Star Wars Mighty Muggs Invade A Store Near You

As I mentioned before, the craze of limited edition designer vinyl toys is sweeping not only the nation but the world. The problem is with toys/figures like these, when a trend gets super popular everyone wants in on the act and the money that comes with it. With that said, some of the big boys in toy making are making their move into the niche designer toy market.

Hasbro has recently released the first wave of its new 6 inch vinyl toy line Mighty Muggs. I’m not sure how successful this line will be in the eyes of vinyl collectors, but with an entry point of $9.99 and the mass release of the figures at stores like Target, Wal-Mart and other similar retail stores around the country these cute little guys should be very appealing to youngsters. Ultimately this is great for the designer toy market as it introduces vinyl toys to people at a younger age, which will expose more people to designer toys and in the process grow the market for such a product.

I saw the Han Solo and Chewie figures at Target the other day and almost couldn’t resist buying them, but I decided to hold out for either the Bobba Fett or a hopefully released one day Lando Calrissian. That is if Hasbro comes to their sense and produces the pimpest character in the Star Wars universe. Who else could pull off the line “Colt 45…Works every time?” But enough about my Billy Dee Williams obsession.


The first wave of Series 1 Star Wars Mighty Muggs includes the previously mentioned Han Solo, Chewbacca and Bobba Fett figures, as well as Darth Vader. Wave 2 will include Fett, Vader, Darth Maul and a Stormtrooper.



Series 2 is already being advertised online and will include Luke Skywalker, Mace Windu, C-3P0 and Obi-Wan Kenobi.


Coming in March of ’08 Hasbro will also be releasing a line of Marvel Legends Mighty Muggs. Series 1 will include Spider-Man, Iron Man, Wolverine and Venom. Here’s hoping a Jamie Madrox, the Multiple Man won’t be far behind!

The Smurfs Turn 50!

And The Blot feels smurfing old! Well, not anywhere near as old as The Smurfs, but you get the point. I can’t believe those little blue guys and three girls (Smurfette, Sassette Smurf and Granny Smurf) have been around that long. My knowledge of them only began in the 80’s when Hanna-Barbera first started producing the cartoon. I always knew they were the creation of Belgian cartoonist Peyo, but to find out they were first produced in a Belgian comics magazine back in 1958 blew me away. As a comics fan I had heard that Belgians love their comics and that their country has a rich comic book/cartoon history, and now the rest of the world will find out too as The Smurfs start a year long tour to celebration their 50th Anniversary. Over the course of the next year, a Smurfs exhibit will be touring 20 European cities. (link) I found this informative video on The Smurfs’ 50th Anniversary tour here.


Along with the European tour, The Smurfs “will mark 50 years with a series of new comic adventures, statuettes, an exhibition at Brussels' cartoon museum, a set of commemorative stamps and, in a reflection of changing times, more females in their mushroom cottage village.” (link) A deal has also been struck with Paramount Pictures for the creation of a full length computer-animated 3-D style motion picture. (link) Hopefully my two favorite non-Smurf characters, Johan and Peewit, will be included in the new movie. IMPS, the company that holds the rights to all things Smurfs, is also hoping to strike a deal for a new series of Smurf cartoons for the silver screen “to add to the 272 that Hanna-Barbera made in the 1980s.” (link) Did you know that “one million Smurf DVDs were sold last year alone?” (link) What a staggering number.

The Smurfs are also joining forces with “UNICEF to promote children's rights and education worldwide.” (link) So for all you closet Smurfaholics out there, you can be bid on some special 50th anniversary items and the proceeds from the auction of the Celebrity Smurfs and the sales of the Smurf statues will go to UNICEF to help “improve the everyday lives of children all around the world.” (link)

I guess it’s time for The Blot to bust out his Smurf collection that’s been collecting dust for the past 20 years the next time I go to my mother’s house so I can appropriately celebrate The Smurfs’ 50th Anniversary.

You can check out the official Smurfs website here.


There is also an official Smurfs’ 50th Birthday website – Happy Smurf Day.com

To find out more about The Smurf’s 2008 anniversary celebration you can check out these four great online articles: here, here, here and here.

The Best Movie Poster Ever!

No words are needed to describe this new promotional poster for the upcoming movie

Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay.

To see a trailer for Harold and Kumar 2 go here.

The Golden Globes Aren’t So Golden Anymore

You know the old saying “the show must go on?” I think we finally found the instance where that just isn’t true anymore. If any of you happened to catch the 65th Annual Golden Globe Awards Ceremo- Oops, I mean Press Conference last night on NBC then you know exactly what I’m talking about. I’m not sure if anyone did watch it or not. I tried to for about 20 minutes and had to turn it off. Not so much because it was a train wreck, but because it just felt so pointless. Was NBC that desperate for programming? Why put on a press conference at all? I can’t imagine advertisers were still willing to pony up big bucks for spots knowing no real stars would be on hand to present or accept the awards.

Once it was determined that the WGA Strike would be claiming its first big awards ceremony of the season, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and NBC should have regrouped and either postponed the ceremony or announced the winners via press release. But to stage an hour long press conference, in prime time no less, to announce the winners makes the whole event look pretty bad.

While I will definitely miss the Globes this year, the real losers are the winners. Shows like Damages and Californication along with movies such as Sweeny Todd and Atonement and a whole slew of other winners could have really gathered steam for the Oscars or viewers for next season with a Golden Globe bump that a win would have surely given them. Instead we’re subjected to a handful of reaction quotes and a few press release thank yous from the winners. If you’re interested in reading these quasi-acceptance speeches you can do so here.


For a complete list of the 2008 Golden Globe Winners click here.

Also, here are two good articles on the impact of the cancelation of the Golden Globe ceremony:
Globes Scene Missing Magic and Meaning by Beth Harris of the AP
and
Golden Globe Winners Are Also Losers by Bean Goodman of Reuters

Matt Roloff Found Not Guilty

Last Thursday Matt Roloff, patriarch of the Roloff family made famous by their four seasons on the The Learning Channel (TLC) television show Little People, Big World, was found not guilty of drunken driving by a Washington County judge. (link) The judge had to take over the much publicized trial of Roloff, local celebrity and owner of Roloff Farms, after finding jury misconduct. According to a report by The Oregonian, “jurors disobeyed [the Judge’s] order not to look up anything about the case.” (link) Evidently it was exposed that jurors went to the internet to find out additional information beyond what was submitted in the case.

For those of you not familiar with the show or the case, Little People, Big World follows the daily lives of the six member Roloff family who live on a 30+ acre pumpkin farm outside of Portland, Oregon and are gradually transforming the land into an adventure land type theme park with giant tree houses and other play sets being constructed on the property. (link) Matt and his wife Amy have four children, twins Zach and Jeremy (16), Molly (13) and Jacob (9). What makes the show unique is that Matt, Amy and Zack have the condition dwarfism while the Roloff’s other three children are average height. Matt and Amy attempt to “dispel stereotypes of dwarfism and show a wholesome, loving environment” by inviting the audience to view their everyday lives. (link)


As for the case, Roloff was “was stopped shortly before midnight June 19 on a rural Washington County road after a sheriff's deputy followed his van leaving a bar and weaving over the lane lines. Roloff testified…that he had one beer at home the night he was arrested, only dropped off a friend in the Rock Creek Cafe & Pub parking lot and was not drunk. He said he was tired from a cross-country RV trip that was taped for the show and had trouble driving his wife's van because her pedal extensions fit differently than his.” (link)

I for one hate hearing stories of drunken driving and believe after reading The Oregonian article that more likely than not Roloff was driving while intoxicated. If I’m wrong and Roloff is innocent, then I’m very glad he was acquitted. But “the judge found Roloff guilty of refusing to take the breath test and not staying in his lane of travel, and fined him $742 for the violations and $103 in court fees.” (link) Also, because of “Oregon's 'implied consent' law, Roloff's driver's license was suspended for three years because he refused to take a breath test after his June arrest and had gone through a previous drunken-driving diversion program within the past five years. Even though he was found not guilty in the current case, Roloff cannot get his license back any sooner.” (link) All of these items combined make me very skeptical of whether Roloff was actually drunk that night. In the end, if he was driving while intoxicated that evening then he got very lucky and I hope he has finally learned a lesson from this public battering of his image. Regardless of guilt or innocence, his reputation has taken a big hit. Unfortunately, it’s nothing another season of Little People, Big World can’t clean up for him.

At the conclusion of season 4 of Little People, Big World, TLC announced that season 5 will focus on Matt’s drunken driving arrest, the subsequent trial and its verdict. Tune in sometime in 2008 for the newest seasons of Little People, Big World to find out more!

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles Debuts This Weekend On FOX

While The Blot has no idea if it’s going to be good or not, I wanted to remind readers that the new Terminator television show, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, debuts this weekend with a two night premier on FOX. The first episode is this Sunday, January 13th at 8/7 Central and the second episode is Monday, January 14th at 9/8 Central.

The show picks up after events in Terminator 2: Judgment Day (commonly referred to as T2) and unfortunately does not star the Governator Arnold Schwarzenegger. The new show stars Lena Headey (300) as Sarah Connor (the role made famous by Linda Hamilton), Thomas Dekker (Heroes, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids) as John Connor and Summer Glau (Firefly, Serenity) as Cameron Phillips, a reprogrammed Terminator from the future sent back in time to protect John Connor by any means necessary. Since it hasn’t premiered yet we’ll have to just go with FOX’s description of the new show:

At the end of Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Sarah vanquished the Terminator sent from the future to kill her teenage son, John. Sarah and John now find themselves alone in a very dangerous, complicated world. Fugitives from the law, they are confronted with the reality that still more enemies from the future, and the present, could attack at any moment.

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles reveals what happens when Sarah stops running and goes on the offensive against an ever-evolving technological enemy bent on destroying her life, and perhaps the world. Her son, 15-year-old John Connor, knows that he may be the future savior of mankind, but is not yet ready to take on the mantle of leadership that he's told is his destiny. John finds himself inextricably drawn to Cameron, an enigmatic and otherworldly student at his high school, who soon proves to be much more than his confidante - she assumes the role of Sarah and John's fearless protector. On their trail are not only threats from the future, but an intelligent and tough FBI agent, James Ellison (Richard T. Jones), who soon becomes a powerful ally. (link)

Psych – Fake Psychic, Real Detectives

Shawn, Gus and the rest of the Psych crew return for the start of their third season tonight, Friday January 11th, on the USA Network at 10/9 Central. For the past two years Psych has really entertained The Blot with its unique brand of mystery and goofy comedy (and was ranked eighth on The Blot’s Top 10 Cable Television Shows of 2007). In fact, Psych might just be one of the funniest detective shows on television, if not ever. If you haven’t yet started to watch the great original programming of the USA Network you really need to try out some of their shows. They have quietly grown a stable of shows that continually outshines every other cable network and almost rivals the cable pay channels of HBO and Showtime.

I originally started watching the show because I am a huge fan of Dule Hill from his days on the hit NBC show The West Wing, but quickly found myself returning to watch week after week because of the well rounded ensemble cast. The show stars James Roday as Shawn Spencer and Hill as Burton “Gus” Guster as a pair of childhood friends who, after Shawn convinces the Santa Barbra Police Department that he is psychic, start a psychic detective agency appropriately named Psych. The catch, and where most of the comedy comes from, is in the fact that Shawn has absolutely no psychic abilities and yet is now considered the Santa Barbra Police Department’s resident psychic. In reality he just has incredible observational skills from years of intense training as a child by his father, retired policeman Henry Spencer played by television star Corbin Bernsen (L.A. Law, Major League).

What ensues each week is your typical detective show crime but without any of the typical solving of the case. As the ads for Psych put it, it’s “All the Law. None of the Order.” Each week a new crime occurs and Shawn and Gus have to somehow work their way onto the case by convincing Police Chief Karen Vick, played by Kirsten Nelson, that their rare skills are desperately needed. More often than not, they’re paired with Detectives Carlton “Lassi” Lassiter, played by Tim Omundson, and Juliet O’Hara, played by Maggie Lawson.

There is a real love/hate relationship between Lassi and Shawn, and Lassiter doesn’t hide the fact that he “would sooner arrest Shawn than follow any of his psychic visions.” (link) But, more often than not Shawn saves the day and catches the bad guys with his so-called “visions.” Psych is just fun television and isn’t serialized like most popular TV is these days, so you can catch episodes as you please without missing a beat. If you’re home tonight with nothing to do or have space on your DVR for one more show, set the TV to USA and catch up on some Psych.

The New Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull Movie Poster

Here is the newest movie poster for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Unlike the first movie poster (seen here) which was intricately painted by long-time Lucas collaborator Drew Struzan (Star Wars Episodes I-III&VI, the first three Indiana Jones films, the Back To The Future trilogy), this teaser poster is solely a photo of Harrison Ford’s silhouette sporting Indie’s trademark fedora and holding his classic bullwhip.

Rhymefest and the King of Pop

While most of you probably don’t recognize the name Rhymefest, I am sure most of you have heard his work. Rhymefest co-wrote and won a Grammy for his work on the song “Jesus Walks” from Kanye West’s 2004 debut album The College Dropout. In 2006, he released his first album Blue Collar on J Records/Allido Records. The CD while underperforming in sales was truly a great album and Rhymefest is one the most gifted hip-hop artists to come around in a long time. It really surprises The Blot that Blue Collar did as poorly as it did considering how many great songs it had on it and guest appearances by Kanye West, Q-Tip, Mario and O.D.B. along with songs produced by Mark Ronson, Just Blaze and Kanye West. Many of you may recognize the name Mark Ronson from The Blot’s Favorite Albums of 2007. Ronson produced the hit records for Amy Winehouse and Lily Allen before releasing his own album, Version, last year. If you haven’t heard Blue Collar and are a fan of catchy, intellectual hip-hop you should pick up the album on iTunes. I think you will be happy you did.


I bring all of this up because Rhymefest dropped last week what is sure to be one of the best concept mix tapes of the still extremely young year. In anticipation of his latest album El Che, Rhymefest has released Mark Ronson Presents: Man In The Mirror, a Michael Jackson dedication album. Now I know what most of you are all thinking, who wants their name associated with Michael Jackson anymore? And I can’t quiet blame you for asking that, but the truth is the man’s The King of Pop and his music from the 60’s to the 90’s is still some of the best music around. With that being said I was pretty weary of the mix tape’s theme because most people that try to recreate or remix an artist of Jackson’s caliber usually aren’t that successful. Thankfully I was pleasantly surprised and found that the mix tape wasn’t much of a recreation or a remix but really exactly what Rhymefest claimed it to be, a dedication album. It’s hard to explain but I enjoyed it and thought some of you might like it as well. The mix tape is free and you can download it here, but be aware it has a lot of expletive language in it:

Download Rhymefest’s Man In The Mirror Mix Tape
(right click and choose Save Target As to download the entire album in .Zip file)

It seems like good timing for this mix tape’s release considering this year marks the 25th anniversary of the release of one of the greatest albums of all time, Thriller. If you hadn’t heard already, to mark the occasion Jackson is going to be rereleasing a 25th Anniversary edition of Thriller with six 2008 remixes of the most popular songs off of the album by some of the biggest names in pop music. I want to actually apologize to the biggest names in pop music here and now because that might have been exaggerating. Instead the album features Will.I.Am, Fergie and Akon and a remix by Kanye West. The songs have already been leaked on the internet and to no one’s surprise aren’t really that good. I’d think these “remixes” are a tad unnecessary and are going to be pretty dated five to ten years from now. Hopefully by then Fergie and Akon will have been wiped clean from the music landscape only to be remembered for their brief reign over the pop music. That being said, I’m a sucker for all things old school Michael Jackson and will probably have to pick up this 25th Anniversary edition of Thriller much like I purchased the Michael Jackson: The Ultimate Collection box set a few years ago.

Rhymefest talks about his mix tape and the new 25th Anniversary Edition of Thriller on his blog at his MySpace Page. You can read the entire entry here, but be aware it, like the mix tape, has some choice words in it. I thought I’d include some of his thoughts (edited of course) for you to read below:

This album was made because I am a fan of not only Michael Jackson, but of great music, in general. I have been listening [recently] to some of the remixes of MJ's 25th anniversary of THRILLER, and my analysis is that they're...aight...but personally, as a fan, I expected a bit more. I put my heart into this s**t and took a risk to bring you an edgy, creative, refreshing perspective of Michael Jackson in rare form.

Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations Returns To The Travel Channel

For all of you TV buffs aching for something new to watch while the final episodes of your favorite shows are burned off over the next two weeks and the realization sets in that none of your old favorites will be returning to prime time any time soon because of the ongoing writer’s strike, it’s time to rejoice…because Uncle Tony is back!


That’s right, Anthony Bourdain returns to the Travel Channel for all new episodes of No Reservations, Mondays at 10/9 Central. As many of you know Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations was ranked 6th in The Blot’s Top 10 Cable Television Shows of 2007 and there is good reason for it. This show is amazing. Tony lives the life I’d want to live, traveling around the globe to exotic locations eating some of the craziest food I’ve ever seen. But it’s not all cow brains and sheep intestines, Bourdain also takes viewers into some of the finest restaurants to show us what goes in to creating such wonderful and eccentric dishes. Sampling some of the best and most innovative food out there, Bourdain’s unique point of view and storytelling turns what could be an average television show about food into so much more.

He doesn’t just try out the food of the countries he visits, he explores the connection people have with their food and how these dishes represent the culture they come from. The show is very entertaining and I definitely recommend watching or dvr’ing it this Monday! This week’s episode was about Singapore, which if you missed was really entertaining and exposed me to animals and dishes I had honestly never heard of before. In next week’s episode (on January 14th) Tony “finds himself in Berlin, a city that is both good and evil, eastern and western, repulsive and appealing. (link) If you’re interested, you can find the official television listing for current episodes and all repeats of Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations here.


Strangely enough, you can also now watch Mr. Bourdain’s first foray into television, A Cook’s Tour, back on its original network, the Food Network. After ending his show on the Food Network years ago and moving to the Travel Channel to start his current show, the Food Network had decided to dust off the cobwebs and start re-airing this instant classic. A Cook’s Tour can be found once again on the Food Network every Tuesday at 10:30/9:30 Central. I’ve only seen a handful of episodes from this incarnation of Bourdain’s food and travel show, but they have been equally as entertaining as No Reservations and are must see TV for any foodie or Bourdainian.

The A.V. Club also posted a new interview with Chef Bourdain today. As one never afraid to speak his mind and always gives his honest opinion on all issues, including his disdain for most of the Food Network’s talking heads, it’s a pretty entertaining read. You can check it out here.

You can also follow Anthony Bourdain’s exploits at his blog over on the Travel Channel’s website.