Once Upon a Geek

We decided to have a family movie night last Saturday.  After being exposed to all the hype surrounding Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, my eight-year old step-son wanted to watch some of the original Indiana Jones films.  He’d never seen them before, so we started with “Raiders of the Lost Ark”. 

Interestingly enough, I was the exact same age my step-son is now when I first saw this movie.  My dad, my brother, and I got to see a free sneak preview a few days before the regular release (so this would be early June 1981).  At this point, there was very little known about the film other than it was by the creators of Star Wars and Jaws.  In the car on the way to the theater, my eight-year old self decided that the film must be about finding Noah’s Ark.  Needless to say I wasn’t disappointed that I was wrong after seeing this awesome film.  Going to see movies with my dad growing up was a special treat, so I have fond memories of that night.

Fast forward to the present.  It was really fun watching “Raiders of the Lost Ark” through my step-son’s eyes.  He was excited in all the right places, loved the action, got scared at the end and peeked through his fingers while covering his eyes.  We even dug out my old brown fedora for him to wear during the movie.  He said it made him feel safer.  It’s nice to see that classic high adventure movies such as “Raiders of the Lost Ark” can still thrill children today.

Afterwards, we watched one of the Young Indiana Jones Chronicles stories - “Treasure of the Peacock’s Eye”.  Truthfully, this was just a re-edit of a few of the weekly episodes.  Regardless, my step-son really enjoyed the story.  I think he connected with young Indy and enjoyed seeing Indy learn the skills he would go on to use later in life.

Later at the grocery store, he asked my wife to buy him a box of Corn Pops cereal.  Being a kind mother, she bought the cereal for him.  It just so happened that this box of Corn Pops contained an Indiana Jones toy.  What my wife didn’t know is that he hates Corn Pops and it was simply a ruse to get the Indy toy.  Pretty clever kid. 

You throw me the Corn Pops, I throw you the whip!

It’s a big year for the continuing saga of Star Wars.  This year will see the new “The Clone Wars” cartoon and the new multimedia event “The Force Unleashed”.  Even though I know better, I’m finding myself interested in these items.

Click here to view for the new “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” trailer.  I’m not entirely sure how I feel about this new animation style, but I’m more impressed than I expected to be.  I really expected to hate this look after falling in love with the original Cartoon Network version of Clone Wars.  Lucas says the new style was inspired by the look of the old Thunderbirds TV series.  That interview can be found here.

This new Clone Wars premiers first as a theatrical movie on August 15, 2008.  Then it will be followed up with a television series starting in the fall on Cartoon Network.  This series takes place between Episodes II and III.  Looks like Anakin has a padawan of his own this time, Ahsoka Tano.  On the down side, that’s not Frank Oz doing the voice of Yoda. 

Interestingly enough, Star Wars has another major project this year also.  It’s called “Star Wars: The Force Unleashed“.  It was original supposed to launch in Spring 2008, but now it’s been postponed until September.  I gotta think the postponement has something to do with the new Clone Wars cartoon.

This multimedia event will have numerous products that tie-in.  The centerpiece is a new video game, but there will also be a tie-in novel, a graphic novel, action figures, a reference book, and a role-playing supplement.  This event is being marketed somewhat like “Shadows of the Empire” was back in the 1990’s.  I personally find myself more excited about “The Force Unleashed” than the new “Clone Wars”.

This story takes place during the large gap between Episodes III and IV.  It follows Darth Vader’s Secret Apprentice as he hunts down the few remaining Jedi.  Apparently the story will also explain key plot points that directly lead into the events of Star Wars Episode IV.

You can watch the amazing trailer for the video game below.  It takes a little while to load, so I would load the whole file first, just so it plays smoothly.  It’s worth the wait.

Even though I’ve been let down by Star Wars over the past several years, I’m looking forward to seeing some new adventures.  I’ve got my fingers crossed that they will be enjoyable.

If you’re like me, you’re getting anxious for the new Indiana Jones movie - Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.  However, I thought it worth pointing out another cool Indiana Jones item on the horizon.  On June 11th, Dark Horse Comics will be publishing Indiana Jones Adventures Vol. 1.  This is a pocket-sized 80-page comic that is kid-friendly and should be fun for adults and children.  The cost is only $6.95, which is a bargain for an 80-page comic!

Dark Horse describes it as “a story for anyone looking for stunning visuals, thrill-a-minute storytelling, and one unmistakable archaeologist!”  Dark Horse is following the same model they used for their Star Wars Clone Wars Adventure series (based upon the popular cartoon mini-series).  That model being cartoon-style art, digest format publication, and targeting the book for adults and children. 

I realize some of you will automatically dismiss this as “kid’s comics”.  However, I gotta tell you some of the most fun comics being published today are these kid-friendly books.  Many really convey the excitement of comics, capture the colorful dynamic action, and have straight-forward plots without talking down to the reader.  As a comic reader, I find these types of books fun, refreshing, and adventurous.  Just a few examples of great kid-friendly comics on the market today include Power Pack, Marvel Adventures Spider-Man, and Franklin Richards.  Just remember how much you loved “Batman: The Animated Series”.  That’s a good example of an action-oriented series targeted at adults and children.

Gotta run.  No time for love, Doctor Jones!

Fanboys the movie looks as if it could be the quintessential geek movie of all time.  Production has been delayed a whole bunch, but the trailer makes it look to be worth the wait. 

It’s got a great bunch of supporting actors, including Kristen Bell, Ray Park, William Shatner, Billy Dee Williams, and Jaime King.

I can’t wait!

If you can’t view this, watch it by clicking here!

Looking for some background noise while I sorted through paperwork Saturday night, I turned on a Sci-Fi channel.  Being Saturday night, they were of course running their monster/creature movie of the week.  This time it was Sabertooth.  A TV movie made back in 2002.  It was pretty predictable for Sci-Fi: wild creature on the loose, young people in an isolated area, a rising body count, and the requisite hot blond. 

The reason I thought this was blog-worthy was just a split second of footage in the beginning.  The very first shot of the movie was an establishing shot of the laboratory where the sabertooth is being held.  The shot of the laboratory was actually stock footage from the old “V” TV series.  It was specifically an exterior shot of the “Science Frontiers” building, even with the sign and logo in the foreground.  “Science Frontiers” in “V” was Nathan Bates company; also the place where Julie Parrish worked.  If I hadn’t been watching the “V” TV series recently, I don’t think I would have noticed.  I checked the web and apparently I’m not the only person to spot this.

I guess I’m just surprised by this.  I suppose the Sabertooth filmmaker needed an exterior shot of the laboratory and using stock footage was the easiest way to do it.  However, seeing something from “V” just took me right out of the story.  After that I just couldn’t completely engross myself in the movie.  Yeah, that’s it.  That MUST be the reason I couldn’t enjoy the film tremendously.  It couldn’t have anything to do with the horrible special effects, weak acting, or threadbare plot.   :)

I hate to simply repeat what every other self-proclaimed geek has been saying, but here goes… the Iron Man movie was freakin’ awesome!  I think it might just be the best comic book movie I’ve ever seen.  I love me some Superman II, X-Men II, Spider-Man I & II, and Batman Begins, but this movie was just was great.  The casting was spot-on (loved Downey Jr, Paltrow, and Bridges), the special effects were awesome, the script was energetic and funny, and the fight scenes were very actiony yet you could follow them.

They also did a great job capturing the essence of the character.  I’m not sure if it was Marvel’s influence or Jon Favreau’s, but they did a really nice job of summing up Tony Stark and Iron Man.  My personal guess is that this was successful because it was a Marvel film (rather than some corporation studio).  I think a corporate studio would have just utilized random character concepts they thought the general public would respond to well.  Whereas Marvel/Favreau really understands what has made the character work for the past forty years. 

This movie was INCREDIBLE… no wait…. it was FANTASTIC… no, that’s not it… it was AMAZING… nope, but getting closer… it was UNCANNY… no… how about SPECTACULAR…. almost… it was most definitely WEB OF… okay, one last try… this movie was INVINCIBLE!  Yeah, that’s the ticket.

I can’t wait for the sequel and related movies in 2010 and 2011! 

Just a heads-up… I appeared in a recent episode of The Unique Geek podcast with the rest of the usual gang. It can be found here - The Unique Geek Issue #65.  In this episode we discuss the rules that we wish Hollywood would follow.

I think we all owe a debt of gratitude to an unsung hero of 1980’s science fiction and television.  His is a face that we grew up with, but probably never thought much of.  I’m talking about Judson Earney Scott.  Who you ask?  I’m not surprised.  Until I sat down to type this, I didn’t know his name either.  However, this photo should immediately help you remember this actor.

I have no doubt you recognize him.  However, do you realize just how many times his face graced our entertainment screens?  Especially in geek-related shows/movies?  Below is a listing of many of his appearances.  For a complete list, visit his IMDB page.  Judson Earney Scott in the 1980s:

• had the lead role in the short-lived 1982 series “The Phoenix“.  I loved this show when it was on.  Watch the video intro by clicking here!
• will forever be remembered as Khan’s right-hand man, Joachim,  in “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan“.
• had a reoccurring role in ”V: The Series” as Lt. James
• was in an episode of “The Powers of Matthew Star“. Watch the video intro by clicking here (with narration by Louis Gossett Jr)!
• was in an episode of “Voyagers!“.   Watch the video intro by clicking here!
• was in an episode of “The Greatest American Hero“
• was in an episode of “Star Trek: The Next Generation“
• was in an episode of the 1988 “Mission: Impossible” series
• was in an episode of “T.J. Hooker”
• was in two episodes of “Matt Houston”
• was in two episodes of “The Dukes of Hazzard”
• was in an episode of “The A-Team”
• was in several soap operas, such as “General Hospital”, “One Life to Live”, and “The Colbys”

Then in the 1990’s, Judson Earney Scott:

• was in an episode of “Babylon 5“
• was in an episode of “Star Trek: Voyager“
• was in the movie “Blade“
• was in an episode of “The Adventures of Brisco County Jr“
• was in “K-9000“
• was in an episode of “Raven“
• was in an episode of “Renegade“
• was in an episode of “Jack and the Fatman”

Then in the 2000’s, Judson Earney Scott:

• played the zealot Absalom in the TV series ”X-Files“
• was in a couple episodes of “Charmed“
• was in an episode of “Walker, Texas Ranger”

I’m sure you are remembering some of his appearances by now.  I distinctly remember him in several of these shows.  Typically he played the bad guy of the week.  He always looked and carried himself like a total bad ass, even though you knew the good guys would eventually get the best of him.  I find it interesting that he could always pull off the long hair, regardless of the situation.  He was definitely cool.

What inspired me to write this post was something that happened the other night.  As some of you know, recently I’ve been watching “V: The Series” on DVD.  In an episode I watched the other night Judson Earney Scott made his first appearance on the show.  I didn’t know it was coming and found myself thinking, “Oh yeah, the resistance is in for it now, Mr. Bad Ass has arrived.”  That’s when I realized that I had grown up seeing this guys face, always thought he was a cool bad guy, but didn’t know his name.

With that said, I think we should all reflect back on our youth and remember Judson Earney Scott as one of the integral pieces of our geeky upbringing. 

Here’s hoping that he appears in more geek related shows and movies in the future!

Red Tornado, Vision, Data, Johnny 5, the T-101, or Marvin the Paranoid Android?  Which android/robot that struggled with human emotions was your favorite?

Honorable mention for the Star Wars Droids, Twiki, the Metal Men, Tom Servo & Crow, and Transformers.  They all seem to have emotions, but didn’t really struggle with them.

I guess my vote goes to Red Tornado.  Even though I loved Data on Next Gen, my heart belongs to R.T.  He always fascinated me in those old Justice League comics.  And once I found out he was originally from Earth-2, it was all over.  He had me at … Earth-2.

I’m sure many old school comic fans would vote for Vision, but I never read his early Avengers appearances.  I understand they are quite good.

For a massive list of robots and androids, check out this Wikipedia entry.

Hollywood is finally listening to the viewing audience and giving us exactly what everyone has been clamoring for.  So guess what deserving movie is getting a direct to DVD sequel this year?  Am I thinking of … Batman … Hulk … Indiana Jones … or X-Files?  Need a minute to think it over?

Okay, what was your answer?

That’s right!  You guessed it!  They are releasing a sequel to the “Lost Boys“!  Great guess!  … oh … that’s not what you were thinking of?  Color me surprised.

A sequel to “Lost Boys“, called “Lost Boys: The Tribe“?  WTF, mate?!?!?

Man, back in 1987 “Lost Boys” was awesome!  Vampires, teenagers, motorcycles, comic books, hot girls, parties, alcohol, guys with long hair and earrings… it had pretty much everything a pre-teen/early-teen could ask for back in the 80’s.  I even had the movie poster hanging on my bedroom wall back then.  But nowadays?  Hasn’t the Buffy / Angel / Anita Blake vampire-hunter fad sort of run it’s course?

If you remember the film, there were two brothers who ran the local comic book shop that also helped Corey Haim fight the vampires.  These characters were called the Frog brothers, played by Corey Feldman and Jamison Newlander.  Apparently someone recently got it in their head that these two characters were deserving of their own film.  The plot of the sequel revolves around two siblings that are new to town that accidentally get caught up with the local vampire gang.  In order to save one sibling, the other turns to the Frog brothers for help in killing a bunch of vampires.  Wow.  Just … wow.

And if this masterpiece (right up there with “Citizen Kane” I’m sure) isn’t enough for you, you can always pick up the DC/Wildstorm comic book mini-series in May called “The Lost Boys: Reign of Frogs” that bridges the gap between the original film and the sequel.

So if you are brave enough to check this out, be sure to let me know how it is.