Gaming, Reading, Movies, Star Wars and other Geek Culture

TV Is Marvel-ous!

On May 21, 2015

marvel First it was Vampires – post-Buffy vampires. Television networks and production studios became obsessed with vampires (thanks to Stephenie Meyer). Vampires are cool, except for the kind that sparkle *shudder*. Then “The Walking Dead”, “World War Z”, “Day Z”, etc; i.e. zombies! Zombies are much more interesting than vampires (except for iZombie, that show didn’t make sense, from a zombie canon perspective).

During the obsession with the undead Marvel was producing comic-movie-after-comic-movie, culminating in the first Avengers movie and Captain America: The First Avenger. Then the dam burst and the flood waters of Marvel super heroes started spilling forth not only more movies, but TV series as well. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Agent Carter, Daredevil and I believe there are more to come. I know DC has been trying to do the same thing with Gotham, Flash, Arrow, etc, but the Marvel shows have been doing something quite unique. All the shows and movies are linked. Events that happen in a movie will somehow directly or indirectly tie back into one of the shows (and vice-versa). This is something even Star Trek couldn’t keep consistent with all the TV series and movies.

I think its actually quite clever and brilliant marketing. I watched Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. just before Avengers: Age of Ultron came out and I immediately wanted to see the movie after that episode. The other thing the writers of the show do quite well is not to spoil the movies in the episodes that follow the movie’s release. I have yet to see The Dark World, and I know there have been references to the movie in an episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. but they didn’t say anything that gave anything away.

I know I’m probably the biased fanboy, and now all the Twi-hards get an opportunity to roll their eyes, but I really love the new comic content. Granted a few movies have been a little less than stellar (ex: the first Hulk movie), but I’ve been enjoying all of the TV series. Keep up the good work!

I could get so much more accomplished if I only had minions!

The MMO Times … Returns!

By Biggs

On May 19, 2015

In Gaming, MMO Times, MMORPG

Issue 115: The MMO Times is coming back. The gaming news just seemed to come to an abrupt halt where there just wasn’t anything interesting to share. I didn’t want to try to dig up menial stories that have little to no credibility just to keep providing a new post/email. I’m not interested in filling up your inboxes with junk. Of course then various real life events quickly exacerbated that hiatus; but hopefully we are back in full swing for a while. It has been about 6 weeks as the last MMO Times post was back when we lost our beloved Mr. Spock. Rest In Peace, Leonard Nimoy!

Upon our return it seems the interesting news is predominately Blizzard titles; primarily WoW and Diablo III (including some Warcraft movie news). The rumor mill has churned out a few things, specifically for WildStar. There is also some exciting news for a classic title (though it is not MMO related). Hopefully there is something you didn’t know about in the links below. In the meantime, KCGO.

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Ruminations of a Die Hard Fanboy

By Biggs

On May 13, 2015

In Geek Canon, Movies, Star Wars

Cast of 2009 film Fanboys

When I was ten years old I saw Star Wars for the first time and from that moment on there was no turning back. I remember when I was in my teens and my grandma once remarked “remember this because eventually I will grow out of it”. Sorry grandma, its 20 years later and I’m a bigger Star Wars nerd now than I was yesterday and the day before that … and the day before that. I love all the movies; and I mean ALL the movies. 1-6.

Why do I like the prequels, you ask? The reason is simple – because its Star Wars.

I had a conversation with a friend of mine about the movies and prequels recently. When I gave him the reason I enjoyed the prequels his response was “That’s awful”. I laughed. He isn’t a fan of the prequels, and I know there are hundreds and thousands of TOT (that’s my acronym for The Original Trilogy) that do not like the prequels. It occurred to me then that I believe there are two kinds of fans out there. Fans of the Star Wars movies and fans of the Star Wars Universe. I am the latter.

You see I liked the prequels because of the music, the characters, the history of the characters, the planets, the lore, the ships, and how all those things are part of this massive, albeit imaginary, universe. I do recognize that all three prequels were deeply flawed (i.e. Jake Lloyd, Hayden Christensen, Jar Jar Binks) but that hasn’t changed the fact that I still enjoy watching all six movies equally when I need to get my Star Wars nerd-fix. If I can’t get my fix from watching one of the movies, then I will get it from one of many other sources (by the way the books for the prequels are actually quite good).

I’ve noticed that most people that fall under the Star Wars movie fans are likely making comparisons between the prequels and TOT and, obviously, siding with the originals. I can respect their opinion, despite the 35 years of changes in technology and film-making. It’s interesting to ponder if TOT would be different if they had been made within the past 10 years and would they still have the same cult following. Be that as it may, I imagine the interest in Star Wars ends at the movies for those that are fans of the movies. I’m probably being a little presumptuous when I say those that are simply fans of the movies probably haven’t read any of the books, Essential Guides, Steve Sansweet‘s Encyclopedia, or played many of the games; all of which expand on the lore and add depth to the universe.

So the question on everyone’s mind now is will J.J. Abrams redeem Lucas from the prequels (especially among the haters)? I do not think there is a better person to direct 7, 8 & 9 (with the possible exception of Irvin Kershner but he’s kind of dead). I base that opinion on the fact that I enjoyed both Star Trek movies he has recently completed. I can tell you now, I already love The Force Awakens 🙂

P.S. Why is it that none of the Trekkies whine so much about any of their movies and TV series? Are they not as passionate? Or are they just better fans? 😉

/MTFBWY

Orphan Black, A Must Watch

By Biggs

On May 11, 2015

In Biggs On

orphanblack_banner_01_web2 I don’t tout television shows too much because everyone likes different things and I don’t always expect everyone to like the same shows I do. A friend of mine suggested I check out Orphan Black, which I’ve seen advertisements for, but never tried to watch it. I’m only about 9 episodes into the first season and its actually pretty good. The show is filmed entirely in Canada (so far) and a majority of the stars are Canadian-born, most of them are no-names.

I’m not going to go into detail about the show, you can read that for yourself. I do enjoy the premise. It’s a science fiction plot centered around human cloning. I realize that its not the most intriguing plot but its Tatiana Maslany that really makes the show excellent. Remember the old Eddie Murphy movies back in the 80s when he would portray multiple characters on screen (ex: Coming to America); well Tatiana Maslany is the modern, female version of that movie character technique. The more I watch this show the more amazed I am with how well Maslany can play so many different characters so distinctly. So far she has portrayed 9 different characters utilizing different accents, personalities, languages, vocabulary; it’s truly extraordinary. There could be a scene with four characters in the room and you will be convinced that there are also four actors but in reality there are only two actors, one of which is portraying three different characters. So not only is the acting incredible but the film editing deserves credit as well.

Orphan Black is currently in its third season, it has been renewed for a fourth season and can be seen on BBC America. If you are an Amazon Prime member, you can watch the first two seasons for free. If you’re looking for something new and/or different to watch, I would really recommend checking this show out.

/cheers