Good morning USA! I got a feelin’ that it’s gonna be a wonderful day. That it is for animator/creator Seth MacFarlane. The man known for dominating FOX’s “Animation Domination” lineup with his imaginative and relevant comedies must be feeling an enormous sense of relief after hearing today’s news that AmericanDad will be joining long-time staple Family Guy and newcomer The Cleveland Show for the 2011-13 TV seasons. No, that’s not a typo and I’ll explain why. The Smiths have been guaranteed a seventh season with a full 22-episode order. However, because FOX has ordered two new animated shows Allen Gregory and Napoleon Dynamite (yes, based on the movie) for next season, scheduling only an undisclosed portion of American Dad episodes will air in 2011-12, and the remaining eps will overflow into the 2012-13 season. And believe it or not, this is the way the show has aired since the 2005 Super Bowl. So no harm done here. Packaged with this news of renewal is a hint of what’s to come later this season; upcoming guest voices include Anjelica Huston, Elisabeth Shue, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Burt Reynolds, and Cee-Lo Green.
“This is fantastic news,” said Roger the Alien in a statement. “But you do realize I’m not real, right?”
If you’ve been following ABC’s new superhero show No Ordinary Family, you would know that Jim Powell is a fictional character played by the show’s male lead and executive producer Michael Chiklis. The actor best known for his role as Vic Mackey in FX’s The Shield will soon contribute to his new show in a way you would likely never expect. According to EW, the March 1 episode titled “No Ordinary Love” will feature a song recorded by Chiklis and his band. “Till I Come Home” is described as a sentimental tune that will during a “tender moment” between Chiklis’ TV daughter Daphne Powell (Kay Panabaker) and her boyfriend Chris. Interestingly the song was originally produced by Chiklis to pay tribute to U.S. troops and his cousin’s service. “I’ve been a musician my whole life,” he told EW. “I’m really enjoying making music again and this is a real band! Also, this was written and recorded in my house! This is not a product of the machine … it’s just heartfelt, homegrown music. More to come too.”
If you’re not watching No Ordinary Family, you should be. After a rocky start, the characters have settled into their roles and the bubbling plot is overflowing with strong mythos-driven intricacies. Though the initial 13-episode order was extended due to decent ratings early on, a season 2 renewal is far from a sure thing. Check it out, and tell your friends about it. It would be too sad to see a show of this (sci-fi) caliber to fall by the wayside.
Hot on the heels of The Science Channel acquiring the rights to air Joss Whedon’s Firefly, the Syfy network intends to bring back another cult favorite program axed from network TV prematurely. Syfy will air all 31 episodes (spanning 2 seasons) of the ill-fated FOX show Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles starting Thursday, April 7 at 9PM. After its cable premiere date, TSCC will air Thursdays from 7PM to 11PM–that’s right, the station will air 4 one-hour episodes back-to-back every Thursday. Intense stuff. Though the show got off on shaky ground, it quickly found its feet towards the latter half of season one and its shortened second season made for some really great TV. If you missed out on its original run, I highly recommend checking it out on Syfy this April. By the time the series finale rolls around you will be begging to the powers that be for more. Sure it’s set in the Terminator universe, but the show distances itself from the movies by expanding on familiar names (read: John and Sarah Conner) and introducing new and exciting characters (Summer Glau’s Cameron and Garrett Dillahunt’s Cromartie). Plus a TV movie may be in the works, so you’ve got to prepare for that.
According to Brandchannel, a division of global branding agency Interbrand, Apple products can be found in 30 percent of the top movies at the U.S. box office in 2010. Last year delivered 33 high-grossing films that made it to #1 in the box office; Apple products appeared in 10 of them, so now you can see where that percentage comes from. Of the 591 brands identified in the #1 flicks, Apple was clearly the most dominant. Its product placement leadership over the years, however, has been on the decline. After reaching its product placement peak in 2008 (when Apple products showed up in nearly 50 percent (20 of 41) of #1 films), its visibility in those top films dropped about six percent in 2009 (appearing in 19 of 44 films) and a staggering 14 percent in 2010. Hop after the break to see a handy chart put together by Brandchannel that helps visualize things. Though the numbers may be dropping year-over-year, there’s no question that Apple wears the product placement crown. I mean, their products are so pretty, what do you expect?
Other fun facts brought to you by Broadcom… Nike, Chevrolet and Ford tied for second place after Apple, each appearing in 24 percent of the top films; Sony, Dell, Land Rover, and Glock appeared in at least 15 percent of the #1 films; the single movie with the most placements was Iron Man 2 with a whopping 64 brand placements. Click here for more stats.
The wait for a worthy iPad contender has been tiring. Samsung’s Android 2.2-powered Galaxy Tab couldn’t compete with Apple’s iOS offerings (its successor, on the other hand, is anticipated). Android is finally ready to make the move to tablets, and Honeycomb looks scrumptious. The first Android 3.0-powered tablet out of the gate will be Motorola’s 10.1-inch Xoom, detailed here. Tomorrow, February 24 the Xoom will be made available on Verizon’s 3G network with promise of upgraded 4G LTE capabilities (at no additional charge) later this year (Q2 2011, somewhat more specifically). Here’s the pricing options you’ve got at launch. You can purchase the Xoom for $599.99 if you sign a new two-year contract with VZW; 3G data pricing starts at $20 for 1GB of monthly access. Or if you don’t feel like tying yourself to a carrier you can simply drop two additional Benjamins and rely on Internet access via WiFi hotspots. The pricer Xoom is currently listed on Best Buy, but it’s slapped with an in-store only pickup option. Verizon is also teasing it on its website, and their press release ambiguously says it’ll be available through them as well (online/in-store purchasing is not specified, unfortunately).
Update: We’re past midnight and tomorrow is now today. Verizon’s teaser site has transformed into an order page so there you go. Just to make things clear, Motorola is selling two SKUs: the $600 3G (upgradeable to 4G) model and the $800 non-3G (but still upgradeable to 4G) model. Apparently a cheaper WiFi-only version is in the works, but neither Moto nor Verizon have specified its arrival date.
Oh and there’s this. The Xoom will not ship with Flash support at launch. Crazy, right? At least the wait isn’t that long, and we know it is coming. According to Adobe, the makers of the ubiquitous video standard, “Flash Player 10.2 [will be] pre-installed on some tablets and [arrive] as an OTA download on others within a few weeks of Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) devices becoming available, the first of which is expected to be the Motorola Xoom.” A few weeks time, you can handle it.
Jump after the break to find the aforementioned PR and a super cool Xoom teaser produced by the carrier.
For those of you who have been holding out on switching over from XP to Microsoft’s latest OS, now there’s absolutely no reason not to move on to the next one. Windows 7’s first service pack is now available to download. Though you won’t notice any UI enhancements, SP1 promises to keep lingering bugs in check and grants you access to all of Microsoft’s future OS improvements and updates. If Windows Update has yet to inform you about the news, manually check for the update or click here. (And as for you non-converts Windows 7 may share aesthetics with its buggy predecessor Vista, but you’ve nothing to fear, especially with SP1 under its belt.)
Come tomorrow, Robonaut 2 will become the first humanoid robot to enter space. R2 will initially operate inside a space laboratory for operational testing, but eventually its territory and its applications could expand, says NASA. The long-term goal for R2 is for it to assist astronauts during space walks and to work alongside engineers in the space station. Once it leaves Earth tomorrow on the STS-133, NASA does not plan on bringing him back to our blue speck. Go boldly where no humanoid robot has ever gone before, little buddy. Bon voyage! (Cue the overly dramatic liftoff trailer embedded above.)
This week Microsoft hosted a Windows Phone 7 themed press event at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. There they spent time refreshing people’s minds about what differentiates Windows Phone 7 from the rest of the competition; namely they went over the mobile operating system’s smart design, hubs, and glance-and-go live tiles–all of which you should already know about. A chunk of the event, however, also spent time previewing the future of WP7. Multitasking, Internet Explorer 9, broader Skydrive connectivity, and Twitter integration are all coming to the OS later this year; get all the details presented in easy to swallow bullet-point form below.
Multitasking: At launch Microsoft decided not to allow multitasking support for third party apps due to battery life concerns. But now that’s changed because the company has figured out a way to make multitasking work without significantly draining the battery. At the event Microsoft demoed switching in and out of a game. Say you’re playing a game and want to make a phone call. To jump out of gameplay and initiate a call, simply tap the Home button, select the appropriate hub and make the call. After the call is complete, tap the Back button and you’ll instantly be returned to your game. You’ll find that the game automatically paused itself, so you can to resume the session without missing any in-game action. Microsoft also figured out an intuitive way to view open apps at once and quickly switch between them. Press and hold the Back button to bring up a new tasking switching view that displays your open apps in a card-like fashion (think WebOS). You can swipe left and right to see your open apps and tap one to instantly return to it right where you left off. Microsoft highlighted multitasking with third party music apps, too. Music can now play in the background (yippe!). Microsoft demoed Slacker; now you can play a radio station inside Slacker, initiate the task switching view, jump into another app like Email, and the music will continue to play in the background. In addition, music apps are tied to WP7 audio controls, meaning that you can control a third party app’s volume and playback options (play/pause/forward/back) using WP7’s built-in audio controls that are accessible on the home screen when you press the hardware volume buttons.
Internet Explorer 9: The next version of IE is coming to WP7. IE 9 will bring hardware and graphics acceleration to the platform, taking advantage of those speedy mobile processors that are making their way into smartphones. Microsoft pressed the point that the core browsing engine in IE9 that ships on PCs is the same core browsing engine that will ship on phones. This is good for developers because if their site performs well on the PC, they know it will work well on Windows Phone. HTML5 content was distinctly prominent in the demo with no mention of Adobe’s initiative, so don’t expect Flash support to come with this update.
Skydrive connectivity: Skydrive is to WP7 as iDisk is to iPhone. Get it? Skydrive is essentialy Microsoft’s version of Dropbox which allows users to view, edit, and share documents in the cloud on their devices. Skydrive will live inside the Office hub (so there’s no separate app download required) and it brings support for Office documents in the cloud. If you’re already logged into your Windows Live account, there’s no need to login in to access the cloud drive at any time.
Twitter integration: Since launch Microsoft has incorporated Facebook status updates and pictures in the People and Pictures hubs, respectively. With the new update they are welcoming another social network into the fray. Twitter integration is coming to the People hub where it will co-exist with Facebook in a similar manner to it; your contact’s tweets will appear alongside their status updates.
That’s the bulk of new WP7 features demoed at the MWC event. However, there are three other points to make. (1) At the event Microsoft briefly previewed a futuristic demo that ties together WP7 with Xbox’s controller-less motion accessory Kinect. The prerecorded demo featured the Kinect game Rally Ball and it showed one person standing up flailing their arms at the oncoming storm of rubber balls and two others using their WP7 devices to wirelessly control the amount and location of the balls on their respective device’s screens. In essence this is a preview of real-time cross-platform gaming between phones and game consoles, and it’s a neat trick to say the least. Look after the break to see it in action. (2) Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer invited Nokia’s Stephen Elop to discuss the newly formed partnership between the two tech companies. Elop pretty much reiterated everything he previously mentioned at his own event, but some choice quotes stuck out here. He said, “Microsoft and Nokia together represent a natural partnership. People are getting it.” The world is shifting from “a battle of devices to a war of ecosystems” and that with Microsoft they can become a competitive force in this transforming environment. Nokia will “accelerate the adoption of the Windows Phone platform” by “bring[ing] iconic hardware [and] incredible industrial design [to] a leading operating system.” (3) Coming in early March is copy-and-paste functionality (along with CDMA radio support (hello Verizon and Sprint devices), and other performance improvements)!
Go on, hop after the break to find videos demonstrating multitasking, IE 9, and the Kinect companionship.
This, by far, is the greatest trailer for a video game I’ve ever seen. I thought nothing could come close to those beautifully produced Halo trailers (especially this one), but man was I wrong. This trailer for the upcoming survival-horror game Dead Island is so emotionally gripping it really rips at your heart not unlike a traditional theatrical trailer. The slow motion reverse chronology played against a piano and violin backdrop elicits memories of Lost in a chilling and striking manner. Watch it, let it all sink in, then watch it again.
Brilliant on so many levels, right? The realism is simply stunning. Now let’s move onto some background info concerning this now-hotly anticipated title. Dead Island was first imagined in 2007 by publisher Deep Silver and developer Techland (Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood), and they’ve been working on it ever since. Techland describes it as a “first-person zombie-slasher/action-RPG.” So what does that mean? It’s hard to say since the developers are keeping mum on the game mechanics for the time being. Here’s what we know. The game takes place at the fictional Royal Palms Resort based on the remote island of Banoi in Papua New Guinea. The island is a tourist-magnet and you play a guest vacationing at the hotel. A zombie outbreak takes place during your stay, and its up to you a the remaining uninfected to find a way to escape the island. During your journey you’ll begin to discover the secret behind the mysterious outbreak. Gripping story so far, huh? In addition to fighting zombies you’ll come to discover how–and most importantly why–it all started. Speaking of combat, the developers are taking a uniquely different approach to the survival-horror zombie game. Instead of having a massive arsenal of guns and ammo at your disposal, things will be much more realistic in that you’ll be forced to use objects like knives, axes, broken pipes and other items you would find on a tropical island to fend off the flesh-eating undead. Think of it as survival horror with a melee action twist; combat will be more intimate that what you come to expect from a game like this.
According to the publisher up to four players can drop in and out of the game. But though co-op is supported, a single player mode will be there too. What we know about the RPG elements of the game only go so deep. You start the game as a simple tourist with no prior knowledge of zombie survivor skills, and as you fight your way through the infection you’ll gain skills and they will be tracked in some sort of leveling system. The game’s being developed for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC and is expected to release sometime this year.
If the game can at least live up to the trailer, Dead Island is primed to become the next best zombified project since AMC debuted The Walking Dead.
In mid-September it was reported that CBS picked up a new series from J.J. Abrams titled Person of Interest. As a standard Abrams affair, the program was shrouded in secrecy in terms of casting and plotline. Today that has all changed. Abrams and series collaborator Jonah Nolan (brother of renowned film director Christopher Nolan) have chosen Michael Emerson to be show’s lead. Emerson, who reunites with Lost creator Abrams, is best known for his phenomenal portrayal as the villainous Benjamin Linus. The CBS project, backed by Warner Bros. and Abrams’ Bad Robot, is being described as a crime drama centered on an ex-CIA agent, presumed dead, who teams up with a mysterious billionaire (Emerson) to prevent violent crimes in New York City. David Semel (Heroes) will direct the pilot which is slated to air in the fall.
By now you might be thinking to yourself what about the other Abrams project known as Odd Jobs starring Emerson with Lost pal Terry O’Quinn. It’s true that NBC picked up the show with Abrams, Bryan Burk, Josh Appelbaum, and Andre Nemec (all producers) attached, but now it’s apparently being saved for the 2012 pilot season. Whether or not Emerson will be able to juggle two TV shows at once is a question no one has to answer to just yet. They are both backed by the same studios (Warner and Robot), so the potential is there. We shall wait and see. But for now you should rejoice knowing that Emerson will serve as a lead in another Abrams project that’s sure to dazzle and mystify TV viewers this fall.
Listen here fellow Browncoats: The Science Channel has acquired the rights to Joss Whedon’s epic space western Firefly and is prepared to air all thirteen episodes, including the two-hour pilot, this March. What’s more is each episode will be tagged with interstitial segments hosted by physicist Dr. Michio Kaku who will discuss the theoretical science behind the show’s sci-fi concepts. Nerdgasm! Since FOX axed the short-lived series in 2002, it traveled to the USA Network in 2008 and now it has found a home with the Science Channel where it will continue to live on as one of the most original, character-driven sci-fi series ever produced.
In addition to scooping this news, EW also sat down with Malcolm Reynolds himself Nathan Fillion to discuss he thoughts about the show. When asked about playing Mal he said, “It was my favorite job ever. What wasn’t great about it? I got to wear a low-slung holster. I got to ride horses. I got to have a spaceship. I got to act mean and curmudgeonly. [Creator Joss Whedon] is really good at kicking characters in the nuts so the other characters would have laughs at my expense and that was great too.” He went on to share his enthusiam about potentially bringing back the show if the opportinity showed itself. “If I got $300 million from the California Lottery, the first thing I would do is buy the rights to Firefly, make it on my own, and distribute it on the Internet,” he said.
Firefly‘s run on The Science Channel beings March 6. The premiere night will air the 2-hour pilot “Serenity” starting at 8PM and this will be followed by episode 2 “The Train Job” at 10PM. The channel will then air one episode every Sunday at 8PM in their intentional order. You can’t take the sky from me.
BioWare, the studio behind the role-playing game franchise Dragon Age, has tapped web series guru Felicia Day to produce a brand new series based in the world of the game. Dragon Age: Redemption takes place in Ferelden, the same environment Bioware’s original Dragon Age and upcoming Dragon Age 2 games are set in. Day, who penned the story, will play Tallis an Elven assassin who she describes as being “headstrong, she fights dirty, and she has a really sarcastic sense of humor.” She adds, “I wanted to bring a modern sensibility to a fantasy character in a fantasy world.” Day teamed up with director Peter Winther (associate producer of Independence Day), cinematographer John Bartley (Lost‘s DP), and props extraordinaire Greg Aronowitz to up the ante in terms of web series creation. “They are going to take this a step above what we have seen on the Web before,” says Day. Comedy web series The Guild this is not. Expect higher production value and kick-ass action sequences to boot. More than serving as a marketing device for Bioware (and parent company EA), Redemption will further propel the art of the web series into an entirely new realm of respectability…certainly if Felicia Day has anything to say about it.
Last night Day was a featured guest on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and there she premiered a teaser trailer for the series. Watch the trailer above and click after the break to find the Fallon segment. Dragon Age: Redemption is slated to begin its six-episode run this summer.
