W♥M

Comic book-related television shows (2017)

Read More Marvel Comics The ever-growing Marvel Comics Universe comes to life in the form of Feld Entertainment’s production of Marvel Universe LIVE! Age of Heroes and we were there to ...

Here is a breakdown of some recent comic book-related debut television shows. While DC has a strong lineup with their CW shows (Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, Legends of Tomorrow), it looks like Marvel is hitting back strong with a ton of Marvel-related shows (with the exception of Happy!).

THE PUNISHER
netflix.com

I did enjoy The Punisher quite a bit, which was a win, considering that I thought Iron Fist and The Defenders were lackluster. Ever since The Punisher appeared on Daredevil, I knew he would spin off in his own series… and I was right.

I’ve always liked the Punisher, ever since that amazing limited Steven Grant and Mike Zeck mini-series in 1986 (can it really be over 30 years old?) and followed his stories in his ongoing series, plus his War Journal and War Zone, I ate all of it up. I love it so much, that even though I own all these books on the original single issues (and some collected books), I still bought some Punisher books on the recent Comixology year-end sale.

Since I feel like I know The Punisher really well, I had a very hard time accepting Jon Bernthal’s southern accent as part of this TV Punisher. It just sound wrong, and it would automatically rule out any storyline where the Punisher had to go undercover as an Italian mobster. I guess I must be the only person in the world that didn’t really like Bernthal’s portrayal of the Punisher.

If you were to ask me, I really love Ray Stevenson’s The Punisher, but unfortunately, I don’t think anyone remotely liked Punisher: War Zone (my favorite of the three Punisher films).

Despite my not liking Bernthal, the Netflix show was actually really engaging. It kept me interested, but there were a few episodes that I thought could have been shortened, and like all the Neflix shows, maybe 13 episodes were just too long.

HAPPY!
syfy.com

I love Grant Morrison (I am a huge fan of Doom Patrol, Invisibles, and JLA), but kind of gave up on him after his Batman R.I.P. series, which I did think I lost the plot after a few issues. This television show is based on Morrison and Darick Robertson’s graphic novel of the same name.

So watching the show is really the first time I’m experiencing the story, which, at the moment, is really fun. The problem in all the silliness of Happy is that, at any given point, do I feel like our character is in mortal danger.

So I’m on board, I hope he finds and saves his daughter!

P.S., I’m probably going to try and find the Happy! comic book now.

THE GIFTED
fox.com

I actually got really confused with The Gifted vs The Runaways. I think both shows had super powered kids running away… but between the two shows, I’m more keen on The Gifted.

The show started off strong, with The Sentinels, and featured genre actors like Stephen Moyer and Amy Acker. These parents are doing everything in their power (excuse the pun) to save their mutant children.

Bonus appearances of familiar X-Mutants like Sunspot and Polaris help sells the show to me.

Admittedly, the show has not kept my interest, and I may be a few episodes behind.

THE RUNAWAYS
hulu.com

I never read the comic book series, but I’ve always thought the kids in The Runaways were mutants. I guess I am wrong, they’re just kids with superpowers. I tried out a few episodes, it’s really not my thing. I guess I’m just too old to understand these group of kids. Unlike The Gifted, you never get to see the parents in the Runaways (at least in the first few episodes).

I really wanted to like it, but unfortunately, I just didn’t like any of the kids… well, maybe except for the girl with the pet dinosaur.

So far, 8 out of 10 episodes just aired, but I stopped watching the show with episode 5. Maybe next Saturday I will try and catch up.

Also, the other problem is that you pay $7.99 a month, but you still get advertisements.

THE INHUMANS
abc.go.com

I had really high hopes for the live The Inhumans, but the series turned out to be a dud. I did not love the over-acting of Anson Mount as Black Bolt… but it’s understandable since his character cannot (or should not) speak.

The most striking thing about the Inhumans would be Medusa’s animated hair… yet the series cut it off at the beginning. Karnak, possibly the most dangerous inhuman weapon (he can see the weakness in everything) is taken out easily.

After giving three episodes, I gave up on the television show. It wasn’t the Inhumans that I wanted.

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

The Music of Mr. Robot Season 2.0

Read More Kenny Rogers "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)" is the hit song that put Kenny Rogers on the music map. His band was called The First Edition but was quickly replaced …

After resisting the television show Mr Robot on USA Network, I gave in and watched the first season. It was pretty good, it did remind me of plot from Fight Club... and despite figuring out the “twist” midway into the first season, it was still quite enjoyable.

I recently picked up Season 2 on Bluray, mostly because I had extra cash from the holidays and really wanted to get that Mr Robot patch, exclusive on Best Buy editions.

If you love the show, you might want to check out the original orchestral soundtrack by Mac Quayle.

Anyway, while I’m waiting for Season 3, I have started watching Season 2 again... this time with all the spoiler knowledge, and paid more attention to the music in the show. I knew most of the popular songs they used on Mr Robot, but there were a few (like that Japanese trashcore band Bleach) that I didn’t know, and, of course, none of the music were actually credit in the TV show!

So, if you’re like me and wanted to know all the songs they used in Mr Robot, I have compile the list, thanks to imdb.com:

S02E01: eps2.0_unm4sk-pt1.tc

Lupe Fiasco: Daydreamin'

Emmacy: Beneath the Flowers

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: The Marriage of Figaro, K. 492: Overture

S02E02: eps2.0_unm4sk-pt2.tc

Phil Collins: Take Me Home

Vernon Dalhart and Gladys Rice: Till We Meet Again (standard)

Glitterbitch: Game Set Match

The Midi Mafia: You Like Me (feat. Mucho Deniro)

Sonic Youth: Bull in the Heather

I MONSTER: Daydream In Blue

Michael Small Commission and Main Title

S02E03: eps2.1_k3rnel-pan1c.ksd

Dusty Springfield: You Don't Have to Say You Love Me (Elvis Presley cover)

Philip Glass: Opening (Mishima)

The Highwaymen: Highwayman

Jerry Townes: Just Say the Word

Holy F**k: Lovely Allen

Burl Ives: Holly Jolly Christmas

S02E04: eps2.2_init_1.asec

Twinkle Twinkle Little Rock Star: Basket Case (Green Day cover)

Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra Chorus & David Lloyd-Jones: The Planets, Op. 32: VII. Neptune, the Mystic - (Ed. C. Matthews)

Philharmonia Orchestra, The Ambrosian Singers, John McCarthy & Sir Simon Rattle: The Planets, Op. 32: 7. Neptune, the Mystic (Andante)

Brook Benton: Rainy Night In Georgia

Chromatics: Into the Black (Neil Young cover)

Carol Wincenc, Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra & Antoni Wit: Concerto-Cantata, Op. 65: IV. Arioso e corale. Lento - Tranquillo cantabile - Dolce

London Philharmonic Orchestra, David Parry & Finghin Collins: Piano Concerto No. 21 in C Major, K. 467: II. Andante

Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross: What Have We Done to Each Other?

S02E05: eps2.3_logic-b0mb.hc

Mac Quayle: 1.0_8-whatsyourask.m4p

Mac Quayle: 1.0_7-waitfortheQ.ogg

Mac Quayle: 1.3_5-da3monsneverstop.caf

S02E06: eps2.4_m4ster-s1ave.aes

Bennett Salvay and Jesse Frederick: Imagine A World Gone Insane

Kool & The Gang: Celebration

The Suffers: Gwan

2Pac: Dear Mama

Television: Guiding Light

Hemline Theory: Slip Me On

S02E07: eps2.5_h4ndshake.sme

Pino Donaggio: Blow Out Theme

The Cramps: Garbageman

Jack Nitzsche: Play the Game

S02E08: eps2.6_succ3ss0r.p12

Portia Doubleday: Everybody Wants To Rule The World (Tears for Fears cover)

Charles Mingus: Haitian Fight Song

The National Bolshoï Orchestra: Danse Macabre

Tears for Fears: Everybody Wants to Rule the World

The Carpenters: Rainy Days and Mondays

Cymande: Dove

Giorgio Moroder: The Apartment

S02E09: eps2.7_init_5.fve

Saint Saviour: This Ain't No Hymn

Public Image Ltd.: The Order of Death

Depeche Mode: Walking In My Shoes

Mac Quayle: DDoS Hacking Song

S02E10: eps2.8_h1dden-pr0cess.axx

Erik Satie: Gnosienne No. I

Bleach (aka Bleach03): The Head That Controls Both Right And Left Sides Eats Meats And Slobbers Even Today (右も左も支配する頭は今日も肉を食いヨダレを垂らす。)

Daft Punk: Armory

S02E11: eps2.9_pyth0n-pt1.p7z

Jimmy Forrest: Night Train

Fess Parker: The Ballad of Davy Crockett (The Wellingtons cover)

The Penguins: Earth Angel (Will You Be Mine)

Lindsey Buckingham: Time Bomb Town

Mac Quayle: 1.8_1-imcrazy.aiff

S02E12: eps2.9_pyth0n-pt2.p7z

Kraftwerk: The Hall of Mirrors

Aimee Mann: The Moth

Kenny Rogers and Sheena Easton: We've Got Tonight (Bob Seger cover)

Les Deux Love Orchestra: The Moth & The Flame

Kenny Rogers: We've Got Tonight

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

The Mi Box

Mi Box Specification Output resolution Up to 4K 60fps Processor Quad-core Cortex-A53 2.0GHz GPU Mali 450 750MHz RAM 2GB DDR3 Storage 8GB of on-board storage Connectivity Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, Dual-band Wi-Fi 2.4GHz/5GHz Bluetooth 4.0/3.0 Video VP9 Profile-2 up to 4K x 2K @ 60fps H.265 HEVC MP-10 at L5.1, up to 4K x 2K at 60fps H.264 AVC HPat L5.1, up to 4K x 2K at 30fps H.264 MVC, up to 1080P at 60fps Supports HDR10/HLG HDR processing (software upgrade required) Sound DTS 2.0+ Digital Out, Dolby Digital Plus Up to 7.1 pass through Ports HDMI: HDMI 2.0a x 1 port (HDCP 2.2) USB: USB 2.0 x 1 port AV: SPDIF Out / 3.5mm audio output x 1 port Power: 1 port Software Android TV 6.0 Dimensions and weight 101 x 101 x 19.5mm 176.5g Color Black Read More Roku So, I previously poo-poo the Roku because it did not support YouTube. You know, the most popular video service in the world and Roku just didn't work with it? It's sad and lame, in my opinion. ....

I recently upgraded my television to a Samsung 4k (UHD). It's only 40-inch, but it's big enough for me (especially for the sale price). My current first-gen PS4 isn't powerful enough for 4k (or wasn't really design to output at that resolution), and, at of this writing, only the Xbox One S and the new PS4 Pro offers 4k support. Unfortunately, I'm not going to re-buy a PS4 and I'm patiently waiting for the Xbox One Scorpio... so I can't just buy the current Xbox (although I really want to get it it now).

The 4k problem is actually the lack of content. Streaming 4k is not a great option, because my internet cannot handle streaming it. Downloading it takes forever... and not to mention the sheer takes up too much valuable disc space on my harddrive. 4k discs are being sold, but are limited to certain popular titles and at an extra cost. Discs are priced at usually at $30, which is $10+ more than Bluray discs. Plus, unless you got an Xbox One S, 4k disc players is an added $150 or more extra cost.

Basically, it's a chicken and egg problem, but eventually 4k is the future. For collectors, the steelbooks and special packaging are only available on Bluray, so they're not migrating any time soon.

So why would you want a 4k TV? Let me break it down to you: the image quality is much better than a standard 1080 screen. It's not just my imagination, because the pixels look smoother/sharper because the image is upscale on the same display size. The smaller the dots, the better it looks... but only if you have really good 20/20 vision (or look closely at the display).

The other cool thing about my Samsung set is that it comes with apps, so if you're watching TV, you can click on the extra icon to see the latest weather or play minesweeper, etc. Although you can install apps directly on the TV, the Samsung App store is severely limited.

My only 4k streaming box options right now are: Roku 4, Chromecast Ultra, Nvidia Shield, or the Mi Box. Having own the Roku 2, I was not impressed with its inability to turn off or that it does not support multiple audio or even something simple as subtitle support.

As for the Chromecast, you basically need an Android Phone (which I currently don't own), and the Nvidia Shield is just too expensive ($200 for the base model and the remote is an extra $50, and the stand is $30)..... so that left me with my only choice: The Mi Box. If you aren't familiar with the Mi Box, it's a $69 Android TV box sold by Chinese company Xiaomi.

When you get the Mi Box, I suggest getting the Kodi app (formerly known as XBMC) so you can stream your local DNLA or add streaming video playlists. Kodi is really just the best app, I've used it on various platform. It will play everything, and it does multiple audio and multiple subtitles. It's really the only video player you need.

Some things I do not like about the Mi Box:

Power cord is not very long and seemingly exclusive to Mi Box (meaning you can’t just swap it out for another longer cable).

Limited to only Android TV selections (this is a Google limitation)

Voice search is not very good (again, this is a Google limitation)

Chromecast did not really work for me on some applications I tried.

No Apple Mirror (this is an Apple restriction/DRM issue)

One USB, no SD card reader

Some things I love about the Mi Box:

Has all the Apps I like: Haystack, Pluto TV, Kodi, etc.

Game option with the Mi Controller (may buy one if I find it in stores)

Cheap! $69

Small and compact design.

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ facebook.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

W♥M264: Golden Age of Superheroes

Read More MC Chris So mc chris has an excellent new album out. It's called mc chris is dead, so go buy it, quickly now! But first, have a listen. I picked 2 of my favorite songs to share with you guys. ...

Vu and John takes a look back in this year in comic book/superheroe movies.

We’ve been tracking this phenomenon of comic book movies, and there’s no doubt that 2016 is the Golden Age of Comic Book Movies! With about 8 films, not counting documentaries, etc., released in theaters this year, it is kind of saturated with superheroes films.

Comic book movies:

Deadpool (February 12, 2016)

Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice (March 19, 2016)

Captain America: Civil War (April 12, 2016)

X-Men: Apocalypse (May 9, 2016)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows (May 22, 2016)

Batman: The Killing Joke (July 25, 2016)

Suicide Squad (August 5, 2016)

Doctor Strange (November 4, 2016)

Comic book televisions:

Arrow (2012–present)

Flash (2014–present)

Supergirl (2015–present)

Legends of Tomorrow (2016)

Gotham (2014–present)

iZombie (2015–present)

Lucifer (2016)

Preacher(2016)

Agents of SHIELD (2013–present)

Jessica Jones (2015)

Daredevil (2015–present)

Luke Cage (2016)

Top grossing films of 2016:

Rank	Title	Distributor	Worldwide gross
1	Captain America: Civil War	Disney	$1,153,304,495
2	Finding Dory		$1,026,939,582
3	Zootopia		$1,023,772,429
4	The Jungle Book		$966,539,134
5	The Secret Life of Pets	Universal	$874,349,727
6	Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice	Warner Bros.	$873,260,194
7	Deadpool	20th Century Fox	$782,612,155
8	Suicide Squad	Warner Bros.	$745,600,054
9	Doctor Strange	Disney	$621,817,731
10	The Mermaid	Sony	$553,810,228

Song of the show is MC Chris’ ‘Part One’ (The Batman).

--
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Archive of this show at archive.org. More information on podomatic.com. Recording of this podcast was made possible by Skype, CallGraph, and Audacity.

W♥M263: The Year in Deaths 2016 (08 December 2016) Vu, John W♥M262: KT Tunstall (25 September 2016) Vu, John W♥M261: The Heavy (22 September 2016) Vu, John W♥M260: Murder Shoes (11 September 2016) Vu, Tess W♥M259: Broods (09 August 2016) Vu, Lee W♥M258: Batman: The Killing Joke (30 July 2016) Vu, John

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ podcast.weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

Introducing... Television

Discography [1977] Marquee Moon [1978] Adventure [1992] Television Tour Dates 09/04/16 Kingston, NY BSP Lounge 09/06/16 Washington, DC 9:30 Club 09/08/16 Hopscotch Music Festival 09/10/16 Athens, GA Georgia Theatre 10/16/16 Desert Daze Festival 10/18/16 Tucson, AZ Rialto Theatre 10/21/16 San Francisco, CA The Chapel Read More Television Television had a brief three year run that left a legacy of one of the most brillant debut albums in rock history ("Marquee Moon") an adequate follow up ("Adventure") … Chris Stamey The evening started with a brief 25-min set by The Chris Stamey Group, headed by, who else, Chris Stamey (famous for forming The Db's with Peter Holsapple). …

Television was formed in 1973 in New York City by Tom Verlaine, Richard Hell, Billy Ficca and Richard Lloyd. They began in 1972 as the Neon Boys, but changed their name to Television the following year.

They made their live debut at Townhouse Theatre, New York, NY in 1974.

Television was one of the first bands to play legendary music club CBGB in New York’s East Village.

On their official Facebook page, the band identifies with three musical genres: post- punk, new wave & rock.

Some of the band’s influences include The Rolling Stones and jazz icon Miles Davis. Television’s musical style is less bluesy and more about garage rock and jazz. One of their trademarks is their tendency toward lengthy guitar jams between lead and rhythm guitar.

In 1975, Television’s demo was turned down by Island Records, but the band was undeterred. They released the single “Little Johnny Jewel” on their own label- Ork- and the song became an underground hit. They signed with Elektra Records in 1976 and their debut album, Marquee Moon, was released in 1977.

Television broke up not long after the release of their sophomore album, Adventure (1978) to pursue solo careers or to join other bands.

Television briefly re-formed in 1991, signed with Capitol Records and released their third studio album, Television (1992).

Television disbanded once again in 1993, but the band continues to play together on and off.

Television provided inspiration for guitar-based post-punk bands of the late 70s and 80s, synth pop bands of the 80s and indie rock bands of the 90s.

On September 10, 2016, Television will play the Georgia Theatre in Athens, GA. A whole lot of people in Athens- a town known for its own collection of seminal bands, many of whom credit Television as an influence- are eagerly anticipating this show. Tickets are available through the Georgia Theatre’s website: georgiatheatre.com.

Chris Stamey (Alex Chilton, Sneakers, the dB’s) will open for Television.

Fans eagerly anticipate the as-yet-to-be-determined release of Television’s latest- a ‘secret’ album, recorded in 2007 and awaiting the finishing touches of vocals and mixing. We are told we can expect to hear many of these new tracks live at the show.

dena ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ facebook.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

DC Comics to Films (and TV) in 2016

Read More Superman I finally got around to watching Jon Schnepp's The Death of "Superman Lives": What Happened? documentary on what happened to the film "Superman Lives". The doomed film would have been directed by Tim Burton … Batman Friday was the first full day of Wizard World Chicago Comic Con, held at the Donald J. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, IL, just outside Chicago, and there were plenty of onsite activities to keep busy. … Justice League Interested in getting your hands on the Justice League: Gods & Monsters Soundtrack? The CD will be out August 11, 2015, and is limited to only 1,000 units. It is exclusively available only at La-La Land Records. …

As a former hardcore comic book collector (currently I am still buying some random flimsies and will still buy hardcovers), I am pretty excited about all these comic book super heroes coming to the silver screen and television.

In the past few years, Marvel Comics has been enjoying its success with Avengers, Captain America, Iron Man, Ant-Man, Guardian of the Galaxy, Thor, Hulk, Fantastic Four, Ghost Rider, Daredevil (TV), Jessica Jones (TV). DC Comics, on the other hand, had nothing but failures, including The Losers, Jonah Hex, Green Lantern, The Dark Knight Rises (the worst of the Nolan films), and the terrible Man of Steel film.

DC's last film was the space-invader Superman film in 2013, and after a three year break, DC is finally getting their act together with some exciting announcements: Batman v Superman and Suicide Squad (with Wonder Woman and Aquaman sometime in 2017).

I'm going to break down these upcoming 2016 titles.

BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE
batmanvsuperman.dccomics.com

I really hate the title Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. I can understand it, it tells us that Batman will be fighting Superman... and somehow it involves the Justice League. Based on the first trailer of the film, like so many other fans, I have come up with the storyline: Lex Luther introduced Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne. They later duke it out. Then they have to team up to fight Doomsday... but is saved by Wonder Woman. I hope there's more to it than that... and since it's directed by Zack Snyder, I'm sure it'll look great.

We already know that Snyder is a big Frank Miller fan, having directed 300, so I'm assuming Snyder will also be paying homage to Miller's work from his The Dark Night Returns 1986 work (featuring an aging Batman fighting Superman). The Dark Night Returns, along with Miller's Batman: Year One, is possibly the most influential Batman story. With some other titles, including Alan Moore's Watchmen (which Snyder also adapted and directed), The Dark Knight help launched the so-called "grim and gritty" era that followed it.

I just hope that these upcoming films won't be so 'dark and gritty', but all evidence (including Man of Steel) kind of point us in that direction.

Read More Comic Books FallCon 2013 just took place on Saturday, October 5th. The turnout to this 25-year-old comic book convention was impressive, despite that FallCon for this year, was the smaller of the two cons (its sibling SpringCon …

SUICIDE SQUAD
suicidesquad.com

I am super-excited for this upcoming Suicide Squad film. Everyone is talking about how great the new Joker looks, but the obvious standout is clearly Harley Quinn, who is the comedy relief of the picture.

If you didn't know or follow the comic book, the current version of the group first appeared is at the end of John Ostrander and John Byrne's Legends cross-over limited series that introduced the (then) new Justice League in 1987. I remember attending a comic book convention and we asked why a vendor was selling Legends #7 for $75 and he told us it was because of Suicide Squad. We couldn't believe it.

Since newer fans may not know who is actually in Suicide Squad, here is a list of characters:

Amanda Waller: Portrayed in the comic book as an overweight and very rude black woman. I didn't follow Checkmate! that closely, but I believe she's also in charge of that division of the government.

Rick Flag: A military officer, team leader of "Task Force X" (aka Suicide Squad). Apparently Tom Hardy was originally cast for this role.

Katana: She's in this film as part of Flag's crew, she's a hero from her days with Batman and the Outsiders.

Deadshot: A Batman villain and assassin, known for his expert marksman. I have often confused him with Deathstroke and Deadpool.

Captain Boomerang: An Australian villain from The Flash comics. He kills people with deadly boomerangs... not really sure why he's all that deadly.

El Diablo: I don't keep up with the current DC's 52, but this villain has pyrotechnic abilities.

Killer Croc: A Batman villain, this half-man, half-crocodile is the strongman of the group.

Harley Quinn: One of the few characters that did not come from comic books. Her origin is from Batman: The Animated Series. She's come a long way from being the Joker's sidekick to a true fan favorite.

Enchantress: A very different look on the character from her comic book appearance (green hat, etc). Based on the trailer, it seems she can control men.

The Joker: He is actually not in the Suicide Squad team, but the trailers seems to show that he has a big role in the film. I'm assuming he's the villain, or at least has a part in the big threat of the film.

Read More Arrow Arrow : Although I watched the first few seasons (mostly for Deathstroke, the Terminator), I have given up on the show for its mediocre melodrama. …

DC'S LEGENDS OF TOMORROW
cwtv.com

With TNT recently decided to pass on Teen Titans the TV show, we're left with only CBS' Supergirl (which debut in November 2015) and this 2016 show called Legends of Tomorrow.

I just saw the Legends pilot episode, and it is pretty good... although I suspect I will eventually stop watching the show, as I have dropped Arrow and The Flash. Legends suffers from all The CW programming: melodramatic acting, "teenish" editing, and boring storyline.

There are big stars in this series, including Prison Breakers Dominic Purcell (Heat Wave) with Wentworth Miller (Captain Cold), and Superman returner Brandon Routh (Atom). The large cast of characters and villains might be problem for new fans, as you need a "who's who" guide to tell you what is going on. Hopefully, with so many characters, the writers won't have a problem writing a compelling story spotlighting and building up these characters.

Who's Who:

Rip Hunter: A time traveler, from Jack Kirby's Challengers of the Unknown. Later in the 90s, he got his own series called Time Masters, however the 1991 series Challengers of the Unknown left out Hunter.

Firestorm: I'm familiar with the original Nuclear Man, featuring a white "jock" and a professor. The new Firestorm swap out the white jock for a black one, but the concept is still the same: youth stupidity and seasoned smarts of a learned professor. Personally speaking, I think Firestorm is visually the coolest superhero.

Atom: Like Marvel's Ant Man, the Atom's new origin has a similar story: he's the inventor of a power-suit capable of shrinking down to the size of an atom.

White Canary: Basically the same character as Black Canary (who often teamed up with Green Arrow). Based on the explanation in the pilot, she was paying tribute to Black Canary (obviously I didn't keep up with the Arrow series).

Hawkman / Hawkgirl: Ask anyone who follow the Hawkman/Hawkgirl timeline, it is a mess. A few years ago, Geoff Johns tried to unify their origin by explaining that they reincarnations of ancient Egypt (which I feel still doesn't explain the Hawkmen of Planet Thanagar). Still this series follow the current Hawkman reincarnation story.

Heat Wave / Captain Cold: The two villains in this heroes-group, both are Flash villains. No one (including the fans) knows why they are part of the group... only perhaps I have jokingly said that they needed a job, and this is a good fit for them.

Vandal Savage: The immortal is the villain of the series. Personally speaking, I don't really understand why he is such a threat. Outside of being immortal, he doesn't really have any other super powers. Even his nemesis (?) Resurrection Man is able to come back to life with the powers that killed him. Savage, on the other hand, is just amassing power and weapons throughout history. I really don't think Savage is all that scary.

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

Creation Entertainment's Supernatural Official Convention at Minneapolis Convention Center (23 Aug 2015)

Theatre Program 2:00 pm Music Video Open 2:05 pm Rob Benedict and Louden Swain 2:10 pm Richard Speight, Jr. 2:30 pm Alaina Huffman 3:15 pm Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki Read More Supernatural Supernatural: This show is breaking my heart because I love the first season. I wish they would go back to just being hunters, fighting "evil of the week" show. In the past few years (I watch them in chunks …

Creation Entertainment's Salute to Supernatural, the Supernatural Official Convention just took place August 21-23rd at the Minneapolis Convention Center... I believe this was the first Supernatural Minneapolis show, and it felt extra-special as the show is currently celebrating its 10th Anniversary. Prices started at the cheapest $70 for single general admission to "Gold Level" $859 per ticket... and all the Gold, Silver, and Copper tickets were sold out, proving that there were insatiable fans in the Minneapolis area. Both Gold & Silver got "complimentary in-person autographs", while the Copper ($200) only got entrance to the Saturday night concert featuring Louden Swain.

Vendors Area

The vendors area was a small, modest room with about 20 dealers selling mostly Supernatural official merchandise. I didn't peek in during the panels, but I think it would have been pretty empty as all the fans were sitting in the theatre. The good news is that after the show, everyone flooded into the tiny vendors room.

Misha Collins, who plays Castiel on the hit CW series, did not appear on stage on Saturday or Sunday, because he was beaten up and mugged after leaving a restaurant in Minneapolis on Friday evening.

Sunday's main event started at 2pm with a Castiel fan-made music video, played to cheering crowd, showing much love for the recovering actor. Shortly after the video, Louden Swain (featuring singer/guitarist Rob Benedict, bassist Michael Borja, guitarist Billy Moran, and drummer Stephen Norton) came on stage to play a cover of Prince's "Let's Go Crazy". You may know Benedict played prophet turned writer Chuck Shurley on the Supernatural show.

Richard Speight, Jr.

"The Trickster" Richard Speight, Jr. came on stage shortly after the song and basically emceed the event. Speight, Jr., would sometime tell these Supernatural conventions and would bring up the "brown or gray" story from a fan interaction with Benedict (which I'm still a little confused why that was funny). He also laid down some house rules about filming and taking pictures: they want us to take as many pictures as possible .... EXCEPT, ironically, when they are in the photo area.

Completely comfortable on stage, I thought Speight, Jr., was a natural MC. It felt like he's been doing this type of event hosting for a long time now.

Twenty minutes later, Louden Swain started to play something called "Sweet Imagination", based on Aerosmith's "Sweet Emotion"... then medley into Roy Orbison's "Oh Pretty Woman" as an introduction song to 'opening band' Alaina Huffman (Abaddon).

Alaina Huffman with Louden Swain

Huffman's 40-min Q&A session featured some fan questions like her favorite episode ("Mother's Little Helper") to one world to describe Supernatural fans ("passionate"). Highlight of her session was a little 5-year-old boy dressed in the Flash costume asking her how she liked "working with these guys". That got lots of laughs and Huffman said lovely and hugged the boy before he left the front.

Of course, the main attraction, Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki (Sam and Dean Winchester) got the loudest cheer when they entered the stage. The questions started with a fan asking to have the actors ask each other questions. Padalecki asked which season was Dean's favorite Sam haircut, and Ackles, in turn, asked Padalecki which season was Sam's favorite Dean haircut.

The best part was hearing Padalecki talked about a fight choreography that went wrong. The guest star was supposed to do two punches and a knee kick, but when 'action' was called, the actor forgotten the punches and went for the knee. Padalecki, who was expecting a punch in the face, moved his head back and his waist thrust towards the fighter in anticipation to the fist... instead, getting a knee straight to the groin.

My favorite Ackles moment (who actually had bad memories when it came to specific seasons, which you can't blame the guy) was on a recent filming of a three-man fight sequence in the back of his car. He improvised his best Clint Eastwood impression by saying, "Get out of my car." Ackles hoped that they use that one line for the yet-to-be aired episode, but he wasn't sure since they recorded four different lines.

A good question about voice acting was asked, which had two very different answers from Ackles and Padalecki. Ackles, in his Jason Todd (Robin) role, had a director asking him to read lines (in different tones). He read the entire script without ever meeting any other actors and had no idea of how the story would unfold. Padalecki, on the other hand, came on Supernatural: The Animation with pre-existing animation, so his primary goal was to match his words with the animated mouth movement.

Some fans didn't even have questions when they came to the front of the microphone. Some cried, some could barely get a word out, some only commented about how they were friendly stalking Padalecki's recent boating pictures ("we haven't released the nude pictures yet"), some just thanked the actors for their anti-bullying campaign. I personally felt these type of comments do not belong to a Q&A, and perhaps they can save it when they got personal time and/or autographs from the actors.

You can tell watching the two on stage that they had great chemistry, which was one of the reasons why Supernatural ran for over ten years. Seeing these guys live, it made me excited about watching Supernatural again.

Jared Padalecki, Jensen Ackles, Richard Speight Jr, Rob Benedict, and Louden Swain at Creation's Supernatural Convention, Minneapolis Convention Center (23 Aug 2015)

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic ♥ itunes.apple.com

Constantine: Waiting for the Man

Hellblazer #4 (April 1988) art by Dave McKean Read More Constantine In the latest Constantine episode, it's all about Manny the Angel and Zed. This was a pretty standard monster of the week episode. If you've seen the episode, click below .…

The Constantine finale is partly an adaptation of Hellblazer #4. It's not a great finale, especially because it doesn't wrap up all the setup from the pilot. This is probably because of two things: they lost the lead actress from the pilot, and also in the middle of production, the series was unexpectedly cut short for only 13 episodes. I think by that point, pre-production and stories were already written that they couldn't re-write the finale to everybody's expectations.

I got the feeling that the producers knew the show was cancelled in 2014 when the producers were calling for the #saveconstantine hashtags. We have not heard of a renewal for a second season, and the showrunners probably said, f*** it and steadily defying NBC's stance on "no smoking" for Constantine. I noted this when I started seeing more cigarettes on screen - starting with Episode 11 - but it may be too little too late.

There is hope however, people are saying that the show may be picked up on the SyFy network as Hellblazer (* Thanks to Hatori Sohma for dispelling this rumor) and will allow on screen smoking and drinking... but until they officially announce it - I do not think Constantine television show will survive. Which is really a shame because, despite my complaints about the super villains, I still looked forward to seeing John Constantine on TV every week.

Despite the passionate (and sometime vocal) fanbase for Constantine, I have a sinking feeling that this is the final episode we will ever see. What we did get from NBC was actually pretty good, all things considering. I'll be the first in line to buy the Bluray when they release it.

If you've seen the episode, click below to read the recap and how the television show compares to the original Vertigo Hellblazer comic books.

Warning: Contains spoilers.

Constantine Episode 13: Waiting for the Man (13 Feb 2015)

Constantine: Angels and Ministers of Grace

Read More Constantine NBC's Constantine is based on the DC/Vertigo comics Hellblazer. The show regularly airs on NBC on Fridays at 8pm. The comic was also the basis of the Warner Brothers movie Constantine .…

In the latest Constantine episode, it's all about Manny the Angel and Zed. This was a pretty standard monster of the week episode.

If you've seen the episode, click below to read the recap and how the television show compares to the original Vertigo Hellblazer comic books.

Warning: Contains spoilers.

Constantine Episode 12: Angels and Ministers of Grace (06 Feb 2015)

Constantine trapped Manny into a human body ... which we've seen in the comics when he stole Gabriel's grace and caused him to fall to earth. In the show, it's only a temporary binding spell.

The most obvious nod to the DC Universe is, of course, Eclipso, the god of vengeance. Anyone who holds the black diamond will get processed by Eclipso, and the only way to get rid of him was to trap his spirit back into the Black Diamond.* Constantine is seen holding the diamond, in a glass case, so it can't process him. Again, I'm not fond of Constantine battling these super villains, but the Eclipso thing almost made sense since they tied it to the "Rising Darkness" theme. In the old Vertigo comics, Constantine would never have gone head-to-head with Eclipso, but in the New 52 ... that's a different story, as Constantine is seen on the cover with Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld.

The other takeaway from this episode is that Zed's power comes from a tumor in her head. Reminds me of the show Medium, when we found out a tumor was the cause of Allison DuBois' precognition powers. As Zed puts it, "Magic comes at a cost."

* I know it's supposed to be black, but the color represented in the comic book was always a glowing purple.

PS, I've said it before, but it bears repeating. I hate the new 52, I'm glad to see that DC Comics will be getting rid of it next year.

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

Bosch vs Bosch

Read More Bosch The pilot does an incredible job of setting the tone and style of the show. This was a police procedural crime drama with two parallel storylines: Detective Bosch on trial for the murder of an alleged serial killer ....

There are a couple of things worth noting if you're a television junkie. First of all Walking Dead (not to be confused with Z Nation) is returning Sunday, February 8th, from its winter break. I'm not a fan of the winter break, as it feels like we wait so long for the season to conclude. I've lost interest in shows like American Horror Story, as they took such a long break, I'd forgotten about what happened earlier... And just a reminder, the last time Walking Dead aired, it was in late November 2014, and someone from the core group died. I'm looking forward to seeing how the group continues, as I think they gained a new addition to the team, the kid from "The Hospital".

Bosch PS31-2A 12-Volt Max Lithium-Ion 3/8-Inch 2-Speed Drill/Driver Kit with 2 Batteries, Charger and Case

The other big news is that one of my favorite Amazon pilot last year was Bosch (not to be confused with the power equipment) will be airing exclusively on Amazon Prime next week, February 13th. Bosch was one of a few shows that got picked up for a full season (notably the X-Files' Chris Carter The After show was not picked up). I'm sure it is in Amazon's best interest to pick up Bosh, as it is based on the detective book series ... and probably a lot cheaper to producer than a special effects-heavy Sci-Fi show.

I don't have Amazon Prime, but I'll keep an eye on it, if they should make the series available on DVD/Bluray... and if the price is reasonable, I'll likely pick it up.

If the show is something you might be interested in, the pilot episode is actually free, go download it at Amazon. If you've read the book, the pilot is a combination of two books: Concrete Blonde and City of Bones.

Even if you've seen the pilot in February 2014, you might want to revisit it... as they've re-edited the pilot (as of January 14, 2015) to keep it in line with the rest of the upcoming series.

Hey, if the name Bosch confused you with the power tool, here are some more confusing names: