Join the ‘crew as we dig into Dirty Hands, this week’s BSG re-watch episode. Highlights: we discuss the deep issue presented brilliantly by this episode — the relative value of self-determination versus survival — hear Chuck and Sean confirm (after ‘casting on this episode a year earlier) that they wouldn’t have reacted as calmly as Tyrol when Adama threatened his wife, question Adama’s loss of leadership after his threats, analyze Baltar’s motives for writing his “book” and the effects of it on Tyrol and the fleet, follow Audra’s introduction to comics — and Chuck’s first read of Watchmen — clarify our stance on HHG2G and Helo’s dimness, re-visit the “geek” rant via callers, and comment on Fur Elise and garbage trucks.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
GWCers have spoken, and this month we’re all diving into some classic sci-fi: George Orwell’s 1984. Obviously the year in question has come and gone, and we’re not living in the world Orwell imagined.
He certainly couldn’t have predicted Big Brother.
But then again, his vision of things-to-come still seems relevant — and certainly lives on in our culture.
This classic is available widely in used book stores — I scored a paperback for $1.50 this last weekend! — and new copies are available in multiple printings from Amazon and many, many others. If you get a chance, why not join us in the GWC Forum to talk about it?
1984 Group Discussion [GWC Forum]
In this wildly rambling bonus ‘cast we discuss the current movie re-watch, Real Genius. Highlights: we quote at least half the movie (saving you rental fees, right?), lament that our college experiences weren’t anyhing like Mitch’s, pay tribute to the great ’80s montage, crush on Jordan (and Chris, of course), and talk college pranks.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Fans have been assembling “unofficial” sound tracks for some time now, but as of March 18th you’ll be able to skip the hassle and buy one — including the theme, of course. The disc will include tracks from artists including Bob Dylan, Wilco, Panic At The Disco, and others.
Here’s a complete track listing:
1. Heroes Title – Wendy & Lisa
2. Fire and Regeneration – Wendy & Lisa (*new release)
3. He’s Frank – Brighton Port Authority featuring Iggy Pop (*new release)
4. All For Swinging You Around – New Pornographers
5. Glad It’s Over – Wilco (*new release)
6. Weightless – Nada Surf (new release)
7. Nine In The Afternoon – Panic! At The Disco (new release)
8. Chills – My Morning Jacket (*new release)
9. Natural Selection – Wendy & Lisa
10. ABoneCroneDrone 3 – Shelia Chandra
11. Not Now But Soon – Imogen Heap (*new release)
12. Jealously Rides With Me – Death Cab For Cutie (*new U.S. release)
13. All Things Must Pass – The Jesus and Mary Chain (*new release)
14. Homecoming – Wendy & Lisa
15. Man In The Long Black Coat – Bob Dylan
16. Maya’s Theme – Yerba Buena (*new release)
17. Keeping My Composure – The Chemical Brothers featuring Spank Rock (*new release)
18. Heroes – David Bowie
* Denotes an exclusive new release on the “Heroes” soundtrack album.
The bad news: it’s a Best Buy/Zune Marketplace exclusive. Of those two options, I’d probably choose Best Buy. But why not just release this?
[via]
Those of you who haven’t yet seen Robot Chicken’s incredibly-funny Star Wars parody episode — yes, both of you — can now check it out, assuming you have an XBox 360 and 240 remaining Microsoft points. (That’s about $3.) The folks in Redmond have added the show to their XBox Video Marketplace (XVM).
Personally, I’m still holding out for the DVD, which is still scheduled for a May 20th release. While I love the idea of renting via download, I’m still not wholly sold on the portability of downloaded media — especially via XVM. What happens when the next gen consoles hit streets in a few years? I’m planning on re-watching Robot Chicken far past that point.
On the other hand, if I hadn’t already seen it, I’d gladly shell out $3 for it — considering it a rental of sorts. And as far as I can tell, this is the only legal way to watch it right now.
Of course, for those of you possessed more of the dark side, there’s always YouTube and bittorrent.
Robot Chicken Star Wars [XVM] [via]
Few sci-fi universes are as complex as Star Wars, whose story takes form in not only six (released in reverse order) films, but also novels, comics, television, DVD, and even games. Sure, Trek and other franchises have found their way into all these mediums. But in most cases, releases beyond TV and movies are non considered part of the story canon, whereas with Star Wars they often are.
There are, of course, exceptions, which only increase the complexity of navigating what happened outside the Star Wars movies.
That’s where fan wiki’s come into play. Let’s face it: fan wikis are any newbie’s first stop when jumping into a complex story ‘verse. As of yesterday, one of my favorite Star Wars wikis, Wookieepedia, flipped over a milestone, serving fans for three years. Congrats, folks! Here’s to many more years of patching together the ever-larger (and ever-stranger) Star Wars story — and to keeping me in the know as I check out more and more of it.
And don’t forget the Battlestar wiki, to which a number of active GWCers contribute. In fact, if you have a moment, let me know in comments what other fan wikis you commonly visit. For example, I could really use a good X-Men wiki. Ideas?
Wookieepedia [Wiki]
Battlestar Wiki [Wiki]
PS: Thanks to blog Cryptomundo for the awesome wookiee photo. Check out their post on the history of Wookiees which — among lots of other interesting facts — explains the correct way to spell the name of Kasyyyk-dwellers.
Sure, most adults who saw The Search for Spock in the theater recognized Christopher Lloyd’s Klingon Commander Kruge as Jim from Taxi. This is Cracked’s reason for listing this “cameo” as the fifth worst in history. But luckily for me, I was young enough that I didn’t watch Taxi at the time. In fact, when I caught a Taxi re-run earlier this year, I recognized Jim as a young Doc Emmet Brown. All I needed was a quick “jigawatt” or “this model isn’t to scale” to complete the image.
Of Lloyd’s Trek performance, Cracked writes:
“While he’s on screen for a large portion of the movie (being the main villain and all), Lloyd’s role seems less like a top-billed performance and more like a cameo that just won’t end. In trying to pinpoint exactly what it was about Christopher Lloyd’s performance that made a horrible movie worse, we discovered that he bore a striking resemblance to a stereotypical relative most of us have.
“Lloyd is that annoying uncle that comes for Thanksgiving and doesn’t leave until Groundhog’s Day…”
Wow. That’s a bit harsh. Personally, I enjoyed ‘Spock, and would easily rank it first (or maybe second) among the much-maligned odd-numbered Trek flicks. And though I certainly can see Cracked’s point — the article is pretty entertaining, after all — I’m afraid I’m going to have to (in the immortal words of Lumbergh), um, disagree with them there.
Or maybe I’m just pissed because they selected Bruce Willis’ Ocean’s 12 cameo as their #1.
Six Terrible Cameos That Just About Ruined The Movie [Cracked]
As reported by the Associated Press (and all ’round the ‘net), Gary Gygax passed on this morning. He was 69, and is survived by a large family. This is where most writers would insert either a humorous bit of RPG-speak or relate their own D&D-playing-teenager experience, I’ll just state the obvious:
Gygax indirectly affected my life and millions of others in a positive way.
If you have a moment or two, maybe you can share a little about how he affected your life in comments.
(Thanks, tanstaafl!)
Update: Blogger and all-round good guy Wil Wheaton put a post out setting Gygax’s life in context. Don’t miss the excerpt from Wheaton’s book detailing his introduction to the world dice-and-paper RPGs.
Based on numerous recommendations from GWCers I’ve torn into Alan Moore’s Watchmen. Even though I’m only two chapters/issues in, it’s amazing how much popular sci-fi/comic culture draws from this story and the way it’s presented. It’s gritty, ugly, and often uncomfortable to read, but I can already tell that it’s going to give me new insight into the other material I consume.
I also recently jumped into both early and late Star Wars tales in the form of the 125-years-post-Episode-IV Legacy series and the thousands-of-years-earlier Knights of the Old Republic. Incredibly, I’ve never been exposed to the “greater” Star Wars universe, except through a two-year ongoing explanation from Sean. It’s great to see the story in vivid art now, too.
Thanks again for the recommendations, everyone. And I totally look forward to discussing these with you soon!
Yes, it’s lame. And I’m (almost) embarrassed to be be posting it. But it’s also funny, especially after a few — you guessed it — BEERS. Check it out. (Or don’t, and save the next one minute and twenty-four seconds of your life for productive purposes.) [via]
Recently I found myself defending Titan A.E. to someone in casual conversation. Why? It seems many are stuck with the notion that this movie single-handedly killed traditional (i.e. cell-type) animation. Yeah, the movie didn’t gross a ton compared to its truly massive cost, and that probably didn’t help the already-beleaguered Fox Animation studios. But A.E. was neither an embarrassment nor a badly-made film.
Titan didn’t kill cell animation, it advanced beyond it, laying a path which many films have since tread. Titan A.E. was released at the epoch marking the end of traditional animation methods and the arrival of the new studio computer-animated giants. Because of that timing, Titan brought a unique feel — a great blend of cell animation and computer graphics. The overall effect was odd at the time, which made for strong love it/hate it reactions among movie goers. Sadly, many were not fans.
The story wasn’t as original as it could’ve been, either, but it certainly entertained. I loved Titan’s characters, and the dialog was catchy — especially the guard scene with Preed: “An intelligent guard, I never would have seen that coming.” A look at A.E.’s voice talent shows that Fox didn’t skimp in that department, either. Of course, that also accounted for a good chunk of the film’s expense.
Titan had all the makings of a great movie: character, talent, art, and screenplay. So what went wrong? In short: not a damn thing. It was a fun movie with great art that you can watch with the kids — or appreciate on your own.
Titan A.E. was a victim of its own style. It was different. It was hard to categorize, and it didn’t fit easily into an obvious niche.
Still, I love this movie. I’ve loved it since the first time I saw it — and still do. Before you write something off because it looks strange — and especially before you assume the “bash” position — try to look a little further. Make your open mind the niche the art seeks. You might be surprised at what you find — like yourself enjoying the experience a lot more than you thought you would.
NBC is again auctioning a number of Heroes props — and more importantly, a number of canvas prints of original Giclee art from the show. My personal favorite: Hiro vs. Dinosaur, pictured above and starting at a $250 opening bid.
The bad news: the art from NBC’s last round of auctions went for $2,500 to $6,000 — a little beyond my budget. But I might be able to snag Claire Bennet’s fake driver’s license.
Heroes Auctions [NBC] [via]
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