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

So far I've finished the first four volumes of Futurama, Bender's Big Score, and two seasons of The Simpsons. Watching the old Futurama episodes makes me realize how happy I am to have the show back on the air. It does such a great job of blending science fiction, comedy, and drama. I can't think of another cartoon capable of producing the same emotions as in episodes like Jurassic Bark, The Luck Of The Fryish, and Leela's Homeworld. Once I finish the movies I'll probably tackle another season or two of The Simpsons and then finish up with Volume Five.

I also watched the entire 22-minute episode of...

http://theinfosphere.org/images/7/7a..._hypnotoad.png

...which was a bonus feature on the Bender's Big Score DVD; of course, I was doing some other things at the same time, lol. If you haven't seen this yet, I suggest watching a few minutes of it; particularly the commercials, establishing shots, and ending, which are pretty funny in the context of the "show".

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

I finally got to the point in Chuck season 2 where I haven't seen the episodes before so it should be fun from here on out. Dang, that Orange, Orange costume is distracting, though.

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

"Superman and the Mole-Men" resulted in the first television season to going into production. It was broken down into a 2 parter for the end of the first season of "The Adventures of Superman" ("The Unknown People": Part I and Part II). It's also a bonus feature on the S1 set of that series. S1 and S2 are very much noir-like and play much like theatrical action-adventure serials and crime melodramas of the 1940s. While I like the entire series, I prefer the first 2 seasons. If you enjoyed that film you should give S1 a look.

I strongly agree with your Clark Kent statement. Reeves is, hands down, my favorite Clark Kent. I very much dislike the bumbling Kent of the Superman films. In the comics, Clark is "mild-mannered", not a bumbling fool as in the films. The Clark of "The Adventures of Superman" is a strong, yet mild-mannered character. I also like George Reeves characterization of Superman. But that one's a toss-up between Reeves and Reeve.

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

I've seen numerous episodes of Adventures of Superman over the years, and I dig it. I just hadn't seen this movie until last night. It's a fun piece of Americana. I always enjoyed the episode of I Love Lucy featuring Reeves as Superman--even if I suspect it killed Reeves a little inside to have to do it.

The biggest thing is that Reeves's Clark Kent is a believable top tier journalist. He asks questions and works things out, and to be honest I think the show could have worked even without involving the Superman persona. It could have been just Reeves and Coates/Neil as a pair of investigative reporters and been captivating and enjoyable. That's a key element that nearly every other incarnation of Superman has failed to make work.

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

I made my wife watch this when we got the DVD.

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

:thumbsup:

I'm sad (?) to say, this wasn't the first time I've watched it in its entirety. When I first got the DVD I watched it and reveled in how great it was to finally have a full episode of Everybody Loves Hypnotoad, lol. This time around some of the novelty of it wore off, but I still got a kick out of the establishing shots and commercials.

Still though, given the nature of my challenge, I figured I should watch it for the sake of completeness.

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

I thought I was doing so well with my 1930s/1980s and watched Don't Change Your Husband and realized it was from 1919 because I actually have a 1910s/1920s/1930s list all in one document and did not pay enough attention.

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

I just finished From Hell with commentary track. I finally saw the movie last October for the Horror Challenge, but hadn't gotten around to the commentary till now. What a chore! The Hughes Brothers admit to participating in the commentary almost under protest, and it shows. Screenwriter Rafael Yglesias spends most of the time congratulating himself for improving the story from the source material and the four previous screen drafts he inherited. Robbie Coltrane was refreshing, but unfortunately appeared sparingly...which is still more than I recalled hearing the cinematographer speak.

I'd definitely caution anyone against expecting this commentary track to be enjoyable or rewarding.

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

Wouldn't the fact that it was silent have tipped you off that it was before 1930?

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

I was doing pretty well whittling away my unwatched movie pile but...

too many great deals to pass on so I picked up the Criterion BBS story set, five blu-rays at Best Buy with that trade-in program, and the 27 dvd set from Johnny Legend's recent sale.

thanks DVD Talkers...

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

It should have been, but I was more concerned with finishing the movie before the mailman came so I could return it back to Netflix quickly.

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

I grew up watching "The Adventures of Superman" at 6am on Saturday and never knew there was a movie until much later in life. The first time I saw the movie I said: "Hey, they just put together those 2 episodes and called it a movie!!" not knowing it was the other way around. :D
So true. Many of those shows were more about Clark, Jimmy, and Lois with Superman making a more of a "guest" appearance at the end to save the day. Clark's general treatment by Hollywood since that series is just sad. The "modern" films almost seem to want you to forget how powerful a person Clark can be. The "let's find *something* funny to keep the kids interested" approach that's killed many films for me (I'm looking at *you* George Lucas).

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

I just made last-minute plans to go out of town this weekend, then realized I won't be able to continue my challenge because all my Chuck is on BD. What a waste of airport, airplane, and other down time. :gah:

Part of the reason I'm so far behind on Chuck is that the BDs prevent me from vacation gorging since I don't have a portable player or a player at my destination. The show isn't on Netflix streaming either.

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

If you're taking a laptop or if you've got an iPod, you could rent some episodes from iTunes (cheaper than buying) to take with you. Not ideal, but at least it would be portable and easily fit into any downtime you may have.

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

Thanks, I really like this idea, though the logistics would be to figure out which episodes I'm going to need before I leave. Also, I just looked at itunes on my phone and only see the purchase option for 1.99. It's the same price at Amazon, and the advantage there is I could stream instead of downloading (DLing is also an option), but I'd have to download for the plane anyway, and I'd have to watch on my laptop since I don't think Amazon works on my ipod or iphone.

Rebuying makes me sigh, but I've rewatched the pilot since it's handy on my ipod and phone so if the episodes are good, I might end up rewatching them too. I think I'm coming up on the Christmas episode, which I've seen before and enjoyed. I wouldn't mind owning that one.

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

Like I said, it's not ideal, but at least it's an option. My wife and I are headed to Ohio Memorial weekend for her grandmother's birthday (89? 90? I've lost track). I've got some stuff on my iPod (most of it free downloads or Digital Copies from DVDs & Blus in our library) that I'm making sure is synced so I can squeeze in some viewing while we're there. I know I'll be bored anyway; I've done this several times already.

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

Happy birthday, Grandma-in-Law MinLShaw!

Yeah, I definitely have a lot of Digital Copies on hand exactly for times like this. I just hate to lose momentum on my Chuck challenge. Oh well, it's only a few days.

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

The spirit is appreciated. She's a hateful, snobbish old woman and only ever upsets my wife. It's a nice test of how much I can bite my tongue just being around her. Put it this way: it's one of the few times I'm almost relieved when my guts act up.

I've hit iTunes up for about 100GB just of free TV content over the last few years. I've taken my sweet time getting to most of it, mind you, but it's nice to have. Like for this challenge, I was lying down in bed a few days ago feeling wiped out so much I couldn't even sit upright, so I watched an episode of The Incredible Hulk ("Free Fall") and chapter 1 of the Spider-Woman motion comic. Both were average, but I have to say I'd be interested to read the Spider-Woman comics after seeing that motion comic episode.

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

Sorry, I take that back, Grandma-in-Law MinLShaw :)

And yeah, I have a ton of free pilots and such. Remind me to DL the Smallville eps that people have been talking about.

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

Wow, how did I miss this challenge. I'm late but I'd love to jump in if it's still possible.

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

You just do it. You can always jump in at anytime during any challenge. You just add your list to the challenge list thread.

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

Downloaded all the Smallvilles and two eps of Chuck, and put the Smallville pilot and the two Chucks on my ipod for traveling. :up: Thanks again for the suggestion.

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

Like Mister Peepers said, jump on in any time. We still have a few people who reserved spaces in the list thread who haven't started yet, so you're not late at all.

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

For sure, I'm just now getting around to getting my own list posted. I'm doing a "six-episodes-makes-a-season" challenge, getting caught up on all of the BBC comedy shows I've been putting off.

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

Watched the Chuck Christmas episode on the plane and it was totally worth $1.99! I love this episode. :banana: I think I watched it with one eye during broadcast while trimming the tree so it was nice to really watch it. Great movie references :lol: and plot twists.

Trevor, is that you?