TV: Potpourri

Battlestar Galactica: I see on executive producer Ron Moore's blog that the second season has been confirmed. That's great news. This is an absolute must-see series for me, right up there with Lost, or Arrested Development.

I'm fascinated by the way religion is depicted on the show. The humans are multitheistic; they worship "the gods of Kobol." Their religion has yet to be fully explored, but I'm wondering if their gods are like one Christian god, times, say, twelve, or if they all have individual personalities and stories, like the Greco-Roman pantheon. Whatever it is, it seems to me that the typical religious viewer of the show wouldn't identify with this "Kobol" religion -- would, in fact, hold that religion to be as quaint and absurd as modern society regards Ares, Aphrodite, and Apollo. (Hmm... Apollo. Maybe their gods are the Greco-Roman gods.)

The Cylon god, on the other hand, appears so far to be remarkably similar to the Christian god. There's just one, first of all -- the Cylons are devout monotheists. (Actually, I'm only assuming it's all Cylons; the only Cylon yet to speak of religion has been Number Six, whom I will presume, until proven wrong, speaks for all Cylons.) He's a benevolent god, the creator, the source of love -- but he can be vengeful, too, as Baltar found out in this last episode. I find it tremendously interesting that the religious belief that translates most directly to the dominant Western religion is held by the evil Cylons.

I get the feeling that the Cylon god is not as unknowable and intangible as the Christian one. I think before too long we're going to find out exactly what or who it is.

Celebrity Poker Showdown: It's so frustrating to watch this show sometimes, with its dumb players and their lucky cards. Last week's episode with Colin Quinn was agony to watch. He was so bad, so very, very bad. Played any two cards, never folded. And he kept winning. There is no way for a good player to beat a bad player with lucky cards. A good player can bluff, and another good player can read the odds and know when to fold. But a bad player will just keep throwing money at the pot, completely oblivious to anything else. Usually, they'll lose their shirts in ten minutes. But sometimes, like Quinn did, they'll win it all. Unbelievable.

I've also got on TiVo the latest Hollywood Home Game edition of the World Poker Tour. Mekhi Phifer (the last Celebrity Poker Showdown player to win with blind, stupid luck) is playing, as are Andrea Parker (Less Than Perfect), Adrian Young (No Doubt's drummer), John Hensley (never heard of him), and LeVar Burton and Wil Wheaton. I'm guessing it's going to come down to the two Trek vets, and I'm rooting for Wheaton to get the win.

Teen Titans: Everybody caught the Battle of the Planets reference in this week's episode, right? Just checking.

Desperate Housewives: A friend of mine told me he'd read that they're already working on a spin-off to this show, to star (he said) one of the four main actresses on this show. That can't be right, can it? Has anybody else heard this? Because that is just stupid. No better way to sabotage a successful show than screwing with what makes it work.

Loonatics: Have you heard about this? The WB plans on updating the classic WB cartoon characters by making them EXXXXTREEEEME!!! superheroes in the distant future. Wow. Just, wow. This is the most idiotic marketing idea -- and perhaps the most idiotic idea, period -- since New Coke. Everyone involved in this fiasco needs to be put in a line, and then slapped across the face one after the other, Three Stooges-style.