Villain

History is full of designated villains - from the German Kaiser Wilhelm of World War I to Tojo and Hitler of World War II to Khruschev and Fidel and Mao of the Cold War. In the war on terrorism, there was Col. Muammar el Kadafi, the Libyan leader a few years ago and more recently Osama bin Laden. And now, again, comes Saddam Hussein, the Iraqi leader whose ouster is demanded by the Bush administration ... or else. Hussein deserves the tag. He has used poison gas on his citizens and is known for the bloody ruthlessness with which he deals with potential rivals for control of the apparatus of state.

Now is the winter of our discontent. Right now.Now is the winter of women claimed by stray bullets as they walk to corner stores, the winter of another year in which Baltimore records more than 300 slayings, the barren season for a police department that justifies paralysis by spending thousands of dollars to study its problems, as if the problems weren't obvious to any sergeant with five years on the street.So have we set the stage for the last act of this fine morality play, this drama that bears the unlikely title of "Linwood Rudolph Williams."

In Pixar's "Toy Story 2" by Activision ($40, PlayStation), Woody has been kidnapped. Only you and companion Buzz Lightyear can save him and bring him back to his toy family, where he belongs. The game's many levels immerse you in adventures that lead Buzz Lightyear from inside Andy's house to far outside it. As you journey with Buzz in search of Woody, you'll encounter many familiar faces from the "Toy Story 2" movie -- including Mr. Potato Head and Rex the dinosaur. Characters will ask Buzz to complete certain tasks in each level.

Georgia's nationalist hero who was elected and deposed is leading a rebellion. Only now he is the fascist villain and the former Commie tyrant is the democratic good guy. Right?Pretty soon the right-wingers will mobilize to throw out the Reagan-Bush-Rehnquist Supreme Court.It turns out the people are for Perot but the Commie-rat-turncoat-conspirators are against him. Just ask him.A lot of people want a free market economy to work its problems out with no meddlesome government intervention -- until they hear there's a rail strike.

Forty years. Twenty films. Five 007s. And still, somehow, Bond, James Bond, retains his slick mystique. In five days -- 40 years after Dr. No, the first film to feature the perpetually cool secret agent -- the newest Bond movie will open. As we wait for Die Another Day, starring four-time Bond Pierce Brosnan and Academy Award-winning actress Halle Berry to hit the screens, here's one fan's highly personal list of favorite moments and most interesting trivia: Best local connection George Lazenby.

Last week, there were new allegations that Tom Arnold made inappropriate remarks to female reporters. But if you really want an Arnold comment to make you feel uncomfortable, try the one he made to me:"Tell me the truth. Did you like the movie?"No, and here are the other answers you need to know:Is Arnold amusing in it?Occasionally (and co-star David Alan Grier also has his moments).Will Tim Curry still have a career after everybody sees his wildly overdone villain?I think not.L Is it a good idea to keep remaking feeble sitcoms as movies?

Nathaniel Hurt left court yesterday a free man while his five-year prison sentence is appealed, maintaining he was "not a villain" for killing a 13-year-old boy he called "a terror."But Baltimore Circuit Judge Ellen M. Heller said in sentencing him yesterday that while she sympathized with the plight of senior citizens living in crime-plagued communities, Hurt, 62, had no right to take the law into his own hands when he fired a .357-caliber Magnum at a crowd of teen-agers who had been vandalizing his car Oct. 10.Vernon Lee Holmes Jr., who Hurt said was among a group of youths who had harassed him for more than a month, was shot in the back.

Round up the usual suspects!"That might have worked in "Casablanca" 51 years ago, but when today's movie makers are casting the role of the villain, the usual suspects increasingly are off-limits.Cast a homosexual or bisexual ("Basic Instinct," "Silence of the Lambs," "JFK"), and the gay groups will protest. Cast a woman ("Fatal Attraction," "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle"), and the feminists will cry foul. Cast Arabs or Jews, Italians or Japanese, just to name a few groups who have been offended by their Hollywood portrayals over the years, and risk a squawk from an organization that likely has "anti-defamation" in its name."

If you're 4 or 5 or 6 years old, it's a cinch you'll be crazy about those four weird-looking dudes dancing and singing (sort of) and strutting their stuff at the Baltimore Arena this week.If you're the parent of a young one, chances are you'll get a kick out of the pleasure your child takes in America's newest folk heroes, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and you might even sit back and enjoy some of their tunes.And if you fit into neither of these categories -- well, then, you probably have very little interest in the "Coming Out of Their Shells" tour, and it doesn't really matter that, to the non-initiate to the Turtle world, this show is basically lame, derivative and exceedingly predictable.

Hines Ward has always been the perfect villain for Ravens fans. He has made a ton of big catches against their team. He has laid out a couple of their players with sneaky crack-back blocks that occasionally straddle the line between legal and "Will the defendant please rise?" And he's always flashing that irritating megawatt smile, even when he gets blown up over the middle by someone like Ray Lewis or Ed Reed. Now, just in time for Sunday's brawl between the Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers at M&T Bank Stadium, guess who has been voted the dirtiest player in the NFL?