Britain's Fredric Wertham and the Gorbals Vampire!

Most readers of this blog are familiar with Dr. Fredric Wertham and his notorious book Seduction of the Innocent, which basically attributed 1950s juvenile delinquency to the reading of comic books, specifically horror comics!
But, did you know that Great Britain had a similar cultural phenomenon, known as The Gorbals Vampire, and they also blaming American horror comics?

Bleeding Cool, a site of such importance to all comics fanboys and fangirls (yes, that includes us) that it should be one of your PRIMARY bookmarks, has posted info on a BBC documentary about this infamous (and little-known) period of British history!

Link, read, listen, and learn.
For those who do not learn from the past are condemned to repeat it!

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Gorbals Vampire

YouTube Wednesday: JOHN CARTER...Hit or Disaster?

Don't worry, John! We'll dig our way out of this hole!

The BBC's news/entertainment division did this piece about John Carter's less than stellar box-office...

...giving it a less-than stellar future.
Odd since JC has done over $125 million overseas, opened with over $10 million in China, and has yet to open in Japan, a strong market for films featuring sci-fi/fantasy and retro high-adventure (the two themes of JC)!
Personally, I think it'll end up doing very well on DVD/Blu-Ray, PPV, and 'net streaming, picking up the audience it didn't get in theatres.
Personally, I blame the marketing; terrible posters, trailers and commercials that didn't play up the "Carter was the FIRST!" concept and the whole "this is kool" idea, and, stupidiest of all, naming the flick the almost-useless "John Carter" instead of "John Carter and the Princess of Mars".
(Hey, "Hero and Plot Element" titles worked for Harry Potter and Indiana Jones!
Why not here?)

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The Man with the Gun

Who is he?

Where is he?

When is he?

And...

what is his relationship to the new BBC tv series The Nerdist?

Find out tomorrow!

Same Nerd Time!

Same Nerd Channel!

TorchWood; Miracle Day Ep 2 Trailer

Click on art to enlarge

Here's a trailer (with Italian subtitles) for episode 2, "Rendition", of TorchWood: Miracle Day, airing this Friday, July 15th.

Even if you've never seen the show on BBC America or the dvd/blu-ray releases, the first episode of Miracle Day gives you enough background "on the fly" to follow with no problem, so don't be afraid to dive in! (Hey, it never stopped you from enjoying Star Wars or Star Trek, did it?)

TorchWood Returns...

The survivors of TorchWood gain new allies as they face a new...threat?
On Miracle Day, a day unlike any other...no one dies!
The next day...no one dies!
The day after that...no one dies!
Death has been defeated!
But, is that good...or bad?
The two remaining members of the weird phenemomena-investigating TorchWood Institute must find out, especially since one of them, Captain Jack Harkness, who previously was immortal, learns he's literally the only person on Earth who can die!
Catch the excitement starting this Friday on Starz!
Even if you've never seen the show on BBC America or the dvd/blu-ray releases, the first episode of Miracle Day gives you enough background "on the fly" to follow with no problem, so don't be afraid to dive in! (Hey, it never stopped you from enjoying Star Wars or Star Trek, did it?)

No Sh!t, Sherlock!

Caught the updated SHERLOCK on PBS last night.
While my admiration for the "classic" version in both print and film is unbounded, I found this revamped version to be quite entertaining, the same way I enjoyed the 1990-2005 animated DC Comics Universe's use of the established characters and plots of the long-running comics (er, graphic novels) and adapting/updating them or the recent Star Trek revival film.
Don't cry "sacrilege" before watching it!

BIG Dr. Who (& Other BBC Science Fiction) Sale

Includes LOTS of Dr. Who in various incarnations from William Hartnell to David Tennant (but not Peter Cushing!), TorchWood, Sarah Jane Adventures, Robin Hood, Red Dwarf, Merlin, Primeval, My Hero (a kool superhero comedy), and the tv version of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (not the awful movie)!
Plus comedy, drama, and the usual assortment of British goodies!

Doctor Who--Five Doctors Special Edition

I've had a VHS of the 90-minute special Doctor Who "The Five Doctors" for over a decade and I've played it a number of times both for friends at get-togethers and myself, when I got the urge.
(FYI, my favorite Doctor of all time is Jon Pertwee (Doctor 3) who plays a key role in the special.)
I've just acquired a slew of used Doctor Who dvds, both Region 1 (US) and Region 2 (UK) including the one shown above, the first Region 2 release of the "Five Doctors" Special Edition (with enhanced sfx, missing scenes, etc.)
I'm going to sit down this weekend and compare it with the "original" VHS version, then let you know how it goes...