TVSquad

I'm sure that thirty-something IT guys with freakish beards is not the demographic that The-N is searching for, but they've hooked me just the same. Instant Star, Beyond The Break, and South Of Nowhere have all long ago earned their season passes on my DVR, and I can be sucked into a Degrassi marathon on occasion.

If you share my predilection for Canadian teen drama, you might be interested to know that Instant Star is back with all new episodes tomorrow. And if you like the teen drama from the north but haven't managed to get on board with Jude's adventures just yet, you can catch up with a huge marathon tomorrow. Starting at 1AM, there will be 15 hours worth of episodes leading up to the fourth season premiere at 5PM PST. That premiere will, of course, answer the big question... As The-N's promo department puts it, "OMG! Who did Jude choose?!"

Attack of the Show is something of a hot-button topic among TV fans. Their ScreenSavers lineage has turned a number of fans against them because they simply aren't what they used to be. I can't fault anyone for falling in with that camp. There was a lot to not like about the TechTV/G4 merger.

While I don't hate AOTS, I certainly don't watch it with the same regularity that I watched ScreenSavers. I do check in once in a while to see what Kevin and Olivia are up to, and on special occasions like when they have hunky television reporter Kevin Kelly on to talk about 24...

Love 'em or hate 'em though, once in a while they do manage a fun bit. Olivia Munn as Wonder Woman is one of them. It's cute. Both the invisible jet and catfight scenes are funny. And just because the internet is the internet, there is now a petition to get Olivia the role of Wonder Woman in Joss Whedon's upcoming movie. Aside from AOTS, I've only seen her in Beyond The Break on The-N. She was fine in it, but I hadn't really thought of her as the next Wonder Woman. On the other hand, what the hell? She certainly looks the part. Give her some witty Whedon writing and I'm sure things will be just ducky. Video after the jump.

(S01E10) Each week I am amazed at how they are able to keep so many characters so involved in each episode. While Lyla's ongoing struggle dominated the episode, we still managed to get some movement in the other stories as well. It was interesting how they went about telling the "It's different for girls." story from the title. While the bigger parts of the story were about Lyla and Julie, the real meaning of that title points much more to what we saw with Buddy and Eric.

Here are two men who spend their days in control, exerting authority. We see it with Buddy at the dealership, complete with his bluetooth headset, and with Eric in everything he does as a coach. But the minute the subject of their teenage daughters comes up, and there is a real issue to deal with, they both are at a loss. Floundering to try and do something, anything, without being able to step back and see the big picture. I thought the scene between Buddy and Britney's father was great. A humble man trying to do the right thing. So much story is conveyed in Buddy's crushed reaction. These last two weeks have really filled out the Buddy character. He's so much more interesting now that he's not the one trick sleazeball we first met.

I suspect I may be in the minority with this, but I watch a lot of stuff on The-N. I've seen more Degrassi, South of Nowhere, Beyond the Break, Instant Star, and Whistler than any 15 year old girl should. All the more disturbing because I am the furthest thing from a 15 year old girl.

If you share my weakness for teen drama, you might be interested in The-N's Give Some * Get Some Giveaway. Beginning today, items from many of their shows will be going up for auction. Day one features Lacey's surfboard from Beyond The Break (Natalie Ramsey pictured), Jude's silver space suit from Instant Star, Manny's spirit squad uniform from Degrassi, and Aiden's jeans from South Of Nowhere. All proceeds go to charity. That's the give. The get involves weekend giveaways of electronics, DVDs and other merchandise.

[ via tvguide.com ]

(S01E06) This show just keeps getting better. Episode six brought to a head a few different story lines that have been brewing over the course of the first five episodes, some bigger than others. And some more surprising than others. The episode should have been called Do The Right Thing, as we had a number of characters all struggling with that idea. Would Eric come clean about the Voodoo recruiting? How would he deal with Reyes? Does Saracen stick up for his friend or take one for the team? Will Riggins finally live up to being Street's best friend? Will Lyla finally put an end to the cheating relationship with Riggins?