TVSquad

After the Superman/Batman story Public Enemies, DC Entertainment's next Direct-to-DVD animated release for Spring 2010 will be called Crisis on Two Earths and will star the animated Justice League. Will it be the same Justice League that was on Cartoon Network for four years? I doubt it. The animated features tend to be in their own, self-contained universes.

The story involves the League fighting their evil, other-dimensional counterparts. It's based on the classic "Crisis" stories from the comic books.

I do wish the story was in the Cartoon Network Justice League universe because I liked that theme song. However, the fact that the Hal Jordan Green Lantern appears in the promo picture and the television version used the John Stewart Green Lantern pretty much confirms that it won't be. The writer behind the story is Dwayne McDuffie, who was one of the folks behind the Justice League cartoon. So even if it's not that version of the group, it'll likely still be a quality story.

Much like the Disney acquisition of Marvel Entertainment, television is only a part of what this change represents. However, it does affect the television industry and should be mentioned on this blog. DC Comics has changed its name to DC Entertainment to encompass more forms of media, such as television and movies. Also the president of DC, Paul Levitz, has been replaced by a Time Warner officer named Diane Nelson.

While there are those that might disagree with me, this move looks like it's a response to Marvel's success with its movie franchises. Even though DC has done better on television (Smallville, plus various cartoons like The Brave and the Bold), movies are where the big bucks are. Granted, DC and Warner Brothers have had major success with its Batman movies, but it hasn't built any other franchises.

And as with the Marvel acquisition, we'll have to wait and see what the long-term effects of this corporate change will be. DC also loses the rights to Superman in 2013, so exciting things are afoot.

Here are the new TV DVDs, in stores tomorrow.

I should be happy when there are a ton of new DVDs but nothing I want to buy, because I'll save some money. But this has been happening a lot lately. I mean, there must be something being released soon that I must own. I might have to get the Return of the Man From U.N.C.L.E. movie if it wasn't included in the complete series set I have.

Kinda amazed that My Two Dads has been released on DVD, though I shouldn't be because it seems like a lot of shows are making their way to DVD now. It makes me hopeful that other sitcoms from that era will be released too.

• 7th Heaven - Season 8
• Chowder - Vol. 2
• Doctor Who - The Androids of Tara, Key To Time, The Armageddon Factor, The Power of Kroll, The Pirate Planet, The Stones of Blood, and The Ribos Operation (all Special Editions)

If this direct-to-DVD animated movie wasn't written by Joss Whedon (and according to the credits, it wasn't), it was certainly inspired by him. I cannot help but wonder after seeing an advance preview of this animated movie if this is how the failed Wonder Woman motion picture would have turned out.

(Speaking of Joss Whedon, those who caught the screening at the New York Comic Con, like me, were lucky enough to see a pre-recorded intro by Nathan Fillion, who voices Steve Trevor in the film. He said he would have loved to be here but he was busy filming Serenity 2. He then said he was kidding. I then threw my shoe at the screen.)

If this movie had a rating, it would be PG-13. There was tremendous violence and blood and even a bit of Amazon skin (but the naughty bits were obscured a la Austin Powers). There was also a lot of snappy patter between the characters which cleverly disguised some philosophical dialogue about modern relationship issues between the sexes.

It's nice to know that creators who started in TV can still find new markets to conquer. The upcoming, animated Wonder Woman movie will be screened on the Friday night of the New York Comic Con. Animator Bruce Timm (Batman: The Animated Series among others) will be a guest of honor at the Con and will appear on a panel following the screening.

Actors lending their voices to the movie include Keri Russell (from Felicity) and Nathan Fillion (from Firefly). Hopefully, they will be appearing on the panel as well (the announcement is somewhat vague about who will be there other than Timm).

It's an animated movie to be put out by DC Comics in the direct-to-DVD market, but it's a movie nonetheless. The lead voices are Keri Russell (formerly of TV's Felicity) who plays the Amazon princess and Nathan Fillion (of Firefly fame) who voices Steve Trevor. Other actors providing voices include Virginia Madsen, Rosario Dawson and Alfred Molina.

Going with our Retro Squad theme of the week, a lot of Whedon alumni seem to be lending their voices to DC Comics animation. I've been re-watching the two seasons of Justice League Unlimited and voices for that have included half the Firefly line-up: Morena Baccarin, Gina Torres, Adam Baldwin and Nathan Fillion. Also involved were Amy Acker, Alexis Denisof and Juliet Landau from Buffy and Angel. Furthermore, Adam Baldwin and James Marsters were on the Superman: Doomsday DVD and David Boreanaz was involved with the Justice League: New Frontier DVD.

Of course, Whedon himself was involved in the oft-delayed Wonder Woman live-action film. Perhaps there's a big Joss Whedon/DC Comics conspiracy that I don't know about?

Do not adjust your web browser. You are now entering the Retro Squad, where we are reviewing past episodes of classic TV shows.

Even when I was a little kid, there were some things about the Super Friends (or Superfriends or Superamigos, or whatever they were calling it) that didn't sit right with me. Maybe it was because the confluence of superpowers all in one place just boggled my young mind. Maybe it was the mysterious change from Wendy and Marvin to the Wonder Twins that made me scratch my tiny noggin. Not sure. But those mysteries continue to fascinate me, even into adulthood. It's just that those mysteries are more sophisticated:

1. How did the Super Friends have time to hang out at the Hall of Justice? Every one of the SFs lived in different parts of the country: Batman and Robin were in Gotham City, for instance. So, did B&R commute from Gotham to Metropolis a few times per week? Did they use the Bat Plane or the Batmobile most of the time? Did they claim the mileage on their taxes?

Do not adjust your web browser. You are now entering the Retro Squad, where we are reviewing past episodes of classic TV shows.

Welcome Back to TVSBTTHB (TV Squad Behind the True Hollywood Biography). For over a decade the team known as the Super Friends traveled the world, and the galaxy, to right the wrongs wrought by such villains as the Legion of Doom and Darkseid. But, by the mid-1980s, their services were no longer needed by the public, who watched many of their adventures on television. It was then that these heroes faded away.

So, what happened to them? Being the show that looks under every rock and inside every dumpster, TVSBTTHB was able to obtain information on all of the Super Friends: major, minor and 'what the hell are they doing on the team?'. Some of their stories are heartbreaking, others heartwarming, and the rest are just "meh." Yet, they are all fascinating and provide an extra layer of complexity to the already complicated lives of these superhumans.

Now, let's turn our attention to Superman, Batman, El Dorado, and the rest of the Super Friends.

Do not adjust your web browser. You are now entering the Retro Squad, where we are reviewing past episodes of classic TV shows.

Remember when you were watching Pinky and the Brain and the Brain would think of these abstract, convoluted plots for taking over the world? Or when Scott Evil was pointing out to his father how easy it would be to shoot Austin Powers in the head rather than subject him to some sort of silly trap from which he could escape. I'm convinced they were parodying the Legion of Doom's methodology from the Challenge of the Super Friends which ran from 1978 to 1979 on ABC. Their simple goal was stated in the opening credits: the conquest of the Universe, with a subordinate goal of the destruction of the Super Friends. They failed every time, and I think that's partially due to poor planning.

With that in mind, here are the top five silliest plans from the Legion of Doom to accomplish their goals:

Do not adjust your web browser. You are now entering the Retro Squad, where we are reviewing past episodes of classic TV shows.

Ever since they appeared on Saturday morning, The Super Friends have been a veritable gold mine for wacky videos. The following is a short list of some of my favorite short videos starring Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and the rest of the gang.

Lynda Carter remains a Wonder Woman to this day. While on a boat in Washington D.C., she discovered a dead body floating in the Potomac River.

The actress and singer didn't have a cell phone on her, so she signaled a nearby fishermen to call the police. When the authorities arrived, she directed them to the body.

Now, if she were actually Wonder Woman, she would have found a remote area (either inside her boat or on the shore) and done the spinny thing that changed her into Wonder Woman. She then would have investigated the murder and found the Nazi saboteurs behind the death who would have captured her and tied her up (or perhaps Steve Trevor or possibly both). While they gave a soliloquy of their dastardly plans, she would have cunningly escaped her bonds. A cool fight scene would have ensued and the criminals would be brought to justice as a denouement.

Sadly, she isn't Wonder Woman. She is, however, a humanitarian. Carter says she "did what anybody would have done."

I was reading Brad's post about bad superhero shows, and the site he linked to picked the Cathy Lee Crosby version of Wonder Woman, which I think is silly. It was much better than the Lynda Carter version and was smart enough to use an instrumental theme song, not one with lyrics. When you try to put lyrics to a superhero show theme song, the results are usually very bad.

Here are my choices for five horrible lyrics from TV theme songs. I'm not saying these are the worst. Maybe this could be a regular feature. There are so many to choose from, but these really stand out. (I did a similar post a couple of years ago, but it was strictly bizarre lyrics, not necessarily "bad" ones. The list needs to be updated, especially since I didn't include the number one choice.)

Brian Heiler over at the Topless Robot website took it upon himself to list the ten worst superhero television shows ever made. I don't know if I agree with every choice, but he's certainly in the right ballpark.

Going through the list, we start with Birds of Prey. The first mistake they made (and there was a myriad of them) was altering Batman's daughter to have superpowers. I guess the WB was trying to copy the success of Smallville into other superhero shows and failing.

I remember seeing one episode of Once A Hero. I'm only sorry they didn't air the episode in which Adam West parodied himself. I missed Exo Man altogether (but only in the sense that I didn't watch it).

Here are the new TV DVDs, in stores tomorrow. It's a complete series extravaganza!

• The Andy Williams Show - Best Of
• The Bob Hope Show - The Ultimate Collection
• The Captain and Tennille - TV Specials
• The Colbert Report - Best Of
• The Cosby Show - Season 5 and 6
• Doctor Who - Series 3, Story #123 and 124
• Flight of the Conchords - Season 1
• Full House - Complete Series and Season 8
• Gilligan's Island - Complete Series
• House of Venus - Season 1
• King of Queens - Complete Series
• Martin - Season 3
• McLeod's Daughters - Season 4
• The Munsters - Scary Little Christmas
• The Pink Panther Show - A Pink Christmas
• Project Runway - Season 3
• Seinfeld - Complete Series and Season 9
• Sesame Street - Old School Vol. 2
• The Tonight Show - Heeere's Johnny: The Definitive DVD Collection
• Wildfire - Season 2
• Wings - Season 5
• Wonder Woman - Complete Collection
• The X-Files - Complete Collection Edition

(S03E05) Bones -- Who's stronger -- Catwoman or Wonder Woman?

Jack and Zack together -- Wonder Woman.

Bones -- I concur, vehemently.

Before I begin my review of this week's Bones I need to read this message from the Male Chauvinist Pig Association of America. It goes 'To the Producers of Bones . . . Concerning the skimpy and revealing costumes worn by your characters Temperance Brennan, Angela Montenegro, and Camille Saroyan we of the M.C.P.A.A. have one thing to say to you: you rock!' Oh, there's a postscript as well. It says 'Please ignore the saliva stains.'

Um, yeah. Let's move on, shall we?