WII

Hey there. I just got a WII for my birthday. Yes, I know I'm a little behind the curve on this one, but I thought it would be a cool way to exercise. I sit a good bit of the day at a desk, doing paperwork or editing video or something like that. When I get home it's make dinner, do dishes and relax a little before getting ready for the next day.

I hooked up the WII to a TV down in the rec room downstairs. It would be awesome on the big screen, but I thought I would start small. I got the basic set and the sports set with bat, racket and golf club. It also includes bowling and boxing. It is amazing the number of things you can get to work with the WII. So we'll see.

I had a blast working through most of the games. I didn't do the golf yet, but did well with baseball, bowling and boxing. Tennis is a little harder to get coordinated. That will take a little more time, but it will be fun working through it.

Cool game.

Take care.

Sandy

New Star Trek Movie

I just came back from seeing the new STAR TREK movie. I thought it was absolutely wonderful. I loved the original STAR TREK series -- until they started going crazy with love stories for Bill Shatner. The original episodes were eye-opening and thought-provoking. They showed us individuals from new planets, with images that we'd not seen before.

I was particularly taken by Karl Urban's portrayal of Leonard "Bones" McCoy. He was perfect. You could just about hear DeForest Kelley speaking the lines. Simon Pegg was a little over the top as Scotty and having a relationship between Spock and Uhura was quite a twist. Christopher Pine was wonderful as Kirk and I loved Bruce Greenwood as Christopher Pike.

The graphics were marvelous -- and just seeing the old Enterprise again was similar to the moment in the original STAR TREK movie when Kirk comes to see the renovated Enterprise. The graphics were amazing. If there was a weakness in the movie it would be Nemo -- the baddie Romulan. I don't think it was quite bad enough-- he was OK but not on the grand scale with the rest of the movie.

I hope everyone has a chance to see the movie.
Take care.
Sandy

Cliffhangers

I have just finished watching some of my favorite shows and ALL of them ended with a cliffhanger! Can you stand it! Now we have to wait through the summer to see if Ziva will ever forgive Tony for killing her lover on NCIS; if any of the CSI:NY staff survive the savage attack as they salute a fallen comrad -- and what was that alternate reality Olivia found herself in with William Bell (Leonard Nimoy) on FRINGE!

I still have to watch a couple more of my favorites -- and who wants to bet they ended in clifhangers too?

This is a great throw-back to serial television. Watching old series that would keep you guessing from one episode to the other. You just had to see what happened to your favorite character.

Remind you of Babylon 5? It should. J. Michael Straczynski took great care to set you up every chance he could. Who would have guessed Garibaldi would be betrayed by his #1 security guy. Who would have guessed Sinclair was Valen? How about Delenn turning into a half-human; half-Minbari? Each of these events led you down the road to anticipate the next event.

Thank heaven for the internet with the ability to watch TV shows after they air. I wish all shows did this. I still haven't seen The Mentalist yet -- and all you can see is snippets on the internet. Bummer. Oh well, They will be new to me on reruns.

Talk at you later.

Sandy

Dreary Sunday Afternoon

It is a rainy, dreary Sunday here in Washington. This sort of weather is good for two things -- keeping plants nice -- and watching DVDs. Rarely is there anything worth watching on Sunday afernoon. Seems to be reserved for sports of one kind or another. Luckily I have a petty good supply of DVDs. Today I watched THE CLOSER -- a series from TNT that is in its fourth season. I really like this show, though I rarely watching it on TV. Like a number of shows I really like, I usually seem to watch them on the computer at hulu.com or some other on-line service. Thank goodness they are available -- especially on days like this. Even if there isn't much on TV or cable, you can pick your entertainment based on your mood.

If you aren't familiar with THE CLOSER, Kyra Sedgwick is a Deputy Police Chief and you follow her and her team as they investigate homocides in LA. Her team is top notch and it is a joy to watch Brenda in the interrogation room.

I seem to be into cop dramas these days -- NCIS, CSI, CSI: New York; CSI: Miami, and Fringe. If I had to pick a favorite it would be hard -- but Fringe is right up there. Can't wait to see the season finale -- the one where we actually see Leonard Nimoy as William Bell -- the guy who is behind all the weird scientific happenings Olivia has been investigating. We've gotten a taste in the last few weeks, and it will be wonderful to actually see Walter and William Bell meet again. Want to bet we'll have to wait until next season to see that????

One saving grace this summer will be the return of some series on SciFi (or SyFy by then). I do like Sanctuary and that returns in June. I think that is when the new Stargate Universe hits the airwaves as well. I am very happy to read that Richard Dean Anderson will make some appearances on the show. I've loved him since MacGyver.

Speaker of MacGyver, I heard a very cool reference the other day. Someone was talking about the economic crisis and said that "we are a nation of MacGyvers and we'll figure it out and fix it." I love that -- and truly hope it happens.

Have a great day,
Sandy

New Star Trek

I just finished watching some of the latest trailers for the upcoming STAR TREK movie. So far it looks good, but trailers can be OH SO MISLEADING. I'm sure I'm not the only one that has gone to the movies expecting great things only to find that the trailers were the best part of the movie!

I am hoping the new STAR TREK is good -- my generation had the old STAR TREK -- it would be good to give this generation something to stretch their imagination -- looking toward the future with hope and wonder.

I love the actors chosen for the new movie. Chris Pine is a marvelous actor. I saw him in a movie on an airplane last year and he was terrific. Zach Quinto has always been a standout on HEROES -- he was just SO evil!!!! I'm not sure of the rest of the cast, but we'll soon see. May 8 is coming up fast and reviews are already starting to hit the internet. I am glad to say that most of them seem positive, so we'll compare notes once it hits the U.S. on May 8.

Take care.
Sandy

Dollhouse

I watched the premiere episode of DOLLHOUSE this morning on www.fox.com.  The series had been delayed a number of times and I'm sure people were anxious to see what Joss Whedon had come up with.  

Before I watched the episode, I read that ratings for the show were not very good.  Friday has killed a lot of series -- and so we'll have to see how Dollhouse does in the coming weeks.  

The first episode you got a little introduction to Echo, a girl who is programmed to do different tasks and then her memory is wiped and she waits for the next task.  It seems as if all the operatives are very good looking girls.  There is a backstory that you got a little of.  A police officer (I think he was police or FBI or something) was trying to find all the girls that had disappeared and had the key word - dollhouse but little else.  He was dedicated to finding the kidnapped girls, but his supervisors were not behind him.  They wanted him to give it up.

The main story focused on the kidnapping of a small girl -- the daughter of a Mexican businessman.  The kidnappers were asking for $10 million dollars and Echo is sent in as the mediator.  The memories she had been given were that of a skilled negotiator who was near-sighted with asthma.  As the show goes on, she challenges the kidnappers and sets up a meeting to get the little girl back.  As it turns out, the memories implanted into Echo were of a young lady who had been abducted at 9 and she runs into her kidnapper while trying to retrieve the little girl.  She does retrieve the girl -- so there is a happy ending -- sort of.  Echo goes back into the chamber and her memories are whipped clean.  She and others then go to their sleep chambers and wait for their next assignment.  

There are a lot of different things going on here.  There is the Echo story.  There is the FBI/special agent story looking for the missing young women.  There is the entire dollhouse organization and so you are left wondering what will come up next.  I liked Echo's handler -- a former policeman who really wanted to save the little girl and protect Echo.    So we'll see what happens next week.  

Did anyone else watch the episode?  What did you think?

Take care.

Sandy

FRINGE

I don't know how many of you watch FRINGE, but I absolutely love it. Yes, I know, it is somewhat strange, but that is perhaps what I like most about it. It does have some run-of-the-mill components to it, but there are some other elements of it that you don't see anywhere. I love Walter Bishop -- the mad scientist (he spent 17 years in a mental hospital - so he is really certifiable), but he is absolutely amazing. John Noble, who portrays Walter, is a fantastic actor and seems to enjoy the role enormously. Joshua Jackson is Peter Bishop, the son of Walter, and a very complex character. He has not known his father for many years -- but is needed in this instance so that Walter can get out of the institution. Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv) works for a special unit of the FBI. They take on all the "weird" casts -- things from frozen people on a bus to people that turn into huge creatures like porcuppines.

While there is a different focus of the story each week, there is a layering of the backstory that continues and I think that is what keeps my interest. The characters grow before your eyes -- the relationship between Peter and Walter become less hostile; Peter gets closer to Olivia - and Olivia discovers more about her lover/ex-partner who they originally thought was guilt of treason against the US.

Each week you learn a little more and the relationships get a little deeper. Even the secondary actors, Lance Riddick (Phillip Broyles), Kirk Acevedo (Charlie Francis) and Jasika Nicole (Astrid Farnsworth) grow in interest and importance each week.

JJ Abrams knows how to write series TV, as we have seen in Lost and Alias. FRINGE is not as complex as LOST, but it has held my interest since it was first introduced. The other benefit is that you can see current episodes on Fox.com -- so you can catch up verye quickly on episodes you have missed. I wish you could do the same thing with THE MENTALIST or ELEVENTH HOUR. All you get there are clips.

Sandy