Look who will be vamping it up on ‘Supernatural’

The premiere of the third season of Supernatural is less than a week awhile.  While I can’t wait for the return of the Winchester boys, I am equally excited about this season’s guest stars.  At the top of the list is an Angel/Buffy alumnus Mercedes McNabb.  *** The following might contain some spoilers***

McNabb played the role of former party girl-turned vampire Harmony and the BFF of Cordelia (Charisma Chase) on Buffy the Vampire and later reprised her role on the spin-off Angel.  The blonde Harmony proved that just because you were a vampire doesn’t mean you don’t have blonde moments.

An apparently her new guest spot on Supernatural won’t be a big stretch for her as she’s once again plays a girl whose penchant for partying leaves her as a bloodsucker.

McNabb will turn up on the sixth episode of Supernatural scheduled to appear November 15 in a episode involving rogue vampire hunter Gordon Dean played by Sterling K. Brown of Army Wives and a vamp set on revenge.

No word yet on whether the two new additions — hunter Ruby (Katie Cassidy) and mercenary Bela (Lauren Cohan) — will be around to help with the vamp problem.

We already know that fellow hunter Bobby (Jim Beaver) and Ellen (Samantha Ferris) will be returning to help Dean (Jensen Ackles) and Sam (Jared Padelecki) Winchester and that FBI Agent Henrickson (Charles Malik Whitfield) will still be pursuing the boys, but let’s see who else’s path the boys will cross in Season 3.

In the premiere, the boys will not only meet Ruby, but also another pair of hunters to battle seven demons representing the seven deadly sins.  But this pair is married and they don’t want anything to do with Dean and Sam.  Apparently, the hunter community isn’t too happy with the boys for opening the gates of hell.  Caroline Chikezie (Elaine Hardy on Footballers’ Wives) will portray Tamara while the role of her husband Isaac is filled by Emmy-winner Peter Macon.

The guest stars get a little more personal in the second episode, when the boys venture to Indiana to visit a former flame of Dean’s played by Cindy Sampson (Rumours).  Dean and Lisa Braeden were hot and heavy about nine years ago.  But the reunion will become interesting when Dean meets Lisa’s eight-year-old son, Ben (Nicholas Elia).  You do the math.

No word on the guest stars for the third episode.  But meeting Bela will probably keep the boys plenty busy.

Next up, the boys head to Sin City where they Richie played by Marty Papazian (24) and Casey portrayed by Sasha Barrese of LAX.

Kimberley Warnat (Saved), Mary Black (Monk), and Patrick Gilmore (Intelligence) will guest star in the November 1st episode where Dean and Sam have to help a real life version of Snow White.

And I’m not sure who will guest star in the sixth episode, but I hear the boys will have to deal with a haunted sunken ship.

I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’ve very excited about Season 3 and I refuse to believe that Dean and Sam won’t find a way out of his deal with the demon from the season finale so that there will be a fourth season.

As far as I’m concerned Thursday can’t get here quick enough.  Supernatural will premiere on Thursday, October 4 at 9 p.m. on CW following Smallville.

Sources:
www.spoilerfix.com
www.imdb.com

Sara’s Fate Hangs in the Balance in ‘CSI’ Season Premiere

The entire first episode of CSI’s eighth season premiere was dedicated to the fate of one of its own and Grissom’s (William Petersen) love interest — Sarah Sidle (Jorja Fox).  Sara, the latest and last victim of the miniature killer, was kidnapped and left for dead pinned under a car in the desert.

In the end, Sara lives.  Not the outcome I wanted, so maybe that’s why I didn’t care for this episode.

However, I have to give the show credit.  They kept you on the edge of your seat waiting to find out if Sara would survive.  And because of the contract dispute, there was a real possibility of Fox not returning to the show.

Still, despite the suspense, I couldn’t bring myself to root for Sara.  The episode had a lot of flashbacks detailing how Sara got put into the live action version of the miniature.  Scenes that we would’ve probably scene in the season finale had Fox showed up for filming.

Personally, I was more interested in learning more about the serial killer and Sara’s fate than in relieving how she got there.  The one thing I wanted to know was how Natalie (Jessica Collins) got Sara under the car.  And they only showed us the tail-end of that scene. 

It looks like Natalie used a jack to lower the car onto Sara, making me ask if you wake up to a car slowly being lowered onto you wouldn’t you make sure that you moved your limbs so they would be pinned under the car.

I thought it was an interesting point that if Sara had had faith in her co-workers and stayed with the wreckage when she escaped from the car, she would have been found a lot sooner and in better health.  Was that a little jab at Fox for her lack of being a team player?

Looks like next week will focus on Grissom and Sara’s relationship as an internal investigation will be launched to look into the fraternization.  Since I’m not a fan of their relationship, I’m not looking forward to it.  However, I’ll still tune in for the rest of the cases.

And my wish for the end of the Grissom-Sara storyline might still come true.  Rumors are floating that Fox might still leave the show later this fall.

Overall, I think the episode was well made.  But when you spend the summer hoping that Sara doesn’t survive so the team can get a little shake up (and Grissom can finally hook up with Lady Heather), it was a disappointing premiere.

CSI airs on Thursdays at 9 p.m. on CBS.

(Photo Courtesy of CBS)

Fates of Several Decided on ‘Smallville’ Season Premiere

The Season 7 premiere of Smallville felt like the tally of who lives and who dies as the fates of several characters were left in the balance during the season finale last spring.  However, fans had to wait to the final minutes to discover the fate of Lana Lang Luthor (Kristin Kreuk).  *** The following might contain some spoilers***

Lana  lives!  Unless of course, you are reading the certificates of death in the morgue.  Don’t you wonder how the medical examiner confirmed her death?  Did they find a body in the explosion?  If so, who was it?  And how did it get in Lana’s car?

Meanwhile, Lana is in hiding halfway around the world.  In the final few minutes we see a blond-wigged Lana strolling through China.  Someone please tell me the purpose of wearing a disguise if you are going to take it off and stand in front of a window.

But never fear, Lana will be back in Smallville before you know it and she has her sights set on Clark (Tom Welling).  That is if it really is Lana!  According to Kristin at E!Online, cloning played a part in Lana’s survival.  I wonder if that means she wasn’t responsible for the explosion that she supposedly died in.  Real or not, except to see a darker Lana.  And I thought she was already rivaling Lex in her manipulating and ruthlessness last season.

On the other hand, Chloe (Allison Mack) dies.  After Clark rescues her and Lois (Erica Durance) from the dam, Chloe is rushed to the hospital where she’s declared dead.  Then she comes back to life on the slab in the morgue — that would freak anyone out.

We don’t know yet how Chloe survived, or rather resurrected.  In fact she isn’t talking to anyone about what happened in the lab in the dam.  I’m not sure if she’s in denial or if she really just doesn’t understand it herself.  But I doubt that Lois will leave it alone for long. 

Lois and Chloe’s relationship will come to a head later this season when Lois gets a job working for the Daily Planet, according to TV Guide.  Speaking of the Daily Planet, expect to see a new Editor in Chief.  No, Perry White isn’t back.  The job will be filled by Grant Gabriel (Michael Cassidy) and I think we meet him next week.  Could he be Lois’ new love interest now that Oliver Queen is out of the picture?

But back to the fates of our current characters.  Although his life wasn’t in jeopardy at the end of the Season 6 finale, Lex, who is incarcerated in the back of a police car (where were the cops, I don’t know?) headed to jail for the murder of Lana, nearly drowns when the dam breaks causing a flash flood.  But he’s saved, but not by Clark.  In Lex’s words, he was saved by “an angel.”

Turns out his angel is Kara (Laura Vandervoot) or as some might know her, Supergirl.  Besides the big save, we see very little of Kara in this episode except for in the final moments where she sits on a water tower, a la Dark Angel, in new clothes.  Those Kryptonians sure like their red and blue.

Clark will meet his cousin Kara next week.  But I’m not sure that this family reunion will be all that happy.  Both Jor El and Martian Manhunter appear to be warning Clark against befriending Kara in the preview.  We should learn a bit more about our newest Kryptonian in the next episode.  Hopefully they’ll tell us where she’s been all this time and why she’s appeared now.

Either way expect her to attract a lot of attention.  I don’t think Lex will be able to easily forget his angel.  Remember how obsessed he was when Clark saved him the first time?  And I wouldn’t want to be Chloe when Jimmy Olsen (Aaron Ashmore) meets this blond beauty.

We’ll meet Kara’s aunt (Helen Slater, the original Supergirl) — is that Clark’s mom? – and her dad Zor-El (possibly played by Kevin Sorbo) in episode six this  season, according to KryptonSite.

But back to Lex.  Pained by the loss of his wife and influenced by his angel encounter, Lex decides to face his arrest for Lana’s murder.  Is he just feeling guilty about loosing her or is he really guilty for trying to kill her?  Despite his new founded conscious, he’s still obsessed with Level 33.1.  While in jail, he asked about subject 5.3.  I wonder who 5.3 is?  Was it the phantom or is there something else to come?

I wondered about the little boy that found Lois and Chloe in the dam and asked for help.  I’m assuming he was one of the experiments (why else would he be down there?), but we don’t see him again after the rescue.  Could he turn up again later?

Lionel Luthor (John Glover) was also rescued — or at least pulled to safety — by someone unknown in a long coat.  My guess is that it was the Martin Manhunter (Phil Morris).  And although we never saw Lionel regain consciousness, I understand he’ll be back and will play a pivotal role in the fifth episode.

Yes, the Martian Manhunter returned as Clark’s cryptic mentor to help him in this week’s epic battle — Bizarro Superman.  And from what I understand he’ll be back several more times this season.

If you remember from the finale, the last phantom from the Phantom Zone used kryptonite to borrow a few cells from Clark and become whole.  The complete opposite of Clark, Bizarro still contained Clark’s memories — which could explain the groping of Lois.  Clark’s weakness – kryptonite – actually makes Bizarro stronger.  And thanks to the Martian Manhunter, we learned that Clark’s strength — the sun — was Bizarro’s weakness.

In all it didn’t take Clark long to defeat his alter ego — by the way thanks for putting the two is opposite colors (of course, blue and red) so we could distinguish between them. 

I’ll have to admit I was a little disappointed to see Bizarro go some quickly.  I thought he could be a daunting foe for our superhero for a few more episodes.  Besides, I think Tom Welling plays dark and evil really well.

But never fear, there will be more big bads in Clark’s future.  Dean Cain (Lois & Clark) will pop up in the fourth episode as Dr. Curtis Knox with a cure for the meteor freaks.  James Marster will reprise his role as Dr. Milton Fine.  I’ve heard no word on whether or not the Justice League will make an appearance this season.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve got my seat on the couch reserved for Thursdays nights because this Season 7 of Smallville promises to be exciting.

‘Big Bang Theory’ Explodes with Laughter

I’m a drama kind of girl.  Don’t get me wrong, they don’t all have to be serious.  I like comedy/dramas.  But I’m a fan of the hour long show.  In fact, I currently only watch one sitcom — How I Met Your Mother.  However, I’ve been on the lookout for a partner to round out my 8 o’clock hour on Mondays.  And I think I found it in The Big Bang Theory if the rest of the season is as funny as the pilot.

I originally tuned in originally because of the vacant 1/2 hour hole in my TV schedule, but I’ll be returning next week for the laughs.

The concept is two very smart, nerdy guys — Leonard (Johnny Galecki) and Sheldon (Jim Parsons) – meet their new pretty, but blond (insert joke here) neighbor, Penny (Kelly Cuoco).  Comedy ensues as the super smart, but socially inept duo and their friends interact with the Penny.

My favorite line from the pilot was when Penny asked Leonard and Sheldon what they do for fun around there and Sheldon, who had just returned from an aborted trip to a sperm bank to raise funds for a faster internet connect, replies with a straight face, “we were going to masturbate for money today.”

It’s not just the lines, it’s how they deliver them that’s so funny.

It’ll be interesting to see if The Big Bang Theory will be able to continue to bring in the laughter each week, but for now I’m hooked.  The show airs on Mondays at 8:30 p.m. on CBS.

Bones’ Season Premiere is a Nail Biter

After a season finale last spring full of surprises, Bones opens its third season with a nail biter — or should I say bone biter — of a mystery.

A reluctant Temperance “Bones” Brennan (Emily Deschanel) pairs up with Special Agent Seeley Booth (David Boreanaz) to hunt for cannibal serial killers who use an abandoned D.C. bank vault full of priceless treasures as their sacrificing altar.

While the duo finds one killer due to a diamond tooth, his mentor remains unknown and on the loose.  And unfortunately, the one in jail just committed suicide with a dagger, placing himself in a death pose associated with a secret society favoring widow’s sons.

While I am thrilled that Bones is adding a serial killer to the overarching storyline, I am most interested in this episode is the interaction of the team itself.

Let’s start with Bones and Booth.  Over the summer, Bones has thrown herself into her work and avoided opportunities for field investigation with Booth, something she relished last season.  Booth thinks it’s because he threw her father in jail.  Angela (Michaela Conlin) thinks it’s because she and Hodgins (T.J. Thyne) left Booth and Bones at the altar last spring when they fled from their nuptials and it made Bones unconsciously uncomfortable about her relationship with Booth. 

We find out, though, that Bones is really upset with Booth because he didn’t stop Zach (Eric Millegan) from going to Iraq.  When Zach returns, Bones is ready to go back on the road with Booth.  I’m glad they didn’t draw that out too long.  I didn’t like that kind of tension between Booth and Bones.

Yes, Zach, complete with buzz cut, returns to the lab after about three months in Iraq just in time to save the day (or at least further the case) with his expertise.  Why?  Because the Army psychologist doesn’t think Zach adapted to that environment very well.  Do you think?  But regardless of what the Army says, Zach fits in nicely at the Jeffersonian.  In fact, he fits in so nicely there that they couldn’t replace him.  Although, I did feel bad for the poor guy “auditioning” for Zach’s slot when he returned.

Meanwhile, Angela and Hodgins, who is sporting a new ’do, are still not married and have hired a private detective to locate her husband.  It was interesting to see Hodgins struggle with his own insecurities as he found out more about the man Angela married. 

Personally, I was astonished with how much information the detective found and how quickly he found it given the little amount of information Angela gave him to begin with — she thought his name started with a B and her sketch looked more like modern art.  It’ll be interesting to see what happens when they actually find this guy.

Not a mind bending episode, but a nice piece to work us back into the groove with the team.  It had a nice mystery that wasn’t easily solved (yet) and great chemistry between the cast.  I’m looking forward to another great season on Bones which airs on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on Fox.

‘Chuck’ Saves the Day with Porn

I watched my first premiere of a new fall series last night and I have to say if the rest of the offerings are as good as Chuck, we are in for a great season.  I mean what else can you say about a show where the hero saves the day with porn of all things.

In the premiere of Chuck, we meet the series’ namesake Chuck (Zachary Levi), a computer geek who lives with his sister Ellie (Sarah Lancaster) and her boyfriend that Chuck refers to as Captain Awesome (Ryan McPartlin) become he’s awesome at everything he does.  Chuck seems to have one friend, an equally geeky co-worker Morgan Grimes (Joshua Gomez) who has a weakness for porn.

A supportive sister Ellie is trying to help her brother get over his college sweetheart (or maybe it was just a crush) by hosting a birthday party in his honor full of women.  Unfortunately, Chuck is still hung up on this girl from college. 

Pretty smart in his own right, Chuck, however, lives in the shadow of his college roommate Bryce Larkin (Mathew Bomer, Traveler, Tru Calling), an accomplished engineering student, track star and gymnast who stole the girl of Chuck’s dreams in college and got him kicked out.

Unbeknownst to Chuck, Bryce is a rogue CIA agent who has just stolen the encrypted secrets of the CIA and NSA combined and emailed them to Chuck before being shot and killed.

Chuck then opens the email and is unknowingly inundated with images that contain the secrets of the NSA and CIA.  Here’s where the real fun begins.  Both the CIA and the NSA send operatives after Chuck, whom they think might be a spy or worse.

The CIA sends sexy Sarah Walker (newcomer Yvonne Strahovski) to retrieve the secrets while the NSA sends John Casey (Adam Baldwin, Firefly) to eliminate Chuck.  Neither succeed, but both soon discover that the secrets now reside in Chuck’s head when he tells them that somehow he knows that a general in town visiting is about to be assassinated.  Hilarity ensues as the together the trio stops the bomb using a computer virus on a porn site (discovered by Morgan earlier) to shut down the computerized bomb.

I tuned into this show mostly because of Adam Baldwin.  I loved him in Firefly as the ever gung ho mercenary Jayne.  I was a little disappointed at first to find him as a suit sent simply to eliminate Chuck.  But as the episode progressed we started to see Casey and Chuck interact.  And I think the final scene with Casey as the “new employee” at BuyMore foreshadowed many more moments where Baldwin’s rare humor ability will be showcased.

Overall, I thought it was a good pilot.  I definitely will be tuning in next week.  It makes for a nice light entertainment preceding Heroes on NBC airing at 8 p.m. on Mondays.  The pilot will be reshown on NBC Saturday, Sept. 29 at 9 p.m. and on Sci Fi Channel at 11 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 30.

(Photo courtesy of NBC)

‘Heroes’ Four Months Later

I’ll be honest with you I was less than thrilled with Heroes’ Season 1 Finale.  It didn’t live up the incredible excitement built all year.  So the big question is will Heroes be able to avoid a sophomore slump?  The premiere of “Four Months Later” gave me a little hope.

As a direct result of my disappointment with last season’s finale, I’ve avoided all things Heroes this summer.  No graphic novels, no spoilers, no reruns.  With the exception of some Heroes news, I’ve had a Heroes-free summer.  So I went into last night’s season premiere with no building excitement — just a fan returning for Season 2.

I’m happy to report that while the episode didn’t blow me away, it did peak my interest in the Heroes world once again.  I am intrigued by the plot and already have my own slew of questions.

Let’s start with the plot that captivates me the most — the older generation of heroes.  We learned a few things.  First, there were twelve of them in the original group.  Nine remain with Deveaux, Linderman and Angela’s husband gone.  Yes, Peter and Nathan’s dad was a member of the Dirty Dozen and it sounds like he died by their hands too.  Hmmm . . . What was his power?  And when did he develop it.  He didn’t have it in the graphic novel when he met Linderman.

For that matter, do we know what Kaito Nakamura’s (George Takei) power is?  And we might never know.  I’m assuming that he is really dead.  Surely the Dirty Dozen wouldn’t take him out in a way in which he could use his power to survive.  Speaking of which, just who was the hitman?  Kaito makes it sound like he was one of the Dirty Dozen.  What exactly was Kaito going to tell his son?  Will Hiro (Masi Oka) going to be able to go back in Kaito’s past to find out?

Also, just what exactly sealed Kaito’s fate?  Was it the past sins he wanted to atone for?  Or was it helping his son defeat Linderman’s plan that got him killed?  Angela Petrelli (Cristine Rose) is also marked for death.  Was it because she didn’t help her sons or because she wasn’t able to stop them?  Did all of the Dirty Dozen stray from their original mission to help the world or just the few we’ve met?  Who’s their leader — the mystery man from Molly’s (Adair Tishler) dreams?

Speaking of Molly, she’s now living with Matt Parkman (Greg Grunberg), who has become a New York cop, at Mohinder’s apartment.  I’m assuming Molly’s parents were done away with by The Company when they took her, but isn’t it a little weird that she was able to just go live with Matt?  Sure The Company isn’t interfering, but wouldn’t social services had lots of questions about where she came from, etc.  Speaking of messes — how did they explain away the final scene from last season.  Lots of people were injured, wasn’t there an investigation?  I’d have thought that incident might hinder Matt’s chances at joining the NYPD.

Meanwhile, Mohinder (Sendhil Ramamurthy) is off recruiting funding for the study of the virus affecting Molly.  Or was it just a cover for joining The Company?

In the meantime, Noah has packed up his family and moved them to a new town to hide from The Company.  I thought it was interesting that Noah had this heartfelt talk with Claire (Hayden Panettiere) about how sorry his was for what he did to her, while he’s plotting with Mohinder to take down The Company.

But Claire has secrets of her own.  She’s still communicating with her birth father, Nathan (Adrian Pasdar).  Nathan, who presumably lost his election, is in a constant state of drunkenness these days.  Both are wondering — where’s Peter (Milo Ventimiglia)?

I think it was a nice cliffhanger to wait until the last minute to tell us about Peter’s fate.  But here’s where I have lots of questions.  There’s the obvious:  How did he get in the box and why doesn’t he have a memory?  My guess is that it has something to do with the Dirty Dozen, but that’s just speculation.  But why doesn’t Nathan know what happened to Peter?  He was with him last.  And why isn’t Nathan hurt?  What did Nathan see in the reflection of the glass at the bar?  Was he seeing things or was it his own reflection?

These questions lead me to a theory.  Nathan was killed by Peter.  Peter who is still regenerating from his wounds disguises himself as Nathan.  And the Peter in the box is a clone.  Not sure if it will pan out that why, but it makes you wonder.

The story of Hiro interests me the least.  He’s gone back to 1671 to meet his hero only to find out that Takezo Sensei (David Anders) doesn’t live up to his reputation.  The storyline from here is kind of predictable.  Either Hiro, himself, actually does the feats credited to Takezo or his influences him to live up to his legend.  Either way, I not sure how it furthers the overall story.  Personally, I want Hiro back with Ando (James Kyson Lee).  The chemistry of this duo is what I like.

We were also introduced to Maya (Dania Ramirez) and Alejandro (Shalim Oritz).  I wasn’t captivated by their story.  I’ve seen the list of all the new heroes to join the cast this season and I’m a little worried.  I’m afraid that with all the new cast members that we won’t have enough time for our beloved heroes.  For instance, we still haven’t learned the fate of Niki (Ali Larter), Micah (Noah Gray-Cabey) and D.L (Leonard Roberts).

I guess I’ll just have to wait a few more episodes to see how they weave them into the story.  Overall, a good episode with the promise of a intriguing season.

I Went to the Outer Banks, Came Home with a Dirty Dick

Yes, it’s true.  I went to the Outer Banks with my family and we came home with a Dirty Dick.  Although it’s not nearly as obscene as it sounds, this conversation-sparking souvenir is causing this parent quite a dilemma.

Here’s the deal:  Last weekend we went to the Outer Banks for a long weekend and the twins’ first trip to the Atlantic Ocean.  Of course, you can’t visit the Outer Banks without stopping for some seafood.

So we stop at a restaurant called Dirty Dick’s for lunch.  With a slogan like “Get Your Crabs from Dirty Dick’s,” we knew that this restaurant was full of double entendres.  But the twins can’t read yet and we heard the food was good here, so we stopped in.

Yes, my husband did get crabs from Dirty Dick’s — three pounds worth (an all you could eat lunch special).  Being a landlover myself, I settled for a hamburger.  The kids got shrimp and a delicacy I’d never heard of — fried macaroni and cheese.  Needless to say, the twins and I were done with our meal while the husband was still delighting in his second pound of crabs.

So the kids and I decided to peruse the gift shop.  I was very glad to see that despite the restaurant’s name, the children’s shirts were very innocent (the adult shirts were a different story).  They substituted the name Dirty Dick for DD.  The toddler shirts said “Aren’t I Cute?” and the youth shirts said “My First Dirty Shirt.”  Cute, but innocent.

Now I’m a big fan of souvenirs, especially when we are some place we’ve never been.  And I really like the kids to have something to remember their trip.  I like to let them pick the souvenir themselves (within a price limit), although I’ve been know to steer them to certain items.

I show the twins the shirts, but they weren’t interested.  (Yes, they do pick shirts sometimes, but usually it’s got some cute character on it.)  However, my daughter did spot a cute stuffed pelican.  I tried to sell my son on a pelican too, but he’d already spied another stuffed animal (not sure that’s the right word) more to his liking — a stuffed version of the restaurant’s namesake.

I tried my best to talk him into anything else in the store — football, frisbee — anything, but he had his mind set on “Dirty Dick.”

Now this has to be one of the creepiest toys I’ve every seen, but my son loves it.  It went everywhere with us that weekend.  And nothing has changed since we’ve come back home.  He sleeps with it.  He totes it around throughout the day.  It goes to the store with us, everywhere.

Herein lies the problem.  When are ready to leave somewhere, I always check to see if the twins have the toys they brought.  I ask my daughter “do you have your pelican?”  Do I ask my son, “do you have your Dick?” 

If the twins are picking on each other and take each other’s toys, I interfere.  I tell my son “give your sister back her pelican.”  Do I tell my daughter “give your brother back his Dick?”

Sure, my kids are too young to understand the Dick can be more than just a man’s name.  But you should see the looks I get if I use these phrases in public.  What if someone asks me what my son’s favorite toy is?  Do I tell them “It’s his Dirty Dick”?

See the dilemma.

For now, I’ve been calling Dirty Dick “Crabby.”  But that’ll only work until my son learns to read since Dirty Dick’s name is on the back of his shirt.  By then he’ll probably have heard of the other meaning for Dick’s name. 

I can only hope that by that time, my son will have lost interest in Dirty Dick.  And this tale will be just a funny memory.

‘Dallas’ to Hit Big Screen in 2009 as a Comedy

When I heard that a big screen version of the TV hit Dallas was heading for theaters in 2009, I immediately thought of my mother.  But I’m not so sure she’ll be interested now that they are making it a comedy.

The night-time soap popular in the late ’70s and ’80s was a staple in my house growing up.  The TV was usually controlled by my father, except for one night a week — the night Dallas aired — when my mother was glued to the TV to watch the latest in the Ewing saga.

In the beginning I wasn’t allowed to watch.  The soap was way to racy (my how times have changed) for the grade schooler that I was and it was on long after my bedtime.  But by the end of the series (yes, my mom was a fan to the bitter end), I was schooled in J.R., Sue Ellen and Bobby. 

I even remember the summer when everyone wondered just “who shot J.R.?”  Flashback to a time when the three big networks ruled the airwaves and almost everyone tuned into the same shows.

Now flash forward to an era when all those old TV shows are being remade into theatrical releases.  While some might argue there has been success in these ventures, I personally haven’t been won over by this fad.

But apparently, I’m not the target market (or Hollywood just doesn’t really care what little old me thinks).  In fact, the market is those that weren’t even alive when most of these shows were around.

How do you get a group who might have only seen a show in reruns head to the theater to catch it on the big screen?  Apparently you make fun of the show.  At least that worked for the Brady Bunch and Starsky and Hutch. 

And apparently the idea of a spoof is currently being tossed around for the troubled Dallas film.  Already plagued with numerous personnel changes from director to cast, 20th Century Fox is overhauling the Dallas movie by placing Betty Thomas (Brady Bunch) at the helm and targeting a youthful audience, according to Variety.   John Travolta is on board to play J.R. himself.

Personally, I’m not interested in the movie.  I must be showing my age because the thought of paying good money to go see a spoof in the theater just doesn’t appeal to me.  There are too many better alternatives out there.

As for my mom, if it was a reunion show, we’d find her camping out at the theater.  But if this spoof is the direction 20th Century Fox pursues, they’ll be lucky if she picks it up in the discount DVD bin.

‘Eureka’ Continues to ‘Click’ With Viewers

“It’s nice when you find someone you just click with.”  The same can be said for a television show.  And Sci Fi’s Eureka definitely clicks with me.  And last night’s episode “Sight Unseen” was no different.

In its second season, Eureka continues to shine, giving Sci Fi a new face – light, quirky and funny.

In the beginning of this season I was a little disappointed to see that Sheriff Jack Carter (Colin Ferguson) wasn’t going to be hooking up with Allison Blake (Salli Richardson) for the happy ending we saw in the alternate future at the end of last season.

But as the season has progressed, I’m actually glad the two haven’t become an item.  Not only because I think Carter makes a cute pair with his date Callie Curie (Sonja Bennett of Traveler), but because I like Allison less and less.

Does it come with the job as head of Global Dynamics that you must become obsessed with all things science related?  It seems like everyone one who holds that position loses a little perspective – Nathan Stark (Ed Quinn), now Allison and even Henry Deacon (Joe Morton) in the alternate future.

But not only is Allison obsessed with GD, she’s starting to cross the line.  A few weeks ago she was willing to risk the whole town as she tampered with everyone’s dreams just to get into Kevin’s (Meshach Peters) head.  Sure, as a mother, I can understand her need to care for her son, but I think she let Stark manipulate her more than anything.

And c’mon, there’s no way Stark is really interested in her and Kevin.  Can’t she see that?  He just wants access to the artifact and is using Kevin to get to it.  And now he’s got Henry trusting him too.  I would think after Kim’s death – even knowing what Beverly did, Henry would be more leery of Stark’s obsession with the artifact.  And why not confide in Jack?  Hasn’t he proved his loyalty yet?

Speaking of Beverly, nobody seems to notice that she’s mysteriously absent from Eureka suddenly.  As the town’s only psychiatrist, you’d think her patients would start missing her soon.  Will we ever find out who she’s working for?

Still it’s nice to see Carter and company finding a little happiness amid the chaos of Eureka.  I think it’s only appropriate that Carter partners with someone else who is familiar with cleaning up messes – even if different messes than what Carter faces.

And is Jack’s daughter Zoe (Jordan Hinson) finally starting to fit in among the geeks of Eureka’s teen population?  First she wins second prize (a car to her father’s chagrin) at the high school science fair.  Then this week she learns a lesson in shallowness when the hot boy snubs her as lab partner because he doesn’t think she’s smart enough.  Luckily she finds a partner more to her liking.

Even Jo (Erica Cerra) is headed for romance if we are to believe last week’s foreshadowing that criminal turned scientist, Zane (Niall Matter) is indeed interested in pursuing a relationship with the deputy.

As for me I’m enjoying this little love affair with the residents of Eureka.  Let’s hope it continues for many more seasons.