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Something to Watch: DVDs, 10Sep13

Star Trek Into Darkness starts us off this week, continuing the excellent J.J. Abrams reboot of the franchise. I would buy a 4K TV to watch this on, if I didn’t need to eat or pay rent for the next few years, it was just that good. I am going to count Delete as a movie, since it was a miniseries on a cable system channel about movies called Reelz. Seth Green and Matt Frewer have to save the world when the internet wakes up and decides humans are dangerous and unnecessary. The Last Keepers is a family friendly show about a young woman who discovers all the women in her family have mysterious powers; the trailer looks great and the cast is very impressive, but I couldn’t find a home page for it. I won’t bother to mention Frankenstein’s Army.

In TV, Supernatural: The Complete 8th Season looks like the best bet this week, although Castle: The Complete 5th Season is a lot of fun even if it isn’t genre.

In Anime, Blue Exorcist: The Complete 2nd Season continues the battle between demons and humans with episodes 13 through 25. Our protagonist Rin is on trial at the Vatican to determine if he will be imprisoned or inducted into their anti-demon army. Bleach: Season 18 brings us up to episodes 256 through 267 as the Soul Reapers continue their never ending battles with things that would destroy humans.

Last Exile: Fam, The Silver Wing comes out as two box sets, parts 1 and 2, totaling 21 episodes. This is the sequel to The Last Exile, in which the Earth was restored and a long war ended through Steampunk Mad Science. In this series, those who survived remaining behind on the surface of the Earth make war on the returning exiles, attempting to destroy country after country. The final new entry this week is This Boy Caught a Merman, about an unusual relationship that has more to overcome than most.

There is a re-release worth noting this time around: Patlabor: The Mobile Police TV Series collection 2 is episodes 13 through 24 of this classic series. The director (and one of the writers) on this series was Mamoru Oshii, who went on to do all the different Ghost In The Shell Cyberpunk movies and TV series, and first became famous for his work as director of the very surreal Urusei Yatsura.

The Tomorrow People trailer

The Tomorrow People is a blast from the past, completely redone for a modern audience. The CW is a great channel for these kind of projects, being willing to try out something new and give it a chance, unlike Fox and others of that ilk.

The original Tomorrow People was a British children’s show which ran from 1973 through 1979, and then got reincarnated in 1992 for a single season. The team at Big Audio Finish then turned it into a series of Radio Plays running from 2001 through 2007. I look forward to seeing how this new incarnation works out, because I have loved the concepts behind each version and series, but I do not feel any of them delivered on that promise. After what I saw the CW do with Arrow, I think there is a chance I will finally get to see some Tomorrow People episodes begin to meet their full potential. And if they don’t, hey, at least I get to see another Arrow episode!

Arrow Trailer, Season 2

The most impressive new broadcast TV show for me last time around was Arrow, with excellent writing, a killer cast of some of my favorite actors, kick ass production values, and an adherence to the same sensibilities that addicted me to the original comic version in the first place. Season 2 starts on Wednesday, October 9th, and I had to share a few of my favorite trailers to gear me up for the next round. If you are not already watching this show, you want to check it out. Did I mention which show it is going to share the evening with?

Something to Do: Movies, 6Sep13

This is the week we get to see the newest installment in the Riddick franchise, and it looks like it will be quite the ride. This is either the 3rd or 4th film in the series, depending on whether you count the animated short that was released direct to DVD. Vin Diesel is still Riddick, with Katey Sackhoff and Karl Urban along for the party this time.

Something to Watch: DVDs, 3Sep13

In movies, Studio Ghibli’s From Up on Poppy Hill brings us another Hayao Miyazaki presentation, directed by Goro Miyazaki. It is based on the 1980s Manga of the same name, and like the majority of Studio Ghibli films, it is family friendly. So family friendly in fact they are usually distributed in the US by Disney, although this time they went with GKids. Now You See Me is almost genre, bordering on the fantasy side of life, but you need to bring your brain to this one and pay attention if you want to really understand what is going on. And the winner this week in the Silly Concepts with Bad Production Values category is Sharknado.

The top selection in TV this week is Haven: The Complete 3rd Season as far as I am concerned. The story line just keeps getting more interesting each season, and Audry’s life (whoever she actually is) just keeps getting more twisted. As usual, the timing is impeccable, bringing it out just in time for you to re-watch it before season 4 starts on September 13th. The Vampire Diaries: The Complete Fourth Season finally makes it into senior year, with Elena and company looking for the Vampire Cure. And here I always thought that was a stake through the heart; the new season starts October 3rd. Revolution: The Complete First Season is also out this week, and it also got a second season.

In Anime, I already mentioned From Up On Poppy Hill, but the next quality choice is We Without Wings: Season One has two gangs, a girl with a uniform fetish, a lot of random humor and fan service, and an alternate universe with a medieval civilization for our protagonists to deal with. AKB0048: Season 1 has the classic J-Pop Idol Band defending music in all the planets of the galaxy from anti-music forces. One Piece releases season 5 part 2, bringing us episodes 276 through 287.