I'll take potpourri for $2,300, Alex

Joss talks about "nurture vs. nature" on Dollhouse. And here's a more extensive interview with him from The Hollywood Reporter.

If "dogs and cats living together!" is a harbinger of a Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man apocalypse, then the big guy may be on his way. This is just too damned cute.

Remembrances of being a spoiled only child. Every time I see one of these "retro toys," I always go "I had that one."

Speaking of GI Joe, have you ever wondered what a remake of John Carpenter's The Thing would look like filmed using GI Joe toys? Well, wonder no more. Awesome.

A Wonderfalls character (and maybe more than one!) will turn up on TV again. Damn, I loved that show.

An excellent summary of Mad Men's S2 premiere. After all the anticipation, it certainly didn't disappoint. And all the good buzz paid off: the show doubled last year's average viewership. Here's a video interview with the unbelievably gorgeous Christina Hendricks.

Al Gore's son will only date chicks with the initials "LL."

Along those lines, calculate your Ecological Footprint! My result:

"If everyone lived like you, we'd need 8.1 Planet Earths to provide enough resources."
"To support your lifestyle, it takes 36.1 global acres of the Earth's productive area."

And that's before I've purchased a new home here, opened up a new paper mill or told the checkout clerk at Harris-Teeter to use 1 sack per item with my groceries.

In praise of Dana Scully.

As if we needed another example of the theocracy's idiocy.

Here's a great podcast interview with Mark Sheppard (Romo Lampkin from BSG, Badger from Firefly). Funny, prickly, insightful dude, and he talks about the brilliance of BSG, complete dysfunction on the set of Bionic Woman, and an upcoming appearance on my favorite summer show, The Middleman. (Which, like me, he compares to the sadly short-lived The Tick).

The Jorts Jesus won't have his reputation sullied by Playboy. Because, of course, he wouldn't want to sully his reputation by associating with anything risque. So I guess he'll just have to drop out of school and go give circumcisions in third-world countries, now that this list has been published, right? On moral grounds?

Damn, Whoopi gets around. She should move here, where they would just call her "amateur."

More AV Club recaps of Buffy, S2, including an appreciation for the darkly ambitious and heart-rending "Passion."

Matt Stafford: "Overrated" or "The Truth?"

Is DJ Shockley making strides in Falcons camp? (No word from Lou Holtz on how JD Stokely is performing).

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?

Entertainment Goodies

Lots of great viral marketing for The Dark Knight out there, and I really love the look that Heath Ledger has created for the The Joker. Here are two more teaser posters for the flick that just surfaced. We should probably see the first trailer online in the next couple of days.

Not only is Agent Scully returning to the big screen, Gillian Anderson gets a new gig on Masterpiece Theatre. Check out the link on the article for her on an English talk show, rocking the brit accent (I didn't realize that she was basically raised across the pond, and that the accent comes naturally. Cool).

Does anyone care that they are making a new version of Knight Rider? Perhaps the most intriguing thing about this is the new voice of KITT: Gob Bluth! Do we think the car will suddenly scream "Come on!" or tell the new Michael Knight "I think we've made a huge mistake."

Just because: Kristen Bell rocks the Princess Leia gold bikini. Geek heart be still.

Helpful poster: How to spot a Cylon. Also, check out the "Rosie the Riveter" inspired Colonial "propaganda" posters.

Saturday Morning Entertainment Roundup

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What happens when Darth Vader falls in love.

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

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

Geeky Interviews

EW has been running a few good interviews lately. I'm sure it had to do with epic convocation of nerds that was Comic Con. Get your geek on:

The Spocks speak. (New Spock Zachary Quinto, Original Recipe Spock Leonard Nimoy and JJ Abrams)

Joss on life after the Wonder Woman debacle. Yes, I'm loving the Buffy Season 8 comics. But it sounds like he's jonesing for the immediate impact of producing weekly TV. And to that, I say: produce it. We will watch. (My most fervent hope? That he goes to FX, HBO, Showtime or some other place free from network meddling and quick hooks).

Chris Carter on the X-Files script. Not much here, but seems to confirm what Duchovny said recently. (My hope? Completely stand alone adventure with Mulder and Scully. It can have aliens, monsters, or both -- but stay away largely from the impenetrable and incomprehensible "conspiracy." And add equal parts scary/creepy and funny).

Robert Downey Jr. on Iron Man. Everything I've read and seen on this film makes it seem like it's in perfect hands. CHUD also had a good interview with Terrence Howard.

Making it rain

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

Great article on John Locke, the "heart" of Lost, here. Last week's episode was a classic and among the best of the series. Of course, tonight, we have to deal with Nicki and Paulo. (In case you're wondering, like many other faithful viewers, that would be "and who are you?" and "I like to poop.") On the bright side, I think Artz ("uh, dude, you've got some Artz on you") shows up again, along with Boone and Shannon.

Not entertainment exactly, but a very funny parody of the Pac-Man Jones situation over on Deadspin.

Please make this happen. I'd be willing to forget all about the confusing and wouldn't make sense after a peyote and blotter acid bender alien conspiracy plotline.

Teen movie or biblical epic? Doesn't matter, because this is funny.

Thora Birch's dad is fucked up. If that acting thing doesn't work out, she'll probably become a stripper.

MNF fans rejoice. College football fans shudder in terror.