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Star Trek: The City on the Edge of Forever

Edith: "I think that one day they're going to take all the money that they spend now on war and death..."
Kirk: "And make them spend it on life."

"City" is widely acknowledged to be the best episode of original Star Trek. Written (mostly, anyway, and there's controversy) by well-known science fiction writer Harlan Ellison, it's time travel tragedy at its most moving.

True Blood: Fresh Blood

Eric: "You know I love you more when you're cold and heartless."

Farscape: Throne for a Loss

When Rygel is kidnapped for ransom, the crew discovers he has a vital component of Moya’s control circuitry in his possession and they are forced to stage a rescue. Meanwhile, Zhaan attempts to help one of the kidnappers detox from a gauntlet weapon that injects the user with a powerful stimulant.

2010 Emmys: What Won, What Lost (Pun!)


Ladies and gentlemen, we present to you, with great fanfare, the Emmy results for the categories we care most about. Way to go, Jane Lynch, Neil Patrick Harris, John Lith-wow, and Ryan Murphy!

Buffy quotes for every occasion. Part 5: The Perils of Dating

Giles: "Buffy, when I said you could slay vampires and have a social life, I didn't mean at the same time."

For a show that was at its core about the empowerment of women, sex on Buffy the Vampire Slayer always seemed to turn into a Very Bad Thing.

Moonlight: Sonata

Mick: "I can't close the door on Beth."

Throughout the series, the door to Mick's apartment has symbolized the division between Mick and Beth. He's a vampire. She's a human. What sort of future can they have?

Persons Unknown: And Then There Was One/Shadows in the Cave

Wow, that was unsatisfying.

Even Phineas P. Bear (pictured, right) is unhappy.

Moonlight: What’s Left Behind

“Children are a precious gift. I just like their blood.”

This episode felt like an ode to pre-modernism LA architecture. Back when times were simpler, people used coal, men were men (and not vampires), and women built airplanes but couldn’t change spark plugs. Oh, and those manly men slept with their presumed-dead best friend’s wife and nearly sired an illegitimate child who was raised by someone else. Y’know: the good ol’ days.

Star Trek: The Alternative Factor

Kirk: "So you're the terrible thing? The murdering monster? The creature?"
Alt-Lazarus: "Yes, captain. Or he is. It depends on your point of view, doesn't it?"

I actually put off watching this one, and wasn't looking forward to writing about it.

Moonlight: Click

Beth: "So where does a vampire take a girl on a date?"

Most of the initial dramatic conflicts introduced at the start of the series are gone, and the barriers separating Mick and Beth don't seem quite so insurmountable any more.

NewsFlash: SyFy Superheroes and a Super Cast

The SyFy network has just released casting information for a new show called Three Inches, about a superhero with a tiny power. The cast includes James Marsters (Buffy, Angel, Torchwood, Caprica), Stephanie Jacobsen (BSG: Razor, TTSCC), Naoko Mori (Doctor Who, Torchwood), Alona Tal (Veronica Mars, Supernatural), and Julian Richings (Death on SPN). Filming starts this week.

The program sounds silly, but I’ll probably watch it just for the cast. What about you?

Moonlight: Fated to Pretend

“There’s so much living to do.”

We knew it couldn’t last. I expected it to last a bit longer than this, though. Mick’s humanity had a shelf life of about six months, but he wasn’t taking into account his most human quality: mercy.

Persons Unknown: Seven Sacrifices

NBC is not airing this episode; it is only available on their Persons Unknown website. It’s not a stand-alone, though—what we learned will definitely be relevant for the two-part season finale to come. For that reason, I’m including a synopsis for those of you who dislike watching TV online.

Farscape: Exodus from Genesis

While hiding from a Peacekeeper Marauder in a strange debris cloud, Moya is boarded by an alien species intent on completing its reproductive cycle. When the temperature starts rising and Aeryn’s health is threatened, the crew discovers the massive infestation, as well as some uncanny duplicates of themselves.

True Blood: I Smell a Rat

Eric: "It's not just the blood. You know you have feelings for me."
Sookie: "Eww."

Eric, Eric, Eric. Can you say 'mixed signals'?

Persons Unknown: Identity

Last week, I vowed to say three positive things about Persons Unknown. Here we go: First, they totally hooked me with the bait-and-switch. B, I enjoy Irish accents. Lastly, I gave my cat a cardboard box with a bath towel folded neatly in it, and he spent the whole episode looking supercute, right next to my couch.

Buffy quotes for every occasion. Part 4: Librarianship

Willow: "Once again I'm banished to the demon section of the card catalog."

Rupert Giles wasn't just a Watcher and a hero who saved the world on many occasions. He was a librarian, and so beloved of much of the library community that he and Buffy made the cover of American Libraries (see below). Yes, the Sunnydale High library wasn't much of one; it was basically Giles' demonic reference collection and a place for the Scoobies to hang out, regroup, and plan how to eliminate the latest scourge of Sunnydale evil. But the library was my absolute favorite Buffy set. (Although I kept wanting straighten all of the books so that the call number labels were at the bottom where they belonged.)

Star Trek: Errand of Mercy

Kor: "I don't trust men who smile too much."

And we have Klingons!

Moonlight: The Mortal Cure

Coraline: "I think Beth is starting to like me. She didn't stab me this time."

Gotta love a flashback re-writing the entire French Revolution. It's over the top, but you know, it actually makes story sense. A vampire genocide explains why there aren't vampires everywhere. Coraline being royalty explains her arrogance and sense of entitlement. And the guillotine explains why a mortal cure exists at all. But why does Coraline's nasty brother Lance even care that she took the compound? Are they expecting another vampire genocide in this day and age?

NewsFlash: Smallville news

You know, I've been going back and forth about Smallville for a couple of years now. The elimination of my two favorite characters, Lex and Lionel Luthor (Michael Rosenbaum and John Glover) took all the juice out of the show for me. I've kept watching, but I just didn't want to write about it any more. And I was sort of relieved when it was announced that season ten would be Smallville's last. The story has been dragging on when it should have been wrapped up in a cape a couple of years ago.

My point? Well, the last few announcements about season ten guest stars (James Marsters, John Schneider, Laura Vandervoort, Michael Shanks) have made me think the final season might be going big. And now we've gotten nearly the best casting news possible: John Glover will be returning, too. And not just for a one-shot – for "multiple episodes."

The only thing that could make me happier than John Glover's return is if Michael Rosenbaum would relent and come back, too. Lex's struggle with darkness was the reason I got into Smallville in the first place. Come on, Lex. Couldn't you take just one more curtain call?

All these returns make me think I might review the final season of Smallville after all. What do you think?

Farscape: I, E.T.

‘I, E.T.’ finds Moya’s new crew dealing with a Peacekeeper failsafe device that broadcasts a Leviathan’s location if it somehow manages to escape its control collar. To muffle the signal, Crichton suggests that Moya land on a nearby planet and submerge herself in a bog. The crew must then work together to locate an anesthetic for Moya and to disable the beacon without killing her. Along the way, Crichton inadvertently makes “first contact” with the planet’s natives and finds himself in the unaccustomed role of being the alien interloper.

Star Trek: The Devil in the Dark

Vanderberg: "That thing has killed fifty of my men."
Kirk: "And you've killed thousands of her children."

Like "The Corbomite Maneuver," "The Devil in the Dark" fits beautifully into the core message of Star Trek: compassion for and acceptance of other beings, even if they happen to be acid-spraying rock creatures.

Warehouse 13: Season 2, Part 1

I was planning to do a single “season post-mortem” for the second season of Warehouse 13, similar to what I put together for Season 1. However, I’ve been jotting down my thoughts for each episode as the season airs and decided it might be better to do two half-season posts. This post covers the first six episodes of Season 2.

True Blood: Everything is Broken

Russell: "We want to eat you. After we eat your children. Now, time for the weather. Tiffany?"

This episode didn't speed up and overtake me until the end, when Russell burst onto the television scene with a piece of newscaster's spine in his hand. I thought the urn-o-Talbot was absolutely hilarious, too. No dissing of the previous villains intended, but Russell has become my favorite True Blood villain, ever.

Farscape: Premiere

Meet Commander John Crichton. Crichton is an Earth astronaut who gets hit by an electromagnetic wave while testing his own theory that it is possible to overcome atmospheric friction and use a planet’s gravity to slingshot away at exponentially higher speeds. Said wave turns out to be a wormhole that hurtles him to the far side of the Universe and deposits him in the middle of an attempted prison break. Much to his and our amazement, he soon finds himself onboard a living ship with a diverse group of hostile aliens who are trying to escape an interstellar “peacekeeper” force. He’s threatened, probed, insulted, beat down several times, and imprisoned, but after discovering he accidentally killed a Peacekeeper commander’s brother, Crichton soon comes to realize that he’s better off joining the escaped prisoners in the uncharted corners of the Universe. And thus begins Farscape ...

Vampire Diaries: Miss Mystic Falls

“He’ll do anything; he’ll say anything—because he’s not going to want to stop.”

It’s not easy being a Southern belle. In addition to the whole steel magnolia, iron-fist, velvet-glove thing, you have all the weight of generations upon generations of Southern belles behind you. And the men-folk have their own pasts to contend with.

Buffy quotes for every occasion. Part 3: Fashion

Buffy: "I may be dead, but I'm still pretty. Which is more than I can say for you."

This will probably shock you, but I'm not into fashion. I don't know what looks good, and I really don't care. If it's clean and it fits and it's reasonably presentable and doesn't require high heels, I'm there. I'm season one Willow with the softer side of Sears. Well, maybe not that bad, but I'm probably the polar opposite of Lady Gaga.

Star Trek: This Side of Paradise

Spock: "For the first time in my life, I was happy."

At this point in the series, the producers had become aware that Leonard Nimoy had a serious following, much of which was female. So of course, it was time to start writing romantic situations around him. This may have been the best one, even if it did combine elements of "The Naked Time," "Shore Leave" and "What are Little Girls Made Of?"

Moonlight: Love Lasts Forever

“At the end of the day, not a lot separates life and death.”

A rather foolishly contrived plot of the week brought us some great emotional revelations, and even some risky storytelling devices. Moonlight probably would have been a great show if it had been given the chance: Sophia Myles was incredible.

NewsFlash: Lost Auction


There will be an auction of Lost series props in Santa Monica, California, August 21 and 22. (See Profiles in History. Photo credits are also to Profiles in History.)

I spent six years writing about Lost, and this auction is going to take place about a ten minute drive from my apartment. I'm not going. And not just because a ticket costs $65.

The X-Files: The Erlenmeyer Flask

Case: The apparent demise of a mystery man in a silver Cutlass Ciera following a high-speed chase with police.

Destination: Washington, DC and Gaithersburg, Maryland

‘The Erlenmeyer Flask’ begins with a high-octane car chase, a police beat down, a shooting, a plunge into the harbor, and green blood. And things only get more intense from there. When Deep Throat brings the case of the man in the silver Ciera to Mulder’s and Scully’s attention, the agents are left questioning what exactly it is they are supposed to be looking for and how far they can trust their cryptic and cagey source.

Sherlock: The Great Game

Moriarty: “Twelve hours to solve my puzzle, Sherlock. Or I'm going to be so naughty.”

If last week's episode had a weakness, it was the puzzling absence of some of the show's major characters. Lestrade was inexplicably AWOL, Moriarty was reduced to a faceless cameo, and even Mycroft was conspicuous by his absence. So it was only fitting that tonight's episode attempt to redress the balance by bringing them all together in one story. Well, in reality it was five stories -- but tonight saw Holmes' unique talents stretched to the limit. And, finally, we got to see Moriarty step out of the shadows and face his arch-nemesis.

Star Trek: A Taste of Armageddon

Anan 7: "We have been at war for five hundred years."
Kirk: "You conceal it very well."

Very interesting. Here we had a culture that wanted to continue waging war so much that they turned it into a computer game – but with real casualties. A nice, clean conflict that could go on forever. Would you like to play a game?

True Blood: Night on the Sun

Sookie: "If I knew what was best for me, I would have fallen in love with somebody like you."
Alcide: "Back atcha. It's too bad we're so stupid, huh?"

Now, Eric. Was that fair? What did Talbot ever do to you?

Moonlight: Sleeping Beauty

Josef: "She never came out of it. She got lost somewhere in between."

This episode did two cool things: it gave Josef a seriously romantic backstory, and it gave Mick a damned good reason to never turn Beth.

Persons Unknown: Static

“Re-integrate yourself into the scenario.”

The Night Manager has the equivalent of a button. It rings and he has to call in to an Irish Pierre Chang, who then connects the call to Ms. Alvar Hanso. The revelation that the Program is not Scientology, but rather the Dharma Initiative does—finally—explain everything. Renbe and Kat, locked in the polar bear cages, will surely make out soon. And I can’t wait to see Michael Emerson again, as I miss his droll delivery.

Buffy quotes for every occasion. Part 2: Gender Roles

Xander: "Oh, you wanna date. I saw that half-smile, you little slut."
Buffy: "All right, yes, date and shop and hang out and go to school and save the world from unspeakable demons. You know, I want to do girlie stuff."

Buffy the Vampire Slayer kicked a specific stereotype to the curb and pummeled it to death. Joss Whedon's original inspiration for the movie and show was a monster stalking a pretty young blonde woman, who turns and unexpectedly beats the crap out of it. The traditional victim becomes the superhero. And Buffy did it while remaining feminine.

Sherlock: The Blind Banker

Watson: “Me, Sherlock. In court. On Tuesday. They're giving me an ASBO.”

Tonight's episode was a loose adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's 'The Dancing Men' -- and when I say 'loose' I mean pants falling down, baring your arse loose. If Steven Moffat hadn't mentioned it on Twitter, I probably wouldn't have noticed. The only similarity I picked up on was that both stories have a secret code as their central theme. In 'The Dancing Men' it was a code based upon a system of hand-drawn stick men -- in 'The Blind Banker' it was a system of graffiti style Hangzhou numerals. Apart from that, and a couple of possible references to 'The Sign of Four' and 'The Valley of Fear,' I caught nothing.

Vampire Diaries: Under Control

“Have I entered an alternate universe where Stefan is fun?”

Sark! Sark Sark Sark Sark Sark Sark Sark! Back in my Alias-watching days, I would have given my right arm to open my front door and find David Anders poised to knock. Everyone’s favorite spy certainly doesn’t disappoint in this episode.

Star Trek: Space Seed

Scott: "It's a shame for a good Scotsman to admit it, but I'm not up on Milton."
Kirk: "The statement Lucifer made when he fell into the pit: It is better to rule in hell than serve in heaven."

It's almost impossible to watch this one for itself and not as the basis for the second (and terrific) Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. I kept wanting Kirk to stop admiring those monsters and take them to Starbase 12 immediately so that they could be incarcerated forever. Please don't break the rules, Kirk. Don't make a social science experiment out of these people. You'll be so very, very sorry if you do.

The X-Files: Roland

Case: Death of Dr. Ronald Surnow, an aeronautical engineer killed by a top secret experimental jet engine.

Destination: Colson, Washington

While investigating the death of a research scientist found mutilated by an experimental, next generation jet engine, Mulder and Scully encounter Roland, an unassuming, mentally challenged janitor at the research lab, who is haunted by vivid dreams and visions.

True Blood: Hitting the Ground

Lorena: "What are you?"
Sookie: "I'm the bitch that's gonna kill you."

This episode was wild, weird, and even bloodier than usual. But at least it was more focused, and there were rescues and everything. It flowed better than the last few. Let me re-mention the weird thing, though.

Farscape

Season 1 | Season 2 |
Season 3 | Season 4 |
The Peacekeeper Wars |
Cast |

Farscape (1999-2003) is the story of John Crichton, an Earth astronaut who gets flung to the far reaches of the Universe when an experimental flight he is piloting unexpectedly opens a wormhole. He unwittingly gets caught up in a prison break, and ultimately throws in with a motley crew of aliens, including a tentacled warrior, a beautiful blue priestess, a small but domineering deposed royal, a living ship and its pilot, and a soldier who becomes "irreversibly contaminated" for attempting to defend Crichton.

Combining fantastic action-adventure with light-hearted humor, compelling relationships, and voyages into the dark recesses of the soul, Farscape is a true "space opera." The show is chock full of memorable, richly detailed characters that you quickly grow to care about a great deal, including several created by Jim Henson's creature shop. The series is exhilarating, fun, amusing, and, at times, quite dark and heartbreaking.

Farscape was reviewed by six Agents of Doux over a period of years: Jess Lynde, Mallena, Samantha M. Quinn, Juliette, Thomas Ijon Tichy, and Shari.

Season One

1.1 Premiere
1.2 I, E.T.
1.3 Exodus from Genesis
1.4 Throne for a Loss
1.5 Back and Back and Back to the Future
1.6 Thank God It’s Friday... Again
1.7 PK Tech Girl
1.8 That Old Black Magic
1.9 DNA Mad Scientist
1.10 They’ve Got a Secret
1.11 Till the Blood Runs Clear
1.12 Rhapsody in Blue
1.13 The Flax
1.14 Jeremiah Crichton
1.15 Durka Returns
1.16 A Human Reaction
1.17 Through the Looking Glass
1.18 A Bug’s Life
1.19 Nerve
1.20 The Hidden Memory
1.21 Bone to be Wild
1.22 Family Ties

Season Two

2.1 Mind the Baby
2.2 Vitas Mortis
2.3 Taking the Stone
2.4 Crackers Don’t Matter
2.5 The Way We Weren’t
2.6 Picture If You Will
2.7 Home on the Remains
2.8 Dream a Little Dream
2.9 Out of Their Minds
2.10 My Three Crichtons
2.11 Look at the Princess, Part 1: A Kiss is But a Kiss
2.12 Look at the Princess, Part 2: I Do, I Think
2.13 Look at the Princess, Part 3: The Maltese Crichton
2.14 Beware of Dog
2.15 Won't Get Fooled Again
2.16 The Locket
2.17 The Ugly Truth
2.18 A Clockwork Nebari
2.19 Liars, Guns and Money, Part 1: A Not So Simple Plan
2.20 Liars, Guns and Money, Part 2: With Friends Like These...
2.21 Liars, Guns and Money, Part 3: Plan B
2.22 Die Me, Dichotomy

Season Three

3.1 Season of Death
3.2 Suns and Lovers
3.3 Self Inflicted Wounds, Part 1: Could'a, Would'a, Should'a (3.3 and 3.4 reviewed together)
3.4 Self Inflicted Wounds, Part 2: Wait for the Wheel
3.5 ... Different Destinations
3.6 Eat Me
3.7 Thanks for Sharing
3.8 Green Eyed Monster
3.9 Losing Time
3.10 Relativity
3.11 Incubator
3.12 Meltdown
3.13 Scratch 'n Sniff
3.14 Infinite Possibilities, Part 1: Daedalus Demands
3.15 Infinite Possibilities, Part 2: Icarus Abides
3.16 Revenging Angel
3.17 The Choice
3.18 Fractures
3.19 I-Yensch, You-Yensch
3.20 Into the Lion’s Den, Part 1: Lambs to the Slaughter
3.21 Into the Lion’s Den, Part 2: Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing
3.22 Dog with Two Bones

Season Four

4.1 Crichton Kicks
4.2 What Was Lost, Part 1: Sacrifice
4.3 What Was Lost, Part 2: Resurrection
4.4 Lava's a Many Splendored Thing
4.5 Promises
4.6 Natural Election
4.7 John Quixote
4.8 I Shrink Therefore I Am
4.9 A Prefect Murder
4.10 Coup by Clam
4.11 Unrealized Reality
4.12 Kansas
4.13 Terra Firma
4.14 Twice Shy
4.15 Mental as Anything
4.16 Bringing Home the Beacon
4.17 A Constellation of Doubt
4.18 Prayer
4.19 We're So Screwed, Part 1: Fetal Attraction
4.20 We're So Screwed, Part 2: Hot to Katratzi
4.21 We're So Screwed, Part 3: La Bomba
4.22 Bad Timing

TV Movie

The Peacekeeper Wars (not reviewed yet; sorry about that)

Cast

Ben Browder (John Crichton)
Claudia Black (Officer Aeryn Sun)
Anthony Simcoe (Ka D'Argo)
Lani John Tupu (Pilot, Crais)
Jonathan Hardy (Dominar Rygel XVI)
Gigi Edgley (Chiana)
Wayne Pygram (Scorpius)
Virginia Hey (Pa'u Zotoh Zhaan)

Buffy quotes for every occasion. Part 1: Everyday Conversation


I had originally planned to post a list of my favorite Buffy quotes as a closing feature for our celebration of Vampire Month. The list was too long, though, and I tried and tried, but found it impossible to narrow it down to article-size. And then I realized that I had to do more than one post. So this is part one.

Moonlight: Fleur de Lis

“It was a very complicated relationship.”

According to Josef, “Mick and Coraline’s relationship is one of those terrifying, completely self-destructive freak shows that you spend your whole life searching for, knowing that it can only end with one or both of you dead.” That pretty much sums it up, doesn’t it?

Persons Unknown: Saved

“This is going to hurt.”

I found myself both attracted and repelled by this episode. On the one hand, the dream sequences seemed to have been filmed with Vaseline on the camera, and I’m desperately worried that the L. Ron Hubbard quote that permeated the episode means this show is actually about Scientology. On the flip side, some of the character interactions were quite interesting, and the religious symbolism had some meat to it.