• If you missed last Sunday’s “Venture Brothers,” like I did, because DirecTV sucks, and they broke their deal with TiVo to reinvent the wheel and release a buggy-as-hell crippled DVR that you have to use if you want HDTV but it breaks just a few days after you get it and so you have to go without TV until they send you a new one, then don’t worry!

  It’s available on Adult Swim’s “Fix” site but won’t be for long. The episode was called “Showdown at Cremation Creek” and is a 2-parter. Make sure you click the link quick, or you’ll have to watch a promo for “Squidbillies.”

• SciFi.com has interviews with Grace Park from “Battlestar Galactica” where she answers questions posted on the message board. I know I came down hard on hot geeks earlier, but I get a funny feeling deep down inside when I see her talk about Cylons and how Boomer is not the same character as Sharon.

  Seriously, I get a real kick out of seeing and reading interviews with the “hot” cast members of the show, because they all seem into it. They’re not in denial about whether it’s science fiction or political drama; they’re completely aware of what they’re making and they’re putting their energy into making it work, even if it means having to know the difference between a Viper and a Raider.

• According to 43folders.com and upcoming.org, John Hodgman is reading from his book The Areas of My Expertise in San Francisco this Thursday.
  
  
• The New York Times Magazine ran a long article about Spore (registration may be required). It doesn’t really cover anything you haven’t heard before if you’ve been following the game, but it does give a little perspective.

  Most interesting to me was the quote from Will Wright: “I’ve had a few people ask me if I think Spore will help teach evolution, and the ironic thing is that, if anything, we’re teaching intelligent design. I’ve seen a few games that relied on evolution — I’ve even designed some of them — and it’s just not as fun.”

• Check out Dave Grossman’s Pumpkin House of Horrors. No new entry yet for this year, but it’ll help you get in the mood. (For Halloween).

An entry on the Sci Fi Wire blog says that David Eick, one of the creators of the new “Battlestar Galactica,” is planning a “complete reconceptualization” of the series “The Bionic Woman”.

I called some of my contacts in the industry and obtained a top-secret document detailing the proposed story arc for the first season:

Prologue
A series of 8 “webisodes” available exclusively on SciFi.com, detailing the work of the brilliant doctor who comes up with bionic technology. After her most important breakthrough, operatives from a rival technology firm kidnap the doctor in an action-packed sequence. They then rape her, steal her blueprints and her ovaries, bury her alive, make fraudulent charges on her credit cards, dig her up, rape her again, then murder her. Runs May through July with strong lead-in to August season pilot.

Episodes 1-2 (Pilot)
Career woman with promising career is told she’s infertile. Thrown into depression, she develops eating disorder then gradually more self-destructive behavior. Leaves fiance, takes up extreme sports. Final 30 minutes of episode 2 shows skydiving accident in prolonged, horrific detail.

Episode 3
Cut between flashbacks to skydiving accident and invasive medical procedures. Pronounced dead. Misogynist military biotech expert proposes bionic enhancement, has difficulties with his own marriage and deals with death of his mother.

Episode 4
More flashbacks of skydiving accident, invasive bionic medical procedures. Biotech expert develops drinking problem.

Episode 5
Physical therapy, frustration and suicide attempts, addiction to pain killers. Cliffhanger: military presents incalculable medical bills, only way to repay is to work as covert gov’t operative.

Episode 6
While in gov’t training, bionic woman fails to save little girl from oncoming train. Wracked with guilt. Shadowy figure pleased at success of gov’t’s new “omega weapon.”

Episodes 7-10
Black ops missions in Afghanistan and the Sudan. Supporting cast introduced, killed. Bionic woman deals with secret drug addiction, wracked with guilt over death of little girl.

Episodes 11-12
Two parter. Bionic woman forced to assassinate her ex-fiance (an upcoming presidential candidate) and his new wife.

Episode 13
Bionic woman teams with Sasquatch to fight evil Soviet fembots. (Sweeps)

Episodes 14-20
Cancer.

Episode 21
Remission.

Episode 22
More cancer.

Episode 23
Problems with aural implant lead to suspicions of schizophrenia. Suspected mole in agency, evil twin of her biotech expert primary contact. One is rigged with explosives to blow up the Pentagon. Who can she trust?

Episode 24
Bionic arm goes awry, killing Pope. Wracked with guilt.

Episodes 25-26
Meets rival agent, falls in love. Discovers he is also equipped with bionics. Make elaborate plans to leave their respective agencies and escape to obscure island in S. Pacific. Elopement. New husband is killed in horrific wedding night malfunction. She is charged with murder. Was it all a set-up? (Cliffhanger)