I wish it hadn’t come to this. I don’t know what went wrong. Actually, that’s a lie. I know exactly what went wrong. You had so much promise and potential “V”, but when it came down to delivering on it you failed. Miserably. I am leaving you, “V”. And I am sorry.

I admit that part of my interest in you at the beginning of our relationship revolved around your heritage. I’ve never seen your parent-show, “V” senior, but I was aware of the Nazi-lizard aliens invading the Earth disguised as humans concept, and the obligatory human-lizard hybrid birthing scene. These are great selling points, “V”. You really had a great deal of potential just based on those selling points. Your determined recruitment of science fiction castoffs for your characters was also endearing, if ultimately irrelevant. Throwing in that sinister woman from “BSG” to play another sinister woman is effective, I suppose, but it isn’t as though she was my reason for watching “BSG”. (real reason: Billy, the heart of the show. That was a joke. In reality, it was all for Dr. Cottle.)

So before we even started, “V”, you had a pretty good cast of actors and a great, great set up. And you completely squandered all of that potential, all of that goodwill. Things this show lacks: personality, humor, FUN. You are boring, “V”. And I tried to like you, God knows I did. But there’s nothing to like, “V”! You are the hollow shell of a good television show. Your characters are one-note in almost all cases, “V”. In the case of Erica I will allow that there could be two notes, those being her roles as hard-working FBI agent and neglectful mother. But each of these roles is completely flat. The slow loss of her son to the other side should be tragic to watch unfold, the tragedy of her losing the thing she wants most to protect. But this isn’t tragic at all in your execution, “V”. Her son is a whiny brat who drives a motorcycle and apparently never goes to school?? I couldn’t care less what happens to this douche bag. Which is how I feel about almost every character on this show, including the British super-terrorist who is named after deceased philosopher and sometimes tiger Hobbes.  Your characters are dull, “V”. You are dull.

In truth, there is only one redeeming quality in you, “V”. Anna is both compelling and entertaining to watch. She has no more depth of character than anyone else on the show, but she makes a great evil villain. But she’s not enough for me anymore, “V”. You aren’t enough for me anymore. I had something of a revelation in the aftermath of last week’s terrible “LOST” episode, a show that even at its worst still elicits some sort of feeling from me, rather than the deathly numbness I feel while watching you. You came on the air then, while I was still burning with rage and frustration, and I couldn’t be bothered to pay attention to your melodrama. You were acting out for attention, “V”, but I realized in that moment the sincere lack of interest between us. So I am sorry, “V”, but I am leaving you to look for greener pastures.

It’s not all bad though, “V”. Despite losing me, you still seem to have a bright future. I hear you’ve been renewed while the equally uninteresting “Flash Forward” has been cut loose. And I imagine you have other viewers out there to look to for comfort in this moment. You probably even have some fans out there, somewhere! Fans who will love you unconditionally, despite, maybe even because of, your many flaws. So cheer up, “V”. You’re going to be alright. And if you ever manage to get exciting, feel free to give me a call. I’m all for second chances.

Sincerely,

Matthew

P.S. WHY ARE YOU SO BORING?

Mission Impossible was a ritual viewing in my youth. It started with the kids watching from around the kitchen door because the parents thought it was too intense and then we would gather around each week and share it as a family event.

I will miss you Peter Graves.

A few shots from the Chuck night at Paleyfest.

Sitting in Hall H last summer from dawn till dusk the one thing that was power point planted in your noggin over and over was there was another Con just 500 miles or so north and a just a few months later called Wonder-Con. And after trying to wade through some 95,000 people in exhibit hall the idea returning to the “Wee Con” by bay was sounding pretty damn good. My only fear was that too many of the people sitting next to me might want to beat the same path to a less populated pop-culture mecca up state.

Well there was a few more people - couple of passing con goers made comments on how crowded the place was but I didn’t see it. Maybe its because I have gotten used to the crush of preview night and the mess that is Saturday but it was great to walk around and talk to creators and go right into panels without having to spend the entire day camped out.

And the level of the panels is impressive. The X-Files panel made me want to believe I wanted to see the sequel. Get Smart had some smart comedic asides and the screening of The New Frontier was a blast - despite the blasting sound system that made some of the dialog lost.

On Sunday, the creative team from Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles closed out the show. The show is getting better as it goes along. Demon Hand was a great episode giving Sarah and the crew (”the ultimate nuclear family”) much more fleshed out relationships.

You can see the panel with Brian Austin Green and the Summer Glau here.

I am supposed to write about music. But I can’t stop thinking about Old Man Joe’s post about Star Trek. Let’s set the record straight! Trek died with Roddenberry and NOT when they resuscitated the show from the dead in 1979 with ST: The Motion Picture. Brandon Braga [spit!] caused the death of Trek more than any other single person. He wrote ONE good episode (”All Good Things” ST:TNG). Just ONE - that’s it. And they hand him the mantle to move forward (and to a lesser extent Rick Berman) and it’s all bullshit! [seeth seeth] Just as much as Chris Clairmont killed the X-Men back in 1983 (NOTE: I am still under a blood oath to decapitate him if I ever meet him in person) Brandon Braga killed Trek. Voyager was heresy - the scripts were poor and the casting was terrible. Genevieve Bujold (originally cast as Captain Janeway) would have added some gravitas to the show but she walked out when she realized Braga was a terrible story teller, the casting was wrong and the show was going to suck.

I won’t go into the myriad of reasons why Voyager and ST as a franchise tanked because of Braga (although here are some good observations). But I will say what was RIGHT about Trek (especially TNG and OS, and to a lesser extent DS9): the chemistry of the cast. With Roddenberry casting he made sure that you had a cast that was dedicated to the cause with overacting and gratuitous camaraderie. Brent Spiner (Lt. Cmdr. Data) and Jonathan Frakes (Cmdr. Riker) really understood this about Trek and embraced this end of their career as cult icon willingly. Braga never understood this and cast actors who were interested in other things and did NOT get along with their fellow cast members in real life. And it showed.

I am still angry and maybe this is the main reason. Oh and the blood oath mentioned above. And that the cool kids on Manchovy won’t invite me to the ComiCon. I am not bitter.

[Dude, nobody calls it “the ComiCon”. It’s just “the Con”, got it? And Cripes! All the rooms got booked in like 20 minutes! WTF?! - Ed]