iPhoneography: Knoxville

We get down to Knoxville at least once a year, usually in the summer, and I always think about what a livable city it is. At a little less than 200,000 residents, the city has the bustling University of Tennessee campus, a pretty thriving downtown and the beautiful Tennessee River. It’s a natural for iPhone pics.

One of the highlights of the city’s downtown is Market Square, a large public square, surrounded by shops and restaurants, with a scenic fountain as well as space for arts performances.

 

If you walk around you’ll find some interesting sights, like the cemetery at First Presbyterian …

And if you stick around until dark you can enjoy the nightlife.

The Tennessee Theatre is a great indoor performing arts spot. And they still show classic movies there.

Go to Mast General Store while you’re downtown. They have an entertaining assortment of stuff.

Including the kind of old-time candy you don’t see much anymore. Gee, why would anybody think these were supposed to look like cigarettes?

 

 

‘Buffy,’ ‘Angel’ and modern-day cable

“Buffy the Vampire Slayer” ran seven seasons and its spin-off show, “Angel,” ran a too-short five. Both aired on what were considered “mini” networks, The WB and The CW, but networks nonetheless with obligations to meet the standards of broadcast networks and bring in some semblance of traditional over-the-air ratings.

But we can only dream about how those Joss Whedon series as well as his “Firefly” and “Dollhouse” series might have faired if they had aired on channels that were decidedly off-network.

I’m thinking of TNT, FX, USA, AMC and A&E, channels – not networks, since networks are networks of stations, while cable channels have no physical presence out in the real world – that schedule, carry and nurture high-quality episodic drama.

Can you imagine “The Shield” or “Mad Men” or even “Falling Skies” on network TV?

I can’t. I can’t imagine those niche shows pulling enough viewers to stay on the air. “Firefly” sure didn’t.

I can’t imagine the networks allowing the creators of those shows to produce as few as 10 or 12 or 16 episodes per season, something that’s become routine with shows like “The Walking Dead” and “Breaking Bad.”

There seems to be less pressure without a 22-episode, big network season. Less expectation of Super Bowl-sized ratings. Less expectation of quickly meeting the 100-episode threshold for syndication.

With those shorter seasons, you can weed out the deadwood episodes. Okay, some of us were a little impatient with how long last season’s “The Walking Dead” spent on the farm. But it didn’t have to be that way. Look at last season’s “Mad Men” as an example. While the season had its critics, I thought almost every episode was riveting. Would that have been the case if the creators had been compelled to turn out twice as many episodes to fill out a network season?

Who doesn’t think “Smallville,” for example, would have been better with about a half-dozen fewer episodes per season and a little less filler? How about “Lost?”

There are some drawbacks. Out of sight, out of mind. “The Sopranos” and “Mad Men” took their time and sometimes a year or even more passed between seasons. It was torture but it made us look forward to their return even more. That trick wouldn’t work for every show, however.

And admittedly, there’s still less visibility on cable, at least for some audiences. We live in a world where the biggest ratings are still garnered by standard network fare like cops-and-robbers procedurals. We can take solace in knowing that we’re cooler because we know all about “Justified.”

So in my alternate reality TV word, “Buffy” and “Angel” and “Firefly” are still chugging along, well  into the double-digits in years on the air. They’re just airing fewer episodes and every episode is greeted with a sense of anticipation and celebration.

Whedon, Marvel to do S.H.I.E.L.D TV series

Breaking news and, well, duh.

Deadline.com is reporting that ABC has ordered a pilot for a live-action TV series that follows the agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. – the super spy agency headed up by Nick Fury – that brought together “The Avengers” in this year’s biggest movie.

Of course.

For months there’s been speculation on what Marvel might do in its foray into live-action TV. A Jessica Jones/Heroes for Hire series was apparently sidelined and a live-action Hulk remains ill-defined.

So when news broke a few weeks ago that Joss Whedon had, in addition to his “Avengers” sequel directing duties, agreed to develop the big live-action Marvel TV series set in the Avengers universe, all of us went a little meshugana.

And we started talking about possibilities, including a Black Panther series, a Daredevil series, one featuring the Marvel cleanup crew Damage Control and any number of other possibilities.

Of course, a SHIELD (forgive me, I’m dropping the abbreviation practice until further notice) series was proposed and seemed like a natural.

Marvel has spent several movies setting up the workings of SHIELD, introducing us to characters like Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) and Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders).

While we don’t know what kind of series SHIELD  will be (well, presumably not a sitcom) and we don’t know if Jackson or any of the established actors will show up – please, please, please give us Tony Stark and Bruce Banner cameos – the flashy spy stuff that’s a natural part of the SHIELD universe makes this the most likely Marvel TV vehicle.

And since in the comics SHIELD is pervasive throughout the Marvel universe, we still could see meaty roles for fan favorites: Not just Fury and Coulson (yes, I know, I know) and Hill but others from the comics. Matt Murdock could represent Hill on a bogus murder charge. Fury could recruit the Punisher for a mission.

While the series will certainly be set in the present day, wouldn’t it be cool if it had some of the trippy feel of writer/artist Jim Steranko’s ground-breaking work on the comic a generation ago?

Yep, SHIELD is a no-brainer. And with Whedon behind the scenes and his frequent collaborators Jed Whedon and  Maurissa Tancharoen working on the series too, I think we’re going to get more of the Marvel goodness we enjoyed in “The Avengers.”

Comics classic: The Avengers Kree-Skrull War

When fandom realized, a few years ago, that Marvel was planning an “Avengers” movie, half of those who thought about it said it would be a huge hit and half said it couldn’t be done.

And all of them said the plot should cover the Kree-Skrull War.

Well,  now that we’re on the other side of a billion dollars in box office receipts and great critical and fan reception, we know that it was doable, especially with Joss Whedon in the director’s chair.

But what about those Krees and Skrulls?

For those of us reading comics back in the day, the Kree-Skrull war was everything that was great about Marvel Comics, especially compared to DC.

Marvel had, by the time Avengers 89 came out in June 1971, spent nearly a decade building a universe that included not only costume-clad superheroes like the Avengers and the Fantastic Four but also more “cosmic” creatures like Captain Marvel, a Kree warrior come to Earth, and the Skrulls, alien invaders and shape-shifting imposters who fought the FF.

Writer Roy Thomas and artists Sal Buscema, Neal Adams and John Buscema gave us, over the course of eight monthly issues, a nice introduction to the larger universe outside Earth’s atmosphere and outside the influence of its “everyday” heroes.

Although Thor, Captain America, Iron Man and lesser-known Avengers like Scarlet Witch, Vision and Black Panther were the kings of New York superherodom, they were pitted here against alien menaces. While some of the storyline was large in scope – including space battles – other moments were (literally) small scale: One of the most famous sequences came in Avengers 93, when Ant-Man shrinks to microscopic size and goes inside the Vision to effect repairs on the android Avenger. The overall series plotline is almost ridiculously complicated and involves everything from the Fantastic Four to Skrulls masquerading as cows.

Because comics of the time were rarely planned out months in advance as “big events” are now, it was extraordinary that Thomas and company took the better part of a year to tell this story. DC comics was still, at this point, doing “one and done” stories. For all of us elementary school kids out there, the Kree-Skrull War series re-emphasized how different – and how much better – Marvel was.

So we didn’t get a Kree-Skrull war in the “Avengers” movie, although we did get a dose of Marvel’s cosmic characters. Particularly when Thanos shows up in the credits.

And of course, the Skrulls figured into the “Avengers” movie as the Chitauri, a disguised version of our favorite galactic marauders.

So maybe we’re inching toward a big-screen version of the classic comic storyline.

In the meantime, we can enjoy the original, which has been reprinted as a trade paperback a few years ago. The full-color paperback really emphasizes the artistry of Adams, one of my favorites.

 

iPhoneography: Zombie Walk

Really, who doesn’t love a good zombie parade?

Today’s Zombie Walk in Muncie – sponsored by local groups to benefit Second Harvest Food Bank and Animal Rescue Fund (ARF) – was held around the Ball State University campus.

Several dozen people turned out for what was rather a brisk Zombie Walk. It was a lot of fun and made for good iPhone pictures.

There was a medical theme to some of the zombies. I saw at least one in surgical garb and this patient, complete with IV.

Zombie Jesus or Zombie Russell Brand? You decide.

Zombie Bandana Guy was properly freaky.

Some charming zombies ladies in dresses. I’m a fashion know-nothing. Are these supposed to be out-of-date old lady zombies?

You think you have problems, all you zombies out there. This zombie had two heads. TWO HEADS! Yet she seemed relatively upbeat.

This photo doesn’t properly show it off, but this zombie had a drooping eyeball. Great makeup.

If you’ve got zombies, you need some paramilitary human presence. Goes without saying.

You can tell the zombie kid to the left is thinking, “What’s the deal with the guy in the red bodysuit? I thought this was a zombie walk.”

The organizers put a green screen near the end and asked zombies to pass in front of it. Made for some great closeup pics.

This kid was totally into it.

Zombie Blues Brothers. They’re on a mission from God.

TV: What I’m watching, given up on and looking forward to

When I was a kid, besides going back to school and the run-up to Halloween, this time of year was a big deal for me because of the new fall TV season.

Yes, I was a TV geek.

I eagerly anticipated the fall season, which usually had at least one or two shows that I wanted to see. Besides, who could guess just how great “The Night Stalker” or “Planet of the Apes” (the TV series) might make the fall of 1974?

There’s less anticipation about the fall TV season nowadays because the TV year is so fractured – worthwhile series debut throughout the calendar year – and, speaking only for myself, I watch less TV.

Because I watch less TV, I try to make every random hour and half-hour count.

So here’s what I’m watching right now as well as what I’m anticipating, what I’ve given up on and what I’m worried about.

“Copper” is a BBC America series – the channel’s first original production – that just debuted last Sunday. It’s about cops in New York City in 1864. The city was a lawless place, full of casual cruelty to children and others who couldn’t defend themselves, and the police department wasn’t much better. Into the mix comes Kevin Corcoran (Tom Weston-Jones), an Irish-American veteran of the Civil War who has come back to the city to find his wife missing and his child dead. The series, which has a nice gritty tone, follows Corcoran as he investigates crimes – the murder of a child prostitute in the first episodes, for example – and patrols the grimy streets and brothels of the city.

“Justified” is returning for a fourth season sometime in early 2013 and it’s likely that our favorite Kentucky-born-and-bred U.S. marshal, Raylan Givens, and his longtime friend and sometimes antagonist, Boyd Crowder, will find themselves up against some new lowlife. Timothy Olyphant and Walton Goggins lead a great cast.

We don’t have to wait until next year to see “The Walking Dead.” The AMC series returns on Oct. 14 for its third season. The series will be split between the prison the survivors were near in the final episode of last season and the town of Woodbury, presided over by the Governor. The first eight episodes air this year, with eight more beginning in February.

I’m not sure when “Mad Men” and “Falling Skies” will be back – hopefully early in 2013 – but I’ll be watching the two very different series. Both came off solid seasons this year.

Few series have been as enjoyable in the past three years as NBC’s “Community,” an odd and offbeat show about a group of misfits who become friends in a study group at a second-rate community college. But I’m worried about “Community” this year after the departure of creator Dan Harmon. By most accounts a genius with people skills issues, Harmon got fired at the end of last season. The cast is great and the stories – complete with blanket forts, paintball apocalypses and genuinely nice character moments – are wonderful. But can the show survive without Harmon? Or will it become another kooky sitcom like “Scrubs?”

I’m not sure I’ll be around for a second season of “Longmire,” the A&E series based on Craig Johnson’s enjoyable series of mystery novels about a Wyoming sheriff. The show looked pretty good and the cast was fine, but the mysteries were mediocre. When the show did take a page from one of Johnson’s stories, as it did in the season finale, it didn’t bring the author’s charms.

I’m not sure I’m looking forward to anything on TV quite as much as a live-action Marvel Comics series set in the “Avengers” movie universe. Luke Cage? Daredevil? S.H.I.E.L.D? Where will creative genius and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” mastermind Joss Whedon take this series? Wherever it is, I’m following.

The best part about TV is that, in any given season, some really terrific show can suddenly appear and make you glad you gave it a try. I’ve felt that way about every show on this list at one time or another.

The essential geek library: ‘Cult Movies’ by Danny Peary

Back in the old days, everything you wanted to know about movies and TV shows and comic books – their makers, their history, their detractors, their weird variations – wasn’t available for perusal at the click of a mouse.

No, children, we had books back then, and they were wonderful resources.

For a few decades, I amassed a collection of books about movies and TV and comics. They were my encyclopedias, my Bibles. I read and re-read them, memorizing facts and committing the photographs to memory.

So I thought I would occasionally mention some of these books here for you. Maybe you’ve got your own copies. Maybe you can find them in used bookstores or on Amazon. Maybe some will still be in print.

Danny Peary’s “Cult Movies” is a good place to start. Published in 1981 and subtitled “The Classics, the Sleepers, the Weird and the Wonderful,” Peary’s book lives up to its name. The dozens of movies he writes about in the first book (three volumes total were published) range from beloved classics like “The Wizard of Oz” to still-at-the-time controversial films like “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” to “2001” to “Vertigo.”

Peary devotes three or four pages to each movie. He lists the cast and key creative positions and gives a synopsis. He then goes into detail about what made the movies cult films.

Peary tells how director George Romero made “Night of the Living Dead,” from its hardscrabble production to its difficult distribution to its reception by audiences and critics.

He has real insight into the movies he covers.

“Pessimistic and unsentimental, ‘Living Dead’ is so effective because it is totally without pretension,” he notes. “It works on basic fears: unrelenting terror, monsters, darkness, claustrophobia. ‘Aliens’ attack us on American soil; protectors, even blood relations, turn on one another.” He notes how the black and white photography, a side effect of its low budget, made it more effective in some ways (anyone see the recent black-and-white presentation of the pilot for “The Walking Dead?”) but worked against it (Columbia Pictures wouldn’t distribute the film because it wasn’t in color) in others.

Peary, who is still actively writing, although not books about movies, brings the right amounts of reverence and criticism to these great but oddball movies. He and his books are what every modern-day movie and pop culture blogger aspires to be.

Unsung actors: Jonathan Banks

Who’s badder than Jonathan Banks? Nobody.

He’s one of the coolest yet most unsung actors in Hollywood.

Banks is enjoying a little limelight in a recurring role in the hit series “Breaking Bad” these days, but for years he was best known as the creepy henchman of the bad guy … or, infrequently, the offbeat good guy.

Amazingly, Banks’ TV resume goes back to the mid 1970s and appearances on everything from “Barnaby Jones” to “The Waltons” to “Little House on the Prairie!” In the latter, according to IMBD, he played Jed in a 1980 episode.

His career in movies really took off in 1982, however, with his role as a doomed cop in “48 Hours.” He’s a cohort of Nick Nolte’s cop character who gets killed off early.

Two years later, Banks played what I think of as his best henchman role in “Beverly Hills Cop.” He’s the guy who kills Eddie Murphy’s friend at the beginning of the movie and he’s the guy who gets tossed into a buffet table at a tony private club.

Banks brought a dead-eyed menace to the role that sticks with me 30 years later.

For four years beginning in 1987, Banks had his best TV role (sorry, but I haven’t seen him in “Breaking Bad” yet) as federal agent Frank McPike in “Wiseguy.” As McPike, Banks was gruff and no-nonsense as the “handler” for Ken Wahl’s Vinnie Terranova, a federal agent who goes deep undercover in criminal organizations.

Banks’ McPike is the guy who, with more than a little attitude, pulled Terranova’s butt out of the fire during the run of the series. When Wahl left the show, McPike shepherded his replacement.

Here’s to Jonathan Banks, tough guy first class.

A cop to the end of the world – and after?

Is “The Last Policeman” a mystery novel or science fiction?

I guess it’s a bit of both, although I’ve seen it classified as science fiction most often.

But Ben H. Winters’ book – the first of a trilogy – defies an “either or” definition.

The book’s protagonist, Hank Palace, is a newly promoted police detective in a New England city that’s slowly falling apart, not unlike much of society. That’s because the world is coming to an end.

A few months before, scientists spotted a previously unnoticed asteroid a few million miles out. As the asteroid – a few kilometers wide – draws closer to Earth, it goes from a scientific curiosity to one of those “look what almost happened” news stories to a harbinger of the end: As the novel tells us in judicious flashbacks and fleeting memories, scientists determine that the asteroid, Maia, is on a collision course with earth.

As society’s conventions begin to fall by the wayside – turns out restaurant chains and cell phone companies are among the first to say “the hell with it” when the end of the world is a few months away – police like Palace have their hands full with suicides, people who skip right past “bucket list” and “party like it’s 1999” and go right to death.

As the story opens, Palace is investigating an incident in which a man apparently hanged himself in the bathroom of a McDonald’s – or, a pirate McDonald’s that sprang up after the company officially folded its golden arches.

Palace believes this latest dead body isn’t the result of a suicide and begins – despite the scoffing of a handful of other detectives – investigating the death.

Not surprisingly, for the first of three planned books, there are some plot elements left open at the end of “The Last Policeman.” While Palace solves the murder of the man in the bathroom, other, larger mysteries are left unresolved. Some of them include nearly-below-the-radar doubts about Maia and whether it will actually collide with Earth, no less end civilization.

Winters brings a nice sense of doom, leavened with some humor, to his story. I’m curious as to where he’s going in the second and third books and whether I should get my hopes up about the fate of the planet.

 

RIP William Windom of ‘Star Trek’

One obituary I saw today for William Windom referred to the actor, who died at age 88, as a “comedic actor,” and there’s something to that, of course.

But for me and many others in geek culture, William Windom will always and forever be Commodore Matt Decker from the classic “Star Trek” original series episode “The Doomsday Machine.”

Windom played Decker, a friend of William Shatner’s Jim Kirk and captain of the Federation starship Constellation. In this second-season episode, the Enterprise finds the wreckage of the Constellation floating in space as well as its distraught captain.

The Constellation has been targeted by a mile-long planet killing robot ship, a conical structure that fires energy blasts and absorbs matter as food. Think of it as a less chatty version of Galactus.

Windom is by turns weepy, hysterical, sneaky and imperious as the captain who will use any tool at his disposal – including the Enterprise, liberated from Kirk and Spock – to kill the Doomsday Machine.

Windom was among the strongest guest-stars the original series ever had. Sure, he had his moments that were a bit … overplayed … but most of his performance is subtle and heartbreaking.

“The Doomsday Machine” was written by science fiction author Norman Spinrad. It has one of the great “Star Trek” climaxes as Kirk tries to fly the battered Constellation down the throat of the planet killer.

Windom’s career ranged from “The Twilight Zone” to “Night Gallery” to “Murder, She Wrote,” and was one of the most dependable character actors on TV for a couple of decades.

Here’s to Windom, one of our favorites.