I'll take potpourri for $4,600, Alex

This week's roundup features and extra helping of geek. Enjoy.

RIP, Ricardo Montalban. Just for good measure. Also, 16 things you may not know about TWoK.

As well documented in the blogosphere, ESPN is increasingly populated with self-absorbed asshats with a tired schtick. However, a rare bright spot on the tube and on the radio is Scott Van Pelt. Here's a good interview with him at The Big Lead.

The Mad-Pocalypse has been averted. Matt Weiner signs for two more seasons. Everyone fuck around, have a martini and smoke up!

A Veronica Mars flick? Get me tickets and popcorn, I'm there.

The Top 50 sci-fi costumes. And here's a detailed history of one all the geeks know is on that list.

Soft-core sci-fi sex coming to Skinemax?

I consider myself a treasure trove of nerd trivia. But I never knew that EJO was offered the role of Captain Picard.

Here's another one for you. Did you realize that Nathan Fillion auditioned for the role of Crichton on Farscape (that eventually went to Ben Browder)?

I'm too old, and geographically undesirable. But seeing ads like this gives me hope for mankind.

The talented and smoking hot Emily Blunt in the Iron Man sequel, possibly as The Black Widow? Mmmmmm.

Speaking of hot and talented, an interview with Amy Acker.

Mo Ryan continues to get geektastic interviews, this time with the Lost boys. Good stuff. Wednesday! Wednesday!

After all the naysaying and hand-wringing over Dollhouse, a few reasons to be optimistic.

Good news for Mondays: Leonard's mom on BBT gets cast, as does Chuck's dad on Chuck.

A solid list of the Top 25 episodes of Angel, along with the 5 worst. (And yep, those are definitely the top 2 worst).

17 revamps that went better than expected.

Reasons to look forward to the new TV season.

Tim Tebow! Praise be to Allah!

Some insight into what's shaping up to be another great season of In Treatment.

Finebaum's SEC coaching rankings. Hard to argue with it.

Comic-Con done broke Google Reader

Of the 60+ RSS feeds I get into Google Reader, many of them are focused on geeky entertainment. And with Comic-Con going this week, the damned feed has almost exploded. Fortunately, I have no life and I've managed to make my way through them all and find my cup of nerd knowledge overflowing. Some highlights:

What to wear at Comic-Con. I particularly like the Captain Hammer shirt, and the "all the robots that matter" one.

Jack Bauer screams "Dammit!" at a fan (all in good fun). And there's a reference to a 24 drinking game (I seem to recall getting plastered playing my own version of this one).

Highlights from the Watchmen panel. First, Carla Gugino is smoking hot. (She was also on a panel for a "re-imagining" of childhood fave Escape to Witch Mountain). Also, good insight from the actors on getting into their characters. Speaking of the flawless Gugino, here's a look at a Vargas-style pinup of her character, Sally Jupiter. Another recap of the panel is here.

Kinda cool: a look a concept art for the lightcycles in TRON. Awesomely Fucking Cool: Out of the blue and unannounced, Disney previewed a teaser (or "proof of concept") for a TRON sequel, called TR2N, featuring The Dude himself, Jeff Bridges. Here's a grainy, camera phone view of the footage.

Dexter made an appearance at the Con. Here's a write up on the panel. And check out the season 3 preview!

Thoughts on The Middleman panel. And they are cutting back from 13 eps to 12? Sigh. I, too, was worried that the smart, funny show might be too "niche-y" to find a mainstream audience (especially on ABC Family) despite all the glowing reviews. I certainly hope it comes back for a second season, but if you're not watching it, you should be, while you can. There's really nothing like it on TV, and it's the laugh out loud funniest take on "superheroes" since The Tick.

Farscape is coming back with comics and webisodes.

I knew a Wolverine movie was coming out, but I didn't realize there would be an appearance from everyone's favorite lingerie-wearing, psychotic, psionic uber-bitch, Emma Frost. Awesome. I wonder who will be playing her? How about Christina Cole? Or Emily Blunt with blonde hair?

Video from the panel with the Lost guys. Plus more on Chuck, Sarah Connor and Lost.

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.

The 50 Greatest Television Shows of All Time

Empire, the UK's preeminent entertainment magazine (and really, one of the best out there period) just published a list of the 50 Greatest Television Shows of All Time. While it has a certain British sensibility, and includes several shows many of us in The Colonies haven't seen, it is a solid list and one that deserves comment. So open up another tab in your browser, and follow along with me as I count (most of) them down.

Nice to see some love for Quantum Leap

Would not put Prison Break in the Top 50. Or Top 250.

Veronica's best episode is NOT the S2 finale. And I might put it higher on the list.

DS9's best ep would be "Far Beyond the Stars," Trials and Tribbilations" or "In the Pale Moonlight."

Nice to see Farscape love, too. I would put it higher than 45. I would have never believed I could take seriously a show that featured muppets as aliens, but damned if it didn't work, thanks to inventive scripting and downright sizzling performances by Ben Browder and Claudia Black.

Star Trek at 43? Kidding, right? Dammit, Jim, that's too low!

Band of Brothers. Cool. I hate the way I finally got around to watching this one, though.

For Star Trek: TNG, they rightly named "Best of Both Worlds (Parts I and II)" as the best ep, though I would put "Yesterday's Enterprise" just a notch below that one.

Alias that high? Above 3 Treks and Farscape? I liked Alias, but not that much.

Deadwood at 31. Ahhh, dearly departed Deadwood. I realize there was more to Deadwood's demise than the creation of the trippy, challenging and ultimately frustrating John From Cincinnati, but I would have easily forgone that for one more season with Al Swearingen. And an average of 1,000 "fucks" per 12 episode season? That's 83 "fucks" per episode. That's fucking awesome, fuckers.

Love that Dexter made the list.

Bender on Futurama is named after Judd Nelson's character in the Breakfast Club? Cool.

Nice choice with Angel at 21. Numfar does the dance of joy. And of course, I would have it higher.

Scrubs at 19? Wha? Huh? I mean, I liked Scrubs for a while, until it became all about kids, but 19?

Best. Sitcom. Ever. Arrested Development at 18. Sweet, but it should be even higher.

South Park is still as funny today as it was when it premiered.

Heroes at 15? Has anyone watched season 2? Although I will agree with them about "Five Years Gone." I still have that ep saved on the TiVo, even after all this time.

Firefly at 14! Shiny! How do you pick a "best" episode here? "Out of Gas" is a very solid and obvious choice, though I'm also partial to the more existential "Objects in Space" (Jubal Early is a fantastic creation) and "Shindig" never fails to crack me up. And that's not even mentioning "Our Mrs. Reynolds" with the duplicitous and adorable YoSaffBridge.

Frak Yeah. BSG at 13. Too Low? So Say We All. And for my take on the best episode (and hell, ALL the episodes), check out this Very Special Edition of TNRLM's "The Canon"

Hard to argue with Seinfeld at 11, but I still put Arrested Development as the best sitcom ever, a c-hair ahead of this show and Cheers.

Now we're in the Top 10, with the X-Files at 9. Despite some hits and misses (mostly the unsatisfying wrap up and faltering under its own weight mythology), this still ranks as one of the best shows of all time. Best episode? They cite "Jose Chung," which might be worthy, but there are so many to consider, like "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose," "Bad Blood" and many others, including "Home" (check out the Did You Know blurb at the bottom for the surprising origin of that story).

Never watched The Wire. Dunno. Just no interest.

24 at 6? I love watching Jack Bauer whoop some terrorist (or bystander) ass with the best of 'em, but as Gob Bluth would say...."Come On!"

Lost checks in at 5. Given my obsession with the show (I just received 2 "Dharma" and one "Oceanic Air" t-shirts I ordered last weekend), I can't argue with that one. Another show that's tough to pick a best episode. What about "Walkabout?" Or last season's finale, "Through The Looking Glass?" Or this season's "The Constant?"

You woke up this morning. Got yourself a gun. Mama always said you'd be the chosen one. Or at #3. "Long Term Parking" is indeed a fine episode, but "Pine Barrens" is a fucking masterpiece.

I'm fond of The Simpsons, and it certainly has had a significant cultural impact and impressive staying power. That's their choice for number 1. However, speaking of "The Chosen One," my choice for number 1 would be Empire's choice for number 2. The answer, of course, is the television masterpiece Buffy The Vampire Slayer. If you are still scared by the silly title, you're really missing out (much like I assume some folks are by Battlestar Galactica) and owe it to yourself to go buy all seven seasons on DVD right now. Trust me, you won't regret it. Or, if you like, you can do a little sampling at hulu.com. And then you'll go buy all seven seasons on DVD. I'll even get you started right now:

As for the "best" episode of Buffy? You can check out this other Very Special Edition of TNRLM's "The Canon" right here.

As you can tell, I don't have that many quibbles with the list overall, despite the omission of some "classic" series (Twilight Zone, Magnum PI, Cheers, M*A*S*H, etc.). The only "new" series I would think merits inclusion is the compelling Mad Men.

What's missing? Agree or disagree? What are the best episodes? Whatcha think, TNRLM readers?

Welcome to the Dollhouse

More info coming out about Joss Whedon's eagerly awaited return to television, the Eliza Dushku vehicle Dollhouse.

First, Elizabeth Craft and Sarah Fain, most recently the showrunners on Women's Murder Club, and previously writers for Angel, have joined the writing staff of Dollhouse. That's good news.

Second, TV Guide's Mike Ausiello has obtained a character list for Dollhouse. His entertaining article not only lists the principal characters on the show, but also suggests "Buffyverse" and "Non-Buffyverse" actors to portray them. Check out the list and come back.

Okay, back here now? Good. Here are my comments and further suggestions (and I've expanded the "Buffyverse" to be the "Whedonverse," including some folks from Firefly/Serentiy, also.

Adelle Dewitt: I really like the suggestion of Juliet Landau. We certainly don't see her on TV enough.

Paul Ballard: I have no problem with Gunn. I also think his suggestion of Ben Browder is right on, though Crichton is a bit old for the "thirtysomething" description of the character. Keeping with the 'verse, what about Christian Kane? He was terrific as the conflicted Lindsay McDonald, and is closer to the character age.

Boyd Langton: Anthony Stewart Head would be just about perfect, but is the role too close to Giles? Skinner is also a great choice, but what about Alexis Denisof? He certainly knows how to create a vibrant friction with Eliza. Or hell, even James Marsters? He definitely spiced up Torchwood.

Topher Brink: Andrew is on target, and I don't know the other suggestion. If you want to go less "ambiguously gay" and totally nerdy, how about Jonathon Woodward, who pulled off the rare Whedonverse hat trick?

Sierra: Bianca Lawson? Really? As long as she doesn't try a Jamaican accent, mon. Personally, I'd prefer Morena Baccarin, Amy Acker or Katharine Towne, who played delightfully bitchy vamp Sunday in the Buffy ep "The Freshman."

Victor: What about Sean Maher?

Dr. Claire Sanders: No problems with Gina Torres, but Michelle Forbes rocks the known world. Great suggestion.

Okay, fellow Whedon geeks. Whaddaya think? Any other inspired choices?

Frak! That's Frakkin Awesome! And Frak you, too!

From I09, here's a handy summary of sci-fi swear words. With summer coming up, I think I need to invest in some geeky t-shirts adorned with otherworldly profanity. Farscape's "Frell Me Dead" has always been a favorite, though I'd also be proud to sport one featuring any of the chinese amalgamations from Firefly.

("Frakkin Toaster" is a must).

Also featured is a highlight clip of S1 BSG "Fraks."

Enjoy.

Making it rain: Entertainment Style

Whereby we throw up a bunch of $1 entertainment nuggets onto the stage and see which STDs take them home.

Here's a great Kevin Smith interview. Wide variety of topics covered, and definitely worth reading if you're a fan.

Some critics and fans are all aflutter about "fixing" American Idol. Personally, I didn't see that much wrong with this year. Sure, the Sanjaya thing threatened to hijack the season, but he was gone soon enough after the joke wore off. And the performances from a couple of the guest mentors were lackluster, at best. The hour results show has to go though. For those that don't have Tivo, this must have been the equivalent of waterboarding. Here's one article I read that seems to be representative of the complaints. To that, I say PLEASE FRAK NO! Idol is the ONE "reality" series I watch, simply because there doesn't seem to be very much of the "getting to know" the contestants. I don't care that Phil is a dad or in the armed forces. I don't give a shit about Lakisha not having a "baby daddy." All I want is the performance, the judging and the results. That's why I stopped investing in watching the Olympics long ago. I simply can't stand all the "packages" about everyone's background and personalities. I just want the competition. As for Idol fixes, I would shorten the results show back to 30 minutes, and give more consideration to the talent chosen for the final 12. If they wanted to replace a judge, I'd be okay with Randy hitting the bricks. He doesn't add much (other than his "credibility" at having worked with an admittedly respectable array of talent, which of course he reminds you about every 10 minutes), and his "dawg-isms" get old, quick.

I'm officially onboard with The Office. I caught the last few eps of this season, and have spent the last week devouring Season 2 on DVD. The commentaries on the discs are great, and often feature 6 or 7 people at a time (for a 22 minute show!). I don't even know why I didn't get on the bandwagon earlier, but this is a classic, right up there with Arrested Development.

Not sure why they held the House season finale until after sweeps, but it airs tomorrow night.

Good list from Premiere of the 100 greatest movie lines of all time.

Some of the folks over on TWOP are starting a Farscape "rewatch" from the beginning. If you've never seen this magnificent show, check it out. You'll thank me later.