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Review: ‘Doctor Who: The Complete Specials’

51addwtuzil1-5099152Doctor Who made Scottish actor David Tennant a big star while Tennant helped take the new incarnation of the venerable British series to greater success after relaunching with Christopher Eccleston. In many ways, they needed one another so when Tennant received numerous other acting opportunities, his schedule grew complicated. Then, as was inevitable, he announced he was moving on.

Series producer Russell T. Davies oversaw the revival and helped successfully spinoff [[[Torchwood]]] and the [[[[Sarah Jane Adventures]]]. But even he announced the time had come for new challenges so it was decreed that in 2009, there would not be a new season, but instead there would be four specials scattered throughout the year.

Now that the TARDIS has been officially handed over to Matt Smith, who will headline a new season this spring, BBC Video has collected the specials in a lovely box set, going on sale Tuesday. Included is 2008’s Christmas special [[[The Next Doctor]]] along with [[[Planet of the Dead]]], [[[The Waters of Mars]]], and the [[[End of Time Parts One and Two]]].  The five disc set also comes complete with all the [[[Doctor Who Confidential]]],[[[ Doctor Who at the Proms]]], Deleted Scenes and other featurettes.

Reviewing this as a piece, we see that the Doctor is solitary creature and is a cranky one at that. He needs a companion, someone to anchor him to humanity and remind him of the mortal stakes that sometimes might slip a Time Lord’s mind. Sure, he takes delight in new places and situations, but when the tension rises, without a trusted ally, he is less than his best.

Davies had a finite number of shows to work with and seeded the changing of the guard by mentioning the four knocks early on but unlike the Bad Wolf business, these are far more disconnected than one would have expected. Spoilers ahead…

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Man Arrested For Possession of a Controlled Simpstance

  • News
  • January 31, 2010

Thanks to the fine detective work of some awesome Aussies in Ipswich, Kurt James Milner was arrested for possession. Possession of what you ask? Well… short answer… pornographic photographs. Longer, creepier answer… pictures of the Simpson children (of the popular Fox franchise, mind you.) in less than “PG” fashion.

To his defense, Mr. Milner was quick to note the images “were just jokes” not meant for personal satisfaction; And come on guys, who doesn’t get an occasional lewd e-mail from a friend or disgusting family member every so often? And who then would choose to save said lewd image on to their hard drives to later show other friends and family? Who? Perverts you say… Point taken. Working even harder against his “it was just a joke defense” came Milner’s 2003 arrest for possession of child exploitation material. Sum 59 images of “non-animated” (That’s “HUMAN” for the rest of us) children were found on his personal computer. Either Milner is an obvious sexual deviant, or he has one sick sense of humor. Sadly, his 2003 arrest garnered him 2 years probation, but no recorded conviction. Lucky for all of us, Kurt decided that his defense was a shallow as his taste, and plead guilty. He was convicted this time, albeit his year long sentence has been given a five year suspension.

And the real tragedy? Milner missed an obvious defense. Lisa Simpson may look like an 8 year old girl, but she’s been on TV for twenty years, taking her several years past the age of consent. And we all know that Simpsons is in a fixed continuity.

This could lead us into an interesting debate concerning what exactly constitutes pornography in the day and age of the internet. Certainly men like Milner (and his Aussie mates Phillip McGuire, and John McEwan) are in the wrong for possessing pictures of the beloved cartoon children in compromising positions. Lest us forget though, even Hugh Hefner got Marge to undress for the pages of Playboy only months ago. But Marge ain’t a child. And we all know blue up-dos are mega hot.

So, what do you all think? Discuss amongst yourselves.

How Amazon could force comics to go digital

  • News
  • January 30, 2010

Remember about a month back, we posted an article about Fox Networks and Time Warner Cable playing hardball over being carried?

Well, as of Friday books from Macmillan, including all sub-imprints like Tor books and St. Martin’s Press, have vanished from Amazon.com. According to the New York Times, the disappearance is the result of a disagreement
between Amazon.com
and book publishers that has been brewing for the last year. Macmillan,
like other publishers, has asked Amazon to raise the price of
electronic books from $9.99 to around $15. Amazon is expressing its
strong disagreement by temporarily removing Macmillan books.

Now with this as a precedent, let’s take it to the next level:

“Hello, DC Comics? Jeff Bezos here. Hey, how come we don’t have Batman: Black & White available for the Kindle yet?”

“Oh really? Do you know how many thousands of copies of Watchmen we sold for you last year? How many Batman and Sandman graphic novels? Don’t even get me started on Smallville DVD sets.”

“Let me spell it out for you. If we don’t start getting files for the Kindle by the end of this month, we’re going to stop selling the print editions of your books.”

Think it can’t happen? Are you sure?

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Review: ‘Wolverine and the X-Men – Fate of the Future’ on DVD

  • Uncategorized
  • January 30, 2010

wxmvolume4-2414977As one would have expected, Marvel revisited the animated adventures of their merry mutants to capitalize on the anticipated success of the [[[Wolverine]]] feature film. As a result, the fourth iteration is named [[[Wolverine and the X-Men]]] and the first season aired throughout 2009 on Nicktoons. Lionsgate has been dutifully collected handfuls of episodes for single-disc collections with the fourth volume, containing five episodes, being released Tuesday.

While the [[[X-Men]]], their friends and foes are familiar, this has no bearing on the previous animated series or the comic book source material, As a result, we’re getting yet another look at familiar themes and storylines such as the Days of Future Past and Genosha. Unlike the immensely popular 1990s Fox series, this has fewer sub-plots that require episode to episode viewing. On the other hand, there are plenty of sub-plots running through the 26 episodes comprising the first season. There are also dozens of characters to meet and recall and often they arrive unnamed or their powers unspecified. As a result, you’re required to watch knowing which version of the x-verse you’re paying attention to. The only other animated series this ties to is the Hulk Vs. direct-to-DVD as noted when Nick Fury asks Wolverine to have a rematch against the jade giant.

This disc contains “Stolen Lives”, “Hunting Grounds”, “Badlands”, “Code of Conduct” and “Backlash”. Having not seen any of the previous episodes, I would have appreciated a “Previously” recap at the beginning but I quickly figured things out. The first episode focuses on Kristie, the young mutant daughter of Maverick and introduces us to X-23.

The second story skips Wolverine for the most part, focusing instead on the odd friendship of Scarlet Witch and Nightcrawler as they work together to escape Mojo’s World. It also introduces us to Magneto’s other daughter, Polaris. After that, we skip ahead to the devastating future as the descendant and survivors fight the Sentinels for survival. The just-introduced Polaris is revealed to be the sole survivor of Genosha and wanders around wearing dad’s helmet. The storyline is picked up again in the fifth episode, which has the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants and the X-Men trying to destroy the Master Mold, to prevent the horrific future from happening.

In between, Wolverine’s backstory is explored in a tale that introduces viewers to the Silver Samurai and Mariko. The battle for control and honor takes up much of the episode and apparently was deemed inappropriate to air in the UK.

Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost, who graduated from Marvel Animation to fine comic book writers, are back and their expertise helps a lot. They’re ably abetted by Greg Johnson, a writer I’m less familiar with. As a result, the stories are strong in the Marvel flavor, heavy on the anti-mutant theme, and replete with characters with some genuine personality. They come across as teens or adults, experienced or tyro.

The animation design is leaner than previous version but they come across inconsistent in size. In some cases, Wolverine is taller than Mystique but still called a runt. Everyone is a little too lean but the overall animation direction is reasonably strong. The best part of the technical side is that the voice cast is sharply superior to the 1990s version.

Other than some commentary, the disc has no extras but does have plenty of trailers including an intriguing glimpse of next year’s [[[Thor: Tales of Asgard]]] direct-to-DVD feature.

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Saturday Morning Cartoons: He-Man and the Master of What’s Going On.

  • News
  • January 30, 2010

Eternia is a complicated land folks. When young Swedish looking princes have too many emotions bubbling up… Sometimes they need an outlet. Some, yes, will turn to their mystical sword, and say a little oath, and poof! Problems replaced with muscles and loin-cloths. But other times… when your little faceless floating buddy isn’t there for you, when you mistake your father for the Burger King, and when you’re tired of your pathetic excuse for pussy… It’s time to bah-ring-it girlfriend.

It’s time to let the world hear those amazing pipes you’ve hidden beneath your pink tunic all these years. Without further adieu, I give to you Four Minus Three Don Blondes’ with his breakout hit…

What’s going on?

Thanks to the hilarious folks at Slack Circus.

The iPad costs too much? Compared to what?

  • News
  • January 29, 2010

One of the ongoing shibboleths coming out about the iPad, with prominent examples coming from Dirk Deppey, is that it won’t change the game for comics because the iPad costs too much.

To which we have to ask: compared to what?

Let’s take a simple example: Marvel’s Siege crossover event. If you wanted the entire thing and were to pay full retail for the comics, at $2.99 an issue you’re going to spend $100 or so on the full thing.

Now’s let’s assume the digital version of a series at 99 cents an issue. You end up with a savings of $60 over the life of the crossover series.

Or put it this way: If you normally buy an average of $30 of comics a week at a store, and you replace half of them with digital versions of the same books that cost 25% of their paper counterparts, you’re going to save over $560 in a year. That’s the price of a low-end iPad, plus tax and shipping.

I know a lot of people who would take that deal.

Review: ‘The Invention of Lying’ on Blu-ray

invention-of-lying-7271100Ricky Gervais is a terrific writer and comedian but since the success of [[[The Office]]], he has struggled to fully realize his ideas in the limitations of a motion picture. Last year’s Ghost Town had terrific ideas that weren’t fully explored and the same fault spoils [[[The Invention of Lying]]] from being a more satisfying movie.

Now out on DVD from Warner Home Video, the movie stars Gervais in a parallel reality where no one knew how to lie. When he has a brain spark and tells the first lie, hilarity ensues. As we open, the world is not only colorless and devoid of joy, but people feel compelled to offer unsolicited information. As we meet Gervais’ loser of a screenwriter, he is picking up Jennifer Garner for a date only to have her greet him with the news that she was upstairs masturbating, a joke that’s overplayed in the following minutes.

Stuck writing about the 13th Century, Gervais apparently has struggled to make the Dark Ages interesting and is fired by his weak-willed boss (Jeffrey Tambor). Low on cash, he can’t pay the rent, until he suddenly is inspired to tell the Bank Teller that he has more money in his account than the computer records. Beginning here and throughout, the lie is never challenged, never verified, so he tells people things and they accept it on face value. Skepticism seems missing in this reality as well.

When his dying mother (Fionnula Flanagan) fears the great void of an afterlife, his newfound gift provides him with the words he needs to comfort her. Those overhearing him believe he knows things they do not and embrace the newfound truths. The world beats a path to his door, demanding to know what he knows. In one of the best scenes, Gervais composes ten rules about the Afterlife, tapes them to two pizza boxes and arrives bearing the equivalent of the Ten Commandments.

As his romance with Garner evolves, the movie loses track of how the world changes based on these new rules. A series of newspaper and magazine headlines give us a glimpse but it’s a missed opportunity. Instead, we focus on the odd triangle of Gervais, Garner, and Rob Lowe with Garner struggling to decide between optimal genetics or someone who will make her happy.

A humorous romantic comedy is spoiled by Gervais’ unwillingness to really see how things change as he becomes the world’s first liar. The unrealized opportunities would have made this a far richer and more enduring movie instead of this mildly entertaining bit of floss. Gervais surrounds himself with terrific comedians such as Tambor, Tina Fey and Jonah Hill then gives them nothing to do. Gervais is aptly cast in a film he co-wrote and directed. Garner is sweet in her simplicity and watching her evolution is one of the few highlights although is totally predictable.

The Blu-ray edition looks and sounds sharp, not that it needs to be at its best. The extras are a rich assortment, beginning with a nearly 18 minute feature on a Brit pal coming to America to appear as an extra in a scene that wound up cut and is included in the deleted scenes. The scene, the dawn of man, comes complete with narration from Sir Ian McKellen. Among the 13 minutes of deleted scenes we see some glimpses of a larger world but the cuts aren’t necessarily missed. A Truly “Honest” Making-of Featurette provides 7 minutes of humorous asides and not much real information. Better is the gag reel and forgettable are the four video podcasts. Following their new format, this comes complete with a digital copy.

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The Point Radio: Dawson Lands On ‘Mercy’

  • News
  • January 29, 2010

NBC has given their freshman medical drama MERCY  a jump start by adding James VanDerBeek to the cast,. “Dawson” is here to tell us about his place in the show, plus are you ready for a JOE DIRT cartoon and Media Mercenary Ric Meyers covers the new HUMAN TARGET.

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Ralph Bakshi ‘s ‘Lord of the Rings’ Coming to Blu-ray in April

  • News
  • January 28, 2010

While we all knew to expect the Blu-ray debut of Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy this spring, Warner Home Video issued a release regarding the previous film incarnation of the classic tale. Here’s the release:

BURBANK, CA (January 27, 2010) – Journey back into the world of Hobbits, Humans, Elves and Dwarves in the all-new The Lord of the Rings Remastered Deluxe Edition coming April 6, 2010 from Warner Home Video.  This original animated classic from acclaimed director Ralph Bakshi and Academy Award Winning producer, Saul Zaentz, has been remastered with pristine New Dolby 5.1 audio and picture quality and will be distributed as a single disc DVD and Blu-ray combo which features a Blu-ray, DVD and bonus digital copy.  The film will also be available for Digital Download. This film is rated PG.

One of the great visionary animation directors of the modern era, Bakshi went to artistic extremes to meticulously bring the legendary world of J.R.R. Tolkien to animated life – adding yet another stunning title to the director’s canon of ground-breaking films. Bakshi’s animation accomplishments include Fritz the Cat, Heavy Traffic, American Pop, Wizards and Cool World.

All the magical adventure of the fantasy classic comes to life in Bakshi’s brilliantly animated tale of the enchanted land of Middle-earth – and the brave band of Hobbits, heroes and Wizards who set out to protect it. When a dangerous and powerful gold ring falls into his hands, a courageous Hobbit named Frodo embarks on an epic adventure. Along with the mighty Wizard Gandalf and some daring Elves, he defends his homeland from the Dark Power  who would destroy it. Set in a mystical age of magic, monsters and unlikely heroes on incredible journeys, The Lord of the Rings will cast its spell over the entire family!

The deluxe edition also features a never-before-seen, 30-minute in-depth interview  with legendary director Ralph Bakshi entitled Forging Through The Darkness: The Ralph Bakshi Vision for The Lord Of The Rings.  This special feature explores his concept for creating an illustrated film, his pioneering rotoscoping process, and inspirations for his visual storytelling.

“The Lord of the Rings is a timeless classic that continues to be a favorite for generation after generation,” said Amit Desai, WHV Vice President of Family, Animation & Partner Brands Marketing. “The theatrical release in 1978 had a domestic total gross of nearly $90 million at the box office and shipped 1.1 million net videos. We are looking forward to offering this remastered deluxe edition to the fans for their library collections and providing endless enjoyment for years to come.”

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