Posts Tagged ‘ TV-Archived ’

Yep, another Tuesday, another Lost from the Start update.

This week it’s 1×14 – Special, where we find out that Walt is…well, special. Even if he does drop out of the show aside from the odd cameo after the first season.

Click on over for the episode summary with comments and references to things to come, Q&A, quotes and some talk about ‘changing the arc‘ as far as Walt’s concerned…

BATMAN BEYOND: THE COMPLETE SERIES

LIMITED EDITION COMPILATION SET! INCLUDES ALL 52 ACTION-PACKED EPISODES

plus THREE NEW BONUS FEATURETTES

WARNER HOME VIDEO TO DISTRIBUTE DVD Set NOV. 23

(Available for preorder on Amazon here)

I’ve come to the conclusion that Michael Chabon was right. In his 1995 treatment for a Fantastic Four movie (available for download here) he wrote:

The world of the movie is a timeless, more innocent world, a world where Evil lives behind an Iron Curtain on the Dark Side of the planet, a world where, even in 1995, it is always November 21, 1963. Men still wear hats, kids are into hot rods and spaceships, women have bouffant hairdos, and New York City is the vibrant, shiny capital of the Free World. A Technicolor, bossa nova, Douglas Sirk world. A world where radiation is not only terrifying and evil but also capable of producing wonders and miracles. A world of amazing machinery and devices. There is wickedness, to be sure, and there are bad people, and it takes the eternal vigilance of a few stalwart champions to keep our shores from being overrun, our homes and towns from being infested from within, by the emissaries of darkness. Fortunately such champions exist: the Fantastic Four.

He’s right. As much as I like the two previous Fantastic Four movies (and I like them a lot for what they are – frothy family-friendly superhero flicks), a true FF movie that captures the spirit of the comics should be set in the 1960s.

Think of it – a period superhero movie; where else could you have Mr Fantastic’s inventions seem so amazing? Where the pogo plane wouldn’t be laughed at? Where you could poke fun at the rampant sexism evident in the early FF comic?

Chabon also thought that you should just skip the origin story entirely and have the FF as established celebrity super-heroes; I like that too.

And yesterday when I posted about January Jones being cast in the new X-Men movie, it struck me that she would make a perfect 1960s Sue Storm. Perfect. And if she was Sue, why not populate the entire cast with Mad Men actors?

Jonn Hamm as the emotionally distant, distractingly handsome super-genius, Mr Fantastic!

The aforementioned January Jones as Sue Storm, the model-turned-headstrong superhero that just wants to get married so that she can finally be kissed and not heard!

Vincent Kartheiser as the self-absorbed none-too-bright cad about town, Johnny Storm!

And as we’re skipping the origin, there’s no need to see Ben Grimm at all – which means John Slattery can use his piercing blue eyes to emote ol’ Benjy through the CGI’d rocky hide of the Thing!

Yep, I think we’ve got this all wrapped up!

It seems that Alice Eve is out of the upcoming X-Men First Class just weeks after I looked at some pictures and decided that yes, she’d make a pretty good Emma Frost.

So, goodbye Alice…but hello the really rather spectacular January Jones!

I’m surprised that Jones landed the role if only because she seems to be keeping a low profile during Mad Men‘s run – but in all honesty I consider this an upgrade in the acting department (not that I have much to judge Eve’s acting on…)

And let’s face it, in looks alone Jones matches Frost’s porcelain blonde perfectly.

Also on the cast list – Zoe Kravitz as Angel (presumably Angel Salvadore) who, according to google, dated Ben Foster, the other Angel from X-Men: The Last Stand. Spooky.

Between Jones, Oliver Platt, James McAvoy and Kevin Bacon, I’m starting to get the feeling this could actually be rather good…

I understand that for the first part of the season at least, episodes will alternate between the core Fringe reality and the ‘Over There’ reality – but the burning question is whether both Olivias will be sporting the red locks for a while…

Fringe returns September 23 on (sigh) Fox.

A bit more timely than last week – Lost from the Start has been updated for it’s regular Tuesday postings. Every week I tackle an episode of the show, looking at questions raised, plot lines dangled, Star Wars references, quotes and much more.

This week, it’s poor old Boone’s one-and-only flashback episode, Hearts and Minds in which Sayid finds that compasses don’t work and flirts with Shannon, Hurley tries to get Jin to pee on him, Charlie trusts Locke, Kate finds out a secret and Boone gets knocked out, tied up and drugged but is oddly okay with it.

Click on over!

Per Blastr, Scott Bakula had this to say about a Quantum Leap movie at SDCC…

The good news is that Don and I will have a part in it somehow.

Don did say that as he was writing, he told me he was having trouble, ‘getting you and Dean out of my head.’ But I know he will do it.

No Scott Bakula as Sam?

No Dean Stockwell as Al?

No point.

The whole show was built around the chemistry these two actors built up – and neither are exactly retired, should a movie get an (admittedly unlikely) green light.

Some may point out that if you can recast Kirk and Spock, you can probably recast anything, but this isn’t Star Trek, this is Quantum Leap – a smaller, more specialized fan base. And if you alienate them, there’s no point at all in making the movie.

Of course, if you were to recast, there are two actors with a fair amount of experience in time travel who would be pretty good fits for the roles…

(Hat tip)

With the upcoming release of the complete Lost - including an 11 minute coda ‘The New Man in Charge’ featuring Hurley and Ben’s new regime on the island – it was only natural there’d be some teases of what we can expect…

So that’s where all the Dharma airdrops originated…

And is it just me, or is Michael Emerson coming to tie up some loose ends, and telling people that their services are no longer required still the most sinister thing you can imagine?

I was recently asked on Formspring if I thought Cloak and Dagger would make a good movie – and the answer, of course, is hell yes I do.

Not only are Cloak and Dagger favorites of mine, but I think their origin and dynamic would make for a great film. First off, their origin is nice and simple – runaway teens kidnapped and experimented on. It gives the characters a natural villain (their kidnapper) and a mission statement that’s easy to relate to (protecting runaways). It also offers the opportunity to have other characters spawned through the same process – like Mr Negative.

Then there’s the dynamic of the characters – rich, privileged Tandy Bowen. She’s pretty but naive and with a good heart. Tyrone Johnson by contrast is poor but honest, but being accused of a crime he didn’t commit has hardened him – but he’s still drawn to protect Tandy when he meets her.

It’s a great set-up and would make a nice self-contained movie even without the trappings of SHIELD that seem to pervade every Marvel movie these days. Hell, have the kidnapper be a disgruntled Stark researcher fired for unethical behavior if you must have a tie-in to the main Marvel movies.

The key (besides a great script of course) is finding the right Ty and Tandy. Actors who don’t look too old but can actually, you know, act. Fortunately, we have Friday Night Lights.

Friday Night Lights is a show that you should all, without exception, be watching. Consistently one of the best written, acted and produced shows on TV, it’s finally getting some recognition from the Emmy board this year in the shape of nominations for leads Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton but it’s two of the younger actors who are perfect fits for Cloak and Dagger.

Aimee Teegarden has played the Taylor’s daughter Julie since the start of the show, and she’s simply a perfect fit for Tandy. Michael B Jordan is a new addition to the cast in season 4 as the troubled Vince Howard – but again, perfect fit.

So there you are – the perfect cast for the perfect stand-alone superhero movie.

Now, if you want a script I can do that too…

Yep, it’s Tuesday which means my other site, Lost from the Start is updated with a new episode. You see, I’m watching Lost…from the start. Clever, eh?

This week it’s a Jack flashback in episode 1×11 – All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues, plus there’s the usual character updates, the episode Q&A, quotes and an updated Jears Count.

And oh yes, Locke and Boone find some kind of hatch in the jungle…

But then you knew I was going to say that, didn’t you?

This week, it’s the Claire-centric ‘Raised by Another‘, including creepy two-tone eyed Locke:

As usual, there’s the episode Quotes page and Q&A page, plus the awesome timelines – on the island and pre-island – use the control panel to click on make them full screen and browse through events revealed through episode 1×10. Alternatively, click on any of the main character profiles to check out their own timeline (at the bottom of the narrative for each character), like Jack’s here:

Head on over!

That’s right, we’re back on track with Lost from the Start.

This week under the microscope is Sawyer-centric episode 1×08 – Confidence Man.

Boone gets a beating, Shannon gets asthmatic, Jack gets angry, Kate gets to smooching, Sawyer gets tortured, Sun gets all doctory and Sayid falls back on old tricks – lots going on!

As always, the characters, numbers, nicknames, Jears, music, and Star Wars pages are all updated, too (and the timelines will be shortly!).

All this, and Sawyer’s letter scanned in, and a new Abandoned Plots page too!

The holiday weekend threw off my schedule so, just like comics slip from Wednesday to Thursday, so Lost Tuesday slipped to Wednesday.

Anyway, this week Charlie sees a moth, Jack gets trapped, Sayid gets clobbered, Sun gets independent and Michael proves useful for a change. Yep, it’s episode 1×07 – The Moth, Charlie’s first flashback and even though Charlie remains one of my favorite characters in the show, this is one heavy-handed episode. I’m inclined to blame co-writer Paul Dini.

All the usual shenanigans – episode recap/review, quotes, the Q&A (with only one question raised this week), new character pages for Liam, Scott and Steve, a very special musical performance from Drive Shaft and tons more over at the very awesome (if I do say so myself) Lost from the Start!

Better late than never – but Lost from the Start is updated once again with the next episode in the weekly review of the show from the start.

This week it’s Episode 1×06 – House of the Rising Sun.

In which Jin beats the crap out of Michael, Sun has a flashback and finds her voice, Kate finds Adam and Eve, Jack finds a new home, and Charlie finally finds a fan.

As usual there’s a Q&A for the ep (although I think there’s only three questions raised by the episode), a list of Quotes and the first Star Wars reference.

Head on over!

…seems to be coming along nicely. AICN has had a series of articles up, all loaded with some good information and pics, which I’ve attached below (click each pic below), but I don’t think I’ve communicated just how excited I am for this TV show.

Granted, it’s only got one season for now, and that season is only six episodes long, but the prospect of seeing one of my favorite comics translated to the small screen in a way which should (hopefully) do it justice is great, especially when you have Frank Darabont leading the way.

My only concern is that it might be dismissed as ‘that zombie show’ – and now I think of it, I’m not even sure that the word ‘zombie’ even appears in the comic – but as long as it’s well-marketed, that should be avoided. And as for who the walking dead really are, I can only hope that recognition plays into the series earlier than the comic.

Darabont says in one of the AICN articles that he currently plans for Rick and co to reach the prison at the end of the second season (assuming it’s renewed) – something that happens in the comic at the end of the second trade paperback collection. That’s promising to me for reasons I can’t quite put my finger on; while I don’t want the show to be a slavish adaptation of the comic – I mean, Lori’s character would get pretty damn grating very quickly – I do like the idea of sticking to the overall arc of the comic in broad strokes.

That said, I do wonder if certain elements might not suit a live-action show; Michonne’s character for example, with her ridiculous sword skills, or the General and his men. Even so I have faith that, if the show gets that far, these are hurdles Darabont is up to.

Yep, I’m looking forward to The Walking Dead. Are you?

Tuesday means that Lost from the Start is updated again; this week it’s episode 1×05 – White Rabbit where Jack has a flashback, a redshirt dies, living together or dying alone is discussed, Boone tries to help out, a dead man walks and Jack cries. A lot.

This episode really tells you anything you need to know about Jack (and not one mention of his tattoo, which should tell you just how much we needed that episode…)

The episode recap/review with comments on plot points is here, the character pages are updated, the island timeline is updated and the brand-spanking-new Pre-Island timeline is now up too. Plus the usual quotes from the episode and Q&A related to the episode.

Oh, and the Jears count is updated too.

As always, feedback appreciated!

It seems like Geoff Johns has been busy since he took over the post of CCO – and the first fruits of his labor look to be the live action Blue Beetle clip he’s showing at SDCC and talking about on The Source.

I like the Blue Beetle a lot, and I’m glad that he’s getting some exposure because he’s one legacy character that I think could stick around long term as he’s actually easily separable from the character that he’s replaced -only the name is the same.

He’s also a character that could easily lend himself to a TV show – teenager, high school, not too many DC ties, recurring villains, aliens – and introducing him in Smallville may actually be a pretty good way to go (not that this has been mentioned, I’m just spitballing here) in a back-door pilot style. Plus, you know, Paco and Brenda are awesome.

But – and I know these are just tests – the shots that Johns has released of the Blue Beetle special effects look kind of cheap (although they do make an excellent gif).

And yes, I’m fully aware these are just screenshots from a test, as I said, and yes, I know that if a show was ever greenlit it would hopefully get a bigger budget.

Even so, somehow the outfit looks awfully familiar….

Yep, it’s Tuesday – which means that Lost from the Start is updated for a new episode, and this week it’s ep 1×04 – Walkabout.

It’s a classic Locke-centric episode, wherein the camp faces hunger, Locke finds a knife, Shannon plays games, Charlie and Hurley go fishing, and Locke has a flashback – and what a flashback.

Also updated are the Island Timeline, character profiles (and their individual timelines), the Jears Count, the Survivor Count (no change in both this week), the list of Sawyer’s nicknames and the references to the Numbers. All this, and the episode’s Q&A and quotes too.

Head on over – or you may make Jack cry!

It’s Tuesday, which means Lost from the Start, my site running through Lost from the start (see what I did there?) is updated again!

This week, it’s episode 1×03 Tabula Rasa.

It’s a Kate-centric episode from back when people didn’t complain when a Kate-centric episode came up. It’s funny looking back now that the first full flashback episode should be of a character who ended up having the most derided flashbacks of all.

Never the less, this early in the series there’s plenty going on – Jack and Sawyer are butting heads, Locke’s being all mysterious, Charlie strikes up a friendship with Claire, Jack takes a life, Jin gets a little more human, and Hurley listens to a piece of music I’ve grown to love.

Hop on over for the episode recap, quotes, the Island timeline updated for the episode, the music from the end of the episode, the individual character pages (and their own timelines) also updated for the events of this ep.

What I want is the complete Babylon 5 series 1-5…and it just so happens to be on sale today for $100.

Yes, I know. I suckered you in with a video of Londo then made a sales pitch. Sorry.

It’s funny, but I’ve always been torn on B5. There’s a lot of it that I love – the overarching Shadow war, the break from Earth, Delenn, G’kar and Londo (possibly the two best characters in science fiction; sorry, Star Trek and BSG) – but there’s also a lot I don’t.

Their standalone episodes are amongst the worse that science fiction has ever produced. You thought the BSG boxing episode was bad? Wait till Garibaldi gets in the ring.

Some plotlines drag on interminably and simply aren’t that interesting anyway – like the doctor’s walkabout.

Some of the cast are truly, truly awful (yes, I’m looking at you, Jason Carter) – but fortunately these are offset by some barnstorming performances from the likes of Peter Jurasik, the late Andreas Katsulas, Stephen Furst, Jerry Doyle, Bill Mumy and Mira Furlan.

Most damningly, the show – almost every episode of which, incredibly, was written by series creator J.M. Straczynski – suffers from two leads (Michael O’Hare in season one, Bruce Boxleitner after that) who are either painfully wooden or overly bombastic, depending on if they have an emotional scene to play or one of JMS’ speeches to deliver.

Ah yes, the speeches. You thought those season seven Buffy speeches got repetitive? You ain’t seen nothing till you’ve seen Bruce Boxleitner bluster his way through four or five ‘this is where we make a stand’ speeches.

And yet….and yet, Babylon 5 comes together really, really well in spite of the rough patches and as I said, G’Kar (the late Andreas Katsulas) and Londo (Peter Jurasik) against all odds become the shining points of the series. So much so that I’m actually going to paste some more clips in here…

I wish I had the time to sit and watch the show through again but, alas, it’s unlikely to happen any time soon.
Ah, well.