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One of the most aggravating aspects of becoming invested in a TV show is when networks cancel it too soon. There are many shows that haven’t made it past one season, as they struggle to establish a strong fanbase. For the most part, these cancelled series plummet into the TV wasteland of forgotten shows. But a few live on as cult series, or in the memory of fans still bitter over an early cancellation.

There are several reasons a network cancels a show, but the main one is ratings – especially in the days when the Neilsen ratings determined the fate of a series. Before cable and streaming, the “Big Three” networks of ABC, CBS and NBC fought for viewership, and wouldn’t hesitate to axe a show that didn’t perform well. Unfortunately, some shows like “The Tick” didn’t receive the support they deserved from network executives, either...

One of the most aggravating aspects of becoming invested in a TV show is when networks cancel it too soon. There are many shows that haven’t made it past one season, as they struggle to establish a strong fanbase. For the most part, these cancelled series plummet into the TV wasteland of forgotten shows. But a few live on as cult series, or in the memory of fans still bitter over an early cancellation.

There are several reasons a network cancels a show, but the main one is ratings – especially in the days when the Neilsen ratings determined the fate of a series. Before cable and streaming, the “Big Three” networks of ABC, CBS and NBC fought for viewership, and wouldn’t hesitate to axe a show that didn’t perform well. Unfortunately, some shows like “The Tick” didn’t receive the support they deserved from network executives, either...

Things often end up going out of control while filming or reading for intense scenes in a film and Val Kilmer’s The Doors is no stranger to this. The 1991 film was based on the short life of musician Jim Morrison and was titled after his rock band. The film focuses on many elements of the late singer’s life including his experience with hard drugs. The role of the vocalist was played by Val Kilmer and Meg Ryan played his girlfriend, Pamela Courson.

A still from Oliver Stone’s The Doors (1991) | Bill Graham Films

However, before Meg Ryan was cast in the role, another actress read for the part – Caitlin O’Heaney. Unfortunately, things took a wrong turn for the actress who stated that she was punched in the face by Val Kilmer during a reading as the actor took method acting to a whole new level.

Caitlin O’Heaney...

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Bo Brundin, the Swedish actor best known for his turn as a demoralized German World War I pilot opposite Robert Redford in the aerial adventure film The Great Waldo Pepper, has died. He was 85.

Brundin died Sunday in his hometown of Uppsala in Sweden, a spokesperson for Paar Productions told The Hollywood Reporter. The company worked with the actor on one of his last projects, the 2011 short film Starlight, in which he played God.

Brundin appeared in an early stage production of Ingmar Bergman’s The Seventh Seal — his role would be taken by Max Von Sydow in the classic 1957 feature — and he had a small role as a political prisoner in The Day the Clown Cried (1972), the infamous never-released film from Jerry Lewis.

Brundin, who played lots of Germans and Russians during his career, also appeared on the big screen in the...

After eight seasons, to credit “Archer” for being funny, clever, or visually stimulating is like calling the latest James Bond film sexy and action-packed — it’s redundant enough to be unnecessary. Of course those elements remain a part of the franchise that, season to season, has never once eased up on amplifying its core values.

Yet given the Fxx comedy’s new anthological format — last season told a standalone story in the L.A. noir “Dreamland,” and Season 9 takes place in the WWII-era tropical locale of “Danger Island” — how the series maintains its unique tat-a-tat dialogue and rambunctious action scenes needs to be acknowledged.

Season 8 was rooted in tragedy. On screen, Archer (voiced by H. Jon Benjamin) sought vengeance for the death of his partner, Woodhouse, formerly played by the late George Coe. Dedicating the season to his memory gave the beautifully realized episodes a darker tint and tone than the series had yet broached.

Former actress Caitlin O’Heaney has joined the chorus of women speaking out about their experiences being assaulted in the entertainment industry. The “Tales of the Gold Monkey” star spoke to BuzzFeed — breaking a decades-old settlement and nondisclosure agreement in order to do so — about an alleged assault at the hands of actor Val Kilmer during an early audition for the Oliver Stone docudrama film “The Doors.”

In 1989, O’Heaney was set to audition for the lead female role in the film about Jim Morrison and his sixties-era rock band, Morrison’s girlfriend Pamela Courson (the role later played by Meg Ryan in the film). Her audition pages included a scene in which Morrison and Pamela get into an argument, and while the scene involves the throwing of objects at each other, it does not include any hitting or slapping.

Read More:Mimi Haleyi, Former Production Assistant, Shares Graphic Harvey Weinstein...

I’ve listened to many podcasts during the long upstate winter and one of my favorites has been Karina Longworth’s You Must Remember This. It’s billed as a storytelling podcast exploring the secret and/or forgotten histories of Hollywood’s first century. I enjoy it because Longworth spins great yarns, with vivid insights, about Hollywood stars and their careers.

But I think there’s more to why it’s popular and why I enjoy it so much. I’m starting to realize that the inevitable ups and downs of yesteryear’s Hollywood Stars are analogous to the rollercoaster rides that categorize so many of today’s careers.

It’s astounding to hear about how a legendary star’s career might have floundered at one point, only to do a complete 360 as he or she gets cast in a successful blockbuster movie. Thundering successes and crushing failures become the...

I’ve listened to many podcasts during the long upstate winter and one of my favorites has been Karina Longworth’s You Must Remember This. It’s billed as a storytelling podcast exploring the secret and/or forgotten histories of Hollywood’s first century. I enjoy it because Longworth spins great yarns, with vivid insights, about Hollywood stars and their careers.

But I think there’s more to why it’s popular and why I enjoy it so much. I’m starting to realize that the inevitable ups and downs of yesteryear’s Hollywood Stars are analogous to the rollercoaster rides that categorize so many of today’s careers.

It’s astounding to hear about how a legendary star’s career might have floundered at one point, only to do a complete 360 as he or she gets cast in a successful blockbuster movie. Thundering successes and crushing failures become the...

An Oklahoma woman has come forward with accusations that actor Stephen Collins exposed his naked body to her when she was 13. April Price told the Daily Mail Online that Collins exposed himself to her while she was staying at her aunt's Los Angeles apartment during the summer of 1983. Her aunt, who worked in the industry, lived "kitty corner to Mr. Collins," who was then 35 years old. "I got extremely excited because he was the star of the show Tales of the Gold Monkey. That was a show I didn't miss," Price told the website. Price, who is now 44 and married with children,...

When actress Faye Grant met Stephen Collins on the set of his short-lived action series Tales of the Gold Monkey in 1982, she immediately fell for the dashing star. "I thought, either he's gay or a complete jerk, because he can't be as fabulous as he looks and be available!" Grant told People in 1999. The feeling was mutual - Collins, who was previously married to writer Marjorie Weinman before the pair divorced in 1978 - was smitten with Grant, best known for starring in the alien invasion TV miniseries V. Two-Year CourtshipAfter a romantic two-year courtship, the pair wed in 1985 in New York City.

He played a reverend and devoted dad for 10 years on TV's 7th Heaven and in real life served as a eucharistic minister in his free time, but now Stephen Collins stands accused of having had "inappropriate sexual contact" with underaged girls. On Tuesday, TMZ posted audio that Collins's ex-wife, Faye Grant, 57, secretly recorded during a therapy session. On the tape posted by TMZ, Collins, 67, allegedly admits he molested three minors. In a statement, Grant says she had nothing to do with its release. "I woke up today to learn that an extremely private recording I handed over to the authorities...

Dreamy Darren looks at something at Trevor Live

Birthday shoutouts go to Margaret Cho, who is 44, Frankie Muniz is 27, and Nick Stahl is 33. Man Shoots Girlfriend Over Walking Dead Argument. Surprisingly, it had nothing to do with Lori In ratings news, The New Normal was steady with its last airing, but Happy Endings was up a healthy 18%, and Don’t Trust The B— was up an even healthier 33%.George Takei, Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes will be among the guest judges on the TBS reality competition King Of The Nerds., which debuts Thursday, Jan. 17th.Spin has named Frank Ocean's Channel Orange the Album Of The Year.Barbra Streisand wants to cast Lady Gaga in her remake of Gypsy.Below you can see a production teaser for the upcoming season of Game Of Thrones.

Anderson Cooper gives an update on his eyes. Here's a hint - they're still gorgeous.

Fabulous Films, the purveyor of all things retro, have recently released the classic 80s series Beauty and the Beast on DVD. Despite the series, which stars Linda Hamilton and Ron Perlman, only lasting three seasons the fan-base has remained strong and loyal, with recent TV screenings bringing in good ratings for Five and CBS… Well now Fabulous Films have unleashed the first two seasons on DVD in two boxsets and, being the fan that I am, of course I wanted to check them out!

Beauty And The Beast: The First Season

This first season DVD collection of the Emmy Award-winning fantasy-crime drama series includes all 22 first season episodes, which follow the beginnings of the budding romance between Vincent (Perlman), the noble man-beast, and Catherine (Hamilton), a savvy Ada in New York. From the moment the two cross paths after Catherine is attacked and left for dead by thugs, they...

Chappelle's Show: The Series Collection

DVD, Best Medicine

As comedian Dave Chappelle has stated many times when talking about the perception that he ran away from the reported $55m he would have made from continuing his TV show, "I didn't run, I walked … like John Wayne, I walked." You can tell something was off in the three "lost episodes" from his final season: a sketch about being charged $11,000 for a haircut isn't going to get many going, "Ooh, that's so true, I hate it when that happens." The more money at stake, the less freedom Chappelle was given and his methods were hardly conventional to start with. For instance, he noticed Charlie Murphy, brother of Eddie and member of Chappelle's writing staff, was cracking everyone up with his amazing, star-studded tales. So Chappelle decided to have him tell his tales on the show, resulting in some classic sketches like...

Next month, the geek world will converge on San Diego, California, it it’s yearly celebration of the popular arts, in the form of Comic Con International. This will be my 18th year attending the festival, although my first as a member of the “press.” I use that term lightly as I consider us here at the Criterion Cast, more like passionate amateurs (a term recently popularized by Michael Chabon), than actual film journalists. We certainly take everything we do here seriously, as evidenced by our commitment over the past year to producing multiple weekly podcasts, attending film screenings, and over the past six months, we’ve covered various film festivals (Sundance, SXSW, and Tribeca) to bring our unique cineaste perspectives towards the upcoming crop of films and filmmakers.

While the finalized, official Comic Con Panel Schedule has not been released at this point, Shout! Factory, one of our favorite DVD/Blu-ray distributors,...

The company that has given us countless goodies this year including a bevy of Roger Corman titles along with the resurrection of Gamera, Shout! Factory, is not only one of the first out of the gate with its San Diego Comic-Con news, but Shout! is ready to tackle the show with a vengeance!

From the Press Release

Shout! Factory returns to Comic-Con International San Diego 2010 with a stellar lineup featuring upcoming and current home entertainment juggernauts that will be showcased in a special panel discussion, media appearances, special signings, interactive fan activities and Comic-Con exclusives at the Shout! Factory booth (#3749, main show floor) throughout the convention. Fan favorite filmmakers, creators and select stars from Shout! Factory’s branded properties scheduled to attend include: Roger Corman, Julie Corman, Joe Dante (Piranha, Trailers from Hell, Gremlins), Allan Holzman (Galaxy of Terror, Forbidden World), Sid Haig (Galaxy of Terror, The Devil’s Rejects), Mary Woronov (Death Race 2000,...

The weekend’s here. You’ve just been paid, and it’s burning a hole in your pocket. What’s a pop culture geek to do? In hopes of steering you in the right direction to blow some of that hard-earned cash, it’s time for the Fred Weekend Shopping Guide - your spotlight on the things you didn’t even know you wanted…

(Please support Fred by using the links below to make any impulse purchases - it helps to keep us going…)

You wouldn’t think a comedy like Caddyshack (Warner Bros., Rated R, Blu-Ray-$24.98 Srp) would benefit so much from high definition, but the new Blu-Ray benefits from a crystal clear picture that looks better than it ever has previously. To add even more incentive, there’s a new feature-length 30th anniversary documentary featuring most of the principals (sans Bill Murray and Chevy Chase) reminiscing, as well...

The 1982-83 ABC adventure series Tales Of The Gold Monkey owed its existence to the success of Raiders Of The Lost Ark the year before, though creator Donald Bellisario always said he had a different model in mind: the films of Howard Hawks, specifically Only Angels Have Wings and To Have And Have Not. Set on the fictional South Sea island of Boragora in 1938 and starring Stephen Collins as rakish cargo pilot Jake Cutter, Tales Of The Gold Monkey was less about wild jungle adventures than about hanging around in beachside bars with hard-bitten men and women of varying ...

It’s time for some DVD love so let’s stop talking about nothing and talk about a show that’s about nothing:

Grab ‘Em Right Away

Curb Your Entusiasm: The Seventh Season

Created by: Larry David

Starring: Larry David, Cheryl Hines, Jeff Garlin, Jerry Seinfeld, Jason Alexander, Julia Louis Dreyfus & Michael Richards

Why should you buy this? Because it’s the funniest season of this show since they did The Producers season with Mel Brooks. This is a show that’s always been hit-or-miss for me. But when it’s funny it’s side-splittingly hilarious. With Larry David dealing with bringing NBC a Seinfeld reunion episode (a show he and Jerry Seinfeld created together in real life) it’s insane how referential they can get when they want to be. They even reference Michael Richards’ heckling incident that occurred a couple years ago. If you like this show or...

There are only a handful of new releases out on DVD this week, but fortunately these include one of the best movies of the year so far, Martin Scorsese's Shutter Island. Also hitting stores today is Pierre Morel's From Paris With Love starring John Travolta and Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Shinjuku Incident starring Jackie Chan, and the low budget Judd Apatow spoof, The 41-Year-Old Virgin Who Knocked Up Sarah Marshall and Felt Superbad About It. Despite the lack of new movies, there are quite a few TV releases including Curb Your Enthusiasm: Season 7 (featuring the Seinfeld re-union), the first season of Family Matters (featuring the inimitable Steve Urkel), and The A-Team: The Complete Series, which comes in a killer van-shaped package. Do you plan on buying or renting anything this week? Shutter Island [1] (+ Blu-ray [2]) From Paris With Love [3] (+ Blu-ray [4]) Shinjuku Incident [5] Power Kids [6] (+ Blu-ray [7]) The 41-Year-Old Virgin Who...

Tales of the Gold Monkey was a fun 80s series from the prolific mind of Donald Bellisario, the man who brought you NCIS, Quantum Leap, Magnum P.I., Jag and more Now it has been announced that Fabulous Films and Shout! Factory will be releasing a DVD set of the complete series June 8, 2010. Included in the DVD are the 2 hour pilot movie and the 20 subsequent hour long episodes -- uncut. Extras include: a brand new 36 minute "Making Of" documentary featuring Stephen Collins, Caitlin O'Heaney, writer/producer Tom Greene and director Harvey Laidman, episode commentary by Tom Greene (5 episodes); series synopsis; stills gallery; Caitlin's original costume gallery; artefacts gallery and a 24 page Collectors Booklet.

Fabulous Films have announced the long-awaited DVD release of Street Hawk, the classic 80s television show about one man and his motorcycle, on March 22nd 2010.

Broadcast by ABC in the mid 80’s, this series quickly became a massive hit. Jesse Mach, an ex-motorcycle cop injured in the line of duty and now a police trouble shooter, has been recruited for a top secret government mission: to ride Street Hawk, an all-terrain attack motorcycle designed to fight urban crime, capable of incredible speeds of up to 300 mph and immense firepower. Only one man, Norman Tuttle, knows Jesse Mach’s true identity. The Man, The Machine: Street Hawk.

The series stars Rex Smith, Richard Venture, Joe Regalbuto, Jeannie Wilson; with a musical theme composed by Tangerine Dream and produced by Christopher Franke. Series guest stars included: George Clooney, Christopher Lloyd, Dennis Franz, Tom Everett and more!

The series will be released as a 4-disc set,...

If you’re a fan of somewhat obscure cult classic TV series like we are around here, then this post is for you. From the producer of such series as Quantum Leap, Magnum, Pi, Airwolf and NCIS came a show about an intrepid adventuring pilot who searches for lost and exotic treasures much like Indiana Jones. It starred Stephen Collins of Star Trek and 7th Heaven, Caitlin O’Heaney, Jeff MacKay and Roddy McDowall and ran for one season in the early 80’s.

And now, thanks to the folks at Shout! Factory and Fabulous Films, the entire action-packed 20 episodes are coming to DVD. Want to know more? Of course you do. Check out all the info from the official press release.

Tales Of The Gold Monkey

Available On DVD For The First Time In North America June 8, 2010 From Fabulous Films

Distributed by Shout! Factory featuring 22 hours of adventures, extensive bonus...

Aviation! Romance! Adventure! Leather jackets! Alcoholism as an adorable character flaw! Fun for all! It lasted only one season on ABC in 1982-3, but Tales of the Gold Monkey has stuck in my brain as one of the predominant inspirations of the television of my childhood. Because it was a cash-in of the box office megahit of the previous year, Raiders of the Lost Ark, which looms even larger among my formative influences. And now the complete series will finally be released on Region 1 DVD by Shout! Factory on June 8. (Some used joint Region 2/Region 4 copies are available from third-party sellers on Amazon U.K. It was apparently released in this format last November, but it’s odd that no new copies are available.)...

This week on The Flickcast, Matt is back home from his trip to sunny La and he and Chris are back in action with a whole bunch of new topics. Some of what gets discussed in this episode includes Mark Strong as Sinestro in Green Lantern, Conan in 3D, Wal-Mart buying Vudu, Betty White on SNL, Call of Duty and its many incarnations, Ian McShane as Blackbeard, the sale of Action Comics #1 and a whole lot more.

They both also made some good picks again this week incuding Matt’s pick of the short film The Legacy and Chris’ pick of the classic 80’s TV series Tales of the Gold Monkey, featuring Stephen Collins and Roddy McDowall.

As always, if you have comments, questions, critiques, offers of sponsorship or whatever, feel free to hit us up in the comments, on Twitter, at Facebook and MySpace or via email.