HE'S A BRAINIAC, BRAINIAC...: James Marsters (aka Spike on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel) will be joining the cast of WB's Smallville this fall as college professor Milton Fine, aka the alter ego of Brainiac, one of Superman's greatest and most formidable villains. Says a WB rep, "Brainiac's presence in Smallville will have a devastating effect on Clark and Lex's already deteriorating friendship." Marsters' run is slated for six episodes. Hey, does Lois Lane need another sister, perhaps played by Sarah Michelle Gellar?

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Saturday, July 23, 2005
Fantastic Four
My old friend, Rich O. was in town last night and so we decided to re-live his bachelor days by grabbing some dinner and catching a movie. I tell you, those married guys--they get away from the wife and kid and just go nuts eating Mexican food and seeing a movie all in one night...

But we had a great time. We thought about trying to get into The Island, but instead went for Jessica Alba in The Fantastic Four. (For some odd reason, Rich used to watch Dark Angel...oh yeah, that's right...he did for a woman...) And you know, it wasn't that bad. Oh sure, it's not great or in the same league as Spiderman 1 or 2 or Batman Begins, but for what it is--a fun, popcorn movie, it's very entertaining. There are worse ways you could spend two hours, quite frankly. (Just to kind of give you an idea though...I am one of the five people on the planet who LIKED The Hulk...so take that into consideration...)

Now, I'd read the novelization of the film a few weeks ago. Namely because it was by Peter David, an author whose work I've really enjoyed (in fact, I picked up the third Sir Apropos novel today.). And I have to admit, the novelization didn't thrill me. Honestly, my biggest criticism is what they did to the Dr Doom character. In the comic books, he's a much more effective and layered villain than what we get here. Basically, here it's Julian McMahon playing a derivation of his character from Nip/Tuck. Doom's motivation is that he is competiting with Reed Richards for everything and winning at nothing. Outwardly Doom has success as the movie starts but it slowly falls away as Reed seems to get the acclaim, the spotlight and the girl that Doom wants so desparately. Seeing Doom's descent into evil over a corporate IPO is not exactly compelling viewing nor does it make for the best super villain out there...that said, he's still light years better than Richard Pryor in Superman 3.

Of course, the movie has to make some modernizations in the origin story, much as Spiderman did. I'm sure these bother purists who probably wept that one word of the original material was changed..but to most of us, it doesn't matter that much. Heck, I love Spidey and I can see why they made the tweaks they did to his getting his powers in the films...it worked and I went with it. You should too with Fantastic Four.

What the movie gets rights is Chris Evans as Johnny Storm. The guy is perfect in the role. Also, Michael Chicklis at Ben Grimm/The Thing works very well. And the prosthetic suit for the Thing works a lot better than I thought it would in the previews. Reed and Sue are OK, but Evans and Chicklis steal the spotlight every time they're on screen. Which is a lot of the movie thank goodness.

But back to my original point...having read the novelization, I knew pretty much how it would all unfold on screen and thus had no huge expectations. And you know what--that helped my enjoyment a lot. I enjoyed it for what it was and not what I imagined it would be. It's not as bad as some will tell you, but it's not great. It's a decent, fun summer movie and I can think of worse ways to spend a couple of hours. If you don't see it in theaters, it's defnitely worth at least a rental on DVD.

And coming away, I found myself comparing it to another Marvel superhero movie, X-Men. X-Men was good and it opend the door for the vastly superior X-Men 2. I am hoping that this one was good and it opens the door to a vastly better sequel. They leave it with all the elements in place--and while it's not quite the "oh man, I want a sequel now!" feeling I got going out of Batman Begins, it still made think--ya know, a second Fantastic Four movie wouldn't be that bad an idea.

posted by Michael Hickerson at 7/23/2005 06:19:00 PM | |
Friday, July 22, 2005
Random TV Show news
As the week slowly comes to an end, I saw a couple of articles that caught my attention.

First up is the fact that Jennifer Finnigan will be returning to The Dead Zone later this season. Apparnetly, she's going to be in the Christmas themed episode. Not sure when this will air (I'd assume around Christmas, but I've been wrong before) since The Dead Zone's fourth season is being split in half and I thought we got half of it this summer and half of it next summer.

The upside is--I liked Finnigan's character on the show and her chemistry with Johnny. The downside--Finnigan is starring in a new show for CBS this fall and that could limit her availability for The Dead Zone. Is it wrong of me to wish ill of her new show just so she can get more time on The Dead Zone?

Next up, if you're suffering from Lost withdrawal but don't want to know specific SPOILERS, then check out this article that talks about what's coming in season two. Most intriguing (well, outside of Michelle Rodriguez) is the fact that we'll find out what's inside the hatch "sooner rather than later."

And last but certainly not least, the new season of Doctor Who has begun filming in the UK. This will be sesaon 28 for those of you keeping track at home (or series 2 of the new Doctor Who) and will be the first to feature David Tennant as the 10th Doctor. Producer Russell T. Davies has confirmed the Cybermen will be in the new season, which will run for 13 episodes plus a Christmas special later this year. The new season will debut in 2006 in the UK and then in the US a few hours later when fans download the new episodes since no networks in the U.S. have had the good sense to pick up the show yet....

posted by Michael Hickerson at 7/22/2005 03:40:00 PM | |

Friday Memes
Friday's Feast
Appetizer
What kind of car do you drive? If you could make an even trade for any other car, what would you want to drive?
2001 2-door blue Chevy Cavalier. I'd trade it even stevens for a Nissan Altima, esp. one in that cool orange color....(hmmm....me and the color orange...how shocking!)

Soup
Take your phone number and add each number together separately (example: 8+6+7+5+3+0+9=38) - what's the total?
Wait..we're making me do math on a Friday?!? That's not fair!
Work: 36
Home: 33
Cell: 43

Salad
When were you last outside, and what were you doing?
I went out to my car at lunch to retrieve a book I'd left in my trunk. And let me just say this--dang, it's HOT!

Main Course
What is your favorite restaurant, and what do you usually order there?
There's a Mexican place called Cozumel here...I usually get the Nachos Cozumel without sour cream.

Dessert
Name 3 things in which you occasionally indulge.
Sprite Remix, food from Sonic, peanut butter M&Ms

Aloha Friday
How often do you clean your house?
Big cleaning is every week and then I try to keep it neat and clean during the week, though some days are better than others.

How much water do you drink every day?
Well, since I pretty much only drink water, quite a bit. Honestly, it depends on what exercise I've done that day and how much. I try to at least drink my 64 oz of water a day and I am usually pretty successful at that.

Mixing things up again…what DVD should we add to our summer viewing list?
Earlier this week, I discussed The Girl Next Door, which I think is definitely worth a look. And if you've already decided to check it out based on my thoughts on it or have already seen it, then I always think The Searchers is a good choice.

posted by Michael Hickerson at 7/22/2005 01:47:00 PM | |

TV Round-Up
The 4400: Life Interrupted
Tom wakes us in an alternate reality where the events of the past two years never happened. The 4400 were never taken and his life, for the most part, is a whole lot better. Kyle is happy and going to med school, Shawn has a band and he's married to a woman he's never met before named Alana. But yet Tom can't shake the feeling that something is wrong--the show even gives all the characters a plausible explanation for why Tom is a bit loopy in that he was held prisoner and tortured in his last assignment for information.

Over the course of an hour, we check in at various points in Tom's new life. He lives eight years in this new life, slowly falling in love with and re-newing his vows with Alana. Turns out Alana didn't remember Tom either before meeting him for the first time in the course of this episode. Could she by the lynchpin to this whole plot? If you said yes, you win the fabulous prize. (Yes, you get your own copy of the highly collectible #0 Big Orange Michael podcast!)

Basically, Life Interrupted turns out to be little more than a retread of TNG's great The Inner Light. Same basic premise as The Inner Light (one of the best TNG eps IMHO) and the good part is--this one is as equally compelling and watchable. There is a difference in where the memories lead to--in Inner Light, it's for a civilization to live on by sharing their thoughts and memories with Picard and here it's to allow Tom a bit of a vacation before things get really difficult. Alana's power is to create a fantasy world for Tom and that both of them remember the eight years together. Apparently the future people are worried that being the savior of humanity is gonna be difficult for Tom to do alone, so they allow him to develop a relationship with Alana in this fantasy universe that they both remember and can build on in the real world. Kind of nice thing--you can bascially skip all of the awkwardness of those first few dates and jump right into the relationship, knowing that you're compatable.

But it does bring up some interesting questions--what is Tom's role? Why was he chosen? Was it because Kyle has been corrupted so? And are there two factions (at least) in the future trying to create or alter the timeline for some purpose? And why was Alana chosen as the companion for Tom? What about her made her special as opposed to them choosing Diana or getting him back with his ex-wife?

The Dead Zone: Heroes and Demons
I found myself wanting to like this episode of The Dead Zone a lot more than I actually did. First of all, it's by Michael Taylor who wrote one of the best hours of TV ever produced in DS9's The Visitor. And his work on this show last year wasn't too shabby either. Then, it's got an interesting premise--an autistic boy named Thad seeks Johnny for help. Seeing Johnny try to interpret the visions from the autistic boy's point of view was intersting and I liked how the producers showed the visions of the dropped M&Ms and how the boy counted them.

What didn't work was the rather ho-hum and cliched plotline they came up with for this story. Seems that Thad's mother was killed in a car wreck while he was in the car with her and his father is on death row for allegedly killing a fellow officer in an undercover sting gone wrong. As the hour progresses, we quickly realize that the father was framed but the question is--by who? It only takes about two seconds after meeting his former partner to guess who is the one who really committed the crime and the rest kind of falls into placce from there. Not exactly the most exciting or compelling plotline and the real issue is that outside of the whole austic boy knows the truth but how can we find it out, it's not really all that groundbreaking, new, different or even as entertaining as I'd hoped it would be. Instead, it's a cliche and a lot of them...including the fact that the gang the father was trying to take down tries to eliminate Thad because he knows too much. (The fact that he's barely spoken in a couple of years doesn't seem to deter them).

The story is also told within a framing device of Thad's mom in a costume right out of Dungeons and Dragons, relating Thad's quest for the truth as a heroic quest. (Thad draws out parts of the plot in a comic book form...including an amusing view of Bruce as an elf). It sort of works, but it also proves distratcing at times and interrupts the flow of the plot. I think part of it is that the show was trying to do too much and ended up not covering all the bases well. I liked the attempts to have us see inside Thad's mind and how things unfolded in the story for him, but you couple that with the predictable mystery of the week plotline that as cliche ridden as it was and you end up with an episode that is less than the sum of its parts.

posted by Michael Hickerson at 7/22/2005 09:13:00 AM | |
Thursday, July 21, 2005
Just a reminder: Firefly is back!
Joss Whedon's brilliant but short-lived series Firefly returns to the airwaves tomorrow night as SciFi begins running the show. The series will be run in the original, intended order (unlike FOX which aired the two-hour pilot last) and will include the three episodes that were previously only available in the U.S. on DVD. If you've not seen Firefly yet and are wondering why I'm such a fan, I urge you to consider setting those VCRs or TiVOs tomorrow night at 7 p.m. EST for the first half of the two-hour pilot. All I ask if 14 weeks to soak in the brilliance that was Firefly.

And by catching up on the series, you can be ready for the big movie Serenity that hits theaters September 30th. The new international trailer is impressive, though if you've got a slow connection, it will take a bit of time to download and view. But it's worth it.

posted by Michael Hickerson at 7/21/2005 03:40:00 PM | |

Blog Challenge: What Makes You Happy, Year Two
Last year, one of my fellow bloggers challenged the blogging community to take the month of August and try an experiment--for every day in August, you would post at least one thing that made you happy.

I'm going to issue that challenge again for this August. It's been a year and looking back at my archives from last year, a lot of the things in there just brought a smile to my face again. Plus, I had a great time reading about all the different good things going on in everyone's lives each day. So, here's the challenge. For the month of August, for every day, post at least one thing that makes you happy. You can do a post a day or a wrap-up every couple of days...however it is you feel most comfortable with or are able to do so. Or if you only post once a day, include the challenge in the beginning, middle or end of your daily posts.

Who's with me?

posted by Michael Hickerson at 7/21/2005 09:12:00 AM | |
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
I got tagged by AK...
Ten years ago: I was still in school at UT...headed into my final full year as a college student. I spent my summer working at Busch Gardens and I discovered The X-Files.

Five years ago: Living in Knoxville, working out in Oak Ridge at a good job that I liked. Watching the Titans come one yard shy of tying the Super Bowl...

One year ago: I was in Nashville, going through a difficult time in my life.

Yesterday: I got up, went to work, worked out, read some of Harry Potter, offered to share my lap lane with a couple of people, listened to music, came home, ate dinner, went over to see my sister and her family, played with my niece and nephew. Thought about going to water aerobics but wimped out when I saw I was gonna be the only male in the class...

Today: Gonna take a spinning class and swim some laps. Hopefully catch up on Sunday night's The Dead Zone. Yep, it's a party every day in my world.

Tomorrow: Thursday Night Worship tomorrow evening. My call to worship is ready to go and I feel very calm about it.

5 snacks I enjoy: animal crackers, chocolate animal crackers, pizza blasted goldfish, peanut butter M&Ms, wheat thins.

5 bands that I know the lyrics of most of their songs: The Monkees, Ray Stevens, Alabama, Garth Brooks, Shania Twain.

5 things I would do with $100,000,000: Buy a house, visit the UK, invest well and retire, travel the world taking as long as I wanted to explore, buy a huge TV for the new house.

5 locations I’d like to runaway to: Knoxville, UK, Hawaii, Italy, the Bahamas.

5 bad habits I have: Biting my fingernails, Doctor Who fandom, DVD box-sets, talking too much when nervous, watching too much TV

5 things I like doing: Watching TV, blogging, swimming laps, cooking, eating at Sonic.

5 things I would never wear: Speedos, buttless chaps, stripes with plaids, crimson on the third Saturday in Octobre (or ever really), anything with a Dallas Cowboy logo.

5 TV shows I like: What?!? Only five?!? Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek, Doctor Who, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Scrubs.

5 movies I like: Star Trek II, The Empire Srikes Back, Casablanca, The Searchers, Spiderman 2

5 famous people I’d like to meet: Joss Whedon, William Shatner, Elizabeth George, Nicholas Brendan, Nicola Bryant.

5 biggest joys at the moment: The Firefly movie comes out in September, football season is soon, my neice and nephew, that the day is almost over, that I am blessed with great friends.

5 favorite toys: My DVD player, my cell phone, my VCRs, my surround sound system and my computer.

5 people to tag: I am gonna go with Barry, Becky, Stacy, Logtar and Karenl. But anyone else who wants to play, please go ahead.

posted by Michael Hickerson at 7/20/2005 01:10:00 PM | |

R.I.P.: James Doohan
MSN is reporting that James Doohan who played chief engineer Montgomery "Scotty" Scott on the original Star Trek has passed away. Doohan was 85.

I'm saddened to hear this news and my thoughts and prayers go out to Doohan's family on this less.

As a Star Trek fan, this is the second of the original crew that has gone on to the great Enterprise in the sky.

Also, I must point out that at no point in the original series or films did anyone utter the line, "Beam me up, Scotty."

posted by Michael Hickerson at 7/20/2005 12:25:00 PM | |

Supreme Court Nominee
I tuned in to watch a repeat of House as I gave my nephew, Davis his breathing treatment last night and instead got to see President Bush's announcement about his nominee to fill the Supreme Court seat vacated by outgoing justice Sandra Day O'Connor. As I watched the introduction of John Roberts, Jr and heard Bush give a bit of his background, I found myself scratching my head and going--so, who is this guy? I'd skimmed by some talking heads earlier in the evening, citing Robert's resume to this point and why he was chosen. And I'm sure as the days and weeks unfold, we'll find out more about Roberts than we ever wanted to know, including what he ate for breakfast on day he was introduced as a nominee and what radio station he listened to driving into the White House for the big national press conference.

I have to admit that I am not a huge follower of the national judicial circuit. I doubt there are judicial member trading cards out there that list cases they've heard or positions they've held or important opinions they've rendered. So, to me, Roberts is a bit of a mystery. And I know that we heard Bush's reasons for why he chose Roberts last night. And I'm sure as the weeks unfold we'll hear more about it, as well as numerous reasons why he shouldn't be confirmed from the opponents. But as I watched, I found myself wondering--did anyone else have this same reaction? Did you scratch your head and go, "OK, but who is this guy?"

I hate to say it, but in my world, I can tell you more about Travis Henry, the new Titan's running back than I can about this nominee to the Supreme Court. But which of these two is going to have a bigger overall impact on my life over the next couple of years--Henry, who won a national championship for the Vols and got screwed by a lesser running back in Buffalo or Roberts, who could make sweeping Constiutional interpretations that will become the law of the land.

On that note, I was intrigued by a couple of articles in this morning's Tennessean. One talked about the role that Bill Frist now has in trying to win confirmation for Roberts. Another was about the reaction of some legal scholars and lobbyists here in Middle Tennessee. And I'm sure as the days and weeks go along, my fellow bloggers will fill my computer screen with information on Roberts, his background and why they think he should or shouldn't be confirmed to the high court...

posted by Michael Hickerson at 7/20/2005 10:31:00 AM | |

ICE
No, no, I'm not quoting the famous Vanilla Ice song....

This morning I heard a report on the tail end of the news broadcast about programming your emergency contact number into your cell phone. The report said that in the wake of last week's London attacks, that officials were recommended that the number(s) you wanted to contacted in case of an emergency were put into your cell phone under ICE (In Case of Emergency). It was said that this would be a signal to responders of who to call and it would be easy to find since there aren't as many entries that start with the letter I.

I thought it sounded like a pretty good idea and I figured I'd share with my fellow bloggers. Of course, I'm sure I will get at least three or four people who tell me--man, that is the lamest idea ever and then a couple that say--man, I did that years ago.

posted by Michael Hickerson at 7/20/2005 08:10:00 AM | |
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
A wee bit sore...
It's been a while since I've been able to make it to a spinning class, but yesteday I decided that I wanted to add some variety to the work-out routine and so I signed up for one. And let me just say this--it's still a great workout and wow, I haven't used some of the muscles I used yesterday as much of late and they are sure letting me know about it today.

posted by Michael Hickerson at 7/19/2005 09:00:00 AM | |
Monday, July 18, 2005
Big Orange Michael Podcast #0
Want to hear my first ever podcast? (Ok, well, the first one that's made it up to the world wide web?)

Click here...and you can hear me ramble on for about three minutes! Woo-hoo!



posted by Michael Hickerson at 7/18/2005 09:07:00 PM | |

Movie: The Girl Next Door

The original movie poster

Over the weekend, I watched The Girl Next Door, a movie that came out last spring and was advertised as a teen-sex comedy featuring Elisha Cutherbert from 24. It quickly passed out of theaters, not making a whole lot of money and was considered a bomb.

Thankfully, we live in the day and age of DVD and VHS, so maybe these movies can find an audience (rentals and sales of the first (and funnies) Austin Powers helped create that franchise).

From the way this movie was advertised, I was expected one of those typical teen sex-romps along the lines of American Pie or Road Trip--you know the type I'm talking about with lots of guys trying to find ways to score with the attractive girl (in this case Elisha Cuthbert who pretty much was the marketing campaing--look, she's hot!) and some flatulence jokes.

Elisha Cuthbert

Instead, what we got was a movie that has something a lot of the typical teen sex romps that were popular for a while lacked--a heart.

OK, don't get me wrong here--this movie is not Shakespeare. It's probably not going to be considered one of those "New Classics" on TNT any time soon. But taken for what it's trying to be, it's actually a nice little movie that I really enjoyed (and not just because Elisha Cutherbert shows up and looks hot throughout the film.).

Going into his senior year, Matthew Kidman is a good, responsible kid. He's president of the senior class, he's helped raise money to bring a genius from an Asian country to the U.S. to study, he's got early acceptance into Georgetown. As we first meet him, he's filling out his senior memories sheet for his yearbook and finding he has nothing memorable to put down for his high school expereince. For all his accomplishments, Matt is a bit of a nerd and not accepted or popular with his peers. At one point, Matt imagines skipping class with a large group of seniors to go to the beach, only to come up with a wild Scrubs like fantasy scenario of what might happen if he does....and so he stays in school.

Until one day, Danielle moves in next door. Now, if you've seen the trailers, you know what happens. Matt sees Danielle undressing, she comes over and tries to bust him and then ends up embrassing him as well.

Over the course of the movie, Danielle asks Matt "What's the craziest thing you've done lately?" This is done after she makes him strip off her clothes and leaves him naked in the street and the two take a midnight swim in his principle's pool among other things.

Of course, we all know the twist--Matt finds out about Danielle's past and it's a doozy. She's a porn star whose moved out to the burbs to get away from her life. She's followed by Kelly, a producer played by Timothy Olyphant and he steals every scene he's in. Kelly takes Matt underwing as a kind of weird big brother figure, and eventually convinces Danielle to come back to the industry.

This movie is one that is radically different in tone from what the previews make it out to be. If you're expecting lots of nudity and sex, yes, you'll get it. But it's a movie that plays with expectations and has an actual lot of heart to it. More than I expected. The relationship between Danielle and Matt feels real and you can really see these two falling in love. At one point, Matt risks everything--including a scholarship that will make or break his going to Georgetown for Danielle. And she helps him to overcome his fears of being forgotten or always being the perfect student/son, etc and to do the right thing in pursuit of his true love. (Though he does have aspiriations of going into politics, which may be ruined by Danielle's checkered past should they stay together...) The movie does change tone several times, but it consistently shows the growth and development not only of Danielle but also Matt.

One of the most interesting scenes comes halfway through when Matt first finds out Danielle is a porn star. To this point, he's seen her as a person but he quickly objectifies her. To point that he takes her to a hotel room in a bad attempt at seduction. Danielle turns the tables, throwing it in his face and storms off after asking if this is what he wanted--to have sex with a porn star in a cheap hotel room? (I am paraphrasing here as there's another word used, but this is a family blog...or at least PG-13)

Now, I'll be honest here..this movie is not what I expected. It was better than I expected. I was pleasantly surpirsed at it and yes, there are some absurd plot twists in the last half hour, but it's one of those things that you're having so much fun you just go with it. It's not a laugh out loud, fall on the floor comedy and there's certainly no Stiffler character here (though Matt's buddy Eli comes close). But if you go into tthis one with an open mind and ignore how it was advertised, I think what you'll find is a decent little teen love story that actually has some heart. Yes, it's got a lot of swearing and a lot of it takes place in an around porn..so if you're offended by that, don't give this one a viewing. But if you can look past that, you'll see a movie about characters who challenge each other to do the right thing and take all the right, crazy risks for true love.

posted by Michael Hickerson at 7/18/2005 03:18:00 PM | |

TV Round-Up: Sci-Fi Friday
SciFi Friday is back....my round-up goes from worst to first in what I enjoyed Friday evening.

Stargate: Atlantis: The Seige, Part 3
This may be one of the most dense episodes of any show I've seen in a long time. In the course of one hour, we have to introduce new characters, resolve the cliffhanger from last year and deal with the Wraith and their unrelented attacks on Atlantis and set-up some of the on-going plot threads and threats for this year. That is a lot of information and resolution to pack into an hour of television and I have to admit I'm not sure Atlantis really pulled it off all that well. I liked the introduction of Nick Peleggi as Col. Caldwell to the recurring cast, but the arrival of the Daedulus just seemed a bit too convienent. Gee, just as Shepard is about to go kamakazi on one Wraith hive ship, Caldwell and company show up, beam our hero to safety and he still gets to destroy the hive ship using a puddle jumper and a nuke. Yeah, that was a bit much. As was the rather derivative ending of utlizing Telya's connection to the Wraith to convince them that our heroes had really destroyed Atlantis. It stinks of Data's telling the Borg to "sleep" via the link with Captain Picard in TNG's fourth season opener. And for a super colossal evil race who last year said--yes, we're gonna take out Atlantis and then head on over to Earth for the all you can eat human buffet, the Wraith sure do give up awfully easy. "Oh, gee, it looks like the city is gone, so let's head for the hills and go find us another buffet." It just felt like the writers painted themselves into a corner and had to find a way out and this seemed as good as any. Also, if you're trying to sell the Wraith on the destruction of Atlantis, why don't you have the Daedulus take off into hyperspace and make it appear as if a skeleton crew is nuking the city? I know, I know--we needed their super cool transporter to make the illusion work, but it just didn't make a lot of sense. (Of course, following my own logic, I guess everyone could pile out using the Stargate before the big boom).

Meanwhile, Ford gets turned into a half-human/half-Wraith thing and is now pretty unbalanced. He takes off in a puddle jumper and now, I assume, will be out there as an on-going threat all season long.

Stargate SG1: Avalon, Part 1
Ever wonder what it'd be like if John Crichton somehow fell through a wormhole into the Stargate universe? Well, you don't have to wonder any more as that's exactly what we get here as Ben Browder joins the cast of Stargate SG1 as the new team leader. And you know what--I know the character Browder is playing ain't exactly the opposite of John Crichton and I just don't care. The sensibility that Browder brought to Farscape is working here, at least so far. The first episode of season nine is intended to introduce us to two new characters--Browder and new general, Beau Bridges and maybe have a bit of plot thrown in. On those counts it ably succeeds and it does so very well. it was interesting to see the show go ret-con with the backstory of Mitchell and how that fit into the overall Stargate universe mythology.

As if that weren't enough, you add in Claudia Black, dressed in a tight leather outfit that is revealing in all the right places. Excuse me for a moment while I just pause to drool while thinking about Claudia Black.

OK...where was I?

Honestly, I found myself wondering if this episode wasn't supposed to be a two-hour season premiere that had to be trimmed into a two-parter. The pacing felt that way at several points--especially early on as we see a lot of Mitchell front and center in the plotline. I did like the way that Mitchell is working to "get the band back together" and how they dealt with not having Daniel Jackson warp off to Atlantis on the Deadelus. (Though it does make you wonder...how did the Daedulus get to Atlantis so fast?) And the quick in-joke about how similiar Michael Shanks and Ben Browder look was nicely done.

Battlestar Galactica: Scattered
I've saved the best for last...much as SciFi did Friday night. I admit that as excited as I was about the second season of Battlestar Galactica, part of me was a bit nervous, hoping the show wouldn't have a sophomore slump. I was hoping this wouldn't be a one-season wonder and then quickly jump the shark in season two. One episode in and all I can say is--no fin in sight.

Picking up just moments about Kobol's Last Gleaming left off, the storyline begins to deal with some of the fallout of the events from the end of last season..meanwhile, continuing to push the plotlines forward in an interesting way. Seeing Tigh suddenly thrust into a role he doesn't want as commander was nicely done and the flashbacks to his early friendship with Adama were intresting. One key detail that I caught--Adama married into the right family to give his career a boost...interesting nugget of information, especially given the reverred position Adama now holds with fleet. I did like that Adama was not magically healed from his gun shot wounds and that even though we knew they couldn't kill off the character just yet, that somewhere deep inside, you wondered--maybe, just maybe will they kill off the commander of the fleet?

Interesting to see that Tigh is so loyal to Adama and so scared of having his own command that he risks the Galactica and the safety of the entire fleet on an insane plan to find the coordinates for the rest of the fleet. Again, I thought for a moment that were going to not find the fleet at the coordinates in question. Just another way the show plays with expectations. Meanwhile, we see Lee's loyalties shift a bit--at least publically. He disavows Roslin to get out of the cell and go back on duty, but is forced to return there any time he's off duty. Meanwhile, Helo keeps Starbuck from killing Caprica Boomer because she is carrying his chilld. And Baltar asks the questions we're all wondering--how can he have a child with Six when she's just an image in his twisted little mind? (Oh but damn it's gonna be fun to find out Ron Moore does that one...)

And just when you think it's safe, they hit you with a cliffhanger that left me eager for more Galatica soon. Thank goodness we only have to wait seven days to see Cylons storming the corridors of Galactica.

Another strong advantage--no neat resolution to the cliffhangers ala Atlantis. At the end of the hours, we'd only resolved that Galactica is back with the fleet, the situation on Kobol is pretty perilious and that Starbuck is stuck on Caprica. Not every one returned to the fleet and had a hug..instead, things continue to be deadly, dark and utterly compelling.

posted by Michael Hickerson at 7/18/2005 08:44:00 AM | |

Travis Henry: Back in Tennessee
The official word snuck out over the weekend that UT's all-time leading rusher, Travis Henry will be coming back to the Volunteer state to play football. Yes, Travis Henry is now a member of the Tennessee Titans.

All I can say is-- woo hoo!

posted by Michael Hickerson at 7/18/2005 08:25:00 AM | |
Saturday, July 16, 2005
You can't get there from here...

Big Orange Michael Highway Childbirth Hospital 4 Tower of Commitment 22 Lake Love 49 Confusion Lane 123 Hobotown 234 Please Drive Carefully

Username:

Where are you on the highway of life?

From Go-Quiz.com

posted by Michael Hickerson at 7/16/2005 06:46:00 PM | |

A quick round-up
Went out this morning and have my copy of the new Harry Potter novel. Amazingly there were no thunder hoardes circling the display of them at Wal-Mart. I'm betting there are some bleary eyed children this morning just turning the last few pages, having stayed up all night reading.

Personally, I don't think I'm going to read all of it one sitting. I will read it, but I want to sit back and enjoy it at a non-rushed pace. So, no SPOILERS please!!!!!

And now for a quick round-up for the first Sci-Fi Friday of the summer. (I will blather on at length later)

Battlestar Galactica--I admit, I was worried it'd be a one-season wonder...shows no signs of being that. Not a resolution so much as a continuation of events started last year.
Stargate SG1--Ben Browder is great. The better of the two Stargate shows last night.
Stargate Atlantis--It was OK, but the solutions were a bit too easy in resolving the city in peril plotline.

posted by Michael Hickerson at 7/16/2005 11:05:00 AM | |
Friday, July 15, 2005
Friday Memes
Friday's Feast
Appetizer
What is your middle name? Would you change any of your names if you could? If so, what would you like to be called?
Thomas and no I wouldn't change any of my names.

Soup
If you were a fashion designer, which fabrics, colors, and styles would you probably use the most?
I'd use lots orange...I honestly don't know enough about fabrics and styles to really say.

Salad
What is your least favorite chore, and why?
Scrubbing the tub...it's just tedious.

Main Course
What is something that really frightens you, and can you trace it back to an event in your life?
I don't like doctors and hospitals. When I was three, I had heart surgery and my only memory of it is seeing my dad in his Air Force uniform leave for the night and it then being dark and being really scared.

Dessert
Where are you sitting right now? Name 3 things you can see at this moment.
At my desk at work. I can see my monitor (obviously), my phone and my orange cup full of ice water.

Aloha Friday
Are you a morning, afternoon or evening person?
Morning

Who was the last person to whom you mailed a letter? Greeting cards don’t count.
I mailed a thank you note to a guy I networked with during the job search.

A change at Aloha Friday…question #3 is what I will call Reader’s Choice. Pick something you’d like to know about your readers/commenters, ask the question in this spot on your blog, then invite your readers/commenters to answer in…well, the comments section.
Ah, the attempt to comment-whore....I love it. I feel as if I should have some deep, probing, earth-shattering question here...but then again, that would go against what this blog has been until now. And so, I'll ask this--what is the best movie you've seen so far this summer and is there one coming out soon that you can't wait to see?

posted by Michael Hickerson at 7/15/2005 02:17:00 PM | |

TV Round-Up
The Dead Zone: Still Life
Is it just me or does the show just seem to work better when Bruce is in the mix? In a lot of ways, Bruce is the Watson to Johnny's Holmes.

The Dead Zone continues to get better as the fourth season progresses with a strong, entertaining episode. Johnny is sent a painting by reclusive artist Andrew Lyne. Lyne was an established artist who went into retreat when his daughter and muse was killed. Now, it appears he's reemerging, having found a long-lost daughter and a new muse. Problem is, she's disappeared and Johnny is having visions of her demise. Now, I won't say that this one had any huge, shocking plot twists--I mean, Lyne's actual daughter being his assistant wasn't that huge a stretch and it did seem they worked awfully hard to have her lurking in the background in two early scenes in Lyne's studio. And while there wasn't the sense of mirth that we had in "Double Vision" we instead got a slow burn of tension right up to the final few scenes in which we find out the assistant is really Lyne's daughter and pretty annoyed she can't be his muse. Also, there was an interesting thread of Johnny's visions carrying over and giving him some of the artistic ability of Lyne and the obsession with Chloe. Though I did find myself wondering how much of that was Johnny's own obessive personality being brought out by the same traits in Lyne. I wonder if the visions are starting to have some residual affects on Johnny that he may not be aware of, but will become clearer as the season progresses....

Monk: Mr. Monk and the Other Detective
I guess Jason Alexander has a lot more time on his hands these days, now that his show Listen Up has been cancelled. Sad part is--Alexander's performace here as the other detective is 100 times better than the entire season he did of Listen Up (the few time I tuned it, I was totally underwhelmed...)

Alexander's Marty Eales is the polar opposite of everything Monk is..whereas Monk is a neat freak and has phobias of everything, Eales is a slob and apparently afraid of very little--except disappointing his mother. Interesting that Eales' mother helps him to "solve" the case by giving him the solution to things in advance. Eales then goes out and tries to build his reputation by out Monking Monk. I loved Monk's constant whines of "He's cheating" that all fell upon deaf ears, except Natalie. Now, I have to admit I did find Stottlemeyer's quick abandoning of Monk, given Monk's track record and their friendship a bit odd. I also found it a bit strange and forced that the community college that was willing to take Monk as a teacher would suddenly take Eales when Monk refused. After all, Monk has the track record and Eales doesn't. But hey, it made for a fun little coda and I am sure some of you will tell me that I'm thinking too much about these things.

The 4400: As Fate Would Have It
Most weeks, I'd lead with my wrap-up of The 4400, but since this episode is a bit more pivotal than most, I left it for last. Let me warn you now--if you've not yet seen this episode and want to go in aware of what happens in it, then I strongly suggest you stop reading now. I am going to give away the entire ending of the story...

OK, still here?

After a couple of weeks of set-up, we finally get some movement on the major plotlines unfolding this year on The 4400. Interesting that there's no "4400 of the week" storyline this week, unless you really count the focus on Jordan. But then again, there is a lot happening here. Maia has a vision of Jordan being killed which she tells Diana about. She and Tom approach Jordan about the vision, suggesting he might want to step up security around him and be less visible. This is not an option for Jordan as he's arranged a meet-up for the 4400 at the center and wants to be out front and center during the big weekend. So, Tom and Diana offer extra security and Jordan runs to consult with Isabelle who shows him a happy future in which he lives and collects some kind of award. There is an attempt on Jordan's life early on and we're left to assume this is what Maia saw and that her horrible vision has been averted. Not so fast, my friends.

Meanwhile, Liv shows up at the center asking for Sean to heal her friends. Sean refuses and Liv leaves in a huff, only to show up later in a drug-induced state. She sleeps on Sean's couch and he adds her to the center's program to try and help her escape her life on the streets. And Heidi connects with Lilli and meets Isabelle, who is not happy to see her half-sister and it's implied Isabelle causes Heidi's spleen to rupture. And then there's Kyle who is blanking out again...why we're not quite sure.

All of these plotlines intersect on the day of the big gathering when an assassin takes our Jordan, killing him. Sean tries to heal him but can't and Jordan apparently dies. But not before saying that Isabelle lied to him. Sean takes over running the center and has no time to acknowledge a cleaned up Liv as he's surrounded by advisors. And we find out that Kyle might have been the assassin during one of the times of his blanking out.

So, now the questions begin....are there two sides fighting in the future to re-write the present? And what role to the 4400 play in that? Which side is Isabelle on? Why is Kyle blanking out? Is he being Quantum Lept into and not remembering because of that? And is this slowly becoming little more than a rehash of the temporal cold war plotline from Enterprise? (And we all know how lackluster that turned out to be!) There appear to be sides to this conflict and it will be interesting to see how they develop. Also, Jordan's body disappears, thus making us wonder--is he really dead or did he fake it all to thrust the leadership role upon Sean? Did Jordan really take Tom and Diana's advice and go underground big time? And how long until Maia get her own psychic friend hotline number?

Also, Sean's supposedly moving speech about Jordan at the end just wasn't very well acted. Patrick Fluger seemed to be channeling the worst soap opera acting ever into those moments and it really ruined what could have been a better moment on the show.

posted by Michael Hickerson at 7/15/2005 08:38:00 AM | |

Tonight, tonight....
It's a pretty exciting day to be a sci-fi fan. Tonight we get the kick-off of the second season of Battlestar Galactica and the season premieres of the two Stargate franchises. I'm willing to give SG1 a look simply because Ben Browder (John Crichton from Farscape) will be starring this year, but I have to admit I'm the most excited about the second season of Battlestar Galactica. The first season ended just a few months ago and yet I've been eagerly anticipating the premiere since the show went into repeats. Galactica's first-season cliffhanger was a thing of beauty, ranking right up there with "Mr Worf, fire!" from TNG, "I condemn you to live" from Farscape and the third season cliffhanger to Babylon Five.

And then, a certain books goes on sale tonight at midnight....a highly anticipated book. I have to admit, I'm a Harry Potter fan and I'm looking forward to reading the newest book. Not sure I'll be out at midnight fighting the thunder hoardes of young readers who are (no doubt) frothing at the mouth to read it, but I am going to pick up a copy of it tomorrow and start reading.

Good day to be a sci-fi fan....good day.

posted by Michael Hickerson at 7/15/2005 07:47:00 AM | |