Everyone ready for the return of Amanda Woodward? Yes, Heather Locklear is debuting on the revamped Melrose Place tonight and I can’t wait. The only tragic thing about this reboot so far (other than the acting “skills” of Ashlee Simpson and what’s-his-name who plays Auggie) is the low ratings. This show is trashy, addictive fun (and I’m not just saying that as EW’s designated Melrose recapper) — I just wish I had more Melrose-watching friends so we could dish about Ella or laugh at Violet’s “seductive moves.” (Thank goodness I sit near Michael Slezak.)
I’m hoping with the combination of Amanda’s return and (spoiler alert) the dismissal of Auggie and Violet, more viewers might move into Melrose Place 2.0. Katie Cassidy’s Ella needs to become pop-culture fodder the same way Jane, Michael, Sydney, Billy, and Allison did during the original Melrose era. Just check out this Seinfeld clip when Jerry finally admitted he was a watcher!
Who else will be watching Amanda tonight?
Despite its ungainly title, there really isn’t anything all that “new” to New Super Mario Bros. Wii, the umpteenth entry in Nintendo’s vast Mario empire. If anything, it’s a deliberately nostalgic, graphically updated throwback to the mustachioed plumber’s old 2-D, side-scrolling adventures. Yet again, Princess Peach is kidnapped by the big bad Bowser and his odd little coterie of mini-Bowser minions. (Are these horn-shelled doofuses his offspring? Brothers? Nephews? Water-induced clones a la the gremlins in Gremlins?) Yet again, Mario and his brother Luigi must save the helpless maiden by flattening toadstools and dodging slow-moving giant bullets through multiple levels on eight distinctive themed worlds (i.e. the desert world, the jungle world, the Mount Doom world). And yet again, the brothers Mario are aided by special mushrooms, flowers, and animalized suits that embiggen and/or imbue them with the power to throw balls of flame or zip through the air. 
With a improved Wii on shelves, and a retro-style revived Super Mario game just out, Nintendo’s creative mastermind Shigeru Miyamoto has a lot on his plate. It’s not easy being the guy who invented everyone’s favorite videogame plumber, but someone has to do it. We sat down recently with Miyamoto to talk (sometimes via interpreter) mushrooms, mayhem, and why we all love Mario so darn much.
