106 Newly Found Doctor Who Episodes Prove Time Travel Exists. Sort Of.

Posted on October 7, 2013 by geelw

“Are we going to Addis Ababa, Mr. Luthor?”

OK, this is weird, folks. Hmmm. Remember that classic Doctor Who episode where they bury a box of mysterious and seemingly random stuff in the desert in Africa in the distant past and the Doc says (with a grin, of course) “Now, this will be REALLY important one day in the future!”?

Anyone? No?

Well, that’s probably because that episode is most likely in this set of 106 formerly “lost” Who shows found by fans in Ethiopia recently. Longtime fans know a good chunk of the 1960’s shows were ~~erased or taped over~~ “lost” by the BBC, but according to The Daily Mirror website, 106 shows from between 1964 to 1969 ended up being sold to the Ethiopian Radio and Television Agency. Why? Ask the Doctor, I say. I’ll bet he knows. Anyway, I’m gathering BBC will no doubt be getting these cleaned up and re-aired (and sold on DVD) sooner than later, as the historical value on these is probably going to be ratings platinum for the network. I’m hoping they run them here in the US at the same time on BBC America, as it’ll be annoying hearing spoilers and such spill out from over the pond from overly giddy fans there.

Edit: Aha. the Beeb will be airing these shows starting this week. Yay and boo, as we BBC America viewers haven’t a clue as to when we’ll be seeing them. Still, I’m a happy and patient camper, so I’ll wait until these eventually make the trip over and stay away from forums discussing the new old shows.

“I wonder what they’re wearing in Addis Ababa?”

Looks like a burnous, Miss Tesmacher. Looks like a burnous.

(Hmmm, someone better tell Miss Tesmacher and Otis that not only are we NOT going to Addis Ababa, they’re completely in the wrong post…)

Guillermo Del Toro Makes The Simpsons More Than Interesting This Year…

Posted on October 5, 2013 by geelw

OK, since the great burnout I had from this show a while ago, I haven’t watched an entire episode of The Simpsons in a few years. However, I’ve always made time to catch a bunch of the Treehouse of Horror shows over the years just to see haw far they go on that one night the Fox censors get tossed in the closet (or sent a bit further back than they usually get thrown). This year’s show is a must watch just for these awesome Del Toro-designed and directed titles, but now that I’ve seen them, it probably means I’ll be disappointed by the show that won’t live up to the eyeball riot on display above. I was playing “pick out the references” and yes, even got (and LOVED) Maggie driving THE CAR from that goofy 1977 film. From what I’ve read on a few fan sites, Del Toro has a custom built replica of that rolling purple/black bathtub, which also cracks me up as I’d rather him have that replica and drive it around any time he feels like it than go remake that stellar turd of a “horror” flick.

But of course, if he DOES go there at some point in the not too distant future… I bet it’ll scare the crap out of too many folks (me included)…

Eastbound & Down 401: Old Habits Die Hardest…

Posted on September 30, 2013 by geelw

So, yeah… Kenny Powers is back for what looks like one final go-round on life’s rollercoaster and he’s still a total mess. HBO has gone and posted the first of the final shows online already (thanks, folks!) so if you don’t have HBO or HBO on Demand or don’t want to get it you can at least check it out and see if it’s up your alley. Of course, Kenny doesn’t give a crap if you like his show as long as you watch it. And even if he did, he sure doesn’t care now that he’s fallen off the wagon in such a big way. Yeesh. WHO keeps a tackle box full of drugs in their garage and how old is that stash, anyway? Er, not that I take a lot of drugs mind you (one or two aspirin a day for me is all!). Anyway, is KP is going to flame out on his road back to some small success or will he be redeemed at the last minute? Hell, the answer to that isn’t even the important part – it’s the road to that answer that’s going to lure in fans for this last ride…

Two “Amusing” Things About Breaking Bad’s “Felina” (Spoilers Abound)

Posted on September 30, 2013 by geelw

ONE: Jesse Pinkman speeding away in that El Camino. Like many viewers, I figured he was going to find his son, Brock and spend some quality time with the kid now that he’s been orphaned since that penultimate episode’s shocking scene. But, noooo... it looks as if he’s speeding off to Hollywood for an ill-advised detour (which might not be the best idea if you know how crappy video game movies usually turn out).

TWO: Walt had to die at the end (of course), but if you read between the lines, it’s a great possibility he also got some minor redemption in the eyes of his son, Flynn. I thought of a sort of coda scene with Junior at home with Skyler in front of the TV watching the news and seeing that Walt had been killed in a shootout with those drug dealers and as soon as the car Walt rigged up with that M60 appeared on screen, Flynn knowing what went down. The news would also mention that Hank’s body was found thanks to a mysterious phone tip and here, I could see Skyler and Flynn hugging it out with a few hankies. Of the more amusing bits through the last few episodes, his revenge on Lydia was probably the ultimate against someone who was even more evil than he was. She tried to have his family killed by Todd and the gang, but Todd respected Walt for teaching him to cook, thus that scene in the previous episode where only a warning was delivered…

If you’ve seen every episode, you know that some of Walt’s plans that went wrong really saved his bacon because they failed and didn’t get him into even more danger with assorted people who’d have killed him without half a word. This was a MUCH longer post, but I lost a chunk through a tappy accident before I could save. yeah, I fat-fingered a delete, folks. That’s actually a good thing, as anyone who hasn’t seen Breaking Bad yet needs to do so from the beginning just to watch all the pieces fall into place during the five seasons the show aired. Vince Gilligan and his writers COULD have ended the show after the fourth season and it would have been just “good”, but VERY unsatisfying. Thankfully, Gilligan and his corner-painters extraordinaire were able to blow fans away with a perfectly powerful final season that’s going to resonate for years to come. TV writers, you’re ALL on notice, no matter what you’re working on, is all I’ll say…

More Endings! Doctor Who Reminds You It’s Soon Time For A Big Change…

Posted on September 29, 2013 by geelw

OK, so this teaser is ten seconds of “just you wait and see what’s coming”, but oh well. That holiday show should be a doozy, as each new Doctor means we lose an old one and it’ll probably be in some not too amusing manner given the path this past season has taken. I wonder who, if anyone from this arc will be around with the next Doctor, but on the other hand… change is good in this series if the proper cast is round up. Alrighty then… 33 minutes to Breaking Bad (and hell if I’m going to be online while that’s on).

Too Much TV Can Make You Go Nuts. So Let’s Get Nuts.

Status

OK, I don’t own a DVR here, so I’m going to be playing catch up this week with a LOT of stuff. I’m sticking with Breaking Bad and Talking Bad tonight (both are extended shows and will take up the better part of tonight), but it’s also the night that Showtime’s Homeland kicks off its third season followed by the premiere of Masters of Sex (still a coin toss as to whether or not I’ll commit to another new show). Meanwhile, on HBO… the awesome and hilariously outrageous Eastbound and Down is back from the “dead” for one final go-round on HBO, followed by Hey Ladies (which I currently don’t watch). TCM has a couple of Hitchcock flicks running all day until midnight, but as I’ve seen them all a few times, it’s all about AMC tonight. THANKFULLY, I’m not a sports fan or a network TV viewer or my poor little head will explode.

OK, back later… probably not until after midnight when I’m through processing the chaos BB is no doubt going to end on… whee.

Breaking Bad Ends It Classy… At Least Here In The Big City.

Posted on September 28, 2013 by geelw

If you’re lucky enough to live in and around New York City and have been to the Museum of the Moving Image any time since July 26th, you’re probably more than aware that there’s been a very cool exhibit based around AMC’s Breaking Bad that’s running until October 27th, 2013.

Those in the know about this also know about tomorrow’s really special viewing party for the show’s final episode that’s going to draw in BB fans and toy collectors thanks to the fine folks and AMC teaming up with Mezco Toyz. Tomorrow’s events include a raffle of some of Mezco’s popular Walter White action figures with the already sold-out screening.

Details below the jump. If you’re interested you can most likely pop into the museum to see the exhibits but not the screening unless you’ve got a ticket from somewhere or someone. Fat chance on that happening at this late date, but a bag of blue can get you anything I hear…

Continue reading →

Dexter’s Finale In A Nutshell: Monty Python Did it MUCH Better in 1969…

Posted on September 26, 2013 by geelw

(thanks, Chadner!)

Oh, brother… I haven’t been so annoyed at a season of any TV show in ages. Granted, in the grand scheme of things, Dexter has its ups and downs, but this final season was so wretched that I had to post something about it in a mini-rantless post. Too many new characters (and way too many serial killers) were introduced only to be killed off, forgotten about or tossed into the last few shows as terrifically poor plot advancement as the episodes dragged out. And so forth and so on until that woeful finale where Deb finally gives up the ghost. Spoiler: she got shot (AGAIN!), but expired from an off screen affliction related to the coma she was in and Dexter shutting off her life support at the hospital, then carting her body off during the daytime during a not well shot chaotic scene as a big hurricane was brewing up. Bleh. I guess his killing clothes make him invisible to onlookers or something. Anyway, he ends up leaving his kid in Argentina with the escaped female serial killer he was sleeping with last season (don’t ask!) and he fakes his death (Kenny Powers did it better!) only to pop up in the Pacific Northwest as a lonely bearded lumberjack sitting in his creepy cabin as the show fades out forever. Yuk, bluck, What the F#@k?! Yeah, well… good thing I have a sense of humor (and YouTube)…

Not Quite Taking Sunday Off…

Status

Ha! I’m still alive, folks. I was glued to a few other projects today, so updates have been nonexistent. That and I was sort of saving up my strength for tonight’s penultimate episode of Breaking Bad, which thankfully is supposed to be 75 minutes long (as is the final episode). I figured a few of the final eight shows would be a tad longer thanks to so much that needed to be wrapped up, so I’m happy to see the end rushing up and having enough room to breathe as things come to a close (even though a bunch of characters won’t be breathing when that final episode ends). Speaking on endings… Poor Dexter is going out with a confusing whimper with a terrible final season packed with too many characters, silly plot twists and (I can’t believe I’m saying this), TOO many killers in a truly confusing mess that seems to be every idea tossed into a big bowl, stirred around and dumped in front of the cameras. Bleh.

I still have the new season of Boardwalk Empire to catch up on, but I’m holding out until Breaking Bad is all done with. Thank goodness for HBO on Demand and what’s hopefully going to be a slow Saturday night in about two weeks…

?-able Humor: Starfish Makes A Better Appetizer Than Rubber-Suited Dictator, I Say…

Posted on September 18, 2013 by geelw

So, yeah… did you know that starfish are edible? I certainly wouldn’t eat one (at least there’s a 99% chance of that not occurring any time soon), but if you’re feeling adventurous or reading this while stuck on a desert island (wait, that’s a sort of oxy-moron, right?) that happens to have a wi-fi signal and you’re too silly to call for help because you don’t have a social network account and refuse to get one (you stubborn rabbit), well, now you have something to do with your time other than troll porn sites all day and fall out of that coconut tree while going for that last high-hanging fruit. Hmmm. I wonder if coconut goes good with starfish? Of course, if you hate the taste after all this work, the results in your stomach may resemble this Kamen Rider X clip:

(thanks, Hall of Fail!)
Me? I’ll stick to the salmon, please. Thank you…