This Week in Television - Jan. 25-29, 2010

Heroes
Hey, Peter, did it ever occur to you that instead of releasing a dangerous mass murderer to save lives, you could just, oh I don't know, ask Emma not to play the cello? Seems like one of those options is 50 billion times easier and safer than the other. Although in the dream, Emma looked kind of distraught so someone was probably forcing her to do it. But still, Peter should have made an attempt to explore other options before jumping right into the worst one. Also, Sylar already went through a period where he didn't have his powers and it didn't make him any less evil, so why does he think it will work this time?

Kids in the Hall: Death Comes to Town
I like the gag where a video is shown of the mayor reading his will, but not aloud. I wonder where Ricky is going to fit into all of this, being that he is a shut-in and doesn't really interact with the other characters. Unless he's going to get off the couch and exercise like he promised. Rampop is kind of disturbing in a Children of the Corn way.

Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains
Survivor doesn't come back for another two weeks, but since this is a special season with past competitors returning, I thought I would post my opinions on each contestant. I'll discuss the Heroes tribe this week and the Villains next week.
-Rupert Boneham: Rupert was a cool guy and all the viewers seemed to love him, but he has competed twice and was knocked into the jury both times. I don't know if he is enough of a strategist to get any further than he has before, but he might make it to the jury again just because he is likable and useful at camp.
-James Clement: James is a nice guy and the ladies love to look at him, but he's not necessarily a power player.
-Colby Donaldson: Colby performed well the first time he competed, dominating challenges and coming in second, but then when he returned for All-Stars, he got cocky and was voted out early. I'm not sure if I like him and his success could go either way.
-Cirie Fields: I like Cirie. I've always found her kind of funny and endearing, and while she hasn't been very good in challenges I do think she is a cunning and persuasive strategist, and that got her far both times she's competed.
-Amanda Kimmel: Amanda is a record holder, being the only person in Survivor history to make it to the final tribal council twice. However, she has never gotten a single jury vote. I don't understand this because I think Amanda is one of the most deserving players in the game - she's made several genius strategic moves, has proven capable of winning challenges, and doesn't seem like a bad person at all. I'll be rooting for her again this time around.
-Jessica "Sugar" Kiper: Apparently Sugar was extremely annoying to the other survivors, but the viewers loved her. I remember I didn't think much of her at first, but by the end of the game she stood out as a strategist despite appearing dumb at first glance.
-Stephanie LaGrossa: Stephanie was a true survivor, being the only person on the show to ever be part of a one-person tribe. I think that's what made viewers like her more than her personality, although she's kind of cool too, I guess.
-J.T. Thomas: J.T. was a solid all-around competitor and a good guy, plus he won his original season. However these things can also be weaknesses because everyone else knows to watch out for him.
-Tom Westman: I don't even remember that much about Tom's personality, except that he won the season and also a few challenges.
-Candice Woodcock: I hate Candice, and she does not deserve to be on the Heroes team. I have two reasons why: a) When survivors were given an opportunity to ditch their tribe and join the other team, she took it, Jonathan Penner followed her, and then she later blasted him for being a traitor; and b) at the final tribal council, she asked finalist Yul an incredibly biased question and forced him to answer in such a way that no matter what he said it made him look like a liar. Candice is an idiot.

Fringe
Wow, Walter came off rather villainous at the end of this one. But I do like that he pointed out the elephant in the room, which is the looming sexual tension between Peter and Olivia. I kind of hope they don't get together, only because it's such a predictable staple to include a romance subplot in EVERYTHING, but on the other hand they probably would make a good couple. BEWARE THE HITLER TOXIN!

Kenny vs. Spenny
For the first time in history, this episode had no competition. Although at first I thought it was going to be something like "Who can start a competition first?" because Spenny kept naming all these new competitions. But as I watched it I started to feel a little dissatisfied with the season as a whole so far. The show is almost turning into a gimmick and it's become "The Kenny Show" now, and not just because he's been winning them all (although the competitions are much less exciting when you know Kenny has at least an 80% chance every time). It's no longer about competing, now it's more about what Kenny will get away with and what crazy loophole or scheme he'll exploit this week. I don't say this as an attack on Kenny's character, he is clearly a funny and entertaining guy, it's just that they have let him take over the show. I started watching Kenny vs. Spenny because it was a new thing and I thought a show about crazy competitions was an awesome idea, but the show rarely captures the true spirit of competition anymore. I wonder how many Kenny would win if he actually played fairly.

Hero of the Week: Matt Parkman from Heroes, who pulled a fast one on Sylar and trapped him inside his own brain and then proceeded to wall up his body in the basement, brick by brick.

Douchebag of the Week: Peter Petrelli from Heroes, for trying to undo Parkman's awesome handiwork. Nice job, dick.