Welcome to the inaugural post in my new (likely short-lived) blog series — Ten From My TiVo.  I’ll use the inspiration of shows that my TiVo records for me every week to come up with various top 10 lists.

The first list in the series is the obvious one.  Without further ado, I present to you Ten From My TiVo: Hottest Women.

#10 Julie Bowen (Modern Family)

Sure, she plays a mom of three on Modern Family every week but Julie Bowen is smokin’.  Though Phil often steals the show with the laughs, Julie’s character, Claire, adds her own manic humor to the mix.  Julie Bowen is both hot and funny — double threat!

#9 Alison Brie (Community)

Perhaps one of the most under-utilized actresses on Community, Alison Brie manages to play her honor student character with glee.  If her big puppy dog eyes can melt Jeff Winger every week, then consider me melted.

#8 Parvati Shallow (Survivor)

In her third season as a contestant on Survivor, Parvati has been called a lot of things on the show.  Her victorious run in Fans Vs. Favorites earned her the ultimate title of Survivor’s Black Widow, and she most recently charmed the immunity idol out of Russell Hantz on Heroes Versus Villains.  It’s never been so fun to distrust someone this much.

#7 Erika Christensen (Parenthood)

Though a new show, Parenthood is a show that has it all.  And one of those great things is Erika Christensen.  She is superb as Julia Braverman-Graham, desperately trying to juggle a successful law career with attentive parenting, leading to both laughs and tears.

#6 Jessica Stroup (90210)

Just to be clear, Jessica Stroup is an adult despite playing a high schooler on the new 90210.  Despite being thrown into a show full of hotties, Jessica stands out as the queen of them all.  She’s also a refreshingly good actress, able to play the panic and angst of high school with ease.  Just don’t look into her eyes; you may become hypnotized.

#5 Sofía Vergara (Modern Family)

A true Colombian, Sofia draws you in with her looks and then slays you with her accent.  As the much younger wife of Ed O’Neill, Sofia excels as the awkward stepmother to a couple of kids who are her age.  There’s nothing like an exotic accent to draw you in.

#4 Kaley Cuoco (The Big Bang Theory)

Kaley Cuoco first caught my eye a few years ago in 8 Simple Rules, but now she graces my TiVo every week in The Big Bang Theory as the curiously last-nameless Penny.  Kaley’s genuine demeanor makes her the perfect choice to portray the hot girlfriend of a socially awkward physicist, but it’s her comic timing that keeps you hooked.

#3 Lauren Graham (Parenthood)

Sure I’m a dude, but I was an avid fan of Gilmore Girls.  Lorelai Gilmore was the role of a lifetime for Graham’s effervescent personality, and I was afraid we’d lose her forever after its cancellation.  Imagine my relief when Parenthood snagged her for yet another hot mom role.  I won’t complain — there’s no such thing as too much Lauren Graham.

#2 Stana Katic (Castle)

I came for Nathan Fillion in my usual blind Firefly loyalty, but I stayed on Castle for the adorable but stern Stana Katic.  Keeping up with Nathan Fillion is no easy task, but Stana Katic plays Detective Kate Beckett with a rapier wit that keeps Castle in check.  The facial expressions that she musters in exasperation are some of the best on television.

#1 Yvonne Strahovski (Chuck)

Of course #1 would go to Yvonne Strahovski by default — I do run a website dedicated to her afterall.  Every bit as sweet as she is hot, Yvonne Strahovski wows us every week with her amazing portrayal of Agent Sarah Walker.  Fresh from Australia, Strahovski has quickly made it clear that there’s no one on television hotter than her.

Dearest Heroes,

Our relationship has been a little rocky for  a while.  Though we still share a home, we only pass like ships in the night.

You’ve been sleeping on the couch, and I’ve been halfway ignoring what you had to say while shoving my nose into my laptop.

I haven’t spent much time thinking about you, because we have just grown apart.  You aren’t the same person you used to be.

I’d like to say that it’s not you; it’s me.  But let’s be honest, it’s totally you.  You became an intolerable partner for a while.

But last night during our Monday night date night (that you’ve insisted we maintain during this dark period in our relationship), I saw a glimmer of what really made me fall in love with you in the first place.

For the briefest of moments, I was able to fondly remember those times we spent together saving the cheerleader, and yes, even the world.

I don’t know if this means we’re going to get back together and have the sort of relationship we used to have, but I do know that perhaps my heart still belongs to you in some small way.

Please don’t screw up again.  I just don’t think my heart could take the abuse.

With love,

Lykaon

Okay.  So I should probably start blogging again, and since it’s fall TV time I guess that’s my best bet for topics.

So let’s talk about the newest Sci-Fi-JJ-X-Files ripoff of the day — Fringe.

Starring Pacey, Denethor, and some average-looking chick I’ve never heard of, Fringe tries to capture the nostalgia of the X-Files fans with a little bit of Heroes drama and JJ twist.

What does that equal?  Pretty mediocre television so far in my opinion.  I’ve given it two episodes before writing a review because I want it to be good.

Here’s where I admit to an embarassing fact: I was a big fan of Dawson’s Creek, and an even bigger fan of the character of Pacey.  This naturally leads to warm fuzzy feelings about Joshua Jackson… manly ones, of course.

To be honest, I gave the show a shot at all because of Jackson.

He’s one of those natural actors that can believably bring humor to most situations (like The Beef and Mr. July).  He’s entertaining to watch.

But I’m not sure he can save this show.

The real problem comes down to its characters.  For any show to win my attention, it must have interesting and well-developed characters.  Even if it’s just starting out, I at least want to see potential in its characters.

Plus I want those characters to be attractive.  Don’t mistake my meaning.  I don’t mean I want them to be pretty.  I mean I want them to be intriguing to watch.

Though Pacey does the best he can, the only character who is even remotely intriguing to watch is the crazy scientist father dude played by the same guy who threw himself from the top of Minas Tirith (which was dramatically added for the movie).

The subject matter isn’t particularly compelling.  It’s supposed to be dealing with fringe science, but they cram so much fringe into one episode that you don’t ever get as much as you really want.

This past episode had them reading visual images off of dead eyes.  That little gem had nothing to do with the plot and such capabilities could be saved for a whole show dedicated to the weirdness and ramifications of being able to do stuff like that.

Not to mention, by fringe they mean ‘made-up.’  So far they haven’t really dealt with common fringe science that we’ve all heard of (or at least can look up on wikipedia).

Also.  The little name plate thingies for location awareness is a total ripoff of Heroes and much more intrusive.  It’s not clever.  It’s not neato.  It’s just stupid.

And lastly we come to the real problem with the show — it’s lead.  I had never heard of Anna Torv before this show, but I just can’t warm up to her.  She keeps the audience at a distance; and I find her to be mostly offputting.

She is not overly attractive.  She is not overly charismatic.  She is not really anything that a good leading lady should be.  The redhead chick from Massive Dynamics is more compelling than she is (plus she has robotic arms!).

So that’s where I stand on Fringe.  I’ll probably give it another episode or two to win me over, but it’s not really leading the charge so far this season for great entertainment.

Work harder, Pacey, you can do it!

I may not have mentioned it before, but along with my love of Star Trek and movies I’m also a bit of a fan of Leave It To Beaver.

Though it is dated, silly, and not all representative of what life in the fifties was probably really like, it’s still a great show with some of the best displays of tv tropes in our short television history.

This past weekend I watched an episode all about Wally.  He started dating a girl who’s older sister (by 3 years) was already married.

Ward and June were absolutely horrified by all of the time Wally was spending with the married couple and were sure he was going to drop out of high school and get married prematurely.

So, being good parents they questioned him about his new girl over dinner.  Wally got short with them, and finally asked them to stop. Why?

And I quote: “It’s kinda creepy like when the gym coach watches you shower.”

Wait–what? Did Wally really just say that?  Wally was playing ball for a pedophile and his parents are worried about a girl?

Ah.  The fifties.  So innocent.

So I’m running through the entire series of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine again for old time’s sake.  It really is the best of the Trek series for my money.

The characters are so much deeper and the plotlines so much more involved.  It honestly makes TNG look like a walk in the park, full of privileged brats.

But that’s not why I’m writing.  Instead, I’m commenting on a particular episode in the second season called “Paradise.”  What?  Don’t have every Star Trek episode memorized?  I’ll sum up.

Be warned: If you haven’t seen The Village and don’t want to be spoiled, you should probably stop reading.

Basically, Sisko and O’Brien go galavanting onto some planet where they find a colony of crash-landed humans who have been living planetside for 10 years.

They haven’t left or contacted anyone for help because none of their technology works thanks to some sort of interference field that they surmise is some sort of naturally occuring phenomenon.

But then we find out that that natural occurrence is actually a technological device placed there and hidden by the leader of the colony because she abhors technology.  So she hoodwinked a few dozen people for 10 years so that she could live out her fantasy of a “better life.”

Fast Forward over 10 years later in real time, and Shymalan releases The Village to mixed reviews.  I actually liked the movie a great deal and really wish people would move past The Sixth Sense to appreciate him as a filmmaker.

But it occurred to me as I watched this episode that The Village is practically the exact same story.  Sure, the macguffin is different but the goal is the same — crazy purist seeks to destroy lives by forcing them to live a ’simpler’ life.

I’m not naive enough to think that the DS9 writers came up with this sci-fi plot device all by themselves, and I even admit that Shymalan could have gotten his inspiration from a wholly different source.

But where from?  I find it interesting how some stories are so familiar yet so new at the same time.  Both Trek and Shymalan likely pulled on some earlier source that probably also pulled from an even earlier source.

Not being well-versed in sci-fi literature and media, I open it to you.  Where did this story get its start?