Re: May 2011 Make-Your-Own Challenge Discussion Thread
 

Agreed. But I think every month is filled with a challenge.

Re: May 2011 Make-Your-Own Challenge Discussion Thread
 

Haha, I probably would. Are there actually any months available?

Re: May 2011 Make-Your-Own Challenge Discussion Thread
 

Kind of November. The Holiday Challenge starts around the last week of the month and there's always tons of comedy that could be used for both.

It would also be a good change of pace from the Horror challenge.

Re: May 2011 Make-Your-Own Challenge Discussion Thread
 

Hmm, November does seem like a good time with everyone coming off their horror binge and I actually wouldn't mind organizing this. Any idea on the proper channels I would have to go through to actually make this happen?

Re: May 2011 Make-Your-Own Challenge Discussion Thread
 

I hit my goal of 50 movies from my unwatched pile tonight! I think I will continue though because I ended up purchasing over 60 titles this month....

Re: May 2011 Make-Your-Own Challenge Discussion Thread
 

There are no channels really. You are as much "in charge" of everything here as any of us. See the relevant posts of the other Challenges to see details on contacting sponsors for prizes. I'd recommend starting a discussion thread about it, verifying enough interest, and getting feedback and ideas.

Build it and we will come.

Re: May 2011 Make-Your-Own Challenge Discussion Thread
 

You could also toss the idea into Trevor's official Challenge compendium.

Comedy might be a good opportunity to resume my Chuck challenge, which has come to a dead stop this month. :(

Re: May 2011 Make-Your-Own Challenge Discussion Thread
 

Sounds easy enough, I know November is far off so is it to early to start a discussion thread just to gauge interest? I know ideas will be popping into my head for months to come but there won't be any reason to even think about it if no ones interested.

Re: May 2011 Make-Your-Own Challenge Discussion Thread
 

I don't see an issue with doing a post now. Even if you don't get the response you desire, people will still end up participating. I did an interest check with my first challenge and got more participants than responses. For the second one, I did a half assed interest check because I was going to do it either way. I knew there'd be at least one other person participating.

There's always those lurkers that pop out when challenges start.

Re: May 2011 Make-Your-Own Challenge Discussion Thread
 

Thanks! I was actually surprised I finished everything, and with time to spare. May has been a pretty busy month for me, but I didn't neglect anything I needed to do in favor of watching shows, lol. I'm glad I'm not the only person who has watched the Hypnotoad episode; it's just so absurd that I can't help but laugh every time I see it. Not something I'd watch regularly, but it's always good for a laugh.

I like the short season idea for a challenge like this; there are so many shows out there that either have short series-runs or short seasons, so it's a great way to knock out a variety of shows.

I also enjoyed making the pictures; I actually just recently started using a trial version of photoshop and was playing around with it. I like seeing the characters together like that.

Re: May 2011 Make-Your-Own Challenge Discussion Thread
 

I plan to do the random drawing for free stuff from HamiltonBook.com on Wednesday. Below are the names that will be in the drawing. If you don't see your name, I either made a mistake or you haven't listed anything in the List Thread. If you see your name and you don't want to be included in the drawing for some reason, let me know.

acubfaninmd
AdamGott
Ash Ketchum
aspects
BobO'Link
BuddhaWake
CardiffGiant
cardsfan111
Chad
Corey31
Darkgod
Darth Maher
davidh777
Doc Moonlight
Fist of Doom
Giles
hbilly
indy2003
Indy24LA
InnocentBlood
Jeffy Pop
JHCA13
jmsmath
JOKipper
KaBluie
kstublen
lisadoris
llandros
MinLShaw
Mister Peepers
Mondo Kane
MrTerrific
NoirFan
omike
pagefrance
PopcornBandit
Quack
shadokitty
SmoothJamieM
SnapDawg
SterlingBen
terrycloth
Trevor
Undeadcow

Re: May 2011 Make-Your-Own Challenge Discussion Thread
 

Spent the weekend in Ohio with my wife and her family. Took my iPod, but didn't have time to make much use of it. I did finally watch the pilot episode of The Middleman, a short-lived series on ABC Family adapted from a comic book. I wish I'd watched this back when I first got it and made an effort to watch the series because it's very much in my wheelhouse. Sort of a Men in Black by way of Seth McFarlane.

Also began watching the pilot episode of Smallville, a series I never watched until this. I made it about half way through and then we had to get going. Plan on finishing it later tonight. Love me some John Schneider.

Re: May 2011 Make-Your-Own Challenge Discussion Thread
 

I just do it for the fun, I don't want to be included in the prize drawing. Good luck to everyone else!

Re: May 2011 Make-Your-Own Challenge Discussion Thread
 

My friend and I were just talking about watching television and she said she knows she watches more television than me. I couldn't help but laugh; I explained to her how much I had watched on DVD alone this month, and she still tried to convince me she watches more by listing a string of shows she watches that are currently on the air. I guess she doesn't understand that there's a difference between watching one episode of like 10 shows per week and watching multiple seasons of shows in a week in addition to currently airing shows, lol. Of course, I start work (finally done with school) in a month, so I won't be able to do these types of marathon viewings anymore. :(

Re: May 2011 Make-Your-Own Challenge Discussion Thread
 

I finished both "Zombies of the Stratosphere", and "The Lost City".

"Zombies" wasn't bad, but not as good as I'd hoped and not up to the 2 prior "rocket man" series. Still, I'm glad I have it in my collection. Even though I knew going in he had a small role, I was a bit disappointed that Leonard Nimoy did not have more to do in the film. Still, it was still neat seeing him in his first film role.

"The Lost City" - This one is so bad it's good. Yeah, one of those. I found myself laughing more and more with each chapter of this one. At times I wondered how the cast managed to deliver their lines and keep a straight face. It was made in 1935 but feels like an early "talkie" where the cast just wasn't sure how to handle this new talking on camera stuff. There are some good sets, but the script and acting are terrible to the point of being high camp. There are stretches in which you get the feeling this might have been the intention, but you just can't be sure.

I'lll be finishing with some Rocky and Bullwinkle serials.

Re: May 2011 Make-Your-Own Challenge Discussion Thread
 

Had a good time with my comedy challenge. Finished A to Z and even got 12 extra flicks in. Stuck mostly to the 80s, 90s and 00s and got a good mix. Got in films by Mel Brooks, Will Ferrell, Ben Stiller, Kevin Smith, Mike Myers, Chris Guest, Eddie Murphy, Jim Carrey, Ricky Gervais, Chevy Chase, Bill Murray, Steve Martin, Michael Keaton, Adam Sandler, and Bill Crystal. Plus classics like Office Space, Royal Tenenbaums, Raising Arizona, Midnight Run and This is Spinal Tap.

Re: May 2011 Make-Your-Own Challenge Discussion Thread
 

I had a rough night last night, but the upshot was that Hub ran a Batman marathon till the early morning hours. I was up till 4 and caught two different two-parters with Julie Newmar as Catwoman, a three-parter with Cesar Romero as the Joker featuring Burgess Meredith as the Penguin in parts 1 & 3, as well as the famed two-parter with Van Williams as the Green Hornet and Bruce Lee as Kato. Terrific stuff.

There was another episode I caught that pitted Batman against the Joker in a surfing competition that was crazy stupid that featured Yvonne Craig as Batgirl. There was really only one sequence in which she appeared as Batgirl; the rest of the time she was really just a girl on the beach, which I found disappointing because I always adored Craig as Batgirl.

The clock is ticking, and as much as I'd like to get to something, I can't make myself turn away from this Reds/Brewers game (currently, my Redlegs are down 6-2 in the 7th). Planning to squeeze in some stuff after the game, though what will be largely determined by how much time I have left in the night.

Re: May 2011 Make-Your-Own Challenge Discussion Thread
 

Just finished my last movie. The Bond and Pink Panther movies complemented each other surprisingly well. Now I have to decide whether to listen to all the commentaries I skipped or save them for next year's MYOC.

I hope everyone enjoyed themselves. I'll announce the recipients of the free stuff tomorrow.

Re: May 2011 Make-Your-Own Challenge Discussion Thread
 

I remember MGM released the Bond movies on VHS once back in the day and they included Pink Panther animated short films that I guess were originally screened before the Bond movies during their theatrical release. It's the one little feature I've always wanted to see them add to the admittedly bountiful and generous DVD and now Blu-ray releases of the Bonds.

[Jedi mindtrick]You will save them for next year and instead participate in June's Historical Appreciation Challenge.[/Jedi mindtrick]$

I've had much fewer first-time viewings than planned, but I did finally get to several commentary tracks that I'd been meaning to get to for quite some time. I might go back to the Based on a Comic Book theme again next year, though I suspect I'll wind up favoring a different theme come May.

Reds just lost, so I've got almost 2 full hours to squeeze in something. Gonna have to think quick!

Re: May 2011 Make-Your-Own Challenge Discussion Thread
 

I watched a few Pink Panther cartoons on TV last week but I didn't include them on my list.

I'd like to check out the commentaries while the movies are still fresh in my mind, but since most of the Bond DVDs have two commentaries, and all but two of the Bond films (I think) are well over two hours long, man is that gonna take a lot of time. If I don't save them for next year, I might try to space them out over several months.

Re: May 2011 Make-Your-Own Challenge Discussion Thread
 

Technically finished the Star Trek TOS stuff, but didn't watch the reboot like I wanted to. Glad I did this challenge! :)

Re: May 2011 Make-Your-Own Challenge Discussion Thread
 

Most Bonds come in at 2:15 or less; the longest two are On Her Majesty's Secret Service (142 minutes) and Casino Royale (144 minutes). Also, I can tell you that you shouldn't feel any pressure to get to the Roger Moore commentary tracks quickly, as the majority of his remarks have little to do with the films at all. Rather, it's as though you're listening to a haphazard autobiography audiobook with his Bond movies playing on the screen. I really enjoyed them, but they're about the least on-topic commentaries I've ever heard.

Re: May 2011 Make-Your-Own Challenge Discussion Thread
 

Yeah, looking back at them I see that 6 of them are actually less than two hours long.

Re: May 2011 Make-Your-Own Challenge Discussion Thread
 

Alright, so I finished off the Smallville pilot (I only had about 10 minutes of it left from when my iPod battery ran low two nights ago) and I managed to get to the director's cut of Elektra, both of which were first time viewings for me. I liked the Smallville pilot. The casting was spot-on; John Schneider was an inspired choice for Jonathan Kent. A lot of the episode reminded me of what I remember of watching Superboy about 20 years ago, but obviously this was more sophisticated and "high concept." I could see myself getting into this show. Funny that I wait until after its series finale to get around to it.

As for Elektra, I was in the minority who enjoyed Daredevil so I've been meaning to see this since it was released. I would never have thought to cast Jennifer Garner as a Greek assassin, but they didn't ask me. The plot here is pretty simple, lazy almost, and while I confess to not having read any of the comics featuring Elektra, I never got a sense that anything Frank Miller wrote found its way onto the screen in a recognizable way. As a movie based on Elektra comic book material, then, I was pretty disappointed.

However, I wound up enjoying the movie overall because I'm a sucker for Garner and while there's nothing Miller-esque about her performance or character here, she does bring a very accessible humanity to this Elektra that I enjoyed. I think she's one of the most under-rated actresses working today, too quickly dismissed by "serious" movie fans because they perceive her as doing "light" work. She does some stuff here that makes this Elektra feel like a whole person, and looking at what little there is for her to really say and do throughout this movie I can easily imagine it falling flat in the hands of a lesser actress. There's always a look to her face, as though she's constantly thinking and reflecting, rather than just waiting for the chance to read her lines. So, as a Jennifer Garner movie, I liked it quite a bit.

It took me about an hour, but I finally got my list thread re-organized. I split my list into two sections: one for movies, and one for TV content, motion comics and bonus content. I also went back and reorganized the second list to put specific TV series listings together where possible, which made a mess of my timeline but I figured it was better to have a thematic list than a continuity-based list.

I didn't get to read nearly as many comics as I'd hoped, but I enjoyed what I got to throughout the month and those sporadic comics really helped tie together my challenge. I might start doing this here on out: try to pick some reading material to coincide with the theme of whatever challenge is going on in a given month.

Now I just gotta figure out how I'm gonna justify the remaining episodes of Stripperella for the Historical Appreciation Challenge.... ;)

Re: May 2011 Make-Your-Own Challenge Discussion Thread
 

The three prize recipients (picked using Random.org) are:

aspects
Quack
kstublen

Congratulations, folks. Check your PMs for instructions.

Thanks to everyone who participated in the Challenge, and a big thanks to Hamilton Books and GoldenWheels for providing the free stuff.