It has become apparent that I no longer have the time or energy to post detailed reviews of my favorite scifi and fantasy tv shows such as Heroes, Terminator: The Sarah Conner Chronicles, and Lost. I have taken up a new project with my brother that addresses another interest of mine, a Buffalo Sabres podcast, which is very fun, but time consuming. You can check that out at www.sabrecast.com if you are interested.

Nonetheless, I’m still interested in posting on this blog. As a result, I’ve decided to adopt a looser format. I’ll still post about my favorite tv shows, but not formal reviews. The subject matter will stay the same, but instead of a structured review system, the posts will be more of the random thoughts of Mike Spencer. That will take a lot of pressure off me, but also improve the quality of the blog, because I will be more likely to post on a regular basis.

Fan Boys is Back!

That being said, the Sci-Fi Channel posted on their web site today that Fan Boys, Kyle Newman’s comedy following a group of Star Wars fanatics, will actually receive a theater release after much turmoil and postponements. Check the new trailer below.

If you watched closely, then you may have noticed Kristen Bell (Heroes‘ Elle). Why they chose to hide the hottie, I don’t know. What I do know is that Kristen Bell supposedly sports Princess Leia’s metal bikini at some point in the movie. So if you were on the fence, I think your decision has just been made.

Well, this is where I usually talk about the last episode of Heroes, but what can I say about “I Am Become Death?” This episode is hard to explain. I thought it was entertaining and I liked it, but I’m not really sure what the hell actually happened. The strange this is…I’m not sure that I mind.

The majority of the episode took place four years in the future, where future Peter takes present Peter. In this future, the secret formula to special powers has gotten out and powers are now mainstream. As a result, crime and violence run rampant across the world. It seems that ultimately this abuse of power will lead to the destruction of the Earth. Future Peter tells present Peter that he must stop the two halves of the formula from coming together. In order to do that, he must gain Sylar’s power.

In this future we see Claire, the Haitian, Daphne, and one of those dudes from Level 5 all working together to take out Peter. Apparently he becomes some kind of terrorist in the future. Almost immediately Claire kills future Peter, but present Peter gets away.

Peter tracks down Sylar and things really get wacky. Peter finds Sylar in an apron making waffles for a toddler, apparently his son. Sylar now goes by Gabriel and has turned from his violent past. Sylar ultimately allows Peter to take his power, but Claire and crew crash the party. In the fray, Sylar’s son is killed and he goes nuclear, killing hundreds of thousands in Costa Verde.

Claire survives and captures Peter, wishing to see him pay for the deaths that she believes he caused. President Nathan Petrelli bails him out though and Peter skips back to the present, landing right in Sylar’s cell.

Apparently, this was all also seen in a vision by Matt Parkman. Also in present day, Tracey finds out that she is one of three girls infused with special abilities and makes out with Nathan; Hiro and Ando fight like a married couple and agree to Angela’s challenge to stop the formula coming together; and mohinder works furiously to find a cure for “Maya’s ability” or, more likely, his self inflicted curse.

Overall, the episode was pretty entertaining and I genuinely enjoyed it, but I can’t help but wonder, where is this show going? Season three so far seems to be all about turning things upside down. In some ways I like it, but in other ways I don’t. I don’t like future Peter. Future Claire makes me sad to see her so heartless. Future Sylar…I don’t know what to think. I also don’t like what they have done with Mohinder this season.

I do like Angela “Super Bitch” Petrelli. I also like Daphne; she’s fun and an appropriate nemisis for Hiro. And seeing Sylar and Mr. Bennet teamed up was amazing. I think this season, if nothing else, has done a good job to keep viewers guessing. There really is no way to know what will happen next and I really like that.

When I first saw Star Wars at age 11, I was completely captured by its magic. I began watching the movies obsessively, collecting action figures and other memorabilia, and reading the novels. I became very excited about Star Wars and drew a lot of inspiration from it. As I got older and the prequels came out, I still had a lot of enthusiasm for Star Wars, but it started to ebb. Shortly after Revenge of the Sith came out, my interest really dropped off.

When I heard that the Clone Wars television series was going to debut on the big screen, I was intrigued, but not terribly excited. Nonetheless, I did my duty as a loyal fan and made my way to the cinema last night to see the movie. Overall, I’m glad I went to see it, but to be brutally honest, it was terrible. The movie combined all of the cheesey lines of the prequels with stiff animation, a lame plot, and less-than-stellar voice acting.

It’s terrible to say, but I wish George Lucas would just relinquish his grip on the Star Wars universe. It’s like he just doesn’t care what people think of his projects anymore, like he’s only out to please himself, and the results have not been good. The dialogue, as expected, was terrible, especially between Anakin and Ahsoka, the animation was passable, and the plot was just stupid. And what was the deal with Ziro the Hutt? That was just unsettling.

Now, despite the fact that the movie was pretty awful, there were a few bright spots. First of all, there were some very cool lightsaber duels and battle scenes. Second, many of the children in the audience seemed to enjoy it pretty well, so this might be a good movie to take your kids to.

Overall, I’ve got a bad feeling about the television series. My expectations are pretty low at this point, but I still plan to give it a chance.