Keeping it simple and to the point! Join Dburt, Daryll & Capt, Kirk Tuesday at 7pm as they discuss the follwoing pop culture infused topics: a recent GQ magazine article highlighted the existence of real life costume vigilantes; picking up last week's forgotten topic concerning non fantasy TV shows (i.e. USA's Suits, Royal Pains, etc) having protagonists that have a skill or "super power"; thoughts about this past weekend's Cowboys and Aliens release and expectations for the Planet of The Apes reboot (Rise of The Planet of the Apes); Dburt might be a convert to DC's current Flashpoint event storyline and our favorite graphic novel suggested reads from the previous week. Call us live at 646-915-9620 or via email/IM @ afronerdradio@yahoo.com. See you guys at 7pm!
And serving as an entree before the main course, check out the latest blog posting from The Shoppe's Daryll B:
As promised last week AfroNerd Readers, let's go through the Summer of Sci-Fi on television in a way that only a comic nerd like me can do it: in Avengers fashion....
Let's start with Outcasts on BBC America. To me, Outcasts is like Hercules: should be a natural fit on the team and when you hear the name, it seems like a natural. However the execution has been hit or miss. Outcasts should be moving faster than it has been but in its building of the mysteries, the show has bogged itself down. Season Finale is this Saturday and I must say the last 2 episodes have set this up really well. Hopefully, it is like Survivors and the 2nd season ramps up the tension.
Falling Skies on TNT is Quasar: being on TV appealed only to me in the beginning then as the run continued on, casual observers were drawn in. It has an almost perfect mixture of extended family drama with guerrilla / urban action. This week's show threw a new wrinkle in the works right before next Sunday's 2 hour season finale. What if everything you thought about the enemy is wrong?
Eureka on SyFy Mondays is The Beast: you get so caught up in the comedy and confused by the scientific theories, that you tend to take its quality for granted. I mean, anyone can sit down to watch Eureka and have fun for that hour. This is a show that only gets recognized when its off the air but it is definitely the rock that SyFy has built its quality Monday Summer lineup upon.
Warehouse 13 following it is definitely Hank Pym: You can ask 10 different science fiction fans a question after watching the show and get 10 different responses. If your don't believe me, just see some of the TV review sites. Like Outcasts, 13 has its hit or miss quality which sometimes cause fans confusion but at the same time it in many ways is the spiritual companion to Eureka. Which makes perfect sense since they "share" the same universe.
Alphas could be compared to Justice and Firestar... and not just because they are 'mutants'. It is a concept that has been on television a couple of times before. However, the tweaks and twists that have been applied to Alphas makes it compelling to watch. You can see the fractures and stresses around this 'team' and their situation and just wonder if they'll heal into something stronger...or rend the team asunder...
Teen Wolf on MTV is like Triathlon to me: A concept that I dismissed in the beginning because of how much was 'changed' from the version I knew from before. However, after a few episodes I have to give the show the props it deserves for finding a niche that hooked me in. I recommend catching the marathon of this that is going to be shown at the end of the month on MTV2.
Haven on SyFy Fridays only just returned but reminds me of The Scarlet Witch: Is it a fantasy series? Is it a horror series? Unlike Warehouse 13 which embraces the quirkiness in the differences show by show, Haven seems to be floundering when it comes to the direction of the series with the 'Smallville Freak of the Week' syndrome obscuring an interesting season long storyarc.
Finally, Torchwood: Miracle Day on Starz is Luke Cage... The new concept / direction seemed at first to be a last ditch effort to re-energize the series. You should have read the amount of unrest from fans when they heard that they were shooting this season in America. However, the varied guest stars and metaphysical commentary on everyday life makes the show a must watch / can't miss every week. Plus Bill Pullman as a child killing, wanna-be potential messiah and 'enemy puppet' is absolutely bone chilling.
There ya go, Haven is the only one that's really letting me down....and really that's because I been tainted by this formula by Smallville and how big of a Stephen King fan I am. I would encourage anyone to watch these shows and form their own opinion. And now some quick links:
Well two stories that I am sure that you heard of by now if you are in comic book circles:
Dan Didio, DC and Women Creators and the tug of war opinion-wise:
http://www.comicsalliance.com/2011/07/30/dc-comics-we-hear-you-female-creators/
Marvel wins the case over Kirby's Heirs:
http://www.comicsalliance.com/2011/07/28/marvel-jack-kirby-copyrights/
Which prompted this by Steve Bissette:
http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/2011/08/steve-bissette-calls-for-marvel-boycott-in-wake-of-kirby-copyright-ruling/
Both situations are as hot potato as you can get, however there comes a time where a dude's throat gets hoarse from yelling at a crowd enough times. I appreciate what DiDio was trying to convey in an obvious 'ambush' situation but the fact remains that the industry as a whole has a looooong way to go in terms of equality. As far as the heirs go, I wish that some sort of deal could have been reached outside of the courtroom... but rarely in life is anything that easy. Speaking of which:
Here is the USA Today spoiler (gee thx again Marvel) as to who the new Ultimate Spidey is in Ultimate Fallout #4 and let's just say it is a concept that we at The Comic Shoppe have wondered about:
http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=33673
and of course the adjoining message board is split opinion-wise:
http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?t=379006
On sale this week... Last word...Thundercats on Friday was very good....only downside was with the storms in NY Friday Night, my copy is all choppy and there was NO replays all weekend long. (GRRR Cartoon Network!!!) But the animation is on point and it is an interesting tweak on the mythos. I highly recommend it...
Thanks for reading AfroNerd Readers and until next time: Keep Fantasizing!!!
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