The Mega-Blog

So ‘The Orville’ Looks Entertaining, But I Don’t Trust It

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So at San Diego Comic Con, Fox premiered a new trailer for The Orville, Seth Macfarlane’s new science fiction comedy. It looks fun, it looks exciting, it looks really entertaining… and I don’t trust it for a second. You see, I remember the earlier trailer we got back in May which started the same way… right up until MacFarlane opened his mouth.

I mean, I’ll still give the show a shot. I’ll tune into an episode or two, but it comes down to something simple — Seth MacFarlane hasn’t really been funny for the last fifteen years (at least), and continues to write and perform in a mold which is outdated and (frankly) annoying to watch. We’ll see what happens, but I don’t have a lot of faith in his abilities at this point.

I guess we’ll all find out when the show premieres September 10th on Fox.

The Mega-Blog

The New Trailer For ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Is Intriguing

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Look, I’ll admit, I still want a good canon explanation for the Klingons’ physical appearance in the upcoming Star Trek: Discovery, but beyond that I’m kind of excited about it based on the latest footage. Maybe it’s because my favorite Trek series was Deep Space Nine, which largely centered around a war and politics, but this actually looks pretty neat.

CBS gave us a new trailer for the show at San Diego Comic Con, and it looks pretty damned neat. I mean, it’s a trailer, so it’s supposed to be neat — but I’m more than happy to give this one a try. Let’s see how it turns out.

Star Trek: Discovery premieres on CBS All Access on September 24th.

The Mega-Blog

The Second ‘Defenders’ Trailer is Fairly Epic

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One of the most exciting Marvel properties on screens isn’t any of the studio’s movies, but instead the various television series they’ve been making on the Netflix streaming service. The four shows initially announced back in 2013 — Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist — have all premiered, and even the worst of them is is still pretty solid when compared to shows on the rest of television.

And the best? The best are amazing.

And now we come to the promised completion, with The Defenders hitting screens later this summer. Netflix previously gave us a pretty fun trailer, and now they’re offering a second. There’s a bit more revealed in it than the first, so we’ll stay quiet for those who don’t want even the tiniest spoilers. If you’re like me and want to get as much as you can though, here it is.

The Defenders hits Netflix on August 18th.

Convention News, The Mega-Blog

Pokemon Go Fest Has Been Kind of a Disaster

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Today, Niantic is holding their first ever live event for Pokemon Go in Chicago called “Pokemon Go Fest.” The event promised massive group raids, rare Pokemon, and goals that could eventually unlock Legendary Pokemon for players worldwide. What people have apparently gotten though are long lines and an inability to connect to the game.

Now, to be clear, the actual Niantic servers seem to be up. I myself just walked around and did a couple of raids. What’s at issue for attendees though is that the cellular networks covering the park are getting jammed by all of the players. I mean, it’s 20,000 people in a concentrated area, all attempting to go online at once.

Did no one think to see if the networks were capable of supporting an event like this before choosing the venue?

Niantic has apologized, and is offering all players who attended a refund and $100 worth of in game Pokecoins. Admission was only $25, but because tickets sold out so quickly many bought their entry through resellers. Those who overpaid said scalpers are (frankly) just going to be out of luck.

Hopefully everyone will learn some good lessons from this (like, say, blanketing the place in Wifi and paying for multiple fiber connections).

The Mega-Blog

Former ‘Doctor Who’ Companion Deborah Watling Has Died

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Deborah Watling has sadly passed away after a brief battle with cancer. Watling played Second Doctor companion Victoria Waterfield, appearing in 40 episodes between 1967 and 1968.

Sadly most of her episodes have been lost, with only a few surviving. She first appeared in The Evil of the Daleks in the serial’s second episode (coincidentally the only episode to survive from that story). One of her better serials has survived though, Tomb of the Cybermen, and is very much worth your time.

Deborah Watling was 69 years old.

Via BBC

The Mega-Blog

The New Trailer for Netflix’s Movie ‘Bright’ Looks Really Cool

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Netflix has been making some amazing television series and smaller films, but their upcoming movie Bright is their first foray into big budget, $100 million blockbusters. Set in a modern world, but with all the accoutrements of a fantasy setting, Will Smith plays a cop who’s partnered with an Orc.

I mean, it looks like a buddy cop fantasy action explosion fest, and I couldn’t be happier. I mean sure, it’s David Ayer directing — but as bad as Suicide Squad was, the man did write Training Day and direct End of Watch too. Ayer’s capable of good movies, and this seems to have more in common with his cop movies than his time spent in the comic book world. I’m more than willing to give this movie a shot.

Bright comes out on Netflix December 22nd.

The Mega-Blog

‘Stargate: Origins’ Announced, Will Annoyingly Air On New Streaming Platform

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So let’s start with the good news – Stargate is back, with the announcement that a new series is going into production called Stargate: Origins. In it’s ten episode season, it will tell the story of Catherine Langford, who appeared in both the original 1994 movie and Stargate SG-1 (portrayed by various actresses at various ages). Langford was present at the gate’s initial excavation, and later lost her fiance in an experiment with the alien device. Okay, so he was trapped on an alien world and couldn’t get back, being reunited many years later with Langford and immediately dying after.

“Lost” seems to still sum that up though.

They’ve also put out a brief teaser for the project, albeit completely composed of pre-existing footage. In it, we see a young Langford as the gate is raised from the earth. This is a show that could fit into the existing Stargate canon, and looks pretty cool. Each episode will only be ten minutes long, but it’s like getting a new Stargate movie’s worth of content… so… neat?

Here’s the bad news though: It’s debuting on a “new streaming platform” called Stargate Command. We don’t know much about the platform, other than the fact that it will have both free and paid elements… and will be full of Stargate stuff? I honestly don’t know. While I’m excited about a new Stargate show, I have no desire to sign up for a new service. Even with Star Trek: Discovery you’re signing up for CBS All Access, which has an entire network’s worth of programming.

But a whole service? For one, ten episode show? MGM’s executives have to be out of their damned minds.

Via Variety

The Mega-Blog

Kurt Vonnegut’s ‘The Sirens of Titan’ Being Adapted for TV by Dan Harmon

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Dan Harmon is an amazing showrunner, and between Community and Rick and Morty the man has brought us two of the most memorable, geeky shows in modern memory. The talented, self loathing writer is taking on a new challenge apparently though, and that’s adapting Kurt Vonnegut’s The Sirens of Titan for television.

The Sirens of Titan is a 1959 novel by Vonnegut is about a guy named Malachi Constant who’s the richest man in the country. Malachi used his extraordinary luck to build his father’s fortune, but that can’t protect him from the oncoming war between Mars and the Earth. Malachi ends up on a trip with another rich guy, Winston Niles Rumfoord, and mostly it’s a bunch of questions about free will.

So, y’know, a Vonnegut novel.

Harmon is working on the series with Universal Cable Productions, and it’s yet to find a network. Like anything this early in development, as we usually warn people, this could end up going absolutely nowhere. But wouldn’t it be nice if it didn’t.

Via AV Club

The Mega-Blog

The First Trailer For Guillermo del Toro’s ‘The Shape of Water’ Has Arrived

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The trailer for director Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water has arrived, and the first thing that probably strikes you is how beautiful the film looks. Of course, it’s a del Toro film, so that’s not terribly surprising. What is surprising is how sweet the trailer feels.

The Shape of Water first appears to be a science fiction creature film on its surface (no pun intended), but really is more of a fairy tale. Doug Jones plays a fish-like creature who has a friendship (and maybe romance) with a mute woman (Sally Hawkins) who cleans the lab he’s being held in. And while it certainly looks sweet, there’s clearly some darkness to the situation.

Honestly, it just looks cool as all get out.

The Shape of Water comes out December 8, 2017

Convention News, The Mega-Blog

Louisville’s Fandom Fest Announces Last Minute Venue Change (As They May Have Never Booked the Old One)

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The Louisville, KY based Fandom Fest is scheduled to take place pretty damned soon (July 28th-30th), and while the venue hadn’t ever been formally mentioned on the con’s official materials this year, with no other location mentioned most people assumed it would continue to be held at the same one it’s been at for years — the Kentucky Expo Center. I mean, the official recommended hotels are all in the vicinity of the Expo Center, and with the con so close (and people planning it for months) it just wouldn’t make sense to announce a venue change now, right?

Well… wrong?

You see, a new venue is exactly what the convention announced on Monday — just eleven days before the event. The con posted the about the change to their official Facebook page, saying the con’s new location was an event space attached to the Jefferson Mall. This new “event space” (read: old, empty former Macy’s department store) isn’t a short walk from their listed hotels — in fact, it’s a fifteen minute drive. Continue reading Louisville’s Fandom Fest Announces Last Minute Venue Change (As They May Have Never Booked the Old One) →

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