By Rob Siebert
Editor, Fanboy Wonder

A television series based on the DC Comics character Green Arrow is reportedly in development at the The CW network.

Attached to the show as writers and executive producers are Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim and Andrew Kreisberg. Berlanti and Guggenheim worked as writers on last year’s Green Lantern feature film. Guggenheim has written numerous titles for DC over the years, and Kreisberg penned several issues of Green Arrow/Black Canary, as well as Batman: Condifential. 

No word has been given yet on whether Justin Hartley, who played the character on Smallville, might reprise his role.

The Green Arrow character made his debut in 1941′s More Fun Comics #73. Oliver Queen is a billionaire who leads a double life as an archer/superhero. Over the years the character and his supporting cast have evolved in a number of ways. He’s been in the center of political/socially conscious stories in the ’70s, found out his young sidekick Speedy was a heroin addict, been killed off and brought back to life, become mayor of his hometown of Star City, and even married to his longtime love Black Canary. Last year the character was reinvented as part of DC’s “New 52″ initiative.

Image from filmbuffonline.com.

*** WARNING: Spoilers abound for season 6 of Dexter***

TITLE: Dexter
STARRING: Michael C. Hall, Jennifer Carpenter, Colin Hanks, Edward James Olmos, Desmond Harrington
EPISODES: 12
NETWORK: Showtime
FINALE DATE: December 18, 2011

By Rob Siebert
Editor, Fanboy Wonder

Yep, that was a cliffhanger right there.

If Dexter has proven anything in its six-year run on Showtime, it’s that it has a knack for delivering pulse-pounding cliffhangers. That trend continued this year, as Dexter rushed to save the day from Travis, who was holding his son Harrison hostage. But the true pulse-pounder didn’t come until the last 10 seconds of the episode, when the series reached a moment it’s been building up to since the beginning: Dexter’s sister Deb, the most honest and straight-laced cop you’ll ever meet, discovers her brother is a murderer as she sees him plunge a knife in Travis’ torso. All Dexter can bring himself to say is: “Oh God…” Then we cut to black.

This is obviously very similar to what they did during the final moments of season 4, when Dexter found his wife Rita dead in a bathtub. In terms of status quo shattering consequences, this moment is bigger than that one. But from the standpoint of artistic quality, it wasn’t as well done as season 4. For one thing, season 4 was without question the best the show has ever been. It had the best villain, Harrison was in Dexter’s life for the first time, and the story was so compelling it was almost addictive. Rita’s death was preceded by an excellent season of television. Deb’s discovery was preceded by a season that was strictly good. Like season 5, it had it’s moments, but we’ve seen better from Dexter. Also, viewers were completely blindsided by Rita’s death. Deb learning Dexter’s secret seemed to have been building for awhile, at least as far back as the finale of season 5. It still packed a hell of a punch, but I was able to brace myself for it.

One of the big themes this season revolved around religion, and how it can inspire people to do things that are both great and terrible. This was personified with the Brother Sam character, a murderer turned minister, as well as Professor Gellar and Travis, two killers who base their murders on religious texts. Toward the beginning of the season, Dexter ponders redemption quite a bit. He usually subscribes to the idea that a leopard can’t change his spots. But Brother Sam appears to have done just that using the power of faith. This leads Dexter to wonder whether he can will himself to change, and finally quiet his dark passenger. It’s interesting to see Dexter ask these questions, though I thought the character had put those sort of thoughts out of his mind back in season two, when he stop killing as if it were an addiction. Granted, he’s in a much different place now than he was then, and I suppose ridding yourself of the need to kill people is always a task worth attempting.

The Deb character evolved a great deal this season, not only by stepping into the lieutenant role, but by getting herself into therapy to sort out what a mess her life has been in recent years. Deb settled into that role about as neurotically and uncomfortably as we expected her to. But during episode 11 her story took a very awkward swerve. In therapy, Deb came to realize that she has developed complex romantic feelings for Dexter (remember, they’re foster siblings). She’s about to verbalize those feelings to him when she discovers he’s a killer. This struck me as an extremely odd direction to take her character. Deb spent much of the later half of the season analyzing her relationship with Dexter, and how important he is to her. But why did that have to lead to a romantic twist? Yes, a lot of terrible things have happened to Deb in recent years, and Dexter has always been there to support her. But he’s still her brother. Blood or not, developing an incestuous fixation on Dexter doesn’t necessarily place Deb in a favorable light. Might that happen in real life? I suppose. But for the purposes of a TV show, it left me scratching my head.

In terms of villainy, while Colin Hanks and Edward James Olmos weren’t on par with John Lithgow’s performance as the Trinity killer in season 4, they proved very worthy adversaries. Hanks in particular came off very strong this season, as his character underwent the most radical changes. Professor Gellar’s status as a figment of Travis’ imagination was a pleasant surprise, and made the Travis character look that much more twisted. I always enjoy when storytellers are able to do that. For most of the season we were rooting for Travis, thinking he was a victim of Gellar’s manipulation. As it turned out, the opposite was true. Travis was the mastermind and Gellar was the victim. Hanks and Olmos deserve a lot of credit for pulling that dynamic off.

The show trimmed some fat this season. Deb’s relationship with Quinn was ended, as was the marriage between Batista and LaGuerta. In response, Quinn turned to the bottle and Batista underwent a bit of a mid-life crisis. Oddly enough, LaGuerta really turned heel this season, returning to some of her puppetmaster antics from season 1. She softened up a bit during the last two episodes, but overall she was a villain this season. It was a complete switch from what her character has been like in recent years.

I’m confused about the Louis Greene character, and his possession of the prosthetic hand from the Ice Truck Killer case in season 1. He got the hand through shady means, then Dexter hurt his feelings…so he sent the hand to Dexter’s apartment? Why? How does he benefit from Dexter having the hand? Yes, Dexter and the Ice Truck Killer have a very deep connection: They were brothers. But Louis doesn’t know that. What’s the point? Am I missing something? I’m wondering if this is a loose end they’ll dive into again next season.

The “Nebraska” episode from this season catches a bit of heat in the current issue of Entertainment Weekly. Aired mid-season, the episode takes place after Brother Sam is shot and killed, and Dex deals with the loss by driving to Nebraska to find Trinity’s son Jonah, who may have just murdered his mother and sister. Along for the ride is Brian, Dexter’s deceased brother/the Ice Truck Killer, who is merely a figment of Dexter’s mind. The episode really did nothing to further the story, and Dexter seemed to act largely out-of-character, shirking his responsibilities and even killing on a whim. It wasn’t outright harmful, though. And it was nice to see Christian Camargo back as Brian, if only for a little while.

We didn’t get to see Dexter ponder his own righteousness as much as I was hoping for this season, though we did get a nice little monologue from him when he finally got Travis on his table. Still, I thoroughly enjoyed the religion/spirituality theme this season. Who better to ponder the virtues of the universe than a man who kills for what he believes are just causes?

All in all, a good season. Not great, but good. Next season we’re obviously in for big changes. Deb knows Dexter’s secret now. Will she be able to live with it, as she does in the books? Or will this sudden revelation send her over the edge? How much trauma can one person truly endure?

Perhaps that’ll be the big theme for next season…

Front page image, and images 1 & 2 from dextergr.blogspot.com. Image 3 from dexter.wikia.com. 

***WARNING: This post contains spoilers for the current season of The Walking Dead.***

By Rob Siebert
Editor, Fanboy Wonder

Well, at least they finally found Sophia.

That was the main thought swirling through my head following this week’s mid-season finale of AMC’s The Walking Dead. Like some of the folks I’ve talked to about the show since it’s return, I’d grown tired of the story and longed for them to just find her already. Still, the story served it’s purpose in that it gave the characters a reason to stay where they were, and allow the drama between them to play out.

Loosely based on a story arc that played out in the comics, this season saw Rick and Lori’s son Karl mistakenly shot by a deer hunter. The hunter leads the group back to a farm owned by Hershel, a conservative traditionalist who believes the walkers (a.k.a. the zombies) are simply sick people, as opposed to undead killing machines. All the while, Sophia has gone missing after being chased off during a walker attack. Her mother Carol is grief-stricken as the party searches for her while staying at the farm. While many in the party would be content to stay at the farm permanently, Herschel is intent on them leaving in the near future.

While on a search to find Sophia, Rick’s best friend and former cop Shane shoots Otis (the hunter who shot Karl) and leaves him for dead so that he can survive an attack. This in turn brings out a more dangerous, merciless side to Shane, which conflicts with Rick’s tendency to try and negotiate with Herschel. which races to the forefront when he discovers that Herschel’s family has been hiding zombies in their barn in hope of a cure one day being available for them. With everyone looking on, Shane breaks open the barn, and what is essentially a mass execution follows, as the walkers are shot one by one. Then, to their horror, a zombified Sophia emerges from the barn. Rick, taking a page from Shane’s book, takes on Sophia himself.

Amidst all of this, Rick’s wife Lori is pregnant.

Needless to say, there’s a lot going on here. But you’d be surprised at how often this show can be rather dull. I suspect that’s a product of the show being given more time this season, with 13 episodes in stead of six. I’m all for that, as I love long form storytelling. But when you have trouble holding your audience’s interest, the product suffers. But AMC also has to shoulder some of the blame, as they’ve been doing a decent amount of cost cutting on the show recently, which has led to fewer zombie scenes, as well as more time spent in the confines of Herschel’s farmhouse. Those factors, combined with the growing pains that TV shows simply have to face sometimes, have led to this season a bit watered down compared to last year.

The comic book, as great as it is, can be the same way some times. That’s why I have trouble reading it an issue at a time. It’s sometimes difficult for the book to hold my interest on a month-to-month basis, especially now that many of the characters we started with (many of whom were the inspiration for the characters we’re seeing on the show) are gone now. When I read an entire Walking Dead graphic novel, it’s fantastic. When I read a single Walking Dead issue, it can be hard to stay focused.

Still, they payoff for all the build up was certainly worth it. For some reason, I thought the group was going to find Sophia alive and well. That’s a sort of hope that usually isn’t rewarded in this world of zombies and mayhem. The fact that she was in Hershel’s barn the whole time was a delightfully cruel twist of fate. Though they were tirelessly combing the woods for her, she was with them the whole time. I’ve greatly enjoyed the relationship between Glenn and Maggie, as those two actors have great chemistry together. The Daryl character, who doesn’t exist in the comics, is also interesting to watch. The episode where he gets injured in the woods and has to survive on his own for awhile is among the season’s highlights thus far. Andrew Lincoln, Joe Bernthal and Sarah Wayne Callies continue to give fantastic performances, providing the show’s conscience and emotional anchor. Scott Wilson is also the perfect choice to play Hershel.

All in all, the show is still pretty good. But it requires more patience than it used to. For (*ahem*) die-hard fans of the comic, and now the show, that shouldn’t be a problem. And so long as the payoffs stay as good as they were for this mid-season finale, it won’t be a problem for me either.

All images from amctv.com. 

By Rob Siebert
Editor, Fanboy Wonder

NBC has ordered the production of a pilot for a reboot of the classic ’60s TV show, The Munsters.

Developed by Bryan Fuller, creator of Pushing Daisies, the show is being billed as a visually spectacular, imaginative reinvention of the original. Conceptually, the characters will reportedly remain the same.

The Munsters, which ran from 1964 to 1966 on CBS, starred Herman Munster, a Frankenstein-type monster created by the vampiric Grandpa Munster to be the ideal mate for his daughter Lily. Together, they have a werewolf son named Eddie. The couple’s niece Maralyn, who has no monstrous characteristics, also lives with them.

Source: Yahoo!

By Rob Siebert
Editor, Fanboy Wonder

Amid controversy over using a gay slur at the recent premiere of Tower Heist, Brett Ratner has stepped down as the producer for February’s 84th Annual Academy Awards telecast.

At the premiere, Ratner remarked that “rehearsal is for fags,” which landed him in hot water. Ratner also discussed the size of his testicles, and an alleged sexual encounter with Lindsay Lohan during a recent radio appearance with Howard Stern, which did him no favors.

Ratner released the following public statement:

Over the last few days, I’ve gotten a well-deserved earful from many of the people I admire most in this industry expressing their outrage and disappointment over the hurtful and stupid things I said in a number of recent media appearances. To them, and to everyone I’ve hurt and offended, I’d like to apologize publicly and unreservedly.

As difficult as the last few days have been for me, they cannot compare to the experience of any young man or woman who has been the target of offensive slurs or derogatory comments. And they pale in comparison to what any gay, lesbian, or transgender individual must deal with as they confront the many inequalities that continue to plague our world.

So many artists and craftspeople in our business are members of the LGBT community, and it pains me deeply that I may have hurt them. I should have known this all along, but at least I know it now: words do matter. Having love in your heart doesn’t count for much if what comes out of your mouth is ugly and bigoted. With this in mind, and to all those who understandably feel that apologies are not enough, please know that I will be taking real action over the coming weeks and months in an effort to do everything I can both professionally and personally to help stamp out the kind of thoughtless bigotry I’ve so foolishly perpetuated.

As a first step, I called Tom Sherak this morning and resigned as a producer of the 84th Academy Awards telecast. Being asked to help put on the Oscar show was the proudest moment of my career. But as painful as this may be for me, it would be worse if my association with the show were to be a distraction from the Academy and the high ideals it represents.

I am grateful to GLAAD for engaging me in a dialogue about what we can do together to increase awareness of the important and troubling issues this episode has raised and I look forward to working with them. I am incredibly lucky to have a career in this business that I love with all of my heart and to be able to work alongside so many of my heroes. I deeply regret my actions and I am determined to learn from this experience.

Sources: Entertainment Weekly, The Christian Post

By Rob Siebert
Editor, Fanboy Wonder

For the most part, I can’t stand MTV. I consider it to be one of the main contributors to the stupidity of the average American. In small doses it’s harmless enough, but if you spend hours and hours watching that drivel your brain will turn to pudding. Seriously folks, MTV will make you stupid.

Still, when I was in junior high an MTV show captured my imagination, and I’ve been hooked ever since. Ironically, some would consider it the most mind-numbing show the network has ever produced: Beavis and Butt-Head. I must have been the most annoying middle-schooler ever. I was always doing the voices, I had a “Tommy Pullmyfinger” t-shirt, I even had a couple of plush Beavis and Butt-Head dolls. There’s just something familiar, and thus funny, about their reckless idiocy. Thus, I was thrilled when it was announced that the show was being revived on MTV. The show has been back for a couple of weeks now, and I’ve been watching with great interest.

The first episode of the revived series saw the boys attempt to become vampires/werewolves a la the Twilight movies so they can pick up girls. But things go south when the “werewolf” they’re bitten by turns out to simply be a diseased homeless man. Later in the episode, Butt-Head catches Beavis crying after sniffing an onion and gives him hell for it. In the second episode, our heroes see an old-time movie where a character asks for a woman’s “hand” in marriage, and they take it completely the wrong way. In the second half, they work as computer tech support workers via the telephone and unintentionally wreak havoc.

I absolutely loved the first episode. It made me laugh out loud four or five times. The second episode was solid, but not as successful in the laughter category. I think much of that has to do with the novelty of seeing a new Beavis and Butt-Head episode for the first time in over a decade. There’s nothing about having the boys get bitten by a diseased homeless man that’s somehow creatively superior to having them do tech support. But the fact that we missed them made us a friendlier audience for the first go-around. Realistically the episodes were about the same quality. The show is about as good as it was in the ’90s, which is fine. That’s certainly better than if it had aged dramatically.

As a kid, the cartoons featuring Beavis and Butt-Head were always my favorite parts of the episode. But as an adult, I find myself more attracted to their music video commentary, which has now expanded to include commentary on TV shows like Jersey Shore and 16 and Pregnant. Mike Judge’s stream-of-consciousness riffing is really awesome to listen to. He doesn’t always hit his mark, but when he does it’s awesome. In addition to the different MTV shows, the boys have watched videos from artists like LMFAO and Katy Perry.

One thing Mike Judge deserves a lot of credit for is that he can take simple statements and make them funny simple because his characters are saying them. For instance, there’s a line in the first episode where Butt-Head says: “It’s okay to cry. Crying takes the sad out of you.” I just about lost it. Judge manages to hit all the right inflections to turn even the most random phrases into comedic gold.

It’s been said that Beavis and Butt-Head is like the blues, in that it’s the same thing every time but you really never get tired of seeing it. Even though I’m certainly not the same junior high kid I was when I met these two dumbasses, I’m still not tired of them. Does that speak to the quality of brain I’ve got in my head? Maybe, maybe not. Either way, I’m glad they’re back.

Front page image from mtv.com. Image 1 from header.com, image 2 from geekyrant.com, image 3 from tvworthwatching.com. 

By Mikhail Shevchenko
Contributor

Bloodless yet informative, the latest episode of Dexter showcases Professor Gellar’s past and Marshall’s involvement in their apocalyptic rampage.

This recent episode, while tame with regards to bloodshed, was filled with details of how Gellar and Marshall work and exactly what it is that Travis Marshall brings to the table. In a confrontation with Dexter, Travis, who turns out to be a former student of Gellar’s, reveals that he was too squeamish to kill any of the victims himself. This spares him from Dexter’s table and further demonstrates to Dexter to influence faith can have on a person. Since the first episode of the season Dexter has been becoming more understanding of the power that faith can have on people. I’m sure the time he’s spent with Brother Sam and seeing how a “shepherd’s” guidance can affect one’s “flock” played a role in Dexter’s stay of execution for Marshall.

While I’m on the topic of Brother Sam I have to say I’m kind of glad he got shot.  That means that Dexter’d on the hunt and relaying his own special brand of justice.  It hasn’t been too frequent that we’ve seen Dexter kill this season. So far Dexter has only killed four times this season and two of those times were in a single episode. It is, however, interesting to note that none of Dexter’s kills were identical or followed his usual modus operandi. He’s been improvising more and more this season and I for one am looking forward to seeing how he’ll dispose of his next victim.

One thing that I’ve been enjoying seeing this season is the dichotomy between the types of religious men Brother Sam and Professor Gellar are. What is even more compelling are the similarities in how each cares for their followers. While the two have drastically different interpretations of how God works the two nonetheless care for those that follow them, Gellar shows his dedication to his pupil by continuing to hunt for victims even though the local media in Miami is publicizing his involvement in the killings. On that note I have to say that him yelling “he’s not bigger than god” while making Marshall run over a couple is one of the most badass things I’ve ever seen on television.

One thing that was noticeably absent from this episode was Ryan the intern.  It seems that Masuka and his former intern aren’t getting back together anytime soon. That’s a shame because I think Ryan brings out the creep in Masuka and creepy Masuka is hilarious. We get to see more hijinks courtesy of Quinn and Batista as they further investigate the Doomsday Killer.  Quinn screwing a key witness in the investigation is going to create some blowback for the department. This is going to be the first test of Deborah’s mettle since she’s ascended to the rank of lieutenant and regardless of how she deals with it LaGuerta is going to use this to her advantage somehow. L Guerta’s another character that hasn’t been too visible as of lately.  I can’t say that I miss her too much; I was never a fan of underhandedness when it came the politics of her job.

I’d have to say that the best part of the episode was the preview of what to expect next week.  The pacing of this latest addition of Dexter seemed a little slow, although it did add gravitas to the telling of Gellar’s past and further showing the dynamic between him and Marshall. I can’t wait to see what next week brings us and what kind of biblical scenes we’ll see recreated next.

Images from dextergr.blogspot.com.

By Mikhail Shevchenko
Contributor

The latest South Park brought a healthy blend of bros, blow jobs and Broadway as Trey Parker and Matt Stone teamed up with fellow Book of Mormon writer Robert Lopez.

This episode, as others have in the past, focused primarily on Randy Marsh, Stan’s father. Just as those other (see “Crème Fraiche” and “With Apologies to Jesse Jackson”) episodes were, this one was hilarious. Randy learns that the town’s production of Wicked is subliminally influencing women to perform more fellatio and quickly takes advantage. He even writes one himself titled Splooge-Drenched Blowjob Queen (later changed the name “The Woman in White” at the suggestion of Stephen Sondheim). His attitude towards musicals sours, however, when he discovers his daughter Shelley is on a date seeing Wicked. This prompts Randy to don a Spider-Man outfit and destroy the entire show.

This episode was co-written by Lopez, who wrote Avenue Q and worked with Parker on Book of Mormon. I’m curious about the spoofed versions of Andrew Lloyd Webber, Stephen Sondheim, etc. along with their confrontation of Randy, and if it mirrored similar treatment of Lopez or Parker when they began their work on Broadway. The ridiculing of Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark was hysterical and very appropriate as a climax to an episode based off Broadway plays.  Even though the boys had barely any presence in the episode, Randy’s childish exuberance is so funny that he’s able to hold down an entire episode without need for much side-story.

Even though I find the musical bits within shows like this and Family Guy pretentious, I can truly say that this is one of the better episodes of South Park this season.

Front page image and image 2 from animationstudios.com, image 1 from orlandosentinel.com. 

By Rob Siebert
Editor, Fanboy Wonder

Just two episodes into its second season, AMC has already renewed The Walking Dead for a third season.

The series has continued to do strong ratings this year, with it’s season premiere on October 16 drawing 7.3 million viewers 4.8 million of which were from the coveted 18-34 demographic.

To an extent, history has repeated itself here. The Walking Dead was picked up for a second season just eight days after its season premiere last year.

Image from superleaf.blogspot.com.