Author: s1e2t3u4p5

Universal has released a new trailer for the Serenity movie that’s coming out on September 30th.
It’s going to be good. More about it here.
Put it on your calendar. 🙂

From Robert Bidinotto:

Time to rush out and buy a stack of blank videotapes, then crank up the VCR…
If have only heard about the sensational TV thriller series “24”…or if you are already a fan, and have missed important episodes…now is your chance to tape/see all four seasons of the best damned series on television.
Starting today, Sept. 13, the A&E cable television network is airing back-to-back episodes of “24,” starring Kiefer Sutherland, for a solid month. Copy/click the preceding link and/or check your local listings for the exact time in your area.
“24” — produced by Fox TV, but with the previous seasons now rerun on A&E — has become an addiction for me and for millions of viewers. The ingenious premise is that every season of the series consists of 24 episodes, with each episode representing one hour of a single 24-hour day, shown in “real time.” During that day, as a digital clock ticks down on the bottom of the screen, a terrorist plot is uncovered that will wreak enormous damage on the nation. That is, unless the highly secret Counter Terrorism Unit, or “CTU,” and its Los Angeles-based agent extraordinaire Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) can find out where the terrorists are and stop them.
We’re talking serious WMD here, folks. I mean like nuking L. A. Setting off biological warfare cannisters in urban hotels. Melting down nuclear power plants. Shooting down Air Force One.
That kind of stuff.
While dealing with such crises, the personal lives of CTU agents and that of the President of the United States get all entangled in the machinations. The plot convolutions are myriad, and always throw viewers for a loop. The writers gleefully violate just about every convention you have ever seen on TV: veteran good guys get killed or turn out to be traitors; Our Hero is forced to do some of the most ruthless and unexpected things imaginable. You never know whom you can trust — or trust to survive the day.
Kiefer Sutherland’s Jack Bauer is like some magnificent hybrid Achilles and Job, both terrifically heroic and terribly long-suffering. Even during the weaker moments of Seasons Two and Three, that character held the show together and glued viewers to the TV screen each week. Season One (starting tonight) and Season Four, however, were unqualified knockouts, providing some of the most exciting, riveting television ever produced.
So check out your TV listings, then set your VCR in slow-record mode. I absolutely guarantee that if you watch the first three episodes, you will become hooked for good.
And after you watch these four seasons, you’ll have Season Five to look forward to in January…

The Detroit Free Press has published a favorable review of Atlasphere member Todd Lerner‘s new album:

What happens when an advertising writer-designer forsakes his computer keyboard for the kind found in a recording studio? In Todd Lerner’s case, it’s something like you’d expect: kind of self-conscious and not at all shy about touting itself.
But that’s about the worst that can be said about “If Right Now Played Guitar,” a half-hour collection of 11 finely polished pop-rock tunes that showcase Lerner’s ear for subtle melody, drier-than-wry sense of humor and exacting studio skills. At its best, the quirky-and-proud-of-it “Right Now” brings to mind Alex Chilton in his druggy phase, or maybe They Might Be Giants trying to tone down the zaniness. Whether or not you’re enamored of the vibe, there’s no denying that Lerner has a distinctive vision, and knows how to bring it off.

Read the full review for more information, or head over to Todd’s “Song for Free” site to listen to the actual music.
PS: If anyone is interested in writing a formal review of the album for the Atlasphere, send us a note.

Bob Hessen points us to Arthur Chrenkoff’s review of “The Flight That Fought Back.” It begins:

The story of Flight 93 is extraordinary. “The Flight That Fought Back” is an extraordinary documentary.
On September 11, at 9 PM (ET/PT), Discovery Channel will screen this documentary in the United States, with other countries to follow soon (please check you local TV guides for details). Thanks to the show’s creators, I got a sneak preview and just finished watching it.
I cannot recommend it highly enough.
You simply cannot miss it. I never type in capitals to make a point, but you can take it that I am now. Extensively researched and drawing on some previously unpublished information, “The Flight That Fought Back” provides the most complete and comprehensive recreation of events onboard Flight 93. It’s a stunning, immensely moving production.

Keep reading…