COMMENTARY: Updates from recent episodes

Here is an update from recent programmes I've watched:

• One Tree Hill - just watched the season premiere today. It was a really great episode, and captured me into that whole broody teenager mood a lot more than Smallville has. Already big things are happening this season. We didn't get all of the answers - we don't know if it's Brooke or Haley that's pregnant (though I'm quite sure it's Haley), and we don't know who knows Dan's secret, but these mysteries will continue to unravel throughout the season. The guessing game of "who's pregnant" that kept up through this episode was very well-written. Lucas's commentary was perhaps a bit strange but seemed to be trying to introduce new viewers to the show. It's a promising season, which is a strange thing to say as it took me a long time to get back into season 3 when I began to watch that one.
• 24 - season 8 has been mostly rubbish so far, but we've had some good episodes recently. In the last one I watched, it was revealed that Dana was a mole inside CTU - kind of cliche. Actually the episode focussed mostly on Chloe and her crazy antics. But the previous episode had some great misdirection that I really didn't see coming and I don't think a lot of people did.
• Damages - this season has been much better than the last. It seems as if it might be the last one, which means there might only be 4 episodes to go! I hope not! Well the last episode (which I watched today) was weak to be honest. But the season in general has some compelling characters (on both sides), quite enough of the "what the hell is going on" factor (and I still don't know), and some great story, such as Ellen's confused loyalties.
• Smallville - the season has started off well, though hasn't gripped me in quite the same way season 4 did. Storylines are slowly emerging, such as those around the new character of Milton Fine. The last episode I watched "Exposed" was a fairly standalone episode and the one before that "Thirst" was regarded by the writers as one of the weakest episodes of the entire programme; I didn't think it was as bad as season 4's "Krypto", but at the same time I didn't enjoy it all that much. However I still have a lot of hope and I think the season has been slow to get started. We haven't seen Lionel Luthor for a couple of episodes now either...I wonder what he is up to. Lana and Clark are also finally getting together and it feels a lot more right than the teenage angst that plagued season 3.
  
• Lost - it's still great. Currently the story is focussed on The Barracks where Jack, Kate, Sayid and Locke are. I expect a re-union between Alex and Danielle in the near future. It's just been revealed that Anthony Cooper is on the Island!! The submarine has been destroyed so The Others have no way of getting back to the real world. Back at camp, the stories are a bit more boring - trying to fire up a van, or Claire learning about Charlie's destiny.
  
• Pushing Daisies - recent episodes have featured Chuck's dad coming back to life, Olive getting closer to Ned's secret, and Ned's father coming back on the scene. With only 3 episodes to go there's not a whole lot they can do. The overall storyline of this season has been good, but none of the individual episodes have been particularly well-executed or had a strong central story.
• Star Trek: Enterprise - there have been a couple of good episodes. In particular the fourth episode "Dead Stop" was kinda cool and futuristic. The season premiere was good. But "A Night In Sickbay" was bad even on paper and worse on the screen. The last episode I watched, "Marauders", was mediocre. All in all I'll struggle through this season because I know the next two will be a lot better.
• Pokémon - Ash has just been in the Safari Zone, which he's been trying to find for a while. There hasn't been much mention of a badge recently. Near-future episodes are going to include the Kanto Cycling Road, and the first Christmas episode of the anime.
  

COMMENTARY: One Tree Hill Season 4 Pre-Season

Recently I've been watching a lot of Smallville, Lost and other shows, but the time has come for me to start another programme in my "waiting to start" list: namely One Tree Hill. I'm probably watching the season premiere later today and it will have been more than 18 months since I watched the previous season's finale "The Show Must Go On".

And what a finale that was: ranking as one of my favourite episodes of all time, with the whole thing: the music, the drama, the mystery. The main events which happened in that episode were:

• Rachel and Cooper are trapped underwater in a car after Rachel drove them off a bridge. Nathan has dived in to save them while Haley stands on a bridge screaming for help.
• Karen is pregnant, and at least one other person is too. The episode implies that Rachel is pregnant (she has "something to tell" Cooper), that Haley is pregnant (she has "something to tell" Nathan, saying he is good in a crisis), and that Brooke is pregnant (Lucas thinks so, after he finds a pregnancy test in what he thinks is Brooke's purse - Brooke made everyone identical purses as wedding gifts).
• Someone knows that Dan killed Keith and has written "Murderer" on his wall.
• Brooke told Peyton that their friendship is over....again.
• Oh and in case that wasn't enough, Nathan and Haley got married again.

I'm guessing that we'll find out the answers to many of these in the season 4 premiere....so a very exciting episode! It's called "The Same Deep Water As You" - presumably a reference to the underwater Nathan, Cooper and Rachel.

DATA: February 2010

Seasons started in February 2010:

• 24 Season 8 (watched 9 episodes in February 2010)
• Was on Waiting To Start list since January 2010
  
• Time since last season: 8 months.
  
• Damages Season 3 (watched 5 episodes in February 2010)
• Was on Waiting To Start list since January 2010
  
• Time since last season: 8 months, 6 days.
  
• Smallville Season 5 (watched 4 episodes in February 2010)
• Was on Waiting To Start list since October 2009
  
• Time since last season: 2 years, 14 days.
  

Seasons watched through February 2010:

• Pokémon Season 1 (watched 5 episodes in February 2010)
• Jericho Season 1 (watched 4 episodes in February 2010)
• Pushing Daisies Season 2 (watched 3 episodes in February 2010)
• Star Trek: Enterprise Season 2 (watched 3 episodes in February 2010)
  
• Lost Season 3 (watched 2 episodes in February 2010)

Seasons not watched at all during February 2010 (but which were on the schedule):

• Dark Angel Season 2
  

Seasons on the "waiting to start" list through February 2010:

• One Tree Hill Season 3 (on WTS list since October 2009)
• Mad Men Season 2 (on WTS list since October 2009)

Raw Data:

PDS 02 06 03/02/2010
24H 08 01 07/02/2010
24H 08 02 07/02/2010
24H 08 03 07/02/2010
24H 08 04 07/02/2010
ENT 02 03 07/02/2010
ENT 02 04 07/02/2010
24H 08 05 08/02/2010
24H 08 06 08/02/2010
PKM 01 28 08/02/2010
24H 08 07 09/02/2010
DMG 03 01 13/02/2010
JER 01 14 13/02/2010
JER 01 15 13/02/2010
DMG 03 02 14/02/2010
DMG 03 03 14/02/2010
ENT 02 05 14/02/2010
PDS 02 07 14/02/2010
PKM 01 29 14/02/2010
24H 08 08 16/02/2010
DMG 03 04 17/02/2010
PKM 01 30 19/02/2010
PKM 01 31 19/02/2010
LST 03 11 21/02/2010
JER 01 16 21/02/2010
PKM 01 32 21/02/2010
24H 08 09 23/02/2010
PKM 01 33 24/02/2010
DMG 03 05 27/02/2010
JER 01 17 27/02/2010
SMV 05 01 27/02/2010
SMV 05 02 27/02/2010
LST 03 12 27/02/2010
SMV 05 03 27/02/2010
PDS 02 08 27/02/2010
SMV 05 04 28/02/2010