Before I begin this liveblog, I want to address statements I've seen in other reviews.  Many people on other sites claim that The Sacrifice from last week cut away from the gore and was obviously cut for network tv.  OF COURSE IT WAS.  IT'S ON NETWORK TV!  Even then, I defy you to show me another show on network tv that had some of the visuals seen in this episode. 

Also, they were annoyed about the commercials, claiming tension couldnt be built up.  A) Last I heard, these were going to be released uncut later on on dvd.  Just like Masters of Horror.  and B) I did not see a single time in the last episode where the commercial break killed tension.  If anything the commercials served as almost a afterthought after some moment in the plot or story where the action reached a crescendo. Once they were over, the action picked up right where it left off.

My favorite though...had to be the guy mad about the presence of the NBC watermark in the corner the whole episode.  I assume that person has never seen tv in the last 5-6 years since EVERY CHANNEL DOES THAT.

Now then.  On to the episode at hand:

1000 PM:  Well thats a hell of a lot darker than I thought Eric Roberts could pull off.  Nice scene.

1002 PM:  Hey wasnt that guy playing the criminal in "Pick Me Up"?  I could be wrong....

1006 PM:  I think I'm finding this exchange on Harry's methods way too amusing.

1007 PM:  I'm really surprised at the range Eric Roberts is showing.

1009 PM:  NICE!  Completely unethical....but nice!

1009 PM:  What the hell is up with those pants?....eh minor.

1010 PM:  Ep's movin slooooooow.  Comparatively with last week I mean, not that thats a bad thing.

1011 PM:  I take a similar amount of sugar in my coffee.  Just a random thought.

1013 PM:  Crime scene tape?

1014 PM:  I saw a review of The Incredible Hulk on a horror site today.  I have no idea what it was doing there.

1015 PM:  It occurs to me as I type this that Brad Anderson, the director of this ep, did the Sounds Like ep in Season 2.  I liked that ep, even though it moved very slowly.  This one, I'm not so sure yet.  Very little's really happened yet.

1017 PM:  Why is Nashville Star on this network?  What is this, like it's 4th network?

1017 PM:  Where have I seen his partner before......and the We will Kill you in grafitti on the back of the door and Bodies in basement written on the wall were nice.  Set design and props are the hallmark of this ep thus far.

1019 PM:  Surprising how little music is in this after last week's great sound work.

1021 PM:  And just as I say that, Anderson starts messing with the senses.  Well he does have a style....

1022 PM:  Seems to be a far more cerebral ep than last weeks.

1023 PM:  Are we really going the witchcraft route here?

1024 PM:  That was decent.....yet a bit lowkey...music was nice...and a decent buildup...but a bit much for pretty much a glorified jumpscare.

1025 PM:  ARE WE CGI-ING SHADOWS IN A WINDOW NOW????  REALLY????

1026 PM:  What the hell was that he stepped in....and i'm liking the continuously changing grafitti figures.....but this episode really is far too lowkey and ghost storyesque thus far.  Unless this changes fast, I'd think they shouldve moved this toward the middle of the season.

1029 PM:  Wow...that was a really really dumb ad for Secret flawless deodorant.  Just a thought.

1031 PM:  Social worker's a bit hammy.  Okay, no, REALLY hammy.  lol

1033 PM:  This had better be building to one hell of a climax and soon.

1034 PM:  I think the thing he stepped in had bullets, teeth, and FEATHERS??? in it....weird.

1035 PM:  And it doesnt occur to him that it's odd that Howdy Doody is playing on the tv.....OK THAT WAS GOOD.  The grafitti figures have been the best damn things in this ep.

1036 PM:  At least his partner's good comic relief.

1037 PM:  Was he just watching......?  Was that what that was supposed to be?  If it was, they couldve done it better.

1039 PM:  Anyone know why Snoopy shills for Met Life?  I'm just curious.

1041 PM:  WHAT IS THIS THE FREAKING PREDATOR?  IS HE A GHOST HUNTER NOW INSTEAD OF A P.I.?

1042 PM:  This climax is getting better......I liked the otherworldliness of his flashback.  And how his color just kinda blends into the background.

1043 PM:  OH NICE!  That explains the teeth and blood thing.  Feathers mustve been my imagination.

1044 PM:  Ok, im not so sure he was in Pick Me Up now, but I have seen him before.  I just don't know where.

1045 PM:  THATS WHERE WE'RE GOING WITH THIS?...3......2.......1........

1046 PM:  THERE IT IS.  We're recycling Masters of Horror sidetwists eh?  Nicely filmed but unless they surprise me...um, like now...that was totally irrelevant.

1049 PM:  GOD THAT GUY IS SO GOOD IN THIS EP.  please please show it.  please.....damn.  That would've been a fun visual for network tv.  Came close though.

1050 PM:  In commercial now, I can say that that was a very nice climax actually...it just took way way way too long to get there in an hour ep.  In this case I do think that these commercials hurt the ep, only because they pad out the running time and interrupt the slower part of the ep.  In the first ep, there were almost like, spaces for them.  like perfect slots that prevented loss of tension and atmosphere.  Here they just dragged the ep out with them.

1053 PM:  I like this ending thus far.  It's kinda lifting the opening a bit.

1055 PM:  Saw that part coming.

1059 PM:  I'm just gonna say it...after seeing that preview for "Family Man", next week, I bet you money I know what the "Twist you'll never see coming" is.  I'll say when I do this next week if I do.

Overall, a far smaller step back than I thought at the start.  Eric Roberts is very very good in this episode as is the criminal.  The social worker's very hammy most of the episode but calmed down at the end.  This episode is actually hurt far more by network tv, not by lack of gore but by commercials that make the episode longer.  For that reason, when they release this on dvd, the far quicker story will probably be better.  This didnt hurt the sacrifice because the action was constant.  The ending/climax lifts this ep big time.  But its nowhere near the standard thus far, The Sacrifice.  I will say this.  The atmosphere/props/set design are brilliant.  It's just set design doesnt carry an ep.  Worth seeing, and hopefully better without the breaks in the slower parts of the ep.  In fact, the last commercial didnt feel as bad.  Because there was action in front of it, not just random exposition.

And yes, I do realize the irony of mentioning a flaw related to commercials in the episode in the same post as lambasting people for it in another review.  Thank you.