10.26.2007

APRIL??

Season 4 of Battlestar Galactica will premiere in April: "Last season ended with a stunning revelation: Four of the characters aboard Galactica that have been helping lead the resistance discovered themselves to be Cylons, the robotic race apparently set on destroying humans. Moore said he’s directing an episode set deep in the Cylon world, as well as aboard Galactica. “On Galactica, things have really begun to fall apart ... and the relationship between President Laura Roslin [Mary McDonnell] and Adm. William Adama [Edward James Olmos] is going to get pretty interesting.” "

Interesting, I like, and in fact I can deal with April; but if SciFi decides to split the season in two and air the second half in 1999, I will NOT be happy!

'Splain, please!



I wonder, were the people who own the undamaged house just really lucky, or were they the only ones who stayed and pushed back the fire with garden hoses?

Amazing.

1,182:00...1,181:59...1,181:58...1.181:57...



(thanks, tmft!)

I guess I'm not the only person who thinks this show will drive me to drink.

Daniel Dae Kim is the third LOST actor to be arrested for DUI.

Why so many? Is it the island party atmosphere? Is it the rigors of shooting this particular show? Or are the Hawaiian cops just more strict?

God, it's killing me not to make a lame Hawaii Five-O joke. However, I will say that Mr. Kim does seem to favor the Jack Lord method of hairstyling. With a little James Brown thrown in for good measure...

10.24.2007

Heroes: Episode 2.04

Fight or Flight

The individual story threads are starting to come together...

Mohinder takes Molly, who is still very sick from her encounter with the Nightmare Man last week, in to the Company, where he thinks she can be best looked after. Man, for a professor, Mohinder is not very smart. While there, Bob tells him that he needs to leave Molly in their care and go out in the field to retrieve a Hero. Bob gives him a taser, in case the target is not willing to come along peacefully. That taser comes in handy about 5 seconds later when Nikki bursts in and attacks Bob. Nikki's tasered and then strapped to a bed. Mohinder wants to save her but she tells him that she wants to stay. Bob is curing her, she says. Apparently she's there for her Multiple Personality Disorder. I was really hoping she was going to have the virus.

It seems that Monica's ability is not just restricted to what she sees on TV - she is a "muscle mimic" and can copy any physical activity she sees. That's according to Micah, who figures out Monica's secret and tells her about his parents' powers and that he thinks they are meant to do something special. He shows her a 9th Wonders comic with the sillouhette of a kung-fu-kicking female hero on the cover, with the title, "Who is St. Joan?" (BTW, who is drawing the comic now that Isaac is dead?) Later that night, Monica is picking up some Bruce Lee moves from the TV when the doorbell rings. It's Mohinder on an errand from The Company. Dun-dun- DUN.

The Wandering Rocks is the dullest, most empty Oirish pub I have ever seen. There's never anyone in it!

Anyway, a lot happens with Peter. A young blonde woman named Elle shows up at the dockyards, looking for Peter in the shipping container. Will tells her that Peter's at the pub and you can't miss him because there's never anyone in there. As she leaves she runs her hand along the side of a container and jolts of electricity dance between her hands and the container. I think I know where Peter got that ability from. Some old drunk gives Ricky and Peter a heads-up about the blonde girl, so Ricky sends Peter to Caitlin's and stays behind to deal with Ms. Mars. Caitlin it seems, is a painter, and when he sees a blank canvas in her flat, Peter pulls an Isaac and goes all white-eyed and paint-y. He paints a street scene, from either Paris or Montreal by the look of the French street signs, with a man and woman standing outside a door that has the Godsend symbol on the wall above it. Oh, and while at Caitlin's Peter also finally opens that damn box, only to find his driver's license, his passport, a photo of him and Nathan together and an airline ticket from New York to Montreal. (If I were Peter and I saw that picture, I would totally wonder if I was gay before I lost my memory)

While all this is going on at Caitlin's, Elle shows up at the Wandering Rocks looking for Peter. Ricky says he's never seen Peter, but Elle doesn't believe him. She fries him like the Emperor fried Darth Vader and finds out where Peter is; however, before she gets a chance to go into Caitlin's apartment and get Peter, she talks to her father (Bob?) on the phone, who chastises her for killing Ricky and tells her to come home (I'm making assumptions, btw - we only ever hear Elle's side of the conversation). When Caitlin and Peter find out that Ricky is dead, Peter decides it's time to stop hiding. Finally.

We get another small update on Hiro's activity when Ando brings damaged scrolls from the sword to some guy who can clean them up for him. All they basically say is that he continues helping Kensei to succeed at his trials in the lead up to saving Yaeko's father from White Beard. When we last hear from Hiro, Kensei, Hiro and Yaeko are about to attack White Beard's army and Kensei and Yaeko are deeper in love.

Parkman chickens out and avoids going directly after his father, even though he nearly killed Molly to get his location, and decides that he should interrogate Mrs. Petrelli first, since she was in the photo with his dad. She tells him nothing. Nathan's at the police station and Parkman tells him that he has to go to Philadelphia to find his father and make him fix what he did to Molly. Nathan talks him into letting him tag along (yay!). There's a joke about Nathan and Matt flying together to Philly, and I'm not sure whether or not they did, but boy am I glad we didn't see that!

They find the elder Parkman (Maury) at the address that Molly gave. (I must comment on how incredibly hot Nathan looks in these apartment scenes.) Maury says that he also got a photo of himself with the Godsend symbol on it and that he's afraid for his life. Parkman and Nathan demand that he tell them everything about the past and the Company. Maury ends up leading Parkman and Nathan into a part of the apartment where he traps them in their own worst nightmares: Parkman is stuck in jail and has abandoned his own child, just like his father; and Nathan is on Deveaux's roof, looking at out a post-apocalyptic New York he thought he had saved, fighting with his radiation-burned doppelganger. Parkman figures out what's going on and uses his mental power to pull them both out of their respective illusions, but not before Maury leaves with an evil smile on his face.

In the mess from the fight, Nathan finds a photo of Bob with the Godsend symbol on it, so he and Parkman leave to go save Bob from Maury.

10.23.2007

Nibblonians, ATTACK!

How weird am I that I'm a 43-year-old woman and I'm excited beyond words about the release of a new Futurama movie on DVD?? And it's just the first of three!

Here's the trailer for "Bender's Big Score":

10.22.2007

This post brought to you by a very proud Auntie.


Go Hannah!, originally uploaded by gina64.

Hannah was accepted to the US Youth Soccer Olympic Development Program. She's an amazing player and a great kid.

I'm so proud of her.

You can't call yourself White Trash until you've gotten arrested for fighting in a Waffle House.



That's a nice collection of mug shots he's got going there.

It was a great game.

10.19.2007

Barn


09-02-2007 005, originally uploaded by gina64.

I remember the day we first met.

10.18.2007

I'm trying not to think about what would have happened if she sat down.

NYC woman finds python in the toilet: "Brunacci says she started using her daughter's training toilet after the scare in her third-floor apartment. And when she brushes her teeth, she said, 'I'm looking over my shoulder.'"

I think this calls for a rewatch of An Affair to Remember.

Joey Bishop and Deborah Kerr have died. Would anyone care to take a guess at who will be the third? Because you know these things always happen in threes...

(I'm going to be severely punished by God or karma or whatever for saying this, but I hope whoever it is is on my Death Pool List -- but not someone who dies before their time, no matter how many points that would get me!).

TV Talk

Bionic Mess - I am thisclose to throwing in the towel on this one, and it breaks my heart. I was so excited when I heard they were bringing this back, especially with some of the Battlestar Galactica people and Glen Morgan from The X-Files on the creative team. I should have know it was a bad sign when Morgan was replaced before the pilot even aired.

I haven't seen a show this bad in a long time. Michelle Ryan is like a walking, talking bionic black hole who sucks the life out of every scene she's in. She has about as much charisma as a potted plant and just about as many facial expressions, too. And yet, as dull as she is, her line readings seem rushed, like she starts speaking before the person she talks to do is finished with their line. How the hell did she get this part?

Then, as if it's not bad enough that the lead actor isn't getting the job done, the writing is horrific. The whole Paraguay subplot last night was impenetrable and the action scenes - don't get me started! I couldn't believe it when she bent the fan back and it started up again! And where did all of those "terrorists" come from when they were escaping? Were they all waiting outside? And why can't Jaime the supposed genius come up with a better excuse for why she has to go out of town? Couldn't she have just told her sister that her employer was sending her away for a few days? The writers need to pop in season 1 of Alias to see how it's done right.

Once again, Sarah Corvus was the only watchable part of the show, but I swear it's getting to the point now where not even she is going to be enough to keep me watching.

I give it just one more week.

Good Morning


Good Morning, originally uploaded by gina64.

Every morning these two stinkers lie on my bed as I get ready for work, sometimes with their chewy bones, and they make it SO hard to leave.

10.17.2007

Suspect says he killed, not ate, his girlfriend.

Oh. Well that's okay, then: "Calva told prosecutors he killed Galeana after an argument, then cut an arm and a leg off of her body so that he could dispense of it in parts."

10.16.2007

Heroes: Episode 2.04

The Kindness of Strangers

What a difference a week makes! This episode finds the show back to form, in part because there is no Peter or Hiro. I love those characters, but their storylines are just sucking the life out of this show right now.

We are introduced to another new Hero this week, but unlike Maya and Alejandro, this one is a (more) welcome addition. Her name is Monica, she's Micah's cousin and she's really cool. She's working at a fast food restaurant to support her family (Grandma Uhura, her brother Damon and Micah) in post-Katrina New Orleans and she's just discovering her ability: She is able to mimic whatever physical activity she sees...on TV. She thwarts a would-be robber at the restaurant by coming down hard on him with a move she saw in a pay-per-view wrestling match. I think the disappointment of being passed over for a managerial position at the Burger Bonanza will fade soon enough. And I think she needs to bone up on some Ultimate Fighting on Spike.

Mrs. Petrelli is in the hospital, being treated for the wounds she suffered at the hands of the "Invisible Man" last week. Except she tells Parkman that the wounds are self-inflicted and she did it because she felt guilty for murdering Kaito. Parkman knows she's not telling the truth, but she telepathizes him, telling him to just drop it. I wonder who she's covering for? Or protecting?I have to say that they did a wonderful job casting the Petrellis - Nathan and his mother really do look like they're related.

Speaking of Nathan and looks, he has shaved his beard and he is looking HOT. I love the longer hair. Parkman tells him that he can read minds and he knows Nathan can fly and that his mother is lying. He asks Nathan for help with the case and Nathan finds a copy of the original Elder photo, which shows all 12 of the originals. The ones I recognize: Linderman, Deveaux, Mrs. Petrelli, Kaito, and Bob (formerly known here as Company Man). He points out his father, who is facing away from the camera, and Parkman recognizes someone else in the photo: his own father! Mr. Parkman was one of the 12! Also in the photo is a swarthy, Latin-y looking gentleman with a mustache - perhaps he is somehow related to Maya and Alejandro?

Later, while alone in his apartment, Nathan sees the disfigured/burnt/irradiated face in the mirror again, and this time it's definite that it's his own face he's looking at, not Peter's. What it means, I'm not sure yet, but did you see Nathan's weird thumb?? I'm wondering if something happened to it when Pasdar was in that car accident long ago.

Anyway, the Maya and Alejandro story finally gets interesting when they almost run over a body lying across the road. The three (remember Derek?) of them get out to check the body, flip it over...and it's Sylar. Sylar! How did he get there? Do you think he was really unconscious in the road, or was it just a trick? He hops in and they all head for the border.

Maya tells Sylar that they are going to NY and she shows him the book. He tells her he knows Dr. Suresh and she thinks Sylar is the best thing since sliced bread. But Alejandro ain't so sure. Sylar tells the kids he will take them to Dr. Suresh. Later, Sylar kills Derek so he won't go to the police about Maya and her brother. When Sylar tells them that the police might be close, Maya gets upset and starts with the black eye thing. Alejandro stops her from doing any serious harm to Sylar, but Sylar is...intrigued, to say the least. They take off for the US together, leaving Derek's body behind.

HRG is understandably fixated on the painting of his future death. Since Claire is kissing someone in it, he decides to try to change the future by telling her she can't see any boys. Too late, Dad. Claire lies about seeing West and tells HRG that the reason she's been out late is that she's gone against his wishes and tried out for and made the cheerleading squad. He's not happy with that, but it's better than dating, which leads to kissing some guy while your father lies dead nearby, so he allows it. (And I'm not happy that they are lying to each other- I prefer them when they're working together). The Haitian shows up and tells HRG that he's got a lead on another painting and it's in Odessa - the one in the Ukraine, not Texas. Road trip!

I should metion that West was less pushy and controlling this week and was actually kind of sweet. I'm just kind of bored with him. He'd be more interesting if he was bad. We know he was taken at some point by the Company - maybe he was "turned", like Parkman was?

Which brings us to...Parkman. After seeing his father in the photo, he tells Mohinder that his father abandoned him when he was 13 and he hasn't seen him since. I guess Mr. Parkman wasn't such a great guy and he stole money from people. Parkman wants to use Molly to locate his father because he might be in danger, or he might be putting other people in danger. But when she sees the photo, Molly freaks out and says that Mr. Parkman is the Nightmare Man! Mohinder doesn't think it's such a great idea to push her to do this, and the two of them argue about it. In order to keep the peace, Molly agrees to do her locating trick to find Parkman's dad. She narrows his location down to an apartment building in Philadelphia, but Parkman pushes her for the floor and then the apartment number. She's gets the information, but she's gone too far and Mr. Parkman "sees" her; the Nightmare Man does something to her and she falls into a catatonic state. Nice, Parkman! You're a cop, I think you could have managed just fine with only the address of the building!

Next week, Peter and the Oirish are back, but so is Veronica Mars!

ETA: Check out the full photo of the 12 here. Is that Joanna Cassidy on the right between Bob and Mr. Parkman? That would be cool.

10.15.2007

There are no words.

Someone must really hate beauty pageant contestant Stacy Hedger. This is a video of her "talent" and it involves Star Wars, lycra, pantomime and a trumpet. I kid you not.



(thanks, bunch of nerds)

10.11.2007

TV Talk, Cont'd.

A few more thoughts on the shows in my current TV roster (from an e-mail thread with friends):

Back to You – This gets funnier each week, I’m happy to say. Last night’s was good.

Bionic Woman – I’m still with it. Last night’s episode was actually pretty good. Unfortunately, that’s most likely due to the major emphasis on the Katee Sackhoff character. I’m still unconvinced as to Michelle Ryan’s suitability, but she was better last night. I’m not giving up yet.

Life – From the comments on this post: I tried watching Life the first night it was on. It was an excellent scene where the main character shoots the kid in the apartment, and his partner freaks out because she's got cocaine all over her and she jumps in the shower...but there's just something about that lead actor. He kind of skeeves, for some reason. I think it's his mouth. Not a very good reason to not watch, but there ya have it. What can I say? I'm shallow.

Northern Exposure – I decided this morning that once the days get shorter and the cold weather starts settling in I’m going to embark on a rewatch. I just LOVED this show and I miss it.

Biggest Loser – I’ve gotten completely sucked in to this. It’s got all the trappings of reality programming that I hate – the false drama, the creative editing, the manufactured suspense and repetitiveness and excessive commercial breaks (it’s 90 minutes long!) – but I want to see these people lose the weight. I’m still amazed that they work out as hard as they do and their hearts don’t explode.

Bad Girls – I love it and I don’t want season 3 to end.

CSI – Original Recipe is the best.

Heroes – I think it's kind of obvious that I like this show.

49 Up

The irresistible appeal and pathos of Michael Apted's Up series.: "The examined life: You won't find that on reality TV. You may forget about it in your own frenetic days, or avoid it. No one ever said it was easy to face up to just how fleeting life is, how ineluctably yet unpredictably time changes us, how inevitably the limitless potential of childhood is eroded. Gently, Apted goads a dozen people whom he has described as a kind of extended family to do just that, for us and with us."

I've only ever seen small snippets of previous entries in the Up series, but I did see just about all of 49 Up on Monday night. It's just fascinating. Please try to catch it if you can.

Kiefer gets 48 days.

Plea deal calls for jail time: "Sutherland, who plays a secret agent with nerves of steel on '24,' was hailed by the Fox network and producers of his show for working out a plea bargain that put the good of the series above concerns for his own liberty. If approved by a judge, the sentencing deal would permit him to serve 18 days in jail in late December and early January, when production of the show is on holiday hiatus, and another 30 days once the series is off the air for the summer."

Way to take it like a man, Kiefer.

Now if you could only learn your lesson and not drive drunk.

10.10.2007

TV Talk

Pusing Daisies - It's like a fractured fairytale, like Edward Scissorhands or Amelie or pretty much anything Tim Burton's done (except not so monochromatic) and I really enjoyed it. There's no question that this one is getting a season pass on the DVR. I am concerned about one thing: even if it's a hit, I'm afraid it may still be at risk simply because of its production values. ABC must be spending an awful lot of money on it.

Aliens in America - Sorry to say, I'm done with this one. It's not horrible, just nothing I haven't seen before and could relate to when I was at least 20 years younger.

Oh my GODS.

Highly SPOILERIFIC Battlestar Galactica Season 4 trailer:

10.09.2007

Maybe he thought no one would believe anyone could be that stupid.

Mexican politician Disqualified from Berlin Marathon: "Race officials said Monday they disqualified him for apparently taking a short cut -- an electronic tracking chip indicates he skipped two checkpoints in the race and would have needed superhuman speed to achieve his win. According to the chip, Madrazo took only 21 minutes to cover nine miles -- faster than any human can run. 'Not even the world record holder can go that fast,' race director Mark Milde said"

Heroes: Episode 2.03

Kindred

I think this episode was better than I think it was. I know that doesn't make sense, but I found out today that there were two crucial plot points that I completely spaced on (more on that later), so who knows what else I missed?

That said, I don't think it was a well-executed episode, probably the most boring one I've seen yet. I didn't think I would ever say that about an episode that had Sylar in it. It was even a little cheesy.

Let's dispense with the new guys, Maya and Alejandro, first: just like in the previous two episodes, they are still in Mexico, still on their way to America, still killing people with the black eye poison, still bringing them back to life, only now they have a car and I can't believe they are inserting another Nissan Rogue! Enough with the product placement! Alejandro and Maya are bor-ing. Except for this, the first little item I missed: It's not just any car. From the NBC site:

"She gets the keys and frees her brother and an American prisoner named Derek who has a car they escape in – Claire's Nissan Rogue!"

Oh, OK.

Mohinder and Matt bicker like a married couple because Mohinder will be doing his "spy work" in NYC now and Molly's nightmares are getting worse and Matt is worried it will put her in more danger. Stephen Tobolowsky (we'll call him Company Man) sets Mohinder up with a state-of-the-art lab that just happens to have been installed in Isaac's old loft. Why? I dunno. Unfortunately, Mohinder's spy work is going to be, um, hindered because Company Man is going to be looking over his shoulder at all times.

Hiro is still back in Japan with Kensei and Yaeko. As much as I love Sark, I'm ready for Hiro to get home to Ando. At least we get a nice scene with Ando finding ancient scrolls inserted into the hilt of the Kensei sword he still has; they are notes written to Ando by Hiro, explaining what happened to him in the past. He explains that Kensei did not know he had the power to heal. Hiro showed Kensei his own power and told Kensei he had to fight these 90 Ronin guys to get a fire scroll and set things right again and he did and Yaeko and Kensei fell in love and Hiro was about to head back home but then changed his mind at the last minute. It's all really not very interesting and the CGI is kind of crappy. Come home, Hiro!

Nikki and Micah are back, but not DL, who died since we last saw him. Nikki and Micah head for family in New Orleans, where Micah will stay while Nikki takes care of something. Micah thinks she's going off to do something "bad". Can't say I blame him. Anyway, when Nikki knocks on the door to the house where she's leaving Micah, Uhura answers! You just missed Sulu, Uhura! Later, Nikki calls Company Man on the phone and asks him if he can cure her and he says he can, if she does something for them in return. Does Nikki have the virus?

So as I said, up at the top there, Sylar's still alive. That would have been a cool surprise if they didnt' show him in the previews. Anyway, he was saved by the illusionist Candace, who along with the help of some mysterious entity (the Company?), has been caring for him lo these few months. He's been unconscious this entire time, so first chance he gets he kills Candace and tries to steal her power. He's unsuccessful, however; in fact, none of his powers work! Does he have the virus, too? He runs out of the shack he's being held in but finds that he's been placed in the middle of a huge tropical jungle somewhere.

Peter. Peter, Peter, Peter. I thought they were going to be a little more creative with the whole identity in a box thing, but it was all pretty literal: Peter goes through with the armored car job in order to get the box from Ricky. Considering Peter can get the box from Ricky whenever the hell he wants to - invisibility, telekinesis, mind-reading...hello! - this whole storyline falls apart unless you can convince yourself that he doesn't know all he can do, and he can't control the things he knows about (which they sort of touch on).

So the armored car job goes off without a hitch, Peter ingratiates himself with Ricky by exposing one of his thugs as a backstabber and Ricky gives him the box. OK, good. Except Peter DOESN"T OPEN IT. He's afraid. Welcome back, annoying Peter.

The coolest part of this part of the story, however, was this: Caitlin. For two reasons.

1) "A girl has to have her secrets." I bet I know what her secret is.
2) When Peter and Caitlin kissed, and they showed the tattoo changing from the Irish symbol to the Godsend helix, I totally thought it was Peter's arm. Well, I was wrong, according to NBC:

"Peter is afraid to open the box and Caitlin tries to comfort him as she leans in and kisses him. Unknown to him, her own tattoo fades away and turns into the Godsend helix."

Finally, the Bennetts. West continues his obnoxious henpecking of Claire until she finally breaks down and admits she's a "freak". Which is when West takes her flying and it's kind of sweet but it's also cheesy and I don't like the way he forced her into revealing her ability. Why didn't he just tell her about his after he saw her do the thing with her pinky toe? He's kind of jerky.

But Claire likes him and they kiss on the beach, which is when she spots the 2 hash marks on his neck, which we know is put on the Heroes who have been abducted by the Company. He tells her he was abducted by a "man with Horn-Rimmed Glasses". And Claire knows exactly who he's talking about.

That night, Mohinder calls Bennett and tells him that he found another of the 8 paintings (it's marked "8/8") in Isaac's old loft in a box that's been packed up to be moved. He sends a photo of the painting to Bennett, and it's not good. It shows Bennett lying dead in the foreground, his horn-rimmed glasses askew, with a bullet hole in the lens. Claire and what I assume is West are kissing in the background.

I don't like where this is headed!

RETRACTION: I re-watched the scene where Caitlin and Peter kissed last night and I have to say I agree with the commenters: It was Peter's tattoo that changed to the godsend heli. That was definitely not Caitlin's arm, it's just not anatomically possible. The NBC recap was wrong.

10.08.2007

Pugs on a Rug


Pugs on a Rug, originally uploaded by gina64.

We bought a new rug a little over a week ago and these two little stinkers couldn't wait to get their grubby little paws on it.

Something new and clean and not stinky?? We can't have that!

So how did you spend the weekend?

Me? I went up to Massachusetts and watched 20 episodes of Battlestar Galactica. That has to be a record of some kind, I swear. I think I've just started to get the feeling back in my rear end. And these old hips were not happy last night.

Why did I do this, you ask? Well, I've finally got some of my friends to watch BSG and we've been doing marathon weekends in order to catch up before the Razor movie that's airing on Thanksgiving weekend and more importantly, before season 4 begins in January. I don't feel so alone anymore.

So we've watched through the fourth episode of season 3, which is called "Exodus, Part 2". It's probably my favorite episode of the entire series and is probably one of the best episodes of any series ever put on the air. I don't want to say more about it because I don't want to spoil anyone, but I did want to post this video, which is basically just a way to re-live one of the most amazing action sequences ever put to film. A lot of superlatives, I know, but I just really like it.

There's also something else really cool about it, but I can't say until my friends have finished watching season 3...

(It's extremely spoilery, so if you haven't seen at least the first four episodes of season 3, be careful!)

10.04.2007

Being George.

Doing his own thing:"If there's a do-it-yourself movement in Hollywood, George Clooney could be its leader...After years of taking what was offered, including bad movies such as "Batman & Robin," Clooney took charge of his career. The result has left the former star of TV's "ER" an Academy Award-winning actor and Oscar-nominated filmmaker who uses his stardom to do films he truly cares about, including the new legal drama "Michael Clayton," opening Friday in several cities."

She's a Rainbow

Sony has put out another incredible "Like No Other" commercial for its Bravia TV line. Click on the image below to check it out.



Sony calls it "the most ambitious piece of stop-motion animation ever undertaken", using 2.5 tons of plasticine. Are they saying this was all done by hand?? Wow!

I want to watch it on my Bravia.

TV Talk - Probationary Edition

So, how are my new shows doing?

Well, I have to reserve comment on Pushing Daisies because, shame on me, I didn’t watch it last night. I recorded it, don’t worry, I just didn’t have time to watch. I was at my computer until about 9:30, burning DVDs to take to a friend's this weekend. I’ll watch Pushing Daisies tonight, either before or after Bad Girls.

Anyhoo, I did watch Back to You and Bionic Woman.

Back to You – I think it’s still finding its legs, but I like it. Especially the daughter storyline and Fred Willard. Kelsey Grammer and the little girl have good chemistry.

Bionic Woman – Sigh. I really want this to be so much better than it is. There are 2 HUGE problems, in my eyes: 1) p*ss-poor direction and 2) Michelle Ryan. The direction/writing issues can improve, but she’s a big problem. I’m just not sure she can carry this show. I thought last night was better than the pilot, but it was still really choppy and didn’t hold together very well. I really want Sarah Corvus to kill Jaime Sommers and become the lead on the show. Isn't that awful? I did have to smile, though, when Jaime walked into that house in Paradise and they had a scene from Battlestar Galactica playing on the TV.

I also have a sneaking suspicion that there are way too many cooks in the kitchen on this and the network is meddling too much. I’ll keep watching and give it a chance to improve. I will probably have my heart broken, but heck, it’s better to have hoped and lost than not to have hoped at all, right?

10.03.2007

My Fourth New TV Show of the Season: Pushing Daisies

I think this will be the last new show I take on, for a while at least.



Tonight, from 8:00 - 9:00 [EST], on ABC.

Review of my third new TV show: Aliens in America

While its themes are somewhat heavy - racism, intolerance - Aliens in America was overall pretty light and fluffy. And funny. If you watched the preview I posted the other day, you've basically seen the pilot. Except they recast the father for some reason and that was very distracting.

I liked it, it reminded me of Wonder Years, and I look forward to seeing more.

10.02.2007

Heroes: Episode 2.02

Lizards

OK, I want to start things off by retracting all of my complaints about Peter last season - his annoying hair, his annoying earnestness and sensitivity - just him being generally annoying because damn! The transformation has been amazing: The mastery of his powers, the buff body, the glorious haircut - it's like he's a different person. Unfortunately I think he's different for a bad reason, like maybe he's got a little side job killing off the previous generation of Heroes, but he's not aware he's doing it...anyway, on to the recap.

Maya and Alejandro are still working their way towards the US. An old family friend, Nidia, agrees to take them over the border into Mexico. During the flight across the border, however, something goes wrong, Alejandro gets left behind and Maya does her black oilien thing with her eyes and nearly kills Nidia. Alejandro catches up to them and reverses what Maya did and Nidia is revived, and is a bit freaked out. She takes off back to Central America and Maya and Alejandro are left on their own. I have no idea what's going on with them, but it felt like an old X-Files episode.

Parkman's first case as an NYPD detective is the mysterious murder of a wealthy Japanese corporate executive? Wow. Way to go , Parkman. He finds out that Mrs. Petrelli is a known associate of Kaito's, so he brings her in for questioning. There's an awesome scene where Parkman reads her mind and she figures out what he's doing and screams (mentally) for him to get the hell out. Oh, and it seems Mrs. P and Kaito got it on way back in the day. As Sulu would say, "Oh, MY!" Nathan shows up at the police station with really big hair to bail her out. We're reminded that Parkman knows him from TX but doesn't know that he's a Hero. Suddenly, Mrs. P is attacked by an invisible man, but Nathan and Parkman get to her before she's killed and the invisible man (or person, I should say) escapes.

The Company sends Mohinder to Haiti to tend to a Hero who has contracted the virus. The Hero is the Haitian, funnily enough. Mohinder cures him, has his memory wiped, but then it turns out that it was all part of a plan he and Bennett cooked up and Mohinder was just faking about the memory loss. When Mohinder comes home from Haiti and tucks Molly in, I half expect him to give Parkman a kiss on the forehead.

Peter is still in Ireland, and is being held bare-chested against his will by Ricky and his boys in their pub. Of course they're in a pub, where else would they be in Ireland? Anyway, Ricky and his buds aren't the smartest thugs around and they try to beat the location of the iPods out of Peter, who still has no idea who he is or how he ended up handcuffed in the container. Peter escapes his restraints by phasing through them while looking very hot, but instead of sneaking out the back window, he does the heroic thing and saves Ricky's sister Caitlin from an assault by some bad guys who had come looking for Ricky. You'd think this would score points with Ricky but unfortunately one of the guys that Peter beat up is the son of McSorley, the dude who's looking for the iPods. Ricky tells Peter that to make up for the mess he's made, he has to help them score a big pile of money that they'll give to McSorley to appease him. Peter balks, but Ricky pulls out an ornately carved box that was found in the container with Peter and tells him that all of his personal information is in it. Ricky will give it to Peter if he helps him.

Back in 1671, Hiro has to save the day, so he puts on Kensei's warrior suit and mask and uses his power to stop time and disarm the bandits and generally freak them out. The swordsmith's daughter (Yaeko, I think?) is greatly impressed and there's a pretty scene where they start to fall in love with each other in a cherry blossom orchard. Hiro has kept his mask on, however, so Yaeko thinks that she is in love with Sark. They go back to the village and Hiro tells Sarkensei that they have to rescue Yaeko's father. Sarkensei doesn't see why he should, until Yaeko walks in all dreamy-like and gives him a reason. As they leave the building they are in, they are surrounding by the bandits again, who this time are able to get off a few good arrow shots, one of which hits Sarkensei directly in the heart. He lies on the ground, dying, losing a lot of blood, when something happens...the wound closes and heals right before Hiro's eyes! Sarkensei is a Hero. Is he the first?

Claire is still trying to fly under the radar at school and not being all that successful, what with the intelligent questions about genetics and regeneration in biology class and her car getting stolen and all. West tries to encourage her interest in genetics and evolution by showing her a book on the subject by none other than Dr. Suresh, but she shrugs it off. Claire's frustrated and tells her father that she wants to see what she can really do, that maybe she can be put to use to help people to heal or maybe even grow back body parts, but he tells her to be strong. If the bad guys got their hands on her, they would treat her like a lab rat and she would be in a worse "cage" than she's in now. Still, Claire's curiosity gets the better of her and one night while she's giving herself a pedicure she pulls out a pair of scissors and cuts off her freaking pinky toe!! Ping! How awesome was that? She watches the stump, begging it to grow back, and for a minute, it seems like it won't. But then it does. West the stalker just happened to be peeping through the window at her when it did, though. Claire sees him and runs out of the house after him. He flies away before she gets to him, leaving behind Suresh's book.

Meanwhile, Mr. and Mrs. Bennett check out the front page of a newspaper on which there is a photograph of Kaito's dead body on the pavement. Mr. B shows Mrs. B a painting that Isaac did that is an exact replica of the photograph. He tells her that Isaac painted 8 more just like it - of the deaths of the Nine that Kaito mentioned last week, I assume - and he's going to find them all. We end with Bennett at Copy Kingdom. He hears the front door, turns and awesomely says to the Haitian: "Welcome to Copy Kingdom, how can I help you?" Back together again.

Remnants of Summer


Wildflower, originally uploaded by gina64.

Wildflowers in our front yard, still hanging in there.

How did it come to this?


Halloween Spirit, originally uploaded by gina64.

This poor man had to walk up and down the street advertising the "Spirit of Halloween" store.

10.01.2007

It's the end of the world as we know it.

Not because Britney Spears lost custody of her children.

No, it's because Kevin Federline is considered a more suitable parent. If anyone would have asked me back when they first hooked up, how the Britney/K-Fed sideshow would have wound up, never in my wildest dreams would I have predicted this. Never.

(Not that I dream about these things. Really. I'm just sayin')

My third new TV show of the season: Aliens in America



Tonight at 8:30 on the CW.