Show: Smallville (WB)
Episode: Vessel – Fifth Season Finale
Originally Aired: Thursday, May 11th 2006
Rating: 3 out of 4 stars

Quick Synopsis: Everybody is in danger. Zod has been released. Clark is trapped.

Long Synopsis: The episode starts with Lex being taken by the ship to prepare him as the vessel for Zod. Clark is told by Jor-El that he must destroy the vessel. This sets up a confrontation between Lex who now has Kryptonian powers and Clark. Clark tries to take out Fine instead of Lex and ends up unleashing Zod. Zod takes over Lex’s body and traps Clark. The episode ends with Clark floating out into space, Lois and his mother passed out in a plane that is off course, Chloe and Lionel being overtaken in the riot and Lana unknowingly with Zod as he stands watch over the destruction of Metropolis.

Review: I was hoping for a little more from the season finale of Smallville, at least in the confrontation between Lex and Clark before he becomes Zod. For what is was though it was pretty good. That being a setup for next season’s opening episode.

There are three types of finale episodes. There is the cliffhanger, the wrap-up and the regular episode or some combination. Veronica Mars was a wrap-up with a cliffhanger. A show like Everybody Hates Chris was just a nice final but regular episode. Smallville was a cliffhanger. Nothing gets concluded and everybody and everything hangs in the balance. Leaving you to wonder all summer, how are they going to get out of that? The big payoff is the first episode next season.

There were some great scenes, like Chloe kissing Clark since they may never see each other again. Also Lex telling Lana off his new powers, Lionel telling Clark he must destroy the vessel and then Clark telling him the vessel is his son and Lex as Zod standing over Metropolis. Lastly watching Clark float away trapped as the Superman theme music plays and the screen goes dark. What were your favorite scenes?

As for that big payoff, I can’t wait to see how they get out of it next season and how they continue the telling of this great story. Will next season be the one where we see him become the superhero we all know he will be?

What did you think of the fifth season finale of Smallville?

Show: Gilmore Girls (WB)
Episode: Partings – Sixth Season Finale
Originally Aired: Tuesday, May 9th 2006
Rating: 3½ out of 4 stars

Quick Synopsis: “Partings” was such sweet sorrow.

Long Synopsis: The show opens with a great scene as Sookie is playing a loud version of the quiet game with her son as the family tries to leave without disturbing Lorelai who they think is still asleep on the couch. She is disturbed but not by the goings on around her but with her relationship status with Luke as is shown by her sad gaze into nowhere.

The show continues on with Lorelai avoiding Luke, Rory wishing Logan didn’t have to leave for a year and the town being overrun by troubadours.

Rory has a confrontation with Logan’s dad in the elevator and he states that he isn’t sending Logan away from her but because it is time for him to grow up and stop his foolishness. Since Rory agrees with that assessment of what Logan needs to do she ends up throwing a London inspired going away party for his last night there.

Emily has decided to ambush Christopher with a blind date at Friday night dinner. The woman turns out to be a psychiatrist with whom Lorelai ends up having as session with from the back seat of the woman’s car.

Lorelai comes to the conclusion that she needs to make a decision about what she wants. What she wants is to get married now. She confronts Luke about it and wants to elope right then and there. He doesn’t like the ultimatum and says he needs to think and doesn’t answer her really. She says she has to go and walks off. He doesn’t try to stop her. She goes to Christopher’s because she doesn’t want to be alone and Rory is spending her last night with Logan before he leaves for London.

The show closes with Lorelai in Christopher’s bed after having spent the night. Christopher is getting his daughter off with the nanny and then we see him slip back into bed with her. The whole time she has the same nowhere gaze the show opened with.

Review: “Partings” are such sweet sorrow. Rory and Logan, Luke and Lorelai, us and another season of the show and of course the Palladinos and the show itself. Yet the episode was classic Gilmore Girls to me. Witty banter, light comedy, drama and heartbreak. What would the show be like without them?

The bookending of the opening and closing scenes was fantastic. The books that made up the story in-between were quite well done as well.

The banter between Rory after the graduation and Lorelai arriving home from Sookie’s was absolutely great. Could they have stuffed any more into such a brief conversation? It only lasted about a minute and a half but let’s see there was a role reversal, a Chachi reference, a Fatal Attraction reference, Lorelai shaking her head no while telling Rory everything was all right, a joke about a restraining order being why Rory is avoiding Logan’s family and more. Amazing how so little can tell you so much.

The Friday night dinner setup conversation at the table. Lorelai making outlandish conversation until her mother can’t take anymore and all conversation stops saving Christopher. Then being followed by the backseat unloading of all that Lorelai has been carrying around lately. Really, what could that woman “do with a couch?”

The side story with the town being overrun by troubadours was classic. Who new that Chloe could take time out from saving the world with Jack on 24 to sing a little ditty about her Volvo in Stars Hollow.

The course of the show next season will be interesting with a new show runner. Many will not like what happened last night as they have been complaining about this whole season. Not liking what has been done to the characters. The separation of Rory and Lorelai, putting Luke and Lorelai together only to pull them apart and what they seem to think is a loss of the fun times on the show. To me it seems much like it has always been but the characters have grown. Can you say the same only different?

It has been funny to me to read about how people don’t like the direction the Palladinos have taken the show this season. Then after the announcement that they were leaving the show lamenting about how they can’t imagine the show without them at the helm.

What did you think of the sixth season finale of Gilmore Girls? Where do you think the story will go next season?

**If you haven’t watched this episode yet then stop reading now as SPOILERS will follow!**

Show: Veronica Mars (UPN)
Episode: Not Pictured – Season Two Finale
Originally Aired: Tuesday, May 9th 2006
Rating: 4 out of 4 stars

Quick Synopsis: Leave it to Beaver.

Long Synopsis: We start out at with the dastardly Aaron Echolls leaving the courtroom with Veronica and her dad looking on. Back at the office Keith tells Veronica that they need to get on with their lives and that Aaron will get what’s coming to him someday.

Wallace is bummed about Jackie leaving for Paris and Veronica has a interesting dream that night showing what her life might have been like if Lilly had not been killed. This included her being with Logan and having never met Wallace until the day before graduation.

Vinny gets arrested breaking into Woody’s place and makes a deal with Keith to split the take on Woody’s capture if Keith can find anything in the documents he stole before the cops nabbed him.

Keith and Veronica learn from these papers that he needs daily heart medication and that he has also been treated for Chlamydia. They use this info to talk to find Woody at a hunting lodge in outside Reno, NV. Before this though Veronica and the rest graduate except Lamb arrests Weevil before he can walk across the stage for the murder of Thumper.

Wallace takes off for Paris and we find that Jackie actually went back to live with her mom and her son. She meets Wallace during his layover to tell him the truth about her after Veronica phones her to tell her about Wallace and that she has known for sometime her true story.

Veronica goes to one of Woody’s fast food joints to check out the team photos and sees the Cassidy was also on the team and was “Not Pictured.” Right there everything comes together for Veronica and the bus crash culprit is revealed as Beaver. He being the third kid that Woody had molested but had not wanted to come forward like the other two who were victims of the bus crash. Also Woody had given Beaver Chlamydia in which he had passed it on to Veronica revealing that she actually had been raped at that party we first heard about all the way back in episode one of the series. Veronica goes to find him because he is with Mac and they end up on the roof of the hotel. Where Veronica lays out all the clues as to why the Beav had blown up the bus. He blows up Woody’s plane to which we think Keith is on also. Logan comes to her rescue and the Beav jumps off the building committing suicide.

Then we see the old Kane security guy, Clarence, kill Aaron Echolls and call Duncan on a beach in Australia to tell him it is done. Then we see that Mac is all right and then Veronica and her dad are off to New York to celebrate her graduation. We also see that she is again with Logan.

The show ends with Kendall Casablancas coming to Keith and showing him something in a brief case that she says she needs his help with and then we see Veronica standing at the airport waiting for her dad to show and he is late.

Review: Wow they really know how to make a great show. What a payoff for those that have been watching all season. They tied things up nicely yet left enough dangling so you can’t wait until next season. Hopefully we will soon here that The CW has picked it up for another year of whodunit goodness.

That scene where Aaron tells Veronica in the elevator what it was like when he killed Lilly and then soon after to be taken out for good. Woody dying in the airplane that Beaver had planted another bomb in and thinking that Keith was on that plane. How everything tied up nicely reaching back all the way to last season to show that Beaver was the person behind the bus crash. The first dream sequence having her with Logan and not Duncan and having enjoyed high school was great and then her and Logan actually together at the end of the show. Beaver having all along been betting on the collapse of the incorporation plan with his property purchases. These scenes were all really fantastic. They really packed a lot into a single episode, which moved along at quite a brisk pace.

The cliffhangers they left you with were great as well. What was in that briefcase? Why didn’t Keith show at the airport and hasn’t called either? Will anybody be looking into the Aaron Echolls murder? What will happen to Weevil?

This is TV the way TV should be done. These are well written and acted characters with engaging stories being told in a fun way. I really can’t wait for a third season of Veronica Mars. The CW should reward this shows loyal fan base with another season. With one less network to compete against and a wider overall reach for the new combined network this show will do so much better than it has. Hopefully that exchange between Clarence and Duncan is a little foreshadowing of what is to come:

Duncan: CW?
Clarence: It’s a done deal.

I sure hope so, cause I hope that is not bacon I smell.

What did you think of the second season finale of Veronica Mars?

Show: What About Brian (ABC)
Episode: Sex, Lies and Videotape – Season One Finale
Originally Aired: Monday, May 8th 2006
Rating: 2½ out of 4 stars

Quick Synopsis: Every relationship is in flux.

Long Synopsis: Dave thinks Deena is sleeping with their daughter’s best friend’s father after he saw something while re-watching the birthday party video. You can see them really arguing and going at it through the frosted glass. He shows the guys the video and asks them what they think? Adam thinks that women and men don’t fight like that “unless there’s something sexual going on.” Adam and Dave end up spending the rest of the day tailing Deena around town and end up seeing her meet the other guy. Dave heads off to the software chicks house and kisses her.

Meanwhile Nic is lying to Angelo about taking fertility treatments. After seeing what is happening to Dave and Deena he tells her they need to tell each other everything no matter what. She doesn’t tell him.

Brian is just tying to make things work with Lisa B. but messages and a visit from Marjorie seem to have put the kibosh on that. Which sends Brian back over to Adam and Marjorie’s place and they get into a big argument that Adam comes upon and watches from outside the house.

Review: This show was ABC making another attempt at and hoping for another Grey’s Anatomy. A few episodes at the end of a season to generate a little buzz and get people talking over the summer. Put a few beautiful people around 7th Heaven’s Barry Watson and voila. Unfortunately the show is not quite as good. It may have needed more than five episodes to let you get to know the characters a little better before all this cliffhanger madness. Yet how many people were going to give up CSI: Miami or Medium in the last few weeks of the TV season to try out a new show? As the ratings have been a bit low, not many but maybe enough to get it a second season. ABC has to do something now that they no longer have Monday Night Football.

As a season ending episode it was pretty good. They left pretty much everybody in flux. Will Angelo find out about the fertility treatments and what will that do to their marriage? Does Dave get it on with the software chick out of anger or is he not able to do it? What will Adam do after seeing that argument between his fiancé and his best friend? Remember men and women only fight like that if “something sexual is going on.” If you have been watching then you will probably want to know how things work out.

Another season may allow these characters to develop into people you could care about. Right now I don’t really care for any of them. Yet I could watch Sarah Lancaster (Everwood, Dr. Vegas), who plays Marjorie, in just about anything or any hair color.

What did you think of the first season finale of What About Brian? Leave your thoughts in the comments.