Flight of the Conchords

Caught this New Zealand comedy duo on tele on Friday, and found them quite funny (this song is particularly hilarious). According to the old wikipedia, Flight of the Concords have had an award winning BBC radio series and currently have their own HBO series (now available on DVD).

Our youth has destroyed us

The buzz the past couple of days has been about the "Sesame Street: Old School Volumes 1 and 2" self-imposed warning that states "These early ‘Sesame Street’ episodes are intended for grown-ups, and may not suit the needs of today’s preschool child."

I can attest that no, the episodes aren't exactly relevant to today's kids, lacking a lot of today's sensibilities about child safety and attitudes we would like our kids to have. Cookie Monster has an eating disorder, strange men approach Ernie in the park offering him things under his overcoat, kids are shown playing around trash heaps, Oscar's disposition isn't something we want kids to emulate... etc. But at the same time, it's entertaining, not just to adults who grew up on the show, but to small children. I seriously think we're not giving today's youth enough credit to watch, and interpret storyies, sketches, and songs, and we're also giving them too much credit that they may read things into the show that clearly are beyond a child's understanding. Did we have any issues with watching Sesame Street? Nope, it was bright and colorful educational entertainment. We didn't think that Ernie and Bert were a couple when we were little, there was nothing about Mr. Snuffleupagus that made us think he was a drug induced hallucination, and we certainly didn't think Gordon was the resident drug dealer (seriously, dude never had a job, but always had nice clothes and was hanging out on the streets all day). These are thing that we, as adults project on the show, but as kids, it's all just fun and sillyness.

Quite frankly, the wee one loves watching these old Sesame Street shows, and we love watching them with him... and that's the problem with today's parents... it's cliche, but seriously too many parents think of TV as a babysitter. I know when my step son is watching TV or a DVD, he's got questions, wondering about what's happening, why it's happening, why something is funny or why people are sad, etc. That's why you watch with them, so you can answer questions instead of leaving them alone to passively take it all in without really understanding everything they see. Even if it's something he's watched a dozen times, sometimes he still has questions...

If we know he's seen someting a few times, we're a little more liberal about leaving him to watch something on his own, but still, we check in on him or he'll come seek us out if he still has questions.

The New York Times probes the overreactions to how damaging our youth was to us...

A healthy BM

Isn't Dr. Ho's Ab Trimmer (which is actually a GI detoxifier, it would seem) the most curiously watchable infomercial on TV right now?

Meanwhile

I'm certain there's a gangsta porno called "Dr. Ho" out there somewhere, and if there isn't, there should be.

Hot fuzz in the summ...springtime?

Gads, this see-saw weather as a result of (gasp) Global Warming (the unseen boogeyman of the latest generation, GW is the thing petrifying the kids these days like Nuclear Holocausts scared the shit out of us when we were young) left us with an unholy trinity of warm days this weekend. It was absotastically gorgeous weather, nice to bike up to North York (from downtown) in, nice to spend the day outside in, nice to bike downtown (from North York) in, nice to do yardwork or toss a small foam football around in. It was just bleeding nice. Frankly, Sunday was actually a little too nice... a little too warm (+25°C), however there was a sweet cooling breeze when mobile on the 'cyclette that meant I didn't overheat too badly.

With all the warm weather, I'm glad to say I did enjoy the outdoors, but I did spend, perhaps, a little too much time indoors. With the hockey on on Saturday (more hockey talk below), I spent the evening (post 8:00) inside watching Buffalo trounce the Isles before getting fed up and watching Ator on Space (actually, it was Ator 3: The Hobgoblin, aka Quest for the Mighty Sword), a delicious piece of horrendous filmmaking starring Eric Allen Kramer, who also played Thor in the Incredible Hulk Returns. The pain of the Islanders losing and the pain of Ator should be sufficient punishment, but I also subjected myself to Psycho 2 during the commercial breaks, which seemed like a Murder She Wrote-quality production. After the two horrendous films ended, two more mediocre sequalled cinematic endeavors took their place in the form of Poltergeist 3 and Highlander: Endgame (#4 in a series). I could only stick with these for about half an hour before utter fatigue overcame me, but I have to say I love the schlocky Saturday Night givings on AMC and Space. Keep it up.

Sunday was partially wasted as Aden and I, after seeing the wee one off, returned to bed around 10am, not to emerge again, drowsy and sun-blinded, until 1:30 in the afternoon. Ooops. In eating breakfast in front of the TV, I got distracted by the awful Tampa/New Jersey game (damn you Devils), which I watched simultaneously with Fletch on AMC. I read the bulk of Gregory Mcdonald's Fletch novels a few years ago, and enjoyed them thoroughly. While the film captures the first book pretty closely, they let Chevy Chase loose a little too much, and his "bumbling" antics were an odd character facet to someone who was otherwise smooth, clever and charming. Chase, no doubt, the wrong choice for the role, but serves it fairly well. I abandoned the less acceptable Fletch Lives for greener pastures, meaning yard work and a bike ride. The day kind of whipped on by, capped off by the Detroit @ Calgary game (didn't manage to stay up past the first OT though).

Today, nice, but cooling down a little and spots of rain here and there, though not quite the downpour that was projected.

cocky talk

Hockey assessments and updates and general blikety-blah below.

How I projected vs how it's shaped up:

East
1) v.
2) v.

I had projected Buffalo/Tampa, Ottawa/NYR match ups, but Tampa collapsed under the pressure. Why they collapsed: Lecavalier and St. Louis were overplayed, playing more than 3 minutes per game than they were used to... this takes ice time and the sense of importance away from other players, and as seen in game five, they just didn't show up, and both of the major players were out of juice in yesterday's game. Bad move, coach.

Others have said that Buffalo is going to have a fairly easy time against the Rangers, but as I said last time, they're on a mission. Shannehan, Jagr, and Nylander are going to pop some goals, but Miller is a marginally better goaltender than Lundqvist, so it'll be an interesting series. I suspect it goes to 7, Rangers on top.

Ottawa and New Jersey is going to be an equally complicated match-up. The Devils have found their steam, but Tampa proved that Brodeur isn't impenetrable. New Jersey in six, but it could be surprising. I'd actually like to see a Buffalo/Ottawa match-up. Two tight finesse teams would be some amazing hockey.

West

1) v. or

I projected a Detroit/San Jose match-up, but wow, the Stars are in alignment, scrambling back from a 3-1 deficit, looking to shut down Vancouver tonight.

2) v. (or )

Right now, the Vancouver/Dallas series is 3-3, and the goals for each team are 11 - 9 in favor of Dallas, which is bad news for the 'couv. Turco has shut them out of the past two games (3 goals to none), and it could be that Luongo, as sharp as he is, is collapsing under the weight of holding the team aloft. The team just can't get anything happening. I can really go either way tonight.

If it's Detroit v. Dallas, it's going to be a tight race (after watching how difficult a time Detroit's had with Kiprusoff, when he decided to play, if Turco's found his groove, they're going to be in trouble). If it's Detroit v. San Jose, well, the Sharks are pretty broken after the Nashville competition so it should be an easy in-5 for the Red Wings (or if it's Sharks and Ducks, Anaheim will win it in 6).

We've got spaghetti

Oh, what joyous wonders one finds on a Saturday evening post hockey game (Islanders beat Buffalo 3-2, wooo... DiPietro = lifesaver). I've watched a spaghetti western or two, and I've seen at least one highly enjoyable spaghetti sci-fi (that would be the Mission: Stardust... my review from 1999 via web.archive.org, oh to be so young), but for the first time I watch a spaghetti fantasy, more specifically (and typically) spaghetti barbarian fantasy. Other Canadian may have see it too, on Space, lured in by the trifecta of violence, nudity and mature subject matter as noted after every commercial break. I mean who wouldn't watch with such enticing disclaimers.

I won't go into depths about the movie dubbed "The Sword of the Barbarians", except to say that a) the sword in question didn't seem to have much importance, b) the sword also seemed pretty shitty (many a chip in its blade, no heft to it, generally blah looking) and c) it was very very very homoerotic. Oh, and also excessively nonsensical, but deliriously amusing because of it. There are some films that are Mystery Science Theatre 3000 worthy, and then there are films that are ready for the MST3K home game. This film, called Sangraal, la spada di fuoco in Italy (Sangraal, also another term for the Holy Grail, I am told), featured naked breasts, the largest (and most impractical) crossbow you'll ever see, a stereotypical "oriental" sidekick (who says things like "Ancient proverb say..."), and two men in loincloths engaged in a battle to the death on a sandy beach which may in fact be a shot-for-shot recreation of "From Here To Eternity".

If you want to know how awesome the film is, IMDB contributor Nico18 (Terni, Italy) had this to say about it:

An EXTRA Movie!!!, 10/10

I've seen yesterday on a local Tv this movie and i can say that it is superb. It's better not only than Ator flicks,but also than Conan curse. Sangraal has got a lot of violence,action,fights;it hasn't got the absurdities of "Blade Master"(The ultra-bow has more sense than the hang-glider) and has got a lot of superb BREASTS SHOTS! I can say that Tarantini has made the better finish for this type of flicks. With the exclusion of Red Sonja, the entire group of sword an sorcery movies say on the finish the hero leave the heroine alone,refusing their love with the stupidest phrases that you can hear in your life ; well,in these situation the hero in question saves the girl(who seems like Caroline Munro) from collapse of the cave ,bringing her to safety. Sangraal DOES NOT cover girl's breasts and begins to kiss with her! And finally the hero shares his new horse with her(probably to go to make love otherwhere,so the heroine remains with nude breasts)!! I'm serious but this finish is the best that i have never seen for this genre of movies!!Brilliant,brilliant,brilliant! There aren't the massacres that we can see on other flicks,and this can make the happiness of those who love action movies with many survivors. I'm sad only for the death of Hal Yamanouchi... But i give to SANGRAAL 10 stars out of 10!! It's indefinitely better also to Deathstalker!

Oh, bless you Nico18 and your awesome mangled English (which, I should point out, would be 100 times better than my mangled Italian, of which I know a few greetings and pleasantries, and, of course, swear words). I love how you provide your own inferences upon the finale of the film, injecting your own ribald fantasies upon this already lurid tale. I am in awe of your enthusiasm for this film, and equally in awe of your obsession with breasts, which no doubt exceeds my own.

And, look there, as both Nico18 and IMDB note other films of the ilk that may be pleasing (although not nearly as pleasing as Sangraal) to viewers. Awesomeness behold!

Images of Sangraal (also also known as the Barbarian Master)

Battlestank Galactisuck

So I finally caught up on the second half of Season 3 of Battlestar Galactica, aka the best show on teevee. All I can think to say is, "ugh", especially that final episode. Ugh. You hear me, Lorne Greene? UGH! A horrendous sitar-infused, riff-laden rendition of "All Along The Watchtower" plays a major role in the "big reveal" and, well, let's just say the Camembert is fucking runny.

It wasn't just that bad Dylan/Hendrix raping that upset me. Believe me, if that was it, I'd still be loving the show. But no, the bulk of season 3 is boooring. Awkward love triangles (or squares), plenty of domestic disputes, and an abandoning of any sense of cylon threat for a half dozen episode. I would like to assign blame to the "trial of Baltar" episodes, but that wasn't really the issue, no matter how boring they were. They were at least in fitting with the idea that the show can jump genres, but for too long the show strayed too far away from any semblance of sci-fi or action or, really, even intrigue. The show dropped it's grand story-arc focus (survival of the human race) for a more personal look at specific characters and the goings-on in their lives, instead of balancing the two which it had done ever so nicely before. Heavy handed episodes about Starbuck or the Chief or some b-list character they decide to kill off really brought the pacing of the show to a slow crawl. Every semblance of momentum they gained from the departure of New Caprica (which was awesome, btw), was whittled down into nothingness. The threat of the Cylons is pretty much nil at this point, and the sense that the survival of humanity and not just a handful of people is what's important is gone.

The final episode wrapped the trial up nicely, actually, and I was pleased with that, but the remaining 15 minutes felt rushed and to be honest, not well planned, paced or executed. The "big reveal", which should have been shocking, was horrendously stilted by the awful "Watchtower" accompaniment and the deathly slow (and awkward) build to the reveal, not to mention a rather middling reaction from the characters. The second reveal was utterly predictable, the crew of the Galactica's lack of foresight (even though Helo's portentous foreshadowing dialogue was a dead giveaway as to what would happen) is wholly out of turn, and for a show that always managed to surprise me with wild twists and taking the path less traveled, there's was very little that excited me when I can surmise the outcome before the characters do. The final reveal wasn't of any great surprise to me either. Virtually anyone who watched the 17th episode could have figured out how the season would end. There are five mainstays to the show: Adama, Apollo, Starbuck, Baltar and the President... not Helo or Sharon or Six or Gaeda or Tigh... they're expendable... the show relies on the core five and without them it has no center. Each one of them has been dead, nearly dead, or threatened with death on no less than three separate occasions, and their survival is a sure sign that they're not going anywhere or they'd be gone already.

So yes, Battlestar, you've officially Jumped the Shark. I don't have the defining JTS moment in my head right now, but I've really stopped caring and that's enough to tell me you're reaching the end, whether you realize it or not. I'll give season 4 a shot in January '08, but unless you can prove to me that you actually have a plan, a goal, an end to the whole arc, then I'm not hanging around for long.

Bequeathed

Yes, Captain America is dead, and Stephen Colbert was a little to quick to judge the fallen hero, because, as it turns out Cap willed him his shield

Quesada... that some sharp, sharp marketing there.

bIronical

Comedian and Shawn of the Dead star/co-writer Simon Pegg examines the differences in American and British humour. Most of the discussion centers on the use of irony (and Pegg ingeniously utilizes the metaphor of tea time to explain it). It also probes into television grounds which I just explored in the previous post, and has some relevance on my selections below, if after the fact.

Old Man Silver Man v. Crazy Opto Man

Ah, youtube... you bring such joy. Like local CITY TV hero Peter Silverman (a consumer advocate who investigates claims of rip-offs) squaring off against a scam artist optometrist ... an encounter that escalated to police involvement (emergency task force) and made its way to CNN.

This is In Your Interest

In other strange media stories, here's what happens when you lose the audio on your news story about Eagles... in St. Louis at least: musical hilarity ensues. It actually aired, but youtube is bringing it to the masses...

(via GAK)

Cats aplenty

Holy craplitter, this one's for the gang: One thousand, seven hundred plus pictures of cats...

(also via GAK)

Meanwhile...

The afro-mentioned GAK is in Japan...he's working, but also leisurely taking in Tokyo with his monocled image capturing device. TBIT should take interest in this one in particular (and he did, I see by the comments).

Back Back Back Backtalk

In other close friend news, Ryan is blogging again after a 3 month hiatus. Recently, he had a second back surgery and a 3-month stay in the hospital to recoup. Coincidence?

Ryan recounts his stay in this post which is both enlightening and really funny. He's a remarkable guy.

15 Great Quotable Television Comedies (for various reasons)

Really good comedy will make you laugh. Great comedy will change how you laugh, how you communicate and sometimes even how you think. Comedy is so relevant to the time in which it takes place, though. I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners were the biggies for one generation, while genrefied comedy like Get Smart, I Dream of Jeannie and Batman were instrumental in shaping others. The seventies saw some of the first culturally defining comedies with Happy Days (spinning off a half-dozen shows), All In The Family (spinning off another half dozen) and workplace comedies like WKRP in Cincinnati and Taxi. But most of these shows have limited lasting value, with their cultural impact diminishing as they age. A few actually remain funny these days, but most are stuck in the era that they were created for.

Below is a list of television comedies, most from the past 20 years, that changed the way we view humour, and gave us an inordinate amount of shorthand to make each other laugh. In factoring this together, I've gaged popularity, prevalence in my own lexicon, influence on subsequent comedies and just how damn good the show is. In some cases one of these factors may override the other, but if you don't like it, make your own list, or let me know what I missed or how I may have incorrectly ranked things.

1) Arrested Development

Okay, it's not nearly as popular nor as penetrating as some of the others on this list, but what it just chalks down to is personal preference. This is brilliant from start to finish, but then, that's how it's intended. Serialized rather than episodic, it's ingenious in how it sets up jokes that pay off episodes later. The acting, the writing, the editing, the stories and characters are all incredible, combining to make the best, and perhaps smartest comedy to hit the airwaves, ever. In a few years time when some of the timelier references become dated, this will no double slip down the list, but it will still stand tall based on its bountiful assets.

Quote:
"are you forgetting that I was a professional twice over - an analyst and a therapist. The world's first analrapist."

2) Monty Python's Flying Circus

40 Years later and it's still ahead of its time. No other comedy, sketch or otherwise, has had the lasting power and the intellect of Monty Python. It's surprising how little of the Python's comedy is rooted in its own time, even though it does satirize, its the eclectic nature of the comedy that has given it longevity. Slapstick, wordplay, buffoonery, melodrama, transvestitism, elitism, pandering and beyond, Python could go anywhere and everywhere and do it like no other.

Quote:
"Interviewer: Good evening. I have with me in the studio tonight one of Britain's leading skin specialists - Raymond Luxury Yacht.
Raymond: That's not my name.
Interviewer: I'm sorry - Raymond Luxury Yach-t.
Raymond: No, no, no - it's spelt Raymond: Luxury Yach-t, but it's pronounced 'Throatwobbler Mangrove'.
Interviewer: You're a very silly man and I'm not going to interview you.

3) Seinfeld

There isn't another show out there that has introduced as many catch phrases, one-liners, and boffo neurotic culture-defining concepts as Seinfeld. The nuances of everyday life were exaggerated by four unsympathetic and yet still likable characters, and an ever-increasing parade of unusual secondary characters were responsible for bringing to light the humour in the mundane in a manner that was aggravating but only because you could relate to it.

Quote:
Jerry: She had man hands.
Elaine: Man hands?
Jerry: The hands of a man. It's like a creature out of Greek Mythology, I mean, she was like part woman, part horrible beast.
Elaine: Would you prefer it if she had no hands at all?
Jerry: Would she have hooks?

4) The Simpsons

I have to admit, I hate this show now. Seriously, I hate it, and have since the 9th season in which they started rehashing old jokes instead of coming up with new ones and losing in every sense that which made it unique and enjoyable in the first place. But for 6 seasons (seasons 3 through 7, and bits of season 2 and 8) it was the biggest, brightest, and funniest thing on television. Right behind Seinfeld for how prevalent its turns of phrases and humour impacted a generation. It's perhaps even more quotable than Seinfeld. Of course it was a modernization of the cartoon sitcom that was originated by the Flintstones, but it easily surpassed any influence and became the influence to a generation of animation in its own right.

Quote:
"Now we play the waiting game... ah waiting game sucks lets play Hungry Hungry Hippos"

5) Saturday Night Live

For all its ups and downs (which are plentiful and often), Saturday Night Live was the first late-night sketch comedy to be successful, launching dozens upon dozens of big-time careers and became the first water-cooler comedy. Not only that but it was really America's first true dose of politcal satire... though hardly done well by other standards, it's influence is undeniable. Though most of its comedy is stuck in the now, there's about two hours of lasting comedy gold that can be extracted from each season (with the 84-85 and 94-95 seasons as horrible exceptions).

Quote:
Latest talk is that David Robinson is over the hill. But in my book, you gotta get to White Castle before the weirdos show up! Tonight at the Alamodome, he gets Happy-Go-Jackie on the big white guy like a donkey eating a waffle! Sweet Sassy Molassey! Get out the checkbook and pay grandma for the rubdown as the Spurs beat the Heat, 86-79! Stuart!

6) Cheers

If you're talking straight "live before a studio-audience" comedy, nothing, and I mean, nothing beats Cheers. Nothing. To this day it's the funniest conventional situation comedy, and it's mammoth success could never be duplicated (well...except by Friends, which was also a funny show, I begrudgingly admit, but it's trendiness disqualifies it from being anywhere on this list). The talent was perfect in every aspect, and the bar became a welcoming home for every wayward soul, including the viewer. There's not a warmer, friendlier or funnier American comedy. It's the bridge between the classic 50's comedies and the more aggressive 90's comedies.

Quote:
Woody: What's up Mr. Petersen?
Norm: My nipples, it's freezing out there.

7) The Daily Show with Jon Stewart

One could say that the Daily Show exists because of Saturday Night Live, and it's true, in part. It also owes a huge debt of gratitude to Michael Moore's brand of satirical interviewing of real people (also see: Da Ali G Show). But the show has grown into something much more important, an outlet for an angry nation to make light of its plight, it's dire situations, and to actually reflect upon the world - politics and media primarily - which just can't seem to find its way. Of course, silly, fraternity-friendly humour abounds, but it's Jon Stewart's influence that make's the show important, dosing the college kids with some bitter truth medicine by sugaring it up with comedy. Though This Hour Has 22 Minutes has been doing it far longer (The Day Today, in the UK, also pulling it off) it was the Daily Show that signaled the arrival of the Rick Mercer Report, and then spun off the right-wing pundit satire of The Colbert Report.

Quote:
"Scientists have known for years that television is good for children: it sharpens their passive staring skills, it shields them from the sun's harmful rays and it gives them something to do while their parents are drinking."

8) Father Ted

The first of Graham Linehan's "cast of three" comedies, Father Ted is a delightful, hilarious and loving farce about Catholic priests living in a parochial house on a remote Irish island. Father Ted is the straight man, but his temptations with women and gambling always seem to get the better of him. Father Dougal is, well, low in brain power, and seems to be in the church if only so that he doesn't hurt himself. Father Jack sleeps quietly in the corner, waking only to drink, curse or to beat up on someone. This short description doesn't do it justice in the slightest. Black Books and The IT Crowd followed from Linehan and actually exceed Ted in hilarity, but I have a soft spot for this, because it was the first.

Quote:
Mrs Doyle: Now come on Father, what would you say to a nice cup of tea?
Father Jack: FECK OFF CUP

9) Late Night with David Letterman

Bringing apathy, ridicule, smarmyness, malaise and goofyness to, at first, the college kids, and then the world. Letterman's goofy, gap-toothed smile and attraction to the ridiculous took late-night talk shows to a whole different level. Making celebrities out of strange folk was his calling card, one he carried over brilliantly when he transition to the Late Show on CBS, stepping his game up a couple notches, and being some of the best daily comedy for nearly two or three years. He paved the way for Conan O'Brien to delve even further into absurdity and juvenile humour for adults, but for a good long while Letterman was a king.

Quote:
Can a guy in a bear suit get a hug from a stranger?

10) Space Ghost: Coast To Coast

The first 15-minute comedy, the first 15-minute talk show, and the first talk show to be hosted by a cartoon character. Space Ghost was also the first repurposed cartoon to hit the airwaves, the cartoon that eventually launched the Adult Swim line-up which eventually would shut down Boston with an advertising campaign. But that's neither here nor there, owing in spirit to Letterman, but branching out far, far beyond in absurdity as it progressed through the years, it's roster of B- and C-level celebrity interviews took backstage to bizarre and unique storytelling. Other Adult Swim shows are funnier or more bizarre, true, but SG: C2C is the true original. You wouldn't have Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Harvey Birdman: Attorney At Law, Sealab 2021, Wonder Showzen, TV Funhouse or any of the other great, surreal, faux-kiddie shows that have been pushing the boundaries of comedy for the past decade without it.

Quote:
Space Ghost: Tell me, Chuck, ever thought of starring in a sequel to The Ten Commandments?
Zorak: No.
Charlton Heston: Uh, I don't think so.
Space Ghost: Not a sequel man, eh?
Zorak: No.
Charlton Heston: What other commandments are we going to write?
Zorak: Thou that smelled it thine own self dealt it.
Space Ghost: [laughs] Thou that smelled it thine own self dealt it.
Zorak: [fake laugh] Jerk.
Charlton Heston: Yeah, well...
Moltar: Thou shalt not... hesitate.
Charlton Heston: I'm kind of committed to the first ten.
Zorak: Thou shalt not be committed to old commandments!
Space Ghost: Zorak, one more commandment out of you, and thou shalt be blasted!
Moltar: Thou shalt not mess with Zorak, or thou shalt have to mess with me!
Space Ghost: All right, everybody, just calm down!
Moltar: Thou shalt not calm down!
Charlton Heston: I hesitate...
Moltar: Thou shalt not hesitate!

11) South Park

While the Simpsons may have paved the way, South Park took off on its own path, pushing the boundaries of good taste in every direction, and coming up with a handful of goofy quotables every episode. While the Simpsions may have been content to be pop-culture icons, South Park creators Parker and Stone rallied against their success and went counter-culture, and after two seasons or so turned their sights on making comedy via deconstruction. Tearing down popular culture, ripping apart politics, demystifying religion and taking apart society through poop and vomit jokes, South Park isn't afraid of anything, and they test the censor's limit with each subsequent episode. Slander and libel aren't an issue thanks to parody laws (bless them), but beneath the jokes and gross-out humour lies truth.

Quote:
Gerald: You see, Kyle, we live in a liberal, democratic society. And democrats make sexual harrassment laws. These laws tell us what we can and can't say in the workplace, and what we can and can't do in the workplace.
Kyle: Isn't that fascism?
Gerald: No, because we don't call it fascism. Do you understand?
Kyle: Do you?

12) Kids In The Hall

The Kids In The Hall owe a lot to SCTV, Saturday Night Live and Monty Python, but through 5 seasons, broadcast on CBC in Canada and rebroadcast in the US on CBS and HBO, the Kids redefined sketch comedy. Pushing up against the rules of what was acceptable for comedy, they didn't shy away from sex, gay or straight (and beyond), and their aptitude for the surreal has been imitated but never bettered (see also: Mr. Show, the Chappelle Show). They took the production sketch to new heights, and understood how to use their own meager cult of celebrity to make fun of themselves. Plus, they introduced the world to Kevin McDonald, and for that we should all be grateful.

Quote:
"We've been coming here for 50 years and performing anal probes, and all that we have learned is that one in ten doesn't really seem to mind."

13) The Cosby Show

To my mind from the ages of 8 through 13, there was nothing funnier than the Cosby Show. I grew up with Rudy, Vanessa and Theo, and even when cute kid Olivia joined the cast, it still didn't jump the shark. A little older and wiser, the latter seasons of Cosby's juggernaut of family comedy just didn't hold the same prestige, but for many years, and rightfully so, Cosby ruled the airwaves. The power of The Cosby Show cannot be underestimated, considering, especially the fact that it solidified NBC as the channel to watch on Thursday night, a title that was only recently relinquished with the success of CSI. Even still, no one has done a family comedy like this before nor since, and not even to mention the fact that this was a black family that Americans welcomed into their homes by the millions and didn't just laugh with, but also relate to them. Though Cosby has had a minimal career since he ended the show (a couple mediocre sit com successes and a non-career in the movies), he's still today one of America's biggest father figures, and what's more, I've caught repeats over the years and it's still incredibly funny.

Quote:
"I am your father. I brought you into this world, and I'll take you out! "

14) The Larry Sanders Show

Garry Shandling set the precedent for mocumentary-style behind-the-scenes shows like Sports Night, The Newsroom, The Office, Curb Your Enthusiasm, 30 Rock, and was one of the forerunners of purely adult comedy. There's a certain schadenfreude to the show that one gets as the lead characters persistently go through the wringer in their professional and personal lives. The acting by Shandling is good, but Jeffrey Tambor steals every episode, and the celebrity guest cast, always in mind of spoofing themselves dates the show a little but is nonetheless entertaining.

Quote: Hank : Well I'm not into interracial dating, it never works - sex is good but in the mornign cultural differences start to raise their ugly heads.
Larry: I believe the cultural differences would occur with you and any woman Hank.

15) Mystery Science Theatre 3000

The idea was simple... taking the experience of making fun of a film from the theater to the living room, so it's a huge surprise that it'd never really been done before. But Mystery Science Theatre 3000 (MST3K) didn't just mock films, they mocked bad films (and classic high school filmstrips)... really really bad films. The brilliance behind the show was its selection of not the worst movies, but the best worst movies... the kind of movies that are endearingly awful, and in most cases, excessively low budget. These films, generally, are unintentionally funny, but it wasn't until the MST3K crew came along that the films were palatable and actually worth watching. The creators behind the scenes are craftsmen and comedians, not just winging it in front of the screen. By adding a backdrop to the screenings (Mike/Joel was sent into space and forced to watch bad films by their captors) and giving the cast something else to do at commercial breaks, it's a simple concept appended and executed. It can't be duplicated, but I would certainly welcome its return.

Quote:
Narrator: They converse pleasantly while Dad serves.
Mike [as Daughter]: No, I- I'll just have Saltines.
Narrator: I said "pleasantly", for that is the keynote at dinnertime. It is not only good manners, but good sense.
Crow [as Narrator]: Emotions are for ethnic people.
Narrator: Pleasant, unemotional conversation helps digestion.
Servo [as Narrator]: I can't stress "unemotional" enough.

Honourable mentions:

Looney Toons - It spawned an empire. The brothers Warner would be nowhere without them.
The Muppet Show - the only variety show ever worth a damn
Sex & The City - It's as if Woody Allen's neuroses split off into four distinguishable female personas
Spongebob Squarepants - not the first children's cartoon enjoyed just as much by adults, but easily one of the best and most surreal

The "Aside" sitcom

It may not have started with That '70's Show, but with that's series' launch and overwhelming success in 1998, the use of fantasy, daydreams and random asides would quickly become a standard for comedic punctuation or punchline. Subsequent shows to also use this technique (and well) include Titus (1999), Family Guy (1999), Malcolm in the Middle (2000), Scrubs (2001), Andy Richter Controls the Universe (2002) and Corner Gas (2004).

Quick sack of randomness

Buh. Back in my last stretch of single days, which if we're counting was November-ish '05 - July-ish '06, it seemed the weekends were long, and kind of draggy, even if they were busy. Since Aden and I have been together, the weekends never seem long enough, they seem jammed packed and rarely restful, although invariably they are rewarding, fun and usually the best use of a weekend. Still, downtime is needed at some point. Healthy downtime, not this "I'm sick and forced to do nothing" time.

meanwell

I guess I should apologize to those who said that Lost was in a slump this season. I managed to get episodes 1-6 (which are the only episodes of this "season", with the next "season" of 15 episodes running weekly from the first week of February with no repeats) and yeah, they're weak. The first two episodes were fairly strong, but they went sloping after that. It's almost like they writers have forgotten what they're doing. Then again, I recall that I didn't like the original episodes of the second season, but loved the latter bits, so I'll guess we'll just have to wait and see how it all turns out.

cement

The "forgotten" Pavement song:
Land of the Hot Knives

More London

Still planning on discussing and showing photographic documentation of the voyage to London, and soon before my memories get fuzzy (too late)... just not sure when soon. Thanks for expressing interest though....

Various bits of random familiarity

The Borat movie is out soon, and if you've seen the trailers (or if you're at all familiar with "Da Ali G Show", or even "The Daily Show"-style of field reporting) then you know what to expect: unsuspecting people encountering a larger-than-life character provoking them or making them uncomfortable. Borat is a "foreign" character from Kazakhstan, and the set-up of the film has him acting as roving reporter, investigating American culture for his homeland's education. The typical North American's response (at least initially, and generically speaking) to broken-English speakers is that they're non-threatening, confused, simplistic to a degree, meaning we're willing to cut them a lot more slack, which comedian Sacha Baron Cohen uses to his full advantage. It's both exploitative and provocative, and, depending on your tastes, funny.

Having been a fan of this style of "unsuspecting" comedy for some time, most specifically the Daily Show's poker-faced delivery of outrageous statements to people expecting serious interviews, I've always wondered what it's like from the other side. Even though I laugh, I still say, "those poor people". Well a Borat "victim" tells her side. To be honest, I'm surprised at how lacking in bitterness it is. In fact, the writer seems almost disappointed in herself that she got "duped" by Cohen, but it's fascinating to see how the process happens.

I can't make comment until I see the film, but one statement artist Linda Stein makes in her article is "for the sake of a cheap laugh, he chooses to reinforce the stereotype of women as the inferior sex, at the expense of women". To me, this doesn't sound like Cohen's comedy, if anything, he usually attempts to provoke the opposite response... to make the reinforcing of stereotypes the joke worth laughing at, not the stereotype itself. Methinks the Stein is a little sensitive on the subject, but then, after seeing the film I may be inclined to agree with her. I don't know.

What I do know is statements like "maybe it’s his way of gaining power over the childhood sting of religious animosity or the feelings of inferiority from a woman’s beating him at Scrabble" are just catty, and stem from a base of hurt feelings rather than intellectual commentary.

Borat's page on the MySpaces

Going to Teatown

Yes. Going to London. Flight is booked. Aden's flight is booked. Now all I have to do is prepare for work and figure out living arrangements.

Essentially, I get one week free accommodations (paid by me but reimbursed by work) and one week Aden and I need to foot ourselves. London, well, it's not cheap. Hotels start at 89 GBP per night. That about $200 Canadian. Ouch. So plan one has work checking into a corporate apartment for the two weeks I'm there. If it's cheaper for two weeks in a corp apt than one week at a hotel, then I'll be doing that and all will be good.
Elsewise, I'm going to need to spend a week in a hostel. I know Liz runs a hostel, which is mighty convenient, so I'll contact her about location. If it works out to be conveninent enough, I'll stay at the hostel for the week I'm working, that way Aden and I can stay in the hotel on the corporate bill for the week following. Hopefully it works out.

I'm excited to see Liz and Mar and to meet the people I've been communicating with in London for three years now. As well, I might have a couple days to make a jaunt up to see my ex-pat Glaswegian friend which would be very cool... just need to make it back to London on Sunday to meet Aden at Heath Row or where ever we land when we fly across the pond.

I'm not really concerned about what I do during week 2 with Aden. I just think it'll be so fantastic to swing London with her no matter what we do.

"In Search of Sasquatch" - That Was A Kickass "In Search Of..."

Geekout time. I was indoctrinated into the world of RPGs (Role Playing Games) this past weekend, for my first-ever participatory engagement. I met Aden while she was on hiatus from playing , but she's been gaming for years and recently stepped back into her various gaming worlds. I've joined her on a couple of ventures and realized that spectating is interesting but participating would be a lot more fun.

The dynamics aren't too difficult to understand, especially given my City of Heroes background, although some of the intricacies are still escaping me. The game I joined in on Sunday was Feng Shui, the action hero role play. I was told if I wanted to participate I'd need to think of an action star or character I wanted to base my persona off of. After a belabouring couple of minutes I linked myself six degrees from John McClane to Chewbacca. The moment I hit upon Chewbacca I said to myself "Me am not Chewbacca", which is the opening line of "In Me Own Words: The Autobiography of Bigfoot" by Graham Roumeau, and I knew I had it.

I turned to Aden and said, "I'ma be Bigfoot". She laughed a dismissive laugh, then double checked my expression. She had mistaken my wry smirk for joking before realizing what it actually was: excitement. She let out a groan, and tried to talk me out of it, but I can be stubborn with my silly ideas, and I decided to go for it. Besides, Bigfoot is an action star. He was the bad, bad monster in Rob Zombie/Steve Niles/Richard Corbin's "Bigfoot" comic book mini-series, he was the short-lived drummer for Tenacious D, he's a close relative of the Abominable Snowman who appears in Jonathan Richman's neighbourhood supermarket and he was an antagonist for Lee Majors in the Six Million Dollar Man. Witness:

Steve Austin encounters Bigfoot... and rips his frackin' arm off! That bionic man is a jerk.

Steve (now sporting 'stache) and Sasquatch meet again, although I'm seriously wondering why the Bigfoot episodes also feature Time Travellers. Makes no sense.
This is the conclusion to that episode of the Bionic Woman where Sasquatch saves the day. The Bionic Woman is hot, but oh so useless.

My Bigfoot rules. He's based off of "supernatural creatures" template, is pretty strong, incredibly tough, fierce looking (he has a "power" called "Brain Shredder" which essentially makes the bad guys crap their pantaloons), and a nervous stomach (his other "ability" is "nauseating chunks" which means he throws up some ugly stuff and everyone in radius gets sick around him... potent). He's not very bright, but he's learning English and human ways (thanks to the Hendersons and Steve Austin, he's familiar with human nature in some respects) and he was at one point "cursed" with human appearance so he kind of looks like classic Hank McCoy (a bit of a mongoloid Alec Baldwin) when he's not all big and hairy.
He's fun.

Yes, we have no bananas

The quiet war against black Sigatoka, the disease that threatens to wipe out banana crop globally. Imagine a world without bananas... poor monkeys.

Amazong

Looks like Amazon is now entering the downloadables game as well, although they don't have downloadable games, but they do have downloadable movies and tv shows.

The Amazon Unbox is live and you can download tv shows from a multitude of networks episode by episode. With this and downloadables from iTunes, I think It's the future of television programming, where tv shows don't succeed or fail based on broadcast viewership alone, but also by download popularity. The Unbox doesn't really have a whole lot going for it yet in terms of number of shows available and number of episodes of those shows to download, and it's layout is pretty choppy, but with a simple and intuitive redesign, an increase in titles and perhaps a drop in price from $1.99 per episode to $1, maybe they'll really be starting something huge.

Of course, this is a US consumer thing only (for now... perhaps the other regional amazon sites will be doing something similar if it takes off?).

The downside, each video comes with restrictions, like the BBC ones state:
Usage: US customers only. Your rental videos can be stored on your PC for 30 days. Once you press play, you have 7 days to watch each video before it expires.
System Requirements: Requires Windows XP. See full system requirements

Noteables:
Mythbusters - one of the shows I miss the most not having cable
Dr. Who - no, not the new season (which starts on CBC Monday at 7 or 8) but rather various seasons of the legendary show (seasons #s: 26, 22, 21, 19, 16, 15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 7, 6, 5, 1) Crazy.
Coupling - all four seasons
Classic Trek - download only the watchable episodes!
Classic Twilight Zone - what a twist!
Comedy Central Stand-up - a lot cheaper than buying the bare-bones dvd releases (although, they probably don't have those episodes available for $1.99 download)
Wonder Showzen -dirty, dirty puppets

missing thumb

My movie watching is down. Life's business is partly to blame, and lack of funds allocated probably doesn't help, but at the same time, I havn't had the same enthusiasm for the theatre experience lately, and I realize that I've not even been keeping up on the new release schedule. I have no idea what new films came out last week, or the week before, or the week before that. I don't know what's coming out tomorrow or next week, and I can't even think of a film I'm really excited to see that's coming out soon (although I noticed posters for Terry Gilliam's new film just went up, so that's something). A lot of this dead enthusiasm is due, in part, to Roger Ebert's absence from the critics scene. He was my Friday staple for new reviews, his biweekly Answer Man column always a fun read, and his weekly Great Films re-reviews were always worth noting. I must confess I'm not as much a cinephile without him. Get better soon Roger. I miss you.

---

My DVD watching is also way, way, way down. That's primarily due to a lack of time to consume film, but also in large part to a very nasty TV on DVD habit that I have. I'm doing well in terms of consuming the things I got. The recent Adult Swim releases went down very easy, I've almost finished off the Flash set from January, and Brisco County Jr. and the animated Tick are getting consumed as a couple. I'm even managing to find enthusiasm for finishing up season 2 of Angel (but that one's still slow pickings). I've got Surface on the backburner, and when Toast is done with Battlestar 2.5 I've got to set three days aside for consumption. But, also, I've got a love in my life who I want to share a lot of my favourites with, so I'm revisiting some greats, like Harvey Birdman and Arrested Development (with many others on the slate... this could take years...) so movies, well, they just don't satisfy the same when 2 hours can get you 9 episodes of Space Ghost: Coast To Coast or 6 episodes of Scrubs or 3 episodes of Firefly. TV, you're getting too good for your own good.

And have I mentioned I rarely ever watch anything on broadcast anymore and really don't care (although I do miss Survivorman and Mythbusters like I'd miss half a foot). I'm looking forward to Heroes this season, but otherwise I'm giving the rest of the new season a pass. And after subjecting Ade to all my various discs of stuff, it's only fair that I sit patiently while the Amazing Race runs its course (pun intended), and dammit if I didn't actually enjoy the premiere.

Passive mode

Every now and again I get way too oversaturated with "NOW" and "TODAY" and "keeping up with the Jones's" and I just want to ingest the familiar, revisit what I already know, or rediscover things I've mostly forgotten. It's hard, when one is continually in the midset of reviewing new things or always trying to "get there first" but every so often I just tap myself out, get oversaturated in the modern and need to escape into somethings past. I consume so much, all the time, that it does get hard to stay on top of it all, and I often don't allow myself the luxury, while consuming things for the first time, to really understand or enjoy what I'm consuming. I'm doing a little of that now, though... it's often easier when you get to share it with someone to whom its new, but sometimes it's just time to take a peek in the past.

Recently I revisited the live-action "The Tick" series, consuming it in an evening, and loving every minute. Patrick Warburton delivers each line with flawless comedic timing and intonation. I know many fans of the cartoon were disappointed with the show, but I was never a fan of the cartoon (was without cable when it first aired so I rarely watched it) and was able to appreciate the show without preconceptions. It's responsible for one of my favourite lines ever... after the Tick pops a fortune cookie in his mouth, he chews once or twice before reaching in and pulling out the fortune, stating with the surprise of a small child, "A secret message, from my teeth!"

I also just wrapped up two nights of watching Chronicles of Riddick. I was one of very few who actually enjoyed the film the first time around, and a few years later I think I actually enjoy and appreciate it more. It's influences include Marvel Comics, role playing games (of which Vin Diesel is a player), Shakespearian drama, Roman culture and a swipe at the Catholic conversion. It's got pretty set designs, some really cool fight sequences, masterful lighting, some sharp digital effects, and one of the most badass characters ever in Riddick. Yup, there are one or two highly improbable (even by their own sordid sci-fi logic standards) sequences, and the aging of Jack into Kira seems to have spanned more than the five years the movie alots, but those digressions aside, it's a frickin' fun ride. It's like a three or four part mini-series with a trio or quartet of 1/2 hour episodes that have been strung together in a movie... the "Chronicles" really gives this away, as it's not just one story, but a whole handful of stories that make up the whole. It didn't exactly tank at the box office, but I don't think it made its money back either. With the numerous repackagings of Riddick, Pitch Black and the Peter Cheung "Dark Fury" cartoon, surely it's broken even by this point, but it's still not bankable enough for another follow-up methinks. Too bad though, Riddick, like Snake Plissken before him, deserves more adventures.

On Notice

Apparently Stephen Colbert's put me On Notice

Don't feel left out, though, you too can be on Stephen's "On Notice" list.

(from GAK in Estonia... check out the funky records)

schill

For those that are interested, HMV in Toronto has just deeply discounted some serious geek DVD.
Batman Begins - $7.99
Firefly Season 1 - $19.99
Batman Animated Seasons 1and 2 - $19.99 ea.
Angel Seasons 1 and 2 - $29.99 ea
Futurama Seasons 1 through 4 - $erm.. don't remember ...either 19.99 or 29.99 ea

Have at it.

Televideobits

Lost Season 2 hits October 3rd. I've been itching like an addict for this since watching season 1 in January.

The Brak Show Volume 2 is set for August 15th, alongside Sealab 2021 Volume 4. The Brak Show got a little less funny and a little more twisted as it ran down, and Sealab just wasn't the same after Harry "Captain Murphy" Goz died and was replaced by his son as "Tornado Shanks". I'll still buy them though. Because I'm completist like that.

Frick yeah. Surface Season 1 comes to DVD on August 15th as well. I loved Surface but had to stop watching when I dropped the cable (NBC is way too fuzzy on the antenna to enjoy any programming)... apparently Season 1 is only 15 episodes, but NBC hasn't officially dropped the show (hence the set is called "Season 1", rather than "the complete series").

Finally, make of this what you will, but Paramount Home Entertainment has sent their retailers the bar code for "Chappelle's Show: The Lost Episodes".

Snowplough

Started watching Buffy season 5 Sunday afternoon, made it halfway through the set, resumed Monday with one disc left for today... which was devoured quickly. Glory was frickin' awesome and smokin', "the Body" was amazing and powerful, and now I finally understand ther ravenous fanbase for Spike. I started season 6 as well, but already I don't like it. Sure season 5 was pretty depressing with all the tragedy and whatnot, but season 6 is just stab-you-in-the-entrails morose. And a biker gang to kick it all off? Lame-o. I'm not going to be ploughing through season 6 in three days, I'll tell you what.

GONE! Gone. gone.

The beard.
It's gone.
I feel cold and lonely, and exposed.
I don't recognize myself anymore... it's the same as when I grew the damn thing... who's that strange handsome beardless devil in mirror?
It's me.
I think.

Drawn and quartered

Oh, that wasn't the most brilliant thing I've ever done, but it certainly was worth it.

Y'see, ever since grade school, ever since I saw a picture of that dude atop a horse with both their skins peeled away, I've wanted to see Gunther von Hagens' work. When I found out that the "Body World 2" exhibit was coming to Toronto at the Ontario Science Center, I practically wet myself. When it started on September 30th, well, my life threw itself into a bit of turmoil around that time so I know why I didn't exactly get to it, but then, late last year, my sister and I made a pact to go to it. We were supposed to see it before Christmas but schedules and whatnot didn't work out, and they never really did since.

This weekend was the last weekend for it, so it really was do or die (well, that's a little extreme, do or don't time, I guess). CBC Metro Morning told me it was running 24 hours all weekend, and I was wondering who would bloody well go to the Ontario Science Center at 4:30 am.
Well, me, for one. My sister for two. Her partner for three. And the hundreds of others in the lineup that we saw there this morning (including Sloan's Chris Murphy).

I went on-line yesterday to check out some info about the show only to find that it proclaimed limited tickets were available for midnight to 7:30 am viewings. Upon further exploration we found the only block of tickets open were 3:30, 4:00 and 4:30. Ouch. There was a bit of hemming and hawing about whether any of us would make it up and out that early, but with the alternative of missing the exhibit and feeling like asses as a result, we set the alarms for 3:30 and put in an appearance.

The place was packed, lineups were abundant, and the gross-out factor dissipated by the time you passed the third table display of plastinated organs, bisected, vivisected, sliced and peeled.

An utterly fascinating display. I appreciated the amount of work that must go into all the various exhibits as much as the exhibits themselves. My absolute favourite was the rows of jars containing only arteries, taking the shape of an arm or foot or face, red vessils floating in water. Visually beautiful.

I got tired of the posed bodies after a while, but some of the neater exhibits using full figures were the drawer man (with blocks of his body cut and pulled out, exposing the cross sections), the ringed man (with different depths of cylindrical sections removed from his body) and the cross section comparing an obese person to an average person, emphasizing the strained organs.

I would say go see it, but it's over. Check the Body Worlds site for the next leg of the exhibits. Edumicational and morbidly entertaining.

Traveller's Comfort

My mom came to town this weekend with my sister and her partner, which is always nice because she buys me things. Oh, and she's my mom, that's nice too... :)

She was heading out today to the Tournament of Hearts in London Ontario via Via Rail, and so I was escorting her to Union Station to make sure she found her way all right. Unfortunately, when we got there we were an hour early, and on top of that the train was delayed 40 minutes. So we found a bench and lounged.

Fine, we had some time to kill. But soon the 40 minute delay became an hour delay, and then a 2 hour delay. I enjoyed spending time with her, people watching and watching the pigeons freak out the people we were watching. The funny thing is my mom had an 8 hour delay the week before in Chicago for a transfer flight from Buffalo to Phoenix, and her luggage was lost for two days upon return (and mangled somewhat when returned). She's got the travel jinx.

I left her in a very very long line for boarding. I've not taken the train myself ever, so I had no idea that all those delayed passengers would've stayed there, sitting on the floor, grumbling away. I don't doubt she's getting on the train, just she would have practically been first in line had we went to the boarding queue when we got there.

Meanwhile, I just got a call from the New Zealand travelling GAK who regailed me with elements of his lovely time in the land just North of Down Under. He too was waiting for a late passenger transport at the Christchurch airport. A surprise call but pleasant nonetheless. I still seethe with envy.

the most wonderful time of the year

I love winter because I love women in winter clothing. I love watching ladies roaming with their rosy cheeks and red noses, hair peering out from under toques, mittens and scarves concealing hands and neck. I think women are most beautiful in winter clothing, able to accessorize as much or as little as they like, able to hint at their strengths and hide any of their perceived flaws. Forget summer, where belly shirts and short skirts reveal waaay too much, I like the excessive tease of winter. What's she hiding? Even doffing a hat or pulling off a glove is like an innocent, unsexualized strip tease. Intriguing, encouraging, fascinating. I love the face... back when I used to draw, I would most often just draw faces, and I would study faces. Winter clothing is built to accentuate and display the face. Toques, scarves, turtlenecks, collars, hoods are all there to frame the face, highlight it's unique characters, and the brush of cold across the cheek, rashing it red or bronze and drawing lips brighter makes every face more beautiful. Oh Winter, why must you go?

In case you missed them

Filecloud has all 6 episodes of the great new BritCom the IT Crowd available for free download (not torrents either)

Beardo

Yes, I have me a beard.
Yes, I do look like GI Joe.
No, I'm not going to shave it because you don't like it.
I'm in fact going to get it professionally shaved off in a week or so.
I can't say I grew it for that exclusive purpose, although a professional straightrazor shave was one of the reasons I did grow it out (if you're going to get it done, might as well go all out).
I also grew it because I wanted to see what I look like with a beard. The answer? Old school GI Joe.
Here's what I learned though:
Men - other guys like the beard and are impressed with it and conversation almost always segues into shaving it into different facial hair formations (the fu-manchu or handlebar 'stache is most often mentioned)
Ladies - they don't like it. They say beards are scratchy. They're telling me, I itch like I gots fleas.
The other thing about beards is if you're not going to keep it kempt, then you need to dress nicer and cleaner, t-shirts just make you look like a grubby basement dweller... hey, who you callin' grubby?

(Separated at birth?)

more beard pics:::

lazy workday

So yeah, I'm stuck in Barrie until Whistler's folks arrive, and working remotely (thankfully due to American holiday, is slow day) but huzzah the Gold Medal women's hockey game is on. Canada vs. Sweden. Shiver me tingles.

Meanwhile, I'm dowloading episode 5 of the IT Crowd. I loves it so.

Random thoughts

1) new favourite alcoholic drink involves chocolate milk, baileys and vodka

2) working on a list of favourite things. havn't gotten very far. cause I keep forgetting. apparently working on a list of favourite things isn't one of my favourite things.

3) i have new 'special features' i'd like to enact on the blog, but i'm feeling especially lazy

4) ploughed through (reading, not writing) 60 reviews, many of the same book, as thor's comic column is auditioning new writers. it's not an easy decision because there are a lot of really solid entries (at least half weren't easily dismissable) but invariably we had to shortlist to four, and I picked my four. we'll see what the other lads come up with. i'm excited to have some fresh blood on the team, although a couple of the guys are so good i'm almost afraid.

5) where'd all that back hair come from. seriously. where? and what purpose does it serve.

6) i'm growing a beard this week. the last time (and only other time) i had a beard was when i was unemployed (and started blogging) back in '02. it was a hit with the ladies, more than the unemployment was, I'd say.

7) when cuddling up to your dog and going to sleep, is it unusual to have dreams where you think you're cuddled up next to a real person?

8) eating pogos for lunch every day has got to stop

9) i'm just a little kinda slightly just a tad wee bit sorta maybe like so-so smidgum bored right now. i have plenty of movies at my avail, much i could be reading or writing about, or take the dog for a walk or even sleep, but seriously, motivation is nil. i don't even want to be writing this. perhaps more booze would help. hmm, fresca + _____ = crazy delicious

10) i just remembered that there was a time where i'd drink anything mixed with anything unless beer or tequila was involved. i wonder if that's still true.
hmmm, mustard plus cointreau? let's give'er a whirl.

11) i didn't actually just do that. but i will if someone dares me. i'm an idiot

12) okay gross. this fresca is peach flavoured. since when is bloomin' fresca peach flavoured? now it tastes like i'm drinking peach schnappes which is brining back horrid memories of the first time I got drunk (and then didn't drink for another four years).

13) b.w.i
you figure it out
hmm, maybe this will be the next big blogging event. b.w.i night. yes, hear me now, the first annual b.w.i night is happening friday, april 7, 2006 hmmm, all i need now is to a) get a fancy graphic, b) get popular enough to spread the word around to legitimize this event so that people around the world will be choking back the booze and blogging all about it. perhaps i'll also organize a party around it so that we can trade off blogging duties. for all i know there's already an organized drunken blogging night that happens the first friday in april every year... well sod it... i'm doing it anyways as a call to arms or something.
the rules are simple: for every drink there must be a corresponding post
join me will you. or not. whatever. you're your own person, your own worst enemy, your own relief pitcher if you catch my meaning which you probably don't since i don't even catch the meaning so if you do catch the meaning then cudo's you're officially a psychopath or genius or something.

14) psychopathy and genius are so easily confused, no?

15) welcome to barrie where dudes drive snowmobiles down the street and through your back yard. thanks assnut.

16) did i mention peach fresca is horrid. this dirnk won't be over soon enoguh.

17) i left typing mistakes in there intentionally... more a sign of sloppy typing than drunkenness... perhaps also a sign of bad education and perpetual bedwetting, neither of which are afflictions of mine, just saying the perhapability is there is all.

18) made up word count this post to date: 6

19) i bought pants that accentuate my ass. it deserves it, my ass does. for all its hard work it deserves some attention

20) there's a goddamn yogurt commercial for "activia" yogurt that implores you to "take the activa challenge" by eating their product every day for two weeks, the only thing is they don't offer any benefits to actually eating their yogurt for two weeks. they just ask you to take the challenge. what the fuck!?

imagine if every commercial asked you to do that? take the ford challenge. just buy a ford and drive it until it wears out. it's that easy.

take the subway franchise challenge. open up your own subway franchise and make a go of it for an undetermined length of time. it's that easy.

take the do whatever commercials say challenge. for two weeks if a commercial asks you to do something, do it. it's that easy.

hey, if you liked the activia challenge, the you'd love to take the geekent challenge. just read geekent.com every day for the rest of your life and if you aren't satisfied, die unhappy. it's that easy.

21) apparently "casino@mail.nu" thinks i have a "great site". thanks casino@mail.nu for taking the geekent challenge. i'm sure you'll maybe be happy-like

22) apparently all the cool cats are doing it. jowling. not recommended for those with sore necks.

23)i think i'll watch the latest episodes of "the it crowd" again, because, damn, katherine parkinson is freakin hot

ta

24) back. thunder and lightning in february, oh my.

25) was just looking over some early blog entries from '02 and found this

If I were writing a story like that one where Hugh Jackman comes back in time from the victorian era and woos Meg Ryan, I would write it in such a fashion that this 17th century "nobleman" doesn't have a fucking clue how to survive in the 20th century, has his horse shot down by the police, he's on the lam for some reason, and winds up wasting away in the gutter somewhere.

the odd thing is this is pretty much how Grant Morrison kicked off Seven Soldiers: Shining Knight. Weird.

What's Up Fatlip

Rule #1: We do not talk about Fight Club
or
The hazards of dog wrestling
or
Next on Montel: "My pet beats me"

damnest brighton

The IT Crowd viewing has now been restricted to UK users only. But Lying In The Gutters has the direct download link to Episode 4. Intuitively, here's the direct link to episode 3

Caps off

Arrested Development wrapped up their broadcasting run tonight with a 4-episode/2hour finale. When people say it is/was the funniest show on television, they're not exaggerating. Each episode on its own is baffling, bizarre and yet straightforward enough to be enjoyable, but pull it together in its season sets and complete run and it's brilliance is blinding. While I've only watched the series via its first two DVD sets, thus missing the majority of this third season, I still tuned in tonight (albeit only to the last 70 minutes, because I was preoccupied by Battlestar Galactica on DVD). The finale episode brought almost all the storylines that have been percolating for 52 episodes into one tight and hilarious bundle (while still leaving it open just enough for something else to develop should Showtime or HBO or another station decide to pick it up). I havn't laughed that hard in... I can't honestly remember the last time I laughed so hard.

"My nickname is 'Hello'"
Genius.

bushfruit bound

I'm on "holiday". Holiday in this case involves being logged into work, doing work, answering questions, making phonecalls and such, as well as looking after my sister's puppy. The latter was my choice, the former wasn't even an option.

Whistler and I are having a grand old time. We took a run out in the snow (unlike Toronto, the snow is knee deep out here) and I took Whistles to the groomer so he smells all purty. I pooped him out with a lot of running around so he's been sleeping the majority of the evening, while I took a little time out in the tub (complete with one of the Freakgirl's "Faerie's Tub" Oatmeal Cookie bath bombs... lemme testify!)

I'm "off" for the next week, and the plan is to get some reading (1 graphic novel down), editing done, reviews, as well as plough through Battlestar Galactica season 1 DVD set (disc 1 finis). Of course the weekend is for fun, so I'm bringing some typically city-bound folks back up to the Shrubfruit Villa for some snow, puppy and hopefully relaxation.

picsville

The camphone archives:

Because Whistles seemed so depressed after his mom and pop left, I decided to get him a little something that showed him how I feel about him, in stuffed animal form. This "Chubby Frog Prince" had the bulbs pulled off his crown pretty rapidly... he's also missing an eye now.
Sweet Valentine.

Out for a run in the snow. For some reason he wanted to keep attacking my pantcuffs.

From just after Christmas, this golden lab resides at the furrier up the street from work. He seemed pretty bummed out himself this day.

Geekent and J-roomie. Hoodratz. WORD!

Somebody's acting like a wet noodle

SILLY THINGS TO DO

by me - 10.02.05

Take a holiday without giving up the stress of work. It's magical. Try it.

tvdvdreleasenews

Kids In The Hall season 4 is now available from kidsinthehall.com, but hits retail May 31. I smell a birfday prezzie to self.

The Muppet Show season 2 has been delayed from delivery this month until this summer. Music clearances are the primary cause.

Scrubs season 3 comes May 9, feature details Usually Scrubs sets and Arrested Development sets come out within a month of one another, so hopefully we'll see AD season three by the time summer starts.

The oft-forgotten Superboy series that aired on UPN in that channel's early years is finally hitting home video on June 20. The first season (it ran 3 seasons in total) features 26 1/2 hour episodes. Yes, unlike the padded Lois and Clark or Smallville, they kept their show at a concise 24 minutes a week. Whether it's any good or not... well, I've never actually seen it, so I'm kind of excited (the show used a lot of Superman's villain roster, so it'll be a little more satisfying for those that like fighting a costumes as opposed to teen angst and romcom)

Stella, the absurdist comedy troupe from Comedy Network gets a DVD release potentially this fall.

Superman the Animated Series: Volume 3 and Justice League: The Complete Second Season both are released simultaneously on June 20th, 2006. Yesss. Next up JLU.

And, to quote the Fresh Prince, "Do white people like Wings?" Of course we do. And now we can get The Sandman, the voice of Superman, Monk and the dude who thought starring in a 4-hour tv remake of the Shining was a good idea in the place that made them famous for a week or two on DVD May 23.

It's Live: Rebirth

Episode 2 of The IT Crowd is now on-line, and as I suspected, it's light years funnier than the first episode.

The first episode sets up the characters and the situation, and then this episode takes those characters and pulls them out of the usual situation and into new ones. Jen gets new shoes, Roy and Moss go to stress training, and the new corporate Japanese partner stops by for a visit, and then, well, FIRE! Plus, one of my favourite Britons, Danny Wallace puts in an appearance ("30 Second Bit Part" he exclaims on his website). And it all comes together brilliantly. Any hesitation from the pilot episode is now put to rest. Score! It's brillaint.

First episode remains on-line until Friday.

It's Live

The future of Television is now.
The IT Crowd, the new Channel 4 series by Father Ted and Black Books (two of the funniest shows ever) creator Graham Linehan is now available until Friday to watch on-line, for free, from seemingly anywhere in advance of it's actual airing on BBC.

Not only is this frickin' awesome for those of us who love British comedy but don't live in England, and for those of us who don't get BBC America, or those of us that can't wait months or years to get our hands on DVDs of those brilliant shows we only ever hear about, but it's also an amazing experiment in using the web as a tool for stepping outside the normal boundaries of delivering TV programming to its audience.

Alongside shows like Lost or Desperate Housewives being available on iTunes (in the US only for now, sadly), this is a huge step forward in the capabilities of the web. I've always thought that the ultimate tv experience would be accessing any episode of any tv show at any time, perhaps for a price. This would give producers of television shows direct access to number of viewers, and it would revolutionize how shows were made. It could even eliminate advertising.

If you were to, say, pay for 50 hours of programming a month (kind of like buying cel phone minutes), perhaps you could get 75 hours for the same price if you allowed advertising. And even further you could specify the kind of advertising you would be interested in. The service provider could then charge the advertiser directly based on viewers and the advertisers would be able to quantify their marketing strategies, and the viewer would see only advertising for things they might be interested in, in exchange for allowing adverts to interrupt or preceed their viewing.

Okay, this is all a little future fantasy, but with TiVo and these on-line distributions of programming, it's not an illogical premonition.

Anyway, if you're an IT nerd, or know some IT nerds, you may wish to spread the gospel of The IT Crowd to them.

All that said, I havn't watched it yet, but Linehan has yet to let me down.
As far as Pilots go, this is fairly typical. It has to set up the situation, the setting and the characters, and it's a bit too straight, awkward and obvious for the first 15 minutes (the first eps for Black Books and Father Ted are equally shaky) but I can tell by the last 6 or 7 minutes that they are getting to the patentend Linehan oddball goofyness that I should expect, and subsequent episodes should unfold well. If it goes as per usual, Linehan sets up the cliches and then will play with them from here on out. Nice to see Chris Morris there too. The A*Team gag was tops.

Electioneering

Whether you like your candidates or not, go out and vote today. Spoil your ballot if you must but at least show youself.

Frick yeah

The Animated The Tick is coming to DVD, finally... at some point.

Pictures

My Dad sent me some digital pics from Christmas, and I saw some family memebers I havn't seen for years. My uncle has gotten very grey, and his resemblance to my Grandmother is starting to show, which is unexpected. Also in the corner of the picture is my cousin, whom at 16 is unrecognizable from whenever I last saw her (which at this point might've been the late '90s). Strange how the years pass by.

SILLY THINGS TO DO

by me - 23.01.06
Go to the butcher. Buy their finest steak. Take home. Get bowl. Get an egg. Crack the egg into the bowl. Beat the egg with a fork until frothy. Toss in the steak. Coat both sides. Remove steak. Coat with oregano. Let sit. Prep the barbecue. Once warm take the oregano steak outside. Toss the steak onto the roof of your house. Go back inside. Get the bowl with the egg. Take outside. Pour egg directly onto the grill. Turn grill off. Let cool. Go back inside. Order pizza. Turn off all lights. Wait. When the doorbell rings, don't answer the door. When the phone rings, don't pick up. Pass out on the floor in front of the door. Wake up in the middle of the night, hungry.

"Hands" The Manos of Fate

There's a very thorough recap of The Movie over at Agony Booth. It's so thorough that it takes about as long to read the recap as it does to watch the film.

Via the Agony Booth, I also found this interview with a cast member and a crew member talking about their experience and the origin of "Manos".

And there's also the follow-up, Growing up Manos, which interviews little Debbie from the moview, all growed up now. Apparently her father played The Master and the director/writer/Mike played her father. Wonky.

Oh, and I registered Manos: The Hands of Fate as an official supergroup in City of Villains yesterday. My character, Bride of Manos, is joined by The Will Of Manos, The Fury of Manos, The Rage of Manos, and Wrath of Manos. Although I think I got the name wrong as we're supposed to be, I believe "The Hands of Manos", with "Manos" traslating to "Hands" thus us being "The Hands of Hands". I confused.
Charge!

Oracle

With the cable disconnected I decided for the first time since moving to this apt to hook up the antenna to the television... the antenna would be that 50-foot behemoth mounted to the back of the house. What the hell eh?

Well, Shazam, look what I found:

Ch.2 - WGRZ (NBC)
Ch.5 - CBC
Ch.9 - WKBW (ABC Buffalo)
Ch.11 - CH (Global Hamilton)
Ch.17 - WNED (PBS Rochester)
Ch.19 - TVO
Ch.23 - UPN
Ch.25 - CBC (French)
Ch.26 - some religious doohickey
Ch.29 - Fox
Ch.36 - CTS (all messed up though)
Ch.41 - Global
Ch.47 - Omni 1
Ch.49 - WB (!no foolin, we don't even get this with cable!)
Ch.52 - SunTV
Ch.57 - CITY
Ch.69 - Omni 2

Not a bad selection for free tv. Will have to play around with the antenna a little (we have a remote that rotates it) to see if we can get any clearer reception on the ones that are a bit staticy. It's like living in the 60's, only we got Fear Factor.

I'm Kevin to her Whitney

A friend of mine is seriously addicted to Lost. She recently rented and devoured the first season DVD box set over a weekend, and has been trying to play catch-up on Season 2 for the past week and some. She even went the route of getting bit-torrent, trying to figure that behemoth out and ending up very frustrated that three days later episodes 2 and 3 were still only between 30 and 40% completed. So she put a call out on Craigslist (I think) and found someone who'd been keeping them digitally. They scheduled to meet up today at lunch, and he'd give her DVDs with the season-so-far burned to it for, like, $5 (the cost of the discs essentially). My friend told her boyfriend and he said something to the effect of "you're not going unless you take a friend with you... for protection. Who knows what kind of creep he could be" (never mind that they were to meet on one of the busiest street corners in the city).

This is where I came in. I received an phone call yesterday:

E: Erm, I need your services, your protective services.
Me: Uh, okay?
E: Blah blah blah meetup, Lost, strange guy,... blah blah blah
Me: Sure, I'm up for the challenge, or at least the walk.
E: OK bodyguard, how's 1pm tomorrow to escort me to the meeting point?
Me: As long as you don't bust out the Whitney Houston song. I'll escort you to your destination, and should push come to shove, take a bullet for you should the deal go sour.

The thing about the meeting was E didn't have any sort of identifiers for the guy, and she got his phone number but forgot it at the office. So we were just standing around a coffee shop looking for someone who may or may not be the type of guy who would burn a third of a season of Lost for five dollars.

E spotted a guy hovering in the corner, sort of casually drinking his coffee, casually playing his PSP and casually looking around.
"D'ya think that's him?"
"Who's to know? It could be anyone."

It was though, and the transaction went smoothly. I noticed the sniper rifle across the street at the TV studio was trained on me the whole time. I did my job well.

Ask Anna

The thing about ordering IKEA on-line is it takes them 48 hours to get in touch with you about your order. And then they say it'll be within 12 business days for delivery and they'll call and schedule a delivery date.

Uh, I thought it would be similar to buying it at the store and getting next day delivery once everything was confirmed, but nope. And the delivery charge for on-line was about three times what you'd pay in-store. Oooch.

Needless to say I cancelled that puppy and I'ma go there this weekend and get it delivered.

without

I have no 'net connection at home.
I find it hard to know what to do with myself when I can't surf or blog. Thankfully season 2 of Arrested Development is waiting for my attention, and the complete Ripping Yarns was delivered by Amazon today (only 5 weeks early!).

SILLY THINGS TO DO

Go cow tipping, but instead of cows, use hot dog carts, and instead of carts use vendors, and when I say "tipping" I mean give the hot dog vendor an ourageous $4 tip on top of a $1 hotdog. Yes, tip 400%. That's just silly. And don't eat the hot dog. Feed the pigeons, and by feed I meen feet, and by feet I mean kick and when you're done kicking the pigeons, give the hotdog to the homeless dude bugging you for change. And by homeless, I mean not the guy who is wearing new boots bugging you for change or the Mississauga punkass kid who is wearing a brand new Gore-tex jacket.
This silly thing to do will win you humanitarian awards, and by humanitarian I mean DIY, and by DIY I mean take a marker and make your own damn award because your condescending attitude ain't taking you nowhere in life.

Shout outs

And last, but hardly the least I'd like to give a shout out to my Moms, who is celebrating her 39th birthday today for the xth year in a row. I had a tremendous evening out with some coworkers yesterday and our topic of conversation led to our families, and the people I was with have had some very interesting childhoods, with some serious parental issues. On my way home I was thinking about that convo, thankful for my rather "normal" upbringing, and I, in my slightly inebriated state, got a little weepy after receiving a voice mail from my mother whom after all these years is still looking out for me. She's certainly not overbearing or annoyingly protective, she's just a tremendously great Mom (*just*), and she's always there for me. When I eventually become a parent, I know I'll be a great one, because I have a great one to emulate.

Love you Mom.
Happy Birthday.

(and yes, to anyone wondering, my mom does indeed read my blog, and no I don't care. I think it's actually pretty cool that she does.)

Rang

I keep forgetting that every Friday night now, the Cartoon Network streams the Adult Swim from 11pm to 6am.

This means, for, like, the first time ever, I can watch new Adult Swim programming when (or before!) they air instead of a) downloading them at a later date, b) waiting for them to appear on Canadian "Teletoon" or c) waiting for DVD.

Plus, the Boondocks is now on. Wicked.

SILLY THINGS TO DO

by me - 13.11.05

Slice up some lemons and arrange the slices in your shoes. Wear them around for a little while, ignoring the fact that the acid is exfoliating/decimating the soles of your feet. Once it's too painful to walk, wring out the juice, add sugar and enjoy the labours of your fruit.

mrmbarfle

I'm not really the queasy sort regularly, but, wow, this episode of TLC's Amazing Medical Stories is making be nauseous.

The bit about the guy with the flesh-eating bacteria (they had to cut away the infected skin, making him into a living BodyWorld exhibit), the baby with four legs, the woman who had half her scalp torn away.. all fine, no problem. Gross yes, but not wretch inducing.

But the dude who fell into the cement mixer and had his limbs torn away... ach! They kept showing various body parts that they had retreived and, in one instance, a foot that they had stuck in the fridge in case they could use it for spare parts (and they did, replacing a brutalized thumb with a toe). It was like Saw posters but real. Really gross, that is.

Not exactly the best dinner-eating fare.

Debut

The Daily Show spin-off "the Colbert Report" aired for the first time in Canada last night, and host Stephen Colbert didn't spare us his opinions of Candiana, not one bit.
It's a show still finding its footings, sitting somewhere in-between the Daily Show and Rick Mercer's Report in terms of quality. Colbert has made a nice satire of CNN/MSNBC/Fox News style blowhard shows, and he's got the egotistical attitude down pat (the fact that he walks to his guest instead of vice versa in order to steal the thunder is a hilarious touch).
It could get tired, but then, it might also get better. As it stands, they have a nice formula that works for the show, Colbert just needs to get a little more comfortable in the hosts seat.

let's get physical

Went to the clinic to get a physical, my first ever. All things considered, painless. Helps to go to a doctor you trust, so it's not an issue when he checks your testes for the bad stuff.
"Thankfully," he said, "you're still young enough not to need a prostate exam."
"Someday," I replied wistfully.
Cardiogram, blood test, urine sample, resperatory check, weigh in (161, holding steady for about two years now, I've put ten pounds on since moving to Toronto, mostly muscle in my legs from stairs, walking and biking)... it was all over in a blur, and I really don't get what people's hang-ups are about the whole process.

SILLY THINGS TO DO

by me - 08.11.2005

Pick a coworker to stalk all day. Don't be obvious, just check in on them regularly from afar and make notes. Occasionally hover over their computer and assess what they're working on. Appropriate their desk kitsch for your own. Give them a call and hang up. If they catch on to your sneaky spying and confront you, respond in nonsense like "Roasted butterfly jube-jube" or "enter sophomore blinder clammy". End your workday by buying them a drink, and taking their photo for your scrapbook.

re-Shatnered

Even though I missed the episode (as I've missed all the episodes) I can just see the expression on his face..

(From the latest Ansible)

`On the US broadcast of Boston Legal on Oct 11 came an expected SF reference. William Shatner plays the egotistical partner of the law firm. James Spader, playing the lead attorney, was worried about wild salmon being wiped out by lice brought in by farmed salmon. "They call them cling-ons," he tells Shatner. "Klingons?" a startled Shatner replies.' As well he might.

Battlestar Galactica part 1

The old series was called "Wagon Train" in space. Unless you were born in the 40's that probably doesn't mean very much. The old show - created by tv version of Roger Corman, cheesemeister Glen Larson - was a modest hit upon first appearance, but had no endurance. I had fond memories of the show from childhood, until I revisited the series back in 1999 when it reemerged on Space, and I realized I actually had fond memories of the action figures. The Cylons visually remained impressive, but the stories were below Lost-In-Space level quality and the fake technical lingo was even more laughable than on Star Trek.

The new series, while it has it's hokey moments (specifically the introductory text seemed like it was written by an 8 year old), it is certainly a lot more serious and a lot less ignorant than the original. But there's something just not right with the show.

Edward James Olmos steps into Lorne Greene's shoes as Adama, who's not the spiritual leader that he was in the original, but still the philosopher he always was. In this case, he's anti-networking, and keeps his soon-to-been decomissioned Battlestar as archaic as he can.

The Cylons, we are told, were created by the 12 colonies to be aides, until the became aware and revoled and engaged in a decade-long war, until the colonies released them and allowed them to forage on into their own territory of space. For 40 years there was no contact with the Cylons until now.

A nearly human Cylon makes her way to one of the prime colonies, seducing one of their preeminent minds and gaining access to the defensive security systems. She manages to infiltrate the colonies technologies and decimates the colonies by using their own computer controlled weapons against them. The colonies are all but obliterated.

In space, most of the Battlestar fleet are too inexperienced and incapable of combating the Cylon enemy fighters. The fleet is destroyed, except the incapacitated Galactica.

Using decades old models of starfighters the Galactica's new fighter fleet is able to battle the cylon ships, but not an effective capacity.

This describes the action of the series, but the majority of this action takes place off-screen and is retold rather rapidly by one of the characters. The scenario is disaster and decimation of epic proportions and yet all we get is melodrama as Adama and his son Apollo bicker about familial stuff. There's also military drama, questioning of orders, a lot of pulling rank, a lot of leading the troops into battle type stuff, which is engaging and all, but without the military action to back it up it seems a little hollow and frivolous.

Starbuck in this version is an impetuous female starpilot, a simplified, almost stereotypical character which seems a change as much for shock value for the fast as it is for better storytelling dynamics. There's also a heavier sexual dynamic which seems a little out of place.

The series, from the first two hour episode, seems to be taking influence from recent (less obvious) sci-fi shows as much as it does its originating series. There's nothing original being presented here, as I sense a lot of Lexx, Space: Above and Beyond, Babylon 5, and even Earth: Final Conflict amidst the few remaining Battlestar Galactica influences. Mercifully the whole Greek/Roman elements of the original are represented in names only.

Despite all this, I'm intrigued to see how it will play out. Intrigued, but not excited.