7 Days in May: The Week in What I've Been Watching

This year the blog's going to be heavily focused on James Bond, but that's not all I'm watching and it's not all I want to write about. Since I don't have a ton of time for posts that dive deeply into other interests, I thought I'd borrow from guys like Siskoid and William Bruce West and just do weekly capsule posts for some of that stuff.

So, here's what I've been up to the past seven days:

Ken Burns Presents: The West



My family was traveling in Arizona last week and that reignited my interest in the West. In preparing for it, we watched some Zane Grey movies and other films that were either shot in the state or took place there. A lot of these movies reference the Civil War, which David is studying in school, so we've had some discussions around how the war affected the West and when various events in Western history happened in relation to it.

I realized that while I know a lot of tales and legends about Western people, I don't have a great grasp of the timeline and how all of those stories fit together, so I started watching Stephen Ives' The West to help sort that out. I'm only a couple of episodes in - up to the 1840s and the gold rush - but it's as informative and easily digestible as I expect from a project produced by Ken Burns. I have a way better grasp now on the Louisiana Purchase, the roles of Spain and Mexico in the history of North America, and specific tragedies in American relations with native peoples (particularly the Trail of Tears).

Turn: Washington's Spies



Thinking about American history got me interested in finally checking out AMC's Turn: Washington's Spies. It's been showing up as recommended viewing in my Netflix queue for a while, so I pulled the trigger and watched the first couple of episodes. I'm totally hooked.

Jamie Bell and Angus Macfadyen are already favorite actors of mine, so it had that going for it, but the time period is so ripe with drama that I can't believe no one's taken advantage of it before. Turn does though by having Bell play a farmer in English-controlled territory. He's unwillingly recruited into a colonial spy ring, pitting him not only against his government, but also his neighbors and family. In addition to the espionage and family drama, there's also a murder mystery in the first couple of episodes. It's one of those shows where I finish each episode and immediately want to watch the next, but I'm going to hold off and let Diane and David catch up with me before going further. I'm hoping we can get caught up in time to watch the show live as it enters its second season soon.

The Rocketeer (1991)



This was inspired totally by Nerd Lunch's recent episode about it. I hadn't seen it in years and needed to revisit it. The last time I watched it, I'd recently discovered Bettie Page and held a grudge against Jennifer Connelly for not being her. I don't think I'd actually read Dave Stevens' comic by that point though and didn't realize how obnoxious Cliff and Betty are as a couple. As the Nerd Lunchers and Kay point out on the podcast, Cliff and Jenny are still selfish and troubled, but it's way easier to root for them to work out their differences.

The movie does suffer from being an origin story, which means that there's more of Cliff's getting used to the rocket pack than there is of his flying and being awesome with it, but the movie's still full of pulp homages and a lot of fun. Somewhere between it and Sky Captain (which would have benefitted from The Rocketeer's practical effects) is the perfect pulp adventure movie.

Fleming: The Man Who Would Be Bond



Not so much a biopic as a heavily fictionalized version of Fleming's life and how various events from it may have inspired aspects of James Bond's. I wouldn't give a lot of credence to the connections it draws, but they're interesting analogues and fun to wonder about. Beyond that, Fleming mixes WWII spy drama with tragic romance in a compelling way and also nails my impression of the author as an enormous butthole who also happened to be completely charming. I disliked him immensely while simultaneously feeling bad for him and wanting him to get better.

Psych, Season 1



Finally, David and I started watching Psych. David had seen the pilot episode at a friend's house, but what got us into it last week was watching an episode of Castle with the friend we were staying with in Arizona. David wanted to see more Castle, but it's not streaming on Netflix, so I suggested Psych as an even better alternative. The mysteries and detective work are more clever than Castle and the banter is funnier. We'll be adding this to David's regular viewing schedule.

Art Show: Was He Beast... Man... or Vampire?

Baby Aquaman



By Oliver Nome. [Justice League Detroit]

Luthor vs. Grodd!



By David Finch. [Illustrateurs]

Fire Monster Approaching!



By Scott Willis, Kevin Dart, and Joseph Holt. [Concept art for Genndy Tartakovsky's new giant monsters vs giant robots show Sym-bionic Titan.]

After the break: The Rocketeer, Assassin's Creed, Nick Fury, Black Widow, the ladies of Marvel, the Hulk, and the Son of Dracul.

Art Show: The Siren's Call

Mermaids



By Frank Espinosa. Man, I miss Rocketo. [Swing with Shad has four other mermaid comics covers in addition to this one.]



By Dugald Stewart Walker [Golden Age Comic Book Stories]



By Kristin Palach.

Island Girl



Also by Kristin Palach.

Lara vs T-Rex



By Otis Frampton.

Rocketeer vs Ornithocheirus



By Tom Fowler.

Rocketeer vs WWI Flying Ace



By Francesco Francavilla.

Valkyrie



By Arthur Rackham. [Golden Age Comic Book Stories]

Xena and Gabby



Also by Otis Frampton.

Alice in Wonderland



By Ted Naifeh.

AdventureNews: The Rocketeer Thrill Club

The Many Designs of the Nautilus



Cal sent me this link to a wonderful catalog of Nautilus designs throughout history. It's very cool and you should look at it. That's how I found the image above.

In related news, EFX Products is now accepting pre-orders for their $1800 replica of Disney's version. No squid on that one though.

Who can prevent wildfires?



Oh.

Pin Gallery



Golden Age Comic Book Stories has a great gallery of vintage pins.

Wizarding World of Harry Potter details



It's opening pretty soon and Orlando Attractions Magazine has some details about it, including how you'll be able to drink a non-alcoholic butterbeer, eat a chocolate frog, visit Ollivander’s Wand Shop, see the Goblet of Fire, ride a "hippogriff", and encounter giant spiders and the Whomping Willow. [/Film]

The Complete Rocketeer

Finally! I've been dying a slow death for years from wanting to read Dave Stevens' The Rocketeer and not being able to. It hurt to know that the classic, gorgeously illustrated series was not only uncollected as a single volume, but that most of the scattered pieces were also out of print. And now, at last, the good folks at IDW have come to the rescue.

If you're not familiar with The Rocketeer - or only know about it through the good-but-could've-been-a-lot-better movie - Jog's got everything you need to know. Actually, even if you already know about it you probably don't know as much as Jog. It's a great, deep article.

Awesome List: Indyopoly, Hulkigami, Terminator stuff, Hobbit 2, Amazons are hot, and more

Indiana Jones makes Monopoly better



I'm usually really annoyed by all the different Monopoly versions that come out, but dang if I don't want this one. I think it's the wooden crate it comes in. And the Ark of the Covenant hotels.

Terminator Garbage

Okay, seriously... I had just cleaned up my Tivo Season Passes and decided that I wasn't going to stay with The Sarah Conner Chronicles on a weekly basis when it returns next Fall. I like a lot of it (Summer Glau, the intricate plot-weaving, John Conner's emergence as a hero, the humor), but there was enough that bugged me (John Conner's being in school, the convenient inconsistency in Cameron's ability to blend in, Sarah's tiring over-protectiveness) that I figured I'd just catch up when the DVDs came out.

But then they gotta go and put Shirley Manson in it. Well played, Sarah Conner people. Well played.

It's amazing what a few plants will do

And speaking of re-energizing my interest in Terminator, McG has released some concept art from the upcoming sequels. I was pretty bored with the idea of post-Judgment Day movies, but I realize now that my problem may have been with how dull the future's always looked in the movies so far. All the overgrown plant life still makes it look very desolate, but interesting. Like humans may have to deal with some nasty wildlife in addition to all those robots.

Coolest origami ever



Okay, it's not technically origami, but it's still making stuff out of paper and - outside of Edward James Olmos in Blade Runner and the dinosaur pop-up dioramas my son's been making lately - that's an activity that's always struggled for coolness. Until now. Lots more characters at that link and this one, including the Rocketeer, Indiana Jones, and Hellboy.

London 1888



Part board game, part RPG, part card game. In Victorian England hunting Jack the Ripper. I'm so getting this when it's translated to English. (Thanks, Brass Goggles!)

"You expect me to link?"

I knew Snell from comics blog Slay, Monstrobot of the Deep!! was Awesome. I mean, the proof is right there in the blog name. But I didn't realize he was also a huge Bond fan, which pretty much breaks the scale I was using to measure Awesome with.

I Expect You to Die! is his project in reviewing every Bond movie ever made leading up to the release of Quantum of Solace, but he also talks about other Bond stuff that interests him. Things are already off to a great start with his review of the old Climax Mystery Theater version of Casino Royale. I've pretty much worn out my VHS copy of that one and I still learned stuff from Snell's post. Including that my copy is incomplete.

I've always thought it ended abruptly, but figured that was because of having to quickly wrap up the live production. It's more of a mystery than ever now why the commercial versions of the episode cut off the end, but at least Snell has the missing stuff for us to finally see.

Ultimate Alpha Flight



I've never read an Ultimate Marvel comic and don't really have any desire to, but I admit I'm a little intrigued by the Ultimate version of Aurora there. She was one of my favorite members of Alpha Flight and I hate that no one's doing anything with her. Of course, any interest in her is more than offset by how goofy the rest of the team looks. Why does Vindicator have lightbulbs on his arms? (Thanks to Weekly Crisis for the scan.)

Hobbit 2 could go either way

Peter Jackson and Guillermo del Toro have finally spilled some info about the Hobbit movie and its sequel. The Hobbit news is really positive:

No casting has commenced and won’t until the scripts are written. Guillermo insists that “Unequivocally, every single actor that originated a role in the trilogy will be asked to participate and reprise it. If health, availability or willingness become obstacles - and only in that case - recasting would be considered.” ... Ian Holm will be utilized “in some fashion for sure but the difficulty of the role will be better assessed after” the screenplays are completed. Del Toro revealed that he also has plans for Ron Perlman in the film, but not as the voice of Smaug.

Both movies will be PG-13 ... Howard Shore is in talks to return to compose the score. Much of the original production team will be brought back supplemented by choices from del Toro.

Middle-earth will be shot on location in New Zealand with real set construction preferred over green screen. They plan on rebuilding Hobbiton “bigger and even better” in the same location.

Unfortunately, the sequel won't be the second half of the original book, but a fanfic story. Del Toro says, "We must try and contain The Hobbit in a single film," but I suppose if I've got to watch a fanfic story, Jackson and Del Toro's is the one I'd want to watch.

Del Toro says, “The idea is to find a compelling way to join The Hobbit and Fellowship and enhance the five films both visually and in their Cosmology. There are omissions and material enough in the available, licensed material to attempt this. The agreement is, however, that the second film must be relevant and emotionally strong enough to be brought to life...”

Jackson says, “If we wished to write one of the LOTR characters into the narrative of Film Two, we would only do that with that actors blessing, and willingness to take part. Otherwise we’d take the writing in another direction.”

This just in: Amazons are hot



I love this post on female bodies and popular culture. If my fascination with Wonder Woman isn't clue enough, I'll just say outright that I'm especially attracted to women who look like they could kick my butt. So, out of the images that Kali posted there's absolutely no contest between the Amazon superheroines and the ultra-tiny supermodels they're next to. I blame Lucy Lawless for ruining me on unhealthy-looking girls.

The Awesome List: The Last One (but not really)

I've been cross-posting items from the Awesome List to the Newsarama blog for a little while now and it's getting hard to remember what I've posted where. So, to help me stay organized, starting tomorrow I'll be moving this whole feature over to Newsarama. I've been wanting to get more involved over there anyway.

I'll probably keep linking to it from here though.

Alternative Rocketeers



Not that Dave Stevens' character needed re-designing, but Project: Rooftop realizes that. These are simply fun, nice homages.

Jezebel James RIP

Back when I was actively searching out Jesse James-related links because of Jesse James vs. Machine Gun Kelly, I started following news about the Gilmore Girls creator's new show, The Return of Jezebel James. I liked The Gilmore Girls a lot, so I figured I'd check it out, but I missed that it was coming on this month.

And now I'm too late.

Oh, well. At least I didn't get hooked on it first.

Women of Star Trek



In honor of Shatner's birthday over the weekend, EE Knight put together a retrospective of the many women of the original Star Trek series. There's kind of a creepy poll that goes along with it, but it's still a cool pictorial.

Artist of the Day: Dave Stevens

Rest in Peace, Dave. Jennifer Connelly had nothing on you.