Dial H

Warning to Monkey and maybe others: mild, essentially meaningless "Heroes" spoilers may be included in the following.

Readers may recall from a few months back my disenchantment with Studio 60. I'm watching it now with some mild level of interest. Why?

Because of the promised and sure-to-be-brief guest appearance by Masi Oka.

I don't think I've expounded enough on my massive love for Studio 60's lead-in, Heroes. I couldn't possibly love this show any more. It's as if some TV Guy out there said, "Hey, I wonder what might be exactly the TV show that Dan Stokes most wants to watch." And then TV Guy, telepathic-Matt-Parkman-style, plucked that idea right out of my head and put it on TV. It's got a schlubby telepathic cop, a Wolverine cheerleader (that is to say, not a Wolverine cheerleader, but rather a cheerleader with similar powers to Wolverine), a time-traveling Japanese nerd (and his sidekick), a guy who's a power chameleon (one of the coolest, most interesting powers I've ever seen in any super-heroish kind of thing), and the staple of any quality television show, a Creepy Guy. Actually, two Creepy Guys. Actually...well, there's no shortage of Creepy Guys, but most especially deserving of mention are Adrian Pasdar as Creepy Flying Politician Guy and the spiritual heir to X-Files' Cigarette Smoking Man, Jack Coleman as Creepy Spectacle Wearing Dad of the Wolverine Cheerleader (Who Has a Hidden Agenda) Guy. It's got an evil serial killer and a world-is-in-peril-but-how?-and-why? mystery. It's got a goofy catchphrase - Save the cheerleader, save the world! It's got fun and interesting characters, it's got compelling plotlines, and every single episode ends in a smashing, gotta-see-it-next-week cliffhanger.

And, as of this week, it's got Sulu.*

Nerdy as fuck, I tells ya. But, as you may know, nerdy as fuck is right up my alley.


Studio 60, by the way, is better than it was, but still not all that good, and the Masi Oka appearance was, as expected, blink-and-you-miss-it brief.



*If Sulu's not your favorite old-school Star Trek character aside from the Kirk/Spock/McCoy trinity, you're wrong, and I'll fight anyone who says different.