Bonanza star Pernell Roberts dies at 81

Bonanza was always in reruns when I was growing up, and it was Adam who was the character I was most drawn to. I didn't know until much later about the drama behind the series, how Roberts grew increasingly restless with the series, and finally left when his contract was up. All I knew is that any episode without Adam was quite dull. I also enjoyed Trapper John, M.D., though not quite in the same way.

But Pernell Roberts has always been one of the actors I've kept an eye out for. Whenever he was a guest star or on a television movie, I watched, just to see him. I hadn't heard about him recently, and now I know why. RIP.

Bonanza star Pernell Roberts dies at 81

Fringe - The Bishop Boys

One of my favorite couples on television right now is completely unromantic and would be incestuous if it were. It's the Bishops - Walter and Peter. I've just finished watching What Lies Below, in which Peter is infected with a virus that is over 75,000 years old and may have wiped out the mammalian population. The virus does what it can to infect as many people as possible, so, once Peter is infected, he spends his entire time trying to escape from the building in which he is confined. Fortunately, Walter is a brilliant scientist and manages to concoct a cure before the Army is brought in to kill all the infected.

So there were some parts that weren't exactly the most believable, but to be honest, that is the least important to me. What instead really shined in the episode is the close relationship between father and son.

Peter started out the series not wanting any contact at all with his father. Walter was the stereotypical "mad scientist" who may not have been very nice to his family. In 1991, at least one of Walter's lab assistants was killed in a lab explosion, and Walter was charged with manslaughter. However, Walter was judged mentally unfit to stand trial and institutionalized for seventeen years. As Walter's only family, Peter was the only person who could get Walter released. Walter initially refused, but Olivia Dunham convinced Peter of the importance of Walter's work.

In the first season, Peter was the often-annoying voice of reason, protesting that his father's theories were too outlandish to be true. But since this is a show about fringe science, Peter's well-founded skepticism was disregarded, and Walter was often proven correct. As this occurred, Peter became more accepting of the wild theorizing, often commenting that he was crazy for considering these ideas.

I think what surprised Peter the most was how vulnerable his father was. Walter's institutionalization left a very child-like man with limited social skills and many fears. Peter often finds himself parenting his father, and Walter has responded alternately with gratitude and frustration. So, it turns out that Peter finds himself liking his father.

However, we've learned a few things that may change all that. Last season, we learned that Peter Bishop died in 1985. Thus, Walter built the door to the alternate universe to collect another Peter. Our Peter is not our Peter, if that makes sense. We learned this season that Peter has a history of nightmares in which he is kidnapped by his own father. And in this episode, Walter told Astrid, "I can't let Peter die again." Astrid heard the "again", and asked him about it, but Walter refused to respond. This secret will come out. And there will be hell to pay.

The Jay Leno Show Implodes

I was actually surprised by NBC's decision to essentially cancel The Jay Leno Show. After all, it didn't have to bring in many viewers to make a profit, and the show appeared to be achieving that less than stellar goal. What I hadn't counted on was the dissatisfaction of the affiliates with the inability of The Jay Leno Show to bring in viewers to the 10 o'clock local news. Even The Tonight Show has experienced a decline in viewers that might be partially attributable to the poor lead in. In other words, Law & Order brought more viewers to the local news than Jay Leno does.

So what does NBC do? They screw it up, just as they have the last two times The Tonight Show changed hosts. Fearful that Leno will jump ship to another competitor, the powers-that-be decided that Leno will take the post local news slot (10:30 central time) and The Tonight Show, hosted by Conan O'Brien, will start at 11. Jimmy Fallon's show will start at midnight.

Guess what? O'Brien hates the idea. He has no intention of taking a back seat to Leno. NBC clearly cannot keep both. And the late night shows have been abuzz with jokes and snippy comments about the entire situation.

But of more interest to me, and more fitting to the theme of this blog, is that extra hour each week day that will soon be left free. My first thought, when I heard, was to wonder if NBC was sorry it had cancelled Southland before its second season, which NBC had already ordered. Fortunately for the show and its fans, TNT decided to pick it up. I've since heard that the Law & Orders (original, SVU, and Criminal Intent) will be airing at the 9:00 hour originally taken by Jay Leno. as will a reality show or two and an episode of Dateline. NBC has time, however, as nothing will really change until after the Olympics in February. Perhaps something will fall into their laps.

Ricky Gervais and the Golden Globes

I don't normally watch the Golden Globes, even though they have a TV component, but this year I believe that it is must see TV. And solely because Ricky Gervais is the host.

I've been mildly interested in Gervais since I caught the British version of The Office. I've seen him in a few interviews since then, primarily on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. But it wasn't until the Emmys a couple of years ago that I realized how funny this man really is. He didn't host, but he was an award presenter. He spent his time haranguing Steve Carell for "stealing" Gervais' Emmy the year before. It was so hilarious that I was rolling on the floor. This past Emmy show also gave Gervais an opportunity to show how funny he is.

The producers of the Golden Globes must have paid attention, because they snapped up Gervais. And that means I'll actually be watching the Golden Globes tomorrow night.

As an aside, Michael Emerson, Ben Linus of Lost, is up for an award. I'll let you know if he wins.

Chuck is Back!

One of my colleagues at work uses the term "delightful," and I think the word fits Chuck to a tee. There is much to love about Chuck and little to dislike.

For those of you unfamiliar with Chuck, let me give you a little background. Chuck, the eponymous hero of the show, was a promising student at Stanford University when he was wrongfully expelled for cheating. He ended up living with his sister and her fiance, working at Buy More in the Nerd Herd. An underachieving slacker, his best friend, Morgan, is even more of a loser than Chuck. But then, one day, Chuck opened up an e-mail from his college roommate, Bryce Larkin, which changed Chuck's life forever. Embedded in that e-mail was an intersect, which included all the secret intelligence gathered by the US. Somehow, the intersect downloaded itself in Chuck's brain. In the meantime, Bryce Larkin destroyed the mainframe intersect.

Eventually, the FBI and CIA find Chuck, and two agents are assigned to protect Chuck from the world. Chuck finds himself to be the reluctant spy who must hide his new life from friends and family. Many adventures ensue, and Chuck finds himself falling in love with the agent who is acting as his girlfriend, Sarah.

Finally, at the end of last season, Chuck takes the opportunity to have the intersect removed from his brain. He learns that his father had created the intersect, and had arranged for Bryce Larkin to protect Chuck. The Intersect 2.0 is created, but Chuck has no intention of downloading it. That is, until his handlers, Sarah and Casey, are in danger of being killed. Chuck then downloads the Intersect, and saves the day, gasping, "Guys, I know karate!"

Many of us worried over the long break between seasons whether Chuck would now be so competent a spy that the lovable goof from the first two years would be lost. We shouldn't have worried. It turns out that Chuck must be in control of his emotions in order to access the skills portion of the Intersect, and Chuck, famously, is incapable of being cold and calculating. He attends six months of "spy school", but flunks out precisely because his emotions get in the way. He returns to his sister's apartment and takes residence on the couch, growing a beard, eating cheese snacks, and hiding from the world. Only when he runs out of his cheese snacks does he leave the apartment, and at last, Chuck reemerges.

We learned through flashback that Sarah had tried to talk Chuck out of being a spy as she feared it would change his personality. Instead, she wanted him to adopt a new identity and run away with her. But Chuck couldn't do it. Finally, he was told by people in authority, that he could help people and his country, and he felt he couldn't walk away from that. Sarah couldn't forgive him. Chuck thus found himself without a job or a girlfriend.

By inserting himself into Sarah and Casey's latest mission, Chuck nearly gets himself and Sarah killed. But he manages to control his emotions enough to - you guessed it! - save the day. Chuck is thus welcomed back into the spy fold.

What makes Chuck so delightful is not the storyline, which is rather silly, I know, but the characters. Beyond the charmingly goofy Chuck and the beautiful Sarah, there's Casey, the other handler. Casey's initial mission was to kill Chuck, and he was quite disgruntled when those orders were changed and he was given the mission of "handling" Chuck. Suddenly, Casey has a job at Buy More too, more often than not scaring all the nerds working there. Casey clearly doesn't understand Chuck, but he grows to appreciate him, and, later, when given the opportunity to kill Chuck, doesn't. He saves Ellie's wedding even after he had been discharged from working with Chuck. Casey is all red-blooded American, patriot, John Wayne-lover. As played by Adam Baldwin, I never fail to laugh when Casey is on screen.

Chuck's sister and her fiance (now husband) are also vital to the story. Ellie and Devon are both everything that Chuck is not - successful doctors in a loving relationship. Devon is so perfect that Chuck has nicknamed him "Captain Awesome," a nickname that Awesome allows with good humor. He is, after all, Awesome. Chuck finally has to reveal to Awesome that he is a spy, which leads Awesome to actually respect Chuck. Awesome's adventures in the spy world this season have been hilarious.

I must confess to mixed emotions about the characters labeled "Buy Morons", who work at the Buy More with Chuck. The primary one is Chuck's best friend Morgan, who is disliked by Ellie (perhaps because he has openly lusted after her for years) and tolerated by many. Morgan is overly optimistic and a good friend, but he's also not the brightest bulb in the bunch. Two other "nerd herders" are Lester and Jeff, best friends, and such outcasts that few socialize with them willingly. Big Mike is the gruff manager of the Buy More, whose appetite is legendary. If used judiciously, the Buy Morons are an incredibly funny addition to the show. Too much, however, is too much. And that doesn't take a lot.

So, every Monday night, I'll be thoroughly entertained by the delight that is Chuck.