In Which I Want To Go To There (But I'd Like To Not Die)

Thanks to Jeremy Wade (extreme angler and Biologist) and Animal Planet's show 'River Monsters', I've gained a new appreciation for freshwater fishies of the deep. I've always had a fascination with fishing, even as a child, when my understanding of it was to stand over a pier, throw a line into the brackwish water and then peer over the end of it, wondering why nothing ever came up.

Since then, my odd obsession with fishing and animals that swim hasn't waned, even if I've never quite caught up in experience. My snorkeling experience has been limited to the muddy waters of Cabo San Lucas, and as for fishing? I wouldn't know where to start. But I've come a long way to appreciating these creatures, and it manifests itself the most when I work with my fish tank. It's just a twenty gallon bitty little thing, fresh water and easy to maintain, with some tetras, some guppies, three frogs and two underwater catfish that grow bigger every day, but even within this little community, there has been massacres and adventures. I've mourned the loss of Tubby, the injured little Molly who fought his way back to health after an attack of another male molly, losing a fin and disorienting himself so much he swam upside down and in circles. I nearly cried when I lost my first frogs Max & Mona, bitty little aquatic dwarfs who died of old age after nearly three years of sitting on their lily pads and poking through gravel for their morsels of food. I marveled when a half inch ghost shrimp grew into a nearly three inch large monster with claws, who took over the tank and nearly singlehandedly annihalted a school of neon tetras (yeah, mister fish expert at the fish store, apparently shrimp ARE aggressive in high temperatures. FYI).

The new show 'River Monsters' on Animal Planet has done little to wane my curiosity with the animals of the aquatic. And it's also made me completely terrified and fascinated with the Amazon. I've learned so many different things from this show, but none more than the absolute fact that anyone who wants to swim in the Amazon river is crazy. Did you know that there are fishes there that can bore bullet size holes in you and eat you from the inside out? Or that some catfish can grow up to ten feet and have been known to attack and kill humans? Or that piranha's have consumed children in seconds? Or that bullsharks can adapt to freshwater and are now popping up in rivers all over the world?

Or how about this fun fact? There's apparently a case in the Amazon where a fish has actually been attracted by a urine streem and swam UP the uretha of a peeing man and BURIED itself in his penis. Oh yeah. Don't pee in the lake, boys.

Who in their right mind wants to know this? And still wants to go fish these things? Let's face it, host Jeremy Wade is CRAZY. But he's the fascinating kind of crazy - the kind of biologist who will venture to the ends of the earth to do battle with a 200 pound fish with only a fishing line between them, to emerge the exhausted winner, who does not kill his prize, but instead admires it, notes it, and with a display of sportmanship to his beastly shrewd battle losers, allows them to rest before setting them back free. It's this moment that I admire the most. It's for this reason that this latest article about the controversy involving a fisherman who caught and killed a record size Hammerhead Shark (pregnant with about 50 babies) saddens me. To want to battle against this magnificant animals and emerge the winner is within our competitive spirit. But to become so overwhelmed with excitement over the prize to bring such a specimen and kill it for pure sport? What's the point in that?

It reminds me of the moment not long ago where I came face to face with a falcon in my yard. My emotions were fueled by excitement and reverance.

I did not immediately think, "Oh my goodness. What a beautiful creature! Let me kill it!"

I'm just saying.

Wonder Woman - Let's See How Far We've Come

There is no time for a proper post. My sister's wedding is in 5 days and the result is chaos.

But this I had to share. I picked this up off of Topless Robot. The original wonder woman pilot made in 1967 by the same people who made Batman.



OMG you guys. Can this get any worse? Linda Carter, you are a godsend.

Mid Season Perk - Better Off Ted

I started watching the new ABC comedy 'Better Off Ted' quite by accident. My kitchen television is one of those sad souls that will need a digital tuner come June. Until then, I battle static and noise to get what few primetime channels I can.

As I sat down to my oh-so-gourmet dinner of Egg Beaters with cheese, I stumbled across the opening lines of 'Better of Ted', saw Portia De Rossi's swing into an office and chirp, "We want to make a metal that's as hard as steel but can bounce like rubber. And is edible."

I put down the remote.

In a tv season inundated with killer who-dun-its and reality shows, Better off Ted is just a fun jaunt into the corporate grays of the work force. Anyone who's worked for a big company can identify with being either the overworked nerd, the underpaid cubicle underling who steals creamer as a statement, or the straddling-the-line manager who deals with a boss who has lost his or her sense of reality along her way to success.

The show is simple. It's witty. It's stellar, and more than that, the characters and the actors behind them shine.

Definitely worth fastforwarding through yet another filler recap episode of American Idol or Dancing with the Stars for a half hour of Better Off Ted.

Part One:


Part Two | Part Three

It's more than a little scary that I find myself identifying with the perils of research and development employees at an immoral corporate company as much as I do, but at the very least I can laugh about it.

Even if I'm a little bitter that my boss never looked liked Portia De Rossi.

Veronica's Pearls of Wisdom

Ted: You need to lighten up.
Veronica: Maybe I'm too funny. Maybe I was joking about not getting your joke.

Veronica: We want to freeze Phil.

Veronica: I think you and I should have sex. If you want. Look at me. I'm so nervous I'm ... shaking like a leaf.
Ted: No ... no you're not.
Veronica: No. Is that a problem? I don't get nervous. I try, it just doesn't come out.

Veronica: Pretty girl. Although she makes a lot of non-work related calls. Which I think makes her less attractive.

Veronica: Did I surprise you? I didn't mean to surprise you. I'm just a friendly person.
Linda: I didn't think you knew my name.
Veronica: Of course I knew your name. I know a lot about you. Linda... Katherine... Zward... ning... ling.
Linda: It's Zwardling.
Veronica: Fine. You know your name better than I do. Yay.

Veronica: Ted. I can't have you sleeping with Linda.
Ted: What?
Veronica: It could embarrass me. Plus I may not be done with you yet.

The World is my Television Set

I love the internet.

With each passing foreign show I come across, I become more and more convinced that I need to move to Europe - if only for the TV.

Okay, not only for the TV. I also like the trains.

And the accents.

But seriously, this fascination for European television is SO bad for my health. Los Hombres De Paco premiere's its seventh season on Tuesday, and the network that airs the show has decided to become AWESOME and post the complete episodes as they air on the website http://www.antena3videos.com/ . That mean you can watch the premiere of this season, wherever you are in the world at this link. The problem with this is that they have also provided all their other shows as well, and they give you little blurbs, and I find myself wanting to suddenly watch THOSE shows too. What's wrong with me?

Stupid show. Best show ever. Below is a teaser for next week's episode:

And if that wasn't bad enough, the UK feeds my inner geek SO well. First they gave me cop soap Bad Girls, Coupling and sweet, sweet Monarch of the Glen, and then they gave me the chilling and well acted Wire In the Blood and soapy goodness in the form of Mistresses. Then came cracktastic Lost In Austen, about an ordinary girl stuck in Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice and basically screwing it all up, and Robin Hood, and now they've given me Merlin.

Merlin is a series in the vein of 'Young Hercules', 'Young Indiana Jones' or Smallville, in that it takes the legendary characters and introduces them as young adults, still in the process of becoming the legendary characters they're destined to grow up to be.

Merlin, a teenager, comes to live in Camelot under the guidance of the court physican. Camelot, under the rule of battle-scarred King Uther, has banned magic, and the price for practicing it is death. Bad news for Merlin, who has never studied magic but is still blessed with so much raw talent he can move things instinctively with only his thoughts. At the castle is also the gorgeous Morgana, a reluctant ward of King Uther who is fast friends with her maidservant, Guinevere. Gwen (for short), is a humble, subtly pretty (but not beautiful) young woman who is aware and happy with her station, and seems to be developing a crush on Merlin.

When Merlin unwittingly becomes the personal servant to the arrogant and strapping Prince Arthur, the show begins it's magic, never letting us forget that destiny is unavoidable, and still, what you make it.

The show is cheesy, and it's fun. Very much in the vein of Hercules and Xena in their best years, and quickly addicting for the likable cast, and easy storytelling.

Dammit... I didn't need anymore shows.

But if you're interested, feel free to watch at http://merlin-streaming.blogspot.com/.

The Return of 'Los Hombres De Paco'

One of my favorite television shows is coming back for it's seventh season, and it doesn't even air in the states. Thank God for the internet, because how on earth did I live before Los Hombres De Paco?

image thanks to the Pepa & Silvia message board. The show, which airs in Spain, translates literally into 'Paco's Men', and it revolves around Paco, a bumbling inspector, his family (most of whom are cops as well) and his band of merry men. The show is dark, hilarious, tragic, dramatic and incredibly well written, and I've been in love from the moment I came across a compliation video. Even if it can get confusing as hell sometimes. The family dynamics of this show are MIND BOGGLING. The main love story has to do with a man in his thirties who was raised like a son to Paco, and his forbidden love with Paco's 18 year old daughter. This romance started when she was 15. And Lucas, the older man, has also been married to Sara, the daughter's aunt, Silvia. The crazy thing is that the chemistry of Sara & Lucas actually works - despite the insane age difference, and the fact that Lucas is like a son to Sara's dad and the fact that Lucas is Sara's ex-uncle. But that's how the show is. It makes the implausible seem destined.

One of my favorite storylines has been the development of the romance of Pepa, Paco's rascal of a sister, & Silvia, Paco's sweet sister-in-law, who grew up together, shared an illicit smooch when they were eighteen and then were torn apart to reunite 8 years later when Pepa transferred to the San Antonio station to be closer to her brother. What follows is a terrifically told story of confusion, lost love, first passion, and overcoming doubts.

In the midst of the heavy stories is the silliness, and what's amazing about this show is that the cast can play both sides of the fence so easily. This season, the cast has had its change ups. Lucas, played by leading man Hugo Silvia, is leaving the show, and also leaving is Lola, played by Adriana Torres, who served as the show's matriarch. The result is a sort of reboot of the series, which lays to waste the OTP's that the show has relied on so faithfully (the forbidden love of Lucas/Sara, the adorable romance of Povedilla/Rita, the mainstay couple of Lola/Paco), and leaves intact only one: Pepa and Silvia. All bets are off - and it should be interesting to see where this show goes.

This show isn't shown subtitled - but fans of the Pepa/Silvia couple can read watch youtube videos with subtitles here, and read detailed recaps and a character guide here.

it's funny, you would never suspect that everyone at this school is a professional dancer

I may not watch as much television as I used to (and what I do, tends to air outside of the country, like Wire In the Blood, Los Hombres De Paco and now, Merlin), but even so, primetime network tv seems out to screw me.

It was bad enough when they put How I Met Your Mother, Chuck and The Sarah Connor Chronicles all on Monday night - and I was forced to scrounge the internet in an effort to catch up with Miss Sarah Connor, since my TiFaux only records two shows at a time, but now, they have added to the line up House?

Why? Why? When they moved Sarah Connor to Friday nights I thought I was clear! This is not to be, however - how am I to decide between the joys of Robin Sparkles, BuyMoria, and ... the weirdly nonsensicle reason I watch House?!

I shall console myself with a reviewing of one of my favorite guilty pleasures: Not Another Teen Movie.



And look! It's Ted Mosby!

How I Met Your Mother's '50 Reasons To Have Sex'

If it's one thing that How I Met Your Mother soars at, it's figuring out how to incorporate this whole new fangled internet thingy. The people behind the show are genuis at taking a nugget of a throwaway joke in a story and then just running with it.

Witness: Barney's Blog - Barney is awesome. And he puts his awesomeness into words. When he utters the words, "This is SO going in my blog!" You can bet it will.

Witness: tedmosbyisajerk.com - put together by a waitress who Barney bedded and gave her the fake name of 'Ted' (his actual best friend). The website comes complete with a scarily long twenty minute song called 'Ted Mosby Is a Jerk'

Not a Father's Day apparel - When Barney finds out that a woman he bedded with a pregnancy scare is NOT pregnant, he creates a holiday in honor of the moment. The next day, 'Happy NOT a Father's Day' t-shirts and mugs litter the internet.

Robin Sparkles - When Robin reveals she was a Canadian Pop Star in the nineties, we're witnessed to two amazingly cheesy music videos she released. Also online? Her official Robin Sparkles Myspage page. On her friends list? Tiffany.

The latest to make it onto the interwebs? Lily's 50 Reasons to Have Sex, from last nights episode 'The Naked Man'.

How many of these have YOU done?



If I haven't mentioned it before? How I Met Your Mother is awesome.

Watch the latest episode online.

Chuck vs. the Predictable Route *SPOILERS*

In the mass confusion that is the new television season, Chuck on NBC has always been my shining beacon of hope. When the writer's strike was finished and everyone got back to business, there were three shows that I was relieved made the cut and were returning: Chuck, How I Met Your Mother, and Terminator: The Sarah Conner Chronicles.

Of course, because the universe likes to laugh at me, when these shows were scheduled, they were scheduled all on the same night, in the same time slot, on different networks. My DirectTV DVR is a life saver, but not even it can record more than two shows at once. The result, a lot of scrambling and attempting to watch television shows online. But one show I never thought to miss? My dear Chuck.

Why? Superb writing, layered, thoughtful beautiful characters, and more inside jokes for the inner nerd than you can shake a stick at. Throw in some extremely well choreographed fight scenes, guns and the occasional farce, and you have a fan in me for life. The show, based on the absurd (but awesome) idea that the CIA had it's main computer downloaded into a hapless nerd who must now be protected by a gorgeous CIA handler and a militant NSA agent, has always balanced the perfect pitch of drama and fun.

But, alas, even this show has given me a Sad. Which perhaps isn't too fair of Chuck. It is, after all, a sophomore show coming off a stunted first season, working out it's own kinks and wrapped up in the dilemna of what to do when your lead characters share that Moonlighting/Lois & Clark kinda romance that dictates you keep them apart for a long as possible for fear of making for boring tv.

The result has been an uneven season, with some slightly out of character moments that push the interactions off kilter, and make a rabid fan go 'hmm'.

I 'hmmed' when Chuck reencountered his lost girlfriend Jill, and in his infaturation with her, promptly forgot about his mutual love with beautiful handler Sarah. But I went with it. While I've never been the hugest fan of Jordanna Brewster, she was the best thing about spy-farce D.E.B.S., and had an easy chemistry with Chuck that proved likable and fun. She also represented a real threat to Sarah and Chuck's relationship, and an opportunity for growth for Chuck. Could Chuck learn to see past his own blinding emotions to realize he could move past the girl who broke his heart and appreciate the woman who loves him for who he truly is?

We'll never really get the chance to find out, because in it's latest offering 'Chuck vs The Fat Lady', it was revealed that Jill, Chuck's college girlfriend and reignited flame, was a Fulcrum Agent and a bad guy.

It's a disapointment. Who didn't see that coming? Well-executed, sure, but also a bit of a cheater's way out. Break a love triangle by making the third girl EVOL. Does everyone have to be a Fulcrum Agent? Just how many ARE there in Burbank that Chuck keeps tripping over them everywhere they go?

Maybe I'm not giving Chuck enough credit. Maybe there's a big geeky plan and this will just be another layer to a complicated reintroduction to Jill. An explanation of how she ended up in Fulcrum and in Bryce's bed following her college break up with Chuck has yet to be addressed, and perhaps this is all a lead up to that.

I hope so. If not, that was just too easy.

And yes, I realize that's a little obsessive, but a show like Chuck is a homage to the nerd, and if you throw in the nerd jokes, the nerds will come.

And nitpick the hell out of your show.

Ghost Adventures: Tough Guys Get Stupid

So Mom and I were watching television last night as we each enjoyed a place of Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia (don't judge us), and as we were flipping channels we came up on this show called 'Ghost Adventures' on the Travel Channel.

We've always been fascinated with ghosts, particularly because our house was at one time haunted (it was. i have family members who still refuse to be alone in the house). So we tend to watch ghost-haunting programming, particularly things like the badly acted but supremely frightening 'A Haunting' and 'Most Haunted'. Basically if you make a program about ghosts, we're probably gonna watch it.

Sentimentality and all that.

Anyway, we started watching this show Ghost Adventurers. They were going to get locked up in Bobby Mackey's night club. It's really, really haunted. Famously haunted. Like the 'A Haunting' episode on it? FRIGHTENING. Someone was MURDERED and tossed down a well and another person was poisoned and just... a lot of slaughters and animal sacrifices happened in the basement and some dude was even POSSESSED.

So of course what do the smart tough guys do? They start screaming and shouting for the ghosts to come out and HURT them if they want them to leave. Basically antagonizing the ghosts.

And then when the ghosts make loud noises or ... you know... SCRATCH them down their backs? They run and get all scared and tough-guy ish.

So then after all of this awesomeness, they go and consult an ArchBishop of the Catholic church who does exorcisms for a living. The Archbishop basically says, "You're idiots. This is really dangerous. You need to stop antagonizing the ghosts. I would exorcise the hell out of them."

And the guy (who is a little like a ghost thug) goes, "Yeah, I'm not gonna stop." (Why would he? It's good television. Even if he gets scratched).

And the Catholic Priest just kinda shrugs and thinks, "You idiot."

We season passed it.

Because I'm A Sap: Top TV Couples of the Moment

I'm a romantic at heart, and even though some of these couples are just pipe dreams, it's always fun to dream, isn't it?

My Top Television Couples

1. Chloe & Clark - Smallville

Smallville screws me over time and time again, and yet the reason I can't quite give up on the damned show is because of Chloe & Clark. Despite the fact that Clark has spent seasons mooning over the boring and petulant Lana, Chloe has time and time again revealed herself to be the girl who should be the woman of his dreams. From her unrelenting search for the truth, her promise to keep Clark's secret, and her steadfast refusal to leave Clark's side, even at the expense of her own heart, Chloe is the best friend and sidekick in the world, and although she once confessed that she hoped to be the woman Clark would grow into, it's Clark who needs to become the man that Chloe deserves. And despite his blinders for Lana, Clark has proven more than once that he truly loves and appreciates Chloe - it's just that timing thing that always seems to get them.

Youtube Video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPIEjuD-6ZU

2. Chuck & Sara - Chuck

It's very rare that I go for the obvious OTP, but for this shy nerd and emotionally stunted CIA agent, I'm so easy I'm a slut. Chuck's naive lovestruck earnestness unexpectedly breaks through Sara's hard walls, and that's just devastating, because they CAN'T be together. It's a matter of National Security. Life and Death. And yet, despite that, I just root for them because despite the fact that Chuck knows nothing about Sara and she knows everything about him, you get the fact that he truly SEES her and loves her for who she is. And she loves him for it.

Youtube Video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRzkVVJxfVs

3. Nikki & Helen - Bad Girls

When the new governor of an all-women's prison clashed with an inmate imprisoned for killing a cop who raped her girlfriend, sparks immediately flew. They continued to fly for three seasons, as the well-meaning (and engaged) Helen found herself drawn to the hot-headed but vulnerable Nikki, and found her world tripped upside down because of it. They were star-crossed lovers, and stuck in the unequal world of prisoner and capter, they had no outlet for their feelings and no way of getting over them. The result was three seasons of tumulteous power struggles and genuine affection, and a fascinating, gorgeous love story.

Youtube Video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oASrcBDPimI

4. Jack & Liz - 30 Rock

Okay, if this ever happened in real life, it would never work, but Jack & Liz just GET each other, in a weird, happy way. They're best friends and each other's biggest fans, and fully aware that they're emotionally unstunted and incapable of a healthy relationship. Maybe that's why they get along so well, even if he's a big-headed Republican and she's a nuerotic crazy lady.

Youtube Video -http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Griz1tNhOM

5. Lindsay & Cindy - Women's Murder Club

Let's face it - if Cindy or Lindsay was a boy, these two would have been touted as the next meant-to-be Reporter-Cop pairing by the main stream media. Sadly, Women's Murder Club has long since been cancelled, but the energetic reporter with the perfect image recall and the cynical, ball-busting detective she unexpectedly charms will live on in fan fiction. And why not? As two of four women seeking to solve murders and find justice, these were the two most driven by their need for justice and truth. Friends or more, Cindy was the perfect Robin to Lindsay's batman, and in my head, they're still running around San Francisco, solving crimes and kicking ass.

Youtube Video -http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qB2xcKl3QRU

6. Barney & Robin - How I Met Your Mother

He's a slut, and she's a commitmentphobe, and yet they seem to just get each other. As the former ex-girlfriend of Barney's best friend, she's unattainable, but as Barney the philandering executive has pointed out before, they make a lot of sense. And more than that? He genuinely loves her, something that is rare and puzzling for him indeed. But it was meant to happen. Because they're bros and Barney loves his bros.

Youtube Video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkSGXW5Sp2Y

7. Bianca & Maggie - All My Children

They're a supercouple from a soap opera, so you can expect a ton of drama, and Bianca and Maggie brought it in spades. From murdered twins to rape to dead babies, these best friends were there for each other during the worst and best times of their lives, and neither never ever forgot that. They forever remain the love of each other's lives, and hopefully, remain in Paris now, together and in love.

Youtube Video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3DwY3wvyLU

8. Angel & Cordelia - Angel

I have to admit it. I'm an absolute sucker for best friends who fall in love, and what I loved about Angel and Cordelia (before Angel Season Four screwed it all up), was that they were just that. Friends first, who were there for each other no matter what. They weren't perfect, they would hurt each other deeply, but when it came down to it, this former-Mean Girl and Vampire With a Soul didn't need destiny or kismet. They just had affection, and they knew how to make each other smile in some of the worst moments of their lives. And that's true love.

Youtube Video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zronp75vuqU

Honorable Mentions:
Brian and Justin - Queer As Folk
Joxer & Gabrielle - Xena
Xander & Cordelia - Buffy
Tom & Alana - The 4400
Paul & Isobel - Monarch of the Glen
Tony & Alex - Wire In the Blood
Sharon & Helo - Battlestar Galactica
Dexer & Rita - Dexter
Zach & Kendall - All My Children

Lifetime Casts for 'Mistresses', poaching from across the sea.

I clearly need to stay on top of my thehollywoodreporter.com reading, because I can't believe I didn't know that Lifetime poached 'Mistresses' from the UK. It's a surprisingly early pick up. The BBC Drama has only had one season (and six episodes), but I have to admit, the season itself was stellar. Mistresses tells the story of four friends who have stayed close since college, now middle aged. It's a transition point in their lives, and as life would have it, each woman experiences infidelity; either they are the cheaters, or they are cheated on, or they become a mistress outright. It's an interesting premise, and carries well considering these are the fabled 'other women' who are often hated and their stories aren't often seen.

Lifetime has apparently tapped Holly Marie Combs, Brooke Burns, and Rochelle Aytes as three of the four friends, but I'm curious to see how far they'll go with some of the storylines in the adaptation. One of the most poignant and interesting storylines (though they were all pretty damned intriguing) involved the 'baby' of the group and self professed commitment phobe being tapped to plan a wedding for a lesbian couple, and finds herself perplexed, bewildered and astonished to realize she is falling in love with one of the brides-to-be.

Check out a clip from the series:

Whether or not they pick up this storyline remains to be seen, but it is a pivotal character moment for the character and forces her to see what it really means to be the other woman and not have the option of having the one you love for yourself only.

Between this and HBO snagging Bad Girls after FX couldn't make it work, it should be an interesting season in cable for British Women's television. Oh, I'm sorry - American women's television adapted from British shows.

Not that I'm complaining. They've got better stuff anyhow.

The 50 Greatest Comedy Sketches of All Time

Nerve.com just posted their 50 greatest comedy sketches of all time, and thanks to the wonders of youtube and other media sharing organizations, there's actual youtube clips of each and every one.

Over all, I agree with the list, but I did find it rather astonishing that Mad TV and In Living Color were totally excluded. While not often put in the same field as SNL and the Carol Channing show, there are some really great actors and sketches to come out of both.

Nicole Sullivan and Nicole Parker are particular gems from Mad TV. Nicole Sullivan had an amazing set of characters, including the classic Vancome Lady - a offensively racist woman with big hair and too much make up who preemptively judges everyone she sees.



Nicole Parker lent a different voice to MAD TV, but held the same chameleon like qualities, taking her ability to inhabit the character to freakishly scary proportions. My favorite sketch? Her impression of Rachael Ray's '40 Dollars a Day'



Not to take away from the classics, but sometimes the lesser known comics need some love too.

The Biggest Loser: WOOHOO!

I got pulled into the Biggest Loser by accident. I have friends who watch it, and if we were hanging out, and it was on, that was what we'd watch.

I kept watching, because I need to shed some extra poundage and watching this and the awesomness that is Ninja Warrior kept me relatively inspired, though i did have my problems with the obvious show manipulation that put the females and distinct disadvantages. Particularly when Trainer Bob stacked his team with big, lots of fat to loose boy, apparently desperate to stack up a win against Trainer Jillian, who has had a part in every winning Biggest Loser guy thus far.

I didn't expect to get SO invested that I would actually squeal out loud when, down to the final four, the two remaining women pulled out massive weight loss numbers to beat out the two remaining men. I actually squealed. Out loud. And felt like a dork doing it.

Watching Kelly and Ali come from behind and secure a place in the finals was a sweet, sweet pay off to a frustrating season where the boysclub has continually dominated the game, and made absolutely sure that the women knew it.

Roger, Mr. Biggest Loser-Shoo-In, was mostly to blame for the over competitive frat prank of it all, and while I'm not a fan of 'AMERICA VOTES' angle that was thrust about the group at the last minute, I'm going to pitch in my vote for Mark, who at least seems to have learned that acting like a jackass on TV does not a fan make.

Vote Mark!

Faerie Tale Theatre - Nostalgia Makes a Comeback

Am I the only one who remembers Faerie Tale Theatre? It ran in the eighties, was produced by Shelley Duvall and featured some of the best character actors in the day working to recreate live action versions of classic fairy tales. This meant you got to see Robin Williams and Eric Idle put on their take of 'The Frog Prince' and Jennifer Beals glam it up with a stuttering Mathew Broderick in 'Cinderella'.

I remember loving these episodes as a child, and when I saw the set on sale at costco, I grabbed it. I'm also apparently the only person on the planet who remembers it.

Doesn't matter. It's gold.

To take a gander, check out their version of 'Snow White' on google video. Also found The Pied Piper of Halmin, Jack & the Beanstalk, Sleeping Beauty and Beauty & the Beast.

WMC Gets Reprieve, Showrunners Get Jossed.

So it appears that Women's Murder Club, the struggling drama on ABC about a bunch of pretty ladies who like to solve murders, has been given a fighting chance. Despite rumors that the production crew was ordered to strike the sets, that freshman show now has a three episode order to finish out the season.

They also have a new showrunner, Law & Order vet Robert Nathan. Apparently showrunners Sarah Fain and Liz Craft weren't quite clicking with the network, because the pickup appeared to be contingent on getting them out.

There are fairly few female showrunners out there, so that does make me sad. On the other hand, more Murder Club! Allowing a moment of geekiness, I do love this show. It doesn't try to hit you over the head with all the intsense REALISM that the CSI's and Law & Orders do, and the chemistry between the four leads makes for a fun show (though there does seem to be a rumor circulating that the ladies act their pants off to pull that off). The only concern is with a new showrunner, comes new changes, and the show that returns, may not be the show that left us when it aired it's tenth episode in January.

At the very least, the showrunners, who have overall deals at FOX, have landed on their feet. They're heading over to be staff writers on Joss Whedon's Eliza Dushku fronted 'Dollhouse', which received a 7 episode pick up order at FOX.

Gina Carano is a Beast.

Looking at some of Gina Carano, aka CRUSH's fights on youtube, it becomes increasingly apparent why she looks so friggin' easy going during the filming of American Gladiators.

Quite simply, when you fantasize about kicking people in the head as a child, a little rough and tumble with a big ass Q-tip is nothing.

Two New Episodes of Chuck Tonight

If you're not watching Chuck, you should be. Luckily, you get two chances tonight, when NBC premieres that last two original episodes shot for Chuck before the writer's strike struck it down.

Check out this preview, then tune in tonight on NBC.

TERMINATOR: The Sarah Connor Chronicles: The Turk

Before I get on with my review, allow me to have a geeky TheShield!Casting Moment and squeal over the unexpected pop up of Catherine Dent as SkepticalFBIagent. Hooray. Catherine is awesome.


Moving on.



In the third episode, Sarah Connor, battling killer's anxiety, gets the work trying to track down the origins of SKYNET. She finds a load of nothing and decides to go to Miles Dyson's widow for help. The widow isn't exactly pleased to see her, but does seem rather resigned. She reluctantly points out a former intern of Dyson's, who is now a cell phone salesman. He is adorkably cute, and instantly smitten when Sarah heads over to the store to investigate. Things get complicated fast, however, when Sarah discovers he has built a super computer in his closet that can outthink other chess-playing computers and appears to have moods. Reluctant to kill him, Sarah burns down his house, instead.


Meanwhile, John and Cameron, posing as brother and sister, attend their first day in school, and Cameron encounters the terrifying reality that is having to deal with teenagers. She does fairly well for her first couple days, being called a bitchwhore and making a new friend who proceeds to fling herself off the top of the school building.


Also, FBI guy finds more and more evidence that Sarah Connor might not actually be insane, the creepy robot finds a creepy scientist and shows him how to regrow skin, then kills him and takes his eyeballs, and the last remaining resistant fighter from the future stalks Sarah.


Verdict:


A solid episode, but there needs to be a little less of the whole 'fish out of water' thing with Cameron. The whole awkward robot trying to fit in scenario was played out a while ago, and smacks of sitcom-y cliche the likes of 'Small Wonder'. As much as I liked that show, that is not a good thing. Still, Summer Glau continues to be a strong actor in this episode, the first in which she has had no fight scenes.


John is still a whiny bitch, but, thanks to being forced to watch a girl jump to her death and literally restrained by Cameron, he has good reason. His argument to both Sarah and to Cameron that if he's going to be some great hero, he should act like it, is a nice step forward.

The SKYNET storyline is moving slowly, but the talk of chess really does fit well. With the storylines floating around each other, setting in their places, it does indeed feel like the show takes place on a chess board; the pieces lining up, matching, getting ready for the ultimate checkmate.

American Gladiators 104: It's a Step, Not a Kick (ballchange)

Monday is here, and that means more cheesy, ball-busting action.

The competitors:

For the Women: A really really annoying lawyer lady who also played women's football and apparently thought that somehow made her special versus a really spunky tiny lady who had been signing petitions to get American Gladiators back on the air.

For the Men: A really really cute hard-bodied 25 year old rock climber who wanted to give his widowed father and brother someone to root for, and an older firefighter with three adorable sons.

Things we learned from American Gladiators THIS time around:

1) It's not a kick, it's a step. - in an effort to disengage the firefighter lady from the platform is 'Earthquake' , Crush saw fit to press her boot onto the firelady's head, forcing her down. And then she laughed about it. Which was kinda awesome. Even more hilarous was her battle with the second contender, who managed to hang out, kick free, and was therefore caught dangling from the platform as Crush held onto her, squishing her and offering her congratulations.

2) When it comes to the pyramid, Wolf sees Red - Wolf can quickly become annoying with that howling he does, but the man knows how to kick some ass. He owned the pyramid, flinging the contender around like he was a piece of candy. It was kinda awesome to watch.

3) Small and spunky wins the race, but only if you're wearing shoes. - Losing your shoe does indeed sabatage any chances for a win. When our petitioner lost her shoe and then decided to fling off the only one she had on, the audience was befuddled. Even worse was the moment when Christine stared up mournfully at the travelater, it became clear to both her and us that her loss of traction lost her the race. It was a sad, sad moment. Particularly because the annoying lawyer lady won. Only because she had shoes.

On the other hand, our other small and spunky contender, the male rock climber, wore shoes, and kicked ass, with a new eliminator time of 1and a half minute. Hooray.

4) Whiners can win. And yet, not really. Lawyer lady pissed me off. For a football lady, she just would NOT.STOP.WITHTHECOMPLAINING. Even before the eliminator started she made a comment to Hogan that she 'wasn't feeling well' because she had been in the water alot. Suck it up, biyotch.

Thank god for small mercies, however. Even though she won, the dreadful eliminator time was just not good enough to pass up Venus, which means she doesn't advance.

Not to be a bad sport, but ha.

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles - Pilot and 102

It feels like I've been waiting for the premiere of Sarah Connor Chronicles forever (and thanks to the Writer's Strike, I totally have). I was lucky enough to catch the premiere early last year, and was completely hooked. Of course it didn't hurt that Lena Headley was starring, who I've loved since the liveaction version of 'The Jungle Book'. Yes, I really saw that. Yes, I really loved it. And I loved her more when she starred in Imagine Me & You with Piper Perabo. Of course everyone else probably knows her from that silly little movie called 300, in which she wore like... strips of linen and was generally bad ass.

The show also stars ... that girl from Firefly - whose name is 'Summer' something or other, but honestly I was never a fan of that show. I tried, if only for the sake of my love for Buffy & Angel, but... meh.

Anyway...

As pilots go, The Sarah Connor Chronicles is pretty solid as far as pilots go. It's got the entire Terminator lore to fall back, which presents it's own interesting sets of challenges. Like the Star Trek franchise, this new offering opens itself to comparison and nitpicking. Linda Hamilton is a hard act to follow, and when placed at the tricky time after the badassary of Terminator 2, Lena Headley's Sarah could seem a trifle week.

Thankfully, the critics thus far, have been kind. And with good reason - in the drought of the writer's strike, there's a lack of hard hitting drama, and SCC does deliver.

In the pilot, we discover that newly engaged Sarah Connor (now living under the assumed name Sarah Reese - a nice throwback to John's father) is now on the run iwth 16 year old son John. They're being chased by a cyborg, sent to kill them. However, future John has sent back a Cyborg of his own, in the form of angelic beauty Cameron, a new kind of model who seems to want to ape and mimic the humans she's protecting. Sarah is horrified to discover that SKYNET, the company that creates the machines that will one day take over the world, has been built despite the creator's death. In order to stop it, Cameron, Sarah and John travel to the year 2007, in order to find out who starts SkyNET and stop them before it's too late.

Time Travel will always give me a headache, but forcing John and Sarah to travel through time to 2007 kind of feels like a fresh reboot (that seems to jump completely over the 3rd movie). As a result, John gets a kicky new haircut, Sarah gets better hair, and Cameron gets a chance to be the second generation 'Vicki' from Small Wonder.

In episode 2, (which takes place 3 days later and in that time John and Sarah have both managed to grow like.. 2 inches of hair) mother and son struggles to adjust to timelag. John struggles to understand why the caged bird sings (and very stupidly goes to visit his mother's ex-fiance, freaks out, and beats him up). Sarah struggles to keep it together after she discovers from Cameron that she will die of cancer, and that she can't really control Cameron, who goes around killing old friends for Sarah because they're traitors. Cameron struggles to understand that you can't just kill people and makes a new friend, who gives her a makeover, chola style.

The chemistry between all three leads is melding together nicely. Lena seems more and more confident in the iconic role of Sarah Connor, and she seems much stronger here than she initially comes off in the pilot. John continues to be a whiny idiot, but at least there is open acknowledgement that somehow this kid isn't the one that transforms into the leader of the free world. He's got some growing to do. There is also a certain amount of charm in Summer's performance. The scene in which she initially builds an unspoken connection with the chola girlfriend renders itself as almost sweet, and her partnership with the hot-headed Sarah gives her an increasingly complex amount of layers.

Though, seriously?

You Know You've Bonded Too Well With Your Mom When:

- You watch as your mother tosses a chick out the window.

- You go with her to steal money and guns. And rob banks together.

- You send a cyborg back in time to keep her alive because she's the best fighter you knew.

- You visit her ex-fiance and freak out about it.

- You hang out naked with her while the naked Cyborg chick beats people up.