Thursday, September 22, 2005

In the Aftermath of an 'Invasion.' Plus, 'Lost' Down the Hatch!

Well, it was another slam-packed night of premieres last night, and ABC did not disappoint! Two interesting shows back-to-back, and both gave us a lot of new questions to ponder for the weeks ahead. Let's start with new kid on the block Invasion. TV Guide named this drama one of the best new shows of the season, and other critics have been raving about it as well. The show had to overcome some serious setbacks because of last month's Hurricane Katrina and the massive Rita that is threatening to wallop the Gulf coast once again. The first half of the episode was very hurricane heavy, and I'm sure most of us couldn't help but draw parallels to what we've witnessed with Katrina (National Guard, gas runs, people losing everything, etc.), but the story was only beginning.

Russell Varon (Eddie Cibrian) and ex-wife Mariel (Kari Matchett) argued over Mariel's perceived notion that Russ isn't very responsible with their two children (Jesse and Rose) as the strong storm approached. Rose set out to find her lost cat, and Mariel and Russ went looking for her separately. Russ found her, and they headed back to the house, but his park ranger truck overturned. Russ, Rose, and the cat (who had been hiding in the truck all along) are left to ride out the storm on the side of the road. Meanwhile, Mariel is missing. They found her the next day, naked in the Everglades. She is unharmed, but she seemed different, causing Rose to remark, "Mommy, you smell different." She's not the only one who went missing, but ended up naked and "different" when they returned. A local priest experienced the same fate. Young Rose noticed lights landing in the water in the Everglades when she was out looking for her cat, and her step-uncle Dave (Russ's new wife's brother) believes the storm and the lights are the work of aliens. So, what exactly happened during the hurricane? Did aliens come down to Earth and inhabit Mariel's and the priest's bodies? And what caused the death of the skeletal remains that Dave found in the Everglades? Is Mariel's new husband (Sheriff Tom Underlay) the mastermind of the entire alien plot if there is one? His interesting quote to Mariel at the end of the episode while they were looking over what appeared to be hatched egg shells, seemed to indicate that he was aware of Mariel's new state. The show grabbed my attention, and it's an interesting take on a natural disaster. One of the executive producers is Thomas Schlamme (who also directed the episode) from the Aaron Sorkin days of The West Wing, so he brings a lot of promise to it as well.

So, we finally got to see what's down the mysterious hatch on Lost last night, but there was no sign of the crew on the raft (stay tuned next week for them). In true Lost fashion, the answer was even more bizarre than we could have imagine, and it raised even more questions. I know some people are not fans of this type of storytelling, but I am loving it! I was afraid the answer was going to be a big let down, but finding out that a man lives down there, and not just any man, but Desmond from Jack's stadium run many years ago, it was all too clever for words! So many coincidences - the numbers on the hatch, Desmond (who sounded Australian, which is where the flight originated from), Sarah (Jack's "wife") regaining the use of her lower body after Desmond spoke with Jack, and so on. And what to make the of the large "Quarantine" written on the inside of the hatch. Wouldn't the word be placed on the outside of the door of whatever was being quarantined? If so, then is the island the one in quarantine and Desmond is not? I can't wait to find out! Meanwhile, did Shannon really see Walt in the jungle? If so, why wasn't he making any sense? Maybe "the others" have done something to him already. He did seem to be covered in some sort of goo. It seems that Vincent was trying to lead Shannon to "Walt," but why? Overall, it was an awesome start to Lost's second season, and a promise that the show does not disappoint!

About Last Night... ABC owned the night, winning all three hours of primetime. At 8, a Lost recap special led the way followed by a distant The Apprentice: Martha Stewart on NBC. CBS landed in third with comedies Still Standing and Yes, Dear, and Fox took fourth with reality competition So You Think You Can Dance. At 9, Lost got some of the show's best numbers ever as viewers tuned-in in droves to find out what lies down the mystery hatch. NBC just edged a repeat of CSI on CBS with the premiere of the new Pentagon drama E-Ring. UPN moved up to fourth with America's Next Top Model, and Fox dropped to fifth with the already low-rated Head Cases. The final hour of the night brought more good news for ABC, as new show Invasion held on to a sizable chunk of Lost's massive audience to win the hour. NBC's Law & Order took second, and the final hour of the CSI rerun landed in third for CBS. For full ratings information for last night, visit Zap2it.

Premiering Tonight!!! CBS kicks off the 6th season of the most watched show on television, CSI, followed by a special broadcast of new show Criminal Minds (it will move to its normal Wednesday timeslot next week). Over at NBC, it's the one-hour season premiere of Joey, followed by the original Apprentice, and ending with the 12th season premiere of ER. Finally, it's the much-anticipated debut of the Chris Rock comedy Everybody Hates Chris on UPN, followed by the series premiere of Love, Inc, then the new season begins on Eve, and the night finishes with the season premiere of Cuts.

QUICK CUTS

*NBC is now confirming that Medium will air a special 3-D episode during November sweeps. The episode will follow Allison (Patricia Arquette) as she explores the deeper meaning in artwork and discovers another dimension to it. Her discoveries lead her to believe that the artist has a deadly secret. The special 3-D glasses needed to view the episode will be distributed through the November 21st edition (on sale November 17th) of TV Guide magazine (both on the rack and through subscription), which will feature a special collector's edition Medium cover. Viewers will also be able to visit NBC's web site or TV Guide's web site for information on getting a pair of the glasses. The episode will air November 21st on NBC.

*Missed any episodes of the WB drama Everwood? Well, ABC Family has the solution. The cable network purchased the off-network rights to the series and will air all 89 episodes with the option to pick up future seasons. No official launch date yet, but the reruns are expected to begin on ABC Family next fall.

*And finally, Bravo is releasing player information for its upcoming seventh season of Celebrity Poker Showdown. This tournament will feature a round made up of the men of Desperate Housewives and a million dollar jackpot. For a full list of the celebrities set to appear, visit The Futon Critic. The seventh season kicks off October 13th.

That's all for today. Be sure to tune in tomorrow for the CSI edition. Plus, all the latest television news! And be sure to leave a comment with your thoughts on any of last night's premieres.

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