the quiet

Sorry this blog hasn't been a priority lately. By slacking in my duties, I'm behind in reviewing the first hours of 24 day 6 (Jack Bauer still kicks ass), and I'm really behind adding my 2 cents to the news that The O.C. is coming to an end.

Let's start with Jack Jack and the Bauer Power Hour. (Yes, in a deck of German playing cards, especially for the game Euchre, a Jack is called a Bauer. Either the writers are that much more brilliant than you originally thought, or it's the most beautiful coincidental redundancy in the history of television.) Okay, so I'm liking day 6 so far. Up until this week, I think they had managed to squeeze at least one major explosion into every hour, which is very impressive considering the production cost involved. The scene where Jack had to shoot Curtis, and then he threw up and told Bill he was done helping CTU... man, that was some great stuff. We're definitely seeing a broken man when we see Jack Bauer this season. I find the whole brother angle interesting, but I'm not sure I buy it. Graem doesn't look much like Jack, and he's just so evil. And, in case you need the refresher, Graem is "bluetooth guy" from day 5, the puppetmaster pulling Logan's strings via a handsfree phone. What is that guy's real agenda, and how can he be related to our Jack? And sure, we know he's evil, but don't you think Jack was a little quick to torture him? I mean, it's his brother! Apologies if all that's not very coherent...I'm trying to squeeze my reaction to six hours of TV into a single paragraph. And I'm trying to do it at midnight.

Moving on to the demise of The O.C. ... It's sad that the former behemoth of adolescent soaps is coming to a close after just four seasons. Not to mention, it's a little mind-boggling that this show, which used to be such a culturally relevant phenomenon,
fell from grace so quickly. But with the departure of Mischa Barton and the general decline in fan approval, I guess it comes as no surprise. I loved season one. I even bought the DVDs, although that's mostly because I was too impatient to wait for the demand for them to die down at Netflix. The first season definitely had a special feel and chemistry to it, and the seasons that followed just couldn't match it. After four years, it has become like an entirely different show. Just this season, it's way more abstract and offbeat than ever--they did an alternate reality episode, for crying out loud. But I actually kind of like this new O.C. too, just in a different way. The characters they introduced this year are interesting, and I totally don't miss Marissa's incessant whining. Kaitlin is a way better junior Cooper, if for no other reason than a little something called emotional range. I love the dynamic she has with Bullit. Even Che has grown on me. And the regular cast is good as always... although I'm disappointed they didn't find anything for Sandy to do this year. All in all, I have to admit that the geek in me felt a certain kinship with my Newport namesake (not to mention a shared attraction to his hot girlfriend), so I'll be a little bummed not to be keeping up with the Cohens anymore. Only three new episodes left...