(Spoilers will abound here, so if you DVR’d it to watch this weekend, stop reading right here.)

Quick recap: Bones and Booth are lecturing at Oxford Uni and Scotland Yard where they meet their doppelgangers (a wise, tough female cop partnered with a genius forensic professor) - can you say “contrivance?” I knew you could. But the actors make it work. I’m also pretty sure the British copper was the Suzie they keep killing on “Torchwood,” but that’s neither here nor there.

An heiress is murdered and B&B are asked to help solve the crime. With the help of the squints, they make quick work of the case while Bones flirts with the professor who’s a bit of a lad. Meanwhile, back at the lab, Angela’s mysterious and gorgeous husband shows up to claim her. Awkward moments abound, and eventually he sees that Angela is meant for Hodgins. But as Cam takes him to the airport, his flight is delayed so naturally they tumble into bed together. Cue more awkwardness.

Sweets is back, along with the hapless grad student who replaced Zack who still doesn’t fit in with the squints, and long story short, Angela and Hodgins break up anyway. They aren’t sure why, the audience isn’t sure why, and it just seemed stupid. I hope there’s a reason for it other than Hart Hanson’s weird desire to always “shock” us. Dude, some of us are still pissed about Zack. Now is not the time to play silly buggers with our feelings about your show. (See how I throw cute little British-isms in? It’s an homage you see.)

Back in the UK, Bones’ flirtation with Dr. HunkyPlayboy ends abruptly when he’s murdered in his flat. Booth and Bones stay on to help solve the crime.

What I liked about the premiere:

• David Boreanaz just gets better with age. Man, he could stand still and read the phone book to me and I would be entertained.
• The easy relationship between Booth and Bones is fun. They’re like an old married couple already - considerate, teasy… You can just tell they’re comfortable with each other and both actors portray this relationship amazingly well.
• So help me, I loved Sweets this episode. I’m starting to accept his position among the squints though it requires quite the suspension of belief to do so. His assessment of the situation between Cam, Angela’s ex, and Hodgins/Angela was endearing and sweet.

What I didn’t like:

• Booth’s constant, jock-like bitching about the ways of the English. But I’ll admit there were some funny moments that explained it - I think it was Cam who said Booth was not adaptable to Bones as Booth attempted to parallel park his Mini. That made me laugh. But maybe it’s just me who can’t wrap my head around the fact that some people think it’s ok to show up in another country and basically do nothing but insult their culture at every opportunity.
• The character of Booth hasn’t evolved very well. In fact, I’d say he’s devolved. In Season One, Booth was a good guy, a stand-up guy, with a dark but proud past. He had problems (gambling, dealing with having been a sniper etc.) and displayed moments of compassion and gentleness that made me adore him. Season three and four Booth seems like the high school jock who never got past his glory days. He’s more buffoonish and one-dimensional these days. I really miss Season One Booth.
• The two murder cases were standard fare. Not interesting at all. Never got a chance to care. It’s like the cases are just background noise anymore while they bring the soap opera drama and comedic moments up front. That’s fine, I’m ok with Bones not being a strict forensics show - I mean, there’s a reason I’ve never watched a single episode of the CSIs. But for all their talk about being more about the characters, I see very little character development going on.

Maybe I’m still rather bitter about the handling of Zack. Maybe that coloured my opinion of the premiere. It was just okay. Not outstanding at all. It’s nice to have them back, but I’m going to stop holding my breath for the stuff I loved from the beginning of the series because it looks like that’s gone for good. Which is a shame.

I’ve been sort of low-pro the past few weeks, mainly because, and I’ll be honest here, I’m actually not watching television much. At least not current stuff. I’ve been enjoying all four seasons of Doogie Howser, MD on Hulu as well as rewatching Battlestar Galactica on DVD. I actually reduced my cable package down to basic/expanded  because I thought it was ridiculous to pay for 500 channels I never watch.

And so I’m having trouble thinking of stuff to write here. But with the new season starting up, with Bones and Dollhouse being the ones I’m most interested in, I’ll pick back up, I’m sure. But I might start leaning heavily towards talking about older shows I’m catching on the intertubes. So for my two or three readers, hope you don’t mind!

Anyway, Bones. Tonight. Tell your friends.

But it’s sum-sum-summertime and there’s just nothing on (besides Project Runway) that I want to see. If it’s any consolation I’m not really watcing movies either.

So yes, Project Runway. Full of bitchy, whiny wannabe designers, one who speaks of himself in third person all the time, which is getting really old. And his “name” is ‘Suede.’ Uh-huh, sure it is. There is also Stella, the “I would use leather toilet paper if I could” biker chick who makes nice stuff but has been the whiniest one I’ve seen so far.

Tim is still Tim and he’s one of the main reasons I watch. He’s like a really wise, fashionista guru that no one will listen to. I find it amusing when he comes to check on the designers’ progress and offers them valuable advice, then as soon as he leaves they’re in the confessional saying, “I have my own style and I feel really confident in what I’ve achieved with my pastic garbage sacks.”

So with nothing else on of interest to me, I will be scraping my brain for other TV-related topics and hopefully will get back into a regular rhythm. Until then - have you seen this Music Madness thing?

• It would be a musical.
• It starred Buffy/Firefly alum. Nathan Fillion (Evil Priest Caleb on Buffy and Captain Tightpants on Firefly, and Felicia Day, who played a potential Slayer in Buffy’s final TV season and currently enjoys much success with her web series “The Guild”) and much-admired actor of mine, Neil Patrick Harris.
• Joss and Co. (including brothers and wives of brothers) wrote the story during the writer’s strike and found a way to release it online. Something that’s become highly touted and “groundbreaking” - although there have been a lot of popular web series available online for some time. Perhaps not one on this scale though. Still, it’s not exactly new, is it? Someone clue me in on this.

That’s it. That’s all I knew. The power of Joss and the draw of the actors was enough to make this highly anticipated for me. Finally, though, artwork started to appear. Then Joss found a way to release it and we had some Real Live dates to look forward to. Oh happy day!

I think a lot of the hype centered around the way this thing was being released. It’s an experiment. An idea to perhaps release something for free, for a limited time online, and then make available to own through iTunes for a small fee (it ended up being a mere $3.99 to own all three acts), and then if it does well enough, try to capitalize on it by merchandising and putting out a soundtrack and DVD with extras.

So far it’s working. I watched it for free, loved the ever-loving crap out of it, plunked down my 4 bucks so I could take Dr. Horrible with me (indeed, I watched it on the ‘pod waiting for Batman to start yesterday ) and by God I will buy the soundtrack and DVD. Why? Because I am a fan. I’m in this Whedon fandom for the long haul and part of being a fan is supporting it. Plus I think that maybe the cast and crew would like to get paid

So! The show itself. I already mentioned I loved it. Yes indeed I did. I’ll refrain from a full-blown recap because you can find those anywhere with a little Googling (or, you know, iTunes. 4 Bucks. That’s all I’m saying.) Instead, my basic reactions following each Act ranged from, “Oh my God Nathan can sing!” to “Noooooooooooooo!”

I found myself feeling strange about rooting for a “bad guy” and disliking the superhero. Dr. Horrible’s quest to join the Evil League of Evil was alternately hilarious and tragic. Ok, I guess I can’t talk about it without some kind of recap. Here goes (SPOILERS - LOOK AWAY NOW IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN, FOR WHAT HAS BEEN SEEN CANNOT BE UNSEEN):

Dr. Horrible keeps making attempts to join the Evil League of Evil run by ultimate bad guy, Bad Horse - the Thoroughbred of Sin. Every time, he is thwarted by his arch-nemesis, Captain Hammer. On one of his attempts, he inadvertently introduces Penny, the girl of his dreams, to Captain Hammer and they begin to date.

Bad Horse informs Dr. Horrible that the only way he will be allowed into the ELE is by murdering someone. Dr. Horrible is conflicted. He’s got morals, and doesn’t think murder is a line he wants to cross. He only wants to rule the world and cause social change. And get the girl. Until Penny introduces him to Captain Hammer, who recognizes him, and taunts him, and suddenly, Dr. Horrible has found his victim. In one of the best songs in all three acts, Dr. Horrible decides Captain Hammer must die.

In the final act, Dr. Horrible carries out his plan to kill Captain Hammer. But things go awry, as they always do, and Penny is the accidental victim. His death ray explodes and shrapnel gets her. Her death is what gets him into the Evil League of Evil (where he joins with the likes of Fake Thomas Jefferson, and Dead Bowie) and his grief causes him to just give up on any semblance of being good. Presumably, he goes on to perform true acts of evil, fueled by that grief.

Okay, so there’s a quick recap. But watch it anyway, because there’s so much more to it than that.

The first two acts left me singing and tapping my foot. I enjoyed the sweet, gentle songs from Penny, a do-gooder who is trying to get funding for a homeless shelter. Captain Hammer was obnoxious and arrogant. Who might be gay. Jury’s still out, but he does enjoy lacy, wafting curtains I really wanted Dr. Horrible to do him in by the end of it. Hammer was only interested in dating Penny so he could do the “freaky” stuff and because he knew Dr. Horrible loved her. Jerk.

And the Doctor. The Doctor who put his blog and plans out there on the intertubes for all to see, not realizing the LAPD and Captain Hammer watched it and therefore were able to thwart him and toss cars at his head. Bumbling, inept Dr. Horrible who can’t get his foot in the door with Bad Horse, and who loved Penny terribly, and maybe should not use pie as a metaphor.

After I saw the final act, I have to say I was scratching my head a little. Joss, who seems incapable of going for the happy ending - not that there’s anything wrong with that, angstaholic here, kills Penny. A shocking moment in an otherwise fun and upbeat, goofball show.

This bothered me I guess. Until I thought about it.

Don’t a lot of “bad guys” in superhero stories usually end up evil because they’ve suffered some sort of trauma that disintegrated any shred of morality they might have been hanging onto? Something that pushed them over the edge? In watching all three acts, we’re really watching the evolution of a true bad guy. No he doesn’t get the girl in the end who saves him from himself and they live happily ever after and everything is sunshine and puppies. Instead we get a misguided misfit, who might actually have good intentions, has some semblance of morality, who then has every illusion he knows completely shattered all to hell. So, since he has nothing to be good for, he might as well go all out and become truly evil - something he only really ever had a vague idea about.

For me, it’s that context that makes Dr. Horrible work for me. The Evolution of a Bad Guy, with songs.

Thank you Joss, Jed, Zack, and Maurissa for writing this little gem. And thank you to your cast and crew who worked for peanuts (possibly literally) to put this together for us. I think it was a success

It’s exclusively available on iTunes now. Four dollars. Price of a gallon of gas. Less than a #3 at Mickey D’s. Less than a movie ticket. Slightly more than a gallon of milk. You probably have that much in change in your couch. Go buy it.

I’ll be in my bunk.

So what is on telly lately? Well, I finally finished Battlestar Galactica up through the phenomenal scene when Admiral Adama discovers who some of the hidden cylons are. I think that was the most powerful scene I’ve seen in a long time. Edward James Olmos’ breakdown was heartrending.

Now, after finding out everything I needed to find out, I’ve been rewatching it from the start. Slower this time and it’s almost… delicious to rewatch some of these scenes, knowing what I know (I’m trying to be sly so I don’t spoil anyone.)

Some things that I think might have been overdone or kind of tedious are the imaginary convos Dr. Baltar kept having with the #6 model cylon. At first it really worked in a greek chorus kind of way, but then they kept doing it. And kept doing it. And finally, I was tired of it. I think the religious themes were sort of heavy-handed as well. But I can put up with both if it means I get otherwise fantastic, the-way-it-should-be-done sci-fi.

What else… The finale of Hell’s Kitchen was the other night. I’m fine with the winner, and I’m damn glad the whiny, self-absorbed, crass, classless Jen was booted off. It always amuses me to see these chef wannabes argue with Gordon Ramsay, as if they know better. Come on now. He’s Gordon F***ing Ramsay. You just don’t argue with him. And a word of advice from a former kitchen grunt: if you’re booted off Hell’s Kitchen, but brought back to help the finalists out on the last service, don’t freaking ask Gordon for a letter of recommendation, and then act like a beeyotch the whole night. Sore loser, thy name is Jen.

Lastly, for now, don’t forget that Dr. Horrible’s first installment will be online July 15th at drhorrible.com! It’s getting rave reviews!

So, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-A-Long Blog will be unveiled in mid-July. Here is the plan, in the words of my Master:

“Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog” will be streamed, LIVE (that part’s not true), FREE (sadly, that part is) right on Drhorrible.com, in mid-July. Specifically:

ACT ONE (Wheee!) will go up Tuesday July 15th.

ACT TWO (OMG!) will go up Thursday July 17th.

ACT THREE (Denouement!) will go up Saturday July 19th.

All acts will stay up until midnight Sunday July 20th. Then they will vanish into the night, like a phantom (but not THE Phantom – that’s still playing. Like, everywhere.)

You can read the full Master Plan by clicking here. If you want to help spread the word about the show and have a MySpace, Facebook or Twitter account, you can use these links and help Joss and everyone get the word out.

• Dr. Horrible on MySpace
• Dr. Horrible on Facebook
• Follow Dr. Horrible on Twitter
• Dr. Horrible Resources (Banners and Buttons)

And if you don’t mind a few spoilers, TV Guide’s Matt Roush got to see all 42 minutes of it, the lucky sonofabitca, and has some details about it as well as plans for DVD extras that should, you know, rocks and stuff.

Sweet!! Joss Whedon’s little side project written during the writer’s strike and filmed shortly afterwards, starring Nathan Fillion, Felicia Day and Neil Patrick Harris is coming soon!

I will now take a moment to say to everyone who’s been on my case to watch BSG, “Thank you for your persistence.” I do like it. A lot. More than I thought I would considering I went into it grumpy and not looking for another fandom to be sucked into. I think I’ve leveled up my geek cred as well now that I know what “Frak” means and nearly said, “Thank the Gods” this weekend.

Some thoughts so far:

• Every time they mention the planet Kobol, I think of Cobol and it feels like a little mental speedbump.
• The Cylon raider ships are the wickedest (and by that I mean evil) looking ships I’ve ever seen.
• I love the sound the ships make when they fire their weapons.
• I want to live on Cloud Nine.
• Starbuck is a badass who should figure out who the hell she loves and quit jumping into bed with every guy BUT the one I think she really loves.
• I’ve had to call my grandfather twice for Navy rank advice (I didn’t know what an ‘X-O’ was.)
• I can’t look at Colonel Tigh’s manipulative, power-hungry, slutty wife without seeing snobby, slutty Benny from “Pretty in Pink.”
• Bridget Jones best friend Dr. Baltar does an amazing job keeping the crazy from leaking out.
• I’m a little put off by all the religion, but I’m willing to deal.
• It took me a while to work out the “human” looking Cylons and what their deal was, but I think I’ve got it now.

I’m watching a few more episodes tonight, and thanks to a coworker, I’ll have the season 3 DVDs to devour soon.

I really am enjoying the show and am preparing to be pissed off that the rest of season 4 won’t be airing until next year with the rest of their legion of fans.

These are in seasonal order, not order of my faves:

10. “Innocence” Season 2

I love me some Angelus. There’s just something alluring about the deliciously evil demon wreaking havoc in Sunnydale. His obsession with Buffy in this story arc is fascinating to compare to other incarnations of Angelus that we get to see throughout the series and on “Angel.” In “Innocence,” Buffy and Angel finally hook up - Buffy unaware that this act will ruin everything and Angel seemingly unaware himself of the consequences, and when Angel experiences that moment of “perfect happiness” (Read: orgasm - albeit an O with the woman he truly loves) his gypsy curse kicks in and he loses his soul, letting loose his inner demon and bringing forth Angelus, the Master Vampire who terrorized Europe back in the day. David Boreanaz brings on the snark as Angelus and while I do love this episode, I think my favourite Angelus he does is Season 4 on “Angel” when the gang raises Angelus to try and stop the Big Beastie.

9. “Becoming, Part 2″ Season 2

The grand finale to the Angelus story arc in season 2. Angelus has plotted to awaken a demon that will destroy the world and of course buffy must stop him. The angst factor was really ratcheted up in the previous episodes which makes the payoff at the end really worth it. The video above shows the final fight sequence between a heartbroken slayer and her former lover. At the last moment, Willow is able to restore Angel’s soul but too late, and Buffy - knowing her true love has returned, must still kill him to save the world. *deep sigh*

When I first saw this episode, it slapped me in the face with the angst and as we all know, I love the angst. Sarah Michelle Gellar displayed her ability to wrench emotion from you when her big old eyes fill with tears and David, once again, pulls off a difficult feat of switching characters mid-scene. That happens a lot on Buffy and I really dig watching the actors do that.

8. “Lovers Walk” Season 3

The Magnificent Spike (James Marsters) returns to SunnyD after the love of his unlife, Drusilla, leaves him for a chaos demon. Spike is drunk, heartbroken, and feeling bitey. He wants Willow to do a love spell on Dru and bring her back to him, so he kidnaps her and Xander to force them to do it.

I love this ep because A. I love Spike and B. It’s just funny. It’s full of little moments and bits of dialogue that crack you up. (”I bought her beautiful dresses with beautiful little girls in them..”) I think this episode gave James a chance to portray more than just the Big Bad and we see that Spike is more than just a typical minion-like vamp.

7. “Doppelgangland” Season 3

This was Allyson Hannigan’s episode to shine and she just rocked it. EvilVamp Willow is fantastic and I wish we could have had more of her. In a previous episode where Cordelia wished everyone into an alternate reality in which Xander and Willow are Vampires, this one brings EvilVamp Willow into the normal reality causing much confusion for all.

Willow is my favourite female character on the show and so whenever the show focuses on her, it’s a great time.

6. “Hush” Season 4

The beasties in this one (The Gentlemen) are truly creepy. They come to Sunnydale to steal the hearts of residents (literally) and they cast a spell that steals everyone’s voices so they can’t scream when they tear out their hearts. Buffy and the scoobies have to find a way to defeat them. With the help of Giles’ hilarious transparencies, they do in the end of course.

The show won an Emmy for this one which features almost no dialogue throughout. It’s a testament to the strengths of the show - it’s actors, directors, creators, and writers that they can pull something like this off and make it so weirdly wonderful.

5. “Fool For Love” Season 5

In this episode, we learn a great deal about Spike - his past and we get to see his battles with the two slayers he’s killed. Buffy is injured while on patrol and it scares her enough to want to research past slayers and find out why and how they died. But there’s very little info about that in the Watcher’s Records because when a Slayer dies, their watcher finds it too painful to record. So Buffy has to turn to Spike for answers. She grills him on how he did it and in turn, Spike teaches her a lesson about being a Slayer.

We travel back and forth between the present and Spike’s past and it’s surprising to learn that Spike was not quite such a badass before he was turned. In fact, he was a bit of a priggish young man named William who was in love with a woman who disdained him and he wrote bad poetry. Really bad poetry. When Drusilla turned him, he became influenced by Angelus and his ruthlessness and adopted the working class accent and swagger that we all know and love.

This was just a beautiful episode from the ground up. The way the stories about Spike’s past served to mirror the present as Spike grappled with his discovery that he is in love with Buffy and Buffy learning Spike’s theory about the deaths of slayers hit home with her (and pissed her off too.) The whole thing was just woven together so beautifully that I think this is probably my most favourite episode of them all.

4. “Tabula Rasa” Season 6,

This is an episode that is both hilarious and sort of sad. Willow casts a spell that goes awry and makes everyone forget who they are. The deductions they make regarding their identity (Spike is Giles’ son Randy, Willow and Xander are dating, Anya and Giles are married??) are most amusing and the shenanigans that ensue are enjoyable to watch. But when the spell is broken, everyone goes back to being as miserable as they were before - Buffy depressed about being yanked out of heaven, Spike dealing with his unrequited love, Tara realizing Willow’s using the magicks again and leaves her.. It ends on a such a down note.

Season 6 is meant to be the year when Life is really the Big Bad for everyone. An interesting concept for the show and I thought they handled it very well. Relationships begin and end badly, death is everywhere (not that it isn’t usually, but this time death hits close to home and leads to EvilWitch Willow) and the characters are dealing with real life scary - rape and murder as opposed to demon scary.

3. “Beneath You” Season 7

Spike’s living in the basement of Sunnydale High and he’s a little… off his head. He’s dealing with a shiny new soul that he fought to regain (after attempting to rape Buffy in Season 6, Spike went through the demon trials to regain his sould so she could have “what she deserved” - a good man who would never hurt her.) He didn’t count on the soul racking him with the same guilt Angel suffers. Couple that with the First Evil manipulating him in the basement and well, he’s a little crazy.

In this episode a woman is being terrorized by a giant worm that Anya created after she became a vengeance demon again. The scoobies try to help her but Spike turns up, seemingly sane for now and offers to help. The gang is reluctant but eventually they accept his help. It doesn’t take long for him to lose it though and by the end of the episode, James Marsters delivers the most powerful scene (in my opinion) of the series in which he confronts Buffy in a church and through his mad ramblings she learns he has a soul now. I’ve watched this scene over and over and it gets to me every time.

2. “Storyteller” Season 7

Andrew, a former member of the evil trio from season 6, now a peripheral scooby who’s not quite accepted by everyone is the subject of this terrific episode in which he tries to document everything the Slayer is doing and everyone involved in her life. Tom Lenk is magnificent in this episode - hilarious and touching all at the same time as we learn the reason he’s such a storyteller - it’s so he doesn’t have to “deal” with his past crimes (namely the murder of his best friend) and by the end of the episode, he’ll have you crying as Buffy forces him to confront himself over everything he’s done.

I really enjoy Tom Lenk’s character, Andrew. I think he got the best lines and this episode really showcased Lenk’s talent.

1. “Lies My Parents Told Me” Season 7

Spike’s been hypnotised by The First and is being manipulated into killing humans but the gang needs to figure out the ‘trigger’ that sets Spike off. Giles and Principal Wood team up behind Buffy’s back to deal with Spike. Giles feels Spike is simply too dangerous and Wood is dealing with a darker purpose: His mother was the second Slayer that Spike killed. So while Giles keeps Buffy busy patrolling, Wood brings Spike to his garage (filled with crosses) and sets off Spike’s trigger. They battle, and eventually the trigger is broken.

What I loved about this episode was again travelling into Spike’s past and finding out what he did to his mother (and what she did to him. Eeesh) namely, he tried to save her from death by Consumption and instead he unleashed a nasty demon who tried to have sex with him and he ends up having to stake his own mum. This is something Spike’s buried deep so as not to deal with it. Wood’s forcing him to confront it is what broke the trigger.

The fight between Wood and Spike was stupendous and very moving really, for both men. Wood actually had to confront the fact that he didn’t come first with his mother who was stuck with the Slayer mission - something he always denied.

So there you have my top 10 Buffy the Vampire Slayer episodes Of course there are many more episodes I love - including the fantabulous “Once More with Feeling” musical episode that usually makes everyone’s top 10 list. I do love that episode as well. The whole ‘Angel’s back from Hell and can he and Buffy reconcile’ arc of S3 was fun - Spike and Buffy’s twisted relationship, the scene when Tara gets shot, anytime Spike tries to hurt a human after he’s chipped, The Gift… There’s just so much to love.