More Doctor Who for Sci-Fi Channel

Posted Apr 23, 2007 by Walt Belcher

Updated Apr 23, 2007 at 09:33 AM

    Sci-Fi Channel today announced a third season of Doctor Who. The series will debut on Sci-Fi in July 2007, kicking off with a “Doctor Who Christmas Special: The Runaway Bride,” guest-starring award-winning comedy actress Catherine Tate. 

  In season three, David Tennant returns to his role as the mysterious, time-traveling Doctor.  American audiences will meet the Doctor’s brand-new sidekick, Martha Jones (Freema Agyeman), in the first official episode of the season, “Smith and Jones.” 

  Chris Regina, Vice President of Programming, Sci FI Channel, said “‘Doctor Who’ has become a favorite among Sci Fi audiences.  We are happy to bring the show back for its third season and look forward to following the Doctor’s continuing adventures with his newest companion.”

Executive Producer and Lead Writer Russell T Davies says, “We were delighted and honored by the second series’ success, and we can promise new thrills, new laughs and some terrifying new aliens. The Doctor and Martha are destined to meet William Shakespeare, blood-sucking alien Plasmavores, The Judoon – a clan of galactic stormtroopers – and a sinister Dalek plot in 1930s New York.”

The deal, brokered by Lisa Hofer, Vice President of Co-Production & Sales, BBC Worldwide Americas, with the Sci Fi Channel grants Sci Fi the exclusive first-run rights for Season Three.  The second season of the new Doctor Who earned impressive ratings during its airing on Sci Fi, delivering an average of over one million viewers each week.

Candace Carlisle, COO, BBC Sales Company, commented, “Sci Fi Channel has been a fantastic platform for the Doctor Who Series in the US.  We’re excited for the Season Three launch and think American audiences will simply love the Doctor’s hip new companion.”

BC Video will continue to work with Sci Fi Channel on joint marketing promotions to support the Doctor Who brand in the US.

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The Amazing Race: All-Stars—-04.22.07 (aka Karma Is A Real Kick In The Keester)

Posted Apr 22, 2007 by Chris Kuhn

Updated Apr 22, 2007 at 11:14 PM

Much like the Apprentice, we’re down to just four competitors on The Amazing Race: All-Stars (CBS/Sundays) but unlike the Donald’s show, this one isn’t quite over yet. We should get down to our final three pairs though and after a week that saw the departure of Sanjaya on Idol, Clyde Drexler on Dancing with the Stars and Frank on The Apprentice, I’m holding out hope that Myrna and Charla will finally be eliminated tonight. But bickering couple Eric and Danielle limped in fourth last week and tonight, they must finish first or beat the teams behind them by their thirty-minute penalty. They’d better do it. I can’t stand Eric but suffering through condescending Mirna and anything but charming Charla for yet another week just might send me over the edge. Host Phil Keoghan, please come to my rescue.

Teams resume the race in Hong Kong. Danny and Oswald are off to a ferry first with Dustin and Kandice just behind them. They’re all off to China where they must find the tallest structure in Macau, China – Macau Tower. I’m smelling a bungee jump. There’s a yield available tonight. Dustin and Kandice cannot use it since they yielded a team previously. But any of the others can do so. Danny and Oswald realize they have no moula and decide to make a deal with Dustin and Kandice. They’ll yield the team of their choice for some hard cash. The Beauty Queens offer $45 to yield last-place hopeless travelers, Eric and Danielle. They agree to the deal.

The first three teams reach the first challenge and it’s a road block, where one member of the team must complete the task. And here Danny and Oswald do their dastardly yielding. It’s sad that such a nice time has to play tough and dirty to keep in the game, but they’re in it to win and I really do hope that they do so.

The challenge is as frightening as I anticipated. One player from each team must walk around the top of the tower and then bungee jump off of the side. It’s unbelievably high but the players are tough and master the height. And then, Eric and Danielle arrive, and we’re reminded that this is not a friendly game. They’ve been yielded again and Eric is livid. He’s dropping f-bombs and flipping birds as Danny jumps from the building.

The Beauty Queens’ taxi breaks down and they have to flag down another cab. Mirna’s talking down to their driver (what’s new) and Oswald is still trying to resolve with their decision to drop a whammy on one of their competitors. He and Oswald arrive at the next task first and it’s a detour, where teams pick between two challenges. They can either make noodles or find a dragon and drum and carry it across town. Danny and Oswald go with the dragon. But the other three teams select noodles.

The ladies are amused at this big pole they must jump on to flatten out the noodles. It’s a far more strenuous task than I would have expected.  Mirna and Charla lok like a Marx Brothers movie. Charla’s stepping on the table and jumping on the pasta. It’s simply bizarre. Dustin and Kandice finally get a thumbs up on their noodles and they’re off to the next task. Eric and Danielle arrive shortly after and they’re off and running making pasta.

Danny and Oswald, on the other hand, are lost. Their cab driver has taken them to the end of the Dragon Race. But they finally make it to their destination and then they must navigate the streets in the rain carrying their drum and dragon head. Too bad they don’t know where they’re going.

Meanwhile, Eric and Danielle are master noodle makers and are in second place now, and off to their next destination. The Beauty Queens arrive there first and must drive the equivalent of a Barbie Dream Car to the pit stop. Myrna and Charla are struggling with the noodles and fighting about it non-stop, but they still get their clue third, while Danny and Oswald are still walking aimlessly. It’s becoming more and more apparent that these two are probably getting knocked off tonight.  But they do reach the dragon boats and are off to the freaky cars while Myrna and Charla hop on board. Myrna runs onto a sidewalk and it’s soon clear that their lack of stick shift knowledge means they’re going nowhere.

At the pit stop, Dustin and Kandice arrive first, with Eric and Danielle right behind them. They have to wait out the thirty-minute penalty and I’m feeling pretty confident that they’ll beat at least one of the two remaining teams who seem hopeless on the road. Myrna and Charla check in and there’s still fourteen minutes to go of the penalty. I’m now rooting for Danny and Oswald to show up in time but it’s too late. Eric and Danielle check in third place.The sad music plays as Danny and Oswald check in with Phil and the unexpected happens.  We learn that this is the third and final non-elimination round. Wow, so two in a row. I was totally unprepared for that. Next week, someone will definitely go home and it had better be Mirna and Charla. Argh!!

Next week, teams pair up with the Air Force and Danielle appears to be losing her love of the game. Stay tuned…

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The Apprentice: Los Angeles—- 04.22.07 (aka The Season and Series Ends Here)

Posted Apr 22, 2007 by Chris Kuhn

Updated Apr 22, 2007 at 10:07 PM

Who will the Donald select tonight? It’s the evening of the season finale (and most likely, SERIES finale) of The Apprentice (NBC/Sundays) since no one I know actually watches the show on a regular basis anymore. Do you? If not, catch up with me here for a play-by-play of this evening’s live episode. I’ll be blogging as I watch this week. So let’s get this show rolling.

I previously made my predictions that there would be two women vying for the prize and certainly Nicole and Stefani are still in the race. But I had no idea we’d go into the final show with four candidates. It’s fairly safe to assume that Frank has no chance on Earth getting the job. He’s loud, brash, pushy and often annoying. His similarities to Trump are uncanny. I can’t see him selecting someone so in-your-face. If I were picking the final two, I’d easily pick James as my ultimate winner with Stefani getting the silver medal. I’m not sure Donald will narrow it down to two or just select among the four. I think he’s more drawn to Nicole’s energy and charisma over Stefani’s silent but steady race.

There’s fireworks at the Hollywood Bowl and it’s time for a recap of this year’s bizarre have and have-not season in sunny California. We’re reminded of some of the goofiest moments from this season. Carey’s bizarre swimsuit choice, Michelle’s decision to resign and the love thang between Nicole and Tim. Oh boy.

The four remaining candidates make their entrances. Stefani’s hair is much darker than we’re used to, Nicole looks a bit more sophisticated tonight but James and Frank haven’t changed a bit. What’s Frank wearing—- a fish suit? I think I just noticed it shimmer. Yikes. Way to look less slithery and slimy, Mr. Salesman! The Donald announces that he will be firing two candidates tonight and then selecting his final Apprentice. The audience sounds pumped and ready to go and look who that is in the audience…why it’s former winner Kendra, Randall and Shawn (sigh, say something, anything…I love that accent!)

The other candidates return to chime in about their favorites. Olympic athlete Angela says she likes Stefani and James, so vote for one of them. Way to make that strong commitment we can always count on from you, Angie baby. We get to watch those horrible Renuzit ads that both duos created last week – they are equally unimaginative, unfunny and unmemorable. As the Donald grills the contestants, it appears clear that he has no idea who he’s picking tonight but I have a hunch that he’ll let audience reaction influence his decision. I’m convinced that Trump wants to make a decision the audience will cheer wildly. So I’m predicting that Stefani and Frank will get knocked off first.

Trump gives us a peek at the two jobs he’s offering: one is a fancy new Caribbean resort and the other, two new skyscrapers in Atlanta. Not surprisingly, Stefani and Nicole are ready for the islands and James and Frank want to build skyscrapers (with Frank getting an unexpected chuckle from the audience as he admits his lifelong dream has been to erect skyscrapers). But who will get that big chance?

Okay, it’s time to find out who’s getting knocked out of this competition. In a swift kick in the butt, the Donald fires Frank and Nicole. Wow! James or Stefani will be declared the Apprentice. I’m shocked that my two remaining favorites made it to the end. We get to see their personal stories and learn that Stefani is tough at work and in her personal life, doing karate chops. Does she have a family or any friends or is she a robot? Hmmm. Maybe Trump will want a 24/7 hard-nose workaholic. Then, there’s James. He came to America as an immigrant to discover the American Dream and abandoned a lucrative job to start his own company. He’s married with two adorable kids, one of whom does a mean Trump impersonation. After watching these two TV packages, I’m sensing that the Donald is picking James. There’s really no argument to pick Stefani and have a good story. James would be a much more audience-friendly choice. Let’s see.

It’s time to do the hiring and during the final statements to both candidates, Trump almost gives it away as he tells Stefanie that he’s concerned about her flying under the radar all season but that he’ll find out. Hmmm…what does that mean? You know exactly what that mean. He turns to James and tells him - “you’re fired” and it’s official. Trump hires his second woman after six seasons. So, look out Dominican Republic residents - hard-as-nails, karate chop kicking Stefani is heading your way.

What did you think of tonight’s big finale? Does anyone out there even care? I cared about it…three seasons ago. I was hoping he might say this year it will be the Apprenti (in reference to whiny Randall of season 4) and pick both of them to handle the two separate jobs, since they each showed interest in different job environments. But that would have been too classy and positive a message to send.

So there you have it. Trump makes his decision and NBC puts this horse out to pasture. Adios, Donald.

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More Views On Game Violence

Posted Apr 21, 2007 by Wes Phillips

Updated Apr 21, 2007 at 09:55 AM

After my editorial the other day, I feel obligated to add some more voices to the mix.

Just a sampling.

* Video game blog god Brian Crecente at Kotaku.com analyzed a segment that aired on Fox News featuring anti-game evangelist Jack Thompson. I think Brian exposes him for an opportunist and a liar, but judge for yourself.

* In response to Thompson’s various media appearances only hours after the shootings, MSNBC points out that he and other pundits were a little quick to point fingers.

* And finally, William Vitka at the New York Post talks about this Thompson character and his precarious position as an “expert.”

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Guitar Hero II

Posted Apr 20, 2007 by TBO.com

Updated Apr 20, 2007 at 11:16 AM

System: Microsoft Xbox 360

Also available for: Sony PlayStation 2

Publisher: Red Octane

Reviewer’s rating: A

ESRB rating: Teen

Game type: Rhythm-action

Kind of like: “Dance Dance Revolution” for people who are too cool to dance.

Best feature: Rockin’ out.

Worst feature: No online multiplayer mode.

The bottom line: Xbox 360 owners, are you ready to rock? “Guitar Hero II,” which hit the PS2 last year, has finally landed on a next-gen console and the results are nothing short of glorious.

This year’s model tweaks an already great game with a new controller, additional songs, online leaderboards and downloadable content.

For newbies, it basically works like this: Color-coded “notes” move across an onscreen fretboard, and you play along by hitting the corresponding buttons on the neck of your guitar-shaped controller. (Which is, of course, responsible for the game’s $90 price tag.)

The PS2 controller was modeled after a Gibson SG guitar. (Think Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath.) The 360 version uses the Gibson X-Plorer. (More like Paul Stanley of Kiss.)

Spandex and hairspray are optional.

Once you master the basics, there’s also a whammy bar — and you can activate “star power” (doubling your score) by tilting the guitar upright while you play.

The 74-song soundtrack is what really makes the game, though. It focuses on memorable riffs from today (Wolfmother, My Chemical Romance), yesterday (Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Jane’s Addiction, Matthew Sweet) and the day before (Aerosmith, Cheap Trick, Van Halen, Kansas, Skynyrd, the Stooges and the Stones).

There are also unlockable songs (our favorite: the “Trogdor” theme song from Homestar Runner’s Strong Bad) and you can download new tracks from the Xbox Live Marketplace (three-song packs are $6.25), including “Ace of Spades” by Motorhead. (Stick out your tongue and throw your metal horns here.)

Rock on, “Guitar Hero.”

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