Quick Hits – Brave and the Bold #1, Fantastic Four #563, Superman #684, and More
January 31, 2009 at 7:28 am | In Comic Book Reviews, Quick Hits, Sam Christopher | Leave a CommentTags: Comics
By Sam Christopher
Straight to comics this week…
Batman: The Brave and the Bold #1 came out this week, offering readers a great take on the Cartoon Network show with a hero we haven’t seen on the show yet, Power Girl. In “The Panic of the Composite Creature” writer Matt Wayne (JLU, Static)—who may well be the long-lost twin of Bruce Wayne (y’know, the one Deadman took over in that long ago ish of World’s Finest)—and artist Andy Suriano (Labman, Charlatan Ball) send the Dark Knight to London to foil the evil plans of Lex Luthor. And Luthor’s main evil plan is to use his “concatenation ray” to fuse hundreds of Brits into one giant monster who follows Luthor’s orders to steal the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom from the Tower of London. Luckily, programmer Karen Starr is in London speaking at a convention and can lend a hand as Power Girl; whose costume has been toned down for this kid-friendly comic. This story contains the first mention of Alfred the Butler in the B:BatB-verse. There is also included a one page “Secret Bat-Files” with info on the villain (where we’re told, curiously enough, that Luthor turned his genius to crime in part because of the extreme poverty in which he grew up) and guest hero of the ish. Aquaman and Bats fight the fiendish computer Carapax in the prologue. An excellent adaptation of the ‘toon, which I also love, this comic offers a bit of no thinking, no continuity slam-bang fun that should thrill kids of all ages and reminds those like me why we started reading comics in the first place.
Fantastic Four #563 brought us another small prologue to the upcoming “Masters of Doom” storyline. Dr. Doom has masters? WHAT?!? I thought this notion dumb when I first read of it at the end of the last ish and nothing I saw here changed my mind. Ben’s engagement is nice, as was the very human response of Sue Richards to warn Ben’s betrothed of the life she’s getting herself into. But maybe they should’ve left out the Johnny Storm “groupie” scene at the beginning of the book. On the other hand, I’m sure all the 14-year-olds reading found it titillating (not to slam the creative team). Mark Millar (Ultimate Fantastic Four, The Flash) is an excellent writer, bringing a human element to his characterizations that serves him very well in most instances. But the human element he adds most here is tingeing these characters with a dark side that just seems off-base for me. Not nearly as bad as the Vegas motel scene between Ant Man and The Wasp from Avengers a few years ago but just wrong for these characters. Still, he is talented enough to overcome all my reservations on this title’s direction so I’ll keep reading and recommending. And, on a totally unrelated note, Bryan Hitch (Ultimate Fantastic Four, JLA) is doing his usual bang-up job in the art department.
Superman #684 purports on the cover to be Part 12 of the 10 Part “New Krypton” storyline, sending us all scrambling to find the little “11” shield that should have adorned the cover of Supergirl last week. Maybe they just didn’t want to take away from the pinup sized picture of Superwoman there, a consideration they didn’t have with this FOE tie-in—who cares if you take attention away from Parasite? Inside the book we learn that Parasite, who Supes is releasing from The Phantom Zone for some reason (I know the Kryptonians had no legal right to imprison any Earthlings there but…), finagles his way to obtaining Mon-El’s Daxamite superpowers (which are the same as Superman’s only greater) for just long enough to escape the Science Police—after he waits just long enough for The Big Red “S” to disappear around a corner. Also, speaking of the SP, they get a new commandant in this story: The Guardian. And, speaking of The Phantom Zone, Superman learns from Mon-El of Zod’s escape, along with a good number of the would-be tyrant’s allies. The Man of Steel then flies to Kandor to warn Alura. Imagine his surprise…
Other comics:
Dead Ahead #2- Our crew sacks a cruise ship, thinking they’ll be able to get enough supplies to keep them going nearly indefinitely. There are, of course, obstacles. Shambling, hungry obstacles. And, then, just because our story follows this crew of a ship doesn’t mean it’s the only one out there.
Final Crisis: Revelations #5- The final showdown with Cain—the artist formerly known as Vandal Savage—ends with a whimper… Cain’s. This was truly the best thing to come out of FC, much better than the parent comic. Writer Greg Rucka (Elektra, 52) and artist Philip Tan (Spawn, Nightwing) tell the tale.
Final Crisis #7- Well, the greatest, most wonderfulest, most marvelost epic in all of the DCU’s historic historicalness is over… and I have no idea what the hell happened. To be fair, this was a pretty complex story and I read a lot so now that it’s over I’ll take a little time over the next few weeks and reread the series all together in order to provide a better, more fair report. Stay tuned.
Fringe #2- Not bad, especially good for a prequel to a tv show. And with any luck we’ll have the third part of this 6 ish series in time for the show’s second season premier.
The Incredible Hercules #125- The last chap of “Love and War” proves once again that women just aren’t equipped to handle power; that only a Real Man can be trusted… with… (Ah, c’mon, honey, it’s just a little joke. I didn’t mean any—hey, hey, HEY! Put that DOWN! I didn’t know we even had a frying pan that large. Wait! STOP!!! <clang!> Ooooooooowwwwww!) Seriously, Greg Pak (Skaar: Son of the Hulk, Battlestar Galactica) and Fred Van Lente (Marvel Adventures: Iron Man, Amazing Fantasy) bring us a fun, if retold, tale, with the usual excellent art by Salva Espin (Marvel Adventures: Fantastic Four, Iron Man/Hulk/Fury) and Clayton Henry (Alpha Flight, Fantastic Five).
Justice Society of America #23- A FOE tie-in with Black Adam on the cover and in the story finding his beloved Isis and sacking The Rock of Eternity. All of this as the JSA regroups and recoups in the aftermath of the epic “One World Under Gog”. Geoff Johns (52, The Flash) and long-time favorite Jerry Ordway (Superman, Crisis on Infinite Earths) write, with Ordway pencils, this, the first chap in “Between a Rock and a Hard Place”.
New Avengers #49- The hunt for Luke and Jessica’s baby concludes and Norman Osborne shows his true colors. The end sets up next issue’s battle between the New Avengers and the Dark Avengers. I really don’t understand Osborne being alive after the events of this ish—but then I often think that.
Orson Scott Card: Ender’s Shadow: Battleschool #2- Bean’s origins begin to unfold as Sister Carlotta prepares him for battleschool. And the menace of Achilles is still lurking just beyond Bean’s field of vision.
Skaar: Son of the Hulk #7- Awash with his newly-granted Oldpower, Skaar begins to cleanse Sakaar of any he deems evil. But then the Silver Surfer comes with the threat of Galactus to stir the waters a little.
Wonder Woman #28- Gail Simone (Birds of Prey, Gen13) is just an outstanding writer. I have no idea where she’s going with this story. I love Diana’s armor, I love the switch at the end of this installment, and I love the absolute insanity we see in Zeus. A FOE cover starring Cheetah.
Xena: Warrior Princess and Army of Darkness: What… Again?! #4 Final ish! Find out the origin of “Deadite Xena”! Find out the identity of Solan’s father (sort of)! If only we could see the diagrams… (if you read the ish you know what that’s about) they make it seem as though this was the last of this series of teamups in total, but we can only hope that isn’t true. Just too fun to let end.
Hulu Awards Week 12: John J. Joex’s List
January 31, 2009 at 7:11 am | In Hulu Awards, John J. Joex | Leave a Comment
Last week of new categories in the nominations and then the countdown to the awards presentation begins.
Round 3 Nominations:
Best Television Show (Scripted):
Unfortunately, I cannot pick from all of the television shows available on Hulu in this category as it has been condensed down to the finalists from the television categories we previously voted upon. This means that I cannot nominate Babylon 5 and Picket Fences because for reasons well beyond my understanding they did not advance to the finals in their categories. So consider them my ghost picks number one and two. For the actual nominations, I could just focus on Science Fiction and Fantasy because that’s really my thing, but I have to acknowledge some of the non-genre options in this category because of their importance to the medium of television. Here are my picks:
1. Firefly – I’ve said it before and I will say it again, FOX committed one of the greatest injustices in the history of television when it cancelled this show (and yet somehow some ABC executive have seen fit to give both Cupid and V a second chance).
2. Alfred Hitchcock Presents – This kicks of a Hitchcock trend that will continue into one of the categories below. A masterful series of horror and suspense stories.
3. Barney Miller – One of the all time great television comedies (I feel I would debase it if I referred to it as a sitcom).
4. The Bob Newhart Show – Second only to Barney Miller on my list of the comedy series included on Hulu.
5. Battlestar Galactica – A hard-hitting series that brings drama to Science Fiction. It’s on its way toward its grand finale and Hulu will follow it to the end.
Best Unscripted Television Show:
I just can’t get away from these darn reality shows. But at least I can mostly ignore them here and vote for the informational/cooking shows.
1. Uncorked – I still want to know how I can get in on this gig.
2. Good Eats – Food nerds rule!
3. After Hours with Daniel – Oh man! Now I’m hungry again after revisiting a few of these clips.
4. 30 Minute Meals – Well, at least this will help me satisfy my hunger within half an hour.
5. Queer Eye – Good, dispensable fun.
Best Movie:
Again, with these we are picking from the finalists in previous categories. Some pretty easy choices, though, and I have already commented on each of these elsewhere:
1. John Carpenter’s The Thing
2. Men in Black
3. Ghostbusters
4. Night of the Living Dead
5. The Karate Kid
Best Comedic Clip:
The two Best Clip categories are pretty daunting as we can select from pretty much any and all clips available on Hulu. It could take weeks to sort through all that, but I already had a good idea of which ones I would focus upon. Of course, I could take the easy route and just sift through the Saturday Night Live clips for my six nominations, but I wanted to expand my consideration further than that (still, I did include to SNL clips). Following are my recommendations:
1. Saturday Night Live: Bush Endorsement – This skit, in which Will Ferrell’s George Bush tries his hardest give his endorsement to John McCain (Darrell Hammond) and Sarah Palin (Tina Fey), ran shortly before last year’s election. I died laughing when I saw it then and still consider it one of the funniest things SNL has done in years.
2. Saturday Night Live: Gitmo Ad – Hurry up and get to the Gitmo going-out-of-business sale before everything is gone!
3. Comedy Gumbo: Hummus – I rather like this web-original comedy show and I was quite perturbed to see advance to the finals in the Worst Web Original category. So I thought I would give it a plug here to counter that dubious honor. Pretty much any of the ten episodes that Hulu has available are representative of the show, but I especially liked this one for the WII Dishwasher Champion ad.
4. Non Fat – I nominated this clip back in the Best Comedic Short category and still think it is pretty darn funny.
5. Young Frankenstein: Inspector Kemp – This clip comes from one of my all time favorite movies and I wanted to nominate it here because present day audiences may not be as familiar with it. This was a great send-up of the Universal Frankenstein/Monster movies and it is Mel Brooks’ best movie.
6. Edward Scissorhands: A Good Astringent – Another of my all-time favorite movies. Any of these clips would have sufficed, but I especially liked this scene where Peg Boggs (Dianne Wiest) applies her suburban Avon-Lady sensibilities to gothic misfit Edward (Johnny Depp). Classic Tim Burton.
Best Clip (Non-Comedy):
There are plenty of movie and documentary clips that I could cast nominations for, but my first choice captures a moment in history that I believe we will be telling our children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren about.
1. Presidential Inauguration: Obama’s Inaugural Speech – Whether you love him or hate him, you have to admit that Obama is one hell of a speaker. I watched his inaugural speech live on TV and it still resonates with me.
2. Spacerip: Voyager’s Legacy – Yeah, I’ve already recognized this scientific series in other categories, but it’s really good so I thought I would give it the nod here as well. Any of the clips are worth watching, but I particularly liked this one.
3. Beyond Human: Cyborg Revolution – I stumbled upon this series while browsing through available clips. It is a really interesting look at the potential of cyborg technology; science fiction meets science fact. Watched several of the clips, but liked this one the best.
4. Field of Dreams: People Will Come – Another of my favorite movies and this clip really captures the heart of the film.
5. The Birds – An excellent and terrifying film and this moment really captures both the suspense and horror that Hitchcock conveyed throughout the movie (without excessive blood, gore, or mayhem I might add) as the children can be heard singing happily in the background while the birds amass menacingly around the schoolhouse. A classic moment in film.
6. Psycho: Mrs. Bates – Too much Hitchcock you say? You can never have too much Hitchcock. Yet another classic moment in film history (as are all of the clips for this movie).
Round 2 Nominations:
Best Television Network:
I would have liked to have seen FEARNet or Chiller advance to the semi-finals, but oh well.
1. 20th Century Fox – This has the best selection of television shows among the choices in this category including such standouts as Picket Fences, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and The White Shadow.
2. Sci Fi – I can do without most of their reality offerings, but they do have Battlestar Galactica and Eureka.
3. PBS – You have to give Public Broadcast a nod here.
4. Funimation – Has some good Anime offerings.
5. National Geographic Channel – You could make an argument for Universal because they have things like Alfred Hitchcock Presents, American Gothic, and Exosquad. But then they also have things like Galactica: 1980, Cleopatra 2525, and The Munsters Today. The bad outweighs the good. And you can never go wrong with National Geographic.
Best Talk and Interview Show:
Three of my initial nominations made it through and the other two are acceptable:
1. The Tonight Show
2. Late Night with Conan O’Brien
3. The Daily Show With Jon Stewart
4. Attack of the Show
5. Inside the Actor’s Studio
Best Informational Show:
All four of my nominees made it to the semi-finals and I will tack on the last one to round out the five.
1. Nova
2. Scientific American Frontiers
3. Spacerip
4. Wired Science
5. National Geographic News
Best News Show:
Again, my four nominees made it through. NBC News Times Capsule has some interesting stuff as well.
1. Comic Con 2008 San Diego
2. NBC News Special
3. CNET News
4. Access Hollywood
5. NBC News Time Capsule
Round 1 Nominations:
Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Television Show:
What? No Babylon 5 in the finals? That’s as big of a travesty as Picket Fences not making it to the finals in the Best Dramatic Television Series category (and it messed with my Best Television Show nominations above). And how did J.J. Abrams’ X-Files retread Fringe make it this far? I can just skip to the next entry on my semi-finals list for this category, which deserves the nod as well, but B5 really should get this vote. My pick:
Firefly
Worst Scripted Television Show:
Cleopatra 2525 avoided the finals here? How did that happen? And come on, I realize that Heroes has seen a drop in quality since its brilliant first season, but it doesn’t deserve this company. Anyway, my pick does:
The Munsters Today
Worst Movie:
This pick is a no-brainer (as was the movie):
The Planet of the Apes
Best Movie Studio:
I’ll stick with my top choice from last week because this studio has some strong representation on Hulu:
PIX
(Editor’s Note: The general public can participate in the nominations as well. Go to the links above for any or all of the categories you are interested in and cast your vote for the shows you think should win. All of the general votes will be tallied up and count as one panelist in deciding the final winners. PSW)
Warning! Zombies are Loose in Austin!
January 29, 2009 at 9:56 am | In Articles, John J. Joex | Leave a Comment
Are Zombies really loose in Austin, TX? Two road signs warned commuters of the threat this morning as they displayed the message: “ZOMBIES IN AREA! RUN”. Word is that hackers took over the electronic road signs, but authorities are checking the area to make sure that no lumbering corpses are threatening the populace (and they are trying their best to distinguish potential zombies from hung-over University of Texas students still recovering from last night’s hazing parties). The authorities are also checking into rumors that Al Qaeda may have recently employed some “Raise Dead” spells in their latest attempt to assault our country.
New on DVD from the Axiom’s Edge Webstore:
Movie Review – Underworld: Rise of the Lycans
January 29, 2009 at 8:32 am | In Movie Reviews, Sam Christopher | Leave a Comment
By Sam Christopher
Rating: 2 out of 5 Stars
Third films—second sequels—are usually such a degradation or rehash of the original ideas that they have lost all vitality. Alien and Aliens are both fantastic films but Alien3 was simply a dreary remake of the original; even Spiderman 3, despite the massive amount of money it’s made, is not nearly the film that Spiderman or Spiderman 2 was. The third film of even planned trilogies is often a downer compared to the original, with The Return of the King (the final chapter in The Lord of the Rings cycle) being the most obvious example of this; it is a good film, just not the cinematic greatness Peter Jackson gave us with The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers. So it was with trepidation that I went to see Underworld: Rise of the Lycans. And even more trepidation than with the aforementioned films because I thought the original Underworld was just all right to start with, and never even saw the second film Underworld: Evolution. It does, however, have the attraction of medieval setting so I decided to give it a chance.
The story opens with Viktor (played by Bill Nighy) touring the cells in which the Lycanthropes (and I’m guessing here there is a difference in name between the completely animal werewolves and the partially human ones) are caged and killing one who had just given birth to the Lycan we will come to know as Lucian (Michael Sheen). Viktor thinks about killing the babe as well but then decides to keep it so he can raise it as a slave with preternatural abilities who he will never give anything to do, other than use his bite to create other Lycans. Whom, in turn, the vampires will keep as slaves with preternatural abilities and never give them anything really to do. Lucian grows up, falls in love with Vik’s daughter Sonja (played by the incredible Rhona Mitra), there’s all manner of palace intrigues and battles and really cool poses before the end of the picture, which almost seems like a tacked on piece to tie this film to the original Underworld (which means the filmmakers here accomplished in two or three minutes what it took Arthur P. Jacobs et. al. two films to do with Planet of the Apes). All the way through I’m thinking they should make a Kull movie that looks like this.
The plot of this film was pretty much what I expected it to be. The story wasn’t bad really. The story of slaves rising up to throw off the chains of their oppressors, especially when those oppressors are as harsh and cruel as the vampires, is usually a rouser. The main problems, though, are with the vampires themselves. When we watch them, see the things they do, the way they do things, we’re left wondering how these clowns could ever become the top of any food chain. Their “warriors” stomp around in armor carrying their mean looking swords and bellowing orders to their slaves and yet we are constantly shown that Lucian and Sonja, together or separately, can take virtually all of them in pitched battle. After watching a few battle scenes the part where the two lovers are captured is nearly impossible to believe despite the superior numbers of the soldiers. More, all through the film you can’t help wondering why the Lycanthropes who live in the perpetually dark forests surrounding the vampire stronghold and prey on anyone or anything that enters those forests haven’t simply overrun the city. The soldiers could certainly do very little to stop them.
But the main problem with the film for me is the Council members and most especially Viktor himself. If the soldiers seem slow and muddleheaded, their leaders are even more so. These “leaders” rail constantly about the absence of one of their number, Sonja, wondering where she is and why she isn’t attending to her duties in the Council Chamber when it is obvious on even the most cursory examination that her heart and mind are far better suited to lead the defense forces. I realize that this is all about what Viktor wants for his daughter but that he can’t see where she’d best be utilized is just one more indictment of his ability to command, and the Council’s as well since they leave him in charge. In a rare moment of clarity a Council member comes forward with a plan to use Lucian and the Lycans as a defense force that can go outside the walls and battle their own kind on their own terms. Viktor dismisses the notion out of hand, preferring, apparently, to keep the Lycans digging for gold and blacksmithing. And Nighy just seemed kind of tired in this film to me. His performance at the beginning reminded me of nothing short of Bunny Breckinridge as The Ruler of the Universe in Plan 9 from Outer Space. Got a little better through the film.
I didn’t give much detail about the plot of this film in this review because I realize there are many who haven’t had a chance to see it yet and want to. Also, I have read several reviews that say this is the best of the three Underworld pictures, which I don’t get at all (I did think Resident Evil: Extinction and Day of the Dead were the best films of their respective trilogies so I’m not against the notion on principle). And I don’t mean to give the impression that I didn’t enjoy the film. I liked it for its atmosphere although the acting was rather flat and the story was hackneyed and derivative; I often had the idea I had seen certain things before, not sure why or where. It was much better than The Unborn and I did get to see a new trailer for Watchmen, which put me in a good mood right off. And, after another trailer I’m even looking forward—God help me—to Bay’s remake of Friday the 13th; did all right with Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
Heroes Returns – Cast Your Vote on if it will be any Good
January 29, 2009 at 8:31 am | In John J. Joex, Previews, Schedule | 1 CommentTags: Chuck, Heroes
Much reviled since the downward spiral in quality which began with its second season (the show is even in the finals for Worst Scripted Television in the Hulu Awards), Heroes hopes to kick off with a fresh start when it returns on Monday with Volume 4 – Fugitives. This volume, which will span across twelve episodes, has the main characters on the run as Nathan Petrelli has set up a task force to hunt down and capture all people with abilities. Also, evil-to-good-to-evil Sylar will be searching for his true biological parents (apparently Angela Petrelli’s deceptions stirred up his nostalgia for his family tree).
Bryan Fuller, fresh off the recently cancelled Pushing Daisies (curse you ABC), returns to the series he worked closely with during its first and best season. And series creator Tim Kring has claimed that the current volume will act as a bit of a reboot for Heroes and that new viewers will not have to be familiar with the show’s mythology to jump on board.
I’m looking forward to the new episodes and hope to see the show get back on track. I am not as down on the show as many others are, but I do admit it started to get on my nerves during the first half of the current season. The constant zipping around in time and killing off characters only to see them return in short term dragged down the quality of the episodes (and did I miss it or did they not resolve the Harvey-Linderman storyline?). Still, I have fond memories of this show’s stellar first season and hope that it can return to form. And while Heroes is most likely safe for a fourth season (NBC’s head of Prime Time has said it is secure), if its ratings continue to dwindle, its status may become a bit more tenuous.
Leading off the night is the return of Chuck for the second half of its sophomore season. As a tie in with the Super Bowl which airs on NBC the night before, Monday’s episode will be in 3-D. NBC has a list of locations where you can get your 3-D glasses here: www.nbc.com/Chuck/about/news/
Also, if you are jonesing for Heroes in the meantime, you can check out The Recruit webseries: www.nbc.com/Heroes/video/categories/the-recruit/873822/
-JJJ
Weekly Update – Bob May Dies; Warehouse 13 to Bow in July; and Star Trek Barbie Dolls?
January 26, 2009 at 7:27 am | In News and Updates, Paul S. White | Leave a CommentTags: Cupid, Lost In Space, Star Trek, Warehouse 13
Captain, this is highly illogical.
Bob May Dies: One week after we had the sad duty of reporting that Patrick McGoohan and Ricardo Montalban had died, we must report on the passing of yet another icon of Science Fiction and Fantasy television. Bob May, who played the Robot from Lost in Space, died at 69 years of age. He appeared in every episode of the series, though we never saw his face because he remained hidden inside the Robot’s apparatus. The Robot, voiced by Dick Tufield, constantly sparred verbally with Dr. Smith and kept an ever-watchful eye on Will Smith and his family.
Warehouse 13 Plans July Premiere: The Sci Fi Channel’s new series about two FBI agents assigned to a government run warehouse that contains paranormal artifacts (a la Raiders of the Lost Ark) is now set for a July 2009 premiere. The pilot has already been completed and production will begin in February on the eleven additional episodes for its first season. Starring in the series will be Eddie McClintock, Joanne Kelly and Saul Rubinek.
Captain Kirk as a Barbie Doll?: As we prepare for the May premiere of J.J. Abrams’ stab at the Star Trek franchise, the merchandising for the movie takes an unexpected twist. Mattel has announced that they will release a line of dolls in the Barbie series in connection with the movie. Currently, they plan to produce a Kirk, Spock, and Uhura doll. So what’s next? A Buffy line of Bratz? Or how about Tickle-me-Rigel?
Cupid Episode Order Trimmed: Bad news for those anticipating Rob Thomas’ second shot at his previously failed series Cupid. He has confirmed that ABC cut the episode order from the standard thirteen to eight. It seems that the alphabet network has little confidence in the series (which begs the question of why they greenlit it in the first place) as they have relegated it to mid-season status and scheduled it in a Prime TIme deathslot (Tuesdays at 10 PM EST). The truncated episode order could indicate that this show will be DOA.
In2TV Offline: AOL’s site hosting television shows online, In2TV.com, is currently offline. The site had previously offered such shows as The Adventures of Brisco County Jr., Batman: The Animated Series, and Max Headroom. The message on the site claims that they want to improve their viewers’ experience and that they will return soon. For now, we will keep that site’s offerings on our Online Sci Fi TV list and assume that they will indeed return as promised. We will provide an update if this status changes, though.
New on DVD from the Axiom’s Edge Webstore:
Hulu Awards Week 11: Sam Christopher’s List
January 26, 2009 at 7:25 am | In Hulu Awards, Sam Christopher | Leave a Comment
Round 1 Nominations:
This category was only tough for the final two. The National Geographics—even though I had previously included the Animals and Travel in my list—were interesting but not nearly the caliber of the final two choices, both of which I had also listed, both of which I love, and both of which I’d like to see win. So this comes down to the classic battlelines: Science Fiction vs. Science, Education vs. Entertainment. Joss Whedon vs. The World. Dr. Horrible’s is fun, and Whedon is the creative genius behind several other choices in other categories—but that only means he can stand to lose this one. Science, even science theory, beats fiction in this case:
Space Rip
This was a much tougher choice. Comedy Gumbo and Destination X are the first to go because I don’t think they’re that awful, just not that great. The last three, though—whew! All of these are really rank. So I have a two-word choice, a three-word choice and a five-word choice. The question then becomes “How lazy am I?” And the answer is, “Pretty damn lazy, ask anyone who knows me.” But the two and three word choices at least have a clear subject matter—it’s just that one’s is so boring I can’t believe anyone cares, and the other is just bungled. My choice:
Gorgeous Tiny Chicken Machine Show
Easiest choice of the week. I was never really a Men in Black guy. The fact that Tim Burton was allowed to call his travesty Planet of the Apes is just another symptom of the degradation of the moral fabric of our society. The Fifth Element and Starship Troopers weren’t bad, just not great. John Carpenter took a classic science fiction film and reworked it as true sf, adding a horror element wholly missing from the original. This, however, in no way diminishes to science fiction roots of the story.
The Thing
Like I said, I don’t really know much about video gaming, and I thought all of the shows they have were informative. However, I did pick one of these finalists last week and saw nothing here to change what I already had down.
Game Reviews
Round 2 Nominations:
Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Television Series:
Had to pick five this week. My four from last week all made it, so…
1. Angel
2. Babylon 5
3. Buffy the Vampire Slayer
4. Sliders
5. Fringe- I picked this here because it’s the only show left that I really watch that has actual episodes on Hulu rather than clips.
The only thing here is that I can watch some of these. Just like Plan 9 from Outer Space if it were here: I would never argue that it’s not a bad film but I still like watching it from time to time.
1. The Crawling Hand
2. Empire of the Ants
3. Planet of the Apes
4. Xanadu
5. Hercules in New York
Worst Scripted Television Series:
A couple of mine from the first round made it through. I can certainly understand how the rest made it here:
1. Team Knight Rider
2. The Munsters Today
3. Knight Rider
4. Cleopatra 2525
5. One Tree Hill
Round 3 Nominations:
I don’t watch any news at all. I believe that if it gets bad enough out there someone will call me. I do look at stuff on the web and read a lot, but watching the blow-dried hair and pressed suit talk about whatever doesn’t interest me. And sludge like Maury and Springer are even lower on my list of things to do. But I do have one choice:
Bill O’Reilly’s Talking Points- I know there are leftists screaming now but think about it. I hear regular folk on both the right and the left talk about O’Reilly often. Who ever in daily life really talks about Neal Cavuto, or Keith Olberman, or Chris Matthews? Left wingers complain about him, right wingers applaud him—they both talk about him.
1. Nova- Brought science to a large section of the country, something it doesn’t get applauded for often enough.
2. Space Rip- I love it, as I’ve said
3. Historic Campaign Ads- Always nice to be reminded that politicians have always been dishonest fearmongers.
4. Scientific American Frontiers- Shows the cutting edge of science for many different disciplines. Something for nearly everyone.
What did I say above about the news?
1. Comic Con 2008
2. Comic Con 2008 San Diego- Both of these were very informative and fun to watch, for the most part.
Best Network and Movie Studio:
Best Major Network:
Fox- Easy choice based on what they have on Hulu. Probably my choice between these two anyway.
Best TV Network:
This was pretty easy, although whittling this down much further will be very difficult:
1. Sony Pictures- Loaded with classic tv like Bewitched and The Partridge Family, The Three Stooges, many others.
2. Universal Media Studios- Adam 12, The Rockford Files, Dragnet—need I say more?
3. 20th Century Fox- One word: Angel. But if you need four more: Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Or The Bob Newhart Show. Or The Mary Tyler Moore Show- which is five words but who’s counting?
4. Fox- Temptation Island is a serious strike against it, but The Simpsons and King of the Hill, along with all the other stuff there, make up for it.
5. Entertainment Rights- I may be the only one to mention this but anyone who brings us this much fine animation just has to get a nod.
Best Movie Studio:
1. MGM- Dr. Phibes Rises Again! The Last Man on Earth! Pride of the Yankees! Some Like It Hot!
2. Lionsgate- Joyride? Curse of Alcatraz? “Brutal” is more than just a movie title here, folks. Any studio that makes this much bad film deserves something.
3. PIX- Any studio that has both Ghostbusters and A League of Their Own is a winner for me, although I really don’t know how this one can beat the depth and breadth of the MGM stable.
4. Universal- Howard the Duck, all I have to say.
Briefs – Battlestar Galactica, Lost, Supernatural, Fringe, Legend of the Seeker
January 25, 2009 at 11:03 am | In John J. Joex, Sci Fi Briefs, Television Reviews | 1 CommentTags: Battlestar Galactica, Fringe, Legend of the Seeker, Lost, Science Fiction Television, Supernatural
By John J. Joex
(THESE REVIEWS CONTAINS SPOILERS)
Shows are starting to return from their mid-season hiatuses, and two of the shows scheduled for a late season premiere have kicked off as well. Following are my thoughts on what I have seen so far:
Battlestar Galactica (2 Eps) – When last we left the crew of Galactica, they had finally made it to Earth only to find it devastated by a nuclear war from two thousand years ago. As season 4.5 begins, survey teams find that the planet is uninhabitable and they also find remains of Cylons from the time of the war that ravaged earth (which look suspiciously like the ones from the original series, and if Dr. Zee shows up I’m out of here). Also, Starbuck finds what appears to be her crashed Viper with her charred remains in the cockpit (but no, we find out that it is not her who is the fifth Cylon). So we have mystery upon mystery thrown at us as the final ten episodes begin to unfold. The news of the devastated Earth spreads across the fleet and a sense of futility emerges culminating in one of the lead characters committing suicide. I really like the way the series handled this tragedy and the feeling of hopelessness among the people of the fleet. You could see epitaphs such as “Earth Sucks” scrawled along the walls of the Galactica. And as Lee and his father stood beside the body of their fallen comrade, the younger Adama asks his father “Why did she do this?” There is a pause as we expect Adama to convey some solemn words of wisdom, but instead, apparently drunk off his ass, he blurts out “I don’t frakking know!” As you would expect from this series, it gives real reactions from its characters, not the standard, nicely-packaged television resolutions. After the second episode, it looks like the fleet is on the verge of mutiny, so expect things to get even more crazy from here (and to better understand Gaeta’s willingness to go along with the mutineers, you should check out the “Face of the Enemy” webseries, though I have no idea what has happened to episode ten).
Lost (2 Eps) – This shows kicks off its fifth season as Jack and Ben try to round up the other five of the Oceanic Six to attempt a return to the island. Ben tells Jack that they must also bring along Locke’s body and provides just a hint that he may not have moved along to his final resting place yet (“I’m not dead yet!”). Getting back to the island may be a problem though as we find out that it or its inhabitants or both are traveling through time. Yes, I really said that, and yes I heard the collective groans as one of the greatest Science Fiction crutches of all time was introduced into this series. I have to admit, though, that in the two back-to-back episodes of the premiere, this was handled quite well. We know quite well how time travel can ruin a story (do I even need to mention Heroes), but when the device is handled well, it can really provide an intriguing plot element (check out the rather obscure movie Primer for a good example of this). With time traveling now introduced to Lost, I will definitely be on the watch for a potential downward spiral for the series, but I will give it the benefit of the doubt for now (but if Hiro shows up, I’m giving up and turning this into a blog about knitting).
Supernatural (2 Eps) – This one returned from its break with a rather grisly story that provided a nice change of pace. Sam and Dean chase what they think is a rather violent ghost only to find that it is two very deranged humans (and yes I saw that coming right at the point that Dean made such a big deal about ghosts not being able to cross the salt line). The main point of the episode was to make Dean reflect on how much his time in Hell affected him. But for me it harkened back to the second season episode of the X-Files “Irresistible” which turned out to have a non-paranormal explanation despite the fact that people wanted to blame some sort of monster for the sordid affair. The second episode after the break also provided a change of pace as the brothers investigate magicians who decided to dabble with black magic. This basically provides a setup for Sam’s decision on how to move forward with his life from here.
Fringe (1 Ep) – Towards the end of its Fall run, Fringe really started to pick up steam and work its way to my must-watch list. With its return from hiatus, though, it has definitely derailed. While the episode itself was not too bad, they threw several wrenches into the show that will almost certainly drag it down for its Spring 2009 run. First, a government official shows up (Sanford Harris, played by Jericho’s Michael Gaston, who Olivia previously put away for sexual harassment) to snoop around and basically intervene with the Fringe team because a lot of questions are starting to come from higher ups. Then for some reason they had to introduce Olivia’s sister and niece who will be staying with her for a while thus setting up the inevitable “child in jeopardy” situation which the teaser for next week already has them prepping us for. Why, when there is so much creative talent out there and so many new ideas, do television shows keep reverting back to the same ingenuine, manipulative ploys? I am especially disappointed with this show because it has such a quality creative team at its helm. I’ll check back in over the next week or two, but my hopes are not high at this point.
Legend of the Seeker (3 Eps) – This show continues to develop and expand beyond the collection of clichés it relied so heavily upon during its early episodes. I still wouldn’t call it a great show, but it’s pretty good and getting better. The first three episodes back from its hiatus have provided some pivotal points in the direction of the series and it looks pretty promising now. The Mord-Sith present an interesting group of adversaries (with an S&M twist), and we have seen one of the recurring bad guys fall (let’s hope there’s no resurrection spells in this universe). This show has definitely made its way to my must-watch list as a bit of a guilty pleasure.
Hulu Awards Week 11: John J. Joex’s List
January 24, 2009 at 8:25 am | In Hulu Awards, John J. Joex | Leave a Comment
We are almost at the end of the Hulu Awards now. A few more cleanup rounds next week then it’s onto to the final awards presentation on March 2nd. But first, on to this week’s categories:
Round 3 Nominations:
Best Talk and Interview Show:
Pretty obvious which one goes to the top of this list. Can we vote on Worst Talk Show as well? Bill O’Reilly’s abusive diatribe show goes straight to the top of that list.
1. The Tonight Show – This one has ruled late night for what seems like forever. I like the way Hulu has it because you can just watch the clips you want (which for me is mostly the monologues).
2. FEARnet All Access – FEARnet.com is quickly becoming a force in the horror/supernatural market with its original series and other offerings. This show offers some good info for fans of the genre.
3. The Daily Show With Jon Stewart – Offers plenty of laughs.
4. Late Night With Conan O’Brien – Not quite as good as its lead-in, but still worth a look.
Best Informational Show:
I’m leaning a bit heavy on PBS Science shows here, but hey, they’re all excellent.
1. Nova – Still providing excellent documentaries after all this time. Wish that Hulu had more episodes available.
2. Scientific American Frontiers – Not quite up to Nova’s level, but still quite good.
3. Spacerip – Already nominated it in the Best Web Original category, but it doesn’t have a chance against Dr. Horrible. I’ll give it one more opportunity here.
4. Wired Science – Another excellent PBS product.
1. Comic Con 2008 San Diego – I’m giving it the top nod here because it is the most relevant to the Axiom’s Edge site and it provided some great coverage for that convention.
2. NBC News Specials – Some interesting, indepth looks at various topics.
3. CNET News – Some decently interesting news quickies.
4. Access Hollywood – More than just a gossip forum, this offers some decent and quite up-to-date news on the entertainment industry.
Best Network and Movie Studio:
This category offers a three-fer of sub-categories.
Best Major Network:
NBC – Could only choose between Fox and NBC for this one. Both have some really strong offerings on Hulu (Heroes for NBC and Firefly for Fox), but I’m giving NBC the nod because of Fox’s history with the Science Fiction and Fantasy genre where it has been particularly brutal when it comes to renewing series (not that NBC is all that much better, just not quite as bad).
Best Movie Studio:
PIX – Guess I will go with this one because they have quite a number of movies that I have nominated in other categories: Men in Black, Ghostbusters, Fifth Element, Starship Troopers, and Karate Kid.
Best Television Network:
FEARnet – There are several of these that you can make some strong arguments for, but I’m giving the nod to FEARnet to give them some recognition I think they deserve. They are currently producing some good original stuff for the web, particularly in the horror/supernatural genre. So let’s give the upstart the nomination.
Round 2 Nominations:
Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Television Series:
This category is pretty easy as my four nominations from Round 3 advanced to the semi-finals. I will take on my honorable mention entry to round out the five required for this round. (See my previous post for my comments on each of these entries.)
1. Babylon 5
2. Firefly
3. Battlestar Galactica
4. Buffy the Vampire Slayer
5. Eureka
Worst Scripted Television Series:
Four of my Round 3 nominations had the dubious honor of progressing in this category (and to my great surprise, Galactica: 1980 didn’t get enough votes to advance). I will tack on The Return of Jezebel James to round out the five for its rather ridiculous premise and annoying delivery (er . . . pun not intended, but accepted).
1. Cleopatra 2525
2. The Munsters Today
3. Knight Rider
4. Team Knight Rider
5. The Return of Jezebel James
Worst Movie:
Three of my Round 3 nominations progressed and the next two are worthy of this list as well.
1. Planet of the Apes
2. Nutty Professor II: The Klumps
3. Hercules in New York
4. National Lampoon’s Spring Break
5. Ghoulies II
Round 1 Nominations:
Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog – If nothing else, we can thank last year’s writer’s strike for this, because Joss Whedon came up with the idea for his masterpiece while awaiting the resolution of that situation. And for some additional good news: he is currently working on a sequel.
Gorgeous Tiny Chicken Machine Show – No, you do not see any other entries in this category. If you do, then you are just hallucinating again. Just cast your vote for this wretched web refugee and move along.
John Carpenter’s The Thing – I know I already nominated it for Best Horror Movie, but it deserves the nod again here as well. Now someone please tell Matt he made a mistake and accidentally included Planet of the Apes in the finals for this category (for its proper category, please see Worst Movie).
Game Reviews – Like I said before, this isn’t really my forte, but this one seems to deliver what gamers should want in news and reviews on video games.
(Editor’s Note: The general public can participate in the nominations as well. Go to the links above for any or all of the categories you are interested in and cast your vote for the shows you think should win. All of the general votes will be tallied up and count as one panelist in deciding the final winners. PSW)
Quick Hits – Dark Delicacies, Mysterius the Unfathomable, Supergirl 37, and more
January 23, 2009 at 6:54 am | In Quick Hits, Sam Christopher | 2 Comments
By Sam Christopher
A fairly large week in comics, but first we say goodbye to Bob May, the man inside The Robot on the original Lost in Space series. Famous for saying he got the biggest job of his career because he could fit in the suit, May always seemed a very likeable cat who I wish I could have met. We here at Axiom’s Edge wish his family and friends well in this time of loss.
We’ll start off this week with Dark Delicacies, an IDW quarterly that promises us the best in horror stories adapted from prose authors to comics form. “Part of the Game”, the first tale here, is the story of a cop who falls in love with a woman who loves money and the trappings of wealth above all. This leads him to make a play for power and riches only to find that some men—not just wizards—are subtle and quick to anger. Authored by F. Paul Wilson ( the novel The Keep and the story “Pelts”), this story was scripted by Dan Wickline (Blood-Stained Sword, I am Spartacus) and drawn by Douglas Draper. This was an interesting tale, reminiscent of a story on the Night Gallery teleseries. The other story, “Dog”, is a Joe R. Lansdale (Dead in the West, Bubba-Ho-Tep) brew which is pretty much described in full detail by the title. Neal Barret Jr. (Dead in the West, ’96 Supergirl Annual) handles the script while Jerry Beck (Arizona, Evil Ernie: Returns) provides the pictures. All in all, not a bad first issue. “Dog” seemed a little weak in comparison with “Part of the Game” but both stories were much better than the typical horror anthology comic fare.
I almost passed on Mysterius the Unfathomable, a Wildstorm title with a first issue out this month, but I’m glad I chose differently. Tired of all those “psychic” charlatans who rip people off by charging exorbitant fees so grieving loved ones can “communicate” with their dead loved ones? Well, this is the story of a psychic who rips people off by charging exorbitant fees so “grieving” relatives can communicate with their dead “loved” ones. He is apparently a true mage who can do almost anything so long as he can remember how. This first ish is the story of his acquisition of his latest “Delfi”, a reporter named Ella—who’s named after her mother’s best friend, who in turn was named after Ella Fitzgerald—who astounds Mysterius with her magical aptitude. Most especially because she’s so small and black. Writer Jeff Parker (Age of the Sentry, Agents of Atlas) and artist Tom Fowler (Green Arrow, Grendel: Red, White and Black) have produced an excellent first issue, filled with mystery (natch) and eccentricity that bodes well for the rest of the series.
This month’s Supergirl #37 is a FOE tie-in with a Superwoman cover. Turns out it was Agent Liberty last week, not the Guardian—all these suits look alike. This is the first chap in a three part “Who is Superwoman?” storyline, and I think they’re trying to lead us to believe that Superwoman is Thara, Alura’s chief of security, which means it will probably turn out to be Kara herself. Maybe she’ll turn out to be suffering some split personality thing brought on by her conflicting allegiances between her mother, who she loves most but knows deep down is wrong, and Superman, who she loves less but knows deep down is right. I know, I know, you’ll say the two have been shown together but have they actually been seen together by anyone else? Even as they fly through the city of Kandor, the daughter of the city’s ruler and the only person on the planet wearing a mask, no one pays them any mind at all. Gen. Lane knows who she is—yeah, I just rolled my eyes—but he never returns my calls. Just my thoughts on this.
It was with trembling hands I picked up Dark Avengers #1. I knew the book would be Osborne-centric, but… I don’t see The Sentry staying with this team long; I don’t see the real Ms. Marvel not splattering Osborne’s version in rather short order; I don’t see Osborne’s stolen armor working at all once Tony Stark pushes that button he has that deactivates any technology of his he considers to have been misappropriated (I read Armor Wars). Also, while I don’t know enough about “Dark Wolverine’s” personality—this being the first time I’ve ever seen the character—I have to say I liked Wild Thing as Logan’s offspring much better. Ares I understand, as a god of war is generally going to be a morally ambiguous character but turning Venom into Spiderman? And Bullseye into Hawkeye? Didn’t this kind of thing run out with Thunderbolts? Brian Michael Bendis (Alias, Powers) and Mike Deodato (Elektra, Thor) tell the tale.
Other comics:
Angel: After the Fall #16- With Connor dead, Angel makes the only choice possible. Think going back in time will wipe out 15+ issues of continuity? Think again!
Birds of Prey #126- In the penultimate chapter of the BOP saga we are witness to the upgrade of The Calculator. A FOE issue.
Black Lightning: Year One #2- Better than the first issue. Still not sold but light years beyond crap like Adam: Legend of the Blue Marvel.
The Brave and the Bold #21- If you needed to protect someone and could contact anyone in the world of DC to do so, would you call Superman or Wonder Woman? Maybe Flash? Nah, you’d go with Green Arrow, right? Oh, well, at least the origin of Purge is revealed.
Dr. Doom and the Masters of Evil #1- Writer Paul Tobin (Age of the Sentry, Monster-Size Hulk Special) and artists Patrick Scherberger (Marvel Age: Spiderman, GeNEXT) and Jacopo Camagni combine for a very average story, but there is a certain whimsical charm to this endeavor that somehow makes it all tolerable. We’ll see, but I dug it.
Epilogue #4- The cadre of vamps catches up to Ethan. Marci’s day goes from bad to worse to just about as bad as it can get before taking a little upturn at the end.
Green Lantern #37- I admit I never saw the end coming until Sinestro “saved” Hal. Then I thought it was inevitable. FOE tie-in with Red Lantern Laira over-writing the GL logo, although I think it should have been Atrocitus or Sinestro, or maybe even Ganthet or the “Saints of the Universe”.
Justice League of America #29- FOE tie-in with Starbreaker on the cover. The FOE should have been artist Chriscross (Firestorm, Xero). I can’t tell how well guest scribe Len Wein (Defenders, Wonder Woman) did because I can’t stand to look at the art long enough to read the story.
The Mighty Avengers #21- The Scarlet Witch returns! Along with her brother—or at least something that looks like him. Excellent stuff!
Ruins One-Shot- Warren Ellis’ (Planetary, Excalibur) answer to Marvels, this edition is a one issue reprint of the mid ‘90s two ish mini. A very good story once you come to terms with it being a depiction of a universe with no light. Cliff Nielsen (Ruins, What if…?) and Terese Nielsen (Ruins, Xena: Warrior Princess) do an excellent job with the art here, absolutely perfect for this beyond-apocalyptic storyline.
Squadron Supreme #7- The return of Hyperion and Dr. Spectrum has major consequences for everyone, a statement that will become literally true according to the last page of this ish. Howard Chaykin (Blackhawk, Black Kiss) still writes with artist Marco Checchetto (Marvel Comics Presents, X-Men: Legacy) taking over the pictures.
Star Trek: Countdown #1- I really looked forward to this, as I have the new film due out in May. But… the central character, Nero, acts and talks far more human than Romulan. Also, I don’t understand why Nero apparently can’t be seen by his crew unless he has one of those “dirt on the face” Miami Vice “beards”. And Spock—“Friends, Romulans, countrymen… we share the same ears”?!? And does Jor-El of Krypton know that Spock is stealing his act? I’ll still get the next ish but I admit I’m not very hopeful.
Vigilante #2- Not sure about this new Vigilante. Seems too Punisher to me. I think I’d like it better if he was Adrian Chase, maybe an alternate Earth version, or even resurrected in a Lazarus Pit. Hey, if they can bring back Jason Todd…
Axiom’s Edge Blog- The Sci Fi Scroll: Buffy to Continue on the Net as Motion-Comic Webisodes November 16, 2009
- Premiere Alert: AMC’s Remake of The Prisoner Debuts Tonight November 15, 2009
- Ratings Results for the Week of Nov 8th: Numbers for V Take a Dive for Second Episode November 15, 2009
- The Prisoner: A Look Back at the Original Series November 14, 2009
- Interview with Fringe’s Joshua Jackson November 13, 2009
- More Cancellation Watch Breaking News: Eastwick Also Gets the Axe! November 12, 2009
- Cancellation Watch Breaking News: Dollhouse Cancelled!!! November 12, 2009
- New in Comics this Week: Batman Meets Doc Savage November 11, 2009
- Weekly Box Office Results: Weekend Audiences are Scrooges November 10, 2009
- Movie Review: Zombieland November 10, 2009
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