Entries Tagged 'Cartoon Network' ↓

Fans who have been eagerly awaiting the DVD release of the original Banana Splits Adventure Hour series are about to get a surprise. Beginning Sept 2, 2008, Cartoon Network and Boomerang will debut all-new shorts with Fleagle, Bingo, Drooper, and Snorky. This is phase one of a multi-platform release, meaning that the much anticipated DVD will soon follow. We’ll have exclusive sneak peeks at the shorts later this week. In the meantime, check out their new site BananaSplits.com

As is often the case with the behemoth known as Comic Con, things are constantly changing. As a result, I didn’t get to everything I had planned for the day. But, what I did cover was well worth the time investment.

Started the day by interviewing William Katt on the rebirth of the Greatest American Hero franchise, as unveiled at Thursday’s packed panel discussion with special guests Robert Culp and Connie Sellecca. With the blessing of series creator Stephen J. Cannell, Katt’s publishing company, Catastrophic Comics, will bring the series to comic book form by retelling the original pilot (with a few modern updates) and then proceed to fill in the gaps with many more tales of Ralph, Bill, Pam, and the suit. They’ll also be doing flash animation shorts, with Bob, Connie, and William voicing the characters. I’ll have the full interview for you shortly.

From there, it was over to the Marriott for a sit down with three of the original MST3K creators, Joel Hodgson, Jim Mallon, and Trace Beaulieu. Getting there early, I got to hang out while UGO did their on-camera interview, providing a little more insight into the show’s history. Then it was my turn for a less formal discussion, which ranged from the series origins to the nuts and bolts of what it took to create the show week in and week out. This was without a doubt the highlight of the day. At the moment, the interview is half transcribed, so with any luck I’ll have it for you before the end of Saturday.

Back to the convention center for Entertainment Weekly’s Showrunners panel, featuring producers Bryan Fuller (Pushing Daisies), Carlton Cuse (Lost), Damon Lindelof (Lost), Josh Schwartz (Chuck), and Josh Friedman (Sarah Connor Chronicles). As you might imagine, it ended up being very Lost-centric, but everyone seemed to find the humor in it, and we got some great insights into the other shows as well. The one Lost tidbit I wasn’t aware of is that the demise of Mr Eko was not according to plan. Apparently, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje came down with a severe case of island fever (the stir crazies) and wanted out of his contract, forcing Damon and Carlton to end Eko’s storyline long before they had originally planned. On the Sarah Connor front, Josh explained the casting of Brian Austin Green happened at the very last minute, less than a day before the character was schedule to shoot, and the entire staff thought Josh was insane for hiring him. Luckily for him, the move paid off in spades. And with regards to Pushing Daisies, the new season will pick up 10 months after we last saw our heroes, with all of them still desperately holding onto their respective secrets now tearing them apart. I’ll have the full report for you shortly. In the meantime, check out TV Verdict’s Twitter feed for live highlights of the discussion (typos included).

After taking a break from the festivities to work on transcribing, I sat in on the Robot Chicken panel and man are those guys nuts. Seth Green and Breckin Meyer have the greatest rapport of two friends I have ever seen, and the rest of this cast of characters are a comedy series unto themselves. Highlights from this discussion include teases for what to expect in Season Four — Tentacle porn; A war between the Smurfs and the Snorks; a second Star Wars special with Carrie Fisher; guest appearances by Joss Whedon and Ron Moore; and an unseen behind-the-scenes look at the making of Indiana Jones. You know, they’ve repeatedly asked Harrison Ford to appear on the show, but his agent (who has been repping him since the early ’70s) had no idea what the show was and was floored that there’s an entire network dedicated to cartoons. Again, head over to the Twitter feed for more highlights and stay tuned for a full report. Oh, and just remember, if anyone asks, Breckin wrote the Emperor Palpatine sketch.

Finally, we closed the day with the MST3K 20th Anniversary Celebration, featuring all 11 creative contributors to the series’ 11-year run. The well documented split between the gang still seems somewhat palpable, with Joel, Jim, and Trace seated to one side of the podium, while Mike, Kevin, Frank, Mary Jo, Josh, Bill, Brigid, and Paul were on the other. Not to make more out of this than there is, it’s just interesting to see the interactions between them all. Hosted by Patton Oswalt, the evening opened with a musical montage and clips, followed by a moderated discussion. No questions were taken from the audience though, which was a bit disappointing. Kevin and Frank ended up talking the most, with Mike and Josh saying the least. It may be strong of me to say the evening was a letdown, but given my talk with the guys earlier in the day, perhaps my expectations were too high. In any case, the 20th Anniversary DVD set will be released October 28 by Shout! Factory and include four never before released episodes — First Spaceship On Venus, Laserblast, Werewolf, and Future War — four lobby cards, a Crow figurine, and the bonus materials I mentioned earlier, much of which is being recorded this weekend. I’ll have a more robust summary for you, alongside the interview later this weekend.

Preview for Day Three:
* Jamie Bamber interview
* Interviews with cast and crew for DC’s next animated feature — Wonder Woman
* Lost, BSG, Pushing Daisies, and Fringe presentations (time and crowds permitting)
* TV Guide Fall preview

I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again – Ben 10 is the best comic book currently on television. It’s about a young kid who can turn himself into any one of 10 (or more?) super-powered aliens, which he does to battle alien invaders and sinister crime lords. I was skeptical at first, because it appeared the show was nothing but one of those “created only to sell toys” cartoons. Fortunately, though, the Ben 10 creators came up with stories that not only had a lot of action, but real character development, witty dialogue and fun new superhero universe to explore.

I was skeptical again when Cartoon Network announced Ben 10: Alien Force. Aging the characters from kids into high school was one thing, but tossing out all of Ben’s aliens in favor of 10 new ones? It looked to me like the show was about to rocket-pack over the monstrous shark-like mutant. Fortunately, a few weeks into the run of this new Ben 10, I’m happy to report that the same Ben 10 spirit is still here, and this is still one really fun cartoon.

The season began with Ben’s alien-hunting grandfather, Max, disappearing without a trace. Ben and his cousin Gwen soon learn that alien activity on Earth has increased sharply. Believing quite rightly that these two events are connected, Ben once again dons the Omnitrix, the device that allows him to transform into weird-but-cool aliens, in the hopes of finding Max and saving the world. Gwen, who has continued to develop her Willow Rosenberg-style magic powers, is along for the ride, as is former bad guy Kevin 11.

At the conclusion of the season premiere, Ben coldly states, “the training wheels are off.” Max’s disappearance is not just the ongoing arc of this new season, it also gives Ben and company the chance to fight the good fight on their own, without their alien-expert grandfather watching their backs. Without Max, it’s up to our three heroes to find out what the bad guys are up to and how to stop them, with no one else to rely on but each other. This adds an exciting new element to the show, and it genuinely feels like the characters are learning and growing with each new episode. Add to this character-based episodes like Ben’s awkward romance with cute tennis star Julie, or Gwen discovering some enlightening secrets about her grandmother, and it’s clear that Ben 10: Alien Force is more than just lowest common denominator junk food TV for kids.

Oh, and let’s not forget all that stuff about aliens punching each other and destroying stuff. I don’t know if any of Ben’s new aliens will become as iconic as Heatblast, Four Arms or Upgrade became during the original show’s run, but I can already tell that unbelievably massive Humongosaur is primed to become the show’s new star. And why shouldn’t he? He’s called “Humongosaur,” for cryin’ out loud.

So, yeah. They’ve managed to update the show without ruining it. I’m impressed, and I’m looking forward to where the rest of the season is going. And if you like good old-fashioned superhero stories in the traditional Lee/Kirby style, give Ben 10 and Ben 10: Alien Force a shot.