LG Reveals HDTVs With ‘Vudu’ Service Built-In

LG is an old hand when it comes to flat screen TVs with High Definition capability, and it is nice to see them introduce yet another improvement to their new line up of HDTVs in order to go one up against other competing brands. This time round, the Korean consumer electronics giant has rolled out broadband-capable HDTVs that are able to access the instant high-definition (HD) movie service from VUDU Inc. The HDTVs that fall under this purview will include LG’s LH50 1080p LCD series and PS80 Plasma 1080p series, where they will be come with “NetCast Entertainment Access” from next month onwards. This unique partnership between both companies will see consumer obtain access to thousands of HD movies at the touch of a button without having to go through the usual motion of flipping through a catalog at a video store as of yore.

The VUDU service enables consumers to instantly buy or rent from an extensive library of movies and TV titles. This industry-leading catalog will comprise of over 2,000 high-definition movies, and best of all is, you don’t have to worry about forking out any more monthly fees. In addition, there is no need to purchase, install, or connect any additional hardware for you to get started. Consumers can easily enjoy movies in VUDU’s unique HDX format, with Full HD 1080p resolution, plus Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 surround sound to tickle their visual audio senses.

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Sean Bean Has Been Cast In HBO’s ‘A Game of Thrones’

Sean Bean famously played Boromir in The Lord of the Rings, so it seems natural for him to have been cast in the lead role of Lord Eddard “Ned” Stark in HBO’s upcoming adaptation of A Game of Thrones, the first book in George R.R. Martin’s Song of Fire and Ice series of fantasy novels.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Tom McCarthy will direct from a script by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, who are also executive-producing.

The trade paper also reported that Mark Addy is in final negotiations to join the production. Kit Harrington, Jack Gleeson and Harry Lloyd also have come aboard:

The books revolve around a battle among seven kingdoms and between two ruling families for control of the Iron Throne, the possession that ensures survival through a 40-year winter to come.

Bean will play Lord Eddard “Ned” Stark, known for his sense of honor and justice, who becomes closest adviser to King Robert (Addy).

Harrington will play Jon Snow, Bean’s bastard son, and Lloyd will play Viserys, a powerless ruler who seeks to marry off his sister to a powerful king. Gleeson will play Joffrey, King Robert’s son.

Peter Dinklage also is in the cast for the production, which is in the pilot stage and begins shooting in October in Ireland.

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Netflix Streaming Available Through Sony BRAVIA TVs

Netflix has made the migration as the world’s largest online movie rental service to your living room by partnering with Sony Electronics to enable Netflix subscribers to instantly watch movies streamed from Netflix on Sony’s BRAVIA Internet Video-capable HDTVs. Those who own older BRAVIA models can also use it with Sony’s BRAVIA Internet video link module.

Starting from the fall, Netflix members who are on an unlimited plan will be able to use the Sony BRAVIA Internet Video-capable HDTVs, letting them watch over 12,000 movies and TV episodes streamed from Netflix. Netflix members will need to fork out a minimum of $8.99 monthly for unlimited streaming from their library.

Press Release

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Post-Apocalyptic Reality Show ‘The Colony’ – Oh My!

I’m actually surprised it took this long for a reality show like this to hit the airwaves. At any rate, I’ll take Discovery’s The Colony over Survivor any day.

Of course the big question is, will they be given a means to defend themselves from mutant marauders?

Synopsis:
The Colony is a controlled experiment to see exactly what it would take to survive and rebuild under these circumstances. For 10 weeks, a group of 10 volunteers, whose backgrounds and expertise represent a cross-section of modern society, are isolated in an urban environment outside Los Angeles and tasked with creating a livable society.

With no electricity from the grid, no running water and no communication with the outside world, all the volunteers have to work with are their skills and whatever tools and supplies they can scavenge from their surroundings.

The Colony premieres on Discovery on July July 21, 2009. For more info check out the official website.

Head over to Quiet Earth for the rest of the story

Monty Python – 40 Gloriously Funny Years This October

Where has the time gone?

The Independent reports that Monty Python will celebrate their 40th anniversary this October. As part of the festivities, Royal Albert Hall will host a one-night-only performance on the 23rd of Not the Messiah (He’s a Very Naughty Boy). You may have heard of this — it’s Eric Idle and John Du Prez’s wildly funny 1-hour oratorio based on Monty Python’s Life of Brian. But this one-night-only deal is even more irresistible than usual — Idle, Michael Palin, Terry Jones, and Terry Gilliam will perform in it. Unfortunately, John Cleese can’t make it, which is a damned shame.

Nevertheless, here I thought that I was lucky that Idle’s first cousin is Toronto Symphony Conductor Peter Oundjian, which led the world premiere to happen right in the T-Dot.

As Idle describes the oratorio: "It ranges in reference from Handel, through a naughty Mozart duet, to the Festival of Nine Carols, Bob Dylan, and the classic finale ‘Always Look on the Bright Side of Life.’" (How could Dylan and Python possibly come together? You can see Idle’s spin after the jump.)

For those of us who won’t be there, The Independent reports that a documentary called Monty Python: Almost the Truth (The Lawyer’s Cut) is on the way, while Variety reports that there will be anniversary events in Hollywood and New York called "An Evening With Without Monty Python."

What’s your favorite Monty moment?

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George Lucas Gearing Up Live-Action ‘Star Wars’ TV Series?

Over on SciFi Squad, Mike Moody debuts his new weekly column called TV Geek Week, which will not only talk about the latest and greatest news in geeky TV land, but will also take a look at what fanboy-ish goodies are arriving on the boob tube this week. Check it:

Is George Lucas finally moving ahead with that promised live-action Star Wars TV show? Sources say yes. Sources also say the show will be produced in Australia by a hand-picked crew of Aussie TV vets. And we might even get to see it before the end of 2010. But I got a question: Do we really want a live-action Star Wars TV show?

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‘T.J. Hooker’ To Get The Movie Treatment – Oh Boy

When we rant about remakes and reboots, it’s easy to hide in hyperbole. It seems like there are a lot of them, but maybe we’re just really sensitive to Hollywood’s bouts with unoriginality. But then Peter wrote the piece "Which Remake/Reboot Are You Looking Forward to the Least," and when my eyes hit his list of those announced in only one month, it hit me: No, we’re not exaggerating. There’s a lot of frakking reboots and remakes out there. And now we’ve got one more on the way.

Variety reports that T.J. Hooker is going to head to the big screen as an action comedy with Short Circuit scribes Brent Maddock and S.S. Wilson writing it, and Chuck Russell (The Scorpion King and The Mask) negotiating for the directorial spot. Producer Ryan Heppe says: "The series was the poster child for cop TV shows in the 1980s with great stunts, so we think there’s a fun movie to be made from it." Hmmm, think they were inspired by Kevin Smith’s A Couple of Dicks? It seems a little more than coincidental.

Whatever the case, I’m currently in the "not another Shat-free remake!" phase, but I fully admit that’s from watching both his meddling cameo in Fanboys and part of a Star Trek episode with some classic Shatner acting over the weekend. In reality, I imagine that it’ll be a non-offensive law-filled diversion. Think Adrian Zmed will pop up?

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ABC Content Now On Hulu – Grey’s Anatomy First To Appear

If I was the Count from Sesame Street I would say something like, “Three! Three of the four major broadcast networks now have their content on Hulu!” (with accent, of course). ABC, which had long been a Hulu holdout, refusing to run its full-length content anywhere but on its own web site, kicked off its Hulu presence today with episodes of Grey’s Anatomy.

Grey’s is the only ABC content currently up on Hulu, and there isn’t even a whole lot of it up right now. There are just five episodes from the last season, and no clips (the show doesn’t even have clips up at YouTube, where ABC/Disney has a short-form content deal). According to a Hulu press release, over the next two weeks, more ABC shows will appear on the site including: I Survived a Japanese Game Show, The Superstars, Desperate Housewives, Ugly Betty and Scrubs.

In April, Disney became an equal partner in Hulu, joining fellow broadcasters FOX and NBC in the endeavor. As part of that deal, Hulu will get exclusive access to full-length programming from ABC, ABC Family and the Disney Channel, as well as popular library TV shows and films.

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‘Farscape’ Coming Back To DVD – Finally!

If you missed collecting “Farscape” on DVD during its initial release, we have good news for you.  The long out-of-print series is coming back to DVD this November.

The set will be launched at a panel at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con and is being picked up by A&E Home Video.  The set will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the show.

When a freak accident during an experimental space mission catapulted Astronaut John Crichton (Ben Browder) across a thousand galaxies to an alien battlefield, a cult classic was born with the epic, adventure-filled TV series Farscape. The award-winning fan favorite show, which ran from 1999-2003 on Sci Fi and was named by TV Guide as one of television’s best cult shows ever, is about to blast off again on DVD courtesy of a pact between A&E Home Entertainment and The Jim Henson Company. Read more

SCI FI Channel Developing ‘Alien Nation’ Reboot

Looks like another fan-favorite franchise will get the reboot: SCI FI Channel is developing a new version of Alien Nation, which originated as a 1988 movie written by Rockne O’Bannon and was spun off as a TV show and a series of TV movies.

Tim Minear—the writer/producer known to fans for his work on Angel, Firefly and Wonderfalls, among others—is writing the new take on the franchise, about the arrival of a group of refugee aliens and their integration into Earth’s population, with the focus on a veteran police detective and his "newcomer" partner and family.

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