The Justice Society of America from "Smallville" (Photo: CW)

Stargirl: Must every Justice Society story be a tragedy?

On By Mark PerigardIn Features

“DC’s Stargirl” is taking flight with its story of a teenager coming into her own as a hero indebted to the past and looking to the future.

But there’s no denying the premiere episode hit like a punch to the solar plexus for those who love the first and greatest super-hero team, the Justice Society of America. In a harrowing sequence, “Stargirl” opened with the team assassinated by the Injustice Society of America.

As the Modern Age of Super-Heroes has soared in film, animated works and live-action TV, those who have followed the JSA for decades, hoping to see them take their place in the pantheon of champions, have been resoundingly disappointed.

In their scant few appearances, the Justice Society seems to have one power: dying.

Continue reading “Stargirl: Must every Justice Society story be a tragedy?” →

Anderson Cooper (Photo: CNN)

With 100,000 Americans dead from coronavirus, Anderson Cooper roasts Trump with his own words

On By Mark PerigardIn News

Anderson Cooper got right to the point.

Last night, the CNN host noted a grim benchmark: Over 100,000 Americans dead from the coronavirus.

Many of those deaths could have been prevented if the United States had a better leader.

Cooper noted that the United States has about 5 percent of the world’s population and now leads the world with about a third of all deaths from the virus.

Continue reading “With 100,000 Americans dead from coronavirus, Anderson Cooper roasts Trump with his own words” →

Luke Wilson, "DC's Stargirl" (Photo: CW)

Luke Wilson needed to have his ‘Stargirl’ role explained to him

On By Mark PerigardIn News

Luke Wilson wasn’t quite sure what he signed up for when he agreed to star in “DC’s Stargirl.”

Speaking on CBS’ “The Talk,” Wilson credited series creator and writer Geoff Johns for explaining the concept and the character of Stripesy – also known as Pat Dugan – to him.

“I felt like a little kid when I was talking to him about it, and I said, ‘So is my character a superhero?’ and he said, ‘Well, he doesn’t have any superpowers, but you do have a 17-foot-tall robot to operate.'”

Wilson recalls that he still wasn’t satisfied.

Continue reading “Luke Wilson needed to have his ‘Stargirl’ role explained to him” →

I Wrote about Trump. Something Odd Happened.

On By Mark PerigardIn Politics1 Comment
Photo by Skitterphoto on Pexels.com

I’ve written a few times on my personal site, MarkPerigard.com, about Orange Babyhands.

As you might guess, it hasn’t been particularly flattering.

Not long after the first post, something unusual happened.

All my posts across my site were bombed with spam … hundreds of unwelcome junk, most of it, judging from the use of the Russian email service Mail.Ru, from Russia.

Continue reading “I Wrote about Trump. Something Odd Happened.” →

"The Sopranos" (Photo: HBO)

IMDb’s list of Top 10 TV shows will surprise you

On By Mark PerigardIn News

When you think of the Top 10 TV shows of all time, what comes to mind?

“The Sopranos”? “Breaking Bad”? “Game of Thrones”?

Would it surprise you to learn that only one of those shows made to the Top 10 TV shows of all time, as ranked by more than 80 million registered users of imdb.com?

Only “Breaking Bad” cracked the Top 10 on IMDb – the Internet Movie Database. It finished an impressive No. 4 overall.

“Game of Thrones” just missed out, finishing out at No. 11. That’s still good, considering how fans loathed the final season of the HBO fantasy drama.

The acclaimed mob drama “The Sopranos” starring James Gandolfini ranked No. 15, behind such animated shows as “Rick and Morty” and “Avatar: The Last Airbender.”

Scripted shows only made up four slots in the Top 10 – with the highest ranking, the World War II-set miniseries “Band of Brothers,” coming in at No. 3.

Viewers who rely on the site really love their documentaries. Six of the ten slots go to documentaries. Scripted shows took the other four slots.

David Attenborough’s “Planet Earth II” ranks at No. 1.

The No. 2 show? Attenborough’s “Planet Earth.”

Attenborough is the big winner on this list. He also narrates “Blue Planet II” (No. 7) and “Our Planet” (No. 9). IMDb users seem to trust his nature work.

“The Last Dance,” about basketball superstar Michael Jordan, is the only 2020 series making it on the list, ranking at No. 8.

The full top 10 list:

    1. Planet Earth II (2016)
    2. Planet Earth (2006)
    3. Band of Brothers (2001)
    4. Breaking Bad (2008)
    5. Chernobyl (2019)
    6. The Wire (2002)
    7. Blue Planet II (2017)
    8. The Last Dance (2020)
    9. Our Planet (2019)
    10. Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey (2014)