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Review: ‘Beauty and the Beast’ The Complete Series

batb-s1-3-dvd-front-3128808In 1987, television was evolving.  Thanks to [[[Hill Street Blues]]], the way dramatic stories were presented became more complex, the storytelling more diverse and the stories more compressed. The subject matter was also starting to broaden, moving beyond cops, lawyers and doctors.  It was just before the SF wave kicked off with [[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]] but that didn’t stop CBS from trying something a little different.

On a Friday night, September 25, 1987, audiences were treated to a different look at the classic [[[Beauty and the Beast]]] tale.  The series starred Ron Perlman as Vincent, the beast, a mutant of some sort, who comes to the rescue of Linda Hamilton’s Catherine, a rich girl turned assistant district attorney.  Their connection became the stuff of fairy tale and from that pilot episode, their fates became inextricable.

It had all the lush romance of a Harlequin book and the action to keep spouses by their side.  The series had its ups and downs, making a star out of Hamilton who left the series after just two seasons, derailing the eternal romance. Jo Anderson was brought in for the third season but that, coupled with CBS’s insistence on increased action for the males, hurt and the series came to an end in January 1990 (although the final two were run that summer).  Its 56 episodes remain a testament to the creative vision of creator Ron Koslow and fantasist George R.R. Martin who wound up penning 13 of the episodes.

Paramount Home Video has released a 16-disc box set of the complete series and it shows its age.  Beauty and the Beast has the look and feel of the 1980s without fully embracing the changing storytelling in television. The storytelling is slow, almost plodding at times, and each week they seemed to focus on some new social ill without really offering long-term solutions.  The threats were fairly standard stuff for the most part, intertwined with the poetry between the characters.  Complete with lush music, long, lingering gazes into character’s eyes, it was truly a romance novel brought to the screen.

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Alan Ball Talks ‘True Blood’

  • News
  • October 12, 2008

trueblood-3179885Director Alan Ball spoke with Moviehole about the reaction to his adaptation of True Blood, now about halfway through its first season on HBO.

He was drawn to the book series because it “seems like such an original mix. There’s so much in there that I really enjoyed. There’s a gothic-romance element, and I probably wouldn’t have enjoyed it if that’s all it had been about, but there was also sex, violence and this serial murderer, all set in this crazy world where vampires are struggling for equal rights. And then there’s this cliffhanger old Saturday-afternoon matinee feel. It’s just really, really fun to work on.”

The show, recently picked up for a second season, stars Anna Paquin as a telepath in a small southern town who develops a relationship with a vampire who recently moved in nearby.

“She’s good casting,” he said. “Thank god she wanted to do TV! When the casting director said ‘Are you interested in Anna Paquin?’ I shot back ‘Well, yeah, but is she interested in this?’ She says ‘Yeah, she is’. Anna pursued this role, and thank god she did because… she really gives the show heart… soul. It’s a great cast, lets not discount anyone else in the cast, but playing someone whose been hearing someone else’s thoughts their entire life isn’t easy – and she makes it look easy.”

His adaptation of Towelhead is currently in theaters, having received largely negative reviews and he’s now at work on the second season. “I’m working with the writers on Monday. And I have two screenplays that I’ve written over the years, both original, that I may do. I think I’d like to direct one and I think I’d like to produce one. I’m playing with the idea of becoming a production company. But there’s nothing definite on the horizon besides True Blood.”

He added that actors he’s worked with elsewhere will be found on the series including Towelhead’s Lena Collins and Six Feet Under’s Chris Messina. “I tend to do that – work with actors again, especially if I feel they’re really good and are a pleasure to work with. If something is right for them, I’ll look them up.”

As for the future, he said, “I’ve found that after Six Feet Under, and now Towelhead, that the things I’m not drawn to seem to be genre – which was never the case for me before. I certainly have ideas for films that seem to be more science-fiction – that’s the label that best describes them – even though these two new scripts I’ve written both take place in the real world, one being a period piece. In terms of what I’m reading, and are interested in though, I sort of feel like I’ve had my fill of angst.”
 

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Review: ‘Typhon’ Vol. 1

typhon-cover-7946221Typhon

Dirty Danny Press, $24.95

At 50, I’m pretty set in my comic book reading habits.  Having been raised largely on the output from DC Comics and Marvel, I have fairly mainstream tastes.  Now and then, though, I push myself to see what else is out there. As a result, reading Danny Hellman’s recently published [[[Typhon]]] anthology was an eye-opening experience.

The 192-page full-color trade paperback allows me the chance to see who else is producing comic book work.  Typhon takes its name from Greek mythology and is a creature with hundreds of hissing serpents, outdoing the Medusa. Venom was said to drip form their eyes and lava to be spit from their mouths. There are no super-heroes, no continuing characters, nothing based on a media property (although Droopy appears in one story).  Each tendril from the creature’s head is the product of the fertile imagination of the 42 creators who contributed to over the course of several years.

Hellman may be best known for his [[[Legal Action Comics]]] in addition to his own work at Time, Newsweek, Fortune, Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, and the Village Voice. Promoting the book, he said, “I realized that I was looking at a far more ambitious book than what I’d done previously. The work presented in Typhon covers a wide spectrum of what’s possible in comics, from zany, offbeat humor to unnerving existential angst, and on to chilling horror, all of it brought to life with breathtaking, cutting-edge artwork.

“Anthologies give us the opportunity to enjoy work by talented cartoonists who, for whatever reason, don’t produce enough material to fill out solo books. As an editor of anthologies, I’m excited to provide a showcase for artists and work that we might not see otherwise. Diversity makes for a richer comics scene.”

Everything he says is correct and to be applauded. I really enjoyed the colorful, inventive use of the page from Hans Rickheit, Rupert Bottenberg, Tobias Tak, and Fiona Smyth.  They created visually arresting images and used color in appealing ways. On the other hand, I could not make heads or tails out of Bald Eagles’ eight page head trip that is hard on the eyes and unreadable.

On the other hand, way too often I’d reach the end of these short works and scratch my head.  “What the hell was that all about?” was a repeated refrain. I’m used to stories about character or stories about something.  Yet, these works seem to be characters and situations that begin and end and say nothing.  Too frequently, I think the creators were out to amuse themselves, forgetting their audience. Rick Trembles’ “[[[Goopy Spasms]]]” feels like it was done because he could not because he had something say or share and was generally off-putting.

Hellman told Tom Spurgeon, “…It can be tough to pin down precisely what ‘good drawing’ is. Ultimately, beautiful art is a matter of taste. Drawing chops, anatomical knowledge, the ability to recreate the natural world in two dimensions and have it be both accurate and pleasing to the eye; these are important. But what’s really vital is that we connect with the art on an emotional, perhaps spiritual level.”

I’m all in favor of creative freedom but if someone wants my $24.95, then the editor of the collection has to step up and guide the talent to make certain their point, if there is one, gets across, from page to reader.  Here, Hellman spectacularly fails.

He kicks off the collection with his own “[[[The Terror in Peep Booth 5]]]” which looks and reads closest to a mainstream comic, complete with beginning, middle and end. After that, though, it’s all over the place.  Perhaps the most moving piece is Tim Lane’s “The Manic Depressive from Another Planet”.

I enjoyed being exposed to new voices and talents but come away disappointed that there are all these people with very little to say.

‘Chihuahua’ is #1 for 2nd Week in a Row

  • News
  • October 12, 2008

quarantinesmall-7876604Dogs continue to rule the box office as Disney’s Beverly Hills Chihuahua takes the top spot for the second week in a row, earning $17,511,000, burying the competition.  The second spot went to Fox’s Quarantine, a remake of the Spanish film REC, which debuted with $14,200,000.

Surprisingly, Body of Lies, starring Russell Crow and Leonardo DiCaprio opened in third with just $13, 120,000.  A serious box office disappointment, the film received mixed to negative reviews despite the captivating perofmances.

Audiences, instead, seemed to want lighter fare as the economic woes spread from coast to coast.  The action thriller, Eagle Eye, dropped just 37.8% and brought in an additional 11, 015,000, bringing its three week total to $70,551,000, confirming Shia LaBeouf as our latest action star.

Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist rounds out the top five with another $6,500,000, bringing it to $20,810,000 after two weeks.

Other new releases fared less well as Universal’s The Express opened in sixth place with just $4,731,000. Fox’s City of Ember, with Bill Murray, also opened poorly with just $3.2 million.

Showing slight drop offs were Appaloosa with $3,340,000 and Nights in Rodanthe taking in $4,610,000.

Several major releases have proven disappointing to the studios including Greg Kinnear’s Flash of Genius, which has brought in just Flash of Genius after two weeks, and Miracle at St. Anna, which has only $7,427,000 after three weeks of play.

And for the record, The Dark Knight is a mere $12 million shy of the $1 billion worldwide mark and continues to play across the globe, probably crossing that threshold this month.

Marvel Preview: ‘Adam: Legend of the Blue Marvel’

  • News
  • October 12, 2008

Marvel Comics released the cover and preview pages to Adam: Legend of the Blue Marvel, due on sale November 5.

Writer Kevin Grevioux (New Warriors) and Mat Broome (The End League), penciller and cover artist, produce the six-issue miniseries that introduces a new character, the Blue Marvel.

The Blue Marvel operated in the 1960s, after the Agents of Atlas’ time and before the arrival of the Fantastic Four around 2000 (following Marvel’s subjective timeline).

A release proclaims, “Once the greatest hero of the 1960s, the Blue Marvel existed during a time of political and racial turmoil. Now, as New York City is overrun by the rampaging Anti-Man, and not even the Avengers can take this monster down, it falls to the Blue Marvel to make a stand once again. But what is the secret behind the return of this Golden-Age hero?”

This is perhaps the first time the 1960s was referred to as the Golden Age. (more…)

‘Indiana Jones’ DVD Gains 5 Exclusive Editions

  • News
  • October 12, 2008

With Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull about to his stores on Tuesday, Paramount Home Video has alerted us to the five variant editions that will be available at various retailers.

To show how things have changed, Iron Man had eight exclusives when it hit the street on September 29 and Indy gets just five.  Still, these sound pretty cool for the diehard fan.

Circuit City – 2 lithographs of concept art from the movie.

Best Buy – Gift Set with replica crystal skull from Sideshow Collectibles and a $25 gift card to Sideshowcollectibles.com. (pictured above, left)

Target – Exclusive Packaging is a beautiful hard cover book from Palace Press with 80 pages of behind the scenes photos, including many never-before-published images.

Kmart & Sears – Four Exclusive LEGO mini-posters. Each poster is a LEGO replica of the original theatrical poster from all four Indy films.

Trans World – Exclusive Steelbook Packaging.

‘Knight Rider’, ‘Sarah Connor’ Both get Script Orders

  • News
  • October 12, 2008

Much to our collective surprise, NBC has ordered four additional scripts for the revival and reviled Knight Rider. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the series’ ratings have been somewhat encouraging after a few airings.

Meantime, producers of Fox’s Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, report they too have reason to be hopeful.

On the show’s official blog, they wrote: “Because so many of you, our most devoted fans, have been asking, we wanted to set the record straight!

“While the fate of the show past production on episode thirteen is still unclear, FOX has given us the go-ahead to write two more additional episodes for this season — fourteen and fifteen.

“We are hard at work writing those episodes and await news of a potential pickup for the full ‘back nine’ (additional episodes to complete the season) in the near future. We’re crossing our fingers (and dotting our i’s) that we’ll have more good news to share with you soon…

“In the meantime, keep tuning in! Get your friends interested! And thanks for all of your support.”

Meantime, its companion series, Fringe, has been given a full-season pick-up.

Last Thursday night, ABC debuted its adaptation of Life on Mars, opposite CBS’ adaptation of Eleventh Hour. Much has been made of both shows’ pilots being almost shot for shot remakes of their British counterparts.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, “None of this stopped viewers tuning in with all the shows scoring strongly in the overnight ratings despite a real mixed bag of reviews ranging from the scathing to the glorious.”  This also includes NBC’s Kath and Kim, remaking an Australian sitcom that received horrendous reviews from coast to coast.

“Though fourth in its timeslot, the show did grow from the 4.6/7 rating lead-in of My Name is Earl. This is very shaky ground however and coming weeks, not to mention the word of mouth, will determine if it will stay on the schedule,” the paper noted.

Eleventh Hour was second in the competitive 10 p.m. slot, following Life on Mars. Some concern was raised over the new series losing half the audience from the previous show, CSI. In third was NBC’s ER, now in its final season.

Of the shows debuting Thursday night, the best reviewed, and cast, was Life on Mars. “Audiences seemed to dig it though with the pilot scoring a 8.2/14 rating – winning its timeslot and coming third for the night. Better yet it managed to maintain over 80% of its lead-in audience from Grey’s Anatomy,” the trade noted.
 

‘Wolverine: Origins’ #28 gets Second Printing

  • News
  • October 12, 2008

Wolverine: Origins #28 has sold out at Diamond and will be going back to print with the prologue to X-Men: Original Sin.  The issue cleverly takes readers through Wolverine’s history including his first encounter with the Incredible Hulk, a new point of view ot the classic introduciton of the mutant in Incredible Hulk #181.

Charles Xavier and Logan delve even deeper into Wolverine’s past as they try to save the fragile mental state Daken, WOlverin’es adult son, is in.

The X-Men: Original Sin event will run thorugh the following titles:

X-MEN: ORIGINAL SIN #1
Written by MIKE CAREY & DANIEL WAY
Penciled by MIKE DEODATO & SCOT EATON
Cover by MIKE DEODATO & RICHARD ISANOVE

X-MEN: LEGACY #217
Written by MIKE CAREY
Penciled by SCOT EATON
Cover by MIKE DEODATO & RICHARD ISANOVE
On-Sale—10/22/08

WOLVERINE: ORIGINS #29

Written by DANIEL WAY
Pencils by MIKE DEODATO
Cover by MIKE DEODATO & RICHARD ISANOVE
Zombie Variant by MIKE DEODATO
On-Sale—10/29/08

X-MEN: LEGACY #218
Written by MIKE CAREY
Penciled by SCOT EATON
Cover by MIKE DEODATO
On-Sale—11/19/08

WOLVERINE: ORIGINS #30
Written by DANIEL WAY
Pencils & Cover by MIKE DEODATO
On-Sale—11/26/08

Review: ‘Monty Python’s Tunisian Holiday’

51hrrisu-nl-sl500-aa2401-3018019Well as careers go, here’s a good one. Start off writing a fanzine and wind up working with and for Del Close and Monty Python and, specifically, John Cleese. Then you get to write all kinds of books about your labors.

Long-time comics journalist and frequent ComicMix commenter Kim Howard Johnson has a new book out called Monty Python’s Tunisian Holiday. It’s a misnomer; Monty Python was in Tunisia to work. They were making a movie. Monty [[[Python’s Life of Brian]]], to be exact. But few would buy a book called [[[Kim Howard Johnson’s Tunisian Holiday]]] unless it had a lot of sex in it, so the title choice is obvious. So are the contents: it’s Howard’s account of his time with the Pythons in Tunisia filming [[[The Life of Brian]]] and touches on his time on-stage with the group at the famed Hollywood Bowl concerts (Howard’s a professional, trained by no less than Del Close).

This is less of a companion volume to his [[[The First 200 Years of Monty Python]]],[[[ And Now For Something Completely Trivial]]],[[[ Life Before (and After) Monty Python]]], and [[[The First 280 Years of Monty Python]]] than it is Howard’s story chronicling his experiences as both a performer in the movie and a journalist covering the shoot. As such, it’s more of a companion volume to Michael Palin’s recently released autobiography Diaries 1969-1979: The Python Years (I highly recommend the audiobook version, read by Palin). It’s witty, it’s thorough, and if you’re a Python fan or a movie nut, it’s completely vital. 

By the way, Howard’s got prefaces from Michael Palin, Terry Jones, Eric Idle, and his former boss and collaborator ([[[Superman: True Brit]]]), John Cleese. It’s nice to know people.

O.K. Cool, Howard. Great job. Now go do that biography of the Bonzo Dog Band I’ve been wanting so desperately.  Ummm… after you finish that [[[Munden’s Bar]]] story you’re doing with…

Will Spider-Man Be the Most Expensive Musical Ever?

  • News
  • October 11, 2008

Remember back in July when we told you about the Spider-Man musical? The one with the questionable plot device involving a Spider Goddess spinning Peter Parker’s story. Oh yeeaaah, that one.

Michael Riedel, the Broadway beat reporter for the New York Post is reporting that the budget has swelled to $40 million, for now, with a weekly running cost of $1 million per week of its run. To break even, the show would have to become one of the longest running shows in history.

The show is in one of New York City’s largest theaters, a score written by U2’s Bono, and brought to life by an army of designers.

Director Julie Taymor, who rose to fame for Disney’s Lion King musical, has a spotty track record.  The story reports that investors are becoming worried. It doesn’t help that in this economy, theater attendance is expected to dip.

Is your Spider Sense tingling, Peter?

 

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