Gunfire and Madness Before Lunch
Check out this Walking Dead sizzle reel from the fine folks at AMC and you’ll know why Halloween can’t come fast enough for me… and no, it’s not because of all the free candy. [Although that IS a plus.]
Category: TV
Fringe Twofer
Fringe, which is now entering it’s third season is going to make a bold change. The show, which deals with alternate universes and X-Files-like investigations is going to…
…give fans a healthy dose of both universes in which the show now takes place (the producers call them “over here” and “over there”), episodes will alternate between them for the entire third season…
How cool [and daring] is that? Since the alternate universe characters and their motivations are very different from our universe, we’re in for some interesting stories. I can’t wait. [I wonder if my doppelganger feels the same].
Lost in Space Trivia
I was a fan of Lost in Space. It was a wonderful concept – a family sent on a space mission and thanks to a cowardly stowaway traitor, they get thrown off course and, well, lost in space. The robot was the coolest and I have to admit that I thought Penny was pretty cute too. Plus the dad was the guy who played Zorro!
If you are/were a Lost in Space fan, then you might be interested in some little known facts:
- Carroll O’Connor, who played Archie Bunker on All in the Family, was initially considered to play the role of Dr. Smith.
- The pilot episode cost $600,000. At the time, it was the most expensive TV pilot to date, with the exception of Star Trek’s $630,000 first pilot episode “The Cage.”
- The strongly campy nature of the second and third seasons was, by the way, entirely intentional. A year after Lost in Space debuted, the TV series Batman became a spectacular ratings success. Irwin Allen noticed and attributed its ratings to the show’s playful tone. He altered Lost in Space accordingly.
You can learn even more little known Lost in Space facts if you check out this post at Neatorama.
Boris Karloff’s Thriller
If you’ve read the ZONE for any length of time, then you know about my love of monster movies, drive-in theaters, horror movie hosts like Sammy Terry, as well as scary [well at least they were when I was a kid] tv shows like The Twilight Zone, The Night Gallery, The Outer Limits, and The Invaders.
One show that fits into the horror genre but you’ve never heard me talk is Thriller. Hosted by the legendary, Boris Karloff, Thriller ran for 67 episodes from 1960 to 1962. From all accounts Thriller featured episodes that had some of the best scares and creepy stories that could be found anywhere. Stephen King called it,
“Probably the best horror series ever put on TV.”
Yet, for some reason it never showed up in reruns and only appeared with sporadic episodes on VHS and laser disc. That’s changed now that Thriller -The Complete Series is available on DVD with tons of extras.
If you’re like me, you’re hesitant to plunk down your hard-earned bucks without knowing more. Well, we’re in luck because at A Thriller a Day, one episode of the series is reviewed, you guessed it, each day. Even if I end up not purchasing the series, I’m going to enjoy reading about it. The two guys running the site have a good banter going, they’re refreshingly honest {they’ll call a clunker story, just that] and yet they also have an obvious love for the genre. If I was to make any suggestions to them it would be to change their rating system. Now they rate each episode from one to four Karloffs like this…
Perhaps it would be more horrific if they rated the episodes like this…
Sons of Anarchy Premiere Tonight!
Don’t forget to tune in tonight [or at least set your DVR] for tonight’s season three premiere of Sons of Anarchy at 10pm EST on FX.
Double Dose of Dead
Although season one of The Walking Dead doesn’t premiere until Halloween night, AMC has announced that a second season, with a full 13 episodes, will begin shooting in February. You can read more about the renewal at CBR.com and where you can also see a larger version of the comic teaser poster.
The Walking Dead: Official Trailer
The official trailer for The Walking Dead hit today. Man, it looks as good as I hoped. I can not wait until the series premiere on Halloween night!
Trailin’ “The Sons of Anarchy”
Season 3 of The Sons of Anarchy doesn’t premiere until September 7th, but we can see the new trailer now. Let’s ride!
Fringe Season 3 Preview
If you’re a Fringe fan, then you might want to check out i09.com’s preview of what we can expect to see in season three.
Big Monster News
Harry Knowles at AICN recently announced that AICN is going to present and run the Famous Monsters of Filmland.com website. This is especially exciting news because Harry has a passion for horror films. He also has a huge fan base that he can attract to the site.
I love horror/monster movies and when I was a kid Famous Monsters of Filmland was always a fun read. But up until Harry’s announcement, I wasn’t even aware that there was a Famous Monsters website.
In other monster news, /Film posted a report that Tim Burton is developing a 3D film called Monsterpocalypse. Tim Burton and the title alone make it worth a look.
Who Drew The Walking Dead?
Harry at AICN posted this wicked Drew Struzan poster for AMC’s adaptation of The Walking Dead series. Harry has a ZOMBIELAND-sized version that could truly be your wallpaper and you can see it here.
The Walking Dead Walk
This Walking Dead motion comic is the coolest thing on the internet right now. Oh, and you might also want to check out a new (and much larger version) of The Walking Dead character poster below!
Behind-The-Scenes with The Walking Dead
MTV News scored a cool behind-the-scenes look at AMC TV’s The Walking Dead. Thanks to the good folks at CBR.com, the clip can be seen here.
Robert Kirkman and his Zombies
Newsarama has a nice interview with Walking Dead creator, Robert Kirkman, who talks about plans for the comic and what to expect from the AMC tv series adaptation.
