Thursday, April 12, 2001

WITCHBLADE TV DATES

TNT will rebroadcast the Witchblade television pilot movie on Tuesday, June 5 at 9 p.m. (ET) and will follow it with the series premiere on Tuesday, June 12 at 9 p.m. (ET).

The entire cast returns from the pilot movie, including Yancy Butler as Sara Pezzini, David Chokachi as Jake McCartey, Anthony Cistaro as Kenneth Irons, Eric Etebari as Ian Nottingham and Will Yun Lee as Danny Woo.

Butler said she looks forward to exploring her character more in the series, which has an 11-episode order and is currently filming in Toronto.

"There's a fine balance between who vulnerable she is and how powerful and complex she can be," Butler said.

Chokachi's character figures to get more prominence in the series than he did in the pilot, as he became Sara's full-time partner.

"I love playing this kind of character," Chokachi said. "You get to bring that kind of rock 'n roll thing to the set.

"He's in it to win it. He wants to be the best possible detective he can be. And she (Sara) represents that to him."

Look for more on Witchblade soon here in The Continuum.

FOX, MARVEL FILE SUITS OVER MUTANT X

Both 20th Century Fox and Marvel Enterprises file lawsuits Tuesday concerning a dispute over the Mutant X television series.

Fox alleges that Mutant X is too similar to X-Men and violates contracts that no related live-action X-Men television program could be made without Fox's consent. Marvel said in its lawsuit that Fox's claims are without merit because the characters are new and different from X-Men.

"Marvel doesn't comment on litigation," Marvel Studios' Rick Ungar, who developed the premise of Mutant X, told The Continuum on Wednesday.

Ungar has resisted calling the television show a spin-off of X-Men in previous interviews setting up the series.

"Everybody wants to make it that, but sorry," Ungar said earlier this year. "It would probably be fair to say it's a new generation of characters, but it's not the X-Men. The X-Men are the X-Men."

Ungar developed the show with Marvel Studios' Avi Arad, including writing the series bible.

Mutant X is scheduled to start shooting on June 4 to debut in late October in syndication.

X-MEN MOVIE'S BLOCKBUSTER AWARDS

The X-Men movie won two Blockbuster Awards Tuesday night at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles.

Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, who played Mystique, was named Favorite Supporting Actress, Science Fiction. James Marsden, who played Cyclops, was named Favorite Supporting Actor, Science Fiction.

Romijn-Stamos beat out Famke Janssen, who played Jean Grey, in her category. Also nominated but not winning from the film were Anna Paquin, Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman and Ian McKellen.

The ceremony was televised Wednesday night on Fox.

BUFFY/ANGEL EPISODES

A new episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, "Intervention," is scheduled to air on Tuesday, April 24 on WB.

Here's how the network describes the episode:

"Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) travels to a sacred location on a solemn quest guided by the first slayer with the hopes of uncovering why she has become emotionally paralyzed and to help regain her focus towards slaying. Back in Sunnydale, unable to have the real thing, Spike (James Marsters) builds a Buffy robot, who is a picture-perfect replica and so devoted to the rogue that it leaves the Scooby gang reeling and Glory's (guest star Clare Kramer) minions convinced he is the Key."

Michael Gershman directed the episode, which was written by Jane Espenson.

The Angel episode for April 24 is "Dead End."

Here's how the network describes the episode:

"Angel (David Boreanaz) and Lindsey (guest star Christian Kane) must grudgingly work together when Cordelia's (Charisma Carpenter) disturbing vision leads the gang to a grotesque Wolfram & Hart body shop where parts are harvested from live humans."

James A. Contner directed the episode, which was written by David Greenwalt

FOX FOR MAY SWEEPS

Fox has announced its plans for the May sweeps, which include the 50th episode of Futurama, a Simpsons marathon and surprise season finales for The X-Files and Dark Angel.

Here's a rundown:

FUTURAMA

On Sunday May 6, the Professor creates a team of mutants to take on the Harlem Globetrotters. The mutants' secret weapon against the basketball legends are tiny time particles which cause the forward motion of time to skip ahead in the "Time Keeps on Slipping" episode. In "I Dated a Robot" on May 13, Fry falls in love with J-Lobot (guest-star Lucy Liu) a virtual humanoid downloaded from a computer. The season finale, "Anthology of Interest #2," is also the 50th episode of Futurama. Airing May 20, the episode features three stories which answer the question, "What if...?" Bender discovers how different he'd be if he were human, Fry learns what life would be like if it resembled a video game, and Leela wonders what would happen if she found her true home...and crash-lands on the planet Ozz.

KING OF THE HILL

The Sunday, May 6 episode finds Hank diagnosed with DGS (Diminished Glueteal Syndrome), and fitted with a saline-filled fake butt in "Hank's Back Story." In "Lupe's Revenge" on May 13, Peggy takes her class on a field trip to Mexico and accidentally brings back a Mexican schoolgirl. Kathy Bates and Fred Willard make guest-voice appearances in this episode. On the season finale on May 20, "Kidney Boy and Hamster Girl: A Love Story," Bobby pretends to be a high school student with a kidney problem that has stunted his growth. He eventually helps win a performance by the band No Doubt (who guest voice themselves) at the Arlen High School prom.

THE SIMPSONS

An all-star mini-marathon of The Simpsons kicks off the night on Sunday, April 29 with encores of "Tennis the Menace,", featuring tennis pros Venus and Serena Williams, Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras voicing themselves, and "Day of the Jackanapes," with guest-voice Kelsey Grammer reprising his role as Sideshow Bob, leading up to an original episode in its regular time period. In the all-new "Trilogy of Error" episode that night, three different stories intersect on one fateful morning: Marge accidentally cuts off Homer's thumb, Lisa creates a robot that can correct grammar and Bart and Milhouse go undercover to bust fireworks smugglers. Frankie Muniz and Joe Mantegna make guest-voice appearances.

In "I'm Goin' to Praiseland" on May 6, Homer and Ned Flanders build a Bible-themed amusement park as a tribute to Ned's late wife Maude. Singer Shawn Colvin guests voices in this episode. On May 13, Homer opens a child care center at his home and Ron Howard (guest-voicing as himself) brings his children there. But trouble ensues when he and Homer decide to use the toddlers as extras in Howard's film in "Children of a Lesser Clod." The season finale, "Tall Tales" on May 20, finds the Simpsons cast in roles in legendary folk stories, such as Paul Bunyan (Homer) and Tom Sawyer (Bart).

THE X-FILES

On Sunday, April 29, Scully (Gillian Anderson) is in the third trimester of her pregnancy and is restricted in her duties, so Agents Mulder (David Duchovny) and Doggett (Robert Patrick) must begrudgingly team up to investigate some bizarre deaths on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico in the episode "Vienen." In "Alone" on May 6, Doggett and a new FBI agent Monica Reyes (Annabeth Gish) find themselves in trouble when they pursue a deadly reptilian creature, so both Scully and Mulder, not content to sit on the sidelines, spring into action to help rescue their colleagues. In the first of a two-part season finale May 13, Mulder, Doggett and Skinner (Mitch Pileggi) try to protect Scully and her unborn child when Billy Miles (guest star Zachary Ansley), an alien/human hybrid, starts a murderous rampage in "Essence." Part two, "Existence" on May 20, will finally reveal the long-kept secrets behind Scully's mysterious pregnancy, including the paternity. Further details will be announced.

DARK ANGEL

On Tuesday May 1, while investigating a string of murders of recently paroled convicts, Max (Jessica Alba) and Logan (Michael Weatherly) discover a strange man in a superhero costume who seems to have actual superhuman powers in "I and I Am a Camera." In the May 8 episode, "Hit a Sista Back," Max, with the help of Zack (William Gregory Lee), tries to help out another X5 escapee, but soon finds herself in greater danger than she ever could have imagined. Details on the May 15 and May 22 season finale are to be announced.

MARVEL WINS PRISM AWARDS

Marvel Comics was recognized by the PRISM Awards, which, on April 4, were presented jointly by the Entertainment Industries Council, Inc. (EIC), the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), and The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJ).

The fifth annual awards recognized excellence in the portrayal of addiction in all fields of entertainment, including film, TV and comic books.

The winners in the catagory of Comic Book Issue or Continuing Storyline were:

PRISM Award: Cecilia Reyes' story in X-Men #106 ("Search and Rescue") and The Uncanny X-Men #389 ("The Good Shepherd").

PRISM Commendation: The Avengers Vol. 3, #27 ("New Order"); The Fantastic Four Vol. 3, #37 ("There's No Business"); Iron Man Vol. 3, #27 ("The Dream Machine").

PRISM Certificate of Merit: Iron Man Vol. 3, #33 - #34 ("Power" and "Heroes").

"On behalf of everyone at Marvel, congratulations to the creators involved in these titles," said editor-in-chief Joe Quesada. "Of the many prizes given out to comic books, the PRISM Awards hold a special meaning for all of us here in The House. If we could only win one award, we'd pick the one that says our comics tell stories that touch hearts and inspire us all to be heroes."

CRUX #1 OVERSHIPS

Crux #1 - the debut of Mark Waid and Steve Epting at CrossGen Comics - has been overshipped by 25 percent through Diamond Comic Distributors, the company announced. It marks the first time CrossGen has overshipped a book.

"Our challenge hasn't been getting our titles on the shelves, but rather, keeping them on the shelves," said James Breitbeil, director of marketing and distribution for CrossGen. "We've had an increased demand early on for this issue, and we also ran an aggressive promotional campaign, as well. Given the almost immediate sell-out of CrossGen Chronicles #2, we wanted to allow Mark Waid's debut a little more time on the shelves before retailers began to run short. We also wanted to make sure we exposed this very special #1 to as many new fans as possible, so the best way to do that was to reduce the risk for retailers by giving them more copies of the book up front."

All retailers that participate in Diamond's existing overship program have been included. These retailers received an additional 25 percent over their initial order number. After 45 days, unsold copies from the overship will be available for return to Diamond. A notice will be printed in Diamond Dateline.

"This is the first time we've used the overship program through Diamond," Breitbeil said. "We felt very strongly that Crux #1 had the potential to be our biggest seller, yet. Now, we have a chance of meeting that expectation."

JINGLE BELLE UPDATE

Oni Press has provided The Continuum with a first look at the cover and character art for Jingle Belle: The Mighty Elves, a 32-page one-shot by Paul Dini and Jason Bone due on July 18.

"The combination of Paul's witty writing and Jason's cartoony art was such a hit in the Holiday Hullabaloo special that we just couldn't wait until the holidays to get this team back together," said Oni Press editor-in-chief Jamie S. Rich. "When Jason ended up having time between issues of Alison Dare to do another project, we knew this story would be the perfect fit."

Here's how Oni describes the book:

"It's summer vacation but the weather at the North Pole isn't warm and sunny, and neither is Jing's disposition when she's forced to join the North Pole Hockey League as part of the team Santa sponsors-The Elves! But once Jingle gets into the game, it becomes obvious that she's the best 'enforcer' the League has ever seen and with her on the ice, The Elves might just have a chance at the championship."

FIRST LOOK: JSA #23

JSA #23 arrives in stores on Wednesday from DC Comics. The issue is written by David S. Goyer and Geoff Johns, with art by Stephen Sadowski and Michael Bair and a painted cover by Andrew Robinson.

Here's how DC describes the issue:

"'The Return of Hawkman' begins with the much-anticipated return of the Winged Wonder. The JSA is summoned to the planet Thanagar where a battle has begun with the omnipotent soul-eater Onimar Synn. Only the triumphant return of the long-lost hero may turn the tide of this war."

JSA #23 will be 32 pages and will cost $2.50.

GIVE'EM A CLICK

FIRST LOOK: SUPERMAN: THE MAN OF STEEL #113

Superman: The Man of Steel #113 arrives in stores on Wednesday from DC Comics. The issue is written by Marv Wolfman, with art by Paco Medina and Walden Wong and a cover by Dale Keown.

Here's how DC describes the issue, which is part three of the four-part "Infestation" story arc:

"After losing Lois to Viroxx, Superman finds his wife leading the virus to infect more planets. In order to save his wife, Superman must destroy the one thing that could end up saving the lives of millions of others. Meanwhile, Viroxx reveals its next stage of evolution and its next target: Earth."

Superman: The Man of Steel #113 will be 32 pages and will cost $2.25.

GIVE'EM A CLICK

FIRST LOOK: LEGION WORLDS #1

Legion Worlds #1 arrives in stores on Wednesday from DC Comics. The issue is written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, with art by Yvel Guichet and Dexter Vines and a cover by John Cassaday.

Here's how DC describes the issue:

"A new mini-series starring the 31st Century's greatest heroes begins. On 'Earth,' the Legion has been disbanded, and M'Onel prepares for an inevitable war while battling an amped-up Tharok."

Legion Worlds #1 will be 48 pages and will cost $3.95.

GIVE'EM A CLICK

FIRST LOOK: MONARCHY #2

Monarchy #2 arrives in stores on Wednesday from DC Comics and WildStorm Productions. The issue is written by Doselle Young, art by John McCrea and Garry Leach, cover by McCrea.

Here's how DC describes the issue:

"The ongoing series spinning out of The Authority continues. Once one of WildStorm's most powerful heroes, Union was last seen blowing his brains out in the pages of The Authority #21. Now he's back from the dead, methodically slaughtering a select group of Wall Street investors. The question is why, and how does this fit in with Jackson King and Christine Trelane's secret agenda? The first piece of the puzzle falls into place."

Monarchy #2 will be 32 pages and will cost $2.50.

GIVE'EM A CLICK

BRIEFLY