Oh Boy! Toys!

I don't feel like reviewing TV shows this week.

I found some cool toys on Monday. I found a Spider-Man from Hasbro's new Marvel Universe line, and an X-Men Origins: Wolverine "Comic Series" figure of Wolvie as he looked back when I read the X-Men. Now normally I'd pass on Marvel super hero action figures, but these are in my favorite scale - 3 3/4."


Spidey takes out his frustrations on one of those pesky Jawas.

I was already thrilled about Mattel's DC Infinite Heroes action figures. My favorite scale, and doing characters like Black Adam, Adam Strange and Guy Gardner right off the bat! I became a little less thrilled at the generic sculpting and poor articulation, but they were two bucks cheaper than my Star Wars figures so I was willing to accept the trade off. But now, I can't find anything after the first wave, even though they've been all over the internet for months. Not very encouraging for me to build the entire DCU.

So the idea of being able to build the entire MU to go along with it is a little bittersweet now, because I suspect I'll never get to complete my Justice League to stand toe-to-toe with my Avengers. I even considered not buying them after all... until I found one.

A Stormtrooper is distracted from his duties by Starfire's boobies.

These figures are nice. Hasbro's been doing a great job with the Star Wars figures over the last few years, and Steve tells me they've been doing just as good with the GI Joe figures. Well, they've applied it all to the Marvel Universe line. Fantastic detailing, individualized sculpting (no cheap-out sculpting here, unlike the DCU line) and tons of articulation.

Wolverine's got his quarters down and Green Lantern Hal Jordan waits
for Grand Admiral Thrawn to stop hogging the Pac-Man machine.

So I'm hooked. I really hope I'll still be able to build the DCU with it, but even if I don't, I'm such a sucker for the 3 3/4" scale and they've done such a good job with these figures that I can't bring myself to pass them up.

Star Trek: The Next Generation - "The Big Goodbye"

I remember this as being one of the best episodes of the first season at the time. In rewatching it, it's still good, but it's amazing how 21 seasons of Next-Gen era stories can change your perspective.

Picard is completely amazed at how realistic and detailed the holodeck is. At the time, we were seeing it for the first time as well, so we relate to his enthusiasm. Nowadays, it's just the holodeck. Of course it can do all these things, what's the big deal?

There is a line of dialogue where Dr. Crusher says to Picard that the new upgrades to the holodeck are complete, so he should go try them out. So presumably holodecks just weren't this advanced before, and the holodeck as we saw it in "Code of Honor" would seem to back this up. As long as we don't have a prequel show to TNG, it should hold up.

The other interesting thing is how, once the holodeck characters discover they are simply holodeck characters, they begin to wonder about their existence. It sets things up nicely for the EMH Doctor on Voyager.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars "The Hidden Enemy"

This was a great episode, that raised some interesting points. One of the clones in the group is a traitor. What could make a Clone Trooper turn against his own? The answer is a great one-- he feels the clones are nothing more than slaves of the Republic. And really, he's right. Do the clones get asked to serve? No, they're pre-programmed to when they're being created. If a clone wants to leave the service, is he allowed? I hope they do more to follow up on this particular point of view, because it raises some great points that haven't been addressed before in any of the Clone Wars media I've seen. (Granted, I haven't read any Clone Wars era books yet.)

The only thing I didn't like is that when he's caught, Rex and Cody are asking him how he could justify actions that endangered his fellow clones. They weren't just endangered-- we saw a bunch of them get killed. They double standard of how we can show characters getting killed but we can't acknowledge it in dialogue has always annoyed me.

The Pink Panther 2

I enjoyed this a lot. Steve Martin is still doing a good job carrying on the Clouseau legacy (at least in my book), and he's still funny in this one. John Cleese also gets a few totally killer lines. (I asked Mylene if she recognized the Monty Python guy in it, and she said she didn't, but once she knew there was one he was her guess.)

Oh, and to anyone else who might be worried because of the kids in the commercials... don't be. There is little to no sap. Well, with the kids anyway.

I figured out the plot of who was behind it all fairly early on and without even trying, but plot twists aren't what I watch Clouseau movies for... it's for the character and to laugh, and in that regard this one delivers just fine.

Dollhouse - "Ghost"

I've decided to give Dollhouse a try based on the strength of Firefly. So far I'm definitely intrigued by the first episode. What did Echo do that lead her here? They talk about five years of service... is her memory stored somewhere, to be re-implanted in her when her time is done, or is it gone forever, and she leaves with a new memory? Are the new experiences of each personality stored when they're removed in case they're needed again?

I'll definitely stick around for a while.

Terminator : The Sarah Connor Chronicles - "The Good Wound"

I'm starting to find John Henry to be the most interesting character. Which is not to say that I find the others bland, so much as I find him the most intriguing. And in light of the recent revelations on Galactica, I can't help but wonder if Ellison's attempt to bring a sense of morality to him will spectacularly backfire.

Battlestar Galactica - "No Exit"

Fan-frakkin'-tastic!! Some good, solid answers. There are still plenty of questions, and in some cases these answers raise even more questions, but this is exactly what I was hoping for.

Among my new questions: Anders says "Organic memory transfer came from Kobol along with the 13th tribe." Does this mean that the Cylons were created not on the Colonies, but on Kobol?

So far this has been the show's strongest season for me; I just hope the ending holds up.

Final Crisis vs. Secret Invasion

I'm not planning on talking about comics much, but in the process of working down my comic backlog, I've just finished reading both DC's Final Crisis and Marvel's Secret Invasion, so I feel compelled to compare the two.

Now, to get my bias out right away, I am a much bigger DC fan than Marvel fan. I loved Marvel Comics when I was a teenager (way back when they decided to expand their popular X-Men comic with a new spin-off called The New Mutants, to give you a timeframe). But one by one I lost interest in my Marvel titles, and when I did get drawn back into super hero comics years later it was with the Death of Superman storyline, and I found I really enjoyed the new DC Universe. I still read Marvel books, but ever since then Marvel's been firmly in second place.

So I guess it's going to be pretty obvious that for me, the run-away winner in the battle between 2008's Mega-Crossovers is... Marvel's SECRET INVASION!

I found DC's Final Crisis to be a confusing mess. The first issue and a half felt like completely unconnected scenes, and I couldn't figure out what it was trying to tell me. And what the heck was up with killing the Martian Manhunter in one panel?!? Rich tells me that Grant Morrison was going for something different, showing that these bad guys were so nasty they could kill a major hero like Martian Manhunter like he was a redshirt. Sorry, but that wasn't what I got out of it. I'm all for new and innovative ways of storytelling, and I'm certainly willing to think and try to piece things together, but I guess this one was just beyond me. Maybe I'm just not intellectual enough. (Oh, look! Knight Rider's on!)

The story started to coalesce by the end of issue 2, but I still felt it was moving slowly. Issues 3 and 4 were more coherant, but not exactly exciting me, and I usually enjoy the New Gods. Issues 5 and 6, when the Anti-Life equation is unleashed, I really enjoyed, but even then I felt like I was missing important parts. (Wait a minute, who's under their control and who isn't? Is that the real Wonder Woman?) And Batman went out in style. Then came issue 7, and I was again left thinking, WTF? And the spin-offs that I've read (Rage of the Red Lanterns, Superman Beyond 3D and Legion of Three Worlds) don't seem to connect with the whole New Gods and building of the Fifth World at all-- the only connection seems to be in the Final Crisis brand name. So overall, I didn't really enjoy it.

Secret Invasion, on the other hand, I loved from beginning to end. It was a fast moving story that felt strongly connected and coherant, and presented a crisis (pardon the word) that shook the entire Marvel Universe. I felt like I was getting the core story in the main comic, without missing a thing, but then I'd see how it affected the entire world in any other Marvel comics I read (particularly She-Hulk). Anytime I felt there were characters I didn't really know, I felt I was given enough backstory in context that I didn't feel lost. Brian Michael Bendis is known for his slow pacing, and I think that the conversation between Jarvis and SHIELD on the deck of the helicarrier didn't need to take three issues, but other than that I felt like I was getting a story. A big-ass story, at that.

As for impact... Final Crisis killed Batman and Martian Manhunter. Secret Invasion killed the Wasp and a bunch of low-tier heroes, most of which I've never heard of anyway. Now I expect all of those main characters to come back (I give Batman 12-18 months, the Wasp 3-5 years, and Martian Manhunter 5-10 years) but it's still a pretty big deal. On the whole, though, even though he got a good death scene, I feel Batman deserves to go out on a better story.

Oh yeah, and we got Barry Allen back. Well, I suppose that will make the old school Flash fans happy. Personally I never really got into the Flash, so all it is to me is another reversal. See above predictions. ;)

I still buy three times as many DC books than Marvel books, and I don't expect that to change any time soon. Still... you know what Marvel's been saying: Embrace Change...

Star Wars: The Clone Wars "Tresspass"

Another strong episode, this time showing the race of that one furry four-eyed critter from the cantina. This show is really excelling at taking things that previously only been talked about in print and making them real parts of the visual Star Wars universe.

Star Trek: The Next Generation - "Haven"

In my mind I had always associated this title with the planet that was ruled by women, but it turns out it wasn't that at all. It's the episode where we first meet Lwaxana Troi. The planet Haven itself actually has very little to do with it.

Some great moments between Lwaxana and Picard, of course, and they really stand out as one of the better parts of this episode.

Deanna keeps calling Riker "Bill" in this episode, but production wise it is the fifth episode made, so I guess it's understandable.

I have to wonder if the plague ship is a leftover from the original "Blood and Fire" story concept?