It seemed inevitable after Luke Cage and Iron Fist were dropped last year, but the last of the Marvel Netflix series finally got the ax over the weekend. Deadline reports that Netflix cancelled The Punisher and Jessica Jones, with the upcoming third season of Jessica Jones being the last.
This marks the end of all the series that have aired on the streaming network since 2015. Daredevil premiered four years ago to an enthusiastic audience and critical praise. Jessica Jones began the following year, which introduced Luke Cage to the mix. Finally, Iron Fist was released and was quickly followed with the first (and now only) season of The Defenders. Jon Bernthal’s portrayal of The Punisher, aka Frank Castle, proved strong enough for two seasons of a spin-off.
Jeph Loeb, who Executive Produced all the Netflix-run shows, posted this via Marvel’s website.
It had never been done before.
Four separate television series, each with different super-talented showrunners, writers, directors,cast and crew, coming out months apart and then…
…they would meet in a single event series all set in the heart of New York City.
We called them The Defenders.
And together we were thrilled by stories of Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist and even the Punisher joined in!
They said it couldn’t be done.
But Marvel assembled amazing teams to write, produce, direct, edit, and score 13 seasons and 161 one-hour episodes.
Take a moment and go online and look at the dazzling list of actors, writers, directors, and musicians who graced us with the very best of their craft.
We loved each and every minute of it.
And we did it all for you — the fans — who cheered for us around the world and made all the hard work worth it.
So, Thank You!
On behalf of everyone at Marvel Television, we couldn’t be more proud or more grateful to our audience.
Our Network partner may have decided they no longer want to continue telling the tales of these great characters… but you know Marvel better than that.
As Matthew Murdock’s Dad once said, “The measure of a man is not how he gets knocked to the mat, it’s how he gets back up.”
To be continued…!
– Jeph Loeb and all of us at Marvel Television
While no official statement has been made, the chances seem rather slim that the shows would be picked up by Disney’s streaming service. Screenrant reports that, even if it could happen, it wouldn’t happen before 2020. Furthermore Marvel Television is a separate production company from Marvel Studios, who head up the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Agents Of SHIELD.
This edition of Geekville Radio’s Nostalgia Trip is devoted to the 1960s pop sensation The Monkees. While the TV show may have only lasted for two seasons, it has been revered for generations as an inspiration for mixing music, video, and comedy. It also enjoyed years of success in syndication.
The Monkees were a made for TV band in 1966, partially in response to BeatleMania and the successful movie A Hard Day’s Night. They were all cast and given band member roles by the studio. They were not a band that formed organically. As such, there have been misconceptions and misinterpretations about the group over the years. This show hopes to straighten out some of those misconceptions.
THE MONKEES
Micky Dolenz – Born in LA in 1945, he grew up in an entertainment family. Micky broke into showbiz at the age of 11 when he starred in a children’s show called Circus Boy under the name Micky Braddock. While he could play guitar, he wound up being cast as the drummer for the TV show. Due to a medical condition, he set up his drum kit in a unique way. The bass pedal was set up for left-handed playing, while the rest of the kit was set up for playing right-handed.
Dolenz could also be considered the one that stayed the most active after The Monkees broke up. He did continue acting and making music. in the 1970’s Micky auditioned to be Fonzie before the role was given to Henry Winkler.
Perhaps his most known role outside of The Monkees is the voice of Arthur from the original 1990s animated series The Tick.
Dolenz of course sang lead for the band’s first hit “Last Train To Clarkesville”, which many people may not know is about a man shipping off to fight in The Vietnam War. But a song that was almost entirely his brainchild, “Randy Scouse Git”, appeared on Headquarters. That song had to be renamed in UK releases due to the vulgar nature of the term (it translates to “horny British boy”).
Davy Jones – The youngest of the groups, born in December 1945 in Manchester. Arguably the most popular, especially with the ladies. He usually wound up singing the romantic ballads as a result. Usually depicted onscreen as a percussionist, carrying a tambourine or maracas.
Davy did have some measure of fame before being cast in The Monkees. He was a professional singer who had received awards for live musicals. He also appeared on the very same episode of The Ed Sullivan Show that introduced The Beatles.
Jones will probably be best remembered for singing what may be The Monkees’ biggest hit, “Daydream Believer”. That appeared on the fifth and final album of the series, The Birds, The Bees, & The Monkees.
Sadly, Davy passed away in February 2012 of a heart attack.
Peter Tork – Born in Washington DC in February 1942, Peter was the oldest of the four. Tork wound up playing the “straight man” of the group, and would often be setting up the jokes rather than making them himself. His father was a college professor, and Peter himself has always been a bit of an intellectual.
He started playing piano at age nine, and went on to learn several other instruments. While he was a young man, Peter befriended then aspiring musician Stephen Stills, mostly known for Buffalo Springfield, and being the Stills in Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young. As luck would have it, Stills had auditioned to be a Monkee before Peter knew about the opportunity. Stills was rejected due to not being photogenic enough for TV. Stills then recommended the creators look at Peter Tork. “And the rest” Tork would say “is a hysterectomy”
In a bit of irony, Tork may have been the one with the greatest amount of musical talent. Yet onscreen he was cast as being a bass player. Plus, his role in the show was more of a straight man who could be fooled, despite being a real life intellectual.
Tork is probabably the one that sang the least often. In fact, only one Monkees song from the original run featured Peter on lead vocals. That being “Your Auntie Grizelda” off the second album More Of The Monkees.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rp_eI23YFZY
That said, it’s worth noting that Peter did help write a few songs. Most notably “For Pete’s Sake” which became the closing theme music., though it’s commonly misidentified as “In This Generation”. He also did the music arrangement for arguably their biggest hit, “Daydream Believer”.
Michael Nesmith – Born on December 1942 in Texas, Nesmith is a bonafide southerner. Though cast as a quieter goofball, he often wound up being the smartest guy in the room.
Nesmith had recorded songs previously under the name Michael Blessing, and had experience writing songs. One of his songs was “Different Drum”, which became a hit for The Stone Poneys that launched the career of a young Linda Ronstadt.
Mike’s onscreen gimmick was his constant wearing of a snowcap. He wore the cap during his audition, and the producers liked the look. In reality, Mike truly grew to hate the snowcap look. He and Peter Tork were also the ones most vocal about wanting to play their own instruments
After The Monkees, Nesmith became quite the renaissance man. He started a video company that produced movies and comedy videos like Elephant Parts. In 1980, he started a TV show called PopClips, which would wind up being the direct precursor to MTV. On top of that, his mother had created the solution that would become Liquid Paper.
Among some of the Hollywood films Nesmith produced are Repo Man and Timerider.
Nesmith’s song “Papa Gene’s Blues” was one of the rare exceptions on the first album to be written and produced by a band member.
MUSIC
While everything started with a TV sitcom, music was produced simultaneously by producers like Don Kirschner. Professional songwriters were used to write most of the songs on the first two albums. A lot of the music was recorded by the infamous studio group The Wrecking Crew for the first two albums.
It is true is the band did not play instruments on the first two albums, The Monkees and More Of The Monkees. The reasons why were simple. One, they were doing the TV show, and for productions’ sake, they could just go into the studio and lay down vocals rather than spend the extra time rehearsing. And two, the songs needed to sound like a band that had been together for years. And guys that just met each other the same year just flat out aren’t going to be in sync, let alone do much songwriting.
The onscreen depiction of the band had Mike on guitar, Micky on drums, and Peter Tork on bass. The irony is Peter Tork may have been the most musically inclined of all of them. Davy was usually depicted as percussion (tamborine or maracas), but he did play instruments here and there. Micky did have to learn drums, as he was more of a guitarist. Davy had told the story that when they were asked who is going to be the drummer, he, Mike, and Peter all took a step back leaving Micky alone”.
Communication about when the albums would be released and what singles would be used was not discussed much between the label and the band. There was an infamous story of The Monkees doing live appearances shortly after the first album was released. Fans would tell them “We got your new album”… to which confused the group as they only knew of one album. It turned out the second album More Of The Monkees had been produced and released without their knowledge..
Most of the early hits were mostly written by other songwriters
Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart – “Monkees Theme”, “Last Train To Clarkesville”
Neil Diamond – “I’m A Believer”, “A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You”
John Stewart (not THAT John Stewart) – “Daydream Believer”
Carole King and Gerry Coffin – “Pleasant Valley Sunday”
Some critics do not seem to consider The Monkees a “real band”, due to them being assembled. But the truth is that type of practice was not uncommon at all in the entertainment business. Studios have assembled singing groups for decades, and it’s still being done to this day. How were The Spice Girls formed? The Backstreet Boys? New Kids On The Block?
The third album, Headquarters, was the first to feature the band playing their own instruments. It is looked at by many music historians as an important album in history due to this fact. By this time, Chip Douglas had been hired as producer. He also took over most of the bass playing. The album sold well, though subsequent albums sold significantly less than these first three.
The Monkees themselves had said if they could do it over again, the lineup would be Peter on guitar, Mike on bass, Davy on drums and Micky as a frontman. That would have played to all their strengths. The music video to the song “Words” depicts this lineup.
TV SHOW
The show ran for two full seasons from September 1966 to March of 1968. The show did decline in the second season, due to the reaction that the boys weren’t really a band. In addition, there were creative differences. The band wanted to do more than just screwball comedy, and wanted to turn the show into more of a variety show. During that time, variety shows like The Ed Sullivan Show were extremely popular.
Some of the musicians who auditioned for the show did wind up with succesful music careers. There was the aforementioned Stephen Stills, as well as Paul Williams.
Here is a highlight reel of the auditions and screen tests the guys went through
HEAD
The group made their first and only feature film in 1968. Head was releaseed to change the band’s image. In fact, there was a marketing campaign that didn’t even mention the band was in the movie. The opening scene of the band jumping off the bridge was to symbolize the “death and rebirth” of their careers. Jack Nicholson (yes THAT Jack Nicholson) helped write and produce the film. The title Head came about because if there was a sequel, it would be marketed as “From the people that gave you Head”.
The movie is notable for having several different cameos. Among the celebrities who appear:
Green Bay Packers Linebacker Ray Nitschke has a cameo playing a football player in the trenches of Vietnam.
Teri Garr in her first feature film
Sonny Liston in a boxing match with Davy
Annete Funicello as a spectator in said boxing match
Ronald Reagan, then Governor of California, in a news clip
Jack Nicholson and Dennis Hopper as film crew
Tor Johnson as a guard (his final onscreen appearance)
While Head may have been a colossal failure at the box office, it would up gaining cult status for its outlandishness. From a musical standpoint, it did feature a live rendition of the song “Circle Sky”, in which they sing and play every note in one take.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWi_63q58CQ
In closing, there is an opinion from many fans that The Monkees are worthy to be included in The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. Only time will tell if that opinion will become fact.
If you have any thoughts on The Monkees, whether it be the show, the music, or anything else, we’d love to hear them. Sound off below!
The internet is buzzing about a discovery credited to a Reddit thread which claims Balance Of The Force is on the official Star Wars page. Could this be the title of Episode IX? As of this recording, there has been no official confirmation or denial from Disney or LucasFilm. However, the name “Balance Of The Force” goes back at least a couple decades.
As many fans who remember the mid-90s may attest, the term Balance Of The Force is nothing new to the Star Wars Universe. In fact, it was the heavily rumored title for Episode I going all the way back to when the prequels were announced.
Balance Of The Force was rumored to be the title for Episode I
Mace Windu of course uses the term when discussing Anakin with Qui-Gon Jinn.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeAAjRVjPxA
It wouldn’t be the first time that a title may have been considered but discarded. When the initial teaser trailer for Return Of The Jedi was released, it had the title Revenge Of The Jedi. George Lucas changed his mind and renamed the movie Return Of The Jedi due to revenge not being a Jedi trait.
Flash forward 22 years, and Episode III got the name Revenge Of The Sith.
In the prequels, it was hinted that destroying the Sith would bring Balance To The Force. Vader accomplished the task by destroying Emperor Palpatine in Episode VI. But was that really bringing balance? Or could it be a balance on how The Force is interpreted? The Jedi and Sith had their own skewed ways of looking at The Force. As said in an excerpt from Episode 35, RealMarchHare and Leadbase talk about what “balance” might mean, and that it could mean a Neutral stance.
There is reason to believe that the title may not be Balance Of The Force after all, as there was a digital pinball game released with that name. Giving a movie the same name as an unrelated video game would seem a bit counterpoductive.
What do you think about the name Balance Of The Force? What do you think it would mean? Sound off below or on our Facebook and Twitter Page.
Flashback to 2015 for some football fever superhero talk. Seth “Zandrax” Zillmann, “Crazy Train” Jonathan Bolick, and “Uncle Greg” Ochaba make a football team entirely out of superheroes (AND villains). It’s a perfect discussion for fellow comic book fans at a Big Game Party.
Could Thor play Quarterback? Should Hulk be Offensive or Defensive line?
All these positions and many more in this Flashback Episode of Geekville Radio!
The CW has officially renewed all shows in the fan favorite Arrowverse TV family. Broadcasting Cable reports CW President Mark Pedowitz made the announcements during the TCA (Television Critics Association) Winter 2019 Press Tour. The shows were among the 10 announced renewals for the 2019-2020 season.
“This season, we expanded our primetime schedule to six nights with the addition of Sunday — which has been an unqualified success for the network, our affiliates and our advertisers,” said Pedowitz. “In addition to growing our schedule across the week, we also continue to add more year-round programming. The early renewal of these signature CW series gives us a head start on laying out the 2019-2020 season, and this is just the beginning.”
Usually renewals are not announced until early Spring, so this year’s early announcement does show CW’s approval of all the shows’ ratings.
This will put Arrow at Season 8, The Flash at Season 6, Supergirl and Legends Of Tomorrow both at Season 5, and Black Lightning at Season 3. The pilot for Batwoman, which will center around Ruby Rose’s character introduced during last month’s crossover, will presumably air during that season as well.
2019 certainly has no shortage of geek films. From sequels to reboots, to live action remakes. Even the horror genre looks promising.
Join Seth and Train as they preview many of the upcoming moves in 2019, especially the Marvel and DC entries. Links below are all courtesy IMDB, with trailers attached if available.
FEBRUARY 5th
Lego Movie 2: The Second Part – The long awaited sequel has most of the primary cast returning to deal with the imminent threat of the giant Duplo Block Invasion. In our review of the first film, we were amazed that a $100 million dollar commercial could be so much fun. Everything still looks awesome.
FEBRUARY 14th
Alita: Battle Angel – Manga fans are familiar with this title, based on the series of books from the 1990s. The story is set in a cyberpunk future where a cyborg is awakened and repaired. Once functioning, she sets out to learn her past and how everything came to be. If you’re not familiar with the title, there are some bonafide A-Listers at work. Robert Rodriguez is directing , with the screenplay co-written by James Cameron himself.
Happy Death Day 2U – The first film was a surprise hit with a very original premise. It was almost like a horror version of Groundhog Day. Writer/Director Christopher Landon returns to helm the sequel that will pick up immediately after the original movie ended.
FEBRUARY 22
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World – Seemingly everybody has enjoyed the Dreamworks animation releases. They are arguably the #2 animation studio next to Disney itself. The third and final installment in the movie is set one year after How To Train your Dragon 2 and finds Hiccup searching for a lost dragon world.
MARCH 8th
Captain Marvel – The first Marvel MCU movie of 2019 will introduce Carol Danvers and Skrulls to the MCU. Samuel L Jackson returns as a younger, two-eyed Nick Fury. The film takes place entirely in the 1990s and will presumably show how Fury got his trademark eyepatch.
APRIL 5th
SHAZAM – In a hilarious twist of fate, DC’s Captain Marvel (aka SHAZAM) is brought into the DCEU the month following Marvel’s entry. Teenage Billy Batson is transformed into a fully adult superhero by uttering the word “Shazam”. So Marvel Comics has a Captain Marvel, DC has a Captain Marvel. Everybody got that? Zachary Levi portrays the title role, while Mark Strong plays the villainous Dr. Sivana. This puts Strong on the interesting list of actors with multiple comic book roles from the same publisher (he portrayed Sinestro in the 2011 Green Lantern film). No other DC Characters listed as appearing according to IMDB. Sorry fans, we have to wait a little longer to get The Rock’s Black Adam.
APRIL 12th
Hellboy – While this is a reboot, this isn’t just an ordinary reboot. Creator Mike Mignola will have a larger creative role in this version. David Harbour (Stranger Things) takes over the title role, while Milla Jovovich portrays the evil Nimue.
APRIL 26th
Avengers: Endgame – Not much can be said that hasn’t already been speculated on already. We had a thorough dissection of the trailer last month. Arguably the most anticipated movie of the year (which is saying something) will finish the story from last year’s Avengers: Infinity War, and usher in Phase Four of the MCU.
MAY 24th
Alladin – 2019 is the year for Disney live action remakes. Alladin was a huge hit in the 1990s, due in no small part to Robin Williams’ epic take on The Genie. Sadly, Robin is no longer with us, or he surely would have reprised the role. Will Smith certainly has some big shoes to fill.
MAY 31st
Godzilla: King Of The Monsters – Millie Bobby Brown (also from the Stranger Things cast) makes her big screen debut. This sequel to the 2014 smash hit introduces Mothra, Rodan, and King Gidorah to the American Godzilla franchise. Plus, we know King Kong is also part of this Kaiju Cinematic Universe.
JUNE 7th
X-Men: Dark Phoenix – One of the most popular storylines from the X-Men comic books finally is adapted for the big screen. Some elements were used in X3, but this version looks to be a more in depth take. With this being the likely conclusion to Fox’s X-Men franchise, it wouldn’t be surprising to see a lot of characters bite the big one.
JUNE 14th
Men In Black International – Thor Ragnarok co-stars Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson reunite in this spin-off that also introduces Liam Neeson to the franchise. The trailer looks to carry on the sci-fi comedy that made the first three films so successful.
Shaft – Jessie T Usher stars as JJ Shaft, the third generation of the Shaft family. Richard Roundtree and Samuel L Jackson reprise their respective roles as John Shaft and John Shaft II. In a world of so many reboots, it’s refreshing to see an installment that still recognizes previous movies as part of the story.
JUNE 21st
Child’s Play – Speaking of reboots, MGM has this take on the horror/comedy franchise that rebrands Chucky for a 21st Century audience. It is important not confuse this with the upcoming TV series of the same name. This film will be a new continuity and will not involve creator Don Mancini or actor Brad Dourif, who will be part of the TV series.
Toy Story 4 – Ironic that a horror franchise dealing with an evil doll drops on the same day as the beloved family franchise about dolls and toys. Toy Story 3 had a very emotional ending, so it will be interesting to see what is in store for the cast in this new installment.
Lion King – Another live action adaption (if you want to call it that) of a Disney franchise. This trailer looks almost shot by shot like the 1994 smash hit. James Earl Jones is the lone cast returning. He will reprise the role of Muphasa, while Donald Glover steps in as Simba.
AUGUST 2nd
The New Mutants – With the exit of one mutant franchise from Fox, another one debuts. As the name implies, the film is inspired by the 1980s Marvel title which brought a new generation into the fold. Though the trailer seems to heavily hint a much more horror focus than simply sci-fi action. In this post-Deadpool and Logan world, could an R-Rating be in store?
SEPTEMBER 9th
It Chapter 2 – We knew when the first film hit that this would be a two part story. Thankfully, that gamble paid off as It became a worldwide smash and became the highest grossing horror film of all time.
OCTOBER 4th
Joker – The much examined Joaquin Phoenix standalone film will be also star the legendary Robert De Niro. Not much is truly known about the film, and there is the underlying rumor that Phoenix may not even be the title character after all.
OCTOBER 11th
Addams Family – The classic comedic family is returning to the big screen, this time in animated form. Oscar Isaac voices Gomez, Charlize Theron voices Morticia, and Finn Wolfhard (another cast from Stranger Things) takes on Pugsley. An animated take may seem a bit odd to some, but it may actually be more faithful to the original comic strip that existed before the TV show.
NOVEMBER 1st
Untitled Terminator Film – Creator James Cameron is returning to the franchise that made him a household name. Linda Hamilton is returning to the role of Sarah Connor and Arnold Schwarzenegger is once again portraying a Terminator. Like Halloween before it, this film will ignore most of the previous films, and will be a direct sequel to 1991’s Terminator 2.
DECEMBER 20th
Star Wars Episode IX – Much like Avengers Endgame, there isn’t much to talk about that hasn’t already been said. Disney has confirmed that this will be the final episode of “The Skywalker Saga”. This implies that any future films will be unrelated, and may not have the classic scrolling text introduction. That said, what on Earth could possibly be the final shot of the nine episode saga?
If there was an Internet Meme Awards, this would certainly earn a nomination. Every line of Queen’s epic classic Bohemian Rhapsody has been adapted into a popular meme pic. Enjoy!
Seth “Zandrax” Zillmann and “Crazy Train” Jonathan Bolick return for the first full-fledged Geekville Radio episode for 2019!
Black Panther Nabs Best Picture Nomination
Historical news hit this week with Black Panther getting an Academy Award Nomination for Best Picture. It is very rare for a Geek movie, especially a superhero one, to get any consideration outside of technological achievement. While Seth and Train agree that it will likely not win the coveted prize, it is still a huge achievement for such a movie to even get nominated.
Finally, Seth and Train discuss all these reboots, remakes, and sequels that have been made lately. Why is it some are great while others fall short? And why could some of these movies work then and not work now?
With all this 80s talk, it’s only fitting Train gives a 1980’s One Hit Wonder Spotify playlist.
All this and more in another fun-filled episode of Geekville Radio.
At long last, the first trailer for Spider-Man: Far From Home has hit the interwebs. Check it out below, and check out our analysis of the trailer by clicking on the podcast link above.
Is this before or after Infinity War? There are a few clues within. Let us know what you think!
