- Tonight’s Heroes was billed as a major landmark show, an episode with lots of dramatic reveals and amazing moments. In that respect, it was a colossal failure. It was a good episode, don’t get me wrong, but it didn’t exactly live up to its hype. All of the action centered on Peter Petrelli, Matt Parkman and Mohinder Suresh, who kidnapped H.R.G. at the end of last week’s episode from a hotel bar after drugging him. This week, we immediately learned that Mohinder wasn’t totally on board with the plan to drug H.R.G., but Peter and Parkman prevailed. The trio make the pickup at the bar, took H.R.G. back to their motel room and tied him to a chair so Parkman could use his powers to pry into H.R.G.’s mind and find out who is hunting PWP (People with powers) and why. Oh, and before I go on, very annoying and bizarre that all of H.R.G.’s memories played in black and white, not sure why that was. The first memory Parkman pries out is of H.R.G. meeting on a nondescript park bench in New York with none other than Angela Petrelli five weeks prior. She handed H.R.G. an envelope contained his “pension” for his service to the Company and a nice gold watch as a thank you gift before telling him that their mission to find PWP and apprehend the dangerous ones was over. This memory ends and Parkman, also woozy from prying into H.R.G.’s mind, relays what he has seen. Back in D.C., H.R.G.’s disappearance is sending up red flags. The Hunter is alarmed that H.R.G. has not checked in for more than three hours, a clear break from protocol, and a search is initiated. The Hunter also makes it clear to Nathan Petrelli, who he pulled from a state dinner because of H.R.G.’s disappearance, that everyone who has anything to do with their program is under constant surveillance just like H.R.G. - even Nathan. Back in Costa Verde, Mohinder is demanding that Matt stop looking into H.R.G.’s mind, partially because of the damage it might do to H.R.G. and partially because he was allegedly worried that H.R.G.’s memories might have been distorted and diluted by time and not be totally accurate. But back in Matt goes, digging up a memory from four weeks ago in which Nathan visited H.R.G. at his home in Costa Verde and explained his plan to hunt, capture and eventually “cure” everyone with powers. Nathan promised to protect his daughter and H.R.G.’s adopted daughter Claire from the hunt - as long as H.R.G. agreed to be a part of his team. H.R.G. then takes Nathan to a storage unit he has been keeping for all of his 20 years hunting PWPs, a storage unit stocked with weapons of all sorts (plenty of guns) and information. After pulling out of H.R.G.’s memory, Parkman writes down the address of the storage unit and the combination for the lock to prove to Mohinder that the information he’s tracking down in these memories is legit. Mohinder alleges that Parkman is just looking to make H.R.G. suffer because of the death of Matt’s lady friend Daphne, but Parkman insists that’s not true. Meanwhile, Peter takes the address and lock combination and flies away to the storage unit to test Parkman’s promise and finds everything just as Parkan said. Unfortunately, a hidden security camera in the storage unit tips off an analyst back at Building 26, the headquarters for Nathan’s PWP hunting operation, and the Hunter assembles a team to move in and capture him. Peter anticipates the move and when the team arrives, they open the door top the storage unit and Peter flies out, drops a smoke grenade to distract them and keeps on flying, right back to the motel. Nathan wanted his brother taken in alive, but it turned out that he wasn’t taken in at all. At the motel, Parkman ignores H.R.G.’s warnings to escape now while he still can, before the Hunter’s agents move in and capture him. Parkman goes back inside his nemesis’ mind and finds a memory from three weeks ago in which H.R.G. went to Building 26 and met the Hunter for the first time. The Hunter was not inclined to hear H.R.G.’s suggestions about incorporating principles from his time at Primatech when it came to hunting PWP and instead chose to assert his position as the man in charge. H.R.G. was stunned to learn that the Hunter was in charge and not him, especially because the Hunter viewed PWP as targets, terrorists and nothing more. Shortly thereafter, H.R.G. ends up in the back of the cab that Mohinder was driving after ceasing his work for the now-defunct Pinehearst labs and offers Mohinder a proposition. H.R.G. believes Nathan’s plan is doomed to fail and wants Mohinder to help him with a plan of his own that H.R.G. believes will save lives. As this memory ended, Parkman angrily attacks Mohinder. He realizes that Mohinder didn’t want him inside H.R.G.’s head because he didn’t want Parkman finding the memory he’d just found. Mohinder argues that he didn’t believe what H.R.G. told him in the cab anyhow and even if he had, there was nothing he could have done to stop what had happened since, including Daphne’s death. During the brawl that follows, which leaves the motel room looking like Axl Rose just trashed it, H.R.G. seizes the chance to escape. He manages to jimmy the lock to a car in the parking lot and is trying to hotwire it when Peter arrives back from the storage unit and stops him. H.R.G. is captured, taken back inside and Parkman goes back inside his head to one week ago, when H.R.G. visited the Hunter at his apartment to try to mend fences with a bottle of scotch. The Hunter is again unyielding in his refusal to consider H.R.G.’s ideas, and after both men reveal that they have been digging into one another’s past and know the other’s record to a “T,” H.R.G. reluctantly concedes that in the end, he’s willing to take orders and fall in line. Now that he knows where the Hunter lives, Parkman exits H.R.G.’s brain, gives the address to Peter and again Peter flies off into the night. He goes to the Hunter’s apartment, pulls a gun on his nemesis and is about to kill him when the Hunter tries some reverse psychology by arguing that killing him would sign Peter’s death warrant because it would prove that PWP are as dangerous as the Hunter has been arguing. Throwing another variable into the equation is Nathan, who watched the showdown via security camera in the Hunter’s apartment (literally everyone is being watched, it’s true) and rushes to the scene to intervene. Peter pulls the trigger anyhow, but he only shoots the Hunter in the arm. After that, Peter flies off, back to Costa Verde, because Nathan informs him that Parkman and Mohinder are about to be captured. Before Peter can get back, agents storm the motel. Mohinder volunteers to hold them at bay so Parkman can go into H.R.G.’s mind one more time to investiage H.R.G.’s claim that Daphne is still alive and being held at Building 26. Parkman takes the invite and finds out that the claim is true, unearthing a memory of Daphne in agony, on a stretecher, heavily sedated. As the memory ends, Mohinder is being captured in the motel parking lot and agents rush the room to take down Parkman as well. H.R.G. demands to be the one to walk him out, but a sedated Parkman is rescued by Peter, flying onto the scene and swooping down to pick up his friend. Peter drops another flash grenade and then the pair flies off, their destination unknown. Mohinder isn’t so fortunate and finds himself locked up in Building 26 just like we saw Tracy Strauss last week, chained to a chair in a dark, dank room. Nathan tells him that unless he helps Nathan’s efforts, he will allow Daphne to die. Not only that, Nathan claims all of Mohinder’s pals - Peter, Parkman, etc. - will also die. Back in Costa Verde, H.R.G. and the Hunter walk down a city street, talking about “taking off the kid gloves” and doing whatever is necessary to defeat PWP. The Hunter receives H.R.G.’s word that he will do just that, then gets into the back of an SUV and heads off. H.R.G. waits all of five seconds before turning around, walking to a nearby park bench and sitting down with…..Angela Petrelli, recreating the scene from his earlier memory, some five weeks ago. Their conversation is very interesting, as they discuss the fact that, “all things considered, the day went well.” In other words, everything that had happened that day was part of their plan, it was all a setup. Angela then warns H.R.G. that the Hunter trusts no one, and will continue to test him, forcing him to make tough choices to prove his loyalty, to which H.R.G. replies, “I’m comfortable with being morally gray.” He then walks off, leaving his retirement watch on the bench as he goes. There’s nothing gray about what Peter and Parkman are up to, returning to the scene of so many key moments in the series, Isaac Mendez’s loft. There, Parkman paints more prophetic images of the future, two of which show him strapping a bomb to himself. Then, as Peter tries to reassure him that he’s not capable of such destruction, the camera pans out and Parkman asks Peter to explain the image he has painted on the floor. It’s a ridiculously ginormous mural of Washington, D.C. in flames and burning to the ground, just like the image of New York blowing up that Isaac Mendez himself painted in Season 1. That’s how things end, but you have to wonder where Hiro, Ando, Sylar and Sylar’s new buddy Luke were this week. Coupled with the aforementioned failure to totally deliver on the promised drama of the episode and deep revelation of H.R.G.’s true self, this was a good episode that could have been great. So until next week…….
- Maybe after Alabama left guard Andre Smith gets himself drafted in the late first or even second round of this year’s NFL Draft, he should consider writing a book. I already have the title for him: “How to throw away millions of dollars and the chance to be the first overall pick in the NFL Draft: The Andre Smith story.” See, my man Andre was projected as one of the top picks in the draft even though there were a few concerns about his character amongst NFL personnel people. He was suspended for the Sugar Bowl this past season because Alabama coach/noted liar Nick Saban for improper contact with an agent, for one. But in spite of those concerns, Smith’s immense size and talent at a prime position had him at or near the top of most teams’ draft boards. That was until he showed up at the NFL Combine out of shape, disinterested and clearly unprepared for the drills, tests and interviews he would face at the event. Smith never even participated in any drills, probably because he knew how bad he would look in them, and rather than at least stick around to meet with individual teams for interviews to perhaps allay some of those character concerns, dude bolted town Thursday morning, leaving Indianapolis as a projected late first-round pick as opposed to a top selection. His excuse for leaving early was a need to get back to Atlanta to work with his personal trainer. Just a thought, Andre, but maybe you should have done some of that working out before going to the combine, then you wouldn’t have shown up FAT, slow and unable to show off your skills. Oh, and bailing on the combine without telling anyone is a chickensh*t move as well. As classless as leaving early is, at least tell people you’re going. Some analysts have done the math on what Smith’s likely draft freefall could cost him, and from the guaranteed $30 million he could have potentially received as the No. 1 pick of this year’s draft, Smith could now be looking at the $6 million or so in guaranteed money that the Nos. 26-28 picks received last year. And oh yeah, he’ll be going to a team that now has even more reason to doubt his character, work ethic and heart than they had before the combine. Well done, Andre, let me know if you want to do that book project together, I think it could be a real hit……..
- Why don’t we just save some time and stop listing food products that aren’t tainted instead of those that are? Every other freaking day we seem to have another hazardous food item foisting potentially lethal dangers on us, with the dreaded peanut being the most recent villain of the culinary realm. But the peanut can step aside, because the potato is here for its time in the dubious sun of recalled food products. Two grocers have issued a recall on some potato products because they may be contaminated with listeria monocytogenes, a bacteria that can cause flu-like symptoms, such as high fever, severe headache, neck stiffness and nausea (is it wrong that I’m relieved that those are the symptoms and not something more severe?). Giant Food and Stop & Shop have pulled 20 oz. bags of Simply Potatoes Shredded Hash Browns, Simply Potatoes Homestyle Slices and Simply Potatoes Red Potato Wedges from their shelves after the products were recalled by Northern Star Co., a subsidiary of food processor Michael Foods Inc. You can tell if your potato product is potentially hazardous to your health if 1) it attacks you with one of your kitchen knives, but more likely if 2) it has a "use by" date on its packages ranging from March 29 to April 3, 2009 and came from North Star Foods. Oh, and the bacteria can be very damaging for pregnant women or those with weakened immune systems, so if you’re knocked up or sick, you want to be especially careful about avoiding these foods. Should you have purchased these products, you are being advised to discard any unused portions (preferably in a bio-safe container - just kidding) and bring the receipts to their stores for a full refund. Also, this recall doesn’t effect the entire country, as Giant Food operates 182 supermarkets in Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, and the District of Columbia and Stop & Shop operates stores in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, New York, New Jersey and Maine. So if you’re not on the eastern seaboard, you should be okay on this one. But fear not, I’m certain there will be another tainted food scare in a few days that will impact you, so don’t feel excluded……..
- So now it’s wrong to accept bribes to throw kids in prison for minor, non-felonious offenses? What the heck is this nation coming to when a judge can take money under the table to commit criminal miscarriages of justice and get away with it? Clearly, Luzerne County President Judge Mark Ciavarella and former Luzerne County Senior Judge Michael Conahan were also operating under the impression that such activities were perfectly acceptable, otherwise why would they have engaged in things such as fraud and other tax charges? Luzerne County residents are now digesting the reality of a kickback scandal involving two elected judges who essentially jailed kids for cash. The way the scheme worked as that Ciavarella and Conahan would corruptly and fraudulently "create the potential for an increased number of juvenile offenders to be sent to juvenile detention facilities," according to federal court documents. Children would be placed in private detention centers, under contract with the court, to increase the head count. In exchange, the two judges would receive kickbacks. Problem was that these offenders were kids like 14-year-old Phillip Swartley, who pocketed change from unlocked vehicles in his neighborhood to buy chips and soft drinks. It was stupid, immature and it landed Swartley in court, but his mother assumed that hiring an attorney was unnecessary because she was led to believe that at most, the judge would slap her son with a fine or community service. Unfortunately, his case was heard by Ciavarella and with his need to pad the number of kids in the private detention centers from which he was receiving kickbacks, he sentenced Phillip Swartley to youth detention center, after which he was was shipped to a boarding school for troubled teens for nine months. Like Swartley, many of the other victims of this criminal operation appeared before judges without a lawyer, presumably because like Swartley, their crimes were very minor and were expected to net nothing more than probation as a punishment. All told, some 5,000 children appeared before the two corrupt judges over the past five years, with Ciavarella and Conahan raking in a cool $2.6 million for their efforts. Other examples of their misconduct included 15-year-old Hillary Transue, sent to a wilderness camp by Ciavarvella for mocking an assistant principal on a MySpace page, 13-year-old Shane Bly, accused of trespassing in a vacant building and confined to a boot camp for two weekends and Kurt Kruger, 17, sentenced to detention and five months of boot camp for helping a friend steal DVDs from Wal-Mart. Thankfully, all of this is over now, with both judges having resigned from their positions and disbarred. Ciavarella pleaded guilty earlier this month to federal criminal charges and under the terms of their respective plea deals, both former judges have agreed to serve 87 months in prison. On top of that, the Juvenile Law Center said it plans to file a class-action lawsuit this week representing what they say are victims of corruption. Here’s a thought…..why not revoke the plea agreements of these two judges, ship them off to a maximum security prison with hardcore thugs and give them a taste of their own medicine? Sounds fair and appropriate to me…….
- I kicked off this post with a story of an athlete quitting (Andre Smith, who bolted on the NFL Combine for those of you without enough short term memory to recall something from four paragraphs ago), so why not finish it with a tale of an athlete quitting by not even showing up in the first place? Meet my main man Odalis Perez, a now-former member of the Washington Nationals. Perez signed a minor league contract with Washington on Feb. 5 that would have paid him $850,000 if he made the team, but getting a shot to earn a spot on the roster when no other team cared to sign him just wasn’t enough. In the days leading up to the start of training camp, which kicked off last week, Perez began making noise about wanting a better contract. When he didn’t show up at spring training by the mandatory reporting deadline on Sunday, the Nationals released him. O.P., I realize that you’ve had some solid seasons in the past and are a 10-year veteran, but in case you didn’t get the memo, you’re not very good anymore. You went 7-12 with a 4.34 ERA in 30 starts for the Nationals last season. Let me do the math for you and tell you that you had a 36.8 winning percentage and gave up 22 home runs in 159 innings, neither of which are good stats. The Nats saw your act firsthand, so they know that you’re not very good. Yet they offered you a contract and a chance to show that you could still pitch, which would inspire most competitive athletes to bust their balls and try to earn a spot on the roster. Instead, you hunkered down in your home, refused to take phone calls from general manager Jim Bowden or manager Manny Acta and let the 7 p.m. Sunday deadline pass without reporting.
"We left messages yesterday for his agent, we left messages for him, I left messages again this morning, and they made their point really clear," Bowden said. "We've got a lot of pitchers here in camp who are committed to helping us win, and we want players here who want to be here." "It's disappointing because you'd at least like him to talk to us in person,” Bowden said. Clearly, Odalis didn’t want any of that, Jimmy, so go ahead and give his possible roster spot to someone who actually gives a crap and wants to be on your team……
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