October 2013 | Otaku No Culture

Happy Birthday Henry Winkler!

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

Henry Winkler (2013)

Wow, The Fonz is still as hip today as he was in his heyday. Well, today may not be this character’s official birthday but it certainly is for the actor who played him. Henry Winkler turns 68 today and he could not look any better. Happy Birthday Henry! You have paved my way to defining what I thought was “cool” ever since Happy Days.

I have throughly enjoyed the television shows you produced over the years, namely MacGyver and Sightings. And you did not even stop with your exploration into the unknown when you became a co-producing partner of the television show Unexplained Mysteries.

But thankfully your time away from the small screen did not mean you wanted to cease acting. I was glad to discover that you would return to television once in a while. But nowadays, I can enjoy new regular shows with you on. Viewers can find Mr. Winkler on Children’s Hospital, playing the role of Sy Mittleman.

Halloween Treats: Getting Nostalgic with the Adventures of Ichabod & Mr. Toad

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

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On the eve of Halloween night, young children should not be denied some early treats. Disney’s DVD release of The Adventures of Ichabod & Mr. Toad (Disney Gold Classic Collection) is a must own for any paranormal enthusiast or classic Disney fan. This collection contain three wonderful shorts — The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, the Wind in the Willows and Lonesome Ghosts. The latter is worth noting because it was an influential classic which shaped this author’s life path to investigating ghosts for real. There were The Three Investigators and Scooby-Doo too, but the combination of these products certainly was a game changer.

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[Victoria, BC] Exploring Dracula, The Blood is The Life’s Revisions & News for Next Year

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

Dracula

Craigdarroch Castle
1050 Joan Crescent
Victoria, BC V8S 3L5

Ticket Reservations:
250-592-5323

Dates and times:
October 30th 7pm & 9pm
October 31st 8pm

Lord Dracula is back, and this time, the terror is twice as bloody, if not wickedly fun. Launch Pad and Giggling Iguana Productions revisits the legend of the vampire king in a show that’s said to be pumped up to an extra level of terror. Practically all of the classics from the Golden Age of Terror — Dorian Gray, Jekyll & Hyde, Poe and Faust — has been covered, and the news that The Wolfman will be appearing next will be highly anticipated. To round out the world, Frankenstein may be a massive undertaking to pull off. It can be done, if the management of Craigdarroch Castle allows it.

But for visitors pondering a visit to Victoria, BC for All Hallows Eve, they might want to consider purchasing tickets in advance to ensure this type of site-specific play will not be missed.

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X-Men: Days of Future Past Trailer

By James Robert Shaw (The Wind up Geek)

There is a lot to be had with the new X-Men: Days of Future Past trailer. It’s offering not only some indications there will be lots of action. But knowing that Bryan Singer has returned to the film might mean we’ll get a more ensemble cast film as the first two movies rather than the Storm/Wolverine movie the third installment became. Don’t get me wrong, I respect them as actors but the reason I go to see an X-men film is because of the team, not the individual.

But the question I would ask, which I am sure many others will, is where are the Sentinels?

X-men: Days of Future Past will hit theatres on May 23, 2014.

The Force Wasn’t Strong in this One

By James Robert Shaw (The Wind up Geek)

Like any film, television series or Broadway production, props don’t work the way actors expect them to. And actors don’t always work either. Like all human beings they make mistakes. Actors can slip, trip, stumble or occasionally flub their lines. The difference between being an actor on George Lucas’ original Star Wars or being a star on the stage is the star on stage is under more pressure not to screw-up.

Where a production company might share some gaffes and giggles, with LucasFilm there was silence…until now. Editor and author J. W. Rinzler was trawling through the Lucas archives, looking for material for his making of books on the original three Star Wars films, when what was caught in his net was a Star Wars blooper reel, it was too big to throw back. And like any normal fisherman he had to show off his monster of a catch. This catch though, he displayed at the 2013 San Diego Comic-Con.

Rinzler’s find is now available on YouTube but it wasn’t made available by Rinzler himself. And readers take note, there is no sound until 49 seconds into the reel. According to fans, this is the way the reel was shown at Comic-Con.

Source(s): Neil Bowyer, Mashable.

Don’t Get Shrek’ed with the Musical, A Review

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

Shrek the Musical debuted to audiences in Seattle in 2008, and after it moved to Broadway, it played there for three years. In 2009, a show was recorded for video release, but it was delayed until now. Released on Amazon.com Sept 17 as a digital download and on Oct 15 to disk, this show showcases the talent known as Brian d’Arcy James (Shrek), Sutton Foster (Fiona), Christopher Sieber (Farquaad) and Daniel Breaker (Donkey). Amazingly, this musical production improves upon the source and the video release is a must-see for how it adds to DreamWork’s now retired product.

The Blu-ray release offers a behind the scenes construction of the musical, and both releases include a songbook for fans to sing along to. If this release can help Shrek return for some direct-to-video piece, fans can rejoice!

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