666 Park Avenue: It’s Baaack. Or Rather, Was.

ABC actually made good on its plan to air the final four episodes of 666 Park Avenue.  Unfortunately, I lived up to my own prediction that fans would forget all about the series in the intervening months.  I caught only the series finale.

It’s good to be the devil.

TV’s most stylish woman

Henry and Jane toast themselves.

The devil and Mrs. Satan care.

Women of the Drake

The antichrist is in the oven.

Thankfully, OnDemand provided answers to most of my burning questions.  We more or less learned what was in the mysterious red box; or rather, what it did.  We learned why Detective Cooper was so helpful to Jane—for all the good it did him.  We didn’t learn who or what Gavin rescued Olivia from; nor exactly what Peter Kramer and pals called forth to the Drake all those years ago.  Most likely it was the devil, either in Gavin Doran form or otherwise.

666, where art thou?

The Durans pop ’round for dinner.

Color me surprised when ABC’s Sunday night lineup returned without 666 Park Avenue.  Now, I know the show’s been canceled (or more accurately “not renewed”), and several questions were answered with the winter finale.  But c’mon, we still don’t know what’s in the red box, we still don’t know exactly who Gavin Duran is, or who/what he rescued Olivia from.  And is anything going to come of Jane and the cute detective?

Apparently ABC is going to hold the last four episodes back until the summer.  Pardon me if I don’t hold my breath.

Benjamin Bratt and Dennis Hopper in E-Ring.

This reminds me of NBC’s atrocious treatment of E-Ring, the 2005 military drama starring Benjamin Bratt and the late Dennis Hopper.  Just when it was getting good, the series went on hiatus for the 2006 Winter Olympics.  It never returned, even though NBC had ordered a full season, leaving fans totally in the dark.  Some months later, NBC’s website said new episodes would air over the summer.  Only they never did.  And that was a show that had been given a full year’s go ahead.

666 Park Avenue is the kind of episodic  show that relies on momentum to keep it interesting.  Does ABC really think anyone is going to care about it five months from now?  I suppose fans may be able to get closure when (if?) the series is released on DVD, but I seriously doubt it will be gracing any broadcast airwaves this summer.

The Five Most Facinating Characters

The end of the year brings with it a plethora of “best of” and “worst of” lists, and SciFi Chick(s) is not above such frivolity.  But instead of the mundane “best and worst of,” how about a look at some of the most intriguing characters on sci fi television?

666 Park Avenue: Hypnos

Another great mid-season ender.  “Hypnos” gave us a couple answers, but still left us with plenty of questions.  Best of all, there was no Brian-Louise-whatshername snoozefest.

Jane visits Maris

When last we saw Jane, she was going to see Maris, someone who might help her remember what happened after she went down the spiral staircase.  (Interestingly, that odd symbol Jane saw in crazy guy’s hospital room is also etched in the door jamb to Maris’s apartment.)   Maris uses “regressive hypnosis” to help Jane remember.

It turns out Jane stayed at the Drake, but wound up in 1927:  She’s attending her grandmother Jocelyn Kramer’s 5th birthday party.  Jane signs the guestbook “Jane Van Veen,” but is in the body of one Libby Griffith, Jocelyn’s baby sitter.  When Jane and Jocelyn retrieve Jocelyn’s doll from her father’s study (father being Peter Kramer, the ghost who tried to kill Jane on Halloween), Jane sees him hide a book in the fireplace.

666 Park Avenue: episode 108

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?

It’s interesting how one’s perspective changes when you know the series will be ending soon.  One the one hand, it’ll be nice to get some answers; on the other, I’ll be sad to see promising story lines cut short.

Crazy Jane tells Henry she’s not crazy.

Last we saw Jane, she was heading down a spiral staircase, only to have it close on her.  She ended up in what was possibly an alternate New York City.  In what may be the shortest missing persons case ever, Jane is found in a catatonic state.  Henry’s able to bring her back to reality (aw, it must be love!) but she doesn’t remember anything about her missing hours.

My schedule just got a lot lighter

I am so bummed.  Last Resort has been canceled.  😦  So has 666 Park Avenue, but that’s not nearly as devastating.  Both shows will end after 13 episodes.  Two additional scripts had been ordered for each, but those will not be filmed or aired.

Last Resort received enormous critical acclaim.  Why didn’t ABC try it in a different time slot?  The rumor is ABC brass were pissed that show runner Shawn Ryan is working on another project (with Eddie Murphy, no less) for CBS.

It took me awhile to warm up to Last Resort, but when I did (with “Skeleton Crew“) I jumped in with both feet.

Last Resort actors are tweeting that the next six episodes will be awesome, and the ending will be kick-ass.

I just hope Andre Braugher and Scott Speedman find other worthy projects soon; and that Aussies Daisy Betts and Daniel Lissing get more U.S. work.

More 666 Park Avenue

And we’re back to look at the two most recent episodes.

Diabolic

Two detectives question Jane about Halloween. (Cute cop partially blocked)

 

Aftermath of Jane’s Halloween escapade:  She tells two NYC detectives about her harrowing escape, except that all the evidence has disappeared.  There is no hole in the wall where the birds escaped, no axed body in the hallway, no signs that the dumb waiter was disturbed. One of the detectives (the young, handsome one) thinks Jane may be telling the truth since he’s had experience with the unexplainable; but Henry’s less sure.

666 Park Avenue: So far so so-so

Evil landlord Gavin Doran surveys his domain.

I‘ve been struggling to write a review of 666 Park Avenue for several weeks.  And each week delayed means another episode gets added to the list.  Here’s the problem:  With the exception of landlords Gavin and Olivia Doran, the inhabitants of the Drake are a dull and not-too-bright bunch.  Neighbors greet each other in the lobby as if they’re the best of friends, but their conversations have have all the sincerity of fingernails on a chalk board.

But since yet another episode is set to air tonight, let’s go back about one month to look at two episodes that were basically two parts of one 2-hour show.

The Dead Don’t Stay Dead and Hero Complex

Catching up, part 1

(A quick and dirty look at 3 new series since I’m way behind.)

I have a problem.  I don’t like shows which present insurmountable odds, i.e., a vastly superior, seemingly unbeatable foe.  It’s one of the reasons I couldn’t watch Battlestar Galactica.  No matter how much progress the humans made, the Cylons were always a threat.  I know it makes for good drama, but it makes me edgy and uncomfortable.  I don’t watch television to be uncomfortable.

To varying degrees, that’s what Revolution, 666 Park Avenue, and Last Resort do.