Category: Television

A First Look at M. Night Shyamalan’s “The Last Airbender”

I admit I still watch cartoons. I can blame it on being a mother who was concerned with what her children were watching when they were little but we all know that’s not the truth. I believe that a well-told story is as ageless as it is timeless. That’s why movies and books from before we were born still have an impact on us today. Times change, customs change, but people don’t change. There’s always a struggle to do what is right and good, no matter what era you grew up in. Avatar: The Last Airbender is a classic good versus evil tale of a young man who is the last of his kind and possibly the last hope for mankind. Drawing heavily from several Asian cultures and blending them with Western culture, Avatar has created a unique world and mythology of its own.

The people of this world are divided into four nations, with one of each of the elements as the central focus of their culture. Each generation someone (called an Avatar) is born empowered with one of the four elements — Earth, Water, Fire and Air — and through their influence, balance and peace is kept between nations. But the balance has been broken and the Fire Nation threatens to conquer all. As Avatar of Air, Aang and his companions Katara and Sokka must fight to restore the balance and stop the Fire Nation before it’s too late.

Some people might object to the watered down philosophies presented in Avatar: The Last Airbender but while the elements of Taoism, Buddhism and other Eastern philosophies are present in the show, they are uniquely blended and presented as part of the culture of this fantasy world and not as indoctrination for your children. What your children might learn from Avatar is that there are consequences to your actions, including how we treat our environment and resources and each other (Avatar won a 2009 Peabody Award for its “unusually complex characters and healthy respect for the consequences of warfare”).

Avatar: The Last Airbender was created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko and aired on Nickelodeon for three seasons, from 2005 through 2008. Avatar’s animation style blended traditional anime with Western animation to create a unique animated experience. Each week over one million viewers of all ages watched Avatar. It won several awards during its run and garnered praise from viewers and critics alike. Alas, all good stories come to an end, and when Avatar: The Last Airbender’s end came in July 2008, over 5.6 million viewers tuned in for the two-hour series finale.

The appeal of this series wasn’t lost on M. Night Shyamalan. He took on the mantle of directing the film adaptation, titled The Last Airbender. Tentatively a trilogy, The Last Airbender is currently filming with a slated release in 2010, and is penned, along with Shyamalan, by the series creators DiMartino and Konietzko. Other encouraging names attached to production are Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy as producers (the team that brought us such films as Indiana Jones, The Spiderwick Chronicles, The Sixth Sense, Arachnophobia, Back to the Future, The Goonies, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, and roughly six dozen more) and special effects by Industrial Light & Magic. The teaser trailer for the film was just posted and I was so excited after watching it that I’m ready to dash over to Amazon.com to buy the DVD box set (my son and I missed the last half of the third season and series finale as we spent the summer camping). I am really looking forward to this coming out. It looks amazing and, with the team that’s working on it, I can’t imagine it being anything less then great.

Check out these other related links:
The Last Airbender on IMDb
The Last Airbender YouTube Channel
Avatar: The Last Airbender Nickelodeon Website
Avatar: The Last Airbender — The Complete Book 1 Collection DVD
Avatar: The Last Airbender — The Complete Book 2 Collection DVD
Avatar: The Last Airbender — The Complete Book 3 Collection DVD

Need Your Farscape Fix? BOOM! Studios Presents Farscape Comics

"Farscape" from BOOM! Studios

In one of the first of many subsequent really bad decisions made by Sci Fi Channel, the hit series Farscape was “not renewed” for a 5th season in 2002 (even though they had a contract) because it was “too expensive” to produce. As undaunted as John Crichton facing a Shadow Depository, Brian Henson (son of Jim Henson who now runs The Jim Henson Company along with his sister Lisa and other siblings), Rockne S. O’Bannon, and David Kemper found a way to wrap up the cliffhanger Season 4 ending by condensing the storyline and producing the four-hour miniseries The Peacekeeper Wars in 2004. While many of the plot threads were wrapped up in the miniseries, lots of other questions still remain. For those of you who, along with me, have been wondering what happened next for the crew of Moya, BOOM! Studios has three current offerings to satisfy your Farscape cravings while waiting for the in-production web series to be released.

I get my comics from a little shop called B & D Sports Cards & Comics. The shop owner Jenny diligently attempts to get all of the Farscape comics in for me, but due to the huge demand I’ve had to wait for second printings on many issues. Perhaps BOOM! should take that into consideration and print more issues? Anyway, she makes sure they are sleeved, boarded and waiting for me as soon as she can get them in. It was really hard to not crack open issue two while I waited for issue one to get reprinted but somehow I managed to resist temptation. Finally, I’ve been able to complete the first miniseries and get all currently printed issues of the second and third series. Each story is told in four issues and has different covers available, if you can get your hands on them. I’ve seen them selling for as much as $100 each on some websites! As much as I adore Farscape, I think I’ll stick with my $3.99 cover price for now and maybe, eventually, when the prices come down, I might pick up the cover variants on eBay.

The first series, titled Farscape, is written by series creator Rockne O’Bannon and drawn by artist Tommy Patterson. The story picks up right where The Peacekeeper Wars ends and fills us in on the events occurring right after the treaty was signed. Without giving away too much of the storyline, it focuses on how John and Aeryn deal with parenthood, how Chiana and Jothee deal with D’Argo’s death, and how Rygel deals with trying to get his throne back. Noranti is Noranti. The story is straightforward. It has the slightly rushed feel that was in The Peacekeeper Wars, like there’s so much to say and not the time to say it in, but they do well to lay down a foundation for a continuing storyline. There are elements of the dialogue that remind me of early parts of Season 1, like Rockne was still trying to find the characters’ voices again. The artwork is okay but doesn’t really capture the characters. The proportions are off and lots of digital elements are used that seem to distract from the overall visual appeal for me, but I’m finicky about my digital art. Okay, maybe I’m nitpicking, but I noticed little things like Aeryn’s eye color and John’s posture are wrong, and the busy backgrounds draw the eye away from what you should be seeing. Overall, though, it’s an enjoyable read and it feels good to get back in touch with old friends and find out what they’ve been up to.

The second series offered is called D’Argo’s Lament. It was written by Keith R.A. Decandido and illustrated by Neil Edwards. From the title, I was expecting it to focus on D’Argo’s death (or narrow escape from death since I have this theory that he’s actually being held captive by Grayza and will show up when least expected and most needed). However, it actually takes place sometime during Season 4. The story focuses on D’Argo and Jool as they get tangled up in a nefarious plot while trying to get a special lubricant to protect Moya’s hull. D’Argo was the first of Moya’s crew to accept Jool and D’Argo’s Lament further develops their friendship. The artwork isn’t extremely detailed but it is good. The artist got the proportions correct and has good basic characterizations of both Jool and D’Argo. As of now, the final two issues have not arrived yet so I am still waiting to see what happens next. The story would work well as an episode subplot and I can easily see it having been an old script that was scrapped due to time or budget constraints.

The third series is called Strange Detractors. It was written by Rockne O’Bannon and illustrated by Will Sliney. I am finding this truly enjoyable. Strange Detractors picks up some time after the first Farscape story ends. It begins with one of John’s famous altered reality dreams in which he deals with his anxiety over doing what’s right for his family. He has all these plans for their future, but you know how John’s plans tend to go. When visiting a commerce planet, things suddenly go very wrong. O’Bannon has captured the characters in dialogue and actions just as surely as Sliney has captured their images. Sliney has great characterizations; even with minimal detail he captures them well. He’s nailed their expressions, body language and proportions. His backgrounds are balanced and don’t seem too full, noisy or blank. The final issue of Strange Detractors isn’t out yet but I am eagerly awaiting it, as well as the next series titled Gone and Back.

With the announcement of a ten-part web series made almost two years ago, hopefully BOOM! will continue to churn out comics that build excitement about the continuation and expansion of the Farscape universe. The short form of four issues per comic series kind of feels like watching the episodes, so you can have a full storyline in just a few issues but with plot and villains that can continue from one issue to the other the way Scorpius and Craise popped up in the television series. Overall, I’m thrilled to be immersed in Farscape again. I think that Farscape is one of the best science fiction television series ever produced and I’ve really missed the rich and colorful characters and well-told stories. The comics are a great way to fill in the gaps and pave the way for future offerings of Farscape, in whatever form we can get.

“Futurama” Returns to Production with an Initial Order of 26 New Episodes to Premiere Mid 2010

from Comedy Central:

Emmy Award-Winning Animated Comedy Series Confirmed to Run on Comedy Central; Broadcast Network Run Also Possible

20th Century Fox Television, the animation powerhouse that brought Family Guy back from the dead five years ago, has done it again: Matt Groening and David X. Cohen’s brilliantly subversive animated sci-fi comedy Futurama will return to production on 26 new half-hour episodes more than six years after the series aired its last original episode. The move comes on the heels of the series’ blockbuster performance on DVD and on Comedy Central; the announcement was made today by Twentieth Century Fox Television Chairmen Gary Newman and Dana Walden, and David Bernath, senior vice president, programming for Comedy Central.

Futurama was a staple of Fox’s Sunday night animation block from 1999 to 2003 before ceasing production on original episodes. In June 2006, Comedy Central acquired the rights to the existing 72 episodes of the series, which the channel began airing in January 2008, and four recently-produced extended length Futurama adventures: Bender’s Big Score, The Beast with a Billion Backs, Bender’s Game and Into the Wild Green Yonder, which enjoyed enormous success both on Comedy Central and in DVD release. This new deal marks the show’s return to episodic series production on original episodes. Futurama becomes only the second series in the history of the medium to go back into production based on the strength of its DVD sales and repeat airings on cable.

The new episodes will be available in mid 2010 to be shown on Comedy Central. Twentieth Century Fox Television retains the option to license the original runs of the new episodes to a broadcast network.

“We are excited to continue our relationship with Matt, David and 20th Century Fox TV and to be able to offer Comedy Central viewers the first opportunity to see new episodes of Futurama,” said Bernath. “As evidenced by the strong performance of the extended length epics, there remains a deep and passionate fan base for this intelligent and very funny show that matches perfectly with our audience. It’s fantastic that we can add brand-new installments of Leela, Fry and Bender’s adventures to our existing library.”

Quipped Matt Groening, “We’re thrilled Futurama is coming back. We now have only 25,766 episodes to make before we catch up with Bender and Fry in the year 3000.” Added David X. Cohen, “We’re excited and amazed that the show is coming back, perhaps due to some sort of mysterious time loop. We look forward to working with Comedy Central and 20th Television to make this the best iteration of the loop yet!”

“When we brought back Family Guy several years ago, everyone said that it was a once-in-a-lifetime thing — that canceled series stay canceled and cannot be revived,” commented 20th Century Fox TV Chairmen Gary Newman and Dana Walden. “But Futurama was another series that fans simply demanded we bring back, and we couldn’t have been happier when Matt and David agreed that there were many more stories yet to tell.”

Futurama focuses on the life of Philip Fry (Billy West), a 25-year-old pizza delivery boy who accidentally freezes himself on December 31, 1999 and wakes up 1,000 years later with a fresh start at life and a “diverse” new group of friends including Leela (Katey Sagal), a tough but lovely one-eyed alien and Bender (John DiMaggio), a robot who possesses human characteristics and flaws. The series aired for five seasons on Fox (1999 to 2003) earning Emmy nominations each season while winning three times, including “Outstanding Animated Program” in 2002. It featured guest stars such as Sarah Silverman, Hank Azaria, Bob Odenkirk, Pamela Anderson, Beatrice Arthur, Lucy Liu, Beck and Coolio.

Futurama, created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening and David X. Cohen, is produced by Twentieth Century Fox Television, with Rough Draft Studios, Inc. contributing the animation.

20th Century Fox Television, a division of News Corp, is a leading supplier of entertainment content domestically and around the world.

Comedy Central, the only all-comedy network, currently is seen in more than 95 million homes nationwide. Comedy Central is owned by, and is a registered trademark of, Comedy Partners, a wholly-owned division of Viacom Inc.’s (NYSE: VIA and VIA.B) MTV Networks.

MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), is one of the world’s leading creators of entertainment content, with brands that engage and connect diverse audiences across television, online, mobile, games, virtual worlds and consumer products. The company’s portfolio spans more than 150 television channels and 350 digital media properties worldwide, and includes MTV, VH1, CMT, Logo, Harmonix, Nickelodeon, Nick at Nite, Noggin, The N, AddictingGames, Neopets, Comedy Central, Spike TV, TV Land, Atom, Gametrailers and Xfire.

Expansion Cards for Monty Python Fluxx

Monty Python Fluxx gets several new cards with the introduction of the Castle Expansion pack and the Sir Not-Appearing Promo Postcard. And there was much rejoicing!

Castle Expansion
Castle Expansion

You know you’ve always wanted a Castle! …unfortunately it also comes with a pesky French Knight, who is sure to Taunt you mercilessly. Seven new cards to add to the insanity that is Monty Python Fluxx.

Fans of the antagonistic French taunters and their “outrageous accent” will particularly appreciate the Castle Expansion pack since most of the cards are dedicated to those characters. It’s nice to see the Legendary Black Beast of Aaaaarrrrrrggghhh finally get his castle, too.

The new cards and their rules are:

  • Goal: Camelot — You win if you have the Castle and any Knight of the Round Table on the table in front of you.
  • Goal: The Castle of Aaarrghh — You win if you have the Holy Grail and the Castle on the table in front of you.
  • Keeper: The Castle — If someone targets you with the Catapult while you have this in play, none of your Keepers are discarded.
  • Creeper: French Persons — You cannot win if you have this unless the Goal says otherwise.
  • Goal: Taunting by the French — You win if you have French Persons and the Castle on the table in front of you.
  • Action: I Shall Taunt You a Second Time — If the French Persons are on the table, move them to another player. If not, find them and give them to the player of your choice. Look first in the discard pile; if you have to look in the draw pile, shuffle it afterwards.
  • New Rule: I Told Them We Already Got One! — The French Persons count as any other Creeper if you need a specific Creeper to meet the Goal.

There’s still no “I Bet You’re Gay!” card, alas, but perhaps one will be added in the next expansion pack release.

The Castle Expansion pack is available online for $3.00 US or, for a limited time, free with a $10 purchase from participating game stores. Search Looney Labs’ Retailer Roster to find the Looney Labs Superstore nearest you. At such a low price, how can you not afford to add all this extra fun to your game?

Sir Not-Appearing Promo Postcard
Sir Not-Appearing Promo Postcard

This special promotional card is an amusing nod to “(The aptly named) Sir Not-Appearing-in-This-Film”, the infant knight who appeared briefly in the opening credits of Monty Python and the Holy Grail. According to Looney Labs, “This Keeper card works only in Monty Python Fluxx where it functions as an additional Knight of the Round Table.” At $1.00 US per postcard, or free with purchase like the Castle Expansion pack, you’ll want to get two, one to play with and one to keep pristinely intact as a collectable piece. The postcard instructions say “Here is a new Knight for your Monty Python Fluxx game — to join the other Knights of the Round Table in their Quest for the Holy Grail! For best results, use scissors to remove card.” If you have an X-Acto knife and a steady hand, you’ll get even better results, eliminating any telltale rough edges that make punch-out cards so easy to spot in the deck.

Monty Python Fluxx supports 2-6 players, ages 8 and up. Game length: 10–40 minutes.

Order now at Amazon.com:
Monty Python Fluxx

Or order directly through the Looney Labs website.

Monty Python Fluxx is distributed by Looney Labs, published under license with Toy Vault & Monty Python. For more information on Monty Python Fluxx, visit the official product page at Monty Python Fluxx.

Legend of Neil T-shirts Have Arrived

from The Legend of Neil:

Get your very own “You Deserve it After Committing Murder” T-shirt from the brand spankin new Legend of Neil Store. We’ve got posters too (which if you buy in conjunction with a T-shirt will be signed by creator Sandeep Parikh and star Tony Janning).

Help support the web-series you love, and look damn good while doing it. The T-shirts are high quality and come in almost every size imaginable including woman’s cuts. So get em while we got em (we only ordered 200) so they’ll go fast.

Spread the word and post the link on Facebook and Twitter: http://effinfunny.com/legend-store/

Mystery Science Theater 3000: Volume XV 4-DVD set due out this July

from Shout! Factory:

The Uproarious MST3K blasts off again on DVD!

Mystery Science Theater 3000: Volume XV

Featuring MST3K Film Episodes The Robot vs. the Aztec Mummy, The Girl in Lovers Lane, Zombie Nightmare and Racket Girls, Limited-Edition Mini-Posters, and All-New Bonus Content

In Stores Nationwide July 7, 2009, 2009, from Shout! Factory

In space, no one can hear you laugh. Unless, of course, you are aboard with the hilarious and beloved space travelers on The Satellite of Love from Mystery Science Theater 3000to skewer B-movies. To further celebrate Mystery Science Theater 3000’s cinematic chuckle fest, Shout! Factory, in association with Best Brains, Inc. proudly presents Mystery Science Theater 3000: Volume XV 4-DVD box set on July 7, 2009. The side-splitting 15th collection of the famed MST3K features the show’s never-before-released film episodes The Robot vs. the Aztec Mummy, The Girl in Lovers Lane, Zombie Nightmare and Racket Girls, four limited-edition mini-posters, along with a wealth of new bonus content, including new interviews with the stars from Zombie Nightmare Frank Dietz and Jon Mikl Thor in Zombie Nightmare = MST3K Dream featurette, Glimpses Of KTMA: MST3K Scrapbook Scraps I (original wrap-around segments from the KTMA season), Behind the Scenes: MST3K Scrapbook Scraps II, Kevin Murphy and Trace Beaulieu in a Sneak Peak from the Upcoming Hamlet A.D.D., and Promos. Join Joel, Mike, Tom Servo and Crow T. Robot as they supply their own playful brand of commentaries on some of cinema’s most misunderstood “masterpieces” in Shout! Factory’s Mystery Science Theater 3000: Volume XV. This collectible 4-DVD box set is priced to own at $59.99.

The Robot vs. the Aztec Mummy
The battle between machine and the undead comes to a chilling conclusion when an insane scientist invents a robot for the sole purpose of stealing an ancient artifact guarded for eternity by an Aztec mummy!

Only the second show produced after MST3K’s original year on KTMA, this remarkable episode features J. Elvis Weinstein as a virtually unrecognizable Tom Servo, plus the first part of the classic short Commando Cody & The Radar Men From The Moon.

The Girl in Lovers Lane
After his spoiled protégé’s frequent missteps leave him with the responsibility of making things right with the law, local pimps and hoodlums, Bix Dugan’s life as a drifter may finally be coming to an end. And what a shocking ending it is!

Join hosts Joel Hodgson, Servo and Crow as they send up the movie that divided the MSTie nation. Love it or hate The Girl In Lovers Lane, this memorable episode’s song — “What A Pleasant Journey” — is guaranteed to have you in stitches!

Zombie Nightmare
When a young baseball player is struck and killed by a car full of rambunctious teens, his grieving mother convinces a mysterious voodoo priestess to resurrect her son, allowing his zombied corpse the vengeance necessary to finally rest in peace.

The Satellite of Love crew — Mike, Tom Servo and Crow T. Robot — takes on this 1986 zombie classic starring Adam West and Tia Carrere in her very first feature film role!

Racket Girls
When lowlife wrestling manager-turned-gangster Umberto Scalli takes $35,000 from the wrong crime boss, he’s forced to run for his life. Real-life female wrestlers Peaches Page, world champion Clara Mortensen and Mexican champion Rita Martinez — as you’ve never seen them before — star in this sinister tale of deceit, drugs, prostitution and smack downs!

In this hysterical episode from MST3K’s sixth season, Mike Nelson, Crow and Tom Servo challenge the “gorgeous gals of the ring” for the comedy championship of the galaxy! But what’s funnier? The riffs onboard the Satellite of Love — or the Racket Girls themselves? Also includes the popular short Are You Ready for Marriage?

ABC picks up “V”

“V” Cast Promo Image
“V” Cast Promo Image

V, a remake of the 1983 TV miniseries, is coming to ABC’s 2009-2010 mid-season schedule.

The world awakens to find spaceships hovering over all major cities. Though the aliens claim to come in peace, some do not believe them. Homeland Security agent Erica Evans discovers that the aliens have plans to infiltrate our governments and businesses in a plot to take over the planet. Erica joins the resistance movement, which includes Ryan, an alien who wants to save humanity. However, the aliens have recruited earth’s youth, including Erica’s son, to serve unknowingly as spies.

For more information, visit HDFilms, IMDb, and VisitorSite.net.

Tweet Your Support for Dollhouse

The Dollverse reports that tomorrow is decision day for Dollhouse. The fate of Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse has yet to be decided, but maybe you can help sway Fox’s decision. If you use Twitter, send a message to @FoxBroadcasting expressing your support for the show and your desire to see a second season. Get all your friends involved. Overwhelm them with tweets. Inundate them with requests for a Season 2. 

The Dollverse also makes the following suggestions for showing your support:

If you want to make your voice heard about how much you want to see the show return, here’s how:

CALL — Leave a voicemail on 310 369 3066 for Peter Rice, Chairman of Entertainment @ FOX

EMAIL — askfox@fox.com

TWEET — Twitter @foxbroadcasting, point people towards this post

POST — Leave comments here. I’ll forward it to FOX.

So, what are you waiting for? Go Tweet already.

Vulcan, Alberta’s Trek Comes to an End

from Vulcan Tourism & Trek Station:

Well, Vulcan’s long and colourful journey that started in September 2007 with our ambitious quest to host the premiere of the new Star Trek movie came to a spectacular and memorable end last evening, as Paramount Pictures arranged for a special advance screening of Star Trek for 300 lucky Vulcan Guests.

It was Vulcan’s red carpet moment, and our brush with Hollywood Glamour as we welcomed actor Bruce Greenwood to the event, and were met by a wall of media flashbulbs and microphones.

I am so excited to report that in my mind, the new Star Trek movie did not disappoint! It was funny, action packed and suspenseful. The cast fit, and reinvented their well-recognized roles very well, and Star Trek is reborn.

Thank you so much to Paramount Pictures for arranging last night’s special event, and thank you for entertaining Vulcan’s lofty goal to premiere this wonderful new movie.

Star Trek is back — revived and fresh, and the town of Vulcan, Alberta is proud to be recognized by so many fans as a fun, if not quirky Star Trek destination, in the middle of the Canadian Prairies, 1 hour south of Calgary and 1 hour north of Lethbridge.

Signing OFF:

Live Long & Prosper
Dayna, Erin & The Crew of the Vulcan Tourism & Trek Station