Hey-Lo and welcome to my first geekpost, a personal summary of my experiences with the evil that is geek TV. Because this is my first one, I'll be starting with a few summaries of what I've watched/ been watching
TV
South Park S13E08-11
South park will always have a special place in my heart. It was one of the first truly subversive, adult cartoons I was ever exposed to, and I almost feel that as I have grown and matured, SP has grown with me.
This is never more true than with the latest instalment of season 13. I remember when SP was pure shock value, toilet humour and bad language (I know, how could it get any better you ask?) But as the years pass the and seasons come and go, that dark, sadistic humour has become something deeper, more delicious.
Recent episodes have featured brilliant parodies of the Sixth Sense (Dead Celebrities), wonderful pastiche on pimp culture (Butters' Bottom Bitch) and the frankly brilliant juxtaposition of 'professional' wrestling and theatre (W.T.F). In the latest episode, Whale Whores, we get a true treat. Not only is Cartman singing on Rock Band, continuing Matt and Trey's frequent nods to geek culture, we also get to hear him belting out a brilliant rendition of Lady GaGa's Poker Face. Fantastic!
Big Bang Theory S03E01-05
If I have to recap what has been happening in big bang theory, the greatest geek sitcom ever, then you are in the wrong place. Leave now, find bittorrent and sit down, you've got some work to do.
Season three opened with what I thought would be the death of the show, the main character (Leonard) hooking up with the lead female role (Penny), the unrequited love becoming requited (is that even a real word). Now I had my doubts about this, as I was sure that it would kill a lot of the humour that stemmed from Leonards perpetual failed attempts to woo Penny. But I was gladly wrong. Who knew how many funnies could be extruded from Sheldons commentary on sexual congress, or his attempts to 'condition' Penny now that she is a regular (albeit partially dressed) fixture in their apartment.
Check out the new series for the following highlights:
- Goth Jew Wolowitz
- Pavlovian girlfriend training
- A cricket called Toby
- Hardcore thinking to the song 'Eye of the Tiger'
- Wil Wheaton saying "Game Over, Moonpie'
Flashforward S01E01-06
I can only describe Flashforward as a more forgiving version of Lost. There are plenty of conspiracies, but without the pressing need to avoid dying of dysentery or gangrene or the many other risks of being stranded on a deserted island, the characters actually can do something productive about find out what the hell has happened.
Basically, the entire world blacks out for 2 minutes, 17 seconds, and during that time, everyone (or mostly everyone) sees the future for those 2 mins 17 from about 6 months into the future.
Flashforward raises some great questions about the ideas of predestination. Can we be blamed for a mistake we make in the future? Can it be changed, or does that act of changing it just guarantee its eventuality?
One of the best points of the series is that it approaches the fantastic with a fairly realistic mind set. If the entire world blacked out, then millions of people would die in plane crashes, accidents, you name it. And that's just what happens, and there is a persistent feeling that you're not in the same world as the one me and you know, the one from before the flashforward. Factor in the disparate views people have about the validity of the flashforwards, a divide between those who believe them and those who don't, those who saw a good future and those who saw a shit one, or worse still, those who saw no future at all.
All in all, I'm looking forward to how this plays out. I just hope it doesn't end up like another lost, with a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, wrapped in bullshit, wrapped in tedium.
Stargate Universe S01E01-06
This is definitely my favourite new series of the year. I'm a big fan of the classic stargate movie and the series SG-1 (but not atlantis). But I found that towards the end of SG-1, it started getting too cheesy (if that's possible). There were these big, overarching plots that never really seemed to draw me in. The baddies were fantastically and every week there was a new mystic weapon or unobtainium particle to save the day. It just got tiresome in a Star Trek TNG kinda way.
I am so glad to say that SGU steps away from that. It's darker, grittier, more depressing and, weirdly enough, more real. The basic premise is really simple. A mixed bag of scientists, soldiers and Joe averages escape through a stargate from a research outpost when it comes under attack. The kicker is that the gate they emerge through isn't in where the expect. It's not on a planet in this galaxy, or even in the Pegasus galaxy (the setting of atlantis). It's on an ancient (both in age and design) spaceship in the furthest corner of the galaxy.
So what we have here is the worst group of people possible, unprepared and under equiped, stranded from home, dealing not with aliens and saving the world, but trying to keep the air breathable, find clean water and keep the lights on.
I love the aesthetics of the ship; Destiny. Its alien/steampunk look works really well and appeals to my deep love of all thinks SteamPunk. The characters are much more diverse, with Robert Carlyle playing a great Machiavellian, passive (or not so) aggressive genius of all things ancient.
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