ECW

I have to say that the debut of ECW on Sci-Fi was more than a bit underwhelming. Do you really want the first match you air to be Sandman vs. The Zombie? Really? This is a good idea?

Comedy I understand. There is a fine tradition of that in ECW.

Is Sci-Fi making demands on the WWE to have elements that they think the Sci-Fi viewers want? Is that what the random Matt-Hardy-Looking-Vampire guy was for? If so, Sci-Fi needs to stop making demands. The movie that lead into it "Immortal" looked like a graphic novel adaptation. I only caught the last few minutes, but it seemed pretty but vacant.

Was that the best lead in?

I like the decision to go with Hellraiser after the show, but Sci-Fi needs to program around ECW just as much as ECW needs to make nods to Sci-Fi.

Also, the tapings from WWE shows must end as soon as possible. My wife was commenting on the fact that it looked like a WWE show. It looked like Raw. ECW must be different to survive. One Night Stand worked because of the Hammerstein Ballroom and the rabid ass-world cup style crowd.

One Night Stand was almost a WWE pay-per-view, but they pulled it off because of the atmosphere.

The atmosphere on Sci-Fi is the wrong one. Cena can not be cheered on an ECW show. They need to stop with the crossovers as soon as possible.

I know there is also a tradition of the pointless TNA on ECW, but the half-assed strip-tease had no place on the show. Give me wrestling on my wrestling show. If there is TNA make it involved in a story somehow. Couldn't Trinity or Francine come out and decimate the chick? Or Jazz?

Did Justin Credible evaporate half his body weight since the last time he was on TV? He looked like Dwayne Gill impersonating Justin Credible.

It is not good when the best match on a show that should be determined by great matches is Kurt Angle squashing Justin Credible, and your second best match is a re-play from the PPV of Taz choking out Jerry Lawler.

Not good.

The battle royal should have been about twenty minutes. The show should have been taped and edited in ECW style. Next week should be a taped show from the first few ECW house shows where there will be paying ECW fans, with no little kids in Chain Gang shirts leaning in behind the announce crew.

And for Godssake WWE pay for the rights to Enter Sandman, or just use the damn version that Motorhead recorded for ECW. Sandman was weakened in TNA with the generic music and he is weakened here. The intro is the character.

I felt that the PPV was 85% in the good, but this show was a major step backward.

The PPV had strong outings from all except Balls and Masato. (If they wanted to keep the WWE v. ECW vibe they should have had Tanaka v. Tatanka, that is a money feud right there) I even like the Angle/Orton match. I thought it showcased intense Kurt well and jobbed the hell out of Orton. The only thing I would have dropped from ONS was the Bradshaw segment, unless he was going to get laid out by say, New Jack.

ECW doesn't need to invade Raw, they need to strengthen their own borders first and lay down a legitimate foundation that doesn't make them look second tier. The PPV did that, but the first episode on Sci-Fi came off as WWE circa five or six years ago, not ECW.

Can You Hear It?

Here's a link to the sound that supposedly people over the age of 30 have difficulty hearing. It was designed as a deterrent to teenagers who would be the only ones who could hear it, but now they are using it as a ringtone on phones that parents and teachers can't hear.

Hurts my ears. Reminds me of the high pitched sound that I used to hear every time I went into a Sears store in a mall. Every time I'd ask anyone if they heard it they'd say they didn't. My wife heard the same sound when she was a kid.

My teeth still feel like they're vibrating from this.

Today's Funny For Tommy

From The Riddler's Riddle Book:

Batman found a suspect working in a candy store. The man is six feet tall and wears size 12 shoes. What does he weigh?
Candy!

Gatlinburg Sketch

Here is a charicature that was done of Roxanne and myself in the mall in Gatlinburg the last time we were there.

See No Evil

This movie surprised me by being better than it had any real right to be. I think that lots of reviewers who are unnecessarily harsh to this film are letting their opinions of the WWE and Vince MacMahon cloud their vision.

In terms of quality this film is comparable to the Dark Castle films such as Ghost Ship, House on Haunted Hill, and 13 Ghosts. It is a cliche genre film, but that isn't a bad thing. All of the cliche's are well played, and even if it isn't terribly inventive it is a solid horror film and isn't afraid of its gore.

The WWE's first (released) foray into motion pictures stars Glen "Kane" Jacobs as Jacob Goodnight, a character who is pretty much the psycho Kane character he played during the Lita marriage angle. That's fine, because the Goodnight character is generic monster in the vein of Michael Myers or Jason, just like Kane.

There are lots of naughty teenagers for Goodnight to kill, and they are all locked in an 'abandoned' hotel that I think they were implying was built by an occultist in the 30's much like the setting of The Toolbox Murders or Ghostbusters.
Now it is trashed and the top few floors are burned out and a group of attractive, well dressed teens from a juvenile hall are sent in with two chaperones for a weekend to begin cleaning it up to turn it into a homeless shelter.

This movie is quite a bit better than Tobe Hopper's Toolbox. The production design and set seems to be the outlet for most of the budget, and it shows on screen.

There is also some other backstory with a cop that shot Goodnight in the head and lost an arm in return.

As in these types of films the story isn't really much more than a setup, but it is at least better thought through than many slasher films.

The direction and music in the film are quality, and the acting didn't piss me off. I don't have any real gripes about this other than a couple of minor quibbles over the timing of some of the killings.

I enjoyed the movie. I think if people would ignore the WWE connection they wouldn't quite be so hard on it.