A few weeks ago it was announced that BBC America would finally start broadcasting in HD starting on July 20th, the problem is the deadline came and went without any sign of the channel launching. Well, BBC America released a statement saying their channel is indeed in HD now…but that no cable providers are carrying it. Effectively, they are broadcasting to no one.

BBC America planned the release of their HD channel around a brand spankin’ new, 5 episode mini-series of Torchwood to play straight over 5 nights. I’m a Comcast subscriber, and I’ve been rather happy with their service so far. Once the premiere of Torchwood arrived I was disappointed to see that there was no HD channel to be found! A quick twitter search showed that absolutely no one was carrying the channel, even though it was the supposed premiere of the channel. I’m not sure exactly who to blame for this mix-up, is it the cable providers or the BBC?

If we’ve learned anything from this complete clusterfrak, it’s the problem with cable television. Word on the street is that there isn’t enough bandwidth to support any new HD channels right now…so we’ve got to wait a few months. Cable packages are a wreck, I’ve got 900 channels, and only about 30 that I ever tune to. I’ve got a myriad of sports channels in HD that I simply don’t need, and yet they’re the reason I can’t get the channels I want in HD.

A la carte would be the real way to go. In this age of iTunes and Hulu on demand content is all the rage. Why can’t I pick and choose which channels I want and don’t want? That way we could have a much wider selection of channels, and we could actually get precisely which channels want.

Boy do I love the summer. Not only is it a time to kick back and relax by the pool, but it’s also when we get some of the biggest, most anticipated movies of the whole year. We’re about a month into the summer movie season and I wanted to give you guys a wrap up of my thoughts of how the summer’s been shaping up, cinematically.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

I held out hope for months and months that this movie wouldn’t turn into a steaming pile of guano, that perhaps the actors (mainly Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, and Ryan Reynolds) would pull it through past the bad writing, and past the atrocious effects. Sufficed to say, they didn’t. Almost everything about this movie fails at its first attempt. In terms of story and character, this movie ranks somewhere between Daredevil and Catwoman. Everyone, especially Logan, is a 2D cardboard cut out parody of their comicbook (or in Logan’s case, previous movies) version. And the effects! Oh the effects. How is it possible that we can make a movie with worse effects than the original X-Men? Which came out in 1999?! Ten years ago and effects have gone backwards. I’m ashamed. A terrible, awful, jumbled story, ridiculous characters, just plain bad filmmaking, and some even worse effects make this movie less watchable than the yule log. Skip it.

Star Trek

This movie is the polar opposite of Wolverine. It has compelling characters, a story that makes sense, state of the art effects, and loads of kick ass actions scenes. And best of all? It’s all a wonderful homage to the Original Series. I’m simply amazed at what J.J. Abrams has been able to do here, without any prior knowledge of the source material. At its heart this is just one big budget episode of original Trek. Kurtzman and Orci, the writing team behind Fringe, and Transformers are mainly responsible for this, as they bring us a fascinating story about all our favorite characters, one that fits into the original story line via a brilliant plot device I won’t spoil here. Even if you’re not a fan of any Star Trek, you’ll still find loads of stuff here to enjoy. And if you are a fan, well you’ll have the time of your life. See it.

Angels & Demons

I wasn’t a fan of the first DaVinci Code movie, although I did like the book. Tom Hanks’ haircut, mixed with an incomprehensible story and weird storytelling made it a miss for me. I had hopes that Angels & Demons would succeed where DaVinci Code failed, in making a faithful yet enjoyable adaption of Dan Browns rather mediocre novels. Well, it was certainly better than the first one, but not by enough. Part of the problem lies in the fact that the Vatican wouldn’t allow Ron Howard and Co. to film in the actual physical locations the film demanded. So, they decided to shoot it all on greenscreen and recreate the sets. Bad idea. The end result feels like a bad mix of a video game and Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. At least Tom Hanks’ mullet was gone. Rent it.

Terminator Salvation

The Terminator franchise has always been close to my heart. The absolutely stunning effects and all of that badassery made them ideal movies for a 12 year old filmmaker. I even enjoyed Terminator 3. So when I read they were making another Terminator movie, with Christian Bale, this new guy Sam Worthington and today’s effects, I was ecstatic….Then I heard it was being made by McG (of Charlie’s Angels) and my hope dissolved instantly. McG promised us this would be the end all be all of Terminator flicks, that it would be gritty (it wasn’t), realistic (it wasn’t), R-rated (it absolutely wasn’t) and badass (kinda was). One thing about Terminator, all of them have been R rated, so why was this one PG13? Well that may be because you can show things in a PG13 movie today you never could ten years ago, but still it feels wrong. Salvation suffers from a cripplingly terrible story and characters you can see through. Not to mention the effects ranged from impressive to Wolverine bad. There were some shots that were pretty effective (all the stuff with Marcus Wright’s face and limbs revealing his metal skeleton were awesome), and others that made me nostalgic for the days when directors took care in crafting their visual effects (i.e. James Cameron’s Terminator 2). Bad effects and filmmaking aside, there are a few action scenes (like the ones with the motorcycles) that are actually pretty awesome. Rent it.

Well that’s all for now, the first couple movies of summer 2009. Be sure to stay tuned for more reviews throughout the rest of the summer!

What the frak are you doing to yourselves, SCI FI Channel? First you start airing wrestling, then you cancel your flagship show (Stargate SG-1), then the wildly popular spin-off to your flagship show (Stargate Atlantis), and now this?! In an announcement that’s shocked and awed the sci-fi crowd, NBC Universal’s SCI FI Channel has announced it will be changing its name to SyFy to appeal to a wider audience. This is just the latest in a long line of bad ideas from SCI FI in an aim to make itself less of a geek network.

Dave Howe, president of the SCI FI Channel, says the change is meant to “without abandoning our legacy or our core audience, we needed…a name that we could own that invites more people in and recognizes our broader range of programming with literally something for everyone.” SCI FI Channel, for everyone? Isn’t the purpose of a cable network, to market to a specific audience? When we sci-fi nerds no longer have the SCI FI Channel as a refuge for our crazy science fiction classics then where do we turn? Since the dawn of cable SCI FI has been a refuge for us nerds and geeks, a place we can feel safe to turn to at any time of the day.

I suppose with sci-fi shows on the big networks (Heroes, Lost, Dollhouse, etc.) fans have other places to turn to for their science fiction fix… But I am thoroughly disappointed in SCI FI Channel management, yet again. This just reinforces what I said before, that SCI FI Channel doesn’t want to have anything more to do with science fiction. That’s a bit of hyperbole, but you get the point. They no longer want Stargate to be their flagship product, the problem is it’s not clear where they want to head from here. More reality shows? More wrestling? Ugh. Or maybe, just maybe, they’ll have more fantasy shows instead of only science fiction (a move I can get behind). But then why change the name at all?!

Not to mention the name is utterly meaningless. At least SCI FI actually means something. Phonetically the two are the same, but come on, it’s clearly a ploy to come off as ‘cool’ or ‘new’. Will people really see ‘SyFy’ and think “Hey, that looks hip”?

Regardless of SCI FI’s end game for changing their name, it sounds like an ignorant move that will further alienate their own fanbase. It sends the message that they’re no longer satisfied with having a loyal base of geek fans who are geeky and proud of it.

SCI FI Wire: SCI FI Channel to become Syfy; “Imagine Greater” is new message

TVWeek: Sci Fi Channel Aims to Shed Geeky Image With New Name

As dedicated fans, we can sometimes get, should I say, a little emotional over changes to our favorite shows. When I heard that the cast of Stargate SG-1 was changing , specifically the departure of Richard Dean Anderson, I was shocked and appalled…and then I calmed down. Turns out the cast shift was for the better, it completely revived SG-1, gave it a whole new and interesting flavor…until it was canceled a year later, but that’s not the point. The point is change can be good for a show that’s been on the air for a long time, we just have to give change a chance, and that is especially true of Doctor Who.

Doctor Who is very unique, in that the main character undergoes a shift between actors every once in a while, he literally regenerates into someone completely new. Not only is it one of the greatest plot devices in history, it’s also an essential part of the show, it’s gotta happen. No matter how much we love the current Doctor, we have to let go eventually, so the show can be retooled and the story can go on. I’ve already said that I think David Tennant is the greatest Doctor in the history of the show, but it was inevitable that he’d leave, and someone would have to try in vain to fill his Converse.

In the end we really have to put our trust in the hands of the show runners, Russel T Davies and Steven Moffat have shown they’re committed to entertaining and enthralling us in the world of the Doctor. I trust Moffat to make the right decisions, he’s already proven time and time again his deep love for the material, and he’s a bloody writing genius. So let’s reserve judgment on Matt Smith until we see his first performance as the Doctor. Who knows, maybe he’ll take the reins and surprise us all! Shame we’ll have to wait until 2010 to find out. But until then let’s all remember why we love this show so much, and have a little faith in Steven Moffat.

Updated: BBC posted an extended interview with Matt Smith about getting the role.

Since we’re nearing the end of 2008, I wanted to take this opportunity to present four shows that you may or may not already be a fan of, but which have, by and large, been overlooked by the public. Some are network shows, some are on cable, and some of them aren’t meant for everyone. Who knows, maybe you’ll find something wonderful to fill that extra space on your DVR with.

1. How I Met Your Mother

With an all-star cast and solid writing, I’m surprised How I Met Your Mother isn’t the smash hit it deserves to be, yet. Luckily the show has done fairly well. It really is the best sitcom on television, it’s the perfect convergence of writing, direction, and acting. Every episode is genuinely funny, and has a moral center that doesn’t feel forced. Neil Patrick Harris, Jason Segel, and Alyson Hannigan may be the most recognizable stars, but Josh Radnor and Cobie Smulders hold their own. I’ve been a fan of Alyson Hannigan ever since I discovered her on Buffy, which led me to HIMYM. She’s come out of her shell as Lily Aldrin, spouting sex jokes and sex appeal. Neil Patrick Harris has proved he’s much more than a one trick pony, with his cameos in the Harold & Kumar movies, and his performance as Dr. Horrible. He’s absolutely hilarious as the chauvinistic Barney Stinson, easily my favorite character on the show. You can see How I Met Your Mother Monday’s at 8:30 on CBS.

2. The Middleman

The Middleman was certainly the most original show of the year, and definitely one of my favorites. It comes in a close second because it’s not a show for everyone, but everyone should give it a try. It’s a real shame more people haven’t caught onto how fantastic this show is. The shows writing is wonderfully over the top, thanks to the style of the creator Javier Grillo-Marxuach. Matt Keelsar fully embodies the down home Americana spirit of the Middleman, and Natalie Morales is the perfect combination of sexy and nerdy. They have a real chemistry on screen that really makes the show shine. Together they fight everything from flying zombifying fish, to vampire ventriloquist dummies. The Middleman is a damn near perfect show that really deserves more attention, but you can read all about that in my previous rant.  Still no word on whether or not Middleman will be renewed (fingers crossed…), or when the DVD will come out, but you can be sure you’ll hear it here.

3. Burn Notice

Any show that has Bruce Campbell as one of the main characters is top of the list in my book, but he isn’t the only great thing about Burn Notice. USA’s spy action show has a great sense of humor and a great cast of characters. Jeffrey Donovan stars as Michael Weston, an ex-spy struggling to find out who ‘burned’ him and exiled him to Miami, basically he’s James Bond meets MacGyver. Donovan proves he’s a multi-talented action star, with his impressive ability to dominate the screen with fast quips and car chases. Also the show is very well produced, with big explosions and impressive car chases virtually every episode. Every week there are a myriad of new guest stars, tips and tricks on surviving the spy trade, and Michael Weston going undercover with various personas. Which lets Donovan flex his acting muscles and keeps the show fresh and fun, he’s proved he’s bad ass, clever, and suave. Check out Burn Notice when it returns with new episodes January 22nd at 10PM on USA.

4. Pushing Daisies

It’s no secret I’m a fan of Pushing Daisies, but it really is one of the most underrated shows on TV, which is why ABC is killing it. So here I am again to spread the love. Pushing Daisies is a whimsical but dark fairy tale full of noir murder mysteries. The ensemble cast stars Lee Pace, Anna Friel, Chi McBride, Ellen Greene, Swoosie Kurtz, Kristin Chenoweth, and the awesome voice of Jim Dale. Each week is filled with mystery and great humor, and occasionally even a little musical number. The show is like pie, delicious, sugary sweet, and not for everyone. Some people find it a bit too sweet or a bit too dark for their taste, but I think you should give it a shot. There are only a few episodes left, so I advise picking up or Netflix-ing the first season DVD.

2008 was a humongous year for movies. We had big superhero films like The Dark Knight and Iron Man, blockbuster comedies like Tropic Thunder and Pineapple Express, animated films like Wall-E and Kung Fu Panda…and the list goes on. But those weren’t the only good films to come out this year, there were some terrific overlooked gems that I wanted to touch upon right now. Hopefully you’ll find something here you may enjoy that you missed over the past year. Most of these films are available now on DVD.

1. In Bruges

I was lucky enough to catch an early screening of In Bruges and I was amazed that so many people hadn’t heard of or seen this movie after its theatrical release. Its either a drama with dark comedy elements or a dark comedy with dramatic elements, depending on how you look at it, but its a really impressive film. The writing is snappy, and it has a killer cast. Colin Farrell is absolutley fantastic, as are Brendan Gleeson and Ralph Fiennes. Its filled with action, adventure, drunken stupors, and filming midgets. This was easily one of my favorite films of the year, and hopefully you’ll enjoy it as well.

2. Forgetting Sarah Marshall

It’s not that Forgetting Sarah Marshall wasn’t well publicized, it just seems to not have been very well received by audiences. That really surprised me because its in my opinion the best of the Judd Apatow crew comedies. Jason Segel is a truly great comedy actor, and he really steals the show in this film. He brings a fresh comedy flavor to the table, he is genuinely funny and doesn’t need to rely on raunchy sex humor. I’m not afraid to admit that I am in love with Kristen Bell, ever since my recent obsession with Veronica Mars. Kristen Bell doesn’t have that big of a role, even though her characters name is in the title, but she is such a great actress that she’s the second best part of the movie.

3. The Signal

Easily one of the best horror films of the last decade, The Signal is a single film told in three parts, each made by a different directors. It premiered at Sundance in 2007, but it was released theatrically in February of this year. One of the things that makes this film so unique are the three different takes on the different parts of the same story. The film as a whole is about a static signal that makes people homicidal maniacs which is broadcast through radios, TV, and cellphones. Tonally the film ranges from straight up horror to a dark comedy. When its funny its down right hilarious, in a Shaun of the Dead kind of way, and it can get extremely gory. Its wide range and great horror elements make this an extremely original example of the usually cliched modern horror genre.

4. City of Ember

Surprisingly people seemed to have overlooked this post apocalyptic children’s adventure, guest starring Bill Murray as an evil mayor. Gil Kenan, of Monster House,  directed City of Ember had some of the best effects and production design of any films over the year. Martin Laing did the production design, and was surprisingly successful in creating a really authentic underground city dystopia. This film is full of great action, a bit of humor, and some serious sci-fi elements. At its heart it feels like a slightly ‘Disneyfied’ version of classic sci-fi like Planet of the Apes or The Omega Man. You can catch City of Ember on DVD on January 20th.

5. Diary of the Dead

Ok, so Diary of the Dead wasn’t really all that terrific, but it did succeed in reinvigorating my interest in the George A. Romero ‘of the Dead’ franchise. It took the handycam style made once again famous in Cloverfield, and applied it to Romero’s classic zombie universe. Romero is the undisputed king of zombie movies, his films like Night of the Living Dead defined the modern zombie movie. Since then he’s lost a bit of his luster, Land of the Dead was fun but not as good as his older works. Luckily the hand held style gives Diary the twist it needs to make it an original zombie flick.

Pushing Daisies is the brainchild of Bryan Fuller, of Dead Like Me, Wonderfalls, and Heroes (season one, when it was terrific, not mediocre) fame. I first found Bryan Fuller with Dead Like Me, his other death-defying fantasy show that aired on Showtime, on DVD. Fuller really is a genius when it comes to story telling. His characters are deep, his dialogue is witty, and he has an uncanny ability to use fantasy elements in dark and new ways.

Of course this is only the latest example of  network television killing a show before its time. Every once in a while a show comes along that is so out of the box, so incredibly creative and wonderful that it just can’t last. Fuller’s creations in particular tend to not be well received by the networks, Wonderfalls and Dead Like Me were both also cut short. Hopefully Pushing Daisies will live on in DVD and comic books. Joss Whedon’s Firefly, yet another show I sorely miss, found new life with its DVD release, prompting a feature film (Serenity) to wrap up the storyline.

All we can do now is spread the word of Pushing Daisies, and hope that people will find it on DVD. So go and tell your friends, show them a few episodes and get them hooked. Isn’t this show worth saving??

What makes Dr. Horrible unique, and all around brilliant, is that it is at heart a classic musical. The songs are addicting and drive the story forward, and the story is the heart of the piece, not the music. Dr. Horrible has a compelling story filled with unique and wonderful characters, it just happens to be a musical. That is how they should approach a Doctor Who musical, the story must come first, then the music. I have no doubt that Murray Gold and the Whales Orchestra would come up with some truly incredible songs, but if the story isn’t there it will feel like a big ol’ gimmick.

If ever there were a Doctor who I think could pull of a musical it is the Tenth as played by David Tennant. He says he’s a big fan of musicals, and frankly the prospect of seeing my all time favorite Doctor singing about the Tardis and his sonic screwdriver fills me with geeky joy. And I love Captain Jack, he really is the real reason I keep on watching Torchwood. John Barrowman is almost as fantastic as David Tennant, and they play great off each other on screen (seeing them both together again in “Utopia” was absolutely mind blowing). So having them both starring in a musical special would most likely have them both be fighting for the audiences attention, making the whole spectacle a battle of awesome.

But I know I’m not the only Doctor Who fan in the world, and this is just my humble opinion. But I do think that if they followed the lead of Dr. Horrible and focused on story as opposed to gimmick they would come out with a product everyone would be surprised at and enjoy.

Everyone loves Batman: the Animated Series, it is responsible for modernizing Batman. When we think of Batman we think about Kevin Conroy’s voice and Bruce Timm’s brilliant artwork. Conroy’s performance is iconic, as is Mark Hamil’s as the Joker. The most interesting prospect of an animated Indiana Jones is that it may re-legitimize the franchise. Just imagine, if you will, more fantastic adventures with brilliantly large set pieces and a myriad of villains, perhaps with the voice of Harrison Ford himself, gracing our screens every week.

Indiana Jones lends itself very well to a weekly cartoon, especially something along the lines of the 90′s Batman and Superman cartoons. At it’s heart Indiana Jones is an old fashioned TV serial, like Batman: the Animated Series. Who wouldn’t love to see Indie continue on his adventures every week?? And in a cartoon format anything and everything would be possible (hell, even those damn aliens would feel a tad more believable). They could have Indie be back in his prime, no longer an aged veteran he’d be in his hay day! I would kill to have this cartoon become a reality, and it really would be a huge success.

What do you think humble readers?? Yay or nay on an Indie cartoon?

Rumors of David Tennant leaving Doctor Who started to gain tractinon when Russel T. Davies announced he was stepping down as showrunner, shortly there after it was announced that Steven Moffat would be taking over. Frankly I was excited by this news. I was sad to see Russel leaving, we have him to thank for the series existing in the first place, but if ever there were a suitable replacement to take over the show it’s Steven Moffat. Moffat’s scripts have been the highlight of the new series, each episode he wrote stole the spotlight from those around them.

His first two parter was The Empty Child and The Doctor Dances, which were some of the best episodes of the first season. Next was The Girl in the Fireplace, the first Moffat written episode starring Tennant, and it was spectacular. Tennant took Moffat’s dialogue to new levels of awesome, his range as an actor was realy challenged by Moffat as a writer. In season 3 we had Blink, a ‘Doctor-lite’ episode, which are usually the weakest episodes of the season, but Moffat’s Blink was stellar. The Doctor only appeared in passing, mainly through cryptic video clips and flashbacks, but Sally Sparrow and the Weeping Angles were more than enough to keep our attention. Not to mention Blink is one of the most frightening episodes of all Doctor Who. His latest work was the Slience in the Library/Forest of the Dead two parter from last season, another perfect test of Tennant’s acting ability. It introduced us to the mysterious River Song, a new (but also old) love interest for the Doctor.

The prospect of seeing Tennant work under Moffat’s guidance for an entire season was so enticing that I ignored all the rumors of Tennant’s departure, even though I knew full well that he would leave eventually. I suppose it was the optimist in me imagining that Tennant would be playing the Doctor until he was old and gray, after all he did say it was his dream job. Oh well, I’m certain I will continue watching Doctor Who until I’m old and gray, even if Tennant won’t be sticking around. Steven Moffat will do wonderful things with the Doctor, I think we are all confident in that. There are only two things that really worry me: Will the Eleventh Doctor pale in comparison to the Tenth? And will Tennant’s final bow be worthy of his spectacular performance as the Doctor?