Category Archives: TV

File this one under “interesting concept”.

According to Syfy, Krypton “will follow Superman’s grandfather – whose House of El was ostracized and shamed – as he fights to redeem his family’s honor and save his beloved world from chaos.”

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice co-writer David S. Goyer will executive produce Krypton under his Phantom Four banner. Goyer also wrote the pilot alongside Ian Goldberg, who previously worked as a producer on Once Upon a Time and a writer on Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.

Krypton will take place 200 years before the opening of Man of Steel. He went on to say while “it won’t be wall-to-wall visual effects every single moment” like Man of Steel, the show will “be digging into the characters and culture a lot more.

Cameron Cuffe as Seg-El: Superman’s grandfather and Jor-El’s father; athletic, quietly confident, and in his 20s. A younger version of the “grumpier” character from the comics.

Georgina Campbell as Lyta Zod: A reluctant cadet and warrior in the Kryptonian military, in a clandestine, forbidden relationship with Seg-El.

Ian McElhinney as Val-El: Seg’s grandfather, who defied death by going to the Phantom Zone and is a staunch believer in space exploration.[2][5]

Elliot Cowan as Daron-Vex: The chief magistrate of Kandor, charged with defending Krypton’s oligarchy.

Ann Ogbomo as Alura Zod: The Primus of the Kryptonian military guild and mother of Lyta. Alura shares her first name with Alura Zor-El, the mother of Supergirl.

Rasmus Hardiker as Kem: An engineer and Seg’s best friend.

Wallis Day as Nyssa-Vex: A junior magistrate and the daughter of Daron-Vex.

Aaron Pierre as Dev-Em: A “chiseled, twenty-something bad boy”.

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Marvel’s Cloak & Dagger, or simply Cloak & Dagger, is an upcoming American cable television series created for Freeform by Joe Pokaski, based on the Marvel Comics characters of the same name. It is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), sharing continuity with the films and other television series of the franchise. The series is produced by ABC Signature Studios and Marvel Television, with Pokaski serving as showrunner.

The series stars Olivia Holt and Aubrey Joseph as Tandy Bowen / Dagger and Tyrone Johnson / Cloak, two teenagers who acquire superpowers and form a romantic relationship. A television series featuring Cloak and Dagger entered development for ABC Family in July 2011. In April 2016, Cloak & Dagger received a series order for Freeform, the new name of ABC Family, and by that August, Pokaski had joined the series as showrunner and executive producer. Holt and Joseph were cast in January 2017, with Andrea Roth, Gloria Reuben, Miles Mussenden, Carl Lundstedt, James Saito, and J.D. Evermore also starring in the series. Filming on the series began in February 2017 in New Orleans.

The series, consisting of 10 episodes, will premiere in 2018.

Some set pictures from The Defenders have hit the Twitterverse!  The first set of pics shows Misty Knight and Jessica Jones meeting on the street.  Perhaps for the first time?  Jessica looks in pretty rough shape (more than usual?) with blood splattered on her face and clothes.  Misty has an incredulous look on her face so i’m guess this is their first meeting or maybe Misty has figured out that Jessica is a metahuman.  What do you think?

Also from the twitterverse….

The official twitter for the Defenders has been dropping title cards for returning cast members from previous Marvel/Netflix shows and it looks like Patsy, Stick, and Claire are all set to return.

 

 

Returning with them are Jeri Hogarth, Foggy Nelson, Karen Page and Malcolm from Daredevil and Jessica Jones respectively.  When will Luke Cage, Danny Rand and Colleen Wing show up?

 

Marvel’s The Defenders, or simply The Defenders, is an upcoming American web television miniseries developed for Netflix by Douglas Petrie and Marco Ramirez, based on the Marvel Comics superhero team of the same name. It is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), sharing continuity with the films of the franchise and is the culmination of a series of interconnected shows from Marvel and Netflix. The miniseries is produced by Marvel Television in association with ABC Studios, with Petrie and Ramirez serving as showrunners.

The limited series stars Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock / Daredevil, Krysten Ritter as Jessica Jones, Mike Colter as Luke Cage, and Finn Jones as Danny Rand / Iron Fist, all reprising their roles from their individual series. Development of the miniseries began in late 2013, with Cox the first actor cast in May 2014, and Jones the final of the title four cast in February 2016. Petrie and Ramirez joined as showrunners in April, after serving in the same role on the second season of Daredevil, and filming began in New York City that October.

The Defenders will consist of eight episodes, and is scheduled to be released in 2017.

Heads up warriors of K’un L’un!  Neflix has announced the release date for Marvel’s Iron Fist.

 

As information starts to trickle out of the mystical city, today we were also treated to one of the first “official” on set pictures of one Mr. Daniel Rand in action.  Take special note of the bodies in the background!  These thugs clearly picked on the wrong man on the wrong day.

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The cast is as follows:

A billionaire Buddhist monk and martial arts expert, proficient in kung-fu with the ability to call upon the power of the Iron Fist. On being cast as the character, Jones said he was drawn to the character and his background, saying, “I really enjoy how he’s a superhero with a real heart but has spiritual elements as well. I think it’s going to be an exciting character to play because there’s this contraction of on one hand he’s from a very wealthy family, he’s a billionaire, on the other hand he’s been in this world of K’un-Lun for a long time where he’s learned kung fu and buddhist philosophy. There’s a contradiction in those elements that’s going to be really fun to play.” In preparation for the role, Jones studied kung fu, wushu and tai chi, along with weight training, Buddhist philosophy and meditation.
  • Jessica Henwick as Colleen Wing: An ally of Rand, who runs her own martial arts dojo in New York City.
  • David Wenham as Harold Meachum: A ruthless corporate leader who was partners with Rand’s parents at the time of their deaths.
  • Jessica Stroup as Joy Meachum: The daughter of Harold and childhood acquaintance of Rand’s, whose work building up Rand Enterprises with her brother Ward is threatened to be undone with Rand’s return.
  • Tom Pelphrey as Ward Meachum: The son of Harold and childhood acquaintance of Rand’s, whose work building up Rand Enterprises with his sister Joy is threatened to be undone with Rand’s return.
  • Carrie-Anne Moss as Jeri Hogarth: An attorney who helps Rand once he returns to New York. Moss reprises her role from previous role in Marvel/Netflix’s Jessica Jones.

After a film based on the character spent over a decade in development at Marvel Studios, development for the series began in late 2013 at Marvel Television, with Buck hired as the series show runner in December 2015 and Jones cast as Rand in February 2016. Filming began in New York City in April 2016.

Iron Fist is scheduled to be released on March 17, 2017

Mark your calendars accordingly.

Pee-Wee’s Big Holiday [Review]

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This isn’t really comic book related but I thought it would be of interest to someone out there in the internet-land ether. My fiancé and I watched Pee-Wee’s big holiday over the weekend and we both loved it. We are both fans of the 80’s movie Pee-Wee’s big adventure and the Saturday morning TV show so seeing this movie was just such a treat. It’s totally a Sunday afternoon movie that you can put on in the background while you chill out on the couch and wait for Monday to arrive. In our cases, I was updating the blog with some neat stuff I found in my archives and she was making wedding invitations. We had already gone to church, eaten breakfast and oh yeah THERE WAS A FRIGGIN BLIZZARD IN APRIL happening outside. So yeah, we weren’t going anywhere.

The premise, keeping with Pee-Wee Herman “tradition”, is not deep at all. Pee-Wee has never left his hometown, is not really curious about leaving his hometown and is perfectly happy working in the diner and “jamming” with his band. That is until the mysterious stranger, Joe Manganiello breezes into town on his motorcycle, convinces that this big world needs some discoverin’ and invites Pee-Wee to his birthday party in New York City. It’s pretty hilarious that Joe is playing himself and the movie is fully aware that 50% of the world’s population has difficulty pronouncing his last name. Including Pee-Wee who mangles his name so often that he just gives up trying to say it correctly and just says something different every time. After Pee-Wee shows Joe his toys and tree house the most self-aware, self-referential, surreal adventure begins.  

This movie is so bizarre. It’s bizarre in a very good way. Put your brain aside for an hour and a half and there is fun to be had. There are several sequences that defy the laws of physics, logistics and basic common sense. If these scenes were to happen in any other movie they would be completely unforgivable and probably lead the viewer to shut off the TV entirely and go read a book, but this is Pee-Wee Herman, so in an odd way they make perfect sense within the context of the movie.
There is a scene where Pee-Wee falls down a well and can’t get out. So, because it makes sense within the context of the movie, Joe Manganiello pulls out an industrial strength magnet out of his pocket (because we all carry those around right?) and pulls Pee-Wee out of the hole because the magnet attaches to the plate in his head. Woof. Oh and this is after Joe repelled down from his penthouse level suite on a line he shot from his personal grappling gun. And of course this isn’t a Batman sized grappling gun, no, no, no my dear reader. It’s the most comically large grappling gun they could find. 

But you know what? I loved every minute of it. The camp is back and the lame jokes still land perfectly. And they are funny! Take a look at this sequence below. (This is the same actress, Diane Salinger, who plays Simone in the 1985 movie: Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure)

  
 

“Why don’t you take a picture it’ll last longer!”

 
  

Paul Reubens is still great as Pee-Wee (with the benefit of some strong digital retouching). You can tell that over the last 30 years his voice has changed (totally understandable) so if you are a Pee-Wee aficionado that might take a little getting used to.

We laughed out loud on more than one occasion and if you are looking for a good Sunday-afternoon-chill movie to watch and are a fan of Pee-Wee Herman, you can’t go wrong with Pee-Wee’s Big Holiday.

​Pee-wee’s Big Holiday is a 2016 American comedy film directed by John Lee and written by Paul Reubens and Paul Rust. The film stars Reubens as Pee-wee Herman. The film was released on March 18, 2016, on Netflix.

New Avengers Night Nurse

Who is the Night Nurse?

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Night Nurse is the name of a Marvel Comics comic-book series published in the early 1970s, as well the alter ego of a fictional character, Linda Carter, known for her willingness to help injured superheroes. Carter was one of three central characters created by writer Jean Thomas, who first appeared in Night Nurse #1 (November 1972), though she was later identified as the lead of another Marvel series published in 1961.

Carter later adopted the name “Night Nurse” for herself, and in this incarnation first appeared in Daredevil vol. 2, #58 (May 2004), written by writer Brian Michael Bendis. Although she uses the word “nurse” as part of her codename, she has since become a medical doctor.

Real Name: Linda Carter

Affiliations: Arana, Black Tarantula, Luke Cage, Daredevil, Dr. Strange, Firestar, Hellcat, Jessica Jones, Misty Knight, Spider-Man, Ms. Marvel, Iron Fist and more…

Base of Operations: Night Medical Center, New York City

Education: R.N., M.D.

The Night Nurse runs a clinic—open all day and all night – in a secret location where superheroes can go to get treated for injuries, no questions asked.  Secret identities are preserved and there are no legal reports filed.  She doesn’t charge any fees, though she does occasionally accept gifts.  She is financially secure enough that she doesn’t do the job for money; her primary concern is that the heroes are healthy and safe.

She is an experienced physician and remains calm under pressure, though her full capabilities are unrevealed.  She occasionally alters her appearance slightly with her uniform and hair.

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(New Avengers #57) In Brooklyn, the New Avengers brought in Luke Cage to the Night Nurse. Cage was unconscious and injured after a cardiac attack. She dismissed all but Ms. Marvel (Carol Danvers) and told her that they needed to get back to whoever had disrupted their powers earlier so Cage could be helped.

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While Norman Osborn’s Dark Avengers took away Luke Cage, Karla Sofen (Moonstone, posing as the new Ms. Marvel) threatened to arrest the Night Nurse, who had meanwhile emailed reporter Ben Urich of the surrender and violent arrest of Luke Cage. Sofen could go further after the defiant Night Nurse warned her of possible civil rights violations.

(New Avengers #58) While Norman Osborn’s Dark Avengers took away Luke Cage, Karla Sofen (Moonstone, posing as the new Ms. Marvel) threatened to arrest the Night Nurse, who had meanwhile emailed reporter Ben Urich of the surrender and violent arrest of Luke Cage. Sofen could go further after the defiant Night Nurse warned her of possible civil rights violations.

Linda Carter is the daughter of a doctor in Allentown, New York. After moving to New York City and moving in with roommates Christine Palmer and Georgia Jenkins, she meets and falls in love with Marshall Michaels, a wealthy businessman. When he forces her to choose between marrying him or staying at Metro General as a nurse, she chooses her career. In the following two issues of the series, Linda demonstrates that her skills are not limited to nursing practice, as she performs detective work to help expose an incompetent surgeon and prevents a hitman from murdering a patient. By the time the series was canceled, she had started a budding romance with Dr. Jack Tryon, a young resident doctor. Palmer is the protagonist of Night Nurse #4, with Carter making a one-panel cameo and Jenkins not appearing at all.  Some after the conclusion of the series, Carter is rescued by a superhero and afterward begins to pay the superhuman community back by ministering to heroes’ health, often pro bono.

Night Nurse #4 is the only issue of the series that takes place away from Metro General and New York City. This story shifts away from the urban drama of the first three issues and instead features Christine embroiled in a gothic adventure, complete with a foreboding mansion, dusty secret passageways, and mysterious lights.

While nothing depicted in Night Nurse connected it to the mainstream Marvel Universe, Christine Palmer reappeared in Nightcrawler vol. 3, #1 (Sept. 2004 – 31 years after her last appearance, in Night Nurse #4). Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, the writer of Nightcrawler, said in an interview that he was “a huge fan” of Night Nurse, and wanted to bring back the character when he realized that his first Nightcrawler story would take place in a hospital.  Linda Carter also reappeared in 2004, this time sporting Night Nurse as an actual codename.

Prior to Night Nurse, the series Linda Carter, Student Nurse was published by Atlas Comics, a precursor to Marvel Comics.  It ran nine issues, cover-dated September 1961 to January 1963

When she first reappeared, she took care of a seriously injured Daredevil following his defeat by the Yakuza. Later, she took care of a badly injured Luke Cage. During this time, the Night Nurse became known for her catch phrase, “Go to the room on the right”.

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(Daredevil #58) Foggy Nelson sent Ben Urich to the Night Nurse to find Matt Murdock. She initially denied that Matt was there until Matt called the desk and let her know that it was ok to send him back, after which she sent him to “the room on the right.”

During the superhero “Civil War” over government registration, the Night Nurse took Captain America’s side against the registration act, and joined his resistance group. Though she was hard to recognize in Civil War #2 (Aug. 2006), editor Tom Brevoort stated that it was her welcoming the superhero team the Young Avengers at the new headquarters.

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(Civil War: X-Men #2) At the base of the “Secret Avengers” the Night Nurse treated Captain America (from a battle with Iron Man and hi pro-Registration forces) while he spoke with Cyclops over the phone.

Carter teamed with Doctor Strange in the five-issue miniseries Doctor Strange: The Oath (Dec. 2006 – April 2007).   By the end, Carter and Strange entered into a relationship, which later ended.

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Carter is severely wounded after being abducted and tortured by the shapeshifting alien Skrulls during the Skrull Invasion. After a subsequent imprisonment by the newly formed H.A.M.M.E.R., she forms a bond with the ninja assassin Elektra.

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(Daredevil #80) After Daredevil was shot by the Paladin under government orders, Elektra followed Daredevil’s request to take him to the Night Nurse. The Black Widow arrived shortly thereafter with Milla Donovan. Elektra was less than impressed with the Night Nurse’s care and summoned agents of the Hand to treat him. As the Night Nurse was preparing to operate without anesthesia (since she was uncertain of his biological constitution and didn’t have time to run tests), Hand agents arrived and physically pulled her away while one of their number channeled healing energy in to Matt.

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Other Night Nurses

Georgia Jenkins
Georgia Jenkins is an African-American nurse who comes from an inner city neighborhood, blocks away from Metro General Hospital. On her days off from work, she provides free medical care to the people on her old block. She discovers that her older brother Ben was conned into nearly blowing up the hospital generator. Even though Ben has a change of heart and is shot while trying to protect the nurses, Georgia finds out in issue #3 that Ben has been sentenced to 10-to-20 years in prison. She angrily compares the harshness of his sentence with the fact that powerful mob criminals walk around free.

Christine Palmer
Christine Palmer leaves her home in “an exclusive Midwestern suburb” against her father’s wishes, intending to “make a new life without her father’s money”.  In issue #2, her father comes to New York to try to convince her to return to her life as a debutante, threatening “if you don’t come home by Thanksgiving, then don’t come home at all!” Though she considers his offer, she elects to stay in New York and becomes a surgical nurse for Dr. William Sutton. When Dr. Sutton’s career ends in disaster, she leaves New York City and her friends behind, and travels the country, finding a job as a private nurse for a paraplegic at a spooky mansion. However, this particular position is short-lived. Palmer ended up returning to Metropolitan General Hospital, where she first encountered Storm and Nightcrawler of the X-Men. It is revealed in the Nightcrawler series that her mother lives in Tucson, Arizona.

Claire Temple
In the television series Daredevil, Claire Temple (played by Rosario Dawson) is amalgamated with Night Nurse. Daredevil season one showrunner Steven S. DeKnight noted that the character was originally “going to be the actual Night Nurse from the comics… we had her name in a script and it came back that it was possible [the Marvel Cinematic Universe films] were going to use her” and “had plans for her down the road,” necessitating the team to use the more obscure comics character Claire Temple as her name.

(L-R) CHARLIE COX as MATT MURDOCK and ROSARIO DAWSON as CLAIRE TEMPLE in the Netflix Original Series “Marvel’s Daredevil” Photo: Barry Wetcher © 2014 Netflix, Inc. All rights reserved.

CHARLIE COX as MATT MURDOCK and ROSARIO DAWSON as CLAIRE TEMPLE in the Netflix Original Series “Marvel’s Daredevil” Photo: Barry Wetcher © 2014 Netflix, Inc. All rights reserved.

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BY ERIC GOLDMAN

At the TCA (Television Critics Association) press tour this June (2015), Daredevil executive producer/Season 1 showrunner Steven DeKnight took part in a panel devoted to showrunners from various Netflix series. During the panel, which also included Melissa Rosenberg — the EP/showrunner for the upcoming Marvel’s Jessica Jones series — the question came up about how much interference there is from Marvel due to how big their cinematic universe.

Said DeKnight, “It was a little more restrictive I think than with Jessica Jones just because Daredevil has many decades of history,” adding, “There was a lot of love and passion for the character.”

However, DeKnight stressed that he didn’t feel that things were notably more restrictive with Marvel than others, noting, “We would have creative disagreements that we would sit down and talk about and explain like any other show. But really the only time that we got a ‘no’ is originally, Rosario Dawson’s character had a different name. She was going to be the actual Night Nurse from the comics, and the feature side had plans for her down the road. So that’s the only time that I actually ran afoul of… we couldn’t do something. And we just used another name, so it’s the same character.    Dawson ultimately played Claire Temple, a fairly obscure character from Luke Cage’s past in the comics, who ends up helping Matt Murdock in the series in a similar manner to Carter/Night Nurse’s usual role.

Earth-616 Dr. Claire Temple was born an raised in New York City. She met and married her college sweetheart Bill Foster. However over time their relationship soured and the pair separated. She took a job as a Medical Doctor for Dr. Noah Burstein at his 42nd Street Storefront Clinic.  In addition to being a Night Nurse, she also was a on-again-off-again love interest for Luke Cage.  She eventually leaves him because of the craziness of his superhero lifestyle and constantly being exposed to danger.

Her most recent appearance is in Captain America: Sam Wilson #4.  Sam has been turned into a werewolf and a favor is called in to Claire (also revealed to be a good friend of Misty Knight) because she is proficient in handling “unusual conditions”.

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The Night Nurse (Claire Temple) appears in Season 1, Episodes 12 and 13, of Netflix’s Jessica Jones when Jessica Jones brings the unconscious Luke Cage to the emergency room where Claire Temple is working.  Rosario Dawson will reprise her role in the upcoming Luke Cage solo series on Netflix.

[Review] Supergirl – S1 E07 – Human For A Day

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Synopsis:  An earthquake leaves Kara helpless without her powers, as she attempts to help James and Winn.  The earthquake allows the alien Jemm to break out of his cell and face off against Alex and Hank.  Hank explains what happened to her father, Jeremiah Danvers and details about his own life.

Supergirl is getting better.

This week shows us a depowered girl of steel who is struggling with her fleeting mortality.  In the last episode, “Red Faced”, Kara uses her solar flare ability to destroy the military’s rouge “Red Tornado” combat cyborg.

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Supergirl’s Solar Flare Ability

The “Solar Flare” is a fairly new ability to both Superman and Supergirl.  It is an immediate and violent expulsion of all the stored solar energy in the Kryptonian cells.  The flare is released in one big burst leaving the Kryptonian, as Maxwell Lord says in this episode, “a dead battery”.  Following the use of the flare ability, Superman/Supergirl are rendered “human” for a period of  48 hours (or less, depending on how much energy was expended).  Until their cells can restock their spent solar energy, they are susceptible to sickness, injury, hunger and even death.  They can even get drunk. (see below)

 

This is the position we find Supergirl in from the beginning of the episode.  She’s not drunk, but she does have the sniffles, the ouchies, the sneezy-poo’s and is an overall sad sack.

Back at Mother Base, excuse me, DEO HQ, Hank and Alex are beginning the containment unit scrub down procedure of a particularly nasty baddie, Jemm.  In addition to looking like the world’s biggest asshat, Jemm can also control minds.  I think I’m just gonna call him Asshat from now on.

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I came to clean your cell Asshat.

 

Just before the cell scrub down can start an earthquake rocks National City, cracking streets, destroying buildings and sending people into a panic.  In the ensuing panic, Kara breaks her arm after being shoved out of the way by James Olsen, who then uses the opportunity to de-shirt himself in the most awkward manner possible to make a sling.  I literally laughed out loud at that part and my fiancé, who was in another room across the hall NOT watching Supergirl called out, “Somebody just took off their shirt didn’t they?  Your laugh had a ‘B’ in front of it.”  (Translation: BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH)  I know they are trying to turn Mechad Brooks into a teen heartthrob to maintain ratings, but this was so forced, awkward and predictable, I wouldn’t have been surprised if they started making out right there in the middle of the disaster.  They did it in Man of Steel right?  I did say this show is getting better didn’t I?

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Yes I did.  And it is.

It’s getting better because in this episode we see Kara actually become a hero and do it not by punching something until it breaks.  She’s unable to use her powers to save a man with massive internal bleeding and experiences human frailty and mortality up close.  She breaks up an attempted armed robbery despite being depowered, having a broken arm and  a gun shoved in her face. Supergirl talks the robber out of shooting up the place using the power of her personality, big giant ‘S’ on her chest and a not-so-veiled threat that she could take the guy out in “20 different ways”.  It is entirely possible that she was successful because nobody wants to shoot a hot blonde in the face, but hey, I’ll take some character development over none at all.

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Back at Mother Base, Asshat is running amok and Henshaw is in pursuit. The next few beats are standard action movie fare: Alex watches the assault teams sweep the compound/first person body cameras crackle out/life signs go dead (see: Aliens, Jurassic World) / Alex disobeys orders and follows Henshaw/Alex gets her partner either killed or mind-boned by Jemm/ Alex corners Henshaw in a server room.

In the server room with Henshaw, instead of formulating a plan to FIRST stop Asshat from mind-boning the entire place, Alex chains him to a blinky machine and tries to force him at gunpoint to tell the truth about her father.  Unsatisfied by his answers, Alex runs out of the room, turns into Jack Bauer and guns down Jemm.  No seriously, she finds this dude and SHOTGUNS HIM RIGHT IN HIS STUPID ALIEN FACE.  Right before Alex can capture Asshat, he turns the tables and slaps the shit out of her knocking her across the room.

Right at that moment Henshaw drops in, snaps Asshat’s neck, thus saving the day.

Then the show drops the bomb.

Henshaw reveals that he is not actually Hank Henshaw and that the real man died the same day as Alex’s father.  He says that Jeremiah Danvers and Hank Henshaw were perusing an alien being and had him cornered somewhere in Peru.  Henshaw attempted to kill the alien but Danvers intervened instead getting himself killed. The alien killed Hank Henshaw and then made a vow to the dying Danvers that he would watch out for and protect his children, both Alex and Kara as if they are his own.  He says that he is the last surviving member of a race of people from the planet Mars and reveals his true name and visage:

J’onn J’onzz

image Supergirl Martian Manhunter

 

Boom.

There you have it folks!  We now live in a world where a live action Martian Manhunter is on TV.

Told ya, this show is getting good.

 

I give this episode 4/5 Martian Manhunters!

mmmmmmmm

 

Supergirl review

[REVIEW] SUPERGIRL S1 E01 – “PILOT”

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CBS’s Supergirl finally joins the smattering of superhero related TV shows this fall, but is it any good?  CBS has been hyping this show for what seems like an eternity and it finally took flight last night.  So let’s get a brief overview before hopping into the GOOD, BAD and the Meh…

First we are shown a very short origin of Kara Zor-El’s (Melissa Benoist) escape from the doomed planet Krypton minutes before it explodes.  It is explained by Kara’s mother Alura that she is being sent to Earth protect her younger cousin Kal-El (do I really need to explain who this is?).  Her capsule gets trapped in the Phantom Zone for a period of time before finally escaping and landing on Earth years after Kal has reached our planet.  When Kara finally arrives she hasn’t aged a day and Kal has already become ‘The Man of Steel’.

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The Man of Steel’s shadow looms large over this series. Literally and figuratively.

She is taken by Superman to live with foster parents, Jeremiah and Eliza Danvers, played by Dean Cain and MY original Supergirl, Helen Slater and their daughter Alex (Chyler Leigh). Kara explains via voice over that she was brought there by Kal to receive the same type of wholesome upbringing he had upon his arrival.  Kara, now using the surname “Danvers”, grows into a 24 year old young adult living and working in National City as an under appreciated gofer at a multimedia conglomerate run by Cat Grant, played by Calista Flockheart who is doing her best to channel Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada.   And this is where our story and review begin.

The GOOD.

  • Melissa plays a great Supergirl with just the right amount of pluckiness, charisma, optimism and she looks damn good in the costume.

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    THE costume.

  • The sets, lighting and camera work in the “talky” parts are top notch and you can tell most of the production is spent here. (We’ll get to the special effects in a bit)
  • I love that Helen Slater in as Kara’s adoptive mother in this series. I had a poster of her on my bedroom wall in the Supergirl costume back in 1984, so admittedly I’m a little biased.
  • The episode was rather light and airy as there didn’t seem to be a heavy cloud of dread hanging over the show. Benoist has a lot to do with this; her happy-go-lucky, always smiling character interpretation definitely sets the tone of the show. Something I hope they keep up without getting overly chintzy during the life of the show.

The BAD.

  • The writing is… well… Ugh. It’s bad.  No really. It’s not good at all.  It’s not quite CW level bad but it’s pretty damn close.  The show whizzes through the opening backstory, which is ok because her backstory is so similar to Superman’s that we don’t really need to trudge through that again, but her transition from Kara Danvers to a full on cape wearing, plane saving, faster than a speeding bullet(proof) crime fighter is so swift it’s blow past you in a red and blue blur.  In the span of 30 minutes she goes from, “Not having flown in years!” to battling an escaped Kryptonian convict with no combat training whatsoever.  It makes the development period (i.e. the time in-between action scenes) purely perfunctory and unsatisfying.

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    The Department of Extra-Normal Operations

  • Still in the writing department, the show introduces two separate love interests in the first half hour. Jimmy, excuse me, James Olsen (yes that very same Olsen fellow from Metropolis; who apparently has personal relationship with Big Blue himself) played by Mehcad Brooks and Winslow “Winn” Schott, Jr., played by Jeremy Jordan.  Kara spends her onscreen time with Olsen making googly eyes at him and fumbling over her words, while Winn spends his onscreen time with Kara outfitting her in her new duds and telling her how pretty she looks without her glasses on.  Barf.

The MEH.

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Supergirl uses her heat vision for the first time.

  • The special effects range from excellent (for a TV show) to just plain bad. In the promo trailers, we see a scene when Kara is saving a plane from crashing, stopping a semi by letting it crash into her, heat vision and general shots of her flying around the city… Well, that’s the triple A stuff right there folks.  The cuts in-between, getting punched through a wall, a high speed flying jump kick and some of the battle with the Kryptonian criminal are not handled so deftly.  There are quick cuts, (very) obvious camera tricks and some animation errors (missing frames of digital Supergirl as she gets knocked through walls) that can ruin the illusion if you’re a nerd like me and look for such things.

Final Thoughts

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Any crash you can walk away from…

So far the GOOD outweighs the BAD and the MEH.  I tried to not spoil the main elements of the show like how and why the Kryptonian criminal is on Earth, who he is working for and their motivation is because I do believe the show is worth a watch and we will cover more of that as the season goes on and in subsequent reviews.

For a show that is and was so heavily marketed, it got off to a pretty shaky start.  However, in the spirit of fairness, a lot of great shows have gotten off to a shaky start and a lot of shows have gotten off to a strong start only to fizzle out in less than three seasons.

If DC and WB want this show to succeed and have a long and glorious life span, they are going to seriously need to tone up their writing and sharpen the animation during the more frenetic action sequences.  If they do that Supergirl will certainly be a long term success.

Hope you like the review, leave a comment below and let me know what you thought of the pilot episode and join me next week when I review Supergirl Episode 2 – “Stronger Together”.

Don’t forget to check out my other Supergirl related posts right here!

Supergirl Ep. 1 – “Pilot” FINAL RATING (out of 5)

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Luke Cage, Hero For Hire (1972-1973) #15

16 Smashing Luke Cage, Hero for Hire Covers!

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A wrongfully charged inmate in Seagate Prison named Carl Lucas undergoes a scientific experiment. When a racist prison guard tampers with the machine, Lucas develops some supernatural side-effects! Namely, enhanced strength and bulletproof skin! Luke Cage is born.
When his Hero for Hire service falls short, Luke Cage goes looking for an office. While searching, he is attacked by hit men hired by Diamond Back! Luke Cage exacts revenge. If he can bring Diamond Back to the authorities, he may be able to wipe his record clean and live as a fully free man. But Diamond Back won’t go down without a really good fight!
Luke Cage is visited by Owen Ridgley, a man who informs the Hero for Hire about a terrorist plot. Gideon Mace plans on blowing up each bridge and power station in Manhattan! His goal? To shake the very foundation of the United States! And Luke Cage is running out of time.
A supernatural being dubbed the ‘Phantom of 45th Street’ creeps into the Gem Theater! Luke Cage wakes to a fight he cannot win. The following day, Cage is hired to investigate the Phantom by someone else who has also been haunted. Can Luke uncover the secret of the Phantom before another night of midnight mischief?
Luke Cage learns about a band of criminals led by a woman named Black Mariah. Mariah’s thieves pose as ambulance drivers and steal corpses to loot them of possessions! Disgusted by these acts, the Hero for Hire decides to give the city a criminal shakedown on the house.
Luke Cage is hired by Catherine Forsythe, a young woman who believes someone is trying to kill her wealthy grandfather. But when Cage travels to the Forsythe mansion in the country, he runs into deadly robots wearing suits of armor!
On Christmas Eve, Luke Cage puts the kibosh on criminal activity, all of which has been orchestrated by a mad man named Marley! And this Scrooge plans on detonating a nuclear bomb on Christmas morning! Can Cage prevent this detonation? Or will the blast steal Christmas and millions of lives?
Luke Cage is hired by a mysterious businessman to track a couple of thugs who have stolen technology from the client’s personal cache. Cage accepts the job, but quickly finds out the ‘thugs’ are actually robots! Caught off-guard, Cage struggles put up a fight! Plus, the appearance of a surprise super-villain!
Luke Cage breaks into the Baxter Building, but the Fantastic Four are at the ready! A battle ensues, but once Cage explains his mission to receive payment from Dr. Doom, Reed Richards gives him an aircraft to fly to Latveria! Cage embarks on his quest to Castle Doom.
Luke Cage is fed up with fending off thugs on the late Frank Jenks account, so he decides to dig deeper into Frank’s personal affairs. An illegal casino operator named Señor Suerte learns of Cage’s probing, and decides to silence Cage no matter the cost!
Left to drown in a tunnel by Señor Suerte, Luke Cage breaks free at the very last minute! Determined to make Señor Suerte pay, Cage tracks the villain down to his secret hideout. But the Señor is ready for the attack…and has planted a series of gambling related traps! Luke Cage vs. the Wheel of Fate!
While Luke Cage was off fighting Spider-Man, a new villain emerged in New York City! Enter Chemistro, the inventor behind the alchemy gun! Cage is hired to defeat this new foe, but Chemistro won’t retire easily!
When a man is mauled to death by abnormally intelligent felines, the mayor of the city hires Luke Cage to investigate the crime! Cage follows a lead and gets attacked by wild cats. With their claws and fangs coated in poison, will the Hero for Hire survive this encounter to solve the mystery? A cat fight unlike any other!
Two of Cage’s old cellmates from Seagate Prison break out! At the Gem Theater, Big Ben Donovan pays Cage a violent visit. The two duke it out while Cage’s old cellmates make advancements towards exposing the hero as a felon!
Rackham has taken Mrs. Jenks hostage! To make matters worse, Claire Temple has been accused for the murder of Phil Fox! Luke Cage sets out to learn the truth and speaks with Claire, who assures him of her innocence. Cage vows to find the real killer, and clear Claire’s name!
Flea delivers Luke Cage to Comanche and Shades! After the convicts tell Cage how they escaped from prison, the four of them team-up to take down Rackham! Little do they know they are being stalked by a costumed man named Stilletto!
jessica jones netflix

Jessica Jones Teaser Trailer (Marvel/Netflix)

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Marvel’s Jessica Jones, or simply Jessica Jones, is an upcoming American web television series developed for Netflix by Melissa Rosenberg, based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. It is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), sharing continuity with the films of the franchise, and is the second in a series of shows that will lead up to a Defenders crossover miniseries. The series is produced by Marvel Television in association with ABC Studios and Tall Girl Productions, with Rosenberg serving as show runner.

Krysten Ritter stars as Jones, a former superhero who opens her own detective agency after an end to her superhero career. David Tennant, Mike Colter, Rachael Taylor, Carrie-Anne Moss, Eka Darville, Erin Moriarty, and Wil Traval also star. A version of the series was originally in development by Rosenberg for ABC in 2010, that was eventually passed on. By late 2013, Rosenberg reworked the series, when it reentered development for Netflix as A.K.A. Jessica Jones. Ritter was cast as Jones in December 2014, with production on Jessica Jones beginning in New York City in February 2015 and lasting until late August.

All episodes are set to premiere Friday November 20, 2015 on Netflix.

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The X-Files (2015)

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THE X-FILES is returning to FOX JAN 2016.

evil dead 2

Classic Evil Dead movie trailers

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EVIL DEAD (1981)

EVIL DEAD 2 (1984)

EVIL DEAD 3 – ARMY OF DARKNESS (1992)

ASH VS. THE EVIL DEAD (2015)

Lavalantula - 2015

5 REASONS WHY LAVALANTULA IS GOING TO KICK ASS

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OH. MY. GOD.

It’s like someone reached into my dreams and pulled out a tangled mix of nightmares, phobias and nostalgia.  The tagline listed on IMDB is hilariously succinct.  “Fire burns… Lava bites.”  This is pure gold and I believe that SyFy has another cult “hit” on their hands.   It’ll probably be more like cult shit, but with the some of the cast of Police Academy in this movie, I don’t know how that could ever be.

TV STILL -- DO NOT PURGE -- LAVALANTULA -- Pictured: (l-r) -- (Photo by: Jason Lester/Valiant Days Distribution, LLC)

Michael Winslow, Steve Guttenberg and Marion Ramsey

Speaking of the cast of Police Academy… When the hell did Steve Guttenberg get so swole?

Welcome back Michael Winslow, my favorite voicebox of the 80’s, Marion Ramsey and pre-teen boner inducer Leslie Easterbrook.

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Now who’s going to save me??…in Lavalantula

This movie is going to kick ass because it has 5 simple things.

  1. Spiders, fire, a shotgun toting Steve Guttenberg and the Police Academy franchise stars.
  2. It has Michael Winslow making machine gun sound effects.
  3. It happens in the same universe as Sharknado. (which has the hilarious sub-title “Oh Hell No!”)
  4. That kid from the Sandlot will probably be killed.  And it’ll be awesome.
  5. The director of the movie, Mike Mendez, knows everything there is to know about spiders because he directed the other cult “hit” movie, BIG ASS SPIDER! (2013)

THIS MOVIE IS ERUPTING WITH AWESOME.

lavalantula movie poster

Lavalantula premiers July 25th on the SyFy channel.

The Cosplay Runway 05/22/15 (All Supergirl Edition)

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The Speech Bubble

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It is time once again for The Cosplay Runway. Each and every week I highlight five fantastic cosplay images with this edition being rather special as it will focus entirely on Supergirl due to the recent release of her first trailer of her new show. For the uninitiated, cosplay is “a performance art in which participants called cosplayers wear costumes and fashion accessories to represent a specific character or idea.” All the cosplay featured here will be centralized on comics whether it be from DC, Marvel, or the Independents. To be taken to your image of choice, merely click on the name of your chosen character. Otherwise, simply click next and let the journey begin:

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And that wraps us this week’s edition of The Cosplay Runway! Which one was your favourite? I’d…

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Cap’s epic speech to Spider-Man during Civil War. 

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Civil War Part 6 of 7: The War At Home

Feeling the pressures of challenging the government and fighting for whats right, Peter asks Captain America how he handles the pressure.  Cap gives an epic, epic answer.

captain america speech to spiderman   Continue reading →

“That’s really super, Supergirl”

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My Heart Explodes

I am very excited for this! My comic book nerd friends – not so much. Well, that’s only because, apparently, they don’t like girls. They’d much rather watch Superman. Or Batman. Or Iron Man. Or Captain America… man. I’d rather watch girls. Really super girls, in fact. Supergirl stars Melissa Benoist as Kara Zor-El/Kara Danvers, Mehcad Brooks as Jimmy Olsen, Calista Flockhart as Cat Grant, David Harewood as Hank Henshaw, and the lovely Chyler Leigh as Alex Danvers. It kind of looks like Smallvillemeets The Devil Wears Prada.

Chyler Leigh, by the way, played punk rocker June Tuesday (here) on the short-lived Fox TV series That ’80s Show (2002). I didn’t like that show much, but I loved that character a lot. The first time I saw Leigh as Dr. Lexie Grey on Grey’s Anatomy, I said, “Hey, that’s June Tuesday!”

Anyway, Supergirl premieres…

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‘Supergirl’ Series Picked Up By CBS

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First Look_Melissa Benoist as Supergirl3Superheroes are taking over TV!! CBS has picked up its ‘Supergirl’ pilot to series. The superhero drama starring Melissa Benoist as the titular role, will debut during the 2015-2016 TV season.  

What do you guys think? Are you excited for the series?

Based on the characters from DC Comics, the project, from Warner Bros. TV, studio-based Berlanti Prods. and writers/executive producers Greg Berlanti (The Flash, Arrow) and Ali Adler (Glee, The New Normal), centers on Kara Zor-El (Benoist). Since arriving on Earth, the Krypton-born Kara has been hiding the powers she shares with her famous cousin, Superman. But now at age 24, she decides to embrace her superhuman abilities and be the hero she was always meant to be. 

Stars: Melissa Benoist as Supergirl, Mehcad Brooks as Jimmy Olsen and Lauren Benanti as Kara/Alura Zor-El, Calista Flockhart as Cat Grant, Chyler Leigh as Alexandra “Alex” Danvers, Jeremy Jordan as Winslow “Winn” Schott, David Harewood…

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In the new “Agents of Shield” clip reveals more about Skye’s Inhuman ties

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Taylor Network of Podcasts

Skye meets Lincoln, a fellow Inhuman helping her transition into her new super powered life

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Holy comeback Batman! Ward and West To Return as the Dynamic Duo!

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Adam West and Burt Ward were in attendance at a Batman panel this weekend at the Mad Monster Party in Charlotte, N.C. this weekend and made the announcement that they would lend their voices to a 90-minute, animated feature in 2016 in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the venerated TV series.

No further details were given about the project

via Consequence Of Sound

Some further awesomeness from the 1966 tv show: