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  • Voltron

    In some ways he’s just arriving. This fall Voltron will be released uncut on DVD starting with the lion episodes (later on the vehicle ones will come out). This and Robotech were the two shows that originally made me notice anime way back when. I’m curious how much of the original was cut/rewritten.

  • Doctor Who review in NYT

    The New York Times has a short review of the new Doctor Who online. Pretty decent.

    The familiar blue police box doesn’t seem much revamped, either; it appears to run on pneumatic tubes, and there is no sign of a computer on board. The Doctor, on the other hand, almost quivers with energy. In previous regenerations, depending on the actor playing him, this character has variously been crotchety, spacey, avuncular and even a little glamorous. Christopher Eccleston brings a kind of manic blokishness to the part, giving the Doctor a sardonic grin and a working-class Manchester accent. (When another character says, “If you’re an alien, how come you sound like you’re from the North?” he replies, “Lots of planets have a North.”)

    This Doctor is a little forgetful and inept, but nevertheless fairly contemptuous of the human beings he has come to save — except for Rose Tyler, a shop girl to whom he takes a completely understandable shine. Rose, played by Billie Piper, a former pop star who used to occupy roughly the same niche in Britain as Britney Spears does here, is not just cute but also quick and inventive. She’s much less frightened of lumbering mannequins or boiling plastic than either her vain, slutty mum or her well-meaning but dopey boyfriend, and she even gets the careless Doctor out of a jam.[New York Times]

  • Countdown to Who

    With one week left until the start of Doctor Who on the Sci-Fi channel, it seemed like a good time to remind folks to check it out. I just found this article in the NYT from earlier this week talking about the series.

    The first episode of Mr. Davies’s “Doctor Who,” teeming with rapid edits, dark humor, and, for the first time, computer-generated special effects, drew over 10 million viewers, or about 44 percent of the potential viewing audience, something that would translate into a Super Bowl-size audience for an American broadcast. [New York Times]

    Having already seen the first season, I can’t recommend people check it out enough. Close to everyone I’ve shown it has enjoyed it, many of them loving it. The show is just plain fun. Here’s a quick teaser for the show I found online. The first two episodes show next Friday on SciFi. So program your TiVo or VCR and record it while you’re out partying and watch it the next morning.

  • The IT Crowd

    I just took in the first three episodes of The IT Crowd, a new comedy on Channel 4 UK. It’s about the members of an IT group working in the basement of a large company. It’s silly, has many geeky moments, and is pretty damn fun (though it did take an episode or two for me to get into it. The show is from Father Ted creator Graham Linehan and seems to have much of that same kind of feel.

    Recommended if you like british comedy shows. You can find it at the usual bittorrent sources.

  • Anime in the News

    Yesterday, the New York Times had an article about some of the anime that is currently showing in the US. It’s pretty good, though a little bit simplistic. The one thing I liked about it was that it was explaining a little of how these shows are different than the stereotype of what many people think anime is (Pokemon/Yu-Gi-Oh). The point where I feel the article falls a little flat is in its examples. While I enjoy Naruto, I think Fullmetal Alchemst might have been a better one to go into detail with. My guess is they were went with a show that was on at a watchable time.

    It is nice to see some mainstream media coverage of anime that helps to show a bit of why I enjoy the method of storytelling so much.

  • Doctor Who in America

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    It finally happened. Dr. Who will be hitting the airwaves in the US starting in March. Taking up a slot on the SCI FI Channel’s Friday lineup. While the SCI FI Channel has done its share of annoying things, this is a great move for them. Even if they were way too slow with it. This is definitely a show to check out. It starts out a little slow, but quickly gathers speed. Almost everyone I’ve shown it has enjoyed it.

    The only downside is that now the season one DVD release has been pushed back till July.

    [via rfrancis]

  • Dr. Who Christmas Special

    Not being able to sleep at 5am this morning, I decided to check out the Dr. Who Christmas Special. Overall I give it a thumbs up. The story felt like a kind of typical regeneration story, with David Tennant making his first real appearance as the Doctor. I think he’s going to make a pretty good Doctor overall. I won’t discuss any of the content so as not to spoiler people, but I do recommend downloading it if you can (along with the children in need special, which you should watch first if you could).

  • Lala Rules

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    After listening to TWiT the other day I felt compelled to check out Tiki Bar TV, Forbidden cocktails in a swank pad. I can’t decide if it is genius or incredibly stupid, but I do know I can’t stop watching it. You should definitely give the Tiki Bar a visit.

  • Turner Classic Movies and Miyazaki

    ICv2 has posted information about a marathon of Miyazaki films on TCM in January 2006.

    ICv2 has learned that in January 2006, Turner Classic Movies, a prominent cable and satellite network, will run nine animated features by the great Japanese anime director Hayao Miyazaki.  Miyazaki’s movies have received scant exposure on American TV so the showings on Turner Classic Movies should expose a wide audience to these masterworks.

    A complete list of the films (and airdates) will be released next week, but ICv2 has learned that TCM will show such Miyazaki-directed classics as: Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, My Neighbor Totoro, Nausicaa: Valley of the Wind, Castle in the Sky, and Porco Rosso, as well as Whisper of the Heart, which was directed by Yoshifumi Kondou, though Miyazaki wrote the screenplay, drew the storyboards and produced the film. [ICv2]

    I’m pretty psyched. I’ve wanted to see Whisper of the Heart for a while. I’m also hoping for Kiki’s and The Castle of Cagliostro.

  • To Watch For

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    On November 6th Cartoon Network starts showing the animated version of The Boondocks. Definitely something to check out. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the comic strip, Newsweek has an article about it and the upcoming show.