Category Archives: TV

Comic Books/Graphic Novels, General, Movies, TV

Disney buying up most of Fox Entertainment…

Woke up today to the news that Disney is, as the headline right above states, buying up most of Fox Entertainment’s assets.  The link below is to a CNN article written by Hadas Gold and Charles Riley concerning that big bit of news…

Disney is buying most of 21st Century Fox for $52.4 Billion

To comic book/movie geeks like me, this means that Disney, who owns Marvel Comics and the characters, nonetheless did not have the right to make movies using the X-Men, Fantastic Four, and only until recently, Spider-Man, even though those characters and the ancillary characters around them were part of the Marvel Comics stable.

Why?

Because there was a time, believe it or not, when Marvel Comics wasn’t doing all that well financially and the rights to the movie versions of these properties were sold to what eventually became 21st Century Fox.  These properties, ironically enough, were THE most popular properties in the Marvel stable, so when the Marvel films first started coming out, they were forced to use “lesser” characters at first.

Sure, people knew the Hulk and Captain America, but Iron Man wasn’t a big character.  Thor, also quite well known in comic book circles, was hardly a Marvel “A” lister.  So too the Guardians of the Galaxy.

But the movies were successful beyond anyone’s dreams and, voila, the Marvel films were hot hot hot and when Disney purchased them, lock, stock, and barrel, they continued the success… and even managed to procure the use of Spider-Man.

I suspect that small opening allowed Disney to continue their negotiations with Fox and, today, it looks like we’ve come to the logical conclusion.

So, now what?

Will we see the Fantastic Four and X-Men finally come into the Marvel Universe?

I strongly suspect we will.

And… it kinda depresses me.

Look, its nice that the Marvel properties, both in print and in theaters, are now going to be under one umbrella.  The properties should be together as they always were in print.

However…

Is it me or are we rapidly coming to the point where our entire lives are going to be influenced by only a handful of companies?

Think about it: In entertainment Disney, Warner Brothers, and Sony are a trio of incredibly big and influential companies.  Fox was, too, but now Fox is part of Disney.

I could go on with other companies, such as Amazon and Apple and Samsung and Microsoft and… the list sure seems to get smaller and smaller, no?

One other thing: Fox owns the rights to the original cut of Star Wars (1977).  Now, supposedly George Lucas, when he sold his Star Wars properties, put a clause in there nixing any release of the original cut of the film.

But now Disney actually owns that cut (again, this was like the Marvel deal, while Disney owns the Star Wars properties, Fox had the rights to the original theatrical version of the original film).

The big question: Will they finally release it?

TV

Unproduced Police Squad script…!

If you were to ask me to state what my all time favorite comedy movie is, I’d probably say Airplane!

Don’t get me wrong, there are many, many, great comedy movies out there, but this film, IMHO, is the heights of absurdist, hundreds (seemingly) jokes a second, Mad-Magazine style parody/comedy which, thanks to the use of then very “serious” actors in absolutely absurd roles (believe it or not, when Airplane! came out, Leslie Nielsen -among other well known actors within the film- was known for his dramatic, serious roles!).

Now, if you were to ask me my all time favorite TV comedy, that one would be the very short lived (six episodes!) run of Police Squad!

After Airplane!’s its makers, Jim Abrahams and Jim and David Zucker recruited Leslie Nielsen to star in their very similarly themed absurdist comedy series.  Here is an example of one of the show’s intros…

I still chuckle at that opening bit, from the “In Color” announcement (TV shows of the 1960’s, when they went from Black and White to Color, would announce the fact that they were “In Color” to promote themselves to people with B & W TV sets and, hopefully, convince them to buy them), to the sequence with the shootout in the station (the guy on fire, the lady with the baby who flings it, etc.), to the wonderful special guest star (whose sole scene in the show was his/her death), to the “Rex Hamilton as Abraham Lincoln” absurdity.

Then there were the show’s endings, which made fun of the popular “freeze frame” endings found on many TV shows back then…

Anyway, the show would be revived with the Naked Gun films, but I found this fascinating article concerning the script to an un-filmed episode of Police Squad!, which is now available online.  The article is by Matthew Dessem and is found on Slate.com…

All Units, There’s an Unproduced Police Squad! Script on the Internet, Please Respond

Read the article and find out that its about David Misch’s unproduced seventh episode of Police Squad!, the script of which can be found in full here:

Testimony of Terror

To all those fans of the absurdist Abrahams and Zucker Brothers comedy, its a neat bit of (unproduced) humor.

You’re quite welcome!

General, TV

Where has the time gone…?

I’ve heard it said that for every decade that passes in one’s life, time feels like its going faster and faster and faster.

For me, its passing at light speed.

While doing my usual search through the internet for interesting stories, I came upon this one at thehollywoodreporter.com.  The article was written by Lesley Goldberg and concerns…

Zoo Canceled at CBS After 3 Seasons

If you’ve never heard of the show, it is based on a James Patterson novel (he’s the producer of the show as well) that concerns a world where animals attack our protagonists.

While I had heard of the show, the extent of my actually watching it is limited to seeing, perhaps, two or three commercials of it here and there.

Having said that, I was stunned to find the show has been on for 3 years.

3 years.

Holy cow.

I won’t miss the show but I will wonder what happened to those three years.

Has it really been that long?!

Movies, TV

Netflix investments…

Over at Quartz Media, there is an article by Ashley Rodriguez which points out the amount of money Netflix is spending on comedy/stand up shows and how they are paying so much that HBO, who used to have plenty of stand up comedy shows, is now falling back (though they did just sign Jon Stewart):

Netflix is Spending a Fortune on Stand-Up But Nobody Streams These Comedy Specials on HBO

I’ve noted twice before (you can read the most recent thing I wrote about Netflix and their expenditures here) that Netflix, a company that is clearly flush with cash and success, were spending an awful lot of money on new programming and, I worried then, they might be reaching a point where they’re simply spending too much.

In the article linked above, this paragraph is worth noting:

(Chris) Rock’s two specials and Chappelle’s three reportedly cost Netflix $20 million apiece, for a whopping total of $100 million. And Netflix reportedly spent another $100 million on Seinfeld’s pair of specials, combined with his full series Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee. That’s roughly what HBO spent on the entire sixth season of Game of Thrones.

That expenditure doesn’t even account for the nearly $295 million Netflix supposedly spent to make some four movies, Death Note, Will Smith’s Bright, Brad Pitt’s War Machine, and Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman.

I admire the fact that Netflix is trying to create their own entertainment “world”, and clearly at this point they are so flush with cash that they can afford to make the investments.

However, I also wonder just how long this magic ride of theirs can last.  Death Note and War Machine, for example, didn’t seem to create much in the way of buzz.  While War Machine did receive some critical kudos, Death Note seemed to do the exact opposite and I don’t know if either property made Netflix a profit or broke even.

The amount of monies spent on these comedy specials, too, seems rather crazy.  Spending $100 million for Jerry Seinfeld’s two specials and Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee cost the same as the entire sixth season of Game of Thrones?!

Game of Thrones features a large cast and special effects and one can understand it needing funds to be made… though it seems the investment was worth it given the fact that Game of Thrones is one of the most talked about -not to mention successful– shows out there.  On the other hand, the Sienfeld material, as good as it may be, involves no special effects, minimal staff to film or have before the cameras, and therefore a product that has to be done very cheaply… yet it merits a payment in the range of a Game of Thrones?!

Look, I like Jerry Seinfeld and the fact that he’s still earning that kind of money is a tribute to his talent.  Further, I’ve heard his Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee is quite good.

Having said all that, does the show do Game of Thrones business?!

I may be wrong, but I don’t think so.

I guess the bottom line is this: I worry for Netflix.  No, I don’t own stock in them or have family or friends working in the company nor any personal reason to care what happens to them other than as a consumer… but I do feel they are way too free in their expenditures and think that one day they will suddenly find they’ve wasted on hell of a lot of money on stuff that (perhaps) will never give them back their return.

We’ll see, that’s for sure.

General, Movies, TV

Jerry Lewis & Dick Gregory…

Two people who have been in my life one way or another have passed.

Jerry Lewis was 91 years old and, toward the end of his life, was rather notorious in his later years as a (let’s put it kindly) a crank.  His style of comedy, I must admit, wasn’t to my taste but it is undeniable he left behind a large legacy and plenty of comedians who were guided/inspired by him.

My greatest memories of him is for the muscular dystrophy telethons, which took over the TV back in the 1970’s and into the 1980’s and lasted for a solid 24 hours.  Mr. Lewis, toward the end of these telethons, was sometimes barely coherent but given the good he did during these events, one can’t help but admire him for that.

Dick Gregory also passed away.  He was 84 and also leaves behind a large legacy though, like Mr. Lewis, his biggest contributions to culture came a little before my time.  An African American comedian who was one of the very first to be able to perform in front of white audiences.  He was a civil rights activist and, occasionally, actor.

While neither individual personally touched me as they did so many others of the generation(s) before mine, its nonetheless worth given them their due.

Rest in Peace.

General, TV

Tina Fey is magnificent

Ok, getting political again… last night I happened to catch the SNL Weekend Update Special (I didn’t know they were doing these at all and just happened to luck into seeing it!).

Toward the show’s end, we were treated to the always delightful Tina Fey and this:

Wow just, wow.

Tina Fey, you’re incredible.

TV

Now that’s…nasty…

Over the weekend it was announced that Jodie Whittaker would play the first female Doctor Who.

And then…

Muroch-owned paper publishes nude photos of new female Doctor Who

The above article, by Gabriel Bell and found on Salon.com, reports how The Sun decided to print some nude photographs of Ms. Whittaker, taken in previous roles.

I have to say… that’s a pretty low blow.

There are those who feel Doctor Who is primarily a child’s entertainment (I would disagree) and, by publishing these photographs, one can’t help but realize The Sun is trying to tweak the producers of the show.

For what end?

Do they hope to so turn people off to the “tawdry” photographs that the producers decide to not use Ms. Whittaker?

Why would they gain in shaming an actress with a long list of credits as she’s about to take on what is easily her most high profile role?

It’s nasty business and, worse, petty as hell.

TV

New Doctor Who

Over the weekend, along with the sad news of the passing of George A. Romero and Martin Landau, came news that the new Doctor Who would be, for the first time in over fifty years of the show, a woman!

So the new Doctor is being played by Jodie Whittaker, star of the British crime drama Broadchurch.

Immediately there were those who made their displeasure known.  The Doctor is a man!  What will this new Doctor wear, pink?  And you just know where the sonic screwdriver jokes went.

Frankly, I’m intrigued.

Yes, a case can be made that the producers of Doctor Who are purposely shaking things up and, in the wake of the success of Wonder Woman, perhaps reasoned the time was right to try a female version of the Doctor.

Some have argued that because of his (note this word) history, Doctor Who should always be male.  Some even felt he should be an elder gentleman, which is what the majority of the Doctors have been with a few exceptions.

Again, I’m intrigued.

Of all the famous characters out there, the Doctor is perhaps the only one where the concept of changing his race or even sex makes sense.  The reason there have been so many different Doctors, to those who have never seen the show, is because the Doctor regenerates whenever his current body is about to expire.  In reality, of course, this is a gimmick which allows the show to continue with different actors and their different takes on the character and not have any uncomfortable explanation of why.

Having said that, if the Doctor regenerates, why wouldn’t he conceivably regenerate into a female form?

I for one will most certainly catch the new episodes.

TV

The bottom line…

Wow, that was quick.

This article by John Koblin for The New York Times tells us…

Greta Van Susteren leaving MSNBC after less than six months

I point this out simply to show the sometimes ruthless business of television and, in this case, television news.

I very much recall liking Greta Van Susteren when she was one of the regular talking heads during the O.J. Simpson trial waaaaay back when.

Image result for greta van susteren o.j. case

After that was done, I know she went to Fox News and, because I avoid that network like the plague, never did get to see much of her there.

When she popped up on MSNBCa few months back I caught her now and again and, frankly, was surprised by how little I cared for her show.  Again, I distinctly recalled enjoying her and her comments -usually very sharp and perceptive- during that O.J. Simpson trial but here, in this format… I dunno.   It felt weak, as if she were trying a little too hard to straddle the line and inject her “common sense” thoughts into today’s politics.

Apparently Mrs. Van Susteren’s ratings were very bad and the decision was made to drop her.

Quickly.

She had a show on Wednesday and by Thursday (ie yesterday the 29th of June as I type this) they had already dropped her and placed a new temporary host for her hour.  No mention was made on the change by this new host and, I suspect as I didn’t see it, Mrs. Van Susteren didn’t have any sort of “goodbye” on her Wednesday show.

Again, I point this out as an example of the sometimes very ruthless nature of television.  While I didn’t particularly like her show and, it would appear, not enough people did, it strikes me as rather nasty the way she was so quickly dropped.

Which makes me wonder if there may have been other things going on in the background which hastened this decision.

Ah well, I won’t necessarily miss her but, still, can’t help but feel a little sorry for Mrs. Van Susteren.

Movies, TV

Netflix cancels Girlboss…

Never saw the show, but over the weekend it was announced that the Netflix show Girlboss, based on the life of Nasty Gal founder Sophia Amorusa, was cancelled.  This article, by Matthew Dessem and found on Slate.com, is about the cancellation:

Netflix fires Girlboss

Again, I never saw the show and, most likely, never will.  There’s just too much entertainment out there and this particular topic, fashion, doesn’t intrigue me enough to see it though I’m certain there is/was an audience -though not enough of one- to get it made for at least the one season.

I point this out because Netflix, of late, appears to be paring down their shows.  They cancelled Sense8 and The Get Down in the previous month and who knows if they’re going to pare down a little more.

Not all that long ago -in late March as a matter of fact- I wrote about how much money Netflix was spending on what amounted to four original movies.  The movies, Death Note, Will Smith’s Bright, Brad Pitt’s War Machine, and Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman, are projected to cost Netflix a whopping $295 million to make.

That’s one hell of a lot of dough.

I felt then, as I do now, that Netflix is clearly on a roll and clearly has a lot of money to invest but wondered if going for such high end expensive projects might be…well…risky.  While they seem to be doing reasonably well with their TV shows (another expense, it should be noted), it seemed nearly incomprehensible to spend that much money on “just” four movies, even with the big names attached to them.

I can’t help but wonder, three months later, if some of the paring down of TV shows in this past couple of weeks indicates that those at Netflix are beginning to realize they can’t sustain so many projects and invest that much money without -I know this is going to sound childishly simple- making it back.

At least making it back, if not actually turning a profit.

Much as I love movies and follow all the stories regarding the studios and features to come, their continued success relies, as it does with so many companies, with the bottom line.

If Actor X or Director Y make a film that bombs, hard, odds are those who could potentially back them will be more hesitant to invest in their next project(s).  If they make a bundle with their film, obviously the opposite is the case and said Actor or Director may find themselves in the position to do what they want rather than what they can get.

With Netflix, I had the impression from that first story that they were so flush with cash and were so enamored with movies and TV shows (not unlike so many of us) that they felt they could turn around and make things they’d like to see.  They invested big bucks into shows and, now, movies but, again, I can’t help but wonder if this paring down shows they’ve realized they can’t simply keep funding projects that don’t turn at least a modest profit for them.

Someone far more clever than I once said of a business (it doesn’t really matter which one as it can apply to so many of them), that “You can make a small fortune on it, provided you go into it with a large fortune”.

So it may be with Netflix and their movies and TV shows, if they’re not careful.