Puppets, puppets, puppets with Captain Scarlet

'Death his constant companion,' the indestructible Captain Scarlet

Created in 1967, Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons is the second most popular of the Supermarionation programs. Following the success from the blockbuster series Thunderbirds, Gerry Anderson and company really stepped up the quality in this series. Much darker in tone and more daring in violence and action, Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons also features yet more of the amazing model work that fans had grown to love from the previous series such as Thunderbirds and Stingray.

Captain Scarlet music video

Thanks to the advancements in electronics, the puppets were made much smaller than previous marionettes, allowing for program to allocate resources to other areas of the program including set design, vehicles and of course explosions. Whereas Thunderbirds was a rescue operation in premise, Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons was purely action and warfare. During an investigative expedition to the far-off Mars, Captain Black of Spectrum unwittingly starts an intergalactic war with the invisible inhabitants called ‘Mysterons.’ The ‘act of aggression’ referred to in the opening sequence of each episode was a misunderstanding in thinking that the Mysterons were aiming a weapon at the planet Earth when it was actually a radio telescope. I know… oops.

The first casualty of this war, Black is replicated into a Mysteron agent and sent back to Earth to seek out vengeance against the human race. With the ability to recreate anyone or anything through their bizarre advanced science, the Mysterons pose a threat to all life on Earth. There is no hope of success until they make a terrible mistake resulting in the creation of Captain Scarlet, the indestructible agent of Spectrum who stands in the way of their planned global conquest.

Pitted against the deadly and villainous Mysterons, the agents of Spectrum employ every resource at their disposal including the SPV (a kind of roving tank in which the driver faces the rear of the vehicle and pilots via televised control, Captain Scarlet’s patrol car, personal jet packs and more. Watching the series is like seeing a big budget action movie through the eyes of a 9 year-old. Cars speed down motorways, jets strafe radio towers and everything explodes.

Aside from Captain Scarlet, Spectrum has several other agents including Captains Blue, Brown, Ochre, Magenta, and Grey. Presiding over the colorful captains is Colonel White who has easily the most confusing desk I have ever seen. Bedecked with a wild array of buttons and switches having who knows what purpose, the entire affair swings about freely allowing him to dramatically face his massive video-screen. Spectrum operates from Cloudbase, a massive satellite skimming the stratosphere. The proximity to outer space supposedly allowed the agents to more quickly get into the action.

Cloudbase

Eagle-eyed viewers may notice that it bears an uncanny resemblance to UNIT’s base of operations from Doctor Who’s ‘The Last of the Timelords’ finale.

But it’s not all lads!

Captain Ochre making time with the Angels

Piloting a flight of fighter jets (called Angel Interceptors) were the Angels: Destiny, Symphony, Harmony and Rhapsody. Something of a precursor to Charlie’s Angels on American TV, the sexy pilots were as sultry as they were deadly. This addition of the attractive yet bold and daring pilots made the show a bit of an oddity in that it presented female viewers with a point of reference, so it wasn’t just the boys who could re-enact Captain Scarlet adventures in the playground.

Created to appeal to an American audience in order to meet the demands of ITC’s financer Lew Grade, Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons was much more action-oriented than any of the previous programs developed by Gerry Anderson’s team. Lacking the trademark humor and light-heartedness of the other series, many found the program to be too violent and frightening for children (just wait till they saw Joe 90!).

Check out the extreme death sequence from the first episode that required a special Captain Scarlet head to be constructed!

The series has a real sense of dread imbued into it and an unusual amount of suspense and tension for a children’s program. From the cinematic opening sequence down a dark alley, Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons was a sure sign that the directors working with Gerry Anderson shared his frustration at not working on large budget films and instead channeled their energy into this bizarre kid’s show. Many of the directors who worked on Captain Scarlet were even involved in some of the cult Hammer Horror films, which may account for the somewhat sinister and gothic air of the Captain Scarlet program.

In addition to the series itself, there were spin-offs including records, books, comics and of course numerous model kits and toys. Running for a short 32 episodes, the program was exported to over 40 countries and was a roaring success.

2005 Series Trailer

Captain Scarlet 2005

A 2005 revamp of Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons was mounted by Anderson using a mixture of live image capture and roto-scoping to make the CGi characters come to life. The most sophisticated computer animated TV series of the day, the series ran for two years to the mutual acclaim of new and old fans (though it did take some getting used to.

Rumors of a live action Captain Scarlet feature film have circulated for some time, but after Thunderbirds proved to be a failure at the box office, that idea may be permanently shelved.

One of the most dynamic of the Supermarionation series, I have to admit that it could easily be my favorite… luckily I don’t have to choose! Available on DVD through Carlton Entertainment, Captain Scarlet programs can be found in a deluxe boxed set availble online or at specialty stores. It is also included in a ‘Gerry Anderson assortment’ set including other Supermarionation projects.

If you are a fan of Thunderbirds and have never seen Captain Scarlet, do yourself a favor and view it today!

On Amazon:

Captain Scarlet: The Complete Series

Matt Wagner’s Zorro

Zorro by Matt Wagner

Building on their recent success with Lone Ranger, Dynamite Comics has expanded their list of recognized legacy characters to include Zorro. Comic book creator Matt Wagner has taken on the writing chores of the series while artist Francesco Francavella delivered some of the most beautiful art in monthly comics today. Known for his successes in the independent world for Grendel and Mage and more recently for his take on Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman in Trinity, Wagner brings with him a certain kind of sophistication without losing that unique timelessness that makes a property like Zorro so attractive.

Guy Williams Zorro by Francavella

Currently in its second year, Dynamite’s Zorro has met with critical acclaim for its stripped down storytelling and cinematic action sequences. For the uninitiated, Zorro is the 19th Century creation of pulp writer Johnston McCulley in his novel, The Curse of Capistrano. A masked vigilante of another era, Zorro fights for the freedom of the oppressed against the forces of tyranny. Made popular in the 1925 silent film by Douglas Fairbank’s depiction of the swashbuckling marvel, the character has gone on to become a cult hero and an heroic icon of the superhero idiom.

Using the standard secret identity concept that is popular today, Zorro is a foppish nobleman by day but rights wrongs as the bold and daring Zorro from under the cover of a black mask, cape and brimmed cap. The subject of numerous film and TV productions with the likes of Tyrone Power, Lost in Space’s Guy Williams, Antonio Banderas and even Anthony Hopkins, the character has remarkable staying power and the kind of appeal that many producers dream about.

A popular comic strip by Alex Toth and later one by Thom Yeates garnered attention, yet in the comic book medium, the character has been less of a success save the current series.

The inspiration for taking on a character like Zorro comes in part from Matt Wagner’s appreciation for what artist John Cassady achieved with the Lone Ranger revival. “I really liked ‘Lone Ranger’ and the track John [Cassaday] took on it, so when I saw that Dynamite had ‘Zorro,’ I called them and said, ‘Hey, let me do what John did for you. Let me do the covers and be the art director on the book,’ and that’s when they came back to me and said, ‘What about writing it?’ I hadn’t really planned on it, but it was too good an offer to pass up.”

An admirer of swashbuckling adventure, it should come as no surprise that Wagner has had such success with this series. Many may not realize that he was signed on to draw and write the adaptation of Alexander Dumas’ Three Musketeers for the Classics Illustrated line.

For more of Francesco Francavella, please visit his blog, Pulp Sunday.

Last month Dynamite announced that they will also be publishing a Year One series for the character Green Hornet with Matt Wagner as writer and designer.

In collected editions:
Zorro Volume 1
Zorro Year One: Trail of the Fox
Zorro by Alex Toth
Guy Williams: The Man Behind the Mask

The Prisoner (2009) ‘Arrival’/'Harmony’

In remaking the Patrick MacGoohan classic series, the AMC production had an unusual number of impediments working against them. From the obligation to the source material to the need to make a definitive and meaningful statement of its own, this new version of a time honored classic will anger some and confuse other right from the start.

(For those who are curious, AMC has uploaded several episodes of the 1967-68 Prisoner series here)

Keeping in mind that the original program was a post-modern existential statement on television itself (amongst other things), any attempt at a similarly bold and insightful program would be an arduous task to say the least.

That said, the 2009 series does alright.

In Arrival, we are given very little preamble to No.6’s life as he awakens in a vast desert, far from his metropolitan lifestyle. Discovering an old man dressed in a black jacket and tan pants (the uniform of the original No.6), he is immediately in danger. The old man dies but No.6 is on the run from unseen pursuers. This establishment of paranoia and the vagueness of its reality straight away is brilliant. No.6 arrives in the Village late at night and after an encounter with a cab driver and a No.313 at a nightclub, he begins to suspect that he is in some strangely foreign land. In a bizarre sequence, he attempts to escape his pursuers and catches a brief glimpse of No.2 watching from the street, tossing a hand grenade as one wood handle a lucky coin.

No.6 is then given over to the care of No.313 at ‘The Clinic,’ as much a place of healing as it is one of discipline and control. While No.6 is more relaxed due to his exhaustion, he is nonetheless frantic to escape and get back home. Almost as a dig at his independence, No.313 calmly tells him that he is a free man.

The bulk of the first episode is concerned with establishing the Village and the determination of No.2 to uncover what No.6 knows concerning the old man he encountered in the mountains (referred to as No.93). No.2 does not seem all that interested in No.6 at all at first and merely wants to know where No.93’s body is (No.6 buried it in the mountains after the old man died). With very little to go on, No.6 seeks out No.554, a waitress at a nearby diner that only serves wraps. After some back and forth, No.6 eventually learns that there are others (called ‘dreamers’) who have visions of the outside world consisting of iconic images of New York City. This becomes very important over the course of the opening episodes as NYC is almost representational of the outside world as a whole.

One wrinkle to the otherwise spotless No.2’s character is the inclusion of a wife and son (something that none of the No.2’s had in the previous program). No.11-12, No.2’s son, is a confused and angry youth who seems on the verge of saying something in each scene that he shares with No.2 yet he also seems afraid to give himself away. No.2’s wife is bedridden, but it is unclear to me if she is ill or kept in a drug-induced coma by No.2.

No.6 attempts to escape from the Village on foot but is attacked by a massive white bubble (called Rover in the original program) and finds himself back in the care of No.313. No.2, with the charm of a concierge interviews No.6 and tries to make him at ease, but nothing doing, not only is he determined to escape, No.6 refuses to acknowledge that he is just a number. After No.554 is killed in an explosion, No.2 must think that No.6’s spirit is crushed, but finds to his surprise that the newcomer is more convinced than ever that there is a way out. No.2 reminds No.6 that there is no ‘out,’ only ‘in.’

In the following episode, No.6 is introduced to his brother, No.616. No.6 insists that his brother died as a child by drowning which saddens No.616 who seems sincere in his desire to reconnect with his lost brother. Introduced to his ‘family,’ No.6 is frustrated and annoyed yet finds that he should not go out of his way to upset people who seem to only want to make him happy. Avid viewers of a soap opera entitled ‘Wonkers,’ the family has a wholesome and friendly air that pervades the Village as a whole.

No.616 attempts to help his brother open up by taking him to a therapy session which No.6 of course refuses to take part in. Seeking a more practical method of obtaining his trust, No.616 procures a job for No.6 as the driver of a tour bus bearing the word ‘Escape’ on the side. During one trip, No.6 is astonished to see a rusting ship anchor in the middle of the desert. Seeing it as sign of hope that there is an outside world not concerned with the Village, he tries to get others to acknowledge the oddity but they adamantly refuse to see anything unusual about it. No.616 calls it a ‘desert folly.’

During another tour, No.6 meets a woman who confides in him that she ‘heard the sea’ during a tour and is convinced that there is a way out. Convincing No.616 (who breaks down to No.6 that they are not related and he was just playing along out of fear of No.2’s reprisals), the trio attempt to find the ocean and succeed. As No.616 walks backwards into the water beckoning No.6 to join him, No.6 has a vision of his memory in which his brother drowned and finds himself frozen solid. Before his eyes, No.616 is swallowed up by a Rover and disappears.

Hurrying back to the Village, No.6 attempts to tell No.616’s family of the disaster but they are so busy watching Wonkers that they ignore him. Detained by the Clinic staff, No.6 finds himself strapped down and confronted by No.2. No.6 tries to put the shattered pieces of his mind together and fails, finally accepting that he is indeed No.6, nothing else. Screaming his new identity at No.2, he is wheeled away for treatment.

Throughout the first two episodes, No.6 has several dreams in which he regains parts of his memory of his last night before his arrival in the Village. He remembers meeting a strange woman and bringing her to his home to celebrate his resignation from his job in security. He confesses to her that he resigned because he saw something he shouldn’t have and was told to keep his mouth shut. It turns out that his chance encounter was actually not by accident at all as his new friend is connected to No.6’s previous employer. It seems that she came home not to compromise him or do him harm but to warn him that even though he quit, he was not free of his employer.

This is an interesting spin on the previous story that involved a James Bond-style secret agent as the hero. It also seems that there is something very peculiar about this woman and No.6’s previous life that will no doubt unravel over the six part series.

The Prisoner is confronted by Rover with the Towers within view

The phrase ‘follow the Towers’ is repeated several times throughout Arrival and Harmony. The vision of a glass-like reproduction of what appears to be the World Trade Center is absolutely haunting. It seems to represent some kind of hope of escape and is also a concrete connection to what No.6 believes to be true. As I had imagined, the 2009 Prisoner is not perfect but it is very intelligently produced and opulent with imagery and meaning. Whether the entire miniseries will have a complete story I don’t know. After only 6 parts I wonder if AMC is hoping to gain enough interest to produce more episodes. James Caviezel is a solid leading man (though his attempts at high drama come across as over-the-top at times). The real strength of the program is Ian McKellan as No.2, a character so overbearing and full of texture that you could watch him in the part forever.

The new Prisoner series operates on several levels, which will no doubt put off the casual viewer. Nevertheless, it is one of the most thought-provoking programs I have seen on modern TV in ages. So much so that I didn’t think much of it at the time but have not stopped thinking about it since.

Comics on sale 11/18/09

For the complete list of this week’s new releases, please visit ComicList.com.

This week’s releases are available online, at specialty shops and at your local comic book retailer. Don’t know where a comic shop is located near you?

Just visit ComicShopLocator.com.

Driven By Lemons
By: Josh Cotter
(Voted one of the best books of 2009 by Publisher’s Weekly)
“Up the stream of consciousness without a paddle.” — From the creator who brought you Skyscrapers of the Midwest comes a sketchbook replica of recent multimedia explorations in intuitive narrative. Won’t you be his neighbor?

Fall Of Cthulhu TPB Vol. 06 Nemesis
By: Michael Alan Nelson, Todd Herman, Jeffrey Spokes
Michael Alan Nelson, the critically acclaimed author of Hexed, concludes his Fall Of Cthulhu maxi-series with Nemesis, an epic origin story revealing the secret history behind Nyarlathotep’s favorite companion.

Who is Nemesis you ask? Get this book and find out. Be prepared for the shock of your life as BOOM!’s best-selling horror title comes to its shocking conclusion!

Alien Legion Omnibus Vol 1
By: Alan Zelenetz, Frank Cirocco, Chris Warner, Terry Shoemaker, Terry Austin, Randy Emberlin
Footsloggers and soldiers of fortune, priests, poets, killers, and cads–they fight for a future Galarchy, for cash, for a cause, for the thrill of adventure. Culled from the forgotten and unwanted of three galaxies, they are trained to be the most elite, and expendable, of fighting forces. Sometimes peacekeepers, sometimes shock troops, the Legion is sent into the Galarchy’s most desperate internal and external conflicts. Legionnaires live rough and they die hard, tough as tungsten and loyal to the dirty end.

* Alien Legion Omnibus Volume 1 features over three hundred story pages of the groundbreaking series and lays cover fire for a new Alien Legion series from Dark Horse slated to begin in late 2009!

Green Lantern Emerald Eclipse
By: Peter Tomasi, Patrick Gleason
The Green Lantern Corps faces the Sinestro Corps in this prelude to BLACKEST NIGHT from issues #33-38 of the monthly series! Mongul enslaves the planet Daxam, making it the home world of his Corps.

Will Sodam Yat, the Green Lantern known as Ion, fight to save his homeworld, which he’s vowed never to return to?

Justice Society Of America 80 Page Giant #1
BY: Jerry Ordway
The newer members of the JSA explore the team’s mansion headquarters and learn a thing or two about themselves in 7 exciting stories from today’s top creators in this oversized special! But who directs the group through the deep, dark halls of building? Is it a friend, or a very dangerous foe?

Showcase Presents DC Comics Presents
Superman meets DC’s greatest heroes including The Flash, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman and many more!

This title collects
DC COMICS PRESENTS #1-26

Black Knight #1
By: Tom Defalco, Ron Frenz
The secret origin of the original Black Knight is finally revealed as Vampires, Zombies, Werewolves and Demons from the darkest realms confront Sir Percy of Scandia and his twin brother on their desperate quest to find Chaos, the dreaded Doombringer–the only weapon capable of defeating Excalibur, the legendary battle sword of King Arthur!

Dark Avengers TPB Vol. 01 Assemble
By: Brian Michael Bendis, Mike Deodato & Will Conrad
There they are, a new team of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, the sunlight gleaming off their smiling faces and an adoring crowd on hand to cheer them as they take the stage! Spider-Man, Wolverine, Ms. Marvel, Hawkeye . . . you know them, you love them! They’re your Avengers, and they are here to protect you!

Except . . . things are not how they appear. With the real Avengers underground, who are these Avengers that look like them, and why have they been assembled? The Dark Reign has begun, and DARK AVENGERS is at the epicenter of Norman Osborn’s insane plans for the Marvel Universe!
Collects DARK AVENGERS #1-6

Dark Reign List Amazing Spider-Man
By: Dan Slott, Adam Kubert
Norman Osborn has saved the best for last as he takes on the most personal item on his evil To-Do list. The violent tension between Spider-Man and Norman has grown for years and has been building to a boil for the last few months after Osborn’s last defeat at Spidey’s hands at the end of America Son.

Norman can no longer put off what needs to be done. Plus, the story from Pulse #5 outing Norman Osborn as the Green Goblin to the world.

Hercules Full Circle
By: Bob Layton
Bob Layton had a vision of the future–Greek gods, sarcastic robots, transvestite aliens, and more–and it’s time to share it! The Prince of Power encounters the Wonder of the World of Wilamean, his own half-human son! Can the man-god who changed the courses of rivers and history steer his son to the path of justice? It’ll help that there’s a lot of fighting involved! Plus: rare creator interviews, artwork, and more!

This title collects
MARVEL TALES #197, MARVEL GRAPHIC NOVEL #37, MARVEL COMICS PRESENTS #39-41 and material from MARVEL AGE #4 & #65

Destroyer
By: Robert Kirkman, Cory Walker, Jason Pearson
For 60 years, Keen Marlowe has been a super hero, taking down bad guys, fighting the good fight. But it’s is about to come crashing to an end. See, Marlowe is dying–maybe today, maybe tomorrow, the only question is when.

But Marlowe isn’t about to go quietly into the night. Before he goes, he intends to leave the world a safer place for his family. And if that means hunting down–and murdering–every super-villain he can, so be it. They don’t call him “Destroyer” for nothing.

This title collects
THE DESTROYER #1-5

Amazing Spider-Man #612
By: Mark Waid, Paul Azaceta, Adi Granov & Marko Djurdjevic
‘POWER TO THE PEOPLE’ PART 1-

They’re Hunting Spiders…THE GAUNTLET begins here! The event that redefines Spider-Man’s classic arch-enemies one by one starts with one of his deadliest – Electro!

Destitute and desperate, conned out of his life’s meaning and worth – Max Dillon becomes the voice of the common man against the brutal injustice of a system overloaded by greed. With Spider-Man already looking over his shoulder.

Mark Waid and Paul Azaceta bring you the story of a hero with everything to lose against a man with nothing left to gain. Prepare for death’s short, sharp shock. Prepare for Electro.

Traveller RPG Strontium Dog Sourcebook
Earth, the late 22nd century. Following the atomic war of 2150, Britain has been devastated by nuclear holocaust. The survivors rebuilt their lives, but many were warped by the mutating effects of Strontium 90 fallout. Unable to live or work amongst the ‘norms’, mutants were forced to grow up in ghettos and take the only job open to them – bounty hunting. These Search/Destroy Agents hunt the criminals too dangerous for the Galactic Crime Commission. Using the Traveller core rules, Strontium Dog allows players to take the part of mutant bounty hunters, combing the galaxy for their prey – dead or alive!

Marvel Minimates Series 29 Assortment
A Diamond Select Release! Art Asylum Designs & Sculpts! The bestselling Marvel Minimates line continues with this assortment featuring characters from all across the Marvel Universe! This latest release will include the all-new Jim Lee Storm & Black Panther two-pack, the much-anticipated Moon Knight & Armored Daredevil two-pack, the frightening X-Force Wolverine & Hydra Agent two-pack plus the variant set with World War II Wolverine! Each Minimate stands two inches tall with 14 points of articulation and a variety of removable and interchangeable parts and accessories.

Marvel Minimates Series 30 Assortment
A Diamond Select Release! Art Asylum Designs & Sculpts! Journey into the comic history of Spider-Man with the latest Marvel Minimates release! Featuring friends and foes of the friendly neighborhood wall-crawler, this assortment includes the Electro & Insulated Spider-Man two-pack, Spider-Girl & the Scorpion, the army building Vault Guard & Concept Spider-Man set and the variant House of M Spider-Man! Each Minimate stands two inches tall with 14 points of articulation and a variety of removable and interchangeable parts and accessories.

The Justice Society’s Hawkman tells all in Smallville interview

February 5, 2010 will see a special 2-part adventure in which Smallville’s Clark Kent will encounter the Justice Society of America (or JSA). The precursor to the Justice League of America (or JLA – DC Comics’s super-team), the JSA was initially formed during World War II and is still around today acting as a team of elder statesmen overseeing the superpowered community.

Consisting of mystical heavyweights such as Dr. Fate (the premiere mage of the DC Universe), the Spectre (the embodiment of the wraith of God), Green Lantern (wielding a mystic ring) and Hawkman (the reincarnation of an Egyptian Prince), the JSA was a knock-out comic book in its day due to the combination of several characters in one comicbook (seen at the time as being equal parts added entertainment and extra value). The addition of other heroes such as Hourman, Doctor Midnight, Wonder Woman, the Flash and Sandman bolstered the already successful comic. The stories themselves were delivered by the cream of the creative crop of the comic book scene. Jack Kirby, Joe Simon, Sheldon Mayer and of course Gardner Fox.

In the 1990’s, it was decided to bring the title back with the heroes of the past now acting as advisors to a younger generation. Presiding over this revival were David Goyer (scriptwriter of both Blade and the Dark Knight) and James Robinson (creator of the modern Starman, Jack Knight). The revival of one hero in particular saw the rise of another creator, Geoff Johns, who re-introduced the forgotten hero Hawkman in an unforgettable adventure involving alien worlds, zombies and the occult. Johns has gone on to also revitalize Green Lantern and Superman amongst other titles and is regarded today as one of DC Comics’ top writers.

In addition to his comicbook work, Johns also contributes scripts to Smallville, including the JSA two-hour adventure. As such, fans of the comic are in for a treat as Johns has a strong understanding of what makes these characters great.

Given that the last time we saw Hawkman on TV was in the ‘did that really happen’ Legends of the Superheroes in 1979, the appearance of this character is quite unusual.

 

The wild and wooly Hawkman of 1979

In preparation for the JSA episode, actor Michael Shanks (of Stargate) met with TV Guide to give an inside look at what it is like to dress up like a bird.

Hawkman swoops into Smallville

Hawkman Swoops Into Smallville!

Here it is! A sneak peek at Michael Shanks in the Hawkman costume he dons for Smallville’s highly anticipated two-hour movie event. Featuring the Justice Society, the special airs February 5, and the second hour is directed by Tom Welling. In between practicing his flying stunts above the Daily Planet rooftop and Chloe’s Watchtower, the Stargate SG-1 alum called me from the Vancouver set to dish on his role.

It seems we’ll be seeing a lot of you soaring through the air, eh?
Yeah. There are a few scenes involving him flying into various sets. One of them is in Watchtower and we’ll also see him on the Daily Planet roof. And at the end of the day, Hawkman takes off his wings and hangs them in the closet.

How’s your flying been going?
Today’s my practice day. There’s no stunt guy, so I need to ace this so I don’t make Hawkman look like a goofball. It’s traditional wire work that involves strapping on this harness so that large men with giant arms can lift me up and manipulate me. I’m also swinging around Hawkman’s giant mace as a weapon.

Are you exposing your chest as Hawkman did?
No nudity. The way the harness is designed they needed to create a bronze chest plate. The helmet is also more of a bronze-tone than a big yellow gold thing. My whole upper torso becomes a big immobile object.

What’s Hawkman’s story?
When we first meet Carter Hall he’s in his museum. We’ll learn he’s a reincarnated prince from a thousand years ago. There is a reference to The Justice Society’s time in the ‘70s, but we have since disbanded.

What advice does he give Clark?
There’s a reference given to him flying, but it’s more of a metaphor to his own personal growth. Clark and his friends are figuring out what their destinies will be, so there is a ripe opportunity for the Justice Society who had been there done that to offer some tough love teaching.

Tom Welling is directing the second episode of this arc. Is he excited or terrified?
I’m sure he’s excited and terrified. The first part is a lot of the character’s back-stories with them in civilian attire. Whereas in part two, Tom gets saddled with a lot of the action elements that will take a lot of time to shoot. He’s also acting throughout the episode he’s directing, which will be quite a task.

Are there references to Society members who aren’t seen in the episodes?
Oh yes. You’ll see a ton of references. This is a fan’s dream. Let’s say there are lots of memories and paraphernalia that people will be familiar with.

What is his relationship to Ollie/Green Arrow?
We will see an antagonism between them involving political views.

And Chloe?
She is a bit of an enigma to him. To have this pretty, smart blonde girl walking around among all these superheroes is an anomaly. Carter doesn’t know what to make of her.

How about Lois?
There’s a little bit of the Clark romance and then more with Tess’ dark plotting.

Have the regular Smallville characters heard about the Society members?
No. That’s a big plot point to find out how come they’ve never heard of these people.

What is his relationship like with fellow heroes Dr. Fate, Stargirl and Martian Manhunter?
Dr. Fate and Hawkman have a long history. Dr. Fate’s helmet is possessed by an Egyptian deity, which allows his to see into people’s possible futures. He also teleports. Stargirl is brand new to them and I’m not exactly sure what she does. She wasn’t part of the Society with them. And there are some trust issues with Martian Manhunter that are going to need to be dealt with.

You share a relationship with these actors?
Yeah. Brent Stait (Kent Nelson/Dr. Fate) was with me thirteen years ago on the Stargate pilot. Brent and I just shot a very touching moment between our characters. And oddly enough I worked with Britt Irvin (Courtney Whitmore/Stargirl) in Stargate’s third season when she was like 15 years ago. And now she’s all grown up.

Who are you all battling?
All I’ll say is he has a history with the Justice Society, but I’d never heard of him before.”

Does Hawkman give any advice to Clark and Co. about forming a Justice League of America?
There have been attempts to turn this group of randoms into a cohesive unit, but a lot of these episodes will address their debate into how that would take place and what their philosophy would be.”

Is there any reference made to Hawkgirl?
There’s a lot of referencing to Shayera/ Hawkgirl throughout as his one true love, given the fact that these two have a tremendous history as thousand year-old reincarnated beings who continue to find each other lifetime after lifetime. And we will learn where she is now.

What mood is Hawkman in?
When we first see him, he is a shell of his former self with a heir of cynicism. He wears a lot of grief and guilt and pain over what happened to his friends and the society as a whole and his failures in letting that happen.

Do you change your voice when you switch from Carter Hall to Hawkman?
Yeah. Given his many lives lived, I wanted to build a character with a more fierce quality which involved changing my vocal tone.

You didn’t channel Christian Bale and have a freak-out moment on set, did you?
The way the Hawkman mask fits on me is very Batman-ish, so at one point I passed Smallville’s director of photography who used to work with my wife (actress Lexa Doig) and me on Andromeda, and said with a deep Christina Bale voice, ‘We are done professionally.’

Is there a glimmer of hope offered that the Society could reassemble?
There will be a debate going on about whether we should have formed in the first place, and whether anyone should do it. We came together for the benefit of mankind, but then we were treated appallingly, so there will be a debate as to whether it would make sense for the Justice League to pick up our mantle and do it again.

And you’ll be reprising your Stargate character on two more upcoming episodes of Stargate: Universe?
Yes. I made a cameo in the pilot and they’re keeping me alive to pass the torch. The next one coming up is titled Human, and back-references my character first initiating Dr. Rush (Robert Carlyle) into the Stargate program, but my character exists more as a figment of Dr. Rush’s imagination. And then in Subversion, near the end of the season, we’ll see myself and Richard Dean Anderson helping out with an investigation where sabotage took place back on Earth.

You also have an episode of Sanctuary coming up?
I think I’m in episode nine playing a murky character named Jimmy who finds out he has a sketchy background similar to Kate Freelander played by Agam Darshy.

What’s the chances of us seeing Hawkman return?
The way things land at the end of it all, there’s an open door for Carter Hall to be revisited and possibly be part of further mentoring Clark down the road.

Richard E. Grant- The ‘Other’ Doctor Who

REG in Doctor Who - The Curse of Fatal Death

In 2003, Doctor Who fans were desperate for a comeback of their favorite program… and so was the BBC. After the 1996 pilot failed to launch a series, the franchise began to appear as a multi-media project. Starting with ‘Death Comes to Time’ starring Sylvester McCoy as Doctor #7, the new webisodes combined limited animation and radio drama-style performances from some big names in UK entertainment including Stephen Fry.

The announcement that Richard E. Grant would be the Ninth Doctor struck many fans as both good and bad news. REG is a big name actor who has pull on both sides of ‘pond’ and had already played the part (kind of) in the comedic benefit ‘Curse of Fatal Death.’ A charismatic actor known for a variety of roles both dramatic and humorous, he could be the perfect fit for the part and the ideal choice to revive the program. However, REG also had a penchant for over the top performances which worried some fans that he may play it up as the Doctor.

The follow-up announcement that Doctor Who would be returning as an animated series rather than live action was a lead boot falling on the hopes of fandom. BBCi not only announced in the Summer of 03 that Doctor Who would be returning as a multimedia online animated feature but that it was the official 9th incarnation of the Doctor, following Paul McGann’s Doctor #8. This is significant because even the new Doctor Who series took its time to connect up to the classic series, in fact it was not until David Tennant took on the role that he was established as the Tenth Doctor… something that led to much confusion as there had been the animated Richard E Grant Doctor and televised Chris Eccleston incarnations before Tennant’s Doctor.

So… whahappa?

The story goes that after a failed pilot in 1996 and numerous misfires at a feature film, the BBC felt that a live action revival of the beloved icon was very unlikely. To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the program, the animated series was announced and aired on November 13th. Fan favorite author Paul Cornell (Human Nature) was assigned as the writer and things started to look up. After the letdown of a cartoon series rather than a ‘real’ one settled, fans grew quite keen to see the result.

More of a Captain Pugwash animated product than a Bruce Timm production, the cartoon nevertheless was very moody and atmospheric. Lending much to the early Tom Baker ‘Hammer Horror’ episodes and the early Jon Pertwee UNIT stories, this version of Doctor Who felt very modern yet also quite safe in the confines of what you would expect from the program. The modernization of the program was quite jarring at the time, hearing the Doctor speak in slang made me do a double-take. Scream of the Shalka also introduced the first companion of color with Sophie Okonedo as Alison (beating the introduction of Martha Jones by several years).

The Doctor appeared almost vampiric in appearance yet he retained enough of the alien/English gentleman to make him recognizable as the character fans clamored for. The inclusion of Sir Derek Jacobi as the Master was a major boon until it was established that this was not really the Master but really an android facsimile… very odd. The story involved a rather reluctant and somewhat petulant and full of himself Doctor saving a small English village from the invasion of a reptilian race known as the Shalka. Nearly the entire village is struck by petrifying fear of the invaders except for a strong-willed barmaid named Allison. The reliance on a bug-eyed menace must have been a safe choice at the time, but it is still very similar in many ways to the 2005 opener of the new Doctor Who series, ‘Rose.’

Bereft of his usual gadgets, the Doctor nevertheless used a cellular phone via which he could command the TARDIS remotely, something that was quite clever if very limiting as it made the adventure firmly a product of the modern world rather than a timeless adventure. There were numerous missed opportunities in the animated adventure but it is still a rather fun piece of entertainment. A six part story, the web transmitted episodes evoked that long lost experience of watching Doctor Who on a weekly basis. Keeping in mind that the series had been off the air since 1989, a weekly Doctor Who program of any kind, even animated and on the net, was something to be thankful for.

While news of a sequel production or continuation of this new Doctor’s journeys through time and space failed to surface, there was another shoe left to drop.

A scant two months after it was announced, the wind from this new BBCi Doctor Who project was stolen by major news. Perhaps the biggest oddity of this Ninth Doctor was that no sooner had Richard E Grant been announced as the ‘official’ new Doctor Who than the BBC had granted Russell T Davies the go-ahead to produce a new televised series that would bear no relation to Scream of the Shalka at all. In a way this was akin to two holiday presents at once for Whovians worldwide but it also left many confused at what had just happened. It would take two long years for those questions to be answered and by then the animated feature had become a distant memory.

In the years since the Scream of the Shalka cartoon screened online, it has been theorized off-screen that this Ninth Doctor was one of three possible paths that the Doctor could have taken (the other two being the 2005 televised version and the spoof version played by Rowan Atkinson). It has since been accepted that the Richard E Grant Doctor doesn’t ‘count,’ but given that the latest series under Steven Moffat’s reign has been referred to as a brand new program… it may not be as throw-away as many have grown to believe.

The Amazing Spider-Man’s Brand New Day (Year One)

The flagship superhero of Marvel Comics, Spider-Man was the creation of that unique pairing of Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. A frustrated editor-in-chief who had become tired of the comic book business and the boring routine of men in tights slapping each other in public, Lee wanted to give this thing one last try before closing up shop of Timely Comics, then on its last legs.

With the unusual superhero team of the Fantastic Four a roaring success, he followed up with something else that was brand new at the time, a hero with not only super powers but also every day problems. Rather than a square-jawed man in his vague mid-30’s as he had seen many times, Lee’s central character would be nebbish-like weirdo who was constantly spouting his complaints… likely a behavior that Lee himself was guilty of. This resulted in some of the most sophisticated dialog and plotting that Lee had ever achieved, with Parker frustrated not just by supervillains but by always being short of cash, having no luck with women and constantly paranoid about the health of his ailing Aunt who was the last connection to a family that he had.

Brilliant artist Steve Ditko drew the scrawny bookworm Peter Parker as an outcast in a high school populated with jocks like ‘Flash’ Thompson and beautiful blonde bombshells like Liz Allen. Parker was clearly more intelligent than his peers and his sudden gift of superhuman strength and agility proved more of a problem than anything else due to his social awkwardness. Any time Flash frustrated him, Parker was reminded of his ability to crush that thug with one hand… but he couldn’t. Parker strove to live up to the abilities that had been granted to him rather than abuse them as many of us probably would. This combination of character was an almost innocent fusion of ideas regarding one’s social responsibility that Ditko would explore later in the Question and Mr. A. Parker was like us, conflicted by personal problems yet he struggled to be an almost perfect human being in his moral behavior, using his powers to help anyone in trouble and never striking out in violence if he could help it.

As a result… Peter Parker the Amazing Spider-Man was miserable.

After decades of stories, Marvel Comics decided that they needed a massive rethink of their star character as he had strayed too far from where Editor-In-Chief Joe Quesada felt he should be. Once an outcast, Parker was not only married, but his wife was a super-model. As a superhero Spider-Man had classically been a dud with the rest of the superhuman community as well, but in recent years he had become a member of the Avengers and associate of Tony Stark (Iron Man).

Things needed to change. The lengths to which Marvel went to achieve that change proved to be… diabolical.

Year One – Issues 546-582

Leading into the Brand New Day story line was JM Straczynski’s much attacked and seldom lauded ‘One Last Day’ story in which Peter Parker found himself a hunted vigilante from the law while his aunt who had taken a bullet for him lay dying in the hospital. The only solution lay in a deal with Mephisto to make it all go away at the price of his marriage to Mary Jane Watson. Thew ‘undoing’ of the marriage was the first in EIC Joe Quesdada’s master plan to put Spider-Man back on track and that is unfortunate. I’m not a huge supported of the Parker-Watson marriage, but it was at least a progression in the character’s story much in the same way as his acceptance into the Avengers and working with Stark furthered the character’s development from awkward youth to adulthood. Removing some-most of these developmental steps comes across as heavy handed and sloppy. Despite the abilities of the creators, One Last Day remains a very clumsy step toward greatness.

I say ‘greatness’ because the proceeding Brand New Day storyline is absolute genius. Cancelling the other two Spider-Man series and employing several writers to act as a ‘braintrust’ of Amazing Spider-Man is a masterstroke as it allows several plot threads to play out in each issue while the flagship title became what it was always meant to be… the best Spider-Man comic ever. Stan Lee and Steve Ditko should be flattered that it took a deal with ‘the devil’ and an army of creators to accomplish what they had done themselves back in 1964. In any case, a ‘return to basics’ approach may seem like massive leap backwards it was also exactly what was needed to make Spider-Man a success again. The remaining Amazing Spider-Man was announced as a three times a month affair with rotating creative teams. Fans scowled that it was doomed for failure but sales skyrocketed.

In Brand New Day, Peter Parker is single, broke and swinging through New York City by way of his web shooters containing the very limited web fluid. In the opening story, Daily Bugle editor J Jonah Jameson has a heart attack and the paper is sold to a new owner by JJ’s ex-wife to Dexter Bennett (DB) who transforms the paper into a sensationalist rag. Additionally, Parker must deal with the threat of Mister Negative while being hunted by the police for questioning in the ‘Spider tracer killings’ case in which bodies turned up with a rather incriminating spidey tracer attached to their corpses. Parker’s deal with Mephisto added several variables to the rather tired Spider-Man mythology, included the revival of Harry Osborn. Whereas Harry was a convoluted and complicated character in the past, in the Brand New Day world he is just Parker’s old roommate who has struggled to succeed in his life without his father Norman Osborn’s help.

The first of a series of new villains, Mister Negative is a signpost of what was to come. The over-reliance on staid and reliable super villains had softened both Spider-Man and the villains as well. While the Hobgoblin or Rhino were once exciting they had become boring. The brain trust introduced several new villains to plague Peter Parker including Menace, the glamor-hungry Internet sensation Screwball and the constantly-mutating meth-addicted Freak. While Menace is admittedly a Green Goblin knock-off, the identity of the villain proved to be an enticing idea and was strung along into the second year of the title’s new life cycle. The idea to introduce new villains was a conscious one and it held true throughout the first year of the Brand New Day experiment, in addition to the gimmick of rotating creative teams.

Teaming up with Wolverine was not as unique as it once was, so artist Chris Bachalo added a certain flair to the story, making it stand out. The cover design and story lines proved to be just unique and uncluttered by continuity to attract new readers. This still strikes me as the basic approach of Ultimate Spider-Man, to reduce the character to his core concept and remove the need to collect every issue in order to understand the latest adventure. However, in the case of Brand New Day, it worked marvelously. Whereas the previous iteration of Spider-Man had become a near-mythical creature with a past that become more convoluted with each issue, this new version was much simpler.

If I had to choose one story that stood out in the first year of the Brand New Day concept, it would have to be the Paper Doll story. Parker takes up work as a photographer for a tabloid obtaining ‘impossible’ pictures of celebs thanks to his superhuman abilities. This leads him into a confrontation with the celebrity-obsessed villain Paper Doll. The story also included the first appearance of Mary Jane post ‘One Last Day’ which had fans clamoring. The reason why readers were in a flurry was that prior to Mephisto un-doing the marriage that MJ and Peter had, she whispered something in his ear (which is still a mystery). This left readers unclear on whether MJ retained the knowledge that Peter had lost of the previous life together. Given her behavior in this story, Mary Jane remember everything, making her a very noble and brave person… and further complicating Parker’s life.

The introduction of Kraven the Hunter’s daughter was an inspired idea as it allowed the creators to allude to a classic villain while staying clear of reviving said villain. In the adventure, Kraven’s daughter hunts Spider-Man to his apartment as a hunter stalks its prey only to mistakenly identify Parker’s roommate, Vin Gonzales as her foe. Dressing Vin up in the Spider-Man uniform she discovered in the apartment, she abducts him to the sewers for a trail by combat. Without a costume of his own, Spidey calls in a favor to fellow vigilante Matt Murdock the Daredevil and enters the fray under an assumed identity of the Man Without Fear. The story itself was quite fun and continued to develop the ‘Spider-tracer killer’ plot.

Nevertheless, in time the tried and true super villains of the past resurfaced. However, the story line was so thrilling that the inclusion of classic villains is excusable. After 23 issues of mainly new villains, the appearance of Venom on the cover of a Spider-Man comic seemed novel. Norman Osborn had given Tony Stark ample room to round up the rogue vigilante Spider-Man who brazenly avoided the Superhuman Registration Act. When Stark proved incapable of bringing the criminal to justice, the Thunderbolts were mobilized.

Composed of reformed super villains operating under the threat of death via nanite-induced death, the Thunderbolts were composed of Moonstone, Radioactive Man, the Sword Master, Songbird, Venom and Bullseye. The combined might of the Thunderbolts was further complicated by the resurgence of Eddie Brock as ‘Anti-Venom’ who became a walking antibody to the human race, burning out impurities wherever they may be. Based on preliminary artwork, the battle between the two Venoms appeared to many as groan-inducing and reminiscent of the over-use of the villain in the 1990’s, but the pay off was surprisingly excellent. The ‘New Ways to Die’ story appeared at first to be a gimmick, but proved to be a major success in attracting any readers doubtful of the direction Spider-Man had taken under the new regime.

Following ‘New Ways to Die’ was a series of short stories re-introducing Hammerhead and the Molten Man to the rogue’s gallery. There also appeared a mid-comic story teaming up Spider-Man with the Punisher which may have been yawn-inducing once upon a time but given the new state of the series was positively exciting. After a single issue story focusing on Flash Thompson serving in the military(which still feels rather odd), guest writer Mark Waid introduced the character that had thrown the largest monkey wrench ever into the Spider-Man series, J. Jonah Jameson’s dad.

The rotating creative team was tasked with continuing several plot threads while developing their own adventures, something that had become a dirty word (continuity) in recent years but under the Brand New Day banner made the Spider-Man series feel more alive than it had in decades. The tone of the series felt remarkably sharp and slick, absolutely aware of the attention that Marvel’s most popular character was attracting due to numerous multimedia tie-ins and a legacy of popularity in print.

In short, the first year of the Brand New Day experiment was a major (and risky) success. The introduction of new super villains, a new status quot and the re-introduction of classic rogues made reading Spider-Man week to week a fun experience. While it is a shame that a magical reset button gimmick was seen as unavoidable to make it happen, Brand New Day made Spider-Man feel new for the first time since Lee and Ditko first collaborated. The perpetuation of this hard-earned winning streak was to prove the hardest victory… but that is for another time.

Doctor Who and the Ark

The Ark - Story 023

Doctor Who - The Ark

Goofy monsters? Check. Whacked-out time travel? Check? Morally-imbued plot? Check. Yes, this is Doctor Who of the 1960’s. Before the Hammer Horror era of the 1970’s or the plastic rayguns of the 1980’s there was this, the Doctor and his companions getting wrapped up in some science-fiction adventure in deep space with rubber monsters. A story featuring Doctor #1 William Hartnell but without his initial companions Barbara and Ian may seem alien to many. This is in large part due to the fact that the many of the stories with the following companion team-up of Steven and Dodo are lost (aside from Steven’s brief introduction in The Chase and Dodo’s final story the War Machines). As such, The Ark is one of the few opportunities to see what this pairing of companions was like along side the first Doctor.

The Ark (part 1 of 12 ten minute segments)

An adventure that is neither loved or derided by fans, The Ark is an odd story for many reasons. The only Doctor Who story penned by Paul Erickson, the plot is heavily laden with science fiction concepts such as viruses and the future of mankind as well as contemporary ideas such as slavery and racial harmony. Set in the distant future, The Ark opens with the Doctor and his companions arriving on board a vast spaceship containing the survivors of a doomed Earth along with the aliens known as the Monoids, likewise without a home. The strangely paired races are supposedly living in harmony but it is plain to see that the Monoids are viewed as inferior to the humans and used mainly for slave labor. The humans are even using the Monoids to build a sculpture of a human being to pass the time on their journey to their new home, Refusis.

What cheek!

New companion Dodo has a slight cold and mistakenly passes it to the humans on board, thus dooming the entire remainder of the human race to death by a virus that they had not encountered in centuries. Great job, Dodo.

Let me take this opportunity to talk about two of the most unloved of Doctor Who companions since Adric and Nyssa… Dodo and Steven. An astronaut from the near future, Steven Taylor is a large lumbering oaf who is neither clever nor dim but often bull-headed. He means well, but you can just feel the Doctor’s disdain for the man. Physically imposing, Steven is hilariously useless most of the time in his adventures with the Doctor as a keen wit is often more helpful than a strong back. Dodo Chaplet is a pair of legs in a skirt with a swinging sixties London attitude. A character that is so forgettable that her departure is off-screen, it’s no wonder that few fans of the series have ever taken the time to develop an opinion of her.

Dodo (Jackie Lane) attacked (?) by a Moinoid

Put on trial for damning the whole of two races, the TARDIS crew is indeed in a pickle. The Doctor manages to concoct a cure for the common cold using cells from the Ark’s microscopic menagerie and saves everyone’s bacon… again. Seeming to depart for a new tale, the TARDIS dematerializes and appears back on the Ark, some 700 years in the future. The sculpture is completed, but it is not a man, but a Monoid. It appears that the mute slaves of Mankind had staged a coup and used the common cold virus to weaken their human captors in order to take control. No longer without voice, the Monoids have developed vocal devices and are thoroughly enjoying their dominance of the weak humans until the Doctor and company set things straight.

As an adventure, this one has a lot going for it as it contains time travel concepts that show cause and effect in one story (why have we not seen that again in 40 odd years of Doctor Who??) and depicts relationships with an alien race as being rather more complicated than we had seen before where aliens are either good and peaceful or mad-eyed on destruction. In the Ark, the Monoids are as flawed as the humans, an idea that is rather sophisticated if not a bit dull for entertainment’s sake. This is the real downfall of The Ark, the pacing and direction are somewhat lacking. Even for 60’s era Who, The Ark is rather dull. That’s not to say it’s not well written or visually interesting because it is, but it is also in danger of putting the viewer to sleep. This is not helped by the wooden companions who add nothing to the story. I understand that the role of the classic companion is to shadow the Doctor and ask what’s happening, but after the excellence that was Barbara and Ian, I often feel cheated by Steven and Dodo. It would take the arrival of Jamie and Zoe to set things straight, and that was years away.

The 1966 story The Ark is sure to not top a Doctor Who fan’s list of favorite stories, but it is also not in danger of ousting Time and the Rani out of the place of worst story, either. It just… is. Aside from the Monoids and time travel aspects there is little memorable about this tale which is a shame as it is one of the few ‘middle period’ Hartnell adventures that is still in print (many of the others burnt in the 1970’s). Why did the Ark survive and not Myth Makers of The Massacre of St Bartholomew’s Eve? Alas, we will never know.

One of the few remaining Hartnell stories left to be released on DVD, The Ark is a middling adventure. And when you’re talking about a program such as Doctor Who, capable of telling any kind of story it wants to… that’s just awful.

The Prisoner (2009)

(Please click here for my article on the classic original series)
In 1967, Patrick McGoohan had a prime opportunity. A hot item in the world of TV, he had made a name for himself in the series Danger Man (known as Secret Agent in the US). Offered the role of Ian Fleming’s James Bond, he turned it down in order to create a bold new experiment that would utilize the TV action drama trappings of Danger Man in making an existential statement on modern life. With unusual visuals, a breathtaking setting in the holiday villa of Port Meiron and the music of Ron Grainer, the Prisoner was as bizarre then as it is today. Spanning just 17 episodes, the series remains a cult phenomenon with its influence spreading far and wide to comic books, movies, literature, music and more.

The Prisoner 1967-68 opening

The basic premise of the Prisoner is that a former secret agent was abducted from his home after resigning from his top job as an agent for MI6. Finding himself in the beautiful yet thoroughly alien setting of the Village, he finds that he has been assigned the designation of ‘Number Six.’ A charming man by the designation of ‘Number Two’ introduces himself and states that 6’s life can be an easy one in the Village if he just plays along and tells them everything they want to know. 6 refuses and begins a determined defense of his persona and individuality as the combined forces of the Village set about breaking down his sense of self and sanity. As the series progressed, it made statements on everything from mental illness to politics and MacGoohan’s own sense of identity as a celebrity as he used his own head shot as the file photograph of Number 6.

This Sunday AMC will attempt to revive the story for the modern world with their own take on the classic program. Yes, it is ‘heresy’ to even consider such a thing, but the project has been bubbling about for decades so it was only a matter of time before someone managed to get it off the ground. Given that at one time the pitch was a remake set in America’s heartland starring Nic Cage, we should count ourselves lucky. However, I don’t want to sell the AMC series short at all. James Caviezel has been cast as No.6, the unwilling subject of the Village’s unrelenting attack on his psyche. 6 awakens in a desert setting (rather than the seaside of Wales) to find that he is the center of No.2’s attention, played by Ian McKellen. The sole motivation of No.2 is to crush No.6’s individuality and of course No.6 is non-conformity incarnate in his reluctance to play along.

Ian McKellen Rules in Remake of ‘The Prisoner’

The 2009 Prisoner series has been previewed on local cable in a series of short documentaries revealing the tone and basic premise of the remake. While i am puzzled by its seeming to follow the events of the 1967-68 series, it does seem to have a good handle of the basic ideas of what made the original work and even has its own message on ‘what it is to be free’ to throw into the mix. I do think that the desert setting is a stroke of genius as No.2’s statement that ‘there is no New York’ seems all that more chilling when No.6 is surrounded by a wasteland.

I was rather surprised to see that the new series is basing its 6 episodes on key episodes from the original, including the controversial ‘Living in Harmony’ which was banned from US transmission as it was perceived to be a statement on the Vietnam War.

1.1 “Arrival” based on Arrival
1.2 “Harmony” based on Living in Harmony
1.3 “Anvil” based on Hammer Into Anvil
1.4 “Darling” based on Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling
1.5 “Schizoid” based on The Schizoid Man
1.6 “Checkmate” based on Checkmate

When news initially broke, the series creators were adamant in their adoration and respect for the source material which shines through in what I have seen this far:

Writer Bill Gallagher says: “I was haunted by The Prisoner when I saw it as a boy on its first broadcast. Here was something that was more than television, something I couldn’t quite grasp but couldn’t let go of. It’s a unique opportunity for a writer to be able to go back to The Village and tell some new stories about that strange place and its surreal menace. We have a terrific cast and a wonderful director, so we hope to serve up something as beguiling and disturbing as the original was.”

Producer Trevor Hopkins adds: “The Prisoner was an iconic piece of 60s TV and updating the series for a contemporary audience has thrown up many interesting challenges. I feel that Bill Gallagher’s splendid scripts, combined with Jim and Ian in the lead roles will bring the series to a whole new audience, whilst still pleasing the dedicated fans of the original.”

“Jim Caviezel and Ian McKellen bring an incredible level of talent to the project, and we’re honored they are taking on these important roles. We look forward to this production revitalizing a classic and bringing Patrick McGoohan’s brilliant and captivating story to an entirely new generation of viewers,” stated Charlie Collier, AMC’s General Manager and Executive Vice President. “The caliber of Hollywood talent AMC is attracting further validates our programming vision and our successful strategy of producing quality cinematic originals that stand alongside our library of iconic movies.”

While I do hope that the new take on the Prisoner has its own unique statement, I am happy to see that it is not forgotten how important and necessary it is to reflect what the original set out to do. Tune in the Sunday to watch this exciting new series.

For more information, please visit the official site of AMC’s the Prisoner and the Prisoner fanclub, SixofOne.

Dave Lapham delivers the danger in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare comic

The release of Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 this week made some major news in the gaming community, but the impact is not restricted to thumb-twitching gamers as Dave Lapham will reveal in his upcoming mini-series for DC Comics’ Wildstorm imprint. The well known writer of Stray Bullets and several company books such as Batman and Punisher, Lapham will bring his usual sense of danger and tension to the series based on the hit game.

Ghost in Call of Duty Modern Warfare

Started in 2003, the award winning first-person-shooter game Call of Duty has been impressing gamers ever since. In a genre that was popular for the ‘lone man against impossible odds’ approach (such as Duke Nukem and Doom), Call of Duty stresses the importance of the entire squad rather than one soldier fighting a war on his one. Call of Duty also explored numerous settings in World War Two including the British, Canadian and Soviet forces. Initially set exclusively in WW2, the franchise later expanded into the current day with the Modern Warfare game released on next-gen consoles in 2007.

Historically, the successful WW2 FPS games have been split between two camps of Call of Duty and Medal of Honor with Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six games taking center stage on the modern front. To even attempt to compete with the Tom Clancy games was a bold move, but the die was already cast. The gamble paid off and the critical reception was overwhelmingly positive. Set in the near future where the world is in the grips of global terrorism, the stark realism that gamers had grown to anticipate with the WW2 setting was even more jarring and unsettling, but resulted in a genuinely immersive gaming experience.

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 online multiplayer trailer

Not a tie-in to the story of the game, the new Modern Warfare 2: Ghost 6 part mini-series will nevertheless provide readers with a similarly invigorating experience as only Dave Lapham can deliver it.

Interviewed by ComicBookResources.com, Lapham showed no remorse over having to do some ‘deep research’ into the latest chapter in the Call of Duty franchise. A die-hard gamer and fan of the COD franchise, Lapham has been pouring his attention over the game in preparation of his new work.

“I love the game. I love all of these kinds of games. I can tell you which deadlines were missed because of this game or that game. I have to admit, regrettably, that since having kids my time for the 60-hour video game has gone the way of the dodo. As much to write the book, it was a good excuse to “have to” play the game – y’know, research.

“This plays in to why I wanted to do the job. You have an amazing game, and they wanted an amazing comic. At the same time, the game is a first person experience. You are a member of Task Force 141. In the comic we were going to be creating a character that the reader was going to follow, so there was a broad canvas upon which to create.

“There wasn’t pressure to recreate the game in comic form. The boundary was that a) they had to dig what we were doing, of course, and b) we had to give them a kick-ass experience to match the game, but it didn’t have to be the same experience. Comics aren’t video games. I can’t give you the vicarious experience of being a counter-terrorist soldier sneaking up and knifing someone. But I can give you a bad-ass character and take you on a journey through this guy’s psyche. A hellish, twisted, nightmarish journey.

“This is not your same old, same old, seen-it-before terrorist 101 story. Plenty of action, plenty of intrigue, yes. But I really wanted to get in this character’s head and let you see his transformation. It’s as much a psychological suspense story as anything.”

(read the entire interview here)

Modern Warfare 2: Ghost arrives today at comic shops.