And now for something completely different ...

This is one of those moments where something completely unexpected pops into my head, and I can't get past it and move on to something else without finding it, reading it through, getting the giggle out of it that made me remember it in the first place, and then recording it somewhere so that i don't have to hunt for it again. Most often, this sort of thing happens to me with movie quotes, but in this case, its' a TV show quote. Specifically, it's from Monty Python's Flying Circus, Episode 37 (I had to look that up) and it's not even one of the more popular sketches, either. This is from a skit about a weekly game show called "Prejudice"

(Michael Palin is the cheeky host) "Well now, the result of last week's competition when we asked you to find a derogatory term for the Belgians. Well, the response was enormous and we took quite a long time sorting out the winners. There were some very clever entries. Mrs Hatred of Leicester Said 'let's not call them anything, let's just ignore them' ... (applause starts vigorously, but he holds his hands up for silence) ... and a Mr St John of Huntingdon said he couldn't think of anything more derogatory than Belgians. (cheers and applause; a girl in showgirl costume comes on and holds up placards through next bit) But in the end we settled on three choices: number three ... the Sprouts (placard 'The Sprouts'), sent in by Mrs Vicious of Hastings... very nice ; number two..... the Phlegms (placard) ... from Mrs Childmolester of Worthing; but the winner was undoubtedly from Mrs No-Supper-For-You from Norwood in Lancashire... Miserable Fat Belgian Bastards. (placard; roar of applause)"

And here's the skit in its entirety, just for the hell of it:



That's all. Now back to your regulary programmed afternoon.

Hi-Def News: Paramount (finally) commits to Blu-Ray

Late Wednesday, as one media outlet put it, "the last domino fell."

Paramount, the last of the major Hollywood studios backing HD-DVD, had been notably silent in the two days following Toshiba calling it quits and Universal switching sides to Blu-Ray. On Wednesday, in a statement issued through The Hollywood Reporter, Paramount Home Entertainment finally (and quietly) caved and announced their commitment to once again release their catalog and upcoming features in Blu-Ray.

"We are pleased that the industry is moving to a single high-definition format, as we believe it is in the best interest of the consumer ... As we look to (begin) releasing our titles on Blu-ray, we will monitor consumer adoption and determine our release plans accordingly." No further details were provided.

Now, as I've noted in earlier entries, Paramount SHOULD be in great shape to start releasing catalog and new features in blu-ray right away--after all, they WERE format neutral (releasing in both formats) until August of last year. They've got everything they need, or so you'd think.

But you have to wonder what must be going through the heads of the execs over there right now. They made that move to HD-DVD exclusivity last summer amidst MUCH hoopla and fanfare (and controversy, considering the rumors that Microsoft paid them HUGE to make the move), they alienated many blu-ray enthusiasts by not following through with catalog released they'd made available for pre-order months before, of which "Top Gun" was the most notable, they released their summer megahit, Transformers in the single format and boasted huge first week sales numbers (those numbers turned out to be VERY inflated, as several media sources noted almost immediately), and they spent the rest of the year and the holiday season watching HD-DVD lose more and more ground in terms of sales and market share. Is it even possible to imagine how much more they would've made on the release of Transformers alone, not to mention all the other titles that hit shelves in the back half of 2007, had they simply stayed format neutral? Now yes, if they did get money from Microsoft, that might've offset the loss somewhat, but still ... what a colossal blunder.

Oh well, all water under the bridge now. Us blu-ray enthusiasts will happily forgive Paramount (and Dreamworks once they make their announcement) once we can get our hands on high-definition versions of stuff like Gladiator and Star Trek.

Now if only I could spend my tax rebate JUST on blu-ray movies ...

Hi-Def News: Toshiba officially quits HD-DVD, Universal officially goes Blu

So the war's over.

Toshiba made it official this morning, and the story's been all over the web all day long, so I won't belabor it here. I'd reported on the rumors last Friday, and so I'm glad they didn't drag it out. Their official exit apparently releases all the studios previously committed to HD-DVD from their contractual agreements immediately.

Now this NEXT bit of news is apparently just breaking, and this is the part of today's news that's surprising, at least it is to me: Universal Studios Home Entertainment announced they will begin releasing titles in Blu-Ray in the near future, issuing this statement just hours after Toshiba's:

"The path for widespread adoption of the next-generation platform has finally become clear. Universal will continue its aggressive efforts to broaden awareness for hi-def’s unparalleled offerings in interactivity and connectivity, at an increasingly affordable price. The emergence of a single, high-definition format is cause for consumers, as well as the entire entertainment industry, to celebrate. While Universal values the close partnership we have shared with Toshiba, it is time to turn our focus to releasing new and catalog titles on Blu-ray." -Universal Studios Home Entertainment President Craig Kornblau

I had honestly expected Paramount Home Media and Dreamworks to pledge their support for Blu-Ray LONG before Universal would be prepared to do so, simply because Paramount and Dreamworks were ALREADY releasing Blu-Ray discs into the market while they were format neutral, until last summer's highly-publicized move to HD-DVD exclusivity. In comparison, Universal has been HD-DVD exclusive from the beginning, and was widely thought to be FAR behind the curve as far as Blu-Ray development and retooling.

The fact that they could issue this statement so quickly can mean two different things: 1) that they just want to get it out there and in the public domain that they're committed to Blu-Ray and will get titles out whenever they can in the near future, OR 2) they had seen the writing on the wall about the way the format war was going to go a LONG time ago, since at least the New Year but maybe even earlier, and had prepared contingency plans. It's important to remember that their media statements regarding continuing HD-DVD support in the wake of Warner's move to Blu-Ray exclusivity never ruled out Blu-Ray adoption at some future date.

Well, hot damn. And here I was, just happy to look forward to the release of Top Gun, Star Trek, Gladiator, and Transformers on Blu-Ray. Now I can officially look forward to Heroes and Battlestar Galactica going Blu, as well. Woo Hoo!!

Hi-Def News: Wal-Mart to exclusively support Blu-Ray

This morning on their company gadget blog, CheckOut.com, Wal-Mart officially announced they will support Blu-Ray exclusively as of June 2008. They will begin emphasizing Blu-Ray in both online and brick-and-mortar store operations immediately, while slowly phasing out HD-DVD hardware and software. Here's what they had to say:

"We've listened to our customers, who are showing a clear preference toward Blu-ray products and movies with their purchases, explained Gary Severson, senior vice president, Home Entertainment, Wal-Mart US.

"With the customers best interest in all we do, we wanted to share our decision and timeline with them as soon as possible, knowing it will help simplify their purchase decision, increase selection, and increase adoption long term. We anticipate enhancing our selection with continued great values in hi-definition Blu-ray products, so our customers can further enhance their entertainment experience at home."

This is a worse blow to HD-DVD than even the Best Buy announcement earlier this week-at least Best Buy was going to keep the players and software in the stores, albeit de-emphasized. But Wal-Mart, this nation's top retailer, dumping them altogether (after being a major marketing partner with them during the last holiday season) ... well, geez Paramount and Universal, do you need a BIGGER sign that consumers have spoken??

Meanwhile, yesterday sources "close to the situation" began reporting that Toshiba was moving to drop HD-DVD support entirely. Officially, Toshiba has denied those reports, and there has been nothing spoken on the record to confirm this, which is why I didn't report it yesterday. But if this turns out to be true, and Toshiba being the only hardware manufacturer supporting HD-DVD at this time, then that's FINALLY it.

Movie Geekiness: The new Indiana Jones trailer and Star Trek news

Just a short post today...

It aired on "Good Morning America" this morning, and shortly afterward it was posted on the official Indiana Jones website, so here it is: the first trailer for "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull", due in theaters this May:

Indy trailer (sorry it's just a link--like the "Star Trek" trailer before it, no hi-def version available on youtube just yet.)

This one's going to be a whole lot of fun - it's taken 19 years to bring it to the screen, so I can't imagine Spielberg and Ford screwing it up at this point.

In other movie news, the new Star Trek film, originally due in theaters Christmas of this year, has been pushed back to May 8th, 2009, in a post-writer's strike move by Paramount. Curiously, the move is NOT related to script issues, but apparently due to what Paramount considers huge box office potential. Here's the quote from the Hollywood Reporter article that broke the story:

“‘Star Trek’ is moving to summer because its has so much box office potential,” Par spokesman Michael Vollman said. “It does not need any script tweaks. They’re two-thirds of the way through shooting, and we would have delivered a great movie at Christmas.”

Opening on May 8th, Star Trek would then have the third major movie opening of the 2009 summer movie season, behind X-Men Origins: Wolverine, starring Hugh Jackman, on May 1st and Watchmen, based on the classic Hugo-award winning comic book series by Alan Moore (The League of Extraordinary Gentleman), on May 6th.

Sure looks like 2009 will be a geek's paradise at the movies, doesn't it?

Hi-Def News: Netflix to stop carrying HD-DVD, Best Buy to spotlight Blu-Ray

And the hits to HD-DVD keep on comin' ...

Yesterday, two major announcements with major implications for the ongoing format war came within hours of one another. The first was by Netflix, the world's leading provider of online movie rentals, saying that they were immediately ceasing all stock orders of HD-DVD and will phase out HD-DVD rentals by year's end in favor of stocking Blu-Ray. Here's some text from their press release:

Citing the decision by four of the six major movie studios to publish high-def DVD titles only in the Sony-developed Blu-ray format, Netflix said that as of now it will purchase only Blu-ray discs and will phase out by roughly year's end the alternative high-def format, HD DVD, developed by Toshiba.

Since the first high-definition DVDs came on the market in early 2006, Netflix has stocked both formats. But the company said that in recent months the industry has stated its clear preference for Blu-ray and that it now makes sense for the company to initiate the transition to a single format.

It is important to note for the sake of clarity and perspective that only a small portion of Netflix subscribers rent High Definition media in any format. Hardly surprising, since before this holiday season the majority of consumers were adopting the "wait-and-see" approach before doling out the money on a system. But now that Netflix is committing solely to Blu-Ray, I would imagine that small percentage of subscribers to increase dramatically by year's end.

The second major announcement came from Best Buy. Though they will continue to stock HD-DVD players and movies, no doubt to honor their longstanding business relationship with Toshiba, starting in early March Best Buy stores and employees will spotlight Blu-Ray as the recommended choice for viewing high-definition movies and media. Here's some of what Best Buy had to say in public comments about the change:

“Consumers have told us that they want us to help lead the way. We've listened to our customers, and we are responding. Best Buy will recommend Blu-ray as the preferred format,” said Brian Dunn, Best Buy's president and chief operating officer. “Our decision to shine a spotlight on Blu-ray Disc players and other Blu-ray products is a strong signal to our customers that we believe Blu-ray is the right format choice for them."

Dunn continued, “Best Buy has always believed that the customer will benefit from a widely-accepted single format that would offer advantages such as product compatibility and expanded content choices. Because we believe that Blu-ray is fast emerging as that single format, we have decided to focus on Blu-ray products."

“With the explosion of HDTVs, customers are hungry for quality, high definition content. We believe our move to feature Blu-ray should help consumers feel confident in their hi-def content choices,” said Mike Vitelli, Best Buy's senior vice president, Home Solutions. “Best Buy is excited by the next generation of digital products and we know our customers are too. We are excited about helping customers find the right mix of products and services to make the next generation of high definition entertainment technology come alive for them. We believe that Blu-ray is the right solution for consumers."

It will be interesting to see if Circuit City, Best Buy's closest competitor, and other home electronics retailers follow suit in the coming weeks.

Now you gotta love the folks over at the HD-DVD Group. You'd think they're taking their "fight to the end" inspiration from Mike Huckabee's presidential campaign. This statement was issued this morning by the HD-DVD Group:

"We have long held the belief that HD DVD is the best format for consumers based on quality and value, and with more than 1 million HD DVD players on the market, it's unfortunate to see Netflix make the decision to only stock Blu-ray titles going forward. While the Best Buy announcement says they will recommend Blu-ray, at least they will continue to carry HD DVD and offer consumers a choice at retail."

And how about Toshiba, responding to the news a few weeks ago that Woolworth's, the UK's number one electronics retailer, would be switching to Blu-Ray exclusivity:

“While we’re disappointed by Woolworths’ decision, it is extremely early to spot which format will eventually win. As the figures I mention show – where consumers have a choice, they choose HD-DVD.

"We’re confident that HD-DVD’s affordability, fantastic choice of movies, great consumer experience and upcoming promotions will help it continue to strengthen its share of the market.”

Wow.

Does anyone remember back when the war in Iraq began, and there was that one Saddam functionary, his press secretary, who kept making daily announcements to the world on radio and television that the Coalition forces were being routed at every turn, that their bodies were being flung from the walls of Iraqi cities, while at the same time CNN was showing American tanks meeting virtually NO resistance and hundreds of Iraqi soldiers surrendering? I see statements like this from Toshiba and HD-DVD, and I can't help but think of that guy, screaming into a microphone to anyone still listening about impending triumph while outside his window it looks like the last sight Custer ever saw at Little Big Horn.

I'm just waiting for Paramount to announce they're going back to being format-neutral, and releasing films in both formats. That would be within the letter of their previous statements saying they would continue to support HD-DVD while allowing them to cash in on the consumer trend that's obvious to all at this point. When that announcement comes, it's REALLY over for HD-DVD.

TV Blog: Battlestar Galactica Season 4 Promo

Well, how about that, folks? No posts for two weeks and now two in one day! :)

Just HAD to put this one up because I hadn't seen it yet before today (since I don't tune in to Sci-Fi Channel much anymore)--it's apparently one of the latest promos for the final season of Battlestar Galactica. Now, the dialogue I swear sounds like its from the final scenes of Season 3 ... but the shots of all those OTHER battlestars ... yeah, THAT'S all new ...



Don't ya just love the way teasers can drive you crazy?

Friday night, April 4th, 10PM, Galactica returns to the air for Season 4, and you know where I'll be, plopped right in front of my TV for this and lovin' it!

TV Blog: Smallville "Siren"

So it's been a while, not only since I've added to this blog, but also since I've done a review/recap of a Smallville episode. Last week's episode "Persona" did a whole lot more than continue the "return of Bizarro" story arc and showcase the return of James Marsters as "the Brain-Interactive Construct", or as we long-time Superman readers call him, Brainiac. It added yet a new wrinkle, a new complication in the "Clana" relationship, the idea that Bizarro was a better "Clark" to Lana than the real Clark himself in terms of acceptance and understanding, in terms of being a better partner in the relationship. Check out the following clip from "Persona":



This week's episode, "Siren", spends almost as much time on the "A-Plot", the return of Oliver Queen/Green Arrow and the introduction of Dinah Lance/Black Canary, as it does on the repercussions of this confrontation, on the real Clark at first unable to accept that Lana couldn't distinguish him from "the Phantom" (Bizarro), that she could possibly love the Phantom more and wish for him rather than Clark himself. This scene comes about a third of the way into the episode--Lana's just been honest with Clark about something else she'd been hiding, something that Lionel Luthor was holding over her head, something regarding Bizarro, and it brings everything that had thus far been unspoken to the surface:



Now I'll be the first to admit this is one of those moments where I wanted to reach through the screen and throttle Clark, or at least shake him and yell, "What the hell's the matter with you?" Yes, having your life stolen by a copy of yourself, learning that the copy and your girlfriend were playing house, blissfully happy for weeks while you were being kept on ice (literally), would and should get under anyone's skin. But acting this way, being unable to really listen, to see and feel what the woman you love is desperately trying to tell you ... well, these are the moments Smallville's writers have been so good about maintaining in terms of Clark's maturing process. We're seven years in, and he can still be a jerk when he's been hurt, he can still be right and do all the wrong things. It makes for believable drama that watchers who could care less about what's going on in the "A" plot can care about.

Thankfully, this was NOT one of those episodes (like "Persona") that ends on a heartbreaking note. This was NOT one of those episodes where Clark lets Lana walk out the door without saying SOMETHING to make her turn around:



It's not a great answer that Clark gives her, (in fact, its EXACTLY the answer Bizarro said Clark would give) but it's an honest, heartfelt one, and this time it's not cruel and judgmental. It's something to build hope on. The entire scene is very well written, and if you're a Clana fan, as I am, then it works, it rings true.

The entire episode, in fact, is very well written: Justin Hartley (Green Arrow) is treated to some of the best lines in his return to the show, and the writers give a good ending (of sorts) to the Oliver-Lois relationship that was a big part of last season. The action featuring Green Arrow, Clark, and Black Canary is good fun, too, and yes, absolutely, actress Alaina Huffman wears Black Canary's trademark fishnets and boots VERY well. It's a nice writerly touch that her outfit is the source of some of good one-liners, as well, because come on, you can't wear that outfit and not have someone say SOMETHING glib. All in all, a strong episode that was worth the wait.