What’s Your Favorite Halloween Treat?

Halloween is here.  And now it’s a countdown to the witching hour – the hour when all the little goblins and ghouls will hit the street in search of their favorite treat – candy.  But everyone has their favorite variety of candy that they will be on the look out for. 

Maybe you’ll do a little trick or treating yourself.  Maybe you won’t.  Maybe you’ll find yours in the bottom of your child’s Halloween bucket.  Or maybe you have a secret stash of your favorite that you are hoping that you don’t have enough trick or treaters to hand it out to.  Or Maybe you’ll turn off all the lights, forget the trick or treaters and pig out on that bag of candy you bought.

Now’s the time to fess up.  What’s your favorite Halloween treat (of the candy variety)?  And where will you be finding it tonight?

Personally, I’m partial to anything chocolate.  But I will usually go for a York Peppermint Patty, a Reese Peanut Butter Cup, or a Kit Kat. 

And I discovered the Take 5s a couple of Halloweens ago when I shopped for my candy late and that’s all that there was.  Chocolate and pretzels can’t beat that combination of sweet and salty.

Happy Halloween

The Justice League hopes you and your family have a safe and happy Halloween.

No Eggs for Minors this Halloween

I just read an article about a grocery store that is refusing to sell eggs to minors this week.  Call me naive, but I didn’t realize that egging had become such a huge issue.

When I was a kid, my pranks were innocent.  We toilet papered each others houses.  We had shaving cream fights.  My pranks were all things that were fun and mischevious, but relatively harmless to private property.  Sure we made a mess, but we always cleaned it up.

I knew there were some kids that pulled more damaging pranks like egging at Halloween, but in reality the incidents of these pranks were always fewer than imagined.  I thought the “greatness” of these pranks were urban legends brought to us by teen comedy movies.

Apparently, I either lived in very courtesy neighborhoods (the worst I’ve seen here is smashed pumpkins) or I lived a very sheltered life.  Egging must be more popular these days if grocers are banning minors from buying eggs.

Now I’m not actually condoning the prank of egging, but I have to ask if this restriction will really quell the pranksters?

As a teenager, I was into cheap entertainment and it had to be something pretty big for me to spend my hard-earned money.  So I have to ask, do teenagers really spend their own money to buy eggs for this prank? Or do they just take them from their parents fridge? 

If the later is true, then the ban on egg purchases does nothing to prevent egging and probably actually invites an egging on this grocer.

So tell me, is egging a real problem in your neighborhood?  What are the pranks teens are pulling in your neighborhood this Halloween?

How to Survive a Horror Film: 7 Things Not to Put in Your Child’s Room

It seems like all the favorite horror films have the same ingredients — creepy bad guy that just won’t die, particular objects that give you the creeps, moments designed to make you jump out of your seat and the poor schmoo that doesn’t even know he’s going to die first.  But even knowing the standard formula, could you survive a horror movie?

Just in time for Halloween, help is on the way.  Seth Grahame-Smith wrote a manual to help you out.  And now he’s made some training films to go along with the manual.  Go to DodgeTheKills.com to watch these humorous training films related to all things needed to survive a horror movie.

Being a parent, I was especially fascinated with the 7 Things Not to Put in Your Child’s Room.  You can view it below.

I thought this list was pretty accurate.  My favorite of course is #7.  My husband is not a big fan of clowns, so he liked that one.  And my sister had one of those cymbal monkeys when she was a kid that she was scared to death of.

 The only thing not on the list that I would have included would be creepy dolls (Think Chuckie).

What scared you as a child?  Or if you are a parent, what scares your child?

Does Heroes cross The Line with another disaster for New York?

After the sixth episode of Heroes, fans everywhere are asking who is Adam Monroe?  But Adam’s identity isn’t the only new question fans are left with after watching “The Line.”  There’s the state of New York on June 14, 2008 and the contents of Isaac’s paintings to debate too.

“The Line” was about various characters reaching a crossroads of sort and choosing which direction to proceed.

However, in true Mohinder fashion, Mohinder remained wishy washy, going back and forth on his decision to work for The Company while preaching about right and wrong.  In the end, he stayed with The Company.  But we learned a few things in the process.

The Company has a file on Adam Monroe and, according to Bob, he is an individual posing a potential danger.

Monica has been bagged and tagged by The Company.  But unlike last year, she’s fully aware of her adventure.  She’s given a cover story, contacts, gifts (a loaded iPod) and encouragement to help her city.  Is this new upfrontness a direct result of The Company no longer having the services of the Haitian?  And although we know that Mohinder didn’t inject Monica with the mutated virus, I have to wonder if Bob sent someone else in to do the job while Mohinder was taking his morale stance?

While Bob told Mohinder that The Company needs him to keep them in line morally, I wasn’t surprised when Mohinder got a new partner — to keep him in line.  A supposedly cured Niki reappears, touting The Company’s line about doing good things. 

Meanwhile Peter and a vengeful Caitlin head to a building in Montreal bearing the logo of his father’s law firm just as the painting predicted.  In it, they find a note of warning for Peter from Adam.  One can only assume it’s the same Adam The Company has a file on.  But before they can discuss what it means, the pair are whisked a la Hiro’s time travel powers to a deserted New York City on June 14, 2008 where they learn the city has been evacuated.

I thought wow; we know the date of the season finale already.  But alas, June 14th isn’t a Monday.  My other thought was New York again?!  Do you know how many cities the US has?  They couldn’t tap a different one for this season’s pending disaster?

Looking at next week’s preview of Peter and Caitlin in a decon shower, I’m guess the pending disaster is something biological.  Guess Mohinder’s preaching about the virus spreading to the general public wasn’t just posturing.

Back in present day in Odessa, Ukraine, Noah and the Haitian are hot on the trail of Isaac’s last seven paintings.  They visit Noah’s mentor where they proceed to torture him by removing memories of his family.  That’s one that Jack Bauer never used.  But apparently it was effective.

When his mentor offers him a way out of the “on the lam life” with his family, Noah actually looks like he’s considering it.  But in the end, he crosses the line against The Company and kills his mentor.

Together Noah and the Haitian examine the paintings in a warehouse, but we are offered little insight.  Here’s what I saw

HRG dead with a blonde kissing a boy in the background.  This painting is the one Mohinder found a couple weeks ago.

A man shooting a gun.  My guess is that it was Nathan.

Hiro fighting what looks like Takezo.

A hand with a needle (or was it a vile?).  Looks like Niki is doing this very thing in next week’s preview.

I didn’t catch a good look at the other three, but here’s what the folks at TVSquad say they were and my thoughts on them:

A blonde hanging out a window.  Could be Niki or maybe Kristen Bell’s character?

Peter looking into a mirror that says biohazard.  Probably from future New York.

A painting of Claire sprawled on the steps.  Could this be her prank with the cheerleader?

What did you see in the paintings?

Speaking of Claire, she partnered with the ever creepy West to pull the over-the-line prank on the Heathers — I mean head cheerleader.  Faking (I’m not sure that’s the right word) her own death, she gets the drunk head cheerleader suspended from school and cheerleader, earning her a place on the team.

Meanwhile back in feudal Japan, Hiro crosses the line by kissing Yaeko, disrupting the time/space continuum and crossing Takezo, who saw the kiss.  Takezo then double crosses Hiro with White Beard.  Could a 400-year-old Takezo still be seeking revenge on Hiro and his family in present day?

The part of Ando, and now the restorer, reading the story is still the best part of the tale.  I have one question though.  If Hiro is betrayed by Takezo and left unconscious at the hands of White Beard with no access to Takezo’s sword, how did the scroll get in there?

The wonder twins are back in this episode, but all is not wonderful as Sylar wedges himself between the too.  It gets worse when he influences Maya to use her powers to kill the Citizen Border Patrol so they could cross the border and Alejandro tells her that the next time she uses her power he intends to let Sylar die.  That’s okay, because Sylar is still planning to kill the pair when he gets his powers back.  In the meantime, he’s content to play with his new toy (Maya).

No more on Matt and his dad or Nathan and his mom this week.  Kristen Bell’s character and Micah were also missing in this episode.

Not a bad episode in my opinion.  It kept the storyline moving and gave us a few new things to ponder.

What’s Your Favorite Movie to Watch at Halloween?

It’s that time again — for all things creepy and spooky to come out and play.  But the real question is what will you snuggle up with on your couch in the darkest corner of your living room for a spine-tingling night of the best of the best in hair-raising Halloween films?

The array of frightening and suspenseful movies is unending this time of year.  What is on your plate for an eerie and scary night of Halloween movie delight?

Below is my Top 10 list of Movies to watch for Halloween fun.  I will warn you that I not a big horror movie fan, so you won’t find much in the way of slasher films on my list.  Feel free to add your favorites in the comment section below.

1.  Something Wicked this Way Comes
Ray Bradbury’s tale of two boys who discover the secrets of an evil carnival where everyone in their town goes to make their dreams come true tops my viewing list.  This movie gave me goose bumps as a kid and for that reason alone I watch it every year at Halloween.

2.  Sleepy Hollow
Although the story of the headless horseman has been told many times, Tim Burton’s version is still my favorite.

3.  Scream
As I said I’m too big of a chicken to watch many slasher films, but the way this movie pokes fun at them keeps me laughing too much to be too afraid.

4.  Practical Magic
Not really a scary movie (unless you get on the wrong side of these witches), Practical Magic is a fun look at the love lives of (as my husband would say) two hot witches.

5.  Brothers Grimm
The dark and scary said of all our favorite fairytales.  How can you miss this one on Halloween?

6.  Van Helsing
This movie has all your favorite monsters — vampires, werewolves, even Frankenstein. 

7.  Underworld
A look at the epic battle between Vampires and Werewolves.  Who knew the undead’s life was so complicated?

8.  The Lost Boys
Okay, I have a thing for vampires.  But you have to admit this movie has one good-looking group of vamps.  And beside, who wants to miss the ’80s hijinx of the two Coreys.

9.  Ghostbusters
What’s Halloween without a few ghosts and spirits?  And don’t forget the StayPuft Marshmallow Man.  Hmmm . . . suddenly I’m in the mood for s’mores. 

10.  It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
I don’t care how old you are.  It’s not Halloween until you’ve seen Linus waiting in the pumpkin patch for the Great Pumpkin.

So now you know my DVD line up for the weekend, what’s yours?

Is it okay for children to sleep in their parents’ bed?

Do your children sometimes sleep in your bed with you?  Did they when they were smaller?  Would you admit it if they did?  According to the New York Times, an increasing number of parents are letting their infants and small children sleep with them.  But the really interesting fact is that most of these parents won’t admit it.

Why?  Because in the West, co-sleeping is not widely accepted by family or friends, or even the medical community.  Then why are parents letting their kids crawl into their beds?

Countless children start the night in their own beds, only to wake up a few hours later and pad into their parents’ bedrooms, crawling into the bed or curling up nearby on the floor.

That’s my kids. My son is so quiet about it that sometimes I don’t even realize he’s crawled into bed with us. My daughter is a bit louder, crying out for daddy or mommy.

Sure, I know that its better for the twins to sleep in their own beds, but I’d be up all night trying to coax them back to sleep in their own bed while trying not to wake their sibling.

Letting them sleep in our bed is not only easier, it’s a necessity if my husband and I want to keep our sanity and get some sleep at night.

We never intended for a co-sleeping arrangement.  In fact as infants, the twins slept in their cribs just fine. 

They shared a crib.  But by the time they were 10 months old though, there just wasn’t enough room in one crib for both of them and they were waking each other up with they tossed and turned.  So we put them in separate cribs, and eventually, separate beds. 

Herein lies where our problems started.  Apparently, waking up alone in the middle of the night is pretty traumatic for a toddler.  My daughter particularly suffers from night-time separation anxiety.

We spent many sleepless nights trying to coax one child or the other back to sleep in his/her own bed only to end up with two crying children (when they share a room, one wakes up the other) that were too upset to go back to sleep at all.

Out of desperation, we finally just let the woken child come to our bed where they instantly fall back to sleep.  And later that night, either my husband or I would take them back to their beds.

A year and half after we separated them at bedtime, I am happy to say that the nightly visits to mommy and daddy’s bed are becoming less and less frequent and are often limited to early morning hours.

But still I’m hesitate to admit that my children sleep with us, even if they do only occasionally. Why?  Because most often if the fact is disclosed, I’m greeted with a “you really need a bedtime routine.” 

We have a bedtime routine.  And it works for us.  My children go down at night with relatively little fuss.  My problem has never been getting them to sleep.  It’s getting them back to sleep when they wake in the middle of the night.  And letting them cry it out is just not an option for us.

Sure I know it’s better for my children to sleep in their own beds.  And that is the goal we are striving for.  But when you are sleep deprived, you will do whatever needs to be done so that everyone can get a good night’s sleep.

And to me, that’s the most important thing — a good night’s sleep.

What’s the Best New Show on TV This Fall?

The Fall TV Season is well under way and November sweeps are just around the corner.  But how did all the new offerings this season fair up?  Here’s my look at the best new shows.

A friend of mine commented that nothing really wowed him this season like Heroes did last year and Lost a few years before.  I disagreed with him.  However, I found that the shows that did wow me were a different kind of show than either Heroes or Lost.  In fact, humor is what impressed me this year. 

Without further ado, here are my Top 5 new shows:

1.  Reaper
In this show, the devil once said, “Life’s too short to drink domestic.”  I say life’s to short not to watch Reaper.  My favorite show of the season, Reaper, has some of the best one liners on TV and they are delivered by none other than the devil himself.  Ray Wise steals every scene he’s in as the boss that won’t let Sam out of his contract, but wants to help him be successful in his role as the devil’s bounty hunter.  While Wise might not be a kinder, gentler devil, he’s definitely a friendlier, funnier devil.

But Wise isn’t the only star of the show.  Sam and his two slacker friends — Socks and Ben — will keep you rolling with their attempts to catch escaped souls using vessels given to them by the devil that include a dirt devil hand vac, a remote control car and a Christmas sweater among other things.  There’s also Sam’s super caring parents — you know the ones that sold his soul to the devil when his dad was dying (or at least that’s what they are telling Sam, but what aren’t they telling him?). 

Of course, there are also girls involved.  Missy Peregrym (Candice from Heroes) stars as Andi, Sam’s dream girl that he can’t quite pair up with.  Valerie Rae Miller (Original Cindy from Dark Angel) rounds out the cast as Socks’ ex and the only one of the friends with real career aspirations.

Maybe this show holds as special place in my heart because Sam’s antics at The Workbench (minus his devil duties) remind me of stories my husband has told me about his days in college working at a home improvement store with his pals. 

Reaper airs on CW on Tuesdays at 9 p.m.

2.  Chuck
Brought to us by O.C. creator Josh Schwartz, this comedy is for the geek in all of us and a perfect lead in to the more serious Heroes.  Lowly Nerd Herd employee Chuck is sent an encrypted file containing all the NSA and CSI secrets by his nemesis and former college roommate, Bryce Larkin.  A rogue spy, Bryce destroyed the computer containing the secrets, leaving the information in Chuck’s head the sole source of these government secrets.  Enter Sarah and Casey (Adam Baldwin), CIA and NSA agents respectively sent to keep Chuck, or rather the information in Chuck’s head, safe until a new computer can be brought online.

Hilarity ensues when a particular image triggers the decrypting of a secret and sends Chuck and his handlers on a mission.  For me Adam Baldwin (Jayne from Firefly) steals the show as the gung ho NSA agent sent to eliminate Chuck but is now babysitting the geek while keeping a distrustful eye on his CIA counterpart.  And I’m particularly looking forward to Rachel Bilson guest staring later this season as a potential love interest for Chuck.

Chuck airs on NBC on Mondays at 8 p.m.

3.  Torchwood
Since the airing of this British series is a season behind on the Sci Fi Channel, I know that Torchwood has already been picked up for a second season.  But I couldn’t help but include it on this list for two reasons — 1.  I like this show and 2.  I wanted to include a cable show after all the great hits (Burn Notice, Mad Men and Army Wives) we got from cable this summer.

A spin-off from Doctor Who, Torchwood is even better than its parent.  The adventures of the immortal Captain Jack Hartness and his crew as they chase down aliens and alien technology as part of the secret British agency Torchwood are fun, exciting and captivating.

Torchwood airs on BBC America on Saturdays at 9 p.m.

4.  Bionic Woman
Will Bionic Woman be the next Battlestar Galactia, a TV remake bigger than its original?  I don’t know, but I think it definitely fills the gap left in BSG’s absence as BSG prepares for its final season.  In fact, I like Katee Sackhoff better as Sarah Corvus than as Starbuck in BSG.   Michelle Ryan impressed me in BBC’s Jekyll this summer so I’m glad to have her show up in another show this fall. 

It’s nice to have an action show on with a strong female lead.  It kind of reminds me of Dark Angel with bionics instead of bar codes.  I’m looking forward to more of Jamie’s adventures and to learning more about just what Will was up to before his demise. 

Bionic Woman airs on NBC on Wednesdays at 9 p.m.

5.  The Big Bang Theory
This sitcom about two science geeks with lots of book smarts, but not much street smarts and their hot, blonde (insert joke here) neighbor is worth a second look.  It’s a nice pairing with my other favorite sitcom, How I Met Your Mother.  The one liners alone in this half-hour show keep me in stitches.

The Big Bang Theories airs on Mondays at 8:30 p.m. on CBS.

While these five top my list as the best new shows of the fall season, there are a few more that I haven’t quite made up my mind about.  I think I’ll need a few more weeks with these shows to find out if they are keepers.

Pushing Daisies
While this new drama as already won critical acclaim and a request for a full season of scripts, the jury is still out for me, who is exactly 35 years, 9 months, 15 days, 10 hours and 2 minutes old at this moment.  I am charmed by the Dr. Seuss-like narration and the Pleasantville scenes.  The vibrant colors are visually stimulating.  But I’m wondering if all this charm and sweetness is going to keep me (and audiences) interested.  Right now I like the quirkiness, but will I be annoyed by it after 10 or so episodes?

Pushing Daisies airs on Wednesdays at 8 p.m. on ABC.

Dirty Sexy Money
Right now the Darlings are intriguing.  Everyone likes to look into the life of the rich and famous.  And finding out that their lives are just as screwed up is not only a relief, its fun to watch.  Just ask the tabloids, they sell millions on those stories.  But how long before I tire of watching the rich and spoiled overindulge?  I have hope, but only time will tell.

Dirty Sexy Money airs on Wednesdays at 10 p.m. on ABC.

Life
Do we really need another cop/detective/crime fighting show?  Probably not.  But the story of Charlie Crews still intrigues me.  A cop wrongly accused of killing his best friend and his family is released from prison after 12 years when the case is overturned.  The Zen-spewing detective with a passion for fruit and ladies goes back to work on the force while secretly working to discover who really killed his friends.  Will the mystery be enough to hold our attention? 

Life airs on Wednesdays at 10 p.m. on NBC.

Journeyman
Quantum Leap this show is not.  But the idea that Dan Vassar just suddenly leaving his current life, really at no will of his own, to travel to the past to set some wrong right is intriguing.  Add the fact that the fiancee he thought dead apparently also travels in time and it’s quite a mystery.  But will the audience stick around to find out why?

Journeyman airs on Monday at 10 p.m. on NBC.

Now that you’ve heard my thoughts, tell me what is your favorite new show of the season and why.

Matt Reunites with his mysterious dad in Heroes’ Fight or Flight

In the fifth installment of Heroes, Matt saw his father for the first time since he was 13 and we finally got to meet Molly’s Nightmare Man.  But we learn that family connections are anything but easy in “Fight or Flight.”

Despite his powers, the Nightmare Man (Alan Blumenfeld) is everything Matt remembered about his father — a con man out only for himself.  However, his powers make Parkman Senior more than just a deadbeat dad — he is a man with an evil agenda, that includes the elimination of the original 12 heroes and holding Molly hostage.

I was not surprise to see Nathan head to Philly with Matt.  Finally sober, I think Nathan is ready to pursue some answers.  However, either the two really don’t work well together or they are very naive.  First, they bought into the idea that Parkman Senior was also on the hit list.  The pair seemed to forget that the Nightmare Man was holding Molly hostage in her own mind — not something an innocent man would do.  Even if he was in hiding, he could have just blocked Molly out.

It was aggravating enough that Matt and Nathan kept letting Parkman Senior distract them from getting answers, but then when Nathan told Matt to just read his mind I wanted to scream at the TV.  Why would Nathan expose Matt like that?  Why didn’t he just tell him in his mind to read Nightmare Man’s mind?  And knowing about some of his dad’s abilities, did Matt really think that he was going to just let him read his mind?

It’s no wonder that Matt and Nathan were so easily trapped in their own nightmares, which were in their own right interesting.  Nathan obviously still carries a lot of guilt about Peter.  Will his burned self start to manifest itself like Niki’s Jessica?

Matt’s nightmare was a little stranger since we’ve heard very little about his ex-wife and the baby this season, but apparently he is carrying some guilt there too. 

In the end, we learned very little about the Dirty Dozen except that Bob from The Company is next on the hit list.  Does that mean that there will be no more attempts on Angela?   Pretty lame hit man that leaves someone still alive if you ask me.

Meanwhile back in New York, Mohinder takes Molly into The Company for help.  Does anyone else think that Mohinder is in over his head?  This man is way too wishy washy to be a key component in a plan to take down The Company.  The whole reason he and Matt have Molly is to keep her out of the hands of The Company and then he willingly delivers her to their door.

This same man then lectures Bob about using a taser just moments before he uses it on Jessica to save Bob, the man he’s trying to take down.  And then he tries to help Niki escape. 

Niki, by the way, still thinks The Company is helping her get rid of Jessica.  Personally, I think they are trying to figure out how to extract Jessica and control her for their own gain.  But I’ll save that rant for next week when Mohinder gets all morale again and lectures Bob about experimenting with the virus.

For now, Mohinder has gone to New Orleans to do who knows what to Monica.  He might think he’s helping, but he’s just playing into the hands of The Company.

Meanwhile, Monica, with the help of Micah, is discovering and testing her copycatting abilities, which, by the way, I still think is one of the coolest powers.  Nice to see Isaac’s work is still around.  Is the superhero Copycat in the “9th Wonder” a little foreshadowing of Monica’s future (if Mohinder doesn’t mess with it)?  Will she become our first true superhero, donning a disguising and fighting evil?  She definitely has the attitude for it.  Will Micah become her sidekick?  It’ll be neat to see someone actually find a good use for their powers.

Likewise, in Cork, Peter is channeling a little Isaac when he paints a picture of himself and Caitlin in Montreal.  The painting goes nicely with what he found in his box when he finally opened it — a passport and a one-way ticket to Montreal.  Where did the ticket and the passport come from?  Sounds a little like a set up to me?  As far as we know Peter was planning no trips to Montreal before the season finale and he probably didn’t have his passport on him when he went supernova.  Whoever put him in the box, must’ve put those things there as well.  The big question is who put him in the box?

Because there was a picture of Peter with Nathan, I wondered if Nathan did it.  But he’s showing way too much guilt for someone who would know Peter was alive.  So my guess is Angela and she must’ve left further clues for him at the building in Montreal.  What do you think?

And what secrets can be held in Montreal?  Will it be the key to bring down The Company?  Is that why they are now looking for Peter?

The hunt for Peter brings us to the big guest star of the week — Kristen Bell as Elle, an agent for The Company and the daughter of someone with an agenda.  She said she worked for a company, I just assumed it was The Company.  If I’m right, then I’m guessing she’s Bob’s daughter.  Anyone else think someone different is her dad?

Also do we assume because Peter can also shoot lighting out of his hands that he has been in contact with Peter before?

I don’t know about anyone else, but I wasn’t impressed with Kristen Bell’s character.  Except for the mischievousness (if that’s what you want to call killing Ricky), Elle reminded me too much of Veronica Mars.  I don’t know exactly what I was expecting, but that wasn’t it.

We only caught a glimpse of Noah, the Haitian and Hiro this week.  Noah and the Haitian are in what looked like Russia looking for the missing Isaac paintings.  I wonder what lie he told his family for this trip.

Hiro is still in feudal Japan watching Takezo and Yaeko fall in love while trying to save her dad.  What was more interesting was watching a frustrated Ando trying to find out what the damaged scrolls said.  His interaction with the restorer was cute.  Desperate to know what happens next, he asks the restorer who says something like “how should I know.”

No Maya, Alejandro or Sylar this week.  Yeah!  There was also no sign of Claire and the creepy West.

SciFi Weekly is reporting that Kring says we will be seeing more of the people from the Dirty Dozen photo that included Angela and Matt’s dad this season.  Personally, I’m looking forward to knowing more about the original 12.

Until next week, I leave you to ponder your theories.

‘Heroes’ finally reveals the identity of Nightmare Man in ‘The Kindness of Strangers’

During last night’s Heroes, we got a glimpse of this season’s big bad — finally.  “The Kindness of Strangers” not only revealed the identity (sort of) of the man giving Molly such vicious nightmares, but we also learn that he has a special tie to one of our heroes.

We have Matt Parkman to thank for tonight’s big revelation.  Wow, did he just get interesting!  When Angela Petrelli suddenly decides to confess, from her hospital bed, to the murder of Kaito and inflicting the wounds to herself, Matt doesn’t take Angela’s message to leave it be to heart. 

Unable to continue the investigation officially (because his partner believes Angela’s confession), Matt turns to Nathan Petrelli for help.  This request is enough to get Nathan to shave and visit his boys (he must of really screwed up if he’s not allowed at their school), but it doesn’t stop him from seeing that creepy reflection.  At first I thought it was Peter in the reflection, but this time it looked like Nathan.  What does it mean?  Is it a manifestation of his own guilty conscious?

Together the pair find a photo of the “Dirty Dozen” that includes Angela and her husband, Kaito, Linderman, Deveaux, Bob (guess there is a link between The Company and the Dirty Dozen) and to Matt’s surprise, the father that left him when he was 13. 

Eager to find his father, Matt asks Molly to find him only to find out that his absent father is also Molly’s Nightmare Man.  Now I expected Nightmare Man to be a part of the Dirty Dozen, but I didn’t see the relationship to Matt coming and I think it makes the threat more interesting. 

In a brave effort, especially for a child of her age, Molly agrees to find the Nightmare Man for Matt.  But after revealing that he’s in Apt. 9 in Philadelphia, she gets trapped in her own mind by her nightmare. 

I think it’s very interesting to note that Matt, who can read minds, has a father that also seems to have a telepathy sort of power, although obviously much stronger.  Could Matt’s father have been the one to attack Angela in the police station through her own mind?  Does Matt’s dad know about Matt’s abilities? 

Are the parent’s abilities and the child’s abilities somehow related?  And if two parents have powers, how does that affect a child’s powers?  Micah, Claire, Nathan and Peter all had parents with too powers?  As far as we know, Hiro only has one parent with powers and we don’t know what that power was.  Nathan’s boys have only one parent with powers and they don’t seem to exhibit any powers yet.  Would Nathan and Peter’s powers be different if they were Kaito’s sons and not Mr. Petrelli’s?  Or are they Kaito’s?

Meanwhile, secrets still abound in the Bennett family.  As Noah and the Haitian continue to search for the remaining paintings, he reflects over the one found last week depicting his death with Claire and a boy in the background.  In the meantime, Claire is lying to her father to see West, to whom she reveals way too much about herself. 

I’m starting to believe those of you who think West is a plant by The Company to find the Bennetts.  He was pushing way to hard for Claire to continue to see him.  And he was digging way to much into her business.  And he’s still creepy, even for a high school boy.  Wake up Claire!!!

We met a new hero in New Orleans this week.  Micah, who didn’t take long to disobey his mom and use his powers, has a cousin who is just coming into her powers.  Is it me, or does cousin Monica’s powers remind you a lot of a waitress in Texas from last season?  As far as powers go, the ability to learn like that would be a pretty cool one in my opinion.

Unfortunately, I think her efforts to thwart the robbery might bring a little too much attention to her powers.

And finally, we are to Maya and Alejandro.  Good news — they didn’t kill or resurrect anyone this week.  Instead they meet Sylar.  No explanation about how he came to be face down in the street yet.  Since the wonder twins are still alive, I can only assume that he still doesn’t have his abilities or the ability to absorb powers.  BTW, love the metaphor of his watch being broken too.

Sylar being paired with the Maya and Alejandro can’t be good news.  It definitely wasn’t for Derek.  And what is with the cockroach?  Is it Sylar’s calling card?  Or is he like the cockroach and never dies?

No sight of Hiro, Peter or Niki this week.  Overall, I was excited about this episode because we are finally moving the story about this season’s big bad forward.  I just want to know more about the Dirty Dozen!