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Q: I was a big fan of the 1980s TV series The Incredible Hulk. Does it still hold up? — Aaron, Reno, NV

A: Apart from its nostalgic, I-loved-it-as-a-kid appeal? I’m sure others will disagree, but … not really.

The series, which ran from 1978 to 1982 (with a number of follow-up movies), suffers from the simplistic plots and strong sentimentalism typical for television in the 70s.

But the importance of The Incredible Hulk really can’t be overstated. It was one of the first mainstream projects to take comic book characters and storylines seriously — to present them as entertainment for adults, not merely for kids. And compared to the other “comic” entertainment airing around the time, shows like The New Adventures of Wonder Woman and even The Bionic Man, The Incredible Hulk was very sophisticated indeed.

And it’s also worth noting that certain episodes do stand the test of time: the two-episode “Married” storyline, in which David Banner marries a terminally ill woman (played by Mariette Hartley, who won an Emmy for the role), is still a pretty fascinating exploration of subconscious anger (and doomed love).

Q: I remember reading about a movie version of the old video game Myst. What happened? – Erp, San Francisco, CA

A: The project kicked around Hollywood for years (and was almost a mini-series on SyFy in 2002)

Then, in 2008, a mysterious teaser website appeared with Myst-like theme puzzles. Eventually it was revealed to be the work of two independent filmmakers, Patrick Aaron McIntire and Adrian Paul Vanderbosch, who went on to formerly option the Myst project in 2009.

Since then, they’ve kept an online journal about Myst: The Motion Picture, a project based on the game novelization The Book of Ti’ana. That said, they’re still blogging about finding financing and pitching studios on the project, which makes The Oracle think that it’s not a question of “when” the movie will get made, but “if.”

Q: Tyra Banks is writing a fantasy book for kids? Seriously? Why? – MAGPIE, Toronto, Canada

A: Because she can.

If you know anything about Tyra, you know that she’s been planning her world-domination for some time now. Her upcoming Modelland young adult series is about a land inhabited “Intoxibellas,” who are “drop-dead beautiful, kick-butt fierce, and, yeah, maybe they have some powers too.”

Why is Banks getting a multi-million dollar three-book deal? Because she’s famous, and her name and P.R. appearances alone will sell thousands of books, regardless of whether they’re any good — which, if previous celebrity children’s books are any indication, they probably won’t be.

That sound you hear is the head of The Oracle (who also writes young adult books) exploding.

David Warner as "Evil" in Time Bandits

A Note from the Oracle: Last week, when I wrote about what I thought were the worst acting performances of all time in fantasy films, I wrote that this week I’d write about the best.

Who are they? Ian McKellen’s pitch-perfect Gandalf would surely top many lists — as would many of the perfectly-cast actors in the Lord of the Rings movies, especially (but not limited to) Sean Austin, Liv Tyler, Cate Blanchett, John Rhys Davies, and Hugo Weaving (who knew? I couldn’t imagine him as Elrond — and now I can’t imagine anyone else!).

But these (along with all the wonderful British theater actors in the Harry Potter movies) are the obvious choices. So who’s a little less obvious?

I would also add: Gene Wilder in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory; Johnny Depp in Edward Scissorhands and Pirates of the Caribbean (but not as Willy Wonka in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, a rare misfire!); Michael Keaton in Beetlejuice; Harrison Ford in the Indiana Jones movies; David Warner as Evil in Time Bandits; Robin Williams as the King of the Moon in The Adventures of Baron Munchausen and Parry in The Fisher King; and Tilda Swinton and Georgie Henley in the Chronicles of Narnia movies.

What are your choices?

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