TVSquad

This week's letter comes from a fan named Jim Rodrigues.

Jim writes...
"I just saw an episode I've never seen before! This was rare indeed. It involved the crew of the Enterprise devolving into different creatures. Barkley became a spider. Captain Picard was becoming a lemur. Warf (sic) was biting amphibian Troi. It was my favorite episode other than one of the best T.V. episodes ever, "Cause and Effect." I was wondering if this "monsters running around" episode was released for Halloween? It would be the perfect October 31st episode. If someone knows the title and the date of release, I surely would appreciate it."

Technically it is Buffy/Angel week, but all things Whedon have a way of just melding together into one big stew. So it's a fortuitous bit of timing that a trailer for Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog was released this week. For those still unaware of just what Dr. Horrible is, I think it was summed up best by Nathan Fillion in a recent interview. It's about a super-villain (Neil Patrick Harris) who falls in love with a girl (Felicia Day), and the super-hero (Nathan Fillion) who blows it for him. The super-hero is kind of a dick. And... it's a musical. I think it could be very much more than that. More on that, and the new trailer, after the jump.

So is it yet another Star Trek alumnus coming on-screen, or a reunion of former Murphy Brown costars Candace Bergen and her on-screen amore Scott Bakula, as TV Guide says. Looks like it's both, as Bakula has signed on to join Bergen and William Shatner for an upcoming episode of Boston Legal. In it he will play one of Shirley Schmidt's (Bergen) exes who runs into her at a bar. No word on if his will be a multi-episode arc or a one-time appearance.

Bakula has shown himself to have a bit of comedic chops recently on The New Adventures of Old Christine, and with BL being a dramedy, he might do very well there. Either way, it is good to see Bakula back on the small screen. Quantum Leap remains one of my all-time favorite shows and I'm still mad they haven't found a way to bring it back (despite periodic rumors that they may), while Knight Rider gets a revival. It'd be great if they can get Bakula's character and Denny Crane (Shatner) together in a scene and have them salute one another or slip some other Trek teaser for the audience in the know.

It's becoming clear that if you plan on buying every season of a TV show, at least the more popular ones, you might want to wait a couple of years (if you can wait, that is). They're coming out with more and more "complete sets" and if you buy the sets individually you're probably paying more (and missing out on some extras, though that's not always the case).

Here's another one. CBS/Paramount will release a complete set for Star Trek: The Next Generation on October 2, to celebrate the show's 20th anniversary.

Via Boing Boing comes this lengthy essay from Michael Schmitz that looks at Human Computer Interaction in both movies and television. Some of the technology explored in this essay comes from shows like Star Trek: The Next Generation, Futurama, Star Trek: Enterprise, and an old German series called Raumschiff Orion.

Schmitz's essay looks at the technology used in these series and compares them to similar technology in the real world. The essay is a bit heavy, but I think sci fi nerds will appreciate it. All true science fiction is grounded somewhat in real science, and this essay delves into that world quite extensively and shows how often modern technology began as a fictional concept before we were finally able to catch up and make it a reality. For example, the "Wil Wheaton" in the picture on the right is now a real person. I know, it's spooky.

Discovery Communications recently formed Animal Planet Enterprises, a new multiplatform company with a strong focus on providing resources for pet owners. Besides maintaining the Animal Planet network and online sites like AnimalPlanet.com and Animal Planet Beyond, the new company has also acquired sites like PetFinder.com, Pets Incredible and PetVideo.com. The online and mobile aspects of the company will also include resources and tools for pet owners.

I grew up with all kinds of cats and dogs, but I currently don't own any pets of my own. I have to ask, though, do those of you reading this who have pets think you would use a "resource" like this? I think it'll be interesting to see if the animal lovers Animal Planet caters to will embrace this new company.

I wasn't around when the original Star Trek premiered on September 8th, 1966; I was but a fleeting thought to my parents. However, I did watch plenty of the series as it ran over-and-over again in syndication. As I got older I noticed that the show wasn't just entertainment, but a teaching tool as well. So, in honor of this breakthrough science-fiction show's 40th (!) anniversary, I present to you the five things I personally learned from Star Trek (not what I learned from All I Really Need to Know I Learned from Watching Star Trek, written by Dave Marinaccio.).

Alien babes are hot (and apparently easy): They're also extremely warm all of the time, because they barely wear any clothing. I guess there weren't any Puritans that landed on other planets in this galaxy (the only place they landed was at Plymouth Rock. Thanks alot, guys!). Maybe it was due to the era that the show was broadcast in, but it seemed like Captain Kirk was getting a little sumthin' sumthin' every episode. Didn't he ever think he could get Venutian VD, or Klingon Clap? Not very smart for a starship captain.

• This guy has posted his picks for the 10 Best and 10 Worst Sci-Fi Openings of All-Time. He's made some good choices here. For best he includes Star Trek: TNG and Mystery Science Theater 3000, and for worst he includes Enterprise. Did he miss anything? Put your picks in the comments below.
• Ken Levine has a really funny story about the cat from the 90s sitcom Almost Perfect.
• "The jungle is deep and dark and dangerous, but there are diamonds in there. Journalistically, that's how I look at this. It's a wilderness, and I'm gonna plunge into it and hope we come out of it with a few diamonds." Who said it?
• Somewhere along the line, Lost Remote changed it's URL to NowBreaking.com?!
• EW's Dalton Ross thinks there's something fishy about the Project Runway judging.
• Defamer has an update on the Ted Casablanca/E! controversy.

Okay, this one is for the sci-fi geeks. There's a few "space" shows I've watched and enjoyed, but there's far more I haven't seen, so help me out and let me know what your favorite television spaceships are. Below are five television spacecrafts I wouldn't mind being beamed onto, as long as they gave me a laser gun to protect myself, and maybe a large bucket of deep-fried tribbles ( I hear they taste like shrimp). Let's cruise:

The USS Swinetrek: This was the pig-shaped spacecraft from one of my favorite Muppet Show segments, "Pigs in Space." I always found myself intrigued by the adventures of Link Hogthrob, Doctor Strangepork, and first mate Miss Piggy. The episode with Mark Hamill where he appears on the spaceship as Luke Skywalker and Miss Piggy won't let him leave until he "rescues" her is one of my all-time favorite Muppet episodes.