Annex - Francis, Anne (Forbidden Planet)_NRFPT_04The PopCulteer
March 28, 2014

It’s a multi-topic PopCulteer this week. So let’s dive in!

Sci Fi Series continues at the Clay Center

The showing of the classic film, “Metropolis” at the Electric Sky Theater at the Clay Center back in February was a success, so now they’re trying another Sci Fi classic. “Forbidden Planet,” the epic Sci Fi movie from 1956 that includes the debut of Robbie The Robot, a dramatic turn from Leslie Nielson and a monster animated by the folks at Disney, will be shown April 11 and 12 at 7 PM. The film runs 98 minutes and will be shown at The Electric Sky Theater. Admission is a mere six dollars.

Poster - Forbidden Planet_20With a mix of Shakespeare, Carl Jung and Space Opera and the distinction of being the first film scored with electronic music, director Fred Wilcox created a timeless science fiction classic in “Forbidden Planet.”

If you enjoy quality science fiction or classic movies, then you won’t want to miss the chance to see “Forbidden Planet” on the big screen.

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A starship crew goes to investigate the silence of a planet’s colony only to find two survivors and a deadly secret that one of them has. “Forbidden Planet” is the April installment of the Clay Center’s Science Fiction Film Series. Check PopCult for details on how you can help choose future films in the series.

Sean O’Bryan Smith Returns

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Virtuoso bassist and RFC guest, Sean O’Bryan Smith is back in town, with a performance tonight at The Boulevard Tavern, and a Master Class tomorrow at Cheapbeats Music. Let’s go to the press release…

“Internationally acclaimed Nashville bassist, Sean O’Bryan Smith, will be making a stop in Charleston at the Boulevard Tavern on March 28, 2014, bringing his funky jazz vibes and grooves. He will be backed by a few locals as well…guitarist, Jeffrey Thomasson, drummer Dave Roberts (The Nanker Phelge, Trielement, MJX), and special guest violinist, Beth Summers of Snakebox..

“In his nearly three decade career he has successfully transcended the roles of being a popular solo artist, a highly sought after session/touring bassist for major artists of multiple genres, Internationally recognized producer, composer, clinician, record label executive and even freelance writer. Sean’s ability to adapt to virtually any musical situation is why he has become one of the most in demand musicians in the industry.”

“Opening for Sean with be the local instrumental-rock trio, Trielement. Trielement serves up funky, bluesy, avant-garde rock with a little bit of everything thrown in. $5.00 cover gets you in.” Your Popculteer will be at the Tavern tonight to catch this incredible musician.

That’s not all. Saturday, Sean stops at Cheapbeats for a Master Class.

“Sean O’Bryan Smith will be hosting a Master Class at Cheapbeats Drum Sales on March 29, 2014 @ 2pm. Cheapbeats address is: 65 MacCorkle Ave SW, South Charleston, WV 25303. 304-766-2400. An $8 donation is suggested.

“Anyone interested in film composition and all facets of bass musicianship should attend. Sean is all about music education. He is also offering private instruction to those interested. See Sean at the clinic for details.”

Cartoon Network Shrinks

images (4)As many animation fans who read PopCult probably know, Cartoon Network and Adult Swim, which share the same channel, are treated as separate networks for the purposes of ratings and ad sales. This allows them to pursue different audiences with independent advertising sales teams and it helps them avoid any embarrassing mistakes where inappropriate ads run in the wrong timeslots. For some time now, Cartoon Network ended its broadcast day at 9 PM, and picked up from Adult Swim the next morning at 6 AM.

Last December the networks experimented with a change by extending Cartoon Network to 10 PM. It was a test to see how well children’s programming would work later in the day.

Evidently, that experiment didn’t turn out to be a success. Starting next Monday, Cartoon Network will shrink by one hour, ending at 8 PM, and turning over the reigns to Adult Swim. I don’t know if I’m entirely happy with this development.

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“Adventure Time” is one of the most deeply-layered shows on TV, leaving “Breaking Bad” and “Game of Thrones” in the dust when it comes to complexity and shocking developments. Plus it has fart jokes.

Don’t get me wrong. I love Adult Swim and have been a supporter of it since day one. The issue is that Cartoon Network has killer line-up of quality animation that’s been ruling their “prime time” spot of 7 PM to 9 PM in the ratings. Shows like “Adventure Time,” “Regular Show,” “Steven Universe,” “Uncle Grandpa,” and others have built up quite a following, in part by emulating the Adult Swim format of fifteen-minute shows with fresh content almost every week.

"Regular Show" one of the best things on TV

“Regular Show” one of the best things on TV

With the new programming change, Cartoon Network is simply sliding that block of shows up an hour, so that they will now begin at 6 PM–dinner time for most kids. I hope it doesn’t wind up hurting them, because “Adventure Time” and “Regular Show” are among the best shows on television right now, and Cartoon Network has a disturbing tendancy to cancel very well done and successful shows prematurely.

Adult Swim is not exactly doing anything exciting with their extra hour of programming. They will be showing a full hour of “King of the Hill” at 8 PM, followed by an hour of “The Cleveland Show,” and a two-hour block that will mix episodes of “American Dad” and “Family Guy” with the occasional new show like “Rick and Morty” or the returning “Boondocks.”

“King of the Hill” has been a solid performer for Adult Swim for the last five years, but ratings for the show have dipped since there are no new episodes and the series has been shown from beginning to end many times now. It would’ve been nice if Adult Swim had decided to use their expanded prime-time hour to show off some of their original programming like “The Venture Brothers” or “Metalacolypse.”

Archer Update

archer_season_5_poster_2014_by_yakfu-d70uv7gFinally, as the excellent FX series, “Archer” wraps up season five, word comes that the show has been renewed for two more seaons and will “deboot” next year, returning to its original spy-adventure-satire format. The current season saw the crew at spy agency, ISIS, raided and shut down by the feds. They then spent the entire season attempting to be drug-runners to support themselves. The results were hilarious, but it looks like the season finale (spread over the next two weeks) will see everything return to normal. Archer airs Mondays at 10 PM on FX.

That’s the PopCulteer for this week. Check back for our regular features and a special April Fool’s Day edition of the RFC MINI SHOW in the coming week.