Showing posts with label Getting Medieval on Television. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Getting Medieval on Television. Show all posts

Friday, June 10, 2016

New Book Chaucer on Screen

Came across this last month. No details yet on exact contents.

Chaucer on Screen: Absence, Presence, and Adapting the Canterbury Tales
https://ohiostatepress.org/index.htm?books/book%20pages/kelly_pugh_chaucer.html
Edited by Kathleen Coyne Kelly and Tison Pugh
Foreword by Terry Jones

Ohio State University Press
Series: Interventions: New Studies in Medieval Culture

Books are expected to be available December 2016
$94.95 cloth
296 pp. 6x9
978-0-8142-1317-9

“This is a ground-breaking volume. It reflects a continued interest in the intersection of the medieval as a theme, subject matter, and source with more recent technologies and ways of (re)telling narratives.”—Kevin J. Harty, La Salle University

“This volume will be highly significant for scholars interested in adaptations of canonical texts, including but not limited to the medieval and Chaucer.” —Helen Young, La Trobe University

Unlike William Shakespeare, Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, and other great authors who have enjoyed continued success in Hollywood, Geoffrey Chaucer has largely been shunted to the margins of the cinematic world. Chaucer on Screen: Absence, Presence, and Adapting the Canterbury Tales, edited by Kathleen Coyne Kelly and Tison Pugh, investigates the various translations of Chaucer and the Canterbury Tales to film and television, tracing out how the legacies of the great fourteenth-century English poet have been revisited and reinterpreted through visual media. Contributors to this volume address the question of why Chaucer is so rarely adapted to the screen, and then turn to the occasional, often awkward, attempts to adapt his narratives, including such works as Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s lyrical A Canterbury Tale (1944), Pier Paolo Pasolini’s still-controversial I racconti di Canterbury (1972), Bud Lee’s soft-core The Ribald Tales of Canterbury (1985), Brian Helgeland’s A Knight’s Tale (2001), and BBC television productions, among others. Chaucer on Screen aims to rethink some of the premises of adaptation studies and to erase the ideological lines between textual sources and visual reimaginings in the certainty that many pleasures, scholarly and otherwise, can be found in multiple media across disparate eras.

Kathleen Coyne Kelly is Professor of English at Northeastern University. Tison Pugh is Professor of English at the University of Central Florida.



Wednesday, January 28, 2015

New/Recent: Medieval Motion Picture: The Politics of Adaptation

Here's another recent book of interest. This one looks to be from mostly European scholars.

The Medieval Motion Picture: The Politics of Adaptation
Edited by Andrew James Johnston, Margitta Rouse, Philipp Hinz
Publisher Palgrave Macmillan
Series The New Middle Ages

$95.00
ISBN 9780230112506
Publication Date April 2014
Hardcover (256 pages)
Formats Hardcover Ebook (EPUB) Ebook (PDF)

Details

Providing new and challenging ways of understanding the medieval in the modern and vice versa, The Medieval Motion Picture: The Politics of Adaptation highlights how medieval aesthetic experience breathes life into contemporary cinema. Engaging with the subject of time and temporality, the essays examine the politics of adaptation and our contemporary entanglement with the medieval: not only in overtly medieval-themed films but also in such diverse genres as thrillers, horror films, performance animation, and even science fiction. Among the films and TV shows discussed are productions such as HBO's award winning series Game of Thrones, Francis Ford Coppola's Bram Stoker's Dracula, Akira Kurosawa's Ran, and M. Night Shyamalan's The Sixth Sense.


Contents

Introduction: Temporalities of Adaptation; Andrew James Johnston and Margitta Rouse (read online)

1. "Now is the time": Shakespeare's Medieval Temporalities in Akira Kurosawa's Ran; Jocelyn Keller and Wolfram R. Keller

2. Dracula's Times: Adapting the Middle Ages in Francis Ford Coppola's Bram Stoker's Dracula; Cordula Lemke

3. Rethinking Anachronism for Medieval Film in Richard Donner's Timeline; Margitta Rouse

4. Otherness Redoubled and Refracted: Intercultural Dialogues in The Thirteenth Warrior; Judith Klinger

5. Crisis Discourse and Art Theory: Richard Wagner's Legacy in Films; Veith von Fürstenberg and Kevin Reynolds Stefan Keppler-Tasaki

6. Adaptation as Hyperreality: The (A)historicism of Trauma in Robert Zemeckis's Beowulf; Philipp Hinz and Margitta Rouse

7. Perils of Generation: Incest, Romance and the Proliferation of Narrative in Game of Thrones; Martin Bleisteiner

8. Arthurian Myth and Cinematic Horror: M. Night Shyamalan's The Sixth Sense; Hans Jürgen Scheuer

9. Marian Re-writes the Legend: The Temporality of Archaeological Remains in Richard Lester's Robin and Marian; Andrew James Johnston

Bibliography


Editors

Andrew James Johnston is Chair of Medieval and Renaissance English Literature at the Freie Universität Berlin, Germany, and author of Performing the Middle Ages from Beowulf to Othello.

Margitta Rouse is Assistant Professor at the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany. She teaches medieval English literature as well as cinematic adaptation.

Philipp Hinz curates film festivals and publishes stage-to-screen adaptations on DVD.

Battis and Johnston's Mastering the Game of Thrones

Mastering the Game of Thrones: Essays on George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire
Edited by Jes Battis and Susan Johnston

McFarland
Print ISBN: 978-0-7864-9631-0
Ebook ISBN: 978-1-4766-1962-0
notes, bibliographies, index
308pp. softcover (6 x 9) 2015
Price: $35.00

About the Book

George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series is a worldwide phenomenon, and the world of Westeros has seen multiple adaptations, from HBO’s acclaimed television series to graphic novels, console games and orchestral soundtracks. This collection of new essays investigates what makes this world so popular, and why the novels and television series are being taught in university classrooms as genre-defining works within the American fantasy tradition. This volume represents the first sustained scholarly treatment of George R.R. Martin’s groundbreaking work, and includes writing by experts involved in the production of the HBO show. The contributors investigate a number of compelling areas, including the mystery of the shape-shifting wargs, the conflict between religions, the origins of the Dothraki language and the sex lives of knights. The significance of fan cultures and their adaptations is also discussed.


Table of Contents

Acknowledgments vi

A Note on Editions ix

Introduction: On Knowing Nothing (Susan Johnston and Jes Battis) 1

Language and Narration
The Languages of Ice and Fire (David J. Peterson) 15
"Sing for your little life": Story, Discourse and Character (Marc Napolitano) 35
What Maesters Knew: Narrating Knowing (Brian Cowlishaw) 57

Histories
"Just songs in the end": Historical Discourses in Shakespeare and Martin (Jessica Walker) 71
Dividing Lines: Frederick Jackson Turner’s Western Frontier and George R.R. Martin’s Northern Wall (Michail Zontos) 92

Philosophies
"All men must serve": Religion and Free Will from the Seven to the Faceless Men (Ryan Mitchell Wittingslow) 113
"Silk ribbons tied around a sword": Knighthood and the Chivalric Virtues in Westeros (Charles H. Hackney) 132

Bodies
Cursed Womb, Bulging Thighs and Bald Scalp: George R.R. Martin’s Grotesque Queen (Karin Gresham) 151
"A thousand bloodstained hands": The Malleability of Flesh and Identity (Beth Kozinsky) 170
A Thousand Westerosi Plateaus: Wargs, Wolves and Ways of Being (T.A. Leederman) 189

Intimacies
Sex and the Citadel: Adapting Same Sex Desire from Martin’s Westeros to HBO’s Bedrooms (David C. Nel) 205
Beyond the Pale? Craster and the Pathological Reproduction of Houses in Westeros (D. Marcel DeCoste) 225

Adaptations
The Hand of the Artist: Fan Art in the Martinverse (Andrew Howe) 243
"A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies": Transmedia Textuality and the Flows of Adaptation (Zoe Shacklock) 262

About the Contributors 281

Index 285


About the Author(s)

Jes Battis is an associate professor of English at the University of Regina. His teaching and research focus on intersections between fantasy and sexuality as they occur across a number of historical periods, including the middle ages and the eighteenth century. He is also the author of the Occult Special Investigator series, with Ace Books. Susan Johnston is an associate professor of English at the University of Regina in Saskatchewan, Canada, where her courses include George R.R. Martin, J.K. Rowling, and literary historiography and theory.

Frankel's Women in Game of Thrones: Power, Conformity and Resistance

Sorry to have missed this over the summer:

Women in Game of Thrones: Power, Conformity and Resistance
Valerie Estelle Frankel
McFarland

Print ISBN: 978-0-7864-9416-3
Ebook ISBN: 978-1-4766-1554-7
appendices, glossary, bibliography, index
216pp. softcover (6 x 9) 2014
Price: $35.00

About the Book

Game of Thrones, one of the hottest series on television, leaves hundreds of critics divided on how “feminist” the show really is. Certainly the female characters, strong and weak, embody a variety of archetypes—widow queens, warrior women, damsels in distress, career women, priestesses, crones, mothers and maidens. However, the problem is that most of them play a single role without nuance—even the “strong women” have little to do besides strut about as one-note characters. This book analyzes the women and their portrayals one by one, along with their historical inspirations. Accompanying issues in television studies also appear, from the male gaze to depiction of race. How these characters are treated in the series and how they treat themselves becomes central, as many strip for the pleasure of men or are sacrificed as pawns. Some nude scenes or moments of male violence are fetishized and filmed to tantalize, while others show the women’s trauma and attempt to identify with the scene’s female perspective. The key is whether the characters break out of their traditional roles and become multidimensional.


Table of Contents

Introduction 1
Part I: Controversial Issues in the Series 5
Gratuitous Sex? 5
Rape 8
Male Gaze 16
Fake Lesbian Scenes 23
Race 26
Independent Action versus Acting for Others 31
Part II: Exploring Archetypes and Tropes 37
Female Archetypes 37
The Strong Females 40
The Warrior Woman Archetype 43
The Warrior: Arya and Brienne 47
The Bodyguard: Osha and Meera 55
The Pirate: Asha/Yara 58
The Career Woman: Talisa 61
The ­Warrior-Anima 64
The Feminized Females 71
Widows and Mothers: The Chatelaines and Queen Consorts 76
Maidens: The Innocent, the Orphan, and the Femme Fatale 98
The Prostitutes 112
The Crones 121
The Seers 128
Tricksters: The Sand Snakes 139
Great Goddess: The Heart Trees 141
Monstrous Woman: Stoneheart 144
The Hero Queen: Daenerys 147
Part III: Gender Roles in Westeros 161
Women in Westeros 161
Men in the Gender Biased System 167
Women Despise Men by Despising Women 172
Men’s Attitudes Toward Women 174
Fan Reactions 177
Conclusion 182
Appendix 1. Cast 185
Appendix 2. Episode List 188
Appendix 3. Archetypes 190
Works Cited 193
Index 201

About the Author

Valerie Estelle Frankel has been a storyteller, an award-winning novelist, and a lecturer at San Jose State University. The author of four recent books on popular culture and more than 100 stories and essays, she lives in Sunnyvale, California.


Friday, October 31, 2014

October 2014 Listings on Syfy

Here are the listings for this past month, October 2014, on Syfy. There are the usual movie repeats as well as a new medieval-themed episode of Face Off.


THURS., 2 OCT

01:00 AM
Movie: Witchslayer Gretl
03:00 AM
Movie: Witchville

09:30 AM
Movie: Witchville
11:30 AM
Movie: Witchslayer Gretl


SUN., 5 OCT

03:30 AM
Movie: Dark Relic


MON., 13 OCT

11:00 AM
Movie: Dracula 2000


THURS.,16 OCT

11:00 AM
Movie: Reign of the Gargoyles
01:00 PM
Movie: Grendel


FRI., 17 OCT

08:30 AM
Movie: Dracula 2000
12:30 AM
Movie: Dracula II: Ascension


SAT., 18 OCT

02:00 AM
Movie: Dracula 2000
4:00 AM
Movie: Dracula II: Ascension


TUES., 28 OCT

09:00 PM
Face Off: One Knight Only (season 7 finale ends with "A knight challenge")

11:00 PM
Face Off: One Knight Only


WEDNES., 29 OCT

03:00 PM
Ghost Hunters: Knights of the Living Dead (at Higgins Armory Museum)


FRI., 31 OCT

11:00 PM
Face Off: One Knight Only




Syfy Listings for September 2014

I seem to be forever catching up here. Here at last are the listings for September 2014. October 2014 will follow tonight and the rest of the 2014 backlog this weekend.

WEDNES., 3 SEPT

03:00 AM
Movie: Sinbad and the Minotaur

02:30 PM
Ghost Hunters: Knights of the Living Dead (Higgins Armory Museum)


THURS., 4 SEPT

11:10 PM
Syfy Original Movie: Thor: Hammer of the Gods


FRI., 5 SEPT

3:20 AM
Movie: Almighty Thor

11:00 PM
The Almighty Johnsons: "Hunting Reindeer on Slippery Rocks"


SAT., 6 SEPT

12:00 AM
The Almighty Johnsons: "Every Good Quest Has a Sacrifice"

03:00 AM
The Almighty Johnsons: "Hunting Reindeer on Slippery Rocks"
04:00 AM
The Almighty Johnsons: "Every Good Quest Has a Sacrifice"


SUN., 7 SEPT

1:30 AM
Syfy Original Movie: Riverworld (Part 1)
3:30 AM
Syfy Original Movie: Riverworld (Part 2)


WEDNES., 10 SEPT

01:00 AM
Syfy Original Movie: Black Forest
03:00 AM
Syfy Original Movie: Witchville

03:30 PM
Movie: Vikingdom

09:00 PM
Movie: Robin Hood


FRI., 12 SEPT

12:10 AM
Syfy Original Movie: Aladdin And The Death Lamp

04:10 AM
Syfy Original Movie: Book Of Beasts, The


SAT., 13 SEPT

04:00 PM
Movie: Outlander


MON., 15 SEPT

05:00 AM
The Twilight Zone: A Short Drink From A Certain Fountain


THURS., 25 SEPT

11:30 AM
Movie: Jabberwock


FRI., 26 SEPT

12:35 AM
Movie: Dracula 2000
02:35 AM
Movie: Dracula II: Ascension

09:00 AM
Movie: Dracula 2000
11:00 AM
Movie: Dracula II: Ascension


Friday, January 24, 2014

Syfy June 2013

More Syfy backlog. Here are the listings for last June:

SAT., 8 JUNE

09:00 AM
Dragon Dynasty

01:00 PM
Fire & Ice

05:00 PM
Age of Dragons

09:00 PM
Sinbad (series premiere)


SUN., 9 JUNE
01:00 AM
Riverworld

03:00 AM
Riverworld-Part 2

11:00 AM
Syfy Original Movie : Wyvern


FRI., 14 JUNE
02:00 PM
Syfy Original Movie: Almighty Thor
04:00 PM
Syfy Original Movie : Thor: Hammer Of The Gods


SAT., 15 JUNE
08:00 PM
Sinbad, Season 1: Pilot
09:00 PM
Sinbad, Season 1: Queen Of The Water-thieves


SUN., 16 JUNE
09:00 AM
Sinbad, Season 1: Queen Of The Water-thieves

08:00 PM
Movie: Chronicles Of Narnia, The: Prince Caspian


MON., 17 JUNE
08:30 AM
Syfy Original Movie: Beyond Sherwood Forest
10:30 AM
Syfy Original Movie: Black Forest

05:00 PM
Movie: Chronicles Of Narnia, The: Prince Caspian


TUES., 18 JUNE
02:00 AM
Sinbad, Season 1: Queen Of The Water-thieves


SAT., 22 JUNE
08:00 PM
Sinbad, Season 1: Queen Of The Water-thieves
09:00 PM
Sinbad, Season 1: House Of Games


SUN., 23 JUNE
07:00 PM
Movie: Underworld: Rise Of The Lycans


MON., 24 JUNE
04:00 PM
Movie: Underworld: Rise Of The Lycans


SAT., 29 JUNE
01:00 PM
Syfy Original Movie: Witchslayer Gretl

08:00 PM
Sinbad, Season 1: House Of Games
09:00 PM
Sinbad, Season 1: Old Man Of The Sea


Chiller July 2013

Here is the final listing from Chiller featuring material from last July:

MON., 1 JULY
7:00 AM
The Outer Limits: The Shroud


WEDNES., 10 JULY
03:00 AM
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Undead
A slacker takes a job directing a weird spinoff of "Hamlet" starring a vampire. [Actually, a Grail film.]


MON., 29 JULY
07:00 AM
The Outer Limits: The Tipping Point

Monday, January 20, 2014

Syfy December 2013

Continuing from the previous post, here are the relevant listings from Syfy for December 2013.

Lost data 12/9.

SAT., 7 DEC
09:00 AM
Movie: Stargate: The Ark Of Truth

03:30 PM
Movie: Outlander


SUN., 8 DEC
12:00 AM
Movie: Outlander


TUES., 10 DEC
10:00 PM
Killer Contact: Vlad The Impaler: Dracula [premiere]


WEDNES., 11 DEC
12:00 AM
Killer Contact: Vlad The Impaler: Dracula
01:00 AM
Syfy Original Movie: Gryphon
03:00 AM
Movie: Book Of Beasts, The

07:00 PM
Killer Contact: Vlad The Impaler: Dracula

10:00 PM
Killer Contact: Lucrezia Borgia [premiere] 


THURS., 12 DEC
12:00 AM
Killer Contact: Lucrezia Borgia

03:00 AM
Syfy Original Movie: Beyond Sherwood Forest

03:00 PM
Syfy Original Movie: Rock Monster
05:00 PM
Syfy Original Movie: Dungeons & Dragons: The Book Of Vile Darkness

11:30 PM
Syfy Original Movie
Dungeons & Dragons: The Book Of Vile Darkness


FRI., 13 DEC
01:30 AM
Syfy Original Movie: Rock Monster


SAT., 14 DEC
Dec 14
07:00 PM
Movie: Underworld: Evolution


SUN., 15 DEC
05:00 PM
Movie: Underworld: Evolution


TUES., 17 DEC
01:00 AM
Movie: Dracula 2000


WEDNES., 18 DEC
01:00 PM
Killer Contact: Vlad The Impaler: Dracula
02:00 PM
Killer Contact: Lucrezia Borgia


FRI., 20 DEC
09:00 AM
Syfy Original Movie: Beauty And The Beasts: A Dark Tale
11:00 AM
Syfy Original Movie: Almighty Thor


THURS., 26 DEC
03:00 PM
Syfy Original Movie: Witchslayer Gretl


FRI., 27 DEC
01:00 AM
Syfy Original Movie: Witchslayer Gretl

10:00 PM
Movie: Underworld: Evolution


SAT., 28 DEC
01:30 PM
Movie: Outlander


SUN.,29 DEC
09:00 AM
Movie: Outlander

Syfy November 2013

Catching up (again). Here are the relevant listings from Syfy for November 2013.

Lost data for 11/1-11/3, 11/10-11/11, and 11/28.

MON., 4 NOV
09:30 AM
Syfy Original Movie: Dark Relic


TUES., 5 NOV
07:00 PM
Face Off: Dark Magic


THURS., 7 NOV
03:00 PM
Movie: Stargate: The Ark Of Truth


FRI., 8 NOV
02:00 AM
Movie: Stargate: The Ark Of Truth

03:00 PM
Syfy Original Movie: Reign Of The Gargoyles


THURS., 14 NOV
1:00 AM
Movie: Dracula 2000
03:00 AM
Movie: Wes Craven Presents: Dracula II: Ascension


MON., 18 NOV
08:00 AM
Syfy Original Movie: Grendel
10:00 AM
Syfy Original Movie: Dragon Dynasty
12:00 PM
Syfy Original Movie: Fire And Ice


WEDNES., 20 NOV
01:00 AM
Syfy Original Movie: Rise Of The Gargoyles


MON., 25 NOV
08:00 AM
Merlin: The Diamond Of The Day - Part One
09:00 AM
Merlin: The Diamond Of The Day - Part Two
10:00 AM
Movie: In The Name Of The King: A Dungeon Siege Tale



Thursday, October 3, 2013

Forever Knight Marathon Tomorrow

I've given up checking the listings for Chiller but do regularly check Syfy (and really need to update their listings on the blog), and I came across the following of interest in the programming for tomorrow, Friday, 4 October.

Oct 4
08:00 AM
Forever Knight
Dark Knight - Part 1
Oct 4
09:00 AM
Forever Knight
Dark Knight - Part 2
Oct 4
10:00 AM
Forever Knight
For I Have Sinned
Oct 4
11:00 AM
Forever Knight
Last Act
Oct 4
12:00 PM
Forever Knight
Dance By The Light Of The Moon
Oct 4
01:00 PM
Forever Knight
Dying To Know You
Oct 4
02:00 PM
Forever Knight
False Witness
Oct 4
03:00 PM
Forever Knight
Cherry Blossoms
Oct 4
04:00 PM
Forever Knight
I Will Repay
Oct 4
05:00 PM
Forever Knight
Dead Air

Sunday, August 11, 2013

Open Call Quarterly Review of Film and Video

A head's up from the MLA's Announcements of General Interest list:

Quarterly Review of Film and Video (QRFV) seeks new submissions on film, video, and moving-image studies. QRFV is devoted to providing innovative perspectives from a broad range of methodologies, including writings on newly developing technologies, as well as essays and interviews in any area of film history, production, reception, and criticism. The editors invite compelling, well-crafted essays on all aspects of film and the moving image—history, theory, and criticism—and welcomes essays on video games and video installations, the moving image in popular culture, and the ways in which the digital and filmic image now intersect in production, distribution, and exhibition. Also of interest are articles that explore the recovery of neglected films and issues arising from the digitization of the moving image, as well as interviews with directors, festival reports, and theoretical essays. QRFV regularly publishes 6–10-page book reviews. Potential reviewers should query the editors before undertaking a review. The editors also assign reviews. Submissions are accepted throughout the year; there is no deadline. The journal publishes five issues a year (four regular issues and one year-end special issue). Articles range from 20 to 35 pages in length, including notes and works-cited list, and may be in MLA or Chicago format. The complete guidelines for QRFV articles and reviews can be downloaded at http://eng-wdixon.unl.edu/format.html. The Transfer of Copyright Agreement, which must be downloaded, signed by the author, and submitted with each article or review, is at http://eng-wdixon.unl.edu/qrfv.pdf. Send submissions to wheelerdixon@windstream.net. For more information, write or call the editors, Wheeler Winston Dixon and Gwendolyn Audrey Foster, Dept. of English, 202 Andrews Hall, Univ. of Nebraska, Lincoln 68588-0333 (402 472-6064; fax: 402 472-9771).

Saturday, August 3, 2013

Sinbad Marathon Today on Syfy

Syfy is airing a marathon of the new series Sinbad today. I saw the first episode and thought it had some promise (see teaser below and its Wikipedia page at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinbad_(TV_series) ) but have not been able to catch the later episodes. The series, produced by British network Sky1, will be out on DVD and Blu-ray in the fall and can be viewed now on Amazon Instant Video and iTunes.





Here are the times and episode listings:

11:00 AM Sinbad, Season 1 : Pilot

12:00 PM Sinbad, Season 1: Queen Of The Water-thieves

01:00 PM Sinbad, Season 1: House Of Games

 02:00 PM Sinbad, Season 1: Old Man Of The Sea

03:00 PM Sinbad, Season 1: Hunted

04:00 PM Sinbad, Season 1: The Siren

05:00 PM Sinbad, Season 1: Homecoming

06:00 PM Sinbad, Season 1: Kuji

07:00 PM Sinbad, Season 1: Eye Of The Tiger

08:00 PM Sinbad, Season 1: For Whom The Egg Shatters

09:00 PM Sinbad, Season 1: Fiend Or Friend?

10:00 PM Sinbad, Season 1: Land Of The Dead


Monday, July 29, 2013

From the Disney Vault Update

Disney is re-releasing both The Sword in the Stone (1963) and Robin Hood (1973) to Blu-ray next month as part of special anniversary editions including digital copies of both films (whether purchased as part of the DVD or Blu-Ray/DVD combo sets). Both were recently released as DVD special editions (in 2008 and 2006, respectively). No word yet on whether or not they will include any new extras. I append the advertisement from the Disney Movie Club. Both films can also be purchased from various online sellers, though, curiously, Disney's own DisneyStore.com fails to list either product.

Also of interest, the Disney Movie Club is offering Season 2, Volume 2 of the popular 1990s' series Gargoyles as a 3-disc club exclusive. The set completes the season (first released to DVD in 2005). The Gargoyles are originally from 10th century Scotland but active in the modern world, where they interact with a number of figures from medieval myth and legend, including Macbeth, King Arthur, the Lady of the Lake, Cú Chulainn, Odin, and the Weird Sisters from Macbeth. In addition, this half of the season introduces Titania (from Midsummer Night's Dream) into the Gargoyles universe and also integrates both her and Puck (also from MND) firmly into the Gargoyle's extended family.

Thursday, May 2, 2013

Kalamazoo Update

Blog members should be interested in the following details on our sessions for this year's Medieval Congress. The complete program can be accessed at: http://www.wmich.edu/medieval/congress/sessions.html.

Thursday, 9 May 3:30 PM
Session 114: Fetzer 1005

Still Getting Medieval on Television: Medieval-Themed Television of the Twenty-First Century and Its Impact on Medieval Studies (A Roundtable)
Sponsor: Virtual Society for the Study of Popular Culture and the Middle Ages
Organizer: Michael A. Torregrossa, Virtual Society for the Study of Popular Culture and the Middle Ages
Presider: Suanna H. Davis, Abilene Christian Univ.

Hybrid Medievalisms in Arthurian Romance and the Historical Evolution of the Genre from Print to Television
Kevin Teo Kia Choong, Nagoya Univ.

When Bows Don’t Bow: Sherwood and Camelot in Conflict
Elizabeth Bernhardt, Abilene Christian Univ.

Kaamelott/Camelot on the Small Screen
Tara Foster, Northern Michigan Univ.

Medieval Themes in the Contemporary Newsroom
Charlotte A. T. Wulf, Stevenson Univ.

Medievalism in Television’s Popular Series Once Upon a Time
Mikee Delony, Abilene Christian Univ.

Saturday, 11 May 12:00 PM
Valley III Room 303
Alliance for the Promotion of Research on the Villains of the Matter of Britain; Institute for the Advancement of Scholarship on the Magic-Wielding Figures of Visual Electronic Multimedia; Virtual Society for the Study of Popular Culture and the Middle Ages
Business Meeting and Reception

Michael

Sunday, March 3, 2013

Syfy March 2013

Third of three posts today on Syfy to finally catch me up-to-date. The following represent this month's listings for Syfy airing in March 2013 on the network. Note that season five of Merlin continues here and concludes next month.


SAT., 2 MAR
02:00 AM
Merlin: The Hollow Queen


SUN., 3 MAR
04:00 PM
Face Off: Make It Reign


MON., 4 MAR

01:30 PM
Movie: Stargate: The Ark Of Truth
    
05:30 PM
Movie: Outlander


TUES., 5 MAR
02:00 PM
Face Off: Make It Reign


FRI., 8 MAR

03:00 AM
Syfy Original Movie: Black Forest
05:00 AM
Merlin: The Hollow Queen

08:00 AM
Syfy Original Movie: Witchville
10:00 AM
Syfy Original Movie: Book Of Beasts, The
12:00 PM
Movie: Merlin And The War Of The Dragons
02:00 PM
Syfy Original Movie: Beyond Sherwood Forest
04:00 PM
Syfy Original Movie: Black Forest

10:00 PM
Merlin: With All My Heart


SAT., 9 MAR
12:00 AM
Merlin: With All My Heart


SUN., 10 MAR
04:00 AM
Syfy Original Movie: Rise Of The Gargoyles


TUES., 12 MAR
01:00 PM
Face Off: Make It Reign


FRI., 15 MAR
10:00 PM
Merlin: The Kindness Of Strangers


SAT., 16 MAR

12:00 AM
Merlin: The Kindness Of Strangers

09:00 PM
Movie: Underworld: Evolution
11:00 PM
Movie: Underworld: Rise Of The Lycans


TUES., 19 MAR
12:00 PM
Face Off: Make It Reign


WEDNES., 20 MAR
03:00 AM
Syfy Original Movie: Dark Relic


THURS., 21 MAR
 03:00 PM
Movie: Wes Craven Presents: Dracula II: Ascension


FRI., 22 MAR
10:00 PM
Merlin: The Drawing Of The Dark


SAT., 23 MAR
12:00 AM
Merlin: The Drawing Of The Dark


TUES., 26 MAR
11:00 AM
Face Off: Make It Reign


WEDNES., 27 MAR
    
03:00 AM
Syfy Original Movie: Reign Of The Gargoyles
    
03:00 PM
Ghost Hunters International: Murders And Mysteries: England And New Zealand


THURS., 28 MAR
11:30 PM
Movie: Stargate: The Ark Of Truth


FRI., 29 MAR

03:30 AM
Merlin: Lancelot Du Lac
04:30 AM
Merlin: A Herald Of The New Age
    
02:00 PM
Syfy Original Movie: Rock Monster

10:00 PM
Merlin: The Diamond Of The Day - Part One


SAT., 30 MAR

12:00 AM
Merlin: The Diamond Of The Day - Part One
    
05:00 AM
Stargate Atlantis: Before I Sleep

06:30 PM
Movie: Blade II


SUN., 31 MAR
11:00 PM
Movie: In The Name Of The King: A Dungeon Siege Tale


Syfy February 2012

Second of three posts on Syfy. The following represent the medieval-themed listings from last month, February 2013. Note that season five of Merlin continues here.


FRI., 1 FEB
10:00 PM
Merlin: The Disir


SAT., 2 FEB
12:00 AM
Merlin: The Disir


SUN., 3 FEB
08:00 PM
Movie: Chronicles Of Narnia, The: Prince Caspian


MON., 4 FEB
04:00 PM
Movie: Chronicles Of Narnia, The: Prince Caspian


TUES., 5 FEB
06:00 PM
Face Off: Make It Reign [premiered in Jan.]


WEDNES., 6 FEB
12:00 PM
Ghost Hunters International: Hamlet's Castle: Denmark


FRI., 8 FEB
10:00 PM
Merlin: The Dark Tower


SAT., 9 FEB
12:00 AM
Merlin: The Dark Tower


SUN., 10 FEB

10:30 AM
Movie: Stargate: The Ark Of Truth

   
05:30 PM
Movie: Outlander


MON., 11 FEB
02:30 PM
Movie: Outlander


TUES., 12 FEB
04:00 PM
Destination Truth: Issie/Icelandic Elves [??]
05:00 PM
Face Off: Make It Reign


THURS., 14 FEB

09:00 AM
Syfy Original Movie: Beauty And The Beasts: A Dark Tale
11:00 AM
Syfy Original Movie: Grendel
01:00 PM
Syfy Original Movie: Beyond Sherwood Forest
03:00 PM
Movie: Dragon Wars
    
09:00 PM
Movie: Underworld: Rise Of The Lycans


FRI., 15 FEB

09:30 AM
Syfy Original Movie: Sinbad And The Minotaur

01:30 PM
Syfy Original Movie: Almighty Thor

06:00 PM
Movie: Underworld: Rise Of The Lycans

10:00 PM
Merlin: A Lesson In Vengeance


SAT., 16 FEB
12:00 AM
Merlin: A Lesson In Vengeance


TUES., 19 FEB
04:00 PM
Face Off: Make It Reign


WEDNES., 20 FEB
01:00 AM
Syfy Original Movie: Sinbad And The Minotaur
03:00 AM
Syfy Original Movie: Immortal Voyage Of Captain Drake, The


FRI., 22 FEB

03:00 AM
   
Syfy Original Movie: Dark Relic

10:00 PM
Merlin: The Hollow Queen
[1 week hiatus after this episode; season 5 continues beginning 8 March]


SAT., 23 FEB
12:00 AM
Merlin: The Hollow Queen


SUN., 24 FEB
10:30 AM
Face Off: Make It Reign


TUES., 26 FEB

01:00 AM
Merlin: The Hollow Queen

03:00 PM
Face Off: Make It Reign


Syfy January 2013

The first of three posts today to catch up-to-date with relevant listings on Syfy. The following represent the medieval-themed programming for January 2013.

In addition to the material listed, the network also premiered "Make It Reign", an episode of Face Off featuring designs for a medieval-like secondary world. At the time, I was unaware of its appropriateness, but, as new details have emerged, future air-dates have been added to later postings to the blog.

Of note, the month also featured the US premiere of the fifth (and final) season of Merlin, which recently wrapped up its five-year run in December 2012. The series aired on Syfy in January opening with a marathon of season four, and season five runs from January through April on the network. Season four is now available on DVD and Blu-ray, and season five is due out in April; both seasons (as well as the previous three) are (of course) available through the various digital download providers.


FRI., 4 JAN


[Merlin Season 4 marathon]
08:00 AM
Merlin: The Darkest Hour - Part 1
09:00 AM
Merlin: The Darkest Hour - Part 2
10:00 AM
Merlin: Aithusa
11:00 AM
Merlin: His Father's Son
12:00 PM
Merlin: A Servant Of Two Masters
01:00 PM
Merlin: The Secret Sharer
02:00 PM
Merlin: Lamia
03:00 PM
Merlin: Lancelot Du Lac
04:00 PM
Merlin: A Herald Of The New Age
05:00 PM
Merlin: The Hunter's Heart
06:00 PM
Merlin: The Sword In The Stone - Part 1
07:00 PM
Merlin: The Sword In The Stone - Part 2


10:00 PM
Merlin: Arthur's Bane - Part One
[Merlin Season 5 premiere]


SAT., 5 JAN
    
12:00 AM
Merlin: Arthur's Bane - Part One

02:00 AM
Movie: Merlin And The War Of The Dragons
04:00 AM
Syfy Original Movie: Book Of Beasts, The



WEDNES., 9 JAN
09:00 PM
Ghost Hunters: Irish Ruins


FRI., 11 JAN
10:00 PM
Merlin: Arthur's Bane - Part Two


SAT., 12 JAN.
12:00 AM
Merlin: Arthur's Bane - Part Two


FRI., 18 JAN

06:00 PM
Merlin: Arthur's Bane - Part Two

10:00 PM
Merlin: The Death Song Of Uther Pendragon


SAT., 19 JAN
12:00 AM
Merlin: The Death Song Of Uther Pendragon


FRI., 25 JAN
10:00 PM
Merlin: Another's Sorrow


SAT., 26 JAN

12:00 AM
Merlin: Another's Sorrow

03:00 PM
Syfy Original Movie: Thor: Hammer Of The Gods
    
11:00 PM
Syfy Original Movie: Rock Monster


SUN., 27 JAN

11:30 AM
Movie: Wes Craven Presents: Dracula II: Ascension

05:30 PM
Movie: Blade II

08:00 PM
Movie: Underworld: Rise Of The Lycans


MON., 28 JAN

02:30 PM
Movie: Blade II

05:00 PM
Movie: Underworld: Rise Of The Lycans



Saturday, March 2, 2013

Vikings--Now on History

The History Channel premieres the nine-part series Vikings tomorrow 3 March at 10 PM EST. The series is based on the life and adventures of Ragnar Lothbrok. The following promotional videos appear on the network's YouTube channel.







Chiller January 2013

Moving closer to the present, here are the relevant listings from Chiller for January 2013. Details for all productions are available in the links lists.


THURS., 3 JAN
 07:00 P ET
Movie: Vlad

FRI., 4 JAN
 01:00 A ET
Movie: Vlad


FRI., 18 JAN
12:00 P ET
The Outer Limits: Shroud


FRI., 25 JAN
01:00 P ET
The Twilight Zone (1985): The Last Defender Of Camelot


SAT., 26 JAN

11:30 A ET
Movie: Vlad

11:00 P ET
Movie: Vlad