Grieving for Two

But not the two you might think.

Yes, I'm aware of yesterday's double whammy of celebrity passings. And yes, like everyone of my generation, I have an abundance of memories related to both Farrah and MJ. I had the iconic poster on my wall, of course. Watched Charlie's Angels. Went to see Saturn 3, being both a fan of hot chicks with feathered hair and sci-fi (and being terribly disappointed -- what an AWFUL movie. So awful, they completely dubbed Harvey Keitel's entire vocal performance). Listened to the Jackson 5. Had the "Off The Wall" and "Thriller" records (and still think the high points of "OTW" are higher than those of "Thriller"). Remember being in college and everyone congregating around a TV in the common dorm areas when MTV's on the hour showing of the John Landis "Thriller" video would play. (Remember "videos" showing on MTV and not vapid whores?)

So yeah, I was sad about that. But for some reason, seeing an animal pass away on film gets to me every time. Not necessarily in the uncomfortable way of the ox in Apocalypse Now, but more when a beloved pet shuffles off the mortal coil. I can't explain it. I'm not a crazy vegan and not about to go throw blood on the grand opening of a new KFC. But for whatever way I'm wired, Old Yeller made me cry far more than Brian's Song (though of course, that made me squirt a few also).

I bring this up, because Monday's The Closer just killed me. It was a very solid episode, with a great turn from a bitchy Mary McDonnell as a Internal Affairs officer, but Fritz and Brenda came to the resolution that their beloved Kitty wasn't going to make it. That ending scene with Brenda lying on the couch, arms around a sickly, purring and meowing Kitty just wrecked me. To make matters worse, I've been catching up on some Futurama episodes I've missed, and that same evening, what was waiting for me on the TiVo? The heartbreaking classic "Jurassic Bark," which revolves around Fry's "past" dog Seymour. Those final 30 seconds or so of that ep left me sobbing like an infant.

Maybe it's getting caught up in the emotional narrative of the story. Or perhaps because I think that one of my "kids" isn't doing that well. Whatever the reason, I'm glad that double dip in the pool of pet mortality is over, and I can go back to enjoying watching vampires, Cylons, stormtroopers, redshirts and other fake "people" die for my entertainment and fondly recalling the pop culture contributions of real people who are no longer with us.

Obama not fit to be President

He didn't know the name of Conan's deity, nor could he answer three "simple" Dune trivia questions. For shame.

I keed, I keed.

Regardless of where you fall on the political spectrum, if you're a nerd, you have to at least be heartened by Big O's proud embrace of his geeky background. (The man gave Leonard Nimoy the Vulcan salute!)

And you'll also enjoy Nerd High Priest John Hodgman's performance at the Radio and Television Correspondents Dinner:



Obviously, I'd feel better about things if the man with the keys to the launch codes knew what a "thumper" was, or the purpose of the "water of life," but at this point, why quibble.

He'll be back, too

Today is the 15 year "anniversary" of the infamous O.J. Simpson white Bronco "chase" that mesmerized and horrified a national viewing audience.

We all know how things turned out for "the Juice."

Since I usually blog about things trivial and geeky, here's the sadly ironic factoid that always seems too impossible to be true:

When James Cameron was developing the original Terminator movie, he initially thought of the unstoppable killing machine from the future as a "normal" looking guy, who could blend in with his targets (much like Robert Patrick would in the sequel). His first choice was Lance Henrickson, with whom he had just worked on Piranha II. The studio vetoed that casting, though Henrickson was added to the film in another role. A second choice was none other than O.J. Simpson, but Cameron did not think "such a nice guy could be a ruthless killer."

Too bad Sarah Connor and Kyle Reese weren't around in Brentwood.

I'll take potpourri for $6,200, Alex

Let's take a break from our Emmy shortlisting, and roll around in some miscellany. Sound good?

If you haven't yet seen Veronica Mars, get thee to the WB.com, where you can watch the entire first season for free online (only until June 29th). This show is awesome, of course.

Galactica Sitrep has an interview with a leading roboticist, discussing Cylons. It's a fascinating read, but one thing that stuck out to me (sowing the seeds of my dissatisfaction with not only a major show plot thread, but the WTF of the ending):

What don't you like about the show?

This may put me in a bad light with Middle America, but the God angle – the fact that the cylons have a god – I really find that to be grating.

I haven't yet seen The Hangover, but I want to. Just watching the trailers, one question that popped up in my mind is "how do they do Ed Helms' missing tooth?" Make up? Digital effects? The answer is more straightforward than you think.

No matter how much they prayed, God couldn't save Tommy Tuberville's job. Maybe the staff should have been praying to the Almighty Bobby Lowder.

I never caught the Jeff Francouer quote "If OBP is so important, they why don't they put it up on the scoreboard?", which is hilarious. Some enterprising soul put together a t-shirt in Jeff's honor. Remember a couple of years ago, with an SI cover and universal adoration? Seems like a long time ago.

I was watching an old Quantum Leap episode the other day (the one where Sam helps out Marilyn Monroe), and the guy they had play Clark Gable was spot on. I kept thinking, "where have I seen him before?" Turns out, he's played Gable before in other productions, but equally as geeky, he was the legendary Dash Riprock! AND, he showed up at the "Shindig" on Firefly!

The absolute best, and funniest, things you will ever read on gay marriage. From SI's Jeff Pearlman.

Alan Tudyk chats about Dollhouse, V and Wash.

Land of the Lost isn't doing so well at the box office this weekend. Related, are these the 25 funniest Will Ferrell characters?

Whatever happened to TV theme songs?

Burn Notice triumphantly last Thursday. Alan Sepinwall chats with BN creator Matt Nix. Sepinwall also has great chats with In Treatment showrunner Warren Leight and Party Down creators Rob Thomas and John Enborn.

Good news for V. X-Files and Angel vet Jeff Bell takes over as showrunner.

Speaking of showrunners, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles honcho Josh Friedman takes to his blog to lament the cancelation of his show. Poignant and funny stuff.

12 million year old hominid with human features found in Spain. Wait, I thought the universe was only 6,000 years old? Obviously, another case of the devil manipulating carbon dating and fossils.

The twenty sexiest ugly people.

Mountain range discovered under Antarctic, that's been untouched for over 14 million years. Obviously, another case of Old Scratch duping scientists and geologists!

I'm not a videogame guy, but holy shit, does this new Beatles Rock Band game look awesome. Hell, the trailer is a work of art itself.

Children flying first class? Having long been a traveler who appreciates (and sometimes needs) that upgrade, I would have to offer an emphatic NO. (Unless the flight is Air France 447, Oceanic 815 or Ajira 316).

100 movie cliches that just won't die.

Dark UFO put up the results of their Lost season 5 Awards. Pretty interesting.

Great news! New Better Off Teds will be airing starting June 23rd.

Potential covers for the DVD release of The Middleman. Add this to your amazon wish list posthaste!

Dexter adds a new foil for season 4.

Fun with underage strippers back in Georgia. I think we all know how this story ends.

Profiles in awkwardness: EW's "Idolatry" interviews Danny Gokey (if you're watched, or read, any of the Idolatry pieces in EW this year, you know they're big fans of the Gokester). How can you be on a music show, and not fucking know what band Michael McDonald was in?

Yes, she's annoying. Yes, her live singing leaves a lot to be desired. But these Katy Perry pics? I'll be in my bunk.

Cinematical looks at 7 female TV stars who should be in more movies.

50 dirty text acronyms every parent should know. Suddenly, my BlackBerry feels lonely.

Not only has God been forsaking the Auburn coaching staff, but apparently he's been busy elsewhere during the NBA Finals, since Orlando Magic player, and team dancer impregnator, Dwight Howard assured the media that the Magic would beat the Lakers because of the almighty. Evidently, even divine intervention can't prevent Kobe from scoring 40. No word on whether Howard will start drawing pentagrams and reading Aleister Crowley if the Magic lose.

I'll take potpourri for $6,000, Alex

The Lost finale is still cooking my noodle, and I'll have more on that next week. However, here's an overstuffed basket of potpourri for your Saturday morning enjoyment:

Need a quick way to identify which Trek movie you're watching? Here's a handy chart.

How does Spock's mom stay so young looking? Big gulps of water, apparently. (Plus, any chance to indulge my lifelong crush on Winona Ryder is always welcome).

How big is the new Enterprise? Pretty fucking big.

i09's 5 favorite Trek ripoffs (and you really have to click the video for the "Phoenix 5.")

Here's a great podcast about movie scores. You'll find at the top of the list a episode about the music of Trek. Good stuff.

More Trek! Here's the wallpaper on my CrackBerry:

io9 has compiled a great collection of Trek Top 10 lists.

More Trek goodies, including a trivia quiz administered by "Q." (Yeah, I scored 20 out of 20).

Great set of annotations to the new Trek movie.

Can you tell that I FLOVED the new Trek film? Okay, on to other things...

This is AWESOME. The "world's three best visual illusions."

Flat screen TV's are now an apparent danger to children. Here's a solution: keep your fucking kids away from the TV. Here's another: get your priorities in line. TVs are much more important; don't spawn in the first place.

One man's take on why Fringe is attracting more viewers than Dollhouse.

Speaking of Fringe, how about that fantastic finale? Here's a closeup of a newspaper from the other dimension. JFK is still alive! (Does Oliver Stone have no career in this other dimension?) Len Bias still alive, and leading the Celts to a title! Stock market closed! White House rebuilt!

Michael Emerson chats with the AV Club.

Joss Whedon's "7 Things I Love About Sci-Fi."

io9 posits that Dollhouse is Joss's "greatest work." (I don't agree, but it's an interesting read nonetheless).

The gorgeous Juliet Landau talks about writing Drusilla for the Buffy comics.

Nathan Fillion Q&A with EW about Castle (which also got renewed, along with Better Off Ted. Yippee!). More Nathan here.

An oldie but a goodie from PJ O'Rourke, "I agree with me."

This cracks me up: the "history of everything" in timeline form. Which option makes more sense?

Asteroids couldn't have killed the dinosaurs. Wait, all this happened in 6,000 years?

Oh yeah. Marriage equality leads to bestiality, pedophilia and polygamy. Keep talking, Pat. It makes everyone else look smarter.

Thoughts on Joss's script for Alien Resurrection, and what happened as it was translated by the director.

Nice Interview with Jim Beaver, from Supernatural. (And damn, was I glad Bobby lived through that kickass finale).

Wizard Universe lists the "TV Greatest Sci-Fi Shows Ever."

How cool is this? The Tarantino Mixtape:

The Tarantino Mixtape from Eclectic Method on Vimeo.

Today in Idiocy: I watch the Weather Channel occasionally, but didn't realize there was a type of "wind" that would only blow in the direction of nipples, while leaving the hair unmoved.

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.

Desmond goes motorboatin'

In a strange story to come out over the weekend, Henry Ian Cusick, who plays Desmond on Lost, has been named as a defendant in a sexual battery and harassment claim.

It's odd in that the purported incident happened almost two years ago, in October of 2007.

Cusick is married with three kids, and if true, the story could have some significant impact on the show:

• Des is the central romantic figure on the show, and his star crossed relationship with Penny (talk about motorboatin'!) is at the crux of the show's mythology. This kind of squicky off camera behavior could color how we view that relationship, and the character. (Though Rob Lowe just went through a similar lawsuit, and it doesn't appear to have hurt his career or relationship with ABC. And Alec Baldwin leaves lovely messages for his kid, and still makes us laugh our asses off on 30 Rock, so who knows?)
  
• The producers have shown little tolerance for actor shenanigans (cough*Libby*cough*Anna Lucia*cough). Could they get rid of Desmond, when the season finale has already been filmed and plotlines set in motion for the final season? Or, putting on the conspiracy theorist hat, could Darlton have already known this was coming, and adjusted the plot to take into account, gasp, the fact that Des might not be long for this world?
• Whether he stays or goes, there's no doubt Des is supposed to play a central role in how things develop, given the fact that he is Daniel's "constant," and, according to Dan, a wild card in all the time travel and future shaping events.

Interesting, and potentially disturbing, news indeed.

If I was him, I'd just go back in time and make sure there was no ass grabbin' in the production trailer.

Surely Dan wrote that down in his notebook. ("talk to Chang about rabbits.....what's with Charlotte's nosebleeds?.....Jughead is a bomb, oh shit....always keep tie on.......make sure Widmore pays bills for coma girl....hire nurse for future....whatever happened, happened, but maybe not......what year was Charlotte born? I can never keep that straight.....young Eloise is hot, but she's my mom. That's kinda weird. Would would McFly do?.....black jumpsuits are slimming....tell Naomi to "watch her back"......Desmond Hume is my constant......talk to him about that motorboating thing.....)

I'll take potpourri for $5,800, Alex

io9 has a good summary of "Evil Corporations." I actually have t-shirts for Blue Sun, Weyland-Yutani and Cyberdyne Systems. (I wanted to link to the video from the Angel episode "Harm's Way," with featured a Wolfram & Hart new employee orientation video, but I couldn't find it online. In it, you see that the evil law firm represents many of the companies listed here. Funny stuff).

MoMass has seen his draft stock improve lately. Good for him. I think he'll make a very good possession receiver in the NFL. (And good god, he did everything -- except make a tackle -- to keep us in that last regular season game of which we shall not speak). Several folks put him now with the Bears.

Awwwwww.

Some good behind the scenes stuff from Mo Ryan on CSI's totally geektastic episode on Thursday. And Hodges? I don't care how much you love your job, if Wendy wants you to come over to watch sci-fi, the answer is always YES.

Coverage of Dollhouse at last week's PaleyFest.

Hilarious! "Uncomfortable Plot Summaries".

Empire looks at 5 shows that should be movies. Good ideas, no?

Jane Espenson talks to AMC about Caprica. On DVD next week, right?

Brian Austin Green talks to CBR about T:TSCC. Prison Break did even worse than TSCC and Dollhouse on Friday. Good news for our favorite sci-fi shows? Or does this just mean FOX will go back to cheap reality crap there?

I was gonna complain about morons scheduling their lives around fictional characters, but then remembered that I needed to be home on a Friday night to find out what happened to Starbuck and Baltar.

TWOP's "Supporting Characters that we Hate." Randy Jackson and Mohinder. One has exquisite command of the English language and one has a "word a day" calendar that only runs for 3 weeks, yet neither says anything comprehensible. And here are their Best Sidekicks. (I think personally, Cameron and Sam & Fi would be most useful).

Den of Geek lists Top 10 English psychopaths in American movies.

A chat with Johnny Galecki of Big Bang Theory.

Chuck Lorre's title card addresses the current economic downturn. With references to Skynet and Cylons.

Awesome Toby Ng charts. And I feel better about my place in the flame.

More about HIMYM with Mo Ryan.

And now, a quick break for politics:

• I understand the frustration behind the tea parties, but the loonies turning out aren't doing the excessive taxation movement any favors.
• Anti-equality bigot Maggie Gallagher, the "brains" behind the idiotic "gathering storm" video, seems tone deaf in more ways than one. This is funny.
• National Review recently had a stupefying and intolerant editorial against equality. Several thoughts on that are here, here and here.
• Newsweek looks at the "end of Christian America."
• On the same subject, Hitchens completely dismantles some poor stammering boob.

Now back to your regularly scheduled programming.

Coach Richt is in it for the long haul. I say "huzzah."

Cinematical lists & TV Stars Who Should Be In More Movies.

Jason Whitlock speaks the truth about "The Answer."

Most quotable movies?

Forbes looks at what TV shows make the most money.

Lots of pop culture "last suppers." (h/t Pop Candy)

I'll take potpourri for $5,700, Alex

The deleted Twilight scene. Ha!

The 10 Ugliest baseball unis of the 70s. Shield your eyes.

10 Funniest Freudian slips on TV. It's a good watch, and all the clips are short and to the point. (Trivia: the lovely lady who says "cock" in #5 is the wife of the current NFL commissioner).

TV Guides claims these are the 20 greatest TV catchphrases.

The best minor league baseball promotion ever. Matt Foley would be proud.

Bryan Fuller fesses up about why Heroes blew. (Blows?)

Oh, Boy! Scott Bakula talks about the 20th anniversary of Quantum Leap. (And who knew that Chuck's General Beckman was married to Enterprise's Doctor Phlox?)

I twittered this, but it's too funny not to reference again: Joe Cocker. Translated with subtitles.

Iowa uses common sense, and some conservatives think it's hard to be "Christian" in public now. So sorry about the potential public scorn directed at bigotry. Sullivan reacts here. The American Spectator calls equal marriage rights "a hill to die on." And what does this mean, politically, to the evangelical right?

100 classic movie lines in 200 seconds.

10 characters Zooey Deschanel should have played.

First Taun Taun sleeping bags, and now this? Why wasn't I a geek child in this era?

Why didn't he just pray, and have god magically fix it so he doesn't look like an al dente noodle in a windstorm in slow motion?

Chicago Trib looks at why NCIS is so appealing. It's weird, I feel the same way. I was looking for an "easy" procedural to watch when I was going to bed, and my TiVo recommended NCIS. I had never given it much thought, but started watching thanks to the USA repeats, and next thing you know, I had seen every episode. At first, you're a little nonchalant and incredulous. How long will Ducky's stories go on? How much can Gibbs glower? What's with the boat in the basement? Is Tony going to shamelessly flirt and quote movies in every episode? Is McGee Neo? Israeli to English doesn't really result in those kinds of malaprops, does it? Is this the sunniest and least hardcore goth chick ever? But after a while, you just come to welcome these characters onto your TV. Yeah, it's kind of square, but oddly addicting.

Zap2It looks at 10 good questions in preparation for tonight's Lost (though I don't think we'll get them all answered, of course).

10 "Wives Tales" debunked.

Today is THAT day

Yep, it's April Fool's Day. Check out the following headlines/stories:

More people have watched Paul Blart: Mall Cop than Watchmen.

T.O. is playing football for the Buffalo Bills.

The North Avenue Trade School beat UGA. In football. At home.

A guy lands a passenger plane in a river. And it wasn't on Lost.

More people tune in to see Wife Swap on an average week than the finale of Battlestar Galactica.

Sanjaya lasted until the final 7 on American Idol.

MTV decides to start showing "music videos" again. At 3 AM.

Entourage and Project Runway win Peabody Awards, while Pushing Daisies and The Middleman were canceled.

The Arizona Cardinals were in the Super Bowl. And the Tampa Ray Rays were in the World Series.

Matt Stafford and Knowshon Moreno left UGA without even playing in an SEC Championship game, much less winning one.

There's a 4,800 calorie hamburger.

You know what's really funny, and kinda sad? None of those items were an April Fool's prank. Sigh.

What other stories do you think should have been confined to today's news?

There's more than the economy depressing Obama

Check out this piece from The Onion: the President seems to be suffering from BSG withdrawal like the rest of us.

And Rahm seems more like a Doral.

I'll take potpourri for $5,600, Alex

How much of Lost has now been affected by a sandwich?

DirecTV will be showing some canceled series. (I loved Eyes, which I thought deserved a much longer run).

The Blade Runner ending. Deckard? Yep, Replicant.

50 great "finishing moves" from the movies.

A Lego, musical version of Silence of the Lambs? Of course. It puts the lotion in the fucking basket!!

Interview with Nathan Fillion.

Talk about a narrow built in audience. I think I'm one of the only people on the planet who remembers, and actually had and played with, this toy now becoming a movie.

A chat with Jane Espenson.

TWOP looks at BSG's unanswered questions.

The best DSLs in Hollywood. (And no, that doesn't have anything to do with an internet connection).

You know, this explains a LOT.

Matt Stafford's parents got a divorce when he was a kid. And I'm sure that led to Georgia Tech rushing for 700 yards in the second half, too.

The Suicide Girls weren't particularly enamored with the BSG finale.

10 Sexiest "Damsels in Distress?" MJ hotter than Princess Leia? And even though Spider-Man 3 blew chunks, Gwen Stacy was hotter than MJ. There's really a lot to disagree with in this list.

Still can't get enough Battlestar?

• Six of the best BSG moments.
• Top 10 BSG episodes.
• BSG composer Bear McCreary's epic blog post about the music for "Daybreak."
• Ron Moore took to the Skiffy forums to answer some post-"Daybreak" questions.

The ShamWow dude is arrested for beating a hooker. The conflict probably started when both of them realized they weren't getting what was advertised.

An in-depth analysis of and conversation about, a very underrated sci-fi remake, Solaris. I unashamedly love this movie.

Not sure I agree with the choices, but here's a list of the 25 Best and Worst TV episode titles.

Pure concentrated awesome: Vintage Dharma Ads.

The lovely and talented Alicia Witt will guest on The Mentalist. (I actually watched a painful majority of 88 Minutes on a movie channel the other day because she had a significant role. Truly a terrible, terrible flick).

io9 looks at crazy space racists!

Ron Moore's script for The Thing prequel is getting shelved. Now, the alien no longer appears on Earth to kill and maim an Antarctic expedition because "God wanted it to."

Photos probably forthcoming from Columbus, GA.

io9 tries to sort out Terminator timelines. Get migraine meds ready.

Pajiba checks back in on Dollhouse, and finds it lacking. (Personally, I thought the last couple of episodes, particularly "Man on the Street," were terrific).

The "reboot" hasn't even premiered yet, and the writers are signed for a Trek sequel.

Noted comedy writer Ken Levine has found a letter Lost's Juliet has written to her sister back home.

Economic times are tough, and people are "trading down" on spirits. Is there any difference between the vodkas? (Personally, I keep a bottle of Ketel One for dry martinis, and some cheap stuff for everything else. You absolutely, no pun intended, can't tell the difference in vodkas in Bloody Marys and Screwdrivers).

I'll take potpourri for $5,200, Alex

Sarah Connor Chronicles ratings are tanking. Will FOX yank it before the season ends?

Damn the planet! My ass is important!

Wanna read the script for the original Dollhouse pilot?

IF Magazine chats with Topher (Fran Kranz)

Why on earth would you get back together with someone who beats the shit out of you?

Mo Ryan chats with the writers of Friday's BSG episode, "Someone To Watch Over Me." She's also got a piece about those two writers, Weddle and Thompson, who are now with CSI: Original Recipe. (They're doing an eppy set at a sci-fi convention, that also features Kate Vernon! How cool is that?)

If you're a BSG fan, and you haven't yet read this epic post (3 parts, actually) from composer Bear McCreary, get yourself a cup of coffee and go do it now. Not only is it a fascinating look "behind the scenes" of the process for developing music for the show (especially for an episode for which music is absolutely critical), but it's also evident how much passion and thought goes into this remarkable series.

Starbuck's Top 25 Moments. And an interview with Katee. Airlock Alpha chats with Donnelly Rhodes -- Doc Cottle himself. (I always thought of him as "Dutch" from Soap prior to this).

A chat with Michelle Forbes (Ensign Ro, Admiral Cain, Tru Blood)

10 Alan Moore comics (other than Watchmen, of course) that you should read.

First PECOTA, now CHONE, predict a decent season for the Braves.

Pajiba gave a lukewarm review the Dollhouse pilot (as we all did, I think). In response to that, they put together a list of "great shows that started out weak." No quibbles with the list, and as you might expect, Buffy is on it, too. It's always a question that comes up when you want to introduce a newbie to Buffy: how much of the first season do you show them? Because s2 is when the show really hits stride, even though there are some standout eppys in that first, abbreviated season. While this might give us some hope for Dollhouse really elevating the game, there's a big difference between FOX and The WB and their ratings expectations. (Damn, do I wish Eliza's deal would have allowed the show to air on FX, where we weren't under the ratings Sword of Damocles each and every week). Anyway, when it comes to Buffy, you can check out an old post I did summarizing the "personal rating" (quality-wise) of that show and its seasons, and even check out the entire spreadsheet compiling them.

The AV Club chats with Eliza Dushku.

Collider chats with comic Patton Oswalt, who is a big fan of Firefly (he's even writing a comic coming up) and will also appear on Dollhouse.

Joss talks to Crave Online.

Mo Ryan talks to Fringe's "Mister Jones."

AICN talks to the science consultant for Watchmen.

Remember what book Ben was reading on Ajira Air 316? Ulysses, right? What's the last chapter in that book? Uh-oh.

Why being an iTunes hit doesn't quite matter yet for TV shows.

Steven S. DeKnight, writer of the best Dollhouse thus far, chatted with io9.

AV Club looks at 22 crucial film corpses.

Damn TV box digital converter thing! (I almost did this with a CD player, in an incident that shall not be spoken of again).

Just to be clear....

It seems Italy has its own "Terry Schiavo" case going on, involving complicated issues of faith, quality of life, legal representation, power of attorney, church and state, executive vs. legislative vs. judicial power and other heart-wrenching entanglements.

I don't know the intricacies of the case enough to comment intelligently, but I did go through something tangentially similar personally. Twice. It never came to the final decision, but we did have those extraordinarily difficult discussions. I don't wish that on anyone.

Of course, many of the folks facing these decisions are doing so without the aid of a public record of the wishes of the infirm and incapacitated. But in an era with blogs and Twitter and social networks, we can all now leave our wishes out on the interwebs for everyone to see.

So, even though I think I've been clear with my friends what to do should this situation ever befall me, I'll put my thinking here for posterity.

If I ever fall into a coma or a persistent vegetative state with no hope for recovery, PULL THE FUCKING PLUG*.

*Unless it happens in the next year and a half, before I find out how BSG and Lost end. In that case, please use any and all means at your disposal, up to and including the needle in the heart from Pulp Fiction or jumper cables running from a Sears Die Hard directly to my ears, to resuscitate me so I can find out what happened with the ragtag fleet of humans and Cylons, or what the hell is going on with that island.

Also, even if I'm quasi-conscious, feel free to PULL THE FUCKING PLUG if:

• Dollhouse gets canceled before running a full season.
• The Gators win the national title next year, and Tim Tebow wins another Heisman.
• I get a really bad cold.
• RIM goes bankrupt and my CrackBerry stops working.
• I ever consider dating someone with a background in "adult entertainment."
• They stop delivering pizzas.
• The eco-freaks win, and air conditioning is outlawed.
• Television becomes all "reality," all the time, on all channels.
• I have another hard drive crash on my PC.
• The Democrats keep working on the tax code.
• All my coffee makers break.
• The new Watchmen movie sucks.
• The intertubes stop working.
• I get the sniffles.
• I don't live within an hour of a state with a low tobacco tax.
• I have to rely on a cable company or a non-TiVo DVR.
• The world's distilleries stop producing whiskey.

Okay, I think we're all clear now, right?

Nightmare Fuel

Paleontologists have discovered the remains of an ancient snake believed to weigh over a ton, and be over 40 feet long. Snakes freak me the fuck out. The only way this could be more nightmarish is if it vomited up Jon Voight. Or made me sit through two hours of Jennifer Lopez "acting*."



*I will say that I atypically enjoyed her in Out of Sight. Though Carla Gugino had a much better take on the character in the criminally underwatched Karen Sisco.

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'm feeling Rand-y

Check out this interesting article from the Wall Street Journal.

Perhaps some folks are realizing that what's going on about us sounds.....familiar?

I'll take potpourri for $4,500, Alex

I'm just going to close my eyes and put my hands over my ears and chant "lalalalalalala" and totally ignore the financial machinations of Fox, which might delay the release of Watchmen on its scheduled date. And instead, watch two new videos: A featurette on story and characters, and a look at the making of the iconic "Minutemen" photo. (in Quicktime)

An awesome recap of i09's 2008 "triviagasms."

Lost fonts and logos!

Happy birthday, my favorite hairstyle (er, just to be clear, not for me).

Mandel's early preseason top 10. The plague of evil is number one. And since it's a Mandel column, UGA is nowhere to be seen. Anyone else have that vague "2005" feeling yet? 2004 was the swan song of some celebrated players, and there were great expectations that fell short that year. The next year, we flew a bit under the radar and took care of business. Too soon?

Betty Draper looking smoking hot.

AJ Green voted to all-freshman team (along with Julio Jones). So who was the SEC freshman of the year? Depends on who you ask. Coaches say AJ. AP says Julio.

The top 500 worst (aka "most common") passwords of all time. Evidently, the list was compiled from people that have no imagination, like their own name, are geeks (NCC1701!) and enjoy casual profanity. A funny list to peruse.

Statistical savant Bill James on why the computer models used for the BCS suck.

Apple's latest and greatest:


Apple Introduces Revolutionary New Laptop With No Keyboard

Young John Connor talks about the upcoming eppys of T:TSSC, and addresses one of my (few) complaints (too many terminators coming back from the future).

A dog, and elephant, and....aaaawwwwwwww. Sniff.

Recap of this week's Mentalist eppy. A good reason why this show is resonating: it delved into the arc, but upended "regular procedural expectations." When Jane decided he was going after Red John, as a viewer we've been conditioned to think that Lisbon would have a big argument with him and try to talk him out of it. Instead, she was supportive. I like the team here, and it makes this procedural better than average.

The Breakfast Cereal Club. Hilarious.

Interview with Lisa of "Wendy and Lisa" fame. Hot, talented, funny AND a comic-book fan? Awesome.

Let's just make sure we understand the truth: it's NOT a "tax cut" if you don't pay taxes. (It's theft and welfare at gunpoint). It makes my blood boil that the mainstream media ALWAYS overlooks this point. And why do breeders get more of everyone's money? It's a fucking choice.

A baseball writer has some thoughts about Dale Murphy for the HOF.

A little light reading for all the "climate change" and "global warming" nuts. And a prominent politician doesn't toe the "politically correct" line. Good for him.

I love the whole "houndstooth" thing at 'Bama. Look at the gloves.

A pretty misogynistic and disgusting look at dating from one of those "pick up artist" types. But underneath all the disturbing and offensive rhetoric, is there perhaps a kernel of truth? I can probably pick out one horrific and life-wrecking moment from my past, and think that in hindsight, I should have taken the "Danger Will Robinson!" warning signs seriously. Sigh.

And along the same lines, Micheal K never fails to crack me up.

Where were these teachers when I was in school?

An NFL draftnik is a little surprised after doing an analysis of Matt Stafford.

Top 25 fictional ads in sci-fi.

Is this the first step in Skynet and the rise of the machines?

Good list of 14 disastrous revamps.

The flat-earthers take umbrage over a holiday greeting on a sci-fi blog.

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 $4,000, Alex

Playboy unveiled their annual poll about America's sexiest sportscaster. Sideline princess Erin Andrews is an obvious choice (anyone remember when she first started doing updates during Braves games for their regional coverage? She was awful on that, but has improved dramatically and seems like a nice person. You know, for a Gator), but I have a soft spot for Stacey Dales.

The stories behind the studio logos. (People thought Annette Benning was the torch chick? Really?)

The phenomenon of "TiVo Guilt." I suffer from that, along with "Google Reader Guilt." I get antsy if I don't clear out all the unread items in Reader. Thank Zeus for the CrackBerry.

Will any "final Cylon" live up to the anticipation? I hope for the best, but I'm sure the hype and time spent pondering it can't possibly live up to everyone's expectations. And I'm still on record as guessing Zack Adama.

What will your college smell like? (Right now, I think the eau du Dawg would have strong undercurrents of whiskey with notes of disappointment and bitterness. It might look good in the bottle on the shelf, but won't be quite the same once you open the package).

TWOP looks at 10 shows that were cancelled too soon. I was passionately in love with 6 of them (which certainly parallels a lot of my real life), and watched one regularly because it was a trainwreck of epic proportions. (Guess which one that was?)

Morena Baccarin wins Newsarama's "who should play Wonder Woman" poll. I think Morena is gorgeous, obviously, and has an exotic appeal, but I'm not sure if she's statuesque enough for an Amazonian princess.

Glad I don't live in Gwinnett County anymore. Stick this old newspaper up your tree-hugging ass.

Someone has captured all the scenes of "The Observer" in the background on Fringe. Pretty cool.

A look back at one of my favorite albums.

A fun look at "best replacement actors." (And even though Hannibal was a baroque mess, I thought Julianne Moore nailed Starling's West Fucking Virginia accent. And I think Gambon has more of Dumbeldore's playful, and malevolent, side).

10 songs that "resemble" other songs. (And Joe Satriani just sued Coldplay, too). There are tons more suggestions in the comments. One that made me giggle: "Almost every recorded artist on the planet rips off John Cage’s “four and a half minutes of silence” for their 2-second pieces between most tracks of their releases. Vinyl lead-in and lead-out grooves also appear to quote the Cage composition."

TV show episode naming conventions.

TIME's TV critic has seen the Dollhouse pilot. Anyone else concerned about Eliza playing multiple characters convincingly?

Like Doctor Who? Like crochet? Then this is for you, and it's awesome. (h/t Pop Candy).

FINALLY! One of my favorite albums, by a band that should have been much bigger, is coming to an iPod friendly format next week.

Nerve looks for 40 lost pop culture icons.

ESPN's Pat Forde references a restaurant in Athens called "The Last Resort." Was this after my time? Any of my local readers know about it?

In honor of your birthday, I've enjoyed several this week.

Ralph McQuarrie's original concepts for the "first" Battlestar Galactica. I remember seeing some of these in Starlog when I was a kid. Pretty damned cool.

Married Iowa fan who was fucking a stranger in a bathroom stall said the incident "ruined her life." Ya think? (On a related note, one of my dates to UGA games a couple of years ago would vanish for significant chunks of time during the games. In hindsight, a lot of things make sense now).

Classic style pin up pics of several Hollywood hotties.

Mr. Skin's Top 20 movie nude scenes of 2008 (with 10 bonus scenes from TV).

Interesting new sci-fi pilot at ABC, from the guys behind the underrated Threshold.

Watch and listen to Al Pacino go from a whisper to a shout.