Michael Hinman, you suck, eh?
Dec 03A buddy sent me a link to a set-visit for Tin Man, a re-imagining of the classic Wizard of OZ books. Exciting stuff. Only, reading the article was kind of like eating ashes. Of poo. While watching someone prepare more poo ashes for you to eat in the future.
Why? Well, it kind of depends on where you’re sitting right now I guess. Look around – if you’re in a state, this probably won’t mean anything to you. If you’re in a province, it’s a different story.
Right there, in the first paragraph of Mr. Hinman’s recounting;
The first time I heard about “Tin Man” was the first time I saw some scenes from the production. We were on the set of “Flash Gordon” just north of the American border near Washington state, and we were given some sneak peeks of the miniseries in the chamber of Ming the Merciless.
It’s called Vancouver, Mike. I know, because I’m soaking in it right now.
I’m kind of used to the taking-for-granted attitude some American’s have regarding Canada. I’m kind of used to it, because, well, I’m Canadian. The occasional snobby American doesn’t have to know where a percentage of their electric power, fresh water, or lumber comes from – it’s enough that we know about those percentages. Also, our mom says we’re cool.
And at the end of the day, we have excellent ties to the larger group of American’s, the cool ones that can name some of our cities – heck, they may have even visited one or two, or have relatives up here. In blue states, it’s not only alright to marry a Canadian – it’s kind of hip.
But then there are the rare, foil embossed, one-per-box Americans, who just make us mad. Think about that again. Make a Canadian mad. Now tremble! No? Ok, that’s fine.
Hinman, is one such chaser card.
…and a group of soldiers led by “Battlestar Galactica” alum Callum Keith Rennie (what isn’t this guy in anymore?) come to get D.G. (Zooey Deschanel) and take her away.
Well, Canadian shows, for starters – mostly because he’s appearing in pretty much everything filming in Vancouver (that little town across the border from Washington) or Toronto (that little town across the border from Michigan.) He’s one of our A game actors and he is in ur hollywoodz, makin’ ur moviez. Thanks for paying attention, Hinman.
What’s my point? I don’t have one really. As I said, it’s not new – I sat in on a press junket for Arnold Schwarzenegger, when he screened Sixth Day for all the crew and their families – he rented four theaters to do it. Whatta guy, I said. And during the conference, he was asked about working in British Columbia – his response, to paraphrase, was that he enjoyed it and he saw a growing bond between Hollywood and Vancouver. Mere years later, he was governor, stumping on the idea of keeping Hollywood jobs in Hollywood, and boo Canada. Nice.
Nothing I can say will alter who Hinman is and I’m not interested in trying. But I think it important to call him on it. After all, like water, power, lumber, comedians, and geese, a percentage of his job exists because Canada is pumping out genre TV and film constantly. He said it himself – he was on a set visit for Flash Gordon. Flash Gordon brought him to Vancouver. It’d be nice if he could mention it.
So, in short…
Take off, Hinman. You hoser.
Watching the Watchmen…Very Closely.
Dec 03The Geekanerd blog has a definitive, comprehensive comparison between the recently-released Watchmen movie stills and specific panels of the comic. Most excellent.
The Perfect Xmas Gift (For Me)
Nov 30My wife and I have agreed not to exchange gifts this year, because we need money more than crap in our house. Which is fine by me.
However, I believe someone somewhere may have me in a grab bag of sorts, and if so, may I submit…my dream gift?
With playful reverence to this entrancing icon and fascinating individual, Uppercase Gallery has published The Shatner Show book of artwork depicting William Shatner by artists and illustrators from Canada and the US. The exhibition was hosted in UPPERCASE from June 15 – August 31, 2007.
Genre TV Season Report Card
Nov 29It’s been an interesting season for genre TV watchers. Lots of geekly offerings, but I don’t know that any of them have taken root in the collective nerdly consciousness like, say, Heroes or Buffy or whatever. It took me a while to assess my liking for all these series. There’s at least one that definitely has me on the Unabashed Love Train, but I don’t know that any of them mirror my very soul in the way that, like, Battlestar Galactica does. Let’s take a look whilst crossing our fingers and hoping that the writers get a good deal and the strike comes to an end.
Pushing Daisies: This is the one I mentioned up there, the Love Train honoree. Yes, it’s cute and twee, but it earns that shit. There are real emotions behind the whimsy and it all comes together to present a very specific tone, a very specific world. It’s not like Garden State, where Zach Braff’s shirt matches the wallpaper just because. These last three episodes have been particularly brilliant (casting Molly Shannon and Mike White as candy store-owning siblings? Come on!), and I feel like the show is becoming better, funnier and more cohesive with each outing. Lee Pace and Anna Friel are both majorly crush-inspiring and it’s nice that they have Chi McBride and Swoosie Kurtz around to sort of roll their eyes at the cuteness once in a while. They give Daisies‘ sweetness a nice little zing.
Reaper: I loved the pilot and I still like the show very much, but it occasionally stalls. I think Matt was right on in dubbing it “lazy early Buffy.” The humor is pretty much right up my alley, but it could use a couple tweaks. Like, they should let Andi in on all the devil stuff. She’s the one major female character and right now she’s pretty much marginalized. Do not waste Missi Peregrym like that! Also, the soul-of-the-week plots could do with a few more twists and turns. I do like that they seem to be working towards building a mythology for the show, a continuing thread. And I think it could move from a solid B to an A if it’s allowed to stick around post-strike.
Journeyman: I thought this would be lame, but you know what? It’s pretty dang good. In a season where all the semi-serialized genre shows have some sort of procedural element, this one just might be the best at balancing that with the mythology elements. I also like that there are actual consequences and real dangers built into all the time-traveling — Dan isn’t automatically OK just cause he lands back in the present. And I really like the way they play the personal drama, Dan’s dealings with both his wife and his time-traveling lost love. And Kevin McKidd is hot. Um, anyway, the one thing I would fix is all the on-the-nose stuff they do to tell you what year it is. It’s sort of like that Sarah Silverman Program episode where Sarah’s reminiscing about all her abortions and the doctor has a flannel shirt tied around his waist to indicate that it’s the early ’90s.
Bionic Woman: Sigh. Bad. I’ve given this so many chances. It’s just…not good. Morose and a little dull. Also, I know she’s new to the whole spy game, but must they make Jaime Sommers so needlessly dumb and unprofessional? Like when she requested that one guy for the mission and it was totally because she liked him and he hadn’t called her back. You never saw Sydney Bristow pulling that shit. She knew how to compartmentalize! The one bright spot is, of course, Katee Sackhoff, who is so awesome she blows everyone else off the screen. I wish the show was just about her and the Asian guy from Witchblade.
The Depravity of Dan Didio
Nov 29Maybe it’s cause it’s pre-coffee for me, or maybe I’m just still cranky, but I am really unable to understand this.
And by “this,” I don’t mean Tim O’Neil’s reaction, which I share.
I mean the whole scene–everything it is, everything that led us to it, and everything that follows from it. It defies my comprehension, completely.
