Odds and Ends for Friday

+ Some time in the 1990s, I visited Ottumwa, Iowa against my will so that the guy I was traveling with could visit an ex-girlfriend. All I remember is that there was a chicken processing plant and we went to a weird house where the only furniture was a tanning bed. Anyway, this town keeps turning up in the oddest places. A few years back, it turned out to be the site of the largest book theft in the United States and now it's lobbying to become the Official Video Game Capital of the World...which would no doubt give the guy with the tanning bed a reason to go outside. Actually, Ottumwa has a long and storied history in the video game world. Also, they have a Wal-Mart. I know because I bought a day-glo tennis racket there. Just FYI.

+ Do you like comic books? Have I got a site for you! Some fine gentlemen friends of mine have created a new blog called SeeBelow* which is chock full of news and opinion on all things comic book-y. Check it out if you have a few free moments today...

+ USA Today had a cool preview of the Robert Downey-Jude Law "Sherlock Holmes" flick scheduled for release this Christmas. I don't know why I'm so excited about this movie but I really, really can't wait to see it.

+ Speaking of movies, here's a new preview for "Transformers," one that just confirms my belief that if ever left in Shia LaBeouf's presence, I would become the world's worst cougar:



+ I leave you with this gift of awesomeness: "My Little Pony: Reign of the Buttercup Sprinkles." Oh my God, this cracked me up. You'll notice more than a few passing nods to the "Transformers" preview above. "They shall come in a rainbow of colors..." Hee.



Have a great, "Star Trek"-filled weekend everyone! Look out for ponies!

Odds and Ends

+ Well, no news on whether "Chuck" has been renewed by NBC yet but here's a bit of good news in the interim: Fox has renewed "Fringe" which makes me very happy indeed. Why? Pretty Joshua Jackson and highly entertaining John Noble, whom I'm certain I would have an inappropriate crush on if he was my college professor

+ A whole bunch of Hollywood actors earned legitimacy today -- yes, the Tony Award nominations were announced! I feel like I've already seen two of the nominated plays. They're called "Billy Elliot" and "Shrek the Musical." Oh Broadway, isn't it bad enough that Hollywood keeps remaking the same movies? Now you're doing stage adaptations of films? Cut it out! On the plus side, a big Michigan whoo hoo for our native son Jeff Daniels and his nomination for "God of Carnage," which I'm guessing is a remake of "Towering Inferno" or some such thing.

+ There's legislation in the works to imprison bloggers whose "electronic speech is meant to 'coerce, intimidate, harass, or cause substantial emotional distress to a person.'" No, really. Which means I'm totally going to have to speed up the timeline on my "CheerleadersPandas Are Whorish McWhore Whores" blog launch. Damn.

Will my nerdy "Star Trek" dreams come true?

I'm back and I missed you! I've been squirreling away my geekiness during the past couple weeks and am ready to unleash it once more. And what better way to go nerdy than by talking about "Star Trek?" I've decided I have five sci-fi wishes for this week's premiere of the new "Star Trek" movie, and they are this:

1) Please don't let it embarrass me in front of the normal people. -- There's nothing worse than going to a movie with your non-geek friends, promising them up and down the street that "I heard this was really good and will totally appeal to non-Trek fans" and then have some guy in a giant lizard suit with the zipper on the back get a phaser to the gills while trying to leg hump some three-breasted woman. And let's face it, some of the "Star Trek" produced over the last few decades have come pretty damn close to that scenario and every single time, it just makes me want to crawl under my seat, muttering, "I swear it can be good." I really, really want non-Trekkies to be able to appreciate this movie.

2) Please let it retain its "Star Trek" soul. -- Because I am a woman, it's my prerogative to want things both ways and my antithetical wish for this week is for "Star Trek" to appeal to non-Trekkies BUT also retain the optimism and wide-eyed belief that the future can be better that has made this fictional universe so appealing for so long. Gene Roddenberry, even though I'm pretty sure he was a nut, created something special when he imagined a future where people live not just to survive but to strive and live up to their potentials. Especially in this day and age, we could all use a little positivity. "Star Trek" is a great vehicle to provide that.

3) Please let Eric Bana's Nero be a bad-ass villain. -- Save for Khan and the Borg, "Star Trek" has suffered from some pretty anemic villains over the last few decades. I'd like an actually bad villain, one who has a deep dark mission, ideally one that actually makes sense and can drive a storyline. On a personally shallow note, I'm already upset that they've hidden Bana's tall, dark and handsome good looks under a Telly Savalas hat but I can forgive and forget as long as his character provides a worthy adversary for Kirk, Spock and the rest of the crew.

4) Please let it be funny, preferably intentionally so. -- I'm not talking slap-stick funny or people pointing at the weird-looking Vulcan funny. I mean, let's have Scotty crack wise every now and then and maybe Sulu get in some dry bon mot here or there. Or Bones toss out a few of those cranky pants witticisms we loved so much in the original series. These are smart characters and smart people tend to be able to throw out a good joke every now and then. Don't let these characters be dry, dull action heroes. Let 'em have more dimension than that, okay?

5) Please revive my faith in "Star Trek." -- When I was a little kid, my Saturdays were filled with "Star Trek" reruns. When I was in college, my friends and I faithfully watched "Next Generation" every weekend. I hung around for "Deep Space Nine" and even watched "Voyager." But by then, the shine was off the penny and I'd lost my passion for going where no man (or one) has gone before. I want that passion back. I really want to love "Star Trek" again. And I want to believe in its quality and believe it's worthy of its longevity. I have faith in J.J. Abrams. He's always entertained me and from what I've heard about this film, I think he has a good chance of doing exactly that this time out. If he can somehow re-spark my lifelong passion for this wagon train to the stars, my nerdy heart will be eternally grateful.

See, now is this too much to ask? Five very simple requests. Should be a snap, right? I've got my fingers crossed that the answer is a great big yes. Only five more days until we found out. Please nerdy gods, please....

Taking a little break...

Work and various other zany facets of my life have conspired to steal time...and yes, my soul...recently, and so The Park Bench is going on hiatus for a wee bit. I'll be back on Monday, May 4 with new nerdy nuggets and general incoherence to share.

In the meantime, don't forget:

* Watch "Castle." It'll never win an Emmy for awesome mystery writing but it's getting better and better each week. And funnier. Oh, and Nathan's getting more adorable AS IF THAT WAS EVEN POSSIBLE! (Apparently it is.)

* The "Caprica" pilot DVD comes out tomorrow (Tuesday). It's in my Netflix queue and I'm eager to check it out. You should be too!

Have a wonderful couple of weeks!

Talking about "Planet of the Dead" in a non-spoilery way

The Doctor in shades? So hot it gives the desert an inferiority complex.

Last night, I fired up the ol' computer and watched the latest Doctor Who special, "Planet of the Dead." And you know what? It was really good! Much better than "The Next Doctor" Christmas special.

David Tennant who recently described "Planet of the Dead" as the last time the Doctor gets to have a good time before everything turns much darker as we lead up to Ten's regeneration. And there's plenty of fun to be had in "Planet of the Dead" -- creepy monsters, giant insect headed people, stuff that gets blowed up, historical thefts and yes, Tennant in sexy sunglasses.

Written by Russell T. Davies and Gareth Roberts, "Planet" is a little thin on plot -- basically a bus disappears and it's up to the Doctor to bring it back to safety -- but it's fast-paced, lean and kinda charming. Tennant and Michelle Ryan, who plays Lady Christina, this episode's ostensible companion, share a nice chemistry although I found myself constantly distracted by the fact that Williams bears a striking resemblance to a taller, less mouth-breathy Selma Blair.

As much as I enjoyed this episode, though, I find myself really missing the relationship between the Doctor and an ongoing companion. I never realized how much I liked watching those friendships and/or doomed romances grow and seeing the Doctor's travels through another character's eyes. We don't really get that perspective with these constantly revolving companions and there aren't any of those special character moments that stick with you well after the story ends. If rumors hold true, this shouldn't be a problem in Tennant's last two episodes so I'm happy to just enjoy these last few fun moments before all hell starts to break loose and I have to start stockpiling Kleenex.

Also -- and I hate to bring this up because it really isn't a complaint -- but these specials are making it easier for me to accept the impending Tennant departure. In part, I think it's because the Doctor seems so unmoored in these companion-less episodes which I think perhaps is impacting Tennant's performances. He just doesn't seem as...well...perky. I'm not saying he's going through the motions but I do think he works best when he's got someone else to bounce off and build a rapport with. Tennant with Billie Piper or Tennant with Catherine Tate has a certain energy that seems lacking when he's going solo. This is likely just a writing thing or a character thing and nothing to do with Tennant but it's something that really struck me in "The Next Doctor" and now in "Planet of the Dead."

Overall, though, "Planet of the Dead" was quite a nice Easter treat -- even better than a basket of Peeps!

And to tide you over until November, here's the preview for the next special, "Waters of Mars."