Batman Begins redefined a lot...

at least in terms of the movies... but the BIGGEST change was the Batmobile... or as Christopher Nolan would presumably have us believe... the LACK of one... but BOY did he 'make up' for that with the Tumbler... 'Tank' was putting it lightly... and I must admit... even though that was a HUGE departure from the Batman mythos Batman Begins 'reinterpreted' things MOSTLY for the better... well... Nolan did kill off one of the best Batman villains ever... but I'm not complaining... and I'm as close to a purist as any... when it comes to...

Batman (in his 'new and improved' suit)

And now with the sequel, The Dark Knight (first Batman film to NOT have 'Batman' in the title), Nolan's at it again... and... I'm liking it... again!

The 'Batpod' - the movie version a 'Batbike'

and this thing comes out in 2008... boy am I in for a looooooong wait... especially since I get to watch it ONLY when the fracking DVD comes out!

AAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrggggggggggGGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!

but I do have mixed feelings about Heath Ledger being The Joker though... errr... not really buying it... yet... I admit the initial 'sneak peek' promo artwork looked good... but... I guess I'll have to wait till the movie comes out in... 2008... S@#T I feel one of those screams coming on!

AAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrggggggggggGGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!

Transform and roll out?

Optimus Prime - movie version

I'm thinking this one might not be 'More than meets the eye' story wise... BUT it would still be freaking cool to see a photo-realistic transformation... and if Bay manages to pull THAT off... then there's hope for what Peter Jackson and Steven Spielberg are planning to do with Tintin... now THAT'S gonna be a HUGE challenge!

Christopher Eccleston's Doctor is "the best ever"...

At least according to EW... Sadly though the Doctor comes in 23rd on EW's 'The top 25 sci-fi movies and TV from the past 25 years'... well behind 'Heroes' and 'Lost'... which... to me... is decidedly unfair... BUT EW is an American product so... that is to be expected...

The ninth Doctor

As far as Christopher Eccleston being the best ever... he was FANTASTIC... I was really sad to see Eccleston's ninth Doctor regenerate into David Tenant's 10th Doctor... BUT Tenant's doing a good job... and the series... at least in my book... is far superior to most of the others listed on EW's top 25...

Conspicuously missing from the list are Star Wars - IV, V and VI (or any of the inferior prequels for that matter) AND ANY of Stargate series!

Battlestar Galactica

Well... they did have the good sense to have Battlestar Galactica near the top... so... nope... Doctor Who deserves to make Top 5... Top 10 at least!

You are on The Global Frequency

The Global Frequency insignia

*sigh*... I wish...

As far as good story ideas go The Global Frequency is one helluvan idea... and there are those really , really, good ideas that sometimes the writers just... mess up... but there's non of that AT ALL... in Warren Ellis' comic books... zip!

Sketch from the first Global Frequency story

The Global Frequency (see Wikipedia entry) is like '24'... only on a global scale... and better... better than 24 I mean...

I'd read the collected books (collected in two volumes) by Warren Ellis and I was blown away... I mean the guy had written it as one WOULD write a TV series... and imagine my excitement when in 2004 Warner Bros. commissioned it for a series... I was one happy... well I was ecstatic... BUT... I had jumped too soon... the series never came about (apparently the big shots at Warners thought it sucked - their word, not mine) and they iced it...

First issue cover

BUT... it didn't stop there... it 'leaked' and found it's way on several peer to peer (I think the technical term is p2p) networks... I held out hope for a DVD release... HEY! It was a good idea and i didn't want to screw Mr. Ellis out of the money that he justly deserved!!!!

I'm still waiting... but the waiting has got the better of me... so I finally 'acquired' the 'leaked' copy... and it's GREAT! Not as good as the comic mind you... Warren Ellis left no plot holes, used great dialogue, extremely talented artists and provided a consistently gritty narrative... it was... to put it simply... 'an illustrated book' that felt like a movie... it engaged you on that level... the comics I mean...

Cover for Volume I of the two collected editions

The 'leaked' pilot episode of The Global Frequency isn't perfect (unlike the comics) BUT it coulda been... over time... it shoulda been given a chance... some bits were downright corny... some bad dialogue... but mostly... it was above most of the 'adventure' stuff we see on television these days... on the same level as 24... only not as dark... some good characters from the comics... some additional characters that you would need for regular TV... it was good...

My wife and I watched 'the only episode of The Global Frequency there was ever gonna be' and we were left wanting more... but... that's the way the cookie crumbles...

At least she's got my collections to go through...

And I've got... errr... ummm... can't think of a good series on telly... oh yea... gotta get cable... soon...

Cover for Volume II of the two collected editions

and I also need an actual telly...

Star Trek…

Or Star Trek XI (I think that’s eleven?!?!?) a prequel/re-imagining of the popular science fiction series is all set to hit theatres in December 2008… GREAT news for my good friend Pete AND my sci-fi obsessed brother Hassan… although… to be fair… I don’t think either of them are as obsessed with the genre, as a whole, than I am… You can credit Star Wars for that… IV, V and VI… NOT the lame prequels…

Poster art for the 2008 release

I’m not that huge a fan of Star Trek… I never did follow any of the series regularly… an odd episode here and there… in fact… my fondest memories of Star Trek was attending the premier of Star Trek Nemesis (Star Trek X) with Peter in… get this… FULL Starfleet gear… the two of us got a couple of gibes from other audience members there… but it was a generally fun experience… one I would not take back… EVER!!! Only regret is... I wasn't there for Star Wars... with the Lightsabers!

Thanks Pete for the fun times…

And thanks Hassan… for renewing my faith in Sci-Fi with Stargate SG-1 (more on that later… maybe…)

Pete, Hassan – Here’s hoping J.J. Abrams delivers a story worthy of the Star Trek legacy…

Guys... 'Live long and prosper'.