Wonder Twin powers, activate!

Over the years, I have gone from being a big supporter of the television show Smallville to being one of its biggest detractors. There comes a point in my ranting hysteria when the words I say no longer matter. And when that happens, they say that a picture is worth at least a thousand words.

Ladies and gentlemen, from the upcoming Smallville episode "Idol," I present the Wonder Twins:

Yes, it's Zan and Jayna, those beloved aliens that first graced the small screen in the 1970s in the Hanna-Barbera cartoon series The All-New Super Friends Hour. Zan, played here by David Gallagher, has the ability to transform into water and ice-related objects. Jayna, played by Allison Scagliotti (Warehouse 13), can transform into any animal.

Whether or not the Wonder Twins' powers will remain the same on the Smallville series is debatable. Personally, I'm not sticking around to find out.

The Smallville episode "Idol" will air November 13, 2009, on the CW.

Photo courtesy of Operation Save Clark Kent.

New V series debuts with a C+

Last night, the new science fiction series V debuted on ABC.

I'm proud to be of a certain age, so I remember the original V miniseries quite well. To say that it had an effect on me is an understatement. I was already a self-proclaimed science fiction nerd by the time the show aired in 1983. V, however, did something very different. It brought outer space to Earth in an apocalyptic-type event.

So, it has been with great anticipation that I have waited for this series to come to television. I'll admit, I had some trepidation, but I always give a new TV series a chance – especially when it's science fiction.

So, how did last night's debut of V do on the FilmGuru-a-meter? I'd give it a solid 6 out of 10. It was about what I expected. Not great, but not horrible either.

SPOILER ALERT! If you don't want to know what happened, stop reading now!


My high school forensics teacher, Mrs. Shipley, always told us to start with something positive. So let me begin by saying that the new series has a good cast. I'm happy to see Elizabeth Mitchell, Joel Gretsch, Morris Chestnut, Morena Baccarin, and Alan Tudyk in this show, especially in roles that I wouldn't have picked for them. I'm not convinced that the full range of their abilities is being utilized, but it was only one episode. I hope they can rise above their thin characters.

As for the problems V has, let's begin with pacing. An informal poll of my co-workers this morning confirmed what I had already suspected; the show seemed rushed. Everyone thought the show did nothing to set up the characters before the action began. It was as if the writers thought "You all know this story, so let's get right to it."

The story begins with the day the Visitors arrive. We get a quick glimpse around New York so that we can identify a few people. There's Erica the FBI agent (Mitchell) and her son Tyler (Logan Huffman), Father Jack (Gretch), anchorman Chad (Scott Wolf), and the soon-to-be engaged Ryan (Chestnut).

All hell breaks loose as alien ships arrive all over the globe. Next thing we know, Anna's (Baccarin) face is beaming down at us from the mothership telling us, "We are of peace. Always."

And that's how things went for the entire episode. It's as if they wanted to hit several things in the first episode, but only had one hour to do it. (Really, ABC? Would it have killed you to give it a 2-hour premiere?) So, in one episode we need to introduce:

• the Visitors are here for our water and other minerals
• the Visitors offer to provide universal health care in exchange for our resources
• the Visitors are co-opting the media by making Chad their public relations guy
• the Visitors' "Peace Ambassador Program" is a way of indocrinating our youth
• there is a resistance to the aliens (although why is unclear)

Instead of carefully setting up the characters and the storyline, the show rushes through the set up to get to that punchline we all knew was coming: the Visitors are really reptilian! This discovery was actually downplayed in favor of the bigger reveal: the Visitors have been on Earth for years, secretly leading us on a destructive path.

This brings up a couple of good questions that I would like to see explored in future episodes. First, does it matter that the Visitors don't look like us? It seems a bit bigoted in the new millennium to assume that the Visitors are good because they look like us or that they're evil because they don't.

The truth is far more complex. There are good Visitors and bad Visitors. And what they look like shouldn't be an issue. Sure, they're carnivorous. But so are we (vegans and vegetarians aside). But as long as they don't go munching on my friends and family, I don't have a problem with lizard aliens.

And, more importantly, let's discuss the implication of the second big revelation. Are the show's writers suggesting that all terrorism is an alien threat? I certainly hope not. I can see the Visitors utilizing our own human failings (greed, hatred, lust, etc.) to destroy us, but let's be clear -- humanity is more than capable of exterminating itself without any help.

In the end, I liked V enough to keep watching. I'll give the series a few more shows to get the pacing and storytelling problems worked out. In the end, it only has to beat out a multitude of marginal shows to make it onto my watch list.

After all, I stuck with Smallville for 6 seasons.

Doctor Who coming to BBC America in December

BBC America has announced the imminent arrival of the final Doctor Who episodes starring David Tennant as the Doctor. Television's longest running science fiction series, shot in HD, has just three episodes to go before a new Doctor arrives on screen next year.

The next special, Doctor Who: The Waters of Mars airs on BBC AMERICA, Saturday December 19, 9:00pm ET/PT. It stars Tennant and British stage and screen actress Lindsay Duncan as Adelaide, his "cleverest and most strong-minded companion."

All will be revealed as the Doctor and his companion Adelaide face terror on the Red Planet in one of the scariest adventures yet. Peter O'Brien guest stars as Ed, Adelaide's second-in-command at the base.

The Waters of Mars is written by Russell T Davies and Phil Ford and directed by Graeme Harper. The executive producers are Russell T Davies and Julie Gardner.

The remaining episodes, starring Tennant, will air over the holiday season as a two-part special. Airdates will be released in early December. Tennant shot a total of four specials before exiting the role - Planet of the Dead was the first one to air, last July, on BBC America.

Comic book Wednesday

If you're like me (and I know I am), you love Wednesdays because it means Comic Book Day! In celebration of Wednesday, I bring you some comic book-related news from the big and small screen.

Spider-Man vs. Bruce All-"Meaty"?
Sam Raimi finally seems ready to give his good friend cult movie icon Bruce Campbell a bigger roll in the wildly successful Spider-Man film series. Until now, Campbell has been given cameos in each of the film, from the ringmaster at Spider-Man's debut wrestling match to a snooty usher.

Speaking to MTV, Raimi said, "I really love putting him (Campbell) in the pictures ... I promised him a good, meaty role."

Maybe so, but what does this mean? Could Bruce be Spider-Man's next big villain or will he take on a secondary character important to the story? Rumors on the Internet abound, everything from Mysterio to Kraven the Hunter. Personally, I'd like to see him be another hero.

Smallville meets the JSA
Despite the ever-growing train wreck that is Smallville, the series has roped in Geoff Johns to write another script this season. The episode, called "Society," introduces my favorite superhero group, the Justice Society of America (JSA). Mania.com has several fan submissions that piece together who we may be seeing from the JSA.

Reports from Fancast suggest that Johns' creation Stargirl (to be played by Britt Irvin) is among the JSA. IGN broke the news that Hawkman (Stargate SG-1's Michael Shanks) and Dr. Fate (Brent Stait) will accompany her.

Johns noted to his followers on Twitter, "Yes, Hawkman will have wings. And a big mace." Johns added, "Oh. And he and Green Arrow don't get along. At all."

The Crow gets a reboot
Dread Central is reporting that The Crow is getting a reboot of sorts. The storyline will be faithful to the 1994 Alex Proyas film. Stephen Norrington is set to direct and says that while Proyas' vision was Gothic, his will be "realistic, hard-edged and mysterious, almost documentary-style."

Documentary-style? I guess that means he plans to subject his audience to the low-budget shaky cam style that is making Paranormal Activity so popular.

New Doctor Who logo unveiled

This morning, the official Doctor Who Web site offered an exclusive first look at the new Doctor Who logo. The logo will accompany Matt Smith's on-screen debut as The Doctor in spring 2010.

The logo is the 11th to have been used on screen in the show's history.

Unveiled with the logo is an animated insignia of the show's initials, which will be used as branding for the new series.

According to a press release by the BBC:

Steven Moffat, the new Lead Writer and Executive Producer, said: "A new logo. The 11th logo for the 11th Doctor – those grand old words, Doctor Who, suddenly looking newer than ever.

"And, look at that, something really new – an insignia! DW in TARDIS form! Simple and beautiful, and most important of all, a completely irresistible doodle.

"I apologise to school notebooks everywhere, because in 2010 that's what they're going to be wearing."

The new series of Doctor Who will premiere in the UK in spring 2010.