September 13th, 2003
I liked the article on Firefly:
Most Unjust Cancellations
First there’s Sci-Fi’s former flagship series Farscape, shitcanned by Sci-Fi even though it had previously been given a two-year contract extension. Instead of heading into a fifth season this fall, the series got yanked off the air unceremoniously, complete with a “To Be Continued” cliffhanger that served as a final screw-you gesture to the network executives who ordered the show cancelled after they couldn’t come to terms with Farscape’s owners.
..Salvation is closer at hand for the series that shares the Most Unjust Cancellation title with Farscape. Joss Whedon’s 13-episodes-and-out series Firefly is about to be released on DVD, and just last week Universal announced that it’s proceeding with plans to shoot a “Firefly” movie, written and directed by Whedon.
But we still must wail against the cancellation of Firefly. Granted, the show’s first aired episodes were a bit shaky. But those who saw the final part of its run (as well as the pilot episode Fox refused to air until it was far too late) saw the strength of its writing, its premise, and its fantastic cast.
A sci-fi western, Firefly really began to work when it more deftly mixed genres, shifting from western to action to techno-sci-fi with ruthless efficiency. It was uncompromising in its quirks — all the outer space scenes were silent, since there’s no air (and therefore no sound) in space — and that idiosyncracy probably didn’t help it with your average TV viewer.
There are other awards too, but I followed this bit.
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September 10th, 2003
I dig Adult Swim’s showing of Inuyasha. It mixes just the right amount of character with action.
http://www.inuyasha.org/
That fan site looks cool, but the photo of the mascot scares the bejeezus out of me.
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August 24th, 2003
Yay!
USA Networks announced this afternoon that THE DEAD ZONE has been renewed for a third season of episodes. Production on the cable dramatic thriller, based on the characters from Stephen King’s novel, begins this fall.
“THE DEAD ZONE is one of the top-rated shows on basic cable and we’re confident that it will continue its strong performance in its third season,” said USA Network’s Jeff Wachtel, Executive Vice President, Series and Longform Programming. “Lions Gate and Paramount have consistently delivered a top-quality show that we’re all extremely proud of.”
All of the show’s creative staff as well as the regular and supporting cast members will also return. THE DEAD ZONE cast members includ Anthony Michael Hall, Nicole deBoer, Chris Bruno, John L. Adams, Kristen Dalton, David Ogden Stiers, Sean Patrick Flannery and Frank Whaley. Story information about the upcoming season wasn’t given.
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August 9th, 2003
Adult Swim began showing Furi Kuri(FLCL) last Monday. The animation is freaking awesome! The story is qute weird though. I’ve only been able to catch a bit here or there which doesn’t help much for figuring out where they’re going with the characters. The longest bit I watched was on Thursday night and now I find myself becoming slowly obssessed with the show.
I mean who wouldn’t be obssessed with a show that invlovles a 19 year old girl who claims to be an alien, recklessly drives a vespa, and forces our protaganist to experience life and gain confidence in himself during the whole process. Oh yeah and strange stuff seems to grow out of our hero’s head. On the first episode I hear it was a robot. Last Thursday it was a guitar. No lie. I saw it with my own eyes.
Did I mention that the end song and other music is catchy as hell?
-Groonk
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August 5th, 2003
Heard nothing about this all summer. All a sudden I hear about it everywhere. Maybe I’ll check it out.
Looking to get a jump on everyone else for the fall — plus hook viewers hungry for scripted programming — Fox on Tuesday premieres an ambitiously modern prime-time drama/soap called “The O.C.” that delves into the rich and dysfunctional lives of families in the gated-community world of Orange County.
The pilot is superb. The knee-jerk reaction to “The O.C” would be to assume that years after the fact, Fox is just looking for a little “Beverly Hills 90210” action to bolster ratings. But that ignores the pretty decent pedigree of the people behind “The O.C.,” not to mention that the series is compelling on more than a few levels, able to hook both young viewers and their parents.
“The O.C.” boasts film director Doug Liman (“Go,” “Swingers,” “The Bourne Identity”) at the helm and as executive producer. He’s joined there by another director, McG (“Charlies Angels”), on whose life experiences this series is very loosely based. The real force behind “The O.C.,” however, is Josh Schwartz, a very talented writer who sold his first script while still a junior in college for nearly $1 million.
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July 31st, 2003
It’s the big 2-0-0 for the Groonkly Bits section of groonk.net…
Come to think of it this ain’t that special. But this is that funny. Sevendaggers gave up a link to the good stuff:
Dot : How ’bout with a dash of salt
Yakko: On the San Andreas Fault? [rumble!]
Giant: No, not with a dash of salt
On the San Andreas Fault. [rumble!]
I does not like gold eggs and meat
It’s you who I would like to eat.
Wakko: Would you, could you, in Japan
Yakko: With Godzilla and Rodan?
Giant: I would not, could not, in Japan
With Godzilla and Rodan. [foom! whack! … thud!]
I will not eat gold eggs and meat
It’s…
YW+D : …us that you would like to eat.
“What was that?,” you ask? It’s the transcript to the Animaniacs 51st episode, The Warners and the Beanstalk.
Faboo!
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July 31st, 2003
Definitely up my alley:
Do you have a great idea for a television show? This is your chance to become a Hollywood producer ON YOUR OWN TV SHOW! Welcome to the 1st PILOT PROJECT contest, where the viewer creates the TV show.
5 easy steps to enter!
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July 24th, 2003
Ellis does his own reviews of the upcoming US TV pilot season:
I’ve seen a few more screener-copies of US TV pilots for the new season, by the way.
THE LYON’S DEN: Rob Lowe’s next big job after leaving THE WEST WING. Possibly also the last. Rip Torn phones it in, Robert Picardo appears to still have some kind of spreader bar in his mouth, and John Grisham is checking his trashcan for burglary. The only one who’s having fun is Frances Fisher, gnawing on the scenery and vamping up a storm as the Scheming Secretary. Give her the series, because you know what? I couldn’t give a fuck if a bunch of bickering smarmy lawyers live, die, or have to suck off old corpses…
THREAT MATRIX: also known as THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY LOVES YOU. A deeply dodgy piece of work full of plotlines like My God, The Towelheads Are Using Plastic Surgery To Look Just Like Us Good White Folks, and The White Terrorist Agrees To Cooperate But Is Killed In Collusion With The Slanty-Eyed Locals. You get the idea.
LAS VEGAS: I’m sorry to say I switched it off after ten minutes. It’s possible that it got supernaturally good after ten minutes of grabbing up every cliche it could lay its hands, managing to be shameless yet humourless about the absurd expository dialogue, and totally wasting James Caan. But I’ll never know.
And something else: if you’re doing a show about young hipsters trying to rip off Vegas casinos every week, but they have to be stopped by aged James Caan and his trusty men every week, that’s not OCEAN’S ELEVEN for TV, no matter how you dress it up. It’s fucking MATLOCK.
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June 17th, 2003
Dunc! offers up this bit on Fox’s latest reality series:
LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) – In the middle of a sweltering summer, nothing offers relief like a Michael Jackson impersonator doing the moonwalk on an ice rink, or a stick fetching race between a dog and “Diff’rent Strokes” co-star Todd Bridges, or the eternally amusing single joke of Mr. Shake Hands Man, who annoys celebrities by shaking their hands until they surrender. FOX will unveil these quirky characters and many others when “Banzai” premieres on Sunday, July 13 at 8:30 p.m. ET.
“Banzai” is based on a cult television smash from Britain’s Channel 4, which in turn parodied Japanese extreme game shows. It combines crazy stunts, bizarre characters and a healthy does of at-home interactivity. As absurd as the on-screen antics get, viewers will be able to bet on the results of different wild gambits, like how long Mr. Shake Hands Man will be able to shake hands with Kelsey Grammer before the “Frasier” star can extricate himself.
At FOX’s upfront earlier this month, few of the network’s new offerings produced such wild laughter, but complaints may come as fast as the chortles. In 2001, USA ran snippets from the British series as part of the network’s “Banzai Movie Friday.” Even in those small doses, Asian-American groups objected to the stereotypical accents in the voice-overs, saying that the announcers poked fun at the sounds of Asian languages.
Media activist groups will have a chance to get a more extended view when Banzai premiers in six weeks and viewers will have a chance to discover a new cult favorite before it gets pulled.
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June 16th, 2003
Reaffirming my geekiness yet again:
Are you among the thousands who learned of Farscape’s cancellation (or perhaps even started watching the show) after November 2002? If so, then we want to hear from YOU!
In an effort to track who is participating in the “Save Farscape” campaign (and by extension, who is watching Farscape), a couple of demographic surveys were done shortly after the show’s cancellation was announced in September 2002. These surveys garnered thousands of responses, yet thousands more people have joined us since then, and we want to know more about them!
Dunc! gave me the heads up in this one.
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