Is this the new Rani?

The rumor has recently surfaced that cult actress Gillian Anderson may be guest-starring in a future Doctor Who story. The rumor goes on to state that the former X-Files starlet will portray the evil Time-Lady known as The Rani against Doctor #11, Matt Smith.

The enticing Gillian Anderson

Personally, I think it’s all hot air. With fan favorite and media darling David Tennant on his way out, expect to see even more press guessing about what is to come for the longest running sci-fi series. I cannot for the life of me see what the connection is between Anderson and the Rani aside from the fact that they are both female.

Kate O'Mara as the Rani alongside Anthony Ainley's Master

A villainess created in the 22nd season of the program by the husband-and-wife sci-fi writing team of Pip and Jane Baker, the Rani was introduced as a kind of female version of the Master. A brilliant yet cold personality, the Rani was obsessed with scientific exploration at the expense of all else. In her two televised appearances (three of you count Dimensions in Time), she was played with aplomb by former Dynasty actress Kate O’Mara. As glamorous as she was devious, the Rani was a vamp of another sort altogether and brought a kind of variety to the program that it was missing. While the Master would annihilate an entire species just to get a rise out of the Doctor, the Rani saw all other life as walking bags of chemicals and little more. In truth, the Doctor was more of a minor nuisance to her plans than anything else.

The rumor that Gillian Anderson may attempt to fill the sultry shoes of O’Mara is nothing short of absurd. Anderson may have a cult following, but I hardly think that this role would have any appeal to the dramatic actress.

Anderson is about to star opposite the elusive Doctor #9 Christopher Eccleston in a production of ‘A Doll’s House.’ As some readers may know, Eccleston is notoriously silent about his time on Doctor Who, which has led to much speculation as to why this is. Personally, I think it is down to an inability of the star and producer/head writer to come to terms with what the program’s goals are. However, we may never know. If Anderson’s involvement in Doctor Who really is a rumor, 15 minutes alone with Eccleston will be enough to talk her out of it.

The new series of Doctor Who is expected to air in the Spring of 2010 with three additional specials to appear beforehand leading to the dramatic departure of what could be the most loved Doctor of them all and the biggest risk that the series has faced since 1981 when Tom Baker departed and relative unknown Peter Davison took on the lead role.

Recommended:
Doctor Who – The Mark of the Rani (Episode 140)

Young Masters

The NY Comic Con held many a surprise. With numerous announcements made and so many long-range plans announced, it’s normal for a few to get lost in the shuffle. One of the more interesting announcements was that Doctor Who scribe and MI-6 writer Paul Cornell will be joining with artist Mark Brooks on a new series exploring the Young Dark Avengers or Young Masters of Evil.

It looks like the Young Avengers will have their hands full this summer when they square off against this band of evil young upstarts! Borrowing heavily from the classic Masters of Evil team that first appeared in Avengers # 6 back in 1964, this team will consist of teenage versions of the Executioner, Melter and Swordsman amongst others. I’m a big fan of the Young Avengers, a series developed by writer Alan Heinberg at a time when there was a very real ‘Avengers-shaped’ void in Marvel Universe and hope that this five issue mini-series will gain them some much-deserved attention at the spinner rack.

Recommended:

Young Avengers

The long awaited return of Red Dwarf

It must be nice to be British. A holiday arrives and there is actually something worthwhile on the TV.

This Easter sci-fi fans rejoiced as both Doctor Who and Red Dwarf took to the screens to cries of ‘squee’ all across the sceptred isle. I had first heard of Red Dwarf way back in my High School days when I was working the convention circuit selling Star Trek memorobilia and bootleg anime. Someone explained the premise to me, the last human alive is stuck on a spaceship in the distant future with a mutated cat, a senile computer and the most obnoxious man he ever met for company and decided I had to see it. Back in the days before the internet, I was left with one option, I called my local PBS station. In no time, Red Dwarf was onm NHPTV. I have no idea if my call had anything to do with it, but I take full credit.

As a fan, I ofcourse have my favorite and least favorite episodes and eras. I very much enjoyed the first two seasons and it took me ages to warm to the jazzed-up more active third season and beyond. The fifth and sixth season remain perfect in my opinion and the latter two are… none of us age gracefully least of all TV programs. With one half of the writing team gone, the last two years never felt right to me. It’s still watchable, but only of you are a real devoted fan.

The series ran for 8 seasons and obtained a dwindling yet feircely loyal fan base that made Dr Who fans look socially mobile. It gets a bad rep from time to time as its humor can get repetitive and the mixture of sci-fi, drama and comedy is not to everyone’s taste, but Red Dwarf was pioneering the genre of sci-fi at a time when no one, not even the aforementioned Dr Who, was. A program that blended comedy and science fiction must have seemed absurd when it initially aired in 1988, but it remains unique today.

Several years later, it has returned.

I had no idea what to expect of this new special and felt something very much like that first viewing of ‘Rose’ from RTD’s Doctor Who series. I was excited and worried in equal parts. Imagine my surprise when it all felt so… familiar. The corny jokes, the drab sets (albeit done up with actual camera angles and CGI) made it seem like the series never stopped. Red Dwarf was back.

The Boys from the Dwarf are back

A three-parter, Back to Earth can be said to go through several stages. Initially, it appears to be a standard Dwarf episode. Lister is pining after his lost love Kochanski. Kryten is on vacation in a cubpoard. Rimmer is vainly hanging a picture of himself in the bedroom and Cat has narrowly escaped the clutches of  a giant squid trapped in the water tank. The arrival of a replacement hologram who berates Rimmer also feels quite normal.

It’s when the crew are transported to ‘actual reality’ where they are fictional characters that things get weird. The crew find that they are taking part in their final adventure. They discover this by finding the DVD box for Back To Earth. Keeping in time with actual reality, the disc isn’t in the case since we the audience are watching it on TV. Enraged that they are being killed off, they decide to confront their creators and demand that they be kept alive. Delving into the only resources of reliable Red Dwarf information available, the crew turn to the fans of the program for help with mixed results and the most innovative prop gag I have ever seen in the form of the Starbug car (‘Carbug’).

It must be said that this special asks a lot of the viewer. There are several Blade Runner gags that run through the story. As a fan of the movie, I was amused but can easily see this concept annoying the Hell out of anyone. There are also several references that will only make sense to a British TV viewer, such as the trip to Coronation Street where they meet the actor Craig Charles. Lister is disgusted with the loser actor who plays him and gets depressed. Only a pair of young Red Dwarf fans cheer him up by reminding him that he may be a slob but he can also be quite brave. Besides, they think that Kochanski is alive after all, so he has to have hope, something that he ends up needing to accept reality and escape the trap that he soon finds himself in the twist ending.

The episode is classic Red Dwarf; heartfelt, absurd and corny all at once. I was very dubious about what I would think about a favorite program of mine getting revived and after the debacle made of Doctor Who I had good reason. However, as the familiar end theme played out I found myself smiling and wanting more. After 8 years of a program and just as long off the air, that’s quite an accomplishment.

No word yet on a US airing, but keep your feelers out there.

Big Man Japan

Remember all those late nights watching Creature Double Feature while the cool kids had better things to do?

Do you lament the days of Ray Harryhausen flicks where the monster actually looked interesting?

Are you bored with American blockbusters?

Voila!

A mockumentary of Japan’s most hated superhero Daisatou, Big Man Japan caused many a chin-scratching at Cannes this past year. However, it found a home with the comic book set after a showing at the NY Comic Con.

An examination of the life of a superhero, the movie has been called far more satisfying in the genre than the more high profile ‘Watchmen.’ The filmmaker follows our hero throughout his life which is filled mostly with slovenly distracted behavior until he is called into action. Grown into a giant pair of underpants by the power of pure electricity, Daisatou battles absurd monsters in downtown Tokyo ranging from the Strangling Monster to ‘The Stink.’ After seeing so many films where the creators slave over the CGI, it’s pleasant to see genuinely awful special effects as the monsters fight our hero.

A statement on the genre of giant monster movies and superheroes as well, Bug Man Japan will be making its way to America for a May 15th limited release.

See it with someone special.

Confessions of a Superhero

I’ve only been to Graumann’s Chinese Theater once in my life and it was to see Daredevil on opening day. Nevertheless, I can confirm that the place has an air of both majesty and grandeur. The heavy curtains part to reveal a glistening silver screen while the light reflects around the high vaulted ceilings so wonderfully you almost miss the movie being projected in front of you (in the case of Daredevil, a definite bonus). For all of the wonder and magic inside there is a level of absurdity outside as grown men and women dress up as fictional characters. Every character from every blockbuster film is represented in uncompromising tights to uncomfortable body suit, but I only had eyes for the comic book superheroes.

The documentary Confessions of a Superhero may appear to simply be an analysis of freaks and an opportunity to point a finger at them in laughter, but I found it to be something else altogether. This may come from the fact that the people in the film are almost always in costume and take their roles so seriously that in time they appear to mutate into a kind of bizarro version of the oft-loved fictitious heroes. All four of the actors profiled are alike in one way, they came to Hollywood to make it… their stories sound like comic book origins.

Christopher Dennis is a former crystal meth addict who had an awakening on the couch then swore to honor his mother’s dying wish to become an actor. Armed with an uncanny resemblance to his role model Christopher Reeves, Dennis walks the streets as Superman, shepherding the newcomers in the ways of a dress-up hero and bringing joy to all (for a donation he refuses to ask for).

Bearing a close resemblance to George Clooney, Maxwell Allen attempts to escape his dark past as the avenging angel of the night Batman. He also has anger issues and feels that while he should overcome them, there are those out there who just deserve a beating… and he’s ready to perform that service.

Jennifer Gehrt is a home grown Southern girl from a quiet town that offered her nothing but frustration. A former cheerleader, she sought acceptance in the cruel world of casting agents, dressed in a revealing Wonder Woman costume.

Former NC-native Joe McQueen sold his Super Nintendo for a Greyhound bus ticket to fame and fortune only to arrive in LA in the midst of the Rodney King riots. After living first in the hills then hiding out in alleys, he finally found success as a wandering Hulk, the cheerful if muffled green monster of the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

One connecting thread amongst three of the four actors is that they are not exactly comic book fans. They seem drawn to dress up as their respective characters almost by fate. Seeing Maxwell attend a therapy session in Batman costume, you’d almost think you were seeing the Dark Knight in therapy (finally!) rather than a troubled down on his luck actor. Gehrt is so self-conscious of her body and hungry for attention that she wraps her arms around the role of Wonder Woman with glee, while McQueen is all but swallowed up by his massive (and surely uncomfortable) Hulk outfit.

Dennis is another story and one that needs to be seen to be believed. I’m still not 100% sure what dressing up as Superman means to him, but it’s definitely some really heavy stuff. All four embody the sadness that is Hollywood and the joy with which it devours young hopefuls lost in the world looking for some kind of identity. The movie also shines an interesting light on the American pre-occupation with fame and fiction. If you think about it, the average person spends far more time living in fantasy than actually doing anything so dressing up as a fictional character is a kind of merger between the two. In short, the audience member becomes an active participant in the fantasy.

In any case, it’s a weird-ass movie and one that you should check out.

Recommended:
Confessions of a Superhero
Becoming Batman: The Possibility of a Superhero
Superhero: The Secret Origin of a Genre

Merry Christmas, Doctor

David Morrisey as 'The Other Doctor'

I was working on a review of the 2009 Easter Special and I realized that I never got around to reviewing the 2008 Christmas Special. So I ask that you excuse the lateness of this review.

On the off chance that you have not seen the episode yet, read no further because plot details will be revealed.

Yes, this is a SPOILER WARNING.

The build-up to this special was especially intense as the title ‘The Next Doctor,’ hinted at some big changes ahead for the show. With a relatively major star cast as the ‘Other Doctor,’ and Tennant’s recent announcement of departure, it was on everyone’s mind that this may indeed be a regeneration story. As it turns out, that was not the case, making the title completely nonsensical if you think about it. I mean, Morrisey’s character wasn’t a Doctor at all, so why the title?

In any case, the predictably routine opening sees the Doctor basking in the magic of a BBC period set, just gushing over the whimsical splendor of things that we humans take for granted. This bliss is cut short as he hears a cry for help. He dashes off (complete with overly dramatic fanfare courtesy of Murray Gold’s orchestra) to meet the fright-wig wearing Rosaita who strangely has the exact same accent as Rose and Martha and Donna. So even though the story takes place in a different time, the females have the same accent. Just an odd observation. The episode then introduces the one positive thing it has to offer, the guest star David Morrisey.

As readers may have noticed and been kind to agree to disagree with me in places, I have a very specific idea of what makes a ‘proper’ Doctor. In this respect, Morrisey hits all the right buttons for me. Noble, classy, intelligent, brave and mature this character is also dressed in a period costume, a nod to both William Hartnell’s era and the more recent Paul McGann. I understand that all of this pretense was no doubt directed at fans like myself. Fair enough. Even Tennant seems taken with him and immediately figures that this guy is some future version of himself and tries his best to politely find out how he ‘died’ leading to an 11th incarnation, but this just confuses Morrisey’s character.

Nevertheless, the pair of adventurers decide to team up to defeat the menace posed by the Cybermen. I should note that this particular attack of the Cybermen has to be its single goofiest attempt at conquest. Monsters that look like muppets with Cybermen heads attached are meant to be menacing and even roar (just like Cybermen roar) yet I couldn’t help but bust a gut every time they showed up.

Davids Morrisey and Tennant share the spotlight

This character who so brazenly enters the world of Doctor is later revealed to be Jackson Lake, a normal human who was exposed to a data storage device. The device was loaded with all of the information on the Doctor and it ‘went off’ in Morrisey’s face, causing him to ‘download’ all of the information and somehow think that he was the Doctor. The flashback to this moment featuring vintage footage of each Doctor from the old program is both heartwarming and annoying. It’s nice to see the old faces but I have to repeat myself by saying that this version of Doctor Who has so little in common with the classic series that trying to link the two never feels right to me.

Nevertheless, the devious villainess Miss Hartegan played with gusto by Dervla Kirwan (of Randal and Hopkirk, Deceased), adds a certain element of classic Who to the program. Hartegan is working with the Cybermen in a rather classic misunderstanding that has been played out in most every Cybermen story. Hartegan thinks that she can use the Cybermen to further her own goals while the Cybermen are in fact using her for theirs. Unfortunately RTD establishes this “I’m terribly evil” character type and stops right there, leaving Kirwan little to do other than strut theatrically about in her red frock and spout hastily-written feminist dogma around. The fact that she is placed in the center of ‘the Cyber King’ is both silly and nonsensical. The episode has spent the entire episode establishing how strong-willed Miss Hartegan is, so why do the Cybermen think they can control her? Is this some kind of misogynystic statement of the series? Probably not.

There is a last minute inclusion of child labor that is unintentionally hilarious as the cast of as grade school production of Oliver! is paraded through town to a factory where the Cybermen are doing something… terribly unexplained. The children are ‘enslaved’ for all of 5 minutes tops before Jackson Lake and the Doctor liberate them, yet the audience is somehow expected to well up with emotion about this. It’s the one major failing of the Special and for me… that’s pretty good.

A light-hearted special with some dodgy special effects and a series of excessively long dramatic moments centered on the Doctor’s hair and a young ashen-faced child actor’s long eyelashes, this could be the best holiday special the new series has to offer.

Don’t worry, I’m about to finish ‘Planet of the Dead’ and get back to my normal cranky self.

Get to know The Black Widow

Black Widow (by Jason McLellan) and actress Johannson

Truthfully, it has been a while since there was a sexy female comic book character on the screen. Elektra was a pouty-lipped flop, Storm had a silly wig and Susan Storm just looked… weirdly Caucasian. So hopes are high that Iron Man 2 will see the return of the sexy skin-tight eroticism that made Batman Returns so watchable. The name of the actress chosen to play role has been something of a hot potato since it entered the casting arena. Both Emily Blunt and Dollhouse’s Eliza Dushku were at one time contenders, but both were sadly just red herrings. Actress Scarlett Johansson will be donning the black cat suit in the action-packed sequel that is sure to turn plenty of heads in the summer of 2010.

Johannson (also of the dud Spirit flick), is in my opinion an iffy choice. As an actress she is more comfortable with dramatic parts rather than action flicks (see the Spirit). She also has very little ‘presence’ that would be necessary to make the audience believe that she is a Russian super spy (Hell, I’ll be surprised if she nails the accent!). But enough of the actress, what about the fictional character?

Initially introduced in the series that spawned Iron Man, Tales of Suspense, The Black Widow was a reluctant assassin saddled with the duty of killing that flithy American Tony Stark. Using her femenine wiles, she duped the archer Hawkeye into being her weapon of choice, but that went badly and Hawkeye ended up becoming an Avenger. Left with the deed of killing the weapons manufacturer, Natasha Romanoff donned the Black Widow costume and tried her own hand as hired killer. Able to cling to smooth surfaces by small suction cups attached to her hands and feet and armed with a wrist-mounted dart gun on each arm, she was certainly capable of becoming a menace to the forces of freedom. But she too turned on her Soviet oppressors and defected to the West.

Black Widow by George Perez

After giving up the evil gun for hire business, Black Widow became a hero, at one time serving as leader of the Avengers and dating Daredevil. So great was her influence, that she and the blind crimefighter shared the title of his comic! More recently, she worked for S.H.I.E.L.D. (before it was dismantled) and she even received a complicated revised origin story that made her the subject of an elaborate Soviet super spy program which not only trained her in espionage and combat but also enhanced her physically. This would put her in the same camp as Wolverine, Captain America (Steve Rogers) and Nick Fury as characters who look far younger than they actually are. Cap has the Super Soldier Serum to thank, Nick the Infinity Serum, and Logan his healing factor. Natasha is apparently also of an indeterminate age due to the biological engineering done to her as a child.

Lucky her.

She is recognized as somewhat of a friendly female and has sat on the arm of many a super hero over the years. Currently she is the main squeeze of the new Captain America, Bucky Barnes. While she may seem devious and shifty, she is a prime example of Stan Lee’s practice of taking a villain and making her a hero, causing the line between good and evil to soften into a blur (which is pretty sophisticated for an artform blamed for creating social deviants).

In the feature film, little is known about the character of the Black Widow, but it is a possibility that she will be the cause of sexual tension between Whiplash (played by Mickey Rourke) and out hero Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr reprising his role). There has been some rumbling that Hawkeye will make an appearance and while that would make for a crowded movie, I am a big fan of the crotchety archer and it would make a smooth lead-in for the Avengers film.

In any case, we’ll all find out next summer.

(Click here for the updated image of War Machine in Iron Man 2)

Recommended:
Black Widow: The Sting Of The Widow Premiere HC
Black Widow Vol. 2: The Things They Say About Her (Mighty Avengers)

So… who is Whiplash?

As you may have noticed, filming has begun for the mighty Marvel sequel to the hit action film of 2009, Iron Man. Robert Downey Jr. will return to don the iron pants that he loves so much along with Gwyneth Paltrow as the lovely Pepper Potts. Don Cheadle replaces Terrance Howard as Jim ‘Rhodey’ Rhodes which has many fans excited but the big addition is the duo of villains… sort of.

Hollywood’s comeback kid and star of The Wrestler, Mickey Rourke will play the part of Whiplash and Scarlet Johansson will portray the Black Widow (who later becomes a hero so it’s difficult to guess how she will be represented in the film). Most readers know who the Black Widow is, but who is Whiplash?? He’s not much of a ‘heavy hitter’ villain in the vein of the Mandarin (long rumored to be the central baddie of IM 2 but perhaps it was deemed far too much of a xenophobic choice as the Mandarin is a very negative stereotype), so why hire an actor who has recently returned to the cradle of success?

First appearing in the pages of Invincible Iron Man in 1968, Mark Scarlotti actually has much in common with Tony Stark. Both a re gifted men with a creative streak and penchant for invention. However, while Tony Stark was born into greatness, Scarlotti did not earn it or have it thrust upon him. He took to working for the mafia (called the Maggia in Marvel Comics… no joke! Apparently Stan Lee was fearful of angering real life gangsters) and attempted to take down Iron Man as a show of strength.
Using a custom-made whip that could tear through anything, Scarlotti met crippling defeat at the armored hands of Tony Stark several times over, even after a super-villain make-over into the character Blacklash.

So I ask again, why Whiplash? My best bet is that they are attempting to take an obscure villain and develop him into something new from the ground up (as Tim Burton did with the Penguin). If not, the ‘dark mirror’ option of presenting a twisted version of Tony Stark is a possibility. Seeing as how both men are weapons inventors, and both actors around the same age, this may work.

I’m also guessing that both Whiplash and Iron Man will be vying for the attention of Black Widow in the movie, which could make things interesting. In any case, I have every confidence that Favreau will hit another one out of the park with this sequel (whatever that means).

Next time, Black Widow.

Black Widow by the genius Paul Gulacy

(Click here for the updated image of War Machine in Iron Man 2)

Recommended:

Iron Man: Director of S. H. I. E. L. D. — with Iron Hands

Invincible Iron Man Volume 1: The Five Nightmares TPB (v. 1)

Iron Man: Demon in a Bottle (Marvel Premiere Classic)

Avengers Disassembled: Iron Man, Thor & Captain America HC

Minimates Public Service Announcement

I’d like to draw your attention to a very real problem that toy collectors may encounter.

Not all action figures know how to play nice.

Jason King

Borne out of the series Department S, Jason King was a character ahead of his time. A top secret super spy genius/author who lived out the adventures of his fictional creation, Mark Caine. A man of action and a lover of ladies, Jason King was the dandy super hero of the swinging 1960′s. But the intrigue doesn’t end there. Not just a quirky action television character, Jason King is also one of the first post-modern self-aware fictional characters… read on to find out more.

Peter Wyngarde is Jason King

Jason King was played by Peter Wyngarde, a familiar face to UK TV viewers in the 1960′s. An established character actor from The Avengers, The Saint, The Champions and of course The Prisoner, Wyngarde came into his own when he landed the part of the foppish Jason King in the ITV series Department S. Developed by Dr Who and Avengers writer Dennis Spooner and Monty Berman, Department S was typical of the outlandish action programs of the era. A member of a trio of special agents working within Interpol, Jason King served alongside two other agents solving cases deemed too ‘baffling’ for the traditional intelligence agency. A member of a trio, Wyngarde really stole the show… or did Jason King steal the show?

In any case, after 28 episodes he eared his own spin-off program in which he tried to sell his Mark Caine short stories to publishers. Throughout the program, viewers were privy to the fantastic interpretations of King’s prose, the scenes acted out as a stand-alone story-within-a-story. A mind-blowingly post-modern series, I wonder what viewers of today would make of it!

A master sleuth and lover of danger, Jason King dashed across the screens for a scant 26 episodes yet his impact was so strong that he is revered as an icon of the 1960′s. Revered and lusted after by housewives across the sceptered isle and beyond, Wyngarde crossed the line between fact and fiction as his persona at times closely resembled that of his TV character. A worldwide success, he brashly released an album of naughty songs, chief amongst them a ditty simply entitled Rape. Eat that, punk rockers.

An inspiration to comic book creators, John Byrne closely based his characterization of the X-Men villain Mastermind on the celebrity, even to the point of revealing the character’s real name to be Jason Wyngarde. Later, Grant Morrison was deeply influenced by the writer/fictional character/TV personality riddle which he played out through the character of King Mob, a member of the Invisibles who was based closely on Morrison himself. As if that were not enough, another Invisibles character Mister Six is a dead ringer for Wyngarde’s Jason King persona.

Those who missed out on Wyngarde’s hey-day may recall him as the masked villain from Flash Gordon or the 1984 Doctor Who episode Planet of Fire. Mike Meyers based his creation Austin Powers on Jason King’s exploits and over-the-top camp behavior, but make no mistake, Wyngarde is the real deal… or is it King who is the real deal?