Film: Hey 'Superbad' fans

So, "Superbad" is the number one film in the country and tons of people still don't know about "Clark and Michael"? It's cool. I just watched my first episode today, although I've been meaning to check it out for a few months now.

"Clark and Michael" is a great little Internet TV series starring and written by "Superbad" star Michael Cera and pal Clark Duke, who had a cameo in "Superbad." The ten-episode series is about little more than the pair trying to sell a TV pilot about their lives to the networks, but it's damn funny and each ep is only about ten minutes long.

The few eps of "C&M" I watched made me laugh just as much as "Superbad" did - and McLovin' isn't even in the thing. The series does feature cames by cool kids like Patton Oswalt, Andy Richter, David Cross, Tony Hale from "Arrested Development" plus the great line "They brushed our teeth with their dicks."

It's funny. Watch it.

Links:

ClarkandMichael.com

Clark Duke's YouTube Channel

Photo from ClarkandMichael.com

TV: 'Keep flirting to a minimun'

If you owned a TV news station, would you hire an anchorwoman whom you had to remind to "keep flirting to a minimum" when dealing with news sources? I wouldn't, but KYTX Channel 19 president - and Rick Perry clone - Phil Hurley did.

Hurley hired former bikini model and WWE "diva" Lauren Jones (that's her mug up there) as an anchor to boost ratings for his local newscast in Tyler, TX. Jones has no journalism experience and is probably best known by teenage boys who watched her on WWE hoping to catch a nipple slip. It's all documented on FOX's new "comedic reality" show "Anchorwoman," which premiered tonight.

I'd read nothing about "Anchorwoman" before catching the first two eps on FOX, but I knew what I was getting after the first minute or so. It's another fish-out-of-water tale with nothing new to say and only a hint of humor, mostly at the expense of the uber-bubbly Jones who, like Homer Simpson, seems at times unable to have an inner dialogue.

Sure, at least it's a "documentary-style" reality show instead of the "seven people picked to live on a pirate ship" variety, but I don't see it holding anyone's interest after a few eps. I mean, what do viewers really have to look forward to but watching a clueless, monster-boobed party girl alienating her serious co-workers and screwing up the news?

The character I find most interesting on the series isn't Jones, but station owner Hurley. It's pretty fascinating watching such a stiff and unimaginative suit so obsessed with the bottom line and so unconcerned about his staff that he's willing to damage their reputations, sink their morale, and kill his station's credibility with one dumb decision.

Still, I'm not sure how much credibility this station or its employess had in the first place. I might be wrong, but it looks like they hired a dog (yes, the "bow wow wow" kind) to do the weather.

"Anchorwoman" airs Wednesdays on FOX.

Links:

Anchorwoman at FOX.com

Lauren Jones' last job

KYTX 19 (Lauren's current job)

Photo from FOX.

TV: Logan Echolls is CBS's new vampire

Wassup "Veronica Mars" fans? Still waiting for season three to hit the stores (you think we'll really get to see that trailer for the proposed season 4)? Well, while you wait, take comfort in the fact that a lot of "VM" stars have already moved on to paying gigs. The latest news is that Jason Dohring (Logan Echolls) will star in the upcoming CBS drama "Moonlight," about a vampire detective named Mick -- not Angel, or Nick Knight -- seeking redemption in Los Angeles.

Dohring doesn't play the lead. He plays a confidante to Mick (Alex O’Loughlin) named Josef, an ages-old vamp who, much like Logan, is rich and likes to misbehave. According to Film.com, Dhoring's role was originally played by 60-year-old actor Rade Serbedzija, but the producers decided to recast the role to make it less ... boring.



Sure, this series looks like a watered-down, big three version of "Angel," but I'm going to give it a chance now that Dohring's on board (and the fact that I was looking for a legit reason to watch it anyway). It can't be nearly as bad as, say, "The Dresden Files," right? CBS plans to air the thing on Fridays this fall. Good luck Dohring.

TV: Battlestar Galactica music video

dr. baltar, bsg

Like all things in nature, Battlestar Galactica has earned its own silly but affectionate parody song/video. I don' t know who made it, and I don't think I want to know, but it's up for streaming here at SciFi.com.

The clip is called "A New Crew in Town" and it points out the differences between the old school Galactica and the new version and features clips from both. It's mildly entertaining, if only for lines like "Sorry Dirk Benedict/Don't want you to lose face/But I'd rather share my space with Kara Thrace."

Mad props from BlogCritics

My last Veronica Mars review was selected as an Editor's Pick over at BlogCritics Magazine. Also, another VM review was syndicated to national newspaper Web sites. Here's what BC has to say:

"What a great show! Just every episode, I love every episode. I think Mike Moody loves it too, otherwise how could he cover it all so well? And, who doesn't love Veronica? I think we all love Veronica. Veronica who? Veronica Mars!"
-BlogCritics Magazine

TV: Veronica Mars (3.11) - 'Poughkeepsie, Tramps & Thieves'

vm 3-11

(Air date: 1/30/07)
The theme of this week’s episode was trust -- when to give it and who to give it to. Apparently, according to Veronica Mars, you can kinda trust hookers looking to evade their pimps. Unfortunately, you can’t trust a semi-reformed bad boy like Logan Echolls.

The teaser and first act of this ep were hilarious and very, very intriguing. There was no sign of Piz, Mac or Wallace, but we did get a whole lot of face time with Max (a.k.a. the Louis Skolnick-looking dude who sells phony term papers on campus). I couldn’t keep up with how many clever Battlestar Galactica references were dropped in the opening scene alone (I lost count at 400 billion). If more Max means more Galactica references, then I say give the guy some credit sequence billing.

Besides giving Veronica a reason to say "frak," Max provided her with the mystery of the week: Track down the hot hooker hired by my friends to seduce me.

I was right there with Veronica in doubting the sudden spark between Max and Chelsea/Wendy/ Fiona (she’s the hooker with a thousand names, and yes, she has a heart of gold). Veronica’s a little more jaded than most -- coming of age while tailing unfaithful spouses for money will do that to you -- but it wasn’t a stretch to think that, maybe, this hooker was playing our Starbuck-loving friend for a fool. He’s desperate and he’s got wads of cash. He’s the perfect mark for a cute hooker-con woman.

But this is Veronica Mars. Things are much more complicated than that. Unfortunately, as the ep went on and the plot continued to coil, things came to a drowsy crawl before the last act hit. It wasn’t hard to keep up with the twists, but after I while I just stopped caring. I’m guessing that most viewers felt the same.

The Galactica references were very funny, and brave, and the plot wasn’t exactly humdrum, but I was a little disturbed by this ep. With the news that VM will ditch season-long arcs in an effort to gain new viewers, one thought kept running through my brain: Name-dropping another low-rated cult TV series and throwing the viewer a million curveballs in one ep probably won’t help raise the ratings. It doesn’t make sense that the powers that be behind VM would want to sacrifice the arcs, which the fans love and have proven to up ratings, but keep all the obscure references and super-dense plots, which undoubtedly alienate new viewers.

Speaking of arcs, we got a great interrogation scene with Keith. Decked out in too-tight fake police duds, he hammered the sanctimonious Lilith House chicks about the night Dean O’Dell died. Yeah, they egged his van and his office, but head Lilith Nish says she egged the Dean’s Volvo alone. Too bad for her then that O’Dell wasn’t driving the Volvo the night he died. Also, Nish’s mouth almost hit the floor when she learned that Keith was investigating O'Dell's death as a murder. I guess that makes her suspect number three, right behind Prof. Landry and Cheaty O’Dell.

I liked the quiet moments between Veronica and Logan, especially the intimate Q&A session at the end (scored by Leonard Cohen). Veronica was pleased and surprised to find out that Logan had never slept with a hooker. He smartly copped to fooling around with that surfer skank in the last ep, but Veronica was cool with it. However, she wasn't cool with Madison (where'd she come from anyway) saying she had a fling with Logan in Aspen. My guess? It might have happened, but Madison is a liar and she likes to push Veronica's buttons. It wouldn't be the first time she tried to screw with Veronica.

Random thought: Why is it that everyone Logan hangs out with or screws, save Veronica, is a shallow jerk (Dick, Mercer, Chip, surfer skank and now Madison)? Logan's come a long way. Shouldn't his friends reflect that journey?

The CW is now streaming this ep online. Also, watch a preview of next Tuesday's ep and consider the question: Is Veronica preggers?

Memorable quote: (Besides all the great Galactica references)
Veronica: (Examining the escort search engine) It's like a Zagat guide for hookers!

TV: Catching up with the Buffy cast (Part 1)

buffy cast

A few former cast members of Buffy the Vampire Slayer will appear at February's New York ComiCon, Variety reported earlier this week. The news got me wondering about what some of my favorite Buffyverse alums are up to these days.

Sure, most of us know about Alyson Hannigan's blossoming TV career and that Sarah Michelle Gellar has mostly resigned herself to starring in artless horror flicks, but did you know that Nick Brendan (Xander) does voice work for Disney Channel? Have you seen Tom Lenk's (Andrew) insane short film series about an eccentric dancer?

Read on to find out about how these former Buffy actors are keeping busy. I'll post more info about other Buffyverse alum in the coming weeks. And remember; let's try to support some of their projects. It's the least we can do for these talented performers.

Nicholas Brendon (Xander Harris)
Nick Brendon had a tough time in TV land after Buffy went off the air in 2003. He starred in a sitcom pilot that never became a series, The Pool at Maddy Breakers, and Fox quickly cancelled Kitchen Confidential, the critically acclaimed but low-rated single-camera series in which Brendon co-starred with Bradley Cooper from Alias.
In between those projects Brendon starred as Roswell's Majandra Delfino's gay cousin in the surprisingly decent ABC Family flick Celeste in the City.
In 2004, he voluntarily entered rehab to fight his addiction to alcohol.
He served as honorary chairperson for the Stuttering Foundation of America during Stuttering Awareness Week from 2000-2003. According to his official Web site, Brendon's fans have raised more than $5,000 for the SFA.
In 2006, Brendan starred in LA's Blank Theater Co. production of Lobster Alice. He co-starred with Charisma Carpenter in another ABC Family flick, Relative Chaos, in 2006 and does voice work on the Disney Channel animated series American Dragon: Jake Long.
Catch Brendon's next project Fire Serpent, a SciFi Channel original film, on Feb. 24.


Emma Caulfield (Anya)
Before arriving on Buffy, Emma Caulfield had already guest-starred on a number of TV series, most memorably on Beverly Hills 90210. Since Buffy's end, she's mostly gone back to taking TV guest spots (Monk, Robot Chicken).
In 2004, Caulfield parodied herself in the award-winning indie mockumentary Bandwagon. In the film, Caulfield portrays herself as a self-absorbed starlet on a downward spiral. Bandwagon won the Maverick Award at the 2004 Newport Beach Film Festival. The film also features cameos by Buffy alum Tom Lenk, Buffy director David Fury and Joss Whedon. Read an interview with her about the film here.
Catch Emma in A Valentine Carol, Feb. 12 on Lifetime.


Tom Lenk (Andrew Wells)
Yep, that's Tom Lenk in that Wendy's commercial. He's also popped up recently on a number of TV shows, including How I Met Your Mother, Six Feet Under and House M.D.
In 2004, Lenk reprised his recurring role as Buffy's Andrew Wells for two hilarious episodes of Angel on theWB. He had a cameo as "Frodo" in Alyson Haniggan's 2006 film Date Movie and will appear in two of this year's major Hollywood releases, 23 with Jim Carey and Michael Bay's Transformers. According to IMDB, he plays a Pentagon analyst in Transformers. (That should be interesting.)
Tom will also appear in the upcoming indie film Equal Opportunity and the horror sequel Boogeyman 2.
Tom is also a well-received stage performer and comedian. He's part of the L.A.-based Strangely Attractive sketch comedy troupe. He started the bizarro comic stage production Unitarded in LA with acting partner Patty Wortham. Tom has also appeared in and directed several short films with other Strangely Attractive members. He has a few of these shorts posted on his MySpace page. The oddest ones star Tom as Trudy, a nerdy, 8-year-old female tap dancer. Check out the clip below.



Next week: Catch up with Amber Benson (Tara), Danny Strong (Andrew) and Tony Head (Giles).

News: Aqua Teen terror plot?

You haven't lived until you've heard Charlie Gibson say "Aqua Teen Hunger Force." Seriously.

Why was Gibson talking about the Cartoon Network series on ABC News? Apparently an Aqua Teen marketing stunt threw Boston into a scare today.

About nine electronic devices planted at bridges and other Boston spots by the cable network to promote the show were mistaken for bombs, or other explosive devices. Highways and bridges were closed and bomb squads were sent in before authorities declared the devices were harmless. They were just boxes with magnetic blinking lights that formed the shape of an Aqua Teen character.

Cartoon Network: No. 1 in bonehead guerrila marketing ideas, G!

Music: Leonard Cohen on Veronica Mars

Looking for that Leonard Cohen (pictured) song from Tuesday's episode of Veronica Mars? Look no further.

It's called "A Thousand Kisses Deep" and you can find it on The Essential Leonard Cohen, a 2002 best-of release.

Below is a streaming MP3 link to the song. You can play it in your browser, but I reccomend picking up the album or heading over to iTunes if you really want to dig on this song all day. If anyone has a downloadable link, please let me know. Here's a taste:

Leonard Cohen - 'A Thousand Kisses Deep'

I'll try to post more music from VM in the coming weeks. A review of the latest episode should be up here soon.

TV: Battlestar Galactica (3.13) - 'Taking a Break From All Your Worries'

bsg 3.13

(Air date: 1/28/07)
Battlestar Galactica returned to form on Sunday with one of the best, rawest and most compelling episodes of the season.

Episode writer Michael Taylor -- who penned the great "In the Pale Moonlight" ep of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine -- crafted a tense, edgy story worthy of the series that some say has faltered in its third season. Edward James Olmos' urgent direction only drew me in further as Baltar and Apollo were tortured in very different ways.

The dark-sounding nursery rhyme that opened the first scene was a nice choice. "This ep is something different, and it's not for everybody," the rhyme seemed to whisper. This episode was different, fiercely different, than anything else on prime time TV. It reminded me of why I love this series. At its best, Galactica goes for the mind and the gut, ditching most superficial notions of sci-fi to focus on conflict and character. This time aboard the Galactica, we focused on Dr. Baltar, one of the series' richest and most captivating characters.

It was a smart move to follow up all the Final Five and Eye of Jupiter junk with an economic ep mostly about Balter. It's always fun getting in side Baltar's head, whether we're given privy to his lurid fantasies-turned-nightmares about a slew of Sixes, or diving into even darker territory. It's been obvious for months now that Baltar wanted to be a Cylon so that he could absolve himself of his guilt. It turned out he's probably not a Cylon, but his conscious got a nice rubdown anyway thanks to Roslin and Adama's brutal, mind-altering interrogation method.

Watching Baltar spill his secrets and confront his demons made for great TV. Lost in a drug-induced black sea, he claimed his innocence, questioned the loyalty and existence of Imaginary Six and came up feeling his soul was absolved.

Did Baltar betray humanity? The answer remains ambiguous, and we were given the chance to consider both perspectives. From Baltar's point of view, As Adama pointed out, he's the victim. He was forced to aid the Cylon occupation of New Caprica and was deceived into abetting the destruction of his home world. He never intended to hurt anyone and, in his mind, he did not conspire with the Cylons. From Roslin and Adama's points of view, Baltar is a traitor. He contributed to the attempted genocide and lacked the strength, character and humanity to stand up to the Cylons, allowing many humans to be murdered on New Caprica. He spent months on a Cylon base ship possibly helping the Cylons find Earth. Also, they really really hate the guy and want to see him suffer. At least Roslin did, but she eventually felt sympathy for the man. Adama stayed militaristic throughout. His objective was only to retrieve information that would help the fleet.

It was intense watching an incensed Roslin drag Baltar out of his cell and to the Caprica memorial. The treatment of Baltar was ugly and extreme in this ep, but it was also fascinating to watch. I was glad to see the Starbuck-Apollo arc take a backseat, since the Baltar arc is what's really driving the series right now, but both stories complimented each other well.

Apollo is now in a world of pain. He's in love with Starbuck, but he loves and respects Dee. His marriage is crumbling and he's resigned to drinking with Tyrol and spinning his wedding ring on the wet bar. Sure, having to choose between Katee Sackhoff and Kandyse McClure might not sound like a tragic situation, but Jamie Bamber really sold Apollo's torture and self-pity. I felt sorry for the dude, especially in that tail-end scene where he's trying to patch things up with Dee.

And what about Starbuck? Why did Sam bring up points that will eventually lead to the big question: Is Starbuck a Cylon? I'm not sure about that, but I will agree with Starbuck in that she's a "two-timing bitch of a wife."

Is Gaeta a Cylon? It makes sense. In another searing scene, Gaeta attempted to kill our man Baltar after Baltar whispered something in his ear. He only succeeded in stabbing Baltar in the neck (thank the gods), but ot looks like he's still out for blood. Baltar's definitely on to something here, especially if he's accusing Gaeta of being a bigger traitor than he is. Also, it was interesting to find out that Baltar allowed Gaeta to feed information to the resistance on New Caprica.

In the end Baltar is hauled off to sick bay, again, and Roslin visits Caprica Six in an extended bonus scene that SciFi.com is streaming in its entirety here. It seems Six will only talk if Baltar is given a trial. Roslin seems pleased with that response, since she was already planning to give him a trial anyway.

With Baltar back on the Galactica and major suspicion cast on major characters, Galactica is showing signs of a late season rally.

Memorable quote:
Starbuck: Kara Thrace and her special destiny? That sounds like a bad cover band.

TV: Veronica Mars (3.10) - 'Show Me the Monkey'

vm 3-10

Air date: (1/23/06)
Uh-oh. It looks like someone might have nabbed Veronica's "perfect murder" report and followed it step-by-step to get away with killing Dean O'Dell, who's death was officially ruled a suicide. Sounds like we got us a mystery arc for the rest of this season (I only wish it hadn't cost us Ed Begley Jr., he was great in this series).

So, who's the murderer? After two and a half seasons of series creator Rob Thomas proving he's way smarter than I am, I've learned to stop guessing so early on. NeptuneSite has a list of possible suspects, if you're into that sort of thing.

Instead of depositing my murder theories here, I'd rather dive into what this episode was really about: conviction (personal and political), relationships, and a monkey.

We catch up with Veronica six weeks after O'Dell's death. Veronica and Logan are still split, and she's hired by a couple of campus lab techs to find their stolen lab monkey.

Many primate jokes abound, including a "the case of the stolen monkey" jab courtesy of Piz, but only Veronica Mars can start an ep with such a basic mystery plot like "find the stolen monkey" and end up being one of the most engaging, fun and complex things to watch on TV.

Veronica goes undercover at the hilariously named PHAT (People for Humane Animal Treatment) group on campus to find the monkey nabbers. We get the usual role-playing and sneaky tactics she's used to great effect in the past, but it was obvious and a little disappointing to find that the guy behind the mystery turned out to be one of the techs who reported it. Also, there was a little too much "girlyness" going on in this ep for my comfort level -- and that's coming from a guy who's been watching Gilmore Girls for years. Plus, we had to sit through a few minutes of sad music scored animals right proselytizing (Blech), but those were small prices to pay for a damn fine hour of television that delivered a love interest for Mac, a LoVe reunion and the definition of "Manila."

The LoVe reunion that capped this ep was nice, but I really enjoyed Veronica's earlier scenes with Piz. They have a good dynamic, and I really related to their talk about not dating just to date. It's better to stick with what you like, especially when you know what you like, Piz said. True. Too bad for him then, since that means Veronica must go running back to Logan. Piz is cool, but there's tons more drama and conflict with Logan. I still felt for Piz in that last scene, though (Been there dude). But remember, Veronica's interest was peaked when Parker mentioned that he might have a girlfriend "back home," so the door was left a little open there.

And speaking of Logan, why does he hang around with every scuzzy guy on the planet? He goes surfing with Dick and who do they meet at the beach but none other than Chip Diller, the biggest panty waste on campus. So far, Logan's rolled with a fun loving but brain dead frat boy (Dick), a convicted rapist (Mercer), and now an accused rapist and misogynist (Chip). Come on Logan, I think it's time to find some new friends. Why don't they pair Logan up with Wallace? I've always dug watching them together. At least then Wallace might show up in a few more eps this season.

Besides the last act, episode highlights included the Ted Nugent digs, Veronica's mock rock out to Barenaked Ladies, the Canada room at the "around the world" party and, of course, Keith's scene with Landry at the bar.

What did Keith's "scotch" comment to O'Dell's widow mean? I'm sure he's talking about more than O'Dell's untouched bottle. Like I wrote before, I'm not guessing yet, but I'm looking forward to finding out.

Catch a video preview of the next ep here. Also, the CW is now streaming episodes of Veronica Mars online here.

Memorable quote:
Mac: OK. I get cruelty free, but I'm an animal too. The no bathing thing and the clove cigarettes is cruelty to me.

Gilmore Girls note:
I've decided to stop writing Gilmore Girls episode reviews after watching last Tuesday's ep. I probably won't even follow the show like I used to; it's just become so charmless over the past year. I might start blogging about it again if it gets any better, but I doubt it will.

Update:
This review was picked up for national newspaper Web site syndication!

TV: Heroes (1.12) - 'Godsend'

hiro

(Air date: 1/22/07)
There’s been tons of Heroes news since the series returned with a new episode on Monday.

TV Guide -- who will publish issues with four collectible covers featuring Heroes cast members next Monday -- reports that one of the series’ regular characters is heading for the grave. Also, Eric Roberts will join the cast in an upcoming sweeps episode and George Takei (Star Trek’s Sulu) is slated to guest-star as Hiro’s father. The series introduced another hero online, and NBC.com launched the Heroes 360 experience (more on that after the review).

Heroes did well in the ratings battle against 24 on Monday and has been getting more attention from the press than ever before. It seems America has really fallen for one of our favorite new series. Is all this praise and attention deserved?

Well, yeah dude.

Heroes returned with one of its strongest, most entertaining episodes to date with “Godsend.” We picked up two weeks after the last episode with Hiro trying to steal a sword, Niki frightening jail guards, a comatose Peter having scary prophetic dreams, and a doped up Sylar stuck in a roach-ridden cell.

Continue reading here.

Morning Dose: Deluxe Beck; No Holmes in Dark Knight; Heroes death; Luke Cage movie; more

beck

- Intercope is giving Beck's The Information the super massive deluxe treatment. Due Feb. 27, the three-disc release will include the original album plus three bonus tracks, remixes by Bumblebeez, David Andrew Sitek (of TV on the Radio) and others, and a DVD featuring a music video for every track, including Michel Gondry's clip for "Cell Phone's Dead."

- Giving more evidence to the Katie Holmes is brainwashed theory, the actress is skipping out on the Batman Begins sequel to star in something called Mad Money with Queen Latifah.

- EMI has merged the Capitol and Virgin record labels to form The Capitol Music Group.

- Which comic book-based films are nominated for Oscars? (Not X-Men 3).

- Speaking of comic books, fans can nominate their favorite comics and comic book creators for Eagle Awards, the comics industry's longest established awards voted on by fans. One question: Why is Vincent Gallo up for best comic villain?

-Tyrese and John Singleton talk about the upcoming Luke Cage movie.

- A major character is supposed to die on Heroes this season. God, please let it be Niki.

- Some idiots are circulating this petition to arrest Dakota Fanning's parents because of this movie.

-Will Britney Spears play a "raunchy bunch of sex mad aliens" on Dr. Who?

- Finally, somebody buy me this T-shirt. (Thanks Wil Wheaton!)

TV: Battlestar Galactica updates

In a recent interview with Backstage.com, Edward James Olmos and Mary McDonnell (pictured) chatted about their relationship on the set of Battlestar Galactica and about how rewarding the series has been for them as actors.

Olmos said the pilot script for the series reminded him of Blade Runner, the 1982 Ridley Scott film in which he appears alongside Harrison Ford. Olmos says he also liked the post-9/11 themes inherent in the script.
Read more here.

Afternoon Dose: Spidey 4 villain?; Rage reunion; Oscars; Heroes, Trek news

the lizard

I'm still sick, but here are some of today's interesting headlines ...

- Will The Lizard be Peter Parker's nemesis in Spider-Man 4? Actor Dylan Baker, who plays The Lizard's alter ego Dr. Conners in Spidey 2 and 3, thinks so.

- Will there really be a Rage Against the Machine reunion, featuring Zack de la Rocha, at this year's Coachella fest? De la Rocha's official site seems to confirm it.

- Pan's Labyrinth, Children of Men and, finally, Mark Wahlberg have been nominated for Oscars. Babel, The Departed, Letters From Iwo Jima, Little Miss Sunshine and The Queen are up for Best Picture. View the entire list of nominees here. More on this later.

- Little Man and Basic Instinct 2 are up for Razzies. What, no hate for Just My Luck?

- B-movie prince Eric Roberts is joining the cast of Heroes. Also, have you visited PrimaTech Paper's Web site? Use the code MT36 to log in.

- Star Trek's Brent Spiner (Data) says fans are to blame for the last Trek film's failure.

- And finally, STARZ will air the Guided By Voices documentary The Electrifying Conclusion on Jan. 29. This one is on the house.

TV: Battlestar Galactica (3.12) - 'Rapture'

bsg rapture

(Please note: I'm sicker than a dog as I write this, but i have a TV Fodder deadline to meet. It's hard to focus, what with my head turning to mush and all. Please forgive the lack of insight or any Nyquil-induced dips into excessive hyperbole. My head, and my brain, are hurtin' bad ... Really.)

(Air date: 1/21/06)
Rejoice. This wasn't a filler ep, nor was it a gimmick ep like I feared it would be. After the slow grind that was "The Eye of Jupiter" and the Internet chatter about executive producer Ron Moore wanting to "shock" fans and kill off a major character, I was glad to see that "Rapture" stayed tense, smart and surprising almost from the outset. Even the supernova effects were impressive.

I was in-and-out for the first few minutes, but my eyes were locked on the blue glow after Helo went against the fleet's best interests and smoked Sharon. This, I thought, is what the series is all about. Galactica isn't just a simple political allegory set in space as many glossy magazines might have you believe -- it's about people and what they do to survive. This idea was played out perfectly in this ep and it was underscored in almost every plot thread.

Was Adama ready to nuke the planet to keep the Cylons from finding Earth? His actions prior to this would make me say no, but the opening scenes were still tense. This is a series where people are changed by circumstance and are sometimes governed by impulse. Even Adama must make sacrifices to survive. I was glad to see the nuke standoff ended soon, since there were many more plot points left hanging from the last ep, including D'Anna and Baltar's vision quest, Sharon's plan to find Hera and the fate of Starbuck.

How bad was Starbuck's crash? Bad enough to make me think "Man, Katee Sackhoff looks like crap." We catch up with the impulsive Kara Thrace sitting inside the smoky crash site with puffy bruises and sliced hands. It's fascinating how this series continues to cut, bruise and bleed its leading characters on screen. War is hell, and top billing won't save anyone on Galactica. The survival theme was played out here with Dee and Starbuck reluctantly working together to pilot the beaten ship back into orbit. I'm not a fan of the darker Dianne and Sam dynamic now hovering over Apollo and Starbuck, but I like the way it was played out here. Seeing Starbuck and Dee help each other and seeing Lee and Anders come to a shaky truce in the name of survival felt realistic -- miles away from the soap operatics that were on display in "Jupiter."

The question of "Will Sharon (Athena) betray the fleet?" weighed heavily in the first half of this ep. Grace Park really sold the emotion and ambiguity here, leaving space for the thought that, maybe, she'll side with the Cylons and deliver the goods on Galactica. Like Roslin warned, we still don't know if she can be trusted. But it seems Sharon only wanted to ensure her family's survival and -- in an applause worthy twist -- Caprica Six, who's now stuck in Galactica's brig, helped her do that.

Baltar -- who's looking more and more like Ron Moore in every ep -- is also, I assume, now stuck in the brig. It was great fun watching him subtly manipulate D'Anna to ensure his own survival and answer his burning existential questions. Is he a Cylon? i hope not. I'm not sure about most fans, but I'm rooting for the little weasel to come out on top somewhow. Maybe it's just James Callis' bizarre line readings and facial expressions, but I always look forward to the Baltar scenes, especially when he's on edge, as he was in this entire ep. Capping his mini-arc off with the death of D'Anna was a good kick in the gut.

I really wasn't sucked in by all the mythology people were babbling about. It was hard to make sense of it all, especially with a medicine head, but it seems the characters didn't know what to make of the Temple of Five or the Eye of Jupiter either. What did it all mean? That and some other very intriguing questions remain:
- What will come of the Chief's spiritual awakening?
- Why did Tigh put the wounded "civie" in the brig?
- Who is the Cylon that D'Anna apologized to? Is it Starbuck -- she who scribbles prophetic circles?

I can't wait to see what' will be done with Six and Baltar. It's about time they got back on Galactica and off that eerie base ship. And is it just me, or is everyone else glad that we won't have to endure that awkward crib on the base ship visual anymore?

SciFi should have the ep up for streaming, not to mention Ron Moore's podcast commentary, soon. Next week: Will Lee choose Starbuck?

Memorable quote
Tyroll: (To Baltar right before he knocks him out) "Welcome home, Mr. President."

TV: Stream Veronica Mars episodes online

vm cast

Following in the footsteps of ABC and NBC, The CW is now offering full episode streams of some of its most popular shows, including Veronica Mars. Go here to stream the last four season three episodes aired before the winter break.

If you haven't watched any season three eps yet, these four should prepare you for the series' return on Tuesday. Visit NeptuneSite for episode recaps and check back here for reviews of upcoming episodes.

For now, check out some video goodness from the VM panel at ComicCon 2006 below.

Morning Dose: Spidey 4?; Goblin pics; Departed sequels; Fillion and Minear on Drive

franco goblin

- Official sources are already talking about Spider-Man 4.

- Take a look at more pics of James Franco's new Navy Seal style Goblin costume from the upcoming Spider-Man 3. Is that a hoverboard up there?

- Mark Wahlberg says Martin Scorsese and crew are talking about making sequels (or prequels) to The Departed. Wahlberg says most of the cast might return if the films are a go.
"They're talking to Robert De Niro and a couple of other people. ... Anybody who is anybody wants to work with Marty," Wahlberg told MTV. Wahlberg starred in the 2006 film with Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson and Leonardo DiCaprio.

- The Whedonverse is alive and kicking on TV. Fox just picked up former Firefly co-producer Tim Minear's new drama Drive, which stars Firefly's Nathan Fillion and Angel's Amy Acker. Click here for a network description of the series. The two-hour series premiere airs Sunday, April 15 on Fox. Fillion and Minear discuss the series at TV Squad.

Afternoon Dose: Smallville clips; Trek X1 news; Superman sequel?; Halloween script leaks

smallville

- Smallville fans can catch a 12-minute preview of tonight’s highly anticipated episode, “Justice,” here. The clips feature Clark and Green Arrow meeting up with Impulse (or Gen-Y Flash).

- SyFy Portal reports that the upcoming Star Trek XI film will be all about character. That’s a good sign, no?

- One of the Superman Returns writer says that the film’s sequel will feature more villains from the DC canon and more action.

-Will Ewan McGregor play Kurt Cobain in an upcoming biopic?

- Bad fan reaction to the script for his Halloween remake is really pissing Rob Zombie off. Read AintItCoolNews.com’s merciless review of the script here.

TV: New Heroes sneak peak videos

heroes cast
Originally uploaded by gold_teeth.

NBC's Heroes returns with new episodes on Jan. 22, but NBC.com has posted three sneak peek videos of upcoming eps on the official Heroes page. I posted one below that features Hiro and Nathan.

The Jan. 22 ep is called "Godsend" and it guest-stars former Doctor Who star Christopher Eccleston. Make sure to check here for a review after the ep airs.