Thursday, October 14, 2010 (plus Sanctuary premiere!)

SPOILERS: Big Bang Theory, Bones, Sanctuary

Delay, yes, almost late, yes. I've decided that since Thursday is a little lacking, I'm tossing in Sanctuary as well (also, there's nothing else on Friday nights cause...well, it's Friday night and on any channel except SyFy that's not a good night).

Episode of the Day: Sanctuary, "Kali Part 3" (Not perfect, but an extremely excellent premiere)

Big Bang Thoery, "The Hot Troll Deviation"

Finally, an episode of BBT that isn't entirely about Sheldon. It's about Howard! And Bernadette! And it was absolutely hilarious. While a subplot of Sheldon and Raj fighting was funny enough, watching Howard awkwardly try to repair his relationship with his ex was great, especially given the incredibly nerdy way in which they broke up. (Howard's MMO character was getting it on with a troll - Note: Give WOW players some credit here. That's not an option in the game. Then again, there are supposedly characters who get payed to unequip their armor and walk around in the default underwear so...)

Plus, let's not forget the wonderful guest stars in this episode [above]. First off, the actress who plays Bernadette is great, she played Hoyt's girlfriend in True Blood this summer and was delightfully funny then as well. Katee Sackhoff was great, though I didn't instantly recognize her as Starbuck from Battlestar Galactica (then again, I've never really watched that show). George Takei, however, took the cake as he commented on Howard's possible homosexual tendencies - "and yet, here I am!".

Favorite line: Leonard [to Sheldon] "You're movements are so lifelike I forget you're not a real boy"

Bones, "The Body in the Bounty"

This episode was rather "ehhhhh" for me. David Alan Grier made an appearance as Bunson Jude the Science Dude, a rather lovable and cute reference to Bill Nye the Science Guy. And the final weapon used in the case was great.

But really? Another bounty hunter, obsessed with the bounty, has evidence that points to someone else, has already proved she's violent, and Booth looks the other way and lets her leave to go back to hunting. Come on.

I keep getting this sense that they're messing too much with the characters. Booth should have caught that. And there's no way Bones would really do that scene at the end - that was Emily Deschanel having fun. It's like with previous episodes where Bones is backsliding in terms of pop culture knowledge. It feels forced. And I'm not really enjoying it.

However, there were aspects of the case I did like. I really love potato guns. And besides the fact that they didn't take the time to show Hodgins and the Dude loading it with hairspary, it was an accurate demonstration. Plus, it did translate well into a real world murder weapon with the bean bag gun and bone chip.

"It's a barbarity that clarity is a rarity!" "That is true."

Sanctuary, Kali Part 3

YESSSSS! Sanctuary is back! And it's really back. With a snazzy new intro song (and notice, Henry's files were finally added to the pile with Ashley and Will) you can tell their geared up for Season 3, and it shows all episode long. So I'm going to break this up into the four key parts of the episode [photos courtesy of the SyFy Sanctuary website]  -

Kate: Kate [above] gets to step up and play hero coordinating evacuation efforts. While not the most exciting part of the episode, she does have the amazing ability to turn self-sacrifice (staying behind to evacuate more people) into duty and a job, rather than a melodramatic heroic compulsion to help people. Plus the special effects when the wave hits Mumbai - the most chilling thing to me was when they showed a building just slowly being moved by the water. Simple, but effective.

Henry/Wexford: Paul McGillion was brilliant as Carson on Stargate Atlantis, and he brought the same brilliance to a totally different role as the semi-villain Wexford [right] in this episode. Through his arguments with Henry, you actually see his character become more than just someone to hate. He holds on so tightly to power that, even with Magnus' plane going down, even with the red algae stopping one wave, he just can't bring himself to admit error. And everyone's favorite werewolf Henry didn't do so bad himself! Stealing equipment while "fixing" the computers, he sent Magnus Big Bertha's location in ASC II, after facing off against Wexford. All with a head wound. Go him.

Will: Ehhhh. Here's where I have some hangups. Will's storyline had a fair amount of shenanigans and cheese. Not bad, I certainly enjoyed it, but it wasn't so very original. Will, after collapsing from over-Bollywoodness, is magically recovered enough to talk to Magnus about the fact that he needs to...die. And he's ok with it, cause, well, he's dieing already. Honestly, Will's so noble and heroic he probably would've done it anyways, so there was a little bit of despair and angst missing in terms of "I don't want to die!" where it was actually properly deserved. He did well though, in the scenes with Kali and the mysterious others, and though he may have forgotten now, it looks like this week he'll be getting some flashes.

Magnus/Forsythe: LOVE. Just absolutely wonderful. Magnus [left] was at her best facing off against Wexford and dealing with the apathetic and hilarious Forsythe. I mean really, was anyone actually worried that she drowned? I could repeat my favorite dialouges but it would take too long. Her conversation with "Charles" while Forsythe plays with his ball was just the epitome of what makes Magnus so....Magnus. As for Forsythe, I loved his final speech to Wexford. It ended, and my first thought was "I want that, in fancy writing, on my wall, framed." It was hilarious, and I learned a new word - martinet. Just like Wexford, it fleshed out an otherwise 1-D villain.

All these things being said, there were a few flaws. For starters, I don't remember Big Bertha ever being capable of EMPs before, and wasn't Kate's Hindi kind of patchy in parts 1 and 2? Will getting better is a little too easy, and why did noone think to check if Forsythe's ship got Magnus? Wexford totally ignores him until Magnus contacts their ship.

Though there were some iffy moments, the fact of the matter is the episode was really enjoyable, and showcased many of the reasons I like Sanctuary. Can't wait for next week!

~ Sarah