- Last night’s episode Heroes was split between the present day and 16 years ago, with the latter posing big problems for those stuck in the past. Hiro Nakamura and Claire Bennet had teleported back in time to 16 years ago so Hiro could regain his memory after it was erased by the villainous Arthur Petrelli. Witnessing the rooftop scene where Hiro’s father Kaito gave baby Claire to her adoptive father, H.R.G/Noah Bennet, Hiro and Claire tried to figure out their next move. Unfortunately, because Hiro had no memories of his life after the age of 10, he couldn’t speak English and couldn’t communicate with Claire. So off each of them went with their own plan. Hiro stayed at the apartment where his father and mother were staying, along with the version of himself from 16 years ago. Katio spotted present-day Hiro, assumed he was the new chef there to cook for his terminally ill wife (and Hiro’s mother) Ishi and puts him to work. After whipping up some waffles in the kitchen, Hiro went in to see his mother and she instantly recognized something familiar in him. Surprisingly, he was bold enough to tell her who he was and she was thrilled to meet her son as an adult, mostly because she knew she was about to die and never expected to have the chance. The duo talked about Hiro’s life of the future and because she also had a super power (healing), Hiro’s mother was able to use her ability to help heal Hiro’s mind and give him back his memory. She also bestowed “the catalyst” in him, the mythical ingredient Arthur Petrelli was seeking back in 2008 to make his formula to give powers to anyone complete. In the past, Kaito wanted to put the catalyst in Claire’s blood and in the original version of the past, that’s what he did. But in the altered past, Hiro took on that burden. Claire was able to help affect that change by visiting her own adoptive parents at their Manhattan apartment, posing as the niece of a neighbor and actually caring for herself as an infant for a few hours. She gains her mother’s trust posing as Bonnie, but when H.R.G. comes back to the apartment, he sees through her story and presses her on her true identity. Claire is able to fend him off by showing she knows all sorts of facts about his life and his new child, then she is able to talk him into now answering the phone when Kaito calls to tell him to bring baby Claire back to have the catalyst put inside her. All of this seems to avert a big disaster back in the present - until that damned Arthur Petrelli shows up back in the past, appears on the rooftop as Claire and Hiro prepare to teleport back to 2008 and takes both the catalyst and Hiro’s power to teleport. Arthur then flings Hiro off the roof and leaves him clinging to a horizontal flag pole dozens of stories above the street. Arthur then teleports Claire back to the present day to deliver a message to his wife, Angela, that he has the catalyst and that he has won. Hiro, meanwhile, is stuck back in 1992 without his power. His friends at least know where he is because Ando, Matt Parkman and Daphne have gone to the bike messenger shop where they believe the sketchbook of the late artist Isaac Mendez is located. Mendez was the artist who could paint he futue and was killed by the evil Sylar in Season 2. On the day he died, Mendez gave away his sketchbook to a bike messenger and that book contained the final issue of his comic book, Ninth Wonder, which told the story of Hiro’s future. At first, the owner of the messenger shop lies and says he doesn’t have the book, but Parkman reads his thoughts and knows otherwise. Then, the owner tries to flee with the book, but Daphne uses her super speed to track him down in busy NYC traffic. He relents and turns over the sketchbook, but says he hid it because after Isaac’s death, “every fan boy in the city came looking for it.” Reading the sketches, Ando, Daphne and Matt realize that the title of the final issue, Hiro: Lost in Time, is true and that their friend is stuck in 1992 without his powers. To get him back, they decide to find Arthur Petrelli and use his new formula to bestow the power of time travel on someone else - Ando volunteers - so they can go back and get Hiro. Others are looking for Arthur as well, namely his sons Peter and Nathan and another son he falsely claims, Sylar. Before going to see Arthur, Sylar first disposes of the body of former pal Elle, whom he killed last week, and then goes to visit Sue Landers, a woman with the power to be a human lie detector and know when anyone is lying to her. Sylar goes back to his old ways, slicing her head open, taking her power as his own and going to see Arthur. Once there, he asks Arthur if he really is Sylar’s father, or if as H.R.G. claims, that’s a lie. Sylar finds out the truth, that Arthur isn’t his father, but he isn’t the only visitor in Arthur’s office at that time. Peter and the Haitian are also there, looking to kill Arthur as per Angela’s instructions. Peter insists on being the one to pull the trigger as the Haitian uses his ability to block the powers of others to hold Arthur down. However, Peter hesitates and the Haitian can’t hold Arthur’s powers any longer. Peter pulls the trigger, but that’s when Sylar appears and stops the bullet inches from Arthur’s head. He asks his questions and when Arthur lies to him, Sylar restarts the bullet, sending it flying through Arthur’s forehead because as he tells Peter, “You’re not a killer, but I am.” Sylar flees and Peter sends the Haitian after him. Arthur is shot and possibly dead (you never know on this show), which would be bad news for his company, Pinehearst, except for two things. First, before his death, he transferred the catalyst to the formula that Dr. Mohinder Suresh was working on, completing it. Second, Nathan had come back and insisted on taking over operations at Pinehearst, which Arthur agreed to with some prodding from Nathan’s gal pal, Tracy Strauss. So even though Arthur is (allegedly) dead, Nathan is in control and with Tracy and Mohinder, he begins testing the formula on a group of marines who have volunteered to be guinea pigs. The first marine is a man who served in Iraq and wished he could have been more than human to save the lives of fellow marines who died in an ambush. The formula is injected into his body and after an initial adverse reaction, he recovers and shows super strength and power, no side effects. That sets the stage for some big showdowns next week in the final episode of the show before the holiday break, so be sure to be there for what should be a heck of a ride with a crap load of cliffhangers…..
- Hmm, I think I may have inspired something and now that it’s going, I think it may not be the healthiest thing for America. See, back when former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was getting arrested on all sorts of felony charges stemming from being a complete liar and scumbag, I said that Detroit had a stronghold on the title for having the most corrupt executive for its government. That proclamation seems to have inspired other cities and even states to join the race and this is quickly spiraling out of hand. Last week, Birmingham (Alabama) Mayor Larry Langham was indicted on dozens of bribery and fraud charges in connection with a scandal arising from his time on the city council, but the biggest fish of all in this pond of pathetic, felonious governance might be Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who thrust himself into the lead of the corrupt executive race by virtue of being arrested and taken into federal custody today on corruption charges. Blagojevich and his chief of staff, John Harris, are charged with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and solicitation of bribery, which basically means Blagojevich was attempting to auction off Barack Obama’s vacant Senate seat to the highest bidder. According to federal prosecutors, Blagojevich, Harris and others conspired to gain money and gifts in exchange for appointing President-elect Barack Obama's Senate replacement. And if it sounds like Blagojevich, Harris and Co. are in deep sh*t here, that would be because they are. “The breadth of corruption laid out in these charges is staggering,” U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald said in a statement. Yeah, that’s not an encouraging sign, terms like “breadth of corruption” and “staggering” being thrown around before the ink on the indictment is even dry. Also not good when it is being alleged that your state’s governor basically “put a 'for sale' sign on the naming of a United States Senator.” Here are some of the perks and bennies Blagojevich was allegedly after in exchange for the Senate seat: 1) a substantial salary for himself at either a non-profit foundation or an organization affiliated with labor unions, 2) a spot for his wife on paid corporate boards, where he speculated she might garner as much as $150,000 a year, 3) promises of campaign funds -- including cash up front and 4) a Cabinet post or ambassadorship for himself. Dude, are you freaking kidding me? Any one of those things would be heinous and reprehensible, but you were shooting for all four? What, didn’t want to take a cue from Sen. Ted Stevens and also ask for hundreds of thousands of dollars in free hoem improvements? Too busy to demand a private jet as well? But rest assured, demanding outrageous perks wasn’t Blagojevich’s only alleged crimes in abuse of his office. No, he is also charged with attempting to illegally obtain campaign contributions. On top of that, Blagojevich, Harris and others are also alleged to have withheld state assistance to the Tribune Company in connection with the sale of Wrigley Field in order to set up the firing of Chicago Tribune editorial board members who were critical of Blagojevich. Hmm, greedy, dishonest, duplicitous AND holds a massive grudge? Come to think of it, maybe the person Blagojevich should have considered first for the Senate seat was himself. The kicker here is that dude is in his second four-year term as Illinois governor, so he managed to fool the people of his state into electing him not once, but twice. How does it feel to have twice elected someone who is at the epicenter of what is being called the darkest day in the political history of a state with a long and lurid history of political corruption, Illinoisans? Best of success in the quest to find a new governor, one who isn’t a total douche bag…..
- The good news just keeps on flowing for my current favorite NFL team, the Detroit Lions. Well, to be fair, they are only my favorite team as long as they remain winless on the season, but even so. Already at 0-13, 81.25 percent of the way to the dream of an 0-16 season, things are setting up perfectly for the Lions to secure the final three losses to make this dream a reality. With the 9-4, playoff-bound Indianapolis Colts on the schedule this Sunday, the Lions are getting ready for the game in a fashion befitting an 0-13 team. First, center Dominic Raiola is making obscene gestures to fans at games, offering to fight those fans after inviting them to his home and saying that he doesn’t regret flipping them the bird. Then comes news that starting quarterback Daunte Culpepper, who looked disturbingly competent Sunday in nearly beating the first-place Minnesota Vikings, is suffering from a knee injury that makes it highly unlikely that he will be able to play Sunday. Backup QB Dan Orlovsky is already out for the rest of the year with a hand injury, leaving second-year QB Drew Stanton and all of his 14 career NFL passes thrown as the likely signal caller for Detroit this Sunday. To top it off, the Lions have also terminated the three-year, $8.5 million contract of defensive back Brian Kelly, taking away another veteran presence from an ailing defense and more importantly, signaling that he Lions intend to use younger cornerbacks during their final three games. Perfect, start a youth movement, go with inexperienced guys likely to make a lot of mistakes, I like it. I like it a lot, because that is just the sort of plan that can make an already terrible defense even worse and that means more losses. Plus, how very Lions of the Lions to sign a guy during the offseason because you felt he was just the type of veteran who knew the cover-two system you planned to use, ink him to a 3-year deal and then cut him before the season even ends. Kelly is probably very happy right now, as he can get the hell off that sinking ship, outside of a bummer of a city like Detroit and have a chance to latch on with a playoff contender for the end of the year. Meanwhile, my Lions are taking all of the right steps to flush what remains of this season right down the toilet, from lack of focus and misplaced aggression to injuries, a youth movement and the general lack of performance that has become their trademark this season. Keep it up, Lions, only three glorious losses left to go…..
- The sticky situation involving Jay Leno and NBC may finally have a solution. Leno is winding down his tenure as host of the Tonight Show and preparing to pass the baton to Conan O'Brien in 2010. That has led to a lot of tension as it’s not clear how enthused Leno is to be leaving his post and NBC has been looking for a way to keep him as a part of the network once he steps down. Well, the network with all of two good shows (still one more than other crappy networks I won't name….cough….the WB) may have come up with a solution to its Leno dilemma. NBC is prepared to offer the late-night host a new show on the network that would air at 10 pm/ET five nights a week. The deal would allow the network to retain Leno while also honoring his contract. With O’Brien and his bad sense of humor set to take over and probably lead to a massive decline in the quality of the Tonight Show, NBC has been trying to find a redefined role for Leno, who has been in high demand from other networks as they look to boost their own lineups while also hurting one of their rivals. However, if Leno's new show comes to fruition it would shave five hours off of NBC's programming schedule, cutting it back from 22 to 17 hours weekly. Looking at the current lineup the network is throwing out there…..let’s say it wouldn’t be a loss. After all, this is the network that within the past couple of weeks trotted out a variety show hosted by the fat, crass, classless, obnoxious Rosie O’Donnell (a show that was canceled after one episode, wonder who saw that coming? Oh right, me!) and has a positively crap-tacular schedule whose only saving graces are Heroes and Chuck on Monday nights. So do what you can to keep Leno around, Lord knows you can’t afford to lose anyone who has a hint of talent at this point…..
- Major League Baseball is losing a legend. Greg Maddux has bene a fixture on the mound for the past 23 seasons, amassing an astonishing 355 wins for the Cubs, Braves, Padres and Dodgers despite not having a rocket arm and succeeding mostly on guts, guile and intelligence instead of firepower. Yesterday, Maddux held a 30-minute news conference to announce his retirement only minutes from his Las Vegas home. “I really just came out here today to say thank you," he said in a ballroom at the Bellagio hotel. "I appreciate everything this game has given me. It's going to be hard to walk away obviously, but it's time. I have a family now that I need to spend some more time with. I still think I can play the game, but not as well as I would like to, so it's time to say goodbye." As a suffering Cubs fan, I enjoyed Maddux’s time with my favorite club, even if I was too young to remember most of his first stint with the team on Chicago’s North Side. He was a thinking man’s pitcher, a guy who could literally put pitches on the very edge of the plate with pinpoint control that frustrated opponents who couldn’t figure out how a guy with Maddux’s stuff kept getting them out. Now, he is a lock for the Hall of Fame once he waits the mandatory five years following his retirement. The man affectionately known as “Mad Dog” because it so belied his calm, cool demeanor and accountant-like appearance, inspired plenty of kind words from those who knew him well during his career. "Mad Dog threw a shutout today," said Bobby Cox, who managed Maddux during his dominant years with the Atlanta Braves. "Special, special guy. I get choked up talking about him." He ends his career with four NL Cy Young Awards (1992-95), a lifetime 3.16 ERA and ranks eighth on the career wins list. Perhaps more importantly, he also retires without even the smallest suspicion of being a roid-head like some of his contemporaries (cough….Roger Clemens…..cough). "I never changed," said Maddux. "I think, hey, you locate your fastball and you change speeds no matter who is hitting." Most of Maddux’s career was spent teaming up with fellow 300-game winner Tom Glavine and versatile ace John Smoltz in Atlanta, where the trio help pitch the Braves to the 1995 World Series championship. He spent his final season with the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers and finishes with a career record 355-227, along with an astonishing record 18 Gold Gloves as the top fielder at his position, including one this year. Even without a blazing fastball, he also finished with 3,371 strikeouts, 10th on the career list. It’s going to be very odd starting the season this spring and not seeing Greg Maddux on a Major League Baseball roster, that’s for sure. Happy trials, Mad Dog…..
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