MasterHouse Theater: Review: Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog LIVE!

As talented as the Odd Lot Comedy Troupe is at improvisation, it's easy to forget that they are quite skilled in scripted performance as well. With Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog LIVE!, the Odd Lot ventures into the world of scripted theater. And what happens is exactly what you'd expect: a "horribly" good time.

(Note: For the purposes of this review, I have limited myself to exactly three uses of puns involving the word "horrible"... So that's one.)

Every geek or nerd worth their salt knows of Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog. But even if you aren't "horribly" familiar (that's two) with the details of the Joss Whedon story, the live show presents a similar version of web story.

The tale follows the often musical trials and tribulations of the titular Dr. Horrible (played on stage by Justin P. Kent), a super-villain trying to elevate his status by gaining entrance into the Evil League of Evil. His attempts at notoriety through evil are perpetually foiled by his infatuation with a girl in his apartment (Lynita Spivey) and the perpetual interference of his arch-nemesis, Captain Hammer (Ryan McConnel).

The show also features Gabe Reynolds as Horrible's roommate/henchman Moist and a small, but effective supporting cast (Trish McKay, Tim Reynolds, Megan Jones, Timmy Vo, and Hai Dang) who take on various roles and parts as needed to fill in the gaps along the way.

Kent is truly remarkable as Dr. Horrible. His interpretation of the character manages to convey all of the conflicting emotions of the megalomaniac without ending up a cheap impersonation of Neil Patrick Harris in the role.

The rest of the cast performs admirably as well. Spivey's Penny plays as the sweet, innocent girl-next-door she is supposed to be, and McConnel's Captain Hammer is every bit the strong and sometimes too smug hero that you'll eventually love to hate.

Director Chris Soucy manages to master stage space, utilizing selective props, a small smattering of back panels, and even the cast themselves to convey a variety of indoor and outdoor spaces. Fans of the original Sing Along Blog will be hard pressed to find many venues that aren't covered in some way, shape, or form onstage.

I was particularly impressed with the van scene, as it was something that could have been logistically difficult to pull off without... you know... a van. Or streets. But that and a good many other surprises await in the show. Expect a pleasant surprise or two along the way, including a few improvisational games from the Odd Lot Troupe to help flesh out what is a "horribly" short production (and three... I'm done with that).

All in all, the show makes for a fun, entertaining experience of improv, singing, dancing, and comedy that was completely worth seeing. While I will always enjoy the web production in all its glory, this was definitely an experience that I am glad I had the chance to check out. If you have the chance to see it, it would be "horrible" of you not to.

(... Yeah, I know I said only three. But in true evil fashion, I broke my own rule. You can't get more evil than that. I'll get League membership myself one day, I will. You hear me, Horse!)

Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog LIVE! happened Friday, August 27th at 8PM and midnight. It will happen again Saturday, August 28th at 8PM at Muse Arts Warehouse. So you should try and catch it then (or build a time machine).

HouseTV: Stargate: Universe Episode 17 "Pain"

I have to admit that I was shocked to find that this episode was not about the strange pang of regret I feel at the end of almost every episode of SG:U.

No, this episode revolved around the crew falling victim to a new strange phenomenon. After a gate mission, several members of the away party begin to fall victim to hallucinations. These all revolve around images of an intense nature for each of the concerned parties. Fears, insecurities, even regrets involving loved ones are exposed as members of the crew face the demons inside their own souls. The whole thing ends up being an infection of sorts, with the cure not as easy to come by as taking a few pills. But of course, in true Universe fashion, this concept seems to fall flat just in time to wrap things up cozily.

Don't get me wrong, there are some solid moments in the episode. The opening volley of Lt. McChesty... er, James and her um, intense but bizarre encounter with Scott certainly set the odd bar up there. And Chloe realizing that she was ill but refusing to seek immediate help because she was too attached to the image of her dead father was a novel twist to things. Eli once again breaks a confidence in the best interests of others (namely Chloe) and shows that he'll stand true to form when it comes to certain things.

So really, I don't ahev huge faults with the episode aside form the usual. The pacing gets a bit slow at times, and the resolutions seem a bit conveniently contrived in places. This is nothing new for anyone that's heard me ramble about the show before. But, at least this episode manages to do what the time warp episode didn't do, which is manage to expound on some of the thoughts and fears of the crew and actually leave those impressions with the crew to chew on.

Although ironically, of all of the characters that we get more insight into, it is James' vision that is the most telling. For someone whose greatest character trait displayed so far has been "used to bang the action lead", it was at least an interesting introspection to see that she clearly thought that it was more than a simple fling.

But then, any diversion related to Scott that keeps us from actually having to see or hear him do anything is welcome to me. Maybe one day they'll finally make me care about him. Or half of the other characters on board. We'll see.

So I trudge on and keep on trudging, taking the good with the bad and hoping that things will pick up. And just in case I was thinking about giving up on the show, they decide to give me the promise of not one but two SG-1 cameos next episode. Here's hoping it's not some lame dream sequence like last time.

Rating: 6/10 (Yeah, yeah, I know...)

HouseTV: Stargate Universe: Episode 16 "Sabotage"

Do the writers of Stargate: Universe take their plot point resolutions from old 50's film serials?

After setting up a small handful of situations and obstacles for the Destiny crew to overcome, this episode pretty much walks all over them and finds the quick and dirty solutions to everything.

Take, for example, the primary point from the past few episodes. The crew has still been reeling from the fact that they've had to permanently abandon Scott, Chloe, and Eli on a planet, since they were left behind and the ship is now jumping between galaxies. They've just started to accept this fact when a new problem presents itself. Destiny apparently won't have the power to make it across the void between galaxies. Then, of course, is the titular sabotgaging of the FTL drive, leading the crew to procure the help of an engineer whose intellect rivals Rush's, but that provides its own set of challenges and difficulties.

I want to say primarily that while the sabotage itself was a novel idea, it would help if the act didn't magically solve every other problem the crew was having. The ship conveniently drops out of FTL just close enough to the planet Eli and company were stopped on, allowing them to gate back to Destiny. On top of that, the one engine that blows up just happens to be the least efficient one in the drive, meaning that if they bypass it, the drive will actually become more power effective and be able to make it to the next galaxy. The latter I'll excuse as it made for the foundation of the episode, but the former was cheap writing at best. Don't make a big deal out of an issue at the end of an episode only to completely gloss it over in the next one.

That said, there were a few bright spots to the episode. The notion that bringing in the tech specialist required a member of Destiny to sacrifice time on Earth in her crippled body was an interesting twist. Interesting also was the fact that Camille would volunteer to take all of the time just so that she could spend time with her significant other. These led to a handful of well crafted scenes that taught us a little bit about all of he characters involved.

But still, despite the high points, the story feels like a drag at points. And much like it always does, yet another convenient plot twist swoops in at the end and saves us from dealing with a two-part episode. If the folks at SGU learn anything, I hope that it will be this: pacing, pacing, pacing. Stop dragging your heels in the interest of "dramatic exposition." The drama will find itself even if you speed the plots up a little.

Rating: 6/10 (Good character development, but the show should be doing better at this point.)

A Note to Highway Drivers...

The right lane for slower traffic. The left lane is there to allow faster traffic to pass slower traffic.

If you are driving 73 miles per hour when the posted speed limit is 70... you are slower traffic. Stay in the right lane.

If your attempt to pass a vehicle in the left lane takes more than 10-15 seconds, you weren't going fast enough to actually pass them. You are slower traffic. Stay in the right lane.

If you find yourself actually traveling side-by-side with the traffic in the right lane, you had no reason to be in the left lane in the first place, and you're holding up people with places to be. You are slower traffic. Stay in the right lane.

If there is a line of cars trudging along trying to get by in the left lane, and someone (an astute someone who doesn't think he's in a NASCAR race) decides to leave a car length or two between him and the car in front of him, this is not your signal to slide in. Especially when there is nothing but open space behind said vehicle. Stay in the right lane.

If you decide to pull in behind the above astute driver, especially when there is no traffic behind him, remember that there is no traffic behind him, that you can, in fact, wait a few seconds before pulling behind him, and that you will not receive any sort of point bonus for driving up another car's exhaust pipe. You know what to do...

Seriously. I haven't really been on the highway in a few years, but I swear that drivers there have actually gotten worse, which I didn't think was possible. And I didn't even get near the Atlanta area. Yikes...

Things I've Slept Through on Cable: West Wing? Again?

So I watch a lot of West Wing. Leave me alone. And as I am wont to do, I occasionally talk about the episodes that come on while I'm sitting around at home.

Today's episode, particularly well timed and titled "The Stackhouse Filibuster", is a good example of how a singular event can tie the entire Oval Office gang together. The episode centers around a senator, Howard Stackhouse, and how he holds up what everyone thought was a done deal of a bill by performing the ancient rite known as a filibuster.

Of course, it takes the gang (and of course, the fairly astute aide Donna) a while to stop pondering why a 70-something year old man would stand around for hours reading anything with words on it to stall a bill and to instead figure out exactly why he's doing what he's doing. And the why of it all and how the Wingnuts respond to it make for a truly feel good ending.

Granted, there's all other kinds of subplots floating around, but the filibuster itself is at the core of the episode. And while it has been given a bit of a stigma in recent history, it's nice to see the filibuster here is being used to press an agenda that anyone could really fall behind. The fact that it spotlights another essential truth - that sometimes government can be so busy trying to do business that they forget to pay attention to the details - isn't lost on me either.

(Note: This article is here because I happen to enjoy this particular episode of the show. It should not be considered a commentary on any particular government issue currently taking place. If you happen to think it shows how I feel about said issues, you'd probably be wrong. So there. Nyah.)

A Special Message to You Know Who....

Dear jackasses,

No one cares about your spam. No one is fooled by your half-cocked, pointless, and poorly written spam notes with links to more spammy goodness.

But congratulations. Thanks to you, anonymous posting on my blog is now over. Because I've been gone long enough for somebody to think they can just take up permanent spam residence here. They are mistaken.

Daddy is home. And it is time to clean house.

Abstract Thought of the Day

Congratulations, Anonymous A-holes. You have prodded my page just enough to warrant me going to comment moderation. I hate to do it, as it inconveniences me, but then you're inconveniencing me by making me waste time sorting through your lines of crap that have nothing to do with whatever it is I want to talk about.

Thank you, in advance, for giving me one more thing to sort through while trying to get the site back up to speed. Much obliged.

A simple pair of lists...

What I did this year:

• Reconnect with old friends
• Make new friends.
• Say goodbye to some friends far too soon.
• Finally say a few things to certain people that I never thought I would get the chance to say.
• Start my own podcast (for better or worse).
• Keep up my blog, despite some dry spells (for better or worse).
• Continue writing, most notably completing my Script Frenzy and NaNoWrimo goal (mostly for sheer insanity).

What I plan to do next year:

• Continue to learn from the mistakes of my past.
• (As always) try to be a better friend, a better son, a better brother, and a better person in general than last year.
• Try to have more of what resembles a social life, despite sometimes just liking quiet evenings at home.
  
• Finally get around to publishing something.
• (As always) try to have a better year than the last year.

The Companion's Guide to Doctor Who - Part One (Rose Tyler)

(In honor of David Tennant's last days as the tenth Doctor, we look back at the supporting cast that helped make him the man that he was. Needless to say, there are some minor spoilers for already aired episodes.)

A Rose by any other name... etc., etc. Some might recall that when it was announced that Billie Piper would be the first companion, it wasn't exactly met with open arms from longtime fans. In their defense, though, they were probably nervous to begin with. This was, after all, the revival of a classic scifi show, and the much vaunted role of the Doctor's companion was being played by a pop star? Blasphemy!

You see, Rose's adventure actually began with the ninth Doctor, Christopher Eccleston. And while he was his own brand of kooky and quirky, this Doctor had a bit of an edge to him. See, he's the one who came from the aftermath of the Time War and the loss of his people to the Daleks. So naturally, he got a bit... "cranky" at times. He wasn't even really sure that he wanted a companion to begin with, so Rose was both a welcome find and a minor nuisance.

Rose witnesses the Doctor regenerating...


What does this mean for the tenth Doctor, though? Well, right off the bat, he starts with a companion that is actually familiar with him and what he does. On top of that, since Rose helped bring the No. 9 back from the brink, No. 10 is quite appreciative of her and all of her efforts.

Rose helped to set a trend that would continue with the newer companions. While the main purpose of a companion has normally been to provide the audience with an everyman perspective and to give the Doctor a sounding board to explain things to the audience, the newer generation is a much more direct partner to the Doctor. Not necessarily an equal, but certainly a worthy and formidable ally in his adventures in time.

But moreso than all of those other things, Rose was the Doctor's friend in a time that he truly needed one, She helped him get his bearings and really get "groove" back (but not like that, you pervs). Whether you agree with Rose's portrayal being good or useful, the fact remains that she was the first, she was the longest, and she certainly made an impact.

They still like each other... aww...

Film Review: Sherlock Holmes

I would say that this isn't the Holmes you know, but let's be honest here. While there is a "traditional" view of what the master detective should be like, there have been a countless number of treatments of the character over the years. We've gotten versions where the detective is a sham and his assistant Watson is the genius (Without a Clue). We've even had versions where the titular detective was a puppet who hung out with a young boy and a talking dog. (Oh, Sherlock Jones... what fond memories I have...).

Still, this new film from director Guy Ritchie feels like a new treatment, or at the very least a fresh take on a character that hasn't gotten much of a spotlight in recent years. In this tale Holmes (the suddenly resurgent Robert Downey, Jr.) and Watson (the always bankable Jude Law) take on a case that involves murder, deception, and the dark arts. To say more would be to give away details that are best left witnessed for oneself.

And witness you should. The film takes you into historic London and completely wraps you up in its world until its conclusion. The story told here is a complete, entertaining tale told within a reasonable time span. The film runs exactly as long as it should, and when it ends it leaves you wanting more, but thoroughly satisfied with what you have. More films should try and do that...

Downey's performance as Sherlock, a tortured genius who is as hindered by the workings of his mind as he is aided, is inspired. Mind you, we've seen tortured, socially awkward genius roaming around for a good while now in various venues (that curmudgeon House comes to mind), but Downey's portrayal makes Holmes annoying, but in a manner that's almost charming. Almost.

Law's Dr. Watson is the perfect foil for this character. Unlike some iterations of the story where Watson is simply a sidekick or narrator, here Watson is both the mental and physical equal to Homes (who is himself quite the brawler). And while he spends a good deal of time remorsefully enduring Holmes' abuse and dishevelment, it is obvious that he truly enjoys their friendship and the work that they do. He is a perfect partner to the detective.

The rest of the supporting cast puts in solid performances, so much so that it doesn't feel like a single character is wasted. The allies are supportive, and the villains are as entertaining as they are antagonistic.

If I have one complaint about the whole thing, it would be that at times the visuals suffered. Although the only real thing that bugged me was the same thing I see all the time now: excessive quick cuts/unsteady cameras during fight scenes. It's a shame, because all of the fighting appears beautifully choreagraphed, and would have been better served with just a slightly slower visual treatment. At least Holmes gets to showcase his disturbing, bullet-time like fight scripting at various points of the film.

I don't really have much else to say. Except that I can't remember the last time I thoroughly enjoyed a film as much as I did this one. Granted, I don't hit the movies that often, but the packaging here is brilliant, the story is solid, and it barely misses a beat. You might as well go ahead and pony up the bucks to see this one now, or at the very least be ready to buy it on DVD. You really don't want to miss it.

Rating: 9/10

I'm Back, Baby! I'm Back!

... well, sort of. I've been pretty much gone for the past month and a half. And while the past month was due mostly to not having much time for updates between work and NaNoWriMo, the last half was due to me getting a little lazy. Seriously, I had time for the page before, how could I not now, right? Right?

Okay, so it's going to take me a little time to get back into the swing of things. But don't worry. Before you know it, you'll be ready for me to go on hiatus again... er...

HouseTV Review: "V" (2009) Episode 1 "Pilot"

I'd be hard pressed to think that there's anyone unfamiliar with the concept of "V". You've either heard of it loosely, or no doubt checked out all/part of the original mini-series (and series) as they were aired over the start of the weekend.

But just for the sake of argument, here's the loose rundown: the world is thrown into turmoil as a group of seemingly friendly aliens visit the planet under a flag of peace. Of course, the true nature of the aliens, and their actual agenda for being here, would seem to be much more sinister.

First, let's talk about what's different and good. The effects are obviously better than the original series. Twenty-five years would give you a little time to update things. So yes, all of the ships views (inside and out) are very well put together.

The Visitors themselves are also a plus thus far. The show forgoes the "pull away skin" effect from its predecessor and replaces it with a layer of human clone flesh. So revealing an alien is no longer as simple as getting a good grab of face and pulling. You need something that can cut past a layer of pseudo-tissue to get to the reptile on the inside.

And this show gives us a more novel (and some would say more relevant) twist on the alien invasion. Instead of just appearing out of the sky and having won over most of the planet in short order (which does still happen, by the way; more on that later...), the Visitors have also infiltrated society prior to their official arrival with sleeper agents. Which means that anyone on the planet could possibly be an alien agent with an agenda to cause chaos and cover their true agenda. It makes for a slightly more paranoid resistance movement.

Now for what's different and not necessarily better. It's only a minor detail, but I don't particularly like the Visitors being referred to as "Vs". If nothing else, the letter V and the tagging and such that went along with it became a sign of the Resistance in the original series, and it just feels weird for it to be used by the aliens in this particular incarnation.

Also, I find it a little unbelievable that the people of earth would be so easily accepting of an alien incursion in this day and age. It was a stretch back then to believe that it would go over so well, but at least they had the metaphor of German occupation to help mask it. Now, in an age where people still question the veracity of the duly elected President ... well, I'm not getting into all of that here, but my point is where is the Glenn Beck of this world to break into tears and love his planet... sniff... so very much?

Maybe that's supposed to be the role that Chad Decker (Scott Wolf) plays in the whole equation, but he seems very much like a second string fluff reporter. Still, his moral dilemma over reporting it straight versus "playing nice" and becoming famous does come over well.

And going back to what works, Anna (Morena Baccarin) works well as the Visitor's leader. Having spent the latter half of the weekend balking at how alternately vicious and bullheadedly ignorant Diana could be way back when, it's nice to see a new take on the alien leadership. Who's to know where this calm, reserved demeanor that the Visitors currently portray will take them? It's uncertain, but Anna definitely shows a lot early on (and I don't just mean those Amazon legs of hers... hello! Ahem...). The way she deftly manipulates Decker and his interview, initially feigning a naive misunderstanding of Earth journalism, then showing that she has a full grasp of just what it's all about, makes it clear that the cool alien exterior still has some teeth.

All in all, I have my reservations about the show. The first half follows the script (somewhat literally) that its predecessor did. What little twists and nuances that were there only serve to agitate an already unsteady foundation. It's not until the latter half of the pilot, with the introduction of the sleeper elements and a few other decent twists, that the show really starts to show itself off. Hopefully it picks up from there, and continues its momentum into the next few episodes. The show certainly has the potential and the early buzz to be a stand out series.

Rating: 7/10 (A solid start that hopefully builds better on its foundation.)

HouseTV: Review: Stargate Universe Episode 6 "Water"

Remember how I've said that the only person on the ship I like at all is Eli? Well, guess what happens this episode?

Okay, so I still like Eli. But goodness knows they are trying their hardest to make him just as annoying as the rest of the crew.

The problem du jour for the Destiny and her this week? A shortage in the water supply for the ship. Making this even odder is the fact that the ship's recycling systems make the water supply a closed system. I found it amusing that more than half the crew didn't seem to understand that "closed system" means that there's no way the water supply should be dropping off like it was. Still, they had nothing better to do than search for possible hoarding among the crew.

Or most of them had nothing better to do. After the Destiny stops in range of an ice planet with a hostile environment (presumably sensing that the crew needs more water), Young and Scott go on an expedition to attempt to procure some usable ice. Of course, the ice breaks, Scott gets trapped, and hilarity ensues.

But if that wasn't bad enough, the Destiny crew figure out the source of the water thieving: an alien life form (seen in episode 3) that's beyond thirsty. The crew, of course, eventually finds a way to overcome all of the adversity, although it's unclear whether or not the crew's water supply is back to normal when it's all said and done.

But of course, the crew continues to be an irritant. What does it say about the crew that there are only two people I really care about? Eli is irritating as he complains about how the others are all engaged in lies and double talk, but he's still the most sensible person on board the ship (and the only one that seems capable of thinking outside the box, as his floating pallet idea showed). And while everything seems designed to make you hate Greer, his consistency in the a-hole department has to be respected. Who else besides Greer could seem genuinely impressed when T.J. admitted that she didn't trust him?

The rest of the crew tends to flop as usual. I'd assume that we were supposed to be impressed with Young's stubbornness over not abandoning Scott. But Scott manages to remind us how dense he is when he blindly accuses Rush of only caring about the water and not the people (which is the second time in as many weeks that he's made an accusation against Rush not backed up by any evidence.

Chloe is useless as always, only showing up to play cheerleader to Scott's quarterback and to complain on cue. And while Rush still has the best sense of perspective of anyone on the Destiny, he still tends to lose his temper and come off as condescending at the worst possible times. Although he did seem to be willing to mentor T.J. through her temporary command.

Oddly enough, the show still works for me, though. Although I am still waiting for a bit of a ramp up. Next week's preview seems to show that the game may be changing. And at least I'm pretty sure that I know who I'll hate most of all then: Telford's back in the saddle. God help them all.

Rating: 6/10 (This rating will start to drop if I don't see some progress made soon).

As Time Goes By...

Okay, color me stupid here.

I don't think that a month has gone by when I haven't actually thought to myself in idle passing, "What are you going to do for the one year anniversary of House Rules?" I was probably thinking about it after the first few weeks, the first few months... heck. Two months ago I was trying to figure out if I was going to make a compilation book of some sort.

So it comes as a shock to me as I pondered what I was going to post this month and how to squeeze it in between bouts of mad writing sessions, that I would stumble across fellow blogger Ivan celebrating his six year anniversary (and congrats to you again on making it this far... your site rocks). And as it reminded me of what I should do when I achieve my meager but still impressive goal of one year in, it also reminded me of yet another thing...

That happened two weeks ago.

October 19, 2008. The first post at Casa de House (albeit a repost of a previous post from another page. Still, it was the start of this whole thing, and even if it wasn't, the first post after that would still have been in October. So I missed my 1 year anniversary this year. I'm sorry, baby. Do you forgive me?

Anywho, I'd be a lot more formal about this (and maybe I will later), but the truth is I just don't have the time to spare on it right now. But thanks to the many people, here and there, near and far, gone and yet to come, that have made the creation of my little corner of cyberspace worth the effort by checking it out from time to time.

Once More Into the NaNo...

It's my (pretty much) last chance attempt to talk anyone into getting on board the NaNo train. And because they can tell it much better than I can, here's the penultimate promotional mail from the organizers of NaNoWriMo, including a useful (but probably slightly exaggerated timeline):

Dear National Novel Writing Month Author,

Hi there! NaNoWriMo Program Director Chris Baty here. It's so great to have you writing with us! Before we get rolling, I wanted to send you a quick guide to our upcoming month of literary abandon.

Here's the plan:

Today: If you haven't already, please make a tax-deductible donation to help us pay for National Novel Writing Month and NaNoWriMo's Young Writers Program. NaNoWriMo is a nonprofit, and we've spent nearly half a million dollars getting this swashbuckling adventure ready for 150,000 adults and 35,000 kids and teens around the world. Our goal is to pay off this year's expenses and set aside enough to expand and improve both programs next year. With your help, we'll do it! Thank you so much to everyone who has donated so far!

Tomorrow: Make sure you've set your time zone correctly (it's under User Settings). Some word-count features appear and disappear at midnight on November 1 and November 30, so dialing those in now will save you stress later. Join a local region, and find out when and where the first novel-writing get-togethers (called "write-ins") for your city or town will be held.

October 31: Get your first pep talk email. You'll receive about three of these a week; one from NaNo staff and two from our panel of esteemed celebrity pep talkers. Spam filters love to eat pep talks, so if you don't get yours, just drop by the pep talk page (under Fun Stuff) where they'll be posted as soon as they go out. Our first guest pep talker will be Jasper Fforde; he'll be parachuting into your inbox next Wednesday.

November 1: At midnight, local time, start writing your book. You need to log 1,667 words per day to stay on par. The website will be very slow for the first few days of the event, but with patience you can update your soaring word count in that box at the top of our site. Watch your stats graph fill. Send a link to your author profile to your friends so they can follow your progress. Revel in the majesty of your unfolding story. It's November 1! You are an unstoppable novel-writing machine!

November 2: Stop writing. Wonder if you should start over. Keep going. Feel better.

November 8: As the first full week of writing comes to a close, you will be at 11,666 words. This is more fiction than most people write in their lifetimes, and you did it in a week. Go, you! This is also Municipal Liaison Appreciation Day, a raucous international holiday that celebrates NaNoWriMo's volunteer chapter-heads (the folks who organized the write-in you went to last week). Chocolate, flowers, and gifts of expensive electronics are appreciated.

November 13: Nothing really happens on November 13.

November 15: After the second week of writing, you will be at 25,000 words. This is the approximate length of such legendary works of fiction as The Metamorphosis, Of Mice and Men, and Twilight: The Complete Illustrated Movie Companion. You're halfway to winning! Attend a Midway Party in your town.

November 16: The second half of NaNoWriMo dawns. Writerly confidence builds. Your book comes to life, and characters start doing interesting, unexpected things. Nice. Weird.

November 22: After the third full week of writing, you stand at 35,000 words, the NaNoWriMo milestone universally recognized as The Place Where Everything Gets Much Easier. This is also when you fly out to San Francisco and join us for the Night of Writing Dangerously Write-a-thon, where you'll help us set records for group noveling and candy consumption.

November 25: Novel validation and winning begins, and Word-Count Progress Bars turn from blue (under 50K) to green (over 50K) to purple (over 50k and a verified winner!). Check our FAQs for details on uploading your manuscript and winning. A limited number of 2009 Winner T-shirts will appear in the store. These will make you smile, and will feature a squirrel.

November 26: American Wrimos celebrate the true meaning of Thanksgiving by gathering together with friends and family, wolfing down a huge meal as quickly as possible, and then ditching those friends and family to hide in the bathroom with a laptop.

November 30: By midnight, local time, we will all be the proud owners of 50,000-word novels that we barely could have imagined on October 31. Plan to attend your local NaNoWriMo Thank God It's Over Party, where grins will abound, champagne will flow, fives will be highed, and wrists will be iced.

You did it. We all did it.

December 1: Sleep will fall heavily across NaNoLand, as 150,000 writers close the book on a crazy, oversized dream.

December 2: The "I Wrote A Novel, Now What?" page goes up on the NaNoWriMo site, containing some special items for our winners from sponsors CreateSpace and Scrivener, along with advice on revision and next steps from published NaNoWriMo authors.

December 3: Rewrites begin.

It all starts very soon, brave writer! Here's to a great month together!

Chris
NaNoWriMo

HouseTV Review: Stargate: Universe Episode 5 "Light"

Kobayashi Maru. For fans of sci-fi (Star Trek, in particular), it is generally a reference to a no-win scenario. In particular, it refers to the notion that how one faces death is just as important as how they face life.

Such is the nature of this episode. With the now powerless ship drifting towards a star, the crew of the Destiny face the prospect of certain destruction. Or most of them do, as a conveniently placed planet and a working shuttle offers the chance of life for a small fraction of them. The events leading up to the selection of that few and the aftermath of the result are what we bear witness to.

There are many minor moments here and there that give us more insight into each character. Col. Young attempts to be fair about how to select the shuttle occupants with his lottery, but at the same time shows he can be coldblooded as he threatens to remove people from consideration in said lottery for various infractions. Greer continues to be rough around the edges with pretty much everyone, but manages to show a "softer" side while talking to Young. Greer even goes so far as to wax poetic at the notion of their impending death, even if "what a way to go" isn't necessarily a calm, positive outlook.

But it's not all positive points. One of the biggest issues I have with this episode is the forced pairing of Lt. Scott and Chloe. Not only do they "hook up" in this episode, but there is little to no explanation about why they are so close. In fact, they don't even try. It's like they start holding hands after a meeting, and we have to just assume that there's more back story there. Or, as is more likely, they're just two poorly put together people.

Let's really look at this for a minute. We have Chloe, who has arguably spent more time hanging out with Eli at this point. She even seems to genuinely like him, even though we know they aren't going to let him get anywhere with her. And despite having a conversation or two with Scott, they have no chemistry whatsoever.

But part of that is because Scott is a virtual loser anyway. Lest we forget, our first view of him is with his pants around his ankles banging what we have to assume was the nearest piece of tail he could find (we note this since he later treats said officer with complete indifference). And now, we are to believe that he not only has feelings for Chloe, but that they are such very deep feelings that we are supposed to care about them, too. I don't generally consider love scenes to be all that wonderful an addition to a TV show (especially a basic cable one that's going to rob you of any naughty bits... ahem...), but I can't recall the last time I saw one and was bordering on repulsed by it. It only served to make both characters that much less appealing, so much so that I can only compliment Eli's restraint in only jabbing at them briefly.

And since I still count it as a character, let's put the ship on my gripe list now, too. It shouldn't come as any surprise that after teasing the ship's destruction at the hands of an angry sun, not only does Destiny not get destroyed, but it actually recharges. It would seem the ship is solar powered. In fact, it is so solar powered that it can actually fly through the sun. Mind you, I spent a few days last week arguing that I could accept that the Ancient communications stones could transfer consciousnesses across the universe seemingly instantaneously. But having said that, I have a hard time accepting that the ship that has been damaged to the level it has can just swoop on through the sun like it was no big thing.

Furthermore, the ship has shown that it's brilliant several times during these opening episodes, stopping at points that would allow itself and its occupants opportunities to save themselves. But alternatively, Destiny's autopilot will up and attempt to screw said crew over. It had to be forced to stay longer than it wanted during the opening mission, and now it couldn't even be bothered to slow down to let a shuttle catch up to it and land. Hopefully, there is a solid explanation for why it has these conflicts. I'd accept "system damage" as flawed as it would be, but I'm still hoping we find out that the ship is actually in a hurry to get somewhere that it needs to be. Otherwise, I'd think it could take an extra second or two to make sure it had all of its passengers before zooming off.

All in all, though, I did like the episode. They took what was an obvious false lead in the end of everything and managed to make a decent character driven story out of it. You genuinely feel the desperation of many of the characters during the lottery sequence, and it was nice to see the leads all having a fun, peaceful moment at the end of the episode.

If only Young hadn't derailed it with his intriguing but completely unnecessary accusation. It's a novel concept that Rush might be that manipulative, but after all but bending over backwards to try to get Rush in better with the rest of the crew, why would Young make a claim like that in public? Right now, it's like the show is trying its best to make sure you don't accidentally like anyone too much. Sooner or later, that's going to start wearing thin.

Rating: 6/10 (Better than the average formulaic episode, but still pretty by the numbers.)

Minor (But Important) HouseKeeping

Some may have noticed a few... minor changes to the layout of Casa de House (and also to our sister site Planet Houston!). After railing about how indifferent and/or insensitive I thought Cris Collinsworth was being last weekend over many players, coaches and officials wearing pink trimmed accessories, it occurred to me that I hadn't done anything about it myself.

And while I'm sure I would look just dashing in a pink piece of clothing, I'm much more active (and visible) online. So for the remainder of the month (and possibly some time after it since I started so late) both sites will sport pink layouts in support of breast cancer awareness.

Because frankly, I have a mother and sisters, friends and acquaintances, and many have gone through a scare or two in their lives (several of which they probably never even shared with me). A little color change is the very least I could do.

HouseTV Review: Stargate: Universe Episode 4: Darkness

The new crew of the Destiny can't seem to get a break. They've only just resolved their issues with the air supply when they run into a new problem: power issues. While the rest of the crew pokes around various ship areas, Dr. Rush's obsession with the ship's dwindling power supply results in him blacking out shortly after the ship does. But even as the crew faces an uncertain future, the ship itself prepares to make a last ditch attempt to salvage their existence. But you know what they say about good intentions...

The good news is that I do enjoy watching this show. The overall theme and the dynamics provided are things that I want to see on television. I'll say again that I don't know how much of it is a clone of BSG (I still haven't seen much of that show; yeah, I realize that damages my sci-fi cred...), but I think it stands out on its own merits.

That said, one of the major things that is bothering me right now is pacing. Oddly enough, the episodes don't seem to move that slow in and of themselves. In fact, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed watching the two hour premiere a second time after thinking that its pacing was slow. But for some reason, when an episode concludes with an open ending, it just feels like they could have made more progress with the story.

Should there be plots and themes stretched out over multiple episodes? Certainly yes. But at the same time, you should feel some sense of resolution as the show moves on. This is the second time in four episodes where you get the feeling that the best part of a story has yet to be told. And while it's nice to have build-up, it feels more like the writers are saving the best parts for the second half, making me wonder just why I wasted my time with the first half.

Which makes it seem like I hated this episode, when the opposite is true. In honesty, it's the characters that drive the story, and they do the job well for the most part. Eli continues to be lovable as the everyman that will eventually be screwed (but not in the way that he'd like to be). Dr. Rush continues to be a pain in many peoples backsides, but at least we do continue to see that he has his reasons for acting the way he does and that he does actually care about them all surviving.

The other leadership continues to be shades of 'meh'. Col. Young is who you think you'd want in charge, but he seems to mishandle Rush just as often as he uses him as an asset. Col. Telford is such a huge A-hole that you can't find one redeeming thing about the way he acts (which means I should probably give a nod to Lou Diamond Phillips for managing to make him that grating). Lt. Scott is supposed to be the heroic action lead, but is far too needy for my liking at the moment.

And everyone else is still drifting aimlessly in the background, with only a brief moment of splendor to speak of. Or possibly two, if I count that one SGC chick with the huge bazooms. And big ups to Lt. Chesty for using her sex appeal to lure Eli into a trap, then acting irritated later while being ogled. Way to raise the standard there, lady...

But let us not forget the most dynamic character of them all: Destiny herself. As intelligent vehicles go, this ship scores right up there with KITT and other transports that are probably smarter than their occupants. The ship has already shown that it's more capable than its occupants by thinking ahead and attempting to provide them with what they need before they even realize they need it. Although as smart as it is, it makes you wonder how it got into the condition it's in, or why it's not just a little better at trying to provide needs.

And I know, as the show progresses, everyone should get fleshed out more. Which is good, because as much as I like this show, I feel like I should like it more. Now if only they don't go full sappy before my gag reflex is properly prepared for it... what happens this week? Aw, crap.

HouseTV: Believe it or Not...

Many people (presumably my age or older, but perhaps a few retro fans besides that) will remember this show, but I felt the need to revisit it for a few reasons. I speak, of course, of The Greatest American Hero.

See, back before it was en vogue to do projects related to superheros and people were just getting used to believing that a man could fly, there was a man that was trying to embrace the idea himself.

I speak of Ralph Hinkley (played by William Katt), high school teacher and all around nice guy who is visited one night by strange aliens in the desert. No lie, this is how it all starts. It seems that because of his good nature and heart, he has been chosen to be a champion for justice. The aliens provide Ralph with a costume that grants him a wide variety of powers and abilities along with an instruction manual to guide him in the use of the suit. Ralph, as is the case in situations like this, promptly loses the manual, and with it, any chances of ever gaining full control of the super-suit.

And that's the main premise of the show. Ralph would often come to the aid of FBI agent Bill Maxwell (played by Robert Culp) and many times come into conflict in his relationship with girlfriend Pam Davidson (played by the disturbingly pretty Connie Sellecca). And of course, at various points in time, he would help any number of other assorted people and students, all while trying to figure out how to make his suit work.

As you'd imagine, the show is more of a comedy than a true superhero action show. Most of the time is spent showing the antics of Ralph and Bill getting into and out of trouble, with the occasional super feat tossed in at random points. There were two highly notable things about this show:

1) The super suit that Ralph had was awesome. And I don't just mean the design here (which in reality was pretty spiffy). Ralph was granted any number of powers by it, most notably flight, super strength and invulnerability (although since the costume granted the invulnerability, Ralph would end up covering his face anytime someone shot at him. Which makes no sense when you realize the number of times Ralph ran into/through stuff with no facial damage.) But on top of this, the suit also granted Ralph other abilities. He had psychometry, or psychic reading, which allowed him to see images of people by making contact with an object that they had touched. He could turn invisible. And there are no doubt any number of other things that I'm forgetting. If he had actually kept up with the manual for it, he would have been quite the force to be reckoned with. And he wasn't exactly chump change without the manual.

2) The show has perhaps one of the better and catchiest theme songs ever made. The DVD boxset for the show had a button on the front you could press to play the theme at will. And why not? Check this out.



And the show still has many fans floating around out there. There was recently work done on a comic book (which included as part of its writing team none other than William Katt). I stumbled across an interesting (if not disturbingly retro) web series based on the show on YouTube, and Nathan Fillon (you guys know him, right?) mentioned in an interview that he would be interested in playing the role in a feature film (even if he has a few weird ideas about it). So despite being dated as all get out and cheesier than Wisconsin cheddar factory, this show still remains a fond favorite of many, including yours truly.

A Primer on Stargate: Universe

So you missed the premiere of Stargate: Universe last week. Maybe you slept through it. Maybe you weren't all that interested in a new sci-fi show. Maybe you just didn't have the two hours to check it out any of the 200 times that SyFy will show it this week.

Well, fear not. In this (not so) small article, I will attempt to cover every major point that went down during the premiere episodes and go through the major players this far. With any luck, it will be just enough info to let you dive into the next episode of Universe without the hassle of having to watch the whole thing (although if you have the time, check it out; it's not a bad show, by any means).

It goes without saying that this primer contains MAJOR SPOILERS. If you'd rather watch the pilot, or if you don't want to be spoiled on some of its plot points, please stop reading now.

General Info:

SGC: Short for Stargate Command. The (mostly) military organization that oversees the Stargate Project on Earth. You should know this, but just in case you don’t here it is again. If anything, note that ‘SGC’ gets used as an abbreviation quite a bit of the time, both on the show and here.

Stargate: A device in the form of a big metal ring, the Stargate transports matter over long distances by generating a wormhole that connects it to another Stargate elsewhere in the galaxy. Gates are normally connected by “dialing” in an address that consists of seven coded symbols or chevrons that represent coordinates in space and the gate’s point of origin. In rare cases, gates have been able to dial addresses longer than seven chevrons.

Ancients: Name given to the race of people who originally designed and built the Stargate system. The Ancients are a race that precede most of the known history of most races in the SG universe. In fact, the reason that most of the races that the SGC encounters appear mostly or entirely human is that they are all descendants of the Ancients.

While the SGC tends to use some Ancient technology they have found or scavenged, much of that technology and how it functions remains a mystery to them.

Ascension: The process by which a corporeal being transforms their consciousness into energy and reaches a new plain of existence. Some time ago, virtually all of the Ancients ascended, leaving behind their technology, ships and bases to be discovered by others over the course of time.


SG: Universe-specific Info:

Eli Wallace: Eli is your average joe introduced in the form of a gamer geek. Eli solves a puzzle in one of his favorite video games and finds himself literally whisked away to SGC's offworld Icarus base. He is recruited because the puzzle he solved is actually part of an Ancient equation that will allow the SGC to dial a nine chevron address.

Icarus Base: An offworld base that has been specially built on a planet that has what's required to power a gate that will dial up a nine chevron code found in an Ancient archive. As has been discovered, dialing an eighth chevron sends them to a different section of the galaxy, so where this new gate goes is anyone's guess.

Dr. Nicholas Rush: The lead scientist overseeing the project at Icarus Base. When the base comes under a crippling enemy attack, Dr. Rush dials the nine chevron address instead of dialing back to Earth, sending the survivors of the attack to a mysterious ship in the outer reaches of space.

As evidenced by his first actions, Dr. Rush is driven just as much by his desire for discovery as he is for survival. This puts him continually at odds with the other survivors and the SGC crew in particular.

Lt. Matthew Scott: When their commanding officer is incapacitated during their escape to the Ancient ship, Lt. Scott is left in command of their operation. A seemingly capable leader, Lt. Scott ends up bumping heads with Dr. Rush on several occasions, in particular once Dr. Rush begins to claim that he is in command of the exploration/rescue effort.

Destiny: An Ancient vessel sent out on auto-pilot to explore the universe. The Ancients apparently planned to transport to it via its Stargate once it had gotten far enough out into the universe, but must have ascended prior to getting around to it. The ship is barreling along at Faster That Light (FTL) speed and has been damaged, with many of its systems currently offline or operating in diminished capacity. Of major import is that the air filtration systems are completely trashed and will only provide at best another day's worth of air.

There were several other ships deployed prior to the Destiny, also unmanned and tasked with the purpose of scanning ahead for planets with suitable atmospheres and creating Stargates for them. The Ancients, it would seem, planned their exploration out quite extensively.

Senator Alan Armstrong: A senator and supporter of the Icarus project, Sen. Armstrong and his daughter Chloe have the misfortune of visiting Icarus Base at the exact time that it gets attacked. Dragged with the rest of the survivors to the Ancient ship and suffering from a medical condition on top of a new injury, Sen. Armstrong chooses to sacrifice himself in an effort to seal off a damaged section of the ship. His efforts extend the amount of viable air left in the ship, but only provides a limited reprieve from the current crisis.

Col. Everett Young: The commander of Icarus Base, Col. Young is injured during the escape effort and rendered unconscious. Although still suffering ill effects after regaining consciousness, he reassumes command and attempts to use the Stargate on the ship to dial back to Earth, an effort that even he admits may not work.

When the ship drops out of FTL and the gate dials out to an address on its own, Col. Young forms a team tasked with going through the gate and exploring the world for items that might be able to fix the ship’s defective air systems.

And that’s about the gist of things for now. Check back later for more info and characters as they become more prevalent.