Downward Spiral

YES! THAT was the badass Tara I've been waiting to return. That was a brilliant episode, which runs things up nicely to head towards the conclusion. Jason continues to be an idiot, but in the most charming way possible. I loved it when he slapped that guy on the ass before making him get out in the car. It was such a douche thing to do, but it totally fit the situation with Jason just being a dick to appease his earlier failings. The dog fighting thing is a really great twist to Sam's family. I really like that angle and I can't wait to see if Joe-Lee's mindgames are going to pay off with Tommy. Agh, far too much going on for me to enthuse about, but suffice to say that if they ever wanted to make an episode which entirely focussed on Arlene and Jessica's odd-couple pairing, I'd be more than happy.

I can see where you're coming from with that, but it's always struck me that in fact, Tara has never been the strong, independent woman. I've always seen her as giving off an impression that she's stronger than she is so I've really enjoyed them making her more and more powerless and having to confront the trauma behind her bravado. I think TKz is bang on the money by saying that it should have ended at the end of the Marianne debacle, but equally, with Eggs then immediately getting shot, there was just no recourse for her to start rebuilding that ego so it was never going to happen . I hope Franklin doesn't kill her; I think there's an awful lot more mileage in that character which the past two series hasn't really exploited. With all of that said, what I've loved about this series is the way they've taken the time to separate out the characters' sub-plots a little more. You've got Sam and his family stuff operating completely independently of Jason and his cop quest and Sookie's search for Bill and the Hoyt/Jessica relationship. It's brilliant to see all of these relationships being explored on their own terms and, for me, it's really working well.

What's wrong with Tara? It kind of sucks that for the past two series she's been kidnapped and playing the "in need of rescue" schtick, but I really enjoy her as a character and quite surprised that EWB seems not to really like her all that much. Jesus is TOTALLY going to be some kind of... I don't know, were-wasp or something. That storyline is far too good to be true. That said, I'm all for Lafayette actually geting some action rather than sitting by and saying "hooka" occasionally. Quite intrigued as to what this white light thing is all about and why Bill had the family's genealogy. I'd love it if it turns out all this time that Bill is a bastard and really is just playing her so he can have control of a telepath and use it to make some sort of power play.

On the whole food drop thing, wasn't that pretty much explained by Daniel's experiments when he was on the island? He noted that anything which was sent to the island (the payload from a rocket in his experiment) was affected by the wierd timey wimey stuff which surrounded the island. Hence the food drops were a hangover from the Dharma Initative sending supplies to those in the hatch, which would in turn explain things like how the candy bars that the hatch-ies received all seemed to be from the 1970s. They weren't continually sending food drops, they were receiving ones that were sent decades earlier. Oh good God, I've become one of *those* lost fanatics haven't I? :/

Sorry to nitpick, but with just a little bit of creative thinking you can see that this was addressed. Kate raised Aaron, and not Claire, and things didn't work out so brilliantly for her. I think the importance was always meant to be on Claire rather than Aaron.

Lapidus :'( And Sun :'( (with due apologies to TKz). That was a brilliant episode and the twist with Locke switching the bags was brilliantly done. I'm going to quite enjoy the four survivors now basically being on the wrong end of a cat and mouse game with Locke, and where does Claire fit into all this? Sayid's actions have indicated that the Man in Black's influence isn't completely pervasive. Perhaps this latest revelation might swing Claire back over to the good side?

After the whole Jin/Sun we'll never be apart line, I'm now more convinced than ever that they're going to turn out to be Adam and Eve. And if I'm wrong then... Also, I am LOVING psychopath Sayid.

I have to agree with Kats, this episode by far had some of the best music so far (with Kaurt and Mercedes version of "4 Minutes" being particularly strong). As far as writing goes, I'm glad they've realised that Britney and Santana are absolute comedy gold, for a start. The twist with Jesse is a brilliant touch (although can Idina Menzel please come back IMMEDIATELY?). Sue was the only let down this episode as they made it just that little bit too pantomime. The point where she was throwing kids all over the hallway was just stretching a little for me, but it was recovered with that fantastic scene in her office with Kurt and Mercedes. I can take the point about the storylines being rushed and Artie and Tina getting together could have done with more build. Equally, however, I think they've been caught on the hop by just how big this show has become, and I get the sense that they really could have done with this not being the back 9 episodes of season 1, but actually a fully fledged season 2. Meh, for my money it's still absolutely brilliant.

*Bump* Spoilers for UK viewers who haven't seen the first episode of the new run yet (or haven't been frequenting certain streaming sites with a conviction I can only describe as religious, like me )

I completely disagree, I thought that was absolutely brilliant. Moffatt is absolutely superb at picking out the emotional core of his episodes, and when it was finally worked out what was going on with the Star Whale I thought it packed a definite emotional punch. Amy Pond is turning out to be one of my favourite companions, also.

(TKz look away now...) I loved that last episode because (not in spite of) Jin/Sun. To me, every time they're in an episode, you get one of those classic Lost "mood places" where they just let the emotional connection between the characters do the talking. This time was a rare occurance in which they were used to advance the plot, but I thought it was done brilliantly. Sun's response when she was just tearing Richard a new one in Korean was brilliant to watch. Similarly, the flash-sideways where Jin and Sayid interacted was brilliantly handled. Excellent stuff. Oh, and Desmond is back, motherfuckers. There is no way in which this can't be awesome (although poor Penny )

OK, so I've just beaten chapter 7 (I think) which This, so far, has been one of my favourite FF games. In fact, in terms of story, it's pretty neck and neck with X at the moment (what can I say, I'm a sucker for linearity). The characters are all absolutely brilliant and are really engaging. What I particularly like is the plot, especially The battle system, whilst, taking some getting used to, has some great little nuances and I've now gotten over the initial frustration of not being able to directly control all three characters in battle. The Eidolon system, to be honest, hasn't quite met my expectations but I'm prepared to entertain the idea that there might be something I'm missing with it, given that I usually summon them in a panic and exhibit appropriate levels of rationality when directing them to do stuff. All in all, I have been so impressed by this so far. The story, in particular, is a real return to form after the confused mess which was XII and, given the much-discussed linearity, this was something which they absolutely had to get 100% right.

I think you and I are on the same page TKZ, Sawyer, sadly just has to die, especially after allying with Evil Locke, apparently. Of all the characters remaining, his tension between self-interest and altruism is the most compelling one, and I think, to be honest, if he doesn't go out in a blaze of glory, it's just going to be disappointing. I'm just wondering, also, whether Adam and Eve are going to wind up being Jin and Sun. At present, I can't see either of them getting off the island. The only person I *can* see getting out of there, if I'm honest, is Hurley.

Some two cents on the smaller promotions. HCW and Florida, to some extent, really need to find an identity. HCW has the Samoans, for sure, but the whole "Gateway to the East" thing wasn't really all that well exploited in the original scenario. I'm not saying fill the whole thing out with Jushin Ligers and the like, but I think they need a few of the Japanese guys in there in order to warrant that title. Either that, or it could perhaps be more of a veterans promotion/breeding ground for future NWA talent. HCW has always struck me as the ideall promotion to become something like what WWE were doing with ECW, a few veterans on there to mix it up with some young guys while they find their feet. Florida, in a number of respects has a roster which is just far too thin. You've got Carlito and then... nothing really. Like HCW, it really needs something which gives it an identity, a reason why worker X is in Florida rather than, say, WCW or ECW or XWF.

I think getting the NWA title away from WCCW is an absolute must. I know the upper card of TWE is stale, but I always thought that in O8, something as simple as being able to have Lesnar defend Big Gold at the Clash would have freed up someone else on the card to help elevate one of the youngsters at little to no real cost. In terms of promotion "levels", I would foresee Memphis struggling pretty badly at the moment. Even though they've got the Super Juniors, the top of their card is just stale and turgid, short of a massive shake-up I find it difficult to see how Memphis would compete, given the choices of either WCCW or RFP for the "old school" style of fan. In terms of roster shake-ups, I think Kingston is either going to be in something like TWE or is perhaps filling the Carlos Colon route in somewhere like Honolulu? A final thought: if it's going to be Scott Steiner as NWA Champ, then I just can't see him still being in RFP. It's either TWE or, even better, WCCW for my money on that one.

Chocobo Hot and Cold. I bloody loved that game. Except when it led me to Ozma, through my sheer incompetence and the hope there'd be a better weapon or item or something there... Although, people go on about how hard Ozma is. I beat him on the second go...

I finished InFamous the other day. This pleased me, as I now never need to have to look at it again. The gameplay on this was good (if a little repetitive at times) and they have the makings of a good franchise there but I desperately hope that they tighten up their plotting issues before they try.

Some entirely random thoughts: JULIET Seriously, Juliet was, without a doubt, my favourite Lost character and it sucks that she's now finally dead. Damn you writers for making me think that she could be alive (let's set aside the whole nuking thing for now). John Locke as the show's new uber-villain? Fucking brilliant. I can't wait to see Terry O'Quinn heeling it up. And that his interaction with Ben is continuing. Every time those two are on the screen, it's just electric. Jack continues to give me zero reason to care about him. It's a shame he's suffering from the syndrome of the side/supporting characters eclipsing him. I really hope that the series ends with Jack dying. He's already gotten off the island once. Sayid's death and resurrection... well, at this point nothing's shocking me. And to be honest, if Sayid had died as well as Juliet, I would be beyond pissed. Hurley continues to rule. Every time Lost throws more curveballs in, it just keeps me gripped. I'm really not going in to this series expecting to get many of the answers I'm looking for, really. For my money, that's just the nature of the show I signed up for. If they wrap everything up at the end then, frankly, it'll just kill the mystique which, for me, has been built on the fact that we don't know everything (or, indeed, anything, in the grand scheme of things). I love the direction this season opener took. It began to draw the threads back together again, but ultimately, reminded me that the answers are not going to cohere to any idealised roadmap. In short, I quite liked it. RIP Juliet.

WHAT ABOUT FRAN[ven]???

If this is still open... 1) Ally McBeal - An odd choice, but I cannot tell you how much I adored this show. Is it high quality TV? Not really. Is it my favourite TV show of all time? Yes. 2) Will and Grace 3) Doctor Who 4) Kath and Kim (the Australian version... I gather there's some American version in the pipeline) 5) Lost 6) Glee 7) Queer as Folk (UK, rather than US) 8) Sex and the City 9) Damages 10) Scrubs