Television | the m0vie blog

It’s a Wonder They Stay On: Thoughts on Wonder Woman’s Wardrobe…

Posted on March 24, 2011 by Darren

Well, the first pictures of David E. Kelley’s upcoming Wonder Woman adaptation have hit the web. Lynda Carter loves it and everyone else seems to hate it. Me, I really couldn’t care too much about the costume – I’m just worried about the very idea of a Wonder Woman television show from the creator of Ally McBeal. That’s not a putdown – well, it kinda is – but it’s a more fundamental problem than the outfit she wears (which will likely get retooled repeatedly over the course of the show – assuming the show has a course). Anyway, the outfit gives me an opportunity to wonder about Wonder Woman’s outfit. Is there something wrong with her traditional Lynda Carter look, and is this update an improvement?

Is it any wonder?

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Filed under: Comics, Television | Tagged: Adrianne Palicki, Ally McBeal, bryan singer, david e. kelley, feminism, Joe Shuster, Lasso of Truth, Lynda Carter, sexism, superhero, Television, William Moulton Marston, wonder woman | 3 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Thunderbirds Are Go!

Posted on March 15, 2011 by Darren

I happened to be flicking through the channels when I stumbled across Thunderbirds Are Go! For those unfamiliar with the concept, Thunderbirds is basically the television series that Trey Parker and Matt stone affectionately spoofed when making Team America: World Police (in fact, it was really the only “affectionate” part of the production). Anyway, Thunderbirds Are Go! was the series’ first attempt at a theatrical motion picture, shortly after the first season finished and shot back-to-back with the second. As far as “movies based on television shows” go, the film is essentially a feature-length regular episode. However, in this case, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that.

"They'll never see through my cunning disguise!"

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: alan tracy, Cliff Richard, films, Gerry Anderson, Movies, non-review review, puppets, review, Royal Mail, stingray, Supermarionation, Television, Television program, Thunderbird, thunderbirds, Thunderbirds are go, Tracy Island, Trey Parker | Leave a comment »

When the Sheen Comes Off: The Lonely Ballad of Charlie Sheen…

Posted on March 5, 2011 by Darren

It’s human nature to want to rubberneck at some grotesque car wreck. I have no idea where that grim compulsion is rooted, but it is buried deep within our human nature – we can’t resist it, like some form of morbid curiosity. In fact, on major motorways, the problem is so intense in that it has been suggested in the Netherlands that police should erect blank screens to stop passing drivers from peering at accidents. As I watch Charlie Sheen’s continuing descent into madness (because it seems – defying the laws of nature – like there is no rock bottom), I can’t help but wonder if we should do something similar about the actor’s recent attempts to train wreck his career.

He's not Half the Man he used to be...

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Filed under: Movies, Television | Tagged: actor, addiction, CBS, CharlieSheen, Chuck Lorre, democratic media, drugs, giving the people what they want, Health, internet, media, Platoon, Television, Two and a Half Men, Wall Street | 5 Comments »

Miami Vice: Brother’s Keeper (Pilot)

Posted on February 18, 2011 by Darren

We’re currently blogging as part of the “For the Love of Film Noir” blogathon (hosted by Ferdy on Films and The Self-Styled Siren) to raise money to help restore the 1950’s film noir The Sound of Fury (aka Try and Get Me). It’s a good cause which’ll help preserve our rich cinematic heritage for the ages, and you can donate by clicking here. Over the course of the event, running from 14th through 21st February, I’m taking a look at the more modern films that have been inspired or shaped by noir. Today’s theme is “a brighter shade of noir” – neo-noir that eschews the dark aesthetic for which the genre is famous.

If I ask you to close your eyes and think of Miami Vice, I’m fairly share I can guess what comes to mind, in no particular order. Speedboats, stubble, sunsets in Florida, the music of Jan Hammer, In The Air Tonight, sharp suits and lots of pastel colours. In fairness, a lot of this is very fair – Miami Vice was a show that had a very polished and practiced superficial exterior, and it’s that aspect of the television show that worked its way into popular consciousness. However, looking back at the show – and especially that first season (and maybe a little bit of the second season) – I think it might also be one of the best neo-noir television shows ever produced. Don’t worry, I’m not being controversial for the sake of being controversial.

Well, not just.

No more Mr. Vice Guy...

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Filed under: Television | Tagged: Bruce McGill, Film noir, For the Love of Film Noir, For the Love of Film Noir blogathon, For the Love of Film Noir: The Film Preservation Blogathon, In The Air Tonight, Jan Hammer, miami, miami vice, neo-noir, noir, Phil Collins, Rhythm of the Heat, Sound of Fury, Television | 2 Comments »

Doctor Who: A Christmas Carol

Posted on December 28, 2010 by Darren

Being honest, this Christmas special had me from the moment that Michael Gambon was announced. I might have been a little uncertain when it was stated that Stephen Moffat’s first Christmas episode would be essentially a re-telling of the Dickens classic A Christmas Carol, but I have to admit that I enjoyed it a great deal. That isn’t to pretend that it’s a perfect episode of Doctor Who or that there aren’t significant flaws with the hour of television, but it’s fairly entertaining, features fantastic performances and has a few clever concepts playing about – making it great for seasonal viewing.

The Ghost of Christmas past, present and future...

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Filed under: Television | Tagged: a christmas carol, bbc, christmas, Christmas by medium, Doctor (Doctor Who), doctor who, michael gambon, russell t. davies, scrooge, stephen moffat, steven moffat, Television | 5 Comments »

Family Guy: Blue Harvest

Posted on December 24, 2010 by Darren

A long time ago, yet somehow in the future…

The wonderful thing about myths is that they essentially repeat. All the great and epic stories have been told time and time again, from the first cavemen passing the time by a late night fire through to the matinée screening of the latest big budget blockbuster. Each generation creates their own variation of the myth, putting their own spin on it – some parts are given more emphasis in this iteration, while we shy away from others. In writing Star Wars, George Lucas acknowledged his debt to Joseph Campbell, the author who proposed a “monomyth” – the idea that there is one single overarching story which has been told tim and time again. I reckon that it’s this timelessness is the root of the film’s success, and what makes it such a ripe target for Family Guy.

Click to enlarge...

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Filed under: Television | Tagged: blue harvest, comedy, family guy, family guy: blue harvest, george lucas, homage, It's a Trap!, John Williams, Joseph Campbell, Judd Nelson, reference, Seth MacFarlane, star wars, Television | 2 Comments »

Batman Beyond: The Call (Parts I & II)

Posted on December 19, 2010 by Darren

This post is part of the DCAU fortnight, a series of articles looking at the Warner Brothers animations featuring DC’s iconic selection of characters. I’ll be looking at movies and episodes and even some of the related comic books. This review/retrospective was meant to go out over a week ago, when I looked at Justice League: New Frontier, but unfortunately my package was delayed in the mail. However, I thought it might be worth a look back at the first time we saw a Justice League in the DC animated universe.

It seems that Bruce Timm and his staff of writers had considerable advanced notice that they’d be working on a Justice League cartoon show. The last season of Superman: The Animated Series contained animated introductions of characters like the Green Lantern in In Brightest Day and the Flash in Speed Demons. However, the introduction of the Justice League as a concept, a team of superheroes working for the greater good, came in Batman Beyond of all places. Portraying the distant future of the animated universe after Batman retired, it proved an interesting way to look at the team without getting too involved in the personalities involved.

Batman goes Beyond the call of duty...

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Filed under: Television | Tagged: arts, bruce timm, Brucetimm, Buffy: The Vampire Slayer, comic books, dc animated universe, dc comics, dcau, Greenlantern, Justiceleague, superman: the animated series, Television, Warner Brothers | 2 Comments »

Batman: The Animated Series – Almost Got ‘Im

Posted on December 16, 2010 by Darren

This post is part of the DCAU fortnight, a series of articles looking at the Warner Brothers animations featuring DC’s iconic selection of characters. I’ll be looking at movies and episodes and even some of the related comic books. Given that we looked at Batman: Gotham Knight earlier today, I thought we might take a look at another series of vignettes related to the Batman – this time from the perspective of his bad guys.

Greetings, Batman! You have taken the bait, as I knew you would. Now, prepare to meet your end, within my Aviary of Doom

Aviary of WHAT?

Yeesh, Pengers! How corny can you get?

Fah! Just because you mundane miscreants have no drama in your souls! Anyway, there he was in my av… uh, big birdhouse…

– The Penguin, Poison Ivy and the Joker discuss the state of theatricality amongst modern supervillains

Batman: The Animated Series perhaps represents the best adaptation of the Batman mythos in any medium outside of comics. No other iteration of the character has successfully managed to take in virtually all facets of the Caped Crusader without breaking a sweat – the show can do drama, action, gothic thriller and even comedy. Almost Got ‘Im is a fun little episode which centres around a bunch of supervillains trading stories about that one time that they almost killed the Batman. It’s mostly entertaining just to watch Batman’s eclectic selection of bad guys sitting around and playing cards while talking about business and “you know who”, but each of the schemes is a wacky and crazy death trap straight out of a hokier comic (from a giant dollar coin to exploding pumpkins to laughter-powered electric chair). The episode works because it treats all of this like it’s a regular occurence in Gotham, and these ridiculous plots are just what the villains get up to when there’s nothing better going on.

Card-carrying villains...

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Filed under: Television | Tagged: almost got him, almost got im, animated, art, batman, batman: the animated series, Batusi, dc animated universe, dc universe, dcau, dcu, Grantmorrison, joker, Penguin, Television, two face | 3 Comments »

Superman: The Animated Series – Brave New Metropolis

Posted on December 13, 2010 by Darren

This post is part of the DCAU fortnight, a series of articles looking at the Warner Brothers animations featuring DC’s iconic selection of characters. I’ll be looking at movies and episodes and even some of the related comic books. Since I looked at Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths earlier, I thought it might be worth a look at what a world run by a well-intentioned Superman might look like.

The interesting thing about Superman is that, as a character, he’s very frequently defined by what he isn’t – or what he shouldn’t be. It’s very hard to codify what Superman is, but easy to agree on what he shouldn’t be (for example, the suggestion that Superman should be light and fuzzy is more likely to spark an argument than the observation that he shouldn’t be dark; or the suggestion that he should be a “sci-fi” hero is bound to more controversial than the suggestion that he shouldn’t be a street-level vigilante). Stories like Mark Millar’s superb Red Son define the character by what he isn’t (a proactive political figure) – while interpretations seeking to define the character in more positive terms are frequently divisive (for example, the space hero of James Robinson’s New Krypton or the “down with the people” “wandering the earth” traveler in Grounded). Brave New Metropolis follows a similar structure, in defining Superman by what he isn’t or shouldn’t be: he shouldn’t be a ruler or people.

Lex Luthor is bald because he got sick of people holding him like that...

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Filed under: Television | Tagged: alternate universe, animation, brave new metropolis, brave new world, clancy brown, dc animated universe, dcau, lex luthor, lois lane, superman, superman lives, superman: the animated series, Television, the death of superman, tim daly | Leave a comment »

Superman: The Animated Series – The Late Mr. Kent

Posted on December 11, 2010 by Darren

This post is part of the DCAU fortnight, a series of articles looking at the Warner Brothers animations featuring DC’s iconic selection of characters. With the review of Superman: Doomsday yesterday, I thought it might be worth taking a look at some of the other times Superman has “died” in these animated stories.

Superman: The Animated Series wasn’t quite the huge success that the earlier Batman: The Animated Series had been. It was still a superb animated adaptation of an iconic comic book property, but perhaps Superman is just a tougher character to get a handle on than the Dark Knight – there’s no denying the popular perception that Superman is “boring” by virtue of the fact that he can do just about anything. We can debate that idea back and forth, but I’d argue that the a really good Superman story makes his powers irrelevant by avoiding (or at least downplaying) the physical threat. The character isn’t necessarily defined by how hard he can hit things or how fast he can fly, but by who he is. (Of course, this doesn’t really excuse the “emo-Superman” approach DC seem to be so fond of with Superman Returns and all that.) The Late Mr. Kent is – for my money – one of the most fascinating episodes of the animated series by virtue of the fact that it finds a rather interesting and deeply personal angle on the Man of Steel, without feeling the need to be “grand” or “epic”. Sometimes it’s enough to be intimate.