Entertainment
SyFy Superhero Series Destroyed A 70 Year Old Franchise Now Can't Be Streamed Anywhere
By Jonathan Klotz
| Updated
For some unexplained reason, the success of Batman in 1989 kicked off a wave of retro superhero movies with The Rocketeer, The Shadow, Dick Tracy, and finally, The Phantom. Starring Billy Zane as The Ghost Who Walks, it was a complete flop that has since become a cult classic. In 2009, Syfy decided that the tiniest amount of critical reevaluation was enough to greenlight a backdoor pilot for an ongoing The Phantom series. Instead of embracing the classic 1930s design as the Zane film did, this new series updated The Phantom for the modern era by embracing, what else in 2009, parkour.
A New EXTREME Phantom
General Hospital star Ryan Carnes put on the new EXTREME crimefighting suit as Kit Walker, the 22nd Phantom, recruited by Bpaa Thap in the island nation of Bangalla to slam evil. You might have noticed already why The Phantom didn’t catch on. Since it was a backdoor pilot disguised as a miniseries, it spends most of the runtime on world-building, including the Singh Brotherhood, which is The Phantom’s traditional villain, and their evil plan to brainwash people using cable TV set boxes.
The villain’s master plan has aged worse than Dominic Toretto stealing TVs in the original The Fast and the Furious. And yet, even that has aged better than the EXTREME parkour and motorcycling stunts of Kit Walker’s Phantom. It was a good attempt to update the old skintight purple suit, but switching to a design with a short shelf life means that by the time the miniseries aired, it already looked ridiculous.
No One Liked The Redesign
The Phantom revival series crashed and burned when it aired and was never picked up to be a full series. Despite the parkour and EXTREME style, the miniseries attempts to update the classic hero and at least tries to do something different. Sure, they left behind everything that fans loved about the 1996 film, and fans of the classic hero were incredibly disappointed by the “Marvel 2099” redesign, but they tried. And that counts, right?
The backdoor pilot tells a complete story from start to finish and sets up future conflicts between The Phantom and The Singh Brotherhood that almost 20 years later, we’ll never get to see. To say that the reaction to The Phantom’s 2009 TV movie was disastrous would imply anyone watched it in the first place. By then, superhero fans had experienced Iron Man, and the era of cheap superhero television was over.
Syfy Has Buried The Phantom 2009
Even today, fans of The Phantom will gush over the Billy Zane box office flop while warning newcomers to the Ghost Who Walks fandom that the Syfy series pilot can easily be missed. Marvel and DC are struggling to get their B-list stars noticed in theaters, never mind a pulp comic hero from the 1930s who never broke into mainstream pop culture. The purple bodysuit is a tough sell.
The 2009 Syfy television movie/backdoor series pilot has been lost to the digital ether. It’s not streaming on any platform, but it did receive a DVD/Blu-Ray release that can be found dirt cheap from second-hand retailers.
The far superior 1996 Billy Zane movie The Phantom is streaming free on Tubi.
Entertainment
Olive Gardens legendary Never-Ending Pasta Pass is here: How to secure yours
GET UNLIMITED PASTA: Starting Thursday, July 16 at 2 p.m. ET, Olive Garden’s Never-Ending Pasta Pass goes on sale for $100. Passes unlock unlimited pasta at Olive Garden for 13 weeks. The sale window closes once all passes are claimed.
We hope you’re hungry. After six long years of waiting, the Never-Ending Pasta Pass has returned alongside the Never-Ending Pasta Bowl.
Olive Garden is once again offering customers 13 weeks of unlimited pasta for a $100 flat fee. Only 10,000 passes will be available, and they’re expected to sell out quickly, as they did in previous years. So, here’s how you can ensure you’re one of the customers who gets to enjoy towers of pasta in the coming weeks.
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The Never-Ending Pasta Pass goes on sale precisely at 2 p.m. ET on Thursday, July 16 at PastaPass.com. It costs $100, plus tax, and unlocks unlimited dine-in pasta meals, with a choice of homemade sauces and protein topping, as well as unlimited soup, salad, and glorious signature breadsticks. The Pasta Pass lasts from Aug. 24, 2026 through Nov. 22, 2026 and cannot be shared. The never-ending pasta is yours and yours alone to enjoy.
The Never-Ending Pasta Bowl is available starting Aug. 31, so Pasta Pass holders get a week of unlimited pasta before the general population. If you don’t secure the Pasta Pass before it sells out, you can still enjoy the Never-Ending Pasta Bowl promotion starting at $14.99 per person.
Set your calendar alerts now for 2 p.m. ET on Thursday if you want to be among the lucky pass holders this season. My stomach is growling already.
Entertainment
An OLED version of the Switch 2 could start production in 2027
Nintendo may be exploring an OLED version of the Switch 2, according to a new report from Eurogamer, which cited South Korean outlet ZDNET Korea as claiming serious internal discussions are underway at the company. (Disclosure: ZDNet and Mashable are both owned by the same parent company, Ziff Davis.)
While many industry watchers had long assumed Nintendo would eventually give the Switch 2 an OLED screen, following the same path as the original Switch, Eurogamer noted this timing came earlier than expected. Per the report, ZDNET Korea indicated that production would not begin before the end of 2027 at the earliest, meaning a release could land around 2028.
Our big Guessing Game is back! Enter now for a chance to win.
Eurogamer, citing the ZDNET Korea report, noted that Samsung Display could once again supply the panel, as it did for the first Switch OLED, though “the extent of the price increase resulting from the adoption of OLED is a variable.” The outlet pointed out that cost was reportedly the primary reason the Switch 2 launched with an LCD screen rather than OLED in the first place, despite OLED being better suited to the console’s HDR capabilities.
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One insider cited in the ZDNET Korea report claimed Nintendo is considering bumping the display resolution to 1920×1080 for a Switch 2 OLED model, up from the 1280×720 resolution used in the original Switch’s OLED version — a change Eurogamer noted would align with the Switch 2’s existing native 1080p handheld resolution. The same source indicated that formal product development could begin by the end of this year if the plans move forward, though Eurogamer emphasized that the development stage would still precede actual production.
An OLED upgrade could also help address ongoing criticism of the Switch 2’s current LCD panel, which has drawn complaints about ghosting and input lag, along with imprecise HDR performance — issues Eurogamer said have been documented by outlets like Digital Foundry and user complaints on platforms like YouTube and Reddit.
Of course, the OLED version would almost certainly be more expensive. When the original Nintendo Switch OLED model launched, it cost $50 more than the regular version. And don’t forget, Nintendo is already raising prices on the Nintendo Switch 2 later this year. Rumor has it that Sony is delaying the PlayStation 6 timeline to wait out price increases caused by the global memory shortage.
Separately, Eurogamer noted that Nintendo has already confirmed that smaller hardware revisions to Switch 2 products will roll out in Europe this summer to comply with right-to-repair rules and updated battery regulations.
Entertainment
The new Jackery HomePower 1000 v2 comes in a sleek white colorway. Its also on sale for $300 off.
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SAVE $300: The Jackery HomePower 1000 v2 in white is on sale for $579, down from the normal price of $879. That’s a 34% discount.
$579
at Jackery
$879
Save $300
Traditionally, portable power stations have been for function only, with very little attention to looks. But Jackery has noticed that power stations can also look sleek and pleasing to have at home. Case in point: the minimalist Jackery FridgeGuard. The brand recently launched an updated HomePower lineup, and there’s one particular model that has the looks to match the function. On top of this, it’s also on sale.
As of July 14, the white Jackery HomePower 1000 v2 is on sale for $579, marked down from the normal price of $879. That works out to a 34% discount and a savings of $300. If you don’t espeically care about the white colorway, the black is also on sale for $300 off, making it $549.
What’s to love about the new HomePower lineup from Jackery
The latest lineup from Jackery brings three updated models to the lineup of HomePower portable power stations. All are designed for use at home should the power cut out or if you need to bring power to the garage or the shed.
The smallest model is the HomePower 1000 v2 with 1,024Wh of capacity and 1,500W output. Surge protection on the new model reaches 3,000W. Plus, it has a 10 millisecond UPS, so you can rest assured your desktop station or CPAP machine will continue getting power without a gap.
Jackery equipped the station with three AC ports, two USB-C (one 100W, one 30W), and one USB-A port. There’s also a built-in light to make carrying the station around the house while the power is out significantly easier.
A pretty model that’s easy to carry around
Jackery is well known as one of top portable power station brands. I’ve been testing this model for a few weeks now, and I’m always impressed by how lightweight it feels. It weighs a bit over 23 pounds, so it’s always a pleasant surprise when I lift it up without feeling like I’m at the gym.
Credit: Lauren Allain / Mashable
While it has nothing to do with function, I love the white colorway. Jackery’s standard color palate is black with orange accents. I’m not mad about that, but I appreciate Jackery made this HomePower model in a white option. It blends in better with most homes and gives it an more aesthetic vibe compared to the black. I still appreciate the standard Jackery black and orange for using while camping since it won’t show dirt smudges.
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Quiet operation with quick recharging
Adding to the elements that make it nice to use at home, we have the ultra quiet operation. Jackery states this model operates at under 30 decibles. While testing, I haven’t noticed it going above this. In fact, I often forget it’s sitting next to my bed powering up my bedside lamp while recharging my phone and sleep earbuds.
The Jackery HomePower 1000 v2 is also speedy when recharging. Jackery says it’ll reach a full charge in 50 minutes, and I haven’t seen any different while testing.
Since its stats make it well equipped for using at home during an outage and the white option makes it look quite appealing, upgrade to the Jackery HomePower 1000 v2. You’ll be saving $300 by shopping today, and you’ll be prepared for the next power outage.
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