The article says nothing about the man stopping time, but apparently a samurai sword weilding vigilante helped police stop a burglary in the UK.
My next goal is to find a super-hot split-personality woman with super strength. It’s not what you think, though; I just want her son to hack my Wii.
The funny thing about this show is how it still seems way ahead of its time.
Max Headroom was about what happens when Corporate Media is pervasive — what happens to the world, the culture, and the people who live there. And it isn’t pretty. Massive poverty, decay, and hopelessness plague the city. Human lives are counted only as data points on network ratings reports and are worth nothing else. Edison Carter (played by the inestimable Matt Frewer) is a reporter trying to get to the bottom of various mysteries. He’s achieved enough popularity that his Network masters can’t get rid of him, even though most of the mysteries he exposes involve nefarious Network plots to control the politics, economy, and the people themselves. The fact that this show actually aired on network TV made it all the more subversive. I always felt like it was getting away with something cool.
Edison has help: vaguely amoral kid genius Bryce, decker extraordinaire Theora Jones. And of course, Max Headroom. Max is an AI construct created from Edison’s own brainwaves when he was knocked unconscious and near death in the pilot episode. (Not to mention an 80s marketing phenomenon. Oh, the irony.) In a computer networked world, Max can go everywhere and see everything. Too bad he talks too much and has an irritating sense of humor. All this made for unique chemistry and personality, when those things are often lacking in our entertainment.
The fact is, we’re closer to Max Headroom’s world than ever before, with our global media conglomerates, competing 24 hour news networks, and shrill pundits. And that scares me. We’re being fed bread and circuses, and we don’t have an Edison Carter to dig up what’s being buried under the hype.
As an aside: this was very nearly the only place where the cyberpunk movement made its way to television in any meaningful fashion (beyond the gadgets, that is), and in many ways it pushed the ideas of cyberpunk in more directions than even the literature of the time did. Cyberpunk in the 80s (and beyond) seemed to get bogged down in gadgets, weaponry, mirrorshades, and massive testosterone laden adventures — a trend that reached its apogee in Neal Stephenson’s novel Snow Crash and The Matrix films. If you want to know why cyberpunk faded as a subgenre, it’s because it never really got past the starting gate, in my opinion. For me, cyberpunk was never just about neuro implants and jacking in. It was about a culture where information is a commodity, and disposable technology is as pervasive as fast food. Where globalization means that all cultures begin to blur together and as a result you get things like a U.S. version of Iron Chef.
The other reason cyberpunk faded away is it turned into reality in fairly short order.
Visit www.maxheadroom.com
As you may know, Heroes received two Golden Globe nominations, one for Best TV Drama and one for Best Supporting Actor, Misa Oka as Hiro.
I watched the red carpet interviews of Misa Oka and of Hayden Panettiere, who plays the cheerleader. Unfortunately, Ryan Seacrest was the interviewee–if you don’t live in LA, I guess you don’t have as much opportunity to dislike him, but trust me, if you ran the risk of running across his morning show on the radio dial, you’d commiserate with me. Despite practically pushing Misa out of the way for Vanessa Williams, we did get to hear Misa promise that we’d see the sword, the dinosaur, and all the views hinted at in the paintings!
We also got to hear that Hayden was not a cheerleader in high school. Except for the 1 year where she did cheerleading. Yeah, I was confused, too. Then there was the typical “Who are you wearing?” crap and I quit paying attention.
By the time you read this, the results will probably already be in. But I’ll be in bed, so you’ll just have to comment the winners. Thanks.
It looks like J.J. Abrams definitely plans on bringing us back to the Original Series as Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott and Captain Christopher Pike are both characters that have been added to the roster according to IESB.net.
“Here’s what I know, yes the script was turned in three weeks ago and it is currently being ‘polished up,’” said reporter Robert Sanchez. “I’ve been told there are plenty of big name actors and complete unknowns that have been coming in and out of meetings regarding casting.
“So while it’s old news that the new storyline will involve a young Kirk and Spock, we have been told to expect to see Captain Christopher Pike and our favorite Scottish, miracle-working engineer Montgomery Scott, or as he is best known, Scotty originally portrayed by James Doohan,” Sanchez added.
I hope they find someone close to as good as James Doohan because if Scotty doesn’t sound like Scotty, I won’t be a happy camper. Montgomery Scott is the only character I enjoyed from the Original Series, and I was elated to see him in Star Trek: The Next Generation in an episode entitled Relics.
Personally, I still hate the idea that they are going backwards in Star Trek, rather than forwards, but I guess they didn’t do too well trying that either, with the last few Next Generation movies not turning into big blockbuster dollars.
Keith Martin has taken the time to look back at Star Wars: IV with a different spin on the story using information gathered from Star Wars I-III, and his take is quite interesting, and in my mind might have actually made a better movie, despite the fact that it is the same scenes, just taken in a different context usually. He has named it: A New Sith, or Revenge of the Hope.
Obi-Wan has spent the last 20 years in the Tattoine desert, keeping watch over Luke Skywalker and trying to decide on one of the three available options:
A) If Luke shows no significant access to the Force, then leave him alone in obscurity
B) If Luke shows real Force ability, then consider recruiting him as a Jedi. The rebellion needs Jedi. Now.
But, if Luke shows any signs of turning out like his father, then C) sneak into his house one fine night and chop his head off. With great regret but it’ll save a lot of trouble later on.
Knowing this to be the case, Bail Organa (perhaps at the insistence of his wife) has found excuses not to send Leia to Ben for assessment of Jedi potential, largely for fear of option C.To be fair to all concerned, Leia has shown no overt signs of a link to the Force. Luke on the other hand has. In his home-built hotrod aircraft, with no formal fighter pilot training and no decent instrumentation, Luke can regularly score centre-hits on 2-metre targets in complicated zero-altitude maneouvres. Until he attends the briefing on Yavin, Luke has no way of knowing that hardened combat pilots would consider that nearly impossible. To him it’s easy. Obi-Wan, who saw Anakin’s performance in the Pod Race, is nervous.
A very cool take on the story, and one I highly recommend all Star Wars fans read, and try not to think of it as blasphemy.
Daniel Craig, who recently was seen in one of the most popular James Bond movie ever, Casino Royale, has mentioned that he’d love to be part of Star Trek.
“I would love a stint in the TV show or in a film,” Craig recently told the World Entertainment News Network about Star Trek. “It’s been a secret ambition of mine for years.”
I, for one, am not too impressed with the idea of bringing a big name actor into Star Trek, unless it is for a small and short cameo. I think it is interesting that someone of his blockbuster power would want to do science fiction though. It says something about Star Trek as a whole. It is not just for unknowns or second string actors any longer.
The good thing though I guess about having someone like Daniel Craig in the movie is that it will bring people to see the movie, no matter what the movie is like.
I love trailers. Sometimes more than the film I’ve gone to see. After a good set of trailers, I often feel like picking up and going home because how could the film possibly top that?
I went to see Night at the Museum last night, which I recommend. It was a lot of fun, chock full of good, old-fashioned fantastical sense of wonder. Besides, I love it when a movie like this is filled with stuff that makes me think, “Gosh, wow, that’s cool!” and the protagonists are also running around saying, “Gosh, wow, that’s cool!”
The previews had a couple of good trailers. It was the first time I’d seen the Transformers trailer on the big screen, and…well. Michael Bay and Steven Spielberg. What else can I say? (Official movie site)
We also saw the trailer for Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. I have a confession: I really, really liked the first Fantastic Four movie. I liked that it didn’t take itself too seriously. I liked that the characters didn’t all get along, I liked their banter and their relationships. Best of all I liked that here was a superhero team using their powers together to beat the bad guy. Acting like a real team when all is said and done. The movie made me happy, which is all I really ask from a superhero movie. So I’m looking forward to the second one.
Now on the trailer. Two words: Silver Surfer. Holy frakking cow. Omigosh omigosh. He looks really, really good in my own humble opinion. He beats the crap out of Johnny Storm. Omigosh. (Watch the trailer on the official site.)
And that’s why I really like trailers. I can revel in how cool and awesome it all looks without suffering the disappointment of what may turn out to be a not so great film. But I can always hope.
There’s a saying I really like and use quite often: it’s not paranoia if they’re really out to get you.
They’re really out to get Number Six.
This Number Six is not Tricia Helfer from Battlestar Galactica, but Patrick McGoohan from The Prisoner. Though he’ll tell you quite forcefully and famously, “I am not a number. I am a free man.”
The opening credits tell the backstory: this man worked for…somebody, doing…something. Fans of the show say that he’s a secret agent — a reference to McGoohan’s previous TV series Secret Agent (aka Danger Man). But he quits. Angrily tenders his resignation. He’s got a nice vacation planned somewhere tropical, but while he’s packing, he’s knocked unconscious, kidnapped, and wakes up in the Village. (The lesson here is if you’re a secret agent, pack your bags BEFORE submitting your resignation, and go straight to the airport after.)
On the surface, the Village is a pleasant little place, with quaint little buildings and lovely little activities like band concerts and chess games. But if you try to leave the Village…go on, just try it. You can’t. You’ll be fetched back in an instant by a creepy white balloon the size of a Volkswagon. And it doesn’t look at all fun.
In the Village, everyone has a number. Number Six isn’t happy in the Village, as you might guess. People keep trying to get information from him. He keeps trying to escape and keeps getting dragged back by the white balloons — rovers, they’re called. He doesn’t know who’s in charge, but he keeps trying to find the elusive Number One. He speaks regularly with Number Two — who is different in every episode. No matter how hard he tries, he can’t get a handle on the place, and every friend he makes ultimately betrays him.
The Prisoner is both a product of its time — it’s a sort of late Sixties commentary on Cold War paranoia, with completely whacked-out design sensibilities that (according to my mother at least, who watched it when it first aired) were right at home in 1967 — and ahead of its time. The psychology at work here is fascinating: how much can one man take? What will “They” do next to break his will? There’s never really been anything like this on TV before or since (with the exception of a few classic Twilight Zone episodes). The resilience of the main character is what makes the show, er, captivating. You keep coming back because you want to see our hero’s next clever plan to outwit his captors — and how that plan will ultimately fail. He fails week after week, but he keeps trying.
This show is available on DVD. Check it out. I guarantee, watch just one episode and for the rest of your life, whenever you write down your social security or other ID number on a government form, you’ll whisper to yourself, “I am not a number…”
For everything you ever wanted to know about The Prisoner and more, see The Prisoner Online.
P.S. There’s a new version of The Prisoner in the works, for 2008 broadcast. Christopher Eccleston is not, as rumor had it, scheduled to play the title role. Alas…
If you’re killing time until good TV comes back, you can check out
*Jake 2.0, 3 episode Mini-marathon this Friday at 8pm on Sci-fi
*Battlestar Galactica marathon, Monday 8am on Sci-fi
I know what you’re thinking: reality television is the bane of all thinking creatures. Normally, I would agree with you. On the other hand, Stan Lee is a god among men, creator of Xmen, Spiderman, Captain America, and many more. So when Stan Lee creates a reality TV show, it is an Unstoppable Force meeting an Immovable Wall–a paradox.
In the end, what made “Who Wants to Be A Superhero?” great, in my opinion, is that Stan really wanted a good person to win, and also he was a tricky bastard.
In the very first task he tells the wannabe heroes that they are racing against the clock to change into their costumes and reach the finish line. What he doesn’t tell them is that he’s planted a crying girl looking for her mommy right in the middle of the course. So, of course, the REAL test is to see who stops. It’s too funny watching big, fast men sprint straight past this poor little waif. At least none of them knocked her over.
Anyways, Season 2 is in production! Heroes are being sought! They’re going to have to work hard to top Season 1, but given how earnest Stan was in the first season, I fully expect some television worth watching.
