Meet Tony Swatton, a 30 veteran blacksmith, forger of iconic weapons for feature films and real life Man At Arms. In his online series, he re-creates real life versions of some of the most famous fictional fan boy swords, including pieces of cold steel made famous in Masters of the Universe, Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings.
But how about we start here by sharing his geek awesome step-by-step process of making a real life Sword of Omens, the iconic blade held by Lion-O, Lord of the ThunderCats.
Well so what if Swatton mispronounces Thundera, as in the Eye of Thundera and the animated warrior cats' alien extinct home world, just wait until you behold the amazing final product.
And I will use any excuse to post the amazing ThunderCats opening credits, which I consider (as do many others) a kick ass masterpiece as far as '80s animated title sequences go.
Cartoon Network announced the premiere date for Beware the Batman, in addition to releasing the first trailer and a set of stills. Set to debut on Saturday, July 13th at 10AM, the CGI show is the latest series from Warner Bros. Animation to join Cartoon Network's DC Nation block of programming.
Official Press Release:
"The Caped Crusader will return to television screens this summer when Beware the Batman premieres on Cartoon NetworkSaturday, July 13 at 10 a.m. (ET/PT) as part of DC Nation. Featuring cutting-edge CGI visuals to match the intricate twists and turns of the narrative, Batman steps out of the shadows and into the spotlight for an entirely new generation of fans.
A cool, new take on the classic Dark Knight franchise, Beware the Batman incorporates Batman’s core characters with a rogues gallery of new villains not previously seen in animated form. Along with backup from ex-secret agent Alfred and lethal swordswoman Katana, the Dark Knight faces the twisted machinations of Gotham City’s criminal underworld led by the likes of Anarky, Professor Pyg, Mister Toad and Magpie. Produced by Warner Bros. Animation (WBA), this action-packed detective thriller deftly redefines what we have come to know as a “Batman show.” WBA’s Sam Register serves as executive producer, with Glen Murakami (Batman Beyond) and Mitch Watson (Scooby-Doo! Mystery Inc.) producing.
Starring Anthony Ruivivar (Banshee) as Batman/Bruce Wayne, Beware The Batman boasts a stellar voice cast with JB Blanc (The Count of Monte Cristo) as Alfred and Sumalee Montano (ER) as Katana. Lending voices to the villains are Wallace Langham (CSI: Crime Scene Investigation) as Anarky, Grey DeLisle (Green Lantern: The Animated Series) as Magpie, Udo Kier (Scooby-Doo! Mystery Inc.) as Mr. Toad, Lance Reddick (Fringe) as Ra’s al Ghul and Brian George (The Big Bang Theory) as Professor Pyg.
Beware the Batman is the latest series based on characters from DC Comics to be added to DC Nation, Cartoon Network’s programming block on Saturday mornings. It will be followed by Teen Titans Go! at 10:30 a.m. and joined by all-new animated shorts."
Cartoon Network has released a new clip from their upcoming show, Teen Titans Go!, the latest and comedic take on the super team comprised of Robin. Cyborg, Beast Boy, Raven, and Starfire. Set to debut on Tuesday April 23rd at 7:30, it is one of two shows scheduled to replace the recently departed Green Lantern: The Animated Series and Young Justice Invasion in their DC Nation line-up.
Per WB Animation:
Teen Titans are on the Go! The new animated series Teen Titans Go!, from Warner Bros. Animation, made its debut at WonderCon this weekend, as producers and talent treated fans to a special look at two episodes from the series’ premiere season. But don’t despair if you couldn’t make it to the ‘Con — we’ve got a super-powered sneak peek right here guaranteed to make you hungry for more Titans … and probably a sandwich."
We can add Young Justice to Cartoon Network's animation causality list. Tomorrow morning will bring us the series finales of two DC Nation shows, Green Lantern: The Animated Series and Young Justice: Invasion. When the two series were abruptly pulled from the schedule last fall and didn't resume their runs until January, I don't think fans were surprised to learn that they did not make the cut when Cartoon Network announced their new and returning shows for 2013.
Filling in the gaps in the DC Nation line-up will be Teen Titans Go! and Beware the Batman. Star Wars: The Clone Wars has also ended its five season run on the network, with Lucasfilm 'winding' down production on that show and releasing what it has left probably on DVD or airing on Disney XD.
Young Justice took an edgy turn with its Invasion storyline, taking the Justice League apprentices into a future storyline and expanding the cast greatly with a generous line-up of DC heroes. It's unfortunate to see its the end of the road, meeting the same fate of its predecessors Justice League and Justice League Unlimited.
Here are some images featuring from tomorrow's swan song episode, Endgame, even one featuring four generation of The Flash. "On the verge of finally ending the alien invasion, the team discovers the price of victory may be the entire planet Earth!" is how Cartoon Network describes the episode.
Cartoon Network has released new images and a preview clip from Dark Matter, Saturday's morning's swan song episode of Green Lantern: The Animated Series. Along with Young Justice, the show will unfortunately not be returning for further adventures and will be replaced in the DC Nation line-up by the younger skewing Teen Titans Go! and Beware The Batman.
It's unfortunate that Green Lantern, in either animated form or live action, has failed to click with the masses. This second and ultimately final season not only brought us a solid dark arc involving the Anti-Monitor and the Manhunters, but saw Guy Gardner and Sinestro thrown into the mix as well. The show's longterm future seemed highly in doubt when it was abruptly pulled from Cartoon Network's schedule last fall, with no return date immediately announced.
The darker story lines explored by the show didn't exactly make it ideal fare for the Saturday morning time slot it was given, as the older demo it would ideally target isn't tuning in live at that time. In addition to Young Justice and Green Lantern: The Animated Series, Star Wars: The Clone Wars has also finished it run on the network, with Lucasfilm's recent announcement that it will be 'winding down' production on that series.
Dark Matter synopsis, per Cartoon Network:
In the season finale episode, the Aya Monitor returns to the dawn of time to stop all emotion and all life from ever existing. Now, Hal must find a way to stop her - while Razer realizes the only way to save the universe may mean killing the woman he loves.
Cartoon Network released the first look at the re-imagined Teen Titans for the new animated series, Teen Titans Go! set to debut on April 23rd in a 7:30 PM time slot.
DC Nation fans weren't exactly over the roof when word came down that the older skewing Green Lantern: The Animated Series and Young Justice would not be returning beyond their current seasons, and would see a new comedic take on Teen Titans join the latest Batman animated series to take their place among Cartoon Network's schedule.
Green Lantern: TAS and Young Justice unfortunately end their run this weekend on March 16th.
Check out the newest take on Robin, Cyborg, Raven, Beast Boy and Starfire, in addition to the official press release from Cartoon Network below.
Per Cartoon Network:
"The Teen Titans are returning to Cartoon Network with all-new comedic adventures, and this time they’re giving viewers a look at what life is really like as a teen superhero… once the cape comes off.
The half-hour animated series, Teen Titans Go! premieres on Tuesday, April 23, at 7:30pm (ET/PT) and will be rebroadcast during the DC Nation block on Saturday mornings at 10:30am (ET/PT) beginning April 27.
The character-driven comedy series focuses on the funny that happens in between saving the world and living together as teenagers without adult supervision. The comedic mayhem of the animated series is punctuated by pranks and the occasional need to fight crime, but it will also deal with the everyday issues of adolescence. With epic staring contests to decide who does the laundry, a series of quests and battles to construct the perfect sandwich or fighting crime in Jump City, one thing is for sure, these Titans will always be ready for an adventure inside the house and out.
The principal voice cast from the original Teen Titans series, based on DC Comics characters, will reprise their roles in Teen Titans Go!, with Scott Menville as the voice of Robin, the slightly power-mad perfectionist and leader of the Teen Titans. Hynden Walch voices Starfire, an alien struggling to fit in; Tara Strong voices Raven, the sardonic, deadpan demon girl; Greg Cipes returns as the slightly dim but always loveable loafer, Beast Boy; and Khary Payton provides the voice of Cyborg, a laidback kid who is half teen, half robot.
The fan-favorite theme song from the original Teen Titans will also be making its return to television, with an updated remix from Mix Master Mike of the Beastie Boys."
Lucasfilm announced today that production on Star Wars: The Clone Wars will be discontinued, having run on Cartoon Network for five seasons. When Disney purchased Star Wars from George Lucas, it was widely assumed that the CGI show's days on Cartoon Network were numbered, and would eventually switch to air on Disney XD instead. The announced actual end, or 'winding down' of the show does come somewhat as a surprise, though as stated in the press and video release, there is still a future planned for the characters, story arcs and completed animation they already have in the can. Additionally, Lucasfilm Animation has plans for a new series set in a yet untouched time frame in the Star Wars universe.
Lucasfilm is evidently putting all its resources to production on the next wave of Star Wars films, the first being Episode VII targeted to hit theaters in 2015 under the direction of J.J. Abrams. Disney axed the scheduled conversions and re-releases of Episodes II-VI in 3D and now the Lucasfilm animation department will also adjust its workload accordingly. This could mean that characters introduced in TheClone Wars series could potentially pop up in the next trilogy or could be groomed for separate spin-offs.
The recent Clone Wars fifth season finale left an uncertain, yet unexpected open door future for Anakin Skywalker's Jedi Padawan Ohsoka Tano, who would be an ideal popular character to use in the future to target the female demographic. Since all of the Jedi Knights except Obi Wan Kenobi and Yoda have perished by the time Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope rolls around, Ohsoka's unaddressed final fate (as of now) leaves her free to possibly join in other adventures.
At the end of the video below, a teaser clip is included for what is still to come. Work on the series had obviously been well in place by the time Disney acquired Lucasfilm much less the decision to end the series. The action packed clip foreshadows Emperor Palpatine's Order 66 from Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, which put in motion the Clone Troopers planned annihilation of the Jedi. Here is the full press release from StarWars.com
"As we enter into an exciting new era focused on the next Star Wars trilogy, Lucasfilm has decided to pursue a new direction in animated programming. We are exploring a whole new Star Wars series set in a time period previously untouched in Star Wars films or television programming. You can expect more details in the months to come.
As part of this shift, we have also made some key decisions affecting Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Detours.
After five highly successful and critically acclaimed seasons of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, we feel the time has come to wind down the series. While the studio is no longer producing new episodes for Cartoon Network, we're continuing production on new Clone Wars story arcs that promise to be some of the most thrilling adventures ever seen. Stay tuned for more information on where fans can soon find this bonus content. In the video below, Supervising Director Dave Filoni offers a peek of what is to come in Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
At Star Wars Celebration VI last year, George Lucas gave fans a glimpse at the animated comedy series Star Wars Detours from Seth Green, Matthew Senreich, and Todd Grimes. Detours was conceived and produced before we decided to move forward with the new Star Wars trilogy, and in the wake of that decision, Lucasfilm has reconsidered whether launching an animated comedy prior to the launch of Episode VII makes sense. As a result, we've decided to postpone the release of Detours until a later date."
Mezco Toyz has an amazing line of highly detailed Classic ThunderCats figures on display at the Toy Fair last year that included Lion-O, Panthro, and Mumm-Ra. Among the additions to their 2013 catalogue, we can welcome Cheetara to the club, as she was unveiled at a special pre-Toy Fair press event at the toy company's Long Island City HQ.
Based on one of my all time favorite '80s animated shows I grew up with, please forgive the rather gratuitous coverage of the Mezco's Mega Deluxe Scale Action Figures, which stand 14 inches tall and are a must for both fans and collectors alike.
Cheetara comes complete with her signature bo staff, Panthro with his nunchucks, and of course Lion-O would not leave Cat's Lair without the Sword of Omens or his claw shield. Can you feel the magic, hear the roar?
You can head to the Mezco Toyz website to check out the new toys and their existing lines based on DC Universe, Breaking Bad, South Park, Universal Monsters and Mars Attacks! as well.
The season four finale of Children's Hospital airs tonight on Adult Swim, and according to the hit show's creator, star, and producer Rob Corddry, "An event rocks, ROCKS the Children's Hospital universe. Maybe even the television universe," he said. By the looks of the teaser trailer and preview pics for Eulogy, things don't look too good for Doctor Blake Downs. "Wear a seatbelt," he warned.
"Well that's silly, you'll want to move around."
It's been another banner year for Cartoon Network's edgy ground breaking show, which won an Emmy for Outstanding Special Class: Short-format Live-Action in September. When I caught up with Corddry at New York Comic Con last month, he assured me that the sweet success associated with winning Emmy gold would not affect the show one bit.
"Now it's going to be Emmy Award Winner Rob Corddry's Children's Hospital," he revealed. "I'm not going to mess around. Why be falsely modest about that? I'm super elegant," he laughed.
Some of this season's absurd highlights included an episode set in a British Children's Hospital (complete with an entire cast of UK thesps, including Lost's Dominic Monaghan), a Law & Order parody show, another memorable cameo by repeat offender Jon Hamm, a long awaited on-camera appearance by the never-seen Michael Cera (who voices the hospital's PA system announcer Sal Viscuso), and Rob's brother Nathan Corddry finally stopped by, whom he says "was the hardest to get" as a guest star.
"I don't know if I can say I have a favorite guest star. Believe me I'm willing to pick favorites," he said of walk-ons including Eva Longoria, Ed Helms, Kate Walsh, Jason Sudeikis, Nick Offerman, and Paul Scheer.
"It's always pretty cool, I've never had a bad experience with the guest star. It's pretty awesome, and an honor. And I'm really grateful that they'll do it."
He also shared the secret to keeping a straight face on the set of such an off-beat comedy loaded with masters of improv, even if the episodes run only twelve minutes in length. "The whole secret to absurdity is that you can't wink. You have to treat it like it's the most important thing ever. You're saying really really dumb things with a straight face. It's fun though."
However, a signature gruesome costume accessory on the scrubs of his dark character Dr. Blake Downs, wet stain smears of patients' blood, appeared to be noticeably tamed down last season. I asked Corddry if the higher-ups were concerned with the graphic imagery, or if he made the conscious change to his clown Doctor's look (who also has a strict belief in the healing power of laughter).
"It looked like a costume. It looked fake and it drove me crazy !" he said of last season's less bloody scrubs. "Then I talked to the wardrobe supervisor, and she was like "Oh, I'll have to look at it. I don't know what you mean.'"
"Then she was like 'Oh God, you're right!' and then this season we righted that egregious wrong." Which to his credit, yes, Downs scrubs are back to their former disturbing graphic glory.
Tonight's episode, Eulogy, airs on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim at 12AM, and also stars Ken Marino, Henry Winkler, Megan Mullally, Malin Ackerman, Erinn Hayes, Rob Huebel, and Lake Bell.
According to Adult Swim, the season finale promises "The death of a co-star turns out to be a perfect opportunity for the cast and crew to make a Documentary special," and sees the return of the behind-the-scenes show-within-a-show Newsreaders hot on the case.
Rest assured, Children's Hospital has been renewed for a fifth season, so there is much more to look forward to in 2013. If you haven't checked out the show yet do yourself a favor and put it on your must-see list.
When I caught up with Paul Scheer, the creator, writer, and star of Adult Swim's madcap CSI/24 spoof NTSF:SD:SVU, he revealed one of his favorite scenes from this season is on-deck for tonight's episode, Prairie Dog Companion, and involves an intimate encounter between Rebecca Romijn and special guest star, TV icon Hal Linden.
The hit show, now in its second season on Cartoon Network and also stars Kate Mulgrew (Star Trek: Voyager), Rob Riggle (SNL), and Martin Starr (Party Down), has a great line-up of upcoming guest-stars, to which Scheer was happy to reveal.
"For the rest of this season we have some great guest-stars coming in. We have Aziz Ansari, Aubrey Plaza, and Ray Liota. We also have Hal Linden (TV's Barney Miller), and Michael Gross (who played the dad on Family Ties, and also from Tremors). Great awesome guests coming up. And Steven Williams, the original Captain from 21 Jump Street."
"We are very excited that we cast people who we are fans of," he admitted.
I asked Scheer if Recbecca Romijn, who plays Jessie Nichols, undoubtedly the hottest scientist on TV, will ever leave the lab coat behind and venture out in the field to kick ass. "Rebecca Romijn will be leaving the lab in the next episode," he revealed. "She will go undercover which is really fun."
"I was friends with Jerry O'Connell from doing Piranha, and I met Rebecca through him. She was so funny, and I was like 'Why hasn't anyone capitalized on Rebecca being in comedies?' So I wanted to get her in the show. Obviously she's incredibly beautiful and also incredibly funny."
But going from the safety of the crime lab and out into the thick of the action alongside Scheer's Trent Hauser doesn't mean Romijn will be immediately showcasing her old X-Men fighting skills.
"She's going to be awkward. Maybe next season we should maybe let her kick ass a little bit. Yeah, in this one she gets to have a sex scene with Hal Linden." What?
"82-year old Hal Linden," he reiterated
"She has to seduce him. It's one of my favorite scenes in the whole season," he laughed.
"We also have a very special Christmas episode coming up in December that I'm very excited about," he promised for year's end. But we will get to that in part two of the interview...
NTSF:SD:SVU airs on Cartoon Network on Thursday nights (technically Friday mornings) at 12:15AM following Children's Hospital on Adult Swim.
