The Little Telly Upstairs

Nothing like a relaxing Sunday to make you want to crack open a cold one and do a spot of fishing.

I am the Prince of Wallachia. Some know me as the Dark One, others, the Lord of Death. However, to most, I am known simply as..."

C̶o̶m̶m̶a̶n̶d̶e̶r̶ ̶H̶a̶n̶s̶e̶n̶ Seven of Nine.

ON THIS THIS WEEK'S SHOW!

It's Indy night! By that I don't mean I'm going to be playing The Strokes, Radiohead, The Pixies.....well, I might do as they're good bands and it is a radio show after all.

But the Indy in question is Dr. Jones! Find out my thoughts on Dial Of Destiny! My personal ranking of all 5 movies! And my top 5 Indiana Jones video-games!

BUT BEFORE ALL THAT we have this week's geeky news! Yellow Wolverine! Wonka and Ahsoka trailers! The latest batch of Superman: Legacy cast announcements, and more!

What's your Indiana Jones movie ranking? What's you favourite Indiana Jones game? Comment below for a shout-out on this week's show, every Thursday 8-10pm GMT Radio Woking

March Of The Penguins. Whose your favourite?
The Little Telly Upstairs, Every Thursday 8-10pm Radio Woking

Happy Birthday to the 10th (and 14?) Doctor David Tennant and to the 5th (I think?) Master Eric Roberts!

Pretty sure it's someone else's birthday today but I can't think who...

Have a Shang Tsung Saturday everyone, may your weekend be filled with flawless victories x

Pulp Fiction Fiction Part 3.

Of all the potential spin-off books that QT could do, I think this is the one I would like to read the most 😂

Bat-Girl had existed in the comics since 1961 in the form of Betty Kane, Batwoman Kathy Kane's neice, but in 1964 new Batman editor Julius Scwartz did away with them and the rest of The Bat Family (Ace The Bat-Hound, Bat-Mite etc) to try and focus on the hero's vigilante roots.

However, around late 1966 the showrunners of the Batman TV show wanted to introduce a new character for female fans, and asked Swartz to create one for the comics.

And so Barbara Gordon was born. Liberian and daughter of the Police Commisioner by day, all round ass kickin' vigilante by night, the new Batgirl made her debut in January 1967 (Detective Comics #359) and had her first televison apperance in September of that same year.

So not only was Yvonne Craig the original live-action Barbara Gordon, but the role was pretty much created for her!

Pulp Fiction Fiction Part 2.

Continuing my Tarantino spin-off books I wouldn't mind reading, an anthology of stories featuring crimes gone wrong that Winston Wolfe has to clean up, like some kind of Bizarro-Columbo.

"For you, the day Doom graced your village was the most important day of your life. But for Doom, it was Tuesday."

The other week, my friend Jonathan Clapham said Raul Julia's performance as M Bison is the perfect Doctor Doom. I haven't been able to get that thought out of my head, so I thought I would make this!

I used Julia as a base template, then added various knight,wizard, and cosplay imagery on top.

For the castle, I used the one from Moonknight, which may or may not belong Doom, because heaven forbid the MCU pulls the trigger on one of comics most popular villians 😂

"They shall march out of my laboratory and sweep away every adversary, every creed, every nation, until the very planet is in the loving grip of the Doom! And then peace will reign, and the world, and all humanity, shall bow to Doom in humble gratitude..."

Pulp Fiction Fiction.

Now that Quentin Tarantino writes books, there are a few novellas I wouldn't mind perusing.

One would be the fabled Vega Brothers story, seeing as we are probably past the point of a movie or TV show now...

Or ARE we?

If I were to do it, I would focus on Vic and Vincent during their teenage years. That way you could have Travolta and Madsen cameo as papa and uncle Vega!

Where No Man Has Gone Before...

There were two models of the U.S.S Enterprise used for the show, one was 3 feet long and the other was 11 feet.

The larger has been lovingly restored and now hangs in The Smithsonian Air and Space Musuem, and I used photos of that particular vessel as templates for this picture.

For the colour palette I used numerous examples of model kit box art, as I love the bright retro vibes they project.

This one took me while, but I'm chuffed to Kronos with how it turned out!

Whose you favourite member of the original series crew? Comment below for a shout out on this week's show, every Thursday 8-10pm GMT Radio Woking

Happy I stayed up late (UK time) to watch one of the most satisfying Acadamy Awards ever!

Congratulations Everything, Everywhere, All At Once!

A Brummie born boxer and Judo champion who turned to Pro Wrestling as a way to make a little extra side cash.

Little did he know it would lead to a Hollywood career, and battles with likes of Indiana Jones, James Bond, Conan The Barbarian and more!

My latest for Pro Wrestling Stories takes a look at the extraordinary career of the Birmingham Bomber himself, Mr. Pat Roach: From Wrestling Ring To Silver Screen!

Pat Roach: From the Wrestling Ring to the Silver Screen From Andre the Giant to Indiana Jones, Pat Roach lived quite a life, working with and battling against legends in the ring and silver screen!

Woody Wednesday!

Here's my concept for a live-action Woody's Roundup show 😂

Tom and Colin Hanks have actually played the same role before. Colin once adorned the red sweater of Mr Rogers in an episode of Drunk History before Big Papa H's Oscar nominated turn in A Beatutiful Day In The Neighborhood.

Heck, Tom isn't even the only Hanks to play Woody! Jim Hanks, Tom's brother and Colin's uncle, provides the voice of everyone's favourite pull-string cowboy for smaller projects such as TV ads and video games.

It's a family business, pard'ner!

Sickest line-up IMHO

So it's now cannon that Keaton rocked out the blue and grey for at least one adventure.

This pleases me greatly.

The blue in Batman's suit was made more prominent around Detective Comics 35, giving the character more child friendly look, heralding the debut of Robin "The Boy Wonder" just a few issues later.

The in-universe reasons for the lighter attire (at least according to "The Batman Files") is for Batman's daytime appearances with other heroes such as the Justice League, so the public wouldn't find him quite as terrifying.

Basically it's Batman's glad rags!

Wonder Woman Wednesday!

Let's celebrate mid-week with a brief history of everyone's favourite Amazonian Princess in live-action!

(Clockwise from top left)

Eleanor Wood (Wonder Woman: Whose Afraid Of Diana Prince, 1967)

A five minute short that served as a pilot for a potential Wonder Woman sitcom. Starts with Diana's "mother" (guessing adopted) berating her for not having a man for half the run time. Diana then "tranforms" into Wonder Woman by walking in and out of a closet, after that she perfoms a badly choreographed and poorly timed mirror reflection dance with model Linda Harrison that goes on for an awarkwadly long time. Finally, Wonder Woman comediacly takes flight, slide whistle and all. Its surreal, cringey and awful. Totally worth a watch.

Lynda Carter (Wonder Woman, 1976)

To many, Carter is still the definitive Wonder Woman. Although most of the shows stunts were performed by the legendary Jeannie Epper, It's actually crazy the amount of stunts Carter herself, including skateboarding, hanging from helicopters and generally kicking all kinds of ass.

Cathy Lee Crosby (Wonder Woman,1974)

TV movie that would eventually lead to the Lynda Carter show. Crosby's jumpsuit is more comic accurate than you think, as it was based on the 68-73 "New Wonder Woman" run in which Diana lost her powers and was more of an Emma Peel type spy.

Adrianne Palicki (Wonder Woman, TV Movie 2011)

Another failed pilot that sadly went nowhere.

Gal Gadot (Wonder Woman, 2017)

Gadot trained for nine months and gained seventeen pounds of muscle for the role, becoming the first actress to play the part on the big screen and establishing herself as Wonder Woman for this generation. Crazy it took 80 years to get there!

Megan Gale (Justice League Mortal: 2009)

Cancelled George Millar Justice League movie that got as far as costume tests before the plug was pulled.

After seeing the first image of Glenn Howerton as Jim Balsillie in the upcoming Blackberry biopic, I can't help but feel he would be perfect for Lex Luthor.

Granted, I feel that way whenever I see an actor shave their head for a role, but I'm serious this time!

He could easily pull off the cool, charming, charismatic face of a corporation with something dark, sinister and unhinged lurking inside...

Basically Dennis Reynolds played straight. Terrifying.

(As a cheeky Easter egg I actually used Rob McElhenney's body as a template for Superman 😂)

Holy Spin-Off!

This vision came to me one night in a dream.

Although Nightwing wouldn't be introduced in the comics until 16 years after the Batman TV show ended, one evening I had a shut-eye sleep story that Burt Ward was at a Comic-Con explaining how the studios wanted to make him into a teen heart throb with a new look.

Yes, my dreams are really boring.

And kind of camp, now I think about it 🤔

I mean, it's got to be intentional right?

In 1998, George Martin released In My Life, a great record that showcased celebrities doing covers of classic Beatles tracks.

The album featured Robin Williams, Billy Connolly, Goldie Hawn, John Williams (no, not that one, sadly), Sean Connery (yes, that one, happily) and many more.

Guess what song Jim Carrey did?

That's right, Love Me Do!

Just kidding, it was I Am The Walrus!

Now there's some forshadow(the hedgehog)ing.

"One, two, Is this on!?"

Triple H was in no way my favourite wrestler of the Attitude Era. In fact I hated him, albeit for all the right reasons.

I was old enough to be "in" on the way the industry worked, but still young enough to suspend my disbelief. Hunter was cunning, cowardly, heartless and sometimes straight up scary!

An utter bastard of a man, I tell ya.

The Game won his first World title in August of 1999, and a few months later, when Stone Cold underwent neck surgery/got run down by Rikishi (he did it for da Rock), it was time for Helmsley to truly step up to the headline scene.

Whenever HHH held that big winged eagle belt, he became the perfect foil to heroes such as Mick Foley and The Rock, and secured himself a main event spot for the next 20 years.

Proper end boss material.

"The Bouquet residence, the lady of the house speaking!

Oh its you Violet! (It's my sister Violet, the one who married the turf accountant who built that big house with room for a sauna and a pony)....

Slow down Violet dear, you sound very excited, I know it's been a shock about daddy.....

Well what are you excited about?....

Violet that's not a word I ever expected to hear you use on the telephone....

Bruce? What about Bruce?....

Well, I never liked him whole heartily on account of those ice cubes he serves that are shaped like naked ladies....

Why shouldn't he buy a whip, I expect he got it from a jockey...

What does he use it for?....

😯

Violet, would you ring back dear?

No, no, alright, alright I'll stay on the phone...

Hold on there's a person at the door (Elizabeth, would you see to that for me dear! Kindly inform whoever that is that I am at home and I shall recieve them momentarily)....

No dear, Its Elizabeth from next door...

That's right, the one that's all thumbs...

Well you met her once at one of my candle light suppers...

What do you mean you couldn't see anybody?...

Oh yes she's fine, she's just broken one of grandmother's cups...

Thank you Lanny Poffo x

Robert Pattinson (The Batman, 2022) and Tyler Hoechlin (Superman & Lois, 2021)

I'm really enjoying both of these interpretations of The World's Finest, as I feel they capture what I personally love about the characters.

A Dark Knight Detective and a wholesome Big Blue Boy scout.

I'm happy we get at least one more film/season of both before the new DCU truly kicks in.

I am looking forward to see what James Gunn and Peter Safran have planned, and almost suprised I haven't heard the term "Crisis" thrown around, as in the comics "The Crisis On Infinite Earths" multiverse story is what was used to slimline the main comicbook DCU into one linear continuity.

I suppose they already burned that trump card on the Arrowverse. In fact, that event is what gave us the established world for "Superman & Lois".

Besides, outside of comic book fandom the word "Crisis" probably has negative connotations they don't really want associated with this relaunch 😂

As long as they stick to their Gunns (pun totally intented) the future of DC Comics on screen sounds quite wonderful, and I can't wait to see what happens next!

What are your thoughts on the new DCU? Comment below for a shout out on tonight's show!

Every Thursday 8-10pm

Ben Affleck and Henry Cavill (Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice, 2016)

The reason Superman and Batman have been popular for over 8 decades is due to their ability to adapt to various genres over the years.

They can be action adventures, they can be murder mysteries, they can be comedy, they can be horror, they can be Saturday morning cartoon shows, the can be graphic novels written strictly for an adult audience, they can be huge sci-fi epics that can take us to the furthest reaches of the universe, or they can be intimate character studies that showcase the human condition.

There's literally something for everyone.

So there isn't really any "bad takes" and if you enjoyed Batman V Superman, more power to you!

Sadly, it wasn't for me 😂 However, I do think Affleck and Cavill did brilliantly with what they were given, and that it's unfortunate we will never see them reach their full potential as these characters.

Brandon Routh (Superman Returns, 2006) and Christian Bale (The Dark Knight, 2008)

When mapping out the plot to Batman Begins (2005), Bale's first outing as the Dark Knight, director Christopher Nolan was largely inspired by the distinct three act structure of Superman: The Movie (1978).

Like the planet Krypton, Smallville and then Superman in Metropolis, Batman Begins would focus on young Bruce, training with The League Of Shadows then Batman in Gotham.

Superman Returns was released one year later, taking the connections to Donner's film one step further by being a direct "legacy" sequel to the first two Superman movies.

Although it was a loving homage to what came before, Superman Returns bored audiences with its lack of Superman punching things. Something WB may have slightly overcompensated for with the next installment...

Val Kilmer (Batman Forever, 1995) and Dean Cain (Lois & Clark: The New Adventures Of Superman, 1992)

Everything was shinier in the '90s.

In the season 3 episode of Lois & Clark titled "Don't Tug On Superman's Cape" which featured a villainous collector couple named Tim and Amber Lake (played by Comander Riker himself Jonathan Frakes and his real life partner Genie Francis), the 1989 Batmobile can be seen amongst the dastardly duo's collection.

Then, in the season 4 episode "The People Vs Lois Lane" when Superman visits Lois in jail, another inmate calls him "The Caped Crusader" to which Superman corrects him "No, that's Batman."

Finally, in Batman Forever, when Dick Grayson decides to take off from Wayne Manor on his motorbike, Bruce warns him that "The circus must be half way to Metropolis by now."

It may not sound like much, but in those pre "Avenger Initiative" days we took what we could get!

Christopher Reeve (Superman: The Movie, 1978) and Michael Keaton (Batman, 1989)

Throughout the '60s and early '70s, Superman had become somewhat of a joke, a punchline for sketch shows and TV specials.

That was until director Richard Donner came along and treated The Man Of Steel with the respect he deserved, and proved that super hero films could be huge money making blockbusters (a term coined three years prior with the release of Jaws).

Then, a decade or so later, with the advent of grittier comic books and graphic novels, Batman proved super hero cinema could be dark, appealing to youngsters and grown-ups at the same time and giving the UK its first "12" rated movie.

Then, ten years after that, movies such as Blade, X-Men and Spider-Man used the accrescent visual and CG technology to give us our first features that were unbridled by practical effects and looked just like their source material.

THEN, almost ten years after THAT, Iron-Man came along and proved that stand alone adventures could exist as part of a larger continuity, the same way comic books had been telling their tales for over half a century.

So what's the next evolutionary step? I believe we are witnessing it right now with streaming. Shows are no longer regulated by commercials and strict run times, allowing a more cinematic experiance to coincide with the big screen adventures.

but always remember kids, it all started with a big blue boy scout and a caped crusader...