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Masters of Science Fiction #1: “A Clean Escape” preview
0 Comments Published August 2nd, 2007 in TelevisionFollowing up my previous post, here’s some details (plus a sneak preview) for the first episode of Masters of Science Fiction, premiering this Saturday.
“A Clean Escape”, directed by Mark Rydell with screenplay by Sam Egan, is based on Nebula Award-winning author John Kessel’s 1985 short story of the same name. Set not too far in a post-Apocalyptic future, psychiatrist Dr. Deanna Evans (Judy Davis) interrogates a distinguished, if befuddled, man (Sam Waterston, Law & Order) who appears to be suffering from a lapse in memory. Why can’t he remember and why is it so important that she uncover the secret he holds deep inside?
Early reviews of it seem to be mixed. Mark Dawidziak praises it, saying “the payoff is a twist worthy of the best excursions to Serling’s “The Twilight Zone.” ” while a more scathing reviewer declared “by the end of “A Clean Escape” I was shaking my head (not good) and laughing (even worse)”.
I guess I’m going to have to decide for myself when I watch it next week. Here’s a sneak preview clip, as promised, with another one after the jump:
Masters of Science Fiction: “A Clean Escape” preview clip 1
Continue reading ‘Masters of Science Fiction #1: “A Clean Escape” preview’
After being announced over a year ago and sitting ready on ABC’s shelf for months, the anthology series Masters of Science Fiction will finally begin airing this Saturday the 4th of August (USA). Six short stories from some of the greatest science fiction writers of our time have each been turned into an hour-long, stand-alone “mini-movie”. Check out this promo for the show, with another one - plus more info - after the jump:
Masters of Science Fiction trailer
Continue reading ‘Masters of Science Fiction finally dusted off’
The Whitest Kids U’ Know will be moving their hilarious self-titled sketch show to the Independent Film Channel for its second season, according to a recent article in Variety.
Fuse (the channel WKUK debuted on) and IFC are sister channels both owned by Rainbow Media, so the move is more of a shuffle round as the company refocuses it’s channels. More excitingly, the move to IFC means that the new episodes will be completely uncensored (no more bleeps or blurs!) and longer with no commercial breaks!
If you haven’t seen The Whitest Kids U’ Know, they have heaps of sketches on YouTube that you should check out. Here’s one of their more well-known ones:
If you like what you see, or just want to get straight to the good stuff, someone has kindly uploaded all the episodes from season 1 to veoh.com, which you can download for free to your computer (once you’ve signed up and installed the VeohTV player).
According to a post on their website, The Whitest Kids U’ Know have already begun filming for the second season, and they’re “really excited” about the new sketches. I can’t wait to see what they’ve thought up for season 2!
Weeds returns for a third season of 15 episodes on 13 August 2007. That means you have less than a month to find, download and watch the first two seasons!
If you’ve already done that, here’s a few promos for the upcoming season to whet your marijuana induced appetite:
Weeds: Season 3 Coming in August
Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant’s award-winning television series Extras won’t be getting a third season but will instead be ending with a one hour Christmas special - a send-off similar to their previous project The Office. Originally announced in March by a BBC spokesperson, Gervais later confirmed it in on an episode of Friday Night With Jonathan Ross. More recently, the following video was uploaded to his website RickyGervais.com:
Continue reading ‘Extras to get final send-off, but no series 3′
I never know what to say to a hairdresser when they ask “So what do you want?”. Nobody ever teaches you, and it’s not like there’s a McDonald’s-like menu board you can choose from (”I’d like a McMullet with extra fringe, please”). On top of this, I only get a haircut about twice a year. While this is a great money saving tactic, it leaves little room for experimentation.
This is not to say I’m unhappy with the haircut I got. I’m quite pleased with it, but this is because I’ve only recently learnt not to give an affirmative answer every time the hairdresser asks “Is that okay?”. It may be her work I’m critiquing, but it’s going to be on my head for next six months.
After three arduous years, I finally have my open driver licence. This means my demerit points limit has been increased from 4 to 12, and more importantly, I can have alcohol on my breath and not be (as) worried about being pulled up by the fuzz. Huzzah!
Anyone who has seen The 40-Year-Old Virgin will distinctly remember the body waxing scene where Andy (Steve Carell) gets his chest hairs ripped off one strip at a time. It turns out, it wasn’t faked at all! Here’s a hilarious behind the scenes clip from the shoot, as well as an excerpt from an interview with Paul Rudd and Steve Carell:
Q: Can you talk a little bit about the waxing scene? Did you in fact get your chest waxed?
Carell: That was 100% real. We set up 5 cameras because we knew it would be one take. There would be no way in going back and doing it again. So we set up a camera on the guys, one over me, one specifically on my chest, one on the waxer… and it was not scripted. We just had an idea for where it would go. We hired a woman who was an actress/waxer-er. [Laughter]
Rudd: A waxtress.
Let me admit it: grammar fascinates me. It’s why I’m the often the go-to guy for proof-reading, and one of the (many) reasons I don’t have a MySpace page. You know those people with OCD that must dust their houses once a day and wash their hands once an hour? I’m like that with grammar. I enjoy fixing it, but when I can’t, it annoys the shit out of me.
Good grammar is an important skill. It’s one of the first indications of a person’s education and intelligence, and in situations like job interviews or first dates (which are surprisingly similar) you don’t want to fuck it up. And while MS Word’s wiggly red underlines have negated the need to ever learn how to spell properly, its grammar correction still needs work.
However, instead of moaning about the falling standards of English today, I have decided to become pro-active. So without further ado, let me begin a possibly-recurring segment to this blog entitled “Grammar Time!” with its first instalment, “Me & I with friends”.
This one came to my attention courtesy of my girlfriend and one of my housemates, both in their third years studying to become teachers (of English, no less!). Please allow for some embellishment of story, as it happened a while ago (plus it makes for a more entertaining read).
Nip/Tuck, possibly one of the greatest shows ever, will be returning this October with a brand new location (Hollywooooood) and a massive order of 22 episodes (6 more than their previous longest season). I thought I’d get the hype started early with this extremely short and very teasing promo for the upcoming season: