Effin' crime dramas!

[Gravekeeper]

That's right up there with the 'zoom in on a pixelized security image and get a perfectly clear picture of the suspect' nonsense that CSI and NCIS use.

Zoom, ENHANCE! zoom, ENHANCE!

That drives me nuts ;p

[jackfaire]

Zoom, ENHANCE! zoom, ENHANCE!

That drives me nuts ;p

Depends on the quality of the image. I can do that with my phone. My brother showed up in town feeling very paranoid and we were worried about him so I took photos of his car so if he fails to check in we have more information for the police.

In the picture you can't clearly read his license plate. At least not until you zoom in and then it's clear.

[jackfaire]

*nods* I picked up Who Killed Retro Girl a few years ago now that I have money for graphic novels plan on delving into the series

[Jack T. Chance]

*nods* I picked up Who Killed Retro Girl a few years ago now that I have money for graphic novels plan on delving into the series

Cool beans.

Feel free to PM me as you're reading it if you want to discuss the book further, otherwise we'll completely take over this whole thread!

[lordlundar]

Depends on the quality of the image. I can do that with my phone. My brother showed up in town feeling very paranoid and we were worried about him so I took photos of his car so if he fails to check in we have more information for the police.

In the picture you can't clearly read his license plate. At least not until you zoom in and then it's clear.

Yes, but that's being taken by a multi-megapixel camera and all you're doing is enlarging the image. These shows do this with cheap stop motion security cameras, most of which couldn't get a decent picture from 3 feet.

[Fire_on_High]

Sounds like me and House M.D. The medical stuff is fairly interesting, but I wouldn't watch it for any other reason except for House's insults and weekly shenanigans.

That show is just too much fun to see what on earth he's going to do next. Season finale...two things so completely out of left field we were agape. Not gonna spoil in case anyone hasn't seen yet, of course.

[Jack T. Chance]

Production still from FX's pilot for POWERS, released on the web a couple days ago...

Jason Patric as Detective Christian Walker...


Brian Michael Bendis has been on set for the filming and confirmed that the show WILL feature costumes for the heroes and villains that are "tasteful, not silly or shiny uniforms". And the filmmakers are taking clear inspiration from Michael Avon Oeming's artwork in the graphic novels, using the film noir techniques of using light and shadow like living things to tell the story, and also filming in such a way that the city (Chicago is being used for the TV series) becomes a character in the story. This is all in line with what Oeming has done in the graphic novel series and will definitely make this show stand out as something special on the airwaves.

[lordlundar]

Brian Michael Bendis has been on set for the filming and confirmed that the show WILL feature costumes for the heroes and villains that are "tasteful, not silly or shiny uniforms".

Why do I get the feeling that this, combined with the relatively monotone picture you showed is simply code word for "grim and gritty".

I mean seriously, just because it's colourful, doesn't mean it's tacky. Look at a good chunk of the superhero movies out right now. With the exception of batman (where it fits thematically), they're all relatively colourful and all of them are tasteful. Heck, X-Men: First Class even brought back the signature dark blue/yellow of the comics/cartoons and did it well.

*sigh* I tell ya, The Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns might have been two of the most story deep graphic novel releases in the past 50 years, but one thing I do not like about them is how they brought the concept that EVERYTHING needs to be grim and gritty.

[Jack T. Chance]

Why do I get the feeling that this, combined with the relatively monotone picture you showed is simply code word for "grim and gritty".

I mean seriously, just because it's colourful, doesn't mean it's tacky. Look at a good chunk of the superhero movies out right now. With the exception of batman (where it fits thematically), they're all relatively colourful and all of them are tasteful. Heck, X-Men: First Class even brought back the signature dark blue/yellow of the comics/cartoons and did it well.

*sigh* I tell ya, The Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns might have been two of the most story deep graphic novel releases in the past 50 years, but one thing I do not like about them is how they brought the concept that EVERYTHING needs to be grim and gritty.

Well, unfortunately for you, POWERS can also be described as "grim and gritty". I mean, it IS a police procedural about homicide detectives, after all! But it's also a fusion of 3 genres: Superhero Fantasy, Police Procedural, and Film Noir. Bendis and Oeming combined those 3 genres because they love those 3 genres. And I love the book they've created out of that love. It is, bar none, THE BEST WRITTEN COMIC SERIES ON STANDS TODAY! But maybe that series isn't for you, ESPECIALLY if you didn't like Watchmen.

There's one way to know for sure: Start at The Beginning and read some of the series FOR FREE. Find out if you like it or not.

[CriminalMindsRocks]

One thing that really confuses me about some crime dramas are the actors that they get. Jeff Goldblum, Joe Mantegna, Tim Roth, Laurence Fishburne? These are really really good actors, working with these second rate scripts. I dunno, maybe they're all trying to put their kids and grandkids through college.

Well, I dunno about the others you mentioned but Joe Mantenga was brought in to replace Mandy Patinkin like, 3 episodes into Season 3, after Mandy didn't show up for season 3 filming...The season two ender was supposed to be the episode "Doubt" where they had the case on the college campus & the 3 opener was supposed to be the episode "In Name & Blood" the case where Section Chief Strauss lead the team out in the field but they pushed airing "Doubt" back because of the Virginia Tech shootings so the season 2 ender ended up being "No Way Out Part II: The Return Of Frank" & the season 3 opener was "Doubt" (kinda confusing I know, & it kinda sucked for the rest of the cast b/c Mandy had to come in to film extra scenes that later had to be edited into the already finished script)

[Gravekeeper]

I like how grim and gritty the muzzle flash on that Glock is. >.>

Looks like they stuffed the whole barrel full of flash powder.

[Jack T. Chance]

I like how grim and gritty the muzzle flash on that Glock is. >.>

Looks like they stuffed the whole barrel full of flash powder.

According to Bendis, that image, taken by the Set Photographer, was a "happy accident", a picture snapped at just the right fraction of a second. It's completely unaltered, that's the real muzzle flash produced by the blank.

[Gravekeeper]

It's completely unaltered, that's the real muzzle flash produced by the blank.

My point wasn't that it was altered, it was that Hollywood blanks are designed to produce huge, unrealistic muzzle flashes. Which is counter to any grim and gritty realism they might be shooting for. ( Har har ).

The actual muzzle flash on a Glock is basically a taco fart compared to that.

[Andara Bledin]

Having found several websites of shutterbugs trying to capture muzzle flash on a variety of weapons all firing live rounds, it appears that while the flash on the publicity shot is rather longer than it should be, it's also notably less billowy around the mouth itself.

I suspect that has rather a lot more to do with the "projectile" in question being essentially nothing more than enough wadding to allow the cartridge to fire than any overuse of powder. Generally speaking, they want the gun to make noise and have a kickback more than anything else, and excess powder would make it kick too much and could pose a safety risk to the person using the firearm.

^-.-^

[Gravekeeper]

I suspect that has rather a lot more to do with the "projectile" in question being essentially nothing more than enough wadding to allow the cartridge to fire than any overuse of powder.

Hollywood blanks are designed to give you the nice big flashy flare. Normal blanks are nowhere near as dramatic. ( I r learned from Mythbusters ). Its the overuse of a faster burn powder that gives you that nice big flamey effect. However, a lot of the time the flash and sound is just added later and they just use enough of a cap to cycle the gun. Hence you don't see actor's flinching or jumping back from the giant explosion in their hands. >.>

Giant fireball muzzleflash Glock there is probably part Hollywood blank and part digital after effect, seeing as the firing chamber appears to be completely exploding too.