Animated Star Wars: Clone Wars Trailer

Here's the trailer to the announced, yet not scheduled Star Wars: The Clone Wars CGI animated series.

Diane, I’m Holding in My Hand a Small Box of Chocolate Bunnies

This week, I bought Twin Peaks - The Definitive Gold Box Edition, the DVD collection that includes the entire 1990-91 David Lynch series, including all 29 episodes, the pilot and the international movie version of the pilot, as well as several special features.

Simply stated, this is one of the best DVD purchases I have ever made. I don’t often feel the need to buy TV series on DVD, but this is one of the few exceptions that justified the price. I loved Twin Peaks when it first aired in 1990, stuck with it when it went off track for several episodes and lamented when its brilliant series finale would have no follow-up. It’s influence on TV can still be felt today on shows like Lost and Heroes.

The complete series has been previously released on VHS, and recently the first and second seasons have been released on DVD, but this is the first set to include both versions of the pilot and the new extras that make this set worth buying.

Having just purchased it, I haven’t had a chance to watch all 10 discs yet, but what I have seen so far is reason enough to highly recommend this set. I watched all of Disc 1, which is both versions of the pilot. The DVD gives you the option of watching either version, or just watching the alternate ending of the international version, since ¾ths of the movie is the same. Much of the footage of the international version ending shows up in episode 2 of the series.

I also watched Disc 10, which is where most of the special features can be found. First up is "A Slice of Lynch," a recent conversation with Lynch and Kyle MacLachlan (FBI special Agent Dale Cooper), Madchen Amick (Shelly Johnson) and production associate John Wentworth. This is the only extra that includes Lynch, and its very enjoyable, and well worth watching, as they discuss their own personal memories and demonstrate their ongoing affection for the show and each other. And may I add, Madchen Amick, more than 15 years later, is still hot.

Other features discuss the pilot, the first season, the music of the show and the second season. together nearly two hours of behind-scenes fascinating info about the show. Mark Frost tells most of the tale, aided by writers, directors and cast members (Sheryl Lee, who played Laura Palmer and cousin Maddie, also still hot). The music section is highlighted by distinctive composer Angelo Badalamenti, discussing how he created he music of the series while he plays it on camera. He shares an awesome anecdote about Paul McCartney that basically captures the coolness of it all. Singer Julee Cruise talks about working with Lynch and Badalamenti. A video for her song, "Falling" from the show is included among the extras as well.

While all of the documentaries are worth watching, particularly fascinating is the section on Season 2, where the show lost its way. Pressured by ABC to solve the mystery of "who killed Laura Palmer" early on, the show floundered for several episodes as creators Lynch and Frost focused on other projects and outside writers and directors took the show in directions that focused on weirdness for weirdness sake vs., superior storytelling with a Lynchian touch. Schedule shuffling and Gulf War pre-emptions also affected the show’s ratings, dooming the show that had once been the highlight of the ABC schedule. Lynch and Frost returned to get the series back on track for the final episodes of the season, but the damage had been done. Despite a compelling Season 2 cliffhanger finale, there would be no third season, and Twin Peaks ended, precious potential wasted.

As a fan, I also admit Season 2 went horribly wrong, starting off by solving the murder of Laura Palmer (the behind scenes take on this revelation is fascinating to watch, particularly regarding the actor involved). Lynch and Frost knew from the beginning who the murderer was, but none of the cast did – and they even shot alternate scenes with suspects to keep them guessing. The Windom Earl arc that concluded the series was at least as compelling as the Laura Palmer mystery, but by then it was too late. Too much extraneous silliness had derailed the series, trying the patience of even the most die-hard fan (myself included).

After watching just about all of the special features of Disc 10 (don’t miss the Saturday Night Live sketches with Kyle MacLachlan – hilariously spot on), I began watching the series itself, anxious to revisit the series after watching all of the discussions about it. In addition to the pilot, I have seen the first 2 episodes, and am a fan all over again. What stands out for me this time around is how Michael Ontkean as Sheriff Harry S. Truman anchors the series. He is us, fascinated, supportive and confused by Agent Cooper, as he takes the weirdness that this murder has brought to his town completely in stride. In the second episode, he tells Cooper that he may have to take up medicine because he feels like Dr. Watson. A perfect comparison, even as he sells himself short. Cooper could never get through this mystery on his own. Truman is his anchor, and together they navigate the mysteries they uncover, finding just as many questions as they do answers. Re-focus on Truman as the main character and the show is fascinating in a completely different way.

A great collection for a great show. Do yourself a favor and re-acquaint yourself with the series and the story behind its rise and fall.

Trapped in the Vast Wasteland

So, when I restarted this blog over the summer, I thought I was reinvigorated enough to start posting regularly, but it’s now been over a month since I posted last. Why is that?

Simple. The new TV season. Not only have I been watching most of the same shows I watched last year, I have added several new ones – on both broadcast and cable. I have become such a slave to my remote that I find little time to post any more. Plus, I have also gotten a bit of a life going now, so that helps too. But, that’s not for the blog…..

But the good news is, once I do get back to posting regularly (hopefully, this week), I will have a lot of TV to write about. And movies. And books. So stay tuned.

I am actually looking forward to the writer’s strike, so I can get a bit of a breather. More reality TV means I will be watching less TV. More movies, more books, and hopefully more writing.

George Lucas Talks Star Wars TV

In a two-part interview with TV Guide, Star Wars creator George Lucas talked about a documentary about San Francisco filmmakers, making the next Indiana Jones without Sean Connery. And in part 2 of the interview, the future of Star Wars on telvision.

Lucas is currently working on two series, 100 episodes each. The first is the animated Clone Wars, which like the previous animated series of the same name, takes place between Episodes II and III of the saga. The second is a live-action series that takes place in an era not yet explored outside of books, comics and games -- between Episodes III and IV. Here's Lucas:

Clone Wars has got all the characters in it — Yoda and Anakin and Obi Wan and the Emperor and all that — so it's basically the movie. The live-action [series] is not the movie. It's the Star Wars universe, but it's characters from the saga who were [previously] minor, and it follows their stories. It's set between [movie episodes] III and IV, when the Empire has taken over. It's like Episode IV in that the Emperor and Darth Vader are heard about — people talk about them — but you never see them because it doesn't take place where they actually are. There are storm troopers and all that, but there are no Jedis.

Neither series has an air date, or a channel to show them yet, for that matter. But Lucas isn't concerned. it's Star Wars. They will find a home.

You're Really Super, Supergirl

Here's Laura Vandervoort, who plays Kara, aka Supergirl, debuting on this week's Smallville season premiere. She's also the cover girl for this month's Stuff magazine, where this image came from.

In a related story, Lois Lane is still looking pretty good too. Erica Durance is on the cover of Maxim.

Now that is just super.

Fall Season preview: “Heroes” Worship

Thanks to Comcast On Demand and the iPod, I have had the opportunity to catch a few new Fall dramas prior to their network television debut, and of the ones I have seen so far, all NBC shows, they all have one thing in common – they owe their existence to the success of NBC’s Heroes last season.

The pilot episodes I have watched are Chuck, Bionic Woman and Journeyman. Chuck and Journeyman will bookend Heroes on Monday night, for a 3-hour block of sci-fi/geek drama. Of the three, I liked Journeyman the best. Here’s a rundown of the show’s premises and my thoughts on each:

Chuck is about a geek who works a the Nerd Herd (i.e. Best Buy’s Geek Squad) who has downloaded all of the world’s intelligence secrets directly to his brain courtesy of a former college friend, revealed to be a spy. As the holder of all these secrets – which are basically a series of seemingly unconnected visual cues, Chuck is able to connect the dots and foretell major threats before they happen. Needless to say, Chuck becomes a hot commodity. Assigned to protect him – and his secrets – is a hot government agent.

The show has an appealing cast, and premise that isn’t too bad but it seems to be trying a little too hard. The obvious inspiration here is Hiro and Ando from Heroes, two guys immersed in pop culture. The predicting future events angle is not too far removed from Isaac, the painter. The show has potential, but only if the cast remains appealing, and they get away from nerd cliches. It works as an 8:00 lead-in to Heroes.

Journeyman follows Heroes at 10. Also, like Hiro, this involves a time-traveler tasked with changing the past to make a better future. But the premise reminds me more of Quantum Leap, without the inhabiting other people’s bodies part. I liked this show. In the pilot, he discovers what us happening to him and his seeming purpose, and struggles between this "mission" and making changes to his own life. There are a few clues in the pilot to indicate that there is a reason he was chosen for this, but it’s mostly still a mystery.

Unlike most time-travel stories, he doesn’t go into the past and arrive back right after he left – he is gone for days at a time, and disappears suddenly, which can be a problem when he is driving at the time. He has to explain his absences to his family and his job, which obviously, is not easy. The show deals with that unfortunate side effect, as well. I think there is some potential here, its too early to tell if this will be a save a different person every week show,, and whether that will grow old or not, but so far, I’m intrigued.

Finally Bionic Woman, a show about a young woman with super powers, premieres Wednesday at 9. A remake of the Six Million Dollar Man spin-off with 70s, this show has very little in common with its predecessor, other than the name of the lead character, Jamie Sommers, and the fact that her mangled body is replaced by bionics, specifically her legs, and arm, her ear and her eye (the last an addition the original didn’t have, but one that they obviously plan to make much use out of , based on the pilot. Almost killed in a car accident, her secret scientist boyfriend makes her the latest cyborg prototype for a covert operation. Her predecessor has escaped and for some reason is on a vendetta. No slow motion running or cheesy 70s sound effects (too bad), its really too early tell how this will be. Of the three pilots, I enjoyed this one the least, but I’ll give it a few more episode before I decide.

I think Journeyman has the best chance of survival this season. Chuck tries too hard to be clever and Bionic Woman tries too hard to be edgy.

Either way, it’s a good time to be a geek. At least til November sweeps.

Star Trek: The Next Generation -- Complete Series on DVD

Hey, it's only $440. Make it so!

History of the laugh track

Here's an interesting piece -- the history of the laugh track, complete with video examples of how it has evolved over the years.

Many popular sitcoms today -- The Office, Scrubs, My Name is Earl -- don't use a laugh track. I've been watching Cheers and Coach reruns lately, both of which used a laugh track, and for those shows I'm used to it, but I didn't realize how much I had gotten used to NOT having one on urrent shows until I watched Back to You, a new Fox sitcom, starring Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton. It used a laugh track, and it was very jarring to me, and kind of strange. It's disturbingly effective though.

Check ot the piece and the video slide show on Slate.com. Very interesting.

Toon in this weekend

A reminder. This Saturday morning, the season premeires of The Batman and Legion of Superheroes, starting an hour later at 11 am ET.

And Sunday at 9 pm is Star Wars-themed episode of Family Guy.

Just an excuse to run that cool pic at top.

Superman/Doomsday review

Superman/Doomsday is the movie that Superman Returns should have been -- a movie that ignores all that went before and gives a completely fresh take, one complete with not one, but two, incredible Superman fight scenes -- yes he punches the bad guy! It’s violent, it’s funny, its dramatic, it’s romantic – exactly what every REAL superhero movie should have, something seen in live action recently only with X2, Batman Begins and the first two Spider-Man movies. This is the best feature-length Superman movie since Christopher Reeve first donned the cape in 1978.

Superman/Doomsday, the first of DC’s new animated direct-to-video projects based on actual comics’ storylines, hits stores this week, and man was I ready for it. I recently re-read the trilogy of trade paperbacks on which this was based, not that I needed a new re-read to familiarize myself with the biggest Superman story since his debut in 1938, but I wanted to get myself psyched for this animated adaptation. I was not disappointed in the re-read, and in fact like some parts of it even more. And I was certainly not disappointed in the new animated version.

There have been complaints about this movie, most before anyone had even seen it, so let’s get those out of the way. The complaints have been the following 1) it doesn’t follow the original comics’ storyline; 2) it doesn’t have the voice cast of the recent Superman/Justice League (Unlimited) animated series, and 3) what’s with the lines on Superman’s face. My responses are as follows: 1) so what? 2) it shouldn’t; and 3) who cares?

Seriously, there’s no way to get everything in from the original storyline and do you really want everything? I know what it really boils down to -- why didn’t it have the 4 pretender Supermen that appeared in Superman’s absence. While that would have been cool to see, it’s just too much for an animated feature, and I think their solution paid sufficient homage to that part of the original storyline, while not directly following it. There are plenty of other aspects of that story – Luthor’s appearance/status, the role of the JLA and Supergirl, that were a significant part of the comic story, but really had no place in this stand-alone movie.

The voice cast was different because this is a different version in a different world, one we haven’t seen before, one in which Superman is the only hero (hence no JLA); every character (except Superman and Doomsday) look completely different than how they were previously portrayed, and had different voices. It makes sense for this version. That leads to the complaint about the lines in Superman's face. Except for those pronounced cheekbones, Superman did look pretty much the way he did in the previous animated series, making the one addition to the look stand out more. If they had used a different model, that particular feature would not have stood out so much. A minor quibble for a Superman who’s supposed to have been around for awhile in this version. But Luthor, Lois, Perry, Jimmy and Ma Kent all looked and sounded different than their previous animated incarnations, as they should have.

Now the movie itself. No spoilers for anyone who hasn’t seen it. It’s divided into three acts, just like the comics: Superman vs. Doomsday, world without a Superman; and Superman returns (is that a spoiler, I don’t think so, did you expect him to STAY dead?!) As I mentioned earlier, the first and third acts have tremendous fight scenes. Superman cutting loose like you’ve never seen before in any animated or live-action version. And boy, does the man like his heat vision. it’s rated PG-13, so there are a few things that might seem out of place in a Superman cartoon – bloody violence, implied sex, drinking and mild swearing, not to mention actual death. But, it’s handled well, nothing a kid wouldn’t see in any PG or PG-13 live-action movie.

There’s a different take on Luthor here, one that makes him more reptilian than we’ve seen previously, and the classic Lois/Superman/Clark triangle is handled extremely well here, in a way that doesn’t insult the intelligence of an investigative reporter confronted with a pair of glasses.

I started off this review by saying it ignores everything that happened previously, but that’s not completely true. There are a few visual touches that honor previous versions, like the robot from the 1940s Fleischer cartoons, the Brainiac head from the Superman animated series, as well as other little touches that evoke the movies, Smallville and the comics on which the story is based.

The movie’s not perfect, but if you want to see Superman cut loose, a truly evil Luthor and a mature look at the Superman/Lois relationship, you will like this. No fanboy nitpicking allowed.

The DVD includes a couple of cool special features worth mentioning – a 40+ minute documentary on the original storyline interviewing most of the original creators and a 10+ minute feature on the next DC animated DVD project, Justice League; The New Frontier, which includes more than what was previously seen online. There’s also a feature-length commentary, but I haven’t gotten to that yet. Both the comics documentary and The New Frontier featurette are very enjoyable and worth watching at least once, if you are at all interested in those things, which of course I am. As much as I enjoyed Superman/Doomsday, I am looking forward to The New Frontier even more.

I loved it. My complaints are so minor, they’re not even worth mentioning. I need to watch it again. Highly recommended!

Justice League Movie Official; Director named

As expected, George Miller, who most recently directed the very successful animated Happy Feet for Warner Bros., has been named as the director of the long-rumored, now official Justice League of America movie. The studio is aiming to release the movie in the summer of 2009, which would put the production ahead of the next Superman movie.

Neither Batman Begins star Christian Bale or Superman Returns star Brandon Routh are expected to reprise their roles in the movie, though their characters are featured in the script. Other heroes expected for the movie are Wonder Woman, Flash, Aquaman and Green Lantern.

According to Variety:

Batman and Superman are active properties for the studio, though the next installment in the Superman franchise has taken a backseat to Justice League in part because Warners is so keen on the Justice League script by Kieran and Michele Mulroney.....This project could give the studio a launching pad for future Wonder Woman and the Flash pics. The studio has been developing bigscreen adaptations of both DC properties.

In a follow-up post, IESB.net, the site that first reported the rumor that Smallville's Tom Welling was in line to play Superman in the JLA movie, has now confirmed that Welling will NOT be the team's Man of Steel, and it's possbile that Routh will suit up for the movie after all. The site is now also reporting that Ryan Gosling heads the short list of actors for Batman. Bale and his director Christopher Nolan have made it clear that they are not happy about the JLA movie plans.

The Bat-sequel, The Dark Knight, is scheduled for summer 2008; Justice League of America, the following summer. The next Superman movie? Up, up, in the air!

Iron Man Trailer

Extremely cool -- the first offical trailer for Iron Man, which opens on May 2, 2008

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

The official name of the 4th Indiana Jones movie has been revealed: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

The movie opens May22, 2008.

Trailer for Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox story

Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story is a spoof of musician bio-pic movies such as Walk the Line and Ray. starring John C. Reilly (who does his own singing) and featuring Paul Rudd as John Lennon, Jack Black as Paul McCartney and Jack White as Elvis Presley, the film was written by movie comedy superstar Judd Apatow.

The movie opens Dec. 21. See the trailer here.

Remastered Beatles' "Help!" due in October

From Billboard:

The Beatles' second film, 1965's Help!, will be released in a
double-DVD edition Oct. 30 via Apple Corps Ltd and EMI Music. The movie was released on DVD in 1997 and again in 2000, but has been off the market ever since due to rights issues.

The first disc of "Help!" boasts a digitally restored version of the film plus a new 5.1 audio soundtrack, with songs like "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away," "Ticket To Ride," "The Night Before," "Another Girl" and "You're Going To Lose That Girl." Disc two offers a 30-minute documentary about the making of the movie, a missing scene, a featurette on the restoration process, interviews with cast and crew, three theatrical trailers and vintage radio advertisements.

See the Beatles perform "You're Gonna Lose That Girl" from the film here.

Family Guy Spoofs Star Wars

First, Robot Chicken did it in a special half-hour episode; now Family Guy is doing its own spoof/tribute of Star Wars in the first episode of the new season, scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 23. Called "Blue Harvest" (which was the production title of Return of the Jedi so people wouldn't know what was being filmed), here's how Fox describes the episode:

"When the power goes out in the Griffin home, Peter decides to educate his family and pass along the greatest story ever told...the story of Star Wars! After Princess Leia (Lois) comes under siege by Darth Vader (Stewie) and his evil Storm Troopers, C-3PO (Quagmire) and R2-D2 (Cleveland) escape to find the only person who can help the Rebel Alliance. On their quest thorough the desert planet of Tatooine, C-3PO and R-2D2 find extra help in Obi-Wan Kenobi (Creepy Guy), Luke Skywalker (Chris), Han Solo (Peter) and Chewbacca (Brian) and head back to battle the Death Star in an epic intergalactic fight to the death."

"Smallville" Season 7 teaser

Smallville Season 7 begins on Sept. 27 with an episode called "Bizarro". Read a description of the episode here

Wall-crawling just like Spidey!

Scientists have a deveoped a suit the can help humans make like Peter parker and stick to walls.

One scientist, quoted in Science Daily notes:

With the idea for the adhesion now in place, there are a number of other mechanics that need addressing before the Spiderman suit can become a reality. Size-effects on the adhesion strength require further research. Moreover, man's muscles, for example, are different to those of a gecko. We would suffer great muscle fatigue if we tried to stick to a wall for many hours. However now that we are this step closer, it may not be long before we are seeing people climbing up the Empire State Building with nothing but sticky shoes and gloves to support them."

Isn't science wonderful?

Trailer for Stephen King's "The Mist"

From Frank Darabont, the writer and director of Stephen King's The Green Mile and The Shawshank Redemption, comes The Mist, based on King's story that originally appeared in the short story collection Skeleton Crew in 1985. Opening Novmeber 21, the horror movie stars Thomas (The Punisher) Jane.

Jerry Seinfeld returns with "Bee Movie"

Jerry Seinfeld FINALLY does a real post-Seinfeld project - an animated film called Bee Movie, which opens on November 2.

Check out the succession of trailers at the official movie site, and look for LOTS of Seinfeld appearances on NBC this fall.