WTWOF - The Last Airbender: Legend of Korra

Legend of Korra, the spinoff to the 2005 nickelodeon hit Avatar: the Last Airbender has arrived at Comic-Con with a brand new trailer. So far, this new show seems to capture the essence of its predecessor tv-show, something M. Night Shyamalan's movie adaptation unfortunately failed to do. It looks like we can expect all the fluidly animated combat, flashy elemental "bending" and that special touch of quirky humor fans of the original show have come to expect.

Check out the trailer below! Legend of Korra is due out in 2012, so there's still a ways to go before we can immerse ourselves in this wonderful world.

Avatar: The Last Airbender
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What to Watch Out For: Damages, Season 4 Premiere July 13, 2011

Missed this in last friday's spotlight, but after a long hiatus, the critically acclaimed legal thriller "Damages" starring Glenn Close and Rose Byrne returns to television this week. The first season of this show was one of the best things to happen to TV, showcasing the darkest depths of the lawyer's profession, and weaving a convincing plot about what one is willing to do to achieve one's goals. The later seasons waned in quality, in part because of an over-reliance on a now-cumbersome "flashback" gimmick, and ratings slipped so much that this original TNT drama was facing cancellation in 2010. DirecTV came in with a last-minute save though.

Damages tells the story of recent law-graduate Ellen Parsons (played by Rose Byrnes - she seems to be in everything nowadays) and her ruthless, cut-throat mentor Patty Hewes (Glenn Close), an attorney infamous for getting her way no matter the cost. The first season succeeded in part because it was a fascinating to watch Ellen follow in Patty's footsteps, transforming from a idealistic law student into a frightening "whatever-it-takes" kind of attorney herself. Seasons 2 and 3 retain the strong character portrayals and development, but unfortunately weren't able to capture the same feel of a tightly-knit plot.

Season Four will feature a reduced episode count (10, compared to the 13 episodes from the first three seasons). Hopefully this will help keep the writers on a tight budget, and reduce the amount of filler scenes. The central plot involves private military contractors in Afghanistan. Check out a trailer below, and tune in to DirecTV on Wednesday, July 13, 2011 for the season premiere.

WTWOF: Digital Ads being Added to ... Reruns?!

You've got to see it to believe it, but apparently networks have stooped to inserting ads into reruns of shows. Check out this link to see for yourself - apparently an advertisement for the Zookeeper was stuck into this rerun of the CBS sitcom "How I Met Your Mother."

Some of us may know that Ted is a horribly unreliable narrator, but would he really lie about the contents of his friend's bookstand?

What to Watch Out For: Bastion

Today's WTWOF spotlights Bastion, an upcoming XBLA (Xbox360 Live Arcade) action RPG from Supergiant Games. For those of you who were readers of Gamespot before 2006-2007 or so, you might recognize one of the developers on the project: Greg Kasavin. Before he left for Supergiant Games, Greg Kasavin was Gamespot's resident RPG expert, with most of the big-name RPGs going his way for reviews. For the most part, I tended to agree with most everything he said; that hopefully means Bastion will not disappoint.

It's Hammer Time.

 
Bastion stars "The Kid," - and that's pretty much all I know about the main character. The game is set in a gorgeously drawn world ... and that's about as much as I know about the world too. As you can see, a lot of the details for this upcoming downloadable arcade game are still vague, but what we do know is quite intriguing. Among the features the game is touting is a level design that sort of coalesces into place as you progress. Further, every action you take as "The Kid" is narrated in real time by a somewhat snarky narrator, giving your adventure a very humorous storybook feel.

The backdrops are really quite gorgeous.

This seems like a very promising gem for fans of quirky, stylish, action RPGs. Bastion is slated for release July 20, 2011 for XBLA (1200 Microsoft Points) and later on the PC. Check out the Reveal Trailer below!

WTWOF: Captain America - The First Avenger (2011)

Oh Jessica Alba. If only you could have
more than one expression on your face
at a time, maybe Fantastic Four would
have survived.

Followup Edition! To round out this summer's multitude of comic-based superhero movies (including Thor, X-Men, & Green Lantern all in the last two months) comes Captain America: The First Avenger. The film stars Chris Evans as the titular hero, though you might also remember him as the Human Torch, from the widely panned Fantastic Four movies. Considering both Captain America and the Fantastic Four belong to the Marvel universe, I'm guessing this will preclude any Captain America/Fantastic Four crossovers.

In case you were wondering why the movie boasts "the First Avenger" as its subtitle, I might point to the subtle hints that Marvel Studios has been dropping since Iron Man in 2008. You know how each film kinda has subtle hints about what's coming up in the next film? And how there are quite a few characters that crossover between movies? Yes folks, Marvel Studios is planning an Avengers film - directed by Joss Whedon - and to be released in 2012.

Captain America follows Steve Rogers, a man who attempts to join the army during World War II, only to be deemed physically unfit for service. Opting instead to volunteer for an unconventional and secret military operation, he is transformed into super soldier. Together with his sidekick, they combat a Nazi plot to take over the world.

The film is actually the last of the standalone movies to air before the team formally unites on the silver screen next year. Though I'm personally not exactly a big fan of the Captain, I'll probably see the film anyway. Can I just say though, doesn't it seem like Chris Evans goes from being a man with a head that's too big for his body, to a man whose body is too big for his head?

F for fudge.

Catch Captain America: The First Avenger in theaters, July 22, 2011. See the latest trailer below.

WTWOF: True Blood Season 4 Premieres Sunday, June 26

In today's "What to Watch Out For," the spotlight is on True Blood, which returns this Sunday, June 26 with its fourth season. True Blood is probably one of the goriest, grimiest, disgusting-est, show on HBO. It's also one of the most fun to watch and like HBO's other recent mega-hit 'Game of Thrones,' True Blood is also based on a series of novels: The Southern Vampire Mysteries by Charlaine Harris. The difference is that while Game of Thrones follows the plot of the novels with near-complete fidelity, True Blood isn't afraid of straying far, far away from the books.

True Blood follows Sookie Stackhouse and her unusually supernatural life in Bon Temps, Louisiana. Vampires have declared themselves to the world, and a blood substitute named "True Blood" is developed so that Vampires do not need to attack humans in order to stay alive. Most people still view vampires with at best trepidation and at worst open hostility, however.

Sookie is a mind-reader, though - at least initially - she does not know why she seems to be the only person with this power. She meets Bill Compton, a vampire, who is immune to her telepathy and becomes drawn to him. They develop a somewhat unconventional romance from there, and the story follows their attempts at dealing with crazed serial killers; anti-vampire organizations, an unlimited supply of new mythical creatures, and even vampire politics.

So in spite of that horribly brief summary, what exactly does True Blood have going for it? Well let's see: Interesting characters? Check; Intricate story arcs? Check; Fast-paced action? Check; Unabashed nudity and gratuitous sex? Check.

Oh and Vampires. And Werewolves. And Shapeshifters. And who knows what else. Check check check check.

Now, admittedly there has been some controversy over whether or not True Blood has been declining in quality. One common complaint is that the characters on the show (and in the books) are constantly being revealed as some sort of supernatural monster. Some of the story arcs on True Blood have also been criticized. I myself was not a fan of how the third season concluded; the season brought us to new heights of suspense, only to let that feeling disperse in a series of thoroughly anticlimactic episodes leading up to and including the finale.

Still, I'm curious to see what True Blood has in store for the fourth season. From the trailers, it seems a new set of antagonists will be introduced, new romances might be kindled, and just more guilty pleasure fun. Check out the teaser below and see HBO's youtube account for more videos.

What To Watch Out For: Futurama, New Season begins Tomorrow 6/23!

Futurama!

The second half of the sixth production season (or the seventh on-air season, or even possibly the eighth season according to iTunes) will be debuting tomorrow night with back-to-back episodes on Comedy Central. A critical and somewhat cult hit during its initial run, Futurama was eventually cancelled by FOX after five (or four?) seasons had aired. A few successful straight-to-DVD movies later, and Futurama was revived (with an episode appropriately titled "Rebirth") and returned for a sixth (or fifth? or seventh?) season on Comedy Central.

Wondering why the seasons are such a mess? Well, it seems that no one can really agree on where the seasons start and begin, due to Fox Network's decision to air the episodes erratically and out of order. The insertion of the DVD movies in between the original run and the resurrected show also makes things a little confusing. The end result is that I will forever be adding parentheticals to qualify possible other numerical notations whenever I talk about Futurama.

Leela, Bender, and Fry

 ... yeah, forget that. I'm just going to follow wikipedia and say Season 6B begins airing tomorrow. Watch it! Futurama rocks!


The initial run of Futurama had some of the best animated comedy ever to grace the small screen. The series somehow managed to create characters that you could relate to, and yet be completely over-the-top wacky at the same time. The humor was hip and fresh, easily surpassing the Simpsons and Family Guy in depth and sophistication. Funny plotlines were often sprinkled with just the right amount of sentimentality. Case in point: the episode "Jurassic Bark." Watching Fry try to revive his millenium-dead pet dog Seymour and then change his mind at the last second, saying that he knew Seymour had lived a full life without him - only for the show to reveal that Seymour had spent his last years desperately waiting to be reunited with Fry - was one of the most heartbreaking experiences ever on TV.



While the revived season is still stretching its legs, it still had quite a few gems last year. Here's to hoping Season 6B will continue and expand upon that.

Futurama is set 1000 years in the future, where a pizza delivery boy finds himself after being cryogenically frozen. Along with his distant nephew - a 100+ year old mad scientist and his new crewmates (including his cyclops love interest Leela and robot bff Bender), Fry embarks on weekly escapades that boast adventure, excitement, drama and hilarity. See a recap below of the first five seasons narrated by none other than the Spaceman Extraordinaire, Zapp Brannigan, and then tune in tomorrow night!

Futurama	Thursdays 10/9c
Recap-O-Rama: 5 Seasons in 7 Minutes
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What to Watch Out For: HBO's Game of Thrones - Season Finale on 6/19

 
I'll admit I am a relative newcomer to the Song of Ice & Fire, a series of historical fiction novels penned by George R.R. Martin, a man who has been referenced as the American Tolkien. It wasn't until late October 2010 that I picked up "A Game of Thrones" for the first time (via my ipad, no less - A Game of Thrones is the first novel in the series).

I was hooked. Four novels spanning over 4,000 pages in total came and went with remarkable alacrity. And then in mid April of 2011, HBO began airing their television adaptation of the first novel to wide critical acclaim.

What to Watch Out For: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2

Voldemort ponders how best to start eating Harry's face off.

Via traileraddict.com comes the final trailer for the second part of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. An epic journey spanning 7 years of Hogwarts time and almost 10 years of real life time culminates in what appears to be a frenetic and action-packed finale July 15 2011.

Think about this - the first Harry Potter movie came out in late 2001.

Boy, I feel old.