Rotten Tomatoes has an exclusive gallery of Tuis' concept art from Blood: The Last Vampire, as well as other recent movies like Dragonball Evolution. Blood: The Last Vampire is hitting select U.S. cities this Friday, including New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Cambridge, Mass., Honolulu, Chicago, Las Vegas, Dallas, Houston Seattle and Washington, D.C. A complete list is here.

More of Tuis' amazing concept art can be found at both links, below.

[Alex Tuis and Rotten Tomatoes]

A group of French Dragonball enthusiasts staged a funeral service/vigil outside of a local theater. They wept, and gently placed flowers underneath the horrendous posters for the flick. This video is probably the best thing I've seen in weeks, and a totally understandable and appropriate response to what happened to their Anime baby.

[via Topless Robot]

How dumb is Dragonball? It's the kind of movie where the good guy and the bad guy are fighting, and the good guy pauses to look serious and say slowly, "I must believe... in... who.. I am." And the bad guy doesn't kick the good guy in the face while he's monologuing. It's the kind of movie where the good guy makes constipated faces over and over again, while he's trying to summon his ki energy. It's the kind of movie that makes absolutely no sense, if you pause to think about it for two seconds.

And yet, I enjoyed it a lot. Maybe I just succeeded in lowering expectations to a nadir this movie could soar over. Or maybe I just have a soft spot for a dumb action comedy. Either way, I found myself giggling a lot at this film, both during the funny parts and the serious parts.

In Dragonball Evolution, Goku (Justin Chatwin) is your pretty standard movie youngster, who doesn't fit in at school and gets bullied by the rich jocks. His grandpa has forbidden him to fight them - even though he could beat them with one hand tied behind his back, thanks to his super-awesome martial arts training. (I kept being reminded of the classic Motown martial-arts epic The Last Dragon, and hoping someone would say "Kiss my Converse.") But Goku is special, and meant for a greater destiny than high-school bullying. He soon falls afoul of the evil Piccolo (James Marsters), a nasty from outer space who's been imprisoned for 2,000 years after he nearly destroyed the world. Now Goku is racing to find the Dragonballs before Piccolo does, or Piccolo will destroy the world for sure this time.

The movie pretty much announces what sort of film it's going to be in the first few minutes. We see an obscene closeup of the sweat on Goku's face, and then an even tighter closeup of his nose as the sweat rolls off, and then Goku is play-fighting with his grandpa Gohan, on top of a pair of tightropes. Goku almost wins by knocking a fly into Gohan's mouth, so he swallows it, distracting him. But then Gohan wins with his ki power. The whole thing is seriously slapsticky and ridiculous and demented.

And it pretty much sets the tone for the rest of the movie. Chow Yun-Fat plays Master Roshi, the teacher who takes Goku under his wing, and apparently decides that there's no piece of dialogue he can't improve with eye-rolling and crazy cackling. Chow knows what kind of movie he's in, and his enjoyment is actually sort of contagious. He almost single-handedly turns the whole thing into a zany pantomime, punctuated with whizzy acrobatic fight scenes.

At times, it reminded me of a somewhat more coherent version of Dragon-Wars - another terrible movie that I loved - maybe just because of the attempt to cram tons of overly dense backstory and random characters into a short movie. And because of the way everybody just runs with all the nonsense. The main difference is, this is a martial-arts epic, so there are regular kick-boxing sequences.

So Goku has to learn to believe in himself and trust his feelings and so on, and meanwhile every time he touches the Dragonballs he gets apocalyptic visions of everything being destroyed. Just in case those visions aren't clear enough, the movie includes about a dozen scenes in which Gohan, Roshi and various other people repeat the same pieces of information over and over again, which isn't a bad thing if you're bringing small children to this film.

The other thing I really liked about this film was the two female heroes, Chi Chi and Bulma. They're just as one-dimensional as everyone else in the film, but they're at least vaguely empowered. Chi Chi is another martial-arts expert, and she actually gets to be one of the people who teaches important lessons to Goku once or twice. Meanwhile, Bulma may look like a club kid, but she's actually a PhD in awesome pseudoscience, who invents cool gadgets and totes a laser gun. (And she has the motorcycle that somehow collapses itself down to the size of a pebble, in a sequence cribbed from Transformers.)

The biggest problem with the film is the villain, Piccolo. I've read a hundred interviews lately where James Marsters explains all of the rich depth he put into playing this character... and none of it shows up on screen. Marsters, covered with makeup that would have been laughed off Star Trek: The Next Generation, struts around reciting ludicrous villain dialogue while Not Getting The Job Done. We don't even see that much of him, and he seems to be a bit of a pushover in the end.

The last twenty minutes or so of the film dissolves into mediocre CGI, but there's still enough slapsticky fighting and Chow Yun-Fat clowning to keep you awake. And by this point in the film, Justin Chatwin's dough-faced earnestness had started to win me over.

If you're going to see one mindless Joseph Campbell wank-chalice of a film about the Hero's Journey this month, you could do a lot worse than Dragonball. For one thing, the movie doesn't feel the need to put down its female characters to make the male hero look good. For another, it's pretty fun in parts, and you can tell Chow Yun-Fat was enjoying goofing off. And you'll enjoy making fun of its many flaws afterwards.

Toriyama used only very few assistants compared to most manga artists, so his work lacks the stiffly drafted backgrounds and obviously traced photos which give so many manga a cookie-cutter look.

Dinosaurs, dragons, monsters, and strange sci-fi vehicles of all kinds float through the strange world of Dragon Ball. If his style looks familiar, he also did the art for the Dragon Quest video game series. We've created a gallery of some images from Dragon Ball and Toriyama's first series, Dr. Slump.

Jason Thompson is the author of "Manga: The Complete Guide" and the forthcoming Del Rey graphic novel "King of RPGs". As a manga editor for Viz and Random House, he has worked on the English editions of Dragon Ball, Yu-Gi-Oh!, YuYu Hakusho, Uzumaki, Fullmetal Alchemist and many other titles.

Talking to Digital Spy during promotion for Dragonball: Evolution, Marsters talked about the last time someone had tried to bring Buffy back:

A couple of years ago Joss [Whedon] came to me because they were thinking of doing a television movie...but ultimately it didn't come through. I think basically Buffy has always been an uphill battle. From the very beginning it was swimming against the stream. It's hard to get the suits to commit to another Buffy project, especially one that doesn't have Buffy in it as the lead.

That doesn't mean that he's not available, however:

Yeah [I would return], I mean, any time you can get that kind of writing in your mouth... [The struggle with producers] makes me just want to write my own and produce it.

I have to admit, I have no idea what a James Marsters-written Buffy would be like, but I'd be more than willing to find out, if only to keep him from having to make another Dragonball movie.

Marsters doubtful about 'Buffy' return [Digital Spy]

Star Trek:

Here are seven new pics, and a new Imax poster, for next month's space-operatic epic. [DVDForum via Slashfilm]

Terminator Salvation:

Here's a new poster, featuring the smushy heads of doom, plus another actiony poster. [Spike and Icon Vs. Icon]

Iron Man 2:

A new set video reveals that all the stars of this movie will be bipedal. Also, there's a glimpse of the movie's logo. [IESB]

X-Men Origins: Wolverine:

A few new TV spots give you the lowdown on the 10,000 mutants in the movie:

Dragonball Evolution:

The race Goku comes from, the Saiyans are evil - they come to a nice planet, kill all the intelligent life, and then sell it to the highest bidder, says James Marsters. And once again, Piccolo doesn't die in this film. Marsters is signed on for two more. [Sci Fi Wire]

Bulma's car is a yellow speedster with a black racing stripe, a Can-Am Spider, which appears in the early high-school sequences. Yamcha, the film's "Han Solo," drives a camouflaged big-wheeler based on the Hummer. Yamcha is a "hustler and a swindler," says actor Joon Park. Also, Goku and his love interest Chi Chi have a fight in the temple courtyard. And Piccolo travels to Earth using an alien Genesis Chamber, including a metal throne that Piccolo uses to control the Dragonballs.

In a crucial scene, Goku stands over the fallen body of one of his companions, and Piccolo gloats that he's won. Goku summons his last remaining strength and says, "My grandfather taught me the first rule is, there are no rules." Then he attacks Piccolo. [Comic Book Resources]

They Came From Upstairs:

A couple of stills from the Ashley Tisdale alien invasion movie. [Rope Of Silicon]

Doctor Who:

David Tennant explains what to expect from Saturday's new episode, "Planet Of The Dead." Michelle Ryan "in a catsuit" steals something important. She jumps on a double-decker London bus to escape, and winds up falling through a wormhole in time and space to another planet. There, she and the Doctor are attacked by the red, flying Swarm, plus the alien Tritovores. Plus something sinister is happening back on Earth. The Doctor can't get back home, because he's trapped like everyone else. But "luckily we manage to communicate through the worm hole because we doctor a mobile phone." The episode is mostly light but with some dark moments, and at the end there's a hint that things are about to get much darker. This is the last time the Tenth Doctor gets to have fun. [BBC]

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles:

Here are two clips from tonight's season finale - which we still hope won't be a series finale. No fate but what we make! [Fox]

Dollhouse:

Here are some photos from episode 11, "Briar Rose." And do you notice a familiar face? Apparently Alan Tudyk plays "Stephen Kepler, the agoraphobic designer of the Dollhouse," who helps Paul Ballard with his investigation. (Remember, we were told we'd meet Alpha before we knew it was Alpha.) Meanwhile, Echo helps a young girl come to terms with her traumatic past. And Boyd protects the Dollhouse from an intruder. [SpoilerTV]

V:

ABC released a synopsis for its new reboot of the stealth alien invasion show:

Today, the world woke up to find spaceships over every major city. The Visitors claim to have come in peace, bringing gifts of medical miracles and technological breakthroughs. They promise to do no harm. They're lying. Most people believe the aliens have arrived just when we needed them most. We're eager to embrace their generous offers of help, but while tracking a terrorist cell, Homeland Security agent Erica Evans stumbles upon something far more sinister. When her partner tries to kill her, Erica discovers that the aliens have plans to infiltrate our governments and businesses, planting seeds for their plot to control mankind. Convincing anyone of the truth will be impossible because the Visitors have two powerful weapons. First, they've given the people faith with their reassuring presence and gifts. Second, they've rallied our youth. Thousands of teens, including Erica's son, have been recruited as 'Peace Ambassadors' but they're actually serving as unwitting spies. Erica's violent introduction to the truth thrusts her into the resistance movement, where she joins forces with Ryan, a rogue alien driven to save humanity. She'll have to balance her covert activities with her job, and her role as a mother, fighting to protect her son Tyler even as he joins forces with the enemy.

[Visitorsite]

Lost:

The producers answer some questions in their official podcast. Desmond's wound really is serious, and his life may be in danger. We'll learn more about the ramifications of John Locke's shocking resurrection. Next week's outing, "Some Like It Hoth," gives a sense of comedy to the show. And after that, it's a non-stop rollercoaster of events. [SpoilersLost]

Will Kate and Sawyer really get back together in season six? Here's an utterly baffling response from E! Online:

Ummm...not to spoil everybody for everything ever, but based on reading Harry Potter up through Half-Blood Prince, I can reliably tell you that Ron and Hermione get together in Deathly Hallows. Either that or everybody dies, but Hermione-Draco? Not ever gonna be canon.

(Who's Draco in this example? Juliet?) Meanwhile, next week we'll learn why Miles was on the freighter, and also whether he's been on the island before. [E! Online]

Also in next week's episode, Naomi makes a return appearance, despite being dead. Apparently, it's a flashback, and she hangs out with Miles in it. [TV Guide]

Fringe:

Here's what happens in the last few episodes of the season. In "Midnight," someone is mutilating tons of bodies and draining all their spinal cord fluid out. Their investigation leads them to a scientist with possible ties to the ZFT bioterrorist cell, and then they're shocked to discover the identity and motive of the killer. The kills get more and more frequent, until our heroes take desperate measures to stop them.

In "The Road Not Taken," Olivia starts dreaming while wide awake, seeing stuff that's not there. Investigating the case of a woman who spontaneously combusted, Olivia decides to use her visions for clues. Meanwhile, Walter admits prior knowledge of the ZFT manifesto. And Peter's secret project is revealed, and turns out to be useful in solving the case.

And in the finale, "There's More Than One Of Everything," someone with close ties to Fringe Division is attacked, and David Robert Jones comes back. And then Walter disappears with no explanation. [SF Universe]

Supernatural:

An upcoming episode called "The Rapture" features a whole lot of Castiel, judging from these pics. [SF Universe]

Dragonball: Evolution is the live action adaptation of Akira Toriyama's manga Dragon Ball. Fans of the original manga and anime series are seething with questions. Does Justin Chatwin look enough like Goku, who's supposed to be 12 years old in the original manga? Is James Marsters, playing Piccolo, green enough? Regardless of these quibbles, the movie's goofy haircuts, landscape-leveling super martial arts, and magic orange balls with little stars in them are all recognizably Dragon Ball.

Like most manga, Dragon Ball is a single story, not part of a universe of characters like DC or Marvel comics. But with over 8,000 pages of comics since 1984, countless anime and video games, and lots of characters with names like "Trunks" and "Vegeta," it's easy for outsiders to get lost. Here, we answer some basic questions about the arguably unfilmable series.

What is Dragon Ball?

What is Dragon Ball Z/Dragon Ball GT/Dragon Ball Kai/etc.?

What exactly are the Dragon Balls? (Spoilers, though not for the movie)

So is it science fiction or fantasy or what?

Bulma, Goku, Piccolo, Chichi-what's up with the names?

Isn't Dragon Ball just a bunch of speedlines and ripped dudes with bad hair screaming "It's over 9,000!"

What do fans think of the live-action version?

Jason Thompson is the author of "Manga: The Complete Guide" and the forthcoming Del Rey graphic novel "King of RPGs". As a manga editor for Viz and Random House, he has worked on the English editions of Dragon Ball, Yu-Gi-Oh!, YuYu Hakusho, Uzumaki, Fullmetal Alchemist and many other titles.

One of the problems with the TV series was that it had to follow the plot of the manga, which was also being produced at a rate of one chapter a week. However, one 14-page chapter, consisting mostly of fighting, does not easily fill up a 20-minute animated TV show. As a result, the originally brisk and action-packed manga became padded out into a bloated mess of a TV show. To kill time (and save animation costs), characters would just talk endlessly about what was happening, rather than doing anything. Sometimes the animators created their own non-canon storylines, "filler arcs," in which characters wandered off and got into little adventures or fought one another in different combinations. However, these side stories were never allowed to alter the main plot. Countless animated movies and TV specials, which regurgitated concepts from the manga (Hey! Freeza's got a brother, and he's a bad guy too!) usually just exacerbated the problem. The animators also do an inconsistent job of adapting Toriyama's cartoony character designs for the screen.

For those who would prefer a tighter Dragon Ball Z anime, there is hope; on April 5, 2009, Toei Animation released the first episode of Dragon Ball Kai ("Dragon Ball altered/modified") a remastered edition of the original Dragon Ball Z created for the show's 20th anniversary. According to Toei and Fuji TV, in addition to audio and video remastering, Dragon Ball Kai will eliminate the many "filler arcs" and redundant scenes created for the original Dragon Ball Z anime and make the story stick more closely to Akira Toriyama's original manga.

As for the speedlines and crazy hair and the guys shooting energy out of their hands due to their mastery of martial arts, that's all there in the original. (The yellow hair is the outward sign of a power-up, "Super Saiyan," which doesn't show up until the second half of the original manga.) And for those who embrace the absurdity, there are many fan-made live-action Dragon Ball movies.

The original Japanese anime series, based on the manga, was also called Dragon Ball. It ran from 1986 to 1989, and covered a little past the ending of manga volume 16, up to the end of Goku's final battle with his first archenemy, Piccolo. At this point, Toriyama was gearing up for a major new story arc, and Toei Animation decided to relaunch the anime under a new name. They chose the name Dragon Ball Z (pronounced "Zet" in Japanese). The reasons for the name change are obscure, but Toriyama joked in an interview with Banzai!, a now-discontinued German manga magazine, that he chose the subtitle "Z" because he was getting tired of drawing Dragon Ball and the last letter of the alphabet would make readers think the end of the series was approaching. (It's an open secret that Toriyama intended to end the Dragon Ball manga years before the actual ending, but was pressured into continuing it since it was such a moneymaker.)

No such luck; the Dragon Ball Z TV series ran from 1989 to 1996. At this point the manga series had already ended, but the licensors decided to continue the series in an anime-only form based on some of Toriyama's ideas and character designs. The resulting new series, in which Goku travels through outer space and meets a lot of aliens, was titled Dragon Ball GT ("Grand Tour"). Dragon Ball GT ran from 1996 to 1997 and is not considered canon by many fans of Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z.

Imagination-rich and information-poor fans spread rumors of other spin-offs with names like Dragon Ball AF. None of these are real, except for the 2009 Dragon Ball Kai, which is not a new series but a remastered version of Dragon Ball Z. (See "Isn't Dragon Ball just a bunch of speedlines and ripped dudes with bad hair screaming "It's over 9,000!"".)

None of these anime adaptations and spin-offs have any direct relation to Dragonball: Evolution, and the subtitle "Evolution" is purely an invention of the American filmmakers.

Eventually, in the manga and anime, we learn a little more about the Dragon Balls: they are artifacts created by Kami-sama (literally "god"), the mysterious supernatural being in charge of protecting Earth. When Goku meets Kami-sama he finds out why the Dragon Balls were made, although the explanation isn't so convincing (basically, Kami-sama made them to give humans something to strive for). Gradually we also find out that there are various rules that apply to the wishes. For instance, you can bring the dead back to life, but you can't bring the same person back twice. Further complicating matters, the second half of the series introduces a second set of Dragon Balls, the Namekian Dragon Balls, which have different rules and summon a different dragon. The anime-only storyline of Dragon Ball GT introduces still more Dragon Ball variants.

Bulma's quest for the Dragon Balls, for which she recruits Goku as her bodyguard, is what sets Dragon Ball in motion. However, the truth is that, in the grand scheme of things over the 42-volume graphic novel series, the Dragon Balls really aren't that important. Bad guys are always trying to get them so they can wish to rule the world or attain ultimate power, and the good guys are always trying to stop them. The only thing the good guys ever use the Dragon Balls for, more or less, is to wish their dead friends back to life. In short, they're a MacGuffin. Dragon Balls are the title of the series, but they're no substitute for good ol' martial arts training.

The long answer is, Dragon Ball was originally intended as a sort of Fractured Fairy Tale, a play on the Chinese legend Saiyûki (Journey to the West). (The same legend used as source material for the 2007 Monkey: Journey to the West stage musical and Jamie Hewlett's 2008 animation sequence, Gene Yang's graphic novel American Born Chinese, the 1978 Monkey TV series, Kazuya Minekura's bishonen manga Saiyuki and much more.) Although his personality and appearance are quite different, Goku is loosely based on the Monkey King; that's why he has a monkey's tail, a magic staff and rides around on a cloud. (Most of these elements are jettisoned in Dragonball: Evolution.) Toriyama also added to the mix a large dose of Hong Kong martial arts movies, particularly Jackie Chan's Drunken Master. Toriyama has even said that Jackie Chan in his youth would have been the ideal person to play Goku.

The celestial bureaucracy of the Dragon Ball universe, in which there are several layers of by no means omnipotent "gods" in charge of the earth and the universe, is also vaguely reminiscent of Chinese mythology, although no comparisons to any real-world religion are intended. When asked about his world's religion in the January 2003 issue of SHONEN JUMP, Toriyama replied "To be honest, I wasn't really thinking about it too deeply."

The other big influence in Dragon Ball is science fiction. Toriyama is a fan of sci-fi movies (his favorite is Alien), and Dr. Slump is full of gags based on Star Trek, Star Wars and other sci-fi and monster movies, not to mention plenty of fanciful cars, hovercrafts and dinosaurs. In fact, the Chinese style of Dragon Ball was originally intended as a break from Dr. Slump's Western sci-fi themes. But over the long course of Dragon Ball the story loosened up and acquired more and more science fiction influences. Gamera has a cameo in the series, as does a thinly disguised Arnold Schwarznegger from The Terminator, and Freeza, one of the villains, transforms into a creature clearly based on H.R. Giger's Alien. Dr. Slump and Dragon Ball even take place in the same universe-the Dr. Slump characters appear in a lengthy cameo in Dragon Ball volume 8.

The clearest point at which Dragon Ball turns from mythology to sci-fi is the shocking revelation which opens the Dragon Ball Z part of the storyline-in which Goku, previously just a weird kid with a monkey's tail, is revealed to be one of the Saiyans, a race of mercenary space aliens. Of course, this was all made up retroactively, as Toriyama himself admits; originally Goku was just supposed to be like the Monkey King. Did we mention that in Dragon Ball, the gods are aliens too?

* Goku = a reference to Son Goku, the Monkey King from Saiyûki (very classy)
* Master Roshi = a translation of "Muten Roshi," Japanese for "the invincible old master." Muten Roshi is just one of his titles, however; he's also known as "Kame-Sen'nin", the "turtle hermit," because he uses the kame (turtle) style of martial arts. See the turtle shell on his back for weight training?
* Piccolo = a half-size flute
* Yamcha = Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese word for "dim sum"
* Bulma = a phonetic misspelling of "bloomers," i.e., girls' underwear
* Chichi = Japanese slang for "boobs"

Will Dragonball: Evolution turn into an ongoing franchise, so characters with names like Trunks, Vegeta, Raditz, Freeza, Butta and King Cold will make their appearance? The box office will decide!

* In the film, Goku is a semi-normal high school student, rather than a childish monkey-boy with a tail who lives in the woods. However, even in the anime and manga, Goku does eventually grow up from a three-foot-tall Peanuts character into a normal-sized, perhaps Chatwin-sized adult.
* Piccolo's skin isn't a very bright green, and he doesn't seem to have antennae
* Master Roshi, who in the manga is a dirty old man who asks to look at Bulma's panties in return for a Dragon Ball, doesn't commit any acts of sexual harassment
* a bunch of characters have been removed, including Kuririn (Goku's fellow student under Master Roshi), the talking animals Pu'ar and Oolong, and Master Roshi's pet turtle
* plenty of plots and subplots have been removed, leaving the movie as kind of a mixture of Dragon Ball volumes 1-2 (the introduction of Goku and Bulma) and 13-16 (the introduction of Piccolo, and the big fight).

There's plenty more. A more serious complaint, however, is that "the script is an absolute, unmitigated disaster," to quote Zach Berlatsky of anime news network. What does the creator, Akira Toriyama himself, think about the Dragonball adaptation? Here's a translation of his words in a text announcement preceding a February 2009 promotional video:

"As the original creator, I had a feeling of "Huh?" upon seeing the screenplay and the character designs, but the director, all the actors, the staff, and the rest are nothing but "ultra" high-caliber people. Maybe the right way for me and all the fans to appreciate it is as a New Dragonball of a different dimension. Perhaps, this might become a great masterpiece of power! Hey, I look forward to it!!"

Toriyama is more charitable to Hollywood than Alan Moore-but then again, Toriyama, like most manga artists, has always had no illusions about producing mass entertainment. (Incidentally, it's worth mentioning that Dragonball: Evolution is not the first Dragon Ball film; that honor goes to 1989's Dragon Ball: The Magic Begins, an unlicensed Chinese live-action adaptation.)

The best thing going for Dragonball: Evolution is that, beneath all the spiky hair and shouting, Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball is a good story. (Particularly if you're a 14-year-old boy.) The fights and cliffhangers are exciting, the villains are reprehensible and the heroes are noble (and sometimes the villains are noble too, deep down), and the mixture of sci-fi, fantasy and comedy is entertaining and imaginative.

But there are other elements of Dragon Ball which may be difficult to make the transition to live action. One of these is the quirky, simple art style which gives Toriyama's work so much of its appeal. Toriyama's stories may be intense by the standards of American children's animation, but the appeal of his art is the cartooniness, which, when Dragon Ball started in the '80s, stood out among more square-jawed macho manga like City Hunter and Fist of the North Star. (Today, on the other hand, the influence of Dragon Ball has made the big-eyed, spiky-haired angular look the default manga style.) Putting simple, cartoony characters in dramatic situations is one of the trademark elements of manga and anime, and a more interesting way to adapt Dragon Ball might have been with film-quality animation or CGI, like the upcoming Astro Boy live-action movie. Although Keanu Reeves may not look entirely like Spike Spiegel in Cowboy Bebop, no real human being can look quite like a Toriyama character.

To use another example, Akira is set in a recognizably real urban sci-fi environment, but Dragon Ball is set in a primary-colored, fairytale world. The Wachowski Bros.' Speed Racer tried the "live-action cartoon" approach, with mixed success, but will Dragonball: Evolution go the grim-and-gritty route and turn out like the live-action Super Mario Bros.? Manga and anime fans cringe at the word "cartoon," but it's a good word to describe Toriyama's creations: a world which combines aliens and magic dragons, comedy and drama, absurdity and sincerity, a world of sweat and blood and winking unrealism.

Dragon Ball is, basically, a martial arts story with elements of fantasy, science fiction and comedy. The hero, Goku, is a boy with a monkey's tail (or not, in the live-action version) who is raised in the woods by a martial artist. Bulma, a girl on a quest for the seven magic Dragon Balls (a treasure which can grant any wish), accidentally discovers the guileless Goku and introduces him to civilization. Over many adventures, Goku travels around the world, develops his already prodigious fighting skills, and saves the world from evil martial artists many times over.

This is the basic formula: lots of martial arts, lots of training sequences, a few jokes. (Sometimes dirty jokes.) Whether Goku's opponent is the green-skinned Great Demon King Piccolo (his first major opponent, played by James Marsters in Dragonball: Evolution), or the alien mercenary Vegeta (presumably next in line for the sequel), or the artificial life form Cell, or the genie-like magical pink blob of doom Boo, the structure is the same. New bad guys show up, and Goku must defeat them (as much out of a love of a good fight as a desire to save the planet); if he's not strong enough, or he loses the first round, he hits the gym and soon he's buff enough to have a fighting chance. Rinse and repeat for 14 pages a week, once a week for ten years, and you have a 42-volume, 8,000-page graphic novel series.

This Dragon Ball formula became the model for a successful shonen (boys') manga, inspiring such little-known works as Yu-Gi-Oh! and Naruto. But it wasn't always intended as an epic, and if it seems to have lots of quirky elements (such as Bulma's blue hair, or the magic nyoi-bo staff which Goku sometimes fights with, or the titular Dragon Balls themselves, which really aren't even that important in the manga), it's because the series changed a lot over its 10-year run. When he started Dragon Ball, Akira Toriyama was best known for his previous hit, the 1980-1984 mad scientist comedy manga Dr. Slump. Dragon Ball was also conceived as a comedy, or comedy-adventure, albeit based on Hong Kong martial arts movies rather than the science fiction genre. But readers reacted more to the action elements than the comedy, and so, with the guidance (or pressure) of his editors, Toriyama gradually de-emphasized the humor elements (such as the talking animals, which aren't in the movie) and emphasized the fighting and melodrama. The resulting hit combo was spun off into anime, video games, and merchandise, and made Shônen Jump magazine the manga equivalent of DC and Marvel put together; at its peak in the early '90s, before the magazine market started its slow worldwide decline, it sold 6.53 million copies per week. As for Dragon Ball, it was rated the #3 manga series of all time by Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs .

The anime was first translated for English syndication in 1995, although it didn't become a hit until it started appearing on Cartoon Network's Toonami programming block in 1998, where less intense censorship allowed the characters to really beat each other up like in the original Japanese version. The manga was translated by VIZ and printed as two separate series, Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z... which leads into the next question.

Terminator Salvation:

Moon Bloodgood plays an A-10 pilot in this movie, which filmed a bunch of scenes in an Air Force hangar. [Air Force Link]

Star Trek:

Former IDW comics editor Andrew Steven Harris has read the script, and posted a non-spoiler review. In particular, the movie includes more defining moments for all the characters than a whole season of the TV show. And the characters are in constant jeopardy, and the action sequences are really cool and airborne. [Andrew Steven Harris via TrekWeb]

Dragonball Evolution:

Here's an early review from people who've seen it in England. A brief pre-credit sequence explains the Dragonball mythology, and then we see Goku being trained by his grandfather Gohan. And then on Goku's 18th birthday, he's given a Dragonball, one of only seven in the world. If you collect all seven, they summon a dragon and he grants your wish. Later that day, a tragedy changes Goku's life, and he goes on a quest to find all seven Dragonballs before Lord Piccolo, who wants to use them to destroy the world. He's helped by Bulma Briefs and the thief-with-a-heart-of-gold Yamcha, plus the slightly sleazy Master Roshi. Surprisingly, Lord Piccolo only gets six minutes' screen time total. Oh, and the review is pretty damning, despite coming from a site owned by a unit of Fox. [IGN]

G.I. Joe:

Snake Eyes doesn't talk, because star Channing Tatum and consultant Larry Hama insisted on a totally mute Snake Eyes. [MTV]

Ghostbusters 3:

The sequel, still in the scripting stage and probably a year away from production, is not connected to the "Ghostbusters go to Hell" premise the stars were kicking around in the 1990s, says Harold Ramis. The new premise is grounded and character-based, besides all the mythology stuff. [EW via ShockTillYouDrop]

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles:

A few people have pointed me to this alleged leaked synopsis of the season finale, which is from the same site that posted that widely debunked cancellation rumor. Anyway, just to make sure, I asked producer Josh Friedman to confirm that this synopsis was totally fake, and he called it "absolute one hundred percent bullshit." So there ya go.

Doctor Who:

Fans observed some filming at former companion Donna Noble's house, in which Wilf, Donna and Sylvia all took part. Wilf was wearing reindeer horns at various points, walking towards the TARDIS. In another scene, Wilf was sitting on his doorstop looking sad, and the Doctor threw a rock to get his attention. Wilf comes over and says the Doctor can't park his TARDIS there, Donna will see it.

The Doctor says something like, "I lost him." And Wilf says Donna had a "funny turn" when she saw "the book." "The book" is apparently not the Journal Of Impossible Things, but another book, Fighting The Future by Joshua Naismith. (And Naismith is the guy who was falling to his knees as an alien spaceship landed, in the scenes shot last week.)

Wilf also accuses the Doctor of being a "chicken," and Wilf talks on the radio, apparently to UNIT. Finally, the Doctor gets in the TARDIS, and Wilf comes with him because he can't stay with Sylvia. Sylvia runs up to the TARDIS as it disappears, yelling, "Give him back! Give my father back!" And then the TARDIS is gone. Donna comes out and asks Sylvia why she's yelling at thin air again. And all of these pics are by the amazing Dorkslayer, and there are plenty more at the Forum link. [Doctor Who Forum and Planet Gallifrey]

Director James Strong talks "Planet Of The Dead": There aren't any old familiar faces popping up in this one. (Although then he seems to backtrack and say "Wait and see.") Also, Lee Evans plays Dr. Malcolm Taylor, a scientific advisor to UNIT. He's very much a heroic character, as well as being "rounded." [Den Of Geek]

Torchwood:

SFX Magazine had some spoilers for this summer's five-part miniseries, "Children Of Earth." Some aliens attacked Earth in the 1960s, and Torchwood is the only surviving organization that knows anything about them. The government wants to cover up the truth about the aliens because it didn't share the truth with the rest of the world - so the government releases a "blank page" on Torchwood, as if to say the organization never existed. And the government sends Johnson (Liz May Brice) to dispose of them.

Clem (Paul Copley) survived an alien attack in the 1960s, which may be the same creatures as are attacking now. He's spent most of his life in psychiatric hospitals as a result, and he's the first person to realize the aliens are coming back. Mr. Frobisher (Peter Capaldi) is a civil servant who's expendable, and who has volunteered to go and communicate with the aliens, who are determined to wipe us out. [Torchwood.TV]

Lost:

A totally anonymous source claims we'll be meeting a third Eloise Hawking, who's between the ages of the young and old Ellies we've met so far. [SpoilersLost]

The code word for the season finale's shocking twist has been chosen. It is... wait for it... "The Fork In The Outlet," suggested by fan Spindrift Beck. [Doc Arzt]

Dollhouse:

Here are some pics from the April 24 episode, "Haunted," where Echo is programmed with the personality of Adelle's dead friend. [The ODI]

Caprica:

The Adamas are new immigrants from a world whose inhabitants the Capricans refer to as "Dirt Eaters." And the pilot, coming to DVD April 21, just shows us the beginning of computer magnate Daniel Graystone's downward spiral. (And if you want to read a fairly negative review of the pilot, click the link.) [Salt Lake Tribune]

Fringe:

The show's next six episodes include some of the show's "greatest gross-outs," according to Joshua Jackson and John Noble. [Fringe Television]

Heroes:

President Worf is finally coming back! Here's the synopsis for the season finale, "An Invisible Thread":

Nathan (Adrian Pasdar) faces off against Sylar (Zachary Quinto) to keep him from meeting the President (guest star Michael Dorn). Sylar has his own plans for his new partner. Meanwhile, Hiro (Masi Oka) learns that there are repercussions to regaining his ability. Elsewhere, Matt (Greg Grunberg) is forced to go to extraordinary lengths to protect his future with his family.

[SpoilerTV]

Additional reporting by Alasdair Wilkins.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine:

So one question about the leaked "workprint" of the stabby one's big movie has been answered. Does it include the extra footage that director Gavin Hood shot with Hugh Jackman, Ryan Reynolds, Liev Schrieber and Dominic Monaghan in Canada earlier this year? No, it doesn't, says Fox Chairman Tom Rothman. The leaked print was an early version, before those extra scenes were filmed. The final version of Wolverine will be about 10 minutes longer and will include a bunch of extra scenes. Fingers crossed that it's the best 10 minutes in movie history. [EW]

The Last Airbender:

M. Night Shyamalan is filming in Reading, PA, and the local newspaper has a bit of a plot synopsis:

The movie's screenplay (written by Shyamalan) focuses on Aang (Noah Ringer), the title character and a so-called Air nomad, who emerges from frozen hibernation inside an iceberg to discover that his village has been annihilated. The Fire nation is waging war on the other three: Air, Earth and Water.

And here are some set pics. (More at the link.) [Reading Eagle via Slashfilm]

Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen:

I don't think we've featured these promo photos before... [SpoilerTV-Movies]

Dragonball Evolution:

James Marsters (who really does seem like an obsessive Dragonball fan) explains his character:

I play a character that was in prison for two thousand years with no mirrors. I play a character who was beautiful, powerful and sexy and he gets put into prison. The prison has no mirrors, he's in prison for two-thousand-years, he breaks out, looks into a mirror and he's old and decrepit. He hates the sheriff who put him into prison and he wants to kill the sheriff, the sheriff's family and kill the whole town that the sheriff was trying to protect. That's where Piccolo is, except the whole town in this instance is the Earth...

I'm playing this guy as a prison guy. He's spent a long time in prison and he meets this little pup that thinks he's going to stop him from getting his dragonballs. You got to be kidding me? He thinks he wants a fistfight? I've been in prison for two thousand years; I'm going to pants you, bro.

And Marsters says Piccolo isn't evil, just a guy who got on the wrong side of the Mystics and is pissed off. Also, apparently the message of Dragonball is "You can't chop off your own balls." (Well, it's a bit more lengthy than that.) [Comic Book Resources]

Director James Wong explains a bit more about how that pantsing comes about:

By itself, each dragonball doesn't do anything but if you get them all together, the legend is they will grant the holder one perfect wish. Goku gets this crazy gift on his birthday, but is trying to be a normal teenager. He's interested in a girl too but what happens is his grandfather is killed by Piccolo, who is also looking for the dragonballs. We discover in Earth's history, Piccolo was a warrior who came from another planet to conqueror us. In the past, he was captured by these mystics and entombed. Piccolo, Goku, and his band are in a race to get these dragonballs because something is going to happen when the blood moon eclipses the sun in a few short days.

[Newsarama]

Doctor Who:

The newest issue of Doctor Who Magazine reportedly says the final David Tennant episode features the word "Naismith" somewhere. And eagle-eyed fans spotted an advertisement on the side of "Planet Of The Dead"'s London bus, with "Naismith" in it. Is this the 2009 specials' new version of "Bad Wolf"? [Doctor Who Forum]

Also, a few more details about the filming we reported on the other day, featuring the Doctor and Wilf, at Tredegar House. Apparently the Doctor and Wilf had a scene inside the stables, where "The Next Doctor" was filmed, featuring lots of extra hay. And someone inside the house was tied to a chair. Meanwhile, here's a couple new videos of the scene where one of the party (wedding?) guests, named Joshua, runs outside and drops to his knees. The woman with him, Abigail, tries to talk to him, but when he doesn't respond she runs away. [Planet Gallifrey]

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles:

The official blog released a couple clues about tonight's episode:

What: The Connors close in on Skynet and battle lines are drawn. When John attempts to rescue Skynet's latest target he finds himself closing in on Weaver, but at what cost? Game plans change, causing Sarah and Ellison to reunite. Meanwhile, Weaver learns Ellison's secrets.

Why: "Let me talk to Weaver." -Sarah Connor

And there's a second clip from tonight's episode. Oh, it is on. (Also, I love the user comments on the Youtube page, about how maybe Cameron dies, but then John kisses her and brings her back to life, more human than before because she's experienced the Power Of Love. Heh.) [Fox via Sarah Connor Society]

Supernatural:

Some more details about the next episode, "Jump The Shark," which features the third Winchester brother. Adam Milligan (Jake Abel) is the product of a hookup between John Winchester (early on in his monster-hunting days) and Kate Mullany. Adam's life is changed when he transforms into a monster. [Ace Showbiz]

Eureka:

What happens in season 3.5, starting up in July? Star Colin Ferguson explains:

Nathan [Ed Quinn] dies, and Salli [Richardson-Whitfield's] character is pregnant. So that picks up right after there, where Salli is pregnant through the whole season. One of Joe [Morton's] ... I keep using the actors' names ... One of Joe's long-lost loves comes back. My character has a love interest all the way through. And then Jordan [Hinson], my daughter, deals with "Is she going to go to college and leave Eureka or is she going to stay?" So all that stuff gets resolved.

[Sci Fi Wire]

Chuck:

Here's a sneak peek at next Monday's episode:

Ashes To Ashes:

The BBC spin-off to the original Life On Mars is starting up again soon, and here's the trailer for season two. [Cathode Ray Tube]

Maybe it's time to stop being so hard on Dragonball Evolution and start seeing it for what it really is: an excuse to get drunk and laugh, much like Chris Klein's performance in The Legend Of Chun Li. Every time it sounds like the actors are reading off cue cards, take a drink. Whenever Piccolo tries to frighten someone, take a drink. Every time the movie tries to recreate an anime joke in real life and it doesn't work, do a shot. I see this movie having a long life on TNT at 2 AM.

Here's are a few clips to get you started, feel free to add your own rules. I was thinking about having a drink whenever the female actors act super tough!

Dragonball Evolution will be out on April 10th.

More clips available at IGN