5 Pleasant Surprises in Entertainment 08

1) Official Announcement of an 'Arrested Development' Film
I'm what some parents would call a 'late bloomer' to this series as all of my friends that knew of this show kept telling me that I would love it. Finally discovering it on Hulu, I actually was angry at myself for not getting in to this show earlier & have since obtained the entire series on DVD thanks to Amazon. I've also turned many a friend onto it since then. A few months back, I was so excited to hear that a film version was formally going into pre-production despite a potential actor holding out (the consistently over-estimating his sense of worth, Michael Cera) and am overjoyed at seeing what the Bluth Family has been up to since last being seen on the Queen Mary.

2) The Triumphant Return of Robert Downey, Jr.
With Iron Man receiving film of the year mentions due to his take on Tony Stark and now a potential Oscar nomination to alongside his Golden Globe nomination for his role in Tropic Thunder, you could say that Robert Downey, Jr. has had himself a pretty good year. His well documented run-ins with the law and drug addiction while coming up through the Brat Pack days often trump any accolades that came along with his great performances (see Chaplin), but it appears that he's gotten his life back together and is now reaping the benefits of his natural talent.

3) Mystery Science Theater 3000 Celebrates 20th Anniversary
The "cowtown puppet show" that went on to enjoy a 10 year run over two networks and whose cult following is still growing celebrated it's 20th anniversary in style. A featured sold out event at ComicCon 2008 featured the entire cast - past and present - on a panel answering fan questions hosted by admitted MSTie Patton Oswalt. It was also announced that Shout! Factory would now release their shows on DVD (taking over a former partnership with Rhino) and to herald the event, there was a 20th Anniversay Collector's Edition featuring a maquette of Crow and four classic movies bundled together. In an afterlife that has spawned two off-shoots of the format (RiffTrax and Cinematic Titanic), the show continues to receive the love it so richly deserves.

4) "Angels & Demons" Trailer
Being one of seven people in the U.S. that actually enjoyed the film adaptation of Dan Brown's bestseller The DaVinci Code, I was so excited to see an unexpected trailer for the follow up film, Angels & Demons. In my opinion, ithe story lends itself better to being a film and, in an artistic choice, Ron Howard's Imagine Entertainment has made this a film sequel to DaVinci whereas in the novels, DaVinci comes second chronologically. Already causing concerns and outrage in the Catholic church over the films content and location shoots in both Rome and Vatican City, this much anticipated film should cause some waves in 2009.

5) J.J. Abrams' "Star Trek" Trailer Debuts
I am not a Trekkie, by any stretch of the the imagination. I enjoyed Wrath of Kahn and even liked First Contact, but I've never invested myself in the Trek mythos nor ever really cared to. However, I must say I am very intrigued following viewing the first theatrical trailer of J.J. Abrams update of the franchise. It's looking to usher in a whole new breed of Trekkies (or "Trekkers," as some die hards refer to themselves as) while still paying an homage to the established fan base. With a very public mud slinging spectacle of William Shatner's frustration not being included in the flim where some of the original cast is (Leonard Nimoy supposedly cameos as an older Spock), the franchise definitely has the attention of the public - here's hoping J.J. delivers with a more solid effort than on Cloverfield.

Honorable Mention: EA Announces Release of The Sims 3
The greatest selling PC franchise of all time returns in 2009 with the third iteration of The Sims series. Every Sims game generates multiple spin-off titles and extra chapters, but when the series itself is overhauled and the next one is released, there's often so much more than just graphical upgrades as new gameplay elements, themes, and concepts are introduced. Here's to many upcoming hours lost in the wonderful world of The Sims.