Tonight begins the final run of Fox’s sci-fi human slavery action drama, Dollhouse.  I think I like this show, I know I want to, but it hasn’t been easy.  There’s always been something really cool and really creepy going on, but it’s been a slow build to where the show’s finale seems to be heading.

I think a big part of this has come from attempts to broaden the appeal and ultimately generate ratings.  Creator Joss Whedon has a very loyal fanbase going back to his Buffy the Vampire Slayer days, but his most recent TV series Firefly and Dollhouse have struggled to put up big enough numbers to survive.  Part of the blame falls squarely on Fox for airing the show on Friday nights, but I think just as much has to go to the writers.

If you look at some successful Fox dramas (any network really) there’s a definite single episode done-in-one production ethic behind the series.  House, Bones, Fringe, and Lie to Me all seem to fit this mold.  Sure we learn something about the characters along the way, and there are some threats that loom for a few episodes, but mostly you get everything in that hour.  A notable exception to this is 24, but Fox has made every effort to compress the timeline on how things play out for the viewers by only running from January to May.  I think Dollhouse tried to use this approach, but given the morally questionable nature of the weekly “adventures” it did little to get viewers invested.  Once they came in with the big threat that was building (which happened in the DVD/digital only final episode of season one) it was too late.

After a hiatus 4 episodes into this season, Fox churned out 3 2-hour blocks in December and are dumping the rest in January starting tonight at 9PM.  I will be watching.  The 6 episodes in December were great.  In many ways the show is great, but in other more accurate ways the show is cancelled.

I’ve never been one for new years resolutions.  Overall, I suck at committing to anything.  Pete, Trouble, and Sammy are the longest I have stuck with anything.  Ever.  Well….I may have had a relationship with coffee longer.  And chocolate even longer than that.  Anyway…This year I decided to return to a blog that I attempted before, and then a second time, and now a third time.  A blog that continually was abandoned.  To make it easy, all I am requiring of myself is to post one picture a day.  Something to remember a little bit about the day.  Something to get me to post.  Luckily, WordPress has made it quite easy.  All I have to do is snap a picture with my phone, and email it to my blog.  Posting shouldn’t take much effort.  So, this is my experiment for the year.  I invited Pete to join me, because I thought it would be a fun place for the odd things we stumble upon.  Like the dead fish he saw on the sidewalk in University City one time.  And what’s more fun – you can rate the photos on the blog.  So check it out: www.angeliquebuckley.com And rate some images.  And visit often.  AND totally give me a hard time if I don’t keep up.  HERE WE GO!!!!!

Have you made any resolutions this year?

Today was supposed to be something the comic buying world had not seen for a long time (if ever), a Wednesday (or Thursday) without new comic books.  Upon first hearing that comics’ central distributor, Diamond Distribution, would not be shipping new books this week, I was admittedly sad and disappointed. That seemed to quickly change to a sense of relief in having a week to catch up and save a few dollars (what can I say it’s a weird hobby).  I’ve come to find out that there will be new books today as some publishers have decided to work around Diamond.

Read more of this article »

It’s no secret that record stores have disappeared and the ones that are left probably don’t have much time. While digital distribution and music downloading (legally of course) is something I’m a big proponent of, it’s just not always the right solution for me. If I want to buy a song, or preview an album, or even just get information on a band, iTunes is the only place I turn at this point. However, if I want to buy an album (the whole thing, not just one or two songs), I’m still buying the CD. I need to have something tangible if I’m going to commit to music on that level. I want to see the way the artwork and packaging are designed, I want to see what the CD actually looks like. Of course, it only comes out of the packaging once, goes into my computer and becomes a series of ethereal ones and zeroes like everything else, but that doesn’t mean I want to simply download it.

The disappearance of music stores creates another type of problem for me in that most of what I listen to seems to fall through the cracks. It’s primarily bands that are not big enough to be carried by a big chain store and not special enough for a speciality shop. The most recent example is the new Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School of Medicine album. After calling half a dozen music stores in the city, I found one store that had it – Main Street Music in Manayunk. Upon going there to pick it up, I was told they had one copy – used. Meaning that someone bought it, ripped it, and sold it within 2 weeks of its release. This may happen a lot, but I don’t know that it helps stores stay in business. I’m fairly certain I don’t agree with it. Sure, there’s a chance that someone just didn’t like the album and had a chance to divest themselves of it, but I’ll never know.

All I do know is that I intend to keep supporting the CD format until the bitter end, in approximately 3 years 5 days and 11 minutes.

Three great special issues were released by Marvel in the past two weeks, unfortunately they shipped (and I subsequently read) in perhaps the exact reverse order they were intended.  All three books are written by Brian Bendis, the architect of the upcoming Siege event and writer of the Avengers titles for several years.  The books in questions are New Avengers Annual #3, Dark Avengers Annual #1 and Siege: The Cabal.  Read them in that order, but don’t read on unless you want to know why (consider that a SPOILER warning).

Read more of this article »