djtitoflow

Smallville Lazarus - Season Premiere Review

2010-09-25T22:15:00.000-07:00

After months of agonizing waiting its finally here: the smallville season 10 premiere. Sadly the final season premiere. But lets not focus on that right now for emotional reasons! And its been years since I wrote a smallville review [the season 8 premiere, my one and only episode review]. But I’m here, and I’m planning on reviewing every new episode. Eventually I might also do retro reviews of previous seasons and individual episodes, and maybe even some smallville videos, but this is all a MAYBE for now, so lets focus on this season. So here we go, my review of Lazarus:

Clark (Tom Welling) arriving at the field where he was has "crucified" 9 years earlier

Quick Summary:

Last season finale ZOD and Clark had an intense [albeit superpower-less] fight that ended with Clark plummeting towards the ground, with a blue kryptonite dagger lunged into his gut by everyone’s favorite Angry Kryptonian General. This season premiere begins with Lois taking the knife out, giving Clark a second chance at life. All this after Clark has a near death experience of course. Oliver is taken and tortured by the Suicide Squad, who then switches him with Chloe letting him go and keeping her captured. Tess awakens in Cadmus labs, where Lex’s clones are kept. She ends up taking the youngest clone [and possibly the only one left alive] with her to the mansion.

Promo shot of Lois (Erica Durance) from Lazarus

And Lois ends up leaving to Africa, after Clark saves her from the Clone Lex’s “sadistic choice” test. Save Lois or save the people on the streets of Metropolis [and Clark saves everyone including Lois, hell yes!!].

Clark in between two realms of existence

Lex Luthor Discussion:

Clone Lex point out Clark's pride; he wears it on his chest

First thing I wanna discuss: Lex’s return to smallville. The aging clone tells Clark that the “creator” died in an explosion two years back. That would mean that Lex did actually die in the season 8 episode “Requiem” when Oliver blew Lex’s truck using one of Toyman’s bombs. If this is the case then the real Lex [or the original Lex if you prefer it that way] is dead. And when Lex “really” returns later this year it will be a successfully made Clone [played by Michael rosenbaum… I hope].

Tess and Alexander, this is gonna end badly!

I think young Alexander might be the future lex. He’s going to start aging fast, Lex’s memories will kick in, and he might even kill Tess. But this is just a theory. And I personally would prefer it if Lex was actually alive because a clone is a clone, its not the real thing [Although the whole Major Zod and the kandorian clones storyline was EPIC last year!!]. And the real Lex might be alive because Clark saw Lex during his near death experience while he was in a realm between Earth and the hereafter. So that means that Lex is holding on to dear life, not yet dead, but so damaged that he already has one foot in the afterlife.

Geeking Out - The Most Epic Moments

John Schneider returns to Smallville!

Jonathan Kent returned. I wanted more, but what I got was indeed epic. It reminded me of how missed and needed this character is, and how great and quotable his lines always are. I can’t wait to see more of John Schneider this year

Kent father-son reunion

And Clark catching the globe was a great scene. The CGI was a bit crude, especially the lack of details of the street below. The birds eye view shots don’t match with the metropolis street set we see [when Clark is running through the street and then jumps]. But its still a great scene, and we have to consider the limited budget the show runs on since the eight season.

Clark putting the fire out with his super speed

And they have done an admirable job of using the money and making the show look pretty good. And they learn how to better manage it every year [or they get a small increase every year].The ninth season looked and felt bigger than eight. hopefully 10 will be bigger than 9 this year [it needs to be if their gonna do darkseid, so the CW better open up their wallets!!].

Clark catches the Daily Planet Globe!

EPIC!

And speaking of Darkseid, the most epic shot of the show: The black mist turning into the shape of Darkseid. At first I was afraid of Darkseid in season 10, considering their low budget and how complex a story “the new gods” is, but I’m optimistic now. Lets hope when he shows up for real the costume and make up looks good and as similar as they can make it to what we know from the comics and the classic 90’s animated series.

Darkseid's Spirit!

On that note I add that I love the DC animated universe [It’s what made me into a huge DC fan], and the Darkseid arcs were some of the best stories in those Bruce Timm-Paul Dini shows! And Michael Ironside’s voice over was indeed 100% Darkseid! So I hope they write, present, and cast the character right in Smallville. PLEASE!!!!

Darkseid as seen in Justice League Season Two

Now onto the Suicide Squad. Seeing Rick Flag of the Suicide Squad torturing Oliver was brutal. Reminded me of “Lethal Weapon” when Mel Gibson is being electrocuted. I cant wait to see more of the team [Deadshot next week!!] and I’m curious to see if Amanda Waller will return this year [because she can’t be dead, that’s ridiculous]. Oh and one of my favorite scenes was the montage near the end. Which brings me to another segment.

Music and Score:

I loved the montage scene that came right before the Jonathan and Clark dialogue. I’m a sucker for montages! I myself make a crapload of them for a web series I make called “djtitoflow crimefighter”. [click on the title of the show to go to my facebook group, and here to go to my youtube profile]. For this scene they used all the main characters, and really tugged at our heart strings. I especially loved the shot of Alexander’s toy soldier burning in the fireplace. I think this is a sign that the Tess-Alexander relationship is doomed to fail. And the song worked great. Vast’s “One more day”, used once before in season 7 when Lana is in a coma because of Brainiac’s attack on her [Veritas Episode]. The song might be too sappy for most people, but I enjoyed it. Songs like this have always worked well for Smallville’s more emotional scenes. Guilty pleasures galore!! Im guilty!!! And there was a lack of montages like this last year in season 9, but season 8 and previous years had many great ones. Think episodes like: Bride, Requiem, and Turbulence in Season 8. Hopefully that will be the case this year [many well made montages, and good use of licensed songs].

Todays Smallville featured music by: Vast

[remember when the CW use to do this at end of each episode?]

And the score for this episode: great as usual. Louis Febre is a great composer. Mark Snow was better but Febre is indeed great. And who could forget his theme for the JSA in “Absolute Justice”. Everytime I see the flashback scene where Clark is looking at the painting all the hairs in my hands stand up.

Smallville composers: Mark Snow and current composer Louis Febre

CLOIS:

Lois in Africa, Clark in Kansas... just for an episode.

Okay now for the romance stuff [yes I am a sucker for the soapy stuff]. The scene where Lois tricks clark into super speeding in front of her while she looked for her pen was fun. And messing with Clark’s emotions while she described her kiss with the blur was hilarious.

Unlike Clark and Lana, these two are actually a fun couple to watch on screen

I can’t wait to see what else Lois does when she returns to metropolis from Africa. But I am hoping she tells Clark the truth sooner than later, but I know I’ll enjoy the dynamic set up in this episode of both of them lying to each other while it lasts.

Finally some scenes at the actual farm!! not seen since Kandor last year!

Closing Comments:

EPIC!! The groundwork for the season has been laid here, and it looks very strong and stable. I have to say last year’s premiere was probably better, I think it had better narrative and structure because it didn’t have so many storylines going on at the same time. And there was a real villain there [ZOD], not a mist that references the villain [Darkseid].And the episode does have some inconsistencies [not unusual to this series]. Like when the octagonal disc sends Clark to the fortress, without being inserted into the cave walls! But whatever the episode is great anyway. I wish the clone was Mike rosenbaum but with make up to age him of course. But hopefully we will get rosenbaum back later on, and I have to admit the actor who played the clone did a good job.

Clark is working on winning Jor-El over and the suit in the process, Lois knows the secret, the suicide squad is making Oliver’s [and Chloe’s] life a living hell, Tess has a young Lex under her care, and Darkseid and the dangers of Apokolips loom in the darkness. Great stuff!! Keep it coming Kelly Souders, Brian Peterson and the rest of the producers and writers! Season 10 looks like it will indeed soar, and it may even be better than last year [and season 9 was an epic year, my personal favorite of the series!].

Yes!!!!!!!!!!!

Links:

Sites I got the promo pics from, and that I wanna thank for keeping me informed on all things smalville:

djtitoflow crimefighter season two finale arrives

2009-09-29T14:18:00.000-07:00

djtitoflow crimefighter 10 "hobo war" finally arrives. check out the youtube versions [embedded here] or at facebook.

Home made Galileo 7

2009-09-20T10:52:00.000-07:00

Construction

The Galileo 7 is one of the simplest and most cool looking shuttles in trek history. so it made sense to make one at home when I decided to make a scifi inspired basket-crib for my egg baby senior year project.
here's the mess I made during the day of "creation". the ship was made from white foam board. and is glued together with sobo glue, and even some well placed tape. the details were made with sharpies.

my main reference during construction, the Galileo 7 from the johnny lightning miniatures series.

the handle was added, making it into a crib

home made Galileo 7

Galileo 7!!

me [Robert "djtitoflow" Lay] holding the galileo

Captain Lay

James "Kirk" Lay

My egg baby, James Kirk Lay

I met his mother at the star trek experience in Vegas. agagagagggaag

Son!!!!!

James Kirk Lay

at school with the shuttle and its valuable "cargo"

can you find kirk?

Photoshops

coming home

escape the wormhole!!

Galileo in Random Stopmotion 3

the set for the star trek minimates segment in random 3

fits perfectly with the minimates

kick his ass kirk

mugato

playmates vs home made

the playmates Galileo 7 from 1996, and my Galileo from April -May 2008

Galileos

hell yeah!!

Star Trek poem for 12th grade

construction of the poster for english week at my high school

Galileo from the poster

The endless mission of stars and hope

I've always been looking to the sky

Imagining the ship ill one day fly

I see it as it leaves space dock

Like the leading bird in a flock

That passes by Mars

On its way to the stars

At maximum warp

We swoosh through the stars

Stars that have showered me with hope

Stars that have opened my eyes

To mankind's endless slope

Of stars and warp

That time has ended

The decommissioning has begun

And I look at my crew

Because I've never seen people so true

As true as my endless mission

To boldly go where no one has gone before

-Robert Lay

the making of Random Stop Motion 3

2009-09-06T23:46:00.000-07:00

Introduction

On august 17 2006 I released my first "big" stop motion video, random stopmotion. The follow-up video arrived on may 2007. And now after more than two years since the last one the third random finally arrives. The main reason for the tardiness is that this video was a lot more complicated to edit than the last ones. iphoto and photoshop were used in the editing process for color correction and special effects. and there are many more segments in this one, and for the most part their longer and more intricate than the ones in random 1 and 2.

Christmas filming

The filming for random 3 began christmas 2007. Every year we have a tradition of building a christmas village under the three. in 2006 we did peanuts, but for 2007 it was rankin bass stopmotion toys.

the village

rudolph helping santa

Peanuts segment

Building the sets

Me filming the sonic unleashed segment

Sonic unleashed segment was filmed with flowers and the action figures over blue bed sheets. But the the first sonic segment I filmed used a backdrop I made from print outs of green hill zone elements over a blue construction paper.

first sonic segment

batman lego segment required a mix of C3 bricks and lego, and construction paper.

Lego batman set

Beavis and Butthead doing what they do best.. on the couch watching music videos

Drawing the walls for the Tantive IV Blockade Runner from episode IV

Lego Star Wars set. the blockade runner form the intro to a new hope

Photoshop

Photoshop window

I used photoshop to add blood, and all sorts of magic and laser effects to the pictures. All this done picture by picture individually. So this part of the process takes a lot of time.

Clone Wars

Alien vs Predator Mez-its from Mezco toys

Butt head kicks Beavis's Ass

photoshop for "green screening"

or should I say white screening

the batman in the previous pic was added to this brick background, same as the joker and minion within the set. then it was edited several times and exported each time. each frame batman gets a little closer to the thug.

You will believe a man can fly... thanks to photoshop. a picture was taken without supes and one without him. I added supes to the background picture and made him fly, frame by frame.

before

after

more photoshop

figure is standing in the transporter [lines added in photoshop]

no action figure

a cross dissolve transition was used between a clip of the figure and the animation of the lines around him, and one of just the transporter. and this dissolves simulates the beaming effect.

fire at the mugatu kirk

photoshopped beam and impact flashes

cross dissolve

Predator

predator de-cloaking

by the power of greyskull

fludd throws water

kamehameha

iphoto

Donatello before being color corrected in iphoto

the contrast, tint, and temperature have been tweaked. cowabunga!!!

pictures from the tmnt segment organized in iphoto. theive been color corrected and are ready to be imported to imovie where they will be assembled and animated.

TMNT

conclusion

Me and the turtles... my crimefighting brothers in a half-shell

two crimefighting clowns

Hope everyone enjoyed this visual ride through the filming and editing process of random stop motion 3. Now on to random 3 itself. remember to leave comments, rate, favorite, and pass along. enjoy!!

djtitoflow's- Star Trek [2009] movie review

2009-05-14T17:59:00.000-07:00

This review is spoiler free

EPIC! That word can sum up what I think of this movie. Epic! Star trek at its most epic! And im glad because trek is a franchise that was essentially dead in the last few years, and this movie has revived the series for new audiences, and old fans alike.

At first I was worried because from the moment this movie was being developed it was being said that this trek film was gonna be aimed at not only the trekkies [like myself] but at the mainstream audience. I was worried it wouldn’t feel like star trek, and would ignore continuity and trek lore. But fear not trek fans, it doesn’t. It changes many things, but its justified because theres time travel involved in the movie.

This film has a great pace. It grabs you from the beginning and never lets go. The first sequence is a tragic no win scenario, and one of the most intense and visceral space fight sequences in all of trek. There definitely is a great sense of urgency here. Nero is a Romulan from the future who has come to the 23rd century to destroy the planet Vulcan and watch Spock suffer as he did when Romulus was destroyed in the 24th century [a couple of years after the other most recent trek film, star trek nemesis of the next generation era]. I still dont know why JJ Abrams didnt put the romulans in this film with thier V shaped ridges, but this wont give you any restless sleeps. But I wanted ridges!

This film is the origin story of Kirk and his crew of the second enterprise, but altered of course due to time travel. This is the crew of the original series, from 1966-1969, and from the first 6 movies from 1979-1991. This is old school classic trek! I don’t wanna get into many specifics of whats different here from the normal trek timeline cause I don’t wanna spoil anything or bore anyone who isn’t a trek fan, but trust me youll be surprised trek fans. And Leonard Nimoy [the original actor who portrayed Spock] plays Spock prime, AKA Spock that comes from the future following Nero. His scenes will make trek fans applaud in the theater. The entire movie had me wanting to jump from my seat most of the time. The characters are well written and the new actors play them extremely well. They pay good respect to the original actors. I especially applaud Simon Pegg as Scotty, and Karl Urban as Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy. And Zachary Quinto [sylar from Heroes] is great as Spock, and Chris Pine is also great in his role as the legendary explorer, Captain James T. Kirk.

Theres some nice references to other aspects of trek throughout the film. Most notably a reference to the captain of the first enterprise, Jonathan Archer, and his beagles. People who haven’t seen the most recent trek series “Star Trek Enterprise” wont get that reference, but im a big fan of that awesome and extremely underappreciated show, so I was very happy when I heard Scotty mention the once captain now admiral Jonathan Archer and his most recent beagle [the original Porthos rules].

Everything about this film is great. It was directed by JJ Abrams of Alias, Lost, cloverfield, and mission impossible 3, so its obvious its an awesome film. Trekkies will love it, and non-fans too. Its action packed, very emotional, well written, well paced, great effects, good soundtrack, etc. Go see it now. If your not a trek fan youll probably become one after seeing this. Prepare to be blown away. The future begins Now!

Creature Feature: The Andorians

2009-04-12T08:33:00.000-07:00

First appearing in the classic episode “Journey to Babel” in 1967, the blue skinned Andorians with their big antennas have since become one of the most recognizable aliens in the Star Trek universe, even though surprisingly they have only appeared a handful of times compared with other famous trek species.

In "Journey to Babel" a conference is being held to decide whether the planet Coridan will be admitted into the federation. The Orions desire the Coridian dilithium for themselves so they surgically alter one of their own, Thelev, to look like an Andorian ambassador. Spock’s mother and his father, the great diplomat Sarek appear in this episode. This is definitely a very memorable TOS episode, and it made the Andorians and the Tellarites unforgettable aliens.

Sadly the Andorians would only be mentioned briefly or glimpsed at in other trek series. They appeared three more times in the original series, and twice in the animated series. Some Andorians can be seen in the background during scenes in Star Trek: The Motion Picture” and in “Star Trek 4: "The Voyage Home”. an Andorian "God" was supposed to be seen in "Final Frontier" but that didn't make it on screen. But luckily there are make up test pictures of the deity.

The ones in the first movie give me the creeps! The antennae are coming out of their foreheads and they look more like ghosts. Unfortunately on Star Trek: The Next Generation we only got verbal references to the Andorians. The only Andorian we get to actually see isn’t even a real one. In the episode titled “The Offspring” Data is trying to decide which species his daughter Lal should look like, and were treated to the sight of a weird looking Andorian projection.

To make things worse she looks kind of green, Andorians are supposed to be blue!! Supposedly an Andorian can be seen on Risa in th episode “Captain's Holiday”, but I don’t remember ever seeing any Andorians in that episode.

The Andorians finally got the attention they deserved more than three decades after they arrived on the scene. And we have “Star Trek Enterprise” to thank for that. They got an extreme make-over, for the better. The skin make up looks great, and the antennas are smaller and more realistic. Plus they move thanks to remote controlled prosthethics.

We also got treated to one of the most kick ass characters of any trek series, Shran -- of the Andorian imperial guard. Shran is played masterfully by Jeffrey Combs, AKA Weyoun of "Star Trek Deep Space Nine".

After Shran's shaky introduction to Captain Archer and his race of “pink skins” at the P’jem monastery they both start forming a friendship that eventually leads to the union of both their races. We also got to see an Andorian sub-species called the Aenar. These paler-skinned beings are a pacifist race, unlike the warrior-like Andorians. And after losing his ship the Kumari and his love Talas, Shran meets Jhamel the Aenar, and eventually has a daughter with her.

The Aenar also posses psychic abilities. One Aenar was used by the Romulans to remote pilot a ship that threatened to destabilize the quadrant by instigating war amongst earth and its allies. But the pink and blue skins prevailed in the epic episodes “Babel One”, “United”, and “The Aenar”.

Eventually the humans, Andorians, Tellarites, and Vulcans made an alliance, the coalition of planets in 2155. This union brought victory against the Romulans in the Earth-Romulan war. And it led to the formation of the United Federation of Planets in 2161, which is briefly seen in the last episode of Enterprise, “These are the Voyages”. Sadly the Romulan war is never seen in the series. There's a jump in time from the penultimate episode to the last one. Lets see an enterprise reunion mini-series that chronicles the earth-romulan war!! A man can dream cant he?

The Andorians have appeared in all sorts of trek merchandise over the years. Playmates, Art Asylum, sideshow collectibles, and many other companies have made all sorts of andorian action figures, plushes, statues, etc. They've also appeared in numerous trek videogames, including the upcoming “Star Trek Online” massive multiplayer online RPG, where you can create and play as an Andorian character.

Not only have they conquered toys and videogames, but comics too. Most recently the Andorians appeared in a one shot comic by IDW that explains why Andorians aren’t seen much in the 24th century. Its called alien spotlight: Andorians. While they still belong to the federation they helped create, their participation in it has gone down dramatically. Many Andorians believe the federation has weakened them and they have isolated themselves in their homeworld of Andoria.

If the Klingons can become allies of the federation I'm sure the Andorians will eventually return to their original state in the federation. Let's not forget this comic book isn't really canon, but the story it presents makes a lot of sense so I'll believe it for now.

With the JJ Abrams movie only a month away I'm already starting to worry that Andorians will once again be overlooked. But the recently released clip “disease and danger” , which features McCoy meeting Kirk, has a reference to the Andorians as McCoy lists all the things that can go wrong in space including contracting a case of the Andorian shingles. Hopefully we will get to see some of them in the film, even if they're just in the background. Even if we don’t see them on the big screen this May I know they'll be back soon enough, because no one can keep these blue skins away for long. The Andorians are here to stay!!

Star Trek Enterprise: an appreciation

2009-01-23T13:35:00.000-08:00

written by djtitoflow, revised by el Cala

For decades Star Trek fans have watched the multiple voyages of the starship enterprise as it explored strange new worlds and new civilizations. The 23rd and 24th century were the time periods we Trekkies got used to seeing our beloved adventures take place in, so it was no surprise that many fans reacted negatively to the news of a new Trek series taking place only 150 years in the future.

As the Trek mythology states Zefram Cochrane makes first contact with the Vulcans in the year 2063 and as a result humans begin to pick themselves up after years of wars and struggles, taking their firsts steps towards achieving their full potential as a species.
Vulcans begin to help humans along, but in a way they also hold them back, that is until the year 2151 when Captain Jonathan Archer begins his mission aboard the first starship Enterprise with an attempt to return a stranded Klingon to his homeworld of Kronos.

Most Trek fans shrugged off this series because it was too different from what they were used to seeing. If they hadn’t given up on the show so quickly they might have noticed just how much fun this series truly was, and it might have lasted longer. One of the many complaints is that the first two seasons were full of planet or alien of the week episodes. That is true, but first we need to remember that the entire original series follows an alien or planet of the week type structure. And most of The Next Generation follows that same style. Only Star Trek Deep Space Nine had long story arcs and themes during its entire run, and many fans criticized it for doing that, so I don’t know why most trek fans talk so much crap about Enterprise. There are many great episodes in season one and two that explore the 21st century as well as many classic races from the original series.

The Andorians have never been better than in Enterprise, and who doesn’t enjoy seeing Jeffrey Combs playing Commander Shran, or his use of the phrase “pink skin”. The show even made connections with the fan favorite film First Contact and showed us Starfleet’s first encounter with the borg. That was hardcore Star Trek fan service right there!

Space travel is relatively new to humans in this series so seeing a simple comet up close makes the crew stand up in awe, and so did I when I saw these scenes. Other Trek shows took space travel for granted. In the Next Generation era humans are so technologically advanced that very few things can be considered a threat. In Enterprise the ship has no shields, and can only travel at warp 5. This gives the series a much higher sense of danger and keeps us at the edge of our seats during the epic space battles.

Season three was a season long arc that had the enterprise lost in one of the most dangerous regions of space. The ship was purposely stuck in a volatile area known only as the Delphic Expanse. A race known as the Xindi are being manipulated by creatures from another realm who want to modify our space and make it habitable for their species. After receiving false evidence from these creatures the Xindi become convinced that Earth will attack them in the future, and so they send a probe that kills seven million people on earth. These deaths and the horrors of the expanse practically change every character in the show. It’s mind blowing to see Captain Jonathan Archer deal with his inner demons. He’s pushed to the edge by forces that no human could have ever imagined.
Archer is forced to make some tough moral decisions and as a result becomes a more conflicted character. Commander Trip also suffers a family loss during the Xindi attack, which sends him closer to T’pol and unfortunately into one of the most awkward and useless romances in Trek history (remember Worf and Troi, anyone?). Crappy romance aside season 3 had some of the darkest and most intense episodes you’ll ever see from a Star Trek series. Many of these stories rank high up there with the Dominion War episodes from DS9. The season kept us at the edge of our seats as the mystery behind the Xindi weapons builders was slowly revealed.

But the real treat of this series was its fourth and sadly last season. Enterprise finally realized its true purpose, to be a prequel story to every other series. The fan service we got in season four still surprises me as I look back. The mirror universe in the 21st century, classic creatures such as Gorns and Tholians, the beginnings of Section 31 from DS9, Colonel Green from TOS, even Orion slave girls!!!

My personal favorite moments included Brent Spiner playing Arik Soong (ancestor to Noonien Soong -- the scientist who created the android Data from Star Trek The Next Generation), and seeing a rogue group of augments try to bring about a new eugenics war. If the reference to Khan and the botany bay ship from the original series episode “Space Seed” didn’t make you scream then you sir are no Trekkie -- you listening to me readers!!!! And hey they finally explained why the Klingons from the original series had no ridges (aside from budgetary limitation I mean). Enterprise ended up becoming an amazing show that showed us the first steps toward the Star Trek Universe we’ve come to love. Every time I see Archer’s speech in “Terra Prime” I get up and applaud along with the humans, Vulcans, Andorians, Tellarites, and all the other species that were present that day...the day when the quadrant took its first steps towards the creation of the United Federation of Planets.

The show was entertaining, full of great actors and compelling characters. Viva Bakula!!! It also boasted the best Trek TV special effects. It still saddens me that we only got four seasons. I still remember 8 years ago when i saw the first episode "BrokenBow" with my brother. I saw this series when it aired on UPN, on DVD, on scifi channel, and now on HDNet. 8 yrs of constant watching. I like and watch dozens of shows, but this is one show I truly love and cherish. The show deserved so much more respect from Paramount, and from Trek fans everywhere. Hopefully true fans can now enjoy it on the Sci-Fi Channel, HDNet, and on DVD. This is a Trek show that cannot be ignored any longer. I just hope one day audiences can come to appreciate this show for what it truly is... a great science fiction series and a strong enough Trek show that can stand right next to TNG and DS9 with pride.

Top "trekkie" moments in season 4: by El Cala [AKA the NostlagicG]:

With the arrival of new Executive Producer and show-runner Manny Cotto during the show’s fourth season Enterprise began to really give fans of the franchise what they had been expecting all along. A long time Trek fan himself, Cotto set out to deliver. Here are the coolest things he did for fans everywhere.

- New life and New Civilizations - One of the things we love about Trek are the alien species. During Enterprise’s fourth season we got to see a lot more of the classic species first seen in the original series. Some highlights included The Gorn and Tholian ("In A Mirror Darkly”), Tellarites (“Babel One”), Orions (“The Augments”, “Bound”) Romulans (“United”), and Organians (“Observer Effect”).

Beam me up Emory – In the fourth season episode “Daedalus” we get to meet the man responsible for the creation of one of Star Trek’s most interesting pieces of hardware, the transporter.

- Epic storytelling – The show began doing multiple episode arcs during year four featuring epic storylines like the Vulcan inspired trilogy of episodes (“The Forge”, “Awakening”, “Kir’Shara”) that introduced us to the Syrrannites, a zealous Vulcan sect that believes in — among other Vulcan taboos at the time— the practice of mind-melding. Syrrannites follow a corrupted form of the teachings of Surak, the father of Vulcan logic who is considered the most important Vulcan who ever lived.
- What’s that on your forehead? – One of the coolest sequences ever in the history of Trek has to be the alteration of Klingon foreheads in the episode “Affliction” as a result of their attempts at creating genetically enhanced warriors by utilizing human Augments DNA.

- Eugenics Wars redux - The historic 3 part event that connected Enterprise with not one but two major elements from Trek mythology featured the return of those genetically engineered bullies from the eugenics wars as well as the introduction of Doctor Arik Soong -- great grandfather to Data's creator. The moment when Soong admits the pitfalls that come with genetic manipulation and realizes that cybernetics may be the next great scientific frontier to focus on is truly priceless as fans get their chance at seeing the spark that leads to the initial steps in the creation of our beloved android.

- Brave new world – The events that lead to the creation of The United Federation of Planets are presented in multiple episodes throughout the show’s final season. We are also treated to a very emotional sequence in the episode “Terra Prime” when Archer gets to address representatives from all the species that will soon form this historic alliance. A true love letter to everything Star Trek is about.

Smallville season 8 preview and premiere review

2008-09-20T11:09:00.000-07:00

Re-imagining superman from its roots. That was the tagline for “smallville” when it premiered 7 years ago on what was once the WB. No entering its eight season smallville faces some heavy issues, like the absence of Michael Rosenbaum [Lex Luthor]. But lets focus first on reviewing the premiere episode itself, “Odyssey”. The season picks up where season 7 ended. Clark had just lost his powers and the fortress of solitude was falling on him and Lex , and Chloe was arrested by the department of Domestic Security. Now about a month later we find that Clark got picked up by Russians who have him at a work camp. Lex is missing, Chloe is being held by Lexcorp and not the DDS as we once thought, and Oliver “Green Arrow” Queen and his pre-justice league team are out looking for Clark.

The episode wasn’t half that bad. Its customary of smallville to have kick ass season premieres and finales, and for the most part everything in between be lackluster. There are some great moments such as when brainwashed Oliver shoots an arrow though power-less Clark’s chest, and the Martian Man hunter flying Clark close to the sun, giving him his powers back. And of course it was great seeing Green Arrow, Aquaman, and Black Canary on screen.

Even though the shows greatest and most well-developed character is gone from the show this season still has the possibility to be a great one. They have a new character called Davis Bloome, who’s the smallville version of Doomsday. Initially I was pissed off when I heard they were going to desacrate this character, but as more details have surfaced the possibility of this character being at least decent has grown. And its Sam Witwer from “Star Wars- Force Unleashed” playing the role of doomsday. DC fans remember, smallville is a series that should be watched with an open mind. It’s a re-imagining, like it or not its very different from other superman interpretations. Take it or leave it.

Creators Alfred Gough and Milles milar are gone from the show. Many fans blame them for most of the series’s problems. Hopefully the new creative team will finally start shaking the series from its slowness, repetitiveness, and all its other many problems. And Lana is only gonna appear in five episodes so that possibility is very high. Its also been revealed that the “Legion of Superheroes” will appear in one episode written by Geoff Johns, and even the alien queen Maxima, who tries to get Clark to be her mate. Clark finally has a job at the Daily Planet and will be spending a lot more time with Lois Lane. And he seems to finally be ready to start embracing his destiny [Cause Lana isn’t there to hold him back anymore]. If they truly use the DC mythology well, the League and green arrow, and use supergirl in more than one friggin episode then this season could very well surprise us. Just please get Michael Rosenbaum back, even if its just for the season finale, but bring him back! Best interpretation of Lex Luthor ever! Ever!!!!!!!!!!

djtitoflow's written review of Clone Wars

2008-09-06T08:47:00.000-07:00

Three years ago we experienced the last chapter in the Star Wars saga… Episode 3 Revenge of the Sith. The prequels had their problems, Anakin and Padme!!!!, but episode three was an emotional and intense film that ended up being better then what we ever imagined it could be. Now three years later we get a new theatrical star wars release… Star Wars the clone wars.
Clone Wars is a CGI animated movie that takes place in between episodes 2 and 3. Jabba the Hutt’s son has been kidnapped and its up to Anakin to find the baby and put Jabba on the Republics side in the Clone Wars. This is only the beginning, as the clone wars will continue as a series on cartoon network and TNT this October. If you’re a star wars fan and you go theater expecting to see an hour and a half tv pilot then you wont be disappointed cause that’s exactly what this movie is. Don’t expect the same detail or depth of one of the live action movies. But also don’t expect many of the annoying problems from the prequels [no love scenes between anakin and padme, and no hayden christensen!!, yes!!!!!!!]
This time around Anakin actually has personality, and his new padawan Ashoka Tano is a wonderful addition to the Star Wars universe. She’s young, inexperienced, and quick to act without thinking.. just like Anakin used to be. Its great to see Anakin and Ashoka interact because you see how mature Anakin has gotten in this war and both characters have great chemistry. Seeing their relationship grow is one of the things I’m most anxious to see in the animated series.
The action is intense. The troopers kick ass. Anakin is more interesting. We get a cool new character. And even Samuel Jackson plays mace windu again, and christopher lee does count dooku, and Anthony daniels reprises the role of C-3PO like he’s always faithfully done. And all the new voice actors do a great job. Overall it’s a pretty good animated movie [oops I mean tv pilot]. The droids are a little on the annoying side though. They made them really stupid in this version. But if your watching this movie in a group like I was then youll be laughing at the battle droids antics [laughter is contagious]. But that doesn’t stop the droids from looking dumb and ridiculous.
If you’re a hardcore Star Wars fan , or at least like it enough, then go see it. Just don’t compare with the movies, its not fair to do that. Its a fun ride, although heavy on the shallow side. But it’s the best way to prepare for the series. Cartoons keep getting worse and worse every year, so I cant wait for this series to begin. Its gonna kick ass! So get to a theater near you and may the force be with you.

djtitoflow crimefighter season two begins oct 2008

2008-09-05T17:26:00.000-07:00

the second season of djtitoflow crimefighter premieres this october! im still filming some scenes for the first three episodes of the season. the first and third episodes are completely filmed, while the second episode practically unfilmed. this first 3 episodes take place during the summer, whcih is why youll see montages relating to the graduation, prom, and luquillo trip. when i wrap up filming ill begin editing the first episode, hopefully releasing it before october ends. I also plan to release random stopmotion 3, and hopefully the first videogame show and/or nostalgia blast episode all before crimefighter begins.

crimefighter season two will explore what happens to djtitoflow's crimefighting team after school ends. this season will be have much more

drama than the last one. what was once and action-comedy is now an action-comedy-drama. Expect to see more of sensei bolillo, who was added as a main character right at the end of season one. and also expect retuning villains, and all new threats as djtitoflow faces an uncertain future in a crime-filled world.

djtitoflow's written review of The Dark Knight

2008-07-27T20:29:00.000-07:00

The Dark Knight is breaking box office records, and for good reasons. This movie is not only the greatest movie of the summer, but of the year itself. Its miles in front of all its summer “popcorn” movie competition, because this is way more then some explosion filled summer movie, this is an intensely dramatic movie with psychological layers that we once thought would never be seen in a batman movie.

Batman is now protecting a city in a state of escalation. Things are worse than ever before. The mob has united, and a new criminal, the Joker, is bringing chaos and anarchy to an already messed up city. When I first heard this movie’s version of the Joker wouldn’t be Jack Napier, or have a detailed back-story, I got pissed. But all us batman fans got a sigh of relief when we saw the first trailer, this new joker looked creepy, violent, and insane. And after watching the movie all I can say is: “Heath Ledger deserves and Oscar for this performance”. And the movie itself also deserves one, as did Batman Begins, which the Academy overlooked [like always looking down at sci-fi, fantasy, and comic book adaptations].

The Joker is awesome; many of his dialogues are quotable beyond imagination! Wait till you see his pencil routine! The Joker simply wants to destroy and cause chaos, he even burns money in one scene. There’s no logic to this criminal’s mind, he’s insane. He’s dark, but you will be laughing a lot when you see him, thankfully not because of silly jokes, but because of how violent and sick the son of a bitch is on screen. He’ll also make you a bit nervous sometimes. Your gonna cringe everytime he takes out his little knife and starts to talk about his scar. The suspense he brings to the movie is truly gripping.

This movie builds upon every character established in the first movie. Especially Batman/Bruce Wayne who’s now a fully fledged crimefighter who has the city’s criminals shitting their pants. Bruce is also looking to end his days as batman as he sees Harvey Dent as the hero that Gotham City deserves, a hero who fights by the law and with no mask on. Harvey is also a great character, its great that they set him up very well, that way you really feel sorry for him when he turns into Two-Face. Two face is great here, he’s a dark and tragic character, not comedic and one-dimensional like the one from batman forever.

This is one of those movies that had me cheering in the movie theater. This movie lived up to the hype and more. The actions scenes are great, their much better directed and choreographed than the ones from the first movie, and the bat-pod and all of batman’s new weapons and gadgets kick ass! It’s a complex drama, with real emotions. They don’t hold back here, this is intense, dark; it’s everything a great batman movie should be. Be prepared to be surprised, and screwed with, cause the movie is unpredictable. You’ll be at the edge of your seat. I mean it, I’m not exaggerating. It’s very sad that Heath died because when this movie ends your anxious to see him in the future sequels. And because he was a great actor of course, this was a big loss to Hollywood, he and his work will be long remembered. If you haven’t seen it yet, then go see it! You will enjoy it if you’re a hardcore batman fan, and even if you’ve never read a Batman comic. This movie appeals to everybody, it’s that good, go see it!

For the video review of this batman movie, along with batman begins, and the 4 batman movies from 1989-1997, then stay tuned to my batman movie retrospective. It’s coming in the first episode of djtitoflow’s nostalgia show [my new documentary-like series that will take you on a trip to the past]

djtitoflow crimefighter season one DVD

2008-07-23T16:59:00.000-07:00

The crimefighter season one DVD was released early this june! it features all 5 episodes plus: CSA 2008 tour [17 mins], the behind the scenes [25 mins], two trailers, and a picture montage. theres a small error that can be overcomed, so it was no big deal if you have a copy and are having problems seeing the behind the scenes then let me know! there was even a release "event" at my house, thanks vazquez, nicole, troche, christian, and angel "hoboman" for assisting. many more came afterwards to get their copies. and i sent copies out through people, and even through mail. hope everyone who has one has enjoyed it. there are a few copies left, contact me!

Welcome to djitoflow's blogspot

2008-07-23T16:50:00.000-07:00

welcome homies and homegirls to djtitoflow's newest internet profile! here ill be blogging as much as i can, so you might get to see a more personal side of me that you probably havent seen as much in my other profiles. ill post whenever i upload any new video in facebook and/or youtube, so youll get the best of 4 worlds here. theres a subscription tab at the upper right of the blog, so please subscribe and stay tuned!