Via the original creators of Charlie the Unicorn, it is my great honor to be able to share the German re-dub of Charlie the Unicorn.

Discuss.

The third episode of Season Three of Slings & Arrows airs on Sundance tonight at 8pm. It will also be repeated throughout the week.

Use the comments section of this post to discuss the episode. Any comments I may have will also be posted in the comments section.

You can continue to discuss last week’s episode here, and the first episode here. Discuss Season 1 here and Season 2 here. Future episodes for Season 3 will be posted as they air on Sundance.

WARNING: Comments may contain further discussion of the show, including potential spoilers. Click through only after viewing the episode. Commenters may discuss this episode as freely as they like, though Canadian readers are asked not to post spoilers for any later episodes.

By the way, did you know that Sarah Polley (Sophie) is the real-life daughter of Michael Polley (Frank)? That’s hot.

The second episode of Season Three of Slings & Arrows airs on Sundance tonight at 8pm. It will also be repeated throughout the week, in case you have something else you want to watch tonight.

Use the comments section of this post to discuss the episode. Any comments I may have will also be posted in the comments section. Word from Canada is that the major themes for the season will be revealed in this episode.

You can continue to discuss last week’s episode here. Discuss Season 1 here and Season 2 here. Future episodes for Season 3 will be posted as they air on Sundance.

WARNING: Comments may contain further discussion of the show, including potential spoilers. Click through only after viewing the episode. Commenters may discuss this episode as freely as they like, though Canadian readers are asked not to post spoilers for any later episodes.

By the way, did you know that William Hutt (Charles) has been performing at the Stratford Festival in Canada since its very first season in 1953? That’s hot.

I’m off to the baby naming for Lilah, so no time to post anything original this morning. Instead, I leave you with this Animaniacs song about Magellan, that for some reason really cracks me up. Enjoy!

Season Three of Slings & Arrows begins on Sundance tonight at 8pm. Use this thread to discuss the episode.

I’m very excited for the new season, which unfortunately will be the last season. Will Geoffrey and Ellen end up together? Who will be the new cast members? What will happen to Oliver? Who will screw with Richard’s head this season? And most importantly, will there actually be a King Lear-based theme song?

Discuss Season 1 here and Season 2 here. Future episodes for Season 3 will be posted as they air on Sundance.

Use the comments section of this post to discuss the first episode of Season Three, “Divided Kingdom.” Any comments I may have will also be posted in the comments section.

WARNING: Comments may contain further discussion of the show, including potential spoilers. Click through only after viewing the episode. Commenters may discuss this episode as freely as they like, though Canadian readers are asked not to post spoilers for any later episodes.

By the way, did you know that Paul Gross (Geoffrey) and Martha Burns (Ellen) are married in real life? That’s hot.

Don’t forget – Sundance is showing all six episodes of Season Two of Slings & Arrows today from 3pm to 8pm. Then, the new season begins at 8pm.

Use the comments section of this post to discuss any aspect of Season Two. You can discuss the Darren Nichols production of Romeo & Juliet, the new internship program, Frog Hammer’s marketing campaign, Ellen’s audit, the main stage production of, um, “Mackers,” or the elementary school version of it.

You can continue to discuss Season One in my earlier post here. And I’ll start putting up a thread to discuss Season Three episodes each Sunday, starting this afternoon.

Here’s a taste of Season Two to hold you over until 3pm.

Another plug for today’s Slings & Arrows marathon at 3pm on Sundance.

Again, this is Must See TV for Shakespeare fans and theatre folk, and well worth the watching for everyone else. It’s hysterically funny, true to life, and really gets at the heart of what it means to be passionate about Shakespeare.

The actors are all top-notch. They’re Canadian, so you might not recognize them, but that just adds to their believability. Fans of Kids in the Hall or Saturday Night Live will be familiar with Mark McKinney. And if you only know Rachel McAdams as The Hot Chick or one of the Mean Girls, then Season One will show you a whole new Rachel McAdams.

Sundance is showing all six episodes of Season One of Slings & Arrows today, Sunday, from 3pm to 8pm. This is the Hamlet season. Just start watching at 3pm, and if you’re not hooked by the end of the theme song, there’s no need to watch any further.

All six episodes of Season Two are availble on Time Warner Cable’s On Demand (under “Free Movies on Demand”), if you have it. This is the Macbeth season.

Season Three starts February 18 at 8pm. This will be the King Lear season. I’m giddy with anticipation in that very special Shakespeare Teacher way.

You can use the comments section of this post to discuss Season One. If there actually turns out to be any interest, I can start putting up a weekly post so we can discuss Season Three.

Ladies and gentlemen, set your TiVos. Sundance is showing all six episodes of Season One of Slings & Arrows this Sunday, February 11, from 3pm to 8pm.

This is absolutely Must See TV for Shakespeare fans or theatre folk, and actually some pretty good viewing for everyone else, too. It’s a 50-minute comedy/drama that follows the various personalities in a fictional Canadian Shakespeare Festival as they put together a production of a play over the course of a six-episode season: Hamlet in Season One, and Macbeth in Season Two. Season Three starts February 18 at 8pm. It looks like they’re going to be doing King Lear.

The show isn’t about the Shakespeare per se, but I have to say that they get the Shakespeare part right. And when Shakespeare is done right…

So check out that marathon on Sunday. You’ll be glad you did.

Hey, it’s one of those wacky Internet polls! I’ve never taken one of these before. This should be fun. Okay, first question…

Do you favor personal savings accounts as a voluntary part of Social Security Reform?

Oh, wow. I was expecting an easier first question. But, okay. Well, I guess I already have all of the voluntary personal savings accounts I need. That’s what makes them voluntary. Maybe a more productive discussion would be whether or not Social Security needs reform before we start talking about what should be a voluntary part of it. I’ve been involuntarily paying into it my entire working life, so I think I’d like to voluntarily receive the benefits when I retire. So I worry, when the Grover Norquists of the world start talking about personal savings accounts, that I won’t get my benefits.

There is a small group of people who have a whole lot of influence whose solution to everything is lower taxes on the rich, privatize everything, and let the free market sort it out. Sometimes that works better than other times. Markets are really good at picking winners and losers, but when it comes to our senior citizens, I’d prefer to stick with our current system, since it benefits everyone. It’s also why I support public education over a voucher system. I think I’d like to move on to the next question now, if that’s okay.

Do you favor an increase in retirement age as part of Medicare reform?

There’s that “reform” word again. With one word you’ve implied into existence a problem that may or may not have a basis in reality. Could the problem be that the idea of a government actually taking care of its citizens is somehow repulsive to you, Mr. Internet Poll Writer? What is that dark place inside you that makes you turn a blind eye to the suffering of your neighbors? And how can we help you?

It’s true that people are living longer and at some point we may wish to raise the retirement age. I wouldn’t even consider it, though, until every American has health care. If we’re going to ask our citizens to stay in the workforce longer, we have to help them stay healthy longer, and that means affordable well-care visits for everyone. Who’s with me?

Should Medicare have an element of means testing?

I don’t know; what kind of Internet poll is this? I’ve known enough people who are relatively comfortable financially, who have been knocked completely out of the box by an unexpected illness, so I’m going to give a preliminary answer of no. I’d be interested in hearing the counter arguments, though.

Do you favor opening up Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas exploration?

If by “exploration” you mean “drilling,” then no, I do not favor it. If you just want to explore the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, feel free! I’ve heard it’s magnificent. Perhaps I will explore it myself if I should happen to visit Alaska for next year’s Bard-a-thon. (I have no idea how close ANWR is to Fairbanks, but Alaska being huge, that may have read as very funny to my new friends and readers up north.) But I’m starting to sense where you’re coming from, oh sneaky, sneaky Internet poll, and I’m pretty sure you mean “drilling.”

How do you propose expanding Health Savings Accounts?

I’m sorry, what? I’m new to this whole Internet poll thing. I have no proposal for expanding Health Savings Accounts, nor do I necessarily think they should be expanded. As I said above, I’m in favor of a universal health care system, perhaps a single-payer system. But making all health care costs tax deductible might be a nice interim compromise. What do you say?

Do you favor giving citizenship to those who are in this country illegally?

Oh, that’s a good question. In principle, I do, but I would want to hear non-partisan expert opinions about the practical ramifications of doing such a thing. Regardless, I do believe that whatever decision we make should apply to immigrants of all nations, not just North American ones. This is not an easy question, and it doesn’t have easy answers, but I’m proud to live in a country that is a melting pot of cultures, and I think it would be the American thing to do to find a way to work this out.

Should the United States send troops to stop the genocide in Darfur?

Well, I worry that our military is already overextended in Iraq. But yes, if it’s possible for us to do so, we should do what it takes to stop the genocide in Darfur. If that means sending troops, then so be it, but there are other resources and methods available to the world’s lone remaining superpower. What has the President done? What is he willing to do? Where is his plan?

Will you make the Presidents tax cuts permanent?

Will I make them permanent? This is a very strange Internet poll indeed. I do not expect to have the power to do that, but if I did, I would not. They favor the wealthy to such an extreme that it makes me wonder if the President is really in touch with the working man. There has been some improvement in the economy, but I don’t think there’s any evidence that the improvement is a direct result of the tax cuts, and I don’t believe it is. But even if you believe that, there’s no reason to believe that making them permanent would continue to have the same effect.

Would you favor elimination of the death tax?

I would not favor the elimination of the estate tax, no.

Would you support a flat tax?

No. Is anyone seriously proposing this?

Do you support President Bush’s plan for Iraq?

The troop surge? I support his plan in that I hope it’s successful. I don’t know if it’s the right thing to do, but I do like it better than “stay the course.” I was against this war from the beginning, but since we’ve invaded, I’ve been rooting for victory. I think this war has been conducted with a great deal of incompetence, but I like a lot of the changes in direction that the Bush administration has put into place since the midterm elections, maybe as a result of them, maybe not.

I do think we’d be much, much better off today if we had never gone into Iraq. That’s a position that’s starting to gain some support. I basically said what I needed to say in an earlier post and I still think the idea of strategic redeployment has promise.

Will you seek to meet with the leaders of Syria or North Korea or Iran?

While I am quite the autograph hound, I don’t think I will seek to add those names to my collection, no. I have to say, I’ve never seen an Internet poll quite like this.

Should the United States end the embargo of Cuba?

Yes, absolutely. I never understood the embargo, and – as always – it’s the people who suffer, not the leaders. With Fidel Castro stepping down, we should take advantage of the opportunity to end the pointless embargo.

Well, as Internet polls go, that one certainly was … oh, wait a minute. That wasn’t an Internet poll at all! That was a list of questions that Senator Bill Frist posed to Senator Hillary Clinton and any other Democrat running for President. He’s trying to trap her into publicly taking unpopular positions! And in doing so, he’s trapped me into doing just that!

Oh, well played, Senator Frist. Well played, indeed.

Feel free to use the comments thread to answer any of Senator Frist’s gotcha questions, or to respond to any of my (or someone else’s) answers. Unless, of course, you’re running for president, or ever plan to. In that case, you may quickly navigate away from this page, and don’t forget to clear your cache!

The President has challenged critics of his Iraq War policy to come up with their own ideas:

Speaking in his weekly radio address on Saturday, Mr Bush said members of Congress had the right to express their views but he challenged his critics to propose their own ideas for halting the violence in Iraq.

“Those who refuse to give this plan a chance to work have an obligation to offer an alternative that has a better chance of success. To oppose everything while proposing nothing is irresponsible,” said Mr Bush.

It’s a fair point, but one can’t help but be reminded of Homer Simpson’s exasperated line to Marge, “First, you didn’t want me to get the pony. Now, you want me to take it back. Make up your mind!”

President Bush’s request for alternative points of view is heartwarming. But since he doesn’t even listen to his own hand-picked experts on such matters, why take his latest offer to listen to those he has belittled and marginalized for the past six years as anything other than petulant and defensive?

I’m tempted to echo the sentiments in this Tom Tomorrow cartoon from November. If only we could travel back to February 2003 and heed the words of, among many others, Gov. Howard Dean:

I believe it is my patriotic duty to urge a different path to protecting America’s security: To focus on al Qaeda, which is an imminent threat, and to use our resources to improve and strengthen the security and safety of our home front and our people while working with the other nations of the world to contain Saddam Hussein.

Had I been a member of the Senate, I would have voted against the resolution that authorized the President to use unilateral force against Iraq – unlike others in that body now seeking the presidency.

I do not believe the President should have been given a green light to drive our nation into conflict without the case having first been made to Congress and the American people for why this war is necessary, and without a requirement that we at least try first to work through the United Nations.

But in the words of Lady Macbeth, “What’s done cannot be undone.” All we can do now is find the best way forward, and hold the people who blundered accountable.

By the way, in case anybody actually wanted to know, progressives do have a plan for Iraq. It’s called strategic redeployment:

To strike the right balance, expectations must change to fit today’s grim realities. The Bush administration must recognize that Iraq is not yet a real democracy nor will it be anytime soon, and it is not going to trigger a wave of democracy in the Middle East. Americans need and deserve a clear exit strategy for Iraq that spells out how much longer American troops will be involved in large numbers and what it will cost. Iraq’s leaders need to understand that the United States is not going to serve as a crutch indefinitely and that no one is going to solve their problems for them.

The end goals of this strategic shift are clear: to protect the American people at home and abroad; to get Iraq to the most stable position as quickly as possible; to make sure Iraq’s tensions do not spill over into a regional conflict; and to turn the tide against extremist Islamists. To accomplish this, the United States must implement a policy of strategic redeployment that has five parts:

You can read a PDF of the entire plan here.

Despite my many years of training as a Shakespeare teacher, I find myself surprisingly unprepared to evaluate this plan on a practical level, though there’s much in here that I like. But I just wanted to make the point that the progressive movement does actually have a plan. So when President Bush, or his supporters, ask — petulantly, defensively, as they will — “So, what’s your plan?,” it’s worth noting that those who were most against the war to begin with really do have a serious answer. I doubt that anyone in this administration is serious about listening to it.