Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Prop 8 Overturned!!

From the official legal document on the overturning of Prop 8:

"Proposition 8 fails to advance any rational basis in singling out gay men and lesbians for denial of a marriage license. Indeed, the evidence shows Proposition 8 does nothing more than enshrine in the California Constitution the notion that opposite-sex couples are superior to same-sex couples. Because California has no interest in discriminating against gay men and lesbians, and because Proposition 8 prevents California from fulfilling its constitutional obligation to provide marriages on an equal basis, the court concludes that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional."

Good day for LGBT rights! If you have the opportunity, you should read the full (138) page document from the decision, because Judge Walker prepared an amazing dissection of the facts and lack of merit in arguments against same sex marriage. The pdf can be found here.

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Eureka 404 "The Story of O2": Review

The great thing about being behind because you're "cable-free" is that before publishing a review, you get blasted in advance with the critiques from people wanting your opinion (who also often end up emailing or tweeting spoilers at me, so knock it off, jerkfaces!) about what they found awful! This week on tap was the "Allison is so out of character you'll hate it!" complaint.

To which I just have to say, Allison stole GD tech, had Stark rewire it, risked the town, lied to Carter, and did it all for her son. (Noche de Suenos). The ethical lines for Allison have always been fuzzy when it comes to her son, and just a couple of weeks ago she admitted that given access to the equipment, she'd have blown the time portal device sky high. Rigging a rocket to win, which she had no idea would cause the secondary problems it did? Low stuff on the totem pole for Dr. Blake! So I actually enjoyed the Allison plot line!

"Huh, I seem to be conflagrating, weird..." Kavan Smith as the new Deputy Andy was an amusing switchup. I'm a big fan of Smith from both 4400 and Stargate Atlantis, so it was nice to see his take on the role, which actually felt almost a little more mechanical and less "creepy android" and more "lovable Data" model for me. I hope it won't be a regular occurrence that we see a new Andy, but it is a great solution to the loss of actor Ty Olssen. If theories of a romance between the mechanical deputy and the talking house hold out, I foresee an episode involving me, crying from laughter.

The guest star of the week once again proved to be the weakest link, but who didn't see that coming? Even in the quirkiest comedic moments of Eureka, the offbeat and rude comedy of Jamie Kennedy was a bad matchup. His off color comments to a general were downright cringeworthy, making me sigh and hope that the writers or network will raise the bar on its caliber of guest stars or simply abandon the glamor appeal of "ooh, shiny guest star of the week" because it isn't working for Eureka so far!

An excellent directing job as usual from series star Colin Ferguson, who had a great minor plot line with his daughter Zoe, played by actress Jordan Hinson. Was great to see that Zoe hadn't changed much from the time line, but rather as a first semester college student was flexing into the role of an adult for the first time and the tension it generated with her dad, who was looking to see if she was still the same little girl for all the wrong reasons.

Out of the park home run from Erica Cerra and Niall Matter on the slowly evolving Jo and Zane arc, which I'm loving! Would still like to see Jo step up a little more and do a little pursuing, maybe get to be the one to ask him out this go around, and work to rebuild that relationship. Liked her decision to have faith in Zane, and that she was rewarded with the knowledge that it's the circumstance that has changed, not the character.

And finally, James Callis still rocking out the character of Dr. Grant. I liked the touch of him going to Allison first when he became certain that Kevin had cheated, and his admonishment of her when he found out what she had done. There's a dynamic I really appreciated, because sometimes Allison's character does need someone to pull her back a bit. Carter does it when he can, but they just end up angry with each other in past situations. Grant did it with a finesse that had her apologizing and solving the problem without a temper flare, which I thought was a great dynamic to explore.

Overall, another great episode from the Eureka team! Would have been a perfect 5 stars from me, but for the brash and out of place comedy of Jamie Kennedy, knocking it down to a 4 stars-- I'd rewatch, but my finger may slip and fast forward through a few scenes!