Act One: Sin City
The day is fast approaching.
On Tuesday, August 16th, the world will be able to go out and purchase Sin City on DVD.
Unfortunately, for avid fans of the series like me, the DVD is disappointing.
According to IGN’s interview with the director, Robert Rodriguez (Spy Kids, Once Upon A Time In Mexico), the upcoming DVD release is strictly a bare bones release. It contains - quite simply - the movies. There is also, if memory serves, a 3 minute expose on the making of the film.
Joy surged into the fray when Rodriguez also announced that a special edition DVD would be released sometime afterwards. It will be comparable to the Extended Editions of the Lord of the Rings. Apparently, Rodriguez - in collaboration with series creator and co-director Frank Miller - actually shot the entirety of the three stories: The Hard Goodbye, The Big Fat Kill, That Yellow Bastard. The Sin City Extended Edition will feature the comics in their entirety, essentially.
Sin City directors Robert Rodriguez (left) and Frank Miller (right) on the set of Kadie’s Bar, the run-down joint where Nancy Callahan (Jessica Alba) makes a living as a stripper.
I had no idea that they actually did this, but it was what I had been hoping for. It is a Sin City fans dream come true. Now, I’m not going to reduce myself to the uber-comic fan who will sit and watch the movie as he flips the pages of his Sin City graphic novel…well…maybe for That Yellow Bastard.
Anyway, the announcement of this extended movie release is extremely exciting. Unfortunately, Rodriguez has yet to set a date for the big day. This means that, for the next few months, I will no doubtedly be living in an unbridled agony perpetuated by the lack of my Sin City DVD.
For the IGN interview with director Robert Rodriguez, click here.
Act Two: It’s time to play the music. It’s time to light the lights.
It’s time to meet the Muppets on the Muppet Show tonight.
Great news. And it comes in a two-pack.
First, the very first Muppets season is coming out on DVD. Second, the Muppet show may return back to television (It’s in the works).
Why am I so excited?
How can you not be excited over the Muppets? I grew up watching these guys, and it was there combination of learning strategies with intelligent humour that shaped who I am today. While I know everyone was probably raised different ways, my comrades in arms during my toddler years were Kermit the Frog, Fozzie Bear, and Gonzo. The Muppets was, undeniably, the best children’s show ever.
Anytime you turn on a television now, you get to see an extinct purple dinosaur dancing around with children in school after hours. Doesn’t that just radiate pedophilia? Barney was one of the earlier generation “let’s all be nice and simple and fun” shows. It didn’t have comedy, as much as it had those painful “life lessons” that they taught.
Follow that up with the Teletubbies. You have a show that, for all intents and purposes, should be making kids dumber, or gearing them to be psychotically unstable. You’ve got four coloured…hell, I don’t know what they are…running around in fields saying incoherent babble. For shame.
Waldorf and Statler
With the DVD set coming out, and the promise of the shows triumphant return to television, children can be raised on the cynical insults of Statler and Waldorf. They can appreciate the piano playing of Rowlf or the extreme rock stylings of Electric Mayhem (where Animal loves to bang the drums). That is some classic television.
Animal gets funky in a John Travolta-esque ensemble.
The Muppets are coming back. I’m so absolutely ecstatic. Finally, the quality of children’s television will jump back up with their return. With any luck, Kermit will take his banjo and kill the Teletubbies (presumably off camera).
Go forth Muppets!