Torchwood Frustrates, Sookie Bores, and Other TV Thoughts

The more I watch this new season of Torchwood, the more I'm missing the good old days with the gang chillaxing in their super secret underground Cardiff base complete with pet pterodactyl and cute ass coffee boy. Both the pterodactyl and the cute ass coffee boy are most likely in a better place, but the rest of us have to continue watching. Now last week it was Rex who said that Torchwood was no longer, only for him to begin this week declaring himself as a proud member of Torchwood after what he has seen the government do to Vera. I'm glad that his anger for the first time feels justified especially as he and Esther both do very Torchwood-esque things in this episode that give me some hope, but it's probably a case of too little, too late.

My biggest problem with this episode specifically though was how much of a filler episode it was. Other than the very last few minutes with Gwen and the message she receives via her lenses, nothing was really revealed. Esther and Rex find out about Vera, but the audience already knew that. Jack tries to find out who's behind this by tracking a Phicorp man only for both of them to come up empty. Gwen and Rhys try to rescue Gwen's father, which of course they do. And even that shock ending, wasn't really shocking. OF COURSE this whole thing has been about Jack. OF COURSE people are looking for him and want him and would totally use the people he cares about against him. Didn't we establish this already in the premiere? So yeah, I'm frustrated, but I'll keep watching. Though I'm thinking the only way I'll be satisfied is if they bring back the cute ass coffee boy and the pterodactyl.

Thankfully, other shows have picked up Torchwood's slack. Breaking Bad is as thrilling as ever, even though I think this most recent episode was a wee bit over-directed to the point of distraction. Still, it was a turning point episode for the two leads. Most obviously it was a turning point for Jesse who now has a sense of accomplishment after Mike takes him on a day trip and making Jesse think he has saved his life (per Gus' plan). Not only does this seemingly pays off in getting Jesse off his funk, but perhaps also useful in Gus' plan to drive a wedge between Jesse and Walt. Then there's Walt who seems to be unraveling more every week--not knowing what's happening with Jesse, not being able to speak to Gus, not being able to dominate in his relationship with Skyler, and finally not being able to take ownership of the blue meth that Hank has attributed to Gale. It almost seemed inevitable that his hubris would drive Hank back to work in finding Heisenberg. The Los Pollos Hermanos clue he unearths in the end was thrilling. Exciting!

I am not a fan of Sookie Stackhouse, but thankfully True Blood has a whole array of characters and this season in particular, the writers have seem to go out of their way to marginalize their leading woman saddling her with boring story-lines while others get to shine. Downplaying the fairy arc has really harmed the rootability of Sookie, but they can still make a comeback. I'm just saying it's a crime for me to fast forward any scene with a naked Alexander Skarsgard, but that's what I did because I really couldn't care about their union. I'm more into the testy love triangle of Jason/Jessica/Hoyt with the first two displaying their awesome chemistry once again while the latter two giving us two great break-up scenes, one real and another imagined, though both were a bit heartbreaking. There's also the continuing Witch vs. Vampire storyline that led to an inevitable melee in the cemetery with everyone involved. Great seeing Tara and a fresh-faced Pam square off once again. I have no idea where this show is heading, but I'm looking forward to whatever. Heck, I just want to see which character Tommy is going to turn into just for the hilarity factor.


Finally, Weeds delivers yet another solid episode that seemed a bit scattered at first, but it all led to a really hilarious end with most of the men of Nancy's life sitting slack-jawed while she kisses the woman in her life. Sonia's sudden reappearance is intriguing to me, but it's just yet another wrinkle Nancy will need to iron out as well as her working as an informant for the SEC against her boss. Silas going up against another model boy and Michelle Trachtenberg has potential and even though Shane's storyline with the cop this week was a bit dull, I still like the direction it is going in.