Well, the Leno era...

...of The Tonight Show is over. I watched Jay Leno's final show on Friday. It was his usual mix of snappy monologue (his best thing) and so-so interviewing (never his strong point), with the bonuses of a James Taylor performance and the Best of Jaywalking. I enjoyed watching him pass the torch to Conan O'Brien, who begins hosting tomorrow night. The best part of the show was the very end, when Jay introduced the 68 kids born to staff members during his run. That was sweet...it's amazing how much time has passed and all the things that have changed in the world. My nephew was only three months old when Leno started hosting. I was a junior in college. Time flies!

It's not really goodbye, though- he will have his nightly prime time show in the fall, and he'll take along his Headline and Jaywalking segments.

I look forward to the Conan era of The Tonight Show! I so rarely got to stay up late to watch him. It will be nice to have him on at a reasonable hour (when I'm not watching David Letterman).

Latest All the Small Things rumor...

No second series, despite pretty good ratings and loyal fans. Loyal fans who are going to be mighty pissed off! I haven't seen any official news from the BBC, but it's been going around. The cast is going to be disappointed, I'm sure, as most were already signed on for a second series. :(

Other stuff: The Doctor Who specials and Torchwood will start airing on BBC America in late June. At least I have something to look forward to this summer on the tube!

Television history.

I love you tube. I keep finding great stuff. Someone has uncut coverage from NBC, CBS, and ABC of the Kennedy assassination. There's probably 30+ hours of footage! I've seen a lot of the CBS coverage- famous for Walter Cronkite choking back tears as he announces Kennedy's death- but it's very interesting to see the other networks.

It is absolutely fascinating to watch the newsmen scramble to get facts straight and the obvious trouble in getting linked up with Dallas affiliates. In this day of instant, 24-7 cable news coverage of any event, viewers forget how hard it was to get information across in "the old days".

When I say uncut, I'm not kidding. The CBS footage has parts of an episode of As the World Turns and commercials, and ABC has a rerun of Father Knows Best. It's hard to imagine being a housewife back then, watching her favorite soap opera only to have it be interrupted by this tragic news.

Here's a link to the NBC playlist:

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=C6063006ECBAA337

I've found similar uncut news footage from September 11, 2001 and the Challenger disaster of 1986.

So, another season of my shows is over...

More or less! There's still new episodes of Criminal Intent coming up on USA. And the Doctor Who specials and the shortened season of Torchwood coming to BBC America. Otherwise, my usual shows are done (not counting SVU, which I seriously have given up on).

Lost was amazing last week, and I can't wait for the final season starting in 2010. All the time travel stuff makes more sense...and the final reveal about John Locke was even more surprising than last season! Apparently, he's really dead after all. :( He's been duplicated by an imposter, who is out to get the mysterious Jacob, whom we finally meet. The Losties, most stuck in 1977, decide to set off the nuke (from the episode Jughead) to blow up the Swan station, and possibly resetting events so the plane crash will never happen in the first place! (everybody got all that?) Cliffhangers abound. What will fake-Locke do to the 2004 Losties? What will Jacob's death mean for the remaining "Others"? When Juliet set off the bomb (most likely vaporizing herself in the process :p ), did she change history? We have to wait until next January to find out!

24's finale surprisingly didn't suck. I even liked Kim here- she shows some guts and smarts and helps catch Tony and the big bad guys. There is a final confrontation between Jack and Tony...and they don't kill each other! Turns out Tony was screwing both good and evil sides- he only wanted to get to the big bad guys' leader to avenge the death of his wife Michelle (killed in Day Five). Selfish bastard! :p Well, Jack stopped that, and now the two are eternal enemies instead of the BFFs they were. :( The season ends with Jack in a coma, with Kim at his side...of course, she's going to donate her stem cells for his treatment. Jack has to be alive for Day Eight! Overall, Day Seven was very uneven...but was WAY better than Day Six.

A new Countdown feature I like...

The WTF moment of the day. Keith Olbermann just rules. I never used to watch political talk shows, but for some reason I really enjoy his show, and I'm getting to like Rachel Maddow, too.

Lost was awesome on Wednesday. I'm still trying to process what happened! I'll write a review later, but damn! It's going to be a long wait until January...

House and 24, May 11

House- Both Sides Now

From tv.com: House takes on a case of a patient with two different personalities as a result of having the left and right part of the brain operating independently.

I'm a bit confused...but once again, a lot of this takes place in House's head. The whole part about the detox/sleeping with Cuddy apparently didn't happen at all! So I'm not entirely sure how much of the case of the week (which was interesting) actually happened! The ending is poignant. House realizes his drug use is causing psychosis (he's hallucinating Kutner as well as Amber now), and has Wilson drop him off at a mental hospital. And as that happens, Chase and Cameron tie the knot. Not bad for a season finale. I just hope House's issues aren't solved in the first episode of next season!

24- 5:00 a.m.- 6:00 a.m.

Jack catches up with Tony and beats the crap out of him in hopes of getting the terrorist target out of him. Tony pretty much tells Jack to kill him. Fortunately for Tony, the target is discovered and the biobomb taken out JUST IN TIME. :p Well, that should be the end of the day, right? Noooooooo. The big bad guys kidnap Kim! The ransom? Jack has to help Tony escape. I almost want to skip the two hour finale next week. Overall, the season was better than Day Six. But a bad finale will push it into major suckitude!

Criminal Intent...

*laughs* I am just loving Jeff Goldblum on this...I honestly don't miss Chris Noth at all. Nichols and Wheeler are a good team. I'm watching it right now...the case is okay, but Goldblum is eating up the scenery.

Oh, Wheeler is pregnant. By that jackass who is now in a federal prison. That is going to be interesting...

All the Small Things, final episode.

Spoilers ahead!

From tv.com: Kyle wants to move on with his relationship with Grace and the two of them disappear altogether, so rehearsals for the finals of the North West Choral competition are delayed. Michael and Esther remember what they miss about their life together thanks to this crisis. However, Layla will not allow Michael to go without fighting for him. On the day of the competition, feelings escalate and Esther faces a terrible choice.

Also, Layla reveals Jake's alcoholism to the rest of the church, and the nasty Tonkses try to have him removed. It's put up to a secret ballot among the church committee members, including Esther and Layla.

Oh, Jake was amazing. I just love him. He broke my heart when he described the death of his friend- that was the big secret of his past, that he was responsible (along with Layla). And wow, Layla actually did something selfless for a change! If there is a second series, Jake needs to find out she was the one who cast the deciding vote to keep him as curate. It would be nice to see them reconcile. I almost felt bad for Layla when Michael left her. Almost.

I loved the kiss between Jake and Esther, after he gives his real reason for wanting to stay (her). And the hilarious girly-man fight between Jake and Michael after. I laughed out loud. "Owwwwwww?"

It was cute how Michael changed his choir's performance piece to "Nobody Does it Better"- the same song Esther had them sing for their anniversary in episode one. Cute, but an obvious attempt to win her back. Which failed, though she appreciated the sentiment.

I liked Esther walking out on her choir when they started booing Michael's. I would have done the same! That wasn't what the choir was supposed to be about.

And how cute were Kyle and Grace? I think they're a little young to get married, but if anyone can make it work, they can.

All the sympathy I had for Ethel Tonks evaporated in this episode. She and Gilbert were awful! "Darth and Mrs. Vader", indeed. I have a hard time understanding why they are so anti-Jake. It has nothing to do with his past (Ethel did look somewhat moved when Jake told his story). They're just stubborn.

I bet Louise voted to keep Jake. :p She's stood up to Ethel before, and it was a secret ballot, so why not?

*sniffles* I wasn't 100% satisfied with the ending. There has to be a second series! I hope if there is a second series, Esther will eventually choose Jake. Michael finally grew up, but it's time for both to move on. Too much has happened for things to go back to the way they were.

Cute screen captures:

Brother and sister reconciling? Jake and Layla talk things over...





The reason he wants to stay...SNOG!





I really enjoyed this show. And not just because of Bryan Dick (though he was the reason I started watching). The music was fun. The story was a little bit far-fetched, but that's okay. It's not real life!

*sniffle*

Just watched the last episode of All the Small Things. I'll review tomorrow.

24 and House, May 4.

House- Under My Skin

from t.v.com...While House tries to cope with his insomnia, he takes on the case of a ballerina whose skin begins to fall off after treatment following the collapse of her lungs during a performance.

Ew, that was gross. Poor ballerina. The new doclings have to deal with the POTW while House once again tries to detox from his Vicodin. He is still hallucinating Amber, and it's making him unable to work. Cuddy helps him with his withdrawal, and the two end up sleeping together...now who in all honesty didn't see that one coming? :p But now Amber seems to be gone for good...as long as House stays off his drugs. Hmmm...that will make for a very interesting season finale next week!

24- 4:00 a.m-5:00 a.m.

Jonas Hodges meets his end (KA-BOOM!), despite First Daughter's change of heart about having him assasinated. Oops. Jack and company try to track down Tony before he carries out The Group's plans (no idea what the group is really called). This episode is really just setting up the final confrontation between Jack and Tony, and if the previews are any indication, Tony will be the loser. Duh.

Tonight is the final episode of All the Small Things. I don't want it to end. Still no word on a second series. I'm going to miss having a weekly Bryan Dick fix. :(

Cute preview of tonight's episode that makes me really impatient:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0TXCbKpvDg

Watching right now...

The Old Curiosity Shop on PBS. It sucks. I admit I didn't like the novel much, but this production chops it into little tiny pieces. Even the great Derek Jacobi can't save this one. Toby Jones is scary as Quilp, but that's about the only thing that's good about it. I keep shouting at the screen: Die, Little Nell, die already! *lol*

Oh, Bryan Dick is in it, too. Wasted in a cameo as Little Nell's bad brother. And he meets a bad end (assuming they end it the way the book did, with Freddie drowning himself in Paris). But at least he's cute in it:




Oh, they butchered the book. Totally. They even changed the ending. The mysterious stranger was the grandfather's brother, not son. *rolls eyes*

Could there be a series two?

Found this at wikipedia's entry for All the Small Things:

In an interview with Jamie Birtwhistle (Fred), it was revealed that a second series is planned for the show. However, it has not yet been commissioned by the BBC.

The original interview:

http://www.rossendalefreepress.co.uk/news/s/1106321_all_good_things_come_to_jamie

Looks like a real possibility...the ratings have been good. I just hope Bryan Dick signs on. He's one of the busiest actors in the U.K.- it's hard to make a commitment to one thing.

Of course, everything depends on how the final episode goes! I think the show was originally planned as a one-off, but public reaction may have changed that. I doubt it will end on a cliffhanger, but I'm sure there will be plenty of unresolved stuff to use for a second or even third series (crosses fingers).

Just one more cute Bryan/Jake capture from episode five:



The man looks good in a suit. I've even learned to like the scruffy bit of beard.

Other T.V. stuff- Lost was good this week. It was rather sad. Poor Daniel! I wonder how things are going to turn out now.

Not much else. I was very glad to have Jay Leno back on The Tonight Show this week!