Like the Hulk before it; is anyone really hopping up and down with joy and excitement over this new Punisher movie? Will this second big screen take on the Punisher somehow make a more positive impact than the first one - especially in today’s way, way, way overloaded superhero-movie-market?

Basically, do we really need another Punisher flick? Anyone?

Personally I feel Marvel has to be very careful that they don’t start over-saturating the movie going audience with too many B, C and D list superhero films. Now that Marvel “the Movie Studio” has tons of cash - and heaps of praise and goodwill - for the awesomeness that came from the highly successful Iron Man movie they need to tread extra carefully so as not to spoil it all with too much, too soon.

Sometimes less is certainly more.  More so when the “less” equals terrific films and the “more” equals crappy movies everyone hates. So don’t blow it Marvel, people love you right now! This is your time to shine, as long as you don’t screw it all up!

 The fourth season for the Incredible Hulk TV show was the last full season of the show.  In fact, the fourth season had only 18 episodes due to a writer’s strike that year that shortened the TV season.  There would be a 5^th season however the show would be canceled after just seven episodes.  It’s clear that by the fourth season the show was starting to lose steam.  The major reason for this was budget cuts.  While the producers wanted to do more with the character, budget constrictions forced them to do even less.  In fact as noted during the documentary on the season three DVD set, studio bigwigs wanted only one Hulk appearance per episode compared to the usual two.  Good sense won out on that battle but the show was still one of the most expensive to produce at the time so things were not going to get any easier for the writers. 

Because of this, the fourth season lacks consistency.  It’s almost if rather than try to make a lot of good episodes the producers opted to put all their eggs in one basket and make a handful of outstanding episodes.  Of course, the downside to this was that this meant there were quite a few bad episodes as well.  One cool aspect in season four is that Lou Ferrigno was able to play a role other than the Hulk, appearing as a bodybuilder in the episode “King of the Beach.”   

Season four is highlighted by a pair of outstanding two-part episodes.  “Prometheus” and “The First” aren’t just two of the best episodes of the season but two of the best of the show’s entire run.  From a comic book fan’s standpoint, these episodes were both comic-esque in their plots as well as very exciting. 

In “Prometheus”, David is caught halfway through his transformation into the Hulk.  In a nod to the long-running battle between the Hulk and General Thunderbolt Ross, the Hulk is captured by the Military and placed into titanium holding cell so scientists can study and experiment on him.  This is truly a fantastic two-parner as it’s one of the few times during the series’ run that you ever felt the Hulk was in danger. 

“Dark Side” again shows the writers were at least paying a bit of attention to the comics.  David’s latest experiment goes awry resulting in his transformation into a savage, rampaging Hulk, and endangering all those around him. In

“Bring Me the Head of the Hulk” (directed by Bill Bixby) a rival tabloid to the National Register hires a mercenary to kill the Hulk, setting an elaborate trap for him.  Of all people, it is reporter Jack McGee who comes to Banner/Hulk’s aid. 

“The First” is the other outstanding two-part episode.  David Banner learns about Dr. Clive, another man who transformed into a Hulk-like creature but was able to find a cure.  David attempts to cure himself using Clive’s notes but Clive subjects himself to radiation and turns into an evil Hulk.  The pair of green behemoths battle for supremacy.  Dick Durock, who also played the Swamp Thing, plays the evil Hulk and while he doesn’t have Ferrigno’s muscle development, he’s a big guide and looked maniacal when made up in the green makeup.  One of the very few times we were treated to a comic book-style battle during the series. 

Other outstanding episodes in season four include “Interview with the Hulk” and “Wax Museum”.  But, as mentioned, this season had some of the worst episodes as well so this set is a mixed lot but well worth it for the episodes I mentioned above.  Grade B. 

When someone offers me a free comic book—I take it. Good, Bad, Ugly—you never know what you’re gonna get but it’s free…and free is good. In this case, it was very good. I was one of the few folks who responded to Mark Millar’s offer for a free, lettered electronic copy of Kick-Ass #3 on his forum on the MillarWorld website in exchange for a review of the book. I’ve been reading this title since it started, several months ago, and, so far, it’s kept my attention with its over-the-top hyper-realism, violence, and social commentary. As a cautious reader, I realized quickly that there is more to this story than the surface “real life superhero” premise so I’ve been waiting for the other shoe to drop on Kick-Ass protagonist, Dave Lizewski, since the first issue.

Something tells me that the aforementioned “other shoe” has begun its tumultuous journey with the advent of the climax of Kick-Ass #3.

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Don’t always update The Reverend’s Show like I should, mainly because the day job keeps me busier than ever, along with Newsarama responsibilities. But I was due, so here you go.

I am shocked –SHOCKED, I say — that a network television show that manufactures pop music stars could be accused of ANY malfeasance.
EVER.
Pshaw!!!

Update!
Video of the sorry affair.

On a recent appearance on NBC’s The Today Show, Jenna Bush discussed her impending wedding. Among her observations regarding being the daughter of the president, she said, “I’m not that glamorous.”

No shit.

I’m not sure if there’s a backlash brewing out there yet, but if not, let’s start one.

I’m officially sick of hearing about Leona Lewis.

I don’t care that Simon Cowell discovered her on one of his British TV shows. I don’t care that he groomed her for stardom. I don’t care that she’s blee-hee-hee-ding love all over the damn place.

I just resent that’s there’s a vast conspiracy by huge, mediocore-entertainment-promoting entities (American Idol, Oprah’s show, etc.) to cram this woman down our collective throats. The “buzz” around Leona Lewis couldn’t have been more manufactured if had rolled off of a Ford line. Please, America, let this one go. If diva history is any indication, she’s already destined for marriage to an older man or washed-out performer, followed by a slow side to Vegas. The only one to escape the trap is Mariah, and that’s quite frankly because many men of all ages still entertain the thought of banging her like a screen door. Forget Leona Lewis. You don’t have to buy it just because they sell it.

That was painful to watch, and I blame neither candidate for it, really, the Republican OR the Democrat.
The less people see of that performance by ABC News, the better.

Well, at a certain someone’s behest, I caught up on GA/BC today. I hadn’t read since the same plot device used at the end of the wedding was used at the end of issue #3, and 3 issues in we’d already had a Mia “I HAVE AIDS!!!!!” tirade.

Nevertheless, I decided to go ahead and catch up, reading four issues in a row, ending with last week’s issue #7. I’ll be honest, #4 to a lesser extent, but I somewhat enjoyed 4-6. The broody Ollie is not as fun as the carefree Ollie, of course, but the characters still mostly acted like themselves, and some of the bits were pretty heartwarming. The do-over wedding in particular was nice; my wife and I had a small, intimate wedding, and we’ve also dressed as GA and BC for a Halloween. I digress. After feeling somewhat ok about this book all of a sudden, I then opened up #7.

It started off ok, with a decent little chase/action scene. A comedic beat followed, featuring Hal Jordan. Then, Team Arrow used the threat of sodomy by overweight shirtless clown, old lady in bikini and bunny ears, and a sheep as interrogation tools. Go ahead, re-read that sentence. I couldn’t possibly make this stuff up, folks, that’s what REALLY happens in the book.

Overseas in London, England, Team Arrow meets/tussles with/then decides fighting is silly (where have I seen that before? Oh, every team up. Ever. Forever.) with Gambit. Er…some kind of British Gambit wannabe who throws a mace instead of cards. He even has the two-toned spandex under a trench coat, a tussle to his hair, and a cavalier attitude. He’s a thief that’s made some bad moves, but everyone just can’t help but like him. So, like I said, they meet Gambit. He leads them to the big reveal…

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Entertainment Weekly, a magazine that continues to endear me for how much comic book-related material they cover, has a terrific feature on their website right now, “Comic Books: The One That Hooked Me!”
In it, over a dozen of the top industry talents show what was THE book that brought them where they are today. I like that in many instances the writers and artists acknowledge that they may have picked up something here and there in their youth that was practically throwaway, but here they detail the one that really stuck.

For me?
That’s easy: The New Teen Titans #16

As a kid growing up in the 70s, I was all over ANYTHING to do with superheroes. I’d follow the adventures of the Hulk, Batman, Wonder Woman, Spider-Man, you name it, on TV. Mom would buy me the occasional comic book of said characters, and artistically I could never have enough superhero coloring books.

But it wasn’t until the family moved cross-country at the end of 1980, and I started figuring out the monthly schedule of comic books at my new neighborhood’s 7-11. The book that locked me in like a tractor beam was this gem by Marv Wolfman & George Perez. The story blew me away as a kid (no happy ending??), but even more so was Perez’s rendering of Robin, someone I only knew as a guy voiced by Casey Kasem (Super Friends), and portayed in the flesh by Burt Ward (Batman). I don’t think think Dick Grayson ever looked so bad-ass in the yellow cape and red & green tights, but it turned out to be a sign of good things to come for the character. Nightwing, anyone? Plus the other characters who were brand new to me (Starfire, Cyborg, Changeling) were instantly easy to connect with.

So what locked YOU in?

Rock the Cradle premiered on MTV last night, and it was interesting. First off, let me say, go Jesse Blaze Snider! Woo!

Anyway, taking a look at the show, it was a good time, and it was interesting seeing a HUGE range of talent. For example, Chloe Lattanzi, daughter of Olivia Newton-John, wouldn’t make it to Hollywood on American Idol. Steve Walsh of the Eagles’ daughter  Lucy Walsh was incredible, and really deserved the “protected” spot.

The judging is all over the place, with judges rarely agreeing across the board- that’s perfect. It means they’re actually giving their individual opinions and EVERYone has different opinions. I don’t mind that at all, though I did quickly figure out who I’ll be agreeing with, and that Belinda Carlyle is batshit crazy. Although, she was right on Lil B Sure, as he was not the “best vocal performance of the night” like Larry Rudolph said- he was flat on 2 of his last three notes, but I digress.

Then there’s the host, Ryan Devlin. Wow, was this guy terrible. He has no charisma, he is NOT funny, his delivery was off, his timing was off when coming back to him, and he had his head and neck cocked forward the ENTIRE show- it was painful to watch, and bad enough that I fast forwarded (thank you tivo!) every time he spoke and someone else wasn’t around.

Don’t worry if you missed it, there’s something like 10 showings of the first episode in the next 3 days alone. It’s worth taking a look at, and I have a feeling once the first couple cullings take place and we get rid of the crap, the competition should get interesting.

Quick bits on every competitor after the break: (more…)

I took at look at some of the week’s Hot Searches at both AOL and Alexa. I often wonder exactly where the collective head of the internet is. Answer? Some strange places.

According to AOL, Hot Searches included:

Hot Searches from March 31, 2008:

Kate Bosworth — Got drunk before sex scene in new movie ‘21′
Earth Hour — Worldwide event designed to raise energy awareness
Kids’ Choice Awards — Find out who was slimmed this year
Katie Holmes — May star in a Broadway play
Food Network — Giada De Laurentiis gives birth
Doug Davis — Diamondbacks pitcher diagnosed with thyroid cancer
NASCAR — Find out who won the Goody’s Cool Orange 500
Kim Kardashian — Embarrassing WWE Wrestlemania XXIV Blunder?
NCAA — Who’s on the road to the Final Four?
Jonas Brothers — Concert ticket sales surpassed NCAA tournament

I have to laugh at Kate Bosworth’s ownership of the top spot. It’s an object lesson in how the terms “drunk sex” can power a search. The Kim Kardashian bit is hilarious; the human version of Jessica Rabbit demonstrated that she knew nothing about what she was supposed to do prior to the show. And the Jonas Brothers bit just makes me want to weep.

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I caught this story live Monday morning during WGN’s warmup to the Chicago Cubs’ opening day.

Seriously, when you make Dutchie Caray angry, that’s like making your own grandmother upset. Way to go, AT&T!

To those not in the Chicago area, this was the best I could find, but here’s what Dutchie’s so peeved about…

Ahoy! Shots in the Dark IS the official podcast of Shotgun Reviews, so we thought we’d hit you up with an all review episode (after the Gatling Geek news segment, of course). We went a little outside the box, though. First, Janelle reviews The Sims 2: Freetime, the likely final expansion pack to The Sims 2, and even gives you a sneak peak of The Sims 3, due out next year.  Then we take a deep look at the first 7 “episodes” of Warren Ellis and Paul Duffield’s FreakAngels; the completely free webcomic. Head over, take a listen, subscribe through any and all podcasting services, and be a better human being. Or Warren Ellis will send the arse eels. It’s your choice.

 Listen Right Here!!

Chelsea Clinton again blew a chance to respond to a question that would make her mother seem like a stronger candidate. Once again, she was confronted with a question about her mother’s public handling of the Lewinsky affair, and once again, she muffed it.

There was an opportunity here for the Clinton campaign to be forthcoming. There was an opprotunity here to attack that lingering issue head-on.

Let me make one thing clear: I don’t think that a president’s sex life is our business. I don’t care. I honestly, 100% don’t give a shit. I’m less worried about where the president spends his night than whether or not he’ll put down a children’s book and take care of business.

The original question turned not on how Hillary felt, but on how the situation made her look weak by her lack of response. This is a sensible question. He didn’t ask if Hillary cried, he didn’t ask how long Bill slept on the couch, and he didn’t ask if Monica did something Hillary wouldn’t do. He asked about the public reaction to an issue that the whole country discussed for over a year.

Chelsea could have said, “I think that my mother has proven herself often enough since then.”

She could have said, “My mother left that behind and became a U.S. Senator. I’d say she handled it fine.”

She could have said, “I fail to understand the substance of the question, because my mother is one of the final two Democratic candidates for the highest office in the land.”

Instead, she fell back on “None of your business.” Not once, but twice.

So much for trying to restore honesty and transparency to the White House.

One More Thing: Before I get the usual garbage from both sides, my political take this time around is pretty even: all of our choices kinda suck.