Pop Culture Roundup Oct. 27, 2006

A Doctor Who-themed benefit concert to raise money for disadvanaged children sold out quickly, the BBC reports.

All the tickets for the star-studded concert at the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff sold out within just two hours of going on sale.

The event will feature the BBC National Orchestra of Wales performing selections of Murray Gold's celebrated incidental score, accompanied by a host of stunning visuals from the most recent series of Doctor Who.

The audience can also expect live appearances from some of The Doctor's greatest enemies, including the infamous Daleks and the villainous Cybermen.

David Tennant, who plays the time-travelling Doctor, has confirmed that he will be on hand to take part in a question and answer session alongside Doctor Who writer and Executive Producer, Russell T Davies and Murray Gold.

Ticketless Doctor Who fans need not miss out because the concert will be recorded by BBC Radio Wales, to be aired at a later date.

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The creators of "Arrested Development" have a new comedy series in the works.

Mitchell Hurwitz and former "Arrested Development" scribe Richard Day have signed on to develop the U.S. adaptation of the British comedy "The Thick of It."

The BBC4 series centers on a put-upon member of Parliament who is continually harassed by inept bureaucrats working for the prime minister and other politicians and civil servants. Starring Chris Langham and Peter Capaldi, it took the best new comedy trophy at the British Comedy Awards.

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A live DVD featuring Elvis Costello and New Orleans legend Allen Touissant will be out Nov. 21. You can pre-order it from Amazon for $13.99.

"Hot As a Pistol, Keen as a Blade" sports nearly two hours of live performances, from "The River in Reverse" tracks like the title song, "Who's Gonna Help Brother Get Further" and "Six-Fingered Man" to Costello solo material such as "Monkey to Man," "Tears Before Bedtime," "Watching the Detectives" and "Clubland."

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Hey Bubblegumfink: check it out: It's a Rat Fink documentary. It's out Oct. 31 and is available for pre-order now for $14.99 from Amazon. And take a look at the Finkosel!



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Jewish Week writes up Cary Friedman's great book "Wisdom from Batcave," reviewed here the other day.

Marvel Comics stamps unveiled

Here's a look at the Marvel Comics superhero stamps the U.S. Postal Service will be selling starting next July.

Marvel Icons series 3 , Marvel Legends Masterworks series 2 pictures and pre-orders

Here are official pictures of these upcoming releases. You can pre-order them from CMD Store by clicking the links.

Marvel Icons Series 3


Spider-Man


Spider-Man Variant


Beast


Beast Variant

Marvel Legends Masterworks


Thing vs. the Hulk


Galactus vs. Everybody


See a Complete List of Marvel Legends Action Figures.

Pop Artifact! G.I. Joe pilot Halloween costume

Halloween Comics!

Pop Culture Roundup Oct. 26, 2006

Make a Dalek O'Lantern!



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Sharity: Festus talks!



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Fred Hembeck has a great Halloweeny comics cover reproduction.

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Nathan Fillion of "Serenity" has a guest spot coming up on "Lost." Spoilers could apply.

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"Lost" clues: "Every Man for Himself" Ep. 4, Season 3

Synopsis:

Wise to Sawyer's plans to escape, the Others pull him from his cage and bring him to an operating theater. Sawyer awakes and sees a bandage on his chest. Benjamin tells him they've implanted a pacemaker. If Sawyer's pulse races beyond a certain point, his heart will explode. This should put a stop to any fighting with guards and planning to escape. Benjamin says the Others will perform the same operation on Kate if necessary.

Sawyer is returned to his cage and Kate questions why he's given up escaping.

Meanwhile, the Others force Jack to operate on their member Colleen, who was shot by Sun. Working in primitive conditions and doing his best, Jack is unable to save her.

Picket, Colleen's boyfriend (husband?) becomes enraged and vows to get revenge on the passengers. He beats up Sawyer in retribution but stops short of killing him.

In flashback, we see Sawyer in prison. His sentence is cut short when he informs on another prisoner. He also learns he has a baby daugher, but is determined not to become part of her life.

At episode's end, Benjamin takes Sawyer up on a rise to look over the ocean. Sawyer sees that he, Kate and Jack are being kept on a different island from the one their fellow passengers are on. He sees escape would be more difficult than he'd imagined. Benjamin tells Sawyer that the pacemaker operation was a sham to keep him in line. The Others conned the con man--the only way to earn his respect.



Clues, observations, speculation:

* Desmond sees the future again and erects a makeshift lightning rod from a golf club, which keeps Claire and Charlie from getting zapped.

* The Others say Colleen and her crew are back on the "sub." Do they really have a submarine?

* Juliet tells Jack she's a fertility expert. Does this have something to do with the Others and their weirdness with children, i.e. Claire's baby, Walt, the child passengers that were abducted? Speaking of which, where are the kids we saw last season? Are they with Benjamin's group or some other Others?

* In the operating room, Jack spies x-ray images on the wall. They show a tumor on someone's spine. Later he confronts Juliet about this. He's a spinal surgeon, so who did they bring him there to operate on? Is it Benjamin? Is this the "one thing" he asked Jack to do for him (in episode 2 this season) in exchange for freedom?



* Sawyer is seen reading "Of Mice and Men" and later quotes from the book, as does Benjamin.



* Is the Others' island Pala Island? Last season they mentioned the Pala Ferry? Could this refer to the sub? Why can't the crash survivors see this island from where they are?

* Tom, aka "Mr. Friendly," tells Benjamin "Since the sky turned purple 2 days ago, I haven't been able to re-establish the comms." Who are they communicating to? How are they blind? And is this a reference to the whiteout caused by the Hatch implosion?

New and upcoming action figures Oct. 26, 2006

Complete List of Marvel Legends Action Figures
Complete List of DC Direct Action Figures

Here's a look at action figures available via your local comics shop or via the TIP!-supporting links below:

DC Direct Action Figures

Alex Ross Justice League Action Figures Series 4
--Shazam
--Black Adam
--Hawkman
--Zatanna
--Solomon Grundy

Batman Dark Victory
--Batman
--Commissioner Gordon
--Scarecrow
--Robin and Penguin

Crisis on Infinite Earths Series 3
--Weaponer of Qward
--Doctor Light
--Superboy prime
--Batman
--Huntress

DC Direct Reactivated Action Figures
--Batman
--Wonder Woman
--Lobo
--Superman

DC 13-inch Figures
Deluxe Edition 13-inch Green Lantern
Deluxe Edition 13-inch Lex Luthor
Deluxe Edition 13-inch Two-Face
Deluxe Edition 13-inch Aquaman

Elseworlds Action Figures Series 2
--Red Son Batman
--Red Son President Superman
--Kingdom Come Jade
--Kingdom Come Spectre and Norman McKay
--Gotham By Gaslight Batman

Infinite Crisis Action Figures Series 1
--Powergirl
--Omac
--Mongul
--Earth Prime Superboy
--Alexander Luthor

JSA Action Figures
--Mr. Terrific
--Hawkgirl
--Dr. Midnite
--Hourman
--Golden Age Atom 2-pack

Hanna Barbera Series 2 Action Figures
--Captain Caveman
--Fred Flintstone and Dino
--Johnny Quest
--Magilla Gorilla
--Penelope Pitstop and Muttley
--Tom and Jerry
--Yogi Bear
--Flintstones at the Drive-In

Hanna Barbera Series 3 Action Figures
--Fred Flintstone Quittin' Time
--Twinkle Toes Fred Flintstone
--Great Grape Ape
--Huckleberry Hound
--The Jetsons
--Secret Squirrel
--Snagglepuss

Hasbro Spider-Man Origins Figures
--Set of 8
--Spider-Man
--Spider-Man Venom costume
--Green Goblin
--Doctor Octopus
--Iron Spider-Man
--Wolverine
--Captain America
--Daredevil

John Lennon
--JOHN LENNON 18" Action Figure

Lost series 1 action figures
--Jack
--Charlie
--Hurley
--Kate
--Locke
--Shannon
--Hatch box set

Lost series 2 action figures
--Crash site box set
--Sawyer
--Jin
--Sayid
--Desmond
--Sun

Marvel Figure Factory Sets
--Angel
--Beast
--Black Costume Spider-Man
--Deadpool
--Invisible Woman
--Silver Surfer

Marvel Legends Action Figures

Hasbro Marvel Legends Figures Series 1
--Emma Frost
--Ultimate Iron Man
--Movie Beast
--Planet Hulk
--Banshee
--Hercules

Hasbro Marvel Legends Action Figures Series 2
--Wolverine
--She-Hulk
--Yellow Jacket
--Quick Silver
--Lord Asgard Thor
--Magneto Xorn
--X3 Jean Grey
--First Appearance Storm

Marvel Legends Series 14
--Original Armor Iron Man (variant)
--Longshot
--Baron Zemo (variant)
--Luke Cage: Powerman
--The Falcon (variant)
--Psylocke

Marvel Legends Series 15
--Mandarin
--Beta Ray Bill
--Moon Knight
--Spider-Woman (variant)
--Quicksilver (variant)
--Thor-Buster Iron Man
--Wasp (variant)
--Captain Marvel (variant)

Marvel Legends Masterworks Sets
--Spider-Man Vs. Green Goblin
--Fantastic Four Vs. Mole Man
--Hulk Vs. The Thing
--Galactus Vs. Everybody

Marvel Select Figures
--Cloak and Dagger

Best of Marvel Select Figures
--Grey Hulk
--Thanos
--Ultimate Spider-Man
--Green Goblin

Marvel Studios
--Dr. Doom with Mask
--Dr. Doom unmasked

Star Wars Transformers
--Millennium Falcon With Han Solo and Chewbacca

Pop Artifact! Woodstock Halloween costume

Halloween Comics!

Image from the Grand Comic Book Database.

Pop Culture Roundup Oct. 25, 2006

Cartoonist Marjane Satrapi is blogging about the upcoming, animated version of her graphic novel "Persepolis."

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There's a new Beatles beatlegs podcast up.

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"Lost" has, um, lost a fifth of its audience this season.

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This probably won't help: "Lost" will go on hiatus following the show's Nov. 8 episode, returning Feb. 7. It's nice to have these rerun-free stretches of episodes, but the show may lose momentum by taking such a long break. A new series, "Day Break," takes the show's time slot during the hiatus.

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A live-action series featuring Marvel Comics' Moon Knight is planned.

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At Flog: A look at Gene Dietch's overlooked 1950s comic strip Terr'ble Thompson, including MP3s of an old Golden Records adaptation of the strip featuring music by Mitch Miller's Orchestra and a vocal appearance by Art Carney.

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Yahoo! has preview scenes from tonight's episode of "Lost."

Marvel Legends series 15 action figures

Here are pics of Marvel Legends 15 figures. This is the M.O.D.O.K. series. A piece of M.O.D.O.K. comes with each of the main figures and you can assemble him yourself.

Click the links to order from CMD Store.


M.O.D.O.K.


The Destroyer
CMD

Mandarin
CMD


Beta Ray Bill
CMD


Moon Knight
CMD


Moon Knight variant
CMD


Spider-Woman
CMD


Spider-Woman variant
CMD

Quicksilver
CMD

Quicksilver variant
CMD


Thor-Buster Iron Man
CMD


Wasp
CMD


Wasp variant A
CMD


Wasp variant B
CMD


Captain Marvel
CMD


Captain Marvel variant
CMD

See a Complete List of Marvel Legends Action Figures

"Lost" preview Oct. 24, 2006: "Every Man for Himself"

See a video teaser for tonight's show.

Read ABC teaser copy about tonight's show. Spoilers may apply.

Read about what happened last week, including This is Pop Culture's roundup of clues and observations.

See the Best "Lost" Sites on the Web.

And come back here tomorrow for a roundup of clues and observations from tonight's show.