With Star Wars: The Force Awakens literally being one of the highest grossing films of all times, it is no wonder there is such an incredible amount of merchandise out there. Star Wars alone has been an extremely popular franchise, especially among us nerds and geeks. Well, whether you’re a casual fan or a mega fan, there’s no denying that the new movie is everything many of us wanted and so much more. I myself have seen it three times in theaters already….which is totally normal. Still there is no denying the utter love for a specific droid. Move over C3PO, sorry R2D2, but BB-8 has stolen the hearts of so many.
 
For just around $150, a remote controlled BB-8 can be yours. Interacting with your phone, so you can control the various aspects of it, as well as get messages and communicate, this tiny BB-8 is the cutest thing on the planet. The best part is, this little guy is sold in so many stores. Granted there is RC version and other variants, but for some reason, this one is my absolute favorite. You can bet that I’ll be saving up to get this little guy. BB-8 is my all-time favorite character, and well, the chance to have a little guy chase the cats? Even better.

Of course, Disney being the awesome guys they are put out an official plush version of BB-8. I’ve yet to see him in the store, however, as they’re always sold out. But I did find him online on Amazon and the Disney online store! Coincidently, there is also a BB-8 hoodie on the Disney website…and at Hot Topic you can find a Bomber style jacket inspired by our favorite little guy too.  Because, you know….listen…he’s cute. On amazon, I was also able to find a BB-8 pillow, that you can find at Wal-Mart as well!

But, from purses, backpacks, and wallets, no obsessed geeks day would be complete without a lunchbox. Is it for your kid? Is it for you? Yes on all the counts. This lunchbox was too cute to pass up on Amazon. The little thing comes with all the lunching accessories that should always just be there. BB-8 has certainly made his mark, and why not spend the day having him carrying your food? I mean, I’m Italian! So anything involving food and something I love is literally the best combination ever. BB-8 also comes in a variety of purse and wallet styles found all over the internet. I even spotted socks and headphones too…which makes this guy the most popular droid in the universe.

Truthfully, if I took the time to sit down and list out all of the people and things that I found fascinating in Battlestar Galactica, I'd have enough blogs to last me for years on end, it's that rich of a show and one of my all time favorites. Thankfully, I'll never have the patience to truly break every finite detail down because the big gifts that the show sent our way, are enough to keep my attention, especially when it comes to the characters.

After all this is a show filled with incredible people, ones we can all relate to since they experience fear, pain, anger, joy and love...all the things that make life worth living. But of all the characters the show presented to us over the years, there was one that always stood out as an enigma until the series finale...Doctor Gaius Baltar. He is of course the inadvertent architect of humanity's downfall on the show and what always made him so fascinating was the fact that we could never quite figure out if he was a hero or a villain. But our first real insight into his flawed mind came in the seventh episode of the series, "Six Degrees of Separation".

After all this was the episode where he finally came face to face with a Number Six again, except this one was not quite as loving or attached to him as the Six that roamed around in his head. No this Six had a name, Shelly Godfrey, and as it turns out for Baltar...this Six was nothing but trouble. She comes aboard the ship with an alarming accusation, that Gaius is responsible for the destruction of mankind and she has the evidence in her hot little hand. It of course puts Gaius in an uncomfortable place since it will take a day for the data to prove her claims and instantly he becomes persona non grata aboard the Galactica. His Cylon detection program is suspended and all he can do is wait and see what will happen.

All of this seems to stem from the fact he mocked Imaginary Six's God, prompting her to disappear and despite his pleas for her to return, she most certainly does not. There is only Shelly and the impending doom hovering over him that he will finally be discovered for his crimes against humanity. Of course the evidence showing Baltar's direct hand in the end of the world eventually surfaces and it seems that indeed Baltar is doomed when he is thrown into the brig. But a bit of begging to the "Cylon God" brings back his beloved Imaginary Six and it turns out that the evidence Godfrey provided was a fake, and to top it off she is now missing, meaning Baltar is free to go and he escapes trouble once again.  

While the episode ends with Baltar believing he is now invincible on so many levels, allowing his ego to prevail, what made this episode great was the fact that he was vulnerable for the first time in front of all of us. It became clear after this story that Baltar in many ways...wants to do the right thing and be accepted by everyone in the fleet to exonerate his guilt internally. By becoming a productive member of society...his secret is forgiven. But in addition to his need to be accepted, I truly loved the fact that Baltar believed in something more than himself and his wit for the first time on the show. His prayer to God was truly something new for him and well...it seems as though it paid off. Whether or not he believes in something more now has yet to be seen...but either way, this was a wonderful episode, one that shattered a few weeks of heavier storytelling if only for a moment, because what comes next...may be the finest and darkest story season one had to offer. Until then.

It's been quite an interesting time when it comes to television, simply because of the fact that I have never seen such a ravenous demand by fans to resurrect shows that have been cancelled for ages. Nostalgia has been a big boom in the entertainment business as of late and this newfound surge to bring everything back is simply fascinating. 

Now I don't want to sit here and discuss whether or not this is a good or bad idea, that's another blog for another time. But I will say in brief that some of the shows that are returning to the airwaves, probably didn't need their second chance at all since their story came to a logical conclusion. But, one in particular certainly deserves a second chance and on January 24th we all get to see the triumphant return of Agents Mulder and Scully in a six episode revival of The X-Files. 

Now this is a show that I was a huge fan of growing up, and if you ask me...without this series I'm not sure the surge in horror we currently enjoy on television would have been possible. Yes, I fully understand that the show was more science fiction than horror...but let's be honest. Some of the monsters that popped up on this series, and quite frankly the fourth season episode "Home" were enough I think to get people thinking that maybe putting a scary show on the airwaves wasn't that bad of an idea. But my joy over the fact that The X-Files is coming back to Fox goes beyond the potential monsters and terrors that we could be treated to...it's that second chance I mentioned a moment ago, and the shot at closure.

This is a series that quite frankly...never quite received the ending it deserved. Season nine was uneven at best and that series finale left so much on the table. After all, the apocalyptic events that the Smoking Man said would come about on December 22, 2012 clearly never came to pass and well...those final moments just felt so unsatisfying. We wanted better answers from an episode entitled "The Truth", we wanted a grand showdown at last with the forces they had been chasing after all of these years, not seeing them in a hotel room on the run. The bottom line is...we wanted more.  Now, am I expecting these six episodes to wrap everything up for us? Absolutely not.

What I'm hoping for...is that everyone tunes in to see this new set of stories and that the ratings are high enough to bring about a short series order from Fox...to give us that proper finale. But I'm most likely getting ahead of myself, since we will cross that bridge when we get to it. Really, I'm just happy that the show is back. Six episodes may not be enough, but it will have to do and it will be an absolute blast to be reunited with the quirky and suspicious Mulder and the always level headed Scully and I can't wait to see where this new story arc will take us as we resume our quest to find the truth once again...

When we last left the intrepid crew of the Battlestar Galactica, we enjoyed an in depth look about the value of human life, both as a whole and as an individual with the rescue of Starbuck. As it turns out, that was merely the beginning of something special for this show as clearly the writers realized they could do some incredible things story wise by breaking down the most basic concepts of our society.

But while it seemed like for a moment we were about to delve into the finer parts of the human psyche, that simply wouldn't be the show's style. This was always a character study about difficult issues and facing our greatest challenges and it only took one episode to return to that kind of storytelling as the show decided to take a in depth and amplified look at something the characters experience more often than not...fear. 

Of course it would be too simple to just put the characters in danger or give them something to quiver and quake about. This was an episode that needed to show us something more and they certainly delivered in that department by not only returning to fear...but by showing us what the effects of it can really do when it strikes too close to home. That all arrived from the violent act of a Number Five Cylon...who manages to sneak aboard the Galactica to perform a suicide bombing. The losses are light from the act, but it sets off a chain reaction of terror throughout the fleet. Since now it is revealed that the Cylons look like humans and well, everyone wants to know how this particular model got its hands on explosives on the normally secure Galactica.

It leads to Adama convening a military tribunal to dig into the incident and that's when things get interesting. In fact this is the most fascinating portion of the episode to watch and perhaps the most poignant about what we are and who we become when it comes to fear since Sergeant Hadrian, the officer in charge of the tribunal is relentless in her hunt for finding someone responsible, even going as far to putting the Commander on the stand. It's an action that puts an end to the whole tribunal when her line of questioning shows that the Sergeant is more interested in proving a conspiracy that doesn't exist...in fact exists...and because clearly this has become nothing more than a witch hunt. But despite the wild nature of said tribunal, a few key things do come out of it. Boomer and Tyrol's affair for one, and that it looks like a deckhand left a door open where Number Five could have gained access to the explosives he needed.

It's not concrete proof, but it does get the deckhand put in the brig, something that infuriates Tyrol because he believes in the man's innocence. But Adama is quick to teach his Chief a lesson, that had Tyrol been concerned with his duties as opposed to alone time with Boomer...none of this would have happened regardless because he would have known what his team was up to and that either way, the fleet has the guilty party in custody. It leads Tyrol to end it with the Lieutenant that's where we leave the crew, as rattled as ever and man...what a great episode, simply because of how poignant it is in the end. The deeper discussion about fear, what it does to us and how it transforms us was brilliant. As was the piece on duty and honor that came together between the Chief and the Commander at the end. Either way, it was top notch writing in this episode, and another sign of the incredible journey to come. Until next time. 

Are you like me? Do you have a problem? I have a problem. My POP! collection has reached 62 individual POP's, not including the 3 keychain POP's....now, I do have all of mine out of the box, because I am that type of person. Mattie keeps hers in the box, because she's weird. But listen, whether you open or leave them, POP's are beyond adorable. And with the new Star Wars movie out, there's a ton more new POP's! There are plenty in stores to be found, but there are also some that are dedicated for a certain store or happen to be online exclusive. Which is the case with a lot of POP! figures, but these are my Star Wars: The Force Awakens Exclusive POP! figure finds! Say that three times fast.

Okay. Look at that tiny POP! face! How can you say no!? I finally broke down and ordered Poe without his helmet, because he's just too cute to pass up. Thankfully John was awesome enough to find the regular Poe and Finn for me, since they're not to be found in Lone Tree, but then I stumbled across this version of Poe online. He's actually the reason the rest of these POPs were found. The little details are what always get me with these guys, like the tiny scar under his eye.....

And because you can't have one without the other, here is Stormtrooper Finn sans helmet also! Poe and Finn had the most epic of instant on screen bromances ever, and of course Finn's alternate version needed to be found. After all, Finn is a huge part of the whole story, so it only makes sense that he has two POP! identities, no different than my personal favorite character in the film, Poe. Finn's Stormtrooper version is one of my favorites because he is the only Stormtrooper in film history to ever take his helmet off. Well, and totally bail on the evilness that is the First order....but still!

Unlike this Stormtrooper who stole everyone's hearts with his one yelled line of "traitor!" And his pretty epic weapon! While he's not an alternate version, he is a pretty epic exclusive POP! and he was a memorable opponent for Finn! While there are a ton of Stormtrooper POP's, this little guy is my absolute favorite! He even has a shield! How can you not love him!?

And lastly, Rey! Of course our main character needs an alternate version POP figure! She's a very strong character, and while she's cute with her staff, she looks pretty epic with a blaster and some goggles! Mattie happens to have this POP!, and she's just as cute in person as she is online. Just add a BB-8 and everyone is happy! Like this one. Which John got me for Christmas. Because he knows me too well....

And if you need to feed your obsession as badly as I do, you can find all of these awesome figures at Amazon.com, just make sure you pace yourself...like I didn't...

Have you ever noticed how the Steven Universe theme song gets caught in your head? It happens to me all the time. Why is that important? Because..guys! After that forever long wait, Steven Universe is finally back. This week marked a special Steven Universe week! A brand new episode airs every day to celebrate Steven’s birthday!  So, spoilers.
 
Alright! So, what we know so far from previous episodes is that the Earth was being turned into a Gem colony. This meant that all living things would die. Sad panda! What we’ve recently learned is that the colonies on earth consisted of two major kindergartens and a bunch of little colonies. Had the rebellion not taken place, earth probably wouldn’t be in jeopardy right now.  The Cluster was inserted into the Earth as a last ditch effort to destroy the planet, and the rebels.
 
Before we knew that our rebel team consisted of Garnet, Rose, Pearl, and Amethyst. However, it was always suggested that there were others, right? Well, in recent episodes we learn this isn’t true! From what we see, the rebels seem to be just Rose and Pearl at first. That’s right, Blue Diamond and the others are scared of Rose and Pearl, they make up the rebel forces on Earth. Later, Garnet is the next to join the tiny rebellion. It’s possible that these three took down an entire planet of Gems!
 
Fusion occurs between two Gems to form a more powerful Gem. From what we have seen in the show, it seems that all our Gems can fuse, so long as they’re compatible. Which Pearl and Amethyst are not, but they are learning! Was it always this way? Jasper said that fusion was just a cheap trick to make weaker gems stronger. We actually learn that fusion is only between similar Gems. That’s right, before Garnet ever happened, fusion was just performed between similar Gems, like Ruby! It was Ruby saving Sapphire for a fusion to form between two different Gems. Garnet is a different type of fusion though…as she’s one made of love.
 
What will we find out next!? Two days more to go with two more episodes, hopefully we get to learn something new. Well, aside from the shocking fact that Steven is really 14….

Living in Hawaii was pretty much the coolest experience ever. Except, I wanted a dog. At the ripe old age of 15, I felt that a dog would be the perfect companion. Only, we already had two cats, and my parents weren’t keen on the idea of a dog. Their solution was to get another cat. Because that apparently makes a world of sense. Not really, but hey. We ended up finding this beautiful Calico cat that some people were fostering and looking for a home for. It was love at first sight.
 
Kalei was the perfect kitten, except that she loved my mom more than me…which defeated the purpose of a cat, but you know, I did ask for a dog. I would eventually get one, but in the meantime. Kalei was sadly already declawed, so when she would sneak into the back yard, she’d inadvertently bring birds into the house, alive, and let them go. This resulted in a world of hilarity, for everyone involved. Mostly my parents….still, she was very dog like in her catness. Is that a thing? Yes it is.
 
The important thing is that we gave Kalei a good home and a place to be loved and that's the whole point of these spotlights, the fact that there are so many animals in need of the exactly same thing and here are a couple of animals worth considering for adoption. Now Gigi is a beautiful tortie colored domestic short hair. She’s spayed and is 15 years old. But Gigi, like us all, is young at heart. She loves to play, give cuddles, and hang out with her chosen humans. Gigi is a sweet girl who would be a fantastic addition to any family.
 
Similarly, Poe is a white poodle mix, who just happens to be a 5 year old neutered male. I’m going to assume he is named after my ultimate favorite Author, Edgar Allan Poe, but I could be wrong. This little guy is a fan of walks, toys, and treats! He’s a peppy pup who can snuggle and cuddle with the best of them.
 
For more information on these guys and more, please visit www.ddfl.org and remember that the next pet you adopt should always be seen as a member of your family.

Well it's good news everyone, some of our favorite shows are coming back early from winter break and that's always a wonderful thing, especially when one of those shows just so happens to be Supergirl. After all, the winter finale was simply sublime and firing on all cylinders and this week's episode, "Blood Bonds" managed to up the ante when it comes to storytelling and character development. 

But while I was happy to get a juicier story and growth for our heroes, I was actually quite surprised with this episode and its vastly different feel from the rest of the season. This is a show that always has a hefty amount of lightheartedness and fun to it and while there were laughs, this particular tale had a Man of Steel feel to it the whole way. It was gritty, angry and while I want to say darker, I simply can't...it just had a little more edge to it and it worked on so many levels believe it or not and it made for another fine entry in the series.  

Mainly because the grit and anger came from Kara and her internal struggle this week. I loved the constant cat and mouse between her and Astra since it led to constant confusion for Supergirl as she tried to figure out the right way to deal with her Aunt on a personal level and with the events that fell into her lap at the DEO with Henshaw being kidnapped and all. It meant we were treated to another fine performance from Mellissa Benoist but more importantly, the show had the potential of taking a step back when it came to Kara's growth by making her a weak character/female once again and thankfully, it never fell into that trap. Sure Kara had a little help from friends, but what matters is that she made the final decisions last night on her own terms and it made for some bold storytelling for sure. 

Another wonderful little piece of storytelling that worked so well this week was the whole back and forth between Kara and Cat over whether or not Kara happened to be Supergirl after all. It really seemed as though Cat had it all figured out for certain in the midseason finale but that turned out to not be the case and man...this whole little segment of the story really gave us a true understanding of how driven Cat really is and how far she is willing to go to get the answers she wants. I mean hell, threatening Kara's job was pretty bold but how the issue managed to get resolved, by having J'onn J'onzz morph into Supergirl and share the room with Kara was an absolute stroke of genius.  

It's clear now the show is starting to find his stride and the writing staff is comfortable with the characters at last because everything feels more relaxed now on this show and perhaps the best part of the night for me...was the fact that we have another supervillain in the mix since Maxwell Lord appears ready to unleash his intelligent fury on Supergirl and any other Kryptonian that gets in his way. This has been a subtle build that more or less exploded in front of us Monday night and I'm curious to see what Maxwell is planning to do to his "patient" since we were given glimpses of the Red Tornado's arm and some of the disturbing alterations to this unfortunate Jane Doe. I really can't wait to see what quality episodes await us next, and it looks like Supergirl is about to face some big time challenges with her Aunt on the loose and Maxwell Lord cooking up nightmares in his lab. Until next time.

When it comes to Battlestar Galactica, I've always respected how the show made a point to tackle important themes from our every day lives. Be it something that was going on in our world, or simply a slice of daily life this is a show that was more than happy to put our humanity, both good and bad on display. 

But one particular aspect of our world, the value we place on one human life really had not yet been addressed in the show early on in season one. We'd seen grand discussions about the fate of the species and seen plots revolve around that concept, but one man, or woman as the case may be had never taken that all important center stage on the show. That is until the fifth episode, "You Can't Go Home Again" gave us the grand debate around the value of the life of one particular pilot...Starbuck.

Now when we last left the best damn pilot in the galaxy, she was spiraling down toward a barren planet, her soul heavy with her confession to Commander Adama about his son. But all of that left her mind quickly when she ejected and crash landed with only 46 hours of air left in her pack and no way to signal the fleet to her location. As luck would have it, the Cylon Raider she battled crashed here as well...mostly intact and this was where we learned much about Kara's ingenuity as she patches up the Raider and figures out how to get the damn thing to fly so she can get a chance to get off this rock and back to the Galactica.

While she works on her escape plan the fleet begins the search, with Adama ordering flights from the Combat Air Patrol to break off and join the hunt for the missing Starbuck. This is where the debate begins about the value of a single human life because more and more resources continue to be dedicated to the search for Kara, putting Adama at odds with both the President and his own Executive Officer over simply letting go and leaving her behind. It eventually leads to the President ordering the Commander to end the search and abandon Kara and that's when a surprise Raider shows up. But with their resources thin, only Lee can respond and it's a good thing he does, since it's Starbuck inside the Raider, and she knows how Galactica's pilots fly and it ends up saving her life...well that and the giant "STAR BUCK" written under the enemy plane.

She makes it back to the ship and in the end everything is forgiven from the last episode, as expected, but after all was said and done, the whole debate over her life and what it is worth is the part that sticks with me after watching it. I say that because both sides presented sound arguments on why they should keep looking and why they should let it go and oddly enough. Both of them are right. That's where the episode surprises you because you find yourself agreeing with both Adama and Roslin and you are left wondering what you would do in that situation. It's the fact that the show challenges you on a personal level that always allowed it to stand out above other shows, and if I recall right, this is the first, and definitely not the last time it would put our imagination to the test in this fashion. Until next time.