The Transformers: The Complete First Season 25th Anniversary Edition

from Shout! Factory:

Prepare yourself for the series that started it all…

The Transformers: The Complete First Season
25th Anniversary Edition
Relive the Action on DVD June 16 from Shout! Factory

Production now underway for The Transformers: 25th Anniversary “Matrix of Leadership” Edition Collector’s Set

Optimus Prime. Megatron. Bumblebee. Starscream. For 25 years an epic battle has raged between the heroic Autobots and the villainous Decepticons. The “Robots in Disguise” have captivated children and adults alike, launching countless collectible toys, comic books, animated series and feature films beloved by legions of fans.

Now you can return to where the phenomenon began when Shout! Factory, in collaboration with Hasbro, Inc., unleashes the original animated TV series that started it all with The Transformers: The Complete First Season 25th Anniversary Edition DVD box set on June 16th. A must-have for kids and kids-at-heart, the set features all season one episodes in the order they were intended, remastered audio, a collectible Autobots magnet and special bonus content. The Transformers: The Complete First Season 25th Anniversary Edition DVD box set is priced at $29.99 SRP.

And for those who really can’t get enough of Transformers, Shout! Factory, along with Hasbro, is developing The Transformers: 25th Anniversary “Matrix of Leadership” Edition Collector’s Set. Brimming with over 38 hours of content, including the entire original animated “G1” series, a bounty of stellar extras and special collectible book, this 16-DVD box set is another fan must-have. The Transformers: 25th Anniversary “Matrix of Leadership” Edition Collector’s Set is expected to be available in mid July.

The Transformers: The Complete First Season 25th Anniversary Edition

Synopsis:

Four million years after crash-landing on an unfamiliar planet, sentient robots with the ability to disguise themselves as common vehicles awaken on present-day Earth. Engaged in a crucial race to find a new energy source for their home planet of Cybertron, Optimus Prime and the heroic Autobots must defend the innocent people of Earth against their archnemeses, Megatron and the power-hungry Decepticons.

Bonus Features Include:

  • Restored to the Original Broadcast Versions with a New Stereo Soundtrack Created from the Original Audio
  • Triple Changer: From Toy to Comic to Screen — The Origins of The Transformers
  • A Printable Script
  • Rare PSA

Technical Information:

Street Date: June 16, 2009
Packaging: The 3 DVDs are collected in thin packs with a deluxe foil board sleeve with embossed accents
Rating: Not Rated
Suggested Retail Price: $29.99
Running Time: approx. 360 minutes
Discs: 3
Aspect Ratio: 4:30
Technical Info: English, Stereo.

Star Trek Line of Urns and Caskets

Eternal Image makes it possible to take Star Trek fandom to the grave with the debut of their Trek-branded burial options.

For the millions of fans on our planet and beyond, our new line of Star Trek urns, caskets, monuments and vaults will be an important discovery indeed. After ten movies and five television series, phrases like “Live long and prosper,” “Resistance is futile” and “Space: the final frontier” have become part of our global vocabulary.

Star Trek Urn

“The new Star Trek Urn will feature a bold design reminiscent of the 24th century styling of the United Federation of Planets and Starfleet,” Eternal Image says, adding that “The Star Trek Casket styling has been inspired by the popular Photon Torpedo design seen in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.”

Star Trek Casket

The monuments and vaults will follow later in 2009. Sign up to be notified when prices are announced and each item becomes available.

Nathan Fillion Twitters

Nathan Fillion (Firefly, Serenity, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog) is now active on Twitter. He opened his account at PaleyFest 2009, which he attended with the Whedons and Felicia Day for a screening of Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog.

His first post was actually on Felicia Day’s account:

Nathan Fillion- Sitting next to FD now- she smells just like she looks she would. Little bit like flowers and fresh laundry and a cupcake.

Felicia Day followed up his post with these messages:

Nathan took over my Twitter, he’s so pretty to look at! Trying to get him to make an account. He’s severly witty. http://twitpic.com/3cc3f

Ok everyone follow @nathanfillion . It’s really him! Muhahaha!

Wander Over Yonder

from Craig McCracken:

Hello All,

I’ve always been drawing and typically my stuff (when it doesn’t end up on your TV sets) just sits on a shelf in my office collecting dust. So back in ’07, inspired by the work my wife was doing with her brilliant Milky Way and the Galaxy Girls I decided to dust off some of those drawings and try and hock some of my own wares.

So that year at Comic Con I debuted my nomadic, hippie, muppet man, Wander Over Yonder. It was a real simple affair, a T- Shirt, a patch, and a sketchbook of some of my taken ‘er easy, getting back to nature doodles. Wander was well received and after a good con we still had some stuff left over. So as to not let this “rolling stone” gather too much dust like my drawings used to I’m proud to announce that Wander has launched his very own webstore. So please Wander on over and check it out when you get a chance.

Thank you kindly,

Craig

(PS — shirts come in men’s and women’s sizes, and the sketchbook comes signed)

The Guild’s April Convention Appearances

from The Guild:

We’re so excited that it’s getting to be that time of year — Con Season! We love being able to meet the fans and put faces to the user names we see all the time on our forums and on Twitter. Here are the first of a slew of convention and personal appearances we’ll be making in 2009:

STARFURY in Birmingham, England April 24-26

Felicia Day (Codex) will be there all 3 days of the Con, hobb nobbing with the likes of Adam Baldwin and Summer Glau!

http://seanharry.com/

DELTA H CON in Houston, TX, April 24-26

The cast of The Guild (minus Felicia — see above) will be on hand signing autographs, judging contests and mixing and mingling:

Friday: April 24
Autographs 1-2 pm (main room)
Karoke Judging 4-6 pm
The Guild Season One Screening with Cast Q &A session 8-9:30pm

Saturday: April 25
Autographs 11-1pm (main room)
Panel: The Making of a Web Phenomena (Cast and Guild producer Kim Evey discuss what goes into making The Guild.) 3-4pm
The Guild Season Two Screening with Cast Q &A session 6:30-8pm

Sunday: April 26
Anime Music Video Judging 9-10:30am

http://deltahcon.com/

Broadband Moguls: Producing & Distributing Your Own Webseries Online

Also in Houston, Guild Producer Kim Evey will teach a workshop for the Southwest Alternate Media Project.
Date: Sunday, April 26, 2009
Time: 10am-2pm
Location: Rice University Media Center
Cost: $40 — General Public; $25 — SWAMP Members and Students with Valid I.D.
For more information and to register go to

http://www.swamp.org/workshops.html

And yes, the entire cast will be appearing at Comic-Con! We’ll post the schedule as it comes our way.

Tweenbots

Kacie Kinzer, a graduate student at ITP, is conducting social experiments with the help of her little robot friends, dubbed “Tweenbots”.

In New York, we are very occupied with getting from one place to another. I wondered: could a human-like object traverse sidewalks and streets along with us, and in so doing, create a narrative about our relationship to space and our willingness to interact with what we find in it? More importantly, how could our actions be seen within a larger context of human connection that emerges from the complexity of the city itself? To answer these questions, I built robots.

Tweenbots are human-dependent robots that navigate the city with the help of pedestrians they encounter. Rolling at a constant speed, in a straight line, Tweenbots have a destination displayed on a flag, and rely on people they meet to read this flag and to aim them in the right direction to reach their goal.

Given their extreme vulnerability, the vastness of city space, the dangers posed by traffic, suspicion of terrorism, and the possibility that no one would be interested in helping a lost little robot, I initially conceived the Tweenbots as disposable creatures which were more likely to struggle and die in the city than to reach their destination. Because I built them with minimal technology, I had no way of tracking the Tweenbot’s progress, and so I set out on the first test with a video camera hidden in my purse. I placed the Tweenbot down on the sidewalk, and walked far enough away that I would not be observed as the Tweenbot — a smiling 10-inch tall cardboard missionary — bumped along towards his inevitable fate.

The results were unexpected. Over the course of the following months, throughout numerous missions, the Tweenbots were successful in rolling from their start point to their far-away destination assisted only by strangers. Every time the robot got caught under a park bench, ground futilely against a curb, or became trapped in a pothole, some passerby would always rescue it and send it toward its goal. Never once was a Tweenbot lost or damaged. Often, people would ignore the instructions to aim the Tweenbot in the “right” direction, if that direction meant sending the robot into a perilous situation. One man turned the robot back in the direction from which it had just come, saying out loud to the Tweenbot, “You can’t go that way, it’s toward the road.”

The Tweenbot’s unexpected presence in the city created an unfolding narrative that spoke not simply to the vastness of city space and to the journey of a human-assisted robot, but also to the power of a simple technological object to create a complex network powered by human intelligence and asynchronous interactions. But of more interest to me was the fact that this ad-hoc crowdsourcing was driven primarily by human empathy for an anthropomorphized object. The journey the Tweenbots take each time they are released in the city becomes a story of people’s willingness to engage with a creature that mirrors human characteristics of vulnerability, of being lost, and of having intention without the means of achieving its goal alone. As each encounter with a helpful pedestrian takes the robot one step closer to attaining it’s destination, the significance of our random discoveries and individual actions accumulates into a story about a vast space made small by an even smaller robot.

Check out Mission 1 at the Tweenbots website, then join the e-mail list to receive updates about future missions and Kinzer’s progress on her robot-assisted thesis project.

Dave and Tom Presents Safety Geeks: SVI Season 1 Premiere

Safety Geeks: SVI starring Dave, Tom and Brittney Powell chronicles a CSI-like team which investigates safety accidents, leaving a swath of comedic chaos and destruction in their wake.

The P.O.S.H. (Professional Occupational Safety Hazard) team investigates safety violations and accidents, ineptly causing more damage as a result. P.O.S.H. provides an obscure, well-meaning service. Unfortunately, they are a bunch of idiots. The world of P.O.S.H. is very unsafe, largely due to them.

The inundation of investigative shows on TV provides the inspiration and setting for Dave and Tom’s latest project, Safety Geeks: SVI. Known for their sketch comedy and a series of hugely popular videos on the web, Safety Geeks: SVI is their first web series. A parody of prime time television’s staple schtick, SG: SVI promises to be sidesplittingly funny. Safety Geeks: SVI premieres Monday, April 27. Check out more teasers on KoldCast.TV, YouTube, and DaveandTom.com.

Wonder Woman: Animated Original Movie

Wonder Woman: Animated Original Movie

Courageous Princess. Fierce Warrior. Legendary Superhero.

Wonder Woman is the fourth film in the DC Universe Animated Original Movie series, following Superman: Doomsday, Justice League: The New Frontier, and Batman: Gotham Knight. Directed by Lauren Montgomery and produced by DC Comics animation veteran Bruce Timm, this direct-to-video animated film is based on the 1987 reboot of the character and tells the origin story of the world’s most famous female superhero. The feature-quality animation is similar in style to the anime-inspired Justice League, with a few design tweaks that give a sharper, more angular look to the film.

“Wonder Woman is one of the most iconic figures in pop culture. This movie succeeds in reinforcing her image as a female role model while firmly planting her flag as an epic action adventure heroine,” says Gregory Noveck, Senior VP, Creative Affairs, DC Comics. “I think audiences will love this modern take on a classic character.”

On the mystical island of Themyscira, a proud, strong warrior race of Amazon women lives in a utopian civilization shielded from the corrupt world of man. But a betryal within the Amazon sisterhood leads to the escape of Ares, the God of War, and Amazon Princess Diana must capture him before he unleashes global chaos and destruction. With the aid of cocky fighter pilot Steve Trevor, Diana tracks Ares to the United States for a battle unlike any humankind has ever faced.

DC Comics, Warner Premiere, and Warner Bros. Animation promote this DVD release as the first-ever official Wonder Woman feature film to be made and rated PG-13 (the first cut reportedly earned an R). This version of Wonder Woman is definitely not aimed at children, opening with a lengthy and visceral battle sequence that sets up the imprisonment of Ares by the Amazons. Characters, good and evil, meet grisly deaths by sword or other bladed weapons, with several beheadings and dismemberments. The later confrontations between Ares and Wonder Woman are nearly as violent, with a bit of on-screen blood adding to the realism; when Wonder Woman can be hurt, it makes the outcome of the story a little less certain.

The mature rating applies, as well, to the use of adult language and sexually suggestive scenes, most of which can be attributed to Steve Trevor, who makes a few racy remarks about Princess Diana’s physique and has a humorous, recurring gag of offending the Amazons with his use of the word “crap”. The casting of Nathan Fillion as Steve Trevor, the complementary opposite to Wonder Woman in the movie’s battle-of-the-sexes theme, is brilliant; Fillion channels the tactlessness and crudeness of his Captain Hammer character (Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog) and the charm of his rough-but-honorable Captain Malcolm Reynolds (Firefly, Serenity), deftly striking a balance that allows him to be likable enough to be the love interest that the Amazon Princess would believably leave paradise for, yet still retain his “sexist pig” personality.

Rounding out the celebrity voice cast are Keri Russell (Felicity, Waitress) as Princess Diana/Wonder Woman, Alfred Molina (Spider-Man 2) as Ares, Virginia Madsen (Dune, Sideways) as Queen Hippolyta, Oliver Platt (The West Wing) as Hades, Rosario Dawson (Sin City) as Artemis, and David McCallum (NCIS, Batman: Gotham Knight) as Zeus — an ensemble that “infuses thunder and passion into this epic tale of the princess who becomes the World’s Greatest Super Heroine”.

Wonder Woman is available as a Single-Disc Standard Edition, Two-Disc Special Edition, and Blu-ray Disc, and by Download, On Demand, and Pay-Per-View, with collectible packaging for the Two-Disc Special Edition and Blu-ray Disc. All formats include an exclusive sneak peek at the next DC Universe Animated Original Movie, Green Lantern: First Flight, and an audio commentary track featuring Gregory Noveck (Senior VP, Creative Affairs, DC Comics), Bruce Timm (Producer), Lauren Montgomery (Director), and Michael Jelenic (Screenplay). The Two-Disc Special Edition’s second disc carries a digital copy download for iTunes and Windows Media Player, episodes of Justice League/Justice League Unlimited — “To Another Shore” and “Hawk and Dove”, the Blu-ray edition doubling the bonus cartoons by adding “Paradise Lost, Parts 1 & 2” — featuring Wonder Woman and personally selected by Bruce Timm, and two in-depth documentaries:

  • Wonder Woman: A Subversive Dream
    She is one of the pillars of DC Comics. We examine why Wonder Woman is important in the grand scheme of the DC Super Heroes and how her raw strength and power helped define a new generation of empowered women, who realized that their gifts of intellect and strength were just as powerful as their male counterparts.
  • Wonder Woman: Daughter of Myth — Covers Historical Amazon Lore and Its Evolution into the Modern-Day Wonder Woman Character
    This riveting documentary historically defines the meaning of the Amazons and how this links in with the evolution of the Wonder Woman character from comics to screen.

A third documentary appears only on the Blu-ray disc:

  • Wonder Woman: The Amazon Princess
    This featurette includes both a thumbnail history of the character of Wonder Woman featuring interviews with DC Comics creators and artists (Paul Levitz, Dan DiDio), and behind-the-scenes footage of the made-for-DVD release punctuated with interviews from the production staff and voice talent behind the film.

Wrap the golden Lasso of Truth around a lot of multi-disc sets, and the bonus features will be forced to admit they’re just filler. With Wonder Woman, there’s no padding. Each of the fascinating and informative documentaries stand up to repeated viewings, much like the film itself. The DVD would make a strong addition to the curriculum of women’s studies classes, championing female empowerment in the footsteps of Lynda Carter’s Wonder Woman, the definitive face of Wonder Woman for an entire generation of little girls who watched her TV series in the 1970s and were convinced that they, too, could transform into a superhero if they only spun around enough times.

Order now at Amazon.com:
Wonder Woman (Single-Disc Standard Edition)
Wonder Woman (Two-Disc Special Edition + Digital Copy)
Wonder Woman (Blu-ray)
Wonder Woman (On Demand)

Or order directly through the Warner Home Video website.

Wonder Woman is distributed by Warner Home Video, a division of Warner Bros. Entertainment. For more information, please visit the official Wonder Woman movie website.

Krod Mandoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire

Comedy Central's Krod Mandoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire premieres tonight
Comedy Central's Krod Mandoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire premieres tonight

From the time of the long ago past arrives Krod Mandoon and The Flaming Sword of Fire, Comedy Central’s epic new half-hour, live-action series that chronicles the adventures of Krod Mandoon (Sean Maguire) and his hopelessly futile band of warriors as they take on the evil Chancellor Dongalor (Matt Lucas). Marking the all-comedy network’s first foray into fantasy-comedy, the groundbreaking series premieres on Thursday, April 9 at 10:00 p.m. marked by a special one-hour episode with limited commercial interruptions.

Fantasy fans take their genre very seriously, even when it’s a comedy. With the renewed interest in fantasy productions, Comedy Central is making its own venture into the fray. Krod Mandoon and the Flaming Sword Of Fire has elements of classic fantasy epics like Terry Goodkind’s Sword of Truth series and TSR’s Forgotten Realms, with a bit of American Pie thrown in to lampoon it up.

Fantasy fared well in syndication in the 90s with shows like Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Xena: Warrior Princess, and Highlander: The Series, but comedic fantasy only garnered a small, loyal following. Shows like Wizards and Warriors and The Charmings were delightful to watch but not able to support a large enough audience to stay on the air for long. Even Pushing Daisies, one of the most amazing fantasy television productions ever to grace the small screen, had trouble holding an audience, not so much due to lack of fans but network decisions to take it off the air for weeks at a time. (The demise of Pushing Daises feels more like premeditated murder than death by natural causes, but I’ll keep my network rants to myself for the time being.)

Enter Krod Mandoon, the last hope for freedom from the tyranny of the evil Chancellor Dongalor. With a slick wardrobe and props, the show looks good, but will it be good? We can expect it to borrow from every book, movie, and TV series ever produced, but will they play it well? From watching previews and clips on the website, I’m concerned that the over-abundance of lowbrow humor and sight gags will alienate the true fantasy crowd, but I want to like it. I want it to be a good show, though I’m not getting my hopes too high. I’m planning on giving it a few episodes to decide if it’s worth my time or not. I truly believe all shows need 4 to 7 episodes to hit their stride. I hope they find a balance between their parody and their plot because sight gags only go so far, especially with a well-read and educated genre fanbase.