This Week in Buffy History: March 29-April 4

March 28
1968: Max Perlich born (played Whistler in Season 2)

March 30
1965: Juliet Landau born (played Drusilla)

March 31
1997 - Episode 1.5 “Never Kill a Boy on the First Date” airs on The WB

April 1
2009 - Season 8, Issue 24, "Safe", released by Dark Horse Comics

April 2
2003 - Angel Episode 4.17 “Inside Out” airs on The WB
2008 - Season 8, Issue 13, "Wolves at the Gate, Pt. 2", released by Dark Horse Comics

April 4
2000 - Episode 4.17 “Superstar” airs on The WB
2000 - Angel Episode 1.17 “Eternity” airs on The WB
2007 - Season 8, Issue 2, "The Long Way Home, Pt. 2", released by Dark Horse Comics

Two Weeks with the iPad 2

When you break down our interactions with computing devices, they really fall into one of three core categories, which I'm conveniently labeling the "3 Cs of Computing":

• Creating
• Communicating
• Consuming

Writing code, developing programs, editing video... hell, even blogging (at least long-form blogging)... these are all things that fall into the category of "creating". These are the things that require an actual computer, one that has a large monitor, full-sized keyboard and true multi-window multi-tasking. 

However, more and more, communicating and consuming can be done on a smaller-scale device, and I've found that the iPad 2 really meets my needs for those categories. 

Flash back to a year ago when the original iPad came out. I decided to pass on it for a few reasons, but primarily because everything I could do with an iPad I could also do with my perfectly good MacBook Pro. Sure, I had other reasons, but that was the big one. However, over the last year, I've come to realize that my 15-inch MacBook Pro is NOT an ideal consumption device. It's too large to reasonably use on an airplane, too hot to use in bed and too bulky to use on the couch. The iPad is the solution for all of these things. 

When I returned from Miami with my iPad last week, the first thing I did was consolidate all my household computing to my docked MacBook Pro, because within two days of ownership, I realized that the iPad would supplant it when it came to in-home portability. I'm using a computer on my couch or in my kitchen or in my bed, it's really for small-scale communicating (Twitter, Facebook, quick e-mails, etc.) or consuming -- browsing websites, reading comics, watching movies, listening to music, and so on. And the iPad has been PERFECT at doing that. 

Jersey Monday: Jalen Rose

Thanks to the insanity of this year's NCAA Tournament, I don't have a natural tie-in with this year's Final Four to spotlight with this edition of Jersey Monday. Sure, I could go with my one UConn jersey, but I did a post on that last month, and it's way too early in this process to be doing repeats.

So, instead, let's go with a player who's been in the news lately, Jalen Rose.

I'm not going to rehash the whole story here, so you can do a Google search if you want to know WHY Jalen's been in the news.

Focusing on the jersey itself, I got this back in the mid-'90s, after Rose had left Michigan, but before the Wolverines made any changes to their jersey style. I also got this on clearance, because it was originally sold as an authentic from the Fab 5 years -- and like all college authentics sold during a player's career, it has no name on the back -- so it was technically "out of date".

If you look closely at the picture, you can see a bit of silver toward the bottom of the number. That's where I had Jalen sign this jersey back when he was playing for the Pacers during a trip to Boston. That means I have jerseys for three of the five Fab 5 members (along with Chris Webber and Juwan Howard), and two of them are signed. I guess I should track down Juwan and try to get him to sign that (*shudders*) Wizards jersey, to complete the trifecta. Also, anyone have a Jimmy King or Ray Jackson jersey? Anyone? Bueller?

Jersey Monday will continue every Monday until I run out of jerseys to spotlight. And since I’ve got more than 150 of them, that could be awhile.

No Ordinary Family "No Ordinary Future" Reaction

When a TV series starts burning off new episodes -- particularly critical, major-development episodes -- at 10 p.m. on a Saturday, that's not a good sign. And considering "No Ordinary Family" has already had its episode order cut, the time slot for "No Ordinary Future" probably signals the end of the series. ABC will air one more episode a week from Tuesday, before it officially has to cancel the series in May.

Saturday's episode itself wasn't entirely awful, but it felt familiar. I can't pinpoint exactly where I'd seen it before, but the plot with Stephanie having to piece together her visions of the future before the present caught up or else her family would be in grave danger feels like something that's been done time and time again, and "NOF" didn't really put an original spin on it.

The show did try to amp up the suspense factor by not having Stephanie figure out what was happening (in regards to her running into the future) right away, and even then not allowing her to solve the mystery  of why her family was exposed until it was nearly too late, but even that felt forced. Once Stephanie explained to Jim about the situation at the park, they had to add in a line about "George isn't picking up his cell phone" to give Jim a reason to go down there. Of course, there were literally dozens of other cops there too -- couldn't he have called one of THEM?

It also felt a little off that until Stephanie made her last trip to the future, the family's suspicion as to how their secret got out all fell on Daphne and her "criminal" boyfriend, when time and time again, it's been Jim's vigilante actions that have nearly exposed them. In the end, it seemed like the only reason for the Chris suspicion was to get Daphne at the park at the same time, so she could eventually defuse the situation with her mind push power -- a power that was finally exposed to the rest of the family.

Once that happened, it seemed like Jim and Stephanie took the news that Daphne's power had evolved -- and that she had used it against them -- all too lightly. Then, as some kind of twisted form of punishment, they made her use her power to make Chris forget that the Powells have superpowers, only Chris also forgot Daphne's relationship too (in the one scene that had the appropriate level of emotional impact, thanks in large part to a really good acting job by Kay Panabaker). That is honestly some really downright awful parenting by Jim and Stephanie there. They went from "don't use your powers" to "use your powers AGAINST the people you love". I know their motives were... well, solid, I guess, but it really felt like another low point for this show.

Not even the return of Rebecca Mader -- resurrected by the Deus Ex Machina that is Mrs. X -- could salvage the episode, especially since her shape-shifting character spent the majority of her screen time in the guise of Katie's kindly old OB/GYN. Meanwhile, we didn't see any more power usage out of Katie's unborn superbaby, but according to Mrs. X, the serum has bonded with the baby's DNA, whatever that means.

At this point, the show's ongoing mysteries and developing storylines seem pointless, since it's highly unlikely we're getting anything more than one more episode out of it. So let's just sit back and watch that finale (April 5), then wonder what could have been for this series that never quite got out of its own way.

For more coverage of the 2010-11 television season, visit the AdamReisinger.com TV Reviews home page.

Fringe "Bloodlines" Reaction

With the good news earlier this week that "Fringe" has been picked up for a fourth season, it frees us up to watch each episode without the dark cloud of potential cancellation hanging overhead. It also means we no longer have to analyze episodes like "Bloodlines" through the lens of impending doom.

Specifically, without the news of the pickup, the story about Fauxlivia's pregnancy being accelerated (for whatever purposes) would have seemed like a "they need to resolve everything before they get the axe" development, but instead we're able to simply take it as another of the amazing, weird twists on "Fringe".

I thought this episode was really good in two major ways. First was the acting of everyone involved, particularly Anna Torv, who's had to put on so many different masks this season. The balance between fearing for her own life (both in the beginning with the pregnancy-related virus, and after the kidnapping) and the life of her unborn child was well done. Torv had some great moments with her on-screen mother too, something that we've seen very little of in the past with this show (since in the primary universe, Olivia's mother is dead).

The second thing I really loved about the episode was the expansion of Walternate's objection to experimenting on children. It's pretty obvious that in the alternate universe, safe childbirth is not a given, which means that each child's life would be even more valued than it is in the primary (our) universe. Interestingly, even with that in mind, what transpired in this episode would have to be considered a FORM of experimenting on children, as Walternate was behind the kidnapping of Olivia and the accelerated pregnancy experiment.

Of course, in a way, Walternate was probably responsible for saving either Olivia or the baby's life, since it turns out she was a carrier for the virus that would have made her pregnancy fatal, and the only way they both survived is because the pregnancy moved faster than the virus. Still, it's pretty obvious that Walternate's ready to throw his whole "no children" rule aside if his grandchild will power the machine. It's a whole "needs of the many" thing, which, of course, ties into Leonard Nimoy, aka Spock, aka William Bell.

I also liked the return of Henry, the taxi driver, and how he ended up being the key to Lincoln and Charlie unraveling the mystery of Olivia. His whole thing about Olivia not recognizing him after she returned from the other side (because, obviously, she wasn't the same Olivia), was touching in a bittersweet way.

I think the only thing I didn't like about the episode -- aside from the creepiness of the accelerated fetus moving around under Fauxlivia's skin -- was the onslaught of "little" differences between the two universes. These were cute the first few times they popped up, but now it seems like the writers try to cram in a bunch of them each episode regardless of whether they're relevant to the story. Does it matter that in the alt-universe, Coppola, not Scorsese, directed "Taxi Driver"? No, and it really only serves to pull the viewer out of the story, rather than immersing them in it.

For more coverage of the 2010-11 television season, visit the AdamReisinger.com TV Reviews home page.

30 Rock "Plan B" Reaction

Thursday's episode of "30 Rock" wasn't as strong as last week's reality TV parody "Queen of Jordan", but "Plan B" still had its strong points, and marked the return of both regular cast member Tracy Morgan (if only through his fake Africa video chat segments) and long-time recurring guest Will Arnett, who reprised his role as Jack's rival Devon Banks.

As you can probably guess, "Plan B" was not about the trendy burger joint in West Hartford (though I bet Liz Lemon would LOVE Plan B's mini-burgers and house fries), but about everyone falling back to their own personal Plan B, after Jack puts TGS on "forced hiatus" due to Tracy's continued stay in "Africa" (again, really a soundstage somewhere in New York).

The Plan Bs were:

• Frank: stand-up comedy (at Black Women's colleges)
• Pete: return to substitute teaching
• Jenna: continue to sell her "Jenna Babies" on QVC
• Sue: go back to being a police psychic in Holland (a Dutch TV show is based on her!)
• Toofer: architecture, or medical nanotechnology, or... whatever else his "concentration" at Harvard prepared him for (Liz shoving him in the elevator when he started getting all "Harvard"-y on her was a nice touch)
• Kenneth: transfer to NBC News

Of course, Kenneth wouldn't have needed to put in for that transfer if his idea journal had more ideas to save the show than "bird Internet." I loved that the show never bothered to explain that further, even via a cutaway gag, despite it coming up multiple times in the episode. What the hell would "Bird Internet" be? An Internet FOR birds? An Internet dedicated to the study of birds? Some guy in Boston's creepy fan page for Larry Bird? 

There were two things I thought they really nailed in the episode. First was everything with Banks. I've missed that guy so much (and no, "Running Wilde" did not hold me over). The fact that his newfound family life made him the perfect candidate for working at family-owned Kabletown -- something Jack didn't pick up on until it was too late -- was phenomenal.

Second, there was a scene where Liz -- finding herself without a solid Plan B -- went to interview for a writing gig for Nick Lachey's "The Sing-Off". With her in the waiting room was Aaron Sorkin, who completely nailed a perfect self-mocking cameo. Let's watch:

Liz bringing up "Studio 60" was great, since that show and "30 Rock" debuted in the same season, and it was immediately assumed that only one of them would survive (since it was unlikely that network TV would support two shows about a behind-the-scenes look at a network late night show), and most people predicted Sorkin's show would win out.

Now, for the top lines of the night that weren't part of that clip (also, though not a "line" exactly, I have to give a nod to "Gay SportsCenter", which was SO wrong, but almost made me choke I laughed so hard). 

Modern Family "Boys Night Out" Reaction

Like most episodes of "Modern Family", Wednesday's installment had a theme. For "Boys Night Out", it was "trying new things", some of which worked and some of which didn't.

Addressing the latter first, I thought the Phil-Claire-Luke plot was the weakest of the show. It involved Luke befriending the Dunphys' elderly neighbor, who his parents feared. The entire thing was predictable, in kind of a boilerplate sitcom manner, and aside from Phil's physical comedy didn't really draw any laughs.

Otherwise, the episode was really good, with the other stories all tying into each other. Cam and Mitchell were going out for a night with their gay friends, leaving Haley to babysit Lily. At the bar, they ran into Jay, who had originally gone out with Manny and Gloria to see The Four Seasons, only its Vivaldi's "Four Seasons" and not Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, so Jay ditches.

Everything about that series of events worked. Haley was typical, irresponsible Haley, and got busted because of it (though, thankfully, Lily was not in any danger). Jay had fun, that then backfired on him, and Mitchell learned a valuable lesson about his dad (cue "aww" from studio audience that doesn't exist).

As much as the scenes with Jay in the bar were funny, the way the tables turned on him the next morning was the best part of the episode. We've already seen that Gloria is by far the most devious character on the show, and she proved it once again, setting Jay up for horrible failure, in the name of "trying new things". She was only in this episode for a couple scenes, but they were all awesome.

For more coverage of the 2010-11 television season, visit the AdamReisinger.com TV Reviews home page.

Desktop Girl of the Week: Michelle Monaghan

I'm once again late on DGOW, after skipping it entirely last week, so let's get to this week's selection quick: Michelle Monaghan has been acting for more than a decade now, and there's almost no chance you haven't seen her. Even if you haven't seen, "Gone Baby Gone," "Mission Impossible III" or "The Bourne Supremacy" (just some of her higher profile roles), she's been on TV non-stop for the past few weeks as promotions have ramped up for her next movie, "Source Code."

I'm honestly not sure if I'm going to see "Source Code", since I'm not sure I'm on board with the premise at all, but it doesn't look like the worst movie out there (no, that would be "Red Riding Hood", at least according to my friends who've seen it). Still, it might be worth seeing just for Monaghan (then again, that's what I said about Red Riding Hood and Amanda Seyfried... maybe it's best to just watch "Bourne Supremacy" again).

• Michelle Monaghan on IMDB
• Michelle Monaghan Fan Site
• "Source Code" Official Site

As always with DGOW, I’ll provide a widescreen (1680x1050) image for downloading. If you want to see past DGOW, then just check the archive album.

No Ordinary Family "No Ordinary Animal" Reaction

The future of "No Ordinary Family" is in doubt, with both of its stars having lined up pilots should the show not be picked up, so it's hard to know exactly what to do with an episode like this. If "NOF" were definitely coming back for another season, I could point to "No Ordinary Animal" as the transition episode from the introduction of the characters and premise to the point where the show settles in to what it's becoming, but instead it feels like this could be a case of "too little, too late".

The episode's title comes from the former death row inmate that Stephanie injected with the serum in a previous episode, who's now been enlisted by Dr. King's boss (the manipulative Lucy Lawless) to hunt down and kill the "victims" of Dr. King's experiments who are now on the loose. However, as he makes his way through the list, he encounters supers that Mrs. X was previously unaware of, including Katie and the Powells. Katie, you ask? Well, we'll get to that.

In the real turning point moment for the episode, and again possibly the series, the killer (who I keep wanting to call "Jesse", since that was Eric Balfour's name on "Buffy", and that's all I could think of when he was doing scenes with Julie Benz, aka "Darla") attacked Stephanie, leaving her seriously wounded and infected. She couldn't go to a regular hospital, so Jim, against all logic, brought her to Dr. King. THIS was the key moment in the episode. We're now past this big "mystery" between the two sides, though the Powells still don't know about King's boss. The last few episodes, with both sides sort of half-knowing what was going on, had become tedious, so this was a nice jump forward.

Dr. King and Jim ended up injecting Stephanie with the serum, which Dr. King warned Jim could have side effects. Interestingly, he also failed to tell his boss about it during her surprise visit, instead telling her about getting closer to stabilizing the formula (thanks to some forced assistance from JJ in the episode's weakest subplot). Stephanie recovered, and went for a run, which led to a new special effect, and -- honestly, kind of predictably -- a jump through a hole in space-time (and in the preview for next week's episode, we learn she literally "ran" into the future).

Speaking of predictable, aside from the strong main plot, this episode's developments were painfully telegraphed, at least for those who watch enough television. When Katie showed signs of having powers (first when she was attacked, then later in her house when Jim and Stephanie checked on her), it was made out to be this big question of how she got them, but immediately I said, "she's pregnant with Joshua's baby", and that's exactly what it was. Daphne's subplot involved her boyfriend Chris encouraging her to use her mind-pushing power to just have a little fun, and just as predictably, by the end of the episode, he was on the brink of going out of control with it. I wouldn't be surprised if that led to some of the issues we saw in the preview for next week.

Because of the major plot development with the over-arcing story for the series, this was a better episode of "NOF" than most, but it still had many of the same flaws that the show has displayed throughout its run. And, sadly, because of those flaws, that run may be ending sooner rather than later.

For more coverage of the 2010-11 television season, visit the AdamReisinger.com TV Reviews home page.

Chuck "Chuck Versus the Muuurder" Reaction

I want to like "Chuck", I really do. But episodes like "Chuck Versus the Muuurder" make it difficult for me to care about the show, which seems to forget previous plot developments for episodes at a time, while focusing on things that just serve as window dressing for meaningless action scenes.

In the case on Monday's episode, there were three plots going on that the viewer was supposed to care about:

• Chuck bringing in potential Intersect trainees, one of whom was apparently murdering the others
• the ongoing rivalry between the Buy More and the Large Mart
• Ellie's continued investigation into her father's laptop

I've made my thoughts on the last one pretty clear, but I'll repeat them: I don't think Ellie should be involved in spy life in any way, and if the show does something to change that, I'll absolutely stop watching.

I usually don't have a problem with the Buy More plots, but this one seemed dumber than usual, serving primarily as a vehicle for another insipid product placement and a juvenile "BM" joke that got more annoying every time it was repeated.

As for the A-story, it might have been decent, had it not been so predictable. There was a moment when one of the murder suspects opened a door, causing a bomb to go off in his face. However, he quite obviously shielded himself from the blast with the door, making it easy for most viewers to pinpoint him as the killer. From there it was just a matter of waiting for Chuck and his team to stop being so stupid and figure it out.

The only real redeeming quality to that particular story was the fact that the killer -- a CIA agent who'd grown weary of always being sent undercover in terror cells -- was working for Volkoff's daughter, which is a story I'm glad they're getting back to. This little mini-detour into the CIA's new Intersect project, which is thankfully already over, turned out to be relatively useless.


For more coverage of the 2010-11 television season, visit the AdamReisinger.com TV Reviews home page.

This Week in Buffy History: March 22-28

March 24
1974: Alyson Hannigan born (played Willow)

March 25
1997: Episode 1.04 “Teacher’s Pet” airs on The WB
2003: Episode 7.17 “Lies My Parents Told Me” airs on UPN

March 26
2003: Angel Episode 4.16 “Players” airs on The WB

March 27
1971: Nathan Fillion born (played Caleb in Season 7)

March 28
1968: Max Perlich born (played Whistler in Season 2)

Jersey Monday: Reggie Geary

The 2011 NCAA Tournament has cut the field from 68 to 16, and one of the Sweet 16 still standing is Arizona. The Wildcats pulled off a mild upset over Texas yesterday, giving me the perfect opportunity to spotlight one of my more random college jerseys.

How did I end up with an authentic jersey of a relatively random Arizona player who spent parts of two seasons in the NBA? Well, back in the mid '90s, Nike would regularly put out authentic jerseys of their top schools, using a senior as the featured player. In 1996, Geary was that senior. The problem with choosing a senior was that the number had to be changed every year, whether the jersey style changed or not (however, this being Nike, the style changed more often than not anyway). That's how this jersey ended up in a massive lot of clearance jerseys at Marshall's where I was working in 1997. I actually bought the jersey as Miles Simon was leading Arizona to the 1997 national title, thinking I would remove one of the '4's on the jersey to make it match Simon's number. I never did get around to that though, so this jersey retains its Geary status.

I actually have the matching pair of authentic shorts for this jersey, though those are pretty beat up since I used them as gym shorts for my last year of high school and most of college. Still, it makes this one of only a handful of jerseys for which I can say I have a true full uniform.

Jersey Monday will continue every Monday until I run out of jerseys to spotlight. And since I’ve got more than 150 of them, that could be awhile.

Sideshow Black Cat Premium Format Statue Review

Back when Sideshow first opened up the pre-orders for the Black Cat Premium Format Statue, I missed the chance to grab one of the Exclusive Editions, so I settled for the standard edition. Then, a couple weeks ago, I noticed that the Exclusive Edition was available for in-stock order, while the standard edition still wasn't shipping, so I canceled my standard order, grabbed the Exclusive, and here she is.

The first thing I noticed about Black Cat was her weight. No, they didn't make Felicia Hardy fat, but because of the thick base and large bank safe accessory, this is probably the heaviest of the Marvel Sideshow Premium Format statues I own. It was a considerably difficult process to get the product box out of the shipping box, then get the foam protective box out of the product box.

The statue itself comes in four primary pieces: the base, the safe, the body and the head. Black Cat uses a magnetic head attachement despite the fact that there are no alternate portraits available here. There are also two sets of gold bar accessories for the inside of the safe, as well as a "signed" portrait of Black Cat, which uses a photo of Sideshow's legendary scale bust. The Exclusive Edition comes with a print of the artwork used to create the statue, but otherwise no other special accessories.

As is standard for Sideshow's premium format line, Black Cat's suit is made of cloth, though her gloves and boots are sculpted (as is her mask, though I can't imagine Sideshow trying to make such a small, thin cloth accessory). I didn't check to see if the zipper was functional or not, not wanting to break it if it's not. I did slide the spandex suit slightly over toward the arm, to see if there was a painted bra strap underneath (FOR RESEARCH PURPOSES ONLY, I SWEAR!), and there's a mass of black paint as far as I could see. It's also worth noting that the suit is not attached to the fur collar, which is sculpted and attached directly to the body.

Interestingly, despite the weight I mentioned earlier, this is the shortest of the Sideshow Premium Format statues I own, as Mystique, Emma Frost and Ms. Marvel are all in upright poses, while Black Cat is sitting/leaning against the safe. She ends up being more in line vertically with Sideshow's comiquettes than the other premium format statues -- in fact, I've got her right next to Scarlet Witch and they're right about the same height. Eventually I need to find Black Cat a more line-appropriate home, though my only other Black Cat piece is from the Adam Hughes collection, and she's with all the other Adam Hughes pieces (Rogue, Emma Frost, Mystique, Jean Grey).

I still think of the premium formats I own, Emma Frost is my favorite, but this Black Cat is a very close second. I love the pose, and the hair sculpt is great, as is the overall construction. The placement of the statue on the base makes it a little awkward to display, and I wish the character had a little more of a playful expression, but otherwise it's a hit.

Full Black Cat Premium Format Statue photo gallery after the jump...

V "Mother's Day" Season Finale Reaction

With extra NCAA Tournament action this year, I fell way behind on my DVR this week, which meant I didn't catch Tuesday's season finale of "V" until Sunday. And what a season finale it was. "Mother's Day" had all sorts of insanity happening, possibly in a last-ditch effort to save the show.

The episode started off kind of slow again, with another convoluted Fifth Column plot to attack Anna. At least now when they're saying "attack", they mean in the physical sense and not through lame PR manipulation. And Erica steps up the level of the plan, enlisting Lisa to actually kill Anna, while Diana reveals herself to her people and changes the course of the V's plan.

Of course, Lisa can't go through with it, causing everything to unravel in spectacular fashion: Anna kills Diana (in front of all the Vs on the New York mothership), imprisons Lisa in Diana's old prison, hatches her last Queen Egg and skins the new daughter identically to Lisa, then sends New-Lisa to mate with Tyler, which she does, before apparently killing him.

Meanwhile, the ominous FBI partner who'd been snooping around Erica finds out that she's Fifth Column, and brings her in. Only instead of being in trouble, Erica is introduced to the government's secret facility where they don't believe the Vs are "of peace", and they're ready to go to war. However, while Erica's underground at the facility, Anna and her adopted human/V hybrid daughter (Ryan's biological daughter) use the power of heart to call on Captain Planet... no, wait, that's not right... oh, yeah, they "Bliss" the human race, turning them into Anna-following zombies.

That's a whole mess of shit happening in a single episode, and while it'd be easy to complain that they didn't get here fast enough, in reality this is the end of the first full season. "V" has only aired 23 episodes over the course of two seasons, and the slow-developing story has been as much the fault of the schedule as it has been the writing.

Now, if the show does get renewed, the key is to hit the ground running as a follow up to all of this. I am concerned because the episode seemed to linger on the big dramatic moment where Erica -- after telling him earlier in the episode how proud of him she was because his belief never waned -- saw Father Jack in the crowd caught up by Anna's bliss. I thought the Father Jack moments, both with Erica and Anna, were among the weaker and more heavy-handed of the episode, and I'd be disappointed if next season spent more time on that than on the action aftermath.

Oh, and please let Tyler really be dead. His story is BEYOND done. Plus, maybe that'll motivate Erica to get into a real ass-kicking mode. Also, don't revive Ryan (who was killed by his own daughter, in a bittersweet moment). His story is also VERY done. If there is a Season 3, it should be about Erica working with Aries (the government agency) to take down Anna and New-Lisa and get original Lisa in charge to get the Vs off our planet.

For more coverage of the 2010-11 television season, visit the AdamReisinger.com TV Reviews home page.

Charmed Comic Review, Issue #8: Oh, Henry

Just two weeks after the arrival of Issue #7, the latest issue of "Charmed" has arrived, along with a new artist. We'll get to that in a minute, but first, the recap.

RECAP

The issue starts off with Piper and Phoebe under attack, with Paige tending to a pregnant female who's been killed by Rennek. Paige orbs the unborn child out of the womb, while Rennek steals "orbs" from the whitelighter he just killed, before dark-orbing away. Piper and Phoebe are less than impressed by Rennek, but Paige reminds them that Leo fought him for decades, then introduces them to the baby, before trying to figure out what to do with it.

As it turns out, Paige brings the baby home, since she and Henry are registered foster parents, until Paige's old social services boss, Bob, can find the baby's biological family. Paige calls the baby "little Henry", which Henry doesn't like. However, that's not what's really bothering him. He's concerned for Paige and the twins, who haven't come into their powers yet. Paige jokes about setting up a schedule for fighting demons to deflect the pain from the gravity of her situation. She's still upset she couldn't save the pregnant woman, or the charge that Hogan and Neena killed (back in Volume 1), which is why she helps at Magic School.

In the underworld, Rennek returns to Neena, who is still keeping the demons in the dark about her plan. Rennek is nervous, since Neena kills Hogan, but Neena explains she saw Hogan as a distraction for the demons, while she executed her real plan. Rennek thinks they'll figure it out eventually. Neena tells Rennek he's collected enough orbs, and now she needs a small contingent of demons for the next part of her plan.

Back in the manor, Paige asks Henry what he's really upset about and says he's been distant ever since he was possessed by the Source's discord spell. Henry admits he's afraid of being a mortal in a magical world, saying "I feel powerless in every sense of the word." Bringing a mortal child into that added to his fear. Piper calls and tells Paige to turn on the TV, which is reporting about thick fog and falling debris at the Golden Gate Bridge. Paige puts the fight with Henry on hold to go help with the fight.

At the bridge, Neena has her contigent of demons fighting a small group of Elders, including Kyle. The Charmed Ones arrive and Phoebe suggests they attack Neena. They get attacked by a demon, and Neena grabs Kyle. Rennek shoots him, and Neena steals his powers. Neena confronts the Charmed Ones and blasts them off the bridge. Paige safely orbs away and tries to call for Piper, who isn't orbing back. Phoebe tells Paige to orb them to the ground, but they can't find Piper (or her body). Leo arrives, quickly followed by Neena, who Leo recognizes. Leo has Paige orb the three of them back to the manor, where he fills them in on her background. Neena isn't a demon. She's a witch. And she's not just any witch... she's the first witch.

REVIEW

Glee "Original Song" Reaction/Song Review

More than any episode of "Glee" this season, "Original Song" was really about the music, though they found a way to work in some solid relationship stuff to, making for a solid episode.

Ever since "Glee" announced it would be doing original songs, I was concerned that they'd suck. Fortunately that wasn't the case, as both songs turned out to be really good and reflected well on the themes of the episode and the show as a whole.

Aside from the music (which I'll get to below the jump), this episode was heavy on Quinn-Finn-Rachel stuff, which is kind of where the show's been consistently at its best for nearly two seasons now. I thought Quinn's little speech to Rachel about their respective futures was interesting, because Quinn was actually more realistic about HER future, admitting that Rachel had what it takes to be a star, but her obsession with Finn was holding her back. It was a nice twist on what I expected to be a typical "I'm the blonde head cheerleader/prom queen and you're not" speech.

This episode also prominently featured the progression of the Blaine/Kurt relationship, featuring their first kiss, which I'm sure made a lot of people happy. You know what made me happier? Kurt finally standing up to Blaine's solo obsession and saying on the show what I've been writing in these reviews for awhile now: the Warblers felt less like a group and more like "Blaine and the Pips".

I even liked that they gave us another bit of the Brittany-Santana fallout, though not too much. It would have been disappointing if they'd just left that for a later episode where it could be more fully explored. Though I'm obviously still hoping for that, an immediate reaction was necessary.

The only thing I really disliked about the episode was the over the top satirical portrayal of the former Tea Party candidate who was judging the competition. I get enough of annoyingly one-sided portrayals of our nation's political discourse (or lack thereof) in my everyday life. Can we please leave it out of "Glee", especially if it's going to be shown in the most extreme way possible?

My favorite line of the episode was, no surprise, from Brittany, who, when Mr. Schu asked what everyone's favorite song was, responded, "My Headband," Rachel's horrible original song from earlier this season. I had to rewind to hear everyone else's responses because I was laughing so hard. A close runner up was Brittany's line after the dirt fell out of her locker, a prank courtesy of Sue, "I don't even remember putting that in there." So, so stupid...

Ok, on to this week's music, which there was a lot of.

Charmed Comic Review, Issue #7: The Heir Up There

I figure I should get around to recapping/reviewing Issue #7 of "Charmed" before Issue #8 comes out tomorrow. This issue actually came out a couple weeks ago, and I picked it up then, but I didn't get a chance to go through it until I got back from Miami. Thus the delay.

RECAP


The issue begins with Piper calling out for Paige from inside her restaurant. Leo insists that it's unnecessary, but Piper, holding Melinda, wants answers. Paige orbs in, and we see that Melinda is using tele-orbing, the same power that Paige has. Paige and Piper agree that Melinda shouldn't be able to use any type of orbing power, since Leo was human when she was conceived. Leo thinks something in his Whitelighter DNA may have been passed to Melinda, but Piper wants Paige to take Leo to the Elders to make sure.

"Up There", Paige and Leo are greeted by Kyle, Paige's deceased ex-boyfriend from Season 7, who's been made into an Elder. Kyle gives Leo the same explanation Leo gave to Piper, but Leo realizes Kyle is lying, and thinks the Elders had a role in Melinda's powers.

Back at the restaurant, Piper and Phoebe discuss dealing with their children coming into their powers while re-organizing the restaurant -- something Melinda undoes in an instant with her powers.

Back up there, Kyle explains to Leo and Paige that the Elders gifted Melinda with her powers, in the hopes of altering the prophecy of the twice-blessed, essentially creating a new generation of Charmed Ones -- Wyatt, Chris and Melinda. Leo is pissed, but Kyle tries to explain that the new Elders' primary purpose is to guide, not interfere. Paige remains skeptical. Leo is more worried about his children being demonic targets, but Kyle assures him they're safe, and offers Leo his powers back. Leo says no, but then Kyle informs him that Rennek, a powerful darklighter, is back.

We see some of what Rennek has been up to, hunting down other creatures of the underworld, including the Queen of the Vampires, with Neena.

Back at the restaurant, Melinda is still causing trouble with her tele-orbing, which has apparently been going on for months. Piper then realizes that the timing coincided with her taking away Melinda's pacifier. Once returned, Melinda falls asleep.

Up there, Leo is still turning down the offer to be a Whitelighter again. He wants to stay mortal, and doesn't want the strings attached with working for the Elders again. Kyle explains that when he dies (again), he won't be re-made a whitelighter, to which Leo responds, "wouldn't have it any other way."

Back at the manor, Piper and Leo discuss his decision. Leo insists he's fine with it, because at least this time it was truly his decision, and he trusts that Piper, Phoebe and Paige can protect the children, saying ominously, "there's nothing you can't handle."

Cut to the underworld, where Neena is on her throne discussing the hunt with Rennek, who wonders what the underworld would think if they knew who Neena really was. He calls her Victoria and Isabel, revealing he knows her true nature.

REVIEW

Chuck "Chuck Versus the A Team" Reaction

I accept product placement as a reality of modern television. It's a way of defraying some of the costs of producing a series, while also adding a touch of realism to the world in which the characters live (rather than using generic products like "cola" and "smokes"). There are even ways of doing product placement without being distracting. A show can choose to simply have the product appear or be quickly referenced without making a big deal of it (generally the most common type of product placement). Or, a show can mockingly lampshade the product placement, something "30 Rock" does regularly and effectively.

Then there's the way "Chuck" did it on Monday, with a conversation between Chuck and Sarah about the product they were placing into the show that was so stilted and absurdly glowing that it felt like a bad SNL sketch mocking a bad commercial for the product. Hell, the in-character Honda commercials with Morgan, Ellie and Awesome during the 2010 Winter Olympics were less pandering than this thing, which completely took me out of the episode (and I refuse to say what product the in-episode commercial was for, so not to give the company any more free publicity).

Aside from that, the episode itself was good, but not great. It did mark the return of both Isaiah Mustafa and Stacy Keilber, reprising their "Greta" roles from earlier in the season. I liked that the whole "Greta" thing was finally explained, but the way it tied into Casey's new secret mission and Chuck's dad's computer just felt forced. Plus, let's be honest, the Gretas kind of had a point. They were two actual trained NSA spies with Intersects in their head being led by Casey, an NSA spy with military background. Neither Sarah nor Chuck has a traditional spy background, and while that kind of worked out for them in this case, I understand where the government was coming from here.

What I don't understand is why the evil NSA lady (described as a less-friendly version of General Beckman) decided that the key to her intersect project was giving the computer back to Ellie. Does this mean Ellie is Intersected now, or will be? If so, I'm not a fan of that. I really liked that in the mass of insanity that permeated these people's lives, she was the one bastion of normality (and no, the Buy More crew doesn't count. There is no place in the universe in which Big Mike, Jeff and Lester could be considered "normal").

For more coverage of the 2010-11 television season, visit the AdamReisinger.com TV Reviews home page.

This Week in Buffy History: March 15-21

March 16
UNKNOWN YEAR - Scott L. Schwartz born (played multiple characters)
1999 - Episode 3.17, “Enemies” airs on The WB

March 17
1997 - Episode 1.3, “Witch” airs on The WB

March 19
2003 - Angel Episode 4.15, “Orpheus”, airs on The WB

March 20
1979 - Bianca Lawson born (played Kendra)

Jersey Monday: Chauncey Billups

To tip off four consecutive weeks of NCAA men's basketball related "Jersey Monday" posts, I figured I'd start with one of the teams that was left out of this year's Field of 68 (I'm still getting used to that number, after I'd finally gotten used to 65), Colorado.

The Buffaloes aren't known as a basketball school, but back in the mid '90s they had some success with Billups, a Denver native who stayed in state for college.

I picked up this jersey when Billups was a rookie with the Celtics, hoping to get it signed at a game, but by the time the majority of the games for which I had tickets rolled around, Billups had been traded to Toronto for Kenny Anderson. It was just one of the many short-sighted moves by Celtics coach/GM Rick Pitino, who helmed one of the worst runs in Boston history -- one that fortunately for me made it easy to get tickets.

Billups bounced around a little bit after his Boston stint, landing in Denver, Orlando (where he was on the roster, but injured and never played) and Minnesota before finally breaking through with Detroit. He's currently with the Knicks, where he can hear teammate Carmelo Anthony talk about how great Syracuse's chances are in the tournament this year, while quietly seething over Colorado being relegated to the NIT.

Jersey Monday will continue every Monday until I run out of jerseys to spotlight. And since I’ve got more than 150 of them, that could be awhile.

South Beach Diaries: Day 7 - Heat 118, Grizzlies 85

I've been calling this series the "South Beach Diaries" and I've been joking about taking my talents to South Beach ever since booking this trip (way back in September), but through the first six days of my trip I hadn't spent a moment in South Beach. Miami, sure. Homestead, Miami Gardens, Fort Lauderdale, all sorts of places in South Florida, but not South Beach.

So, after the Heat destroyed the Grizzlies in a relatively early Saturday afternoon start (note: the Heat should push for more afternoon weekend starts when teams come into town a full day early. The lure of the South Beach nightlife is like a siren song for an NBA player on an off day, and many won't recover in time for a noon or 3pm game.) I decided to head into South Beach, rather than go right back to my hotel.

Truth be told, I'm just not a "South Beach" kind of guy. I had the same problem when I was in L.A. for the 2009 NBA Finals and my hotel was in the heart of Hollywood. It's just not my scene. I grew up in the suburbs, went to college in the suburbs and I now live in the suburbs. Sure, I don't mind the occasional -- or, lately, frequent -- trip to New York City, but those are usually about sports, concerts, sneaker shopping or just hanging out with friends. I'll never be the trendy guy at the trendy club buying the trendy drinks, and I'm fine with that.

I'm also fine with how the Heat played today. I could go into details, but it was really an evisceration from start to finish. It's rare you can say this about a 33-point win, but the game wasn't as close as the score indicates, particularly in the second half. All three of the Big Three were on, with Dwyane Wade scoring 28, LeBron James scoring 27 and Chris Bosh scoring 18. The trio combined to go 26-of-42 from the field, which, for the math challenged, is 61.9%. They also combined for 20 rebounds, 16 assists, seven blocks and five steals, despite none of them playing 35 minutes. It wasn't that the Grizzlies were playing poorly. It was just that the Heat were... well, hot.

I really couldn't have asked for a better way to end the trip. There was no point in the game where I felt the outcome was in doubt (despite the pessimist sitting behind me who kept pointing out when the Heat were up 24, "they can still blow this... they've done it before"), and LeBron -- the primary reason for my trip -- had another good game. I also got this SWEET picture of a LeBron dunk in progress from the opposite end.

For the rest of my pictures from Saturday's game, hit the jump.

South Beach Diaries: Day 6 - iPad Launch

Today was a different kind of day here in South Florida. Rather than take a trip down to Miami for an NBA game, or enjoy the beautiful scenery here, I spent a large portion of the day sitting in a single spot at the Galleria Mall in Fort Lauderdale.

Why would I do that? One word: iPad.

I passed on purchasing the original iPad because I wasn't sure how much I'd use it, and I wanted to see some hardware and software improvements. Well, the latter came with announcement of iPad 2 (though, to be fair, many of the software improvements I wanted to see came with iOS 4.0), and I've realized over the past year that I would use an iPad extensively. I do a lot of my casual computing (browsing, using Twitter, checking e-mail) from my couch, and my 15-inch MacBook Pro is a terrible system for that. It's heavy, unwieldy and gets stupid hot.

Also, I've been traveling a lot more, and an iPad is perfect for most of what I do on the road, whether its watching video, uploading photos, or just browsing.

So, I arrived at the mall at 1:45 p.m., more than 3 hours before the iPad was slated to go on sale at retail locations (they'd been on sale all day online, and apparently sold out very quickly), and there were already about 50 people ahead of me in line -- a line that was divided up into three segments, only the first two of which were within view of the store.

I'd love to tell you that there were all kinds of exciting things happening at the mall during my time there, but really I just listened to music, watched "Dr. Horrible" on Netflix instant streaming and tried to make the time pass as quickly as possible. At 5, the Apple Store employees came running down the line cheering (a part of being an Apple Retail employee that I don't miss) and then... we waited some more.

Apple, as has become tradition at these product releases, was only taking as many customers in the store as it had employees, with new people being let in as others finished their transaction. At about 5:45, I finally got in, and it was decision time.

Originally, I asked for the 32 GB White iPad with AT&T 3G service. Sold out. Then, for some reason, I was ready to settle for the Black version of that model, despite the fact that I really wanted the white one and didn't really have a preference as to carrier (at the moment, I'm not activating a cellular data plan, but I wanted to have the hardware in case I decide to at a later date). Luckily, that model had just sold out too, but they still had the 32 GB in white on Verizon. Toss in a gray polyurethane smart cover, and I was all set.

My primary iTunes library (the one with all the music, videos and -- most importantly -- apps) is on my Mac Mini at home in Connecticut, so I've spent most of the evening downloading apps over the hotel's wireless network, but I have to say in my brief time using the iPad, I'm very impressed. Most importantly, it seems to be perfect for doing exactly what I wanted it for -- sitting on the couch and doing casual-use things. In fact, I wrote this blog entry on it (admittedly, it took me longer to write as I got used to the size of the on-screen keyboard, but it worked).

I didn't take a ton of unboxing photos, but check out the ones I did take after the jump.

South Beach Diaries: Day 5 - Heat 94, Lakers 88

I just want to say how relieving it is to get a win in the books on this vacation. On the drive back to the hotel tonight, I was just so much more relaxed, and I can really just enjoy these next two days, rather than worrying about whether or not the Heat can end a losing streak against the Grizzlies.

Of course, beating the Lakers was a nice bonus. If you'd told me before this trip that the Heat would go 3-1, but the one loss would come to the Lakers, I would have been accepting, but disappointed. If you'd told me the Heat would go 1-3, but the one win would be over L.A. ... well, to be entirely honest, I wouldn't have believed you, but I'd smirk at the thought of beating the Lakers.

Truthfully, the Lakers aren't even my least favorite team (an honor that still belongs to the Celtics), but I really dislike them as a team, and I particularly dislike Kobe Bryant. I love that LeBron James has won eight of his last 10 meetings with Kobe, so while the Celtics may still have him figured out, and Carmelo Anthony continues to dominate their rivalry, LeBron keeps winning the Kobe vs LeBron debate (well, at least until Laker fans bring up RINGZZZ!!!!11!1!!!1!!!).

It was interesting to watch the Heat do pretty much everything people had been asking them to do to end this losing streak, including Chris Bosh actually living up to his request/demand to get the ball in the post more. Bosh was agressive, and it worked. Dwyane Wade had the ball in his hands at the end of the game, and made play, after play, after play. While the game was different on the court, my perspective was also different, since I was on the opposite side of the court. I was also sitting next to a pair of Lakers fans, which made it kind of awkward when I loudly joined in the "Kobe Sucks" chant late in the fourth quarter. Interestingly, as that chant was going on, one of the people sitting behind me said, "that's a bad idea," thinking the chant would motivate Kobe. And maybe it did. But from the time that chant started through the end of the game, Kobe was 0-2 from the field with a turnover.

That chant, and the different reactions from me (joining in) and the people around me (either shaking their heads or checking their smartphones), made me realize something: I'm a 300-level fan who buys 100-level seats. It's been my m.o. for a few years now. Because I don't have a true hometown team, I can't get to a ton of games, so when I go, I splurge and buy relatively expensive seats. But because of this, I'm surrounded by the "corporate" fans, who seem almost put off by my constant screaming, cheering and excitement for the game. I've nearly completely lost my voice tonight, and when I'm at a game as a fan, that's the rule, not the exception, but the people around me generally aren't like that, and the Miami crowd has really amplified that. Hell, the guy sitting in front of my tonight had a popped collar on his polo shirt and spent most of the second half eating sushi. I was wearing a red LeBron swingman jersey and my in-game dining consisted of popcorn and soda.

I guess the one non-typical fan thing I do at these games is take a lot of photos, and sometimes some video. Hit the jump for examples of both, including video of LeBron's third-quarter buzzer beater.

Desktop Girl of the Week: Clare Kramer

I know I'm a day late on Desktop Girl of the Week, but it works out well, because this week's selection ties in with the anniversary of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer". No, it's not Sarah Michelle Gellar or Julie Benz or Alyson Hannigan or Charisma Carpenter or any of the other girls who appeared in the first episode of Buffy (especially since all of those girls listed have been previously selected), but my favorite "Buffy" villain of all-time: Clare Kramer.

Since I first watched "Buffy" back in 2005 (yeah, I was late to the party, sue me), Season Five has always been my favorite season, and Kramer's portrayal of Glory, the villainous Hell God, was a huge reason why. However, it wasn't the first time I'd seen her. No, for that you have to go back to 2000 and "Bring it On", which also starred former Buffy star Eliza Dushku. I watched that movie more times than I'd care to admit, including multiple viewings in the winter of 2001-02, when I was good friends with a cheerleader.

A few years later, I was living in an apartment and flipping through my VERY limited selection of HD channels when "The Skulls III" came on HDNet. Sure, it was the second sequel to a not-very-good movie to start with, but I watched the whole thing because of Kramer.

I also saw her in the short version of "D.E.B.S." and was a little disappointed that she was replaced by Jordana Brewster for the full-length version, but by that point I had started watching "Buffy" and everything was all good again.

I finally got to meet Clare last year at the Buffyfest at New England Comic Con, which was pretty cool. She was one of the nicest, sweetest celebrities I've ever had the pleasure of meeting, and my picture with her is now part of my Twitter background (at least until I start updating it with 2011 events).

• Follow Clare Kramer on Twitter
• Clare Kramer's Official Site
• Clare Kramer/Mercedes McNab Panel at Buffyfest New England

As always with DGOW, I’ll provide a widescreen (1680x1050) image for downloading. If you want to see past DGOW, then just check the archive album.

Buffy Video: Love the Way You Lie

For awhile, I'd been planning to do a Buffy video using Eminem's "Love the Way You Lie", featuring some of the more turbulent relationship moments during the series, but a couple weeks ago I decided to shift focus to just Buffy herself and the three primary relationships she had on the series: Angel, Riley and Spike. I also switched songs, from the Eminem original version to Rihanna's version, which worked better for what I wanted to do.

Unlike a lot of my past mash-up videos, I tried to match the on-screen scene to the lyrics as much as possible, at least through the Rihanna verses. It became harder with Eminem's rap, which I used for the Spike scenes. Also, I had to end with a shot from "Lie to Me", which really had nothing to do with any of the relationships, but tied into the song title.

Enjoy the video after the jump

Happy Anniversary Buffy!

Earlier this year, we celebrated the 30th birthday of the character Buffy Summers. Now today we get to celebrate the 14th birthday of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" itself. It's hard to believe our little show with the funny name is 14 already. Before you know it, she'll be screaming "Get out, get out, get out!" and making wishes so no one can leave her birthday party.

I usually try to do something Buffy related on the 10th of March -- the date Buffy debuted on The WB with "Welcome to the Hellmouth" and "The Harvest" -- and today will be no exception. Though I'll be going to the Lakers-Heat game tonight, I'll get in some watching of some Buffy episodes this afternoon, starting with the two that aired 14 years ago today.

Additional Buffy-versary coverage:

• [2011] Buffy Video: Love the Way You Lie
• [2010] My Buffy-versary present to me
• [2010] Happy Buffy-versary!
• [2009] Fave 5 - Moments from "The Gift"
• [2009] Project 310 - Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 5 LiveBlog
• [2008] Buffy: Season 8, Issue #12 Review

Glee "Sexy" Reaction/Song Review

Tuesday's episode of "Glee" felt like two episodes in one. The first half of "Sexy" seemed entirely too light and frivolous, taking place in some kind of fictional fantasy world where Holly Holliday (Gwyneth Paltrow) could perform a song like "Do You Want to Touch Me" while wearing tight leather from head-to-toe and not be immediately fired. However, the episode took a more serious, balanced and emotional turn in the second half, turning into one of Glee's better episodes of the season.

Strangely, the emotional core of the episode was centered around Santana and Brittany, who have almost exclusively been used for comedic purposes to this point. I loved that Brittany was the one that pushed for the two of them to talk about their feelings, and then when Santana finally did open up and admit that she wanted a relationship with Brittany, Brittany was the one who pulled away. That scene might be my favorite of the season, and Naya Rivera really nailed it. It's good to see that she has more range than just being the bitch or the slut.

It'll be interesting to see how Santana reacts in the next few episodes. I think it'd be easy for her to just outwardly go back to the way she'd been before, sleeping around and acting like a cold bitch, but I'd rather see her build on that emotional development. And while Sam is clearly oblivious to Santana's true nature (even telling Artie how cool it was that their girlfriends were so close), Artie isn't quite as foolish, and hopefully he'll realize that Brittany should be with Santana, and let her go without being hurt.

There's also something of a love quadrangle being set up between Carl, Emma, Will and Holly -- though Carl seems to be on his way out. As it turns out, he and Emma haven't consummated their marriage, and in a "session" with Holly (who Carl seems to have mistaken for some kind of sex therapist, rather than just the substitute sex ed teacher), Emma admits that her feelings for Will aren't entirely clear and may still exist. However, Will is falling for Holly, who might finally be ready for a real relationship. Only, she wasn't exactly forthcoming with what she knew about Emma, which is bound to blow up in her face in the future. But we'll leave that for another episode.

I also loved that we got another example of Mike O'Malley's confused but well-minded parenting. His relationship with Kurt is one of the things "Glee" has done consistently well in both seasons, and it was on display again today as Burt struggled to have "the talk" with his gay son, but did the best he could. Plus, we got a nice scene with Burt and Blaine, and while I thought it was interesting that they didn't address Blaine's drunken sleepover from a couple weeks ago, it was a good interaction nonetheless.

On some level, the episode was a microcosm of this season so far as a whole: some stuff, particularly the more silly stuff, didn't really work, but there was enough stuff that did work that it was worth watching.

Now, as for the music...

South Beach Diaries: Day 3 - Blazers 105, Heat 96

In the night I hear 'em talk, the coldest story ever told
Somewhere far along this road he lost his soul
To a woman so heartless
How could you be so heartless?
How could you be so heartless?

The problem with planning a vacation around sports is that if the sporting event(s) you're attending don't go the way you'd hoped, then the vacation feels ruined.

I'd like to say that won't be the case with this week, but so far things are not looking up. Unlike Sunday's loss to the Bulls, tonight's loss to Portland was disheartening from start to finish. All day, I had something of a nervous energy, less in anticipation of a potential Heat win and more in fear of a fifth consecutive loss. Once I arrived at the arena, from the opening tip this felt like a game the Heat were destined to lose, and lose they did, despite the best efforts of LeBron James and Dwyane Wade.

It's clear now that this is a highly flawed team, though one still incredibly capable of greatness. When James, Wade and Chris Bosh are all playing well together, the Heat are very difficult to beat. However, playing off the ball has been more of a detriment to Bosh's game than anyone could have expected, and he was thoroughly outclassed by LaMarcus Aldridge on both ends of the floor tonight.

After the game, when I got back into my car, the first song that came on when I hit shuffle on my iPhone was "Heartless" by Kanye West. It seemed appropriate. I'm not sure if "heartless" is this best way to describe this Heat team, but right now they're playing without... something. Call it heart, call it a sense of urgency, call it a competent defensive point guard (seriously, Mike Bibby couldn't guard a cardboard cutout at this point of his career), call it whatever you want. But without whatever "it" is, the Heat aren't going particularly far in this year's playoffs.

Thursday brings another chance to end this losing streak, against a Laker team that Miami blew out on Christmas Day, but is rolling right now. But that's Thursday. In the interest of preserving my sanity, I'm treating Wednesday like a TRUE vacation day. I'm going to sleep in, eat lunch by the waterfront, maybe get a spa treatment here at the resort and not watch a single second of sports. I'm not going to open up TweetDeck once, and I'm definitely not going to jump into DDL like I did on Monday night. I guess in a way, I'm taking a vacation from my vacation. But I'm in Southern Florida, the weather is beautiful and I need to do something to enjoy it and take my mind off disappointing basketball.

This Week in Buffy History: March 8-14

March 10
1997 - Episode 1.1, “Welcome to the Hellmouth”, airs on The WB
1997 - Episode 1.2, “The Harvest”, airs on The WB

March 11
1946 - Mark Metcalf born (played The Master)

March 12
2002 - Episode 6.17, “Normal Again”, airs on UPN
2003 - Angel Episode 4.14, “Release”, airs on The WB

March 14
1980 - Mercedes McNab born (played Harmony Kendall)
2007 - Season 8, Issue 1, "The Long Way Home, Pt. 1", released by Dark Horse Comics

Jersey Monday: Hanley Ramirez

One of the nice things about having so many jerseys is that I can be prepared for pretty much any vacation I take. When I went to Georgia last month, I had my choice of Dominique Wilkins (former Atlanta Hawk and UGA alum) or Hines Ward (UGA alum). When I went to Boston last October, I could have picked from Paul Pierce or Kevin Youkilis -- but instead went with Buffy Summers all weekend, for Buffyfest.

So in addition to all my LeBron jerseys for this trip to Florida, I've got my Hanley Ramirez Marlins jersey ready to rock if I decide to go to any spring training games (I also brought my Johan Santana Mets jersey, if I decide to make the two-hour drive up to Port St. Lucie).

Of the three major American sports (leaving hockey out of the mix), baseball is the one for which I have the fewest jerseys, and I rarely wear my baseball jerseys outside of baseball games. Still, I do like baseball jerseys, mostly because they're great for layering when worn open.

Also, it's nice to have a Ramirez jersey, since he does happen to be one of the best players in baseball. While my baseball collection in smaller than my other sports, that does make it more selective, with a lot fewer "why do you have THAT jersey" selections.

Jersey Monday will continue every Monday until I run out of jerseys to spotlight. And since I’ve got more than 150 of them, that could be awhile.

Desperate Housewives "Searching" Reaction

All season long, I've disliked the story lines given to Lynette, Bree and Susan, while enjoying Gaby's and being intrigued by Paul/Beth's. So Sunday's episode of "Desperate Housewives" was kind of a bizzaro episode, with Gaby's story being stupid, and Beth's being predictable (though the promos ABC kept running for "Searching" are kind of to blame for that).

I think ABC was trying to create some buzz for this episode with the promos, and it was clearly written to make you thing there was even a remote possibility that they were killing Susan off, but this was the second time the show has advertised the death of one of the housewives only to have it be the proverbial "fifth wheel" of the group. I think the ending would have been better if ABC hadn't promoted it at all.

As for Gaby, it's always two steps forward, two steps back with her. After last episode's real breakthrough on her past, she's back to being "Gaby the Idiot Mom", which was a sub-character I'd hoped we were done with. At least she stepped up and did the right thing in the end, though it probably would have been more in-line with this season's stories if Juanita had called her out on hiding her tap shoes in the first place, rather than blindly accepting them and doing her routine. Also, why wasn't Carlos at the talent show at all?

I'm still waiting for an episode this season where EVERYTHING works, and I'm starting to doubt that we're going to get one. At this point, I'd settle for some character consistency, though I'm not sure we're going to get that either.

For more coverage of the 2010-11 television season, visit the AdamReisinger.com TV Reviews home page.

South Beach Diaries: Day 1 - Bulls 87, Heat 86

I don't want to start this off on a negative note, so instead, let me say that my flight down from Connecticut to Florida on JetBlue was probably the best flying experience I've ever had, even with some mild turbulence along the way. I was in JetBlue's "Extra Leg Room" seats, which, in addition to the obvious extra leg room, allow you to board the plane first. Plus, they cost extra money, which means lots of people avoid them, which resulted in me having an entire trio of seats to myself.

Also, my rental car for the week is a Dodge Charger, which doesn't suck. It's got a nice auxiliary input on the stereo, which means I can hook up my iPhone and don't have to rely on radio for my drives into Miami.

Oh, yeah, Miami. The Heat. What. The. Fuck?

I know the game was at 1:00 on a Sunday, a lots of people were probably still hung over, but Miami has the latest arriving crowd I've ever seen in the NBA, and that includes Los Angeles. The lower bowl was half-empty at tipoff, and no, there's no "glass half-full" view of that.

But that's not what pisses me off. No, that would be the Heat's fourth consecutive loss, which was a carbon copy of two of the previous three (the Spurs loss was a blowout from start to finish). The Heat get out to a nice lead early, showing solid offensive spacing and balance, then the Heat stagnate, allowing the opponent to storm back and take the lead, forcing the Heat to play from behind in the final minutes.

It would be easy to focus on Miami's struggles in the clutch, but I'd argue the bigger problem is the blown leads early in the second half. Lately, the Heat seem to come out of halftime with the exact opposite of a sense of urgency (sense of complacency?). You can see it in their on-court body language and execution -- it's like they're just waiting for the other shoe to drop. In some ways, it's a fault of the coaching staff, because Miami seems to come out with the same plan every game, even in an instance like today, when Chris Bosh was playing well (and aggressively), and they just stopped going to him at all.

I'm not ready to jump on the "Fire Spoelstra" bandwagon, but it's obvious that SOMETHING needs to change with this team -- and no, adding Mike Bibby doesn't count. In fact, adding Bibby might have made this team worse, since he literally could not be allowed on the court at the same time as Derrick Rose today, leaving Miami to rely heavily on Mario Chalmers.

As for the end-of-game situation, the Heat need to try something other than "Isolate LeBron up top, have him drive left and wildly miss a lefty lay-up." Anything. Give it to Wade and let him create something. Run a pick-and-pop with Bosh. Let Joel Anthony dribble the ball off his foot (OK, maybe not that last one). Just something different. Because they can't keep doing the same thing over and over again and just hope it works.

South Beach Diaries: Day 0

In this Sunday, this is very tough, in this Sunday I'm going to take my talents to South Beach and join the Miami Heat.

No, I'm not taking a new job, or moving. It's just for a week. I've been planning this vacation since the NBA schedule came out, and I'll be going to Heat games on Sunday (Bulls), Tuesday (Blazers), Thursday (Lakers) and Saturday (Grizzlies). I kind of wish I'd extended the trip to the following Wednesday to catch the Spurs and Thunder too, but I have to get back to work at some point.

And in case there's any confusion as to WHY I'm going to Miami -- well, technically Weston, FL, where my hotel is -- for a week, just take a look at the picture above. This is a LeBron trip.

I don't really have any plans on my non-Heat game days, but I'm sure I'll figure something out. Maybe I'll just sit poolside at the hotel and enjoy the fact that it's going to be 80 degrees and sunny pretty much every day, and there aren't massive piles of snow on the ground.

Desktop Girl of the Week: Tricia Helfer

Rather than review last night's episode of "No Ordinary Family", let's just go ahead and name guest star Tricia Helfer the Desktop Girl of the Week.

Helfer is probably best known for her run on "Battlestar Galactica" a show you'd think would've been right up my alley but I never really got into. I've seen an episode here and there, but having not been immersed in the mythology, I was totally lost.

I think the first thing I saw her in, aside from those random episodes, was her guest appearance on "Chuck" a couple years ago. And to be honest, aside from that, I've really only come across her voice work, both on "The Spectacular Spider-Man" and "Mass Effect 2". However, Helfer has made personal appearances at a couple of conventions I've been at in recent years, and she's always seemed really nice. Plus, she made last night's "No Ordinary Family" slightly less awful, which is very good.

• Tricia Helfer on IMDB
• Follow Tricia Helfer on Twitter
• Tricia Helfer's Official Web Site

As always with DGOW, I’ll provide a widescreen (1680x1050) image for downloading. If you want to see past DGOW, then just check the archive album.

Castle "Countdown" Reaction

I specifically didn't post a reaction to last week's "Castle", because I wanted to take in the whole two-part event as a whole, and after seeing "Countdown", I have to say that this year's two-parter was significantly better than last year's, though still not perfect.

Last week's episode ended on a cliffhanger, and surprisingly, it wasn't immediately resolved this week. They took some time leaving Castle and Beckett in the freezer storage, and that gave them some time to share some incredible character moments. The moment where Beckett appeared to slip away, then suddenly we jumped to Castle waking up in an ambulance was pretty awesome.

(As a complete tangent here, how freaky would it be if in three or four years or whenever this show ends, they reveal that everything that happened after this scene was all in Castle's mind and that they'd really died in that freezer? It would easily rank as one of the most controversial series endings of all-time, but it'd be fucking amazing). 


To be entirely honest, the rest of the episode played out like standard "Castle" fare, with Castle and Beckett being way more awesome than everyone else at figuring out what was going on. I did think that this was one of Jon Huertas's stronger episodes, bringing in some of his own military background when the plot began to focus on a disenfranchised vet rather than a Middle Eastern terrorist. It was impressive that "Castle" went for a more political and complicated villain, rather than sticking to what would have been the easy way out.

I thought aside from the freezer scene, the best stuff was between Castle and his family, when he finally had to tell them the truth about what was going on and that they had to leave New York but couldn't tell anyone (so not to cause a panic). His admission to Beckett about how he felt doing that was another big character moment, and I think it pushes the two of them closer to admitting their feelings about each other.

I do think it was a little too convenient that Adrian Pasdar's homeland security character had a tragic past that explained why he took his job so seriously. It's a common flaw with TV characters today, but it's still annoying. Sometimes, in the real world, people are dicks about their job because its their job and its what they have to do to get it done. I know that may not always make for the most compelling storytelling, but going back to the cliché well isn't always compelling either. Still, Pasdar did a great job, which goes a long way toward proving to me that the downfall of Nathan Petrelli on "Heroes" wasn't really his fault.

Oh, and I'd be remiss if I didn't adress Castle's way of saving the day: pulling all the wires on the dirty bomb right before it was going to go off. It was stupid, reckless, shouldn't have worked at all and was entirely within character, plus helped release almost all of the tension from two very tense hours of television. It also led to a significantly better wrap-up scene than we got in last year's two-parter, which shows the writers have learned from their mistakes.

For more coverage of the 2010-11 television season, visit the AdamReisinger.com TV Reviews home page.

Chuck "Chuck Versus the First Bank of Evil" Reaction

There was a lot going on in this week's "Chuck", so much so that I had to watch it twice to feel like I got everything, and I'm still not sure I did. This show does this a lot, cramming too many parallel stories into a single episode, but "Chuck Versus the First Bank of Evil" might have been one of the worst offenders yet, with a two-tiered primary mission, a completely separate Morgan and Casey plot, which tied into a Morgan/Big Mike/Jeffster story, all while Ellie was helping Sarah get into a wedding state of mind.

Still, I wasn't entirely down on the episode for one major reason: Ray Wise.

Ever since I fell in love with the short-lived CW series "Reaper", I've realized that if Ray Wise shows up on a show as a guest star, he's going to make that episode kick ass. In the two years since the end of that show, he's appeared on "Dollhouse", "Castle", "Mad Men", "How I Met Your Mother", "Hawaii Five-0" and now "Chuck", and that's just among the shows I watch.

In this episode he shows up as Volkoff's lawyer, relaying his clients wishes to his daughter, who we were introduced to in the previous episode. Along the way, he gets Vivian to switch sides, with some help from some broken promises by the CIA (promises made by Chuck, who really had no way of backing them up and should know better by now). Wise at times seemed to be channeling his Devil character from "Reaper", being evil without being obvious about it.

This episode really nailed it when it came to guest stars, at least as far as I was concerned. In addition to Wise and Lauren Cohan (returning as Vivian), there was a nice role for François Chau, better known as Dr. Pierre Chang from "Lost" -- though I still think of him as Dr. Marvin Candle, which was the first name we saw him use on "Lost" and the name I shouted out when he showed up on "Chuck."

To be entirely fair to the episode as a whole, it had more good than bad in it. Sarah's initial wedding reluctance, then its morphing into Bridezilla territory, was funny. And the scene with Chuck and Sarah robbing the bank was great. I just think the episode would have been significantly better if they'd pulled one or two things out and held them for a future episode.

For more coverage of the 2010-11 television season, visit the AdamReisinger.com TV Reviews home page.

How I Met Your Mother "Change of Heart" Reaction

Look, "How I Met Your Mother". You can get away with a depressing twist ending once in awhile, but not twice in a single six episode span. I was already not entirely on board with "Change of Heart" thanks to a stupid sub plot with Robin's new boyfriend being a human dog, but then to throw that disappointing Barney ending in our faces? C'mon.

The thing is, the scene they showed just before the ending, with Barney finally coming to the realization that he DID want a wife and kids and all that stuff Nora had been talking about earlier, that was perfect. It was the natural evolution of the character that we've seen over the last couple seasons. It's easy to dismiss because he still throws catchphrases around and beds random women and all that, but Barney is NOT the same person he was when we were first introduced to him nearly six years ago.

I understand that it's entirely possible that Barney realized he wanted all those things, but wanted them with Robin, not Nora, but that's a copout on the show's part. It also sure didn't seem like that's what Barney was thinking when he walked away from that restaurant. Now I get the sense that we'll get a couple more episodes of Barney regressing into his "awesome" mode, but not being totally into it, then Barney admitting what he really wants, then finally Barney professing his love for someone in the season finale. And that's all well and good, but it doesn't leave me feeling any better about this episode, which just left me feeling all sad.

For more coverage of the 2010-11 television season, visit the AdamReisinger.com TV Reviews home page.