Tonight's Geek TV!

Sci-Fi is re-airing the second season of the fantastic Eureka starting tonight and while I hate to suggest something else - especially since the second season was so good and Eureka is a great show - I was flipping around to see what all is coming on and I found that tonight's Nova (PBS) is about Samurai swords. It's all about the craftsmanship that goes into making them, as well as those interested in collecting them, etc. Sure, they may be playing on the popularity of Heroes, but it's an interesting topic either way, and most of us probably saw the whole season of Eureka. Of course, Sci-Fi's lead-in is Dead Like Me and nothing else better is on during the 6:00 hour - very little better is ever on, compared to Dead Like Me.

At 8:00 (CST) is the new Reaper over to the CW. I saw the pilot the other night and loved it! It's from Kevin Smith and the pilot was absolutely fantastic! It's silly in just the right way, even though the "best friend" character is your stereotypical Kevin Smith "hipster," and approaches the somewhat flimsy, ridiculous premise earnestly. Not to mention they didn't skimp on the SFX.

I have to give CW that much, in general: no matter the show, they do not eff-around when it comes to the special effects. Charmed went easy on them throughout much of the series, even though the early episodes had some really fantastic SFX work, but they obviously spent the brunt of their budget on getting big-name hotties to appear and that sustained them for nearly 10 years, so whatever's clever. But Smallville, Supernatural, Reaper - these shows pull out the stops when it comes to the special effects! Granted, they are not quite up to the level of anything over to the BBC (Doctor Who, Torchwood, Hex), but I'd submit that they rival most of the stuff we get from the Sci-Fi Channel.

Not to knock Sci-Fi; they have some great SFX work - as well they should, mind you - but but those of the CW are generally just as good. Further, many of Sci-Fi's shows and movies use lesser talent so they can focus their budget on the SFX, where CW tends to divide their money more evenly between talent and SFX, and you can tell it. Either way you slice it, BBC beats everyone, hands-down.

Those damn Brits!

Hex Series Finale

I know some of you have probably been wondering where in the world this post has been. The truth is that I had to let everything really settle. I mean, Hex is one of my favorite shows in recent years and I don’t want to say anything too bad about it, but then again, I wasn’t too pleased with this last season and I really don’t know what to think about the finale.

[SPOILERS]

Just in case you missed it, they “cured” Leon, Roxanne never gave in to temptation, and the entire school went “manky-eyed.” So the whole thing ends with Malachi apparently sacrificing Roxy, and Leon, Thelma, and Emma high-tailing it off of the grounds as the school burns down behind them. At the very end, the three are sitting in a wood somewhere, and Thelma says something to the effect of, “So, I guess it’s the end of the world...” Leon and Emma kiss and they all laugh.

And that is pretty much it!

No kidding! Then the credits roll; fade to black! Something like the ending to every Superfriends ever made.

I mean... no denouement, no wrap-up, no explanations of any kind! Is Malachi dead? I dunno. Did all the school die with him? Beats me. David? Yeah, I remember him - dunno what happened to him, but I remember him. The Archangels? Well, one of them showed up at the bar all “manky-eyed” and told Leon he had to help Emma... but, uh, it was more of a cameo appearance out of the blue; don't know where they went, where they've been, why he came back, what happened to the devils.

You know, when Studio 60 took its bow, they did so pretty well: they were all standing around the theater and they had a brief discussion which basically said that these two did this, those two did that, and they’ll be back next week. That was a nice finale; it tied things up without rushing it and bowed-out quietly. Hex just up and ended.

In fact, have you ever read The Grapes of Wrath? Well, I don’t want to spoil things for you, but the ending has a lot in common with Hex’!

I will say this though: if you’ll remember, I mentioned that some of the promos they had noted that this was Hex’ season finale. The Britons do shows by series, which means that it could be years between “seasons” and then they’ll pick the show back up and make another year’s worth of episodes (they did this with Absolutely Fabulous at least twice, for example). And during the marathon, they showed both Emma and Thelma doing BBCA spots...

Now, don’t get your hopes up, but there is the slimmest of possibilities - no matter how slight - that we could get another season of our favorite witchy show. I hate to say it because I don’t want to jinx it, but silly superstitions seem even sillier when you’re talking about a TV show involving witchcraft, don’t they? Besides, with all the major networks releasing shows with Occult and Supernatural themes this fall, it only seems logical that someone over to the BBCA would say, “Hey, we’ve already got a proven bad-ass Supernatural show full of sexy hotties and comedic overtones - what’s say we round-up that cast and give it another go, shan’t we? Pip-pip and wot-not!”

Or, you know, however they’d say it.

So just to be on the safe side:

Dear BBCA,

Hex rocks. Please make at least one more series/season to answer all the questions the last season did not. And with full-frontal nudity. Of everyone. And bring back Cassie. And have at least nine or ten full-frontal nudity scenes with her. Nudge-nudge, wink-wink, know wot I mean?

- MD
- Saphy, Saphy, Sweety, Sweety, Dahling, Dahling

Jekyll - A Review

Tonight was BBCA’s premiere of the new series, Jekyll, and I watched both episodes. The premise is obvious from the title: a man has what appears to be a split-personality and his “darker side” comes out from time to time to go wenching, drinking, and killing. He blacks out and has no recollection of the events, but he is aware that he has this problem. As the show goes on, we find out that he is actually a descendant of the infamous Dr. Jekyll (of Robert Louis Stevenson fame) and the story was based on true events.

While definitely engrossing and a fair replacement for the vaunted Hex, there are some glaring problems with Jekyll. For one, you spend most of the show wondering what the hell is going on. Granted, it is interesting enough that you actually want to find out, but after only two episodes of it, it gets a little tiresome. The characters are interesting and there is some kind of conspiracy going on around him, but most of them tend to get killed-off before they make any real contribution to the story or the viewer becomes connected to them, so every time a new character is introduced after the first half-hour of the first episode, you are already dispassionately waiting to see how long they will last, as opposed to actually bothering to see who they are or what they are going to do, etc.

Two, there is some kind of something going on around him - apparently almost everyone but him knows about his alter-ego and is somehow looking to use it - but, um, like... what? I mean, you aren’t really sure who these people are, who is working with/for whom, what’s going on, who is whom, or what any of it means. Jekyll does a fair job of explaining these things before you just get sick of the whole thing and change the channel, but... well, it’s more annoying than intriguing.

The camerawork is deft and the pacing is good, and Hyde’s dialogue is really killer (pun fully intended). The overall concept and story moves faster than Hex did and is definitely interesting, even though things are already a bit telegraphed (he’s about to change, here come the Freddy Krueger quips, now the money-shot, now he’s dazed and confused - SCENE), but seeing as how most everything is already on the table after the second episode, I'm not sure it has the same depth as Hex. It was also cool to see the hottie brunette from Coupling as his estranged or ex-wife or whatever she is, but confusing as to the status of their relationship.

Overall, Jekyll is definitely worth watching and good enough fare for BBCA’s Supernatural Saturdays, but if you find your attention wandering, you aren’t alone. Nice enough replacement for our favorite witchy show, but it’s no Hex... of course, that’s a tall order.

This is one of those I'm really interested in hearing from everyone else on. Let me know what you think, but I suggest giving it a shot and hope it continues to get better.

TV: Superhero, Comic Con, Hex

I just wanted to drop by and quickly remind you that G4’s Comic Con coverage starts in just under an hour here in the Central Time Zone. It will be rerun tomorrow morning. Tomorrow night, their coverage continues at the same time (6:00 PM, CST), and I am sure they will continue to update throughout the weekend.

Also, the 2^nd season of Sci-Fi’s Who Wants to be a Superhero? begins tonight at 7:30 (CST, again). It will rerun from 10-11:00 and I will be watching it then and will have a brief review of it tonight or tomorrow.

Not to forget tonight is also Supernatural (rerun from this season, but always worth watching). And this Saturday is the 2^nd season marathon of Hex over to the BBCA.

TV - Hex, Eureka, Comic-Con, Who Wants to be a Superhero?

I know you won’t believe this - I hardly could, myself - but I skipped the Hex series finale to go camping. Of course, I only did this because I checked the BBCA website and found out that they will be showing almost the entire second season in a marathon this Saturday (28^th), so I needed the sun. Of course, this means I’ll likely be posting a lot this Saturday... about Hex. And crying a lot... about Hex.

Tonight is Eureka - 8 PM, CST, as usual. My perfect night of TV right now would be Dead Like Me, Eureka, and Supernatural - in that order. Still, Sci-Fi has been showing reruns of Eliza Dushku’s old FOX show, Tru Calling, which I never saw when it was running, but is actually pretty good. I would drink Eliza Dushku’s bathwater.

Just - you know - just putting that out there.

Also on Sci-Fi Channel, they’re showing a marathon of the first season of Who Wants to be a Superhero? this Thursday, right before the premiere of the new season. The entire cast will be at this year’s Comic-Con, as reported yesterday. Then it’s a new Burn Notice (on USA).

And speaking of Comic-Con, don’t forget that G4 will have full coverage of the entire event both Friday and Saturday night. I’ve tried and tried to get into G4 before, but excepting a few good specials, it’s basically the video game channel, and I don’t play video games. I don’t even think they show Arrested Development anymore. They really need to expand that whole format.

Lastly, is it not ironic that I always sing the Activia jingle as "bacteriaaaa"?

Hex Almost Over...

Have you ever read a book you enjoyed so much that, as you got closer to the end, you started reading it slower and slower to make it last longer? Well, next week is Hex’ series finale.

I know I had said before that they said something about "season" finale in the promos recently and I got a little excited about it. "Series" and "season" are somewhat interchangeable for British TV, but seeing as how this is BBCA, I took it as a hopeful hint that they were going to renew the show for the network. But it doesn’t appear that that is going to happen. We can still hold-out hope, but I have heard no indications that they are planning to do anything with it.

[SPOILERS]

Could you believe Leon? Now I really didn’t see that one coming at all! And how about Roxanne? That just really - that whole thing threw me for a loop! I mean that wasn’t just “unexpected,” that was completely out of left-field! Great, though - just fantastic.

I still hate that it’s almost over. I sincerely hope they tie-up all the storylines, but I’m really not ready to let it go. It has so much more to delve into and so much more potential, maybe we can hope for a movie or something to cap it all off.

Something! This is too good a show to just end like this! I also haven't seen a marathon for this season yet, so maybe we can look forward to one of those this week or the next.

More on TV

I forgot to mention this earlier!

Okay, so I’m watching the Dead Like Me marathon on Sci-Fi and chatting with a friend and we were talking about what a great show this was and how we couldn’t believe it was canceled after only two seasons. I told her how a bunch of folks dressed up like reapers and picketed outside the Showtime studios, but they still refused to pick it back up. Fans of the show, Angel, did the same, but the production company which made that show went bankrupt and just couldn’t afford to make it anymore; I don’t know if finances were a concern for Dead Like Me, but it reminded me of the spots I saw for Hex yesterday, while watching Eddie Izzard, and I meant to mention it in the earlier post, but forgot.

The promos for Hex yesterday - and they came on several times, so I am positive of this - were saying how this week’s episode is the second-to-last for the season! That’s right. Now, the Britons do TV series in “series,” not seasons; when the series is over, the show only sometimes returns. Sometimes, it’s years between series/seasons, but not always. Hex only lasted for two seasons over there and was canceled in like 2005, when it first premiered over here. But BBCA did not say, “The last show before the series finale”; BBCA specifically said “the last show before the season finale”! So even though the terms are kind of interchangeable in meaning, they are very specific across The Pond.

So, now, don’t get your hopes up just yet - we don’t want to jinx it - but BBCA did bring back The Graham Norton Show...

DON’T! Just, just wait and see. We’re just hanging out here, not thinking anything, BBCA. Y’all just... you know, do whatever.

General Babbling

The first day of Paris' freedom and I'm stuck watching an all-day Eur^eka marathon. Figures, doesn't it? Any other day of the week, there wouldn't be one damned thing worth looking at and the one day I'd really like to watch the talking haircuts bobble their wares and a real show is on!

But like I said before, I couldn't be happier that Eur^eka is back! Granted, it isn't technically back just yet (July 10^th), but it's close and this marathon reminded me what a really great show this is. It's early yet and there are still many, many more episodes to go, so if you aren't tuned-in yet, I... why not?

I have a whole lot to get to today and I will, but I have also been on a tear over to The OddBlog, thanks to a book I am reading (a couple, actually). Just been in that frame of mind lately.

Of course, over here, we're gearing up for the summer festivities: Hex, Eur^eka, Who Want to be a Superhero? - it all returns in a few weeks and we'll be covering it all. In the meantime, I have a whole lot of comics and Americana stuff to get to that I've either been sitting on, waiting for developments, or just haven't gotten to yet for one reason or another. Today will be a busy day for me, but good for readers.

Buffy - Season 8, Hex

Oh yeah, kids. It's Saturday and we all know what that means: it's Witchy Day at Rated-B. All day. All night too, but we ain't trying to get sexy with ya.

Of course, Hex is on tonight, and if you haven't been keeping up, Ella and Malachi are all messed up and it's Leon to the rescue. I don't know what's happened to Roxanne and the priest lately, although I've seen her lounging in the background a few times. I haven't been able to keep up with this season as well as I did the last one, but then again, I was introduced to that one with a full-day marathon. They haven't had any all-day season 2 marathons yet, but I did wake up in time to see they were playing some of the reruns this morning and they show the previous week's episode right before the new one premieres. If you haven't gotten into Hex yet, you still have plenty of time, and even though you might not be familiar with all the characters and certainly not with the history up to now, you can still jump on board and see what all the fuss is about.

Dark Horse has collected Buffy: Season 8 - The Long Way Home into TPB and our good friends over at TFAW have it available for pre-order. The new Spike mini-series is already sold-out through the second issue, so you may want to go on and place your orders while you can! You might not realize it, but our goodly sponsor not only offers 20% off on pre-orders, but also has first-looks inside the comics so you can preview before you buy. Also, if you write reviews for the products with which you are familiar, they choose three people at the end of the month to send free stuff!

In keeping with our Saturday horror theme, I will likely end up giving you a short review on the new 30 Days of Night mini-series, Eben & Stella. I have only received the first two issues so far, and I have only read the first one, but seeing as how it's on stands now, there's no sense waiting.

 But also in keeping with our Saturday theme, I'm drinking, so...

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, Hex

So, I realize I said that saving Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip looked impossible, but if for any reason you happened to see it last week, then you know why I and the other 10-11 folks who watch it, are still trying so hard.

Last week's episode literally brought me to tears at one point and was, well if that had been their season premiere, the show would likely have taken off the way everyone expected it to. And I really hoped the new timeslot would bring a few more people into the fold. Shark is a great show and I have really enjoyed it, but I hate to see Studio 60 fold. It just has so much promise and they don't give anything a decent shot on TV anymore. I remember a time when, if a TV show was a breakout hit, it was something special - a real event; now, if a show isn't an immediate breakout hit, it's canceled the next week!

Hex

[SPOILERS]

This week's Hex, well... I could gush and gush, but I really had to watch the repeat. I don't know what I was doing last week when it was on, because I specifically remember seeing it, but I didn't remember most of the details. I've got a little knot in my tummy watching it this season because I already know it's only got this season to go, and now that they've brought in Mephistopholes and the Archangel and Leon has taken on such a new importance, I'm just anxious as can be - but that bad sort of anxious like you get when there's just a few pages remaining in a really great book. That feeling where you don't want it to end, so you're trying to read it more slowly, and sometimes you just put it down without ever finishing it because you can't stand for it to be over.

I so hope BBCA brings this back. That would be the bee's knees!

Charmed vs. Hex

Hola, kids! Did you think I'd forgotten about you? Far from it. I'm just a little exhausted - haven't been sleeping well, as I'm sure you've noticed from the voluminous posting I've been doing of late. Not to mention that Blogger has been slowed to a C-R-A-W-L since early this morning (last night). Anyway, let's get into it:

I think I've posted on this about Charmed before: I used to think of it as primarily a "girly" show. It came out when the whole "witchcraft-as-Goddess-Hear-Me-Roar" thing was going on back in the '90s and I didn't get the WB back then, so I didn't rush right out to see it. Plus, whenever Shannen Doherty left, I assumed it was on the chopping block, so that provided a convenient excuse not to seek it out. I got into it last year in reruns and really took to it. But the big thing I discovered is that, while it deals with a lot of "girly" issues, it's not really a "girly" show. In fact, a lot of girls don't seem to like it as much as I thought they would.

One friend, in particular, slammed it for its dialogue (which I actually think fun), and she pointed-out how they always dressed "slutty." I think the exact quote was "fighting demons in Victoria's Secret underwear" or something. But Charmed is nowhere near Hex on the "hotness" level, as far as actual sex goes. It's nowhere near Hex as far as, like, the Occult, Witchcraft, daemonology, history, nor anything else along those lines.

It's not so much that Charmed is "watered-down" or anything, just that after Doherty's departure, it really took a more comedic turn, possibly because of Milano's executive producer role and sit-com chops, but it was a good change. Hex' humor is far drier and... I guess "base" (in a good way) is an appropriate term here - much like this blog's, in fact - whereas Charmed's is more congenial and lighthearted and largely family-oriented (in both the sense that it relates to familial situations - the Halliwells' - and that it's more family-appropriate).

Hex focuses on the individual characters and personalities and plays them off of one another, where Charmed focuses on the ensemble cast. There's also a "cuteness" factor in Charmed that is completely absent in Hex; Hex is intentionally darker, grittier, and more "YA" (Young Adult) -targeted. Charmed started off in this vein but, like I say, it took a different approach after Doherty's departure.

Further, Charmed's SFX and overall production also value suffered after Doherty left, but since Hex was only on for 2 seasons, it's hard to say whether or not it could have kept up its phenomenal level of production. I mean, when it comes to special effects, there is absolutely nothing on TV like our favorite witchy show - shit, few movies' SFX rival those in Hex. Plus, both series were filmed in 16 or 32 mm for the the first seasons, then Charmed switched to video once Doherty left, and you can definitely see the difference when you watch the seasons change, so to speak.

So, which wins? I'll let you decide, if you're so inclined, but the two shows have their own strengths; the only difference between them is that Hex has no weaknesses.

But don't make me choose between Ella and Phoebe or Cassie and Piper - that's... that's a fight that doesn't need to happen (but I'll definitely buy it on DVD, if it should!).

Smallville! WTF?!

Okay, so I have relatively few indulgences in my life. Well, positive, reasonably healthy ones anyway. One of these reasonably positive and generally not-so-unhealthy habits is TV.

So they canceled Hex a year before I ever saw the first episode. So I ended up falling in love with it and am now launching a small campaign to gently coerce BBCA into picking it up for another season or 19. Will it work? Maybe, maybe not; others have been trying since it was first canceled in the UK. We'll see how it goes.

So they bring out this massive dramedy with a zillion storylines and the greatest ensemble cast possibly ever assembled on television called Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, then they cancel it right out from under me and the other 9 fans. So I'm trying like hell to get more people to watch the last few episodes in hopes that NBC will realize the folly of their ways and retool it for maybe a mid-season replacement show. Will it work? Maybe, maybe not; we'll see how it goes.

So today, after Lou Dobbs, I flip on over to the ol' ABC Family to see my daily dose o' Smallville.

Only to find that it is not there.

Apparently, they've also removed Gilmore Girls from the schedule as well, but that's not really such a big deal. But let's get back to the Hex, Studio 60, Smallville thing a second, can we?

WTF?!

Is the current Presidential administration running the TV schedule, too?! It's like they don't listen to anyone - they just do whatever they want and get away with it! Well, not this time.

Just so you know, ABC Family, this is ONE 32-year old white male adult who will NOT be watching your network!

Yeah... that one doesn't... doesn't seem as strong, does it? What with demographics and target audiences and all-such...

Some Quick Reminders

Don't forget the Ghost Hunters season premiere comes on in just a few minutes over to Sci-Fi. I have some more news and stuff to get to this week, but I'm really working on the site right now. Hopefully, if everything goes well, you'll start seeing some big changes soon and then I'll get the new stuff out later this month.

Hex comes on Saturday, with an encore episode of last week's season premiere airing right before the new episode. This is the second, and final, season of Hex. But with the return of Jericho, maybe there's hope on the horizon for our favorite witchy show and Studio 60...

Ah, well, one can hope, right?

Hex Second Season Premiere

Well, well, well... what did you think?

[SPOILERS]

I sincerely hope they do a little more with Ella and Leon's "relationship" or whatever you would call that. I feel like they played it up all last season, then it just died. Of course, there is some realism there; maybe they just didn't hit it off sexually?

But I also feel like they did the same with Malachi's character. We knew he would age at an accelerated rate because of how Cassie's pregnancy went, but here he is in the second season, not only physically grown, but fully developed (in character, personality, intelligence, etc.). Yes, I know - Supernatural, daemons, witchy shit happening all around - but still, it seemed like they kind of jumped over a lot of complexities really quickly and I was so busy trying to figure out exactly what was going on that the Suspension of Disbelief never got a chance to really take hold. It felt a lot like they'd been told, "Wrap up all these dangling plotlines because this is the last season," and so they just dispensed with damn near all of them right off the bat.

But even more jarring was the lack of humor which is what really drew me - and probably many others - into the show to begin with. There were some funny moments, but all in all, it was far more serious than almost any of the first season's episodes. Thelma was always cracking wise and Leon made puerile sex jokes and even Ella snapped off a few good ones here and there. But aside from one or two scenes which played more on the physical (such as when Leon came in drunk and she knocked him off the bed), that sly, sometimes subtle, wit just wasn't there.

Again, it felt like they were trying to wrap-up a lot of storylines far too quickly. But it doesn't matter because I'm going to watch the repeats after Graham Norton, then I'll watch it again next week, then I'll watch it again when they do the marathons later in the summer, and I'll definitely watch it when BBCA decides to pick it up for a third series (hint, hint, nudge, nudge, know wot I mean?).

What did everyone else think?

Hex, Site Updates, Help with Blogger FTP Settings

I may not have mentioned this, but BBCA is running a Hex marathon all day and I've been watching it since about 8:00 in the AM. I've already seen all of the first season episodes 3-5 times and counting, but in about another 2 hours, they're going to show 2 of the first season episodes that never aired here in the States. Then it's the season premiere.

Did I? I mentioned this before? Well, I forgot who all I told.

Anyway, you can be damned sure I'm going to blog about the new season premiere as soon as it's over, so set your TiVo or DVR or whatever and check back after it plays.

I know things haven't gone like I wanted them to with the site, but I also said that I was still working on getting it together; I don't give up easily, I just sometimes procrastinate to the point that it seems like I have. Still, all the regular readers know all the crap I've been through lately with these computers, so while I accept full responsibility for not having done more sooner, at least things are starting to come together a little at a time.

Today, I managed to finish and upload the Blogs Index. Yes, it's a little "busy," but it's a start. I'll be hanging more stuff throughout the month and then I'll add a cover/index like I did for the Winter edition. Of course, having gotten that one done, I have a better handle on what to expect this go-round. I know it looks amateurish - and it is, to be honest - but I was under the gun and still learning all the nifty things my program(s) can do. This time things will look much nicer

Which brings me to using Blogger as the blog software and uploading it via FTP to your own domain. This is what I'm doing with both Weird Ink and The OddBlog. No one could access the archives - even me! I tried all sorts of settings and pored through the FAQ and all of that, but I could not figure out how in the world to see those archives. Here's how you do it:

Make the archives filename "archives.html" or whatever you wish, then leave all the other fields blank! Don't enter a path or URL or anything else. Don't ask me, I don't know what, why, or how, but it worked. If you surf to either blog, you can access the archives on both. You couldn't yesterday.

So, I'm really working on the site today and watching this fantastic show I may have told you about. But just in case I forgot...




Alright, alright already! Gah.

All Hex, All Day

Did I forget to mention? Well, for shame!

BBCA's all-day Hex marathon starts in about an hour. Not only are they showing the entire first season, they've included two bonus episodes we haven't seen here. I'm not sure if they were shown in Britain when it originally aired, but they have not been seen in America. All this leads up to the second season premiere tonight!

Further, Hex has finally been released on DVD for our region! I've heard that it was a bit racier (hard to imagine that) uncut, so this is definitely a must-have item for die hard fans, like myself.

I may end up napping through some of the early episodes since I've already seen them all 3-4 times and stayed up all night the other night watching the last marathon, but my alarm is already set for tonight's premiere.

I really hope some of you who haven't seen it yet give it a shot. I have no idea how the second season is going to go, but if you really want to be up on everything that's going on, today's the day.

Hex Saturday!

Well, the moment I've been waiting for since last summer is only one day away. Not only does the second season of Hex premiere tomorrow night, BBCA is showing an all day marathon of the first season, leading up to the premiere! This marathon will also feature two, previously unaired episodes that have not been seen in America before.

I am literally champing at the bit. Even though I don't know what a "bit" is and "champing" sounds somewhat obnoxious. At any rate, this is the very best chance for new viewers to get on board. Hex is an incredible witchy show, full of attractive people, comedy, and sex - lots and lots of sex. There are witches and daemons and witch-hunters and fallen angels... it has a very rich and involved world which is actually fairly accurate.

I know some people thought the first season moved too slowly, but I absolutely adore it. It's even better the second time around, in fact. I saw a lot of things I missed the first time. Hex is very clever, dropping little hints and clues throughout the show which aren't necessarily integral to the thing; you can figure everything out even if you miss the clues.

Life's too short to watch bad TV and if you've never seen Hex before, this is a great opportunity to get caught-up on the story and characters before the new season begins.

The Rundown on Hex

Here's an entire list of reasons why Hex rocks.

• If you only saw the first series marathon tonight on the BBCA, you should know that not only were some things cut, they showed them out of order from which they originally appeared Across The Pond. From what I've heard, it worked better over here.
• Cassie is hot.
• Thelma is hot.
• Ella is hot.
• Troy is hot.
• Azazeal is a bad, bad man.
• Anything to do with Egyptology or Egyptologists is hot.
• Thelma wearing a red rose on her "owie" is so Kabuki.
• Possessed people get laid a lot.
• Leon is hot.
• Roxanne is hot.
• Shitty cars are funny. England is awash in shitty vehicles. They call them "autos," and that is funny, too.
• The words, "nutter" (crazy), "manky" (wonky), and "reckon" (same as Down South) are funny.
• Possessed girls act like most of the girls I've dated. Whether you're laughing with me or at me, it's funny. This is not self-deprecating; it's a life-lesson I needed to learn.
• Casual mentions of Auschwitz are funny. It's like saying, "I'm starving," when you are actually overweight. That's funny.
• The SFX rock harder than a hardcore club with a headlining band at 2 AM.
• "Vodka straight" is heavy.
• Sex in "manky" clubs without serious repercussions is hot.
• Sex in alleyways without serious repercussions is hot.
• Sex with demons without serious repercussions looks hot.
• Candles are hot. When they're on fire!
• Entire sequences awash in primary colors are hot. Even if they are awash in Secondary colors, too.
  
• 10-hour marathons are cool.

And that there's why Hex rocks harder than Lindsay Lohan's Mercedes on a curb, y'all. That's the Rundown on Hex.

Hex First Season Marathon Tonight!

Someone to the BBCA must be reading, and they know what I like.

Starting at 7:00 PM, CST, BBCA is showing an all-night Hex first series marathon. This is the one with Cassie and it's starting from the very beginning. The 2-hour premiere episode is followed by all the rest, straight through to when Ella enters the picture. It only runs until 5:00 AM, so it's not the entire first season, but if you've never seen the show, this is the best jumping-off point.

I'll warn you, the first few episodes are rather slow. Things happen, granted, but nothing Big-Time occurs until Ella gets involved. Of course, there's Azazeal and Malachi and the priest, but it takes until about the 4^th or 5^th episode for everything to really get underway.

Since I know most of us will likely be up drinking - or just up, in general - this is a great chance for you to get your Hex swerve on before it returns Saturday. That's right: Hex returns this Saturday. Just in case I haven't mentioned that.

So, first series marathon tonight, then the 2^nd season starts Saturday. Hex. It's what's for breakfast.

Upcoming TV Rundown

We discussed a lot of the new seasons' changes, cancellations, and shows in several posts this past month, but I've managed to keep a nice list of some good upcoming TV news to Rundown for you, so here we go. Remember to keep all body parts in the blog at all times.

• Kelsey Grammer (Frasier, Cheers) returns to TV this Fall on FOX, starring alongside Everybody Loves Raymond castmember, Patricia Heaton, who portray TV newscasters in the new sit-com.
• Britney Spears allowed herself to be filmed getting a spray tan for a new E! reality TV series that will air Monday in America.
• America's Got Talent returns Tuesday, with new host, Jerry Springer, and new judge, Sharon Osbourne.
• Greta Van Susteren interviewed Ozzy Osbourne on his new album, Black Rain, which he says was inspired by a documentary on the bombing of Hiroshima. According to Osbourne, after the bombing, black rain fell, which consisted of human remains. Not knowing this, people ran into the streets to dance in the rain, catching it on their tongues.
• Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip will run for the next five weeks. This is supposed to be the last episodes of the series, but we here are hoping someone at NBC puts down the spoon and gets off the stripper long enough to realize what a great show this is.
• Eureka starts June 10^th on Sci-Fi.
• Hex starts June 2^nd on BBCA.
• Who Wants to be a Superhero? returns July 25^th to Sci-Fi.
  
• There is a Monk marathon this Memorial Day Sunday.

And that there's your TV Rundown for Memorial Day Weekend, 2007.

Well? What did I say about the body parts? I told you that, didn't I?