Bedlam In the Big City and the Big Top

Started today with the first few episodes of Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. If you've seen any other version of DC Comics' first superhero, you know the drill. Gentle reporter Clark Kent (Dean Cain) is the quiet partner of dynamic Lois Lane (Teri Hatcher)...but when trouble arises in Metropolis, he becomes Superman, a heroic rescuer in bright blue spandex. He and Lois work for Metropolis' leading newspaper, the Daily Planet. Perry White (Lane Smith) is their gruff, Elvis-loving boss. Jimmy Olsen (Michael Landes) is the eager cub reporter; Catherine "Cat" Grant (Tracy Scoggins) is the trashy society editor. Superman fights the evil Lex Luthor (John Shea), a businessman who appears benevolent, but is really only out for his own interests, along with other bizarre threats to world peace. He's helped along by his good-natured farmer parents Jonathan (Eddie Jones) and Martha (K Callan).

The emphasis here, as you can probably guess from the title, is on Clark and Lois' relationship...to the point where heroics sometimes take a back-seat. This may be all to the good, since the special effects are really the only things that are terribly dated here. In fact, the show really feels like a 90s Moonlighting with a less roguish male star and heavy fantasy overtones. Hatcher and Cain have wonderful chemistry, and Cain is certainly easy on the eyes. Recommended for fans of the Superman mythos who are looking for something beyond the usual "up, up, and away!" and can handle a little cheesiness in their plots.

It was nearly 12:30 before I finally made it out to my first stop today. I had enough money to get my laundry done at the laundromat instead of Dad's. Besides, I also had a really large load. Towels, jeans, and Christmas linens needed to be washed, along with many long-sleeved shirts and turtlenecks that were necessary in last week's cold weather. I went downstairs and loaded my overstuffed laundry bag into Miss Ellie's old cart...then went right back upstairs. I'd finally gotten my Christmas package from my friend Amanda.

Amanda works at Bath & Body Works. I shouldn't have been surprised that three of the items in the bag were from there. There were two cute Christmas-themed containers of foaming hand wash and a pair of adorable aloe-infused, bear-themed sleep socks, along with a box of "peppermint bark" (really blocks of white and dark chocolate with candy cane pieces, but they tasted pretty good) and of those hazelnut-filled Pirouette cookies.

I finally got to the laundromat by quarter of 1. Thank heavens it wasn't busy at all. I read Becoming Real while the wash was in the machines, ignoring the silly talk shows and soap operas on ABC. I saw one Hispanic family, a couple of young men, and two older women, but most didn't stay for that long.

When I got home, I put my laundry away, had a quick Peanut Butter and Strawberry Fruit Spread sandwich for lunch, and headed back out again. I had debated starting this month's cleaning today, but it was really too nice. The temperatures had risen into the upper 40s, and it was sunny and breezy and beautiful. There were lots of people in Newton River Park as I rode by; I dodged joggers, walkers, and a woman strolling along with the cutest, friskiest brown dachshund puppy in a red sweater.

The Haddon Township Library was very busy when I arrived. There were lots of people, kids and adults, looking for DVDs...and lots of things to return, for once. Too many. The kids' DVDs are starting to outgrow the three turning shelves they're in. They either need to buy another shelf, or start weeding out the kids' stuff. I also shelved picture books and fished a good pile of foreign and kids' movies out of the adult titles.

I did end up taking out a few things this week. I found the newest Joanna Fluke book, Devil's Food Cake Murder. Wound up with three DVDs - the Don Bluth romantic fantasy Thumbelina, the most recent Scooby Doo movie Big Top Scooby, and Prince of Persia. The last-named was another Disney attempt at creating a fantasy franchise that flopped badly...but I enjoyed John Carter so much, I thought I'd give this one a chance.

It was getting late by the time I was finished. I just rode straight home, dodging rush-hour traffic on Cuthbert Road. When I finally got in, I ran more Lois & Clark, along with Big Top Scooby. Though the Scooby movie is supposed to be set in Atlantic City, it has nothing to do with casinos. Fred is a huge circus enthusiast and wants to take the rest of the gang to see the newest show in town, though Shaggy has his eye on a concert with a popular Swedish heavy metal group. When it turns out that werewolves are terrorizing the circus and it may have to close, the gang goes undercover as performers to find out what they're really after.

Definitely an improvement over the odd musical Mark of the Vampire from the spring. The story is both less complicated and more involving, and the villains aren't quite as obvious...and there's no music except for the metal band's incomprehensible lyrics at the end. Not really a must-see, but kids and fans of Scooby will have a lot of fun here.