Something funny has happened since the rough start to the fourth season. “Heroes” has actually gotten some good storylines going. I find that the success or failure of an episode has everything to do with which plot threads are currently being explored, and by extension, which characters are involved. I mentioned this in a review for one of the earlier fourth season episodes, and it continues to be true.

I’ve liked the Matt/Sylar battle since the beginning of the season, and it’s only gotten better with time. I thought that Sylar’s ploy to take over Matt’s body was very well done, but I think I like Matt’s chess game with Sylar in this episode even more. Both of them are playing for high stakes and adopting a “scorched earth” policy that fits their personalities. Sylar is willing to destroy Matt’s life and kill innocents to gain advantage; Matt is willing to sacrifice his own life to stop Sylar.

This is one of those wonderful mythology-laden episodes that serves the interests of both longtime fans and those only familiar with “Smallville”. It’s entirely possible to watch this episode without any prior knowledge of the franchise and understand the context of it all. That it touched on parallels to earlier seasons of the show, and managed to tie together some of the loose ends over the years, also made this a winner.

The idea of alien creatures in “Fringe”, even if just as a riff on the ongoing exploration of the meaning of consciousness, leaves me a bit uncertain. I would have been a little happier if the “infection” of the cosmonaut had been revealed as a catalyst for the fragmentation of the cosmonaut’s own consciousness, or even just a fragment of it.

After all, the treatment of this rogue consciousness was very similar to the reports of “shadow people” in the paranormal investigative world. Granted, such phenomena isn’t said to result in people turning into ash, but there were strong similarities, particularly in terms of the video evidence and the unusual electromagnetic effects. Merging the current legends and lore of “shadow people” to this particular story could have grounded it in the semi-familiar world. (At least, for those already with an interest in “fringe science”.)

I personally think the concepts at play in the show are complicated enough without adding alien consciousnesses to the mix. If there is one thing that has marked genre shows produced by JJ Abrams, it is a tendency to expand the frame of unusual reference a little too far. Keeping the scope of the series to the bizarre fringes of technological advancement between two parallel universes should give them more than enough room to maneuver. Adding aliens into the mix expands the boundaries a bit more than necessary.

I get the distinct feeling that the writers for “Supernatural” are trying to bring some of the lighter moments into the season early because the latter half of the season is going to be the darkest stretch yet. Even episodes like this, clearly based on an idea with pure comic potential, comes to a close with a heavy dose of dread. Considering that it’s the apocalypse, that’s probably not a huge shock.

Comedy is subjective, but I thought it was great to see the writers spoof their own most difficult timeslot competition. “CSI” has some truly awful writing and acting across the board, and “Grey’s Anatomy” is overwrought soap opera. I loved the sitcom opening credits and the “Knight Rider” spoof, and that commercial fooled me the first time through.

This was billed as a much-anticipated episode, and it certainly had its allure. The Hiro/Charlie episodes were some of the best of the first season, and I was interested to see how the current version of Hiro would manage to interact with the old timeline without causing massive problems and changes. Add Samuel to the mix, and things get really complicated.

After a couple of episodes devoted to Oliver, positioning him as a hero again in time for the real fireworks to start, this seems like a bit of a transitional installment. It’s focused mostly on the relationships and setting up subplots, and for that reason alone, it feels a little bit like filler. If progress hadn’t been made on the Clark/Lois relationship, it might have been completely unnecessary.

As it is, there’s not much to the episode. The playful banter between Clark and Lois does speak to their chemistry. After so many years together on the show, they’ve fallen into a good rhythm and the verbal sparring comes naturally. Erica Durance has really settled into the role, even to the point where she seems to be enjoying the chance to be more than the eye candy.

Written by Jane Espenson
Directed by Edward James Olmos

“The Plan” is a direct-to-DVD film for “Battlestar Galactica” that promises to answer one of the more obvious questions from the series run: what exactly was this “plan” that the Cylons had, as referenced endlessly in the first couple seasons? Fans have been waiting a long time for this particular story, as told from the perspective of the Cylons. But as the old saying going: while all answers are replies, not all replies are answers.

So it is with “The Plan”.

If anyone was worried that the writers for “Supernatural” would have little time to tell some side stories this season, they have nothing to fear. This episode had almost nothing to do with the overall season arc or the troubled relationship between the Brothers Winchester, and could almost have taken place at any time in the series’ run. If it hadn’t been for the exploration of Bobby’s circumstance, it would have felt completely divorced from the ongoing crisis.

A lot of fans have been waiting semi-patiently for this show to address its truly dark core scenario. It’s been touched upon in the past, significantly in “Man on the Street”, “Epitaph One”, and “Vows”, but this episode finally brings it front and center. Everything that is wrong with the morals in “Dollhouse” comes into clear focus, and while there are some semi-heroic actions along the way, it’s clear that self-delusion is still in full effect.

I suspect this is another instance where a well-known DC comics character has been adapted into the “Smallville” universe. I’m simply not versed enough in the comics canon to know or even care. Within the context of the episode Roulette serves a specific and time-honored purpose, and while her own characterization was a bit sparse, I enjoyed the overall effect.

The writers have mined this particular plot device before: “Mercy” and “Committed” spring to mind. It’s a variation on the good old “sink or swim” method: place a person in crisis to push them into revealing their true strengths or weaknesses. It’s a method to be used when internal sources of conflict aren’t getting the job done, and external pressures are the only remaining recourse. Of course, there is the drawback that any such method is as much about the motives of the individual behind the “game” as it is the needs of the individual being forced to play.