"Science fiction and fantasy still retain the lightness of childhood fairy tales, with obvious morals told through fantastic characters and settings."

The Heroes Journey has a LOT to answer for…

Great write-up Todd.
Sorry for the obsequiousness there, but for me you nailed it with:

I kind of wanted him to tell the Cylon to do a Waring Hudsucker.

Come on, you guys need your hands held the whole time? I think it's pretty economical story telling not to get bogged down in a rote 'run-away-from-the-scene-of-the-crime-and-then-scold-him-for-being-violent' sequence, and instead skip to the taut lipped aftermath of the whole sorry attempt at family bonding.

The attempt to say something mildly different from the excellent AV Club write up, and then link to your own blog, was pretty pedestrian, which is unfortunate considering the potential it had to enlighten us with real insight.

Yeah, the first few minutes, when it became clear that it would be focusing on her, elicited a slight groan, but damn…by the end I was ready for a spin off set in New Cap City, with her bowling around in a noirish, 20's esque world, trying to beat the 'game' each week.

I'll throw in with the general bemusement at ScFy's (urrrgh…just typing that's painful) scheduling, it does seem odd that what should be one of its flagship pieces is getting the short end of the stick.

By the way, how is Palliser from the same stock and context as Banville?

Well I'm glad I'm not alone! Still says British though…The AV Club are usually pretty good at picking up errors, so who knows? Ah well.

Fart gag acknowledged. Very Joycean.

Then again, … … Nah. Come on. You really want to go down that route?

Well there we go. I don't think we're going to find too much common ground on Papa, but suffice to say you make your point well. I just don't agree with it. Salinger, actually, I have much more trouble with. I went back to TCITR after his passing and found myself…disappointed. Now I'm scared to revisit the rest of his…

Potentialy pedantic…
…and as I haven't read this offering from 'auld John (and to be fair, probably won't due my issues with his previous works), I may well be off base here, but is it accurate to lead with: "…an embattled British family…" on the main page, and refer to them as British in the review?

Hey, you've got your opinion of the chaps I mentioned, I have mine. But to write off Hemingway and Johnson in one fell swoop is surely a bit steep? And as he was mainly an essayist, biographer and lexicographer (and one of the most important who ever lived, for what it's worth), critiquing his prose style is moot. It…

Banville is constantly guilty of indulging himself in 'Fine Writing'. He is so clearly in love with his sub-Nabokvian prose that he fails to notice how purple it is.

Jack should call every one son…
…and then give them the Bauer Eye.

Chief Bubba, whilst a bit of a douche, isn't totally stupid. He knows that with Agent Fred AWOL and little in reserve except some kid who can't do his own kevlar vest up, he needs Jack badly. The guys a one man agency, for christs sake.

Holy shit…this really took off, didn't it? I mean…really! All we need is one semi-celebrity disappearance a week and we're in business for DA BESTEZ WEBSITZ EVA awards.

Not much to add Alurin, but as I noted above, I really like this show a whole damn lot….