With less than two months to go until 24 returns for its New York City set eighth season (it premieres on Sunday, January 17th and Monday, January 18th with the traditional two-night, four-hour event), FOX has released the official cast photo with the new and returning series regulars.
For as cool as last season's cast shot was with the Lincoln Memorial in the background, this one trumps it and then some -- the United Nations backdrop is very, very cool. You have to wonder though... think there's any meaning to the flags that are visible? From left to right, the first three are the UK, the US, and Nicaragua. The fourth one in line is harder to make out. I'm probably reading into it too much, but you never know when it comes to 24 -- anything could be a clue.
If you haven't seen it yet, you can watch the trailer for the new season here and if you really feel like analyzing the cast photo, there's a high-res image here.
As in years past during the World Series, FOX has started up the marketing machine for the new season of 24 and this year is no different. The official trailer for Jack Bauer's eighth very bad day (which has 24's traditional 2-night 4-hour premiere on January 17th and 18th) aired last night.
While it doesn't shed too much light on the new season (which takes place in NYC), one thing is for certain -- despite how we last saw Jack, sick as a dog with Kim by his side, the guy seems pretty healthy now. And a healthy Jack Bauer means an ass-kicking Jack Bauer, retired or not.
It's been revealed that the new season will focus on the assassination attempt of a Middle Eastern political figure played by Slumdog Millionaire's Anil Kapoor. He gets a little bit of play here in the trailer as well as a quick glimpse of the resurrected CTU. But let's be honest -- all we care about seeing is Jack, even though he is a grandpa now. Check it and tell us what you think!
If you haven't been reading the comics, shame on you. Without the restrictions of a television budget, some crazy cool things have been happening. Like Dawn growing to enormous size and Buffy teaming up with Dracula to take out a band of rogue Asian vampires. Also, Buffy travels to the future to meet Slayer-from-the-future Malaka Fray (who was in a previous comic series of her own).
Whedon is obviously a fan of comics. The good news is, in comic books, the series never has to end. We could all be enjoying Buffy season 337 in a few centuries. Well, our descendants would be anyway. It's something to look forward to.
At least that's what it sounds like 24 EP Evan Katz told EW's Ausiello. According to Katz, some of the things they have planned for the FOX drama's eighth season don't involve a Jack/Audrey reunion.
Can you blame them? 24 has had some doosie plots in the past that are pretty hard to swallow, but the last we saw of Audrey was at the very end of season six, and she didn't look so good. If she somehow ended up in the fold again next year (which takes place in New York City), I can't see people being too happy about it.
I must confess, I really, really enjoy American Idol. Sure, I could do without the mean-spirited auditions and the tacky group numbers reminiscent of Up With People, but for the most part, it's a satisfying guilty pleasure.
It's not just the talented contestants that keep me watching, though. I like the judges and the way they interact with each other. I had really mixed feelings when I heard the news that American Idol would be bringing on another judge: curious to see how she'd fit in with the others and what her style would be like, but nervous that she'd change the dynamic between the original three too much for my liking.
It looks like Kristen Kreuk will only be back for a couple of episodes of Smallville for season eight. She has apparently said something to that effect on her Facebook profile. Between that and the rumors of Michael Rosenbaum not returning, I think season eight will likely be the final season of the show.
This means the only regulars from the first season who will be there in the eighth are Clark and Chloe. On a positive note, the whine factor of the show will definitely decline. It could also mean that the inevitable Lois/Clark romance could start up.
I do wonder where they can go with the show without Lana and Lex. It's not really Smallville anymore, is it? A more appropriate name would be Metropolis. They might be saving that for the spin-off, about a group of six twenty-something superheroes sharing two apartments across the hall from each other.
(S08I12) I never really cared for the Dracula episode of Buffy. It definitely had its funny moments, but having Dracula thrown into the Buffyverse lore was hard to stomach. Not to mention this ass had an easy time of wooing Buffy. Oh, and Xander too.
That said, this was a great issue. It marks the first of a series of issues written by TV Buffy writer Drew Goddard, and the feeling from the show is captured perfectly. For some reason I wasn't able to say that as much before, but here I feel right at home.
(S08I08 & S08I09) I'm a bit late for both of these issues, but better late than never, right? Thankfully, for me, I was still able to get the first printing of both issues. For most people that doesn't mean squat, but I'm anal that way about the very few comics I buy these days.
Anyway, let's start with the first issue of this two-part review, which is actually the third part of the third story, and is the eighth issue.
(S08I07) This issue starts out with the longest - and perhaps first - foray into flashback territory for this "season." I guess I could have gone through my well overplayed DVDs and checked the referred-to episode for accuracy, but it seemed pretty dead-on to me.
Y'know, I love Giles and all, and I especially appreciate that he's a presence in this series, but I'm not really digging how cookie-cutter he seems, particularly in these last two issues. Is it just me or does he drink tea and clean his spectacles way too (stereotypically) often?
(S08I06) Even though this isse wasn't written by Joss, the capable hands of Brian K. Vaughan pulled off what I think feels very true to the Buffyverse. Faith was always one of my favorite characters from Buffy and Angel, and it's great to see her back again. And scenes with Giles? Even better.
It's been so long since I'd watched the last couple of seasons of Buffy that I completely forgot that Principal Wood had a thing with Faith. Here we see that Wood is fully involved in the big baddiness of the world, and he and Faith are still quite a thing.
(S08I05) It seems the readers have spoken ... written ... voted, and I will continue to review the "episodes" of Buffy season 8. I agree with some of the sentiments left in the comments, though. While this is meant to be a canonical continuation of the TV series, it's not a TV series. This is a comic, and it feels like one. It can't replace the direction and the acting we saw on the small screen, and I don't believe it was ever meant to.
When one of your friends heads off to a faraway land and sends you a letter every week, it's not the same as them being there with you, but it sure is comforting to have them around, so-to-speak. It's like that, only not as desperate sounding.
Some of you may not know this already, but the latest issue of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer season 8 comic hit stores last week, when originally it was slated to come out, I believe, this week. As I was picking up my copy, I got to wondering if the TV Squad readers even cared to have me continue to review them, especially with the news that there will be a season 9 comic.
So, once again I'm going to take advantage of the use of polls and leave it up to you. While I'm definitely going to keep buying and reading these books, do you want me to continue to review them here for you? I'll check the results of the poll (after the jump) later this week and decide.
(S08I04) And thus ends the first arc of the new season of Buffy. This issue was a bit all over the place. Some sections seemed to jump a bit too much, particularly in the first half of the book, though you could almost get the feeling that it wouldn't be done much differently had this been actually on television.
I will say this much for the series, though -- the "big bad" of the season is something of brilliance. Well played, Mr. Whedon.
(S08I03) It's pretty clear, when you're reading through these comics, that the budget that would be involved to make this a season of television would be through the roof. A gianormous Dawn, an army of thousands of undead and Willow's intense spells, all set in a castle in Scotland which is outfitted with a bunch of technology. Thank God for a medium that lets creativity go completely wild without budget worries.
If I've got one criticism for these books I'd have to say it's how the characters are drawn on the pages. The cover images (as you can see here to the right) are amazingly detailed and truly capture what we remember of the characters, but the inside pages have a bit to be desired.
(S08I01) Fans of Buffy have waited a long time for something like this. It's not a new television season and it's not a movie, but when you think about it this could be the best way for it to return. You don't have ugly casting problems and the special effects budget isn't a concern at all. In fact, you can just kill off a major character in spectacular fashion and not worry that you just ruined an actor's livelihood.
If you haven't gone out and picked up this first issue of what's been blessed bu Joss Whedon as Buffy the Vampire Slayer season eight, you might not want to read on, as there will be spoilers. Or if you're just cheap or too lazy to pick it up, you can come too.
"But wait," you say. "There was a season eight?" Yes, there was. It was in 
At least that's what it sounds like 24 EP Evan Katz told EW's Ausiello. According to Katz, some of the things they have planned for the FOX drama's eighth season 
I must confess, I really, really enjoy 
It looks like Kristen Kreuk will only be back 
(S08I07) This issue starts out with the longest - and perhaps first - foray into flashback territory for this "season." I guess I could have gone through my well overplayed DVDs and checked the 
(S08I06) Even though this isse wasn't written by Joss, the capable hands of Brian K. Vaughan pulled off what I think feels very true to the Buffyverse. Faith was always one of my favorite characters from Buffy and Angel, and it's great to see her back again. And scenes with Giles? Even better.
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