Joe Sergi's Cup of Geek
 
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Tonight a show airs that is not horror, scifi or comic book related, but firmly fits into the Geek category: Glee. 

From Ryan Murphy, the creator of "Nip/Tuck," comes Glee, a new comedy for the aspiring underdog in all of us.  The show blends satire, music, comedy, and rich, and multidimensional quirky characterization into an enjoyable hour of television.

More after the jump.
 
 
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How strange that I offer daily news about entertainment and completely forgot to mention that I was a guest on Monday's episode of Comic Geek Speak to discuss the recent Marvel/Disney news and potential futures for the companies (Episode 684--Comic Talk).

I must be slipping.  The episode is available here and at Itunes
 
 
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Final Destination Number 1 Again

The Final Destination took the top spot over the weekend with $12.3 million. Inglourious Basterds placed second $11.6 million.  The new release, Gamer by Lion Gates Films was fourth with $9.1 Million.  Once again, horror/scifi dominated the box office.  Other notables were District 9 (5th with $7.1 million); Halloween II (6th with $5.7 million); G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra Par. (8th with $5,1); and The Time Traveler's Wife (10th with $4.3 million).  Shorts fell out of the top ten with only $2.7 million. 
 
 
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One Ring to Sue Them All

The Hollywood Reporter says that the lawsuit between New Line Cinema, the Tolkien estate and publisher Harper Collins has settled.  According to the Complaint, The J.R.R. Tolkien estate asked damages in the amount of at least $150 million in damages when New Line failed to pay the agreed upon 7.5 percent of gross receipts from the three films, which netted an estimated $6 billion combined. To raise the ante, the Estate also asked for the Court to terminate any rights New Line might have to other Tolkien works, including The Hobbit.

More after the jump. 

 
 
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Fringe: The Complete First Season gets released on DVD and Blu Ray today I thought it would be a good time to review the show. 

Okay, I admit it.  When I saw the Fringe series premiere, I wasn't wowed.   The pilot featured a commercial flight from Germany lands at Boston's Logan Airport without a single passenger or crew member on board alive—a very X-Files-type plot.  Then the show introduced FBI Special Agent Olivia Dunham (Anna Toriv) and her partner/lover John Scott (Mark Valley).  From their brief intro, it appeared that she was a Skully skeptic and he was a Mulder true believer.  Scott gets hurt by a mysterious chemical and Dunham is forced to get help from the only experts in the field, Dr. Walter Bishop (expertly played by John Noble), a one-time Harvard professor who spent the last 17 years in an institution after murdering his research aid and Walter's son Peter (Joshua Jackson), a nomadic con man who appears to be the only person who can understand his father.  The information they gather leads to a company named Massive Dynamics, a huge multinational corporation, founded by William Bell (played by a surprise guest), Dr. Bishop's old lab assistant.  We are also introduced to "The Pattern," a series of experiments that occur all over the world.  For those trivia people, I should point out that although Dr. Bishop's office is supposed to be at Harvard University, it is actually filmed at their rival, Yale University.  Typically depicted are scenes of Phelps Hall and Branford College. The show was also filmed at The University of Toronto's University College and Bahen Centre for Information Technology.  Now you know.  Yo Joe!

The review with video continues after the jump.
 
 
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Okay, even though come of the stores are already have their Christmas decorations up and for sale.  (Costco, I’m looking at you).  I wanted to take a moment to talk about the most serious of Holidays.  When we gather together with family and friends and reflect on all the hard work that we did over the past year---on our costumes.  Yes, I speak of October 31st, All Hallows Eve--Halloween.   

Halloween apparently originated with the Celtic festival of Samhain and the Christian holy day of All Saints’ Day. Irish immigrants carried versions of the tradition to North America during Ireland's Great Famine of 1846.  And, each year, millions of children (and many adults) don their costumes and go out to trick or treat in their neighborhoods hoping to get some candy or goodies.  

What better way to indoctrinate this new generation into comics and give them something to read while they rot their teeth?

But, you ask, “Aren’t comic books $3.99 each?  Why should I spend so much on these rotten kids?”  Don’t worry, the comics industry is here to help.  Once again, several companies are offering Halloween Ashcans of their books.  These Halloween Mini-Comics are available from the folks at Dark Horse Comics, Archie Comics,

Fantagraphics, and Tokyopop.  The full color books are sold in bundles of 25 and are small in size (5 ½” by 8 ½”) so they fit perfectly in trick or treat bags and cost around five bucks or so.  I remember one year a little kid came to my house dressed as spider-man.  In previous years, Marvel used to have them as well.  But, for some reason, they stopped making them.  (There was also some Uncle Scrooge/Donald mini-comics by Gemstone, but I assume they were discontinued now that Boom! Studios have acquired the rights.)  

These are great giveaways (remember to have candy too--you don't want to egged vy the illiterate.)  Each year, the kids always comment that they love to come to our house for the books.  I remember one year, a little boy came to the house dressed as Spider-Man and I gave him the Marvel mini-comic with Spider-Man in it.  He was so excited.  He turned to his mother and said, “Mom!  Look at this!  They made the Spider-Man movie into a comic book.”

Here is a description of this year’s books (After the jump):
 
 
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On this Holiday Friday, please enjoy the following videos from across the web. 
First up, some upcoming television shows.
More after the jump.
 
 
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Green Ranger goes MMA

I recently did a post on the where the surviving original Power Rangers are.  Turns out that 35-years-old Jason David Frank (The guy who wore more colors than Zorro the Gay Blade) is now a MMA fighter.  He is a 6th degree black belt recently signed a deal with a new management team with hopes of ultimately stepping inside the cage.

Here is his bio from You Bent My Wookie

“Frank began training in martial arts at the age of four, earning a black belt by age 12 and became an instructor. With his knowledge of many different styles of martial arts, Frank collected the most practical applications, modified them with his own philosophies and created his own blend of American Karate, “Toso Kune Do”. Most recently, on June 28, 2003, he was inducted into the World Karate Union Hall of Fame. Frank has a sixth degree black belt and owns, as of 2007, four karate schools under Rising Sun Karate, which includes the school Red Dragon Karate, where he initially started his training. The RSKA teaches a style of Toso Kune Do, which Frank is the founder of.
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Artist Sketches A Bust

A real life superhero.  Not only does Chris Weston draw comics for for Marvel, DC, Wildstorm, and 2000 AD (Judge Dredd), he also fights crime.  He reports, in his blog.

that he witnessed a robbery in his local bank.  He immediately went home, sketched the criminal, and brought the sketches to the police.  He reports:

"I held up my drawings, and the policeman's eyes widened with astonishment! 'That's him!' he spluttered," wrote Weston. "Seems they'd already picked up a suspect who matched my drawings exactly. I then spent the afternoon giving a statement ... but I can't really expand on the situation any further than that for obvious reasons."
 
 
Continuing the story from yesterday.  here are some more takes on political satirists and artists.  I identify artists where available.  Click on the link to see the original source.
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JD Crowe
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National Post
 
 
DALLAS, Sept. 1, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kendall Law Group announces a shareholder investigation on behalf of Marvel Entertainment, Inc. in connection with the potential purchase of Marvel by Walt Disney Co.

The firm is investigating the Board of Directors of Marvel for possible breaches of fiduciary duty for failing to conduct a fair and open sales process to maximize shareholder value. The agreement indicates that Marvel shareholders will receive $30 per share in cash, as well as 0.745 Walt Disney shares per Marvel share owned. Based on the closing price of Walt Disney stock on the day before the announcement, the value of this transaction is approximately $50 per share.

Marvel earned a net profit of $206 million last fiscal year, up 47% from a year earlier, on revenue of $676 million as it took movie production in house instead of cutting licensing deals. The companies anticipate completing the transaction before the end of 2009, subject to customary closing conditions and stockholder approval.

Kendall Law Group, led by former federal judge and former U.S. Attorney, has nationwide experience representing investors in mergers and acquisitions. For information about your rights as a Marvel shareholder, contact attorney Hamilton Lindley at 877-744-3728 or by email at hlindley@kendalllawgroup.com. No fees or expenses are paid by investors for merger & acquisition lawsuits.