One of the best superhero series yet returned Tuesday, as Stargirl begins a new season on the CW network. After the city of superheroes was blown apart in last season’s finale, viewers will catch up with Brec Bassinger’s Courtney Whitmore aka Stargirl as she tries to lead a new generation of Justice Society of America superheroes. But is it meant to be? Yvette Monreal’s Wildcat is reeling from killing Brainwave, justifiably or not. Cameron Gellman’s Hourman is trying to track down Solomon Grundy. And Anjelika Washington’s Beth Chapel continues her turn as the saddest character on TV, now losing her relationship with her parents even more, plus Charlie, the cyber entity that no longer knows her. Worst of all, it’s the end of the school year and Courtney finds she’s stuck in summer school.
We rated it one of the best TV superhero series of the decade (behind Marvel’s Luke Cage) in our wrap-up of the first 10 years of borg. In the first season of Stargirl the series never let up, never let us down, and with this week’s new trailer it looks like it’s full steam ahead. The series that may have you stand up and cheer, from the far corners of 30 years of DC Comics, Stargirl′s first season delivered a story of a trope TV never really does that well–a positive relationship between step-daughter and step-father. Brec Bassinger’s Courtney Whitmore had a relationship with her new stepdad like you’d expect at first–awkward. But it was doubly awkward when he was an over-eager good guy named Patrick played by Luke Wilson–and they are both superheroes. Now that the introduction is out of the way, where do we go from here?
Check out the first trailer for Season 2 of Stargirl:
Tom Hiddleston’s Loki is likely the most popular villain in all of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He’s also one of the best, staying true not only to the comics, but the spirit of the Norse mythology they pulled him from. So a Lokiseries, coming soon to pay streaming provider Disney+, is almost guaranteed to be the big winner of 2021, right? That seems to be confirmed in the latest trailer for the six-episode event series. Is there a superhero series or movie this year you’re more anxious to watch than Loki?
As demonstrated by Luke Wilson’s appearance as co-star of Stargirl, you get the feeling the Wilson brothers are going to be the secret weapon for another sure-fire superhero series (even if it is about a super-villain). This time it’s Owen Wilson as Mobius M. Mobius, who is going to introduce Loki–and the audience–to a new universe tangent to the Marvel world we know about. Mobius M. Mobius is a character with some true comics street cred, originating from the mind of writer/artist Walt Simonson. And Mobius has a past in the comics pages connecting him with Fantastic Four and She-Hulk–will Wilson’s character be the new glue to connect the integration of the FF from Fox to Disney, and pull Tatiana Maslany’s She-Hulk into the MCU in her own series, due to arrive next year?
And does this furry friend know Goose from Captain Marvel? Other actors in the series include Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Sophia Di Martino, Wunmi Mosaku, and Richard E. Grant, who played Marvel character Dr. Rice, the mad scientist in Logan, from the other Marvel studio–Is this another opportunity to pull in the Fox Marvel stories?
Today we move from the big screen to the small screen with the Best TV Series of 2020. If you missed it, check out our review of the Best Movies of 2020here and the best Kick-Ass Heroines of 2020 here. We watch a lot of television, and probably love a good series even more than a great movie. We preview hundreds of series, but outside big franchise content you want to know about, we only review what we recommend–the best genre content we’re watching. The theory? If we like it, we think you may like it. The best shows have a compelling story, a full range of emotions, great characters, tremendous action, a sharp use of humor, and all kinds of well-executed genre elements that satisfy and leave viewers feeling inspired. Even better if we see richly detailed sets and costumes.
Without further ado, this year’s Best in Television:
Best Borg Series – Altered Carbon (Netflix). Showing life in a world well past the merger of the organic and inorganic via stacks placed in human individuals’ vertebrae in the back of the neck, the second season of the series further revealed the dark side of being able to live forever. What parts of life have the most value in a cybernetic world? What crimes emerge when body and mind can be separated and re-shuffled? Honorable mention: Star Trek: Picard (CBD All Access)–revisiting Star Trek’s old nemeses The Borg and introducing the cyborg-like nonbiological humanoids called Synths, the same term used in the BBC’s Humans.
Best TV Borg, Best TV Villain – Darth Maul (played by Sam Witwer and Ray Park), Star Wars: The Clone Wars (Disney+). The athletic performer Ray Park provided the best-ever lightsaber duel scenes in his co-starring performance in The Phantom Menace. Watching the animated series this year it was clear Darth Maul wasn’t just another animated character. Add another great duel to the books–Park’s motion capture abilities live on and continue to set the bar for Star Wars action sequences, and Witwer voices a character we never want to see go away again. Honorable mention for Best TV Villain: Grand Moff Gideon, Giancarlo Esposito, The Mandalorian (Disney+).
Best Sci-fi TV Series, Best TV Fantasy, Best Western TV Series – The Mandalorian (Disney+). Not a lot needs explaining with this series, which continues to be compared to the original Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back more than anything with the Star Wars label on it since. The Western motif is still alive, not all that hidden here in space fantasy garb. And we won’t get started on the impact of The Child (aka Baby Yoda) now called Grogu, on the genre-loving world and beyond. Credit Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau’s visible enthusiasm and love for the original movies for a series that only gets better with each episode, despite their short lengths. Honorable mention for Best Sci-Fi TV Series: Star Trek: Picard (CBS All Access).
After what I viewed as the best superhero series pilot yet here at borg back in May, Stargirl never let up, never let us down, and with this week’s season finale rises to become the very best superhero series yet. We can slice and dice and compare series like The Flash and Arrow, Supergirl, and Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., but did any of them adapt the comic book mythos to the screen as written and drawn by years of comic book writers and artists? Or did they all twist the stories to cut away at what made the stories enduring in the first place? Even Riverdale and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina–two fantastic comic book adaptations–were nudged aside by thirteen perfect episodes of comic books in TV form. Not since the heart in the original series The Flash,The Incredible Hulk, and the animated series Superfriends has a series full of superhero characters gotten so much so right. And one scene in the season finale was so good, so surprising, it may have you stand up and cheer.
Isn’t this a great time for a new superhero series to begin? If you agree then you’re in luck, because tonight’s premiere episode of Stargirlmight be DC Comics’ best TV pilot yet. Prepare to meet the next superheroes from the corners of 30 years of DC Comics. Courtney Whitmore’s relationship with her new stepdad is like you’d expect at first–awkward. But it’s doubly awkward when he’s an over-eager good guy named Patrick played by Luke Wilson (known best for his roles in Wes Anderson movies and an unforgettable spot on The X-Files). Courtney (seen above sporting a rather timely mask) discovers there is more than meets the eye with Pat, and the series opener will propel viewers further ahead into his secrets and past–sooner than you might expect. The result is incredibly promising, a pilot mixing well-done special effects with a great story, a coming of age tale targeted at kids, a fun cast of familiar faces and a new young actress hitting the ground running (or soaring), a cool car and a 1950s vibe, and throwbacks for viewers who keep their eyes open. And the entire first season is now available on digital.
What’s more fun than the idea of Joel McHale as a DC Comics superhero, and Luke Wilson as his sidekick? Unfortunately that’s not the focus of the CW’s next series of the Arrowverse, but it’s close, and if the volley of trailers are any indication, fans of the DC universe will see these two in recurring backstory in Stargirl, coming next month. The other famous league of extraordinary superpeople, the Justice Society of America meets its demise, but that’s the starting point, as a young woman named Courtney Whitmore, played by 20-year-old actress Brec Bassinger (School of Rock), learns her stepdad is a superhero sidekick.
Make that “was” a superhero sidekick. Luke Wilson, known best for his roles in Wes Anderson movies and an unforgettable spot on The X-Files, was once S.T.R.I.P.E, a mechanic in a powered armor supersuit, and sidekick to Sylvester Pemberton, aka Starman, played by Community, Ted, and The Soup’s Joel McHale (in the comics the Star-Spangled Kid from the 1940s aka Skyman). Members of Seven Soldiers of Victory, the All-Star Squadron, and the Justice Society of America, these guys got around. In the new series Courtney takes on Starman’s mantle, a cosmic staff that chooses her, and she’ll begin to assemble the next generation of superheroes.
Appearing at first blush a lot like DC’s Doom Patrol, the pantheon of superheroes includes Anjelika Washington and Henry Thomas as versions of Doctor Mid-Nite, Yvette Monreal and Brian Stapf as Wildcat, and Cameron Gellman and Lou Ferrigno, Jr. as Hourman, taking on Christopher James Baker as Brainwave, Joy Osmanski as Tigress, Neil Hopkins as Sportsmaster, Nelson Lee as Dragon King, and Neil Jackson as Icicle.
Here is the new trailer, and some recent trailers, for DC’s Stargirl:
Today we have three previews for coming theatrical releases of the comedy variety. Two of them hail from two of the most financially successful former Saturday Night Live cast members, and one a coming-of-age zombie flick full of young actors. Are they all dumb comedies, or will any of them break through the pack and be worth the ticket price?
The first film comes from Adam Sandler’s production company and will be a Netflix release. It’s a Western comedy–a rare genre appearance for audiences–with a large cast that might make you think of big cast pieces of years past like Airplane! Along with Sandler, The Ridiculous 6 stars Steve Buscemi, Terry Crews, Norm MacDonald, Danny Trejo, Will Forte, Luke Wilson, Steve Zahn, David Spade, Rob Schneider, Chris Parnell, John Turturro, Jon Lovitz, and Vanilla Ice. That’s a lot of former SNL cast members!
The stars of the hilarious comedy The Other Guys are back. Will Farrell, the most successful SNL actor since Eddie Murphy, and along with Sandler one of the big three of the box office grossing SNL elite shares billing again with one of our favorite actors, the versatile Mark Wahlberg, in Daddy’s Home. Farrell is a step-dad and must contend with his wife’s tougher and cooler ex-husband, played by Wahlberg. This is the film widely reported on earlier this year where Farrell and crew broke in on an actual basketball game and seemingly drunk Farrell beaned a dance group gal in the face (no worries, she was a stunt woman in on the gag). Definitely one for the Farrell and Wahlberg fans out there.
Finally, The Scout’s Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse is the latest zombie flick. It’s a comedy and coming of age movie, but also seems like it has a bit of Steven Spielberg’s Super 8 meets American Pie. Definitely a strange entry, it features a slate of young actors including Arnold’s son Patrick Schwarzenegger, plus comedic actors Cloris Leachman and David Koechner.
Mulder and Scully will be back together again, at least for thousands of fans attending The X-Files 20th Anniversary Panel in Ballroom 20 at San Diego Comic-Con later this month. In interviews in past years they have indicated a third movie or other X-Files reunion was possible and maybe they will share more about that as David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson join series creator Chris Carter and writer/producers David Amann, Vince Gilligan, Howard Gordon, Darin Morgan, Glen Morgan, John Shiban and Jim Wong.
We previewed here at borg.com last month another part of the 20th anniversary celebration–the continuing adventures of Scully, Mulder, the Lone Gunmen, the Smoking Man, Skinner and the rest of the paranormal in The X-Files: Season 10 monthly comic book series from IDW Publishing.
The X-Files ran nine seasons, from 1993 to 2002, with recurring roles and guests roles from Robert Patrick (Agent Doggett), Annabeth Gish (Agent Reyes), Mimi Rogers (Agent Fowley), Adam Baldwin (Knowle Rohrer), Michael McKean (Morris Fletcher), Veronica Cartwright (Cassandra Spender), Willie Garson (Henry Weems), Terry O’Quinn (Lt. Tillman), Leon Russom (Detective Miles), Darren McGavin (Agent Dales), Denise Crosby (Dr. Speake), Lucy Lawless (Shannon McMahon), Michael Bublé (submarine sailor), Cary Elwes (Asst. Director Follmer), and Luke Wilson as Sheriff Hartwell in the fan favorite episode “Bad Blood.” It was also made into two movies: The X-Files: Fight the Future in 1998 and The X-Files: I Want to Believe in 2008. And it had one spinoff–the short-lived 2001 TV series The Lone Gunmen, feature the quirky trio played by Bruce Harwood, Tom Braidwood, and Dean Haglund.
