HBO's WESTWORLD is a first-class, grade-A mindf*ck of epic proportions.

The future is populated by people who have reached the pinnacle. And now they're bored. To that end, they have created a diversion -- WestWorld, a theme park populated by automatons designed and programmed so realistically that they begin to achieve consciousness. To prevent this from happening, the hosts are gathered every night for analysis. Those who have been killed are reset and their memories wiped, while others have their programming altered so that they follow their storylines, with allowable variations based on logarithms for improvisation.

If you're a dog lover (or know someone who is -- this is the Christmas season, after all), then you'll want to check out Andrea Yerramilli's

children's book, RALPHIE, ALWAYS LOVED from About Something Good press.

Ralphie is a pup who was persistently returned to the animal shelter for doing what comes naturally to puppies -- especially ones who don't get

trained.

When his fourth family picks him out, he finds himself in a whole new environment of love (and rules). He has his good moments and bad, but

experiences growth throughout his life. He learns how to behave around new children and how to take on the responsibilities of the older dog. The only thing he doesn't have to learn is how to return the love given to him -- that comes naturally.

It's Chloe's birthday, and Lucifer (TOM ELLIS) receives a disturbing phone call from the Las Vegas Police Department. It seems his ex-wife, Candy (LINDSEY GORT) has been murdered. It also turns out she's not his ex-wife, since it takes a year to annul these sorts of things. Unfortunately, he doesn't get to go alone, because while Chloe (LAUREN GERMAN) is distracted by the birthday stripper, Ella (AIMEE GARCIA), overhears that Lucifer is going to Vegas and assigns herself to be his travel buddy.

One of the best parts of being a theatre critic is the joy of discovering new venues and new shows. On Nov. 3, 2017, I corrected a long overdue oversight. I grew up in North St. Louis County and lived in Florissant for ten years, yet had managed to somehow never set foot in the James Egan Center, aka the Florissant Civic Center. Thus I had never set foot in the spacious Hawthorne Players home at the Florissant Civic Center Theatre before either. The seats rise high and steep enough to see well over anyone’s head in front of you, but not so steep to be problematic for folks like myself with mild mobility issues. The reasonably large stage boasted a gorgeous set designed by Director Ken Clark, built by Master Carpenter/Technical Director Dennis Dudenhoeffer and assisted by the cast and crew of The Spitfire Grill,  the musical I was about to see for the first time.

From MSNBC:

21st Century Fox has been holding talks to sell most of the company to Walt Disney Co., leaving behind a media company tightly focused on news and sports, according to people familiar with the situation.

The talks have taken place over the last few weeks and there is no certainty they will lead to a deal. The two sides are not currently talking at this very moment, but given the on again, off again nature of the talks, they could be revisited.

The original CARS hit theaters in 2006, eleven years prior to this latest entry to the franchise. I suppose eleven years is old for a car. I'm still driving my 2004 Chevy Malibu, and I know I wouldn't want to push it too fast.

Welcome back to Critical Blast’s weekly look at what new comics you should check out each week.   Just a warning, I make these picks pretty much a week BEFORE I actually get to read any of these comics, so if something is a stinker, I take no blame on that.  Let's get to it!

Comics shipping this week

To be honest, I am a few weeks behind on my comics reading, and I am on vacation this week, so I am not going to cover that many books in spotlight.

Laurie Berkner’s latest, THE DANCE REMIXES, is one of those albums that took me by surprise, for a couple of reasons. I have been a long-time Berkner-holic, and as such thought I would know what to expect whenever she would put out a new album. Surprise number 1.

I also thought I knew what each of the songs on this album might sound like as a dance remix, based on the fact I knew the songs so well and also on the first fact above. Surprise number 2.

When I put the CD into the player and turned up the volume, it was instantly apparent that I was not in “Berkner-Kansas” any longer! I was in the midst of a rave! Wait, what did I just type? Laurie Berkner songs remixed into a modern day rave? Yes! And let me tell you, the remixes of these songs, while having vestiges of the originals intact, are in no way like the originals. But that is a good thing.

Disney has been doing quite a few of their animated movies as live-action films the last few years.  Honestly, I tend to like the animated originals better, but the live-action versions have all been pretty good.   They will be releasing THE LION KING in Summer 2019.  Which is a bit strange, since it obviously have have to basically be entirely computer-generated (similar to THE JUNGLE BOOK). 

Disney announced the cast, and it is a hell of a line-up!

Show creator Seth MacFarlane took to twitter to announced that THE ORVILLE has been renewed for a second season on FOX.

A show that combines amazing special effects, stunning Sci-Fi, laugh out loud comedy, and deep moral questions, THE ORVILLE is a clever work-'space' comedy.

The cast of characters are lovable losers who are just trying to make the best of their ongoing mission. All while citing real world issues in the midst of trouble. One such moment, when the Orville is under attack, Lt. Malloy expresses his frustration that there's no way they're getting out at 5'oclock.

What did we talk about on Critical Blast this week?

November’s Bombshell of the Month – Bean J. Bunny

Professor Pyg (MICHAEL CERVERIS) continues to plague the GCPD, delivering 44 boxes of severed pigs heads to the precinct -- one for every cop there except for one: Jim Gordon (BEN MCKENZIE). That's because Pyg believes that Jim is the only good cop on the force and the rest are stooges for Penguin (ROBIN LORD TAYLOR). And he's not wrong. With the "Pax Penguina" in full effect, crime has dropped but only because Penguin only allows crimes if he has granted a license, which the police are forced to honor in exchange for the lower crime numbers.

From Gamespot:

There's something big happening in the sewers of New York City. Nickelodeon has announced the cast of Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles--the newest reimagining of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series--and there are some significant changes coming.

Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles taps into the mystic side of the story about four mutated turtles--Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo, and Raphael--who are raised as brothers by their mentor and sensei Splinter, a mutated rat. An official description from Nickelodeon says the series "follows the band of brothers as they encounter new allies and villains and discover a mystical world they never knew existed beneath the streets of New York City."

I saw this piece in the Wall Street Journal today (not my usual source for entertainment news):

Before exhibitors can begin screening "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" this December, they must first commit to a set of top-secret terms that numerous theater owners say are the most onerous they've ever seen. Disney will receive about 65% of ticket-sales revenue from the film, a new benchmark for a Hollywood studio. Disney is also requiring theaters to show the movie in their largest auditorium for at least four weeks.

Archie's video of himself and The Red Circle has gone viral, and is making waves. Hermione Lodge forbids Veronica to continue dating him, his father wants the video removed (too late, it's already been shared), and Principal Weatherbee wants the Red Circle disbanded and a letter of apology to the community be signed, or else Archie will be suspended -- and he's eliminating the entire football team until this happens.

Even the South Side Serpents have seen the video, and they think Archie makes a fine target -- for Jughead! He can earn his stripes as a Serpent by bringing them Archie's head. They see the Black Hood as a hero, taking it to the Northsiders who have always looked down on them.

The DeVore 3XL speakers from DeVore Fidelity are a small 2-way monitor. The drive units are comprised of a .75 inch custom-made soft dome tweeter and 5 inch paper cone woofer from SEAS of Denmark. The cabinets are made out of real Bamboo (no Veneer here) and measure 15.25H X 7.3125W X 10.875D. They are 8 Ohm, 90db sensitivity rated speakers, which makes them very easy to drive by amplification of even modest wattage. The speakers are best suited to be placed on stands, and the matching bamboo stands are not only the perfect match for them aesthetically but sonically as well.

Although they are the smallest of the Gibbon line, they still incorporate the same tweeter that is used in their top-of-the-line Silverback speakers. They retail for $3,700.00 a pair, with an additional $595.00 for the stands, which should be considered prerequisite.

The speakers are made in the USA at John DeVore's facilities in the old Brooklyn Navy Yard in New York City.

Before I tell you about Marvel’s latest superhero epic, Thor: Ragnarok, let us all get on the same four-color page. There are four parties most interested in this epic culmination of what is at least a trilogy at this point for the God of Thunder:       

I recently spoke with someone who had given up THE FLASH after last season.  I had urged this person to give Season 4 a try because they were really getting it right this time.

"Elongated Journey Into Night" is no exception. The writers, stepping away from the "wicked speedster of the year" theme and the "Barry just isn't fast enough" macguffin have finally hit their groove and are hitting the show on all cylinders.

The episode opens with Cisco (CARLOS VALDES) having an intimate moment with Gypsy (JESSICA CAMACHO) which gets interrupted by a scary-looking breacher (DANNY TREJO). His name, appropriately enough, is Breacher -- but Gypsy prefers to call him "Daddy."

Cosplay opens itself to so many genres for creative people who want to bring the otherworldly to reality. Many draw upon comic books and movies. But even more draw upon video games and Japanese anime films or manga.

That's the forte of our November Bombshell, who applies her craftsmanship and experience to characters like Ibuki Mioda (DANGANROPA 2: GOODBYE DESPAIR) and Cynthia (FIRE EMBLEM). And it takes quite an imagination to fully flesh out a character who exists in a 16-bit world like UNDERTALE.

So without further ado, Critical Blast is happy to present to our readers the Lead Cadette of the Super Stitch Siblings and this month's Critical Blast Bombshell!