For a season finale (which this was; it's officially the last episode of the first season, even though there was a gap of months between the most recent batch of episodes and the rest of the first season; the second season begins next month), last night's "The Fate of Equinox!" left us cold. Sure, the threat of the universe being destroyed in the battle between chaos and order sounds exciting on paper, but I've never been that interested in Equinox, the original(ish; he's based on the comics' Libra) villain chosen to hook the whole story around, and despite some nice moments, Dr. Fate wasn't up to the guest-star caliber of Aquaman, Blue Beetle or other heroes. It was fun enough, sure, but this - and last week's "Inside the Outsiders" both seemed like products of writers getting tired towards the end of the season, and especially after the "Mayhem of the Music Meister!" episode. We're hoping for a little more from "Death Race To Oblivion" when the show returns (If nothing else, there's some wit in the idea of Batman teaming with the Question to take on the Riddler), but what did you think?

NPH's episode, "The Mayhem of the Music Meister" premiered at Comic Con, where it wormed its catchy way into our hearts. UK and Canadian fans have already seen the episode in its entirety, but those looking to catch it on Cartoon Network in the US will have to wait until October 23.

[via Topless Robot]

Even for those who don't appreciate Brave and Bold's clear and colorful visuals - It's the best looking cartoon since Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends, if you ask me - the series' blend of kid-friendly simple plots and action with more adult-orientated jokes and just plain weirdness was out in full force in last night's "Night Of The Huntress." On the one hand, the story was simply Batman teaming up with the Huntress and Blue Beetle to capture villains after a jailbreak, and then capturing them, but the real joy was in the details: Mrs. Manface, a beautiful woman with the face of a permanently be-stubbled man (Surely a nod to Venture Bros' Dr. Girlfriend)? Polecat Perkins, a supervillain whose power seems to be incredibly bad body odor? The Batmobile transforming into a giant robot, just so Batman can slug it out with a guy in a giant robot suit? These are signs that writer Adam Beechen was happily letting his sense of the ridiculous run amok, and it made for the most enjoyable 30 minutes of television you could find last night.

Anyone looking to Brave and Bold for something close to the famous 1990s Bruce Timm version of Batman - or even the lesser, but still enjoyable, Justice League/Justice League Unlimited shows - won't find what they're looking for with this show; it's much more comedy than drama, and also skewing at a younger (at heart, at least) audience. But that gives it the freedom to throw credibility out of the window in favor of giving you what you want to see, and it's all the better for doing so. Batman: The Brave And The Bold takes a fresh look at its characters and ignores the continuity and fan-worship that's been built up around them for years by an aging readership, and comes up with something that, ironically, demonstrates their appeal more ably than any of their comics have managed in years. Last night's episode was a great example, and a sign of twelve more weeks of awesome to come.

"Night of The Huntress," the first of 13 new episodes of Batman: The Brave And The Bold, airs tonight at 8:30pm on Cartoon Network.

Fans of DC Comics' Blue Beetle have twice the reason to be excited about this week's episode of the Cartoon Network series; titled "Fall Of The Blue Beetle," the story centers around the origin of Jaime Reyes - and how that origin ties into the fate of Ted Kord (Wheaton), the previous superhero to call himself the Blue Beetle. For those of you who don't care about insect-themed heroes, perhaps the enticingly-named "dangerous Science Island" (complete with "legions of robots," according to the show's synopsis) will lure you in.

Batman: The Brave And The Bold airs Friday night at 8pm on Cartoon Network.

Batman: The Brave And The Bold [Cartoon Network]

If there's one thing that can't be said about Cartoon Network's latest Batman series, it's that it's dull. Next week's brand-new episode begins with the Caped Crusader in space, fighting alongside Guy Gardner (For those keeping track, he's the asshole Green Lantern) and the rest of the Green Lantern Corps, before bringing him back down to Earth so that he can be taken back in time (alongside Green Arrow) by Merlin to save King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. Of course, this means that Batman has to get his own suit of armor, but we're really not complaining about that.
The Brave And The Bold airs Friday at 8pm on Cartoon Network.

Batman: The Brave And The Bold [Cartoon Network]

Star Trek:

Two more grayscale posters, this time showing Uhura and Nero. The most revealing thing about is that you can gaze upon Eric Bana's crazy tattoos up close and in detail. [GeeksOfDoom]

Sci Fi Wire saw some concept art for the movie, including uniforms, phasers and tricorders reminiscent of the original series. There were also a larger and more complicated version of the shuttlecraft from the original show, a medical evac shuttlecraft with red and white markings like a regular ambulance. The Klingon warbirds looked like the ships from the original show, but with some details changed.

Plus there was a Starfleet Academy lecture hall with the Golden Gate Bridge visible in the background, and the Enterprise shuttle bay with the familiar launch doors but much larger and with more shuttles inside. (Not unlike the Galactica's flight deck.) One drawing depicted a starship nacelle with "quantum warp ports." A "medical tricorder" looked like the communicators from Galaxy Quest, and there was Kirk's futuristic motorcycle, a green-lighted BMW (product placement!) with no spokes or hubs in the rims.

Most excitingly, there was a "time ship" that was circular and blue, with "a crescent-shaped element at the front." [Sci Fi Wire]

Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen:

Another day, another batch of toy spoilers. This time, there's yet another blurry pic of a Soundwave toy, this time showing his head and shoulders. And the good news is, he's got a design very reminiscent of his 1984 version, with a blue "crown," faceplate and visor. Meanwhile, there's official packaging for the "Superion" toy, and the packaging includes a spooky set of eyes at the top of the box. Apparently those are the eyes of the Fallen, the movie's ultimate villain. [TFW2005 and TFW2005]

The Incredible Hulk 2:

Tim Blake Nelson is still on board to play the Leader in the sequel to this past summer's less-successful Marvel adaptation. If it ever happens, which is still a bit dubious. [MTV]

Special:

Here's a new synopsis for the medical-experiment superpowers indie movie:

Michael Rapaport plays Les, a parking enforcement officer who is lorded over by his micromanaging boss and fanboy friends Everett (Robert Baker) and Joey (Josh Peck). Out of boredom, Les unceremoniously decides to participate in a scientific study that documents the effects of a new medication; what he soon discovers is that those effects are not only feelings of energy and wellness, but genuine superpowers, starting with levitation and moving on to teleportation and time travel. But when Dr. Dobson (Jack Kehler) informs him that his results are not only unusual but deadly to the study's proprietors, Les finds himself on the run from Jonas (Paul Blackthorne) and Ted Exiler (Ian Bohen), two suit-wearing executives who appear to have developed superpowers of their own.

[IGN]

The Day The Earth Stood Still:

Here are some new stills from the Keanu Reeves remake. They look very similar to stills we've seen before, but maybe show a bit more of the action sequences. [IESB via AceShowBiz]

Timecrimes:

Shocktillyoudrop summarizes this time-travel thriller:

Timecrimes is the cyclical story of Hector (Karra Elejalde), a husband attempting to piece his life together detail by detail after traveling back in time in less than hour. Yes, less than sixty minutes. Yet somehow, in some way, he manages to muck things up good by roping in a young woman, a scientist and a scissors-wielding killer whose face is wrapped in gauze.

Lost:

Looks like those rumors about the island getting zapped back to the 1970s were spot-on. An extra who played "mom on swing" and pushed an eight-year-old girl has spilled some beans. She wore 1970s fashions to play the mom, which included walking to a fence and talking to a "Dharmite." She walked right past Sawyer. And later, she herself got to play a "Dharmite," and here's her Girl-Scout-esque uniform. (It's sort of odd that Lost will be going back to the 1970s, just as it's paired with the Life On Mars remake.) [SpoilersLost]

And here's a longer version of that Fray music video featuring footage from season five. Are Juliet and Sawyer holding hands? And there's a theory that the Aijra airlines thing has to do with Sun chartering a plane to take her back to the island to look for Jin. [E! Online]

Heroes:

Here's the official description for the Dec. 1 episode, "Our Father," which is the penultimate episode of the "Villains" storyline:

Hoping to find a way to stop Arthur (guest star Robert Forster), Hiro (Masi Oka) and Claire (Hayden Panettiere) band together and travel back in time 16 years to when Kaito (guest star George Takei) gave baby Claire to H.R.G. (Jack Coleman). Meanwhile, Peter (Milo Ventimiglia) and the Haitian (guest star Jimmy Jean-Louis) team up to finish off Arthur Petrelli for good but are interrupted by Sylar (Zachary Quinto). Elsewhere, in the lab, Suresh (Sendhil Ramamurthy) has a major breakthrough with the formula that will likely change everything.

[Heroes Television]

And here are some pics from that episode. (Sorry they're kind of tiny.) These pics seem to confirm some rumors, including the rumor that Claire dies — but then when the Eclipse thingy is over, she comes back to life. Claire joins forces with Arthur, who wants to keep her alive, and meanwhile Sylar and Elle join Angela's team. Meanwhile, Peter and the Haitian succeed in shooting Arthur Petrelli dead. And then in the following episode, the end of "Villains," Claire will shoot HRG dead. For reals. Claire will feel like her dad is against her, but later she'll regret shooting him for the rest of her life. [Heroes Television]

Here's a promo for tonight's episodes of Heroes and Chuck. [SpoilerTV]

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles:

Here's what happens in the Dec. 8 episode, "Alpine Fields," which is the last one until Feb. 13: "Sarah and Cameron work to save a family on the list with a connection to Derek in the future. Meanwhile Jesse's life hangs in the balance." [SpoilerTV]

Also, there's a casting call for episode 17, "Ourselves Alone." We'll meet Molly Malay, a Sarah Palin-esque worker with the Department of Child And Family Services, and a high-priced lawyer named KO Simpson who has a bodyguard. Also, there's an overworked nurse in a doctor's office, and a high-priced hooker. [SpoilerTV]

The Survivors:

The remake of the 1970s plague show aired yesterday, and we'll have a review/recap later today or tomorrow. But for now, one major spoiler — the show's surprise death was Jenny (Freema Agyeman), a character who survived the entire run of the original version. (But a lot of Jenny's personality is bestowed upon Anya, a doctor, who does survive the first episode just fine.) Also, good-looking playboy Al Sadiq meets up with devout muslim boy Najid, and changes for the better. [SurvivorsBBC]

Here's how Paterson Joseph describes his character, Greg Preston:

Greg is Mr Independent/Practical. He wants to be on his own, on a small farm maybe. He's had a very corporate lifestyle but even before the virus hits his work as a systems analyst was making him feel like he was trapped in an office the whole time. He was making a lot of money but wasn't connected with the land or with the seasons. He just felt a pull to it. So much so that he kind of lost his family.

[BBC]

And apparently, nothing is resolved in the first miniseries, so you'd better hope there's a second series at some point. [Sky]

Batman: The Brave And The Bold:

This pop-art-influenced fun Batman cartoon won't have any links with previous animated series featuring the character. Settings will range from Mars to Atlantis, and genres will include science fiction and mystery. And at some point we'll meet Robin, and he'll be Dick Grayson. [MediaBlvd]

Stargate Atlantis:

In the Dec. 5 episode, "Infection," we'll get to see what the big bruiser Wraith, the guards with the masks, look like when their masks come off. And it isn't pretty. [Sci Fi Wire]

Stargate Universe:

The show's opening storyline may be expanding from a two-parter to a three-parter. And one character, Dr. David Rush, is looking like a "handful." The show's mid-season two-parter, episodes 10 and 11, will include betrayals, twists and ticking clocks, plus a surprise guest star. And SGU will be more "intimate" than other Stargate shows, because it's about a group of people trapped on a small ship in deep space. [Gateworld]

Additional reporting by Katharine Duckett.

The new animated series premieres on Cartoon Network on Friday, November 14th.

The Brave And The Bold Preview [Cartoon Network] ()

(Of course, Stargate Atlantis already won, but I'm excluding it because that would be cheating.)

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Warners' slow projections for 2009 have already upset fans of the Harry Potter books by pushing the release of the latest movie back from November of this year to next summer, but that's just the beginning of the studio's worries, according to the trade paper. And, as has previously been reported, Warners is looking in the direction of their comic book division for a solution:

Warner Bros. is looking for DC Comics to produce more movies.

The Time Warner comic-book arm is sitting on a stable of well-known superhero properties like Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and the Justice League, but has been slow to develop the bigscreen adventures.

Getting the movies made would involve many of Warner Bros.' other divisions — including TV, homevid, consumer products, online and vidgames — that would create tie-in projects for release around the films.

"They need a lot of lead time and it all needs to be choreographed," [WB President of Production, Jeff] Robinov says.

Given the success of Marvel's Iron Man and Incredible Hulk in addition to Warner's own Dark Knight, this shouldn't come as a big surprise; after all, we already know about the planned Green Lantern movie as well as the franchise-building Green Arrow: Escape From Super Max. But with rumors persisting that the Justice League movie has been sacrificed to appease Chris Nolan and God knows what happening to the Superman movies, it looks like it'll be later than 2010 before Warners get their own superhero stable in shape, especially when they make statements like "We're going to make a Justice League movie, whether it's now or 10 years from now. But we're not going to do it and Warners is not going to do it until we know it's right.". Of course, until then, there's always the cartoons...

WB's hero hunt heats up [Variety]

Just as Batman has gotten darker in the comics since Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns, his animated portrayals have also been more brooding and less kapow! since the start of 1992's edgy Batman: The Animated Series. But why not showcase a different side of Bats, asked producer James Tucker at the Comic-Con panel. "Everyone knows Batman is a dark, tortured, anguished character, and that's why we decided...not to do any of that! We decided to go left of that, and back to Batman's roots. It's the Batman you knew from when you were a kid," said Tucker, before adding, "Unless you were born in 1982."

"James is obsessed with [classic Batman artist] Dick Sprang," added executive producer Sam Register, "and that clean, pop look is one that hasn't been associated with the character in a while. We really went from that, and one of the first ideas for a framework we came up with, which was, 'What if we took the Adam West title sequence, and gave it some balls?'"

"A lot of the time you see Batman as an object," elaborated Tucker, "something that's very still, crouched on a building with the cape lying in folds. But in Sprang, his Batman is very energetic, very kinetic. Always in motion, always punching. For me, it's the same kind of energy that Jack Kirby brought to comics."

You can see what they're talking about in that new trailer, with Batman and an array of guest-stars (Green Arrow, the new Jaime Reyes Blue Beetle, Plastic Man) bouncing about and fighting colorful villains far from Batman's usual Rogue's Gallery: Gorilla Grodd, Gentlemen Ghost, and the one and only Kite-Man. Jazzy, up-tempo music, a rough cut of the actual theme for the show, highlighted the classic Pop influences being brought to the show — less Bruce Timm and more Darwyn Cooke, if you will.

Which isn't to say that Animated Series co-creator Timm disapproves of this new approach. "I had a very long lunch with Bruce Timm way back at the beginning of all this, when we were trying to figure out where to go. And he really felt that everything that he and the The Animated Series team brought had been explored. The one thing that he felt we should try is making Batman lighter, going somewhere different. So the King of Animated Batman gave us the okay on this project."

"We're not relying on the same characters or the same environment," said story editor Michael Jelenic. "There's no Alfred, no Commissioner Gordon. Batman's not in Gotham. He's not in the Batcave sitting in front of the bat-computer. Batman is everywhere but Gotham, and he's meeting all these different heroes, each of whom will highlight a different aspect of Batman's character. We really went back to the old Brave & The Bold comics, where every issue Batman was in a new location, teaming up with a new hero."

"That is paramount to the series," added Register. "These different relationships, and the different facets to Batman they illuminate." To these comic geek ears, Batman: The Brave and the The Bold sounds not unlike Mark Waid's critically acclaimed revival of The Brave & The Bold comic with a dash of Grant Morrison's "no continuity is forbidden; everything is permitted" approach to Batman currently seen in his main comics title (although the cartoon will probably feature fewer magical hobos and less weaponized heroin). With luck, Batman: The Brave and the The Bold, when it premieres on the Cartoon Network this Fall, will manage to make fun seem cool again, and show a side to the Dark Knight that's been hidden in the darkness for too long.

Cartoon Network is hoping that none of you are hoping to have a social life come fall, because they have something special planned for your Saturday nights instead: Stormtroopers, superheroes and "alien forces", making up what the channel is somewhat understatedly calling "a good night for sci-fi programs."

The new Saturday line-up - previously announced for Fridays - is being built around Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Cartoon Network's flagship fall show; joining it will be Batman: The Brave And The Bold, the new series that teams up a particularly cartoony Dark Knight with various other characters in the DC Universe, introducing viewers to more unfamiliar characters in the same way that Justice League Unlimited did in a similar timeslot years ago. Rounding out the night will be new episodes of Ben 10: Alien Force, Cartoon Network's homegrown show about a boy with the ability to turn into multiple superheroes at any given time.

The move is part of a plan to brand Saturdays as "a fantasy-adventure day" for the channel, according to CN chief of content, Robert Sorcher.

The start date for this new programming block hasn't been decided yet, but it wouldn't be unreasonable to guess that it'll probably be August 23rd or 30th, the two Saturdays following the Aug 15th opening weekend of the Clone Wars movie.

Cartoon Net Ramps Up Saturdays [SciFi Wire]

When you were young, did any particular science fiction inspire you to get into writing?

I'm sort of embarrassed to say... well, I'll just lay all my cards on the table here: Isaac Asimov's stuff. Isaac Asimov's science fiction stuff which was, in retrospect, is juvenile and clunky and has much better ideas than style. But, I didn't care about style then I was 12 years old. The cleverness of the mysteries, they don't hold up very well for me as an adult, but as a kid that's the stuff that sparked my imagination.

Do you have a favorite science fiction book of a film?

I honestly think that, even though this is fairly recent, The Matrix was the greatest science fiction movie I've ever seen, and I've seen them all.

Did you like all three?

The other two made my head hurt. I went in cold not knowing anything, completely cold, and it just blew my mind. Going back, I'm a big fan of Phillip K. Dick. Always have been. I'm a big fan of Alfred Bester, and I know a lot of his stuff is out of print now, which kills me. Those formative guys from the 50s and 60s, and any of those guys that Harlan assembled for Dangerous Visions, J.G. Ballard... all those guys are just phenomenal.

And Alfred Bester wrote for comics too, right? Didn't he write Green Lantern?

That's right, he wrote Green Lantern for awhile. He did some pulp stuff before the comics, but he didn't really become big until the 40s and 50s during his run in comics.

What are you writing these days?

I'm currently writing The Brave and the Bold at DC Comics, where I just finished up a run on The Flash. I'm also doing a lot of work at Boom! Studios where I'm the editor in chief.

That's right, and they're based out here in Los Angeles. What titles have you worked on there?

I wrote a miniseries called Potter's Field which came out last year, and I'm working on some more creator-owned stuff for them next year. In the meantime, that's my night job. My day job is the full-time editorial gig. I started there in July of last year, and I couldn't be happier. It's after 20 years of writing, it's cool to flex different muscles editorially because I'm finding that while I'm teaching new writers to do their stuff, it's forcing me to flex muscles that I hadn't used for awhile. Or to sort of articulate things in a way that I only know instinctively.

So were you a fan of Y: The Last Man?

Absolutely! I've been reading Y since the beginning, ever since Brian was a little kid with a stick and a hoop and a crown hat coming by my house going, "Mr. Waid! Mr. Waid! I want to grow up to be just like you!' No, I've known Brian for 10 years or better, and I've been reading his stuff all along. I couldn't be happier for him.

So you follow his work on Lost?

Definitely, and although I know it's a big room with a big group of writers, I can sometimes see flashes of Brian every now and again with the humor.

Do you think anyone could do a good film or television version of Y: The Last Man?

I think if they took enough time with it they could, if they didn't try to cram it into a 90 minute movie, sure. But we'll see... it doesn't matter whether it's faithful, it just matters if it's good or not.

What upcoming comic book films are you looking the most forward to?

Well, Dark Knight. That's the one that's going to rock the house. That's the one that's going to be amazing. Iron Man looks cool, but I was never a huge Iron Man fan, although it's inspired casting. Perfect casting. But Dark Knight... if they can get under the eclipse of the Heath Ledger story, will do really well for them. What I've seen ahead of time looks phenomenal. I just don't think you can say "Why So Serious?" anymore.

Is there any comic book property that you haven't worked on, but would love to?

From Archie Comics to DC Comics to Marvel Comics, I've written pretty much everything, but the one thing I haven't touched is Captain Marvel, the Shazam! version. Some day, at some point in my future, that's somewhere on the line.

Everybody who gets their hooks into it knows it's a great property, it's just that nobody has found a way to translate it. I don't know that you can write it for 40 year old fanboys, I don't know that there's an audience for it there. But it's the perfect young adult property, and it's just waiting to break out. He doesn't have to come from Krypton, and he doesn't have to train for years and years or become a scientist, he just says a magic word. When I was a kid, that's all I wanted.