[Television]

The Walt Disney Company has just announced that they're planning to buy the comic book giant Marvel Entertainment for a massive sum -- $4 billion. The cash-and-stock buyout will give Disney ownership of Marvel and its 5,000 comic book characters. This is obviously a huge development between two of the most dominant entities in the entertainment industry today.

Interestingly, Marvel Entertainment started out similarly as the Walt Disney Studios did. Martin Goodman, a struggling publisher fresh out of the Great Depression, came out with Marvel Comics #1 in October 1939 -- almost 70 years ago. A few years later, Stanley Lieber -- the great Stan Lee, then only 19 years old -- joined the team, and he would propel Marvel into mainstream popularity over the next several decades.

Marvel today has been enjoying some great success in the movies. It all started with "Blade," a little-known Marvel comic book character, becoming a sleeper hit and grossing $131 million worldwide. The first "X-Men" movie followed and did even better, and "Spider-Man" enjoyed enough success to spin two sequels (with a third in the making). Robert Downey, Jr.'s "Iron Man" has also enjoyed its share of the spotlight, with films about Thor, Captain America, and the Avengers in the works.

The buyout is obviously going to be very good for Marvel -- if Disney gives Marvel free creative reign (as it does with Miramax), then the comic book giant stands to benefit from the massive exposure, advertising, and marketing prowess of Disney. It showed overnight -- Marvel's stock price jumped 26% when news of the buyout first reached the press.

On Disney's front, it's clear to me, this deal has acquired them Marvel's comic book character library. This now gives Disney direct access to the young (and adult) male demographic.

Then again, it does leave one to think -- just what does Disney have in mind? It doesn't stand to gain much unless it exerts some form of creative control over Marvel, which fans will definitely dislike. The edgy violence of Marvel also doesn't seem to fit into Disney's wholesome, feel-good image either. Apparently Disney shareholders think along the same lines -- share prices dropped 2% overnight.

I've seen worried bloggers say that Wolverine and Mickey Mouse wouldn't get along at all. I doubt this is what Disney has in mind, but let's see how things pan out.

"Man Vs Wild" is probably one of the most awesome shows ever created. There's something about watching how an ordinary human being can survive the most unfriendly environments in the world, and Bear Grylls shows us how it's done in the most straightforward way possible. Simply watching the show can make men question their own masculinity.

I'm sure a lot of men, me included, wouldn't pass up a chance to go with Bear on one of his up-close-and-personal encounters with Mother Nature. This is the reason why Discovery Channel came up with the brilliant idea of "upgrading" the series for this season into "Men Vs Wild," where Bear teams up with another celebrity to face the world and all its cruelty.

Will Ferrell, American funny guy, was the first to sign up.

I was able to watch the debut of "Men Vs Wild" yesterday. Not to spoil anything if you missed it, but Will was such a great choice for Bear's companion. According to Bear, he only asked Will to do two things for the show: One, to show up alone and without an entourage, and two, to trust him. Will did both, and they had a swell time.

Of course, "swell" is relative -- the two underwent 48 punishing hours in the Arctic, with the ever-resourceful Bear finding means and ends to ensure they both survive the trek. Will, on the other hand, provided a lot of banter throughout the show -- I swear, it was awesome times two.

If you missed it, and you live in Southeast Asia, then you can still catch "Men Vs Wild" encore showing on Saturday, August 8 at 6 PM, and Sunday, August 9, at 10 AM. Miss it, and you'll be half a man.

If you’re having a bad day... watch this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY

How did I find this fast before most of the mainstream international press?

Simple.

This should be, and is, Susan Boyle's day... but I can't pass the opportunity to showcase how shallow, utterly insensitive and inconsiderate Simon Cowell and Piers Morgan are. :)

Perhaps at the back of their minds they think their tasteless behavior on the shows they’re on can be remedied with their charity work and schmoozing with television royalty or politicians, but as the saying goes, the camera doesn’t lie.

You gotta’ see these quack's (and some of the audience’s) expressions in the Britain’s Got Talent video above. Of course by the end of Susan’s amazing presentation Piers and Simon were clearly floored (you can clearly hear it in their voices).

UPDATE:

So just how good was the performance?

1 day on...

- Youtube user: macraeman
"TRUE BRIT. Self-depracating, accepts the jibes, then gets on with the job - brilliantly, in this case - and has the last laugh."

- Youtube user: macraeman
cont'd...
"Favorite moments: the performance, obviously, but also at 2:28, Piers Morgan swallowing back his emotion, at 4:01 Simon Cowell smiling and relaxing into a moment that looks like a kid at Christmas, and towards the end, Amanday Holden (who really needs to be my wife) shouting 'Oy as Ms. Boyle starts to leave the stage prematurely. This just shows that God/Life comes in many packages. Here is one Yank who sends Ms. Boyle his very, very best!"

4 days on...

- YouTube user: leafnut420
"jesus christ! over 12 mil views and 65k comments in 4 days. that's retarded"

6 days on...

- I don't know if this is genuine (I have not been able to verify this), but it's worth a listen:
Susan Boyle - Cry Me A River - 1999 Recording (From The Scottish Daily Record Newspaper)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jI2DxkrgpgQ

I recently read news about Discovery Channel and how it managed to stay financially stable, compared to heavyweight networks like Viacom, Time-Warner and Disney. Discovery's shares rose by 20% in a recent six-month period, while the three big networks suffered a 45% drop in their shares. What's more, Discovery is still getting much of its revenue from advertising, which has been on a free-fall since the recession began.

The news put a rare smile on my face. I've always loved Discovery Channel, and I want it to continue giving great programming and some heavy, positive impact on the TV viewing world.

Discovery Channel fans around Asia are buzzing about the new contemporary logo, which Discovery will adopt beginning March 29. It sports a sleeker, sexier look, and the Earth logo now melds with the “D” in Discovery. The new logo will come with a new color palette and typography, in attempts to improve its already global image. I can't wait to see how it looks this Sunday.

Why does a real man like Chris Gomez like a “geeky” channel like Discovery Channel? If you ask something like that, then you've probably never watched Discovery before. Discovery is hardly geeky. Think about it – what's lame about Bear Grylles toughing it out against the wilderness? What's geeky about the guys at “Deadliest Catch” risking life and limb crab-fishing in the Bering Sea? What's nerdy about Mike Rowe taking on jobs you wouldn't touch with a ten-foot pole?

I don't see how you can know who Kari Byron is and not like Discovery. (Busted!)

Seriously, one of the main reasons why I like Discovery so much is because of the positive impact it has on the viewing public. If you've seen their immensely popular “The World Is Just Awesome” video – the main attraction of their campaign – you'll notice how important celebrating the positive things in the world is to Discovery. It's this optimism that keeps viewers (and advertisers, and investors, etc.) coming back for more.

I mean, if Stephen Hawking himself willingly devoted a few seconds of his precious time to sing a “Boom-de-ya-da” in that video, you know Discovery stands for good things.

This is probably one of the reasons why most of the networks aren't doing so well – all they really give viewers are more bad news every single day, or some entertainment that's there for its own sake. If they want to turn things around, maybe they can read this article and discover something, huh?

I've always liked TV shows about lawyers (yes, Denny Crane is a God!). They're pretty much the epitome of the typical TV series leads – people who have fixed beliefs and values that are constantly being put to the test. (I'll admit, even “Ally McBeal” was a pet peeve for me for some time). Then comes along “Eli Stone,” a new TV comedy/drama series about a lawyer who has hallucinations caused by an inoperable brain aneurysm – a plot device that sounds cliché, I'll admit, until you realize that the hallucinations consist of George Michael and his songs.

Eli Stone is a successful San Francisco attorney who experiences strange hallucinations – most prominently George Michael singing his song “Faith” in his living room. It's a quirk that makes Eli pretty much the laughingstock of the legal world, despite his skill as an attorney, and is pretty much the source of most of the series's funny parts.

But “Eli Stone” also has its serious side. While most of Eli's George Michael hallucinations were hilarious, he's actually worried because most of his “visions” accurately foreshadow future events. It's his own doctor, Chen, who suggests that his brain aneurysm was there for a reason.

Eli: “Doctors say I have this aneurysm. That's why I have these sightings.”

Dr. Chen: “Well, that's what doctors say. In life, there's always two explanations: A scientific one and a divine one. God sends prophets to every generation.”

Eli: “Are you saying I'm a prophet? I don't even believe in God.”

Dr. Chen: “Of course you do, Eli. You believe in right and wrong, and you always try to do what's right. Of course you believe in God.”

“Eli Stone” uses its unique setting and circumstances to portray both the good and bad sides of society, with Eli giving his own thoughts on things. I believe the show has one of the best balance of comedy and drama I've seen on TV lately – it makes me wish it lasted longer than two seasons. 

Jonny Lee Miller, the successful British actor, has accumulated a long list of film credits in his resume before taking the role of Eli Stone. When asked why he shifted from a movie to a TV career, he said he wasn't picky about his choice of roles – he simply saw that “Eli Stone” had a great plot and his was a great role to play. It takes a real artist to pass over big movie bucks in order to play his craft to perfection.

George Michael himself makes a few appearances in the show, and has shown himself to be a good actor. I don't know about you, though, but I'm hoping that doesn't give him the idea of starting his own reality show one day. But still, he's pretty much what gives “Eli Stone” its appeal, and it'll be interesting what his next move on TV will be.