News and Notes on Thirsty Thursday

Okay, so saying it's "Thirsty Thursday" is kind of silly for a blogger since I'm not really giving away any beer to my loyal (yet strangely silent) readership. Yet, I still feel the need to have a silly title leading off today's edition of the Scribblings, cuz that's how I roll. Oh lord, did I really just type that? Anyway, onto today's tidbits...

- Big news for sci-fi geeks across the pond (and here in the States) as the second season of the BBC's new Doctor Who will debut over Easter weekend on April 15th. You can read the full story over at Dark Horizons (always gotta give a shout out to Garth). David Tennant is the latest actor to step into the TARDIS, and he provides a smattering of what to expect this next season, including a return of another classic Doctor Who villain, the Cybermen (who always creeped me out more than the Daleks ever did). It also seems that Rose's boyfriend, Mickey, will be joining the Doctor and Rose on their travels this season, and much-loved former companion Sarah-Jane Smith will also be making an appearance.

While I am geeked about seeing Sarah-Jane again after all of these years, I'm somewhat underwhelmed by making Mickey a regular. He always came off like a whiny bitch to me more often than not, and even though Tennant says that Mickey "saves the day", I'll be hard pressed to accept him as anything more than a third wheel.

What I am most curious of is seeing how Tennant will play the Doctor. Christopher Eccleston's version of the Doctor was probably the best since Tom Baker, and I will be admittedly biased until I see the spin that Tennant brings to the role. Pictures of him already suggest a decidedly different portrayal and possibly a departure from the edge that Eccleston brought to the role, and I believe that's a good thing. I just hope Tennant sticks around for more than one season and gives his Doctor a chance to grow.

Currently the first season of the new Who is airing Friday nights on the Sci-Fi Channel, and if you aren't checking it out, you don't know what you're missing. Doctor Who hasn't been this good since Tom Baker hung up his scarf 25 years ago.

If you want to find out more, then click on over to an interview Tennant and Billie Piper did for BBC Online.

So what does this mean for the Whovians among us who don't live in the UK? Well, unless you are among those of us who have access to certain file sharing programs, you'll have to wait until Sci-Fi starts airing the eps sometime in 2007, I'd guess. However, I'm hoping that a certain friend of mine will come through with the new episodes as they become available. I wonder what I'll owe her this time.

- I'd been waiting for years, hoping that someone at Warner Bros would hear my prayers. Well, those prayers have been answered! Pinky and the Brain is coming to DVD on July 25th! What, you were expecting something earth-shattering? You all should know by now that the silliest little things bring me joy, and when I read this tidbit on TVShowsonDVD.com, it made my morning.

For those of you unaware of PatB, allow me to enlighten you. Pinky originally started as a recurring segment on Animaniacs (which is also finally coming to DVD) before spinning off into its own show. The premise is simple, yet so hilarious: a pair of laboratory mice try to take over the world, usually with disastrous results. Pinky is simple-minded and most likely insane (but in a good way). The Brain is, well, a brain, but his plans always seem to go awry no matter how well he plans them out. Like a lot of cartoon shows from the late 90's, Pinky is littered with pop culture references and inside jokes that you have to be old enough to either get or appreciate. Yet, at it's heart, it's still a funny cartoon that kids can enjoy.

Perhaps the best known segment of Pinky are the "ponderings". In every episode, the Brain, in a flash of inspiration would ask his dimwitted friend, "Pinky, are you pondering what I'm pondering?" and Pinky would always respond with a complete non sequitur, such as, "Well, I think so Brain, but I can't memorize a whole opera in Yiddish". If you want a complete list of The Ponderings, check out Richard Watanabe's Complete Pondering List. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll want to read it again and again.

So there ya go, boys and girls. This is what passes for big news in my little corner of the world. I mean, who else would devote a blog to a British sci-fi series that won't be airing in the U.S. for at least a year and a DVD release for a cartoon show that's been off the air for nearly 5 years? You don't get this kind of entertainment anywhere else, I'd wager.

Okay, I'm outta here till tomorrow, when I'll return with my first comic reviews in nearly a month. Later, Scribbleheads!

~Sara

Twisted Ankles and Hooters

Okay, I'm a klutz. Always have been and probably always will be. I accept this. However, my propensity to trip over my own two feet and my admittedly weak ankles don't stop me from wearing shoes that really don't provide much in the way of support. And while I would never classify myself as a girly-girl, I do have a weakness for shoes, sandals in particular. And it was wearing said sandals that in part led to a very embarrassing incident this past Monday afternoon.

Monday was to be the getaway day for my roomie Rachel and me. We were taking the redeye out of Las Vegas home, so after we checked out of the hotel, we hopped into our ridiculously overpriced rental car and drove around town. After checking out the way overrated Palms and the tres cool Rio, Rachel wanted to head back into town and do some sightseeing and shopping to help waste time before our flight. I had no problems with this, and killing time is one of those areas in which I thrive. However, just as we were making our way back onto the Strip, Rachel had what she believed was a brilliant idea. She wanted to check out the all-new, all-tacky Hooters Hotel and Casino. Yes, boys and girls, Hooters is now in the hotel business. And since I wasn't the one driving, I reluctantly gave in. And no, I'm not one of those girls who gets all offended by the blatant sexualization of Hooters. No one forces these girls to work there, and a job is a job. You'd never catch me dead in an outfit like that, but that's just me.

Anyway, Hooters is adjacent to the Tropicana Hotel, and since the Trop's parking lot was all-but-empty, Rachel parked there. We made our way through the parking lot and down the way to Hooters. However, instead of just going back out onto the sidewalk and taking that path to the hotel, yours truly, the queen of the shortcuts decided that it would be quicker to walk through a slim opening in the bushes that lined the property. Big mistake. No sooner had I walked through the shrubbery when my foot came down awkwardly in a pile of gravel, causing said weak ankle (supported by nothing since I was wearing my favorite sandals) to buckle. I ended up falling butt first into the rocks in a small degree of pain from a twisted ankle. Of course Rachel was off in la-la land just in front of me, so she didn't notice I had biffed it until I yelped.

So there I was, sitting on the ground just outside of the Hooters Hotel and Casino, holding my ankle, trying not to cry and praying that no one saw me go down. As my luck would have it, someone did see me, someone very hunky with a wonderful tan and a warm smile. He all-but rushed over to where I was and immediately offered whatever help he could. By this time, a combination of pain and embarrassment had taken hold of my tongue, and I could barely string two coherent words together. I sounded like Buffy in that episode when she reverts to a primitive state. I swear to god that I think I said, "Ankle hurt" to my handsome stranger, and despite my lack of a vocabulary, I was able to communicate to him that I had a tender ankle and would welcome his help in getting into the casino. And with Rachel's "help", Josh (as he told me his name was, though it took awhile for it to sink in) led me into the casino.

Before I could tell him not to, he had gotten an icepack from one of the waitress, sat me down, elevated my ankle and told me to not move. Rachel watched on with amusement as several Josh fretted over me. When I finally regained my senses and realized my ankle was only twisted, I very politely (for me, anyway) asked Josh to give me some space. I think I must have turned 12 shades of pink, but I just felt like such a dummy. I mean, we were going to be walking around most of the day, and I decided to wear strappy sandals. Not a good idea.

When the pain died down and determined I could move my ankle, I told Rachel that I wanted to go back to the car so I could change into sneakers. Rachel made protestations that we should stay until I was sure my ankle was okay (mostly, I think because of hunky Josh), but I had to get out of there. I did not want to spend what remained of my vacation sitting in Hooters. So, I got off my chair and limped out the door, leaving the casino and Josh behind. Rachel reluctantly followed but not before giving her cell phone number to Josh so he could call her and find out if I was okay.

Two days later, my ankle is still a bit tender, so I've done my best to stay off my feet as much as possible, which is hard when you work in a bookstore.

I guess the moral of the story is to wear more sensible shoes if you're going to be walking around Las Vegas while wasting time before your 11pm flight home. Otherwise you might end up hobbling into the Hooters Hotel and Casino on the arm of a cute guy. On second thought, maybe that wasn't such a bad thing.

Oh, one more thing, Josh did call Rachel later on to check up on me. That's the good news. The bad news? Josh is engaged as I found out from the emails we've been bouncing back and forth the past few days. It just figures that the only cute, nice guy I met on the entire trip is engaged. Oh well, what can ya do?

That's it for now, boys and girls. Be back tomorrow with my daily dose of entertainment news delivered as only I can. C'ya!

~Sara

Back from Sin City

I have returned safe and sound (for the most part) from my week of fun and gambling in the fabulous Las Vegas. I know you guys missed me, and I would have regaled everyone with an exhaustive recap of my daily shenanigans, but frankly, I was more interested in playing the nickel poker machines. Unfortunately, I didn't win enough money to quit my job and start writing full time, but such is life. However, I did manage to have a few nice hits on the poker machines, a couple of nice runs at the tables and a very successful time betting on sports for the first time in my life. And that leads me to those NCAA tourney picks I made before departing last week.

As I watched the games unfold Thursday and Friday, a smug smile came to my face as I correctly predicted 6 out of the 8 Sweet 16 games. This also led me to having a fine time actually betting on the games at the Stratosphere's sports book. In fact, I had 3 wins and a push on Friday night which translated into some nice extra cash for use at Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville Saturday night (more on that later). However, my Elite 8 picks pretty much stunk up the joint as I only had 1 out of 4 right (though I did manage a split actually betting on the games). Now what does this all mean? Not a damned thing. I just got lucky. Believe me, I'm not about to abandon you guys for a career in sports betting. Though I do have to give myself a small pat on the back as I nearly had the winner NASCAR race until that bastard Kurt Busch passed my boy Matt Kenseth at the end of the race. And yes, in addition to being a hoops junkie, I'm a NASCAR fan, too. What can I say? A lot of the drivers are really good looking.

Anyway, enough with the sports and onto more important things like exhaustively recapping each and every detail of my trip. Well, maybe not, but here are some highlights:

- Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville is the place to be on a Saturday night in Las Vegas if you're looking for a good place to dance and have a good time but don't want to pay a huge cover or have to dress up. Yeah, you can go party with the pretty people at The Palms, but I'll bet you wouldn't have had a good time like I did getting my groove on with a bevy of pretty cute guys.

- Even though the Stratosphere is way at the other end of the Strip, I totally recommend it. Awesome casino, friendly people, sweet buffet (I'm gonna be paying for all that I ate), and just a short walk away from the Las Vegas Monorail which quickly and safely gets you into the heart of the Strip in only about 20 minutes.

- Unlike the last time I visited Vegas, I actually came home with some money! This was thanks in part to hitting 4 Aces on the nickel poker machine Sunday afternoon and a few nice table runs (Pai Gow Poker rules!). Of course, I did get my butt kicked playing Blackjack, to the point that I was actually predicting the hands the dealer would have. I mean, I would be sitting pretty with 18, 19 or 20, and of course, the dealer would just have to beat me, pretty much every time.

- The Palms isn't all it's cracked up to be. My roomie Rachel and I rented a car yesterday and took an afternoon drive to what is supposed to be the place to be seen for the 30 and under crowd in Las Vegas. Maybe it's because we were there in the middle of the day, but man, was it a snore fest. There was barely anyone in the casino. By contrast, the Stratosphere's casino was hopping pretty much 24/7. For what The Palms costs, I was expecting a modern day Babylon. Big disappointment.

- If The Palms was a huge letdown, then The Wynn was a big surprise. Since it's Vegas' newest hotel/casino, I really didn't know what to expect, but after just a short walkthrough, I fell in love with the place. It's gorgeous and probably well worth the small fortune it would cost to stay there. Much too pricey for cheapskate me, but if you go to Vegas you have to at least spend some time there.

- At the other end of the spectrum is the little joint next to Circus Circus and across the street from The Riviera known as Slots A Fun. Slots is home to the best .75 margarita you'll ever want to have and to probably the cheapest table games in town. I played a little roulette there and a .50 bet on lucky 18 (along with a few corner bets) scored a nice payday. It's not exactly the neatest or roomiest place in LV, but I had good, cheap fun.

- The shopping. I had to tell myself constantly to not buy every cute pair of shoes I saw or to buy every trinket I just had to have. From the Fashion Shops across from The Wynn to all of the shops at The Venetian and the rest of the hotels, Las Vegas is a haven for those of us out there who really need to have overpriced clothes and shoes.

- The food. I love buffets. I can't help myself sometimes and continually thank my lucky stars that I still have a healthy metabolism. Yet, after all I ate last week at the Stratosphere's sumptuous Courtyard Buffet, I have a long week at the gym ahead of me.

Well, seeing as though I'm still on Vegas time, I think I'm going to go take my afternoon nap and then see about maybe dragging my butt to the gym. I already miss the pool and the sun and the sights and sounds. I guess there's always next year.

More stories tomorrow, including the sad tale of how I sprained my ankle walking to the Hooters Hotel and Casino.

Later, boys and girls!

~Sara

Fearless Final Four Picks

We're down to the Sweet 16 as the 3rd round of the 2006 NCAA Men's Basketball tournament resumes on Thursday. Yours truly will be watching the festivities from the fabulous Las Vegas, NV, betting a small amount on each of the remaining games. So, here we go with my predictions:

Thursday - Duke vs. LSU - hard to bet against the Blue Devils, though LSU will be a good test for Coach K's boys. Take Duke

Texas vs. West Virginia - Texas' athleticism prevails against WVU's plethora of 3-point shooters.

Memphis vs. Bradley - The Braves have had a great run. It comes to an end here as Memphis rolls to an easy win.

Gonzaga vs. UCLA - This could be the best game of the whole tournament, and I think this will go down to the end, with UCLA holding on to win.

Friday - UConn vs. Washington - Now that we've reached the Sweet 16, UConn will start playing like the best team in the nation. UConn all the way.

George Mason vs. Wichita State - The battle of the Cinderellas. GM beat the Shockers a month ago, and after seeing who GM dismantled Michigan State and North Carolina, I'm going with Mason.

Villanova vs. Boston College - In the battle of a current and former Big East schools, the size and experience of BC will be too much for Nova.

Florida vs. Georgetown - The Hoyas were impressive against Ohio State, but Florida has been solid throughout the first two rounds. I'm going with Florida.

Onto the Elite 8...Duke over Texas, UCLA over Memphis, UConn over George Mason and BC over Florida.

Final Four: Duke over UCLA, UConn over BC. And in the championship, it's UConn handily defeating Duke and cutting down the nets.

So there you have it, my Fearless Final Four Picks. I'll probably end up losing my shirt in Vegas, but I'll go down swinging.

Take care, boys and girls. See you in a week!

~Sara

Bad Blogger

Okay, so, yeah, it's been well over a week since the last new Scribblings appeared, and I know you've all been wondering, "Where the heck has she been?". Well, circumstances beyond my control left me unable to blog for the better part of the past week and a half, and unfortunately, after tomorrow, there won't be another blog till the following Tuesday. Unless of course I can find computer access while I'm on vacation in the fabulous Las Vegas, NV. Yes, that's right, boys and girls, yours truly is getting out of the friendly confines of western Pennsylvania for a whole week to go gamble and party in Sin City. You can all proceed to be jealous right now.

So, did anything happen while I was away? Oh yeah, there was a little something called the NCAA Men's Basketball tournament. Of course, my brackets went into the garbage after the first weekend, just like always. I mean, George Mason and Bradley in the Sweet 16? The only person who picked GM was Phil The Show Killer's Mom on The Tony Kornheiser Show. And of course, I had Pitt in the Sweet 16, and they laid a colossal egg yesterday. At least I won't have to worry about betting on them next weekend. I'll try to have my Final Four pics in before I head out to LV. Chances are they'll be totally wrong, but a girl can try, can't she?

While I'm still thinking about it, I must urge each and every one of you to either make time to watch or set your TiVos to record the new Doctor Who on Sci-Fi. Thanks to the efforts of my gal Val, I've seen all 13 episodes of the BBC's 2005 relaunching of the classic sci-fi series, and if you're a fan of the original series (like I am thanks to PBS), I don't think you'll be disappointed by the new version. Granted, it is much different than the original. For one thing, there aren't 4 and 5 parts for each story, so the pacing of each story is much faster. The special effects are also light years beyond the Z-grade effects that the old series was so known for. Granted, compared to what you'll see in your average Hollywood blockbuster, the effects still aren't mind-blowing, but I don't watch Doctor Who for the effects.

As the most recent incarnation of the Doctor, Christopher Eccleston brings a sharp wit and boyish enthusiasm to the role. His Doctor is brilliant, impatient, yet very caring when he lets his guard down. And don't expect to see him clad in a long trenchcoat or scarf; this Doctor wears a leather jacket. Best of all, he has the sonic screwdriver, my all-time favorite Who gadget. I find myself wishing I had a sonic screwdriver on a daily basis. Okay, maybe not daily, but every now and then.

And joining the Doctor on his journeys is young Rose Tyler (ably portrayed with loads of spunk by Billie Piper), a modern-day Londoner who (like most of the Doctor's companions) becomes drawn to the Doctor and his promise of fantastic adventures across time and space. Rose is much more of a partner than companion to the Doctor, helping him out and keeping him grounded in humanity.

I won't dole out any spoilers, but suffice to say that the most well-known of all the Doctor's nemeses (the Daleks) will be appearing. However, these Daleks aren't like anything you've ever seen before.

Anyway, that's all for me tonight. I'll be back tomorrow with my last pre-vacation blog. Later, boys and girls.

~Sara

Disinformation? It's more like no information.

I have a bone to pick with Cartoon Network's VP of Acquisitions and Co-Productions, Terry Kalagian. She did an interview over at Newsarama conducted by Steve Fritz in his weekly "Animated Shorts" column. This isn't really about my disappointment that Justice League Unlimited won't be coming back for another season (okay, that's a small part of it). It's mostly about the incredible amount of non-information she was spouting out during the interview.

She begins by practically gushing about all of the anime that CN is bringing back from Japan, which is all well and fine, but if you ever catch me watching an episode of Yu-Gi-Oh, you have my permission to smack me upside the head. Then Fritz asks her a relatively straight-forward question: Are there any plans for any new anime properties coming? Kalagian then proceeds to answer "I really can't say". Huh? Why can't you say? Is it so secret that you can't tell a guy who is interviewing you pretty much for the sole purpose of promoting how awesome CN (and you) are? Instead she gives the standard, well, we're looking at this and that and we're in touch with him and her, yadda, yadda, yadda.

Fritz then goes on to ask her about the oft-rumored Hellboy cartoon (which I think has a chance to be outstanding). Kalagian answers, "I'm not allowed to talk about it, not yet." Okay, folks, reality check here. This is Cartoon Network, not the Pentagon. And to make things worse, after Fritz mentions graphics he's seen on the net, she says she's aware of them but can only say how excited she is about it. And she does the same thing when Fritz asks her about Supergirl and the Legion of Superheroes and Doom Patrol. She says, "You know I can't say anything about it, Steve. You know it."

Now, bear in mind that this interview happened after CN's upfront presentation for the coming year, so there's really no reason I can see for her not to be a little less coy about these shows, all of which I'm going to guess we'll see on CN sooner or later.

And then we come to the "best" part of the interview when Fritz brings up all of the controversy surrounding the recently released Ultimate Avengers, controversy that Kalagian professes to have no knowledge of. Hello? Ultimate Avengers has endured tremendous criticism. A friend of mine at work whose opinion I greatly trust when it comes to all things comics and animation told me in no uncertain terms that it completely sucked. I'll have to see for myself, but I've really not heard or read anyone go out of their way to praise it.

Now, I understand that Kalagian has to be cordial about the controversy since CN will be airing the new direct-to-video movies that Marvel and Lion's Gate are co-producing, but she could have at least acknowledged the controversy and then defended it. Instead, we got, "Personally, I think Ultimate Avengers is great" and "I also think they did an incredible job with the last 20 minutes, when they are all fighting the Hulk". That's all you have to say? What about answering the critics who say that the DC produced cartoons are light years beyond the first Marvel-produced movie? Is Kalagian so in tune with the company line that she can't recognize the tremendous difference quality-wise between a show like JLU and Ultimate Avengers?

I expected more than a corporate speak interview from someone who is a higher up at CN, but I guess it's all about demographics and production costs today instead of producing and acquiring shows that are entertaining and well produced.

So, here's hoping that even after JLU is done airing, DC will see fit to produce a direct to video movie, much like it did for Batman: The Animated Series and Superman. At least we had a couple seasons of Paul Dini and Bruce Timm's vision of the animated DC Universe.

Well, that's it for today. Be back tomorrow with more fun and frivolity. Later, kids.

~Sara

Midweek Musings

Welcome to another glorious Wednesday, the official mid-point of the work week and the oddly named "over the hump day". Of course, the best part about Wednesday is a brand new Ask Ausiello column over at TVGuide.com. For those of you not familiar with the column, I'd check it out immediately, if not sooner. If you want the best inside dirt on your favorite TV shows, then AA is for you. Best of all, Michael is a huge Gilmore Girls fan just like me, so this is where I find my best GG dish. This week is no exception, but the dish is hardly reassuring.

Last week, Lane and Zach got engaged, and this will be the oft-rumored spring wedding that will be taking place (not Luke and Lorelai as many of us had hoped). However, the big news surrounding the wedding is that Lorelai's date to the wedding will be Christopher, not Luke. What does this mean for my favorite TV couple? I don't know, but I'm not liking the direction this all is heading. I made very clear my dislike of how grumpy Luke has been ever since finding out about his daughter, and it's been pretty clear that a rift is growing between him and Lorelai. But why? Is this supposed to make their eventual(?) reuniting that much more special and powerful? They already broke up once before this season, and now they seem to be on that track again. I guess happily ever after doesn't make for good TV.

More will be revealed this Friday when Ausiello debuts an exclusive interview with GG creator Amy Sherman-Palladino. Look for it in Michael's other weekly column, The Ausiello Report. If this guy didn't have such good scoops, I might be a little bit jealous that he has two columns a week on TVGuide.com and has had guest shots on Veronica Mars and Gilmore Girls. I hope he asked ASP "What's up wit dat?" in regards to the possible Luke and Lorelai break-up. That's what I would have asked, anyway...

Totally unrelated to anything regarding Gilmore Girls is the debut of the trailer for X-Men: The Last Stand, the 3rd (and possibly final) film in 20th Century Fox's highly successful X-Men series. I'm going to assume that pretty much everyone out there has seen it by now, but if you haven't, go do it now. I can wait. Okay, now that you're back, I can talk freely about it.

A lot has been made about Bryan Singer leaving what had been his pet project and moving onto Superman Returns and even more was made about Brett Ratner stepping into the director's chair. The uber-geeks of the world got their collective panties in a bunch over Ratner coming on board to helm the concluding part of the trilogy. They pointed to Ratner-directed films like Rush Hour and Red Dragon as not being up to the snuff of their beloved franchise. Yeah, whatever...

Look, I can't profess to having seen any film that Brett Ratner has directed. Frankly, if I have to listen to Chris Tucker for more than a minute, I want to jab a spork into my ear. However, Ratner knows what it takes to make a blockbuster. His two Rush Hour films made over $360 million dollars domestically (thank you, BoxOfficeMojo.com). While some of his other films (see Family Man and After Sunset) haven't exactly been award-winners, I'm confident that he recognizes how revered and scrutinized the X-Men franchise is and will do it every justice.

Now, the trailer itself offers some interesting tidbits that were not seen in the teaser from last year. Among these tidbits are a funeral scene (once again backing up rumors that at least one major character will die), Jean Grey siding with Magneto, and a scene right out of Chris Claremont and John Byrne's Dark Phoenix Saga when Jean asks Wolverine to kill her. Does this mean we'll be seeing Jean as the Phoenix? We shall see. We also get the first hint of the plot as it's revealed by Hank McCoy (Kelsey Grammar in a piece of very inspired casting) that the government has supposedly found a cure for mutants. So, of course, Magneto and his band of "evil" mutants (the Juggernaut among them) are none too happy about this. Mayhem, of course, ensues.

X-Men: The Last Stand will be released on May 26, which is still two and a half months away. In-between now and then, I'm sure someone will either see an advance screening or get their hands on a copy of the script and blather what they found all over the internet (or Ain't It Cool News at the very least). Just don't expect me to either read it or make mention of it. I'm greatly anticipating X-Men: The Last Stand, and I would actually like to be surprised when I see it. I know, I know...god forbid. I mean, just how can a movie be enjoyed if you don't already know everything about it from the opening credits to the name of the second-assistant director in charge of buying the morning coffee?

Anyway, that's it for me for tonight. Be back tomorrow with more of the same wit and wisdom you've come to expect from the Scribblings. Until then, later boys and girls.

~Sara

JLU Review

If it's Tuesday, then it must be time for my weekly Justice League Unlimited review. As the last new episodes of the series wind down, I feel it necessary to chastise Cartoon Network for pulling the plug on one of the best superhero cartoons in history. Yes, I know it's expensive to produce, and yes, I know that it really doesn't reach CN's juvenile demographic. But really, wouldn't you rather be producing more episodes of JLU than garbage like Ed, Edd and Eddy? There are so many more stories to be told, especially now that nearly all of the heroes and villains of the DC Comics universe are at the creators' disposal. A major part of the reason that I've enjoyed JLU is to see second and third tier heroes like Green Arrow, Doctor Fate, The Question, Stargirl and Red Tornado, to just name a few, have their moment in the sun. Anyway, onto the review.

This week's episode (number 8 in season 5 for those of you scoring at home) is entitled "The Great Brain Robbery" and revolves around the Flash and Lex Luthor accidentally swapping brains and the havoc that ensues because of it.

Some of the episodes this season have been hit or miss (the recent Deadman episode comes to mind), but this episode features many of the things that make JLU so good: action, humor and tension, all well-balanced.

So what's good? The wonderful voice acting of Clancy Brown (as Luthor/Flash) and Michael Rosenbaum (as Flash/Luthor) comes to mind. Hearing Luthor use the Flash's trademark quips, referring to himself in the third person, and saying "Dude" was worth more than a few laughs as was the explanation "Luthor" gives Dr. Polaris why he didn't wash his hands before leaving the mens room ("Because I'm evil!"). And that also begs the question: who knew that the Hall of Doom even had a mens room?

For his part, Rosenbaum manages to not turn Luthor-as-the-Flash into a caricature of the Lex Luthor he plays on Smallville. Perhaps the most amusing bit is when "Flash" looks at himself in the mirror of the Watchtower's mens room, and upon seeing Wally's reflection remarks, "I have no idea who he is".

Also well-played are the interactions between the faux Luthor and the rest of the Secret Society, notably Luthor's paramour, Tala (voiced by Juliet Landau). Tala is quite pleased by how attentive and enthusiastic "Lex" is, and when the real Luthor returns at the end, her disappointment is evident.

As far as the action goes, Luthor gives the small group of heroes on the Watchtower a tough time as he quickly adapts to the Flash's powers, using them in ways Wally can't or won't. In the end, it's the brains of Mr. Terrific that ultimately outsmart Luthor, allowing Doctor Fate to fix the mind swap, but not before Luthor runs roughshod over Green Lantern and Red Tornado.

What's not so good? Well, the whole set up of the episode really forces one to suspend disbelief. It was kinda hard for me to swallow that at the exact same time Luthor is probing Grodd's brain for info about Brainiac, Doctor Fate is trying to locate Grodd through the connection Grodd and Wally once shared. The subsequent feedback causes the brain swap. Just too much of a coincidence for me.

I also didn't buy Doctor Polaris as a rival to Luthor. Of all the villains to choose, writers Dwayne McDuffie and Matt Wayne chose Doctor Polaris (at best, a 3rd string Green Lantern villain), and his pursuit of the leadership of the Society felt forced to me. Sinestro (who is heavily featured) would have been a much better choice. Also, Luthor's quick mastery of the Flash's abilities (which extend far beyond being able to run fast), seemed a bit too convenient to me.

Overall, though "The Great Brain Robbery" was a highly entertaining and amusing episode, easily the best JLU since it returned from its way too long hiatus last month. I give it 3.5 stars (out of 4).

Next week's episode should prove to be interesting as the ladies of the JLU take center stage in "Grudge Match."

I'll be back tomorrow with more Scribbling goodness. Later, kids.

~Sara

The Oscars: Yay or Eh?

So, the 78th annual Academy Awards have come and gone, and for a person who didn't see any of the movies nominated (yet still felt the need to make her own predictions), I managed to get 3 out of my 6 picks right. If I would have just gone with my first instinct and picked Rachel Weisz for Best Supporting Actress, I would have gotten 4, but that's classic second guessing.

The only winner that really surprised me was George Clooney winning Best Supporting Actor. I hadn't heard much buzz at all about him being a serious contender, but now that I think a little more about it, I'm not all that surprised. It all goes back to how the Academy thinks. Clooney was a triple nominee (for Supporting Actor, Director and Original Screenplay). His competition in the other two categories was very stiff, so it only makes sense he ended up winning for Best Supporting Actor, if only to recognize what was a tremendous year for the one time ER doc. A lot will be made of Clooney's acceptance speech, but no matter your politics, I think we can all agree that his speech came off as genuine and from the heart. Unlike a lot of liberal Hollywood, I think Clooney truly believes in the causes he and his brethren espouse. For an Oscar winner and quite possibly the best looking man in America, Clooney came off more like a regular person than a big star.

Crash winning Best Picture over Brokeback Mountain also wasn't that much of a surprise. It was the "safe" choice. I guess that Hollywood just isn't ready to anoint a film about two gay cowboys as the best movie in a given year. I've heard far too many people say that even though they really didn't like the movie all that much, they thought it "was a great film". This makes not a bit of sense to me. How can you dislike a movie yet think it's great at the same time? Ultimately, this might have been another reason Brokeback Mountain did not win.

Now, as for the show itself, there were some good things and some not so good things, but for the most part, I thought it was a fairly standard show. As a first-time host, Jon Stewart tried his able best to be funny and relevant, but I thought he was guilty of trying a bit too hard. Some of his jokes were laugh out loud funny. Everyone I know laughed at the Bjork/Dick Cheney joke. However, for the most part, he was guilty of laughing at himself way too much or just being too loud when trying to make his joke seem funnier than it was. I also got the sense that he felt a bit overwhelmed being in front of the most powerful people in Hollywood, especially when he admitted up front that his most notable film role was "the fourth male lead in Death to Smoochy". I suspect this will be the first and only time Jon Stewart hosts the Academy Awards.

Outside of Stewart, I thought the show moved along at a fairly quick pace. Anytime you can get the Oscars done in only 3.5 hours has to be considered a minor miracle. The bit at the beginning with all of the past hosts (even Letterman!) turning down the hosting gig was very funny, and the faux political ads for the Best Actress award were innovative and certainly not what I've come to expect from the Oscars. I suspect Stewart and The Daily Show crew had a hand in them.

Some people loved the Ben Stiller in the green suit bit, and others absolutely loathed it. I thought it was funny for the first few moments but quickly got unfunny (much like nearly every Ben Stiller movie that isn't There's Something About Mary). On the other hand, Will Ferrell and Steve Carrell were damned funny during their presentation for Best Make-Up. Sometimes subtle humor is much better than over the top shenanigans. The most unintentional funny moment came when Jennifer Garner (still a bit *ahem* top heavy after giving birth a few months ago) nearly fell while walking out to present her award.

Of course, I would be remiss if I didn't talk a little about the fashions. Nicole Kidman was absolutely stunning in her ivory-colored dress:

And Oscar winner Reese Witherspoon could not have been any more lovely in her very traditional gown:

And Jessica Alba turned heads in her gold dress:

However, I was surprised that the normally gorgeous Charlize Theron opted for a dress with a gigantic bow on her left shoulder and a not-very-flattering hair style.

I wish that Nicole Kidman's fellow Aussie Naomi Watts had taken some advice from her bud because the star of King Kong settled on a dress that was much too busy for my tastes.

So there you have it. The Academy Awards are done for another year, and before long, the buzz for next year's Oscars will begin. And who knows? Maybe this year, I'll actually see some of the films that were nominated. At least I have the wonderful Netflix to help me finally get around to seeing Brokeback Mountain or Capote.

I'm also hopeful that the trend of nominating critically-acclaimed films that no one has seen will also come to an end. Here's hoping for a box office smash that critics and moviegoers equally enjoy.

That's it for me tonight. I'll be back tomorrow with a much-less glamorous edition of Scribblings. Later, kids!

~Sara

It's Oscar Time

I seem to remember a time when the Academy Awards was about a celebration of the year in movies. You knew the films and stars nominated for the Oscars because you had either seen the movie or at least knew someone who had seen it. But over the past 5 years or so, this has changed drastically. Gone are the days when films like Forrest Gump that were both critically acclaimed and box office hits received Academy Award nominations. As the Oscars have become more political, the films and stars that are nominated more often than not are critically-acclaimed media darlings that only a handful of people have either heard of or seen.

One of the nominees for Best Supporting Actress this year is Amy Adams in a movie called Junebug. Can I have a show of hands out there of anyone who has any sort of knowledge of this movie. *looks around* That's what I thought.

Please don't think that I'm demeaning Amy Adams' performance because I'm not. I'm merely using her as an example as to what the Oscars have become in recent years. It's no longer about acknowledging all films and all performers. It's about the Academy Awards being their own little private club with their own little political agenda. And this isn't a defamation of the liberal media, because both sides of the political spectrum are involved in this. The Oscars are about politics, not great movies and great performances.

I remember a time when I would see at least 4 of the 5 Best Picture nominees every year, mostly because they were movies that were well done and popular. This year? I haven't seen any of them. I'm not saying that the films nominated aren't good movies. On the contrary, I'm sure they are very good films. What I am saying is that, by and large, no one has seen them, and box office numbers provided by BoxOfficeMojo.com back me up.

Of the 5 nominees for Best Picture, the only movie that's even done remotely good business is Brokeback Mountain ($76 million). Capote made a paltry $24 million at the box office, and Good Night and Good Luck made only $30 million. Saw II made $31 million its first weekend. Not that I'm comparing the quality of the three films, but you get my point. And it doesn't stop with the Best Picture noms.

Felicity Huffman is nominated for Best Actress for Transamerica. Now, I love Felicity Huffman. She's a tremendous actress, and there's a good chance she's going to have an Oscar to go along with her Emmy after Sunday night. However, no one has seen the movie. To date, it's made only $5.2 million. There have been Z-grade horror movies that have done better business. However, this is just the kind of performance that the uber-political Academy Awards love to recognize. Huffman portrays a man who is a transvestite who decides he wants to become a she. This is the very sort of movie that makes members of the far right cringe. So, of course, the far left leaning Hollywood has to recognize it. Brokeback Mountain is the ultimate example of this. I mean, a movie about gay cowboys? Of course it was going to get multiple nominations. Nevermind the fact that a lot of the people I know who saw it said it was a good movie, but certainly not a great one.

So, as both political extremes continue to wage war on one another, people in the middle (i.e. the majority of the American public) suffer. I guarantee you that ratings will be down for the Academy Awards this year, if only because people will tune in and say, "I've never heard of any of these movies" and flip over to something else or pop in a DVD of a movie they saw and liked (like Wedding Crashers). It is possible for a movie to be good and to make a lot of money at the box office, but don't tell that to AMPAS, at least not anymore. Sure, all 3 Lord of the Rings movies were nominated and they were huge at the box office, but they are the exception rather than the norm.

With all of that being said, who do I think is going to win? Well, I have my thoughts, and they are based on personal opinion and the opinions of Stephen Hunter and Joe Barber, two Washington, DC, based film critics who have much different takes on what is and isn't a good film. Hunter and Barber gave their respective picks on The Tony Kornheiser Show Thursday and Friday of this week, so I have to give credit to them for educating me on films I really haven't seen. So here goes...

Best Picture - I have to go with Brokeback Mountain. Hunter and Barber both don't think it's going to win because of the controversial subject matter, but that's exactly why I think it's going to win, just so Hollywood can boast how forward-thinking it is.

Best Actor - This one is about as much of a shoo-in as you can get. Phillip Seymour Hoffman has captured nearly all of the pre-Oscar awards for his portrayal of Truman Capote, and his is the sort of performance that is always recognized by the Academy Awards.

Best Supporting Actor - In years past, the Supporting Actor category was used to recognize actors who have had long careers but have gone without an Oscar (see Tommy Lee Jones, Jack Palance and so on). Two actors fall into that category this year: Paul Giamatti and Matt Dillon. A lot of people thought Giamatti was snubbed last year when he didn't get nominated for Sideways, and Dillon's career stretches all the way back to the early 1980's. I'm going with Giamatti for his performance in Cinderella Man. This is the Academy's version of a make good.

Best Actress - Hunter and Barber seem to think the race is between Reese Witherspoon for her portrayal of June Carter Cash in Walk the Line and the aforementioned Felicity Huffman for Transamerica. I'm going to go against the grain here and pick Witherspoon, if only because I think Walk the Line has to win an award of some sort since it wasn't nominated for Best Picture. I'm also going with a performance in a movie that at least more than 35 people have seen.

Best Supporting Actress - This is another two woman race, with the contenders being Rachel Weisz for The Constant Gardener and Michelle Williams for Brokeback Mountain. Three of the stars from Brokeback Mountain received nominations, and I think that Williams will be the only one of the three to win. I have no real reason for this prediction; I'm just putting myself in the shoes of the people who vote. This is the sort of thing they will do.

Best Director - This is even more of shoo-in than Phillip Seymour Hoffman winning for Capote. Ang Lee will win for Brokeback Mountain. His winning may end up impeding Brokeback Mountain from winning Best Picture, but I'm predicting a director/picture sweep for the movie that's already become a pop culture phenomenon.

The 78th Annual Academy Awards air tomorrow night on ABC at 8pm ET/5pm PT. I doubt I'll be actively watching, but I'll at least try to keep up with it if only to see if my predictions were right or not.

It's a shame that the Oscars have become so political as of late because there are a lot of good movies and good performances that actually made some money at the box office that go unnoticed because of political agendas. Anyway, that's it for me. Be back on Monday with my Academy Awards recap and reactions. Later, kids!

~Sara

Quicky Comic Reviews

Only 3 titles this week, mainly because the comic shop was already out of JSA by the time I made it there yesterday. What's up with that?

The big title out this week is Infinite Crisis #5. And as a warning, there are spoilers ho, so stop reading if you haven't picked up IC #5. No, really, I mean it.

Anyway, after the events of last issue (which basically consisted of Superboy Prime beating the bejeezus out of the JSA, the Doom Patrol and Teen Titans), Geoff Johns and his merry band of artists finally give the fans what they've been waiting for since the revelation that the Superman of Earth-2 was still alive: the inevitable battle between the current Superman and his long-since forgotten counterpart. The battle, though brief, is very one-sided in Kal-L's favor. Kal blames Clark for the death of the Earth 2 Lois Lane and takes out his anger and frustration on Clark, who is totally clueless as to what is going on.

In the midst of all of this, Wonder Woman also meets up with her Golden Age predecessor who encourages Diana to stop trying to be so perfect and to try to be more human. I think this little exchange will lay the groundwork for Allan Heinberg's forthcoming Wonder Woman relaunch. I have a suspicion that Diana will be taken on a "secret" identity for the first time in this incarnation, though how a 6 foot tall Amazon can have a dual identity is a mystery to me, but I digress.

Diana manages to put a stop to the fight between the two Supermen at which point Kal-L realizes that Alex Luthor has been playing him for the fool the entire time, but before he can get to him, Alex takes his plan one step further, bringing back the entire multiverse in one fell swoop, in his quest to find the "perfect earth". Apparently, Superman is the key to this, though it's not really explained why.

At the end of the issue, the Flash (presumably Wally) emerges from the speed force to warn Dr. Light (the female version, not the mindwiped villain) that Superboy Prime is back and none too happy. The fact that SB Prime is wearing armor very similar to the Anti-Monitor is not lost on me. I'm sure this will play a role down the line. At least I hope it will.

So, we're five issues in to DC's mega-event, and what have we learned? A lot, yet not so much. There are unanswered questions abound, from how in the hell Alex Luthor went from being saver of worlds to being the villain of this whole mess to what caused Superboy Prime to go way off the deep end (I've heard of raging hormones, but jeez). And as much as I have been enjoying IC, I'm still not convinced that DC needed to do a sequel to Crisis on Infinite Earths. As is this case with so many other mega-events DC has done since the original Crisis, IC reads to me like yet another attempt to fix DC's ever-mangled continuity and to introduce a bunch of new books for us readers to spend our money on.

Johns has done his able best to keep a handle on the dozens of characters in each issue as well as weaving mutliple plotlines, but I would be lying if I said I wasn't disappoined by the artwork. Phil Jimenez was supposed to be the main artist for the series, but most of the recent issues has seen a variety of artists, namely Jerry Ordway, Ivan Reis and George Perez, helping out with the art chores. This has definitely detracted from my enjoyment of the last few issues in the series, as the art is coming off as rushed.

Rumors have been running rampant that the lateness for this issue, as well as the concluding two issues, are because of changes in the story and its conclusion. Of course, I'm sure DC will tell you this is nothing of the sort, but I remember years ago during another mega-event, Armageddon, when the identity of the Monarch was changed from Captain Atom to Hawk for some reason or another. I'm hoping that DC doesn't have a cop-out ending planned for IC, but that remains to be seen. (3 stars out of 4)

Also this week: Ms. Marvel #1. Yes, I'm a sucker for books with female heroes in the lead, and I do think Ms. Marvel is a character who is deserving of her own book, though I think a mini-series might have been a better idea. The first issue spins directly out of Ms. Marvel's recent appearance in New Avengers and her large role in House of M (which I totally didn't read). Basically, the whole first issue is a primer for Carol Danvers' desire to actually be an A-list hero like she was in House of M, instead of the barely B-lister she usually is, even with her ties to the Avengers. I hope that writer Brian Reed (a Bendis disciple) can keep up with his goal to make Ms. Marvel more than just the one-note hero she's been in the past. He appears to have a good grasp on Ms. Marvel and all of the hang ups she's had in her history. We'll see if he can keep my interest through the first story arc, which features alien X-Men baddies, the Brood. The artwork by newcomer Roberto De La Torre is solid, and not too much on the pin-up cheesecake style that the Image boys infected comics with back in the 90's. Overall, though, I give a slight thumbs-up to the debut issue. (2.5 stars)

Last, but certainly not least, this week is Nextwave #2, Warren Ellis' latest foray into the Marvel Universe. In true Ellis style, he takes a team of C-list, second rate heroes and makes you care about them with a combination of humor and over the top violence. Any series that features a giant green dragon wearing purple underpants being defeated by an android that gives him indigestion from within has to be worth reading. The dragon in question is old school Marvel monster Fin Fang Foom who is classified as an "Unusual Weapons of Mass Destruction", just the sort of threat that the Nextwave team is best at dealing with. Led by the artist formerly known as Captain Marvel and Photon (you know, the chick who led the Avengers for about 5 minutes), the Nextwave team of Tabby Smith (former X-chick), Ellie Bloodstone, Aaron Stack (Machine Man and X-51, among other monikers) and the Captain are on a mission to take out the UWMDs being unleashed upon the USA, and believe me, Fin Fang Foom is pretty unusual. Two issues in, and I'm already hooked. Very highly recommended. (4 stars)

Okay, that's it for me for tonight. Be back tomorrow with my look at this weekend's Academy Awards.

~Sara

More Alias Dish

Courtesy of Dark Horizons.com, here's some more of what to expect as Alias completes its 5-year run this spring.

"TV.Com reports that ABC promises that when "Alias" returns to the airwaves after its hiatus, the series will wrap up storylines with the birth of lead character Sydney's baby and the reappearance of Michael Vaughn (Michael Vartan) before its finale this season. The show returns to the schedule with a two-hour blowout Wednesday, April 19th at 8pm, followed by the show's 100th episode the following week when it will return in its old post-"Lost" timeslot. ABC says that Vaughn will be back before the end of the season, but didn't give any more details. They did indicate though that it'll wrap up the outcome of the Rambaldi Prophecy from the first season, the fate of Sydney's sister Nadia, and the return of such characters as Will Tippin (Bradley Cooper), Julian Sark (David Anders), Anna Espinosa (Gina Torres) and Irina Derevko (Lena Olin)."

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Finally, we'll have the rassa frassa Rambaldi Prophecy silliness wrapped up. It was interesting when the show first started, but it became so convoluted after awhile that I stopped caring about it. I'd even thought that it had been brought to a conclusion, but I guess not.

Anyway, here's hoping for a glorious and happy ending for a show that at one time was my at the top of my "Must Never Miss" list. It's the show that launched Jennifer Garner into stardom and made being a spy cool again. For its first season and a half, Alias was easily the best show on television, and while it's not the show it once was, I'll still be eagerly watching the remaining 8 episodes.

That's all for now, boys and girls. Be back later tonight with my comic picks of the week.

~Sara

Gilmore Goodness

Last night's Gilmore Girls will be the last new GG until April 11, so you had to figure something significant would be happening. The something of significance turned out to be several things, most of which centered around the on-again, off-again relationships of Rory and best friend Lane.

I'll go on record as saying that I'm not the biggest Logan fan in the world. In fact, I've pretty much disliked him from the first moment he began courting Rory last season. He seemed much too smarmy and conceited for down-to-earth Rory. Yet, Rory fell for him and set in motion the events that led to her falling out with Lorelai and leaving Yale. Now, while I understand show creator Amy Sherman-Paladino's need to split up Rory and Lorelai for the first part of the season, I think it could have been handled in a way that wouldn't have seem so forced and so out of character for both Gilmore girls. As a result, it's basically taken more than half the season for the show to find its footing again.

Last night's episode, entitled "Bridesmaids Revisited," again puts the Logan/Rory relationship on thin ice. It was inevitable that Logan would do something to lose Rory's trust again. After all, just last episode, she said he could be "the one," meaning something bad had to happen. However, even I was a bit surprised at the depths Logan had stooped to during his break-up with Rory. It seems that during the few months he and Rory had been apart, Logan had a fling with each of the girls acting as bridesmaids for his sister Honor's wedding. Of course, Rory finds this out from each girl Logan slept with as they randomly blurt it out as they dress for the wedding. Rory is understandably put off by all of this, and when Logan comes to find her, she lays into him. Logan says he was depressed, they didn't mean anything to him, blah, blah, blah. Please.

Being depressed is no excuse to want to sleep with every chick who will put out for you. And what kills me the most is that Rory is initially somewhat surprised by this. She should have seen it coming. This is the kind of life Logan leads. I'm not making any excuses for him, but he doesn't know any better or any different. He's not going to change. He says he loves Rory, and I'm sure he does, but what love means to him and what love means to Rory are not the same. Will this be the end of them? Probably not. Matt Czuchry, who plays Logan, has signed on for next season. Whether this means he and Rory will end up together remains to be seen. I, for one, hope it doesn't. I'd dearly love to see Rory and Jess (who will be making a reappearance later this season) ride off into the sunset together or for Rory to strike out on her own and not feel the need to have a man in her life.

The other big development was Lane's boyfriend Zack finally coming to his senses, not only getting the band back together but also asking Lane to marry him, in one of the sweetest and most real proposals I've ever seen. How Lane's mother reacts to her daughter's engagement will undoubtedly provide some priceless moments.

And speaking of priceless moments, I nearly fell off my couch when I heard (and saw) Sebastian Bach singing "Hollaback Girl" at a bat mitzvah. I've thoroughly enjoyed Bach's guest shots as Gil, the band's slightly loopy guitar player, and he always seems to bring just enough humor to a character that is obviously a caricature of himself.

So that was the good of the episode. The bad? Well...not enough Lorelai for me. She spent more time dealing with Christopher and Christopher's hellspawn, Gigi, than she did with fiance Luke, who barely appeared in the episode. I was also a bit perplexed by the lack of mention of what Lorelai did (if anything) after Emily made Lorelai and Luke's wedding date publicly known. I'm hoping that it will be addressed in another episode, but it just seemed odd that it was completely ignored. And while I like that Christopher is playing a more visible role in Rory's life and that his character has progressed past the one note stage, I'm not liking what I'm sensing to be a "closening" between him and Lorelai.

I've been waiting since the first season for Luke and Lorelai to get together, and now that they are, I'm none too happy that Luke has become even more of a curmudgeon and has put off the wedding. Under no circumstances do I want Lorelai and Christopher to end up back together. ASP has given no indication that this will happen, but I'm rapidly tiring of all the obstacles being thrown at Luke and Lorelai. First it was Lorelai's estrangement from Rory and then Luke found out he had a daughter and now Christopher is having parental problems that I'm sure Lorelai will find the need to help him with. There will be a lot of disappointed GG fans if Luke and Lorelai don't end up together; I will be chief among them.

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Random stuff, gleaned from this week's Ask Ausiello and Ain't It Cool News:

Alias has finally been scheduled by ABC! It will return on April 19th with a two-hour episode, featuring the birth of Syd's baby and the fate of Vaughn. However, the amount of remaining episodes has been cut to 8 from 13.

Veronica Mars will be back with all-new episodes on March 15.

Tonight's Lost will be the last new episode until March 22. The next three episodes after tonight will focus on Jin/Sun, Locke, and Hurley, respectively.

Also, check out this week's Entertainment Weekly (the one with Reese Witherspoon on the cover) for an article on Lost from a writer who thinks he has all of the answers to the various mysteries surrounding this year's Emmy winner for Best Drama.

Okay, gang, that's all for me for today. Be back tomorrow with this week's comic reviews. Until then, keep watching and keep reading!

~Sara