DVDs and Blu-rays Due Out October 2nd:
More New and Recent Releases at This Link
Ramblings and observations about sci fi, fantasy and whatever I feel like carrying on about
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Saturday, September 29, 2012
Web Series Review: The Vault
Status: One Season Ongoing with 9 episodes so far (plus Supplemental Episodes)
Credits: Aaron Hann (Creator/Writer/Director), Mario Miscione (Creator/Writer/Director),Shane Spalione, Lilit Arakelyan, Omar Najam, Barry Warrick
Rating: 3 ½ out of 5 Stars
Synopsis: This web series delivers a mock reality/competition series taking place in 2016 in which a group of college students are competing for a multi-million dollar prize. The series is supposedly running on a network that has devoted its programming twenty four hours a day for the seven days of the competition. Each of the participants is in a separate room, all of which are adjoined together in a grid, and each room has some item of interest. The items seem quite random and include such things as a stack of fortune cookies, an exercise bike, a marker board, a bunch of clocks, etc. Linking everybody together is Henry in a room which has a switchboard that can connect with one or multiple rooms depending on which button(s) he presses. As the game starts out, he thinks there are only ten participants, but by the end of the first episode, he discovers the number is actually 150. He begins contacting each person to find out what item is in their room and he has the girl with the marker board keep track of these on the grid. The assumption is that they must somehow find out how to use all of the items properly to solve the puzzle of the game. However, a tremor rocks the complex and one of the people who claims to have been placed in the game as a mole insists that something is wrong and that he no longer has contact with the outside. Now, what started as a game may be turning into a life and death situation.
Review/Commentary: The Vault has proved an interesting web series so far by blending elements that we have seen in previous sci fi productions like Cube and Lost. Of course it doesn’t delve into the horror elements of the former or the intricate storylines of the latter, at least not yet, but it has a passing similarity to both of those. The mystery of the game and the different rooms with their arbitrary contents provides an intriguing enough premise that could actually carry the story for quite a while. Unfortunately, early on the series seemed to drag and feel somewhat padded, which is never a good thing for a web series. There was just not much sense of suspense as the series worked its way through its first few episodes, but that has changed to some degree in the later episodes. The change of scenario with the tremors rocking the complex and the uncertainty of what has happened beyond the walls has finally given the series something more than just a casual mystery to solve and my waning interest has been piqued again.
The performances have all been solid so far, with Henry providing us with a strong and likeable central figure and all of the other characters differentiating themselves well enough so far. And the production values of the show are good as well. It hasn’t relied on special effects thus far, but the sets all look professional enough, not like cheesy throw-togethers from an amateur film. It may lack the intensity and story depth of some of the better sci fi web productions that I have watch like Pioneer One, Cell: The Web Series, or Ark, but it still shows promise and it’s one that I will keep an eye on, though I would definitely like to see them pick up the pace a bit.
The series has produced nine episodes so far of around ten minutes each, and it has three prologue episodes, an Episode 0, and three interstitial episodes (1.5, 2.5, and 3.5) with all of those running usually just a couple of minutes each. It began streaming episodes over a year ago and after a six month break between episode 5 and 6 it resumed again to deliver another four installments (and it appears to be on break again now). It’s worth checking out, even if I don’t consider it quite at the level of some of the better sci fi web series that I have watched like the ones mentioned above. But it could develop into somewhat of a gem as long as it avoids too much meandering, and I believe that genre fans will find it worth watching.
Links: The show’s website has some information available, but not too much. You can watch an introduction to the web series at this link to get a good idea of what to expect. And to watch the full series, including the ancillary episodes, go to the show’s YouTube channel at this link. They have also recently added annotations to the first five episodes, which provide some additional information to the story. I have not gone back and watched these yet, but if you are new to the series, you might want to start out with these. They are available at the show’s YouTube channel as well.
Credits: Aaron Hann (Creator/Writer/Director), Mario Miscione (Creator/Writer/Director),Shane Spalione, Lilit Arakelyan, Omar Najam, Barry Warrick
Rating: 3 ½ out of 5 Stars
Synopsis: This web series delivers a mock reality/competition series taking place in 2016 in which a group of college students are competing for a multi-million dollar prize. The series is supposedly running on a network that has devoted its programming twenty four hours a day for the seven days of the competition. Each of the participants is in a separate room, all of which are adjoined together in a grid, and each room has some item of interest. The items seem quite random and include such things as a stack of fortune cookies, an exercise bike, a marker board, a bunch of clocks, etc. Linking everybody together is Henry in a room which has a switchboard that can connect with one or multiple rooms depending on which button(s) he presses. As the game starts out, he thinks there are only ten participants, but by the end of the first episode, he discovers the number is actually 150. He begins contacting each person to find out what item is in their room and he has the girl with the marker board keep track of these on the grid. The assumption is that they must somehow find out how to use all of the items properly to solve the puzzle of the game. However, a tremor rocks the complex and one of the people who claims to have been placed in the game as a mole insists that something is wrong and that he no longer has contact with the outside. Now, what started as a game may be turning into a life and death situation.Review/Commentary: The Vault has proved an interesting web series so far by blending elements that we have seen in previous sci fi productions like Cube and Lost. Of course it doesn’t delve into the horror elements of the former or the intricate storylines of the latter, at least not yet, but it has a passing similarity to both of those. The mystery of the game and the different rooms with their arbitrary contents provides an intriguing enough premise that could actually carry the story for quite a while. Unfortunately, early on the series seemed to drag and feel somewhat padded, which is never a good thing for a web series. There was just not much sense of suspense as the series worked its way through its first few episodes, but that has changed to some degree in the later episodes. The change of scenario with the tremors rocking the complex and the uncertainty of what has happened beyond the walls has finally given the series something more than just a casual mystery to solve and my waning interest has been piqued again.
The performances have all been solid so far, with Henry providing us with a strong and likeable central figure and all of the other characters differentiating themselves well enough so far. And the production values of the show are good as well. It hasn’t relied on special effects thus far, but the sets all look professional enough, not like cheesy throw-togethers from an amateur film. It may lack the intensity and story depth of some of the better sci fi web productions that I have watch like Pioneer One, Cell: The Web Series, or Ark, but it still shows promise and it’s one that I will keep an eye on, though I would definitely like to see them pick up the pace a bit.
The series has produced nine episodes so far of around ten minutes each, and it has three prologue episodes, an Episode 0, and three interstitial episodes (1.5, 2.5, and 3.5) with all of those running usually just a couple of minutes each. It began streaming episodes over a year ago and after a six month break between episode 5 and 6 it resumed again to deliver another four installments (and it appears to be on break again now). It’s worth checking out, even if I don’t consider it quite at the level of some of the better sci fi web series that I have watched like the ones mentioned above. But it could develop into somewhat of a gem as long as it avoids too much meandering, and I believe that genre fans will find it worth watching.
Links: The show’s website has some information available, but not too much. You can watch an introduction to the web series at this link to get a good idea of what to expect. And to watch the full series, including the ancillary episodes, go to the show’s YouTube channel at this link. They have also recently added annotations to the first five episodes, which provide some additional information to the story. I have not gone back and watched these yet, but if you are new to the series, you might want to start out with these. They are available at the show’s YouTube channel as well.
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Cancellation Watch: Revolution Drops With Second Ep, Is It Panic Time Already?
No. There's really nothing for fans to worry about at this point. First, a drop off after the premiere is always expected, though this was a pretty steep slip in the ratings. Second, for Revolution's premiere last week, it only had to contend with repeats on CBS and ABC (FOX and the CW do not program at the 10 PM hour). This week, the show had to compete against the premieres of Hawaii Five-0 on CBS and Castle on ABC. Yet still, it promptly kicked both of their butts. Revolution's 3.4 rating was 36% higher than Castle's 2.5 and a whopping 79% higher than Hawaii Five-0's 1.9 (and fans of that show should be warned that CBS has little patience with under-performing shows). So Revolution still won its timeslot, and by a significant margin, and has given NBC its best-performing scripted series in that hour in recent memory.
So the show has no worries at this point, but it can't just coast yet. The next month or so should give us a good gauge of its chances of succeeding into a second season. I expect we will continue to see some erosion in the ratings--that's an expected trend--but if it doesn't drop too far then it should be okay. If it manages to stay above a 3.0 rating, then the show is golden. If it stays north of a 2.5 and continues to beat its competition, then it is still probably safe. That's of course assuming this one is not super expensive to produce, and I haven't seen a price tag on it yet. It is definitely pricier than the typical television hour (most sci fi entries are), but I would not suspect that it is in the Terra Nova range of production costs. So as long as it does not drop too far in the ratings and continues to win the hour--or at least prove competitive--it should be okay. Keep an eye on the numbers over the next few weeks, though, in case this one start's tracking the same death course as FlashForward, The Event and other similar sci fi misfires of the past few years.
Not so rosy is the picture for Syfy's two Monday night shows. The numbers for both Warehouse 13 and Alphas continue to languish as both pulled a 0.4 rating in the 18-49 demo this past Monday with the former having 1.49 million total viewers and the latter having 1.23 million. Total viewers actually went up for Warehouse 13 and down for Alphas, but those minor shifts are not as important as the overall tepid performance of both shows during their current seasons. I'm pretty sure that Syfy had announced the renewal of both of these by this point last year, so the network seems to be taking a bit longer to make a decision this time around. Keep a close eye on this column (and my Twitter site) for a renewal or cancellation announcement on these in the coming weeks.
You can see the Cancellation Alert status of all the shows currently airing plus the final results from prior seasons at my Cancellation Watch page. And you can get the quickest updates on ratings results and breaking announcements by following the Cancellation Watch Twitter Site.
Ratings Source: TV by the Numbers
Cancellation Watch Fall 2012 Sci Fi TV Preview: A look at the Fall season's new and returning genre shows and how they will fare with the Nielsens.
The Plight of Science Fiction and Fantasy Television in the Face of the Unforgiving Nielsens and Networks
Ever wondered why your favorite science fiction and/or fantasy show disappeared from the television schedule, never to deliver anymore new episodes? The reason why, most likely, is that it was cancelled because its ratings were low. And this book looks at those many cancelled sci fi/fantasy shows as well as the Neilsen ratings and television networks that dictate their fates. Available now for only $2.99 on Kindle from Amazon.com.
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Cancellation Watch: Revolution Makes Waves, but Syfy's Shows are Struggling
And then there's the trend that we have seen quite often with shows of this very nature over the last few years. Revolution is looking to deliver a heavily arc-driving story with plenty of mysteries to string viewers along very much in the vein of Lost (which Abrams co-created). And we have seen several examples of late of shows following this very template that start out strong, but then head into a quick death-spiral. FlashForward, V, and The Event all did this, so we can't put too much stock in the strong debut of Revolution just yet. We need to give it a couple of months to see if the numbers hold up, at least within respectable ranges. If, like ABC's genre hit from last year Once Upon A Time, Revolution can stay above a 3.0 rating, it should be safe. And considering that it is on fourth place NBC, perhaps even staying above a 2.5 will keep it alive. But if it slips below that, then it may very well follow the same path as the other Lost-wannabes that flamed-out too quickly. The successful debut for the show proves that there is a large audience for this type of show, but the also have high expectations. FlashForward, V, and The Event all had their quality issues which lead to a quick decline in their viewership. So if Abrams and Kripke have not established a tight, engaging story arc for their series, it may suffer the same fate. Keep an eye on the numbers, but for now consider the show to be in good standing.
Not receiving good news on Monday were Syfy's two Summer shows which are now in the stretch run for their current seasons. Both Alphas and Warehouse 13 dropped to a 0.4 rating in the 18-49 demo and both had about 1.3 million viewers. The shows have been struggling to maintain an audience since they returned last July, especially in the all-important 18-49 demo, and seem to be losing the battle. The numbers aren't terrible for the current season, but they have dropped considerably from the prior year when Alphas averaged around a 0.7 rating and Warehouse 13 was closer to a 0.8. I've been holding off on raising the Cancellation Alert status on the shows, but after seeing these numbers I have to bump them up one notch to Moderate. Syfy may still have patience with them because Warehouse 13 is one the network's flagship shows and Alphas has become somewhat of a cult hit, but don't be surprised if they decide to throw one or both to the curb. And unfortunately, Alphas is the most vulnerable as it will only have two seasons totaling 26 episodes completed which puts it far away from enough episodes to interest the syndication market.
Another stinker in the ratings among genre shows was last Friday's "bonus" episode of Touch. FOX decided to slot in a new episode of the series last Friday for reasons beyond me, and not surprisingly it completely tanked. The episode pulled only a 0.7 rating and 3.1 million total viewers, not good for one of the Big Four broadcast networks. I don't know if they were just trying to get a taste of how the show would perform once it has its planned debut in that timeslot in October, or if they just had an hour to fill and decided to burn off one episode of Touch there. But this show is already on unsure footing coming into the season, and its Friday numbers don't help it at all. The guys over at TV by the Numbers think that Touch might move into the Monday 9 PM EST timeslot since new series Mob Doctor had a poor debut this week and likely won't last long. Perhaps that's true, but I don't know that Touch is going to do much better considering the downward trend it saw all last season and its poor outing this last Friday. Keep a close eye on the numbers, but I advise against getting too attached to this show.
Lastly, I'm not certain what NBC is doing with Grimm. The August debut for the series in the Monday night timeslot didn't set off any ratings fireworks, then they yanked it from its final planned Monday airing (on Sept 10th) and its scheduled return to its regular Friday timeslot is delivering repeats with no new episodes scheduled until Sept 28th. I guess they're giving those who missed the August eps a chance to catch up, but this might be confusing for those who did tune in last month. Basically, it looks like they should have just waited for the regular season to kick of the show's sophomore year. We will see the impact this had when we get the numbers for the first new Fall episode which hits next Friday.
You can see the Cancellation Alert status of all the shows currently airing plus the final results from prior seasons at my Cancellation Watch page.
Ratings Source: TV by the Numbers
Cancellation Watch Fall 2012 Sci Fi TV Preview: A look at the Fall season's new and returning genre shows and how they will fare with the Nielsens.
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
New in Comics: Star Trek Next Generation Hive, New Doctor Who
A few choice selections from the comics due out September 5th:
Star Trek Next Generation Hive #1
IDW
Description: Celebrating the 25th anniversary of Star Trek: The Next Generation! In the distant future the entire galaxy has been completely assimilated by Borg and it's King Locutis! The only hope for the future lies in the past, in the hands of Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of the starship Enterprise-as Picard faces off against the Borg collective in one final, terrifying and definitive encounter!
Brannon Braga is one of the writers most associated with the Star Trek Franchise. He has written a number of fondly remembered episodes of TNG, including co-writing the two-part series finale, 'All Good Things,' for which he won the prestigious Hugo Award. Terry Matalas has written for Star Trek: Enterprise, as well as Terra Nova.
By: Brannon Braga, Joe Corroney
Doctor Who Vol. 3 #1
IDW
Description: The Doctor is back!
Welcome to a new, exciting era for everyone's favorite Time Lord, as New York Times bestselling writer Andy Diggle (The Losers) pilots the TARDIS as the ongoing series architect.
Joining him for this first arc is Eisner Award-winning artist Mark Buckingham (Fables), who also will provide covers for the series.
Geronimo!
By: Andy Diggle, Mark Buckingham
Ghost #0
Dark Horse
Description: Former journalist Vaughn Barnes has been reduced to moonlighting as cameraman for the shoddy paranormal-investigation cable TV show Phantom Finders. But when a curious device summons the specter of a beautiful, translucent woman, Vaughn is plunged into a mystery of criminal intrigue that spans two worlds! Kelly Sue DeConnick and Phil Noto launch their exciting new take on one of Dark Horse's most popular characters ever!
* Kelly Sue DeConnick (Captain Marvel) brings a keen new eye to the spectral heroine.
* Renowned artist Phil Noto (Angel & Faith, X-23) perfectly captures the wraithlike elegance of the enigma known as Ghost!
By: Kelly Sue DeConnick, Phil Noto, Jenny Frison
More of This Week's Comics at This Link
Star Trek Next Generation Hive #1IDW
Description: Celebrating the 25th anniversary of Star Trek: The Next Generation! In the distant future the entire galaxy has been completely assimilated by Borg and it's King Locutis! The only hope for the future lies in the past, in the hands of Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of the starship Enterprise-as Picard faces off against the Borg collective in one final, terrifying and definitive encounter!
Brannon Braga is one of the writers most associated with the Star Trek Franchise. He has written a number of fondly remembered episodes of TNG, including co-writing the two-part series finale, 'All Good Things,' for which he won the prestigious Hugo Award. Terry Matalas has written for Star Trek: Enterprise, as well as Terra Nova.
By: Brannon Braga, Joe Corroney
IDW
Description: The Doctor is back!
Welcome to a new, exciting era for everyone's favorite Time Lord, as New York Times bestselling writer Andy Diggle (The Losers) pilots the TARDIS as the ongoing series architect.
Joining him for this first arc is Eisner Award-winning artist Mark Buckingham (Fables), who also will provide covers for the series.
Geronimo!
By: Andy Diggle, Mark Buckingham
Ghost #0Dark Horse
Description: Former journalist Vaughn Barnes has been reduced to moonlighting as cameraman for the shoddy paranormal-investigation cable TV show Phantom Finders. But when a curious device summons the specter of a beautiful, translucent woman, Vaughn is plunged into a mystery of criminal intrigue that spans two worlds! Kelly Sue DeConnick and Phil Noto launch their exciting new take on one of Dark Horse's most popular characters ever!
* Kelly Sue DeConnick (Captain Marvel) brings a keen new eye to the spectral heroine.
* Renowned artist Phil Noto (Angel & Faith, X-23) perfectly captures the wraithlike elegance of the enigma known as Ghost!
By: Kelly Sue DeConnick, Phil Noto, Jenny Frison
More of This Week's Comics at This Link
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Friday, September 14, 2012
Cancellation Watch: What's Up With Tonight's "Bonus" Episode of Touch? And Are NBC Show's on a Short Leash?
On another note, it looks like the NBC shows are being put on notice with the expectation of delivering better numbers. NBCUniversal CEO Steve Burke apparently has his sites set on improving the network's rank among the Big Four broadcast networks where it has been fourth for quite some time now. He wants to see the shows on the network improve their ratings which means that under-performers will likely not be tolerated. NBC has two genre series on the schedule for this Fall, returning series Grimm and new entry Revolution, and if either of them stumble in the ratings they will almost surely find themselves on a very short leash.
Read the Cancellation Watch Fall Sci Fi TV Preview at This Link
Follow the Latest Ratings Updates and Other Sci Fi TV News Flashes at the Cancellation Watch Twitter Site
Get Caught Up on Last Season's Shows on DVD/Streaming:
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Cancellation Watch: No Good News for Syfy's Monday Night Shows
Except for these two shows, the Summer season has pretty much played itself out, and next week NBC gets the Fall season kicked off early with the debut of Revolution on Monday, September 17th. You can see my Cancellation Watch Fall 2012 preview at this link, and check back next week for the early returns on the new season. Also, starting this season, I have set up the Cancellation Watch Twitter site where I will post quick ratings updates as they become available as well breaking cancellation/renewal news and announcements on upcoming science fiction and fantasy shows. You can follow the site at this link.
Ratings Source: TV by the Numbers
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Cancellation Watch Fall 2012 Sci Fi TV Preview!!!
 |
| Arrow Debuts Oct 10th on The CW |
The shows that I am looking at currently are the ones set to debut at some point in the Fall 2012 season. As I said above, some are returning, some are new, but all will bow at some point before November (or at least that’s the way the schedule is laid out right now). There are more shows set to hit during the second half of the season (like NBC’s new entry Do No Harm and HBO’s returning series Game of Thrones) as well as several waiting the wings as mid-season replacements for when other shows falter (like ABC’s Zero Hour), but those aren’t the focus of this survey. I’ll get to them later in the season, because you never know if the networks might do some schedule juggling before January comes around.
And once the season begins (official start is the last full week of September, though NBC is getting a jump on the other networks starting September 14th), you can follow my Cancellation Watch column to see how your favorite shows are holding up.
I assign each show a Cancellation Alert status to indicate where they stand on their cancellation/renewal chances, and I am giving each series a preseason status that they will take with them going into the current year. The five levels, from lowest to highest as far as likelihood of cancellation, are: Low, Moderate, Medium, Elevated, High.
Note that for almost all new series, I rarely go below a Moderate Cancellation Alert status because there are too many unknowns prior to when a series launches to definitely say that a new entry has little or no chance of getting cancelled. Also, I rarely go above Elevated for my preseason predictions on new shows, because you never know what might pique the interest of Prime Time audiences in a coming season (I had both Once Upon A Time and Grimm pegged as early losers last year, but they both managed to make me eat my words). But that said, I do give a Low and High Cancellation Alert to two series in the Fall season, just because I feel that strongly about both of them, all the while realizing I may pay for that later.
You can read my full preview of the Fall 2012 season at this link. And you can see the full schedule of genre shows with their premiere dates (plus the official synopses of the new shows) at this link. And check back each week for the latest ratings numbers and changes in the Cancellation Alert status (and schedule changes as well) for all of the science fiction and fantasy shows currently on the air. And starting this season, I have set up a Cancellation Watch twitter site (twitter.com/CancelledSciFi) where I will post info on the overnight ratings as well as other news and announcements on current and upcoming science fiction and fantasy television shows.
Also, watch for my upcoming book Why Were They Cancelled? coming out on Kindle shortly which will take a more in depth look at the ratings and the science fiction and fantasy shows that suffered from early cancellations. But for now, take a look at my Fall 2012 Preview and feel free to add your comments on how well you expect your favorite shows to perform in the ratings this season.
Get Caught Up on Last Season's Shows on DVD/Streaming:
Monday, September 10, 2012
Web Series Review: Red vs. Blue
Status: Nine Seasons and Three Mini-Series Completed
Credits: Matt Hullum (Creator/Writer/Director/Voice Actor: Sarge), Burnie Burns (Creator/Writer/Director/Voice Actor: Lopez), Gustavo Sorola (Simmons), Geoff Ramsey (Grif), Dan Godwin (Donut)
Winner IAWTV Awards: Best Animated Series
Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars
Synopsis: Red vs. Blue is a comedy animated web series that takes a stab at first person shooter games (like Halo
from which it borrows its footage) while also acting as a parody on the
science fiction genre and life in general. The basic premise (for the
first five seasons) centers on armored soldiers from two teams, the Red
and the Blue, who have set up bases in Blood Gulch and whose sole
purpose is to destroy each other, even though there’s not a lot of
shooting going on. For the most part, the series gives us the mundane,
off-kilter conversions of the troops as they wait for orders or carry
out the most recent routine instructions given to them. And the fact is that the soldiers don’t really care about killing each other (except for
Sarge), they just want to get through each day without suffering much
in the way of personal damage.
Review/Commentary: This web series, which first appeared all the way back in 2003, is made with the machinima process taking footage from the Halo video games. Machinima is an animation technique that uses the graphics engines from a video game to produce the visuals and it syncs the movement of the characters with the dialogue (you can read more about it at Wikipedia). Creators Matt Hullum and Burnie Burns first produced the series with the intention of it going about six to eight episodes. But it became an immediate hit on the internet and Bungie Studios (creators and owners of the Halo games) allowed them to continue to use the footage from their games with no license fee as it brought good attention to their products. The original series, The Blood Gulch Chronicles went for five seasons and was followed by three mini-series and four more seasons with another due out this year.
Somehow Red vs. Blue slipped under my radar until the IAWTV Awards brought the series to my attention, but I found rather liked it once I stumbled upon it. As the show has a very healthy compliment of episodes (somewhere around 200), I have not watched the whole thing but I have sampled quite a bit of it. And it’s definitely an enjoyable little romp livened up by the droll dialogue that provides the main focus of the episodes. Of course some of the lines just seem to pass by without much notice, and others can be quite dry or maybe overly subtle, but each episode usually delivers at least one or two laugh out loud moments. A note though that even though this series has generated multiple seasons each with ongoing story arcs, Red vs. Blue is best viewed in small bites. The mundane dialogue of soldiers who don’t really want to be fighting each other can be quite witty at times, but with the lack of much else in the way of action it quickly gets old in large doses. Still, this is definitely a must-see for video game fans, and sci fi fans in general will definitely enjoy it as well.
Links/More Information: You can watch the entire Red vs. Blue series at the website for Rooster Teeth (the show’s production company) as well as its YouTube channel. The entire series (up through Season 9) is also available on DVD. And you can find extensive information on the series and its characters over at its Wikipedia entries.
Watch Red vs. Blue at the Rooster Teeth Website
Watch Red vs. Blue at its YouTube Channel
Read Extensively About the Show on Wikipedia at its Series Entry and its Characters Entry
Buy Red vs. Blue on DVD from Amazon.com:
Credits: Matt Hullum (Creator/Writer/Director/Voice Actor: Sarge), Burnie Burns (Creator/Writer/Director/Voice Actor: Lopez), Gustavo Sorola (Simmons), Geoff Ramsey (Grif), Dan Godwin (Donut)
Winner IAWTV Awards: Best Animated Series
Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars
Synopsis: Red vs. Blue is a comedy animated web series that takes a stab at first person shooter games (like Halo
from which it borrows its footage) while also acting as a parody on the
science fiction genre and life in general. The basic premise (for the
first five seasons) centers on armored soldiers from two teams, the Red
and the Blue, who have set up bases in Blood Gulch and whose sole
purpose is to destroy each other, even though there’s not a lot of
shooting going on. For the most part, the series gives us the mundane,
off-kilter conversions of the troops as they wait for orders or carry
out the most recent routine instructions given to them. And the fact is that the soldiers don’t really care about killing each other (except for
Sarge), they just want to get through each day without suffering much
in the way of personal damage.Review/Commentary: This web series, which first appeared all the way back in 2003, is made with the machinima process taking footage from the Halo video games. Machinima is an animation technique that uses the graphics engines from a video game to produce the visuals and it syncs the movement of the characters with the dialogue (you can read more about it at Wikipedia). Creators Matt Hullum and Burnie Burns first produced the series with the intention of it going about six to eight episodes. But it became an immediate hit on the internet and Bungie Studios (creators and owners of the Halo games) allowed them to continue to use the footage from their games with no license fee as it brought good attention to their products. The original series, The Blood Gulch Chronicles went for five seasons and was followed by three mini-series and four more seasons with another due out this year.
Somehow Red vs. Blue slipped under my radar until the IAWTV Awards brought the series to my attention, but I found rather liked it once I stumbled upon it. As the show has a very healthy compliment of episodes (somewhere around 200), I have not watched the whole thing but I have sampled quite a bit of it. And it’s definitely an enjoyable little romp livened up by the droll dialogue that provides the main focus of the episodes. Of course some of the lines just seem to pass by without much notice, and others can be quite dry or maybe overly subtle, but each episode usually delivers at least one or two laugh out loud moments. A note though that even though this series has generated multiple seasons each with ongoing story arcs, Red vs. Blue is best viewed in small bites. The mundane dialogue of soldiers who don’t really want to be fighting each other can be quite witty at times, but with the lack of much else in the way of action it quickly gets old in large doses. Still, this is definitely a must-see for video game fans, and sci fi fans in general will definitely enjoy it as well.
Links/More Information: You can watch the entire Red vs. Blue series at the website for Rooster Teeth (the show’s production company) as well as its YouTube channel. The entire series (up through Season 9) is also available on DVD. And you can find extensive information on the series and its characters over at its Wikipedia entries.
Watch Red vs. Blue at the Rooster Teeth Website
Watch Red vs. Blue at its YouTube Channel
Read Extensively About the Show on Wikipedia at its Series Entry and its Characters Entry
Buy Red vs. Blue on DVD from Amazon.com:
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Cancellation Watch: Did the Early Start for Grimm Hurt More Than Help the Show?
And NBC seems to be dumping on its genre shows this week as it has decided to pull the last two episodes of the supernatural drama Saving Hope from its schedule. It had already cast the show to Saturday nights, but now it has decided to yank it altogether. The Canadian series has not performed well for the network all Summer, but it seems particularly harsh to pull it right as it is wrapping up its first season. But then NBC is trying to get Fall off to an early start and get a jump on the other networks so I guess they decided to drop as much dead weight as possible. (Grimm fans, take that as you will considering next Monday's schedule shift). Saving Hope will air out its last two episodes online, and the show has been renewed for a second season by its Canadian network. Where U.S. fans of the show will be able to find it next year is uncertain, but they can at least be happy that a second season of the show will come at some point.
Syfy's Warehouse 13 and Alphas took a break this week and the Fall season kicks off in just over a week, so keep an eye out for my preview and early predictions for the upcoming year as well as the numbers for the new and returning shows.
You can see the Cancellation Alert status of all the shows currently airing plus the final results from prior seasons at my Cancellation Watch page.
Ratings Source: TV by the Numbers
The Plight of Science Fiction and Fantasy Television in the Face of the Unforgiving Nielsens and Networks
Ever wondered why your favorite science fiction and/or fantasy show disappeared from the television schedule, never to deliver anymore new episodes? The reason why, most likely, is that it was cancelled because its ratings were low. And this book looks at those many cancelled sci fi/fantasy shows as well as the Neilsen ratings and television networks that dictate their fates. Available now for only $2.99 on Kindle from Amazon.com.
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
New in Comics: Alan Moore's Fashion Beast
A few choice selections from the comics due out September 5th:
Fashion Beast #1
Avatar Press
Description: Alan Moore's unearthed screenplay comes to life as an incredible comic book series almost three decades later!
The mid-80's were a stunning period of brilliance for Alan Moore, seeing him create true masterpieces including Miracleman, Watchmen - and Fashion Beast! Working with Malcolm McLaren (Sex Pistols), Alan Moore turned his attention to a classic re-telling of a fable through his unyielding and imaginative vision.
The two developed a story that redefined Beauty and the Beast in a dystopian future city dominated by a fashion house, which Moore then fully-scripted into a huge screenplay. Never previously published, this epic work is now adapted for comics by long-time Moore collaborator, Antony Johnston (Courtyard) preserving every scrap of Moore's original dialogue.
All ten issues have been lovingly illustrated by Facundo Percio (Anna Mercury) and finally a true historical and visionary masterpiece is finally released to the World!
Available with a Regular or Wraparound Cover by series artist Facundo Percio or Haute Couture Incentive (by Percio) or the very rare Tarot (by Paul Duffield) Incentive cover.
By: Alan Moore, Facundo Percio
Planet of the Apes Cataclysm #1
Boom! Studios
Description: BRAND-NEW SERIES! GREAT JUMPING-ON POINT FOR NEW READERS! Start a new chapter of the PLANET OF THE APES saga, launching the fan-favorite franchise into its most exciting era yet! Eight years before astronaut George Taylor fell from the stars...the stars fell on the PLANET OF THE APES! Once the destroyer of human civilization, the Alpha-Omega bomb of yore has slept silent in the dark side of the moon. One mad monk seeks to wake the beast...and all of ape society is at risk. It's a race against time as Doctor Zaius struggles to find an end to the madness that has engulfed all that he knows!
By: Corinna Bechko, Steve Bryant, Alex Ross
New Crusaders Rise Of The Heroes #1
Archie Comics
Description: Red Circle Comics presents 'Ashes to Ashes' Part One: Our world demands heroes - a new generation must RISE! Over a decade ago, the super hero team known as The Mighty Crusaders did the impossible: they won. Successful in their battle against evil and finding they'd made the world a better place, the heroes settled down to the small town of Red Circle to start families, unwind and take a much-deserved rest. When the quiet town is rocked by the return of the ultimate evil, the super hero residents are obliterated! It's up to their heirs to fight for justice and crusade against evil. They are our last, best hope. They are: THE NEW CRUSADERS!
By: Ian Flynn, Ben Bates, Matt Herms
More of This Week's Comics at This Link
Avatar Press
Description: Alan Moore's unearthed screenplay comes to life as an incredible comic book series almost three decades later!
The mid-80's were a stunning period of brilliance for Alan Moore, seeing him create true masterpieces including Miracleman, Watchmen - and Fashion Beast! Working with Malcolm McLaren (Sex Pistols), Alan Moore turned his attention to a classic re-telling of a fable through his unyielding and imaginative vision.
The two developed a story that redefined Beauty and the Beast in a dystopian future city dominated by a fashion house, which Moore then fully-scripted into a huge screenplay. Never previously published, this epic work is now adapted for comics by long-time Moore collaborator, Antony Johnston (Courtyard) preserving every scrap of Moore's original dialogue.
All ten issues have been lovingly illustrated by Facundo Percio (Anna Mercury) and finally a true historical and visionary masterpiece is finally released to the World!
Available with a Regular or Wraparound Cover by series artist Facundo Percio or Haute Couture Incentive (by Percio) or the very rare Tarot (by Paul Duffield) Incentive cover.
By: Alan Moore, Facundo Percio
Boom! Studios
Description: BRAND-NEW SERIES! GREAT JUMPING-ON POINT FOR NEW READERS! Start a new chapter of the PLANET OF THE APES saga, launching the fan-favorite franchise into its most exciting era yet! Eight years before astronaut George Taylor fell from the stars...the stars fell on the PLANET OF THE APES! Once the destroyer of human civilization, the Alpha-Omega bomb of yore has slept silent in the dark side of the moon. One mad monk seeks to wake the beast...and all of ape society is at risk. It's a race against time as Doctor Zaius struggles to find an end to the madness that has engulfed all that he knows!
By: Corinna Bechko, Steve Bryant, Alex Ross
New Crusaders Rise Of The Heroes #1Archie Comics
Description: Red Circle Comics presents 'Ashes to Ashes' Part One: Our world demands heroes - a new generation must RISE! Over a decade ago, the super hero team known as The Mighty Crusaders did the impossible: they won. Successful in their battle against evil and finding they'd made the world a better place, the heroes settled down to the small town of Red Circle to start families, unwind and take a much-deserved rest. When the quiet town is rocked by the return of the ultimate evil, the super hero residents are obliterated! It's up to their heirs to fight for justice and crusade against evil. They are our last, best hope. They are: THE NEW CRUSADERS!
By: Ian Flynn, Ben Bates, Matt Herms
More of This Week's Comics at This Link
Sunday, September 2, 2012
Saturday, September 1, 2012
Web Series Review: Riese: Kingdom Falling
Status: One Season Completed Totaling 10 Episodes
Credits: Ryan Copple (Creator/Writer), Kaleena Kiff (Creator/Writer/Director), Christine Chatelain (Riese), Sharon Taylor (Empress Amara), Ben Cotton (Magister Herrick), Alessandro Juliani (Garin)
Rating: 3 ½ out of 5 Stars
Synopsis: This sci fi/fantasy/steampunk hybrid web series focuses on
the title character Riese, a former princess who is now on the run
after her cousin Amara staged a coup and killed the rest of the royal
family. Riese wanders across the lands of Eleysia with her wolf
companion Fenrir as both Empress Amara and the religious cult known as
the Sect track her down because she presents a threat to the grand
designs of each. And meanwhile, a resistance movement battles against
Amara’s armies as they also search for Riese hoping that she will serve
as a leader and inspiration to their cause.
Review/Commentary: Riese: Kingdom Falling is an original web series created by Ryan Copple and Kaleena Kiff which Syfy took interest in back in 2009 after five episodes had been completed. The network purchased the broadcast rights and an additional five episodes were produced with the entire first season then airing on Syfy.com, where it is still currently available for viewing.
If the basic rundown of the plot above has a familiar ring to it, that is because the series cobbles together some well-tread fantasy elements along with names straight out of Norse mythology (no actual connection established as of yet), but it adds a unique twist to these by placing the story in a steam-punk setting and it throws in a bit of Orwellian paranoia and anxiety to give it an even darker edge. So while Riese may seem derivative at times, it still throws in just enough in the way of new elements to set it apart from the pack and keep the viewer (myself at least) intrigued.
The production is of course confined by the budgetary restrictions of a web-series, but it makes the most of what it has and avoids the extreme cheesiness of some of the more amateur productions on the web. And it even throws in a few decent CGI shots to gussy up the edges here and there. The acting is okay for the most part, not spectacular but it never derails the production. And Amanda Tapping (Stargate: SG-1, Sanctuary) even lends her voice to the narration, though she provides a rather distant and dispassionate reading. Nothing against Tapping, but I would have much rather had one of the characters of the story, perhaps Riese, provide the voice-over instead. Also, Alessandro Juliani (Battlestar: Galactica) shows up in a few episodes as one of the members of the resistance, and Stargate: Altantis' Ben Cotton lends his talent to the series as well.
Overall, I consider Riese a decent web series and one that has some potential, but I wouldn't place it among the upper echelon of web productions I have viewed thus far like Pioneer One and Cell: The Web Series. The steam-punk setting gives the production its unique atmosphere and that offers the series some potential future territory to explore. But then that's assuming that more episodes will come at some point. Syfy aired the series on their website back in 2009, and I'm assuming that was a test to see if it had legs to jump to an ongoing television series, sort of like what Sanctuary did. Nothing has emerged since then, though, as far as either a television series or more episodes of the web series. But hopefully we will at least get a continuation on the Internet because I think the series could grow into a decent genre entry (and I'd rank it above other Syfy fare like Warehouse 13, Being Human, and Haven).
It's worth checking out, and if you are new to web-series, this is a good place to start because it’s a quick watch (the eps run between six and ten minutes each) and it’s not as rough around the edges as some other Internet productions. Just don’t go in expecting the same production values that you would see on a Prime Time television series (even one from the cable channels), and you should not be disappointed.
Links: Riese: Kingdom Falling is still available for viewing on Syfy's website and it is also available over at Hulu.com. It's YouTube channel only has clips now, and it doesn't appear that the show's official website is available anymore.
Credits: Ryan Copple (Creator/Writer), Kaleena Kiff (Creator/Writer/Director), Christine Chatelain (Riese), Sharon Taylor (Empress Amara), Ben Cotton (Magister Herrick), Alessandro Juliani (Garin)
Rating: 3 ½ out of 5 Stars
Review/Commentary: Riese: Kingdom Falling is an original web series created by Ryan Copple and Kaleena Kiff which Syfy took interest in back in 2009 after five episodes had been completed. The network purchased the broadcast rights and an additional five episodes were produced with the entire first season then airing on Syfy.com, where it is still currently available for viewing.
If the basic rundown of the plot above has a familiar ring to it, that is because the series cobbles together some well-tread fantasy elements along with names straight out of Norse mythology (no actual connection established as of yet), but it adds a unique twist to these by placing the story in a steam-punk setting and it throws in a bit of Orwellian paranoia and anxiety to give it an even darker edge. So while Riese may seem derivative at times, it still throws in just enough in the way of new elements to set it apart from the pack and keep the viewer (myself at least) intrigued.
The production is of course confined by the budgetary restrictions of a web-series, but it makes the most of what it has and avoids the extreme cheesiness of some of the more amateur productions on the web. And it even throws in a few decent CGI shots to gussy up the edges here and there. The acting is okay for the most part, not spectacular but it never derails the production. And Amanda Tapping (Stargate: SG-1, Sanctuary) even lends her voice to the narration, though she provides a rather distant and dispassionate reading. Nothing against Tapping, but I would have much rather had one of the characters of the story, perhaps Riese, provide the voice-over instead. Also, Alessandro Juliani (Battlestar: Galactica) shows up in a few episodes as one of the members of the resistance, and Stargate: Altantis' Ben Cotton lends his talent to the series as well.
Overall, I consider Riese a decent web series and one that has some potential, but I wouldn't place it among the upper echelon of web productions I have viewed thus far like Pioneer One and Cell: The Web Series. The steam-punk setting gives the production its unique atmosphere and that offers the series some potential future territory to explore. But then that's assuming that more episodes will come at some point. Syfy aired the series on their website back in 2009, and I'm assuming that was a test to see if it had legs to jump to an ongoing television series, sort of like what Sanctuary did. Nothing has emerged since then, though, as far as either a television series or more episodes of the web series. But hopefully we will at least get a continuation on the Internet because I think the series could grow into a decent genre entry (and I'd rank it above other Syfy fare like Warehouse 13, Being Human, and Haven).
It's worth checking out, and if you are new to web-series, this is a good place to start because it’s a quick watch (the eps run between six and ten minutes each) and it’s not as rough around the edges as some other Internet productions. Just don’t go in expecting the same production values that you would see on a Prime Time television series (even one from the cable channels), and you should not be disappointed.
Links: Riese: Kingdom Falling is still available for viewing on Syfy's website and it is also available over at Hulu.com. It's YouTube channel only has clips now, and it doesn't appear that the show's official website is available anymore.
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