From NPR's pop culture blog, "Monkey See" on the topic of male gazing and The Big Bang Theory:

The pilot is terrible. The pilot is really, really terrible. And while there are many reasons for that -- Leonard and Sheldon are too similar, their odd-couple dynamic isn't firing yet, Sheldon's quirks aren't cranked up to heaven yet, and the writing feels very "pilot-y," for lack of a more precise descriptor -- the biggest problem is Penny, the only woman in the core cast, played by Kaley Cuoco. Penny lives across the hall from physicists Leonard and Sheldon, and while she's now Leonard's girlfriend and well-integrated with the guys and their friends, when the show started, Penny was not a person; she was a prop.

So the other night I watched the 2-episode arc "Human Nature" and "Family of Blood" from season 3 of Doctor Who.

Yikes that's a lot of acting going on. Gorgeous, beautiful, sympathetic, heart-wrenching acting. Freema Agyeman and David Tennant, and... just yikes.

*Howls to go see Hamlet in the West End and Wonders when Agyeman is going to get another regular series like taking over for that twit Gwen on Torchwood*

And the season 3 DVD set charlotteb_ brought back from LA last spring? Doesn't have a disc 5, just a second disc 3. Which means I'm left hanging after "Family of Blood." *facepalm*

In unrelated news, there was a segment on Dog Whisperer about an actress's dog barking uncontrollably backstage during a production of Wicked. WTF? Where the hell is the stage manager?

I'm posting this especially for noncalorsedumor . I watch the National Geographic Channel pretty regularly, and I think of her every time the commercials run.

I'm also posting Good News, because Lord knows the old Friends List seems to need it.

It turns out that many of the dogs confiscated from Michael Vick, convicted felon and animal abuser (and, oh yeah, he played football for some team) are actually adoptable.

"There are actually quite a few of them that seem 100 percent adoptable," said Frank McMillan, one of the sanctuary's head veterinarians. "Ultimately the goal is to get almost all of them adopted."

The dogs are also being featured in the NGC show Dogtown next Friday at 9 PM EST.

I was so surprised and delighted. So many times fighting dogs just have to be put down (liability issues, curse them), and it's just awesome that these dogs are getting a second chance.

All in all, a well done urban fantasy television series. It's apparently set to be rebroadcast a couple of times this week. I highly recommend catching it. I know I'll be watching it again