film criticism by maryann johanson | celebrating 25 years: 1997–2022
There’s a lot of disturbing news about Torchwood: “Miracle Day” in recent days, and all of it is connected to the fact that this season, the show is a joint production with an American network.
I’m so old that I can remember when the Sci Fi Channel actually cablecast science fiction, not gorram “reality” paranormal gosa.
A Sci Fi Channel original, of course (from back before it was Syfy): At a nuclear power plant, the cooling system becomes a problem when the mother of all storms is headed straight towards it. As the hurricane gets stronger, and with the nuclear core in serious danger of meltdown, time is not on it’s … more…
But it’s not quite how it sounds. The Mirror: The first episode of the new Dr Who series was watched by 1.2 million viewers at the weekend. This is the biggest draw BBC America has ever had. And it’s pretty good for a basic cable channel that doesn’t even reach huge chunks of the American … more…
Does the American entertainmentscape really need another food channel? Cuz we’re getting one, The New York Times reported yesterday: Scripps, the owner of the Food Network, plans to turn on the Cooking Channel on Memorial Day, May 31, this year, enhancing its position in the category of kitchen programming. Before meetings with advertisers, the company … more…
More’s the pity that it ends up feeling pointless and empty and humorless, for it starts off rather intriguing, this modern update of Lewis Carroll’s classic novel…
Have you heard? Universal has signed Bryan Singer — of Valkyrie, X-Men, and The Usual Suspects fame — to produce and direct a Battlestar Galactica feature film. I wrote a bit about my thoughts on this prospect yesterday over at Film.com. The gist: I don’t see how this can end up as anything other than … more…
Huh. And here I thought there was an official unofficial moratorium are packing nonlunch things in pseudo retro lunch boxes if they didn’t actually have some sort of nostalgic value for the cohort of today’s consumers who once carried their bologna sandwiches to school in the 1960s and 70s in tin containers emblazoned with cartoon … more…
SyFy is kicking off its on-air rebranding with the debut of a series that, clearly, it has high hopes for as some sort of anchor for the network’s “new” image. Alas that Warehouse 13 — premering with a two-hour pilot tonight at 9pm Eastern — feels like more of the same-old not-too-daring Sci Fi Channel … more…
So, yesterday the FedEx man brings me a mysterious package. It was not, alas, a ransom letter or Professor Henry Jones Sr.’s grail diary or a coded message from a secret agent or anything cool like that. It was one of the most bizarre promotional items I’ve gotten in my years of being courted by … more…
