That Geek Podcast Episode 2: The Joss Whedon Celebration Part 2 of 2

In the second and final part of the Joss Whedon celebration we look at his more recent work, look at people who have worked with him and done extremely well since and finally, we get excited about what we can expect from our big damn hero.

Here's the list of topics: Firefly, the Whedon-less years on TV, Dollhouse, the writer's strike, Doctor Horrible's Sing Along Blog, Cabin in the Woods, Avengers, Much Ado About Nothing, Geek and Sundry, Once Upon A Time, and other critical geeky sub-topics.

 We answer our very first listener question and it becomes the topic of our next episode: Comic books that have been adapted to the silver screen!

Our music is provided by Steve Everett, who can be found on www.SteveEverett.net. I play West Coast Time, and wonder why he's not massively famous.

Please leave comments and questions wherever you found this episode, or email us at thatgeekpodcast@gmail.com and we also have a voicemail at 509-203-4347 or Skype using the name: crewcastradio. I dare you to leave a message!

Thank you for listening!

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That Geek Podcast Episode 1: The Joss Whedon Celebration!

We (Sylvie, Stephanie and Randy), celebrate Joss Whedon’s career, starting with a recap of his early work as a writer, then going into Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Angel and Firefly. It’s time to delve into the whimsy and awesomeness of one of the greatest storytellers of our time, so dust off your crossbow and put on your brown coat!

Our music this week is provided by Bif Naked, we play I Love Myself Today, one of my personal favourites. Don’t forget to look for her new single if you’re a Bif fan.
 
P.S.
We’re going to explore more of the Whedonverse next week, so don’t worry, we’ll get to the more recent shiny work in due time!

Thank you for listening!

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John Carter: Science Fiction Adventure Lives?

When George Lucas made Star Wars: A New Hope, he was partially motivated by a void in the entertainment industry. Those high flying Science Fiction adventures from his childhood had failed to evolve into something that matched what was in his mind's eye. Flash Gordon, Buck Rogers, and other icons from early movie making were long gone, or had suffered bad remakes.

Star Wars brought about a short-lived era during the late 70's and early 80's that featured a glut of Science Fiction adventure films that attempted to imitate the energy and spirit of George Lucas' vision. Everyone from Sean Connery to David Hasselhoff starred in films that studios hoped would capture the imaginations of audiences like Star Wars did. A few efforts did lead to some good entertainment (example: Battlestar Galactica), but that wasn't the norm.

When I saw previews for John Carter (of Mars), I was hoping that it would be successful, and infuse television and movie studios with the desire to start making more science fiction adventure movies. The critics and many loud-mouths of the Internet gleefully attacked the film based on the trailer alone, which is common these days, I realize. Normally that sort of thing doesn't hurt a film very much, people aren't stupid, most of us pan pre-emptive negativity.

The over-zealous critics and eager social media mavens of the Internet did do some damage in this case, however. John Carter suffered from ineffective advertising, and it's been released in the action movie dead season, too far before the summer blockbuster window. The guerrilla marketing was mismanaged as well. You can find it if you look for it, but that's not the point of guerrilla marketing, it should be everywhere, and people should be talking about it in a positive sense before the movie arrives. People should be excited, even if they're not entirely sure why yet. That didn't happen. The razzle dazzle fizzled in grand fashion, especially after one or more name changes.

I've seen the film, and I can tell you that it's a great adventure movie. The special effects are spectacular, the story is solid, and there are some interesting twists. The book will be better for some, but if you're looking to have a fun, adventure filled night out at the movies, it's a great flick. I really did feel like I was watching an old 1936 episode of Flash Gordon with new special effects, a more sophisticated story and slightly better acting. The high-flying-adventure feeling was there for long stretches.

I forgot it was in 3D by the end, but that's my average experience with 3D films. It's a good adventure romp with or without it.

It seems that, between Disney's poor advertising effort and misrepresenting this film, perhaps event trying to sell it to the wrong audience, John Carter (of Mars) won't even earn it's budget back. $250,000,000.00 is a lot to gamble on anything. I suppose John Carter may earn its cost back after Blu-Ray and PPV release, but studios don't consider that a success. A loss like that will most likely discourage other film makers and studios from investing in Science Fiction Adventure films.

That's the opposite of the effect Star Wars had in 1977, and there was a time when I would say the glut of SciFi B-Movies was a bad thing, but these days I find myself in the opposite camp. Special effects and movie making isn't as expensive as it once was. Serenity (Joss Whedon, based on the Firefly television series), cost $35,000,000.00 and, while it didn't have as many special effect shots as John Carter, it certainly was enjoyable. I would put it above John Carter or Avatar any day in terms of how much I enjoyed the movie.

In fact, I would rather see seven $35,000,000.00 Science Fiction Adventure movies in the place of one $250,000,000.00 any time. Some may say that the comparison between films like Serenity and Avatar is unfair, but I believe the days of depending on special effects selling a movie instead of story craft and great filmmaking are coming to a close.

Perhaps the failure of John Carter will lead studios to the same conclusion, and we'll see better writing combined with an appropriate budget for special effects. Someone get Joss Whedon on the phone, I hear he's finished making that Avenger movie.

RL

[What did you think of John Carter?]

Dollhouse Cancelled: Fox Will Show All Of Season 2

If there's one person who has proven over the last few years that networks have no patience, it's Joss Whedon.

The Fox Broadcasting Network has picked up half seasons of his shows for the last two series he's been involved with - Firefly and Dollhouse.

Dollhouse was the result of a development deal Fox signed with Eliza Dushku, she was the one who brought Joss aboard. A good idea, since she seemed right at home in the Dollhouse.

There was difficulty when the show first premiered. The first few scripts for season 1 weren't all that Joss Whedon wanted them to be, and it took a while for the series to find its legs. That led to Fox not ordering more episodes once the first 12 had been made. The 13th episode, Epitaph One, was a sweat equity investment, with a low budget and many friends of Joss Whedon jumping in to play parts that were written to deliver a story that takes place many years in the future. I thought it was fantastic, and many fans agree. It never aired, but was used to fulfill the DVD order of 13 Dollhouse episodes.

Fox ordered a second season. Their initial order was 13 episodes, which will be completed. The remainder of season 2 will air in December 2009 and early 2010. Expect some closure since they're wrapping episode eleven now and they'll have time to rewrite episode thirteen to give us a great big ending.

Joss Whedon has already mentioned that he's working on something else, and the excitement for Cabin in the Woods is steadily building. I've also heard a rumor that he'll be directing an episode of Glee, which would be fun to view.

Does his new found freedom mean there's a chance Firefly could be resurrected? No, not according to the breakfast round table with Joss, Nathan Fillion, Andy Tudyk and Ron Glass that came as a special feature on the Blu-Ray edition of Firefly. During their lively discussion, they break the news to the fans gently; there will be no more Firefly. Sad, but we, and Joss, will have to move on.

All we can do is look for the actors and show runners from Dollhouse elsewhere, wish them the best, and support their good work when it hits the boob tube, silver screen, or interweb.

RL

Hey Kids! It's Survey Time!

I know, you're asking yourself; "will the fun never end? Will the excitement never cease? Will they ever make a third Men In Black movie, so we have a proper trilogy?"

Those are interesting questions, and though I can't answer them all, I can answer them with yet another question in the form of an important survey. I'm trying to figure out where all you folks who are buying my books are coming from. I'm very happy you're all here, don't get me wrong, but much like I once wanted to know where babies come from and how many licks it took to get to the center (thankfully unrelated questions...), I'm wondering how everyone heard of my work.

So please scroll down and click one of those options or leave a comment telling me where you heard of my work if it was outside the options provided.

Thanks in advance!

RL

Dr Horrible's Sing-Along Blog: The Master Plan!

Some of us follow the beat of our own drummer, we walk alone for long distances, we even eat differently. Sadly, we need entertainment from time to time too and that's when I turn to people like Joss Whedon who is far greater than I.

Some time ago I discovered that Mr. Whedon was working on a musical. It was my hope that I wouldn't have to fly to New York or LA to see it on stage (do they have stages in sections of LA where you won't get mugged for your wallet, watch, belt and chewing gum?). To my absolute glee, he's going to be releasing it on line in at least one format and I think he'll be offering it on DVD.

Recently the Master Plan was unveiled: to release the whole thing in three parts online for FREE! Here's a quote from the Master Plan that goes into some detail:

ONE WEEK ONLY! AN INTERNET MINISERIES EVENT! "Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog" will be streamed, LIVE (that part’s not true), FREE (sadly, that part is) right on Drhorrible.com, in mid-July. Specifically: ACT ONE (Wheee!) will go up Tuesday July 15th. ACT TWO (OMG!) will go up Thursday July 17th. ACT THREE (Denouement!) will go up Saturday July 19th. All acts will stay up until midnight Sunday July 20th. Then they will vanish into the night, like a phantom (but not THE Phantom – that’s still playing. Like, everywhere.)

Okay, there's more to the Master Plan, and you should check it out (link to follow). But I have a proposal to make first. No, I'm not going to ask the Interwebs to marry me, I know we spend a lot of time together, but I just don't see things that way. I propose that once you've watched Dr Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, gotten at least one tune stuck in your head, set your hair on fire and have gone running through your neighborhood nude while making love to a picture of Neil Patrick Harris, go buy something. If you enjoyed it at all you should buy a copy of the Digital Download (he says it'll be cheap anyway), or a T-Shirt, a coffee mug, lunch box or maybe even just Hire Nathan Fillion for a weekend, I hear he's great at parties.

Now, take this part seriously: For interesting, cutting edge entertainment like this to be produced in the future we have to support what's coming out now. Just imagine if this project gets massive support from the audience who downloads it, and this feature will be pirated I'm sure. Just think, if the thousands of people who download it or view it on line and enjoy it actually contribute something then Joss will be able to recover his expenses, maybe even put something in the bank for another feature. If we support him well enough we might even do something online again. Here's a stretch, but imagine a Big Damn Sequel (I'm talking Firefly people), born on the Internet and sold on DVD. That's the kind of Hollywood shattering revolution we're talking here, but we have to show our support. Nicely typed, purple scented letters in pretty envelopes won't do it (did ya get mine Joss?), but a few bucks from everyone who can't afford the DVD just now, and DVD or T-Shirt purchases from people who can afford the DVD just might show him that his audience is big enough, that we're ready for him to take a big risk and put on another real show. We need to show him that he has support in a way that is universally understood, the all mighty dollar.

As an artist really just starting out again who needs the support of his thirty or so fans so people can hear about his work and experience it for themselves, I can relate. I'm also an independent and in my own small way understand why Joss wants to do a few things on his own without a studio looking over his shoulder or making final decisions about his work. I know I'll have a copy of the DVD, T-Shirt and I absolutely NEED one of the Coffee Mugs, even if it doesn't exist yet. I'll find a way, there's a spot for it on my desk and everything.

Now go see the Doctor: www.drhorrible.com
Go now.

Nathan's pic above appears thanks to www.jedichefs.com who somehow got him in a very compromising position.

Campaign to Save Dollhouse Before It Airs! [This show is not cancelled!]

Regular readers of my blog are well aware that I have little faith in the television networks. I'm even bitter of the cancellation of Firefly, more so than most people.

The collaborative effort between Producer / Star Eliza Dushku and Joss Whedon, Dollhouse, already impresses me. I've seen a trailer, read a few bits and heard a few bites about it, and I can count on one hand the number of times I've been this excited about a show coming to the small screen. That's what makes the following blog entry all the more weighty for me.

I believe that you have to discuss and regularly view the shows you enjoy to keep them on the air. That doesn't always work, so sometimes you have to campaign, join in with a group of fellow fans and participate in an activity that draws attention and demonstrates that there is a large, loyal fan base for a series facing cancellation.

There is a point, however, where you're just taking it too far. The administrator named Nathan over at dollhouseforums.com has really found that point. He's opened a plea to the gathering of Joss Whedon fans to start campaigning against the cancellation of the show before the pilot has even aired. That's just like meeting a woman on the street and saying; "Please don't file for a divorce!" before you've even introduced yourself.

Now, it's true that previous Joss Whedon series have been cancelled prematurely. Angel was cancelled after five seasons, which really isn't something to cry about since television shows in the US are lucky to get into their second season these days. Firefly was cancelled before they could finish one season and I completely agree that the show got a raw deal in scheduling, advertising, and in it's treatment from the Fox network. Eliza Dushku, who produces and stars in Dollhouse, had her series, Tru Calling, cancelled as well, but let's face it, it wasn't exactly a television gem. I enjoyed it, but it's cancellation wasn't life changing for me. I was honestly happy Eliza could go on to work on a higher quality series or continue building a film career.

Network decisions rarely seem fair where our favorite shows are concerned, that's true. I reiterate, however, that this bulletin board administrator has acted prematurely and is doing more damage than good.

There's a huge problem with starting a campaign to save a show this early. It fills people who don't closely follow entertainment news with the assumption that the show is about to be cancelled. This isn't true at the time of this writing, but it's the conclusion tens of thousands, more likely HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of people are going to come to. It doesn't matter if this Nathan fellow posts a retraction, deletes his post, takes out a full page ad in Variety magazine, the damage is done, your words and the negative publicity you've stirred is out there. Many websites have already picked up the story, some of them are attached to television shows that may mention this trigger happy campaign on air where millions of people will see it and make the wrong assumption.

Let's face it, publicity is a careful thing, and most of those people will only hear; "Dollhouse" and "Cancelled" even though this isn't anywhere near the truth.

I'll give you an example. Say someone on an entertainment program is speaking about this issue, they might say something like; "And in other television news, a community site for the new Joss Whedon series set to debut this fall, Dollhouse, has started an anti-cancellation campaign pre-emptively. This is most likely due to creator Joss Whedon's earlier series, Firefly, being cancelled mid season by the Fox network..."

You see? In less than 20 seconds of spoken E-News reporting you have the words Joss Whedon, Dollhouse, and Cancelled. Some of you are thinking; "But those words weren't even in the same sentence!" It just doesn't matter. Half the people watching the E-News are only half paying attention and when you look at that phrase, even spoken differently, those words will stand out and be more memorable as the most dramatic points in the statement.

For anyone who doesn't already know, Dollhouse is about characters called Actives. They can be programmed to love someone, have different skills at the highest levels and even feature entirely different personalities. There are only a few models, and as far as I can surmise there is a company in control of them while at least one of the group fights for individuality. I like the concept, I want to see it go as far as Joss Whedon, Eliza Dushku (this is her first development deal), and crew want to take it. I hope it's on for as long as they want it on the air and I wish them many spinnoffs, maybe even a few million in merchandising and even more in syndication.

I have to admit, I'm more than a little irate with this Nathan fellow. He's really just an over anxious fan who didn't really think about his early call to action before posting it on the web. I'm sure he didn't mean any harm.

My advice to anyone reading this is to actually watch Dollhouse, give it a real chance and don't miss a single episode. Also make sure you record it with your DVR, those numbers are tracked and considered along with ratings figures. Sadly, thanks to this Nathan chap, we'll have to make sure that people know for a fact that this show isn't cancelled, so if you hear someone say it is, quash it right away, correct them politely and firmly. Somehow I thought we might get to see Joss have a good solid run on television without his fans, that includes yours truly, having to go on a bloody crusade. Why can't anything good ever come easy?

Nathan;
I find your lack of faith disturbing.

Everyone else;
Go take a look at the trailers and learn to love the new Whedon / Dushku collaborative effort. Go now, go often from different computers. Let's rack up a few gazillion hits on the website.
http://www.dollverse.com/trailer/

There are also more positive ways to show your excitement and your anticipation for this show at www.dollverse.com on the main page. They're less alarmist and far more effective.

RL