2004 Features

2004-05 Television Pilots – An incomplete list of television shows proposed for the television season.

The “darn good” movies of 2004. – Well, it’s the end of the year and what kind of a man would I be if I didn’t list the movies I felt were the best in 2004!? (Answer: A better one.) But still, I must press on like every other critic in the country at the end of the year and release my “list.”

Lost about what to watch on television this season?– Earlier this year, I reviewed a smattering of television pilots some of which hit the airwaves this fall. Most of the shows I profiled were never shown on television screens – as the fate of most television pilots produced these days. Still, one of the shows I reviewed last spring turned out to be one of the most successful dramas this fall.

Summer movies are all the rage this winter Last week, I looked over my wall calendar featuring all the celestial wonders of the night sky (I bet you do this too) and realized that we’re just FIVE short months away from the next summer movie season. I became so excited that I began to hyperventilate and passed out hitting my head on an old chiffarobe that my friend Tom Robinson was going to come over to break up for firewood…

The Number One Comedy on Television Can’t Get Arrested. Quick question; what’s the “Most Outstanding” comedy on television as awarded by the 2004 Emmy’s? If you guessed Friends, Frasier or CSI: Miami you’d be wrong. Dead wrong. The “Most Outstanding” comedy on television is none other than Fox’s Arrested Development…

Halloween, strange things seen. Skeletons talk, ghosts may walk. I am in love with Halloween and she is a harsh mistress. As a kid, I loved dressing up in costume and on many occasions wore my Halloween costumes to school – even if I had to break school policy to wear my “duds”…

Do bad movies brain your rot? What was the question again? Lately, I’ve been watching a lot of movies. My usual habit of viewing a few movies a week has suddenly turned to a sick addiction. In the past week I’ve managed to watch twenty movies as well as my usual television schedule of six hours a day…

Forget drugs, I’ve found the real threat to our nation’s youth. On my recent trip to the comic book convention in Chicago, I got into a discussion with people attending the con with me about the things they were most frightened of as kids…

You want Hollywood insider information? We got that too.A month or two ago while The Fort Wayne Reader took a break from publishing (I suspect rehab) I was forced to do the unthinkable – I had to answer my own e-mail…

Welcome to a Wizard World that’s not ruled by ‘Harry Potter.’The annial Wizard World Convention –  where the freaks, geeks, dweebs, spazs, dings, and Trekkies of the world, Midwest America at least, unite to assure each other that there’s nothing wrong with falling in love with a cartoon character or having the Starship Trooper logo tattooed on their upper arm.

I was the first one on my block to watch an episode of ‘The Office.’ Beat that. – A few weeks back I introduced the world to my biggest entertainment blunders. Well, you can start thinking of me as your better again because this time around I present my biggest entertainment successes.

We all have “failures” sometimes. Mine just happen more than the average guy.– In this column, I’ll try to sort through my biggest entertainment blunders.

When good movie trailers go bad.– I think I have the solution to making movie trailers better – stop using the same ideas that have been popping up in trailers and movie marketing for decades now.

What does New Zealand have to be proud about? (Other than 1 billion in gross ticket sales.)

Brain-Farts – Random notes on the last few weeks– There is a fine line between being funny and being stupid. I intend to cross that line.

Disney bets the mouse ears on going it alone in 3D animated features. – Earlier this year contractual negotiations between Disney and Pixar broke down leading to a split between these two companies.

Now it can be told — DU answers your fan mail – I’ve been inundated by the amount of feedback I’ve received from readers of Dangerous Universe. I’d like to thank all of you who’ve taken time to write Dangerous Universe care of The Fort Wayne Reader and to publicly answer some of the most common questions I’ve gotten so far.

2004 TV pilots on flight to nowhere– It’s that time of year again – time for the television networks to begin production on next season’s slew of shows.

Presenting the 1st annual DUie awards– I’ve been wondering lately about all the categories that the Academy Awards misses. Sure, when the awards ceremonies air we’ll learn who’s been judged the best actor and which artisan has made the best costumes. But what about the “other” categories that go unrecognized each year?

Coming Soon: Hollywood’s history of the world– If there’s one thing that Hollywood can teach all of America, it’s that success breeds, well, imitation. 2004 is no different. This year the path every studio seems to be going down is to make a classic epic ala 1999’s Gladiator.

“Guilty Pleasure” Movies of 2004– Every year movie studios release a group of movies that can best be described as “guilty-pleasures.” Not all movies can be considered classics and the following movies don’t even pretend to be.

Has Hollywood Gone Remake Crazy – Dreamworks is planning on a sequel to last year’s hit “The Ring.” Although there is no definite storyline set yet, I would assume that the sequel has something to do with an evil VHS tape that brings death seven days after viewing – and I’m not talking about old bootlegged copies of “Red Dawn” either.

2004/2005 Television Pilots – Anything’s got to be better than the pilots last year. Right?