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...

Nerd Man: Anthony Stewart Head

Nostalgia made me do it. I admit right here and now that the selection of Anthony Stewart Head as October’s much-delayed Nerd Man of the Month was at least in part* the result of listening to the “Once More With Feeling” soundtrack and remembering just how wonderful Head was as Giles on “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” And that voice! No one can deny the magnetic quality of that voice. Le rowr.

A true journeyman actor, Head seems to pop up everywhere and often when you least expect it. After starting off in those God-awful coffee commercials years ago, he ended up on the sci-fi series VR-5. Then later, there was Buffy, which deserves a paragraph of its own. We had the BBC’s “Manchild” series, which I adored. He sang his transvestite heart out in the London revival of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.” He popped up in “Sweeney Todd.” He rocked in “Doctor Who.” (And what a loss that he didn’t get the part of the Eighth Doctor. He’d have been perfect.) He looked wonderfully confused and stern in “Little Britain.” He’s going to be in the BBC’s “Merlin” series as King Arthur’s father, and he’s got a very disturbing and gory musical film coming out called “Repo! The Genetic Opera.” The man’s even got his own CD, “Music For Elevators.”

As terrific as Head is in all those parts, it's his role as Giles that truly cements his nerd man status. Sarah Michelle Gellar may have been the star of “Buffy” and James Marsters and David Boreanez its heart throbs, but Head was the anchor. A show about teenagers and the pain of growing up needed a strong parent figure and Head’s Giles was always up to the challenge. He was caring and funny and charmingly self-involved – his mid-life crisis after his “kids” went away to college was particularly great. Most of all, Giles was smart and may well have been the first character in the history of television to make research sexy. The true value of Head became clear after he left the show in season 6 when, in my opinion, “Buffy” lost so much of its heart.

Besides the acting skills and genre credentials, by all accounts Head just seems like a nice guy. And we nerdy chicks dig the nice guys. Plus, aesthetically speaking, just look at that photo. What’s not to love?

So, for being a stellar actor, for filling our genre needs, for having a voice that makes us purr, for making Giles awesome and for being a generally swell fellow, The Park Bench is pleased to name Anthony Stewart Head as its October Nerd Man of the Month.

* Agent57 was also kind enough to suggest Head during my plea for nominees last week. Thanks, Agent57!

News of the Day -- Thursday, April 3

+ Nerdy kids are so cool. A Michigan fifth grader found a mistake in Smithsonian display recently. Smithsonian officials have corrected the error and in a fit of anger, have vowed never to let "smarty pants know-it-alls" into the museum ever again.

+ Treehugger alert: heat from a data center in Switzerland will be used to warm a nearby swimming pool -- not, apparently, by throwing the computers into the water. Which is why I'm not a scientist, I guess.

+ NBC has announced their fall line-up, really really early. On tap?An Office spin-off , of all things. I'm not quite sure how I feel about this. I'm hoping it's about Bob Vance Refrigeration. Also Anthony Stewart Head will star in "Merlin", and hopefully be dressed like this:


+ Aww, Patrick Stewart defended Star Trek fans, proving yet again why he will always be my favorite starship captain. (And no, I don't think he's really a starship captain...I just wish it, kinda sometimes maybe.)

+ This is a really interesting blog post on the work habits of some of history's greatest thinkers and creators. I have nothing cynical to say about it, and am now convinced I need to take reflective walks in the afternoon. If I can climb out my office window unnoticed, I think I could actually manage this.

+ And finally, after finding out how many of you are reformed Blockheads, I'd be remiss if I didn't post this, the first NKOTB publicity photo in 15 years, a prelude apparently to a reunion tour. Guess the rumor that it was a false rumor was false. (Huh?)


They're like the coolest group of stockbrokers ever! I say that with love, digging as I do, vintage Wahlberg.

Nothing says Christmas like Sweeney Todd

You know the holidays are nearly upon us when creepy new Tim Burton movies start appearing. The trailer for "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" is out. Sadly, I've heard rumors that Anthony Stewart Head's role was cut, but with Alan Rickman, Sacha Baron Cohen and Johnny Depp in the cast, I'll still survive.

The A.M. Digest

* This news from Comic-Con is almost enough to make me really, really happy on a Monday morning. Whedonesque.com and TV Squad are reporting that Ripper, the Buffy spin-off focusing on my imaginary Sunnydale boyfriend Rupert Giles, has actually been picked up by the BBC. It will be done as a 90-minute TV movie and yup, Anthony Stewart Head will reprise his role. No details on plot or when it will start filming, but hey, I'm not greedy. I've been waiting years and years for this bit of Whedon-y goodness, so I'm just happy to hear it might actually be happening. I hope Head remembers how to stammer and clean his glasses....[TV Squad story]

* In slightly less important cinematic news (kidding, of course), Swedish director Ingmar Bergman has passed away. Which is weird because I thought he was already dead, but then I realized I was thinking of Ingrid Bergman. And then I thought about how Woody Allen's movies wouldn't have been as good if he'd been aping Ingrid Bergman all these years, and then that made me appreciate Ingmar a little bit more and then I felt bad about mixing him up with a woman. Sorry, Ingmar. [NPR story]

* If you want to feel slightly old this morning, and who doesn't really, then take a stroll down memory lane with this visual history of game consoles. You'll see the old Odysseys and Ataris and realize that the 1970s were all about wood-paneling on everything. Including babies and small cars and trees.

* Also, the Italians exhumed two Medici writers...apparently just because they can. Bunch of Renaissance-having show-offs. [Guardian story]