So Sweaty!

The latest episode of Legend of the Seeker was a very sweaty one, as the Seeker spends almost the entire episode shirtless, sweaty and glistening. That's my kind of television. It should get even sweatier this week as BSG returns on Friday. Helo usually winds up real sweaty one way or another.

And on a related BSG note, especially for those of you who watched the recent Webisodes -- could Gaeta have proven to be any more of a douchebag? I think not.

Fresh Veal

Alex introduced me to a new show available on Hulu - Legend of the Seeker. One of the executive producers of the show is Sam Raimi, who was executive producer of Xena, Hercules, directed the Spiderman movies, Army of Darkness, and has also written quite a lot. I've always enjoyed his work and this is another in a long line of fluffy, entertaining fantasy TV filmed in New Zealand.

Of course, the only thing I knew about it before I watched was Alex's admonishment to check out the tasty new veal in this show. He was right -- they had him shirtless and sweaty while chopping wood while within the first 5 minutes of the first episode. That's my kind of show.

The lead is played by Craig Horner, an Australian actor who, while not as tasty as my previous (also Australian) fantasy TV favorite -- Daniel Goddard who played Dar in the Beastmaster, is still a nice veal that gives me a good excuse to follow this show.

Speaking of Daniel Goddard and Beastmaster, I was quite sorry to see that show go. Daniel Goddard shirtless throughout every episode was a special treat. I was glad to find that Goddard has gone on to The Young and the Restless -- it's great that he's found steady work and I'm sure that they have him shirtless frequently as well, but it's not something I'd bring myself to watch. Goddard is definitely within that physical type that really works for me, has a smile that can melt your heart... and it's nice having a hot guy that's near my age. (Goddard is a couple of years older than I am...)

Still, the one nice thing about not watching the Beastmaster anymore is that there's no annoying sidekick, Tao, who I basically describe as Beastmaster's Lt. Gaeta. Let's hope that Legend of the Seeker doesn't fall into the trap of having the annoying, intelligent but ultimately useless sidekick.

Back to LotS, I'm hoping they find many reasons for Horner to lose his shirt and get all sweaty.

True.

(Thanks to Scott at Bill in Exile for this!)

Say Hi To Your Mother For Me

With Tina Fey's portrayal of Sarah Palin, my interest in Saturday Night Live is renewed. I was watching one sketch and noticed that Will Forte is kinda hot. Even when they're trying to make him rather frumpy, he still manages to be strikingly handsome. Another one of my favorites is Andy Samberg, who I also find to be rather hot. Lest you think my interest is purely physical, here's a video of Samberg doing an impression of Mark Wahlberg that is spot on. Enjoy, and say hi to your mother for me.

Progress

Having posted that Adama campaign poster earlier today, I've been in a bit of a BSG mode this evening. (Maybe I've just been needing a dose of some HUNKY HELO in my life...)

Anyway, I was poking around NBC's site, and noticed that they have a range of full episodes of different shows, including BSG. Clicking a bit further, I realized that these were episodes of the original series. I decided to take in one of the classic episodes -- I'd seen all of the original episodes many times growing up. I had a way of nostalgia, remember how much I enjoyed the show growing up -- the original BSG came out in 1978, which would have made me 5 at the time -- a little young to have watched the show when it originally aired, especially given that it only lasted until 1979, along with the brief Galactica 1980 show. Still, I have many vivid memories of the show and I know that many of my friends at the time were similarly enthralled.

Beyond the original nostalgia, I couldn't help but marvel at how much better the current show is. I know that's hardly a revelation -- the current series has been airing since the 2003 miniseries, but this was the first time that I've gone back to watch any of the original since I started watching the current incarnation of BSG.

Of course the production and special effects are a quantum leap from the original series, but what struck me most was how the tone of the two series differs. Sparked by the success of Star Wars, BSG and it's twin, Buck Rogers, also created by BSG's Glen Larson, sci fi on the small screen hadn't advanced much since the original Star Trek. I'm really proud that sci fi has become a more serious and legitimate form of story telling in the current series. Certainly, as with the original Star Trek, the producers of sci fi have always been able to use it as a vehicle on which to comment on society, but it's quite impressive to have a show that is able to transcend the genre and become a great story in it's own right.

As I've mentioned before, this isn't really news -- but sometimes you have to go back and see how far things have progressed. I suppose that's what is in my head the most about this -- not necessarily about BSG itself, but for life in general it's easy to get bogged down in what happens on a day to day basis. It's good to take a step back sometimes and really get a sense at how far you've come. It really helps me get a sense of appreciation for all that's happened over the years. That's true in my life in general and it's especially true in appreciating a shirtless Helo.

Your Twisted Sister, Yaz

Ok, there's no question that the 80s were a pretty odd decade. Case in point, the phenomenon that was Twisted Sister. Ah, Hair Metal bands. They emerged prior to me really getting involved with pop music -- that didn't start until I got into high school around 1988. I did, however, remember their one big hit, "We're Not Gonna Take It." It's one of those 80s tunes that everyone knows but won't admit that anyone liked.

I was surprised to find that Twisted Sister, and "We're Not Gonna Take It" were named in Senate hearings regarding the outrageousness of rock music. Yes, looking back at the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC) getting their panties in a bunch over Twisted Sister, Madonna, Black Sabbath and Prince... oh yeah, and they went especially bonkers over Cyndi Lauper for "She Bop." Are you kidding me? SHE BOP?! And I suppose they were upset that she spelled her first name with a "y" too. In any event, I can't help but laugh at the sheer futility at the whole thing and marvel at how they didn't just lose the battle, but note that it was even less effective than Nancy Reagan's "Just Say No" campaign in the long term.

Flasg forward about 20 years... I know I don't usually watch television and I just happened to be passing by one when I heard the familiar refrain of Twisted Sister's hit... except it's a cover version being used in a birth control commercial, for some new product called "Yaz." Wow, even if you're a washed up glam metal band, to have one of your hits being used in a birth control commercial? Maybe it'd be less humiliating if it was for condoms, but there's really not much you can say to lesson that indignity. Well, after 20 years, I think the PMRC can puff up their chests and say, "See? We're Not Gonna Take It really is promoting sex." And acne control.

WOOF!

Ok, I don't watch much TV, but here's a guy who makes me think I need to start watching more -- Josh Gates from Destination Truth on the Sci Fi channel. I really don't know anything about it, but I was looking for the preview for this week's episode of BSG and I saw his handsome face looking back at me in one of Sci Fi's ads.

Welcome to Wonderfalls

A couple of months ago, I was spending the day with Alex, who was recovering from some minor surgery. He had recently got a short-lived TV series on DVD, called Wonderfalls. It never made it past the first 4 or 5 episodes and I had never even known it existed. I'm figuring that most of America hasn't either.

It took me a few episodes to finally get into it -- I missed the first couple of episodes, so there was a lot of "WTF?" Once I got past that, I found that I really resonated with the underlying story.

Wonderfalls centers on a young twentysomething living in Niagra Falls, named Jaye. She's got an Ivy League education, works in a dead end job at a local gift shop and lives in a trailer. The series includes a lot of her incredibly odd and dysfunctional family, and while at first she's painted as this pathetic slacker with no ambition, the show goes to great pains to make you understand that she's always been the outcast and that she's trying to choose a different path from her family: her right wing, George W. Bush loving (and still surprisingly lovable) doctor that is her father; her mother, who is a neurotic, well-known author; closeted lesbian-immigration attorney sister; and brother who happens to be a Ph.D. student in Theology and an atheist.

The crux of the show is that one day at work, Jaye is outside at lunch and chokes -- while she manages to dislodge the food, when she returns to work, suddenly things are different -- a wax lion from the vending machine in her store speaks to her. We're not talking Joan of Arcadia, "Yes, Joan, this is God, and listen to me while I pontificate..." Instead, the wax lion tells her not to give a customer her money back.

There's a lot more that I love about this show and I plan on talking about it more, just because there are so many different aspects that I love. But at it's core, it's a story about a very intelligent, talented girl who's grown up choosing to withdraw from the world, keeping most everyone at a distance. The stories Wonderfalls presents are about how the Universe finally starts to push Jaye in a different direction, one where she's forced to interact with the world in new ways and open up to those around her, despite the fact that all the while she's afraid that she's going crazy... and despite the fact that she's usually trying to fight the whole process.

Not only is she's worried she's going crazy, she's also dealing with the chemistry with the charming, emotionally available, though on the rebound Eric, played by the adorable Tyron Leitso.

While I don't live in a trailer, I can't help but see a lot of myself in Jaye and the struggle she's going through. In the first episode she explains her basic worldview: "Well, just look at them. They all work really hard everyday and they're dissatisfied. I mean, I can be dissatisfied without hardly working at all." I guess I've hit that point as well... and I haven't quite found a better solution... except for the insistent nudges the Universe keeps giving me, sending me in directions that don't necessarily feel like the direction I think I want to go and yet somehow always seem to work out in ways I don't really expect.

Why...

...do we have to wait until March to see this?

How will I go that long without seeing hunky Helo?

I Miss Hunky Helo, Too!

While I'm enjoying the return of Ugly Betty, I wants me some Galactica. Preferably with lots of shirtless Apollo and Helo. Especially if they're going at it... together.

(Thanks, Alex!)

Betty!

I think I had mentioned that I pretty much gave up on most TV... Galactica was my one holdout and its not back until January. Towards the end of last season, I decided to send some episodes of Ugly Betty to a friend who recently moved to London. Even though I missed most of the first season (recently catching up now that Season 1 is on DVD), I confess that I'm hooked. Fortunately, Season two starts tonight!

The Legend of Cap'n Steel

'Tis truly a good day to be a pirate! Pirate reality TV! Thar be real gold! Thar be a Cap'n! Watch now, Jim Lad.

Whatchu Talkin' About, Willis?

Stand By Your Man

Hell no, he's not near cute enough for me to clean up after him. That said, how much do I love the British and Guinness?
(Via Towleroad.)

What Price Dignity?

Ok, I don't know who thought this would make a good ad campaign, but I would suggest that the ad company not hire people who have had a frontal lobotomy. Ask yourself this question -- just how much would your dignity cost? How much would they have to pay you to be the idiotic "Berries and Cream" guy? What's even more gag-inducing: there are quite a few out there who would do it for free...




Sad... people really will imitate just about anything. What's that whimpering I hear? Oh, its the baby Jesus... he's crying.

The Facts of Life

I always knew Jo and Blair used to go at it like a couple of angry mackerel fighting...

Advertising Is SO GAY!

OMG, the wrestler with the soft skin is SO HOT. /drool

Breakdown

I was at Fry's supermarket today picking up a few items, enjoying the relaxed air of what would normally be another painful Monday afternoon at the office. As I made my way down the aisle with the baking accessories, the grocery store muzak channel took a wistful turn down nostalgia lane that caught me by surprise: Paula Cole's "I Don't Want to Wait" came pouring from the speakers and my carefully crafted facade of happiness fell to pieces. Memories of Dawson's Creek came rushing back into my overwhelmed consciousness and I could not escape the feeling that things had gone horribly wrong.

I was in my last semester of law school when Dawson's Creek debuted on The WB. I remember how cute Dawson and Joey looked together, had a platonic crush on Katie Holmes, and wished I had a hot friend named "Joey" who would climb into my bedroom when I was growing up. Where were the hot, intelligent, sensitive guys like Dawson when I was in high school? At least through Dawson's Creek I could relive my spent youth as I wish it could have been. To boot, Dawson's father was HOT HOT HOT. OMG.

Ah, youth. So much promise... and yet, life has a strange way of turning out. Perhaps the first sign that things weren't going to turn out so well was the entire notion of Joey and Pacey being together. I mean, when has Joshua Jackson ever been appealing? Then they killed off Dawson's HOT father in a car accident... And while Kerr Smith did make a rather fetching one of the gays (also in Broken Heart's Club), I was quite offended by the whole storyline where his lame sister almost dies from taking a tab of Ecstacy. If you're gonna get KOed from one pill, you should really be living your life in one of those plastic bubbles.

Look back now and look at the wreckage that was Dawson's Creek. The WB doesn't even exist anymore -- its mutated into the WB. Neither James Van Der Beek nor Joshua Jackson have careers to speak of, and my beloved Katie Holmes is now married to the Scientologist's Messiah and has an alien baby named Suri. How could it have come to this?

Torchwood

Now this is the way to start out the New Year... I haven't seen anything so incredibly romantic, if heartbreaking, in a long time.

Thanks to Towleroad for the headsup!

Casper

Ok, ever since I saw Starship Troopers back in 1997, I couldn't help but notice Casper Van Dien. Something about his stunning good looks and watching him shirtless and strung up being whipped was like watching hot S&M porn for my closeted self back then. He's been busy since then, appearing in a number of movies and TV roles that I've never seen. I missed seeing him in a loincloth in Tarzan and the Lost City. (Netflix to the rescue!) Apparently there is a Starship Troopers 3 in the works which he's slated for -- unfortunately, I saw Starship Troopers 2, which was AWFUL. I'm a big fan of Paul Verhoeven, who directed the first movie, as well as Total Recall, the original RoboCop and Basic Instinct. ST2 had none of what made the first movie interesting.

Anyway, back to the oh-so-pretty Casper. For some strange reason, he never really seemed to capture the public's attention. In any event, he's now in MyNetworkTV's Watch Over Me, which tells you the direction his career's gone, I'm afraid. Apparently, though, Casper's been playing a gay character in this show, one who gets some hot man on man action, too! We've come a long way from Melrose Place where Doug Savant's character was lucky to get a polite hug goodnight. Maybe the prospect of watching Casper get him a little man-love will be enough to tempt me to watch Watch Over Me... probably not.