Premieres and Notables March 26- April 1, 2007

Monday, 3/26

Two episodes of Prison Break left. Everyone's going in different directions, which are all going to end up coming together. Season finale next week.


Tuesday, 3/27

The story point that caused a brief Friends-gasm is finally airing. Dirt has a special guest star in Jennifer Aniston, and she locks lips with Courtney Cox. I still don't think it is going to help this show get renewed.

Great American Dream Vote; ABC. 9 pm CST. Series Premiere.
Eight contestants compete to have their dreams come true, with voters deciding who gets their wish. [Thank God ABC has the most pilots in development for next season; if this is what they've got on the shelf for the rest of the year, I won't have any idea what to watch with my extra time.]

Driving Force; A&E. 9 & 9:30 pm CST. Season Premiere.


Thursday, 3/29

Don't forget: FIVE (repeat) episodes of The Office air on NBC tonight from 7-10 pm (except from 8:30-9). This HR-centric marathon is hosted by Paul "Toby" Lieberstein.

1000 Places to See Before You Die; Travel Channel. 8 & 9 Pm. Series Premiere.
This wildly ambitious (who thinks they'll get to place #1000?) show looks at Alaska in the pilot and then at Italy in the second ep.


Friday, 3/30

Raines moves to 8 pm Fridays.

Ultimate Coyote Ugly Search; CMT. 7 pm. Season Premiere.


Sunday, 4/1

Mind of Mencia; Comedy Central. 9 pm. Season Premiere.

The Tudors; Showtime. 9 pm. Series Premiere.
The early years of King Henry VIII. I've heard decent things about this show. Recommended.

Sons of Hollywood; A&E. 8 pm. Series Premiere.
Randy Spelling and Sean Stewart (sons of Aaron Spelling and Rod Stewart) star in yet another reality series.
[Does anyone know if A&E still stands for "Arts and Entertainment"? Just curious.]

Jerry Seinfeld: The Comedian Award; HBO. 8 pm. Special.
This tribute (from November-- what the Hell was the wait?) is hosted by Anderson Cooper and has appearances by Chris Rock, Garry Shandling, and Robert Klein.

PRISON BREAK Renewed

In what I thought was already a done deal, Prison Break was officially renewed for a third season.

Here's a link to TV Guide's Matt Webb Mitovich's talk with Break creator Paul T. Sheuring about the next season. There aren't spoilers per se, but from reading between the lines, you will know of at least three characters who will survive to next season.

http://www.tvguide.com/News-Views/Interviews-Features/Article/default.aspx?posting={6777747F-5F75-4827-A0B8-63E69359E0D4}


I hope to give my predictions on what will happen the next two episodes, but, odds are, I'll run out of time. But if anyone has any predictions themselves, leave a comment.

Aaaaaand discuss...

A Little EXTRA

Bad news time: Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant decided to not do another season of Extras. They'll close out the series just as they did The Office, with a special.

Neither would comment on how soon we'd see the finale.

It's a total bummer because I thought the second season (I've seen about half so far) was even better than the first.

But then any show which has a guy masturbating to a novelty pen has to jump to the top of anyone's favorite list...

Get Your Irish On

Yesterday was a Perfect Storm type of day for me.

The city I live in is called New London for 51 weeks out of the year. The week of St. Patrick's Day, though, it undergoes a change in style and name to New Dublin. All things Irish are celebrated in my little city, and it all culminates on the Saturday nearest St. Patrick's Day with a big parade and a few bands playing in a beer tent.

I hadn't really had any plans other than I knew I was going to watch the parade with the family. But then my wife went and got cash, so now I had some greenbacks in my pocket, the beer seemed to be going down the throat a little easier than usual, my in-laws told us to go to the tent after the parade, I saw one of my favorite people in the world (who even made a point to find me), and ran into two other very fun people I used to work with, and then we all partied right in front of this kick-ass Celtic Rock band called Reilly.

I can't say as I've heard much Celtic/Irish music, and I know Reilly is a bit of a departure from Traditional Celtic music, but, damn, if they weren't fun to listen to.

Like I said, a perfect storm: family, friends, beer, and rock.

Of course, every storm fades sometime. It happened about 8 pm, when I headed upstairs to my bedroom and went dead to the world until 3 am.

I'm such a wuss...

Hey, here's Reilly's webpage. Check it out:
http://www.reillyrocks.com/

24 Season Seven Plot?

If you've been reading my blog for a while, you'll know about the rampant stupidity of Boston's reaction to the [adult swim] guerrilla marketing of the Aqua Teen Hunger Force movie.

But what if it was real? What if the Moonites really did plant a bomb? Who could possibly save the day? 24's Jack Bauer, of course.

National Lampoon gave us a taste of what it would be like in this less than 4 minute video:

http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid203712201/bclid192880073/bctid474534652

Trend-setter hits 10 years

One of TV Guide critic Matt Roush's reader's offered up this question: has any show impacted the TV landscape to the extent Buffy The Vampie Slayer (which premiered ten years ago last week) has in the past ten years?

I found that to be an interesting question. While Buffy didn't hit the ratings jackpot, it certainly created/reconstructed how some stories could be told. Arguably, without Buffy there would be no Lost, Battlestar Galactica, Heroes, and Alias. The reader also went as far as saying Buffy's style also impacts multi-genre shows like Grey's Anatomy, Veronica Mars, and The O.C.

I'd have to agree with the argument (as Matt did; saying only The Sopranos has had as much an influence on the last decade of TV as Buffy).

Any thoughts?

BTW: the link to the article is below. The question posed above is at the end.
http://www.tvguide.com/News-Views/Columnists/Ask-Matt/Default.aspx#01heroes

Premieres and Notables March 19-25, 2007

Monday, 3/19

Dancing With the Stars; ABC. 7 pm CST. Season Premiere.
I saw Billy Ray Cyrus in a publicity photo for the show. You'd think after the "Achy Breaky Mullet", he wouldn't take styling risks.


Tuesday 3/20

The Whitest Kids U'Know; Fuse. 10 pm CST. Series Premiere.
TV Guide said this show has the same type of comedy as Kids in the Hall-- but edgier. The mag also says it premieres Tuesday, but I checked my DVR scheduler, and there are episodes airing Sunday and Monday nights.

Tori & Dean: Inn Love; Oxygen. 9:30 CST. Series Premiere.
Newlyweds Tori Spelling and Dean McDermott open a bed and breakfast. And they brought the cameras along. For real...


Thursday, 3/22

Penn & Teller: Bull!; Showtime. 9 pm CST. Season Premiere.
I love this show. I wish I had Showtime again, so I wouldn't miss it. In the fifth season premiere, the guys tackle the country's obesity problem and go after "peddlers of diet misinformation".

This American Life; Showtime. 9:30 CST. Series Premiere.
Ira Glass brings his NPR program to the video screen.


Friday, 3/23

Six Degrees; ABC. 8:01 CST. Return
Critics usually find one or three shows every TV season to beat up on (they usually have good reason to). This was one of those shows for the current TV season. ABC either believes in this show, or it wanted to stick its tongue out at the people who snickered when the show was promised to return after it got pulled last Fall. Or maybe it just wants to keep creator J.J. Abrams happy.

Acceptable TV; VH1. 9 pm CST. Series Premiere.
Although I have banned the craptastic VH1 and MTV shows from this blog, I thought this would be of interest. Viewers can submit homemade shorts to this show, which will be aired along side professionally made sketches. I predict a lot of crap, but maybe some diamonds in the rough will pop up from time to time.


Sunday, 3/25

Planet Earth; Discovery. 7 pm. Series Premiere.
This 11-part series "examines Earth's habitats and wildlife by touring more than 200 locations around the globe".

Gene Simmons Family Jewels; A&E. 8 pm Season premiere.
The season begins as that wacky Gene searches for his missing costume and not-wife Shannon takes a pregnancy test.

Finale-a-palooza: Rome and Slings and Arrows go to that TV network in the sky with their series finales, Battlestar Galactica (whose finale is supposed to rock-- I've heard how big it is for months now) and The L Word just have season finales, and Grease: You're the One That I Want and Surreal Life Fame Games will, hopefully, never pollute the airwaves again.

Racing Reality

Here's a link to TV Guide dot com's news about ABC's new celeb reality racing show Fast Cars and Superstars.

Brian: you definitely need to check it out. You'll like at least one of the celebs.

Me? I'm pumped to see Shatner mashing the pedal to the floor. The WWE's John Cena should be entertaining as well (the dude is funny).


http://community.tvguide.com/thread.jspa?threadID=800010733

for more info, here's another link:

http://www.tvguide.com/News-Views/Interviews-Features/Article/default.aspx?posting={B8AF9929-B069-431E-B78A-CADF5BC0298C}

More Van Halen HoF Induction Thoughts

After a lively communication via e-mail today with my music guru, Brian, I thought I should follow-up on with some comments about the post I made last night after the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.

Brian told me that the bit at the end of Velvet Revolver's rendition of "Ain't Talkin' About Love" was supposed to be "Runaround". I've been a hardcore VH fan for 20 years, and I must have heard that song hundreds of times. The fact that I couldn't recognize the song when VR performed it means it was a complete botch-job. I'm sure VR is a good band. I've heard good things about them, and they do have some talent just on reputation. But if they couldn't do a recognizable rendition with a few weeks preparation, then they shouldn't have made the attempt.

Brian also gave me the idea to make sure Paul Schaffer got props for the obviously last-minute addition of "Why Can't This Be Love?" that Sammy and Mike performed with Schaffer and his CBS band. The word I got was that Sam & Mike were not going to be able to perform because the rets of the band wasn't going to attend. Schaffer, presumably, pulled some strings and allowed the two to bask in the moment and take the stage just as the others inductees got to. That's a classy move right there, and I gained much respect for Letterman's "sidekick" from that.

Also, I know I've been pretty snarky about Eddie's timing on his latest rehab stint in previous posts, but I do want to make clear that he IS in rehab, and from what Sam & Mike alluded to last night, he needed it. I do wish the guy luck and success. When he returns, hopefully clean and sober, there will still be problems, but maybe they can be worked on and the fans can get what they've been craving for over 20 years: a reunion and tour with Roth. Talent like Eddie's should not go to waste. I feel like his latest work was his best (the Van Halen 3 work; not the Hagar reunion work). He should not be relegated to soft-core porn soundtracks like he did last year. Hell, I didn't even buy the porno, and I bought the awful Wild Life movie Eddie did the soundtrack to in the '80s.

A Class Act

I'm a huge Van Halen fan. Have been for 20 years (I "discovered" them in 1987, and yes, that puts me in the Sammy camp). Admittedly when Sammy left/got booted from the band, some of the magic was lost. I was excited Gary Cherone got the gig after Sammy, but that fell flat (no fault of Gary's). Then the breakups and makeups. The "almost reunions" and then nothing from the Van Halen Bros for so long. Mike getting the boot for daring to go on tour with Hagar (like he was just supposed to sit around for almost a decade). And then the past two months...

But to say I was excited the band finally got into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is a little of an understatement (even though I think the whole thing is a farce at times).

Of course, drama seems to plague the band. First Roth and Sammy joked that "who knows what'll happen" at the induction, hinting that there could be some good backstage antics/fights. Then Van Halen announced a tour with Roth, but without Mike. Then Ed and Alex weren't going to go to the induction. Then Dave hemmed and hawed (yeah, like Roth would ever shy from the spotlight). Then Ed announced he was going into rehab. Then Dave said if he couldn't sing with Velvet Revolver (the band that was tapped to play VH songs at the induction), he wasn't going. The only thing anyone knew for sure was that Sammy and Mike were going to be there.

Frankly, I was tired of it all. It's a big honor, and some of the children weren't going. It's embarrassing that Van Halen has become a punchline as opposed to just being the best band in the world/universe. I was pretty soured by it (and the past ten years of B.S.).

But as I FF'ed through the 4+ hrs of the live induction ceremony, I stopped at the part I was interested in: the Van Halen induction. The opening "package" reminded me that this band was it in their heyday. When these guys got together, magic happened.

After the package, the members of Velvet Revolver introduced the band as inductees into the Hall. Why this band was chosen, I can't guess. It was like watching five clowns behind the podium. Thank God they weren't drunk (or didn't act like it).

As expected, only Sammy and Mike were there to accept the honor (I can't believe Roth didn't show, but maybe he was discouraged from attending by the Brothers Van Halen). Mike started out by thanking the people and the band members who helped make the band what it was. You saw real emotion there. This guy got what it was all about-- a celebration of the accomplishments a band he was in had. He wished Eddie luck (maybe there really is something to the whole rehab thing-- I admit I thought it was an excuse to not attend). He also gave a shout out to Gary Cherone, which was a classy move. He said Gary was a part of the band, so he deserved some recognition. Poor Gary has been erased from existence (think you'll ever see a Cherone song on a future VH "Best Of"? Don't hold your breath), and that's tragic.

After Mike spoke, Sammy said some words. He, too, wished Eddie luck. He also expressed how honored he was that he was included. One of the B.S. parts of The RnR Hall of Fame is they can induct certain lineups and exclude others (for example: Gary didn't get an award). And not including Hagar could have happened-- especially since Van Halen pulled Roth back into the fold for a tour as the inductees were announced. Hagar knew the worth of the honor as well.

Which is what's so disappointing that Dave, Alex, and Ed didn't show. You get inducted once. Maybe Ed & Alex can be inducted with the Gary lineup, but I'm not thinking that'll happen. And while I like some of Dave's solo stuff, I don't think that'll be his second-chance ticket into the Hall. Childish antics robbed them of a chance to be honored by their peers.

Back to the show: after Sammy and Mike left the stage, Velvet Revolver sang "Ain't Talkin' Bout Love". I'll give the band the benefit of the doubt and say the mix sucked. If you're a fan of cymbals, then the performance was for you. If you like vocals, then you were out of luck because the mic was turned way down. And Weiland's movements were unnerving and distracting. Are we sure he's not on the nose-candy again?

After VR left the stage, Paul Schaffer's band (with Mike on bass) backed up Sammy in a rendition of "Why Can't This Be Love?". Again, the mix sucked. And I know Schaffer's band isn't hard rock (although Paul does have a healthy appreciation for bands such as Van Halen), but horns during the song? Didn't work. But at least Sam and Mike got to do their thing on stage. That could have been a last-minute addition as VR was supposed to play Hagar-era song "Runaround". And Dave's comments that he wasn't going to attend because he couldn't sing also lead me to believe that last-second changes were made.

And at the end of the show, we got to see the jam song, where the inductees and presenters (except Velvet Revolver) all come together. Sammy got some good solo time-- and I could actually hear him.

After they were inducted, we got to see a little bit of Mike and Sammy in the press area. They looked to be on top of the world posing for the cameras. And while I couldn't hear some of the questions, it looked as if Mike was explaining why he was booted from the band. His answer: an incredulous "I don't know". Sammy also answered a reunion question by saying Roth needs to go out on tour with the band. When that one's done, everyone needs to grow up-- himself included-- and go out together; he and Dave and the others.

It'll never happen, but it was a nice thing to say, and a nice dream to give a guy after 20 years.

300 reasons to see 300

I don't get pumped up for movies. I've found that if I keep my expectations low, I'm much more satisfied (how do you think I got through Star Wars Episode 1?).

But ever since I saw the 300 trailer, when Leonidas screams, "We are Sparta!" and kicks the Persian messenger into the well, I knew I needed to see this movie.

I watched it last night, and I have to say I was not disappointed in the least.

Here are 300 reasons to see this movie (no real spoilers here):

1. Gerard Butler kicks all sorts of ass.
2. The Spartans have funny phrases and act like any action heroes do-- but I actually believed it when they laughed at death instead of thinking it was the usual heroic posturing.
3. Visually stupendous (there were no sets; just actors and a green screen).
4. If your favorite color is red, you'll see lots of it.
5. For the ladies: the Spartans wore loincloths and capes in battle.
6. For the guys: the ladies didn't wear much more.
7. A movie based on a graphic novel without the requisite cartoony stuff-- and the movie wasn't as full of itself as, say, Sin City was.
8. "Then we'll fight in the shade."
9. Leonidas eating an apple while his men are making sure the piles of bodies contain dead opponents.
10. The wall the Spartans build before "The Immortals" arrive.
11. Leonidas would make Arnie, Stallone, and Eastwood piss their pants.
12. Xerxes' travelling throne.
13. The men laughing while being bombarded by arrows.
14. Learn about anatomy as various body parts are split from the torso.
15-299. It just plain kicks ass.
300. "We are Sparta!"

Seriously, I wish I could write more, but I don't have time. Maybe after my friend, Tom, sees it this week, he'll fire my memory up a little more, but I just wanted to put it out there that this is a must see movie.

Note: If you haven't heard, it's pretty violent, so if that kinda thing makes you queasy, you may want to pass.

Did you listen?

I just finished watching Frisky Dingo episode 2 ("Meet Awesome X"), and I was reminded how freakin' hilarious that show is. Hopefully you took my advice last week and watched it.

I can't describe it; ya just need to watch. Definitely catch this episode, though.

"You paid five million dollars for a blow job?"

See if YouTube has it...

Premieres and Notables March 12-18, 2007

Quite a bit of stuff to get to. Here goes:

Monday, 3/12

The Prisoner airs on BBC America every weekday for the next 17 days at 3 pm CST. I happy I can finally catch this classic mystery-drama from the beginning.

Style Her Famous; Style. 9 pm CST. Season Premiere.

And while I heard the movie isn't that great, A&E is airing Kings of South Beach at 8 pm. It's notable because two stars of the much-missed Boomtown (Donnie Wahlberg and Jason Gedrick) star in it.

The Riches; FX. 9 pm CST. Series Premiere.
Eddie Izzard and Minnie Driver star in this show about a family of con-artists who move into the house of a dead couple and take on their identities. Sure, Dirt let us down, but since this is an FX show, it's recommended.

And even though some members of Van Halen are being dicks (*cough* Eddie *cough*) and won't show, Sammy and Mike will still be there, watching Velvet Revolver perform some of their hits on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony airing on VH1 Classic at 7:30 pm CST. Watch it here as it's live. Who knows what will be cut out when the official broadcast airs later in the week?

[Official note: The offical word is Eddie Van Halen is going/has checked himself into rehab, so he can't attend the ceremony. My best wishes to him. Although, it's awfully suspect timing, don't you say?]


Tuesday, 3/13

Bullrun; Spike. 9 pm. Series Premiere.
Described as The Amazing Race meets Cannonball Run, so it's sounds interesting. But it airs on Spike and is hosted by Bill Goldberg, so it'll probably crash and burn.

American Heiress; MyNetwork TV. 7-9 pm CST. Series Premiere.
I smell something. Oh yeah: crap.

The real American Idol begins tonight as they've actually finally gotten to the Final 12 after 2 months.

Wednesday, 3/14

Saint and Sinners; MyNetworkTV. 7-9 pm CST. Series Premiere.
More crap.

Jon Stewart is the guest on this week's Sit Down Comedy with David Steinberg (TV Land, 9 pm).

Halfway Home; Comedy Central. 9:30 pm CST. Series Premiere.
Another improvised comedy show. This one is based in a halfway house for paroles.


Thursday, 3/15

As I noted in a previous post, The Office (NBC, 7 & 7:30) is airing repeats, but ones that have been reworked to include new footage.

Andy Barker, P.I.; NBC. 8:30 CST. Series Premiere.
I've liked Andy Richter's shows in the past, but I've been reading that this newest show isn't as good as 30 Rock, and that's saying something because Rock's pretty uneven.

Raines; NBC. 9:01 pm CST. Series Premiere.
Jeff Goldblum stars as a homicide detective who imagines the victims in his investigations are speaking to him, trying to help him solve the murders.

October Road; ABC. 9 pm. Series Premiere.
A young author returns to his hometown after ten years.

The Showbiz Show with David Spade; Comedy Central. 9:30 CST. Season Premiere.
Spade normally grows old fast, but this show is a hilarious enough send-up of the ridiculous entertainment shows (Entertainment Weekly, Access Hollywood, The Inside) that by the time the half-hour is up, I kinda miss him. Highly recommended.

Addiction; HBO. 8 pm. Series Premiere.
The beginning of a 14-part documentary series (made up of different specials) looking at substance dependency and addictive behaviors.


Friday, 3/16

Identity; NBC. 8 pm. Return.
The Penn Jillette-hosted game show returns for a seven week run.


Saturday, 3/17

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Ceremony; Vh1. 8 pm. Special
The "official" broadcast of Monday's ceremony. Should have the extraneous things clipped out, but not the "live" moments (you know someone's gonna drop the F-Bomb).

Hellboy: Blood and Iron; Cartoon Network. 6 pm. Special
The second animated sequel to the motion picture airs before you can buy it on DVD.


Sunday, 3/18

Galapagos; National Geographic. 7-10 pm CST. Special.
A look at the ecosystem that helped Darwin form his theories on evolution.

Christopher Titus: The 5th Annual End of the World Tour; Comedy Central. 9 pm. Special.
Get your fix of Titus that has been missing since his sitcom was canned.

And the top-notch supermarket hostage episode of Desperate Housewives repeats tonight (ABC, 8 pm). If you gave up on the show after last season (I don't blame you), check this one out and see what you've been missing. Laurie Metcalf better get an Emmy nom from this.

OFFICE new-peats

In an effort to freshen up the repeat doldrums of March, producers of The Office have re-edited two previously aired episodes ("Traveling Salesman" and "The Return") and added previously unseen footage for the March 15 airings.

So, while you've seen the episodes before, you haven't seen them quite like this.

My DVR is considering the episodes repeats, so if you use one yourself, you may want to double-check that the episodes will record.

Also, Paul Leiberstein ("Toby") will host a five-episode "Human Resource Nightmare" marathon on March 29 (the episodes will air around Andy Barker, P.I.).

Music to Melt Your Face

I've recently had to relocate to a new building/city for my job. One of the perks of the new place is a workout room. So I've decided to take advantage of it.

I flipped through some of the mix CDs and tapes the room had. "Joe's Workout '98", " '80s Dance", and "Rob's Party Mix" just weren't gonna do it for me. I needed some way to let people know I am a hardcore badass-- even though my abdomen screams: "Eight months pregnant".

I needed to make my own mix CD.

But I had rules: nothing expected (sorry Metallica) or too profane (Disturbed's "Sickness"), or something too "poppy" (311's "Down"). And I needed to spread the love a little; no more than one song per CD; no duplicate artists (except Van Halen; but I had different singers for that one and Anthrax because I had enough room for two). No, I needed heavy songs that will make people stand up and notice (and have a few favorites thrown in as well); songs that would up the blood pressure before I even got on a machine. I think I made the perfect CD for my needs: 79:50 minutes of attitude.

Let me know what you think:

1. "Gravity", Nuno; Schizophonic
2. "Only", Anthrax; Sound of White Noise
3. "Serious Juju" (radio edit), Sammy Hagar; "Serious Juju" Single
4. "Symphony of Destruction", Megadeth; Countdown to Extinction
5. "Cult of Personality", Living Color; Vivid
6. "Bawitdaba", Kid Rock; Devil Without a Cause
7. "Wild Thing", Sam Kinison; Have You Seen Me Lately
8. "Unchained", Van Halen; Best of Both Worlds
9. "Come Out and Play", Offspring; Smash
10. "Different Breed", Dead On; Shocker Soundtrack
11. "Bring the Noise", Anthrax (with Public Enemy); Attack of the Killer A's
12. "Break Down the Wall" (Chris Jericho); WWF The Music Vol 4
13. "Thunder Kiss '65" (LP version), White Zombie; Nightcrawlers: the KMFDM Remixes
14. "Spacelord", Monster Magnet; Powertrip
15. "Humans Being", Van Halen; Best of Volume 1
16. "Rusty Cage", Soundgarden; Badmotorfinger
17. "Shame", Stabbing Westward; Wither Blister Burn + Peel
18. "Unholy", KISS; Revenge
19. "Mouth of War", Pantera; Vulgar Display of Power

Rock is back

I just read this on THE ONION's website. Classic...

http://www.theonion.com/content/news/unreleased_jimmy_page_guitar_riff

KNIGHTS Tabled

ABC has benched Knights of Prosperity effective immediately. There are four unaired epiosdes in the can and nine scripts that are still on order, so it's possible it may return. But its (painfully low) 4.2 million member audience was too small to continue right now. The ABC classics (*snicker*) According to Jim and George Lopez will fill the timeslot for the time being.

This development is a disappointment. Knights is an odd duck, but I think it had a lot of heart. I found it along the lines of My Name is Earl with the ability to continue to tell stories based around a very limited premise.

ROCKETMAN Repeats

The six-hour Rocketman mini-series/season repeats on BBC America on Wed and Thurs from 2-5 am CST.

I watched the first hour, and was very moved by the emotional impact it had on me. I didn't get the chance to watch the last 5 episodes, but I hope to get to them soon.

The show follows the efforts of a widower who is trying to launch a rocket that will take his wife's ashes out into space. The first episode was very moving, and I'll admit, it brought tears to my eyes on a few occassions. While the man tries to fulfill his promise to his dead wife to get her into space, he has all but abandoned his two children. Their attempts to get him to remember they were still alive were heartbreaking.

Anyway, take some time and check it out. It's only six hours (five or less when you take out the commercials).

STAR WAAAAARS! Nothing but STAAAR WAAAARS! Pt 1: Legacy of the Force

I've had trouble in the past trying to follow the Star Wars Universe. The sheer volume of books, comics, games, and everything else makes it virtually impossible to keep track of everything. I certainly gave up when 2-3 books every month were published back in the late '90s. I just couldn't afford it. And the comics I kept buying kept piling up, and I used the backlog I had as an excuse to stop buying (always with the intention of buying the trade paperback that collected the stories).

But over the past two months, I dove into the expanded (non-movie) universe in a big way. Let's start with some books:

It started last Spring, when I read some great books that were accessible to someone who'd been away for years like I had. And then, last Fall, I read the first of the Legacy of the Force books: Betrayal. I wrote about it here:

http://teameck.blogspot.com/2006/08/disturbance-in-force.html


I didn't give away the big spoiler in my original post, but it's been six months, and in order to explain the next two books, I need to reveal the big betrayal.

Spoilers follow...






At the end of Betrayal, Jacen Solo ran into former Darth Vader apprentice Lumiya with his cousin Jedi apprentice Ben Skywalker (who eventually was knocked unconscious) and fellow Jedi Nelani Dinn and decided he needed to turn her in to the authorities. Lumiya told him to search the future to see what would happen if she was arrested, and Jacen used the Force to create visions of him arresting Lumiya, and, in each one, he eventually killed his uncle Luke. He decided he could not arrest her. When Nelani decided to arrest Lumiya herself, Jacen overpowered her. When she admitted defeat, Jacen hesitated and then killed her. He later wiped Ben's memories of events that had happened prior to his injury and decided to follow Lumiya's teachings of the Sith order to get a better grip on events that are beginning to happen in the galaxy.

Pretty ballsy stuff for someone who has become a major character in the Expanded Universe.

The next two books on the Legacy of the Force series are Bloodties by Karen Traviss and Tempest by Troy Denning. Due to them somehow becoming available at the same time from my library, I read them back-to-back over a three week span, so they've kinda become merged together in my memory.

The two books show Jacen's further descent into the Dark Side of the Force (all while trying to do it for a larger good, just as his grandfather Anakin attempted). His power is growing by leaps and bounds, and while he still believes Luke is the strongest in the Force, It's becoming pretty obvious that Jacen will soon surpass him due to some Dark Side tricks he's learning. Once he completely gives himself over to the Dark Side (he's still trying to ride a fine line between Light & Dark), he just may be unstoppable.

Meanwhile, his parents (Han & Leia) and sister (Jaina) think he's gone insane (and secretly fear he's gone over to the Dark Side). His uncle Luke is too afraid to think of the worst-case scenario. His aunt Mara wants to believe that Jacen's still good, if only because he's training her son, Ben. Ben knows something is "off" with Jacen, but he still trusts him-- and Jacen's never steered Ben wrong. So while we've got a galaxy-wide problem with Corellia trying to defect from the Alliance, and Jacen's commando unit trying to keep them from doing so, there is also a strong familial element to the storyline.

I'm pretty wrapped up into the storyline, and I can't wait to see how it all sorts out (figuratively; literally, I've got a year or so before all the books eventually get released). It's not a real big secret, so I'll mention it here (it's announced in an ad in Bloodlines, anyway). Jacen will take on a Darth name in a book coming out this year.

As a side note, there was a fan contest at http://www.starwars.com/darthwho to come up with the best Darth names for Jacen, and either the fans didn't get it-- or they're much more subtle than Mr. Lucas. You see, the fans came up with names like Darth Acheron, Caedus, Judicar, Paxis, Taral (these were the five finalists), which all have some meaning to them that aren't obvious words in the English language. I find it really funny that Lucas created such overtly dastardly names for his Sith Lords: Tyrannus, Bane, Maul, Sidious, Plagueous. "Vader" is really the only name that doesn't sound like something destructive from first hearing it. I think it's pretty funny that the fans are not smacking the galaxy over the head with a name like "Darth Annihilate" or "Darth Decimate", or (my favorite) "Darth Bad Guy", but maybe that's just me.

Anyway, we'll learn what Jacen's new Darth name is in the fifth book: Sacrifice, due out in May.

Back to the books...

Bloodties did have an initial drawback: a side-story on my least favorite character, Boba Fett. But there was an upside: Fett's clone body is rapidly deteriorating, and he'll die within a year. But I will admit, I found the overhyped bounty hunter a good fit to the story.

The series seems to be pulling out all the stops now that George Lucas is not going to be playing in the post-original trilogy sandbox anymore. A couple of minor characters die, and some others surprisingly turn up when not expected. They really are making some plot moves that will change the galaxy far, far away forever.

Check it out.

SIX DEGREES producers sold souls

Okay, ABC promised the show wasn't cancelled, but no one believed it. Six Degrees was considered dead as a doornail last fall when ratings dropped below "see level" (Holy sh--, that was a bad pun...) and was dropped from the schedule.

But ABC announced last week that it'll come back on Friday, March 23.

You gotta wonder if ABC brought it back just to say "I told you so." It's like a game of chicken where they made the critics blink.