Dresden Files on DVD

In better news on the Dresden Files front, the first season DVD set is now available for pre-order at Amazon. This of course doesn't make up for the cancellation, but at least they're going ahead with a DVD set.

Doctor Who—Evolution of the Daleks

Before I go on, I just have to mention that I love the way the TARDIS comes out of the one wormhole thingie and then pauses before it goes down into the other wormhole thingie in the beginning credits. That's just cool.

Our human-dalek hyrid guy orders the other humans present to be hybridized into Daleks, as well. Dalek-Sek is a little put off by the human side of his new self. Also? His tentacles are really gross. The Doctor uses the sonic screwdrier to make a radio create intense sonic blasts that knock the Daleks silly. Daleks pursue the Doctor and Co. to the tune of the Dalek Demonic Chorus. They meet up with Tallulah, still lost in the sewers. That girl has a worse sense of direction than I do, and that's just sad.

The Doctor tells Solomon to clear out Hooverville, as the Daleks are probably planning to use the Hooverville folks as breeding stock for their continued metamorphosis. I'm not sure how that's supposed to work if there are only four Daleks to start with, unless they plan on slicing and dicing the other three instead of doing a one-to-one merging thing like Dalek-Sek did. Hm. I think I mentioned that last week.

Pig people descend on Hooverville and create chaos. The Doctor and Co. are cornered along with the residents of Hooverville. Daleks arrive via air to take over Hooverville. Dude, flying Daleks are somehow incredibly cheesy and freaky scary at the same time.

Solomon confronts the Daleks and tries to convince them the're all outcasts, so they should hang together. The Daleks aren't impressed by his speech, and shoot him. Speechifying never works with Daleks. The Doctor tells the Daleks to just kill him instead of killing the humans. He's a little freaky batshit crazy here. That's hot. But Dalek-Sek wants the Doctor alive--he wants to use the Doctor's genius to help save the future of the Daleks.

The Doctor confronts Dalek-Sek, who says killing Solomon was wrong. His human part seems to be influencing him. He shows the Doctor their big collection of unconscious people waiting to be reprogrammed as Daleks. It's like Coma but higher tech. They're using the conductor panels on the Empire State Building to bring in power to revive the people as Daleks, administering Dalek-Sek's DNA to all the bodies. Dalek-Sek thinks Daleks need to return to the flesh and the heart, and no longer be the supreme beings, because the quest for supremacy has led to their downfall and they need to change. He's a very progressive Dalek.

The old school Daleks override Dalek-Sek's plan, changing the genetic feed to make the unconscoius humans into pure Daleks instead of hybrids. The Doctor has to remove the Dalekanium from the Empire State Building before the gamma radiation hits. While he climbs up to the spire to remove the panels, Martha and the others stay behind to fight. Laszlo collapses. A lightning storm approaches as the Doctor works to remove the Dalekanium panels.

The Doctor hangs onto the spire when the gamma energy strikes. The electricity kills the pig dudes, but the unconscious people begin to wake up. These newly awakened human Daleks are prepared to conquer Manhattan. The Doctor is unconscious on top of the Empire State Building, on the building platform. Martha wakes him up to return his sonic screwdriver. The old school Daleks take over, and have Dalek-Sek in chains.

The Doctor and Co. head for the theater. Tallulah seems to think the Doctor is gay. Laszlo is worsening. The Doctor draws the Daleks to him, but Dalek-Sek tries to convince them not to kill him and sacrifices himself to save the Doctor. The Dalek humans can't follow the order to kill the Doctor. They want to know why, which isn't very Dalek-like. Turns out the Doctor got in the way of the lightning strike and they got some Time Lord DNA instead of only the Dalek DNA they were supposed to receive. The Daleks begin to kill the Dalek-humans, who fight back. The Daleks are destroyed. The last remaining Dalek tells the Dalek=humans to destruct, and they all drop dead. The last remaining Dalek escapes. So now we can have a Dalek episode for next season, yay!

Laszlo is in a bad way from his transformation into a pig slave. The Doctor goes batshit--again, and also? still hot--and uses the Daleks' genetic laboratory to save Laszlo. He still has a pig face, but the people of Hooverville agree to provide him with a home. The Doctor and Martha depart.

Dresden Files News

According to SyFy Portal, The Dresden Files has been canceled.

This makes me sad. :-(

Californication

I Netflixed the premiere episode of Californication and I have to say I enjoyed it quite a bit. Not for the faint of heart, it's chock full of sex and bad language and nekkid people (including David Duchovny). And also sharp humor, good acting, and great character development. Duchovny's portrayal of Hank turns a deeply unlikable guy into somebody you can really sympathize with on a number of levels. If you enjoy Weeds, you'll likely enjoy Californication. I think they're going to make a good team for Showtime.

Saving Grace—Bring it On

Tonight on Saving Grace, we are introduced to more of the supporting cast, including Grace's dog and several of her co-workers. Grace shoots a deer, has two men fight over her, and wrestles an angel. Oh, and James Marsters (Buffy, Angel) appears, in a small but pivotal role. In fact, considering the importance of the role to the story, it seemed like he should have had more screen time, as his throwaway scene near the beginning didn't give us a lot to build on as the murder mystery was constructed.

This show doesn't seem to be trying to take itself too seriously, and I like that. On the other hand, some serious drama develops in this week's episode, culminating in a surprise ending that was sufficiently set up to make sense, but not so out of left field as to feel contrived. Earl seemed a bit superfluous this week, but the story of Grace's angel was woven in much as it was last week, with Grace still trying to decide if he's even real or not.

Saving Grace on iTunes: