"Likewise, the subversive twist of creator Tim Kring's dark serial is its dreadful implication that maybe wrecking New York City wouldn't just be the vindictive action of a madman but an easily exploited political opportunity."

Heroes is certainly better than most of the TV out there, but they haven't really offered anything new. That's not to fault them, though, because there are so many comic book heroes out there, it would be hard to find something original. Nevertheless, the idea of a conspiracy to destroy New York City in order to further a political objective was done in the 80s in Alan Moore's Watchmen.

There's nothing to say that what we saw with Jack in the finale was actually a flash-foward. There are suggestions that what we saw was in fact a flashback. People tend to forget that the writers and creators of the show have put their influences in the show, quite literally. At the start of Season 2, Desmond is reading The Third Policeman. According to the writers of Lost (via the Lostpedia): "The writers of Lost have specifically referenced this book as providing "ammunition" which may aid with interpretation of the show's plot."

To spoil the end of Policeman, the main character is cursed to go through the same adventures over and over and over again. Perhaps, then, the passengers of flight 815 have been there before.

Those Baptists for Brownback write that rape is a "sometimes unpleasant situation". "Sometimes"? I was under the impression that calling rape unpleasant would be an understatement!

Not because I think FNL is bad. On the contrary. However, The Wire has been ignored by the Emmys since it inception, and that just grinds on me. So any recognition is great.

It's done better every day that the Daily Show with Jon Stewart was on, and they didn't have to spell it out. The Onion's good, but I think they're still finding their feet.

And as for Breathed doing it, so what? It's not like he's copying it. Besides, isn't it true that everything's been done before?

The fact that this administration was going to cut a deal with the taliban for a pipeline shows how much they really cared about action. The only reason they took the action they did was because Americans of all stripes would have been outraged.

History is against you on this one, man. You need a longer view.

While I certainly didn't see as many movies as Mr. O'Hehir, I would definitely recommend everyone checking out Trucker. I saw that and Redbelt, and it was certainly the better movie between the two.

Only one Miyazaki film? What about "Spirited Away," and "Kiki's Delivery Service," not to mention "Whispers of the Heart," "The Cat Returns," "Graveyard of the Fireflies," and many others by that studio. You could build one hell of a library on just Studio Ghibli films alone.

And I might mention one that would probably wind up under the surprises: "The Three Lives of Thomasina." This isn't that well known, so it doesn't surprise me that it's not here, but if you haven't seen it, you should. It's from back when Disney treated their audience with respect. Plus, it's got Patrick McGoohan in it.

And I second - third? Fourth? - the addition of Pixar films.

I don't think anyone's going to be happy with the "ultimate" list. Personally, I think kids of any age can handle Spirited Away (according to Miyazaki, he made it for a 10 year old girl - and I would rate this well above Totoro). I watched Fantastic Planet when I was in the single digits as a kid, and yeah, it freaked the hell out of me! That's why I loved it! I'm not saying show them Salo or Ichi the Killer (though they could handle Miike's The Great Yokai War and probably Zebraman... the kids in Japan can certainly handle them). Kids can handle a serious film, with serious themes and content.

That would be The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, which is scheduled to come out next year.

I saw this at the New York Asian Film Fest, got the shirt, the free beer and the Japanese snacks. And I'm gonna see it again in the theaters next week. While I loved The Dark Knight and Wall-E, Sukiyaki was the only movie this year that inspired me to go out and make something of my own.

And by the way, The Audition is unwatchable? Were you the guy in the audience in Washington, DC, way back in 2001, who fainted during the finale? And did you even see Visitor Q? Or Imprint? Both brilliant, but both jaw dropping.

I hate it when my mom tells that story!