December 2, 2024 • 27 mins
Feeling the chill in the air? So am I, as I cozy up in my revamped recording space surrounded by new autographs and a trusty bookshelf. Join me, Thomas Townley, on Multiverse Tonight as we navigate the geek universe, starting with my take on John Scalzi's audiobooks, "Starter Villain" and "Redshirts," brilliantly narrated by Wil Wheaton. DC fans, prepare for an emotional tribute with the upcoming HBO documentary on Christopher Reeve, a hero both on and off the screen. And Marvel enthusiasts, you'll want to hear why they've ditched QR codes from their comics, aiming to preserve the classic reading experience.
From cosmic adventures to heartfelt farewells, the entertainment world offers plenty to discuss. Sterling K. Brown teaming up with Henry Cavill for the live-action Voltron film promises a thrilling ride for fans of the legendary franchise. Plus, mark your calendars for Valentine's Day 2025 as Paddington in Peru slides into the spotlight, promising to charm audiences anew. We also pay our respects to the beloved game show host Chuck Woolery and comedic mastermind Jim Abrahams, whose legacies leave a lasting imprint on entertainment. Tune in for a heartfelt mix of creativity, nostalgia, and a few goodbyes.
Thanks for listening! Come visit the podcast at https://www.multiversetonight.com/
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Tonight remembering the Band of Steel, marvel Throws
Away QR, star Trek on theSwitch, and remember Chuck
Woolery and Jim Abrams.
All that and more on thisedition of Multiverse Tonight.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Comic books, sci-fi, fantasy and more.
If you're looking for a roundupof geeky news, you're in the
right place.
This is Multiverse Tonight, andhere's your host, Thomas
(00:56):
Townley.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
Well, hello everyone and welcome to episode 228 of
Multiverse.
Tonight I'm, of course, yourhost, Thomas Townley, and, uh,
it's a cold one today.
It's, you know, upper 30s, low20s at night.
You know the winter is finallysettling in, you know, but I've
(01:22):
been keeping myself busy.
If you are watching on thevideo, you'll notice the wall
behind me.
You'll see more autographs arebeing put up.
I've got a new bookshelf rightthere behind me as well For all
my DVDs and media items, butwhile the past two weeks I've
(01:43):
been listening to a couple ofbooks on tape or audiobooks for
you 21st century people.
When I started out they wereactually on tape, so yeah, I'm
old.
Anyway, first off, I'd like totalk about John Scalzi's latest
(02:05):
book, starter Villain, and it'san excellent book.
Folks Pick it up, read it.
I really enjoyed the humor andthe smart humor of it, basically
taking you through whybillionaires realistically
aren't that rich you know,especially if their money's
(02:28):
locked up and locked up in otherthings.
But it was a a great book.
I, you know I liked, uh,listening to it.
I did have, trump, someproblems with Wil Wheaton, I
think.
Towards the end of the book,for some reason, his reading
became very stilted, you know.
It became a line, another line,another line, another line and
(02:55):
so on.
It's like you know he just heseemed to be almost bored with
his narration.
Seemed to be almost bored withhis narration.
But, that being said, it's agood book.
Give it a good 4 out of 5 stars.
So I encourage you to go getthat.
Also, I went and listened toone of his earlier books of John
(03:18):
Scalzi's Red Shirts.
Most of you might know this.
I've known about this book.
I've just never had the need,the want to really read it.
It's like, eh, do I need toreally read this?
But I thought, what the hellMight as well?
And, yeah, I agree, it's anexcellent book.
(03:38):
John Scalzi is an excellentgeek writer.
He makes very good pointsthroughout the book and Wil
Wheaton's narration on this oneis actually pretty good.
It's actually pretty lifeliketo me.
Anyway, I do encourage you togo read those.
(04:01):
Give this one basically a 4.5out of 5.
Anyway, yeah, anyway is mycrutch word.
Let's go on with the DC ComicsNews and we begin dc comics news
(04:35):
with superman.
The christopher reeve story,the award-winning documentary
from filmmakers ian boh andPeter Edugi McQueen, which is
set to premiere on HBO at 8 pmEastern Pacific time on Saturday
, december 7th and will also beavailable to stream on Max.
Now recently winning sixCritics Documentary Awards,
(05:01):
including Best DocumentaryFeature, superman Super Slash
man, comes to HBO and Max afterhitting theaters in wide release
on October 11th.
Now the filmmakers.
The film examines how.
The film examines how lateSuperman star Reeve persevered
(05:24):
following a life-alteringaccident by using his fame to
speak of hope and to change ourperception of paralysis, all
while remaining a dedicatedactivist, actor and filmmaker to
both dad and loving husband, toDana Reeve, the beating heart
of the family.
Chronically Reeve's personaland professional life before and
after the near-fatal horsebackaccident which left him
(05:45):
paralyzed in 1995 from the neckdown.
The doc uses Reeves' own wordsas an intimate input from his
closest family and friends topaint a rich, nuanced picture of
a man who refused to be definedby his physicality and who
proved that you don't needtights and cape to be a hero.
(06:06):
Now let's go on to the MarvelComics News no-transcript.
(06:45):
However, comic series likeWolverine and Uncanny X-Men all
had this wave of new QR content,but now it seems that Marvel
has decided to get rid of it inlight of fans' pushback.
Writing on Substack, marvelsenior editor Tom Breverhut
clarified the publisher's use ofthis next-gen technology in
response to a fan question,explaining the reasoning for
(07:07):
Marvel's QR codes in the QA andwhy they were subsequently
removed after a fan noticed thelack of QR codes back in the
freshly released Storm 1.
While many fans were notthrilled about the QR codes,
river notes that the secretadditional page was meant to be
bonus content as opposed to anincomplete story.
(07:27):
In his explanation of the QRcode's removal, riveroot also
noted that the current ongoingX-Men series, which no longer
contains the QR codes, willinclude fewer pages, since the
additional content was not meantto be consequential to the
story.
Nevertheless, many readers werenot fans of the multimedia
marketing campaign, and soMarvel's decision to discontinue
(07:52):
it makes sense.
Upon the release of Marvel's newcode system, there was an
outcry from unsatisfied fans whowere perplexed by the attempt
at innovation and mixed media.
One major concern was thatphysical comic books were
introducing a digital aspect,meaning people would have to use
their phones to scan the codeand read the final page on a
small digital screen.
Many noted that the new formatmade reading the last page
(08:13):
difficult, as it was not in itsintended upscale form.
Marvel's Tom Brivert commentedon the matter in response to the
fan's query quote question doesStorm number one lack of a QR
page mean the practice is done?
Initially it was said thatwould be from the Ashes books,
but, oh my God, it made my dayhaving to have the last page
(08:36):
printed instead of hidden away.
I'm a bit confused about whatdoes and doesn't have one.
It seems like Dazzler didn't,but Wolverine did.
I ended up picking up a fewbooks because of missing pages.
Would have been better.
Nice to see this advertised,don Brevard.
Well, first off, I know whatyou don't want to believe me
(08:57):
when I say this, andrew, butnone of those X books was
missing a page, and what thismeant for Storm is that you
actually got a few fewer in thattitle than you did on the
others, because those QR codepages were bonus content, not
actual necessary part of thestory at all.
In the end, though, given all ofthe pushback, what we saw from
fans on the initial ones, Isimply stopped doing them for
(09:19):
the books launching in Septemberand later.
Why put in an extra effort justso the fans would be unhappy
with us?
It didn't make sense at thatpoint.
As Brevert stated, it was hiseditorial decision to
discontinue the practice, which,quote, didn't make much sense.
Unquote to double down on thestuff that the fan base disliked
(09:40):
about it.
Unfortunately, marvel'sinclusion of the QR codes at the
end of X-Men books was adeparture from its usual format,
leaving a lot of readersconfused about its intended
purpose.
So there you have it, folks.
Yeah, they tried to innovatesomething new.
(10:00):
You didn't really get it, sothey're going to stop.
Yeah, it is what it is.
Anyway, let's have some, let'shave a little bit of Star Trek
news.
Haya Toys is back with anotherexquisite miniseries figure and
(10:22):
they step into the finalfrontier once again.
This time, christopher Pike,the iconic character from the
Starship universe, who was firstintroduced as the captain of
the Starship Enterprise back inthe original 1966 pilot episode
of the Cage, played by GeoffreyHunter, has, of course, now been
played in later iterations byBruce Greenwood in the Kelvin
(10:43):
timeline and most recently,anson Mount in from start, who
started Star Trek discovery andnow strange new worlds.
Hiya toys is now stepping intothe strange new worlds with new,
a new one eighth teenth scalefigure, with Pike coming in
about four inches tall andpacked with detail.
He is featured in his yellowcommand uniform and will come
(11:05):
with a communicator phaser and abeam-me-up base with the Star
Trek logo.
Hopefully, more strange NewWorld figures are on the way and
we'll have fans build his crewin the glorious 118th scale.
Fans can expand their Star Trekroster once again with Hyatoids
for $24.99.
Pre-orders are now live and heis set to get released in
(11:25):
December of 2025.
For many years it's been slimpicking for Star Trek games on
the Nintendo and while we've gotour fingers crossed that Star
Trek Resurgence will get portedsooner rather than later, star
Trek Prodigy Supernova SolidCo-op Adventure from Tessera
Studios has been the only gameto go boldly on the Switch, oh
(11:46):
that, and the TNG table andpinball effects.
However, according to an eShoplisting, santa is bringing Trek
fans to the present on December25th in the form of Star Trek
Legends, the publisher, cubicGames.
One of the two keen fans mayrecognize the title as Emerald
(12:07):
City Games' strategy-based RPG,which launched on Apple Arcade
back in 2021 and got a Steamrelease.
Now, in the game, using theNexus, the MacGuffin from
Generations that got Kirk andPicard together, it will be a
means of bringing together thefamous franchise faces.
Legends involves recruitingheroes and villains and going
(12:30):
out on missions, engaging inturn-based battle with all the
cartoons rendered in a pleasantcartoony style.
Now, no one's played the gameanywhere else, but it's, of
course, non-canon, with StarTrek royalty duking it out on
different teams.
Ultimately, despite the story,making numbers go up seems to be
in the name of the game andinvolves it looks like
(12:52):
microtransactions could beinvolved, but maybe not.
Now let's.
Here's the blurb from the eShopPrepare for adventure.
Dive into the action withcharacters spanning the entire
Star Trek universe.
Take command of the USS Aramisand recruit a team of legendary
Star Trek characters.
As you embark on daringmissions, experience epic
(13:14):
turn-based combat and makechoices that influence the
game's entire story.
Assemble your team.
Ever wanted to master Spock'sfalcon neck pinch or battle with
Worst Deadly Batleth?
Now is your chance.
Recruit, command over 70 iconiccharacters from the Star Trek
universe, including Kirk, spock,picard, janeway, data, burnham
Pike and many more.
Send your Star Trek team oncritical missions that will test
(13:37):
your crew's skills andingenuity.
Earn special rewards bycompleting collections of
characters based on Star Trekshows that appear in or the
traits they possess.
Plus, you can earn combatbonuses by using multiple Star
Trek characters from the samecollection in battle.
As captain of the USS Armus,you shape the fate of the cosmos
.
Choose your crew strategically.
(13:58):
Each Star Trek character hastheir own specific skills and
abilities to help you outwit,overpower and overcome your
enemies.
Every decision you make couldbe the difference between
triumph and defeat.
Take command, captain.
The galaxy awaits yourleadership.
Dive into the exclusivelycrafted 3D world of Star Trek
Legends.
Explore beautifully rendered 3Dworlds and interact with fully
realized animated characters inthis epic Star Trek RPG.
(14:21):
The cost will be $11.99, withseveral DLC characters and three
packs for $1.99 apiece.
Hmm that sounds like it might beworth $12.
Anyway, let's get on with theGeek News, and geek news begins
(14:59):
with Idris Elba getting ready tohelp power the masters of the
universe for Amazon MGM Studios.
Elba is in final negotiationsto play Duncan, aka Man-at-Arms
in the live-action featureadaptation of the popular Mattel
toyline.
Travis Knight is directing themovie.
That has Nicholas Galzatine setto star as He-Man, alongside
Camilla Mendes as Teela andAlison Brie as Evil Lynn.
(15:21):
The Masters of the Universefilm will hit theaters July 5th
2026 from Escape Artists andMattel Films.
Sterling K Brown will star inthe live-action Voltron film for
Amazon MGM Studios.
Brown will join in thelive-action Voltron film for
Amazon MGM Studios.
Brown will join previouslyannounced cast members Henry
Cavill and Daniel Quinn Toye, afilm newcomer who has appeared
(15:45):
in On Tuition in Bad Alts andserved as Tom Holland's
understudy in Romeo and Julieton the West End.
This spring the film alsofeatures Rita Ora and John Kim
Earlier.
This year Brown was nominatedfor Best Supporting Actor at the
Oscars for his role in CordJefferson's American Fiction and
appeared with Jennifer Lopezand Simu Liu in Netflix's Atlas.
Previous credits includeOscar-winning, emmy-winning
(16:06):
performances in the People vs OJSimpson, american Crime Story
and this Is Us, as well as theMarvelous Mrs Maisel Black
Panther Hawk.
For Jesus, save your soul.
Brown is next set to star in DanFogelman's Hulu series Paradise
, alongside James Marsden andJulian Nicholson.
Plot details are currentlybeing kept under wraps.
The producers include ToddLieberman via Hidden Pictures,
(16:32):
bob Copler, thurber and RobbieFilms and David Hopperman.
The Voltron TV franchisefollows a team of space
explorers who pilot a giantsuper robot.
The franchise was adapted fromseveral Japanese animation
television shows by ToyAnimation and has spawned
several American series,including Netflix's eighth
(16:52):
season of Voltron LegendaryDefender, american series,
including Netflix's eighthseason of Voltron Legendary
Defender.
Us audiences will have to waita little longer to get their
Paddington fix, as thesuccessful film franchise's
third installment, paddington inPeru, shifts from a January
2025 release to Valentine's Day.
(17:13):
Instead of debuting on January17th, the family film will now
bow on February 14th, which alsohappens to coincide with
President's Day weekend.
The shift positions the familyfilm on a double holiday weekend
, which means a large percentageof K-12 students will be out of
school for an extended breakand, of course, looking for
something to do or you know, sothe logic goes Panic in 3
(17:33):
debuted in the UK earlier thismonth and scored a
record-breaking opening weekendcollecting 9.65 million quid or
$12.4 million US the biggestdebut for British films since
2021, no Time to Die.
The first two Paddington moviesalso have earned in excess of
$600 million globally, with thethird installment aiming to make
(17:55):
the franchise a billion-dollarhit franchise.
And finally, tonight, some sadnews.
First off game show veteran,chuck Woolery, who hosted the
original versions of Wheel ofFortune and Love Connection,
died November 23rd.
He was 83 years old.
Woolery's passing was announcedon X by his longtime friend and
Blunt Force Truth podcastco-host, mark Young.
(18:17):
Quote is with a broken heartthat I tell you that my dear
brother at Chuck Woolery hasjust passed Texas home after
experiencing trouble breathing.
Woolery started his career as acountry singer and was half of
the pop duo.
The Avant-Garde was hired asWheel of Fortune host when the
(18:39):
show first launched in 1975.
After hosting the show forseven years, he departed over a
salary dispute and was replacedby Pat Sajak, who would then
pretty much run the show foralmost eternity.
Quote Chuck Woolery was withoutthe real deal.
He was an original.
There was no one like ChuckWoolery's Wheel of Fortune
(18:59):
co-host Susan Stafford said in astatement Our seven years as
the original host and hostess ofWheel of Fortune were like
magic.
Our deep friendship continuedafter our time on the show.
He was an original.
There was no one like Chuck.
He had so much energy.
It was the same warm, caring,genuine person offstage as he
was on.
It was very spiritual and weshared a true love for God,
which made it even moreworthwhile.
(19:20):
So grateful to know I will seehim again.
Love Connection also launchedin 1983 with Woolery as its
first host, a job he held for 11years.
Other game shows he has hostedor co-hosted through the years
include Scrabble from 1984 to1990 and Short-Lived 1993.
Revival, home and Family from1996 to 1998, the Dating Game
(19:42):
no-transcript, creed from 1999to 2000,.
And Lingo from 2002 to 2007.
He also hosted his own show,the Chuck Woolery Show, which
had a brief run in 1991.
Woolery also guest-starred ashimself on a number of series,
including it's Gary ShandlingShow, melrose Place, sister,
sister and Scrubs.
In 2012, he began hosting anationally-sending radio show
(20:05):
Save Us, chuck Woolery.
Years later, he morphed it intoa podcast which was retitled
Blunt Force Truth.
Known for his conservative views, woolery found himself in
multiple controversies over thepast decade involving such
subjects as COVID andanti-Semitism.
Chuck Woolery was 83 years oldand he'll be back in 2 and 2.
(20:28):
Finally tonight, jim Abramspart of the writing, directing,
producing team behind suchcomedy touchstones as Airplane,
the Naked Gun Films and PoliceSquad, died Tuesday at Santa
Monica Home at the age of 80.
His son, joseph Abrams,confirmed the news to the
(20:49):
Hollywood Reporter.
Along with Abrams, david andJerry Zucker, abrams also was
behind laugh-inducing and oftenintentionally groan-inducing
comedy films, including TopSecret and the Top Gun Spoofs,
hot Shots and Hot Shots PartDeux Students of the Mel Brooks
School of Anything for a Laugh.
The trio paired absurdsituations with deadpan lines
(21:11):
and fueled Leslie Nielsen'sunlikely rise to leading man
after 30 years in the business.
The trio got their big startwriting the Kentucky Fried Movie
1977, a series of decidedlyun-PC vignettes directed by John
Landis that ranged from sillyto uproarious to what the hell
and back.
Example a TV news anchordeadpants from behind a desk I'm
not wearing any pants film at11.
(21:33):
Several of the independentlymade pics risque and
unapologetically crude sketcheswould be inappropriate to do.
But it was in 1990 that it allchanged for Zucker, abrams,
zucker, also known simply asZazz.
The trio barely assaultedtheaters with Paramount's
Airplane, a no-hold-barredsend-up of 70s disaster movies
(21:54):
that starred Leslie Nielsenalongside Robert Hayes, julie
Haggerty and a cameo cast of 50sand 60s TV stars and others
playing it ever not so straight.
Who could ever forget PeerGraves' fish-eating pilot,
barbara Billingsley'sjive-talking passenger, robert
Stack's aerocerbic military vet,or Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's
slow-boiling co-pilot?
(22:15):
Oh wait, that was Roger Murdoch.
Comedy geeks of a certain ageprobably all ages revere the
film's litany of quibble linessuch as Do you like films about
gladiators?
How soon can we land?
I can't tell.
You can tell me, I'm a doctor,we have clearance, clearance,
roger roger, what's the vector?
Victor, this woman has gottento a hospital.
(22:38):
A hospital what is it?
It's a big building withpatients, but that's not
important right now.
Et A hospital what is it?
It's a big building withpatients, but that's not
important right now.
Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.
Airplane was a commercial andcritical hit that made it to the
New York Times 2003 list of thebest 1,000 movies ever made.
It earned a BAFTA Awardnomination for Best Screenplay,
a Golden Globe nom for BestMotion Picture Comedy or Musical
(22:59):
and the Writers Guild anothermedium, a Writers Guild Award
for best comedy adapted fromtheir medium.
It also was selected in 2010for the National Film Registry,
which will ensure its survival,conservation and increased
public ability of the nation'sfilm heritage.
The pick spawned a 1982 KitchenSink sequel that brought most
(23:21):
of the band back together andcontinued the knee-slapping or
face-palming punchlines,unrepentant sight gags and
impressive line readings Fourthwall be damned.
It also led to Police Squad, abrilliant but short-lived 1982
ABC sitcom that starred Nielsenas LAPD detective Frank Drebin
and earned Abrams and Zuckers anEmmy nod for writing.
(23:42):
Now you'll get to 1988 andNielsen's Trebon, now a
lieutenant, hit the big screenin the Naked Gun, which combined
airplane shameless gaggery withthe elements of Brooks and Buck
Henry's Get Smart, crossed with70s cop dramas Subtitles from
the Files of Police Squad.
The film co-starred PriscillaPresley as Trebon's love
interest and OJ Simpson as hisaccent-prone fellow cop, and
(24:04):
borrowed some of the jokes fromthe series as it spoofed a US
visit by Queen Elizabeth.
The impeccably coiffed andcollected Drebin and company
returned in 1991 with the NakedGun 2 1⁄2 the Smell of Fear, and
again in 1994 with the NakedGun 33 1⁄3.
The trilogy combined to grossmore than $216 million globally
(24:25):
and a reboot starring LeslieNielsen and directed by Lonely
Island's Akiva Schaefer, was setto hit theaters in August.
Along the way, abrams and hischildhood friends, the Zucker
Brothers, continue to twistparodic knives into unsuspecting
genres, skewering the spy gamewith Top Secret starring Gif Val
Kilmer and Omar Sharif.
(24:46):
Top Gun with Hot Shots, whichstarred Charlie Sheen and Carrie
Elwes, with Airplane Alum, loicBridges, ephraim Zimbalist and
others.
Hot Shots Part Deux followed in1993, and the films combined to
bank more than $312 millionworldwide.
Born on May 10, 1944, inShorewood, wisconsin, abrams
(25:06):
also directed Big Business and,with the Zuckers, 1986's
Ruthless People.
He wrote and directed the 1998organized crime send-up Mafia
starring Jay Moore and Bridgesand, in something of a genre
departure, also helmed the 1990dramedy Welcome Home, roxy
Carmichael, which starred RenonaRyder and Jeff Daniels.
(25:28):
Last year he saw thepublication of Surely you Can't
Be Serious, a memoir penned byAbrams and the Zuckers about the
making of Airplane thatborrowed its title from Hayes'
famous line that fed Nielsen'smore famous retort I am serious,
don't call me Shirley.
Along with son Joseph,survivors include Abrams' wife
of nearly 50 years, nancy, sonCharlie, daughter Jamie and
(25:51):
three grandchildren.
Again, jim Abrams was 80 yearsold, and that brings us to the
end of this edition of the show.
Now please be sure to check usout on social media.
We're on Blue Sky and Twitterat Multiverse.
(26:12):
Tom, although I'm really notmuch on Twitter anymore, it's
most likely you know, I'm justkind of lurking there Threads,
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Head on over tomultiverstenightcom where you
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Check out the show notes, visitour TeePublic store, leave some
(26:33):
feedback and so much more.
And this is your first timelistening.
Thank you and welcome.
Go ahead, hit that subscribebutton, share it with others.
Special thanks to Shane Iversfor the intro music and Lobo
Loco for the outro theme music.
Thanks for watching thisedition of Multiverse Tonight.
We'll be back in two weeks withmore sci-fi and comic book news
(26:53):
.
Now please exit the universe inan orderly fashion.
Good night.
Multiverse Tonight is aproduction of Half-Baked Genre
Productions.
Copyright 2024.
(27:13):
This podcast.
Tonight remembering the Band of Steel, marvel Throws
Away QR, star Trek on theSwitch, and remember Chuck
Woolery and Jim Abrams.
All that and more on thisedition of Multiverse Tonight.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Comic books, sci-fi, fantasy and more.
If you're looking for a roundupof geeky news, you're in the
right place.
This is Multiverse Tonight, andhere's your host, Thomas
(00:56):
Townley.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
Well, hello everyone and welcome to episode 228 of
Multiverse.
Tonight I'm, of course, yourhost, Thomas Townley, and, uh,
it's a cold one today.
It's, you know, upper 30s, low20s at night.
You know the winter is finallysettling in, you know, but I've
(01:22):
been keeping myself busy.
If you are watching on thevideo, you'll notice the wall
behind me.
You'll see more autographs arebeing put up.
I've got a new bookshelf rightthere behind me as well For all
my DVDs and media items, butwhile the past two weeks I've
(01:43):
been listening to a couple ofbooks on tape or audiobooks for
you 21st century people.
When I started out they wereactually on tape, so yeah, I'm
old.
Anyway, first off, I'd like totalk about John Scalzi's latest
(02:05):
book, starter Villain, and it'san excellent book.
Folks Pick it up, read it.
I really enjoyed the humor andthe smart humor of it, basically
taking you through whybillionaires realistically
aren't that rich you know,especially if their money's
(02:28):
locked up and locked up in otherthings.
But it was a a great book.
I, you know I liked, uh,listening to it.
I did have, trump, someproblems with Wil Wheaton, I
think.
Towards the end of the book,for some reason, his reading
became very stilted, you know.
It became a line, another line,another line, another line and
(02:55):
so on.
It's like you know he just heseemed to be almost bored with
his narration.
Seemed to be almost bored withhis narration.
But, that being said, it's agood book.
Give it a good 4 out of 5 stars.
So I encourage you to go getthat.
Also, I went and listened toone of his earlier books of John
(03:18):
Scalzi's Red Shirts.
Most of you might know this.
I've known about this book.
I've just never had the need,the want to really read it.
It's like, eh, do I need toreally read this?
But I thought, what the hellMight as well?
And, yeah, I agree, it's anexcellent book.
(03:38):
John Scalzi is an excellentgeek writer.
He makes very good pointsthroughout the book and Wil
Wheaton's narration on this oneis actually pretty good.
It's actually pretty lifeliketo me.
Anyway, I do encourage you togo read those.
(04:01):
Give this one basically a 4.5out of 5.
Anyway, yeah, anyway is mycrutch word.
Let's go on with the DC ComicsNews and we begin dc comics news
(04:35):
with superman.
The christopher reeve story,the award-winning documentary
from filmmakers ian boh andPeter Edugi McQueen, which is
set to premiere on HBO at 8 pmEastern Pacific time on Saturday
, december 7th and will also beavailable to stream on Max.
Now recently winning sixCritics Documentary Awards,
(05:01):
including Best DocumentaryFeature, superman Super Slash
man, comes to HBO and Max afterhitting theaters in wide release
on October 11th.
Now the filmmakers.
The film examines how.
The film examines how lateSuperman star Reeve persevered
(05:24):
following a life-alteringaccident by using his fame to
speak of hope and to change ourperception of paralysis, all
while remaining a dedicatedactivist, actor and filmmaker to
both dad and loving husband, toDana Reeve, the beating heart
of the family.
Chronically Reeve's personaland professional life before and
after the near-fatal horsebackaccident which left him
(05:45):
paralyzed in 1995 from the neckdown.
The doc uses Reeves' own wordsas an intimate input from his
closest family and friends topaint a rich, nuanced picture of
a man who refused to be definedby his physicality and who
proved that you don't needtights and cape to be a hero.
(06:06):
Now let's go on to the MarvelComics News no-transcript.
(06:45):
However, comic series likeWolverine and Uncanny X-Men all
had this wave of new QR content,but now it seems that Marvel
has decided to get rid of it inlight of fans' pushback.
Writing on Substack, marvelsenior editor Tom Breverhut
clarified the publisher's use ofthis next-gen technology in
response to a fan question,explaining the reasoning for
(07:07):
Marvel's QR codes in the QA andwhy they were subsequently
removed after a fan noticed thelack of QR codes back in the
freshly released Storm 1.
While many fans were notthrilled about the QR codes,
river notes that the secretadditional page was meant to be
bonus content as opposed to anincomplete story.
(07:27):
In his explanation of the QRcode's removal, riveroot also
noted that the current ongoingX-Men series, which no longer
contains the QR codes, willinclude fewer pages, since the
additional content was not meantto be consequential to the
story.
Nevertheless, many readers werenot fans of the multimedia
marketing campaign, and soMarvel's decision to discontinue
(07:52):
it makes sense.
Upon the release of Marvel's newcode system, there was an
outcry from unsatisfied fans whowere perplexed by the attempt
at innovation and mixed media.
One major concern was thatphysical comic books were
introducing a digital aspect,meaning people would have to use
their phones to scan the codeand read the final page on a
small digital screen.
Many noted that the new formatmade reading the last page
(08:13):
difficult, as it was not in itsintended upscale form.
Marvel's Tom Brivert commentedon the matter in response to the
fan's query quote question doesStorm number one lack of a QR
page mean the practice is done?
Initially it was said thatwould be from the Ashes books,
but, oh my God, it made my dayhaving to have the last page
(08:36):
printed instead of hidden away.
I'm a bit confused about whatdoes and doesn't have one.
It seems like Dazzler didn't,but Wolverine did.
I ended up picking up a fewbooks because of missing pages.
Would have been better.
Nice to see this advertised,don Brevard.
Well, first off, I know whatyou don't want to believe me
(08:57):
when I say this, andrew, butnone of those X books was
missing a page, and what thismeant for Storm is that you
actually got a few fewer in thattitle than you did on the
others, because those QR codepages were bonus content, not
actual necessary part of thestory at all.
In the end, though, given all ofthe pushback, what we saw from
fans on the initial ones, Isimply stopped doing them for
(09:19):
the books launching in Septemberand later.
Why put in an extra effort justso the fans would be unhappy
with us?
It didn't make sense at thatpoint.
As Brevert stated, it was hiseditorial decision to
discontinue the practice, which,quote, didn't make much sense.
Unquote to double down on thestuff that the fan base disliked
(09:40):
about it.
Unfortunately, marvel'sinclusion of the QR codes at the
end of X-Men books was adeparture from its usual format,
leaving a lot of readersconfused about its intended
purpose.
So there you have it, folks.
Yeah, they tried to innovatesomething new.
(10:00):
You didn't really get it, sothey're going to stop.
Yeah, it is what it is.
Anyway, let's have some, let'shave a little bit of Star Trek
news.
Haya Toys is back with anotherexquisite miniseries figure and
(10:22):
they step into the finalfrontier once again.
This time, christopher Pike,the iconic character from the
Starship universe, who was firstintroduced as the captain of
the Starship Enterprise back inthe original 1966 pilot episode
of the Cage, played by GeoffreyHunter, has, of course, now been
played in later iterations byBruce Greenwood in the Kelvin
(10:43):
timeline and most recently,anson Mount in from start, who
started Star Trek discovery andnow strange new worlds.
Hiya toys is now stepping intothe strange new worlds with new,
a new one eighth teenth scalefigure, with Pike coming in
about four inches tall andpacked with detail.
He is featured in his yellowcommand uniform and will come
(11:05):
with a communicator phaser and abeam-me-up base with the Star
Trek logo.
Hopefully, more strange NewWorld figures are on the way and
we'll have fans build his crewin the glorious 118th scale.
Fans can expand their Star Trekroster once again with Hyatoids
for $24.99.
Pre-orders are now live and heis set to get released in
(11:25):
December of 2025.
For many years it's been slimpicking for Star Trek games on
the Nintendo and while we've gotour fingers crossed that Star
Trek Resurgence will get portedsooner rather than later, star
Trek Prodigy Supernova SolidCo-op Adventure from Tessera
Studios has been the only gameto go boldly on the Switch, oh
(11:46):
that, and the TNG table andpinball effects.
However, according to an eShoplisting, santa is bringing Trek
fans to the present on December25th in the form of Star Trek
Legends, the publisher, cubicGames.
One of the two keen fans mayrecognize the title as Emerald
(12:07):
City Games' strategy-based RPG,which launched on Apple Arcade
back in 2021 and got a Steamrelease.
Now, in the game, using theNexus, the MacGuffin from
Generations that got Kirk andPicard together, it will be a
means of bringing together thefamous franchise faces.
Legends involves recruitingheroes and villains and going
(12:30):
out on missions, engaging inturn-based battle with all the
cartoons rendered in a pleasantcartoony style.
Now, no one's played the gameanywhere else, but it's, of
course, non-canon, with StarTrek royalty duking it out on
different teams.
Ultimately, despite the story,making numbers go up seems to be
in the name of the game andinvolves it looks like
(12:52):
microtransactions could beinvolved, but maybe not.
Now let's.
Here's the blurb from the eShopPrepare for adventure.
Dive into the action withcharacters spanning the entire
Star Trek universe.
Take command of the USS Aramisand recruit a team of legendary
Star Trek characters.
As you embark on daringmissions, experience epic
(13:14):
turn-based combat and makechoices that influence the
game's entire story.
Assemble your team.
Ever wanted to master Spock'sfalcon neck pinch or battle with
Worst Deadly Batleth?
Now is your chance.
Recruit, command over 70 iconiccharacters from the Star Trek
universe, including Kirk, spock,picard, janeway, data, burnham
Pike and many more.
Send your Star Trek team oncritical missions that will test
(13:37):
your crew's skills andingenuity.
Earn special rewards bycompleting collections of
characters based on Star Trekshows that appear in or the
traits they possess.
Plus, you can earn combatbonuses by using multiple Star
Trek characters from the samecollection in battle.
As captain of the USS Armus,you shape the fate of the cosmos
.
Choose your crew strategically.
(13:58):
Each Star Trek character hastheir own specific skills and
abilities to help you outwit,overpower and overcome your
enemies.
Every decision you make couldbe the difference between
triumph and defeat.
Take command, captain.
The galaxy awaits yourleadership.
Dive into the exclusivelycrafted 3D world of Star Trek
Legends.
Explore beautifully rendered 3Dworlds and interact with fully
realized animated characters inthis epic Star Trek RPG.
(14:21):
The cost will be $11.99, withseveral DLC characters and three
packs for $1.99 apiece.
Hmm that sounds like it might beworth $12.
Anyway, let's get on with theGeek News, and geek news begins
(14:59):
with Idris Elba getting ready tohelp power the masters of the
universe for Amazon MGM Studios.
Elba is in final negotiationsto play Duncan, aka Man-at-Arms
in the live-action featureadaptation of the popular Mattel
toyline.
Travis Knight is directing themovie.
That has Nicholas Galzatine setto star as He-Man, alongside
Camilla Mendes as Teela andAlison Brie as Evil Lynn.
(15:21):
The Masters of the Universefilm will hit theaters July 5th
2026 from Escape Artists andMattel Films.
Sterling K Brown will star inthe live-action Voltron film for
Amazon MGM Studios.
Brown will join in thelive-action Voltron film for
Amazon MGM Studios.
Brown will join previouslyannounced cast members Henry
Cavill and Daniel Quinn Toye, afilm newcomer who has appeared
(15:45):
in On Tuition in Bad Alts andserved as Tom Holland's
understudy in Romeo and Julieton the West End.
This spring the film alsofeatures Rita Ora and John Kim
Earlier.
This year Brown was nominatedfor Best Supporting Actor at the
Oscars for his role in CordJefferson's American Fiction and
appeared with Jennifer Lopezand Simu Liu in Netflix's Atlas.
Previous credits includeOscar-winning, emmy-winning
(16:06):
performances in the People vs OJSimpson, american Crime Story
and this Is Us, as well as theMarvelous Mrs Maisel Black
Panther Hawk.
For Jesus, save your soul.
Brown is next set to star in DanFogelman's Hulu series Paradise
, alongside James Marsden andJulian Nicholson.
Plot details are currentlybeing kept under wraps.
The producers include ToddLieberman via Hidden Pictures,
(16:32):
bob Copler, thurber and RobbieFilms and David Hopperman.
The Voltron TV franchisefollows a team of space
explorers who pilot a giantsuper robot.
The franchise was adapted fromseveral Japanese animation
television shows by ToyAnimation and has spawned
several American series,including Netflix's eighth
(16:52):
season of Voltron LegendaryDefender, american series,
including Netflix's eighthseason of Voltron Legendary
Defender.
Us audiences will have to waita little longer to get their
Paddington fix, as thesuccessful film franchise's
third installment, paddington inPeru, shifts from a January
2025 release to Valentine's Day.
(17:13):
Instead of debuting on January17th, the family film will now
bow on February 14th, which alsohappens to coincide with
President's Day weekend.
The shift positions the familyfilm on a double holiday weekend
, which means a large percentageof K-12 students will be out of
school for an extended breakand, of course, looking for
something to do or you know, sothe logic goes Panic in 3
(17:33):
debuted in the UK earlier thismonth and scored a
record-breaking opening weekendcollecting 9.65 million quid or
$12.4 million US the biggestdebut for British films since
2021, no Time to Die.
The first two Paddington moviesalso have earned in excess of
$600 million globally, with thethird installment aiming to make
(17:55):
the franchise a billion-dollarhit franchise.
And finally, tonight, some sadnews.
First off game show veteran,chuck Woolery, who hosted the
original versions of Wheel ofFortune and Love Connection,
died November 23rd.
He was 83 years old.
Woolery's passing was announcedon X by his longtime friend and
Blunt Force Truth podcastco-host, mark Young.
(18:17):
Quote is with a broken heartthat I tell you that my dear
brother at Chuck Woolery hasjust passed Texas home after
experiencing trouble breathing.
Woolery started his career as acountry singer and was half of
the pop duo.
The Avant-Garde was hired asWheel of Fortune host when the
(18:39):
show first launched in 1975.
After hosting the show forseven years, he departed over a
salary dispute and was replacedby Pat Sajak, who would then
pretty much run the show foralmost eternity.
Quote Chuck Woolery was withoutthe real deal.
He was an original.
There was no one like ChuckWoolery's Wheel of Fortune
(18:59):
co-host Susan Stafford said in astatement Our seven years as
the original host and hostess ofWheel of Fortune were like
magic.
Our deep friendship continuedafter our time on the show.
He was an original.
There was no one like Chuck.
He had so much energy.
It was the same warm, caring,genuine person offstage as he
was on.
It was very spiritual and weshared a true love for God,
which made it even moreworthwhile.
(19:20):
So grateful to know I will seehim again.
Love Connection also launchedin 1983 with Woolery as its
first host, a job he held for 11years.
Other game shows he has hostedor co-hosted through the years
include Scrabble from 1984 to1990 and Short-Lived 1993.
Revival, home and Family from1996 to 1998, the Dating Game
(19:42):
no-transcript, creed from 1999to 2000,.
And Lingo from 2002 to 2007.
He also hosted his own show,the Chuck Woolery Show, which
had a brief run in 1991.
Woolery also guest-starred ashimself on a number of series,
including it's Gary ShandlingShow, melrose Place, sister,
sister and Scrubs.
In 2012, he began hosting anationally-sending radio show
(20:05):
Save Us, chuck Woolery.
Years later, he morphed it intoa podcast which was retitled
Blunt Force Truth.
Known for his conservative views, woolery found himself in
multiple controversies over thepast decade involving such
subjects as COVID andanti-Semitism.
Chuck Woolery was 83 years oldand he'll be back in 2 and 2.
(20:28):
Finally tonight, jim Abramspart of the writing, directing,
producing team behind suchcomedy touchstones as Airplane,
the Naked Gun Films and PoliceSquad, died Tuesday at Santa
Monica Home at the age of 80.
His son, joseph Abrams,confirmed the news to the
(20:49):
Hollywood Reporter.
Along with Abrams, david andJerry Zucker, abrams also was
behind laugh-inducing and oftenintentionally groan-inducing
comedy films, including TopSecret and the Top Gun Spoofs,
hot Shots and Hot Shots PartDeux Students of the Mel Brooks
School of Anything for a Laugh.
The trio paired absurdsituations with deadpan lines
(21:11):
and fueled Leslie Nielsen'sunlikely rise to leading man
after 30 years in the business.
The trio got their big startwriting the Kentucky Fried Movie
1977, a series of decidedlyun-PC vignettes directed by John
Landis that ranged from sillyto uproarious to what the hell
and back.
Example a TV news anchordeadpants from behind a desk I'm
not wearing any pants film at11.
(21:33):
Several of the independentlymade pics risque and
unapologetically crude sketcheswould be inappropriate to do.
But it was in 1990 that it allchanged for Zucker, abrams,
zucker, also known simply asZazz.
The trio barely assaultedtheaters with Paramount's
Airplane, a no-hold-barredsend-up of 70s disaster movies
(21:54):
that starred Leslie Nielsenalongside Robert Hayes, julie
Haggerty and a cameo cast of 50sand 60s TV stars and others
playing it ever not so straight.
Who could ever forget PeerGraves' fish-eating pilot,
barbara Billingsley'sjive-talking passenger, robert
Stack's aerocerbic military vet,or Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's
slow-boiling co-pilot?
(22:15):
Oh wait, that was Roger Murdoch.
Comedy geeks of a certain ageprobably all ages revere the
film's litany of quibble linessuch as Do you like films about
gladiators?
How soon can we land?
I can't tell.
You can tell me, I'm a doctor,we have clearance, clearance,
roger roger, what's the vector?
Victor, this woman has gottento a hospital.
(22:38):
A hospital what is it?
It's a big building withpatients, but that's not
important right now.
Et A hospital what is it?
It's a big building withpatients, but that's not
important right now.
Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.
Airplane was a commercial andcritical hit that made it to the
New York Times 2003 list of thebest 1,000 movies ever made.
It earned a BAFTA Awardnomination for Best Screenplay,
a Golden Globe nom for BestMotion Picture Comedy or Musical
(22:59):
and the Writers Guild anothermedium, a Writers Guild Award
for best comedy adapted fromtheir medium.
It also was selected in 2010for the National Film Registry,
which will ensure its survival,conservation and increased
public ability of the nation'sfilm heritage.
The pick spawned a 1982 KitchenSink sequel that brought most
(23:21):
of the band back together andcontinued the knee-slapping or
face-palming punchlines,unrepentant sight gags and
impressive line readings Fourthwall be damned.
It also led to Police Squad, abrilliant but short-lived 1982
ABC sitcom that starred Nielsenas LAPD detective Frank Drebin
and earned Abrams and Zuckers anEmmy nod for writing.
(23:42):
Now you'll get to 1988 andNielsen's Trebon, now a
lieutenant, hit the big screenin the Naked Gun, which combined
airplane shameless gaggery withthe elements of Brooks and Buck
Henry's Get Smart, crossed with70s cop dramas Subtitles from
the Files of Police Squad.
The film co-starred PriscillaPresley as Trebon's love
interest and OJ Simpson as hisaccent-prone fellow cop, and
(24:04):
borrowed some of the jokes fromthe series as it spoofed a US
visit by Queen Elizabeth.
The impeccably coiffed andcollected Drebin and company
returned in 1991 with the NakedGun 2 1⁄2 the Smell of Fear, and
again in 1994 with the NakedGun 33 1⁄3.
The trilogy combined to grossmore than $216 million globally
(24:25):
and a reboot starring LeslieNielsen and directed by Lonely
Island's Akiva Schaefer, was setto hit theaters in August.
Along the way, abrams and hischildhood friends, the Zucker
Brothers, continue to twistparodic knives into unsuspecting
genres, skewering the spy gamewith Top Secret starring Gif Val
Kilmer and Omar Sharif.
(24:46):
Top Gun with Hot Shots, whichstarred Charlie Sheen and Carrie
Elwes, with Airplane Alum, loicBridges, ephraim Zimbalist and
others.
Hot Shots Part Deux followed in1993, and the films combined to
bank more than $312 millionworldwide.
Born on May 10, 1944, inShorewood, wisconsin, abrams
(25:06):
also directed Big Business and,with the Zuckers, 1986's
Ruthless People.
He wrote and directed the 1998organized crime send-up Mafia
starring Jay Moore and Bridgesand, in something of a genre
departure, also helmed the 1990dramedy Welcome Home, roxy
Carmichael, which starred RenonaRyder and Jeff Daniels.
(25:28):
Last year he saw thepublication of Surely you Can't
Be Serious, a memoir penned byAbrams and the Zuckers about the
making of Airplane thatborrowed its title from Hayes'
famous line that fed Nielsen'smore famous retort I am serious,
don't call me Shirley.
Along with son Joseph,survivors include Abrams' wife
of nearly 50 years, nancy, sonCharlie, daughter Jamie and
(25:51):
three grandchildren.
Again, jim Abrams was 80 yearsold, and that brings us to the
end of this edition of the show.
Now please be sure to check usout on social media.
We're on Blue Sky and Twitterat Multiverse.
(26:12):
Tom, although I'm really notmuch on Twitter anymore, it's
most likely you know, I'm justkind of lurking there Threads,
facebook and Instagram atMultiverse Tonight, and if
you've gotten some value of theshow, would you please pay it
back.
Head on over tomultiverstenightcom where you
can find our Patreon and Ko-filinks.
Check out the show notes, visitour TeePublic store, leave some
(26:33):
feedback and so much more.
And this is your first timelistening.
Thank you and welcome.
Go ahead, hit that subscribebutton, share it with others.
Special thanks to Shane Iversfor the intro music and Lobo
Loco for the outro theme music.
Thanks for watching thisedition of Multiverse Tonight.
We'll be back in two weeks withmore sci-fi and comic book news
(26:53):
.
Now please exit the universe inan orderly fashion.
Good night.
Multiverse Tonight is aproduction of Half-Baked Genre
Productions.
Copyright 2024.
(27:13):
This podcast.
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