Were I granted three wishes, one might have to be begging cable outlets to stop developing preposterous new series based on stale ideas. When a show feels like some goofy hybrid of Fantasy Island and The X-Files, I dream of a genie with control of the airwaves. Surely Spike TV isn’t serious about this Fall title: THE LAMP!

In the 1970’s, the United States military set up some very unorthodox and secretive departments to research a wide range of areas from telekinesis to ambient noise to body language. Among these included the Research and Acquisitions Department, designed to covertly find and acquire all artifacts mentioned in religious and mythological texts to determine if any of them truly claimed magical powers. The search came up empty until they came across the legendary Aladdin’s Lamp. The project comes to Spike from the Levinson/Fontana Company with Brant Englestein (“Borgia”) as writer.

What shall I do with my other two wishes? What do YOU think?

Granted, this scenario swirls right into the vortex of my phobias, and I know it’s just a movie trailer, but I swear I still nearly pissed myself watching this… Yipes!

Despite its title, the Matthew Perry sitcom, Go On, will not. Thank you, NBC. (Oh, and thanks for canceling Whitney, as well, two seasons after you should have.) This article says it all… and nothing more.

Two weekends ago, TLoML and I celebrated our first year with our beloved pit bull, Kona. My first dog, she has proven to be the gentlest, sweetest creature I’ve had the pleasure of knowing. (Believe it or not, our pit bull gets bossed around by our dwarf bunny. True story.) Yet still I read prejudicial tracts about pit bulls and virulent calls for breed-specific bans. (Of the many problems with this canine, final solution is the little hiccup that pit bulls aren’t actually a breed and many, many varieties of dogs are grouped under that label as convenient for those who would put them down.) Historically, it’s been shown that the ghettoization and extermination of a single group, based on anything as broad as breed or, say, religion, is incredibly dangerous and can lead to atrocious, genocidal actions by those who swallow myths as truths. (“Lies, damned lies and statistics.”) We must never forget, it wasn’t that long ago that there were many who believed that Jews were gold-hungry monsters with cloven hooves and hooked noses who would bite, then bleed Christian babies for sacrifice in barbaric, religious rituals. So, please, judge man or dog as individuals and avoid the trap of fear-induced bias and scapegoating.

For a more in-depth argument about breed bans and bias, please read Malcolm Gladwell‘s stunning analysis, Troublemakers.

What do YOU think?

NBC wonders why it’s in seventh place in the ratings? Hmmm. Well, when your promos barely make sense, maybe that’s part of the problem? A recent ad for REVOLUTION features this tortured text: “Years before the power went out, two friends shared love for the same woman. Monday, their rivalry brings them back home. And they’ll come face to face with the woman they both loved in the middle.”

Did they love her in the middle? In the middle of what? If they were truly sharing, why are they rivals? Does anyone really care?

And why did they return home for their rivalry? Is it a grudge match? Is there a big purse at stake? Does someone else want so share their love for the same woman in the middle?

What do YOU think?