Dan and I had mixed feelings about the ending of this week’s Chuck. We know that Casey’s expulsion from the team does not mean he’s leaving the show, just that he’s no longer on the inside. Although, this development makes our prediction that Morgan & Casey will need to team up to save Chuck and Sarah in a later episode. Dan likes Casey losing his position on the team because it keeps the show from getting stuck in a rut and becoming stale. In reality, from the previews of next week’s episode, Chuck himself may not be a member of the team for much longer if he doesn’t kill the guy that the CIA orders him to kill. The Chuck I know won’t kill anyone and that could lead to him going back to being “just Chuck.” Dan and I speculate that Team Bartowski may strike out on their own to make a difference. Dan thinks that the show may change to a Buy More vs. a high tech, criminal enterprise (currently The Ring, previously Fulcrum) … in a sense the Nerds vs. Spies.


I really enjoy when a show dives into the back story of a favorite character and shed some light on what has led them to become the character they are today. Last season we saw the episode with Sarah and her Dad and Chuck and his Dad. Well this week we had another insight into John Casey’s back-story. Understanding the life and love that Casey gave up for his love of country made his comment at the end of the episode to Chuck about Walker being a good woman and that it was not too late for Chuck to let her know how he feels, but he needs to do so before it becomes too late. Throughout the series, Casey has acted as mentor on numerous occasions, but this was the first time Casey overtly gave Chuck any personal advice. I liked it.



Finally, Shaw has got to go! I am going to be a broken record about this until he is gone. Unfortunately, my estimation is that Shaw will be around until the season finale, but mercifully that should be the end of the Shaw character. Dan and I both think the Shaw character was only created because Matthew Bomer who played Bryce Larkin left the show to become Neal Caffrey on White Collar. The Sarah and Bryce relationship would make much more sense this season than this Sarah-Shaw crap we have to deal with right now. It was nice to see Sarah and Chuck working together again. It was huge that when Chuck took the drug to flash and was out of control, nearly killing the guy, that Sarah was the only one that could get through to him and save him from going over the edge. Sarah has always been his compass, and now she seems to be the only one who keeps him grounded and prevents him from losing himself to the intersect.



Some good news is that Chuck is currently the second highest ranking scripted show on NBC only behind The Office. In my mind that should secure Chuck’s place on the schedule for next year, but we are talking about NBC and their record for not being stupid is questionable at best. We won’t know for sure until May 17th when NBC will make the official announcement of which shows will be on the schedule next season and which ones are canceled.

Castle:
Next week’s episode looks awesome. We are looking forward to it like it is a premiere. Beckett won’t be killed of course, but we may think she is for a while. Dan thinks we might see a darker side of Castle in this episode, I think we may see his true feelings for Beckett. The Superfan killer is trying to outwit the Master (Castle), which is a classic theme for a nemesis or super villain. For this reason, I believe that he could be a recurring evil character/nemesis of Castle and Beckett for the remainder of the season or could be the killer from her mother’s case, though I think this less likely. I am thinking that when Castle thinks that Beckett is dead, that his emotions will betray his true feeling for her and when he finally realizes she is OK, there may be a moment where things get physical.




Dan wants to see some drama with Castle’s character, needs to be pushed and challenged. Nathan Fillion is such a great actor that he can definitely handle it. I wouldn’t mind seeing him put in some new situations, but I also like the way the show is heading, so I hope they don’t change the show too much. Well, since this post was delayed by a crashing computer until Monday and TV is about to start, I’m going to cut this short and we’ll pick up the Castle talk next week.

Keep checking the Twitter, email your comments, and start leaving some voice-mails. See you next week. Also watch Castle Mondays at 10/9c on ABC and Chuck Mondays at 8/7c on NBC because it still really needs viewer support to ensure a 4th season.

After a 3 month hiatus, Across the Airwaves is back. Now, some of you may be asking, “Who the heck is this new guy and where’s Dan?” Good questions! My name is Nico (pronounced Neeko). I am a nerdy scientist and TV geek and have been friends with Dan for the last 8 years. Dan is busy finishing up film school and has asked me to contribute to the blog to keep it going until May when he will return. Also in May, Dan and I will launch the Across the Airwaves Podcast and co-host a weekly show that will discuss our favorite TV Shows, rumors, and theories. Shows we will discuss regularly will include: Chuck, Smallville, Flash Forward, V, Fringe, Castle, Leverage, White Collar, Human Target, Supernatural, and Big Bang Theory. Dan and I are still working out all the details, but we envision having a website, a Twitter (@AcrossAirwaves), email (AcrosstheAirwaves@gmail.com), and phone number (773-809-3363) that will allow listeners to participate in the show and we will have a Listener Feedback section that will include tweets, emails, comments, and play your voicemails as part of the show… so please participate. Just a quick warning, Dan & I will be discussing the plots of the shows and thus request you watch the show before listening to the podcast or reading the blog so there are no SPOILERS.

Chuck:

This week’s Chuck was amazing. Finally Chuck is on his way back to the regular guy that we all know and love. Also, now that Morgan knows his secret and Chuck has an outlet to talk with, things are going to be great the rest of the season and a lot funnier. Dan and I were talking and all we need now is for Shaw to be gone and Sarah to realize she is actually in love with Chuck, like he realized his continued love of Sarah this week and then everything will be right in the world of Chuck.


Best scenes from this week’s Chuck were the Iwo Jima pose in the Buy More revolution scene, the Fortunate Son montage/ Jeffster Song (I have been waiting all season for the Jeffster Song and it did not disappoint, though not quite as good as the performance of Toto's Africa which was the best, but it was still great and made my day). Jeff and Lester songs are comedic gold!




Finally, here are a few Dan and Nico theories: Ellie and Awesome look like they are out the door, maybe at the end of the season, maybe sooner. Neither of us is happy about this. I think Awesome is well, awesome. I will miss him if we are correct about this. Dan and my second theory is that at some point this season Casey & Morgan will have to team up to save Chuck and Sarah. Since we think Shaw will be gone, it will come down to Casey and Morgan, and it will be incredible… and probably hilarious.


Smallville:

Even though Smallville was not new last week, Dan and I always discuss Smallville. This week Dan informed me that Smallville has been renewed for a 10th season, which Dan and I both hope means he will have an opportunity to write for the final season or be involved in some way with a job on the show. Two major rumors for the upcoming episodes next season are 1) the Jack Kirby created character Darkseid may be a major villain and 2) that the 200th episode (next season) may be when Lex Luthor returns to the show or a certain hero takes flight. The rumblings that Darkseid will be appearing in Season 10 comes from new baddie Amanda Waller mentioning an oncoming Apocalypse or Apokolips at the end of Absolute Justice. This is up for debate because Geoff Johns (the writer of the episode) commented on his Twitter page that he spelled the word in the script Apokolips but the closed captioning listed it as Apocalypse. In other words, this means the appearance of the characters made popular by the New Gods comics and the Superman/Justice League Animated Series might be a Fanboy's fantasy.


Now for some bad news for next season, well at least in my opinion, Tess Mercer (Cassidy Freeman) has signed on for a few episodes next season. I can’t stand her character, but I’m not sure if it’s the character, writing, or the actress. Dan and I speculate that if Lex returns in the 200th episode, then she will be killed (hopefully) in that episode, maybe even by Lex for her failure to lead LuthorCorp.



Finally, I don’t remember if this was a rumor or just wishful thinking on our part, but James Marsters may be reprising his role as Brainiac for next season as another clone of the popular Superman villain arriving on Earth. I’m an unapologetic James Marsters fan and would love to see him back on Smallville (also look for him on Caprica this season).


Well, I think that is good for this week’s blog. Look for new posts each week by Saturday and look for the podcast starting in late May following Dan’s graduation. Please participate, leave comments, check out the Twitter, send an email and help us grow the blog and eventually the podcast. By the way don't miss Chuck Mondays at 8/7c on NBC and Smallville Fridays at 8/7c on The CW starting April 2nd.

After watching the insane cliffhanger at the end of White Collar's mid-season finale, my younger brother was extremely frustrated because he had to wait until January 19th for a resolution. Well, for those of you who don't know this period of time or torture as my brother calls it where the Networks show reruns or reality shows until they start airing new episodes is known as a hiatus.


The reasoning behind hiatuses which take place around the Holidays and over the Summer is not to make you angry, it's to give the cast and crew a well deserved break for all of their hard work. While watching TV it feels like the creators of your favorite shows deliver an episode on a 9 to 5 work schedule because it is sometimes put together so flawlessly that it looks easy. However it normally takes a 60-70 hour work week for a cast and crew to bring entertainment into to your living room. Based on this fact, even though a TV show going on hiatus is annoying like being forced to put down a good book, you got to remember that the people who help you escape reality have lives too and they look forward to spending the time off with their families. This means that if you are a TV watcher complaining about a hiatus, just suck it up and let the people who put their all into entertaining you have their vacation.


At the same time, there are circumstances when getting angry over a hiatus is warranted like when a show goes into reruns during a month where new episodes should be airing like October or March because that means it is going to get canceled. In this case you as viewers have every right to be angry because the people who helped you escape the stresses of school or work on a weekly basis are going to lose their jobs. Recently, fans of TV shows have been channeling their anger over shows being canceled into organized campaigns such as sending Mars Candy Bars to Network Execs at The CW for the purpose of keeping Veronica Mars on the air. On some occasions these campaigns have worked like when the short lived TV series Firefly was made into the movie Serenity, FOX put Family Guy back on the air and Chuck is now coming back in January instead of March.

Even though they make viewers like you and me scream at the TV screen hiatuses are extremely powerful marketing tools. This is due to the fact that if pulled off correctly a mid-season or season finale cliffhanger will cause the hiatus to be a period of time where audiences members hype a show by speculating what will happen next to everyone who will listen which will cause the anticipation for the premiere episode to be so high that the ratings will go through the roof. Digging back through TV History this concept worked the best with the Who Shot J.R. cliffhanger at the end of Dallas season 2 because at its time the season 3 premiere was the highest rated episode in US History with an estimated audience of 83,000,000 people.




In my opinion even though the start of a hiatus at the end of a finale leaves me frustrated at first because I always keep wanting more, I totally respect them. Especially since they are just long enough to make me miss my favorite shows to the point that coming back to them is like reuniting with an old friend. As an avid TV watcher I love this feeling and I would not give up hiatuses for the world unless it foretells the cancellation of a favorite show.

Make sure you check out new episodes of your TV favorites and posts on this blog in March after a short hiatus.

My favorite thing to watch when it comes to late night television is the Late Show with David Letterman. If you haven't seen it the Late Show is structured very much like The Tonight Show based on it featuring stand-up, a live band and celebrity guests. However, even though Dave's show is the same as the other nightly talk shows I tend to like him better than his competitors. I can't really pin it down to one thing but I prefer watching Dave because Conan comes across as arrogant to me and Jay feels unapproachable almost as if NBC is whispering conservative jokes into his ear.


Conan and Jay, the Late Show's competition


Then when I turn on Dave I feel like it's a completely different ball game because he gives me a sense of comfort by being brutally honest with me as a viewer. Through doing this watching Dave feels like I'm hanging out with an uncle who tells crazy jokes. Now don't get me wrong there has been times that Dave has gone a little bit overboard and I occasionally agree when the media calls him out on some controversial jokes. I can also see why some of you as TV viewers can't stand watching him because of the mistakes he has made in his own personal life but I don't let that bother me. I'm not saying that I agree with what he did I'm saying that I enjoy watching Dave because his TV persona is highly entertaining and all about having fun which is shown by Dave laughing at his own jokes including ones at his own expense.


The fact that Dave laughs at his own jokes like any other average person makes him stand out compared to his rivals at least in my mind because it shows he is focused on one thing making the average Joe laugh. Dave caters his jokes to the average American by having people just like them perform comedy in segments like Stupid Pet Tricks or having a bunch of students come in to do bird calls or science experiments. Dave also interacts with average folks during the course of his show such as the man who lives in the apartment in the studio, his mom in Indiana, and the guy in the Deli down the street. At times Dave even has to act as a translator between regular people and celebrities like when Joaquin Phoenix spaced out on the show.




Honestly when I think about it Dave interacts with everyone during the course of his show from the audience to the orchestra led by the talented Paul Shaffer to the crew working behind the scenes. He even at times has had Regis Philbin run through the audience like a crazy man high- fiving people. Although Dave's fun with the audience doesn't stop there because he is always asking them silly questions that may earn one of them an entire pizza or cause the Horns section to proudly raise their hands. I guess out of all these examples the main thing I want you to get out of this post about the Late Show is to give Dave a chance because watching him is like going to a party where something fun is always happening.

Check out the Late Show with David Letterman weeknights on CBS at 11:35/10:35c or online.

One of my favorite cult shows is Veronica Mars. If you haven't seen it the show's title character Veronica played wonderfully by Kristen Bell is a girl that had a horrific Sophomore year of High School. Basically to some it up, Veronica's best friend was murdered, her Dad lost his job as Sheriff and she was dumped by her boyfriend which in turn caused her to get raped. Now if this was a normal teen drama the show would have Veronica contemplating suicide but what emerged from her tragedy was an incredibly smart, yet sassy girl with a concealed big heart who I still have a TV crush on til this day. Although, having a TV crush on Veronica is not the only reason why I was attracted to this show, it was the fact that Veronica Mars dealt with an universal issue everyone can relate to which is something bad happening to you in High School.



Who's a stronger heroine Veronica or Buffy? You Decide.

Sadly just as fans got to know her, Veronica Mars was taken away from us after three seasons for the purpose of The CW being impatient with the show trying to find its legs after moving Veronica to College which I didn't think took the show very long compared to Buffy season 4. The show's creator Rob Thomas tried to save Veronica Mars by connecting her best friend's murder to an conspiracy and making a season 4 mini episode where Veronica joins the FBI but it left us with unanswered questions. Now I guess the only thing we Veronica fans can do is hope those rumors of a movie is true.

Check out the Veronica Mars season 4 mini episode below...



Get Veronica Mars Seasons 1-3 on DVD or watch it online and keep an eye out for Kristen Bell, she's going to become a very popular actress in the next few years.

If you don't know Kurt Sutter is the man behind the TV hits The Shield and Sons of Anarchy, a show I have raved about on this blog. Recently my respect for Mr. Sutter has risen even higher level due to the post he put on his blog entitled Why Most Network Scripted Dramas Suck. Basically in his post Sutter gives his two cents on the Leno debate by expressing the belief that development execs create shows based on what they think people want to see. Churning out clones of semi-successful shows or in other words looking for a hook to market instead of concerning themselves with story and character. Then Sutter goes on to praise FX for taking a chance on Sons of Anarchy by making the realization that the show's success rests on his shoulders not their own.


The main thing that needs to be taken from Sutter's post for the purpose of standing up with him on a soapbox is that I whole heatedly agree with his viewpoint. This comes from the fact that I have a variety of very different types of shows in my weekly TV watching schedule from teen dramas like The Vampire Diaries to crude off the wall shows like Family Guy simply because I get bored of the repetition that exists in the form of CSI, Law and Order and all of its variations that are aired during the week. In order to better demonstrate my point I thought it might be best to give all of you my current TV watching schedule.

Monday

Heroes, Chuck, 24, Castle

Tuesday

V, Sons of Anarchy

Thursday

The Vampire Diaries, Fringe, Supernatural, 30 Rock, The Office

Friday

Smallville, Dollhouse, White Collar

Sunday

Family Guy

*Shows are not all currently showing new episodes

With this list I can see someone making an argument that Smallville and Heroes are similar to each other due to the superpowers concept. Although with something like Chuck and 24, they both focus on a secret agent but one show is a dramedy and the other one is completely serious. The bottom line with my TV schedule is that there are thousands of ways to explain how all these shows are all different from each other but what's important is that this line up keeps watching TV fresh. However with my schedule containing many fantasy based shows like V or shows off the beaten path like Chuck I run the risk of being heartbroken because these are the types of shows that Network Execs see as risky. Then again I would much rather suffer the heartbreak of TV Show cancellation than having to stomach one of David Caruso's cheezy lines he spouts off at the beginning of every formulaic episode of CSI Miami. With that being said I do have a friend who watches every form of CSI and NCIS during the week but I respect him for it because he also watches my TV schedule on top of those shows. On the other hand for those people who just center their schedule on just watching all the forms of CSI and Law and Order, you can do what you want but just know that I think you have no lives.


CSI and Law and Order, two incredibly formulaic shows

Going in the vein of Kurt Sutter's post I do feel like Network Execs need to put their faith in cutting edge shows like Sons of Anarchy instead of shows like Cold Case where every episode starts with a cardboard box being taken off a shelf to be opened and ends with a box being put on a shelf to be closed. The reason behind this is that I believe Sons of Anarchy's success can be attributed to people's desire for a good story to escape the frustrations in daily life caused by the Recession or whatever else is going on in the world. So Kurt Sutter if you happen to stumble upon this post I want you to know that I would totally be interested in writing for Sons of Anarchy after I graduate from Columbia College in May because I would much rather work on a show that will knock an audience's socks off than doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.

When it comes to the TV watching season I really look forward to the weeks where they show the mid-season and season finales. Both of these occasions are incredibly bittersweet because it's the time where the cast and crew bring their A-games really sparking my imagination but at the same time the word finale means that I have to wait a few months for new episodes to come out. Currently this is the time of year for mid-season finales and I thought that in honor of this event I would give my opinion on what were the best mid-season finales out of all the shows I watch on a weekly basis.

However before we get into that I would like to give an Honorable Mention to Sons of Anarchy because even though the show's finale featuring a new rendition of Gimme Shelter was not as epic or shocking as the two finales that I chose, the show had the best first half of season out of everything on Television. I would also like to apologize if the reason why I chose these finales comes across as vague, I just don't want to spoil things for those of you who plan on catching up with these shows on your DVR or waiting for it to come out on DVD.


So without farther adieu here are the best mid-season finales of 2009...

White Collar

A few weeks ago I raved about the dynamic between Con Artist Neal Caffery and FBI Agent Peter Burke in the shows pilot. Today I can happily say that the show maintained the chemistry between these characters to the point that TV Guide has called White Collar the best new show of the Fall TV season. What made the mid-season finale one of the best of 2009 was the fact that it ended with a shocking twist that obliterated some major character back story and possibly changed the status quo of the series. This is an incredibly ballsy move for a show in its first season but it is also kind of smart because the twist will bring myself and I hope other viewers back to the show just to see how the heck the writers are going to pull this off.





Smallville

I have said on repeated occasions with this blog that season 9 of this show has been epic to the point that it feels like the Producers are creating mini-movies every week that are on the level of the Christopher Reeve Superman film. In fact the mid-season finale Pandora may have surpassed that movie based on the fact that the episode contained major character deaths and actually showed a fight between two super humans instead of having it take place off screen which is something I thought was impossible on The CW's budget. However before you Smallville fans get your tights bunched up there is a twist to the character deaths and no they are not a dream like on Dallas. Instead the supposed deaths and the all out fight scenes that took place in the episode were just used as a way to tease the Smallville TV movie that is coming down the pipeline. Supposedly this TV movie penned by superstar comic book writer Geoff Johns might just be one of the biggest special effect extravaganzas in TV history and I think this mid-season finale did a great job of proving to Smallville's now growing audience that something like a two hour event filled with superhero guest stars is possible. Although on a personal level what impressed me the most about this episode was the fact that they took the classic superhero versus super villain story established by Superman comic books 70 years ago in a whole new direction.




Now that I have given you what the best mid-season finales for 2009 are, at least in my opinion, the best thing you can do is watch these episodes of White Collar and Smallville to get a better grasp on my thoughts about them or just because you might be interested in one of these shows.

Check out reruns of White Collar at various times on USA and new episodes starting January 19th.

Check out reruns of Smallville Fridays at 8/7c on The CW and new episodes starting January 22nd.