February 11, 2018
On the Docket
(In order of discovery this week)
John Mahoney, the actor who played Martin Crane on Frasier, has died at the age of 77. – [THR]
Solo: A Star Wars Story premiered a Super Bowl teaser and a cinematic teaser. – [YouTube/YouTube]
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom premiered a Super Bowl trailer. – [YouTube]
Mission: Impossible – Fallout premiered a Super Bowl trailer. – [YouTube]
The Cloverfield Paradox, the third film in the super secret franchise, premiered a Super Bowl trailer… and then premiered the movie itself on Netflix right after the game. – [YouTube]
David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, the creators behind television’s Game of Thrones, have been tapped to write and produce a new series of Star Wars films. – [StarWars.com]
Keith DeCandido continues 4-Color to 35-Millimeter: The Great Superhero Movie Rewatch with a look at The Spirit, both the 1987 and 2008 versions. – [Tor.com]
Michael Jan Friedman is trying to fund Empty Space, a new and mysterious space adventure. The Kickstarter campaign ends on February 16. – [Kickstarter]
Into The Chronic Rift
The Chronic Rift – Episode 005 – Podcast of the Apes
Originally broadcast on Facebook Live on February 5, 2018. It’s the 50th anniversary of the premiere of the original “Planet of the Apes” movie starring Roddy McDowell as Cornelius. Since then, there have been five movies in the original movie series, a cartoon, a TV series, various comic book series, a failed attempt at reviving the franchise in 2001, and a more successful revival that continues to produce hit movies to this day. We take a look at the history of this franchise with Dan Greenfield of 13thDimension.com, and writer Jim Beard. What stands out? What survives the test of time and what do we wish we could just say never happened? Considering the political climate today, what should future movies deal with in plotlines?
The Hornet’s Sting – Episode 12: “The Secret of Sally Bell”
The Sally Bell returns to dock after having mysteriously disappeared. There’s only one survivor who is now injured thanks to a Hornet’s Sting. With the aid of a doctor, the Hornet tries to protect the man from his comrades who are all trying to discover the secret of the Sally Bell. John and Jim are back to being at odds over the merits of this particular episode. They do both agree though that the character of Honey Boy is absolutely useless. Take a listen and let us know what you think.
The Batcave Podcast – Episode 66: “The Joker’s Flying Saucer”
The final Joker episode for Batman 66 is not exactly a fan favorite, but there are things of merit in the episode that are worth discussing. There were missed opportunities in a story that went beyond even the insanity of Joker surfing by having Joker build an unidentified flying object to terrorize Gotham City. And who is Verdigris? Is being a Martian his shtick? Is he just a bomb expert? Or is he a bunko artist? Joining John to discuss what could have been a two-part story based on the high concept ideas expressed but never fully realized is writer/editor Jim Beard of Gotham City 14 Miles.
The Weekly Podioplex: February 6, 2018
The Watchlist
Current
Star Trek: Discovery
The Good Doctor
Supergirl
The Flash
Black Lightning
Arrow
Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD
Blindspot
MacGyver
Waiting room
Legends of Tomorrow (returns February 12)
Star Wars Rebels (returns February 19)
Designated Survivor (returns February 28)
Timeless (Season Two premieres March 11)
The 100 (Season Five premieres April 24)
The Orville (Season Two premieres Fall 2018)
Doctor Who (Series Eleven premieres Fall 2018)
The Good Place (Season Three premieres 2018/2019)
Game of Thrones (Season Eight premieres 2019)
Catching up
None
Backlog
Marvel’s Inhumans – Episodes 5-8
Movie Night
This week
Feb 16 – Black Panther – (Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase III, Chapter 6)
Upcoming
Mar 9 – A Wrinkle in Time
May 4 – Avengers: Infinity War – (Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase III, Chapter 7)
May 11 – Life of the Party – (A close friend of mine was an extra with significant camera time on this project)
May 18 – Deadpool 2 – (X-Men series #11)
May 25 – Solo: A Star Wars Story
Jun 15 – The Incredibles 2
Jun 22 – Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
Jul 6 – Ant-Man and the Wasp – (Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase III, Chapter 8)
Jul 27 – Mission: Impossible — Fallout – (M:I #6)
Oct 5 – Venom – (Sony Spider-Man Universe revival)
Nov 2 – X-Men: Dark Phoenix – (X-Men series #12)
Nov 2 – Mulan – (Disney live-action remake)
Nov 16 – Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald – (Fantastic Beasts #2, Harry Potter #10)
Nov 21 – Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2 – 11/21
Dec 14 – Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse – (Sony Spider-Man multiverse)
Dec 21 – Aquaman – (DC Extended Universe #6)
Dec 25 – Mary Poppins Returns
Future
Feb 2019 – The New Mutants – (X-Men series #13)
Mar 2019 – How to Train Your Dragon 3
Mar 2019 – Captain Marvel – (Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase III, Chapter 9)
Mar 2019 – Dumbo – (Disney live-action remake)
Apr 2019 – Shazam! – (DC Extended Universe #7)
May 2019 – Avengers #4 – (Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase III, Chapter 10)
May 2019 – Aladdin – (Disney live-action remake)
Jun 2019 – Gambit – (X-Men Series #14)
Jun 2019 – Men in Black Untitled – (Men in Black #4)
Jun 2019 – Toy Story 4
Jul 2019 – Spider-Man Homecoming #2 – (Marvel Cinematic Universe)
Jul 2019 – Top Gun
Jul 2019 – The Lion King – (Disney live-action remake)
Jul 2019 – Terminator sequel – (Terminator #6)
Aug 2019 – Artemis Fowl
Nov 2019 – Wonder Woman #2 – (DC Extended Universe #8)
Nov 2019 – Frozen 2
Dec 2019 – Star Wars: Episode IX
Dec 2019 – Wicked
Jul 2020 – Indiana Jones #5
Jul 2020 – Minions #2
Night at the Theater
This week
None
Coming soon
Rent at The Fox Theater in Atlanta
Literary Pursuits
Currently reading
Beta read for an undisclosed author
Reviews
Captain America: Winter Soldier Volume 2 – 4/5
On the Virtual Air
Notes
None. It’s been business as usual during an otherwise crazy busy week.
Spotlight
Also none, though as time permits I need to get some spotlights written for a few good podcasts.
Adventures in Creative Criticality
The Timestamps Project
This week’s review is Timelash, and next week is Revelation of the Daleks. Spoiler: Things did not end well.
Other Musings
I republished my thoughts on how Star Wars isn’t about me (or you). They were originally published on my Facebook profile, but with the recent fervor over Solo: A Star Wars Story, I thought it important to put them on the blog as well. You can find it here.
Upcoming Podcasts
I have plans in motion for a visit to RetroBlasting HQ. There are also plans afoot with some long-time friends and science fiction classics.
Upcoming Appearances
Aug 30-Sep 3: Dragon Con 2018
Until next time, enjoy the journey.
Creative Criticality 