I am – Hercules!!

Included:

2.7 “High, It’s Sarah.” The title character smokes marijuana for the first time and leaves herself dopey voicemail messages. Garry Marshall guest stars as the president of Schaarcorp.

2.8 “Mongolian Beef.” Sarah sues the nation of Mongolia because its residents raped her ancestors centuries ago, giving sister Laura an Asian countenance.

2.9 “Making New Friends.” Sarah suddenly believes herself to be psychic, and decides to acquire random new friends. Meanwhile, the giant orange neighbors grow concerned about the size of Steve’s mammaries.

2.10 “Patriot Tract.” Sarah starts mowing down bearded men she believes to be Osama Bin Laden (including one played by Fred Armisen) and decides Laura’s most intimate of areas needs grooming. Meanwhile, Steve is hilariously confused by a masseuse’s offer of “release.”

2.11 “Pee.” Sarah begins wetting the bed, Jay worries about leaving his turtle with Sarah, and the orange neighbors fret about Brian’s ZZ Top beard. Adam Carolla plays a sensitive mall maintenance worker who screams things like, “Gentlemen, we have a beard to save!!”

2.12 “There’s No Place Like Homeless.” When Sarah loses her keys she joins a community of hobos while Brian, who worships Satan, has issues with Steve’s atheism.

2.13 “Fetus Don’t Fail Me Now.” Sarah discovers she’s pregnant with God’s child and is disappointed that all the gifts she gets are for the baby. Plus, the orange giants throw their backs out in the bathroom. Andy Richter plays a fellow looking to adopt.

2.14 “I Thought My Dad Was Dead, But It Turns Out He's Not.” Sarah sees her “dead” dad outside a Larry Bird book-signing. The orange giants discover every episode of “Dr. Lazer Range” (starring Christopher Eccleston) is available for $175. Kristin Stewart introduces the Loeb Trotters.

2.15 “Kangamangus.” Sarah meets the man (Stephen Root) who invented the word “booyah” and decides to create a word of her own. Rachael Harris plays a bystander.

2.16 “Vow Wow.” After Jay proposes to Laura, a jealous Sarah decides to marry her dog. And the gay neighbors have fun with flatulence. Natasha Leggero plays the hottest veterinarian on the planet.

1) “The Arena” (broadcast April 8, 1956) looks at a newly appointed second-generation U.S. senator out to ruin the colleague who ran his father out of the Senate.

2) “The Strike” (broadcast June 7, 1954) is a war drama about a patrol leader pressured to launch a strike on an area in which his own men were lost.

It goes without saying, I guess, that Serling’s work for TV anthology series led to his creation in 1959 of “The Twilight Zone.”

Staring at "Stargate SGU," one senses the folks at Syfy approached the guys who made “Stargate Atlantis” with this pitch: “‘Battlestar Galactica’ is easily the least crappy thing on the channel, but Ron Moore is one pricey writer-producer. You think you could maybe make something like that ‘Galactica’ show? The critics sure do seem to like it a lot better than your Stargate series!”

And so, I imagine, the “Stargate” guys came up with “SGU,” which (in its pilot at least) has “BSG”-like lighting and “BSG”-like music and "BSG"-like outer-space CGI camerawork and doesn’t seem to boast any actors with appliances slapped on their foreheads pretending to be extraterrestrials. Plus they got to hire Lou Diamond Phillips, a three-named actor who worked with Edward James Olmos on “Stand and Deliver.”

The series follows a group of military, political and science types who find themselves forced to escape what looks like a Cylon sneak attack by jumping through a special stargate – a stargate that connects only to an ancient starship in another galaxy far far away. The Cylon-like attack wrecks the special stargate and everybody’s trapped on the highly dilapidated and impossibly old space vessel.

Just as it took a little time to figure out that secretary of education Laura Roslin was now president of the BSG colonies, it takes some bickering to figure out who reports to whom when there’s military men and a senator and a high-ranking bureaucrat all tumbling though the one-way wormhole. There’s also a longhaired British superscientist played by Robert Carlyle who’s nowhere near as interesting or fun as Gaius Baltar. None of this, in fact, is terrifically compelling.

While there’s promise in the premise, the “Stargate” writers don’t demonstrate any more faculty for crafting thought-provoking drama or complex characters than they did on their old “Stargate” shows. There’s a lot of schlocky shouting for the politicians and the soldiers and a lot of unfunny shtick for the chubby civilian genius who gets trapped with the more experienced gate-jumpers. Take away the Galactican pretensions and it all seems no better or worse than the “Stargate” shows Syfy cancelled to make room for this one.

USA Today says:

… may not start fresh, but it does start over. … The cast (including Ming-Na, Louis Ferreira and Brian J. Smith) is good and the concept is a proven winner. And given how long these Stargates tend to stay open, the show certainly has time to improve. …

The New York Times says:

… People come hurtling toward us through a stargate in quick succession, crashing on top of one another in a bloody scrum. We don’t know where they’ve been or where they’re arriving. The answers follow in a series of flashbacks that sap most of the momentum of that nifty opening. … All this stress affords abundant opportunities for the overacting that characterizes “Universe,” as it does most large-cast cable dramas. …

The Chicago Tribune says:

… I've now seen five hours of the show and still don't feel all that invested in the the fate of 1st Lt. Matthew Scott (Brian J. Smith). Theoretically, I should -- he's one of the show's lead characters. Two characters do stand out … but the rest of "Universe" feels like an awkward mishmash of genres and tones. Though I had been cautiously looking forward to another iteration of the "Stargate" franchise, at this point I'm not sure its creators are taking Scott and his fellow survivors anywhere interesting.

The Washington Post says:

… Two things strike me, beyond "Stargate Universe's" stiffened pace: the predictability of the action and the characters, and the apparent tolerance for borrowing that the sci-fi genre treats as a matter of course. Plagiarism is the notable rhetoric, down to how things look in space and what people out there ever say to one another. What, exactly, gives "Stargate Universe" the right to beam its heroes from ship to surface the way "Star Trek" does? Why, except for budget and/or lack of imagination, do the interiors of the enormous starcruiser here bring to mind the dank hallways of "Alien" and the neo-brutalism of George Lucas's "Star Wars," with LED-bulb gizmo decor from "Star Trek" and "Battlestar Galactica"? …

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says:

… begins with both promise and some hokey crutches. And then in next week's episode, the show gets lost in the desert -- literally.…

The Boston Globe says:

… quite a bit of this series feels like “Lost’’ in space, and it is - early “Lost,’’ before things got all Others-y and time-travel-bogged, when it was largely about unlocking characters’ mysteries and playing with grand themes. “Stargate Universe’’ isn’t quite so ambitious, but it’s intriguing in its way, down to the ship, bathed in blue light, that emerges as a character in its own right. The ship is more interesting thus far, alas, than any of the female characters, but perhaps that will change over time. As “Battlestar Galactica’’ proved not long ago, deep mythology is much more fun if it surrounds a lot of complicated people. …

The Hollywood Reporter says:

… The series is competently produced and has all the cinematic bells and whistles you would expect from a member of the "Stargate" family. But if it is to be more than that -- if it is to establish itself as an intelligent drama that, for example, explores the military-civilian dynamic -- it has light years to go. … True, "Stargate" fans likely will climb aboard this spaceship. But if this series is ever to really take off and become stellar, it will need more surprising stories and more intellectually challenging drama.

Variety says:

… a plodding two-hour opener that does little but explain the circumstances of the series, none of which are that complicated. The opener also introduces the cast, none of whom are that complicated, either. …

Herc’s Popular Pricing Pantry

“Farscape: The Complete Series,” $129.49 last year, is momentarily $59.99. That works out to less than $15 per season!!

TV-on-Disc Calendar




Last Week
Batman: The Brave and the Bold Vol. 3
Beverly Hills 90210 9.x
Doc Martin 3.x
Doctor Who: The Complete Specials
Doctor Who: The Complete Specials (Blu-ray)
Doctor Who: The End of Time
Doctor Who: The End of Time (Blu-ray)
Doctor Who: The Waters of Mars
Doctor Who: The Waters of Mars (Blu-ray)
Dynasty 4.x Vol. 2
Dynasty 4.x
Family Feud All Stars: Best Of
G.I. Joe A Real American Hero 1.3
Head Case 2.x
Hitler's Bodyguard
The Mary Tyler Moore Show 6.x
Match Game: Best Of
A Mind To Kill 1.x
Mister Ed 2.x
Murder She Wrote 11.x
Password: Best Of 1961-1967
The Price Is Right: Best Of
She-Wolf of London: The Complete Series
Tom and Jerry's Greatest Chases Vol. 4
Wolverine and the X-Men Vol. 4
Zane's Sex Chronicles

This Week

The Life and Times of Tim 1.x

Rod Serling Studio One Dramas

The Sarah Silverman Program 2.x Vol. 2

Studio One: Twelve Angry Men

Next Week
Barnaby Jones 1.x
Branded: The Complete Series
Bugs Bunny's Easter Funnies
Cannon 2.x Vol. 2
Cannon 2.x
The Dog Whisperer 4.x
Head Case: The Complete Series
Hot Wheels Battle Force Five 1.x

Spectacular Spider-Man Vol. 6

Spectacular Spider-Man Vol. 7

February 23
Adam-12 4.x
American Chopper: Honoring The Uniform
Dirty Jobs: Something Fishy
18 Kids And Counting 2.x

FlashForward Vol. 1

GBH: The Complete Miniseries

Jersey Shore (Uncensored) 1.x

Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths

Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths (Two Disc)

Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths (Blu-ray)

Mythbusters: Urban Legends

March 2
Alice: The Complete Miniseries
Alice: The Complete Miniseries (Blu-ray)
The Beiderbecke Connection: The Complete Series
Designing Women 3.x
Doctor Who: Dalek War & Planet of the Daleks
Doctor Who: Remembrance of the Daleks
Have Gun Will Travel 4.x Vol. 1
Hell's Kitchen 2.x
King Arthur and the Knights of Justice: The Complete Series
Matlock 4.x
Poldark 1.x

March 9
Charlie & Lola: Vol. 10
The Commish 1.x
Dalziel & Pascoe 1.x
Greek 4.x
Hannah Montana Vol. 6
In Plain Sight 2.x
Iron Man Vol. 3

Tenspeed and Brown Shoe: The Complete Series ($10.99!)

Wiseguy: The Collector's Edition

March 16
Armchair Thriller Vol. 2

Breaking Bad 1.x (Blu-ray)

Breaking Bad 2.x

Breaking Bad 2.x (Blu-ray)

Hawaii Five-0 8.x

Monk 8.x

Mystery Science Theater 3000 XVII

South Park 13.x

South Park 13.x (Blu-ray)

March 23
The Abbott And Costello Show: The Complete Series
Father Knows Best 4.x
Krod Mandoon & The Flaming Sword of Fire: The Complete Series
The Lair 3.x

Mad Men 3.x

Mad Men 3.x (Blu-ray) <--- NEW!!

March 30
Alvin and the Chipmunks: Cinderella Cinderella
Ben 10 Alien Force Vol. 6
Deadliest Catch 5.x
First Amendment Stand-Up 4.x
iCarly: iFight Shelby Marx
Legacy: The Origins of Civilizations
Rhoda 2.x
Sports Night 1.x
Steven Seagal: Lawman 1.x
The Story of Math

April 6

Ally McBeal 2.x

Battlestar Galactica 2.x (Blu-ray)

Battlestar Galactica: The Complete Series (+ The Plan)

Battlestar Galactica: The Complete Series (+ The Plan) (Blu-ray)

Party Down 1.x

April 13
Dallas 13.x
The Donna Reed Show: Best Of <--- NEW!!
Emergency 6.x
Jim Henson Presents: Song of the Cloud Forest
Jim Henson's Animal Show
Tom and Jerry Tales 1.x

April 20
Big John, Little John: The Complete Series
Drawn Together Movie: The Movie
Falcon Crest 1.x

April 27
Bugs Bunny Hare Extraordinaire
Daffy Duck Frustrated Fowl
Ghost Hunters 5.x Vol. 2
G.I. Joe 2.x
The Hills 5.x Vol. 2
I Love Lucy: The Movie & Other Great Rarities

It's Garry Shandling's Show 1.x

May 4
Doctor Who: The Curse of Peladon
Doctor Who: Dreamland
Doctor Who: The Masque of Mandragora
Doctor Who: The Monster of Peladon
The Facts of Life 4.x <--- NEW!!
Fresh Prince of Bel-Air 5.x
Freud: The Complete Miniseries <--- NEW!!
Honeymooners: Valentines Special <--- NEW!!
Honeymooners: Second Honeymoon <--- NEW!!

Iron Man: The Complete 1994 Series

Iron Man Armored Adventures 1.x <--- NEW!!

On The Road With Charles Kuralt Vol. 2

X-Men Vol. 5

May 11
Mr. Magoo in Sherwood Forest

thirtysomething 3.x

May 25

True Blood 2.x

True Blood 2.x (Blu-ray)

June 1
Midsomer Murders Vol. 15

August 24

Lost 6.x

Lost 6.x (Blu-ray)

Lost: The Complete Series

Lost: The Complete Series (Blu-ray)

$16.99 The Office 3.x (24 episodes) <--- VASTLY ENCHEAPENED!!

Oscar-Nominated Coens!!