Spielberg and King Adapt “Under the Dome” for Showtime

It’s been announced that one of the best reads of 2009, Stephen King’s “Under the Dome,” will officially be adapted into a series on Showtime. Best of all, Steven Spielberg’s name is attached. Here’s the official trailer for the book:

When this was first announced many moons ago I thought I heard that it was going to be a miniseries, but it sounds like they’re going all out and dropping the “mini.” That should be cool, as long as they take the Lost/Breaking Bad approach of predetermining an end date for the series. The cast of characters trapped in the dome (and a few outside) is large and it’s a story of being cut off from the rest of the world, so I assume that there will be many comparisons made to “Lost” when it’s released. I personally felt that the story was closest to King’s masterpiece, “The Stand” with the town being split into two well-defined sides: good guys and bad guys.

I know many have criticized the book with the oh-so-clever and completely original “Simpsons did it” argument, but there’s no arguing that the concept of a town being cut off from the rest of the world only to tear itself apart from the inside is a damn good concept. Luckily, King makes it a damn good read as well.

The series is still in the very early stages, so there’s no need to subscribe to Showtime quite yet, but keep an eye out. In the meantime, read the book or maybe just watch “The Simpsons Movie” again.

Catch Up

I was feeling under the weather the latter part of last week and my normally consistent blogging habits suffered right along with me. So, to get all caught up, I'm "borrowing" a format used on one of my favorite blogs, Pop Candy. Here's a quick rundown of everything that I should have been blogging about all last week and this past weekend. Tomorrow, I'll be back on the horse! Honest.

• The Captain America 2 screenwriter wants M.O.D.O.K. to be the villain in the sequel. Baaaaaad idea.

• Former DC writer, Brian Wood, will be coming back to Marvel to pen what looks like a Wolverine tale. OK, that's kinda cool. 

• I'm finishing up the amazing "Fun & Games" by Duane Swierczynski and now I'm eagerly awaiting "Hell & Gone." It's a total freefall of all-out action and laughs. Highly recommended! 

• I don't know enough about it to truly comment, but I've heard tremendous things about "The Hunger Games" YA book series. I just might give it a chance. Here's the first look at the movie: 

Get More: 2011 VMA, Music

• Guillermo Del Toro has decided to scare the bejeezus outta me with this trailer for "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark." The movie is playing is theaters, but you can also catch the last scene of the trailer playing over and over again in your mind when the lights around you so much as dim. Thanks, Guillermo. 

• Some tremendously entertaining comics came out last week including Kick-Ass 2 #3 (finally got good), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 (kind of a reboot of the story, very cool), and The Punisher #2 (spot-on, perfect Punny goodness).

• Breaking Bad is still the best show on television.

• This Ghost Rider trailer sucks and I hate it, but you know...Ghost Rider sucks and I hate him.

• Community's coming back with the excellent John Goodman:

• "Toon Books" encourage kids to read comic books from an early age! I bought my son Jeff Smith's "Little Mouse Gets Ready." (yes that Jeff Smith, creator of Bone)

• Finally, it looks like "Flashpoint" #5 gives us some explanation as to why the new 52 is coming into existence. You know, in a convoluted, Superboy punch kinda way.

So there you have it! All caught up. I know, I know ... you forgot everything I said before "rectum."

THE CLONE WARS - Season 4

The extended trailer for “The Clone Wars” season four was released this week and it looks like they’re continuing to show signs of Anakin’s turn to the dark side. By its very existence, this show makes “Revenge of the Sith” a better movie, and showing Anakin’s internal struggle throughout the series makes his turn to the dark side that much more believable (and even emotional).

It also stood out to me that there’s a lot more Threepio and Artoo in this trailer. Thank you! They’ve been chronically under-used in Anakin, Ashoka and Obi-Wan episodes and their inclusion just makes it feel like much more of a genuine Star Wars experience. Am I right?

Here it is:



Cooooool. And yes, that was the future Admiral Ackbar! That little tidbit was confirmed earlier this year at the San Diego Comic Con, and in case you missed it, this teaser clip was also shown at SDCC this year:



“The Clone Wars” will premiere on Friday, Sept. 16 on Cartoon Network. Need to catch up? The pretty-damn-good first two seasons are available on blu-ray and DVD and you can pre-order the superb third season now.

TERRA NOVA - When the Earth's Used Up, Start Over

Ever since "Lost" wrapped up, I've been looking for a new show to fill the void that it left in my life. "Breaking Bad" has become a required weekly tradition for me, but that's really filling my old "Sopranos" void. I need something a little more out there to sate my hunger for fanboy TV. One of the prime candidates for this is the upcoming series "Terra Nova." Steven Spielberg is among its producers and from what's been released so far, it looks very promising. Here's a description from Fox's webpage:

"TERRA NOVA follows an ordinary family on an incredible journey back in time to prehistoric Earth as a small part of a daring experiment to save the human race. In the year 2149, the world is dying. The planet is overdeveloped and overcrowded, with the majority of plant and animal life extinct. The future of mankind is in doubt, and its only hope for survival is in the distant past.

When scientists at the FERMI Particle Accelerator unexpectedly discovered a fracture in time that made it possible to construct a portal into primeval history, the bold notion was born to resettle humanity in the past – a second chance to rebuild civilization and get it right this time.

The series centers on the Shannon family as they join the Tenth Pilgrimage of settlers to Terra Nova, the first colony established in this beautiful yet forbidding land. JIM SHANNON (Jason O’Mara), a devoted father with a checkered past, guides his family through this new world of limitless beauty, mystery and terror. Jim’s wife, ELISABETH SHANNON (Shelley Conn), is a trauma surgeon and the newest addition to TERRA NOVA’s medical team. JOSH SHANNON (Landon Liboiron) is their 17-year-old son who is angry to leave life as he knows it behind; upon arriving at the settlement, he finds himself instantly drawn to the beautiful and rule-breaking SKYE (Allison Miller). MADDY SHANNON (Naomi Scott), Josh’s endearingly awkward 15-year-old sister, hopes TERRA NOVA will give her a new chance to reinvent herself. Although Elisabeth’s medical training secured the family a spot on the pilgrimage, a secret involving their five-year-old daughter, ZOE (Alana Mansour), soon endangers their place in this utopia.

Upon the Shannon’s arrival, they are introduced to COMMANDER NATHANIEL TAYLOR (Stephen Lang), the charismatic and heroic first pioneer and leader of the settlement. Taylor, along with his right-hand man, GUZMAN (Mido Hamada), warn the travelers that while Terra Nova is a place of new opportunities and fresh beginnings, all is not as idyllic as it initially appears. Along with blue skies, towering waterfalls and lush vegetation, the surrounding terrain is teeming with danger – and not just of the man-eating dinosaur variety. There is also a splinter colony of renegades led by the battle-hardened MIRA (Christine Adams), who is vehemently opposed to Taylor and his leadership.

Even more threatening than what lies outside the protective walls of the colony is the chilling possibility that something sinister is happening inside Terra Nova. The Shannons will come to suspect that not everyone on this mission has the same idea of how to best save mankind; in fact, there may be forces intent on destroying this new world before it even begins."

Sounds pretty good, right? Kind of a Lost/Walking Dead/Earth 2/Land of the Lost mash-up. Here's the official trailer to really whet your appetite:

Terra Nova airs on Monday, Sept. 26 on Fox and for those of you worried about Fox’s track record of killing genre TV shows before they are able to take off, worry not! They’ve ordered 13 full episodes of the show and spent a lot of money on filming in Australia, so even if it’s cancelled, we’ll still be able to see them on blu-ray someday.

Finally, I’d be remiss if I failed to mention “Jurassic Park” in an article that includes Spielberg and dinosaurs. According to the Hollywood Reporter, It’s been confirmed that paleontologist Jack Horner will be involved in designing the behavior and look of the Cretaceous period dinosaurs for the show as he did for the dinos in Jurassic Park. Let’s hope he keeps the part about the dinosaurs having a taste for annoying little kids and jerk attorneys.

DC Comics Week: Off the Page, On the Screen

Before Marvel began to make movies, I always wanted to read Marvel and watch DC. That's because DC was always able to translate their comics and characters to the small screen (and in some cases the big screen) in some amazing animated flicks and cartoon shows.

Someday, I'll go back and rewatch everything again when I introduce my son to it, but for now, here's a collection of videos of the very best of animated DC. Some are newer and unfamiliar to some, others are older and sentimental, but they're all well worth a look.










OK, this last one doesn't count, but isn't it cool?!