Welcome back my friends, Episode 157 is ready for your consumption. This week Monkeys Fighting Robots reporter Roger Riddell interviews Todd McFarlane and we recap the best moments from New York Comic Con 2018.
Did you go to NYCC? Let me know how your experience was.
Thanks for taking the time to listen to the podcast.
Do you have a question for the show? Email robotsfightingmonkeys@gmail.com
Never heard of Matt Sardo? For starters, he made the Kessel Run in less than 11 parsecs. Prior to that, he gave Doc Brown the idea for the flux capacitor and led the Resistance to victory over SkyNet – all while sipping a finely crafted IPA. As a radio host, he’s interviewed celebrities, athletes and everyone in between. He’s covered everything from the Super Bowl to Comic-Con.
CW’s The Flash returns with a solid season premiere. Following the show’s arguably best season, The Flash kicks off season five with a new West-Allen. Most of “Nora” revolves around… Nora, the time-traveling daughter of Barry and Iris. This episode provides a fun one-off conflict that integrates Nora into Team Flash. It’s a pleasant adventure that sets up The Flash’s fifth year.
“Nora” picks right up from the season four finale, with Nora coming home. She reveals that she’s time-traveled, but can’t return to her time. The majority of this episode deals with Barry and Iris reckoning with meeting their not-yet-born daughter. The Flash has done time travel many, MANY times, so nothing in “Nora” is particularly groundbreaking. However, it is nice that it’s not Barry messing up the timeline for a change. And considering it’s such a common plot point, the fact the episode isn’t head-bashingly boring is an accomplishment on its own.
Jessica Parker Kennedy and Grant Gustin, CW’S THE FLASH
The episode also features some solid performances to keep it moving. The star is Jessica Parker Kennedy as Nora, a.k.a. XS (so her meta name is extra small?) Not only is she the spitting image of what a Barry-Iris child would look like, but she’s got fantastic energy. The way she plays the overwhelmed time-traveling child really centers the episode well. Grant Gustin and Candice Patton also play the confused, caring parents well. None of the other regulars get much shine in “Nora,” aside from some goofy Hartley Sawyer-Ralph Dibny moments. But as the episode is called “Nora,” the fact Nora is the standout works perfectly well.
The plot of Flash’s various suits was pretty amusing, but had a somewhat bummer ending. As with every season, Barry gets a new suit… but this new one is bad. Obviously, the problem isn’t with the body-shaming some fans got into with Grant Gustin. The fact that The Flash is moving away from all the leather is also a smart move. However, this new suit is a little flappy, like it wasn’t made for Gustin. Also, the neck flaps don’t match the rest of the suit, and it’s super distracting. Considering this suit will probably stick around all season, the fact it’s so unnerving doesn’t bode well.
One thing that makes the weaker moments forgivable is the fact this is a season premiere. There’s so much table-setting that needs to happen when a show kicks off new storylines. Those new storylines are the strongest elements of “Nora,” so the episode is an overall success. From the strong debut of Kennedy’s Nora, to the peculiar cliffhanger introducing a new villain, “Nora” will please fans who have been waiting for The Flash’s return.
October 7th, 2018 was a special day. In addition to being Thanksgiving Sunday in Canada and the day before Columbus Day in the States, it also featured the premiere of what is essentially the 37th season of the British science-fiction juggernaut DOCTOR WHO. For longtime fans of the show, it will come as no surprise that the show has been completely re-tooled, featuring all-new companions, an all-new show runner in Chris Chibnall, and an all-new Doctor — with a freshly made sonic screwdriver to boot. Unlike previous incarnations of the functionally immortal space-bound swashbuckler, though, the Thirteenth Doctor is a woman.
Although there are likely some factions who dislike the Doctor’s change in gender, preferring instead an all-male roster, talk of a female Doctor goes back at least as far as the ’80s when John Nathan-Turner, DOCTOR WHO’s producer at the time, discussed Peter Davison’s replacement.
Back then Turner quickly shut down the suggestion that the Sixth Doctor might be female, saying instead that he planned to replace Davison with an older man. Turner was somewhat true to his word. He eventually chose Colin Baker, eight years Davison’s senior, as Davison’s replacement, but sensibilities have changed a lot since the ’80s.
DOCTOR WHO Returns: A Companion’s Guide to 55 Years of DOCTOR WHO – Finding The Doctor
Thirteen actors have now portrayed The Doctor’s bumbling but always-amazing first steps. And from Patrick Troughton, the first actor to portray The Doctor’s regeneration, to Jodie Whittaker, each actor has built off of previous incarnations of the character to form their interpretation. From an acting point of view, the process of defining a new Doctor must be an increasingly tricky one with every regeneration: fans of a specific version of The Doctor might not feel that their particular favourite has been given enough of a nod. Or, going the other way, fans may feel that the new iteration is too derivative.
As a true Whovian, having now watched thirteen regenerations — the 10th Doctor actually regenerated twice — I’d say I’m familiar with the traditions of the process. Disorientation bordering on dementia is a must for a regenerating Doctor. Whittaker pulled this trait off well: in addition to not being able to remember the word “tongue” or her own name, at one point she jammed her finger in her nose, exclaiming that she loved it, before fainting.
So far I’m seeing a lot of Peter Davison, a bit of Patrick Troughton, and a bit of David Tennant in Whittaker’s portrayal, but as more episodes air and she deals with old and new threats alike, I’m sure viewers will catch glimpses of other Doctors as well — I’m always happy to see hints of the Second and Fourth Doctors.
In its high energy level, Whittaker’s performance is similar to almost all portrayals of the character, except for the First Doctor, but Whittaker’s determined goofiness — kind of a focused innocence — reminds this Whovian the most of the celery-wearing Fifth Doctor.
DOCTOR WHO Returns: A Companion’s Guide to 55 Years of DOCTOR WHO – “For The Doctor’s New Companions, The Chase Is On”
Getting a new Doctor is exciting, but getting all-new companions is also a treat. The Doctor has had a few of them, starting with Ian Chesterton (William Russell), Barbara Wright (Jacqueline Hill), and the Doctor’s granddaughter, Susan (Carole Ann Ford).
Then, the Second Doctor introduced viewers to his swashbuckling Highlander companion Jamie McCrimmon (Frazer Hines), perpetual damsel in distress Victoria Waterfield (Deborah Watling), and fan-favourite Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (Nicholas Courtney).
The Third Doctor welcomed one of the most popular DOCTOR WHO cast members, Elisabeth Sladen, as Sarah Jane Smith. Sarah Jane’s time in the TARDIS had her working along both the Third and Fourth Doctors, Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker respectively. Sarah Jane made such an impression on the franchise that she made return cameos during the Tenth Doctor’s tenure and starred in two DOCTOR WHO spin-offs, the somewhat unworthy K-9 AND COMPANY (1981) and, much more well-rounded, THE SARAH JANE ADVENTURES(2007–2011), which ended prematurely when Sladen, to the dismay of friends, family, and fans, died suddenly of cancer.
The new cast of companions seems typically unready for their dangerous adventure. The dyspraxic Ryan Sinclair (Tosin Cole), Sheffield cop Yasmin Khan (Mandip Gill), and the hardworking if somewhat out-of-touch Graham O’Brien (Bradley Walsh) will have to learn to work with the scatterbrained Thirteenth Doctor to stay alive, having been inadvertently teleported to the upper atmosphere of an alien planet.
Let’s hope they know what to do when The Doctor turns to them and yells “Run!” Of course, running should be easy for Bradley Walsh, who, when he’s not helping The Doctor right intergalactic wrongs, puts his talents to work as the host of the popular British game show THE CHASE.
DOCTOR WHO Returns: A Companion’s Guide to 55 Years of DOCTOR WHO – Going Forward
I’m excited to see how The Doctor and her cast of companions get along. Although every regeneration and re-tooling of the show always involves the end of something I enjoy, each one also starts something new that I grow to enjoy in its own right. I’ll miss the lovable crustiness of Peter Capaldi’s interpretation of The Doctor just as I missed Patrick Troughton’s goofy exuberance when the businesslike Jon Pertwee replaced him. And even though I never came to prefer Jon Pertwee’s interpretation to that of Patrick Troughton, I did come to like how Pertwee’s portrayal darkened the character: Pertwee’s slightly darker interpretation provided Tom Baker the opportunity to really explore The Doctor’s real emotional potential.
We’ve only seen one episode of the refit DOCTOR WHO so it’s difficult to judge, but I think that Chibnall and Whittaker’s vision for the show will provide unique opportunities to expand on DOCTOR WHO’s well-established themes of beneficence in the face of adversity, the benefits of diversity, and the problems of moral ambiguity. I also predict that there will be Daleks…lots of Daleks.
Eric Powell will be relaunching his iconic The Goon comic in 2019, bringing the title back to his own publishing company, Albatross Funnybooks. The relaunch comes in time for the Goon’s 20th anniversary.
The Goon is a cult classic created, written, and drawn by Powell. The series launched in 1999 at Albatross and went three issues before finding a home at Dark Horse. It wrapped in 2015 with a cliffhanger and the promise of more. Goon blends comedy, horror, and noir, and is one of the most unique and beautiful comics you could have the pleasure of reading.
“The relaunch of the Goon, it’s return to Albatross Funnybooks, and all in time for the book’s 20th anniversary… it couldn’t get more meaningful for me. Turning Albatross into a full fledged publisher instead of a side imprint was a big experiment with a lot of risks. The fact that we feel confident bringing the full library of my flagship title over going into our third year of expansion fills me with excitement and a new enthusiastic energy for what’s to come.
As it’s obvious to see with the Albatross lineup of Hillbilly, Spook House, ‘Namwolf, Galaktikon, Grumble, and Megaghost, we focus on making fun, eclectic comics that stand out for their individuality and creative quality. It’s with this idea of keeping the fun in our Funny Books that we are steering this new Goon series. I’m returning to the roots of the series with a heavy emphasis on the weird, twisted humor the book has been known for. The world around us is dark enough right now. I want to make readers laugh and forget their troubles for a little bit. It definitely feels like it’s time for the Goon.”
“And as I now am not just the creator of the Goon but also the publisher, I need to make sure our readers get their Goon fix on a regular basis. To that end, we’ll be bringing new creators on to the regular series for first time ever! You’ll not only be getting Goon books written and drawn by me, but some written and drawn by some of the best talent in the industry! We will be making announcements in the months to come, but, boy, I can’t wait to show off some of the art we have in the works!!! I think this artist might draw Goon and Franky better than me! And just wait until you hear who’s writing a script for me to draw! It’s one of the best daggum creators in the business, ya’ll!
So hang onto your butts! 2019 is gonna be the year of the Goon! And we’ll be seeing you at the Goon 20th Anniversary Party in Nashville! We know you like to party.”
When The Goon ended in 2015, it came with an epilogue that promised the return of an ancient evil, one that only the “Lords of Misery” could vanquish. Powell has since talked about this Lords of Misery series, as well as another Goon spinoff. It’s unclear what this new announcement means for these series.
Are you excited for more Goon? Comment below with your thoughts!
Tuesday morning Warner Bros. released the first image of Ruby Rose in the Batwoman suit as part of the Arrow-verse crossover event on the CW.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the costume was designed by award-winning designer Colleen Atwood, who was also behind the spandex creations for Arrow, The Flash, and Supergirl.
The crossover event titled ‘Elseworlds’ will debut on the CW December 9.
‘Elseworlds’ will see Green Arrow, The Flash, and Supergirl heading to Gotham City and teaming up with Batwoman after some good, old-fashioned mad science at Arkham Asylum captures the attention of heroes from throughout the multiverse.
High Lifetrailer unveils roughly 15-seconds of a film from famed French director Claire Denis that stars everyone’s favorite shimmery vampire Robert Pattinson. The science fiction film is set on a spaceship heading towards a black hole but that’s the least of the problems for the ship full of prisoners. High-Life is set for wide release on November 7, 2018.
About High Life
Official Description: Monte is one of several death row inmates given the opportunity to forgo their sentence in exchange for manning a suicide space mission to harvest energy from near a black hole. The ship’s doctor is also conducting an experiment of her own, obsessively testing human’s ability to reproduce in space. The ragtag crew’s close quarters and grim fate breed dissent and ultimately brutal violence.
High Life premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and blew people away. However, it’s not a film remotely intended to make tons of box office cash or even win Oscars. It’s on a pretentious level (not hating, I love her) all its own. Director Claire Denis tells singular stories with a focused voice that’s more reminiscent of a Kubrick or Jodorowsky which makes fantastic, but also inaccessible to a large part of the viewing audience. The story for High Life looks like more of the same from the legendary French filmmaker.
High Life features a cast that includes …
Robert Pattinson as Monte
Juliette Binoche as Dr. Dibs
Mia Goth as Boyse
Lars Eidinger as Chandra
André Benjamin as Tchemy
Agata Buzek as Nansen
Ewan Mitchell as Ettore
Jessie Ross as Willow (Teenager)
Scarlett Lindsey as Willow (Baby)
Claire Tran as Mink
Gloria Obianyo as Elektra
Both Robert Pattinson and Kristin Stewart parlayed shimmery vampire melodrama into big paydays that have afforded them the luxury of making movies they really want to make. Pattinson has a string of fantastic films under his belt, and while they don’t get the attention of Twilight, people should be paying attention. The actor knocks out role after role. Partnered with Denis and co-starring the equally fantastic Juliette Binoche is a match made for a bit of bizarre but brilliant cinematic heaven.
Did this trailer get you excited for High Life? Leave your comments below!
Doctor Who is back with arguably the most contentious move – the casting of Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor. The controversial new Doctor premiered with her first episode on Sunday night.
On the outskirts of Sheffield, Ryan Sinclair (Tosin Cole) discovers a strange alien pod. Ryan calls the police, leading to a reunion with his old friend Yaz (Mandip Gill). However, by making contact with the pod, aliens come to the city and target these ordinary people. Fortunately, they have an ally in the form of a mysterious woman who happened to be a white-haired Scotsman 30 minutes beforehand. This is the introduction of our newest, female Doctor.
Since Whittaker’s reveal, a vocal minority of fans called the move ‘a disgrace.’ Several threatened to boycott Doctor Who over the choice of a female doctor. I will admit, I had some reservations, as casting a woman could be seen as agenda-pushing if mishandled. Along with that, the new showrunner Chris Chinhall’s previous Doctor Who episodes are far from the best. But Whittaker knocked it out of the park, and is already winning over doubters. She shows The Doctor’s eccentricities and energy in a stronger debut than Peter Capaldi’s Doctor. Plus, the show handles Whittaker’s reveal simply, basically saying “I’m a lady now, okay?” It launches right in, and doesn’t dwell on the swap.
“The Woman Who Fell to Earth” bears some resemblance to Matt Smith’s first episode – “The Eleventh Hour.” Both episodes see The Doctor land on Earth, disoriented after regenerating. They have to stop an alien threat without their tools, and meet new companions. Both have a stripped down, back-to-basics approach that make a good jumping off point for new viewers. But “The Woman Who Fell to Earth” and “The Eleventh Hour” definitely have differences. Whittaker’s version of The Doctor was already shown as a tinkerer, being able to turn everyday objects into advance sci-fi items. Along with that, “The Woman Who Fell to Earth” has a more straightforward narrative with smaller stakes.
Chibnall and director Jamie Childs give Doctor Who a light for a breezy hour of television. It aptly reintroduces The Doctor, sets up new characters with their struggles. Yaz and Grace are a police officer and a nurse who are smart and skilled while Ryan is reasonably intelligent and Graham is personable and resourceful.
There are some changes I didn’t like, the biggest being music. Previous composer Murray Gold has left the show. Gone is his cinematic orchestra and bombard sound. Segun Akinola took over scoring Doctor Who, and he goes for a more minimalistic, modern sound. This is a case of personal preference, and it might be a case that I need to get used to the new direction.
Previous showrunners of the modern Doctor Who series have put their own local stamp on the show. Chibnall is doing the same with the historic county of Yorkshire. The two leading ladies are from the county, and everyone in the episode had a Yorkshire dialect. There are reports that American audiences couldn’t understand Whittaker’s accent, which is baffling. The Yorkshire accent is far from the thickest regional accent from the British Isles. Setting the first episode in Sheffield does make for a welcome change because it moves the show from its usual settings.
“The Woman Who Fell to Earth” is a strong start for a show that continually reinvents itself. Whittaker shows a lot of promise, and it will be interesting to see where the show goes from here. Doctor Who has proven it knows how to introduce Whittaker’s Doctor, and it will be fun to see what she does next.
Few details regarding Jordan Peele’s upcoming revival of the classic sci-fi anthology The Twilight Zone are available (although CBS All Access did tweet that production has officially started!), so we don’t know yet if the series will be all original stories or a mix of originals and remakes. Having been a fan of the original show since I was a child, I hope they remake some of the classics as well as creating their own. Here are 5 episodes they could reboot:
Considered by among the best episodes of the original series, “Eye of the Beholder” is a masterpiece of “shadow and substance”. Director Douglas Heyes and Director of Photography George T. Clemens led the audience on an intriguing and scary voyage through misdirection and inventive camera angles. If you somehow aren’t familiar with the episode, I won’t spoil it for you – seek it out and watch it for yourself.
My favorite aspect of The Twilight Zone is that it encourages the viewer to think. This episode deals with topics such as the absurdity of beauty standards and the danger of authoritarianism.
There are dangers in attempting to remake classics, but if done correctly, this tale could prove a chance to do the original proud.
Scout Comics is bringing readers Dust, an intriguing new science fiction comic book series created by Brett Register (award-winning writer and director, currently overseeing a digital slate for DC Comics at Warner Brothers/Telepictures Productions), with artwork by Zack Finfrock (freelance illustrator for 12 years, lead illustrator and content producer at Loot Crate).
DUST is set in the distant future where Jupiter has ignited, creating a second sun in our solar system. As a result, the polar ice caps melted and the Earth dried out. The rich and powerful have built a utopia underground to escape the harsh conditions on the surface. They call it ‘The Echo’. The rest of humanity has been left to either die or face a harsh existence in a barren, godforsaken land. They call this place… The Dust.
On his creation, Brett Register says:
The main protagonist is a girl named Keeli. She was born in The Echo, but at a very young age she was abandoned and deported to The Dust. She grew up alone, never truly knowing who she is or why she was left behind. But little does she know that the answers to her questions will change the world forever.
Scout President James Hack adds:
To say that Scout is excited to be adding DUST to our ever-expanding library would be a massive understatement. It’s a large-scale concept that takes theoretical science to tell a Stars Wars-level story. We have high-hopes for DUST, and the creative team of Brett Register and Zack Finfrock.
Dust is set for release in 2019.
So what do you guys think? Dust sounds like a really great concept and sci-fi (much like horror) is a genre with a huge resurgence in the comics medium recently. Definitely worth checking out! Comment and discuss below.
After making waves at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival and Toronto International Film Festival, Colette has made its way into U.S. cinemas.
The movie stars Keira Knightley as the eponymous Colette, a woman who is pressured by her husband to write novels under his name. However, as the books become successful, she wishes to get credit for her work, challenging the gender norms of the time
In this era, Colette’s story is more important than ever. It is the story of a woman in the arts of whom men take advantage and manipulate. Moreover, it is a film about a woman who dares to express herself and her sexuality, messages which are still too often ignored.
However, the movie manages to not be sententious about these messages, instead of presenting them in a naturalistic way that flows with the story. Much of the film is surprisingly upbeat and quickly-paced, allowing the audience to get wrapped up in the story and its characters. As a result, it is far more entertaining than the average biopic.
Dominic West stars as Willy and Keira Knightley as Colette in COLETTE, a Bleecker Street release. Photo Credit: Robert Viglasky / Bleecker Street.
The characters are also quite empathetic. The protagonist is highly likable and well-developed over the course of the story. She is one of the strongest, most rounded characters to grace the screen all year, female or male. Even though Willy is misogynistic and manipulative, the film does an excellent job of making him into a real person, not just a caricature. This is important, as it legitimizes the struggle that Colette faces.
That being said, there are some issues with the movie’s timeline. Even though the film is very clear about the passage of time, there are significant gaps in the story. While it is likely that nothing important happened in these periods of Colette’s life, the story feels jumpy nonetheless.
Additionally, towards the middle of the film, it begins to devolve into more typical, melodramatic fare when a love triangle subplot is introduced. This subplot was disappointingly bland and exploitative. Luckily, this only takes up a short amount of time, and the movie can recover.
Keira Knightley stars as Colette and Eleanor Tomlinson as Georgie Raoul-Duval in COLETTE, a Bleecker Street release. Credit: Robert Viglasky / Bleecker Street.
The execution of the film is solid. The cinematography and production design are both beautiful. These elements work together well to periodize the movie. Furthermore, the use of music in the film is quite good. The score is elegant and accentuated the tense and dramatic moments of the story.
The performances in the film are of high quality, too. Knightley knocks it out of the park as the eponymous protagonist. She delivers an awards-worthy performance, perhaps the strongest of her already impressive career. Dominic West complements her well in his role. The two have great chemistry together (positive and negative), the scenes they share being the highlights of the movie.
Overall, Colette is a terrific film. It has an interesting, albeit flawed, story with a great message that lends itself to phenomenal performances. This is one to keep on your radar come awards season.
Colette is now playing in select theaters and expands October 12.
