Posted by Michael Pinto on Jul 16, 2010 in Dr. Who
The funny thing is that when Dr. Who was being developed in 1963 the iconic police-boxes could be spotted all over London and where very commonplace — however in 21st Century England where cell phones are commonplace there are that many to be found anymore. So ironically the TARDIS itself is as much a celebration of a bygone British era as it is a prop from a well beloved science fiction series. This TARDIS-Soap is a great way to keep the series close to your heart every day while giving you a slight caramel-apple smell — and best of all for this fanboy the soap uses all vegan materials. Read more…
Upcoming villain-as-hero CG flick Despicable Me is opening this week, starring Steve Carell as supervillain Gru who is forced to care for three not-always-adorable children. But while Carell might be better known for sweet guys like his Andy Stitzer in The 40-Year-Old Virgin, he’s spent plenty of time being despicable– like in the following Even Step(v)hen bits alongisde his then-colleague at the Daily Show, Stephen Colbert. Read more…
It’s been months since the series finale aired, and yet we still find ourselves trying to make sense of everything that occurred over the course of Lost‘s six seasons. If you’re looking for answers however, you’ll just have to keep waiting until this book hits shelves in late August. Coinciding with the DVD and Blu-ray release of the sixth and final season, this encyclopedia claims to feature over 400 pages of information, from the characters and plot, to the mythologies surrounding the hit the series. Along with that, the book will also contain roughly 1,500 images from various episodes. Needless to say, if you’re a fan of Lost, you’ll want to have this book handy next time you decide to watch from start to finish. It lists for $45, but pre-order from Amazon now, and you can save $15 off the MSRP.
The late 70s wasn’t the best of time for the comic book biz so Marvel took a look at Dynamite magazine and Starlog magazine and created their own youth culture magazine called Pizzazz. The magazine was an amazing mirror of pop culture during the disco era of 1977 until 1979 and lasted a total of 16 issues. The inside of the publication featured articles on popular films, a Star Wars comic and even a one pager by Harvey Kurtzman. Read more…
How sad is it that I found the Japanese TV spot for Robert Rodriguez’s Predators more enticing than the TV spot airing here in the states. Sure, Japan edited the spot to feature the Yakuza character a bit more, but that’s not really the point. I tried to put finger on it and finally I think I’ve figured out why — the edits they did make feature some actual action. While our own TV isn’t exactly boring, we’re given a number of second-long clips that feature explosions and gun fire. The Japanese TV spot, on the other hand, shows off the slightly longer initial clash between a Predator hunter, and the katana-wielding Yakuza. Needless to say, it was enough to seal the deal for me — I’ll be buying ticket opening day. Read more…
We’ll probably never have the opportunity to travel back in time to visit the sets of our favorite Sci-Fi movies and TV shows. However, thanks fanboys like Industrial Light and Magic’s Bill George — who, by the way, has a number of major film credits that including six Star Trek and two Star Wars films — many of the ships and models from those classic series have finally found a home of sorts. George has spent the last several years building a website, the Sci-Fi Airshow, which preserves many of the vehicles and ships designed over the years using a combination of digital photography and photoshop. In addition to some fantastic images, he provides semi-fictional accounts of the whereabouts of each ship since their Hollywood debut. Some of the ships to have been featured include Battlestar Galactica’s Viper and transport shuttle, and 2001: A Space Odyssey’s Orion space plane. Check out the his site for more information, and if you’d like, you can follow his group on Facebook. Read more…
Glee is sort of an odd topic for this website. Sure, it’s got a growing and devoted fandom, plus the kind of soap opera drama, colorful characters, and just the right level of fandom gap* that gets fanfic authors’ motors revving. On the other hand, it’s a (slightly) grown-up version of High School Musical– pretty far from the genre, game-related, and foreign materials that usually qualify for their own geekdoms. Read more…
Olivia Munn is many things: a Chinese-German-Irish American who speaks Vietnamese, a host for G4’s Attack of the Show, a bikini model, a sports reporter, and a film actress. But a comedienne? …I dunno about that. Read more…
Standing at ten inches tall this crafted doll of David Tennant is perhaps the first Time Lord that you’d want to adopt and take home! Although it should be pointed out that this is a collectable art toy and sadly not for the kids. The crafty Time Lord was created by GirlCalledRic who has a nice geeky shop on Etsy. Read more…
In this video clip Adam Savage the co-host of MythBusterstells the tail — err tale of the cannibalistic mice. It seems that they did an episode based upon the myth that bad breakfast cereal has less nutrients than the box. So to test this myth they fed one set of mice super sugary cereal and another set cardboard pellets. The result? The cardboard mice resorted to cannibalism and the making of a MythBusters episode that never aired. Read more…
Word came out this week that the Pee-Wee Herman Show, and its infamous star Paul Rubens, are moving on to Broadway, for a short time at least. This is one of those ideas that makes you go, “why didn’t anyone think of this YEARS ago?” because Pee-Wee and its mix of puppetry and live stars are perfect for the stage.
But it’s not the only show that I’d like to see get a Broadway adaptation. Here are just a few from my childhood* that deserve a shot.
* I watched some Nick at Nite, so this is all technically true. Read more…
Netflix’s Watch Instantly feature has been a pretty handy tool since it launched. Users could slog through entire seasons of Law and Order, classic flicks like Harold and Maude and Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, and certain sets of niche genre films, all at the click of a button.
But recently Netflix added a batch of titles to its library that transformed Watch Instantly into THE place for kids who watched a lot of cartoons in the ’90s (not including anime, which makes up the vast majority of Netflix’s “Anime & Animation” section). Read more…
Posted by Tim Sheehy on May 26, 2010 in Japanese TV
These commercials for the Japanese credit firm, JCB, feature J-Pop vocalist Ninomiya Kazunari miraculously saving the struggling Japanese economy with a simple swipe of his JCB issued credit card. The commercials are pretty hilarious, but at the same time I’m a little confused. In fairness, they’re technically encouraging some form of economic stimulation, but that’s only assuming people are actually going to pay off the balance they borrow on those cards, which, in part, is the reason behind the current global financial crisis. A bit ironic, don’t you think? Read more…
On Sunday the fun will end for Lost fans, although it’s still not too late to enjoy silly fan videos! I have to say that I’ve been very impressed with this show on a number of levels, but what I find interesting is that it shows that broadcast TV isn’t quite dead yet. I’m also love the fact that a show that isn’t a reality TV show could have made it so big.
Posted by Gia Manry on May 15, 2010 in Japanese TV
What do you get when you throw a hot Japanese actress into a costume vaguely reminiscent of a bit player in Xena: Warrior Princess and give her breast beams? The answer, of course, is something like the above video, found by Topless Robot. Read more…
Posted by Tim Sheehy on May 4, 2010 in Japanese TV
I’m not sure what it is with Japan and making still images come to life, but the latest commercials for their Shigekix candies — I’m told they’re kind of like WarHeads, but not as sour — do just that. The commercials, which feature some well known paintings, such as the Mona Lisa, have the portraits belting out a cute little jingle while enjoying the tasty snack food. It almost kind of reminds me of a Japanese iPhone app called PhotoSpeak which allows you to animate still pictures with audio recordings. If you’re interested in the app, check out the app store for more info, and if you want to see more of the commercials, check the Shigekix website — they’re all there. Read more…
K-9 made his first debut on Dr. Who in 1977 and he’s been beloved ever since. This Doctor Who Remote Control K-9 pays tribute to our cybernetic canine companion and includes flashing lights and speech. Judging by the fact that he runs on AA batteries I think the only flaw that I see with this K-9 unit is that he’s not life sized which would make him the perfect cosplay accessory (or ultimate office toy). Read more…
Patrick Stewart (better known to us Star Trek fanboys as Captain Picard) will be showing off his acting skills in Hamlet which will play on most PBS stations tonight at 8pm (check your local listings for Great Performances). Stewart will be playing Claudius, however Dr. Who fans should also take note of this production as David Tennant will be playing Hamlet. In the clip above Stewart talks about making Shakespeare appeal to today’s audiences. And below is a clip of Stewart sharing his feelings on tech issues like Twitter and the iPhone. Read more…
Tragically the Talking TARDIS Cookie Jar doesn’t actually talk — however it does produce Dr. Who approved sound effects. Although if you’re looking for a more authentic experience make sure to fill your cookie jar with traditional English biscuits to enjoy with your tea and favorite Time Lord of choice.
For Lotte’s latest commercial for their ACUO brand of gum they’re featuring an animated Haruhi Suzumiya (and her friends) interacting with live action actor Toma Ikuta. As much as I love Haruhi I think the cutest part of the advert is when he runs out side and the three street cats that are looking at him transform into cat girls: Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Apr 11, 2010 in Television
I was sad to learn that Dixie Carter has just passed away — while she did have a role in Desperate Housewives her legacy will be the Designing Women sitcom which ran from 1986 until 1993. If you look at the above clip you’ll see a wonderful fearsomeness in Dixie which almost reminds me of female version of Samuel Jackson in Pulp Fiction. The writing is pure camp but she owns every damn word being spoken and clearly means it. I always admired how she managed to balance the comedy in her role with the finer points of drama. And speaking of beauty queens it should be noted that in 1959 she competed in the Miss Tennessee pageant, where she placed first runner-up. Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Apr 9, 2010 in Japanese TV
This Godzilla themed canned coffee advert perfectly captures my inner crankiness when I can’t get my daily caffeine fix. The commercial is for Kirin Black Deep Body Fire which features a “51% blend of carefully selected premium bean” from Guatemala. Although the two main selling points are that this coffee is both sugar free (and thus low calorie) and apparently tastes quite bitter. Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Apr 8, 2010 in Japanese TV
This commercial is for Daiwa House, the largest homebuilder in Japan. Apparently D-room is a reference to the dining room in a Japanese house. In fact when you’re looking at real estate ads in Japan they’ll often use letters to represent the number of rooms in a house. So an LDK would be a house with living room, dining room and kitchen. And from what I can see D-room is an online service for real estate. Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Apr 7, 2010 in Japanese TV
These two adverts for Mizkan are quite creepy yet somehow pleasing with their offbeat humor. Both commercials seem to be for onigiri which are Japanese rice balls which can come in both triangle and round shapes. And although the spot doesn’t show it onigiri are quite often wrapped in seaweed. I really got a kick out of the second commercial which shows the creative ways to incorporate onigiri into a creative bento box for lunch. Read more…
