Wednesday, 29 July 2009: SFTV and Comic-Con

As my last blog post noted, comic books have inspired several successful movies in the past several years, so it’s no surprise that Hollywood had a major presence at the 40th annual San Diego Comic-Con last week. “Beautiful downtown Burbank,” or the television industry, was also well-represented, with actors rubbing shoulders with costumed fans.

I’ve been a fan of slacker comedies such as Reaper, partly because popular directors such as Kevin Smith and Judd Apatow represent my generation (if not necessarily its work ethic or supposed lack thereof). Espionage spoof Chuck and sleuth homage Psych have been consistently entertaining, but I think The Middleman has the best mix of fanboy allusions, witty writing, and empathetic acting. I would have liked to have been at the live reading of the “lost script,” which will eventually come out in comic book form, completing Middleman‘s life cycle.

As with their graphical origins, TV metahuman melodramas have continued, despite mixed reviews. I think Heroes has room for improvement, but many disillusioned viewers may forget that most genre programs have their ups and downs in terms of story and quality. We’ll also see whether Smallville‘s slow approach to the Superman mythos, including a Justice Society episode, will help it overcome its dependence on tired tropes. The latest version of Human Target has a narrow premise, but I like its cast.

G4 had extensive coverage of the Star Wars panel at Comic-Con, marred somewhat by the forced hijinks of usually appealing hosts Kevin Perreira and Olivia Munn. Many of my friends stopped following George Lucas’ space opera franchise after realizing that the prequel films were aimed at a younger audience than us, but I’m looking forward to Season 2 of the computer-animated Star Wars: Clone Wars on the Cartoon Network. I may also try to get tickets to the upcoming musical concert tour if it comes to Boston.

Speaking of cartoons, Batman and the Brave and the Bold, like Spectacular Spider–Man, revels in Silver Age goofiness rather than Bronze Age funk. A musical episode, classic voice casting (including a bombastic Aquaman), and clever use of obscure characters from across the DC universe make Brave and the Bold worth watching.

Marvel Comics has been more successful in print and movies than DC, but it’s only now catching up to the latest wave in animation. Wolverine and the X-Men and Iron
Man have been decent, but Marvel Superhero Squad (premiering 19 September 2009) might capture more of the old-school, child-friendly humor and action of comics’ Silver Age. The anime-style Iron Man and Wolverine might also be good.

More serious is the just-released direct-to-DVD Green Lantern: First Flight, continuing DC/Warner Brothers’ strong lineup of Justice League: New Frontier, Batman: Gotham Knight, Wonder Woman, and the upcoming Superman/Batman: Public Enemies. Andrea Romano is a voice-casting genius, and I’ll review Green Lantern‘s first cosmic foray (and other recent DVD acquisitions) separately.

Speaking of interstellar adventures, but back to live action, the Doctor Who panel didn’t reveal many new tidbits about David Tennant‘s final outings (for now) as the Gallifreyan Time Lord, but I wish his successor Matt Smith luck in taking on a role inhabited by 10 predecessors. I don’t think a remake of alien invasion series “V” is necessary, but it does sport decent production values and casting.

I’m among those who have criticized the rebranding of the SciFi Channel as “SyFy,” but I’ll keep watching what few genre shows it has left rather than wrestling, schlock horror, or so-called reality programming. Cryptozoology series Sanctuary has room to grow, but the promotion of Stargate: Universe as being more like the revisionist Battlestar Galactica or even Joss Whedon’s prematurely canceled Firefly/Serenity than the solid Stargate SG1 is a turnoff to me.

Admittedly, I have lower standards for Smallville or the syndicated fantasy Legend of the Seeker, but I’ve already spent a few years following them instead of other popular arc-driven shows such as Lost. Sword-and-sandals fans may also enjoy Spartacus, which may not match the adult content of HBO’s Rome, but it won’t be Xena: Warrior Princess, either (for better or for worse), despite Lucy Lawless’ participation.

AMC‘s upcoming miniseries remake of Patrick McGoohan‘s paranoid Prisoner has a combination of the things I like about genre television: nostalgia with a modern twist,
solid casting and production value, and (I hope) good writing. I’ve also just started watching Being Human, a drama about a vampire, a ghost, and a werewolf as roommates, on BBC America.

Coming soon: Last but not least, comic books and games!

Comic-Con movie news

While I would like to experience the San Diego Comic-Con sometime, I may have been able to follow more news from assorted media than if I had to deal with the more than 100,000 people at the genre entertainment convention last week (23 to 26 July 2009). I was disappointed that so much coverage still seemed to be snickering at the attendees, characterizing them as geeks, nerds, or worse.

Yes, most of the fanboys at such events are young men, but we don’t all live in our parents’
basements, have questionable personal hygiene, fear women, or lack productive jobs. In fact, most of my peers who are fans of fantasy, science fiction, horror, anime, and superheroes are well-adjusted professionals, often with families. People who play videogames, gamble, or are avid sports fans are still more socially acceptable than the millions of us who read comics, play role-playing games, and make the movies adapted from them profitable.

Speaking of genre film, the big Hollywood studios have all but taken over Comic-Con,
using it to preview and promote their upcoming releases. With the average price of tickets at $10 and climbing, studios are trying to find ways to compete with home theaters, online file-sharing, and ever-more-fragmented audiences and attention spans. As a result, they’re playing it safe, adapting known intellectual properties; using gimmicks like 3-D, computer imagery, and IMAX for more and more flicks; and relying on big-budget “tentpole” summer fare to boost their box office.

Still, for all of the conservatism of producers, good films are still being made. We’re still
riding the latest wave of movies with costumed superheroes, as second-stringers such as Western antihero Jonah Hex are portrayed in live action, often for the first time. I thought the previews of Iron Man 2 looked promising, even if they and the cast didn’t inspire
fans as much as when director Jon Favreau brought the first movie to Comic-Con.

As for Tony Stark, star Robert Downey Jr. can soon also be seen in Guy Ritchie’s action-oriented take on Sherlock Holmes. I’ll probably enjoy it as a steampunk/alternate
Victorian-era history rather than a faithful rendition of one of my favorite fictional characters.

Nostalgia is also behind Seth Rogen’s upcoming Green Hornet. I’ve seen reruns of the 1960s television show featuring Bruce Lee, and the “Black Beauty” was a contemporary of the classic Adam West Batmobile. I was a fan of the early 1980s Tron — not only did I play the videogame in arcades, but I have fond memories of using bicycles and Frisbees for “light cycles and deadly discs” with neighborhood kids! Thus, the trailer with genre vet Jeff Bridges looked exciting to me, even if I had to explain to Janice why.

Fantasy enthusiasts can look forward to the whimsical (and surprisingly melancholy,
from the preview) Where the Wild Things Are, Spike Jonzes’ live-action rendition of the Maurice Sendak book. I reviewed Hayao Miyazaki‘s Ponyo a few months ago, and the American English-dubbed version of the animated fable should be worth screening in a cinema. The animated Mr. Fox could also be good, since Coraline recently demonstrated that stop-motion is still a good fit for fantasy. I may not be the biggest fan of Tim Burton’s quirky style, but it does seem well-suited to Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. Fantasist Terry Gilliam’s Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus should be able to overcome the untimely death of actor Heath Ledger.

In addition, The Chronicles of Narnia [3]: Voyage of the Dawn Treader has started filming. Let’s hope that Guillermo Del Toro and Peter Jackson can make their two-picture Hobbit continue to do justice to J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle Earth as the Lord of the Rings trilogy did.

In terms of literature, science fiction was my first love before I discovered other subgenres. District 9 looks like an explicit parable about apartheid, and like last week’s Torchwood: Children of Earth, it shows that ordinary humans can be as villainous as any alien menace. If you take classic space opera, add dollops of the ever-popular cyberpunk, and use state-of-the-art visual effects, you might have something resembling James Cameron’s Avatar (not to be confused with M. Night Shyamalan’s Last Airbender). Somewhere between Burton‘s fantasy and postapocalyptic dystopia is the upcoming stop-motion “9,” which also looks interesting.

I’m less optimistic about Roland Emmerich adapting Isaac Asimov’s Foundation, a
speculation about future history and the rise and fall of galactic civilization. Asimov‘s intellectual stories aren’t a good fit for Emmerich’s usual pyrotechnics. Many more announcements were made at Comic-Con, but I’ve only mentioned the ones I found interesting.

Coming soon: Comic-Con TV, comics, and game news!

Summer SFTV

The summer 2009 genre television season has picked up, including SyFy’s lighter conspiracy series Warehouse 13, TNT’s returning capers on Leverage, and Disney XD’s Silver Age-style Spectacular Spider-Man. Because of time constraints, I’ve dropped the computer-animated Iron Man and Bible-inspired Kings from my viewing schedule, and although several friends have recommended Lost, I’m leery of making a commitment to yet another continuity-driven show.

This week promises an embarrassment of riches, with BBC America showing the well–received Torchwood: Children of Earth science fiction/horror miniseries and the beginning of the end of David Tennant as the eponymous time traveler in Doctor
Who: Planet of the Dead. I’ve been a fan of that long-running franchise since high school and look forward to the good doctor’s next incarnation.

In addition, G4 will be covering the annual San Diego Comic-Con, which has become more noteworthy lately for film previews than for comic books and graphic novels. On DVD, I’m looking forward to the releases of Watchmen, The Middleman, Coraline, Pushing Daisies
Season 2, and Green Lantern: First Flight. I have yet to see Hulk vs., Quantum of Solace, and Tale of Desperaux.

TV transitions

In the past few months, the 2008-2009 television season drew to a close with the cancellations of numerous genre shows. I was particularly fond of comedies Pushing Daisies, The Middleman, and Reaper (all of which may wrap up storylines in comic book form). Long-running, critically acclaimed shows such as E R and Battlestar Galactica
(BSG) finished, as did immature ones like Crusoe and Terminator: the Sarah Connor Chronicles.

I thought the whimsical Eli Stone, Valentine, and Cupid deserved a chance, and we’ll never know if dramas such as biblical allegory Kings would have lived up to their potential. Space operas BSG and Stargate: Atlantis ended with a whimper, although each promises to have more spin-offs with The Plan/Caprica and Stargate: Universe, respectively.

Thanks to HBO and Showtime’s free preview weekend, Janice and I caught the second
season premiere of vampire melodrama True Blood and the dark comedy Nurse Jackie. While neither was particularly realistic, both showcased the quality of writing that
distinguishes HBO from its many competitors.

I can’t say the same thing for Frank Miller’s live-action adaptation of Will Eisner’s The Spirit. As a fan of the recent comic book continuation by Darwyn Cooke and others, I was
disappointed that Miller chose to emphasize over-the-top violence rather than the wry humor of Eisner’s blue-masked gumshoe.

I’d put the rotoscoped cyberpunk A Scanner Darkly, Brendan Fraser’s juvenile adventure Journey to the Center of the Earth, and comedian Jack Black’s Be Kind, Rewind somewhere between those two extremes. Each of these movies was reasonably entertaining.

The remake of Blind Samurai was interesting, and it’s a shame that Fox didn’t give the speculative fiction Virtuality a chance beyond its television pilot. As a student of Arthurian lore, I wanted to like BBC/NBC’s Merlin but was instead annoyed at the numerous ways in which it dumbed down the characters and plot for a younger audience.

HBO’s No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency and PBS’s latest Poirot have been solid, if not overly faithful to the source novels, according to Janice, who somehow retains plot details of numerous mysteries for years (I suppose my own knowledge of comic book continuities is similar).

Coming soon: The summer TV season begins!

Star Trek flashback: Nemesis

Fellow genre entertainment fans, most reviews of J.J. Abrams‘ successful cinematic reboot of the Star Trek franchise (including mine) have compared it with the late-1960s television series or the movies featuring the original crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise. However, here again is my review of Star Trek [10]: Nemesis. The previous entry in the long-running space opera series, which I screened in Boston several years ago, was better than I had expected, but unfortunately, that’s not saying much.

Last of the Next Generation — Star Trek: Nemesis cast

For many speculative fiction fans who came of age during the 1980s, Star Trek: The Next Generation‘s crew is still the best and the brightest of the franchise. This review assumes at least some familiarity with Star Trek, which has become a pop-culture phenomenon over the past 35+ years.

Plot and Script: Supposedly the “final journey of a generation,” this outing with the bridge crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-E was written by Gladiator‘s John Logan, an avowed Trek fan.

The movie opens with some long-awaited gifts to “Trekkies/Trekkers” everywhere: character development. In an early scene, Capt. Jean-Luc Picard (Patrik Stewart, also known for playing Prof. Charles Xavier in the successful X-Men superhero movies) toasts newlyweds “Cmdr. Will T. Riker (Jonathan Frakes) and Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis), who are about to take command of a ship of their own.

The cameos by Wil Wheaton (as Ensign Wesley Crusher) and Whoopi Goldberg (as former bartender Guinan) have been cut distressingly short, and only fans of Star Trek: Voyager may be pleased to see Kate Mulgrew as “Admiral Kathryn Janeway,” who reassigns the starship Enterprise to Romulan space to investigate a coup among the long-time foes of the United Federation of Planets.

Apparently, the Remans, a Nosferatu-like subject race of the Romulan Empire, threaten to overthrow the balance of power in the quadrant under the leadership of Praetor Shinzon (Tom Hardy [now on TV’s syndicated fantasy Legend of the Seeker]), who turns out to be a deranged clone of Capt. Picard. Yes, I’ve given away some “spoilers” here, but the trailers and previews have already done so.

Like Die Another Day (James Bond 20), Nemesis raids its predecessors for plot devices. Sometimes, this works, as in the use of a nebula for a blazing space battle. However, having megalomaniac villains spouting Shakespeare and scenes of telepathic rape by a Reman viceroy (played by veteran character actor Ron Perlman [Hellboy]) have become cliches, even for Trek. The version of the script that was leaked to the Internet several months ago inspired even less confidence, however.

Star Trek II: the Wrath of Khan is widely considered to be the best movie in this series — including by me — but it has been copied a bit too slavishly in many of the subsequent flicks. Yes, Capt. James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and the 1960s-1980s crew were swashbuckling/cowboy adventurers, but Picard and company‘s strengths were as diplomats and explorers, which hasn’t really been shown in their movies.

Cameos by series veteran Spock (Leonard Nimoy) [which eventually happened in 2009’s reboot] or mischievous godling “Q” (John DeLancie) would have been more interesting than yet another crazed villain, IMHO. Even the fascinating Romulans are underused.

For the record, I believe that Star Trek: Deep Space Nine was about intrigue and preserving Starfleet‘s ideals on a turbulent frontier, Star Trek: Voyager was about maintaining teamwork while being very far from the comforts of Earth, and Star Trek: Enterprise hoped to tell the story of humanity’s first real steps into a then-unexplored galaxy. [As other reviews of mine noted, Enterprise got better too little, too late and was canceled because of low ratings.]

The parallels between Capt. Picard and Shinzon with Data and “B4,” another Sung prototype android, are overdrawn, but they suit the needs of the story. The issues of similarity and sacrifice were dealt with better in Wrath of Khan.

There is some “technobabble” in the dialogue, and the script pays lip service to Gene Roddenberry’s ideals of cooperation and having a sense of wonder. On the other hand, I was glad to see continuity respected, as events from the previous movies and television series were mentioned, such as the Dominion War.

Acting and Direction: “The fault lies not in the stars, but in ourselves.” Although the acting and direction were good, as a Trek fan, it was difficult to feel any sense of suspense. As always, it’s comforting to see familiar characters interacting, and the Next Gen crew was especially relaxed this time around. Director Stuart Baird does bring some fresh energy to the tired franchise, and the action scenes are decent.

I was disappointed to again see the excellent supporting cast so underused, from the Klingon Lt. Cmdr. Worf (Michael Dorn), to Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden), to chief engineer Lt. Cmdr. Geordi LaForge (LeVar Burton). I’ve been fortunate to meet most of these actors at conventions over the years.

Cinematography: From a dune-buggy chase to the aforementioned battle between capital ships, the action is certainly magnified over the previous Star Trek [9]: Insurrection, again evoking Wrath of Khan and even First Contact [8].

The devastation aboard damaged ships is better shown than in the past (I understand that computer-generated imagery was used rather than models this time), but the hand-to-hand fights are still a combination of poor phaser/disruptor aim and fisticuffs. The soundtrack and end credits were more unobtrusive than in the past.

Summary: Overall, I’d give Nemesis only about a 7 out of 10. Does that correspond with the “even/odd-numbered curse?” As I’ve noted before, as one of the largest fictional universes, Star Trek has some of the best and some of the worst examples of space opera. Much of the best Trek material lately hasn’t been onscreen or in the numerous spin-off novels and comic books, but in the role-playing games [I’ve only glanced at video games, board games, and multiplayer online games]. Here are my ratings (out of 10) for the various Star Trek series:

Television series:

Star Trek (1966-1969) 9
Star Trek: the Animated Series (1973-1974) 8
Star Trek: the Next Generation (1987-1994) 9
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-1999) 8
Star Trek: Voyager (1995-2001) 6
Star Trek: Enterprise (2001-2005) 7

Movies:

Star Trek [1]: the Motion Picture (1979) 7
Star Trek II: the Wrath of Khan (1982) 10
Star Trek III: the Search for Spock (1984) 7
Star Trek IV: the Voyage Home (1986) 8
Star Trek V: the Final Frontier (1989) 5
Star Trek VI: the Undiscovered Country (1991) 8
Star Trek [7]: Generations (1994) 7
Star Trek [8]: First Contact (1996) 9
Star Trek [9]: Insurrection (1998) 6
Star Trek [10]: Nemesis (2002) 7
[Star Trek [11] (2009 reboot) 9]

Role-Playing Games:

Star Trek (FASA rules; 1980s) 7
Prime Directive (wargame/RPG; 1980s) 7
Star Trek (Last Unicorn version; 1999) 10
Star Trek (Decipher version; 2002) 9
GURPS Prime Directive (Amarillo Design Bureau; 2002) 8
Prime Directive D20 (Amarillo Design Bureau; 2005) 8

>>May all your holidays be happy, and live long and prosper, -Gene (“Capt. Tzu Tien Lung”)

As you can see, despite some missteps, the Trek is far from over!