Heros + Numb3rs - math lecture = Alphas

Better late than never, is my take on Alphas, the new SyFy show. In a nutshell: Heroes + Numb3rs - math lectures = Alphas. I especially liked Gary's ability to see, organize and understand all wavelengths. He can surf the web, radio channels, cell traffic, TV, etc. without the benefit of any device. He uses his hands to pull what he's interested to the fore or rearrange the information he's analyzing. Each gifted individual also has a curse. For Gary, he's a bit special needs with poor impulse control.

Unlike Heroes, these people with abilities work for and help the government rather than getting chased down and locked up. The somewhat motley crew includes a married man who can spike his adrenaline on demand for super strength, a single woman who has super senses, and another single woman with expensive tastes who can manipulate the will of others (glad she's on our side). In the first episode, the gain a fifth member who exhibits an extraordinary sense of balance and sense of space and timing.

The banter between team members was pretty good. I just hope it doesn't become just another detective show with superheros. I'd like to see the down-side of their abilities cause problems for them more and see how they struggle to adjust. I especially want to see how it is that they're all willing to play nice and catch bad guys.

I agreed to promote ebook giveaways for a publisher with a very unique and potentially exciting model. They pair pros with up-and-comers. Find out more at Phoenix Pick . Meantime, Phoenix Pick's free ebook for August is one of my favorite books. An oldie but a goodie. If you haven't read James P. Hogan's The Multiplex Man, I highly recommend it. And now you have nothing to lose! Get it free with this coupon code: 99922991 through August 31st at www.PPickings.com.

Here's the synopsis in case you still don't trust me that it's a great book:

The Multiplex Man is an intriguing thriller set in a future where every
aspect of life on Earth is micromanaged by authorities who consider any
deviation from the prescribed path as dangerous.

Off-world colonies are considered dangerous enemies threatening to take
Earth’s precious resources .

And who is Richard Jarrow?

Is he the unassuming, mild-mannered teacher he thinks himself to be or
something much more?

And how does the brilliant scientist named Ashling fit into the picture.

Jarrow must find Ashling, who holds the key not only to Jarrow’s own
identity but to freedom itself.

A Fairy Tale from ABC

It looks like ABC might have a winner with Once Upon a Time. Jennifer Morrison (Dr. Cameron from House) plays, Emma, the new arrival in Storybrooke. She soon learns that Storybrooke is actually a book of fairy tales from which there is no escape. Not only is she trapped with fairy tale characters that don't know who they once were, but she is told by her young guide, Henry, played by Jared Gilmore, that she is a character in the book herself. Henry is the child Emma gave up years before. He tells her an impossible tale that so intrigues her that she brings him back to Storybrooke to see for herself. Henry has told her that she is the long lost child of Prince Charming (Josh Dallas - CSI and Thor) and Snow White (Ginnifer Goodwin).

I don't think any of us outgrows fairy tales. Executive producers Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz of Lost fame, deliver an action-packed, intrigue-laced fairy tale filled with the magic and wonder we still crave. You'll recognize Robert Carlyle from Stargate Universe as Rumplestiltskin.

The show airs on ABC this fall on Sundays at 8PM, 7PM Central.

More of The IT Crowd - indulge me!

An update in the ongoing pirated blog saga. I did get the site to remove my articles. I also managed to get them to remove their list of "contributors". I guess they didn't like the fact that I was using it against them. :) I continued to contact other bloggers in that list to let them know they were being pirated.

On that same note, here's a good article on pirated books both in print and on Kindle written by Meredith Greene at Sacramento Book Review.

Now the fun stuff. If you haven't figured it out yet from previous posts or facebook comments, I LOVE The IT Crowd. It's a British sitcom that is being rerun on IFC. I mentioned this in a previous post. Since then, I discovered that a new season (or series as they say across the pond) will be airing beginning this month. The last one ended in December '08. They do things a bit differently, obviously. The bad news is that it's airing on their channel 4, not ours. The good news is that you can watch episodes online.

And here are more teasers to get you hooked.

If you watch this one first, the second one will be even funnier.

Here is Moss dealing with an office fire.

What happens when you use the wrong loo.

You can start watching series one on IFC on Saturdays and catch up. Then go online after series 3 for the new season on channel 4.



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Happy Town on ABC 4/28

Premiering Wednesday, April 28, 2010, on ABC – Happy Town



The quiet, rural town of Haplin, MN has enjoyed a respite from the annual disappearances that have plagued the town, also known as Happy Town, for years. Year after year one person would go missing – some old, some young, some affluent, some not. Local legend has it that the Magic Man is responsible. But no one knows who or what this Magic Man is.

Young Henley Boone moves to town, so viewers get the grand tour as given to her by her real estate agent. On the drive to the boarding house with the realtor, Henley notices a question mark with a halo depicted in graffiti all over town. The boarding house is also home to Mr. Merritt Grieves and four widows. Grieves is played by Sam Neil who does a very convincing impression of Vincent Price's trademark creepy serial killer character. He even owns a memorabilia shop called The House of Usher.

The landlady tells Henley that the third floor is off-limits. You know she's gonna risk eviction and go up there to investigate.

Happy Town's happiness is shattered when a man is murdered in an ice-fishing shack on the frozen pond. Murder, in that rural town is unheard of, let alone the bizarre method used in this case. I don't want to give too much away, here. Many people, you'll find out, have a hidden side, deliciously pregnant with secrets or mayhem.

Adding color to the whole small town atmosphere are the quaint little sayings. Things like, "Chin to the moon, son," and "Like she'd been eatin' hornets for breakfast."

The most intriguing element in the pilot is the sheriff's lapses in which he speaks of Chloe. His son, the Deputy, asks him who Chloe is, and he says he doesn't know a Chloe. He is unaware that he's been speaking about her.

The show promises a complex plot, so far. But don't take my word for it. And who's missing this time? Maybe it's me. www.annwilkesismissing.com



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