Is Bones the Same without Zack?

September 18, 2008

When Zack was revealed as Gormogon’s accomplice in the Season 3 finale of Bones, I was in shock.  I can only imagine what his co-workers and friends felt.

The team with Zach before they discover he's Gormogon's apprentice.

The team with Zach before they discover he's Gormogon's apprentice.

And imagine is exactly what I’ve had to do in Season 4.  Until last night’s “Finger in the Nest” episode, I was wondering if the staff at the Jeffersonian had completely forgotten about Zack.  His name hadn’t even been mentioned in the first two episodes and his situation was only alluded to briefly in Brennan’s speech in the U.K. premiere.

Is this how squints react when one of their own betrays them?  I’ve been expecting anger at the very least and a bit of nostalgia for the Zack they once knew.  At the very least I thought Sweets would be prodding them each to get in touch with their feelings.

I’m not sure that I want to see him have counseling sessions with each staff member (although after last night’s session with Hodgins, it might be quite funny), but maybe at least allude to the fact that he’d chatted with them over the summer.

Instead we’ve had a parade of grad students trying to fill Zack’s shoes.  And none have quite been able to do it.

First, we had Eugene Byrd return as Dr. Clark Edison, who filled in last season when Zack was in Iraq.  But being inundated with the personal details of his coworkers’ lives was too much for this guy who just wanted to focus on his job.

Next up was the Brennan-obsessed Daisy Wick (Carla Gallo) who annoyed the entire staff with her non-stop talking and her desire to kiss up to Bones.  Only Sweets is fond of Daisy admiration and we are led to believe that they went out for a date after she was fired.

This week we met Scott Starret (Michael Badalucco), Brennan’s oldest grad student.  Scott’s immense life experience made him an asset to the case and my favorite fill-in.  But his former life as a car salesman leaves Hodgins with a grudge.

Next week it looks like Bones gets to play Mrs. Robinson with her latest intern Wendell Bray (Michael Terry)

While the parade of grad students has changed up the dynamic in the office a little and added a bit of humor, I’m hoping that it doesn’t continue all season.

Whether they are talking about it or not, there’s something missing from the staff at the Jeffersonian.  It doesn’t help that Hodgins and Angela have broken up (in one of the weirdest dumpings).

But if the crew doesn’t find its inner team soon, I think we are going to start to see it in their work (and possibly on Sweets’ couch).

In fact, will there be a case the team can’t solve without Zack?

Maybe.  Tune in next week to get your Zack fix as Hodgins turns to his former lab partner for help with a case.  Not sure if he really needs Zack’s help or if he just needs to feel that connection with Zack again.

But you have to wonder how if you can trust information you get from a convicted killer?  How is Zack feeling towards the team?  Is he willing to help or is he angry with them?

Even if he isn’t back to stay, I’m still looking forward to next week’s episode and the return of Zack to the fold even if temporary.

What do you think?  Will the team ever be the same without Zack?  Will the show ever be the same?

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Five Season Finales Sure to Keep Fans in Suspense

May 12, 2008

Just last month our favorite shows returned from the hiatus forced by the writer’s strike and now it’s already time for the shortened seasons to come to an end.  But which series season finales promise the most bang for our buck?

This season fans will have to bid good bye to more than their shows for the summer.  Several series will be saying farewell to longtime characters – or at least these characters’ fates hang in the balance.

Beware:  the following might contain spoilers.

Here’s my list of the Top 5 Season Finales to watch:

1.  Supernatural

Dean’s (Jensen Ackles) deal with the crossroads demon from last year’s explosive finale finally comes due this week.  But holding the contract is Lilith (Rachel Pattee), the newest bad ass on the block and she’s gunning for Sam (Jared Padelecki).  Can the Winchester brothers defeat this pint-sized demon with enormous power?  Will Dean find a way out of the contract without sacrificing Sam or will he join the demons he hates in Hell?  And if Dean is hellbound, can Sam survive without him? 

I’ve heard no word that Ackles is leaving the show (in fact, I’ve heard he wants to stay) and I can’t image Supernatural without Dean, but I have a feeling the executive producer Eric Kripke isn’t going to give Dean an easy out on this deal.  Expect an exciting hour with killer music, the return of Ruby (Katie Cassidy) and one very big cliffhanger.  The Season 4 finale airs May 15 at 9 p.m. on CW.

2.  NCIS

Rumors have been flying since this show returned in April that one of the main characters will not be returning in the fall.  The absence of Director Jenny Shepard (Lauren Holly) in the “Stakeout” episode where Ducky (David McCullum) handles some blood work for the director has many speculating that Shepard is on her way out.

But this fifth season death won’t be from any long-term disease.  It’ll be murder and from what I’ve read it’ll be a tragedy that devastates the entire team in the two-hour finale.  We seen many of the characters put in jeopardy during the last few weeks, but my money is still on the director.  But we’ll have to wait until the finale airs on May 20 at 8 p.m. on CBS to find out.

3.  Bones

I’ve read that in the Season 4 premiere that Dr. Brennan (Emily Deschanel) will be looking for a new full-time forensic anthropologist.  But just why is Bones looking for a new staff member?  Well, the Gormogon killer returns for the season finale and all the clues point to an insider in the Jeffersonian.  Will the killer off one of Bones’ own team before Booth (David Boreanaz) can find him or could one of the team members be the killer?

If a serial killer in the lab isn’t enough, Angela’s (Michaela Conlin) long-lost husband shows up.  Will his perfectness be enough to drive Hodgins (T.J. Thyne) to homicide or will Angela finally get the divorce that she wants (she still wants it, right?)?  The third season finale airs on May 19 at 8 p.m. on Fox.

4.  Numb3rs

If this year’s season finale is anything like the Season 3 finale we are in for one helluva ride.  Last year’s finale was by far one of the best season finales on TV last season.  On Friday, we will hopefully learn more about Megan’s (Diane Farr) mysterious personal leave that sent her to the East Coast in the last episode before we bid her character farewell.

But Megan’s exit seems minor compared to a case that is about to set the Eppes brothers at odds.  While Don (Rob Morrow) and the FBI deal with a potential terrorist attack, it’s a battle of knowledge vs. security that Don will wage with his brother Charlie (David Krumholtz). Season 4 concludes on May 16 at 10 p.m. on CBS.

5.  CSI

For the last three seasons, the season finale has found a member of the CSI team in peril – last year Sara (Jorja Fox) was kidnapped by the miniature killer, the year before Brass (Paul Guilfoyle) was in surgery after being shot and in Season 5 Nick (George Eads) was buried alive.  But this year, Warrick (Gary Dourdan) is in jeopardy – and I have the feeling that he’s not going to fare as well as his teammates.

We already know that Dourdan is leaving the show, we just don’t know yet how.  In the season finale, Warrick is once again in trouble – this time he’s a suspect for murder of a big-time Vegas gangster.  Is Warrick headed for lock up or will he be a victim of retaliation?  The eighth season finale airs May 15 on CBS at 9 p.m.

And one series finale that I’m not looking forward to – Smallville.

In its seventh season, Smallville is about to loose the best villain on TV at a time when it is already showing its age.  I’ve already talked about how Smallville needed to take the next step and let Clark Kent (Tom Welling) don his cape.  I was hoping to see Clark make the transition to Superman in this season finale – and what I thought would be a series finale. 

But due to the shortened season, the powers that be have granted this superhero another season.  But the eighth season looks to be a shell of the former series.  The series already lost Lionel Luthor (John Glover) earlier this year.  And word has it that Clark’s arch nemesis Lex (Michael Rosenbaum) and his high school sweetheart Lana Lang (Kristin Kreuk) will not be returning as regular cast in the fall.  And now there’s a possibility that we’re losing Chloe (Allison Mack) too.  Add that to the fact that the show will also lose the two men behind the show – Alfred Gough and Miles Millar – next season and it doesn’t bode well for the future of the show.  However, if you’d like to see what Lex has in store for Clark before he parts, tune in to the season finale on May 15 at 8 p.m. on the CW.

What series finale are you most looking forward to?  Which characters will you miss the most?

4 Comments | Bones, CSI, NCIS, Numbers, SciFi, Smallville, Supernatural, Television | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
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NCIS Returns with a New Mystery

April 9, 2008

Last night marked the return of post-strike NCIS with the first new episode in almost three months.  While the characters themselves might seem a little off their mark, it’s the drama behind the scenes that has everyone wondering what is going on.

In “Stakeout” we find our heroes on what appears to be a boredom-filled stakeout.  Or is it a scene from a movie?  At least Ziva David (Cote de Pablo) thinks so.  If we needed proof that she’s embracing American cinema, then look no further than her pranks on Tony DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly).

But it’s the whole gang that gets duped when high-dollar classified equipment gets stolen under their noses.  It’s not often the highly skilled and unflappable Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon) gets fooled.

The case was interesting.  But it was easy to guess that the BMW the inquisitive Tim McGee (Sean Murray) fixated on during the stakeout was going to be the key.

But despite the intriguing story, I was still scanning the show for clues as to who would be exiting the show, news leaked by TV Guide yesterday.

I eliminated Gibbs off the bat.  The show just wouldn’t be the same without him and besides they got show creator Don Bellisario to step down last season to keep Harmon.

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary with Ziva or McGee.  And I can’t imagine the show without the quirky goth lab tech Abby Sciuto (Pauley Perrette), so that’s three more down.

But DiNozzo was quick to jump on the city’s murder case, even before he found out that it was part of the NCIS investigation.  Is he possibly he’s missing life on the homicide beat?  Will he leave to go back to the police force?

No, I don’t think so.  TV Guide called the cast departure a “major freakin’ twist.”  DiNozzo leaving for another job is not a major twist.

Maybe DiNozzo leaves for another reason.  He did seem to find his perfect match in Detective Andrea Sparr (Gretchen Egolf).  The confirmed bachelor DiNozzo resigning from NCIS to begin a life as a married man would shock us all for sure.

Then I thought maybe the mild-mannered medical examiner Dr. Donald “Ducky” Mallard might be leaving do to an illness or even – gasp – death because throughout the show he was running a secret medical evaluation on someone. 

But at the last minute we learn his covert actions weren’t a self diagnosis, but a favor for Director Jenny Shepard (Lauren Holly).

The director, who was out of the country, was conveniently absent from this episode (could that be what TV Guide meant by “NCIS star goes AWOL?”).

If indeed the story of the cast departure broke because of Holly’s absence, then it makes sense Shepard’s days on the show might be numbered.

But I don’t think Shepard is sick or dying.  Ducky never said that the blood was the director’s.  Instead I still think that she is investigating her father’s faked death and his location.

I hear that Shepard’s nemesis La Grenouille will turn up in another episode later this season.  I suspect that if Shepard leaves the show, it’ll be a result of a run-in with La Grenouille and/or her father.

What did you think of the episode?  Who do you think is leaving the show and why?  Will the show be able to survive without him/her?  If it is the director, who should replace her?

 

13 Comments | NCIS, Reviews, Television | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
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Footage of New X-Files Movie Leaked

February 25, 2008

The new X-Files movie, due in theaters on July 25, might not have a title yet, but a teaser of footage from the movie was shown to fans this past weekend at WonderCon in San Francisco.

Here’s a look at the footage.

Even after watching the teaser several times, I’m no closer to guessing what the plot will be of the X-Files sequel.  And apparently Chris Carter provided no revelations in his interview with SciFi Wire.

Mulder and ScullyInstead he reiterated that the film is a stand alone story that will not pick up where the last movie let off.  From the teaser, we know that Billy Connolly has joined the cast as a guy with really long hair and that Amanda Peet is an FBI agent who according to Carter has “gone missing.”

Carter does added that the movie will reflect the passage of time.  Apparently Fox Mulder (David Duchovany) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) have changed since when last saw them in 2002.

“The truth is, after all that time, Mulder and Scully were different people, and we were different people, so the ‘X-File’ we came up with five years ago is still the X-File in the movie, but their personal lives – the state of their relationship, all those things – have changed over time, and that was kind of interesting,” Producer/Writer Frank Spotnitz said.

Scully and MulderI’m glad to see that Carter and Spotnitz are acknowledging the passing of time. 

While I’ve been monitoring the progress of the movie, I haven’t really been excited about it yet.  Six years is a long time to have been without X-Files.

But after watching the teaser, I’m ready to break out the DVD of the last movie and rent some of the series.  The countdown to July has begun.

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