Happy GTA Day!

Dead Alien Baby Countdown: Update #3

The X-Files: The Complete First Season, Disc 3 (Episodes 9-12)

Midway through Season 1, and here's where we stand:

9. Space [standalone episode]: Though it's one of the weirdest, least plausible episodes ever (a Martian ghost is sabotaging the space program?), it's definitely spooky. 1.0 PB Jars

10. Fallen Angel [mythology]: Finally the series returns to the alien abduction arc, only this time it's us (or I should say, the military) trying to abduct an alien. I love Mulder's Bond-esque infiltration of the army perimeter set up to hide a UFO crash site - so much so that I can forgive the episode's B-movie special effects. The episode also introduces fan-favorite Max Fenig, a self-described UFO expert with mysterious metallic implants to prove it. All of the X-Files series tropes are at work here: extraterrestrial life, government coverups, military hubris, and grassroots crusades. 2.5 PB Jars

11. Eve [standalone episode]: A classic X-Files standalone episode, "Eve" centers on two young girls with more in common than meets the eye. The girls - and their psychopathic "aunts" - provide standout performances here. (Love the scene in which the girls slip poison into Mulder's and Scully's Diet Cokes.) The subject of eugenics will return to play a major role in the alien mythology arc later in the series. 2.0 PB Jars

12. Fire [standalone episode]: A British serial killer who can control fire with his mind? It's a decent idea, but this isn't one of my favorites. The most memorable scene is definitely Scully walking in on Mulder and his Oxford ex-girlfriend reigniting an old flame (see what I did there?). I'm not sure if this episode started the debate about Mulder's and Scully's relationship (should it remain platonic or not?), but "Fire" certainly threw some fuel on the...well, you get the idea. By the way, in the Shipper vs. Noromo debate ("pro relationship" vs. "no romance"), I have to admit I always sided with the Shippers. 1.5 PB Jars

Dead Alien Baby Tally

Star Sightings: 3

Seth Green as a UFO freak [Ep. 2]; Felicity Huffman & Xander Berkeley as scientists trapped in the Arctic with extraterrestrial worms [8]

Monsters Of The Week: 6

liver-eating mutant [3]; female bigfoot [5]; self-aware computer [7]; extraterrestrial Arctic parasites [8] ; Martian ghost [9]; psychokinetic pyromaniac [12]

Dead Alien Babies: 0

Tonight's Menu: Good Morning Vietnam Spring Rolls, with a side of Willy Wonka Wasabi

I'm a big believer that movies and television are inexorably linked, and we need look no further than this week's episode of "Top Chef" for proof. To impress film critic/guest judge Richard Roeper, the chefs had to work in groups to create movie-inspired dishes:

Team 1 - Andrew, Dale, Richard - Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
Team 2 - Spike and Manuel - Good Morning Vietnam
Team 3 - Jen and Nikki, Il Postino
Team 4 - Mark and Ryan, A Christmas Story
Team 5 - Antonia and Zoi, Talk to Her
Team 6 - Stephanie and Lisa, Top Secret!

An eclectic selection of movies, for sure...and the culinary choices were just as strange. Some contestants, such as Spike and Manuel, came up with a food idea and then tried to fit a movie title to their creation. For some reason, Good Morning Vietnam isn't really the type of movie to get me thinking about eating spring rolls. On the flip side, Mark and Ryan struggled to think of a movie title at all. Yet once they remembered the classic A Christmas Story, the idea for a dish fell right into their laps: Chinese-style duck (which the family in the movie resorted to eating when their Christmas dinner plans went south).

If you haven't seen "Top Chef", I highly recommend you catch up with one of Bravo's frequent TC marathons.

PB & George Lucas

Yesterday, at a breakfast event hosted by The Cartoon Network on the west side of Manhattan, your faithful PB & Movies correspondent was privileged to be in the presence of the one and only George Lucas. That's right:

George...F**king...Lucas.

His entrance was fittingly epic. While a Cartoon Network executive was speaking on stage, the lights suddenly dimmed and smoke began to rise from the floor. As the Darth Vader theme began to boom from the 2-story speakers (Cartoon Net spares no expense), Lucas emerged from a side door with a cadre of "armed" Clone Trooper bodyguards. When asked by the network exec whether if was difficult to get these bodyguards through security, Lucas replied, "Not at all. Once they hold up their guns, people tend to leave us alone."

If you thought the creator of Star Wars was spending his post-movie career swimming through vaults of money on the Skywalker Ranch in Cali, you were sorely mistaken. The man just won't let go of his franchise baby, and he was in New York to observe the progress on his latest Star Wars entries. Next up is an anime-inspired CGI movie of The Clone Wars (premiering on The Cartoon Network in August). The film, set between Episodes 2 and 3 of the film series, will kick off a weekly half-hour series on the network. From the 5-minute trailer Lucas screened yesterday morning, I can tell you that this movie/series should appeal to fans of all ages, despite its kid-friendly cable home.

Check out the official trailer and website here: http://www.cartoonnetwork.com/tv_shows/promotion_landing_page/starwars_tcw/