Coming Up: "Doctor Who: Shada"


Out Nov. 6. Pre-order now from Amazon.

Details:

For the first time ever, BBC Worldwide will release a completed version of the previously unbroadcast 1970s Doctor Who story SHADA, written by Douglas Adams (Hitchhiker s Guide to the Galaxy, Dirk Gently s Holistic Detective Agency) and featuring the return of Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor!

In 1979, SHADA was set to be the celebratory end to the seventeenth season of Doctor Who. Critically acclaimed writer Douglas Adams had completed the script, Tom Baker s Doctor was at the height of his popularity, and the series had bigger audiences than ever before. But a strike at the BBC in November 1979 interrupted production and the adventure was abandoned. The story became legendary among fans.

Now, thirty-eight years later, SHADA will be seen at last in a new version combining remastered original footage with brand new, hand-drawn colour animation to complete the story. The animation will feature the newly-recorded voices of the original cast, including Tom Baker as the Doctor and Lalla Ward as Romana, performing the original script.

Tom Baker says, SHADA was one of my favorite Doctor Who stories. I have many fond memories of shooting the location scenes in Cambridge, and it was disappointing not to finish the story in studio. I m so glad that BBC Worldwide have found a way to bring fans a complete visual version.

SHADA finds the Doctor in Cambridge working alongside companion Romana and retired Time Lord, Professor Chronotis, to defeat the evil alien Skagra who is attempting to steal the secrets to the prison planet, Shada.

Video find: The Surpremes and Berry Gordy on "To Tell the Truth"



Coming Up: "Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy: Anniversary Edition"


The cult British TV series on Blu-ray, out Nov. 13. Pre-order from Amazon now.


Coming Up: Conny Plank: The Potential Of Noise


A documentary about the legendary German record producer who worked with Kraftwerk and others, out Nov. 3. Pre-order from Amazon now.

Details from IMDB:

Conny Plank was one of the most innovative sound experimentalists, producing recordings that revolutionized music that still is as valid as ever. He became a hub in the new German sounds. Producer, sound engineer and musician covering a wide range of genres including progressive, avant-garde, electronic music and krautrock. Dying at only 47, Plank left behind a wife, actress Christa Fast and a 13-year-old-son, Stephan. Now, 20 years on, Stephan sets out to find his father, the film taking a journey through music history as well as around the world, to give an unusually intimate and emotional view of the artists, their work with Conny Plank and the many musical traces he left behind.


New Music Releases Aug. 10, 2018: Teen Titans Go! To The Movies




Pop Culture Roundup: Brady Bunch House, Hedy Lamarr, Fantastic Four

HGTV purchased the recently up-for-sale California home featured in exterior shots of "The Brady Bunch" TV series and plans to do "something groovy" with the place. Pop star Lance Bass was also vying to buy the house.


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"Wonder Woman" actress Gal Gadot will star in a Showtime mini-series about actresss/inventor Hedy Lamarr.

Lamarr, already an actress who appeared in the legendarily controversial Ecstasy (1933), was married to Fritz Mandl the same year. Mandl was a weapons manufacturer who would go on to supply the Nazis during the Second World War, as well as host Adolf Hitler upon occasion. But before the war actually broke out—and after Lamarr heard her husband and colleagues discuss the dangers German U-Boats would face due to radio-controlled torpedoes—Lamarr escaped Nazi Germany in disguise before winding up to London… and eventually on the same ship crossing the Atlantic as Louis B. Mayer, head of MGM Studios. Despite knowing limited English, she had a contract by the time the ship made port in New York.

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So, how old is the Fantastic Four, anyway?

Vintage movie posters: The Sharkfighters, 1956



Coming Up: "To Kill a Mockingbird: A Graphic Novel"


Out Oct. 30. Pre-order from Amazon now.

Details:

A beautifully crafted graphic novel adaptation of Harper Lee’s beloved, Pulitzer prize–winning American classic.

"Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird."
A haunting portrait of race and class, innocence and injustice, hypocrisy and heroism, tradition and transformation in the Deep South of the 1930s, Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird remains as important today as it was upon its initial publication in 1960, during the turbulent years of the Civil Rights movement.

Now, this most beloved and acclaimed novel is reborn for a new age as a gorgeous graphic novel. Scout, Gem, Boo Radley, Atticus Finch, and the small town of Maycomb, Alabama, are all captured in vivid and moving illustrations by artist Fred Fordham.

Enduring in vision, Harper Lee’s timeless novel illuminates the complexities of human nature and the depths of the human heart with humor, unwavering honesty, and a tender, nostalgic beauty. Lifetime admirers and new readers alike will be touched by this special visual edition that joins the ranks of the graphic novel adaptations of A Wrinkle in Time and The Alchemist.

Time Capsule: Vintage Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass ad, 1968


August 1968 must've been "Sitar Month" at Archie Comics



Vintage movie poster: The Misfits



Coming Up: "DC Comics Super Heroines: 100 Greatest Moments"


Out Sept. 25. Pre-order from Amazon now.

Details:

From Batgirl to Wonder Woman, all of the greatest female characters of the DC Comics universe are paid homage in this epic tome, DC Comics Heroines: 100 Greatest Moments. Broken down, moment by moment, readers are able to follow pivotal points in the development of their favorite heroines. 

The second installment of Chartwell Books' 100 Greatest Moments of DC Comics series highlights the feats of emotional strength and bravery displayed by the powerful women of DC Comics.

Fans will love this overview of 100 notable scenes where women showed just how tough they are. High quality panels are pulled from the silver and bronze age up to the present. Favorites like Wonder Woman, Batgirl, Supergirl, Black Canary, Zatanna, and many more make an appearance in this volume.

Bask in the grit and glory of your favorite heroines with DC Comics Heroines: 100 Greatest Moments.
 

New Comics Aug. 8, 2018: Aquaman; Deadman; Marvel Two-in-One; Witzend; Donald Duck