Quick hits
"The Simpsons" gets literary with voice guest appearances by authors Jonathan Franzen, Michael Chabon, Tom Wolfe and Gore Vidal next season.
Kids DO love comics, says the Great Curve. And it's true. My boy loves Gemstone's Donald Duck comics, "Teen Titans Go!" and "The Batman Strikes!" Not to mention assorted DC Archives/Showcase and Marvel Essentials/Masterworks volumes. Give a kid a comic today.
New on iTunes: That's Why We're Marching: World War II and the American Folk Song Movement - Various Artists; Musics of Hawaii: Anthology of Hawaiian Music - Special Festival Edition - Various Artists; Pete Seeger - Singalong Sanders Theater, 1980 - Pete Seeger.
Mike Sterling recalls the fun, bizarre Andy Helfer/Kyle Baker "Shadow" series DC published in the 1980s. I loved that book...
Heritage Comics is offering up more than 300 original pieces of Mad Magazine-related art in an upcoming auction.
Chances are good the regenerated "Doctor Who" series will air on U.S. TV sometime soon, but after it turns up on DVD. The first season DVD set is due out in the states Feb. 14.
Comics creators post their Christmas wishes on the Sequential Tart. I'll take a Jack Kirby original, please.
Comics Continuum has details on the "X-Men 3" trailer, which debuts on the Web on Monday.
Newsarama has some George Perez preview art from JSA #82, out in February from DC.
Jack Black modeled his "King Kong" performance after Orson Welles.
Great Moments in Comic Book History
Wonder Woman Vol. 1, #162: The Amazon Princess notes women of "man's world" wear entirely too much clothing. How do they swing?
New DVD releases for December 2005
24 - Season Four
Batman - The Animated Series, Volume Four
The Dukes of Hazzard (Unrated Widescreen Edition)
Everybody Loves Raymond - The Complete Fifth Season
Fantastic Four (Widescreen Edition)
Green Acres Season 3
He Man & She Ra:Christmas Special
Law & Order - The Fourth Year
M*A*S*H - Season Nine
MacGyver - The Complete Fourth Season
The Rockford Files - Season One
Roseanne - The Complete Second Season
Superman - The Animated Series, Volume Two
Walt Disney Treasures - Disney Rarities - Celebrated Shorts, 1920s - 1960s
Walt Disney Treasures - Elfego Baca and The Swamp Fox: Legendary Heroes
Walt Disney Treasures - The Adventures of Spin & Marty - The Mickey Mouse Club
Walt Disney Treasures - The Chronological Donald, Volume Two (1942-1946)
New DVD releases for Dec. 13, 2005
The 40-Year-Old Virgin (Unrated Edition)
Airplane - The "Don't Call Me Shirley" Edition
Dukes of Hazzard - The Complete Fifth Season
Farscape - Season 3, Collection 1 (Starburst Edition)
Frank Miller's Sin City (Recut & Extended Edition)
Gilmore Girls - The Complete Fifth Season
King Kong - Peter Jackson's Production Diaries
Miami Vice - Season Two
Rock 'n Roll High School - Special Edition
Scooby Doo in Where's My Mummy
The Simpsons - The Complete Seventh Season
New DVD released for Dec. 20, 2005
Battlestar Galactica - Season 2.0
Brothers Grimm
ER - The Complete Fourth Season
Party of Five - The Complete Second Season
Serenity - Widescreen Edition
New DVD releases for Dec. 27, 2005
Dark Water (Unrated Widescreen Edition)
The Shield - The Complete Fourth Season
TV Golden Age Theater:Vol 1
TV Golden Age Theater:Vol 2
Twilight Zone:Season 5
Quick hits
Some Christmas sharity in the form of a Three Suns album from Pinocchio's Easy Listening Corner today.
Meanwhile, Rato Records shares an EP of tunes from the "Hatari" soundtrack.
Actress Christina Cindrich has joined the "Spider-Man 3" cast.
Yahoo! Movies has a "Pirates of the Caribbean 2" teaser.
The DC Showcase Presents "Superman Family" volume mentioned yesterday will include Jimmy Olsen and Lois Lane stories from Jimmy Olsen #1-22 and Showcase #9, says here. Future volumes will chronological reprintings forcusing on the two Superman supporting cast members. Great news!
"Lost" clues: season 2, episode 9 "What Kate Did"
What Kate Did
Air Date: 11/30/2005
As dawn ushers in another day on the island we see Jin and Sun sharing an intimate moment that is long overdue. For them the sunrise represents a new beginning -- a second chance at love. And we get the feeling that they're not going to let this one slip through their fingers.
We find Kate high up in a tree picking fruit from the tall branches. As she slides back down the trunk, she slips, almost falling and spilling several mangoes to the jungle floor. As she crouches to collect them, she hears something behind her and turns to see a magnificent black horse standing in the morning mist. But that's not possible…is it?
In FLASHBACK we see a younger version of Kate as she waits on the stairs of her modest house. When a pickup truck swerves down the dirt road and stops in front we get our first look at her mother's choice for a father -- "Wayne." He's happy to let Kate help him to bed, as long as it affords him another chance to lay his drunken hands on her. So when Kate tells him goodnight, she really means it. We see her go outside and ride off on her motorcycle as the house behind her explodes into a giant fireball.
In the Hatch, Sawyer is still delirious with fever as a result of his blood infection. As Jack checks his wounds Sawyer calls out for Kate. When Jack leans in a little closer he hears Sawyer say something that makes him a little dizzy himself. "I love her." And before he has time to process what that means, there is Kate herself anxious to take over his care once more.
Jack attends the funeral services for Shannon and it's very difficult for everyone involved to keep a dry eye as Sayid says a final goodbye to the woman he loved. Meanwhile, back in the hatch, Kate has a very scary episode with Sawyer that shakes her to her core, so when Locke and Jack finally return to the hatch they find Sawyer unattended and the clock on the computer dangerously close to zero.
Back in FLASHBACK, we get to see the beginning of Kate's "relationship" with the Marshal when he arrests her at the bus station after trying to flee the area. While transporting her back to Iowa, in the thick of a brutal rainstorm, they swerve off the road and crash into a telephone pole, allowing Kate her first chance at escape. After pushing the unconscious Marshal out into the rain, Kate looks to see what it was that forced them off the road. And standing there, in the middle of the road, just as placid as can be, is a very familiar-looking black horse.
On the island, as Kate struggles with her feelings for Jack and Sawyer as well as with her sanity, Eko provides Locke with the missing piece of a puzzle that may ask more questions than it answers. Jack reaches out to Ana Lucia at a time when she needs a friend more than ever, and Michael discovers something new about the computer that just might hold the key to getting back his son.
Clues and speculation
* The black horse is yet another case of mysterious animal events/appearances on the show. We had the polar bear of course, the bird in Walt's flashback, Vincent the dog having something to do with the ghostly appearances of Walt...
* "Lost" island is plum-full of murderers: Sawyer, Kate, Ana-Lucia have all very deliberately killed people. Is this a reason they're on the island, or just part of the overall apparent theme of redemption?
* Are dead people able to manifest on the island, or are the crash survivors hallucinating things? Jack sees his dad several times, Kate's father seems to be manifesting himself through Sawyer.
* Lot's of father issues on this show: Jack, Locke, Kate, Sun... all of em have bad dads.
* Eko and Locke are peas in a pod, both being "men of faith." They believe fate plays a role on what happens on the island.
* It'll be interesting to see the "director's cut" of the training film those two spiced together. Why was the film cut? Seems like somebody was trying to hide or disguise something about the Hatch and/or button.
* Why are there "blast doors" in the Hatch? To keep something in, or out?
* How/why is Walt communicating with the computer? Or is he?
* Is that Sayid on the TV screen in the background of this scene?
* The preview for the next episode features Eko reciting Psalm 23. Of course, 23 is one of the mysterious numbers featuring often on the show.
Other stuff
* There's a new (to me) entry in ABC's official "Lost" diary.
* If you go to ABC's Hanso Foundation site and click on the pic of Hanso some interesting stuff happens.
* See screen captures from the episode.
* See screen captures from the preview for the next episode.
* See the preview for the next episode.
See the Best Lost Sites on the Web.
DC superheroes saluted in new stamp series
Ten comic book heroes will be saluted on the "DC Comics Super Heroes" stamps next summer. Half of the pane of 20 will be portraits of the characters; the other half will show individual comic book covers devoted to their exploits. The characters include Aquaman, Batman, The Flash, Green Arrow, Green Lantern, Hawkman, Plastic Man, Supergirl, Superman and Wonder Woman.
New "Doctor Who" arrives in U.S. via DVD in February
More details from Sci Fi Wire:
The DVD set, virtually identical to one already available in the United Kingdom, will also feature audio commentary by cast and crew, including Davies, Piper, John Barrowman (Captain Jack), Mark Gatiss and Simon Callow; a new Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound mix on all episodes; more than five hours of "making of" interviews and behind-the-scenes footage; a BBC interview with Eccleston; and a behind-the-scenes look at the upcoming holiday episode The Christmas Invasion, starring David Tennant as the new Doctor, which premieres this month in the United Kingdom.
Here's a pic of the UK set:
See the Best Doctor Who Sites on the Web.
Bond, James Bond
See the Best James Bond Sites on the Web.
"Lost" preview, season 2, episode 9, Nov. 30
* See promo stills from the episode.
* View a preview clip for the show.
Come back tomorrow for TIP's clues-and-speculation report on the show.
See the Best "Lost" Sites on the Web.
Quick hits
Billboard reviews a recent gig by ex-Kinks leader Ray Davies, who has a new album coming out.
Writer/artist Stan Berenstain, creator of the Berenstain Bears children's books, has died.
First Hayley Mills, now Linda Blair, Booksteve confesses another old crush. (Headspinning and projectile vomiting makes it hard to love a gal, I think).
Looks like an upcoming DC Showcase Presents volume will be dedicated to the "Superman Family." Love these big 'ol reprints...
New comics Nov. 30
Available now at yer local comics shop or via This is Pop!-supporting links:
Giant Size Invaders #2
Marvel Masterworks Fantastic Four Vol 9 HC Ltd. Ed HC (#53)
Marvel Masterworks Fantastic Four Vol 9 New Ed HC
Mickey And The Gang Classic Stories In Verse Ltd HC
Ocean TP
Official Handbook Marvel Universe X-Men 2005
Ororo Before The Storm Digest TP
Punisher River Of Blood TP
Spirit Archives Vol 17 HC
Star Wars Clone Wars Vol 7 When They Were Brothers TP
Teen Titans The Future Is Now TP
Amazing Fantasy #15
Amazing Spider-Man Vol 10 New Avengers TP
Crypt Of Horror Vol 1 TP
Essential Silver Surfer Vol 1 TP New Printing
Essential X-Men Vol 2 TP New Printing
See a Complete List of Upcoming Comics.
Quick hits
A new, ongoing Lone Ranger comic series is planned.
C.S. Lewis didn't want to see his Narnia books turned into movies.