Television

As promised, BBC announced the newest actor to play The Doctor after the Wimbledon finals.  And the winner is: JODIE WHITTAKER!  In a interview with the BBC, Whittaker commented that "It's more than an honor to play the Doctor. It means remembering everyone I used to be, while stepping forward to embrace everything the Doctor stands for: hope. I can't wait."

From Comic Book Resources:

Filming of the fourth season began just last week, and already photos have surfaced from The Flash that signal significant changes for the CW drama.

The photos, which are circulating on Twitter, reveal Wally West actor Keiynan Lonsdale wearing the red costume that Grant Gustin’s Barry Allen has sported since Season 2.

It feels like we have been covering the return of THE TICK forever on Critical Blast.  I had posted a review of the pilot last August.  This morning, Amazon gave us a trailer for the first season which debuts August 25. Check it out!

Editor's Note: TIME-LIFE is releasing LAUGH IN: The Complete Series on DVD. This review is for the unreleased version of Season One only.

Say lines like “Sock it to me,” “You bet your sweet bippy,” “Here come da’ judge,” “One ringy dingy,” “Veeeery interesting,” or “And that the truth” to someone over 50, and you’re likely to garner a smile and a laugh from them as you see them look back into their minds remembering where they heard those lines.

Rowan and Martin’s LAUGH IN began in 1968 and ran for six seasons through some of the most turbulent years in our country’s history. It was both groundbreaking and, by today’s standards, rule-breaking--and that is why it is still so much fun to watch today as it was almost 50 years ago.

The 4 DVD set in review here from Time Life--Rowan and Martin’s Laugh In: The Complete First Season--captures the first season complete in all its glory.

Sabine stages a fake bounty hunter attack on Princess Leia in order to allow Leia to turn over a data tape of Imperial base locations to the Rebellion.  But then IG-88 arrives to disrupt the operation.  Leia manages to convince her Stormtrooper escort that IG-88 is the real enemy here. Leia and Sabine make the trade.  Sabine promises to keep fighting the Imperials from the outside, even as Leia keeps fighting them from the inside.  Sabine is one of my favorite STAR WARS character, so I was glad to see her get the focus here.  And adding Leia was a great touch.   Definitely one of my favorite FORCES OF DESTINY episodes!

When Imperial forces try to take a little girl's "cat", Jyn jumps into action to rescue to rescue it.  It's not really clear what the timeline here is, but it felt a little out of character.  I can't see Jyn exposing herself just to rescue someone's cat. This felt a little cookie cutter, like they wrote a plot and then picked random Star Wars heroine to fill the role.  It wasn't a particularly bad episode, it just didn't quite feel like Jyn.  The other episodes seemed to be a lot better about fitting the story to the character involved. 

Ahsoka is back, and this time she teams up with Padme to stop a shapeshifting bounty hunter.  Loved this combo and this was a very fun episode, though it felt way too short.  Would have loved to get an extra minute or so here.  By the time we get past the opening sequence and intro the characters, there was only like 90 seconds left for the core of the episode. They made the most of this short time, with both characters getting some good shots in.

This episode is set just before THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK and features Leisa, R2-D2, and Chewbacca.  Chewie has gone missing in the not-quite-constructed Hoth Base.  Leia and R2 go looking for him in a nearby cave system, and find an angry Wampa.  Leia orders the others to go seal the cave off to keep the Wampa from getting in to the base.  Leia manages to dodge the Wampa (showing she is far better at this hero thing then her brother), and they seal him up.  Honestly, this was my least favorite episode so far.  It sort of made Chewie look a little lame, and I always thought Chewie gets a bad wrap anyway. 

Today's episode features Princess Leia and Wicket in what really feels like a deleted scene from RETURN OF THE JEDI.  Of the three episodes aired so far, this one is definitely my favorite.  It always felt like there was something missing from when Leia meets Wicket to her showing up in a pretty nice dress just in time to save Luke, Chewie, and Han from being Ewok chow.  I definitely felt this was a worthy tribute to the great Carrie Fisher.  

Star Wars Forces of Destiny episode 2 once again features Rey and BB-8.  I am pretty sure this episode originally aired in the Star Wars Celebration in Orlando.  As far as I know, the episodes will cover a wide variety of Star Wars characters (primarily the women of Star Wars).  But Rey and BB-8's time on Jakku seems to have been full of little adventures we missed on.  These almost feel like deleted scenes from THE FORCE AWAKENS...which is not a bad thing at all.  This time they find themselves being pursued by the scavangers who tried to steal BB-8 in the first place.  I did like how the solution built up from the last episode.  I did like the first one a touch better, but I still enjoyed this episode.

Disney has started a new series of shorts called "FORCES OF DESTINY" that are supposed to give a wider focus on the Star Wars universe.  The series debuted yesterday with SANDS OF JAKKU, featuring Rey and BB-8 shortly after she finds him wandering in the desert.  You can watch the debut episode below.

(photos: Ricky Middelsworth)

This week Critical Blast sat down with Jennifer Muro writer for the much anticipated “Star Wars: Forces of Destiny” which debuts on Disney's YouTube Channel today and on The Disney Channel Sunday, July 9, 2017. Jennifer is working on some amazing projects and was able to share some awesome information about all the things she has in the works.

J.K. Elison: As a female engineer and a writer myself, I'm super excited to see strong female characters at the forefront of some new stories in "Star Wars: Forces of Destiny." What have you enjoyed most about writing some of the most iconic female characters from the Star Wars Universe?

BURBANK, Calif.

Once upon a time (goodness, was it really 15 years ago?) I had the opportunity to interview Neil Gaiman, who was just coming off of publishing AMERICAN GODS. Assuming it to be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity (and so far time has supported me on this), I kept him forever and asked him everything about everything.

And now, lo these many years later, AMERICAN GODS has made its way from the page to the screen, from the literal to the visual. And visually, it's divine.

The long and the short of AMERICAN GODS is this: When people immigrated to America, they brought their beliefs, and thus their gods, with them. The gods have had to adapt over time, and make room for new gods that we've created (unwittingly or not). And now one of the old gods wants to reestablish his place in the cosmos by going to war with the new gods.

From Radio Times:

The Sherlock team are reuniting on a new version of the classic horror story Dracula, RadioTimes.com can confirm.

Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss are due to begin work on a series of BBC specials based on the classic 1897 novel by Bram Stoker in which the bloodthirsty count moves from Transylvania to England.

...

CBS announced today 16 Houseguests who will embark on a new season of BIG BROTHER.  This season’s cast includes a government engineer, a rodeo clown, a microbiologist and a cosplay artist, among others.  CBS’ summer reality hit debuts with a two-night premiere event on Wednesday, June 28 (8:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT), and Thursday, June 29 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT), on the CBS Television Network. Julie Chen returns as the host of the hit summer series. 
 

This week, Disney XD posted three more DuckTales shorts.  This time Launchpad, Weeby, and Ms. Beakley get the spotlight. Of the three, Launchpad's was my favorite.  He seems like the character that is most like the original DuckTales.  That said, I enjoyed all three shorts (plus the three shorts they posted last week). 

I love that they did a full opening title sequence, and the update of the song is very well done.  I can't help but be pretty hyped up for the return of DUCKTALES!  You can tell a lot of love and respect is going into this relaunch.

FAIRFAX, VA (May 9, 2017) -- Named by TV Guide as one of the “50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time,” “Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In,” was also one of the most groundbreaking.  A fast moving barrage of rapid-fire one-liners, on-going sketches, musical numbers and hilarious social and political satire, it was an instant hit following its NBC prime-time debut in 1968.  Hosted by Dan Rowan and Dick Martin, the unique variety series – a psychedelic take-off of a ‘60s-style happening – perfectly captured the spirit of an era, launched the careers of many a comic actor and writer and fed a new generation’s conversations with hip catchphrases like “Sock it to me!,” “You bet your sweet bippy!,” and “Here come da judge!”  “Laugh In” would go on to become one of the most popular shows in the history of television.

Where do I begin?

I suppose I begin in 1972, laying on the shag carpet of my parents' living room, tuned into KDNL Channel 30, when I first saw Batman. Oh, I'd seen him in the comic books -- I'd been reading proficiently from a pre-Kindergarten age because of comics. But this was real, not a drawing (although admittedly I was initially taken in by the Dick Sprang style of artwork in the animated opening). And since this was obviously a real person in a real costume, by extension, Batman was real. That's how the mind works at 5 years old.