TheWB.com

I just finished watching the first episode of Firefly. The two hour pilot. At this point, I could say that I forgot how good the show was, but that would be lying. I know how good the show was, and is. Even though I have the complete series on DVD, I took the time and watched on the computer. There is a new site to compete with Hulu.com, and it is TheWB.com.

I saw a mention about the new web-based television experience from a podcast by G4. G4 tends to drop snigglets of information that I may find interesting. Anyway, with a modest commercial interruption, I watched the whole 80-something minute show. The only commercial was before the whole thing started, and I think it was for another show that can be watched on the site... The OC, I believe.

I am ignorant to most web-based video services. I personally don't want to sit in front of my computer for extended lengths of time. My couch is more comfortable, so the occasional thing I download on my hard-dive tends to get shifted to DVD so I can watch it with my feet up. My first foray into the web-tv was Hulu. A friend of mine used the service a buch because he didn't have a tv at the time, but had internet access through an un-blocked wifi port. It was the first time I ever saw the Emmy Award winning My Name Is Earl. After that and a few episdoes of It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, it was an old wrestling movie called Body Slam with Rowdy Roddy Piper. I liked the concept, but didn't pay it much mind.

When I heard of TheWB.com's attempt at a similar program like Hulu, I decided to check it out. My usual Thursday night routine has amounted to watching Burn Notice when I get home from work around 10PM. Tivo is occasionally kind enough to record it if I get in late (last week it flubbed). Tennis was on this week instead. Normally, I would just play the Xbox 360, but I wasn't feeling it. Then I was going to watch Elvira: Mistress of the Dark while I read articles and what-not on the computer. I passed on that because I didn't want the Madonna of the Macabre to be my inital movie in my Horror-day season. I turn into a horror movie nut this time of year... but that is another story. Instead, I checked out TheWB.com to see what was there.

There are plenty of shows on there at the moment, Joss Whedon projects, like Firefly, Buffy and Angel are all represented. Friends and MADtv are even there. There is just plenty of things to choose from that fit things I may be interested it. Hell, I may even check out Veronica Mars because I never caught it on UPN when it was on.

So, in closing, I think I have a new site to visit when I am bored and there isn't anything on television. Granted, I can't burn it on DVD, but it certainly is cheaper than just buying DVDs. Now, I just have to wait for Smallville to get pass the first season so I can watch something that isn't freak-of-the-week.

HBO's Preacher laid to rest

I am annoyed and a little pissed.

From Newsarama:

Preacher series ‘dead at HBO’
Author Kevin Melrose

Fans won’t be seeing an adaptation of Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon’s Preacher on HBO.

Mark Steven Johnson, who wrote the pilot and was set to serve as an executive producer, tells Comics Continuum that the new head of the cable network thought the series “was just too dark and too violent and too controversial.”

“It was a very faithful adaptation of the first few books, nearly word for word,” says Johnson, who directed Daredevil and Ghost Rider. “They offered me the chance to redevelop it but I refused. I’ve learned my lesson on that front and I won’t do it again. So I’m afraid it’s dead at HBO.”

Plans for the one-hour TV series, announced in November 2006, were welcome news for fans who had been disappointed when a previous attempt to adapt Preacher as a feature film was abandoned.

Johnson says there are efforts to give a movie another try: “I’ve heard someone is in the process of getting the rights to turn it into a feature film. I hope that happens. But I hope it happens as a series of movies as one movie couldn’t do it justice.”

This is upsetting. Preacher is a fantastic comic series. I have just about all the issues from when they first started coming out. Is it violent, hell yes. I just don't see how HBO can put on shows like The Sopranos, Rome, and Deadwood, and be turned off by something like Preacher.

Preacher is the story of a man who lost his faith in God, and sets out to find Him when he discovers that God has left heaven. There are many things other than that, like the preacher being possessed by a spirit that grants him the ability to have anyone do as he says... "Go fuck yourself" has a literal meaning. There is also the preacher's assassin girlfriend and the third part of the group is a vampire. I know in those words, it sounds kind of corny, but it all works.

One of the only shining points is that Garth Ennis' The Boys has been optioned as well. Of course, just about everything in comics is being optioned.

WWE Scramble

I am not sure what to write about at the moment, and I have no desire to attempt serious talk. I'll resort to wrestling. I can usually get some words of complaint or admiration for that. I like wrestling, and have watched it pretty consistently for about 10 years.

So, the WWE has set it upon themselves to create a new type of match, the Championship Scramble. Originally revealed on RAW, the Monday night program, it is now a concept embraced by all three brands of the WWE. The concept is this: With a 20-minute time limit, 4 challengers and the current champion face one another. It is every man for themselves. 2 men start the match, with another entering every 5 minutes. During that 20-minutes, whenever there is a pin fall or submission, the championship changes hands to in interim champion. Who ever is the interim champion at the end of the time-limit is the new respected champion for that brand.

For me, the idea seems sort-of congested and too restrictive, creative-wise. The upcoming Pay-per-view, Unforgiven, will host all three matches from the 3 brands: Raw, Samckdown, and ECW. Having the same type of match multiple times in one night is a bit of a killer. After the first one, which will likely be ECW, the new taste will wear-off. Sure, the match concept allows for the use of many wrestlers on the card, but the rest of the card will likely be filler. (One match won't and that is the Jericho-Shawn Micheals match that will probably be great.)

The RAW match consists of, the current champ, CM Punk, JBL, Batista, Kane, and substituting for the injured John Cena, Rey Mysterio. This match could be good. Personally, I think it would be best to keep the title on CM Punk to further establish him as a credible champion. It could also be used to promote someone else as a belt contender, like Kane. Kane needs a good push. While I don't enjoy the new angle with him supposedly breaking Mysterio's spirit, he is a good monster character that has some good potential and has been with the company for almost as long as I have been actively watching. I still remember his first appearance in '97. Batista doesn't really need the rub. If he wins, it won't seem that significant. He can put on a good one-on-one match with many of the heavy-hitters. There is already a pseudo-feud with Kane at the moment. Personally, I would want him to challenge Punk at a later PPV and win, with some sort of JBL complication. JBL and Punk have a weird, good chemistry together, but a continued feud will make their program repetitive. Mysterio is a fill-in, and will probably put on some good spots. He'll definitely be the interim champ at some point in the match to have the crowd pop. Depending on who he pins will determine the feud he will start the next night on RAW. It will probably be a Rey over Kane thing, with Batista help. JBL shouldn't get the belt. He would make a good heel-champ with Punk chasing it, but I think it would be better to solidify Punk as champ with a win. The only way I will take a JBL champ is if if gets his ass-kick initially by Punk, only for JBL to pin a hurt Mysterio. Overall, the RAW championship scramble will be the main event. It has the more big stars in the match.

Smackdown, on the other hand, looks to be the worst one, in my opinion. Granted, I don't watch Smackdown with any regularity. The fact that it is on Friday nights at 8 doesn't exactly motivate me to sit in front of the television. I would like to think that I have better things to do on a Friday night, I usually don't, but I still don't watch Smackdown. I read the results and the like whenever I can because I like to keep updated on it. The Smackdown championship scramble includes, the champ, Triple H, Jeff Hardy, Shelton Benjamin (the US Champ), MVP, and The Brian Kendrick. Triple H will probably win because most of the other contenders don't really seem to be at that level yet. Of course, like RAW, this could be a good chance to allow someone to step-up and make a name for themselves. MVP seems most likely, with Hardy chasing. Hardy is a top performer, but he tends to get punished by the backstage for his recreational drug use, which he was suspended for before. He does perform well and make matches interesting. The Brian Kendrick is relatively new to the title scene. He would make a good challenger to the US championship, but a world title would be too big for him. He is only now getting recognized as a single competitor, after teaming with Paul London for so long as a great tag-team. Like Shawn Micheals, who Kendrick emulates, he stands a chance to be a great performer and WWE superstar. He is great in the rig and puts on phenomenal matches. I just don't see him taking it. Shelton Benjamin already has the US title. He really doesn't seem the type to hold two championships. His microphone skills have been improving, and his in-ring work is great. He just hasn't really established that he is a main contender. MVP is my choice if the title is to change hands. He has already been US champ for a length. He is a great performer, and educates himself with the wrestling business and has a great respect for it. He is an ex-convict, but that shouldn't be held against him as a performer. The only problem I see is that he would miss any over-seas trips if he was champ because of all the legal problems that can come up with him working in a foreign country. From an interview I read, he even has some troubles working in Canada. For Smackdown, the match seems weak. If Triple H doesn't win, I will be greatly surprised. The match has one beast, strong-man in Triple H while the others are a little more acrobatic. Could be fun to watch, but not as definitive as RAW.

ECW is bound to be a shocker. The whole ECW brand has me feeling that because all the superstars on it aren't that well known, that just about anyone could be champion. Honestly, the biggest stars on ECW are Matt Hardy, Mark Henry (former bronze medalist at the '96 Olympics), and Tommy Dreamer (only because if he goes, it's not really ECW anymore). On ECW tonight (it plays on Tuesdays), they announced their Championship Scramble. All the matches were qualifiers for it. In my opinion, that's a great way to fill up time on a show and progress story. Every match had a reason for happening. Everyone in the qualifiers, I thought, could be in the scramble, except Mike Knox. It was good to see Evan Bourne get a shot, but come up short to put over The Miz. I might not be a big fan of The Miz, who used to be on MTV's Real World, but him being in the scramble helps develop him as a single wrestler, and almost on par with John Morrison, who is a former ECW champ. Miz and Morrison were, and are, a great team, but Morrison established himself as a single wrestler first, and the two developed a great heel team. With the Tag titles not around their waists, it's good to see Miz getting a chance to see what he can do alone. It is also to separate Miz from Morrison by having Morrison lose to Matt Hardy. Matt is the big good-guy, face of ECW. He kind of needs to be in probably the only ECW match on the PPV. Along with Miz, Matt Hardy, and the champ Mark Henry, the other two are Finlay and Chavo Guerrero. I feel just about anyone could win this match. Chavo is the only former ECW champ. I don't see him pulling it off. Hardy shouldn't win like this, because a Championship for the big face should have meaning. A thrown together mix screams for Miz to win. Finlay is also a good proponent of the match because he is just a great wrestler and brings loads of experience. All in all, I think the ECW scramble could be really good.

While I may think the matches could be good, having them all on the same bill is a bit much. I can see something like this a a gimmick PPV, like Royal Rumble has its' named match and Survivor Series tends to have an elimination tag match. Something like the Championship Scramble could be a an idea for Survivor Series, if the Series didn't already have a gimmick attached to it.

Late night.

I should not be up right now. It is 5 in the morning, and I just got home from a friend's house. I have been drinking. Apparently, the beer I was drinking coupled with my tolerance that comes and goes allowed me to get home. Despite the many beers I have had throughout the night, I was still fine enough to drive home. Now, I don't think anyone should drink and drive. I tend not to drink much if I know I am driving anywhere. Tonight just happened to be one of those nights where the alcohol just doesn't effect me.

It was fun tonight. I saw many people I usually don't see, or haven't seen in a long time. The whole point of the night was just to hang out. The beginning of it was spent at a friend's house in south Philly, and I was content just to spend the rest of my evening there. Even with limited company, there would be plenty to keep the party entertained and motivated to keep the night flowing. A phone call later, and plans were set to head to another place. A quick drive through the old neighborhood (which I really didn't need to see) and we were there with more people.

The whole night was just talking. There was no activity, no event. We weren't celebrating anything. We weren't exchanging anything. We were just there to be with one another. It was a good thing. More people should just be with one another. I enjoyed the company I was with. I hope they enjoyed mine as well.

More events should just be centered around just being with another person or people. There shouldn't be a reason, like Bar-b-q or holiday to get people at a place. People should just get together if they like each other and want to be in their presence. Going someplace as an excuse should be saved for relatives who you don't want to deal with, but are blood, so you have to deal with anyway.

Well, that's all for the moment. I am tired and need sleep. Hopefully, I will do something engaging whenever I awake.

It's Saturday Night

It is Saturday night. I worked all day. It was boring and relatively uneventful. No one called to hang out, but also no one really bothered me at work aside from the occasional annoying customer. Sometimes I think people come into my store to just talk because no one else will listen to their useless garbage. I do not know how much your R. Crumb book is worth. Yes, I think it is cool. No I do not think you have a gold mine. I am the best comic expert in the store right now. No, I do not know how much it is worth... again.


I actually wound up staying late. My cohort from the morning shift came back around closing. His girlfriend had to wake up early, but he wanted to lay board games. After wrangling a couple of the late-stayers, he broke out Last Night On Earth. It is a zombie game that plays out like a B-horror movie. It actually seems pretty cool. It seem like the sort of thing I will pick up and want to play every weekend leading up till Halloween. I will shell out the cash, but there is one problem. There will probably be a severe lack of people to play with. It's hard enough to get people to spend time in a bar, movie, diner, whatever. A board game requires time and a place with enough room. Those things are hard to find in this day and age with everyone being so busy, and having the kids and other responsibilities, like pilates class.

Ahh, Saturday

Well, the weekend is now upon us. It is bearing down on the end of the summer. Many people are clamoring to get in the bar-b-ques and parties before the brisk wind of fall sweeps in. You know fun things people do.

Here's what I figure. I usually don't work weekends. In fact, I haven't worked a steady weekend since I was in high school. Somehow, working retail for the better part of 6 years, I have avoided spending weekends behind a counter. It is a rare occurrence that I work on a Saturday. The last time I worked a Saturday, my boss headed to a convention. Of course this led to it being one of the more annoying weekends at the store. People subconsciously stick around and annoy me when they know I shouldn't be there. Of course, a good friend gives me a call to hang out that night. Not only have I not seen him in a long time, but he wants me out because someone who I haven't seen in a longer time is coming out as well. I couldn't make it out because of work... when I normally wouldn't be there.

So, I have to work again this Saturday. Sure, my co-worker, Tim, thinks it will be easy. Boardgames and such were suggested to pass the time. I know that's not going to happen though. Everyone and their brother will show up. The will be loud, annoying, and trying to get in as much fun and late nights as possible before high school kicks back in. At some point, a friend will call me up. I will either not answer because my store is a bomb shelter and blocks all signals, or I will get an invite somewhere. It will more than likely be someone I haven't seen in a while. For God to play a cruel joke, it will be a girl. They will want to meet up in the city. I will probably be tired from all the boardgames and high school humor. It will take all my energy not to strangle some teenager. Somehow I will have to find the willpower to start my car. The divine would have to descend to grant me the strength to make it into the city.

This weekend will not be fun.

Braid

I have been playing Braid lately. It's a game that is you can via the Xbox Live Marketplace. It made some recent news headlines throughout the videogame industry. apparently, people didn't like it's price point.

I originally played the free trial. Xbox 360 is having a special promotion called the Summer of Arcade, or some-such. Basically, they are releasing a high-profile game every week for 5 weeks. The first was Geometry Wars 2, which is good and received some critical acclaim. Braid hit the second week. People (i.e. reviewers and gamer-snobs) loved it when they saw it at E3 and other expos. There came an uproar when to purchase the entire game, it costs $15. Most arcade titles are about $10.

I bought it. I don't regret my decision. In fact, I even made a trip to Gamestop specifically to get the micro points needed. Micro points are the currency for the Xbox Marketplace. Mathematically, every 400 points is equivalent to $5. I also picked up Soul Caliber 4 and pre-ordered Fable 2, but they are stories for another time.

Still, Braid is beautiful. I wanted to play it because I wanted to be entered into the Summer of Arcade contest. If I download and at least play the trial version of all the games listed, I have the chance for a sweet prize pack, including an Xbox Elite system and 100,000 micro points. The gameplay for Braid is a platformer with puzzle elements. Every level manipulates time in a certain way. You can't die, and instead rewind time to before you died. The level design has obvious influences. One is even patterned on the original Donkey Kong. All of the backgrounds look like a watercolor painting. I think one of the main reasons I bought it was just to see all the different art elements.

As of now, I have not finished it. It frustrated me for a while. The puzzles can definitely be tricky. If you think the ledge looks just out of reach, it probably is, but there may be a way to it somehow. Trying to figure out the importance of every object on a level can be arduous. I completed the first level with little problem, but can't seem to figure out some of the second. It has a level of difficulty that will challenge anyone who enjoys stretching there mental limits.

I would definitly say everyone should give it a try. A free trial wouldn't hurt. I played through the trial as much as I could. It is certainly something to break-up the typical kill frenzy I deal with in most games I play.

Braid - Game Detail Page

Sideshow

I will be attending the Olde City Sideshow this evening. It is celebrating two things. One, my friend Natalie is going to become entrenched in law school, so she feels this is her last night out. Second, the sideshow is celebrating their 2nd anniversary at National Mechanics. Of course, this is probably the 3rd celebration of their anniversary over the last couple months. It will finally be official when I stop going.

National Mechanics Bar and Grill
22 South 3rd Street
Olde City
Philadelphia, PA

This town needs an enema, and an agent of chaos.

Here is something that annoys me.

I was in work today. I work in a comic book store. A customer comes up and asks about the new Batman movie. "So, what did you think of the new Batman movie?" he says. "It was amazing," I said, "Excellent." Now the second question bugged me. "What did you think of Heath Ledger as the Joker?" "Well, I thought he was great. I didn't see Ledger, I saw Joker." And here is where it pissed me off. "Nicholson was better."

Here we go. First off, I work in a COMIC BOOK STORE! I read comics all the time. The last time I read a Batman comic was yesterday. I asked the guy questioning me when he last read Batman, and he said years ago. Who do you think has a better grasp on the character? I have about 20 years experience reading comics. I have not just stuck to one or two books. Hell, I'm not even a hardcore Marvel zombie or DC fan. I read almost everything. Joker is iconic, so of course i have read my fair share of stories involving him.

Secondly, I am not knocking Jack Nicholson as an actor. The man has played some amazing roles and performances. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is a great film. I even liked As Good As It Gets. I thoroughly enjoyed his performance as Joker in Tim Burton's Batman back in 1989. It was the Joker for 1989. The and now are two different things. There was too much "Jack" in my Joker. Even down to the character's name, Jack Napier. Nicholson's Joker was more goofy and had a sadistic sense of humor, which are both well portrayed aspects of the character. Ledger was something else.

Third, the guy complained that, "They didn't even give him an origin. They just threw him in there." For me, that's why it worked. There is no real origin for the Joker. First off, no one knows who he really is. He doesn't have a real name. Secondly, the Red Hood stuff about him being thrown into the chemicals and it changes his skin and hair is misleading. That is not cannon. It is one story that could be his origin. He is random and chaotic. There is no reason why he is how he is, there is just him. That's why I loved Joker's tries about his scars in The Dark Knight. He kept changing them. Whatever the time called for, Joker explained his scars to match the situation.

It just bugs me when someone comes into my work and asks me my opinion on some movie thing. I am always wrong and they are always right. It doesn't matter that I am in an environment to afford a better knowledge basis for a well informed opinion.

Oh, and why does everyone forget about Cesar Romero?

I'm Back

I finally figured out how to get back into this account. Fucking thing changed ownership or something since I last logged in. It forced me to create a new account for something else. Now, I have a new email account. Yeah, now, I have about 5 email accounts that I have to check regularly. I know that's not as much as many other people, but, oh well.