Catching up, let's take a look at the JJ Abrams hour on Wednesday nights.
LOST: Maybe this is the wrong approach to take, but I wouldn't be the least bit bothered if we NEVER found out what was going on, because the mystery is not, in the least bit, getting in the way of telling intriguing stories. And really, that's what it's all about.
There's certainly been some bizarre developments. The kinda sorta but not really incestuous brother/sister relationship. The compelling kidnapping storyline. The various flirtations, and the sense that Ricardo Montalban could still step out from behind a tree at any time to welcome them all. But for my money, the most intriguing duo remain Jin and Sun. I loved the deft switch in POV in which events that were witnessed by Sun now are fully revealed as Jin's POV is presented (although what the HELL was Hurley doing on the TV that the little girl was watching, climbing into a car?) And really, how can you not love an episode that ends with a sexy woman in a bikini standing on the surf.
I understand that some folks are supposedly griping because the answers to mysteries are slow in coming. Screw 'em. I'm along for the ride for as long as they go.
ALIAS: Although there's a superficial sense that this season has been a massive reset to the show's first seasons, it's not really. In those days, Sydney was a double agent. Now, all cards are on the table, with the hostilities out on the table. I agreed with those who felt it questionable that Syd would climb into bed (so to speak) with the guy who ordered the hit on her fiance, but I believe last week's episode addressed the question thoroughly, and I"m satisfied with it for the time being. And personally, if I never heard the name "Rimbaldi" again, I'd be happy, because that really WAS a mystery that I felt was being made up as they went (as opposed to "Lost" where I have a sense that they know where they're going.) Unfortunately the good ship Rimbaldi is cruising back at us, but on the other hand, Gina Torres is back, so you gotta take the bad with the good.
I still haven't entirely made up my mind about Nadia. Having two people who can more or less do what Syd does not only dilutes Sydney, but makes me feel less like it's an interesting plot development and more a hedged bet should Jennifer Garner want out to pursue a movie career. And I mourn the loss of Syd's mother if for no other reason was that one of my absolute favorite "Alias" moments was when the Bristow clan went undercover, complete with Syd as a bored gum-chewing daughter.
Highlight of the season was the episode set in the fake city being used by Russian spies to study up on being Americans. I know it's been done before, but still, it was nicely done. And I'm pleased to see Dixon back out in the field since he was absolutely wasted the previous season. Basically I'm still assessing what I think overall, but if nothing else, it's good to see the series being run over an unbroken period of 22 weeks rather than breaks of a couple of months so that whatever urgency the series builds up dissipates.
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Make him stop shouting. For the love of God and the spirit of Johnny Carson looking down and wincing, make Chris Rock stop freakin' SHOUTING. Will someone please tell this guy that if your material sucks, then kicking it into high decibels doesn't make it better; it just makes it louder.
An occasional amusing line is tossed in here and there, but most of what he says is achingly unfunny. During his man-in-the-street interview sequence, the twenty second appearance of Albert Brooks made it clear that Brooks is infinitely more qualified to host than Rock. Jesus, Edna Mode is more qualified to host.
It is painful to see time-saving bits like lining up all the nominees or bringing the Oscars to people's seats, like pizza delivery, with a caste system that says some people belong on stage and others don't, and then watch the show hemorrhage time with Rock's routines and other lugubrious presentations.
Not to go all Comic Book Guy, but this is going to go down in history as one of the worst Oscar broadcasts ever.
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Peter will be at the PBA Cambridge Credit Classic today which will air on ESPN at 12:30 (Sunday Feb. 27, 2005). If you watch the broadcast, he is wearing a shirt with the Fantastic Four emblem on his chest and a blue bowling shirt. Ariel will be sitting next to him in a simular bowling shirt. We're cheering for Chris Barnes who is a really nice guy.
Remember Peter's run on X-Factor, where he discussed the implications on a test that could determine if the fetus would be a mutant?
Welcome to the future:
WorldNetDaily: Bill would ban abortions of 'gay' fetuses
Maine legislator got idea listening to Rush Limbaugh
Posted: February 25, 2005 - 8:45 p.m. Eastern
© 2005 WorldNetDaily.com
A Republican lawmaker in Maine has introduced a bill to prohibit abortions based on the sexual orientation of the unborn baby.
State Rep. Brian Duprey wants the Legislature to forbid a woman from ending a pregnancy because the fetus is homosexual.
He said the bill looks into the future in case scientists find what he described as a "homosexual gene."
"I have heard from women who told me that if they found out that they were carrying a child with the gay gene, then they would abort. I think this is wrong," said Duprey, who got the idea while listening to the Rush Limbaugh Show.
(Editorial snark: Did it take Rush this long to finish reading a comic book?)
It's been a while since I put on the spurs. I missed a couple of episodes, got behind, didn't even know where to start to catch up, and then just kind of backburnered it. But let's start climbing back in while we've still got some season left of stuff, shall we?
Spoilers:
SMALLVILLE: It's been an interesting season thus far, and stronger than the one before, even if it fell victim--yet again--to the infuriating reset-to-status-quo-no-matter-how-much-it-hurts syndrome after the first couple of episodes.
As one of the foremost advocates of the Chloe-is-Lois theory, I'm not too proud to say I'm happy to be wrong. Opinion seems divided on Lois, but personally, I like her. There's any number of females on TV that have guts, determination, drive, etc. But Lois has got spunk. The last time I saw a female on TV with spunk, it was Mary Richards. I like spunk. If you're Lou Grant, then you probably hate Lois, and she's a welcome addition.
I am somewhat torqued over the demise of Clark's teleporting girlfriend. She threw herself into harm's way to save Clark, and I thought, Man, how cliched that they're killing her off just when she's getting interesting. And lo and behold, they DIDN'T kill her off and I thought, Marvelous! Brilliant! They avoided the cliche! Better yet, they stood it on its ear. Well done. And then she's dead the following week. Cliche wins.
Still, the one good to come out of it was that Chloe has now become Pete Ross of the comics; the boyhood friend of Clark who knows his identity and doesn't let Clark know about that awareness. So that's cool as Chloe has a new role in the series, yet it's organic in the way that it happened.
Inorganic, on the other hand, is the only way to describe Lana, the human plot device.
Here's the problem with Lana: Clark? Never gonna get laid. Not gonna happen, kids. Absolutely never. If they were making Superman II today, Clark would give up his powers and then he and Lois would go and take in dinner and a show. The DC of today places far too much value on the family-friendly importance of the "S." Witness "Lois and Clark," in which not only didn't they have sex until they were married, but it was made explicitly clear that Clark was a virgin. Which means that Lana is by definition a dead-end character because the relationship can only go so far and no further.
So she's there instead to serve whatever function is required. She's the girl who Clark pines after but is involved with a swaggering jock...until that dead ended. So the jock vanished and now Clark could pursue her. Until that dead ended for the reasons stated above. So now she's...I dunno what. A refugee from a "Charmed" storyline. I have no clue what the hell is going on with her. It's certainly not the actress' fault. It's not even the writers' "fault" because the situation as it is is problematic. There's a constant sense of "What do we do about Lana?" in the same way that one worries about a problem child. But, geez, now she's a combination of Endora and Xena as she and Clark play "Romancing the Krypton Stone?" And the palace is guarded for centuries by an idol with Kryptonite in the eys, except Kryptonite was created by the explosion of the planet which didn't happen until centuries later, so what the fork is up with THAT? It's total breakdown in interior logic such as that that makes me worry they're really just kinda making it up as they go and praying nobody notices. Guys? We're noticing.
Nice send off to Doctor Swann though.
WEST WING: Y'know, a lot of people are claiming the current season is better than the last one. But I'm watching last season's on Bravo and, y'know, that one is starting to look better in comparison, and I wasn't that wild about it during the initial run.
This week was definitely a nadir. Personally, I had no problem with Leo having a heart attack because, hey, shit happens. Nor, after some initial thought, did I have a problem with CJ as COS. The problem is that the campaign episodes in particular have been impressively one-note. For a show that benefits from an interweaving of complex an and challenging storylines, this season oftentimes seems dumbed down and simplistic.
Sometimes it's downright painful. Bartlett becoming increasingly marginalized. Abbey looking like she'd rather be back at Rydell High or anywhere else.
And my God, did they go off the rails this week. It's like they're coming up with scenes specifically for insertion in promos. Josh and Toby in a FISTFIGHT? Are you freaking KIDDING me? Bad enough that the episode looked like it was directed by a drunken carousel horse. But this...? I can't help but wonder if Schiff and Whitford read the scripts, called each other and said, "You wanna call in sick this week?" I mean, yeah, okay, it was a mildly interesting twist that the woman Toby was talking to was the new candidate and you didn't realize it because they never assigned a pronoun to her when talking about her earlier. But, y'know, so what? So the candidate's a woman. To quote the leader of the Black 'Lectroids, "So what? Big deal."
There have been some bright spots. AnnaBeth is a marvelous addition, but I suspect that's largely because Kristen Chenoweth is one of those rarest of commodities, a writer-proof actress. Her voice, perkiness and physicality are an irresistable blend, although kudos must be given to whoever thought up the notion of putting her and CJ together in a walk-and-talk. Having her fall into step next to CJ, start talking, and CJ literally not seeing her at first--"My God, voices at my elbow"--followed by the hilarious, "It's hard to believe we're the same species," was just brilliant. That was the funniest scene in "West Wing" since Will found a goat in his office.
You want to know how dire "West Wing" has become? If it were happening in the real world, I'd be giving serious consideration to voting for Alan Alda, despite the fact that it would mean having a president who is (a) Republican and (b) named Arnold.
PAD
For Photos of last nights encounter between our Killer Bunny and the Cast
Also a few current cute pictures of Caroline.
Just came back from seeing "Spamalot" in previews. What a wonderfully loopy time THAT was.
Although obviously beholden to "Holy Grail," only a few sequences are basically word for word. The rest wanders astray into side sequences and songs--some relevant, some spectacularly not--that both send up Broadway cliches while simultaneously adhering to them.
Tim Curry looks like he's having entirely too much fun, Hank Azaria is hilarious as Lancelot (never realized how much he looks like John Cleese; it's the chin, I guess), and David Hyde-Pierce not only out-does Idle's Sir Robin, but he's easily got the best song in the show: A second act show stopper about how, if you're going to succeed on Broadway, you need Jews in your show (it's a nice companion piece to "The Producer's" song about gays...not that gays go untrounced in "Spamalot.")
Bottom line, it's a shamelessly mercenary endeavor exploiting the Python legacy, and no one, including myself, had the slightest problem with that.
We hung out afterwards and the three leads came out and signed autographs. I got them to sign the interior of my giant killer rabbit's mouth. Curry hesitated slightly and, divining his suspicions, I said, "I swear to you, I won't close the mouth on your hand." He trusted me and I restrained myself (which is nice since usually people have to be called in to apply restraints on me.)
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Went last night to the "Broadway Bears" auction which we attend every year. Basically professional costumers outfit teddy bears in exact replicas of costumes from famous characters and shows, and the bears are then signed by the actors represented. For instance, I bought one several years ago that is outfitted like John Adams from "1776" and signed by William Daniels. All money made goes to Actors Equity Fights AIDS.
It's always a great time, before various actors show up, either to rub elbows or even perform in a traditional custom-written opening act. Last night saw Richard Kind and Alan Ruck from "The Producers," Mickey Dolenz singing a parody of "I'm a Believer" called "I'm a Collector," Sondra Lee (the original Tiger Lily from the Mary Martin edition of 'Peter Pan'), Mary Bond Davis who continues to be wonderful in "Hairspray," and an original Ziegfeld Follies dancing girl so astoundingly spry that the place was stunned when she said she'd be 101 this March.
We tried for a couple of bears but were outbid this year. Nevertheless we had a wonderful time. If you're interested in finding out more or seeing the work of the wonderful crafts folk, go to www.broadwaycares.org and check it out.
PAD
Not in the world's greatest shape. First, I'm battling a headcold, which couldn't be worse timed considering I have business meetings, a charity auction, and tickets for "Spamalot" over the next few days.
Added to that is that Ariel is off to visit her mother, which once upon a time wasn't a big deal. But her mother moved to Arizona, so putting my unescorted minor on an airplane by herself for the first time and watching her take off has left an Ariel-sized hole in my world. The drive back from JFK was about the longest of my life. She'll be back in a week, but it's gonna be a rough week for me. I'm sure she'll be fine. Still, if Caroline starts going around saying "Riel? Riel?" and thumping on her bedroom door looking for her, it's going to be hard not to lose it.
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A friend slipped me a copy of a documentary called "Double Dare," and if you can get your hands on it, I cannot recommend it highly enough.
Directed by Amanda Micheli, it tells the intersecting stories of two stuntwomen: Jeannie Epper, who comes from a family that's described as the Flying Wallendas of the stunt world (except, one hopes, without the unfortunate body count), and has a career stretching back to doubling Lynda Carter as "Wonder Woman." And Zoe Bell, an up and comer who doubled Lucy Lawless as Xena and--in the course of the documentary--auditions for and lands doubling for Uma Thurman in "Kill Bill." (Several scenes are shown being filmed from "Kill Bill) with Bell as the Bride.) If you can manage to score yourself a copy, by all means do so. (There's a "Double Dare" listed on Amazon.com, but there's virtually no description of it and I don't know for sure if it's the same one. If anyone reading this does know for sure, chime in.)
Honestly? This shouldn't stop as a documentary. If a network can make a success of a TV series based on the life of a crime-solving psychic, then a network (or maybe the Oxygen Channel) could do a series loosely based on the lives of Bell and Epper. The older, more experienced stunt woman guiding the career of the younger while also dealing with the needs of her extended family. God knows I'd watch it. Hell, I'd write for it. This thing's a natural. Watching the set-ups for the stunts alone would be fascinating, and it'd be a hundred times better than the old Lee Majors "Fall Guy" series, especially if Epper and Bell are in it and doing their own stunts (a la Jackie Chan.)
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As anyone who has read the DC solicits knows, issue #20 is slated to be the last one for DC. At this point, DC has no plans to do trade collections of the remaining books in the run.
We are not, however, quite dead yet.
Watch this space for further updates.
PAD
Was gone for the past few days attending "Farpoint" convention in Maryland. As always, a very pleasant and low key endeavor. Guests included Tony Amendola, David Gerrold, Kathy Garver from "Family Affair," and folks such as Bob Greenberger, Howie Weinstein, Mike Friedman, and Keith "Second Coming of Peter David" deCandido.
High point for us was a sketch Kathleen and the girls performed as part of masquerade called "One Night in Who-Ville." Pictures are viewable at:
http://homepage.mac.com/kathodavid/PhotoAlbum24.html
Plus, over in her website, Kath gives a blow-by-blow description of the sketch itself. She won third place in the category of "Champion's Cup" (which she had to enter in since she'd won two awards in previous competitions) and also took Best Presentation.
At one point I was wandering around with Caroline, and she came upon an ice machine. Curious, she pushed the button, which I didn't want her to do since I knew if she kept doing it, she might jam the machine. So it made the hellaciously loud grinding noise that ice machines usually make. Caroline jumped back, her eyes wide, and she blurted out (I swear, her exact words), "Oh no!" I said, "Quick, Caroline! Let's get outta here!" And she turned and bolted out of there, her curly hair streaming behind her like the Flash. So I doubt she'll be messing with any ice machines in the future.
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Remember how ludicrous it was when John Ashcroft draped cloths over the bare breasts of the statue of justice?
Well, Gordon Lee, a Georgia comics retailer, isn't laughing. Because Gordon is being prosecuted under Georgia law that stems from the same "human body is evil" thinking. A law so sweeping that the following titles can get retailers arrested and charged with fines and jail time: "Watchmen." "Contract With God." "Sandman."
Interested yet? Sit back, I'll explain:
Every year, Gordon routinely distributes thousands of free comics on Halloween. This year he blew through over two thousand comics. One of the comics distributed was "Alternative Comics #2," (provided by the publisher during Free Comics Day) in which there was a story called "The Salon." The subject depicts the meeting of artists Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso.
It is an historically accurate depiction, right down to the fact that Picasso's studio was brutally hot during that summer and Picasso would paint in the nude.
There is nothing sexual in the depiction. Picasso, shown fully nude, doesn't have an erection or engage in sodomy with Braque. It is what was: A startled Braque meeting a blissfully immodest Picasso.
For the distribution of the comic (not even the sale, mind you) Gordon was busted on two charges. The first is "distributing obscene material to a minor," even though the material doesn't even begin to fit the Miller test for obscenity. And the second, even more insane, is "distributing material depicting nudity."
Yes, that's right. Any comic book in Georgia depicting nudity of any kind can get you busted. Remember Doctor Manhattan? He'll get you one to three years in Georgia.
If these laws are able to withstand constitutional challenge, do you REALLY think there aren't states who would love to adopt them?
Consider: If a comic book publisher produces a comic biography of the artist Michelangelo, and accurately depicts his statue of David or the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, any retailer in Georgia who sells it can be arrested. To say nothing of the publisher using the US mails to send out review copies. Distributing obscene material through the mails has some pretty stiff penalties.
Speaking of Michelangelo, here's an interesting factoid: There was a chief censor in Rome who considered the master's fresco atop the Chapel to be obscenity. After Michelangelo died, the censor converted others to his beliefs and hired one of Michelangelo's students to paint cloths and drapes over the naughty bits of Adam et al.
Now...how many people, off the top of their head, remember the name of the censor? How many remember the name of the artist who aided the censor?
How many remember the name Michelangelo?
And yes, I know some smartguys will immediately claim Michelangelo is only remembered because of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Well, guess what: Except for sashes and masks, the Turtles are naked, so...
The CBLDF will naturally be undertaking this case. And the point of the foregoing is that censors may sometimes win their short term goals, but in the long term it is the art and the artists who survive and revered while the censors are relegated to laughing stocks and the dustbin of forgotten history. Aid the CBLDF in tossing these particular censors into the dustbin they so richly deserve.
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Understand: I know nothing about football. Nothing. Okay, one thing: Kathleen likes to watch the Superbowl.
So I read during the football and watch the commercials. What I'll be doing is assessing the commercials as we go.
DIRECT TV: My God--I just watched my entire life flash before my eyes in sixty seconds. Am I that old? Did it really fly by that quickly? Lord, I'm depressed.
TOSTIDOS: That was cute. The whole bride thing.
BLOCKBUSTER: Boy, netflicks must be cutting into their business.
FORD: What a contest. Who's more obnoxious: Bikers or owners of Ford trucks.
McDONALDS: Eh.
CHEESE: Can'at go wrong with cows.
HOUSE: I haven't been consistent with watching it, but when I do, this is a terrific series, with an unrecognizable Hugh Laurie.
PSA: Sure. Join the team. Just don't use steroids when you do.
6:36
FORD: Liked it better than the one for trucks. I bet there really are people insane enough to drive a convert in the snow.
6:42
BUD WEISER: trust the beer commercials. That was funny. Second favorfite to the muppets.
LENSWEAR: Don't care.
CONSTANTINE: I hate to admit it, but I'm interested in it. Face it, we all know they should have cast Sting, but now that it's done, I'm curious to see whether it works as a film in and of itself.
Enforced break. Got involved with feeding Caroline, followed by playtime, then jammies and then settling her down for bed. But I should be back for the rest of the commercials now.
Paul is playing the halftime show. Amazing. He still looks boyish. More "ish" than "boy," but more boyish than I look and he's got a few years on me.
8:33
American Airlines. Okay, not memorable.
Nissan Maxima. Okay, not great.
Chase. zzzzzzzzzzz
Cadillac. Eh. You know what I'd love to see? A Cadillac commercial in which they're brainstorming and an ad guy says, "How about: Cadillac--the Cadillac of cars!" And they just stare at him. And the tagline is "Cadillac: No one ever says 'The Toyota of' anything..."
8:39
Getting real sick of the Ford convertible commercial.
8:58
Okay, the Ameriquest commercials are officially the funniest things so far. This one with the cat was even better.
Career Builder: Funny series that I'll bet has a lot of folks thinking, "Wow, that's just like MY work place."
9:02
WOTW: You know, if even Spielberg thinks that aliens are coming to kill us, we can prety much pack in the last bastion of optimism.
Cialis: Up to 36 HOURS?! Who is this FOR? Men married to an entire cheerleader squad?
9:11
Honda: "It's not just another truck." Bad news: It's another truck.
Verizon: Okay, I liked that a lot. The whole miniaturization thing. That was funny.
The Shield: I'd gotten out of watching it, but with Glenn Close joining the cast, I may very well take another whack at going with this series.
9:21
Miller: eh. Not the best.
Ford: Eh.
Toyota: This guy and his dog are starting to grow on me.
9:25
Toyota: Well, that's certainly the best ad for a Hybrid I've ever seen.
9:31
Budweiser...zzzz
Mastercard: Okay, that was great. All the trademark guys getting together for dinner. Good thing they weren't eating fish; wonder how Charlie would have reacted.
9:38
Budweiser: A good message and entertainingly told.
9:41
The collected superbowl: Ariel says if it has the commercials, I should buy it.
10:00
Sahara: Don't know anything about it.
Diet Pepsi: What frightens me is that if P Diddy really DID show up in a Pepsi truck, exactly what's depicted in the commercial would likely happen.
10:03
WOW! Okay, this isn't about a commercial, but hell, wow, what a touchdown.
You know, now I've really got myself wondering.
As I noted, because Schindler saved 1100 Jews, the result was 6000 Jews who would never have lived if it weren't for his efforts.
So if 50,000 young men and women died in Vietnam, how many people does that mean, roughly, were never born over the course of the subsequent four decades?
PAD
In a society where--horrifingly enough--polled high school students express little appreciation for the First Amendment, and see nothing wrong with the government curtailing freedom of expression, I notice that comics fans who knock the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund do so from two angles.
The first is a cavalier, "Well, they don't win any cases." I refer you to our latest endeavor, a case in which South Carolina customs officials embargoed comic books that lampooned George W. Bush. I am pleased to announce that, thanks to the CBLDF's quick intervention, the books have been shaken loose from customs and are proceeding, none the worse for wear, to their proper destination. So that was a slam dunk against governmental abuse of power. More can be found on that over at www.cbldf.org.
The second knock is the false perception that the only comics which run into trouble are hard core porn, and why should people support the CBLDF when we "only" come to the aid of accused pornographers. To that I am now saying, Watch this space. Come Monday, we will be announcing a new case the CBLDF is going to be taking on. It is going to be a major undertaking, and it challenges laws that--if allowed to stand--would leave retailers open to obscenity prosecution for selling certain titles that are considered comics masterworks and are on the shelves of just about every serious comics collector in the country.
PAD
So word down the pipeline is that "Enterprise" is canceled.
The immediate question being bandied about is, "Is Star Trek dead?" This doesn't surprise me. Pundits were announcing that sitcoms were dead...until "Cosby." TV westerns, once flourishing, were pronounced dead...until "Kung Fu." Movie westerns were also believed unable to pull in an audience...until "Unforgiven." Hell, "Star Trek" was pronounced dead when the original series went off the air...and then it was alive with "ST:TMP," but that was so poorly received that it was pronounced dead again...until the second feature film. "Star Trek" has died more often than Jean Gray, and yet it rises once more like...well, like a great bird.
I don't think "Star Trek" is dead. I think that *a* Star Trek series that never fully engaged (no pun intended) the viewership is dead. But if they build a new series, I think viewers will come right back and at least sample it.
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For some reason folks keep asking me, and no, I didn't see the State of the Union because it was my bowling night. Nor am I overly interested in watching his royal smugness for any extended period of time anyway...a sentiment I know he'd agree with. After all, he said just a couple weeks ago that if Americans are concerned with disturbing or revolting images on their TV screens, they've really no cause to complain because there's an off switch. And I concur, which is why I just turn the set off when he comes on.
From what I've read subsequently, he glossed over Iraq, which is smart, as Bush's List grows and grows. And I think that the business of privatizing Social Security is antithetical to the very concept. Social Security stems from a time when the country endeavored to pull together generationally, with the young paying in to support the elderly. Privatization is a nice, neutral word to cover what it really is: Every Man For Himself. It has less of a feel of trying to fix the ship of state and more a sense of abandoning a sinking vessel.
Cling to the clock and pray the country survives him.
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Been working hell bent for leather the past couple of weeks.
1) Finished the first draft of the novelization of the "Fantastic Four" film. Naturally I'm bound by confidentiality so I can't discuss what the script is...but I can say what it isn't, and that's the rumored slapstick sitcom-ish treatment that had fans so up in arms. If I had to guess, I'm thinking Chiklis' Ben Grimm is going to be the character everyone's talking about.
2) Scripted "Soulsearchers #70." Claypool is doing what they refer to as "Jump-On" month. It's hard to expand reader base when readers think they have absolutely no idea of what's gone before. So from the end of January through February, Claypool books such as "Soulsearchers" will be specifically geared toward filling in readers on what's gone before (although the ongoing plots will still be moving forward.)
3) Finished the first draft of the screenplay for "Gene Roddenberry's Starpoint Academy." Granted there's always a huuuuuge journey between the writing of a screenplay and the film actually winding up in a theater near you (or being made at all), but hey, the journey of a thousand miles is always shorter if you fly, or something like that.
4) Finished the script for "Fallen Angel #20" which is, at the moment, the last one slated. After that, your guess is as good as mine. Maybe better.
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