Tagged: NBC

The Point Radio: GRIMM & ONCE UPON A TIME – Fairy Tales Are Hot


This season, fairy tales are the thing with two distinctively different shows springing firm the same familiar tales. This weekend, NBC premieres GRIMM while ABC had a great premiere for ONCE UPON A TIME just days ago. We speak to the cast & creators of both shows to see just where things differ.

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Marvel Movie Round-Up UPDATED

  • News
  • August 8, 2011

As this summer season winds down, Sony is looking three years ahead. According to Deadline, they have already staked out May 2, 2014 for the sequel to 2012’s Amazing Spider-Man. James Vanderbilt, who penned the first script, has already been tapped for the sequel although it’s way too soon to know anything about the content. The first film continues production although footage shown at Comic-Con International wowed skeptical audiences. Additionally, fans were stunned when star Andrew Garfield took the mike, dressed in a store-bought Spidey suit and read from notes about what the character means to him, apparently truly heartfelt words.

UPDATE:  The Hollywood Reporter says that Marvel has staked out two weekends in 2014 for two unnamed films. Two weeks after the Spider-Man sequel, May will see Marvel To Come #1. The second Marvel movie will open June 27, and since that’s around July 4 we’re willing to bet this will be eventually be called Captain America 2 .

Meanwhile, Naturi Naughton, about to be seen weekly in NBC’s The Playboy Club, has been signed to portray Cecilia Reyes in 20th Century-Fox’s The Wolverine. The sequel, starring Hugh Jackman, is in production for a 2012 release. Directed by James Mangold, the story is largely based on the classic Wolverine miniseries written by Chris Claremont and illustrated by Frank Miller and is set in Japan. Reyes was not a character in that story, introduced decades later.

In the Marvel Film Universe proper, 2013’s Thor 2 may see Brian Kirk in the director’s chair. Kirk, who gained acclaim for his work on HBO’s Game of Thrones, would replace Kenneth Branagh, who bowed out recently.

In a decision seeming out of left field, Twitchfilm reports that Marvel Studios has placed the futuristic Guardians of the Galaxy into active development. First introduced in Marvel Super-Heroes #18, released in 1969, the quartet of freedom fighters from the 27th Century. The team has grown and evolved through the years with more than a few ties to the modern day Marvel Universe. Whether those connections would remain on screen is unknown. It joins Black Panther, Ant-Man, Doctor Strange, and Iron Fist in the second tier of characters being readied.

While an early announcement, Amazing Spider-Man 2 is not the first major property to stake out 2014 dates. Already on the schedule are DreamWorks’ Mr. Peabody & Sherman, due out March 21 and their How to Train Your Dragon 2 is expected June 20. In the same THR report, Pixar has claimed Memorial Day weekend for an untilted film as well.

As for Marvel’s rival, DC Entertainment has announced no super-heroics beyond 2013’s Supeman: Man of Steel although The Flash, Green Lantern 2, and Justice League of America were all recently mentioned by Wanrer Bros. President Jeff Robinov as being developed

Man from Atlantis Complete Series/Complete TV Movies

One of the joys of the Warner Archive program is that movies and television shows for small groups of fans can be released. The restoration costs seem to have reached a reasonable scale and these direct-to-order projects don’t really require the bells and whistles higher profile releases deserve. As a result, we can revel in the stuff we grew up or recall fondly. In my case, that includes a ton of Hanna-Barbera and Ruby-Spears stuff that has been coming out over the last year or two. It also meant I finally got a good copy of the pilot to the Search series.

And while some will turn their noses up to those offerings, they may begin salivating at some of the others that have been released; titles which I personally find not worth our time and attention. One such series is the short-lived NBC clunker Man from Atlantis, best known as the vehicle that gave the world Patrick Duffy pre-Dallas. The premise is certain high concept enough to have been interesting: amnesiac Mark Harris displayed the ability to breathe underwater and withstand the crushing deep sea water pressure. His origins remained murky but as was the formula from the 1970s, he was immediately set up with a purpose that served others rather than himself: working for the Foundation for Oceanic Research, a front for top secret activity. He was accompanied by a team of humans (co-stars Belinda J. Montgomery and Alan Fudge) aboard the high-tech sub called the Cetacean. And rather than delve into her personality or explore the things that made him unique, he became another handsome, shirtless hunk who went through the motions.

NBC’s Fred Silverman green lit the series, first as a number of telefilms, running four during the 1976-1977 television season and these are collected in the just-released two-disc Man from Atlantis: The Complete TV Movies Collection.

The concept proved durable enough it was given a weekly series order and those 13 episodes have also been collected and released as a four-disc Man from Atlantis: The Complete Television Series. I should stress, the pilot film was previously released on its own. (more…)

Review: ‘The Man from Atlantis’

man-from-atlantis-1269311In the 1970s, NBC was the network you could turn to when seeking high concepts series that never lived up to the expectations of its audience. A perfect example was Man from Atlantis, a short-lived concept about a man who could live under the sea.

One of the interesting conventions of the time was that concepts would be allowed to grow and develop through telefilms before a show went to series. In this case, there were four such films produced for the 1976-1977 season before the strong ratings convinced the Peacock Network to let this go to a weekly series. When it arrived in fall 1977, the demands of producing 22 episodes proved too much and the show was weakened, the ratings fell and the series became a footnote; another wreck during the network’s decline (Supertrain anyone?).

Warner Archive has recently released the pilot film on DVD and it’s interesting to see what could have been. Patrick Duffy, in his pre-Dallas days, played amnesiac Mark Harris who displayed the ability to breathe underwater and withstand the crushing deep sea water pressure. The producers extrapolated that he would need webbed hands and feet and the deep sea environment would mean he would have super-human strength out of the water. Found by the government, Harris is asked to work for the Foundation for Oceanic Research, a front for top secret activity. He is accompanied by a team of humans (co-stars Belinda J. Montgomery and Alan Fudge) aboard the high-tech sub called the Cetacean.

The real delight in the show is Victor Buono, the rotund character actor ComicMix fans recall as King Tut, but was a mainstay on prime time for years. His Mr. Schubert, the series’ antagonist, was a charismatic villain. (About the only episode I ever liked was the one that displayed Schubert flat broke after all his previous schemes failed; I had never seen a villain displayed in this way before.)

The pilot’s pacing is slow and everything has to be spelled out for the audience, a common downfall to debut episodes. The 96 minute running time should have allowed more interesting character development but such was not the expectation of science fiction shows of that decade. Duffy was fine as Harris, a bit dull for a hero, but he swam really well.

Marvel did far more interesting stories in their short-lived comic adaptation and the series remains popular with some fans so if you’re curious, this is a fine way to sample the show for yourself.

The Point Radio: It’s Time To Watch THE EVENT


Have you been avoiding THE EVENT in fear that it would be yet another “unfinished” story? Now might be the time to change that. NBC has extended the show into 2011 and the cast joins us to speculate where things are headed on the show. Plus Dennis Leary as Gwen Stacy’s pop?  And War Of The Green Lanterns? Really?

And be sure to stay on The Point via iTunes - ComicMix, RSS, MyPodcast.Comor Podbean!

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David Tennant’s final ‘Doctor Who’ episodes scheduled for BBC America

  • News
  • December 4, 2009

david-tennant-3763452All good things must come to an end, and they’ll be ending at pretty much the same time here as in the UK.

BBC America will air the US premieres of the three Doctor Who specials where David Tennant ends his turn in the title role. Doctor Who: The Waters of Mars airs on December 19 at 9 PM Eastern; Doctor Who: The End of Time, Part One airs December 26 at 9 PM Eastern; and the final special Doctor Who: The End of Time, Part Two airs January 2, 2010 at 9 PM Eastern.

But worry not– Tennant will be back on TV soon on NBC, no less, in the new series Rex Is Not Your Lawyer, being prepped for a fall premiere. Let’s see if he can do a Chicago accent…

Fox Going to the Wolves in ‘Bitches’

  • News
  • December 22, 2008

Fox network has announced work has begun on a new hour-long series, Bitches, described by The Hollywood Reporter as “a dramedy about a quartet of female friends in New York who are werewolves.”

Given the November 2009 release of both The Wolfman and the lycanthropes in New Moon, plus the Big Bad Wolf in NBC’s Fables project, it looks to be a hairy fall.

Michael Dougherty (X2: X-Men United) is writing the script for Warner Bros. TV which received a pilot script commitment complete with penalties if no film is shot. Gretchen Berg and Aaron Harberts (Pepper Dennis) will serve as executive producers alongside Dougherty.

Dougherty wrote about werewolves in Trick ‘r Treat a Warner Bros, film that got dumped earlier this year and will be a direct-to-DVD release.

‘Knight Rider’ Finds its Roots

  • News
  • November 11, 2008

Sydney Tamiia Poitier, Yancey Arias and Bruce Davison are being left at the curb as NBC orders a major retooling of its Knight Rider revival. The network has shown faith in the show, giving it a full season’s order, only to watch the ratings go into a death spiral.

"It’s a reboot," executive producer/showrunner Gary Scott Thompson told The Hollywood Reporter. "We’re moving away from the terrorist-of-the-week formula and closer to the original, making it a show about a man and his car going out and helping more regular people, everymen."

The series regulars were contracted for only the first 13 episodes and are not being renewed. Currently, the 15th episode is being filmed and the focus will be tightened on Mike (Justin Bruening), Sarah (Deanna Russo), Billy (Paul Campbell), Zoe (Smith Cho) and KITT.

The series kicks off the network’s Wednesday night crime block of shows, followed by Life and Law & Order. Viewers will have a chance to see the restyled series during a two-part episode in January.  They may even use its football prowess to run episode 10 on the weekend and wrap it up, bringing the audience they hope, for the conclusion the following Wednesday.
 

‘Chuck’ gets 3-D, Super Bowl Boost

  • News
  • November 7, 2008

We love NBC’s Chuck. It’s a fresh take on spies and nerds that is appealingly cast and produced. The show has a great ensemble headed by Zachary Levi, Yvonne Strahovski, and Adam Baldwin.  That it continues to perform well in a television season that most call tepid is a good thing.

NBC agrees and continues to support the series.  Most recently it has announced an episode would be shot in 3-D but now creator Josh Schwartz tells Comic Book Resources the show will also receive a push via the Super Bowl, Sunday February 1.

 “It was NBC,” Schwartz, said, crediting the network. “They were doing this big promotion inside of the Super Bowl and handing out 150 million 3-D glasses, so we are the beneficiaries of that. Initially their plan was to have a bunch of shows do it, but it was logistically complicated, so Chuck seemed like the best fit for that type of thing.

“We are shooting the 3-D episode with Dominic Monahan and he’s loving it and loving his leather pants. Zach is the biggest Lost fan, so they talk Lord of the Rings and Lost and it’s huge for him.”

Among the promised three-dimensional images will be Nerd Herder “Jeff eating a urinal cake in 3-D.”

Schwartz says the support from the peacock network has been nothing short of incredible. “NBC has been an incredible partner for the show. I don’t want to sound like a corporate suck-up, but it’s true. They have believed in the show from the get-go. They supported the show by putting us on Mondays at 8:00 p.m. so we would have the Heroes connection and a better shot. They picked us up for the second season knowing the Strike was coming but still believing in us. Obviously, picking up the show for 22 episodes before it even airs is an incredible show of faith. They’ve also given us this 3-D episode that is going to air the night after the Super Bowl, so they’ve been as supportive as I could hope.

“We’ve been recovering from this post-Strike hangover,” Schwartz admitted. “We were doing pretty well before the Strike: every week was building and the numbers were pretty good. It was very encouraging, and then we went off the air for eight months and are in an incredibly competitive timeslot. Forget Gossip Girl or Dancing With the Stars, you’ve still got the CBS comedies and Monday Night Football, which is huge, and also Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. (Fox moves Sarah Connor to Fridays in mid-February.)
 

Michael Crichton Dies

  • News
  • November 5, 2008

michael-crichton-2683027Michael Crichton, the million-selling author of such historic and prehistoric science thrillers as Jurassic Park, Timeline and The Andromeda Strain has died of cancer, his family said. He died Tuesday in Los Angeles at age 66 after a long battle with the illness.

Michael started his career writing under the pseudonyms "John Lange" and "Jeffrey Hudson" but was soon published under his own name and developed a loyal following of readers. He is also credited as creator of NBC’s long-runing hit series ER.

Although many felt he was a crusader for "anti-technology" this was more of a commentary on scientists who would make breakthroughs without considering their impact on society around them.

At his family’s request, the details of his funeral are being kept private.

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