Daily Call Sheet: How 'Life on Mars' Blew It, Burnett Brings the Bible, and 'Questionable Star Trek'

HOW ‘LIFE ON MARS’ LOST MY WIFE IN UNDER THREE EPISODES

Yesterday morning my pretty wife told me about this new television series she had just discovered on Netflix Streaming. “Life On Mars” was cancelled after 17 episodes, but because we’re both big fans of actors Harvey Keitel and Michael Imperioli, she decided to give it a go and was hooked after only two episodes.

That evening she was into episode three and as I walked through the room I heard the protagonist take a not-so veiled shot at Bush and the Iraq War. Some nonsense about how we get into wars on false pretenses.

It was gratuitous, heavy-handed, sanctimonious and a full-blown sucker punch.

Without missing a beat my wife picked up the remote, shut the show off, and streamed an episode of “Wagon Train.”

Dick move, Hollywood. We have choices now.

Grow up or die.

‘TOWER HEIST’ ARRIVES ON DVD FEB 21

Am I the only one surprised this wasn’t a hit? Anyway, I’m looking forward to seeing it on DVD. Here’s some info on the special features:

Bonus features that appear on the both the Blu-ray™ and DVD versions include:

Two Alternate Endings – not seen in theatres! Hilarious Deleted & Alternate Scenes. Gag Reel.

Plotting Tower Heist–Following the structure of a classic caper movie in three acts, director Brett Ratner, producer Brian Grazer and the entire cast bring this heist film to a whole new level. Viewers will learn how the project started, as well as meet the screenwriters and cast. This exclusive feature reveals the secrets of the set design, special effects and more, including what it took to create the iconic sequence involving Steve McQueen’s car!

Feature Commentary with director Brett Ratner, editor Mark Helfrich and co-writers Ted Griffin & Jeff Nathanson

The following features are exclusive to Blu-ray™:

Tower Heist Video Diary – Director Brett Ratner takes fans through the filmmaking process with these personal video production diaries from the set.

U-Control:

Picture-in-Picture – featuring pre-visualization and storyboard comparisons of some the film’s most exciting scenes.

The Music of Tower Heist

‘SURVIVOR’ PRODUCER INTRODUCES FIRST EVER SOCIALLY INTEGRATED BIBLE APP‏

Fascinating news from a press release:

Today, producer Mark Burnett, his wife Roma Downey, Zondervan and Glo Bible have announced the release of a new mobile app–Bible 360. Combining social media, animated maps and 360 degree virtual tours, Bible360 will allow you to view and share the Bible in a dynamic new way. Using this app, you will be able to easily share verses, maps and journal entries with your friends and family through Facebook, Twitter, email, and other social media platforms. Bible360 incorporates beautiful imagery to take your reading experience to a new level.

If you remember, Burnett also produced “Sarah Palin’s Alaska.” Obviously, he’s a brilliant producer, and how nice that he’s using his talents and weight to push such a worthy project.

Roma Downey, of course, is the fetching star of “Touched by An Angel.”

INTRODUCING ‘QUESTIONABLE TREK’: WITH ANDREW PRICE AND SCOTTDS

Two gentlemen who add much to the Big Hollywood community have started this series. Please take a look. Oh, and both are wrong. It goes a little something like this:

1. Star Trek II: One of the greatest sci-films ever.

2. Star Trek VI: Marvelous story and a touching send off.

3. Star Trek IV: Hilarious, heartwarming crowd pleaser all the way around.

4. Star Trek V: Underappreciated for its development of the characters and their relationships. Some of the best moments in the film series makes up for a somewhat uneven story — that rallies considerably in the second half.

5. Star Trek: First Contact: The crew from the original series were and are big screen stars. You can’t say the same for the “Next Generation” crew, but the Borg and a superb script win the day.

Other than “Star Trek: the Motion Picture,” which is downright boring, there isn’t a single “Trek” movie I dislike. “Nemesis” and “Star Trek III” are the slowest. “Insurrection” is the dumbest. If you catch me on the right day, “Generations” would rank in the top five. This is another unfairly maligned entry. The themes at work surrounding the Nexus and the humanity given to the villain, Soran, have real depth.

Disagree? Well, maybe our friends are more in line with your misguided thinking. Have a look.

A LOOK BACK AT THE STYLES AND CELEBS OF THE 1960S

If you need any more proof of how smaller-than-life today’s celebrities are, click here to check out the Stylist’s website where they have compiled some memorable images of the people and styles of the 1960s.

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LAST NIGHT’S SCREENING

Followed Iowa on Twitter. Watched ‘Sons of Anarchy’ on Streaming.

When I grew up, we had newspaper delivery once a day, a black and white TV, and four channels.

What a wondrous time to be alive.

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SCOTTDS’ EPIC LINKTACULAR

TRAILER FOR PARALLEL UNIVERSE ROMANCE ‘UPSIDE DOWN’

‘WORLD WAR Z’ IS BEING PLANNED AS A TRILOGY

A COMPLETE GUIDE TO ‘THE HUNGER GAMES’

MARVEL’S ‘THE AVENGERS’ DOING RESHOOTS THIS WEEK?

HOW MARVEL SMACKED DOWN THE IRS