Taste the rainbow

I really want to like the new Green Lantern animated series. I had hoped to see more of Hal Jordan and his "civilian" supporting cast, which I thought would be possible with a series focusing on one character.

However, DC Animation obviously feels that teams are what pays the rent these days. That, and a desire to attract younger viewers, would be why they chose a hero who comes with 3599 dressalike teammates and a full spectrum of color-coded bad guys. We only meet three Red Lanterns in this episode, but you know the other colors have to be in the wings. And any Green Lantern series that doesn't include Star Sapphire should turn in its power rings.

Another decision I'm not crazy about was to pull a Star Trek Voyager on Hal and Kilowog, stranding them 18 months'  travel time back to Oa at whatever the ring's top speed is, vs 9+ months to repair the warp drive: Either way, It guarantees we won't be seeing any familiar faces unless their backstories are significantly rewritten. Or unless the Guardians had more than one of those experimental starships.

But it does cut down on the number of dressalike teammates we're likely to encounter. And I liked Batman: Brave and the Bold. So maybe this could work. I found myself liking this man, this Hal Jordan who seduces an AI navigational system. Hal, have you met Jim Kirk? I'll bet you would get along famously. Kilowog sure isn't Spock, though.

Actually, characterization is pretty consistent with the comics, as I've come to expect with Timm/Dini DC shows. There's a reason these comic books have lasted as long as they have, and the producers have wisely chosen to keep a lot of it.

Which still leaves two really big problems. One, SPOILER ALERT, is the fact that the Big Damn Green Heroes... lose. This setup wasn't content to put Hal and Kilowog umpteen kessel runs away from anything familiar: We spent an hour (less interminable commercials) getting invested in our three ringslingers and drumming up a serviceable bit of "how are they going to get out of this one", only to discover that they don't get out of it. Another Green Lantern dead, and the planet he rode in on destroyed. Most of the people were relocated successfully, including our casualty's wife and child, on a completely new planet with nothing but the shirts on their backs. I mean, thanks for not letting us all die, but you couldn't have just moved the bomb? There's a lot of unapologetic onscreen death and destruction in Green Lantern.

The other really big problem is CG animation. I was hoping that once I saw it in extended action, it would grow on me. It didn't: I felt like I was watching someone play a video game. Give me old-fashioned hand-drawn cel animation every time.

The City on the Edge of Forever... was Atlanta!

Just a couple of postings ago I ran a photo of Floyd's Barber Shop making a cameo appearance in Star Trek:

Well, of course it was that Floyd's. The Desilu back lot in Culver City was used for, well, everything. In fact, the crossover went the other way, too.

Here's a picture of Ronny Howard (Opie Taylor, of course) riding his bicycle down Mayberry's main street, past the grocery and (just past it, out of frame to the right) a TV repair shop and Floyd's. But that larger building in the distance, the one that blue car is parked in front of? It's Edith Keeler's 21st Street Mission, still dressed for Star Trek instead of its usual role on the Andy Griffith Show, the Grand Theater. Well, I guess Otis had to sleep somewhere when he wasn't under arrest.

The pictures come from the RetroWeb 40 Acres website, a tour of what was originally called the Pathe 40 Acre Ranch (though it was really only 27 acres). De Mille used it for King of Kings. RKO used it for King Kong. Selznick used it for Gone With The Wind. (You may already know that the King of Kings and King Kong sets were destroyed for the "burning of Atlanta" scenes.) The Atlanta Depot was still there when Superman, Andy Griffith, Star Trek and Hogan's Heroes were filming there. So if every town in every TV show and movie looked alike, well, there's a reason. They were all filmed in "Atlanta."

The location given at Wikipedia makes the area easy to find, but if you're an old movie buff, there's really no point. There's nothing to see. It's industrial now.

Panorama

First look at Henry Carvill as Superman. Lawrence Fishburne cast as Perry White. Look for the film in summer... 2013!?! If anyone still cares about Superman after the DC New 52 version rewrites everything we know.

Sherlock series 2 set to premiere in 2012. "This isn't a delay, we should be clear, as the BBC never announced a 2011 start date at any point." This is also out of BBC's hands, since Martin Freeman has been off in New Zealand playing Bilbo Baggins.

Should Anime Conventions Screen For Sex Offenders? Do We Really Have to Ask? "Obviously not all men who attend anime conventions are pervs, but ever since news of an arrest by a registered sex offender came out, people are wondering if there is more that can be done to keep women of all ages safe without treating innocent male attendees unfairly."

So, there was this past weekend, see, and Cowboys and Aliens and The Smurfs were both released, and Harrison Ford's wife (Calista Flockhart) took their son to see... what? Oh, and on another show, Harrison Ford faces the longest-awaited reunion of all.

Yes, that Floyd's Barber Shop.

Obvious once you point it out

Once Upon a Geek: Doctor Who recommendations for old school fans:

You may find this an odd suggestion at first, but I firmly believe that Gene Wilder (as he portrayed the role of Willy Wonka) would have made an outstanding Doctor Who. I realize he’s not British, but outside of that, he played the role perfectly. Next time you watch the 1971 version of Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, watch Wilder’s portrayal closely. He is brilliant, bizarre, spontaneous, and full of enthusiasm. He’s very Doctor-ish.

"So much time and so little to do. Wait a minute. Strike that. Reverse it."

Andy, Kate, Chuck and Zeke?

According to /film, M. Night Shyamalan has cast two of the four lead roles in his upcoming film The Last Airbender (previously titled "Avatar", changed to avoid confusion with James Cameron's upcoming film "Avatar" which has nothing to do with the popular animated series on Nickelodeon), and has chosen the actors he wants for the other two. (Release date July 2nd 2010.) Pictured: Nicola Peltz (Katara). Hey, this is my blog. You'd rather look at the kids in talks to play Sokka or the dark and brooding Zuko, go right ahead.

A whiter group of young, attractive people you will never see.

Not that this is necessarily wrong, but... I mean, even though the show is American-produced, it has a distinctly Asian flavor. And I understood the Four Kingdoms to be rough analogs of Chinese, Japanese, Manchurian and Inuit culture. The animated show is hip-deep in Asian voice talent.

This is not yet a bad omen; just a thing to make me go "Hmmm."

Monkey Woman -- No More!

I'm sorry, I'm inconsolable.

The very idea that Stan Lee might be offended that one of his "superheroes" is *gasp* an actor. I mean, really. You hold an open casting call for a television series, and an actor shows up. In Los Angeles. What are the odds?

I'm also tickled that, at least once in each episode, Stan says something that proves beyond doubt that he doesn't read comics, not even characters he created.

"Heroes don't kill people."
"Disco is dead."
"Can you imagine Clark Kent or Peter Parker revealing his identity?"

It's OK, Stan. This show's target audience doesn't read them either.

I'm in love.

How can you not love Monkey Woman?

I don't even care what the bananas are for, okay? This woman hangs upside down from a tree and screams like a monkey--on national television. (Well, cable television.)

And lets two attack dogs gnaw on her for ten minutes because she is by Gum not going to disappoint Stan Lee.

If you're not moved by that, well, your heart is made of stone, I tell you, cold hard stone.