TVSquad

I'll preface this by saying that while I'm familiar with the Stargate franchise and recently watched the 1994 movie starring Kurt Russell and James Spader, I've only seen an episode here and there of the various TV shows. So this is my newbie look at Stargate Universe, which premiered Friday night. (And, uh, there really isn't that much on Friday night, and it happened to be on Charter's video on demand, so I checked it out after the premiere aired.)

I'll say right off the bat that it seems a little cheesy, so I'm wondering how it compares to the previous Stargate incarnations. The characters seem a little cliche:

• the blowhard politician with health problems (and his caring daughter), which resulted in the episode's most heartbreaking moment
• the nerdy guy with long hair and a sad past
• the nerdy kid who ends up being transported to a spaceship and helping the crew with important stuff
• the tough-guy military people with guns and crew cuts
• the gorgeous female crew members

When word broke that the Stargate franchise was moving into darker territory with Stargate Universe, fan reaction ranged from cautiously optimistic to downright angry. The anger mostly came from fans who felt jilted by Syfy's sudden cancellation of the veteran show Stargate Atlantis (it didn't help that Syfy announced the new series in a press release that also announced the cancellation of Atlantis). To some, it seemed like the fan favorite (Atlantis) had to die so the edgy new experiment (Universe) could live.

Universe –- a fine, scrappy show packed with great actors – might now be facing an uphill battle with some of its target audience members. Stargate fans unwilling to give the show a chance should know one thing: The franchise's spirit of adventure remains intact in the first three episodes of Universe. It is different and darker than Stargate: SG-1 and Atlantis – even blatantly dreary at times – but it's still Stargate.

All is well with the world: Lou Diamond Phillips won I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here! He's the only contestant out there that deserves to be called a "celebrity."

Why did Lou Diamond Philips pick a show that anyone could see was going to be a train wreck? Did he have 24 days off and say, "why not?" Or did he look at the list of celebrities and then agree? After watching the season, I still don't know who Torrie Wilson was, and she was the runner up.

Lou Diamond Phillips is a good actor. I loved him in La Bamba. I have CHE on my list of movies to watch. He may be a little aged now, but he still gets parts and plays them well. If he did the show for his charity (I love him for supporting Art has Heart), he probably agreed because he knew he had the most celebrity and probably was the most sane person out there.

And the King or Queen of the jungle is .... don't worry, I won't spoil the answer on the first page of the post! You'll have to click through to know more and comment on the results.

I've started watching I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! from mid-week 2 and was sucked in immediately as I usually am with most reality TV series that revolve around surviving in new and unfamiliar surroundings. I must say I was quite impressed with Lou Diamond Phillips from the start. I loved his leadership qualities and his helpfulness towards his "junglemates." He is one of the main reasons why I watched the remaining episodes and even caught up with the week 1 Speidi drama! Was I glad that they ended up leaving for good after all the drama and quitting/coming back!

Want to know who was named King or Queen of the jungle after surviving 24 days in a Costa Rica jungle? Click ahead!

Though it probably comes as no big surprise, sources are saying that the Patrick Swayze drama about a rogue FBI agent, The Beast, won't be returning for a second season. While A&E has told Variety that no official decision has been made, word is that episode 13, which aired at the end of April, will be the series' last.

I've been watching I'm a Celebrity: Get Me Out of Here!, which is a terrible revelation to make about myself, but in the three hours of my life that show has taken from me, I've come to a few conclusions: 1. My life needs more meaning, and 2. Lou Diamond Phillips is kind of a bad-ass.

I bring this up because apparently, there had been talks of The Beast continuing with someone other than Patrick Swayze in the lead in case Swayze's poor health prevented him from continuing on the show. Phillips recently guest-starred on the series, and I would love to see him on television (in a situation in which he wasn't getting eaten by rats).

Okay. Out of desperation to escape from rerunland, I watched I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here! What I didn't realize is the time commitment expected if I dare get involved. Two hours for the premiere tonight. I can deal with that. But then, as they aired the show, they mentioned it will be on four nights a week -- Monday through Thursday evenings. Yikes! Thankfully, it's only an hour for the remaining nights and it's less than a four-week season.

However, it would be nice if I had any sort of clue as to who these pseudo-celebs are. I know who Lou Diamond Phillips and Stephen Baldwin are, of course. Stephen is the lesser Baldwin doomed to be on shows which remind him he's a celebrity. Because I'm an American Idol watcher, I know Sanjaya. But who are the rest of these people, and why do they think they're all that?

For those of you interested in reading a review about this episode of Psych you may want to look a the one that we did when the show originally premiered on USA. What this post is really for is to welcome new viewers to the show and give them a forum to discuss the series.

The thing about Psych, especially this second season, is that underneath the fluff mysteries and the pop cultural references (which there are many this episode) there is a story of friendship and family that flows throughout. Plus, it's funny. James Roday and Dule Hill really shine as Shawn Spencer and Burton "Gus" Guster and they have a very good supporting cast that guides them along the way.

I'm very glad that they used this episode to premiere Psych on the schedule rather as it had a very good and funny guest appearance by Lou Diamond Phillips. Should they ever air the second season premiere on NBC I give you fair warning...despite being directed by John Landis it is just not a very good episode. That being said, I'd like to know if you'll keep tuning in to Psych. Was it as funny as you thought it would be, or do you think it's a bad show with a good theme song? Your opinions are appreciated.

(S02E03) Lassiter: What color is that suit?

Agent Ewing: Black.

Lassiter: Really? Really? It seems blacker than black.

Ewing: It's Washington Black.

Man o' man o' man, did Shawn have to work his arse off tonight! For the second week in a row Mr. Spencer really had to put his skills to the test to show both the Santa Barbara police department and the Federal government what he could do. And, if that wasn't hard enough, he had to compete with another 'psychic' hired by the Treasury Department. In the end he got the culprit, of course, but it was fun to watch him squirm and try to keep up throughout the episode.