John Scott Lewinski
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Holiday gift ideas keep coming from 'a galaxy far, far away'
Black Friday is less than a week away, and if you're stumped for gift ideas for a boy anywhere in the family, you could do worse than going with Star Wars: The Clone Wars merchandise.The show remains one of the highest rated programs for males aged 12-25. That's no surprise since boys have always been the cash cow of George Lucas' $3 billion empire (no pun intended).
Hasbro is the emperor of Star Wars toys (at least those for kids), and the company has a couple of new, higher end items for the 2009 holidays.
The Clone Wars Remote Control R2-D2 is pretty much as advertised. For about $30, you get a replica of a Death Star comm-link that controls the droid's movements, sounds and lights. A kid will have fun driving him around the house. But, the toy is more fun for adults if you imagine that every beep he makes is really a rude, digitized curse word.
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Star Trek collectibles multiply in time for Black Friday
Can shoes or cologne be considered fanboy collectibles? We'll find out together as a very different breed of Star Trek collectibles arrives in time for the post-Thanksgiving gift buying frenzy.J.J. Abrams made Trek sexy again -- especially the original TV show from the 1960s. So Paramount and CBS put their marketing and licensing people to work. What did they come up with from just inside the Windsor Gate on Melrose?
The Vermont Teddy Bear Company is offering shorter, furrier versions of Captain James T. Kirk and Mr. Spock (right) for about $100 each. I've acquired one of these, and they're well made with a lot of attention to detail in their little uniforms.
Also, make sure you check out the Airwalk Terrain Hi Skate Star Trek StarFleet Edition sneakers from Payless. For $50, you get a really well-made urban sneaker that just happens to bear a Starfleet insignia. And they come in the departmental uniform colors of the original Enterprise crew -- gold, blue and red.
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Discovery roars into December with Clash of the Dinosaurs
As December rolls around, your kids will want to watch the usual line-up of holiday specials. But, I'm guessing they wouldn't mind watching a T-Rex hunt down and tuck into a Triceratops, whatever the time of year.Discovery Channel will put cutting-edge imaging technology to bring giant lizards to life inside and out with Clash of the Dinosaurs. Premiering December 6 at 8 p.m. (ET/PT), the four-part series looks inside the body of a dinosaur to with cinematic photo-real 3D graphics.
According to Discovery's announcement, consulting anatomy and paleontology experts help to peel back the skin, muscles and bones of the creatures to show how they thrived. So, on second thought, maybe the kids should stick with A Year without a Santa Claus.
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No one escapes Hogan's Heroes DVD mega-set
I admit there's nothing topical about a post on Hogan's Heroes, but any day is a good day to sit and wonder how this show got on the air.Don't get me wrong. It's not bad. It boasts its share of laughs and memorable characters. And, it's back on the radar recently because of the comprehensive DVD set, Hogan's Heroes: The Komplete Series, Kommandant's Kollection.
But I'd give a month's pay from TV Squad (so, like $6.50) if I could build a time machine, change myself into a fly, stick myself to a wall in the network offices of CBS, and hear the pitch meeting for this show. I know it's not likely to happen, but there's no harm in dreaming.
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Is Canadian Doctor Who house bigger on the inside?
If you happen to be house shopping in the Brantford, Ontario area of Canada -- and if you're a British sci-fi fan -- I've found the perfect ivy-covered drive-by cutie for you.A house listed on Point2Homes.com features some indoor improvement found previously only on the planet Gallifrey. If you take some time to watch the photo montage of the house's interior, you see a Tardis (left) in the living room and a Dalek patrolling the hallways.
Obviously, the current residents are huge Doctor Who fans -- unless most Canadians keep evil robotic killers in their home. I have no idea what the cuddly snow creatures to the north do with their free time -- besides crowding up against the U.S. border for warmth.
A closer inspection of the housing listing doesn't make it clear if the alien artifacts come with the jacuzzi, but I doubt you get the whole package with your down payment. But, if the Tardis is part of the deal, you can travel 30 years into the future when the mortgage is paid already off and move in for free.
New Doctor Who DVD features new CG-enhanced episode
Many sci-fi fans wonder what classic Doctor Who might look like if the BBC bosses of the '70s and '80s could have budgeted more than £6 per episode for visual effects.A new Who DVD set from BBC Video features a specially remastered episode that offers you just that experience.
Doctor Who: "The Black Guardian Trilogy" serves up a trio of 1983 Who episodes featuring Peter Davison as the Fifth Doctor in a life and death struggle against a supernatural evil force.
A team of restoration and digital effects artists took the final episode of that trilogy ("Enlightenment" -- a well-written, high-concept adventure featuring a simulated sailing race in deep space) and laid in 21st Century CG visuals.
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TV Squad Video: Starship Enterprise orbits Griffith Park
If you're like me, and I know I am, you've wondered what it would like if the U.S.S. Enterprise descended on the Hollywood Hills.
Fortunately, Paramount held the big DVD and Blu-ray release party for J.J. Abrams' Star Trek movie at the Griffith Park Observatory Monday night, and the Enterprise took up a standard orbit around the famous planetarium landmark.
While the film's creators and cast mingled inside the observatory, a high-definition multimedia system projected video images of Trek visual effects up against the building's walls.
So, for a few moments, the Enterprise (almost to scale) swooped in for a visit before heading away at warp factor one.
Enjoy a glimpse of it below.
Fortunately, Paramount held the big DVD and Blu-ray release party for J.J. Abrams' Star Trek movie at the Griffith Park Observatory Monday night, and the Enterprise took up a standard orbit around the famous planetarium landmark.
While the film's creators and cast mingled inside the observatory, a high-definition multimedia system projected video images of Trek visual effects up against the building's walls.
So, for a few moments, the Enterprise (almost to scale) swooped in for a visit before heading away at warp factor one.
Enjoy a glimpse of it below.
TV's G.I. Resolute outduels big-screen Rise of Cobra
Director Stephen Sommers might want to discourage the production of animated lead-ups to his feature films. They keep outdoing the movies they're supposed to set up for audiences.Before his Van Helsing reached theaters in 2004, Universal released Van Helsing: The London Assigment. Written by Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens, the animated half-hour was clever and action-packed. Van Helsing? It was not clever and action-packed.
Now, the DVD release of G.i. Joe: Resolute, an 11-episode series of animated shorts that originally aired on Adult Swim before the release of Rise of Cobra, brings a cooler and more visually compelling "Yo, Joe!" to screens.
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It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia Christmas Special rolls out red carpet
The cast of the FX sitcom It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia gathered a stone's throw from Beverly Hills this week to celebrate the release of the show's new Christmas special.A Very Sunny Christmas arrives on Blu-ray and DVD November 17 from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. Fox teamed with Maxim Magazine to hold a festive bash last Thursday night at Guys and Dolls Lounge in the shadow of Cedar Sinai Hospital on Beverly Blvd. (Event gallery below.)
A modest red carpet set-up gathered a cramped collection of reporters and photographers together to greet the arrivals of show stars Danny DeVito, Kaitlin Olson, Rob McElhenney, Glenn Howerton and Charlie Day.
As if looking to mimic the bleak Philadelphia winter, rain sprinkled the LA streets in the hours leading up to the event -- and temperatures hovering in the low 50s made it a goose bumpy night for the several cocktail dress-clad ladies mingling in the crowd.
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Cartoon Network lets Clone Wars fans design online games
If there aren't already enough Star Wars video games for your liking, you can make your own with Cartoon Network's Star Wars: The Clone Wars Game Creator.With the animated action show continuing to draw big numbers on Friday nights, its home network is serving up a chance for fans to build their own Clone Wars game and share it with other gamers.
According to the network, these game creators aren't a stunt to generate TV show buzz. The Ben 10: Alien Force Game Creator posted more than 630 million game plays since it went live a year ago, with more than 4.6 million games created by online visitors.
Once fans open their game creator, they choose their character (Anakin Skywalker, Captain Rex or Cad Bane) and their vehicle (AT-TE, AT-RT or Speeder), allowing nine different combinations of character abilities and vehicle powers.
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Andy Richter: The TV Squad Interview
Have any questions for Vik Sahay of Chuck? Ask them here!
Mike Henry and Daryl Hall on a Cleveland Show Thanksgiving
