Spotlight; Drift

When the Transformers were originally launched in the 80s nobody could have realised the popularity 25 years on. So much so, that several lines of TF have been created for the first time, with Drift being one of those TF who seems to have appeared out of nowhere. Drift is, in the words of Chris Ryall, IDW's Wolverine and holds a massive long sword. He appears to be Decepticon Deadlock who, after a change of heart and a meeting of chance, decided to stop fighting and turn his attention towards peace on Cybertron.

For the first time in the show's 25 year history, or the franchise's 25 year history, we have well taught out TF's with deep character subcontext. So why, oh god why, aren't they the ones appearing onscreen? Most of us who read comics, in which Drift appears, are likely to watch the film - but the majority of people going to see the film are unlikely even to buy the action figures (since the toy line is aimed at younger audiences) so they will NEVER pick up a comic book! Comic's have given us a chance to see beyond the limitations presented onscreen for characters in this series and break down the boundries of understanding. Its time we got more comic friendly characters onscreen and stopped with the myth that TF's is only for children!

Red Dwarf; The Comeback That Never Was

Nostalgia can be a really great thing. On the other hand, in the words of Baz Lurmann (the Australian director responsible for modernizing Romeo and Juliet and Moulin Rouge) it can be like fishing the past from the disposal, painting over the ugly parts, and recycling it for more than its worth. When I first heard that Red Dwarf was coming back to screens I had to be honest, I was really excitied, because of all the cult sci fi programmes out there this was without doubt the best. For those who don't know what the show is, or was, it centres around the deep space mining vessel Red Dwarf sometime in the future.

Its crew are Dave Lister, the last human alive, and Arnold Rimmer - a hologram of his dead bunkmate who caused the accident that killed the entire crew. Luckily, for Lister, he was in stasis at the time for breach of orders (he smuggled a cat on board) and he was saved death. Unluckily, he was kept in stasis 3 million years, thereby leaving him in deep space with no clue as to where "home" was or what it had become. To make matters worse the cat that Lister smuggled onboard evolved over 3 million years and the last survivor of that race, simply called Cat, is also part of the crew. In the 2nd series the crew encountered an android named Kryten and from S3 he became a regular crew member.

The show continued, Rimmer left and was replaced by Lister's old girlfriend from an alternative universe, before Rimmer returned as part of the crew who had all been brought back to life. Of course this extra life lasted only one series and 9 years ago the last episode was broadcast. Tales of a film, which never happened, meant that the actors who played the parts just took other jobs.

Dave, a freeview channel with close links to the BBC (the station that originally commissioned Red Dwarf) decided to bring it back for a 3 part reunion episode. Now, the fanboy in me wants to say something at this point, because asides from not being able to get the entire cast - including the ships computer Holly played by Norman Lovett - the new episode also neglected the fact that Rimmer didn't actually die in the last episode of the most recent series and was in fact alive when that series ended. In any case, he was back as a hologram, and the crew find themselves in the "real" world following a plot similar to the League of Gentlemen movie where they have to convince their real life counterparts that they actually deserve to live more then they have. The fact that Craig Charles (who plays Lister) is now a regular on Coronation St means the cast have to go there too.

It all gets a little discomforting, and I won't spoil the ending, but I have to be honest and say that if the League of Gentlemen decide to sue the writer (Grant Naylor btw) then I won't be at all suprised. The ending also mirrors that of the most well known RD episode (the one which helped them win a 92 International Emmy) and its strange to think of them writing these collection of episodes and events just to recieve the cheque. I'm a tad bit pissed about this whole thing and think that if RD had wanted to bring the series back, then they could have, but that this entire thing has just been a shameless cash in. Whether it will result in more, decent, episodes is to be seen.

Lister - Gave a strong performance, but was a little bit distant at times, seemed lost and mixed up and uncomortable with the character.

Rimmer - Was the best of the crew in terms of how he played the character, but there were so many plotholes, it made the whole thing look bad. Rimmer took a more backseat role this time compared to Kryten which didn't tend to happen on the other shows.

Kryten - A much more commanding role from Kryten then we are used to. He was also much more friendly with Rimmer then he used to be. There was no conflict between himself and the other members of the crew and he didn't seem to mention once that his programming would conflict with anything or that he has trouble accepting certain human traits.

Cat - Did very little, stood in the background, and had some good jokes. The Cat was never a main character but he did feel like he was more involved then he used to be.

Hawkeye; To Film Or Not?

The last couple of years we have had a lot of comic book orientated films - indeed its another throwback from the 80s, except this time we have the graphics to make it work, and the likes of Captain America, The Flash and the original Punisher film are a thing of VHS past (buried, forgotten, and hopefully never brought up by anyone). Don't get me wrong, I have enjoyed a lot of comic films myself - the last Incredible Hulk with Edward Norton was very watchable and Watchmen hit a spot that I can't fault. In fact, the fanboy in me wishes that we could see more of these movies, specifically an animated (or live action) version of Marvel Zombies 1-4 would be pretty cool.

I could just imagine Steve Buscemi voicing the head of Zombie Deadpool in MZ4

But I am going off point because, as fun as these films are, I cannot help but get the sneaking suspicion that we have not yet scratched the surface. Everyone know's that the Hulk has been used on television since...forever...and that Batman and Spiderman have both been thrashing out films since the dawn of time. Comic book films are good, but going back to the same characters are not, and we should ask ourselves about the expansion of the idea's that breakdown comic books - the likes of Watchmen - which challenge us to go beyond just saving the girl, winning the heart of the public (or hiding in plain sight) and generally being a "superhero"

Comic's like Dark Reign challenge us and make us think more, they make sure we cannot know what to expect, so when we do see "it" coming we are suprised, shocked and (heaven forbid) even scared.

One particular character I think would be perfect for the screen would be Hawkeye. A member of the Avengers, this guy can probably be best described as Robin Hood in purple leather as opposed to green tights. Now, before you say anything, I am aware that the new Avengers film should (if its worth its salt) feature this man and there are already unconfirmed reports of that happening. The last "Avengers" animated film, which went straight to video, made reference to him but did not feature him and so far Hawkeye has been seen as an unusual back character who simply fits in when needed.

I think that a character like Hawkeye is just what we need and can see him shooting that arrow to stop the "wave of injustice" on our streets. Its something we need to tackle, the idea of expanding on the same rubbish, and using interesting characters that expand the idea of what a "superhero" and a "comic book character" is.