Bagged and Bored Cast Episode 7

That's right another week, another podcast. Join us in our weekly semi-round table discussion of all things Geek, in our 4 part episode.

The Week in Geek: Discussion of the PlayStation Price drop, and Comics coming to the PSP; No comics on December 30th?!; Ostrander sneaks into the Secret Six and Spider Woman spins her web on the web.

The List: Hear which comics coming out on August 26 that strikes the gangs fancy.

The Main Topic: The complete history of the "Ghostbusters" be it on the Sliver Screen, the small screen and in video games.

The Movie Fix: Do we let the Swedish film "Let the Right One In" into our hearts? Plus a little talk about the upcoming American remake "Let Me In" releasing in 2010.

Please, subscribe to the podcast via, iTunes and leave us a review.

Thundercats, NO!

Nostalgia is all around us. We can't get away from it. The stuff that you liked as a child is guaranteed to boomerang back into your life when you're in your 20's and work enough to buy all that stuff you always wanted as a child.

Now some properties have been lucky enough to stick around in some form or another for the past 20 years. Transformers have rolled out more times than I care to think, just to find ways to stay relevant to "todays" youth. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have mutated to fit changing social and media climates and still find a way to stay radical and in a post-9/11 world we need GI Joe now more than ever. But the Thundercats... well, I don't know.

Debuting in 1985, the Thundercats were part of the onslaught of anthropomorphic animal crusaders that attacked the latest extraterrestrial threat daily on television but more importantly, they also had their sight set on your parents wallet. Looking back we know these cartoons were designed simply to sell more action figures, but at the time all I knew is that I had a light up Sword Of Omens, just like Lion-O and that was good enough for me.

I'd spend hours running around the backyard dispatching mutants like Monkian, Jackalman and Slythe. If they ever became too much for me all I had to do was light up that signal and the rest of the 'cats would come running (because the Thundercats were on the move, Thundercats are loose, of course).

I wish I still had this.

Tigra was always a favorite with his whip and ability to disappear. Cheetara ran right into my heart and started a crush that lasts to this day. Panthro mystified me with technology and nunchucks that unlike that poser Michelangelo's, HAD MAGIC FUCKING POWERS. Wilykit and Wilykat had awesome spaceboards before Marty McFly travelled to the future (and theirs worked on water). And Snarf was, well... there.

I spent so many hours with Lion-O and his crew from Thundera as a child I always missed them after they disappeared. So imagine my excitement in 1997 when Cartoon Network announced they would be bringing the original episodes of the Thundercats back as part of their Toonami programing block.

Well, that excitement was short lived. When I actually sat down to watch the show, it wasn't half as strong as I remembered it being. The animation was poor and the storylines more-so, even though the characters I loved were still there, the cartoon felt empty. In fact, the only thing from around that time that brought back good feelings about the Thundercats was the Relient K song, "I'm Lion-O".

Also, the four Thundercats comic miniseries that came out from DC/Wildstorm softened the blow a little bit as well. The comics were all very well done and added much more character depth and took the series to a darker and more mature place.

So I don't know whether or not to be excited about the recent leaked concept art for the Thundercats CGI movie that scheduled to come out in 2011. On one hand I'm excited to see Lion-O stick it to Mumm-Ra again, but then I remember that saddness of seeing the Ro-Bear Berbils and trying to remember just what I saw in the show originally. Hopefully things will turn out for the better and whenever this movie comes out it will blow me away and it will be followed by another with Lynx-O, Ben-Gali and the only cat to outfox Cheetara, Pumyra.

And if it sucks, well at least nobody else seems to remember Pirates Of Dark Water.

Yet.

Saturday Morning Memories

In 4th grade Fox Saturday morning cartoons were the talk of lunch time. During the Autumn of 1992 Fox Kids line-up included two powerhouse animated series namely, "Batman: the Animated Series" and "X-Men". While the girls would sit at their tables discussing how cute Macaulay Culkin was in "My Girl" and how it made them cry, us boys were deep in debate about which superpower was the best. Superpowers, hidden special abilities what 9 year-old boy doesn't what to wake up and discover they were a mutant like the ones on the "X-Men"? Important arguments were made during the half hour lunch sessions and eventually agreements, optic blasts are good but charging anything with kinetic energy till they explode was better.
"X-Men" first aired on Halloween in 1992, and I was sitting at a distance to the television screen that any optometrist would scream. I wasn't that excited to see a new cartoon since, ironically enough, a Halloween a few years before for "The Real Ghostbusters" prime time special written by none other then J Michael Straczynski. Neither episode disappointed, but at that moment "X-Men" eclipsed my love for "Ghostbusters", for the reasons listed above. The series would go on for 5 full seasons totaling 76 episodes, including the retelling of classic comic runs such as "Days of Future Past" and "The Dark Phoenix Saga".

Recently, I picked up the first DVD volume of this childhood favorite. The first two volumes consisting of 16 episodes a piece were released on April 28th. Going back and re-watching the first few episodes, I noticed how rough the animation is. The first two episodes, "The Night of the Sentinels", in parts look almost unfinished, where the background seems to be sketched and not fully drawn. The rest of the DVD set didn't look quite as rushed. The dialog in parts does come across a little over the top, but all the voices in the series are still the voices I hear whenever I read an X-book. Honestly, the voice for Rogue might be why I have a thing for southern accents.

Going back and seeing these episodes again it is difficult to separate how much I enjoy it for what it is and how much I enjoy it for what I remember it for. Overall, the series ability to tackle social issues of prejudice and intolerance inside of a kids show is impressive on it own. Also, the price is right at about $20 for each volume. These DVD collections remind me why I wanted the "X-Men" video game for the Sega Genesis, when other kids where excited for "Mortal Kombat" and "NBA Jam".

Bend It Like Aang

"Avatar: The Last Airbender", debuted it's live action movie trailer last month with the release of "Transformers 2". Being marketed and named "The Last Airbender" (to reduce confusion with James Cameron's upcoming film "Avatar") will be the first in a trilogy retelling the cartoon fantasy epic that aired on Nickelodeon.



I have to admit that it was not the first season of "Avatar: The Last Airbender" that really dragged me into the series, since I first caught it on Nickelodeon during season 2. Going back and watching the first season, it does seem a little slower then the rest of the series which is to be expected, since the first season is a journey tale. A journey tale allows the viewer to experience new places, sites, people and cultures along side the main characters. "Avatar Book One" uses this plot device well, going from village to village giving a complete sense of the world. I have always enjoyed maps of fictional places in stories, from "The Lord of the Ring" books to the "Under Sea Over Stone" and "Narnia" series, as a kid I would pour over the maps included in the front and back of books. Luckily enough, each episode of "Avatar" starts with zooming into a map, harking back to my first travels into the fantasy genre.



Even though the setting for "Avatar" is one of high fantasy, the first season hits with humor hard. This could be the creators' roots showing up in this work both Michael Dante DiMartino and Byran Konietzko got their start in T.V. on "Family Guy" "Mission Hill" and "King of the Hill", not so much the kung-fu action. Granted the laughs can be immature at most points, though there are a few quick turns of phases and call back jokes for a little more sophisticated chuckle. I'm not saying animal snot doesn't make me laugh (it does), but it is nice to have another level of comedy mixed in to it.

It's that mix of comedy with action that has me nervous about M. Night Shyamalan's written, produced and directed adaptation "The Last Airbender". Shyamalan has been able to weave his plots in the past to surprise audiences, though I haven't thought of him as working well with comedy or action. I won't be surprised if his rendition focuses heavily on a small group of friends being chased throughout the world by the army of firebenders, instead of a coming to age journey. Playing up tension and suspense which are strong suits for Shyamalan, might not leave much room for humor in a 2hr. movie.



Watching the trailer and seeing this poster, point out M. Night's other calling card: his use of muted colors. Coloration in his past works have been important, the use of red in "The Six Sense" and purple in "Unbreakable". "The Last Airbender" however was a cartoon, a brightly colored spectacle. In the trailer and poster I don't see a vast color palette. Where the visuals missed for me the audio was a direct hit. James Newton Howard the composer from "The Dark Knight" nailed it. Every episode of "Avatar" was filled with eastern sounding drums, driving the action and emotion. I'm excited to find out if James Newton Howard is signed to do the whole trilogy or just came to work the trailer.

Overall I'm excited and no matter how "The Last Airbender" turns out next year, I will always have the DVD sets to watch over and over again.

Waiting to “Get a Life”...

Today we present an article by guest (and soon to be regular) columnist John. Scope it out:

As a boy that was raised by TV, I have been impacted by many a show. The strange and wonderness (a word I just made up) of Chris Elliot's show Get a Life have haunted me for the past 19 years.

This show was very popular in the Wetherwax household, (maybe nowhere else) as my father (Dad), sister (Sis) and I (Me) loved it. Get a Life ran from 1990-1992 and aired 35 hilarious episodes; My fav being the day the 30 year old paper boy (Chris Elliot) gets the submarine he ordered from the back of a comic book when he was 10. Then he and his father put the sub together only to get trapped inside. (A must see)... Oh yeah you can’t!

Because Fox only released 8 episodes on 4 video cassette tapes through Rhino Home Video. Then back in 2000 before DVD’s were the shit, they rereleased those 8 episodes on 2 DVD sets (that are now out of print). Why can’t I get this show on DVD when every store has bargain bins full of shitty DVD sets?

"Oh hey, I just bought the third season of Monk. You get anything John?"
"NO! Cause Get a Life ain’t for sale! And Monk fucking sucks Mom!"
"Oh John, you need to Get a Life!"

Yes I do.

Dollhouse - Review

Joss Whedon has had his share of hits and misses, or rather I should say: Whedon has had bad luck with television.

Now don't get me wrong, Buffy the Vampire Slayer can be considered a success. The show based on the movie of the same name thrived for five seasons on the WB until it was cancelled with it's 100th episode. It was then picked up for two seasons by the fledgling UPN network, where the show held it's following until Whedon pulled the plug.

Angel, Buffy's vampie-beau spinoff held on for five seasons on the WB (which is surprising since two of them were after it's lead-in show Buffy had been moved to the UPN), until the show was canned.

Whedon's third foray into television, Firefly didn't even last a season. Out of 14 episodes filmed only 11 were shown, and the episodes that did make the air were shown out of order. But thanks to strong DVD sales Firefly resurfaced as the motion picture Serenity, and gave fans some closure and answers to some of the programs questions.

Which leads us to the now with Whedon's first venture into tv since Serenity's cancellation in 2002: Dollhouse.

While Whedon fans hold their breath waiting for bad news about this show, Joss himself remains hopeful noting that "these are different people, they didn't do to me what was done to Firefly". Noting that hopefully this changing of the guard will usher in a new era in the so-called "Whedonverse".

Dollhouse focuses on an organization which uses humans known as Dolls to preform various "engagments". These Dolls can be imprinted with memories, skills and personalities for whatever job they are to take on next. Once the job is completed, the Doll is mind-wiped and put away in the Dollhouse until the next time they are needed.

The Dollhouse as well as the show it's self dwell within the moral gray area, making this more akin to Firefly (people doing what they need to get by, good or bad) than Buffy (the greater good). In the first episode we're given a taste of this as lead character, Echo (played by Whedon favorite Eliza Dushku) takes on two separate engagements. The first being to accompany a young man for the weekend to see just how much fun they can have in three days, with the second being act as a negotiator for a kidnapping. What we as viewers are treated to is a main character who can and will be a different person in each episode.

It seems the main plot will revolve around Echo as she slowly becomes aware of her surroundings and what is going on around her. As this was only the pilot, we're treated to possible subplots that may unfold over time such as what lead Echo to become part of the Dollhouse, a federal agent named Paul Ballard running in circles trying to figure out anything he can about the seemingly fictional Dollhouse, as well as a rouge Doll named Alpha who is on the loose.

While the show may draw inital comparisons to J.J Abrams Alias, it will definitely stand out on its own. Supporting characters such as Topher, the scientist who programs the Dolls with for their engagements, Dr. Saunders the scarred female who cares for the Dolls post- and pre-engagement, and Boyd the Handler who watches out for Echo during her missions, seem to be willing to carry the brunt of the storytelling across the arcs as Echo herself has a limited knowledge of just what's going on around her.

Dollhouse looks to be another intriguing exploration of character in true Whedon fashion, here's hoping we'll get to see it through.

Dollhouse airs at 9pm Eastern on Fox, following Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. The first episode "Ghost" and subsequent episodes can be viewed on Hulu the day after their premire.