The title of this entry is accurate but not true; William S. Burroughs’ wrote Ah, Pook Is Here with Malcolm McNeill creating the artwork back in the late 60s and early 70s, so it is not exactly new. However, the first part of Burroughs only graphic novel evaporated from the face of the earth not long after it was released, so the recently resurrected and soon to be released 2-volume set will be brand new to pretty much everyone. It started as a comic strip that came out once a month in the UK magazine Cyclops, and when that folded they created the rest of the story, 120 pages of amazing words and images. But they couldn’t get anyone to publish it, so no one has ever actually read the entire story. Finally, Fanta Graphics will publish the entire science fiction lost masterpiece, with all the time travel, mind control, and eternal life subtext that only a collision between the Mayan and Western cultures could produce, when filtered through these two amazing communicators.
Terrestrial Human
They are going to turn Steven King’s Dark Tower into three feature length movies and a TV series, they being Universal Pictures and NBC, with Ron Howard in charge initially, directing the first feature film and the first season of the TV show. That’s a lot of screentime, but The Dark Tower is a lot of story, with 7 novels (and an eighth in the works), short stories, tie ins and appearances with most of his other books, a series of comic book prequils, and an online RPG. This one could be a true monster.
According to Feedflix there are some great streaming Anime titles coming up on Netflix in the near future. Moribito kicks off September 15th, and Golgo 13 starts September 25th. It rips wide open when we hit October 1st, with titles including some of my favorite anime, like FullMetal Alchemist, Burst Angel, Basilisk, Black Blood Bros., and Aquarion. Other titles I have heard good things about but haven’t seen yet include Blassreiter, D.Gray-man, Darker Than Black, Claymore, and Devil May Cry. There are other titles that date as well that I don’t think are sci-fi or fantasy, so check the whole list. Thanks to the team at Anime News Biz for the heads up on that one.
The new BBC iPlayer was rolled out yesterday, and it looks good. Unfortunately most of the video is not available outside the UK at the moment, but there is a subscription service in the works for the rest of us. But the radio segment works very well indeed wherever you are, with all the great programing one has come to expect from them, including my favorite, BBC Radio 7.
On the 2010 TV Choice Awards last night, Doctor Who was voted Best Family Drama, and Ashes to Ashes got Best Drama Series; congrats to both shows!
Also from BBC Worldwide comes two new games; Doctor Who: Evacuation Earth for the DS, and Doctor Who: Return to Earth for the Wii. The must-have for the DS games is the Sonic Screwdriver Stylus, while the mandatory item for the Wii is the Sonic Screwdriver Controller (Wii Remote). Unfortunately, so far the games are licensed for the UK, Australia, and parts of Europe, but not for the US. The stylus and Wiimote are not subject to the same kinds of licensing restrictions as the games, so those will hopefully be available to all of us.
This time around is the franchise that wouldn’t die with another entry: Resident Evil: Afterlife. The fourth entry in this series finds Alice and here friend battling for their lives yet again, and this time it is in 3D. Also out this weekend, Who is Harry Nilsson (And Why is Everybody Talkin’ About Him?) is a star studded documentary about one of the most original songwriters of all time. Everybody knows his songs, but the music he was occasionally on the charts for singing was often written by other people; while his songs were sung by the most famous and well respected vocalists of the last five decades. If you don’t know quite who he is, this film is your chance to learn and be amazed.
Lots of good TV out this week, as we get ready to roll into the fall viewing season. Season 3 of Chuck is their strongest season yet, with more guest stars than ever before; No more Mr. Nice Spy! Season 4 hits the tube on Monday, September 20th. Smallville: The Complete Ninth Season finally is out as well this week, with the season 10 premier for that one on Friday, the 24th of September. Also from CWTV, and also with the new season kicking off on Friday the 24th is Supernatural: The Complete Fifth Season.
The miniseries that may turn into a full TV series, The Phantom is another rendition of this classic comic strip into a live action format. Like many of Sci-Fi’s miniseries (and almost none of their made for TV movies) this one is surprisingly better than you are expecting.
From UK TV a couple of classic Whos: Dr. Who: The King’s Demons with Peter Davison as the Doctor, Anthony Ainley as the Master, and Janet Fielding as Tegan. The other Davison story is Doctor Who: Planet of Fire. From an earlier incarnation, Doctor Who: The Creature from the Pit with Tom Baker and Lalla Ward.
On the animation front, and also from the UK, it’s Shaun the Sheep: Party Animals. This series is from the same team that does Wallace and Gromit, and these little gems use virtually no dialog, telling the story visually. The only real new anime title is My Bride Is a Mermaid: Season 1 Part 2, bringing us the balance of the opening season episodes. Both sets of in-laws are dysfunctional to an extreme degree, besides the fact the non-human family are also Yakuza.