Tagged: television

Big ComicMix Broadcast: The Trouble With Harry

We break up another sticky week with a Big ComicMix Broadcast filled with Pop Culture breezes: Harry Potter is in the theaters and we review the film, plus news on stuff being dumped on your TV this summer, who is talking for Hellboy, some cheap gaming options online AND another step in our Countdown To the San Diego ComicCon plus something from three girls who broke a few music theory rules and used the idea to cash in on the pop charts.

Press The Button before the kid playing HARRY gets any older!

Happy 60th Anniversary to the Flying Saucer

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On this day sixty years ago, reports came  from the Roswell Army Air Field that a "flying disc" had been recovered from a nearby ranch, and an industry was born.

Since then, we’ve had books, movies, TV shows, comic books, and rock and roll music all discussing whatever happened at Roswell with varying degrees of fictionality and believability. And just remember that it all started with a crashed– sorry, we’d like to tell you, but you’re not really cleared for that.

MICHAEL DAVIS: If it walks like a duck…

runaway_daffy_duck-6187271      michael-davis100-3474552      disney-walt-donald-duck-2800551-8406919

In this article I use a variation of the ‘n’ word. If this offends you then stop reading now. The last thing I want is 50 comments from people who are offended by the word. So before you get your panties in a bunch, stop reading. You have been warned.

When did we become a nation of sheep? At what point did we decide that if enough people say something is good then it’s good? If enough people decide it’s bad then it’s bad? If enough people decide it’s hip then it’s hip?

Or in this case: if enough people decide that a man obeying a police officer’s command can be shot for doing what the officer said, then that police officer is not guilty of attempted murder.

Regardless of what you think, do you join the flock?

Last week a police officer named Ivory Webb was acquitted in a San Bernardino County California courtroom for shooting a man for getting up after telling the man to get up. No. I was not in the courtroom. No, I do not know all the facts. No, I was not at the scene. I just watched the videotape. The videotape, which CLEARLY shows Webb telling the man to get up.

CLEARLY TELLING HIM TO GET UP.

When the man goes to get up (AS HE WAS TOLD) he was shot three times. I have no idea what went on in that courtroom that resulted in this police officer getting off. I just know WHAT I SAW.

In my VERY first article for ComicMix I wrote this: Now a days you can get caught on videotape robbing and pistol whipping a little old lady in a wheel chair while she was feeding her kitten and not go to jail. All you have to do is blame it on your Dad who was never home or never told you he loved you.

Well Mr. Webb’s jury blamed it on the man who was shot – one juror saying ‘If he had just shut up and listened then none of this would have happened.”

Well, from what I saw when he was told to get up, he did listen, and he was shot.

OK, as I said I don’t know what went on in the courtroom so let’s assume that the jury was correct in their verdict. I still know what I heard: the cop said “get up” and then shot the guy when he did.

I know what I heard; I know what I saw.

A few years ago I heard a rumor that Donald Duck called Daffy Duck “A doggone stubborn nigga” in the film Who Framed Roger Rabbit. I thought this was simply BS. I had seen the film and did not notice that and simply dismissed it. Fast forward to last week when I noticed that my TiVo had recorded Who Framed Roger Rabbit. While I was watching it this time I clearly heard Donald Duck call Daffy Duck a “A dog gone stubborn nigga.”

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MICHAEL DAVIS: Not What You Think

  • News
  • June 29, 2007

michael-davis100-5274434Years ago I wrote a column for Comics Buyers Guide (CBG) called Picture This. I actually started writing that column even before Peter David started writing his. Being the professional he is, Peter has been able to sustain his column But I Digress for well over a decade. I lasted a few months before I simply stopped writing it. Demands on my time and personal life caused me to abandon what truly was a great gig for an even greater magazine.

Now I’m writing this column and have managed to keep my deadlines (except for one little itsy bitsy time when I got my column in late and it had to run on Saturday instead of Friday) for twenty weeks and I am having a great time.

There are some people who still remember my Picture This column. If you think I am a raving manic now you should have seen me then. I pissed off more people than Katharine Harris did during the 2000 election. In my career I have also written guest columns in a few magazines as well as a few editorials over the years in various outlets. Those people who know me know that I am a shameless self-promoter. That said, in all of the hundreds of articles I have written I have never plugged a current deal that I was involved in. I may have mentioned what I was working on but never with any eye towards getting people to go out and watch what I was doing on TV or buy what I was publishing in the comic stores. In fact in all my ranting over the years I have only written about one subject more than once.

That subject was rumors.

I just heard a recent rumor that has compelled me to write about a current project I’m involved in, The Guardian Line (TGL)

I was recently talking to Lovern Kindzierski on the phone. Lovern is one of my best friends and we are working together on TGL. I have a book open and I’m looking for an artist and asked Lovern if he knew of anyone. He then mentioned that there is a creator in a comic book chat room saying that UMI (TGL’s parent company) does not pay their creators.

At this point I would usually launch into a tirade and make a few cleaver attacks on the unnamed creator.

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Science Fiction/Fantasy News & Links, June 28th

  • News
  • June 28, 2007

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Mad Magazine goes for the easy jokes with their “Rejected Star Wars Stamps.”

The UK’s own Guardian newspaper wonders why science fiction is more popular now on TV than it used to be, and blames 9/11.  Others have already pointed out that the Guardian seems to have forgotten the mid-90s surge of SF and Fantasy TV (Buffy, anyone? Babylon 5, perhaps?), but at least they’re saying nice things…

Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist is running a contest to give away a few copies of Jay Lake’s new novel, Mainspring, set in a clockwork solar system. (That bizarre mental image you just got? Yes – it’s exactly like that.)

Did you know that ABEbooks.com (the noted conglomerator of used book retailers) has been running a contest for Harry Potter-related poetry? And that the entries, so far, are not nearly as horribly soul-destroying as you might expect?

James Maxey, author of the new novel Bitterwood, ruminates on how to create dragons.

Jonathan McCalmont has been to see “The Ugly Side of Fandom,” and reports back about what he has seen.

Hey, didja notice that the cover from last week’s New Yorker was by Pixar artist Lou Romano? Romano explains how he got the job, and what went into it, on his blog this week.

Artwork copyright E.C. Publications. All Rights Reserved.

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RIC MEYERS: Miami Sand Fox

  • News
  • June 24, 2007

ric-meyers-100-9850036A few weeks back I was waxing enthusiastic about Sony Home Entertainment’Â’s line of Columbia Classics CollectorÂ’s Editions, especially The Guns of Navarone two-disc set. Well, it turns out that 20th Century Fox wasnÂ’t going to take that lying down, so they started peppering me with flicks young and old for the old ultra-violence (yes, that’Â’s A Clockwork Orange reference, what of it?).

Starting with the young (and time-relevant): out this week is Reno 911!: Miami: The Movie (Unrated),– a fittingly jaunty title for a fitfully hilarious film. In the spirit of complete disclosure, IÂ’’ve been a fan of this groupÂ’’s creative core (Ben Garant, Thomas Lennon, and Kerri Kenney-Silver) since seeing them on MTVÂ’s The State, and have been appreciating their work through their abortive CBS/Disney stint, Viva Variety, and their contributions to the screenplays of The Pacifist, Herbie Fully Loaded, and A Night at the Museum.

The yoks start in earnest at the menu page where Kerri, in character as passive-aggressive Deputy Trudy Wiegel, lets you know in no uncertain terms that this is the unrated version by unleashing the kind of words you didn’Â’t hear in the rated edition. Then there’Â’s the film itself, which benefits from its unratedness with elaborately salty vernacular, not to mention some of the finest looking natural breasts recently put on video (as well as some of the unfinest [Kerri was quick to point out on one audio commentary that she had just had a baby at the time of filming]).

reno911miami-8465211The Reno 911 squad is not through with you yet, however. There are three audio commentaries: an entertainingly informative one with director Garant and writers Lennon and Kenney-Silver, and then two more with the cast in character as the hapless Nevada cops they play on TV. ItÂ’’s like watching three different takes of the same movie. The group then go on to make it clear that they probably could’Â’ve actually made three different movies, or more, with the extended deleted/alternate scenes, which, as is their wont, last fifteen minutes or more, until the improv runs out or the cameraman drops from exhaustion.

The disc also includes the Fox Movie ChannelÂ’s special, covering the filmÂ’s premiere, but probably my favorite extra is the series of Public Service Announcements in which the characters address various problems plaguing todayÂ’’s cineplexes (as Kenney-Silver so succinctly puts it: “shut up or IÂ’’ll shoot you and blame it on a crack addict”). This DVD will give you hours oÂ’’ cringey fun.

Speaking of favorite, now starts our coverage of the Fox Cinema Classics Collection with one of the best DVDs IÂ’’ve ever seen in terms of this columnÂ’’s theme. The Sand Pebbles two-disc special edition looks innocuous enough on the shelf. The only hint of the riches within comes with its weight and heft. No wonder: the package is literally bulging with stuff: illuminating liner notes, a recreation of the releaseÂ’s original souvenir book, and even an envelope of postcard-sized, full-color, lobby cards.

Then thereÂ’s the discs: three sides containing the 183 minute theatrical version, the 196 minute “Roadshow” version, and so many new featurettes (nine in all), as well as six original docs from the Fox vault, that I wish I could roll around in them. Back in the department of full disclosure, IÂ’’ll admit IÂ’m a big fan of star Steve McQueen, but especially underrated director Robert Wise, who could, and did, do everything. (more…)

MICHAEL DAVIS: Fade To Black

  • News
  • June 22, 2007

michael-davis100-3637577I fully realized that the article I wrote last week was at some times petty and juvenile. I was furious and I forgot that the best way to make a point is a well thought out lucid argument. At one time I may have suggested some people in the Genarlow Wilson case were racist and because of that I wrote that “white women love me.” This was simply not right.

I was wrong and I apologize. In my attempt to strike a nerve with the people in the case I lashed out but I was totally wrong to say that. I was wrong and I hope that those people I lashed out at will forgive me.

The fact of the matter is white women don’t love me…they REALLY love me!

Dudes! I can’t keep them off of me! I’m thinking of changing my name to Mandingo (they love that) and seeing if there’s any money in this!

Yeah, I’m still a wee bit bitter over the whole Genarlow Wilson and Paris Hilton thing. To all my friends’ black and white, all jokes aside I’m just trying to get those morons in Georgia to lose some sleep at night. That way they can share in a little of what Genarlow Wilson is enduring.

I was going to write this particular column last week but I got caught up in the Genarlow Wilson and Paris Hilton debacle so here it is a week later and I hope it’s still relevant.

By now we have all seen or heard about The Sopranos series ending show. The vast majority of the world hated that ending. Me? I thought it was a cop-out UNLESS they are planning a movie. Then I get it. If they are not planning a movie then HBO should change its name to simply B.O., because that ending stunk.

HBO is a funny little network. No one doubts that they do GREAT TV. In fact The Sopranos would not (could not) have been done on any other network. If the show were picked up by ABC then Tony Soprano would have been played by Tony Danza or some such actor. It was The Sopranos that really lit the fire under the rest of the TV world. I remember NBC did a Soprano rip. It was called Kingpin. Everybody in that show looked like supermodels. Even the hit men were wearing Hugo Boss suits. That show went bye bye faster than Barry Allen. Why? Because as I have said a million times: Americans are not the idiots some TV executives think.

Rather or not you like the ending or not it sure did make an impact, this morning I watched a Hillary Clinton parody of the ending on the Today show.

Wait a moment.

Did I just say that Hillary Clinton, the front-runner in the race for President did a Sopranos parody? Love or hate the ending (or love or hate Hillary) you have to respect the power of a television program that can do that. As I said in my very first column my readers would always know where I stand so let me be clear: I hated the ending but I love Hillary. Why do I love Hillary? Well if we elect her we get Bill as a bonus! Why did I hate the Sopranos ending? Because unless there is going to be a Sopranos movie then that was not an ending. It was a big slap in the face of America by a great producer who wants to be considered an artist.

For the most part television is not an art form. It is an entertainment medium. Yes there is great TV and yes there can be some shows, movies etc. that can be considered artistic but TV is not an art form.

Art by definition is an individual who creates something for no other reason except to see it created. They do it because they have a desire to share their vision with the world. Anytime someone pays you to create a product where the sole purpose is to garner ratings, that is not an art.

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Spider-Man Gets Spectacular On Your TeeVee

  • News
  • June 19, 2007

According to a press release, the new animated teevee series The Spectacular Spider-Man will be coming to the Kids’ WB! on The CW early next year.

Kids’ WB! Senior Vice President and General Manager Betsy McGowen states “The use of the ‘Spectacular’ title is an homage to Marvel’s wildly popular series of Spider-Man comics, and is very reflective of the enthusiasm and high regard we have for the production. This promises to be a stand-out animated series.”

Former DC Comics’ staffer Greg Weisman, who moved on to television to do Gargoyles, The Batman, and others, will be the show’s supervising producer and Victor Cook (Hellboy: Blood and Iron) will be producer/supervising director.

Logo trademark and copyright Marvel Characters. All Rights Reserved.

REVIEW: Fantastic Four Two

ff2-4655838OK, so here we go: it’s the official midway point between the first and latter half of the Summer of Blockbusters. With last week’s box office flop consisting of Ocean’s 13 and Hostel Part 2, a sequel to a film nobody was all that psyched about to begin with has got failure written all over it, right? Wrong. Of the films I have caught this summer, FF2 has got to be my favorite, which is probably the highest honor I can give it. From titles to credits, I only complained once, and even that wasn’t totally worthy of complaint. But I’m getting ahead of myself, we’ve done this enough times for me not to deter from format, of course we have to break the film down and throw in a few obscure comic references, or else it just wouldn’t feel right.

Starting off with the acting, I was more than happy with everyone’s performances in the film, including Alba’s, who I bitched and moaned about in the previous film. This movie has got enough content jam-packed into 89 minutes that her flickering eyes and blank stare were almost as invisible as the character herself.

My favorite part of a superhero sequel is that we’re beyond the need for introductions and origins, and we can get to the grits of the character. There were a few things I wanted in the first film that were delivered with bells on in this film. Those being: more Johnny and Ben camaraderie, less “will they or won’t they” with Sue and Reed, and a whole lot less of Julian McMahon looking somber. While we got much more of the first, the second two still had their moments, but again with a film that primarily shifts the focus on a brand new character, the little problems like that get lost in the cracks. We also get a reprise of Stan Lee, unsurprisingly, but this time he doesn’t come back as Postman Willie Lumpkin, but another, very special character. I won’t give it away, but I’ll drop a hint: He’s old.

The next section of course being the special effects of the film. And I’m somewhat jaded in this category, because for years, the only Fantastic Four I knew of other than ink on paper was from the Roger Corman epic, and those of you who remember that also remember a lot of clay-mation stretchiness and I Dream of Jeannie camera tricks for the invisible effect. So comparing it to the two new films is like holding a candle up to the sun. The effects started off pretty poor, but then came to blow me away by the end of the flick. This is where we touch on the giant purple elephant in the room, Galactus.

I’m going to put an end to the rumor right now and admit that Yes: Galactus is a cloud, BUT! It’s completely pulled off in this picture. I was the first webgeek to bitch and moan that I wanted a giant purple dude like we’ve always known the Devourer of Worlds to be, but when you consider the impact of a twister three times the size of earth coming to literally eat the world, the image is haunting, and even us original geeks get a nod from the crew towards the end of the picture. Again, I don’t want to spoil too much, but during the final battle, look directly into the “belly of Galactus” to see an old face.

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MICHAEL DAVIS: My Fair Lady

  • News
  • June 15, 2007

michael-davis100-8678770What the flying FISH is wrong with this country? Some ass wipe D.A in Georgia put a black teenager named Genarlow Wilson in prison for ten years. This kid did not kill anybody or rob anybody nor did he rape anybody. He did what teenagers have been doing since caveman days; he had consensual relations with another teenager. So this A-student star athlete was sentenced to jail for 10 years.

10 years?? An A student? Star athlete? Never in any trouble, his whole life in front of him. So he and another teenager do something a zillion other teenagers do and he gets 10 years in prison????

What the Hell is wrong with this country? Or is it just some idiot racist D.A. using his power to kill some kids dream and life. No. I don’t think you should “do it” when you are kids. But they were kids – that what kids do!! Did he rob some body? Did he kill somebody? Did he rape somebody?

NO!

He had consensual relations with another teenager. Oh by the way it was not the “act” that they did. No, they fooled around but did not do the ‘”act.”

Wrong? Yes. Is this what teenagers’ do? Yes.

Hey, judge and D.A of this Georgia case. Could you not give the kid community service, or 30 days or something that reflected the fact that this kid (these kids) were just being kids? No. You and your self-important moral ideals had to teach an A student a lesson by putting him in jail for 10 years. Why did you prosecute him in the first place? Had a bad day? This payback for O.J?  Nothing on TV that day? Had a fight with the wife? Had a fight with your sister? By the way, I hear that may be one fight, you backwoods moron.

What does putting a teenager in jail for being a teenager accomplish? What? Who are you sending a message to? And what is your message? Could your message be “We are just really stupid and are still pissed that we lost the Civil War?” Is that the message?

If by some miracle when you were a teenager you had a girlfriend and you guys got a little freaky, do you think you should have gone to jail?

What crime are you punishing? What evil have you stopped? You have stopped a young bright kid from living his dream. You have stopped a young bright kid from becoming a useful part of society. Instead you have put him in jail where he will learn a helpful lesson. That lesson is that justice is NOT colorblind and you the judge and the jury have used your power to ruin a good life.

I ask you again, what does putting that kid in jail accomplish?

What? What? WHAT? (more…)

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