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Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the reason I won't go see Aliens vs Predator in the theater...

So, on the surface, it appeared that Medical Investigation would be a show cast very much in the CSI mold. You know, male lead played by a charismatic actor who people recognize but isn't big enough to have a career in movies, but is talented enough to disguise the fact that he's playing a character with no personality, a female lead who acts with her hair, and a bunch of plucky younger characters who are completely interchangeable. And, well, that's pretty much what it is. But the male lead is played by Neal McDonough, who can act rings around the CSI leads, and manages to sell the manic intensity of his character in a way, say, David Caruso completely fails to do on CSI: Orange. I'm also encouraged to return because it's a medical drama, not a crime drama. There are actually people's lives at stake, whereas the typical crime investigation show tends to focus more on the protagonist just proving that he's smarter than the criminal, who has already done whatever it is that he's done. The cops can't stop him; they can only prove that he did it. So I'll probably stick with this one for a while.

Tired, and a little depressed. More tomorrow.

Kealan Patrick Burke

Not actually familiar with this author, but if you go to his web site, you can sign up for a free serialized horror e-novel, starting September 14. I've always thought the best way for authors to publicize themselves is to let people sample their work, so I'm a sucker for these sorts of free e-serials. (Douglas Clegg does the same thing every year.)

Mercifully quick, here's my results to yet another one of those time-wasting but fun online quizes (thanks, Lisa!). I publish my results here for the amusement of all, particularly regarding the "sleeping with as many people as you possibly can" bit... Good lord...

You're Love in the Time of Cholera!

by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Like Odysseus in a work of Homer, you demonstrate undying loyalty by
sleeping with as many people as you possibly can. But in your heart you never give
consent! This creates a strange quandary of what love really means to you. On the
one hand, you've loved the same person your whole life, but on the other, your actions
barely speak to this fact. Whatever you do, stick to bottled water. The other stuff
could get you killed.


Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

This week, the new TV season starts seriously oozing its way out onto our screens. Trying to get a leap on the competition, NBC has already premiered Father of the Pride, which I've already commented on, and Hawaii, which I have no real interest in seeing. (The commercials and premise don't do anything for me, and the word on the street is it's not very good. I got enough TV to watch as it is.) Thursday sees the premiere of Medical Investigation, before it moves to its regular Friday night slot. On the surface, it looks like NBC's version of CSI, which is ironic, considering NBC and CBS have their dueling franchises with Law & Order and CSI, and I'm not interested in either of them any more. The idea of them stealing from each other's playbooks on top of that is absurd. But this show... I want to see it because it stars Neal McDonough, from NBC's late, lamented Boomtown, and has a bunch of producers from that show on staff. It won't be a Boomtown substitute (because who copies failed series?), but that pedigree is enough to get my attention.

Saturday, KidsWB premieres the new Batman cartoon, called The Batman. I don't think I need to say any more about that.

And Sunday, we get the first episode of Jack & Bobby, the first new fall series to premiere with some actual positive buzz surrounding it. Produced by West Wing director/producer Thomas Schlamme (the man who made the show look better than everything else on TV, until he quit two seasons ago), the producer of Everwood (which I've recently started watching), and co-created by novelist Brad Meltzer, this one sounds like it could be interesting. On the surface, it may be a typical WB kids/teens drama, but with the additional hook that one of the two brothers will grow up to be president. This sense of destiny is what may separate this show from the pack. We'll see.

calendarlive.com: Sitcoms in the age of 'be funny or else'

So I'm not the only one who isn't hooked by the current style of sitcoms. I feel somewhat vindicated. (Thanks, Steve, for the link.)