Category Archives: Television
An Arrow Casting and Recasting, But Not the Character We Actually Want
Arrow has been so busy casting new characters for the show that I’ve fallen behind in announcing all of them! Not that I’m required too. It’s not like Arrow is slipping me any money to be the geek blog that announces these castings. And it’s not like I have a secret source in Hollywood that gives me any scoops. Sometimes I just like talking about casting choices. For example, actor Matt Ward has been cast as Komodo, a brand new villain that I think first showed up in GA comics earlier this year. That’s pretty cool. And I think Manhunter, another superhero, was also cast a few weeks ago. It’s getting out of control!
Just announced today is Amy Gumenick cast as Cupid, a character introduced a few years ago, and created by Arrow executive producer Andrew Kreisberg.
Should be fun. I don’t know anything about either of them, but awesome nonetheless.
Also announced this week was the recasting of Katana. No longer will she be Devon Aoki from Sin City. Instead, Katana will be played by Rila Fukushima from The Wolverine.
That should also be pretty fun! I liked Rila in The Wolverine.
Unfortunately, despite this flurry of casting, the people at Arrow have yet to cast the one character we’re all dying to see. I’m speaking, of course, about the best new character introduced in the New 52 so far.
Drum roll, please.
Make it happen, Kreisberg!
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Doctor Who? Peter Capaldi, That’s Who!
Like the rest of geekdom, I watched the season premiere of Doctor Who Saturday night with bated breath, eager to see how new Doctor, Peter Capaldi, would do in the role. I wasn’t around either time when David Tennant and Matt Smith took over, I had to catch both of those regenerations in reruns online. So Saturday’s episode was my first real time experience with a new Doctor.
And it was great!
Independent State of Eyebrows!
The episode itself – Deep Breath – was pretty good. Not one of the best of all time, but that’s fine. I think I liked it more than any episode in Season 7. I love the Pasternoster Gang – Vastra, Jenny and Strax – so seeing them with the new Doctor was really fun. I hope they stick around, because it’s a hoot seeing a new Doctor interact with his former self’s supporting cast (though now that I think about it, Capaldi didn’t spend much time at all with Vastra and friends). I also really liked Clara in this episode. I think Season 8 is going to try to build her up a bit more – before she leaves around Christmas, of course.
Don’t make that face, you know what you’re doing
But the real draw of the new episode was Capaldi himself – and he absolutely nailed it! Oh man, that was an exciting performance. I knew to anticipate a lot with Capaldi, even if I haven’t seen any of his other shows, but he lived up to all the hype and hope. He was wickedly sharp in his performance, a touch more serious than Matt Smith. Once he gets his mind settled and emerges as the Doctor, Capaldi commands every scene he’s in. Whether he’s alarmed at his eyebrows or bantering with Clara, Capaldi fits perfectly as both the Doctor and his version of the Doctor.
In fact, I loved the banter the most. Whether they’re talking about the Sonic Screwdriver’s voice commands, or bickering about who is the bigger egomaniac in a booth at a family restaurant, Capaldi and Jenna Coleman worked great together.
He’s not a hugger
I’m now even more excited about the new season. The cameo at the end was nice, but I think I liked Capaldi’s response even more. He made a great first impression, and I’m confident he’s going to make a great Doctor.
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Real Comic Book Supervillains Will Be in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. – Starting With Absorbing Man!
No sooner did Marvel announced that Mockingbird would be joining Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. then they’ve also revealed that Absorbing Man, a pretty major comic book bad guy, will be in the season premiere on Sept. 23. Crusher Creel will be played by actor Brian Patrick Wade, and here is a pic of him from the set.
They definitely got the bald part right
That’s pretty awesome news! One of the things we all wanted from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. was more comic book connections. They didn’t even get around to bringing Graviton back in the first season! Granted, Absorbing Man, Graviton and Blizzard aren’t exactly A-list bad guys, but they are a million times better than that random, no-named fire-guy, right?
Hecks yes.
What other comic book villains would you like to see in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.?
Mockingbird Cast in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Agents of S.H.I.E.LD. wasn’t a perfect sure, but you better believe I’m coming back for Season 2! And Marvel is gearing up with a ton of new characters and plots. So far, the only new character directly from the comics is Mockingbird! She’s going to be played by Adrianne Palicki, who was almost Wonder Woman in a TV show that never made it past the pilot.
The Hollywood Reporter announced the casting today.
Mockingbird, real name Bobbi Morse, is a secret agent and Avenger from the comic books. She hasn’t been around very much in recent years, but was pretty important back in the 70s and 80s, when she was Hawkeye’s wife. So this is a pretty big coup for the show. I doubt Mockingbird was ever going to make it into the movies, but she’d be pretty perfect on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
She could possibly also guest star in the Netflicks Defenders!
Arrow is Going Wild – Meet Wildcat
Ever since Arrow hit it big (and is spawning a successful Flash spin-off), DC and Warner Bros. have just started announcing a ton of new superheroes for the show! They’ve already announced the Atom and Firestorm and others I’m suddenly forgetting. Well now they’re adding Wildcat, because why not?
He will be played by a guy named J.R. Ramirez.
Named after every high school sports team ever
Thanks to Michael for the tip!
Wildcat, otherwise known as Ted Grant, will be a former boxer who now runs a gym for underprivileged youth. He’s apparently going to play a big part of Laurel Lance’s story arc in Season 3, possibly confirming that she’ll take over as Black Canary before too long? That’s kind of a shame, since Laurel is the worst, but Sarah is the best.
As far as I’m concerned, Arrow can just keep introducing hero after hero!
Henchman-4-Hire 