Fear Me

"Fear me. I've killed hundreds of Time Lords."

"Fear me. I've killed them all."

I'll take potpourri for $7,100, Alex

Time for a linky roundup, y'all.

Great piece about the trailers for the new Star Wars games. I'm not much of a gamer today, but I would certainly watch a film or show developed by the people behind the creation of these trailers and games (and really, watch 'em in HD/Widescreen).

In honor of World Cup coverage, the 10 Most Annoying Sounds. Two of my personal annoyances not on the list: children in any way, shape or form, and the sound from when someone rubs their fingers across a fold of paper. That last one happens all the time in office environments, and makes me cringe, then makes me stabby.

Anyone else get caught up watching the Buffy marathon of Top 30 Viewer's Choice Best Episodes on Sunday? I did. If you're curious, here's the whole list. Not bad choices, and I think there are still a LOT of Spike fans out there.

Speaking of the Buffster, here's where you can find Whedonverse writers on your tube.

And one more: someone else joins the cult (Unreality). It's also fun reading "new to me" writeups on the Buffyverse from Cultural Learnings, and the AV Club.

You tell 'em, Stephen.

22 Fictional Characters Whose Names You Don't Know. (What does it say about me that I knew over half?)

What's a good foundation for law and government?

Dennis the Peasant: Listen. Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government. Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony.

Arthur: Be quiet!

Dennis the Peasant: You can't expect to wield supreme power just 'cause some watery tart threw a sword at you!

Neither is talking, flaming shrubbery.

Absolutely adorable video of new Doctor (Matt Smith) and Companion (Karen Gillan) interviewing each other.

Dawgs fans could have told Cowboys fans this type of thing was coming.

Good thing Lady Gaga didn't go see Dr. Gregory House, because it's NEVER that.

Please (insert deity here), make this happen.

I lost my passion for American Idol this season, and Simon leaving certainly won't help rekindle it next year. But #3 on this list might do the trick.

I'll take potpourri for $7,000, Alex

It's been a while since the last potpourri roundup, hasn't it? Here are few items worth perusal:

Interesting observations about "when" Amy came from in the new Doctor Who (which is really fabulous, y'all, and very easy thus far for newbies who want to jump in).

Blunt and informative Q&A with Steven S. DeKnight (a Whedon alum, and producer of the increasingly entertaining Spartacus: Blood & Sand).

Ken Levine offers appreciation for an all-timer: Elizabeth Montgomery. (Much like the "Mary Anne or Ginger" debate, there was also a question of "Jeannie or Samantha." I was firmly behind Samantha Stevens. Wait, that didn't sound right. Wait, yes it did).

Mythbusters Adam Savage offers some brilliance. (Why doesn't everyone think this way?)

TV Credits that break the show's normal pattern.

Good list of the 25 Best Movie Remakes of All Time.

25 Awesome geeky t-shirts.

Choosing Battlestar Galactica over a boyfriend. (Hey Ladies: sometimes you don't have to choose. Thanks. The Editor).

More cool t-shirts. SHINY.

The importance of the FUCK YEAH moment.

I'd like to see this Rom-com.

"Lesbian Spank Inferno" makes you realize how wasted Jack Davenport is on FlashForward.

Great video essay on everyone's favorite Vulcan.

I'll take potpourri for $6,400, Alex

Top 10 Reasons why Trek is suddenly cool. (And none of those have anything to do with "Spock's Brain.")

Frak my life. Just read it and giggle.

Rating Woody Allen's films, from 1 - 40. Nice rankings, though personally, I'd put Annie Hall at #1. And probably have Bullets Over Broadway and Vicky Christina Barcelona higher. And Stardust Memories lower. Related: 10 Woody Allen proxies. Yeah, Celebrity was not up to snuff, but damn if Branagh didn't perfectly channel the Woodman.

I clipped this story about John Ensign and his hypocrisy on the whole ridiculous "defense of marriage" bullshit last week. And that was before another married with kids bible thumping nutjob jetted off Argentina to schtup his mistress. Yes, Sanford rejected the "stimulus package" because he was already getting his package stimulated. Haaaay-yooo.

Star Trek cakes. How cool are those? Here's an expanded look.

Are these the best sci-fi cliffhangers?

Hysterical! Michael Bay's keyboard.

Novel idea for sneaking booze into a ballgame.

The Madden ratings for the Atlanta Falcons.

Another TNRLM twitter suggestion shows up in the wild.

Interview with the delightful Julie Benz. I didn't realize she originally also read for "Deb" on Dexter.

Fantastic gallery of spaceships on io9.

Count down the Top 70 Marvel Comics covers ever. Definitely worth a look if you're a comic geek.

I know he was from Florida, and went to college at Tennessee, but somewhere along the way, didn't Travis Henry ever learn about condoms? Hell, the "pull out" method would seem to be more successful.

Highlights from the recent Bear McCreary BSG concert. Awesome.

Pop Quiz, Hotshot: famous TV homes. (I got 80%, BTW).


Great article on how the "standard" MLB camera angle is so misleading. Yes, the "off center" approach composes a better picture, especially in the widescreen era, but dead center certainly gives you a better idea about the pitches.

Did anyone else know there was a "University of Andy" web supplement to Weeds? Here Andy explains how to hold your liquor.

Are these the 10 most polarizing films of the last decade? Certainly a solid list, and think I wind up on the "pro" side of most of these.

Interview with Hope Davis, who was so mesmerizing on In Treatment this year.

IFC put together a list of the 50 greatest movie trailers of all time (with clips). Also, while I couldn't find a link to the actual list with clips, preeminent movie magazine Empire also assembled a similar list a while back.

Did Ayn Rand want Farrah to play Dagny Taggert? (Still waiting on an Atlas Shrugged flick, and I think Angelina or Rachel Weisz would make a great Dagny).

The dangers of quitting smoking.

Supernatural casts their Lucifer. Great choice, but I wonder what this means for Lost?

Doctor Who returns tonight! Alan Sepinwall talks to Russell Davies, and Mo Ryan chats with David Tennant.

I'll take potpourri for $5,900, Alex

Happy Birthday, Christina Hendricks!

109 has a look at sci-fi time loops.

Wil Wheaton remembers the Atari. God, I loved that machine. I tried a few times to get into a Nintendo, Sega or X-Box, but there are just too many damned buttons. Joystick and red button, and blow shit up. That's the ticket.

Banning comic sans, the ugliest and most overused font EVER.

Has Chuck been saved? Hey, I bought my $5 footlong! More Chuck, please!

Gillian Anderson on Doctor Who? Swoon.

Swine Flu panic? Let the movies show you how to handle it.

Lostpedia interviews Darlton.

A Lost "in memoriam."

Favorite TV hangouts.

Holier than thou gasbag Sean Hannity calls Kim Kardashian a "role model" for girls. A. I don't think he does much research, and B. when his daughter is getting fucked on camera for a porn tape, maybe he might want to revisit that statement.

Galactica Sitrep found these odd little videos, with animated characters bitching about BSG to a clown standing for Ron Moore.

If this is the case, I should be the least lonely person alive.

E! talks to Dollhouse's Topher.

Paleyfest report on Fringe.

Fake tits, "real" marriage and empty heads.

Anna Faris will start in a new comedy about that age old relationship irritant: What's Your Number? Apparently, her character sets a limit on the number of dudes she can bang in her lifetime: 20. If one of my exes had done that, she'd have hung up her panties during recess.

Speaking of which, I find it odd that this headline was from Columbus Ohio.

Yep, that's my home state. Forget the fish, bread and eternal life. Nothing says benevolent mythological deity like an affordable Korean car.

Like a lot of sci-fi fans, I enjoyed Ender's Game. But the author is a whackjob, and just joined the NOM, to "declare war on the government" if they recognize marriage equality. I guess giant space insects are bigots, too.

Another good interview with Darlton, from Variety.

Televisionary talks with Caprica showrunner (and writer of Friday's AWESOME Dollhouse ep, "Briar Rose") Jane Espenson. BTW, I saw Caprica on DVD, and it was terrific. Highly recommended.

Atlanta sports fans rejoice. Our long national nightmare is over: Terence Moore leaves the AJC. (Typical column: bad owners, race, Aaron, Braves suck, race, bad sentence, race, Big Red Machine, race. Oh, and race).

Good look at UGA from Tony Barnhart.

The 5 Hardest Things to do in Acting. I guess "read dialogue in a George Lucas movie" or "convey emotion in a Michael Bay movie" just missed the cut.

I'll take potpourri for $4,700, Alex

Mo Ryan of the Chicago Trib continues to grab some geektastic interviews, this one with Ronald D. Moore about his directorial debut on Friday's BSG (which he also wrote). As for "A Disquiet Follows My Soul," I thought his direction was solid, not showy, and his script was an effective character study following the revelation and shock heavy mid season opener from last Friday. And here's another good interview with RDM. And one with the final Cylon.

Hey ladies.....I'm eminently qualified.

Did any other Dawg fans realize that Brandon Coutu was quietly in Seattle all year?

One side did seem to get all the attention on this issue, didn't they? I applaud the Big O's removal of the "gag order," yet I'm still perplexed why the government feels compelled to steal our money at gunpoint to use for "family planning" in other countries in the first place.

Additional thoughts on Lost now that I've had a couple of days to reflect on my original post:

• The issue with Locke being "dead" and the concern Ben, and his off-island butcher, were showing for his corpse: could John/Bentham be under the influence of the same drug that put Nikki and Paulo in a death-like trance? But he probably went through a coroner and embalming, since he's in a coffin at a funeral home and there was a public announcement (in the paper), right? Or was that part of a conspiracy, since Ben obviously has other off-island contacts?
  
• Why is Charlotte the only one of the "island time travelers" being affected with nosebleeds? Is it because she was the only one of the group born there on the island? And if she was born there, why is she traveling through time with the Losties and not remaining in one place like The Others?
• When Sun shows Kate a picture of Ji-Yeon, it's a pic of a baby and not of a toddler. Usually, I don't give a shit about kids, but this struck me as odd, since Ji-Yeon is obviously older now. Intentional and signifying something, or just an innocuous prop?
• A funny take on "previously, on Lost."
• The guy who keeps track of continuity on Lost.
  

A fond look back at the Bush years. That's related to Bulldog football, not lower taxes.

Kurt Warner a better QB than Peyton Manning? The numbers sure are interesting.

The "hobbit people" were not human. But just when you thought they were about to die off, there was another ending.

7 of the most embarrassing names in sports.

Cool movie poster "remakes" by Olly Moss.

Though the whole body of the inauguration speech was infected with overt religiosity, it was nice to hear a brief shout out to some of us. And of course even that draws criticism, though "we" make up a sizable portion of the voting -- and paying -- constituency.

Michelle Ryan as the new Doctor's assistant? It has been confirmed that she will be in one of the remaining specials with Tennant, but could she be signing on for duty with the 11th Doctor also? There were myriad problems with Bionic Woman, and the failure of that show wasn't entirely her fault. But some actors (like Hugh Laurie and Simon Baker) can be charismatic while suppressing their natural accents, and others can't. Ryan clearly couldn't, and I only found her really appealing when she went undercover as an English exchange student. So maybe that would be a very good choice (and certainly much better than the rumors of petulant twat Lily Allen as a Doctor's companion).

Fun set interviews from Big Bang Theory. And "Spock" actually signed the napkin!

Women at Deadspin ponder the role of religion in sports. After suffering through Tebow, and another week of Warner, this made me giggle:

But seriously, wouldn’t it be freakin’ amazing if there was a little equality? We have equality in everything else, why not religion too? How about someone doing a post-game presser and thanking Satan for an amazing tackle that splays a player out unconscious? Wouldn’t that be awesome? “Thank you oh Dark Lord for laying waste of my opponent.”

Or how about thanking Mercury for the speed to run a race past 3,000 non-believing runners. “I’d like to thank Thor for the power of the Gods that I might press that 800 lbs and not crush my spinal column.” What happened to those religions? They were fun. No, we’re down to just a few popular deities.

I'll take potpourri for $4,400, Alex

Today's roundup is especially list-heavy, given all the year end compiling and judgments. Enjoy.

A list of the Top 15 anticipated TV events for 2009. Here's another anticipatory list from Kristin at E! And because you're dying to know what I think, here's TNRLM's list (in reverse order):

• American Idol (Top 12 Only. And please new judge, be cutting, cogent and coherent, and minimize the time devoted to "personal stories" and Randy and Paula)
• Reaper
• Big Love
• Goldblum on L&O:CI (nice to see one of the critics above give a shout out to the little watched, but compelling, Raines)
• Lie To Me
• 24
• Battlestar Galactica
• Lost
• Dollhouse

Who? The new Doctor will be revealed sometime today. Some interesting choices there, but you can't argue with the perfect casting for the last two. Whoever it is, they will have some big shoes to fill, as Tennant has been spectacular. I haven't heard his name much until this article, but the spellcheck-crippling (and mucho talented) Chiwetel Ejiofor would be an inspired selection.

This makes a lot of sense, and why should 16% of the population continually be ignored?

Alan Sepinwall has a great interview with Ron Moore about the last part of BSG. Of particular note is his "checklist of question." And Mo Ryan has some thoughts on the next episode as well. I'm a reformed spoiler whore. I used to scour message boards and articles to find out everything I could about a show before it aired. Now? For the "major" shows (like Lost and BSG) where the surprise of the narrative is important, I try to stay as spoiler-free as possible.

Devin at CHUD is doing a very thorough and funny trek through all the original episodes and movies of Star Trek featuring the OG cast.

Speaking Trek, who knew there was Trek porn?

10 New Year's Resolutions for geeks.

I spent an inordinate amount of time going through these next 2 lists, watching video clips. It's a fascinating read. Den of Geek has assembled the Top 50 Movie Special Effects and the Top 24 Worst Movie Special Effects.

Another good cliptacular article; io9's Top 20 TV moments.

Oh fuck. Is XM Sirius in trouble next year? That would be horrific for my listening enjoyment.

Is Twitter better than SMS? Personally, I prefer SMS for "communicating" and Twitter for microblogging (when you SMS, you have to enter fewer address characters, at least on the CrackBerry, to send a message. And not all of my regular peeps are on Twitter).

A review of the Dr. Horrible DVD. (BTW, my favorite Evil League of Evil application was from Tur Moyel).

More listacular goodness -- TV.com counts down the Top 100 of everything, along with several other good listy recaps.

Pop Candy's Top 10 TV of the year.

I'll take potpourri for $3,700, Alex

I09 on why Dollhouse will be Joss's greatest work.

I'd buy an "US Magazine" covering these folks: "Not believing in fairy tales...they're just like US!" Related: happy holiday wishes! Hee.

Should I pimp out my new CrackBerry? I can tell you one thing, there will be no orange involved.

This has been buzzing around the interwebs this week (and even made Countdown with Keith Olbermann): a supposed UGA coed, in a version of "I fought the stall, and the stall won." Turns out, she was a fucking Gator. Don't we all feel better about our diplomas now?

30 sci-fi bromances.

The new Harry Potter trailer. Even if you've already seen the trailer, click the link to watch the video from the Warner Brothers "PR Guy."

The awesome first two minutes from the next Doctor Who X-Mas special.

Thoughts on James Bond one-liners. And a smattering of Bond double entendres. (And though she was the absolute worst Bond girl, I did enjoy the line about Denise Richards" nuclear scientist).

Auburn CB calls Stafford "best QB in the nation."

Thoughts on two wannabe pulp classics. I must admit, I've seen both of these movies, multiple times. I love the whole "pulp hero" genre (with The Phantom, The Shadow and others, like Doc Savage), and have read scores of their original novels. Of the two discussed here, Baldwin's Shadow was by far the more entertaining flick. There's a rumor that Sam Raimi also adores the property, and would like to do it justice on the big screen. I'd buy some coke and a popcorn for that, especially if the casting suggested in the AV Club article is realized: The Shadow/Lamont Cranston = Jon Motherfucking Hamm.

America's top 40 showrunners. Given how many shows are actually on TV, the list seems a little large. However, you know who is on there, as expected.

100 movie spoilers in less than 5 minutes. I knew them all, so nothing was spoiled for me, but DANGER WILL ROBINSON!!! If you don't want movie endings spoiled for you, don't watch.

First look at the "new" NCC-1701. The trailer should be on the intertubes any minute now.

20 classic toys that aren't movies....yet. As always when we reference "classic" toys, yep, I had almost all of these. And a blog devoted to Major Matt Mason.

I'll take potpourri for $3,500, Alex

Perhaps absence really does make the heart grow fonder. Here's an extended trailer for the upcoming season of 24.

Unhappy 40th birthday, MPAA. Nice list.

Don Draper on 30 Rock? The world might explode. (And I posted one clip from Jon Hamm's SNL appearance last week, where he was in character as Don Draper. But if you can find the "Vincent Price Halloween Special" sketch around -- it's not on Hulu -- go see it. Hamm does a fantastic James Mason).

A cornucopia of expansive and thoughtful Matt Weiner interviews. Here, Here and Here.

Dr. Horrible is one of Time's "Best Inventions of the Year." Damn straight.

Cats and dogs living together? A sign of the apocolypse, or the coming of the Stay-Puft marshmallow man? Perhaps. But damn, this story is cute enough to make even my black heart beat a little.

Some much deserved love for BSG and Sarah Connor hottie, Stephanie Jacobsen.

Empire asked David Fincher to scribble down his favorite movies of all time. His list makes me appreciate him even more. What he scribbled (and my agreement on "favorites" in yellow):

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Chinatown
Dr. Strangelove
Godfather 2
Taxi Driver
Being There
All The Jazz
Alien
Rear Window
Zelig
Cabaret
Paper Moon
Jaws
Lawrence of Arabia
All the Presidents Men
8 1/2
Citizen Kane
Days of Heaven
Animal House
Road Warrior
Year of Living Dangerously
American Graffiti
Terminator
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
The Exorcist
The Graduate

David Tennant is leaving Doctor Who. My Whovian experience only goes back as far as the new series, but the casting of both "new" Doctors has been spot on. I have confidence the next one will be an inspired and talented choice.

Here and here are some options for making Firefox as dark as night.

Part 1 and Part 2 of a long interview with Jon Favreau about Iron Man, The Avengers and more.

How cute is this hoodies for geeks? I need to meet someone who would wear this.

Holy Shit! MTV does music videos? Online, at least. The "channel" is still littered with reality whores, though.

A can't miss interview with Michael Taylor, BSG writer. Lots of good stuff for fans in there (and of course, as all good writers should be, he's a fan of Mad Men).

Joss talks about what the hell has been going on with Dollhouse.

The "Big O" thinks that success and keeping what you earn is "selfishness." Sigh. Ayn Rand rolls over in her grave. Can we all go John Galt next week after the election?

I fucking hate clamshell packaging. It's a wonder anyone has fingers left after frakkin' with those things. But check this out!

New fire hydrant hopefully won't destroy mankind.

Just saw a picture of UGA VII's new fire hydrant. Maybe it's because I just caught up on the multi-part (and mostly excellent) Doctor Who finale, but the first thing I thought of was the Red Supreme Dalek.

If that thing gets pissed on and becomes homicidal, I hope some knows how to reach The Doctor.

I'll take potpourri for $1,500, Alex

I enjoyed last night's Doctor Who, though like most Who, it's probably best not to think too hard about the plot mechanics. The fish faced "Hath" were cute, and a decent alien design, weren't they? And what's with all the shots this season of the Doctor's "extra" hand? Surely this is leading somewhere, along with the split second glimpses of Rose we get from time to time. Reminds me of the "Bad Wolf" clues dropped a couple of seasons ago. Here's something to think about: the adorable actress who winningly played the Doctor's "daughter" in the ep last night is the real-life daughter of Peter Davison, who played the Fifth Doctor. And also in real life, she's dating the Tenth Doctor, David Tennant. Maybe the Tardis needs a visit to Cleveland, Georgia and a consultation with McNamara/Troy to help them sort all this out.

The Onion AV Club is going through Buffy, starting at season 1.

Pajiba declares the 15 best TV seasons of the past 20 years. Hello, Firefly! Howdy, Buffy Season 2! Greetings, Farscape Season 3! Nice to see ya, Six Feet Under Season 1! There's four I wholeheartedly agree with. There's got to be some room there, however, for Dexter, The Sopranos and Mad Men, no?

I just finished up with Dexter Season 2, and holy shit, what a ride. I watched it all over the course of a week or so, and it was positively electric. The voice overs were dark, deadpan hilarious, and the acting and writing were superb. I've hated few characters on my TV like Lila, though she was a perfect catalyst for the story this season. And though she needs to eat a sandwich, I think I love Debra Morgan, all emotional confusion and shockingly foul mouth. I thought the show would have a hard time topping S1, but this may have done it. Outstanding.

Speaking of Dexter, Jimmy Smits will be joining the cast for the next season.

Always nice to see Julianne Moore talking about fellatio.

Nice roundtable discussion from the showrunners of Lost, Pushing Daisies, HIMYM, House and Mad Men.

More good stuff about How I Met Your Mother here.

Cool sketches of the ships on BSG.

Weird. Torchwood is coming back in 2009, but for only 5 hours. What's up with that?

Buster Bluth coming to Chuck? Yeah, that works.

This poll sums up how I feel about Narnia.

Could Tim Burton direct Johnny Depp as Barnabas Collins in a big screen Dark Shadows? Awesome.

I'll take potpourri for $1,400, Alex

Not quite sure how this makes me feel. The AJC's Mark Bradley picks UGA to go 11-1 and win the Mythical National Championship.

IO9 has a cool comparison between the fandoms of Doctor Who and Star Trek, complete with charts and graphs!

Save Dollhouse before it gets cancelled by FOX. Or before it airs on FOX!

Screw Obama and McCain. You want change? Vote this way.

Just got my EW with the summer TV preview. (Don't worry, TNRLM will tell you what to set your TiVo for this summer shortly). But Mad Men, and the gorgeous and voluptuous Christina Hendricks on the cover? Wowza. Nice to see our Mrs. Reynolds on another top shelf show. And when Mad Men comes back, it will be on Sundays.

The Coen Brothers are back in funny territory, and I couldn't be happier. This looks sensational.

Reasons the underrated SOAP was a groundbreaking show.

Shirley Manson from Garbage is joining the cast of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.

Harper's Bazaar does a fawning profile of Clooney's girlfriend, a former Vegas skank who was attracted to him because he "cares about Darfur." Oooops. Maybe that article wasn't such good timing.

Awesome photo of the Watchmen from the 40s. I've said it before and I'll say it again: if you haven't read Watchmen, get yourself to a Barnes and Noble now and buy it. It's not just for comic book geeks. That shit is literature, y'all.

The perfect birthday cake for geeks. From a bakery up here!

Braves play another one-run game, suffer another loss. This is causing ulcers.

The upside of the trade deficit

Television goodness from across the pond: sci-fi trailers from two of our favorite "programmes" on the Beeb:

Teaser for the Doctor Who "Christmas Special" (not sure when it's airing here. But it's The Doctor on a space fairing Titanic, with Kylie Minogue)



And the trailer for Torchwood (One of TNRLM's 10 Best of 2007) Season 2. (Whedonverse fans will recognize a certain "other" vampire with soul)

Saturday Morning Entertainment Roundup

Anyone catch 30 Rock on Thursday? Behold Alec Baldwin's Jack Donaghy employing creative techniques to keep Tracy Jordan from dogfighting. Two thoughts come to mind: 1. I would have never quit therapy if it was this much fun and this effective. 2. Arthur Blank should have called in Jack Donaghy last year. And speaking of the ASPCA's favorite number 7, where was this judge when you needed him? (I don't understand the guilty party in this situation. What did the dog do? Even though I'm more of a cat person, wouldn't it have made much more sense to toss the girlfriend off the balcony? I mean, just logically?)

What the hell is it with the cast of Lost and DUIs? Does this mean Michael will return and shoot him?

As promised, Mad Men did deliver a sensational finale. I still don't know quite what to make about the "shocker" with Peggy. Is it even possible not to know? In an hour (almost a full hour, too, with no commercials) of solid writing and acting, there were many, many highlights, including this one: Don's pitch to the Kodak folks about "The Wheel."

We've all heard Johnny Cash's "A Boy Named Sue." How about "A Man Called Jayne?"

Fun video snippet of Tricia Helfer's favorite fight scenes. Two observations (other than the obligatory "that kicks ass"): That last little tidbit? "The fight ends in hot sex, but not with Baltar?" Hmmmmm. And is LeeLee Sobieski a replicant created from Helen Hunt's DNA?

Check out Skiffy for a new BSG short. This one? AWESOME. Fighting skydiving. With a "classic" toaster. Did I mention AWESOME?

A tribute to the anniversary of Wrath of Khan, with Sylar/"new" Spock introducing the original cast. And in case you can't get enough "Khaaaan!" here's a handy website for you.

I'm terrible with geography, but is Williamsburg Greenpoint anywhere near Columbus, Georgia? Of course, this novel, The Delivery Man, could have been set there a couple of decades ago, too.

I'm still on the fence with Bionic Woman. Miguel Ferrer is underused and the show only really comes alive when Katee Sackhoff/Sarah Corvus is on screen. Plus, Isaiah Washington would hate Dumbledore. However, this week's episode showed a bit of wit, and how much better and emotive was Michelle Ryan when she was using her natural Brit accent? Too bad Jamie Sommers isn't revealed to be originally from across the pond.

What happens when Darth Vader falls in love.

TV Squad has a countdown of the scariest TV characters. A few highlights:

• The evil troll doll. Yes, the special effects are horribly outdated now. But I remember watching this as a kid and not sleeping for days, wondering where this little monster was going to be.
• The Peacock Family. Holy shit. Who wasn't freaked the fuck out the first time they saw this episode? Hell, they could be from Columbus, too.
• Eugene Tooms. More fun from The X-Files. Another classic sitting on the edge of your seat creepfest for Mulder and Scully.
• The Gentlemen. A perfect episode of Buffy, with everything that made it great. Stellar writing and acting, horror, innovative plotting, humor and character.
• Weeping Angels. A great example of how to do a lot with a little, from Doctor Who.

Coming to America. But it's not Neil Diamond.

I'm not the biggest Doctor Who fan in the world. I tried watching a few of the "classic" episodes, but was always taken out of the plot by the extra cheesy special effects (and I'm saying this as a huge fan of "planet of the paper mache rocks" and "run back and forth across the bridge" of the original Star Trek), sometimes impenetrable British idioms, generally childish plots and labyrinth mythology. So when the Sci-Fi Channel picked up the recent version of Doctor Who, and the advance press promised it would have better production values and be accessible to new viewers, I gave it a shot. I was pleasantly surprised, and it was quickly added to the Tivo Season pass list. (Or, as it's known here in Comcast-land, the list of shows that you want to watch that are either recorded occasionally, leaving out key episodes, or recorded over and over including repeats until you want to bash your forehead onto a juicer). The plots were well crafted, and though the subject matter and execution can trend a bit young for my tastes, the central performances of the two Doctors (long story), Christopher Eccelston and David Tennant, are spectacular.

A character that appeared in several episodes, the "omnisexual" time traveler Captain Jack Harkness, was given a spinoff called Torchwood. The first season of this intriguing new show pops up on BBC America this weekend. It promises to be darker and edgier, dealing with more adult themes, and sounds like a British X-Files combined with a Whedon show. In fact, I ran across this article today (h/t Whedonesque) featuring interviews with the writers. When they speak of their influences and favorite shows, all the Whedon shows come up (naturally), along with Farscape, Battlestar Galactica, Lost and Heroes. That's good enough for me to give it a try. We'll see if favorably compares.