the WGA Strike

put

8 drivers

7 wardrobe people,

6 construction workers and production office personnel,

5 set dressers,

4 assistant directors, caterers, grips, electricians, writers assistants, makeup artists, hair stylists and props handlers,

3 casting people, post production personnel, 3 art department employees, sound men, stand-ins and accountants,

2 cameramen, 2 camera assistants, location managers, set PAs, editors, editors assistants and craft service people,

1 script supervisor, unit manager, facilities manager, DGA trainee and medic

and a producer who's not a writer

all out of work.

"What happened? Now we get a flashback that covers the four months between seasons ...Some of this is overblown, some is superb. Best is Elle, the warm and vengeful child-woman, brilliantly played by Kristen Bell."

Anyway, I'm looking forward to Heroes tonight... Prison Break too. Better enjoy all the good TV we can, next year is going to suck!

It was geeky fun in the begining but their attempt to drag it out and jerk the fans off pretty much ruined it.

Plus their diluting it with too many chars so no char gets enough screen time to make any meaningfull growth.

I say scrap it

Have a good Talkback, I don't think I'll be on today, lots to do.

So was Nathan the falling burning ember thing, and then Peter flew in and caught him just in time? That actually looked pretty cool!

And whoever was filming that was obviously waiting for the city to go KABOOM, who was it though?

Reaper, Journeyman, Life and Dexter are all deserving imho.

Btw, Pushing Daisies can go and stick it's own smug head up it's own quirky ass.

http://www.samantha48616e61 .com/

Hana's still alive, and who the hell is Drucker? Apparently it's all part of the Heroes "360" experience. I don't have patience for that shit. Bah, whatever...

for volume 3 here is what I would do if I was Kring, I can do it in 3 words

Hire Paul Dini

he's got TV expirence, he's got comic book expierence, he's got superhero experience, he's got serilized, continuaity TV experience. he can bring drama and humor to things

let me add 3 more words

Lose Jeph Loeb

there we go, Hire Dini, Lose Leob

...almost as bad as the White Screen of Doom.

And revyou, you might want to rethink your "budget too small" argument. If anything, the budget is bigger than other shows that do big special effects / fight set pieces weekly (the Joss Whedon shows, Smallville, Supernatural, BSG). Not positive, but I believe those shows have/had smaller budgets.

mohinder and the wonder twins need to just die

BSG owns Doctor Who

AND WHERE IS THE 'ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILIDELPHIA ' talkback???

(2) Turn Peter bad. Shocker eh? But why not? I'm talking a Willow style story here. Take a good guy with the powers of a God, make them lose something that's dear to them and set them loose to destroy the world. It would be far more interesting than Adam as we already know Peter and you could then force Nathan to have to step up to him (ala Buffy versus Angelus). The stakes would be much greater.

(3) Push Hiro further towards his change into the future Hiro as seen in season one. At the moment, he's still very much like the guy we first met back in episode 1 (bumbling, slightly nervous, unsure of himself). The writers need to show some progression here and start inserting moments where he looks as though he's becoming the badass Hiro we glimpsed. He's got a sword. Let's see him use it.

(4) Give us some villains who are a real and credible threat. One of the reasons that the Buffy villains were so good is that you really didn't know how some of them were going to be defeated. Take a look at Glory for example. She whipped Buffy's ass in multiple episodes and completely fractured her group of friends. Adam is 'okay' but is he really much of a threat if everyone stands against him? Doubtful. Sylar displayed some of this in the early episodes of season one but looked less and less formidable as the show went on. This show is called 'Heroes' but heroes need proper villains to stand against.

Elle.

Are you ready for 9PM tonight for GRAVITAS!, K-Bell style?

... the Wonder Twins alas, live up to (down to?) stereotypes about Latinos/Latinas...

They have really dumb powers also... although if the boy twin (see I forgot his name already) is able to heal his sisters evil contagion, it would be cool (and less of a waste of good potential, see my past rants at how Bob Midas and Sweaty Kruger's abilities have NOT been explored nearly well enough) if he could heal ANY virus... He could be the living cure for AIDS, Ebola, Influenza, even many forms of cancer!

I do think Dan should have told his brother by now. When he had their accounts frozen he showed himself as being a huge pain in the ass and wasn't going to just let it go.

This weeks issue of TV Guide features four alternate covers. The familiar red and white TV Guide logo shares the black masthead with a yellow to orange "Heroes" logo with a purple drop shadow.

The characters, artists and background color motifs on each cover are:

NAUSICAA with Parkman, Nathan and Mohinder by Phil Jimenez - lavender to orange

CLAIRE with Peter, HRG and Elle by Michael Turner - orange to lavender

SYLAR with Maya, Monica and Micah by Tim Sale - lavender to blue

HIRO with Kensei and Ando by Jim Lee - blue to lavender

Jimenez' portrait of Ali Larter is quite good. The cover is surprisingly bloodly and gory for a TV Guide cover. Quite hilariously, his Mohinder looks like he's auditioning to draw Wolverine.

Fathom artist Michael turner's cover looks the most like a super-hero comic cover, with Peter using his power fist flame hand, Elle crackling with elle-ectricity and Claire and Noah looking very Supergirl and Clark Kent.

Tim Sale's cover is the one mailed to subscribers. He has the most stylized and cartoonish drawing style. If you stare, though, the Syklar likeness is extraordinary, in spite of the stylized lighting effect. Comparing the four covers side by side, Sylar's figure is positioned further forward than anyone else and it the most imposing character. (Sale, of course, is the artist who draws the Isaac Mendes paintings.]

X-Men/Batman artist and Image Comics founder Jim Lee draws excellent portraits of Hiro and Ando. The way the background figures fade into the haze, plus Ando's blue trenchcoat with turned up collar makes him look like Denis Cowan's version of The Question.

The recurring s-key "Godsend" symbol appears in the background on each cover.

I mention the background washes because, although the colors don;t match up perfectly, the covers can be connected side by side, in this order: Niki/Jessica, Claire, Sylar, Hiro. The colors and designs on the right of the Hiro cover also allign with the left side of the Nausicaa cover, so the covers can really be lined up in any order, or in a loop. with one minor glitch. All the characters are centered so they don't touch the left or right borders, but Hiro's drawn sword extends to the right edge of the page, which is why I listed the cover with his last, and on the far right. On the other hand, the Hiro and nausicaa colors and design line up better then the mis-matched shades of purple and lavender on the Claire and Sylar covers.

I really have no idea who would buy four copies of TV Guide just to line up the covers, but you can download all four images at the TV Guide website and attach them to each other with Photoshop or any similar photo editing program. [Open Office Draw 2.3 or Paint.NET might work, but I haven't explored wotking with them yet. Both are downloadable freeware - use Google for a source. Gimp 2.4, also freeware, is now available but I tried a previous build and didn't care for it.]

Give us an EDIT function!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

CIA agent Bryce Larkin is retrieving essential government secrets when he falls into a deadly trap. As his enemies close in around him he places the information in an e-mail and sends it to his former college roommate.

Chuck Bartowski, the recipient of that e-mail, opens the message and has the governments secret information downloaded into his subconscious mind, as Bryce destroys the original and only copy of the info.

The government needs Chuck's help on essential missions, but requires him to maintain his life as an employee of the Buy More store chains computer repair Nerd herd. To keep tabs on him NSA Agent Casey gets a job as a Buy More salesman and CIA agent Sarah works at a nearby snack shop and poses as Chucks new girlfriend (and romantic entanglements ensue).

Chuck's frequent and unexplained absences cause problems with sister Ellir, whom he shares and apartment with, and his Buy More co-worker and best friend Morgan.

A comedy thriller with good action scenes and some pathos, "Chuck" is a series that might appeal to fans of "Alias" and "She Spies"

Zachary Levi (Chuck Bartowski) Series star Zach Levy has been acting for six years with 16 roles credited on his IMDb resume, and is most recognizable from his role as Kipp Steadman on "Less Than Perfect"

Yvonne Strahovski (Sarah Walker, CIA Agent and ersatz girlfriend) began acting three years ago and scored her first series regular role on Chuck as her fourth job.

Adam Baldwin (John Casey, National Security Agency agent/tough guy) This busy actor has had 88 roles in 27 years including a regular part on "The Cape," "Firefly," "The Inside," "Daybreak" and the animated "Jackie Chan Adventures" and recurring roles on "the Visitor," "X-Files" and "Angel".

Bonita Friedericy (General Beckman, the giovernment liason they answer to.) Busy actress with 63 roles, mostly TV) in ten years - recurred as Ethan foote's wife on "the Nine"

Sarah Lancaster (Ellie Bartowski, chuck's sister) 33 roles in 14 years, regular on "Saved By Teh bell: The New Class," "Everwood," "Dr. Vegas." and "What About Brian".

Ryan McPartlin (Captain Awesome, Ellie's boyfriend)18 TV acting jobs since 1999, series regular on "Living With Fran" as Fran Drescher's younger boyfriend.

Matthew Bomer (Bryce Larkin, former college roommate, spy, deceased) With 9 jobs since 2000, with recurring parts on "Guiding Light" and "Tru Calling" and co-star on "traveler". Although the character of Bryce died in the debut episode, he has recurred in flashbacks.

The Buy More Gang:

Joshua Gomez (Morgan Grimes, slacker best friend - basically the Jason Lee character from any kevin Smith movie) 13 roles in six years including a recurring part on "invasion" and a full seeason on "Without A Trace"

Mark Christopher Lawrence (Big Mike, boss, 'the black guy') 56 acting j0bs since 1988, recurred as bill on "the Mullets"

C.S. Lee (Harry Tang, pricky supervisor, 'bald Asian guy') 20 acting jobs in film, oon Tv and in video game voice work, currently a regular on "Chuck" and "Dexter".

Vik Sahay (Lester, 'the Indian guy') 42 roles in 21 years dating back to "You Can't Do that On Television". REgular on "Radio Active," "Our Hero," and "This Is Wonderland".

Scott Krinsky (Jeff, 'the fat guy') 10 acting gigs in the last three years including a recurring part on "The O.C."

Julia Ling (Anna Wu, 'the Asian girl') 25 jobs in 4 years, with recurring parts on "Studio Sixty On The Sunset Strip" and "ER".

"Reaper" is a new series on The CW Network that has drawn some superficial comparisons to NBC's "Chuck"

Slacker loser Sam Oliver has a job at a large hardware department store, the Work Bench (a sort of Home Depot parody). On his 21st birthday he learns that his parents sold his soul to the devil before he was born. Now the debt is due and Sam is drafted to be the Devil's bounty hunter, returning escaped souls to hell in various mundane soul Vessels (similar to Ghostbuster Ghost Traps).

To achieve his mission Sam confides in his goof-off best buddy Sock and they enlist co-worker Ben, forming Team Reaper. Once captured, the evil souls are delivered to the nearest portal of hell, the Department of Motor Vehicles, and turned over to the demon lady who works there.

There is an obvious strong attraction between Sam and co-worker Andi but he must keep his secret from her and avoid a relationship for fear of drawing her into the Devil's sphere of influence.

Currently the main sub-plot involves Sam trying to find a loophole in the contract his parents signed and the secret his father is keeping from him.

Bret Harrison - (Sam Oliver) Working 14 jobs since 1999, Bret was also a Sam (Sam "Thesis" Sullivan) on "The Loop" and Sam Cavanaugh on a 2002 episode of L&O:SVU. He was a regular on "Grounded for Life" and recurred on "the O.C." and "that '70s show"

Ray Wise - (The Devil) Credited with 116 roles at IMDb dating back to 1969's "Dare the Devil"(!) with recurring roles on "Dallas," "Knots landing," "The colbys," "Second chances," "Resurrection Blvd.," and "24". Perhaps best known to cult TV afficianados as Leland Palmer on "Twin Peaks", where he was the answer to the question "Who Killed Laura Palmer?" (Cool trivia: his "Twin Peaks" co-star Russ Tamblyn appeared as God on daughter Amber Tamblyn's series "Joan of Arcadia")

Missy Peregrym - (Andi, Work Bench co-worker/love interest) 15 roles in 5 years, with recurring parts on "Black Sash," "Life As We Know It," as as the illusion-casting Candice on "Heroes".

Tyler Labine - (Bert 'Sock' Wysocki, slack best friend) With a busy 54 roles in the last 16 years, Labine recurred on "Dead Last" and "Boston Legal" and was a co-star on the science fiction series "Invasion".

Rick Gonzalez - (Ben, co worker and 3rd member of Team Reaper) has had 33 roles since 1998 including a recurring bit on "Boston Public".

Donavon Stinson (Ted, asst. manager) has had a dozen roles in five years and recurred on "Three Moons Over Milford"

Valarie Rae Miller (Josie, Sock's ex-girlfriend) 14 roles in as many years, featured on the short-lived "Smith", she was "Original cindy" on Dark Angel.

Christine Willes - (The DMV Demon) 35 role s since 1992, recurred on X-Files, regular on "Dead Like Me"

Andrew Airlie - (Mr. Oliver, dad) A working actor with 88 credits since 1990, recurrred on "The 4400,", "Saved," and "Intelligence", appeared in five non-recurring roles on the new "Outer Limits".

Allison Hossack - (Mrs. Oliver, mom) 44 roles, mostly TV, since 1991 - recurred on "Profit,", "Hope island," and "Falcon Beach".

Kyle Switzer (Kyle Oliver, straight A little brother) Kyle's had five roles since he started acting in 2003, and was a series regular on "15/Love" (which may be why he plays a 15 year old on "Reaper" although he's actually 22 years old.)

(Bonus Trivia: Peregrym, Labine, Stinson, Miller and Willes all appeared on "Dark Angel".

Bonus Trivia 2: "Dogma" creator Kevin Smith directed the pilot episode, setting the tone for the series.)

Sorry to bust your bubble, but he drove a cab during season 1.

You know, season 1. That time period where this show's creators got NOTHING wrong, like, ever because the writing was 100% perfect all the time. Sorry to pick on you and don't mean to, but all this negativity is quite silly given the TBs around the time of season 1. This time next year, our collective will likely be praising this season's arc while bashing the then current season 3.

Isn't anyone else out there digging on the Monica character? Major Peter Parker vibe going on there. And I write this as someone that's become sick to the stomach of the whole New Orleans Katrina(tm) thing. Always found it amazing how a Class V hurricane managed to hit only one city.

The series has already shown how a certain NOUN can be in the same time continuum regardless of whether or not it is supposed to be there by way of showing two Hiro's conversing in the same time period. Although the show hasn't underscored it, I think it stands to reason that if a character from the past can coexist with a character from the future that two inanimate objects can as well.

Where this reasoning goes to pot is with the Caitlin character. If she was taken out of this continuum and brought to one in the future -- and is abandoned -- then what exactly happens to her in the here and now? Does she just cease or does she cease to exist, period? I hedge on the former, yet still ponder on the time period she herself calls the 'present' (i.e. our 'future').

Let's face it -- why else would Livia not be able to warn Dan of his upcoming future during the time he wasn't able to travel?

I agree with you, yet your opinion is rather absolute. While you profess that Caitlin's fate is entwined with another time stream, you lose sight of our own time stream being but one of many possible outcomes, not the singular absolute "real" possibility. TB handle chrth has gone into detail on this more often and far better than I could ever hope to, but bottom line -- since she couldn't exist in *our* time period does not mean that she no longer exists. Hence, she could still cross over in a manner of speaking, were there logical and definitive connect-the-dots in the time continuum.

The Wonder Twins and Nikki and DL(this storyline is stupid). Oddly, no Parkman, DOH'hinder, HRG or Claire.

And here come our regular commentators...

I'm getting out of here so I remain spoiler free! Yikes.

Nate Burned.

Pete with feeling.

Maya and Miguel ACTUALLY INTERESTING!!!

And while it's silly that Peter and Adam would be allowed to be in any kind of situation where they can communicate, I still like seeing them together.

She doesn't have that fonkey nose