Category Archives: Television
Apparently There’s Talk in the World About an X-Factor TV Show
Like everyone else who reads the nerd blogsophere, I saw the rumors this week about a potential live action X-Men TV show. Great, I thought to myself, sounds like fun. But then it was brought to my attention that this show might be based on X-Factor, one of my all-time favorite comic books, starring my all-time favorite comic book character, Multiple Man. And all of a sudden, this becomes possibly the greatest news in the history of television.
These guys are definitely a show!
The news comes from Shawn Madden of EatGeekPlay, who I’ve never heard of before, and who could have about as much influence or knowledge about these issues as I do (which is none). This is why I don’t normally write about these sorts of reports. They’re too early in the process and too much speculation. Imagine if I’d tried to keep up with everything Robert Downey Jr. has been saying about Iron Man 4 this week!
But something like this is too much for me to ignore. A television show starring Multiple Man? That’s the universe itself reaching out to me and telling me it has my back! Multiple Man running a detective agency in the heart of Mutant Town was a brilliant series! And it helps bolster X-Factor to more than 100 issues! That number is insane in this day and age of comics! The current series, All-New X-Factor, is being cancelled at issue #20. Clearly there is success in Multiple Man.
Leading man material!
I want to see this show. I want to sit down every week and watch Multiple Man on my TV!
Though given all the rumors floating about Marvel cutting off the X-Men and Fantastic Four to spit Fox, this sort of show probably wouldn’t lead to very good things for Multiple Man in the comics. Maybe that’s the real reason why he retired to a farm in Kansas more than a year ago…
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My Initial Thoughts on The Flash TV Show
The first episode of the new live action Flash TV show debuts tonight, but like any good Interneteer, I watched the pilot over the summer when it got leaked online. But I’m going to watch the episode on TV tonight and get up a full review before the week is out. I’m hoping they’ve improved upon the show somehow…because I just don’t care for the first episode.
Here’s the last trailer for your viewing pleasure.
I’m going to save most of my thoughts and concerns for my full review, but for right now, I figured I could drop a few comments.
First of all, the show is so hokey. I don’t know what I was expecting, probably something along the lines of Arrow, but The Flash is just one hokey show. I don’t remember all the details from the pilot, but everybody always complains about Barry being late to things. And then there’s that whole “Lightning gave me abs” thing that I just don’t like. Lightning didn’t give you abs, TV executives demanding a hot bodied star gave you abs. There’s no conceivable reason for lightning to give him abs.
On top of that…I dunno. I can’t really remember everything. I just know that the pilot felt so forced and hokey. Even Green Arrow’s cameo was really awkward. But reading reviews on the web, I seem to be in the minority. And if I’m going to keep watching Gotham and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., you better believe I’m going to keep watching The Flash!
There Will Be So Many ‘Two-Faced’ Jokes, So Many
Gotham has gone ahead and cast actor Nicholas D’Agosto to play Harvey Dent, and the obvious joke is that everybody on screen is going to be making ‘two-face’ jokes all the time. Normally I wouldn’t cotton to such an obvious gag in an article, but there’s no other way to handle this announcement. Gotham will make ‘two-face jokes’. All. The. Time. This is a show that has Selina Kyle insist on several occasions in one episode that everybody call her ‘Cat’. There is no subtlety here.
Also coin jokes
Every single time Harvey Bullock sees Dent, he’s going to say something like, “Man, that Harvey Dent sure is one two-faced guy.” There’s no getting around it. We just have to accept it. And expect some kind of ‘acid’ joke in Dent’s very first scene.
For a moment, I was going to tell you henchies that I’d never heard of D’Agosto and therefore didn’t have an opinion on him…but then I took a closer look at his picture and knew I recognized him from somewhere. So I checked out his IMDB page, and sure enough, it’s West from Heroes! Don’t remember West? That makes perfect sense. He was the flying kid in Season 2, the one who was almost Claire’s boyfriend! Still don’t remember him? I barely remember him either. Season 2 was when Heroes started to go downhill fast. Remember when Peter left his new girlfriend stranded in a post-apocalyptic future? Yeaaaahhh…
I assume D’Agosto has grown up since then, so maybe he can pull off Harvey Dent. Though it’s interesting to note how much older he’s going to be than Bruce Wayne. In the comics, they were roughly the same age, and friends. Looks instead like Dent is going to be Gordon’s age. That’s fine. The obvious jokes will land just as thuddingly.
6 Other Potential TV Crossovers
In a television event that is almost as historic as the final episode of M*A*S*H, The Simpsons crossed over with Family Guy this past weekend, creating a relatively mild episode for both shows. I liked it, in the same way I generally like any new episode of The Simpsons or Family Guy. I will always be a fan of both shows, but I think we’ve all settled into a general state of mediocre acceptance. Still, whoever though it would happen, right?
I would have loved this when I was 15
Although actually, I’m kind of wondering why it doesn’t happen more often! Crossovers are the bee’s knees, I tell ya! Why aren’t there more of them? Like Freddy vs. Jason, Aliens vs. Predator, that time The Critic guest-starred on The Simpsons, or when the Ninja Turtles met the Power Rangers; it’s all gold! If it was up to me, we’d have even more of them. I know there are different networks and contracts and executives in the way, but I’m the sort of man who daydreams of a perfect utopia of entertainment.
So join me after the jump to see my six ideas for the most epic TV crossovers imaginable!
Gotham is Going to be More Badass Than We Hoped!
Opinions may vary on the quality of Gotham, but I like it, and this new promo trailer for the first season is pretty darn exciting!
We’re two episodes deep into Gotham, and so far, I’m a happy camper. Once they shake the opening jitters, I think Gotham is really going to take off. But while we’re on the subject, I was reading an interesting article on i09 the other day and thought I’d weigh in.
How does Gotham successfully tell the story without Batman? If Gordon succeeds in cleaning up all of the crime and the super-villains before Batman even arrives, then why does Gotham City even need Batman? Or conversely, if none of the super-villains show up until after Batman debuts, doesn’t that mean he only makes the situation worse?
I think Gotham can pull this off with ease.
Obviously, they just need to introduce Batman. I’m thinking by season 3 or 4, they can get a whole season out of that scene in Batman Begins where Bruce Wayne visits Gordon in his office and says, “Now we’re two.” Problem solved!
But seriously, the show can pull off this balancing act, and I think they already know how: focus on the mobsters.
This is a very storied time in Gotham City’s history, when the mob control of Carmine Falcone slowly slips out of his grasp as the freaks take over. And you’ve got your lead freak in Oswald Cobblepot, whose rise to power is clearly going to be one of the main storylines. Penguin perfectly straddles the line between mobster and freak super-villain. So focus on Gordon and Bullock battling Falcone and Fish Mooney in the first season, while the Penguin works his way up from the trenches.
This then leads to an all-out gang war on the streets of Gotham at some point, between Falcone, Sal Maroni and Fish Mooney, with the Penguin surprising everybody by being more vicious and more wild than any of them could have predicted.
And, most importantly of all, you have Gordon lose.
Oh he’ll try, and he’ll fight, and every once and awhile, he’ll get a victory. Harvey Bullock will come over to his side in full at some point. More police officers will listen to him in time. But in the great big grand scheme of things, Gordon will lose, and Gotham City will keep getting worse.
And then it will need the Batman.
Gotham has more than enough time to pull this off. Start small in the battle between Falcone and Mooney in season one, with the Penguin very much on the fringes. Build up to a full-on gang war for seasons two and three, perhaps. Not every episode has to be about the serialized gang war. Throw in the occasional proto-villain here and there, like a ‘crime-of-the-week’ sort of thing, and you can pad out the seasons while remaining interesting.
All of those freaks we met in the first episode will stay on the sidelines. Selina Kyle can obviously keep operating as a young cat burglar for as long as they need. Ivy Pepper never has to do anything further. And Edward Nygma never has to turn completely into the Riddler over the course of the series. The cops are always going to need a forensic analyst, after all. Heck, maybe Riddler can become the big bad who eventually defeats Gordon. Maybe by season 4, the Penguin is coming into his full power, and he teams up with Nygma to really destroy the GCPD…which is when Batman shows up to lend a hand! Seriously, stop being assholes and bring Batman into your Batman show.
But there you go, Gotham, my two pieces of advice: have Jim Gordon lose, and focus on a gang war with the Penguin as wildcard. There’s your show.
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Henchman-4-Hire 