Rob Babcock

Tears of the Sun & 8 Below. I thought both were pretty good.

I for one can hardly wait! I loved Firefly and really wish it wouldn't have gotten the axe.

I just saw Sideways last night, and it was fantastic. One of the best flicks I've seen all year so far.

God, I'm glad they didn't simply set it 50 years after the original series. Don't you remember they reached Earth? Surely you remember Wolfman Jack and the Cylon! NO, IMOHO they did the right thing by "reimagining" it. It's not perfect- having Starbuck be a chick is bad enough, but the actress they got to play her is notably lame. But she's the only real lamo of the group. I wish the Galactica looked a tad more like it did in the original series, and the Vipers & Raiders are pretty dorky looking. But I like the fact that they went for serious and dramatic instead of silly and campy.

And I like that Boomer is now a hottie instead of some dude!

Firefly was a fantatic show. I didn't see it for the first time til I watched it on DVD. I regret missing it on TV, but it didn't last long enough to find an audience. There is a Firefly movie coming in May called "Serenity," which I'm anxious for.

As cheap as it is, the Firefly DVD set is a no brainer. Lots of humor, Joss Whenan style, with some of the best characters of any TV show I've watched, sci fi or not. Super casting, and extremely high production values. The effects are probably second only Farscape, and it had a very unique visual style. Definately a keeper. With any luck, the movie could be successful enough to resurrect the series in some form.

I also have to give the "thumbs up" to the new BSG. But- I have a few complaints. The new mechanical cylons suck. Yeah, I get that they want more menace, less camp, and that's cool. But the new robots are just too cheesey. What's with the flip-up arm guns? Looks like a new George Lucas reject. And the Raider ships BLOW! Okay, they wouldn't be so bad if the old ones weren't so much cooler. Ditto for the Vipers- very gay compared to the originals. I like the more realistic physics (er, somewhat more realistic, anyway- the old "turbo boost" was hilarious!), but the look is "wrong" somehow. The Mk II's are better, but still not right. There's a "sea shell" look to the shape, and it's sorta "art deco-y" in a yucky way.

My brother is indignant (livid is perhaps a better word) that they made "Starbuck" a woman. Well, I agree that wasn't a great move, but I was mostly disturbed that Katee Sackhoff isn't at all hot. And a young woman smoking a fat cigar- maybe that should be hot in a Freudian way, but to me it's just nauseating.

Now, the good: I also love the grittier feel of the new BSG. "33" was tense and ominous, very nicely done. "Water" did build some tension, and I like that the little uber-hottie "Boomer" (played by Grace Park) is just starting to realize she's a Cylon. And speaking of Cylons, it was a superb idea to create a new breed that looks human.

The casting is mostly good. I originally thought that Edward James Almos was a bizarre choice as "Adama"- well, I still think so, but it looks like he'll be just fine. I don't recall the name of the guy that plays the XO, but I like him. His alcoholism might be a bit cliched, but I like the fact that the characters have flaws and foibles that make them more complex and real. The casting of Mary McDonnel raised my eyebrows; she's been in a few turkeys, but I still think of her as an Oscar-caliber actress. At first glance she appears to be slummin' it in a series made for SciFi. I don't care much for her character, but she's a class act and I imagine I'll warm up the her "President Laura". Kudos for casting super hot Grace Park & Tricia Helfer. That oughta sex up the show a bit. And the new "Gias Baltar" looks to be a highlight of the show.

Lastly, I think the effects are super, much better than I'm used to on the Sci Fi channel. Not quite up to the level of Farscape, but excellent, probably the best of anything on right now. They do blatantly rip off Joss Whedan's tragically-overlooked Firefly; the out of focus shots, the zooms, the pans, the "camera hanging in space"- all are blatant ripoffs of the the production values of Ff. Oh, well. At least they're pinching something good.

So far the writing looks up to par, too. Instead of just retelling the old stories, I like that they've got their own feel and style. They're taking pains to create a real character driven story that doesn't simply rely on stock SciFi conventions. That's another similarity with Farscape, and I mean that as a compliment.

I wonder- are there real humans that the 12 Models of Cylons are based on? Is the Boomer back on Caprica a real human or another Cylon? I'm anxious to find out.

Star Knight, actually, but yeah a total pos.

I'll Be There For You- Black 'N' Blue

Didn't they used to date a couple of the boys from Hansen?

Hey, no problem! If you need a dumbass comment, you can count on me!

Thanks man. I took that picture of her last weekend when she stopped by for some good lovin'.

Oh, and I gave it to her good, let me tell ya.

He gave it to her so good I'll bet his elbow is still sore!

Sorry, man- I just couldn't let that pass.

God, I loved Dodgeball! It's an absolute must-have on DVD IMO.

Evil Dead was good, but Army of Darkness was much better! "Gimme some sugar, baby."

This should be fun in a flammable sort of way!

What's the worst movie ever made in all human history? The film so buttpuckeringly awful that your skin crawls and your blood runs cold? The film so bad you'd consider poking your eyes out vs being forced to watch?

My pick: Natural Born Killers. The stinker by which all others are judged. When I make a list of the "Bottom Ten" worst, I really have to make it 11 as I've set NBK as "winner" of the "Lifetime Acheivement For Suck Award." Nothing I've seen is so irredeemably awful as that one, so it's only fair I consider it as it's own catagory, a category of one.

What are some other choices for the Worst of the Worst? Anyone have a Top 5?

Asia Argento is a big-time hottie, but the tat work is pretty gross.

Since this is turning into a rant anyway, I'd like to interject my $.02 worth with regards to issues brought up here.

1) I don't know Vegasmetal from Adam, and I have no idea if he's selling bootlegs or not. He does come across as a low-rent peice of shit, but maybe he's not such an asslick in person. At any rate, I do take extreme exception to anyone that would knowingly pass off a bootleg or a legal reissue as a more-valuable original. What would you think if you paid $45,000 for a supposedly-original & mint copy of Superman #1, only to find you got a completely worthless but legal reissue? That fraud would cost you $44,998! Sure, with CDs the value is less, but many rare CDs fetch prices in the hundreds, and to dupe someone by selling a reissue as an original is really shitty. As previously pointed out, the value of a collectible is dictated by a number of factors like the # originally made, the amount in circulation & the demand for the item. This is the same whether you're talking paintings, baseball cards or CDs. (NOTE: I collect CDs, but I'm not a "collector" in any commercial sense. To me personally a reissue is normally just as good, but I'd still like to know what I'm buying.)

2) I don't have any patience or sympathy for artists or labels that don't feel used CDs should be legal. Their opinion is shifty & dishonest, IMO. The artist doesn't make money off them? So fucking what? Honda doesn't make any money if you sell your used car, so how is that any different? Big Music seems to confuse owning the copyrights to something with physically owning the disc. So long as I don't retain a copy for myself, it's none of their fucking business what I do with my discs. If I want to sell my used car, clothes, stereo gear, firearms, DVDs or CDs, that's my call- once I buy it it's mine to do with as I choose. Why the hell should the artist sell a "product" once but get paid twice, thrice, or even more often? Nothing in the world works that way. No one is forcing anyone to sell their "product," and if you can't take an item being resold, don't sell it in the first place.

Just had to get that off my chest!

I'd actually pick "Intermission." I know it's just an EP, but it has my all time favorite Dio song, "Time To Burn." So far I've had no luck picking up a copy.

Does the name imply the winner of the game will receive soup, or are they somehow using canned soup as pins?

Brand spankin' new Satch CD- "Is There Love In Space?" That's Joe Satriani for those who wondered...

Bruce Dickinson- much much better than DiAnno. I'd also say Ian Gillan vs the previous singers of Sabbath. I really don't care much for Ozzy sabbath, and while I liked Dio I liked Gillan even more. Of course, he only did one album, but Glen Hughes was awesome in Sab', too.

Another good replacement: Tony Harnell joining TNT. I really liked the original singer a lot, (can't recall his name, too lazy to go downstairs & look at the liner notes! ), but Harnell is fantastic.

Andi Deris of Helloween. I completely quit listening to Helloween when the original singer left, but lo & behold, the latest two Helloween albums are better than any of their classic stuff, IMOHO. I still love Michael Kiske's voice, and I'm not saying Deris is 'better', just saying Andi does a wicked job of filling his shoes.

My Loverboy "Lovin' Every Minute of It" finally showed up! So I'm spinnin' that (already from the hard drive! ).

Kim Mitchell's "Akimbo Alogo" just showed up today, so I'm spinning that right now.

Bell is awfully hot, but I think she's "had a little work done," if you care about such things.

Just got The Headpins "Greatest Hits" in the mail today.

Just won 2 auctions this hour: The Headpins Greatest Hits ($5) & Helix "Back For Another Taste" ($3.25). I've been really wanting them both, so that's pretty cool.