William Shatner has appeared on The Tonight Show to give his typically awesome take on the Twitter messages that Sarah Palin posted to her account when she was Governor of Alaska. Last night he appeared again to recite the Twitter "poetry" of her arch-rival Levi Johnston.
Update: Johnston and his lawyer demand a retraction from Conan, saying that Twitter account is actually fake and Johnston never said those things. Maybe Conan will apologize on tonight's show.
[Watch clips and episodes of The Tonight Show and other shows on SlashControl.]
Star Trek-related stories
What You Missed Last Night: Shatner recites the Twitter poetry of Levi Johnston
Harlan Ellison bests CBS Paramount over 42 year-old Star Trek episode
You have to admire the tenacity of writer Harlan Ellison. He filed a lawsuit against CBS Paramount accusing the company of not paying him for all the ancillary income the company earned from the episode of Star Trek he wrote in 1967, "City on the Edge of Forever." Yesterday, Ellison announced on his web site that he had settled with CBS Paramount and he was very, very pleased. He didn't reveal how much money he made, but he probably did quite well.After all, CBS Paramount has done very, very well with that original Star Trek episode. It's regarded as -- and is -- the all-time best show in the entire original ST canon. Ironically, Ellison never liked what Roddenberry and company had done with his script.
Continue reading Harlan Ellison bests CBS Paramount over 42 year-old Star Trek episode
Wil Wheaton's episode of The Big Bang Theory looks amazing
Wil Wheaton's guest appearance on The Big Bang Theory airs next week, and neither he or CBS has had much to say up to this point about his character. I speculated that he could be a rival for Penny's affection, but it looks as though he may be a rival of a different kind. We now know who Wheaton is playing in this episode, and it's not Penny he's after.
Continue reading Wil Wheaton's episode of The Big Bang Theory looks amazing
Star Trek's Jolene Blalock joins Legend of the Seeker cast
The male nerd interest quotient just shot way up for Legend of the Seeker.Actress Jolene Blalock (Vulcan T'Pol in Star Trek: Enterprise) is joining the cast of the New Zealand-based, Disney produced fantasy series as a recurring villain. According to a Disney press release, Blalock begins filming this week as "a mysterious Sister of the Dark who possesses very powerful magic."
It'll help you a lot to understand this next but if you're a fan of the show, but Blalock will not only threaten heroic Richard (Craig Horner) and "his quest to defeat evil forces," but her real goal is to destroy the lovely female lead, Kahlan (Bridget Regan).
Continue reading Star Trek's Jolene Blalock joins Legend of the Seeker cast
John Cho talks FlashForward
I wanted to add a spoiler warning with this post, but sadly, John Cho, who plays FBI agent Demetri Noh on ABC's FlashForward, is pretty tight lipped about all the big reveals that are coming up this season. I had the chance to speak with him recently, and despite my continued harassment, he's good at keeping secrets. But, that doesn't mean fans will have to wait long for answers to start rolling in about the mysterious massive blackout that allowed everyone in the world to see into the future.
"I have been excited by and impressed by how much they're revealing this early on," he said. "There's been serious bombshells on a weekly basis ... I feel like they [the writers] are very conscious about giving the audience a lot of information."
Continue reading John Cho talks FlashForward
Death of the Swamp Thing
A television obituary has slipped through the cracks. Dick Durock has passed away. Who is Dick Durock, you ask? Why, he played the title character in the Swamp Thing movie written and directed by Wes Craven and its subsequent poor follow-up, as well as the television series based on the movies. Also, he played an evil Hulk in The Incredible Hulk television series and was a stuntman on various television shows including Star Trek.I remember watching that Incredible Hulk episode as a kid, and my first thought was "that second Hulk isn't anywhere near as muscular as the first." Still, in his prime Dick Durock could have undoubtedly kicked my ass.
Just to prove how tough Dick Durock was ... I don't know many people who have long battles with pancreatic cancer. Usually, that takes you out in a hurry. If you could stand up to Lou Ferrigno, pancreatic cancer was in for one hell of a fight.
[Watch clips and free episodes of Swamp Thing at SlashControl]
What's On Tonight: NCIS, Hell's Kitchen, The Forgotten, Joe Buck Live
At 8, ABC has a new, two-hour Dancing with the Stars, followed by the series premiere of The Forgotten.- CBS has the season premiere of NCIS at 8, then the series premieres of NCIS: Los Angeles and The Good Wife.
- NBC has a new, two-hour Biggest Loser at 8, followed by a new Jay Leno Show.
- FOX has a new, two-hour Hell's Kitchen at 8.
- There's a new 90210 on The CW at 8, then a new Melrose Place.
- ESPN has two new episodes of The World Series of Poker at 8.
- Biography has The Star Trek 25th Anniversary at 8, followed by Star Trek: A Captain's Log.
- G4 has a new Web Soup at 8.
- TCM has North By Northwest at 8, then Psycho.
- At 8:30, ABC Family has a new Ruby & The Rockits.
- At 9, Syfy has the season finale of Warehouse 13, then a new ECW.
- At 10, FX has a new Sons of Anarchy.
- Food Network has a new Chopped at 10.
- Bravo has a new Flipping Out at 10.
- Sundance has a new Brick City at 10.
- HBO has a new Joe Buck Live at 10.
- Also at 10: Travel Channel has a new Andrew Zimmern's Bizarre World.
Check your local TV listings for more.
After the jump, the late night talk shows.
Continue reading What's On Tonight: NCIS, Hell's Kitchen, The Forgotten, Joe Buck Live
New TV on DVD releases this week
Here are the new TV DVDs, in stores tomorrow.This is the first week in quite some time that I'm definitely, definitely, definitely going to buy one of the DVD sets that is being released. And that would be 30 Rock. Can't wait for the fourth season to start in October.
As for The Mentalist, I love it but I can't imagine watching the episodes again, you know?
- 30 Rock - Season 3
- Being Erica - Season 1
- Brotherhood - Final Season
- Castle - Season 1
Continue reading New TV on DVD releases this week
Wanna hear Sylar swear a lot? (NSFW)
This clip from Funny or Die had me laughing out loud several times. It's called Hostage: A Love Story, and stars Heroes' Zachary Quinto as a guy trying to rob a restaurant. It really throws the whole "crazed gunman takes a hostage" story for a loop. You'll see the ending coming, but it's still a very effective short film.
By the way, the police were called twice during the filming of this because they thought Quinto was a real crook.
By the way, the police were called twice during the filming of this because they thought Quinto was a real crook.
Io9's sci-fi chart: possibly the geekiest post ever
The science fiction blog Io9 has a chart up at their site that tracks the themes that have been used on sci-fi TV shows since 1970. How many shows have been about time travel, robots, aliens, space travel, and/or mutants? Is there a trend to the themes of sci-fi shows over the years? (Here's the complete list of shows they looked at to create the chart.)Continue reading Io9's sci-fi chart: possibly the geekiest post ever
Star Trek merchandise goes all sexy and smelly
As the fall release date for the J.J. Abrams Star Trek DVD closes in, Star Trek merchandising is making a comeback.Everything Trek made a huge bull rush earlier this summer when the first major run of merchandising took hold. Everything from bottle openers to iPod got the final frontier treatment. Now the DVD is shaking the space trees again.
The long-rumored Star Trek colognes beamed their way into stores last week -- immediately becoming a product that folks might want to try as curiosity without ever admitting they bought it.
Continue reading Star Trek merchandise goes all sexy and smelly
Here's a list of 100 iconic TV show openings (OK, maybe not 100 ... )
Pop culture lists that have 100 or more entries, whether it's a list for television, film, music, books, advertising, whatever - are too long. When you list 100 of anything, you're not really getting down to the "best" (or "worst," if that's the theme of the list), you're just giving a list of 100.Supertremendous.com has their list of the 100 most iconic TV show intros. You can read the first 90, but I wanted to concentrate on the top ten. That list includes The Brady Bunch, The Simpsons, M*A*S*H, Knight Rider (???), and The Twilight Zone, along with the number one pick after the jump. Can you guess it before you click?
Continue reading Here's a list of 100 iconic TV show openings (OK, maybe not 100 ... )
AOL picks the best TV shows of the 60s
It's time for another TV list! Everybody loves lists, right? This one has AOL picking the best TV shows of the 1960s.As usual, it's a list that will get the debate going. Shows that without a doubt deserve to be on the list: The Twilight Zone, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Star Trek, The Andy Griffith Show, I Spy, and Bewitched.
Shows that without a doubt don't belong on the list: The Flying Nun, Hogan's Heroes, and The Mod Squad. Sure, I enjoyed those shows when I was younger, but I really don't think they belong in the "best" category (I'll let you debate another show on the list, Batman - great or just "campy" great?)
Continue reading AOL picks the best TV shows of the 60s
Sylar wants to save arcades
I know, I know, maybe I should have said "Mr. Spock wants to save arcades," but readers probably wouldn't know if I was talking about Leonard Nimoy or Zachary Quinto, so Sylar it is.Quinto is trying to help Stride Gum with a special promotion to help raise money to save four old arcades. They've set up a web site where you can help too.
I didn't even realize that old school arcades were on the decline. Sure, I knew that home video game consoles are more popular than ever (I have a Playstation II and a Blu-ray player that plays games myself), but I thought they would still fill a niche for kids. Guess kids would rather stay at home or at their friend's home than go to an arcade. I remember when I was in my teens/early 20s I went to the arcade quite a bit. My game was Millipede.
Do people still bowl?
What the heck is this?
This is the game where we show you a picture from something TV-related and you have to guess what the heck it is.
This pic is from a classic TV series. I know, it looks like something you might have eaten a few hours ago, but it's a lot more dangerous than that. Bonus points if you can give the title of the episode! Answer later tonight.
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