YOU MIGHT WANT TO IXNAY ON THE IGNALSAY: So I just watched the premiere of Threshold. I might not sleep anytime soon.

Yeah, as Matt pointed out a while ago, it's a Lost knockoff of sorts -- insofar as any new show with a supernatural WTF-is-going-on-around-here bent is a Lost knockoff. (It's even got William Mapother playing pretty much the same role he played on Lost, which is quite amusing.) But it is freeeeeeaky. And rather gripping.

Quickie Premise: The aliens are coming! The aliens are coming! Oh, wait, they're here . . . maybe. A contingency-planning specialist who had written the official protocol for such an event -- the Threshold Protocol (doesn't that sounds like a Robert Ludlum title?) -- is brought to Washington, along with the rest of the team she'd recommended in her report, to figure out what the heck is going on. What's going on? There's a lot of talk of fractal this and triple DNA helix that, but it can be summarized as follows: so far, nothing's boding so well for the future of the human race. A not-unusual premise, to be sure, but if the two-hour premiere is any indication, the execution ought to be worth watching.

The cast is rather impressive for Friday nights on CBS: Carla Gugino (of Karen Sisco and Spy Kids fame), Charles S. Dutton (of, you know, Charles S. Dutton fame), Robert Patrick Benedict (Richard from Felicity and that guy whose ear Sydney spontaneously pierced on Alias), Peter Dinklage (the not-particularly-tall actor from The Station Agent), and, in possibly my favorite bit of casting for the year, Brent Spiner (known to the world, of course, as Commander Data and to somewhat fewer of us as William Daniels' successor as John Adams).

I'm going to go watch something fluffy and light now.

PERHAPS IT'S BEING BOUGHT BY SMALL TOWN GIRLS, IN THIS LONELY WORLD: OK, it's not exactly shocking that Kanye West, the Black Eyed Peas, and Green Day occupy the top 3 slots on the iTunes "Top Songs" list today. But can anyone explain exactly why Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" is number 55, right between Papa Roach and David Gray?

WAY, WAY BEFORE NIRVANA: Apparently, no artist or band that released their first album in 1980 is worthy of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. This should open up the field for prior nominees who missed the voting threshold (Black Sabbath, Skynyrd, and John Mellencamp), and the new additions to the ballot--Cat Stevens, Blondie, and Miles Davis. I'm not sure who exactly has been snubbed, though Huey Lewis & The News put out their first album in 1980.

NO PARODY LEFT BEHIND: Katrina: The Gathering.

MY PREDICTION? PAIN: I have no way of knowing if it's accurate, but we've got a potentially tragic spoiler for Rocky VI -- yes, Rocky VI -- on our hands.

PRE-EMMYS OPEN THREAD: All thoughts on what you'd like to see and what you expect to see at tomorrow night's awards are welcome here.

All major nominees here. For handicapping, see, e.g., Tim Goodman and the Gold Derby folks.

Me? As big a fan as I am of Locke, I do want another Denny Crane win. And I don't want to see West Wing win a damn thing until the show's really back to its old standards.

SURE, DUDE, BUT THEY'RE VEELAS: New Goblet of Fire trailer online.