Nestor, the Forgotten Christmas Special

Every Christmas season, TV viewers see the usual characters that generations have grown up with. We see Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer in four specials, the Grinch stealing Christmas until he finds out it's a little bit more than gifts, Linus telling Charlie Brown what Christmas is all about, how Santa Claus first came to town, and Frosty the Snowman trying to keep his hat while parents are asking "who's Jimmy Durante?"

ABC Family airs many of these kids specials, mostly from Rankin-Bass, an animation company that was best known for Christmas stories starting with Rudolph in 1964. It's even airing The Little Drummer Boy, a very underrated special, and Pinocchio's Christmas.

However, there is one that no one is showing this year. In fact, it's been years since anyone has shown the story of Nestor, the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey on TV

Nestor who?

In 1977, ABC made a special that might be quite familiar to those who are aware of Rudolph and the problems he had with his shiny red nose before a foggy Christmas Eve helped him go down in history.
That's because Nestor, like Rudolph, is based on a song written by Gene Autry. Thanks to YouTube, here's the song performed by Marty Robbins, with scenes from the special.



Both songs are about animals with an unusual body part. While Rudolph had his nose, Nestor had really long ears. The donkey, however, did have his mom by his side.

One winter day, Roman soliders come to buy donkeys from Olaf. However, they reject Nestor, and take the donkeys without paying Olaf. Nestor gets tossed out of the stable and into the snow by Olaf, but mom escapes. Both are caught in a blizzard, but she tells Nestor that no matter what, he must be brave.

She's forced to protect Nestor from the snow, but sacrifices her life. This is kind of dark for a Christmas special, except this also happened in The Little Drummer Boy nine years before. If you remember, Aaron hated all people because bandits killed his parents, but playing for the Baby Jesus changed his life.

Anyway, Nestor meets up with Tilly, a goofy angel voiced by Brenda Vaccaro. She guides Nestor to Bethlehem, where his ears will actually help someone. It turns out he's the one to helps Mary and Joseph to get to Bethlehem. There's even an epilogue where Nestor actually goes back to Olaf, and he's glad to see him back. No reason why, actually. Apparently this is the equivalent to Rudolph's red nose being celebrated at the end.

While Rudolph had Sam the Snowman (Burl Ives) as the storyteller, Nestor had Spieltote (Roger Miller), who apparently is a direct descendant of Nestor. The special also has connections to other Rankin-Bass productions. One of the camels looks like Joshua from The Little Drummer Boy, while in the final shot we see Rudolph from Rudolph's Shiny New Year along with Mrs. Claus and Jungle and Jangle from The Year Without A Santa Claus. 

While ABC Family may not air Nestor this year, people can see it at YouTube. It's also available as a VOD at Rifftrax's website. Mike Nelson riffs this one solo, and comments on how corny the song is and how Nestor gets treated. However, he sounds a bit upset when he sees how Nestor's mom is killed.

Anyway, with the fact that we have zillions of channels, someone should air Nestor regularly, along with some of the lesser-known Rankin-Bass holiday specials. For example, there's no sign of The Stingiest Man in Town with Walter Matthau or First Christmas: Story of the First Christmas Snow with Angela Lansbury on TV this year. I had said 'Twas the Night Before Christmas wasn't being aired, but ABC Family will have that Christmas Eve morning after all. Good thing, too, because it has an interesting story, along with Joel Grey and George Gobel.
Also, they shouldn't be aired at the crack of dawn (The Little Drummer Boy at 7 AM?) just to say they did. It should be done in the afternoon, when even Mom can be nostalgic over these specials.

Then again, there's also YouTube and DVDs as two handy sources.

Wondercon Preview: TV and Spider-Man, at least

Wondercon is two weeks away, and it's taking place in Anaheim this year while San Francisco's Moscone Center is getting renovated.
It's an interesting choice since Anaheim's Convention Center has often been seen as the future home of Comic-Con because of the facility's size. This may be he city's chance to maybe get the big convention someday, even though San Diego officials are finally starting preparations to expand their convention center. It's safe to say fans will at least have some breathing room as they move from one panel to another, but more Southern California fans will be packing the place.

I'll be there for Whedonopolis, hoping that maybe the Man Himself (Joss, who else) will give us a preview of The Avengers, and the long-awaited sneak peak of The Cabin In The Woods after it gets its premiere at the South by Southwest event.
As for March first, though, no word yet. It looks like the big attraction will be Amazing Spider-Man, with a guaranteed Emma Stone sighting (le sigh). As far as TV is concerned, the list of shows will be more optimistic than last year. Remember when the cast of V was optimistic about a third season that never came? Not this year...while one show may be facing the end, others will be announcing big news about a future which will definitely come.

Friday's schedule has 21 Jump Street, which premieres that day. It's still a chance to see Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum. There's also a premiere of a new DC animated feature, Superman Vs. The Elite.

Saturday is Movie Day. Fox will have a panel, and it may include Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter and Prometheus. There'a another one on Snow White and the Huntsmen and Battleship. Sony's panel will talk Spider-Man, but also the latest Resident Evil movie.
Notice anything missing? Yup, no panel on The Hunger Games, which premieres a week later, or The Avengers, which kicks off the summer season. Hopefully, that will change. At least do what happened last year, when people got their own SHIELD badges.
Whedonopolis will be looking at a panel that promotes Felicia Day's new YouTube channel Geek and Sundry. She's going beyond the Guild now, although we hope there's some info about whether we'll have one more season.

TV will dominate Sunday. The main ballroom will have panels on Alcatraz, Fringe, Once Upon a Time, and Community. The last one may get the most interest, because it'll be held just a few days after its return to NBC. The weekend will close with Dr. Horrible, but Jane Espenson, who is now with Once Upon a Time but is one of the major writers of the Whedonverse, has a panel at the same time. I'll probably go to that. I have Dr. H in my iPod on DVD.

It'll be the first time I've stayed in Anaheim. I was at a Wizard World event. While the center is really big, the area lacks several things that downtown San Diego has: public transit, nice local restaurants, more theaters, and at least one CVS within walking distance. While there is a Downtown Disney, complete with multiplex that doesn't meet up to the Metreon, it's not the same as a real downtown. Petco Park si also within walking distance, and it's becoming more of a part of Comic-Con these days. SO, I'll be glad when Wondercon heads back north next year. It's a NorCal thing while Comic-Con can stay a San Diego thing.

Now, the schedule will likely change, and I hope Joss will head down to Disneyland to give us big surprises. It's been years since he's been at Wondercon, and this year he doesn't have to drive very far. Just sayin'.

San Francisco's Cuckoo for Coco...again!

When I was at Anaheim Wizard World, I called this picture, "What do Serenity and Conan have in Common?"



First Fox threw Firefly away, then Universal decided not to give us a Serenity sequel....yet. Maybe adapting the Dark Horse comics could help?

You may say Conan O'Brien is in the same boat, but in reverse. NBC tossed him aside in favor of Jay Leno and his old yet reliable viewers, then Fox decided not to choose him because the affiliates believe endless sitcom reruns at 11 PM are the highest form of TV.

Oh yeah? You think Charlie Sheen or Jay Leno can do THIS??



Conan wowed his fans at the Masonic Auditorium last night with songs, stories, illegal-ish appearances by some of his favorite characters, and overall unleashed fun.
My seat was a little farther away from the 10th row chair I had when he had his Late Night show at the Orpheum in 2007. Still, a balcony seat is not too bad.



Now, there's a ton of YouTube clips of Conan in action, and it's possible you could save 70 bucks by getting the experience that way.
Forget it. You have to see this live for at least one absolute reason:
there is not a chance in HELL Jay Leno could ever do what Conan is doing, and selling out as quickly as he has. NEVER! NEVER!!!!
David Letterman and Stephen Colbert....maybe, but in nightclubs somewhere.

If you have fished for Conan clips on YouTube, you know the line-up: Conan as a complete mess, then getting into fighting weight for the tour, the "Polk Salad" song,



Triumph, the Masturbating Bear and his new "disguise",



the Chuck Norris lever, and the band rocking out to kick things off. There's also the inflatable bat he bought from Meat Loaf. It's almost guaranteed that's going to be outside Conan's new home studio in November.



However, there's nothing better than local touches to each stop. While Seattle enjoyed Eddie Vedder and Vancouver had Seth Rogan, the 4/22 show had Chris Isaak (quite the oddball himself) and Conan doing Elvis quite well.



Andy Richter even explained what he learned during his hiatus, while riding a Muppet horse, and also gave the most unusual live commercials you ever heard. Let's say they involve a Fisherman's Wharf tradition and something you'd never expect to see on Geary Street.

I wonder what Conan will have planned for Sacramento on May 6th. Mocking Governor Schwartzengger's Jingle All the Way seems likely....along with him showing up. I certainly hope they get a good musical guest, too.

My next wish...hoping to combine a CreationCon Whedon Weekend with getting tickets to Conan's second show for TBS. Hey, hoping to see the first show live would be nuts!

TV Life After Vancouver

Well, it's been four days since the snow-ish carnival that was the Winter Olympics. It may have had a less-than-perfect start but had a perfect ending with the US-Canada hockey final, and that way out closing ceremony. I still say Bill Murray would have been a better choice for the musical number with those inflatable Mounties and such. Can Nick Poutine really outdo Michael Buble? Hell yes!

So, what now? Well, in Canada, there's the NHL, and the Memorial Cup. We Yanks, on the other hand, have lots of options: the Oscars, spring training baseball, and the NCAA Final Four.

As far as TV is concerned, it's basically Lost for me. I suspect the Islandverse and SidewaysVerse will collide a lot sooner than the two Earths battling for survival on Fringe. I just hope JJ Abrams will not go to "it's all a dream" copout, like SPider-Man (the comic book) did. I just have the feeling the destinies of Flight 815 will be "adjusted" in the final battle, whatever it is.
For the first time in years, I am skipping 24, and don't think I am missing anything. Besides, the real point of this season won't happen until maybe mid-April, as it always does.

Personally, my month is going to be dull until three weeks from now, when I head for three big events: the NCAA Women's Basketball Regional Finals at Arco (cheaper ticket, Stanford may be there, and a much better seat), WonderCon (on Easter weekend this year, which better mean more movie previews for Memorial Day) and Wizard World Anaheim (only because I want to see Miss Dushku, and whether Anaheim can possibly handle Comic-Con if it steals it from San Diego the way Indy stole the Colts from Baltimore).

For now, I just wait for March to get warmer, although I have this fear (not in CA, thankfully) we may get an Easter blizzard somewhere in the US. I'd like the self-appointed weather experts explain this.

ETA: just found out that Eliza Dushku won't be going to Anaheim after all. Apparently an unexpected awards ceremony...oh, wait, that's someone else's line...er...well, she has a new film role.
Maybe she'll send someone with confirmation that she will be filming a new movie with Joss at the helm. It would be nice to know a silly rumor turned out to be true...and a good one.
While I am REALLY disappointed by this, since this was the reason I wanted to go to Anaheim, there are still plenty of other Whedon celebs, too, from Jewel Staite (fresh from CreationCon four months ago) to Juliet Landau and Miracle Laurie.
Maybe Sarah Michelle Gellar...nah....but if James Marsters can commit to some Wizard events later this year.....whoa.
It's still several weeks away, though. I can still grade the event on whether Anaheim can handle Comic-Con

Halfway Through Vancouver

Well, we are halfway through the Winter Olympics in Vancouver. It's been a fantastic event for the U-S team, picking up so many medals you'd swear it was the Summer Olympics.
There's also general agreement from TV viewers that while they're watching the games in record numbers (ha-ha Simon Cowell), they wish they were in Canada, where several different channels are showing everything live. Sure, there is the overnight review, but it's bigger.
NBC is clearly a couple of years behind in how to present the games, especially when it can be shown live. Three times in the past week, NBC underestimated how long an event would take place. One was the opening ceremonies, and that couldn't be helped. Another was the men's figure skating final. Again, that couldn't be helped because some genius thought it was a good idea to end that event, plus the medal ceremony, after midnight eastern time. That's why we should give the gold medal to Comcast On Demand because it was smart enough to have those events available for those who retire early. It would be even better if it publicized that fact. After all, it's thisclose to owning NBC anyway. Why not go that far?

I'm trying to make the new catch phrase I registered, "Vonncusover", popular. That, of course, is combining Vancouver, Lindsey Vonn and Julie Mancuso into one word. The fact the two girls have four medals between them, with three events to go, should make this weird word popular somehow. Maybe it doesn't flow as much as "Vonncouver", but you have to remember Mancuso, too, since she's setting a record for most Alpine medals for any American. If she take another gold Wednesday, I just might make enough to cover the costs of registering "Vonncusover" for sale...including the t-shirt I made for myself.

An unlikely star in these games is fake conservative knucklehead, and genuine Olympic benefactor, Stephen Colbert. It is a crying shame the CBC doesn't have these games. Otherwise, seeing Rick Mercer (Canada's answer to Jon Stewart and Bill Maher combined) and Colbert squaring off would have been bigger than any U-S-Canada hockey clash. Colbert has been a hit during the late-night show, especially when he "warmed himself up" by crawling into the fake fireplace with Bob Costas watching. Oh, and his stuffed moose and Mountie uniform have been getting noticed, too. That's what happens when you do something stupid like ask your fans to help fund the Speed Skating team after one of its big sponsors goes bankrupt--and they do! Not even Fox News can claim that.

The second half should have its moments, like the ladies' figure skating final, and the finals in curling and hockey, plus more skiing. It's already a great games for the Americans. It's just a matter of how much greater they can be.
Sadly, we West Coast fans will just have to wait our turn to see them, because Dick Ebersol says we prefer to see the Olympics tape-delayed...while forgetting there are such things as Twitter and TiVos...and Comcast On Demand.

I think when the Summer games start in London in 2012, there will be an option to see the events live, the major ones anyway, and people will be happy to pay for it. It can be the first reason people will pay for a special Hulu subscription and be glad about it. After all, it works for pro teams.

One more thing: the Olympics should be uncernsored. If there aren't any obscene words being said add some. Works for Mad Men...and Shaun White.
Also, whose idea was it to use that seems to be an Olympic Titantron to introduce the participants in the half-pipe? Did Vince McMahon through some bucks to the IOC?

Why Super Bowl is America's Answer to the FA Cup

As it got closer to Super Bowl XLIV, my plan was to watch the game at home, eat pizza, and drink Red Stripe beer.
Then I realized I had a replica Archie Manning jersey, a "Go Saints" placard and a CBS Super Bowl hat.
You just can't let that go to waste..so I didn't.
I went to the MVP sports bar at 17th and Capitol, and had a great time. I was allowed to drink three glasses of lemonade at the bar, and enjoyed a nice view of the game. I also discovered its bathrooms have TV's just above the sinks. That way, you don't miss a thing. I don't think any other sports bar has that, but it convinced me to come back soon.
It was really noisy, and I didn't get an idea of how the Who did. The stage looked cool, though. As I am typing this, I am hearing the band through YouTube (before they take it down, of course). They do sound old, and I am sure anyone younger than 50 must have thought the show was really a 12-minute ad for CSI. It also makes you wonder who has aged more gracefully, the Who or the Rolling Stones. Now, halfway through "Baba O'Riley," Roger Daltry is recovering well.

I had suggested through Twitter than getting someone who is, say, not quite 40, should be the halftime guest. I remember a classic performance of "Message in a Bottle" with Sting and No Doubt in Super Bowl XXXVII. Damn the Wardrobe Malfunction that ruined everything, the NFL should trust musicians younger than 40 to perform at halftime. Let's have Pink do her act that she did at the Grammys. She'd still be covered up. Green Day is approaching statesmen status with a Broadway show coming up. My guess is the closest they'll get to having a current star at halftime is Taylor Swift, especially when Super Bowl XLV comes to Dallas. She can lip-synch through the event, as others have before. If her real voice improves in the next year, so much the better. The only other possibility would be the Dixie Chicks, and wouldn't that be interesting? It would also make more sense because they're from Texas.
And as I type this, Daltry is now in the zone with "Won't Be Fooled Again". Pink would have been in the zone, too, and the stage wouldn't be more impressive that she was.

The Super Bowl seems to be the one sporting event where people are compelled to see it at a bar rather than at home, unless you're at a friend's hose with chips, buffalo wings and such. I've seen the game a few times from bars, even if they were usually parties sponsored by radio stations. One of the my favorite memories was Super Bowl XXIII, where I saw the game at a bar in Chico. It was the same day as the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, which means a pro-life protest. I covered that for my radio station in Oroville, killing two birds with one stone.

The Olympics are coming up this week, and I have to wonder if bars will be filled when we see out athletes skiing, bobsledding, or even figure skating. I doubt that's likely, but you can expect those events to be on the TVs anyway. If Canada meets the US in the ice hockey final, then you'll see filled sports bars. Canada has a different approach: getting people to see HD coverage at local theaters for a small fee. We, of course, prefer seeing the Olympics at bar for a small fee, also known as buying a round.

It's likely the next big days for sports bars will be the NCAA Basketball Final Four and the World Cup. The latter event will be a bit different because you can expect pubs, rather than typical sports bars, have watching parties. I remember when the US was in the quarterfinals of Korea 2002. The pub close to my house was filled with people eating beans and eggs at 5 AM, hoping the Yanks will reach the semifinals. Since the event will be in South Africa this year, expect a few long lunches when the Americans play.

Make no mistake: the Super Bowl is our version of the FA Cup, Grey Cup, Copa Libertadores final or UEFA Champions League final. It's something that's no fun if you watch it alone. I know that now.

Joss and the Seven Pilots Rule

During Rutherford D. Actualperson's hard-hitting interview with Joss Whedon (yes, it was Joss "interviewing" himself), Joss talked about how tough it is to develop a show into the vision you want. This applies to Dollhouse, which has a premise that's tough to relate to: a girl who is programmed to be anyone except herself. He got an order for 13 episodes, but notes the pilot episode isn't enough to get people to make a program "must-see".

When I was given seven episodes, I referred to them as the "seven pilots" cause you always have to lay out the premise one way or another in those early eps.

This means Dollhouse will start as seven stand-alone episodes, before we get to story arcs. Joss isn't a "procedural" guy. He prefers making a big picture. While that's a great philisophy, networks don't think so. They prefer procedurals because each story has a beginning, middle and end that ends in one hour. It's the modern version of a bedtime story complete with an ending that's happy enough. It explains why next season will have lots of knockoffs of Without A Trace, The Mentalist or ER.

If Joss says a TV show should start with seven pilots, would that apply to his previous three shows? Let's take a look.

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER

This show had a 13-episode order. The premise is a high school girl fighting vampires, demons and assorted hellspawn with the help of fellow students and unlikely allies. It's basically "high school is Hell". The first seven episodes showed that premise well. "Welcome to the Hellmouth" and "The Harvest" showed Buffy coming to town and battling a few vampires while trying to make friends. Then we had the story of witchcraft and cheerleading (The Witch), a boy being attracted to a teacher who's really a big praying mantis in disguise (Teacher's Pet), problems of dating while fighting demons (Never Kill a Boy On A First Date), joining the wrong crowd of people (The Pack), and first love being very dangerous (Angel). There was still a story arc, with an old vampire trying to escape from his underground lair to cause general mayhem. He succeeded, but only for a couple of minutes.

ANGEL

Starting just after Buffy's fourth season, it looked at the next step: a young adult striking out into the world. It only looked like a vampire with a soul looking for redemption in Los Angeles. It also looked at Cordelia, who left Sunnydale to become an actress. Just like Buffy, it's also about good and evil, with evil being Satan's lawyers, Wolfram and Hart. This show didn't really have an overall arc because it was supposed to be an anthology. We start with "City of...", with Angel getting his mission from Doyle and meeting Cordelia. "Lonely Hearts" looked at murder and the singles scene, while "In the Dark" was a continuation of a Buffy story with Spike and the Gem of Amara. "Fall to Pieces" was about stalking, while "Room with a View" was about Cordelia moving into a haunted apartment. "Sense and Sensitivity" was about being PC in police work, and "Bachelor Party" was about Doyle and his ex-wife. Again, there was no overall arc. It's just about Angel trying to battle evil and hopefully be redeemed. Longer arcs involving Lindsey, a resurrected Darla and Pylea would come later. Angel was seen as the companion piece to Buffy for two years until it went on its own when she went to UPN.

FIREFLY

This space western features another example of a man striking out on his own, with a loyal crew behind him. They have a simple mission: do a job, get paid, keep flying. Throw in some intrigue, double-dealing and occasional Chinese phrases, and you have a good show that suffered a fate that was one of Fox's most embarrassing decisions...and not just the fact that they showed the pilot last instead of first.

When I first saw "The Train Job", I was very interested in Malcolm Reynolds. He looked like an outlaw, being willing to do what he could keep flying. Stealing an Alliance cargo from a train is the type of job he'd do. However, when he realized the cargo included drugs that would have saved lives, his better angels got the best of him. The rest of the first seven episodes touch on the Serenity's mission, to keep flying no matter what.

Just like Buffy, however, there were two story arcs. First, there's the Alliance wanting a certain girl named River Tam for some unsettling reason. We later find out it's because they wanted to turn her into a weapon. She had some interesting skills, and the Alliance would do anything to get her. Her brother, Simon, is just as determined to protect her. The other arc involves Shepherd Book, who may look like a man of God, but apparently has an interesting past. An I-D card, for example, got him first aid very quickly in "Safe". He later shows some knowledge of criminal activity when they ship heads towards a trap in "Our Mrs. Reynolds". The hope was that Firefly would have have a long life, like Buffy and Angel. Sadly, that wouldn't be the case.

So what could happen to Dollhouse? Will it last five years or so, like Buffy or Angel, or would it be one of those Brilliant but Cancelled shows, like Firefly. Joss says the first seven pilots touch on the premise, but they will also determine whether the show will last. The days of giving a show time to develop and attract an audience, even a year or so, are long gone. Fox has said it will give Dollhouse 13 episodes to prove that there should be more. Let's hope the episodes will be very convincing.

Ode to a closed pie shop

I am paraphrasing the first verse to the Firefly theme song, but this is how I feel...

Wednesday nights won't be so much
Without the baker with the magic touch
Thanks for nothing, ABC
You just took the pie from me

The Pie Hole, I wish I'd be
With a slice of Serenity
But they took the pie from me.

Pushing what? We're ABC, and we don't remember having that show

...and that's how you cancel a show without removing it from the schedule. You just forget about it.
Pushing Daisies had its lowest audience ever after being off the air for two weeks. This is just a wild guess, but maybe it would have done better if ABC bothered to promote the show. They had ads for Dirty Sexy Money, which is also nearly out the door, but nothing about a magic pie maker and his not-dead-anymore girlfriend. Meanwhile, Knight Rider is still out on the road, making fans of the original show sick.

OK, so why is still happening? Maybe we can blame the economy. Last year, when the Dow was at 12 thousand, we were in the mood about a show where this pie making guy named Ned could revive the dead by touching them, then solving their deaths with a cynical P.I., a not-dead-anymore girlfriend, and a pocket-sized waitress. Now, the Dow is at 7500 (which is somehow Barack Obama's fault according to so-called experts on the radio), banks are failing, and auto bigwigs are begging Congress for a bailout while refusing to fly coach. With life suddenly not so bright, people scowl at anything cute and cheery, and that includes that pie maker. After all, Ned, could you save the economy if you hugged the New York Stock Exchange, General Motors and Washington Mutual? Come to think of it, if he did, NASDAQ, Chrysler and Citibank would cease to exist 61 seconds later.

So, maybe it's the economy that cut the audience in half. Maybe it was the writer's strike that ended the first season after nine shows, or ABC playing lots of promos for season two but neglecting to show the first season again. The Mobile Pie Hole tour may have been a good idea, but reminding people how good the first season was would have been more effective. At least Fox did that with Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles by repeating that against the Olympics...considering the gold medal events didn't start until after 10 PM.

It's just a shame a cheery, yet slightly dark, show like Pushing Daisies is being allowed to fade away by just forgetting it exists. This is worse than how Fox screwed up Firefly by rejecting the pilot, and showing it last. At least it's a mistake they will never be allowed to forget, thanks to DVD sales. Short of tossing a 200-foot pie at the ABC complex in Burbank, let's do what we can to show ABC that what it's doing to Pushing Daisies will also be an unforgettable mistake.

TV Time

World Series: Phillies in five games

After I got a little behind in my TV watching, I caught up on both Mad Men and Pushing Daisies. Both are taking very interesting paths as one is just getting started, while another is about to wrap things up.

First, Mad Men: who would have guessed a man fearing for his job would set off a series of events where his company, Sterling Cooper, now merges with another ad agency. That's what Duck did, exploiting Roger Sterling's future alimony and health problems to help himself. Meanwhile, the fall of Joan Holloway continues as we see her get date raped by her fiance, Dr. Greg Harris, and she can't fight back. What she does to endure it is heart-breaking, and yet she claims she'll marry him by Christmas. Peggy, meanwhile, pulls off a great presentation for Popsicle by borrowing a bit of religion, and gets rewarded wit her own office. I wonder if, after the merger, she keeps that position. As we will see, a lot of people at Sterling Cooper will be worried about their jobs...except for Duck.

What about Don? He has apparently tuned of and dropped out even before Timothy Leary. Tempted by a bunch of Bohemians into running away to Palm Springs, he decides to go to San Pedro to look up Anna Draper, the wife of them man whose identity he "stole". They get along now. In fact, he acts happier being Dick than he does being Don. Too bad that means forgetting about his family back home. Betty is doing the best she can, especially when she catches her daughter nearly smoking. It also means forgetting Sterling Cooper, which is nearly no more. It should be interesting where things will stand when we see the finale next week. Will Don come back? Will the staff be cut and/or reshuffled at Sterling Cooper? Will Peggy be damned by Father Tom Hanks Jr. because she won't admit she's a sinner and a single mom? Come to think of it, where is her kid? Will Joan get dumped by "Dr. Rape?" Better yet, will Betty dump Don? That is really going to change things. I mean, consider who she is, and what Don is throwing away in favor for the wife of a comic and a careless heiress.

Second: the Whedonistas are happy that Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles will get a full season, mainly because it's part of the re-launch of the Terminator movie franchise with Christian Bale. On the other hand, they are wondering if Dollhouse will premiere in January as the show before 24. Some are hoping it will happen, and TSCC will be shown on another night. Considering American Idol will practically dominate the week, as it always does, the options are limited...and no one wants to be shown on Fridays.

Finally...Pushing Daisies is as bright and cheery as it always is, but with a bit of the dark side, too. Chuck understands how Ned accidentally killed her dad with his Magic Touch, but he still feels bad about it. The cases have been out there, from fatal bee stings, death in a convent, and dead clowns in a circus. The main issue is Lily's big secret that Chuck is her daughter, not her niece, in an explanation that actually sounds like Soapdish. What's more surprising is that Chuck is told, and she's all right with this. Still, I am sure she's thinking about how she can pretend to be a zombie and have a nice long talk with "Aunt" Lily. Olive, of course, was told first last December, and had a real tough time trying not to reveal it. Lily "helped" her by sending her to a convent, and actually it did. She even got a new friend...named Pigby. I'm guessing both will move in with Chuck, or have.

If issues with family are going to be discussed further, they will involve Ned and Emerson more likely than Chuck. Emerson is hoping his daughter will find him through a "Li'l Gumshoe" pop-up book, while there is some suggestion Ned's dad may be alive. Does this mean dad's other family will run into Ned? There's a lot of abandonment issues that will be coming to the surface faster than daisies.

One more thing...I wrote this in TV Without Pity. I was noticing Apple's new TV ads are basically attack ads against Microsoft...

They've released the latest Apple vs. PC ads Sunday. For the first time, they're essentially negative ads against Windows. In one, PC has a buzzer so that people won't say the word "Vista" and get mad because it reminds them Vista's terrible. The other had PC with a pile of money used to advertise "I'm a PC" and a smaller amount to fix Vista. When Mac asks if the smaller pile is enough to fix Vista, PC decides to use all the money for advertising.

It's come to this: the new Apple ads don't promote their own features, but rather tell you Microsoft, Vista and Bill Gates are bad. It's almost as bad as the presidential campaign. The new Apple ads should end with "I'm Steve Jobs, and I approved this message."

Response from that I said has been mixed. I just think Apple should make ads that show how great they are, such as new notebooks that are less than a thousand dollars. Thirty seconds of "Microsoft sucks" doesn't equal "we're a better computer."

Now a word about Canadian drug ads

One of the few benefits I get from my cable outlet is the tradition free trial for NHL Center Ice, where you can see out-of-market games, including from Canada. This used to include Hockey Night in Canada, but that's now on NHL Network. The bad news is that they take out the canadian ads.

Anyway, I was watching a Maple Leafs game, and thet had an odd ad where people are watching the news. The top story apparently was a married couple missing for four days, and their friends are wondering where they went. The last scene is the said missing couple entering a Best Buy or Future Shop. They see the news, and look a little embarassed. So what commerical is this for? Cialis!

That took me back to another Canadian ad for Viagra, where women are singing the "Good Morning" song from Singing in the Rain. Just click here, and you see what I mean.

Say what you will about the way we Americans advertise Cialis and Viagra on TV. We get a married couple sitting in side-by-side bathtubs, or a terrible jingle that blasphemes a classic Elvis Presley song, but at least we have some idea what these drugs do, plus a long list of medical warnings. Just putting in the name of the drug at the end of a commercial that makes no sense looks a little careless.

But that's just me, and I still don't like the "Viva Viagra" jingle.

Everyone Dies For You

That's the last line from the latest episode of Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles, where Team Connor has to protect Martin Bedell, a student at a military school who's destined to help John fight the Terminators in the future. That line is said by Derek, who tells John that Martin is destined to rescue Future John in a suicide mission. After all, protecting John, especially when he grows up to be Christian Bale, is job one. Job two is getting more viewers away from Chuck.

The show is really picking up the pace as far as the battle against the Machines is concerned. John is coming into his own as a future warrior, especially this past week. He dared to change a T-888 model to save Martin in an "exercise" that was all too real.

Meanwhile, Sarah and Cameron had to protect a kid with the same name as Martin from the T-888, and also help him with a book report he has to finish. Never mind the crazy robot; he's worried about his teacher asking where his book report is. Sarah helped him by showing him The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, a favorite of John's. It's no coincidence that Little Martin reading the climax of the book was juxtaposed with John's battle with the T-888.

The week before, Summer Glau had a chance to shine when Cameron suddenly lost her memory by looking at a mylar balloon. While she tries to remember, we learn something interesting about her....she is based on a human from the future named Alison Young. Not only that, apparently Alison was a friend of Future John, and maybe more. It was quite a trip seeing Alison being questioned by the Terminator that would replace her...in more ways than one. The whole episode looks at identity, and the stories we tell to "define" who we are. When Cameron finds her way into a halfway house, she is asked about her past by a counselor. She recalls a birthday party that would be her last before the Terminators took over. Of course, that's not Cameron's memory. It's from the girl she interrogated in the future, and now assumes later on. That's just one example. We'll get to an evil example later.

It does bring up something: remember the season opener, when John is about to put Cameron down because her chip was broken, and she said "I love you, John, and you love me." Now, if Cameron was able to join John in the future by pretending to be Alison, and he figured it out, what kind of relationship did they have after that? Did he love Cameron because she could be Alison, and does that chance now that she's been sent to the past to help 2008 John? How's that for a psychological paper?

Now, while Team Connor battles the Terminators they do know, they are still unaware of the T-1001, also known as scary businesswoman Catherine Weaver. She's been able to recruit Ellison in her plans, whatever that may be. We know, at least, that she wants to find another Terminator, even if it's a lesser model than herself. She also thinks she has Ellison fooled, especially by her story about how she lost her husband in a helicopter crash. That's part of her human illusion, which will make him do "the Devil's work". She even throws in a "daughter", possibly four years old. Any question about whether she's a real girl, not a T-1001.5, will be resolved in due course. There's been some speculation that the T-1000 Weaver is impersonating the real Catherine Weaver who died in the crash. Considering who Cameron is, and how she came up with her persona, that makes sense.

Anyway, she also tells Ellison to investigate the meltdown at the Serrano nuclear power plant, and he finds a lot of inconsistencies. He also learns the plant manager is asking questions, which could stop plans to have the plant automated with, naturally, done with something that will eventually be SkyNet. Weaver solves this problem by disguising herself as a sleazier version of herself, and killing the manager in a way that's a little less sleazy than how she killed another guy a few weeks earlier. However, Ellison also knows that Sarah was around when the power plant broke down. After all this time, shouldn't these two people meet? Maybe he'll finally admit she was right about evil robots and all that, and come up with a way to take care of Weaver. There is word that day is coming, and about time!

There is some concern about whether season two will last longer than 13 episodes. At the very least, we should get a showdown between Cameron and Weaver. Let's hope that Fox will keep this show going long enough to finish its story, and somehow connect it to the Terminator movies that are coming next year.

Murder He Wrote?

People have known about this for a week or so, but this is the trailer for Nathan Fillion's next TV triumph...we hope, called Castle. He plays a mystery novelist who is the unwelcome assistant to a New York PD detective played by Stana Katic, who had been on Heroes and will be in the next James Bond movie.


Now, this trailer is a condensed version of the pilot in less than three minutes. It shows Nathan as a respected author but also a rascal....maybe way too much David Addison in there, too. He does have friends and a daughter to keep him grounded. Smoe have suggested that this is ABC's knock-off of Bones, except Booth isn't always on the make with Dr. Brennan. Here, you get an idea of what happens if he is. Not a good idea.

If this goes to a full season, they should dump the romantic angle between Fillion and Katic because it's just too annoying. He can still "do research", but with different detectives. He should also show he has some background in criminal investigation, despite that "Lord Godiva" episode that's pointed out. Maybe his dad was a cop or attorney, and he couldn't quite cut it in such a job, and that writing books was the next best thing.

Well, we'll see what happens once ABC gives the greenlight to this show. They filmed a pilot, at least.