Hannah (Lilli Birdsell) and director Greg Nicotero - The Walking Dead Webisodes

Man, it seems like we’ve been waiting forever for the second season of The Walking Dead. The series finally returns on Sunday, October 16th, but in the meantime, AMC has cooked up a little morsel to ease the pain of waiting.

AMC is launching a series of The Walking Dead webisodes that fill in the backstory of one memorable character from the pilot. Over the course of six episodes, fans will learn about the “Bicycle Girl,” the fan-favorite zombie missing its legs and lower body that Rick Grimes (actor Andrew Lincoln) stumbled across on his front lawn.

Bicycle Girl’s name, before she became a “walker,” was Hannah, and the webisodes will show us her life pre-apocalypse, her struggle to survive after the world falls apart, and her finally being bitten and becoming a zombie. The series is written by John Esposito and produced by series co-executive producer Greg Nicotero.

The Walking Dead webisodes will all be posted online together, on October 3rd at 2:pm EST, at amctv.com.

Photo courtesy of “Generate” and AMC.

Ringer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eL65njmvD34

Tuesdays on The CW
Premieres: September 13
Sarah Michelle Gellar returns to television in this complicated thriller about twin sisters Siobhan and Bridget. Bridget’s life is a disaster, while Siobhan is a wealthy success. When the latter sister seemingly dies and the former witnesses a murder, Bridget escapes by assuming her sister’s name and life. It looks appropriately twisty/turny, but I have no idea where it’s going — or how the premise will be maintained week after week. But Gellar is geek royalty, and The CW knows it. Did you notice what night Ringer is airing on? That’s right: the same night of the week that Buffy the Vampire Slayer aired on for most of its run.

The Secret Circle

Thursdays on The CW
Premieres: September 15

The makers of The Vampire Diaries (using another novel series by Diaries‘ author L.J. Smith) bring you this new teen-friendly series about modern day witches. Basically, if Vampire Diaries is “True Blood Lite,” then you’ll probably notice some similar parallels between The Secret Circle and Twilight – only with witches instead of vamps and werewolves. The cast includes Sarah Connor Chronicles‘ Thomas Dekker in a similarly broody role.

Revenge

Wednesdays on ABC
Premieres: September 21

Based loosely on Alexandre Dumas’ The Count of Monte Cristo, the series finds a girl from the Hamptons whose father’s life was destroyed by the rich and powerful returning to the wealthy beach town to take down the people responsible. She changes her name and reappears in the Hamptons, working her way into their lives while systematically scheming to destroy them all. Of course the twist comes when she falls for the son of one of her wicked targets, causing a crisis of conscience. Revenge is the soapiest entry on this list, but its pseudo-literary pedigree gives it marginal geek interest.

Charlie’s Angels

Thursdays on ABC
Premieres: September 22

Proving once more that Hollywood is running low on new ideas, Charlie’s Angels is getting yet a third incarnation (after the classic TV series and the two Hollywood movies). This time it’s a flashy, glitzy actioner from the duo that created Smallville, Alfred Gough and Miles Millar. Their involvement gives one hope, but really — it’s Charlie’s Angels. I think we all know what to expect.

Person of Interest

Thursdays on CBS
Premieres: September 22

By all accounts, it has the biggest buzz of any new show this season. Its killer premise — a genius billionaire teams up with a burnt-out special ops soldier to stop the worst crimes before they happen — is topped only by its creators’ pedigree. Dreamed up by Jonathan Nolan (writer of The Dark Knight, and brother to its director) and produced by JJ Abrams, it also boasts a great cast in Lost‘s Michael Emerson as the reclusive techno-mastermind and Jim Caviezel (in full-on “Batman with guns” mode) as the lethal operative. CBS, taking on its first JJ Abrams show, believes so much in Person of Interest that they’ve given it the most coveted time slot on television: CSI‘s old home of Thursdays at 9.

Terra Nova

Mondays on Fox
Premieres: September 26

You could literally call it the biggest gamble in television history. Or maybe Jurassic Park: The Series. If Person of Interest has the biggest buzz of the season, then Terra Nova is the show it was stolen from. But that doesn’t mean Terra Nova isn’t a big deal. Far from it. As point of fact, the FX-heavy series has the biggest budget of any TV show ever, along with a producer by the name of Spielberg. Every episode is said to be akin to a big-screen blockbuster with its huge scale and epic scope, and Fox is appropriately treating it as “event television.” The story follows a family from overcrowded, polluted 2149 traveling back in time to join a colony that’s attempting to restart human civilization — and get it right this time — in prehistoric times. There’s a colorful cast of characters, dark forces at work within Terra Nova itself, a rebel colony that’s living elsewhere, and of course, the show’s real stars: dinosaurs.

Bedlam

Saturdays on BBC America
Premieres: October 1

If there’s one thing BBC does well, it’s taking preposterous ideas and making them work. Bedlam is their latest kooky-idea-turned-can’t-look-away-drama: it’s about a posh, renovated apartment building that happens to be a former insane asylum (old Indian burial grounds are so five minutes ago) and is now filled with the place’s disturbed ghosts. Central to the story is a man named Jed, who suffers from mental illness himself, but also possesses the ability to see both the ghosts who haunt the building and visions of their deaths.

Homeland

Sundays on Showtime
Premieres: October 2

Claire Danes returns to television as a troubled CIA agent in this taut thriller from the makers of 24. Danes’ agent, a reckless, dangerous individual lost in a spiral of narcissism (she feels guilty about not anticipating 9/11), has intel suggesting that a newly-returned, longtime POW might have been turned by his terrorist captors. But there’s a chance she could simply be delusional. Figuring out who’s the hero and who’s the villain is a big part of what makes this provocative series tick. And it’s always a good sign when the early reviews are downright gushing over how good it is.

American Horror Story

Wednesdays on FX
Premieres: October 5

This one’s from the creators of Glee, but don’t let that scare you off; one of the musical’s creators was also responsible for Nip/Tuck. American Horror Story is about a family that moves into a haunted mansion. It’s an age-old plot, but it’s spiced up with an extremely dark, dangerous, and sexed-up vibe and a lot of bizarre, Twin Peaks-ish characters. Among them: a ghost on fire, a man in a rubber bondage suit, and a nosy neighbor played by big-screen actress Jessica Lang.

Grimm

Fridays on NBC
Premieres: October 21

The first of two new series inspired by fairy tales, Grimm explains that fairy tale monsters are real and living among us. To the unknowing, they look just like everyone else. But a magical kind of people known as “Grimms” are capable of seeing them for what they are, and are charged with policing them and protecting the human population. The trailer looks smart and creepy, and the creators are a talented pair of alums from Buffy and Angel, but I’m not holding out a lot of hope for this one. Its time slot puts it head-to-head against Fringe and Supernatural.

Once Upon a Time

Sundays on ABC
Premieres: October 23

What if fairy tales like Snow White were real? And what if the Evil Queen got the upper hand and transported everyone to the real world, while erasing their memories? That’s the premise behind this serial from two of the staff writers on Lost. It sounds kinda nuts, but darn if that trailer doesn’t look terrific. Word has it ABC is hoping Once Upon a Time might become its next Lost, which is why they gave the series a budget big enough to accomodate its lavish production values. Personally, I’m hoping for a big mythology and a smart serial, with surprises and game-changers and all that jazz. Because hitting the reset button week after week will suck the life out of this one.

Hell on Wheels

Sundays on AMC
Premieres: November 6

In the aftermath of the Civil War, a former Confederate soldier sets out to take revenge on the Union soldiers who killed his wife, and finds himself out west in a traveling town called Hell on Wheels. The small town moves alongside the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad, while also addressing the lives of newly freed slaves following the war. Westerns were made for these kinds of revenge stories, and Hell on Wheels looks to capitalize on both that and an important historical period not touched upon by other film or television.

And coming mid-season…

Early 2012 brings more new shows, including the buzz-heavy horror serial The River on ABC (from the creator of Paranormal Activity); Jason Isaacs as a cop displaced between parallel realities in Awake on NBC; Missing, about a former covert agent (played by Ashley Judd) who goes searching for her missing son, take-no-prisoners style; and JJ Abrams’ Alcatraz on Fox, about former inmates of the prison island who mysteriously disappeared in the past and are reappearing in the present day.

Can you believe Star Wars: The Clone Wars is about to enter its fourth season? After a shaky start in its first season, I was ready to write the whole thing off as silly kiddy junk. But then a remarkable and wholly unexpected thing happened: it started taking chances, and got good.

Based on this 2-minute trailer just released today, Season 4 is going to be the show’s biggest, baddest volume yet. Looks like the war is getting bigger all the time, while Anakin is taking his first real steps on his path toward the dark side. Early episodes will deal with an invasion on the Mon Calamari homeworld, where Return of the Jedi‘s Admiral Ackbar (it’s a trap!) hailed from, providing our first-ever look at this aquatic planet. The trailer also shows off some intriguing new aliens, the return of some dangerous old enemies, tons of cool, enormous new locations, and even a look at slavery. The show’s animation looks more lush than ever, and methinks I see stronger contrast and more cinematic lighting among these shots.

Did you know that every season of the show except the first one has had a subtitle that highlights the story arc for that year? Season 2 was Rise of the Bounty Hunters, and Season 3 was Secrets Revealed. Season 4, which premieres on Cartoon Network with a one-hour episode on Friday night, September 16th, is subtitled Battle Lines.

I remember that when Star Wars: The Clone Wars was being developed, the plan was to do five seasons that would connect the strands of the second and third films, with an end total of around 100 episodes. In story time, the Clone Wars lasted just 2 years, so five seasons is plenty of time to fill in that gap. But I haven’t heard that plan reiterated in a long while, so I wonder if it’s still the case, or if CN and Lucasfilm have revised that plan. The show can’t be believably sustained forever, after all.

The tricky part is in making the time machine believable. Whether by science or magic, here are sixteen of the most memorably awesome (and memorably lame) time machines given to us by film and television.

The Box

Primer

Primer
2004
Primer‘s time machine was little more than a big cardboard box hooked up to some quantum mechanics techno-wizardry. I hear that the theoretical principles depicted in Primer are built on solid scientific footing, though it was way over my head. It made for a remarkably realistic means of moving through time, though: the notion that you simply sit inside this box for an extended period of time while negatively-charged ions flood the box (or something like that), after which you exit the box and find that you’ve moved backwards in time while the rest of the world kept moving forwards. Primer was a low-budget indie movie that came out of nowhere to surprise a lot of people with its intelligence. “The Box,” as the movie’s time machine was called, was as low-tech as you could get, just like the movie it appeared in. But it worked.
[Image source.]

Chronosphere

Seven Days

Seven Days
1998 – 2000
Across three seasons and 66 episodes on UPN, Seven Days told the story of a secret NSA team that had the ability to send a man back in time up to seven days to avert any disaster. The giant Chronosphere, a very NASA-like device in which main character Frank Parker rode in a space suit, was based on alien technology recovered from the crash at Roswell.
[Image source.]

DeLorean

Back to the Future

Back to the Future
1985
Possibly the most iconic time machine from modern film, and certainly the coolest. Doc Brown’s DeLorean was powered by the Flux Capacitor, which was essentially a MacGuffin — an all-important story device that’s never explained. And nobody in the audience cared. The movie was so well made, providing a perfect mix of comedy, thrills, and science fiction, that we just went with it. The two sequels got mixed reviews (the second was a major disappointment, though the third wasn’t bad), but the first movie is still near and dear to the hearts of geeks everywhere. Ready to hit 88 miles per hour, and generate 1.21 jigawatts of electricity? Then hop in the time machine with the most “style,” and hit the road. Oh, wait… Where we’re going, we don’t need “roads!”
[Image source.]

Frozen Wheel

Lost

Lost
2004 – 2010
An ancient wooden wheel that somehow tapped directly into the powerful electromagnetic energy at the core of the island, the Frozen Wheel was a very utilitarian device that generated wildly unpredictable results. Its time-traveling process was actually a side effect of two other operations it activated: moving the island through space and time, and serving as an “Exit” for whoever turned the wheel, essentially teleporting them to an exact spot on the other side of the world, in Tunisia. Like everything else about Lost, it was something without a definitive, scientific (or otherwise) explanation, requiring that you just go with it.
[Image source.]

The Great Machine

Babylon 5

Babylon 5
1993 – 1998
During the two-part, Season 3 episode, “War Without End,” J. Michael Straczynski put his distinctive stamp on the time travel concept, vowing to use it just once during Babylon 5‘s run. The science involved a supercomputer called the “Great Machine,” built by an ancient, long-vanished civilization (likely a member of the “First Ones”). The Great Machine resided on the planet that the titular space station orbited. Its original purpose was unknown, but it featured hardcore artillery, all sorts of advanced technology, and the ability to create time vortexes big enough for an entire space station (like Babylon 4, above) to pass through. The true scope of the Great Machine was never fully explained.
[Image source.]

Guardian of Forever

Star Trek

Star Trek
1966 – 1969
The portal from the classic Star Trek episode “The City On the Edge of Forever” wasn’t what I’d call technology. It was more of a god-like entity, sentient and self-aware, yet aloof from the concerns of mortal beings. Its true purpose was never revealed, and frustratingly, no episode of any of the many spin-offs or films has ever revisited the Guardian, aside from the animated series. (It was hardly Star Trek‘s only time machine, though it was probably the most memorable; plenty of space vessels, including the Enterprise itself, have traveled through time quite often throughout the decades of Star Trek lore.) The Guardian has been featured in numerous Star Trek novels over the years, but none of those are considered canon. Its origins and true purpose remain a mystery.
[Image source.]

Omni

Voyagers!

Voyagers!
1982 – 1983
Say what you will about the cheesy kids TV show, something about the handheld stopwatch-like Omni device just made sense. What could be better than a timepiece to serve as a visual cue for time travel? This nifty trinket was the tool of Voyagers, a sort of time-travelling police force who were sent in to help history stay on track when some important event threatened to go awry, such as Edison failing to invent the light bulb. No explanation was ever given for why these pivotal events sometimes didn’t happen as they should — or how the Omni devices worked — but whenever a Voyager got a red light in the upper left corner of their Omni, it meant they had to stop and set things right before they could move on. Success was indicated by a green light, the time travel controls were the dials on the outer perimeter, and the globe in the center determined the physical location where they would stop in time. Simple and elegant. I remember wanting one as a kid.

Quantum Accelerator

Quantum Leap

Quantum Leap
1989-1993
A lot of fans are still bitter that Dr. Sam Beckett never made it home. After getting lost in time due to an experiment that went way wrong, Sam found himself “leaping” from time to time and into person after person, so that he could “put right what once went wrong.” Quantum Leap introduced a supernatural/spiritual element into its quantum physics-based science, suggesting that “God, time, fate, or whatever” took control of the Quantum Accelerator, controlling Sam’s leaps into the lives of those who needed him most throughout time. His aim throughout the series was to help enough people that he might someday earn his passage back home, but the cryptic final episode stated that he never did. Poor guy.
[Image source.]

The Sands of Time

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
2010
One of the most esoteric entries on this list, the Sands of Time take the notion of time travel into the realm of the mystical. Still, there is a button on the dagger that activates the Sands, so I’m calling it a machine, darn it. Disney was hoping to launch another Pirates of the Caribbean-sized franchise with Prince of Persia, but the audience just didn’t show up. And those that did (SPOILER ALERT) hated the take-it-all-back-like-none-of-it-ever-happened ending. Yours truly included. The video game was better.
[Image source.]

TARDIS

Doctor Who

Doctor Who
1963 – Present
Easily the favorite of many a reader who’s perusing this list, the TARDIS (Time And Relative Dimension In Space) is the most long-lasting time machine ever dreamed up in the annals of fiction. After 48 years, it’s still in use, having logged more screen time than any other time machine ever, and has survived eleven incarnations of the Doctor (and counting). It gets extra points for being bigger on the inside.
[Image source.]

Telephone Booth

Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure

Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure
1989
Borrowing liberally from the last entry in this list in its design, the phone booth used by the excellent Ted “Theodore” Logan and Bill S. Preston, Esquire bounced them around through time via technology on loan from their friend-from-the-future, Rufus. It also later transported them to Heaven, Hell, and some other stops in between in a second, far less memorable film. [Image source.]

Time Displacement Equipment

Terminator

The Terminator
1984
We never actually got to see the technology behind the time travel depicted in the Terminator films. (The Sarah Connor Chronicles TV show gave us a look at it, but that show’s canon is wide open to debate.) All we really saw was the end result: a white hot sphere of energy that would pop into existence, blowing up like a bubble, and then dissipating to reveal the traveller inside. Terminator‘s time travel always made sense somehow, and it was a brilliant creation on the part of James Cameron. You didn’t need to understand the technology to see the logic behind clothes not surviving the trip; it just made sense somehow that a violent technology that could punch a hole through time would be designed so that only organic flesh could make it through.
[Image source.]

The Time Machine

The Time Machine
1960
One of the greatest time machines of all time was this sleigh-type vehicle that was used in the movie based on H.G. Wells’ classic novel. The science explaining how it worked was never provided, though we do know it was based on real science and not fantasy. The operator moved a lever forward or backward to progress through time, and in the movie, the main character went as far as 800,000 years into the future, where he learned that humans had evolved into two separate races that were at war with one another. Another film by the same name was released in 2002 and directed by Wells’ own great-grandson, Simon. It was billed as a remake, using a similar sleigh-type vehicle, though the director reportedly saw it as more of a sequel.
[Image source.]

Time Sled

TimeCop

TimeCop
1994
For a Jean Claude van Damme movie, TimeCop had decent effects for the time, and a story that almost made sense. The thing that always left me scratching my head about TimeCop is its time machine. It was this rocket-sled-on-rails thing that you ride inside of that goes supercrazyfast to shoot you through time. Or something. So if you have to sit down, strap in, and seal the cockpit before the thing blasts you through time, why was the passenger’s arrival on the other side depicted as leisurely strolling through a time portal? At what point exactly did they stand up and start walking? And why didn’t the vehicle go with them? There was no Time Sled on the other side when they arrived, yet somehow the whole process happened exactly in reverse when travelers returned. It’s got to be one of the least logical time machines ever invented.
[Image source.]

Time Tunnel

The Time Tunnel

The Time Tunnel
1966 – 1967
Two scientists get lost in time, venturing from one historical even to another, week after week. The show itself was riddled with plot holes, but its time machine put such an indelible stamp on 60s television that it was later lampooned in the second Austin Powers film.
[Image source.]

Time Turner

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
2004
Hermione Granger’s Time Turner was an ingenious handheld gizmo that the studious young witch was allowed to use in order to be in more than one class at one time. It was clasped to a chain that she wore around her neck — a chain that was conveniently long enough to let Harry hitch a time ride late in Prisoner of Azkaban. As for how it worked… It was magic, of course. No further explanation required.
[Image source.]

Fox has given a midseason time slot to Alcatraz, a new mystery/thriller produced by Lost and Fringe co-creator J.J. Abrams. And holy moley, this first trailer for the series is about to rock your face off.

Airing at 9:oo p.m. on Mondays beginning in 2012, the premise behind Alcatraz is that the criminals held in the infamous island prison vanished without a trace, decades ago. And now, one by one, they’re reappearing in society, having not aged a day. A shadowy government agency is tasked with tracking down these criminals-from-yesteryear, while attempting to solve the bigger mystery at the heart of their mass disappearance.

Created by Elizabeth Sarnoff (Lost, Deadwood), the series stars Sarah Jones (Sons of Anarchy) as a San Francisco police detective with family ties to the prison, Jorge Garcia (Lost) as a historian and Alcatraz expert, and the always great Sam Neill (Jurassic Park) as the head of the government agency pursuing the prison’s escaped criminals.

Keep this one in the back of your mind — it doesn’t premiere until early 2012.

That godawful-sounding Wonder Woman TV show that NBC was considering? You know, the one from David E. Kelley starring the talented Adrianne Palicki in the world’s worst superhero costume?

Not happening.

Kelley had crafted a somewhat new take on the Amazon princess that saw her living in L.A. as a corporate CEO by day and vigilante by night. The Hollywood Reporter says that the pilot had “the most buzz of any pilot this season,” but that unfortunately the buzz was all negative. The final nail in the coffin was a disastrous screening of the pilot for a test audience that hated what they saw.

Aside from Palicki, Wonder Woman also starred Cary Elwes, Tracie Thoms, and Elizabeth Hurley. Wonder if it will ever see the light of day, perhaps leaked online in some form…?

In far more disappointing news, NBC has also passed on Ron Moore’s promising 17th Precinct, about a police station set in a world ruled by magic instead of science. The series would have starred several of his Battlestar Galactica alumni, including Jamie Bamber, James Callis, and Tricia Helfer.

Before I go any further into my review, I must disclose two things. First, this review does contain spoilers, and I will not clearly label them. So if you have not yet watched it, stop reading and stream/download it now – then proceed. Second, unlike with the previous two episodes I was completely sober when watching this third installment. See? No need for an intervention.

I have already lauded the character development and acting in this episode, and these elements will comprise the bulk of this review. Why? Because the story was not greatly advanced. Plot took a back seat to “getting to know you”, and this is more or less OK. The end result was an episode that was thoroughly engaging regardless. My only concern is that what plot was advanced seemed to be mostly sub-plot – and I would hate to see the primary storyline diluted by too much flotsam and jetsam. There was nothing inherently bad about these asides and incidentals. However, some struck me hit or miss. Some I am fairly certain will have a major impact on future episodes. Time will tell.

One example of such hit or miss storytelling was the puzzling glimpse into Tom Taylor’s personal life. After a cursory and somewhat clumsy conversation between Tom and Dr. Walzer about Walzer’s failed marriage, Tom was suddenly desperate to escape quarantine to go to his rather impatient and mostly unlovable significant other to pop the question. No doubt this was intended to grip us, as it was left a cliffhanger, but it seemed so hastily thrown-together as to feel like a non-sequitur. I found myself not the least bit emotionally involved in the scenario.

And while I’m speaking of Tom Taylor, let me state that while your mileage may vary, to me he went from being one of the most, if not the most, likable characters on the show to something of an unsympathetic dick. It’s the only character whose progression, in my opinion, ended up a regression.

Case in point: in this episode he delivered the worst pep talk in history to a distraught Jane Campbell when she was doubting her suitability as companion to the stricken “Martian boy”, Yuri. His idea of motivation was to tell her, “Sure, there are tons of people who are better than you. But you’re the one we’re stuck with, m’kay?” Now, I have already pointed out that he seems unprepared and unsure of how to handle the situation in which he’s at the helm. Understandable. Maybe that sequence was intended to underline this. And, while I’m proposing excuses, maybe the whole rush-to-marriage-proposal thing was meant to illustrate how fed up he is with being in charge. Maybe his sudden desperation to escape quarantine was, whatever his ultimate motive for so doing, more or less symbolic of his need to escape the turn his life has suddenly taken.

But at this juncture you may be asking yourself, unless you were good enough to watch the episode before reading this review, “Who is Jane?”. She’s a new character brought abruptly onto the scene to help keep Yuri company, and to perhaps elicit from him some intelligible responses to the inevitable onslaught of questioning to which he’ll be subjected when he’s recovered more. In a nutshell, she’s a nurse who’s experienced working with sick kids, and she happens to have a passable grasp of the Russian language. (Though this was never fully illustrated.)

She is, quite simply, the most stunning element of the show thus far, and if the preview of episode four is to believed, she will (thankfully) play a much larger role in plot to come. She is well and believably acted, but more importantly, she’s identifiable and you cannot help but relate to her on any of a number of levels. And for my money the best scene in the entire series thus far is her attempt at storytelling, guiding the clearly frightened and suffering Yuri through a little good old-fashioned escapism. It wasn’t not the first time someone reached out to him with a personal touch – more on that in a bit – but it’s the most touching outreach. Combining a simple fairy tale with something I can only describe as interpretive dance (and this is the only time you’ll ever hear me mention interpretive dance in a positive light), she came across as graceful, almost ethereal, and you couldn’t help but fall in love. And, for what it’s worth, it was one of the least choreographed-looking dance sequences I can recall seeing in TV or film. The end result was a totally organic scene.

Since we’re on the topic of reaching out to Yuri, let’s discuss the brief but important conversation Dr. Walzer had with the young lad. Walzer veered sharply from his Vizzini-esque path in this episode, becoming someone it’s possible to truly like. During his little chat with Yuri we saw a side of him that’s not yet been highlighted. We were given a chance to better understand what motivates him. And the show is better for having one of its central characters clearly explained.

But that’s not the only case of “meet and greet” with already-established players. Remember the guy with the emo haircut? Turns out he’s not so much emo, but actually just a nerd, and a fun nerd, at that. (He never stood a chance at being hip; he was named after Adlai Stevenson.) Why it took three episodes to learn more about him I can only speculate – however, getting to know him brings about another layer of polish and greater chance of immersion to the series. Perhaps it’s coincidental that it was Jane who brought him out of his shell. Then again, maybe not.

One last instance of character development, as well as a shining example of acting vastly improved from the previous episode, came in the form of the Canadian liaison, whose acting was stiff and actually distracting in episode two. In this episode, however, we were shown more of his character – a character who continues to assert his importance to Tom verbally, but more or less rolls over when told. And finally, this was brought to life with better-delivered dialog and body language. Hell, he even made a witty remark. A vast improvement.

“Vast improvement” is actually the key phrase when it comes to the entirety of episode three. And considering Pioneer One was a solid show to begin with, that’s a feat. As I pointed out in my review of the first two episodes Pioneer One began with much room for growth. It has made good on its promise and grown. I am greatly looking forward to episode four and hope you’ll join me both in watching it when it’s released, and in reading my future reviews of the series.

Maybe it’s the lighting?

Whatever we geeks were expecting from the costume for NBC’s new Wonder Woman — from TV producer extraordinaire David E. Kelley — it wasn’t a hooker in a cheap, store-bought Halloween outfit. This is supposed to be a “more realistic” take on the DC Comics character?

There’s nothing real about this costume. Take a good, long look. There’s just so much wrong.

Let’s start with the overall look. I don’t mind so much that they updated the costume to reflect Wonder Woman’s recent comic book overhaul, putting her in pants instead of star spangled panties. Less can be more. But why does every single piece of this look like shiny plastic?

Actress Adrienne Palicki clearly has a slim body, so why did they feel the need to stuff her into a costume that’s so tight no human being could ever wear it comfortably? She’s going to be spending a lot of time in this costume. The top part is cinched around the waist to the point that she’ll will never be able to breathe. And why is there a push-up bustier? She’s practically got muffintops going on up there, so you know both of ‘em are going to fall right out of that thing.

The lasso looks like something my mom would pick up at a craft store to make a Christmas garland out of.

The hooker lipstick just ties the whole ensemble together.

The historic, real-life tale of Spartacus is not new to Hollywood. But neither history nor Hollywood have ever seen anything quite like Starz’ Spartacus: Blood & Sand. It is something wholly new, using bits of other well-known formulas in creative and clever new ways that adds up to something far greater than the sum of its parts. At times stubbornly beholden to history, and at others wildly veering from it, Spartacus nonetheless introduces us to the familiar slave who eventually rose to lead an incredible rebellion against the Roman Empire.

So what’s up with this holiday?  If you have been watching the series How I Met Your Mother, then you will be familiar with the character Barney Stinson, who “loves wearing suits more than he loves seducing women.”  That should tell you something, shouldn’t it?

Now if you’re not a How I Met Your Mother fan – like yours truly (I haven’t had the chance to see it) – then you might just want to skip wearing a suit today.  Otherwise, check out this video – Barney Stinson – Nothing Suits Me Like A Suit.

Barney Stinson – Nothing Suits Me Like A Suit from Bono van den Hork on Vimeo.

I have to admit, that was quirky enough to make me want to start watching the show. It’s not enough to convince me to do any of the things that one is supposed to do on this day though:

If anything, this “holiday” is one heck of an advertising idea. Didn’t get enough warning to prepare your suit for today? You have another year to prepare for it – and a slew of other awesome holidays to come, for sure.

Of course, having the show back on also means that we have to wait for the next episodes to be aired (and some of them shot) – bad news for people with low EQ like me. Still, the good news is that there are tons of other stuff that we can get our hands on while waiting for next week.

Here’s one for the forensic geek, or maybe, special effects geek is more appropriate in this case. This video is entitled “Dexter: The blood, the bodies, and the killing tools.” Can you get any better than that?

Of course, the video shows us just how unreal the stuff we see on TV is. At the same time, you cannot help but appreciate the work that goes into making what we see on TV seem as real as real can be! I have opted not to see the recent season premier and wait for the next ones to be aired first, but this video and others like it can whet my appetite for now.

Photo credit: comicmix

For sure, if you’re one of those who did grow up with a particular attachment to these characters , you have probably experienced nostalgia every now and then. In the course of my browsing the Web today, I came across an obscure but quite interesting video with Mr. Jim Henson himself. Indeed, the fact that it is obscure might even be the very reason the video has become so popular in the past couple of days.

This video was originally aired in 1969 and was part of Volume See (Iowa Public Television). Do not expect something like The Muppets Show, though. This video is so enthralling simply because it takes you back to your childhood days when you would spend hours creating your own puppets.

Jim Henson shares his “secrets” in this clip, and he uses all sorts of materials from wooden spoons to styrofoam cups to potatoes to make puppets. It makes me wonder…How would children of today react if they were to watch this short clip? Anyhow, enough of my rambling – here’s the video, courtesy of Topless Robot.

This does not come as a surprise as The Woz is not exactly new to the TV scene. Who can forget his stint on Dancing with the Stars? While he received some of the harshest criticism as he tried to keep up with the rest of the contestants, his supporters did not leave his side. (Does “It was like a Teletubby going mad in a gay pride parade” ring a bell?)

The Woz also used to date Kathy Griffin, and he appeared on her show every now and then. I dare say his appearance on The Big Bang Theory will draw a large audience – maybe even surpass the highest ratings that the TV series has had. His announcement already made a new “convert”:

Thierry Méchain – Just as my wife and I watched DWtS only up until your last performance, we’ll have to watch Big Bang theory. We didn’t know this show.

Another commenter said:

Rico Vaccaro – Hope you get more scenes with Penny rather than Sheldon ;)

I’d have to disagree with that, though. Encounters between Sheldon and The Woz will certainly be interesting. I can already imagine Sheldon saying something about Apple Geniuses, among other things!

Needless to say, I cannot wait for the next season.

The rumors were true.

Hulu has finally released an app for the iPad — but there’s a catch. Well, two catches, actually.

First, you have to have an invite to access the thing. You can download and “tour” the app without an invite, but you can’t watch anything, so what’s the point, right? Second, this ain’t your daddy’s Hulu. This is Hulu Plus (aka “Hulu+”), a new version that you pay to access.

Yes, you read that right: everybody’s favorite free Internet video player is becoming a service you have to pay to access — at least, to access its best features. Such as using it on the iPad. Or, on PlayStation 3 “soon,” on Xbox Live “in 2011,” Internet-connected televisions from Samsung, Vizio, and Sony, and connected Blu-ray players. Right now, the app works on PC, Mac, iPad, and iPhone.

For Hulu Plus, you’ll pay $9.99 a month. At first blush, that might seem steep, but consider this. You’re probably already paying anywhere from $20-$50+ for cable or satellite TV (a price that doesn’t even include premium subscription channels like HBO and Showtime). With almost 50 popular modern TV shows already available to watch on Hulu — including The Simpsons, Law & Order SVU, Glee, Lost, Psych, The Office, Friday Night Lights, Bones, and loads more — not to mention the vast archives of shows from yesteryear like The X-Files, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Arrested Development, and Quantum Leap… Hulu is trying its darnedest to position Hulu Plus as a cable replacement. There are movies available, too, though nothing terribly current.

On the plus side, your single $9.99/mo. account can be accessed across multiple devices. On the downside, even with paying your monthly fee, you still have to sit through Hulu’s “limited commercials.”

What do you think? Are you ready to cancel your cable or DirecTV in favor of on-demand video from the Internet?

The Hulu Plus service begins in earnest sometime in July.

We already know that a number of consumer electronics companies and broadcasters are pushing full steam ahead with plans to launch hardware and programming in 3D, and now Sony and CBS have partnered to open up a 3D Consumer Research Centre.

Located in the CBS Television City research facility at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, it’s designed to be “a dedicated resource devoted to studying 3D in all its forms”. That’s according to Sony Electronics’ executive VP and CMO, Mike Fasulo.

Created in two zones, one section will focus on 3D theatrical entertainment while the other concentrates on 3D home entertainment.

Visitors will be able to see the latest 3D cinema releases coming up, as well as explore the latest hardware such as HDTVs, PS3 and 3D Blu-ray and learning about new launches such as ESPN 3D.

Obviously, you’d expect the facility to be highly Sony focused, though there’s also support from RealD, a company providing advanced 3D filters and eyewear.

“Let the deliberations begin.”

In The Legend of Koizumi (Mudazumo Naki Kaikaku), key economic, political and military decisions are settled in the mahjong table. This is no typical anime, because it actually portrays real world political figures fighting for world peace. The satirical anime stars Junichiro Koizumi, the 89th prime minister of Japan who is portrayed as the defender of world peace with the talent of mahjong handed down to him from his father.

Typical of Japanese satire in manga as well as in the series, there is a definite exaggeration of the social and cultural backgrounds of the cast. In the first part of the series, George W Bush collapses on his Segway, former Prime Minister Taro Aso disrupts an assassination attempt on Koizumi’s life with his own sniper rifle in reference to him being part of Japan’s shooting team in the 1976 Summer Olympics. Koizumi himself is seen piloting a Hornet to disrupt a nuclear bomb, in reference to his real world title as “Maverick.”

The Legend of Koizumi hails from the manga of the same title that came out in 2008 and will come in full bloom this February 2010 on video.

Sony, Discovery and IMAX have agreed to work on a channel that will show a range of programming that will make the most of the three-dimensional experience, including natural history, space exploration, adventure, engineering, science, technology, movies and kids programmes.

Most people are aware of the global impact IMAX has had, as well as the sort of output Discovery is capable of, and naturally Sony is keen to boast its 3D credentials.

Sony isn’t the only company to be working on 3D technology, but it is already forging ahead with plans to film the 2010 World Cup in 3D and to launch a range of 3D products this year.

Other countries are also looking into starting 3D TV broadcasts, including Sky in the UK. And although some manufacturers are working on TVs that will display 3D as-is, there’s probably no getting away from having to wear those silly coloured glasses for a few more years yet.

I don’t know what TV ads are doing Stateside (or elsewhere) at present, but in the UK there’s a resurgence of ads from the 1970s and ’80s. I think it’s probably because the kids who grew up with these adverts are now in nostalgic mode and have kids of their own.

Narrated by the late, great British comedian Tommy Cooper, it shows off the versatility of LEGO (assuming you have a lot of it) in a humorous way, with various LEGO creatures and objects pitting themselves against each other.

This is from the days when you really built your own stuff from LEGO, and the kits even had suggestions for making up your own models, rather than blindly following a formula.

The days before LEGOland when you went to conference centres hosting what felt like almost impromptu exhibitions, with people showing off humungous models, some animated, and you could play amongst huge piles of the multicoloured plastic bricks.

Great stuff.

Each arc is another five light years from Earth, so while most ETs have watched the first baseball game, and Alderbaran is about to witness World War II, it’s going to be a long time before Friends, Babylon 5, The Sopranos and Spongebob Squarepants make it out there.

But in a few months we’ll be getting what we want. a Galactica spin-off is already being filmed as we speak. Caprica is a new sci-fi series that is set within the Galactica universe. The new series is set 50 years before the events we see in Galactica. We will finally see how the Cylons came about and all of the events that led to the invasion.

The pilot of Caprica is already out on DVD to give fans a taste of what to expect in the series. I’ve seen it and it looks very promising. The creators may have created a new genre — science fiction soap opera — in creating Caprica. It is deep, full of intrigue, there’s even family dysfunction to propel the whole plot. Hopefully, Caprica will be handled as well as Galactica and we’ll get to watch this series for a long time — possibly longer than Galactica’s four seasons.

Your husband (or wife, for that matter) wants to spend the night watching footie. Or perhaps American football. Or some other show that you absolutely dislike. On the other end of the spectrum, you want to watch your favourite show on the telly. An argument ensues. And goes on for a bit. And a bit more. Who wins in the end? Beats me.

But if you are on the losing end of that argument, I think I have a pretty good idea of how frustrated you can be. So here’s my gift for you: the TV Off Remote Jammer!

This little baby can give you power – absolute power! – over any TV set that you meet. To exercise that power, you just need to point the Jammer at the set. You can then do whatever you wish to do: turn it off, change the channel, or mute the sound! Even if your spouse eventually finds out what you are doing (if you are smart, he or she never will), I am willing to bet that the satisfaction that you will feel is not easily rivaled by any other feeling.

Even better, if you like doing practical jokes, head on over to the nearest sports bar and start playing with all the TV sets they have. I can now just imagine the ruckus that will ensue, especially if you do this in the middle of an exciting game of footie or rugby. (Okay, I admit, that is a suicidal thought.)

Anyhow, if you want one – and I am pretty sure you do – get it at Crazy About Gadgets for 9.99GBP.

Over the past seven weeks I have been obsessively watching the new hit sitcom from CBS. No, it’s not about some pre-pubescent sexy girls, married couples or dysfunctional families — it’s actually about a bunch of nerds. The show is The Big Bang Theory.

The Big Bang Theory is one of the most refreshing sitcoms to air on a mainstream network in years. There is a big gamble on the part of the network to come out with a sitcom that does not pander to the lowest common denominator, but instead goes for the intellectual in all of us. Where else can you find a sitcom that finds something hilarious about Isaac Asimov’s Foundation series, the Turing Test, the time travel paradox and Stephen Hawking? Some jokes may actually fly off the heads of people who barely read but that’s also what makes the show so effective. The jokes do a great job of sorting out the true geeks in the audience. You are left with the feeling only the geekiest, nerdiest will be able to sit through The Big Bang Theory and that’s just how the geeks like it.

There are a few shows debuting this season that seem to be targeted to the geek crowd.  One such program is the CBS comedy The Big Bang Theory.  I took a look at the pilot episode (which is available as a free download on iTunes now), and reviewed it over on our sister site TV Jab.

Here’s an excerpt:

Many comedies aim for the lowest common denominator, so many viewers with half a brain find themselves scratching their heads and wondering, “How is this funny?”  So I have to give kudos to Theory…it goes in the opposite direction. 

The problem is, it goes too far.

Click here for the review.

So..what do you think? Have you seen enough to think anything yet? I’m holding off my opinion until I see something in motion…

The new Family Guy episode to air on May 1st has been leaked a little early and is available for download on several of the typical places on the internets. The link below is to a 32mb Real Video file of the show. And wow, it is great to have the show back. Funnier than ever, with plenty of digs at Fox for canceling the show the first time.

ForeverGeek isn’t responsible if you get busted for downloading it. We aren’t hosting it, and I don’t even think it’s illegal, but you know…

Update: here is a Torrent file for a 270mb version of the show.

Via