SEASON PREMIERES (parte the thirde) AND BG

THE WEST WING: "The Ticket"
Written By Debra Cahn

A totally Wingnut geekout teaser. Overall, the episode was as enjoyable as the previous season, in which the show reestablished itself as essentially being a whole new program, after stumbling through the the fifth season looking for focus after Sorkin left. The only disappointment in this episode, to me, was that they appear to have abandoned the documentary direction style that identified the show's rebirth in the sixth year. The bleached colors, deep shots, off-center, chase focusing, blatant handicam stuff was all gone. Things were much more staid and more like the show's early years. Not exactly a bad thing, but I liked that the show gave itself a makeover last year and was able to start getting out from under the intimidating Sorkin shadow. I expect an exciting year and I also expect to be left with a sense of "and all that could have been" when it's over.

VERONICA MARS: "Normal Is The Watchword"
Written By Rob Thomas

Hells, yeah. Continues to be on top of its game. Things are in a state of flux to be sure, even through the course of the episode. My only concern is that between the Logan/Felix plot and the Logan/Casablancas thing and whatever gets underway with the mayor's race, along with Veronica's lovelife, the escalated class war and the end of the episode thing that looks like the contender for the Lily Kane arc plot inheritance...my only concern is that the show may get too soapy. One of my favorite things about the show last year was how it managed the Lily Kane plot along with the stand-alones. The stuff.


COMMANDER IN CHIEF: "Pilot"
Written By Rod Lurie

After Deterrence, The Contender, and Line of Fire, I had certain expectations and they were at least met. It's really easy to compare this show to the West Wing, especially in the early part of the episode, but it becomes clear that this would be a disservice. It clearly isn't trying to be and doesn't want to be. It is its own thing. it rolls a different way. One of those ways is by having a "bad guy" in the person of Donald Sutherland. His last line of the episode after (likely creating) the TelePrompTer failure seems to set him up beeautifully. My only complaint was that the congressinal assembly room looked more like where I got 3 months supervision for speeding.


SMALLVILLE: "Arrival"
Written By Todd Salvkin and Darren Swimmer

If you can't dig on a season premiere of Smallville, then you just don't know how to have fun, do ya?



BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: "Pegasus"
Written By Ronald D. Moore

Not precisely a season finale, but kinda, considering the three month break efore the rest of the second season. Fanfuckingtastic. The show has gone into a really dark place while providing a bizarre bit of BG geekout at the same time with the appearence of the intriguing Michelle (Global Frequency) Forbes as Admiral Cain of the Battlestar Pegasus. A thought-provoking, disturbing home-run from a writer with only one credit they I know of... Truly, the best sci-fi series currently on the air, if not the best anything series currently on the air.