When I found out that people actually collected ice cream scoopers I stopped having a problem with Bush's torture program. Enemy combatants, all of them.

When I learned German there was always one word that stuck with me.  I just loved saying it.  Sammeln. When pronounced the word sounds an awful lot like “salmon” said by a kid who needs speech therapy.  (I’m still considering writing a letter to Merkel asking her to put Germans through speech therapy)  During class, when Professor B would make us state things in German I would always just fall back on sammeln. “Am Mittagesen sammeln ich Serviette.“  When my turn passed I would just daydream about the things that I used to collect.  We’ve all done collected something–stamps, butterflies, various meats.  Show me a person that didn’t collect something at childhood, I’ll show you someone who didn’t have a childhood, an “invisible child” if I may.

Some of my earliest memories start in my uncle’s truck sifting through a new deck of Upper Deck trading cards.  Oh, shit.  You should see my collection.  It’s an early to mid-90s who’s who of professional football, basketball and baseball.  Off the top of my head, I can remember having Ken Caminiti, Allen Iverson, Keyshawn Johnson, Eddie George, Steve Young and Terry Glen rookie cards.  That’s a Hall of Fame class, son.  I was so crazy about trading cards.  Outside of beating Sonic and Knuckles, trading cards were all I could think about.  When am I getting my next trading card fix? Every fall there was a new line.  I needed it.  Unfortunately, I grew up poor, so I wouldn’t get like the whole set.  I would just get packs from time-to-time and luck out.  I don’t know what the trading card industry was really like in the 90s, but it seemed booming.

I remember staying up on weekends watching the Home Shopping Network.  I would gawk at the collectors sets they would parade across the screen.  Getting the entire Upper Deck baseball trading card series of 1997 seemed like the coolest fucking thing on the planet.  For some reason I thought TY Beanie Babies were a waste of fucking time, but getting my hands on a Rafael Palmero trading card wasn’t.  Oh, the Nineties.

HSN convinced me that perhaps trading cards and sports memorabilia  were too expensive for my blood.  I stowed my collection away, which is still alive in Houston, and moved on.   I moved on to POGs.  I moved on to POGs–hard.  I would stack ‘em high.  I loved POGs so much that’s all I could think about in elementary school.  When can I get my POG on? I didn’t “collect” POGs.  I defeated people and took my spoils.  It was my first foray in Modern Vikinery.

“I got some sweet purple ones.  Oh, shit. I’m willing to sacrifice some of these stupid white ones. Let’s do this! I NEED POGz!!!1″

Like purchasing trading card packs, it was a gamble every time you stepped into the POG Arena.  Much like dude-brahs with their poker today, POGs was a great distraction for snot-nosed brats to compete, lose “chips” and enjoy each others’ company in a totally platonic way.  The nineties seemed like a time when boys were encouraged to engage in competitive games with moving parts and yelling.  Some of you might remember Crossfire, the ressurgence of Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots and super soakers.

I run into kids who love Pokemanz and Yugi-Oh way too much these days.  Whatever happened to crushing people without having to resort to “magix” or wizardry?  What happened to a good ole whack to the POG and a fair handshake?  You couldn’t cast a spell on a sweet spin from my Power Rangers Battle Spinner, could ya?! It’s no longer about physical skill, but about how much you coddled your stupid ass Magikarp or Goldeen.  You might as well be playing with your Polly Pocket at that fucking point.

As I deal with adulthood, I find myself sort of missing out on collecting.  I don’t really collect anything these days except for paychecks and lame friendships.  I suppose guitar playing has taken up a substantial amount of my life for the past 12 years, but I really do miss the exhilarating effect of getting a new “toy” to add to your collection.  The older you get, the more expensive the things you want to collect become.  I could probably afford that 1997 Collector’s Set of Upper Deck trading cards now, but what purpose would that serve?  I’m sure the people buying those sets in 1996 were mostly the thoughtful parents of some lucky kid, but a few of those were probably sex offenders or graduate students.  At a certain point, we’re expected to put down childish pursuits and keep our eyes on some fictional “prize” that no one has clearly explained to me.  We don’t give ourselves time to appreciate how wonderful time by ourselves with the silly things that we love.  Life doesn’t get much simpler than your Ninja Turtles Van and action set.

As the sun sets on my adolescence, I’m going to try to remember that.  I’ll accept that my need for a collection-type hobby will eventually manifest itself into something totally awesome like being a Trekkie or Ewok enthusiast.

Anyone wanna POG?

-dago

Mutate Britain will be teaming up with the annual Crossfire Xmas Skateboard Jam on December 12th

With the two events just down the road from each other, the collaboration will see the Mutoid Waste Company provide an innovative, unique installation for the skate park to be used in Crossfire’s “Gangster” themed competition.

Afterwards, everyone will be heading over to the Mutate site for an after-party with the piece becoming one of the many other new attractions at Mutate Britain’s One Foot in the Grove exhibition.

‘One Foot in the Grove’ is a festival of underground and contemporary arts that provides a welcoming and visually astounding experience for all ages in a unique 12,000 square foot setting in the heart of Portobello.
Tickets that cover both events will be available on the door of the Crossfire Skate Jam at the Bay Sixty 6 Skate park. Entry is £10 to the Jam, or £12 for entry to both (with wristband).

For more information or media requests, contact Dan@raw-material.co.uk

ATI seems to be on the right track with their HD5xxx series, since their cards become just faster and faster and there’s no stopping them. A few days ago, their latest crop – the Radeon HD5970 – made its way to the retail stores and awaits you there with a pricetag of $600.

The HD5970 has two separate Cypress cores with 1GB GDDR5 memory each. The engine clock goes up to 725 MHz (the HD5870 one is 850 MHz), while memory runs at 1000 MHz. And it has full hardware support for DirectX 11.

Looking at the specs table made by tomshardware.com you can see that the new HD5970 is exactly twice the HD5850 was (even price-wise). But prepare for a huge power drown – at full throttle the HD5970 uses 300W and combined with the board power reaches a bit under 400W. If you want Crossfire with two of these 1 kW power supply is the minimum requirement for you… plus a bag full of cash.

In most of the benchmark tests made by tomshardware.com, the HD5970 show almost similar performance with a Crossfire configuration of 2x HD5870 and outperforms all NVIDIA contenders.

You can find the full review here.

[GSMArena]

A toy from my childhood that I actually wanted.

Para os amantes de Counter Strike e/ou amantes de jogos de tiro, esse é uma boa pedida. Eu ainda não joguei, mas pelo que eu já vi é um jogo muito interessante.

Em CrossFire, há dois times mercenários que você pode escolher para defender. Em um ambiente online, você deve trabalhar em equipe para atingir o objetivo comum, que varia em cada cenário.

E, como de costume, você pode personalizar seu personagem, com novas armas, roupas etc..

Depois eu vou instalar e jogar um pouco. Parece que a proposta dele é parecida com um MMORPG, onde você cria o personagem e vai evoluindo com ele, se for isso, é uma proposta muito legal, um ótimo incentivo pro jogo.

O site é muito bem feito e faz uma propaganda maneira sobre o jogo, parece ser muito bom.

Ah sim, e outro detalhe bem lega, o jogo é Free

Aproveitem…

Site: crossfire-en.com

شركه JYP لديهم فرقه فتيان جديده التي سوف تنطلق في وقت قريب

واسم الفرقه Ship Ja Hwa والتي تترجمه الى الـ English لـ Crossfire

الفرقه تحتوي على 5 فتيان وبعضهم من شركه Cube وهي الشركه الشقيقه لـ JYP

وسوف يقدمون الى الجمهور من خلال برنامج للمنوعات على قناه Mnet يدعى Dreaming Boys

تعريف بالاعضاء :

.

Im Dae Hyun – 1986 انطلق من خلال برنامج

Hot Blood ( برنامج واقعي وكان يشاركه في البرنامج اعضاء 2PM و 2AM وDooJoon من Beast )

.

Lee Min – 1989 عضو في فرقه

Monster

.

Li Shi Qi – 1990 ظهر في برنامج

Hot Bloodكمتدرب من الصين

.

Yang Bum – 1990 تايواني

.

Seo Min Hyung  – 1991 ظهر في

High Kick و the king and i

.

صور لهم

.

Beneran nih Unnie ??? Sepertinya begitu.

Belum lama ini, JYP membeberkan berita gembira (buat kita, para korban Korean Wave) dan kabar buruk ini (ya bagi sesama boyband, ancaman saingan maksudnya). Coz ‘calon’ boyband ini bukan boyband sembarangan.

Kenapa ???

Karena, boyband ini satu ‘rumah’ ama boyband keren lainynya, yaitu 2PM, yg notabene baru ngerilis 1st full albumnya dan 2AM. Yap, mereka ini ‘temuannya’ JYP ahjussi…!!!

Bahkan JYP sendiri udah membeberkan nama member-mem,bernya. ini dia…

1. Im Dae Hyun (1986) – Pernah debut di acaranya MNet yaitu, Hot Blood; barengan ama 2AM+2PM+BEAST’s Yoon Do Joon

2. Lee Min (1989) – Member dari grup Monster

3. Li Shi Qi (1990) – Pernah tampil di acaranya MNet, yaitu Hot Blood juga, tapi dia ini orang China loh…

4. Yang Bum (1990) – Seorang WN Taiwan

5. Seo Min Hyung (1991) – Pernah tampil di “High Kick” dan “King and I” – merupakan adik sepupunya Seo Ji Young, SJY sendiri adalah member dari grup ngetop di akhir 90 an dan awal 2000 an S#arp, ni grup bahkan udah punya 6 album loh… sebelum akhirnya bubar taun 2002.

Nah itulah sedikit info dari biodata member boyband baru asuhan JYP ini. Btw, nama boyband ini apaan Unnie ???

Nama boyband ini tuh Ship Ja Hwa atau kalo diinggrisin jadi Crossfire (keren ya…). Beberapa di antara member tsb, tuh ternyata berasal dari Cube Entertainment, perusahaan kakaknya JYP.

Boyband ini baru bakalan muncul ke hadapan publik lewat acara variety show dari MNet, yaitu Dreaming Boys. Pengen tau kayak apa wujudnya member-member Crossfire, ini dia…

Gimana, Chingu…. siap menyambut kehadiran mereka di dunia K-Pop…???

Credit : allkpop, JYP Entertainment

Ada rumor yang tengah beredar kalau JYP akan meluncurkan boy band baru yang diberi nama dalam bahasa Korea “Ship Ja Hwa” atau kalau dalam bahasa Inggris berarti “Crossfire”. Tampaknya juga boy band baru tersebut akan beranggotakan 5 member dan sebagian membernya berasal dari Cube Entertainment yang merupakan label tempat 4Minute bernaung, selain itu juga Cube Ent. merupakan label yang masih berhubungan dekat dengan JYPEnt.

Untuk sekarang ini yang diketahui dari kelima member baru tersebut adalah:

1. Im Dae Hyun (1986) – Debutnya di MNet Hot Blood (program reality show yang juga diikuti oleh member 2AM dan 2PM)

2. Lee Min (1989) – Member dari group Monster

3. Li Shi Qi (1990) – Tampil dalam MNet Hot Blood – Trainee dari China

4. Yang Bum (1990) – berasal dari Taiwan

5. Seo Min Hyung (1991) – Tampil dalam drama “High Kick” dan “King and I” – Adik sepupu dari Seo Ji Young

thanks to johnydorama@AKP

LOL nice name…I wonder if they’re gonna be a ballad (like 2AM) or dance (like 2PM) group

↑ Im Dae Hyun along with 2PM’s Junsu & 2AM’s SeulOng

Rumor has it, JYP Entertainment has a new boy band in the works who will be debuting soon. The group name is Ship Ja Hwa or translated into English as “Crossfire.”

Apparently the new boy band will have 5 members and some of the members are from Cube Entertainment, JYPE’s sister company. In addition, they will supposedly be introduced through a variety show from Mnet, “Dreaming Boys.”

For now here’s a quick breakdown of the members:

1. Im Dae Hun (1986) – Debuted in Mnet’s Hot Blood (A survival reality program that featured 2AM+2PM+BEAST’s Yoon Do Joon)

2. Lee Min (1989) – Member of the group Monster

3. Li Shi Qi (1990) – Appeared in M.net Hot Blood – Chinese trainee

4. Yang Bum (1990) – Taiwanese

5. Seo Min Hyung (1991) – Appeared in “High Kick” and “King and I” – Seo Ji Young’s younger cousin

Cr: allkpop

Have You Seen Smallville: Season 9 Episode 6 – Crossfire?

Episode Synopsis:

Oliver tries to help a young street girl, Mia AKA Speedy, get out of her dangerous life by offering to train her, but Mia double crosses him. Lois asks Clark to help her land a job as an on-air television host, but the two are shocked when the station wants to hire them as a team.

So what do you think of this episode?

If you missed it, you can watch it here.

Want to know what season 9 episode’s are airing or what they are about? Check it out here. Updated regularly.

Includes all the latest updates, video’s, promo pics, news, casting.. etc. Enjoy!!

- Seguirá lo que es la ultima etapa antes de que Clark se convierta en Superman, esto significa que a lo largo de la temporada podremos ver a Clark entrenando con Jor-El, mientras lucha con su propia identidad.

- Callum Blue indicó que comenzará siendo Mayor Zod, lo que significa que deberá evolucionar para convertirse en el personaje que todos conocemos, incluyendo algunos problemas con sus poderes, que seguramente irán apareciendo con el tiempo.

- Veremos mucho más de Flecha Verde esta temporada, aunque su presencia será diferente a lo que hemos visto, ya que el estará en un lugar oscuro, lo que podría llevarlo a enfrentarse con Clark.

Este Post se estara actualizando cada semana conforme salgan los demas capitulos

Este post estara en constante actualizacion conforme salgan los capitulos!

Capitulo 1 – Savior

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Parte 1 // Parte 2 // Parte 3 // Parte 4

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Parte 1 // Parte 2 // Parte 3 // Parte 4

Subtitulos en Español por Sub Team TV

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Capitulo 2 – Metallo

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Capitulo 3 – Rabid

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Capitulo 4 – Echo

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Capitulo 5 – Roulette

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Capitulo 6 – Crossfire

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Capitulo 7 – Kandor

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Este Post se estara actualizando cada semana conforme salgan los demas capitulos

Please do not repost and do not claim as your own.

A partir desta semana irei comentar as séries que ando assistindo, começando pelo episódio da última semana de smallvile S09E06: Crossfire.

No início do episódio fiquei preocupado, pois parecia ser uma um episódio inútil sobre o CK e a Lois -peço desculpas para quem curte o romance desse dois que anda a passos de tartarugas. Mas o episódio foi salvo por outro relacionamento: Tess Mercer e General Zod.

A participação do Oliver foi patética, tudo bem que a Mia (garota que ele tenta mostrar o caminho da luz) era super gostosa, mas o que salvou a participação dele foram os seus carros conversíveis e a cara de medo que ele fez no final quando o CK pegou uma bala a um centímetro do olho dele, aposto como não passava nem pensamento…

Destaques para a Tess Mercer e Zod. O general, atual major Zod, tentou humilhar a herdeira dos Luthors e mandou um soldado inútil torturar a moça, mas o elemento seu deu mal. Ficou genial a Tess enviar a placa do morto para o Zod, o envelope aparece do nada e quando o maldito olha para o outro lado da rua lá está a Tess mandando beijinho para ele e depois o caminhão passando e ela sumindo também foi demais.

As cenas da Cloe invadindo o firewall da Luthor Corp é deprimente, tudo bem que ela é super inteligente, mas vamos convir que as mensagens de “firewall #99 unclock” gigante na tela é um pouco distorcido, igual quando alguém recebe um e-mail e aparece um desenho do envelope dizendo “you have a new message”, ou pior um vozinha falando, isso não existe, mas ficção é ficção, a clássica cena de Swordfish que o digam. Mas no final ela encontra o cara, espero que pra sorte do nerd ela tenha oferecido mais do que a mão para ele.

No finalzinho o Clark fez o que devia ter feito a muito tempo, pegar a Lois de jeito, como diz a música (… é pegando, derrubando e comendo logo). Espero que assim a Lois se lembre da sua viagem para o futuro e que os produtores parem de enrolar, mas como já é de praxe tenho CERTEZA ABSOLUTA que vai ACONTECER ALGUMA DESGRAÇA para SEPARAR os dois, Smallville é assim, o coitado do Clark nunca pode passar um semana fazendo o que todo mundo quer fazer: “oh yes, oh no” até desmaiar.

The Kiss

Até a próxima…

Season 9 Episode 6

Review and Recap by baudyhallee aka Holli

Written by Henderson & Whitehead who wrote METALLO and directed by Michael Rohl, who guided the beloved RABID this season as well as working on Eureka and Supernatural.

RATING:  SUPER! Louis Febre – you’re killing me!  Your score in Act Five when Clark walks into the DP bullpen, those strings tugged my heart immediately and I knew that something incredible was going to happen.  Thank you!  Special effects and lighting – this show always looks like a full feature film.  I don’t know how they do it.  The attention to detail cannot be overlooked as happenstance.  Super job done by all.  This episode oozed mythos.

This episode was about people meeting their matches.  Clark Kent claimed his soulmate, Lois Lane.  Oliver Queen got his sidekick, Mia aka Speedy.  Tess Mercer is proving to be more than a handful for Major Zod. [wink]  Chloe (gasp, I actually used her name) is enjoying the hacker foreplay with the ingenuous Stuart.

TEASER:

No recap!  Yea!  After a gulp thinking my CW affiliate screwed up and pressed the wrong button [it’s happened before], we see the opening for Good Morning Metropolis.  All over the globe, we’ve all got one of these dawn worshipping shows with shiny, happy people drinking caffeine and telling us how to do everything from baking cakes to resurrecting/reconstructing our love lives.  Lois Lane is straightening Clark Kent’s umber colored tie. (see BRIDE for color swatch)  Clark, still adjusting his shirt cuffs, is looking around like he’s never been in a building before.  Lois starts the intro with a huge smile.  We see them on a tv monitor in a studio.  He manages to introduce himself.  Adorkable.  Lois greets the ‘audience’ and Clark misses his cue.  With hands folded, he gives the camera a smile as if that’s what he’s supposed to be doing.  Lois tosses him a reminder. “Right, Clark?”  And it’s a fumble by the former championship quarterback of Smallville High.

Lois is wearing a pink dress with pearls.  Why pink?  They both look stunning . . . because they are.

Lois asks the producer for a redo and is told to take their time.  Clark clears his throat and keeps staring at the camera trying to get his bearings.  Lois turns to him and starts being . . . Lois.  She thanks him for helping her with the audition. “I’m still angry that you didn’t tell me how badly Oliver was doing.”  (see ROULETTE)  Clark turns his attention to her on that comment.  “But you’re here anyway, so Please don’t make me wish you weren’t.”

He tries to calm her down.  “It’s okay, Lois.  You don’t need to get all worked up like you usually do.”  Oh boy.  Did he realize what he just said?  Lois comes back with her own analysis . . . of him.  “Well excuse me, Mr. I’m Slow and Steady and Know What’s Best for Everyone.  This happens to be important to me.  With newspapers on the endangered species list, news television is my one and only backup plan.”

906 Good Morning Metropolis

Posted to TV Promos n Trailers by supernatural66 on October 31, 2009

Click to Play | View Details

 

 

Clark gives her a grin and a shrug.  “Don’t you think you could be less dramatic with this whole thing?”  He lifts his eyebrows encouragingly.  She lets out a little huff.  “You could be a little more passionate with this whole thing.”  Yea, he could. We’ve been waiting a lonnngg time for him to go after his passion.  “But not you!  Not mild mannered Clark Kent!”  He’s like the Sphinx.  “Do you even care if I get this job?”  He looks at her in disbelief.  “Of course, I care!  I bought a new tie!”  He’s such a guy.  Always competitive Lois.  “Well I bought a whole new outfit.”  Clark immediately compliments her.  “You look great.”  And it’s into another round.  “Don’t do that!” “Do what?” “Don’t you dare reassure me right now,” says the intrepid reporter.  Clark is dumbfounded.  “Lois, I’m only doing this for you.”  Said with the Kent sincerity.  She’s calmed down.  He continues.  “How else am I going to get that second date?”  He looks out at the studio.  Lois gets a little secret smile.  She’s touched.  “Well, you should have thought about that before you stood me up the first time.”  She still tries to hide her amusement at his crinkled brow.  And then the lights go out.

The producer thanks them, but that’s all for today.  Lois tries to get her retake.  Clark gets a ‘oops’ look on his face.  But then the producer offers them another try on Monday.  “You’ve got the job.  Congratulations.”  Lois is tickled. “Great!” Hugging Clark in joy.  “I guess this means you forgive me.”  She’s all smiles and makes a crack about not forgetting him when she goes national.  The producer interrupts and tells them.  “We want you both.”  Clark appears as if his superhearing just went out.  “I’m sorry?”  Lois tries to explain that Clark was just helping her.  He wasn’t auditioning.  “I’m more of the ‘behind the scenes’ kind of guy.”  Is he ever?  Blur much?  The producer is elated.  She informs them that is exactly what they’re looking for and speaks fathoms about Clark and Lois’ chemistry.  “Like Tracey and Hepburn!”  Either they both stay or they both go.  Lois reaches for Clark’s hands on the table.  She chuckles.  Clark looks down at their hands.  A finger reaches up to caress hers.  Lois turns to him as Clark contemplates.  He looks up at her with a closed grin.  She gives him the big eyes and encouraging nod.  Huge smile.  There’s all kind of chatter going on in the silence.  He takes a deep breath and accepts his fate. Credits roll.

Clark and Lois symbiosis never gets old.  Welling and Durance play them to perfection.  You see the thinking, passionate Lois Lane who has a plan.  She’s always moving forward.  The calm, patient Clark Kent wants her to be happy.  He’s had to lie to her and he knows that’s no way to carry on a loving relationship.  Plus the fact, he’s the Blur and being in front of a camera as Clark Kent is not conducive to a secret identity – especially without glasses.  (In the Bronze Age, comic writers had Clark doing television news with Lana Lang.   Widely considered a bad move, this was abolished from canon Post Crisis, 1985-1986.  Thanks for the Modern Age!)

ACT ONE

Clark is going through some papers. Blondie descends the DP stairs.  Why is she there?  But get this, it looks like she’s been into the happy sauce?  Maybe she got some. . .y’know.  She’s all perky and smiles.  She asks if Lois got the morning show job.  “So did I,” Clark confesses.  Blondie is cracking up big time.  It’s good to see her so happy.  Can we keep her that way for longer than an episode?  I like this version of the character better than whiney, arrogant, sadistic, manipulative bitchy blondie.   In other words, let’s not keep her a Mary Sue.  Stick to one personality, preferably this one.  Clark informs her they were hired as a team.  “How do I get myself into these things?”  (Uhh, that be chasing Lois Lane.)  Loved Mack’s expression during the line, “So what’s your first story?”  There’s the corridor walk as Clark explains about the online dating.  “Wow!  Tackling morning television to get back into Lois’ good graces.”  Clark replies, “Well, as much as I care about Lois . . .”  Savoring that one for a bit.  “there’s nothing more important than finding the Kandorians.”  Good thing Lois can help him with that, huh. [smile]

Lois’ cuz gives some exposition about how Clark has been looking for the Kryptonian family crests and found them all missing a Kandorian.  Clark refuses to quit looking.  She suggests checking out Tess’s new incommunicado fortress she’s building at the mansion.  Blondie offers to use Watchtower to see what Mercy is up to.  Clark wants to do what he can do – and Chloe tells him to concentrate on his journalist cover while she looks for the Kandorians – just for today.

Clark continues his walk to Lois’ desk who is staring into her monitor.  He throws some papers by her and walks to the other side of her.  A variation of the tapping one shoulder and disappearing routine.  Flirting.  When she looks up at him, he’s grinning.  He’s just tossed release forms they have to sign before they go on their dates.  Lois is still filling out her online profile.  She explains to him that he has to choose just the right words or he’ll end up with a dud.  “I filled mine out in ten minutes this morning.”  Lois tells him that’s the only ten he’ll be getting out of it.

That doesn’t phase him cause he wants to get up close and personal to see what she’s written.  Lots of eye contact and comfortable closeness.  We see the Metropolis Singles registration screen.  Lois has checked that she is female, single and has no children.  She lives in Metropolis, KS.  (Boooo hissss  Metropolis is not in Kansas!!!)  She speaks English, Spanish and French (non capitalized – and we’ve heard her complete grasp of the Spanish language in HEX).  She is a Reporter (capitalized).  Her favorite drink is Bubbly and her likes are The Theater, Fashion, Th…  (maybe that’s supposed to be thongs [wink]).  The largest of the pictures on the screen (there are three) is the one that Ollie had in his wallet in RABID.  (Hey Clarkie, you could probably download that, have blondie print it off on the special photo paper and you could be carrying it in YOUR wallet.)

Clark is critiquing her profile.  “The Theater?  You mean, movie theater.”  Lois doesn’t lie – as she retorts, “Details!”  He crosses behind her and moves close again.  “Bubbly – yea, that comes in a six pack.”  As he stares into the monitor, her eyes go from his face to his waist.  “I do like a good six pack,” she says with saucy conviction.  Clark wonders where the monster truck rallies are.  “Monster trucks are not going to guarantee me a guy who will impress the home viewers.”  She’s not interested in a date.  She wants the morning show job.  Clark is completely missing her point.  “Look, there are a lot of good things about you that would attract a lot of great guys.”  (Clark, ever heard about cutting off your nose to spite your face?)  “Really, like what?” inquires the skeptical Lane.  The guy that in the future Perry White says has a ‘snappy prose style’ fumbles for words.  Lois can’t believe he’s tongue tied. “You’re Lois,” he finally grunts somewhat appreciatively.  A light gleams in Lois’ eye.  “Thanks, Clark. . . but I already filled out my name,” she points at the screen.  “Good luck on your date.  I’m sure you’ll sweep her off her feet.”  She goes back to typing.  He puts his hands in his pockets and stares down at her.  He’s failed.  He’s not looking forward to a date with someone else.  He’s only doing this for Lois.  Lois, the one woman he wants to date.  Completely clueless as to what to do next or how to get out of the hole he’s in, he leaves.  Febre’s score and Welling’s facial expressions keep this light yet somewhat sad for our hero.

Fight Club again. Some GIRL dressed in red is kicking a tatted, pierced thug as others cheer.  Meet Mia Dearden aka Speedy – the second Speedy in Green Arrow lore.  (Written in the comics by Kevin Smith – yes, thatkevinsmith – Dogma, Clerks 2 Donkey love guy.  His GA story arc is called Quiver.)  A pimp with a gun tells her she will never escape him and he forces her to leave.  Ollie is there watching it all.  Why?  Don’t know.  Maybe he likes a good ultimate fight or something.

Ollie drives up in his classic Aston Martin (V8 Vantage was Britain’s first Supercar – get it?)  as he tours the seedy side of the city.  Mia all decked out in her traditional colors of red and yellow and blahna’s wig (when Ms Glow in the Dark was trying to blend in some Asian country, Singapore or China or wherever the hell she was back in that season that shall not be named.)  Yep, Mia is a hooker which is true to canon.  (Judd Winick of Real World: San Francisco notoriety later wrote GA and had Mia be HIV positive due to her early occupation.)  So after some chit chat about leather and cars and making sure the pimp isn’t watching too closely, Ollie lets her drive his car.  Beep beep um beep beep yea.  She’s a little young for our hero. “Why don’t you take it easy there, Speedy, I’m trying to stay away from life in the fast lane?”  So we get the sidekick’s name and the fact that Oliver is no longer walking on the edge.  He tells her he was looking for her because of her talents (in the ring, silly) and that he wants to help her fix her life.  Ollie confides to her that no matter who she fights, she will only be fighting herself.  He offers to train her, to deal with fear and hate and get her off the streets.  Streetwise kid wants to know what its going to cost her.  “Just a little time.”  Ollie wants to give her time to trust him.

Luthor mansion. Stuart is back and Tess has got him.  He’s telling her that there is someone out there who knows their way around a server and they’re trying to get through their defenses.  Tess is not in the mood for bad news.  “Fix the situation, Stuart, or I’ll have you terminated.”  Stuart is no dumbie.  “Terminated, you mean fired, right?”  Uhhh maybe that’s not what she means.  Silently she leaves him in the hallway as a Billy Zane lookalike stops him from following her.

Stuart Campbell is Tess’ techno geek.  Since blondie is loosely based on Babs Gordon’s Oracle, Stuart could be loosely based on The Calculator.  (The actor playing Stuart is Ryan McDonell who is in the rock band, TV Heart Attack.)

Tess is addressing shareholders. She’s been steering Luthorcorp towards more green projects.  She has new partners with cutting edge technology.  RAO, Inc.  Rut roh, Rorge.  Rao was the name of the Kryptonian red sun and also their name for God.  (Clark’s near expletives were Great Rao or Great Krypton in the comics.)  She smooths the edge of a table and the special effects guys do a fantastic job of constructing the double towered building we saw in Lois’ visions – complete with a sun.  “I give you the world’s first completely self sustaining solar tower.”   She informs her audience that the tower will create enough energy to power all of Metropolis.  (Guess it’s small scale for the show – not the world yet.)   She receives applause especially from the dapper Major Zod who toasts her.  “Mister” Zod informs her he is the Chairman and CEO of RAO.  He gets applause.

He tells them it’s Tess that is the real hero.  “And by taking on this project, she is making my simple dream of harnessing the powers of the sun a reality.  So here’s to Tess Mercer, Our Savior.”  Tess is really uncomfortable.  “I swear to you all.  This tower will change the world.”  Don’t you just love, Zoddie?  He’s like Richard III, he tells you what he’s going to do and he does it while the sheep for the slaughter smile and drink champagne.

ACT TWO

Metro Coffee Shop. I have yet to see Clark drink coffee there.  He’s on a date there though.  Showed up for this one.  We see Clark on camera looking nervous.  Dressed in his man-oh-man-he’s-too-damn-fine clothes. The sound man brings him his earpiece for the taping.  He’s asked to say 1-2-3.  Clark does with the apparatus still in his hand.  “Put it in your ear first, big guy.”  He complies and it fits neatly in his ear.  He taps it to turn it on. It turns blue.  So Clark yells 1-2-3 and nearly deafens the poor sound guy.

906 Clark and Catherine Date

Posted to TV Promos n Trailers by supernatural66 on October 31, 2009

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“Wow, Smallville, talk about green.  It’s like your first day at the Daily Planet all over again.”  Yep, Lois is bearing witness to Clark Kent on a blind date.  “Does this mean I’m about to hear Lois Lane’s Rules of Online Dating?”  Lois is with the producer at the studio watching his every move.  “There is really only one rule when it comes to dating, Clark.  Show up!”  She gives his asking her to a monster truck rally as an example.  “Maybe we should talk about this when we’re not being taped,” he tosses back at her.  She acquiesces to his and the producer’s request.  “Okay, Clark.  Let’s talk about something else.  Like your online dating profile.”  She’s really getting into needling him.  Clark looks worried and suspicious.  “I thought that was supposed to be private.”  Excuse me, but didn’t he scrutinize, nay completely critique, Lois’ profile before she hit the Finish button?  I think so.  What did he put on his profile?  I’m Kryptonian and have a luxury playhouse in the frozen tundra.  She gives him praise for being honest.  “But admitting you were raised on a farm, could either get you a date with country mouse or a cougar looking for her next meal.”  So Clark’s date arrives.  Blonde, voluptuous and he pulls out her chair for her.  Always polite.  He’s all smiles because he’s hit the jackpot.  He probably can feel Lois stewing.  Her name is Catherine.  (Yea, y’know, Cat for short.  Told you this episode was oozing with mythos – but we don’t know that yet.)  She’s all smiles, too.  Lucky girl has drop dead gorgeous as her blind date.  She never thought she’d do one of these shows.  “This isn’t live, is it?”  Clark reassures her they are taping to air some other time.

“If you can’t take the heat, sister, get out of the café!”  Clark has a voice in his ear.  He shoots back.  “I’m sorry I have this really annoying ringing in my ear.”  Lois actually grins big on that one.  Catherine confesses she can’t hear anything but her own heartbeat.  Lois moans.  “Ohh, pleeeease!”  Clark tells her to treat it like any other date.  She admits she doesn’t date.  She’s been too busy overseas.  Lois doesn’t miss an opportunity.  “Skiing in Switzerland.  Modeling in Milan.”  (Inside joke: Mr. Welling has modeled in Milan.)  Catherine worked in the Peace Corp [I’m rolling my eyes!], moved to Metropolis to pursue her PhD in Sociology AND Social Justice.  “Is she for real?  Congratulations, Clark, you’re dating Mother Teresa in six inch heels.”  Everybody grins including Lois until she realizes what just happened.

We’re back to the snake and the mongoose. Tess with Zod.  “You’re welcome.”  She reminds him she didn’t thank him.  So he gives her an initial putdown about her teams not being able to find the Kandorians, but then tells her what his army has been doing.  “I was using our considerably evolved intelligence to make Luthorcorp the most technologically advanced company on Earth.”  Tess is no dumbie.  She knows he wants something.  He tells her he wants the Blur, the man who betrayed them.  She turns her back to him and walks away stating she’s flattered he thinks she would know how to contact the Blur.  He lets out a low growl.  Cool!  “You disappoint me, Tess.”  She drinking from a bottle.  He tells her he’ll play her game.  Exposition of Clark’s blood being used as the zombie antidote (RABID).  Zod got a sample of the blood and took it to the lab to be tested.  When she’s still not paying attention to him, he pokes her in the hip.  THAT’S what this show needs – more poking!!!  Clark should poke Lois real soon.  [wink]

Tess turns immediately looking as if he has her attention.  He’s still telling her of the Blur’s blood.  “Instead, every last drop had been destroyed.  At your request.”  So Tess destroyed Clark’s blood — really?  And why?  Surely she put it somewhere else for use later for her own ends.  She asks him what he’s talking about.  He surmises that since she destroyed the blood samples, she’s trying to protect the Blur.  For altruistics reasons or to use him as a bargaining chip.  Tess makes her move.  “I helped free your people from that orb because I hoped you’d save humanity from destroying itself.”  She wants to be equal partners.  Oh boy.  Girlfriend does not know who she is dealing with.  Zod sneers and shakes his head.  “No human will ever stand on equal footing with a Kandorian.”  Guess he told her.  He leaves the room and tells Billy Zane in the hallway to make Tess tell him where the Blur is or kill her.  “Yes, Major.”

Luthorcorp. Ollie, you need to be paying attention to business.  Did you know you are now aligned with extraterrestrials and their technology?  Quit hanging out at underground fight clubs and red light districts.  Oy!  Barefoot, shirtless Ollie wipes the sweat from his body with a towel.  (Where is naked Clark on this show?)  Lois comes barreling in. “Ollie, I need your help.”  He tells her now is not a good time.  She tells him about her and Clark doing the morning show.  “I can’t wait to watch him tell me how to bake a cake.”  She informs him the show has set up Clark and her on blind dates.  Ollie is cracking up.  “Talk about footage of a train wreck.”  Lois confides that Clark did great.  Ollie studies her.  He knows how competitive she is.  “You want to be better.”  He walks around his desk to stand in front of her.  “That’s why I’m here. I need for you to tell me my red flags.”  So Lois wants her ex to tell her of any unique qualities she may have that would give her a not so great date.  Ollie is clueless on anything bad about her.  “Anything that annoyed you when we were together.”  She’s bought a dress, rented the Ace O’Clubs and is afraid that they will cancel the date before it airs.  He tells her he only remembers the good things.  He’s not helping.  “Like how you used to brush your hair back when you were nervous.  You used to call out football plays in your sleep.”  Was she dreaming about a certain Smallville High quarterback?  She grins because he is so damn cute.  But a door opens behind her and a toweled Mia enters the room.

“Thanks for the workout, Ollie, but times up.  Do you think that you can pay me in smaller bills?”  Now there’s a provocative line.  Lois gets the wrong idea.  It’s kind of permeating the room.  “Nice towel, honey.  Where will she put the money?”  Ollie stutters about they were just sparring.  Lois isn’t there to judge.  She had hoped he would have stayed out of the gutter longer.  She apologizes for interrupting his playtime.  She walks away.  “Lois!”  Ollie looks a little sad she didn’t understand.

ACT THREE

The Watchtower. Blondie is on her 27^th firewall at the Luthor mansion.  Denied.  She’s livid.  Stuart is on the other end blocking Ms. Hackaway Beach.  “You have been served.”  This is hacker foreplay.  Enjoy!  She goes after number 28 and he comments on her speed.  So these two have arsenals of hacker proxies, filters, acl’s, you name it.  And they are just lobbing them back and forth.  It’s Global Thermonuclear War – without the bombs, well maybe bombs, but not the mushroom kind.  Mack is so great in this exchange.  “Okay.  Now you’ve made me angry.”

Red boots. No, it’s not Superman.  It’s Mia zipping Ollie’s $50K watch in her thigh high footwear.  Ollie grabs her leg.  “I thought you said no strings attached.”  He says he doesn’t want to sleep with her but he knows exactly what she’s doing.  She pulls the watch from the boot and then proceeds to tell him she has to pay off her pimp.  “I’m free.”  Ollie offers to pay him off.  She refuses since that would mean she’d owe him.  She starts on a tirade about the types of men she knows.  Mentioning “political” types which is who she was involved with when Ollie found her in the comics.  Good job.   Ollie tells her he’s not going to trap her.  “I’d like to see you do something with your life that you would actually be proud of.”  She asks him why he would help her.  “Because I know what it’s like to be stuck in a place that you think there’s no escape from.  And my friends helped me find a way out.”   She tells him if she stays it will cost him.  He’s way ahead of her.  He gives her two bags of clothes for her to wear.  He tosses her the keys to his car and tells her to get dressed because she needs to drive him somewhere.  It’s the Aston Martin keys.  She’s astonished.

The Ace O’Clubs. Waiter pours water as Lois lights candles.  She is in a killer blue dress.  “Got anything stronger?”  He goes to get it.  And Lois has an annoying ringing in her ears.  “The last thing you need is a drink, Lois.”  She touches her earpiece.  “Thanks, Clark.  You sound like my mother on prom night.”  Considering her mother died when she was six on the show, I think she meant he’s being a mother hen.  We see Clark in the studio grinning from ear to ear.  Lois takes a breath and looks into the camera.  “How do I look?”  She looks nervous.  “If this were a prom, you’d be crowned Queen.”   (He said something similar to blahna in the PILOT – but he seems much more sincere at the moment.)    She grins at him through the monitor and nervously looks at her hands.  “Your date’s a lucky man.”  (Not sarcastic at all.  Definitely not like he said it in IDENTITY.)  You have to remember these two are not even in the same room but they are burning down the house.  “Do I detect a note of jealousy from the notoriously nice, Clark Kent?”  Clark gulps as if she can see right through him.  “Be careful my date doesn’t hear you.  He might just have to take you down.”  Clark grins while taking a sip of coffee.  “Like to see him try,” he chuckles.  Love that!  “You know what they say. . . all’s fair in love and war.”  She stares at him playing with her fingers.  “What’s it gonna be for us, Lois?  Love or War?”  He’s grinning.  She’s grinning.  The heat is on.  “Clark!  It’s like you’re asking me out on another date.”  He stops, looks around, and gulps.  “If I was, would you say yes.”  She can’t see him, but the sound of his voice . . .  yowsa!  She gives him a come hither smile.  “I’ll tell you what I’d say . . .”  Clark’s eyebrows go up awaiting for her to finish.  Lois hears something behind her.  “Oliver?”

Okay, who wants to gauntlet Ollie at the moment.  Cockblocker.  Clark’s head whips towards the screen where he sees his ‘friend’ approach.  Ollie grabs champagne to take to the table while Lois gives Clark the big eyed stare in the monitor.  “What are you doing here?”  She doesn’t look happy or understand why he’s there.  Clark doesn’t look too happy either.  He leans closer to the monitor as Lois turns her head towards her watcher.  It’s as if she’s hoping he’s had to take a nature call or something.  She doesn’t want him to see this and she doesn’t want to be doing this.  Ollie places champagne in front of her and sits at the table.  “My blind date . . . is with you?”  This is not what she wanted when she went to him for help.  Ollie explains that he paid off her date so he could take his place.  Lois stares at the glass stem.  She lets out an uncomfortable chuckle as Clark examines the monitor like he wished he had telescopic vision.

Jarring segway back to Hooker Heaven. Rick the pimp is conducting business as Mia drives up in Ollie’s car.  She hands him the car keys saying it should be enough for what she owes him.  But she makes the mistake of telling him whose car it is.  Greedy pimp wants it all.  She’s his top earner and he wants all of Ollie’s money.  “No second chances.”

Back to the AOC. Lois is sipping champagne.  Think COMMITTED.  Her eyes go towards the camera and Clark somewhere out there in the city watching her.  “I always took you for a beer girl.”  Ollie doesn’t know Clark is watching.  Lois denies she prefers beer over champagne.  “Only the finer things in life for Lois Lane.”  It’s for the show and Ollie gets a clue.  He agrees.  “Then a toast,” he says with raised glass.  Lois with the glass at her lips chuckles, “Let’s not.”  She drinks her champagne down to nothing as Ollie stares slack jawed.  She sets the glass down and looks up at Clark.  He’s watching intently.

Lois goes for the facts.  Messy emotions make her nuts.  She states that she caught Oliver dragging himself through the mud again but now he’s ruining her date.  He explains he was actually helping the girl in the towel.  Lois with a strained chuckle is watching her morning show date crash and burn.  Reality tv she didn’t want.  “Well, you obviously helped her out of her clothes.”  Zing!  “Very funny.”  He says he’s not there to sabotage but to give Metropolis a date with its most eligible billionaire bachelor.  It would be a coup for Lois and the show.  She gives him a smile and goes serious.  “I guess it wouldn’t hurt the ratings.”  Clark seems pleased she’s keeping it to business.

“Okay, you’ve got ten minutes to explain yourself.”  Ollie says he’ll only need one.  The reason he’s there is . . .”I never finished saying what I loved about you.”  Nervous laughter from Lois who just got blindsided with a bomb.  She looks at the camera, rubs her palms on her skirt and lowers her head to her folded fists on the table.  She arranges things on the table and gives out an incredulous, “Okay.”  She knows Clark can see and hear everything.  She’s probably wondering how she gets herself into these messes.  “Lois, what’s going on?”  Clark says with concern.  Lois looks up at the camera.  “I don’t know.”  Clark she needs saving.  Our hero stares into the monitor watching a train wreck unfold.

Ollie, being his charming self, confesses the ‘thing I love about you most.’  Oh boy.  “Is that you are still in my life.”  Lois looks like a deer in headlights.  She knows it’s gonna hit, and she can’t stop it.  “Because you’re still in my heart.”  Clark lets out a disgruntled sigh and squints at the screen.  Lois still can’t believe Ollie just did that to her.  “Check, please!”  She leaps from her chair so fast you’d think she had superspeed.  She grabs Ollie by the wrist and drags him out of camera shot.  Clark trying to shove his earpiece into his brain.  “Lois!”  He can’t hear or see what’s going on.  “Lois!”  Lois is dragging Ollie to the balcony.  Y’know the one where something bad always happens.  “Sorry, Clark,” she says just before she taps her earpiece to turn it off.  Clark looks like he’s been hit by a Mack truck carrying kryptonite.  He takes earpiece from his ear.  He does have superhearing, right?  Isn’t he the least bit curious?

“Couldn’t this heart to heart have waited until the cameras were off?”  Ollie says no.  He’s not hiding his feeling anymore.  Lois had no idea he still had such strong feelings.  This next speech of Ollie’s could easily be said by Clark.  “Y’know I went to a dark place, Lois.  And I think it took going there and coming back to realize, you’re the best part of my life.”  But it’s not Clark saying it to her.  She places her palm on the side of his face and looks into his eyes.  “I love you, Oliver.”  She takes away her hand.  He begins to smile.  “As a dear friend.”  He gulps.  She’s gentle and careful.  “Which is why I have to be totally honest with you.”  Ollie knows.  “Clark,” he whispers.  Lois sweetly says, “yes.”  You can see she’s happy about it.  Ollie lowers his eyes and then looks her in the eye.  “Well, I’m happy you know what you want.”  Lois can see his pain.  “I guess it just hurts because it’s not me.”  Lois apologizes.  He kisses her forehead, sniffs and gives her a grin.  “Goodnight, Lois.”  She nods and gives out a nervous breath as he leaves.

Ollie in the alleyway, where Clark and Lois had their first kiss, but she didn’t know it was him and not Ollie.  HYDRO.  Mia honks at him.  She looks nervous.  Ollie walks towards the car when Lois calls out to him from the doorway.  She is wearing her coat.  “I said I was your friend and I meant it.  I am not going to let you wander down anymore dark alleys.”  Could it be that in the future that Lois visited, because she wasn’t there, Ollie remained in a dark alley and did not help Clark when he needed it most?  Ollie tells her not to worry about him.  “I’m all about embracing life, not trying to end it.  You know what I mean.  Trying to take the right kind of chances.  And you, my friend, were definitely a chance worth taking.”  She thanks him and hugs him.  They are truly friends.  She sees Mia in the car.  “Maybe your plan B?”  Ollie tells her she’s funny, again.  He wants to introduce them.  He walks down the alley towards the car.  Lois for some reason isn’t right behind him.  Perhaps she senses something isn’t quite right.  I love Justin’s energy as the Green Arrow.  He just makes that character come to life.

Ollie knocks on the window of the car as Mia still refuses to acknowledge his presence.  When she does look at him she tells him she’s sorry.  That’s when Rick the pimp knocks him out.  Lois calls out to him and Rick pulls a gun.  Dude, you do not know who you are messing with!

ACT FOUR

Clark shutting monitors in the studio. Producer comes in with accolades and the new marketing ad.  It’s a lifesize popup of Lois and Clark.  Smiling Lois wearing the pink dress has a hold of Clark’s umber tie as they are back to back.   Typical Clark Kent pose with his hands in his pockets and looking like “I’ve got a secret!”  Marketing!  There could be a product opportunity here for fans!  I’m still waiting for the Daily Planet key rings to come out.  “I have high hopes for you two,” says the producer as she walks away.  Clark stares at it intently.  “So did I,” he whispers with regret.

Ollie is tossed into a vehicle unconscious as Rick shoves Lois down the alley with the gun to her spine.  Mia is worried Rick will hurt her.  Lois gets snarky when in danger.  How could Mia pick Rick over Oliver?  Rick gets pushy.  Lois clocks him one as she goes after minion thug.  Another minion grabs her as her earpiece falls to the ground and is activated.  Lois is trapped by the two minion as Rick recovers to shoot Lois.  Everyone is screaming for Clark to save Lois because . . . that’s what he does so very well.  But it is Mia kicking the gun from Rick’s hand that saves Lois this time.  Mia catches the gun and turns it on Rick.  However, she doesn’t have the follow through.  She’s young.  Rick takes the gun from her and knocks her out.  He pulls the gun on Lois again.  Ollie comes out of nowhere and punches Rick out.  Lois starts smacking one of the minion around.  Ollie punches out other minion.  He grabs Lois and they run for stairs to get out of there.  Are the keys not in the ignition?

Rick grabs a machine-pistol and starts firing at the climbing duo.  Clark leaving the studio hears something – it’s coming from the earpiece he had abandoned.  He hears Lois and Oliver in trouble.  He says one word, “Lois.”  And he’s outta there.

Running across the rooftop, Rick is still after them and still firing away.  How many bullets and clips does he have?   He catches up to them.  Oliver hugs Lois protectively so she won’t see it coming.  Rick raises the gun and fires.  It’s slow mo.  Giant bullet with fire.  Three shots heading for Ollie’s head.  We hear another shot and then another.  Just before the bullets reach their target, we see a body dressed in black with a white S scrowled on a shirt.  The bullets flatten as they hit Clark’s chest.  Two more shots ring out.  Immediately Clark turns on the heat vision, exploding bullets in midair.  He’s trying to melt the gun.  One bullet has passed him.  He sees it as it almost reaches Ollie, who is still protecting Lois.  We see Ollie’s face reflected on the bullet.  (You guys are soooo great!)  Clark grabs the bullet as it’s an inch from Ollie’s forehead.  A wonderful homage to Superman Returns.  Rick’s gun blows up sending him and shrapnel to the roof floor.

The look that Clark gives Oliver is menacing.  Ollie is holding the one thing in life Clark truly desires.  (Superman II)  And he nearly got her killed, again.  Ollie looks as if he knows he’s totally blown it.  And he also knows that Clark is the better man and hero.  Clark superspeeds away.  Lois sees Rick hurt on the floor.  She and Ollie are alive.  She gives a smile.  Maybe she realizes the Blur saved her again.  Ollie hugs her as if it will be the last time.  The camera pans to Clark on another rooftop.  He’s watching.  He doesn’t look happy, but we know he wants his friends to be happy even if it means his heart is aching.

Tess in her robe sucking down Lex’s liquor. She’s looking at the solar tower model.  She slams the glass on the table.  “You will respect me!”  Billy Zane comes in.  “Leave me alone!” she barks.  He tells her he can’t do that.  He had to wait until they were locked down for the night — as he loosens his tie.  “So we won’t be interrupted.”  What’s he gonna do, rape her?  He pulls out his Kandorian dog tags.  Apparently Tess didn’t know the security guard was from Krypton.  “I have a message from Major Zod.  Tell me where the Blur is or you die.”  He grins.  A man who enjoys his work.  It’s good to see a truly evil bald guy on the show.  No wishy washy here.

ACT FIVE

We’ve got sound techno analysis as Clark walks into Watchtower. Blondie is typing away staring at her giant monitor.  Clark wants to know if she has a lead on the Kandorians.  Apparently not.  She’s still gaming with Stuart.  She’s finally broken through and Stuart greets her.  He’s quite charming.  He guesses her fingers are cramped and she hasn’t slept.  Mack’s business of hiding her hands from him is priceless.  Stuart tells her to give up.  Clark looks at Chloe’s reaction.  Again, stellar.  Mack lowers her brow in a ‘like hell I will’ way.  Dummy Stuart tells her to talk to the hand.  Blondie freezes the hand and gets his prints from it.  If Clark had microvision, he could have done it before her.  “Hello hand.”  Stuart’s profile pops up.  Someone cue the Dating Game music.  Stuart is a graduate of MIT, born in Vermont and is a Virgo.  His interests are: Computer Hacking, Cryptography (comes in handy trying to read Kryptonian symbols), Snowboarding, Skateboarding (hey Clark had one he used to carry but never used), and Electric Guitar.  “Nice work, Chloe.”  Blondie has the info leverage to get him to try and join them.  “You’re an even match,” says Clark as blondie goes to get the printouts.  “Clark, this guy is so good.  Everytime I get close, he’d show up and block me.”  Clark looks troubled.  “I know the feeling.  Lois and Oliver.  Seeing him with her.  It’s been a long time since I’ve seen him look that happy.”  Blondie gives him the smack down he deserves.  Thank you!  “Clark, just stop!”  She admits his willingness to sacrifice himself for others is a great strength.  “But when it comes to your own happiness, it is definitely a weakness.”  Clark tries to rationalize feelings.  “Well, Oliver has been through so much lately . . . and we’re all friends.”  What the hell does that mean?  Is this a threesome?  “Lois is not up for auction!”  Thank you, blondie!  I’m sure your cuz would be ripping out someone’s jugular if she caught wind they even had that notion.  “All you have to do is ask yourself, what do you want?”  YES!!!  Nodding thoughtful Clark.

Zod at the Metro Coffee Shop. He’s having an espresso.  Continental Zod.  The lighting is the same blue hue they used in RABID before the healing rain.  Zod basks in the sunlight and closes his eyes.  Feeling a shift, he opens his eyes to find an envelope lying on the table in front of him.  He looks around and opens the envelop.  Inside is the blood smeared dog tag of Billy Zane Kandorian.  Looking across the street, Tess raises her coffee cup to salute him.  A truck passes and she disappears.  He is not pleased.  Snake and mongoose continue.

Still with blue hue, Stuart goes down an alleyway as End of the World by Dead by Sunrise begins to play.  Blondie appears carrying a large envelop.  She tosses it on top of a oil drum.  He opens it and sees all the info she has on him.  Everything.  She extends a hand to him and they shake.  If Tess is going to terminate him forever, then he might want an ally.

Yellow hue.  Sunshine.  XXX street. Mia contrite as Ollie pulls up.  He gives her a grin as he nods towards the passenger seat.  She takes off the blahna wig and they ride off.

906 CLOIS Kiss

Posted to TV Promos n Trailers by supernatural66 on October 31, 2009

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Daily Planet. Daylight through the windows.  Clark enters the bullpen with a little smile on his face.  Lois is standing by her desk reading something.  Febre’s score starts and it pulls at your heart.  Clark continues to watch Lois as if it were for the first time.  He approaches her.  “Lo-is.”  She’s still focused on her reading.  “Did you hear?  The brilliant brass at KZXP decided to go with someone else for their morning show.”  He lowers his head and tries again.  “Lois.”  She’s on a rant.  She’s just lost her backup plan and she is indignant for the reasons why.  “After everything that happened.  After Ollie and I almost got killed.  Guess who they’ve decided to go with?”  She flashes a poster at him.  It’s Cat Grant blowing a kiss in pink dress and pearls.  She got the job.  Knowing Cat that was her intent all along.  Clark’s date was a means to an end.  Lois hasn’t stopped.  “Apparently blondes test better with morning viewers.”  Clark tries again.  “Lois.”  His brow is crinkled as she continues.  “I’m sorry, I should have never tried out in the first place or dragged you there with me . . .”  Clark Kent has had enough.  He lowers his head determinedly, grabs Lois Lane by the arms and lays one on her.  Smart guy.  That’s the only way he could shut her up.  Lois with hands raised against his chest is wide eyed.  She can’t believe he finally took the initiative.  Is it real?  Her lids bat shut as the camera shows us the sun shining through the stained glass window.  The score soars.  It’s a moment we’ve wanted for over five years.  Clark Kent wants his Lois Lane.  He pulls her closer by wrapping his arms around her waist.  She answers him by placing a hand on the side of his head drawing him near.  This is not just one liplock.  This is a succession of answering kisses.  Years of longing, passion, and love.  Realization that they could have it all, together.   The scene stops midkiss leading us to believe they could go on forever.   HUGE SIGH!  Well done!

I love this season!  Many thanks to all involved in presenting it to us.  And thanks for the clues about how the second half of the season or a possible season 10 will shape up.

Some homework: The following is the Antilife Equation.

loneliness + alienation + fear + despair + self-worth ÷ mockery ÷ condemnation ÷ misunderstanding x guilt x shame x failure x judgment n=y where y=hope and n=folly, love=lies, life=death, self=dark side

TRAILER:

KANDOR. Jor-El (played by Julian Sands!) pleads with the Kryptonian Council as Krypton is being destroyed.  WHEN THE PAST.  Zod is searching for Jor-El to get their powers and also to find Jor-El’s son.  BECOMES THE PRESENT.  Jor-El says they were given a second chance to find a life here as he walks onto the Kent property.  Clark with an El family dogtag.  “My father is here on Earth.” Zod slapping someone around.  THE FUTURE IS DOOMED.  Tess talking to Jor-El who appears to be a prisoner.  “If you want to save your son, you’re going to have to make a sacrifice.”  Another S symbol in the city with Zod looking at it as Tess approaches.  Jor-El fighting someone in the Kent barn.  Clark lifts Tess off the floor by her neck.  “Where is my Father?”

Krypton in the past and Kandorians in the present and a future that only Lois Lane knows.  A full bodied Jor-El.  Clark looking for his father.  No Lois in this episode.

Teaser

Summary: A nearly perfect episode that should be used as the measuring stick for all further episodes of the series.
Rating: 9.5/10

The quick skinny on the episode.

Clark offers to help Lois land a gig as a morning talk show host, but to their surprise the producers want both as co-hosts for the show. For their premiere story, Lois and Clark agree to go on separate blind dates matched by an online dating service and have them filmed while the other watches on from behind the scenes. Oliver takes it upon himself to mentor and improve the life of a young prostitute. Tess announces plans for LuthorCorp to build a solar tower as an alternative means of energy for Metropolis and is surprised to discover Zod is in charge of the company she is partnering with in the project. Meanwhile, in search of the Kandorians, Chloe runs up against a worthy technical challenge trying to hack into Tess’ LuthorCorp systems.

** Note: Review contains spoilers if you have not seen the episode.**

Feature-Length Review after the jump.

The in-depth review.
Callum Blue has redefined villainy on this show that featured such strong, indelible visages of it in the forms Michael Rosenbaum’s Lex Luthor and John Glover’s paterfamilias Lionel. In the few brief moments we’ve shared with Blue’s Major Zod this season, he has presented a breathlessly engaging, fully-formed and fully unrepentant villain who commands the screen. No more so is this encapsulated than in the moment where Zod pokes Tess in the hip during conversation to make sure he has her full attention. It recalls the moment in Season 7’s ‘Apocalypse’ where Lex – or perhaps Rosenbaum – forced Kara to look at him with a word where her eyes had clearly wandered elsewhere. In this case, though, it’s much more sinister. It’s a tiny gesture but one that speaks volumes to Blue’s commitment to the role. The way he chews words and phrases up and slowly lets them seethe out makes this character far more appealing that I’d have thought. I wasn’t looking forward to Zod this season. Now, I can’t wait to see what he does next.

This reintroduction of Zod directly into the lives of the main cast is just one of many things to love about ‘Crossfire’, which is hands-down one of my favorite episodes in the entirety of the series and my favorite of the still-unfolding season. The tone of the episode, the three distinct storylines that all stood up well on their own and yet didn’t detract from one another, the surehanded performances and the spot-on writing all defined what every episode of the “new” Smallville should be.

To stick with the Zod theme for the moment, Cassidy Freeman and Blue burn the screen up together. Their intensities and the way their energies work together are electric and resolutely mature. I mentioned last review for ‘Roulette’ that “romantic” would be the one word I would use to describe this season to date. “Mature” would be the other big one. Even as the characters grew up last season, there was still some of the ol’ familiar teen melodrama present, particularly in the storylines involving Davis Bloome. This season, Zod is presented as very much a man and a directed man at that, putting aside childish things for purpose and consequence. This, in turn, has stepped up Tess’ game and Freeman meets the challenge with relish. Now that they’ve established this wonderful, playful yet diabolical tete a tete between the two characters, the darker side of Smallville has a plentiful sandbox in which to play. Giving Tess a partner in bad is a shrewd idea on the parts of the creative heads at the show. It continues to keep her character relevant and places her in the universe properly, whereas they kind of lost what to do with her in the second half of the season last year.

‘Crossfire’ also presents the first episode of the season in which I’ve liked Chloe. Certainly the first episode since ‘Savior’ that I’ve enjoyed her character in any fashion. I do still miss the adversarial relationship between Clark and Chloe that we witnessed at the beginning of the season. I don’t think they gave it proper enough time to explore. That said, I don’t necessarily mind the role Chloe is playing right now, if only they could make her feel more relevant to the overall storyline. Chloe being behind Oliver’s game in ‘Roulette’ was a good start and this episode goes a long way to bringing her back in. Again, I’m still lost as to what they are doing with her character but it seems much more deliberate now. They are putting pieces together for a bigger role for her outside of the first half of this season, which now intrigues me as to what kind of input Allison Mack gave on the direction of her character. This alliance Chloe has now built with Stuart, Tess’ tech gnome, opens up a few doors. (And a possible romance in the near future?) Coupled with her Big Brother-esque watch over the scattered League heroes and the looser morality over her methods, they are setting Chloe up to be both a godsend to the heroes of the [i]Smallville[/i]-verse and a possible Trojan Horse. Suddenly, her storyline is alive with possibilities and I’m thankful it will give Allison things to do rather than just be a presence on the show simply because she’s been a presence on the show in the past.

The idea of Oliver (Justin Hartley) taking on an apprentice-slash-sidekick is, at once, both an understandable endeavor and a ridiculous notion. Ollie’s hit a breakthrough so he wants to share his experience as well as find a project that keeps him focused. At first, it seemed a bit out of place to have him take this approach in this episode, almost as if we missed a step in the process in between. It does fit Ollie’s character, though, as does his attempt to woo Lois on her blind date. He’s an addict and has a compulsive nature. What Ollie’s doing fits very well in line with those types of personalities and I give credit to the writers for slyly touching on that, intentional or not.

I know plenty are up in arms over the fact that they skipped over Roy Harper as Speedy and went straight to Mia Dearden. I don’t particularly have an issue with it. Far as I’m concerned, there’s only one hero who rightfully deserves to have a sidekick and that’s, ironically, the loner Batman. Robin’s always been the only sidekick that’s ever really worked for me and that has more to do with the relationships between Dick Grayson and Bruce Wayne and Tim Drake and Bruce Wayne than it does with Batman needing a traffic-light-colored elf hopping around alongside of him. With the Smallville version of Oliver Queen, it seems fitting that he would pick a hooker up off the street to save her life and mentor her. Besides, Ollie already used the name ‘Roy Connor’ (a nod to both Speedy and the comics’ Oliver’s son and eventual Green Arrow successor) in ‘Odyssey’ last year; and they alluded to Roy’s most infamous storyline last year with Jimmy’s drug addiction and pseudo-sidekicking for Oliver at the very end of the season. So Mia worked for me in the episode and I thought Elise Gatien was great in the role. She and Justin played off one another well and I thought she did good work with a role that read a lot worse on paper. I look forward to seeing her pop up throughout the season.

‘Crossfire’, though, belongs to the shows stars, Lois (Erica Durance) and Clark (Tom Welling). Awash in Louis Febre’s zippy score, the episode presented itself as a screwball romantic comedy with a fantastic set-up: Clark and Lois have to monitor each other on online-matched blind dates, forcing them to face the depths of their feelings for one another. Right from the get-go, this episode put into stark relief the differences between this romantic relationship and Clark’s relationship with Lana. Whereas that relationship dripped in melodrama for drama’s sake, the burgeoning love affair with Lois and Clark feels like two people actually relating to one another. That alone allows the writers to have fun with these two, and since they’ve always had an inherent comical and fun dynamic, it’s like the richest whip cream on top of a decadent sundae.

I couldn’t help but laugh out loud throughout various parts of the Clark and Lois storyline. Their entire interaction during the Good Morning Metropolis audition was priceless. A standout for me was Tom’s delivery of the “I’m sorry” line when the producer told them they’d been hired for the gig. I’ve heard others say that Tom should do a romantic comedy film but I hadn’t really seen enough to believe he could hold his own through one. That line reading and reaction, though, has sold me on him in such a part. Same with his reply to Lois when he got caught up in one of those tricky conversation cul de sacs during their discussion of Lois’ online profile.

Erica was handed the treat this episode of expressing a wide range of emotions and she succeeded well, particularly in the small, subtle shifts both physically and emotionally. To see her play out all the different levels and reversals in Clark’s blind date scene with Catherine (welcome to Smallville, Cat Grant!) was like a savory meal with your favorite dishes at every turn. Both scenes with Oliver allowed her to flash that wonderful dry wit and delivery and also gave her space to ground herself amidst the high-flying romance of her scenes with Clark. In particular, we were given a resolved and sure-footed Lois in the scene at the Ace o’ Clubs with Ollie where she made the choice that Clark was definitely who she wants to be with.

It was beyond relieving to see how confident and sure of himself as a man Clark was in this episode. Even when quietly dealing with his feelings for Lois behind the scenes, he appeared sure of what he wanted. Yes, it took Chloe to toss a line at him to get him off his ass, but rather than feeling forced into a decision, it felt more like a mirror being held up for Clark to confirm his own choice. From the beginning of the episode, Clark’s moves were all about pursuing and being with Lois. At the same time, it wasn’t work or didn’t come across that way. It wasn’t a chess game moving pieces. It was a Clark at peace with his feelings who was only slightly shaken by Ollie’s bold move and admission on Lois’ blind date.

Knowing that the kiss was going to happen in this episode, I was concerned coming in that it would be shoved to the end of the episode as a pseudo-cliffhanger. While it was at the end, it felt organic and informed and not a cheap lead-out. As on-point and committed as Clark was as the Blur saving Ollie and Lois in that stupendous gunfire scene, Clark wasted no time piddling around and got right to business with Lois. To see Clark proactively serve and protect the citizens of Metropolis is uplifting, but seeing a Clark in such command throughout all areas of his life is inspiring. It goes without saying that Clark will be wrung through the ringer this season, but it’s reassuring that they are building such a strong and, well, steeled character now to put through that. And that’s almost as big a jolt as that iconic kiss between our hero and his sweetheart.

‘Crossfire’ is an exceptional standout in a season already full of such quality, depth and superior craftwork. It defines the template upon which each subsequent episode should be built upon. It also shows a commitment on the team’s part to push things forward and steer away from the treading rut that has plagued the series in the past. Momentum is a huge key this season and this episode shows that they still have oodles of it.

Easy Company - Crossfire Basing

I’m really happy to have finally finished off my company of Americans purpose-based for Crossfire. I’ve had this underway for a while, since last year at this time I think. Every October/November my thoughts tend to roll over toward WWII, what with Remembrance day and all, and so this year, I finished them off.

The figures are Revell “American Infantry” and are dressed for the Battle of the Bulge, though I’ve opted not to do them in winter time per se.   I did do a couple of figures in their great coats with fall foliage on the ground to give a bit of sense of colder weather.

E Co. Commander with Company Assets

This is the Company Commander with the company assets, an MG and mortar stands, and I’ve also included a dedicated bazooka stand (complete with tree!).  I’ve tried to adopt a bit of a “moving diorama” approach for these guys, since there are multiple figures to a base.  I’m quite happy with the Company Commander, with his table and map.  I was inspired to try these after seeing some of the stuff that Tim has done with his Crossfire bases.  You can seem some examples on his Tim’s Toys site.

I based each stand on a clear plastic square, and then after gluing down the figures I put down some latex calking as a ground base.  The calking has the advantage of being flexible so that even if dropped, the base will flex not crack or chip.  I then primed the whole thing, painted it, and flocked the base.

Bases with markings showing

I also made sure to cover a small bit of the base with painter’s tape before doing all the above, to make sure that I had a nice little strip of “clear” left when I was done.  Then I painted markings on the clear strip to identify the stands.  For whatever reason I picked E Company, so all the bases are marked with an “E”.  Company level resources have just the “E”.  Platoons are marked with a 1, 2 or 3; and then squads are marked with a second 1, 2 or 3.  So the base marked “E 21″ above is “E company, 2nd platoon, 1st squad”.  Likewise the single figure marked “E1″ is the first platoon leader and the company commander has just an “E”.  I think this will be handy so I can identify stands as having bazookas or other resources attached as needed (as in, “first squad of all platoons have bazookas, in addition to the company bazooka”).

Next up, Canadians.

I’m proud to say I finished the Japanese Literature Challenge with this one book! *claps* one challenge down, millions more to go oh well at least I managed to read books that I wouldn’t have picked up otherwise, so this sort of thing did open my eyes up to other genres out there.

Crossfire by Miyuki Miyabe is a police paranormal mystery which has one side; Chikako Ishizu and her colleagues in the police force and the other side; Junko Aoki and her quest for justice against cold hearted sadistic criminals who prey on innocent people. Junko has a very special gift of pyrokenesis (think of Stephen King’s Firestarter) and uses that against the criminals. It leaves no evidence except for charred bodies. Chikako is part of the arson squad and realizes this sort of case isn’t just normal arson. With the help of other detectives and very skeptical of paranormal theory she’s caught with trying to believe the impossible while chasing Junko who’s leaving a trail of bodies from place to place. However there’s another pair of eyes who are interested in Junko and want to recruit her to their cause.

This book was all right. I liked how they showed both sides of the story and both point of views. It was a nice even exchange between chapters and it went smooth for the most part. I have to admit though, although the beginning of the book really got me it just started to fall short and falls flat midway and I found myself wondering what’s going to happen next and how soon because to be honest, I was starting to get a little bored of the book. Not to mention besides the main characters, there were so many other secondary characters mentioned I was left wondering who this person was again and I had to either read back a few pages or commit to memory who they were. It got a little frustrating as they appeared for one chapter and wouldn’t come back until much much later. However, I found myself a little more intrigued bit by bit on how all these characters had to be connected somehow to each other and I was left guessing until the last moment. It was actually pretty well done despite these little flaws.

I really did try to like Chikako but just couldn’t do it. I was really trying to warm up to her but she was just flat. It just sort of seemed although she put the pieces together and helped solved the crime she really was just there for the ride. There wasn’t much personality to her I thought. Unlike Junko. I think she was the main focus in the book hence why she seemed to be the only real character in the book that developed well throughout the book. Junko went from someone who was angry and out for justice to someone who finally found closure and absolute closure.

The plot moved fairly smoothly although there were a bit of bumps and blips here with background information which was useful in some parts but in some other areas of the book it wasn’t really necessary. Then sometimes I felt the plot was just going in circles and very redundant. It was really starting to get old. At that point, I wished the plot would have moved more quickly instead of lingering and remaining stagnant. It also felt as if these moments were needed as a space filler. It nearly took the heart and the momentum of the plot because of these bumps.

Overall, it wasn’t so bad but it wasn’t so great either. It could have been better but the climactic ending did make up for it and as the story came to a close, it had a nice sense of completion. Would I recommend this? Well, that depends. Stick with Junko. She’s the more exciting arc in the plot than Chikako. Try and read through the unnecessary stuff but the underlying layers of the plot actually also make up for its shortfalls.

I give it a 6 out of 10.