Yay!

Good news! Dollhouse is renewed!

More Dollhouse Reviews

If you're a fan (or thinking about being a fan) of Dollhouse, check this out. (Stealthily stolen from Reggie)

The tides have turned and I'm lovin' it!

Castle

The new Nathan Fillion show, Castle, premiered last night. Here's the premise: Rick Castle is a best-selling murder mystery author who has just killed off his main character. He is getting pressure from his editor (who just happens to be his ex-wife as well) to write something new, but he is suffering from writer's block. Enter cute detective Kate Beckett, who begrudgingly asks Castle to help her solve a series of murders based on the crimes in his books. Castle not only helps her catch the bad guy, but also finds a muse in her that breaks his writer's block. Now he gets to follow her around and write about it.

I really liked the humor in the show. Nathan Fillion can really pull off comedy, as he's previously demonstrated in Firefly and Dr. Horrible. What I wasn't thrilled with was the cliche nature of Castle's character. He's basically a good-looking, successful womanizing asshole. And surprise! Kate Beckett can't stand him! So we have a layer of sexual tension always charging the situation. It would have been nice to see the Castle character be a little deeper and less predictable. Perhaps that will come as he's developed over the season.

Any thoughts from other fans out there?

Dollhouse Episode 2

I think I have figured out why I don't just love Dollhouse. As a late-comer to Whedon's work, I am not that familiar with his choice actors, and thus don't have any previous experience with Eliza Dushku. I haven't had time to catch up with all the old Buffy stuff. So...I find myself not really liking her as an actress. I can only imagine how difficult it must be to realistically portray a "blank slate;" however, the imprints that Echo has had so far seem extremely similar in personality. Perhaps I am not giving Dushku a fair shake and need to see some of her other stuff, but she just seems hollow as an actress. The other Dollhouse characters have so much more depth to them already, even the cheesy Topher.

I'm glad that "the plot thickens" with Episode 2 and am looking forward to future shows. I just hope I can develop some kind of connection to Echo eventually.

Review of Dollhouse

Ok, so the pilot episode of Joss Whedon's Dollhouse has come and gone. I give it a B-. Since it is easier to notice the downfalls, here's what I didn't like:

• The gratuitous sexual overtones: While I understand their target demographic consists mostly of men, I do think it is possible to interest them without Eliza Dushku and Summer Glau insinuating that they will be available for sex every Friday night at 9/8pm central.
• Programming Echo with a personality that has not only suffered extreme abuse, but has suicidal tendencies as well: I get the whole dichotomy of the Universe thing, but someone who had suffered that kind of abuse would have problems well past near-sightedness and asthma. Do some research, people!
• Stuffing way too much information into 50 minutes: It would have been nice to have an introduction to The Dollhouse, how the Actives got there, who runs the place, etc. And I don't understand what the purpose of Echo's first engagement was - to get laid, be a badass on a crotch rocket and dump a guy?

I think this show has a lot of potential. I am not asking for it to be grounded in complete reality, but some believability would be nice. Any thoughts from other Whedonites out there?

Looking Forward to Fridays

Hairy Scary Monsters

Enjoyed a nice anniversary getaway this weekend. This morning, we watched a few episodes of MonsterQuest. Always on the lookout for TV to make fun of, we were thrilled to happen upon this gem. 

The basic premise is science taking on urban legends pertaining to animals - BigFoot, Nessie, etc. Some of the episodes were pretty cool - getting footage of elusive giant squids and such. But after watching several episodes, we basically determined that the program consists of 30 minutes of speculation, 10 minutes of over-dramatic interviews and 4 minutes of science.

My favorite was the "black jaguar" (not known to exist in North America) carcass recovered, analyzed and being determined to be the bones of a domestic dog. Yeah, that segment took 20 minutes. But hey - I am the idiot watching it.

What I Am Doing

My biorhythms must be in a valley right now - I am just sluggish as of late. No, I am not pregnant. Sheesh. Quit teasing me...that's not funny!

Today marks Day 1 of the PSI Conference. My duties include picking up one of the speakers from the airport and transporting her to the hotel downtown. Should I dress up? I mean, I am not going to wear my AC/DC shirt or anything, but do I need impeccable grooming? Do I get to stand in baggage claim with a little sign? There's a first time for everything.

Punkin's last day of school is tomorrow. This conference doesn't come at the best time. I was telling the husband what time to pick her up tomorrow and she said, "I will be mad if you forget me!" Ya think?

OK, I better quit watching Pet Star and get a life.

And Bad Mistakes...I've Made a Few...

1. Freddie Mercury's outfit

2. William Hung

3. Me posting this on my blog

Go Devils!

Woke up to rainy weather. Had enough time to watch a Seinfeld episode before the alarm went off. David Puddy has to be one of my favorite guest characters. Punkin calls him "Kronk" because he's a pretty regular voice actor for Disney and other animated features.

This week has been rather slow, but I am not complaining. Finished up the semester at San Jac last week, so no more teaching until August-ish. I've been trying to wear an arm sling to remind me not to use my right arm/hand, but it is so inconvenient! The doc says the only way I am going to get rid of this tedinitis in my shoulder is by resting it. Yeah, right! Reminds me of when I broke my right wrist in high school. Try writing with your left hand for 6 weeks when you're a righty. 

Why does it feel like Friday?

The History of Christmas

I love studying theology. This morning, The History Channel presented a documentary on the origins of Christmas. Recently having heard a story about a friend being accused of being a pagan because she bought Christmas tree postal stamps, this particular program caught my eye.

So, did you know:

1. Jesus was most likely born in the Spring since shepherds usually don't watch their flocks by night in the Winter;

2. 12/25 was signified as a holiday way before Christ because it is the Winter Solstice in Rome, and they needed a reason to cheer up because of the cold and darkness;

3. The Puritans outlawed Christmas for hundreds of years because folks would be out drinking and otherwise being "naughty";

4. Christmas is originated from the words The Mass of Christ;

5. St. Nicholas was the dude who decided that he was going to give gifts and other charities to the commonfolk because he thought everyone should feel cheerful at this time of year;

6. Evergreen trees are a pagan tradition because they could survive for long periods of time indoors (thus cheering folks up);

7. The Yule Log is also a pagan tradition - they cut down a large tree and burned it for warmth and cheer - this usually lasted about 12 days (hmmm...that reminds me of a song);

8. The Catholic church decided "if you can't beat them, join them," and designated the celebration of the birth of Christ on the same day as the existing pagan holiday.

So basically, even though Christmas has morphed into a celebration of the birth of Christ, it originated as a way to keep spirits up in this cold, dark time of year. There's more, but you'll have to read the History Channel stuff if you're interested.

On TV Again

Check out the Houston Wellness Association conference commercial. I am way in the back at the end, but hey - I know I was there!

Science Geek

One of the shows I watch pretty regularly is Survivorman on the Science Channel. My husband and I have started to count how many times Les Stroud gripes about his circumstances or says that he could die. We're talking stuff like "It's freezing rain here and my pants are soaked. I could get hypothermia and die." Our estimate is that he averages a comment like this every 4th sentence.

Logically, I know that he throws all that in for dramatic purposes, but I can't help but think Why are you doing this if it sucks so bad?? We've sort of created a Mystery Science Theater 3000 for Survivorman..."White snowshoe rabbits can kill you!"

Yet I still watch. Go figure.