Shizzer

12:07am: Heroes 4x19 "Brave New World" Review
Overall Grade: Stunned. There'd better be a Season 5/Volume 6 because this would be a bad series finale to end Heroes with. There are better ways.

CLAIRE AND NOAH

Doesn't Noah know by now that Claire will always do the opposite of what he asks. He should have made her promise him to reveal her power to the world and we wouldn't have this problem at the end. Part of me wished Rene the Haitian randomly appeared in the crowd as Claire fell off the Ferris Wheel. :|

PARKMAN

Unfortunately, a member of the 'didn't do much in the finale' club. Other than magically sending Eli across the US in a short amount of time, Parkman didn't do much. Another reason why there should be a season 5. I want to see more of where Parkman's journey is taking him.

DOYLE

Glad they made him evil again and just in time to get pwn'ed by Emma and Sylar.

ANDO AND HIRO

The Dynamic Duo had a great role in this episode! Could have used more humor but it was cool when Ando charged Hiro and he performed a mass teleport without worry. I am sorta left wondering where Hiro teleported them, too and who will lead them...Edgar?

As for the Charlie scene. Part of me understands it. Full circle for Hiro and Charlie and returns Hiro back to the season 1 status that we all loved him as. No brain tumor, no powerlessness, no desire to meddle with time. I also hope they cap off season 5, if it happens, with Ando and Kimiko's wedding.

HRG

I have to go back and think if we saw this reference in a flashback when he said "All it takes is one Sylar, I've seen it. They get their pitchforks. It's human nature."

TRACY

She gets the awesome save and use of power award. Too bad her appearance was brief. But based on her latest GN arc, we know what's in store for her...

PETER VS SAMUEL

Yes! Flying tackle, stand off, the punch, it was pretty decent fight that we saw in its entirety in a season finale. ;P

iSTORY tie ins

Noticed two cool tie ins to this weeks iStory chapter. The helicopter and Lauren's reference at the end about calling an old favors, an old Company, and gas rupture were all outcomes in it.

Best lines

HRG - "I never liked carnivals."

Doyle - "Is that Dudley Do-Right in there?"

10:11am: Batman: The Brave and The Bold "A Bat Divided!" Review
A solid episode full of role reversals.

TEASER

Finally, a Riddler tale! And he was voiced by John Michael Higgins. I loved him as Judge Mentok the Mindtaker on Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law on Adult Swim. I had a feeling Booster Gold was going to get Batman killed. That little button thing he had hidden in his finger was pretty cool. It was a small thing but it was interesting to think that villains really do validate heroes and vice-versa. What I mean is, in public, Booster Gold didn't seem to be well-regarded and not even that much by Batman in his last appearance for his self-absorbed life goals. But here, the Riddler knows exactly who he is, caters a deathtrap around Booster's idiocy, and gives him the spotlight as the contestant of a game show. Then of course, those thoughts washed away as I saw Riddler's 4 henchman with @#!? in a straight line up and couldn't stop chuckling at that last henchman that booth Booster and Batman punch out.

MAIN STORY

Something I noticed but I wonder if this was the same nuclear lab we saw in the parallel Earth when the Injustice Syndicate stole that rare Promethium 90. Huh. Anyway, only knowing Firestorm about what I researched, it was a cool twist to have the amalgam tweaked to have genius Jason Rusch in control with the floating head of lunkhead Ronnie Raymond.

With this show, I'm seeing Batman's Rogues Gallery in a new way...Villains in this episode were a hoot. The staff really stirred the C-List and D-List cauldron. Besides Dr. Double X, in the bar scene, we met some return cameos and a lot of new ones:
# Tiger Shark
# Killer Moth
# The Brand
# Signal Man
# The Eraser
# Calendar Man
# Zebra Man
# Polka Dot Man
# King Cobra
# Ten-Eyed Man
# Cavalier
# Planet Master
# Cat Man
# Cluemaster
# Mr. Camera
# Sweet Tooth
# The Spinner
# Dr. No-Face
# Firefly
# Atomic Man
# Zodiac Master
# Simon the Pieman
# Mirror Man

BATMEN

It was pretty hilarious that without logic and physical Batman, we're left with a slacker. And a couple The Batman references, nachos and that analyzer looked like a Batwave. The spinning gyro scene was hilarious. Diedrich Bader sure got some fun with voices in this one. I do like the idea of putting Batman headfirst in weird situations.

Ronnie, himself, had some of the best lines, imo.
"Somebody please deck this guy."
"You're the Brainiac, you tell me."
"I kinda liked Flame Dude."

11:26pm: Lost "LA X" Part One and Two Review
FLASH SIDEWAYS

Like the crazy Lost fan I am, I rewatched "Pilot" after rewatching "LA X" Part One and Part Two to spot any differences between the two timelines. Here's stuff I noticed so far, some obvious, some not, some stretching it. By the way, anyone think of the Earth X comicwhen you saw the episode title?

Oceanic Flight 815 crashes after experiencing turbulence from the Swan when the countdown almost ran out. In the Flashsideways, the plane experiences brief turbulence and lands in LAX. I also noticed the plane was never referred to as Flight 815. In fact, no real instance of the Numbers at all except for Jack still sitting in Row 23. It was funny hearing Greg Grunberg as Captain Norris and he was absent in this week's Heroes. Also noticed both series' episodes this week contained that weird zooming past stuff camera angle (Lost-finding the Island underwater and Heroes-going through the brick wall) as well as a lead character threatening to kill another lead character.

The Island is fine and dandy with tones of intrigue but in the new timeline, it is underwater. It appears that it sank after DHARMA because the Barracks and the DHARMA Shark are present. Interestingly enough, the foot of Tawaret is also all that's left at the time. Does this mean the Others, Jacob, and the Man in Black are all dead?

Jack Shephard is calm and collected whereas Rose is worried. In the new timeline, these feelings are reversed. Cindy gives Jack two vodkas but in the flashsideways, she only gives him one. Jack can't see the wing of the plane because of clouds but in the flashsideways, he can see the wing. But no gremlin. He also saved Charlie in this timline but notice in the Temple, he didn't save Sayid. Noticed this happend no matter what, Christian Shephard's body gets lost.


Charlie Pace takes some drugs and flushes it. He's also very messy. In the flashsideways, he chokes on the dime bag and is more clean cut. Also noticed he said was supposed to die. I thought that was ironic because in the first timeline, he died at the Looking Glass.

My WTF moment was when Desmond Hume appeared in the plane then was gone. I couldn't tell if he had a ring on, but he was still reading a British book. Then there was that déjà vu moment. I wonder if they're going to expand on Desmond's power to multi-dimensional awareness…I got to ask, was he really there at all? Or was that Jack's Matrix déjà vu moment?!

Kate Austin was so obsessed with Edward Mars' suitcase but in the flashsideways, she doesn't give a hoot. I found it hilarious that no matter what, Mars gets cracked in the head. I don't know which was more painful…

Bernard and Rose were separated in the crash but this time, they reunite in the plane and have a bad case of PDA. Shannon Rutherford was one of the survivors but in the flash sideways, she stayed in Australia. That's a shame, I guess in real life she declined to come back. I hope this doesn't mean more actors will follow.

Hurley Reyes thought the Numbers cursed him and no one knows he owns the Chicken Shack. In the flash sideways, he calls himself the luckiest man alive and gets recognized by Dr. Artz.

John Locke was an interesting one. I wonder if he really did go on the walkabout in the flashsideways or lied about it to Boone. Sun and Jin aren't married in the flashsideways? Ann called her Ms. Paik and she doesn't seem to know English or could be lying like Locke.

I wonder if Michael, Walt, Libby, Eko, and Ana-Lucia were onboard but that's for the rest of the season.

THE TEMPLE

Huh. Looks like the new Incident only succeeded in returning the gang back to 2007 and creating the new timeline? Wonder if it's going to intersect at some point in the series finale or not…

Finally! And Hiroyuki Sanada is the leader. Sweet. It was a treat to see Cindy, Zach, and Emma again, as well as use of the Whisper tactic by the Others when they caught the gang. And they got a freakin' Lazarus Pit!! Judging by what happened to Benjamin, I guessing insanity is the risk Sanada's sidekick referred to? I thought it was a funny Michael Jackson quirk that Sanada wore one glove. The happiest moment for me was when he found that note in the ankh. It totally lends to my theory that eight of the Survivors are eight manifestations of the Numbers.

I played all the online ARGs and I've been waiting for the Numbers and the Valenzetti Equation to reappear in the spotlight for years and years. Ultimately, the Equation was given to the Hanso Foundation (the company that funded DHARMA) and predicts the end of the world. The Numbers are the eight core environmental and human factors of the equation. Changing them, change doomsday. And further, if you remember the invisible map in the Swan and freeze framed it, there's a piece of writing that says "low relevance to Valenzetti-related research activity."

Loved the OMG moments when the Temple Others freaked out about the Man in Black and Sayid rising from the dead. Upon a second viewing, I, too, wonder if its Sayid or Jacob. Be weird if it was…Juliet. Really awkward for Sawyer.

My OMG WTF moment was of course, when it became apparent that Bizarro Locke, Man in Black, and the Smoke Monster are all the same person/thing/demi-god/immortal/oh-whatever! Ben's reaction was pretty much mine. Geez, how the heck are you going to beat him?! Now would be a good time for a sonic gun to drop out of those DHARMA food parachutes.

And whoa, was it implied that Richard was a slave on the Black Rock ship? Seems like at least the Man in Black met the slavers. And he knocks out Richard and takes him. Loved how he played it cool and walked past Locke's body like nothing. So the Man in Black wants to go home? Uhh, what? I find it equally perplexing that the Smoke Monster was under the Temple this whole time. It lends to my theory that somehow, Jacob split the Man in Black in two. The soul part was locked up in the cabin and sealed by the circle of ash. Then Jacob enslaved the essence of the Man, i.e. the Smoke Monster, and made it a defender of the Temple as a feat of irony. When the circle was disrupted by Locke back in…uh season 3 or was it Hurley?, the soul escaped and bided its time. When Ajira crashed, it assumed Locke's appearance then when Ben was judged by the Monster, Locke 2 merged with the Monster and became whole again. Apparently, his final destination is the Temple. So I'm guessing they got a Stargate in there, too.

Conclusion: Five Stars, well worth the wait!!!

10:10pm: Heroes 4x18 "The Wall" Review
Instant love. Great episode. Great origins.

PETER AND SYLAR

Win. I was skeptical about Sylar becoming good, but this is plain getting gooood. And Sylar bursting out of the wall like that, that was gold. I'd feel sorry that Samuel basically sent Eli to his death, but we're all supposed to hate him anyway. What's a cloner got against Peter and Sylar. Please. Peter can mental trap Eli or Sylar can just use Electrical Manipulation and it's a done deal. Wonder what Matt's role will be next week, too, besides making brick walls.

THE CARNIVAL

Huh. So they're going to move the Carnival from California to New York just like that and massacre a bunch of people from Central Park? Alright. It was so disgusting seeing Samuel just outright lie to Emma and Claire, and Claire just saw right through it. 40 feet under, well, guess they're written out of the finale. I predict people will hate their scenes the most next week.

NOAH

Brilliant backstory. So it was Richard, a special with telekinesis, killing his pregnant wife that pushed Noah over to the moral gray and the Company. That just creates so much more resonance for that one scene in season one. When Sylar is about to TK Sandra and Noah bursts in with his killer instinct on overdrive and shoots without a howdy. Though I thought it was lame that the Repairman had the same power as Becky's father just a few episodes ago. So much other ones he could have had. Was the SFX budget that low? They could have saved money without using the squishy go-through stuff moving camera shot twice in the episode.

I liked the subtle difference when Noah becomes a more aggressive salesman and enter Thompson. Oh and Sandra's hair made me rofl. It was huge!

11:56pm: DC Animated News: January 2010 Round Up
Lots of tidbits and rumors flying around and it's only one month in the New Year!

FACT

First off, the tidbits. It seems Greg Weisman admits he has been approached to write for the DC Universe movies. Although he did a bang up great job on Spectacular Spider Man, his current script on Batman: The Brave and The Bold, "Death Race To Oblivion!" was not a favorite of mine. So I'm on the fence as to who or what subject he might agree to do.

FACT

Second, in a recent phone interview, Michael Jelenic revealed he's got several projects on the pipeline for DCU. Wonder Woman was a great flick and if this remotely means he's doing a sequel or more movies for that matter, I'm all for it. Bring on The Flash and Aquaman, already. I love Batman and Superman as much as the next guy but it seems like they're hogging the spotlight.

RUMOR

Third, well we got some rumors of two animated series in development. The first is Young Justice. The tone of the series will be similar to Legion of Superheroes with Nightwing, Aqualad, Impulse, Arrowette, Miss Martian, and Superboy/Connor Kent starring. This totally sounds like something up James Tucker's alley if TBATB doesn't get renewed in March (remember, 52 total episodes by the end of season two later this year). But I'm mainly interested to see how they interpret Nightwing in this incarnation (I keep thinking that everytime...Teen Titans, The Batman, TBATB.).

RUMOR

Fourth, the other rumored series is Green Lantern Corps. It will be CGI animated like Clone Wars, stars Hal Jordan, and will be produced by...Bruce Timm. Don't know what to make of it other than if anyone can do it, it's this guy. I know some fans have wanted a GLC show since the STAS days so if it's true, I'm sure a lot of fans will be happy and with the live action movie coming and the popularity of the In Blackest Night and In Brightest Day comic book events, it might not be that much of a surprise.

FACT

Fifth, going back to the realm of truth, Dwayne McDuffie revealed a second script he wrote for the DC Universe movies is being animated for a 2011 release and he's currently working on a third. Yes, yes, and yes. The more McDuffie, the better.

RUMOR

Sixth, probably the oddest and most recent rumor. On the German WB website, the release schedule of DVD movies had two interesting titles for the later half of the year: Batman: Under The Hood and Superman/Batman: Journey to the Dark Side. With Crisis on Two Earths coming out in less than a month, we'll know if this Batman flick is the July release but good 'ol James Harvey got ahold of a WB representative who denied this Superman/Batman title. That's at least half a shame, because the title seemed to indicate either the comic book sequel when Supergirl appeared or the Absolute Power story featuring Darkseid. Well, time will tell.

FACT

Seventh, going to the world of The Brave and The Bold, we're getting at least one more guest writer and she worked with Tucker when he produced on a previous series. But saying her name just plain gives away who the focus of the episode will be. And it's got a song in it. Speaking of singing, in another episode, a villain will be singing, too. Guess the success of "Mayhem of the Music Meister!" is making the staff rather bold? On a final note, if you're a fan of that 90's live action Flash TV show, its star John Wesley Shipp will have a very unexpected role in another upcoming episode.

Last but not least, thought I'd wedge in some DCAU Resource news. Why not. I've been working on that Timmverse Project and am happily 2/3 done. Beasts and Places are up. Take a gander, there's some gems in there. Just about to get started on Objects. Once that's done, I can finish off the last of the "catch up" projects, Static Shock.

And the James Tucker interview is proceeding nicely, it should be out this month. And I'm very excited to announce that there is a second interview in the works with the one and only Dwayne McDuffie. I plan on mainly sticking to his background history and Crisis on Two Earths but if you have any questions, post them here and I'll see what I can do. As the time draws, nearer, I'll ask again.

Well, here's to another month of DC Animated Awesomeness. Good nigh...Starro Lives. Starro Lives.

9:30pm: Batman: The Brave and The Bold "Clash of the Metal Men!" Review
Loved this episode.

TEASER

Oh, yes. Starro is on. I don't remember it being this creepy and entertaining on Batman Beyond. And they managed to squeeze an second obscure villain, the Faceless Hunter. Hunter's speech was so bonechilling. And even Fluke the dolphin was compromised!

MAIN

I got a chuckle out of those Godzilla FX for Chemo. The Metal Men and Magnus were so awesome. I feared it would be corny but they were so genuine and heartwarming. I was glad they stuck with the origin where the Metal Men had their own personalities not brains of former employees nor was Magnus a bi-polar nutjob. It must be nostalgia for something I never experienced, but I'm loving the use of film reels on this series. All of the science jargon was entertaining, too. Nanokinetic metallurgy? ROFL.

The Gas Gang was an interesting adaptation of a one-appearance villain team. They looked exactly like the comic book cover. I liked the spin on their origins, sort of based on the more modern origin of the Metal Men. Though it was getting to be WTF when the Gas Gang kept resurrecting. Though it was cool to see Batman forced to use a self-destruct rather than a traditional gadget or method to win.

Magnus' final line, "You're all precious metals to me" combined with Batman's helium voice was the perfect ending.

11:44pm: Heroes 5x17 The Art of Deception Review
Review: Wow, One of the best episodes this season...in awhile!

THE CARNIVAL

I love that Samuel deceived everyone and played the martyr to win back support. And he got so petty and afraid that part of the plan involved killing Lydia. The footage that Lauren showed Claire of the destroyed town is so eerie now, with the Haiti recovery ongoing. It was interesting that the background carnies, the Bowman Family got more screen time in this episode (getting more exposure online) ending with the Pyrokinesis display.

Sneaky way to get Tracy back into the story. So she's Noah's ace in the hole? I doubt Cryokinesis will do any good but if I remember, Tracy's bread and butter was being a spin doctor so maybe she's going to sow some seeds of mistrust in the carnies and turn them against Samuel and Eli.

I think that Samuel is going to make Doyle use his power to force Emma to play a cello and attract hundreds more specials to make Samuel even more powerful. But something goes wrong and Emma's emotions start to backfire and the dream happens. But it'd be so anti-climactic if Sylar just up and kills her. Surprise us, writers.

THE PARKMAN'S

Sylar's commentary on Parkman was interesting and ironic, "Father. Husband. You figured out how to live with your ability." It reminded me of "I Am Become Death" when Sylar was in Costa Verde raising Noah Gray. It seems like it's getting closer and closer to that reality. I was intrigued when someone theorized that the future will still come true but Sylar will raise Matt Jr, instead.

But whoa. True, Sylar is a murdering psychopath but Matt totally went Maury on him by trapping him in his worst nightmare. Like father, like son? Wonder how much time passed cause Matt sure got that brick wall up pretty fast. Guess brick laying was his hobby in these past couple months...and Peter arrives.

ANGELA

Still able to create greatness with what little screen time she can get. A nice tough that her top matched the color of the flowers in the room. Very cheeky that she admitted she just wanted to see Peter.

GRETCHEN IS RIGHT

She was so right. Let Noah handle it. Nope. Claire meddles. Eli overhears. Samuel gets to kill two birds with one stone. Thanks, Claire for still being a block head and helping push the story forward to it's finale.

6:46pm: Batman: The Brave and The Bold "Sidekicks Assemble!" Review
Loved it, loved it.

TEASER

After the one reference in "Terror on Dinosaur Island!", we finally get to see the Justice League of America and both of their bases, the JL Satellite and the flippin' Hall of Justice!! I'm so glad to see cameos of Martian Manhunter, Barry Allen, Superman, and Wonder Woman; and a mention of Shadow Thief.

MAIN

Poor S.T.A.R. Labs, broken into again. For the forefront of technology, a better security system wouldn't hurt. It was a nice twist to have a Robin and Talia relationship and Ra's offer to Robin instead of with Batman as we are accustomed to.

Another small thing I loved was Speedy's showcase of trick arrows. Ridiculous. Loved the fight between Batman and Ra's. Michael Chang's pretty darn good. Almost reminded me of Joaquim Dos Santos with the motion camera thingie. And Nightwing? Didn't see that coming. Wonder how long before we see Tempest and Arsenal. Buuuuut first, give us Kid Flash and Wonder Girl.

6:35pm: Batman: The Brave and The Bold "The Golden Age of Justice!" Review
TEASER

That was a fun little homage to CLUE with a super obscure Pulp Comics reference, the Golden Skull. But the use of Detective Chimp and False Face was an unexpected combination. I couldn't help but break out laughing when Chimp was in one the finishing blow to FF. How would you tell inmates in prison you got beat by Detective Chimp. Street cred fallen by epic bounds.

NEWS REEL

The coolest part, let's face it. I loved the vintage feel of it and calling the JSA, the Mystery Men and Women, so Golden Age. Nice touch. It was interesting that they made the original Black Canary a metahuman, too. Makes sense I guess.

JSA MUSEUM AND MEMORIAL

So cool that they got to a headquarters. Ans a reference to Captain Cold and Mirror Master? Hello, Flash episode (right? Why else other than indulge themselves...). Seeing Batman in the Bob Kane outfit (and not Owlman) was super cool as well as getting insight into his training. Dr. Midnite's lament was so wholesome, "Time has thwarted us."

It was a nice twist that Batman and Canary had different points of view on how the JSA treats them. It also makes sense to me now why Canary was so flirty with Batman, they were classmates. Loved the BTAS homage. See it? When Canary is looking at the portrait, these is another painting in the background with the iconic Batman with this cape over the lower half of his face. I'm constantly amazed at how they can insert really sad moments and silent touches, here with Black Canary's death and a moment of silence when Wildcat holds her closer to him.

...Only to be followed by some hilarious lines. "That's senior citizen to you whippersnapper!" - Elder Batman to Wildcat. or "Move it, nerd!" - Wildcat to Professor Zee

But with all that was said, the villains were so boring. I feel like it was a waste of Clancy Brown's time. Per Degaton was an epically confusing pile of continuity in the comics but they never really played up his story enough to make me care about him. They could have used any para-military world conquerors. What made him stand out in the comics was his obsession with time, not conquering the world, at least not from the start.

6:19pm: Hints for Batman: The Brave and The Bold in February
Man, after a whole onslaught of new TBATB updates on DCAUR, literally look on the front page, the titles and synopsis for February's new Batman episodes are out. Like last month. I'm throwing out hints and not spoilers. Episode LJ reviews coming up.

Feb. 5

A hero we've been promised for awhile will finally appear. And Batman will literally one up the main villain on his M.O.

Feb. 12

This is a hard one to hint at but Batman's pretty inspirational to people on and off Earth.

Feb. 19

The title says it all and looks to be a another family episode. Features two very interesting villains related to the hero. One villain was referenced on a Bruce Timm series but never animated. The other had a quick floating head cameo at the end of a DC Universe movie.

Feb. 26

I can't hint but here's some advice: Lock yourself in your room. Don't make plans. Make sure your bills are paid. If you miss this episode, you will jump out the window. Next to Music Meister, this looks to be the most anticipated episode of season 2, so far.

11:13pm: Heroes "Close To You" Review
Hilarious. Not good, but simply loved the comedic distraction.

HIRO, ANDO, AND MOHINDER

The best part of the episode, hands down. Loved some of the lines.

"We must turn Bruce Banner back into the Hulk." - Hiro

"I work in a cart factory." - Ando to Buck, the orderly

"Where am I? You put me here..." - Mohinder
"To Be Continuted!" - Hiro

"Like swimming but inside out!!" - Ando

"Hiro saw a future where I killed him with my red lightning." - Ando
"Was it Florida?" - Mohinder
"No." - Ando
"Then we're good." - Mohinder

But the best part, Ando healed Hiro of the brain scramble before it got annoying!

THE CARNIVAL

So Lydia wants Peter to become the new leader of the Carnival. Hmm...

MATT

So good to see him again. Looks like the writers totally ignored the fact that he's a wanted man by the police. At least he said some things to jog some sense in an out of character HRG. And the actress that plays Janice looks so different. Not just the hair, she seems to have lost weight, too. Good for her.

PETER

So it was kind of a jerk thing to do to storm in and trash the cello but after seeing Sylar with Emma in a precognitive dream, I wouldn't take any chances...

10:42am: Batman: The Brave and The Bold "Aquaman's Outrageous Adventure!"
Rating: Best episode this season and perhaps one of the best of the series. It had the right mix of comedy, nostalgia, fanboy references, foreshadowing, new characters, and action. The ultimate message seems to be that family is the biggest adventure any hero can take on.

TEASER

Another interesting time travel mission. Based on the trench warfare and appearance of the Germans, it was set in World War I. I'm not sure who the squid alien general was but he was one of the few that got away. I loved how Batman's plane was in the Batmobile motif and he donned a scarf. But Enemy Ace's final line was very foreboding. I'm thinking they will meet again in a World War II episode.

RESCUE ON THE RAINBOW REEF

Wow, Fisherman. Wow. And to boot, Imp and Storm, Aquaman's seahorses from the 60's debuted.

STAR CITY

Simply hilarious and a great contrast to Plastic Man's family. Both moms want to educate their sons in broaden their horizons but they want no part of it, haha. I was surprised Arthur Jr was older and not Aquababy. Looks like he was playing with the new iShell or something. All of Aquaman's lines had me laughing every second. His interactions with Green Arrow and Blue Beetle were so charming and heartwarming. He is rough with Arrow and smacking him too hard on the back and taking out Clock King with lobsters had me rolling on the floor. Green Arrow's deadpan reaction to Aquaman's "Time's up" line, "I already said that..." was priceless. "Apples. Yes."

PLAGUE OF THE PLANET MASTER

And the Jonah Hex was another funny little hidden advertisement for this summer's live action movie. Guess it's the duplicitous function of raising Hex awareness. And the debut of another obscure Batman villain, Planet Master! Blue Beetle's banter was even entertaining. "Pluto's not a planet anymore" or "You don't want to see the power of Uranus." I loved how he was still a fanboy at heart was got super psyched when Aquaman invited him to Atlantis and let him title the adventure. "That was Ocean Guy. We have similar color schemes..." Busted Aquaman, busted.

At this point, I started realizing these title cards were an homage to the old Hanna Barbara Super Friends show but it was funny inside joke to see that this is what is going on inside Aquaman's mind during the fights.

THE AQUAMAN FAMILY VACATION

As a fan of learning new things about DC comics lore, the roadmap of the vacation was amazing. Every single city and town are fictional places in DC. Here they are, somewhat in order from what I remember:

Platinum Flats, California: Home of the Birds of Prey and Oracle
Vanity, Oregon: Home of Aztek
Portsmouth, Oregon: Home of Dr. Mid-Nite
Gateway City: Home of Mr. Terrific and Wonder Woman. An analog of San Francisco.
Jump City, California: Home of the Teen Titans
Coast City, California: Home of Hal Jordan. Previously visited on the show when Red Tornado's son tried to flood it.
Star City, California: Home of Green Arrow. Previously seen in "Mayhem of the Music Meister!"
Middleton, Colorado: Home of Martian Manhunter.
Cosmos, Colorado: A small trailer park community.
Granville, Kansas: Near Smallville. Used a lot on the Smallville tv show, mostly by Lionel Luthor.
Smallville, Kansas: Home of the Kents.
Blue Valley, Nebraska: Home of Star, Stripe, and Stargirl.
Dakota: Home of Static.
Keystone City, Kansas: Home of Barry Allen.
Central City, Missouri: Home of Wally West.
Fawcett City, Wisconsin: Home of Captain Marvel
Midway City, Michigan: Home of Hawkman, Hawkgirl, and Doom Patrol.
Hub City, Illinois: Home of Ted Kord and Question.
Metropolis, Kansas: Home of Superman.
Radiance, Pennsylvania
Calvin City, Connecticut: Home of the first Atom
Civic City, Pennsylvania: Home of Justice Society of America.
Ivy Town, Connecticut: Home of the second and third Atom
Brick City, Ohio: Home of Black Lightning
New Carthage, New York: Home of Hudson University, Dick Grayson attended and Professor Stein taught here.
Zenith City, New York: Home of Bulleteer
Park City, Massachusetts: Home of Black Canary in Earth 2
Happy Harbor, Rhode Island: Home of Justice League of America and Snapper Carr
Codsville, Maine: Small fishing village of 14 where Doom Patrol sacrificed themselves
Gotham City, New York: Home of Batman
Bludhaven, New Jersey: Home of Nightwing. Previously visited in "Color of Revenge!"
Steel City, Pennsylvania: Home of the Titans East
Opal City, Maryland: Home of Starman

Loved all the cameos of Top vs Red Tornado, Bug-Eyed Bandit vs Atom (loved the bit where Aquaman activated his windshield wipers), World's Largest House of Sod, Dr. Polaris vs Hal Jordan, seeing Sportsmaster with his family Tigress and Artemis.

FLIGHT OF THE PENGUIN

It was a bold move to put Batman in the background in this episode. It was utterly hilarious when the family entered Gotham. "Windows up." and "Be sure to lock up after me." I laughed even harder when Aquaman woke up on the conveyor belt then Batman replied "It's worse," then the camera zoomed to Mera and Arthur Jr strapped down, too. It was a great technique and entertaining when Aquaman and Mera drowned out Penguin's speech and consoled each other. The Drinking Bird death trap was interesting, too. If memory serves me right, the drinking bird motif was used back in the Mystery of the Batwoman movie.

Then we get a submarine! That was totally the one from the live action 1966 Batman movie!!! I loved how Batman was so Batman to have a flame proof cape and then used it to clog up Penguin's umbrella. And it ends with Arthur Jr. inspired by his father to save the world some more, outrageous.

11:04pm: Heroes 5x12-13 "Upon This Rock"/"Let it Bleed" Review
Great set of episodes!! Worth the wait. But with two episodes in a row, it seems like they are teasing us with this Vanessa sub-plot. Didn't think it was smart of Samuel to show Sylar...

I love Samuel with Noah's Box of Specials. So much potential for new characters and old ones to return. The file of Ian, the bum, was a nice easter egg. Here's what I could make out:

CASE #45923
AGENTS: BENNET, NOAH
RAINS, CLAUDE

NAME: IAN MICHAELS
DOB: 5/15/65 (?)
NATIONALITY: AMERICAN
PLACE OF BIRTH: BRONX, NY
HEIGHT: 5'11'' (?)
HAIR: BLACK
BUILD: MEDIUM
STATUS: SINGLE
OCCUPATION: UNKNOWN
TAGGED: 8/25/94 (?)
LAST KNOWN LOCATION: CENTRAL PARK

THREAT LEVEL: LOW
SEX: MALE
RACE: AFRICAN AMERICAN
WEIGHT: 175
EYES: BROWN
COMPLEXION: DARK
SCHOOLING: MBA
TAG TYPE: GPS MICROCHIP

ABILITY: THE SUBJECT HAS THE ABILITY TO SPAWN VEGETATIVE LIFE.

So glad to see Hiro and Ando back together again and off to free Suresh it seems.

Samuel's knowledge of Emma's power was good surprise. So she can use music as mind control...pretty useful for summoning hordes of specials to your Carnival and become all powerful, Samuel. He totally pwned Sylar...well thanks in part to being surrounded by specials and Nathan's lasting influence. But it was interesting they revisited Sylar's Empathic Absorption in the Lydia scene.

Nathan's fake death was a nice nod to Kennedy.

Doyle's commentary on Claire cracked me up. So did Noah's line with tea when he offered it to Edgar and Samuel's special drawer for Vanessa art. "Of course, you're British."

The end with Sylar at the window was a creepy nod to West outside Claire's room in Volume 2.

10:20pm: Batman: The Brave and The Bold "Revenge of the Reach!" Review
Great Episode. Sure it's been 20 days since a new episode, but I think this is one of DeMatteis' best TBATB scripts. I loved watching Blue Beetle's journey from apprentice to full fledged hero.

TEASER

Loved the return to Dinosaur Island and the old school homages, from the intro for the Challengers to the fight with a mutant spider. Hmm, so Starro has returned, eh? Would be a good way to get in a JLA two part episode...but it was real neat to have a 'To Be Continued' in the teaser. Was Batman's line about the Devil's Triangle a reference to Paradise Island and the Amazons? Can't think of anything else in that area from the comics unless the literal reference of the Bermuda Triangle's notorious effect on you.

EPISODE

It was cool seeing the GLC face off against their polar opposites, the Reach (i.e. the object controls the user). Looks like we almost had a full roster of Lanterns, all but Hal Jordan, Ch'p, and Mogo. Must have been away on a mission. In any case, I like how they're using Gardner a lot more, he's starting to grow on me. The one punch flashback was hilarious.

I had to adjust my eyes during the end credits: Ioan Gruffudd as the Scarab (did Mr. Miracle on JLU) and J.K. Simmons as a Guardian (General Eiling on JLU)?! Cool.

Surprising yet neat cameos by the Gibbles from the first episode and Kord's Bug.

1:44pm: DCAU Resource: Winter 2009 News
TIMMVERSE PROJECT

Finished Beasts a week ago or so. Just started part two; Places. Can't believe I'm almost done.

THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD in JANUARY

Do not miss January. It will be a great month of new episodes. Don't want to give away spoilers so I'll throw in some hints, in the style and memory of the late DarkLantern. Rest in peace, buddy. We got the titles and synopsis released for January along with other hints of future episodes.

JANUARY 1: A character arc and backstory will be further fleshed out and looks like it will be connected to another team that's been seen a couple times in season one. Speaking of teams, in the teaser, an old school super hero team will appear.

JANUARY 8: Perhaps continuing with a theme from "Long Arm of the Law!", a superhero will try to spend the day with his family but get into all sorts of hijinx.

JANUARY 15: Batman and another flying mammal will team up with Batman's mentors, an super hero team that will have a big month. We've seen 2/5 of them already on the show. The villain will also be from their comic book history.

JANUARY 22: Will feature three prodigies going up against a villain that hasn't been seen in animated form for 9 years but did appear in another form of media.

JANUARY 29: Another super hero team will face their arch rivals. Never stuff a scientist in a room with too much metal.

An episode to air after January will feature the return of a villain and a pest that was highly anticipated last season. It adapts a fairly recent story. In miscellaneous news, it appears that more family will appear and looks to be a theme of this season even with...But if that's not your thing, look for some more guest stars to return from last season including another team that promises to be "fixed" as well as one who's future is always up in the air. And yes, there will be a two-parter this season, too.

INTERVIEW

The interview with Mr. Tucker is entering its third and final round of questions. So it should be published by January/February. So far we've got some great quality answers that I haven't seen in past interviews. Can't for you all to see the finished product.

10:22am: DCAU Resource: Batman: TBATB reviews, News, Neat Finds
2x01 "Long Arm of the Law!"

Hilarious episode. Loved it.

Shaggy Men!! Totally cool since in the comics, Shaggy Man was made of plasti-alloy.

The photo in the garage er..PlastCave with Batman made me crack up. BFF.

The montage of people Plas wronged was even funnier. A Jonah Hex movie made from a previous teaser? Nice marketing there.

Kite Man's origin made so much sense. "I'll be the most famous kite-related person in history. Step out here so I can shoot you more easily."

Not going to dwell on it but, Kite Man and Batman have Plas' powers temporarily?

Loved the ending, too. Batman just leaves.

2x03 "Death Race to Oblivion!"

Loved all the one-liners and Joker's props, even a Laughing Fish.

It was a nice twist to make Blockbuster a parallel of Captain Marvel but instead evil and empowered through science. The handshake was priceless.

Gardner - "Ha! One Punch! What a mook."

NEAT FINDS

On tz, I read that thread that mentioned Ben Jones' blog and I was amazed to read that "Long Arm of the Law!" this past Friday was the first episode of season two and "Death Race to Oblivion!" was the third and that CN decided to air out of production order! Makes sense since Plastic Man indoctrinated Woozy in "Long Arm..."

And the Shaggy Men teaser in "Long Arm..." was originally meant to be the teaser for "Mayhem of the Music Meister!" but they went over time and had to cut it and make the teaser that has the Meister in it as the conductor. Wild.

Here's Jones' blog: http://hamfist.blogspot.com/

Then I noticed on Jones' links, other staffers' blogs. The most interesting one is Lauren Montgomery's. Besides some behind the scenes work from Green Lantern: First Flight and Wonder Woman, she also posts art she does on the side and they are gorgeous. My admiration for Ms. Montgomery grew a 1000 fold. Check it out: http://laurenmontgomery.blogspot.com/

NEWS

Batman: The Brave and the Bold returns on January 1 with "Revenge of the Reach!" so be sure to tune in. I'm guessing this is episode 2 in production order. But it features Blue Beetle and the Green Lantern Corps. Also heard some news that the Aquaman family will have an "off the wall" episode.

Although this is still an unconfirmed rumor, after Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths, the next DTV will be called - Batman: Under the Red Hood. Yes, a Batman DTV set what appears to be in the early years and features probably the Red Hood becoming the Joker. It's about time Joker got in one of these DTV's. They used him so well in Return of the Joker Uncut, I can't wait to to see, if true, what he's up to here.

Another tidbit, Greg Weisman revealed he was approached to write a DCU DTV. If he said yes or what is still unknown. Wonder what ideas he has....

WEBSITE

Still chucking away at the Timmverse project. Almost done with Phase One. The last part is BTAS releated Beasts. Then onto Places and Objects. I now realize why I put this project aside, it's literally a beast of work to do since it comprises BTAS up to JLU in terms of content!

9:30pm: Heroes 412 "The Fifth Stage" Review
SAMUEL

What a clever scheme. While appearing to want to have a permanent home for the Carnival, it's rather convenient that would help convince them all to stay in one place and increase Samuel's power 1000x. And it looks like he can do it now since Eli stole the files on specials from Noah. The Promised Land? More like Smurf Village.

ELI

I got a kick out him in the past two graphic novels. But it was odd to see him become Samuel's #2 all of a sudden. I guess part 3 will explain it. I thought it was a cool bit of continuity for Noah to reference 'Prime' to denote the original as was done in the graphic novels.

NOAH AND LAUREN

They had some of the best lines: "Who said anything about sex?" and "Oh, that's the bad guys." I loved the idea that Noah's got guns everywhere but the amount of action in that scene was lacking. Considering they bagged a cloner in Tulsa as they mentioned and worked with one (revealed in the graphic novels), they'd have a better strategy, guess they were rusty...calling the Carnival a nest was so Company-ish. Loved it.

Anyone plan on calling Claire's number, 703-555-0187? Nice product placement for Google Maps, too.

PETER AND NATHAN

Very smart writing to have Peter take Rene the Haitian's power. It would haven't been much to have Angela say something to Rene, they haven't done a scene together for a long time, what season one in Peter's apartment?

Instead of being shocked, I couldn't stop laughing when the nurse/Sylar grabbed Peter by the neck in the elevator. That said, enjoyed the slugfest between the two. Not exactly an epic battle but better than the 3 second fights we've become accustomed to.

Great instance of the DNA Symbol. When Peter is wiping the blood off Nathan's palms, the cut is in the shape of the Symbol. Nathan's last words were heartfelt but I was a little surprised he didn't mention his two sons, Simon and Monty and the fall was a little too slow for my liking.

CLAIRE AND GRETCHEN

I liked how everything worked out for Samuel. With Sylar gone, I bet Samuel is using Claire to get Peter to come and join them since he still needs an empath. As Gretchen drove away, I totally thought a carnie, maybe Becky, was going to kill her.

NEXT YEAR

Was the scene at the end with Hiro, Ando, and Mohinder a clip from a future episode since we didn't get a trailer in the credits? I immediately thought it was from Volume 4 but in Fugitives, they had orange jumpsuits, were in Arkansas not a jungle, and Ando was arrested and on the plane with them. I guess we'll have to wait a little longer to see Hiro and Ando reunite after forevers. I'm guessing Hiro is going to build a coalition to fight Mohinder as they talked about earlier and Edgar will join in.

I think Samuel will try to recruit Parkman, and maybe Emma, since their names are on the files from Noah's box, Parkman for sure. It'd be the most logical way to shoehorn them into the big scheme.

9:34pm: DCAU Resource: Fall 2009 - The Zeta Project , Batman, and JL: Crisis on Two Earths News
TZP

Finished up adding The Zeta Project content to the 'ole site. But of course, no images from season 2. Someone wake up and release that dvd. But it got me a little flustered that I'm so close to having added everything to the site. Three years ago, all I had to start with was Justice League and Justice League Unlimited.

I even updated my highly prized Timeline with TZP. However, like the TIME cover from BTAS, I had to disregard the year that Zeta rebelled and substituted it with the year that made sense to me. I chalked it up to the "not everyone cared about continuity or took it into account when writing" rationale. Then I had to do the math and it seemed like within the universe, TZP took place from 2054-2057 so that the attack on the Knossos at the series finale is the last event before we see Terry confront Amanda Waller.

Now, onto the next project. Instead of jumping to Static Shock, I decided to hold off for last and tackle adding objects, places, and beasts to the Timmverse. I paused work on it and left it on the backburner for too long, time to get it done.

BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD

The season 2 opener was a hoot but thanks jugheads for showing just one episode before the hiatus. No new eps until January 1. TV Guide gave away who will appear so if interested...let me know.

Thoughts on "Death Race..."

-Loved all the one-liners and Joker's props, even a Laughing Fish.

-It was a nice twist to make Blockbuster a parallel of Captain Marvel but instead evil and empowered through science. The handshake was priceless.

-Gardner - "Ha! One Punch! What a mook."

-Debut of Woozy Winks. Whoa. Remember, just about anyone can appear on this show.

JUSTICE LEAGUE: CRISIS ON TWO EARTHS

The press release came out today. The movie will release on February 23, 2010. The special features will be terrible but the one bright light is it will include the first DC Showcase short. Despite reports of Jonah Hex earlier, it will feature a different character. It's written by Steve Niles (30 Days of Night) and features the voices of Gary Cole and Alyssa Milano. Yes, Milano. I recall she did voice work for the recent Ghostbusters: The Video Game so it's not totally new. I have a theory on who she'll voice but don't want to spoil who this short is about if you don't want to know.

9:20pm: Heroes 411 "Thanksgiving" Review
Overall Rating: Makes me dread my Thanksgiving.

SAMUEL AND JOSEPH

Samuel killed his own brother. That rules out Rapid Cellular Regeneration in Joseph’s repartee. Wanted to see Joseph use a power, any power. Sigh.

THE CARNIVAL

Can’t wait to see if Lydia and Edgar can mount an insurrection. The scene where Hiro saves Edgar was priceless.

HIRO

Geez, even I was screaming at Samuel to tell Hiro so his dialogue is something besides “Tell me Charlie is.” To add insult to injury, it looks almost like Hiro’s mind got scrambled almost like with Arthur. Please, don’t be true. The Watson reference made me think he went to find Ando, who has dropped off the face of the earth to plan his wedding.

LAUREN

So CIA and being stalked by HRG? What a life. I still think, HRG will recruit her for the new Company and to confront the Carnival in the season finale.

THE BENNET’S

“We’re a complex modern family.” LOL

The return of Mr. Muggles was the best part, and he’s got a girlfriend.

Claire is a moron and HRG was right, she needs to stop acting like a child. But at least she and Gretchen are headed to the Carnival.

THE PETRELLI’S AND SYLAR

Totally bought that Angela was going to get killed. Looks like a set-up for Nathan and Sylar to mind-fight.

9:51pm: Heroes 410 "Brother's Keeper" Review
Overall Rating: Great episode! I liked the story and how they managed to mostly keep it to one on one scenes.

MOHINDER AND HIRO

Thank goodness. He was great this episode, pretty much back to season one like-ability and not TSTL (Too Stupid To Live) mode that haunted him for a long time. I was impressed when Mohinder built his own compass to find Samuel with.

I cheered when Mohinder found a Kevlar vest under his shirt and Hiro was there. But I quickly booed when Mohinder wakes up in a nutfarm. Really, Hiro? If Mohinder stops Samuel, he wouldn't have to worry about Charlie being kidnapped eight weeks later. I still think that even if Samuel were neutralized before Hiro first met him in Tokyo, Hiro would still remember Charlie in New York and go there, regardless.

TRACY AND CLAIRE

The foot, cry, and laugh scene was the perfect breathing space between Mohinder and the Petrelli plots. And Noah walks in and sees it.

PETER AND NATHAN

It's good to see them team up again and not at odds with each other. Of all the things you chose to replicate, Peter, why not Sylar's Empathic Mimicry then you wouldn't have the one-shot deal anymore, absorb all of Sylar's powers, including Flight, and be done with it?

JOSEPH AND SAMUEL

Fascinating. It was like this whole time that Samuel was believed to be the meek, misunderstood younger brother but it turns out that Samuel is far from it. Joseph painted him in a way that reminds me of how Samuel was trying to "awaken the sleeping lion" in Sylar a few episodes ago. Great to see what he wants, but the why lingers in my head. There has to be something more than the Anakin Skywalker-More Power (whatever you want to call it) motif. I think without a doubt, that Samuel could very well be the source of Earth exploding in half in the Season 3 alternate future (but could also very well be the fact that too many people have powers, and the Force overloads and BOOM).

PARKMAN AND SYLAR

Feels like so long since I saw Parkman do Mind Control and laughed. Even though it seems like a very bad thing that Sylar has returned to his body: the good that comes of it I think will be a battle of the minds between Nathan and Sylar and Parkman may be propelled into the main story now.

9:25pm: Batman :TBATB "The Fate of Equniox!" Review
Overall Rating: Okay. I mean after the awesomeness of "Mayhem of the Music Meister!", "Inside the Outsiders!" and "The Fate of Equinox!" seemed like a big step on the brakes. But there were some moments that were great and a reoccurring theme was brought back to end the season.

OPENING

This Two-Face opener and the Catwoman one, combined with the Joker team-up in "Game Over for Owlman!" makes we want to see more A-List Batman villains in the A-story of the episode as the principal threat. James Remar made a great Two-Face, even the snarls of his evil side reminded me of B:TAS Two-Face.

EQUINOX

It was an interesting twist to make him an agent of the Lords of Order and Chaos, the higher power he referenced. Although it was implied and moot, I think Equinox knew Batman was going to help him ascend from the start hence the previous encounters. It's a contrast of sorts, give an orphan all these insane powers and responsibilities without first training him much, like how Bruce Wayne spent years abroad and reached his peak form, and how wouldn't Equinox have snapped?

GUESTS

We even got see Nabu and Typhon animated. This show is so accessible that anyone can appear. Even Fluke the dolphin returned for the season finale.

It was very odd to have Oded Fehr voice Equinox as he fights Dr. Fate. It seemed really hard to do but I could get why Dr. Fate declined to be the host at the end. He's an agent of the Lords of Order, he doesn't have the ability to improvise or be unpredictable like Batman, hence why he was elected. It would have been awesome to see Aquaman given the chance.

MAGIC AND SCIENCE

I can see a lot of fans rolling their eyes. Batman would never accept all these magic and powers. He's Batman. But this was the same series where he elected to be empowered by three Green Lanterns. But it's irrelevant, everytime Batman chooses to take on something from his utility belt or from an outside force, in the end, Batman always turns to his brains to outsmart the opponent. In way, it ties in all the way to the first episode when Batman advised Blue Beetle that his greatest resource is to use his head. These augmentations, it's just to level the playing field and make these fights believable, another way for the staff to throw in references and homages, and eye candy for the fans.

THE OBSCURE

Holy dead society reference! Machu Picchu and the Incan gyroscope?! These writers sure know their obscurities. And what a great time for this episode to come out, what with 2012 in movie theaters everywhere and feed into the zeitgeist of paranoia.

THE ENDING

The final line was the corniest, most Silver Age line ever but still the best final line I've heard in awhile.

MY GRIPES

What, not even a cameo of Inza?

During the space battle, I thought it would have been much more enjoyable if all or some of the heroes were astral projected by Fate to coach Batman on using their gimmicks. Imagine Green Arrow telling him how to aim? I would have laughed out my pants.

So if the Lords of Order and Chaos knew Equinox went nuts, why didn't they just strip him of the power they gave him? As a Stargate fan, I should be more used to seeing ascended, omniscient beings sitting on their collective butts when Earth is in trouble.

9:07pm: Heroes 4x09 "Shadowboxing" Review
A really great episode. They seem to get better and better each week. Still...did the writers abandon Tracy, Ando, and Angela?

NEW YORK

I liked how they showed Emma being overwhelmed by all the people in Mercy Heights then lending her skills to save some lives and opening up to Peter about her nephew. However, with things going so well for Emma, I can only imagine she'll probably get a visit from the Carnival soon, she did get the cello from them, right?

I liked the exploration of the Healing Touch side of the power Peter has. It explains why Linderman paused a little after he healed the plant and Nathan's wife. Very subtle. I loved that one line where Emma asked him if shuld just stop using that power and he replies, "And be ordinary?"

PARKMAN AND SYLAR

Wow. Although it was funny seeing them go from LA to Albuquerque to Midland, Texas, it was so amazing to see Matt and Sylar trade jabs at each other then ending with Matt sacrificing himself.

ARLINGTON

Goodbye, Gretchen. I think the writers did this to move Claire's story forward and get her into the Carnival. I thought it was hilarious that the Haitian appeared. The last time he followed someone's order to follow someone, it was the Volume 3 finale when Peter asked the Haitian to follow Sylar...and he didn't return for a very long time. I was underwhelmed by the name reveal. Rene? Definitely the name the Company gave him since in the graphic novels, I can't see that being the name his father gave him.

Despite the disinterest in making sense of the timeline, I did appreciate that they dropped the reference to Halloween coming in the sorority scene. Slutty pirate?

Company flashback=pure awesome. Looks like Becky's father had the same power as Angela Petrelli's father in "1961." Funny how both of them never had a first name. Glad they settled that Danko was the one who killed Joseph. Now I really want to see that story. Given Joseph was an empath, he would have been a formidable target, right? Well, not formidable enough, but still, he must have had maximum 50+ powers based on all the carnies walking around this season. But I guess I'm assuming they mean empathic mimicry like Peter had in Volume One.

10:55pm: Dr. Horrible News
1) A prequel comic book is coming out November 18 for $3.50. It apparently deals with Horrible's origins. Hmm. MTV has a 7 page preview: http://www.mtv.com/photos/thumbnails.jhtml?fid=1625492

2) Meanwhile, the sequel to Dr. Horrible is also ongoing. So far only Joss Whedon, Zack Whedon, Jed Whedon, Maurissa Tancharoen, and Nathan Fillion have been mentioned. There's also a few songs written and a title, but mum's the word. http://io9.com/5396602/dr-horrible-2-has-songs-a-title-and-nathan-fillion

All I can say is, Yes!!

11:10am: DCAUR: Mayhem of the Music Meister Review and News
http://www.animationinsider.net/article.php?articleID=2240

My formal review of Batman: The Brave and The Bold is up on Animation Insider. It's a two pager, one for the episode and one for the soundtrack. Enjoy, I totally had writer's block on this one as I mentioned earlier so I hope it seems slightly better than most of my reviews. But I found my angle, I don't think any other critic used it like I did but we'll see.

Also, be sure to tune in this Friday as the next new episode airs, "Inside the Outsiders!". I've seen it ahead of time and it's pretty cool to me and features a villain who was a redshirt in the JLU incarnation of the Legion of Doom. Then I guess next week will be the season finale.

After finishing up this The Brave and The Bold stuff, I took a break from work on The Zeta Project, lot of personal stuff going on that was draining my time and energy and I guess from the marathon of adding so many series to the website tuckered me out. But I'm looking to get back in the groove of things and finish up TZP by next week, after that I'll start watching Static Shock and after that adding Objects, Places, and Beasts to the Timmverse section, a project I've put on the backburner for years but its fitting it'd be the last thing I complete before being totally up to date.

Once that's done, I plan on getting a career after graduating college and being unemployed since May.

11:09am: I thought the second half was rushed but in hindsight, I think it was a good idea to introduce the different factions in the story, the V's, the Peace Ambassadors (resemblance to Mao's youth Red Guard?), the Resistance, and the Traitors and get through the rhetoric of setting up the premise of the original series (in turn freeing up the writers to move on and try to stand out from its shadow, at least a little). Maybe they could have milked up who the Visitor sleeper agents are but I'm sure it will come soon with Elizabeth Mitchell's character in the CT division.

Speaking of that, it was interesting to fashion them as terrorists (from what I heard of, the original compared them to Nazi's/totalitarians). Send in an advance sleeper cell then some time later, send the fleet as benevolent aliens, and presumably, do what happened in Independence Day (loved that scene). One thing I didn't understand was if the Resistance recruited the Traitor (the man who was going to propose to the woman), wouldn't they have carved his flesh to check if he were human, too? Guess it was a recent addition amid increased paranoia and tensions.

As a Joss Whedon and Lost fan, what pulled me in were Alan Tudyk, Elizabeth Mitchell, and Morena Baccarin then later the 9 minute sneak peek. This will probably be my replacement for Mad Men when the season finale airs next Sunday. However, in regard to the actors, I didn't care for (even hated) the actor that plays Mitchell's son. I guess teen angst repulses me these days.

The Resistance vs. Visitors scene was cool even though the floating spike ball was too CG for me (yes, coming from an episode with alien space ships, interiors of alien space ships, and alien reptilian flesh). Tudyk's flesh reveal was pretty cool. I have to go google for images from the original series to compare but I totally loved when his eye opened, you so knew that would happen. Like a crowbar would take out an alien reptile.

But a pretty cool pilot all together, the last one I saw was the one for Fringe. Definitely going to keep watching V (the show with the same red logo for V for Vendetta - awkward?) for the next four weeks and whenever it comes back from the Olympics if the Internet whispers are true, regardless, I'm an instant fan after tonight.