Finally watched everything and caught up.... in reverse:

Eureka was adorable. Handwavey, but adorable. I'm taping the repeat tonight so I can enjoy the adorable again with the podcast.

The SG-1 announcement was spoiled for me in Minearverse. I... don't know how I feel about it. I mean, of course, suck.... but I've gotta say that the feel of the latest episodes isn't the same as what sucked me into the early episodes. signed, still hasn't seen S7-mid9

SGA: So, if Weir's situation was all in her head.... does this mean she's a fan of Buffy and Ferris Bueller?

SG1: Good God. If I had a cat I would have scared it to death. I snorted at the Farscape (oh god the vest) and Star Trek (yummy Teal'c abs! Carter's I'm-the-hot-yeoman blink!), but the puppet part made me laugh like a drain. Also, the meta was incredible. They used up all their WTF?Look budget for the rest of the season. It's a shame how the nice quote at the end now feels a bit like poking the wound.

I thought the special was nice too. Lots of cute moments, and I'm going to continue to cheerfully ignore the "Shanks is a jackass" vibes. Until he makes a movie that isn't Swarmed, he's just going to keep being Daniel for me.

Jumping back to the commercials talk: I don't know what it's like over there but I suspect it's not far from what it's like over here. If I was a senior executive of a company paying oodles of cash to have my commercials on the telly, I'd be inflicting a kicking on the arsehole(s) in charge of the button that switches to the commercial break. There is nothing more infuriating than losing a punch-line of a scene b/c it suddenly goes to a commercial, and this happens far too frequently on Australian television. The network is trying to cram as many ads in the hour as they can and so end up ruining the show or movie for the viewer. I can't speak for anyone else but this pisses me off so much that I immediately start channel surfing. If the station did the right thing and only switched to commercials at the correct time, then I honestly would be more inclined to sit through the commercials. Likewise, if I knew the advertiser had done something to ensure their advert hadn't been a party to ruining the flow of the show/movie, then I'd be happy to do the right thing by them and watch their commercial.

Of course, if the TV execs had half a brain between them, they'd wise up and make sure their people did the right thing by the viewers and didn't fuck up the broadcast. They'd also change the practice of having the commercials louder than the show. That way they'd be able to foil the machines that can automatically cut the commerical breaks from the recording.

When SBS Australia switched from a government funded station, to a commercial station, they did exactly the right thing. Prior to the switch they broadcast the show or movie without any breaks, then between the end of one show and the start of the next they'd fill up the 10 minutes or so with shorts. After the switch they still broadcast the show or movie without a break, then screen commercials during the gap between end/start. However, it's not just 10 minutes straight of commercials b/c they mix in station promos and other stuff that makes it interesting to continue watching.

I can't figure it out. Is "hand waving" good or bad - a mixture of both?

I'll let you know the numbers as soon as I hear. I sat down with the director of the episode yesterday and did the audio commentary. We made the fed ex drop so it should be up today.

I'm handing over the magic dictaphone to Jamie and Andy this weekend so they'll be doing the commentary for the next couple of weeks. I think one of the next two weeks is "Calister Rains" - a Stark heavy episode - so I wanted him to be able to talk about it. And I think now Jamie and Andy have a little more time to do the commentary.

I can't figure it out. Is "hand waving" good or bad - a mixture of both?

Hand waving=good. It means there are some inconsistencies or unexplained plot points that don't matter enough to lessen the enjoyment of the episode. We hand wave those away.

The eps sitting on my DVR waiting for me to finish my coffee so I'm coherent.

"Pasadena, we have a problem..."

I love that.

When I brought it up, I meant it in the sense that there was going to be a whole lot of stuff in it that was going to make absolutely no logical sense if one sat down and thought about it, even a little. Things like the death ray being buried under Main Street when there's all that open land available around the town. That the GD corporation collectively forgot what was down in Fargo's office. That Fargo and Spencer didn't recognize it for what it was. That using the moon as part of a death ray's targeting system means that it will only work when the moon is overhead (twelve hours a day at best). Fortunately, the acting, dialogue, and direction were all good, so one can wave off the illogic of the situation.

I did like the bit about it being the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to Linus Pauling (something that was very controversial in the US scientific community at the time) that was what stunned Thatcher into mental oblivion.

Fortunately, the acting, dialogue, and direction were all good, so one can wave off the illogic of the situation

Yep, this. I think of "hand-wavy" as a value-neutral quality -- hand-waving is the method by which we achieve suspension of disbelief. If the story/characterization/timing/etc are all good, hand-waving is easy and fun. When they're not, it's a chore. Last night was good.

I can see putting the weapon under the town square to make a point, but doesn't the theory of MAD require you to tell people you have a death ray? (And I'm mildly irritated that nobody thought to ask Eugenia if she knew how to turn it off, once it was established that she was close to Irving back in the day.)

I'm mildly irritated that nobody thought to ask Eugenia if she knew how to turn it off, once it was established that she was close to Irving back in the day

No one asked those other two guys either, it seems.

Was the death ray complete? I don't think the town would have forgotten it, but I can see it languishing without the world knowing, especially if they hadn't gotten dispensation to turn it on ever.

No one asked those other two guys either, it seems.

Sure, but they were only introduced to the audience at the last minute. Eugenia was established early on as being important.

Sure, but they were only introduced to the audience at the last minute.

No, they were the two guys who told Zoe that it was her fault her parents split.