Downward Spiral

For example, regarding Walt and how there was a lot of emphasis placed upon him earlier on...then nothing at all I.e. what the hell is up with that kid! Also, how the psychic who Claire saw told her that her child should only be raised by her, not another - at the time, this made me think there would be so much importance hinged upon her child and the fact that Claire did not raise Aaron after all...but again, this plot also seems to have been 'Lost' - sorry, I could not resist the pun!

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 )

OK, so new series has started, and absolutely awesome way to kick it off.Sue Sylvester continues to rule. The "Old Maids" club was genius, as was her bedding Figgins whilst still wearing her tracksuit. Rachel continues to be endearingly infuriating, and Finn continues to be

I'm really glad they're getting behind Britney and Santana as well. Those two have a phenomenal double act going, and I look forward to seeing them providing more and more comic relief as the back 9 continues. The whole thing needed way more Puck and Quinn, though.

As for the newbies, I think Idina Menzel is a phenomenal addition to the cast, and I look forward to seeing how she plays the villain role in this. They would also be absolute fools if they don't give her a number (ideally a duet with Lea Michele). Jesse I thought was going to be intensely annoying at first, but by the end of the episode I really warmed to him. To borrow some wrestling-speak he's going to be an awesome dick heel.

Musically, I thought this was one of their strongest to date. Gives You Hell was bloody brilliant, as was HelloGoodbye. I can't wait until next week though. Specifically, I think Like a Prayer is going to be absolutely epic if the previews are anything to go by.

Also, did you know dolphins are just gay sharks? :lmao:

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

was frankly fucking amazing. Or, more accurately, had a fucking amazing ending. Admittedly if I'd had to jump around the bloody rooftops one more time I think I would have begged PSICOM to blow the fucking place up.

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 way that they've started with 5 apparently disparate stories and characters and have slowly begun to tie them up together. The revelations about how each of them are actually all tied up together have been superbly paced and have even managed to make Vanille have a fucking point in the game, which I was beginning to think was utterly impossible.

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.

If that seems harsh, I cannot begin to tell you how mind fuckingly stupid the story got after the third island. Prior to that, it was "Moya, Moya, Moya". And then it's revealed that she's been lying and... well... nothing. No denouement, no explanation as to what the fuck was going on, no insight into who John was, what he was doing, and why Moya was trying to get Cole to find him. And then... it turns out, Kessler was you all along! Brilliant, in a "not really brilliant at all kind of way".

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

I think it does make sense. Tennant's doctor, more than any other (although fans of the older Whos, please do feel free to correct me on this) has been the "Doctor of the Companion". All of the doctors retain their memories but they don't necessarily retain their personalities. For me, the crucial narrative of the climax of Tennant's Doctor was the examination of what happens when the Doctor is without a companion. The answer seemed to be that he simply can't cope and, to an extent, stops being "The Doctor" and falls into the same vices that the rest of his race seems to exhibit. The Doctor, therefore, knowing he was going to regenerate and knowing that his successor may have a completely different personality (and, crucially, won't be the doctor that any of the companions he visited, except Jack, would know) said goodbye because he knew that there was no guarantee that the New Doctor would want anything to do with them (c.f., I believe, the regeneration of Peter Davidson into Colin Baker, whose first act, I think, was to dump the companion whose life he had just saved).

Something like that, anyway

As If.

Amazing proto-Skins teen drama, which has never made it to video and likely never will, due to the ludicrous amounts of licensed music it used in every episode

I for one think Matt Smith made a brilliant first impression as the new doctor. Like Split said, I hope he puts his own stamp on things, which he is more than capable of doing, rather than simply being Tennant-lite.

Tennnant's goodbye went on a little bit but I thought the final moments were handled to perfection. Tennant's doctor has become obsessed with saving the day and his own mortality towards the end of his run and I thought it was so fitting that his final words were "I don't want to go". It made an already emotional scene just that little bit better.

Also, if we could all get around to deifying Bernard Cribbins for that spectacular performance, that would be just swell. The part where he was in that chamber saying "I'm an old man" was just sublime. I couldn't think of anyone more perfect to have caused the regeneration, simply stunning.

I thought it was a brilliant episode but I will be the first to admit I'm a lot more forgiving of stupid plot decisions if the whole thing entertains me. Which is exactl what this episode did. The Master's resurrection was... bizarre, but, hey, it looked impressive. My little sisters were terrified which, really, whilst we can argue about what worked and what didn't all day, for that very reason it did its job.

I would also like Bernard Cribbins to be my granddad. What an amazing actor, brilliantly evoking so many facets of Wilf's personality. Excellent stuff.

The electrified master was... again a bit odd but Simm played it brilliantly. I think it was brought about entirely through the failed resurrection, really, which is why I'm prepared to forgive these sudden superhuman powers. Simm's constant insane ramblings were brilliant, and when the plan all camee together in the end, his metamorphisis from the powerless to the powerful was superbly played.

And finally, if Donna dies without seeing the Doctor again, I'm probably going to... well... get a bit annoyed, really.

Roll on part 2. And the Time Lords. Looks like we're FINALLY going to learn something about the Time War!

Oh, that's right, because buying one from almost 15 years ago REALLY rectifies this present "injustice", doesn't it? Yes. THIS is the best solution to the "curse" of the X Factor. Well done, everybody.

Sorry. I'm caring about this a lot more than I should but this campaign is so mind-fuckingly stupid.

I'm sorry to get in on this way too late, but this has only just come to the UK (through the usual channels). That was fucking fantastic. I am literally sitting in my living room pissing myself laughing at the Salt N Peppa performance.

Also, I am in love with Cory Monteith

Sorry, the 'arrogance'... What part of doing his job really fucking well by making a shitload of money for his employers by selling more singles than anyone has any real right to in a singles market which is pretty fucking dead on its feet, can precisely be described as 'arrogance'? That's what pisses me off about these ridiculous campaigns: they neglect the fact that Simon Cowell and his acts deserve to have the Christmas number 1 because they're the only people who put any fucking effort into getting it.

And this is coming from someone who frickin LOVES "Killing in the Name Of". It just probably deserves better than to meaninglessly get to number one as a 'fuck you' to someone who probably won't actually give a fuck. And rightly so.

To be fair, there's no way that all the shilling in the world will get Mariah Carey another number 1 single/album over here...

Oh, and if Dannii had done a proverbial fuck you to Simon and saved the twins to pay hiim back for the Rachel/Lucy debacles, I would probably have driven down to London and proposed to her.

Sadly, it'll probably mean she's canned next year. Turbo sad-face

Can someone, anyone, explain to me what the appeal is of Lucy? I just don't get it. Every week she's gone out there and sounded completely anaemic, struggling to get any power behind any of her big notes. Every time she goes into the higher register it finishes up as this nasal squeak which I swear, if I amplified it any louder, would get every dog and cat in the city scurrying to the door. Is she completely terrible? No. She can sing. To an extent. But she isn't worthy of the uncritical praise that seems to have been heaped on to her by seemingly most of the viewers.

This week was awful. The momentum is fast being sucked out of this series (and this is coming from someone who considers the X-Factor being probably more important than the world cup.) Last week's Rock Week was just painful, and this week wasn't much better.

Stacey - I really wanted to like this. Sadly, I think this song only really works when it's delivered by Dusty Springfield or if it's belted out with gusto. Stacey's didn't fall into either category. And please, stop trying to make her 'sexy'. I've never seen someone look so uncomfortable up there...

Olly - Terrible, terrible call on the choreography. Yes, I understand that it was sticking with the routine in the movie but if you hadn't seen Ferris Bueller's Day Off, you'll have a similar reaction to me when I literally screamed at the TV. "WHY THE FUCK ARE THEY DOING THRILLER IN A BEATLES SONG?" Olly represents a real quandary for me. I don't like him. His dancing is... awful. I don't find him very likeable, but week on week I have to keep handing it to him; he's consistently delivering the best performances. That said, if he pulls out yet another Beatles song next week it's going to be ridiculous. A good performance, an excellent vocal. The fucker.

Lloyd - Fuck off. Just... fuck off. That was absolutely awful. And I think we can all agree what that song needed was a segue into the Sean Kingston version, can't we. Because THAT made the whole debacle likeable. And I swear to God, have Cheryl and Brian Friedman been CRB checked? With last week's horrendous routine, and this week's... fiasco with him serenading Cheryl, every time he goes on stage it just gets uncomfortable. And then he sings...

Jamie - This was brilliant. Best performance of the night for me. Sadly I can see him being in the bottom two tonight partly because he was right in the middle of the show, and secondly, every sodding time he gets the judges comments, it becomes a slanging match between Louis and Simon to the point where his actual performance is forgotten. If he goes tonight instead of someone like Lloyd or Lucy then the whole thing will pretty much have become a joke.

Lucy - See comments above. I don't get it. It didn't seem like a hard song to sing, and yet still she struggled on the top notes. Why is she in any way likeable???

Danyl - Ruth Lorenzo showed last year how this song should have been done. It was a decent vocal performance, I'll certainly give him credit for that, but I was underwhelmed by how he simply didn't take advantage of the powerful tonal changes in that song. It was toned down in the wrong places, and amped up in the wrong places in others. He absolutely should go through, but I thought that this song would have given him the chance to create the moment to get everyone behind him again.

The twins - I'll give them this, I had a smile on my face when they were on. That said, the points been made, and the joke's wearing thin. Can we ship them off to Eurovision and have it done with now please?

Joe - Yuk. I can't staand Joe. I don't like his vocal tone although I accept that his vocals have been largely note perfect so far, which given the field of competition this far is no mean feat. The problem has been identified by Simon. If he were to star in the resurrection of Britannia High, he'd probably be brilliant. Sadly, he's not, so instead he stands on stage smiling his way through every song regardless of the tone of the lyrics or indeed anything else. The effect is just simply jarring. He'll probably make it to the final, but I've yet to be convinced he's anything other than a sweet voice and a pretty face. Which, perhaps is asking a bit much of the format. Maybe that's fine.

I just can't decide where they've gone wrong this year. I think part of the problem is that some of the interesting acts which would add a bit of variety to this, perhaps this is overstating things, but I think the show would be a lot more interesting if Miss Frank were still around.

Oh well, roll on tonight. My predictions for the bottom two are: Lloyd and... as much as it would a bit of a travesty, Jamie.