Tag: Firefly

SDCC 2017: Quantum Mechanix’s Figures Are Cinematic Perfection

by Natalie Kipper

Quantum Mechanix is known for their intricate figures and detailed prop replicas. Their booth at San Diego Comic-Con was a glorious gallery of new and upcoming products. They also had a store in the back, where attendees could get their hands on merchandise (some of which, for the very first time).

This year’s con marked the debut of their Wonder Woman Q-Fig Max. The figure is super-detailed with a bunch of different pieces (don’t worry –  it comes pre-assembled). I loved that both Wonder Woman and her mount share the same determination in their eyes.

Q-Fig’s tendency to have a whimsical side. The Batman and Superman Friendship Q-Fig is a perfect example of that. The contrast in expressions between the two heroes is hilarious and I could not help but smile when I saw it.

There were also prototype Q-Fig’s from the world of Harry Potter on display. The Harry and Hagrid: Race for Hogwarts Q-Fig Max will be the most complex in the series to date.

The Harry Potter on the Broom Q-Fig was also impressive. Harry’s entire body as well as his broom balance on that translucent blue swirl of “wind.”

Here was a figure I never thought I would see: a Good Feathers Q-Fig. This was also a prototype.

Quantum Mechanix is also known from their plush Q-Pals line. The majority of the ones on display were prototypes, with the exception of Supernatural‘s Sam Winchester, Castiel, and Dean Winchester.

And I absolutely adore this plush Niffler from Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Funny story about this little guy: Quantum Mechanix hadn’t planned on selling it at SDCC but they received a small shipment early. Initially, they were just going to have a prototype on display. Needless to say, this adorable beast sold out before Day Three (which is when I got there). The good news is fans like myself can sign up on their site to be notified when the plush comes in-stock.

There was plenty of Firefly merchandise to be found. I could not get over how much thought and detail was in every figure. Everyone’s clothes are made of real fabric. That trait is standard for the 1:6 articulated figures but it was especially impressive in this set because of the intricacy of their outfits.

While the majority of the 1:6 scale articulated figures were based to Firefly or Star Trek but there were a few outliers. One that excited me in particular was Westley from The Princess Bride. He comes with both his masked face when he is the Dread Pirates Roberts as well as his traditional Westley face (“As you wish!”).

Star Trek saw plenty of representation at Quantum Mechanix’s booth, from prop weapons and badges to Tribble plushes to the already-mentioned 1:6 articulated figures. What I was most impressed from this series was the Captain’s Chair. It was to scale with the articulated figures and – here is the coolest part –  the buttons work! They make sounds and light-up when pressed.

The booth was also home to a 1:72 scale miniature of Star Lord’s ship, the Milano, from Guardians of the Galaxy. Once again, detail was king. For example, you could look inside the cockpit and see the seats and the control panel.

I had a blast looking at all the goods that we can expect in the future from Quantum Mechanix. You can check out more of the products on their site.

Geekscape 433: Talking A Career In TV Writing With Jose Molina!

by Jonathan

Writer Jose Molina isn’t only a member of my Dungeons and Dragons group! He has been writing for TV for almost two decades, including stints on some of your favorite shows! On this Geekscape, I sit down with Jose to talk about how he got his start, how playing roleplaying games as a kid in Puerto Rico started him down his path and what it was like writing on popular geek shows like ‘Firefly’, ‘Agent Carter’ and the newest iteration of ‘The Tick’! Plus we talk about writing some ‘Amazing Spider-Man’ for Marvel! This is a really, really good episode for you creatives! Enjoy!

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‘Firefly’ Is Back As A Dark Horse Comics Exclusive!

by S.J. Borger

Dark Horse Comics sent the Whedonverse into paroxysms of anticipation this weekend when it teasingly tweeted: “#wheresSerenity” followed by a link to their blog, which merely had the graphic below and a deliberately vague press release. They followed up with a social media blitz of concept art of Serenity herself and other links on their Twitter, Facebook and Instagram pages, all with the hash tags #firefly or #wheresSerenity until just a few hours ago, when Dark Horse confirmed the return with another tweet:

This is not a drill! @DarkHorseComics is bringing back #firefly.

Promotional media from Dark Horse for a new season of Serenity comics. Notice the floating leaf? Right in the fandom, Dark Horse, right in the fandom...
Promotional media from Dark Horse for a new season of Serenity comics. Notice the floating leaf? Right in the fandom, Dark Horse, right in the fandom…

Details are still few and far between, though speculation is that this heralds a new start for Firefly in the comic universe as a true comic series, with seasons, much like how Buffy and X-Files continued in comic book form, Or so fans hope. Donna Dickens at Buzzfeed notes; Firefly fans know how to hope.

Previously, Firefly had only been published in comic book form as mini-series or stand alone stories.

Dark Horse is promising more information in the months to come, so for now follow DH comics @DarkHorseComics and watch for #wheresSerenity and #firefly–and check back here, of course–for updates and all the Brown Coat news fit for the ‘Verse.

Source: DarkHorse

Watch A New Trailer For ‘Batman: Arkham Origins’

by Derek Kraneveldt

Briefly: Just yesterday, we saw some new Batman: Arkham Origins screenshots that gave us a great look at the game’s Batcave (among other things). Today, Warner Bros. Interactive debuted a new trailer, filled with never-before-seen footage for the anticipated title.

The trailer does a great job of garnering even more excitement for the game, and also reveals one of Black Mask’s assassins, Firefly. Take a look at the trailer below, and let us know if you’re looking forward to the game! Batman: Arkham Origins hits PS3, Xbox 360, PC, and Wii U (sans multiplayer) on October 25th!

Batman: Arkham Origins features an expanded Gotham City and introduces an original prequel storyline occurring several years before the events of Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City. Taking place before the rise of Gotham City’s most dangerous villains and assassins, the game showcases a young, raw, unrefined Batman as he faces a defining moment in his early career as a crime fighter that sets his path to becoming the Dark Knight. As the story unfolds, witness identities being formed and key relationships being forged.

New ‘Arrow’ Stills From “Burned” Give A First Look At Firefly

by Shawn Madden

This are going to be heating up when Arrow returns on January 16th. “Burned”, the first episode of Arrow  in 2013, will see Oliver Queen go head to head against DC Comics villain Firefly (played by Andrew Dunbar). This version of Firefly is a former firefighter who becomes embittered after being injured in the line of duty.  Check out some stills below giving a first look at Dunbar as Garfield Lynns aka Firefly.

Arrow returns to The CW on January 16th!

Source: Examiner

Andrew Dunbar Cast As ‘Firefly’ In The CW’s ‘Arrow’

by Shawn Madden

A few weeks back, it was rumored that another classic DC villain would be visiting Starling City. While he is primarily a Batman villain, Firefly is set to appear in a future episode of The CW’s Arrow.

Entertainment Weekly has now confirmed that the villain will make his debut on the show on its tenth episode. The episode titled “Burned” is scheduled to air in early 2013. They’ve cast actor Andrew Dunbar (Battlestar Galactica: Razor) as Garfield Lyons aka Firefly. In the comics, Garfield Lynns becomes a villain after suffering severe burns as a firefighter. We can definitely expect an origin similar to that just with a little more grounded feel to it.

Source: EW

Lionsgate & Roadside Attractions Pick Up Joss Whedon’s ‘Much Ado About Nothing’

by Shawn Madden

About this time a year ago it was revealed that Joss Whedon had completed an entire movie secretly. Yes, somehow the Whedonites didn’t even know about it. What movie was this that slipped under everyone’s radar? Well, the movie was a contemporary adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing.

Just recently the film screened at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival and it appears that Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions have acquired the film. The film starring such Whedon regulars as Amy Acker (The Cabin In The Woods), Fran Cranz (The Cabin In The Woods), Nathan Fillion (Firefly), Alexis Denisof (Buffy The Vampire Slayer), Tom Lenk (Angel) and Clark Gregg aka Agent Coulson (The Avengers) was completed in just around 12 days in Santa Monica.

Whedon commented on Lionsgate and Roadside acquiring the film:

“I’m thrilled to be working with my cronies at Lionsgate again, and with The Roadside team. That they all embrace a Shakespearean romance with the same enthusiasm they had for Cabin in the Woods shows that they’re exactly the mad fools we want to be partying – I mean working – with.”

The film will be a joint theatrical release by Lionsgate and sister company Roadside Attractions although no specific date has, as of yet, been announced.

Source: THR

SDCC Panel Round Up Part 2: Green Arrow, Joss Whedon, Breaking Bad, He-Man & More

by Eric Diaz

Being a veteran of twelve consecutive Comic Cons now, I know the drill when it comes to the big rooms, those being Hall H and Ballroom 20. The two panels I wanted to see the most that Friday were Joss Whedon and Breaking Bad, both which were back to back in Ballroom 20. So like a well trained Comic Con geek, I got in line for that room a good two and half hours early.Turns out, I didn’t need to. I walked in Ballroom 20 literally two hours early and sat through two panels I had no intention of sitting through, but were ultimately worth watching. The first being the CW’s presentation of the pilot for Green Arrow.

Green Arrow, Pilot Presentation 

So even though I’m a hard core DC Comics freak, I gotta admit I’ve never really followed Green Arrow much, although I know enough of him through reading years and years of Justice League comics. So while I’m no Oliver Queen expert, I’ll say that I know more than the average bear. And while I gotta admit I wasn’t blown away by anything in the Arrow pilot that I saw, I didn’t really hate it either. I guess I saw enough to warrant setting my DVR for at least the first handful of episodes come Fall, and then we’ll see if I give up entirely or not, like I did with Smallville.

The pilot is your basic origin story, where we see spoiled rich Oliver Queen end up on a mysterious island for five years after a ship wreck, during which time he learns to be a bad ass archer, not to mention also learns humility. It all seems only marginally better than other CW shows, but unlike say, the un aired Wonder Woman pilot, this feels like Green Arrow more or less done right. So while there is lots of room for improvement, It can improve. I have to say though, obvious uber hotness aside, I was less than impressed with our new Green Arrow Stephen Amell. He just kind of had than bland delivery that left me cold; it seemed to me the guy was cast for his face and his abs and that’s about it. Apparently, he was the first person to audition for the producers, and when they saw him, they just said “we have our guy” Uh, yeah, I really think they needed to audition more people. Just sayin’.

Also on the panel was Katie Cassidy, formerly of Supernatural and Melrose Place 2.0, who plays Laurel Lance. Now, comics fans like me know that in the comics, Green Arrow’s girlfriend is none other than Black Canary, AKA Dinah Laurel Lance. Was the omission of her first name supposed to make us think they cast Katie Cassidy to be anyone other than Black Canary in the future? Really guys? I actually liked her in the pilot, and think she’d make for a decent Black Canary, just not sure it would be in this particular project. The producers teased that other DC characters would be appearing (we already know that Deathstroke will, at some point) but they wouldn’t say who. Like I said, I’ll DVR this show for a bit, but it’ll have to be better than what I saw here for me to keep doing so long term.

Entertainment Weekly Presents Women Who Kick Ass

As a geek and a feminist, this is a panel I’m glad I attended, even if I only ended up there due to wanting to make sure I had a seat for the next two panels in Ballroom 20. Entertainment Weekly brought together some of geekdom’s current reigning women in genre television and movies, and it was quite an assemblage. The  panel featured Kristin Kreuk (Beauty and the Beast, Smallville), Nikki Reed (Twilight), Sarah Wayne Callies (The Walking Dead), Anna Torv (Fringe), Kristin Bauer van Straten (True Blood), and surprise guest, Xena herself Lucy Lawless.

True Blood’s Pam, Kristin Bauer van Straten (possibly the series’ best character, or at least the most fun)  came out in her wrecked canary yellow Wal Mart sweat suit (fans of the show will get this little in-joke) to much applause.The Walking Dead’s Sarah Wayne Callies was asked about her future on the show, considering that (SPOILERS) in the comic book version of Walking Dead, her character Lori meets a grisly fate. She answered “You don’t walk into this show thinking ’25 years and a pension!’ Someone then asked what is the most important issue concerning women today, which frankly left most of the panel like they were put on the spot, realizing no matter what they said, they’d change their minds about it later. Lucy Lawless stole the show though, as she retold the story of how she was arrested in February after she and other activists protested aboard an oil-drilling ship in New Zealand, and she then told the audience that she’s not sure what will happen to her during sentencing on Sept. 12, but admitted, “I am guilty — of trying to save the environment!”  Warrior Princess indeeed.

Fringe’s Anna Torv and True Blood’s Kristin Bauer van Straten at the Women Who Kick Ass panel.

Dark Horse Presents: Joss Whedon

Now this is the panel I was actually waiting for while sitting through the other two. I’ve been a hardcore Whedonite for well over a decade, since Buffy and Angel were fighting their weekly battles on the WB Network (RIP) And, of course, I also loved Firefly/Serenity. But add to that Joss Whedon’s run on Astonoshing X-Men, Fray, Dr.Horrible’s Sing- A- Along Blog and even to a ceratin extent Dollhouse, just based on all that alone I’d worship forever at the geek altar of one Joss Whedon. There is simply no one else out there in the pop culture landscape who knows how to combine pathos with sly wit, drama with real stakes and off the cuff humor like Whedon. Others try, and most fail.

And 2012 alone has been a banner year for Joss. Let’s be honest, he’ll probably never have another one like it, between the critical success of Cabin in the Woods and the enormous global success of Avengers. He also just finished filming a low budget version of Much Ado About Nothing, fulfilling one of his dream projects. In short, It is good to be Joss Whedon right now. As a fanboy going back now almost (gulp) fifteen years, it has made me thrilled to see him finally achieve mainstream success.

Before Joss took to the stage, Dark Horse editor Scott Allie took to the podium to promote Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 9, which Joss Whedon is the executive producer and occasional writer of, and also the Angel and Faith series which falls under the Buffy Season 9 banner. To the happiness of much of the crowd in Ballroom 20, Allie announced the return of Firefly to comics, in the first official continuation for those characters since Serenity came out in 2005. Joss Whedon will be co-writing this one with his brother Zed Whedon.

Joss Whedon holds court at Ballroom 20, wearing a Much Ado About Nothing shirt.

Then the man himself came out to thunderous applause, and deadpanned “Well it’s been an interesting year” He mentioned that he had just finished post production on Much Ado, and for the first time, had also written the score for it. “It’s a very important project to me and I can’t wait to show it to you, though I’m not sure yet how that’s going to be. If no studio picks it up, check iTunes!” I’m pretty sure he was only half joking there. He then announced his next project, which was greeted with pretty thunderous applause, the long awaited Dr. Horrible 2. After the cheering died down for this one, he talked about how he’s been working on it for about two years, and already has “a bunch of songs…we know exactly where we’re going, I can’t wait to tell you more about it.“The last major announcement at the panel was about his upcoming web series Wastelanders, with comic book writer Warren Ellis “I’m also going directly from Comic-Con to London to talk to Warren Ellis about Wastelanders; I’m very excited about what we’re doing and the way we’re distributing it ourself because it means we can put it out our way… and in order” (this being a jab at Fox and how they aired both Firefly and Dollhouse out of their correct order)

During the Q&A, he answered questions in his usual off the cuff witty style, some of them actually good questions, like now with the success of Avengers behind him, what old projects would he return to? (answer: “I’m not actually a big “go-back” guy. Even if it’s unrealized, It’s happened, that relationship has run its course. I kind of tend to look forward. So I think the next thing I create will be something I haven’t created yet. I have some ideas, I have some thoughts” This got lots of applause “I got applause for being able to think. This is the best crowd ever. Watch, I can also walk!” Even more applause. Oh, fanboys.

Lots of silly questions were then asked by fans, some even about the Zombie Apocalypse and what not, but a fan finally asked “What has stood out to you the most personally that you’ve worked on? to which Joss responded “Hopefully something I haven’t written yet! But I think “The Body” is the best episode of television I ever wrote” (Writer’s aside: I concur. Buffy episode The Body is the best thing he’s ever written.) Of course, at any panel Joss does, someone asks him about his love for strong female protaganists, and if they’re still perceived differently in the entertainment industry. The answer was something of a femenist mini-rant from Whedon; “When Buffy had been on for three years, we started pitching the animated series that never went anywhere and literally got “well she has to have a male counterpart who’s just as cool as her or we won’t do it” (They never did do it) “Until recently the industry said that about movies too, but then you get The Hunger Games. The industry will never change it’s mind until the public makes them.

When asked if he ever wanted to make a Broadway musical, after the success of the Buffy musical episode and Dr.Horrible’s Sing A Long Blog, Whedon answered “Here’s the thing… of COURSE I do. But I have too many plans….The question is do I have the time to commit to one of the largest and most difficult projects I could ever encounter.The last question of the panel came from long time Geekscapist Ashton Lauren, who asked “You’ve given so many geek moments, what was YOUR biggest geek moment?” To which Whedon answered “My biggest geek moment? Um… My life is one endless geek moment!” Amen to that sir.

AMC’s Breaking Bad

I’m a bit late to the Breaking Bad party, I have to admit (like four years late) But after hearing rave review after rave review for the series, I finally gave in and watched the entire show over the course of the past month or so. And OH EM GEE, is this show amazing. So a special thank you to every single human who’s been telling me I need to be watching this show for the past several years, because you were so right. For those reading this who are as uninitiated as I was, Breaking Bad is writer/producer Vince Gilligan’s show about a suburban high school chemistry teacher from Albuquerque New Mexico who, upon finding he has terminal cancer and no money to leave for his family, hooks up with a burn out former student of his and begins cooking crystal meth. Telling you anything else would ruin what is an amazing roller coaster ride over four seasons of television. So Netflix this puppy already, then come back and read this, because SPOILERS for the series abound in this report.

Aaron Paul, Bryan Cranston and “baby Holly” make their Comic Con entrance.

This was Breaking Bad’s first appearance at Comic Con, and Ballroom 20 was packed with howling fans who probably were wondering what took them so long to get here (I mean, if Glee is at SDCC, where has Breaking Bad been?) Almost the entire main cast showed up, including Anna Gunn, Dean Norris, Betsy Brandt, R. J. Mitte, Jonathan Banks and finally showing up on stage in their meth cook Hazmat suits (along with a baby doll in a Hazmat suit) Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul. That alone was worth waiting for this panel. When asked about the upcoming fifth and final season, Gilligan mentioned that it was hard proceeding without the character of Gus Fring, and how hard it was for the writers to let go of a character as great as he was, but Gilligan has rebounded: “In season five, we’ve got a new king. King Heisenberg.” This, as one can imagine, got a lot of reaction from the crowd.

When someone asked about breaking the stories in the writers room, Gilligan responded that “is a very organic, living process to come up with these stories.” He then gave the example of how Jesse was supposed to die at the end of season one, but that obviously changed. (I can’t imagine the show without Jesse Pinkman) The role of Hitman Mike also expanded well beyond what Gilligan planned before casting Banks, as he was only cast because Bob Odenkirk, who plays Saul Goodman, was not available for that episode and they needed someone to fill his role of clean up guy after a crime. They loved the actor so much, Hitman Mike is now a permanent fixture on the show.

Other bullet points for season five brought up during the panel; expect to hear a lot more German than Spanish this season (remember, drug kingpin Gus Fring was bankrolled by some mysterious Germans) and that the teaser at the start of season five, episode one is their most revealing teaser yet. When asked what his season was really all about, Gilligan answered “winning, what it means to stay on top.” Gilligan then spoke of Alexander the Great, and how once Alexander conquered the known world, he wept.  Cranston asks if the series will simply end on him crying. I’ll wager “probably not.”

Toy Masters and the 25th Anniversary of Masters of the Universe

After four consecutive panels, I wasn’t sure if I was up for one more…but a documentary on thirty years of Masters of the Universe was too tempting to pass up for me. When I was a little kid, between the ages of seven and twelve, I lived and breathed He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. I had every toy (and I mean every toy) and my for awhile there my sheets, pillows, and curtains were all He-Man centric. My bedroom was Eternia itself. So, even though as an adult I realize there really was nothing more to He-Man that Mattel’s efforts to sell me shit, I have a soft spot in my heart for the franchise that gave us so many beloved characters like Buzz-Off (he’s a bee, get it?) and Stinkor (he smells. Brilliant!) He-Man is forever in my DNA, as mostly stupid as it all is.

The upcoming documentary Toy Masters chronicles how this weird mish-mash of Conan the Barbarian with Star Wars became one of the biggest selling action figure lines of all time, leading into a hugely successful cartoon show, spin off series (She-Ra, Princess of Power) live action stage show (The Power Tour) and finally, at the tail end of the whole phenomena, a live action movie. A trailer for the documentary was presented at the panel, and it is clear that at the heart of this movie is the ongoing King of Kong style battle between two old guys and former Mattel employees, Mark Taylor and Roger Sweet, both who claim to have created He-Man. One calls the other’s claim at creating the franchise “unadulterated, absolute barbarian fiction” -hence, the movie’s tagline.

The panel, once again moderated by Free Enterprise’s Robert Meyer Burnett, featured people like Roger Lay, Jr. (director/producer) a He-Man kid like me growing up, Gary Goddard (director of the 1987 film) and Jack and Leslie Wadsworth (live-action He Man and She Ra from the Masters of the Universe: Power Tour), Jack and Leslie, two body buiders/stunt people who met at the Universal Studios Conan/Red Sonja show in the early 80’s and got married, were He-Man and She-Ra for the nation wide Power Tour (I never got to go this; this panel brought back memories of being an angry 11 year old)  Both happily married still, they seem happy about their time in Eternia, and even kept their prop swords, which they brought to the panel (awww) The Power Tour still apparently has the house record for the most consecutive sold out shows at Radio City Music Hall, nineteen performances. Crazy. But that’s how big He-Man was for about five years or so.

Most fascinating were the stories of making the 1987 live action He-Man movie, which is celebrating its 25th Anniversarry this year. Director Gary Goddard was on hand, and he talked about how both Cannon Films and Mattel desperatley needed this movie to be a hit; Cannon had sunk every last dime the company had on the movie, and were on the verge of bankruptcy. Meanwhile, in 1987 the toy sales for the line plummeted, and Mattel needed the movie to be a hit to justify continuing the line (the fact that the cartoon had ended making new episodes didn’t seem to occur to anyone for the toy line’s decline baffled me) Gary Goddard, a highly successful creator of theme park attractions going back to EPCOT and as recently as Spider-Man at Universal Florida, was brought in to direct what would be his only big screen feature film. What he ended up with was a movie with the largest Hollywood sound stage in forty years (Castle Greyskull) and then the rest shot in downtown Whittier, CA. on the cheap. According to Goddard, eveyone in Hollywood wanted to see the massive Greyskull set, including Michael Jackson, who asked if he could walk on the Grayskull throne room.

The movie ended up being a giant clusterfuck, Cannon folded and Mattel cancelled the line all together. Twenty five years later though, the Masters brand still strikes a chord in Generation X kids like me, and judging from how well the retro style Masters of the Universe Classics line is selling for Mattel to twenty and thirty somethings, I fully expect to see the line come back one day for real. In the meantime, Toy Masters is making its premiere at the Montreal Film Fest next month, and I can only hope real distribution comes soon, as this panel made me dying to see the final product even more.

Ok, come back tomorrow for my final panel report from SDCC 2012. All I can say is, next time, it’ll be shorter.

Joss Whedon And Dave Foley Star In This Short Written By A Five Year Old

by Shawn Madden

We all love Joss Whedon Right? Well, you may love him even more after this. While this isn’t the first time something like that he been done (see: Axe-Cop) this is a very creative short starring some quite familiar faces.

A monster, a milk truck, a S.Q.U.A.T. team leader named Gerald and an epic 7 day battle–all from the mind of 5-year-old Brett.

If still hesitant to watch just note that it was produced by Felicia Day (The Guild) and directed by Daniel Strange (The Ballad Of GI Joe)

Source: Collider

Could Joss Whedon Direct ‘Guardians Of The Galaxy’?

by Shawn Madden

So, I was reading an article on LA Times Hero Complex and came to a section where they brought up something really interesting.

Why would Whedon sign up for that? He might not. But it’s intriguing to note that Whedon made the big push to put Thanos in “Avengers” and that Warlock was one of the reasons: ”For me, the greatest Avengers was ‘The Avengers’ annual that Jim Starlin did followed by the Thing ‘Two-in-One‘ that contained the death of Adam Warlock,” Whedon told Slash Film. “Those were some of the most important texts and, I think, underrated milestones in Marvel history.”

With him having set the gears for the movie in motion could it be entirely out of the question for Marvel to pursue him to direct? Especially due to it wouldn’t be entirely new territory for him being that one of Whedon’s best known works is Firefly. Attaching his name and the Marvel studios logo would definitely fill seats. Could Whedon be the perfect choice for this film? We will have to wait and find out during the Marvel Studios panel at Comic-Con Saturday in Hall H.

Still Not Over Firefly’s Cancellation? Comic Con Has a Panel for You!

by Molly Mahan

It’s official, and we now have details! As previously reported, Browncoats everywhere can celebrate (while I roll my eyes) at San Diego Comic Con International this year for the 10 year anniversary panel of the one-season wonder Firefly panel. Panelists will include your beloved Captain Nathan Fillion, Joss Whedon, Alan Tudyk, Adam Baldwin, Sean Maher, Michael Fairman and many more! The panel will be held Friday, July 13, at 12:30 PM, and is brought you by SCIENCE (the channel, not the school subject).

Although not much of a fan of the show myself. if Gina Torres makes an appearance then I may suffer the Whedonites and try to find my way in. I love her and her work prior to Firefly and Serenity, and would love to hear what she’s currently doing.

SCIENCE will also be hosting other panels, including one for Dark Matters: Twisted But True and one about Time Travel (F’ yeah!) from the podcast Stuff You Should Know.:

TIME TRAVEL: SCIENCE FACT OR SCIENCE FICTION?  STUFF YOU SHOULD KNOW WITH JOSH & CHUCK, Thursday, 7/12/12, 4:00 p.m.–5:00 p.m.

SCIENCE presents Josh Clark and Chuck Bryant, hosts of the Top 10 iTunes podcast STUFF YOU SHOULD KNOW, as they lead a discussion about time travel with some very special celebrity guests for a live from Comic-Con taping of their podcast.  Josh and Chuck’s loyal fan following, chemistry and insatiable curiosity are core to the launch of SCIENCE’s upcoming series Stuff You Should Know, as the two pioneer the way for what likely will be more introductions of talent discovered and incubated online finding a place on new platforms.  Join Josh and Chuck and the SCIENCE team at Comic-Con for an exclusive sneak-peek of Stuff You Should Know, as well as limited edition Comic-Con exclusive giveaways from SCIENCE.

 

FIREFLY 10-YEAR ANNIVERSARY, Friday 7/13/12, 12:30 p.m.–1:30 p.m.

It has been 10 years since the crew of Serenity took flight in Joss Whedon’s short-lived but now revered series, Firefly.  SCIENCE will reconvene, for the first time in a decade, Captain Mal Reynolds and the crew from the ship, calling all Browncoats to unite at the 2012 San Diego Comic-Con.  The cast ofFIREFLY will talk about the past, present and future of Firefly, 10 years after its debut.  SHINY.

 

DARK MATTERS, Friday, 7/13/12, 7:15 p.m.–8:15 p.m.,

This summer, SCIENCE returns to the laboratory to unearth history’s most sinister tales with the second season of the breakout series Dark Matters: Twisted But True.  Join USA Today’s Brian Truitt; John Noble; Executive Producer Rocky Collins; and science historian Michael Stevens as we take a closer look at the forbidden research records on the most shocking scientific studies ever executed.  From gruesome lobotomy experiments, to controversial CIA studies, to spine-chilling accounts of live human transplants, the all-new season shows that science fact can be stranger, and even more entertaining, than science fiction.  The six world premiere episodes take audiences inside a real-life Twilight Zone, where shocking CGI re-creations illustrate unforgettable tales of genius gone horribly awry.  DDark Matters: Twisted But True premieres Saturday, July 14, at 10:00 PM (ET/PT).

San Diego Comic-Con 2012: Special Firefly 10th Anniversary Panel Announced

by Scott Alminiana

Here’s some great news for all you Browncoats out there! There will be a special Firefly panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2012 in celebration of the  tenth anniversary of the short-lived but much loved show from Joss Whedon.

Executive producer Tim Minear confirmed the panel on his Facebook page, but for now no other details have been announced.

You can be gorram sure that as soon as we have more information on this that you will be the first to know.

They are  leaves on the wind – watch how the Browncoats soar to this panel!

Source: sdccblog

Geekscape Roundtable: Fictional Characters We’d Bang… PART TWO!

by GeekscapeStaff

It’s part 2 of the most important discussion known to mankind!

Everyone has a fictional character they’d bang, whether it’s someone from a movie, a comic, or a car insurance company. So the Geekscape staff put together their top 5 lists, High Fidelity style. 

Joe Starr

Black Widow: Specifically the Iron Man 2/Avengers Black Widow. “Is that dirty enough for you?” COME ON. I actually wasn’t on the ScarJo train until Iron Man 2, and by the time the Avengers credits were rolling I was riding the train like a DJ from the Quad Cities.  Note to self: Do more things like a Quad City DJ. She’s hot, she’s tough. Plus, she’s written by Joss Whedon so you know we will have clever banter. OH the banter we will have.

Arcee from Transformers Prime: This one isn’t about sex. I mean, that happens, but I’m pretty sure that this is the first female character that I’ve found myself admiring and investing in in years. I mean, she’s amazingly strong and independent, a tough but warm woman you can’t help but respect. She’s a breath of fresh air from fake stupid pixie dream girls like The New Girl in the same way that Thor and Captain America were a nice break from ‘guys that want to focus on their photography’ for ladies. It’s not my fault she’s a robot that turns into a motorcycle that I’d have sex with.

Margaery Tyrell: Tyrell is unnervingly beautiful. She’s a subtle player in the Game of Thrones making smart moves. After all, remember what Training Day Denzel said: This is chess, it ain’t checkaz! Tyrell is a chess player. And sometimes she shows her boobs sometimes.

Emma Stone: Ok, look. Emma Stone isn’t real. She can’t be. She’s got all of the hotness Lohan had going for herself circa Mean Girls and none of the coke and coke and coke and coke. Also, she seems pretty rad. Way too rad to be real. It’s like life’s writers felt bad about Lohan and gave the world a do over. I want them to fight. It would be fucking epic. I’m pretty sure Lindsay would work as an alt dimension evil Emma, because she’s starting to get a bit of a goatee.

Kaylee Frye: Look, if we’re gonna go Pixie Dream Girl let’s at least go with one that can fix a starship with a roll of duct tape and sheer will. This chick would roll her eyes at Zooey Deschanel and then hit her with a wrench. And then have sex with me fingers crossed?

Allison McKnight

David Xanatos from Gargoyles:  Look, I’m just going to lay it all out there.  He’s hot.  Look at that stylish ponytail, that jawline and those shoulders.  And not only is he infinitely bangable, he’s a mastermind, manipulating the world to suit his visions.  He moved an entire castle!  How many men can say that?

Caesar from Xena:  Molly may have her heart-on for Ares, but we all know where it’s actually at: Caesar, as played by Karl Urban.  Oof.  Can I get that a second time.  Oof.  That is one sexy hunk of sociopathic manflesh, right there.  He can chain me up, torture me, and take over the civilized world any day.

Gregory House: It’s House, for christsake.  This is the man who walks around, scowling, picking people’s brains apart like he was ripping open a wad of cotton candy.  Gooey, emotion-filled cotton candy.  Even with only one good leg, he’s probably a better lay than… well, I’m not going to name names.

Richard B. Riddick: Sure, he’s a bit of a deviation from my usual lust for Magnificent Bastards, but have you seen those pecs?  In all seriousness, that man is a sex ninja.  That’s right: a sex ninja.  I’m talking about going through positions that normally aren’t physically possibleand he’s all bestial-hind-brain driven– you can tell by his opening narrative that he’s not just a growler, he’s a biter.

Mitsuomi Takayanagi from Tenjho Tenge:  This is a bit of an obscure character for most and, man, is his hair odd.  But when you’re an intelligent piece of beefcake that is casually manipulating people into potential deadly scenarios so you can finally bang your angry ex-girlfriend into submission… mrowr.

Russell Sherman

Jessica Rabbit: Now this is the only female character that could make me choose to be straight.  She’s sexy, loves the nerdy type and is committed to her man, sure she likes to pay patty cake but who doesn’t?  This chick is all right in my books.

Dr. Emmett Brown: Inventor of the stylish time machine, the Tardis may have a pool but it’s not a DeLorean.  Who would want to spend their lifetime traveling through time with their lover?  Doc is the whole package, he’s a creator, smart, artistic (although not always to scale) and the man can dance.

Sam and Dean Winchester: Those two have earned sex from everyone on the planet, they prevented the Apocalypse, fought the devil (and won), and are actively trying to make the world a better place even though it keeps taking everyone they care about away.  We owe them this, gay straight doesn’t matter they have earned a spit roast with you in the middle.

Merlin: He’s frikin’ magic for crying out loud, this is a man that could make all of your dreams come true.  If you want to frak on a magic carpet ride he could make it happen.  You want to ride a unicorn down the wedding isle again he could make this happen.

Wallace Wells: The gossip man who owns all the cool things in Scott’s apartment.  He’s sarcastic, Canadian and gay so this makes him the one character on this list that I’d actually have a chance with not to mention if things work out we could actually get hitched and it’d be legal.  That man is good looking in both the comics and the movie and is not afraid to speak his mind.

Matt Blackwood

Aela the Huntress from Skyrim: Face tattoos, mismatched armor, lots of skin showing- she’s like a medieval Suicide Girl. Plus, she’ll kill a storm atronach with a rusty dagger if you ask her. Of course, there is that “wet dog” issue; is there a Valtrex for lycanthropy?

Blink from Exiles: She’s brave, clever, kind. And pink. All over. Also, you never have to worry about being late again; with her portal power, you can go wherever you want INSTANTANEOUSLY! You want to step out for Chinese in Beijing? Bring a Somalian family to the never-ending pasta bowl? Get a Facebook profile pic on the Moon? Blink can make it happen. And did I mention she’s pink?

Terry Griffith from Just One of the Guys: Terry is the best kind of girl- one with balls. As a budding investigative journalist, Terry fights against the rampant sexual discrimination she faces by going undercover in drag to write an expose. She’s tough and funny and smart and willing to fight for the disenfranchised. And if you’re one of the guys who saw the flashing scene in his formative years, I don’t have to tell you what a model of physical perfection she is.

Margrethe from Job: A Comedy of Justice: While God and the Devil play their sick games with our hero (randomly dropping him in alternate realities Sliders-style in this classic Heinlein twist), Margrethe is the only constant good. The Danish stewardess is kind, understanding, and sexy. And anyone who makes sandwiches that can LITERALLY be considered heaven is worth holding on to.

The Mother from How I Met Your Mother: Like JJ Abrams, I’m obsessed with a mystery box. In 7 seasons, we’ve never actually met the mother. It’s the most misleading title since BJ and the Bear. Will we ever actually see her or is she like the alien from Contact? Is the mother just a concept, an ineffable ideal? Well, if the pedigree of Ted’s past girlfriends (including Cobie Smulders, Jennifer Morrison, and Mandy Moore) is any indication, the unseen mother is going to be totally effable.

Brian Gilmore

(Editor’s note: NSFW…It’s Gilmore)

Ariel from The Little Mermaid: Now, you can only really either go kind of masogynist or extremely masogynist on this one. Because you either have a girl that has no other choice but to go with mouth sexies all day all the time or one that’s super hot and can’t talk. She’s really willing to go a long way for you, too with the whole abandoning her people and voice thing. And she’s always pretty much topless, which is awesome. Also she wouldn’t get fat from having kids with you since they’d probably just grow in egg sacs.

This just got weird. Moving on.

Daphne from Scooby Doo: Any girl that wears a vagina-length skirt to a swamp and yet bothers to wear a scarf is fine by me. She’s also an idiot, which is awesome for a 1-night stand… I mean, they’re all idiots on that show unless every crook in the Scoobyverse is good enough at make-up design to be a contestant on Face Off. Also she’ll think you’re awesome in bed, since all she’s used to banging is one of the most infamously closeted gay characters in classic cartoon history. I always kind of assumed he was so obviously fabulous that he dressed her. One day: “gurrrl, how you wearin that fabulous purple dress with no flair?! Here, borrow one of my scarves!” Not only are her insanely hot fashion choices the thing that made me realize that legs rule, but she has red hair, and as we already established, this matters.

Tinkerbell: NO. SHUT UP. HEAR ME OUT. So, I’m not going to try to make the age-old argument of “hell yeah, I’d make her look like a lobster dinner” that you’ve heard pretty much since before we walked upright as a species and consistently every night as a child. This isn’t why we’re here. We’re all better than that. It’s because it wouldn’t entail any actual kind of P-in-V, so it’d be a one of a kind experience. Let me explain. And I’m so sorry for this. She’d be buzzing about at maximum speed all over you and everything would just kind of feel like as if Fleshlights worked themselves hands-free while you sat comfortably in a vibrating chair. She’d be the Brookstone of fictional lovers. Also, awesome fashion choice once again. Strapless dress that goes up to the fallopes even when 90% of the time she’s flying? Awesome fashion choice.

Wait. We can pick people played by actual humans?

Inara from Firefly: The only downside to this is that she might be a little disappointed because it’d be like asking a surgeon to do surgery at home (I swear to God there’s a better analogy for that). But she’s trained to do this. It seriously has to rule. Also you’d be doing it in space, which is awesome. Although technically I guess you’re always in space. But after letting her show you why only rich white dudes can afford her, assuming she’d be hosting (and yes, these are all now Craiglist casual encounters in my head), you could go down to the cockpit and play dinosaurs with Wash, as long as this was a time in which we hadn’t watched how he soared yet.

The Nun That Kate Upton Plays in the New Three Stooges Movie: I just really want to have unprotected Catholic sex with Kate Upton.

Stephen Prescott

Joan Halloway from Mad Men: Va-va-va-voom!

Winifred Burkle from Angel: She is the definition of adorkable and she’s a genius to boot. Zooey Deschanel wishes she had an ounce of the awesome that Fred has.

River Song from Doctor Who: Super smart, omnisexual and psychopathic. Everything I look for in a woman.

Irene Adler from Sherlock: Sherlock’s equal in almost every way. Also any woman who considers getting naked “putting on her battle armor” is a woman I’d like to meet.

Rose Tyler from Doctor Who: I don’t think there will ever be a time where I don’t have a total crush on Rose. I could blather on forever about how clever she is and how gorgeous she is and how much fun it would be to travel through space and time with her. I feel as though I completely understand why the Doctor loved her so much.

Jonathan London

The Cuckoos: Choices 1-3 MADE in a Greg Land drawn mind sexing! And one of them is in profile because Greg Land couldn’t find anymore three quarter model shots to trace in the Sears catalogue!

Gambit: He’s just a shithead. A bangable shithead that smells like cigarettes and strip clubs.

A bunch of pugs dressed up as Elf Quest characters: Editor’s note: JK this exists at London’s house and is not fictional.

Justin Lamb

Zuul The Gatekeeper: Dana Barrett is a triple threat. She’s a culturally affluent Manhattanite who plays the cello. She enjoys aerobics but knows when to spoil herself with a bag of Stay-Puft marshmallows. And she’s the corporeal medium for a demigod worshiped by the Sumerians and Hittites in 6000 BC. Long story short, things could get frigthful, but I ain’t afraid of no ghosts. Our safety word could be proton pack. Are you the keymaster? Yes. Yes, I am.

Pris from Blade Runner: Basic. Pleasure. Model.

Mrs. Brisby from The Secret of NIMH: I feel for Mrs. B. She is a sweet widower who wears that Pixie cut really well. She sort of reminds me of Mrs. Dawes, the 40-something woman who used to live next to my parents. Mrs. Dawes would work in her garden in a swimsuit top and khaki Mom shorts but she would still look surprisingly hot. Who knows, one night after stealing some corn from Farmer Fitzgibbons, maybe I would be cutting through her yard and oops I sprain my ankle. Mrs. B takes me inside to help me ice it down but instead things heat up. And then we put that red hood over those old photos of Jonathan Brisby.

Erin the Esurance Girl: Fearless, smart and sexy – whether she was stopping giant death-ray wielding automatons or saving me up to 25% on my auto insurance, this secret agent always sent me Thunderballing. Esurance stopped using her after she did poorly in a survey of popular corporate mascots. Despite being decommissioned though, she still fires up my Burn Unit.

An adult version of Princess Ruto from Ocarina of Time: I spent so many hours on that fucking Water Temple…I earned this.

Why I Couldn’t Care Less About Joss Whedon: Confession of a Whedonaught

by Molly Mahan

By this time, every Marvel fanboy and girl and self-proclaimed Whedonite is either hanging out in line waiting for the moment to watch the first “fade in” of The Avengers flick they have been waiting for since prepubescence (or since it was first hinted at in Iron Man back in 2008) or just about to step out of the theatre (time zones!). Since I am neither of those things, I am writing this article. I’ve been a DC girl for well over a decade, and I have never been a  Whedonite. That’s right: I am a woman who is into geek things (who even writes about the female perspective on a geek themed website) and I could not give two shits about Joss Whedon, the man who is all too often praised for his “strong female characters” and “excellent dialogue” and his ability to “revolutionize genre”, and countless other lauds that I cannot quite wrap my head around.

Before I get started, I want to make two things clear: first, I don’t hate Joss Whedon or his work. I can’t hate someone I don’t know, and his portfolio of work is okay, even marginally enjoyable at times. But it’s not great, and its hardly revolutionary. My problem surrounding the man, for the most part, rises from his fans. Which brings me to the second: when I say “Whedonite”, I don’t mean someone who generically likes Joss Whedon’s work. I mean someone who treats you like a subhuman because you don’t like Buffy.  Someone who believes that anything his name is attached to is immediately turned to gold, like he’s some branding alchemist (people like  you, perhaps, if you’re reading this and already getting riled up). It’s amazing. And if someone dare to say anything about his projects besides that it was or will be the greatest of its genre, then you are labeled a “hater” by such a person. At least that has been my personal experience since the first one reared its head, and it has especially been my  experience ever since I saw Cabin in the Woods last week (more on that later).

Joss Whedon, King of the Geeks? Sorry, I worship at a different nerd shrine.

Typically, seconds after his latest project is announced, my Twitter, Facebook, and e-mail light up with squeals of delight for something nobody knows anything about aside from the fact that one Joss Whedon is attached. It happened with Dollhouse, Cabin in the Woods, whichever Shakespeare movie he’s doing (because we need another adaptation of the Bard’s work), and, of course, The Avengers. Granted, The Avengers was masturbation material long before he was attached; nevertheless it was nerd Carnivale when his name was first thrown out there. “Joss won’t let us down~!” “O Joss, great and merciful, thou art Lord over Nerdom and earth! Thou can do no wrong! Blessed are we to be living in a generation that is filled with your mastercrafts!” Blah, blah, blah.

Give me a break. It’s a super hyped action movie that will, in all likelihood and probability, add nothing or take away anything from the canon it pertains to (except maybe kill a hero or other character that has no franchise awaiting him or her, but has some kind of fanbase–I’ll give you one guess who that might be). Loki’s in it, presumably as the main villain, and he’s already been announced as attached to Thor 2, so at best the big bad is going to elude the world’s mightiest heroes. Which is fine, but does not meet my standards of “revolutionary.” I’m not saying it won’t be fun: it has Robert Downey, Jr., in it after all, and he’s the essence of fun, in my ever-so humble opinion (spoiler alert: this whole article is just, like, my opinion, man).

Am I going to watch it? Of course I am. Tomorrow. I have work tomorrow, and a midnight showing for a film I’m barely invested in doesn’t sound appetizing. I’ll reserve that ticket for Expendables 2 or Dark Knight Rises.

But back to me not caring about Joss Whedon. For the record: I have seen everything he has cranked out since Buffy the Vampire Slayer, except for Dollhouse. The only reason I haven’t seen Dollhouse is because I’m not a Whedonite, duh, and no one has convincingly tried to get me to watch it. As far as I know, it’ll be the first thing by him that I thoroughly enjoyed. Additionally, I haven’t read his comics because, again, not a Whedonite, nor am I an active Marvel reader. If I’ve read a Marvel comic in the last five years, it’s because someone lent it to me. So I’m not going to actively seek out some Astonishing X-Men trades to appease my friends or show how pious I am to their geek god.

Buffy, like most of his work, is okay. Pretty generic and mediocre, if we’re honest with ourselves. It’s essentially another story about a girl who is in love with a vampire. Like all of those stories, she knows better (hell, she on a mission to kill them); nevertheless there’s always one whom she’ll excuse his undeadliness for and bang. Be it he has a soul or looks like Billy Idol. Either way, it’s an unhealthy, co-dependent relationship that is not becoming of a ‘strong’ female lead. The best parts of that show are the minor characters, and they all too often got annoying. I rather read an Anita Blake Vampire Hunter novel. The sex is was better.


I’m so totally turned on right now. You have my number, right?

But it’s not only his female leads who are into unhealthy relationships or making “excuses” for that one person who goes against everything they believe in. Mal Reynolds is the exact same in Firefly when it comes to Inara (who I find unbearable), only he’s man enough to not have sex with her. Regrettably, this makes every scene they share boring and predictable. “You’re a whore!” “You’re a pig!” “Let’s not have sex even though I totally want to bang you!” “That’s fine, I’m banging this guy anyway.”

Now there was a show that could have been something. And no, not in the “oh, why was it canceled after only it’s first season?!” way. I mean in a Space Cowboys way. I’m a huge fan of both genres, and really expected it to be awesome. Instead, I completely understood why Fox canceled it: because its ratings, like the show, were mediocre. You can say it was before it’s time or you could say it was poorly executed. Classic Joss!

Now, before you tell me he’s “too clever” for me or some other tripe, I’m going to tell you something: he’s not. He has good ideas, I agree. I enjoy the premise of everything he cranks out. But the method in which it’s cranked? No thank you.

Last week, I saw his latest “masterpiece”: Cabin in the Woods. I’ll admit, I was against seeing it at first. Not because of my feelings (or lack thereof) towards Whedon (I’m always hoping he’ll show me he can do more than be competent), but because I hate horror. Finally, enough people were like, “You gotta see it, zomg~! It’s like Buffy season 4” (or 5? It all blends together). So, I saw it. Guess what? It’s not a horror movie. It’s not even a satire on horror flicks–it’s an homage. And, again, like all of Whedon’s work, it has a really cool premise. It goes back to mythology and brings it to the modern day. It was a concept I was ready to get behind, but then the 2nd and 3rd acts happened and I didn’t care about anything anymore. The characters were boring, despite moderately amusing dialogue, and the twists and “revolutions” on the genre (whichever genre you could claim it was trying to be) failed to take. All the interesting stuff happened in the first five minutes. Seriously. The rest was just cute.

Especially the bits with Chris Hemsworth in it. He’s so dreamy!

This is the first movie in a long time that I had to make sure I was right about my expectations. “It was advertised as a horror film, right?” I asked a friend of mine. “It was,” he began, “but like all Joss Whedon things it never is what you expect it to be.” Now unless he means I expected it to be “good” after all the hype, then he’s right. It wasn’t what I expected; but, if I’m wrong to expect a movie to be what it’s billed as (i.e., a horror flick) then I have no idea what advertising and trailers are supposed to be about. You got me, marketers. I’m gullible. I believe all your precious lies!

So, here I go again, ready to sink into another Whedon trap. The east coast should be releasing now, while Pac-Time is about to head in, and I’m going to wage in 24hrs when I spend my money and take the time to watch it, I’ll feel much the same way as I did six day ago: a moderately clever and interesting first act that fails to get off the ground, so by the climax I’m ready to leave.

But I hope I’m wrong. Why? Because I prefer to like things than dislike them, and for once in my life I’d like to be as enthralled by something as my Whedonite friends are. It’s really frustrating to watch something because it’s been hyped up so much, and then be like, “It was okay”, which all your friends in turn take to mean you hated it.

Hey guys: hating is different from thinking something’s okay, but by the time you’re through with your little tirade on how I didn’t “get it” or can’t “appreciate” it for whatever made up reason you’ve come up with, then you better believe I hate it now.

So, Whedonites this tirade’s for you. Enjoy your mediocre storyteller. I’m not trying to take his work away from you. You can have it. All of it.

Remember folks: It’s okay to like things, just don’t be a dick about it. Otherwise, eventually push will come to shove and this happens. We’ll fight back. Now, excuse me, I need to be reminded how magical friendship can be.

Buffy-shy and, well, Spike. And a bunny. Stand back, Anya.

APRIL FOOLS! “Whedonverse” Cameos in Avengers Confirmed!

by dickson

This was an April Fools joke… you excitable Brown Coats you! Go get a hobby!

A source close to the production of “The Avengers” has let slip that a few cameos from the Whedonverse have been revealed.

Our source, who has asked to remain anonymous, confirms that director Joss Whedon has snuck in a few characters from his many shows – without the knowledge of the brass at Marvel.

“[Joss] said that since no one at Marvel was familiar with the characters, he just felt he could get away with it,” adding that they are pretty cleverly disguised and should delight fans of Whedon’s work.

So what are they?

“In a scene where there is a rush of SHIELD agents being led by Black Widow, we see “Echo” (played by Eliza Dushku in “Dollhouse”) and flanking her is none other than “River” (Summer Glau’s character from “Firefly”) – and they are kicking ass!” He adds that fanboys of Summer Glau in black leather will not be disappointed, even though the appearance is fleeting.

Other cameos:

– “Captain Malcolm Reynolds” from Firefly in a flashback scene taking place in WWII. (“He’s very clearly seen in a photograph of an old SHIELD unit”).

– A one-eyed “Xander Harris” from Buffy in a humorous juxtaposition to Samuel L. Jackson’s one-eyed Nick Fury (adds the source: “Nick [Harris] is in an old-style Nick Fury uniform, chomping a cigar”)

– Apparently one of the characters references something like “living vampires” (Mobius??) and as they go through files of potential agents to send against them, one of the images is of “Buffy Summers”. The Source says that as they are looking through the files, the agent says, “dead, dead, missing, dead” and when they get to Buffy’s picture he says, “dead to me.” HARSH! We guess things aren’t great between Joss and SMG?

It’s no secret that Joss Whedon loves to work with the same people over his many projects, so it should come as no surprise that some of his favorites have made it into his biggest movie ever.

The Avengers opens May 4th.

Is An Outdated Ratings System Hurting Our Fan-Favorite Shows?

by Matt Landsman

In the wake of the most expensive network show of all time, Terra Nova, being canceled for unspecified reasons, television fans are starting to realize that without the proper support their favorite shows aren’t safe. Fans of NBC’s critically acclaimed Community entered their darkest timeline when the spring TV schedule was posted online last November and the hit comedy was strangely absent. After ten brilliant episodes in the fall were met with dismal ratings, Community was put on hiatus until show-runner/creator Dan Harmon announced via twitter the return date of March 15th.

While I’m thankful my favorite show will be coming back (as we all knew it would), its future hangs in the balance, as in May the ultimate decision regarding a 4th season will be made by NBC higher-ups. It’s hard to imagine that a show with such a passionate fanbase could turn such low numbers.  Sadly, TV still runs functions on the archaic system of the Nielsen ratings.

What Community’s Alison Brie thinks of the Nielsen ratings system

In an ideal world, the only channels on television you’d be paying for would be the ones that you know you’re going to watch. Currently, most cable subscribers pay nearly 200 dollars on average to get a cable package, which includes not only the most basic low numbered channels, but specialty channels as well such as FX and AMC. Television connoisseurs who follow such shows as The Walking Dead, Breaking Bad, and HBO’s programming would probably be more than happy to give up extraneous channels (like Spike TV) and save money for only those which they plan to be watching on a regular basis.

The problem begins with the giant corporations such as Comcast, which doesn’t want to lose money on its cable packages.  As consistently well-received shows such as Community fall in the ratings to abysmally low numbers, we’re seeing a trend where ratings themselves mean less and less as networks try new distribution tactics.  Now the only ratings counted come from households with a Nielsen ratings box or a program recording service, so the ratings don’t even reflect the general public’s viewership.

In terms of how low a show’s numbers can get before actual cancellation, it’s worth having a look at the algorithm presented on tvbythenumbers.com, a site maintained by Bill Gorman.  Applying simple graphics to shows currently on television and going by Nielsen ratings alone i.e. registered viewership in millions, the index predicts which shows will get renewed and which will get canceled each year.  In December, when its last episodes aired, Community was hanging within the balance at a .83 on the cancel index, which meant that it was three-tenths of a point away from the “death” region of the cancel-meter.  When I tweeted Gorman about his personal thoughts on the matter he said “Regardless of its ratings this season, I figure Community gets renewed, my guess is the producers will give it away for season 4.”

Other shows have not been as lucky as Community, such as the recently canceled (and short-lived) Free Agents on NBC.  Hank Azaria, the star of the show as well as his friends begged fans on twitter to watch the show “because it might be their last chance to do so.”  It hung in the limbo of ratings going from a 2.1 to a 1.0 in under a month before cancellation respectively going from 6 million viewers to 3.

Bill Lawrence, the show-runner of ABC’s Cougar Town frequently bemoans the ratings on his twitter page under the handle VDoozer. Despite a tour of the country reaching out to the fans of the show with viewing parties, Cougar Town’s ratings are still on the low end.  Lawrence is hopeful that Cougar Town will come back up when it doesn’t have Fox’s American Idol to compete with on Tuesday night’s but he still encourages fans to spread the word about the show via twitter. “To everyone offering “to help” Don’t neglect your families or lives. Spend 22 hrs a day, TOPS, spreading word.” He joke-tweeted.

The recently cancelled and short-lived Terra Nova

There are still ways that we can show our support as fans though, by voting in online polls and promoting the shows we love much as possible telling our friends to tune in.  This is the best way of gauging interest in a show, and networks pay close attention to social media and promote shows heavily in that area.  When the FX Show Terriers was canceled last year, many signed a petition to bring it back (though this attempt has so far been unsuccessful). Until there’s a new system invented for working out ratings in a more fair and accurate sense that truly reflects the demand for a show, the most we can do is simply go crazy for our favorite programs and strive to be as feverish and rabid as all Chuck’s fans. It even worked for Arrested Development, the cultist show of all time, which is currently in pre-production of a fourth season and a movie.  Whether Community will get its #Sixseasonsandamovie remains to be seen.