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http://thefutoncritic.com/news/2012/05/16/adult-swim-announces-largest-programming-schedule-ever-for-2012-13-363412/20120516adultswim01/#mWqLfrx27AI0EyI2.99

Adult Swim Announces Largest Programming Schedule Ever for 2012-13

Basic Cable's #1 Network In Total Day With Adults 18-34 and 18-49 Offers Up 9 New Series/Specials, 8 Pilots and 10 Returning Series

Childrens Hospital Spin-off Newsreaders and Animated Harold & Kumar Make The List Fan Favorite Toonami Returns to Saturday Nights

Adult Swim, basic cable's #1 network with young adults for seven consecutive years, sets out to "control" the night by announcing a slate of new and returning programming at its annual Upfront presentation in New York City. Hours before their annual event featuring a scheduled performance by Grammy Award-winning rap artist T.I., the network announced the largest programming commitment in Adult Swim's history, which includes new and returning series, pilots and specials.

After having its most-watched broadcast season-to-date in its history with adults 18-34, Adult Swim has ordered second seasons of new hit shows China, IL and Loiter Squad. The top-rated series Childrens Hospital returns with a spin-off in tow and an animated pilot based on the Harold & Kumar films is in development. Additionally, in response to overwhelming fan enthusiasm and devotion, the beloved anime programming block Toonami will make its return Saturday, May 26.

New original series and specials:

· NEWSREADERS - Newsreaders is a satire of the network television newsmagazine genre, from the creative team behind Adult Swim's highly successful comedy Childrens Hospital. Based upon the "Newsreaders" episodes of Childrens Hospital which aired during seasons two and three, Newsreaders will explore the vital issues that actually don't affect us every day, from hard-hitting investigations to harder-hitting heartwarming profiles. Created by Childrens Hospital executive producers Rob Corddry (Hot Tub Time Machine, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and the upcoming films Seeking a Friend for the End of the World and Butter), Jonathan Stern (The Ten; NTSF:SD:SUV::) and David Wain (Wanderlust, Wet Hot American Summer, Superjail!, upcoming films They Came Together and Dr. Dan), with Jim Margolis (The Daily Show with Jon Stewart) serving as showrunner, Newsreaders will deliver unparalleled award-eligible reporting every week. The series is produced by Abominable Pictures and Warner Bros. Television Group's Studio 2.0.

· THE ERIC ANDRE SHOW - The series premieres on Sunday, May 20, at 12:30 a.m. (ET/PT) The Eric Andre Show may be the most manic and unorthodox late night talk show ever made. The show's traditional talk show format quickly devolves into chaos as its inept and bipolar host Eric Andre, along with his apathetic co-host Hannibal Buress (30 Rock, SNL), subvert all late night conventions. Taking place on a dingy public-access TV channel within an alternate reality, The Eric Andre Show creates its own distorted pop culture universe by conducting interviews with an unpredictable mix of actual celebrities, "fake" celebrities and extreme real-life weirdos. These interviews are broken up with deranged man-on-the-street segments, surreal flashes of inexplicable studio chaos, talk show desk-pieces and the general deconstruction of late night's most beloved tropes in every quarter-hour episode. The Eric Andre Show is produced by Abso Lutely and executive produced by Eric Andre, Andrew Barchilon, Kitao Sakurai, Daniel Weidenfeld (China, IL), and Dave Kneebone (Tim & Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!).

· BLACK DYNAMITE - Premiering in July and based on 2009's critically-acclaimed feature film, Black Dynamite, the animated series, further chronicles the exploits of the central character, Black Dynamite, and his crew. Under the direction of head writer Carl Jones (The Boondocks), the series features the voice talent of Michael Jai White (For Better or Worse, The Dark Knight, Why Did I Get Married?), Tommy Davidson (In Living Color, Bamboozled), Kym Whitley (The Cleveland Show, Brian McKnight Show) and Byron Minns (Mongo Wrestling Alliance), all of whom starred in the feature film. Black Dynamite, the animated series, is being produced by Ars Nova. Jon Steingart, Carl Jones, and Jillian Apfelbaum are executive producers. Brian Ash is co-executive producer. Scott Sanders, Michael Jai White and Byron Minns are producers. Monica Jones is associate producer. Lesean Thomas is creative producer/supervising director. Original music by Adrian Younge. Black Dynamite is being animated by Titmouse, Inc.

· TOONAMI - Beginning Saturday, May 26, Adult Swim brings back Toonami, the network's popular block of anime programming. Airing weekly from midnight to 6 a.m. (ET/PT), in addition to the return of previous series featured in Toonami, Adult Swim is also developing new original anime programming for fans.

· HOT PACKAGE - Premiering this fall on Adult Swim, Hot Package is a live-action fictional Canadian entertainment news program in vein of "Entertainment Tonight," "EXTRA," or "E! News." Hot Package is created by and stars Derrick Beckles (TV Carnage), produced by Abominable Pictures, with Jon Stern and Derrick Beckles as executive producers.

· UNTITLED HELL PROJECT - This new live-action series from Adult Swim is a workplace comedy about Gary, an associate demon, as he competes on the corporate ladder of the underworld. A Williams Street production, the show is created and directed by Dave Willis (Squidbillies, Aqua Teen Hunger Force) and Casper Kelly (Aqua Unit Patrol Squad 1, Squidbillies, Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law).

· ROBOT CHICKEN DC COMICS SPECIAL - Coming this fall, the Robot Chicken DC Comics Special brings you the awesomeness of the DC Comics universe of characters as only Robot Chicken can, with amazing guest stars and the stop-motion sketch comedy you've come to love after five seasons of the popular Adult Swim series. The special features many Robot Chicken favorites including the Robot Chicken Nerd, the Humping Robot, Composite Santa, and the Mad Scientist who will be joined by characters of the DC Comics universe to poke fun at those with the most impressive powers and the lesser ones who can't really be called superheroes. The all-star cast includes Seth Green as Batman, Robin and the put-upon Aquaman, Paul Reubens as The Riddler, Neil Patrick Harris as Two-Face, Alfred Molina as Lex Luthor, Nathan Fillion as the Green Lantern, Megan Fox as Lois Lane, Breckin Meyer as Superman, plus Abe Benrubi, Alex Borstein, Clare Grant, Tara Strong, Matt Senreich, Tom Root, Zeb Wells, and Kevin Shinick as the narrator. The Robot Chicken DC Comics Special is executive produced by Stoopid Monkey's Seth Green and Matthew Senreich and their Stoopid Buddy Stoodios partners, Buddy Systems' John Harvatine IV and Eric Towner along with DC Entertainment Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns, and Warner Bros. Animation's Executive Vice President and Creative Affairs, Sam Register.

· VENTURE BROTHERS HALLOWEEN SPECIAL - This October on Adult Swim, the Venture Family fills your Halloween goody bag with fun-sized Truth. Created and directed by Jackson Publick and written by Publick and Doc Hammer, both of whom also provide voices for the special, the Venture Brothers Halloween Special is being animated by Titmouse, Inc.

· BEFOREL OREL - A Moral Orel special that sheds light on the origin of Orel's religious nature and the birth of his brother, Shapey. Beforel Orel is created by Dino Stamatopoulos (Mary Shelley's Frankenhole and Mr. Show).

Pilots:

· Untitled Animated Harold & Kumar Project (In Development) - An animated version of the eponymous blockbuster stoner comedy series. Produced by Lionsgate.

· Rick & Morty - A genius inventor grandfather and his less than genius grandson, and the journeys in life they share. From Dan Harmon (Community, Channel 101) and Justin Roiland. (30-minute animated)

· Colonel Wallace (Working Title) - An eccentric southern fried chicken magnate and his adventures with his family. Created by Greg Cohen (Conan O'Brien, King of the Hill, TV Funhouse). (15-minute animated)

· Coffin Dodgers - A group of misfit grumps get into fraternity-style trouble at a cozy suburban retirement home. From Dave Silverstein and Matt Jeser (Drawn Together). (30-minute animated)

· Green Bench: The American Day Dream - A group of friends have pooled their money to buy a large office space for their business. The only problem is they haven't quite figured out what that business is. In the meantime, it's an awesome headquarters where their petty, self-centered, and mischievous minds can wander. From the internet sketch comedy sensation Green Bench and produced by Dakota Pictures. (30-minute live-action)

· Freestyle Love Supreme - These I.T. guys work on their freestyle rapping at the office, much to the annoyance of their co-workers. Starring Lin-Manuel Miranda (In The Heights). From Ars Nova (Black Dynamite). (30-minute live-action)

· King Star King - King Star King is a modern day he-man who's half-warrior, half-idiot. From artist JJ Villard (Monsters Vs. Aliens) and Eric Kaplan (Big Bang Theory). (15-minute animated)

· Rolling With Dad - A brilliant, but disabled man deals with his much less intelligent family. From Seth Grahame-Smith (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies; Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter; Tim Burton's Dark Shadows; The Hard Times of RJ Berger) and David Katzenberg (The Hard Times of RJ Berger). (30-minute animated)

Ridiculous and Absurd Infomercials (That Sell You Nothing):

· NTSF:SD:SUV::Home Security System - The state of the art home security system has arrived. Protect your home from every type of terrorist invasion. Through the installation of electrified moats, attack leopards, gun turrets, and even a mini detention center, NTSF:SD:SUV::HSS is the only type of security to make sure that your mailman is who he says he is and your next store neighbor is as friendly as they seem. Never have a surprise guest again. Be prepared for the worst with the best security money can buy. Produced by Abominable Pictures.

· You're Whole - Michael Ian Black introduces viewers to the best, most economical system for taking your life to the next level now available on 27 DVDs. Produced by Abominable Pictures.

· Swords, Knives, Very Sharp Objects and Cutlery (Working Title) - A typical knife/sword infomercial and call-in show goes horribly wrong for host Dragon Shumway when the studio is suddenly attacked by bad guys and our host finally gets to realize the full potential of his weaponry by unleashing each one on his enemies. Created by and starring Rob Huebel and produced by Abominable Pictures.

Returning series:

· AQUA SOMETHING YOU KNOW WHATEVER - What happens when three wisecracking roommates go from chasing tail to the diaper pail? You'll find out, when Frylock, Meatwad, and Master Shake try their hands - and hearts - at raising a baby. But smelly diapers aren't the only thing changing this season - Aqua Unit Patrol Squad 1 has been put to bed for a long nap and replaced by Aqua Something You Know Whatever, the show where Meatwad and the gang can get down to some serious parenting. This season, the Aqua Somethings find an ancient treasure map and follow it all the way to Argentina, where they're shocked to discover an orphaned baby on the 'x' that marks the spot. Outraged, Master Shake begins to throw the child off a steep embankment but one look into the baby's eyes, and the only thing getting thrown off a steep embankment is Shake's heart. Introducing Pepe the Pepper, the newest member of the Aqua Something You Know Whatever family - and boy is he a handful! Find out what happens when three not-so-eligible bachelors catch a case of baby fever, and the only cure is snuggle time. The only nipples these guys will be touching are gonna have a bottle on the other end. Aqua Something You Know Whatever premieres in June on Adult Swim. Aqua Something You Know Whatever is created by Dave Willis (Squidbillies) and Matt Maiellaro (12 oz. Mouse).

· THE BOONDOCKS - Since the debut of the first season in 2005, The Boondocks has been one of Adult Swim's most popular and critically acclaimed series. The Peabody Award-winning animated series is based on Aaron McGruder's comic strip by the same name. Produced by Rebel Base in association with Sony Pictures Television, The Boondocks returns with a new season on Adult Swim.

· CHILDRENS HOSPITAL - This August, Childrens Hospital returns for its fourth season and continues to live up to its reputation as the greatest hospital drama in the history of recorded media. Applauded for its tight stories and medical accuracy, this season reaches new heights: an airborne virus threatens to destroy the hospital and perhaps society, a search for the mysterious PA announcer Sal Viscuso reveals an undercurrent of evil powering the hospital, the origins of Chief's handicaps are revealed, a beloved regular character dies a couple of times, and Sy gets a dog! Also, from across the pond, we bring you the British version of Childrens Hospital (subtitled). Finally, 30% more story and character development! For free! The show's creative team is led by Rob Corddry (Hot Tub Time Machine, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart) and fellow executive producers/writers Jonathan Stern (The Ten; NTSF:SD:SUV::) and David Wain (Wet Hot American Summer, Wanderlust, Superjail!). Childrens Hospital is produced by Abominable Pictures and Warner Bros. Television Group's Studio 2.0, and distributed by Warner Bros. Television.

· CHINA, IL - Renewed for a second season, China, IL is about the worst school in America, where the teachers are crazy and the students just want to learn. In this second season of new half-hour episodes, we'll continue to follow the Professor Brothers, Frank & Steve Smith, as well as their TA Pony Merks & their man-child friend Babycakes, along with a host of other teachers, students and townies. Some examples of stories we'll see this season are Baby Cakes's Joe McCarthy-esque witch hunt for actual wizards and witches, Frank & Ronald Reagan's quest for Thomas Jefferson's legendary Crystal Castle, and a god who descends down on China, IL, turning it into a surfer town. China, IL was created by Brad Neely and is executive produced by Neely and Daniel Weidenfeld.

· THE HEART, SHE HOLLER - Renewed for a second season, The Heart, She Holler is a live-action soap opera about folk who ain't never used soap or seen an opera. It's a satire on the emotional Hee-Hawification of America, set in a town so inbred, the folks have become almost supernaturally wrong. The series is produced by PFFR, and stars Patton Oswalt, Kristen Schaal and Heather Lawless.

· LOITER SQUAD - Renewed for a second season after a top-rated premiere this March, Loiter Squad will continue to wreck havoc on Adult Swim. Loiter Squad is a 15 minute live-action show that features sketches, man on the street segments, pranks and music from Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All. The cast, featuring the Los Angeles collective of rappers, artists, and skateboarders, channel their multi-faceted creative talents in this off-the-wall showcase. Loiter Squad is produced by Dickhouse Entertainment - the Hollywood production partnership of Johnny Knoxville, Jeff Tremaine and Spike Jonze who have been the creative power behind hits including Jackass, Nitro Circus, Rob & Big, Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory, Wild Wonderful Whites of West Virginia, The Birth of Big Air and Wildboyz. Jeff Tremaine, Shanna Zablow, Dimitry Elyashkevich, and Lance Bangs from Dickhouse Entertainment are executive producers.

· NTSF:SD:SUV:: - This August on Adult Swim, terrorism is back and better than ever. Join Special Agent Trent Hauser and his elite counter-terrorist unit, NTSF:SD:SUV:: (National Terrorist Strike Force: San Diego: Sport Utility Vehicle) for a second season of passionate yelling, pregnant pauses, and even more civilian casualties than last season! There will be Time Traveling, Robot Murders, Food Stealing Swedes, Talking Dogs, a Killer Santa Claus and a wedding. Terrorists - you've been warned - again! NTSF:SD:SUV:: is created by Paul Scheer and stars Scheer, Rebecca Romijn, Rob Riggle, Kate Mulgrew, Brandon Johnson, June Diane Raphael, Martin Starr and Peter Sarafinowicz as the first sentient robot on television. NTSF:SD:SUV:: is produced by Abominable Pictures, Inc. Paul Scheer (The League, Human Giant), Jonathan Stern (The Ten; Childrens Hospital) and Curtis Gwinn (Fat Guy Stuck in Internet) are executive producers.

· ROBOT CHICKEN - Premiering its sixth season this fall on Adult Swim, Robot Chicken uses stop-motion animation to bring pop-culture parodies to life in a modern take on the variety/sketch show format. The Emmy Award(R)-winning series began airing in February 2005 and remains among the top-rated original series on Adult Swim. Robot Chicken is created and executive produced by Stoopid Monkey Productions' Seth Green and Matthew Senreich and their Stoopid Buddy Stoodios partners, Buddy Systems' John Harvatine IV and Eric Towner, also serve as executive producers. Green and Senreich also write, voice and with Zeb Wells, direct the multiple Annie Award-winning series. Robot Chicken head writers/co-executive producers Douglas Goldstein and Tom Root are joined by season six writers Matthew Beans, Rachel Bloom, Mike Fasolo, Jessica Gao, Breckin Meyer, Jason Reich, Mehar Sethi, Tom Sheppard, Erik Weiner and Wells. For season six, Robot Chicken welcomes Elizabeth Banks, Sarah Chalke, Kat Dennings, Sam Elliott, Ben Foster, Whoopi Goldberg, Lucas Grabeel, Megan Hilty, Gillian Jacobs, Zachary Levi, J.B. Smoove, Liev Schreiber, Jon Stewart, Patrick Stewart, Stanly Tucci, Olivia Wilde, and Alex Winter.

· SQUIDBILLIES - Premiering its sixth season this July, Adult Swim welcomes you back to the North Georgia Mountains, birthplace of hell raising and inhalant huffing. At the epicenter of this rural paradise is Dougal County, home to crippling gambling addictions, murderous corporations, sexual deviants, and the authentic southern mountain squid. Early Cuyler continues his reign as America's favorite cephalopod in season six of Squidbillies, filled with love, murder, sobriety, and the secrets of the Catfish Kingdom. This time around Rusty tackles fatherhood, Early defends his reputation as the town's biggest badass, Granny helps the Sheriff solve a series of butt thefts, Lil embraces the boring life of sobriety, and the Sheriff finds love east of the Iron Curtain. Come watch the Cuylers chase the southern dream of a rewarding job in the food service industry, all while using violence and alcohol to tackle life's toughest problems. It's good clean family fun, if your family is in the 18-35 demographic! Squidbillies is written and produced by Dave Willis (Aqua Teen Hunger Force) and Jim Fortier (Space Ghost Coast to Coast, The Brak Show).

· SUPERJAIL! - This fall on Adult Swim, Superjail! slams back in general population for a third season of destruction. Triple the insanity. Triple the crazy. Triple the pain of being kicked in the guts really hard. Superjail! is produced at Titmouse Studios in N.Y. Series creators and executive producers Christy Karacas (Cartoon Sushi, Robotomy) and Stephen Warbrick (Beavis and Butthead, Celebrity Deathmatch) have teamed up again to take this over-the-top animated series to the next level.

Returning acquisitions:

· AMERICAN DAD

· BLEACH

· CLEVELAND SHOW

· FAMILY GUY

· FULL METAL ALCHEMIST: BROTHERHOOD

· KING OF THE HILL

Pretty good sounding lineup - of the new stuff, Newsreaders is sure to be good, the return of Toonami is always welcome, more Venture Bros and best of all, Moral Orel.

All the pilots are sure to be exciting, but I'm most interested in Coffin Dodgers, simply because it's the Drawn Together guys and I loved that show.

Of the returning shows, ATHF and Boondocks are obviously going to be great and The Heart She Holler will be worth another go.

THOUGHTS?

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Odd now to think that he was a big (no pun intended) comedy star a couple of decades back. Have a nasty feeling he's best known now for Harry bloody Potter.

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Does anyone know anything about this? It's a new comedy magazine in Brighton. I'm not plugging them - I'm just keen to know more...

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I'm in love with Simon Amstell.  Of course it was Grandma's House which did it, really, but I did so enjoy his first stand up DVD, Do Nothing, even though I half wondered if it was quite good enough or funny enough.  And so many elements of Do Nothing were familiar from being used in Grandma's House, too, which made me wonder if he was drawing from a conservative pool of ideas and once he'd milked his life several times over there'd be nothing left.

Saw Numb this evening in Nottingham; a bit of a last minute decision, but I managed to snap up one of the last few seats left, squashed between a couple of comedy geeks and a group of teenage boys talking about their GCSE's[1].  And I think it may be one of the best stand up shows I've seen, certainly live, anyway.

Building on his self-analytical, 'on stage therapy' style, yet it seemed so much wittier and funnier and just generally stronger than Do Nothing.  Do Nothing almost seemed a bit unsure, a bit experimental, and felt like it might fall apart at every moment, whereas Numb seemed so assured and well honed and confident.  Maybe it was the effect of seeing it live, but I think he's just developing well. 

What is so distinctive about Amstell is the way he is so open and honest about talking about his insecurities, his social angst, as well as examining his many foibles and pretentious beliefs, wringing humour from his own hypocrisy, simultaneously playing up yet undermining himself at every turn.  Half of you wants to slap him for being a pretentious twat, yet the other half wants to mother him and his gawky frame and beautiful yet hideous velociraptor face.

It was wonderful to see him play the room, bantering wonderfully with people in the front row, responding to audience shout outs, phones ringing, and innappropriate applause with great wit.  It was also interesting to see him perform what could be word for word a Stewart Lee routine, telling off the audience for not enjoying a joke as much as audiences in London, retelling the joke in great detail whilst explaining it patronisingly.  (Presumably this whole section is done the same in every performance.)  I don't know how long the tour has been going on for now, but he was obviously trying out new bits as he once commented that one bit had "seemed hilarious when I thought of it half an hour ago", and he even insinuated that a lengthier section where he talks about wanting to have sex with Justin Bieber "...until I make him cry.  Though obviously that's just a fantasy, in reality if I had sex with him and he started crying, that would be awful." was a first time airing in front of an audience.

With Do Nothing he was trying to do something which was self-conscientiously arty yet also a funny stand-up set in its own right, but I think Numb has the balance better set, being full of genuinely hilarious lines as well as having an air of philosophy which never quite falls into a Kitson level of mawkishness and instead rides the humour of its own pretentiousness to reveal a sweet underlying sincerity.

I can't wait for a DVD of this to come out so I can enjoy it again.  The only other thing to mention was the support act, Norwegian Dan Simonsen, who I found poor to middling (the highlight being him doing an impression of a cat laughing), but who was rather handsome so no-one really minded.

1.	I love that a gang teenage boys are happy to go see a gawky gay stand-up, that really delights me.

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I've produced a short mockumentary, with Chris Morris as one of my heroes, I thought you guys would enjoy:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFFLn3LQvZU

Feel free to tell me what you think! :)

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Anyone else seen much about this? Going in a very different direction using cameras and big screens. Am seeing a work in progress in a few weeks and quite excited for it - if anyone can come up with a different approach to death-by-powerpoint that's taken over Edinburgh shows in the past few years it's him. A bunch of previews seem to be on sale at Leicester Square Theatre: "Experimenting with a tiny camera and big screen, Simon Munnery presents a new show. Stand-up, monologues, sketches and fylms."

Plus he's doing La Concepta again in an extended version it seems.

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In HMV the other day, I was in the comedy DVD section. I saw some "collection" sets that grouped up quite old stand-up performances from years back, from people whoaren't exactly massive any more. I wondered "are David Baddiel's stand-up shows still in print?" and whilst looking I saw that someone called Margaret Cho has had several DVDs out. Seems to be a Californian stand-up.

Yes I know I can look on wikipedia, but that spoils the fun. The fun of having a thread in which we names the names we've seen in the DVD racks and don't know, and informed people supply the background info.

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I can't find the original thread for this but I just received this newsletter email about it, having forgotten I'd signed up. Anyway, there is a short film on film4 tucked away during the middle of the night, for those capable of staying up that late.

Welcome, ashtrays, to this fully restored, revamped and reignited issue of Finchland (though to be fair, it’s more of a bulletin, hence 'May Bulletin').

After an absence of almost twenty-five years, we're back. Huge thanks to you all for signing up to the Terry Finch Appreciation Society. Things are slowly warming up Finch-wise and it's gratifying to know that Terry still has a following - now hopefully moving beyond the boundaries and borders of Kent. Incidentally, if you're an original fan from way back when, by which I mean a subscriber to my original fanzine back in the late 70s/early 80s, I salute you for continuing to fly 'Old Fury', the flag of Finch, into this weak-kneed, smoke-free digital age.

Bagfuls of news to fill you in on, though most will have to wait for the next newsletter. Straight off the bat, though, let me hit you with the biggest. Terry has finally made it to film! Not the real Finch himself, of course, who hasn't been seen or heard from for years (as always, if you're reading, Terry, I hope you're alive and well somewhere - we miss ya, guvn'or!) but an actual biopic. Let me explain. Some years back, a former TV writer/actor called Matthew Holness tracked me down in Margate. He’s been a Finch fan since he was a kid (those halcyon days when we were all allowed to play with guns) and explained he was trying to complete his collection of Finch novelettes (not easy, there being over 700!). He wanted to know if I had a complete collection and would I consider helping him reprint some of Terry's work for the digital age (more on that side-project in due course). When we'd pooled our collective collections, it worked out we were pretty close in nailing them all, which is incredible considering I hitherto regarded myself as the only collector of Finch's books nationwide, most of them having been sold primarily in Kent newsagents and binned or pulped the same week of publication.

            Holness explained he was planning to make a film about Terry's life. Suffice to say, nothing happened for several years until he wrote to me again saying the project had finally come to fruition, though it was no longer a full three hour epic as planned but a 17 minute short. Well, better than nothing, I figure (though not much better, to be honest) and the film, called 'A Gun For George' is 'out there' as a 'taster' for a longer feature. It's apparently played a few festivals. Have to admit I missed most of these, and deliberately didn't attend one as Holness refused to arrange a comp for me, but the good news is it's now on TV. Verdict? Well, generally, I don't go for shorts but the result's not bad, though I'm not convinced how accurate a depiction of Terry this is. Bit of 'artistic license', if you know what I mean. As far as I'm aware, for example, Terry growled a lot in public, like a dog. I hope Holness takes heed and includes this in his longer feature, should it eventually get made. Anyway, you bins can watch 'A Gun For George' in all its 17 minute glory on Monday 14th May on Film4 at 1.35am (yes, I know it's late but stop whining, drink some coffee like a man, in a foam cup, and set your video recorder). The film's a part of their 'Revenge' season and, as I say, stars Holness as Terry. Not a bad performance either, mainly because he does look the spitting image of Terry as we know him from the book covers Finch used to pose for back in the day (uncanny, really). So, I strongly urge you all to watch, especially as it features an appearance from 'The Reprisalizer' himself! If you like it, do the decent thing, blog about it, rave about it, Twitter about it, rate it high on IMDB etc. Let’s get this bitch “trending”!

            Other news: tragedy struck Kent recently when its iconic Richborough Power Station Towers were demolished in the name of 'progress'. Cheers, twats! Words can't express how gutted I am about this - as you all know, the towers feature prominently in Finch's Reprisalizer novels, watching over Kent's wastelands like 'vast concrete sentinels' (Terry's words). I went to see their demolition myself, which I admit was spectacular, but Kent feels truly empty without them and the only consolation is that they appear in all their unexploded glory in 'A Gun For George', as does Arlington House in Margate, another staple of the Reprisalizer books (Terry actually lived there in the 70s, by the way - see the website). So, 'A Gun For George' stands as a visual epitaph for the towers and if only Holness' film was a bit longer, it could constitute some form of tribute. By the way, if you want to see the towers come down, there are good vids online, though it pained me to watch them all.

Anyway, tea break's over. There's loads of exciting news to come in the next bulletin, so be sure to stay tuned and spread the word of Finch. Grit your teeth, hammer his word home and we'll get him the belated respect he deserves. And if you haven't done so yet, sign up to Facebook, the “Twitter feed”, etc where I occasionally post quotes from Terry's work and various gritbits. Above all, remember, slags, 'DON'T FLINCH FROM FINCH!'

PS Literally as I wrote this I got another email from Holness - apparently he's got a 'serious' film on Sky Arts later this month called 'The Snipist'. May 24th, 9pm. Do with it what you will.

Till next time,

Frank (Barrow)
Site Administrator,
www.thereprisalizer.com
President, The Terry Finch Appreciation Society (reformed)