ToobTalk

Well, it looks like Voltron is coming back.

Next year Nickelodeon and Paramount (and, of course, Mattel) will introduce a whole new generation to a multi-colored team of five robot lions that get together to form one of the most bad-ass plantetary defenders this side of Robotech.

I hope it gets done well… Voltron was one of my favorite shows in th 80s. Would like to see the Japanese version at some point… I understand it’s a very different story (much like Battle of the Planets/G-Force vs its original Japanese incarnation).

According to this article at Scifi Wire, there will, indeed, be a new season of Torchwood hitting the BBC. (Something that was a little doubtful after the crushing, but amazingly played, events of the last miniseries.)

Thing is, it won’t be showing up in the US anywhere other than the pay cable channel Starz.

This only makes me wonder more why BBC & BBC America aren’t more in sync with one another. Or why, in this day and age of global commmunication, we here in the US can’t just get the normal BBC feed.

The more one bounces around online, the more little interesting things one comes across.

This bit of new online series came my way via Kelly Stables Twitter account, most recently recognizable as part of the cast of Romantically Challenged, the very hastily (and unfortunately) canceled sitcom headlined by Alyssa Milano. Stables is a producer on the show and made mention of it last week.

Soul Fire Rising (official site) is a horror-flavored online series slated for eight episodes. It tells the story of soul-stealing bad-girl Lilith and the part she plays in a little contest between demons and “wingers” (not the classic band, just another term for angels, it would seem). The first three episodes are up right now at KoldCast TV.

So far, I’m liking it. Good, solid production values, not quite on par with a show like the CW’s Supernatural but oddly equitable to ABC’s V. What little story there’s been so far seems pretty solid–some nice touches to Lilith and the demons in the show and it looks like our wingers are going to be just as interesting.

In the lull between regular TV seasons (and possible during the dearth of mediocre to bad shows it looks like we’ll have all summer), check out Soul Fire Rising if you’ve got a hankering for some horror. (You may also want to bounce over and check out Hamilton Carver, Zombie PI, which KoldCast is also carrying–its some good noir with a little undead twist and a firmly tongue in cheek attitude about it all.)

I’d like to see these series do well. With regular network TV producing more shows that doing have much more than a vague spark of life in them, seeing what excited and talented independent producers are doing is very encouraging.

According to this little tidbit from SciFiWire, JJ Abrams is in talks to reboot Alias on TV… except without the semi-mystical Rimbaldi backstory that motivated both the good guys and the bad guys.

My question is: what’s the point?

First of all, the show hasn’t been off the air that long.

Secondly, without Rimbaldi behind things, it’s just another generic spy show. And, really, it looks like we’re already going to have a few of those.

Here’s hoping someone come to their senses and kills that project.

New monthly bit here. Just a quick note catching up and looking ahead. A kind of regular check and balance to make sure things are moving in some direction that vaguely resembles “forward.”

Things have been kind of quiet here. Many other concerns have kept me from getting to the backlog of reviews and previews that have been piling up in my “drafts” box. But I have been diligent enough to let you in on a few nice things like the solid online scifi actioner Trenches. And I have been watching bunches of shows and movies, just not making the time to write about them.

It’s Oscar Time! Unfortunately, I haven’t seen most of the movies up for awards. So don’t expect a whole lot of current Oscar talk here. But don’t expect to not see anything at all, either–there’s an interesting Best Picture race this year and I may end up quite satisfied or disdainfully perplexed at the winner. That will be shared with you.

As I said, I’ve also got a huge backlog of half-finished reviews. We’ve burned through half of the current TV season already and I haven’t talked a lot about what I’m loving, what I’m hating, and what I’m not bothering with. Expect some of that.

Also, a movie by some people I know is premiering at the DC Independent Film Festival. I’ll be there to see it with the rest of the public and you’ll definitely get a write up on that–good or bad. (I’m expecting good from this crew.)

I’m also planning on getting you in touch with some more excellent online entertainment (along the lines of Trenches). If you have a show that you know of (or produce) and want me to check it out, let me know.

So, yeah, lots of reviews in the near future–some going back to last season. Hopefully, you’ll enjoy ‘em. If not, there’s always reruns you could be watching, I’m sure.