ComingSoon.net has posted the first picture of the new KITT. The high red scanner bar will take a bit of getting used to, but so far it looks good I think. Sticking with the “cool-looking black car” concept was definitely the way to go.

I must admit, I’ve been following the various stories on this new Knight Rider series and so far it seems to be shaping up well. Previous attempts to relaunch the franchise haven’t done so well (although I liked Knight Rider 2000), but this one seems to be trying to stay true to the original ideas in the show more than some of the other relaunches have, so fingers crossed its good (surely it can’t be as bad as the new Flash Gordon turned out to be?).

I’m really surprised by how quickly this series seems to be coming together though.

Well, this issue is an interesting one. Given the late change in the solicit of this issue (originally it was a Sinestro Corps Epilogue starring Kyle and Guy) there’s been a lot of speculation that the Sodam Yat/Ion stuff was added in late in the day to capitalise on the success of the story arc.

Now, Sodam Yat’s a character I’ve been running hot and cold over this whole arc. I enjoyed him during the Mogo Vs Ranx storyline, but then went rapidly off him when he spent two issues with everyone going “Oh, wow. He’s awesome!” as he was rushed into the Ion ID.

This issue gives us his backstory, while Superman Prime beats him to a pulp. I’m really surprised, that after all the hype, Yat actually took this much of a kicking. Sure, he gets a couple of good hits in, but Prime still laughs them off and then keeps handing him his backside.

Yat’s backstory is well handled though. We see his upbringing on Daxam, and how it affected his worldview to the point that he was going to leave the planet for its isolationist policies (backed up with a healthy amount of propoganda).

We really get the feeling of a character that’s been messed around a lot by his own people, and who, having seen the evil inherent to his own kind, is now determined to fight back against it.

This is the kind of issue we really needed before he took over as Ion. Or more focus like he got in the Ranx issues. Yat’s status is left ambiguous at the end of the issue (to be wrapped up in GL #25), but given that he’s on the cover of the Ion special, I think its safe to say he’s going to be round for a while.

While I don’t necessarily think the character’s interesting enough to headline his own book, I’m looking forward to seeing how he and Kyle interact in the special. They’re two very different characters.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7114699.stm

Someone should tell their Doctor Who website

Well, as is widely reported in the media today (official announcement here, the rumours that have been circulating Who-fandom for a while are true, and Billie is indeed returning in season 4 of Doctor Who.

From the rumours on DoctorWhoForum (must stop calling it OG), its likely its part of this year’s Doctor-lite episode, which is supposed to be focused on the role of the companion, and will feature Rose, Donna, Martha, Captain Jack and Sarah Jane (Elisabeth Sladen was reported as being seen filming with Catherine Tate a few weeks ago).

Assuming that its just a one-off, then I’m all for it. A long-term return for Rose wouldn’t be something I’d be fond of though. I was never a huge fan of the character (always found her selfish, especially in the way she treated Mickey, and thus a bit unlikable).

Of course, its not likely she is back full-time. As I said, rumours point to this being a one-off for the Doctor-lite. The papers are saying its for the finale, but the statement on the BBC’s Dr Who site is steering people away from that part of the story.

Well, I put the finishing touches to the revamped version of my Doctor Who Music video today. All comments gratefully appreciated

Thanks to Lying in the Gutters, the rumours have been rife for the last couple of weeks that Batman is set to “die” in the upcoming Final Crisis. The story is that he’ll ascend (to borrow from Stargate) to become a New God as part of the DCU’s new Fifth World.

To further this story, the rumours now say that the mantle of Batman will be taken over by Jason Todd.

My reaction to this? Well, obviously its all still rumour. I’ll believe it when it happens in Final Crisis #7. I’m not sure I really see the point in it to be honest. I don’t mind shake ups like this, when its obvious they’re temporary (as this obviously would be - no matter what’s said at the time), but I’m unsure what benefit this could have to the DC’s storylines. Of course, that’s why I’m not Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison or Mark Waid

The original version of the rumour I thought was more interesting. Which would’ve seen the main pantheon of DC’s heroes (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Hal Jordan, Wally West etc) all become the New Gods of the Fifth World. That sounded pretty interesting to me. They’d be put into a new environment (for a year or however long it would’ve lasted) with new cosmic challenges to face, while we could’ve had a year focusing on the backups taking up the mantle (John Stewart as the primary Earth GL, Jay Garrick as the main Flash, Donna Troy actually getting a decent shot as Wonder Woman).

Granted that would be a bit derivative of 52’s concept, but still I think it could’ve been interesting. This watered down version with just Bruce I don’t think sounds as good.

As for Jason Todd taking over the mantle? I’ve said before what I think of Jason Todd, and I still think he should go back to being the Red Hood. This just strikes me as the latest attempt to find a place in the DCU for him ever since Dick got a reprieve in Infinite Crisis. I can’t see DC fandom really taking to the idea of Jason Todd as Batman. And didn’t they already basically do that plotline in Knightfall?

Besides all of which, its just rumour at the moment, so may or may not actually happen. Its just fun to discuss

Especially while we wait for Green Lantern Corps #18, which apparently will be very Sodam Yat heavy, giving us his backstory and generally fleshing out the character (something long overdue in this story), while he and Superman Prime beat the living daylights out of each other.

I fixed the preview window in Ulead, so I’ve been working on it tonight. I reckon I’ll be laying down the cash for the paid version (although probably not the enhanced “plus” version - since I don’t need the HD or 5.1 stuff).

Only thing I’d say Nero was better for was in zooming in on the timeline for really easy, accurate edits. Although I’ve barely scratched the surface of VideoStudio, so its possible there’s something similar, and even if there isn’t, going by all the buttons, its a lot more fully-featured with advanced stuff than Nero was (understandably).

And, more importantly, after a couple of hours of editing work, I had not one crash.

Just for anyone that was wondering if I was still going to “re-spin” my Dr Who video

I definitely am, but annoyingly the Nero project file had become corrupted. Originally I’d figured that I could fix a few of the pacing issues by re-juggling the existing clips, but with the project file dead, it meant I’m going to have to rebuild the whole thing from scratch.

Something that hasn’t been helped by Nero deciding to become very unstable on my home PC, and crashing constantly.

As a result, I’m taking the advantage to look into getting a proper movie editing package. I’m on a budget, but I’m currently looking at Ulead Video Studio 11, and I’ve downloaded the trial to see if it’ll be worth getting.

The previews for this week are now up at Newsarama, including the latest installment in the Search for Ray Palmer series, based on Gotham By Gaslight.

I actually re-read the Gotham By Gaslight trade last night, and its a cracking read (although the first story is a lot better than second I felt. So it’ll be interesting to revisit that world with the Challengers.

Sadly, it looks like Jason Todd is narrating this one. Makes sense, since its a Batman-related world, but still, he’s just not that interesting at this point in the story. I do like the direction he’s currently taken in Countdown however, where they seem to be playing up his untrustworthy-ness a bit more, and perhaps trying to bring back some of what made the character great to read as the Red Hood.

Special mention to the art though. I hadn’t realised that it was being done by Greg Tocchini. While his art in the Ion series took a lot of flak, I really loved it, so I’m glad to see him back working on another DC project. While his style may not have the clean lines of Ivan Reis (for my money the best artist working on GL these days), there was something almost painting-like about his work, which I thought suited Kyle really well (especially the scenes in the artists retreat).

Check out his blog, with some of his other work and the original Ion pencils and sketches here.

So, last night I cracked and started playing through Knights of the Old Republic again.

It and its sequel are two fantastic games (although the second has its problems due to its rushed nature), and I never tire of playing them. I tend to play through each of them a couple of times a year, especially since Bioware seems to have moved away from making PC games.

It was a great idea, picking a time in Star Wars lore that wasn’t as well known, and being able to build up their own story with it. Especially since its now spawned the fantastic Knights of the Old Republic comic series which is acting as a prequel.

Sadly, it does now mean I’m going to end up sleep-deprived for the next few days.