Tag Archives: Video

Review: DC Super-Heroes: The Filmation Adventures

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In 1967, the Filmation-produced Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure featured short animated segments with additional DC characters. The Superman and Aquaman segments have previously been released on DVD, and the rest are now available as the two-disc set, DC Super-Heroes: The Filmation Adventures.

These discs feature three seven-minute episodes each focusing on:

  • The Atom
  • The Flash
  • Green Lantern
  • Hawkman
  • The Justice League of America (made up of the above heroes, plus Superman)
  • Teen Titans (Kid Flash, Wonder Girl, Speedy, and Aqualad)

I’ve never seen these before (I grew up on Super Friends), and it’s hard to not compare them to the Bruce Timm-designed Justice League cartoons, which benefit from 30-odd years of advances in animation techniques (and technology) and storytelling — not to mention a decent budget. The stories are simplistic, the villains’ motivations even more so; lots of footage is re-used, and the heroes are flat. But the action tends to be wild and crazy, in keeping with the comics of the time.

In fact, a lot of the aspects that stand out when viewing these today are true to the source material. This was deep into the Silver Age at DC, and wild and crazy sci-fi adventure hadn’t yet given way to the more street-level storytelling of the Bronze Age. Continue reading →

The Ballad of Barry Allen

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Now seems like a good time to post about “The Ballad of Barry Allen.” The song tells about Barry’s life as the Flash, and how lonely it can be at super-speed. The band, Jim’s Big Ego, is headed by the nephew of legendary Flash artist Carmine Infantino, who did the cover artwork on the album.

And yes, the song’s actually good!

It’s available as a digital download on iTunes, on Amazon’s MP3 store, on Slabster and on CD. I originally bought it through iTunes, but it’s worth looking at Amazon or Slabster since the tracks are just plain MP3s. No DRM, no account activation, no need to authorize computers or stick with one company’s player—hardware or software.

There’s also a great fan music video, “Seems so slow,” that uses clips from the Justice League and Teen Titans cartoons:

See also: Flash Music.

Dr. Horrible

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Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along BlogTonight I watched the first two episodes of Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, the web feature by Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Serenity). It’s a comedy about Doctor Horrible, mad scientist super-villain (Neil Patrick Harris); Captain Hammer, the super-hero who keeps beating him up (Nathan Fillion, Serenity); and the girl from the laundromat whom he’s too shy to speak with (Felicia Day).

It’s funny. It’s quirky. It’s short (3 episodes at ~13 minutes each). It’s structured as a video blog intercut with narrative scenes. And yes, there are songs. (They remind me of a cross between the Buffy musical, “Once More With Feeling,” and of all things, Moulin Rouge.) Though I still get “Someone Keeps Moving My Chair” running through my head with slightly altered lyrics. “Dr. Horrible. Dr. Horrible. Telephone call for Dr. Horrible…”

Episodes 1 and 2 are up for free right now. Episode 3 goes up on Saturday. Then the whole thing goes offline on Sunday. There’s a panel next Friday at Comic-Con, and they plan to offer it as a regular paid download and eventually a DVD.

And believe it or not, there is a very tangential connection to The Flash. First, Neil Patrick Harris did the voice for Barry Allen in Justice League: New Frontier (see my review). And second: Look at the insignia on Captain Hammer’s chest. Now look at the costume for Bizarro Flash (left). Okay, it’s a gavel, but it’s close, right? 😀

Update: I realized that the show reminds me of something else Flash-related: the first appearance of Dr. Morlo in Impulse, in which they track down the mad scientist by looking at his website.

Lightning Strikes Through Window — on Video

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lightning strike on camera, originally uploaded by SLOWLORIS.

In case you haven’t seen this already…Washington artist Jessica Lynch was filming a rainstorm from her second-floor window last week, when she was struck by lightning. Incredibly, not only was she uninjured, but the camera got the whole thing on video.

Lynch sells T-shirts online at Slow Shirts, and has started offering lightning-bolt temporary tattoos with orders. Wired has an interview.

There is no indication that she gained super-speed from the experience.

More Digital Flash: Xbox and Unbox

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ComicMix reports that the 1990 Flash TV series starring John Wesley Shipp has been added to the DC Comics Network on Xbox Live Marketplace. This means you can watch episodes on your Xbox 360.

It was a fun show, one that had its cheesy moments and its dramatic moments, elements that worked and elements that didn’t. I never could understand why Amanda Pays disappeared into occasional-guest-spot limbo after the show ended.

When it finally came out on DVD in 2006, I rewatched it for the first time in years. I was happy to find that most of the things that bothered me about the pilot episode this time through were the same things that had bothered me when I was a teenager watching it for the first time.

I did a little digging around, and found that while the show doesn’t seem to be on iTunes, (it seemed like a good bet, with all the DC animation added recently) it is available as a download from Amazon Unbox. I also managed to find two seasons of Justice League, one season of Super Friends, and Justice League: The New Frontier on Unbox (but, oddly, no sign of Justice League Unlimited).

(Thanks to Esteban Pedreros for reminding me I need to post this!)