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Column by Daria 'Ratbat' Sigma
THE GOOD
Queen Kat, Carmel & St Jude Get A Life - The personal favourite Australian novel of Yours Truly, the story of the so-different-yet-so-alike-only-not young women who move out of a small town to go to the big city and university. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll make humorous yet unflattering comparisons of your friends to the three girls. Put down your vampire angst rag and go read this. Now.
The Club - Speaking of Australian favourites, try this film on for size. The 1980 adaptation of David Williamson's play, with a very young John Howard (the bloke from Seachange, not the prepubscent-looking PM) in the lead, and a holy-crap-its-still-the-1970s Jack Thompson helping him. Sure, it's about an Aussie Rules team, but give it a chance.
Smallville - The new TV series coming this year, about a teenaged Clark Kent (who is, of course, no relation to our own Mark Ashcroft, no sir). Apparently the show's looking for a new angle on the idea, less The New Adventures of Superboy Yet Again, and more Eerie, Kansas. Even that famous blue bodystocking might be sitting the series out. Gotta be worth a sniff if nothing else.
Doctor Who - Storm Warning - The latest adventure on CD for the Doctor, brining Paul McGann back to the role and showing us he shouldn't have been away so long.
Angstgirl and Fangboy return - On TV this week, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel return to Australian screens on Tuesday and Wednesday night respectively - both at 10:30 pm.
You'll All Be Sorry! - Funny as hell and covered in sacred beef, Gail Simone's column at http://www.comicbookresources.com rips on comics, heroes, fans, creators and her own rise to nowhere-near-fame every week.
Roger Ebert's Top 20 Film Sites - Granted, it's three years old, but we could still happily slap a 'good' on over half the websites listed here by the still-alive half of Siskel & Ebert.
The Zimbabwe cricket team - For pulling themselves right up there to get within one run of the score of current prolific arse-kickers Australia. Snapping at heels like that means you're doing something right.
The Australian cricket team - Well, they won, didn't they?
Loads of films being shot in Australia - Good for the local production industry.
THE BAD
Loads of films being shot in Australia but set in America - Crap for international recognition.
The Big Split - One or two people might not know (but we doubt it), that the big news this week is that Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman gave their marriage the arse. They haven't announced why yet, though early definitive reports blame variously Nicole, Tom, or their schedule. Ah well, at least the telly won't call him 'Australia's own Tom Cruise' any more.
Hey, are there any celebrity couples left still together? I mean any good ones?
Shipwrecked II - You were thinking, surely sooner or later one of these programs will be good? Maybe. But not this one.
The 1900 House - Sick of reality programs? Well, someone's not, but they're scraping the bottom of the barrel for ideas. A family - including their young-age children - set up in a turn-of-that-century-era house and made to live with the trappings of the year 1900. Halfway through the first episode the mother started bawling and said she'd never last three months. We agree.
Napster in trouble again - Not content with the idea we brought you last week of making people pay to discover they'd like to buy music, a US court ruling on Monday might kill the online service altogether. Oh well, looks like the world's back to not buying music if they haven't had a try of it yet.
Shame about your endowment - Because if you're David Kerr of Glasgow, it means you get arrested for stuffing a cucumber down your shorts to make up for it.
THE UGLY
Pat Rafter's press conference - Good thing ye can play great tennis, Pat. 'Cos ya can't interview for shit.
Nicholas Cage as Batman - As yet, just a rumour for Batman: Year One. May it stay that way.
Bathing in number twos - What a listener answered he'd do when asked by a Berlin radio station what he'd do to meet Ricky Martin. So the station duly had him do it, enabling him to win a competition and thereby he met the 'entertainer'. Swimming in crap then meeting Ricky Martin? It's adding insult to injury, really.
Sports entries in a Sigma-written column - What is the world coming to?
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