The Dharma Initiative Wants You!

Yes that's right! You too can be a member of the Dharma Initiative! Interested? All you have to do is head over to this website and get started! Rumor has it they are researching on some strange island that no one can find! Oohh, the adventure!

Lost and How I Met Your Mother Updates

First off, at ComicCon, Damon Lindeloff and Carlton Cuse said that it was about time Lost fans got some answers, and that in the shows final 34 hours spread over the next two seasons, they intend to deliver. Furthermore, they said they're hoping that they can bring back Mr. Ecko. If you're a Lost fan and that doesn't get you excited, I don't know what will.

As for How I Met Your Mother, it was announced that Sarah Chalke is coming back for a multi-series arc for next season. It was previously revealed that two responses to Ted's proposal were shot. Just some food for thought.

Amy Pohler and Emmy Nods

Big news first: SNL's Amy Pohler has announced that she will star, presumably as the boss, on NBC's spin-off of The Office. Though details are still coming out, Pohler told the AP that she was involved in the show, but due to ongoing negotiations with NBC-Universal. On her SNL career, Pohler is expected to be part of SNL's primetime election shows this fall, but there is no word as to whether or not she will continue into the spring.

Now on to the Emmy Nods:
1. LOST IS BACK
Personally, I think Lost deserves Best Drama, though the other noms deserve it as well. This has been the best year since Season 1. If Michael Emerson doesn't win Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, then I will lose all my faith in the Emmys.
2. HOORAY FOR COMEDY WRITERS
The nominees for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series are pretty darn good. They include two episodes of 30 Rock ("Rosemary's Baby" and "Cooter"), Flight of the Conchords ("Yoko"), Pushing Daisies ("Pie-Lette") and The Office ("The Dinner Party"). This year is a group of stellar nominees, no Two and Half Men or Big Bang Theory (man, I think I hate CBS). Those are all deserving shows and the writing on them has been superb. Whoever wins, deserves it big time.
3. SNUBS
Now I know I gave props to Lost for its nods, but the biggest one missing was Best Writing in a Drama Series. Seriously, "The Constant" was one of best hours of television I've ever seen, and it not getting nominated is a travesty. I also think How I Met Your Mother deserved a nomination for Best Comedy. I think Season 2 was their best so far, but after rewatching the past season, there is no doubt in my mind that it deserved the spot taken by the horrendous Two and Half Men. In a similar vein, Tracy Morgan should have John Cryer's nom for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. He was absolutely hilarious all season long and John Cryer, well, as you can guess, I hate Two and a Half Men.
4. WHO SHOULD WIN FOR COMEDY (Michael's Picks)
Comedy Series: 30 Rock
Actor in a Comedy Series: Steve Carrell
Actress in a Comedy Series: Tiny Fey (see: her eating an entire sandwich for a gag)
Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series: Neil Patrick Harris
Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series: Amy Pohler (funniest SNL cast member, period)
Guest Actor in a Comedy Series: Will Arnett (about time he got a nod)
Guest Actress in a Comedy Series: Edie Falco
(I don't watch enough of the Dramas to weigh in. Perhaps Jon will take that one.)

Dr. Horrible's Sing a Long Blog - Act I

I never thought I'd say this, but thank God for the strike! During the writer's strike, Joss Whedon set about making a movie for the Internet, completely circumventing the system. The result is Dr. Horrible's Sing-a-Long Blog. While its not technically TV, I think the combination of Joss Whedon and Neil Patrick Harris places this firmly in our jurisdiction. So if you haven't seen it yet, run to this site to enjoy Act I and then rejoin me below.

Back yet?

Okay. Act I is mainly set-up, introducing us to Dr. Horrible and his world. Dr. Horrible is a supervillain, although not a great one, who has his own video blog. Dr. Horrible is close to achieving his goal of building a freeze ray and taking over the world. However, he has a problem: he's in love with Penny, a girl from his laundromat, and he can't get up the courage to speak to her. These forces collide during an attempted heist, which is interrupted when Penny talks to him. Unfortunately for Dr. Horrible, his heist is also interrupted by his nemesis, Captain Hammer.

To put it simply, I thought Dr. Horrible was glorious. Despite being mainly devoted the introducing everything, the show was incredibly entertaining and hilarious. Neil Patrick Harris is, of course, outstanding. His Dr. Horrible is just an average nerd who happens to be an evil scientist. He also perfectly gets the slightly bored, slightly annoyed tone that most video bloggers adopt, complete with the heavy sighs and awkward pauses. The normally likeable Nathan Fillion is great as the obnoxious Captain Hammer. However, the biggest surprise was probably Felicia Day. I hadn't heard of her before this (although IMDB says she was one of the Slayerettes in the 7th season of Buffy), but she's quite funny and has an excellent singing voice. Speaking of singing, I thought the songs were ridiciously catchy. My favorite was "Stop the World."

All in all, this was a great introduction, I'm really excited to see where Whedon goes from here.

Mad Men Stuff

Hey everyone,

Don't worry, Mike and I haven't forgotten you, we've just been going crazy in England. When it starts, I'm going to be writing up recaps of Mad Men (as well as Psych), so this post seems pertnent:

According to Matthew Weiner, Mad Men is designed to go 5 seasons, taking Donald Draper and the crew to 1969. This gives him the opportunity to start each season's storyline how he wants to.

I'm not as broken up as I was about Lost's end date, but its going to be weird watching Mad Men and knowing that there's a plan like this. What do you MM fans think? Is this ultimately going to be a good move for the show? Is Mad Men a show like Lost or Battlestar Galactica, where it makes sense to end it at a specific time?

Finally, as a programming reminder, our official Mad Men coverage will begin no later than July 28, with my recap of the season 2 premiere. Now go buy some cigarettes and booze!