HBO picks up Game of Thrones for Series

First official photo from HBO's Game of Thrones - Click to Enlarge

The Hollywood Reporter and several other outlets are reporting that HBO has given the greenlight for a ten episode order of Game of Thrones. The TV series, which is based on George R.R. Martin’s extremely popular A Song of Ice and Fire novels, shot its pilot in the UK and Morocco late last year. Thrones stars Sean Bean (Goldeneye, Lord of the Rings) and Lena Headey (300, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles) as well as a whole host of recognizable actors, including Peter Dinklage (The Station Agent) and Jason Momoa (Stargate: Atlantis), who was recently cast as Conan in the new Conan the Barbarian film. The series is being produced by novelist and screenwriter David Benioff, the man behind 25th Hour, Troy and more recently Brothers.

Game of Thrones is set in the medieval world of Westeros, where rival houses vie for control of the Iron Throne that controls the seven kingdoms. The fictional medieval setting doesn’t necessarily mean high fantasy; there are no elves or orcs in Game of Thrones. The focus is less on the fantastical or magical and more on political machinations and brutal battles. Game of Thrones was pitched to HBO as “The Sopranos meets Lord of the Rings” and that’s not far off from what Thrones is.

I’m not a big fantasy guy, but I count the Song of Ice and Fire series amongst my favourite books. Television critics have been amazed by the unprecedented amount of hype that the pilot for Thrones has generated; based on that fact alone HBO was wise to pick up the series. Great writing combined with the wonderful cast they’ve assembled for the show and HBO production values makes Game of Thrones the must watch show of next year.

Game of Thrones is set to begin filming in June on track for a television debut in Winter 2011.

Interview with Aaron Douglas of Battlestar Galactica and The Bridge

Dork Shelf had a chance to chat with Canadian actor Aaron Douglas at FanExpo a few months ago. Douglas, best known to audiences for his work as Chief Tyrol on the acclaimed Sci-Fi series Battlestar Galactica, had just wrapped filming on the new police-drama The Bridge when we spoke with him. We talked about his new show, his work on Battlestar Galactica, what’s on his dork shelf and most importantly who he thought would win in a drunken brawl: the Chief or Colonel Tigh?

For the best viewing experience be sure to hit the 480p button.

The two-hour series premiere of The Bridge airs March 5th at 9 p.m. on CTV.

For more info check out The Bridge at CTV.ca and The Bridge Fansite

Top Ten Characters From 20 Years of The Simpsons: Part Two

Before the holidays I embarked on the perilous journey of choosing the ten ‘greatest’ Simpsons characters from the show’s last 20 years, not including the principle family itself.  Check selections 10 through 6 out here.  A perfectly cromulent list thus far, if I do say so myself.  The final five are even harder to decide upon because they have to stand above those already mentioned.  No easy task.  Without further ado, here are the Top 10 Simpsons characters part 2, numbers 5 to 1.  I make no apologies this time!  After all, I voted for Kodos.

5. Krusty the Clown: Many original writers’ favorite, Krusty is an even greater schmaltz than Troy McClure – but for entirely different reasons.  He is certainly the worst possible character to be a child’s role model (with the possible exception of Mr. Burns) and a biting take on every Hollywood icon whose behind-the-scenes life is nothing short of pathetic.  Krusty is at his best when he is forgetting who Bart is (another similarity to Burns), selling out and then blowing the money, or tormenting his sideshow performers.  And let us not forget that it is Krusty who brings us the glory that is Itchy & Scratchy.  You know Krusty is a great character when the animators can leave him in his clown makeup and outfit for the entire tenure of the show and yet he fits in perfectly with the rest of a Simpsons mob.  It becomes hard to recognize that at any given time he’s still wearing clown fatigues.  Though no Simpsons character should ever have a spin-off of any kind, Krusty the Clown would be my choice if someone put a gun to my head.  If anyone could get the Red Hot Chili Peppers to change their lyrics, it’s the purveyor of Krusty Home Pregnancy Kits. Read the rest of this entry »

Podcast 15: New Word Unlocked

Will, Lucas, and Chris talk about what they’re looking forward to in 2010, mostly video games.

Download: Dork Shelf Podcast 15 (32 MB, MP3, 46:52)
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Programme:

• 0:00 — “Casio Bossa Nova” by Holy Fuck
• 2:30 — Comics and Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire
• 9:00 — BioShock 2, Deus Ex 3, and ten-year titles
• 19:40 — Mass Effect, continuing game stories and characters
• 29:30 — “Go Shoppin’” by Bran Van 3000
• 33:00 — Melville and his narcissists
• 37:30 — Clash of Heroes and Dark Messiah
• 46:15 — “Boxcutter Emporium Pt. 2″ by Sixtoo

Discussed:

• BioShock 2, Deus Ex 3, Mass Effect 2, Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes
• Scott Pilgrim, Transmetropolitan, A Song of Ice and Fire
• Game of Thrones, Avatar, Jean-Pierre Melville

Top Ten Characters from 20 Years of The Simpsons: Part One

With The Simpsons’ 20-year anniversary having been on December 18^th, you would think that I would make two top 10 lists, but alas my list formats were made to be followed and ten is still a perfectly cromulent number.  After all, being 20 years old isn’t what makes The Simpsons great, its many instances of greatness do.  Of those there are surely more than twenty.  While other soft news locales are writing impacting diatribes about the show’s lasting effects on a generation, I want to take it another direction and celebrate those who have helped our beloved farce of an American family reach this milestone.  Part One of my top 10 will consist of characters 10-6, with Part Two concluding after the holidays.

Watching The Simpsons you come to love the iconic and dysfunctional family, but you also come to love Springfield, from the Tire Dump to the Nuclear Power Plant.  A cast of well-over 100 supporting characters was born in this town, a great many of which helped carry the comedy load while the show successfully bridged four decades.  From the exhausted staff under Principal Seymour Skinner at Springfield Elementary to the grossly inadequate police forces of Chief Clancy Wiggum, Groening and company concocted a bevy of characters so fantastic they can dominate a joke, a scene, or even an entire episode.  Here are the top 10 neighbourhood characters from 20 years of The Simpsons and the episodes that made them great (if I forget your favourite, *annoyed grunt*) :

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Podcast 12: Transformers

To celebrate the DVD and Blu-ray release of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Jeff, Joel, Lucas and Will discuss all things Transformers. From the original 80’s cartoon and comics to the toys and the recent live-action films we’ve got our giant shape-shifting alien robot bases well covered.

Download: Dork Shelf Podcast 12 (29 MB, MP3, 42:30)
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Programme:

• 0:00 — Segue from the last podcast
• 0:30 — “Another Life” by Kano
• 1:30 — Transformers movies, comics, TV show
• 28:15 — “Theme from Transformers” by Russell Lieblich
• 29:00 — More about Transformers
• 41:45 — “Flaming Heart” by Meat Puppets

Discussed:

• Nothin’ but Transformers

FanExpo 2009 Starts This Weekend

FanExpo, the largest fan con in Canada returns to Toronto August 28th-30th.  Dork Shelf will be there!  FanExpo is essentially an amalgam of five smaller conventions dedicated to comic books, science fiction, horror, gaming and anime.  If you are a Canadian dork, FanExpo is the place to be this weekend.

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AMC Developing Walking Dead TV Show

The cable channel AMC is mostly known for playing classic movies, and also for creating the wonderful original shows Mad Men and Breaking Bad.  I’m quite happy with Mad Men — ah Joan — but apparently AMC isn’t satisfied with having two great shows. We’re going to be getting more original programming from AMC soon, in the form of a live action series based on the amazing comic The Walking Dead by Robert Kirkman and Tony Moore.  The Walking Dead follows a group of people struggling to survive after a world wide zombie uprising…  That’s right, AMC is making a zombie apocalypse show!

This would be extremely cool news on its own, but it gets even better.  The series was pitched to AMC by none other than Frank Darabont and Gale Anne Hurd.  Darabont is a talented writer and the man behind such films as The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile.  Hurd, who is on board to executive produce The Walking Dead is no stranger to the sci-fi and horror genres; she was James Cameron’s producing partner (and wife) on the Terminator films, Aliens and The Abyss.  More recently she produced the Hulk and Punisher movies for Marvel.  AMC’s got some serious A-list talent involved in this show.  The excellent source material combined with the channel’s commitment to producing quality programming make The Walking Dead a show to look out for.

The Walking Dead is an excellent ongoing comic book series, highly recommended and absolutely worth a read.  Be sure to check out Jeff’s video review of The Walking Dead #60 from a few months back.

Via Variety

Podcast 9: Bearded Sharks

In this “mantastic” episode Lucas, Will, Jeff, and Joel find themselves trapped in a cage deep underwater, assaulted from all sides by the desperate later seasons of The Simpsons. The dorks talk about how Matt Groening’s show has changed over time, about what they’ve been consuming, and some hot news from the worlds of film, video games, and email spam.

Download: Dork Shelf Podcast 9 (43 MB, MP3, 63:19)
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Programme:

• 0:00 — “Paris” by MSTRKRFT
• 2:00 — Playing Sim City 4, watching Timecrimes
• 9:30 — Marvel’s Ultimate comics
• 17:30 — Doom, Dune, and Star Wars novels
• 20:30 — Killing dudes; pissing contest
• 30:00 — “Super” by Neu!
• Reminder: Visioneers tonight at Innis Town Hall
• 32:25 — “Down in Mexico” by The Coasters
• 34:00 — On The Simpsons
• 47:00 — Alien again
• 52:00 — Early reviews of Arkham Asylum; Warren Spector’s Disney game
• 62:25 — “Dare” by Stan Bush

Discussed:

• Sim City 4, Doom, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Epic Mickey
• Timecrimes, The Simpsons, Alien
• Marvel Ultimatum, Rapture, Doom: Knee Deep in the Dead
• Frank Cho, Kevin J. Anderson, growing the beard, jumping the shark

Sean Bean Cast in HBO’s Game of Thrones

The Hollywood Reporter has some big casting news for HBO’s television adaptation of George R. R. Martin’s Game of Thrones fantasy series.  Sean Bean has been cast as Lord Eddard Stark, one of the main characters from the book.  Bean, whose resume is quite long, is recognizable to many as Boromir from Lord of the Rings.  He has also appeared in Goldeneye, Ronin and the Sharpe television series, to name a few.  Bean joins fellow English actor Mark Addy, who will play King Robert Baratheon, as well as Peter Dinklage who has been cast as Tyrion Lannister.

If none of these character names are familiar to you, I recommend you check out George R. R. Martin’s books.  HBO has been pitching the show as Lord of the Rings meets The Sopranos, but that would be doing the novels a disservice.  This isn’t elves and magic swords; this is sex, violence, war and political intrigue fantasy.  Perfect for HBO.  Thrones will have more in common with a show like Rome than Rings or The Sopranos.

The novels are an amazingly fun read, I’ve never been a huge fantasy fan and I couldn’t put them down.  Game of Thrones has always been more about the people and politics than the minutiae of fairies and dragons that other high fantasy get so wrapped up in.

Production of Thrones is being headed by some very talented guys.  Actor and director Thomas McCarthy who directed the award winning Station Agent and last year’s The Visitor will be directing the Thrones pilot.  David Benioff whose credits include writing 25th Hour and The Kite Runner has written the pilot and will be developing the show.  The production starts filming in October and is due out the end of next year.  I can’t wait to hear the next round of cast announcements.

Winter is Coming, a Game of Thrones blog devoted to following all the latest news from the series reported the Bean casting rumour last week.  They’ve got some well placed sources close to the production, keep checking there and of course here for all the latest news on Thrones.

Moving Up: Exclusive with Defying Gravity’s Dylan Taylor

From commercial funny man (pepsi,  pizza pops, bud light), to movie slow poke (Tideland,  Charlie Bartlett), to the biggest House Party animal in last year’s under-performing (though not without its moments) original Comedy Network series, Toronto actor Dylan Taylor has been on the up and up for a few years now. You could even say he’s been getting high ever since high school but never dreamed he’d one day be taking a trip beyond our atmosphere. Okay, perhaps Dylan isn’t actually leaving earth anytime soon, but Steve Wassenfelder, the immature genius he plays on Defying Gravity, is.

“I’ve often been cast as slow, dimwitted characters. This time I’m a theoretical physicist, maybe the smartest guy on the ship, but also the youngest, which we sometimes see with my video game obsessions and juvenile attitude towards girls.”

Astronauts (Dylan in the middle) in awe at the contents of Dork Shelf.

The primary concentration of the show is a six year mission visiting seven planets manned by eight people from four countries (got all that?).  Because the show is set in the not too distant future (including flashbacks, the story takes place roughly between 2040 and 2060), much of it will be grounded in a recognizable reality. As Dylan informs us,  “the fashions on earth haven’t changed all that much and a lot of the gadgets are the same that we have now, only better.”   They seem to be taking the smart route of not expecting the audience to completely suspend disbelief and are attempting to show a lot of the realities of space travel. For example, how people and things react to zero gravity is a constant concern. “But there’s also an ominous mystery element to the mission, plus our characters have the added pressure of being seen by millions of people on earth who watch us on TV like a reality show. The writers have done a really great job planning the entire series’ arc.”

Production of the Fox TV/ Omni film co-produced series wrapped the first 13 episodes only a few weeks ago in Vancouver, with news of its early August premiere on ABC reaching the cast only a week ago.

“Just before getting the role, I was starting to get in shape, probably the best I’d been in years.”  Says Dylan, “I was a little worried because casting directors who had seen my previous work would be expecting a certain type. Sure enough they wanted me to put some weight back on for the role, which I did, but not much when they decided that after 5 years of training my character would have slimmed out a bit, like Barney in The Simpsons before he went to space. In the deeper flashbacks I’ll look more like the comic book guy.”

The great thing about a science fiction TV series, is there’s lots of room for special effects, action, comedy, romance, allegory and character development. And Vancouver is no stranger to Sci-Fi serials either (X-Files, Smallville, Battlestar Gallactica). Many of the major creatives behind the show have a pretty impressive track record going into this, including the pilot episode’s director David Straiton (House), executive producers James Parriott (Grey’s Anatomy, Ugly Betty) and Michael Edelstein (Desperate Housewives), and of course the always likable face of star Ron Livingston which was all over one of my all-time favourite mini-series, Band of Brothers.

With so much going for it, it’s hard not to think that Defying Gravity is poised to succeed. “It’s the best thing to happen to space since Bowie, I’m hoping they get the rights to that song too.”

It will be aired on CTV in Canada and ABC Stateside. The first two episodes premiere on Sunday, August 2nd at 9pm, with a regular time slot commencing the following Sunday.

Futurama is Back!

Good news, everyone! After six horrible years, Comedy Central has finally given Futurama back to us, for at least 26 brand new episodes.  Huge DVD sales of the series and TV movies, combined with strong ratings for re-runs of the show prompted producers to give in to the cries of fans and finally bring Futurama back to television.  The show was cancelled by Fox in 2003 and has aired in syndication ever since.

Comedy Central Orders 26 New Futurama Episodes @ SlashFilm

Expect new episodes of Futurama to start airing on the Comedy Central (and thus The Comedy Network in Canada)  in mid-2010.  YAY!

To celebrate here are three minutes of Futurama quotes.