News Around the Net!
Let’s begin the day with this phenomenal article from badassdigest.com about how Optimus Prime’s death defined a generation of kids. Do you want to understand the depths of my geeky heart? Then read that article. My parents wouldn’t let me see Transformers: The Movie in theatres, but I was allowed to rent it on video. I didn’t cry, but I was shocked by the brutal deaths of all my beloved characters in the film’s opening minutes. When Optimus Prime bought the farm I was changed forever. I had loved the Transformers before, but one viewing of Transformers: The Movie sealed that flick’s place in my heart forever. “Megatron… must be stopped. No matter the cost.”
Boy, those crazy guys and gals at badassdigest.com have a direct line into my psyche these days, because while the experience of seeing Transformers: The Movie was seminal, so too was my discovery of Voltron. This magnificent article examines the mysterious origins of Voltron, a show that combined and repurposed several different Japanese cartoons. Oh my lord I loved Voltron. The continuity of that show — the way story-lines flowed from one episode to the next — was a staggering discovery to me as a kid, and I fell in love hard. To this day, I have a love for long-running continuing stories in any media (Movies, TV, books, comic books, etc.), and I think that began as a kid when I discovered Voltron and Robotech…
I just discovered Jerry Seinfeld’s web-series Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, and it is magnificent. I love stand-up comedy and I loved Seinfeld, so no surprise I think this series of shorts of Jerry hanging out with his very funny pals is phenomenal. With this project, Seinfeld has inched even closer to truly having made a show about nothing. Genius. I have already watched them all. If you haven’t seen this, click on the above link immediately.
Want to watch Ewan McGregor tell a hilarious story about filming the Star Wars prequels? Jump to 7:50 below:
So far I am very, very excited for next year’s X-Men: Days of Future Past. My only cause for worry? The film’s very unimpressive redesign of the Sentinels. I wish they had stuck a lot closer to the classic, iconic original design by John Byrne. The Sentinels aren’t just any robots, they have a very specific look, and this isn’t it.
As for this summer’s X-Men movie, I have already written my review of the good-but-not-great new Wolverine solo film, The Wolverine. Click here for a fascinating interview with Chris Claremont, who shares his thoughts on the film. Chris Claremont didn’t create the X-Men or Wolverine, but in writing the X-Men comic (as well as countless spin-off titles, mini-series, one-shots, annuals, etc.) for almost two decades, Mr. Claremont is almost single-handedly responsible for the X-Men’s enduring popularity, and in particular he defined the character of Wolverine. Staying on the subject of Wolverine, this is a fun article collecting several classic “firsts” from the character’s comic-book history.
I suspect most readers of this site are well aware of my deep love for Batman: The Animated Series. Click here to read a terrific summary of the recent panel at Comic-Con, celebrating the 21st anniversary of the series’ premiere. (Good lord, I am old!!) The article’s headline definitely declares the animated Batman as “the definitive Batman,” and I 100% agree.
Let me leave you with any apology, because if you follow this link you are about to lose the rest of your day. The Onion A.V. Club had Paul Feig, creator of Freaks and Geeks, walk them though every single episode of the brilliant series, sharing this thoughts, behind-the-scenes stories, and other memories. You’re welcome.