Block-busted

We’ve just posted a story about the ongoing Blockbuster-Circuit City deal, which you can read by clicking this link. Previously, we’ve been quite critical of the BlockCity acquistion (in this post: What Is Blockbuster Thinking?) but now, we’re even more against it. Why? Read on to find out.

Good-Bye, “Ben-Hur”

I hadn’t ever seen the original “Planet of the Apes” from start to finish (though I knew of the key scenes and had seen Burton’s remake…) until this weekend when it just so happened to hit AMCHD.

Unlike our gas tank, we’re full.

Stuffed. Full. Nearly overflowing.

Do we have a fun Flight Plan that lets you catch great shows, watch bone crunching action, and help charities at the same time? Yep. Click here for that.

How about coverage of T.O.’s takeover of the Gaylord Hotel’s Glass Cactus for his birthday party? We’ve got video of that, photos of celebs, including two-thirds of Destiny’s Child, Cowboys players, and Jamie Foxx, and the scoop on what happened inside the doors.

What about Nigel Wheeler (or should we say, Kali Green?) and his band Egress? They played their last DFW show for a loooooong time as they set out on a 380 day tour. But we’ve got the photos and video from the show. Clicky clicky.

And for the foodie on your list, we’ve got a holiday gift guide that’s…pardon the pun…delicious. Check out these ideas for great gift ideas for hungry cooks from our Short Orders blogger.

We’ve also got an article about the newly released DVDs that complete trilogies, including the final “Pirates” movie.

But if you’re not into waiting until we post another one of these notes from the digital ether for your DFW Scene fix, you should subscribe to the newsletter, RSS feed, or grab the widget as seen below.

Here comes December…

…even though it’s 70 degrees outside.

We think that means it’s a good idea to set up your Christmas decorations this weekend instead of waiting for the cold snap. For more good ideas and some very very bad ones, check out our Flight Plan for this weekend.

The holidays are, in fact, right around the corner, so you’re sure to see us have lots of holiday themed stuff in the Scene — including our Holiday Special Section, which is already preparing people for the coming festivities.

If you didn’t get out to see Paul Oakenfold a few weeks ago, don’t fret, we’ve got an interview with the world-famous DJ as he delves deep into his inspirations, working with Hollywood and video games, and about the club scene in general.

Feeling a little too plump after Thanksgiving? You need to Ask The Cook the “Fat Facts About Frying” before you think your fried turkey is the reason you can’t fit into your jeans. Hint: It’s most likely the Guiness and chips from the Cowboys victory parties…

And a Bad Acting Hall of Fame without Shatner? Surely….you..jest. Nope. Check out our neat slideshow of the worst performances ever.

Next time you’re out and about, snap a photo and send it our way for our Party Pictures slideshow. You’ll be the talk of the town and show off you hot dancing skills and be part of a slideshow lots of people will look at.

Like reading the DFW Scene? You might like writing for the Scene, too! If you’re in college and need an internship, the Scene would love to check out your resume. E-mail us at dfwscene@nbc5i.com and we’ll give you all the details.

Plus, by now, you should just subscribe to the Scene with our Newsletter, RSS feed, or super swank Widget. (As Seen Below) You’ll get all the updates much faster instead of much slower and more regular than less regular.

What’s Hypercool This Halloween?

DFW Scene has that answer, plus ten things to do for the big pumpkin day.

Oh, and we’ve got the ten best scary movies picks and updated listings for places to be scared in the Metroplex.

We would like to know how you intend to spend Halloween night, but since only %10 of the current vote is going to be performing eerie rituals in their backyards, we’re not expecting too much strange activity on the 31st.

Did you know Peanut M&Ms were the 3rd most popular vending machine snack? We’ve got all ten top treats from the vending racks in this slideshow.

If you’re a Steve Carrell fan, you’ll like the interview we’ve got about his new film “Dan In Real Life.”

And 80s music fans, take note: We have the top 50 songs from the decade in a terrific slideshow. Did you favorite make the cut?

Honestly, though, if you didn’t know about all this awesome sitting on the site, sign up for the newsletter or grab the RSS feed, wontcha?

Guess who’s back?

The DFW Scene is the answer to that, any many other questions.

Questions like “What should I do this weekend?” We answer that one in our Flight Plan.

Or maybe, “I wonder what’s going to happen on the next season of ‘Heroes’?” Yeah, we have a video interview with the stars, too.

Plus, we’ve got the best web video and Hollywood happenings everyday with The Download. Clicky clicky.

Still not satisfied? How about a preview of “Chuck,” news about a Sex Pistols reunion, contests to win “Knocked Up” DVDs and other movies prizes, and an interview with Viggo Mortensen?

And hey, when you get to the site, you should sign up for the e-mail newsletter and RSS feeds to help stay on the stop of what’s happening on DFW Scene.

Plus, keep your eyes peeled for next week’s big feature, weekly Flight Plans, exclusive video and oh so much more…

Hit here to get to the front page.

Confessions of a Spider-Fan: 9 days to go

When I still watched cartoons — okay, I still watch cartoons — Spider-Man: The Animated Series was one of my favorites. But did you know that there have been 10 different television series featuring the web-head?

It started with 1967’s “Spider-Man” which might be best remembered due to it’s theme song; “Spider-man, spider-man, does whatever a spider can.” The animated series ran for three seasons, even after the original studio that made it went bankrupt after the first year! The classic interpretation of the wall crawler seems corny today, but really was a great start for Spidey on T.V.

The next time you could see the web-head was on the “Super Spidey Stories” featured in “The Electric Company” in 1974. Using word balloons, these educational features let kids develop their reading skills whenever Spidey “spoke.”

A live action version of “The Amazing Spider-Man” was unleashed in 1978 for 15 episodes of awfulness. Barely using anything from the comic books, the series had none of Spider-Man’s foes, instead creating new villains, that were definitely not super.

American audiences weren’t the only ones to see Spider-Man on TV. Japanese viewers got to see the Spider-Man costume on a motorcycle-riding, giant-robot-piloting young man. It is an interesting adaptation that helped continue the “toskusatsu” genre of special effects shows in Japan, and added to the ranks of shows focusing on “mecha” battling — which would then lead to “Super Sentei,” which Americans know as Power Rangers!

1981 brought two animated Spider series to NBC, first with “Spider-Man” and then the more well received “Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends.” Both series were more faithful to the comic adventures of the wall-crawler than earlier series fared, though Spidey’s “Amazing Friends” Iceman and Firestar gave that program a “team” feeling that was definitely more popular. In fact, “Amazing Friends” still replays on television in syndication due to its popularity.

Spider-Man: The Animated Series – my personal favorite of all the adaptations – started in 1994 on Fox’s afternoon bock of programming. Combining CGI with traditional animation, the series ran for 76 episodes over five years. Newer characters like Venom and Carnage saw their first appearance in this series that also included terrific versions of Spider-Man’s traditional rogues gallery. Great voice work from actors like Mark Hamill, Ed Asner, and Hank Azaria added to the fluid animations and great storytelling of the series. Spider-fans can still see this series being replayed on television today, and DVD collections are readily available containing episodes from the series.

When “The Animated Series” ended, Fox tried continuing Peter’s adventures in an all-new series called Spider-Man: Unlimited. The run was, in fact, limited to 13 episodes and included Spidey traveling to “Counter-Earth” to battle evil. The series ended on a cliffhanger, which upset the few fans that had been watching the show.

After the success of the first Spider-Man film, MTV and Marvel brought a new animated series to the airwaves creatively entitled “Spider-Man: The New Animated Series.” A fully CGI show done in a “Cel-Shaded” style, the show held a loose continuity with the movie for its 13 episodes. Neil Patrick Harris lent his voice to Peter Parker while rockers Lisa Loeb, Rob Zombie, and rapper Eve all made vocal appearances as other characters in the show.

Next year, the CW plans to bring “The Amazing Spider-Man” back to television in a new animated series. According to early reports, the series will start back at the beginning of Peter’s journey and not be in continuity with Spider-Man 3 or the other films.

So, until May 4th’s premiere of Spider-Man 3, maybe you can catch a re-run of these television adaptations, or pick up a DVD of the latest series.

Keep watching, True Believers!

Confessions of a Spider-Fan: T-minus Ten Days

I’ll confess; I’m a Spider-Fan.

Peter Parker, Mary Jane Watson, May Parker, Eddie Brock, J. Jonah Jameson, Betty Brant, Flash Thompson, etc. are names I grew up with.

Venom, Sandman, Doctor Octopus, Green Goblin, Carnage, Vulture, and Rhino are the villains I feared as a kid coming into my room to beat me up, not the boogie-man.

And while I don’t think I ever had Spider-Man underwear, I know I had the issue that started the Maximum Carnage storyline, and a hologram cover for “Amazing Spider-Man #300.”

I grew out of comics when I moved to Texas, many years ago, and only recently jumped back into that world after a long hiatus, but, oh, what I’ve missed.

It’s the stories that can be contained in a single issue, or spread out over dozen. Characters that grow and change over time, but never lose what makes them great. Fantastic worlds, people with amazing powers, and struggles that can be as big as the cosmos, or as real as smoothing over a troubled relationship can be in any issue of the book.

Spider-Man has all the best elements of comics, and I’m super excited about the upcoming Spider-Man 3.

I’ll be counting down for the next ten days, posting a little each day until the premiere of Spider-Man 3.

Stay tuned, true believers!

What’s up with DFW Scene?

Hey there,

If you’re headed to the movies this weekend (and you should be after you read tomorrow’s Flight Plan), you’ll need to head to the DFW Scene. Not only can you find five ideas for the next time you head to the multiplex, you can find out what to see in another of our articles, save a bundle with our Scene Stealers deal for the weekend, plus see the totals from last weekends box office, if you like that kind of thing.

Oooh, and do you like game shows? Then you have to go try out for NBC’s “Identity” in Dallas this weekend. We’ve got all the information on how to do that on the Scene.

And if you hate waiting at restaurants, you should check out our video report on how to get a table quite a bit quicker.

So what are you waiting for, check back in with the DFW Scene!

Oh, and if you like what we’re doing, or think we’re completely off, tell us!

DFW Scene Updates Friday

Friday night is normally when we’re out catching dinner and a movie, but we wanted to warn you about five movies you should avoid, and five movies you’ve got to see.

If you’re still interested in getting out tonight, then you might want to head over to The Granada to catch The Baptist Generals. We’ll be there, if you can find us…