December 19, 2009
#199: Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
This week: We discuss leadership’s role in the Return of the King. We draft teams for our upcoming fantasy sci-fi game. And Audra and the Tolkein Professor speculate on why fantasy literature gets the shaft among the cognoscenti. We also run down the week in geek, including the critics response to Avatar’s opening (and Sigourney Weaver’s awesome Daily Show appearance), S*F*’s free streaming release of Caprica, Alien screenwriter and Return of the Living Dead director Dan O’Bannon’s death, an incredible gift we received from GWCers (visit http://www.gwc200.com to see it for yourself), and our announcement of dates and hotel information for the 2010 GWC International Meetup: March 19-21, 2010.
Galactic Watercooler 
Modern Geek 
Save Eureka 
Eff This Week 
FitSmart
I went to see Avatar this weekend & really really liked it. “3D” has a way to go, though heads-up displays look great in it. The special effects were fantastic, but what really hooked me was the story and the characters. I understand why this flick was being panned from the first: it is a scathing send up of the corporate mentality. But is also a hero’s journey in which Jake goes from being an almost amoral mercenary to a natural leader of the Na’vi, who adopt him into their tribe. All of the main characters (with the possible exception of Colonel Miles Quaritch, who comes across as rather cartoonish) are engaging and grow during the movie.
The movie says much about our connection to our world, and what happens when we lose that connection. I predict Avatar is destined to be a classic.