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 PTG Episode 78 [60:49m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (1)

Originally posted at PrimeTimeGeek.com.

PTG Episode 78 is brought to you by Bloodsport. It’s ridiculous to me, considering everything that’s out there on the web to be viewed on YouTube or streamed through Netflix or Amazon.com or iTunes or any number of other online media outlets, that Bloodsport, arguably the only film in Jean-Claude Van Damme’s filmography that can be considered a “classic” of any kind whatsoever, cannot be found online in any appreciable form–it is still ONLY available on DVD (unless you count a stray VHS tape still viable out there). Other JCVD movies are available, the truly terrible ones that aren’t worth remembering or rewatching, that is. Hell, even Kickboxer, Van Damme’s far-less-satisfying follow-up to Bloodsport, is available on blu-ray–how did that happen? I know this because I went searching for audio and video clips, and only found the same scenes over and over again, mainly the fights, and while those are great, some of the dialogue not found in these scenes is truly wondrous cheese that’s worth quoting over and over again. I humbly submit to you that Bloodsport on blu-ray or available streaming through some reputable media outlet, well, that would be my Christmas miracle for 2009, or one of them, anyway.

In addition to talking a little about the films of the Muscles from Brussels, in this episode we spend a bit of time talking about what was, again in my humble opinion, the worst let down in terms of comic book series of 2009, and arguably the worst series overall, Ultimatum. Yes, we covered every issue of Ultimatum when it hit stands this past year, and though it seemed to start so breathtakingly well, as writer Jeph Loeb’s apocalyptic vision of the “end” of the Ultimates universe unfolded it seemed to devolve into simply a series of increasingly violent and gruesome death scenes. In the end, the series was an abattoir for the Ultimates characters, nothing more, and any sense of drama readers might have felt in the “reveals” of the final act is drowned in all the blood and spectacular death. As someone who once called himself a Jeph Loeb fan, I was left truly “dissed”: disenchanted, disillusioned, disappointed, disdainful of the celebration of carnage, illustrated so capably by artist David Finch, the lone bright spot of the whole series. I’m sure my opinion is in the minority–it usually is–but I look forward to a time when Loeb turns back to writing something intelligent, hopeful, and inspiring. He’s done it before–Superman for All Seasons stands in my mind as the most shining example–and I’m hopeful he’ll do it again someday.

Also we cover the final new Fringe episode of 2009, “Grey Matters”, two new Dollhouse episodes, “Meet Jane Doe” and “A Love Supreme”, and give you our top Marvel picks from last week’s selection of new books, including New Avengers Annual #3, Invincible Iron Man #21, and PunisherMax #2. Enjoy!