Jeff Zucker has HEROES hoisted from the ceiling, bound with chains, dangling over a buzzsaw carefully balanced over a pool of hungry piranhas…

“Hahaha!  Fools!  This will be the end of you!  But before I feed you to my pets, let me tell you my nefarious plan, in full detail…  First, I will clone Jay Leno…”

Last night, NBC aired the season finale of HEROES.  There is a lot of talk that this might be the end of the show.  If this is the case, then I would have to say that it went out with somewhat of a whimper.

Sorry, but it’s true.

The once mighty show has seen a sharp drop in viewership since it’s auspicious beginnings.  Their once loyal fans appear to have grown ambivalent over the show’s direction.  It seems many just want the show to go away before it taints their enjoyment of the season one DVD set any further.

Will NBC oblige them and take this show out to the shed?  Or will they make us sit and watch them whine for another year about how they are different and don’t fit in?

Is there a third option?  How about they let this show go out with the dignity of a real ending?

If you haven’t yet seen the episode and would like to, you can watch it here after the jump and get some of my thoughts on the future of the show, if there is one. Read more

How I love hyperbole.

There is a lot of buzz about last Monday’s episode of CHUCK called “Chuck Vs. The Nacho Sampler.”   Now while I’m not sure if it’s the greatest episode ever, I will say that it was some of the best writing I’ve seen for this show; the last 10 minutes being especially good.  In fact, this episode had some good writing lessons to be learned if you are someone who writes spec scripts.

Spec writers are often told that their script samples must be new, fresh, dynamic and offer different takes on an already existing premise.  Then they tell you you’re not allowed to change anything…  Okay.

It’s a paradox yes, but there were some things in this episode of CHUCK that could provide great examples of just how to pull it off.

If you write television spec scripts, especially if you might spec CHUCK, you can do worse than to check it out.   See what the writers of CHUCK just did with their own show.

Watch the whole episode and read my take after the jump.

Read more

The British Film Institute | Sight and Sound Magazine’s January online issue comes with their choices for Best of 2009 in the categories of Film, DVD and Online Video (which is a delight to see).  Also, interviews with Jim Jarmusch, Richard Linklater, and Sally Potter are available in both the print and online editions.

January 2010 Online Issue of Sight and Sound.

Sight and Sound’s Best Films of 2009

Sight and Sound’s Best DVD Releases of 2009

Sight and Sound’s Best Online Videos of 2009

Reviews of Fox’s new action show Human Target are beginning to roll in.  I’ve had my eye on this show for a few months now, and I have to say it is one I’m looking forward to seeing.  Based on the comic book, HUMAN TARGET is about a bodyguard who essentially takes the place of people marked for a hit.  It stars Mark Valley (Boston Legal, Fringe), and co-stars Chi McBride (Pushing Daisies and reason enough to watch ANY show) and Jackie Earle Haley (Watchmen).  Also, the music is being done by Battlestar Galactica’s Bear McCreary, who in my opinion is one of the top film/TV composers working today.

2 Hour premiere airs on Fox Jan 17.  Set to air Wednesdays at 9PM thereafter.

“Read More” for reviews and a promo clip. Read more