Round 1: Kerry.

Well, to give credit where it’s due, Dubya has clearly improved as a debater since 2000. While occasionally flustered and often seeming petulant, he never seemed as confused and inarticulate as he did in his jousts with Gore…in fact, I’d go so far to say that he even occasionally seemed wily. Still, given the artifice of the format, it’s hard to see how John Kerry could have done much better in tonight’s first debate. After the first question or so, Kerry seemed calm, collected, forceful and resolute, and he managed to make succinct and readily understandable distinctions between he and Dubya throughout. For undecided voters who imbibed all the RNC’s garbage a month ago and were expecting another Dukakis Dem in John Kerry, I suspect they may have begun reevaluating him tonight. And, when you consider that the terrain of this debate most facilitated Dubya’s “9/11, 9/11, 9/11” strategy, Kerry’s got nowhere to go but up.

Oh, you mean those letters.

Seven months after the White House declared it had released all documents surrounding Dubya’s desertion, Bush’s resignation letter shows up. “White House spokesman Scott McClellan said the resignation was found in connection with a lawsuit brought by The Associated Press.” Yeah, I’ll bet it was.

Life after Shrek.

If The Incredibles doesn’t satisfy your itch for CGI-animation this fall, it looks like there’s much more to come. First, Ewan MacGregor goes all Threepio in Robots (also with Halle Berry and Robin Williams), while Ben Stiller, Jada Pinkett Smith, David Schwimmer, Chris Rock (and, surprisingly, Ali G) speak for the animals in Madagascar. I’m not really feeling either of these, to be honest. Madagascar in particular looks like a cutscene from Monkey Island.

The Travels of Crichton.

For frell’s sake, don’t forget to set the Tivo, ’cause – as Quiddity notes, Sci-Fi will be showing all 88 episodes of Farscape (“the best science-fiction series on TV” – TV Guide) beginning this Friday at 8am. Seriously, if you’re looking to catch some of the funniest, sexiest, best-written sci-fi out there in recent years, check Farscape out while you have the chance. (And remember to boycott Sci-Fi once again as soon as they air The Peacekeeper Wars.)