What was on TV? Fri, March 25, 2005

20 years ago the pope was dying. Let's see what was on TV!

8:00 Avatar: The Last Airbender on Nick

1x06 "Imprisoned"

This episode is doing a lot. The gang meet an Earth Bender, but he and his family have to hide their powers lest they be taken by the Fire Nation. When Katara convinces him to uses his powers, the man he saves informs on his and he's taken to a prison camp. Eventually they fight back by bending the coal the Fire Nation uses to power their operation. The whole thing could be a metaphor for anything from queerness to residential themes, and we throw in some environmental themes too with the coal twist. But it's too much, the whole episode is sluggist and proves less than the sum of its parts. The biggest problem is that the Earth Benders are so generic. When we visited Kiyoshi a few episodes ago, we got to know the place and its people, the characters were vibrant and the worldbuilding was riched and textured. So when the Fire Nation attacked, we cared. The Earth Benders in whatever land this is don't get the same level of characterization and world-building in this episode, and so the episode proves a dud even though I do admire its themes and ambition.

8:30 North and South (downloaded)

Episode 4

My favorite thing in all of television is when someone smiles and you realize you've spent hours with this person and you've never seen them smile before. Their face looks so different, it's beautiful! One of my all-time favorite examples of this comes at the end of North and South, when we finally see hero John Thornton (the great Richard Armitage) smile. He's been so tortured and awkward and uptight, (imagine Mr. Darcy but a factory owner). But now he knows he has another shot with heroine Margaret Hale, and when they romantically meet on a train platform, he's smiling, for the first time in this four-hour miniseries. He's also slightly rumpled, no starched collars and top hats here. And it's just so romantic. People were so loud and horny after this finale that they crashed the BBC message boards. The reaction was warranted. North and South is full of deep political themes and gorgeous imagery. But that stuff can only take you so far: it's a romance, it has to deliver the swoons. And boy did it ever deliver the swoons.

10:00 Battlestar Galactica on Sci-Fi

1x12 "Kobol's Last Gleaming Part 1"

Attempted murder, attempted suicide, sweaty sex, and father-son boxing. These are just some of the things that happen in the glorious opening sequence of Battlestar's two part season finale. But the moment that made me gasp and squirm in my seat was when Starbuck called out Lee's name but whoops! She was actually sleeping with Gaius Baltar!

The previous twelve episodes have turned me into a Starbuck and Lee shipper. I already know this will bring me nothing but pain. I don't care. The ships that never satisfy, the ones that make you wonder if these two people even should get together, those are always my favorite. Maybe it's because I grew up Catholic, but I always like to feel a bit guilty about my shipping. And now we have Starbuck calling out the wrong name, Gaius acting like a total asshole in response, and Lee acting like a jealous asshole. And it all ends with Starbuck going on a possibly delusional and doomed mission from God. It's a brave act of faith, but it's also a total fuck you to Lee and his Dad. It's very Starbuck.

What's more, after this episode I'm kind of shipping both Baltar and Number Six and Sharon and Helo. So now I have three different ships (actually four, once you throw in Roslin and Adama) that make me feel swoony and a little conflicted and guilty at the same time. I couldn't be happier.

Prince!

Prince received the Vanguard Award at the NAACP Image Awards and performed a whole ten-minute set. He performed several deep cuts from his catalog, some fun covers, and invited guests Sheila E and Morris Day. It was great.

Late Night

Conan included a "way-too-literal West Side Story" segment starring toy sharks and jets. If I made Robot Chicken, this is what it would look like.

What Else Was On

A reboot of Kojak starring Ving Rhames premiered on the USA network. It lasted nine episodes.

TiVo Status

A Frontline documentary and the TV movies Sucker Free City, Their Eyes Were Watching God, and Ladies Night, and one episode each of The Starlet, American Dreams, and The West Wing. 12 hours total.

Music, 20 years ago

Here is Bear McCreary's haunting and exquisite "Passacaglia," which plays over the opening sequence of tonight's BSG.