the list of now

Random things on my mind:

1.  I bow down at the geek altar of io9 for reinventing the opening credits to Firefly as an 80′s sci-fi action-drama.

2. And THEN… they followed it up with Simon Tam, MD:

There are just no words for being overwhelmed with this much awesome.  Well played, io9, well played.

3.  I get to go to Chicago in a little over 3 weeks.  I can’t wait to see family and friends.  We also get to hang out with people who don’t belong to that place and being a person who loves it when worlds collide, it’s going to be wacky fun.   Our good friend Deena will be there (and get to meet our family out there in the ‘burbs).  And also Ciao Rossi!  Who moved away from Chicago shortly after we did.   It will be like going back in time!

4.  Why on earth is Dust in the Wind stuck in my head?  It should at least be Carry on my Wayward Son. (Right? Am I right?)

5.   The worst opening credits for a television show anything EVER in the history of the world, was the theme song for The L Word from the second season on.  I stopped watching the show in the 3rd season.  It’s been off the air for over a year now.  But STILL.  I (still) hate that song with a seething, burning passion.  I can’t even love-t0-hate it.  It’s not funny or campy enough to be funny-painful-bad.  Just bad bad bad.  This bad:  Worse than killing off Dana.  THAT BAD, Chaiken.  That bad.

I would link it up for you, but I’m not that sadistic.   Don’t go look it up on youtube.  You won’t sleep.

(that bad)

… there would be obnoxious abbreviated celebrity nicknames like:

JoRow
ToKush
NGaim + AFP  (together would be called Neimanda)
SteMerr
J’NetWin
IGlass
RogEbe
WilWhe
MiChab
QuenTar
AntBour
ChrisNol
HuJack
RMad
JonStew
KevSmith (and ScotMo)
SalPot
RiJoh
Chrendricks
EdIzz
TWaits
TorAm
WesAnd
JSchwa
AdBro
JWhed
ChuckPal
SufStev
PSH
JGL
NekCase
NiCave
PatFug
JenHolz
ZoDesh + MWard (who is already abbrev’d!)
TilSwin (for Darcy)
ViMort (also for Darcy)
ZCond (for Deena)
NavAnd (for Cara)
JGroff-bage-patch-kid (for Kate)
DerWag (for locals)

No Abbreviating Necessary or Recommended:
Danger Mouse
Bjork
Feist
Yoko Ono
David Bowie

And lastly, I maintain that EmWat and RuGrint should be used alongside DRad at all times.

Holy Crap!  Oh man!

I haven’t yet gotten around to writing a blog post about how much I am loving the tv show Glee, but it was high on my to-do list.   And I will still do that once I’ve caught up (I am watching episodes online, I was late to this awesomeness party).

And now I just read that Joss Whedon is going to be directing an episode of Glee.

Turns out, the genius who gave us not only the “Once More, With Feeling” musical episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer but also Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog is a big fan of Ryan Murphy’s new phenom. So when Twentieth (the studio behind Glee) approached him about the gig, pretty much his only reservation was scheduling.
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“Joss directed one of the great musical episodes in the history of television on Buffy,” gushes Murphy, “so this is a great, if unexpected, fit. I’m thrilled he’ll be loaning us his fantastic groundbreaking talent.”

This is beyond good news.   And am I surprised that Ryan Murphy is a Whedonite?  Not one bit.

UPDATE:  Just saw that Joss himself has commented on the news at Whedonesque.  Go read the whole thing, but here is an excerpt of what he had to say:

Hey kids and parents of kids and super-old, like ancestor-old-but-not-dead-yet-type people, just poking my oversized head in to say that the rumors are true… unless something very odd happens in the next few months, I will have the privilege of shooting an episode of GLEE. Why GLEE? Because I love cops, serial killers and gritty urban drama (I haven’t seen the show yet). Why me? Because they’re struggling and can’t afford real directors.
…

What can we expect from a ‘Joss Whedon’ epsiode of Glee? An episode of Glee. God willin’ and the crik don’t rise, a good one. A television director’s job is, on some level, to be anonymous; to find the most compelling way to present a story without calling attention to himself. I had a wonderful time doing just that on The Office, and hope to again. A guest director can bring a huge amount to the party (we’ve had CRAZY talent on Dollhouse), but the party isn’t his. I just want to work with good people on a show that I like enough to have watched every episode several times. (I lied: I HAVE watched the show. And seriously, when do the cops show up?)

I can’t wait!

For many reasons that I am way too tired tonight to get into, this news does not make me happy:

A new incarnation of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” could be coming to the big screen.
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“Buffy” creator Joss Whedon isn’t involved and it’s not set up at a studio, but Roy Lee and Doug Davison of Vertigo Entertainment are working with original movie director Fran Rubel Kuzui and her husband, Kaz Kuzui, on what is being labeled a remake or relaunch, but not a sequel or prequel.
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While Whedon is the person most associated with “Buffy,” Kuzui and her Kuzui Enterprises have held onto the rights since the beginning, when she discovered the “Buffy” script from then-unknown Whedon. She developed the script while her husband put together the financing to make the 1992 movie, which was released by Fox.

…

The new “Buffy” film, however, would have no connection to the TV series, nor would it use popular supporting characters like Angel, Willow, Xander or Spike. Vertigo and Kuzui are looking to restart the story line without trampling on the beloved existing universe created by Whedon, putting the parties in a similar situation faced by Paramount, J.J. Abrams and his crew when relaunching “Star Trek.”
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One of the underlying ideas of “Buffy” allows Vertigo and Kuzui to do just that: that each generation has its own vampire slayer to protect it. The goal would be to make a darker, event-sized movie that would, of course, have franchise potential.
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The parties are meeting with writers and hearing takes, and later will look for a home for the project. The producers do not rule out Whedon’s involvement but have not yet reached out to him.Speaking from Tokyo, Fran Kuzui said the company is constantly approached not only about sequels but theater, video games and foreign remakes for “Buffy.” When Vertigo’s Lee contacted them, they were intrigued.

To sum up my general gut reaction and feelings on the matter:  I don’t know how it could possibly turn out well.  AND I don’t see any reason to do this besides a potential quick dollar on the heels of many recent reboots and the success of Twilight with a ‘tween audience.   Not cool.

Outlook: Grumpy and pessimistic, with a slight chance of passing anger and pre-emptive judgment.

h/t:  Whedonesque

Word.

In a stunning move, sources say Fox has renewed Joss Whedon’s “Dollhouse” for next fall.The official announcement will not be made until Monday at the network’s upfront presentation, but sources confirm a deal has been struck for another 13 episodes. Fox plans to continue the show on Fridays next fall.
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The low-rated series was last seen given up for dead by the media in a field somewhere.
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But the show’s DVR numbers are huge (averaging a 40% bump), online streaming is strong. It’s a sci-fi show, which tend to bring in strong ancillary revenue such as DVD sales for sister-company studio 20th TV. And it’s said that Fox execs rather like the series, especially the latter half of the season. Besides, a show airing in the fall on Fox is a bit like running in midseason on most networks — it’s not the network’s strongest part of the year and maybe … maybe …
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All right, fine.
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The move is tougher to explain than most, especially based on the show’s ratings. A “Dollhouse” pickup is a shock, an underdog comeback that blows away NBC’s will-they-or-won’t-they hand-wringing over “Chuck” (psst, they almost certainly will). In fact, “Dollhouse” might very well be the lowest-rated in-season scripted drama to ever get a renewal on a major broadcast network. Almost certainly if based on where the show concluded — a 1.0 among adults 18-49.
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Basically this is a case of a bunch of minor decision-making factors successfully ganging up on the biggest factor (ratings).
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<Sqeeeee! >< Shriek! >< Happydance!>

That’s all I got to say about it at this particular juncture.