Secret Boyfriend(s) of the Week

Justin Tolchuck and Raja Musharaff, from Aliens in America. And no, it's not weird that I chose two high school characters as our SBs this week - Dan Byrd is 22, and Adhir Kalyan is 23. Besides, when guys are this freakin' adorkable, age ain't nothin' but a number.


Is it just me, or do these two look insanely huggable?

After six seasons of Scrubs, you'd think I'd have had my fill of neurotic narrators who combine entirely egocentric world views with often depressing lacks of self-esteem. Apparently not. And while John Dorian's rambling voiceovers eventually become preachy and overdone, Justin's interjections are both quirky and poignant, without being heavy-handed. Of course the series is still young and, due to it's content and setting (race relations and Smalltown USA, respectively), it runs the risk of descending into after-school special territory.


A Very Special Episode? Oh, dear God, no.

The acting is so good, though. Everyone in this series is a parody (the overbearing mother, the vapid teenage daughter, the well-meaning but ultimately feckless father) and yet each character comes across as authentic, and likeable. That's more than chemistry. That's alchemy. I have a feeling that these boys could taken the most leaden of plots and make it into television gold.

And Raja! Oh, I could write odes about this guy. Sonnets! Epic poems of adulation and joy! *ahem* I'll restrain myself to saying, I dig this kid. Religious people are often depicted at best as kooks and at worst, zealots. But Raja has a quiet dignity that, to me, speaks of the inner peace that true faith brings. And at the same time, he isn't so holier-than-thou that he won't play Dishsoap-dispenser Drums to accompany your Parasol Guitar every once in a while.


Oh, yeah. They're cool.

Finally, I love the relationship between Justin and Raja. They're both outsiders, but it goes beyond that. Raja's steadfastness makes Justin a better person. Justin's flakiness reminds Raja that, hey, they're still just kids. And I'm looking forward to watching them grow up.

I have never wanted pie more in my LIFE.

There has been a lot said about Pushing Daisies.
How it's wacky and whimsical...beautiful and charming...and that its slick, colorful exterior serves as a great contrast to the black humor that shoots through its core. But blah blah blah whatever. Because the show is just fun. Watching it makes me grin like a fool. Handgun cozies? Petting your dog with a stick? Bursting into song in the middle of a pie shop? Sisters who used to have a synchronized swimming team called the Darling Mermaid Darlings? Kissing through saran wrap? I'm hooked. Say no more. I'm on board.
Say what you want...the show is hard to categorize no matter how you slice it. I suppose you could describe it as an adult fary-tale/crime procedural. And a comedy. And a drama. And a musical. See what I mean about being hard to categorize? But, again, it's just so fun! It's like a group of fun though slightly insane people got together and said, "you know what? Let's make a show that is just awesome." And Pushing Daisies was the result.

While the plots are often meandering, and often make...how shall I say, no sense, it's not a case of style over substance. Ned's central problem, his inability to touch (or connect) with the wider world around him is applicable to all of us. Although, to be fair, our wider world doesn't appear in such vivid technicolor as Ned's. Which makes his inability to truly fit in with the wonderland around him even sadder. I have a feeling the moral of the story will be something along the lines of closing ourselves off from those around us never works out. Or it could just be that pie is awesome. Because whenever I watch this show, I want pie. As in, NOW.

What about BOB?

Just in time for Halloween, TV Squad has released their list of the top 10 scariest tv characters of all time. While I don't disagree with any of the choices they made (with special kudos for their choice of The Gentleman from Buffy, because DAMN, those guys were scary), I can't help but ask, how could they forget about BOB??

For those of you with a taste of the macabre, surely you are familiar with David Lynch's frightening and yet awesome tv series, Twin Peaks. And if you have watched Twin Peaks, you know about BOB. The malevolent spirit who delights in possessing people and making them perform unspeakable atrocities has got to be THE scariest tv character of all time. Here's a pic:



SEE???

Now, according to tv legend, Frank Silva (the portrayer of BOB) worked on the set of Twin Peaks as a set dresser and his reflection from a mirror was caught on film. David Lynch, who has got to be one of the weirdest people ever, was so struck by the OMGSOSCARYiness of it, that he wrote the character BOB and hired Frank Silva to portray him.

The moment captured in the picture above comes from the show's Pilot, when the audience first caught a glimpse of BOB as he was seen crouched behind a bed during a hallucination/vision of Laura Palmer's mother. I think I can say with a certain degree of definitiveness that from that moment on, BOB because the scariest character in television EVER. Disagree? The you probably haven't seen Twin Peaks.

Torchwood In A Nutshell or Seriously, Russell? SERIOUSLY?

A/N: This was written after watching almost the entire season of Torchwood, before seeing the last few episodes of Doctor Who Season Three. It includes spoilers for "Everything Changes," "Greeks Bearing Gifts" and "Keep Killing Suzie," at very least.

***

Good location (as demonstrated by the eighteen gratuitous aerial shots per episode to remind you that OMFG THEY ARE IN CARDIFF!). Good production values. Good creative team (Russell T. Davies is a Golden God). Good actors.

Inexplicably terrible.


Back row: Dopey, Sleepy, Happy, Grumpy, Bashful
Foreground: Sneezy? OK, so the metaphor falls apart a bit.
He sure as hell isn't Doc.

A friend asked me why I watch this show, when I clearly don’t like it. Let me clarify – I love watching Torchwood. Maggie and I derive great pleasure from mocking everything that is said and done in what passes for Torchwood’s plot. And there’s always a (microscopic) chance that something that happens in this atrocity may be important in future episodes of Doctor Who. And heaven forbid we miss a single obscure DW reference.

The worst of it is the characters. Owen is a douche. Ianto is an emo kid. Tosh is completely spineless. Gwen is too fucking naïve to live. And Jack – Jack in Doctor Who is LOVE, but Jack in Torchwood is kind of an irredeemable bastard. And they can’t seem to stay out of each other’s pants long enough to do much actual work.

Tosh: Hi, guys! I have this thing to show you –
Gwen (thinking): Can’t she see we’re busy having eye sex?
Owen (thinking): Mmmm, I loved it when Gwen dressed me up and called me ‘mummy.’ I wonder if Rhys would be into a threesome.
Tosh: *rips off telepathy necklace* Ugh, I think I’m going to be sick.

Ianto: So … now that we’re putting our dead colleague’s body back in the freezer, I think this would be a great time to suddenly stop crying about my dead girlfriend and proposition my boss.
Jack: Oh yeah, baby, the way you click that stopwatch really turns me on!
Suzie: Um, hello? I’m laying right here.
Jack: You can watch.
Suzie: I’d rather die. Oh, wait …

The only redeeming qualities of Torchwood:
1. Cap’n Jack Hotness. His suspenders-and-overcoat combination is ridiculous … ly adorable!
2. Plot continuity, and the occasional well-designed plot twist. These include:

• Cap’n Jack can never die because Rose resurrected him.
• The severed hand? Totally the Doctor’s!
• Suzie killing herself was all part of Her Evil Plan. And you know Russell T. Davies thought of that shit, too.

So I’ll hang in for the rest of the season. If only for the one shining moment in DW when Jack returns and says,

“OMFG, I WAS IN CARDIFF!”

I know this isn't a Heroes blog but I have to say....TIM KRING WHERE IS SYLAR? WE HAD A DEAL...I WOULD WATCH HEROES AND YOU WOULD GIVE ME MORE ZACHARY QUINTO.

How long do I have to wait, Tim Kring, how long?

WANT. SYLAR. NOW.

Transcript of a conversation between two Heroes fans

Sri: Hey! You watching Heroes tonight?
Maggie: HELLS YES! Shall we chat during commercials?
Sri: Totes!
Maggie: Woot.

*random squee-age re: Chuck and Doctor Who*

Sri: OMFG HEROES IN 8 MINUTES! Wait - limited commercial interruption? I should pee now ... be right back.

Maggie: It's time! I hope Sylar is in the premiere. But probably not.
Sri: Ha, maybe.
Maggie: Also ... SHUT UP MOHINDER!
Sri: Hey, that's my man you're talkin' about.
Maggie: Tim Kring, quit it with the voice-overs.
Sri: I was hoping those would fall off second season.

Maggie: I love Nathan calling his mom evil. I cheered.
Sri: But that was so mean! Even if she is evil.
Maggie: It was awesome. And someone is hunting the old guard.
Sri: She's going to die!
Maggie: And that will be awesome!

Maggie: Aw, I missed Hiro.
Sri: YATTA! You know that was a shout-out to all the fan girls.
Maggie: Maybe Hiro is learning something bad ass from Sark, and he's hunting [the old guard] down.

Sri: Oh, poor Molly! That shit would give anyone nightmares. And why did [Matt's wife] divorce him?
Maggie: Because she is dumb.
Sri: For real!
Maggie: Greg Grunberg is love. And, gotta say, recovering from FOUR BULLETS IN THE CHEST after only four months is pretty bad ass.

*random squee-age re: The Office and ... John Stamos?*

Maggie: Um. Hate [Nathan's] beard. But it makes me miss Claude.
Sri: Yes. That beard is clearly the devil. It looks like it's eating his face.
*later, but on a related note*
Maggie (upon seeing the random fake Irishmen): Heh, I like their accents. "Turd" row back ... it's totally Peter inside.
Sri: HE GOT A HAIRCUT! LOVE!
Maggie: "I don't remember?" LAME. Amnesia is so last year.
Sri: Indeed. But I love the new 'do. Sad thing is ... it looks like Peter's hair migrated to Nathan's face.
Maggie: Ha!
Sri: And it's super power is looking disgusting.

Sri: *gasp* Matt/Mohinder OTP!
Maggie: And a million fan fics were born.
Sri: Hahahaha!
Maggie: They moved in together? This show is so gay.
Sri: In a good way.
Maggie: Sylar is going to be pissed when he comes back and finds out Mohinder has been cheating on him ...
Sri: And, incidentally, when an 8 year-old is the Voice of Reason, you know you're in trouble.

Sri: Ha, Claire's got a new androgynous boyfriend.
Maggie: He ... annoys me.
Sri: Yeah. That whole "robots vs aliens" thing is kind of insulting.
Maggie: I think he is going for 'adorkably charming' but it's coming off 'ass hat.'
*later, there is flying and peeking into young girls' windows*
Maggie: WHOA.
Sri: Stalker!
Maggie: Awesome! But still ... CLANG CLANG SKETCH ALERT.

Maggie (about the Cheerleading Challenge): There is an easier solution to this problem. Martha says 'fuck off!' and walks away.
Sri: I'd be like, 'NO, BITCH! Back the hell off and die!' ... this is why I was unpopular in high school.

Maggie: David Anders is so smokin'. Also, you should never meet your hero.
Sri: OH NO HE DIDN'T! Smokin' or no, punching Hiro is not cool. Besides, I bet the legends of Takezo Kensei are actually based on the swordsmith's daughter. But since Japanese culture was so patriarchal, they couldn't deal with her being a woman.
Maggie: So there were like, 'let's make it the drunk white dude!'

Sri: Mr. Bennet is going to kill his manager and hide the body where no one will ever find it. So much for being 'invisible.'
Maggie: Mr. Muggles 4 EVAH!
Sri: I like the EXTREME GUILT CLOSE-UPS!!
Maggie: For the lying liars who lie.
Sri: I love Lyle's look of utter confusion.
Maggie: ... and terror. Like, SOMEONE ANSWER HER, PLEASE!

Sri: OMFG Mohinder's cheating on Sylar - again! Mr. Bennet, I expected more from you.
Maggie: Mohinder is such a slut.

Sri: F*cking shave, Nathan, and maybe I'll be able to stand the sight of you.
Maggie: I don't think Nathan could look sketchier if he tried.
Sri: Oh, nast. Looks even worse in the bar mirror.

Maggie (in the attitude of one reunited with her long-lost love): SYLAR! Nice shirt.

You've probably noticed we haven't updated in this blog in awhile. And by awhile I mean eons. Civilizations have risen and fallen since we have updated. Let me tell you why.

Once upon a time there were two friends named Maggie and Caroline. Maggie was awesome and Caroline was just all right. They got addicted to television and started a kickass blog that their hero Jacob even posted on (!!!!!). Then, Caroline got a job that sucked out her soul and left her a lifeless shell. And THEN she met this totally awesome dude who took away what little time she had for tv watching. And so Caroline never updated the blog. Maggie responsed by reminding and cajoling. When that didn't work, she engaged in a silent cold war with Caroline to see who would update the blog first. It was a silent cold war because Caroline didn't know it was going on. So then nobody updated anything. But then! Maggie's friend was like, "Ho, why don't you update your tv blog?" And Maggie was all, "Because." So Selvi volunteered to post on the blog with Maggie! So meet your new poster, Selvi Sri. Maybe we can shame Caroline into watching some television again.

Secret Boyfriend of the Week

Zach Gilford aka Matt Saracen.


He’s the mumbly, kind of shy, star quarterback of Dillon High School’s football team on Friday Night Lights, and he managed to steal my heart from the first time I laid eyes on him. I defy any woman to watch him sing to his addled Grandmother and tuck her in for the night and not want to bed him immediately. And that’s ok, because I’m pretty sure the actor is really in his early 20s and not in his teens. He holds the Panthers together with his quiet, strong leadership, and it doesn’t hurt that is his best friend, Landry, is made of awesome. Here are some of my fav Matt moments (please, note…I didn’t start watching FNL until around episode 6, so I am sure there are great moments from the beginning of the season I missed):

-Matt calms down his grandmother who has locked herself in a closet by singing to her and pretending to be his grandfather (his grandmother is very loveable, but not quite right).

-Matt calls out his Dad (who has recently returned from Iraq) for being a selfish dick.

-Matt begs Julie to join his powderpuff football team. His quiet, “please?” just about broke my heart.

-Matt looks at the camera and lets me see his pretty pretty face.

Return of the Buffy

Anyone who is true fan of television must be a fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It just seems like a given. One of the smartest, funniest, most watchable shows on television, and it all ended many years ago after a great 7 year run. Which, let's be honest, is more than most tv shows get. But what is that I see on the horizon? Is it Joss Whedon being his awesome self? YES. And he has delivered us Buffy Season 8 in the guise of a comic book, which let's him blow his creative wad without the restrictions of budget, time, special effects, and the FCC. The first issue comes out in March, and I for one cannot wait. According to MTV, the Scoobies have split all the new slayers into three squads and there are decoy Buffys running about, since people are obviously still trying to do in the original slayer. The best part? The US government has labeled these squads as terrorist cells and is trying to eradicate them. Bush vs. Buffy? Not even a contest.

More Tim Gunn, I tell you, MORE!

Words cannot express my love for Tim Gunn. Even my Mom knows it; when I drove up her driveway yesterday, she burst out the front door (in curlers no less) and shouted, “Tim Gunn is on Oprah…hurry!” Of course, I rushed inside and watched Tim Gunn and Bobbi Brown (the makeup maven, not the singer *shudder*) perform miraculous makeovers on normal women. So imagine my delight when I found this article from Entertainment Weekly noting that not only will Tim be returning for Project Runway 4, but he will have his own show on Bravo, AND will have his own book in May 2007. Which I am so pre-ordering right now from Amazon. But in sad news, he will be leaving Parsons and becoming the head of Liz Claiborne’s clothing line. Which, good for you Tim, but if I was a student at Parson’s, I would demand half my tuition money back. Finally, how awesome is that Tim's nickname is "the silver fox?" So dashing!

Note: I know there has been a significant delay in posting lately, mostly due to my laptop deciding to explode. I try not to post from work, but I can see that is no longer feasible. So check daily for updates!

Secret Boyfriend of the Week

This week's secret boyfriend is: Christopher Gorham who plays the adorkable Henry on Ugly Betty.


Also check him out in Jake 2.0, a defunct UPN show now airing on the Sci-Fi channel on Fridays. God Bless the Sci-Fi channel. Although his hair on that show was kinda fug. Check it:


Not his finest moment. Again, I ask. What is with the cute guys and bad hair on tv?? I do hope he hooks up with the cute dorky doctor girl though. And yes I know this show aired three years ago. It's still new to me and I am living spoiler free!

Finally, someone listens to me

I have been saying for years, "get Nathan Fillion back on my tv!" After the (too early) cancellation of Firefly, Nathan has been woefully absent from my television. Sure, he guested on Buffy (as an evil priest *drool*), and showed up on Lost so he could get married and drugged by that dumb ho Kate, but he never was given that big part he so deserves.

But it looks like that's changing. This article reports that Nathan will be appearing in a FOX mid-season television show, Drive, about a race across America. Sounds like a dramatic version of The Amazing Race. But probably with more more murder and sex. Woo! Anyway, anything that brings Nathan back to me on a weekly basis automatically becomes awesome.

Oh, and the producer of the show? Tim Minear, duh.

See, priests can be snarky and cute! Of course, most of them won't rib your entrails out, but whatevs. All hail the return of Nathan!


And one more random Nathan fact. In January his movie, White Noise 2 opens. Sounds like a lame sequel, right? His wife in the movie is played by Starbuck from the new Battlestar Gallactica. Y'all I am so there. I don't care how bad it is. Nerds gotta represent!

When Bad Hair Happens to Good People

TV can be wonderful. It can bring such joy, but it can also bring such pain. Like when tv executives insist on hiding adorable boys behind horrible hair. WTF, tv executives, WTF? Here are some recent notable examples:


J-Pad from Supernatural. Also known as, the flying nun. Seriously. Not only does he never get laid on this show, but his hair has wings. I am pleased to report that in recent weeks his hair has improved, but I am still keeping my eye on him. He rates yellow on the Hair Alert Meter.


Milo on Heroes. My GOD the bangs. I think he has made brushing the emo bangs away from his face an essential part of his acting strategy. Lose the bangs, save the world. A solid orange on the Hair Alert Meter.



Sawyer. Oh, Sawyer. You were so promising. You were all manly and angsty. And then you had to keep being mean to Hurley and made me hate you. Also, your hair is gross. I realize there is no more shampoo since the hatch exploded, but Kate cut it once and she needs to do it again. STAT. Sawyer has been elevated to the red level on Hair Alert Meter.

Supernatural Hilarity

In order to feed my continuing obsession with Jensen Ackles, I bring you Dean Winchester facts. Loosly based on (er, completely ripped off from) the Chuck Norris Facts that have been taking the internets by storm. Also, I did not come up with these, but I'm not sure who did since they have been making the rounds of LJs pretty heavily. If you did come up with it, good on you!

Top Thirty Dean Winchester Facts

1. Guns don't kill demons. Dean Winchester kills demons.

2. There is no hierarchy of demons. Just a list of demons Dean Winchester allows to live. For now.

3. When Dean Winchester was in middle school, his English teacher assigned an essay: "What is Courage?" Dean Winchester received an "A+" for writing only the words "Dean Winchester" and promptly turning in the paper.

4. The chief export of Dean Winchester is SEX.

5. Dean Winchester does not go hunting, because hunting implies the possibility of failure. Dean Winchester goes killing.

6. When the Boogeyman goes to sleep every night, he checks his closet for Dean Winchester.

7. Dean Winchester does not read books. He stares them down until he gets the information he wants.

8. If Dean Winchester is late, time better slow the fuck down.

9. Dean Winchester can slam a revolving door.

10. Dean Winchester's tears cure cancer. Too bad he has never cried.

No, wait. That's Chuck Norris.

ADDENDUM: Dean Winchester has cured cancer and looked damn good doing it.

11. If a demon can see Dean Winchester, he can see it. If it can't see Dean Winchester it may be only seconds away from death.

12. Dean Winchester has to maintain a concealed weapon license in all 50 states in order to legally wear pants.

13. When Dean Winchester sends in his taxes, he sends blank forms and includes only a picture of himself, crouched and ready to attack. Dean Winchester has not had to pay taxes, ever.

14. Dean Winchester owns the greatest Poker Face of all-time. It helped him win the 1983 World Series of Poker despite him holding just a Joker, a Get out of Jail Free Monopoly card, a 2 of clubs, 7 of spades and a green #4 card from the game Uno.

He was four.

15. Dean Winchester doesn't use pickup lines, he simply says, "Now."

16. Dean Winchester is allowed to talk about Fight Club.

17. Time and tide wait for no man. Unless that man is Dean Winchester.

18. Dean Winchester sleeps with a night light. Not because Dean Winchester is afraid of the dark, but because the dark is afraid of Dean Winchester.

19. Jesus owns and wears a bracelet that reads, "WWDWD?"

20. Crop circles are Dean Winchester's way of telling the world that sometimes, corn needs to lie the fuck down.

21. Leading hand sanitizers claim they can kill 99.9 percent of germs. Dean Winchester can kill 100 percent of whatever the fuck he wants.


22. Dean Winchester has to sort his laundry into three loads: darks, whites, and bloodstains.

23. Dean Winchester actually died ten years ago, but no Grim Reaper can get up the courage to tell him.

24. A Handicap parking sign does not signify that this spot is for handicapped people. It is actually in fact a warning, that the spot belongs to Dean Winchester and that you will be handicapped if you park there.

25. Dean Winchester once ate three 72 oz. steaks in one hour. He spent the first 45 minutes having sex with his waitress.

26. Dean Winchester went to the Virgin Islands. They are now called the Islands

27. Dean Winchester is not hung like a horse... horses are hung like Dean Winchester.

28. Dean Winchester's hand is the only hand that can beat a Royal Flush.

29. Dean Winchester always gets blackjack. Even when he's playing poker.

30. Dean Winchester sold his soul to the devil for his rugged good looks and unparalleled hunting ability. Shortly after the transaction was finalized, Dean shot the devil in the face and took his soul back. The devil, who appreciates irony, couldn't stay mad and admitted he should have seen it coming. They now play poker every second Wednesday of the month.

If you want to see the original Chuck Norris facts, click here. There are 9 pages worth. Damn. I guess males in the 18-34 age group really like Chuck Norris.

save the cheerleader, save the world.

My recap of last week's Heroes is up; read and love.

I have plenty of thoughts to share about last night's ep, too, but i have to collect them into coherent sentences first.

LOVE. This. Show!

Ugly Betty looks good to me

I love how all trade magazines and blogs have clever punny titles for their articles. So there you have my Ugly Betty pun. And you should expect that same high level of quality from all my attempts at humor.

What? I was supposed to write about a tv show? Oh, right. So how bout that Ugly Betty! I really enjoy watching this show, I think Betty (played by the glorious America Ferrera, who was awesome in Real Women Have Curves, and Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants) is a very realistic character who is just trying to break into publishing and is forced to work with a bunch of anorexic godless whores. I did find it a little unbelievable in the pilot that Betty would think her clothes (especially the poncho, dear GOD, the poncho) would be acceptable in that environment, but in the past few episodes they have done a great job of showing that she really does get how different she is from everyone around her.

The supporting cast is really delightful, including Betty's family. She and her father have a wonderful realtionship (reminds me of Veronica and Keith) and her make-up selling sister and clearly gay pre-teen nephew make me laugh without resorting to Hispanic and homosexual stereotypes. Also, who knew Vanessa Williams could be so funny?? And here I thought she was just adept at winning beauty pageants and singing cheesy pop songs. (Love breaks your heart, love takes no less than everything, and it fades away, so easily....woooohoooooo!)

I also like how they are developing the relationship between Daniel and Betty to be good friends, with no romatinc subtext. Of course, I think in a few years maybe it would be cool if Daniel were to, you know, develop feelings for her, but that's probably just the fangirl in my talking. My ship always has room for another couple (OMG Harry and Ginny 4EVA!!!). And after having to keep both eyes and ears glued to the tv for shows like Studio 60 and Battlestar Galactica, it's nice to have a great tv show that doesn't require a college degree to follow. I do, however, hope that they quit with the subplot involving Daniel's father being all eeevil regarding the death of the prior editor. I didn't sign on for some conspiracy theory show. Just give me more skinny bitches getting one-upped by the frumpy girl!

...and i feel fine?

I really need to watch some sitcoms. All these apocalypses are wearing me out.

Here's a list of (almost) all the shows i watch regularly:

Heroes
Jericho
Doctor Who
Battlestar Galactica
LOST.

Every single one of 'em? End of the world. At some point i'll post some lengthy, insightful exploration into how the various characters handle their various apocalypses (...apocalypsi?), but for now, for the record, i just wanted to say: do you people wonder why i love my reality shows? For every time the human race is all but extinguished, i need to see Jerry Springer samba or watch Tyra cut a bitch.


...okay, i made that last thing up. But how awesome would that shit be?!

stick to your tongue waggling, Barty Crouch Jr.

So. There's a Tenth Doctor. I am not amused.

Well, that's not entirely fair. As Maggie Cats pointed out to me earlier today, I can be loyal to my beloved Christopher Eccleston and still adore the new Doctor. But so far, i just ... don't. He's a little too unhinged, too dangerous, too ... the issue, or as fine a point i can put on it, is that David Tennant plays him without sufficiently tempering the scary, to me. Which, i suppose, is not only a conscious choice but probably a valid one, given that The Doctor is "so old," and used to be "filled with so much mercy," but ... not so much, these days.

I get that, i do. And he was filled with mercy when he finally, properly said goodbye to his Sarah Jane (what a heartbreaker that was, too). But this Doctor makes me twitchy, in a way that hits a little too close to home for me to relax around him. His turn on Prime Minister Harriet Jones was more than on a dime, it was uncannily, frighteningly easy. I suppose i've been spending too much time on feminist blogs today, but there's an element of scary in there that bothers me in a certain fashion that i can't entirely sign off on. There's unpredictable, and then there's dangerous. I think the Ninth Doctor toed the line on just the other side, whereas the Tenth has crossed it, a little.

Again, i think there's probably some definite thought in that choice; every time he regenerates, the Doctor gets older, lonelier, less merciful. But at some point, the ratio of mercy to scary flips to uncomfortable, and i fear we're getting close with this go-round. And yet, i still get chills and clap like an idiot every time i hear the theme song. I'm not giving up on you, David Tennant, but i'm watching.

Live-blogging the Jericho premiere

8:02: Did Skeet Ulrich always have such big teeth? I remember him in Scream and in As Good As It Gets, and it seriously looks like his teeth are trying to escape from his mouth. I am a bit afraid, to be honest.

8:05: Ok, that big red-haired dude is such a bad actor. And men do not hug like that. This show is totally gay!

8:09: The blonde chick looks familiar...where have I seen her? Is she supposed to be his love interest? Because there is no chemistry there.

8:11: This show blows. I am outta here.

--Maggie Cats

HEROES!!

Okay, y'all, Heroes aired last night. My recap will be up at Fandom Talk by Friday night at the latest; please go and read it! Then post like mad in the forums, because i want my show to be loved by millions. Also i'd like to keep my job :-)

First impressions: Obviously, i adore Super Hiro. Who doesn't? I was surprised at all the interconnections among the characters. I'm on the fence re: Claire; i thought her invincibility scenes were a little egregiously gory, but she's intruiging enough to win me over in the next several episodes. Nikki's power is dangerous, and i wonder if her son has a larger role to play in the development of it. Ali Larter kicked all types of ass, though -- i'd pick her as the strongest actor in the bunch so far.

More later. But: WOOHOO!! Heroes!!