Smallville: Luthor

This week’s Smallville was a twisty, topsy-turvy one — an hour that only seemed like a novelty respite from the series’ recent story lines. By the end, however, the episode titled “Luthor” had deepened the season’s themes.

In an alternate-Earth, baby Clark had been found [SPOILERS, OBVIOUSLY] in the cornfield by Lionel Luthor, and the kid grew up to be Ultra-Man, a super-powered murderer. Lois Lane and Oliver Queen were both engaged and united in their hatred for Clark Luthor and all he represented: greedy wealth and irresponsible power.

It all started in the “real” world of Smallville, where Tess discovered she’d inherited a mirror box, a Kryptonian relic. When clicked into place by Clark, it exchanged Clarks Kent and Luthor. “Our” Clark found himself at the mercy of his raging father, Lionel — John Glover, in a terrifically intense return to the series — and fending off the advances of his randy step-sister, the alternative-Tess. Meanwhile, back in the Smallville we know, Clark Luthor caused as much chaos and pain as he could.
The hour was all about the price we pay for trying to maintain family bonds, even when those we are bonded to harm us. For Tess, the dangers unleashed derived from the secret she’d been keeping from Clark Kent about the Luthor clone, Alexander, whom she thought was “the closest thing to family” that she’d ever have. For Clark, he saw in the alternate-Earth that the “Luthor blood is poison.”

All of this could have been ponderous — complete with a trite comparison to King Lear — were it not for the performances (especially Glover’s — his beating of Clark with a belt was powerfully painful to witness) and for Kelly Souders’ smart direction. Souders presented the alternative Earth in inky blacks and cobalt blues; menace hung heavily in the air.

By the end, the switch was reversed, Clark was back in the arms of his Lois, but in the final scene, we saw that Lionel had made the journey back with Clark. This leaves the door open for further misadventures with Lionel in Smallville. As the man said: Wouldn’t want to miss how it all turns out, do we?

Saturday Night Live

Meet The Liberal Elite!

Britney Spears & Jason Trawick Seen Together In Her Car After Allegations of Abuse

Paparazzi snapped several pictures of Britney Spears and what appears to be an angry Jason Trawick together in her car yesterday, after allegations of abuse.

RadarOnline posted a taped conversation allegedly between Spears and her former husband of 55 hours, Jason Alexander in which a voice reported to be Spears says, "That f***er is not my fiance."

The voice attributed to Alexander asks, "I thought he proposed to you or something at the beach?" Spears answers, "Before or after he beat on me?"

Both Radar and Star magazine have reported about the alleged abuse. However, Spears released a statement deriding the false accusations.

"The statements attributed to Jason Alexander are a complete fabrication as Britney has not had any form of communication with Mr. Alexander in years. The audio recording posted on Radaronline this morning purporting to be between Britney Spears and Jason Alexander is so obviously fake as to be laughable," her website reads.

Alexander, however, has taken a lie-detector test and passed, according to Star.

Heather Locklear Hospitalized for a bacterial infection

Wesley Snipes Gets 3 Years For Tax Evasion

Now let me get this straight - Wesley Snipes gets 3 years for tax evasion but I'd put out a guess that 1/2 the US Congress & Senate (and let's add in the State level too) have not PAID their taxes and yet they still sit in an office making terrible decisions for the vast US public. Right, all I got to say is FREE SNIPES...

Wesley Snipes will soon have another role to add to his résumé: federal prisoner.

The U.S. Marshals ordered the "Blade" star to report to a Pennsylvania lockup next week to start a three-year sentence for tax evasion.

Snipes, 48, who starred in the movie "U.S. Marshals," must appear at the Federal Correctional Institution McKean, a medium-security prison, by noon on Dec. 9.

The order came after a judge denied Snipes' bid to remain free on bail while he appeals the verdict to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Snipes was convicted in 2008 of three misdemeanor tax evasion counts for failure to file returns between 1999 and 2001, cheating the government out of $2.7 million. The aging action hero was acquitted of five other charges, including felony tax fraud and conspiracy.

Despite sympathetic letters from fellow stars, including actors Denzel Washington and Woody Harrelson, a Florida judge slapped Snipes with a 36-month prison sentence.

His first appeal was struck down by an appellate court in Atlanta.

Last month, Snipes' lawyers requested a new trial on the grounds that Kenneth Starr, a financial adviser who pleaded guilty to fraud after acting as a government witness against Snipes, gave "tainted" testimony.

A federal judge denied the request, ruling that "the defendant Snipes had a fair trial; he has had a full, fair and thorough review of his conviction and sentence. ...The time has come for the judgment to be enforced."

College Kid Mistaken for Teenager Wanted for Murder

Zachary Garcia and Zachery Garcia may have homonymous names, but, as you'd imagine, they're actually very different people. The former is a University of Florida student who works at a sandwich shop. The latter is a teenager accused of murder. Investigators in Polk Country, Florida, however, failed to pick up on the subtle difference in spelling between the two names -- a mistake that came to light after a casual Google search.

Turns out, authorities in the region mistakenly circulated a driver's license photo of Zachary (with an 'a'), whom they clearly confused with the real suspect, Zachery (with an 'e'). The college student became aware of the mistake only after Googling his name, and discovering that (surprise!) he was wanted for murder. "I was just very shocked to find my picture and the article saying that I was convicted of a felony murder charge," he told Tampa Bay station WTSP. "And I was just very shocked and angry that someone put my name up there and said I did something I didn't do."

The actual suspect, along with four other teenagers, allegedly broke into a house on September 23rd. One of the homeowners shot and killed one of the teens, but, because the death took place in the middle of a felony, all three kids (including Zachery) were charged with murder. Zachary the sandwich-maker, meanwhile, claims his everyday problems aren't nearly as dramatic. "Everybody makes mistakes," Garcia added. "I work at Publix and I might get somebody's sub (order) wrong. But for somebody to get (the photo of a suspect) wrong... it's not a sandwich, it's somebody's life you're playing with." Very true, but on the bright side, at least Garcia's not wanted for murder. And that's certainly something we take for granted every day.