Television

Bad News Everyone! Futurama Got Cancelled. Again.

By Esteban | April 23, 2013 @ 9:32 am

I hate to be the bearer of bad news to you Futurama fans out there, but your show got cancelled. Again. Comedy Central announced this morning that the upcoming 7th season of the cult hit will be its last. Starting June 19, you'll have only 13 more chances to watch Fry, Bender, and the rest of the Planet Express gang take part in whacky 31st century hijinks.

Of course, half of you reading this probably didn't even realize the show was still running. You probably just assumed that the episodes you would stumble across from time to time were the same repeats that had been playing on basic cable since Fox first cancelled the show in 2003. They weren't, though. After performing well in re-runs and on DVD, Comedy Central ordered new episodes of Futurama in 2007...then a few more after that...and a few more after that.

But now the show is ending for good. Probably. The way things work today you never really know. The fans of Jericho mailed 20 tons of peanuts to CBS headquarters and got their show saved...until CBS realized that "people who mail peanuts to television stations" isn't a demographic that appeals to advertisers and cancelled it again.

In any case, R.I.P. Futurama.

H/T – [Entertainment Weekly]

The End Is Nigh for Dexter, Television’s Most Beloved Serial Murderer

By Esteban | April 19, 2013 @ 1:21 pm

"Gee, Deb, you seem upset about something."

Most fans already knew that Season 8 would be the last for Dexter, having received unofficial official news from both the show's executive producer and CBS president Les Moonves. Now, however, it's like official official, with word having come straight from the folks over at Showtime.

So what do they have in store for TV's most likable serial killer? Will he finally be brought to justice and go down in a blaze of glroy, or will he go on murdering murderers forever? Well, I really don't know. But judging by the brand new two-minute "sneak peak" of Season 8, I'd say whatever happens is going to involve his adopted sister Deb. She seems to have had a tough time dealing with her shit, and if you've watched the last two seasons you know exactly what that shit is.

If you haven't watched the show for a while? I suggest you catch up. Things could get pretty interesting.

The final season of Dexter begins June 30.

Patton Oswalt Gives Epic Improvisation Outlining Plot for Star Wars VII on Set of “Parks and Recreation”

By Esteban | April 18, 2013 @ 10:27 pm

patton oswald parks and recreation star wars fanboy

Patton Oswalt: Huge Fanboy

You probably remember Patton Oswalt as the pathetic dude who lived with his mother on King of Queens. However, Patton Oswalt is much more than that. He is also a brilliant comic and, it turns out, a hardcore fanboy. So when the producers of NBC's Parks and Recreation asked Patton to "ramble a bit about whatever subject he wanted" while playing a man who launches a filibuster to prevent a vote by the Pawnee City Council, what they got was an epic, eight-minute improvised proposal for the plot of Star Wars: Episode VII—a proposal in which the Star Wars universe and the Marvel Comics universe collide thanks to Thanos and his Infinity Gauntlet. (If that doesn't make any sense to you...nevermind.) The scene didn't end up making the final cut of the episode, but it did earn a standing ovation from the cast and crew.

Of course, Oswalt's genius fanboy diatribe hit the internet at just the right time. Yesterday it was announced that Disney, the new overlords of the Star Wars franchise, plans to release their first new film in the franchise in 2015, and then will release another film every single year after that. So, you know, they're going to need a lot of creative ideas.

And if you fanboys out there are wondering where you can catch Oswalt's standup act, well it just so happens that he's planning to record a new special in San Diego...in July...during Comic-Con.

If Seth McFarlane Thinks Something Is in Poor Taste, You’ve Probably Crossed the Line

By Esteban | April 17, 2013 @ 11:19 pm

Is Seth MacFarlane a Psychic Terrorist?

It didn't take very long for conspiracy theory enthusiasts to start saying a bunch of crazy things after the tragedy that unfolded at the 117th running of the Boston Marathon on Monday. But one conspiracy theorist in particular really struck a nerve when he spliced together two separate scenes from a recent episode of Family Guy to make it look as though the episode had somehow foreshadowed the bombings—and then implied that this was somehow significant.

In the episode in question, which aired back on March 17, Peter Griffin explains to Bob Costas how he won the Boston Marathon by getting in his car and driving over all the other participants. Then, later in the episode, Peter becomes friends with a terrorist who dupes him into detonating two bombs with a cell phone. Edited together just so, these separate scenes make it look like Peter won the Boston Marathon by bombing it.

Fox has responded to this nonsense by pulling the episode from Fox.com and Hulu, apparently under the impression that this will prevent anyone from editing the two unrelated scenes together ever again.

As for Seth MacFarlane, the creator of the show and a New England native, he didn't find the edited clip amusing at all. Here's what he had to say on the Twitters:

The edited Family Guy clip currently circulating is abhorrent. The event was a crime and a tragedy, and my thoughts are with the victims.

— Seth MacFarlane (@SethMacFarlane) April 16, 2013

And this is coming from the same guy who created a cartoon character named Herbert the Pedophile, so...

Anyway, YouTube has removed the conspiracy theorist's video over and over, but it still keeps popping up. So if you still want to hear what this totally sensible, rational dude has to say, here you go:

Veronica Mars Might Have Kickstarted a Revolution

By Esteban | April 15, 2013 @ 3:44 pm

Did Veronica Mars Kickstart a Revolution?

In case you haven't heard, Veronica Mars, a television show that aired for just three seasons on UPN and the CW from 2004 to 2007 and produced just 64 episodes, is now being made into a movie thanks to Kickstarter.

Like fans of many other television shows that got the can despite critical acclaim and a strong cult following, those who loved Veronica Mars (i.e. Kristen Bell) simply never stopped clamoring for some kind of a revival, and the recent resurrection of the beloved Arrested Development only emboldened these die-hards. So after unsuccessfully trying to bring the show back through traditional channels, show creator Rob Thomas decided to try something new—he decided to bring it to the people and see if he could get enough money to shoot a Veronica Mars movie on Kickstarter.

It worked. When the project window closed on Friday afternoon, a whopping 91,585 people had pledged $5,702,153. So now they're going to make a Veronica Mars movie.

Of course, all of this is great news TV geeks everywhere, who now have a tried and true way to resuscitate their favorite cancelled shows. Who knows, maybe after they make the Veronica Mars movie they'll make a Veronica's Closet movie. I bet Kirstie Alley would be game.

Bryan Cranston Helps Marge Simpson Break Bad in This Week’s Opening Credits Sequence (VIDEO)

By Esteban | April 12, 2013 @ 11:55 am

Mmm methamphetamine...

After 24 seasons, you have to expect Matt Groening and company to start getting pretty creative with the opening couch gag on The Simpsons, right? Well, sure enough, the opening sequence for this Sunday's episode, which is titled "What Animated Women Want," is one of the most interesting ones to date: an homage to Breaking Bad.

Marge is Walter White (Byan Cranston)—only instead of meth she makes cupcakes—and Bart is Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul), distributing the addictive confections to his friends. And yes, the opening does end on a couch...just not the Simpsons' couch.

Of course, Breaking Bad is on AMC, not Fox. Is it strange that a show on Fox is basically advertising for a show on another network? Yeah, I guess. However, the Simpsons are bona fide cultural icons, and Matt Groening and company have basically been doing whatever the hell they want for years now—including making fun of Fox, time and time again. So running a promo for Breaking Bad? Suuure, why not? What's Fox going to do, cancel The Simpsons?

I Hate Magicians But Love Me Some Isla Fisher and Melanie Laurent in the ‘Now You See Me’ Trailer (VIDEO)

By Ian | April 12, 2013 @ 8:59 am

Abracadabra

Magician movies are a tough thing. Sometimes you get a cool one like The Prestige, but usually they turn out to be more like The Incredible Burt Wonderstone. Part of the problem is that magicians are inherently uncool. Even the 'cool' ones: David Blaine, Criss Angel...kind of tools. Which is why I'm a little hesitant about Now You See Me. For one thing, the 'magic tricks' you see in the trailer look incredibly fake and use plenty of CGI, so...it's not real trade magic. And even if it was supposed to be fantasy magic...it still looks kind of crappy.

Then there's the whole 99/1% angle they're using about taking from the rich and giving to the poor. They tell a crowd at an expensive theater that a lot of them lost their houses and jobs and have nothing. So...then how did they afford tickets to this expensive gala? And why are they even there instead of out looking for a job or a way to provide for their family. Anyway, Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman show up, so it can't be all that bad. Or maybe it's just Jumper with a better cast?