A short Wednesday report, with "Sons of Anarchy," Darren Aranofsky and Sarah Palin

Just a very short report today because I'm soon to head off to Minneapolis/St.Paul to see mi hermano and my parents for a few days, and frankly my mind is already there, but since there's almost nothing on TV right now, why not start with a great development for what's coming this fall.

In its continuing quest to employ every single actor who has ever appeared on HBO's "Deadwood," it seems that FX will next be featuring Georgia actor Ray McKinnon in a season-long arc on "Sons of Anarchy," which has quickly risen to be one of my favorite TV dramas.

As for McKinnon, he may still be best known as the Rev. H.W. Smith on the first season of "Deadwood," but his other great roles have included playing one ornery bastard in "That Evening Sun" and even playing Vernon T. Waldrip in my favorite Coen brothers' movie, "O Brother Where Art Thou." In short, he's just a great actor, and bringing on him to play an unconventional prosecutor who will be on the trail of SAMCRO on the upcoming season will make an already pretty darn good show even better.

And in a bit of movie news before two funny videos that caught my eye this morning, having wisely dropped any plans to make yet another "Wolverine" movie, it seems that Darren Aronofsky is finally closing in on something much more suited to his vision.

He's currently seeking backers for his epic take on the biblical story of Noah and his ark. Take a second to picture how great, or at least epicly bizarre, that could be. No idea if this will actually be his next movie project, but with the script currently undergoing a rewrite by John Logan, who among other things wrote the screenplay for Martin Scorsese's upcoming "Hugo Cabret," things do seem to be moving forward. Stay tuned ...

OK, moving quickly on to the videos today, I had never heard of this movie, "The Guard," until I saw this rather seriously funny trailer this morning. In the movie, best as I can tell, the great Brendan Gleeson plays a rather racially insensitive Irish cop who joins forces with an American FBI agent (Don Cheadle, welcome back) to track some unsavory characters, including Mark Strong. As you'll see from the trailer, it looks like nothing but funny, and Gleeson has proven, best in "In Bruges," that he's a natural comedian. I know this played Sundance this year, but no idea when it will get any other kind of release in the U.S. Keep an eye out for it, and enjoy the trailer.



And to close today, if there's been a sillier season in American politics, I can't remember it. I'm not one to stay up much beyond 11 p.m. on school nights, but if the late night guys aren't just having a field day with the fact that a dude named Weiner is waving his genitals all around, I'd be sorely disappointed. And then there's Sarah Palin, the gift that just keeps on giving. I'd be willing to just let this go, but since her forces have taken to Wikipedia to try and rewrite history in her favor, she's certainly fair game, and this Stephen Colbert Paul Revere clip, though a bit long, is just a hoot. Enjoy, and have a great weekend. As for me, I'm off until next Tuesday, to visit the land of however many lakes there actually are in Minnesota. Peace out.

The Colbert Report
Tags: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive

David Simon on America's most unnecessary war

You often hear the phrase "life imitates art" or vice versa, but rarely do we get a case of art actually being life, as we did for four great and one not-so-great seasons of "The Wire."

Which makes the arrest of Felicia "Snoop" Pearson all the more depressing. For anyone who doesn't know, she played a female hitman of sorts for drug kingpin Marlo Stanfield, and like many of the stars of that show, was never far too removed from the world that "The Wire" portrayed. At age 14, she was charged with second-degree murder in the shooting death of another young girl, and ending up serving 6.5 years in prison.

Since then, things had certainly seemed to turn around with her appearance on "The Wire." She's also written a memoir, "Grace After Midnight," and having read it, I can tell you she tells her troubling story very well.

But yesterday, it all came undone, or at least regressed quite a bit with this Baltimore Sun headline forwarded to me in the morning: "More than 60 people, including 'Snoop' of 'The Wire,' arrested in drug raids."

If you haven't, you can read all about it here, but there's a much larger picture here, of a city and its people in crisis. That Snoop hasn't been able to escape this bottomless spiral is only the biggest headline-grabber about a truly sad situation in a city I love and will be visiting with mi hermano in August (for a couple or Orioles games, of course).

Here's what David Simon, much more eloquently than me, had to say about it all when contacted by Slate, and then stick around for something much more fun with a trio of Friday morning videos.

First of all, Felicia's entitled to the presumption of innocence. And I would note that a previous, but recent drug arrest that targeted her was later found to be unwarranted and the charges were dropped. Nonetheless, I'm certainly sad at the news today. This young lady has, from her earliest moments, had one of the hardest lives imaginable. And whatever good fortune came from her role in The Wire seems, in retrospect, limited to that project. She worked hard as an actor and was entirely professional, but the entertainment industry as a whole does not offer a great many roles for those who can portray people from the other America. There are, in fact, relatively few stories told about the other America.

Beyond that, I am waiting to see whether the charges against Felicia relate to heroin or marijuana. Obviously, the former would be, to my mind, a far more serious matter. And further, I am waiting to see if the charges or statement of facts offered by the government reflect any involvement with acts of violence, which would of course be of much greater concern.

In an essay published two years ago in Time magazine, the writers of The Wire made the argument that we believe the war on drugs has devolved into a war on the underclass, that in places like West and East Baltimore, where the drug economy is now the only factory still hiring and where the educational system is so crippled that the vast majority of children are trained only for the corners, a legal campaign to imprison our most vulnerable and damaged citizens is little more than amoral. And we said then that if asked to serve on any jury considering a non-violent drug offense, we would move to nullify that jury's verdict and vote to acquit. Regardless of the defendant, I still believe such a course of action would be just in any case in which drug offenses—absent proof of violent acts—are alleged.

Both our Constitution and our common law guarantee that we will be judged by our peers. But in truth, there are now two Americas, politically and economically distinct. I, for one, do not qualify as a peer to Felicia Pearson. The opportunities and experiences of her life do not correspond in any way with my own, and her America is different from my own. I am therefore ill-equipped to be her judge in this matter.
Very true all that, but way too heavy for a Friday morning, right? So, on to some fun clips. Until now, I haven't been able to get terribly excited about JJ Abrams upcoming alien flick "Super 8," but this first full trailer really does effectively change everything. In revealing that the incident was recorded by kids making monster movies on their super 8 camera, and seeing Coach Taylor of "Friday Night Lights" back in action, it has convinced me that this could be something really pretty great when it comes out June 8. Enjoy the trailer.



Next up, although very few people are apparently watching, FX is doing some truly entertaining things on television. I'm a devoted fan of "Sons of Anarchy," and though it lasted only one short season, "Terriers" was a fun little show, too. On the air now, I'm really getting into season two of "Justified," and the boxing drama "Lights Out" just keeps getting better and better with each episode. And now, to complement it's darkly funny "Louie" with Louie CK, the network is adding another truly odd-looking comedy this June, "Wilfred," starring Elijah Wood. As you'll see from the trailer, it's based on an Australian show about a lonely, introverted dude who becomes friends with his neighbor's dog, who just happens to be able to talk to him. Looks like very fun stuff, so enjoy this preview, and keep an eye out for the show.



And finally, truly saving the best for last, College Humor has definitely hit the mark with this mashup of Wes Anderson's "Fantastic Mr. Fox," easily one of my favorite animated movies of the last 10 years or so, and the video game "Star Fox." It's just wicked fun that needs no further explanation from me, so enjoy, and have a great weekend. (I'll be spending mine with mi hermano going to see two concerts by the Baseball Project .. huzzah!) Peace out.

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

What's that I smell?

There are so many jokes about stink colliding in my head that I'm just gonna have to let them go and play this one straight and let you imagine the consequences:Yes, Mike Myers really is going to play a live-action Pepe le Pew.

Let it sink in for a few seconds just how amazingly bad that is going to be, and then I'll move on to a couple of bits of actual good news in a very short report because I stayed up way too late last night watching the Braves get shut out by a 13-year-old girl (and man can she pitch.)

First up is that someone named Tom Vaughan (who I had never heard of) is going to be directing a movie based on one of my favorite satirical novels, "Boomsday." The book is by Christopher Buckley, the same wiseacre who penned "Thank You for Smoking," and the wickedly sharp story is about a Washington D.C. publicist/blogger who gets in over her head when a politician uses her suggestion that all Baby Boomers commit suicide in order to save Social Security as a campaign selling point.

If you're not laughing at that, then this clearly won't be a movie for you, but trust me, the book is a real smart hoot. And a quick look at Mr. Vaughan's resume shows he directed the thoroughly charming little British romantic comedy "Starter for 10," starring James McAvoy and Reel Fanatic fave Rebecca Hall, so this is now definitely something to keep your eyes on (and trust me, if you can find it, "Starter for 10" is well worth a rental.)

After that today, there's just a bit of great TV news before a couple of clips. "Sons of Anarchy," which has inevitably centered on the search for Jax's son Abel this season, has just been reviewed for a fourth 13-episode run next year by FX. Great news there, because the show has only improved on last year's doozy of cliffhanger, and while it's not quite on the level of a "Mad Men," the motorcycle gang show is still one of the best dramas on TV right now.

OK, like I said, I'm already running behind (no way to start a day), so I'll leave you with a couple of trailers I found this morning. First up comes the second (I think) trailer for the third "Narnia" movie, "The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader," set to come out (unfortunately in 3D) on Dec. 10. Though they haven't caught on on the big screen as well as "Harry Potter" or the "Lord of the Rings" movies, I just have a soft spot for the innocence and wonder of the "Narnia" tales, and this one should be fantastic. Enjoy.



And finally today comes the second full trailer I know of for Danny Boyle's "127 Hours," which for me is the next absolute must-see movie coming up on the calendar (now that Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck's "It's Kind of a Funny Story has, rather inexplicably, not opened wide enough to reach my little corner of the world - at least yet.) As you'll see from the trailer, though the movie is about a climber (played by James Franco) who gets his arm trapped under a boulder for the titular amount of time, it still seems to be brimming with energy and optimism. Enjoy the trailer, and have a great weekend. Peace out.

"Sons of Anarchy" returning with vengeance and verve

As cliffhangers go, fans of the show will remember, the ending of season two of FX's "Sons of Anarchy" was a real doozy.

With the SAMCRO crew watching from the end of the dock, "Irish" absconded with Jax's (Charlie Hunnam) baby Abel, while simultaneously, Gemma (Katey Sagal, yes, really) had been framed for two murders by agent Stahl (Ally Walker) and was on the lam with Police Chief Unser (Dayton Callie).

Got all that? Well, thankfully, I was sent the first four episodes of season three by the kind folks at Collider.com, so if you're sure you want to know some of what's ahead for the motorcycle club with, if not quite a heart of gold, at least an odd sense of justice that makes the show so watchable, read on.

Season three opens just days after season two ended, with Jax predictably stoned out of his mind with grief and Peg now under the protection of a SAMCRO contingent led by Tig (Kim Coates). She doesn't yet know what has happened to her grandson Abel, and that fact gives the opening episodes much of their impact.

As Jax is slowly brought back to reality, Clay (Ron Perlman, still great) and the rest of the crew get him focused on what will be the main focus of season three, the hunt for "Irish" (Cameron, played by Jamie McShane) and Abel. To tell you much more would just spoil things, but the pursuit leads down a variety of agonizing wrong turns as it introduces us to Cameron's True IRA mates and James Cosmo as Father Ashby, a great actor and a much tougher priest than you might expect to meet at Mass on Sunday.

The search for Abel, thankfully, gives Jax something else to focus on other than his existential angst, so the Clay-Jax tension that dominated season two is now at least just bubbling under the surface. Episode one closes with the funeral for Half-Sack (Johnny Lewis), who fans will remember was stabbed by Cameron at the end of season two, and it's interrupted by an act of violence (naturally) which will change the future of Charming in a way that will surely impact the power of SAMCRO.

The best story arc of season three, however, is certainly the story of Gemma and her father, played by the inimitable Hal Holbrook. Bringing in a performer of his stature (easily one of my favorite actors) gives more power to what was already a great story line from creator Kurt Sutter and his writers. It is, without exaggeration, so good that it should finally put both Sagal and Holbrook into Emmy contention (it probably won't, but since Connie Britton and Kyle Chandler each finally received overdue recognition for "Friday Night Lights," one can dream, right?) As this arc plays out, keep an eye out for a cameo from horrormeister Stephen King, though to reveal how he appears would be a crime I won't commit.

Overall, the first four episodes of season three of "Sons of Anarchy" have the show developing further into an intricate and juicy web of family ties, secrets and lies, making it easily one of the best shows returning to TV this fall. Enjoy the trailer, and tune in for season three beginning at 10 p.m. Tuesday.

Go see "Kick-Ass" already and just have a hell of a lot of fun

Actually, before we get into any of that today, why not start with some truly "Kick-Ass" casting news?

If you were to list my favorite actors, Hal Holbrook would easily find a spot in the top five. He made "Into the Wild," a movie that still just continues to get better and better with age, and he was even better than that as the star of "That Evening Sun," a genuine Southern gothic that should really be coming to DVD very soon, so keep an eye out for it.

Now he's gonna get the chance to be a truly bad MF as a short-term cast member of "Sons of Anarchy," which in its second season last year really became a great TV drama. When season three returns in September, Holbrook will star in the first four episodes as Gemma's (Katey Segal) father. I was gonna watch anyway already, but they've certainly amped up my interest with that news.

And in even crazier news, I really didn't think there was any way you could get me to watch a remake of "Arthur," even though I do find Russell Brand to be very funny, but I think they've now actually pulled that off.

How? By casting Dame Helen Mirren in the role made legendary by Sir John Gielgud, therefore changing it from a butler to a nanny, something which Brand could almost certainly use in his real life too. There is, of course, still a very large chance that this could just suck all kinds of balls, but with Helen Mirren in it I can at least guarantee you I'll be there to watch it crash and burn.

OK, before I got sidetracked by that little bit of business, this was supposed to be a defense of "Kick-Ass," though having seen it twice now, I'm still rather amazed that Matthew Vaughn's thoroughly entertaining movie needs one.

And this really isn't in response to Roger Ebert or anyone else who has questioned the morality of so much violence being perpetrated by a 12-year-old (my best guess, I really have no idea how old kids actually are.) I'm willing to dismiss that as the ramblings of a sometimes cranky old man, especially since I'm pretty rapidly becoming one of those too. All I can really say is IT'S A FRIGGIN' R-RATED MOVIE!!!

Instead, it's more about what "Kick-Ass" really is rather than what it isn't, because judging by the week one box office numbers, I have to assume that the majority of people who happen to stumble by here today haven't seen it yet.

Because what Vaughn has really accomplished is to make one of the very few non-animated movies that manage to bring a genuine comic book vibe to the big screen. Terry Zwigoff managed to do it by capturing perfectly the spirit of Daniel Clowes' "Ghost World," and the just criminally underrated "Shoot 'Em Up" - though more like Looney Tunes than comic books - managed to contain all of the fun of comic books too (and if you haven't seen this little comic gem, rent it immediately!)

And in many ways, Vaughn has accomplished the same rare feat with his movie about the comic book "Kick-Ass." Ebert and others were at least part right - it does indeed start with the violence. Perhaps my moral compass is just completely askew, but when I knowingly go into an R-RATED movie with the name "Kick-Ass," I think I've pretty much ceded any right to be offended. And besides, I wasn't. I was entertained.

I don't want to give too much away, but the two action set-pieces involving Hit-Girl (young Chloe Moretz, who is just a delight) are easily the two best I've seen this year, and are among the best of the last 10 years or so too. The first starts in darkness, then turns into a trick of lighting and is just expertly shot. And the grand finale, well, all I'll tell you is that it does involve a bazooka and another much cooler weapon that I won't reveal to you here. Let's just say I defy you not to laugh out loud once you hear the strains of "Battle Hymn of the Republic" ring out.

But it's not all about the violence. Just about everything in "Kick-Ass" is fun, funky and very often outrageous, as comic book movies should be. Nicolas Cage is funnier than he's been since, well, "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" as Hit-Girl's guardian, Big Daddy, and the near-constant riff on superhero worship manages to sustain itself through the whole thing.

My only qualm with the first movie and fear for the inevitable sequel (but only if the box office numbers somehow pick up, probably) is that that McLovin kid is definitely a one-trick pony. Saying any more than that would only spoil things.

And in week two, there's at least a fighting chance that "Kick-Ass" could somehow win the week, considering the fecal matter - "The Back-Up Plan" and "The Losers" - that's polluting multiplexes this week. If you're having doubts about this and trust me at all (a dangerous proposition, I certainly concede), give "Kick-Ass" a chance in week two. 'Nuff said. Peace out.

Stay in school and follow your dreams? How dare he?!?!

It’s the story of students who sat where you sit 250 years ago, and went on to wage a revolution and found this nation. Students who sat where you sit 75 years ago who overcame a Depression and won a world war; who fought for civil rights and put a man on the moon. Students who sat where you sit 20 years ago who founded Google, Twitter and Facebook and changed the way we communicate with each other.

So today, I want to ask you, what’s your contribution going to be? What problems are you going to solve? What discoveries will you make? What will a president who comes here in twenty or fifty or one hundred years say about what all of you did for this country?

From the text of my president's address to returning school children, set for today

OK, I try my best to keep the politics out of this, because it really has no place, but I really think civility in our country is about to take a turn for the seriously worse, so bear with me for a few seconds.

As part of my ever-shifting duties at The Telegraph, I now deal with the letters to the editor, and I have to say it truly tries my patience, especially when the subject is U.S. President Barack Obama (many of the people who I have to hear from daily don't even except that that's even his true title.) I can usually just grin and bear it, but the comments that have come in about Mr. Obama's desire to address kids returning to school have just been a whole new breed of hate, and its very hard to take.

I'm not sure if it's something being coached by Rush, Hannity or anyone else, but I've never had to read the words "indoctrinate," "socialism" and "government schools" as much as I had to late last week. As you read those words, please take a second to compare them to the actual wording of the president's address, an excerpt of which you can read above (and you can read the whole thing here.)

Has there ever been a bigger disconnect between reality and what a seemingly growing segment of the U.S. population now believes is happening simply because we have a black president who's actually following through on exactly what he promised to on the campaign trail? (I used to believe it was more complicated and less hateful than that, but when you really object to the president of the United States urging kids to stay in school, study and follow all their dreams, I really think it's time for you to look pretty hard in the mirror.)

I can't imagine how much of a thrill it would have been if something this historic had happened when I was in elementary school (though it would have been Jimmy Carter then, not anywhere nearly as exciting.) I know I certainly would have paid a lot more attention than I did on a normal day, which was sadly at the time just about next to none.

OK, enough of that. I apologize to anyone who might have been offended by any of that, but sometimes I just wake up in a cantankerous mood and have to let it out somehow. When I went to bed last night, too late after watching the Canes take out the Noles in a truly great game, this was supposed to be about how, after watching it for a second time last weekend, I'm now ready to declare Quentin Tarantino's wild "Inglourious Basterds" the best movie of this summer, and therefore of the year thus far (dethroning "Sugar" and then "The Hurt Locker," the movies in chronological order that had previously held the top spot.)

I'll get to that tomorrow if I can manage to concentrate on it long enough, but in the meantime, I'll leave you with this can't-miss entertainment tip: Even if you didn't watch the first season of "Sons of Anarchy," take a chance and tune in as the show returns to FX tonight. The motorcycle drama slowly just got better and better last year as it built to a genuinely explosive finish, and from what I've read from folks lucky enough to have seen the first five episodes of season two, it's gonna get even better. Bring it on!

Peace out.

Cheer up, kids ... It will be Sunny in Philadelphia again!

I was beginning to wonder if FX had somehow given up on, in my book, its two best shows in the blissfully disgusting "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" and the motorcycle gang drama "Sons of Anarchy." Well, thankfully, apparently not.

Instead, it seems they're just moving them to the fall to take on the networks, and with shows this good, why not?

First up will be "Sons of Anarchy," which stars Charlie Hunnam, Katey Segal and Ron Perlman and will move to Tuesday nights at 10 p.m. beginning Sept. 8. If you like intense TV dramas I can't recommend this one high enough, and with Adam Arkin and Henry Rollins coming up as guests in season two, it can only get better.

"Sunny," which has made an art of piggybacking on NBC's Thursday night comedy lineup, will do so again, timing its fifth season to begin at 10 p.m. Sept. 17, the same night that "The Office" and other NBC shows make their return. Season five will be 12 episodes, which means they're already contracted for at least another 27 after that. Bring it on!

And in a final, odd TV note, Alia Shawkat, the extremely funny Maeby Funke on "Arrested Development" has somehow ended up in the cast of the upcoming biopic about the Runaways. Take a second to ingest that one.

I can't say I see any way this will be terribly good, but it at least looks like there's no way it will be boring. So, with video director Floria Sigismondi at the helm, here's the band roster for this imminent disaster: Kristen Stewart as Joan Jett, Dakota Fanning as Cherie Currie, Scout Taylor-Compton as Lita Ford, Stella Maeve as Sandy West and now Maeby as some kind of fictional composite bass player. I can guarantee you I'll watch that.

And to round it out today, here's a couple of pretty good clips, one of which comes from the so far very funny viral marketing campaign for Judd Apatow's next flick, "Funny People," scheduled to drop July 31. They seem to be giving a Web site and fake career to even the most minor of characters, and Aziz Ansari is the latest to get the treatment.

You may know him for his work on NBC's "Parks and Recreation," but this is something completely different, a standup comedian that gleefully revels in the lowest common denominator. So, of course his Web site, where you can watch several rather seriously not safe for work clips, is called Laugh Your Dick Off.

I've included here a clip of him performing as the character, Randy, at Athens, GA.'s fabulous 40 Watt club, describing how he likes to freak out CVS employees. Enjoy.



And finally, here's the trailer for a new Steven Soderbergh flick coming in September that I have to confess I had never heard of until seeing this clip. Starring Matt Damon, it's called "The Informant" and appears to be a screwball comedy about corporate espionage, which all sounds good to me. Enjoy, and have a perfectly passable Wednesday. Peace out.

"Chuck" vs the recession: We win, 'cause it's back!

First off today, I'd like to issue a personal thank you to everyone out there who managed to just say no to "Angels & Demons" in its opening weekend. Though $48 million is, I suppose, not a total failure, it also can't be called anything close to what was expected. It's just a shame that - at $43 million - "Star Trek" didn't manage to keep it out of the top slot.

And if I can bury the lead just a bit more, this can't really be called as good TV news as the return of "Chuck," but it's still pretty close in my book.

In 2005, Ricky Gervais and his often at least as funny writing partner Stephen Merchant started doing a series of podcasts, and thankfully introduced to the world the truly eccentric character of Karl Pilkington. The podcasts, which actually began before that as a London radio show, will now be turned into a 13-episode run (so far) of animated episodes on HBO.

And who in the world is Karl Pilkington? Well, he's a radio producer and just an endearingly odd fellow who managed to eventually become the real star of the podcasts. As Gervais and Merchant themselves put it best: "Karl is a man who believes that a sea lion is a cross between a fish and a dog. Hopefully, Karl will enter the pantheon of animated greats."

That all sounds great to me, but I suppose today of all days I should have just gotten to the real news straightaway, because it's true: NBC has - at least in some form - renewed "Chuck"!

From all I've read this morning, the fate of "Chuck" wasn't just a matter of finding time for it as Jay Leno gobbles up most of the prime-time schedule (though, believe it: He is pure evil incarnate, and must be stopped by any means necessary.) It seems instead that "Chuck" had to go through some serious budget cuts, meaning fewer writers and - much more importantly - smaller roles for the supporting cast. We'll have to see how that all plays out, but I fear it could mean a lot less Buy More (I've reposted my own Buy More badge to show my support for our beleaguered bit players.)

As far as when or on what night "Chuck" will return, details so far are scant, but I do know one thing for sure: The next run of "Chuck" will be 13 episodes rather than 22. Personally, that doesn't really bother me, since I've really adapted to the cable run of 13 anyway (I was just rewatching the final episodes of "Sons of Anarchy" season one, for example, and would like to retract anything I said about that show being "good" - by the end it was nothing short of great and nearly flawless television, and I can't wait for season two.)

But back to "Chuck": When will we find out more? Details may trickle out today, or else there will probably be a formal announcement sometime tomorrow. Either way, count this a rare victory for smart, sexy and, yes, fun TV, and to that I can only say huzzah! In closing and celebration, here's a NBC clip of Lester and Anna giving the Nerd Herd review of the new Avril Lavigne album. Not surprisingly, very funny. Peace out.

David Chase and the golden age of Hollywood

Wow. I knew NBC's "Kings" would be a hard show for folks to get into, but from the numbers it looks like only Al Swearengen's devoted fans even bothered to start with it in the first place. Though I didn't bother to tune in for these other two, it can't be a good sign that Sunday's two-hour debut had numbers (6 million viewers, 1.6 preliminary 18-49 rating) that get it the honor of being mentioned in the trades in the same sentence with "Chopping Block" and "Crusoe." Enjoy it while you can.

In much, much better - deliriously better, I'd go so far as to say - TV news, Henry Rollins will join the cast of "Sons of Anarchy" for six episodes when the FX show returns April 27. Though, not unlike "Kings," the tale of the SAMCRO motorcycle gang starring Ron Perlman, Katey Sagal and Charlie Hunnam of "Undeclared" fame (if there really is any of that) unfolds slowly, it's pretty friggin' engrossing if you let yourself go along for the ride.

Rollins, who puts both the bad and occasionally the ass too in badass, will play one of the club's new enemies in the California town of Charming. That should be nothing but cool, and besides, shouldn't the leader of Black Flag get the chance to add more to his acting resume so the trades won't keep pointing out he was in "Bad Boys 2"?

But, before I got off on that slight tangent, this was supposed to be about the return of David Chase to HBO, which can only be called a good thing, especially since it's NOT to do a "Sopranos" flick that picks up where the series rather ambiguously (and, in my book, flawlessly) left off.

Instead he's developing a miniseries called "A Ribbon of Dreams," which will begin in 1913 and follow two men, one a college-educated mechanical engineer and the other a cowboy with a violent past, who head out to Hollywood to get into the movie business. In the story, the two begin as employees of D.W. Griffith and then cross paths with the likes of John Ford, John Wayne, Raoul Walsh, Bette Davis and Billy Wilder as they become powers in the movie industry themselves.

The casting options for this alone are enough to keep my mind occupied and off of my daily workload for quite a while, but no other info (like when any of this might hit the airwaves) came out this morning.

Sounds plenty cool to me, but long before that HBO is also cooking up something with a lot lower profile that will hopefully turn into enough of a hit that I get to watch it soon for free online.

The last movie that Anthony Minghella managed to direct before he died (eerily enough) of a hemorrhage exactly one year ago tomorrow was one based on Alexander McCall Smith's "The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency," easily one of my favorite books. Minghella made it into a TV movie last year for HBO that just this morning got added to the "save" list on my Netflix queue for the day when it finally hits DVD, and come March 29 it will be reborn as a series for the channel. (And, it appears that if you're willing to watch it in installments on your computer, the entire movie is somehow on YouTube too in 11 parts or so.)

Starring R&B diva Jill Scott (who Tyler Perry has already proven is a pretty darn good actress), "The Wire" veteran Idris Elba and "Dreamgirl" Anika Noni Rose, the book, movie and now series are about Precious Ramotswe (Scott), who becomes the first female private detective in Botswana. It's light as air but all kinds of fun, so definitely tune in for this one if you can.

And, on a short tangential note before I close with the series trailer, was I the only who didn't know (until this morning) that Rashida Jones of "The Office" is Quincy Jones' daughter? I never would have guessed, but there's an interview with her this morning at Blackfilm.com to promote Friday's release of "I Love You, Man." Blackfilm.com, by the way, is a fantastic site and one that's a daily stop on my morning reading list, so definitely check it out.

But now here's the trailer for "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency," and with that I'm headed to the job I thankfully still have (though at least eight of my co-workers can't say that as of yesterday.) Enjoy, and have a perfectly pleasant Tuesday. Peace out.

Can TV's "Daisies" bloom again after such a long layoff?

Is is just me, or does the new TV season just kind of suck? I mean, I guess we knew it would be pretty bad with last year's strike, but so far I've only found one show that has me hooked, and that one not entirely.

I'm still sticking with "Fringe" simply because I'm a sucker for the supernatural, but until last night's pretty good episode that show has seemed nothing but predictable, especially given its drive to be bizarre.

Much better but still improving is FX's "Sons of Anarchy," which has been accurately described as "The Sopranos" on motorcycles. Starring Ron Perlman, Katey Segal (yes, that Katey Segal), Charlie Hunnam of "Undeclared" fame (what there was of it) and Maggie Siff (a k a Don Draper's mistress Rachel Mencken on season one of "Mad Men"), this drama airing tonight at 10 delivers plenty of grit and is still working on the storyline to match it.

But the real news, and what I've been waiting for all fall, is the return of "Pushing Daisies," which has to be the last show to either return or premiere in this entire year. If you haven't tuned in before to this prime-time fairy tale from the mind of Rryan Fuller, I can't urge you strongly enough to start tonight when it returns at 8 on ABC. All you really need to know is its a super-sweet romantic tale about a piemaker (Lee Pace) who just happens to have the ability to bring people back to life for one minute and the return of his childhood sweetheart Chuck (Anna Friel), whose father he just happened to kill by accident when they were kids.

From there, it usually just gets crazier, and a whole lot of fun. So, what's gonna happen in the new season? Well, tonight Ned, Chuck and Emerson Cod (the extremely funny Chi McBride) are on the case of a murder involving some killer bees (and just as deadly honey marketers). In the next two weeks they'll then visit a circus where the human cannonball has some deadly ideas of his own and then a convent, where Ned and Emerson will play men of the cloth.

That all sounds like a lot of fun, but will it be as whimsical and entertaining as ever? Variety, thankfully, says yes. Here's what they had to say about the opening episodes of season two:

Emerging like a sweetly scented addition to primetime’s musty flower bed, “Pushing Daisies” opens its second season in full creative bloom. Producer Bryan Fuller’s Emmy-nominated dramedy is one of the few programs that dares to deal in whimsy, which is perhaps why audiences drifted away before the writers strike truncated its initial run. Managing expectations is paramount to the show’s longevity -- such an offbeat concept is unlikely to break out in a major way -- but let’s hope ABC’s patience is rewarded with this gentle if somewhat delicate flower.

Beyond its fairy-tale explosion of color and production design, “Daisies” indulges in moments of almost surreal imagination, like having Kristin Chenoweth -- as Ned’s lovelorn assistant Olive -- put her Broadway chops to use reenacting a memorable scene out of “The Sound of Music.” The cast, meanwhile, is uniformly terrific -- down to the 150-some-odd-year-old Golden Retriever (in dog years) that Ned can only scratch with a stick.

In my mind, I'm already there. One of my other favorite TV dramas, "Friday Night Lights," also returns tonight, but since I don't have DirecTV and will be unable to watch it I have nothing else to say about that (yes, I'm a petty man in many, many ways.)

'Now I'm a paraplegic and I know why'

Instead I'll leave you with the video for what I still think is the catchiest cautionary tale of all time (and the only one I can think of that could make the above line about paraplegics very, very funny). I have no idea how it came up, but somehow I got into a discussion the other day with my fellow cubicle slave Randy Waters about the old Afroman song "Because I Got High" and just how infectious it is. MIA's "Paper Planes" has been driven almost as deeply into my skull this year, but that tune isn't nearly as cool as what will probably be Afroman's only hit song ever. Enjoy this video featuring Jay and Silent Bob, but please, if you're watching this at work do so with headphones, because the end gets a little racy. Peace out.