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'24': The lamentable Dana Walsh situation

Word is, this is going to end up being the last season for 24. Based on what we've seen this season, I'm thinking that wouldn't be such a bad idea, especially if it allows the show to just get it over with and become a movie franchise.

24 Season 8
Brian Hastings (Mykelti Williamson) and Dana Walsh (Katee Sackhoff) do counter-terrorist stuff at CTU in season eight of "24."

24 as a series has gotten awfully long in the tooth, and clearly it has simply run out of ideas. The question is not whether the show will surprise us, but whether the show will be entertaining enough in recycling itself to deliver respectably for an hour. I'm not sure what's worse: The general malaise of this season, or the haphazardly messy multiple shark-jumping of season six. Season eight has so far merely alternated between the typically competent 24 action moments, plenty of mediocre beats, and lots of filler.

But by far the worst thing about this season has been what about the last thing any fan of Battlestar Galactica like me would've expected: that any scene featuring Katee Sackhoff, as CTU analyst Dana Walsh, would immediately lead to eye-rolling and infuriation. Sackhoff occupies a subplot that sucks beyond belief and is stupid beyond words. Even in the world that is 24, which we know and expect (and generally accept) to be endlessly contrived, this storyline defies sense at every turn. (Read more...)

Caprica review: 'There Is Another Sky'

Caprica: There Is Another Sky

Tamara Adama, trapped in the virtual world, discovers she is different from the other avatars. Meanwhile, Daniel faces the prospect of a boardroom coup at his company, and Joseph finds an increasing distance opening up between him and his son.

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Caprica review: 'Gravedancing'

Caprica: Gravedancing

When Daniel agrees to go on a late-night talk show, he considers distorting the truth about his daughter for the sake of public relations. Joseph finds himself caught between his conscience and a brutal Tauron code when he asks Sam to take vengeance on the Graystones.

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Caprica review: 'Reins of a Waterfall'

Caprica: Reins of a Waterfall

The fallout from Amanda's shocking public announcement puts Daniel's business in jeopardy. Joseph and Sam play hardball when paying Daniel a visit. Zoe links back into the virtual realm, where she makes a surprising discovery. Sister Clarice makes contact with the STO.

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Go Daddy and Danica Patrick are the opposite of awesome

I've about reached the end of my patience with Danica Patrick. Specifically, Danica Patrick teamed with Go Daddy to be an annual Super Bowl institution excercising tired and unfunny assumptions about the Lowest Common Denominator. Has anything ever played on such a dumb and repetitive brain-dead premise ("Hey, guys who watch football also like hot chicks in tank tops! You know, like at Hooters!) and so quickly become so utterly forced, predictable, and eye-roll worthy?

Go Daddy
Hi, I'm Danica Patrick. Check this shit out (Fig. 1): I will now sell you a domain name by staring intensely at you through your computer screen and hypnotizing you with my extremely undeniable Danica Patrick-ness. Because nothing says "domain names" quite like generic girls in tank tops, me, my awesomeness, and auto racing. Boo-yah.

(The answer to that question, by the way, is: Why, yes, of course about a million things have achieved a similar feat of comparable eye-rolling lameness. This is just one such excellent example.)

I don't remember when Go Daddy first rolled out its chicks-sell-domain-names ad campaign for the Super Bowl, but it's probably been at least five years now. Or 10. Or 50. (How old is the Internet again?)

The campaign the last two or three years has been a lame cutaway from an "escalating" situation of Extreme Supposed Hotness, as a girl rips off her shirt to reveal a Go Daddy tank top underneath, accompanied by a sudden cut to a black screen with the Go Daddy logo, and a promise of "seeing more" at GoDaddy.com. Always, the references to the online continuation implores us to exercise extreme caution: "WARNING: WEB CONTENT UNRATED!" Because it's just too hot for TV, we tell ya! These ads are not edgy. They are the opposite of edgy. (Read more...)

Funniest. Political ad. Ever.

If you haven't already seen it, here it is. The Demon Sheep YouTube ad put out by Republican Senate candidate Carly Fiorina, attacking her "FCINO" (Fiscal Conservative In Name Only) rival Thomas Campbell in a California primary race.

I'm not sure if their goal was for it to be this absolutely, stunningly, unintentionally hilariously over-the-top. (It plays exactly like a parody that you would see on The Daily Show or The Colbert Report.) But let's put it this way: Lots of people are talking about it. (Read more...)

Caprica review: 'Rebirth'

Caprica: Rebirth

Zoe finds herself treated like a machine, with her handlers unaware that her consciousness has been preserved inside a Cylon body. The Graystones' grief proves troublesome as they consider attending a public memorial for the train bombing victims. William hangs out with his mob-connected uncle Sam, to the ire of Joseph.

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How the 'Caprica' reviews will work going forward

Jammer's Reviews were created by Jammer. They evolved. They rebelled. Some were written to think they were dissertations. And Jammer has a plan — to curtail them moving forward.

When I launched Jammer's Blog (JB) eight months ago, my mind was already churning away, looking ahead to the future of Jammer's Reviews (JR) as a viable web site, and more specifically toward a Jammer's Reviews & Blog (JRB) hybrid site where one would feed the other. (Read more...)

Caprica review: Pilot

Caprica Pilot

A tragic act of violence throws two families into despair, resulting in one father's questionable use of technology in his attempts to reconnect with his daughter, while another father considers compromising his ethics in dealings with an organized crime syndicate.

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'Caprica' premieres tonight. Are you in or out?

The Battlestar Galactica prequel series Caprica debuts tonight at 9/8c on Syfy.

Tonight's two-hour pilot movie is what was released on DVD last April. Many of you have undoubtedly seen it. I saw it back then, but have not yet gotten around to reviewing it. Look for that next week (now that I'm facing a deadline).

For those who have not seen the Caprica pilot, and might have been on the fence as to whether you were going to give Caprica a try, perhaps I can give you a nudge in the right direction:

Watch it. It's very good. (Read more...)