Recently in TV Category

I had the pleasure of watching the first episode of Sherlock, the new BBC series from Steven Moffat (Coupling, Jekyll, Doctor Who) and Mark Gatiss.  What's so special about this series, compared to all the other Sherlock Holmes movies and TV shows?  It's set in the modern era, complete with CSI units, computers, and cell phones.

This preview clip gives you a flavor of the show.  The first 90 minute episode, A Study in Pink, is a clever updating of the first Sherlock Holmes story (A Study in Scarlet).  There's a rash of suicides happening all over London, but Inspector Lestrade (Rupert Graves) can't put the pieces together.  During a press conference, Holmes embarrasses him with a series of text messages, which is cleverly shown as text floating in the air.  The production values for the series are top notch, with smart visual effects showing not only technology but Holmes' powers of mental deduction.

A Study in Pink is more than an updating of the Scarlet tale.  It's the story of how Dr. John Watson (a medical doctor who served in Afghanistan) meets Sherlock Holmes for the first time and becomes his friend.  Martin Freeman's performance as Watson is endearing.  Benedict Cumberbatch, who I've never seen before, plays Sherlock Holmes with maniacal energy, yet he keeps a bit of charm and humor in there as well.  The gold standard in Holmes actors for me was Jeremy Brett, and while that performance is sacred in my mind, I think Cumberbatch's work is on that level.

Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss (who plays another character in the series, which I won't spoil) talk about the genesis of Sherlock in this clip.  The first episode had a lot of humor in addition to action and suspense.  In one scene, the police tear apart Holmes' flat looking for drugs; Watson protests "You won't find any drugs here in this house!"  Sherlock shushes him, for as all fans know, he has certain addictions.

There are 2 more episodes coming in this first series, which should air later in the United States on PBS' Masterpiece Mystery.  Hopefully we will have more episodes next year.  Nuff Said!

Link: Sherlocking, A fan site dedicated to the BBC series Sherlock.

Damon Lindelof was in Golden Apple Comics a while ago to sign some Ultimate Hulk Vs Wolverine collections, and Jonah Weiland was right there with a camera.

The interview is quite substantial, 30 minutes long, and covers many topics: his Ultimate Hulk/Wolverine story, Stephen King's Dark Tower, ambitions to create his own comic universe, and of course, LOST.

I recently returned from a vacation in Hawaii (Oahu), where the big highlight of my trip was a Lost Hummer tour of the Kualoa Ranch on the northeast side of the island.  Kos Tours has exclusive access to the ranch, which has been privately owned since 1850.  The ranch has pristine green beauty and breathtaking views almost everywhere you look.  No wonder Lost uses many locations on this property!  We took the 2 hour Hummer tour, which was very well organized.  The guide was very well versed in Lost lore, and came prepared with Lost screen caps or movie clips to show us what happened at each location.  Above you can see my wife and I sitting on two logs, used in the season two episode where Ana Lucia confronts Goodwin.  We are trying to look angry, but just can't stop laughing.

The above picture was taken at the dock, used by the Dharma Initiative (as well as the Others) for the submarine.  Our guide had some neat photos of the submarine props that were placed in the water to make it seem real.

One of the best locations was the one used for Hurley's Golf Tournament in season one.  We even got to take a picture with Hurley, as you can see here.  Of course, it isn't Jorge Garcia, it's a Todd McFarlane action figure!

Unfortunately, Lost wasn't filming the final season when we were there.  The guide told us of past sightings, like watching Jughead being assembled, and seeing young Ben walking around in a wounded condition.  I asked him about the Lost cast members.  As I suspected, actors like Terry O'Quinn or Michael Emerson are friendly, but Matthew Fox and Evangeline Lilly are very cold and distant.  I could tell this from various interviews the cast has given.  The guide said that Evangeline Lilly doesn't really care for the show and tried to leave Lost a few years ago.

I highly recommend the tour.  The 2-hour package was around $80 per person, and my wife, who is not a Lost fan at all, still had fun taking pictures at the gorgeous locales.  We did not get to see the famous Lost beach camp--that location is only available in the ten hour tour.  Check out the Kos Hummer Tours Hawaii website for more information.  Many thanks to Ryan from Lost the Transmission for recommending this company.  Nuff said.

Brian K Vaughan is the talented writer of comics such as Y The Last Man and Runaways (see one of my old reviews here).  He's also a writer on ABC's Lost.  After reading Y, I listened to several BKV podcast interviews on Pop Candy and Fanboy Radio.  I made a Lost connection on the latter interview, where BKV mentioned the Runaways arc titled "Dead Means Dead", which took place in Runaways Vol 2 #19-21.

The Runaways arc title was a reference to Joe Quesada's infamous declaration that "dead is dead" in the Marvel Universe.  Gwen Stacy won't come back to life, Karen Page will stay dead, Bucky won't return...oh wait, that did happen!

In Runaways, this title was teasing the readers, as a major and beloved character had died in the preceding arc.  Would BKV bring her back to life?  We kind of hoped he would.

Lost's twelfth episode of the fifth season was titled "Dead is Dead".  Co-written by Brian K. Vaughan and Elizabeth Sarnoff!  This is the first full episode with the mysteriously resurrected John Locke.  How did he come back to life?  Honestly, I didn't pay much attention to the episode's title or think it was a mystery.  I just assumed the Island brought Locke back.  But it turned out the title was a big tip-off to a greater mystery.

If that wasn't enough, when Sun asks Ben what's going on, Ben replies:

"I've seen this Island do miraculous things. I've seen it heal the sick, but never once has it done anything like this. Dead is dead. You don't come back from that, not even here. So the fact that John Locke is walking around this Island... scares the living hell out of me."

Only in the last few episodes did it occur to me that everything wasn't right with John Locke.  Another big clue was the scene where Ben summons the smoke monster from that weird little tide pool next to his cabin.  Smokey never arrives, but Locke does emerge from the jungle.  At the end of the episode, Locke is conveniently separated from Ben when the latter meets Smokey for judgment.  When Smokey disappears, Locke shows up a few seconds later.

It's cool little connection between Lost and Runaways.  There's a lot of chatter on Lost podcasts about whether Locke will stay dead in season six.  I really like the character, but I hope the "Dead is Dead" rule is golden.  Nuff said.

Brian K Vaughan is the talented writer of comics such as Y The Last Man and Runaways (see one of my old reviews here).  He's also a writer on ABC's Lost.  After reading Y, I listened to several BKV podcast interviews on Pop Candy and Fanboy Radio.  I made a Lost connection on the latter interview, where BKV mentioned the Runaways arc titled "Dead Means Dead", which took place in Runaways Vol 2 #19-21.

The Runaways arc title was a reference to Joe Quesada's infamous declaration that "dead is dead" in the Marvel Universe.  Gwen Stacy won't come back to life, Karen Page will stay dead, Bucky won't return...oh wait, that did happen!

In Runaways, this title was teasing the readers, as a major and beloved character had died in the preceding arc.  Would BKV bring her back to life?  We kind of hoped he would.

Lost's twelfth episode of the fifth season was titled "Dead is Dead".  Co-written by Brian K. Vaughan and Elizabeth Sarnoff!  This is the first full episode with the mysteriously resurrected John Locke.  How did he come back to life?  Honestly, I didn't pay much attention to the episode's title or think it was a mystery.  I just assumed the Island brought Locke back.  But it turned out the title was a big tip-off to a greater mystery.

If that wasn't enough, when Sun asks Ben what's going on, Ben replies:

"I've seen this Island do miraculous things. I've seen it heal the sick, but never once has it done anything like this. Dead is dead. You don't come back from that, not even here. So the fact that John Locke is walking around this Island... scares the living hell out of me."

Only in the last few episodes did it occur to me that everything wasn't right with John Locke.  Another big clue was the scene where Ben summons the smoke monster from that weird little tide pool next to his cabin.  Smokey never arrives, but Locke does emerge from the jungle.  At the end of the episode, Locke is conveniently separated from Ben when the latter meets Smokey for judgment.  When Smokey disappears, Locke shows up a few seconds later.

It's cool little connection between Lost and Runaways.  There's a lot of chatter on Lost podcasts about whether Locke will stay dead in season six.  I really like the character, but I hope the "Dead is Dead" rule is golden.  Nuff said.

I heard about the Lost Time Loop theory on the /Film podcast and discovered another fan through this site, one that makes fascinating videos outlining his theories.  I enjoyed this one "The Incident - Secrets and Theories" by Lost Questions and Answers on YouTube.

I'm not sure I buy the part about Richard and the Smoke Monster.  I would think Smokey could have killed Richard during the many times he's been outside the sonic fence.  The speculation about the statue getting destroyed and the women on the island being unable to conceive sounds plausible.  But do we know the statue existed in 1977 when Ethan was born?

LOST speculation...how many hours have I "lost" to this hobby?  2010 seems very far away.  Nuff said.

I heard about the Lost Time Loop theory on the /Film podcast and discovered another fan through this site, one that makes fascinating videos outlining his theories.  I enjoyed this one "The Incident - Secrets and Theories" by Lost Questions and Answers on YouTube.

I'm not sure I buy the part about Richard and the Smoke Monster.  I would think Smokey could have killed Richard during the many times he's been outside the sonic fence.  The speculation about the statue getting destroyed and the women on the island being unable to conceive sounds plausible.  But do we know the statue existed in 1977 when Ethan was born?

LOST speculation...how many hours have I "lost" to this hobby?  2010 seems very far away.  Nuff said.

There are a few entertainment related podcasts that I've become addicted to over the past year.

My favorite show on TV is still ABC's LOST.  Despite the plot holes and lazy characterization (especially in the Season 5 finale with the whole Jack/Kate Sawyer/Juliet sappy quadrangle), I'm still hooked and hopelessly addicted.  After each episode of LOST concludes, I constantly refresh my iTunes podcasts to see when Lost: The Transmission has a new cast.  Ryan and Jen, a cute married couple who live in Hawaii where Lost is filmed, have the best Lost podcast on the Internet.  Each episode features a recap, a lengthy discussion between Ryan and Jen (great to have a woman's perspective) on the latest events, listener thoughts in "You All Everybody" and a look to the future episodes in the "Forward Cabin".  Ryan often gives great tidbits by reporting on various locations used by the Lost crew.  Of course, you have to supplement this by listening to Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse on the Official Lost Podcast.  This is more of a comedy show with the funny banter between the two writer-producers, though they will occasionally tell us what is going on.

If you're a sucker for behind the scenes information on films, then you'll have to subscribe to Creative Screenwriting Magazine's podcast.  Jeff Goldsmith, one of the senior editors, interviews the writers behind the latest movies.  He just released a great interview with Robert Orci and Alex Kurtzman, the writers of the new Star Trek movie.  It's a fascinating discussion about the origins of the project and the various choices that were made along the way.  What I love about Goldsmith is that he asks the questions I would ask if I were sitting down with these people.  The back catalog of this podcast series is well worth checking out, over the past year Goldsmith has interviewed Peter Morgan (Frost/Nixon), David Hayter (Watchmen), Drew Goddard (Cloverfield), Diablo Cody (Juno) and many more.  In addition to interviewing screenwriters, Goldsmith will also talk to producers or directors if they tag along.  He interviewed Tim Story along with Don Payne for Rise of the Fantastic Four.  If you're curious about anything related to film, or want ideas about how to break into the business, this podcast is superb.

Ever since the TV Guide podcast folded, I've had a vacuum for a weekly podcast about TV and movies.  The /Filmcast has filled that void.  It's the official podcast of /Film, hosted by three young bucks (Dave Chen, Devindra Hardawar and Adam Quigley) who have an appreciation for both movies and quality TV shows.  Each week they review a recent movie release, preceded by film/TV news and a rundown of what each person has been watching (either TV or DVDs).  Sometimes the boys will be joined by a special guest star.  Kevin Smith joined them for Dark Knight and Watchmen.  Character actor Stephen Tobolowsky (from Momento, Groundhog Day, etc) joined them to review both the Mummy and Towelhead.  The Tobolowsky episodes are hilarious, loaded with anecdotes about his life and movies, and he really dissects the failed story construction behind many movies.  There's usually two /Filmcasts per week, with the second one titled "After Dark", a free for all discussion of all things entertainment.  Sometimes there will be special podcasts on one topic.  They did an exhaustive review and examination of HBO's The Wire and also took on FX's The Shield.  The only negative I have against these dudes is that they seem to think Green Lantern is "the bottom of the barrel" (Dave Chen's words) for a comic book film adaptation.  Sacrilege!

Speaking of comic books, my favorite podcast is still Word Balloon.  Host John Siuntres asks the questions any fan would want to know.  He's recently interviewed Kevin O'Neill on the latest League of Extraordinary Gentleman novel, and that gives you a behind the scenes look at working with Alan Moore and the restrictions placed on them by DC/Wildstorm.  Siuntres has also recently interviewed Dan Slott, Jason Aaron, and Ethan Van Sciver.  Nuff said.