Senator Edward Kennedy

I guess I am like a million other people watching the news related to the death of Senator Edward Kennedy. He was a very beloved politician here in Washington and in Massachusetts. Few ever talk ill of the dead, but it seems like more people have good things to say about him than not. I admired him for years. Unlike his brothers, he seemed content in Congress, fighting the continual fight for bills to increase minimum wage, civil rights, health care. He was good at what he did -- talking and listening to people's concerns.

At least to my generation, there are only a few names that come to mind immediately when talking about Senators -- Senator Kennedy is the first one that pops into my head. Despite the fact that everyone knew his days were numbered following the diagnosis of brain cancer, he continued to pick his appearances and lend his voice and influence when needed. I applaud him for a life of service and hope his family will find solace in the millions of people who shed tears at his passing.

I don't believe we will see the likes of Ted Kennedy again. In this age of mass media and fast communications, few stop to say hello, tell stories and share experiences as he did. He was the ultimate "people" person with a skill to energize people for a cause or an idea. His smile was infectious, as was his love of life.

FRINGE

It is amazing what people come up with to promote their upcoming DVDs and other projects. Warner Bros. has developed a new game where you match the pattern frequently seen on FRINGE -- the grand prize is a trip to the FRINGE studio. You get 6 chances to enter wonder what the odds are in such a contest. Anyway, its fun and since this is one of my favorite shows, if not my favorite show, I hope that the DVD sales do well.

I find that there is so little on TV these days to actually make me think -- at least while my eyes are still focused on the screen. FRINGE peeks my curiosity on a number of levels. You wonder about the A story, but you wonder about all the little things that go on behind the A story -- the Olivia/Peter chemistry that is developing, the whole interaction between Peter and his father, I just can't wait for it to return. Now I have the DVD to watch and see what extras they have tucked inside.

If you want to learn more about the series, go to http://www.warnervideo.com/fringedvd/.

New DVDs

There are some awesome DVDs coming out in the next few weeks-months. I was watching SMALLVILLE on Sunday. Boy has that changed from its early days on the tube. Tom Welling has grown nicely into a leading man and Allison Mach is awesome as Cloe. I thought I would miss Lex Luthor (Michael Rosenbaum) more -- but the new lady, Tess, fills in nicely. You wonder what's going on with her and Oliver (Green Arrow) and at times it seems more like a soap opera.

Coming very soon are the DVD collections for SUPERNATURAL and FRINGE. I have loved FRINGE from the first episode and can't wait for it to return for season two. This show has so many twists and turns you need the DVD so that you can run it back to see what you missed. This year promises to be even better -- with Leonard Nimoy as the mysterious Mr. Bell making another appearance.

Warner Bros. has a ton of great movies for kids, including a new Scooby-Do Where Are You? Volume Three. Their selection of animated adventures is awesome. The Green Lantern: First Flight was great. I can't wait to see SUPERFRIENDS: The Lost Episodes and SUPERMAN: THE COMPLETE ANIMATED SERIES. The previous volumes have been wonderful and my nephews children can sit for hours and watch. Oh, can't forget WONDER WOMAN! They all make for good viewing -- along with positive reinforcement of good versus evil.

Stargate Universe

Are you all anxiously awaiting STARGATE UNIVERSE? I have been watching the trailers available at Syfy, but so far they haven't shown enough for me to figure out whether or not it will be good or not. So far, I'm not liking Robert Caryle - the lead for the series. I guess I like my leading men to be tall and handsome. In the most recent clip, his accent is so strong you need to listen very hard to understand what he is saying. I'm sure the accent won't be as pronounced in the series -- at least I hope it will not be. Only a couple of the crew are known entities -- Lou Diamond Phillips is a great actor and he plays a Colonel caught on the Destiny (an ancient spaceship) with the others. I guess we'll soon see. The series is set to premiere October 2.

I was surprised to see Richard Dean Anderson in the clip. Oh my! Has he changed.

Babylon 5 Favorites

I thought it might be nice to get back to basics for a bit -- and talk Babylon 5. When trying to get a discussion going, a sure bet is talking about favorites -- episodes, characters, lines, season, whatever. Everyone has a favorite of one kind or another.

I was thinking about favorite lines -- and there have to be tons of them. I suppose we could look through the Book of Quotes and find a few -- but aren't there some that just say Babylon 5 to you? Mine is "All Alone In The Night" or "Nothing's the same anymore" - from the season one opening. I guess one of JMS' favorite lines is "But in purple ... I'm Stunning!" -- the title he chose for his book of quotations.

Here are some others:
"Toast. To absent friends, .. in memory still bright"
"Until we meet again, in a place where no shadows fall"

What are your favorites?
Sandy

Jonny Quest

How many of you watched Jonny Quest when you were a kid? I know I did. Saturday morning would bring a new adventure of the blonde boy with an Indian friend. Race Banner was Jonny's bodyguard and would come to the rescue at the last moment.

There's a new version out -- updated a bit. Jonny is 13 years old and Race Banner has a daughter that joins Jonny and Hadji in their adventures. The animation is pretty good and the stories are good enough to keep younger viewers engaged.

The DVD has 13 episodes-- including a number of adventures for the young detectives. Unlike some cartoons, this one has some good writing and production values.