RandomChatter

This week on RandomChatter: Erik and Andrew look back at the movies and television covered at Comic Con, and Brian drops in for a few minutes.

Did you miss FOX's latest premature cancellation, Virtuality? Ron Moore (Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek) created a great new series, and true to form, FOX shot it down before it ever had a chance to get off the ground. You can still check it out on Hulu, and Erik & Andrew discuss why you should. They then talk about Ron Moore's other upcoming series, the Battlestar Galactica prequel Caprica. They wrap up with a quick update on Andrew's trip to China and the radical differences in the box office over there.

This week we start out with some nice, peaceful good news, such as which television series are getting renewed. Dollhouse will be back! Woohoo! (Note: Terminator: TSCC has been canceled, but we recorded this weeks ago, before it was announced.) Then we get into some... well, not-so-peaceful discussion. See, they're releasing more and more films in IMAX, and there seem to be more IMAX theaters popping up everywhere, especially in the AMC and Regal theater chains. However, the screens aren't any bigger than normal screens. Erik takes one side of the debate. Ned takes the other. The gloves come off, and Andrew has to drop by to settle the argument. Check it out!

When you think of shows that were canceled before their prime, some obvious mentions come up, such as Firefly and Arrested Development. But what other unforgivable sins have the networks committed? Show Notes: Shows that were canceled too soon: • Farscape • The Invisible Man • NYPD Blue (minor mention) • Touching Evil • Freaks & Geeks • Undeclared • Crusade • Babylon 5 • The 4400 • Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip • Brisco County Junior Shows that should have been canceled sooner: • X-Files • The A-Team • Knight Rider • Full House • The Cosby Show • Heroes • Twin Peaks Shows that might be getting canceled: • Life (confirmed: canceled) • Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles • Dollhouse (confirmed since recording: renewed) • Tangent: Looking at other shows' beginnings and endings ◦ Scrubs (confirmed since recording: renewed) ◦ The Office ◦ Firefly ◦ Jeremiah Ned's Rant: American Idol judges fawning over a cookie-cutter performer

Brian gets his buttons pushed, and then later in the episode he pushes back at Erik. Ned, in the meantime, just sits in the background instigating both sides. Ned: 1. Brian: 0. Erik: 0. After discussing some television, including the now-infamous "missing" Dollhouse episode, the three of us talk about some of the recent movie rewrites resulting from scripts being leaked online. Are the writers/studios handling the issue appropriately, or are they being arrogant buttheads? And finally, in Ned's rant this week, we discuss 10-year-olds' support of homosexuals coming out. We look forward to your comments upon this episode. :)

Today's episode is brought to you by the word "Turgid." We're running without show prep this week, so Ned and Erik ramble on about unemployment, the infamous "Fox Wolverine Review Firing," piracy, and other topics.

SEX! That's right, this week's RandomChatter episode is all about sex. Sex in film, rather. There seems to be no more controversial topic in film than sex. Why is it the MPAA is stricter on sex than on violence? Why is it female nudity is okay but male nudity isn't? Why is there such a double-standard for homosexuality in film? [This week's show is technically "safe for work," as there's nothing particularly explicit, but we do discuss a lot of mature themes (and we discuss them maturely), so if you're at work, school, or in public, you may want to use headphones this week.]

While many of us loved Watchmen, it didn't do all that great at the box office. Sure, it was R-rated, non-mainstream, and very long. Still, a 67% drop-off in its second week isn't exactly anything to brag about. Warner Bros. has already stated they won't do any more R-rated superhero films, nor any R-rated tentpole blockbusters. Will other studios follow suit? Did Watchmen do more harm than good? One of the biggest sci-fi television shows in recent years has finally come to a close. While it had its ups and downs, Battlestar Galactica was a powerful show on many levels. Did its finale do the show justice? Nathan (LostChatter) and Morgan (MovieChatter) join Erik and Andrew this week to discuss the finale. And, surprisingly, Ned sticks around to decide whether to continue catching up with the show, basing his final decision on our finale discussion. And don't worry, we provide plenty of warnings before we start spoiling anything.

Less a full-blown review and more a general discussion, Nathan and Joe from LostChatter join Erik and Ned to take a look at Watchmen.

The studios have been feeding us excuses for a long time now about how we can't get new ideas in Hollywood because they need the "sure thing" of known licenses/franchises, remakes, and sequels. However, we've had record-breaking months at the box-office recently. January was the eighth best month in modern film history. And that's January — a month normally seen as a dud. February is also doing well. March is going to do very well. So can we please have some fresh ideas now? Can studios please start taking some risks? And for crying out loud, can we finally start having major releases sometime other than the summer or holiday weekends? A few quick notes... • No, I've never been stood up for a date and sat at home on my computer instead. Just thought I'd clear that up. Let the joking commence. • Yes, I knew what was going on with the Jawa on Facebook. I was just trying to be difficult. • The thing about Judd Apatow producing Ghostbusters 3 has been debunked since the time of this recording (read more here). • We had to use Andrew's Skype feed, so the audio quality's a little less than usual. Sorry.

Just a quick mini-episode this time, as Ned and Tony rant about Baby Boomers and the responsibility they bear for Ned's lack of cybernetic implants.

Guess what -- you like commercials! No really, you do. Trust us. Rather, trust a recent study that shows people enjoy their television viewing experience more when commercials are included. Of course, wait until you hear how the study was conducted... We also talk about Dollhouse, whether or not Joaquin Phoenix is pulling our leg, and... well, I'll leave Ned's weekly rant as a surprise this time.

Got another long one for you this time, but we're not splitting it up. No, once Ned and Morgan get on a roll, there's nothing we can do to stop it, no matter how hard Andrew or I may try. The Oscar nominations were especially bad this time around. Way too many people got snubbed, and I'm still not entirely sure several of the nominees deserved their noms. Still, it is what it is. Fortunately, we've got lots of great movies to look forward to in 2009! Or do we? Find out in our 2009 Movie Preview episode!

That's right, research shows that romantic comedies can be hazardous to your love life! And Fox can be hazardous to Watchmen fans, even though it looks like Fox may be right and WB may be wrong. Join Erik, Ren, and our newest host, Ned, in our first RandomChatter of 2009!

We've pretty much gotten to the point where none of the hosts' schedules are compatible with each other's due to various holiday commitments, so we're signing off until the end of the year. But I've recorded a very short holiday message I'd like everyone to listen to. I'm putting it in all four feeds to make sure everyone gets it, but it's the same file, so you only need to listen to it once. Please check out our brief holiday episode. Thanks for listening, and stay tuned for great things ahead in 2009. HAPPY HOLIDAYS!