This week, we begin the show with a recap of CBS’ great Star Trek debacle of 2017. That’s right, we’re talking Star Trek: Discovery, CBS’ “grittier” return to the Star Trek TV universe, which seems to be the series version of a mirage: Every time we think we’re getting closer to this thing, it disappears before our eyes. CBS is putting a lot of eggs in the Discovery basket, the biggest of which is the eventual success (or defeat) of the company’s new online venture, CBS All Access. Discovery will only be seen on the $6-per-month service, and the two seem to be tied to each other, for better or for worse.
Meanwhile, CBS has dragged its feet at every turn, delaying casting for months, losing its showrunner in Bryan Fuller over what appeared to have been creative differences, and pushing back the release date not one, not two, but three times at least — to the point where a CBS exec, when asked about the show’s fall release, said simply that the network was “not stating” when the show would make it to air. Star Trek fans are, understandably, frustrated, and we’ll dig into our own frustrations about the haphazard treatment of one of TV’s most beloved franchises.
We’ll also, of course, get into our usual Weekend Box Office Preview, though this is another week where there’s not much to see here (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 comes out next week, thank goodness). The big winner we put all our money on for this weekend is “The Circle,” the Tom Hanks vehicle from the popular book that parodies Silicon Valley. Unfortunately, we lost our money apparently, as the news coming in across the wire is that it is “terrible,” taken straight from the mouth of DT’s own Rick Marshall, who also exclaimed that he “felt bad for everyone in it.” It’s not doing well from other reviewers either, who have called it predictable, boring, sloppy, dated … well, you get it. It’s currently sitting at 22 percent or Rotten Tomatoes (ouch).
We’ve got a truckload of other news to discuss this week, as well. Anne Rice’s beloved Vampire Chronicles (all 11 of them) have just been optioned for a new TV series, which torpedoes all plans for the movie that was going to be produced by Brian Grazer, and would have combined Rice’s extremely popular books Interview with the Vampire and The Vampire Lestat. We’ll discuss this new development, and the death of our dream (we assume) that Jared Leto would play the books’ lead protagonist, Lestat.
Disney just dumped a slew of release dates for some of its most anticipated movies, including a new Indiana Jones film, and even a new Star Wars film for 2020 that has yet to be revealed. We’ll go into some of the biggest releases on today’s show, and make our predictions about what’s to come from the superpowered studio.
Speaking of massive franchises, Universal has announced plans to bring back an old friend to its newly resurrected Jurassic Park/World franchise, announcing that Jeff Goldblum will be returning as eccentric mathematician Ian Malcolm. Apparently, Goldblum, like life, finds … a way. Other sequel news includes a new director rumored for the World War Z sequel in David Fincher, as well as a very intriguing (and spoiler-ridden) bit of news about M. Night Shyamalan’s much-anticipated sequel to the Bruce Willis drama/action/superhero flick Unbreakable. We’ll have to have you cup your ears for this one if you’re not privy to the latest from Shyamalan, as this development connects two very different worlds.
We’ll also dig into our Reboot Recap segment with some fresh news (which is sort of an oxymoron), including news about Disney’s live-action Lion King reboot, Kevin Hart’s take on John Candy’s The Great Outdoors (why, Hollywood, why?), and a new take on The Tick from Amazon.
We’ll also talk about Apple’s latest push into original series, Universal’s highly unauthorized Madonna biopic, and more, so join us live today at 2 p.m. PT, or take our podcast along by subscribing via one of the links above!
