Tying up loose ends from the week that was

Okay, first of all, I have to say a few things about the NFL Draft (currently airing on ESPN and the NFL Network). Ahem. WHAT IN THE HELL ARE THE TEXANS THINKING??? Whew. That's better. I had to get that off my chest. I mean, Mario Williams over Reggie Bush. Huh? I don't care if Williams could be the next Julius Peppers. Reggie Bush helps your running game, passing game and special teams. This must be the Texans gift to the Saints after all of the terrible things that happened to the city of New Orleans last year. It's reasons like these that the Texans have gotten steadily worse since they came into existence. And I know some of you are saying "But she's a girl, what does she know?". I know enough to know that the Texas could (and notice I said could) have just made one of the biggest draft blunders of all time. I guess we'll find out this fall.

Anyway, I'll have my full draft recap on Monday. Better to see how this whole thing shakes out before making any sort of opinion on who were the winners and losers.

Just a few news and notes before I ensconce myself to watch the first round of the draft before heading down to PNC Park to see the Pirates who are riding an unprecedented one game winning streak into tonight's game against the Phillies. Baby steps.

There hasn't been any more fallout from Team Palladino's exit from Gilmore Girls, and if there was a sliver of a chance of Amy and Dan coming back, I think it's passed. My opinion on this has already been stated. I think both side royally screwed this up, and of course, it's us fans who will ultimately suffer.

In animation news, the CW unveiled their Saturday morning line up for this fall, and lo and behold, there's a comic book based show on it (and no, I don't mean The Batman). The newest member of Kids WB on the CW (which sounds really lame) is the Legion of Super Heroes, based on the long running DC comic of the same name. In his weekly Animated Shorts column at Newsarama.com, Steve Fritz offered a description of the show that says it will be "the ultimate sci-fi, super hero fantasy for kids of all ages". And while I'm sure LSH has the potential to be a really good show, I just wonder if it will be more like Teen Titans (which wasn't a bad show, but the tone and animation left me flat) instead of Justice League Unlimited. Now, I realize that LSH is a Saturday morning show as opposed to a Saturday night show, but you don't want to make it too much of a kiddie show and alienate the geek fanbase. We'll all find out this fall, Saturday mornings at 11:30 on the CW Network.

Thanks to my gal Val, I had a chance to watch The Christmas Invasion episode of Doctor Who, giving me my first real look at David Tennant as the new Doctor. My early verdict? He's going to fantastic. No offense to Christopher Eccleston (who I thoroughly enjoyed but had a very hard edge in his performance), but I think Tennant may end up being one of the most popular Doctors of all time. He brings such a light touch and youthful enthusiasm to the role, and his chemistry with Billie Piper's Rose was evident right away. And after seeing previews for this coming season (the Cybermen, K-9, Sarah Jane and Anthony Stewart Head!), I'm totally geeked and hoping that I won't have to wait too long to see the new episodes (hint, hint Val).

Well, that's all for me for today. Time to immerse myself in the rest of the draft. Oh, and do you think Matt Leinart is wishing he had not decided to come back for his senior season? If he would have come out for the draft last year, he would have gone #1. Now, he's in danger of slipping all the way into the middle of the first round. What a difference a year makes.

Have a good weekend, kids! See ya Monday...

~Sara

A Tribute to Mr. Tony

Today was a sad day for hundreds (thousands?) of sports talk fans across the country. Our beloved fat, bald, orange dope broadcast his last show this morning in preparation to take on the role of analyst for Monday Night Football in the fall. Yes, the man we call TK, Mr. Tony and Satchmo (among other things), Tony Kornheiser, signed off again (for the third time, no less) to allow his body to adapt to having to stay up past 9pm so he'll be able to make it through the Monday night game without falling asleep. And no, I'm not kidding about this. Mr. Tony's early bedtime is legendary to his fans who listen live on DC's Sportstalk 980 or on the internet via ThisWebsiteStinks.com.

As my regular readers know, I'm something of a sports fan, in addition to being a pop culture maven. In Pittsburgh, sportstalk usually consists of 1) The Steelers, 2) The Steelers, 3) The Steelers and 4) every other team in town, but only if necessary. Look, I love football. I was a nervous wreck during the entire Super Bowl, and I'll be riveted to the NFL Draft this weekend (more on this in a future entry). But I can only take so much talk about what the Steelers' chances of repeating are or what the loss of Randle-El will mean to the team and so on and so on. I crave intelligent, non-yinzer sportstalk. And that's where Mr. Tony comes in.

When ESPN Radio debuted in town, I was forced to listen to that godawful Fabulous Sports Babe. Talk about a misnomer. Yeesh. Anyway, after the powers-that-be at the four letter network gave her the boot, they replaced her with this sportswriter out of DC named Tony Kornheiser. I'd never heard of the dude, but I figured I'd give him a shot. Well, it didn't take me very long to become a disciple of the Orange One.

Mr. Tony's show wasn't your run-on-the-mill sports talk show. On any given day, he might barely talk about sports at all, in favor of politics or movies or TV or any other thing that would drive him half crazy. I began to look forward to those moments when Tony would go off on an epic rant about something he had seen on "The Today Program" or something that had happened to him on the way to the studio that morning or any number of things that would infuriate him. It was as if some higher power created a talk radio program just for me. If I wanted to learn things about sports, I'd go to ESPN.com. But if I wanted to hear a non-spin perspective on the world of sports and entertainment, I'd tune over to Mr. Tony.

About two years ago (I think), Mr. Tony left the airwaves over a dispute with ESPN. Eighteen months ago he resurfaced back in DC. I didn't start listening right away (out of the loop, as usual), but only because I didn't know it had happened. But by total chance, I stumbled upon his show (which I found I was able to listen to online), and ever since then, Mr. Tony has been a regular part of my day from 9 to 1. And now, he's gone again, and I don't know how I'm going to make it through the first part of the work day anymore.

I'll miss Andy Polley and the sports updates that Tony always interrupts, Gary "Big Time" Braun and his 4th grade sense of humor, John "Junior" Feinstein and his amazing pomposity, Stephen Hunter and his awful movie reviews, the ever-boring Sam Smith, Tony's Mailbag, Old Guy Radio, Bob Ryan and his terrible phone, Nigel and his great Christopher Walken impression, incessant talk about the Redskins, Tony's general cluelessness about electronic items, rants on how much TK is going to stink on MNF, Tony's fear of flying and the lengths he's going to have to go to to travel to the game sites, the "email machine", and so many more things that I just can't think of right now. Monday morning is going to be so strange without Mr. Tony to listen to. No where else will I be able to hear intelligent, funny, and thought-provoking sports radio. Mr. Tony may be twice my age, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't have a teeny weeny crush on him. What can I say? He appeals to my snarkishness.

Oh, while I'm at it, let me give a big shout out to the guys and gals of the Andy Polley Happy Fun Time Message Board Extravaganza. For the first time today (during the last show), I posted on the board and was immediately welcomed with open arms. I couldn't stay long (stupid work), but I hope to make the occasional appearance just to say hi, even if there's no show to chat about. Thanks guys, for making me feel right at home.

Good luck with Monday Night Football, Mr. Tony. You may think you're gonna stink, but I think you're going to be amazing. You'll be the only reason I'll even be watching MNF, which has become a really dull show in recent years. Just keep that dope Joe Theismann in line and come back to us littles when you're done. We'll all be here, waiting, counting the days until the end of the season or when you've had enough and decide to quit.

Au revoir, Satch. See ya soon.

~Sara

The Great Gilmore Rant

Okay, so everyone on the planet knows by now that Gilmore Girls creator Amy Sherman-Palladino and her husband, Dan, are out as the showrunners of the show they created. I wanted to take some time to digest this before offering my own opinion. I also needed to read the exclusive interview Michael Ausiello had with Team Palladino. Believe me, it's a doozy, and you must read it. Go ahead, I can wait...

So, after reading the interview and the 5+ pages of reader responses, one thing is very clear to me. GG had quite a tremendous following, and the show is not going to be the same without its creators. Now, as to whether this is a bad thing or a good thing is one of the things I'm actively debating. I mean, how can the show go on without its creators? Well, as I've been told many times in my life, no one is irreplaceable. Just ask Aaron Sorkin and what happened to him with The West Wing.

The main gist I got from the Palladinos is that they wanted the folks at the WB to stop stringing them along on a series of one year contracts. Back in January, they went to the studio and asked for a two year commitment. This way, they would be able to as Dan said, "see more than 300 days into the future". But see, here's my problem with the two year deal they wanted. Yes, I do understand that part of the deal would involve development, but for the most part, they seemed to want the two years to be for GG and not another show. And, while this is all well and good, it's pretty much common knowledge that show stars Lauren Graham and Alexis Bleidel are going to want the forthcoming 7th season to be their last. And along those same lines, none of the cast is contracted beyond next year. So, from the studio's perspective, giving the Palladinos a two year contract didn't make much sense if the show is going to end after next season. Now, it would have been a sign of good faith to give them what they wanted, but the studios are usually more interested in dollars and cents than keeping people happy.

Looking at it this way, wouldn't it have made better sense for Amy and Dan to swallow their pride for one more year to see their creation come to the end that they've been planning for since day one? I mean, what's one more year when you've already been doing it for six? And you'd have to think that if they'd done this, then the CW would have been more receptive to any new shows the Palladinos were developing because of how well GG has performed in the ratings and on DVD. The Palladinos could have seen the show to the end and gained much needed brownie points with the suits.

I know that being the heart and soul of a show has been hard on ASP, and I won't claim to fully understand everything it takes for her to see a season through to its completion. However, this only backs up rumors I've heard about Amy being a control freak. She complains about not having a writing staff or a director on staff, but do you honestly think she'd relinquish some of her control to a staff, even if she'd have script/story approval? She says it would have given her more time do work on other aspects of the show, but I think it would have driven her nuts to not be involved in every minute detail of the show, which is part of the problem. Quite frankly, I think an actual writing staff (among other things) is much needed on GG, and I would have said this even if the Palladinos had stayed.

GG is a show in dire need of a fresh voice, as evidenced by some of the head scratching plots of the past two seasons, most notably the totally unnecessary introduction of Luke's heretofore unknown daughter. This plot has only served to drive a wedge between Luke and Lorelai (which I guess was the intention) and has not really added anything to the show. I mean, how many of you out there are happy to see April in a given episode? That's what I thought.

The show just reeks of soap opera plotting these days...Luke's long-lost daughter, Logan's brush with death, Rory losing her virginity to a married man (okay, so that was last season), Christopher suddenly becoming wealthy, and so on. GG is supposed to be a show about the little things in life. When done right (see Lane and Zach's crazy wedding from last week), the show is one of the smartest and funniest on TV. But when done wrong (see Rory's half-hearted attempt to cheat on Logan with Jess and her lukewarm admission of how much she loves Logan), it can be god awful. And if the spoilers are to be believed, Lorelai will end up in bed with Christopher in the season finale. I do realize that Chris has gotten his act together this season, but why in god's name would Lorelai go running back to him? Okay, so they share Rory, and Chris probably will always love Lorelai, but I thought the whole purpose of the last two seasons was to build toward Luke and Lorelai getting married. And now, with Amy and Dan going, who knows what's going to happen next season?

I do not envy new show runner Dan Rosenthal. He's in a no-win situation, and he's going to find it hard to please anyone because, fair or not, he will be continually compared to the Palladinos, no matter how good next season is or is not. And he knows he's in a lame duck status since it's all but a done deal that next season is the last for GG. So, it will be up to him to put the proverbial bow on the lives of Lorelai and Rory and not piss off the loyal fan base that has been built the last six years. I recommend that Rosenthal buys lots of Maalox. He's going to need it.

So, with the sixth season finale only a few weeks away, all of us GG fans are going to have to get used to life without the Palladinos. Did I want them to leave? No, not at all. But did I want them to make some changes to the direction they'd taken the show? Absolutely. There are some who will say that Team Palladino's departure will ruin GG. Others will say that it's the best thing for the show. I say that the real truth will be somewhere in the middle but that we won't know for sure until well into next season. It's much to early to judge one way or the other.

And with that, I'm off to watch tonight's episode as the countdown is on to the end of the season and the last episode of the Palladino regime.

~Sara

Major Gilmore Girls Shake Up

Okay, I've composed myself. It's official: Gilmore Girls creator Amy-Sherman Palladino and husband Dan are no longer with the show as they were unable to come to a contract agreement with Warner Bros. Per Michael Ausiello, this is 100% certain. This means that GG will be heading into its most likely final season (and on a whole new network) without its creator. This is a major bummer for all GG fans, even those of us (like me) who have been less-than-satisfied with the direction the show took on this season.

No matter who takes over as show runner next season, I just can't imagine the show being the same. ASP gave GG its voice. Even though she wasn't writing all of the episodes, she still oversaw the writing, and I'm not sure someone from the outside is going to be able to keep up with all of the wit and charm that GG has become known for.

I think this pretty much says that next season will be the last for GG. One of the sticking points for Team Palladino was that they wanted a 2 year commitment from Warner Bros, but the WB would only offer one year since Lauren Graham and Alexis Bleidel's contracts are up at the end of next year.

To make matters worse for Amy and Dan, their pilot about a modern day husband and wife detectives (think Nick and Nora Charles for the 21st century) was not picked up after the WB and UPN merged into CW. I have no doubt this would have been a really good show, and I hope Team Palladino can find a home for it. Right now, though, they're unemployed, barring an 11th hour change of heart.

I was all set to do a quickie review of Tuesday night's show (which might as well have been called Kim Girls), but that will have to wait until later on.

Right now, I need more time to envision Gilmore Girls without its creators. Whoever runs the show will have some big shoes to fill. I wouldn't want to be that person.

~Sara

Just Another Tequila Thursday

Well, actually, it's not, because the only time I drink ta-kill-ya is in the occasional margarita, but I just heard "Tequila Sunrise" by the Eagles on my Pandora.com personalized radio station, and it's stuck in my head right now, hence today's title.

So, where to begin? Well, much to my consternation (stupid work), I did not watch last night's first Alias in four months. However, it is safely saved on my DVR for viewing some time between now and next Wednesday. Though Alias in its current form is no where near the show it was in its prime, I will still miss it when it goes off the air next month. Oh well, that's what DVDs are for.

I'm still about a week behind on Veronica Mars (just started watching last week's episode this morning), but I'm eagerly anticipating the revelation to this year's big mystery. All along, I've thought that Mayor Woody Goodman (a perfectly smarmy Steve Guttenberg) was behind the bus crash, and I'm sticking to that until I learn otherwise. His motive? Lemme get back to you on that one. All I know for sure is that he was the one who suggested his daughter take a limo back to Neptune High after the class trip to Sharks Stadium. Maybe it was just a coincidence, but I just have this feeling in my gut that he's the culprit. Look for the rest of my reasons for Mayor Woody's guilt in this space in the coming days.

Oh my gosh...big news. Huge news! Amy Sherman-Palladino and husband are done with Gilmore Girls! The word just came down from Michael Ausiello in The Ausiello Report. I need to take a moment to compose myself. Oh hell, this needs a whole new entry. Check back in a bit.

~Sara

JLU Review

Okay, so this one really wasn't my fault. I had planned on doing a weekly review of Cartoon Network's Justice League Unlimited, but then CN decided to stop airing it for a month, effectively putting the kibosh on my Tuesday reviews. However, the first of the final 4 episodes of JLU aired this past Saturday, and as promised, here's my review. Oh yeah, there be spoilers ahead for those who haven't seen the episode yet.

Title: "Far From Home"
Story: Dwayne McDuffie
Script: Paul Dini
Director: Dan Riba

Supergirl is the focus of this episode, but the story begins in the 31st Century as two members of the Legion of Super-Heroes debate what they must do to save their captured teammates from the Fatal Five. Despite the objections of Bouncing Boy, Brainiac 5 (yes, a descendent of the Brainiac) decides to bring three members of the Justice League from the 21st Century to aid them. However, history tells him that only two members return to their own time safely.

As the action shifts to the present, Supergirl is having a training session under the direction of Green Lantern, with Superman and Green Arrow looking on. Somewhere during this, it's revealed that Supergirl has just turned 21. The theme of Supergirl growing up and establishing her own identity is very much the theme of this episode.

GL, Supergirl and Green Arrow are transported to the Legion's time via time bubble, and of course, the requisite time paradox comments are made by GL. After initially not trusting Brainy, Supergirl starts to fall for him, even after he tells her that she most likely won't survive her trip to the 31st Century.

After GL and Bouncing Boy are captured by the Fatal Five, it's up to Supergirl, Brainy and Green Arrow to save not only their teammates but also the United Federation of Planets from the Fatal Five and the mind controlled Legion.

Even with her considerable powers, Supergirl is still no match for the combined forces of the Legion and Green Lantern, but (as always seems to be the case), Green Arrow comes thru and frees everyone from the mind control. All that's left after that is for Kara and the Legion to mop up the Fatal Five.

The big happening comes at the very end when Kara decides to stay in the 31st Century with the Legion, as she has finally found a place where she truly fits in and feels at home. Superman takes the news relatively well, though he does seem to wish he could have said goodbye.

Okay, so with that recap out of the way, I have to say that though I did enjoy this episode, I really didn't love it like I hoped I would. Supergirl fell for Brainiac 5 much too quickly, and it was very unrealistic to me. Yeah, I know it's a cartoon, but a little bit more realism really would have helped.

I was also disappointed there wasn't more of the Legion outside of Brainy and Bouncing Boy. Yes, I know the show is about the Justice League, but this might have been better served by being a two parter, with the first part being focused on the members of the Legion being captured by the Fatal Five while in the present Supergirl is shown struggling more and more with her role in the Justice League. Instead, we're thrown right into the middle of everything, and that made the episode feel very rushed.

It was also very obvious to me that Supergirl was going to end up staying in the 31st Century. You knew the producers weren't going to kill her off, so as soon as Brainy let it slip that one member of the Justice League wouldn't make it back to their own time, I knew Supergirl would end up staying in the future. If the bit about one member not making it back had been removed, it would have made Supergirl staying with the Legion a bit more surprising.

So, what was good? Well, Green Arrow continues to be the best new character in this whole series. I'd love to see a Green Arrow series with Black Canary, Speedy and occasional guest appearances by Hal Jordan, Hawkman and so on. But that's just wishful thinking on my part.

The battle scene between Kara and the Legion/GL was very well done and one of the better animated action scenes you'll see in a non-anime series. It really showed Kara coming into her own as a hero who will fight on despite tremendous odds and the knowledge she might not survive the battle.

Paul Dini once again turned in a very excellent script, featuring some wonderful one liners (the best: SG to Brainiac - "Maybe I was just trying to cop a feel") and lots of introspective dialogue from Superman and even Green Arrow. I sincerely hope that Dini will get a chance to do another DC Superhero series after JLU's goes off the air.

My grade: 2.5 stars out of 4

The next episode (whenever it airs) promises to be a doozy, as it looks like it will (finally!) feature Hawkman. I can't wait.

~Sara

Monday, Monday

This might have been the most boring Monday in the history of all Mondays. Is there some sort of unwritten rule that the Monday after Easter is the deadest retail day of the year? I spent most of my shift today trying my best not to nod off at the counter out of sheer boredom. At least during the week, if we have no customers, there's usually some things to do. Not today. So, I spent most of the day clock watching. I bore much too easily sometimes. Next time, I'll be sure to do an entry to at least pass some of the time.

Anyway, I won't go into depth about the "baseball" I saw Friday and Saturday. Friday was awful, and the game lasted over three hours (thereby seriously curtailing my karaoke time). Saturday, on the other hand, lasted a crisp two hours and 20 minutes and ended in a Pirates victory, thanks to the pitching of dreamy Zach Duke. Mental note: Find out if he's single.

And yes, you did read the previous paragraph correctly. In addition to all of the other weird and geeky things I enjoy, I love karaoke. The small part of me that is a ham just loves getting up in front of a bar full of people and singing (if you can call it that). I was in a Journey mood on Friday and belted out Separate Ways, Worlds Apart, my fave Journey tune, along with my old stand-by, Copacabana. I'm sure that my respect level has dropped thanks to my little revelation, but I gotta be me.

Well, I guess I should return to the real reason I do this blog and impart some news and views to my faithful readers.

So, regarding the possible crisis regarding Amy Sherman-Palladino and her husband leaving Gilmore Girls, it's looking like no news is good news. Of course, that almost wasn't the case last week when it looked like it was all-but-official that they were going to leave the show they'd made famous these past six seasons. Then word came that a contract extension for two more seasons was in the works. But that turned out to be what Team Palladino wants from the good folks at Warner Bros. So, with the season wrapped, and less than five episodes to go this season, there's still no news on whether or not the Palladinos will return to GG for a seventh season. Oh yeah, get your butts over to last Friday's Ausiello Report for the full skinny regarding this mess.

I'm of two minds on this whole thing. On the one hand, I've been less than pleased with the direction of this season (and parts of last season), making me wonder if the Palladinos have indeed either lost their touch or have lost touch with what made GG so great and unique. On the other hand, it's hard to imagine GG without them. There's no doubt GG will be back for a seventh season on the all-new, all-different CW Network, but it might be a different show if Team Palladino isn't at the helm.

All of you West Wing fans out there know what it's like when the person who creates a show either leaves or is removed, as was the case with Aaron Sorkin. No matter how good or how talented the people who follow are, the show just isn't going to be the same. I fear the same thing will happen to Gilmore Girls. Yet, as some of the uneven plots this year have shown (especially the unnecessary introduction of Luke's daughter), maybe a little shake up at the top wouldn't be the worst thing.

I'm not going to speculate on what is going to happen, because, honestly, I think it's 50/50 if the Palladinos stay or go. Like everyone else, I'm just going to have to wait and see. In the mean time, there's the little matter of the rest of the season to play out. What will happen with Luke and Lorelai? Will Logan and Rory work out their differences? Will Richard and Emily actually move to Stars Hollow? Answers to these questions and more will be revealed starting tomorrow night. Be back here Wednesday, for my review and all the latest news.

In the mean time, check back tomorrow for my review of the first new Justice League Unlimited episode in a month.

Until then, later kids!

~Sara

Weekend Quickie

Well, in just a few short minutes, I will be off to PNC Park to watch the Pirates play (read: lose to) the Cubs. And to make matters worse, I'm going to tomorrow night's game, too. I must be glutton for punishment. The All-Star Game package better be worth the torture I'm going to be enduring this season at the 20-odd games I attend and the many, many others I watch on TV. If you're a religious person, say a little prayer for the Pirates on this Good Friday. If you're not, then make a wish for them to at least not be losing after the top of the first inning.

Have a good weekend, folks! Be back on Sunday with my Easter Sunday blog.

~Sara

This is the Gilmore Girls, I'm watching, right?

Well, I had planned on doing a review of last night's rather tepid Gilmore Girls episode, but I've decided to pick apart last night's episode to get at the heart of what has gone wrong with my favorite show. This is due in large part to some what I would considered to be startling GG spoilers gleaned from this week's Ask Ausiello.

Now let me first say that I have faith that show creators Amy-Sherman Palladino and husband Daniel have a plan in mind to help shake GG out of what has been a season-long doldrums. However, there are rumors flying that Team Palladino won't be back for a seventh season. This would be devastating if it were to happen, but nothing is set in stone as of yet. I can't imagine GG without the Palladinos at the helm, yet it wouldn't surprise me at all if they and Warner Bros don't come to some sort of agreement. Just call it a gut feeling on my part.

The biggest revelation to come out of this week's AA is that by season's end, Lorelai and Christopher are going to end up in bed with one another. I gleaned this by reading between the lines and figuring out the letters that Ausiello so conveniently replaced with asterisks. Now, being in bed with someone doesn't necessarily mean you had sex with them, but this can't bode well for Luke and Lorelai's relationship, which as of late has had all of the spark of a dead battery.

GG fans had been praying for Luke and Lorelai to finally get together, and when it finally happened, we all jumped for joy. And then suddenly Luke went from being a warm-hearted curmudgeon to an all-out stick-in-the-mud who doesn't seem to have the same feelings for Lorelai that he once did. And don't get me started on Luke's instant daughter, April. If ASP's intention was to make things difficult for Luke and Lorelai, she could have done so without introducing a character who had added absolutely nothing to the series. Yes, it's cute to see Luke try to be a father in his own special frustrated way, but wouldn't this have been a better plot for 2 or 3 seasons ago when he and Lorelai weren't together yet? This whole plot just feels so forced to me, and I wish it could be retconned away.

But as I see it, the biggest problem with this season was the rift between Rory and Lorelai that stemmed from Rory deciding to take time off from Yale at the end of last season. The whole premise of GG revolves around the special relationship between Rory and Lorelai, and when that was missing for the first part of the season, so was what makes the show so special. Sure, things have been a bit better since the rift was mended, but Rory is still hopelessly in love with rich bad boy Logan which is just ruining the show.

Last night, after another tiff with Mr. Wonderful, Rory drives all the way to Philadelphia to see old boyfriend Jess. Well, one thing leads to another, and Rory and Jess share a very forced kiss. Rory then admits to Jess that she was trying to cheat on Logan as he had done to her, but she can't. She can't because she loves him. Oh my gosh...I swear to you I had to keep from gagging when I heard this. I've hated Logan from day one, and why ASP keeps trying to force him on Rory (and us) is beyond me. They have no chemistry. He is so wrong for her on so many levels, and I can't understand why he's still on the show. Rory deserves a nice, sweet guy who won't treat her like garbage. I thought Marty fit that bill, but after he admitted his feelings to Rory, he hasn't been seen. Talk about a plot line left dangling.

And worst of all is how out of character Lorelai has been acting this year. Or should I say, not acting. I've never seen Lorelai so passive. When Rory went to live with Richard and Emily, Lorelai did nothing. When Luke revealed the existence of his daughter to Lorelai, Lorelai did nothing. In past years, Lorelai wouldn't have stood idly by while her only daughter left college to live in a pool house. The Lorelai I know would have gone out of her way to find out everything she could about her fiance's long-lost daughter. I don't recognize this Lorelai, and it frustrates me.

So here I am, left to wonder what's become of my favorite show. Perhaps it's in the process of "jumping the shark". The introduction of Luke's daughter might have been when that happened. I'm willing to wait things out until the end of the season, but I'm seriously worried about the direction of the show going forward, with or without the Palladinos.

~Sara

Props (of sorts) to Michael Keaton

Okay, in yesterday's edition of Scribblings, I took the hometown Pittsburgh Pirates to task for (among other things) the uninspired choice of Michael Keaton to throw out the first pitch when the choice clearly should have been Bill Cowher. Well, it seems that Keaton had his own axe to grind with Pirates ownership, which he did in an interview before he threw out the ceremonial first pitch yesterday. That, my loyal readers, takes some cojones. Now, while I do feel it's necessary to fault Keaton for the rather dubious timing of his statements, I can help but admire him for having said cojones. I mean, he compared the Pirates to what has been one of the sorriest of all sports franchises, the Los Angeles Clippers. If that's not the ultimate insult, I don't know what is.

Now, some are probably wondering what Keaton's reasons for saying this were. Was he just a longtime Pirates fan who has been disgusted by 13 straight losing seasons (and counting) or does he have an ulterior motive? Pittsburgh native and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has made no secret of his desire to buy the Pirates, and I wonder if Keaton could end up being one of his investors should Cuban try to buy the Pirates from Kevin McClatchy. Before Cuban took over the Mavs, they might have been the worst franchise in the NBA. Now, they're in the playoffs every year and are battling the Spurs for the best record in the Western Conference. Why? Cuban spends money. Cuban may be a bit eccentric and overly opinionated, but the Mavs results speak for themselves.

Yes, the NBA does have a salary cap as opposed to Major League Baseball, but if Cuban were to buy the Pirates, there's no doubt in my mind their payroll would jump from the $47 million it is now to at least in the $70 million range, which is what you have to spend to be competitive in MLB.

Mind you, this is all nothing but idle speculation on my part, but I think thing are going to have to come to a head eventually regarding the Pirates ownership situation. McClatchy may finally be close to reaching the "I've had enough!" point and will start to entertain offers for the club. Good riddance, I say.

I believe the Pirates can win again, but it's going to take a concerted effort from management, ownership and the players to reverse the losing attitude that continues to have a stranglehold on what was once one of baseball's most successful franchises. Let me be one of the first to suggest that Mark Cuban may be the impetus for this.

Anyway, enough with baseball talk and onto more important things...

Tonight, my two favorite shows will be airing back-to-back (albeit on two different networks), in what I hope is a portent of things to come for next season. It's Sara's favorite night of TV viewing with Gilmore Girls (on the WB) and Veronica Mars (on UPN) both airing new episodes tonight, with VM in its new, much less competitive timeslot of 9pm.

Anyone who is a fan of VM knows that its ratings have not been stellar as of late and that it's anything but a shoo-in to be on the Fall Schedule for the all-new, all-different CW Network. VM would be the perfect show to be paired with GG on Tuesday nights, and I'm hoping that the powers-that-be at CW will realize this and not be so quick to cancel VM and replace it with a crappy show that's likely to be canceled in 6 weeks.

Only five episodes remain in the second season of VM and the good folks over at Ain't It Cool News have some spoilers for the rest of the season.

Okay, boys and girls, that's all for today. Be back tomorrow with my weekly GG review and any other news and views I can scare up.

~Sara

The Home Opener Blues

I've come to a conclusion after the first week of the baseball season. Every Pittsburgher who is a Pirates fan is having to do penance because the Steelers won the Super Bowl. I mean, why else would anyone have to go through the utterly dreadful afternoon that passed for the Pirates 2006 home opener? I barely made it through five innings before I decided to beat rush hour traffic and go the heck home.

I'll admit it. They did it to me again. I was so convinced that the additions of Sean Casey, Joe Randa and Jeromy Burnitz along with the Pirates vaunted young pitching staff and All-Star Jason Bay would be enough to push the Pirates into the rarefied air of mediocrity. So, I forked out some cash for partial season tickets (mostly to be guaranteed tix for the All-Star Game) in hopes that the Pirates would somehow manage to finish at .500 this season. Well, 8 games into the season, and I'll be shocked if they even win 70. No matter how you try to spin it, 1 - 7 is not a good start.

This has got to be one of the worst teams I've ever seen in all of my years as a baseball chick. I had barely gotten comfortable in my 1st base line box seat when some dude named Jason Repko crushed a Zach Duke pitch down the left field line to give the Dodgers a 2-0 lead. It wasn't even 1:45 and the game was already over. By the time the Pirates came up for their second at-bat in the bottom of the second, they were already losing 5-0. Zach Duke couldn't get anyone out. Duke joins the ranks of yet another whiz bang, 3 month wonder who flops the next season. And to make matters worse, the Pirates had tons of chances to get back into the game but couldn't get any hits with runners on base. "All-Star" Jason Bay came up with the bases loaded in the third inning with only one out and proceeded to ground into a double play on the first pitch. My roomie Rachel had to restrain me from running out onto the field and clocking him. On three other occasions, Bay came up with runners on and made outs. Same old gutless Buccos.

I know it's only the first week, and I know it's a very, very long season, but my patience is gone. Until the pitchers start getting someone out and the hitters start getting big hits, I will be continually complaining about how awful the Pirates are. And when I am forced to go to the games, I will be booing my guts out when the Pirates suck like only they can.

And you know what was even worse? It was one of the most beautiful days I can ever remember for a home opener. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, the temperature was comfortable, PNC Park was sold out, and I had optimism in my heart. That obviously didn't last long. And then there were the two drunken idiots sitting next to me who got in a fight over exactly how bad the Pirates are. I had to scream at them to get them to stop. Needless to say, by the time we did leave, my wonderful mood had completely vanished.

Oh, and as much as I am proud that Michael Keaton is a fellow Pittsburgher who has made good in Hollywood, couldn't the Pirates have found someone else to throw out the first pitch, like, oh, I don't know, the head coach of the Super Bowl Champion Pittsburgh Steelers? That just goes to show how jealous the Pirates are of the Steelers. I mean, Jerome Bettis threw out the first pitch for the Detroit Tigers today. The Bus is from Detroit, so I get that, but Bill Cowher should have thrown out the first pitch today. Period.

So, here I sit, cranky, tired and wishing I'd just gone to work today instead of allowing the Pirates to ruin what is usually one of my most favorite days every year.

There's something to be said for low expectations, and when it comes to the Pirates, having any kind of good expectations is a recipe for disaster.

~Sara

Friday Frivolity - Part Deux

No, your eyes aren't deceiving you. This is actually a second blog entry in one day. I know, I know. What's gotten into me? What can I say? It's Friday night, and I don't have anything better to do. Well actually, I'll be heading out for my own brand of Friday frivolity upon completion of said blog entry. Nothing quite like a Friday night out with the girls in Western PA.

Anyway, I promised a review of this past Tuesday's first new Gilmore Girls in a month. And it was well worth the wait, let me tell you.

Title: I'm OK, You're OK
Writer: Keith Eisner
Director: Lee Shallat-Chemel

When we last left young Rory, she had told that cad Logan to take a hike upon discovering he had slept with all of the bridesmaids in his sister's wedding party. He thought they were broken up; she thought they were on a hiatus. Of course, in Logan's world, being broken up is cause to screw anyone who will put out, but I digress. Anyway, Rory had retreated to Paris' slum apartment and proceeded to make up with really the only person outside of her mother who does understand her, even if Paris has a very odd way of showing it. Well, Mr. Wonderful managed to track down Rory, and Paris, of course, launched into the full Paris, even threatening to "pull a Bonaduce" on Logan. That was but the first of many great lines that night. But to make a long story short, Logan seemingly won Rory's forgiveness and the two of them left together. Things were back to normal between the two of them, right? Don't think so because Rory just happens to show up in Stars Hollow a day later, making no mention of her formerly estranged beau. Very suspicious, indeed.

Now while all of this is going on, the subplot between the now engaged couple of Lane and Zack moved on at full speed. Lane is on cloud nine and had even moved back in with Zack and Brian. Of course, one last obstacle remains before Zack and Lane can be wed: he had to tell Lane's mother. One of the most engaging things about GG is that the characters actually grow and change as the season pass. Take Ms. Kim for example. When the show first debuted, she was nothing more than the overprotective mama who drove Lane completely nuts. However, as time has gone on, Mrs. Kim has softened, and last season she even went so far as to book Lane's band on a series of concert gigs in and around Stars Hollow. So when Zack comes to ask Mrs. Kim for Lane's hand in marriage, it's no surprise when she's less interested in Zack's job in the real world and more interested in his music. If Zack wants to marry Lane, then he has to come up with a hit song in 24 hours, which he does with Mrs. Kim's help. It seems that Mrs. Kim knows far more about popular music than she's ever let on, as evidenced by the reference to The Dave Clark Five she makes.

As much as I love the relationship between Lorelai and Rory, it's the subplots with the other denizens of Stars Hollow that really make the show for me. As far as I'm concerned, there hasn't been enough Sookie and Michel this season, and even busy-body Taylor hasn't been seen much. Of course, there's always looney Kirk and his ever-changing job. This week, he's in real estate, using the lobby of The Dragonfly as a de facto office and referring to himself in the third person because "That's Kirk's thing".

So back to Rory and Lorelai. Rory shows up at Luke's as Lorelai is busy trying to talk Luke into buying new luggage for a trip to Philadelphia as a chaperone for daughter April's field trip. You can tell Lorelai is still uneasy about the whole "Luke suddenly has a daughter" thing which is furthered by her outright refusal to find out anything about April or her mother. So, of course, Rory just has to take a trip to Anna Nardini's one-of-a-kind shop the next town over. Lorelai is quite unhappy about Rory's little excursion, and I think that eventually she and Anna are going to have to meet. I just hope it's civil.

And as a quick aside, just let me say that Sherilyn Fenn looks fabulous in the role of Anna's mother. Someone give her a series, for goodness sake!

Oh, in the midst of all of this, it wouldn't be a true GG episode unless Rory and Lorelai had an ongoing discussion about some movie or another. This time it happened to be Final Destination 3. Predictably, Lorelai didn't understand the whole "Death as the villain" theme, and it made perfect sense to Rory. This does my heart good because this is exactly what was missing from GG earlier this season when Lorelai and Rory were apart. Memo to Amy Sherman-Palladino: NEVER DO THAT AGAIN.

The real revelation in this episode was that Richard and Emily are looking at homes in Stars Hollow, something that Kirk let slip, even though he couldn't tell Lorelai anything about it. Gotta love Kirk. This all came after a very amusing family dinner at Lorelai's house which featured Richard and Emily dining on comfort food that Sookie had brought over for Lorelai and Rory. I about died laughing as Richard commented on Pasta a la Sookie (mac n cheese for us plebians) saying it was quite unlike anything he'd ever eaten before.

I could go on and on about how wonderful this episode was, but I think you get the gist by now. And as GG draws closer to it's 6th season finale, it looks like the Rory/Logan relationship is at a crossroads. Seems she didn't tell Mr. Wonderful she was going home for a while and also didn't answer any of his calls. But everything's okay with them. Sure it is...

And Lorelai's steadfast denial to get involved with Luke and April will be soon coming to an end as Lorelai will apparently be helping out with April's makeover party in a future episode. Can't wait to see how she gets involved in that.

Okay, I'm done blabbing. Just make sure you watch next week's episode as it looks like Rory and Logan are about to reach a turning point in their relationship. Hopefully it will involve her dumping him once and for all.

Have a good weekend, kids!

~Sara

Friday Frivolity - Part 1

I know, I know, I know...I'm a baaaaad blogger. I blame it on my upbringing. Okay, maybe not, but I do blame it on there not being enough hours in the day to do everything I want. Yours truly is in great demand, and between my blog, doing reviews, story writing, friends, and, y'know, work, the blog had to give this week. But I intend on partly making up for that today with a double shot of Scribblings and (possibly) a rare Saturday edition of everyone's favorite blog (that no one talks about).

As a way to whet your appetite, I will be saving my review of this past Tuesday's Gilmore Girls for Part 2 of today's blog, but let me say, it was one of the best episodes of the entire season. There was barely any Logan (always a good thing), and lots of doings in and around Stars Hollow. Best of all is the impromptu dinner that Lorelai and Rory share with Richard and Emily at Lorelai's house. However, if you want to know more, you'll just have to check back in a few hours.

Speaking of my beloved GG, Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly has some tidbits regarding this season's finale, which will air on May 9. For all of you 24 fans, Mary Lynn Rasjkub (everyone's favorite sexy computer geek, Chloe) will be making a guest appearance as a troubadour in Stars Hollow for "Troubapalooza". More importantly, the two biggest relationships on the show (Luke-Lorelai & Logan-Rory) will come to some sort of boiling point. I am on record as saying that Luke and Lorelai need to be together, no matter what Amy Sherman-Paladino thinks, and that giving Logan the heave-ho would make many, many people happy. Now that Milo Ventimiglia's new show is about to go belly-up, perhaps ASP could talk him into coming back (at least for a few guest shots) to ride off into the sunset with Rory (provided that next season is the last year of GG).

Oh, for those of you who want to hear more from MLR regarding her forthcoming appearance on GG, Michael Ausiello has an exclusive interview with her in this week's Ausiello Report. Oh, I finally got around to seeing Michael's "cameo" on Veronica Mars last month, and let me say that it's wonder people aren't knocking his door down to give him more work. And before he gets his panties in a bunch, I'm just messing with MA. He's the guy when it comes to TV scoops and tidbits, and I'd go nuts without his columns online and in TV Guide. And yes, I am kissing major butt hoping that some day, he'll give me a shout out like I do to him every week.

Okay, time for this girl to get back to work. Be back later with my GG review plus more news and tidbits from around the entertainment world.

~Sara

Quicky Comic Reviews

After a long weekend of resting up from my vacation (yes, I still needed to rest even after being away for a week), I'm back with the first new Scribblings of the week and my first new set of comic reviews.

First up this week is Hawkgirl #50 by Walt Simonson and Howard Chaykin, in which the duo take a solo Hawkgirl "One Year Later" from the as-yet-unrevealed events of Infinite Crisis. I had very high expectations for this book considering the authors, but after only one issue, I'm already questioning DC's decision to make the book a solo title for Hawkgirl with Hawkman gone missing after Infinite Crisis.

DC went to great lengths to try to clean up Hawkman's muddled continuity, and I can't understand why they felt the need to have him go away, even if for a short while. I'm sure he'll be back before long, and while I hope that the mystery Simonson sets up in the first issue will be tied into to Carter Hall's return, I think being away from a monthly book for so long has eroded Simonson's once-impressive skills. And don't even get me started on Chaykin's rather uninspired artwork. [1.5 stars out of 4]

If you want to read my full review, head on over to Fantasybookspot.com.

Next up is the first issue of J. Michael Straczynski's new Squadron Supreme series. After the events of Supreme Power and the Hyperion and Nighthawk mini-series, JMS has finally gotten around to the establishment of the Squadron, though in typical JMS fashion, the build-up is somewhat long and lots of questions are left unanswered. The biggest change is that Squadron Supreme no longer is burdened with being a MAX title (even though it still carries a Parental Advisory label) which will allow it to reach a broader audience. If that's the case, then I hope JMS speeds up the pace of his storytelling.

The biggest problem I had with Supreme Power is that nothing really ever happened until the end of the story arc. Way too many comics these days seem to be written with the trade in mind, and JMS is especially guilty of that. It's okay to tell a few two part stories that still advance the overall plot but can be read on their own. With a more mainstream audience, I think JMS will have to pick up the pace of his stories, lest he alienate some of his readership. Artistically, Gary Frank's pencils and Jon Sibal's inks are still the best part of this series. Overall though, I'm skeptical about how this series will sustain itself now that the Squadron has actually been formed, under the auspices of the U.S. Government. [2 stars out of 4]

And finally, we come to the best book I picked up this past week, All-Star Superman #3 by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely. For everything that All-Star Batman and Robin hasn't been (y'know, good), All-Star Superman has lived up to and maybe even exceeded my expectations.

Grant Morrison can be hit or miss for me. I loved his work on JLA but not so much on New X-Men. Yet, knowing what reverence he has for DC's biggest hero, I had no doubt he would craft a tale that would be both exciting and thought-provoking. In the third episode, Morrison borrows a premise that you might have seen in a Superman comic back in the 1950's: what would happen if Lois Lane had Superman's powers? However, instead of it being a fantasy story, Morrison makes Lois gaining Superman's powers part of the overall story.

For Lois' birthday, Superman gives her his super-powers (in liquid form, no less) for a period of 24 hours. What follows is Lois' day as Superwoman, from encountering a monster from the Earth's core to being held in a state between life and death by the Ultra Sphinx to a kiss from Superman on the moon. If you're expecting Lois to engage in battle, then you'll probably be disappointed. However, if you want to see how Lois reacts to actually living Superman's life for a day and being able to go all of the places he can, then you're in luck.

Frank Quitely is providing some of his best work on this series, and his familiarity with Morrison is so evident throughout. His art never gets in the way and succeeds in complimenting the story, like a good artist should (are you listening Rob Liefeld?). I'm still not Quitely's biggest fan, but his artwork has improved greatly since his run on New X-Men. I'm very much looking forward to episode 4. [3.5 stars out of 4]

Okay, boys and girls, that's it for tonight. Time for me to get ready to watch the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship. I'm torn because Ben Howland (coach of UCLA) used to coach at the University of Pittsburgh (the hometown school), yet I just think Florida's athleticism might be too much for the Bruins. I just hope it's a better game than either of the Final Four games which were dreadful.

Later, kids!

~Sara