Elisabeth Sladen dead at age 63

Elisabeth Sladen died on April 19th, 2011. She was 63 years old and was taken from us far too soon. The British actress was best known for her role as Sarah Jane Smith in Doctor Who. She played Sarah Jane on a recurring basis during the Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker years of the show during the 1970's. She reprised her role several times over the course of the 80's and then again with the new series of Doctor Who opposite David Tennant.

Sarah Jane Smith is one of my all time favorite companions from the series. This is not unusual and you will see many posts on-line from other fans who feel the same way. Elisabeth Sladen made iconic the role of Who companion and many who think of the Doctor Who will always think of Tom Baker and Elisabeth Sladen.



From what little I have been able to learn over the Internet it sounds like she suffered a long battle with cancer that she kept very secret. I do not know what "long" means. Up until her death she was filming new episodes of her Doctor Who spin-off show - The Sarah Jane Adventures. She was (without question) battling cancer during this time period. But was she battling it longer than that? The world may never know. It is obvious that her condition was something very private to her and perhaps even in death she would not want her private medical history to be spread across the news.

Having said that there are millions of people who now morn her parting and as one of those fans I hope to learn more. We all grieve in different ways and some of us like to have a better understanding of what happened. How did she live her life in those final days? I think there is no question she lived it courageously until the very end.



The irony of her death is that I was just having a discussion the other day about why some people take the death of a celebrity so hard - such as Princess Diana or Micheal Jackson. I said that those people never truly knew that celebrity and while it was news it was certainly nothing to get too emotionally involved over. I must now eat my own words because I am taking the death of Sarah Jane very hard.

Sarah Jane Smith, you will be missed!

What Cyber D is watching on TV

It's been almost a year since my last post and that is just a crime. Much has happened in my life since May of 2010 including a new job in a new town. So I've got that going for me. But what do we all love most here at The Wheel in Space? That's right. Everyone wants to know what Cyber D thinks about television. I've got some great new stuff on the TiVo these days and some old favorites. So here is what Cyber D is watching right now.

Justified - Great show in its 2nd season. You like hot red-neck chicks, crazy meth addicts from Kentucky, and a bad ass U.S. Marshall that shoots first and doesn't even bother to ask questions later? Watch Justified.

Smallville - This show has gotten really old and really tired. But they say it's the final season so I've tuned back in to see Tom Welling finally done those red and blue tights in the finale.

The League - Okay so I'm not watching The League right now since it is only showing new episodes in the fall but watching this in rerun is worth it. It is - hands down - the funniest show in TV right now.

Perfect Couples - You'd think this was a chick flick by the name of the show but you'd be surprised how much stuff is in this show for guys.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars - There really aren't any good sci-fi shows on TV right now. I think the fad may be drawing to a close. We may not see much sci-fi over the next decade. In the meantime, scratch that fan-boy itch by watching these guys write some seriously wild retroactive continuity.

Archer - I haven't actually started watching this show yet but I am damn close. The commercials are hilarious. Plus I like bad ass spies with no ability to self reflect.

Castle - This is the most main stream of the bunch but I like the Kate Beckett character and I'm always a fan of supporting the career of Nathan Fillon.

Phineas and Ferb - My kids love this show and its actually pretty funny. Plus those child voice actors an sing some serious funky music.

After 6 seasons of gripping television, LOST finally came to a dramatic two and a half hour conclusion last night on ABC. I can make a strong case for LOST as one of my all time favorites. In fact there are few shows that hooked me the way LOST has and even fewer whose finale proved to be satisfying. That's not to say LOST's finale didn't have its fair share of problems but - by in large - I was pleased with the questions it chose to answer and willing to accept the ambiguity of the questions it chose to side-step. As far as the ending itself is concerned, I told my wife that I just wanted there to be a happy ending. With so many of the main cast becoming casualties I hoped that somehow the creators of the show would bring some kind of meaningful closure to the sacrifices that everyone was forced to make. But we'll get to that. First I want to share my own interpretation of some of the series major questions.

1) Who are Jacob and The Man in Black?

We now know that both Jacob and The Man in Black have been with us from the opening of the series. At first these god-like characters weren't given full form. Jacob hid behind his faithful followers known as The Others, and The Man in Black only appeared as a menacing pillar of black smoke. To make matters more confusing our heroes assumed Jacob was a villain character due to the flawed nature of his followers The Others and how those Others treated the castaways. Eventually we learn that Ben's assertion of, "We're the good guys," at the end of season 2 wasn't entirely false. Jacob, while cryptic and mercurial, proved to be a force of good protecting the island and its mystical heartbeat - a glowing pool of light beneath an underwater cave. Meanwhile The Man in Black still remains somewhat of an enigma. I've read that the show's creators did have a name for The Man in Black, but for the sake of simplicity I'll call him Esau from this point forward. We learn that Jacob and Esau are fraternal twin brothers. But when Esau decides to turn his back on the island and kills his adoptive mother, Jacob turns on Esau and throws him down into the cavern and into the white light. While we are to understand the light is a source of great happiness and joy, we are also lead to believe that going into the light can lead to great torment. This myth holds true when Esau emerges from the light as the evil smoke monster. It is this viewers belief that what diabolical terror was to be had within the golden pool of light was released by Esau. The real Esau is now dead and the Smoke Monster takes the form of Esau as well as countless others as he tries to find a way of leaving the island. What remains are two opposing forces the good (albeit pragmatic) Jacob tirelessly working to keep the evil (and arguably cunning) Smoke Monster from unleashing it's power upon the world.

2) What are the laws of the universe that define the Island and it's power?

This question is really a catch all for questions like why Richard Alpert is immortal, why Jacob and Esau cannot hurt each other directly, How and why are people able to find or leave the island and much much more. I believe most of these questions can be answered with one of the final lines in the series. When Ben Linus suggests to Hurley that he could help Desmond find his way home, Hurley assumes that the laws of the Island preclude people from leaving. Ben asserts that such a law was "Jacob's way" and that perhaps now that Hurley is the protector, he can do things his way - that being to help others. So perhaps the reason why Richard Alpert is immortal is because Jacob the Protector can simply make it so. Perhaps the powers of the Island give it's protector certain abilities to define some rules of the Universe. The mother protector decried that Jacob and Esau would be unable to hurt each other and yet they were clearly able to do so. However, at no time in the series was a The Protector and the Smoke Monster able to hurt each other. Perhaps this is something the Mother Protector knew intuitively. In this way, Jacob was safe from the Smoke Monster until he convinced one of Jacob's own followers to summon him and then kill him.

3) What did the Smoke Monster really want?

In my opinion the gold light both held the secrets of life but also held trapped a terrible evil. But when Jacob killed his own brother, the evil was released from the underground cave. But this wouldn't be enough. The evil wanted to consume the world. Jacob, having realized his mistake now had two tasks set before him. He hand to continue to protect the golden light at the heart of the island but he also had to protect the world from The Smoke Monster. He did this by harnessing the supernatural power of the Island to keep the Monster there. This is evident in Jacob's conversation with Richard Alpert about the bottle of wine being the evil and cork being the island. For centuries the Smoke Monster believed his way off the Island was to kill Jacob. The Smoke Monster considered Jacob not only the Protector of the Island but also his Jailer. This proved to be a miscalculation. After killing Jacob the Smoke Monster set about trying to get all of Jacob's candidates to leave the island with him. He knew that if any candidate was left behind, they might become The Protector and once again trap the monster on the island. But when his plans unraveled the Smoke Monster changed his tactics. He decided to destroy the Island and planned to use one very special man, named Desmond, to do it.

4) Why did the rules of the Island change near the end?

Why did Richard Alpert start to age? Why could evil-Locke and Jack the Protector harm each other? Simple: The Island's power was snuffed out by Desmond. This meant all the mystical protections and rules were broken. Richard got gray hair and the forces of good and evil could now do battle. The one thing that would have allowed the Smoke Monster to leave the island was the one thing that made him vulnerable. Surely such vulnerability would have been one of the Smoke Monsters considerations before destroying the island. Perhaps when one goes back through the series and looks at the actions of the Smoke Monster they all begin to make some kind of sense. Perhaps every act taken was in an attempt to weaken Jacob. For the first time I am given some sense of closure to the death of Echo, a powerfully spiritual man who - in retrospect (as a Protector candidate) - would have been a terrible threat to the Smoke Monster.

5) What is the significance of the Sideways Reality/Purgatory?

In the end the Sideways Reality provided this viewer with the happy ending closure I desired. The big twist is that the Sideways Reality wasn't really a reality at all but a kind of post-death-limbo where the souls of the castaways reside before moving on to a better place. When Juliet dies and speaks to Miles, telling him that Jack's plan to change the time-stream and avert the plane crash, she tells the truth. After death Juliet would have a unique perspective on the limbo universe where all the ones we love are there for the finding. Juliet told Miles it worked because she was able to be with all those she loved again. For us long time Lost viewers some will cry foul with the use of any gimmick that even remotely resembles Purgatory. But that's because many were of the opinion that the Island itself was Purgatory. But such a device gives the series creators an opportunity to make good on all the relationships with our fallen heroes. Jack's father, Christian Shepard, said it best when he told his son that what happened on the Island was real and that those times together with those people were the most important in his life. This place, where the characters now find themselves, is a place of their own making where the people most dear can come together and move on with the one they love at their side.

Did this series answer all its questions? No. But what it did do was provide fascinating character study about love and loss, about virtues and vice, and about learning to overcome our own personal failings in an effort to live a life of redemption and purpose.

Top 5 Greatest Movies You've Never Seen

I saw The Wrestler last month. If you've seen it you should agree with me that it was most awesome. I hadn't seen Mickey Rorke in anything good since... well, I hadn't seen him in anything since I last rented Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man. Now that movie kicked serious bootie. And that got me thinking about some great movies that you've never seen. So let's begin.

5) Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man


You know those action movies with the straight laced hero and his wild and crazy hero friend? That's not this movie. Take out the bland hero and replace him with another wild-ass, butt kickin', crazy in the head alcoholic who is fighting to save one man's daughter against a band of rabid drug lords who have no idea who they're messing with and you have this rockin' 80's movie gone wild!

4) Face/Off


This is a movie with one of the most ludicrous premises I've ever heard of and I love it. It really is a guilty pleasure at the top of my list along with Maria Carey and Sour Patch Kids. You know that movie about the never say die police hero up against the crazy terrorist? That's not this movie. But if you take those two characters and surgically swap their faces along with relative body hair and vocal chords and then plop them into each other's respective worlds then you have one of the most guns-blazing, window shattering, compound-bone-fracturing, movies of its time.

3) Rosencrance and Gildenstern are Dead


You know that movie about two dumb ass retards that travel the countryside getting into all sorts of ridiculous trouble? No, not Dumb and Dumber... well kind of. This is if Shakespeare wrote Dumb and Dumber, and it's a damn fine flick. With Gary Oldman and Tim Roth playing the title characters you get two of the most dark and twistedly talented actors playing against type and making high English writing actually sound funny. Rent this!

2) Diggstown


You know that movie about the con man who changes his ways after falling in love in small town America. Take that movie and throw in a vicious rural tycoon, a very young and up and coming Heather Graham, and more double crosses than a twizzler and you have this movie. That and Louis Gossett Junior kicks ass.

1) Fandango


There really isn't a comparison for this film. As best I can say it's the first Bro-Mance before there was such a thing. As funny as The Hangover is... this is better. Plus it's probably the only Kevin Costner movie worth a damn. It's at the top of my list, isn't that enough for you to rent it?

Merry Christmas!

10 Things I Hate About The Joe Movie

You can imagine my elation when I first heard about the G.I. Joe Movie rumors from a year ago. Sadly as details slowly leaked out my fears grew and grew. But my biggest mistake was assuming the silver lining to this cloud was going to be lowered expectations. After all, I had seen enough really good movies this summer. What's one bad movie amongst fan-boys? So I went in with eyes wide open and no expectation that my favorite childhood franchise of ALL TIME would be any good. Sadly this movie managed to disappoint even my meager hopes and strain my sincere affection. So was there anything good about the Joe Movie? The action sequences were awesome and the casting of a couple of characters was pretty good or at least serviceable. The worst of this movie... well, I can only hope to scratch the service. So here it goes.

10) The Not To Distant Future: The only reason to make this movie set in "The Future" is to avoid explaining the ridiculous sci-fi stuff like, sonic-wave-rifles, Holographic lap-tops, and Hover planes they stole from the Terminator's garage.

9) Flash-back Faux Pas: Flash backs kicks ass and when done properly really broaden and deepen the mythology of a story in a very short amount of time. Too bad G.I. Joe couldn't flash-back their way out of a paper bag. For starters, you'd think they could manage just two separate back-stories, that of Duke and Snake-Eyes. No they choose to waste five minutes of movie in medieval Scotland and later bore you to tears with endless time spent on flat, emotionless, sequences on why The Baroness and Storm Shadow turn evil. Which brings me to Storm Shadow.

8) Storm Shadow: They almost get it right, but they play him more assassin than noble warrior. Even at his most evil, the comic always made Storm Shadow honorable. I'll admit they gave his character room to inevitably turn good in a later movie, but we can only pray another movie with this crew never happens. Yes, Storm Shadow is a good guy in the end. Maybe that was the confusion with the Baroness, but we'll get to her in a second.

7) Accelerator Suits: I knew going in that these were in the movie, but I didn't expect the CGI to suck so bad. At least make the characters look realistic. CGI has gotten to the point where I shouldn't be able to tell the difference between real stunt action and Buzz Light-Year graphics.

6) Destro: I'll accept the fact that Destro's mask in the comic was awfully animated, but that's all it was. A freaking mask! The man didn't have his skin turned into metal. Who comes up with this shit?

5) Rip-Cord: The reason his codename is Rip-Cord is because the original character was an air force paratrooper. He jumped out of planes, i.e. RIP-CORD!!! He wasn't Duke's side-kick. He wasn't a marine. He was already an the airborne. How hard is it to get even the broadest brush-strokes correct?

4) Evil Plans: So Destro goes to all this trouble to make NATO pay for his state-of-the-art nanites and then goes through the trouble of stealing them back from the government. Why not just over-charge and build more than the measly 4 missiles? And if Destro built the damn things in the first place, why does he need the Baroness' scientist husband to arm them, and why oh why do the highly touted cobra super soldiers fall down like a house of cards when Scarlett sneezes on them.

3) Sgt. Slaughter: Two words... Brendon Frasier.

2) Snake-Eyes: Almost everything about this character worked. I was even willing to ignore the casting of the vertically challenged, Ray Park. But why on earth include a line (at the very end of the movie) about Snake-Eyes taking a vow of silence as his reason for not talking. That's just destroying comic-book continuity for no purpose! He can't talk because his larynx was destroyed by a helicopter explosion!

1) The Baroness: The whole point of having a sexy, dominatrix, villainess is that she is an honest to God VILLAIN, not some corn-fed, all American, girl that's been brainwashed by her crazy-ass brother.

Best Summer Show in Town!

With most TV programming on summer hiatus we are all now accustomed to the tired re-runs, boring re-treds, and experimental disasters that is summer television. But once in a while somebody gets it right. Every so often the planets align to converge on the perfect storm of delicious television goodness. Dancing with the Stars was just such a show and is now a mainstream commercial success. I am pleased to announce that I have stumbled upon another summertime gem. It will likely not have the mass appeal of half-naked dancers but it tickles my fancy quite nicely. I had plans to write paragraphs on the greatness of this program but I'll let it speak for itself. I present to you, Spike TV's: DEADLIEST WARRIOR

I'm about to jump ship

I've been watching Heroes from the the beginning. I got hooked early on and have really enjoyed the ride. I was even excited going into the fall season when others were saying it was done after the strike shortened season of a year ago.

I'll be the first to admit that I'm a fan-boy apologist. Meaning, once I embrace a program, I tend to stick with it through thick and thin. I tend to give a a great deal of latitude for it to screw up, become boring, and general suck up the screen. I'm also willing to give a show as mush as en entire season... sometimes two seasons before I pass final judgement. Hell, I'm watching Eureka, about to start season 4 and I still have decided if I like it.

Usually this patience is limited to science fiction and fantasy programing. I watched the first three episodes of Grey's Anatomy with my wife and told her "I'm OUT! This show sucks." Of course that may have been more of a chick-dude thing. Still, if it had been a chick-show with laser guns or dragons I probably would have given it more time.

Still, I'm proud of my sci-fi apologist stance on programing. Sometimes, given time you will find true gems. Farscape is a tremendous show that was cut down too soon. If more people had given it a chance, I am certain it would have been able to at least complete it's 5 year run.

However, I am sad to say that the last two episodes of Heroes has left me flat. I found myself saying, "Who the hell cares what happens to these ass-holes?" I'll not go into agonizing detail but one of the shows stars was put into a position where he had this season's villain dead to rights. The good guy could have put a bullet right between the bad guy's eyes. And guess what, he didn't do it! Whoop de freakin' do! You're such a good guy you aren't going to stoop to his level. How many times do we have to go over that ground. Heroes does it at least three times a season. After 4 seasons that's about 12 times too many.

For the first time I asked myself if I should give it up... I'm torn. Torn deep and I don't know what to do.

Beavers over Trojans!

It was a tale for the ages - The #1 ranked Trojans against the unranked Beavers. Most wouldn't have given those frisky beavers a chance against the mighty power of the Trojan warriors but this is a rivalry that goes back a long time. And like many rivalry games - the statistics get thrown out the window and all bets are off because anything goes!


Yes, the Trojans are a high flying potent offense. They relish penetrating every defensive unit it comes in contact with. This team keeps its eye on the prize and is always looking for the end zone. They score points and lots of them. It would be easy for me to go along with the crowd and predict a victory for the Trojans.

But I also know that the Beaver defense is a tough nut to crack. They are stingy with yardage and teams have to work for every inch of ground they gain. They are merciless in the red zone and will block your attempt to score every time. And while they can play a tough ball game, they also have the talent on their squad to play a coy cat and mouse game, disguising their intentions and then sacking the ball-caller with a trick play.

A classic battle between two titans for the ages. It was a game that could have gone either way. But I had my suspicions that the Beavers will pull it out in the end. I know I preferred the Beavers over the Trojans. How about you?

Good TV... Long Overdue!

Watching television this winter has made me feel like a member of the French foreign legion lost in the Sahara desert, with nothing more than a canteen that has a hole in the bottom: Endlessly agonizing.

But spring is finally here and so is some glorious new programming. Lost is on break but watching the new episodes from a few weeks back was like sweet crack cocaine in my veins. Torchwood gets better and better and I'm glad I've given the show time to mature. My Name is Earl was back on this week since January providing us with some classic white trash moments. I'm even enjoying the tired plots of Smallville. But it is the season premiere of Battlestar Galactica that I was most anticipating (next to Doctor Who coming out later this April).


Having had an infinitely long wait since the season 3 finale I've had plenty of time to digest the big reveal... the final 5 Cylons. Or is it? Perhaps it's the big reveal of only 4 of the final 5 Cylons. Can't we all agree that Starbuck is NOT a Cylon? It's too obvious. And aren't they missing out on some shock value to lump that big reveal in with the other 4 Cylons? To be honest I have a problem with Colonel Tigh, Tyrol, and Anders being Cylons, but I'll live. Really the only big Cylon reveal that I did like was the President's aid. This reveal is chock full of wonderful wrinkles that call into question the survival of the human race. Other than forcing the audience to say "Oh my gosh... not Colonel Tigh..." this choice only bogs down the continuity of the show and doesn't make me fear for the human race any more than the impact of the President's second in command being a Cylon. I guess I just like my heroes to stay heroes. I now fear some serious "moral of the story" moment on the horizon.


If the pervasive revelation that some of our best heroes turn out to be Cylons is some trite way of commenting on the nature of good and evil or an attempt to blur the lines of right and wrong... then I shall be well and truly pissed. Can't we just keep our social and political commentary to ourselves?

Perhaps this is the major flaw with Battlestar Galactica as a franchise. The entire mythology lives in this tight vacuum with one set of heroes and one set of villains and nowhere else to expand. They've done the best they could with what they had. They've brought into the story an impressive array of secondary characters and attempted to make them meaningful to the series. But perhaps the series is beginning to collapse in upon itself from the weight of its own expanding mythology. In an attempt to be innovative they are creating logic and continuity problems that begin to require the same kind of brain calisthenics that occurred when Lucas put out the turd-fest of Episodes 1-3 of Star Wars. The more mythology you overlay on a small group of characters the more problems you have with the rules of storytelling.

For me... Starbuck cannot be a Cylon. If she is it will ruin the series. I will stop watching. So happy Sci-Fi everyone!

Shameless Plug

Does anyone need a refresher on how big a geek I am? No? Okay... So in addition to being a huge fan of things like Doctor Who, Farscape, Star Wars, and yada yada yada, I'm also a monstro-fan of this late 90's Disney cartoon called Gargoyles. It came out while I was in college and a group of my friends made it a point to sit down every afternoon at 3pm to catch the latest episode. UrbanCowboy and Gyuss had the foresight to record episodes on VHS and I was lucky enough to make copies of their collection. So every so often I pull out the old VHS tapes and watch a few episodes of this fantastic story. For those of you who have never watched Gargoyles, I highly recommend it.

Essentially the story is about a group of Gargoyles from medieval times who are frozen in stone by a magic spell for a thousand years. They wake up after the spell is broken and find themselves living in Manhattan. They befriend a New York City cop and together attempt to resume life as protectors of the innocent. The writing is superb, the artwork is (at times) fantastic and the over-arching mythology is a growing tapestry of intrigue that will keep you entertained episode after episode. A few years ago the first season of Gargoyles came out on DVD. I snatched it up in a heartbeat and anxiously awaited season 2. Thankfully DVD sales were good so Disney released the first half of season 2. Unfortunately since that time it appears that DVD sales for the latest release were not as expected and there is a risk that season 2 - part 2 may not happen.

So if you are a fan of great storytelling, exquisite artwork, and edge of your seat adventure I encourage you to try out the Gargoyles series on DVD. Rent it, buy it, borrow it, but if you like it, consider adding it to your DVD library.

Meandering Conversation

Have you ever had one of those circuitous conversations with a family member? It can be truely bizarre where those discussions can take you. This is a conversation I had with my sister while sitting at my desk during my lunch hour.

Ring Ring Ring

Me: Hello

Sis: Hey, Brother. How are you?

Me: Good, I'm just sitting here havig some lunch and surfing the net.

Sis: Really, what are you surfing?

Me: First off, never ask a man what he's surfing. Second, I'm checking out my old Yahoo Music radio station. I hadn't logged-on in over a year.

Sis: Point taken.

Me: Did you know that you can now watch music videos on Yahoo music?

Sis: No.

Me: Yeah, it's pretty cool. You learn something new everyday. Like take for example that Fergie song, Girls Don't Cry. I had no idea that the star of Heroes plays her boyfriend in the video. That's weird casting isn't it?

Sis: Who's Fergie?

Me: Come on, don't tell me you don't know Fergie. Being a new mom really does isolate you! Do I have to teach you everything?

Sis: Seriously. I don't know.

Me: You know... she used to be a part of the band The Black Eyed Peas. Now she's gone out on her own.

Sis: Oh yeah, she was on Oprah the other day. Actually, I think I may have known about Fergie longer than you.

Me: What do you mean?

Sis: I'll send you a link to YouTube so you can see for yourself.



Me: *Long Pause* Dear Lord... I had no idea...

Sweet-Clean Programming

With stinkers like Bionic Woman and Chuck laying big fat turds all over your TV set this fall, I thought it high time a few underrated shows get some positive pub. In no particular order I recommend all these beauties and they get my CyberD official stamp of approval.


My first recommendation on this list is Pushing Daisies. This smart and quirky program initially caught my eye with its bold visuals and bizarre premise. The main character, Ned is a Pie Maker. Ever since he was young Ned has had the creepy ability to make the dead live again. Unfortunately if he touches them again they die permanently. If this power wasn't twisted enough, if a person is revived for more than 60 seconds, someone else nearby dies. After a series of circuitous events in the first episode, Ned becomes partnered with a private investigator named Emerson Cod, and his childhood crush, the previously-dead Charlotte Charles. This crime fighting trio now goes about reviving the dead in order to solve their murders and collect outstanding cash rewards as a result. This funny yet twisted tale is a combination of a murder mystery, drama, and comedy all rolled into one. It's really a mys-dram-edy! And it's damn good. Check it out on Wednesday nights on ABC at 8/7c.


My second recommendation is a show called Hotel Babylon. This brash and sexy British drama is a gateway into the world of 5-star hotels. The stories center around Charlie, the new manager, and other dedicated staff as they attempt to cater to the outrageous demands of the guests of Hotel Babylon. Charlie also serves as the narrator, providing general themes for each episode such as the eccentricities of the rich and famous, the debauchery that hotel patrons partake in, or the ability for hotel staff to save or destroy the lives of their guests. Be careful, you may just find that Hotel Babylon becomes your guilty pleasure of this fall season. Check it out on Wednesday nights on BBC America at 9/8c.


Finally, my last recommendation is a show regularly mentioned on my blog and that's Dancing with the Stars. This celebrity-based-reality-tv-contest-show never ceases to amaze me. There have been five seasons of this series and I still get a kick out of watching every week. The current season is about half-way through its run, which means all the really poor celebrities have been kicked off, leaving nothing but the best of the best. Never fear, this is an equal opportunity skin fest with ample flesh on both sides of the isle. That means there is plenty to see for the whole family. The really good news is that almost every season includes a wardrobe malfunction and this hasn't happened yet so you haven't missed anything. Tune in on Monday nights on ABC at 8/7c.

News Report: One Happy Wizard

You can imagine my surprise when I turned on the news this morning to find that JKR has officially announced that the character of Albus Dumbledore was gay. My first thought was wow! My next thought was, wondering if Dumbledore's music collection included the great works of Abba and George Micheal.

I'd make an argument about how the character didn't need that clarification by the author but it is her character... so more power to you, JK.

Happy Fun Review Time

I tell you what, I sure do love me some blockbuster online. I got a free movie coupon this week and I skipped on over to the local store to check out what was available. I figured, what better time to rent a crappy B-movie than with a free coupon.

As I am a big fan of My Name is Earl, I happened to notice Jamie Pressly on the cover of DOA: Dead or Alive. Being marginally familiar with the video game I assumed there would be some delicious kung-fu action. Then I noticed it was directed by Corey Yuen who did The Transporter. And while The Transporter was a terrible film it had some of the best martial arts I had seen in a long time.

I snatched DOA off the shelf and didn't look back. Perhaps my expectations were very low but I actually really enjoyed it. The movie wasn't half bad, the acting was tolerable, and the fight scenes were REALLY kick-ass. In fact there was so much juicy, hot, kick-boxing, filled goodness, I went ahead and re-watched some of the highlights. My favorite bit being the knock-down drag-out battle between Cristie and Helena in the rain on the beach.

Bottom Line: I give this movie two thumbs, a middle and an index finger way up!

Here's a little taste of what I'm talking about...

Harry Potter Secrets Revealed!

I'm no Dagromm, but I am a Potter fan. I started late and read the books fairly quickly to play catch up because Dags was gracious enough to let me borrow his copies. Since I've caught up I haven't had the luxury or reading them ASAP.

When the Order of the Phoenix was coming out my mother (also a Potter fan) asked me if I was excited about the next release. I told her yes, but that I probably wouldn't read it for a couple of months. Shocked she asked why. Because my friend can't let me borrow it right away. He must read it and then his son wants to read it. As a surprise my mother purchased me a copy from Amazon and has continued to do so with every subsequent purchase, although since she and I haven't discussed the Deathly Hallows in any way shape or form I just assumed that the gesture would not be repeated by simple virtue of the fact that it wouldn't occur to her.

In typical mom fashion, she doesn't forget her past generosity and I find a copy of the latest release in my mailbox on Saturday. I have only had time to read the first few pages but I'm here to tell you that I had no idea that the Death Eaters would meet at the Malfoy estate. I can't wait to see what other surprises await!

Gone and done it again

I have had a nasty habit of following TV shows that are really damn good only to result in their cancellation like Farscape, Angel, and Arrested Development just to name a few. Since I've joined Blockbuster Online, my latest trend is to pick up a show that has been out for some time, only to discover that they have ALREADY been canceled, or are in the final death throws of a cancellation. The two most recent being Firefly and Rome.

Well I've gone and done it again! For reasons to complicated to name here, I decided to try out this critically acclaimed series on HBO called Deadwood. The only thing I had heard about it was that it had a great deal of cursing. But I also heard it was pretty damn good. Both turned out to be true... in spades!

What a great show. I've only seen the first four episodes but I am hooked like a heroine junky with a trust fund! I love it so much that I went online today to see when Season 4 might be released on DVD, as I had already noticed the first three seasons were available. Of course the untimely cancellation of Rome should have been my first hint that I shouldn't take such things for granted. It is just now that I learned the show was canceled approximately one year ago.

In the immortal words of Al Swearengen.... "Fucking cocksuckers!" Once again, television executives disappoint me.

It's all in the strategy

Last week in Finland the annual Wife Carrying World Championship was held. The winning couple received the wife's weight in beer and five times her weight in cash. So what would your strategy be? Would you slim down for the race to increase your chances at victory or would you "swing for the fences" and bulk up in the hopes of taking home that many more pounds in cold hard lovingly beautiful cash... and beer?

clip of the event in action

Missing the Boat

Back in the fall of 2002 I wasn't really open to new science fiction television. My favorite show had been canceled and I was pretty jaded to anything that remotely resembled it. As it turns out I missed out on a great series called Firefly. But then again, so did many others because it too was eventually canceled. Of course many might argue that it would fail from the beginning with the way Fox Television handled its release. Between jumbling the episodes out of order, not showing the all important pilot until mid-season, and marketing the gritty drama as an action comedy the series was most assuredly doomed.

It's been almost five years now and I've continued to hear nothing but good things. I've wanted to see it for some time, but just never found it available for rent until I joined the greatness of Blockbuster Online. I ordered the first disc and watched it in the order it was originally intended, including the theatrical conclusion Serenity. I've come to my own conclusion: either I'm an official science fiction sucker or this show is greatness... or both... probably both.

Every episode was full of great character driven story. The large ensemble cast had a tremendous chemistry and at no time did it give the feeling of being too cumbersome. I even managed to enjoy the dramatic cinematic conclusion to the series. Granted, it probably pales in comparison to the unrealized continuation of the program. Personally I feel it was completely satisfying, save for the undeveloped storyline of Shepard Book. They've even left the franchise open to future films. But money talks so I've now joined the ranks of Firefly fans telling you to go out and watch this series. It's definitely a good.

The Bunny Challenge

I humbly submit this cute bunny pic as part of the challenge...

Phoning It In!

I'm not big into reality TV. I've dabbled in most shows like American Idol, Survivor, and even The Apprentice. but nothing has really stuck. My desire to call into shows and vote on contestants is even more minuscule. Enter: Dancing with the Stars. It's been four seasons in and I'm still completely hooked. Of course I watch it for the choreography, costumes, and competition! And for the first time ever, I've actually contemplated the "call in!"

That's right. I'm actually thinking about picking up the phone and wasting seconds of my precious time dialing a number so that my vote can affect the outcome of some meaningless TV show. Or is it meaningless? I mean it isn't really fair that one of my favorite dancers got saddled with a bad celebrity. She doesn't deserve to be kicked off just yet. I think the people of America still want to see a little more of Edyta before it's all over. But what if she gets voted off?

Perhaps there really IS something I can do to help. Oh no! But what about this other one. I'd hate to see them get kicked off. Perhaps I should place my vote here! Too many dancers and too little time! What to do... what to do. I think nobody should get kicked off and everyone should receive a ribbon of participation! How does that sound? Hooray for spray on tan!