As you've probably noticed, there hasn't been much activity here lately. That being said, it's time for a just explanation of that.

For a variety of reasons, we've decided to make a few changes at Couch Potato TV. Instead of being a traditional news television website, we've decided to turn into something I've wanted to do for a long time: a podcast.

More information will be coming out shortly. In the meantime, you'll likely find some changes here at the site, as we will make the appropriate changes to work towards providing our listeners with all the information they'll need to find us on iTunes and everything we'll discuss on the show.

Stay tuned!

Chapter 18 “Brave New World”

No Quick n’ Dirty Synopsis (Sans Spoilers) tonight. We’re just going right to the Game, playahs!

GAME HIGHLIGHTS

1. “The damsel has found her happy ending.”
   Hiro, fully healed (in body and in power), is preparing to leave the hospital when a nurse delivers a note that contains an origami crane. And there in room 1106 of the same facility is Charlie…. 65 years older than when Hiro last saw her. Turns out Samuel’s friend dropped her at January 26, 1944. Hiro blames himself, because it was his love for her that forced Samuel to use her as leverage. He decides to return to 1944 to retrieve her, when her granddaughter runs in. One of 7 children, the progeny of 4 children. Hiro recognizes that Charlie has lived a long and happy life, and because he loves her, he will let her go. He and Ando teleport to Central Park where their assistance is needed.
   
2. “Just give me a chance to redeem myself.”
   Parkman is preparing to fortify himself with a sandwich when Eli and two of his duplicates appear. He tries to “push a thought” but that only works on one of them. When he picks up a knife to defend himself, he’s taken out pretty quickly. As the three take up arms and prepare to julienne Matt, they disappear, and the alpha Eli is dragged across the floor, courtesy of Sylar calmly coming up out of the basement with Peter. Peter scopes Eli to discern Samuel’s plan, and when he turns to go Matt manages to stop Sylar. At his behest Matt looks into Sylar’s mind to see if the “five years” in the nightmare have truly changed him. Well, enough to let them leave to rescue Emma, and to push a last thought on Eli.
   
3. “Maybe the world is more ready than you think.”
   Noah and Clare are running out the clock in the buried souvenir trailer. Clare thinks part of Samuel’s plan might be feasible, but Noah tries to get her to agree to remain hidden and safe even after he’s gone. As he passes out Clare becomes frantic and starts to dig, when water pours into the trailer, and then takes a familiar shape. Tracy Strauss grabs hold of them and manages to get them to the surface, where Lauren is waiting with a helicopter on hold. They fly to central park where the Carnival has touched down for the Big Show.
   
4. “Tonight changes everything.”
   Samuel’s laissez faire attitude to the death of thousands convinces Emma she wants no part of his plan early on, but Doyle is called in to win her cooperation. Setting her up in a tent with speakers, Emma literally plays until her fingers bleed as thousands swarm the fairgrounds. When Clare and Noah appear on the scene, Clare heads for the backstage and Edgar intercepts Noah and lowers his knife long enough to make it clear he wants to be part of the plan to take Samuel out. They also recruit Eli, who’s returned to the grounds. Meanwhile, Clare is running into disbelief from the other Carnival-goers backstage. Samuel a killer? She begins to speak about where he draws his power, and what he did to Joseph; he tries to shut her up, but not before Edgar, Noah and Eli enter the backstage to back up her story. They convince the Family to leave, so that Samuel’s power will be drained and the people at the Carnival saved. Samuel watches them go and steps out to start the show. Just as he raises his hands and the ground shakes, and people begin to run in terror, Peter flies in and takes him out, taking his power while he’s at it. Sylar meanwhile has found Emma, but comes up short when Doyle makes himself known. Sylar is hanging helpless in the air while Doyle taunts him, and Emma in turn. She has clearly had enough, and she puts out a sound wave that knocks him off his feet and puts him at Sylar’s mercy.
   
   As Peter distracts Samuel and the others try to put distance between Samuel and the others, they find Hiro and Ando on the outskirts of the fair. With Ando’s supercharging Hiro, he is able to teleport the entire group of Carnies out of the vicinity; almost immediately the fight between Peter and Samuel comes to a halt. Samuel stumbles powerless into the empty mainway as Noah and Peter look on and falls to his knees with the beautiful city skyline behind him.
   
   
5. GAME CHANGER: VOLUME SIX
   “Brave new world.”
   Peter reunites with Emma, who tells him that his friend is taking care of Doyle. Fearing the worst, Peter goes to the tent and finds Sylar happily tying up Doyle with lights, thankfully all in one piece. They return to the mainway where Noah and Clare are avoiding the television crews, until Clare decides she does have something to say. Demanding that they keep the cameras on her, she climbs to the top of the Ferris wheel as Ando and Hiro, Noah and Lauren, Sylar and Peter all look on, each one asking what she could possibly be doing. Once there, she sees Noah almost imperceptibly shake his head before she falls from the top to the horror of the crews. She lands, stands up and brushes herself off before facing the camera’s glare for a familiar opening: “My name is Clare Bennett…” Brave new world, indeed.

** Heroes may be on hiatus but we'll still be updating. Be sure to check back occasionally to catch up!

Quick n’ Dirty Synopsis (Sans Spoilers)

Peter continues his solo soul-searching mission but finds he’s not as alone as he thought. Clare gets a glimpse of Noah’s past that has her re-thinking her future. And Samuel continues his quest for the prefect “family reunion” site.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS

1. “See? We’re trapped here forever.”
   
   Sylar is literally in his own world repairing watches when a sound catches his attention, and he discovers that Peter is in the otherwise empty city with him. Sylar seems to think he’s been there alone for 3 years, but Peter assures him it’s only been 3 hours. Sylar thinks he’s imagining even Peter, and tries to run away from his imagination. Peter tries to free them both using Matt’s borrowed power, but his first attempt is futile. They are trapped together, and it takes a month of their dream-time before they will make any headway. The “headway” being the sudden appearance of a wall that bears a striking resemblance to the one in Matt’s basement. Peter goes to work attaching the wall with a sledge, recognizing it as a way out.
   
2. “You deserve to know the truth.”
   
   When Clare demands to see her father, Samuel takes her to the House of Mirrors where, with Damian’s assistance, she is schooled in HRG 101. The pop quiz questions: He had a first wife, circa 1985! She was pregnant! She was murdered by a “Special” posing as a Chinese food deliveryman trying to rob them! He used to want to be a playwright (??!?)! We get to see Noah’s first kill, agent Thompson who first recruited Noah, his mistrust of Specials, the works. She also gets to see him threaten Gretchen with a “Haitianing” unless she tells him what he wants. At that point Clare leaves.
   
3. “Well look what we have here.”
   
   Lauren finds her way into the Carnival and tries to lift medic supplies. Emma finds her and offers to help, even as Lauren tries to convince her that Samuel’s not the sainted family man he seems. When Samuel approaches the aid tent Lauren hides and asks Emma to keep her safe. But Emma and Samuel’s silent exchange leads to Emma’s departure, and Samuel’s threatening Lauren. When he departs, he gives Eli the green light for him and his ‘friends’ to take care of her, before he goes to find Clare.
   
   He finds her, but rather than being keen to join up she finds him almost repulsive in his pathetic need to be loved and accepted by his “family,” the members of which she reiterates are afraid of him. He tells her Noah’s in the souvenir trailer on the edge of camp, and when she goes to release him, Samuel sinks the trailer with them inside. Where no one can hear them scream. He then dispatches Eli to take care of more “loose ends.”
   
4. “I know that look.”
   
   Back in dreamland, the couple voted Least Likely To Last are still working on the wall. There are several really chewy pieces of dialogue and revelations: Sylar saying he’s sorry, repeatedly, and Peter saying it doesn’t bring Nathan back; Sylar experiencing Nathan's memories and recalling things that Peter finds deeply disconcerting; Sylar saying every time Peter picks up the sledge he thinks he’s about to get hit, Peter saying he thinks about braining him every time he picks up the sledge; Sylar saying he believes he deserves the nothingness, Peter saying he sure doesn’t. It isn’t until Sylar says he’s changed “after all these years,” and Peter says he knows, and seems to really mean it, that his sledge makes a dent in the wall. Seeing the crack, Sylar picks up the other and follows suit. As the light comes through the hole they create, Peter suddenly wakes up in Matt’s basement. There is noise behind him, and the wall falls before Sylar as he steps through the rubble. Sylar asks if any of it was real… Peter, rather than answer that question, says they have to go save Emma. But as they turn to go, we see feet on the stairs. Not Matt, but Eli, and he’s there about these two loose ends.

Quick n’ Dirty Synopsis (Sans Spoilers)

Clare goes to visit her dad and give him the rundown on Sylar’s recent visit, but finds more than she bargained for in his apartment. Sylar meanwhile pays a visit to Matt that is anything but a social call. Peter, too, is seeking Sylar, after accepting the idea that he can help him save Emma. Samuel works to win back the love and faith of his family that he’s fought to create, and proves he will go to any lengths to do so.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS

1. “I love them. I need them. I’ll do whatever I have to do to prove my worth.”
   Samuel realizes that after the destruction of the nearby town, the other Carnival residents have either left or, for those that remain, regard him with fear and mistrust. When Clare shows up to talk to Lydia, he sees a shot at redemption, and offers to turn himself over to Noah if he promises the safety of his family. Clare orchestrates the trade via cell phone, but as Samuel is giving himself a touching send-off, he is shot through the shoulder as bullets rain down on the residents. In the aftermath, Lydia is mortally wounded; but as Samuel holds her in his arms he kisses her, and allows her to see into his soul.
   
   Her dying breath reveals her sight, that he planned the attack, and that his henchman Eli was the one with the automatic weapon. That same henchman is now dragging an unconscious Noah into the mainway of the Carnival, and when Clare tries to go to his aid, Doyle prevents her defense and then gives her up to Eli to lock in Samuel’s trailer. Noah is trapped in the House of Mirrors. As Samuel is visiting Lydia’s corpse, Edgar reappears, and believes he is responsible for leading Noah to them. Emma also arrives on the scene, to care for Samuel’s wound. With Emma on the grounds, is Angela’s dream that much closer to coming to fruition?
   
2. “Parkman, take a load off, have a nosh… we really need to catch up.”
   Sylar shows up at Matt’s door, is fed by Janice (ever the charming hostess), and then demands that Matt suppress his powers, allow him to return to “normalcy” and restore his humanity so that he can have a real, human relationship. Matt makes two attempts, and when Janice unwittingly walks back in Sylar makes a play for her life, believing Matt needs proper motivation. Matt asks for one more shot, begging a breather and attending to Janice. She tells Matt he has to bury Sylar so he cannot kill again. Matt takes her at her word: rather than simply suppressing Sylar’s powers, he traps him inside his own head, with nothing but his immortality intact. While Sylar ‘”sleeps,” Matt drags him to his basement and begins to brick him up inside a wall. Looks like there really is a little bit of Sylar left in him.
   
3. “One isolated act does not make Sylar your friend’s savior.”
   After borrowing Angela’s power, Peter has the same dream she has repeatedly: Emma in the middle of the Carnival, playing till her fingers bleed, people feeling in terror and pain… and Sylar appearing to save her. Peter goes to Angela at her request, but ends up making one of his own: where is Sylar? She tells him, and he goes to Parkman’s, just in time to stop him sealing up the last of the brick. Peter, having borrowed Matt’s power on the way in to ensure he couldn’t lie about his whereabouts, reaches in, touches Sylar’s temple, and finds himself caught in his own empty city.
   
4. “I can handle this… you don’t have to worry about me.”
   Lauren is part of Noah’s plan of attack on the Carnival, but what she doesn’t count on is being shot when Eli takes aim. As she lies bleeding in the woods, she sees Eli walk past carrying the unconscious Noah he ambushed, and she can’t even return fire because her firing arm has been taken out. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and she makes a call to someone Noah had told her to ring in case their plan failed. On the other end of the line? Tracy Strauss.

Quick n’ Dirty Synopsis (Sans Spoilers)

Clare finds herself unable to discuss Nathan’s death and continuing to build walls against the one person she can trust. Hiro finds himself in the fight of, and for, his life. Samuel finds that charm will only extend a fantasy so far. And Sylar tries to find… himself.

We’re gonna try a new format today, because I don’t think anyone has time to read an epic novel; you may as well watch the show online Tuesday night, right? Comments and opinions welcome!

GAME HIGHLIGHTS

1. Mohinder repairs/ creates a compass for Noah, then leaves to go and make amends with a girl he broke a promise to. Hiro assures them all he is fine, but as Mohinder departs, first his water glass and then he crash to the floor. He finds himself stuck in his subconscious, where his father is Judge, Adam Monroe is the prosecution, Ando is for the defendant, and the good people of the Burnt Toast Diner are his jury.
2. Samuel cleans himself up and goes a-courtin’ with Vanessa, taking her into town for a strawberry milkshake and then re-creating memories from their young adulthood. His charming narrative is all leading up to some big reveal, and when he finally runs with Vanessa into a green meadow and shows her the dream cottage she’s imagined, her reaction is anything but what he was expecting. When she refuses to stay with him, the chink of vulnerability in his armor seems to widen and threaten tears.
3. Adam Monroe calls some interesting witnesses: young Ando and Kimiko and Sylar, to attest to Hiro’s selfish aims. Ando calls Hiro himself for his own defense, and Hiro maintains that everything he has done has been kept to his strict moral code and with the firm belief that he is acting as a hero and manifesting his destiny. But by putting his friends and family first, he has cost others their lives, and he is found guilty of space-time continuum, the penalty for which is death.
4. Sylar manages to get Claire alone long enough to try and make his case for her assisting in helping him find a way to not die alone. Hiro’s word cut far deeper than we could imagine. He probes her… deepest secrets, using the new power courtesy of Lydia (and using some of her methods). What he finds is a hinted at weakness for Gretchen, a whole lot of subtext in the many pauses. She answers him with a pencil to the eye, and breaks for the dorm, where Sylar has unwittingly revealed he’s stored Gretchen.
5. When Claire arrives and unties Gretchen, the lights flicker and the windows implode; the girls take refuge in a storage closet. Claire has a big “ah ha” moment where she admits to Gretchen that she wants to reach out to her, and that maybe Sylar is right, she’s just like him and she’s pushing people away, risking ending up alone, and wishes she had normalcy on her side to make a normal life easier. Gretchen surmises that maybe he has to become more human, then, that maybe the answer to not being alone is in giving up his powers. As Claire thinks, “Gretchen” morphs into Sylar (I thought she was awfully calm for having been tied up and showered in broken glass!). “That wasn’t so hard, was it?”
6. Samuel sends Vanessa home on a bus and returns to the ice cream shopped. In a fit of rage over the loss, he reacts violently to his invented reaction from the waitress, and creates a sinkhole that swallows the town as the Carnival folk look on in horror. He then retreats to his trailer, seemingly broken.
7. After being found guilty, real-time Hiro flat-lines on the operating table as dream-Hiro beings the walk towards the white light. But as he begins to go, he decides to go with honor. In changing his original plea, he is given the chance to fight for his honor anew in our world. In his world, this translates to a katana fight with Adam Monroe, one which seems lost until a newfound strength bolsters him, and he slays Monroe. His mother appears to him, not to guide him home as he suspects, but to heal him. A kiss on his forehead, and his pulse starts back up on the table. "Some things are more powerful than science. Like destiny."
8. (Next Week) Sylar turns up on Matt Parkman’s doorstep looking for his old police pal. Young Matt gets fussy, and Janice thinks this “Gabriel,” as he introduces himself, looks familiar. Looks like Sylar thinks Matt is the only one who can take away his powers and make him human again.

As reported by THR, Conan O'Brien is working out a deal rumored to be around 40 million dollars that will equal his departure from NBC. As part of the deal, however, it signals the death of more than just Conan's time on NBC.

Sources involved in the settlement negotiations say NBC is keeping the copyrighted and trademarked elements of O'Brien's shows as part of the deal. That means the bits and characters will likely never be seen after O'Brien's "Tonight" ends its run Jan. 22.

Source: THR

What does this mean? It's pretty simple. No more masturbating bear, no more insult dog...it's a sad day in TV land.

Will Conan land on his feet. We can assume. He's a very fun personality and great for TV. Is a deal with Fox possible down the line, certainly, as the network has admited they'd love to have Conan, but wouldn't comment more, not wanting to lock themselves in a law suit or give the impression they've already spoken with Conan.

With the copyrights being written into Conan's leaving, do you think this will have an affect on Conan's potential future shows? Let us know what you think.

If you weren't watching 24 tonight, you might have actually caught all of the Golden Globes. If you did miss the show, here are the results.

Best Television Series: Mad Men
Best Performance/Actress in a TV Series(Drama): Julianna Margulies
Best Performance/Actor in a TV Series(Drama): Michael C. Hall - Dexter
Best Television Series(Comedy or Musical): Glee
Best Performance/Actress in a TV Series(Comedy or Musical): Toni Collette(United States of Tara)
Best Performance/Actor in a TV Series(Comedy or Musical): Alec Baldwin (30 Rock)
Best Mini Series or Motion Picture Made for TV: Grey Gardens
Best Performance (Actress) in a Mini Series: Drew Barrymore(Grey Gardens)
Best Performance (Actor) in a Mini Series: Kevin Bacon(Taking Chance)
Best Performance In A Supporting Role: Chloe Sevigny(Big Love) and John Lithgow(Dexter)

To see the remaining results, click here.

With another episode of Chuck coming up tomorrow night, it's time for a triple shot of Chuck as last week featured three episodes. The reviews, due to the amount of Chuck that aired, are shorter than usual, but will hit on the highlights of each. I'll also delve into my general thoughts on the new season and where they are going.

Let's begin...

Season 3: Episode 1
Chuck Versus The Pink Slip

With the upgraded Intersect, Chuck wants to become a real spy, but he fails his training, so he is fired instead. Chuck needs to find a way back into spy business.
Source: TV.com

Episode Highlights:

• Chuck is a spy (or trying to be). Ultimately, Chuck fails spy school loses Sarah, and grows a beard.
• Emmett's death? One word too many from the former Buy More manager...pussy
• Chuck's addition to Cheeseballs...more than mildy entertaining. Watching the Buy More under Emmett's control: priceless as well.
  
• In an attempt to get his job and Sarah back, Chuck ends up messing up another mission when he fails to identify The Ring assassin when he saves Sarah's life while using his intersect skills to learn how to play guitar at a night club in the process.
• In the end, Chuck's mistakes still work out ok. As usual, Chuck finds a way to save the day, rescuing both him and Sarah from their captivity in Mexico: Casey gets to use the gun he's been dying to use.
  

 Key Mythology Moments:

• Chuck broke it off with Sarah because he believed he could make a difference as a spy. Quite a change from the Chuck in love we saw in "Chuck Versus The Ring".
• Chuck utilizes a few intersect abilities, including Kung Fu, the ability to play guitar, and Kung Fu(again).
• In classic Chuck style, the Chuck/Sarah relationship took the standard one step forward, two steps backward approach as it's done in previous seasons.
• Chuck gets his spy job back...this time because "The world needs to be kept safe from Chuck..."
  

Trivia Facts:

• In the beginning of the episode after Chuck has returned to Burbank, a sequence of clips are put together very similar to that of the movie the Big Lebowski. The sequence ends with Chuck officially growing a beard.
• Who knew the Buy More sold Cheese Balls? Also, who knew Chuck would get addicted to them?
• The end of the episode featured an iconic scene. Rocky anyone.

Season 3: Episode 2
Chuck Versus The Three Words

When Carina is back in town, Chuck flashes on her fiancé, identifying him as an arms dealer, so Chuck is assigned to a new mission with Sarah, Carina and Casey, but his emotions come in the way. Meanwhile, Big Mike is back to manage the store, and Morgan falls for Carina.

Episode Highlights:

• Karena returns and Chuck and Sarah go under the cover of the all too similar, boyfriend/girlfriend.
• Chuck uses his intersect skills to amazingly break through what can only be described as a "very intense security system" only to set it off with his lovable, but sometimes annoying emotions.
• John Casey wears a mustache and gets offended when Karena assumes he could be her father. Only way to trump the outfit, Casey is forced to give a speech that Chuck fans won't soon forget, toasting Karena and her mark/fiancee's upcoming marriage.
• Big Mike is back in charge at the Buy More and a brand new man (and dressed to impress).
  

Key Mythology Moments:

• Sarah finally gets a chance to see Chuck say "I Love You", only to continue to lie to herself about her own emotions for Chuck. Even with the way Chuck left her at the train station, it's clear she's struggling to keep her emotions in check...again.
  

Trivia Facts:

• Morgan attempted to hit on returning guest star Mini Aden(Karena) in her first appearance on the show. This time, things worked out better for him...strangely, all by just saying no.

Season 3: Episode 3
Chuck Versus The Angel de la Muerte

Premier Alejandro Goya, a dictator who wants to open his country for democratic elections, is treated at Westside Medical Hospital, where Captain Awesome and Ellie work. The team is assigned to protect Goya during his stay, while Chuck has to gain some inside medical information about Goya by using Devon.

Episode Highlights:

• We learn a little of Casey's past, as he's attempted to assassinate the Premier on three seperate occasions. He's obviously failed in all three attempts.
• Chuck and his family are mixed into the mission together as Captain Awesome has taken an interest in the spy world and much of the episode takes place in the hospital.
• Awesome saves the Premier's life and is invited to the ball he's holding. Chuck and Sarah also attend with Casey unable to attend due to his being known to the Premier as the "Angel of Death"
• Awesome tackling Casey to the ground when he believes him to be the assassin. The "oh sh*t" look on his face was worth watching again.
• Chuck saving Casey's life by using his intersect skills to become a doctor. Awesome is shocked by Chuck's ability and Casey is just pissed that his blood saved a man he tried to kill on multiple occasions. To add insult to injury, he's called the "Angel of Life".

Key Mythology Moments:

• Anytime we learn about Casey's past it's interesting. Learning about Casey's failed jobs always gives Sarah a chance to give him a hard time.
• Awesome officially begins to be integrated into the spy world. With his being kidnapped, it appears we'll see more of Awesome in the spy world as the season goes on.
• It appears as Ellie may have some trouble with both of the men in her lives this season, as Chuck becomes more distant as he's immersed in the spy world and Awesome struggles to spend time with her between work and potentially, spy work.
• Emotional stuff with Sarah and Chuck...yeah, that happened too.

Season 3 Thoughts:
First off, my apology for such quick takes on the episodes this week. With all the episodes and attempting to put together a Fringe review, there was a lot on the plate this week.

That being said, the writers of Chuck are to be creditted. They said Chuck would have abilities, but it wouldn't ruin the show. I agree. While the first episode was rough around the edges at times, each episode only got better. The latest of the bunch, was spectacular and it's clear that Awesome will see more screen time. That's not a bad thing.

Chuck himself, is still doofy, and learning the ropes. Despite his abilities, he's unable to use them perfectly and even when he can, he's open to mess up the situation(see episode 2). I thought Chuck lost some of his "lovability" with his dissing of Sarah, but he appears to slowly be earning that back. Perhaps a better reason could have come out regarding why he didn't want to go with Sarah, but it works.

So what's next on Chuck: Chuck Versus Operation Awesome
Chuck becomes Captain Awesome's handler in order to save him from the Ring.

The battle of late night supremacy at the peacock network continues. Here's the latest in the Leno/O'Brien battle.

• Conan's last night is rumored to be January 22nd...at least when it comes to hosting an 11:35 show. Team O'Brien is working on getting the best possible guests to bring to the show if this is indeed the case. Rumored potential guests include Howard Stern, who has openly stated his dislike of Jay Leno in the past.
• Conan officially released this statement regarding his thoughts on Late Night and why it needs to remain in the 11:35 timeslot. DVR? Conan doesn't care. Tradition matters to the crazy haired man.
• What did Leno have to say? Something like this...

Now, with all the entertainment coming out of this debacle, it's time to take a look at a few videos that highlight some of the more amusing attempts to make humor out of NBC's issues.

Check them out below.

Lost is already chalk full of returns in Season 6. One name that's been listed as NOT returning for the longest time has been that of Cynthia Watros, known for her Libby character with Lost fans. Libby in particular drew a lot of attention due to an "incomplete" storyline that showed her character inconnection to Hurley.

Fans may or may not, find out if Libby's more "insane" backstory. Showrunners Cuse and Lindelof haven't made it clear, but made reference to the Libby storyline that many Lost fans have complained was left unanswered for years.

"So finally your Libby questions will be answered," said Cuse, referring to the character's enigmatic — and incomplete — backstory. "No, they will not," joked Lindelof.

Source: TV Guide

Also returning to the set will be Harold "WALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLT" Perrineau.  Interested in who else is returning to Lost in Season 6? Check out this link. Don't want a spoiler? Don't click it....even though you know you want to...