1. Andrea watching Milton die/turn instead of freeing herself.
2. The Woodbury gang attacking the prison in broad daylight.
3. Rick’s gang trapping the Woodbury gang in the prison underground and then flushing them out.
4. Glenn and Maggie were not able to shoot anyone in that rampage, even with the benefit of surprise and cover?

Andrea’s situation was the most maddening. Instead of quickly freeing herself with the pliers, she decides to talk to Milton as he’s dying, and constantly pause to stare at him to see if he’s turned yet.

Overall the episode was kind of a let-down. I was expecting gang-busters-style war between the two parties. Instead the Governor goes to war with his own group.

On picking sides

I am not sure who’s side I am on.

As an American, it feels wrong to even think of being on the terrorist’s side, but they made out the vice president to be such an asshole, and the CIA guy is clearly more concerned with his career than homeland security. Knowing what really happened, how can any American agree with that?

You can’t. That’s what makes it so compelling. It’s almost as if the writers want us to side with the terrorists; to empathize with them.

They throw a cute, innocent child at us, and then force us to watch that child (and many others) die a bloody death in a preemptive attack authorized by America.

They give us an extremely likable character in Sergeant Brody, who also has an extremely likable (and cute!) family. Although the family is oblivious to Nick’s stance, you have to at least consider his influence on them, as well as his own logical conclusions drawn from his horrific experience.

So the writer’s don’t make it easy on us viewers. Neither side (America’s or the terrorists) is very appealing, yet I feel I must decide who I support based on the circumstances.

Rather than be labeled “un-American,” I guess I dislike both sides equally.

The story line

Carrie made a startling discovery at the very end of season one, right before she was put under for shock treatment – that Brody knew Abu Nazir’s child (that was killed in the strike).

Yet had that episode continued (which it will in season two), I’m afraid Carrie is too far gone (and untrusted) to be ever taken seriously again.

As viewers we know Carrie’s radical ideas are actually true, but convincing a “by the books” CIA (who have already declared her crazy) is another thing entirely. Her only confidant is Saul, and even he seems to be growing weary and despondent of Carrie, and the entire bureaucracy.

Can Saul convince the necessary officials that Carrie is not crazy, and that she knows the real threat (Brody)? I’m not sure how else Carrie gets back into the game.

Season two should be good.

I felt a lot of it was just too predictable or impossible (plot-wise). For example, somehow Dexter never gets tired and is always in the right place at the right time. Everything (information, clues, etc) just came to him, instead of him working hard to get it. Also, the human side of Dexter seemed less-so this season.

I find it funny how Harrison’s babysitter works practically around the clock. Dexter goes to work all day, then stays out most of the night. The babysitter is never tired or irritated with Dexter. That is some level of patience she has. Dexter must be paying her well. The babysitter is practically Harrison’s mother at this point. Dexter seems to only be a father when it’s convenient for him.

–

And then the finale. Here are my scattered thoughts:

Only one cop staged on the roof of the building? He doesn’t respond right away during the first roll-call, but no one seems to bat an eye. You would think if the first roll-call receives a delayed response, there could be a problem? Maybe send someone up to make sure everything is okay?

Lots of gaps. How does Dexter know Travis is on the roof? How on Earth does he get around town so fast? How does Dexter get Travis from the roof to the church without being noticed (when there were police staged all around that building)?

The “sleeper” character could have been the therapist for Deb, as she convinced Deb she could be in love romantically with Dexter. I know Deb has seen a lot, but I don’t (for Fuck’s sake, as Deb would say) believe she thinks she loves Dexter romantically. But maybe the pressure of being lieutenant had something to do with that.

Since Deb’s guard is down by being in love with Dexter, the final blow is not as bad as Dexter being caught by authorities, even though Deb is very high authority. Since Deb has emotional ties to Dexter, this is not a cop catching Dexter, but a family member. I would have rather Doaks, Lundy, Quinn, or Jimmy Smits help catch (and prosecute) Dexter, but now that Debra has, you gotta wonder what angle the writers will take with this.

Deb is either going to blame herself for constantly falling in love with serial killers and fuck-ups, and possibly become suicidal… or perhaps side with Dexter and understand what he does (as Lumen did).

Perhaps Dexter’s “dark passenger” is just what Dex and Deb need to become closer, on a level no viewer could foresee happening.

I guess I have no choice but to anticipate season 7, but here’s hoping it’s vastly different from the usual Dexter routine.

• Makes you think about your own life and issues, some of which are similar to the patients in the show.
• You start to feel a lot more normal than some of these patients.
• Paul’s job is a lot harder than I envisioned. I would not want to be a therapist after watching this show!
• Uses a form of “elapsed time” (or something like that) to fit hour-long sessions into 26 minute episodes. This is interesting because sometimes there’s an obvious break in the flow of the session (where viewers could assume more time has passed), but other episodes it’s all real-time, so the “stage clock” is clearly moving faster than a normal clock.
• I first thought that watching two people talk to each other for entire episodes would be incredibly boring, but it’s actually quite intense! You can feel Paul’s anger wanting to explode out of him, but somehow he keeps his head straight.
• You start to wonder what these patients are like outside of Paul’s office. As viewers, we only see them when in front of their therapist – kind of like a safe shelter from the real world.
• Do all therapists see their own therapist? We saw this in The Sopranos, too.
• HBO must have done a lot of research before creating this show, because emulating a serious profession like psych can’t be taken lightly. Any kind of mishap or inaccurate portrayal could result in negative press/feedback.

The Amazon Kindle application is ubiquitous – it’s on almost every digital device capable of internet connectivity: phones, tablets, and computers.

Your book collection and progression for each are synced across all devices, so you can essentially start reading a book on your tablet before bed, continue reading where you left off on your smartphone while commuting to work, then continue reading further on your computer at work, during lunch. You never have to find your place or even think about organizational tactics. You just read, wherever you are.

While the Kindle application is available on almost all screens, there’s one screen it hasn’t hit yet – the big screen. Yes, I’m talking about reading books on my television.

I think this would be useful for obvious reasons: the ability to read books while sitting on the couch, without craning your neck or having to hold anything besides a remote to flip pages.

And what better way to use your television than reading a book on it!? Turn off that mindless chatter that normally invades your living room, and finally do something productive with your TV.

The phrase “couch potato” will take on a whole new meaning!

With the abundance of app-enabled set-top boxes and entertainment systems (like Playstation 3, Wii, etc.), it would be very simple for Amazon to include the Kindle application on various systems.

Is this something you would do – read books on your television?

Music can captivate, entertain, and establish a precedent unlike any other medium.

There’s always been one thing I’ve loved about HBO television series.

It’s not the unfiltered realism depicted on screen – although that’s pretty great.

It’s not the quality of acting and directing, although that’s awesome as well.

It’s the sudden shift from story to abstract, as the closing credits roll and the music starts.

This is not the same music that plays during opening credits – that’s always the same song for each unique series. During the closing credits, however, a new song is always played to close each episode. I’m thinking of series like The Wire, The Sopranos, True Blood, and Entourage. (HBO may do this for all series, but these are just a few I have watched recently.)

What I enjoy, particularly, about the closing credits/music to HBO shows, is it’s ability to snap you out of the story in an abrupt fashion – kind of like flipping on the lights in a dark movie theater, or finally hearing the recorded song being played over the loudspeakers after a long music concert, when the band has left the stage for good.

It’s kind of a let down (who likes a good thing to end?), but a promise for more someday.

This music provides a completely different atmosphere from the tone of the concert or screenplay – but one that causes you to still reflect on what you just saw, as well as consider the big picture of it all.

This subtle shift can be done poorly, or just right, as in the case of HBO.

A world apart

The music chosen for closing credits on various HBO shows is very well thought-out. The lyrics typically speak of related ideas or emotions presented during the show. The music itself is often brazen or crude, but sometimes contemplative, and even upbeat. It’s this mixture of tones, moods, and words that get conveyed at the very end of something involved and complex that kind of takes the weight off your shoulder.

You can breathe easy again. It was just a show – a performance for your entertainment. Phew.

Quite often we become so engrossed in the little details and complexity of a show or performance, we really become part of that world.

Nothing snaps you out of it more than a great song that helps put things in perspective, and no one seems to do it better than HBO.

Season 4 continues with more of the same lifestyle and behavior for Dexter:

• Always exhausted
• Trying to blend in
• Irked by just about everyone around him; some enough to become his prey
• Disciple of “Harry’s code”

As usual Dexter has a lot on his plate – this season more than any other prior. At times I felt Dexter was on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

It can’t be easy hiding the fact that you’re a serial killer.

And yet, we believe in Dexter – we want to see him come to terms with who he is. His burden is unfathomable for most of us – having to keep such a huge secret from everyone, while trying to remain an upstanding citizen, supportive husband and brother, punctual father, and reliable “blood splatter analyst” for his day job.

The “final kill”

As usual, in season 4 Dexter has a main target, which ends up being revealed to viewers (but not to Dexter or authorities) shortly into the season. Prior seasons took time to reveal who the “final kill” would be, but season 4 revealed it somewhat earlier than normal, and used this approach to build suspense and tension – trademark characteristics for the series as a whole.

In season 1, viewers don’t know Dexter and the “ice truck killer” are related until the very end.

In season 2, we don’t know what Lyla is fully capable of until closer to the end.

In season 3, we don’t witness the devil inside Miguel Prado until near the end.

Season 4 gives viewers the “devil” earlier than normal, and builds a complete story around him, which eventually crosses Dexter’s path.

My thoughts: the bad

This was probably my least favorite season – I think because knowing who the “final kill” was early on did not allow for any major revelation towards the end.

Also, I’m growing a little tired of “Miami Metro homicide,” which seems to be a very busy department.

I’m finding all the death a little hard to believe – does all this death usually happen in Miami? There’s like a new murder investigation each week, including people related to (or friends of) the main characters on the show.

I mean, how many times can we be genuinely shocked at events that transpire, especially when it’s just death after death?

How Debra Morgan is not in a mental institution, by now, is beyond me. All the anguish from two close boyfriends killed – one right in front of her? The other turning out to be the deranged serial killer her department was looking for all along? And a relative, to top it off?

She’s got some toughness to her, that’s for sure. Imagine if she found out Dexter’s truth.

The final death at the end of season 4 was a shock, for sure – but I’m just waiting to witness Debra’s reaction to this close friend when season 5 starts.

My thoughts: the good

Believe it or not, I do have some good things to say.

I like how Frank Lundy returned to the show for this season (after appearing in season 2), at least for a few episodes. He’s a very intriguing character, and you can never quite tell what he’s thinking. The way he gazes out into space during a thought, or intently stares someone in the eye – it’s both consternating and creepy.

I always wondered if he knew the truth about Dexter, and was waiting for the right moment, or evidence to make his move.

John Lithgow was amazing – both mysterious and believable – I think he nailed the role of the “Trinity killer,” and near-mentor to Dexter (Dexter ended up not learning much from him after all).

Wrap-up

Other than all that, I felt the season kind of zipped through a lot of things in the last few episodes. There were only 12 episodes, and the last four seemed to skip over a lot of details, just to get to the main parts – I felt like I was watching in fast-forward mode.

But otherwise it was another terrific season.

I follow the NBC show “Friday Night Lights” via Netflix, so I am not caught up to the current episodes airing on TV now. I have just finished season 3. Please no spoilers about season 4 – I will get to that eventually.

The end of season 3 presents a turning point, as many of the familiar high school faces prepare to move onto college, and the Dillon Panthers restructure by getting a new head coach. It seems the “Eric Taylor” era at Dillon High is officially over – at least for now (remember – he left Dillon once before to coach at the college level, and ended up coming back).

So much has happened from seasons 1 – 3, but I’ll just recap my thoughts on the final episode of season 3.

In the end we’re left with:

• Matt Saracen committing to the Art Institute of Chicago, but is still having second-thoughts about staying in Dillon with his grandmother.
• Tim Riggins receiving the best advice from his older brother (who ever said Billy didn’t know anything??) about heading to college, instead of staying in Dillon to work at yet-to-be-established “Riggins Rigs.”
• Coach Taylor being fired as Dillon’s head coach, and being offered head coach at nearby East Dillon – a school that just re-opened, and looks to be in tatters.
• Lyla committing to Vanderbilt after receiving tuition money from a relative (since her father lost her college fund in an errant business investment).
• Tyra being accepted at the University of Texas.

Oddly:

• No graduation ceremony was shown – you’d think we’d be shown this as a sort of “goodbye” to the seniors.
• Suddenly it’s summer – didn’t football season just end? Unless it’s always “summer-ish” in that area of Texas?

This was kind of left open, but didn’t it seem like Matt committed to staying in Dillon with his grandmother while at Billy’s wedding reception? He brought his grandmother there, after taking her out of the nursing home, and promised he’d stay with her, because “she’s the only one that never left him.” (Matt reacting to Julie breaking up with him.)

• No more Cash?

The drama involving Tyra’s temporary boyfriend “Cash” left her in a tumultuous state. She quickly recovered, and that was the last we hear from Cash. I am surprised he didn’t come back to Dillon to hunt her down. That could have opened up some very interesting plot. I mean – he was only in San Antonio temporarily – and he knows where Tyra lives and works. I find it odd he didn’t come back and cause more havoc.

I’m looking forward to:

• A new rivalry between Dillon and East Dillon, especially because of the animosity between JD McCoy’s father and Coach Taylor. Woah – that could get intense.

If this rivalry is “played up” in future seasons, it will be great because the Dillon Panthers never really had a “rival” – at least with characters that were portrayed on the show. Coach Taylor going against a more “veteran” JD McCoy could be fun to watch.

• Buddy Garrity

I’d also like to see how Buddy Garrity reacts to Coach Taylor heading to East Dillon. Could there be animosity between those two close friends now – considering Buddy is an avid Dillon Panther supporter?

• New characters

A new high school for Coach Taylor means new characters – and lots of ‘em, because most of the popular characters from seasons 1 – 3 are off at college, or in the real-world.

• Old characters

I like how the show still incorporated Jason Street and Brian Williams the past couple of seasons, even though they are no longer at Dillon high school. Perhaps the show will retain characters like Saracen, Tyra, Lyla, and Tim – now that they’re out of Dillon.

I stopped watching during season 3 because it became way to complex even for a dedicated fan, which I thought I was.

Season 2: going good so far

Season 2′s ending was the first true indication that the crash survivors on the island may be under the control or supervision of someone else. Everything that happened before that was certainly paranormal and mysterious (hey – it was presumed to be a deserted island – what do you expect?), but at the very end of season 2 we finally see something tangible – a possible outside force controlling things. This brought me back to Earth for a bit, and I was very eager to start season 3.

But season 3′s new characters and drama tipped the scale in favor of the mysterious, so much that I felt it would never tip back to a larger sense of understanding on the part of the viewers.

So I stopped watching. The 45-minute episodes were too much of a time investment for a show that really didn’t reward viewers, and instead only rewarded the creators’ intense desire to complicate things as much as possible.

I felt like Lost was JJ Abrams canvas, upon which he simply flung out random strokes of plot, without any sense of balance – an unorganized mess of complexity that only grew with an intensity fueled from the far reaches of Abrams creatively distorted mind.

Yes, he is a master of his craft, but part of enticing viewers is to offer them something they can latch onto every once in a while.

The final episode

Again, I haven’t seen the final episode, nor the prior four seasons leading up to it.

From what I’ve heard, it was a pleasant ending, insofar that some revelation occurred, while some mysteries remained unsolved.

Unfortunately, I don’t know if such subdued impressions on the ending are convincing enough for me to continue watching season 3, and the rest of the series.

It would have to be an order of magnitude so large, as if to make up for all the tanglement of character and plot put forth for six seasons. I’m doubting the reward of revelation is greater than the risk of wasting more hours hoping something tangible will happen.

Maybe someday I’ll complete it all, but for now I have better things to do.

For those unaware, Friday Night Lights is about high school football players in the heart of Texas football country. The series focuses in on Dillon, Texas, and the local high school team – the Dillon Panthers.

I can’t say enough for shattered expectations from my own initial judgements. When I first heard about this series, I assumed it would be just another version of Dawson’s Creek, but with football involved. With the main characters being high school students, I imagined an over-the-top, barely believable drama about their snobbish, meaningless every-day affairs.

It turns out I was way wrong. This series is about football first. Nothing else matters to the characters, the town, and everyone portrayed. High school football is what makes the town of Dillon pump. It’s in their blood, and you can really sense it.

The actors are also top-notch. They not only tackle each other on the football field, but tackle major life issues and decisions off the field as well.

These are high school kids, but they’re dealing with very adult problems. In many ways they are too young to understand the breadth of their problems, but they get through by being there for each other. The adults in the show also experience their own issues, so the series is truly geared for all ages.

The show is really about life itself, and how football helps teach valuable life lessons. The integrity and determination portrayed on the field helps pave the way to important life decisions off the field.

The music

But what really makes the show special is the soundtrack. The featured artist is Explosions In The Sky, who compose instrumental songs that are absolutely mesmerizing at times. Many of their tracks are full of feeling: intensity, pain, suffering, rebirth. Just like the show presents situations that go full circle, so does the music of Explosions In The Sky.

Friday Night Lights is a perfect example of how music can make a difference. I could not imagine a better canvas for Explosions In The Sky to play on. The music fits into every aspect of the show, and is perfectly situated. From the opening credits to the very end, the music truly makes the acting and stories come alive.

Would Friday Night Lights be as good without Explosions In The Sky? Perhaps, but I wouldn’t want to ever test that theory.