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.