This week On the Radar George Lucas seeks to capture the minds of even younger viewers, Image Comics takes a shot at Marvel, and one of the most famous music videos of all time may go 3D.  All that and whole bunch of other fun stuff!

Crispin Glover talks Back to the Future controversy

Personally, I didn’t realize Back to the Future was mired in any kind of controversy, but it is.  Speaking at a promotion for Hot Tub Time Machine, Crispin Glover, who played Marty McFly’s (Michael J. Fox) Dad spoke about the raw deal he was dealt after the first film came out:

“On the DVD to the Back to the Future trilogy, Bob Gale has said something that’s totally fabricated,” Glover told a group of reporters at this weekend’s press junket forHot Tub Time Machine. “He said I asked for twice the amount of money that Michael J. Fox asked for in the first film. In the negotiation for the second film, they offered me less than half of what any of the actors that were being asked to come back in the film—Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson and Tom Wilson. They had all done studio films, and they’d made a lot more money. I was being penalized.”

Interesting stuff.  Mind you, considering the somewhat lackluster opinions of the second and third film maybe Glover got off easy by not being in them.

Jamie Foxx to star in Kane & Lynch video game adaption?

There hasn’t been a lot of talk about the film adaption of video game Kane & Lynch other than it could star Bruce Willis as Kane.  Now, another big name is being tossed around to play opposite Willis, Jamie Foxx.  Developed by IO Interactive Nu Image/Millennium is set to finance with Lionsgate distributing.  While I’m confident in the actors involved, video games are not well known for the best of translations to the big screen.

George Lucas bringing Galactic Heroes to TV

Ask any “real” Star Wars fan and they will probably tell you that The Clone Wars cartoon is pretty childish.  Well, prepared to consider that more mature entertainment.  Looking to draw in even younger viewers to the Star Wars universe, George Lucas is working on a cartoon adaption of the Star Wars: Galactic Heroes toy line.  You know, those chunky figures with a whopping two points of articulation (usually the arms).  Worse yet, this problem means more screen time with the one Star Wars character that can relate best to 3 year olds-Jar Jar Binks.

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I’m probably not alone in this, but the moment I saw “New Leads” listed as tonight’s episode, I was half-expecting, half-hoping for a Scrantonian send-up of Glengarry Glen Ross. Who’d be Shelly? Stanley? Or Phyllis? Would Michael perform his own version of Alec Baldwin’s monologue? Heck, Baldwin’s on 30 Rock, at the very least he could make a guest appearance…

Well, for fans of David Mamet’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play, the only resemblance is that there are new leads in, they’re gold, and the sales staff can’t have them—and it’s probably for the best because parodies are like Betty White hosting SNL bacon-wrapped Peeps: in the end, never as funny as the idea.

Also good because it would’ve weighed an otherwise very good episode down.

The titular new leads are $50,000 worth of names Sabre has spent to be doled out to the sales staff as per the corporate office’s new “Sales is king” policy.  Naturally the power’s gone to the salesmen’s heads—Phyllis refuses to answer Angela’s e-mails; Andy (while on the phone, no less) flaunts his supposed dibs to everything in the office, including Darryl’s pencil; and Dwight believes he’s in the same company as Jesus (“If sales is king, and I’m the king of sales, that makes me the King of Kings).

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Fans who have been sulking over the cancellation of yet another series featuring Summer Glau (Angel, Firefly, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and Dollhouse) won’t be crying in their beer for much longer. The Hollywood Reporter has exclusively announced that Summer Glau will be joining NBC’s superhero drama The Cape in a leading role.

The Cape centers around a former cop (David Lyons) who is set up as a criminal and becomes a masked hero to clear his name.

Glau will play Orwell, an investigative blogger who isn’t afraid to aggressively go after corrupt cops and bad guys in costumes. So, yes, expect her to be kicking some serious ass on the show.

It’s a grab bag of items on the radar this week. Wolverine and Sabretooth have dinner together, Bruno himself could be the next Man in Black, and in honor of The Flickcast crew attending SXSW some Predators love (of which they may get a taste).

Predators get dark and scary…finally!

Robert Rodriquez’s Predator reboot, Predators, is starting to get some buzz.  While the first film of the series was a great sci-fi/action hybrid subsequent films have been less than stellar.  Predators star, Alice Braga talked a little about the new film and what we can expect:

“The new Predators are dark. They are really, really scary. So I think the fans are really going to be happy with it. I hope so. The director Nimród Antal, he’s a fan of the Predator films. So it’s like a fan directing this, [it was] like a kid on set, and having that energy was very special. I wish I could tell you more.”

Here’s hoping “dark” and “scary” means an R-rated film and not a watered down PG-13 movie.

Conan will square off against Avatar villain

As an update to our last ‘On The Radar’ article, it has now been confirmed that actor Stephen Lang will indeed play Conan’s villain, Khalar Singh.  Speaking with MTV, Lang stated:

“I have no idea how I’m going to do it,” Lang laughed. “First I’m going to find out how I’m going to sound. I’m going to get back on a Mongolian pony and ride like the wind. I’m going to flash my scimitar. I’m going to cut the nuts off Conan and his father.”

That last threat may seem really out there, but after seeing Lang’s bad ass side in Avatar I have no doubt he can make good on it.

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News came in last week that NBC’s latest addition to their Thursday night line-up, Community, will be returning for a second season, and we couldn’t be happier. We are all in agreement that Dan Harmon’s sitcom about a group of community college students and their weekly antics is one of the funniest shows on TV, and we’re happy to see it return.

With that said, this week’s episode, entitled “Basic Geneology”, looks to be yet another funny one, as former American Idol star Katharine McPhee stops by. From NBC:

It’s Family Day at Greendale Community College and the gang’s families come to campus to join in the fun. Meanwhile, Jeff (Joel McHale) agrees to help Pierce (Chevy Chase) connect with his stepdaughter Amber (guest star Katharine McPhee). Things take an interesting twist when Amber shows an interest in Jeff.

We’ve got two new hilarious clips from the episode, which you can check out after the jump. Be sure to catch the “Basic Geneology” episode of Community on NBC this Thursday at 8/7C.

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Things have been heating up on the comedy/action spy series Chuck this season. Chuck has taken on more missions as a full-blown spy, he got (and then lost) a new girlfriend, and everything seems to be coming together for our protagonist in his new life. In tonight’s episode, entitled “Chuck Vs. The Beard”, things get a bit more complicated. From NBC:

Chuck (Zachary Levi) feels like his life is falling apart when he can’t flash and gets left behind for a mission. While Shaw (guest star Brandon Routh), Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski) and Casey (Adam Baldwin) go on without him, Chuck finds himself in a sticky situation back at the base.

Fans of The Drew Carey Show and Batman: Brave and Bold will get Diedrich Bader in this week’s episode as well. We recently got our hands on three new clips from tonight’s episode, which you can check out after the jump.

Be sure to catch “Chuck Vs. The Beard” tonight on NBC at 8/7 C.

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For those of you who were anxiously awaiting news that your favorite Thursday night comedies were getting another season, the wait is over. Today, NBC announced it was giving another season to 30 Rock, The Office and one of our favorite new shows, the extremely funny Community.

This news comes on the heals of NBC’s recent announcement that Parks and Recreation was renewed for another season. Seeing as how we are huge fans of these shows, this news is great and we’re looking forward to more fun and laughs.

For more info, check out the official NBC press release following:

NBC Gives Pickups To Thursday-Night Comedies ‘30 Rock,’ ‘The Office’ And ‘Community’ For 2010-11

Renewals Follow Previously Announced Green-light for “Parks and Recreation” on Thursdays

NBC has renewed three more of its Thursday-night comedies – “30 Rock” (9:30-10 p.m. ET), “The Office” (9-9:30 p.m. ET) and the freshman series “Community” (8-8:30 p.m. ET) for the 2010-11 season. The returning programs join the previously announced “Parks and Recreation” (Thursdays, 8:30-9 p.m. ET) that also will return for next season.

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A classic staple of the sitcom, aside from the clip show (hmm, they covered that one a few weeks ago, right?) and the Big Wedding (that one, too) is the Baby Episode. Staples, yes, but also synonymous with jumping the shark.

Fortunately, The Office writers seem aware of this and made the wedding episode, Niagra, one the season’s strongest. On the other hand, the clip show, The Banker, was one of the weakest.

The Delivery, The Office’s Baby Episode falls somewhere in between. In this hour-long installment, Jim and Pam, on the verge of joy-bundling, are determined to hold off on getting to the hospital until the very last minute since their health insurance covers only two nights’ stay. As Pam begins contracting, Michael calls a conference to get her mind off the little fella inside her clawing to get out. Andy performs the evolution of dance (sans music, as it’d just throw him off), Erin recites Kentucky Derby winners, and Michael usefully suggests doing the opposite of 10 Things to Induce Labor.

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In today’s television marketplace the traditional paradigm of new shows in the Fall and then reruns all Summer has gone away. Now, we get new shows almost anytime during the year with the midseason being one of the most popular.

Case in point are our friends at NBC who have several new shows for the midseason and we’ve got preview videos of some of them for you today. Some of these shows include The Marriage Ref, Minute to Win It and Who Do You Think You Are?.

For The Marriage Ref we’ve got a preview where Madonna goes head-to-head with Larry David and the panel turns again host Tom Papa Plus, Kelly Ripa and Don Rickles hand out some marriage advice. Next up is Minute To Win It where we find out just how difficult the challenges can be and get a closer look at two of the challenges with a slow motion camera.

Finally, with Who Do You Think You Are?, watch celebrities such as Lisa Kudrow, Spike Lee, Emmitt Smith and Susan Sarandon experience very personal moments and get a preview of four of these stories as they discover their own pasts. Actually, of the three, this one looks to be the most interesting. But whatever your thoughts about these shows, be sure to check out all the previews after the break.

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Well, Pam has been pregnant for nearly 9 months in “TV time”, which means that it’s time for a classic pregnancy episode! The Office returns this Thursday after NBC’s 2 week hiatus for the Winter Olympics. What better way to come back than with a one-hour baby special? From NBC:

Pam’s (Jenna Fischer) contractions begin but she and Jim (John Krasinski) are determined to wait it out as long as possible so they can have more time at the hospital. Meanwhile the rest of the office tries to distract Pam from the pain with food and entertainment.

In the second half hour, Michael (Golden Globe winner Steve Carell) anxiously waits for Pam and Jim’s baby to be born. Back at the office, Erin (Ellie Kemper) makes Andy (Ed Helms) jealous when she has lunch with Kevin (Brian Baumgartner).

We’ve got four brand new scenes from this week’s special, including some great moments, such as Andy doing the “Evolution of Dance” dance…in complete silence. Check out the clips after the jump, and be sure to catch “The Delivery Pt 1 and 2″ this Thursday at 9/8C on NBC.

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