I love this time of the season when new shows are being announced and we get to see trailers of some of the fabulous stuff that will be coming to our screens! And of course some of the not so good stuff that fills our screen…

NBC announced their new fall schedule this morning and it includes 7 new shows. I’ll briefly give a description of each new TV series and show you the trailer, starting with the most interesting ones first.

The Event

I kind of like the look of this one, but again I have the feeling it’s trying to be a new Lost… It’s about a mysterious ‘Event’ which will change the course of history. Airing Monday’s from 9 to 10pm, it’s being paired with Chuck and the new show Chase (see below). Starring Ian Anthony Dale, Laura Innes, Željko Ivanek, Jason Ritter, Sarah Roemer, Scott Patterson and Blair Underwood.

And the official description from NBC:

What if there was a cover-up so big that even the President was on a need-to-know basis? And what if some average guy stumbled upon the truth – a secret so powerful it could literally change the course of humanity? You think that guy would stand a chance of survival?

Undercovers

I used to love Alias during its first 2 seasons, so it’s nice to see another JJ Abrams spy show! Starring Boris Kodjoe and Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Steven and Samantha Bloom, Undercovers is about a retired spy couple who rejoin the CIA after 5 years of ‘normal’ life.

NBC’s description:

From acclaimed filmmaker J.J. Abrams (Star Trek, Fringe, Lost, Alias) and executive producer Josh Reims (Brothers and Sisters) comes a one-hour spy drama that proves marriage is still the world’s most dangerous partnership.

To put the spark back in their marriage, some couples take a tropical vacation. Not Steven and Samantha. They rejoin the CIA. Now they’re discovering things about each other they never knew. Like which lock-picking technique each prefers, and who killed who, and how well they work together in a hostile environment. With their day jobs and lives in the balance, date night is about to get a lot more exciting.

Love Bites

Watch the trailer first, and then I’ll give my views on this:

If I understand this correctly, Love Bites will feature new stories and new guest stars each week. It could be fun, like a sort of The Outer Limits, but then romance style. What I don’t understand though is that Becki Newton and Jordana Spiro (the two girls at the start) are listed as cast; so will they be in every episode telling the stores or something like that? Curious to see how this turns out, cause it could be fun.

Here’s the description from NBC:

Cindy Chupack (Sex and the City) and Working Title Films (Love Actually, Bridget Jones) bring us a series about love, and all the crazy things it makes us do. Like pretending to be a virgin to get a guy interested. Or competing with your fiance’s favorite bedroom toy. Or actually being in the position to take advantage of the “celebrity exemption list,” and join the mile high club at the same time! Irreverent and poignant, Love Bites pulls back the curtain to expose modern romance – in a way you’ve never seen before.

Chase

This seems a little too procedural for me, but I think it might be something my mum will like. It’s about a U.S. Marshal team who have to track down the bad guy each week.

NBC’s description:

U.S. Marshals Annie Frost (Kelli Giddish, Past Life) likes to stay one step ahead of the outlaws. As far as this cowboy boot-wearing girl is concerned, they can run, but they can’t hide from her forever. Annie has a sharp mind, a big heart, and an attitude to match. Throw in a unique perspective and personal style, and she is the reason you don’t mess with Texas. Jump aboard this rollercoaster ride. It’s all about the thrill of the chase.

Outlaw

This looks okay. I’m not too sure about the story, but I loved seeing all those familiar faces in the trailer (Carly Pope, Jesse Bradford, J August Richards). Jimmy Smits (Dexter season 3) stars as a Supreme Court judge who quits to become a lawyer again.

NBC’s description:

Few jobs are guaranteed for a lifetime, and a Supreme Court appointment is one you just don’t quit. Unless you’re Cyrus Garza (Smits). A playboy and a gambler, Justice Garza always adhered to a strict interpretation of the law. Until he realized the system he always believed in was flawed. Now, he’s quit the bench and returned to being an attorney. Determined to represent “the little guy,” he’s using his inside knowledge of the justice system to take on today’s biggest legal cases. And making plenty of powerful people unhappy along the way.

Outsourced

Is is just me or does this look baaaad? (and no I don’t mean that in the “so bad it’s good” type of way)

NBC’s description:

Mid America Novelties sells products like whoopee cushions, foam fingers, and wallets made of bacon. Yes, this is the stuff upon which the American way of life is built, but try explaining that to someone who lives on the other side of the world.

Well, that’s exactly what Todd Donovan must do when he’s sent to run the company’s call center in India. Talk about culture shock, and not just for Todd’s employees. While Todd has to teach them how to make the up-sell to the Deluxe Twin Beer Helmet, he’s going to have to adapt as well. Like in a country where cows are sacred, perhaps you don’t order a double cheeseburger.

Beside the 6 shows above, Law & Order: Los Angeles will also air this fall. There will be a couple of some more new shows airing midseason: the comedies Friends with Benefits, The Paul Reiser Show, Perfect Couples, and the dramas The Cape and Harry’s Law. I’ll be posting more about those once we get nearer to their release date.

So what do you think of NBC’s new shows? Any musts watchs?

I came across Chocomize yesterday and I so so wish that they shipped to the UK! The idea is simple, but brilliant: you can make your own customized chocolate bars.

Just pick a type of chocolate (dark, milk or white) and then add up to 5 ingredients… whatever you want. They’ve got a great range of nuts and fruits (the usual suspects), but also some more unique, eccentric ingredients, like black peppercorns, rose petals and even beef jerky.

Besides letting you create your own chocolate bars, Chocomize also has a couple of premade popular bars, just in case you have trouble deciding what to put on your own bar. Some of these look great with bars like the Smores bar (mini marshmellows and Graham teddies) or the Tropical Island bar (banana chips, coconut flakes and cantaloupe melon dices). Or my favourite: the ‘I Feel Lucky’ bar, where you get a mystery combination of ingredients!

As I said, I so wish they’d ship to the UK (or is there a UK equivalent?) cause I’d love to make my own personalized bar! I’d probably end up mixing white chocolate with macadamia nuts, and adding some special stuff like lavender to liven it all up. What would your personalized bar be?

Ooh, this book sounds goooood: set in an alternate Renaissance Venice with vampires, werewolves, assassins and pirates!

Here’s the description:

In the depths of night, customs officers board a galley in a harbor and overpower its guards. In the hold they find oil and silver, and a naked boy chained to the bulkhead. Stunningly beautiful but half-starved, the boy has no name. The officers break the boy’s chains to rescue him, but he escapes…

Venice is at the height of its power. In theory Duke Marco commands. But Marco is a simpleton so his aunt and uncle rule in his stead. They command the seas, tax the colonies, and, like those in power before them, fear assassins better than their own…

In a side chapel, Marco’s fifteen-year old cousin prays for deliverance from her forced marriage. It is her bad fortune to be there when Mamluk pirates break in to steal a chalice, but it is the Mamluks’ good luck – they kidnap her…

In the gardens beside the chapel, Atilo, the Duke’s chief assassin, prepares to kill his latest victim. Having cut the man’s throat, he turns back, having heard a noise, and finds a boy crouched over the dying man, drinking blood from the wound. The speed with which the boy dodges a dagger and scales a wall stuns Atilo. And the assassin knows he has to find the boy…

Not to kill him, but because he’s finally found what he thought he would never find. Someone fit to be his apprentice…

The downside: you’ve got to wait for it till January 2011…

I’ve only gotten a PS3 this year, but one of the first games I fell in love with for it was Little Big Planet. I still haven’t completely finished the standard game and haven’t even started trying out some the amazing custom levels; there’s just so much going on!

Even though I’ll be still hooked on the first game for quite a while, the recently announced Little Big Planet 2 looks amazing:

Ooh, so many cool new features! I can’t wait to see how this will turn out. I like the look of the AI/digital puppetry features; curious to see what crazy levels people come up with!

To read about more of the new features of Little Big Planet 2, check out their website.

I’m so looking forward to this event and we’re only 2.5 weeks away! The London MCM Expo will take place this year in the weekend of 29th and 30th of May at Excel London, for two days of geeky fun.

Tons of stuff will be happening there that weekend: a Comic and Anime section with stands featuring artists and writers; a Games section showcasing some of the latest games; a Steampunk exhibition with art, contraptions, sculptures and clothing; a Cosplay masquerade; and of course lots of guests from our favourite TV shows and movies.

From the guests announced so far the ones I’m most looking forward to seeing are John Noble and Jasika Nicole from Fringe (Walter Bishop and Astrid), Warwick Davis and Ron D Moore (BSG). Here’s a video from last year’s Expo:

Tickets are available on the London MCM Expo site. Only Early Entry opening tickets are available in advance and with these you can access the Expo from 9am on (2 hours before the General entry).

Lovely geeky tee from Glennz Tees:

All sizes are $19.95, except for 2XL and 3XL which are $21.95.

I’ve been back in London for a couple of days and have jumped right back into the maelstrom of events (GameCamp and WarbleCamp last weekend). My trip to the Netherlands was pretty successful: new haircut, new braces and new lenses… new Mel:

I love my new haircut! Although I’m not completely sure yet how I’m supposed to dry/style it properly, it’s so different then how I usually have my hair. It’s gonna take some time till I’m fully used to it, but I love how it looks.

I got my braces last week Tuesday; I don’t remember the braces hurting this much the last time I had them! I’ve been living on liquid/soft/non-chewable food for the past week, not being able to chew without my teeth hurting. I know the pain eventually will go away, I just don’t remember having this much trouble with them when I was 12.

Then finally, my lenses. So much trouble with these still. I’m trying to make the jump to hard lenses, and got a new pair to try out. I thought the only difference would be the size of the lenses (a larger radius), but the vision in my left eye is horrible. I’ve only had them properly in for one day, so maybe I just have to get used to it, but I’m so sick and tired of not being able to see properly.

This pillow from Etsy seller Avril Loreti is just too cute:

The description:

Add up the 10 points each for the Q and the Z, plus the 50 bonus points for your 7 letter bingo word and you get a pretty spectacular scrabble scoring “Squeeze Me” pillow. With the red backing inspired by the Triple Word Score Square you’re shooting into the stratosphere of word nerd style!

Check out Avril’s store for more wonderful items.

Zombies and bloggers! I like the setup for this series:

In 2014, two experimental viruses—a genetically engineered flu strain designed by Dr. Alexander Kellis, intended to act as a cure for the common cold, and a cancer-killing strain of Marburg, known as “Marburg Amberlee”—escaped the lab and combined to form a single airborne pathogen that swept around the world in a matter of days. It cured cancer. It stopped a thousand cold and flu viruses in their tracks.

It raised the dead.

Millions died in the chaos that followed. The summer of 2014 was dubbed “The Rising,” and only the lessons learned from a thousand zombie movies allowed mankind to survive. Even then, the world was changed forever. The mainstream media fell, Internet news acquired an undeniable new legitimacy, and the CDC rose to a new level of power.

Twenty years later, when Senator Peter Ryman of Wisconsin decides to take a team of bloggers along on his run for the White House, Georgia and Shaun Mason are quick to submit their application. They, along with their friend Georgette “Buffy” M. are selected, and view this as the chance to launch their careers to a whole new level… that is, if they can survive the campaign trail.

There’s a cool site with tons of info about the book with even campaign posters for the fictional elections. Really curious to see how this story is; mainstream media covering up the news stories with bloggers being the only ones willing to reveal information. And then get killed for it? At least that’s what I make up out of the snippets on the site.

Definitely going on my To-Read list! Feed is coming out in the UK on 3rd of June and is the first part of the Newsflesh trilogy by Mira Grant (Feed, Deadline, Blackout).

Episode 174: “I shove her into the car, run into my house and I grab my lightsaber”

I’ve got a bit of a geek crush on Nathan Fillion and to see him geek out in real life about lightsabers is just brilliant (that part’s in the 2nd video):