Pop Artifacts! Doctor Who vintage TARDIS and K-9 toys





Vintage comic book ad

Quick hits

I want this for Christmas.

Mark Evanier on Muppet stamps!

Today in exotica!


JoBlo has an interview with "Serenity" director Joss Whedon.

And TV Guide has an interview with "Serenity" star Nathan Fillion.

Mike Myers is set to play the late Who drummer Keith Moon.

An "Emily the Strange" movie is in the works.

Newsarama has an 8-page preview of Grant Morrison's upcoming "All-Star Superman".

Yahoo! Movies previews "Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were Rabbit".

DVD new releases for October 2005

Oct. 4


The Bob Newhart Show - The Complete Second Season

Cinderella (Disney Special Platinum Edition)

Cream - Royal Albert Hall - London May 2-3-5-6 2005

Cream - Farewell Concert (1968)

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005)

Star Trek - Nemesis (Special Collector's Edition)

The Val Lewton Horror Collection (Cat People / The Curse of the Cat People / I Walked with a Zombie / The Body Snatcher / Isle of the Dead / Bedlam / The Leopard Man / The Ghost Ship / The Seventh Victim / Shadows in the Dark)


Oct. 11


Arrested Development - Season Two

Soap - The Complete Fourth Season

South Park - The Complete Sixth Season

Veronica Mars - The Complete First Season


Oct. 18


Batman Begins (Widescreen Edition)

Batman Forever (Two-Disc Special Edition)

Batman Returns (Two-Disc Special Edition)

Batman Vs Dracula

Dark Shadows:Complete Revival Series 1991

Twilight Zone Season 4


Oct. 25


Alias - The Complete Fourth Season

Bewitched - The Complete Second Season (colorized)

Bewitched - The Complete Second Season (B&W)

Looney Tunes - Golden Collection, Volume Three

Tales From the Crypt - The Complete Second Season

Tom and Jerry Spotlight Collection:V2

The Wizard of Oz (Three-Disc Collector's Edition)

"Serenity" review roundup

South Florida.com: While Serenity will play like a masterpiece to devoted fans of Firefly, outsiders are likely to have a few problems with it. Most glaring is the dialogue, which tries a little too hard to be Old West. But in its own unassuming, self-effacing way, Serenity is the epic sci-fi adventure that the latter years of Star Wars could only dream of being.

Associated Press:...a spirited mix of the familiar and the futuristic, of fast-paced chase scenes and butt-kicking brawls, of witty banter and well-drawn characters.

Ohio State University Lantern: The adaptation of the TV show "Firefly" written and directed by Joss Whedon tries to cover all bases. The action/sci-fi/drama/adventure/comedy is much like a track star trying to run a 400, a relay, and poll vault all at once - it is just too much.

...a majority of the movie the audience is left wondering what exactly is the purpose.

Knight Ridder...sharp writing and well-drawn characters mean you can enjoy it even if you don't like those genres. And even if, like me, you don't have a history with the characters.

...There's lots of other stuff floating around in "Serenity," including an anti-mood-altering drug theme that is either an indictment of Prozac or a shout-out to Tom Cruise, a "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" joke and a speech about how one country shouldn't meddle in another country's business.

There's snappy dialogue, and the performances are sharp (Chiwetel Ejiofor, so magnetic in "Four Brothers," brings another villain to life), but Whedon is a better writer than director. Although he shapes individual moments well, he hasn't assembled them into a movie that will satisfy anyone who comes to "Serenity" without having seen "Firefly."

Pop Artifact! Doctor Who vintage Giant Robot toy



Vintage comic book ad

Quick hits

Mark Evanier joins the EC-Fan Addict Club.

New "Night Stalker" not so hot.

A visit with comic book and CD cover artist Tara McPherson.

Mike Sterling reads Previews again. Pity him. Pity him.

Tom Baker definitely was the Doctor Who with the best scarves.

"Lost" clues: season 2, episode 2

ABC's official recap:

Adrift
Air Date: 09/28/2005
Out on the ocean, we find Michael and Sawyer clinging to a couple of pieces of bamboo, trying to survive the elements - but no sign of Jin or Walt. While Michael tries to deal with Walt's abduction, we flashback to learn how he lost Walt in a custody battle with Susan.

On the island, Claire discovers Charlie's Virgin Mary statue, but remains unaware of its contents. And we back up in time to see the journey into the hatch from Locke's perspective, where he encounters Desmond, a man who seems rather concerned about entering a sequence of familiar numbers into a computer.

In the end, Michael and Sawyer make it to shore and are reunited with Jin, only to encounter a whole new element: the Others.


Well, we learned what's up with the castaways. But what's doing on down in Hatchland?

Things noticed--with speculation!

--Desmond seems a wee tad on the paranoid side. It seems he's been in that hole for a while (but not since the heyday of vinyl, because we saw him in that fairly recent flashback with Jack). There are hashmarks all over one wall.

--Desmond seems perplexed when Locke tells him that none of the plane passengers have become ill. And he's somewhat surprised to hear things are going business-as-usual out in the real world.

--Desmond seems completely unaware what's going on topside on the island itself. He didn't know about the plane crash and didn't notice anyone nosing around the Hatch until Locke and company blew its top off.

--Speculation: Is Desmond a member of sect/cult/secret society involved in or aware of some germ warfare scheme to destroy the world or society? Is that why he's hiding out, afraid of exposure to whatever "bug" is outside? Or has someone manufactured such a story to keep him in the hatch?

--We got a closer look at the symbol that's pretty much everywhere down in the Hatch: On the walls, Desmond's jump suit and on all those boxes of food Kate spots in the storeroom.

Numerous folks on the Web have noticed it's similarity to a Ba-Gua, an ancient Chinese octagon symbol containing symbols found in the I-Ching centered around a yin-yang symbol.



A little more info here.

Desmond's version is customized, with what looks like an outline of a swan in place of the yin-yang and the word "dharma."



Is this the symbol of whatever organization Desmond is part of?

--Desmond is waiting for/expecting somebody in particular. He asks Locke "are you him?" Evidently he doesn't know the person due to arrive. A password has been set up. He asks Locke, "what did one snowman say to the other snowman." When Locke doesn't know, Desmond determines Locke isn't the guy. Could the expected person be Walt or Claire's baby? Hurley? Googling the joke/password, the punchline that comes up is: "Do you smell carrots too" or some variation therof.

--Some folks think it's significant the plane crash survivors have been on the island 44 days.

--What's up with this thing?

Is it some sort of timer Desmond forces Locke to reset (to "108") by typing in the Numbers. Does it have something to do with the island's "defense system"? Other ideas. Plus this fascinating theory.

--Entirely missed by me during the show, but apparently Desmond's logo is also on the shark Michael and Sawyer encounter.


--The Apollo candy bars Kate finds apparently really exist.


--In the conference room where Michael is meeting with his wife and their respective attorneys about custody of Walt, you can see a model of an old-fashioned sailing ship in the background. A reference to the Black Rock?

--In a flashback, Michael is shown giving toddler Walt a stuffed polar bear.

--Here's an alleged Korean translation of what Jin was shouting to Michael and Sawyer at the episode's end.

--Are the folks rushing toward Michael, Sawyer and Jin "the Others" or survivors from the plane's tail section? We see in the preview for next week's episode that at least one fellow passenger, Ana-Lucia, is alive and on the island.

Random stuff

--A discussion about Jack's still unexplained tattoo.

--A map of the Hatch and lots of theories about it.

--Does Walt's mom figure into all this somehow? Who is she working for, exactly? What did she get sick with? Was it the illness Desmond is so concerned about? Does she get a funny look when Michael tells Walt he's his father?

--A very interesing discussion of the Numbers.

CD cover art for upcoming releases



















Pop Artifact! Doctor Who vintage talking Dalek toy

Vintage comic book ad

"Lost" season 2, episode 2 preview

Spoilers, duh!

As a personal aside: I'm not looking at any of this stuff, just linking to it. I like to see stuff as it airs. But I know some folks can't stand to wait. So here you go:

Here are some pictures of tonight's episode and the third episode to boot.

Here's a preview for tonight's ep.

Teaser copy for episode two and episode three.

An ABC press release descibing the fourth episode.

Come back here tomorrow for a roundup of "Lost" clues from tonight's show.

See the Best "Lost" Sites on the Web.

Quick hits

Continuing with the daily links to Dial B for Blog: Here's a cool look at a 1966 paperback examining "High Camp Superheroes," penned by none other than Superman creator Jerry Siegel.

Mark Evanier takes a closer look at those "Get Smart" comic books here and here.

Amy Acker of "Angel" fame will be appearing on "Alias" this season. Possible spoilers.

The "Buffy" factor on "Veronica Mars" heightens. I gotta check out that show.

Mark Hammill, who played the Trickster in the live-action "Flash" TV series way back will voice the villain in an upcoming episode of "Justice League Unlimited," Comics Continuum reports.

Marvel is doing another exclusive comic for U.S. troops.

"I learned about sex from 'Betty and Veronica,' economics from 'Donald Duck,' and philosophy from 'Peanuts,'...I should have been prepared when aliens took over the government." And more great stuff from Art Spiegelman.

Hey Art! You can learn about physics in comic books too.

TV Guide checks out the revived "Night Stalker."

Toon Zone has some images from the upcoming "Batman Vs. Dracula" DVD.

The return of Kate Bush.

CD new releases of note

Sept. 27
The Band A Musical History
Big Star In Space
James Carter, Cyrus Chestnut, Reginald Veal and Ali Jackson Gold Sounds
Miles Davis The Cellar Door Sessions 1970
The Everly Brothers Give Me a Future
Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane Live at Carnegie Hall
Jelly Roll Morton The Complete Library of Congress Recordings
Neil Young Prairie Wind
VA Children of Nuggets: The Next Generation
VA Dark Holler: Old Love Songs and Ballads
VA Just Say Sire: The Sire Records Story
OST The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

Oct. 4

Solomon Burke That's Heavy Baby 1971-1973
Booker Ervin Tex Book Tenor
The Fall Heads Roll
Franz Ferdinand You Could Have It So Much Better...with
Andrew Hill Andrew!
Elmo Hope Trio & Quintet
The Magic Numbers The Magic Numbers
Jackie McLean Consequence
My Morning Jacket Z
Liz Phair Somebody's Miracle
Ike Quebec The Complete 1945 Sessions
Ravi Shankar The Essential
VA One Kiss Can Lead to Another: Girl Group Sounds, Lost & Found
VA These Ghoulish Things: Horror Hits for Hallowe'en
DVD Cream The Farewell Concert: Extended Edition

Out now!



Available now at yer local comics shop or via This is Pop!-supporting links:

ABC A To Z Tom Strong And Jack B Quick

Batman Black White Series Mini Statue Bolland

Black Panther Who Is Black Panther HC

Justice League Unlimited Jam Packed Action TP

Runaways Vol 4 True Believers Digest TP

Showcase Presents Green Lantern Vol 1 TP

Showcase Presents Superman Vol 1 TP

Superman Birthright TP

Tom Strong Book Five HC

Wolverine Enemy Of The State Vol 1 TP

Buffy: Subway Spike figure

Pop Artifact! Doctor Who vintage Cyberman action figure

Vintage comic book ad

More "Lost" pictures

Here's promo poster shot and cast shot for season 2:



Quick hits

Looks like Kirsten Dunst inadvertantly spilled the beans on the identity of the "Spider-Man 3" villains.

The New York Times has an obituary for Don "Get Smart" Adams. Meanwhile, Lady, That's My Skull has a small tribute, including "Get Smart" comic art by Steve Ditko.

Via The Comics Reporter, here's a look at the French cover for the new Asterix book:


Dial B for Blog (yeah, him again) celebrates The Amazing World of DC Comics.

This is plain crazy: A frame-by-frame exploration of David Lynch's "Blue Velvet."

"Festival!" captures classic Newport Folk performances

Released theatrically in 1967, "Festival!," a documentary capturing a series of classic Newport Folk Festival performances from 1963 to 1966 is now out on DVD.

From the press release:

Directed by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Murray Lerner, "Festival!" notably captures Bob Dylan's legendary first electric performance. Segments from "Festival!" are prominently featured in the recently released Dylan documentary, "No Direction Home," directed by Martin Scorsese.

Along with Dylan's performance of "Maggie's Farm" backed by members of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, and his rehearsal of "Like a Rolling Stone," the film also boasts a constellation of American music stars like Johnny Cash, Joan Baez and Howlin' Wolf, plus an array of seminal folk and blues artists like Son House, Mississippi John Hurt, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee.

On its original theatrical release, "Festival!" was nominated for an Academy Award and honored at every prestigious film festival of the day. The San Francisco Chronicle wrote, "It is a masterpiece," while The Hollywood Reporter called it, "one of the best documentary films in years and one of the best American films of this year." The Christian Science Monitor praised its "sharp-edged honesty which induces one to wish it would go on forever." "Festival!" set the bar high, and as the first of the youth counterculture festival films, had considerable influence on every music documentary that would follow -- "Gimme Shelter," "Woodstock," etc.

The big stars of 60s folk music are represented in full: Peter, Paul and Mary sing their signature versions of "If I Had A Hammer," "The Times They Are A Changin'," and "Blowin' in The Wind," and Pete Seeger, Donovan, Judy Collins and Joan Baez each deliver impassioned performances. The film includes aforementioned blues legends like Howlin' Wolf, Son House, Mississippi John Hurt, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee, as well as the Chicago big band blues revivalists the Paul Butterfield Blues Band.

DVD new releases for Sept. 27

Gilmore Girls Complete Fourth Season

Star Trek Enterprise Complete Third Season

Hogan's Heroes Complete Second Season

Law and Order Special Victims Unit Complete Second Season