David Tennant, Who, no more

In over 45 years there has been one thing that is more consistent than Democrats raising taxes, Americans and Brits wondering why the other has such a funny accent, and William Shatner starring in something. The Doctor.

Now I know sci-fi fans (not the channel – ick) are right on point. The mere mention of The Doctor and they are thinking of a TARDIS and Daleks galore. But for those of you unfamiliar with Gallifrey, The Master, and Time Lords I’ll recap a bit.

The Doctor refers to Doctor Who. The show was started back in 1963 on the BBC. It has been on and off television there ever since. The show is now watched by millions across the globe in its current format, on the cable network channel BBC America, and occasionally rerun on the SciFi channel (amazing that they actually show a sci-fi show between the search for ghosts, and wrestling I know).

Doctor Who has a huge lore behind it, like the abovementioned Daleks (alien bad guys in metal shells that kill anything non-Dalek with particular glee/efficiency), The Master (mortal enemy of The Doctor), TARDIS (an acronym but basically the name of an old british phone booth that can travel time, and is enormously larger inside than out). But the show is viewer friendly and has added millions of fans over the years.

So far 10 people have played The Doctor (he has no known first or last name). This is not because it’s like a soap opera and different people just step in and shocking you one day. The Doctor can and does regenerate if he is killed, and thus becomes a new person with new personality and quirks. Thus there have been several beloved Doctors, and 1 or 2 that didn’t last so long. David Tennant has been the Doctor for 3 years and counting now. Sadly that countdown will be ending soon.

It has now been reported that Tennant will be leaving Dr. Who at the end of the 2009 series. This of course means that the Doctor will be regenerating into a new persona, but I must admit that I will miss his characterization. He’s done a great job bringing a wit and devil may care attitude to the Doctor that was firm and refreshing.

I don’t know how they will kill the Doctor this time, but I have to say that the end of the most recent season was a huge close to a story arc that was years, literally, in the making. The implications were devastating and impacting 3 separate television series – each a spinoff of Dr. Who. Plus it gives an insight to the mind and emotions of one of the most persistent scifi characters ever created.

The series won’t ever be the same. But then again, it rarely ever was. And that just one reason we love the Doctor.

(Does anyone think that Obama could be under the influence of The Master? Ok, low blow I know.)

From the dark depths to the silver screen - Villains

Ok, let’s be honest. If you had the choice of being Lex Luthor or Superman who would you choose? And when I say be them I mean you don’t get the just the power or just the money. You get the greed, obsession with power, murdering, and the insanity/genius or the must follow the law, universal boy scout, do good by all means life of either man. Think hard.

If you are like me, many will choose Lex Luthor. Or the Joker (not Heath Ledger or the movies but the comic book version), Magneto (ditto comics), the Juggernaught, Green Goblin, Obedia Stane, Darth Vader, Darth Maul, Hannibal Lecter, Dracula, the Kurgan, Stansfeild, John Ryder, Agent Smith, the T-1000, Pinhead, H.A.L., Alex (A Clockwork Orange), the Kingpin, Dr. Doom, Scorpius, the Daleks, Khan Noonien Singh and the list goes on and on. I doubt that anyone from the ages of 11 up to 65 doesn’t remember at least a few of the people on this list. [If you aren’t familiar with all of them just search the web and you’ll find plenty on them all.]

The point is that we all love the real bad guys. The ones with a brain and enough insanity to fill a psych ward. The guys that want power above anything and everything else. Because they all live. They have nothing holding them back, and nothing stands in their way. They are life spinning in chaos on the edge of a blackhole.

Without a real villain, the good guys are just boring losers that you wouldn’t notice if they were you looking in a mirror. (Not that anyone that reads my posts are losers, it’s just a metaphor)

Considering all this, and the fact that movies based on comic books are all the rage right now, how long did you think it would take for a movie to be made based on villains? If you thought 2010 you’d be just about right.

Viper Comics graphic novel Villains has just been picked up by Universal Pictures and will be made into a movie. This is a film from the bad guys point of view. It’s about the life that the good guys never see. The how and why of being evil.

If you read a synopsis of the graphic novel you get a basic story that reads like Apt Pupil.



Unlike Brad Renfro’s accidental discovery and curiosity gone wild, in Villains there is a willful desire to scour the depths of evil and become the object of fear and righteous crusades of superheroes.

This film, if done right will be unlike just about any other film I can name. And it should do well. But the big question is far darker.

If this film does well in movies, if you enjoy it, what does that say about the society and all of us in it? Are we like Renfro, curious and unknowingly opening Pandora’s Box – or are we celebrating a dark core that we desperately try to keep hidden while we routinely follow the monotony of our daily attempts at order and sanity?

If the film touches on that question, then this film will be a must see.