Stuff for a Friday
Um... blogger suddenly has a feature where I can add video? Where did that come from? (See, I open a new page to start a post, see something that catches my eye, and forget what I was just doing...) Mmm... new toys.

But I shall come back to that later. First of all, my husband and I have FINALLY begun watching Big Love and I think it's amazing. The core cast is great, and every episode you can't help but put yourself into the shoes of the characters. How could a woman sleep at night knowing her husband is in another woman's bed? How do you share someone who is supposed to be loyal to you? How do you have an argument about something when you know he could just turn to the more complacent wives and favour them instead? While at the same time, look at how these women share childcare, problems, help out with groceries, laundry, etc. It's such a brilliant series, and forces me to think of polygamy, something I've barely ever thought about. I was hooked by the first episode.

Kristen Bell loves nerds. I think she and I could hang out and become best friends forever. Well, probably not. I mean, if her audience are all TV geeks, then obviously she can't say that she doesn't get these people. Read the article to see her thoughts on being asked to be on Lost and what she thinks of being on Heroes (there's a minor spoiler about the connection her character will have with others, but it didn't rattle me, and I HATE spoilers). No comment on the end of Veronica, which is pretty disappointing.

Reason #4,852 to hate Andy Rooney. Why is this crotchety old man still allowed to speak? I grew up in a house where my dad watched 60 Minutes every Sunday, religiously (that ticking noise still unnerves me, because when my bedtime was 8pm I knew you'd hear the ticking at the end and had to go to bed), and loves Andy Rooney. But I'll never forget watching the show one week in 1994 and he went off on Kurt Cobain, post-death, devoting an entire segment to asking why the hell anyone cared about this talentless loser, when this kid that he'd found in a newspaper in Podunk, Nowhere, had also died that week and no one was holding candlelight vigils to mourn him. Sigh. Don't worry... we won't be holding candlelight vigils for you, Andy. Check out Best Week Ever for a pretty funny rundown of the article. (My favourite part is where he says he can't watch baseball because unlike the good ol' days, everyone now is named Rodriguez. Um... OK, and how much is the Stamford Times paying you to put your racism on your sleeve?)

Tis the release season of TV shows on DVD, and I'm super-excited. Dexter came out this past Tuesday, so if you haven't seen it, get it. It's a darkly funny and fascinating study of a serial killer by night, forensics guy by day, who discovers another serial killer that he must investigate, and he becomes increasingly jealous by this other guy's handiwork, until clues begin surfacing that convince Dexter the guy is actually speaking to him in some way. Next Tuesday (August 28th) is the release of Heroes on DVD. This is one I plan to buy and rewatch before it starts up again on September 24th. Apparently the pilot episode has been extended to 75 minutes from 42, and includes a new introduction to Sylar. Also on that day is the release of Friday Night Lights, which ranks up there with Big Love as "that show I should totally be watching but am not." Dark Shadows, episodes 1-35, will also be released on that day. This is one of those shows I always wish I'd seen more of -- a friend lent me a few episodes on VHS a couple of years ago (you know, I should really return those to him) and I watched it and was intrigued, so I'd like to see more. Anything involving vampires has me interested.


September 4 is the release date of season 3 of The Office (yay!) and if you've seen the season, as I have, it's still worth getting it just to watch the deleted scenes. That same day is the release of 30 Rock and Robot Chicken. Oh, and Prison Break (blech).


EW.com has an interesting interview with James Marsters (and a not-so-flattering accompanying photo) in which he says that he doesn't think Joss Whedon ever "got into" Spike, and that's why there would be no Spike spinoff. I think he's wrong (uh, was Marsters not watching the Buffy finale?) but it's an interesting interview nonetheless.

A third new actor has been cast on Lost. I'm assuming these people are all Others, but time will tell.

And finally, someone posted this item in my comments yesterday (thanks, Sarah!)

Wanted: More than 30 "Lost" babies
At least 30 babies were needed to play Claire's baby Aaron last season, making casting a never-ending process. So many are needed because, well, babies age quickly, outgrowing the part in just a week or so. To play Aaron, a baby must have blond hair, blue eyes, a slightly round face, weighing between 8 and 15 pounds.

So if my son is born in mid-September, could he qualify for the next round of Aarons? My daughter had a round face, blonde hair, and blue eyes, so there's a good chance he'll look the same! And if they need 30 of these babies, does that ensure that Claire and Aaron will be on for a while?