Category Archives: Television
New Iron Fist Trailer Is Something!
Maybe it’s the sore throat, sniffles and runny nose talking, but this new Iron Fist trailer doesn’t get me too pumped for the upcoming show. Which is a shame, because the Marvel Netflix shows have been on point!
The problem with this trailer is that it doesn’t show us anything new or interesting to get us excited about Iron Fist. This should have been a story trailer, letting us know what the show is actually going to be about. But this trailer is almost completely about Danny Rand as a person, without getting into his powers, his mystical training or, honestly, anything at all about him. They tease his powers briefly at the end, and it’s the most exciting part of the trailer.
They name-drop K’un-Lun, but they don’t explain at all why it’s a place we’ll want to visit. It comes off like a generic martial arts monastery. They show Danny fighting, but what modern action hero isn’t a highly trained martial artist these days? They show Colleen Wing, but don’t do anything with her. They tease Madame Gao, but only by simply showing us that she’s on the show.
And most importantly, where is the villain? The Netflix shows have all had hugely impressive villains, for the most part. But we don’t get a hint of anything like that in Iron Fist, unless you count that one generic white guy businessman who showed up in the beginning. But who cares about him?
This is inexcusable! Iron Fist has some great villains! And even if he doesn’t, they can’t even show us an evil martial arts master? Where is Steel Serpent? Or even Fat Cobra?
Iron Fist might be the hardest sell of all the Marvel Netflix shows, and if this is the last trailer we get before the show launches next month, then Marvel better hope they’ve got a hidden gem here.
I mean, I’m totally gonna watch it. I just think they should have upped their trailer game this close to the premiere.
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A Runaways TV Show is Apparently Totally Happening!
To the surprise of a lot of people, Marvel randomly and apropos of nothing announced the casting of the upcoming Runaways TV show! It’s going to be on Hulu, apparently! And Marvel being awesome, seems like they’re casting the Runaways as comics accurately as they can! All the characters are here!
This is really happening!
From left to right, we’ve got Rhenzy Feliz as Alex Wilder, Lyrica Okano as Nico Minoru, Virginia Gardner as Karolina Dean, Ariela Barer as Gert Yorkes, Gregg Sulkin as Chase Stein and Allegra Acosta as Molly Hernandez!
I don’t recognize any of these actors, but that shouldn’t be too scary. If Marvel trusts them then I totally trust them!
You can read a better description of all the characters, and some of the actors’ credits, at the Marvel announcement article.
Also, Runaways creator Brian K. Vaughn will be an executive consultant on the show, so that’s pretty neat. He’s a great writer and has a lot of experience with TV shows.
So yeah, this is pretty neat. I look forward to the show whenever it premieres. And personally, I hope that Marvel somehow keeps the Minoru family continuity from the Doctor Strange movie. That would just be insanely cool.
Oh, also, Marvel casted Cloak and Dagger a few days ago too. So clearly somebody’s burning the midnight oil in the TV division.
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Henchman Ranks All the Sherlock Episodes
The hit BBC show Sherlock ended it’s four-series run this past weekend, and I’m happy to say I was a fan right through the end. This show had a shockingly good debut all the way back in 2010 and, like everybody else, I waited patiently over the years for each new exciting installment. It made superstars out of lead actors Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman, it spawned two American clones, and it’s probably defined the character for the new century.
Sherlock was a pretty good show.
It’s a good hat
Sherlock was far from perfect, though. By seasons three and four, I think it was struggling under the weight of its own dazzling debut. The creative people involved were more weathered and deep in the business by the end, and I think they were unable to re-capture the magic of the first two seasons. But I don’t fault Sherlock. It’s still a grand achievement and a delight to watch again and again.
And since there’s a solidly finite number of episodes, I’ve decided to rank them from worst to best! In my own opinion, of course. Your thoughts may vary, and I’d love to see your own list in the comments!
Join me after the jump as I rank all 13 episodes of Sherlock!
My 6 Favorite Things of 2016
By all accounts, 2016 has been a pretty crummy year. I still can’t wrap my head around most of it and it’s been more than a month. And I’m still disappointed that the Warcraft movie wasn’t a bigger hit. That thing had so much potential! I still like it, and that’s all that matters to me.
Anyway, like most online writers, I figure I might as well wrap up my favorite bits of pop culture in 2016.
As with the changing of the tides, so too come the end of year Best lists. But unlike really cool, professional websites who watch a ton of movies and know what they’re talking about, I only really pay attention to four things: movies, video games, TV shows and comics. And every year, I scramble to fill in the final two slots to make a List of Six. So sue me.
Join me after the jump for my favorite bits and pieces of 2016!
I Love the Star Wars: Rebels Easter Eggs in Rogue One
Though I didn’t notice them when I first saw Rogue One in theaters, apparently there are a ton of Star Wars: Rebels Easter Eggs throughout the movie. Fortunately, the good people at Entertainment Weekly have been nice enough to post official screenshots showing off the Ghost and that stupid Chopper astromech.
I think this is an amazing idea.
What scum and villainy!
I have heard some critics deride the idea that Rogue One is just a glorified fan film. That all they have to do is feed us the classic Star Wars iconography and we’ll greedily lap it up like good little puppy dogs. To Hell with that line of thinking!
We live in a world of franchises. Be they Ninja Turtles, Marvel superheroes, Transformers or Star Wars, this is where we get our pop culture awesomeness. And if we’re a fan of said franchises, I see absolutely nothing wrong with embracing and enjoying when those franchises are celebrated. I loved Rogue One, in large part because it was an exciting and well made Star Wars movie. There is no harm or shame in taking X-Wing fighters and lightsabers and making a hugely fun and entertaining movie.
Or a cartoon show. And there’s especially no shame in uniting them to build an even bigger connected universe. In fact, I think that idea is beyond amazing.
If you don’t know, Star Wars: Rebels is the current Star Wars cartoon coming out of Disney about a gang of rebel fighters near the start of the rebellion, set about 3 or 5 years before Rogue One and A New Hope. It’s an OK cartoon. I’m not a devout fan or anything, but I like watching.
Somewhere along the line, the people making Star Wars stuff these days realized that the cast of Rebels would reasonably have some kind of connection to the events of Rogue One. They’re set a few years apart, but unless everybody in Rebels dies a horrible death at the end of the series, some of them might still be around in time for Rogue One.
And sure enough, they were!
This is a picture of the Ghost, the Rebels’ signature ship.
It doesn’t look like a ghost
And here you can see the Ghost parked at Yavin 4 during Rogue One.
Right there on the far left
There are also shots of the Ghost with the rest of the Rebel fleet above Scarif in the movie’s climax.
And in this movie screenshot, you can see the Rebels’ droid, Chopper, on the far left.
Also on the left
Elsewhere in the movie, you can hear an announcement paging a “General Syndulla”. The masterminds behind the cartoon have since confirmed that the announcement is referencing the Rebels character Hera Syndulla. Apparently she gets a promotion to general by the time Rogue One comes around. Good for her.
All Star Wars movies need a badass twi’lek space pilot
So what we have here is a crossover of epic proportions, and I am thrilled. At no point did Rogue One have to acknowledge Rebels. Even though it’s the same franchise, and the two are both being produced by Disney at the same time, there was no need to put Rebels Easter Eggs into Rogue One. Nobody would really notice them, and non-fans wouldn’t care.
But just the fact that Star Wars went this extra step speaks volumes. They care about creating a bigger, connected universe in their properties. They take this seriously. And as a super fan, I appreciate that sort of thing. I love the idea of cross-platform crossovers, like tie-in comics to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And remember that Matrix video game that supposedly took place simultaneously to the sequels? That game/concept was great (if a little wonky)!
Star Wars is a fun franchise and there is nothing wrong with making more Star Wars movies starring classic Star Wars characters, weapons and vehicles. And if the people making those movies want to go the extra step and add crossovers with other Star Wars properties, that is the ultimate icing on the best tasting cake ever.
Also, this totally makes me more interested in Rebels, so that’s a win-win for everybody involved. I can’t wait to see them do the Battle of Scarif from the Rebels’ perspective!
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Henchman-4-Hire 