Bonus Edition: Jamie's Hero and Villain of the Weekend

Hello and happy Monday to you, dear readers!  I'm proud to announce that this is the 50th post of Greetings from the Edge of Reason!  To celebrate, I'm offering up a special edition of our most popular column, Heroes and Villains.  Read on to discover my picks for the greatest acts of heroism most dastardly deeds of the weekend!

Hero of the Weekend:  Fox

Fox just announced that despite moving the brilliant Fringe to the Friday night "death slot," they have picked up the show for a 4th season.  This announcement shows a surprising amount of faith in a show that, while critically acclaimed, doesn't have the highest ratings.  I'm not sure why it doesn't have high ratings since it has so many things to draw a viewer in:  Joshua Jackson (I've loved him since The Mighty Ducks), a mad scientist who is also a foodie, and a leading lady who does a killer Leonard Nimoy impersonation.  Since Fox has a history of cancelling superb shows, especially in the sci-fi genre (I still miss you, Firefly), I'm pleasantly surprised that the network is committing to at least one more season of solid storytelling.

*Honorable Mention:  Congrats to the VCU Rams for making it to the Final Four in the NCAA Tournament!  Now people will actually know what Ashley is talking about when she mentions her alma mater.  

Villain of the Weekend:  Ni Hao Kai-Lan

I watched this cartoon with Jack this weekend, and I did not appreciate it.  I think it's awesome that it teaches children about Chinese language and culture, and I hope that most episodes also enforce good social skills.  However, the episode that I saw showed characters acting with a terrible sense of entitlement.  Three characters, Kai-Lan, a tiger, and an elephant, all worked together to build a dragon balloon.  Kai-Lan does something stupid and ruins the balloon so they have to start over.  The elephant, who is the only one tall enough to do most of the work, doesn't want to help a second time since he wasn't the one who knocked it over.  The tiger then guilt-trips the elephant into helping by chanting (and encouraging children at home to chant) "Help out!  Help out!  Help out!"  The elephant's assistance was never requested; it was demanded without so much as a "please" or "sorry I ruined the first balloon."  Now, I am all for team work and helping each other out.  Of course I think the elephant should have helped rebuild the stupid balloon.  However, I do not want Jack to grow up thinking that if his actions have inconvenient consequences that others are required to fix it for him.  If I tear my jacket, it's not okay to throw it at Ashley and say, "Sew this up now, because I'm in a hurry and it's cold outside."  For a show that is supposed to demonstrate sharing and caring, I would have expected characters who would respectfully ask for help.

I hope you enjoyed this special edition of Heros and Villains!  I'll be back tomorrow with our 51st blog post, which is somehow not quite as exciting.