On the now classic sitcom Cheers, Postal worker Cliff claven always offered his co-occupants of the bar some insightful moments and was an authority on nearly every topic. At least he thought so.

I was reintroduced to this snippet of wisdom and felt I needed to share it.

‘Well you see, Norm, it’s like this . . A herd of buffalo can only move as fast as the slowest buffalo. And when the heard is hunted, it is the lowest and weakest ones at the back that are killed first.

This natural selection is good for the herd as a whole, because the general speed and health of the whole group keeps improving by the regular killing of the weakest members. In much the same way, the human brain can only operate as fast as the slowest brain cells.

Now, as we know, excessive intake of alcohol kills brain cells. But naturally, it attacks the slowest and weakest brain cells first. In this way, regular consumption of beer eliminates the weaker brain cells, making the brain a faster and more efficient machine.

And that, Norm, is why you always feel smarter after a few beers.’

I think I have to go see how smart I can get Friday Night!

First they announced Paula Malcomson as the female lead on BSG prequel Caprica, and now Joseph Adama (father of Galactica admiral William Adama, and grandfather of Lee “Apollo” Adama) has a face.

According to SciFi Wire, Joseph Adama will be played by Esai Morales. His characer will be a:

“deeply passionate man with a strong sense of justice — and someone you wouldn’t want as your enemy”

This isn’t Morales’ first foray into the sci-fi/fantasy genre. Most recently, Morales played the role of Major Edward Beck on Jericho, although I’ll forever remember him as Richie Valens’ brother Bob in La Bamba. I think he’s a fine choice for this role, and is definitely of comparable talent to Edward James Olmos. Are you pleased with the casting choices for Caprica so far?

The Battlestar Galactica spin-off Caprica has announced their lead actress, according to io9:

Paula Malcomson, best known for her work as Trixie in Deadwood, will help bring the soap operatics to the “Dynasty in space” backdoor pilot.

Malcomson is playing a double agent, who is having an affair with her husband’s rival, and passes on secrets that help create the first Cylon.

Just because I don’t watch Smallville anymore doesn’t mean I won’t still complain about it. Over at TVAddict.com there are spoilers for the coming season finale. What I wanted to point out is in the comments.

KaeDee writes:

So, it’s always like that and it is frustrating…. Why do they put the characters in situations where everyone knows in advance that it can’t happen and then create some lame explanation to clean up the mess later?

You have to read/see the spoilers to understand the comment, but it is so spot on. It is one of the things I was referring to when I mentioned the lazy writing on “Smallville” in the last few seasons in a previous post. The writers always take the easy way out.

Just my opinion, but there is plenty of evidence to back it up. Smallville free for 1 week and counting.!

Finally, after a long draught of “Big Love” news, we have a scoop from TVGuide’s Michael Ausiello on the upcoming season. (Warning, potential spoilers)

The show is casting two, er, Big roles. First up is Ray Henry, Nicki’s boss at the law firm and the (contradiction alert!) good-guy lawyer who’s prosecuting the Roman Grant rape case. Even juicier is the character of Bill’s half-brother, Franky, a 16-year-old hottie who was bounced from Juniper Creek for macking on an elder’s intended. Not enough for ya? This season, you’ll also meet Jerry Flute, a Native-American power player who pow-wows with Bill and Don (odds are he’s opposed to the idea of the casino they intend to build on Blackfoot turf), and Rob O’Hare, a neighbor who doesn’t subscribe to the “Sharing is caring!” approach to marriage that Bill’s wives do.

I worry that the show will get to far from the family dynamics that made it so good, and move toward more of the standard TV drama. Season 1 was the best in my opinion, and I didn’t care for some of the late season 2 developments. That being said, “Big Love” is still my favorite TV drama because the characters are the most complex and developed on television.

I know that you’re hungry for more “Big Love”, but maybe this delay will allow them to produce the best season ever. Maybe?

“House” has been one of the most consistent shows on television for the past few years. Although not as ‘real’ as medical shows like “ER”, it has been able to deliver the same quality week after week. Now, “House” producers are working to bring a “spin-off” to the small screen. TVGuide’s Ausiello has the scoop:

Fox, in collaboration with producer NBC Universal, is quietly developing a House spin-off for next season. As I understand it, producers are introducing a new male character for a multi-episode arc and, assuming the actor they find really pops in the role, he may be spun off into his own show. But there’s a twist, and it’s a big one: Per multiple sources, this newbie is not a doctor, but rather a private investigator!

Many times, spin-offs don’t work because they are too much like their parent. “Private Practice” is an example of this. Spin-offs work the best when it is a minor character that spins off.

A private investigator show with the same quality of writing and production as “House” interests me. Much of the “House” success can be attributed to the amazing Hugh Laurie, but the writing and production are also a key.

What do you think of this concept of for House 2.0?

Felicia Day, who plays Penny in Joss Whedon’s upcoming web series “Doctor Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog”, was recently part of an interview with author Patrick Rothfuss. In the interview, she discusses Dr. Horrible.

You recently got to work with Joss Whedon on “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog.” What can you tell us about that?

I can tell you that it’s going to be make a lot of people want to sing after hearing the music. Joss and his brothers Zack and Jed and Jed’s fiance Maurissa wrote the show together to go on the internet in three parts. Joss had seen The Guild and had been percolating the idea of an internet musical for a while, and he said that watching the Guild was a part of the inspiration to get it done; that and the strike.

Hold on. You inspired Joss Whedon?

He said it was a PART of what spurred the work on Dr. Horrible. Don’t make it seem like I’m claiming too much credit for it!! I worked with him on Buffy a few years ago and was crazy lucky enough for him to hire me for the part of Penny. I can’t tell you what a fabulous experience it was working on it, the script and songs are fantastic! For someone in Joss’ position to do something this experimental is great because not only is it going to be a huge success, it’s going to make people look at internet content in a new way. I can’t wait for it to be released!

Do you have a date for that?

I believe he said it will be released on the internet before Comicon.

I’ve said before, I really like what I’ve seen and read from Felicia. This article only solidifies my opinion. I think I’m more excited about “Doctor Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog” than I am “Dollhouse”. From her quote, we can probably expect Horrible to debut sometime in July. I can’t wait.

(Via Felecia Day’s official Flog)

Eva La Rue plays Natalia Boa Vista in CBS’s “CSI: Miami”. TheTVAddict has a lengthy interview with the star. Here is an excerpt:

Without giving too much away, what’s coming up for the last few episodes?

The season finale is awesome. It’s going to be an incredible cliffhanger. It’s going to start the next season. All I’ll say is that somebody gets killed, somebody else gets shot and you’re not sure if they’re going to make it. And then one of our other characters leaves, because Khandi leaves. We have a lot going on.

The interview is very enjoyable. Pay particular attention to the section regarding the “true” story of Eva’s sister that made it in an episode as a case. It was one of the better episodes of Miami, and Eva was great in it.

I began watching “CSI: Miami” because I got an HD television. The beautiful landscapes are magnified 10 fold in high-definition. I stayed because I enjoyed the stories (even though I’m a Caruso hater). La Rue’s performance is up and down, but overall I like her character. Once she was accepted into the lab and stopped dating Delko, her character improved.

Do you watch “CSI: Miami”? What do you think of Natalia? Any comments on the interview?

This season has been filled with stunt casting on various sitcoms. Bringing in famous faces to booster ratings has been a theme. Some work well in the story, and occasionally fit in as well as a regular. Here are my thoughts on many of the latest ’stunt casts’.

Britney Spears, HIMYM: I was really worried about this, but in the end it worked fine. Having Spears on didn’t add or take away from my enjoyment of the show. My only disappointment is that it took away from the real casting of the wonderful Sarah Chalke. Sarah has been amazing on HIMYM and I hope she continues to be a part of the show. Hopefully Britney’s second episode will work as well.

Sarah Gilbert, Big Bang Theory:This is where stunt casting worked well. Gilbert’s style fit perfectly into this show, and made for terrific chemistry between her and former Rosanne castmate Galecki. I’m glad she didn’t become a regular, but am delighted that she shows up every so often. I should also mention Lori Metcalf as Sheldon’s mother. Another former Rosanne cast member who worked well.

Alyssa Milano, Earl: This is my favorite bit of stunt casting. Alyssa works so well on Earl that I hope she stays through until next season. For me, she has become a huge part of the show, and if rumors are correct, becomes even more integral. I’m not sure how I feel about the recent marriage, but I’ll give Greg Garcia the benefit of the doubt.

Paris Hilton, Earl: Paris on Earl actually worked, and added to the show. She had less than a minute of screen time, and spent that time making fun of herself. I am not a fan of Hilton’s acting, singing, modeling, or general attitude, but I will admit that this worked. This was her best performance ever (coincidentally her shortest).

Lindsey Lohan, Ugly Betty: This one hasn’t aired yet, but I decided to mention it anyway. I’m a casual viewer of Betty, but do admit it is a good show. On the other hand, Lohan wasn’t a good actress when she was sober, so I can’t imagine this will work well. I didn’t think “Ugly Betty” needed the ratings boost, but maybe I’m wrong. Who knows how this one will work out.

So what do you think? What is your opinion of stunt casting? How will Britney’s second stint on HIMYM work out? What about Lohan on “Ugly Betty”?

“The Office” star Angela Kinsey has a new baby girl. The People exclusive has:

There’s a new Office mate in town: Actress Angela Kinsey and her husband, TV writer Warren Lieberstein, have welcomed a baby daughter, the actress’s rep tells PEOPLE exclusively.

Weighing 6 lbs., 14 oz., Isabel Ruby Lieberstein was born at 12:50 p.m. Saturday. Among those at the hospital were Kinsey’s mother, Bertie Kinsey, and the actress’s friend and castmate Jenna Fischer, according to Kinsey’s rep, Tess Finkle.

Hiding Angela’s pregnancy on “The Office” since the return has been fun to watch. As much as she might try, she definitely looked pregnant. Also the sly ways they hid her pregnant belly behind Pam’s desk or Angela’s purse was funny.

I wonder if they would have written the pregnancy in to the show had the strike not prevented the pregnancy from progressing on screen. If they had, do you think that would have worked?

(via AngelaKinseyFans.com)

One of the best television shows ever is coming to the big screen, Gizmodo reveals:

Zlotoff mentioned he somehow ended up with the movie rights years ago (extremely uncommon), giving him full control over the film. While few specifics were mentioned, and no formal announcement has been made, its extremely promising that the man with the power to make the film is getting the ball rolling.

I grew up on MacGyver, and I have to say that if Richard Dean Anderson is playing the role, I’ll be first in line. Of all the 80’s television resurrections, this is about the only one I’m excited to hear about. There’s only one thing that could keep me from it, and that’s if Richard Dean Anderson isn’t involved. Nobody else can play MacGyver, and nobody else should. If Harrison Ford can still be Indiana Jones, then Anderson can still be Angus MacGyver.

Heroes is adding yet another Hero to their line up. TV Guide has the scoop!

Brea looks like a cute girl and all, but the show is already having enough problems as it keeps on overflowing with new characters when it’s losing sight on some of the best characters from the original season. For me, this is a bad sign.

I think that if they are going to give us new characters, for at least a while, they should be villians. We already have enough do-gooders.

The Writer’s Strike did more than change the landscape of tv for a few months as we all waited through reality programming for the return of our favorites. It’s changed the way television is made, Variety says.

In profound and permanent ways, the television business has changed since the writers declared pencils down. Network and media agency executives agree that the stoppage was the first line of an entirely new script for the television industry, one which, to borrow entertainment parlance, “reimagines” how TV has been developed, bought and sold for more 50 years.

In my talks about the strike with friends, this is the one thing I noted time and time again. The one thing the strike guaranteed was that television was never going to be the same, but the question remains if the changes are good or bad.

The number of pilots has gone down, and some networks are abandoning the idea altogether. Instead of launching in the fall, networks are now looking at leading out new series year round. But the most dangerous development is the network’s plans to defray costs: more integrated advertising.

“There’s always been a Plexiglas that surrounds the creative community when it comes to talking to the advertising community,” Caraccioli-Davis adds. “That might have flipped with the strike.”

I admit that this wasn’t something I really expected, but I’m not surprised. When the strike started, I made the comment that sure the writer’s only wanted a small percent more of the profits, but nobody seemed to be asking where that percent was coming from. Television producers and networks are going to want to cut into their portion of the profits to distribute that money, so they’ll have to bring it in from somewhere. Apparently these advertising deals are the way they’ll be doing it.

I also wonder about other long reaching effects of the strike. Producers are making an monetary investment in a product, which they expect to see a return on. With the return on an individual property being divided more thinly back to them, I can see a turn to where they’ll only want to greenlight properties that they feel are guaranteed to make their money back. How often will somebody take a chance on a show like Lost or Heroes, that both came in during a period where television science-fiction was not a money maker for mainstream networks. Television already is a business where “more of the same” is a motto, so how much worse is that going to get?

These fears could be completely unfounded. It could be that enough people in the network brass are visionaries and want to see not just money but quality product. But I have to say that I’m not optimistic.

In what might be a sign of the apocalypse, TMZ on TV has been declared a news broadcast by the FCC. Variety reports:

The Federal Communications Commission has ruled as such in the cases of Fox’s “TMZ” and the Christian Broadcast Network’s “The 700 Club,” declaring Friday that each show meets the test for “a bona fide newscast” and therefore would not trigger political equal-time requirements.

Technically, this decision is only regarding the rule that stations must give equal time to opposing political candidates outside of news broadcasts. In general, this just means that TMZ can gossip about Hillary Clinton’s haircut, and the stations that broadcast it don’t have to worry about giving an extra three minutes to Obama to even things out.

But in the grand scheme, I wonder if this ruling can affect anything else. For one thing, the article also states:

Congress defined “bona fide newscast” as one that holds “genuine news value” and is not intended to boost or aid any particular political candidate.

What interests me about this is that “genuine news value” aside, I think anybody who has been watching mainstream media for the last six months can see that the most news broadcasts are very CLEARLY endorsing and aiding particular political candidates, mostly by tearing down their opponents and avoiding negative stories about their chosen candidate. The depressing thing is, that the show I’ve seen have the most pretense of objectivity is The Colbert Report. He’s given time to just about any candidate who wants to come on the show, and during the Pennsylvania primaries he had Hillary Clinton on the show (on set) and Barack Obama (on a satellite feed). While I have my own opinion about which he favored, he let them both have a their own humorous moment.

I think this election has been one that hopefully will make Americans notice the role the media is playing in politics, and decide what they think about it. I know it’s been on my mind quite a bit.

MTV is once again asserting itself as a channel that does NOT play music videos. One of the highlights of their summer schedule is “Legally Blonde The Musical: The Search for Elle Woods”, according to Variety:

Eight-episode, pre-taped series will follow 10 actresses vying to replace Laura Bell Bundy as the star of “Legally Blonde,” the 2007 tuner based on the 2001 MGM pic. Haylie Duff (”Hairspray”) hosts.

There will be no audience voting, and the judges are the people in charge of the musical itself. But I’m still disgusted. I realize I just wrote about the democratization of art, but I don’t think that reality tv competitions actually reflect that. America’s Next Top Model has not turned out a single top model (some success stories, of course, but not the next Tyra). Project Runway has created some “reality celebrities” but they haven’t really turned the fashion world upside down yet. The most successful reality tv contestant I can think of is Harold, the first winner of Top Chef. He went out, he found an investor, and he started a very well received restaurant in New York City. I’m not sure how much more there is to being a Top Chef.

Even a show like “The Next Food Network Star” has had three seasons and only really produced one “star,” despite the fact that the winner is guaranteed their own show at the end.

The last time they tried this formula was with “Grease: You’re the One That I Want” and while the show is still running, it was not a move that many received very well. So while I think an open casting call is great idea, and hiring unknown talent an even better one, I think this reality tv competition is going to do nothing but get a handful of girls who just want to have their fifteen minutes, no matter the cost. Those are not the types that will really become the next Broadway sensation.

The New York Television Festival and Fox Entertainment are hosting a screenplay contest, Variety reports:

The best half-hour pilot script will earn its writer $25,000 and a development deal with Fox.

Submissions are open as of June 2 and will continue through June 13 or until 1,500 submissions are received.

The competition focuses on comedy scripts, and is the second one that Fox is helping host. Apparently their reliance on reality television is waning.

I’m excited to see this kind of project. I love competitions that let people at least get their script read, and possibly get feedback. While I know it didn’t really achieve it’s goals, I loved Project Greenlight for that reason. It let people get their work out there, find out what was good and what needs tweaking, and it gave a few people a chance to circumvent the system.

I like the democratization of art, because I think especially in Hollywood we’ve never really had it be a place where it was about finding and cultivating the most talented or the hardest working artists. I think it’s depressing how many talented writers are unable to tell their stories because they just don’t have a way to get their foot in the door.

So, is anybody going to enter? I think the first step towards writing great television is being a fan of great television, and our readers seem to fit that requirement.

The upcoming Star Wars tv series is a hot topic. Well sort of! It’s hard to discuss something when you really don’t know that much about it, and generally the conversation goes to the prequels and enters “How can Lucas screw this up more?” territory.

Many of the readers may not know that Star Wars has had television series before, most of which were much more cringeworthy than any of Jake Lloyd’s “Yipppppeeeesssss!”

The Star Wars Holiday Special (1978)- Not really a series, but it was made for television. This is increbidly hard to watch two hour long tv special is one that George Lucas has tried ever so long to forget, but us nerds just won’t let him! It is really painstaking to watch. I have never finshed it, but the portions I did watch could be used to torture victims into submission.

Carrie Fisher was obviously lit up throughout the entire thing.  This was apparently shot when she was deep in her drug addiction.

It included a crappy holiday tune sung to the Star Wars theme, and featured music from the likes of Jefferson Starship. Seriously, what does Jefferson Starship have to do with Star Wars? What does Star Wars have to do with Christmas?

Though, all is not lost. The Holiday Special included the introduction to Boba Fett in an animated segment and even had brief looks at deleted scenes from the first film disguised as relavent moments. But still, this is definitely not worth the budget it took to create it.

Ewok Adventure(1984) and Ewoks: The Battle For Endor(1985)- I remember distinctly watching these two TV films a lot  as a kid. In fact, as embarassing as it is to admit, I saw these films before I saw Return of the Jedi, and I remember walking in Target and looking at the movie rack where Return of the Jedi sat and seeing Wicket on the cover and turning to my dad and asking “Why are Ewoks in Star Wars?” Wow! I was a stupid kid!

Of course, I learned the truth a few years later, that the Ewok films were spinoffs (”sequals” I said then) from Return of the Jedi, and while I loved them as a kid, I have yet to rack up the courage to buy the dvds from the cheap rack.

The Ewok Adventure, now known as “Caravan of Courage” thanks to Lucasfilm and their nack for changing/lenghtening titles, was about two kids stranded on Endor and looking for their parents with the help of the faithfull Ewoks.

The Battle For Endor killed off a lot of the Ewoks and all of the human family except the young girl, who makes it out alive with Wickett, who are later helped by an old man played by Wilford Brimley, the once respected actor from Cocoon who now sells life insurance on television commercials aired during The Price is Right. Eventually, the little girl idioticly gets herself captured and the old man and Wicket have to save her.

The thing I remember most from these films was how shocked i was when most of the main characters from the first film were killed at the beginning of the second. I mean, how often does that happen?

Droids(’85-’86) and Ewoks(’85-’87)- While two different animated series, I class these two together.  And besides, they were slammed together to make the Ewoks and Droids Adventure Hour!  These two shows weren’t as painful as the Holiday Special, and yet, they were all the more forgettable!

Both series were quite similar to the style of the animated series of the time, and following Return of the Jedi, they were obviously an attempt at keeping Star Wars alive on the small screen (kind of like the two shows they are making now).

Of the two, it’s Droids that I remember the most. I even have an old vhs lying somewhere in the house.  It apparently took place in between Revenge of the Sith and the original Star Wars, but oddly enough, it featured pirates flying imperial ships instead of, you know, the imperials. Something that has had me confused since I was a child.  Also, for some odd reason, the droids go from master to master, and yet I thought they were property of Capt. Antilles at this time. Maybe, I’m wrong!

Ewoks took place before Return of the Jedi and featured the Ewoks speaking in English and not their official language.

Both series didn’t last long, ut there have been video and dvd release featuring a few prominant episodes, but they are nothing more than a couple of interesting tidbits in Star Wars’ ongoing history.

The Clone Wars(’03-’05)- This one is fairly new and most of you probably already know about it, but I felt that since it is, in a way, a Star Wars tv series, that I should include it.

As you all know, Clone Wars took place in between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith and was part of the huge Clone Wars marketting strategy Lucasfilm developed, which also included a multi-platform video game that was really easy to beat.

The first round of episodes were only three to four minutes long, and were really easy to miss when they aired on Cartoon Network. Luckily, you could find them on Star War’s main website, which was usually how I watched them. Then towards the release of Revenge of the Sith, the episodes were over ten minutes long, and built up to the start of the final film.

It was here where we were introduced to General Grevous, the uncanny and quite pointless villian from Revenge of the Sith. 

The animation was 2D, unlike the upcoming CGI series, and was done in a style very similar to Samurai Jack. Of course, the show was directed by Genndy Tartakovsky,a name that is easily to say than it is to spell and one that goes hand and hand with shows like Powerpuff Girls and Samurai Jack.

While I still don’t think the character designs quite match that Star Wars feel, at least in my opinion they don’t,  I did enjoy this show. It was action-packed and fun, which is something that can’t be said for the other shows and TV films listed above.

So there we have it. A short list of Star Wars cash-ins that range from pitiful to decent, save for The Clone Wars, which was quite entertaining.

Last month the writers of “CSI” and “Two and a Half Men” announced they were swapping writers for a single episode. CBS has posted behind the scenes video of from the writers room.

• Part I Here
• Part II Here

There are some new characters being added to the next season of The Sarah Conner Chronicles, Ask Ausiello reports:

The show is hunting for a couple of new regulars: Becky, a hot teenaged hipster, and Catherine, an unusually earthy business bigwig in her early forties.

Ausiello thinks the new girl is going to be John’s girlfriend. I certainly hope not, nothing makes me more cranky than throwing in a ridiculous love interest. Don’t they have enough strange tension between John and Cameron already? Didn’t Heroes teach us all that this is a bad idea?

I guess it’s been done well in the past, but it just seems like a ridiculous thing to do. Why add more hormonal teenage boy drama? Here’s hoping this teenage girl is something more than just a random hot girl that John wants but can’t tell his secrets to, and convinces himself that he can’t be with her for her own safety, thus breaking both their hearts.

I’ve been somewhat of an apologist for the non-Superman-like storyline of “Smallville”. Though it has been far from young-Superman for quite some time, it still remained a fun show, so I put up with the juvenile writing…until now. Comics2Film has an announcement from producers on the villains to replace Lex.

• Doomsday: In season eight, Clark will face his ultimate challenge with the appearance of the legendary, unstoppable destroyer Doomsday, who appears on “Smallville” for the first time. As comic book fans know, Doomsday is notorious for being the only character in the DC Comics universe to have killed Superman.
• Female villain: Doomsday won’t be Clark’s only nemesis in the upcoming season. The executive producers are tight-lipped about a new female villain they will be introducing, but they can say she will be familiar to many fans and will set her sights on Clark in ways Lex never could. Intelligent, brilliantly manipulative, and dangerously sinister, our gorgeous new villain has one more weapon in her arsenal: Her mutual attraction with Clark may prove to be as deadly as kryptonite for him.

Doomsday? Really? Now I know why Gough and Millar left. It is actually hard to put into words how uncreative and disrespectful of the Superman character I believe this is. There is no way they could bring Doomsday to “Smallville” that would work and stay true to the character.

Yes, bringing Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen, Perry White and even Lex Luthor to Smallville in Clarks childhood was very against cannon, but it was possible. They found a way to make it work, but Doomsday will never work. The closest thing we could hope for would be the equivalent of the neutering they did to Bane in “Batman and Robin“.

Sitting on my DVR right now is last night’s episode…I’ll be deleting that. “Smallville” is dead to me.