Back from its winter hiatus, Arrow returns us to Starling City where Oliver (Stephen Amell) has not been the vigilante since his encounter with the “Dark Archer,” revealed to be Tommy’s (Colin Donnell) father, Malcolm Merlyn (John Barrowman). Ollie is in full-on, self pity, mopey mode, ignoring Diggle’s (David Ramsey) assertion he needs to suit up and get out there because the city needs him. In fact, we’re blatantly told via some talking head news show the vigilante has had a direct effect on lowering the number of muggings, robberies, and murders in Starling City. Which is pretty astounding considering we were shown none of this during the season’s first half.

But Ollie is off his game, he can’t even shoot and pierce a tennis ball! Now what trick does he have to impress the ladies!?!

In the Queen mansion, Moira (Susanna Thompson) is doing her best Howard Hughes impression as she’s become a shut-in since Walter’s (Colin Salmon) disappearance. Made all the weirder because she knows who kidnapped Walter and probably feels responsible. Thea (Willa Holland) and Ollie try to cheer her up, but the Queen family is extremely, emotionally stunted. Just listen as Ollie awkwardly suggests getting takeout and watching a DVD. It gets worse when he struggles to pronounce “Galifianakis” in another reminder he was trapped on an island for five years. We get it, how many more painful pop culture references must we sit through?

The episode needs a villain because there must be a crime in order for Ollie to get back in The Hood. Well, actually, no. A call from Laurel (Katie Cassidy) on the secret vigilante iPhone is enough for him to put on the suit and creep into her apartment. She presents him with a case about a fireman who died on the job under suspicious circumstances that she believe is a murder being covered up as an accident. The perpetrator and this week’s bad guy is Arrow‘s attempt at an updated, “more realistic” version of the lame DC villain, Firefly. And I know what you’re thinking, how could it be worse than a pyromaniac dressed as a bug with a flamethrower strapped to his back? Oh, they found a way.

During a horrific fire years earlier, a fireman, Garfield Lynns (Andrew Dunbar), was killed when he refused to leave the building after it was deemed unsafe and the rest of his squad was called out. He demanded reinforcements, which his chief denied, and he was left in the building to die. Of course he didn’t die, but being so terribly burned he was unrecognizable and was labeled a John Doe while in a coma at the hospital. It’s an all right, seek revenge on your surviving company back story until you see him and he is by no means burned beyond recognition. Hell, Oliver is able to narrow down the suspects because when he confronts Lynns he notices the firefly tattoo on the back of his hand signifying him as a member of the Firefly Company. Good thing that didn’t burn off with the rest of his skin. I mean, look at him!

How was this man not identified as Lynns at the hospital is beyond me, and I’m usually pretty forgiving when it comes to suspending my disbelief. Rather than appearing as a horrible burn victim he looks like man who’s had some scar putty smeared on his face. To make it even worse, that scarred side of his face is kept mostly in shadow. I’ve been quite happy with Arrow‘s spin on many classic DC characters, like the Royal Flush Gang and Huntress, but this was dumb. If they were looking for a challenge in updating one of DC’s crappier villains, they only succeeded in making him even dumber.

Pretty terrible villain and criminal plot aside, “Burned” had its stronger moments, too. Laurel, for one, wasn’t completely useless. We see some that of determination and stubbornness we associate with Dinah, Black Canary, as Laurel investigates the case and disobeys her father seeking out the assistance of The Hood. Though, she does come off a little like the scolded child when her father, Detective Lance (Paul Blackthorne) finds out she’s stolen the secret vigilante iPhone. And she manages to somehow not realize Ollie answers his phone when she calls The Hood, even though they’re about 20 feet away from one another. So she’s not perfect, but there was some growth this episode. Unlike Tommy, whose role has become to throw the party that all necessary characters attend come the end of the episode to better serve the climax. Guess it’s not a bad job.

For Oliver, this episode was all about coming to terms with facing death and having people you care about in your life. Something he didn’t have to worry about as he struggled to survive on the island. It’s the fear of what his death would mean to those closest to him that’s had him resisting The Hood. But after several heart to hearts with Diggle, including a friendly bro-fight, Diggle convinces him having people he loves doesn’t make him weaker, but rather stronger. It gives him something to fight for. And here, we have the episodes message, Ollie learns to be a hero not just a vigilante. Something the show makes sure you don’t miss by having that same newscaster from earlier blatantly state it on television.

Ollie’s got his confidence back, Moira leaves the house after a pep talk from Thea to become the new CEO of Queen Industries – a dicey decision if you ask me, considering what happened to the two previous CEOs – and Detective Lance allows Laurel to keep the secret vigilante iPhone, essentially turning her into Arrow‘s version of Jimmy Olson. Oh! And he’s bugged the phone in order to finally catch The Hood, because even though he sort of saved the day, he still can’t be trusted.

Next week THE LIST is back and Ben Browder guest stars! Arrow airs Wednesday nights at 8pm on the CW.

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The CW’s superhero drama Arrow has been making merry sport mining the DC Universe for potential enemies and allies for its young Emerald Archer. Next villain up for bids is Firefly, the pyromaniac with wings who typically plagues Batman, will soon be stopping by Starling City to get something started – like a fire.

In this episode, which is entitled “Burned,” Firefly is recast as a former firefighter who was severely burned on the job and apparently he decides to take out his rage on the issue by setting a few fires of his own. Firefly will be played by Andrew Dunbar, who you’ll recognize from other Vancouver-area shot sci-fi series like Battlestar Galactica and Stargate Universe.

Below is a photo gallery from the episode released by The CW. “Burned” will serve as Arrow’s midseason premiere when the show returns on January 16 at 8 pm ET/PT .

Source: Blastr

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Every day the internet produces an astounding amount of goodies and gems. Most hilarious, some amusing, but all worth at least a few seconds of your time. We here at Nerd Bastards try to bring you the best bits of news and nerdery the webz has to offer, with a bit of snark thrown in. But sometimes not everything makes the cut. Monday through Friday we’ll be bringing you our inbox leftovers, our forgotten bookmarks, the nerdy bits that simply slipped through the cracks. You can submit items to Nerdy Bits by emailing us at nerdybits@nerdbastards.com.

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Every day the internet produces an astounding amount of goodies and gems. Most hilarious, some amusing, but all worth at least a few seconds of your time. We here at Nerd Bastards try to bring you the best bits of news and nerdery the webz has to offer, with a bit of snark thrown in. But sometimes not everything makes the cut. Monday through Friday we’ll be bringing you our inbox leftovers, our forgotten bookmarks, the nerdy bits that simply slipped through the cracks. You can submit items to Nerdy Bits by emailing us at nerdybits@nerdbastards.com.

ABOVE: Alexia-Jean-Grey cosplaying as Black Widow. What a kick-ass cosplay, huh? Scarlett Johansson’s Widow from The Avengers looks like crap in comparison. Regardless, I’d let both Alexia and Scarlett interrogate me anytime.   [CBM]

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Every day the internet produces an astounding amount of goodies and gems. Most hilarious, some amusing, but all worth at least a few seconds of your time. We here at Nerd Bastards try to bring you the best bits of news and nerdery the webz has to offer, with a bit of snark thrown in. But sometimes not everything makes the cut. Monday through Friday we’ll be bringing you our inbox leftovers, our forgotten bookmarks, the nerdy bits that simply slipped through the cracks. You can submit items to Nerdy Bits by emailing us at nerdybits@nerdbastards.com.

ABOVE: Lucy Challenger Cosplaying as Spider-Man villain Carnage. Sexy but scary… I like it [CBM]

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While the flux-capacitor hasn’t been perfected, and we can’t help you fix any past holiday humbuggery, maybe we can help you get this holiday season off to a good start.

For the next 12 days (Dec 1st-12th), the staff of Nerd Bastards will be listing a few of their favorite nerdy things. Gadgets, doohickeys, thingamabobs and more – all sorts of  items that have been Nerd tested and Bastard approved.  Basically,  stuff you want, things you need, and everything you can’t have.

We hope you’ll  find some unique and nerdtastic gifts among our selections, and that they make their way under your tree, Menorah or Kwanzaa bush.

Hit the jump for Adam Donaldson’s list of nerdful things. Check back tomorrow for Jason Tabry’s list. To see archive of this feature, click HERE.

Speaking of Christmas, although that’s what this whole column – and yes – series of columns are about, let’s turn to something more of the Christmas toy persuasion. Now I’m a recent convert to Community, and because we’ve had to go upwards of seven months now without a new episode, you can relive the glory days with this set up figurines based on the 2010 Claymation-inspired Christmas special. And bonus, the NBC store now has them on for half price. Price: $49.99 from $99.65 [NBCUniversal Store]

MORE AFTER THE JUMP

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Television executives are often asked about shows in development and a single off hand remark can often be blown out of proportion and sink any chance a show might have of gathering an audience and building a fan base. Luckily, for those of us anxiously waiting for Joss Whedon‘s S.H.I.E.L.D., when ABC President Paul Lee talked with TVLine he said:

“It’s very Joss Whedon. We’re optimistic, because Joss is a genius and we love the idea and we love what we’ve seen. But it’s early days, and it’s a long way to go between now and a successful series. But we are very excited about it.”

Although this is the same guy who also said:

“The Neighbors is very important to me.  I love The Neighbors.  I know there are some issues with the high-concept nature of The Neighbors.  But, when you get a chance to talk to Dan Fogelman, he is an incredibly smart writer.  I think he will combine, in a way that I think Adam [Horowitz] and Eddie [Kitsis] do on Once Upon a Time, that very broad idea with a very smart piece of storytelling.  We are loving the scripts for the show.  I did want to protect it and make sure that it’s between The Middle and Modern Family.  We want to give it that big push because we’re very proud of it, and we’re going to market it.  I wanted to make sure that people started to enjoy the show because I want it to be on the air for a very long time.“

I don’t know about you but I couldn’t even get through the first episode of The Neighbors without nodding off and I quickly took it off my DVR list of shows to record.

The good news is that Paul Lee seems to be the type of person that will back the things he likes. If that gets S.H.I.E.L.D. any extra time or chances to get the show going then I’m all for it. I am not expecting S.H.I.E.L.D. to go through the type of issues of poor scheduling, promotion, and finally cancellation that Firefly went through.

What do you think?

Via: Comicbookmovie

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Each and every week we scour the Internet for nothing but the best in nerdy art. We leave no digital stone unturned, we poke and prod every nook and cranny of the Interwebz. Why? Because we love you, and we love to bring you weekly feed of nerd art. On with the dump!

Can there be just one single moment when these two are alone where they don’t fight over Spider-Man, even a plush version of the wall crawler? Guess not, but at least they know all sleep over fights must be done in your pajamas. *Special Note: If you know who drew this please tell us, we’ll credit them. [Hybrid Waste]

Hit the jump for Super Emo Friends, the Deadpool/Bobba Fett team up and MOAR.
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It’s really been 10 years since Firefly met a premature and cold-blooded end at the hands of Fox network executives. You might not realize the years have gone by that quickly, but that’s because we fans still see fit to lament the show’s early exit at every turn. We still organize campaigns to resurrect it. We still write fan fiction. We still hold out hope that it will return to us in some new form or other. To those who aren’t initiated to the ranks of us Browncoats, it might seem like an odd and even ridiculous exercise, but what it really is, whether you like it or not, is a testament to the reach of this show’s particular brand of adventure. Browncoats Unite, a new one-hour special celebrating 10 years since the series’ debut, is both an attempt to explain and chronicle this unlikely afterlife, and though it might not mean much to those who aren’t fans, it is a treat for those of us hoping to revisit the ‘verse for a little more shiny fun.

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Summer Glau has gotten a bad rap on the Internet as a “Show Killer.” That’s an actor or actress that is connected with multiple television shows that you like, that end up getting canceled well before their time.

Firefly, Dollhouse, Terminator: The Sarah Conner Chronicles, and The Cape are among her canceled series, and no one is saying it’s her fault, just bad series luck that seems to follow the talented actress. Seriously, she is always a standout and scene stealer when you look at the shows she’s been on, sometimes she’s the show’s only redeeming quality.

Yeah, I’m looking at you The Cape.

So you can understand how some fan boys and girls are reacting with some trepidation concerning the news that Summer is “crossing her fingers” when it comes to Joss Whedon‘s S.H.I.E.L.D. television show. She talked with IGN the other day about her role as Skylar in the SyFy (Man, I hate that Hipster spelling) channel’s original series Alphas. The show is pretty good and worth a look if you’re not currently watching the series. IGN went on to ask her about Joss Whedon’s new series S.H.I.E.L.D. and her interest in working with Whedon again.

IGN: So I’ve got to ask… Your buddy Joss [Whedon] has a new TV show percolating, and he’s been known to make use of your talents in several projects. So is that something you’ve had any conversations about? And do you think you’d look good in a S.H.I.E.L.D. jumpsuit?

Glau: Well, I have my fingers crossed behind my back. I try not to say anything to Joss about anything he’s doing because he has so many actors, and I know we all want to work for him. So I don’t know, but if I could be a part of it in any way, of course, you know I want to.

IGN: What’s it been like seeing the year Joss has had?

Glau: It couldn’t be more deserved. I’m just so proud that I got to work for him, and nobody deserves it more. I think he’s finally getting the place in mainstream filmmaking that we all knew could happen, and now everybody’s getting to enjoy it. And to get to see him back on TV, I just think that it’s going to be so gratifying for everybody who tried to get Firefly back on and supported Joss all these years, and bought the DVDs for friends and kept supporting it and kept promoting it. Now, I just cannot wait to see what he does next on TV. Of course, I’m excited about Avengers 2 as well, but it’ll also just be awesome to have Joss back on TV!

I would love to see her on S.H.I.E.L.D. as a villain and not a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. Wouldn’t you love to see some kind of love-hate relationship between Summer Glau (As a villain) and Clark Gregg‘s character Agent Coulson? That story writes itself.

What do you think, are you willing to take the chance on Summer Glau and let her put to rest the Internet “Show Killer” tag?

Via: IGN

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