You can't take the 'cast from me

A whole lot of podcasting going on this past week, On Hellbent for Letterbox, Pax and I dove back into the world of spaghetti westerns with Lee Van Cleef in the bonkers Sabata. We also discussed Gregory Peck in The Bravados, Matt Wagner and Francesco Francavilla's Zorro, and Robert Conrad and Ross Martin in The Wild Wild West.





Then over on Dragonfly Ripple, we talked sci-fi and politics. Carlin and I start with a discussion of how we introduce our kids to politics and then get into some sci-fi TV with political elements with the kids. We start with the two V mini-series from the 1980s and then move on to Firefly. Plus, on Jetpack Tiger, Carlin and Dash talk about their experience with Star Wars Celebration.





And finally, there are a couple of recent Starmageddon episodes I have't told you about yet. In the first one, Dan talks about finally finishing Clone Wars, Ron and Dan discuss their addiction to the Star Wars Galaxy of Heroes mobile game, and we share our thoughts on the most recent Star Trek: Discovery casting: Jason Issacs as the captain and Rainn Wilson as our favorite Star Trek rogue, Harry Mudd.

Then in the latest episode, we're joined by David Spell to discuss all of the exciting news from Star Wars Celebration, including the Last Jedi trailer, the upcoming Star Wars Battlefront II video game, and the girl-friendly Forces of Destiny.

100 Things I Love About TV

It's taken me a while, but I've finally compiled a list a la Siskoid's.



1. Andy Griffith and Don Knotts: Greatest Comedy Team of All Time
2. Falling in love with Elinor Donahue on Father Knows Best (then realizing she’d also dated Andy Taylor).
3. The comfort of watching any family in a ‘60s sitcom (eg Hazel, My Three Sons, etc.)
4. The opening credits to I Dream of Jeannie.
5. Fred Sanford vs. Aunt Esther.
6. Vincent Price’s terrorizing the Brady boys in Hawaii.
7. The “Ring My Bell” skit on The Carol Burnett Show.
8. The Ministry of Silly Walks.
9. The Fonz.
10. Alex P Keaton



11. Bill Cosby’s finally getting the perfect showcase for his comedy in The Cosby Show.
12. Bob Newhart doing anything.
13. Lilith on Cheers.
14. “This is the theme to Garry’s show, the theme to Garry’s show. Garry called me up and asked if I would write his theme song.”
15. David Schwimmer’s complete willingness to make a jackass of himself on Friends. And Ross isn't even my favorite character from that show.
16. “Chicken pot, chicken pot, chicken pot pie!”
17. “No, Matthew. I can definitively state that I am not Doobie Keebler.”
18. Anthony Clark as Boyd Pritchett in Boston Common.
19. Mr. Frickin’ Bean.
20. “Yo-Yo Ma!” “Boutros Boutros-Ghali!”



21. Lt. Jim Dangle.
22. JD and Turk’s bromance.
23. The Legen - wait for it - dary Barney Stinson.
24. Jim’s pranks on Dwight.
25. Knock knock. “Penny.” Knock knock. “Penny.” Knock knock. “Penny.”
26. Watching the credits of The Love Boat to see who the guest-stars were.
27. Noel Crane’s crush on Felicity Porter.
28. Lorelai and Rory Gilmore.
29. That Sandra Oh makes me cry every time her character does.
30. The design of the submarine in Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea.



31. Ron Ely’s intelligent Tarzan.
32. That the most faithful adaptation of Tarzan ever was a Filmation cartoon.
33. The world-building in Land of the Lost.
34. “Daniel Boone was a man. He was a biiiiig man!”
35. “From the halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli, there was never a leatherneck braver; a Daring Dragoon is he. He’ll halt the bold advance of Napoleon’s attack! There ain’t a French or pirate rogue who don’t…know Jack!”
36. The inventive abandon of Brisco County, Jr.
37. Learning about history from Young Indiana Jones.
38. Adam West’s deadpan.
39. Luke Skywalker as the Joker.
40. The whole DC Timmiverse.



41. The theme to Legion of Super Heroes.
42. The theme to Teen Titans.
43. The General Lee’s jumping creeks and blowing that horn.
44. Boy George’s guest-starring on The A-Team.
45. Adam Ant’s guest-starring on The Equalizer.
46. Noel Crane’s becoming the badass Cool Breeze on The Unit.
47. Jack Bristow’s brutally relentless protection of his daughter in Alias.
48. The DVD cover for Season One of Nikita.
49. The theme to Mission: Impossible.
50. The theme to Hawaii Five-0.



51. Alfred Hitchcock’s opening and closing comments on Alfred Hitchcock Presents.
52. The theme to Perry Mason.
53. Robert Ironside’s fighting crime from a wheelchair.
54. The Barnaby Jones announcer. “Tonight’s episode: ‘To Catch a Dead Man’!”
55. Feeling smugly alternative because I liked Jaclyn Smith better than Farrah Fawcett.
56. Columbo’s turning around at the door and saying, “Oh, just one more thing…”
57. How Magnum PI was totally an homage to film noir.
58. Lee Horseley as both Archie Goodwin on Nero Wolfe and the titular Matt Houston.
59. The way Avery Brooks pronounced “Spenser” in Spenser: For Hire.
60. Rick and AJ Simon. But mainly Rick.



61. Shawn Spencer’s love of The Mentalist.
62. Patrick Jane’s smirk.
63. Daphne and Fred’s relationship in Scooby Doo: Mystery, Inc.
64. That Friday the 13th: The Series was way better than the movies it got its name from.
65. Mulder and Scully’s calling each other by their last names.
66. John Astin as Gomez Addams.
67. Just knowing that Dark Shadows existed.
68. Getting arsonphobia from an episode of Ghost Story. I eventually grew out of it, but that’s some powerful TV. I was freaked out by campfires and birthday candles for a couple of years.
69. The very idea that Aaron Spelling did a show based on Vampire: The Masquerade.
70. Sun and Jin. Also Sawyer.



71. Elizabeth Montgomery’s twinkle.
72. Everything about Lynda Carter.
73. Xena’s battle cry.
74. “Oh, Mighty Isis!”
75. The animal-appliances in The Flintstones.
76. Teen Pebbles.
77. Sid and Marty Krofft’s costumes.
78. Mr. Hooper’s having to constantly correct Big Bird’s pronunciation of his name.
79. “It’s The Muppet Show, everybody! Yaaaaay!”
80. “Of course you realize: this means war.”



81. The sound the Six Million Dollar Man made when he used his powers.
82. The heartbreak of Jamie Sommers’ amnesia.
83. David Banner walking down the road to that piano tune at the end of every episode of The Incredible Hulk.
84. Being introduced to “Land of a Thousand Dances” by Misfits of Science.
85. George Reeves’ Clark Kent. An unconvincing disguise, but a hero in his own right.
86. Teri Hatcher’s Lois Lane.
87. Smallville’s using Remy Zero’s “Save Me” as it’s theme song.
88. Roswell’s using Dido’s “Here With Me” as it’s theme song.
89. Seeing Mystery Science Theatre live at Minneapolis’ Uptown Theater in 1992.
90. The vehicles of Ark II (including the jet pack).



91. “Five hundred years into the future she will enter a world where machines rule the earth. Mankind has been driven underground.”
92. Tom Baker’s running around the universe offering everyone Jelly Babies.
93. The Clone Wars’ heroic rescue of the entire Star Wars franchise.
94. Hawk from Buck Rogers.
95. Original Cylons
96. Kirk’s libido.
97. Picard’s voice.
98. Worf’s scowl.
99. The concept of Star Trek: Enterprise.
100. “Our love for him now ain’t hard to explain. The Hero of Canton, the man they call Jayne.”

Art Show: Does that make her a Space-sha?

Intergalactic Geisha



By Jill Karla Schwarz. [Girls Drawing Girls]

I'm on Fire!



By Rosh.

Serenity



By Adam Hughes. [Bully]

Elsewhere... Some Gorillas Rode Some Dinosaurs

I've written a couple of Gorillas Riding Dinosaurs columns that I haven't told you about.

What Looks Good for September



The best-looking adventure comics for September include new Mouse Guard, Firefly, Good Neighbors, Atomic Robo, new printings of Alison Dare, and a Frankenstein pop-up book.


Atomic Robo vs. the X-Men in… “The Time Topic”



I'm doing something new with Gorillas Riding Dinosaurs lately. Rather than just do straight reviews, I've been focusing on specific elements that make comics awesome and talking about how to do them right (while soliciting readers for their own ideas). It's a lot more fun and interactive now, so if your eyes usually glaze over at my comics reviews, I hope you'll give the column another look.

I started this by talking about stand-alone issues a couple of weeks ago and this week it was all about time-travel.

The Awesome List: Stomp directly to Tokyo; do not pass Go; do not collect $200

50 Jungle Girls



The Mighty Buttocks of Dumbledore has a list of fifty jungle girls, the idea being for his friends to create fan art based on them. I hope it catches on.

Liane, the Jungle Goddess



Men's Adventure Magazines has an article on Marion Michael, "Germany's answer to Brigitte Bardot," who starred in a couple of Liane, Jungle Goddess movies.

Monkey Gotta Be Free



I've no idea what the context of this is, but Brother Cal makes up a pretty good story about it.

After the break: more monkeys, a Firefly statue, and Giant Monster Monopoly.

Comics News: Grizzly Shark, Dino Boy, Mystery Society, and More

Sea Bear & Grizzly Shark



Sometimes, an idea comes along that's so obvious that you don't know why no one's thought of it before. Other times, you know exactly why no one has. Sea Bear & Grizzly Shark: They Got Mixed Up falls into the latter category, but that doesn't make it any less awesome. [Robot 6]

The Return of Reptil



I've been generally uninterested in the announcements about the new Avengers team members, much less all the various spin-offs like Avengers Academy. Most of the Academy members are new characters or people I've never heard of, but I was delighted to see this promo piece featuring Reptil (the boy with dinosaur powers). I was hoping Marvel would find a place for him.

Nick Mulder and Nora Scully, Firefly comics, and Pedal-Copters after the break.

Sunday Morning Matinee: Didn't You Wear That Like Five Years Ago?

Counting with Movies

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

The New A-Team in action

BA still don't wanna get on no plane with no damn fool...



The Return of Captain Mal

In case you didn't get to see the Castle episode everyone was talking about...



Put That Thing Away!

How that trash compactor scene should have gone...

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

TV Tuesday: House, Chuck, and Castle

Could be some SPOILERS BELOW if you're not caught up on your TV.

House

I just today realized why it is that I've been cold towards Thirteen. It's not because she's a rather cold character herself. It's because she's not Cameron.



Chuck



NBC's suffering is my good news. They're doing so crappy in the ratings that they may be forced not only to air this season of Chuck earlier than originally planned, but to order more episodes as well.

Castle



More good news! Castle's been picked up for the full season.

I've totally been sucked into this show. In last night's episode, when Castle was trying to decide whether to keep his current gig or run off to write James Bond novels, I was so into it that I temporarily, but completely forgot that one of those choices would end the show and so was never a real option. I was a little disappointed at the agent ex machina resolution to the dilemma, but really... whatever keeps Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic doing scenes together.

Also, have you seen Castle's Halloween costume for next week? Yet more proof that Nathan Fillion is the Most Awesome Man Alive.

As if this picture wasn't enough:

10 Favorite TV Characters

As before, Siskoid gets the credit for this. I sort of don't want this meme to end, so if he's up for other Favorite Character lists, I sure am too. It sounds like he might be moving on though (Create Your Own Black Ops Team? Do it, Siskoid! Do it!).

I tried making my own rules for this list too, but I kept breaking them. I wanted to include mainly characters whose series have ended so that I can say with certainty that I liked the character from beginning to end. But that would've left out some of my very favorites and I dumped the rule.

I also wanted to choose only characters from shows that I stuck with to the very end. My rationale is that if I loved the character so much, that ought to be enough to keep me interested in the show. But though I have stuck with shows much longer than I should have for love of a single character, there have also been times that the series' overall plot got the better of me and I couldn't take it anymore.

That's enough preamble. I've got more to say about characters and the effect they have on my enjoyment of shows, but I'll save that for below. I will note though that this time I've actually listed these in order of my favorites, from least to most.

10. Jamie Sommers (The Bionic Woman, 1976)



She's bottom of the list because it's been thirty-plus years since I've seen the show and I have no idea if I'd still like her as much. But she makes the list for being the first TV character that I actually cared deeply about. Not just because of a childhood crush - which I did have - but because she was such a tragic character.

If you don't know the original Bionic Woman, she started off as the girlfriend of Steve "the Six Million Dollar Man" Austin, but was injured in an accident that not only necessitated her bionic implants, but also took her memories, including her knowledge of her relationship with Steve. Her memory loss was harder on him than it was on her, but Lyndsay Wagner played Jamie Sommers with such sadness that I always got the sense she knew she was missing something. If only she could remember Steve, she could be happy again. My ten-year-old heart broke for her.

9. Jayne Cobb (Firefly)



You have to love the simplicity of a guy like Jayne who's so damn honest about his motivations. Plus, he named his gun Vera. Plus, there's that song...



8. Jack Bristow (Alias)



Another character with clear motivations. Jack Bristow will do anything to protect his daughter. Anything. It's the same single-minded determination I love about Jack Bauer from 24, only Bristow's daughter is infinitely smarter than Bauer's. His show was a lot better written too.

Anyway, there's just something awesome about a man who will stop at absolutely nothing to achieve his goal when his goal is admirable. And I don't know much that's more admirable than continuing to protect a daughter who more or less hates your guts for it.

7. The Doctor (Doctor Who)



I think I might be cheating a bit by listing all the Doctor's generations in a single entry. After all, I like some of them better than others, and some of them I've never even seen. But I really don't want to have to pick between Four and Ten, nor do I want to eat up two entries listing them separately. Nor do I want to leave out Three, Five, and Nine, whom I also like a lot.

Besides, one of the things I really love about the Doctor is the versatility of the character. It's amazing that so many different actors can interpret the same character so many different ways while still being so convincing that this is in fact the same guy. There's no one else like him in any media.

And I promise I hadn't looked at Siskoid's list before deciding to include all ten (or that specific collage) in mine.

6. Sherry Palmer (24)



Bar none, the greatest villain in the history of television. I spent the first half of 24's first season thinking that I loathed the selfish, manipulative Sherry Palmer until I realized how much I absolutely reveled in hating her. Arvin Sloane from Alias comes a close second in being this despicable, but he has a couple of redeeming qualities that Sherry didn't. I miss you, Sherry!

5. Dr. Charlotte King (Private Practice)



This year's season finale of Private Practice seemed like it was doing it's best to make me stop caring about the show. Addison Montgomery's flirtation with adultery is killing my interest in her. Dell's storyline this season came out of nowhere and is pretty unconvincing. The cliffhanger left one of the other characters not just in mortal danger, but threatened with the most emotionally excruciating death I can imagine. That she's also a character I don't like leaves me feeling conflicted and icky. Do I care that she could die this way? Not really. But boy do I ever feel like I should care, and I sort of hate myself for not.

What does any of this have to do with Charlotte King? She's the reason I'll be back next season.

I do this a lot. Faced with a show that I used to enjoy, but aren't anymore, I'll latch on to one or two characters I love and make them the focus of the series in my head. And I'm a total sucker for unlikable characters who are revealed to have hidden depths of redeeming qualities. Sawyer from Lost, Alex Karev from Grey's Anatomy, maybe House one day if he ever gets his act together. I love shows that are successful in making you hate someone and then even more successful in turning that hate to love.

Charlotte King tries so hard to be a hard-nosed, emotionless robot. It's what she thinks she needs to be to do her job. For all I know, it is what she needs to be to do her job. But the very fact that she's trying so hard at it reveals that she actually cares. I'm loving watching those walls she's built around her come down. As long as that development continues for her on the show, I'll keep watching it regardless of what nonsense everyone else is going through.

4. Patrick Jane (The Mentalist)



I'm not sure I should include a character on this list whose show is only one season long so far, but I can't help it. I thought that this show was going to be a Psych rip-off and it's so not. I love every character on it, but especially the infuriatingly smirky, know-it-all and above-it-all (yet deeply wounded) Patrick Jane. Give this show a few more seasons like the one it just had and he'll be the top entry on this list.

3. Worf (Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)



Do you want to know how much I like Worf? I went to a Star Trek convention to meet Michael Dorn, the actor who plays him. That's crazy.

But Worf's story arc on Next Generation and then Deep Space Nine was intensely appealing to me. He's the outsider who manages to fit in without sacrificing who he is to do it. And he kicks booty. And he gets all the best lines ("Captain, I protest! I am not a merry man!"). And he ends up with the hottest women on whatever show he's on. Just saying.

2. Dr. Miranda Bailey (Grey's Anatomy)



Oh, how I love Miranda Bailey. On a show full of drama kings and queens, she manages to stay above it all. Most of the time. Occasionally though, something will get to her and she'll lose it and cry. That's when I always have to grunt and pretend there's something in my eye.

1. Noel Crane (Felicity)



Noel Crane (or "Dreamy Noel" as we call him around Casa del May) was me during college. Oh sure, he's not as good-looking as I am, but I so relate to his luck with dating. It's not that Noel can't get dates, but just that they're rarely with the girl he wants to be on them with.

College was a great time for me and Felicity helped me relive it shortly after I was out, just when I was missing it most. I accessed the show through Noel, so that makes him an important character in my life. I miss that show like crazy.

Not surprisingly, Noel made me a huge Scott Foley fan. I think my wife's a bit jealous of him. "You'll follow that man anywhere," she says, and she's right. I even watched every single episode of AUSA. That's devotion, baby.

Did my heart good to see him on Siskoid's list as Bob from The Unit.

Firefly webcomic

Dark Horse's online comic Dark Horse Presents has got a free Firefly story up.

I wish they'd quit making pre-Serenity comics with spacey River and do some where she's all butt-kicking, but I'll take what I can get.

The Awesome List: Burn Notice DVD, cute Indiana Jones, Adam Baldwin in Seattle, Sinbad (the cool one), US comics scenes, and robots vs. animals

It's getting late, so I'm gonna skip the Day Watch review until tomorrow. Here's your Awesome List.

It's true!



As if there was any doubt. June 17. Write it down.

Cute Indy

This may be cuter than I want Indiana Jones to be. Except for that Marion with the monkey. That I want. (Via.)

The hero of Seattle, the man they call Jayne

Adam Baldwin (Firefly, Chuck) will be at Emerald City Comicon. I've never wanted to go to Seattle as badly as I do right now. (Via.)

Dan Wickline's Sinbad



Dan's a pal of mine and Sinbad's a hero I have a lot of affection for, so this is an easy sell. Especially when Dan describes his series this way:

"Sinbad was by far, the world’s worst sailor. He went on seven voyages and never once came home on the same ship ... To me, I don’t think he was Sinbad the Sailor until after the voyages. He learned who he was and what he can do through those journeys. The Sinbad we have here is at his confident, charismatic and creative peak. Why just save the girl when you can do it with style? Why retreat when you can charge? And he will always have a plan, even if it’s made up as he goes along."

Comics scenes

Tom Spurgeon is collating a list of US cities and their comics scenes. "Kind of a first stop on who to contact if you were planning to relocate," Tom says, "or where to go if you were planning a visit, or who to invite if you were having a show, or who you might profile if you were writing a feature article." I've always known the Twin Cities has a great comics scene and now it's documented.

He's also soliciting updates to the list.

Robots vs. crocodiles and gorillas

Lady, That's My Skull has scans from "My Brother Was a Robot," a story in My Greatest Adventure #42. As Sleestak says, "I'm presenting 'My Brother Was A Robot' here not because it is particularly good, the plot is pretty dull actually and is an otherwise forgettable entry into the annals of comic history. What makes this story worth noting at all is that it features a robot beating the crap out of some crocodiles and a gorilla. Sometimes comics just don't get any better than that." Amen, my reptilian brother.

Stuff to Watch For: Firefly comics, RASL, FCS, Wild Things, and The Happening

Firefly/Serenity comics

Dark Horse has released information about their new Serenity mini-series co-written by Joss Whedon:

"Joss Whedon returns to the world of his blockbuster film Serenity with the three-issue comics series Better Days. Better Days revisits everyone's favorite space cowboys in this thrilling, action-packed adventure, with Mal and his crew on a heist that promises a big payoff -- what's surprising is that this heist just might make good on that promise. Whedon reunites with Brett Matthews and Will Conrad, his collaborators on the best-selling 2005 series Those Left Behind. Adam Hughes joins the team for covers."

The series takes place before the movie and will be on sale in comics stores on Mar 12.

(Also at that link, check out the Frankenstein's Monster bust. Not half bad.)

RASL

Jeff Smith (Bone) has a 6-page preview of his new crime/adventure series RASL. I love Sims' take on the series: "Of course, given that I can’t read the title without thinking of the word 'wrestle,' there probably won’t be quite as many steel chairs and/or ladder matches as I’d like. Still pretty exciting, though."

Fantasy Crime Squad

Oh, wow. You gotta check out this image from Paul Jenkins and Humberto Ramos' Fantasy Crime Squad. Ramos describes it as "soon to be in pre-production," so I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for it, but when it does eventually come out, it looks gooooooood.

Where the Wild Things Are, etc.

Heidi's got stills from a bunch of upcoming WB movies, including the first I've seen from Where the Wild Things Are. There are also some from Speed Racer and The Dark Knight that have been making the Internet rounds.

M. Night Shyamalan's The Happening

I know it's in vogue not to like Shyamalan anymore, but I'm still a believer. I don't really like the title of The Happening, and the poster is pretentious, but I'll look forward to seeing the movie.

Comics and Writing Odds and Ends

Blogarama has a couple of previews of what promises to be a very cool comic called Aqua Leung. I'll be looking forward to that one.

Comic Book Resources has a good article on how the WGA strike will likely affect comics. Regardless of what some folks are saying, more Allan Heinberg or Serenity comics are a good thing.

Cory Doctorow has the right idea, I think, about copyright in the 21st century. Everything's changing and writers (and other artists) need to stop thinking like the Internet doesn't exist. He gives three reasons for this: one economic, one artistic, and (the most compelling one to me) one ethical.

"(T)he ethical reason is that the alternative is that we chide, criminalize, sue, damn our readers for doing what readers have always done, which is sharing books they love—only now they're doing it electronically. You know, there's no solution that arises from telling people to stop using computers in the way that computers were intended to be used. They're copying machines. So telling the audience for art, telling 70 million American file-sharers that they're all crooks, and none of them have the right to due process, none of them have the right to privacy, we need to wire-tap all of them, we need to shut down their network connections without notice in order to preserve the anti-copying business model: that's a deeply unethical position. It puts us in a world in which we are criminalizing average people for participating in their culture."

Links: Smallville sucks, Thunderbolt Hurt, and Peek-a-Boo Cap

Science Fiction

• SciFi costume exhibit at the Science Fiction Museum in Seattle.
• Kaylee from Firefly is joining the cast of Stargate: Atlantis.

Superheroes

• Even though I enjoyed most of this season of Smallville, I was never what you'd call "excited" to watch it. I think I've lost interest and am watching it out of a) habit, and b) curiosity to see if they're even going to try to make it flow into a reasonable representation of the familiar Superman mythos. In other words: I just want it to be over. Adding Supergirl to the cast next season does nothing to change that.
• Crap. I knew it wasn't going to happen, but I held out hope that somehow Sam Elliott would be invited back to reprise the role of General Thunderbolt Ross in the new Hulk movie. No such luck. Instead, we get... William Hurt? This is the first change from the Ang Lee film that I'm disappointed about. I mean, not just losing Elliott, but William Hurt? He's going to have to really stretch himself from the sleepy performances I usually see him give.
• Okay, this is hilarious. Kyle Baker's posted a couple of pages from the last issue of his maniacally fun Plastic Man series for DC. The humor is an obvious parody of the dark, "mature" comics that DC and Marvel have become so fond of, but apparently not everyone got the joke. Just goes to show how uptight some comics fans have become. Still... funny!
• I don't know anything about the I Know Joe Kimpel blog. Is it written by Joe Kimpel? Or just someone who knows him? I've no idea! I don't even know who Joe Kimpel is. All I know is that someone paints nice pictures of Mary Marvel and Supergirl. I wish he (she?) kept the Black Canary one going though instead of turning her into Batgirl.
• Marvel is developing a Captain America movie that'll be half modern tale and half period piece.
• They're also still trying to work out an Avengers film.
• And speaking of Captain America, Bully's post about about Cap's playing a very frightening game of Peek-a-Boo has to win like "Post of the Year" or something.

Writing is Hard

• Stephen King's dusted off an old, previously unpublished novel from his Richard Bachman days. It's called Blaze. What's interesting to me is his "Full Disclosure" forward (scroll to the bottom of the Amazon link to read it) that gives insight into what he calls "trunk novels," which is early work that you were never able to find a publisher for. I hear that most first novels are unpublishable except, as in this instance, when you've made a name for yourself and have a following of fans who want to read everything you've ever written. That's not negative commentary about King, whom I love, I just think it's cool that even he had a trunk full of unpublishable novels. It's also interesting to hear about how his opinion of that material changed a couple of times.

Drive

Anyone watching Drive on FOX?

It started a week ago with back-to-back episodes on Sunday night before they showed another episode in it's regular timeslot the next night right before 24. Tonight will be the fourth episode, but you can catch up on the show's MySpace page. (Apparently. I can't access MySpace from work, so I'm taking their word for it.)

Anyway, I haven't been this into a new show since Lost debuted. The Coolest Man in the Universe Nathan Fillion was the initial attraction, but there's a lot more to love about the show than just him. As far as actors go, there's also Charles Martin Smith (who played Oscar the accountant in The Untouchables), Dylan Baker (Dr. Conners in the Spider-Man movies), Richard Brooks (Jubal Early from Firefly), and Mircea Monroe (whom I've never seen before, but Holy Moley).

Spoilers from here down

The plot is sort of like Cannonball Run and The Amazing Race, but with way more thrills and suspense. Most of the story centers around Fillion's character, a Nebraska landscaper named Alex Tully whose wife is kidnapped. He gets a phone call telling him to be in Key West by a certain time if he wants to see his wife again. When he shows up, he finds out that he's been entered into a secret, illegal, cross-country race and the only hope he has of finding his wife is to win it.

At first I thought that all the racers must have been similarly coerced into racing, but it turns out that most of them are playing for a $32 million prize. For some reason, the race's organizers specifically wanted Tully in the event. And by the third episode the plot thickens when we learn that he's not just an innocent landscaper.

Although the plot focuses a lot on Tully and his partner in the race (a woman whose parents were killed in a similar race 27 years ago), it's really an ensemble show with lots of people racing for different reasons. There's a dying man who's hoping to really live for the first time; a soldier who -- thanks to his dishonest wife -- doesn't realize that he's been recalled to duty and is now AWOL; a rich kid and the ex-con half-brother he never knew he had, who are both driving to tick off their politician father; and there's the mom who's trying to escape her abusive husband and whose baby may or may not have been kidnapped a la Tully's wife.

Like any reality show, the contestants don't know all the rules of the race. They've all got cell phones provided by the race's organizers through which they receive clues and instructions. So, we're trying to learn the race at the same time we're trying to learn the characters and their secrets. There's a lot to pay attention to and it makes for an exciting show.

Of course, it's on FOX, so if it doesn't become a smash hit by the tenth episode it'll be cancelled, but I can't help getting hooked on it. I'm hoping it becomes the next House or 24 rather than the next Justice or Firefly.

Links du Jour: The trouble with Wonder Woman, KITT for sale, and no love for Star Wars

Sorry. Busy day yesterday. Catching up today.

Adventure

• Wonder Woman is a character who've I've always wanted to be interested in, but whose comic I've never been able to stick with for very long. I've got a longer post in me about why that is, but apparently, I'm not alone. The Roar of Comics expresses some of the same feelings I have, and Fortress of Fortitude offers a sound suggestion for how to fix the problem.
• Speaking of Wonder Woman, TV's Wonder Woman Lynda Carter is going to be on Smallville on April 19th, playing Chloe's mom. Now if they'd only get Adam West for an episode or twenty.
• More Draw Mary Marvel goodness.
• I could've sworn I mentioned the Rex Libris movie before, but I'm not finding it in my archives. Anyway, it has a scriptwriter now. Rex Libris is one of my favorite comics. It's about how a librarian/secret agent who routinely has to track down overdue books from alien warlords and the like.
• KITT for sale.
• I've been scratching my head over why DC wants to publish another Green Arrow: Year One mini-series when they've already got a perfectly good one. I wasn't planning on getting the new one until I just learned that Andy Diggle is writing it. I'm curioius though. In the interview behind that last link, neither Diggle nor the interviewer so much as mentions Green Arrow: The Wonder Year and that seems like a huge elephant in the room that they're ignoring.
• Man, I love Jeff Parker. He's doing everything he possibly can to get a second Agents of Atlas series going. First he's got the team appearing in an upcoming story in Marvel Adventures: Avengers, and after that they'll show up in Spider-Man Family.

Science Fiction

• SFX magazine just ran a poll to determine its readers' favorite scifi movie. Surprisingly, Serenity came in at Number One, beating out Star Wars. In response, Geek Monthly lists 12 scifi films that are better than Serenity, but also leaves off Star Wars. Are fans getting tired of Star Wars? If so, why?

Other Comics

• If you've been wanting to try a new graphic novel, but didn't know where to start, Tom Spurgeon's Top 50 Comics from 2006 is the perfect place. It's an amazing list. Some of them (like The Ticking and Kampung Boy) I've read and completely agree that they need to be on the list. Others (Absolute DC: The New Frontier and The Complete Peanuts, for example) have been on my wish list for a while now and Tom only strengthens my resolve to buy and enjoy them. But best of all are books like Elmer and The Mourning Star that I'd never heard of and can't wait to read now.

Writing is Hard

• Paperback Writer is becoming an indespensable site for me. Now she's got a killer list of online dictionaries to bookmark, including the Gun Dictionary, the Knife Glossary, and the Japanese Sword Visual Glossary.
• Illustrator Jesse Hamm has a useful article about things that comics writers have to keep in mind when writing scripts. Though he has a lot to learn about the art of collaboration (he seems to see it as a battle), he makes some great points about thinking visually and sequentially.

Stuff Nobody Cares About But Me

• This is roundabout news, but I trust the source. According to Warren Ellis' email newsletter, word from Aaron Sorkin's office is that Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip is pretty much dead. It was "temporarily" replaced by Black Donnellys to see how that show would do in the time slot, but now that Donnellys has been cancelled, the slot's going to a reality show about wedding crashers. That sucks. I liked Studio 60 a lot, and I loved seeing Matthew Perry on TV again.

Links du Jour

Adventure

• Adamant Entertainment is launching a new pulp magazine called Thrilling Tales. (Found via Joe Hilliard.)
• Cate Blanchett's going to be in the fourth Indiana Jones movie.
• Had a comment recently from the creator of a blog focused on Disney's Story of Robin Hood. Not the cartoon, but the live-action movie from the '50s that influenced the Adventures of Robin Hood TV show. The blog does much more than cover the movie though. There are also interesting articles on real Robin Hood legend as well as related things like archery and quarter-staffs. It's a great read for Robin Hood fans.
• I've already mentioned my deficiency in being familiar with Tintin. Another classic strip I've never read is Terry and the Pirates. That's about to change thanks to IDW.

Horror

• I guess the recent, fancy Godzilla DVD did pretty well, because the next two in the series, Godzilla Raids Again and Mothra Vs. Godzilla, are getting the same treatment.
• Steve Niles has a new 30 Days of Night series coming out. The kicker is that it's illustrated by Bill Freaking Sienkiewicz.

Fantasy

• Did you know that while you're touring the Lord of the Rings locations in New Zealand, you can also stay in a Hobbit motel?
• I've already got Disney's Peter Pan on DVD and don't care enough about special features to buy it again, but even if I wanted to upgrade, I wouldn't get this recent version. I'd wait for the next one. (By the way, even if you're not interested in Pan, that last link is worth reading for confirmation that studios really are actively trying to make you buy the same film over and over again.)

Science Fiction

• Did you know that while you're touring Star Wars locations in Tunisia, you can also stay at the Lars farm?
• Not really scifi related, but Nathan Fillion (Firefly) has a new movie coming out where he gets to hit on Keri Russell (Felicity). Looks pretty good too.

Writing is Hard

• Miss Snark says, "Don't ever talk about your novel to anyone socially until it's published. Ever." Then explains why. I wish I'd learned that lesson ten years ago. I still get the occasional, "How's the novel coming?" To which I have to reply, "Which one? I've discarded and restarted so many over the years that I forget which one you know about."
• More on how readers don't know what they want.