Way back in the 1960s, some wacky mad scientist discovered that the only way to make soap operas watchable for anyone with a brain operating above the level of sub-human was to throw a shit-ton of vampires into the mix, and thus the TV series Dark Shadows was born. Keep in mind that this was well before the invention of the television itself (archeological data points to that occurring at some point during the summer of 1983), so this was a pretty huge accomplishment all around.
Life is full of tragedies, and I just stumbled upon another one today. Somehow, despite having a longtime affection for (and being fairly obsessive about) certain elements of Scandinavian media (not to mention having a direct line of contact to that part of the globe, thanks to my roommate and Automaton cohort Lars), I have remained completely unaware of the glory that is Kenny motherfucking Starfighter.
The Sci Fi Channel and its parent company NBC Universal announced this week that they’ll be re-branding the network as SyFy beginning on July 7, in what appears to be a ill-conceived attempt to create a hipper, more broadly appealing image. Apparently, the network, working in conjunction with branding consultancy Landor Associates, went through 300 (!!) other possibilities before landing on this dubious new moniker, leading me to assume that most of the competing options were ideas like Hitler TV, or The Dumbass Show Explosion.
Marvel may have its hands full figuring out how to make Fantastic Four into a film franchise anyone actually gives a damn about, but they’re going to have no problem selling folks on Japanese Spider-Man! The Toei live-action show originally aired on televisions across Japan back in the 70s, and Marvel has wisely decided to now offer streaming episodes for free on its internet website, so round-eyes everywhere can finally see the awesomeness that ensues when Spider-Man is given a flash ride and his own giant fighting robot.
Many of us are about to find out just what happens when Hollywood attempts to translate Alan Moore’s epic graphic novel into a feature length film, but have you ever wondered what Watchmen would be like if it was a cartoon series during the 80s? No, you haven’t, but that didn’t stop animator Harry Partridge from answering the question no one was asking, and I am glad as hell that he did. Below is the opening sequence Harry crafted for the non-existent TV show he had living in his head, and I can’t imagine a more flawless parody of two things I love dearly.
Many of you probably saw the Land of the Lost ad premier during that big baseball game everyone was making a fuss over last Sunday. Well, if you want to see the full-blown trailer, you’ll have to hustle your ass on over to the Subway Fresh Buzz homepage (seriously, who gets paid to come up with this stuff?), where it’s nestled comfortably next to a suite of terrible animating flash ads for various sandwich selling promotions that I’ve already forgotten about. I don’t know what marketing genius thought this little number up, but I can tell you right now that it is a rather epic failure.
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