FALLEN, HE HAS, TO THE DARK SIDE: I've realized that we don't have an open thread for Star Wars discussion open yet, so I'll do so, with my thoughts up front. Certainly the best of the "prequel trilogy," and arguably the best Star Wars movie that Lucas has ever directed. Performances from McGregor and McDiarmid are both quite good, and there aren't nearly as many boring moments and off-notes as there have been in the last two movies (there's also a blink and you'll miss it cameo from an Academy Award-nominated actress. That said, the Christensen/Portman scenes feel hyper-artificial, which I blame on Lucas, as both of the actors have proven their acting talent in other projects, and the final line of Vader's just doesn't quite work--there's a bit too much breast-beating from Christensen in the suit. This is probably the first of the prequels that I'll pay to see again., and that certainly says something about it.

DEFEAT ALL ZOMBIES: In a very handsome flash-animation game.

ROGUES GALLERY: If you're like me, when you picked up your Sunday NYT Magazine and saw this guy on the cover, you probably thought, wow, that's about as creepy a subject as they can profile, right?

Wrong. Say what you will -- say what you will about Pennsylvania's junior senator -- but at least he's always struck me as being absolutely sincere in his [insert adjective] beliefs.

But fellow profile subject author-slash-wife-of-famous-person Gigi Levangie Grazer, on the other hand? The profile reads like a Mobius strip with one side that says "fake" and the other side "even faker". Everything you hate about Hollywood is encapsulated in her. At least, that is, as Alex Witchel tells it.

LONDON GIGGING: We're you lucky enough to see the Clash play London's Rainbow Theater back in '77? If so, you can now say you were at one of the greatest gigs of all time, as that Clash show (with support from The Jam and Buzzcocks, to boot) ranks first on Time Out London's list of the Top 100 London Concerts.

All of which begs the question and leads to your weekend homework: What are your three favorite concerts you've attended? I'll provide my answer in the comments after I give it a little thought.

START SHARPENING YOUR KNIVES: With Apprentice and Top Model (Naima!) over, all we've got left in reality finals for the spring are The Contender -- which only a few of us, sadly, are watching -- and American Idol, about which we soon can talk at length.

But where will we be directing our eyes, and our snark, this summer? Reality Blurred has compiled it all, along with a preview of the fall (when no new original reality shows are scheduled to debut). Here's the summer highlights, IMHO (listings his; descriptions mine):

• Hell's Kitchen: Iron Chef meets The Apprentice [FOX, May 30, 9 p.m.]
• Beauty and the Geek: Well, Heffernan liked it. [WB, June 1, 8 p.m.]
• Rock Star: INXS: Will Terence Trent D'Arby enter to reclaim his job? [CBS, July 11, 9 p.m.]
• Dancing With The Stars: I'm A Minor Celebrity, Get Me Rhythm! [ABC, June 1, 9 p.m.]
• Hit Me Baby One More Time: American Idol for has-beens to compete, and not just judge. Will Terence Trent D'Arby enter? [NBC, June 2, 9 p.m.]
• The Scholar: ABC (probably) ruins Adam's idea. [ABC, June 6, 8 p.m.]
• The Cut: Project Runway plus Hilfiger minus craftsmanship. [CBS, June 9 p.m.]
• I Want To Be A Hilton: complete with home video challenges. [NBC, June 21, 8 p.m.]
• The Law Firm: Remember 'The Partner'? This is like that, only it'll air, and a Terence Trent D'Arby appearance is unlikely. [NBC, July 27, 8 p.m.]

What are you looking forward to? Which shows might not suck?

THE PAUL REVERE RHYME I KNOW INVOLVES A WIFFLEBALL BAT: Kudos to the Amherst College Sports Information Department for commemorating Sunday's NESCAC Baseball Championship extra-inning win in verse:

Listen my children and soon you will clamor
Of the 10th-inning run of young Jared Banner.
On the fifteenth of May, in Two-thousand-and-five,
Hardly a man who saw the game live
Will soon forget his famous line drive.

He said to his mates, “If we reach the tenth inning
Barrel on ball will be but the beginning.
By walk or by hit from home plate I’ll advance
Four bags I will round when commencing to prance:
One base if by grounder, and two toward the gap
Third base in a flash my toes will then tap,
Ready to scramble and streak into home
Through Coach Thurston’s stop sign my spikes will soon roam." . . .

Seriously, why can't other sports beat writers compose in verse?

MICHAEL JACKSON IS MY FAVORITE ACCUSED CHILD MOLESTER . . . I THINK MIGUEL TEJADA HAS TO BE CONSIDERED A FRONT-RUNNER FOR AMERICAN LEAGUE MVP . . . I SAW SHIRLEY MACLAINE FOR DINNER LAST NIGHT, AND THERE'S NO CINEMATIC COMEBACK I'M MORE EXCITED TO SEE . . . I DON'T KNOW WHAT 'JESUS JUICE' IS, BUT IT CAN'T BE AS GOOD FOR YOU AS WELCH'S WHITE GRAPE JUICE . . . DOES ANYONE MISS THE NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE? . . . I TRIED A 'WRAP SANDWICH' FOR THE FIRST TIME YESTERDAY. IT WON'T BE THE LAST . . . Sadly, the judge in the Michael Jackson criminal trial will not allow Larry King to testify.