Robot Chicken: Star Wars
Speaking of Robot Chicken (and yes, that is a shameless plug for my recent post), their Star Wars specials are well worth seeing. True, it seems as if everybody and their agent has done some sort of homage to the sci-fi titan (Jennifer Aniston does Princess Leia on Friends! Family Guy goes all Blue Harvest
I’ll be honest, I think that the TV show Robot Chicken, an Adult Swim stop-motion animation show (think Creature Comforts
Fortunately, though, there are plenty of hits in each of the show’s Star Wars specials (there have been two specials so far, each with a running time of about 20 minutes).
Featuring Admiral Ackbar cereal, an “Empire on Ice” show (aka, Disney on Ice but with twirling stormtroopers), Cloud City real estate agents, what Han Solo really said over the intercom during the Princess Leia rescue, touching moments between Darth Vader and Luke, such as when Vader reveals deeper truths to a skeptical Luke (”And The Force? Well, that’s just microscopic bacteria in your bloodstream called midi-chlorians…”), Darth Vader murdering an unwelcome Jar Jar Binks, and Luke and the Emperor having a “Yo Mamma” fight. That’s right.
Buffy cast reunion panel
I don’t know if you’re all aware, but (some of) the cast of Buffy the Vampire Slayer had a reunion last year at an event called the Paley Festival. Believe it or not, I actually have a friend who attended this star-studded event (I lost her to Hollywood a long time ago…). Of course, this was the one panel she didn’t attend. No accounting for taste. But her countless photos of everything non-Buffy at the festival just made me want to see the full session even more. I tried YouTube, but only short, highly grainy clips seemed to be available, and I couldn’t find it on iTunes. Naturally, I didn’t even think to look for a DVD version. (Yes, duh, I know.)
Well, the holidays to the rescue. I got it as a gift! Without even asking for it! I have the best friends… Anyway, I watched it today and, since it’s purchasable pop culture, I just had to write about it. (Just as an aside: if you haven’t watched all of Buffy, and plan to, you probably don’t want to buy this, as it does, not surprisingly, contain many, many spoilers.)
So, details…
Buffy sings! Once more, with feeling…
Any committed Buffy the Vampire Slayer fans on your holiday shopping list? Then this is what I would recommend, something they might not already have in their possession:
This album, with music from a “very special episode” of the show Buffy the Vampire Slayer, is dramatic, often corny, and features lots of superhumanly good-looking people (double entendre intended) singing their under-coached lungs out. So perfect for the holidays. And certainly more reasonably priced than the Wii Fit. You can buy the MP3 download
Okay, that’s all well and good, you might ask, but what exactly is this?
One of the awesomest Hollywood memorabilia auctions EVER
Recession, shmecession: on December 11th, some of the coolest Hollywood TV and movie items go on sale, and if you can afford it, you may want to seriously think about joining in on the rampant spending.
Indiana Jones’s fedora? Check. Luke Skywalker’s lightsaber? Check. Clark Kent suit worn by Christopher Reeve? Check. Magic wand from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and Joker card used in The Dark Knight? Check and check. And for the most part, it’s all stuff that was actually worn or used on set.
Even if you can’t buy any of it (sigh, like me), looking through what’s available is just plain fun. The Telegraph has a nice slideshow of a few of the items available, but if you really want to see what’s there, go to the auction’s official site to browse through the 400 or so items up for bidding.
For example, here is some of the stuff not mentioned in the slideshow:
Legend of the Seeker = Terry Goodkind (Who knew?)
I’m sure right now some of you are saying: “You’re an idiot. I knew that like months ago, at least since Comic Con.” And yes, I may be slow, but how exciting is this?? If you can’t already tell, I’m a huge fan of Goodkind’s epic series. Wizard‘s First Rule, the first book in the series, is one of my all-time fantasy favorites, and I’m a big fantasy reader.
It’s the story of a young man, Richard, who discovers his true destiny (to be awesome) and his true love on a quest to prevent the dark Lord of D’Hara from… Well, okay. It’s not a new story, sure, but when was it ever original? The Epic of Gilgamesh?
Bones
Agent Booth fans: want to see how it all started? Check out the episode Angel or one of the first two episodes from season 1 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer for some hilarious, early attempts at acting from a radically cheekbone-ier David Boreanaz (Agent Seeley Booth on the crime show Bones), who got his start playing the moody vampire (and, of course, irresistibly mysterious) Angel on Buffy. They’re all available for free on hulu.
If you don’t want to work your way through a whole episode, here’s a fun sample from the second episode of season 1:
I have to say that (and Angel fans, I’m sorry in advance – no death threats, please) I do prefer David Boreanaz as Seeley Booth rather than as Angel; he just seems much more at ease playing a cocky, sarcastic, jock FBI agent, than a dour, emotionally torn, ethically ambiguous, butcher shop regular vampire. You know, more like the no-fear, “let it all hang out,” dancing goof seen in the previous post on Angel.
Speaking of which, more of that on Bones, please!
The case for season 5 of Angel
But what about Buffy’s spinoff, Angel, starring David Boreanaz as the titular vampire with a soul? The occasionally acknowledged series that’s still, let’s face it, the relation that’s forgotten at Christmas?
Angel started after season 3 of Buffy. It punched out a few seasons: the comparatively weak season 1 (highlights include episodes that feature Gellar and other Buffy cast members), the richer and darker and often quite depressing seasons 2 and 3, and the “love it or loathe it or just not know what to do with it” season 4, which does at least feature a great season premiere.
With all that out of the way, however, Angel could focus on what really mattered: season 5, unfortunately also the final season of the show (total injustice). Season 5 takes a completely different tack. In this season, Angel’s working for the wrong side of the tracks (i.e., evil). Many of the scenes actually take place in daylight – filtered daylight of course, since otherwise, Angel the vampire would be a pile of ash, which, you know, might backfire in the ratings. Season 5 is also lighter in a figurative way; there are physical gags, silly and often quite campy situations, numerous buddy comedy moments (think The Odd Couple
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string theories
What line of work you in, Bob?
- Ryan the Temp to "Bob Vance, Vance Refrigeration" at The Office's Christmas party
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featured brown paper packaging
What is it with accessories and DVD sets these days? Are knick knack companies going through some rough times? Or are studios just really desperate to sell DVDs? (Probably the latter.) First there was A Christmas Story (Ultimate Collector's Edition), with its cookie cutters, recipe book, apron, commemorative Christmas tin... (Whoa, I know.)
And now there's The Notebook (Limited Edition Gift Set), which comes with a scrapbook album (with stickers!), notecards, envelopes, and "themed" bookmarks. But... wait for it... no new DVD extras or features! So totally worth it. Check out Entertainment Weekly for the lackluster DVD set review (a grade of D - harsh). Or, even better, Amazon's video montage of the contents, set to the soothing, Jane Austen movie-esque sounds of The Notebook's theme music. Hey, they know their audience.
