Season Finale Haiku

Chuck
"Guys. I know kung fu!"
Happily, not the last words,
We will hear Chuck say.

Lost
Not all black and white.
Lots of secrets to Un-Locke.
Kate still fucks it up.

Bones
What the hell was that?
Babies, brain tumors and sex?
I want amnesia.

How I Met Your Mother
Mom is in the class?
Don't care since we have Barney,
Robin and Aldrins.

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
Goodbye, smart sci-fi.
Loved the cast, and this John C,
Won't scream at DP.

American Idol
"Golden Idols" suck,
Homophobia clouds vote,
Kara fun at last.

House
Hallucination?
Only good cuz of Cutthroat.
Hugh still awesome, though.

Dollhouse
Wash is a badass.
Love for Adelle knows no bounds.
Bring on season 2.

Battlestar Galactica
All just chess pieces,
Cuz god did it all along.
Where did Starbuck go?

Fringe
Dimension doorway,
Hey look! It's Spock! Walter rocks.
Peter spry for dead.

Desperate Housewives
Please, Dave, kill Susan.
Did anything fun happen?
Why do I still watch?

The Office
God no! Not babies!
Always kills a show for me.
Picnics are awkward.

Supernatural
Heaven has cold beer.
And burgers. Angels are dicks.
Ruby can't act. Bye!

24
Kim and no cougar.
Red is hot and goes Jack-side.
Quiet end. Good day.

Heroes
More lame upon lame.
Put B. Fuller on GOOD show.
Cast can't save plotting.

Bubble Watch

It's that time of the year when TV show renewals are in the air, and that brings the dreaded "bubble watch."

Because the great unwashed masses are generally too dumb or inattentive to appreciate quality work, or because of the limited broad appeal of genre fare, many of the shows I wind up loving often face the damned bubble. Fortunately, some of my most loved shows are already guaranteed (or almost a lock for) a place on the schedule next year, such as Lost, Supernatural, Fringe and Big Bang Theory (among 50+ others with a place of honor among my Season Passes). Others aren't so lucky:

How it would hurt if these shows were cancelled:

Gaping, sucking chest wound; punctured eyeballs; followed by being set on fire:

• Chuck (The most charming show on TV. A little bit of everything: espionage, laughs, romance, intrigue, action. Go buy a Subway sub on Monday!)
• Dollhouse (Like most of Joss's shows, this is really hitting its stride as it gets deeper into the mythology and characterizations. Been nuthin' but AWESOME since "Man on the Street.")
• Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (Is there no room on TV for intelligent, well written sci-fi?)

Compound fracture of the tibia:

• Castle (A cut above the usual procedural with likable characters and charisma to burn).
• Reaper (wandering and amiable, but holding its own against the Idol juggernaut. The addition of Nina and Morgan has helped, Ben is a deadpan master, and Ray Wise's Devil is Emmy worthy).
• Party Down (Really funny, with distinct characters and an offbeat tone).

Vicious punch to the solar plexus:

• Better Off Ted (Why isn't this fantastical workplace sitcom, which never fails to make me laugh, getting more attention?)
• The Unusuals (Another cop show, sure, but at least it's trying something different).
• Law & Order (I've been with it from the beginning, and this current cast is fantastic and the best since the glory days).
• Lie to Me (Unique premise that's held up better than I thought it would thus far. Tim Roth and Kelli Williams are great, and Jennifer Beals showed up last night as Roth's ex-wife. Good stuff).
  

Hangover:

• Samantha Who (Yeah, it's kind of slight, but Christina Applegate is a fantastic comic actress).
• My Name is Earl (Even when it aims and misses, Earl has a great top to bottom cast who can handle anything from farce to heartwarming).

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)

Quickies

The posting has been lighter than usual around these parts, because I've been in a bit of a funk, and had a lingering migraine-esque brain intrusion. But here are a few quickies:

I think that the daughter on Castle and Rory Gilmore are the only two kids (not involved with vampires) that I've ever liked on TV. And that show really is a charming and easy procedural, like Bones used to be (and occasionally still is).

Last Friday's Dollhouse was the best episode of the series, even better than "Man on the Street" two weeks ago. It figures that just as it is getting to the "must watch/I love this show" stage, FOX will put it on death row. Please Joss, go to cable next time. I'm sure all your fans know how to change the channel.

The Sarah Connor Chronicles sure ended with a bang, didn't it? I love this show, too, but the handwriting has been on the wall for some time with it, so the inevitable cancellation won't crush me. So, did John (and Weaver) wind up exactly "when" they were supposed to all along, or is this a separate, and new, branch in the timeline?

I'm more of a Marvel than DC fan (though I understand the corporate sensibilities involved with producing Big Bang Theory), but the nerds were spot on with their comic book references last night, weren't they?

It was nice to see UGA football on the television Saturday, even though it was about as exciting as standing in line at the DMV. With Cox, Gray and even Murray, I'm not worried about the QB position. Someone needs to break out at the RB position, and let's hope that we don't have another season of WR "dropsies" spreading like leprosy. And of course, as it did last year, a good deal of the season will come down to what Willie does with his talent.

That final round of The Masters was a joy to behold. Phil certainly let one get away, giving up about 4 strokes (rinsing the tee shot at 12, and missing makeable putts on 15 and 17, not even couting a bogie on 18).

I usually watch CSI: Original Recipe, but this is just can't miss:



Okay, I'll be back tomorrow with Idol thoughts. Time for some Advil and whiskey.

Sarah Connor and Dollhouse step up their games

FOX's sci-fi block on Friday delivered in a big way, with both Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and Dollhouse offering exciting, thought provoking episodes (that sadly, not too many people are watching).

T:TSSC occasionally ventures off the primary narrative of "saving the future" to quietly examine the psychology, and emotional toll of, waging a present day guerrilla war against robots from the future (see the glacially-paced 3 episode arc about Sarah's mindset that kicked off this latest run of episodes). A lot of fans don't like those types of stories, and think they hurt the general appeal of a show that should offer lots of shit blowing up. I understand those complaints, particularly as it relates to garnering a more prominent Nielsen rating (more people would rather watch Howie Do It or Wife Swap? Humanity scares me), but I enjoy those types of episodes as well.

However, Friday's episode, "Adam Raised a Cain," had a little something for everyone. You had nice movement on the master plot (Team Connor connecting the dots leading back to Zeira Corp and Catherine Weaver), significant action (a terrific shoot out at the Weaver house), quiet and contemplative poignancy (the bookend scenes at the burial ground), some freaky looks at robot/robot and robot/human relations (all the scenes with John Henry, Weaver and Savannah, all superbly played by the actors) and even a rarity for this show, humor (Savannah's teacher thinking John Henry was a myspace predator, Savannah telling her mom, played by Shirley Manson, that she "can't sing," and this exchange "He can't be trusted." "No one can be trusted." "But I only want to kill HIM."). Plus, a major character getting killed in the first 15 minutes of the show.

I was in the enviable position of being familiar with, but never having watched a minute of, 90210. So I didn't have any Brian Austin Green baggage to carry with me into watching him embody Derek Reese. I thought he did a fantastic job portraying the haunted future war vet and uncle to mankind's savior, John Connor. So it was shocking to see him take a bullet to the head from a T-888 during the mission to save little Savannah Weaver. I really applaud the show's producers for staging this seismic development in the way that they did. No swelling chorus of music. No long, heroic slo-mo goodbye. No last minute cliff hanger. Just a shot to the head, when you least expect that it will happen to our heroes. Bang. He's dead. Matter of fact. Bringing into sharp relief the risks our little band of main characters faces every day. Kudos to Josh Friedman and BAG; we'll miss you Derek.

The show has one more episode to go before wrapping up its season, and in all likelihood, the series. I'm looking forward to next week, and will be sad if it doesn't come back.

Over on Dollhouse, the hot streak of good episodes continued with "Needs." One of my complaints about the show is that the Dollhouse has been presented at being not very competent, especially for the prices they charge, with "glitches" that seem to occur to the dolls on virtually every episode. They creatively addressed that issue this week (and in previous weeks), by showing us that what we see is only one Dollhouse of 20 total, and that the dolls we witness having glitches are are only a handful of a much larger stable of dolls in this one house. So instead of "half the engagements screw up," we now know that programming is becoming erratic in 4 or 5 actives (Echo, November, Victor, Sierra and possibly Mike) out of say, 30 or 40 in only one house and hundreds elsewhere.

”If your child starts talking for the first time, you feel proud. If your dog does, you freak the hell out.”

"But I also care what you’re doing. To our ‘pets.’”

To address the underlying issues, a plan is developed that kept twisting and turning throughout the episode. The 5 dolls wake up without a programmed personality! Oh, wait, it's just a training exercise for Dollhouse security. But wait, 4 of them escape out into the wild and the test has failed! Oh, wait, they were supposed to get out, to come to peace with pre-Dollhouse issues that kept corrupting their programming. Even twistier, the whole plan was devised by Dr. Saunders (an always nuanced and excellent Amy Acker), who now seems much more integrated with and committed to the workings of the Dollhouse than we were supposing. (All signs pointed to her being the "mole." Now, that appears not to be the case, unless of course it is, because the way things are going, it could be anyone now, including Adelle, Topher, Dominic or most likely, Topher's lab assistant Ivy).

Each of the escaping actives, except for poor Mike (who I think was probably a "plant" and didn't really have any glitching issues to resolve), gets to address their subconscious psychological drives. Echo (who I still don't really like as Caroline) gets to deal with her savior complex. Victor addresses his need to fall in love. November deals with the loss of her child, and Sierra, in the most disturbing part of the episode, confronts the scumbag who "sold" her against her will into the Dollhouse program (and who ickily still keeps "renting her out" now that she's programmed to be more accommodating).

“Is this some kind of frequent buyer reward?” Ew.

I hope the poor female handler participating in the exercise gets one of those nice bonuses wired into her account, since Echo beat the shit out of her with a fire extinguisher.

In part of his riveting encounter with a pissed off Echo, Topher also shows why he's in programming, and not the front man:

“We’re good people. Nice people. We help people become better people by giving them what they need. I don’t usually do the sales pitch.”

Out of the Dollhouse, we also learn that Agent Ballard isn't quite as altruistic as he seems, given his dreams about Echo (sure to produce a "man reaction" I would think). And the Inspector Clouseau of the FBI also finally discovers that his place has been bugged:

“Can I trace where it was transmitting?” “Absolutely, if you were E.T.”

Overall, this was a really good episode anchored by some terrific performances all around, and some very solid writing.

Both "Adam Raised a Cain" and "Needs" get an A+ in my book.

I'll take potpourri for $5,400, Alex

Here's a great add on for your Firefox browser: FoxyTunes. It adds controls for iTunes right into your browser, saving the laziest among us from having to (gasp!) toggle back and forth between two programs if you listen while you surf. (h/t T-Recs)

Still haven't gotten your fill of Watchmen? How about a movie podcast with Kevin Smith discussing the film? It's long, but awesome. (And the podcast was interesting enough that I went back and subscribed to the /film podcast. Lots of good geekery in there).

Dollhouse and Sarah Connor show ratings improvement! Both shows are also showing plot and content improvement, but will it be enough to get more seasons?

Joss talks to TV Guide about next week's pivotal episode.

The Live Feed chats with Ron Moore about the BSG finale.

EW has a fantastic slideshow walk through the history of BSG.

Buddy TV's list of the top 25 eps of BSG.

Carla Gugino's 5 favorite films (and cool that it includes 12 Monkeys).

Because no one can see enough Christina Hendricks pictures.

SI's Andy Staples looks at the SEC.

A funny comic for fans of the Watchmen graphic novel.

Just in case there's a gift giving occasion coming up.

Does this mean that Michael Vick's salary will be paid by taxes on the successful?

Scans of TV Guide (print version) feature on BSG.

Want a close up look at Chuck's chart from the back of the Tron poster? Look here. More on Chuck here.

What if Stan Lee wrote Watchmen?

Could there possibly be 10 defenses for the Howard the Duck movie?

These anti-bay marriage people are really lunatics. And I totally want to marry a robot.

SFX talks to the guy that's showing up on every TV show I watch, Mark Sheppard.

Interview with Nathan Fillion.

Patton Oswalt geeks out about Watchmen, Dollhouse (he's on Friday's ep), BSG and Burn Notice.

They're doing a "reimagining" of V, the childhood mini-series about alien lizard people invading Earth. And the iconic role of the hot alien leader will be played by Morena Baccarin.

I'll take potpourri for $5,300, Alex

TWOP has a solid list of the "Most Frakkin' Good Moments" from BSG thus far. Can you really believe we're almost at the end? The three hour, two part finale starts next Friday.

Eliza Dushku talks to The Advocate.

Joss answers your questions at Hulu.

Cinematical has a funny clip which could be the "worst death scene ever." (You really have to see this Z-movie clip to believe it. Skateboarding, blow up doll, Oscar quality emoting and bazooka).

Speaking of horrific video, how about a shot for shot remake of one of the cheesiest videos of all time:



Q&A with FOX prexy Kevin Reilly. Addresses Dollhouse and T:TSCC (although before Friday's continued ratings cratering).

I'll be heading to see Watchmen next week, once (hopefully) the crowd dies down. The gazillion reviews I've read have been all over the place, from "OMG! Best EVA!" to "Unwatchable." I've a huge devotee of the book, and liked Snyder's first two flicks, so we shall see. Here are a few Watchmen tidbits:

Watchmen as a Saturday morning cartoon:



What if Woody Allen (and other directors) made Watchmen?

Quiz: do you know your Watchmen?

A few Watchmen movie "easter eggs."

50 Reasons why Return of the Jedi sucks. (Start with "Ewok" and continue...)

A chat with Lost's Terry O'Quinn.

7 Films that Arnold Schwarzenegger never made. Of those, Crusade sounds the most interesting.

Chat with the cast of Big Love, which has been AMAZING this year.

Nathan Fillion's new show, Castle, debuts Monday. TWOP talks to him.

Good article from Mo Ryan on the difficulty launching complex dramas.

3 observations from Braves spring training. I'm cautiously optimistic.

TIME's "Nerdworld" says Dollhouse "isn't that bad."

Uh Oh

Bad news for the FOX Friday night sci-fi block of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and Dollhouse:

T:TSCC hits rock bottom (and is pronounced "dead" by the Hollywood Reporter) and Dollhouse drops (again).

Shit.

Both had strong creative outings last night, and the Terminator numbers are particularly disappointing, given how exciting the remainder of the season looks (click for badass highlights shown recently at WonderCon).

It will be interesting to see the FOX spin on the numbers. If I recall correctly, I think all the season's episodes for both shows have already been shot. Will the network continue to air them, or pull them for Cops or House repeats or something else, and exile our geeky favorites to limbo (like ABC did with Pushing Daisies)?

Sigh.

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).

How was the Nerdfecta?

Check out the original post below for reactions to the expectations for the Friday night geek block. More later on Dollhouse and BSG.

Tonight's Expectations

Just like last week, I thought I would lay out some mild expectations for the 3rd week of TV's Nerdfecta.

T:TSSC:
I read somewhere this week that there is a 3 ep "mini-arc" that really explores the psychological toll the war against the machines is taking on Sarah. That arc supposedly concludes tonight, before we start ramping back up the main plot with lots of people dying and more hardcore action. While I don't mind the more contemplative eps, coming back from the hiatus with them probably wasn't the best move business wise, and the plummeting ratings seem to go along with that. All that said, I would like to see:

• More Cameron. A little more. She reasoned with a snack machine.
  
• Ellison pulled apart like taffy. Sadly, no.
  
• More Derek. Nope.
  
• More funny. Not really.
  

Dollhouse:

• The dolls are going to be backup singers for a pop tart. How about some funny? There were some funny lines, actually. More from Topher than the tarts, though.
  
• No imprint glitching. Not in the sense that "glitches" caused the mission to go awry.
  
• More Acker. Some nice moments from the lovely Amy.
  
• Eliza did a nice job last week. How about making that two in a row? She sang pleasantly enough. However, she was also a "southie," and seemed a little "tough girl" for a random backup singer.
  
• Another airing of the Eliza Hulu commercial, which though not as good as Alec Baldwin's, cracks me up. Yep.
  
• Again, a legit reason why the client would use a the Dollhouse, vs. just a merc or security guard. I think so. Client is old friend of Adelle, which helps. And there was an excuse about the diva not letting "real" security too close.
  

BSG:

• I think we're going to get the skinny on just what the frak Starbuck is. Wheee! (My guess? Some type of "reincarnated" version of Starbuck, with all her memories and personality downloaded, a la Cylon technology, into a new "shell" created from the ovaries taken from her back in "The Farm." This is possible because her long-lost dad was Daniel, the "other" Cylon -- 7, the "sensitive artist type" -- that Cavil killed). Didn't get the full explanation, but it appears that I was onto something with this theory, since Starbuck was obviously "projecting" the piano player, her dad. And her story paralleled that in the ep of another "hybrid," Hera.
  
• More of the same, because this ramp to the end has been unbelievably good. Oh yeah, this was good. Dark, tragic, and goooooood.
  
• More Gaius, the harem and Head Six. Nope. But everything else was awesome.
  

I'll take potpourri for $5,100, Alex

Go through all 7 seasons of Buffy in less than four minutes.

Ears and language rejoice! You will no longer be defiled by a Florida education. Emmitt is not coming back to ESPN. (With a list of his top 10 attempts at a coherent sentence, and video).

Sarah Connor ratings low, but steady. Dollhouse drops a bit, does okay in the demo. Can the show get in a groove and build?

Fringe moves production to Canada. Who cares? Walter can obsess about snack food in a basement anywhere. And The X-Files filmed there forever, before moving stateside late in its run.

TWOP looks at "familiar" characters in Dollhouse.

Mo Ryan continues her series of excellent interviews with BSG writers, this time with Jane Espenson. More here with the writers of "No Exit." She also chats with BSG and Dollhouse actor Tahmoh Penikett. (Between BSG and Dollhouse, typing his name is killing my spell checker).

And BSG composer Bear McCreary chats with another Final Fiver, Michael Hogan.

"Geek" shows (and Desperate Housewives and Grey's?) dominate the torrent downloads.

And the Oscar for best red carpet nipples goes to....

A really good list of the best movies about television.

Watchmen is coming! EW has a primer. So does TWOP. And geek icon Wil Wheaton saw the flick and says RELAX, it's AWESOME.

Info on the latest "standalone" story (about Faith and Giles) from the Buffy S8 comics.

Fast food ads vs. reality. The dream dies hard.

Five great careers derailed by the Oscar.

Cordy will be showing up on CSI.

Video of Matt Stafford showing some throwing skills (but not at the combine).

Good idea for Trek newbies: "Best of" samplers, with some very good eppy selections.

TIME has a Q&A with Joss.

This is Teh Awesomes. A "trilogy meter." Take a look.

In the SEC, who is each school's biggest rivals? Seems about right.

Looking back at the 2006 college recruiting classes. UGA's 2006 rank? 4th. Evaluated in hindsight? 4th.

The NYT talks to 24's resident nerd comics.

The 10 Worst Places to Work on TV.

Two little kids recreate the diner scene from Pulp Fiction.

From Jorge Garcia's blog, a look at the cake the folks from Ace of Cakes made for Lost's 100th eppy.

Pretty cool. Magenta isn't a color.

Mild expectations

It's week two of the modern nerdfecta, with Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Dollhouse and Battlestar Galactica airing back to back to back on a Friday night.

I'm avoiding most all spoilers these days, so I don't have any insidery info on what will transpire. But I can offer a few thoughts on what I would "like" to see this evening:

T:TSSC

• More 'splodey. Nope.
  
• Lots more Cameron that we've had the last few eps. A little more, but not as much as we would want.
  
• Some hint that something - anything - will ever happen with Riley and Jesse (fine actresses and eye candy though they may be). Nada.
  
• John Henry and Catherine gut Ellison like a fish. Sadly, no.

It will be interesting to see the ratings on this one. Like a lot of TSSC lately, this was a quieter, more meditative piece. Everyone is doing strong character work, but the plot needs to advance more quickly. Weaver was chilling once again in the interactions with "her" daughter.

Dollhouse

• No glitches in the doll imprinting. If this starts to happen every week, it undermines the credibility of the whole show. The "problem" with the engagement wasn't the imprinting, which was nice. And I realize something has to go "wrong" with the engagements we see, or else there wouldn't be a show. (We just don't want to get into always thinking "how many damned murders can occur in Cabot Cove?"). The only real "glitch" is the fact that Echo is retaining some memories, which is a central concept of the show.
  
• More evidence that Eliza can handle the multiplicity the role(s) demands. Tomboyish extreme chick was right in her wheelhouse, so no complaints.
  
• More Acker. (This will be a standard request). A little Acker here, and as expected, she was good.
  
• A little more about the "reasons why" people go to the Dollhouse, vs. a "real" hooker, negotiator, playmate, brain surgeon or whatever. (I provided some possible cover for this in my review last week, when the general consensus I've read elsewhere is that the reasoning is wafer thin. And it is. But help us out here, Joss). We got some of this in various snippets of dialogue. I'd love to have it all laid out, though, so we can move past this objection.
  
• More giggles. “Four brothers, none of them Democrats.”
  

More later on Dollhouse.

BSG

• Keep on keepin' on man, 'cause you're blowing my frakkin' mind each and every week. Yep.
  
• Anyone else sign up for those texts from BSG, with little teasers and quizzes? Well, I want to get one, and with the correct answer, receive an illustrated and annotated history of the human and Cylon civilizations, from their beginnings right up to the present. Too much to ask? Or maybe I should just shoot myself in the head, since that seemed to work wonders for Anders. Nope. But I did register to win a KFC Frak Pak.
  
• Some hints about what the frak Starbuck is. Nope.
  
• Lots of juicy dialogue with Ellen realizing just what her "kids" and "lover" have been up to.. Oh, there was juicy dialogue galore here tonight, as scripted by Jane Espenson. Compared to the balls to the wall mutiny, and the exposition-heavy "No Exit," this was improv night at the Chuckle Factory. "How many dead chicks are out there?" "I'm gonna go to the head. Do something constructive -- a little project I've been working on." "Any mythic revelations?" "Nope. Nothing to report, sir." Almost anything Baltar said or did. BSG doesn't have as many "light" moments as other genre shows, but when it does, I enjoy them immensely.
  

Supernanny? You're fucking kidding me, right?

Fast national ratings are in for Friday's FOX block of sci-fi goodness, with Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and the premiere of Joss Whedon's Dollhouse.

Sarah? Not doing so well. The show hit an all-time low, with 3.7 million viewers total, 1.3 in the 18-49 demo. In total viewers, it got beat by Jennifer Love Hewitt's ghostly whispering hooters, Howie Do It (?!), and something called Wife Swap. It was third among in the demo, and (silver lining!) first among men 18-49 and 18-34.

Dollhouse? Perhaps best categorized as "eh, okay." Did 4.7 million viewers total, which was a big build on the T:TSSC lead in. That was behind the Canadian cop show starring Keith Mars (Flashpoint) and fucking Supernanny. Say that again. Supernanny. This show had around 6 million viewers. Do we want to live in a country where Supernanny draws a million more viewers than a new Joss Whedon show? How is this even possible? Dollhouse did bring in 2 million in the 18 - 49 demo, which puts it at No. 2 for the hour.

So what does all this mean? Well, Dollhouse is a not a runaway ratings blockbuster out of the gate. The lead in is not helping it. And I think we can all be glad that it was moved out of the harsh spotlight of airing after Idol, where similar numbers would have made it decidedly DOA. However, it's doing better than any scripted shows on FOX have done on Fridays. And all 13 eps of the first season have already been produced. We'll have to see when final ratings come in. We'll also have to see how it everything shakes out when you consider iTunes purchases, Live + DVR viewing and online streaming. Plus, according to most early reviews, the show only improves in quality over the next couple of episodes. So, stay tuned.

Sigh. Fucking Supernanny. Time to mix a drink.

Ratings Round Up:

AICN
EW
TV Week
TV By The Numbers
Mediaweek
The Live Feed

I'll take potpourri for $4,100, Alex

For fellow comic book nerds: who were the best artists for each superhero?

More official Lost cast photos have surfaced. Does anyone else agree with me that Juliet is hotter than a thousand suns?

Speaking of hot, Kristin Bell outtakes.

Economy in trouble? Here is a brilliant way to help.

One of the writers of the new Trek film discusses science, canon and how the movie fits.

The quotable Alec Baldwin.

Let Barry light up!

Finally, proof of the Almighty.

This cracks me up. The ALL CAPS are just perfect.

A peek at plans Supernatural's new year. BTW, I was late to the party on this show. I guess it got lost in the CW ghetto for me, but I've been catching up via (simultaneously) 4th season shows on TiVo, and the 1st and 2nd seasons on DVD. And I have to say, while it's not quite to the level of Buffy and Angel, this is an tremendously entertaining and engaging genre show, with laughs, scares, arcs and most importantly, great writing and acting. If you haven't checked it out, you should.

Are these the 7 worst guitar solos of all time? And 2 of them are in completely awesome songs, too.

I have no idea what this is about, but the title alone makes me want to see it.

Here's some logic and reason I wish was more prevalent.

Christopher Nolan examines his favorite scene in The Dark Knight.

The fabulous Maura Tierney joins Rescue Me? Awesome.

Marisa Tomei has no problem getting nekkid. And we have no problem say "thanks."

Just last week, I said that Stacey Dales is my favorite sideline princess. And just like that, she's out of a job. In case I have magical powers, perhaps I should say that Lou Holtz, Emmit Smith and Mark May are my favorite analysts.

Great news on the voice of the computer for the new Trek movie.

One take on the "best 7 sci-fi remakes." I agree with most of them, including the oft-bashed and underappreciated Vanilla Sky, and one of the best flicks I've seen in the last 10 years, the Solaris remake, but Burton's Planet of the Apes? Really? Ugh.

A preview of tomorrow's Sarah Connor Chronicles, which I continue to heart with a passion.

Wow, it's HUGE

Access Hollywood recently paid a visit to the Dollhouse set, and the thing is massive. I had seen still pictures of the set before, but in the videos, you really get a sense of how impressive and expansive the "dollhouse" itself is. The correspondent also talks to Joss and Eliza about the basic premise, the reshot pilot, the internet rumors and the Friday night timeslot*. Must viewing for all fans eagerly anticipating the show.

Part I is here.

Part II is here.

Part III is here.


*As I've said before, I think the Friday night pairing with Sarah Connor could be a blessing in disguise, especially if the new regime at FOX takes the "long view" of the property. Expectations for an initial audience are certainly lower for Friday nights (especially when compared with airing after American Idol, 24 or House), and may give the show time to build a critical following and add in some DVR viewing numbers. Also, since the show is produced by 20th Century Fox (along with Mutant Enemy), they maybe more likely to give it additional room, knowing how devoted whedonites snap up Joss's series on DVD (count me among them, as a proud owner of every single one of them) and purchase ancillary products. Thematicially, it's also a nice fit with the increasingly well-done Sarah Connor (Monday's ep focusing on Cameron's nocturnal adventures was particularly interesting). FOX also built the X-Files on a Friday night before moving it to Sunday. Of course, all that said, Firefly did die horribly on a Friday night (but both Firefly and X-Files were in completely different eras). So we'll just have to see.

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!

Desktop Drive In

A few early morning videos for your viewing pleasure:

The first Lost S5 promo has arrived!

100 Seinfeld quotes.

Bill Maher suggests (rightfully) that Sherri Sheppard, should visit Bellevue.

Deleted scenes from BSG season 4.

How does Dwight Schrute stand up to geek torture?

Marcia Brady chats about anal sex.

Behind the scenes of the girl-on-girl terminator fight from Monday's Sarah Connor. (Limited special effects -- the gal was a contortionist!)

New Watchmen footage (interspersed with some we've seen before) from the recent Scream Awards.

When geek worlds collide

Don't forget to tune into tonight's Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, where Stephanie Jacobsen -- last seen as Kendra Shaw on the awesome Battlestar Galactica movie Razor -- checks in for an appearance as a woman with a past who becomes involved with Derek Reese.

In other great T:TSSC news, the show was just picked up for the full "back nine," giving us a full season order of 22 eps.

TV Quickies

Random thoughts on the Fall TV Season:

Newly minted Emmy Winning Best Drama Mad Men returned Sunday night with a fantastic episode. I started writing a long treatise on the sad, urine-stained career arc of Freddy Rumson, the meaning of a “name,” Roger Sterling’s end of the episode surprise and Betty Draper’s desperate housewife days, but realized that a couple of professional critics had already done the job quite well. Check out some thoughtful examinations of “Six Month Leave” here and here.

It’s sad that the ratings for Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles are cratering. I think this season has been even better than the last, and Monday’s eppy with a look at Cameron’s story was fascinating, and very well acted by Summer Glau. Rumors addressed here.

Dexter returned Sunday night, and Jimmy Smits will be a welcome addition to the cast. All the elements that make this show a must-watch are there, though I hope the writers don’t feel compelled to make Dex’s latest victim a total scumbag in order to give our serial killer an easy, moral “out.” If the Sopranos and Mad Men and Deadwood have shown us anything, it’s that intelligent audiences will stick with a compelling character that operates outside the boundaries of traditional morality. One major complaint, though. The end of episode reveal introduced something that is typically a “show killer” for me. Why? Can’t even a show about a serial killer stay away from this? Gah.

Heroes season 3 is still an incomprehensible mess, plot-wise. (Examples: if future Peter can travel in time, why shoot Nathan? Why not just tell him what happens if he makes his reveal last year? Or transport him someplace else, away from the media? And if you have mastery over time, why let any of this happen in the first place? Same with Hiro. Why not go back BEFORE he let “the formula” get out of the safe?). Still, for the time being I’ll keep watching, if only because I find some of the characters and performances (HRG, Daphne, Sylar, Hiro, Nathan, Elle, Angela, Claire’s mom) entertaining. At least they’ve picked up the pace of the stupidity this year. Oh, and check out Jack Coleman’s (HRG) blog on TWOP. Much better than the show.

And here’s a funny take on how to grade Heroes episodes on a curve.

Anyone else digging Fringe? I really like it, and think the interplay between the three leads is amusing. And any chance for John Noble's character to talk about cocaine, LSD, root beer floats and cows is fine with me.

Still on board with the quirky detective on House.