Blog Archives
School of Geek: Preserving the Continuum – Re-Makes and Re-Boots or Won’t Someone Please Think of the Children?
Context matters in re-boots.
Which came first – Star Wars, Episode I or Star Wars, Episode IV? My apologies to the Jar-Jar lovers, but Lucasfilm Logic dictating that we go with The Phantom Menace really screwed the pooch on this one. It takes the magic away from that huge pivotal moment in The Empire Strikes Back when Darth Vader reveals he is Luke’s father when you’ve known for four movies ahead of time who Anakin Skywalker really was. How did this improve the franchise? It didn’t, and just confused an audience of kids about who were the bad guys and changed the context of how we look at the franchise.
What was better -Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek or J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek re-boot? Maybe old George could’ve taken a lesson out of Abrams’ book and have simply re-written the whole continuum, but the problem here is that you have a whole generation of kids who now discount all of the TOS episodes. It’s not all bad: at least we got to see this iteration of Uhura in her underwear. How did this improve the franchise? Well, at least Abrams paid homage to the effort and talent of all those writers who came before him by stating that they still existed – just in another reality, but he still monkeyed around with the continuum enough that established Star Trek canon is completely buggered.
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Doctor Who S07 E10: Hide
Four stories into the post-Pond seventh season of “Doctor Who,” and it’s been quite a ride so far. We’ve had a companion who may not be what she appears to be, the return of two old school villains, a dozen new aliens, an anti-grav motorcycle, and a possible Bad Wolf reference. Can it get better than that?
There’ve also been movie homages to Hellraiser, Star Wars, and The Hunt for Red October. What’s next? Would you believe… The Haunting? That’s what the preview implies… Check me after the jump for my review of episode ten – “Hide.”
Star Wars Episode 7 According to Patton Oswalt
Patton Oswalt reveals his suggestions for J.J. Abrams’ new Star Wars movie. I don’t really need to say more… but fans of Star Wars and Marvel should enjoy this:
Man and a Movie Theatre: Roger Ebert
With Roger Ebert’s passing last week, I had a chance to think about what he’d brought to film criticism for more than thirty years. Ebert wasn’t in my stable of regular reads. I’m a bit of criticism junkie. I read far more reviews than the actual movies I see. I know my local critics well, and I have a few go-tos on the syndicated circuit, sites like The Onion’s AV Club and Salon.com. Familiarity is what makes reading critics work. I know their tastes, their peccadilloes, and I’ve developed a pretty accurate sense of when our opinions line up. I don’t have to agree with them, as long as I have a sense of why they feel the way they do. But Ebert was somebody whose writing I’d hit up when other critics let me down, when I needed to step back and get a broadly meditative opinion.
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May The Force Be With Him: David Ward On JJ Abrams and Star Wars
A few months ago, we were all hit with the news that Disney had acquired Lucasfilm for a staggering $4.05 billion, which, in an unbelievable act of altruism, George Lucas will be donating to charity. While jokes and memes hit the Internet within minutes of the announcement, as well as superficial complaints, it quickly became apparent that this acquisition was likely going to be a good thing. Yes, while Disney is responsible for a colossal amount of trite and repulsive shorts, films, and merchandise, it is also the owner of Pixar, Marvel Entertainment, and The Jim Henson Workshop. None of these staples of modern pop culture suffered from the change in ownership; in all cases, its creators kept total control of their visions and properties and made, arguably, the best feature films any company had ever produced after the change.
And then, the news yesterday: 2015 will bring us Star Wars VII directed by JJ Abrams, which is possibly the biggest and most exciting bit of Geek News to hit the Internet since the announcement that Joss Whedon was handling Marvel’s The Avengers. I, for one, welcome our new Jedi Master.
Action Heroes: Too Old to Rock and Roll?
As I write this, Black Sabbath has just announced a new album and tour. David Bowie has released a new single after more than a few years in isolated retirement. The Who, the Rolling Stones, and even Paul McCartney are still out there rocking. It’s obvious that you can never be too old to rock and roll, but we’ll find out if the same is true of action heroes, after the jump.
Biff Bam Pop’s Holiday Gift Guide – Star Wars X-Wing Miniatures Game
Are you looking for a tabletop game this holiday that combines all the excitement of the Star Wars movies, super cool miniatures, and easy to learn gameplay? I just might have the perfect game for you. Meet me after the jump to learn more about the Star Wars X-Wing Miniatures Game after the jump.
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Biff Bam Popcast – Tablets, Star Wars and More, Tonight At 10!
Tonight at 10, it’s another Biff Bam Popcast, staring Emily McGuiness, Glenn Walker, Jason Shayer, JP Fallavollita and Andy Burns. We’ll be talking the Star Wars/Disney merger, tablets and the holiday season (what are you going to buy???), the upcoming BBP Holiday Gift Guide and whatever crosses our minds. Come back to this very spot at 10pm to watch it all go down live!
