#334: “B” Movie Arc, Part 1: Trancers

We kick off our “B” Movie arc with the hilariously cheesy, sometimes campy, and all-around fun 1985 sci-fi action flick Trancers. We revel in laughter over the movie’s halfhearted future-car, zombie cross-dressing stunt doubles, the gunning-down of a possessed mall Santa, the young Helen Hunt’s portrayal of a woman unfazed when her boyfriend’s body is taken over by a grizzled, time-traveling law enforcer twice her age, and the heart-stopping Honda scooter chase that comprises the film’s climax. We showcase excerpts from our in-depth Save Eureka interview with one of our favorite sci-fi actors — returning GWC guest and fan favorite Colin Ferguson! And we run down the Week in Geek, get a special Video Game News from Sean, who just completed the complex, rewarding RPG Dragon’s Dogma; geek out Olympics-style on the elaborate opening ceremonies in London; wonder how cyclists hit the whiz palace during a six-hour race; and get excited about the long-awaited return ofWarehouse 13 and Alphas. Beware of beverages while consuming this ‘cast; spittakes imminent.

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Behold and weep …

//youtu.be/0FYACkEYvGs

This was actually painful to watch :slight_smile:

OB

Audra mentioned the new NBC show Revolution in the news section of this cast. I doubt I even knew of its existence before the Olympics but since I’ve been watching the crap out of NBC’s Olympic coverage (I won’t go into my opinions on NBC’s Olympic coverage here) and NBC has been advertising the crap out of its new fall lineup during the Olympics I’m am very excited to see this show. To me it looks like a cross between Flash Forward, Terra Nova, Hunger Games, Falling Skies and Walking Dead. A co-worker said it sounded a little like Jericho as well but I have never seen Jericho so I can’t compare it. Say what you personally want to about Revolutions but NBC has done its promotional job well and I am really looking forward to it.

Of course now that I’ve said that I’m looking forward to Revolutions the show is most likely in danger of being cancelled by Christmas - no particular reason, just my luck recently with TV shows. And I find myself questioning if I should invest myself in any new show these days after so many premature cancellations (V, Caprica, Flash forward, Stargate Universe, Outcasts, etc). I feel that with technical options these days that if the show really takes off that I can always go back and catch up. Maybe that’s just against the spirit of things but I feel like I’ve wasted so much time on cancelled shows these last 2-3 years that I’d like to have that time back in my life.

I think several GWCers actually agree with me. Or at least they have similar concerns based on previous conversations I’ve had.

~Shooter Out

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It’s taken 7 months but I’ve finally run through all 6 Trancers movies via Netflix’s DVD service. There were some delays for long or short waits for the disks and I did have other movies ahead of these in my queue, but I finally did watch all 6 movies. The first one was by far the best in the bunch but 4-5 made a nice little mini-series type storyline. The 6th movie also attempted to move the story on with a different (sort of) main character.

With the advances in filming in the 10 years since the last Trancers was made and the spectacular writing available today and with modern digital special effects this series is ripe for a reboot. Especially if you can find someone as awesome as Helen Hunt to pick up the role of Leena and write her into all 6 films.

~Shooter Out

My Trancers series-viewing post above unexpectedly brought me to this post about Revolutions and cancelled shows I wrote last August. While I’m happy that Revolutions remains just above the cut line through the middle of it’s first season, my prediction did come true for at least one new 2012-2013 genre show. Last Resort (arguably a much better show than Revolutions) was cancelled in the middle of it’s first season. And while not the best series ending, at least Last Resort was given a chance to wrap everything up in it’s final episode unlike fellow ABC cancelled show V last year or just about any FOX show like Terra Nova.

With networks ready to pull the plug after just a few episodes I’m growing more and more into the wait and see mode with new shows. My new prime time love of Person Of Interest is an excellent example. It’s a great show but I didn’t start watching it until last fall. Now that I’m up to speed I try to watch it live as much as possible.

I’m not sure what else the networks can do - they have to remain profitable after all. However, successful shows will need to be created by writers that can 1) make a good pilot, 2) maintain our intrigued interest through a limited 6 show span that can stand on its own and 3) be able to interweave long term show plot points into a series of limited show runs. The writers and show teams that can pull this off successfully will be the more successful ones in our still transforming entertainment industry.

~Shooter Out