This post will intrest no one but myself and a few of the COA crowd (who will no doubt have seen this somewhere else before anyhow), but I don’t care. I’m extraordinarily pumped for this new Avatar: The Last Airbender series. So neh.
And if you’d watched the original Last Airbender cartoons (but not the live action film I must hasten to add) you’d be pretty damn pumped about it too. She’s riding a giant dog for goodness sake! A giant dog!!
I’ve started watching the Star Wars: The Clone Wars TV series with Evan. To be honest it’s not a particularly pleasurable experience for either of us. It’s not that I don’t like it, I do. In fact only 4 episodes in it’s started reigniting my interest in the Star Wars universe and healing some of those holes ripped in my soul by the demon Lucas.
But unfortunately Evan is just a bit too young for it. He enjoys the action, but can’t come to terms with the fact that the series is set before the existence of the characters he hears about from his peers at nursery. He can’t quite grasp that Anakin is not Luke, especially as people refer to him as Skywalker all the time. I also made the mistake of telling him Anakin later becomes Darth Vader and that he and Amidala are Luke’s parents and this further muddied the pool for him. Plus the clone troopers, who are goodies, look a lot like storm troopers, which are baddies.
He is understandably confused.
Every episode we watch together is unaccompanied by an endless stream of who, what, when and whys from Evan. With him never being able to grasp the answers properly. This is frustrating for both him and me, and means we can’t concentrate on the cool stuff in the show – like sarcasticv robots, Australian clone troopers, and people hitting each other with lightsabers.
Last night Kerry and I caught up a little bit with Dr Who. We haven’t seen the most recent episode yet (so no spoilers please) but we watched The Rebel Flesh and The Almost People. Now they were both great episodes with some fantastic moments, but I must admit at times I did feel a bit like Evan. “Who’s that?” “Is she a doppelgänger or a real one”, “Why did he do that?” I spent 90% of the episode in pure bafflement.
I’m not sure if it was just me having an off day, and I did manage to catch up before the end and work out what was going on. But it did make me wonder about the nominal audience for this show. I get that Steven Moffat likes to set up intricate webs of plotlines, insert little teasers, and keep things close to his chest. I also get that he is a very talented producer and writer and that he’ll not leave any loose ends once everything wraps up. And let’s face it, that’s all pure gold for a hardcore geek like me. But it just all seems a little too complex and convoluted for a family audience.
Dr Who is shown at 6:45 on a Saturday evening. When it’s not on it’s replaced by family friendly fair like Robin Hood and Merlin (or something like that – it’s been a long time since I actually watched any TV as it was broadcast). I do know people who’s kids watch and love the show – the president of the internet for one, but I’m convinced that the earlier seasons of the current run were far more accessible for children.
I’m not saying I don’t like the way the show is going because I do (although I know Lee has been less than impressed), but I think it’s begun to pander more to the geekosphere rather than it’s traditional audience. And that’s a bit of a shame really.
Any views?
Super Mario Bros 3 cartoon title screen
Oh not the cartoon – the cartoon is shockingly shit – but the fact that he’s able to watch it is amazing.
A couple of days he looked up from crashing his Mario kart on his Nintendo DS and said he wanted to watch Mario on the TV. And today, with the help of the internet we have 28 episodes of the bloody thing to watch if we wish to (actually I tried him out on the Super Mario Brothers live action film staring Bob Hoskins – but even a four year old is too sophisticated for that pile of crud).
This is a theme that I’ve harped on about before, but Amy and Evan’s generation are going to have such a different experience of consuming media than I did in my childhood. I suppose the same could be said for me compared to my own father – but I suspect that the gap between my and his experience will be minuscule compared to that of Amy & Evan and I.
I’m convinced we’re only a few years from having huge catalogues of TV shows, music, and films available to us whenever we want them via the net. Vast databases of literally millions of titles that we can just access wherever we are at the touch of a button. It’s already happening in fact – America has Netflix, which seems to be getting even more fantastic by the week, and we of course have Spotify for music.
And I wonder what effect this will have on the actual production of media itself. Will the fact that people will be choosing actively rather than passively what they want to watch mean that TV studios produce fewer higher quality shows, or will they go for cheap sensationalist shit to throw at the wall and hope some sticks? Will we spend as much time watching old shows as we do new ones, or will there still be the same desire for fresh content as we have now?
And what about the financial aspect. People are becoming less and less enthusiastic about paying for any media they consume – and the days of the £10 movie DVD or £20 TV box set must surely be numbered. A micropayment or subscription service is much more attractive, yet may not be as lucrative. Will this see an end of multimillionaire actors, directors and musicians. Will they all end up being paid a generous but scaled back living wage like, say, most computer game designers.
I have no idea, but we definitely live in interesting times.
I really hope they leave the poor guy alone a bit for the rest of the season. We male nurses have to stick together.
Not mine, obviously. But I’m hoping that by linking to the place where the creator is selling the T-shirts and posters I’ll be forgiven for my theft.
Kerry’s taken Amy and Evan to Spain this week and so I’ve got the entire house to myself for six days.
Their absence has only confirmed what I already knew – my life is uncountably more rich and wonderful with them in it than without them. However despite me missing them I must admit it is quite nice to have a bit of time to myself.
So I’ve taken advantage of a house without kids and settled down to watch a veritable marathon of cartoons. Hey, that’s just the way I roll.
Over the past decade or so both DC and Marvel have managed to get a real grip on their respective properties. They’ve realised that by putting out high quality TV and movies they’re able to grow and expand their audience rather than just patronise and pay lip service to their existing consumers with substandard slop.
Over the past few days I’ve made my way through the first season of the Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes cartoon show. And let me tell you, it’s bloody fantastic. The characters are well rounded and have distinct personalities. The story lines are well paced, accessible, and actually quite sophisticated. And the animation, action, and cinematography are absolutely first rate. In short: it’s good stuff.
It’s all designed to help pave the way for the upcoming Avengers film of course. But hell, I don’t care. Marvel can pump out as much cynical marketing ploys as they want as long as they are this high quality. Hell, the portrayal of the Hulk and Wasp are worth the price of admission alone.
And Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes is aimed at kids. You should see what can be done with superhero animation aimed at adults.
The Batman: Under the Red Hood animated movie owes as much to Chris Nolan’s Dark Knight movie as it does to the Batman Animated Adventures (although they were damn fine too).
Dark, gritty, and not afraid to show murder and blood, Batman: Under the Red Hood deals with one of my favorite topics in the Batman mythos – the relationship between Batman and Robin and what happens when the Boy Wonder grows up?
I suspect the majority of those who watch Batman: Under the Red Hood will be aware of the difference between Jason Todd and Dick Grayson, but that knowledge doesn’t distract at all from the freshness of the storyline.
Of particular merit is the performance of Neil Patrick Harris (yes, Doogie Howser himself) as Nightwing. I’ve always loved that character (in the Batman mythos anyhow, not so much in Teen Titans) and NPH plays him exactly the way I’ve always imagined him.
I really can’t emphasise my enjoyment of this film enough, and now I’m really looking forward to checking out some of the other animated movies recently put out by DC.
Man, I love the smell of geekdom in the morning.
If truth be told I’m a bit rubbish at watching TV. I tend to binge on particular shows rather than watch them as broadcast, and I’m generally around two or three years behind on my viewing, playing eternal catchup with DVD box sets.
While I like this way of consuming media, and to be honest think it’s actually the future of entertainment, it does mean that I’m not able to engage in all the exciting debate in the geekosphere.
Currently there is a lot of buzz about the new HBO show Game of Thrones on the various podcasts and blogs that I visit.
Aha! I thought to myself. Here’s an opportunity to get in on the ground floor!
So all-a-quiver with excitement Kerry and I sat down to watch the first episode tonight. Only four days after it had originally broadcast in the UK. Possibly a new record for me. How exciting!
I didn’t like it.
I could see the quality. In fact the show oozed it. But it just wasn’t for me.
I should have seen it coming really. I’m not a big fan of HBO shows in general. Again, I can see their quality – and can certainly understand why people enjoy watching them. But they are full of unpleasant people doing unpleasant things to other people. And while I understand that sort of stuff is dramatic, I don’t actually find it entertaining.
I was hoping Game of Thrones was going to be like Lord of the Rings, but it was more like the Sopranos. And a quick look at the mighty wikipedia’s page about the novel the show’s based on reveals that’s how it should be.
There was also a lot of nudity. Quite unnecessarily so I thought. Don’t get me wrong, I’m no prude. In fact under my clothes I’m actually naked myself. But there were so many gratuitous breast and arse shots in Game of Thrones that I thought I’d accidentally switched over to Porky’s II at times.
Oh well, it’s probably for the best. I’m sure the pressure of having to keep up with a weekly show would have proved too stressful for me anyhow. Especially since I’m intending doing that with the new season of Dr Who starting this Saturday.
Dr Who!! Hurrah!!
You’ll all be very glad to hear that my post about how shockingly bad the new Wonder Woman costume is has resulted in the TV execs demanding a redesign. Who knew that I had so much power!
Of course the new one isn’t all that good either – I still object to the PVC corset. But it’s a hell of a lot better than it was:
So now that we know that this blog has such sway over TV executives how can I use this influence for the good of mankind?
By petitioning for a Power Girl TV series of course. Only because I find the Kryptonian/Atlantian origins of the character so fascinating obviously.
Blimey Charlie.
Recently over at the Midnight Movie Club I have been accused of being a fanboy. This is an accusation I refute. A geek, yes. But a fanboy? Never.
There are those amongst you who won’t understand the distinction. I pitty you.
All that said however, there are some things that make my geek toes curl. Like the new Wonder Woman TV show for example. I’ve always found the character of Wonder Woman a little dull to be honest, and so wasn’t particularly excited by the fact they were going to launch a new show. I was even less excited when I heard it was going to be made by the creator of Ally McBeal. But I didn’t get my knickers in a twist about it. as I say, I’m not a fanboy.
But when I saw the costume that they are going to be using I really feel I need to draw a line in the sand.
Just look at it. It’s bloody awful.
For a start she’s not going to be able to move without squeaking, so that’s sneaking up on the bad guys out of the window. Secondly, those leggings are no doubt so restrictive that the worst she’s going to be able to do to anyone is give them a sharp kick in the shins. And thirdly… well thirdly it just looks like a cheap nasty “sexy halloween” costume that someone bought off ebay. Hardly the embodiment of an amazonian princess.
I mean she’s a very attractive woman and all (at least I think she is under all that airbrushing), but this could have been so much better.
Bah.
Meanwhile over at the Coalition of Awesomeness the current theme is Cancellations and I’m talking about the greatest travesty ever committed by television executives – the cancellation of Firefly.
Here’s a quick extract:
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So why was Firefly so good? Well if you allow me to engage in a little needless controversy I’ll tell you.
Mal out-Han-Solo’s Han Solo
The character of Malcolm ‘Mal’ Reynolds resembles Han so closely that it surely can’t be a coincidence. Captain of a spaceship, smuggler, non conformist, reluctant hero, wry wit, propensity to wear waistcoats, and a gratifying inclination to shoot first.
Yet, as wonderful a character as Han is, Mal seems to do it all better. Perhaps it’s because over fourteen episodes we had more time to get to know him. Or maybe it’s because Mal didn’t have a whiny farmboy dogging his footsteps and bringing everything down. But whatever the reason, Mal is a better Han than Han is, and that’s all there is to it.
Kaylee out-Scotty’s Scotty
Yes yes, Scotty is a great character. But for quirky charming engineers you’ll be hard pressed to beat Kaylee Frye. Sweet, sparky, and jam packed with character. And she knows her onions too – there isn’t a mechanical problem she can’t handle with an elastic band and two lengths of drainpipe. None of this “dilithium crystal” rubbish.
Plus, would Scotty ever bemoan his lack of a love life by complaining “Goin’ on a year now I ain’t had nothin’ twixt my nethers weren’t run on batteries”. No. No he would not (at least I really hope he wouldn’t).
Wash out-Chandler’s Chandler
Want a loveable, wise cracking, slightly geeky, male hero who isn’t swimming in unnecessary testosterone? Then Hoban “Wash” Washburn is your man. I can’t actually recall if he wore Hawaiian shirts in the show, but if he didn’t then he should have. I love Wash. I want to be Wash.
Well, up to a point. I’m not all that keen on being Wash at the end of the movie Serenity, but other than that he’s pretty much one of my role models. Him and Brody from Mallrats. Oh, and Ferb from Phineas and Ferb.
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Want to read more? Then go over to the Coalitions blog to see the rest of the claptrap I’m spouting. And while you’re there why not add us to your google reader too. You know it makes sense.
