Hey remember when there was all that buzz floating around about Marvel working on a Deathlok movie...? No? Well I sure did as he is one of my favorite characters (at least the original Luther Manning version is...) anyhoo, yes they WERE working on a Deathlok movie and Paul McGuigan was going to be the director. Here's the scoop from this i09 article

Finally, I asked McGuigan about those internet rumors that he was working on a movie based on Deathlok, Marvel Comics' cyborg character. "It wasn't a rumor, it was true," says McGuigan. He'd been working with Marvel and writer David Self on a Deathlok movie, but then Marvel put it on the back burner. "I was really into it, but Marvel changed their mind."

McGuigan got pretty excited about working on Deathlok, and he has all of the character's back comics. The biggest challenge in doing a Deathlok film would have been the fact that the killer cyborg is always having conversations with his on-board computer. "In a way it felt like Knight Rider, where you have the machine talking to him." It would have been a challenge to make that work on screen. "The script was really good. David Self is no slouch, he's a great screenwriter. And the whole idea of nanotechnology was fasinating." The movie included a "weird professor" character, who created Deathlok because he wanted to go down in history as another Da Vinci. (And McGuigan had envisioned Robert Downey Jr. for that character, which would have been a very different role than Tony Stark.)

"It would have been a good movie," he adds. "Maybe they'll still make it with somebody else."

It looks like it wouldn't have been set in a near apocalyptic future as the original Astonishing Tales comics were, which I think is the best way to do a Deathlok film, but now it doesn't matter I guess.


-Swinebread

Jericho Thoughts

The Jericho adventure is now over with the series finale last night. I was sad to see it go to the point of clockwatching during the broadcast, counting down the minutes left in the program/series. The tone of Jericho was different the second time around as the plot advanced at warp speed but at least the main storylines were resolved as best as they could be for an abbreviated season. Much of the drama that made the show the first time around, which I in fact made fun of, was striped from the second season. Be careful what you wish for because I actually, *gulp* …missed it.

The final episode wasn’t a cliffhanger per se; although it left a lot of room for a continuation of Jericho should any cable channel choose to pick it up which is remotely possible I suppose. The series finale left us with the start of something very big and I was actually quite intrigued with where the creators had wanted to take the show in a 3rd season. I hope that at least a book or comic is published to explore this and I’ve got a feeling it will be.

Fans should be proud that their hard work produced a second season. So many shows get cancelled and that’s it. We got a few more episodes and a chance to say goodbye to Jake and the rest of fictional town that we enjoyed so much without the whole thing being left totally in limbo. Some hardcore fans want to bash CBS, and yes they made mistakes, but they recognized the fan base of Jericho was something special and tried to accommodate that. I’m mystified that the general public didn’t tune in when there was nothing on TV because of the writers strike, but at least Jericho has helped raise important questions about the dinosaur that is the Nielsen Ratings.




Things I liked about the second season of Jericho (spoilers):

The Goetz storyline was satisfactory resolved.

The fictional companies Jennings & Rall and Ravenwoond were the real bad guys behind everything, just like KBR, Halliburton and Blackwater are in the real world.

They spent some money on the series finale. A lot of scenes were shot outside and on location. It gave us a hint of what a full second season might have looked like.

Gray Anderson’s role in the finale worked out well.

I liked that Jake green looked haggard and dirty all the time.

The “Texas embassy” was a nice touch.

I thought Jake becoming Sheriff was a great plot point.

The New Bern plotline was thin but still present. New Bern’s the anti-Jericho.

Looks like a romance could have developed between Edward Beck and Heather Lisinski

I like the twists and turns Hawkins took to solve the mystery of the corrupt new government and trying to get the bomb to Texas.

“John Smith” made an appearance

I think that a couple of Hawkins trusted buddies showing up worked out very well.

Hawkins and Jake realized they had become friends by the end of series.

The start of a new civil war was a compelling idea, full of potential if a third season had been made


Problems with the second season of Jericho (spoilers):

I really don’t see the Liberal Pacific Northwest joining the corrupt Cheyenne government… without extreme force being taken (maybe there was but we didn’t get to see it).

In retrospect, killing off Gerald McRaney’s character, Johnston Green, at the end of season one was a mistake. That probably made older folks lose interest and caused Gail Green to become a superfluous character in an abbreviated second season.

The survival storyline had to be totally jettisoned in the second season rather than phased out over a longer season.

I know we need to suspend disbelief, but just having a few guys guarding the nuclear bomb was ridiculous.

Isn’t he Tenth Mountain Division based in upstate New York? So why are they over in Kansas working for corrupt Cheyenne government?

The budget was noticeably cut for the second season with lots of indoor scenes and not enough outdoor settings.

Although ten-o’clock on a Tuesday was a good time for me personally, I think it was a bad time slot for the second season.

CBS had a very quiet and confusing promotion campaign for Jericho Season 2. Plus, the whole 2 endings announcement made folks not want to invest in a show that was probably going to be cancelled.

It was sad losing most of the minor characters and their plotlines like Hawkins’ relationship with his kids, Dale and Skylar’s situation, Dr. Kenchy Dhuwalia and Jessica Williams at the hospital, Jonah Prowse roaming the countryside, and Maggie Mullen - did she make it?

All of the other love stories were lost except Mimi and Stanley (it was the best one though)


Missed/lost opportunities:

I had a feeling that Colonel Hoffman (from the end of the first season) was going to Jericho, Kansas where he would meet Gail Green and end up in a relationship with her. Consoling her because of the loss of her husband.

The second season was so compressed that I saw many events in the show that screamed to be explored or revealed over a longer period of time, kinda’ like Serenity.

The full second season would have shown more of what was happening around the country.

We never got to see the remains of any bombed city, which would have really made the world of Jericho seem like it was on the edge.






On a side note, I got a feeling those Allied States patches will be prized collectibles


-Swinebread

Jericho Cancelled a Second Time

The ratings were bad so I knew this was coming, but it’s still sad as it was one of the few shows I really enjoyed watching.

"Jericho" has been canceled, and no amount of peanuts will bring it back.

"The March 25th episode of Jericho will be the series finale," CBS Entertainment President Nina Tassler said in a statement. "Without question, there are passionate viewers watching this program; we simply wish there were more."

The show was canceled after its first season, but was resurrected when fans joined together and sent tens of thousands of pounds of nuts to get the network to change its mind.

CBS ordered a second season of seven episodes which premiered on Feb. 12, 2008. Ratings never equaled the first season's numbers, and have taken a tumble since the premiere.

"We have no regrets bringing the show back for a second try," Tassler said. "We listened to our viewers, gave the series an opportunity to grow, and the producers put a great story on the screen. We're proud of everyone's efforts."

Producers hedged their bets by shooting two alternate endings to the final show, which airs Tuesday.

One is a cliffhanger that could have led to a third season and the other ending is said to bring "closure" to fans.

But, sources tell the Hollywood Reporter, there's enough wiggle room in the final episode to make room for new life of the series on cable.

"Jericho" is a drama about what happens in the aftermath of a nuclear explosion in the once peaceful town of Jericho, Kansas.

from here

It's an expensive show so I'm not holding my breath for a pick up by a cable channel. I'll do a post next week after I watch the final episode to sum up my thoughts. If you didn't watch Jericho you missed a good show.

-Swinebread

Jericho Season 2... Tonight!

It’s been a strange ride for Jericho fans but the second season is finally here. Hell Yeah! In addition to being resurrected from cancellation by crazed fans, Jericho is in the unique position of being one of very few scripted shows on television due to the writers strike. In fact, the truncated seven-episode season which CBS authorized last spring turned out to be a blessing in disguise because if there had been an eighth episode the WGA walkout would have stopped production on the finale. I wanted more and now I’m glad I didn’t get it. There seems to be positive unintended consequences when it comes to jericho.

If the show’s second season proves to be popular (and the reviews have been good) there might be another season on the horizon and critics tout the premiere as a good jumping on point. Also, being on a 10 o’clock means there will be no completion from American Idol, so the network learned their lesson this time around.

I’m just glad Jericho beat the long odds and that we’ll have something entertaining to watch.

Next stop The Allied States of America…



-Swinebread

Latest Jericho Trailer

The Official CBS Season 2 trailer for Jericho. Looks exciting...


It came out right after Christmas but I guess I was partying too hard at that time to notice.

Jericho: Tuesday February 12

2nd Season of Jericho has a time slot

Tuesday February 12, 2008.


Mark your calendars!

My understanding is that they've shot two different season finales. The first is a cliffhanger if the series gets renewed for a third season and the second ending will wrap-up the plotlines if Jericho is cancelled.

Can’t ask for more than that especially since it was resurrected from the dead.

Season 2 Promo:



-Swinebread

Jericho Update

Haven’t made an update about Jericho in awhile, so I thought I’d post a few odds and ends. As you know, Jericho was saved after it was cancelled because fans sent in huge amounts of nuts to CBS.

First up is the “thank you” vid that was presented at Comic Con. There's great behind the scenes shots along with some footage from season 2 and the extremely happy cast and crew members. From wikipedia:

On August 2, 2007, a video was released on YouTube showing clips from the first day back at work for the Jericho cast and crew. It shows clips of the first season, explaining the cancellation, followed by brief clips from the second season premiere and a "thank you" from the cast and crew to the fans for their efforts to revive the show

The official Jericho website has all kinds of new content and this time the producers have free reign to post what they want. Check out their production blog here.



If you want to find out why the Jericho fans were so crazy about the show then drop 50 bucks and get Season One, which comes out on DVD October 2.

Now if they could just get a Jericho comic book going…

-Swinebread

Some Gaming News

I was in Powell’s Books the other day and happened across a copy of the new Hawkmoon RPG by Mongoose. I didn’t have a lot of time to look through it but the art looked very amateurish, and the overall book design uninspiring. While I was happy to see familiar Basic Role-playing Stats I wasn’t impressed with the mutation rules. I filed that away. When I read a review at RPG.net my doubts were confirmed.

the book is too short, the space between paragraphs is really huge and the page borders are enormous. This means that we have around 120 pages of real text, not enough for a traditional core book, and the consequences are huge. The rules are explained lightly, not improving the short descriptions from the SRD and lacking many examples, and the background is sparse.
The writing style is functional but never managed to catch my imagination, and the few interior illustrations are not good nor bad. At least the Tragic Europe map is adequate and well done…

…The game should be cool, but it's not, and I don't know what has happened. Maybe the Tragic Millennium is not suited for an RPG, or the book needed another focus and writing style.

For 30 bucks a pop it ought to be much better. Also, considering Mongoose is usually very good with design this is somewhat of a surprise. More books are coming so the world of Hawkmoon will be much more fleshed out and it’s compatible with all the other Runequest games published by Mongoose so that’s something. I guess I’ll wait for another edition down the road if I buy it at all.


Speaking of Mongoose, I’ve noticed that Conan 2nd Edition is a little late. It’s now coming out early September. I hope I still get the copy I ordered. Another Book, the Conan Bestiary has completely disappeared from their site. I was look forward to that one.

The big news that’s fired up the gamming community it the announcement of D&D 4th edition for 2008. From here:

Wizards of the Coast announced at Gen Con Indy Aug. 16 that the much-rumored fourth edition of the seminal role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons will be released in May 2008. However, several D&D support products…

D&D 4th Edition will continue to use the d20 game system — according to Wizards of the Coasts designers, the 4th Edition rules will be an “evolution of the system, not a revolution.” 4th Edition play is designed to be faster and easier for the Dungeon Master to adjudicate. Each character class will have a specific, defined role within an adventuring party, and the designers’ goal was to give each class interesting options for gameplay at every level. Character races have undergone a similar overhaul, with at least two new player races included in the Player's Handbook, and the core rules now go up to level 30 for characters; with the levels divided into three tiers: heroic for levels 1-10, paragon for 11-20, and epic for 21-30. One goal was to avoid having a single “sweet spot” — a specific range in levels where everyone wants to play. In D&D 3.5, this tends to be levels 7-13. For Dungeon Masters, the new edition includes new ways to build encounters by giving every monster in an encounter a role to play, and addresses or removes “game-stopping” rules like grappling in combat.

In addition to the physical rulebooks and supplements, a major component of 4th Edition will be digital. Wizards has launched a free beta version of Dungeons & Dragons Insider, the online component for 4th Edition, shortly after the Gen Con announcement. D&D Insider will change over to a subscription model around the time the new Player’s Handbook is released. For a monthly fee, D&D fans will have access to the online versions of Dragon and Dungeon magazines; online tools for players and DMs, including a character creator and map, encounter, and adventure building tools; D&D Anytime, a round-the-clock virtual game table which will allow gaming groups to get together and play D&D online; and forums and other community features.

I’m not mad I knew this was coming. I was thinking more like 2009. I’m not using the tons of 3.5 books I bought because I rarely role-play anyway. Oh well. It’s a good time to quit Dungeons and Dragons, although haven’t purchased anything new since 2006.



The future digital component of D&D explains why both Dragon and Dungeon magazines were cancelled. The final publication of these magazines was this month in fact. I thought about picking up that last Dragon, issue #359, because it’s supposed to have a retrospective, but most of it is info I wouldn’t use. So Long Dragon, I will miss the art.

Dam You DC!

DC Comics has announced that the following Showcase Presents titles are CANCELLED. from here

Suicide Squad
Secret Society of Super-Villains
Jonah Hex Volume 2
The Great Disaster
Captain Carrot

As you know I was really looking forward to Captain Carrot. Plus, The Great Disaster, and Jonah Hex 2 were must haves for me. I guess DC just couldn’t tolerate the increased reprint rates for the creators.* Dam artists, and writers trying to make a living wage.

ARRRGGH!


I had ordered these guys.

*see the thread

-Swinebread

Nixed Comics

I came across this list of “Top Ten... cancelled shows we miss” here. It was fun to read especially as it was from a British perspective, although something needs to go to make room for The Tick.

This got me thinking, what cancelled or unfinished comic series do I miss. Hmmmm…


Guardians of the Galaxy: I’ve always liked these sci-fi heroes from the 31st century. Their stories were set in an alternate timeline that’s a post-apocalyptic lovers wet dream, with the bionics Wars ala Deathlok, the Martian invasion (War of the Worlds) ala Killraven, and the Badoon conquerors nearly wiping out the human race. I also really liked the fact that these were space-fairing superheroes. Just when the Guardians title was gonna start tying up Killraven’s history with that of the Guardians of the Galaxy it got canned.


Hex: Hey I loved the scifi, and mad max action of this comic. Who cares if was in continuity or not. With Vietnam vets, road reapers, robot guard dogs, time travel, and the Jewish Batman how could you go wrong? I don’t care what anybody says, Jonah Hex’s bounty hunter characterization stayed true despite the fact he was blazing a trail across the irradiated wasteland and not the old west. It was cancelled with issue 18 so we never got to see how he made back to the 19th century… and what was up with those Dogs of War guys anyway?


Scout: A post-apocalyptic western, with Hopi mysticism and political disintegration. Great stuff. We got Tim Truman’s first two story arcs in Scout, and Scout: War Shaman then bam, the third series never appeared. I’m singing the blues, what happened Tim?


Squadron Supreme: After Mark Gruenwald’s magnum opus mini-series, “Squadron Supreme” about a Marvelized version of the JLA taking over the world to save it, I was expecting a regular series with these characters. Then Mark had to go and die… Later, Squadron Supreme: New World Order raised my hopes for a moment but it didn’t lead to anything.


1963: Alan Moore’s parody of Marvel Comics in the Silver Age. Great one shots like Mystery Incorporated, No-one Escapes the Fury, Horus Lord of Light, and Tales of the Uncanny were supposed to be tied up by an annual. Then Image went through big changes and the last part of project was shelved, never to return.


Miracleman: What can be said about Miracleman that hasn’t been said before. Hmmm.., How do you take a British rip-off of Captain Marvel and make it one of the best superhero stories ever written? Alan Moore and Neil Gaiman, that’s how. Now have Eclipse Comics go bankrupt, a confusing distribution of rights and Todd Macfarlane, and then you get a character that’s perpetually stuck in litigation with an unfinished story.


Ambush Bug: This character and his comic series totally changed my perception of reality; on top of that, the bug is really funny. Rarely do you get a character that breaks the forth wall. I never even thought it was possible to do something like that until Ambush Bug came along. Through several mini-series, the fans were treated to some of the funniest tales that had ever been put in a comic book. A good analogy would be to say that this character is the Monty Python of Comics. Ambush Bug made such an impression on me that I actually photocopied one of the issues and read it in my speech class in high school. Well, DC has reduced Ambush Bug to minor appearances and sightings. Bring back the Ambush Bug mini-series DC! We could all use a good laugh.


Xenozoic Tales: the inspiration for the Cadillacs and Dinosaurs cartoon. Xenozoic Tales is Mark Schultz’s unfinished pulp masterpiece set in a future world were the Dinos have returned and Humans eke out a simple existence in the ruins of a past civilization. Well written and amazingly illustrated, this series captures the magic of 1930’s adventure strips with modern sci-fi edginess. (From the back of volume one of the collected stories) “Once you let the profound creativity of Xenozoic Tales sink it’s teeth into you, you’ll be screaming for more!” Uh, Mark, …I’m screaming for more here…


Claw the Unconquered: Ok nobody read this title or they dropped it quickly after getting the first issue , but I loved it. Perhaps folks didn’t like it because it wasn’t made clear that this title was a continuation of the Red Sonja/Claw crossover “Devil’s Hands.” I found the Sword and Sorcery action crossed with the curse of Valkin’s demon hand very compelling. The title character was like Conan mixed with Elric. We were just getting started when the whole title was brought to a quick end due to lack of sales. I blame Wildstorm for not handling the transition from the Red Sonja/Claw crossover to the claw series very well. Hmmm… perhaps Red Sonja can come back and rescue him in another mini… yeah right. Not gonna happen.



Sectaurs… Just Kidding




I was gonna pick Airboy too, but I just came across an announcement that it’s being revived by Moonstone. See here. I hope it's good.

-Swinebread

It’s official… Jericho Season 2

An open letter from CBS confirms it’s coming back for season 2.
Originally posted at TV GAL

To the Fans of Jericho:

Wow!

Over the past few weeks you have put forth an impressive and probably unprecedented display of passion in support of a prime time television series. You got our attention; your emails and collective voice have been heard.

As a result, CBS has ordered seven episodes of "Jericho" for mid-season next year. In success, there is the potential for more. But, for there to be more "Jericho," we will need more viewers.

A loyal and passionate community has clearly formed around the show. But that community needs to grow. It needs to grow on the CBS Television Network, as well as on the many digital platforms where we make the show available.

We will count on you to rally around the show, to recruit new viewers with the same grass-roots energy, intensity and volume you have displayed in recent weeks.

At this time, I cannot tell you the specific date or time period that "Jericho" will return to our schedule. However, in the interim, we are working on several initiatives to help introduce the show to new audiences. This includes re-broadcasting "Jericho" on CBS this summer, streaming episodes and clips from these episodes across the CBS Audience Network (online), releasing the first season DVD on September 25 and continuing the story of Jericho in the digital world until the new episodes return. We will let you know specifics when we have them so you can pass them on.

On behalf of everyone at CBS, thank you for expressing your support of "Jericho" in such an extraordinary manner. Your protest was creative, sustained and very thoughtful and respectful in tone. You made a difference.

Sincerely,

Nina Tassler

President, CBS Entertainment

P.S. Please stop sending us nuts : )

The fans did it. I'm sure the cast and crew are really happy as well.

-Swinebread

Jericho Fans go Nuts… Save the Show?

It seems that Jericho might get renewed after all. Thanks to a tip from Dean Wormer, this newsie item from TV Guide lays out the down low here.

Multiple sources are telling me that CBS is thisclose to sealing a deal to bring Jericho back for at least eight episodes, possibly at mid-season

I knew there was a big letter and email campaign from the fans but I took little notice as these things rarely work. Plus, I think I ignored the whole thing as I didn’t want to be disappointed. But this time the fans took some inspiration from that show itself and sent CBS truckloads of peanuts. See in the final episode of Jericho one of the characters references General Anthony C. McAuliffe famous line “Nuts” from the Battle of Bastogne, as inspiration to defend their town. So Fans of the show began buying huge loads of Peanuts from Nuts Online to send to CBS. Jeffrey Braverman of nuts online was amazed at the response.

Braverman thought about one of his favorite television shows, "Lost," and how he would feel if suddenly ABC pulled it off the air like CBS did with "Jericho." That's when he realized his company would do whatever they could to help fans of "Jericho" make a statement with its "Nuts to You, CBS!" campaign. And Tuesday morning, the network's New York offices will have more than 1,000 pounds of peanuts -- enough to make more than 2,000 people quite satisfied -- sitting in its mailroom.

from here

According to this thread at TV.com they're up to 38,000 POUNDS or 19 TONS O' NUTS already! Wow, that’s alotta’ nuts. CBS is coming to the realization that they blew it by putting Jericho opposite American Idol. If the show does come back, it’s very cool that desperate situations both real, the soldiers of Bastogne, and imagined, the defenders of Jericho, motivated it. Regardless, My hat’s off to the fans. It looks like you may have done it.

-Swinebread

Jericho Cancelled

While almost nobody cares, I thought I would pass along that Variety announced here that Jericho is gone for good. Although it seemed inevitable because of the poor ratings, Jericho appeared like it might survive and be allowed time to find a new audience. But alas, it’s not to be. I think I knew this was coming, but it’s still a mild downer considering the show was one of the few things I watched on network TV.

The fact that Jericho was picked up for a full season originally demonstrates that there was an audience for a post-apocalyptic drama but Jericho somehow lost it along the way. While the balance between soap opera dramatics, survival, and thriller heroics wasn’t always even, it might simply be that the predicable storytelling doomed the series. It was really the actors and the terrorist conspiracy that held the show together. Maybe the producers sensed that Jericho was gone and that's why they killed off Gerald McRaney’s character. It really would be a different show without him anyway.

Oh well, if a show seems like it’s working early on maybe the suits shouldn’t put it oppsite a ratings powerhouse like American Idol after a too long hiatus. That’s a recipe for cancellation if I ever saw one. Maybe that was the point? CBS wanted Jericho to croak. Hmmmm…

-Swinebread