The Evolution Will Be Televised: 60 Years Later And We're Still Watching TV

It's impossible to explain to our children just how much the world has truly changed since you or I were kids. They experience movies and radio with only the most peripheral of differences than we did - most of which involve cosmetic improvements and frequency of access. Television, however, has made phenomenal leaps and bounds. It's as if we were driving horse and buggies while they've been handed flying cars.

During its prime, the television - feared by many as the device that would put an end to the need for radio - was a financial investment tantamount to buying a house, a vehicle, or kitchen appliance. It wasn't just an LCD or plasma screen propped up on a bookshelf like a photograph in a frame. It was a massive piece of furniture. Called a television 'set', it contained elements borrowed from radio systems for audio, a small electric motor, a spinning disc, a group of glass tubes to convert power, a gelatin-based vacuum tube to project an image, and a wooden cabinet to house it in. Over time record players and actual radios were added to the cabinet which constituted the first self-contained entertainment 'unit'.

It was Lo-Fi mono audio, the pictures were in black and white, and you required an antenna to 'catch' broadcast signals from the local network carriers - up to 12 of them (the #1 on the television's manual 'dial' was for emergency broadcasts only). There was no remote control. That dial had to be cranked by hand and a list of TV shows was printed in a book you bought at the supermarket every week called a 'TV Guide'. The networks would start broadcasting at 6 AM and 'sign-off' at midnight following the evening news. They'd go dark after the performance of a canned version of the national anthem before being replaced by a test pattern - featuring the feathered head of a politically incorrect drawing of a Native North American. Though television now can still be a major financial consideration, it's because the TV is the size of a sheet of GypRoc and is mounted on your wall like artwork. It's a precision device projecting thousands of pixels per square inch in 4,000,000 colours with up to 7.1 surround sound audio and high definition visuals streamed into your house through a cable no thicker than a piece of licorice. No more antennas. No more manual dialing through 500 channels instead of 12. Television networks rarely ever go off the air - it cost them too much money to be dark from midnight to 6AM. Television is now 24 hours/365 days of the year. And, yet, there's less on TV now than when I was growing up. Certainly less quality entertainment at any rate.

Because there was less airtime - most certainly for children who attended school - we were limited to an hour or so before heading out in the morning and after school was broken up between home-work, playing outside until dinner, and playing outside until dark. We really only watched TV for less than three hours on a weekday. When you include the time spent doing same on weekends between the times Mom and Dad had other plans for us cleaning our rooms, playing board games, shopping, visiting family, we may have only caught TV a few more hours Saturday or Sunday. And according to the good folks at 'Morals R Us' these hours were eating our brains.

They may have been right. When I add up the hours of television available to me they seem disproportionate to the unending number of things I remember watching. School days started with a kids' variety program called 'Rocket Ship 7' hosted by Dave Thomas out of WKBW-TV in Buffalo (interesting trivia note: he is the father of 'Angel'/'Bones' TV actor David Boreanaz). Like similar shows being broadcast in that era on stations all across North America, the show featured skits, birthday greetings, puppets, a talking robot, and the latest, cheaply licensed kids fair. We watched the Christian-based 'Davy & Goliath' and 'Gumby' stop motion animation shows, Looney Tunes, Merry Melodies, 'Popeye', 'The World of Oz' and occasionally 'The Three Stooges' and 'Little Rascals' shorts.

When we came home for lunch it was a revolving world on either CHCH (out of Hamilton) or CTV (out of Toronto). I recall catching 'The Flintstones', 'Rocket Robin Hood' and any number of Canadian made game shows starring host Jim Perry - most notably 'Eye Bet' and 'Definition' - as well as a Canadian children's variety show called 'The Uncle Bobby Show' featuring a cardigan wearing old Brit. After school there was a juggling act of homework, outdoor activities or watching another children's variety show called 'Commander Tom' which was the afternoon version of 'Rocket Ship 7' featuring most of the same shows though they also included longer programming with 'The Addams Family', 'The Munsters' and 'Batman'.

Saturdays were a barnstorm of Hanna-Barbara cartoons and live-action children's shows like 'Scooby-Doo', 'Hilarious House of Frightenstein', 'H.R. Puffenstuff', 'Liddyville', 'Get Smart', 'The Hudson Brothers' Razzle Dazzle Show', 'The Powder Puff Derby', 'The Monkees', 'Gidget', 'The Brady Bunch', 'Gilligan's Island', 'The Wacky Races', and more Looney Tunes and Merry Melodies than we could ingest.

Evenings brought us sitcoms and dramas: 'Party Game', 'Mary Tyler Moore', 'The Carol Burnett Show', 'The Trouble With Tracy', 'Starsky & Hutch', 'Love Boat', 'Sanford & Sons', 'All In The Family', 'Love American Style', 'The Dick Van Dyke Show', 'Bewitched', 'The Dean Martin Roast', 'Streets of San Francisco', and, of course the national standard - 'Hockey Night In Canada' on Saturday nights. Sunday was a bit of a drag with mornings filled with religious programming but we usually caught the weekly 'Movie For A Sunday Afternoon', 'The Wonderful World of Disney', and 'Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom'.

Today, TV's need to fill 24 hours worth of programming - paid or created - means an assembly line of reality based shows, repeats of expensive dramas and syndicated shows from our near past (rather than our distant past... something we have to pay extra for on another set of cable channels). I love having more choices now, but I hunger for the shows that defined my childhood - even if some of them were cheesy as hell and barely hold up to repeat viewings.

But I don't yearn for them - only the way they made me feel. I still watch television as a respite from writing and dealing with the maddening battle to make a living as a hungry parasite on the back of the entertainment juggernaut. There are still good shows out there depending on your tastes. My current favourites are a mixed bag of sci-fi, sitcoms and reality shows:

1) Mike & Molly
Premise: Two middle class working stiffs - a school teacher played by Melissa McCarthy ('Bridesmaids') and a Chicago patrol cop played by stand-up comedian Billy Gardell - find each other at an over-eaters anonymous meeting where they soon realize they're too set in their ways to ever stop eating and decide to make the best of it together.

McCarthy and Gardell have great chemistry together as his oafish character completely misunderstands every situation which leads to some socially awkward encounters. It's 'King of Queens' without the angst. There's also a little bit of Honeymooners magic in this one as Gardell and his cop sidekick Carl, played by Reno Wilson, spend their time plotting one ridiculous idea after the other in an effort to get Wilson's character a date - without him screwing it up because he's a self-centred, loudmouthed Mama's boy that lives with his grandmother. This past season Mike & Molly were planning a wedding while Carl falls in love with an opthomologist played by Holly Robinson Peete (ex-21 Jump Street). The supporting cast of regulars is outstanding - especially Molly's over-sexed, widowed, party-packing mother played by Swoosie Kurtz, the local Rastafarian restaurant owner that Mike & Carl take advantage of every episode played by Nyambi Nyambi, and Mike's bigoted, self-loathing divorced mother played by the brilliant Rondi Reed (the therapist on 'Roseanne'). Light-hearted and giggle funny all around.

2) Two And A Half-Men 2.0
Premise: Ashton Kutcher's billionaire software developing Playboy philanthropist takes over Charlie Sheen's former haunt as the headmaster of a beach-front hedonism house still occupied by the free-loading Alan Harper played by the ubiquitous Jon Cryer and his idiot savant son Jake played by Angus T. Jones.

This reboot of the series - about to roll into its 10th season - should have died on the operating table when Chuck Lorre excised the tumour that was Charlie Sheen and had his character killed in the show. But something magical has happened. This is a quieter and gentler "Two And A Half Men". Where Cryer and Sheen had worked in tandem to pump up each week's level of debauchery, humiliation and gross outs, Kutcher plays it straight as a level headed businessman trying to navigate his way around a new relationship with a divorcee while his ex-wife attempts to both destroy his billion dollar company and his manhood. Cryer's character, meanwhile, spends every waking hour trying to stay relevant enough that Kutcher doesn't boot him out of the house and onto the street. There's enough of the old show still in check as Cryer continues to winnow on about being regular, masturbating, and dealing with his mother - still played with Cruella DeVille aplomb by Holland Taylor - who has just entered into a new senior citizen phase of her life as the lesbian lover of Georgia Engel (of 'Mary Tyler Moore' fame). No more prostitutes and parties for this show. Just First World problems for the crew from here on in.

3) Continuum
Premise: North America has become incorporated as big business takes over the running of government. In 2076 a civilian terrorist organization begins assassinating key players in this new world order. After being caught and sentenced to an execution, they manage a remarkable escape - 60 years into the past. Their plan is to begin dismantling the future by preventing it in the past. Alas, a fly in their ointment is a bulldog by-the-book cop played by Rachel Nichols ('Star Trek' the reboot; 'Amityville Horror' the reboot) who gets dragged into the time machine against her will and must now track down the terrorists and bring them to justice.

This is 'The Sarah Connor Chronicles' gone sideways. Nichols' character, Keira, is a fish deeply out of water and her only allies in this Brave Old World are another detective - played by the brooding hunk Victor Webster - and a 17 year old kid (played by teen sensation Erik Knudson) who built the network infrastructure and technology that would one day run the world from which Keira has just been torn from. She has lost her family and still has to find the strength to bring these criminals to their knees. But things are not as black and white as they seem. We're two episodes in and tension is mounting as the lines are becoming blurry as to whether Keira's fighting on the right side or the wrong side of the terrorist cause. Only time will tell. Bonus points for the show being set and identified as Vancouver in the show; a time traveling cop show that's not set in New York, Chicago or Los Angeles. Yay! The city's locale also takes great advantage of casting availability as many former 'Stargate' alumni co-star including Lexa Doig and Tony Amandola (appearing at the Polaris convention in Toronto this summer) plus former X-Files 'Cancer Man' William B. Davis as the 'future' version of Erik Knudson's Alec Sadler.

4) Last Man Standing
Premise: "Home Improvement" gets a 21st Century facelift as Tim Allen moves from Wisconsin to Colorado, runs a sporting goods store instead of a TV show, and has to raise three daughters instead of three sons.

Not much new territory for Allen as he continues his reign as the king of backyard, hot-rod loving cavemen. However, the ensemble cast makes the difference here with Nancy Travis ("So I Married An Axe Murderer") playing Allen's better half and the three daughters giving him obvious amounts of comedic grief. He tones down the stupid-husband premise (though he does crush a boat with a Sherman Tank in one episode) and becomes straight-man for the funny subplots with his family and co-workers. The show did an unprecedented 24 episodes in its first season and has been renewed for a second season. He's doing something right here, kids.

5) Two Broke Girls
Premise: A low-income waitress named Max (played by Kat Dennings) living in Brooklyn, New York befriends a fallen heiress named Caroline (played by Beth Behrs) whose father has lost the family fortune after his failed Bernie Madoff-like Ponzi scheme lands him in jail - and her with nothing but the clothes on her back and her favourite horse to show for it. The two become roommates and co-workers at a local restaurant but they dream of rising above their own poverty by starting a cupcake making business (you can't make this stuff up!)

Believe it or not this is a clever and witty 'buddy' show from the mind of failed comedienne Whitney Cummings (don't believe me? Just watch her own self-titled sitcom). The show is driven by the two lead actresses who act as a female version of The Odd Couple. Dennings' Max plays up the self-loathing, down-on-her luck underclass 'broad' while Behr's Caroline plays less Paris Hilton and more Reese Witherspoon's character in Legally Blonde. Max firmly believes her station in life will always be a lowly waitress while Caroline, who has tasted success, believes her business smarts and Max's cupcake making prowess will lead them out of the shadows of squalor. They attempt to co-exist in their obviously different approaches to life and hijinx ensue. The supporting cast is truly negligible as these young ladies steal every scene - except when the horse is on screen. Best line of the show so far from Max: "Hey, Equestrian Barbie... your horse has done the impossible. It smells worse than Brooklyn".

6) Saving Hope
Premise: An upwardly mobile surgeon - played by Michael Shanks (Stargate; and husband of Lexa Doig seen in 'Continuum') - and his soon-to-be surgeon wife played by Erica Durance (Smallville) find themselves caught in a life or death struggle as Shanks' Charlie Harris suffers a brain trauma in a car accident. As he sinks into a coma he finds himself having an out of body experience observing the hospital patrons as a third party. Shanks narrates the show as he watches the daily drama in the hospital and must also watch Durance's Alex Reid respond and cope with the possibility of losing her life partner while still having to keep her shit together so she can do her job. The staff, including an ex-boyfriend, rally around her. This might turn out to be the most awkward love triangle since "Ghost". It'll be interesting to see how this show can maintain premise's momentum before having to either kill Dr. Harris or revive him so that he can do the ghost whisperer thing from there on.

Returning shows:

7) Big Bang Theory - a group of nerdy friends, and a hot non-geek next door neighbour try to navigate the world of social interaction. Still one of the most intelligent sitcoms on TV. Bravo to Chuck Lorre for stunt casting his old 'Roseanne' acting buddies AND shoe-horning geek celebrities into the weekly plots. With Wil Wheaton (Star Trek: Next Generation) as a semi-regular there are plot possibilities galore [how about having him take Penny on a date... leaving Leonard in a jealous funk? Thereby putting Sheldon's new found friendship with Wheaton at jeopardy]. Adding the ladies to the plot has also been a welcome relief as there are only so many 'Babylon 5' jokes one can take (or even understand). But, Chuck... you gotta address the broken elevator in the apartment building. Why not make the celebrity guests pose as an elevator repairman every now and then? It worked for 'Frasier's weekly talk show callers...

8) Pawn Stars - Rick Harrison, Corey, the Old Man and Chumlee The Idiot run a Vegas pawn shop. You could not script a better 'reality show' than this redneck three ring circus set on the Vegas strip; People selling useless shit for cash and a dysfunctional family trying to deal with their own fame. It's television gold and makes the Antiques Roadshow... well... British and boring. Don't miss the spin-off show 'American Restoration' featuring one of the Pawn Star regulars. It's less of a soap opera, but the pop culture antiques that are rebuilt and brought back to life is the payoff at the end of every show.

9) Auction Hunters - forget Storage Wars, Storage Hunters, Pawnathon, American Pickers or Canadian Pickers. Those are all small potatoes. It's any wonder the people on them are even in business given how excited they get over finding things that only yield $100 or $200 margins after sale. The Auction Hunters duo has no time for penny ante crap. They're going to storage auctions and buying big ticket items: boats, tanks, cars, weapons, you name it. The best was the shark cage they found - which, upon demonstrating it to a potential buyer - plunged to the bottom of the ocean when it hit the water. A $15,000 deal turned into $500 worth of scrap metal. Their hauls usually net them tens of thousands in profits and sometimes they LOSE thousands. That's some reality show 'drama' I can get behind.

10) Hollywood Treasures - here's the ultimate in geek porn. Collectibles movie fan and self-made millionaire Joe Maddelena takes us on a pop culture safari every week in search of people who want to sell off their movie and television memorabillia usually in the form of props, costumes, vehicles and in the most recent episode: the entire District 12 village used in 'Hunger Games'. Joe and his team track down the most iconic of these objects, authenticate them then either buy them directly off the owners at bargain basement prices in cash or convince the owners to place them in auctions from which Maddelena's company get a percentage of the profit.

Episodes have featured the original Panavision camera George Lucas used to film the original Star Wars ($550,000), the cane that Jim Carrey used in 'Batman & Robin' ($12,500) and the Judy Garland ruby slippers used in The Wizard of Oz for close-ups ($2,000,000). Maddelena also hustled the on-screen stunt version of Bumble Bee, the Camero from 'Transformers' from a junkyard for $20,000 and turned it over to a collector for $40,000 cash. Check this out when it's on - not just eye candy, but some pretty cool behind-the-scenes trivia about the objects and their origins as well.

Though I miss the simplicity of TV from yesteryear, I do not miss the reruns - even if shows did have longer seasonal runs (usually 21 to 24 shows on average). To that end, modern TV viewing allows us the chance to PVR and watch at our leisure and many cable networks are finally learning that firing up new brands during the summer is proving to be a smart idea. I'll report back soon with more new series highlights as the summer TV season gears up. Providing articles, reviews and writings on movies online.

Where Was Auf Wiedersehen, Pet Filmed?

In the early 1980's when Auf Wiedersehen, Pet hit our screens, it was an instant hit, and at its peak in 1986, was having viewing figures of almost 17 million in the UK. As a fan of the show myself, I always wanted to know where the show was filmed, but in the days before the internet, finding out such information was almost impossible.

In 1995 I tracked down my first Auf Wiedersehen, Pet filming location, after simply telephoning Central Television who made the first two series of the show. The first part of the second series was set in a large country house in Derbyshire, so I always had it in my head, that all I had to do was narrow it down to a few huge country homes in that county.

What turned out to be a short phone call to a very helpful lady at Central Television, ended with me being told it was actually filmed in Nottinghamshire. The place of the filming was Beesthorpe Hall in Caunton, and so began a life of travelling around the Midlands searching for those locations I had seen on screen many times.

Fast forward to 2012, and I am now in the great position of being able to find out where Auf Wiedersehen, Pet was filmed at the click of a button, thanks to the internet.

For fans of the show, you will know that the first series was set in Dusseldorf, Germany, but with only a handful of scenes actually being filmed in the city. Hamburg was used as the location for the large part of the filming in Germany. What many fans of the show might now know, is that most of the building site you see on screen in the first series, was actually built using materials shipped in from Germany, on an outdoor film set in Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire. The BBC EastEnders outdoor set is now located on the very same spot.

Series 2 of Auf Wiedersehen, Pet was mostly filmed in and around Nottinghamshire, with Caunton, Redmile, Beeston and Bingham used for a number of key scenes featuring such stars as Jimmy Nail, Tim Healy and Pat Roach.

I have visited many of the locations that feature in Auf Wiedersehen, Pet myself, and it is still easy to find locations which have not changed at all, even after almost 30 years. The show was brought back to our screens in 2002 and 2004, and locations for these series include Middlesbrough, Arizona and the Dominican Republic. Providing articles, reviews and writings on movies online.

Wes Anderson's Throwback 'Moonrise Kingdom' Brings Innocent Quirkiness to the Forefront

We've all been there. We've all felt detached at some point, with the need to make some sort of genuine connection. Whether it be as a child, feeling left out of the more popular kids' game of tag or as an on-the-go adult with very little personal time, let alone time to find some smidgeon of companionship with a partner. How about being a child, with multiple siblings, feeling total estrangement from your parents - who are both there, but really aren't? These are all themes explored by indie filmmaker Wes Anderson's latest little film; the quirky, cute and sometimes hilarious Moonrise Kingdom.

Despite being the supreme film buff that I am, it pains me to let you (indie film purists) know that I would be leading you astray, via a bold faced lie, if I sat here and claimed I feel Wes Anderson to be the GOD of all things cinematic. That's simply not true, in my very humble opinion of course. As sarcastic and dry as I can be, nor am I a big fan of his style of humor. However, I completely get it - and on occasion - he'll catch me off guard, having written lines (when delivered properly, by the right actor) that will come off in absolute gut-busting fashion. See Gene Hackman and Danny Glover's kitchen exchange in The Royal Tenenbaums for proof. Moonrise Kingdom is no exception to this rule. Anderson's uncomfortably longer-than-usual takes, awkward scene transitions and character interactions leave you feeling like you're seeing too much past what was originally intended. Like watching a neighbor walk through their front door, only to peek through the side window (not that we've ever done anything that sick...what are we, voyeurs?)...moving on.

In Moonrise Kingdom, we follow a 1965 New England Boy Scout Troup, headed by Scout Master Ward (played brilliantly simple by Edward Norton) as he sets out with his group of gangly boys to find young scout Sam (the talented Jared Gilman) who has apparently given up and gone AWOL, having fallen in love with little, eerily dark Suzy (Kara Hayward), with whom he feels a genuine enough connection to flee. Needless to say, on a small (but larger than you might think) island, two missing 11 year olds can be cause for panic, despite Sam's "commendable" scouting abilities. Ward and his khaki scouts, flanked by Suzy's worn down, together-for-the-kids, attorney parents (Bill Murray and Francis McDormand), Bruce Willis' subtly hilarious Captain Sharp and Tilda Swinton as Social Services, who is disturbingly hellbent on retrieving abandoned children, turn the small town upside down looking for the runaways.

At each and every turn, we find someone trying to make a connection with someone else. Either that, or fleeing any situation where a connection hasn't been or can't quite be made, in utter desperation. There is simply no denying Anderson has a phenomenal eye, using unconventional methods of cutting - as opposed to the 180 degree line when shooting two people in conversation - he'll shoot a medium angle of both subjects perpendicular to the action or cut back and forth, straight on, between the subjects and their interaction. It's completely awkward, but really allows the viewer to access the full emotional range given by the actors, who are all wonderful here. Particularly Gilmore and Hayward, who anchor the film in innocence.

Seeing the sense of urgency, created out of the burning desire to be wanted, reminds us of just how fast kids of today are growing up and becoming "old souls" too far ahead of their time. Let's face it, half of the technological breaches of the world, post 2000 have been accomplished by prepubescents who haven't stopped wetting the bed or watching Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. While most parents past 35 still don't know what "LOL" means. Kingdom also happens to come off as a call to parents to be more parental, taking more of an interest in their children and their need for that support structure, lest they run off and attempt to elope at the ripe age of 12...living in a tent on the rocky surface of some small, coastal New England town.

Despite stretches of some slow pacing (par for the course in Anderson's films), with a couple of pretty hilarious cameos from indie faves Harvey Keitel and Jason Schwartzman, as well as a great musical selection, Moonrise Kingdom is innocent fun with a good moral message for everyone. Having the film based in simpler time, where the very same issues being dealt with by people today don't really differ all that much, speaks to Anderson's brilliance as a filmmaker. The juxtaposition offers just enough contrast to make you really pay attention to the things that need tending to in your own life. While not quite as funny as some of his previous offerings, this is another solid character study, masked in a quirky innocence.

3/5 Taped Glasses. Providing articles, reviews and writings on movies online.

Famous Hero Spiderman's Journey to the Big Screen

One of the top grossers in the big screen today is superhero movies and who could forget Marvel's famous hero Spiderman? The boy who got bit by a radioactive spider has charmed the public and was able to sell off its merchandise by storm. Among the many adventures of Spidey and his rise to fame, he was able to come up with three box office movies. And this year, there's yet another follow up that people are surely going to line up for.

Spiderman is a story about a boy named Peter Parker who was bit by a radioactive spider thus giving him his superhuman abilities. Peter Parker was the typical outcast in high school. He was way too smart for his level, he was an introvert and was always bullied in school. Moreover, his foster parents, Aunt May and Uncle Ben weren't financially well-off therefore giving Peter more pressures in life.

When Peter found out he had powers in the likes of a spider, he took advantage of it to earn more money. It made him join fight clubs in disguise by wearing a mask so that he could beat his opponent and win the prize money. However, when his uncle was killed by a robber he has set free earlier, he changed his ways and took his responsibility of fighting crime and enemies that arise in New York.

Spiderman was franchised in the 80s so that it could become a film production. It was moved to various production companies until it finally reached and stayed with the Sony Pictures Entertainment.

Sony thought it would be a smart move to hire a comic book fan to direct the movie so they called Sam Raimi. In the end, he was the director of all the three Spiderman films namely Spiderman, Spiderman 2 and Spiderman 3. The lead role was played by Tobey Maguire and his love interest Mary Jane Watson was Kirsten Dunst. Spiderman's antagonists in the sequel were Green Goblin as Willem Dafoe, Doctor Octopus as Alfred Molina, the New Goblin as James Franco who happen to be Harry, Peter Parker's best friend, the Sandman and Venom.

Raimi's trilogy had a budget of $597 million and was able to gross nearly $2.5 billion dollars worldwide. The first two films were given exceptional reviews however the third one received mixed opinions. Although there were rumors that there would still be a fourth installation, it was discontinued but made way for an upcoming movie, mid-year of 2012.

The Amazing Spiderman is a reboot from Sam Raimi's films and is directed by Marc Webb. The plot takes Peter back to his teenage years and in high school making the production replace Tobey Maquire with Andrew Garfield. Peter's love interest in the movie happens to be Gwen Stacy played by Emma Stone. Providing articles, reviews and writings on movies online.

Movie Review: Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012)

From the concept of a former president's double life as a monster slayer to the outrageously unhinged action sequences, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter will test your suspension of disbelief. Films of this nature are often hard to digest in the first place, but a more careful attention to creating a coherent narrative and a greater focus on explanation over theatrics would have better prepared the mind for the outlandish situations presented. Few rules are set for the abilities of our hero, even fewer for the foes, motives are blurry at best, and gravity (of any kind) rarely makes an appearance. There's a reason you've never seen two people fighting atop a stampede of wild horses - it's just not believable no matter how substantial the special effects.

When ruthless businessman Jack Barts (Marton Csokas) murders his mother (with a conspicuous bite that causes a sickness for which there is no febrifuge), Abraham Lincoln (Benjamin Walker) becomes obsessed with revenge. But on the night he finally musters the courage to kill Barts, he discovers his nemesis is actually an immortal vampire. With the aid of the mysterious vampire hunter Henry Sturgess (Dominic Cooper), Lincoln learns how to destroy the undead and becomes a skilled killer. Hiding his demonic exploits from his love, Mary Todd (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), Lincoln begins a career in law and politics. His successes in both his public and private endeavors brings the unwelcome attention of the deadly vampire leader Adam (Rufus Sewell), causing a war to ignite that will determine the very fate of mankind.

The extent of the ridiculousness in Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter cannot easily be compared or understood. It's not dissimilar to director Bekmambetov's other wildly eccentric projects, although it is drastically less polished. He makes interesting choices with adaptations, but is starting to reveal himself to be limited to the creativeness of the source material and the level of over-stylized special effects he can fuse into the blueprint. As his selections become further and further disconnected from believability, the errors and ludicrousness are much more apparent. It's bad enough that history is being grossly (not cleverly) distorted; with the exaggerated fight sequences, physics-defying stunts (an occasional few of which aren't entirely disappointing), unconvincing CG medley, and superhuman abilities of a character defined as ordinary, this hopelessly silly premise repeatedly approaches insulting.

"Vampires are real, Mr. Lincoln," matter-of-factly states Henry. This line occurs early on, with an abruptness and a bluntness that establishes the general degree of hasty introductions for every character and setting. There's never time to absorb the elements of the supernatural, the twist on the historical legend, or the shocking physical strength and ninja-like agility of Lincoln (which never subsides, especially noticeable when he turns 50). Even the unique aspects of the bloodsuckers, including invisibility, acclimation to sunlight, and the invulnerability of vampires to other vampires, present themselves out of thin air and without explanation. Abraham is taken as a pupil instantly, a training montage materializes swiftly, and genuine danger seems remote. If it isn't peculiar enough hearing factual names, famous battle locations, and civil rights milestones mentioned in context with slaying monsters, or the use of recognizable comedy character actors (Alan Tudyk, Jimmi Simpson), or hilariously violent and intentionally gratuitous death scenes, the 20+ year gap in vengeance (the villains just ignore the hero for decades) and acrobatic duel atop charging stallions might do the trick.

- The Massie Twins (GoneWithTheTwins.com) Providing articles, reviews and writings on movies online.

Wes Anderson's Throwback 'Moonrise Kingdom' Brings Innocent Quirkiness to the Forefront

We've all been there. We've all felt detached at some point, with the need to make some sort of genuine connection. Whether it be as a child, feeling left out of the more popular kids' game of tag or as an on-the-go adult with very little personal time, let alone time to find some smidgeon of companionship with a partner. How about being a child, with multiple siblings, feeling total estrangement from your parents - who are both there, but really aren't? These are all themes explored by indie filmmaker Wes Anderson's latest little film; the quirky, cute and sometimes hilarious Moonrise Kingdom.

Despite being the supreme film buff that I am, it pains me to let you (indie film purists) know that I would be leading you astray, via a bold faced lie, if I sat here and claimed I feel Wes Anderson to be the GOD of all things cinematic. That's simply not true, in my very humble opinion of course. As sarcastic and dry as I can be, nor am I a big fan of his style of humor. However, I completely get it - and on occasion - he'll catch me off guard, having written lines (when delivered properly, by the right actor) that will come off in absolute gut-busting fashion. See Gene Hackman and Danny Glover's kitchen exchange in The Royal Tenenbaums for proof. Moonrise Kingdom is no exception to this rule. Anderson's uncomfortably longer-than-usual takes, awkward scene transitions and character interactions leave you feeling like you're seeing too much past what was originally intended. Like watching a neighbor walk through their front door, only to peek through the side window (not that we've ever done anything that sick...what are we, voyeurs?)...moving on.

In Moonrise Kingdom, we follow a 1965 New England Boy Scout Troup, headed by Scout Master Ward (played brilliantly simple by Edward Norton) as he sets out with his group of gangly boys to find young scout Sam (the talented Jared Gilman) who has apparently given up and gone AWOL, having fallen in love with little, eerily dark Suzy (Kara Hayward), with whom he feels a genuine enough connection to flee. Needless to say, on a small (but larger than you might think) island, two missing 11 year olds can be cause for panic, despite Sam's "commendable" scouting abilities. Ward and his khaki scouts, flanked by Suzy's worn down, together-for-the-kids, attorney parents (Bill Murray and Francis McDormand), Bruce Willis' subtly hilarious Captain Sharp and Tilda Swinton as Social Services, who is disturbingly hellbent on retrieving abandoned children, turn the small town upside down looking for the runaways.

At each and every turn, we find someone trying to make a connection with someone else. Either that, or fleeing any situation where a connection hasn't been or can't quite be made, in utter desperation. There is simply no denying Anderson has a phenomenal eye, using unconventional methods of cutting - as opposed to the 180 degree line when shooting two people in conversation - he'll shoot a medium angle of both subjects perpendicular to the action or cut back and forth, straight on, between the subjects and their interaction. It's completely awkward, but really allows the viewer to access the full emotional range given by the actors, who are all wonderful here. Particularly Gilmore and Hayward, who anchor the film in innocence.

Seeing the sense of urgency, created out of the burning desire to be wanted, reminds us of just how fast kids of today are growing up and becoming "old souls" too far ahead of their time. Let's face it, half of the technological breaches of the world, post 2000 have been accomplished by prepubescents who haven't stopped wetting the bed or watching Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. While most parents past 35 still don't know what "LOL" means. Kingdom also happens to come off as a call to parents to be more parental, taking more of an interest in their children and their need for that support structure, lest they run off and attempt to elope at the ripe age of 12...living in a tent on the rocky surface of some small, coastal New England town.

Despite stretches of some slow pacing (par for the course in Anderson's films), with a couple of pretty hilarious cameos from indie faves Harvey Keitel and Jason Schwartzman, as well as a great musical selection, Moonrise Kingdom is innocent fun with a good moral message for everyone. Having the film based in simpler time, where the very same issues being dealt with by people today don't really differ all that much, speaks to Anderson's brilliance as a filmmaker. The juxtaposition offers just enough contrast to make you really pay attention to the things that need tending to in your own life. While not quite as funny as some of his previous offerings, this is another solid character study, masked in a quirky innocence.

3/5 Taped Glasses. Providing articles, reviews and writings on movies online.

Where Was Auf Wiedersehen, Pet Filmed?

In the early 1980's when Auf Wiedersehen, Pet hit our screens, it was an instant hit, and at its peak in 1986, was having viewing figures of almost 17 million in the UK. As a fan of the show myself, I always wanted to know where the show was filmed, but in the days before the internet, finding out such information was almost impossible.

In 1995 I tracked down my first Auf Wiedersehen, Pet filming location, after simply telephoning Central Television who made the first two series of the show. The first part of the second series was set in a large country house in Derbyshire, so I always had it in my head, that all I had to do was narrow it down to a few huge country homes in that county.

What turned out to be a short phone call to a very helpful lady at Central Television, ended with me being told it was actually filmed in Nottinghamshire. The place of the filming was Beesthorpe Hall in Caunton, and so began a life of travelling around the Midlands searching for those locations I had seen on screen many times.

Fast forward to 2012, and I am now in the great position of being able to find out where Auf Wiedersehen, Pet was filmed at the click of a button, thanks to the internet.

For fans of the show, you will know that the first series was set in Dusseldorf, Germany, but with only a handful of scenes actually being filmed in the city. Hamburg was used as the location for the large part of the filming in Germany. What many fans of the show might now know, is that most of the building site you see on screen in the first series, was actually built using materials shipped in from Germany, on an outdoor film set in Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire. The BBC EastEnders outdoor set is now located on the very same spot.

Series 2 of Auf Wiedersehen, Pet was mostly filmed in and around Nottinghamshire, with Caunton, Redmile, Beeston and Bingham used for a number of key scenes featuring such stars as Jimmy Nail, Tim Healy and Pat Roach.

I have visited many of the locations that feature in Auf Wiedersehen, Pet myself, and it is still easy to find locations which have not changed at all, even after almost 30 years. The show was brought back to our screens in 2002 and 2004, and locations for these series include Middlesbrough, Arizona and the Dominican Republic. Providing articles, reviews and writings on movies online.

Pre-Movie Entertainment

An outdoor movie night is the perfect way to entertain families. If you have carefully chosen the movie for the event based on who will be attending, your event will almost surely be a success. What about before the movie begins, though? Guests will arrive at different times, and many will come early in order to secure a good spot. This is where pre-movie entertainment comes in.

Plan to begin pre-movie entertainment about an hour before the movie is scheduled to begin. Activities before the movie starts will keep the crowd engaged, especially young children, who are likely to grow restless while waiting. Adding entertainment to the event also enhances the experience; instead of simply coming out and seeing a movie, movie night turns into a full evening of family fun. Families heading to events like this are looking for an affordable way to have fun as a family, and keep everyone entertained; offering entertainment in addition to the movie is a great way to meet these expectations for families.

What type of entertainment should you plan for your outdoor movie night? This depends, in part, on the movie you are showing, and the demographics of the expected crowd. Bounce houses, face painting and carnival games are excellent choices for family friendly events, where children will be present. Be sure to plan ahead to ensure the success of these activities. During the summer months, especially, you will need to reserve a bounce house ahead of time to ensure availability. If you are planning to rent any special concession equipment such s a popcorn machine, be sure to reserve those items ahead of time as well.

Concessions are appropriate for any event, and many guests will want to purchase snacks before the movie begins. Popcorn is a classic movie snack, others to consider include candy, and popsicles for summer movie nights.

Consider planning themed entertainment for an especially memorable experience. If you are showing an Ice Age movie, for example, consider bringing in a snow machine.

Pre-movie entertainment is also a great way to raise some money to help cover the production costs for the movie night. You can charge reasonable prices for snacks and small fees for carnival games to keep it affordable while raising money.

Hosting a successful outdoor movie event takes careful thought and some time spent planning ahead. From choosing a movie, promoting the event, securing the equipment and preparing the venue, there is a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes to make these seemingly simple events successful. Putting in a little bit of extra effort to plan some pre-movie entertainment is worth the additional time and planning. Entertainment will set your movie night apart from other outdoor movie events and give attending families a special night to remember. Providing articles, reviews and writings on movies online.

The Evolution Will Be Televised: 60 Years Later And We're Still Watching TV

It's impossible to explain to our children just how much the world has truly changed since you or I were kids. They experience movies and radio with only the most peripheral of differences than we did - most of which involve cosmetic improvements and frequency of access. Television, however, has made phenomenal leaps and bounds. It's as if we were driving horse and buggies while they've been handed flying cars.

During its prime, the television - feared by many as the device that would put an end to the need for radio - was a financial investment tantamount to buying a house, a vehicle, or kitchen appliance. It wasn't just an LCD or plasma screen propped up on a bookshelf like a photograph in a frame. It was a massive piece of furniture. Called a television 'set', it contained elements borrowed from radio systems for audio, a small electric motor, a spinning disc, a group of glass tubes to convert power, a gelatin-based vacuum tube to project an image, and a wooden cabinet to house it in. Over time record players and actual radios were added to the cabinet which constituted the first self-contained entertainment 'unit'.

It was Lo-Fi mono audio, the pictures were in black and white, and you required an antenna to 'catch' broadcast signals from the local network carriers - up to 12 of them (the #1 on the television's manual 'dial' was for emergency broadcasts only). There was no remote control. That dial had to be cranked by hand and a list of TV shows was printed in a book you bought at the supermarket every week called a 'TV Guide'. The networks would start broadcasting at 6 AM and 'sign-off' at midnight following the evening news. They'd go dark after the performance of a canned version of the national anthem before being replaced by a test pattern - featuring the feathered head of a politically incorrect drawing of a Native North American. Though television now can still be a major financial consideration, it's because the TV is the size of a sheet of GypRoc and is mounted on your wall like artwork. It's a precision device projecting thousands of pixels per square inch in 4,000,000 colours with up to 7.1 surround sound audio and high definition visuals streamed into your house through a cable no thicker than a piece of licorice. No more antennas. No more manual dialing through 500 channels instead of 12. Television networks rarely ever go off the air - it cost them too much money to be dark from midnight to 6AM. Television is now 24 hours/365 days of the year. And, yet, there's less on TV now than when I was growing up. Certainly less quality entertainment at any rate.

Because there was less airtime - most certainly for children who attended school - we were limited to an hour or so before heading out in the morning and after school was broken up between home-work, playing outside until dinner, and playing outside until dark. We really only watched TV for less than three hours on a weekday. When you include the time spent doing same on weekends between the times Mom and Dad had other plans for us cleaning our rooms, playing board games, shopping, visiting family, we may have only caught TV a few more hours Saturday or Sunday. And according to the good folks at 'Morals R Us' these hours were eating our brains.

They may have been right. When I add up the hours of television available to me they seem disproportionate to the unending number of things I remember watching. School days started with a kids' variety program called 'Rocket Ship 7' hosted by Dave Thomas out of WKBW-TV in Buffalo (interesting trivia note: he is the father of 'Angel'/'Bones' TV actor David Boreanaz). Like similar shows being broadcast in that era on stations all across North America, the show featured skits, birthday greetings, puppets, a talking robot, and the latest, cheaply licensed kids fair. We watched the Christian-based 'Davy & Goliath' and 'Gumby' stop motion animation shows, Looney Tunes, Merry Melodies, 'Popeye', 'The World of Oz' and occasionally 'The Three Stooges' and 'Little Rascals' shorts.

When we came home for lunch it was a revolving world on either CHCH (out of Hamilton) or CTV (out of Toronto). I recall catching 'The Flintstones', 'Rocket Robin Hood' and any number of Canadian made game shows starring host Jim Perry - most notably 'Eye Bet' and 'Definition' - as well as a Canadian children's variety show called 'The Uncle Bobby Show' featuring a cardigan wearing old Brit. After school there was a juggling act of homework, outdoor activities or watching another children's variety show called 'Commander Tom' which was the afternoon version of 'Rocket Ship 7' featuring most of the same shows though they also included longer programming with 'The Addams Family', 'The Munsters' and 'Batman'.

Saturdays were a barnstorm of Hanna-Barbara cartoons and live-action children's shows like 'Scooby-Doo', 'Hilarious House of Frightenstein', 'H.R. Puffenstuff', 'Liddyville', 'Get Smart', 'The Hudson Brothers' Razzle Dazzle Show', 'The Powder Puff Derby', 'The Monkees', 'Gidget', 'The Brady Bunch', 'Gilligan's Island', 'The Wacky Races', and more Looney Tunes and Merry Melodies than we could ingest.

Evenings brought us sitcoms and dramas: 'Party Game', 'Mary Tyler Moore', 'The Carol Burnett Show', 'The Trouble With Tracy', 'Starsky & Hutch', 'Love Boat', 'Sanford & Sons', 'All In The Family', 'Love American Style', 'The Dick Van Dyke Show', 'Bewitched', 'The Dean Martin Roast', 'Streets of San Francisco', and, of course the national standard - 'Hockey Night In Canada' on Saturday nights. Sunday was a bit of a drag with mornings filled with religious programming but we usually caught the weekly 'Movie For A Sunday Afternoon', 'The Wonderful World of Disney', and 'Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom'.

Today, TV's need to fill 24 hours worth of programming - paid or created - means an assembly line of reality based shows, repeats of expensive dramas and syndicated shows from our near past (rather than our distant past... something we have to pay extra for on another set of cable channels). I love having more choices now, but I hunger for the shows that defined my childhood - even if some of them were cheesy as hell and barely hold up to repeat viewings.

But I don't yearn for them - only the way they made me feel. I still watch television as a respite from writing and dealing with the maddening battle to make a living as a hungry parasite on the back of the entertainment juggernaut. There are still good shows out there depending on your tastes. My current favourites are a mixed bag of sci-fi, sitcoms and reality shows:

1) Mike & Molly
Premise: Two middle class working stiffs - a school teacher played by Melissa McCarthy ('Bridesmaids') and a Chicago patrol cop played by stand-up comedian Billy Gardell - find each other at an over-eaters anonymous meeting where they soon realize they're too set in their ways to ever stop eating and decide to make the best of it together.

McCarthy and Gardell have great chemistry together as his oafish character completely misunderstands every situation which leads to some socially awkward encounters. It's 'King of Queens' without the angst. There's also a little bit of Honeymooners magic in this one as Gardell and his cop sidekick Carl, played by Reno Wilson, spend their time plotting one ridiculous idea after the other in an effort to get Wilson's character a date - without him screwing it up because he's a self-centred, loudmouthed Mama's boy that lives with his grandmother. This past season Mike & Molly were planning a wedding while Carl falls in love with an opthomologist played by Holly Robinson Peete (ex-21 Jump Street). The supporting cast of regulars is outstanding - especially Molly's over-sexed, widowed, party-packing mother played by Swoosie Kurtz, the local Rastafarian restaurant owner that Mike & Carl take advantage of every episode played by Nyambi Nyambi, and Mike's bigoted, self-loathing divorced mother played by the brilliant Rondi Reed (the therapist on 'Roseanne'). Light-hearted and giggle funny all around.

2) Two And A Half-Men 2.0
Premise: Ashton Kutcher's billionaire software developing Playboy philanthropist takes over Charlie Sheen's former haunt as the headmaster of a beach-front hedonism house still occupied by the free-loading Alan Harper played by the ubiquitous Jon Cryer and his idiot savant son Jake played by Angus T. Jones.

This reboot of the series - about to roll into its 10th season - should have died on the operating table when Chuck Lorre excised the tumour that was Charlie Sheen and had his character killed in the show. But something magical has happened. This is a quieter and gentler "Two And A Half Men". Where Cryer and Sheen had worked in tandem to pump up each week's level of debauchery, humiliation and gross outs, Kutcher plays it straight as a level headed businessman trying to navigate his way around a new relationship with a divorcee while his ex-wife attempts to both destroy his billion dollar company and his manhood. Cryer's character, meanwhile, spends every waking hour trying to stay relevant enough that Kutcher doesn't boot him out of the house and onto the street. There's enough of the old show still in check as Cryer continues to winnow on about being regular, masturbating, and dealing with his mother - still played with Cruella DeVille aplomb by Holland Taylor - who has just entered into a new senior citizen phase of her life as the lesbian lover of Georgia Engel (of 'Mary Tyler Moore' fame). No more prostitutes and parties for this show. Just First World problems for the crew from here on in.

3) Continuum
Premise: North America has become incorporated as big business takes over the running of government. In 2076 a civilian terrorist organization begins assassinating key players in this new world order. After being caught and sentenced to an execution, they manage a remarkable escape - 60 years into the past. Their plan is to begin dismantling the future by preventing it in the past. Alas, a fly in their ointment is a bulldog by-the-book cop played by Rachel Nichols ('Star Trek' the reboot; 'Amityville Horror' the reboot) who gets dragged into the time machine against her will and must now track down the terrorists and bring them to justice.

This is 'The Sarah Connor Chronicles' gone sideways. Nichols' character, Keira, is a fish deeply out of water and her only allies in this Brave Old World are another detective - played by the brooding hunk Victor Webster - and a 17 year old kid (played by teen sensation Erik Knudson) who built the network infrastructure and technology that would one day run the world from which Keira has just been torn from. She has lost her family and still has to find the strength to bring these criminals to their knees. But things are not as black and white as they seem. We're two episodes in and tension is mounting as the lines are becoming blurry as to whether Keira's fighting on the right side or the wrong side of the terrorist cause. Only time will tell. Bonus points for the show being set and identified as Vancouver in the show; a time traveling cop show that's not set in New York, Chicago or Los Angeles. Yay! The city's locale also takes great advantage of casting availability as many former 'Stargate' alumni co-star including Lexa Doig and Tony Amandola (appearing at the Polaris convention in Toronto this summer) plus former X-Files 'Cancer Man' William B. Davis as the 'future' version of Erik Knudson's Alec Sadler.

4) Last Man Standing
Premise: "Home Improvement" gets a 21st Century facelift as Tim Allen moves from Wisconsin to Colorado, runs a sporting goods store instead of a TV show, and has to raise three daughters instead of three sons.

Not much new territory for Allen as he continues his reign as the king of backyard, hot-rod loving cavemen. However, the ensemble cast makes the difference here with Nancy Travis ("So I Married An Axe Murderer") playing Allen's better half and the three daughters giving him obvious amounts of comedic grief. He tones down the stupid-husband premise (though he does crush a boat with a Sherman Tank in one episode) and becomes straight-man for the funny subplots with his family and co-workers. The show did an unprecedented 24 episodes in its first season and has been renewed for a second season. He's doing something right here, kids.

5) Two Broke Girls
Premise: A low-income waitress named Max (played by Kat Dennings) living in Brooklyn, New York befriends a fallen heiress named Caroline (played by Beth Behrs) whose father has lost the family fortune after his failed Bernie Madoff-like Ponzi scheme lands him in jail - and her with nothing but the clothes on her back and her favourite horse to show for it. The two become roommates and co-workers at a local restaurant but they dream of rising above their own poverty by starting a cupcake making business (you can't make this stuff up!)

Believe it or not this is a clever and witty 'buddy' show from the mind of failed comedienne Whitney Cummings (don't believe me? Just watch her own self-titled sitcom). The show is driven by the two lead actresses who act as a female version of The Odd Couple. Dennings' Max plays up the self-loathing, down-on-her luck underclass 'broad' while Behr's Caroline plays less Paris Hilton and more Reese Witherspoon's character in Legally Blonde. Max firmly believes her station in life will always be a lowly waitress while Caroline, who has tasted success, believes her business smarts and Max's cupcake making prowess will lead them out of the shadows of squalor. They attempt to co-exist in their obviously different approaches to life and hijinx ensue. The supporting cast is truly negligible as these young ladies steal every scene - except when the horse is on screen. Best line of the show so far from Max: "Hey, Equestrian Barbie... your horse has done the impossible. It smells worse than Brooklyn".

6) Saving Hope
Premise: An upwardly mobile surgeon - played by Michael Shanks (Stargate; and husband of Lexa Doig seen in 'Continuum') - and his soon-to-be surgeon wife played by Erica Durance (Smallville) find themselves caught in a life or death struggle as Shanks' Charlie Harris suffers a brain trauma in a car accident. As he sinks into a coma he finds himself having an out of body experience observing the hospital patrons as a third party. Shanks narrates the show as he watches the daily drama in the hospital and must also watch Durance's Alex Reid respond and cope with the possibility of losing her life partner while still having to keep her shit together so she can do her job. The staff, including an ex-boyfriend, rally around her. This might turn out to be the most awkward love triangle since "Ghost". It'll be interesting to see how this show can maintain premise's momentum before having to either kill Dr. Harris or revive him so that he can do the ghost whisperer thing from there on.

Returning shows:

7) Big Bang Theory - a group of nerdy friends, and a hot non-geek next door neighbour try to navigate the world of social interaction. Still one of the most intelligent sitcoms on TV. Bravo to Chuck Lorre for stunt casting his old 'Roseanne' acting buddies AND shoe-horning geek celebrities into the weekly plots. With Wil Wheaton (Star Trek: Next Generation) as a semi-regular there are plot possibilities galore [how about having him take Penny on a date... leaving Leonard in a jealous funk? Thereby putting Sheldon's new found friendship with Wheaton at jeopardy]. Adding the ladies to the plot has also been a welcome relief as there are only so many 'Babylon 5' jokes one can take (or even understand). But, Chuck... you gotta address the broken elevator in the apartment building. Why not make the celebrity guests pose as an elevator repairman every now and then? It worked for 'Frasier's weekly talk show callers...

8) Pawn Stars - Rick Harrison, Corey, the Old Man and Chumlee The Idiot run a Vegas pawn shop. You could not script a better 'reality show' than this redneck three ring circus set on the Vegas strip; People selling useless shit for cash and a dysfunctional family trying to deal with their own fame. It's television gold and makes the Antiques Roadshow... well... British and boring. Don't miss the spin-off show 'American Restoration' featuring one of the Pawn Star regulars. It's less of a soap opera, but the pop culture antiques that are rebuilt and brought back to life is the payoff at the end of every show.

9) Auction Hunters - forget Storage Wars, Storage Hunters, Pawnathon, American Pickers or Canadian Pickers. Those are all small potatoes. It's any wonder the people on them are even in business given how excited they get over finding things that only yield $100 or $200 margins after sale. The Auction Hunters duo has no time for penny ante crap. They're going to storage auctions and buying big ticket items: boats, tanks, cars, weapons, you name it. The best was the shark cage they found - which, upon demonstrating it to a potential buyer - plunged to the bottom of the ocean when it hit the water. A $15,000 deal turned into $500 worth of scrap metal. Their hauls usually net them tens of thousands in profits and sometimes they LOSE thousands. That's some reality show 'drama' I can get behind.

10) Hollywood Treasures - here's the ultimate in geek porn. Collectibles movie fan and self-made millionaire Joe Maddelena takes us on a pop culture safari every week in search of people who want to sell off their movie and television memorabillia usually in the form of props, costumes, vehicles and in the most recent episode: the entire District 12 village used in 'Hunger Games'. Joe and his team track down the most iconic of these objects, authenticate them then either buy them directly off the owners at bargain basement prices in cash or convince the owners to place them in auctions from which Maddelena's company get a percentage of the profit.

Episodes have featured the original Panavision camera George Lucas used to film the original Star Wars ($550,000), the cane that Jim Carrey used in 'Batman & Robin' ($12,500) and the Judy Garland ruby slippers used in The Wizard of Oz for close-ups ($2,000,000). Maddelena also hustled the on-screen stunt version of Bumble Bee, the Camero from 'Transformers' from a junkyard for $20,000 and turned it over to a collector for $40,000 cash. Check this out when it's on - not just eye candy, but some pretty cool behind-the-scenes trivia about the objects and their origins as well.

Though I miss the simplicity of TV from yesteryear, I do not miss the reruns - even if shows did have longer seasonal runs (usually 21 to 24 shows on average). To that end, modern TV viewing allows us the chance to PVR and watch at our leisure and many cable networks are finally learning that firing up new brands during the summer is proving to be a smart idea. I'll report back soon with more new series highlights as the summer TV season gears up. Providing articles, reviews and writings on movies online.

Famous Hero Spiderman's Journey to the Big Screen

One of the top grossers in the big screen today is superhero movies and who could forget Marvel's famous hero Spiderman? The boy who got bit by a radioactive spider has charmed the public and was able to sell off its merchandise by storm. Among the many adventures of Spidey and his rise to fame, he was able to come up with three box office movies. And this year, there's yet another follow up that people are surely going to line up for.

Spiderman is a story about a boy named Peter Parker who was bit by a radioactive spider thus giving him his superhuman abilities. Peter Parker was the typical outcast in high school. He was way too smart for his level, he was an introvert and was always bullied in school. Moreover, his foster parents, Aunt May and Uncle Ben weren't financially well-off therefore giving Peter more pressures in life.

When Peter found out he had powers in the likes of a spider, he took advantage of it to earn more money. It made him join fight clubs in disguise by wearing a mask so that he could beat his opponent and win the prize money. However, when his uncle was killed by a robber he has set free earlier, he changed his ways and took his responsibility of fighting crime and enemies that arise in New York.

Spiderman was franchised in the 80s so that it could become a film production. It was moved to various production companies until it finally reached and stayed with the Sony Pictures Entertainment.

Sony thought it would be a smart move to hire a comic book fan to direct the movie so they called Sam Raimi. In the end, he was the director of all the three Spiderman films namely Spiderman, Spiderman 2 and Spiderman 3. The lead role was played by Tobey Maguire and his love interest Mary Jane Watson was Kirsten Dunst. Spiderman's antagonists in the sequel were Green Goblin as Willem Dafoe, Doctor Octopus as Alfred Molina, the New Goblin as James Franco who happen to be Harry, Peter Parker's best friend, the Sandman and Venom.

Raimi's trilogy had a budget of $597 million and was able to gross nearly $2.5 billion dollars worldwide. The first two films were given exceptional reviews however the third one received mixed opinions. Although there were rumors that there would still be a fourth installation, it was discontinued but made way for an upcoming movie, mid-year of 2012.

The Amazing Spiderman is a reboot from Sam Raimi's films and is directed by Marc Webb. The plot takes Peter back to his teenage years and in high school making the production replace Tobey Maquire with Andrew Garfield. Peter's love interest in the movie happens to be Gwen Stacy played by Emma Stone. Providing articles, reviews and writings on movies online.