Monday, June 15, 2009

MONDAY ODDS & ENDS: MERLIN, WARP DRIVES AND BETTY WHITE

+ Sci-fi and horror icon Christopher Lee has been knighted by England's Queen, meaning now whenever you run into him and get freaked out just by his presence, you have to scream "Sir" as you flee.

+ Well, this is kind of a bummer: apparently, if a warp drive engine was ever actually created, it would have the capacity to suck Earth and probably the spacecraft itself into a black hole. Meaning no refunds on the flight. Damn.

+ In happier news, the "Battlestar Galactica" complete series will be released on July 28 in Blu-ray and DVD and the packaging itself looks amazing. It even comes with a Cylon to take over your home and intimidate your neighbors. Check it out:


+ "Merlin" makes its way to NBC this coming Sunday, June 21. Word on the street is that it's rather cheesy but it has Anthony Stewart Head with a little crown and flowing robes so you'll hear no complaints from me. Here's a sneak peak:



+ Apropos of nothing, here is Betty White playing beer pong with Jimmy Fallon:



+ And finally, what do you think of this? Nintendo reportedly will start including a "help" feature on future Wii games such as the upcoming New Super Mario Brothers. The feature will allow players to pause the game and let the system take over, solving the rough parts and then letting the players opt back in when they think they can take over again. Given that Wii is such a family-friendly system, I think it makes sense. I know there would have been a lot less Yoshi carnage in my house if I'd had access to this feature. Poor Yoshi. May his adorable little saddled soul rest in peace...

7 comments:

Michele said...

I'm not into the Arthurian legends at all, but I thoroughly enjoyed 'Merlin' - it's definitely worth for ASH being all 'You will obey me for I am king' at people! :P

Oh, and I'm half in love with Gwen and very much in love with Gaius (Richard Wilson)

Michael J. Narlock said...

Hi Liz!

You know I absolutely loved...loved!...Battlestar Galactica. Yes, there were some clunker episodes (Black Market, anyone?) but sadly I shall never watch another BSG episode or any spinoffs and may never watch another Ron D. Moore scripted show. Why? That BSG ending. It was so horrific, so poorly written, so ad hoc, so...crappy...that the taint it left behind won't easily be scrubbed clean.

Did you like the ending? Angels? Really? Angels was the best thing the writers could come up with? Please.

Liz said...

Hey Mike, I have to say I liked the BSG final episode up to a point. If it had ended with Adama alone on the mountaintop talking to Roslin's grave about building the house, I think it would have been perfect because the house would have served as a nice ending metaphor for finding a new home. But the more I've thought about the epilogue that came after it with Baltar and Six in Times Square and all that stuff, I do think that marred the ending enormously. Also, the idea of Starbuck as an angel and/or undetermined otherwordly being didn't bother me at the time, but then I read an interview with Ron Moore saying that they didn't really know what to do about Starbuck and they figured people were going to be angry at them either way so they just decided to have her disappear and leave it ambiguous -- that seems like a huge cop-out to me as well.

So I can understand why you didn't like it. Personally, I really liked the broader idea of them abandoning technology and starting over and I was pleased with the way a lot of the character's stories played out but yeah, there were definitely some major flaws at the end.

But c'mon, you gotta buy the DVDs. They come with a cylon!

Michael J. Narlock said...

The ending you suggest is precisely the way I thought it should have ended. There were a few things that didn't ring true to me. Giving up all technology seemed a bit of a stretch, but I could accept it. Chief going off to be by himself for the rest of his life? Not buying it. Or the Adamas splitting up? Nope. How about not an ounce of sentiment when Col. Tigh and Bill Adama went separate ways? Weak.

Oh, and Kara Thrace. Good lord. That was some horrific writing. I guess my biggest complaint is that from the get-go, I gave myself up to the BSG and the writers with the expectation that we were being taken on a ride. A ride that would have a beginning, middle and end. One that would have ups and downs, but one that would tell us a story that had been thought-out and, moreover, one that was worth telling. The writers abused that trust. I see the same writing on the wall with other weekly programs that have become "must watch" television that tells a story rather than one-off episodes. I'm thinking of "Lost", "Heroes", etc. I'm preparing for disappointment.

To tell the truth, I think the only story-driven show that ever truly paid off meaningfully was Babylon5 (the first four seasons only).

Oh well, there's always books.

Steve, the hubby said...

Angry Nerds!! ;)

Liz said...

Damn right, don't mess with our sci-fi endings!

crone51 said...

will the Cylon do the dishes?

Cause then I really want one. It appears to be the shiny kind. I would kind of rather have the Galen Tyrol kind but....or,hey, the Leoben kind ( am I the only person who thought he was kinda cute?).

I have issues with the finale as well. But it's all redeemed for me by the way Callis delivers the " I know about farming" line. sniff.