any attackers, which ends up being Zuko. And Zuko wins the fight, taking Aang's body away.

Thoughts: A great way to begin the season finale. The fight between Zuko and Katara is a lot of fun. The Spirit World stuff is a bit strange (though cool, and sometimes creepy), but it takes its time getting to the point.

The Movie: Again, we know this will be in the movie. I'm not sure how much of the Spirit World stuff will be in there, but at the very least, there has to be a fight between Katara and Zuko. Not to mention everybody getting ready for the big battle.

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Episode 20: The Siege of the North, Part 2
Synopsis: The Fire Nation infiltrates the tribe, and Zhao reveals he knows how to find and destroy the mortal incarnation of the Moon Spirit in order to take away the power of the moon from the Waterbenders. Iroh, however, does not like this, as he respects and reveres the spirits, not to mention (as he says) the moon creates balance, and even the Fire Nation would be lost without it. Aang ends up escaping from Zuko, and Katara gets her revenge on him. But Aang, being as good as he is, saves Zuko from freezing to death and brings him back to the tribe. There, everybody is in the midst of a major battle. Zuko has his final fight against Zhao. Aang eventually goes into the Avatar State and joins with the Moon Spirit to destroy the Fire Nation armada (except for Zuko and Iroh). Things wrap up for the season.

Thoughts: Great way to end the first season. The part where Zuko and Zhao fight, ending around the time Aang takes the Avatar State and becomes the giant water creature is epic. This is a good emotional ending with the battle and with something that happens (which I talk about in a minute). And after the battle, there's enough to wrap up the season, not to mention one great cliffhanger giving us a brief introduction to Zuko's sister, Azula.

The Movie: There's one major thing I didn't include in the synopsis, as it's a pretty big spoiler, but I know it's in the movie for two reasons. First, there's a clip of part of it happening in the trailer. Second, I've read in early reviews of a "ridiculous scene" in the movie where a bad guy punches a fish to death. At first, I wasn't sure what this came from, but after re-watching this episode, I know exactly what it is (granted, I'm not sure why M. Night went with punching instead of using fire like in the show, but whatever). Also, the trailer is almost entirely made up of stuff from this episode. It's almost ridiculous how much of the climax the trailer shows, making me wonder how much of the movie takes place at the Northern Water Tribe instead of elsewhere. I'm not sure if the giant water creature part is gonna be in the movie, but you never know. (No picture from the movie. Just watch the trailers. They're chock full.)

Conclusion

Overall, this was a great way to start the show. It's not the most straight-forward season, much like the second season is. There are a lot of little detours. The strangest part is that even the most filler-based episodes aren't always purely filler. There always seems to be at least one little thing that will come back later on in the story. There are childish moments, as it is an American cartoon, but it's also one of the most adult cartoons not aimed at an older demographic (such as Family Guy). There are some incredibly adult themes and dilemmas. There is also a story-arch, unlike most American cartoons. And the story always knew where it was going. It knew there were going to be 3 seasons and what each of the 3 seasons would entail. And I think that's one major reason it works so well.

As for the movie, I'm really not sure how it's gonna include all that it did. According to what I've seen in the trailer, what M. Night has declared, and what has to be in it for plot purposes, I have deduced the following episodes to be in the movie:

Episodes 1, 2, 3, 4, partial 7, partial 8, 12, 13, partial 15, 18, 19, 20.

Excluding the "partials," which are episodes where either a story element or character is taken and not necessarily the story of the episode itself, this leaves us with 9 episodes. If you round down to 20 minutes an episode, that's 180 minutes... 3 hours... worth of story. And that's not including the partial episodes/story bits/characters.

I'm sure they can change things and cut things that aren't necessary from those episodes included... but damn if that's not a lot of story to include. I suppose if you cut about 5 minutes for the episode introduction (there's usually about 5 minutes of story at the beginning that isn't really relevant to the rest of the episode), as well as maybe 5 minutes for cartoon silliness (or maybe a way to merge or shorten things for the movie) and make them 10 minutes each... you have 90 minutes. Plus all the 'partial' stuff, you end up with about 100-120 minutes, which is exactly what the producers were shooting for. So I suppose that could work.

And the strangest thing is that, of all the early review complaints, having a rushed story wasn't one of them (the biggest was the acting, actually, followed by some choppiness... but that was explained by the producers and how the early screening was an incomplete version of the film, missing a pretty good chunk of footage still being worked on). So maybe what I just said about cutting things is what they did. Who knows?

Anyway, I definitely recommend the television show, if you haven't gotten into it already.

TV Review: 24 - Day 1.

I've put this off long enough. A little while back I started watching 24 via Netflix, figuring it was time I try getting into the show. And then it got even easier once I got my Instant Streaming and discovered that all 24 episodes are available there. In other words, I didn't have to wait forever to get the next disc of whatever current season I was watching. So now that I've watched the first 3 seasons, I'll start giving my thoughts, one season at a time.

Warning: Some spoilers ahead.

Season One: Day 1.

This first season hooked me in pretty fast. However, it wasn't perfect. Granted, I've only watched the first three seasons at this point, but the first season is really the only one where I've noticed one particular issue: making things overly complicated to do what should have been an otherwise easy task. For instance, near the beginning, an assassin woman gets a seat next to a photographer on an airplane to L.A. from Europe (I forget where specifically), chats him up to gain his trust, then kills him, steals his I.D. card, and jumps out of the plane with parachute after blowing up said plane. She then lands in the desert and buries the I.D. card so that someone else can come pick it up to deliver it. Seriously? Whatever happened to just jumping the guy in the street or robbing his house?

Anyway, the plot of this season centers around an assassination attempt on Senator Palmer, a Presidential Candidate, on the day of the Primary. So it's up to Special Agent Jack Bauer, head of CTU (Counter-Terrorist Unit), to save the day. But it's not that easy, as his daughter Kim and, eventually, his wife Teri--who he just got back with after a separation--are kidnapped. And the bad guys are using them against Jack to force him into carrying out the assassination himself. So Jack also has to save his family while avoiding assassinating Palmer and figure out just what his connection to all of this is.

As the show is split into multiple stories, I'll focus on each individual plotline and talk about its strengths and weaknesses. And I'll start with the major one.


Jack Bauer

The show really starts off showing you that our main character is no protagonist, as it were. No, we're dealing with an Anti-Hero here. Jack will go to any lengths to do what is necessary. At one point he threatens to shove a towel down a guy's throat and have it settle in his stomach just long enough for the acid to latch it to his stomach lining... and then pull it back up and out. That's pretty hardcore. Of course, he never does it, but just threatening to do so it crazy.

And that's Jack Bauer for you. You know he'll do whatever is necessary, but you can never really tell if he'll actually do it or not. He's a great bluff... or is he really bluffing? And how is all this stuff really affecting him? He keeps a hard outer shell that I don't think ever cracks until the final minutes of season 3 (which I'll get to soon).

Anyway, Jack corresponds with CTU, despite being away from headquarters for most of the season. He doesn't know who he can trust, as there is apparently a spy in their ranks. So while trying to stay away from the likes of the ambiguous Tony Almeida and sticks with Tony's girlfriend and Jack's former flame, Nina Myers. He also keeps confidence with one of the main computer techs, who can help him with anything technical he might need done.

Now, I'm usually pretty good and picking up on twist endings, and despite me basically figuring out any twists early on, the show has a way of making you second-guess yourself. So kudos on that. Overall, Jack's story, being the primary one, is interesting and action-packed. It has to be. It's the driving force of the show.


Kim and Teri Bauer

Their story starts as Kim sneaks out to hang out with a friend and some guys she knows. Well, it turns out the guys were hired to kidnap her. Fortunately, one of them--Rick--realizes he's in over his head and tries to persuade his crazy friend to stop doing what they're doing. But things get a bit out of control, leaving Rick in the driver's seat, so to speak. And there's a bit of a romantic angle between Kim and Rick, allowing the feelings between them to help Rick overcome his fears and try to help them out as best he can without getting caught or killed.

Meanwhile, Teri travels around with who she thinks is Kim's friend's father, but he turns out to be working for the bad guys, too. Teri ends up in the same place as Kim, and they have to work together (along with Rick) to stay safe and try to escape.

Overall, this plot gets old after a while. It's just repetitive. They get caught, they escape, they get caught again, they escape again, they get caught again... seriously. And at one point, both Kim and Teri escape together, but after a car accident, they get separated and Teri gets trauma-induced amnesia after thinking Kim is dead. I know that happens all the time, but it was still a bit ridiculous.

Oh, and is it just me, or did Teri and Nina look incredibly similar? If Teri grew out her hair a little more, they would look damn near like twins. Anyway...


David Palmer

Palmer's story isn't very interesting, especially in comparison to the next season. Years before, his son murdered a guy who raped his daughter (the son's sister). But it was leaked to somebody who decided that she must release it to the press. So while Palmer sees no real way to stop it from being leaked, his wife tries to cover it up, all the while yelling at her husband for potentially having their son go to jail. Of course, he didn't know about any of the bad stuff, as his wife had covered it all up after it happened. And all she cares about is keeping her husband's image positive so that he will win the election and get her into the White House. And she'll do whatever it takes to gain that power.

I really liked David Palmer as a character. And, of course, the whole plot centered around him. But almost everybody else in his plotline was annoying. Sherry, his wife, was actually more unlikable than the real villains of the show. You know how in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Delores Umbridge is more despicable than even Voldemort? It was similar here. I loathed Sherry with a passion in this season, but really had no strong feelings for the real villains. And then the Palmer children were just kind of annoying. The daughter was alright, but she wasn't really on screen very much. The son, however, irked me, too. And I'm glad after Season One, he's pretty much in one episode and only for about 3 minutes.

Palmer himself, however, is really, really likable. He's just a good guy all around. He wants to do what's right and gets conflicted if put in a position of moral ambiguity (i.e. where Jack stays through the whole show).

Overall Thoughts

This season is a really good one, which is obvious considering it spawned another 7 seasons after it. There are obviously some things I disliked about the season, but they weren't things that destroyed it for me.

What really hooked me into the show, besides the suspense/tension, was its style. The way the show handled the multi-screens to show things happening in different stories at the same time. And, of course, the counter. The premise is that the show takes place in one day, and every episode is one hour of that day. Granted, when you're not watching it with commercials and 4-5 minutes will pass in about 5 seconds where commercials should be, that bit of the concept is lost. But it's still fun.

I think the best thing about this season was the tension and the twists. The secondary characters get better plots in the following seasons, but here they do what is necessary for the story. It's definitely a "season one," trying to find its place, but as I've seen mentioned elsewhere, even a below-average season of 24 is a better season than most other shows. Not that I'm saying this is a below-average season. It's not. I was just making a point on the quality of the show. And I think that about does it for the first season.

TV Review: Battlestar Galactica - Season One.

So I finally got around to seeing Battlestar Galactica. And, dear God, it has to be one of the most addicting shows I've ever watched. It starts with a 3-hour miniseries that depicts, basically, the end of the world by the Cylons, a robotic and/or android race. But there's a group of people--military and otherwise--already in space, some of which are aboard the Battlestar Galactica, an old warship that is being turned into a museum. Running the Galactica is Admiral Adama (Edward James Olmos), and his second-hand, Colonel Tigh (Michael Hogan). But there are tons of characters in this show, from the pit crew to pilots to  to communications to medical to press to criminals to government (including a newly appointed President, Laura Roslin (Mary McDonnell)).

I'm not sure where to even start. The characters are phenominal, and it's hard to pick a favorite. From Starbuck to Gaius to Billy (the President's helper), I love any spectrum of character. There are just so many characters to choose from--it's almost like a Harry Potter situation in the scope.

Besides the characters, obviously, the story is where it's at. There are so many twists and turns, especially at the end of the miniseries. I was a bit iffy throughout the miniseries until the end of it when the first major twist is revealed. That blew my mind. But the story itself is a total space drama (with a bit of comedy here and there), but it has deep themes. There is all the Greek Mythology that surrounds the story (which I love). But then there's the budding Christianity, too. Interestingly enough, I love how the humans are connected to Greek Mythology, while the Cyclons (technology) are connected to the Christianity aspect.

Then there's the visuals. From the metallic Cylons to the space flight and/or battles, the SFX are pretty top notch for a television show. The action scenes are fantastic, and I wish there were more of them. And the camera work is unique, too. For a sci-fi space drama, you wouldn't really expect the more documentary feel that you're given. It's not documentary like The Office. But the way the camera moves, from quick movements to zooms in and out, there's a real raw feel to the camera.

You really get into the whole universe of the show (no pun intended). You quickly learn how things are run, what the names of the planes are (Vipers and Raptors), the religious mythologies, etc.  It really just pulls you in and refuses to let go. It really does hang on the shoulders of the characters. And even though there are so many characters, it never feels like there are too many (like in LOST or Heroes, for instance). There's probably just as many characters as those shows (if not more), but this one still found a way to show almost every character in every episode and still not feel convoluted. Everybody and everything works together organically. And that's the real trick to how this show works: it's a futuristic space drama, but it still feels organic, still feels all real.

I don't want to continue rambling on and on, so I'll leave it here. It's a brilliant show, and I didn't expect to be as addicted to it as I became. I've gotten the first disc of the second season already, so I'm about to start that one soon, and I can't wait. I know I didn't talk as much about this season as I usually do, but there's just so much that happens that it'd be impossible to talk about it all in one post. And I don't want to deprive y'all from going through the journey surprise-free like I did. If you haven't checked out this show yet, you should. It's great fun.

TV Review: True Blood - Season One.

So I finally gave in and started watching True Blood. I don't have HBO (at least at the moment), so I had to Netflix Season One. Of course, I heard the Twilight comparisons, but I figured they were just there because both are popular vampire stories right now. If only I had known.

The show follows the life of Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin), a waitress in a southern Louisiana bar/restaurant with the ability to read minds. In this alternate reality world, vampires have come 'out of the coffin' and shown themselves to the world after a synthetic blood mix known as Tru Blood hit the market. Sookie soon meets her first ever vampire, a southern gentleman named Bill (Stephen Moyer) who she immediately falls in love with, especially after discovering she can't read his mind. Of course, he, too, becomes enamored with her due to her unusualness from the rest of the human population, including her scent. (Sounding familiar yet?)

But then there are the other characters, including Sookie's vampire-hating and sex-craved brother, Jason (Ryan Kwanten). Of course, he's wanting to bang every girl out there except for Sookie's best friend, Tara (Rutina Wesley), who has a thing for him. There's Sookie's boss, Sam (Sam Trammell), who is in love with Sookie, as well.

I haven't read the books this is based on, but I imagine that the show is similar to at least the first book, which was released back in 2001. I'm surprised that there hasn't been some kind of lawsuit (or maybe I just haven't heard about it) between Charlene Harris and Stephanie Meyer for the latter totally ripping off the former. Granted, with Meyer, the mind-reading switched to the vampire and the inability to be read switched to the girl, but the (plot) point remains. Of course, there's also the specific love triangle similarity, which is really suspicious on Meyer's part of being specific that they are more shape-shifters than werewolves... but I digress.

But besides the obvious similarities, everything is completely different. True Blood has more violence and more sex (lots and lots of sex). But this might not be a good thing. I mean, I'm all for sex in a vampire story, but there's a line between just right and too much, and the show constantly teeters that line (if not completely crossing it). However, still in comparison, the characters are infinitely better, the writing is infinitely better (at least show-wise), and even the setting is more interesting.

Sookie is actually scared of vampires and makes logical choices unlike Bella. Bill, on the other hand, shares a few too many similarities with Edward. Both are quiet gentlemen with an almost bipolar disorder when it comes to people being...untoward with their female counterpart.

Something else I like about the show is that, similar to shows like Dexter, the secondary characters are interesting, as well. Even characters that are only on screen for less than 5 minutes an episode are remotely interesting and fun. And I was so surprised and (yes) upset I (in the good way, I suppose) when the big reveal at the end of the season is shown.

It isn't just some vampire love story, either. There's an interesting murder mystery at the heart of the plot. Somebody is killing "fang-bangers," people (in this case girls) who like to get off with vampires. And Sookie is at the top of this list. Of course, her brother Jason is at the top of the suspects list, as not only does every girl he hooks up with end up in a bad state, but he clearly has a distaste for vampires.

That is, until a bit of character development comes about in the latter half of the season. I got a bit rocky with Jason throughout the season. For the most part, he was just kinda annoying. But then he started to redeem himself toward the end, although still making idiot decisions. But when he starts to bond with a certain character, it's great. But then he starts making stupid decisions again, and his final character twist of the season seems completely out of character based on the development he had just finished making.

Overall, though, it was a captivating show. I can see why people are into it, and if I had HBO, I'd definitely DVR it. Once I can get my hands on season 2, I'll do so. It's so much better than that other vampire story that's popular right now. I loved the setting, the characters, the music... it was just a heck of a lot of fun... even if every other scene dealt with sex.

TV Review: Leverage - Season One.

If you're a long-time follower of this blog, you most likely know how much I enjoy a good heist flick. So when I first heard of a TV show called "Leverage," it immediately caught my interest. Of course, I first heard of it not too long ago, right before the second season premiered on TNT, the channel it airs on. Since I hadn't seen the first season, I couldn't really watch the second, but I did put the first on my Netflix queue. And now, it's finally coming in. And I have to say, I'm loving this show.

As anyone who watches TV knows, there are different kinds of TV shows in how its stories are told. There are the episodic shows, usually 30 minutes long, where very little (if anything) carries over from episode to episode (such as Spongebob Squarepants). Then there are the story-arch shows, usually an hour long, where each episode is just a continuation of the last, a perpetual "To Be Continued" until the season finale (such as Dragonball Z or Heroes). And then there's the mix of the two, where there's a continuing story, but every episode is centered around something different (which is most non-sitcom drama/comedy shows). This one is the latter, though barely. The underlying story isn't with any major heist or anything like that, but with the characters themselves. Although every episode is different from the last, the character development (either with each other or, for instance, the growing alcoholism of one character) is what ties the episodes together. There's also a subplot involving the tragedy of the main character's son, which builds through the season and comes together in the finale.

The show centers around Nathan Ford (Timothy Hutton), a man who used to go around finding criminals and frauds and righting wrongs (he was an insurance investigator) until his son was screwed over by the insurance company Nate worked for and died from lack of payment for surgery. When he's contacted by a man to pull off a heist to steal back information that had apparently been stolen, a crack team is put together to pull it off. This team includes the muscle, Eliot (Christian Kane); the computer whiz, Hardison (Aldis Hodge); and the master thief, Parker (Beth Riesgraf). And eventually, Nate pulls in an old friend, a con artist/actress named Sophie (Gina Bellman). They discover that working together, though frustrating at times, is both fun and rewarding (both intrinsically and extrinsically).

The first episode is the big heist where most of the extrinsic reward comes in (getting a ton of money for themselves). After that, the show shifts gears a bit, and instead of being episode after episode of just robbing people blind for personal gain, it's more Ocean's 11 meets Robin Hood. And of course this makes sense. For a TV series, you can't have everything be personal gain or else you lose sympathy with the characters. When your main characters are anti-heroes, you have to make them sympathetic. Dexter Morgan (of Dexter) is a serial killer who kills serial killers. The men and women of Leverage are thieves who steal from the rich and corrupt and give to those who have been wronged to the point where no judge and jury could help.

And with shows like this, you have to have great characters. And the characters are tons of fun. The characters are usually at their best when they're interacting with each other (especially when they're doing what they do best). But a lot of them are also interesting alone. Ironically, the least interesting character is the main character, Nate. He's the brains of the operation, but in comparison to the others, his personality is a bit dull. When you put an ordinary (albeit highly intelligent) guy amid a bunch of quirky people, the ordinary is gonna stick out. He's not a bad character at all, though. He's saved by his intelligence. He's like Danny Ocean, but with less wit (and no Clooney charm). He grows on you as the show goes on, especially when he's actually in on a con and doing some fun character personas, but outside that, his main story is his alcoholism. 

Out of the others, though, it's hard to pick a favorite. Eliot has the bad boy appeal, like a less abrasive version of Lost's Sawyer. He's where most of the action comes from. But at the same time, he's not a total hard ass like you would expect. He's pretty friendly with everybody, and he's only rough if you get rough with him. It's always fun to see him get dressed up to do a character different from his personality (like a nerd or something).

Then you have the token black guy, Hardison, who's the "cool" nerd of the bunch. He's where a lot of (but not all of) the comedy comes from. And Parker is hot, yet very strange, like there's just a little bit missing up there, if you know what I mean. There's an interesting relationship (like, romantic) that builds between Hardison and Parker, but it isn't fully developed by the end of the first season.

There's some good comedy from her, as well. And then you have Sophie, the token British character, who is interesting, but only a few notches above Nate for me (ironic considering she's his love interest). Her main thing is to act as different characters, which isn't as interesting coming from her as it is with, say, Eliot or Parker (especially Parker, who can't con to save her life, but is an excellent thief). But she can do a ton of different accents, which is really impressive.

The heists are fun, too. With a show like this, you know they're gonna get away with what they're doing, but the fun is in trying to figure out how. And apparently, when the show was aired on TV, they played the episodes out of order, which apparently made for some strange character development scenes between different characters. But upon releasing the DVD, they put the episodes in the order that they were originally meant to be in. Anyway, the show loses a little steam after the first few episodes, but then picks up around halfway in. The reason is that the episodes focus more on straight-up conning rather than heists, and the episodes where they have to pull off a heist are the more interesting ones... at least to me. So really, the best ones are the first few, a few in the middle, and then the last couple episodes. But they're all entertaining and fun.

Overall, the show is witty, charming, funny, and fun. There's good action, thrills, and laughs (again, for those who follow my blog, you might know how difficult it is to get me laughing, and this show constantly had me going). If you're a fan of con or heist films (especially comedy heist films, like the Oceans trilogy), I truly recommend this series. I rarely go out and buy television shows on DVD, because I rarely go back and watch them again, but I actually went out and bought the first season after watching only the first 3 episodes (the first disc from Netflix). And for me to do that says quite a bit. I wouldn't recommend such an extreme for everybody, but at least give it a rent if it's your thing. So... yeah.

TV Review: The Venture Bros. - Season One.

After immense and nearly endless hype from one of my friends/co-workers, I finally got around to watching this. Well, ironically, I got season one from another friend/co-worker who the aforementioned friend/co-worker got to watch it first (and then who bought the seasons herself). But then the first friend also lent me season two, which I’ll be reviewing at a later time (once, you know, I actually watch it). Long story short, and as many people know, sometimes hype can kill something for you.

I’m not saying I disliked it (not at all). I found it rather enjoyable. But let me split it up like this: the first season is split into two discs. The first disc has the first 8 episodes, and the second disc has the last 5 for the season. While I found the first 8 seasons mostly entertaining, I didn’t do much more than give a rare chuckle. However, the last 5 episodes, I was laughing out loud through quite a bit of each episode.

For those that don’t know what the hell I’m talking about, let me explain. The Venture Bros. is a rip on old action/adventure cartoons such as Johnny Quest. Dr. Venture is a bald super-genius/scientist with daddy issues. Dean and Hank Venture are his straight-laced and incredibly dimwitted sons. And then there’s Brock Samson, their hulk of a bodyguard, a man fueled by sex and violence. But you can’t have a superhero-esque adventure team without super-villain arch-nemeses… at least self-proclaimed arch-nemeses… such as The Monarch, a rather pathetic villain with butterfly themes. And The Monarch’s sexy girlfriend with a man-ish voice… Dr. Girlfriend. There’s a whole slew of other characters, as well, such as the Venture’s next door neighbor Dr. Orpheus, a necromancer/magician with a taste for histrionics… as well as his goth daughter Triana, whom Dean has a major crush on.

There’s not really a main story to the show. It’s basically their random adventures that are usually more stupid occurrences that are made out to be bigger than they really are… with the rare event that something dumb somebody does makes it worse than it should have been in the first place. There are things that carry over from episode to episode, such as Dean’s building crush on Triana or The Monarch’s relationship with Dr. Girlfriend.

As I said earlier, the first 8 or so episodes are entertaining, but they didn’t have me in hysterics. But I started episode 9, and was laughing within the first, pre-credits scene. And I’ve been told season 2 is funnier, so that makes me happy. The stories often parody different genres or shows. There have been appearances from the 6 Million Dollar Nan to Fantastic Four rip-offs and more.

But the show is really more about the characters than the story. My personal favorites are Brock Samson and Dr. Orpheus (I can’t see how anybody could hate Dr. Orpheus). Both characters are just so over-the-top in what they do. Brock’s tendencies toward violence are both fun and funny (I personally love the scene at the opening of episode 9 where a plane crashes immediately overhead as he’s washing his car. A guy comes running at him in flames, screaming, and without even looking, Brock punches the guy out and turns the hose onto the guy). It also helps that he’s voiced by the same guy who voices Joe in Family Guy, but in a much more subtle way than he does with Joe. And Dr. Orpheus… well, it’s hard to explain him. He’s just very theatrical in everything he does. Dean and Hank are starting to grow on me though. There needs to be a lot more from H.E.L.P.eR., though, because he’s hardly in show, and mostly only for plot point reasons.

There’s not a whole hell of a lot to say about this first season. I haven’t been sold on the “best cartoon series ever to grace the planet” as so many people seem to dub it (just check IMDb with its currently 9.5 rating). But I’ve been promised that season two is especially hilarious, so I’m looking forward to it (especially if it’s anything like the last 5 episodes of season one). Would I recommend it? Sure. It’s not bad at all. You can catch it on Adult Swim on late-night Cartoon Network, or just rent it or borrow it or something like I did. It’s wacky, funny, and action-packed (usually, anyway). And that season one finale was freakin’ epic. I don’t want to ruin it, but let’s just say… Brock, a flaming car, and a giant robot. And of course John Woo doves. That about says it all, really…