The Phantom Is Back!

[Captaindemotion]

^ I don't buy many comics any more Greg, but if I see this in my area (and we don't always get all of the titles), I'll definitely check it out.

[Greg Cox]

Captaindemotion wrote:

---

^ I don't buy many comics any more Greg, but if I see this in my area (and we don't always get all of the titles), I'll definitely check it out.

Thanks!

[JRS]

Ah,The Phantom
I read the comic books quite a lot when I was younger
I havent read it for years now, though.
It was,and I think still is, somewhat popular in Finland.


I think that the Billy Zane film was OK, but it suffered from bad writing.
Im not sure if this new series will be good or not. The costume does not look very good
And why set it to the present?!? They could have made a cool, swashbukcling adventure series..and maybe set each season to different era of the Phantom
But maybe I will check it out, if and when, it comes to DVD. But I doubt I feel very nostalgic about it..

[Christopher]

JRS wrote:

---

It was,and I think still is, somewhat popular in Finland.

I gather the Phantom is a lot like football/soccer: wildly popular just about everywhere in the world except the United States. Which is ironic, since it was created in America.

[Greg Cox]

A phantom is always without honor in his own land . . . .

[Captaindemotion]

Christopher wrote:

---

I gather the Phantom is a lot like football/soccer: wildly popular just about everywhere in the world except the United States. Which is ironic, since it was created in America.

Yeah, I was surprised when I heard he was an American creation (I think it may have been your good self I learned it from). I'd always thought Lee Falk had been an Australian, for some reason.

[KB24]

Hi Demotion, Hi Greg.

I am just miffed that they went with the 'American teeny blonde hip motorcycle dude rather than tap 500 years of Phantom canon. I don't understand why people don't think The Phantom is popular in the US. It has been a daily comic for what 70 years. It was extremely popular in the Golden Age and Pulp era. I think they should be true to the original if they want to attract fans. Don't try and change it for today and take the spirit of it away.

A period piece in the jungle verses pirates with a Dad superhero who's really just a regular guy trying to pass the legacy on to his son-with a daughter and wife having issues about it is a lot more unique and original than a guy in a black motorcycle getup with purple accents. The fact that SFC hasn't promted this at all already says it must have bombed on the Canadian airing and isn't being picked up for the backdoor pilot as they originally hoped.

I've said before, make a Defenders of the Earth movie and she which character is your breakout to franchise.

[coolghoul]

Greg Cox wrote:

---

A phantom is always without honor in his own land . . . .

Old Jungle Saying...

[Broccoli]

An early review. Mild spoilers.

[jefferiestubes8]

Yes, The Phantom could become a series
The four-hour miniseries is also a backdoor pilot, which means if it gets good ratings Syfy could decide to make a series out of it.

"At this time we don't know what's going to happen," said Carnes. "We don't know what the fate of the miniseries is going to be. But obviously the more people that watch, the better chance this thing has of getting some legs and getting a following and becoming a series. So we obviously are encouraging as many people as possible to tune in."

http://scifiwire.com/2010/06/stars-o...ro-secrets.php

[Christopher]

I found the miniseries much better than I expected. It had some goofy aspects, and that costume was just plain hideous and needs to change, but the writing was mostly entertaining, the characters well-drawn, and the actors appealing (particularly the love interest Renny). I thought it did a good job staying faithful to the Phantom's backstory and mythos while still updating it, something that's uniquely easy to do with The Phantom. Although I don't understand why they retconned Bengalla from an African country to an Indonesian island. They did a good job crafting a diverse, international feel to it, but it bugged me a little that the only black characters were villains.

And I keep coming back to the costume. Ugh. The concept isn't too bad aside from the hideous cowl and neck-brace thing, but it's too heavy for someone who's supposed to be a parkour runner. And its bullet resistance is too magical. They need to go for something lighter, something that lets the stuntman be more acrobatic and makes the hero less invulnerable. And they need to reintroduce some of the classic look of the Phantom costume. The Phantom legend supposedly goes back four centuries, so he should use it to inspire the good and frighten the wicked, or at least to let the cops know he's not the one they should be shooting at.

So I'm hoping this does go to series with the same cast and creative team, but I hope they reconsider the costume.

You know, it would be good to have a series like this on Syfy -- an alternative to the gritty space stuff like Caprica and SGU on the one hand and the comedic Earth-based fantasy stuff like Eureka and Warehouse 13. A fairly grounded superhero show, not frivolous in tone but not overly dark, would add some variety to their lineup.

Oh, and for future reference, someone should tell their caption writers that the Pentagon is in Arlington, VA, not Washington, DC. Okay, it's just across the river from DC, but still.

[Calhoun24]

I saw it, and thought it was better than I was expecting.

I agree that if the series is green-lighted, the costume has to be retooled. It looks like there is too much armor, and not a look that make the character all that heroic.

The writing was above average as was the acting. I liked the setup with how they carried over elements from the general setup of the story, yet explain that things have to change on occasion. Also, Vandy's comment on being too reliant on technology is valid. You want the hero to rely on the things that make The Phantom...The Phantom. I also liked the fact that Guran comes across as an equal, and not really a love interest. I liked Remmie, and Dr. Baboor. Remmie's cop dad was a little much at times, but that didn't bother me as much.

If this goes to series, I'll watch it - if only to support the middle ground tone-wise that SyFy should be targetting with respect to original series, counterbalancing the darkness of SGU and Caprica, and the seemingly comedy-centric tone of Eureka and W13.

[RAMA]

I hate the old costume with the striped briefs lol

The costume in the tv movie was headed in the right direction, but made an odd turn somewhere...hmmm

RAMA

[Christopher]

^It would've been easy enough to strike a middle ground -- something more modern in style, without the briefs, but still with a deep purple hue and headgear that was truer to the original. And something light enough to be credible for an acrobatic hero, something that isn't so restrictive for the stuntman.

[Valar]

The only things I found sub par were the villains, both isabella and the indian guy were atrociously acted. I know they were going for over the top, but it was downright silly. I must've missed the part where they explained the motivation of the traitor who held Renny hostage.

It's funny, everything about this was much better than the commercials preceeding it. The movie itself, the midget that they hired to play Phantom actually can act, the love interest looked butt ugly in the promos but was "do-able" in the movie. And the action was interesting without CGI bullshit sprinkled all over. I was nonplussed by the wirefu in some shots but on the whole it was well done. I'm actually jonesing to see more from this Phantom.