On Wednesday, 1 October 2008, my younger brother Peter and his wife Kelly arrived from Virginia, by way of friends in metropolitan New York. From Janice's and my second duplex in Needham, Massachusetts, we walked through scattered showers to our local library, which my nieces Ava and Lili enjoyed running around in.

As with all my nieces and nephews, I've enjoyed observing the different temperaments and talents of Ava and Lili. Janice prepared a feast of chicken enchilada casserole, the first of many good meals this past weekend. After Peter & Kelly watched the droll Pushing Daisies for the first time, we managed to find sleeping accommodations for everyone.

On Thursday, we took the commuter rail into Boston. Although they were apprehensive at first, the children were fine for their first time on a regular train. We visited the New England Aquarium and had lunch at Faneuil Hall. I got food from Steve's Greek Cuisine in Quincy Market, which rivals the dining halls of Manhattan's Grand Central Station or Washington D.C.'s Union Station.

Upon our return, we took advantage of the clearing weather to let the girls play on a swing set in our backyard and to toss around some Nerf balls. I had worried about child-proofing our place, but the kids were well behaved, and we had enough toys for them to play with. For dinner, Janice prepared spaghetti and meatballs, my all-time favorite dish, and we later watched Smallville and the vice presidential debate.

On Friday, my parents Luke and Dominga arrived, and we had lunch at Blue on Highland, a bistro in walking distance of Janice's and my apartment. We celebrated my 40th birthday early with Janice's chocolate frosted, chocolate-chip brownies! My parents returned to their hotel after some chicken soup and homemade rolls, and we watched the series premiere of the SciFi Channel's Sanctuary, which was predictable but promising.

Peter and his young family left on Saturday, and Janice and I took my parents to the Needham Harvest Fair, where we enjoyed samosas, hamburgers, and the "Soup Bowl," a competition among local eateries. On our way back home, we stopped at the local library's book sale. We also had good conversations about politics, overseas relatives, and the upcoming holidays. After eating so well for the previous few days, all we could manage was some leftovers for dinner.

After Janice's usual volunteering stint at an animal shelter in Dedham, Mass., we met my folks for Sunday brunch at the Courtyard by Marriott in Natick, where they were staying. I also showed them my office nearby before they began their long drive home. We spent the rest of the weekend catching up on recorded genre television, e-mail, and sleep. I'll also be busy with work and gaming in the coming weeks.

In response to a decline in print advertising, ever-increasing amounts of work for our Web site, and recent layoffs, my editor in chief threw a party for our editorial department to boost morale and celebrate recent awards. We enjoyed a lunch catered by Firefly's Barbeque at Fun & Games in Framingham, Massachusetts. Ken G. and I had recently checked out the arcade.

In addition to the video games, I had fun playing old favorites such as foosball, air hockey, and even laser tag! Of course, I'm pleased to report that I did well at my second games of each of these rather than dwell on my initial losses. Co-worker Bob R. and I have still been playing pool (billiards) during our lunch hour on most Thursdays. Speaking of food, this past weekend, Janice and I were pleased to find that our favorite local Chinese buffet, formerly Hunan New Taste in Walpole, Mass., is now improved as Asia Treasures.

After Friday's party, several of us went to the British Beer Company nearby for a few rounds of drinks and conversation. Of course, politics and the current U.S. financial crisis were among our topics. Although I applaud Sen. John McCain's (R-Ariz.) historic choice of a female running mate, I'm distressed that Gov. Sarah Palin has relatively little experience with government beyond Alaska and is much more conservative than I'm comfortable with.

Still, the U.S. presidential campaign has heated up, with both McCain and Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) performing well in their first debate — on economics and foreign policy — and Palin providing lots of fodder for Saturday Night Live parodies in interviews and her decent performance at last week's vice presidential debate.

On Sunday, 21 September 2008, Byron V.O., Thomas K.Y., Janice, and I watched the direct-to-DVD release of Stargate: Continuum. We enjoyed seeing the cast and crew of Stargate SG1 (itself a spin-off of the Egyptian-themed action movie) reunite to fight the parasitic alien Go'uald, travel through time and face paradoxes, and film on location in the Arctic. I'd give Continuum about an 8 out of 10 or a B+, since it requires a fair amount of knowledge about SG1's 10-year run (surpassed only by the BBC's Doctor Who).

It's a pity that the SciFi Channel has taken its time airing this sequel to the longest-running science fiction television show in North America to date. As with its lackluster promotion of Farscape: Peacekeeper Wars and Stargate: Ark of Truth, the cable network has preferred wrestling, so-called reality shows, schlock horror, and the dour, revisionist Battlestar Galactica over more classic or innovative genre programming. The Cartoon Network has been similarly tardy in showing good videos such as Justice League: New Frontier or anime. Speaking of anime, I'm looking forward to getting "Book 3" of fantasy Avatar: the Last Airbender on DVD.

I've been sporadically following spin-off Stargate: Atlantis and am cautiously optimistic about Stargate: Universe, which may be drifting from the franchise's premise of interplanetary explanation inspired by real history in much the same way the later iterations of Star Trek became more about conflict and less about humanity striving for its ideals. There's also still talk of a direct sequel to the original movie, and I might check out the multiplayer online game Stargate: Worlds.

I wish Stargate SG1 and Atlantis alumna Amanda Tapping success with the TV adaptation of her monster-hunting Web series Sanctuary. In other space opera news, I look forward to the television premiere of the computer-animated Star Wars: Clone Wars this coming weekend! In the meantime, I've again fallen behind in genre television, as my DVR fills up with episodes of metahuman melodrama Heroes and paranormal mystery Fringe because of gaming.

Coming soon: More on food, games, and politics!

Before getting into gaming updates, I must note the passing of actor Paul Newman. The Sting is one of my favorite films of all time, and I've been sympathetic to his political views and have bought many of his "Newman's Own" food products over the years. He will be missed, but his work lives on.

On Saturday, 20 September 2008, I hosted the latest D20 Mutants & Masterminds 2nd Ed.: "Drake's Port" superhero scenario, coinciding with the visit from St. Louis of former Boston-area resident and role-player Byron V.O. We've been playing Dungeons & Dragons Fourth Edition (D&D4e) for a while, so it was nice to have a change of pace and genre. In the past few years, such visits have occurred around Halloween.

After a slow start, the metahuman vigilantes met near my fictional New England city, explored the former mansion of the "Hudson Valley Vigilantes" and the (onetime play by e-mail) group "Evil's Bane," and fought Nazis! Thomas K.Y., who demonstrated our City of Heroes online characters for Byron and Beruk A. at his place in Lexington, Massachusetts, also made a cameo appearance.

On Sunday, Sept. 21, Byron and I were disappointed to learn that Dexter V.H. wouldn't be as available as we had hoped for a D&D3.5 "Vanished Lands: Holy Steel" teleconferencing session. Although Byron's Paladin/Wizard "Ibrahim" and Dex's Drow Ranger "Faelonia" have just entered Babylonia, their team has been hampered by chronic scheduling and technical difficulties, partly from family and work commitments.

The Monday-night D&D4e "Vanished Lands: the Faith-Based Initiative" adventuring party has been doing fairly well in fomenting rebellion in the barbaric city of Tekugi (see maps), despite previously mentioned player turnover. We'll see whether the would-be heroes are able to maintain shared goals after the departure of John C.M.'s heroic Warlord "Harald."

Members of my Yahoo/eGroups Web club and the larger gaming community have been involved in ongoing debates surrounding D&D4e. Potential alternatives include the Pathfinder RPG (a.k.a. "D&D3.75"), True20, Savage Worlds (which Brian W. likes) and GURPS4e. Beruk has even suggested using the D20 Star Wars: Saga Edition rules for D&D-style fantasy. Pathfinder, currently in beta testing, has gained a following. I'm currently leaning toward the streamlined True20 or GURPS, but at Greg D.C.'s recommendation, we're sticking with D&D4e for now.

This past weekend, other than running errands in Norwood, Mass., Janice and I spent much of our time cleaning our duplex in preparation for my family's visit later this week.

Coming soon: Space opera strikes back!

The new genre television season is now under way, so as I catch up after Byron V.O.'s visit this past weekend, here's a recap of recent episodes.

Thanks to our DVR, Janice and I caught up on ABC Family's Samurai Girl, which reminded me of the short-lived Vanishing Son. The teenaged martial-arts drama was decent, even if it can't compare with the fun allusiveness of recent Sci-Fi comedy The Middleman.

In addition, the casting of Asian-Americans of assorted nationalities as Japanese annoyed me. We don't all look alike! On the other hand, with a Frenchman cast as a Scot in the original (and best) Highlander film and an Englishman cast as a Frenchman in Star Trek: the Next Generation, there is precedent for such internationalized casting in shows like Samurai Girl and Heroes.

Terminator: the Sarah Connor Chronicles continues to be a decent preaopcalyptic drama. There have been numerous plot holes, but the serious mood and action scenes are consistent with the movies in that series. The foolishness of those who would develop fully automated combat robots seems obvious, until one realizes that such things are happening in real life.

Fringe, from the creators of Alias and Lost, focuses on supernatural conspiracies, so comparisons to The X-Files and the upcoming 11th Hour and Sanctuary are inevitable. Still, it was nice to see Keen Eddie's Mark Valley (who would also make a fine Captain America) in a supporting role, and the Boston-area locations seem almost authentic. Some reviewers have pointed out the pseudoscience in the show so far, but that's to be expected in this genre.

On the other hand, there is no shortage of what critics have called "SF-lite" programming this season, as the networks continue to try to capitalize on the popularity of movies based on comic books but are limited in budget and special effects to stories taking place in the (more or less) modern world. No spandex-clad superheroes, few truly alien horrors, and no old-school battles in deep space.

Until more lighthearted TV fare such as Emmy-winning Pushing Daisies returns in a few weeks, I already miss Psych because the number of genre melodramas has been high. As much as I liked the two-hour premiere of the ensemble of Heroes Season 3: "Villains" and the series mentioned above, there have have already been plenty of grisly murders, double-crossings, and hints of humanity's imminent self-destruction across many of these shows.

I prefer to balance the mood among programs, especially after long days at work and monitoring depressing real-world news. However, Heroes has proven that an adult approach to metahumans, as in the legally troubled adaptation of Watchmen, is possible

Since I'm usually running the D&D4e "Vanished Lands: the F.B.I." fantasy game on Monday nights, I'll have to decide whether to record Terminator: the Sarah Connor Chronicles, Chuck, and/or Heroes. At the moment, Heroes is probably my top choice, even after a lackluster second season.

On the lower end of the genre schedule is Smallville. While it's somewhat surprising that the young-adult metahuman ensemble has survived as long as it has, I'm glad that more elements of the Superman mythos, including a nascent Justice League, are finally being used. If only it could get away from love triangles and kryptonite monsters of the week.

Worse still was Spaceballs: the Series. Granted, I wasn't a huge fan of Mel Brooks' original spoof of Star Wars and other classic space operas, but the low-budget animation and writing of the television version make Tripping the Rift and Stripperella look highbrow. The voice casting, however, was pretty good, but I doubt I'll watch any more of this.

Next time: Stargate: Continuum and gaming!