Weekend Roundup

I had a good weekend of television viewing:

Battlestar Galactica ended this season on a wild note, taking the series into a new direction (again). It's a ballsy manuever and hats off to Ron Moore and Co. for making it. I'm keeping this relatively spoiler-free for those of you who haven't seen it yet, but suffice it to say, what's a war without a prison camp? BSG is a spiritual, political show masquerading as scifi action. West Wing has to sprint in order to keep up with the politics on this show - and the Colonials get to use guns too. This DVD set is on my "Must Buy" list.


Series 3 of Hustle got off to a rousing start on Friday night. For those of you not familiar with the show let's say it's the british version of The Sting and leave it at that. What's great about the show (besides the great looking cast and the clever plots) is the fact that they recognize that every week they are doing The Sting. Bits and pieces of that movie make their way into the threads of this series without being a ripoff of that famous movie. If you're not watching this show, you are missing something special - so sit your ass down and look at how it's done.

Besides, how could you not love a show that has The Man from U.N.C.L.E. in it? This is another "Must Buy" for my DVD library. Especially if Kudos (the production company) has their extraordinarily good commentaries and bonus features on these sets the way they do for their MI-5 sets.

Screen Gems sent me a screener for Underworld: Evolution the sequel to Underworld. Some folks are going to take me to task for this, but I kind of liked it. I didn't fall head over heels or anything, but I was entertained by the look, the action and the special effects. Sue me. Naked Kate Beckinsale doesn't hurt. Hear that guys? You want a good review from me - throw in some naked footage of Kate. It doesn't even have to be from the same movie.

Based on Denis McGrath's post on The Unit the other day, I tuned in for the rebroadcast on Saturday night. Sorry Denis, Mamet is going to have to do better than this. Maybe I'm too close to the subject matter, having been in the Air Force and once had a Top Secret clearance (not whipping it out here - just stating a fact. The government once trusted me to refuel their F-117A Stealth fighters. Silly them). There is a promise of more in the template of this show, But I think they're going to have to deliver that within the next two episodes or they lose me as a viewer. I'm sure they're quaking in their bdu's.

Made a great bachelor meal today - Chorizo and rice. This is one of those meals that's like chili - it gets better and better every time you pull it from the fridge. I'll be eating on this for the rest of the week. Especially if that nasty rain keeps up.
Here's the recipe:

Brown 1-1/2 lbs. of beef (or pork) Chorizo in a large skillet.
Drain 1/2 the grease.
Add 1 cup of rice and stir together under low heat.
Add 1 cup of water. Cover and let simmer for ten minutes.
Add 1 can of sweet corn, 1 can of cut green beans (be sure to add the can's water too)
Chop 1/2 onion and 1/2 green pepper and add to mix.
Stir.
Cover and continue to simmer on low for another ten minutes.
Cut off heat and you're ready to serve.

Enjoy!